Interlude 1

Five years ago…

Mazeka combed the Tren Krom Peninsula for days, scouring even the most dangerous regions to locate and dispatch his nemesis. The more he considered how his enemy had spared his life, the more he burned in his anger.

Mazeka would not extend the same mercy. Vultraz had killed his mentor. It was only just.

Yet after searching far and wide, from the lands of the recovering De-Koro and Ankut Nui to the southernmost stretches of the Forest of Fungus, Mazeka still could not find him. The Ko-Matoran traveled to the area of the Glassy Pass where they had so recently fought, daring to scamper down and search the ravine, but to no avail.

At length, after hearing no further word and finding not so much as a corpse, the Ko-Matoran was forced to accept that Vultraz had left the Peninsula. It took some time for him to swallow this bitter realization. But his rivalry with Vultraz would not end anytime soon.

With nothing left to try, the Ko-Matoran then made his way home and attempted to pack, only to find himself completely disinterested in the worldly comforts he had once cherished. Satisfied that his time on the peninsula was at an end, he summoned Botar to him as Jerbraz had taught him and found himself spirited away from his homeland to somewhere else entirely.

When Mazeka could see clearly again, he knew at once that he wasn’t on the northern continent anymore. The Ko-Matoran found himself standing beside Botar in a vast, spherical chamber. On the far side of the room rested a power cradle with a niche in its center.

“You!” said a familiar voice from behind him. Mazeka whirled, unsure of what to expect and reaching instinctively for his dagger.

“It’s you!” Krakua exclaimed, visibly thrilled. “You’re the one that saved me!”

“Ah,” Mazeka smiled in relief and rested his hand. Throwing a glance at Botar who watched them with vague boredom, he shrugged. “You can thank the Order of Mata Nui for that.”

Krakua nodded. “Yes, Helryx and Jerbraz gave me a rundown before I was brought here. Are you also an agent of the Order?”

Before Mazeka could respond, the shadows in the chamber seemed to grow deeper and a female voice filled the room.

“Welcome to Daxia, Mazeka. My name is Johmak. Jerbraz has already informed us of your heroism during your time on the Tren Krom Peninsula. As promised, we are prepared to train you in all the ways of the Order of Mata Nui.”

“Is Helryx out on mission?” Botar asked.

“She is.” The voice booming through the room abruptly vanished, and a hidden door in the side of the room slid open. One hunched warrior with a mangled, asymmetrical face stepped out, followed closely by an ebon-armored female who looked like a Vortixx. “However, she was sure to leave these Matoran in our care,” Johmak, the second of the two beings, finished.

“Very well,” Botar nodded curtly. “I will leave them to you.” In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

“I am Davwhi,” the first individual cracked his knuckles in greeting. “Johmak here is one of our most reliable trainers, and once you are finished with her, I will be your preliminary handler. Here you will be raised from mere capable villagers into warriors that stand with us as the last defense against the shadows.”

“I see,” Mazeka said, looking around. “Jerbraz, are you here too?”

The question hung on the air, and for a moment, even the Order agents hesitated, giving Jerbraz a moment to speak if he’d slipped in. But there was no sign of him or his deep, raspy voice.

“Jerbraz is present on the island,” Davwhi explained. “He has, however, requested not to be disturbed. A close friend of his—a Toa—was killed in combat recently. He is still mourning her death.”

Mazeka threw a glance at Krakua, but to his surprise, Krakua didn’t at all react in fear, but just in sorrow. “I am sorry to hear that,” the De-Matoran said. “Please give him our condolences.”

Does Krakua not realize he is destined to become a Toa? Mazeka wondered suddenly.

“The life of a Toa requires great sacrifice and virtue,” Davwhi nodded solemnly. “They are admirable, even to agents of the Order of Mata Nui. But we are not Toa. Not by a long shot.”

“These guards will take you to your quarters,” Johmak gestured to two sentries standing just outside the door. “Both of you will begin your training tomorrow morning. Be prepared, for you will not recognize yourselves when you have finished. This is now your destiny.”