Entry posted by Sumiki
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The Death of Lhii
Vakama's knees creaked as he slowly lowered himself onto the wooden log that served as his storytelling bench. Tahu's Suva dominated the dimly lighted background, the sparse burnt trees around it towering into an air mixed with ash.
"Another story, Vakama?"
The Turaga of Fire smiled knowingly. "Yes, Takua. Be sure to chronicle this one," he said.
In the crowd, Aodhan coughed and raised his hand. Vakama paused before he began, motioning to the Lava Farmer. "I'm sorry to bother you, Turaga, but something's always been bothering me about these stories ..."
Vakama felt an inner dread. If he'd screwed something up, or there was a plot hole in the continuity of his stories, the entire Lhii myth would come crashing down upon him.
"... it's just that, well ... if Lhii was really so great, how come he's not around anymore?"
The Turaga felt relief. "That's because he's no longer around. If you all would like, I could tell you that story, but it's ... a painful one."
The gathered Matoran nodded solemnly, and Vakama began.
"It was long ago, on the lava flows of Mangai, that Lhii was going along, just surfing as usual. Nothing unusual had happened for weeks before then, and it didn't feel like anything would happen that day either. A bunch of Matoran were out there, watching Lhii surf or occasionally joining him.
"But Makuta was up to evil again, and he had sent two malicious Rahi after him. They had stalked him for weeks, but Lhii did not notice them. These Rahi were cunning and powerful, so they had somehow figured out how to dam the main flow. As the flow's level kept going down, Lhii eventually ground to a halt at the rock, on the bottom of where the flow had been. He was the only one down there, since it was later on into the day. The few that were out there with him were up on the shore.
"Well, they all went back to Ta-Koro to see if they couldn't fetch something to haul Lhii out with, but they left no one behind. They figured that Lhii would be alright on his own. But those Rahi came back--"
"Sorry, Turaga, but ... what did these Rahi look like?" Aodhan inquired.
Vakama smiled. "One was large and green, and looked kind of like a spider. The other was bulky and blue. I don't remember much about them other than that.
"Anyway, as I was saying, these Rahi jumped into the pit with Lhii. Lhii fought back valiantly, but he could not overcome them. However, a Matoran upflow had noticed the dam and noticed that the excess lava was going to flood the area, just completely wipe it away. So he surfed out there and began to dismantle the parts of the dam that he could.
"By the time the Matoran realized what he was doing, it was much too late. The dam had already been broken and the lava was going to engulf Lhii. But Lhii saw this, broke from the grip of the Rahi, grabbed hold of his surfboard, and caught some of the rushing lava.
"But there was too much of it. Lhii could not handle the wave of lava, and got pulled under. The two Rahi, for their efforts, did not make it.
"Lhii gave his life to save the life of all of you here today," Vakama concluded, a solitary tear running down his cheek. "That's the most important thing."
Without a word, or indeed even a sound from anyone seated in the concentric semicircles around him, he got up and slowly ambled away.
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