Headcanon/theory that the Steltian hierarchy is designed directly after the Skrall caste system. You have your ‘regular’ people, then the large brutes, and then the even larger giants of immense power...
But while the Skrall ordered themselves with the largest at the top, the Steltians did the reverse. This may have been deliberately programmed by the Great Beings as a way to test if the concept of a Skrall caste system could still work, it just needed to be re-ordered a bit... The antics of those such as Sidorak, Krekka, and Gladiator proved otherwise.
Even if there were three layers to each system, it seems the way that power was consolidated was different; While the middle caste of the Skrall were more intelligent and highly regarded, closer to the upper levels as commanders, the Bruisers of Stelt were conversely closer to the slaves, being dimwitted muscle.
This may have been encouraged by the nobles, who emphasized their own intelligence to make up for their relative weakness and didn’t want the giants and bruisers rising up against them, having far more musculature strength between them. For the Skrall, the giants would of course elevate this type of strength instead, as it was a legitimizer of their power, and thus the Special Forces could share in it.
The Great Beings were fascinated to see how this reversal of the top and bottom castes still drastically affected the brute caste, which stayed between them both but nevertheless experienced a shift in overall status accordingly. Some Great Beings wonder if perhaps the next simulation should place the ‘brute’ caste in charge... Or at the very bottom. Others are telling them to give it a rest.
185. After Tuma was banished into the desert, the next group of Skrall, he met killed him out of anger at his incompetence. After Tuma's death 3 new Skrall tribes were founded, one was led by Stronius, who is actually a good and intelligent leader, one being led by Branar, who wants to seek for a new upper-class Skrall as the new Skrall emperor and one led by a stray Skakdi, who impressed the skrall soldiers with his strength.
The balance of power shifted over the years, as more Great Beings were assimilated. Their cybernetically-enhanced Skrall rallied beneath Tuma, who proved to be a consistent and reliable leader in these dark times, and his quick thinking often prevented a total takeover by the Baterra. In this time, the Great Beings were unable to monitor the situation on Spherus Magna’s fragments properly, which allowed for the Agori populations in stasis to slowly wake up due to malfunctions in their bunkers, and escape onto the barren surface of Bara Magna, left to contend for themselves.
Even if the Great Beings wanted to help, they couldn’t dare send a vessel over to Bara Magna, and risk a Baterra hitching a ride to infect the vulnerable Agori. Thus, they were forced to let the Agori struggle on their own, although the Great Beings did manage to arrange communications with a few trusted servants who had also been preserved amongst the population. The Great Beings had a few agents reveal and promise that the Great Beings would return to Bara Magna to help them- However, they were taking a while to travel all the way back from space.
This was just an alibi to hide the existence of the Baterra as the true reason for this delay- After seeing the Agori fight over Energized Protodermis, the Great Beings were wary of letting them know of the Baterra, fearing that the power-hungry would once again attempt to exploit a power they didn’t understand, and allow it to consume them all. And it wasn’t as if they could accept help from the Agori, for if anyone could create vessels that could fly to the space fortress, it might risk giving the Baterra a way to Bara Magna, and even other worlds beyond the fragments.
As a result, the Agori had to rely solely on faith and patience that the Great Beings would come to save them… And inevitably became disillusioned over the years, as infighting occurred and groups fractured, spreading across the desert to form their own factions in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Aboard the Great Beings’ fortress, the balance finally tipped when a Baterra managed to hijack the controls of the ship, and send it careening towards Bota Magna.
Despite the best attempts of the Great Beings, they could not prevent this- But a last-ditch plan was formed. With Tuma’s leadership the survivors managed to fight their way past the Baterra, heading from the central tower and out towards a sealed exit in the perimeter of the fortress. Even as they safe-guarded this location, the maze-like ship crashed onto the surface of Bota Magna, carving out a valley in its wake.
A narrow window of opportunity was open, and Tuma led the survivors out onto Bota Magna. As soon as they’d gotten outside, the remaining Great Beings pooled their magic and power together, casting a second barrier around the entire fortress- Trapping the Baterra within. Their cursed sister had been left behind in the central tower, deemed a liability, especially if the Baterra infected her.
Merely a band of survivors, the Great Beings discussed their next move. Tuma gained traction and following thanks to his previous contributions, insisting that society as a whole needed to be fortified and empowered, in order to combat both the Baterra, as well as all threats in general. The remaining Great Beings were alarmed by Tuma’s vision of an oppressive, warrior culture based upon conquest and Might makes Right- But Tuma was convinced in his experience that in the end, power was the only thing anyone could rely on.
Conflict arose, and eventually, Tuma decided that if his brethren weren’t with him, they were against him- He saw efforts to inform the populace of the Baterra threat as a potential jeopardy, predicting that there would be those who would want to free the Baterra under misguided intentions and arrogance. Some of his fellow Great Beings were slain, the rest imprisoned; Due to his past leadership, most of the Agori soldiers rallied beneath Tuma’s command. Tuma formed the Skrall tribe, which dedicated itself to modifying its members into cybernetic beings, with sufficient armor and weaponry to combat various threats, especially the Baterra…
The Skrall organized as a militaristic force with emphasis on science and combat. Tuma appointed Stronius and Branar, two Agori warriors, as his lieutenants. Strategizing, Tuma decided the Skrall would need a proper base away from the Baterra, and thus settled upon Bara Magna, whom he hoped to conquer; In the time it’d take to conquer Bota Magna, the Baterra could break free and infect everyone.
And because Tuma predicted their escape as inevitable, knowing the impersonators would always find a way, he deemed Bota Magna as inevitably doomed, and thus not worth preserving. The sterile, open sands of Bara Magna were a better defensive position against the Baterra anyhow, with Bota Magna’s living terrain a liability to be assimilated to turn the very environment against the Skrall.
Instead, Tuma and his Skrall traveled down the massive roots of Bota Magna, which had grown long enough to access Bara Magna. Before they left, the Skrall set up fortifications around the Valley of the Maze, appointing a portion of their most loyal and skilled members to stay behind. They would remain on Bota Magna permanently, guarding the maze in order to maintain and prolong its quarantine of the Baterra as much as possible, in order to buy time, while fending off the inevitably curious, and in some cases fanatical, Bota Magnans.
After arriving on Bara Magna, Tuma constructed a super-sized artillery cannon, capable of firing shots into outer space. He cleverly disguised it as a Great Volcano of unprecedented size, whose eruptions sent volleys of heat and energy that were used to shear the roots of Bota Magna, destroying the way the Skrall came from. Travel between both fragments was now impossible, unless one had achieved space travel… But Tuma would ensure that the knowledge behind such technology would remain hidden, and worked to prevent its development in the scattered Agori settlements across Bara Magna. No space ships were allowed to exist at all during this time; The Baterra could not be given a means off-world.
Yes, the Baterra could eventually make a method of space travel themselves… Many Great Beings had been assimilated, after all- But the Skrall would make their efforts as difficult and time-consuming as possible, until then. Having established this, Tuma began planning and coordinating his takeover of Bara Magna, observing the scattered Agori settlements. He knew how the Agori survivors had reorganized themselves into various factions, struggling and competing to survive as they made a harsh living off of these ruins.
It was a hard life, and quickly fell to corruption and darkness, a cynical and brutal lifestyle, factions scattered and unwilling to work with one another. This just further convinced Tuma how much the Agori needed a powerful ruler to set them on the right path, and with that, he and the Skrall began preparing and consolidating their power, preparing for an invasion. By this point, the Agori had grown so disillusioned with the absence of the Great Beings that they were despised- Which further necessitated a takeover by force, as part of Tuma’s ideology of power above all.
Additionally, Tuma ordered the construction of giant pods designed to hold passengers, which could be loaded into the Great Volcano. The Great Volcano would launch these pods in the direction of Bota Magna, using the force of its eruptions to achieve escape velocity. Upon landing on the jungle moon, the passengers could exit the pod, but were effectively stranded, without a means to launch themselves back to Bara Magna.
This system was very much intentional by Tuma, a means of sending potential supplies and backup to the Skrall on Bota Magna as needed; As well as opening for the means of a retreat, if the Bara Magnans somehow managed to repel the Skrall enough. This was unlikely, but as a Great Being, Tuma had seen enough to always value a failsafe.
Tuma also knew of Bota Magna’s ability to grow massive seed pods, which would erupt from its surface and be hurled out into space, in order to land on other celestial bodies and spread its plantlife. Tuma had observed and deduced the creation of Tesara by this means of reproduction, and saw it as another way for the Baterra to escape off-world. To prevent this, Tuma had tasked his Skrall on Bota Magna with locating and destroying any gestating, forming seed pods that had grown their way to the moon’s surface. Communications were maintained across both fragments, between both Skrall factions, with the Bota Magna militia giving Tuma frequent updates on the Baterra's status.
With the situation on Bota Magna secured as much as possible, Tuma and his Skrall departed from the Great Volcano, heading south towards the deserts the Agori tribes had inhabited. They built the fortress of Roxtus as an outpost and base of operations. From Roxtus, Tuma assaulted the south, but also defended the regions to the north as well- Skrall patrols would prevent any Agori from accessing the Great Volcano and potentially discovering its true nature, and destroying it to allow Bota Magna’s roots to grow and facilitate travel between the fragments.
Learning of the existence of Bota Magnan cults who wanted to breach the Valley of the Maze, and whose ideology would no doubt worship and welcome the Baterra, further convinced Tuma that he was correct. This vindication made him even more dangerous, something his imprisoned brethren noticed as Tuma had the remaining Great Beings work for him. Many would occasionally try to rebel or work against Tuma in their own discreet ways; Especially during the preparation for his takeover of Bara Magna.
Everytime he learned of this, and he always did, Tuma would slaughter the offending Great Being. Thus, their number whittled down to only himself, Angonce, and the Cursed Being on Bota Magna. Tuma saw these murders as a harsh necessity, a test needed to brave the ordeals to come. A strong leader would need to make difficult and decisive choices like these- It was these traits that helped him contain the Baterra, and they would help Tuma destroy them once and for all, and bring about the protection of society.
Tuma knew all he could do was sit and wait for Mata Nui and the Red Star to return to Spherus Magna, and rescue them from their predicament… But in case the Baterra escaped before then, Tuma would fortify the Agori as part of his Skrall Empire. As a united front, the Skrall could contain and hold out against the Baterra for as long as possible, giving Mata Nui time to return and save the remaining survivors.
But even without the threat of Baterra, Tuma was still of the belief that Might makes Right was the way for society to flourish- For there would surely be other threats out in the cosmos, as well as internal ones. So even if the Baterra were destroyed for good, Tuma would insist upon the warrior lifestyle of the Skrall, and seek to expand it- For he saw it not just as a means of salvation against the Baterra, but as the ideal way for Agori civilization to exist.
The destruction of the Baterra would give the Skrall room to prosper, to return to their original power and beyond as a militaristic empire. So when Mata Nui arrived on Bara Magna and remembered the Baterra, he knew that simply helping Tuma eradicate them would not end his dictatorship- But in fact propel it even further. The solution would not be so simple as working with the Skrall, as any alliance would only last until the Baterra were wiped out.
The beliefs of Tuma and his Skrall were also a threat to civilization that needed to be dealt with afterwards. And so while they were a lesser evil, the Skrall were still evil- And a temporary solution who would plague Spherus Magna with a new set of problems upon its reformation. They too needed to be stopped, alongside Makuta- And this fact would lead to divisions that allowed the Baterra to keep surviving, with neither faction able to compromise.
Tuma saw Mata Nui’s power as a salvation, but his foolish ideals as a future threat that needed to be dealt with as well. Thus, he preferred to simply seize Mata Nui’s power to use for himself, rather than collaborate with the ousted Great Spirit- Doing so would have Mata Nui absorb the Baterra, gaining the power necessary to dispel the Skrall’s empire afterwards.
Tuma wanted to save the Agori, which not only required the death of the Baterra, but the continuation of the Skrall. Both would be needed, and he could not give up either in negotiating with Mata Nui. In the end, he would seize total control for himself- Which fit with Tuma’s ideology anyhow. This was just the natural and inevitable execution of those beliefs; Tuma would employ force against the Agori and others and already had, so why not Mata Nui as well? Conquest had always been the endgame, so Tuma may as well embrace it sooner than later, as both the means and end.
