Chapter 1

Pouks, Toa Hagah of Stone, concentrated to call upon his elemental powers and raise the great megalith of rock before him. With a mighty heave, the stone slab shifted, allowing the Protocairn trapped beneath it to wriggle its way free. Vocalizing a weak screech, the Rahi charged past the Toa, its tail slamming into his waist and knocking him aside.

“No need to thank me,” wheezed the Toa, watching as the creature headed to the south, following the scents of the Rahi that had been liberated before it.

It had been a lengthy endeavor to work his way this far into the ruins of the Matoran universe with his teammates, freeing the remaining survivors trapped by the collapse of the Mata Nui Robot. Together, rescue teams were cooperating to clear settlements of injured Matoran and stranded Rahi, some pinned beneath debris like the Protocairn or huddling around dying heat sources while the world crumbled around them. Bomonga, along with many surviving Toa of Earth, had remained behind on the southern continent, where they were working tirelessly to dig out the Matoran who had taken shelter in the Nui Caves. Similarly, Gaaki had joined with her Toa of Water sisters to transport the universe’s aquatic Rahi to the oceans of Spherus Magna.

Figuring there was no place else he’d rather be, Pouks straightened his back and gazed out triumphantly at the valley around him. A proud city belonging to a forgotten civilization had once stood here, now dilapidated and overgrown with vegetation. Many exotic breeds of Rahi had settled here, alongside a thriving village of Fa-Matoran in the east. Iruini and Kualus had spent the morning occupied by the island’s Manutri population, while he and Norik had concerned themselves with the villagers. Now, all four Toa Hagah had reconvened for one final sweep of the island before moving on to the northern isles.

“I’m surprised the Toa Mahri haven’t pitched in,” mused Iruini, using a Rhotuka spinner to heal a Husi that was hobbling on a wounded leg. “Could’ve used Kongu’s help herding those Fader Bulls.”

Pouks exchanged an uncertain glance with Kualus, whose torn features showed up even on his own Mask of Rahi Control.

“I’m sure they have a good reason for their absence,” suggested the Toa of Ice, turning to face the horizon, which seemed locked in a state of perpetual sunrise.

Pouks snorted.

“Or a bad one…”

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In a place far removed from the grasslands of the Matoran universe, Jaller, leader of the Toa Mahri, watched the rising pillars of Stone and Earth that slowly grew out of the seabed. He gazed impassively as they knotted together, rising up through the ocean depths to meet the surface an inch at a time. The fortress that the pillars now surrounded was ornate and beautiful, and the golden-skinned being had seen fit to assign the Toa the responsibility of reinforcing the underwater foundations.

Itching at the back of his mind, the Toa of Fire could sense the influence of another presiding over his thoughts, as though a vicious cloud were numbing his mind and pushing him out. It was a sensation he had felt before while under the hypnotic influence of Barraki Takadox, though the force that commanded his limbs now left him wholeheartedly committed to the cause of his new master. There was no inkling of resistance now, just the dignity of humble servitude to the first true leader he had ever known. As Vakama and the Toa Metru had once done so many centuries ago, they themselves now journeyed to a new world in search of a place for the Skakdi people to reside. Under his command, the Toa Mahri gave their elemental energies gladly in a watery expanse where no other Toa dared journey.

Beside him, Nuparu and Hewkii were hard at work channeling their respective elemental powers, while Hahli summoned watercurrents carrying sediment. Jaller supposed it was only fitting that the Toa should labor so vigorously to develop the foundations of such a structure. After all, the last time they had united their powers, they had brought down the Cord, destroying the lost city whose name they honored — Mahri Nui.

Of course, back then, they had counted an extra Toa amongst their number, a loss Jaller doubted the team would ever truly heal from. Perhaps this was penance for their failure — an opportunity to atone for the destruction they had wrought and commemorate their fallen comrade. With a sixth Toa among them, they might have honored their new leader with a glistening Toa Seal.

Spurred on by the tremendous guilt in his chest, the Toa of Fire nodded to Kongu, who wordlessly swung his arms about and opened another air corridor between his teammate and the newly-formed patch of rock. Launching a burst of flame through the oxygen-rich tunnel from the tip of his power blade, Jaller welded shut a fissure in the stonework, a growing fault revealed to him by his Kanohi Arthron.

There could be no imperfections.

✴        ✴        ✴

Observing from the shoreline of Aqua Magna, the golden being smiled warmly. Flanked by legions of his followers, he remarked how vastly his numbers had grown.

For some time, he had contemplated the means of his creation - his genesis. Born of the the fused psyches of a Vortixx, a Steltian, a Zyglak, and the six renegade Piraka, he had emerged from the annals of ancient myth as the salvation of the Skakdi species, even taking the likeness of their most barbaric champion, Irnakk. Finding a universe in turbulent disarray, he had united the remaining tribes of Zakaz under his banner without opposition. Now, with the downfall of the warlord Nektann and the scattering of the Skakdi to the dunes of Bara Magna, his following had grown tenfold. Even Mata Nui had grown absent from this fledgling world, which left him uniquely positioned to conquer… if he so desired.

He cast a cursory gaze over the droves of warriors assembled at his side. The tribesmen bristled with anticipation, with only his leadership keeping them from unleashing their fury on one another. They were bruisers and laborers, hardened by centuries of infighting and civil war, all too often dismissed for their more violent tendencies. Their passions ran deep, and yet they had proven to be blunt and predictable, like most Skakdi he had known over the course of his nine lives.

Puffing his armored chest out and stepping forward, one of the Skakdi generals moved to address him.

“My liege, these ‘Toa Mahri’,” he began, full of bluster and bravado, “they’re not to be underestimated. My clan has heard tales of their exploits on Voya Nui. They might champion the will of Mata Nui, but they’re unlike any before them. We must tread lightly where they’re concerned.”

“I consider it a wise policy never to underestimate Toa,” agreed the golden being, his voice conveying a wisdom as old and inflexible as the eons.

Ambition was certainly a sentiment felt by the component species in his genetic makeup; yet, such appetites were not his to yearn for. The Skakdi had heralded him as their messiah — a conquering titan capable of withstanding the fearsome Makuta. In truth, he had no such aspirations. In fact the golden colossus could already feel his interest in their cause waning.

“For now, the Toa add credibility to our endeavor,” he announced to the warlord who had approached him. “But I take your counsel under advisement. Once their usefulness has expired, so too shall they…”

A satisfied murmur resounded amongst the assembled Skakdi. Already, the blind concurrence of his followers was growing tiresome. He had seen their deepest desires — even given form to a number of the more diverse cravings — and still he remained unfulfilled by the terseness of the Skakdi imagination.

The golden being continued to gaze out with interest at the Toa Mahri riding the waves, constructing the plateau upon which he would build his fortress. The Toa had been given limited instruction, and yet they had already completed their task as eagerly as Pokawi flocking to shore. Unlike the bland Skakdi barbarians, he could taste the delicious remorse emanating from the Toa. He found himself wondering what manner of cravings Mata Nui’s chosen guardians indulged in when tested as they had been.

Deep within his amalgamated psyche, Hakann smiled a toothy grin at the notion.