Myths and Legacy
Tale of Onua: Noble Cause
Written by Jeff Douglas
The seas lapped gently against the shore, and seagulls playfully bucked and weaved in the sky. Onua gazed at these for a moment before looking again at his canister. No, he still could not recall anything of his time before arriving on the island. Only indistinct sentences and half-learnt teachings.
Since parting from the Toa, he had been hearing reports of their adventures as they had braved challenges and overcome every danger Makuta had thrown at them. All of them had their tales told far and wide across the island.
Onua had kept his exploits to himself, and while the feats of the other five were told in every village, the Toa of Earth had quietly collected his Kanohi and without any fanfare. Yet Turaga Whenua informed him that Onua’s quest was still far from over, and that a host of new quests were necessary. Discouraged and needing to clear his head, the Toa of Earth had excused himself, seeking refuge on the Onu-Wahi beach.
I should have known better, Onua thought. Whenua did say the quests of a Toa would be many indeed. But when is mask-hunting less about obtaining tools and more just a waste of time?
He turned and started inland. The entrance to Onu-Koro wasn’t far from here, but Onua took a different path. An hour ago, Turaga Whenua and the Matoran had performed a ritual known as the “Great Takara” in the Toa’s honor. The ceremony involved much dancing, chanting, music, and no shortage of festivities afterward. Onua had been quite touched, if a little embarrassed. One Matoran with a purple Hau had specifically sought the Toa out to join in the dancing.
Now, as he approached the arches to the underground village, he saw a small figure he recognized at once.
“Turaga Whenua,” Onua said, bowing his head respectfully.
“I see you used the Matoran merrymaking as cover to escape,” noted Whenua. “Your villagers were immensely discouraged to see their hero desert them in their time of joy.”
“I’m sorry,” Onua said, starting past the Turaga. “I will rejoin them now.”
“No,” Whenua blocked him. “I am sorry. I should have celebrated your achievement rather than remind you of the hurdles still to come.”
“Are these Noble Masks truly necessary? Surely the Great Masks alone will be enough to defeat Makuta? Then we can retrieve the less-powerful Noble masks at our leisure.”
Whenua shook his head. “It will take every power available to you to defeat Makuta. Even then, it may not be enough. You and the others must seek out the Noble Masks. Only then can you stand against his greatest threats.” He hesitated before adding, “Hard as it may be to believe, the Noble Masks weren’t originally hidden like the Great Masks. We Turaga and the Matoran safeguarded them in our villages for your coming, until not long ago when they were stolen by Makuta’s Rahi. But now it is paramount that you recover them.”
Onua nodded. Whenua tilted his head at him.
“There is another thing,” the Turaga said quietly, “Another treasure you must seek out in your travels. But you will probably find it along the way.”
Onua snorted. “What? More masks? More objects of power? With all that you know, Turaga, about the objects we must seek, I would not be surprised if you yourself had hidden these objects across the island.”
Whenua grinned.
“The Turaga have learned much over the years about this island and the secrets it keeps. But to have hidden these objects ourselves, we would have needed the might of a Toa — something we obviously do not have.”
“I’m sorry, Turaga. I should not have snapped.”
“Come, Onua,” Whenua said, taking the Toa’s claws and leading him underground. “I will show you where the first of your Noble Masks lies. This challenge will test your strength.”
“A test I will be perfect for. I am perhaps the strongest of the Toa, and I bear the Kanohi Pakari.”
“Yes,” Whenua murmured. “A test perfect for you indeed.”
✴ ✴ ✴
After traveling through the Onu-Wahi tunnels for some time, the Toa and Turaga emerged into a vast underground chamber. Sunlight streamed down from a wide opening above, and the center of the cavern was dominated by a large lake. At the center of this lake was a little island with a single palm tree. The stepping stones crossing the lake were the only passage through the chamber, as the lake was bisected by river flows.
“This is quite beautiful,” remarked Onua. “I’m surprised I haven’t heard the Onu-Matoran speak of it.”
“The Onu-Matoran don’t come here often,” replied Whenua. “The altitude is too high, and too open to the light. And they usually have no reason to access the forest above. You would be more likely to see Le-Matoran travelers here, if anything. Now,” he pointed. “The first of your noble masks rests up there. It is a Noble Rau, like the one worn by Turaga Nokama.”
“On the surface?”
“Higher. We are not only beneath Le-Wahi, but we are beneath one of its tallest trees.”
Onua scanned the wall of the chamber. On the other side, precarious stone platforms stretched up to the very rim. Roots dangled over the edge, and vines snaked further up and out of sight.
“Why did you bring me down here if it’s all the way up there?”
“The region is dotted with quicksand. You may be the Toa of Earth, but you can still drown in it. Even the Le-Matoran seeking to climb this tree must start down here.”
The Toa frowned. Stepping around the Turaga, he walked along the river bank, looking for any hidden passages or levers. Seeing none, he peered into the lake itself. The water was clean but deep, and Onua could tell that if he fell in, escaping would be a challenge.
No, a more thorough investigation yielded no new information.
“Surely there’s some other way?”
“None.”
Onua pointed to the walls. “But some of the platforms are missing. And I couldn’t scale that wall if I wanted to.”
The Turaga gestured to a rocky outcropping on the opposite side of the atrium. “See that terrace halfway up the wall? One of the Matoran may have left one of their tools there. Would be worth checking out.”
Onua turned away irritably. More and more, this seemed like some game Whenua was playing with him. The tone in the Turaga’s voice left little doubt that there probably would be such a tool up here, and if there were, then that meant Whenua was toying with him.
But he hadn’t come here to fetch Matoran tools. He had a job here, and he would finish it as expediently as possible.
Stepping back to the ravine wall, the Toa of Earth ran and jumped off the bank, landing awkwardly on the first stepping stone in the lake. To his relief, the stone was sturdy and smooth, and held his weight. With a deep breath, Onua threw himself to the next stone, and the next. Before long, he landed in the soft dirt of the island.
“Very good,” Whenua shouted at him from far behind.
In spite of himself, Onua smiled. Feeling more confident, he jumped from the island to the next stone, occasionally calling on his Pakari for a boost.
But this time he underestimated his leap. Coming up short of the distance he needed, he plunged feet first into the lake. Onua landed heavily in the soft sand below. He scrambled back to the bank, crawling out just as he was about to run out of air. Why is he having me get this mask when the Great Kaukau would be far more practical? he thought grimly.
“Almost,” Whenua shrugged.
With a huff, the Toa tried again. Leaping from stone to stone, he made it past the island and some distance beyond, but this time one of the stones was slick with water. Onua slid right off of it, even hitting his head as he submerged.
Whenua winced. By the time Onua emerged from the other side, the Toa was drenched and covered in grime.
“You’re sure there’s no other way?”
“None.”
Onua tried again. And again. He was strong, but also heavy, and he was getting weary. Sometimes he wasn’t even making it to the island. By his fourteenth failure at crossing, he was starting to boil over.
“Focus, Onua,” Whenua warned. “This is only the first obstacle. You must keep your temper and your strength if you are to make it to the highest level.”
Clenching his jaw, the Toa tried again. Using his simmering frustration as a motivator, he found the strength to jump smoothly from the bank to the first stone, then to the second. Bounding from one step to another, it wasn’t long before he propelled himself to the far bank.
“I did it!” exclaimed Onua, breathless.
“Good,” shouted Whenua from the opposite side. “Now, for the next part.”
Onua took a few moments to catch his breath, then went to the wall. After testing the sturdiness of the platform, he pulled himself on.
This in itself was an easy enough task, but the next platform would be much more difficult. This one was out of reach vertically and horizontally. It would require nothing short of a leap of faith to progress — not only to the second platform, but to the seven or so beyond it. Onua dug his claws into the wall to climb, but this sent fissures up and down the strata, which could not possibly bear his weight.
It was at that moment, Onua realized he was missing the obvious. Summoning his powers, he caused a pillar of earth to rise up from the ground. He stepped proudly onto the pillar, but his smile faded when the soft mud gave way beneath him.
“I told you,” Whenua called. “Only one way up.”
With a huff, Onua stepped onto the first of the stairs. Stepping back as far as he could and calling on his Kanohi to assist him, he ran and jumped, grasping at the second. But his courage was not in it, and he fell to the soft earth below.
Realizing his mistake, he crawled onto the first platform again. He knew he had to put his all into this jump, but being as sore as he was, and having fallen short so many times already, he found it difficult to rally himself.
He glanced at the Turaga, expecting him to say something obvious or sarcastic. But the Earth elder merely watched him, anticipating success.
Onua again clenched his jaw. He was frustrated and tired, and after adventuring to collect the first few of his Great Masks, Whenua had given him half a dozen more things to seek out. This was getting ridiculous. Outrageous, even.
Somehow, he found himself flying through the air. He hit the platform hard but dug his claws in to keep from falling again. Pulling himself up, he gazed proudly back at the first ledge.
The next leap was no challenge, nor the one after that. Now that Onua saw he could do it, he made fast progress up the wall. The ledges ringed the whole cavern, and soon he found himself directly above Whenua. By the time he reached the very top platform, the roots were within sight.
Yet as Onua went to make the leap, the platform crumbled beneath his weight, and he plunged all the way down, landing in the mud and splattering the Turaga.
Whenua looked him up and down.
“Very close,” he remarked. “It was within reach.”
“Close!” sputtered Onua. “How do you expect me to get all the way up there when all the platforms keep giving out?!”
“Only one gave out,” Whenua said softly, “And did you forget what I told you before? That Matoran have climbed these stairs and succeeded? Though they could not retrieve the Noble Mask themselves, they have come just short of it.”
Onua started to respond, and then caught himself. He had forgotten.
“Fine,” he snapped. “But Matoran are lighter. The stairs probably held beneath their weight.”
“Perhaps you will need something to help you cross.”
“I probably will.”
“Some tool designed for that very purpose.”
“Of course! Isn’t it obvious?”
“Then perhaps,” Whenua said curtly, “You should try retrieving the tool that the Matoran left on the terrace.”
Onua whirled. In his haste to get up the platforms, he had forgotten all about it.
He hurried across the lake, barely conscious of how easy the task had become. Crawling up the platforms, he nimbly made his way up to the ledge Whenua had indicated earlier.
Yes, there was something. Hidden behind stones and buried in the dirt. Onua raised it to the light.
“It’s called a Volo Lutu Launcher,” Whenua announced, pacing closer. “They are difficult to build and rare. When you are finished, do leave it where you found it.”
Wordlessly, Onua pointed the device to a stone carving above the platforms. Pressing the trigger, he was surprised to see a small ball eject and latch on. The next instant, the Toa was pulled through the air and deposited on the ledge.
“By the Great Spirit!” he breathed. He tried it again, to the same effect. This was far easier than jumping.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”
“I did.”
Before long, Onua was again standing on the highest of the platforms. Now it would be altogether impossible to jump to the root, but now there was no need. One of the Matoran carvings was engraved in the side. Firing the launcher at it, Onua was pulled directly into the nest of roots, to which he clung for dear life.
Now if he fell, there was no telling what would happen. With newfound strength, he wrapped some vines around his hands and began scaling the tree. As he dug his feet into the trunk, he realized he was finding far more success than when he had attempted to scale the wall himself.
As he was reaching for the first branch, he made the mistake of looking down. Whenua could scarcely be seen beneath him, and he was even high relative to the island surface. With a gulp, he continued his ascent. He heaved himself onto a branch.
The top was in sight now. At this point, he could swing along vines and leap between branches and make it to the top.
If only Lewa could see me now, he thought.
Along the branches, the Kewa were rustled from their nests as Onua bounded up the tree from one branch to another and swung along vines. Now his determination and experience were enough to keep him from falling.
At last, the Toa of Earth stepped onto the wooden planks that crisscrossed the top of the tree. Near the center stood a stone dais, and embedded in the top was a Kanohi Rau. Summoning his Mask of Strength, he brought his fist down hard, shattering the monolith open.
✴ ✴ ✴
Whenua grinned as he saw Onua rapidly descending back into the pit, and with far more ease than he had ascended. He had just returned the launcher to the terrace when he leaped down and landed on the soft earth.
“I have claimed my Kanohi Rau,” he said, brandishing the mask. “Now, tell me the others won’t be so difficult.”
“I don’t believe they will. I brought you to the hardest one first.”
Onua snorted.
“You should be proud, Toa,” Whenua continued. “This was a test of your strength. You wavered as the test progressed, but you overcame it. And along the way, you found the treasure I said you would — the will to keep going.”
“I see.”
The Turaga and the battered Toa turned to head back to Onu-Koro. “I also see the other wisdom in this lesson, Turaga,” added Onua.
“Oh?”
“If I had not gone out of my way to find the launcher, I wouldn’t have been able to finish the challenge. Just like how seeking out these masks will provide what I need to ultimately defeat Makuta.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Whenua nodded. “That’s a good excuse for this lesson, yes.”
“Why? What was your real purpose in bringing me here?”
“My own entertainment.”