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Huh, weird. It works when I hit the button but not on other computers. I tried re-uploading it and also put it up on a pdf hosting site. Thanks for letting me know Yeah I was hesitant to put prices in there, it means I'll have to update it. But I get a lot of "how much is this pile worth?" questions so I tried to make it usable for those people? But yeah I'm not sure it's the right call as it does date the guide.

Well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting a follow-up to Kulu's story, but I'm excited to see it unfold. I love the darker tone, and the implication of more horror to come. Following up on the lingering mystery of the dimensional rift is a great way to connect things back to the original story as well.

This is the review topic for Furthest Reaches, a follow up story to The Volara Cycle.

The link doesn’t work 👍 That being said, I think the big reason there isn’t a big centralized source of this kind of information (other than the Official Rare & Promotional Collectibles Topic over in BST) is because prices fluctuate and some items are a bit too rare to assign a hard price. Interested to see what you’ve got once you get that link working, though!

Hello all, I've returned with the beginnings of a new story. This time, it is spin-off/follow-up to my last epic, The Volara Cycle. Due to the general popularity of Kulu in that story, I decided it was worthwhile to give him a full story of his own, while giving full closure to his arc as a character. Thus, if you haven't read the Volara Cycle, I highly recommend heading there before reading this one. Without saying too much I want this to have more of a focus on horror than my previous story. If that sounds interesting to you, then I hope you enjoy! Just like TVC, both genders exist in all elements. Chapter 1 There was a dull thud and a sharp snap as a single, lightstone ignited in the center of the room, illuminating the form of a lone Toa in a shaft of bright, white light. She winced, shrinking from the light as her eyes adjusted. Around her, in the darkness, she could hear the shuffling and whispering of unseen forms, several pairs of eyes fixed on her. She thought she could make out some of them; the outline of a mask here, a shifting silhouette there. It could've just as easily been her mind playing tricks on her, her eyes desperate to see anything in the perfect darkness. She wondered if there was something covering their heartlights, possibly a one-way mirror obscuring the lights of their eyes and of their bodies. If she had her usual Kanohi Arthron, she would've been able to detect their positions, their outlines, exactly how many there were. It, along with her other tools and belongings, had been stripped from her before she had entered the chamber. A glowing blue shackle had been placed over her wrists, further inhibiting her elemental ability. She wondered if they could sense her trepidation, her anxiety. In this place, she was well and truly vulnerable. Just breathe, she told herself, it will all be over soon. Finally, a voice spoke up directly in front of her. Its cadence was strong and imperious, but it sounded positively ancient, as if the very stones beneath her feet were accusing her. “This hearing has been called as part of a larger inquiry into the outcome of Operation Strident Three. As part of that inquiry, you have been called to testify on your role in the operation itself and its ultimate result. Start at the beginning,” it said, “Tell us every detail you can about your last mission, from its conception to its conclusion. From insertion to extraction.” The Toa shifted uncomfortably. She had expected a new line of questioning, not retreading old ground. “I already told all I could in my debriefing...” “And we've all read it,” a second voice, gravelly and aged, cut in, “for the sake of this hearing and the record, please repeat it.” “To be frank, I have not been informed of the purpose of this hearing. Is it disciplinary or...” “If it was disciplinary, would your testimony change?” Asked a third voice in a strangely soothing tone. The Toa wasn't sure how to answer, gawping for a moment before the first voice spoke again. “This hearing is, for the moment, purely inquisitive in nature. It is our duty to examine every detail of the late operation and determine if the objectives were completed, if the general secrecy of the Order of Mata-Nui was upheld, and if unnecessary Order casualties were sustained. If your actions were found by this council to have violated these three precepts, then this could easily become a disciplinary hearing. But first, as Order bylaws state, this council must hear your side of the story. Now, if you would prefer a more guided line of questioning, then I will begin. What is your designation within the Order?” The Toa sighed, swallowing her uncertainty before answering, “Vielu, Toa of Psionics. Code-name Kirikori. I was originally a member of the Order's training and reeducation department before the beginning of Operation Strident Three, at which point I and my charge were reassigned to the field teams, and I was given the rank Seeker.” There was a short pause as the council shuffled, obviously looking over some notes. Somewhere in the darkness, an auto-inscriber whirred, striking her every word into a fresh tablet. The third voice spoke next, asking, “who was your charge?” “Prisoner 5572390,” she responded quickly, as if the number was burned into her mind, “Kulu, Toa of Shadow. Captured on Volara-Nui at the end of Operation Tidal Four and referred to reeducation.” Another hesitation, more shuffling. A new, fourth voice chimed in, sharper than the others. “What was the nature of this reeducation?” The voice had come from her right, indicating that the council was arranged in a semi-circle around her. There were other slight noises further to her right, nearly behind her. Just how many councilors could there be? “My objective was to turn the prisoner into a viable Order agent, ensuring compliance and removing any enemy influence. My secondary objective had been to probe his mind and discover any actionable intelligence about the enemy that I could. I had been training him to shield his mind from telepathic attacks when the news came that we had been reassigned to Strident Three,” Vielu responded. “Tell us about Operation Strident Three,” the first voice said, “Tell us about Eskatae.” Vielu felt her insides drop, and her breathing became irregular. For the past few months, she had been trying very hard not to think about Eskatae. “I wish to speak frankly again,” she started, her voice beginning to quiver, “Eskatae, Operation Strident Three, was a nightmare, start to finish. Every day, every waking moment, was a new fight for survival. We were cut off, in the most hostile landscape imaginable. And the dreams... I don't think I could describe Eskatae to anyone. Part of me will never truly leave that island.” Despite Vielu's clear terror at the prospect of reliving Strident Three, the voices seemed unimpressed. “We've read the reports,” the second voice said, repeating his sentiment from earlier, “It's clear to anyone that Eskatae was Karzahni made over, and Strident Three a waking nightmare as you've described. If it wasn't there would be no reason for this council to convene. However, this council has a job to do, and that job begins with hearing your testimony. So, to the best of your ability, tell us all you can. If you must, reach out to that part of you that is still on Eskatae.” There was cruelty laden in that last jab, and Vielu tried hard not to let if affect her. “Fine. The first time I heard about Strident Three, Kulu and I were in a training session.” The smell of smoke hung heavy in the air, and the heat of the burning buildings staved off the cold of Ko-Koro. All around him, the Ko-Matoran were screaming, running for the ephemeral safety of their homes, as the twisted shapes of the Kra-Matoran chased them down. There was blood seeping into the snow as Kulu strode through the chaos, a blade in hand. In front of him stood the village's last defender, the only person still standing their ground. Turaga Velal's Hau shone through the acrid haze, and he brandished a bladed staff as the Shadow Toa approached him. Kulu laughed cruelly, kicking the crumpled form of a dead Ko-Matoran as he drew closer and closer. “I was afraid all of you would run rather than fight,” he said, leveling the blade at Velal. Velal seemed unimpressed. The shield generated by the Hau shimmered around him, causing the ashy snow to be deflected off it as it fell. “I will not let it be said that this village was laid to waste by monsters without a fight, and that Turaga Velal did not lay down his life for his Matoran.” The Turaga slammed the butt of his staff into the ground before charging headlong at Kulu. Kulu struck, but his blade bounced off of the shield, and he had to step backwards to dodge Velal's staff. "Very noble,” Kulu hissed, pulling his shadow up off the ground and manipulating it in his hands, “but it means nothing. If you fight or not, this village will still be ruins come tomorrow.” Kulu hurled the razor sharp shadow, hoping to break the shield surrounding the Turaga. It struck the force-field, causing it to flicker and blink, but it did not falter. Velal lashed out again, drawing a parry from Kulu that nearly knocked the staff away. The aged elder was not a match for Kulu in any way. It would only be a matter of time. “Fight me, monster!” Velal shouted, “I'm bound by no code. I will gladly add your blood to this snow!” Kulu laughed heartily at that, and did as he asked. The two clashed again and again, Kulu pummeling the shield with blade and shadow as Velal struck out at every opening. Despite his age, Kulu had to admit the Turaga was fast. Multiple times he had come within inches of the blade. Although he was enjoying the bout, Kulu realized that his soldiers must be watching the duel. Taking this long to dispatch a Turaga of all things would not look good. The fruitless sparring had to come to an end. Kulu batted away another attack before stepping backwards. He appraised his options before coming up with a plan. The light of the fires had given each of them a multitude of shadows, each one dancing on the ground around them. Kulu reached out with his powers, manipulating the shadows and crafting them into copies of him. In an instant, Velal was surrounded by no less than five Kulus. Surprised but not cowed, Velal examined the shadows, trying to find any difference between them and the real Kulu. He saw one, to his right, who seemed more animated than the others, moving more like a living being than the others. Velal lashed out with his remaining strength, swinging his staff over his head at the shadow Toa's mask. For just a moment, it seemed that the Turaga had done it. The staff disappeared within the shadow, causing it to flicker and disappear. Velal didn't have time to regret his choice, as the real Kulu struck from behind him, his blade sneaking past the shield and coming to rest in his back. Velal groaned as life left him, crumpling to the ground as Kulu pulled the sword out. As Kulu swung the blood off of his blade, something suddenly seemed off to him. The screaming had stopped, and the Kra-Matoran were nowhere to be seen. On the ground, Velal's empty eyes stared back up at him, the Hau seeming to silently judge him. Kulu felt sick, throwing the sword down as it became clear to him. He heard a clapping behind him, and he spun around to face it. It was another Toa, armored in blue and gold. The fires reflected off of her gilded Kanohi Arthron, her eyes glowing cerulean underneath it. “What a fight,” she said disdainfully, “You must have broken quite a sweat fighting that dangerous Turaga. It was really close at times, but you somehow made it through.” The image of the burning village started to blur around Vielu, and Kulu felt as if the world was made of smoke. With an exasperated flippancy, she snapped her fingers, causing the world to first stretch far away into nothingness and then go dark. To Kulu it felt like being dragged bodily through a lightless tunnel. With a gasp he jolted out of his seat. He hadn't been in Ko-Koro, or even on Volara-Nui. He had been sitting at a table across from Vielu, somewhere in the bowels of Daxia, in the midst of one of her “training” sessions. “Training” had been the word that she had used, claiming that the purpose of these sessions was to shield his mind from telepathic attacks. To Kulu, it was torture. A systematic undressing of every foul deed, every selfish desire, every negative thought he had ever conceived of. Nothing was safe from Vielu's probing grasp. He had made progress, sometimes able to block her march through his psyche. He was only successful in stopping one out of every ten attacks, however, and she made sure each failure stung as she trawled his mind for whatever struck her fancy. Despite what she claimed, Kulu swore he could sense relish in her torment. “That Makuta really did a number on you,”she said. Between them lay a writing slate and a stylus. The stylus seemed to move of its own accord as Vielu telekinetically penned her report on the session. As the stylus scratched on the slate, she stared Kulu down with those cold, blue eyes. “Your mind is less like an unlocked door than a door that was never closed to begin with. I've never seen a psyche more pliant than yours. It's honestly sad.” Kulu glared at her, arms bracing against the dampening shackle around his wrists. His old master, the Makuta Vortidax, had come and gone as he pleased from Kulu's mind, taking what he needed as he needed it. Kulu could never tell whenever Vortidax was reading his thoughts, unlike Vielu, whose presence raked against the inside of his head like a dull blade. “You can't blame the student who has a sorry teacher,” Kulu spat, hands balled into fists, “Go ahead, tell me to 'focus on the emptiness between thoughts' again. I'm sure that it will work this time.” Vielu was unfazed. “Focus on the emptiness between thoughts,” she deadpanned, “I'm sure it will work this time.” Kulu scowled at her, knowing a new assault was incoming. This time, however, he was ready for her. He focused on a particularly dark memory, one that kept even him up at night. She snapped her fingers again, and Kulu gasped as he felt his psyche take the full force of the attack. The light was suddenly swallowed by infinite blackness. In the impossible distance, the pinpricks of stars could be seen. The void crushed Kulu, ripping the air from his body with incredible force. He was a split second away from blacking out when suddenly the air returned. As he caught his breath, he noticed he was not alone in the cold nothingness. To his right was a strongly-built brown-armored body. This was Akarius, the Toa of Stone, his nemesis during the Volara War. To his right, Nemick, one of Volara-Nui's feckless Turaga. Directly in front of them all was the imposing form of Vortidax. In the distance past the Makuta loomed an enormous sapphire sphere, larger than any of them could comprehend. Sprawled over the surface of the sphere was the shadow of a Toa-like figure, submerged under the endless ocean that gave the sphere its color. Calmly and coldly, Vortidax explained to them that the figure was their world, the Matoran Universe. Everything they ever knew was contained within the massive robot. Before they could even process what he was telling them, Vortidax spoke again. “If Teridax is successful, he will kill Mata-Nui and place himself in control of his body. Everything, the world as we all know it, will be under his control. All of us will be at his mercy.” Kulu's memories bled together at that point before melting into a nightmare. Suddenly, Vortidax crumbled to dust before their eyes. The forms of Akarius and Nemick floated around Kulu, their eye sockets empty and their heartlights dead. In Vortidax's place stood a decrepit Matoran, armor rusted and corroded and eyes glowing a baleful yellow Its Hau was twisted, betraying no hint of emotion whatsoever. Through memories of memories and through corrupted hallucinations, it was like Teridax was really there, murderous visage and all. He was the nameless fear that hounded Kulu in his sleepless nights, the thing he dreaded more than execution at the Order's hands. There was another snap, and Kulu was again dragged back into reality. Teridax stared at him the whole way before erupting in a mass of oily black tentacles that seemed to chase him into the light of the chamber. This time it was Vielu who was jolted out of her seat. Her chair was sent to the floor as she jumped up, stepping backwards as if to put distance between her and the thing haunting Kulu's mind. Her eyes betrayed her fear as they darted around the room, searching for any explanation for what she had just witnessed. “What... was... that?” She demanded, back pressed against the wall. The stylus, which had been writing dutifully, now rolled back and forth over the slate before coming to a rest. “My burden, the weight of which you now share,” Kulu said, standing up as well, “Where in the body do you think Daxia is? The torso? The hand?” “Shut up,” Vielu hissed, composure regained, “This session is over.” There was a knock at the door. Vielu made a motion towards Kulu, shoving him back down into his seat with an invisible hand. She made another gesture towards the door, causing it to swing open. In stepped a tall, lithe figure with jet black armor; a Vortixx. Kulu had not seen this one before, but could tell just by the way he carried himself that he was a veteran agent. Vielu seemed surprised to see him here. “Rinax, come in, we had just finished today's session,” she said, indicating an empty seat beside her. Rinax shook his head, instead eyeing Kulu coldly. “There's no need,” he said placidly, continuing to stare at Kulu. It wasn't until an uncomfortable moment had passed before he even looked at Vielu, reaching into a pocket to retrieve something as he did. “I'm only here to give you this.” He reached her an object, what looked to be a small tablet of some sort. She took it and read it, her eyes widening as she did. She looked up at the other agent, mouth agape. “You're reassigning me?” She asked incredulously. Rinax shook his head again, before clarifying, “We're reassigning both of you. The prisoner's training is to be cut short, and he is to be transferred to a field assignment. Since you're his handler, that means you're coming too.” Now it was Kulu's turn to be shocked. “Field assignment...” he repeated, “Where?” Rinax turned his gaze back to the shadow Toa, regarding him with veiled disgust. “Eskatae. I'm certain neither of you have ever heard of it. It's an island in the far southern reaches.” “The legs,” Kulu mumbled, as if unable to stop himself. Rinax gave him a confused look, while Vielu glared fiercely at him. Rinax continued: “Anyway, a strange, interdimensional rift has appeared on the island, spewing pure energy into the area and causing a great disturbance. The only place that a similar event is known to have occurred is on Volara-Nui, where your Toa of Shadow saw it firsthand.” Kulu blinked in disbelief. Surely they must be joking. “I saw this rift, but that doesn't make me an expert on it. No more than I am an expert in you right now. Surely there must be others you can send,” Kulu reasoned. Rinax sighed. “Do you know what your file lists you as?” He asked. Kulu shook his head. Rinax looked at Vielu for the answer. “Exploitable/Expendable,” She said, almost sheepishly. Rinax nodded a smile beginning to form on his face. “Excellent!” He said, “Thanks to Vielu's probing, we've already gotten the exploiting part out of the way. Now comes time for the expendable part.” The tall Vortixx took a few steps towards Kulu until he was towering over him. In a voice barely above a whisper, Rinax growled, “You will find a way to close that rift or you will die.” Review Topic

Hello! I'm a collector of Bionicle collectibles. Kanohi, Krana, Kraata, Kanoka, Rhotuka, etc. I got frustrated by the lack of centralized information on what to collect and random information about the pieces. So I wrote one to hopefully include all of the info in one place. I've attached the full PDF but I also took a few screenshots so you can see what I'm talking about. Idk, hopefully it helps someone. Very glad to be done with this. Open to suggestions/corrections but it's gunna be a while before I ever think about this again. There's no good picture of a ton of the collectibles, so I took them all myself. Stole the rest from the wiki. EDIT: In case the link doesn't work I hosted it on a PDF hosting site. https://www.hostize.com/v/t8sfUN6zbE/collector-s-guide-to-bionicle-pdf Collector's Guide to Bionicle.pdf

Never had any sort of dream like that as far as I can remember. I probably had dreams like that when G1 was still going, being that it was my favourite franchise at the time, but that was nearly 2 decades ago for me so I can't be expected to remember dreams that far back when I can hardly remember dreams I've had much more recently.

Thanks! It's not obvious with the lighting, but there are gaps in the build I can see out of. Removing the Glatorian head pieces that function as the eyes gives me close to full field of vision.

Nice. Looks pretty fearsome. Are you able to see out of it?

Chapter 3 – Shadows By The Sea From the notes of Chronicler Crisda. No one goes out at night. Not anymore. Not those who value their lives, at least. That’s been the rule since the Shadow and his sons stepped into our city. I know people who’ve tried to break that rule. I know how many pieces they were found in. It was a rule the Toa were forced to learn, hours before most of the rest of us even learned of their return. * * * Trina To some extent or another, all of the Toa gathered on the beach were aware of what a Rahkshi was. But most of them had never had the misfortune to face one, let alone an army. Though army wasn’t quite the right word for his force, Trina reflected, as she raised her bladed tonfas and sent blazing bolts of lightning launching across the beach, breaking the charge of a few incoming Rahkshi. Though they held weapons and fielded formidable abilities, they still acted as little more than beasts, each one running or flying towards the Toa without heed for coordination or cooperation. And though the Toa had landed on the beach expecting to face Vahki, the defences they’d prepared were equally capable of fending off these newfound foes. The Toa on the front lines were focused wholly on blocking, their Hau shields deflecting most of the incoming fire. Those without Haus were shoring up the barriers, reinforcing and repairing them as swiftly as they were damaged. A few Toa – Icthilos, Bihriis, and Savnu included – roamed just outside the defences, striking at any damaged Rahkshi that managed to make it through the barrage of elemental blasts that Trina and the other Toa up on the boats were raining down. Up in the rigging of the ships waited Pahlil, Vhalem, and other Ba-Toa, who were using their powers to ground any airborne Rahkshi that flew within range. For the first few minutes, the battle went well. The Rahkshi – inexperienced and reckless, seeming to possess only low-level abilities – rarely drew close enough to do any meaningful damage. The barriers held up against the onslaught of their strange powers, and the beach was soon strewn with sparking shards of slain shadowspawn and sticky stains of oily ichor. Where each Rahkshi fell, gaseous wisps of antidermis wafted up from its kraata and armour, flittering away into the dark as if blown away by some unseen breeze. Some two dozen of the creatures were already dead or dying on the beach, and yet still more emerged from the shadows of Le-Metru, and screeches continued to ring out in the distance. Where did they all come from? Trina knew there had been some Rahkshi kept in the archives, and there had been rumours of wild ones lurking in the dark corners of the city, but there were far too many of them here for that. No one had seen or heard anything of the other Makuta since Teridax’s short-lived takeover. And there’d been no sign of breaches at any of the nearby Sea Gates according to the last report they’d gotten from Ilton’s ship. There was no time to dwell on the troubling question. From her vantage point, Trina could see the cracks beginning to appear. She’d seen it before, in countless battles on Xia, and knew all too well what to look for. Any one slip-up or moment of weakness usually wasn’t decisive on its own, but the longer a battle dragged on, the more those mistakes added up… and these Rahkshi showed no sign of stopping. Fatigue soon proved a greater foe than any Rahkshi. The Hau shields began to falter, allowing more Rahkshi fire to chip away at the barricades. And as elemental reserves began to dwindle, it took longer for the barricades to be repaired, and the Toa up on the boats had to become more selective with their attacks. In one spot, a stray fragmentation blast snuck through and injured two Toa. In another area a red-and-silver Rahkshi managed to make it all the way down the beach and over the barricades, effortlessly evading every attack sent its way and wounding several Toa before finally being entangled and incapacitated by a Bo-Toa’s vines. It was the first breach, but it wasn’t the last. A small group of blue-and-tan Rahkshi soon arrived on the scene, and these ones acted very differently to the rest. While most of the new arrivals continued charging blindly into battle, this group hung back and began scattering illusory Rahkshi of all hues across the beach, forcing the ranged Toa to spread out their attacks to try to stop any real Rahkshi from slipping through. But slip through they did, and it wasn’t long before another breached the barricades, and another, and soon the entire defence broke down into a desperate melee. “They’re through! Get down there!” Trina was leaping overboard before she’d even finished giving the order, stumbling in the sodden sand for a moment before making it onto the dry beach and flinging herself into the fray. The rest of her group were soon at her side, two or more Toa to each Rahkshi to try to overwhelm the creatures and keep them from using their powers. At the railings where the Toa had been firing from, Turaga and Matoran were now taking up positions, firing Kanoka, Rhotuka, Zamors, crossbows, and anything else they’d taken from Xia at the Rahkshi that were still making their way down the beach. Where moments ago Trina had been able to oversee the entire battlefield, now her picture became far more limited. She found herself side by side with Bihriis, singling out a black-and-gold Rahkshi whose body bore a ragged crust of rock in addition to its regular armour. It saw them coming and raised its staff, magnetically slinging shards of stone from one of the broken barricades towards the two women. What Bihriis’ telekinesis didn’t deflect was melted to slag by Trina’s lightning, and then they were upon the creature, slashing at it before it could let loose another wave of projectiles. Their blades skittered futility off its stony shell, even Bihriis’ powerful Skakdi saw struggling to chew through the rock. The Rahkshi replied in kind, slashing at Trina with its stave. She blocked the blade with her own weapons, but the sheer force behind the blow still sent her stumbling. Bihriis swung low at the Rahkshi’s leg, where the stone armour was thinner, not doing much damage but still distracting the creature from pressing its advantage against Trina. It sent its staff slicing back the other way, only for the strike to suddenly stop, as Bihriis seized the weapon with telekinesis and held it in place. As the creature screeched in irritation and began a brutal tug-of-war to retrieve its staff, Trina sprang into action, bringing both of her blades down on the Rahkshi’s exposed wrists – where it lacked the protection of its stone shell – and sending its severed hands flopping to the sand. Without its staff to enhance its abilities, the Rahkshi’s additional armour layers flaked and fell away, leaving the two Toa free to strike at its kraata case and end its nightmarish existence. It was a victory, but only a small one. The Rahkshi just kept on coming. * * * Vhalem Vhalem had lost track of how many Rahkshi he’d already sent crashing into the sand, their weight increased tenfold. They were resilient creatures, and he’d glimpsed more than one of them getting back up once the effects of his power had worn off, but that wasn’t his problem; his focus was on keeping the skies clear. But behind that focus, dread and doubt lurked. He’d been told this city was safe, the last haven of light and life, the final hope for the Matoran people. After everything he and the other Xian Matoran had endured, he’d wanted more than anything to believe that somewhere was safe. But they’d been inside the dome for barely an hour and come under attack twice. The attack from the Vahki had been awful, but he’d been willing to accept that as a tragic accident. But these Rahkshi… this was something else. He could see his fellow Xian Matoran-turned-Toa friends fighting desperately below, Ithnen struggling to manipulate earth on a beach mostly covered in sand, Erdo trying to wrangle Rahkshi with vines, Tivni searing them with plasma, but for every Rahkshi they managed to fell, four more joined the fray. The ones joining the battle now seemed older and stronger, their armour marred with scars and their powers far more formidable. They were strategising, too, calling out to each other with guttural hisses and shrieks. More than that, though, the stronger ones were protecting the others, summoning illusions or shadows to obscure their positions, or using their own abilities to counteract those of the Toa. As Vhalem loosed his powers against a brownish Rahkshi flying towards the ship, he felt a strange resistance to his attack. As he tried to increase the Rahkshi’s weight, an equal force of gravity from one of the Rahkshi elsewhere on the field fought to decrease it. The airborne Rahkshi wavered, losing control for a moment, then righted itself and loosed a fragmentation blast directly into the mast as it flew past, splintering it asunder. The mast and the Toa perched upon it came tumbling down in a mess of flailing sails and ragged rigging, crashing over the deck and spilling over the side. A cloying cloud of displaced sand and shattered wood filled the air as Vhalem and his companions were scattered across the beach or the boat. Screams and cries echoed over the sand, almost lost in the cacophony of battle. Splinters slicing at his forearms, Vhalem picked himself up off the beach, spitting out a mouthful of sand to groan as the movement strained the new bruises already forming across his chest and back. He heard a whine behind him and turned towards it, spotting the brown Rahkshi flying back for another pass. He used his powers to manipulate a flapping shred of sail, sending it floating up directly into the Rahkshi’s path, entangling and blinding the Rahkshi before it could unleash another blast from its staff. Flailing wildly, it tumbled out of flight mode and crashed down somewhere over the beach. He didn’t see where it landed. What he saw instead was another Rahkshi – yellow, with a fiery light glowing in its eyes – shuffling towards him. One of its legs looked to have already been mangled by a Su-Toa somewhere on the battlefield, but if the creature could feel pain, it wasn’t showing. Blistering beams of heat emanated from its eyes, leaving black marks on Vhalem’s armour and singeing his organics as he scrambled for cover, managing to dive behind the fallen mast. Unfortunately, the weakened wood offered little protection, swiftly beginning to smoulder and burn, so Vhalem turned his defence into an offence, using gravity to make the burning chunk of the mast “fall” towards the Rahkshi, bowling the creature over in a spray of sparks and splinters. Any other being might have been at least momentarily stunned by the impact, but the Rahkshi was already rising once more… and then it fell for good as a reddish blur flashed past, taking its head clean off before vanishing into the fray once more. Though his rescuer was moving almost too fast to perceive, Vhalem had spent enough time fighting alongside Savnu to recognise her fighting style. And then, as if the death of that one Rahkshi somehow mattered to its kin, the creatures began to retreat, each of them issuing a strange, plaintive cry as they scuttled off into the shadows of the empty Metru. The true reason for their retreat made itself evident to Vhalem as he cast his gaze upwards; the first rays of daylight were beginning to filter through the Sun Holes high above. The night was over.

I've been making wearable masks for the better part of a decade now (with varying degrees of success). Thought I'd go all out this year.

I used to think that maybe I wasn't a true and pure Bionicle fan as after all these years I hadn't had The Dream. I was so invested in the story ever since 2001 that it was sort of depressing I hadn't had it by this point. I mean you can't force a dream, but then it happened around 2022. I had The Dream and I was event taking a bit of a break from Bionicle. Two months later I had it for a second time even! It felt like a coming of age or some passage of trial as a Bionicle fan. The dream itself wasn't impressive. I was my current age walking through the Lego aisle with my wife at Target as I sometimes will do to see what Lego is releasing these days and sure enough the old Mata line was on the selves. Cognitively it knew it was a rerelease, but it kept mostly true to form in it's simplicity. I picked up the Tahu canister, examined it, then I woke up.

Should be under "entry actions", the button at the bottom left of the post?

14 years is a long time. I haven't come across this story before, so I look forward to reading the completed version once it's updated.

Thanks so much for featuring me. Embers has been a real labour of love these last two years, so it's been great to finally start posting it. I'm glad other people have been reading and enjoying it as well. New chapters will be added weekly, with the next one dropping tomorrow.

Recently over in the BZPower Library, lore-extraordinaire Nato G began sharing a new tale set in an alternate Bionicle universe. Go read the first two chapters of many to come in Embers - A Bionicle Saga and then share your thoughts in the Review Topic. They have six books planned, so if you like what's there so far, make sure you follow the topic so you don't miss a chapter moving forward!View the full article

thanks bambi! thought that counts!

Happy (belated) birthday!

thanks! @Mushy the Mushroom this is my second birthday on bzp so probably like 15 less than you guys

Hello, to any of you who are still here. I've been busy! Busy with life, busy growing and learning, but also busy writing! I am pleased to announce that I've officially finished PART VII, and thus I'll be undertaking a (brief) refresher of this story, in order to ensure a more cohesive reading experience. So, over the next few weeks, I'll be editing some of the earlier chapters, before I eventually start posting the newest, and final part. If you're new, welcome! If you're old, welcome again, and thanks for still being here! It's only been 14 years since I starting posting. LOL. Anyway-- more to come. Love ya!

I'd go to that party! Happy birthday @confused piraka!

🎼 The party on the loose, Nothin' you can do; The birthday baker on the move, Pretend presents coming through, Treats, thankfulness for kindness, and candles comin' too Add the stick for your Piñata, too All here to wish the best birthday to you! Yo, Yo, @confused piraka! 🎼🥳🎊

IC: The Ghost (The Tower) “Very good,” he said with a curt nod. If he had any awareness of Taldrix's renewed suspicion, he hid it well. “If you would be so kind, please close the door on your way out.” It was not a request. OOC: @Toru Nui IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; Killing Time) “Say whatever it is you want to say, boy, and put us both out of your misery.” Even as he spoke, the veteran Glatorian’s eye didn't so much as glance away from the cave opening. OOC: @Burnmad IC: Portia (NPC; Arena Hotel, Tajun) As the bell's chime echoed on, Vraek was left waiting. It took almost a minute before a door opened behind the reception desk, and a bright, ruffled young Agori stepped out, smiling so widely this could only be her first customer service job. "Welcome to the Arena Hotel!" She announced, with ear-piercing cheer. "How can I help you this evening?" OOC: @Toru Nui

Thank you. I'll be honest, I didn't think too much about strict chronology. I don't know the HF timeline as well as the Bionicle timeline. I reference Von Nebula, so it has to take place at the earliest when Stormer was a rookie. I didn't have a specific number of years before the main story in mind, though.