In a time before time lived the Great Spirit, Mata Nui. He was a benevolent and just Being that possessed divine authority, divine power, and the knowledge of existence. From His own Being, He bore three sons to embody His Will: Ekimu, Makuta, and Karzahni.
Ekimu was a creative soul, and often marveled with mouth agape whenever his Father brought something into being. His passion for creation stemmed from Mata Nui’s own passion to create.
Makuta was obsessive with everything he did, and would celebrate whenever he witnessed his Father’s authority reign over all things. His love of order stemmed from Mata Nui’s authority and providence.
Karzahni was always curious and would question his Father about everything he did and did not understand. His thirst for knowledge stemmed from Mata Nui’s all-knowing mind.
Together, Mata Nui and His sons shaped the universe, aligning the cosmos with fire and light to warm the cold debris that floating in the void. Through His sons, Mata Nui formed six Nuva, elemental beings unique from their siblings. Through Ekimu, he formed Uxar of the Sky and Akida of the Sea. Through Makuta, he formed Ikir of the Flames and Melum of the Tundra. Through Karzahni, he formed Terak of the Forest and Ketar of the Desert. There were other Nuva formed, but the brothers were unaware of their existence.
Under Construction [One day, the brothers decided to attempt to create something apart from their Father. They decided it would be a being that would aid their Father by creating things of its own. Ekimu poured into this being the creativity he possessed, so that it would be inventive and think in ways unthought. Makuta poured into this being the discipline and order he possessed, so that it would not grow too zealous in its creation. Karzahni poured into this being the curiosity for knowledge he possessed, so that it might learn without being told what to learn. They named this creature Annona.
Unknown to the brothers, they had mistakenly poured into Annona that which they were unaware of: overzealousness, unhealthy obsession, and greed. With these in place, Annona embodied the brothers’ strengths and weaknesses, something they did not see in her until it was too late.
Annona began to subjugate the celestial bodies to her will, mutating the flora and fauna to her twisted sense of creativity, dominating their minds with her desire for absolute control, and tearing into their very being for forbidden knowledge. Her actions were put to a halt as Mata Nui fought the monstrous creation, eventually defeating her and setting her afire, imprisoning her within the Sun, preventing her from awaking or escaping.
Upset with His sons, He scolded and reprimanded them for creating such a being. He punished them by stripping them of their powers over creation, authority, and knowledge, hoping they would learn from their mistakes before He would return their talents to them.]
The three brothers began to plot amongst themselves to overthrow their Father, believing they could do better than Him if they tried. They each agreed to fully take for themselves one of Mata Nui’s greatest qualities. Ekimu made a claim on Mata Nui’s power over creation, Makuta on His authority, and Karzahni on His knowledge.
Once they had made up their minds, the brothers attacked Mata Nui with raw, destructive power. His heart broken by the betrayal, Mata Nui refused to fight back, resulting in the brothers wounding Him and putting Him into a deep slumber. They imprisoned His consciousness within one of the moons surrounding the Sun.
Realizing their Father’s power was too great to contain within themselves, they forged three masks within the fires of Annona’s Prison. Ekimu bore the Mask of Creation, Makuta the Mask of Control, and Karzahni the Mask of Alternate Futures. Wearing these masks, they continued to create, control, and learn from their universe.
Over time, the three brothers were overcome with tremendous guilt and shame over their actions against their Father. After much discussion, they decided to revive Mata Nui, but they did not know how.
Karzahni suggested collecting the Nuva into a single place, so that the power could jolt the Great Spirit’s slumber. Taking the six Nuva they had made, they brought it to Mata Nui’s Coffin, killing the life on the worlds they had seized the Nuva from. When they confined the six Nuva to a single cube, the cube began to crack, forming the Nuva Symbols. The energy rushed out onto the island that had formed on Mata Nui’s Coffin, which the brother’s named Artakha, translating to “Seat of Power”.
Makuta suggested creating intelligent life in the Coffin, so that they could subjugate it to their will and try to awaken their Father with the combined efforts of Titans and creatures. And so the Matoran were formed, bestowed with intelligent minds to look into how to revive Mata Nui. Rahi were also formed, in order for the Matoran to utilize in however they saw fit.
Ekimu saw what little effect these plans had and decided to give the Matoran sentience and free will. Makuta objected to the idea, but Karzahni was intrigued. Reluctantly, Makuta agreed, under the condition that it would only occur once. Ekimu filled the Matoran with sentience and free will, and the Matoran began to form six civilizations to represent the Nuva: Mangaia of Fire, Naho of Water, Kanae of Air, Motari of Sand, Tiro of Earth, and Ihu of Ice.
Once the arguments of Ekimu and Makuta had died down, Karzahni went behind their backs and formed a seventh civilization from within the six, a seventh Nuva from the six: the Nuva of Lightning. Wrongfully accusing Ekimu of betrayal, Makuta lashed out in anger, and the War of Three Brothers was waged.
From the bloodshed and destruction, the six Nuva of the brothers filled six champions with their power to fight and defeat the Titans. These champions, named Toa, fought and defeated Karzahni and Makuta. Makuta’s embodiment was destroyed, while Karzahni was imprisoned. Ekimu, seeing the power of the Nuva, fled into the cosmos, abandoning his brothers and Father.
Unbeknownst to the Nuva and Matoran, this rebellion, this outflow of elemental power, caused Mata Nui to sink deeper into His slumber. And thus, Mata Nui began to die.
The images for the Three Brothers are LDDs by @RAKRONDEWL.
