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MNOG Chronicle – Early Bionicle Lore


Mister N

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About a year ago, I started my own Drop a Brick blog, which I dedicated to an early iterations of the Bionicle story. But I am from Russia and I kept this blog in my native language. Since then, I have decided to keep my articles in English. Special thanks to my friend Frozen Death for the translation and a big thanks to Eddy and Maku aka The Shadow Emperor for editing.

What's about this topic?

I’ll say it right away without complicated introductions – it's all because of Maku. This guy with his document “Early & Unused Story Concepts in Bionicle” showed me the other side of the Bionicle, the one that I always dreamed about and which I always tried to comprehend, considering the fascinating concept-arts by Christian Faber. This is a document that I highly recommend checking out before reading my articles. Since Maku and I accidentally found out about each other, thanks to Peri, we share with each other the finds of the original story. The resulting symbiosis is very important to me, and I sincerely hope that these articles will also infect someone with the idea of an early Bionicle.

MNOG. The game that many fans rightly consider the best media in the history of the franchise. And I also love this little piece of art madly. But this block of articles will be devoted not so much to the game itself as to the secrets that it hides. MNOG for me is not a reason, but an occasion to tell about the very original lore from the Story Bible, written by Alastair Swinnerton and Bob Thompson. Many people stereotypically believe that the early Bionicle was a naive tale and nothing more. To some extent, yes, since it is still the backdrop for the sale of toys, and we need to keep it in mind all the time. But we also cannot ignore the fact that Bob Thompson with his famous Seven Books of Bionicle wanted to create a complex and large world in which its study prevails over the narrative. Everything was built around the idea of the Big Secret and was strung on it by a huge number of small details and secrets. It is hard to deny that the 2001–2003 Bionicle made a strong bet precisely on the atmosphere of mystery and the fact that “everything is not so simple here”.

2001–2003 was the first book among the cycles of Bob Thompson, and it is logical that this book was to lay the foundation for the subsequent disclosure of the world. We were shown a huge number of strange and incomprehensible things, many of which, after Thompson left the company in 2005, were not justified, but forgotten or repelled. And in this block in each article I will take one of the elements of the game and carefully examine it with the help of Kanohi Akaku, extracting for you a grain after grain of an untold story.

Prologue

Ch. 1: Lhii the Surfer

Lhii+the+Surfer.png

 

Ch. 2: The Hidden 7th Tribe

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Ch. 3: Sky Father Rangi and Earth Mother Papu

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Ch. 4: Secrets of Kaita

LIEJ8FERyck.jpg

 

Ch. 5: The Rahi breeding cycle

xc7ac_Sj0Pk.jpg

 

Ch 6: The Culture and Meaning of Tohunga and Turaga

Z-oC0Bwoh-k.jpg

Edited by Mister N
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That render is beautiful. Can't wait for the article on the seventh tribe. At least Lhii stayed part of canon, just built upon and retconned. The Makuta-loyal tribe got totally abandoned and replaced with it being just Ahkmou alone.

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

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Click here to visit my library!

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Yay, glad to see this is up! Excited to read more of these through proper translation instead of just google... the blog looks really spiffy too. nice header!

believe victims. its actually not that hard, and youd look kind of bad if you were to, say, side with an abuser because theyre your friend

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A very interesting read. I was asking around for sources of Lhii's origin a few years ago, and I see that the whole Pakari thing is still a mystery. I'm baffled as to where that could've come from...

 

For future posts, it would be interesting to see the original intent behind the Red Star talked about. It was such a fascinating concept before Greg retconned it into a revival machine.

 

 

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On 9/24/2019 at 8:40 AM, Master Inika said:

That render is beautiful. Can't wait for the article on the seventh tribe. At least Lhii stayed part of canon, just built upon and retconned. The Makuta-loyal tribe got totally abandoned and replaced with it being just Ahkmou alone.

Thank you, I tried to make special preview in MNOG style for each post. 

I planned to post the English version of the article about the seventh tribe tomorrow.

14 hours ago, Peri said:

Yay, glad to see this is up! Excited to read more of these through proper translation instead of just google... the blog looks really spiffy too. nice header!

Thank you, Peri! I made this header with PSD-s from 01-03 style guide.

9 hours ago, Toatapio Nuva said:

For future posts, it would be interesting to see the original intent behind the Red Star talked about. It was such a fascinating concept before Greg retconned it into a revival machine.

All of them are already written in my native language. In the third article about Papu and Rangi I paid a lot of attention to the Red Star. I hope it will be interesting. 

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12 hours ago, Toatapio Nuva said:

For future posts, it would be interesting to see the original intent behind the Red Star talked about. It was such a fascinating concept before Greg retconned it into a revival machine.

Greg said there was nothing in the story bible about the Red Star except that it planned to be a space station nearby the Mata Nui.

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27 minutes ago, Tahu_Stars said:

Greg said there was nothing in the story bible about the Red Star except that it planned to be a space station nearby the Mata Nui.

At the same time, Gordon Krimes said that they added the Red Star in the game, because it was in the bible. It seems to me that Thompson had certain plans for this star.

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I've read your blog, as well as Maku's document. I must say, this is seriously impressing (where have you been all this time? BZP could have used someone like you over the years...).

For many years I was more a fan of the years from 2004 on... there was more storyline material and the Bionicle world got gradually more complex, which I considerably appreciated. Besides, I got into Bionicle only from 2003 on...

However, in recent years several projects that have gone back to the origins of the storyline (in addition to Faber's renderings) have made me re-evaluate the first years... especially if they were meant to be really as elaborate as you propose. They really pique one's imagination... which is why I will be sure to keep following your blog. Great rendering of Lhii, by the way.

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10 hours ago, Toa of Italy said:

I've read your blog, as well as Maku's document. I must say, this is seriously impressing (where have you been all this time? BZP could have used someone like you over the years...).

For many years I was more a fan of the years from 2004 on... there was more storyline material and the Bionicle world got gradually more complex, which I considerably appreciated. Besides, I got into Bionicle only from 2003 on...

Most of the time I spent on Rusbionicle Forums and in Russian community itself. Although I had an old account on the BZP, from which I shared my MOCs and one mini-project dedicated to the map of Metru Nui Chute System (funny, but he even managed to get to the main page, you can find it if you are interested) several years ago. I became interested in the research of early concepts relatively recently, about a year ago, although the Faber's blog in 2012 was very exciting and gave me many hints that bionicle could be something completely different, more simple in terms of elaboration of story, but richer in terms of elaboration of the world.

11 hours ago, Toa of Italy said:

However, in recent years several projects that have gone back to the origins of the storyline (in addition to Faber's renderings) have made me re-evaluate the first years... especially if they were meant to be really as elaborate as you propose. They really pique one's imagination... which is why I will be sure to keep following your blog. Great rendering of Lhii, by the way.

Thank you very much! At the moment I have big plans for this blog, and it is very important for me that it could serve as an occasion for dialogue with other fans, as this topic allowed me to take a fresh look at the franchise.

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Interesting read. I look forward to future posts. I think we all wish that Lego had spent a lot more time building the 2001-era world, and I agree that it would have been nice to have intelligent enemies to oppose the Toa earlier on.

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9 hours ago, Planetperson said:

Interesting read. I look forward to future posts. I think we all wish that Lego had spent a lot more time building the 2001-era world, and I agree that it would have been nice to have intelligent enemies to oppose the Toa earlier on.

Technically in 2003 we already had Bohrok-Kal, but let's be honest - these guys were invented at the last moment and did not have a character as such. As for me, even six Rahkshi hunters had more personality due to the special behavior of each of them.

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This really highlights something that was lost as the lore become more developed. I feel like giving the Matoran a religion, which seemed to be the initial direction, would have done so much for the worldbuilding. The moment the Makuta cult was scrapped was a decisive loss for Bionicle, and could have led into a really interesting story arc about how *anyone* can be a hero or a villain, and how a god's power comes from his followers. Instead, we got this really long, expansive saga that really warrants nothing beyond "that was cool, I guess" and "what the ?" Sticking to the original atmosphere the early years had would definitely have been better for the line as a whole. Christ, you could even have a twist about Papu and Rangi--creator deities, IIRC--turning out to be totally different from what the Matoran expected. The potential for social commentary was actually really great here. I especially love the thought of the Toa coming to the island, learning they're considered gods, and not wanting that relationship, but to be treated as normal people, causing tension between them and the Turaga, who want to keep the old ways.

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Another great entry. I remember looking at the canister artwork of the original Mata Nui-era BIONICLE sets and wishing I could wander around and explore the landscapes in the background. It feels like I'm finally doing it. There's just something so indescribable about early BIONICLE.

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

nichijou2.jpg

Click here to visit my library!

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I'm really glad you touched on the MYST inspiration in your recent post. 2001 was the year I got into BIONICLE and also the year I got lost in RIVEN. MNOG was a huge selling point for me, and since we never got the LOMN PC game officially released, it was the only way I could actually "play" in the Bionicle universe. I do remember the Riven fire marble eyes and the matoran alphabet having a similar look and feel. 

The Maori inspiration mixed with the robot-techno-sci-fi was what initially drew me into Bionicle. I remember looking at a new mini lego catalog that came in my most recent lego star wars set (remember when they used to throw those in with the instruction manuals?) and seeing the Toa names got me excited. Pohatu? Kopaka? Those are unique names compared to the Throwbots and Roboriders! To this day, it's the most genius/original concept LEGO has ever done.

My theory on Papu and Rangi was that they were originally the Toa Kaita: Earth, Fire & Stone are nether based; while Air, Water & Ice originate celestially. Since Akamai and Wairuha are two entirely new beings, they could have walked the earth at some point before going back to the red star. For whatever reason, they separated into the Toa and boarded canisters to return to Mata Nui when aid was needed. It is not until the toa learn UNITY, that the Kaita are reborn. They then proceed with their DUTY to defeat Makuta, which leads them closer to DESTINY, of awakening Mata Nui. Or maybe Papu and Rangi are the Kaita of entirely different beings, or multiple? Maybe the Matoran population, Turaga, Toa, and perhaps Rahi, combine to create the two beings, all things becoming one.

 

There is --I believe-- a little typo in the first line of the second-to-last paragraph on the "Creation of the island of Mata Nui" segment.

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This series (building off of Maku's work, of course) sounds like the perfect start to a book! The Secret History of Bionicle, perhaps? The Star Wars fandom created The Secret History of Star Wars, of course (written by Michael Kaminski).

This is great work regardless. Given that Bionicle spanned 9 years and was overseen by multiple story heads, it makes sense that there were many abandoned story threads and schisms between story heads about what the story should be about. Fascinating...

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  • 1 month later...

Finally the 4th chapter was translated. 
It tells about the many differences between Kaita 2001 and Kaita 2002-2010:

- Three special Kaita Chambers and Makoki Stones;

- Origin and the deepest lore of Turaga Nui;

- Secrets of the strange Toa-head Temple near the Kini-Nui (it also called the Turaga Cliff);

- Turaga's toughts about the Kaita;

- Early Toa Kaita lore;

- The strange theory about destroyed golden Kanohi in the early version of 2001 plot.

Ch. 4: Secrets of Kaita

LIEJ8FERyck.jpg

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A great article as always. When I was young, the Kaita and Nui were always one of my favorite features of the sets. It's too bad that this element of Bionicle appeared so seldomly in the story. I do wish the story team had laid out the parameters for forming Kaita and Nui more precisely.

That Matoran Nui artwork is boss.

I've added a link to your blog on my own website. Do you have a Twitter I can link to?

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Another great entry. It's so cool reading real in-depth BIONICLE analysis like this, and the Kaita is one of those things I'd never even thought about this deeply.

The Toa keeping their special masks in 2002 was an interesting part. I always thought personally that it looked weird with them keeping them, even if it made sense as far as I knew story-wise. My big question was always, what's the benefit of the Golden Masks over just having all six masks at the Suva? The visual effect is the same, it just changes shape.

If I had to guess, I'd say LEGO dropped the idea of fusion as some esoteric thing and just made it another power because it could come off as weirdly religious.

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

nichijou2.jpg

Click here to visit my library!

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On 10/6/2019 at 2:32 AM, Mukaukau Nuva said:

This series (building off of Maku's work, of course) sounds like the perfect start to a book! The Secret History of Bionicle, perhaps? The Star Wars fandom created The Secret History of Star Wars, of course (written by Michael Kaminski).

Many thanks! Sometimes I also think about writing something more complicated, but every month I find a lot of interesting things about the old Bionicle. Therefore, for now, I would like to focus on the blog in order to "absorb information" for future projects.

19 hours ago, Planetperson said:

A great article as always. When I was young, the Kaita and Nui were always one of my favorite features of the sets. It's too bad that this element of Bionicle appeared so seldomly in the story. I do wish the story team had laid out the parameters for forming Kaita and Nui more precisely.

That Matoran Nui artwork is boss.

Thanks! It seems to me that Greg should have come up with more restrictions for Kaita in order to use it more often in the plot. For example, using specific elemental combinations (Kaita of Valor for only Ta+Po+Onu and Toa of Fire can't merge with Toa of Iron and Lightning or something like this).

Thanks. I have full height version of this rainbow guy:

Spoiler

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19 hours ago, Planetperson said:

I've added a link to your blog on my own website. Do you have a Twitter I can link to?

Wow, it is very inspiring. Technically, I have a Twitter account, but it is completely empty. Although it may be worth considering publishing some things there too

 

19 hours ago, Master Inika said:

Another great entry. It's so cool reading real in-depth BIONICLE analysis like this, and the Kaita is one of those things I'd never even thought about this deeply.

The Toa keeping their special masks in 2002 was an interesting part. I always thought personally that it looked weird with them keeping them, even if it made sense as far as I knew story-wise. My big question was always, what's the benefit of the Golden Masks over just having all six masks at the Suva? The visual effect is the same, it just changes shape.

If I had to guess, I'd say LEGO dropped the idea of fusion as some esoteric thing and just made it another power because it could come off as weirdly religious.

Yeah, Kaita really looked like like some form of religious rite in the sci-fi form. It was special Bionicle magic for me. Unfortunately over time, any religiosity was abandoned in favor of only science fiction, but I understand the reasons. It remains only to praise Lego that they had the courage to do it in 2001.

 

15 hours ago, Daler99 said:

I just read through all the articles, and WOW, BIONICLE had some insanely awesome plot points that were removed.  Thank you for writing this blog! ^_^  I’m kinda sad that these were (for the most part) cut from the final story. :/

There are a lot of things cutted at different stages of production. For me personally, the Seven Books of Bob Thompson are the holy grail of unrealized things in Bionicle. Until 2005/06, Bionicle was a fairly authoring project in terms of plot. I do not blame Greg and other team for making Bionicle different, but I am just very hurt that Thompson did not bring his idea to its logical conclusion. We have lost many years of the story.

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There are a lot of watershed moments in the building of the BIONICLE legend. It felt like every 2-3 years the story changed hands, despite some creators sticking around longer than others. The transition from 2001 - 2002 is more subtle compared to later years: LEGO suddenly realized they had a hit on their hands, the Maori lawsuit, changes in management, cancellation of PC games, and the rise of internet media all led Bionicle in a slightly different timeline than had originally been planned. I would love to have seen a "creative vacuum" version of Bionicle 2001 onward.

EDIT:
I was thinking about the Turaga pit on top of the Kini-Nui head sculpture you mentioned in Chapter 4. The pit could be stairs, similar in design to the Suva Kaita nearby as well as the Onu-koro sundial entrance in MNOG. While both lead to the Mangaia, there are some differences as to how they are accessed and what is found within: the sundial entrance requires a gnomon with a light source to unlock, while the Suva Kaita requires all 6 pieces of the Makoki stone; the sundial entrance first leads to a mysterious golden Hau, while the Suva Kaita leads to the Kaita transformation rooms (which also require Makoki stone halves to unlock).

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  • 2 weeks later...

A little unexpected addition for the "Origins of Akamai and Wairuha" section based on some Peri’s findings. All information is added to the article.

- An early MNOG cutscene in which both Toa Kaita wear Golden Masks;
- In this cutscene the names of Toa Kaita are again swapped;
- In an early script Wairuha is mentioned with a feminine pronouns.

1461234085_2019-12-0610_34_30.thumb.png.b446ac598ff5e6d705457906ce06884c.png

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"The whole story begins when it should, when most of the current Bionicle fandom wasn’t even born, all the way back in 2001!"


Wow that quote from part 1 makes me feel old... because indeed I was very much alive and into Bionicle at the age of seven back in 2001. I had a similar experience in a used Lego store recently, when I mentioned that I figure most Bionicle purchases are from mid-20 year old guys like me, the store owner told me its mostly teenagers they sell those sets to. Fascinating, I guess I'm part of the old guard now. 

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All aboard the hype train!

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Interesting reading, as always.

The original concept of the Toa Kaita, as you describe it, does seem somewhat more elaborate than the final version. I should add that, were it not from the touch-and-go appearance of Wairuha Nuva in 2003 (which was basically put thrown in the comics, and then reprised by Hapka, to publicize the combo sets for the Toa Nuva and the Bohrok-Kal, without devoting much effort to it), there would be nothing in the canon version of the story to contradict it.

Even more interesting is the section on the Turaga Nui. In my opinion, never featuring the Turaga Nui in the official storyline was a colossal waste: such a character had so much potential! I do wonder what the original plans for the Turaga Nui were (maybe you'll be writing about that in the Turaga chapter... I can't wait to read it) and why they were scrapped.

On the other hand, I'm not sure the issue of the Golden Kanohi means much. Personally, I'd prefer to go with the simpler explanation (which you acknowledged as well): the 2002 (and end of 2001) material featuring the Toa without Golden masks was created because the sets don't have them and they later modified some of it to be coherent with the story. I honestly don't think the authors ever meant the Toa to lose their Golden masks at the end of 2001 (it seems a bit limited for the Golden masks to be used only for the creation of the Kaita)... at the most, they didn't think it through when the 2002 material was developed.

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On 12/22/2019 at 4:40 PM, Toa of Italy said:

The original concept of the Toa Kaita, as you describe it, does seem somewhat more elaborate than the final version. I should add that, were it not from the touch-and-go appearance of Wairuha Nuva in 2003 (which was basically put thrown in the comics, and then reprised by Hapka, to publicize the combo sets for the Toa Nuva and the Bohrok-Kal, without devoting much effort to it), there would be nothing in the canon version of the story to contradict it.

Perhaps this concept is really harder to understanding for kids if we discuss the toy robots. But with some restrictions (like special chambers) the great power of the Kaita becomes severely limited. And it seems to me it's better for storytelling.

As an alternative way, my friend The Shadow Emperor suggested that Kaita Chambers were needed only for the first time, so that the Toa could learn how to make fusions and learn to do it themselves later.

On 12/22/2019 at 4:40 PM, Toa of Italy said:

Even more interesting is the section on the Turaga Nui. In my opinion, never featuring the Turaga Nui in the official storyline was a colossal waste: such a character had so much potential! I do wonder what the original plans for the Turaga Nui were (maybe you'll be writing about that in the Turaga chapter... I can't wait to read it) and why they were scrapped.

Unfortunately, I will not talk about Turaga Nui in the Turaga chapter. We don’t know why they cut him out of the plot, but as I said in conclusion, most likely no one could find a place for him. Bob Thompson's method for storytelling was that the story bible serves as an encyclopedia of the bionicle world and is a source of inspiration. He followed the idea that we do not have a single media source from which we learn the whole plot of the year. We must assemble it from many different pieces ourselves - from video games, from MNOG, from comics, etc. Probably the Templar Games and Saffire Games couldn't figure out at what point Turaga Nui could be appear.

In the Turaga chapter I'll talk specifically about the wisdom of the Turaga, about how they learn many of the secrets of the Mata Nui and about the places where they do it. It's pretty hard to explain it in short.

On 12/22/2019 at 4:40 PM, Toa of Italy said:

On the other hand, I'm not sure the issue of the Golden Kanohi means much. Personally, I'd prefer to go with the simpler explanation (which you acknowledged as well): the 2002 (and end of 2001) material featuring the Toa without Golden masks was created because the sets don't have them and they later modified some of it to be coherent with the story. I honestly don't think the authors ever meant the Toa to lose their Golden masks at the end of 2001 (it seems a bit limited for the Golden masks to be used only for the creation of the Kaita)... at the most, they didn't think it through when the 2002 material was developed.

I totally agree with you. I'm also not sure that this was somehow conceived initially. Nevertheless, I had a set of strange facts that I decided to put together and share them with you. I don't try to make my articles look like serious scientific research with an ideal evidence base. Therefore, if I have a bunch of interesting details, supported by a weak theory, I will share this anyway, because it can help someone develop my ideas and find new pieces of the mosaic and get to the truth.

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These "chronicles" have been a treasure to discover and an absolute blast to read though - looking forward to the next update B-)

In the entry about Kaita, you had mentioned that the Tohunga Nui was the least enjoyable part to address, due to an apparently unresolved plot hole that it caused in the 2001 lore. However,  I just want to point something out...

The last line spoken by Maku ("Now we have a tale to tell the Toa!") always stood out to me for some reason even when I first poured over the comic in 2001. It was amusing to think of the little Tohunga bragging to the Toa one day afterward about their collective accomplishment, and how they mimicked the Toa's heroics in their own way.

Along that line of thought, after reading your update here, it got me thinking: the Tohunga would be eager to share their tale, right? And the Tohunga culture we were given at the time largely revolved around legends, right? So maybe one way to view this apparent plot hole of a miraculous Tohunga Nui showing up is just that: a legend made up by the villagers? What if the comic (aside from advertising) could represent a partly fictitious story in the 2001 story?  I can imagine the villagers "embellishing" their experience shown in the comic with extra heroic feats (ie the Tohunga Nui) when they spun the yarn to the Toa! Just my line of thought. Amusing either way ^_^

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

Finally the 5th chapter "The Rahi breeding cycle" was translated.

Thanks @The Shadow Imperator for editing.

- The role of Rahi in the GSR world then and now;

- Biodermis - early version of Protodermis;

- The Biodermis Forge in MNOG and deleted quest;

- Canceled Master Builder Book;

- Strange lore of Rahi fusions;

- Rahi and their offspring in games.

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This wasn't the last one, was it? I love this series so much. This kind of eerie yet whimsical sort of BIONICLE reminds me why I got interested in the first place.

Protip: read these articles while listening to ambient chillout lounge music.

"You are an absolute in these uncertain times. Your past is forgotten, and your
future is an empty book. You must find your own destiny, my brave adventurer.
"
-- Turaga Nokama

nichijou2.jpg

Click here to visit my library!

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This was the first time I had seen this image. Very interesting. I think the Taku babies only exist because of the scenario that the game developers wanted. Rescuing someone from a giant nest is a very classic adventure story trope (eg. Sinbad the Sailor). If you are trapped in a giant nest you naturally have giant babies that eat you. So the babies were a result of creating a fun threat of danger/peril, and not LEGO initially thinking "let's give the Rahi some babies!" There are a few other instances like this in Bionicle and other toy lines with lore that put ideas in without really worrying about if it contradicts anything outright (eg. do the Matoran eat? If there's a Mask of Water Breathing do they breathe air? etc.) 

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On 2/16/2020 at 5:42 PM, Master Inika said:

This wasn't the last one, was it? I love this series so much. This kind of eerie yet whimsical sort of BIONICLE reminds me why I got interested in the first place.

Of course. There are total 8 articles. All of them are available in Russian here. You can already read them using Google translate, if you are interested. Translation into English takes a lot of time, although the Shadow Emperor and FrozenDeath help me a lot.

In future I have pretty big plans. Since the Emperor met Alastair Swinnerton, we learned a lot of new things, and many old things began to make much more sense than before. After the translation of all the chapters of the MNOG Chronicle has been completed, I plan several more series of articles about other years when Bob Thompson was the head of the story team. For example, now I am working on a series entirely devoted to the evolution of Makuta character from 1999 to 2005 (no Teridax here :)). All I can say is that Seven Books of Bionicle will have a much bigger role in future articles.

On the other hand, I would not like to make big promises, because the more things we find, the bigger this snowball becomes, and it’s very difficult to work with it, especially considering that this is a simple hobby, not a job.

On 2/16/2020 at 5:42 PM, Master Inika said:

Protip: read these articles while listening to ambient chillout lounge music.

When I write articles I prefer this music ;)

 

On 2/17/2020 at 4:12 AM, chuckschwa said:

This was the first time I had seen this image. Very interesting. 

You can read full booklet here

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Something just occurred to me that I find interesting: the idea of Matoran building domestic Rahi wasn't entirely lost forever when it was dropped from MNOG. In fact, it reoccurred in perhaps one of the most unlikely non-canon sources: 2003's BIONICLE: the Game. At about the midpoint of Tahu's first level, he encounters Takua, who tells him the following:

"We need Rahi power to open this door. But all our friendly Rahi have fled from the Bohrok. Rescue Matoran helpers to build a replacement." Tahu, of course, does this; and the rescued Matoran create an otherwise-unknown (as far as I'm aware, at least) fox-like Rahi.

Naturally, I always assumed this was just to slide in a reference to Lego as a building toy, or that someone working on the - already blatantly non-canon - game didn't quite get how creatures worked in Bionicle and pulled up the idea out of nowhere just for game mechanics. But in light of your information, it's interesting to note that might not be the case; it could be a remnant of that old, cut idea from MNOG that perhaps wasn't completely erased from whatever source material the game developers used.

I dunno if it's significant; but it seemed relevant enough to be worth mentioning ^^

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Banner.png.3e903c5c49a30ba9503c72b2d57066b0.png

"New legends awake, but old lessons must be remembered.
For that is the way
of the BIONICLE."

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