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IC: Selamat - Iron Canyon Selamat continued to step forward into the cave, eyeing the bats that lined the ceiling warily. He wasn't familiar with bats; he did not leave the vicinity of Vulcanus often enough or for long enough to spend much time sheltering in caves. He knew that they were supposed to be harmless, but that knowledge did little to put his enhanced limbic system at ease. His implant was pumping adrenaline into his bloodstream, making his breathing ragged and his movements twitchy. Doing his best to suppress the artificial fight-or-flight response, the spear-wielding Glatorian looked back at his allies, and signaled them over with a jerky wave. "Looks clear," he said in a low tone, though his voice sounded strained. He forced himself to lower the spear's tip until it rested against the cave floor. OOC: @a goose @Nato G @oncertainty @Toru Nui @~Xemnas~ IC: Skrall - Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall did not stop to follow the gaze of his compatriots as he walked about the wagons, trying to complete a cursory inspection before Atakus returned. It was easy enough to guess what they were looking at; those Skrall called to the Sisters' chambers had to go somewhere, since their brothers would not suffer their presence and hadn't the courtesy to put them out of their misery. It was a given that most would pass through this place, as they were suited to little else than the purposes the Bone Hunters had for them. An unbroken Skrall was already nearly incapable of surviving in the South, he knew (for such was the subject of a great deal of pondering of which all Skrall were guilty, but to which none would admit). A broken Skrall, however, was incapable of surviving anywhere that he was not given food and simple, easy tasks. The Skrall in this respect was not so different before and after the Sisters had selected him; both led lives defined by structure and authority. From wake to sleep, one's day was defined by the authority of one's superior. From the rations he ate, to the tasks he performed, he lived within a cage made from the will of another. The difference - aside from the veneer of honor to which the Skrall clung so dearly - was that the unbroken Skrall filled the cage of his orders like water filled a cracked vessel, pushing at the walls and spilling out from any gap. An unbroken Skrall would trade his rations for drugs from the South, push himself to complete his tasks early, and find a secluded spot to look up at the sky without being observed. Broken Skrall, on the other hand, were prone to standing slack-jawed when not occupied. He finished his walk about the wagons, and frowned. Atakus was still nowhere to be seen. He wondered what the Agori was talking about with the barbarians' leader. A simple exchange wouldn't take so long... That business Fero mentioned must be something more complex. Which meant it was quite likely that Skrall wouldn't learn any more details about it. OOC: @a goose @BULiK @Nato G @oncertainty @Toru Nui @Vezok's Friend

IC: Skrall (Markets; the Bone Hunter Stronghold) The scout glanced in the indicated direction, keeping his head still so as not to give away his redirected attention. Even so, he was caught off-guard by the singularly pitiable sight behind the bars, and felt his face contort in disgust. As if reading his comrade’s mind, he spoke quietly: “That one was broken long before it came here.” He knew the look in the not-Skrall’s eyes; living in Roxtus these past few years, he had seen such wretches more than once. They went into Skull Mountain as warriors, and came out… something else. What they did, they did for the furtherment of the Skrall race – it was the scout’s belief that this was a noble sacrifice for the good of all. These husks were the remains of heroes. But that was a belief that even he would not dare speak aloud, and it made the sight of them no less unsettling. “I don't believe in witchcraft, but such sights give me pause.” OOC: @Vezok's Friend @Mel @oncertainty @Burnmad @Toru Nui IC: The Ghost (The Tower) “Interesting.” The Ghost fixed his four-eyed gaze upon Taldrix, his wide smile brimming with condescension. “You are a quick study. Tell me, Taldrix: does it offend you, that I so easily came to control your people?” OOC: @Toru Nui IC: (Valley of Death) The cave opening yawned back at the two Glatorian, pitch-black and silent. A gentle sussuration passed along the ceiling above; bats, a small and relatively docile variety, who seemed uninterested in their new guests. OOC: @Burnmad

IC/ Skrall/ Bonehunter Stronghold/ Markets/ The conversation had lasted long enough for her to return to the moment after her surprising revelation and to finish her ration bar. Apparently they were still on the subject of how best to conquer all that they saw before them, openly talking strategy. Maybe a bit too openly. She started to look around to see if there were any unfriendly eyes or ears nearby that were too close for comfort. All the while she wondered why they were discussing strategy in the first place - after all they already had been tasked with one. “War is not the southern way.” she chimed in. “Save it for the arenas.” That’s where disputes were settled. And when they got there they would use the South’s own honorable system to take whatever they laid claim to. Skrall would challenge, fight - and win. All is as he willed it. Just then, she felt the all too familiar sensation of eyes on her. She knew it well from home - had known it all her life. Those who knew what she was - or suspected - staring at her in all ways subtle and obvious alike. She slowly, deliberately turned and looked over to the barred window to meet the others' gaze. For a split second she thought it might have been their prisoner, already processed. But this thing was much more emaciated. Only color hinted at what had once been skrall - but was no more. Was that what awaited the unfortunate one they had just handed over? Maybe skrall could be broken after all? The possibility disgusted her and she made no effort to hide her reaction. She nudged spec-ops to get his attention, shot him a dark look and nodded her head in the direction of their observer... OOC: @a goose @BULiK @Nato G @oncertainty @Burnmad @Toru Nui @Mel

Content Warning: internalized victim blaming, allusions to sexual assault a slave | bone hunter stronghold Sometime in between the many cycles of sleeping and waking, you hear them. Voices. Skrall voices. Not exactly intelligible to your keen but un-enhanced hearing, but achingly familiar in their tones and rhythms. Perhaps another will be added to the not-hunter’s pen today, though surely not one as pathetic as you. Then one of the voices becomes clearer, unmistakable in its tone—a women’s voice, in the unmistakable dialect of the Skrall. Something that can only be the voice of a Sister. You are half convinced it is that voice that moves your limbs, that forces your breath out throat-drying ragged as you creep toward the barred window to get a better look, expecting the iron grasp of another will in your hands, in your body, at any moment. The others do not notice you in their equally fitful sleep, the soft-steppers in your feet doing you, at least good service. It is hard to see outside in the daytime; your night-seeing eyes spin the heat into smears and veils of color. You squint, trying to focus on the tall black figures as they move through the market. OOC: @Vezok's Friend @a goose @BULiK @Nato G @oncertainty @Burnmad @Toru Nui Someone is watching. Your choice on whether you notice or not.

IC: Escus - The Cave, the Valley of Death "Hrm," Escus grunted, and set down the axe in the sand. It was only a moment before he lowered himself to the ground as well. "I'll take the next watch, then. The second. The one where I get to sleep before and after." He chuckled, a hollow and humourless sound. He laid in repose, propped against the cave wall. With one hand he shifted his helmet forewards, covering his eyes. Even in the darkness of the cave, he needed more to have a chance at sleep. The heat troubled him. OOC: @Burnmad @a goose @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @Toru Nui IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero Lorqua couldn't help but smile. She turned away from the others, Lutenus and the Agori both, and looked towards the horizon. She shouldn't have doubted the Glatorian, nor that whirring sparking thing he had grafted into his head. Not for a second. Lutenus was sharp, at least. "Lutenus here knows a lot of people," she says, nodding, her back still turned. "Lot of friends, more acquaintances. In fact, that's the only reason I'm doing this tournament business at all. Not usually my scene. If you want to bet on me, well, thank him." OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist

IC: Lutenus (Outskirts of Atero, Training Ground) - Eye See You The Glatorian’s head snaps to gaze down on Mard and Ahmoa, cyber-eye looming over them, as if looking straight through them. His smile said ‘OK, I believe you,’ but his eye said ‘you ####ing liars’. “Kind of you to say, but there’s no need for…” But then, his voice trails off, and his smile fades, replaced by tiredness and confusion. “For… for… for…” The eye loses focus on the two Agori and the aperture begins opening and closing rapidly while making noises it probably shouldn’t be making. “For your ah, ‘pity bet’, as it were.” He finishes, and suddenly its as if nothing strange happened at all, and he begins to walk away. But then… “Well, we should be going - oh!” As he pretends to only now suddenly remember, he stops and turns back to the training ground proprietors. “I never asked. Who was that Iron Glatorian you were with, earlier? I believe I vaguely remember them from somewhere…” He did not, of course, but moving his gaze towards the horizon while holding his chin in his left hand in thought may convince them he did. @Techn0geist @oncertainty IC: Vraek (Tajun Arena, Hotel Reception) - No Reservations About a Reservation Though she had briefly entertained notions of letting Jeizmel stay with her at her lodgings in Tajun, Vraek knew this couldn’t be so. Her room at the arena’s hotel would be a one-Glatorian sized room - if Metus knew what was good for him that was, as bookings for people who weren’t named Strakk or Gelu were under his jurisdiction. Or at least, Strakk was. Gelu had quit and taken up a disreputable mercenary profession. Which left the position of Iconox’s Second Glatorian open… not that Vraek cared about that sort of thing. She didn’t. Didn’t at all. Catching a brief glance of what she assumed was just a sleeping vagrant and not the recently murdered body of Tajun’s Atero councilor, she enters the arena building. Vraek walks up the counter and dings the bell. Reserved or not, she refused to spend the night in Scarabax’s Delight. Again. @a goose IC: Taldrix (Bone Hunter Stronghold, the Tower) - Be Aware of His Stinger Tail! She was beginning to doubt that the Ghost respected anything, much less his own people- Wait… four eyes… were… could the Zesk… the Sand Tribe… what?! Taldrix wants to look to see if there was a stinger tail or a scar where a tail would be on the Ghost’s waist, but there’s no way for her to do that without looking like she was checking out his- “No sir, I believe that’s everything. I’ll continue to monitor the Aula Agoria and report on her condition.” @a goose IC: Xyde (Iron Canyon, Cave) - Bat Cave “I’ll take third.” Xyde trudges into the cave alongside the others. It didn’t seem any more inviting than the valley itself, but it was a shelter - in the same vein that a dagger was a scalpel. They imagine that this is the sort of place that Ash Agori were expected to live in and swap stories about any recently ‘defiled’ graves. What was it with people demanding that their belongings be buried alongside them? They were DEAD. Did they think they’d be able to take their prized possessions with them into that undiscovered country, from which no traveler returns? Hopefully, the people of Ferrum hadn’t been summoned to that place just yet… @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @a goose @oncertainty @Burnmad

IC, Aurax: Iron Canyon Aurax grunted in acknowledgment before turning to the rest of the group. "I'll take whatever shift nobody wants," he said bluntly. OOC:@Burnmad @oncertainty @Toru Nui @Nato G @a goose

IC: Skrall (Bone Hunter Stronghold, Marketplace) - Witchcraft! Ah, of course - their games. Skrall had nearly forgotten. But would the south really abandon their independence, something they clearly prized by refusing to truly unite under one banner, merely because the Skrall would utterly demolish them in their arenas? Though, given how demoralizing that might be, they may eventually give up purely to save themselves further degradation- Wait, what was everyone looking at? There was… what once, may have been Skrall, behind metal bars, watching them. He gave a glance to the scout, as if to say ‘see what I’m talking about?’ Wait, did he really just say he didn’t believe in witchcraft? They had a conversation about this on the way here Skrall could only half-remember - did he really not believe that existed? How had he survived this long? Something just crossed Skrall’s mind. Logically, both the Renegades and the southerners must have females - unless they grew like plants, which somehow Skrall doubted. And, just as logically, these females must have powers of their own. Hopefully, this disqualified them from raiding, or the arena. Skrall would raise this point, but he had been obliquely commanded to be silent, so he did so. @Vezok's Friend @Mel @a goose @Burnmad @oncertainty @Nato G IC: Taldrix (Bone Hunter Stronghold, the Tower) - Easy Come, Easy Go Now, what Taldrix wanted to say was that she wasn’t offended at all, because she knew that the fault lied with the average Gatherer, half as smart as a Zesk and about twice as ugly, but that might not be the best thing to say to someone who shared the Zesk’s four eyes. What she was about to say may also not be the best thing, but if she pretended to be subservient too much, he might get suspicious. “I imagine you told Crucius and the others what you’ve told me - or a version of it, anyway. I can’t say it offends me. Who wouldn’t pledge allegiance to you if they were convinced of ULTIMATE POWER being their reward?” Something takes over Taldrix, as she looms over the map. “The desert would be at our mercy.” And then she snaps back to normal. “Of which there is none.” Now, if it turned out whatever was left in the canyon wasn’t as impressive as the Ghost made it sound, or if they lost too many men to the plague or the beasts known to roam that area trying to uncover it… well. If the Ghost thought it was easy gaining control, he shouldn’t be surprised how easy it would be to lose it all if he couldn’t keep his promise. Even if Crucius and those two buffoons outside still stood by him after that, they’d be significantly outnumbered by the rest of the Gatherers, and Taldrix sincerely doubted even a Great Being could survive that many angry people with sharp implements. @a goose

IC: Skrall (Bone Hunter Stronghold, Marketplace) - Be Careful What You Wish For Skrall began mulling it over. The scout’s comparison of him to a poorly-handled Spikit seemed to indicate that he believed that he only wanted to crush the Renegades because they were closer, not because they were… repulsive. They treated their slaves abominably and won them through foul means. The Skrall did not do such things… not in the same way, which was the crucial difference. There was no similarly between the Legion and the Renegades apart from something of a shared origin, nothing more. Nothing. As for his proposed strategy of attacking the tribe with the food first, this too sickened him. He would have vocally objected, but the Special Operations Skrall had commanded silence, without outright saying he was commanding silence, which was also insulting. Defeating the south by starving them would lack honor, especially since… Skrall searched for the right word. It was apparent that most of them were servants, but were not slaves, but also not warriors. They had those strange circular pieces of metal with little value to barter among themselves with. How very strange. The deaths of these people would stain the Legion’s conquest. Surely, their target should instead be… He froze as he contemplated the implications of what the scout proposed. A victory through such dishonorable means was bad enough, but then there was the tribe with the water, and the tribe that forged using lava, using the metals from the other two tribes. The southern tribes could only survive independently of each other through trading and their games. His eyes go wide in realization. There was no feasible way for the Skrall to achieve an honorable victory without either conquering every tribe at once - which clearly, none of his brothers here would have any confidence in - or by striking at their hub, the city known as Atero. A city full of those who were not warriors. Skrall decided he preferred thinking with his sword. @Burnmad @a goose @BULiK @oncertainty @Vezok's Friend @Nato G @Mel IC: Taldrix (Bone Hunter Stronghold, the Tower) - Her Understanding “Yes. I think I do understand.” Taldrix said, nodding her head. “You came to us, and not the tribes, because we are easier to control. None of that democracy garbage in the tribes, where you win based on how well you can lie and how much wealth you can throw around. You came to us, because if they helped you, you’d have to give them their share. They might even have tried to destroy the ruins, if it conflicted with whatever religious nonsense is being peddled nowadays. And the Skrall would never listen to you, being so far up their own backsides that their meals are recyclable.” She tapped where Ferrum is on the map. “I also understand that you were so interested in Ferrum’s plague because it happens to be close to where these ruins are. We’ll be at risk of contracting it the more we operate in this region, so we need as much information on it as we can…” She turned to the Ghost. “This would be my reasoning if I were you, at least, sir.” @a goose

🎼 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: Selamat - Iron Canyon Cave (First Watch) Selamat stepped over to the spot where Tueris had sat himself, and lowered himself to a cross-legged position a short distance away. There he sat, watching the outside, which was dead still but for the occasional stream of sand blown over the lip of the canyon by the winds which raged across the desert above. His spear lay in front of him, easy to reach in case a threat should appear. His hands, free of its weight for the first time in some hours, now rested in his lap. His back was straight, body almost in a meditative posture, if not for the fact that meditation would be rather difficult with the amount of cortisol still flowing through his veins. He did not speak to his watch partner. Not yet, anyhow. He wasn't sure how to start a conversation with someone like Tueris. In a way, he had the elder Glatorian at somewhat of a disadvantage. He had seen Tueris' fights when he was a youth, followed his career in the arena long before Selamat had ever stepped onto those sands himself. Tueris, on the other hand, had likely only ever seem him once or twice as anything other than a member of the mass of onlookers in the arena stands, and then only in passing. He wondered if Tueris even knew he was an arena hopeful-- perhaps, he thought, the Second Glatorian would be more optimistic about this expedition through the Iron Canyon if he knew how many hours Selamat had spent practicing? Something told him: Probably not. But, perhaps he might at least get enough of a sense of his younger Glatorian's dedication to Vulcanus that he wouldn't conceal any more information from him. That was the main thing Selamat wanted to discuss, and the primary reason he'd chosen this watch: Was there anything else Tueris hadn't told them yet? But his having such a topic in mind only made initiating all the more difficult, for a number of reasons. So he remained silent for the time being, waiting at least until the cadence of their companions' breaths shifted to one which suggested they were asleep. OOC: @a goose

Content Warning: internalized victim blaming, allusions to sexual assault a slave | bone hunter stronghold You stare. OOC: @Vezok's Friend @a goose @oncertainty @Burnmad @Toru Nui @Nato G

IC: Selamat - Iron Canyon Cave Selamat nodded as Tueris spoke. "I can take the first watch as well," he said. Better now than later; he was already on-edge with adrenaline, and when that subsided would come the crash. OOC: @a goose

Please don't bother Lego's customer service on this.

IC: Gayle - Iron Canyon Cave No one wants to stand watch, she thought to herself, resisting the temptation to give voice to the remark. Instead, she said "I'm happy to take the next watch," and followed Tueris towards the cave. OOC: @Burnmad @oncertainty @~Xemnas~ @Toru Nui @a goose

IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; Valley of Death) Though Tueris looked unimpressed with the quiver in the the Vulcanusian’s voice and the condescending tone of the Tajunian, he held his tongue, and nodded. “Alright. We rest here, and keep watch in two-person shifts. I’ll take the first, and the rest of you can decide the remaining assignments amongst yourselves.” He walked towards the cave as he spoke, hardly even looking at the rest of the party. OOC: @Burnmad @oncertainty @~Xemnas~ @Toru Nui @Nato G

I called LEGO Customer Service for the first time in 2006 when I bought Brutaka and his weapon pieces weren't included, and they sent me replacements for free. I called them again in 2008 over some of the new joint pieces breaking and also received complementary replacements (which also later broke, but that's not Customer Service's fault). They're not really there to answer the kind of questions you were asking.

IC: Mard & Ahmoa - Training Ground, outskirts of Atero Play it cool, Ahmoa thought, planting the handle-end of the axe in the sand and crossing his hands atop the blade. "You're right on one count, ma'am, but sadly mistaken on another. We follow the Grand Tournament season as closely as we can, we could be said to be "fans"; alas our position does not afford us the luxury of travelling to see the bouts themselves." Play it cool, Mard thought, awkwardly hugging the bundle of javelins to his chest and trying not to let any spill. "Yeah, we don't own this joint, we're just staff. Our boss, that's the lucky sonovabitch who jets all across the desert for the Gee-Tee. And every other damn fight. 'Business trips', my be-hind." Mard had no fear of admonishment for his comments, given the target of them was scarcely present for anyone to report them. Ahmoa was caught halfway between rolling his eyes and chuckling at Mard as he shuffled away to stow the javelins in the equipment shed, deciding on neither. "We look after the grounds while the proprietor is tending to his many-other ventures. As such, it is rare for us to attend Tournament matches even when they come Atero-way, given those tend to be our busiest seasons." The Vulcanusian put on his best customer-facing smile. "Don't fret, after tonight's performance we'll be sure to keep an eye and ear out for your names in the Tournament roster. Should either of you make it to the Atero stages, and if fortune smiles on us, you may even see us ring-side." He didn't even tell this to every client, honest. "You'll definitely see me at the betting tables!" Mard exclaimed as he returned, dusting off his hands. "Lorqua, your odds just went up." His excitement was only half-put-on, the green guard known to make the odd wager. "It would only be fair for me to put some coinage down on Lutenus here, then." Ahmoa replied with a grin, and no intent of following through on that. OOC: @oncertainty @Toru Nui Apologies! I've been remiss in posting these boys for some months now 😅

IC: (CelTech workshop, Tajun) "Celrys to perform external diagnostic...? Test Del I?" “Exactly right, Del. But this is a test with no wrong answers – just give the response you find to be most fitting.” Celrys turned away from Del, producing two large, flat metal ovals, with strange cylinders attached. With a flourish, he unfolded them into two chairs; one he offered to Skyra, the other he took for himself. At last, he turned once more to Del. “Now, are you sitting comfortably?” ”Yeah, I’m feeling pretty comfortable.” Skyra responds as she sits down, even if she wasn’t the target of the question. For as much as the Ferrumite struggled to conceptualise 'comfort', they did seem to register the implicit command, turning and reclining back into the patient chair. A thumb rose from a closed hand at their side, signalling in the affirmative. “Then we’ll begin,” Celrys smiled, the scope over his eye sliding back into place, its glassy surface now rendered opaque by a dim glow. “Now, this examination will take the form of a series of questions. We’ll start off simple, in order to establish a baseline: what village are we currently in?” A deceptively complex question if one still doesn't quite grasp what a village is. Del focused hard, tracing back along previous lines of conversation and inquiry, lines now joining blazingly fast between dots of ever-increasing proximity. <<Find Celrys. Find. Locate. Location. Skyra Daring the best driver. Driver. Drive. Go. From and to. To Tajun. Tajun location. Celrys here in location. Celrys in Tajun. Tajun.>> "Tajun." Del droned. "Tajun what village are we—" they paused, reassessing. "...what village we are in. “Fascinating.” Celrys couldn’t help but lean forward in his seat. “Now, what is my name?” "Celrys." Del responded with startlingly minimal delay. Easy, names were established back in Atero. Their eyes left the ceiling and fell on the owner of that name. "Celrys you." “Very good. What about your companion, here? What’s her name?” "Skyra Daring the best driver." Their gaze now turning to the Tesaran. It became apparent that Del considered that their full name; still a ways to go. Skyra grinned, looking at Del. “****** right I am~” She'd been good about keeping quiet during the test so far, at least till now. Celrys couldn’t resist smiling, though he quickly suppressed it, adopting a studiously professional expression as he refocused his attention on Del. “And what about your name?” The tiniest, imperceptible to anyone but maybe Celrys, hesitation. The infinitesemal, non-zero, doubt. The name from the artificer's logs played on a thousand loops in a thousandth of a second. "Del I." the Iron Tribal stated, asserted. ]Celrys nodded, seriously. “And what village are you from, Del?” Got us out of Ferrum. <<Out of Ferrum. From and to. Ferrum. Ferrum Plague. Ferrum.>> "Ferrum is a village, like Tajun." they parroted. "Del I from Ferrum village...?" From their perspective, Del was from Ferrum as much as they were from Atero as much as they were from the deep desert. Inconclusive. “I see. Well, perhaps we can skip the ‘childhood memories’ section; how about some maths?” Though Celrys smiled sympathetically, there was a knowing glint in his eye. “What is three plus three?” "Six." Instant. “Three multiplied by three?” "Nine." Instant. “Three divided by three.” "One." Instant. “Three minus three.” "Zero." Like a ping-pong match. “The square root of three hundred and thirty-three, rounded to three significant figures.” "Eighteen point two." “Divided by two?” "Nine point one." “Divided by zero.” Tick. "Inconclusive. Non-conclusive" Nice try. Celrys smirked. “Multiplied by zero.” "Zero." Instant. “Excellent.” Celrys leaned back, looking satisfied. “Logic problems next. A woman orders a prosthetic right arm; she lost her original arm in an accident. The prosthetic is installed and works exactly according to specifications. Has it always been her arm?” "No." Not as quick as the maths test but remarkable in the firmness of the conclusion. Del did not show their working. “There are two ropes in front of you; each takes exactly one hour to burn, but they do so at inconsistent rates. Some segments may burn faster or slower than others, and you have no way to tell which are which. How can you use the ropes to measure forty-five minutes?” This took a little longer for the Ferrumite to puzzle out, although time is subjective and 'two seconds' is a longer span of time than 'two nanoseconds'. "Burn two end of one rope. Burn one end of two rope. Burn two end of two rope when one rope finish burn. Time when two rope finish burn: forty-five minutes." Celrys nodded. “Two men stand before two doors; only one can take you to your destination. One man only tells the truth, the other tells only lies. With only one question, how would you learn from them which door to choose?” The underlying language of a good riddle was pure logic, as was Del's. The overlying language still needed some work, a piecemeal of limited vocabulary and patchwork mimicry. Thus some words, and their adjoined meanings, slipped through the myriad cracks. <<Clarification.>> "Query: what truth is? What lies is?" Celrys perked up, sitting upright. “Truth is fact. Lies are not. For instance, it would be true to say that my name is Celrys; it would be a lie to claim that my name is Skyra Daring.” Rapid extrapolation. <<Facts, not. Truth, lies. One man would tell door to destination. One man would tell door not to destination. One question.>> An answer in the form of a— "Query: which door would not-you man tell to choose?” The meaning was hopefully communicated adequately. “Would you walk through the door the man answers with, or the other?” "Other door. Truth-man tell lies-door that lies-man tell. Lies-man tell lies-door that lies-man lies that truth-man tell. Truth. Lies." Cement filling cracks. “Perfect. One last puzzle: A woman orders a prosthetic right arm. She pays up-front. The parts are acquired only after she makes her order, to her specification, and it is tailored specifically for her. Once it is complete, she immediately claims it, and it is installed. Has it always been her arm?” Another linguistic trait to experiment with. An impressive five seconds passed. "...Yes. Always been her arm, not always been her arm." Celrys was absolutely beaming; if not for his earlier denial, he would seem every bit the proud parent. “Absolutely fantastic. This is simply marvellous.” He turned his chair to face Skyra. “Well, bad news first: Del here is dealing with some serious brain damage. It would take tests I’d rather not subject them to in order to confirm the exact cause and nature, but as you yourself have doubtless noticed, amnesia is the primary symptom.” Skyra nods solemnly, even the driver knowing when to be serious. “Right, I figured something like that was up.” He looked once again to Del. “The good news is that your short-term memory is in perfect working order, and your other cognitive functions are performing remarkably well, especially given the circumstances. There are only two lingering questions that remain: the first is your ability to convert short-term memories into long-term, and the second is the matter of your nervous system at large. I would like to observe you over the course of the next few days – not twenty-four seven, just a few check-ups – and, in addition to this, I would like to perform another test tomorrow. This one would be rather… different, in format, focusing primarily on your adrenal response and your physical coordination. Is this acceptable to the both of you?” <<Memory. . .>> As with many other things, the capacity for long-term memory had not occurred to Del. They set about performing an assessment of the events of the last few days, their own internal diagnostic; back past the long drive across the roiling dunes, the faces of denizens of a dive bar in Atero, waking up in a training ground tended to by a kindly Agori couple. Beyond that, there was... there was… A voice but no words. An answer but no answer. "Brain damage. Del I... damage?" they said more to themself than either Celrys or Skyra. Subjectivity and unsurety crept back into their voice. One would almost swear their tone was troubled. The truth of their scenario eluded them. Truth. It was vital they know. Anything less than optimal was un— "Acceptable. Just a few check-ups. Another test tomorrow." ”Well if Del is cool with it then so am I, guess we’ll be seeing you tomorrow Doc.” “Tomorrow, then,” Celrys said with a smile. OOC: Big thanks to @Techn0geist and @Snelly for the jam!

Prologue – Dying Of The Light From the notes of Chronicler Crisda. Deep down, everyone’s afraid of the dark. It’s a powerful, primal thing, an instinct born long before any of us were created. In the dark, anything could be waiting. A ravenous rahi, a roving Rahkshi, Karzahni or Irnakk or Tren Krom or any one of the other nightmares of legend. But now we know there’s nothing waiting for us in the dark. Nothing at all. And somehow, that makes it even more frightening. Two years have passed since everything changed. Two years since the Turaga of Metru Nui sent the universe’s greatest Toa heroes to Karda Nui to reawaken the Great Spirit, a mission from which they never returned. Two years since the day that the stars formed the shape of the Kanohi Kraahkan and Makuta Teridax proclaimed his dominion over creation. Two years since war and strife wracked our universe. Two years since the terrible earthquake, and the even more terrifying stillness that followed it. Two years since the lightstones started to die. It started small, at first. Old stones fizzling out, as they sometimes did. But then newer stones started to die as well. Even the fresh ones dug out of the mines seemed dimmer. And then, within only a few weeks, there were no functioning lightstones left to be found. We could still hook them up to the city’s generators and charge them that way, but whatever had once empowered them naturally no longer worked. Soon, the same thing started to happen to our heatstones. And it wasn’t just Metru Nui. Boats began to arrive, ferrying Matoran, Turaga, and Toa from shores far afield, where the dark and cold had rendered entire lands unliveable. I myself was among them. Only the heat of the Great Furnace and the lifegiving light of Twin Suns still shining high overhead had kept Metru Nui from meeting the same fate. The city welcomed the refugees with open arms, of course. More Matoran meant more workers to help keep the city functioning enough for us all to continue surviving. More Turaga meant more wisdom to aid in navigating our new situation. More Toa meant more protectors. However, we soon learned of one land that our fellow Matoran had been unable to leave. Though those who sailed past or docked to resupply said its streets remained busy and its foundries still spewed smoke, Xia hadn’t sent a single ship our way. A team of Toa were sent to meet with the Toa of Xia and arrange the relocation of their Matoran, but of the six who departed, only three returned. The tidings they brought were grim: the Vortixx of Xia had slain their city’s Toa team and taken the Matoran as slaves, forcing them to work the power plants to keep their city alive. And when they’d learned of new Toa in their midst, the Vortixx had promptly tried to kill them as well. Debate raged for days, but the decision was never in doubt. The last fifty Toa in existence departed for Xia, intent on liberating the trapped Matoran. Weeks passed, and a lone boat limped back to Metru Nui, bearing four injured Toa and a few dozen rescued Matoran. Their report on the situation in Xia was a dire one. Embroiled in a battle to liberate the Matoran, the Toa had found themselves caught in an unexpected crossfire. From the South had come the Dark Hunters, intent on taking the city’s technology and power for themselves. And from the East had come the Skakdi hordes, seemingly motivated by nothing more than a defiant desire to end their lives fighting in the universe’s last great war, instead of dying quietly in the dark. We waited for our Toa to return. We prayed to our absent Great Spirit. Some even offered prayers to Makuta Teridax. Neither god answered us. A few brave Matoran even boarded a boat and set sail for Xia. They didn’t return either. And still, the rest of us waited. And waited. More than a year passed before the Toa finally came home, but the world they found was not the one they had left behind. And the world they made was not one any of us expected.

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

It's the 20th anniversary of the Metru Nui saga's beginning. So this years theme is the entire Metru Nui saga! Toa Metru, Hordika, Vahki, Dark Hunters. Not just characters, locations, items, or even vehicles! Rules: Your design must be a simple design, one color, and must be medium sized. Your design must also be black on a clear white background. This makes it easier for the screen printing process. You may post your entries in this thread, and have until the end of May to submit your design. The Prize: The maker of the winning design will receive a free T-Shirt! ADDITIONAL INFO: The winning design will be chosen through a voting process of the members of BZP. Colors will be suggested and chosen by the members as well. Feel free to ask any questions if needed. That's all for now. Have fun, and good luck!

BZPower shirt-maker extraordinaire Brappy Hour recently kicked off the BZP T-Shirt Contest 2024! You have until the end of May to design a Metru Nui themed shirt and submit it in the blog entry. If your design is picked - you get a free shirt! I'm trying not to think about the fact that we've been making these shirts so long we've now celebrated the tenth and twentieth anniversaries of Metru Nui, but that just goes to show how awesome BZPower's members are. I can't wait to see the designs you all come up with!View the full article

IC: Jeizmel, Tajun Streets As Vraek had noticed, evening was rapidly drawing in; and down here below surface level the shadows were already long. Getting work would have to wait until the next day; for now, Jeiz figured her more pressing concern had to be finding a room at an inn. From there, maybe she could talk to the owner in the morning, see if they were hiring any extra hands during the tournament season; and so with that thought in mind, Jeizmel glanced around for the nearest signs pointing in the direction of the Arena. She pointedly ignored the various rustles and sounds of the oncoming Tajun night, the subtle hints in the shadows that pointed towards petty crimes being planned to carry out once the cover of darkness fell. Wasn't her business, not here so far from her treasured home of Iconox... still, Jeiz fingered her new bracelet, wondering if even here she couldn't do something. Waiting tables in some bar might pay her way through life, but wouldn't be satisfying; maybe Tajun had some kind of law enforcement that she could hook up with, do a bit of good for her living even in this cesspool of a town. A thought for the morning. She scampered through the last fading slivers of daylight. The Arena Hotel was probably way out of her budget, if they even had free rooms this close to the tournament which she doubted; but surely there were other less-prestigious places to stay around, too. Just had to find one. ooc: Jeizmel is open to interaction!

IC: Escus - Mouth of the Cave, the Valley of Death Escus knelt at the cave's mouth as Selamat called back to the others. He stared, unblinking, into its depths. On the one hand, he was letting his eyes adjust to the stark difference in light. On the other, there was a certain fervor in the gesture. It looked almost devotional. At once, he rose again. A thoughtful hrm emerged from the back of his throat. "Hasty, perhaps even dangerously hasty... But I concur," he said, gesturing with the head of his axe toward the mass of resting bats. He let the words hang in the air for a few seconds. "They wouldn't be sleeping in the same cave as something that would, well... eat them. Not much that wouldn't eat them that would trouble us. Unless it's something... strange. That is all to say, clear enough." He took another step forward, past the young Glatorian. One eye shut, his head inclined to one side, Escus continued to stare into the cave. OOC: @Burnmad @a goose @Nato G @~Xemnas~ @Toru Nui IC: Lorqua - Training Ground, Outskirts of Atero A skeptical look worn openly on her face, Lorqua followed Lutenus' lead in collecting up the Javelins—scattered around the arena as they were—and returning them to Mard and Ahmoa. As the adrenaline of the fight left her, Lorqua's other concerns came to the fore. If they wanted to know more about what was going on with that Ferrumite Glatorian who had stumbled into the bar, it seemed like these two were the ones to ask. Lutenus couldn't be planning to just walk right out of here, without taking such a beautiful opportunity, could he? Even if he was, Lorqua would dare anything. She couldn't resist some probing. "You two gentlemen must be going Grand-Tournament-way eventually, yeah? Hard to imagine a pair of trainers like yourselves wouldn't be tournament fans on top of that." OOC: @Toru Nui @Techn0geist IC: Skrall - Markets, the Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall's glance follows the others', the instincts of a unit—or a herd—easily taking over. The sight of the once-Skrall makes his teeth clench. He's never seen one from this close. To know that any one of them could be so reduced is troubling. His nostrils flare. The air of the marketplace at once seems sickly. A miasma. "If they see that more than they see us," he says, speaking quietly. "It would give anyone strange ideas. But out here... what do we do?" It seemed as important a question as any; being observed by what-was-once-Skrall, and observing in turn. Were Skrall simply to turn away? Skrall was asking for the purposes of unit cohesion, of course, but also because he had absolutely no idea. OOC: @a goose @Mel @Vezok's Friend @Burnmad @Toru Nui

IC: The Ghost (The Tower) “Our mercy?” The Ghost’s grin grew wider still. “You’re quite open in your ambitions. I can respect that.” Somehow, he seemed oddly satisfied, as if Taldrix had said something that pleased him greatly. “Now, unless there's anything else, you may take your leave. You know how to reach me.” OOC: @Toru Nui

Wishing the best of fests for our feathered friend Blue, @a goose, best of BZPower’s birds. Happy honks in your honor! A bitty bluebird drawn in honor, a 3x3 graphite bite for yee. Sorry scan squares so tiny, it actually grew to two birds because, Tiny birthday bluebirds. 🪺💙 PS. This public party topic pleasantly permissed prior by an ot(t)her! https://flic.kr/p/2pKi3LX https://flic.kr/p/2pKgPzw *cue chirp chorus*

At the suggestion of Master Inika, I’ve edited another map of the Matoran Universe, this time to depict the known territories of the various canon Makuta. The original suggestion was to do a colour-coded map, but that ended up looking very cluttered, so I decided to go for a simpler style. According to Greg Farshtey, there were once 100 Makuta, and only a handful of them are covered by canon. Even so, based on the amount of territory controlled by the Makuta we do know of, it seems like a lot of the unknown Makuta probably didn’t have regions, or controlled islands so minor they weren’t even worth putting on the map. Starting from the top, our main man Teridax was the assigned Makuta of Metru Nui, while the Brotherhood’s alleged best fighter, Icarax, took over Karzahni. Krika was originally assigned to the north part of the northern continent, and later expanded his territory to include Zakaz after Spiriah’s fall from grace. Sharing the Northern Continent was Gorast, who is specified to have ruled the lower region known as the Tren Krom peninsula. Based on this division, it seems like at least one more Makuta must have had a claim to part of the Northern Continent. Tridax ruled Nynrah, biker bro Antroz ruled Xia, and Vamprah was responsible for Odina (I guess he sucked at his job, since he clearly never did anything about the Dark Hunters). I feel like Greg only vaguely glanced at the map when he decided on Chirox’s territory, since his region includes two completely disconnected islands that are nowhere near each other (one in the hand, one in the leg). He controls Keetongu’s and Tobduk’s homelands (the latter being better known by its current name, Visorak). (I realised after posting that I'd also made a mistake here myself, drawing a line to the wrong island). Chirox-but-with-a-better-colourscheme Mutran controlled the “central part of the Southern Continent”, which is probably intended to refer to Voya Nui. Prior to being deposed, Miserix was the Makuta of Destral. As far as we know, no other Makuta formally claimed that title after Miserix was imprisoned. Bitil is said to have controlled the west chain of the southern islands. However, the map claims that no one has explored further than Artidax, so Bitil’s territory likely ends there. It’s worth noting here that while Spiriah was formerly the Makuta of Zakaz, some pages on BS01 say that he also controlled Artidax. However, there seems to be no citation for this, and since he’s in exile I’ve left him off the map entirely. Finally, a couple of Makuta we don’t have canon appearances for: Kojol was the Makuta of Artakha, prior to raiding the place and getting assassinated by the Order Of Mata Nui, while the Makuta of Stelt is exactly what it says on the tin. This leaves a number of locations unclaimed. Given the way most territories have been divided up, there would have been at least one more Makuta for the Northern continent, and potentially two or three more dividing up the Southern. The large island above Keetongu’s homeland may have had a Makuta (unless it was also included in Chirox’s territory). The small island between Nynrah and Odina could also have had a Makuta (unless it fell into Tridax or Vamprah’s territories). The two islands up near Stelt and Xia (Nocturn’s homeland?) would have likely had at least one Makuta assigned to them, possibly two. I’m less sure about the other side of the map, since we have no information to confirm if the Makuta had any major presence at all in that entire arm. There are also a whole bunch of other islands out there that don’t appear on the map but are mentioned in-story, some of which would have likely had Makuta overseers as well. Let me know if there's anything I've missed, or if you have any suggestions. I'd also love to hear if anyone's assigned territories to their own fanon Makuta.

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

IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; Valley of Death) Tueris nodded. “Looks like you’re on third, Ferrum.” As the others settled in to rest, he found a spot near the cave mouth where he could sit semi-comfortably with his back against the wall, and turned his eye to the canyon. OOC: @~Xemnas~ @Burnmad

Happy belated birthday!🎉 ~(random greeter who mourns the missing BZPbday sidebar)

Stinkfly Built for the Ben 10 Collab, for the tip of the legs I used olive green Pteranodon heads (removing the printed details first). 04/04/2024

Welcome to May! With Star Wars Day almost here, it only seemed right to kick off the month with a Star Wars raffle. (And not at all because that's what we usually give away!) Run-don't-walk over to the 2024 Member Raffle #5 and enter yourself for a chance to win LEGO Star Wars buildable figure 75525 Baze Malbus. This iconic character from Rogue One will make a great addition to someone's collection - if the Force is with you, maybe it will be yours!View the full article

Here’s my entry. I’ve been toying with this design on-and-off for a few days. Originally I had a much more elaborate idea in mind, with a whole bunch of different hands, vines, claws, etc. coming out of the Kanoka segments to represent the many different enemies seen during the 2004/2005 story arc. That ended up looking far too cluttered, so I decided to just keep Vakama and Makuta’s hands and put in the Vahi to make it a tribute to Time Trap specifically. The Metru Nui arc arguably started and finished with the Vahi, so I felt like it was a fitting inclusion to represent that period of the storyline.

This completes the Toa Motu! This was a very fun project to work on, and its very satisfying to see it finished. I will follow up with some outdoor group shots - but first, Toa Rakau: The others: Poraru, Kyrehx, Hiko, Arai, Rewa

Chapter 10 The craft landed on the outskirts of Bardobi City, though with Motherboard plugged into their planet-wide defense grid, the villains certainly knew of their approach. The only reason they were not blasted out of the sky, Wane surmised, was because the villains wanted to see if they were emissaries of the Factory come to accept the villains' terms. That, or the villains looked forward to an old-fashioned fight with the privilege of seeing their victims' faces up close. From a distance, Bardobi Prime appeared a clean, crisp green. The planet-wide ecumenopolis was covered with artificial foliage and automated self-maintenance systems, both of which appeared green. The capital, though, stood out by its new color: blue, the color of Motherboard's corrupting influence. "That's another drone, point five-three of us," Rush announced. It was the fourth such drone the group had noticed. "Ignore it, for now," Fall ordered. "They're not going to give us trouble until the bad bots realize we're not here to accept their terms." Crossing the hill, the three Heroes found the capital city. Even from a distance, they could make out the look of terror on the civilians' faces. The civilian hostages formed a ring of living shields, protecting the crooks from a direct assault. The civilians were not physically bound in place. Had they all run away at the same time, some of them might have escaped. The dozens upon dozens of floating sentinels, though, made it unlikely the survivors would be very many. Fall leaned into Rush as they approached. "You ready?" Rush replied: "It's charging up. Get Gravedigger talking. I just need another minute or two." Gravedigger, clad in black armor with a skull-like helmet covering his face, looked more like a student-bot dressed up for a costume party than an actual criminal mastermind. Wane supposed that was part of his cover, though, appearing less fearsome than he really was. Motherboard and Heatwave, though, looked every bit as dangerous as he had been led to believe, standing on either side of their leader. "Welcome, Heroes!" Gravedigger called. His voice, too, was high and not particularly commanding. Wane wondered just what Gravedigger had said to his two accomplices to gain their trust in the first place. "I trust your creator has made the right choice?" Fall stepped forward, nodding to Rush before she did. "That depends," she called out in response. "He's told us, against my own advice, to offer you one last chance to release these innocent bots. It's not too late, Gravedigger. Call this off now, and your cooperation will be duly noted at your trial." Behind his mask, Gravedigger might have frowned. "You don't get it, do you, Hero?" he said. "The cards are not in your hand. Perhaps you need a demonstration..." Gravedigger whispered to Motherboard, who, with a wave of her hand, beckoned a pair of floating sentinels to single out a random civilian from the trembling crowd. Goaded to the center of the square, clear in the sight of everyone, the civilian was made to kneel before the Heroes as the sentinels' weapons charged up. Rush's own device had been fully charged, though. Without a word, he raised his own arms and mentally activated his antivirus, sending a wave of power surging through the entire square. Every sentinel fell to the ground as the blue energy on the walls and floors, representing Motherboard's influence, fought chaotically against the green energy of the city's systems for control. One of the sentinels, as it fell, fired a blast of energy which narrowly missed the civilian's head. "Everyone, run!" Fall ordered, and chaos and pandemonium broke out in the square. The sentinels which had been hovering high above everyone were damaged when they struck the floor, but none of them had been fully disabled. In only a few minutes, Motherboard's influence would be reestablished, and since she knew what Rush was capable of now, she wouldn't just stand back while he recharged for another antivirus surge. Motherboard bore the full brunt of her power on Rush, swinging her powerful legs at his head, forcing him onto the defensive as he moved backward, careful not to bring their battle closer to any of the fleeing civilians. Heatwave moved against Wane, but Fall intercepted him, Heatwave's fireblasts and the constant stream of water from Fall's hose quickly covering the entire battlefield in a thick layer of misty fog. Wane could still see Gravedigger retreating deeper into the city, though, and following in pursuit, dodging blasts from the reactivated sentinels and distressed civilians rushing about. Exiting the storm of mist and screaming, Wane found his target attempting to board the Chain Reaper. Just as Gravedigger entered the craft, the cockpit about to close and seal, Wane's knife flew through the air, lodging itself in the seat by Gravedigger's leg and preventing the cockpit from properly sealing. As the villain reached down to remove the weapon, Wane himself flew through the air next, landing a kick to Gravedigger and sending him flying out of the side of his own vehicle. Retrieving his tool, Wane slowly moved toward his captive, who was still on his back, crawling backward away from him. "So, that's it?" Wane taunted. "Your plan's gone bad, now you're just leaving your friends to clean up your mess?" Beneath his mask, a smile was visible on Gravedigger's face. "I could say the same about you, couldn't I, Hero?" Wane stopped, his confidence shaken. It was all he had just to keep his grip on his weapon. "Oh, yes, I know all about you," Gravedigger continued. "You don't get as far as I have by not keeping your finger on the pulse of the galaxy. Your defection is the talk of the criminal underworld, you should know. Everyone has their own take on it. Sure, most of us think you're just plain coward, but not me." Standing up and dusting himself off, Gravedigger still stood shorter than Wane, but his confidence projected a much taller persona. "Why, now that you're here, the ideas are just coursing through me... Think about it, ex-Hero. Someone like you, with someone like me calling the shots, could get a lot done in this galaxy." Wane knew better than to take Gravedigger's offer seriously. At the same time, though, he knew that all Makuro was offering him was, as he had stated, "a head start." Even if this mission succeeded, it was either go back to the Factory, or go back on the run, with no allies or places to go. Gravedigger had networks, allies and safehouses. Makuro would never see him again. The sounds of battle were growing closer to them, though. Apparently, Gravedigger's lackies were falling back, hoping to regroup with their leader. Gravedigger wasted no time reminding Wane that he did not have all macrocycle: "So, what's it gonna be? A few more moments, and the choice will be made for you." Wane knew Gravedigger was right. If he did not make a choice, someone else, Gravedigger, Makuro, Fall, he did not know exactly who, would force him into another unwanted role. Wane would make his own choice. *** Fall and Rush inspected the site of the battle as Motherboard and Heatwave were loaded into the prisoner hold of their Hero Craft. The civilians were safe, but no one had seen Gravedigger or Wane. It was not until they had reached the center of the city that they discovered, with a rebar wrapped tightly around him, a diminutive figure, stripped of his armor and tools, trapped and left, as it were, to be found as a gift. "Is that who I think it is?" Rush asked in disbelief. "Gravedigger," Fall confirmed. "Only, without the mask." "Not to mention his ship," Rush added. He looked to his partner, an even more cynical dryness in his optical sensors than usual. "I've got a good guess what happened to both." *** As Wane had hoped, by the time the Heroes caught on to his plan, he was already clearing the planet's gravity well, preparing to take the nearest hyperspace route as far as it would go. Right as he was entering in the final calculations, the holo-projector lit up. Seeing no reason not to, Wane accepted the incoming transmission. "Gregory!" Fall cried. "What are you doing?" Wane had to admit, he had not been expecting her to appear so... emotional. So vulnerable. For just a microsecond, he wondered if he was making the right choice. But the microsecond passed, and only his resolve to forge his own destiny remained. "That's not my name anymore, Petunia," he said calmly. Picking up his new mask from beside him, he donned it. He could see the unique blend of shock and horror on Fall's face. "No, stop! You're making a mistake!" she pleaded. "We saved people, together, you and me! Didn't that feel good, Gregory? Didn't it feel like you were doing what you were made to do?" Gravedigger had to admit, a part of him had been hoping she would have contacted him before he jumped to hyperspace. But now that the moment was here, he found everything he had rehearsed in his head did not feel right to say. "I can't make it make sense to you," he admitted. "Maybe I'll never be able to fully justify it to myself, but this is something that I have to do. Maybe just doing 'what you were made to do' is something that sounds rewarding to you, but to me, it just sounds... suffocating." He took a deep breath. "I can't live a lie. I can't fill a role, answer to a name that someone else forced upon me." Punching in the final coordinates, he said with finality: "So, if you'd be so kind, my new name is Gravedigger." As the ship jumped to hyperspace, the transmission cut out. Even though there was now no one listening to him now, he still declared: "It's the name I chose for myself." The End Review Topic

idk I think with OP around there is no way we could possibly forget about it lol

At the risk of sounding harsh: what fans? And where are they talking about it? I just had a skim of the main Hero Factory-related sites, and the only active username I see on most of them is yours. According to the changelog on HS01, you're the only person who's contributed to it in any way in months. The same is true of the Heropedia wiki. The Custom Hero Factory wiki has a little activity happening, but it all seems to be in relation to a single ongoing Youtube series. r/HeroFactory only has 369 members, weeks go by between posts, replies are in the single digits, and once again it looks like you're the most frequent poster by a vast margin. The only outlier is r/HeroFactoryLego, which has 3.4k members, and averages few posts a day, but that one seems to be used for general CCBS MOC-posting now rather than HF-specific discussion. I'm not saying that HF has no fans, or that it doesn't deserve to be remembered, but the general attitude of the wider community seems ambivalent at best. No one else seems to be anywhere near as fixated with the theme as you appear to be. Instead of sitting around making wistful posts hoping others will recover old content for you, why not create new content of your own, or engage with some of the existing fan content that's currently running? (Such as Master Inika's current HF story on this site).

Three more levels fully completed, despite needing multiple attempts for one of the minikits (certainly easier when its at the beginning of a level rather than the end). Also, don't worry too much about not affording those larger stud multiplier red parcels right away. Keep in mind there are three bonus levels, and while the first is that Young Indy story level, the other two are the "collect a million studs" type of bonus levels, so you'll definitely get there (even if you must repeat those bonus levels a few times to get the several millions of studs like I had to). Anyway, thanks for letting us know you'll be off for the next two weeks, so I'll look forward to what's next when you come back.

The customer service page clearly lists the topics they're responsible for. No Lego representative is going to answer questions about sets that haven't been officially announced, and digging up archived content from long-dead themes isn't LCS' responsibility. Complaining that Lego's customer service didn't adequately answer questions that don't fall under their purview in the first place is like complaining that a restaurant couldn't service your car. It's not their job.

For our fine online friend and artist finest, the yearly fest had been too long put to rest! @Taka Nuvia A very tiny honorary Taka fairy for yee, a meager mite 3x3 Graphite Bite, unfit for so accomplished an artist’s sight, but made with mirth for your day of birth! https://flic.kr/p/2pKi6ov May your magic day be full of confectionery and friendly fairies! Thanks be for your spirit, ever a gift, when to these old lands your wings again lift!

For when no one asks why BZP is still alive: We are the ducks 💙

Happy birthday!

IC: Selamat - Iron Canyon Selamat nodded in recognition of Tueris' words. He supposed they constituted an order, technically? He was inclined to listen to the Second Glatorian out of respect, but in these circumstances, with him being the leader of this expedition, Selamat supposed that the glatorian's authority was somewhat more formal. He stepped forward alongside Escus, advancing towards the cave. As he reached the entrance, he paused for a moment to let his eyes adjust a little. It really was a lot darker past the point where the sun's rays did not shine. He hoped his counterpart from Tajun wasn't kidding about having superior low-light vision. He stepped onto the sand-strewn floor of the cave, spear held out in front of him, ready for whatever might burst out of the darkness at them. OOC: @a goose @Nato G @oncertainty @Toru Nui @~Xemnas~ IC: Skrall - Bone Hunter Stronghold Skrall continued to watch the throng of bartering shoppers with open disinterest as he listened to Skrall's speech. He nodded along at the end, developing an appreciation for the other spec ops Skrall in spite of himself. The scout clearly had some sense, though he was far too open about it. For all that Skrall talked about them using their brains, Skrall wondered whether the scout had just started using his own after his experiences in the South-- perhaps a close call with heat stroke had somehow started it working after so many years of disuse, and he had not yet learned the dangers of being too clever too loudly? Perhaps a nasty blow to the head had dislodged some kind of implant that all Skrall had inside their skulls to make them stupid and obedient? Actually, that seemed like something the priestesses would do. Skrall filed that thought away for later. More immediately important, however, was the fact that, true as his words were, Skrall was saying them rather energetically, and in earshot of outsiders. "...And that will be an excellent thought for every Skrall to mull over while preparing for our departure," he said, voice low but firm. He glanced back at his allies, his head inclined towards the market proper in a way that might look incidental to an onlooker, but which ought to make it painfully obvious to any Skrall with sense - which he hoped was most of them - that he was telling them to watch what they say in front of the barbarians. OOC: @a goose @BULiK @Nato G @oncertainty @Toru Nui @Vezok's Friend

True, and it's sad that Stormer XL never got his bike in set form.

IC: Karak - Celrys' Workshop I am unable to catch his last sentence. Too quick, too nervously sputtered out. I fear I will never learn anything at this rate - even as I assume my understanding of the language has grown, I am humbled immediately. The tournament is my only other lead. And so I leave Del and Skyra to their flesh-meddling heretic God. I smirk to myself, remembering my own and Skyra's clash as we first met. If all Southerners fight that way, perhaps the arena would be amusing if not informative. OOC: @a goose

IC: Crucius (The Crossroads) “If you know who I am, then I’m sure you’ve heard of the one I represent. He understands the value of loyalty… which is to say, He understands that it doesn't come cheap.” Crucius smirked. “You have skills that many others don't, and I share His view that we should have them on our side. If you’re willing, you could even teach some of your techniques.” OOC: @Nato G

When they were first introduced in 2007, the Barraki brought with them a game-changing new backstory that completely reframed everything we thought we understood about the history of the Bionicle universe. The idea that the Matoran aren’t the chosen people, that the Toa weren’t the original peacekeepers, has always fascinated me, and it was disappointing that future years of the storyline never explored these implications. The fact that these six all-important Prime Species never really played much of a role in the story before or since 2007 is strange as well, so in this thread I wanted to explore some theories about where the Prime Species come from, and what happened to them after the Barraki were imprisoned and their armies were disbanded. From information given in the 2007 storyline, in guidebooks and encyclopaedias, and comments from Greg Farshtey, we have a wealth of information to work with. We know each Barraki was the leader of a different species, and Greg Farshtey has been adamant in the past that none of these species were ones we’d encountered in-story before, meaning none of them are Toa, Skakdi, Vortixx, Steltians, etc. A caveat to that is his statement that connections to the Dark Hunters weren’t discussed, meaning that some of the Dark Hunters of unknown origin could theoretically be members of a Prime Species. The encyclopedia gives a rough rundown of which region each Barraki ruled, though there’s some dispute over this, as Takadox’s entry completely contradicts information given in the other five. BS01 considers the Takadox account to be incorrect, so for the purposes of this thread, and my map above, I’m going with the information in the other five entries. (Note: as Destral can move, Daxia was secret, and we know from The Mutran Chronicles that Artakha and the Southern Islands weren’t conquered, I’ve left those locations unclaimed on my map. We also don’t know for sure if Karzahni was taken over, but given its proximity to Metru Nui, I’m choosing to assume it was). For the purposes of my theories, I’m operating under the assumption that most of the Barraki include their own homelands in their territories. Ehlek probably has the weirdest territory of the bunch, ruling his homeland of Zakaz, but also controlling the western island chain. This arrangement makes a little more sense if we assume he was also responsible for the oceans in general. His species is the only one we know for sure has appeared in-story post-2007, with Federation Of Fear revealing that they became servants of the Order Of Mata Nui. Kalmah was said to have ruled the Northwestern region of the universe. In my map I’ve given him the Northern Continent, but I theorise that he also ruled the island that once neighboured Artakha. The Bionicle World guidebook (written in-universe by the Order Of Mata Nui), states that the inhabitants of Artakha destroyed a larger neighbouring island that was connected to theirs by a land bridge, as part of the measures to hide their island from the rest of the universe after Makuta Kojol’s raid. The guidebook claims this larger island was uninhabited, but given the generally deceitful and villainous nature of the Order, I think this entire account is questionable. We know the Order actively assassinated anyone who knew the location of Artakha, and that Kalmah’s species, ruling the Northwestern part of the universe, would have likely known the location, so I believe that the Order may have committed genocide against the species and sunk their homeland to hide the evidence, explaining why we don’t see this species again in-story. This is further evidenced by a line from Kalmah in The Mutran Chronicles, where he says “As for Artakha, let the old fool putter among his creations,” a strangely personal insult which suggests some degree of first-hand knowledge, given that most other beings we see in-story reverentially regard Artakha as a near-mythical figure. Pridak is one of the biggest mysteries here. All we know about his origins is that he was a servant of the Brotherhood of Makuta who travelled a lot. Upon becoming a Barraki, Pridak is said to have ruled the northeastern part of the universe, with Xia being the only island specifically named. To give him a territory more comparable in size to some of the other Barraki, on my map I’ve given him Stelt, Karzahni, and the unnamed islands to the east. But given what we know of his backstory, I don’t think any of these islands are his original homeland. The best theory I’ve seen - in Click's wonderful Simplifying the Species List thread - is that he might be a member of Tobduk’s species (with his pride/vanity being the emotion he feeds on). This would reframe the Brotherhood’s decision to unleash the Visorak on that island as an act of deliberate revenge against Pridak, and/or an attempt to prevent others of his kind from taking up his banner. Takadox is said to have ruled the eastern part of the universe, which I’ve interpreted as the chain of islands that includes Odina, Nynrah, and Visorak. These islands provide a few possibilities for the origin of his species. Nynrah is said to have a native species of craftsmen, separate from the Fe-Matoran who would later become known as the Nynrah Ghosts. This doesn’t fit what we know of Takadox super well, so I believe a better candidate for his homeland would be Odina. The Bionicle World guidebook states that there was a society native to Odina prior to the Dark Hunters making the island their base of operations, who were killed off/driven out. The Dark Hunters were established after the Barraki were imprisoned, so I feel that this fits the timeline quite well, and explains why Takadox’s race doesn’t appear again in-story. Finally, we have Mantax and Carapar. Mantax is said to have ruled the central part of the empire, while Carapar controlled the south section, and made some attempts to conquer the island chains further south. Given that it’s the only landmass left, I’m assuming that these two shared the Southern Continent, with the Tren Krom river being the border separating their territories. We know the Great Cataclysm did severe damage to this continent, and likely decimated the populations of these species. Given that no other Barraki seem to originate from the same landmass, it’s also possible that the homeland of Carapar’s species is actually one of the southern islands. In this case, us not seeing anything more of his species still makes sense, since the story never really explored those islands.

IC: Kirbraz (Staff NPC; The Shadiest Spot on Bara Magna) Is this guy screwing with me? For just a moment, blind panic was overwhelmed by sheer, all-consuming confusion. A moment was long enough; his terrified trance broken, Kirbraz could think again. Keep it together, Kirby. Kirbraz may not have been smart – he was relieved of such illusions when he got himself into this situation – but he wasn't stupid, either. If he took a second to breathe, he could break this down. What on Bara Magna is this guy’s deal? The more he thought about it, the more obvious the answer became; his jaw hung aloft with dawning horror. Good Lords above... The man's an idiot. It all made sense: his basic vocabulary, his gruff affect. Maybe he was brain-damaged; perhaps he was just born half-cooked. No matter the means, it was quite apparent that Kirbraz was dealing with some manner of simpleton. He really was fucked. There was no telling how long Skyra might be in there – for all he knew, she could be under heavy anaesthetic, receiving some new implant. She might not even be able to drive him when she came to (or, at least, being her passenger would be even more ill-advised than usual, and Kirbraz already had one death-sentence too many to deal with right now). There was no way Kirbraz could get out of Tajun. He needed a new plan. And he had an idea. “Uh… you know what, sir, I think I’ll just, uh, I think I'll be fine on my own. Just forget you ever saw me.” With that, he turned on his heels. There was still one place in Tajun where he might be safe – the Arena Hotel. Every village leader, bar Scodonius and Raanu, would be staying there ahead of the opening ceremony tomorrow. He wouldn't dare touch Kirbraz in there, and Kirbraz himself might be able to appeal to Ackar for help as Vulcanus' representative. He could still survive this. Probably. OOC: @Jesse Pinkman IC: Crucius (The Crossroads) It had been far too long since Crucius had last travelled alone. For the better part of a year, he had been the Ghost’s envoy and his emissary, spreading his message of change and unity to the disparate Gatherer clans. Naturally, change and unity being anathema to his people, that message was not always well-received. Despite being a formidable fighter, Crucius was not quite equipped to take on a whole clan by himself, and so diplomatic journeys were always undertaken with back-up. Most recently, he had travelled with Metus, perhaps the single most aggravating man he had ever met. If the Ghost allowed it, Crucius would happily have picked him up by the head and pulverised his smug, puny little overly-talkative skull. Unfortunately, he was the useful variety of idiot, and thus his cranium had to remain tragically and inconveniently convex. Thankfully, the two of them had parted ways in Vulcanus so that the Ice Agori could journey onward to Tajun for the Exhibition Matches, and although this left Crucius without a means of transportation, it was also doing wonders for his headache. With his Rock Steed back in the Stronghold, he had instead acquired a Cendox from a very cooperative dealership and set off on his journey home. His only hope was that Taldrix had not yet allowed Fero to burn the entire settlement to the ground in his absence. In the meantime, it was just Crucius, the sands and the desert sun. Simple, blessed peace, at long last. OOC: @Nato G IC: Tueris (Staff NPC; Valley of Death) Tueris looked to his fellow Vulcanusian and gave him the nod. “You go with him. Your cave, your call. Watch each other’s backs and the rest of us will keep a watch out here.” OOC: @oncertainty @Burnmad and all the other Ferrum folks