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Mythology in the G2 Universe


Matau228

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Makuta’s line, “Today I take my rightful place among the gods," from JTO hints at a bigger mythology in the G2 universe, such as multiple deities and possibly a different creation story. Here's my take on what that could be...


 


 


The Great Beings


 


It is said that long ago, before history, in “the time before time,” there was the void. And though it was a void, inside of it was life.


 


Not life as you or I know it, mind you, bound to the material plane, where things are born and die. This was pure life. Unending, unyielding. Those with this life were the first gods, the Great Beings. 


 


They were great in their knowledge, knowing all that could be and all that would come, and were mighty in their power. They could create whatever their hearts desired, and lived happily for an eternity.


 


But they grew tired of their existence. “What is the point of life,” the Great beings said, “If we always know what will happen? By merely knowing, we have experienced everything imaginable.” 


 


So the Great Beings cast away their knowledge of the future into a box. They crafted armor out of pure light and put it on one of their own, giving him the box to guard so that no one could open it. They called him "Great Spirit," and named the warrior “Mata’nui,” meaning “The warrior that holds destiny, the champion among us” in their tongue. 


 


This is how the Great Spirit Mata’Nui, came to be.


 


Tren Krom, the Corrupt


 


The Great Beings, now relieved of their burden, returned to their old ways, creating great worlds for them to enjoy. 


 


But one Great Being, finding that his worlds were no longer as as beautiful as the others, went out to take the knowledge of the future back from Mata'Nui, so as to have something that made himself special compared to the rest.


 


So he befriended the Great Spirit Mata’Nui, and they became so close that many began to call them brothers. Mata'Nui, while gladdened to have such a friend, still would not let the Great Being open the box. Driven by his envy, the Great Being began to plot the death of Mata’Nui.


 


The Great Being fashioned a sword for himself of pure shadow, so as to be able to pierce Mata'Nui’s armor. He came to Mata'Nui with the blade, saying “Brother, I have finally been able to something beautiful. We must celebrate!”


 


The celebration lasted a thousand years, for all had come know of this Great Being’s struggles, and rejoiced for him. When the celebration ended, all but the one Great Being slept. He crept to where Mata’Nui was sleeping, whispering, “It is good that you are sleeping, brother, for awake this would have been agony.” And so the Great Being ran Mata’nui through with the sword, sending him into an eternal slumber.


 


The Great took the box from Mata’nui’s lifeless arms and opened it, staring into the bottomless pit of knowledge. But the sheer amount knowledge was not meant for one person alone, and so he was driven mad by it.


 


When the other Great Beings awoke, they were distraught at what one of their own had done, and mourned Mata’nui. 


 


Finding the evil Great Being, they cursed him, naming him “Tren Krom,” meaning “the corrupt, the one who brings suffering and misery,” and transformed him into a hideous creature, so that anyone searching for his knowledge would be driven mad themselves. They fashioned a prison for him out of a rock, melding his flesh with it, and created a deep ocean to sink it in.


This is how the Great Ocean and Tren Krom came to be.


 


Artakha, the Uniter (”Commentary” by Takua, a chronicler-in-training)


 


The Great Beings closed the box again, forging a great chain to hold it shut.


 


(You’d think for a people called “Great Beings,” they’d have done that in the first place, wouldn’t you?)


 


This was when everything was new, young one. They didn’t think that anyone-


 


(But you just said that they knew everything before they put their knowledge in a box! Wouldn’t they have known to put a chain on it before they made it? And how do you put knowledge in a box?)


 


It’s a story, young one, one that has been passed down for eons. Some of the story has probably been changed, or mistranslated… Anyway, they called upon one of the greatest creators among them to forge the chains.


 


Now, he had seen how easily the Shadow Blade had cut through Mata’Nui’s armor, and decided that light alone was not strong enough to hold the box closed. So he began to forge the links of the chain from the elements.


 


“Forge-worker,” The other Great Beings said, “Why do you forge the chain from the elements, and not from pure light as we did the armor? Surely they cannot be strong enough!” And they took some of the elements and crushed them, casting them into the Great Ocean, forming the land.


 


“Ah, my siblings, but try to break the chain I have formed.” He challenged them. And try as they might, none of them could break the chain he had forged. For separate, the elements were weak. Together, nothing could have broken them.


 


(But how did he make a chain out of fire or water, and how did the Great Beings break them? They aren’t solid!)


 


It’s… symbolic. Hush, now, and listen. 


 


To finish his creation, he took some of Mata’Nui’s armor and spun it into thread, weaving light through each of the links. He wrapped the chain around the box, sealing it.


 


And so they called him “Artakha,” meaning “The uniter, the one who builds,” and gave him the box to guard, until such a time as Mata’Nui returned.


 


This is how the Great Spirit Artakha and the Land came to be.


 


Karzahni, the Dutiful


 


Now, as death was not permanent for the Great Beings, someone was needed to stay with Mata’Nui until he awoke. This duty fell upon a mask-maker, one who had considered Tren Krom a friend, and so felt obligated to right his wrongdoing. He was given the Shadowed Blade to use against all that might harm Mata’Nui as he slept.


 


For a thousand years, this Great Being sat beside the sleeping Mata’Nui, neither sleeping nor eating so as to be with Mata’nui when he woke. At the end of the thousand years, the Great Being felt his strength waning.


 


Tired of waiting, he asked for another Great Being to take his place, only for a year while he rested. “Brother,” they said, “We are busy with our creations. Surely he will wake up soon.” 


 


So the Great Being, angry at the other’s refusal to help, waited another thousand years for Mata’Nui to wake up.


 


Again, he called for another to take his place, this time for only a month.  “It is your duty, what if Mata’Nui wakes while you sleep?”


 


And so the Great Being sat for another thousand years, angry at his people.


 


Finally, he called for Artakha, asking him to take his place for one single day.


 


“I understand your pain, Mask-maker,” said Artakha, “But I, too, must protect my charge; I cannot help you, but I will sit with you.”


 


The Great Being, though unhappy he could not get rest, rejoiced in Artakha’s company, and the two sat together for another thousand years, neither of them sleeping nor eating.


 


At the end of the thousand years, Mata’Nui finally woke up. Upon opening his eyes, he found himself alone, save for the Great Being and Artahka.


 


Mata’Nui praised the Great Being for his dutiful nature. But the Great Being looked away bitterly, saying “I am honored by your praise, Great Spirit, but I do not deserve it. I was tired of my duty, and hated it.”


 


Mata’Nui laughed. “You could have left at any time, abandoning your duty, but you did not! Is that not worthy of praise?” And so they called the Great Being “Karza,” or “He who does what is difficult, the one who perseveres.”


 


And so Karza finally rested, watched over by his friends.


 


This is how The Great Spirit Karza, and thus the Three Great Spirits of Virtue came to be. Artahka the Uniter, Karza the Dutiful, and Mata’Nui, the one who holds Destiny.


 


The War of Creation


 


Now there came a time when each Great Being strove to create their own world, one which they could rule as they saw fit. Most beautiful among the worlds was the one made from Tren Krom’s Prison and the discarded elements, located in the center of all creation. 


 


Naturally, as all of the Great Beings had taken part in this world’s creation, and each one claimed that it was theirs.


 


Artahka saw the divide beginning to form among the Great Beings, and said, “Siblings, why do you quarrel over this world? Do you not remember that one of our own, though disgraced and mad, sleeps beneath it’s waves? Would it not be better to make another world to enjoy?”


 


But the Great Beings ignored the Uniter, and did not stop their fighting.


 


Their petty arguments soon grew into a great war, spanning all of creation. Worlds began being fashioned and used as weapons, or as battlegrounds for the Great Beings, and many more were destroyed, save for the center world.


 


Mata’Nui became greatly troubled by this, and swore to end the fighting by whatever means he could.


 


So he joined the battle himself, not with swords or spears, but wielding two gleaming shields in each hand. He would step out onto the battlefield, blocking both side’s blows until they were too exhausted to continue the fight. Mata’Nui, still standing strong, would say to them, “Siblings, do not quarrel over the center world. It is a prison to our brother, who is disgraced, and it has only brought misfortune to our people.”


 


But the Great Beings ignored the One Who Holds Destiny, and did not stop their fighting. 


 


The war became so great and wide-spread that there was no Great Being left who did not wield a sword and use it against their siblings. Only the Great Spirits of Virtue refused to fight.


 


Now Karza was still angry at his people for their unwillingness to help, and became enraged at their petty war, and so decided to end the fighting himself.


 


So Karza yelled out to his people, warning “Siblings, stop your quarrel over the center world! It is a prison to our brother, Tren Krom, and like him, it brings suffering and misery! If you do not, the center world will be destroyed.”


But the Great Beings ignored the Dutiful, and did not stop their fighting.


 


So Karza took his brother Artahka’s forge tools and his own sword and used their destructive power against the center world. The land shattered, and parted the sea, letting Tren Krom, the Corrupt, see the war for a brief moment.


 


The Mad Great Being laughed, yelling out “This is what I saw! A war to destroy all of creation! You are the cause of my madness!”


 


With the center world’s beauty destroyed and Tren Krom’s prison weakened, the Great Beings no longer wished for control of the center world.


 


Karza, still angry with his people, said to them “See now what your actions have done? To stop your war, I had to destroy what you sought, weakened our brother’s prison, so that none would want it!”


 


And so the Great Beings stopped their war, and more was added to Karza’s name, becoming Karzahni, which now meant ”He who does what is difficult, the one who brings destruction, the jailer of the disgraced.”


 


Karzahni, knowing that while it did stop the war, his actions also threatened to release Tren Krom from his prison, and so he banished himself to the remains of the center world to ensure that Tren Krom never escaped.


 


He built a jail under the ocean around Tren Krom’s prison, with the intent to house the most dangerous outcasts in creation. His brothers, the other two Great Spirits, noticed his determination to fix his mistakes and began living on the land above, caring for what little of nature remained and rebuilding the world.


 


This is how the Three Great Spirits became the Guardian Deities of our world; Karzahni, the Dutiful, guarding The Pit; Artahka, the Uniter, guiding the Island city of Tekoa; Mata’Nui, He who holds Destiny, watching over the Island of Okoto.


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This is really cool!  The writing style is just like someone telling a tale, giving it a great feeling of authenticity, and I love how it takes inspiration from all across G1 and melds it together in a new way.  I especially like the reimagining of Karzahni as something more benevolent, and Tren Krom’s story is infinitely more compelling than the throwaway existence of his G1 counterpart.  The three Great Spirits reflecting the Virtues was also a nice touch.

 

Really, my only criticism is Tren Krom’s line when killing Mata’Nui.  I think it’s meant to reflect Makuta’s line from Mask of Light about sparing Mata-Nui pain, which is neat, but for some reason I feel like the phrasing is a little odd.

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This is really cool!  The writing style is just like someone telling a tale, giving it a great feeling of authenticity, and I love how it takes inspiration from all across G1 and melds it together in a new way.  I especially like the reimagining of Karzahni as something more benevolent, and Tren Krom’s story is infinitely more compelling than the throwaway existence of his G1 counterpart.  The three Great Spirits reflecting the Virtues was also a nice touch.

 

Really, my only criticism is Tren Krom’s line when killing Mata’Nui.  I think it’s meant to reflect Makuta’s line from Mask of Light about sparing Mata-Nui pain, which is neat, but for some reason I feel like the phrasing is a little odd.

 

Thanks! I tried my best to re-create the kind of mystical feeling I got when I first saw the opening of Mask of Light way back when.

 

That line felt a little off to me too, but it personally felt a little weird without anything there as well. I might go back later and re-work that bit into something that sounds a bit better.

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Overall an excellent piece of work. I'd personally contemplated something along the lines of the "gods" Makuta referred to for my own entry, but couldn't think of a good idea for it-love how you tied everything together.

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Voicing your opinions with tact is the best way to keep a discussion from becoming an argument.
So far as I'm aware, it's pronounced like this: We're ee ah moo.
 

Check out my Creations:

Epics

G1 Battle for Spherus Magna - G2 A Lingering Shadow


Short Stories

G1 Fallen Guardian - G2 Shadows of Past and Future (The Legend Continues Entry) Head of Stone, Heart of Jungle


MOCs

Mask Hoarder, Desert Scourge

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Excellent work.  It had a very classical feel, with Mata'Nui's death and the jealous god.  Traditional, yet still surprising.

 

It kind of conflicts with what I imagined in my head, but I think that goes to show that there IS some richness to the G2 mythology, despite what our initial impressions may have been.  I'm having a blast reading all these contest entries.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The knowledge of the future, kept in a box at the beginning of the universe, chained in elements and watched over by a warrior of light.

 

Not only was this a fun read, not only does this do a great job of drawing on G1 while not outright stealing from it... but wow, you really did a fantastic job nailing just the general feel of a creation myth.  Kinda reminded me of reading the Silmarillon, even.  Nice.

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It is not for us to decide the fate of angels.

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