300-Follwer Special (Part 2) - The New-Age Turaga (Re-Post)
Re-post due to Tumblr’s lovely safety bot flagging the original as “sensitive content.”
Lenua’s lore has completely changed since the conception of her character. Originally, the Le-Matoran were a small tribe of warriors who trained within Le-Koro and then set out to lend their blades to any cause they found just once they came of age. They placed great value in honor and virtue, a trait I would later prescribe to the Ta-Matoran. Lenua, at that time unnamed, was male, but I ultimately decided to change her gender when redesigning her.
For Lenua’s redesign, I aimed for an aesthetic akin to a grasshopper. This was to place greater emphasis on the Le-Matorans’ element. Many aspects of Lenua’s old design were utilized in Poha’s current iteration. The Le-Matoran culture was also retooled. It abandoned the sellsword concept. Le-Matoran are now raised atop a mountain and glide to the world below in search of self-fulfillment once they come of age. More may be read here.
Poha’s original design is thematically similar to his current iteration but is now more refined. I did away with his trans-light green skeleton for a more solid dark bluish grey, for Poha is not one to use elemental energies. Instead, I aimed to create a hardened look for Poha, for his kind endure many hardships within the Karzahni Desert. With this stated, his lore has remained virtually the same. More information about Poha and the Transients may be found here.
Konari was originally the chieftain of a tribe of Ko-Matoran who presided in the tundra deep within Ko-Akota. Her great-great grandfather, the first Ko-Turaga in the New Age, discovered the Grand Archive when searching for a place to form a permanent settlement. A wealth of knowledge of the late Ancients was discovered within. For a time, the Ko-Matoran made the Grand Archive their home, delving into the many tomes contained within the Archive. Eventually, the turaga discovered knowledge he believed could be detrimental to life on Akota Nui. He sought to destroy this knowledge to eliminate the potential for its misuse. Upon discovering his intentions, conflict erupted between those among the Ko-Matoran who sought to further their research and those who sided with the turaga. Eventually, the turaga and his followers exiled themselves into the precarious tundra. In the end, this all was scrapped, although many concepts from the original lore were later used in Konari’s current lore.
As for Konari’s design, her original design was inspired by the garb donned by Inuit chiefs. In hindsight, I feel I failed to capture this aesthetic miserably. I ultimately discarded this design along with her original lore. Her arms, on the other hand, were immediately scrapped. I felt the use of a lance and shortsword was an odd choice particularly for someone based upon Inuit design. As for her current design, I aimed for an aesthetic that is feminine and tough. A look which is rugged yet refined. She is one who was raised in the Grand Archive, studying its many secrets but ultimately exiled herself to the depths of Ko-Akota upon discovering a terrible secret. More may be read here.
The nature of the Ta-Matoran had yet to be solidified at the time Tamir’s first prototype was complete. Now, Ta-Koro has been incinerated by some unknown force, and Tamir is presumed dead. More may be read here.
As turaga are meant to be representations of their respective elements, I wanted to create an almost ethereal appearance for the turaga of fire. While Tamir’s first design ultimately failed to capture this aesthetic, it certainly was a step in the right direction.
Onuvius has undergone some minor aesthetic changes over the duration of the design process. He is now more refined, reflecting a more civil, yet secretive, existence. His lore has also undergone very little change, albeit he was once intended to be one of the lead antagonists in my continuity. Nevertheless, the nature of Onuvius and the Darkwatch remains within the very shadows they oversee. What is your take on the Onu-Matoran of Onu-Koro? More may be read here.
Thank you for sticking with me to the end. Please note that I am currently overhauling the lore on Akota Nui, so what you read above is subject to change. I hope you found this post insightful and enjoying to read. Tune in next time when I describe the development of one of the pinnacle character’s in Akota Nui’s lore: the High Turaga. Keep being amazing.
