The Wahi:
Onu-Wahi is the region of Earth on the island of Mata Nui. Although Onu-Wahi does include surface areas, very little of the outside was ever developed. The prominent features of Onu-Wahi are mainly located underground, connected by tunnels carved long ago by the Onu-Matoran and other more sinister things. Dangerous Rahi, some of which are largely unknown, lurk in the dank underground caves of the region, which not even the bravest Onu-Matoran have explored. Some natural tunnels carry seeping water from the surface, filling several of the Wahi’s caverns with frigid subterranean lakes. Local landmarks include:
-The Great Mine: An expansive mine network near Onu-Koro where Onu-Matoran miners and prospectors toil to excavate its precious resources. Its shafts, which reach deep into the earth, provide many of the raw materials used in other villages across Mata Nui, such as Protodermis and gold. Other precious resources like Ore are mined here as well. The mine also includes the Marn Tunnels, annexes to the Great Mine around the Wahi.
-Cavern of Light: A lightstone mine in Onu-Wahi. The main supply of lightstones for the island is located here. Its entrance is located in a tunnel network connecting Onu-Koro to Ta-Koro and Le-Koro, and the cave itself is only accessible with a special key.
-Papa Nihu Reef: An archipelago of rocky islets that spread out over the waters outside Onu-Wahi. The mainland shoreline is composed of dark beaches and blank landscape, and the islets themselves range in size and shape but remain mostly desolate, save for the occasional rookery of birds.
-Onu-Koro Highway: An old tunnel connecting Ko-Wahi to Onu-Koro. Members of the Ussalry regulate the end in Onu-Koro to weed out undesirable travelers.
-Le-Koro Highway: A tunnel connecting Le-Wahi to Onu-Koro, similarly guarded.
-The Dark Walk: One of six large tunnels dug by Makuta’s Rahkshi during the final days of his rule. Large enough to encompass a walking legion, it runs directly from the doorstep of the Koro down into Mangaia. Exudes a definite aura of odiousness, and is generally avoided.
The Koro:
Led by Akiri Nuparu, Onu-Koro is located in a huge cavern in the middle of Onu-Wahi. It is a massive bubble in the earth with ceilings that vanish into the darkness above and walls littered with well-guarded gateways. The Koro is the central hub of a network of highways and tunnels that link it with the other parts of the island and with its mines. It consists of huts made of dark stone interwoven with a maze of metal pipes transporting water, gases, and even objects, around the Koro. A cool stream cuts down the middle of the village and is bridged by several pedestrian walkways. The village is lit by lightstone streetlamps and the glow of forges.
The center of the village has a main marketplace where tinkerers sell small ornaments and gadgets. The middle rings of the Koro are residential, peppered with other establishments like stores and eateries. Engineering plants push up against the village’s crowded edges, always bustling with activity. The smell of metal and the smoke of production fill the cavern of Onu-Koro as foundries built there smelt mined ores and turn them into machines. The industrial gases and other wastes are siphoned off to the surface through ducts high in the roof of the village.
Nuparu now occupies the great hut once used by Turaga Whenua and directs the village’s progress with clear vision. The clever hands of Onu-Koro manufacture technologies of war and progress for the entire island; but they keep as many inventions secret as they sell. Nuparu is very careful about which technologies the Koro releases, controls trade with a stern hand, and places great importance on security.
This has lead to an expansion of the formidable Ussalry, housed at its three stables around the village. The Ussalry defend the Koro and the Wahi around it and, due to the great influx of money and trade of materials, they consistently patrol Onu-Koro’s borders and check everyone and everything going in or out. The highways connecting Onu-Koro to the island at large have been greatly expanded to accommodate the movement of technologies, and are always patrolled by guards and escorts.