Hopping on the bandwagon for G3, and because I finally figured out how to post new topics on this board, here is my pitch of a possible backstory for Pouks
For young Pouks, it seemed like life couldn’t get any better. Born to one of the wealthy families living along the Forest Gate in the Motara region, Pouks enjoyed a great degree of comfort, with all the luxuries a little boy could want. With the rumors that his father Kodan was going to be handpicked as a successor by Dekar, the Merchant King who ruled the Forest Gate at the time, it all seemed too good to be true. And rather unfortunately for Pouks, it was.
Ahkmou, who was also close with the current Merchant King was jealous that he was being passed over, hired some Dark Hunters to call a hit on Kodan and his family. Meanwhile Ahkmou poisoned Dekar over dinner and forged a will claiming he would be picked as successor. Pouks was the only lose end, having been hidden by his mother under a secret trapdoor beneath their estate. Using his wits, and the harsh weather of the desert to his advantage, Pouks managed to escape from Ahkmou’s men, who gave up searching for him and wrote him off as dead.
Pouks saw that his affluent lifestyle was an illusion, and the reality was that there was always going to be a catch. Still, some part of him hoped that maybe he could start all over again, that he could take control of his life. To maintain this illusion, he joined several nomadic tribes that dotted the Bara Magna region. He would always try to change the script, the scene, his name and face. But the stories always ended with him being the sole survivor, whether the tribe was destroyed by sandstorms or burned to the ground by mercenaries.
One particular instance involved the tribe he had joined discovered the land they had set up in was rich in Exsidian, an extremely rare metal valued for it’s strength and resistance to rust and sand erosion. What was once nothing but territory fit only for Mahi goats turned into a boomtown. No longer was he Pouks, the little boy who struggled to survive. Now he was Skopio, the leader of a thriving town called Iron Canyon.
It wasn’t long before Ahkmou caught wind of this and tried to claim the deed to the land so he could reap the benefits for himself and sent some of his men to drive out the residents. Pouks on the other hand was not so easily threatened, and years of hardship had made him more then a match for the goons. After a good old-fashioned showdown, Pouks sent them running back with their tails between their legs…or so he thought.
In the dead of night, the men returned and torched the boomtown. Pouks tried to fight Ahkmou’s men off again, but this time he had to do it while he could barely breath. At last, he succumbed to exhaustion from smoke inhalation. He was praying for Ketar, his father, anyone to answer his cry for help. His prayers were answered sooner than expected when a mysterious cloaked figure appeared out of the flames and quickly dispatched Ahkmou’s men and spirited Pouks away.
The man introduced himself as a scout for the Brotherhood of Makuta, claiming that his master had taken an interest in him. After the journey to the Brotherhood’s stronghold, the leader of the brotherhood, Norik himself, greeted him. Norik explained that the life he tried to make for himself was an illusion that was broken time and time again. That they all lived to serve Makuta, whom had great things planned for Pouks—a name he had not called himself in years. Pouks considered these words. People like Ahkmou were under the illusion that they could lord over Pouks and others like him. No matter how good or how rich you were though, the reality was that all is equal to the flame. By joining the Brotherhood, he could teach the Matoran their place, that they were all servants of Makuta, and Makuta alone.
When the time came for Pouks to undergo his final initiation into the Brotherhood, he quickly became quite fond of his mutation. Finally he had shattered the false image he held of himself. He was not Pouks, the heir to a powerful Merchant King, or any one of the different personas he assumed while in hiding. No, he was now Panrahk, the Rahkshi of Illusion.
His first act after his transformation was to sneak into Ahkmou’s estate and forced his father’s killer to confront the illusions he held of himself. He chose not to kill Ahkmou, claiming death would be a mercy and that the Makuta will have other plans for him. Ahkmou has slept with a Kanoka Launcher ever since.
SIDE NOTE: Norik might also reference how Ahkmou was initially considered as a candidate for the Brotherhood of Makuta as a nod to his role in the G1 story
I wasn’t sure if Onewa was pitched as a character yet…his name was a placeholder for a potential persona Pouks might’ve assumed at the time. Pouks changed names like hats during his period of roaming from tribe to tribe. Names could easily be ones of other G1 or G2 Po- characters (E.g. Golyo, Piatra, Epena, etc)
Ahkmou’s fate could also set up for him becoming a member of the Brothehood later on should the G3 team choose to go that route.