Great Illumination

History[]

Prelude[]

Long time ago, when the Phoenix were made by the Mother Sun, they were sent to Chima,^[2] where they built their city on the Mount Cavora in hopes of bringing civilization to the primitive tribes of Chima, inviting them to their institutions of learning and improvement to educate them.^[3] One of the students, who was a young saber-tooth tiger named Fangar, was one of their best students. Eventually, Fangar became so full of knowledge and achievement to the point where he felt that the only thing left for him to accomplish was complete domination of Chima. Because of this, Fangar rebelled and formed the Hunters with the other students, starting the Hunter Wars.^[3] During the wars, the Hunters attacked multiple villages^[4][5] to conquer Chima,^[3] even killing all of the Ancient Lion Tribe except Li'Ella,^[6] leaving behind a lifeless wasteland.^[3] Those who survived the attacks went to the Phoenix Temple, where the Phoenix protected them.^[3]

The Illumination[]

To stop the Hunters and return the land to its former glory, the Phoenix Elders decided to wear the Fire Wings, the items that contained the ultimate power in them, and fly into the heart of Mount Cavora.^[3] However, as the eight of them flied into the heart of Mount Cavora, Fluminox, the Phoenix that was supposed to be the ninth Phoenix, decided to stay behind to look after his son, Flinx, who has still a baby during the Illumination.^[7] As the Phoenix Elders sacrificed themselves by using the power of the Fire Wing Harnesses, Chima was renewed to its former glory, restoring all wildlife that was killed during the Hunter's conquest to their original forms.^[3] However, because of Fluminox not attending the Illumination, the Illumination was imperfect,^[8] causing the Hunters to fight against the Illumination, only for it to fight back and open up what would become the Gorge of Eternal Depth, causing the Hunters to fall into it. Meanwhile, the power that pulled down the gorge also pushed up the Mount Cavora, causing it to start floating. However, because of the Illumination pulling so much heat from the Fangs, the Hunters were frozen and trapped in the gorge.^[3]

Aftermath[]

The Great Illumination left a powerful energy field, keeping the Phoenix skyward and protecting the Mount Cavora from intrusion,^[3] as well as keeping inhabitants of the Phoenix Temple such as Tormak and Li'Ella from aging.^[1] Also, the water flowing from Mount Cavora, which now infused by Illumination energy, brought forth Chi. Drinking this water, normal animals of Chima transformed into more humanoid animals, becoming smarter, bigger and stronger.^[9][3] To celebrate the new tribes, the Phoenix carved the rocks of the Mount Cavora, making them represent the eight new tribes.^[3] However, some of the animals decided to not embrace the Chi and instead choose to rely on their inner Chi,^[10] vanishing into the Outlands to be never seen again, becoming known as the Legend Beasts.^[9] Later, the eight Fire Wing Harnesses were hidden in the cities the Phoenix built, which were now in ruins.^[11]

Appearances[]

Legends of Chima[]

Season 1[]

• 2. "The Great Story" (visualized)
• 19. "Chima Falls" (visualized)

Season 3[]

• 27. "Fire Dreaming" (indirectly mentioned)
• 30. "Trial by Fire" (visualized)
• 31. "The Crescent" (mentioned)
• 37. "The Artifact" (visualized)
• 38. "The Phoenix Has Landed" (mentioned)
• 39. "A Spark of Hope" (mentioned)
• 41. "The Heart of Cavora" (visualized)

Trivia[]

• The Tribes of Chima have their unique interpretation of the Great Illumination, one of them being how the Lion Tribe believed that it was a lightning strike that led to the emergence of Mount Cavora from the ground.
  • Chris "Doc" Wyatt believes the Source Dragon of Life was the lightning that struck Mount Cavora.^[12]

Gallery[]

In Legends of Chima[]

Season 1[]

Season 3[]

References[]