I decided to draw my take on @rebuiltbionicle’s map of the Matoran Universe. A while back they gave a visualization of what a map of the MU would be for your common biomechanical, but mentioned that the arms should be in a ring above the head. Wondering what that’d look like, I eventually drew this to sate my curiosity.
I tried my best to redraw the original islands as presented, and in hindsight probably should’ve just placed the paper over the screen itself to directly trace... Also had to think about how the domes and tunnels in Mata Nui’s arms & shoulders would reorient, and opted to rotate them, because I didn’t want any of the domes to flip upside down in adapting the ‘ring’ formation. It’s kind of a stretch (literally) for the arms, but I guess the Great Spirit Robot has better flexibility and articulation than me.
...Y’know, looking at this map; One could interpret the Matoran Universe as being ‘key-shaped’, or at least refer to the long northern chain of islands as the ‘handle’. Which, equating the MU’s shape to an object would definitely help to wean people away from the humanoid interpretation of its layout, and thus make it harder to realize they’re inside a giant robot.
Everybody’s culturally predisposed to view the shape as something decidedly not person-like (and it’s harder for them to get that out of their head to see the humanoid layout, especially since the legs are missing and they don’t have the audience’s perspective), and the asymmetric shape of most keys would make people more willing to accept the missing hypothetical domes of Artakha and Daxia.
I can definitely see the Order of Mata Nui encouraging the ‘key’ interpretation of the world’s layout. Perhaps a lot of cultures, especially non-Matoran ones, opted to refer to their world as the Makoki Universe! Doesn’t sound too different from Matoran so it’s less of a culture shock, and much more inclusive than the Matoran-centric name.
[This has been stricken from the rebuilt canon. I need to make a better version of it but don’t hold your breath.]
Metru Nui was the first island (or set of islands technically) to have its foundations laid by the Great Beings. The islands were built up, although work on the city the Matoran would inhabit was postponed (apart from a single giant worker’s barracks) to prioritise the construction of the Core Processor beneath the city, where Mata Nui’s spirit would eventually reside. As Mata Nui’s programming was late in the construction, Tren Krom was installed to test the functions of the Great Spirit Robot as it was built.
Artakha would be the first island to receive a city, and the specifics of its architecture used to build up Metru Nui. The various islands of the dome were hauled together, and each was made to be a city itself for one of the six main elements of Matoran. Each of these cities would contribute to Metru Nui’s overall economy: a transport district, a parts manufactory, an assembling manufactory, two difference resource extraction districts, and a sector for reading Mata Nui’s thoughts and dictates. Lesser cities for the other 12 elements would be created on islands in domes to the south, called the Kofo Metru. Metru Nui mostly considered them separate lands, though the rest of the universe saw them as parts of Metru Nui.
The city was finished shortly before the GSR took off from Spherus Magna. Tren Krom discreetly left the Core Processor for Karda Nui for last minute checks, with the Matoran barely aware he was ever present. The Matoran and all important figures of the universe were gathered in the Coliseum to witness the implementation of Mata Nui and to experience the Awakening. This event had Metru Nui christened the City of Legends, due to the importance of the event and the foggy pre-Awakening memories the population had of the Great Beings walking amongst them.
Metru Nui, as a Matoran community, was mostly run as an autonomous collective. However, like many Matoran communities they had a Turaga to act as a mediator, public figurehead and ambassador; to intervene when there was miscommunication and to provide a direction for the city. The first was Turaga Uadu, a Po-Turaga who was in fact the very first Turaga made. In years to come Uadu became a legend themselves, famous for being the most fair and open of all the Turaga until the Post-Cataclysm Turaga heptapartite. Of minor day-to-day note they pushed for heavy incorporation with the Kofo Metru despite their distance, established strong relations with the islands of Artakha and Karzahni, and was the first to begin questioning Karzahni when Matoran failed to return. They took issue with the arbitrary rough justice of the Hand of Artakha, though opposed its disbanding; they wanted it to be a universal cooperative of Toa Teams.
The first major catastrophe Metru Nui faced was the Kanohi Dragon attack. The beast’s origins remain unknown to this day, but it was discovered underground in the undeveloped Ta-Metru wilderness. After being disturbed it began to attack the city, destroying buildings and creating a nest in the Great Furnace. Matoran defence failed and there seemed no capacity to coexist with the dragon, so Turaga Uadu called for Toa aid. A fairly extensive team of eighteen Toa arrived in the city to battle the creature. They expected a quick job with their Me-Toa, but the Dragon proved resistant to Rahi Control powers. They had to fight it in a full week’s worth of combat, with several Toa needing to be rebuilt afterwards. The Kanohi Dragon made several false retreats before returning to attack the city again, which played on the Toa’s mercy every time. Eventually they grew savvy, and as it retreated their Fa and Ba-Toa plunged it into the ocean, where their Ga and Ko-Toa pulled it into an undersea cave and froze it. The Toa were invited to stay in the city, and they became the first Toa Metru.
Turaga Uadu was also well noted for handling the rise of the League of Six Kingdoms. It was Ko-Metru’s divination that declared that six rulers would rise according to Mata Nui’s will, and despite the spiritual pressure to acknowledge them as the ordained rulers of the universe, Uadu could plainly see that the Barraki were nothing but a pack of thugs attempting a decadent land grab. Metru Nui was an extremely valuable prize that each Barraki coveted, so an invasion was not a possibility so much as an inevitability. What Turaga Uadu did was to open talks with each of the Barraki individually and continually remind them of the other talks and how important Metru Nui was. This made them fearful of the destruction that would happen if they had to fight for it, and Uadu finally pulled their trump card in telling them a portion was better than nothing. They accepted a precarious deal in which all the Barraki were guaranteeing Metru Nui’s independence from the others in exchange for trade deals. This kept Metru Nui and the Kofo Metru independent from the League of Six Kingdoms, something they shared only with Artakha and several obscure and hidden islands. Metru Nui emerged from the collapse of the League completely unscathed, as the squabbling lesser barraki were either in no position to harm Metru Nui, or chose to honour their predecessor’s trade deals.
A century after the fall of the League, Turaga Uadu announced that they would retire to help spread wisdom to lands less fortunate than Metru Nui. Their successor was a Le-Turaga who had volunteered much of his time to work in the Great Temple, a strongly religious Turaga by the name of Dihin. If there was one drawback to Turaga Uada’s tenure, it was their failure to properly vet their successor. Turaga Dihin had a fanatical attitude towards devotion to the Great Spirit that directly led to the Matoran Civil War. The history of that war is documented on its page. Before this happened, Turaga Dihin did have one positive influence that would effect Metru Nui for the rest of its history: the reorganisation of Onu-Metru from a mere mining district into the site of the Archives. Their replacement was an Onu-Turaga named Vhuru, who was handpicked by the Makuta.
The city’s first order of business was to reorganise the mess that the Civil War, and more broadly Dihin’s reign, had left. Turaga Vhuru largely let the Matoran organise themselves, and returned her office back to a diplomatic role. Work hours were shortened dramatically, and many destroyed segments of the city rebuilt into recreational areas to keep the Matoran in good spirits. The unrestrained expansion of the city ordered by Dihin was also reorganised and the first official nature preserves set up to protect the Rahi of Metru Nui. Trade with other islands was disrupted by a lessened industrial output, to which Turaga Vhuru quite vocally accused complaining islands of exploiting poor working conditions and threatened to cut trade with them completely. This set the tone for Turaga Vhuru on the international stage. She had no patience for those that saw Matoran as naive lessers.
Fear of sea pirates, the last splinters of the League, had Metru Nui attempt to gather together a force of Toa to protect shipments. However, most Toa were preoccupied with trying to become Toa Hagah with the Brotherhood of Makuta, so the city was only able to grab a few Toa Stones for a mere six new Toa Metru. Enough to protect the city, though they weren’t satisfied it would protect their shipments. Turaga Vhuru suggested a deal with the Brotherhood of Makuta’s Navy to protect shipping, though the Matoran were uncomfortable with this idea. What happened instead was that Satorni fighters from the Northern Continent were hired to do the job, with the promise of permanent residence on Metru Nui in return. Turaga Vhuru was uncomfortable with this, but the Matoran insisted. The deal turned out beneficial, and Turaga Vhuru began considering the possibilities.
Until then, Metru Nui had been solely inhabited by the Matoran. Other species were only ever on diplomatic or trade visits. However, since the successful integration of Satorni guards, the doors were opened for further peoples to live in Metru Nui. This was a slow process; there wasn’t a great deal of people banging on a closed door, but there were some across the universe uprooted and needed somewhere secure, or had skills they felt Metru Nui benefited from. Over several centuries Metru Nui became a far more cosmopolitan city, with nearly every species and element of Matoran represented.
Metru Nui prospered, but there were isolationist elements that rejected the new openness of Metru Nui. Ehui, Toa Metru of Water, believed that Metru Nui was given to the Matoran alone, and accused Turaga Vhuru of destroying Metru Nui’s sovereignty. Toa Ehui was unable to bring the other Toa around to their way of thinking, so they split off to found The Circle of Mata Nui: an organisation of Metru Nui Matoran dedicated to returning Metru Nui to its perceived perfect form where there were only the six prime elements of Matoran rigidly kept in their own Metru. For the first century of their existence they were more offensive than actually harmful, as they were nothing but a fringe cult hiding in Le-Metru. Their activities included spreading inflammatory posters, staging small protests outside the Coliseum until they got bored, and disrupting meditation sessions in the Great Temple. Turaga Vhuru did her best to address the Circle’s concerns with reason, but Ehui and his followers were beyond reason. There were not considered anything but irritating trivia about Metru Nui at this time, however.
A little over 700 years into her tenure, Turaga Vhuru chose to retire. Her reasoning was that she came into office after (somewhat over) 800 years of previous Turaga and she was approaching 800 years in office as well, and felt it was time to hand over the mantle. Her successor was a Ko-Turaga, formerly one of the Toa that retrieved the Ignika during the Great Disruption, by the name of Amohon. Amohon remained nothing but a diplomat and storyteller, the latter of which he really enjoyed doing.
During this time the city invented Kanoka disk technology. They rapidly became ubiquitous tools and a major export. They had been reverse engineered from the technology behind Kanohi, and it was found it was actually easier to craft Kanoka and then mould them into Kanohi. Disk-assisted mask making overtook Metru Nui, though it narrowed the range of Kanohi they could create. Artakha, long since become a recluse, took note of the disks and developed six of his own with improved technology that allowed far greater power. Within them he included the power to create the Kanohi Vahi. The disks were unceremoniously teleported into the Great Temple as a gift for the Toa Metru (unfortunately including Ehui), which they would wield with pride until they slowly lost them over the centuries.
Some centuries after this, the city came under attack by Protocairns. Battle raged between the beasts and the city’s Toa and other protectors for a month. The Protocairns proved enormously resilient and ruined the coastline across the entire island, including the Great Temple. They weren’t even defeated, but just died as part of their lifecycle. Rebuilding began, but was interrupted by the arrival of the Parakrekks, arrived to devour minerals left in the rubble. A second battle for Metru Nui raged across its coastlines against the amphibious Rahi, which saw them successfully driven off. It was during this general chaos that the legendary beast Keetongu smuggled themselves into the city.
Ehui and the Circle attempted to blame the bestial invasion on the influx of non-Matoran. This initial propaganda session won the loyalty of barely anybody, but those few that were swayed into the Circle included Ko-Matoran scholars and Ga-Matoran teachers that had significantly more charisma and reach with the population. The Circle’s numbers began to grow steadily higher, to the point where they could do much more damage. It’s important to note that they never numbered more than 5% of the Matoran population. Still, this was thousands of Matoran and enough to hurl a great deal of weight around. Homes and workplaces were smashed up, prophecies from the knowledge towers destroyed and replaced with forgeries. Ga-Metru schools were shut down from vandalism and destruction. Slowly but surely, the assaults of non-Matoran citizens began and gradually became worse.
Some historians refer to these events as the Second Metru Nui Civil War, though due to the vast difference in scale, most don’t consider it a war so much as a brief period of unrest. As things deteriorated, talks failed, and the Circle began setting up Matoran-only zones (which they had long falsely accused the non-Matoran of creating), Turaga Amohon lost his patience with them and told the Toa to haul Ehui in. A brief siege occurred over Ehui’s stronghold beneath Ga-Wahi, but he was brought in to face trial. Ehui was imprisoned and made to pass on his Toa power, and the Matoran-only zones forcibly disbanded by the Toa. Victory was declared and Metru Nui remained an open society. The Toa Metru all passed on their Toa Power and became Turaga.
Turaga Amohon retired after a thousand years in office. There were two contenders for the office which the prophecies from Ko-Metru ordained would share the office. These two were Baidrau and Ledum, a Ta-Turaga and Ga-Turaga respectively. Given the city was now at peace, they remained little more than figureheads as the Matoran shaped their own destinies.
Given inspiration by the trade pact created by Nynrah and its neighbours (the East Matoran Trade Guild), the Matoran of Metru Nui began negotiating similar trade pacts with its more prominent trade partners. The Turaga advised caution as to not be caught into the trap of nationalism and rivalry with Nynrah, though the Matoran negotiating the deals assured them that was purely to coordinate a more efficient distribution of resources, and was more likely to merge with the East Matoran Trade Guilt rather than fight it. Metru Nui’s pacts were referred to as the North Matoran Trade Guild as a direct reference to Nynrah’s league. The Northern Guild encompassed Metru Nui, the Kofo-Metru, a series of Matoran settlements on the two continents, and a few islands south of the central dome.
Unlike Nynrah, there were no provisions within the Northern Pact to keep Metru Nui from becoming the dominant member of the Guild. Its trade partners began to decline trade deals with other lands for the redundancy of it. That the Guild was kept from being the Metru Nui Empire was solely because of the goodwill and diplomacy of Baidrau and Ledum. Though they saw the negativity of Metru Nui’s economic dominion, the peace and steady flow of resources the pact was supplying kept the Turaga from changing the arrangement. They kept it stable and benign, but did not scale it back.
Like Turaga Amohon, Baidrau and Ledum chose to step down after a thousand years of office. Their replacement was Turaga Mevoka, a Po-Turaga. Their first few years were dedicated primarily to preaching the word of the Great Spirit and the Three Virtues. They focused less on Metru Nui’s foreign relations, allowing the merchants to expand the Northern Guild even further, reaching the western island chain and encroaching on East Guild territory without the promised merger.
Turaga Mevoka was asked to mediate disputes between Metru Nui and the East Trade Guild. Their primary goal was to try and make the promised merging of trade guilds happen, emphasising the first of the virtues: Unity. They failed to get the merger through, but Metru Nui traders agreed not to encroach on Nynrah’s turf. Mevoka’s mind remained on Matoran unity, and began considering the potential of Metru Nui’s trade guild. Its expansion into the south and west was allowed to continue unrestrained, and urges continually sent to the east to reconsider.
The guild became about more than trade. Turaga Mevoka began to influence the policy of their associated islands, and while preaching Unity opted to merge them all into a single polity. The North Matoran Trade Guild evolved into the Federation of the Great Spirit. International reaction was mixed. A few Matoran villages saw a great opportunity for Matoran to become part of something greater than disparate villages, or to protect themselves from piracy and the rogue powers. The Brotherhood of Makuta objected to the project on the grounds that Metru Nui should not interfere with the destiny of other lands and should respect their sovereignty (although their true motive was to keep the universe divided). Turaga Mevoka took this objection under consideration. Islands like Xia and Stelt made objections overtly based on more selfish motives, which just motivated Mevoka to continue the project more.
The Federation did not start on the best grounds. It was at this time Energised Protodermis was highly sought after for economic reasons. Turaga Mevoka ordered Metru Nui and its possessions to acquire as much as possible. The Ko-Matoran scholars realised that Mata Nui’s health was going into decline and would require the Kanohi Ignika to revive him. It was further gleamed that overmining Energised Protodermis was the cause of what would be called “the Great Draining”. While by no means solely responsible, the vocality of Turaga Mevoka in building the Federation’s wealth did result in his humiliation on the global stage.
Nevertheless, the expansion of the Federation continued for another two centuries, though somewhat slower. Turaga Mevoka’s rhetoric shifted somewhat, away from Matoran unity towards a unity of the entire universe. Mevoka called to attention the League of Six Kingdoms; that Mata Nui always had intended for the universe to be united under a single dominion. The League was simply corrupted by poorly chosen kings. As Turaga of Metru Nui, he was a far better choice. Such a comparison was not popular. Economic blockades were set up to pressure islands to join the Federation. Within the Federation, while islands were nominally independent, trade was regulated to keep all islands dependent on Metru Nui and prevented them from trading with each other.
Two predominant economic powers on the two continents found themselves under the pressure from the expanding Federation, and began competing with each other over what resources remained independent. Secretly edged on by the Federation and by Xian arms dealers, the continent’s rivalry began to flare into violent conflict, until finally the Continental War broke out. This event would spell the downfall of Mevoka’s Federation. The Makuta saw through Mevoka and knew he intended to have the two blocs destroy each other so he could clean up the pieces. Makuta Teridax forced Mevoka to acknowledge this publicly, in the hopes that knowing they were being manipulated would stop the Continental Powers. This did lead to an armistice, but the two powers had been eyeing each other off long before the Federation became involved, and there were tensions that needed to be resolved. Continental territories of the Federation began to break off and join their respective Continent’s power bloc after being reminded of perceived historical injustices.
The Makuta still insisted that the war was Metru Nui’s responsibility, and ordered that the Federation end the war. Turaga Mevoka saw this as a possible way to cement the Federation as a power, through a show of force similar to what ended the Metru Nui Civil War so long ago. This was not to be. The relatively minor force of Toa and other volunteer fighters mustered was meaningless compared to the Continental Armies. The Makuta pushed Mevoka aside and resolved to end the conflict their own way. The Federation’s capacity to be a universal power was proved minimal and its expansion ceased. The other major powers began to pay it no mind. Mevoka, broken, retreated into the coliseum and made frequently less public appearances, until eventually he refused to preform his duties and had to be removed from office only a little over three hundred years as Turaga.
Mevoka’s replacement was a recently turned Ta-Turaga by the name of Dume. Turaga Dume took a far more insular approach to running Metru Nui; he ran the island alone and took no notice of the greater Federation of which it was a part. Slowly but surely without a charismatic figure holding it together the Federation broke up and disbanded. Ultimately the ideas behind it were heavier than the organisation itself. Dume’s insularity was more than that, and he neglected even the Kofo-Metru, which were considered politically part of Metru Nui since long before Mevoka’s time. The Kofo-Metru formally split from Metru Nui to seek their own trade relations.
The people of Metru Nui were unsure what to make of Dume. The collapse of Metru Nui’s sphere of influence came with a mixed reception, partially outrage to loss of prestige, partially celebration to a return to simpler times. The apathy to the Kofo-Metru was an unpopular move, though Dume’s leadership on internal matters was impeccable.
Towards this time several guildsmatoran were complaining of the current lack of protection and a growing crime rate given the lack of Toa team. Dume attempted to gather a new Toa team, but an Onu-Matoran by the name of Nuparu offered to create a new robotic taskforce that would maintain order. The first batch, the Krahli, were an abysmal failure, and it took quite a bit of persuasion for Dume to accept the Vahki. Soon enough, there were robotic enforcers patrolling the streets of Metru Nui. The justice was rough, though the city began running somewhat more efficiently. The implementation of the Vahki was unpopular, and many residence began to leave for other lands. During this exodus the Rahaga secretly arrived and took residence in the city.
The Dark Hunters began to covet the city, in the hopes of seizing it as their formal throne. A polite request to set up a base was sent to Dume, who mailed a blank sheet of paper in return. While maintaining an air of formality, the Dark Hunters continued to push for a base while making it more and more apparent they intended violence if denied. The tensions frightened many more Metru Nui inhabitants away from the island. The Dark Hunters opted to release the ancient Kanohi Dragon upon the city and offered to remove it in exchange for a permanent base. Fortunately, Turaga Dume had managed to rustle up a Toa team, the Toa Mangai, to defeat the dragon and defend the city from the Hunters.
The people of Metru Nui were happy to have the Toa Mangai and it stopped the exodus of citizens. The Dark Hunters continued their pressure, but now had an ulterior motive. One of the Toa, Tuyet, held an artefact of some importance to them: the Nui Stone. A taskforce was sent in to retrieve it, but was demolished by the Toa. Infuriated, the Shadowed One ordered the Toa exterminated and for the Dark Hunters to mobilise and occupy the city. The Toa, and Turaga Dume, were held captive in the Coliseum as the Dark Hunters made the city their own. Fortunately Toa Naho was able to escape and rally an army of Toa, which after several months fighting were able to expel the Dark Hunters.
The war had severe social implications for the city. Firstly, its perceived peace and untouchability was shattered, causing another exodus of panicked citizens. However, the fact that Metru Nui could rally such an army of Toa showed that it was still a political power of some sway, and that the former Federation could have been something far more, for better or worse. The fact that the Makuta had chosen not to intervene in that conflict was harshly criticised across the universe. Metru Nui was able to exist in peace, undisturbed by nefarious powers, for a century and a half beyond that.
As part of his schemes, Makuta Teridax came to the city and abducted and impersonated Turaga Dume. He took a far more active role in running the city, increasing the length of work shifts and shutting down amenities, and having the Vahki crack down brutally on any dissent. This caused even more citizens to evacuate the city. Three Dark Hunters were hired to slowly pick the Toa Mangai off, causing even more panic and unrest amongst the populace. “Dume” announced a policy of isolation, apparently due to Dark Hunter threats, that entailed the closing of the sea gates. This triggered the final exodus of citizenry from Metru Nui, fleecing off the remaining non-Matoran and most Matoran not of the six prime elements. The population resembled what it did in the earliest days of the city, but was a mere shadow of what the city once was.
The sea gates were sealed and the last Toa Mangai except their leader, Lhikan, were eliminated. At this point Makuta planted a botanical monstrosity of his own design, the Morbuzakh, inside the Great Furnace. It quickly grew to enormous sizes and spread its tendrils across the city. It would slowly capture Matoran to be placed within special capsules that Teridax had been constructing. Lhikan and the Vahki were powerless to stop it (though the Vahki didn’t try unless they were being publically scrutinised). Lhikan, since the death of his fellow Toa, was firmly convinced something far greater was going on, but couldn’t handle it on his own. He broke into the Great Temple and stole six Toa Stones to create a new Toa team. During this event he discovered and fought Dark Hunters Nidhiki and Krekka.
The Toa Stones were distributed to a Matoran from each Metru, but Lhikan was captured by the Dark Hunters. There was some telepathic power play over which Matoran would become Toa. The chosen six reported to the Great Temple and were transformed into a new generation of Toa. One of them, the Ta-Toa Vakama began receiving visions with vague instructions on how to save the city. The long lost and semi-mythical Great Disks were necessary to destroy the Morbuzakh. Six Matoran, which by a staggering coincidence were all associates of theirs, would help them find the disks. The Dark Hunters, pressuring the Po-Matoran Ahkmou, were learning of their identities as well and luring them into traps.
The new Toa were able to rescue the Matoran and recover the Great Disks despite the Dark Hunters and Morbuzakh. Teridax had become aware of them, and had ordered the Vahki to apprehend them (the official reasoning being the Ga-Toa, Nokama, was supposedly suspected of being an alias for Toa Tuyet.) Nevertheless, the Toa were able to use the Great Disks to destroy the Morbuzakh. They took the disks to the Coliseum, to be recognised as the Toa Metru by “Turaga Dume.” Instead, the disguised Makuta accused them of killing Lhikan and was able to apprehend three of them. The Dark Hunters and Vahki were sent hunting the other three.
As the remaining Toa tracked their brethren to rescue them, the Makuta dropped the subtlety and ordered the Matoran assemble at the Coliseum and had the Vahki force them into the capsules. The Toa, after rescuing their companions, sought to confront Teridax. Teridax met them, and announced that he had plunged Mata Nui into slumber. The suns went out and the enormous bioquake thereafter called the Great Cataclysm struck the city, causing immense structural damage. The Toa discovered what Makuta had done to the Matoran and opted to take as many capsules as they could and find a safe haven to revive them. As they approached the Great Barrier, Makuta confronted them and fought. The Toa sealed him away and were able to escape.
While the Toa were absent, Makuta sent a telepathic distress signal to the Brotherhood. The Visorak Horde were summoned to occupy the abandoned city. The Toa returned to find the city enveloped in webbing. They were quickly captured and mutated into the Toa Hordika, but before they could be forced to release the Makuta they were rescued by the Rahaga. The Rahaga explained the situation to them, and the team summarised their three goals: find Keetongu and their alleged cure, secure the Matoran capsules from the Visorak, and find the parts to construct airships to ship them out. The Rahaga also dumped a “find the Kanohi Avohkii” quest on them in the middle of it. Over a painful months-long guerilla war against the Horde, filled with inner-struggle, betrayal, and giant monsters, the Toa were able not only fulfill these goals but also completely disband the Visorak Horde and expell them from the city. It came at a cost, however; Makuta Teridax were freed from his prison.
Given the Makuta on the loose and the destruction wrought by the city, the Toa continued with their plan to evacuate the Matoran to the island they discovered beyond the Great Barrier. The Rahaga and Keetongu remained behind in the city and revived Turaga Dume, and began a quiet study in the ruins of the city on the exact nature of the Great Cataclysm. The universe at large was caught up in their own repairs, but as they brought themselves back into working order noticed Metru Nui’s absence, forcing them to rebuild their economies without Metru Nui’s past generosity of resources. The Dark Hunters did not exploit the opportunity to seize the city, as it had lost its value by this time.
Eventually, after several decades away, the Matoran were brought back to rebuild and repopulate the city. With them came the former Toa Metru, now Turaga, who joined with Dume to lead the city. The city still had Toa in the form of the Toa Nuva, but the bulk of their number was sent to Voya Nui to recover the Kanohi Ignika. The Matoran were given no explanation, prompting a citywide halt to repair efforts until the Turaga explained the situation. A small group of Matoran and Toa Takanuva left to render them assistance, although Toa Takanuva was forced to return. Takanuva was the sole Toa protecting the city, although he had the backing of several Matoran militia. In his brief tenure in this role he fought off a Frostelus invasion and confronted a small Dark Hunter flotilla passing through the Great Barrier. Shortly the Toa Nuva returned with the same flotilla, with the imprisoned Piraka in tow.
The Toa Nuva would not stay long, as the Order of Mata Nui revealed itself to them and gave them a series of tasks in preparing for the awakening of the Great Spirit. Of these tasks, one included finding and activating the Staff of Artakha, completely repairing the ruined city and removing the need to make repairs. The Turaga devoted their time to reteaching the memory-wiped Matoran how to operate the city and have Metru Nui become a formal power again. There were efforts, hindered by a lack of scientific knowledge, in trying to restore the lost Matoran memories. This had mixed results. Occupying Turaga Dume’s concerns was a series of cracks in the ground beneath the Coliseum, though getting Metru Nui working was a higher priority.
Mata Nui’s life was saved, and the people of the universe breathed a sigh of relief. The Matoran who had joined the Toa Nuva, now themselves the Toa Mahri, returned to the city. The Order of Mata Nui sent them on their own quests, and had Takanuva (newly infected by a Shadow Leech) taken away as well. This disturbed the Matoran, but several Order agents and contractors entered the city and began fortifying it. The Matoran had mixed feelings; they appreciated the enhanced defences but neither knew nor fully trusted the Order. Makuta Teridax secretly entered the city and descended beneath the Coliseum into the long forgotten Core Processor.
The Order’s fortifications of the city came to a head during the war with the Brotherhood of Makuta. As part of (what they assumed to be) their plans, the Brotherhood Army lay siege to Metru Nui in an attempt to occupy it. The Order’s forces, the Matoran Militia, and the Toa Mahri were able to hold them off. The invasion attempt was finally broken when the Toa Nuva and a population of Av-Matoran arrived from Karda Nui. The immensely powerful Toa and battle-harden Matoran tipped the battle against the Brotherhood, whose fleet was destroyed.
The Toa Nuva brought news that their quest to awaken Mata Nui was a success. The effects weren’t readily apparent, which the Order stated was just a delayed reaction. The Turaga announced a day long celebration, culminating in a speech by Dume. During this victory speech, Makuta Teridax revealed himself to be in control of the universe, having supplanted his spirit for Mata Nui’s during the revival. A legion of Brotherhood forces, dwarfing the previous invasion fleet, soon entered the city. Bioquakes and freak storms harassed the Toa as they attempted to fight the legion off. The Matoran tried to hide in the Archives, but Makuta threatened to cave the entire structure in on them and they fled back to work.
The Toa were able to escape, and nearly managed to bring the Turaga with them. The Turaga were however captured and put to work in the city. Ahkmou, a long time associate of the Makuta, was made “Turaga” of the city in their stead, whether he liked it or not. Metru Nui was made into an industrial powerhouse and showcase of the Makuta-run universe. Statues of the Makuta replaced all Toa and Turaga statues, workshifts took up every hour that wasn’t spent sleeping, and the Great Temple transformed into a miniature Destral fortress. While islands like Xia and Nynrah failed to cooperate, Makuta was able to rely on Metru Nui and its fearful Matoran to supply all of his manufacturing needs.
The Order’s fortifications were made to work for Makuta, though many beings were able to sneak back into the city. The Core Processor beneath the Coliseum was a key target for a dozen of the oldest and most powerful beings in the universe. Unfortunately, this just meant that they were all in one place for Makuta to expel.
The end of Metru Nui came with the end of the entire universe. Word came that the universe needed to be abandoned. Makuta would not permit any of the Matoran to leave. The resurgent Barraki, under the persuasion of the Toa and the surviving Order, lay siege to Metru Nui long enough to evacuate the Matoran and leave the city deserted. As Makuta tried and failed to corral the Matoran back, his Rahkshi could only supply subpar replacement for their labour. The lack of maintenance cost him his edge against Mata Nui and the Great Spirit Robot was irreparably damaged.
Once again the City of Legends was brought to ruin, and for the last time. With the GSR uninhabitable, and having run its purpose anyway, the city is slowly being dismantled by its former inhabitants to build greater cities on the surface of Spherus Magna.
Shortly after Makuta Teridax’s rise to power, the Brotherhood of Makuta opted to gather elite Toa to serve as bodyguards for their members, called the Toa Hagah. For centuries, the Makuta were flanked by Toa in shining armour. Such an honour guard was a gamble, as it risked discovery of the Brotherhood’s corruption. Their treachery was discovered, but led to the corruption of the Toa instead.
Makuta Teridax seized power by unveiling a plan for the Brotherhood to overthrow the Great Spirit and have the Makuta rule the universe. For this goal he began a military buildup of the Brotherhood’s forces. This meant an increase in War Rahi and Rahkshi, but Teridax wanted to diversify. At first this meant the development of more new breeds of War Rahi, such as the Skull Spiders and eventually the Visorak, but this wasn’t enough for Teridax. The most powerful force in the universe, aside from the Makuta themselves, were the Toa, and he wanted them as part of their army.
Toa were not formally included into the rank and file of the military; they was not feasible way to convince the Toa to serve in that capacity outside of a few (less than ten) that had enlisted as officers. Makuta Antroz was the one to arrange Toa service with the Brotherhood. As the Brotherhood was still maintaining its public persona as the force of order and justice in service of Mata Nui, it seemed reasonable that such noble servants receive proper protection. Antroz organised the recruitment of the finest Toa from across the universe to serve as “Toa Hagah” teams for the Makuta.
A great many Toa were successfully recruited, the best the universe had to offer. There were 80 Makuta remaining in Brotherhood service at the time, with six Toa Hagah for each Makuta for a total of 480 Toa in service of the Hagah Cohort. The Toa were taken from all elements and the Makuta had their pick of what elements they wanted in their teams. Squabbles were kept behind closed doors. The Toa were given protosteel armour gilded with precious metals. They were given their pick of Kanohi and weapons. The sky was the limit for the Makuta’s bodyguards. This was the beginning of the pampering.
Serving as the Makuta’s honour guard opened a great deal of social doors for the Toa Hagah. The Matoran societies they hailed from were generally classless, but now the Toa were invited to the high society of the more stratified cultures. They were the elite, and the Makuta made sure they knew it. They were exposed to luxury and made to appreciate it. This said, the Makuta did not let the Toa Hagah’s skills dull. They were made to practice for long hours and there were plenty of threats to the Makuta to keep them in check and avoid complacency. This training emphasised an ideological aspect as well; highlighting the Toa’s great power and impying a superiority because of it. The prestige of the Toa Hagah did manage to influence some more Toa to become officers in the standard army.
As time went on, the Makuta began testing the waters of what they were creating. Minor grievances against the Great Spirit were voiced in earshot. Nothing sacrilegious, but legitimate concerns over Mata Nui allowing suffering and tyranny to exist within the universe. The Toa Hagah warmed to the idea that the Great Spirit was negligent and that the universe needed a firmer grip. The Makuta contemplated revealing the plan to them, but an incident convinced them to put it off. Makuta Kulta’s unethical experiments on Okoto had his Toa Hagah turn against him and give the Brotherhood a public relations nightmare trying to pretend Kulta was renegade. The long game had to continue.
Five centuries after the recruitment of the Toa Hagah, Makuta Kojol launched an attack on Artakha and stole the Kanohi Avohkii. While the attack was far larger and far more identifiable with the Brotherhood than Makuta Teridax wanted, the Brotherhood was able to avoid public responsibility as Artakha chose to handle this personally and with secretive allies rather than publicly, and thus the Toa Hagah were kept in the dark about the event for the time being. However, a century later this fell apart.
Makuta Teridax’s personal Toa Hagah, led by Toa Norik, attempting to investigate Toa Kojol’s death eventually put the clues together and realised what the Brotherhood had done. They secretly raided the Destral fortress and retrieved the Avohkii, though they were mutated into Rahaga in their attempted escape. The Makuta did their best to keep the incident quiet, and although it failed to reach public ears, it spread to the rest of the Toa Hagah.
The Toa Hagah were given the choice to continue serving blindly or complicitly, or to stand up against the Brotherhood. A total of one hundred and sixty-three revolted, leaving three hundred and five loyal to the Brotherhood. The revolt was short and brutal, with the Brotherhood victorious. One Makuta was slain, thirty-five loyalist Toa killed, and 57 rebelling Toa killed. The remaining rebel Toa were imprisoned and given to Makutas Mutran, Chirox, and Tridax for experimentation.
The Makuta had their test of loyalty. The remaining 270 Toa Hagah were now completely under their sway, and finally allowed into some final locked doors where they could directly aid the plan. As Makuta Teridax had desired, they now had a cohort of Toa serving in the Brotherhood army. There they would serve until the end of the universe.
This was not the end of the Toa Hagah’s story. Those taken for experimentation were subject to all sorts of modifications. Slight physical modifications such as talons and a digitigrade gait, mind altering to make them obedient again, and changing their element to become Toa of Shadow. The viruses used to accomplish this were later distilled into the Shadow Leeches. Makuta Tridax convinced Makuta Teridax that the Shadow Toa were trustworthy and they became a secret special forces unit for the Brotherhood. The obedience viruses were slowly applied to the loyalist Hagah as well.
This would set the tone of the Toa Hagah’s servitude for the rest of the universe’s history. The bulk would serve in the army or occasionally as bodyguards again, while the Shadow Toa would act as assassins and strike teams. The Shadow Toa remained nothing more than a rumour to the public, while the regular Toa Hagah remained a symbol of prestige that gave the Brotherhood of Makuta a good name. The two groups were fully aware and content with each other’s existence, though there was virtually no overlap. The only exchange of personnel occurred when the Brotherhood opted to purge the universe of Toa of Iron and Magnetism. Instead of killing their own loyal subjects, they converted them into Toa of Shadow to replace their powers while keeping them useful. Brotherhood loyal Toa would remain one of the largest surviving Toa populations during the Toa Decline.
When the Brotherhood went to war with the Order of Mata Nui, the Toa Hagah were used in an attempt to maintain good public relations. This was a failure, and the treachery of the Makuta exposed to the entire universe, so the Brotherhood saw no reason to hold back. The Shadow Toa were now publicly serving the Brotherhood, and the body modifications of talons and enhanced strength and senses made universal amongst the Toa Hagah.
The bulk of the Toa Hagah (referred to at large as the dark Toa) survived the Destiny War to become Teridax’s enforcers after his takeover of the Great Spirit Robot. They were disturbed by his destruction of the rest of the Makuta, but their virus-based loyalty kept them in line. Using powerful illusion powers, he even temporarily brought his own Toa Hagah team back into the fold. As part of the Makuta’s effort to turn symbols of hope into symbols of his own reign, he used the Toa Hagah’s status to turn Toa into a symbol of his rule. As the Reign of Shadows only lasted two years, the cultural memory of Toa as heroes held a stronger impression.
After Makuta’s death, the dark Toa fled onto the surface of Spherus Magna and set out to find a place to rebuild. They remain loyal to the Brotherhood, and with the only surviving Makuta being the “traitorous” Makuta Miserix, the dark Toa serve only the memory of Makuta Teridax. They are currently gathering the remnants of Makuta’s forces into a new Brotherhood.
A component of the Great Spirit Robot kept separate from the rest of the Matoran Universe. The Red Star (actually called the Externalised Engine in the Great Being’s schematics, and referred to as “the Spheres” by its inhabitants) is a booster rocket, interstellar drive, and monitoring station all in one, and has some emergency functions to defend the Great Spirit Robot from external forces.
The Red Star was built by the Great Beings. The Great Spirit Robot needed to travel interstellar distances and they wanted to maximise observation time of alien civilisation over travel time, so they created their undoubtedly most advanced piece of technology ever: a warp engine. Only a few prototypes had ever been produced and the technology had never been implemented for long-term use. The technology was so unrefined that it was deemed safer to have the engine built outside of the Robot. This provided several advantages for additional features placed on the star.
The Red Star was held in a slot on the GSR’s back, where it produced massive amounts of thrust to (in conjunction with foot and hand mounted thrusters) take the enormous weight of the machine into orbit. There (after fixing any orbital problems caused to the planet by the raw power of takeoff) the GSR would fold into a ball for interstellar travel. The Red Star’s enormous reactor would produce a tonne of negative mass particles to create a stable warp bubble. Further exotic particles had to be produced to burst the bubble and come back into real space. This process produced massive amount of heat, and after shutting down the waste heat would be used to power systems for a thousand years until it was needed again. The heat was so immense that it kept the Star operating perfectly with energy to spare.
After finding a planet to survey, the Red Star would detach from the GSR as it landed and disguised itself for observations. The Star would assume a not-quite geostationary orbit of the planet, monitoring the GSR as it did its observing. It had several emergency functions that could aid the GSR, including a power beam that could transform Matoran into Toa. It would also project Toa Spirit stars and other functions should the Matoran be forced to surface. One of the more important but misused functions was that the Red Star would act as a communications satellite capable of communicating with the Great Beings back on Bara Magna.
There were two different kinds of inhabitants of the Red Star. Firstly, the Kestora: the smaller service robots designed to maintain areas of the GSR the awakened Biomechs were never meant to see, of which the Red Star was included. Secondly, the Voltest: giant biomechs intended for work within the Star’s reactor, with bodies meant to anchor themselves and withstand great heat.
The Red Star was built as a trio of spheres, each slightly small than the other and built into the far wall of its superior, resulting in one spherical chamber and two crescent/bowl shaped chambers. The outermost, the thinnest, was the maintenance deck. Exclusively staffed by the Kestora, it was here that the internal operations of the Red Star, including its communications equipment and propulsion, was operated from. The middle section was the habitation section, dominated by a simulated biosphere of biomechanical trees growing high-energy fruit for the inhabitants to feed on. There were also places to sleep, though since these beings were never intended to be sapient these locations were best described as hives. The inner chamber was the only spherical chamber, and where the reactor and primary functions were situated, exclusively staffed by the Voltest. Gravity went inwards toward the reactor core. The entire thing was covered in a sheath shaped like a hexagonal bipydramid with hexagonal faces on each end instead of pointed vertices.
Operations on the Red Star were as-intended for the first thousand years of the GSR’s journey. This changed when the Great Being Gaardus teleported into the Star. The inhabitants attempted to expel him as a contaminant, but Gaardus altered their minds to allow them the same sapience the rest of the Matoran Universe possessed. Gaardus immediately realised this could negatively effect the running of Engine, so he took the time to organise their society on the basis of the Matoran society and encouraged the worship of the Great Beings, specifically himself. He established a Voltest Hierarch to rule over them in his stead.
This Hierarch’s reign was short lived as he became a tyrannical slavedriver. They refused to let culture grow outside of maintenance work, enforced nearly perpetual workshifts, and encouraged hatred between Kestora and Voltest to avoid being the target of the people’s anger. This failed and they were hurled into the reactor by unknown assailants. Their death forced a discussion of how the Star should be run, and a democratic council was established. Culture was allowed to develop and flourish, including the building of the Great City of Silver. The Red Star flourished, with no detriment to its operations. Gaardus’s regular returns brought malcontent as he disapproved of the overthrow of the Hierarch and insisted that a singular being was superior to what he termed “mob rule.” He attempted to install a new Hierarch, this time a Kestora, but the society resisted and maintained the council. Knowing the Red Star’s importance, Gaardus was hesitant to push the issue to the point of dysfunction.
The seeds of the Red Star’s doom had been sown. Despite thousand of years of prosperity, there was malcontent within its society. The chosen Kestora hierarch (calling himself The Prophet), denied a throne, continued to stir up trouble within the society, though amounting to nothing for millennia. They attempted a coup and had to remain a wanted criminal hiding in a very small habitable space, evading capture only through loyal followers ferrying them from hiding place to hiding place.
The collapse of Red Star society came with the Great Cataclysm. The Red Star was fully aware of the Cataclysm, having been ejecting from the robot prematurely in a jolt that gave their civilisation its own cataclysm. The Prophet was able to return to prominence and blame the event of incompetent rule by the council, which retorted that the event was clearly from outside. The next few decades were spent rebuilding, while the Prophet slowly spread dissent amongst the Kestora. At this time they received a visitor from beyond; not Gaardus but Artakha. The Master Builder, in his more proactive attempts to help Mata Nui in their time of need, projected an spectral image to survey the situation. He directed the reconstruction of more irreplaceable systems and informed them of what had been going on. He also provided a voice in favour of the council opposed to the Prophet. The never swayed a majority of the Kestora, but they achieved just enough to launch a coup in spite of Artakha’s efforts.
The Prophet’s followers attacked the City of Silver in a ruthless attack. They’re acts of violence made it too dangerous to stay in the city, forcing most of the inhabitants out. Kestora not loyal to the Prophet were forced into the maintenance section and sealed there, while the Voltest fled to the outer habitation decks and the inner reactor. A war began in which the fortified Prophet forces would slowly hunt down the Voltest, despite the protest of the spectral Artakha.
The Voltest were hunted down to a mere handful of survivors. Artakha instructed them to hide, but they chose to lay siege upon the city to reclaim it. They managed to break in, but it was a losing battle. Out of the blue, Takanuva was deposited into the Red Star via Olmak. Artakha informed him of the battle in the city and instructed him to help. Unforunately Takanuva misread the situation. There was only one Voltest left, which Takanuva interpretted as invading the Kestora’s city. Fortunately Takanuva merely drove it off. After being reprimanded by Artakha, Takanuva befriended the creature and manged to lure the Prophet’s Kestora out of the city, where the Voltest retook occupation and sealed the Prophet out. From there they allowed the friendly Kestora back in and attempted to restore order, and begin repairing and rebuilding the Voltest species. The Prophet’s forces remained active on the outskirts.
Gaardus would later return, and was blamed for the war and forced out; all loyalty and respect he once commanded gone. Later on, Artakha would command them not to repair the Star, as the GSR had been seized by the Makuta. Without the Red Star his ability to conquer other worlds was severely handicapped. Makuta noticed a lack of response from the Star, and teleported a legion of Rahkshi there which made the Kestora and Voltest far more cooperative. The Mad Skakdi Vezon also showed up via Olmak to the star, and made himself known to both the natives and the Rahkshi. He would sporadically juThe Red Star was made operational again, but was never used. Makuta jumped without it from Aqua Magna to Bara Magna, where the GSR was rendered inoperable and would never need the Red Star again. The Rahkshi went feral and were slowly culled.
With contact with the outside world cut off, things became a little stir crazy. Sure, the Red Star had always been isolated, but now they knew important things were happening out there without their knowledge. Tensions flared up again against the Prophet’s forces. A second war was averted when Vezon returned and had the Prophet killed. The Red Star citizens were grateful, and Vezon decided to use this gratitude to his advantage, rallying the Red Star citizens to face a greater cause for the freedom of all biomechanicals within and beyond the Red Star. He brought them to Spherus Magna to help in the fight against Gaardus and his attempt to restore a Great Being dictatorship.
The Red Star has remained in orbit since then, but now as a political entity in full contact with the outside world. Trade and immigration is now possible. The prosperity of Red Star civilisation in the intermediary years now seems a period of stagnation and isolation compared to what they’ve made of themselves.
The Kraata and their Rahkshi exosuits have been a ubiquitous sight where ever the Brotherhood of Makuta ever set foot; the most dedicated servants of the dark lords. Though many assumed them to be a form of war Rahi, the truth of the matter is that the Kraata are spawned from the very essence of the Makuta themselves. The Rahkshi were not just the servants of the Makuta, but part of them. Loyalty guaranteed not just by kinship but by recognition of self.
One of the inherent powers of the Makuta is being able to form Kraata from their essence, literally pulling them from their own bodies. This process takes considerable effort, but became significantly easier when the Makuta transformed into a fluidic state. The Makuta did make attempts to increase Kraata production further, but as Kraata require antidermis the Makuta had to manually create them. Theoretically the antidermis pool from whence the Makuta species originated could have been used, but the Makuta’s knowledge of that pool was sketchy at best. Essentially, the Makuta resorted to “Kraata shift” in which one of their members was asked to spend a full day doing nothing but churning out Kraata.
Kraata are small slug or snake like creatures, about a foot long each. They have the ability to infect Kanohi masks, placing them under the Makuta’s influence, and are weakened by light. Each Kraata has one of the 42 lesser powers of the Makuta. Makuta can choose which power the Kraata has, but only with increased concentration. These powers become more potent and focused as the Kraata grow. Kraata have seven known stages of growth, affecting their power and intelligence. Stage 1 and 2 are mere animals, Stage 3 and 4 have a vague understanding of the world, and Stage 5 and 6 are fully fledged servants of the Makuta. Stage 7 Kraata, or Shadow Kraata, are fully sapient beings unto themselves. Further stages are unknown, as the Makuta never allowed Kraata to evolve to that point. The amount of Kraata capable of reaching Stage 7 is minuscule, so the amount that could theoretically reach a Stage 8 must be even smaller than that. 99% make it past Stage 1, 80% can reach Stage 6, but only 7% are even capable of achieving Stage 7.
Rahkshi are biological exosuits created from and able to be used by Kraata. When a Kraata is exposed to Energised Protodermis, they will transform into a semi-humanoid serpentine suit of armour with a staff. The armour has no mind, so the Kraata is effectively dead. The vast bulk of Kraata undergo this transformation; only a tiny fraction are destroyed or transformed into something else. Rahkshi also contain antidermis-based neural structure so they cannot be replicated by Rahi-synthesiser. However, they are able to be modified afterwards. The Makuta have modified Rahkshi into several variants, including airtight aquatic variants, variants with spider legs, or gigantic carrier Rahkshi. Rahkshi cannot form Kaita, but fusion-like modified Rahkshi that require multiple Kraata are well known.
Each Rahkshi inherits the power of the Kraata that formed it, and must be piloted by another Kraata of that power. Once piloted, the Rahkshi is able to enhance and focus the Kraata’s power. A Stage 6 or 7 Kraata in a Rahkshi has as much strength in their power as a Makuta does. Most Rahkshi require their staffs to use their power. Some powers require their a staffs to focus it, otherwise the Kraata cannot extend the power beyond its control chamber.
Kraata are compelled to obey the telepathic will of any Makuta exerting their influence. If two Makuta compete for control it’s a battle of wills; who spawned the Kraata has no baring on their allegiance and its impossible to tell them apart. Falling outside the will of the Makuta, the Kraata and their Rahkshi become “wild” and begin behaving like animals. They will cluster together in underground colonies where they haul food down to feed themselves. They’re actually pretty cooperative with each other. They rank themselves in accordance to what stage they’re in, but its not so much subservience as much as guidance, with higher level Kraata leading packs of their lessers. The Makuta enjoyed having Rahkshi colonies across the universe for use as impromptu armies. A few Makuta, namely Mutran and Tridax, liked to study the behavioural dynamics of the colonies.
The Rahkshi served the Brotherhood of Makuta from its inception to its dissolution. In fact, Miserix had several Rahkshi operational before the rest of the Makuta were created. To recite Kraata history would be to recite Makuta history. Full understanding of the Kraata and Rahkshi was never made public but not suppressed either, so it slowly spread amongst more knowledgeable people. The uninformed assumed they were a form of Rahi.
Since the Reformation, the Rahkshi and Kraata populations have become wild and are being directed by the Shadow Kraata to flee the Matoran Universe. They have created several temporary colonies to shelter from sunlight while they search for someplace in perpetual darkness. Their current ideas are either the depths of the Great Jungle, or the shadows of the Valley of the Maze, or perhaps just find a good spot to manually dig out a cave network underground.
Alright, I did in fact end up finding a single piece of media that suggests Solis Magna is a multiple star system: Sands of Bara Magna, the first ‘09 comic. Fero says:
"Heh. One lone fighter, still with sand in his ears, challenging a Bone Hunter? Did the suns get you, or are you just stupid?"
So yes, that’s apparently a canon thing. But if you think I’m going to rethink my calendar and thoughts on Spherus Magna’s orbit you’re mistaken. I’m handwaving this:
The Bone Hunters speak their own language. While Fero is pretty good at the Agori tongue, a few grammatical things trip him up. If the wind is constantly battering you, you can call it “the winds” and he assumed the sun could be referred to in plural in the same way.
The Great Beings programmed the Matoran Universe to follow roughlythe same calendar that set up on Spherus Magna, one of very few things that will be easy to sort out in the post-Reformation.
A Magnan second is 1.8 Human seconds. There are 80 seconds to the minute (2.4 Human minutes), and 50 minutes to the hour (2 Human hours). There are 18 hours to a day (1.5 Earth days).
The Spherus Magnan year is 264 solar days (396 Earth days, ~1.08 Earth years). This is divided up into 6 months of 44 days. 44 days is the time for a year-round staple crop of the Fire Tribe to reach maturation; using their growth as a basis for time measurement is convenient for food production. The months are further divided into 4 weeks of 11 day cycles.
The days of the week are simply referred to as “Firstday,” “Secondday,” and so on except for the eleventh day, which is “Lastday”. The concept of weekends varies wildly across cultures. Some of the Magnan tribes added some flare to it, naming them after deities or the planets, but the Matoran did not.
The months are named after the elements, and roughly correspond to the Seasons of Spherus Magna biased to the Northern Hemisphere where the Great Beings resided.
On Spherus Magna, the year began in the middle of Spring and the months progressed as follows:
Month of Jungle: Second half of Spring and beginning of Summer.
Month of Fire: Height of Summer.
Month of Sand: End of Summer and first half of Autumn.
Month of Earth: Second half of Autumn and beginning of Winter.
Month of Ice: Height of Winter.
Month of Water: End of Winter and first half of Spring.
Within the Matoran Universe, seasons are meaningless in the traditional sense, so the month names were reordered along with their new names, into an order they felt was the religiously correct order to list the six primary elements, and gave them their own meanings in the absence of seasons:
Month of Air: A time to give thanks and share rewards.
Month of Ice: A time for planning one’s labours.
Month of Water: A time for beginning work projects.
Month of Fire: A time for hard work.
Month of Earth: A time for reaping the fruits of labour.
Month of Stone: A time for using said fruits to create new things.
These descriptions are vague and mostly because they are more like guidelines repeated by Turaga than a strict work regime. Again different cultures will have differing interpretations of the months.
