#project mangai

[thelegendrebuilt]

Toa Tuyet, first to fall,

Brought low by dreams of darkness,

Lost Nidhiki, son of air:

Hero, Traitor, Hunter, Prey.

Mafa, spirit of the truth,

Slain by the masked tyrant,

Toa Naho, sister lost,

Stolen beneath the seas.

Kumi, guardian of the spires:

Foe of fate, fated to fall,

Swift Motara, far-seer,

Struck down by blinding treason.

Fusa, wild and silent mage,

Could call no storm to save him,

Hura, final child of Ice,

Who fell beneath the waves.

Toa Marn, the runaway:

But no one outruns doom,

Kanae, fearsome warrior,

Who only wished to heal.

Lhikan, final guardian

Who sparked the flame anew

Project Mangai: 2018

[thelegendrebuilt]

Toa Marn, the runaway

But no one outruns doom

Most of the Toa Mangai were remembered as they were: heroes as heroes, legends as legends, and traitors as traitors. Only one had his name ruined by no fault of his own: Marn, Toa of Earth. He served the city faithfully until the end, but to most Matoran, he was just as much a traitor as Tuyet and Nidhiki.

He stayed in Onu-Metru as long as he dared, but by the time he fled in fear for his life, he was one of three surviving Toa in the city. Marn had suspicions about who was to blame, but he couldn’t speak out against Dume — not without positive proof. Carving a message in the depths of the archives in case he didn’t return, he used his Kanohi Kakama to run across the seas, traveling first to Odina and then Destral to discover who was impersonating the Turaga. Meanwhile, back in the city, Dume began a smear campaign, claiming that Marn had abandoned the city in its time of crisis. When he returned to the city with his answer, Lhikan had no choice but to place him under arrest. Before Marn could tell him all he’d learned, Eliminator struck from the shadows, disintegrating him. Only Lhikan’s Mask of Shielding allowed him to survive, and finally realize who was murdering his team.

Years later, after the city fell to Makuta, Whenua discovered Marin’s last message, at last revealing the truth of Marin’s sacrifice to the other Toa Hordika. When they became Turaga, they decided to name the tunnels of the great mine after the much-maligned Toa.

Project Mangai: Part 9/11

[thelegendrebuilt]

Lhikan, final guardian

Who sparked the flame anew

Out of all the Toa Mangai, Lhikan was perhaps most worthy of the title “Protector.” He bore twin greatswords, but more often than not configured them as a shield. He wore a Kanohi Hau, the symbol of Mata Nui’s divine protection of the Matoran. And while his teammates often left the city on missions abroad, Lhikan was almost always there, watching over Metru Nui. Even so, he always felt like a failure for not seeing the treason of Tuyet and Nidhiki sooner—and then, allowing Makuta Teridax to slip in unnoticed and take control.

Originally hailing from the Northern Continent, Lhikan was given a Toa Stone by the original protector of Metru Nui, Toa Dume, after he saved the Matoran crafter. Later, when Dume became into a Turaga, the Toa Stone activated, and Lhikan found himself unexpectedly transformed. Joining the local Toa Army, he was stationed at a nearby fortress that held the Makoki stone until it was overrun by Frostelus. Forced to abandon his post on his leader’s orders, Lhikan swore to never run away again. Working solo for the next few thousand years, Lhikan made connections with the heroes who would eventually become the Toa Mangai, summoning them when he got word that Dume’s city was threatened by the Kanohi dragon. The rest, as they say, is history.

Project Mangai: Part 11/11

[thelegendrebuilt]

Hura, final child of Ice

Who fell beneath the waves

When Hura first arrived in Ko-Metru, he felt right at home. After all, he was one of four Toa of Ice, and the Mangai were the closest thing he’d ever had to friends. Ko-Metru accepted him as its own, and he settled into the role of hero quite comfortably. Then Tuyet and Nidhiki betrayed the city. Then Mafa, Kumi, and Fusa all disappeared one by one. When Lhikan finally assigned him to watch over Ga-Metru, Hura knew for sure: the dream was over.

He never fit in, no matter how hard he tried. He exchanged his Kanohi Iden for a Kaukau and tried to follow Naho’s example, spending as long as he could bear underwater. Eventually, his armor began to change color from prolonged exposure to liquid protodermis, turning blue and white. However, all this did was bring back bad memories of Tuyet, further ostracizing the Ice Toa. Eventually, he began to search for Naho, hoping that maybe she was still alive and could resume her patrol. Instead, he found Eliminator, ready and waiting with the same deadly trap. All that was ever found was one of his Ice Axes, broken clean in half.

Project Mangai: Part 8/11

[thelegendrebuilt]

Toa Naho, sister lost

Stolen beneath the seas

Silent as the depths. Mysterious as the seas. Powerful as the tides. That was how many in Ga-Metru viewed Naho, Toa of Water, and for good reason. She rarely spoke, and was seldom seen—but everyone knew she was there, watching over them from beneath the waves. While Tuyet was viewed as the greater hero before her betrayal, the Matoran of water knew who it really was, protected them from the darkness beneath the waves. Whenever a mysterious wave suddenly poured over the shore to strike down an evildoer, they knew who sent it.

Wearing a Kanohi Huna, she was one of the few Toa in history known to intentionally forgo the use of Toa Tools, instead focusing her power directly. As such, she had a deeper connection to her element than any of the other Mangai—a connection that only deepened after she was modified with an advanced water-breathing device during the Toa-Dark Hunter War in order to swim across the sea for reinforcements. After that, the other Toa Mangai rarely saw her, as she spent weeks on end beneath the sea, feeling the outside world through the currents and meditating on her loss. She and Tuyet had once been two halves of a whole, and she felt her betrayal more personally than any of the other Mangai. Eliminator had difficulty finding her, and struggled even more to catch her unaware—she almost managed to escape and warn the other Toa. Lhikan only learned what happened to her when her mask washed ashore several months later.

Project Mangai: Part 4/11

[thelegendrebuilt]

Mafa, spirit of the truth,

Slain by the masked tyrant

Of all the Toa Mangai, Mafa was the most well-loved, second only, perhaps, to Lhikan. More than any other Toa, he was a champion of the Matoran first and foremost, protecting them from anyone who might threaten their freedom—including (and especially) the other members of his team. He made no secret of his distrust for his brothers and sisters; after all, the three Toa of his home island went mad when he was only a Matoran and tried to take over. He led the resistance which eventually defeated them, but he shuddered to think what eleven might do if left unchecked.

Wielding twin snow hammers and wearing a Kanohi Rode, Mafa was one of the four Toa of Ice who guarded Metru Nui. He didn’t limit his patrol to Ko-Metru, however, seeing himself as a Toa of the people. “The Hammer of Mafa” became a common euphemism for justice throughout the city, and more than a few citizens owed Mafa for saving them from overzealous Vahki. Despite his close friendship with the Matoran, none of the other Toa really considered him a friend. That was intentional: Mafa knew he had to keep his distance from the team in case he needed to fight them one day. In the end, that distance killed him—the false Dume couldn’t have him seeing through his disguise, and Eliminator had little trouble with one isolated Toa of Ice.

Project Mangai: Part 3/11

[thelegendrebuilt]

Toa Tuyet, first to fall

Brought low by dreams of darkness

When the Toa Mangai first arrived in Metru Nui, Tuyet was seen as one of the greatest of the heroes—a paragon of courage and virtue, striding through the white-capped waves to defeat the invading Dark Hunters. While she and Toa Naho were most often paired up to patrol Ga-Metru, the Matoran most often associated her with Lhikan. Both Toa, they thought, fought with a sense of duty, honor, and fairness, as opposed to some other members of their team, who preferred stealth and subterfuge. Needless to say, the city reeled when her treason was revealed—though no one was more shocked and horrified than Lhikan.

Wielding a barbed broadsword through which she channeled her elemental water powers, Tuyet was a skilled veteran of many wars. She wore a Kanohi Zarath, the great mask of intangibility, which allowed her to phase through walls and avoid attacks by reducing her density to almost nill. Originally from a small island in the southern chain called Pokolis, she was recruited by Lhikhan and spent many years living in Metru Nui before it was revealed that she was planning to betray the other Toa, using the Nui Stone to absorb their power and take control of the city. She was defeated by Lhikan and Nidhiki and imprisoned, before Botar carried her away to the Pit. Reportedly, she perished in the Great Cataclysm, either fighting alongside Hydraxon against the inmates, or else trying to escape herself. Even so, dark rumors of her survival persist to this day...

Project Mangai—Part 1/11

[thelegendrebuilt]

Lost Nidhiki, son of air:

Hero, Traitor, Hunter, Prey

Most of the Toa Mangai distrusted Nidhiki from the start. He was something of a trickster, came from a disreputable part of the continent, and wore a mask of stealth... hardly an honorable choice. Le-Metru accepted him with open arms, heralding him as their champion, but much of the city felt suspicious. Even Dume had his doubts about him. The only one who trusted him completely, it seemed, was Lhikan. The two of them had been together longer than any of the other Toa. They were brothers.

That trust seemed well placed when Nidhiki helped expose and defeat Tuyet. Lhikan insisted that without his help, she would’ve destroyed the team and taken over the city—but by the time the other Mangai got his message and returned to Metru Nui, their sister had vanished under suspicious circumstances, and their distrust of Nidhiki only grew. In the end, perhaps he just got tired of fighting their prejudices—perhaps his fall wasn’t as inevitable as it seemed. But fall he did, selling his city to the Dark Hunters and ending up twisted and cursed for his disloyalty. Lhikan blamed himself for his brother’s betrayal right until the end.

Project Mangai: Part 2/11