The great Bionicle legend – its beginnings occurred in an age over 100,000 years ago.

 

The primeval world existed as one of vast emptiness until the Great Beings came to it. Their one duty was to create new universes, so the Great Beings took it upon themselves to build up this world until it would suit the innumerable years of history that followed.

 

The process evidently spanned over many, many years. Meticulously the Great Beings created the foundations of a world that would endure for ages, making way for a grand society that could survive on its labors and the benevolence of higher entities that would ensure its well-being.

 

When the Great Beings chose to set life on the earth, they made its nature biomechanical. It was before the Great Beings set to work on any other aspect of the universe when they created the very first Matoran. The Matoran were a special, sapient race, chosen to be the dominant culture. Matoran were created for one purpose only: to work and maintain the world they lived in. The Matoran, along with almost all forms of life following them, were composed of both organic tissue and conjoining non-living components held within an armored frame. The Great Beings’ biomechanical life forms breathed, slept, and consumed nutrition to keep energized, but rigid mechanisms made them much less vulnerable to injury, gave them virtually limitless natural lifespans, and even made them compatible for reconstruction. All Matoran wore special masks which they relied on for vitality. Before the Great Beings put all of the other first forms of life and the world’s geography into order, the first Matoran labored in darkness without ever knowing exactly what they were working on or why they needed to do it. Two island destinations, the very first geographical locations created, for the Matoran soon followed: Artakha, the Great Refuge, and Karzahni, a place of recouperation for deficient workers.

 

As the Great Beings’ vision of the world began to take shape, the surface of the world remained as a seemingly endless ocean of water, whereas significant land masses were only situated far beneath the planet surface in subterranean seas. These seas were contained inside of massive, underground, hemispherical caverns that were large enough to house their own weather systems. As opposed to generating random geography, the Great Beings purposefully plotted the placements of these lands. The unimaginably large chambers in which these islands were located comprised the realm of all biomechanical life. Some of these subterranean lands were illuminated by holes in the cavern ceilings that allowed slightly weakened sunlight to pass through, and these appeared as suns.

 

It seems that everything the Great Beings created they created with an extraordinarily versatile substance called protodermis. Protodermis had the quality of being able to take on almost any physical property. Every aspect – earth, rock, lava, the seas, life itself – of the environment surrounding the underground islands was made of some form of protodermis. Liquid protodermis filled the underground seas, solid protodermis made up all earth and rock, molten protodermis made up all magma and lava, and organic protodermis made up all plants and the living components of biomechanical life. Normal water only existed in the unexplored ocean of the planet’s surface, and in this ocean existed fully organic lifeforms composed entirely of normal living tissue.

 

 

It is said that two “brothers” named Artakha and Karzahni were two of the first beings ever created by the Great Beings. In those ancient times, it is said that Matoran labored ceaselessly and in darkness, little knowing the reasons for the work they did. Those Matoran who did their jobs well would be allowed by their Turaga elders to journey to Artakha, the land named after the being who ruled it and the very first land that had been constructed by the Matoran. Known as the Great Refuge, this was a place where Matoran could work in the light, with no worries about their future.

 

Matoran who were damaged and unable to work, however, were shipped by their Turaga to the bizarre, harsh land of Karzahni to be repaired. Karzahni eventually proved to be deficient in his duties and often rebuilt the Matoran into weaker forms than they had come to him in. To compensate for their loss of strength, Karzahni gave those Matoran special weapons so they could better defend themselves. Karzahni would then uncaringly ship those Matoran far away from both their homelands and his own realm so as to keep his problems as far away from himself as possible. Many of those Matoran who were sent to Karzahni ended up near a Volcano known as Mount Valmai on a portion of a continent located in the south. For these Matoran, life continued as they shared in the thriving civilization established there that even attracted tourists. All the while, Karzahni became preoccupied with expanding his realm, however slow that process would be.

 

At this time an organization called the Hand of Artakha was active throughout the world. Its members were formidable warriors who served to preserve order. They were the forerunners to other heroes to come.

 

Eventually, Karzahni stopped ever sending Matoran back to their homes once Turaga sent them to his realm and kept them there to labor for him. Once Matoran stopped ever returning, all Turaga decided no longer to send Matoran to Karzahni. Long afterwards, Matoran would use exaggerated tales of Karzahni to frighten one another. Later on in the course of history, after for the most part disengaging from worldly affairs for each of their own reasons, both Artakha and Karzahni passed into characters of myth over time.

 

 

At last the Great Beings sent Mata Nui, the Great Spirit, into the world, charging him with keeping it in order and caring for all living things. Mata Nui gave the Matoran special care, providing them with the Three Virtues to live by: Unity, Duty, and Destiny.

 

Preparing to leave the universe in Mata Nui’s care, the Great Beings drafted many members of the organization known as the Hand of Artakha into a new one, the Order of Mata Nui, during the very early days of its founding. This new, secret organization was dedicated to carrying out the will of Mata Nui, keeping its very existence unknown to all others in the universe.

 

The Great Beings soon created an immensely powerful Kanohi Mask called the Kanohi Ignika, the Great Mask of Life, insuring against the event that Mata Nui should ever have fallen into mortal danger and the mask was needed to save his life. This Kanohi mask was the only one ever made that was capable of generating life energy or taking it away, and the energies contained within the Ignika were said to be so great and terrible that they would consume any user of the Kanohi. The fate of the Kanohi Ignika itself was capable of determining the fate of the Great Spirit, and in turn, that of the entire universe.

 

Upon the mask’s completion, one of the Great Beings who simply wanted to get a closer look at the mask ended up touching it. Because it was not the Great Being’s destiny to touch the mask, the Mask of Life misunderstood his purpose and granted him energies that caused all objects around him to come to life spontaneously. This experience affected the Great Being so much that his fellow Great Beings removed and isolated him, and it is unknown exactly what became of him.

 

When the time came to transport the Ignika into the world, two Great Beings created a straight flight of 777 stairs leading to a Chamber of Life beneath Mount Valmai. The Ignika was placed on a pedestal in the chamber that terminated the staircase, where it was to remain until needed.

 

The Order of Mata Nui then secretly stationed two of its members – Axonn and Brutaka – near Mount Valmai to guard the Kanohi Ignika and to serve as the first line of defense against those with evil intent. The Order of Mata Nui also stationed a being whose entire life’s duty was only to serve as a guardian of the Ignika – Umbra – way down near the Chamber of Life where the mask was hidden.

 

 

A hundred-thousand years ago, the Great Beings laid the foundations of an island city called Metru Nui, the northernmost island of the known universe. On these foundations Matoran constructed a great, beautiful city that became a vital trade enter to the rest of the world. Metru Nui became so vital a location that its productivity somehow came to be directly related to the health of Mata Nui himself.

 

The Order of Mata Nui having been formally founded by this time, yet another organization was slated to be brought into existence, one that would be able to engineer and change the world so as to ensure that it ran as smoothly and efficiently as possible. A race of powerful, highly intelligent beings whose powers were based on that of shadow energy became known as the Brotherhood of Makuta. Although this organization’s original purpose was to find ways to make the universe run more efficiently through engineering and experimentation, they would later become dedicated to protecting the Matoran. Whereas the Order of Mata Nui was created never to reveal its existence, the Brotherhood of Makuta publicly fulfilled the will of Mata Nui. The Brotherhood of Makuta was headed by its powerful official members alone, all having taken on the title of “Makuta”; and each Makuta was assigned to his or her own region of the world.

 

With the universe ordered to their satisfaction, the Great Beings finally left the world in Mata Nui’s care, never to return. The construction of Metru Nui was eventually completed.

 

 

The Order of Mata Nui carried out the will of the Great Spirit throughout the universe in total secrecy, but heroic warriors called Toa were the ones who publicly fought for Mata Nui. Every Toa wielded power over an element that made up the universe. Every Toa also wore a Great Kanohi that granted an extra ability. It was even possible for multiple Toa to merge their bodies into one to become more powerful. Only destiny granted one the chance to become a Toa through transformation, and that was an ability only Matoran possessed. A Toa always had a destiny to fulfill. Once achieved, destiny would provide the Toa with a great choice either to expend his or her Toa power for a greater good, or not to, remaining as a Toa indefinitely. If a Toa decided to do the former, his or her body would diminish into that of a Turaga, a wise and respected leader among Matoran.

 

The very first Toa, a female Toa wielding the element of water, had been created on Artakha. The very first Toa ever to function together as a team had all been killed in battle with the exception of one: Lesovikk, a Toa of Air.

 

A group of six Toa called the Toa Mata came into existence 100,000 years ago on Artakha. These Toa – Tahu, Pohatu, Onua, Lewa, Kopaka, and Gali – had never been Matoran prior to being Toa. Legend stated that these Toa were created as safeguards for Mata Nui, destined to rescue him should he ever have fallen into danger. The Toa Mata walked their first steps on the hidden island of Daxia. They later went to the Universe Core, where they underwent a number of adventures that fully trained them in the use of their powers as Toa. When the time was right, the Toa Mata willfully entered transportation canisters that the local Matoran had created especially for them to fall into a deep sleep and await a call to action.

 

 

As a potential means of maintaining order in the world, Mata Nui created six beings entitled “Barraki.” These six powerful figures – Kalmah, Carapar, Mantax, Ehlek, Pridak, and Takadox – were given their own individual territories to rule and were intended to keep their realms in order through dictatorial authority. Naturally, each of these six became dissatisfied with the amount of power granted them and over time established larger empires of their own. As their realms expanded, the Barraki amassed armies of conquest, which they used to further their goals.

 

 

Eventually the six Barraki united their forces under Pridak to form the League of the Six Kingdoms. The Barraki quickly became active and formidable conquerers on a worldwide scale with their combined power, their territory extending from Xia, their industrial base, in the north to the southern islands.

 

 

A being who would in later years be called the Shadowed One once lived in a land of shadows and ice, a place that seemingly was never “blessed” by the loving gaze of Mata Nui. When the Matoran were granted their special status, when the Brotherhood of Makuta came to serve Mata Nui’s will, those who dwelled in this land were thought to be ignored and abandoned. Strict codes of behavior were imposed upon the island’s inhabitants. Probably sometime over 90,000 years ago, a native of this land rebelled against these rules and became a mercenary, hiring himself out to whoever could pay. In the process, he transformed what had been a dull, peaceful society into a fragmented land dominated by warlords. Each competed with the others for his services, and he repaid his employers by ruthlessly crushing their enemies. The Shadowed One encountered this being toward the end of this civil war and agreed with the “wisdom” of his actions. Determined to carve out an empire for himself, the Shadowed One began taking on tasks that Matoran were too timid to do and the Brotherhood of Makuta saw as beneath it.

 

The Shadowed One eventually founded an organization of mercenaries known as the Dark Hunters. In this organization, the Shadowed One recruited capable fighters who came to him, often seeking an escape from their former lives. The Shadowed One permanently employed the being who had started the civil war on their homeland, the one who had inspired the Shadowed One to found the Dark Hunters in the first place, whom he code-named “Ancient.” The Shadowed One enforced strict rules of his own on his Dark Hunters, punishing disloyalty and incompetence with death or torture. All the while, the Shadowed One’s wealth and influence grew as his Dark Hunters carried out jobs that others considered too dangerous or too illegal to attempt.

 

 

Eighty-seven thousand years ago, the League of Six Kingdoms formed a trade pact with Metru Nui.

 

 

Eighty-thousand years ago, the Barraki attempted to sieze power from Mata Nui himself by conquering the entire known universe with one swift blow from their grand army. Instead, the Barraki suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Brotherhood of Makuta when they thought their plans had been entirely unknown. The Makuta of Metru Nui, the most respected, most powerful member of the Brotherhood of Makuta, had enlisted the help of Toa, Exo-Toa, Rahkshi, and Rahi beasts to overtake the threat of the Barraki. Just as the Barraki were about to be permanently wiped from existence, Botar of the Order of Mata Nui intruded into the scene and mysteriously vanished with the Barraki before Makuta and his forces. Botar had indeed fulfilled his duty by teleporting the Barraki from their fate at the hands of Makuta and exiling them to a place of confinement referred to as the Pit.

 

 

A Matoran civil war broke out on Metru Nui 79,500 years ago. Exactly what the reason for the conflict was is unknown, but the lack of work being done in Metru Nui caused Mata Nui’s well-being to decline.

 

The Matoran civil war on Metru Nui was ended 79,100 years ago when the Brotherhood of Makuta stepped in to end the conflict. The Order of Mata Nui’s Botar banished the Matoran war leaders to the Pit. The Order then secretly placed an agent in Metru Nui to head off future problems, if possible.

 

It was during the Great Disruption and shortly after that a team of Toa led by Toa Jovan went on a quest for the Kanohi Ignika to restore Mata Nui’s health. These Toa journeyed to Mount Valmai from elsewhere to get the mask through means that ensured no Matoran ever saw them. Toa Jovan and his team were the only Toa team of that time to succeed in getting the mask and putting it to use, although not all of the Toa survived the experience and what followed. After the Toa used the Ignika and saved Mata Nui, they hurriedly returned the mask to the Chamber of Life after its terrifying display of power. After the Toa’s mission was accomplished, the surviving members, including Toa Jovan, became Turaga. Jovan became the Turaga of the area around Mount Valmai, the home of Matoran who had come from Karzahni.

 

 

The Golden Age of peace and prosperity began on Metru Nui 79,000 years ago. The goods it traded were desperately needed elsewhere, and the energy powered by the power plants was so great that it could be funneled to other cities at no cost to Metru Nui. Because destroying Metru Nui would be an act of madness, there was never reason to employ Toa to protect the city against evil threats.

 

 

Gradually, shadowy dreams of absolute power trickled into the minds of the Makuta and firmly took hold. Seventy-five-thousand years ago, a Makuta claiming to be a renegade from the Brotherhood came to the island of Zakaz, taking refuge among the island’s inhabitants. The Skakdi, known for their savage smiles and belligerent nature, had otherwise been able to live in peace in their homeland. Soon after the renegade Makuta arrived, however, he discreetly started tampering with the natural order of the island. The Skakdi soon started displaying extraordinary abilities – sometimes appearing as special traits infused into their bodies or strange energetic properties of their eyes. Attempting to force the Skakdi to work together, the Makuta’s actions additionally gave them elemental powers that could only be used in conjunction between two Skakdi. There is no doubt that the Brotherhood member had visited Zakaz on assignment, intending to enlist the super-powered Skakdi into some sort of fighting force.

 

When the Makuta temporarily left Zakaz to the watch of the Visorak armies, the Skakdi rose up and wiped out the Rahi spiders. The Makuta’s minions were taken care of, but order on Zakaz quickly broke down after a Skakdi named Reidak quickly got into an argument with island officials. The situation escalated, and soon any minor quarrel among Skakdi turned into an all-out, super-powered battle. In the ensuing chaos, the civilization on Zakaz was reduced to ruin. The Brotherhood of Makuta subsequently forbid public travel to the island of Zakaz.

 

 

An event known as the Time Slip occurred 60,000 years ago. This was a six-month period which no one in the universe would ever be able to recall and of which no historical records would ever exist. This event was actually caused by Mata Nui in cooperation with the Order. It was during the Time Slip that the Order of Mata Nui relocated the Av-Matoran from the Universe Core to other lands, scattering them and disguising them so the Brotherhood of Makuta would not be able to harm them. One Av-Matoran named Takua was disguised as a Ta-Matoran and placed on Metru Nui. Only those who caused the Time Slip to occur would ever remember who caused the slip to occur, why, or what happened during the sixth months that the rest of the universe missed.

 

 

Turaga Dume, a former Toa of Fire, was appointed Turaga of Metru Nui 15,000 years ago. From the Coliseum in Metru Nui, he made many wise, respectable decisions for the city of Metru Nui. Under his leadership, the the chute system was constructed, the Vahki order enforcement squads were created, and the city’s Great Archives were expanded even further.

 

Since early on in Dume’s reign, the Shadowed One demanded that he be allowed to build a Dark Hunter base on Metru Nui. Dume continually defied the Shadowed One’s wishes and forbid any Dark Hunter to enter the city, stating that they brought lawlessness and violence with them.

 

 

Not everyone trusted the motives of the Brotherhood of Makuta. A certain organization of Toa once possessed an object called the Makoki Stone, a special artifact that was a hidden, written record of the Brotherhood of Makuta that included entries on all of its members and the locations of their fortresses. In the event of a Brotherhood betrayal, this object may have been the key to deciding the fate of the world.

 

A Ta-Matoran named Lhikan became a Toa of Fire 7,005 years ago.

 

Seven-thousand years ago, the Toa built a fortress in which to guard the Makoki Stone upon a barren, windswept island that was surrounded by a camouflaged tribe of malevolent Rahi called Frostelus. The Toa caught unaware, the resident Frostelus greatly disliked the Toa’s intrusion of their territory and quickly besieged the fortress.

 

When the Shadowed One got word of Toa guarding a treasure and fighting an army of Frostelus simultaneously, he took interest in the opportunity to steal the object, despite not knowing what it was. He sent one of his most effective operatives – a tall, thin, avian Dark Hunter – to retrieve the object before the Toa smuggled it off the island within a few nights. The Dark Hunter betrayed his duty to the Shadowed One when he sold his information on the treasure to a thief from the island of Zakaz named Hakann. Hakann partnered with another thief named Vezok to sneak into the Toa’s fortress and take the object. Together they travelled by boat to the Toa’s besieged island and landed by the only part of it not guarded by Frostelus: a sheer cliffside.

 

Knocking a Toa of the Green unconscious when they reached the top, Hakann and Vezok made their way to the fortress’s rear entrance. Two Toa guarding the way in inspired Vezok to distract the two guards by slamming into Hakann and sending him sprawling onto the ground. While the Toa engaged in battle with Hakann, Vezok sneaked into the fortress unnoticed and made his way to the tower where the Makoki Stone was kept. Stealing the object, Vezok sped his way out of the fortress and down the cliffside while a small group of Toa tried to restrain the struggling Hakann.

 

As Vezok made his vertical descent, he encountered the Dark Hunter code-named Ancient. When Vezok refused to hand over the Makoki Stone, Ancient struck him with his Rhotuka spinner, causing him to lose all muscular coordination. Ancient stopped Vezok's fall from the cliffside, deciding that Vezok would be well-suited to become a Dark Hunter.

 

On that same day, all of the Toa present on the island were killed at the claws of the Frostelus, save one relatively new and inexperienced Toa of Fire named Lhikan, who had been ordered to flee with the now-missing Makoki stone. Hakann was also able to escape the battle, only to be caught by the Dark Hunters’ forces just like Vezok.

 

Hakann and Vezok were taken to meet the Shadowed One in his fortress built upon an island. The avian Dark Hunter who had sold information to Vezok was also brought before the Shadowed One and was executed for his incompetence and disloyalty. With a new opening in his organization, the Shadowed One was ready to recruit Hakann and Vezok as Dark Hunters. Both passed the Shadowed One’s first tests. Hakann and Vezok soon met four other members of their own species in the Dark Hunters: Avak, Zaktan, Reidak, and Thok.

 

It was also at this time that a being named Sidorak tried to join the Dark Hunters. Sidorak failed the Shadowed One's first test in a fight against the Dark Hunter code-named “Gladiator.” Instead of killing Sidorak for incompetence, the Shadowed One allowed him to live, believing that he had the potential to become a being of influence elsewhere. Sidorak, in fact, came to be employed by the Brotherhood of Makuta.

 

 

Every one of the Shadowed One’s agents came to know quickly what the disadvantages of the Dark Hunter lifestyle were. If they did their job well and efficiently, their well-being was always taken into consideration. Criminals that they were, however, they were not always content to follow the strict rules imposed upon them by their leader. Every Dark Hunter disliked unconditionally contibuting all the treasures gained during their usually life-threatening missions to the Shadowed One’s personal vault. Even the slightest offense toward their leader was paid with pain and torture.

 

Five-thousand years ago, the Dark Hunter Zaktan gathered Hakann, Reidak, Vezok, and Thok and conspired with them to overthrow the Shadowed One. Zaktan and his four conspirers cautiously, secretly prepared plans to take over rule of the Dark Hunters once they took care of its leader. Despite their precautions, the five Dark Hunters’ plan was foiled as they sneaked into the Shadowed One’s fortress. Trapped in a maze of changing hallways, the five were herded into the Shadowed One’s central chamber. The five natives of Zakaz having been taken before the Dark Hunter leader, the Shadowed One fired his disintegrating eyebeams at Zaktan. Much to the surprise of both, rather than being obliterated, the substance of Zaktan’s body became a swarming mass of microscopic creatures called protodites.

 

The five Dark Hunters did not pay for their deeds with their lives, but were shown true horror in what had been done to their comrade. Zaktan’s new, frightening condition, however, gave him new abilities and made him a more skilled Dark Hunter than ever. Of course, Zaktan forever after carried an intense hatred toward the one who had inflicted his condition upon him.

 

 

Four-thousand years ago, the Shadowed One commenced a plot to gain an establishment in Metru Nui. Many millennia before, a dangerously powerful Rahi called the Kanohi Dragon had been defeated by Toa, trapped behind a layer of ice in a cave under the Silver Sea. The Shadowed One sent Avak, Reidak, and Vezok to unleash the Kanohi Dragon upon Metru Nui once more. The Kanohi Dragon brought destruction to Metru Nui after it seemingly emerged from the hottest furnaces and foundries in Ta-Metru. The Shadowed One expected Turaga Dume to accept help from the Dark Hunters to defend the city from the rampaging Rahi. To defeat the Kanohi Dragon and drive it out of the city, Turaga Dume instead sent a squad of Vahki to another land to call for help from Toa. A team of eleven Toa responded to the call including Toa Nidhiki and led by Toa Lhikan. After a month-long battle, these eleven Toa were able to subdue the Kanohi Dragon, saving Metru Nui. The island of Xia rather eagerly agreed to accept custody of the Kanohi Dragon.

 

 

Ever since the Kanohi Dragon incident, the Shadowed One’s gaze became fixed on Metru Nui. The leader of the Dark Hunters made both subtle and obvious attempts to set a foothold on the island city, each time only to be frustrated by the eleven Toa who had settled there.

 

Three-thousand years ago, the Shadowed One unleashed his Dark Hunters upon Metru Nui outright after an attempt by Thok to kidnap Turaga Dume failed. A war between the Dark Hunters and a hundred Toa on Metru Nui broke out. Much of the war was played out in street-to-street fighting over many months. By the end, 300 Toa became involved in the battle. The Dark Hunters were defeated when Toa Lhikan foiled and exploited a betrayal attempt by Toa Nidhiki.

 

Nidhiki was taken in by the Shadowed One to be one of his Dark Hunters and purposely partnered him with a dumb, hulking brute named Krekka. When Nidhiki tried to bargain a way out of his new life with a visitor to the Dark Hunter island named Roodaka, the Shadowed One bargained with Roodaka to use her Rhotuka spinner to mutate Nidhiki into a hideous, four-legged creature.

 

 

Sidorak and Roodaka had became two of the Makuta of Metru Nui’s lieutenants. For millennia, seeds of thought had been planted in the Makuta’s mind. Gradually, the Brotherhood of Makuta was beginning to fall in line behind their venerable leader, plotting an overthrow of Mata Nui that could never have been pulled off by beings such as the Barraki. The Brotherhood discreetly conjured up an army of their own, consisting of Exo-Toa, Rahkshi, and even Dark Hunters at the consent of the Shadowed One; but most of all, their army was made up of savage Rahi spiders called Visorak. The Brotherhood of Makuta and the Dark Hunters formed a loose union, often exchanging operatives and resources.

 

One-thousand-and-three-hundred years ago, guardians of the Makuta of Metru Nui named the Toa Hagah – Norik, Pouks, Bomonga, Iruini, Kualus, and Gaaki – realized that the Brotherhood of Makuta had been corrupted with evil intent. They soon saw that instead of protecting the Matoran, the Makuta were enslaving them to further their goals. Every suspicion that they had held was confirmed when they discovered that the Brotherhood had stolen the Kanohi Avohkii, the Great Mask of Light, from its creators.

 

The Toa Hagah struck at one of the Brotherhood of Makuta’s fortresses. They fought gallantly against the Brotherhood’s army, but the Toa Hagah were captured one by one by Roodaka’s attacks from the shadows. Soon only Norik and Iruini remained. They fought to a stalemate with their master, causing even the Makuta himself to retreat from the field of battle. The two Toa quickly slipped into the Brotherhood fortress and made off with the Kanohi Avohkii. Norik and Iruini searched for their fellow Toa Hagah as they were leaving the Brotherhood fortress island, fighting their way through more of the Brotherhood’s Visorak, Exo-Toa, and Dark Hunters, at some point running into Nidhiki and Krekka. When the two Toa found their friends, they had been mutated by Roodaka into small, ugly creatures that she labeled Rahaga. Norik and Iruini freed their comrades, but not before being mutated into Rahaga as well.

 

When Sidorak implied to the Makuta that he had been the one who for the most part took care of the Toa Hagah, Makuta appointed Sidorak and Roodaka King and Viceroy of the Visorak hordes.

 

 

Not about to abandon hope, the Rahaga agreed to search for the mythical Keetongu, a Rahi beast that was said to be able to cure the effects of Hordika venom. While Sidorak and Roodaka led their Visorak hordes on conquests all around the known universe, the Rahaga made their way with the Kanohi Avohkii to the last place the Visorak were bound to visit: Metru Nui.

 

Fifty years before the Great Cataclysm, the Rahaga arrived on Metru Nui with the Kanohi Avohkii and hid in the Great Archives.

 

 

For 3,000 years, Lhikan and his nine other Toa comrades had protected Metru Nui from Rahi beasts and other small threats. Over time, more and more Toa began leaving the city for boredom or being needed elsewhere.

 

Eighteen months before the Great Cataclysm, Turaga Dume started acting strangely. He sent all of Metru Nui’s Toa, save Lhikan, on missions to close all passages to other lands. None of these Toa ever returned from their travels. Soon Metru Nui found itself being attacked by the dangerous, writhing vines of the Morbuzakh plant. As Morbuzakh vines struck from the shadows of the city, crushing Matoran buildings and chutes, Dume ordered the Matoran living in some of the Metru outskirts to evacuate and abandon their homes. Neither Toa Lhikan nor the Vahki could put an end to the Morbuzakh attacks.

 

Taking matters beyond the hands of his Turaga, Toa Lhikan infused his power into six Toa stones. Giving these stones to six Matoran – Vakama, Onewa, Matau, Nokama, Whenua, and Nuju – whom he thought were destined to be Toa, Lhikan soon found himself pursued by an old friend; for Dume had hired the services of Nidhiki and Krekka. Just after Lhikan delivered the last stone to the bewildered Ta-Matoran mask-maker Vakama, he was captured by the two Dark Hunters and taken somewhere unknown. Having been instructed to go to the Great Temple, Vakama put off his request by Dume to craft a Great Mask of Time and journeyed to the sacred site. There he met the five other Matoran chosen by Lhikan. The six Matoran soon discovered that their Toa stones belonged in slots in the Toa Suva. When they placed the stones in the shrine, a message left by Toa Lhikan revealed that they had been chosen by him to perform a special act. Toa Lhikan’s Toa power then flowed into the Matoran, causing them to transform into the six Toa Metru, guardians of Metru Nui.