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Review: The Ternion Saga


Aderia

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Prequel: Water's Will
IPart I: The Ternion
 

 
Review: The Ternion Saga 
 
Directory

A. Story and Character Information

  • Introduction
  • Table of Contents
  • Timeline References
  • Cast of Characters
  • Short Story Prequel Information
  • Fun Facts and Miscellaneous

B. Northern Continent Compendium

  • Known Islands and Continents
  • Northern Continent Maps
  • The League Conquests

C. Review: The Sculptors and the Smelters

  • Table of Contents
  • Characters and Appearances
  • Matoran Civil War News Articles 

C. Matoran Civil War Guide

  • Overview
  • Resources
  • Maps
  • Economy
    • Overview
    • Formal Economy 
    • Informal Economy
    • Currency
  • Sources

 


 
I. Intro
ternion - [ˈtɜr ni ən ]  noun, a set or group of three, trio, triad
 
The idea for this epic came from a handful of characters who needed a place in the universe. After many long hours digging through BS01 and some old, beloved Bionicle books, they landed in earlier Matoran Universe history, on the cusp of the Matoran Civil War, and in a world that’s recently recovering from the conquests of the League of Six Kingdoms. There’s so, so much history of the original Matoran Universe, I love it. I do apologize if some sections of writing become too technical - I’ve really enjoyed speculating how the aftereffects of war affected the world. It’s been a nice training-wheels exercise in world-building. 
 
Also, to note - I haven’t looked into anything G2 related, so as a disclaimer, everything in the epic is strictly G1- based. 
 
Here, in this review topic, I’ve compiled some screenshots and maps that may or may not be as relevant to you as they’ve been to me, but nonetheless, I think would be helpful for an extra-curious reader. 
 
It’s been a refreshing adventure to dive back in and write this. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I’ve enjoyed writing!
 
II. Table of Contents 
 
Prequel Short Story
Water's Will -  The tale of the last battle of the Hand of Artakha, and what tides changed the course of the world after. 
 
Part 1: The Ternion A stasis capsule from an era past washes up on the shore of a small coastal town, Uahi, in the north-western region of the Northern Continent. A careful Toa of Fire, the sole guardian of the region so recently desolated by the conquests of the League of Six Kingdoms, is called to investigate. This is the story about what he found that day. 
Part 2: The Sculptors and the Smelters The Matoran Civil War started out as precisely that - Matoran trying to be civil to each other. However, one should never underestimate the passive-aggressive capacity of a slighted Po-Matoran sculptor, nor the one-upping tenacity of a Ta-Matoran smelter. Unfortunately, they both underestimated one another in these regards, and the whole city paid the price. 
 
 
III. Timeline References
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Most of the Part 1 storyline takes place sequentially, beginning in roughly 79,650 BCG. (source)
 
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For chapter 4, here’s the timeline screenshot to indicate when things took place, and the events that are referenced. I love fitting situations into the timeline and writing them out, it’s like a puzzle!
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Part 2 timeline can be found in the Matoran Civil War Guide

 
IV. Cast of Characters
 
  Reveal hidden contents
Ternion Members
Erylist - black armor, green highlights, limited stealth-based power set
Armonger - six limbs, not counting tail. water breathing, venomous bite, draconic appearance, blue and silver armor, good for camouflage in water. 
Seja - (like 'Sage-a') six limbs, two of which are metallic raptorial wings with integrated shield technology. dark violet armor. custom Kanohi Suletu
 
Part 1: Matoran
Vai - Onu-Matoran historian of Uahi, Kanohi Matatu 
Ulio - Fe-Matoran leader of Uhai village on the Northern Continent, Kanohi Komau
Tirpi - Bo-Matoran fisher, discovers Erylist’s stasis container with Ixie
Ixie - Ga-Matoran fisher, discovers Erylist’s stasis container with Tirpi
Tengi - Ce-Matoran wrangler from Talozha on the Tren Krom Peninsula, Kanohi Kakama
Koer - Po-Matoran trader and vendor from Tren Krom Peninsula, operating out of Stelt recently 
 
Part 1: Toa 
Toa Zoru - Mentioned by name only. Toa of Plasma, Kanohi Volitak.
Toa Inokas - Toa of Fire, Kanohi Miru
Toa Dustro - (due-stro) Toa of Air, Mask of Laser Vision
Toa Hadia - Toa of Psionics 
Toa Shau - Toa of Sonics
Toa Roveka - Toa of Water, Kanohi Arthron
Toa Kapias - Toa of Stone, Kanohi Kualsi
Toa Baridi - Toa of Earth, Mask of Emulation
Toa Meyco - Toa of Iron, temporary Kanohi Kadin
 
Part 1: Other
Zimna - a female Vortixx trader
 
Part 1: Canon Characters (cameo appearances, in order of appearance, carefully listed to garner anticipation)
Johmak
Brutaka 
Pridak
Makuta Icarax
Makuta Mutran
Dume
Hydraxon
Helryx
Nidhiki
Artakha
 
 
 
V. Short Story Prequel Info 
Water's Will -  In a time where titans ruled and fought, vying for influence and power in the dawn of the Matoran Universe, one keen Toa of Water sees the need to enact great change, and the opportunity to do so. She takes it. 
 
 
Characters and Appearances
Av’Kra - black and white armor, one of Axonn’s species, leader of the Hand of Artakha, wields a war halberd, Mask of Weather Control, weather-based elemental powers (through mask), blizzard, hail, storms, lightning, pressure bursts, etc.
 
Spoiler

 

Malohi - green and brown armor, limited invulnerability, collection of plant-based powers, although doesn’t control plantlife itself (think power-enhancing plant-based Faxon), fights with poisoned broadsword, wears a nonstandard Kanohi Rau. Roughly Brutaka’s size, for reference. 
 
The Avohkah Tamer - purple and gold armor, powerless purple Kanohi. quick-travel ability, not literally at the speed of light, though. endurance and maneuverability at high speeds, is able to share speed and abilities that go with it with ‘passengers’ through physical contact, at the cost of halving the speed with each passenger. 
 
Energy Hound - a good boy. 
 
Seja
Armonger
Erylist
 
Axonn
Helryx
Shadow Stealer (not mentioned by name)
Orde (not mentioned by name)
Karzahni
Artakha

 

 

 
VII. Fun Facts & Misc.
Fun Facts!  (may contain minor spoilers)
  Reveal hidden contents
 
  1. Inokas was planned to be a more swashbuckling, ostentatious Toa of Plasma, but due to the author’s general lack of knowledge of what the heck a Toa of Plasma can do, elementally, and then how to write it out, that was scrapped. (11/15/19)
  2. Erylist, until very recently, had a Kanohi Pehkui.(11/22/19)
  3. Seja was originally the main character, and all three of them had more powers and abilities, but it became too distracting to try and work with and work into the story. (11/29/19)
  4. In the first drafts of the story, Vai was a megalomaniacal Nynrah Ghost, and the creator of the Ternion, who also bought about their downfall. He went through a lot of changes since then. (12/06/19)
  5. Early drafts had the main story set just before the Toa/Dark Hunter war, and the Ternion had to stop one of the Shadowed One’s multiple take-over attempts. (12/13/19)
  6. The Ternion originally had limited/themed elemental powers as well, but that was scrapped for various reasons. (Armonger - water/plantlife, Seja - air/psionics, Erylist - shadow/gravity) (12/20/19)
  7. Specifically for Ch. 8 - Author has recently been using Evernote app on laptop to write, because author likes the elephant logo. But that's not the fun fact, although it is fun, and it is a fact. Apparently the autocorrect feature does its thing, while writing in that app. So, there was a line in the chapter that said "Hydraxon tossed a dried ruki fish", but the author typed it wrong at first, and it autocorrected to "Hydraxon tooted". The author still thinks this is hilarious, and wanted to share the joy with audience. The author has also since deactivated the autocorrect feature on her laptop, although she still appreciates spellcheck. (Bonus fun fact - Y'all are getting a 3-for-1 deal here. Author took a few classes with a girl who got pretty mad at the professor for taking off on spelling for handwritten assignments, because "there was no autocorrect". Author refuses to use autocorrect on any device.) (12/27/19)
  8. Erylist's time on the Northern Continent was originally supposed to be one prequel short story, and explanatory pit-stop before hitting the City of Legends. Then she started making friends, and it all kind of snowballed from there. (01/03/20)
  9. Despite previous ramblings about auto-correct (see fun fact #7), pre-anti-autocorrect me put in shortcuts for a few words, most notably "glare" and "shrug". Respectively, they show up as  ಠ_ಠ and ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . I don't know how to turn it off. I've had to go back and quickly edit these out of posts more than once. (01/10/2020) 
  10. Story-related fun fact. This really was supposed to be a Matoran Civil War related epic. The part about Erylist on the Northern Continent was only supposed to be a prequel chapter or short story at most. Then creative barfing happened, and 45,000 words later, I had all of part 1 written, and am overthinking the actual Matoran Civil War part and can't figure out where to start (01/10/2020)
  11. "Water. Ice. Earth. Stone. Fire. Air. Long ago, the six Metru lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the fire Matoran attacked. Only the Turaga, master of all six Metru, could stop them. But when the city needed him most, he vanished. A few hundred years passed, and my brothers and I discovered a new leader. A quarrymaster named Emyk. Although his managerial abilities are great, he still has a lot to learn before he's ready to lead anyone. But I believe Emyk can save the city." - Po-Matoran propaganda, probably (01/17/2020)
 
 
 
- The Red Star's revival function will not be a part of this story. 
 

 
Check back here for story updates and expanded reference sections! Thanks for your time, and I hope it was worth your while! 
 
Aderia 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Aderia
updates and fun facts! also rediscovered how to use spoiler tags!

(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
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Those pesky firespitters... 
Library | The Sculptors and the Smelters | The Ternion Review Topic 

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Vai's Northern Continent Compendium
 
 

 
   
DRAFT v2.3 FOR ARCHIVES
    I, the Onu-Matoran historian, Vai, write this record from the settlement of Uahi on the Northern Continent. I swear by the three virtues and my oath as an Archivist-certified historian to document events as accurately as my resources and discretion allow, and to clearly indicate sections of personal remarks and input. 
 
Known Islands and Continents
image.thumb.png.b882641a31451e99768d21712b672bc0.png
 
Historian’s Notes on Islands (draft)
  Reveal hidden contents
North Central
Metru Nui - City of Legends. Needs better public transportation. Haggling is not a way to gain respect with the Po-Matoran. 
Karzahni - bad place, don’t go. 
Zakaz - tropical with rich ecosystem full of many undocumented species.
Xia - weapons. quality and quantity. 
Northern Continent - home! 
Stelt - lots of gangs, no order, won’t honor trade agreements.
 
North Western
Artakha - alleged paradise 
Xamra - never fully developed, desolated for training grounds in League Conquests
Ikalei - A few settlements, tribal, good lightstone mines
Galme - uninhabited after League Conquests, should send an ecologist team to study development after cities were destroyed
Malohi - one big mountain sticking out of the sea, lots of hostile Rahi. Three known settlements, protodermis mines. 
Tren Krom’s Island - Mystery.
 
Central
Destral - no record of anyone ever being granted port there
Southern Continent - really large. Has lots of everything. 
Daxia - no known settlements
 
North Eastern
Ozica - mostly agricultural, small settlements, basically ruled by Xia
Kaugua - three small towns, unfriendly plantlife makes most of the island uninhabitable, suspect the plants are hiding something
Odina - rugged terrain, many unique rahi, six known settlements/cities, vehicle and transport development
Pasari - small jungle island, one large trading port and two other known settlements, good fruit
Nynrah - Matoran-inhabited, trade friendly, Ulio likes this place
Visorak - home to warrior species and lots of flying rahi
 
South Western
Batabar - plantations and processing facilities, many shipyards
Gnyst - desolated, a few inhabitants trying to start a settlement
Artidax - mostly unexplored, allegedly hostile landscape
Zarawa - all caves, barren aboveground, many sub-crawling rahi and two underground settlements
Acua - trading/port island, Ussal breeding 
Cayafax - northern half uninhabited (too cold). has four major cities and the largest Protodermis processing plant in all the Southern Islands
Chelihe - mostly desolated, but uninvestigated. densely forested, strange organic rahi spotted, floods seasonally 
West Volimas - tribal, not much contact with other civilizations
East Volimas - shipbuilding, close trade relations with timberyards of Darcek
Darcek - forestry industry, two large cities
Hajuras - most land claimed by Darcekian companies for timber production 
 
South Eastern
Cimalta - rumored to have intelligent, social Rahi building settlements deep in the badlands. three large port cities, two other known settlements. 
Keetongu’s Island - perpetually surrounded in fog, very little explored
Rejeke - desolate
Nehrio - tribal and isolated
Myrkisa - many amphibious inhabitants, intense rainy seasons, toxic plantlife, not much known
Ibonar - mostly desolated, resettlement efforts from Kax and Darcek underway, much crystal mining potential, one know port under constructon
Kax - one very large city, rivals Metru Nui in population, specializes in sea and aircraft production and manufacturing and development, some weapons production. Two smaller settlements, six ports 
Eysin - three known settlements, many metallic protodermis refineries, three ports
Lutya - not known to be inhabited, seasonal port settlements, temporary
Tais - many large rahi, grasslands and fungus forests, four known settlements, six ports
 
 
 
 
Northern Continent 
  Reveal hidden contents
Most entries about eras on the Northern Continent can be found in the Archives history section, under NC:T-X01-H0001 through NC:T-X01-H0549
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    The Northern Continent, in an uninhabited world, would be moderately forested from the west coast all the way up to the Auros River. From there, the landscape becomes gradually more rugged, turning into inhospitable badlands as one moves east. South of the Tren Krom Reservoir, the largest body of water and impossible to miss, becomes downright hostile. More on the Tren Krom Region of the Northern Continent can be found under 
NC:Pt-Th03-0023 through NC:Th-X03-0133
 
 
Tulekahu (Central City)
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Tulekahu - Commonly referred to as Central City, has the largest portyard on the continent, a number of bureaus and is home to many large industries of the island region. Population of about 9,000 permanent residents, mixed about 50/50 Matoran and other species. At least three Toa are stationed in the city at all times, excepting times of emergency. 
 
Toa Fortress Layout
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Toa Fortress - Can sustain a population of up to 100 Toa, but those numbers are practically unheard of, and was only reached during the League Conquests. 
 
Uahi
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Uahi - A settlement, once a sprawling port city, rivaling that of Central City. Population of about 600 residents, 95/5 Matoran to other species. Specializes in mariners trade and exports. Both Dihe and Arju were once part of Uahi. 
    Historian’s Note: I apologize for personal residency locations, I was unaware the ink I used on the map was not removable after drying. 
 
Dihe - (dee-hay) now is only in the beginning stages of being rebuilt, but hopes to transition to a more permanently independent settlement with a forte in agriculture and perhaps forestry, with plans in the works to have a permanent trade contract with Uahian shipwrights. 
 
Arju - Working on developing a strong trade network, as they sit near the mouth of the Auros River. Also has landscape to pasture many grazing rahi. 
 
 
 
 
 
NC:T-X01-H0550 - The League Conquests
 
  Reveal hidden contents
Here, I have drawn up a map of our known islands, with indication of how the Barraki divided their dominion. Some of the Southern Islands were hard to confirm details for, but that’s why this is a working draft. 
    The color key was created with each Barraki army’s coat of arms or colors they flew, respectively, in mind. But, for the unfamiliar:
    Barraki Pridak - white
    Barraki Kalmah - red 
    Barraki Takadox -blue 
    Barraki Ehlek - green 
    Barraki Mantax - black
    Barraki Carapar - yellow
 
Lo6K Territories
image.png.38da4ef83e5ba8bd9f8c4f3f8e6ad5ee.png
 
 
As one can see, our beloved Continent falls at the unfortunate intersection of three of the claimed territories, although 
 
Historian’s Note: We Northerners are very proud to say that Tulekahu and the Fortress were never conquered. Although, I will say that it was very crowded living in Central City with over half of the Continent’s population. 
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Historian's Note: Many trips will be needed to the Tren Krom Peninsula to more accurately document their war efforts there. To be updated. 
Edited by Aderia

(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
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Those pesky firespitters... 
Library | The Sculptors and the Smelters | The Ternion Review Topic 

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Review: The Sculptors and the Smelters

Story Topic

Review topic for the corresponding epic :) Comments and criticisms always appreciated! Updates (and possibly fun facts) will be posted here, as in, edited into this post itself, so it doesn't hurt to check back occasionally! Updates will mostly be table of contents as the chapters are posted, and updating the character list as chapters are written. 

Be sure to check out the Matoran Civil War guide below, which makes up the majority of this post. It's got a plethora of information about how I envisioned early Metru Nui, and it was a ton of fun to put together. All information it contains is extraneous and not necessary for understanding the story itself, of course. 

Thanks for taking the time to check my work out! Hope it's been worth your while! 

 

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Gale
Chapter 2: Flotsam
Chapter 3: Dastardly
Chapter 4: Nothing is Sacred
Chapter 5: The Midnighter
Chapter 6: Patsy
Chapter 7: Bleeding City
Chapter 8: Tines and Helix
Chapter 9: Xi
Chapter 11: Lore and Legion
Chapter 12: Dust
Chapter 13: Paragon's Puppets
Chapter 14: Wrangler's Deal
Chapter 15: Hunter's Peril
Chapter 16: The Bystander
Chapter 17: Spire's Call
Chapter 18: Recompense

 

Characters - doesn't actually contain spoilers, despite the spoiler tag. (except maybe listing which canon characters appear, if you count that)

  Reveal hidden contents
Ta-Metru
Nuok - overseer of the eastern sector of Ta-Metru’s smelting operations, which includes firepits, furnaces, and foundries
Rofto - a worker in the eastern firepits
Pakiru - A Fire Brand
 
Onu-Metru 
Davanu - inventor-turned Archivist
 
Ga-Metru
Ginsa - advanced student of the Synthetic Sciences
Stini - student, skiff-sailer competitor in her spare time
Paitia - student
Hasira - student/ student-teacher
 
Po-Metru
Emyk - Assembler and mechanic 
'Tusk' - A code-named lieutenant 
 
Le-Metru
Larker - former freelancing delivery Matoran who’s fallen on hard times due to the changing inter-Metru commerce tensions
Kesian - prominent Le-Matoran business chief of Phase Dragon Enterprises
Subi - an Ussal nipper, or juvenile crab, under the care of Larker
 
Ko-Metru 
Aulto - Apprentice scholar
'Fang' - A code-named officer and medic. 
 
Other
Turaga Arrakio - Turaga of Ice, Kanohi Garai, from the Southern Continent
Tengi - a student in Ga-Metru
Erylist
Seja 
Armonger
Tahimatoru
 
 
Canon Character Appearances 
Nireta
Amaya
Marka
Mavrah
Hahli
Kalama
Hahli
Ihu
Nokama
Matau
Vohon
Pekka
Pridak
Whenua
Mutran
Jaa
 
Matoran Civil War News Articles
A short series of flash fictions, in the form of articles and other assorted literature documenting snippets of life in this trying time in the Great City. (links to blog posts, some unpublished, trying to time them with last chapters of part 1 of epic to build anticipation for part 2, which is actually set in the City of Legends) Note that these aren't meant to be chronological, or even that serious. But I still had fun, and hope you do to. 
 
Mutant Snipes Take Northern Sculpture Fields by Reporter Kodan (12/18/19)
Dear Sanso - an advice column excerpt from your favorite musician (12/23/19)
From the Desk of Chief Editor Kopeke, a submission by Ehrye (12/30/19)
A Metru Nui Classified Ad by Archivist Mavrah (01/07/20)
A Ta-Matoran Obituary, written in loving memory by Aft (01/14/20)

 

Fun Facts - can't guarantee these are 100% spoiler free. 

  Reveal hidden contents
 
1. The Ga-Metru skiff-sailers are basically sunfish sailboats, which the author recently learned how to sail, although she’s admittedly not very good yet. (01/29/20)
 
2. Tengi was originally written as a Vo-Matoran. (02/05/2020)
 
3. Tengi's first appearance is here in ch. 10 of The Ternion. (05/05/2020)
 
4. "Tahimatoru" is the best approximate translation of "one-and-three" I could make out of the respective Maori terms.  (06/10/2020)
4b. "Teka" approximates to "lies" in Maori (10/12/20)
 
5. Books read while writing (not literally, but over the months it took to write), and thus probably influences. Have been coming to terms with the fact that I'm more of a sci-fi fan than I realized. Will try and update list as more books are read. (07/11/2020)
  • Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card - Re-read, and although I never read it growing up, it's quickly become a favorite, recommended by some old friends from this site, actually. Especially appreciated for writing characters affected by and affecting policies and systemic changes in their world. 
  • Bionicle Adventures #1: Mystery of Metru Nui, through Bionicle Adventures #10: Time Trap, Greg Farshtey - Re-read these for 'research' purposes before attempting a story set in Metru Nui, but also was a completely, nostalgically enjoyable re-read in and of itself. 
  • Mistborn Trilogy (Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, and Hero of Ages) Brandon Sanderson - Beautiful worldbuilding and wonderful writing. Helped think through cities thrown into upheaval due to tumultuous internal affairs.  
  • Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact; Star Wars Republic Commando: Triple ZeroStar Wars Republic Commando: True Colors; Star Wars Republic Commando: Order 66; Star Wars Imperial Commander: The 501st,  Karen Traviss, and Star Wars: Dark Disciple, Christie Golden  - Watched all of The Clone Wars also, and then started some books because it's one of those worlds that's hard to leave behind. Definitely great material for mulling over the concept of war and its cost. Read about 3 of the books between cranking out chapters 11 and 12, was inspired to take some more liberties when integrating worldbuilding details. Also completely devastated that the series was discontinued, but was worth the read anyways. 
  • Speaker for the Dead, also Orson Scott Card - finally got a chance to read the sequel to Ender's Game. The way Card built his world and wrote the book so the reader discovers its mystery as they're pulled along my ethical and moral dilemmas of the characters was thrilling. 

 

 

 
 

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For those interested, here I've compiled my reference notes as comprehensively as I could. I used these to maintain as much inner consistency as possible when writing. It was fun, and I love charts and diagrams. I apologize preemptively for the maps section because I'm not the best at image editing. 

I present to you: 

The Matoran Civil War Guide 

including author's notes and blurbs and nitpicks with the canon

I. Overview

Quick look at the BS01 page

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585404015_ScreenShot2019-12-11at10_35_56AM.thumb.png.76a5b5cbccc3c035abd22a9fe921fefe.png

I have more than a few gripes with a war being able to last 400 years. Trying to figure out how a Turaga could be that terrible, to allow such a conflict was a huge writer's block for me. Tried to address it as best I could in the story. Also, just, 400 years of sustained fighting is a long time, especially if you have 36-hour days. Even for biomechanical beings who live indefinitely. Again, addressed this best I could in the story. 

Multiple sources list the population of Metru Nui as 1,000, which will not be adhered to in the story (too few). It explains why all the canon characters know each other, so there is that. But cities of similar land area have populations of well over 500,000, and that's the least populated city of similar land area listed (taken from BS01 and Bionicle Wiki dimensions of Metru Nui, cross referenced with google search of "world cities by land area'). Not going to give a specific population for the story, because I don't want to be tied to it, but at least 1,000 Matoran of each elemental affiliation seems like a good, if not minimal compromise. 

 

 

 

II. Resources 

So when I sat down to begin this section of the epic, I began with a list of what each side had to work with, off the top of my head. Initially, the list looked like this: 

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Ta-Metru clearly has the advantage. As much as anyone loves an underdog coming out on top story, that's not the tone of how I want to portray a civil war. So, after a decent amount of research and a dive back into the Bionicle Adventure books, I've compiled a list of resources each side has to work with. Creative license has been taken to level the playing fields, a bit, so to speak, especially with regards to Ko-Metru. (side note, I've always been confused about the level of technological advancement within the MU. Obviously it's an entire universe, so there's going to be variation. Mata Nui (island) is a bit of an outlier (literally?), but besides that, like, is there some ubiquitous standard of technology that most civilizations and islands have? Like, basic computers? It seems standard to write with stone tablets and chisels. But then you also have the invention of complicated machines like Vahki and their variations? Is there no in between?) 

Also note, Vahki, Kanoka, and chutes all have not yet been invented. (also, this was almost a huge writer's block - what do you call chute-speak before there were chutes???? It was an unexpected exercise in creative avoidance!) Jury's out on whether or not the secret, old underwater chutes exist yet or not. Not important to the story, just an interesting thought. 

The Sculptors 

1400454382_ScreenShot2019-12-23at9_48_06PM.png.1db5a87afdb3dd6bdeb881d32086d656.png

 

The Smelters 

87520474_ScreenShot2019-12-21at11_39_37PM.png.78d829b95c725744bfc38d34aa012123.png

 

To reiterate, there are 1) no chutes, 2) no Vahki, 3) no Kanoka, and 4) under-developed Archives tunnel network. (and no Red Star revival) 

 

III. Maps

 
image.png.38c305eeeab6c1fd2f8c6bb290aba5d5.png
Red is fire, yellow is stone, if anyone needs an explanation. 
Also, it's kind of hard to see, but the Coliseum is circled in both colors. 
 
 
Map with early Archives tunnels and access points on top of the handy-dandy labeled map of MN (BS01 ref)
MNarchivesmap.thumb.png.8a4b3405c379457ca92bee66a28e1741.png
 
 
 
IV. Economy
 
       a. Overview
As a disclaimer, I've not had a chance to take any classes in economy. Literally, the only terms I feel comfortable using in conversation are "money", "broke", "student debt", and "scarcity". So, to youtube I went. I watched some cool videos about the resource war that fueled WWII, and just kind of rolled with what it gave me, but Bionicle-ized the stats it said to use. Really, though. Great videos, like crash course war econ for dummies. With cute graphics. (I also should have put this 'econ' section up with the 'resources' section, but they're both decent sized, and convey different enough information that I feel okay, organizationally, leaving them separate).
 
I also pulled numbers out of thin air, and they are not concrete representations, but for comparison only. 
 
Paraphrasing from video: 
GDP - gross domestic product. how much raw production can happen, ie, produce war materials
Population - manpower both for fighting and production
Territorial extent - natural resources, determines how self-sufficient a faction can be if isolated, and how long they can last, within reason, if isolated
Per capita income - gives measure of how developed an economy is. (this one still kind of confuses me, and isn't totally relevant, because I'm not sure how much I want to figure out what type of economy/government early Metru Nui had) 
 
econshot.thumb.png.4d85e19160910c9055bd0106e7e1ef04.png
 
Again, this is just to help get an idea of the players in the war, and represents approximation at best. I'm also not entirely sure how much of this will actually become relevant to the storyline. But I feel like a learned a decent amount. Which is another reason writing is fun. 
 
 
     b. Formal Economy
 
     Each Metru has a plethora of, perhaps even a base comprised of, local businesses. These include maintenance and transit workers, artisans and small scale traders, publication companies, etc. There's also a respective police force for each Metru, listed in the resources section of this guide. 
     
Inter-Metru Businesses - While it's common to have partnerships or trade deals or a consumer base across metrus, there are a few companies that are truly considered inter-Metru companies. The police forces of each Metru also frequently must collaborate. The two largest are, unsurprisingly, transportation companies. Both, while based in Le-Metru, share proprietorship more or less equally between Matoran in all Metrus, with the exception of Ko-Metru. 
  • Viaducts Nui - the entity in charge of the highway system construction, maintenance/repair, traffic management, etc. Each Metru is pretty much in charge of itself, with the overarching Viaducts Nui company existing for collaboration as needed and consistency. 
  • Ussal Drag 'N Drop - Equivalent of the public bike system in some of our cities. Or, also maybe Uhaul, but the author isn't as sure how that works. For a small fee, check out an Ussal with or without a small cart from one station that's part of this collaborative, do what you need to do/go where you need to go, and drop the Ussal (and cart, if applicable) off at the nearest participating Ussalry closest to your destination. 
 
Each Metru has large, specialized companies. Here are a few of the current institutions in power.
 
Ta-Metru
  • Agni & Brothers – business arbiters, mediators, and consultants, reputed throughout the city
  • Immolator Conglomerate – board of Ta-Matoran foremen for many of the furnaces, fire pits, and refinery stations.
  • Crafter’s Coalition – board of crafters and artisans (and weaponsmiths, but they try to keep that on the down-low)
Onu-Metru
  • The Archives – little explanation needed. Employs archivists, historians, scholars, shipping companies, scientists (esp. stasis experts), maintenance workers, data analysts, PR Matoran, assemblers, mechanics, etc. Largest employer in Onu-Metru, and indisputably one of the oldest, most stable, and well renowned institutions of the city.
  • The Boring Company – The miners, who work closely with the Archives, and are trying not to be absorbed as just another department of the Archives.
  • (Archivist Foundation)
Ga-Metru
  • Schools of Ga-Metru
    • School of Natural Sciences (SoNS)
    • School of Applied and Synthetic Sciences (SASS)
    • School of Society and Arts  (SoSA)
  • ProtoDucts Unlimited – company regulating and controlling the canals of Ga-Metru, which is the Metru that regulates the canalways and liquid protodermis access of the rest of the city.
  • Metru Formulaics – Large and somewhat nebulous company that is a cooperative between Ga-Metru and Ta-Metru for general Protodermis refinery and processing.
  • (Ga-Metru Scholar’s Conglomerate)
Po-Metru
  • Crafter’s Commission – in direct competition with Ta-Metru’s Crafter’s Coalition, for much of the same consumer base. Large conglomerate of both small crafter businesses and individual, freelancing carvers and crafters.
  • Committee of Master Carvers
  • Assemblers, Engineers, Inventors & Originator’s Unison – A.E.I.O.U, or Vowelers, the workforce of Po-Metru comprised of Matoran who aren’t part of Po-Metrus two biggest markets (quarrying and carving). 
  • Protodermis warehouses – lots of these. Either one warehouse or a warehouse block, with a foreman in charge. May specialize in the type/grade/composition of solid protodermis contained, or carry a variety. Can do business with a selection of quarries and refineries. They can sell directly to other businesses, and don’t have to go through a vendor third party. Freelancers can also buy directly from the big warehouses.
  • Quarries – many mining crews work closely with Onu-Matoran, and some are even comprised of both Matoran sub-types. Mining crews with the right connections and permits can sell raw materials directly to their consumer base, whether that be processing plants, refineries, carvers, crafters, etc.
Le-Metru
  • Phase Dragon Enterprises – Largest individual company in Le-Metru. Designs and assembles vehicles for both corporate, public, and private transport, for both land and air. No water vehicles, though. Also has many mechanics, repair-Matoran, drivers, runs a vehicle rental system, etc.
  • Moto-Hubs – City-owned. Mechanics, assemblers, and other transport companies use these as garages, use the Test Tracks, parking spaces, etc.
  • Tele-Metru Inc. – Company of communication innovators, products known and used city-wide. Known to employ Matoran of all districts.
  • Kualsi Co. – The Quick-Travel Company. Putting out some visionary works with maglev technology, but still considered a start-up company.
Ko-Metru
  • Scholars Nui – Coalition of thinkers and scholars of varying levels of influence. Mostly made up of Ko-Matoran, but not unheard of to see accomplished Ga-Matoran listed among the ranks.
 
The largest institutions are the Archives (Onu-Metru), Viaducts Nui (citywide), ProtoDucts Unltd. (Ga-Metru), and Tele-Metru Inc. (Le-Metru).  
      c. Informal Economy
 
AKA, black market. For reasons that should be obvious, not much information is readily available on the underground of the Great City. 
image.png.34e24909c662d84c469c20de6df15537.png
 
 
     d. Currency
Originally, I had this grand idea on how to set value for the protodermis currency system (widgets), based on rudimentary mechanics, like "this many teeth on a gear makes changes its ability to do this thing by this much", but I am not and have never been and do not want to be a math person, and so doing enough research to understand how basic gear mechanics work was way too much. I actually started a chart from a list of LEGO Technic gears and rods, since that's kind of what widgets look like. It got too confusing and seemed unnecessary after a while (not actually that long). So, here's a basic outline with a list of types of concrete units used. They're not listed in any value order. 
 
Widgets -  term for concrete currency. Cash. 
Tallies - term for abstract currency. Credit. 
 
Ancillaries (smaller units/miscellaneous parts, like what we'd have in our piggy banks, pocket change). Have value of .5-10 widgets
    - tines
    - snags (teeth)
    - bearings
    - washers
    - rods
Cogs (larger units, most similar to our paper currency, ) valued at over 10 widgets
    - spur
    - helical
    - bevels (called 'bevs')
    - crowns
    - worms
    - pinions (called 'pins') 
 
 
*sources for small chapter pictures
  Reveal hidden contents
 
 
 

 
 
That's all I've got for now, but check back for updates!
 
Thanks!!
 
Aderia
 
 
Edited by Aderia
expanded economy section
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Just read the prologue for Sculptors/Smelters and I really enjoyed it! I like the setting and the characters you've established so far, very unique for a Bionicle story. IIRC there's pretty much zero story information for the Civil War beyond some basic notes, so you've picked a great niche you can have a lot of fun with. I look forward to more. I also appreciate how much research you've evidently put in for the above post - although I don't have time to read it at the moment. Will do later. :)

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Salutations! Yes, I definitely had a ton of fun planning the setting and stuff, and writing it out is also an adventure! The thing I love about fanfic writing is that you don't have to worldbuild from the ground up. Fitting stories into an established canon and making them coherent is like doing a puzzle, but on the level of people and societies. I'm sure you can relate. Haha, definitely is a hobby that keeps me on my toes :)

(ps, I also have been enjoying your epic! I am not the best at committing to leaving a review, haha, but reciprocity is a decent motivator)

Edited by Aderia
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7 hours ago, Aderia said:

Salutations! Yes, I definitely had a ton of fun planning the setting and stuff, and writing it out is also an adventure! The thing I love about fanfic writing is that you don't have to worldbuild from the ground up. Fitting stories into an established canon and making them coherent is like doing a puzzle, but on the level of people and societies. I'm sure you can relate. Haha, definitely is a hobby that keeps me on my toes :)

(ps, I also have been enjoying your epic! I am not the best at committing to leaving a review, haha, but reciprocity is a decent motivator)

I went back and read your research post and was even more impressed, and now I'm even more excited to read more. There are a lot of great things going on here. And I definitely agree about the puzzle aspect of fanfic being a benefit.

And thanks for reading mine, feedback is always welcome because I always feel I can improve but no pressure if you don't wanna. :)

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Just read through Chapter 1 and really enjoyed it, even more than the prologue I think. I really like how you've been able to weave in all the information about Metru Nui's politics and economy through individual character's lives and how it affects them instead of just dumping information on the audience straight up. I like Larker already, especially for his relationship with Subi.

Things of note:

I really liked the opening bit. I've seen so many scenes in sci-fi movies and shows that do the "training exercise made to look real" gimmick and I can almost always spot them ahead of time. But you really made me feel the danger for Tengi was real.

"sullen 17-point turn", hilarious.

The bit where Larker gets home felt really... well, real, to me. You captured the feeling of getting home after a long day perfectly, I could envision that scene vividly. A great moment solidifying this more grounded moment in Bionicle canon, at least compared to some of the later shenanigans Greg wrote.

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I'm so glad you've enjoyed it thus far, as well as my research post! I've been a huge fan of the City of Legends since the first pages of the Mystery of Metru Nui, so fleshing out some history is just my favorite thing ever! I do worry, though, that I get a bit heavy-handed on the descriptions of politics and economy and stuff. Definitely edited out a lot, haha. Let me know if it ever gets to be too much, and starts to take away from the characters and plot! Thank you, again, for the feedback, and I hope you continue to enjoy :)

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"

That was also something she hadn’t told anyone. They all seemed content to think she was a Ga-Matoran. In fact, before she left the Peninsula, she’d traded in her gold-colored armor accents for pale blue, not wanting to stand out so blatantly."

OhNo.thumb.JPG.dd6bba6af2ef1d72495f13b8edde89ae.JPG

And now I am hooked. 

Edited by Xboxtravis
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52641688958_d61c0bc049_w(1).jpg.c0871df0de376218d7ca2bc4f409e17d.jpg

All aboard the hype train!

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Xboxtravis said:
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"

That was also something she hadn’t told anyone. They all seemed content to think she was a Ga-Matoran. In fact, before she left the Peninsula, she’d traded in her gold-colored armor accents for pale blue, not wanting to stand out so blatantly."

OhNo.thumb.JPG.dd6bba6af2ef1d72495f13b8edde89ae.JPG

And now I am hooked. 

  Reveal hidden contents
giphy.gif

Here we goooo
 

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Yeah I got the feeling with tension that things are about to snap in Ye-Old Metru Nui any minute now in your story. Basically reading this I am just surprised that Lego never did the Matoran Civil War themselves; although its possible a tale of political tension, race conflicts, and economic woes is something Lego would never tackle in depth.  But I can't complain, I think you have done a good job at telling the story and I am curious to see where it goes next. 

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All aboard the hype train!

 

 

 

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On 5/24/2020 at 1:02 PM, Xboxtravis said:

Yeah I got the feeling with tension that things are about to snap in Ye-Old Metru Nui any minute now in your story. Basically reading this I am just surprised that Lego never did the Matoran Civil War themselves; although its possible a tale of political tension, race conflicts, and economic woes is something Lego would never tackle in depth.  But I can't complain, I think you have done a good job at telling the story and I am curious to see where it goes next. 

Sorry it's taken me a little while to string together a relevant response beyond a cursory 'thank you'. 

Despite seriousness of current events, I do have to chuckle a bit - I wanted to put the Metrus on lockdown, but the world was on lockdown so it seemed a bit too raw. And yes, racial tension in Metru Nui is something I've been trying to figure out how to work in without getting too sticky and close to real life, which has become more difficult as per recent events, again. There are actually two older topics that jump to mind that I've perused to jog the ol' thought processes, here and here. I think I also read somewhere on BS01 that it's normal for Matoran to live in Koros restricted to their respective elemental affiliation. And I agree - I think if Lego picked up and expanded upon some Matoran Universe history, it would be a great medium to get some basic lessons out to the kiddos. But yes, it would also may be a bit out of their target audience's league to throw in socio-political conflict and institutionalized injustices and failing/crooked economies. Then again, perhaps if Lego could appropriately boil some of those issues down, it would be a great way to get kids thinking on that level. (not totally relevant, but I especially love the tale of the Sneetches, for this reason. There's a certain level of genius needed to produce children's media that's relevant to adults and addresses real-world issues, while not taking a moralistic or overbearing stance, but also not teaching bad values. Avatar: the Last Airbender and Ender's Game are also media I appreciate for the same reason.) 

It's a super important issue, and one thing I love about writing is that it's creative problem solving a worldbuilding level. And writing in an established canon, Bionicle in this case, is especially suited for that, at least in my opinion, because 1) you have a functional established fictional framework and world to work in, so you're not distracted by other worldbuilding aspects, although there's always a time and place for that. It frees you up to set up more character-driven plots ; 2) with Bionicle specifically, if you're going for G1 canon compliance, you're free to ignore relational-romantical aspects of relationships. Again, there's a time and place for those, and I've both enjoyed and attempted stories dealing with such. (emphasis on attempt, haha. I can at least look back on my high school writing and appreciate the foundation it gave me now, instead of being embarrassed). But it easily can distract from bigger plots, so taking the option off the table altogether is a relief to me. On that note, and although it's not a pervasive issue, whether or not sexism in the MU is a thing has kind of been difficult to wrap my mind about. There would be a completely different set of preconceived notions and stereotypes that fall along the male/female divide. And, honestly, the sex (or gender, perhaps) and racism concepts may be pretty inter-related for Matoran because most of the blue people are the girls. I've actually been wondering if I actually want to take on the issue of racism with this story or not. I'm sure there's a way to use the story to process real-life issues while keeping the narrative going without waxing too philosophically, but it's not a simple balance to strike, unfortunately. Social satire or commentary was not and is not my goal, but I feel like it would be a waste to ignore the opportunity afforded by the combination of era I've chosen to write about and current events. And I suppose you could construe most written works as social commentary, anyways, if you really wanted to.

Anyways, hope the bit of behind-the-scenes author's-internal-conflict doesn't take away from the story for you! Happy thinking! 

Edited by Aderia

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