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The Memories of Turaga


John Smith

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This is kind of an odd little story I dreamed up, set during the 2001 storyline. Enjoy!

 

“I need to find another mask,” said Tahu. “If Kopaka gets them all before I do, I’ll never live it down.”

“Patience, Toa Tahu,” said Vakama. “The quest for the masks is not a race.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Turaga Onewa chose that very moment to enter the room. “Oh…I’m sorry, Vakama, I didn’t think you would still be…occupied.”

“Pay it no heed, Onewa. I’ll be done talking to Tahu in just a moment.”

“Very well.”

Vakama turned back to face Tahu. “To find the Kanohi Pakari, you must first seek strength within yourself. Go think on this.”

Visibly annoyed at the cryptic words, Tahu replied with a stiff, “Very well, Turaga,” and left Vakama’s hut.

“What did you mean by that?” asked Onewa.

“Nothing, actually…“

“Nothing?”

“Well, you see, brother…that's why I summoned you. I have a problem,” said Vakama. “I can’t remember where I hid the Pakari.”

“You forgot? You forgot where you put one of the keys to Makuta’s defeat?”

“It was a thousand years ago! I can’t be expected to keep track of all the masks for that long.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“I…I may have forgotten where a few of the others are.”

“A few?”

“Well…all of them.”

“Oh, Karzahni,” swore Onewa. “How has Tahu found any masks at all?”

“So far, I’ve just told him cryptic things, and he’s always come back with one. I have no idea how he does it. But this can’t be allowed to go on. If there’s one he can’t find, I cannot keep feeding him mumbo-jumbo forever.”

Suddenly, a tall figure sped into the room. When it came to a halt, the two Turaga realized that it was Pohatu.

“Turaga Onewa! Hafu told me I could find you here. I was wondering if you could clue me in to where to find any more masks?”

“What mask are you looking for, Toa?”

“Well, I reckon the Hau could come in handy.”

“Then the Hau it is. Seek the Mask of Shielding in the Place That Is Protected.”

“Um, as you say, Turaga.” With that, Pohatu sped off.

“Oh dear,” said Vakama. “Is there something you haven’t been telling me, Onewa?”

“Um…well…”

“Onewa…”

The Turaga of Po-Koro drew a heavy breath. “I may not have the best memory, either.”

“Oh, Karzahni. This is a fiasco. What can we do?”

“Well, the Toa seem to be doing well on their own so far. Perhaps following one of them to a mask might help refresh our memories?”

“That’s a silly, ridiculous, and pointless plan,” said Vakama. “It just might work.”

“My thoughts exactly,” said Onewa. “Let’s go find Tahu; he can’t be too far.”

********

The two Turaga caught up with the Toa of Fire after about half an hour. He was wandering the rocky slopes of the Mangai Volcano.

“What in Mata Nui’s name are you doing here?” asked Tahu.

“We wish to observe your mask-finding process,” Vakama told him. “It will give us insight into your inner character.”

“Whatever,” said Tahu. “Try not to get in my way.”

“We wouldn’t dream of it,” said Onewa.

They wandered about for several moments. Suddenly, to the north, they heard a rock bounce against the mountain. Immediately, Tahu headed towards the sound.

“Where are you going, Toa Tahu?” asked Vakama.

“To the noise. Whenever I start hearing noises like that, it means I’m getting close to a mask.”

********

Concealed behind a pile of rocks, a lone Matoran smiled. Tahu would have his Pakari soon. He picked up a second rock, and threw it.

********

A second noise came from higher up the side of the mountain. Looking towards it, Tahu noticed a rocky outcropping in the middle of a stream of lava.

“That must be where the mask is!” he exclaimed. He eagerly bounded up the slope. When he got near the outcropping, he equipped his Miru and floated over the lava stream. There was the Pakari, just as he’d suspected. He placed the Mask of Strength on his face, and instantly felt a surge of power. He leapt off the outcropping, landing right next to the pair of Turaga.

“Incredible,” remarked Vakama. “Does this happen every time?”

“It does,” answered Tahu. “I can't explain why.”

“Perhaps some things are not meant to be known,” Vakama mused. “Perhaps Mata Nui has a way of ensuring important things happen, no matter what obstacles lie in the way.” He glanced slyly at Onewa.

“Perhaps so. In any event, let us return to Ta-Koro. This volcano is no place for a Turaga of stone.”

********

Behind his pile of rocks, Kapura breathed a sigh of content. Toa Tahu was one mask closer to defeating Makuta, and his beloved teacher’s secret was safe. He slinked off to guide Pohatu to his Hau. If anyone asked why he was gone for so long, he could simply say he had been practicing.

Edited by John Smith
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I hate to be That Guy who comes in and comments on a story with a nitpick, but the Mask of Strength is the Pakari.

The concept is similar to a headcanon that I've always sort of had about the Turaga - that they can't remember everything and sometimes they just make lore up and go with it. Great to see that expounded upon in a comedic way here. :)

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I hate to be That Guy who comes in and comments on a story with a nitpick, but the Mask of Strength is the Pakari.

 

The concept is similar to a headcanon that I've always sort of had about the Turaga - that they can't remember everything and sometimes they just make lore up and go with it. Great to see that expounded upon in a comedic way here. :)

It's cool; I'm just glad to get a comment! Although, I re-read the story, and as far as I can tell I referred to the Mask of Strength as the Paraki every time? Could you point out where I messed up?

 

Ha, that's neat that you had a similar idea. Thanks for the input!

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Oh Kapura, you're still a favorite character.

 

The way you wrote the Turaga is perfect, too!

 

The best part is, I had no idea Kapura was going to be in it when I started! He just sort of worked his way in.

 

Thanks! I tried to strike a careful balance between formality and comedic timing. Looks like it worked!

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I hate to be That Guy who comes in and comments on a story with a nitpick, but the Mask of Strength is the Pakari.

It's cool; I'm just glad to get a comment! Although, I re-read the story, and as far as I can tell I referred to the Mask of Strength as the Paraki every time? Could you point out where I messed up?

 

You flipped the R and the K in the word every time.

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I hate to be That Guy who comes in and comments on a story with a nitpick, but the Mask of Strength is the Pakari.

It's cool; I'm just glad to get a comment! Although, I re-read the story, and as far as I can tell I referred to the Mask of Strength as the Paraki every time? Could you point out where I messed up?

 

You flipped the R and the K in the word every time.

 

 

Oh, dang it! I guess I just read it incorrectly at some point, and it got hard-wired in. Thanks for letting me know. :)

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I quite liked this! I did often wonder what the Turaga really meant when they were advising the Toa on where to find the masks. Place of Far-Seeing made perfect sense, but some of the others I just glossed over. As Sumiki said, nice play on the idea of the Turaga's supposed forgetfulness.

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Haha! Love it. This idea never crossed my mind before, but it seems almost blindingly obvious when you point it out through the story.

 

Also a really great quote by Onewa there:

 

"Um... well... I may not have the best memory, either."

Every hero is born from his enemy; every leader, his followers; and every father, his children.

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I quite liked this! I did often wonder what the Turaga really meant when they were advising the Toa on where to find the masks. Place of Far-Seeing made perfect sense, but some of the others I just glossed over. As Sumiki said, nice play on the idea of the Turaga's supposed forgetfulness.

Thanks! Yeah, the Place of Far-Seeing was the inspiration of "The Place That Is Protected."

 

Haha! Love it. This idea never crossed my mind before, but it seems almost blindingly obvious when you point it out through the story.

 

Also a really great quote by Onewa there:

 

"Um... well... I may not have the best memory, either."

Danke! It took me 13 years to think of it. :P

 

I liked that line, too. It makes you realize things are even worse than you thought!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Nice idea with a unique twist near the end. 

Steam Name: Toa Hahli Mahri. Xbox Live Gamertag: Makuta. Minecraft Username: ThePoohster.

Wants: 2003 Jaller (from Jaller and Gukko), Exo-Toa, Turaga Nuju, Turaga Vakama, Shadow Kraata, Axonn, Brutaka, Vezon & Fenrakk, Nocturn, ORANGE FIKOU.

I got rid of my picture, are you happy?

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Slow motion super-speed for the win! GO KAPURA GO! Note: I am a SERIOUS fan of kapura :) He is my favorite char!

Glad you enjoyed it! Kapura rules.

 

Nice idea with a unique twist near the end. 

Thanks! The twist even surprised me when I thought of it!

 

i liked the story very much and i have to say thanks for putting the story at BZPower. 

Thanks, and you're welcome. :)

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Once again, Kapura amazes us all. :P Fantastic job, this story is very well-written, and the ending is just perfect. Again, well done. This was very entertaining to read! :)  :happydance:

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  • 10 months later...

This is great! :) It's a really funny spin on how the Turaga advised the Toa.

 

I think the most impressive part is how you used just enough characters to make the story work but not so many that we're distracted from the plot. Po- and Ta-Koro were good choices for the characters, too. Vakama and Onewa are pretty normal Turaga, with Matau speaking Treespeak and Nuju not even speaking Matoran at all. :P I liked the joke about Kopaka in the first sentence, too!

 

The reveal of who was helping find the masks was perfect! You got us guessing who it was as soon as we read "a lone Matoran"! :P Kapura was the perfect explanation.

 

Great job! Thanks for posting! :)

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