Introducing the Furnace Snail, a small shelled Rahi native to Ta-Metru which have been found to live near the district's forging furnaces. The Furnace Snail absorbs the heat from forges for both their own nourishment, and for the vital job of regulating furnace temperature to prevent overheating disasters. One famous member of this species was Pulu, the pet and longtime companion of the Le-Matoran Ventax. #lego #legomoc #legomocs #bionicle #bioniclemoc #bioniclemocs #metrunui #tametru #rahi #snail https://www.instagram.com/p/CgC7CfcJjzL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Fun fact; There is a direct duality, a parallelism between the six Elemental regions of Okoto, and the six districts of Xia in Bionicle: RaE! Each one corresponds to its other island counterpart, respectively, with Xia’s districts being a ‘dark mirror’ of the role the Mega-Villages serve on Okoto as well! Specifically, the Mega-Villages and their respective regions are synonymous in these dualities…
Stelt parallels the Vuata Maca; The Macans grow flora, crops, and food, and Stelt is where nutrition and crops are mechanically-grown and hoarded within greenhouses and facilities! The Gukko Airforce acts as the primary means of transportation for people and goods across Okoto, and Stelt does the same with its Chutes for Xia! Trade and Okoto’s economy is facilitated by the Gukko Airforce, while Stelt is the main heart of its economy, with black markets, banks, smuggling, all that stuff going on.
Tametru’s parallel to Tawahi is obvious; They both start with Ta and are adapations of Fire-related locations in G1. They’re both the hottest areas of their respective islands, and use that heat to melt down materials and reforge them into stuff. Weapons are made here, amongst other metallurgic tools.
Now, despite its heavy reliance on water and its presence… Voymari is actually meant to mirror Marn! Yes, water is a big deal and Voymari has a few shipyards, but its primary export and industry is mining; Just as the people of Marn specialize as tunnelers due to their subterranean location. Voymari relies more on mining and changing the landscape than anything else, deals with minerals in the air, and so it’s just naturally more suited for the element of Earth.
Zakaz and Levato go hand-in-hand. They’re both located in vast, barren deserts and rely a lot on scavenging. They have naturally brutal conditions, but also have entertainment; Levato specializes in the arts, in sculptures, as well as board-games, and sports like Kolhii. Zakaz’s entertainment comes in the form of brutal gladiator matches and races, but it also has its own sports like Akilini, and of course theater productions, studios, and casinos as well.
Nynrah goes with Kiniga! This one is less obvious, and that’s my fault; I never DID make my own separate post detailing Kiniga, but I may do that soon! I think I’ve finally begun to figure it out, so look forward to that…! Anyhow, Nynrah was and in some ways still is the sector of education, and Kiniga is where a lot of schools and textbooks are located! Medicine and healing is a big deal in Kiniga, and in Nynrah, the Nynrah Ghosts work specifically towards the anatomy of others and how to alter it. Water is the stuff of life, and it can sustain it… But with Nynrah, it was used to carry chemicals, mutagens, and Visorak into the bodies of others, horrifically transforming and distorting them.
Finally, Artidax is the direct counterpart to Kokoro! Both involve knowledge and information; Kokoro stores past texts, deciphers them, and reads the stars. It is well-versed in the lost traditions and ancient culture and religion of Okoto. Artidax’s computer-banks store vast quantities of information, and both areas value the power of the mind and ‘thought’. Artidax’s satellites can read weather patterns just as Kokoro reads the stars, and it relays information and decodes data transmissions, just as Kokoro interprets past texts and forms predictions, and then brings that information to the rest of Okoto through the Gukko Airforce. Both have arctic locations in the north; Or at least Artidax did, but most of the snow and ice has melted. Some of it still remains, however. Finally, while the Region of Ice hosts another race of sapient beings, the Frostelus, Artidax hosts sapience separate from humans in the form of AI!
Additionally, each Xian District in RaE has the same symbol as their corresponding Metrus from Metru Nui, you can probably guess which is which at this point. As G1 fans may have noticed (so basically, 99% of the Bionicle fandom), I took a LOT of inspiration from Metru Nui’s industrial, hi-tech city setting! If Okoto adapts the mythical, island parts of Bionicle, I wanted Xia to be an adaptation of the futuristic, sci-fi part of it, its later years; This includes the Bara Magna saga as well, which is somewhat represented in Zakaz and its Baran Desert. Naturally, Xia’s G1 namesake itself, as well as the districts’ namesakes, played heavy roles in influencing the island and its landmarks and locations, to varying degrees.
Each district also takes heavy, direct influences in terms of aesthetic, function, and appearance from locatons in other forms of media as well! Stelt is based off of the images we have of Xia in G1, specifically its polluted air and its dark, mechanical skyline. Its whole deal with trade is also from G1 Stelt as well. It probably has the least fictional influences, in all honesty.
Tametru is based off of G1 Ta-Metru obviously… But a lot of it is also inspired by Hotland from Undertale! In fact, everytime I think of Tametru, Another Medium plays in my head… Hotland is almost entirely responsible for my conception of Tametru as a location, not gonna lie, and I personally consider Another Medium to be my ‘theme song’ for Tametru! I love that song…
Voymari is actually based not only on Mahri Nui (specifically with the Fields of Airweed and the semi-aquatic setting), but also the look of its towns and the skyline and shipyards come from Corellia’s Coronet City from Solo: A Star Wars Story! Sue me, I thought it was a cool movie with lots of cool locations that visually inspired me… Also, the idea of ‘Saltlung’ comes entirely from the town of Stain’d-by-the-sea from All the Wrong Questions.
Zakaz is… literally just Bara Magna from G1, combined with Mad Max. Not much else to say here, honestly, other than that it also some adequately-developed cities and small nations, kind of like how G1 Zakaz had some urban areas before Spiriah ruined everything. Like G1, Zakaz has a LOT of conflict, and the Skakdi as well to boot!
Nynrah started off as Fallout’s post-apocalyptic wasteland, but then it was combined with a lot of Resident Evil after I got into the series and realized just how well it fit; Specifically, the whole situation with Raccoon City and monsters roaming about the streets. In all honesty, Resident Evil’s monster aesthetic and whole corrupt scientist group schtick has overtaken as Nynrah’s primary influence. There’s also just a LITTLE bit of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, believe it or not. I went with the fact that G1 Nynrah had the Nynrah Ghosts, who are very science-oriented, and worked from there.
Finally, Artidax is a combination of the aesthetic of Blade Runner and other cyber-punk settings, but is also blatantly ripped from Sanctuary Fortress, from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes! Brilliant game… Fun fact, Artidax was the last district to be planned and designed by me, by a LONG shot. For like three years, I didn’t even know what Artidax was supposed to be, what its function was, what it looked like; All I knew was that The Mountain existed within it, and that was about it. And even then, it wasn’t like I intended for The Mountain to have anything to do with Artidax’s lifestyle, as well! Occasionally, I even entertained just giving up and making The Mountain take up the entirety of Artidax…!
But, I held on; I waited for inspiration, and lo it came to me with Sanctuary Fortress! I love Metroid Prime 2, it’s a great game and you should seriously play it! Metroid’s hi-tech, mythical settings are VERY conducive to Bionicle in general, and I have much to thank Retro Studios for their creative influence on me! Once I saw that mountainous region, with the hi-tech facilities of drones and computers, with coding that seemed to come from the skies… It all came into place!
As you can probably tell, the Artidax District bears the least resemblance to its G1 namesake. The G1 Artidax was known for having a bunch of volcanoes and being where Makuta Miserix was imprisoned. I sort of tried to maintain that spirit by making the Artidax District mountainous (and mountains are basically sauce-less volcanoes), because I already had the heat and molten theme with Tametru. Mostly, I just took the name of Artidax because it was an island location in G1, and I needed a name for the final Xian district.
A ‘cursed’ land, the original home of the Skull Raiders, countless miles across the ocean from Okoto, and obscured by massive hurricanes, waves, and storms… This dark island, a counterpart to Okoto in some ways, is the polar opposite of that land. While Okoto is an island of life, of nature, and of spirits, Xia is the opposite- It is of cold machinery, of pollution and smog, and has no sacredness. Its population is cutthroat, greedy, and selfish, both out of a natural inclination towards such attributes, but also because the cruel environment of Xia necessitates such attitudes.
Believe it or not, Xia was not always the industrial land it is now, every square inch of land choked by either factories or urban cities, or clogged with polluted and razed rivers. Before its skies were darkened by the stench of smog and haze, it was once not too unlike Okoto.
In those older days, the tribes and kingdoms of Xia engaged in brutal warfare and conquest, lacking the ready resources and abundance of life that Okoto was blessed with. Perhaps if they had their own Elemental Deities, or a Great Forge to carve Masks of Power with, this wouldn’t have happened- Regardless, it was a horrific time. Tribes were taught to be selfish, to use every dirty trick imaginable. Massacres of innocent civilians were normalized, as was poisoning others during banquets and so forth.
But then out of nowhere, Xia began to take a new turn. As kingdoms clashed and battled, a new city emerged, wielding advanced technology in the form of factories and machinery. A new industrial age, a revolution of technology was introduced, one not necessarily powered by Life energy like the automatons of the Okotans. This industrial revolution favored maximum output, at minimal costs, and would do anything required to harvest the necessary materials. In particular, this industrial age produced weapons- So many of them, in order to profit off of the wars between nations.
Other kingdoms and tribes saw the advantages of this industrial nation, and learned its trade secrets before inevitably adopting them. Attention turned towards colonization, of harvesting natural resources in bulk and producing large quantities of products. And while this industrial revolution was certainly helpful for many, the greed and heartlessness of many Xians took it to unnatural steps. Labor and workers were exploited in horrific factory conditions, deemed replaceable and switched out after collapsing from exhaustion like yet another cog in the machine. Smog was pumped out into the air, turning it toxic, while pollution funneled into rivers and poisoned the surrounding nature. Forests and fields were burned down to make room for new machines, and the very land itself was over-turned to access its precious metal veins underneath- Metals such as the valuable Exsidian, or the indestructible Bohrok.
Several more centuries of this process happened, spreading across the island of Xia, until it became the brutal, technological industry it is today. Ruled by various corporations, dictators, oligarchs, and criminals, the highest class of Xia, those who control the stock market and own the higest shares, are known as the Powers that Be. They pass the laws, influence policy, broker between nations and take advantage of conflict, all in order to stockpile maximum amounts of capital in their insatiable hunger and greed.
Weapons are the go-to market for many Xian industries, and warfare is a natural facet of existence. Crime rates are high and rampant, as is poverty and ghettos. A major chasm is only widening between the rich and the poor, who enforce their dystopia with the help of the robotic Vahki, controlled by the dictatorial Turaga Dume. To survive, many have resorted to crime, mercenary work, and assassinations to make a living, with many criminals joining the infamous Dark Hunters, situated in the allegedly haunted Odina Fortress. Organizations such as Vortixx Industries, or the fabled Nynrah Ghosts exploit lives and meddle with them for material gain and/or knowledge, and a cruel cynicism has overtaken the Xians in order to ensure their survival. Attempts at revolution are pointless, fruitless, and futile.
Xia is divided into six districts, each serving a major purpose in its economy and the way life is organized. They are, as follows;
The Stelt District, where the Xian market is located and the vast majority of its population lives. The Stelt District is where shops, stock markets, banks, super-markets, and other ludicrous ventures take place. Ghettos are rampant here, and materials, products, and even slaves regularly pass through Stelt. The district is the center for all transport and commerce, with packages frequently shipped through the electro-magnetic chutes scattered throughout the cities. Stelt is the preferred homeland of crime lords and gangs, with the ludicrous black market and its smuggling rooted firmly here, and is the location of the infamous Odina Fortress. Land and real estate in Stelt comes at incredibly high prices, forcing most to live either on the streets or in crowded tenements. The primary bulk of Xia’s agriculture and livestock is grown and processed within air-filtered buildings to prevent smog contamination, although food and cleaning regulations are nevertheless suspiciously lax. Crops are almost entirely lab-grown within cramped, mechanical confines, with the only exceptions reserved for wealthy aristocrats at exorbitant prices. Stelt’s food production is intensely guarded, and many have died trying to break in to steal something to feed themselves and/or loved ones.
The Tametru District is the industrial, mass-manufacturing heart of all of Xia. Here is where the vast majority of mechanization and production takes place, with factories constantly active 24/7, grinding and smelting materials. Mechanical parts used in just about anything all come from Tametru. The temperatures are high from the massive furnaces constantly molten-metal being processed and refined into products, to later be shipped and distributed throughout Stelt. Weapons are frequently made, tested, and exported. While machinery has replaced many workers in Tametru, engineers are still prized and welcomed, as are individual guilds and blacksmiths. Smog is a constant presence in Tametru, even amongst other districts, and workplace conditions are especially hazardous thanks to the threat of heatstroke, factory accidents, and molten materials accidentally being let loose. While some factories are cold and abandoned, others have been reactivated by illegal bootleg operations.
The Voymari District is where most of Xia’s raw materials comes from. The lowest district topographically, this has enabled Voymari to be constantly washed over by a high-and-low tide, which over the centuries has contributed to the softening and eroding of the land. Combined with massive mining operations, Voymari is now a rocky, barren land that is regularly flooded by the high tides. Once the water recedes, miners flock in to harvest precious veins of Exsidian, Bohrok, and other ludicrous metals to be shipped to Tametru. A large population of orphans lives here, and salt-lung is a real and common ailment. The constant floods and tides make Voymari ideal for establishing shipyards, and many Xian nobles own extravagant, if impractical, ships and yachts from which they sail out of Voymari and into the oceans surrounding Xia for lavish parties.
The Zakaz District is where warfare and conflict truly shine. While the rest of Xia naturally flourished and developed, the desert conditions of Zakaz made it unprofitable and unwanted, resulting in the area lagging behind in terms of development and technological advancement. Zakaz is essentially where the ‘third-world countries’ of Xia exist, constantly fighting in open warfare and ruled by dictators who hope to join the Powers that Be. Machines of warfare and weaponry are constantly shipped here and utilized. The one truly neutral and safe place in Zakaz is Lake Tajun, the primary source of clean water in Xia. Zakaz is also home to Xia’s ‘entertainment’ sector, with gladiator matches being common. Disputes are often settled in these matches, as well as within brutal races and other competitions. Theaters and movies are produced within certain locations of Zakaz, most of them owned by the charismatic and unusual Kratakal, Xia’s top celebrity.
The Nynrah District was once the center of the fishing market, as well as the sector education, research, engineering, and science. Headed by the Nynrah Ghosts, an elusive organization of Xia’s most brilliant minds and researchers, it was at one point a prosperous district. But one day, a mutagen was leaked into the water supply, spreading rapidly throughout Nynrah and infecting the population, killing many and mutating others into horrific creatures dubbed as Vorox. Infrastructure collapsed in this outbreak, and as the Vahki scrambled to contain the chaos, destruction ensued that released horrific Xian bioweapons into the area. With the situation rapidly deteriorating and falling apart, Turaga Dume ordered a complete and total quarantine of the district, erecting massive walls around Nynrah to seal it off from the rest of Xia. Countless citizens and Vorox were trapped inside, and now the district is a post-apocalyptic wasteland of mutants and rejects. The Nynrah Ghosts continue to operate here from within the shadows, releasing experiments, testing them, and gathering test subjects from the unfortunate population as bands of Vorox war over resources and supplies.
The Artidax District is the AI mind of Xia. Here, massive servers, computers, broadcasting towards, and satellites are situated and launched regularly. A cold, sterile environment, Artidax is the very heart of programming, where code is sorted, machines are programmed, and the primary location of the Vahki Hives. Cameras are ever-present, turning Artidax into a Surveillance State underneath Dume’s command. Just about all internet and communication passes through the massive towers and satellite dishes present. Due to the massive heat expenditures of Artidax’s computers, the district was established in the frozen north, which eventually melted due to the massive heat pollution. In Artidax, computers sort through algorithms and calculate stocks, while Vahki and Exo-Toa gain sentience. Massive data-banks store precious information. Workers are constantly suited to prevent dust contamination of computer chips, and the district, while deemed ‘safer’ than the rest, is highly oppressive and quiet with eyes watching every step.
For your average Xian and more, Xia is a hopeless, heartless land. It is a cursed land, the soil awash long ago and even now by the blood of innocents- Perhaps this is the reason for Xia’s horrible conditions? Is the land haunted by massacres and bloodshed? No one can say for sure. All anybody knows for certain is that Xia is a horrible, unhealthy land, a disheartening fact that leaves many yearning for more. And to get more, most Xians will do anything to escape their horrific, squalid conditions.
For most, Xia is hell, and for the Okotans, it is even worse.
Tametru is the smelting and forging district of Xia. Materials and ores gathered from Voymari are shipped to Tametru, where they are melted and refined into proper forms to then be sold to Stelt and shipped elsewhere. Factories and weapons depots make their homes in Tametru, making it the industrial district of Xia. Just about everything in Xia is manufactured here, from silverware and TV sets, to weapons of mass destruction. Tametru is considered by many to be the heart of Xia’s industry, and even the birthplace of its industrialism as a whole. Constant molten metal flows and poor working conditions make it a hazardous place to live, and abandoned factories are often seized by the homeless. Steam vents are a common feature, dotting the landscape.
It is not uncommon for workers to collapse from heatstroke due to the hellish conditions in Tametru- Attempts at strikes are always broken up by the Vahki, and with so many desperate for jobs, it’s easy for factory owners to simply replace dissenting employees with more loyal, obedient ones. Not only that, but workplace regulations are few and far-between, with not enough railing to protect against falls, factory-machinery openly churning and risking the deaths of workers, and even frequent incidents of molten metal spilling; Workplace fires in Tametru, the kind that aren’t planned, are all too common.
Amidst the oppression, independent workers can still make their own profit. Smaller forges and other businesses make money by crafting specialized items, with the owners unable to afford the rent of Stelt, or else unwilling. These individual guilds and crafters hone unique, artisan skills in order to stand out against their mass-production competitors, offering work on specific requests. In order to better support one another, many of these independent smiths have formed the Forgers’ Guild; An organization of various craftsmen, artists, and blacksmiths who aim to teach others of their craft and spread the knowledge of smelting to others. The group frequently hosts conventions, charities, and is headed by the blacksmith Nuhrii. Members of the Forgers’ Guild recommend customers and potential apprentices to one another, and pool any money they have to ensure that others don’t fall behind financially. It is a code of brotherhood and community.
Of course, some factory owners are suspicious of the Forgers’ Guild, and have pushed the Vahki towards breaking them up for various, inane reasons; Luckily, the Xian Upper-Class seems to appreciate these independent businesses. Many, either through proxy, or on the rare occasion of in-person, will contact and commission members of the Forgers’ Guild for exquisite, finely-detailed crafts and artworks to better suit their tastes in ways a mass-production factory couldn’t. Although the relationship between these nobles and independent smiths is by no means equal, it’s better than nothing- It’s not uncommon for some aristocrats to be so pleased by the individual talent of a store they commissioned, that they’ll offer investment and financial backing to allow the independent smith to expand and re-open in more opportunistic locations.
Many blacksmiths with such patrons tend to gather in high-end malls, where crafters specialize in more luxurious items, such as jewelry, and sell their stock to wealthy Xians. Such areas are much more well-lit and ventilated, with refreshing AC. The purpose of these malls, other than to provide ready access to ‘approved’ independent shops and businesses, also allows nobles to freely shop for their desired wares in areas not deemed too unsightly or ‘filthy’ for them, like the rest of Tametru and its neighborhoods.
Anywhere one steps or looks in the Tametru district, they can find some sort of factory, and the sky is clouded by the pollution and heat of the towering smoke stacks, meaning the district yielding the most heat, also yields the least light as well. Underneath Tametru runs countless underground tunnels, pipelines, etc., that transport molten metal, oil, and liquid protodermis. Many of these tunnels are abandoned and are home to either Xians or animals, such as the Furnace Salamander. Tametru is usually where trash and waste is dumped and/or burned, and soot frequently rains on the area. Cleaning crews are common, but underpaid. Any metal that can be recycled is sent to reclamation centers to perform the same processes, reincarnating into new products.
The actual heat and flame used to melt down raw materials is often expelled from the various fire pits scattered across Tametru. Underground, powerful mechanisms convert energy into heat and flame that is distributed through the rest of the district through subterranean pipelines, powering factories, furnaces, and forges. Due to the massive heat expenditures, the scorched fire pits have been installed to allow this underground system to eject pillars of flame in order to cool down; While built to sustain massive temperatures, everything has its limit. The fire pits are closely guarded by multiple Vahki squads due to their importance to Xia’s industrial economy, allowing Tametru to remain functional; Individual Vahki units are coated with specialized armor plating meant to help them withstand the heat, with large cooling units attached to their backs. These Vahki also guard the areas where Xuan currency and coins are printed, for obvious reasons.
The most massive fire pit of all is the Great Furnace. A massive furnace in Tametru, the largest of all, its powerful flames keep the city’s foundries ablaze, and it is where the heaviest and most ambitious smelting projects are held. The most massive ore deposits and hardiest materials, such as Bohrok, are melted down here to later be transported as molten liquid to refineries, where they can be cooled and molded into parts and/or bullion.
Aside from simply manufacturing weapons, such horrific inventions are often tested in Tametru as well, in order to ensure product quality. Old factories scheduled for demolition are sometimes subject to some tests, which can bode unfortunately for homeless Xians who hide in such locations to escape debt and poverty. Specialized firing ranges to test the effects of powerful weaponry, such as the Hagah Plasma Cannon or latest model of Nektann, often buy metal scrap and hone it into sturdy walls to test products’ destructive limits. Unfortunately, those sentenced to death row are sometimes sent to these firing ranges as well...
The Xian Heart factories are located in Tametru, where massive crystals comprised of Viruses are formed through immense pressure and other means. The crystals contain massive elemental energy that when unleashed can drastically affect the ecosystem, thus making the area heavily patrolled by not only Vahki, but also those who profit from the Xian Heart economy as well. At the very least, heavy safety regulations are in place in such locations, to prevent Xian Hearts from detonating by mistake; The potential cost to manufacturers would be far too great otherwise.
Various models of Xian Hearts exist, such as the Heart of Fire, which scorches and melts down everything in its path; or the Heart of Stone, which has the power to fossilize and transmute just about anything in its vicinity into stone. Or for something a little cooler, try a Xian Heart of Ice; Its frozen crystals are constantly generating, although they are a poor way of cooling down forges and other factories. The destructive force of ice crystals and the sudden drop in temperatures makes these Xian Hearts of Ice ill-advised as cooling systems....
To many Xians, their island home IS Hell... So naturally, many workers like to joke around that Tametru, with its burning temperatures, flames, and reddened skies, is the literal embodiment of this sentiment.
