Chapter Eleven

The party set out before dawn. On foot the trip would have taken nearly a week, but mounted on ice steeds it was reduced to no more than a day. Under the guidance of Drutka, the four travelers were brought upon Gall Ridge and through its Jaw Crater. They managed to skirt Seeker Ridge and other more closely-guarded regions of Duraknus, capital of the ice tribe.

Gelu was the first to notice the lone mountain on the horizon, which sat apart from any range. The very earth around it seemed to rise above the white snow plains of the tundra. Some foliage could be seen, but only along the base of the mountain, which itself seemed to consist of brick.

As they approached, Gelu started to notice objects dotting the landmass’s base. Mechanical equipment littered the ground, barely visible amid the snow and frost. At a glance, all of these seemed to be inactive. As they passed, a couple flickered to life before fading entirely.

“What is this junk,” Orde asked.

“The Spirit Forge is a tomb of all the Great Beings’ wildest endeavors. Some of these experiments have sought to escape.”

The four travelers scanned the horizon for any signs of ambush, even as the female Skrall rode cautiously forward. Once she was satisfied, she looked over at the travelers and gestured for them to ride over.

“This is as far as I’ll go,” she stated. “You’ll find the entrance along the base.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Drutka,” Orde remarked. “I’m sure we’ll—”

“How will we know the way back?” Chiara cut in.

“I know the way,” Gelu smiled, placing his hands on his hips. “I’ve known these lands since I was little. Seeing it all again… it came back at once. Even if it has changed, many of the landmarks remain the same.”

“Be warned,” Drutka said. “The male Skrall have been sent to occupy remote outposts along the borderlands and are rarely heard from. We will send word for them not to interfere with you, but as the baterra have vanished, and as there have been no incursions from the jungle or the frost, they are no doubt restless. That’s assuming you make the return trip.”

“We’ll be back,” Orde told Drutka. “I think this place will answer many mysteries for me, but there is much I still need to discuss with the Sisters.”

“Good luck, then,” Drutka said, mounting again. With that, she rode off.

✴        ✴        ✴

The travelers moved quickly along the base of the mountain, wary of any of the ruined equipment littering the ground. Some of the stones were singed and charred, as if the escaped occupants had fought each other on their way out.

“The Vorox hunters spoke of experiments breaking loose and rampaging across the forest,” Zaria said softly.

“That’s the Great Beings for you,” Gelu responded. “Somehow their work had a knack of doing that.”

“Look,” Orde pointed. A small emblem had been carved into the side of the mountain, only visible at a close range. As the Toa stepped closer, a glow emanated from them and from the emblem. The brick edifice of the mountain seemed to soften and melt away, reforming into a long opening. Inside, a staircase led down. The travelers exchanged wary glances and stepped inside, and as they did, the wall softened and reformed as it had been before.

So none of them saw a lone figure watching them from the horizon.

✴        ✴        ✴

The travelers had found themselves on a suspension bridge stretching deep into the heart of the mountain. The chasm on either side of the path appeared bottomless, descending far into darkness. Yet as they proceeded inward, towering translucent illusions lit up on either side of the path displaying images and sounds of technology and innovation.

Gelu was drawn to the vehicle displays, including a number of aircraft and sea vessels, as well as many land riders he recognized. There were also designs that could turn animals into war beasts and blueprints for weapons the likes of which Kabrua’s Vorox carried.

Chiara, Orde, and Zaria, meanwhile, were transfixed by a display that demonstrated the application of implants into organic Spherus Magna natives. Beside this was one that showcased the building of a Toa from scratch.

It was nauseating.

“Guess this answers which came first: the Toa or the Toa stone,” Chiara muttered.

“An entire species of heroes designed in a factory,” Gelu remarked, examining one of the displays.

“We are not a ‘species of heroes,’” Chiara rebutted. Glancing at Orde, she added, “and I was not built in a factory.”

Orde shrugged.

The path ended with a small, round metal platform. As the four stepped onto the platform, it broke off from the suspension bridge and levitated deep into the mountain.

As they descended, lights within the chamber sparked and glowed brightly. Their small platform was descending through an enormous, hollow structure, which was lined with floor after floor of labs, cages, and stasis tubes.

All varieties of creatures and projects could be seen. The platform passed one cage where a bipedal creature shapeshifted into a merged form of all four travelers. In another was a red cloud, swirling in a vortex, with forks of energy shooting out of it. In yet another still they could see the sealed form of a giant scowling head with actual fire burning out of his eyes and ears. Gelu even spotted something that looked like a prototype of an iron wolf.

But more alarming than what they could see was what they couldn’t see. On some levels a few exhibits that are ruptured, with no sign of the inhabitants.

By now the platform had reached what seemed to be the bottom. The chamber was incalculably large, and there was no way to tell how deep underground they were. They stepped off and looked around, even as the platform rose back to its original position. The first thing they noticed was a large pad nearby where large structures could be assembled.

“Look!” Gelu said, pointing. On the opposite side of them, the floor dipped into a large basin. Deep inside, small elemental creatures appeared to be locked in some kind of combat. Some creatures generated disks in their hands that they hurled at their opponents, while others skirted the arena on wheels that they launched out from under themselves. Before the onlookers’ eyes, the various combatants fought until only one was left standing. A buzzer sounded and, in a flash, each self-repaired and returned to designating starting points. When the buzzer went off again, the gladiators resumed combat.

“There’s a display here,” Orde said. “Looks like they’ve been designed to survive in the harshest regions in each biome. They’re intended to combat some sort of virus that wreaks havoc on the world.”

“An early solution to the Shattering?” Gelu guessed.

“And precursors to the Toa,” Orde finished.

By now, the platform they had ridden had returned to its position far above.

It did not stay there long.

“Well, I’m not seeing any traces of the Great Beings in here,” Chiara concluded, looking around. “Ready to go?”

“This place has answers,” Orde shot back, “Don’t you want to see them?”

“Answers for you, maybe,” Chiara replied. “I don’t think the rest of us care about how you and the prototype Toa were made.”

At her words, more translucent illusions flashed to life around them, depicting images of ancient-looking Toa. Orde’s expression changed at the sight, as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

“It’s them…” he marveled. “Them… my brothers and sisters from so long ago… Some I haven’t seen since the earliest days of the universe…”

Zaria also beheld the sight with wonder and horror.

“A time when there was only one Toa of Iron,” he said, his hands grasping at the illusion, but passing through thin air. “The very first Toa of Iron. Now I may be the last.”

Gelu folded his arms. The sight of these biomechanical creatures held no small resemblance to the Element Lords. Having despised those leaders for many years, he had to remind himself that these were something else altogether.

As for Chiara, she was so removed from the time of these warriors that they seemed like specters pulled from a history tablet. She had little connection to these beings, and yet it was eerie to see these legends represented now.

Lights embedded in the path now lit up, leading to a doorway ahead. Within were instruments and contraptions that, upon reaching them, Orde ran his fingers over.

“I remember now… my mind was first brought to life here, in this room. Before my body was made… and before I was awakened by the Great Beings in our universe. Before they sent me and my siblings on missions throughout the world, directing our work from the island of Artakha.”

“Right, primordial threats,” Chiara mused. “After everything we know now, there’s no way they could have been natural. Either they were from this planet trying to get in… or they were the Great Beings’ own rogue experiments.”

“Of course,” Orde breathed, his face darkening. So much of what he knew had already been turned on its head. Now, knowing the monstrosities and elemental creatures he had faced in the earliest years were owed to the Great Beings… All the sacrifices he and his fellow Toa had made could have been avoided…

Mere hours ago he had been jubilant that there was more to his story than he had known. But now, after what he and the others had seen, he was suddenly reminded of the resentment that the Glatorian and Agori held toward the Great Beings… and of the glimpse he had seen in Kabrua’s mind.

By now the platform they had been riding returned to their floor at the bottom of the mountain.

Something stepped off.

“There are answers for all of us,” Orde said, shivering. “Just look at all we have seen. All we have learned.”

“What else will we find if we keep exploring?” Chiara mused.

“And what monstrosities will we discover?” Gelu rolled his eyes.

“This is where the first Toa, the heroes of ancient legend… were crafted,” Orde marveled. “This… this is where my life began.”

“This is where your life ends.”

The four travelers whirled. Standing in the doorframe was a towering figure, easily nine feet tall. Its camouflage armor shifted to a black hue. Covered in thick plates, its body appeared to be mechanical, and yet a closer examination revealed organic aspects within. As if on some instinct both natural and programmed, the very sight of it struck utter fear into the hearts of all three Toa.

“I am salvation,” the newcomer said, striding forward. “I am Marendar.”