Rahn sized up the pile of scrolls that had just appeared on his desk. “Already?”
“Yup. Finished ‘em,” Garta said with just a hint of pride.
“I will put them away.” Rahn moved to take the pile but stopped when Garta raised his hand.
“Another question, actually. Do you have any documentation on Toa stones?”
“Toa stones?” The Ko-Matoran’s face took on a curious expression.
“Yeah. I have some… suspicions about that rock I found.”
“There have not been any Toa…”
“… I know,” Garta interrupted the librarian, “but it’s the only thing I’ve found so far.” A short silence followed, ending with a nod from Rahn.
“This way,” he beckoned as he moved into the forest of scroll racks, followed closely by Garta. They stopped in front of one labeled ‘mythical objects.’ After a minute or so of pulling out scrolls and checking their titles, Rahn found what he was looking for. “Toa stones. What we have on them here should be in this one. Would you like to take it with you?”
“I’ll just go through it here,” Garta said as he took the scroll.
“Very well.” Rahn left for the front desk.
Garta set off in the opposite direction, soon finding himself by the sitting area among the scrolls of the old legends, where he placed the small wooden box he’d brought with him on the table. Time to compare. The scroll opened with some background on Toa stones that he’d already picked up on from what he’d read about Metru Nui. This was followed by several illustrations of the things, including one of the six in the museum that he’d visited so long ago. Between the illustrations, one thing became clear: the shape of the Toa stones could vary wildly. Some looked like exquisite gemstones, while others appeared as little more than regular old rocks, were it not for their glowing quality. The rod was somewhere in between, a mundane but finely-honed shape. Following the illustrations was a list of known appearances of Toa stones, which Garta quickly skimmed through to arrive at what he was actually looking for: a description of the stones’ behavior.
The Toa stones respond to the presence of destined Matoran, those capable of being transformed should the need arise. Responses vary with the form of the stone, but can include changes in temperature, color, movement, and the emission of pulses of light.
“Pulses of light…” Garta smiled; it seemed a confirmation of what he was already thinking. He opened the box, revealing the rod inside, and touched it to see it light up again.
The energy that drives this behavior, as well as the subsequent transformation, has been termed “Toa Power,” though it is little understood beyond that it drives the ability for Toa to heal wounds and awaken Matoran. Given that Toa are not absolutely required to activate Matoran, however, it must be concluded that Matoran either intrinsically possess some degree of Toa Power or that an alternative mechanism provides for this ability. The implantation of enough Toa Power in an inanimate object creates a Toa stone. It is believed that only Toa have the reserves of Toa Power needed to create Toa stones, though exact details on the process have not made it down to us.
There was that condition again, albeit not with complete certainty. Unfortunately, the post-Transport recording of Matoran history was often short on details, or at least on details that none of the transported Matoran had any business knowing about. Toa Stone creation clearly fell into that category, as that was the end of the scroll; the rest was a bunch of empty space, reserved perhaps for jogged memories of a distant past or for new discoveries on the subject, if they were ever made.
“Not our best work, I fear.” The sudden reappearance of Rahn shocked Garta out of his thoughts. The librarian was carrying the two armfuls of scrolls he’d just returned.
“Uhm, yeah… I think it’s missing a couple of things.”
“A lot around the subject of Toa was lost,” the Ko-Matoran mused as he placed the scrolls back in their locations on nearby racks. “We have plenty on everyday jobs, on all manner of simple devices, on geography of the Old World and the new, but headlines aside, lots of information concerning Toa is not well-remembered here.”
“From the headlines, I figured there would be more. We owe our existence to the Toa.”
“You and me alike.” Rahn paused his re-stocking. “Is that it?” he asked, pointing at the rod in the open box on the table.
“That’s the mystery stone, yes.”
“May I?” Rahn set aside the remaining scrolls. Garta nodded and the Ko-Matoran reached into the box pick up the rod. He was as taken aback by its response to the touch as Garta had been; at the moment of contact, its dull glow became a bright white. “Curious indeed,” he remarked as he withdrew his hand and watched the rod’s glow fade.
“Hang on, that’s different,” Garta said. “Touch it again.” Rahn obliged. The rod glowed white again.
“Different from what?”
“From when I touch it.” Garta leant forward and put his own finger on the rod. It glowed blue this time.
“Different in color,” was Rahn’s astute observation.
“Changes with the Matoran touching it, it seems.” Garta pulled back and both Matoran looked at the rod, its glow fading again.
“You believe this to be a Toa stone?” Rahn asked.
“I’m not sure. Some signs point to it, but at the same time, no Toa could’ve made it here. On the other hand, this scroll doesn’t say for certain whether a Toa is needed or not.”
“Just enough Toa Power, right?”
“That’s what it says.”
Both pondered the idea for a bit, then Rahn spoke up. “You want it to be a Toa stone.”
“Hm?” Garta looked up, roused from his thoughts again.
“You want it to be a Toa stone,” Rahn repeated. “It could be anything, something of this world that we had yet to encounter until you found it, yet you want it to be this.”
“Yeah, that’s probably right,” Garta admitted, “but it’s making me feel something that I haven’t felt since I last saw actual Toa Stones. I can’t really place it, but it’s there.”
For the first time, he noticed Rahn’s expression ■■■■■ from his usual dry neutrality as the Ko-Matoran gave a slight smile. “Have you considered destiny?”
“Destiny? What about it?”
“The scroll mentions the stones’ response to destined Matoran, if my memory serves.” Rahn sat down and looked at the open scroll, scanning some of its contents.
“It does,” Garta confirmed, “but I’m not much for destiny.”
“How come?” Rahn’s eyes were back on Garta.
“You know the history better than I do, but Mata Nui isn’t with us anymore, right? He fulfilled his destiny, and the Matoran with him. I remember that much, and I’m pretty sure that’s all the destiny we had.”
“A fulfilled destiny does not rid us of its mechanisms,” Rahn pointed out. “You may not call it destiny, and I would be inclined to agree, but you are experiencing an undeniable pull from this… fancy rock. A mechanism of our former destiny, perhaps. An instinct.”
“That’s the problem,” Garta sighed. “Instinct’s telling me this is a Toa stone, yet that should be impossible, and I’m not sure what to do with it. I was hoping for more here.”
Rahn paused in thought before replying. “If you are looking for advice, I would suggest you go with your instinct.” He gestured at the scroll racks around them. “I have spent most of my life here collecting, reviewing, and archiving the sum of Matoran knowledge on this world. There are many lessons for us contained within these walls; the first of them is that there is a great deal that we do not know. Our ancestors on the Old World knew much that has not come down to us, and even they still had many frontiers to explore. It is at those frontiers where our instincts must guide us. What you have in that rod is a frontier, and your instinct is telling you something about it. Follow it.”
“Proceed like it is a Toa stone, then,” Garta concluded.
“That is what you have already been doing.”
Garta nodded; Rahn had a point there. “Well, in that case, I think I have a trip to plan.” He got up and rolled up the scroll on Toa stones. “All the Matoran in those stories were told to take their Toa stones to their temples. I suppose I should visit ours, see if it has a suva… and maybe some instructions on how to use it.”
“A good starting point,” Rahn agreed as he got up and began to put the remaining old legend scrolls back in their place. “Having been there myself, though, I should point out that I have never seen any structure resembling a suva there. Then again, I never brought a potential Toa stone through the doors.”
“Let’s hope that makes the difference, then… Though, just in case, could you keep this quiet for now?” Garta asked somewhat sheepishly.
“Certainly.” Having put away the final scroll, Rahn picked up the Toa stone scroll and headed for the rack from which he’d pulled it earlier. Garta followed.
“Thanks. Just in case I’m wrong, I don’t want to have to answer too many questions. I kind of feel like I’m making a fool of myself already.”
“You are not,” Rahn assured him, “but it is not primarily for your concern that this should be kept quiet. The implications of news of Toa stones could be significant and unpleasant.”
“Unpleasant how?”
“There’s a historical pattern,” the Ko-Matoran explained as he stuck the scroll back in its place. “Did you not pick up on that in the legends? Toa stones, one way or the other, always show up when needed, when Toa are needed.”
“…and Toa are needed whenever the Matoran are in danger…” Garta’s voice trailed off at the realization. Suddenly, the rod’s presence had taken on a darker meaning.
“Exactly. If news gets out and announcements are pinned to the trees tomorrow saying that even a possible Toa stone has been found, some old Matoran might put two and two together: Toa stones herald the arrival of Toa and announce the presence of great danger. Once that idea takes hold, everyone will be on edge over something that may not even be true. We would all be primed for panic.”
“Nothing good could come of that,” Garta concluded. “You’re right, best to keep it quiet.” Rahn nodded in agreement, then turned to head back to the front desk. “Goodnight, then,” Garta called after him, “and thank you.”
“Good luck,” the Ko-Matoran replied.
With that, Garta grabbed the rod and the box and left the librarian to his duty. Night had fallen outside, leaving him to navigate the city streets by the light of a few lightstones alone, but he moved with a quick and excited step. Already significant, the implications of his discovery had now multiplied themselves. If his instincts were right, his journey could be one of life or death for the Matoran of Misira Nui. If he was wrong… well, that’s why he was going to keep it on a need-to-know basis.
The colored lights with which Station 5 was decorated for the occasion could be seen from the next station over, and the music could be heard from almost as far away. Arriving at last after having been made to wait out an unusually long ■■■■■ by Letono, Telzin could feel the excitement in the air. The open platform above the station, normally home to much of the station’s staff, was decorated in the same manner and played host to the majority of festivities. Down below, those interested could tour the new, overhauled engines and engine floor. She’d definitely have a look at those. Eventually Station 8 would be due to get the same treatment, though it was unlikely to be anytime soon.
The platform was already packed with at least half the population of the Madumei and a number of Matoran from below, most of whom she recognized. Food and Bo-Matoran brew, among other things, were being served. Just as Telzin got herself some Gani juice, a slow start for the night, a figure well-known throughout the Madumei took to the stage: Toku, assistant to Turaga Florei and on many occasions such as this one, his spokesperson. The band stopped their number and the sudden absence of music was rapidly followed by silence falling over the crowd as everyone’s attention turned to Toku.
“Good evening, everyone,” she greeted. “The Turaga wished he could be here tonight, but unfortunately other business has him occupied.” A couple of knowing glances were exchanged among the audience. “Nevertheless, he did have a couple of things to say. First off, what has been done here over the past few weeks is a major step forward in our transport system, and for that, we’d especially like to thank our friends from down under.”
She gestured over to a small group, some Ta-Matoran and one Fe-Matoran, who’d installed the new engines. The crowd applauded, to which they responded with restrained nods, smiles, or a slight wave.
Toku smiled at them and said, “I know that being up at this altitude is a bit out of your comfort zone, but thanks for being here all the same.” The crowd laughed, and again the installation team remained calm under the spotlight. “We may need your services again soon; if these engines keep performing as well as they did under testing, every other station will be in line for an upgrade.” The installation team responded with smiles, albeit slightly nervous ones. “And for everyone else here, we have lots to look forward to, and a lot to celebrate. At every meeting of the Turaga council, Turaga Florei gets praised for the excellent performance of the Madumei transport system. Just as the chute system of our forefathers was the pride of the City of Legends, so we up here are the pride of Gol Rui! So enjoy the complimentary food, drinks, and music. We’ve all earned it today!”
The crowd needed no encouragement. The band struck up immediately as cheers erupted, and Toku hardly made it off stage before the festivities were in full swing again. She was on her way back to the Turaga’s place shortly afterwards.
Having finished her gani Juice, Telzin ordered what would no doubt be the first of many complimentary mugs of Bo-Matoran brew. Mug in hand, she surveyed the scene and spotted three members of the Station 5 maintenance crew, who’d occupied a table near the edge of the platform.
“Ah, the crew of the night,” Telzin said as she walked up and took the empty chair. “How’s it hanging?”
“Eh, good,” Kirano, the head of the group, answered after a slightly awkward pause. “At least, as far as the cables are concerned. We’ll see about the engines.”
“They replaced the cables with the engines?”
“Didn’t just replace ‘em, they tensioned them too,” Vo-Matoran Uko added. “The pulleys were practically jumping off the lines. You’d think Ta-Matoran would have a bit more mechanical sympathy, you know?”
“Their day jobs are to beat workpieces into the right shape with hammers,” said Amari, the third member of the group. “I think they’re more about blunt force.”
“Is it working yet?” Uko asked an imaginary entity behind him as he mimed some enthusiastic use of a hammer, earning laughs from everyone around the table. As the laughter subsided, he added: “Really, though, their engines are fantastic.”
“No doubt,” Telzin smiled. “Hopefully I’ll have some of my own to play with soon.”
“We’ll take good care of them, don’t worry,” Kirano said. “They’ll be well run-in by the time they get to Station 8.”
Again, laughter did the round of the table, though this time Telzin felt less compelled to join in. Everything at Station 8 was a hand-me-down of one kind or another; it simply wasn’t a priority for anyone, and she often had to make improvisatory repairs to make sure anything could be shipped through it.
“Yeah, yeah… I’ll keep ‘m running,” she said before quickly taking a gulp of the brew. Another awkward silence followed.
“So, what do you think the Turaga’s doing this time?” Uko wondered.
“Something in the Bomo, I guess,” Amari said. “He’s always moving dirt with his people down there.”
“I heard he was meeting someone from the Bora.” Kirano’s statement met with some incredulous looks from the rest of the table.
“One of those nutjobs came stumbling out of the jungle?”
“Apparently. No idea what they wanted, though. Seemed agitated from what I heard. Wanted help with something.”
“Oh, it must be terrible for them to leave their precious patch of jungle on the hill to visit the Turaga down in the big city…” Amari overplayed fake sympathy.
“Since when do they want help from us? They left against the Turaga’s wishes, let them deal with the consequences.”
“Hear, hear,” Kirano echoed Uko’s sentiment.
“I hope they find what they’re looking for out there,” Telzin chimed in.
“Immortality. Good luck.” Again, Uko’s statement met with agreement from the rest of the table, followed again by some awkward silence, which Telzin eventually broke.
“Can I get you some stronger stuff?” she offered, gesturing at the empty cups on the table.
“Yeah, sure,” they all nodded.
Telzin made haste to the bar and back, but by the time she returned with four fresh mugs, a fourth member of Station 5’s crew, Leruku, had taken her place at the table. The crew took the mugs gladly while Telzin went back to get another for herself. Returning to the table again, she found the group already engrossed in conversation, debating the merits of some of the changes made with the new engines. Telzin elected to take up a position at the side of the table that faced away from the platform, leaning against one of the posts marking the platform’s edge, and wait for an opportune moment to join in. It didn’t take long for one to arrive.
“I mean, I like the new covers alright, but it ain’t gonna stop every leaf,” Amari explained, “and tuning the engine timing is going to be much more of a pain with those covers on.”
“Eh, we’ll probably take ‘em off,” Kirano waved off the concern.
“Speaking of the timing,” Telzin chimed in, “I was doing some of that on one of your old engines earlier today. Bit of a breakdown.”
“Not from overuse, I suspect.” Kirano remarked wittily, earning some chuckles from his crew.
“Probably not,” Telzin admitted, “but I did find something interesting under it. Check this out.” With that, she pulled the brightly glowing rod out from her bag and set it on the table.
“A green lightstone?.. oh.” Amari stopped in surprise as Telzin let the rod go and the light faded.
“Yeah, I thought that too,” Telzin explained, “but it’s a bit weirder than that.” She poked the rod several times, showcasing its response to much amazement. “Check it out! It’s a party light!”
“You don’t say…” Kirano reached out and touched the rod, which immediately glowed green in response. He touched it again. “Okay, that is weird.” The stone was passed around the table into the waiting hands of both Amari and Leruku.
“Ain’t never seen anything like it, but… oh, hang on.” Uko just had the rod passed to him, and it was no longer green; it glowed bright blue, almost white in the Vo-Matoran’s hands. He passed it back to Leruku; as soon as changed hands, it went back to green, and when passed back to Uko it returned to blue-white.
“Okay, that’s new,” Telzin pointed out.
“Reacts differently to different Matoran, I guess. Hey, catch!” Uko tossed the rod across the table to Kirano, who caught it; the catch was accompanied by a flash of green light. Kirano tossed it back; Uko’s catch was accompanied by a flash of blue-white light.
“Imagine if you had Kolhii balls that did that,” Leruku suggested. “You could make them flash every time someone scores!”
“If you had someone willing to catch a goal shot with their bare hands,” Kirano said.
“Catch!” Uko tossed the rod back to Telzin, but she was anything but prepared to catch it right in the middle of taking a swig from her mug. She got close, but only succeeded in changing the rod’s course, sending it flying in Kirano’s direction.
“Get it! Ooooooh!” Kirano reached but failed to catch the rod, which landed right near the edge of the platform. Telzin dove for it, but its momentum carried it rolling over the edge before she could stop it.
“Oh, come on!” Within moments, Telzin was looking down over the edge the rod had just vacated.
“Eh, sorry ‘bout that… That might’ve broken it.” Uko’s apology hit on the fate of most items dropped down from this high level; Telzin couldn’t see anything of the rod on the ground, just a large patch of thick foliage near the base of the tree, right between two huts. Standing next to the foliage was a single Matoran.
“You dropped something!” he called up, no doubt frustrated; tools being dropped from the Madumei were a regular complaint down under.
“Be right down!” Telzin called back before quickly grabbing her bag and downing the last of her mug. “Be back in a bit,” she assured the rest of the table.
She made her way to where the tree-trunk came up through the platform. A ladder led down to the levels of the station below, where in turn another, much longer ladder got her the ground. The Matoran, a Ga-Matoran, was still there, now knelt down and peering under the bushes.
“Landed in here, I think. You guys really need to…”
“Yeah, yeah, be careful, we know.” Telzin cut him off as she moved for the bushes herself. Rather than look in from the outside, she made her way right in among the foliage. Though she could push branches aside, the darkness and cover of the bushes meant she was feeling around with her feet as much as looking for any hint of light with her eyes.
“Okay, you are not going to find anything in there now, not like that. Even if it survived.” The Ga-Matoran got back up and pointed out the lightstone embedded in the forehead of his mask. “I couldn’t find anything in there, even with this.” Telzin surveyed the bushes around her; having made her way into the center, it was as though she was standing up to her neck in a sea of leaves.
“Shouldn’t take too long,” she said hopefully.
“Yeah, good luck,” came the sarcastic reply. “And watch yourself next time.” The stranger turned to leave.
“No, seriously,” Telzin called after him. “I just gotta watch for the light. It’ll light up when I touch it.” Much to her surprise, the statement stopped him in his tracks.
“You dropped something that lights up when you touch it?” He turned back, his expression of disdain replaced with amazement.
“Uhm… yeah. Lit up all bright green,” she explained as she continued feeling the ground for the rod.
“What did it look like?” The Ga-Matoran marched back to the edge of the foliage and tried to peer into it, not that he could see much.
“Kinda like a lightstone, about… yea big.” Telzin mimed the rod’s length.
“Okay, we have to find this thing.” Overcome with a sudden urgency, the Ga-Matoran dropped the box he had been carrying and resumed his search in a much more hands-on way, all but diving into the foliage. Now both were rooting through the dense layers of large-leafed plants and occasional bamboo chute.
“So, what’s so exciting about this all of the sudden?” Telzin asked as she slowly moved forward, sweeping arcs with her feet to try and catch out the rod on the ground.
“It’s important!” came a slightly muffled reply. He was looking under the bulk of the plants on hands and feet.
“Important how?” she asked, but just then a flash of light between the leaves signaled the end of the search.
“Got it!”
“Sweet!” Telzin quickly made her way out. It took a little longer for her partner in the search to reappear, though she could readily make out his progress from the blue light shining out from underneath the plants. “Blue for you, eh?” she said just as he emerged.
“Blue for me, yeah,” he confirmed. “You said it was green?”
“For me, yeah. I’ll show you.” She reached out and took back the rod. As soon as it switched hands, it switched colors and she smiled. “Look at that. Le-Matoran green!”
“Le-Matoran green…” he repeated. Telzin nodded, but the Ga-Matoran’s eyes never left the rod.
“So, uhm, you said this was important?” she asked.
That seemed to shake him out of it. “Oh! Yeah, it is important… Well, it could be. It’s…” he stopped and looked up and down the path.
“Go on…” Telzin beckoned.
“We shouldn’t talk about it out here,” he said. “It’s… not safe. Maybe.”
“Not safe? Nothing about it seems dangerous to me.”
“No, it’s not the rod itself…” the Ga-Matoran fell quiet as he finished scanning the road. Apparently satisfied, he turned back to Telzin and introduced himself. “I’m Garta.”
“Telzin.”
“Right, Telzin…” He turned to pick up the small box he’d left by the side of the road. “You see, that rod, I’ve got one too.” He opened the box. Looking in, Telzin could see a rod very much like hers.
“May I?” she asked, reaching into box. Garta nodded. As soon as she touched it, the rod glowed bright green. “Wow… Where’d you find yours?”
“I caught it,” he explained, closing the box again. “A Keras crab in the Komisi had it. Probably found it on the bottom.”
“Cool…” Telzin smirked at the idea of a Keras crab exploring the dark sea floor with a glowing rod. “What is it?”
“That’s the thing…” Garta’s eyes quickly darted for another glance up and down the road. All quiet. He leaned in closer and whispered, “I think that it might be a Toa stone.”
“Ah, okay…” Telzin nodded, quickly glanced up and down the road as well, then leaned in and whispered in return: “What’s a Toa stone?”
—
Yes, it’s been about a year since I posted the second chapter of this story, which I was originally planning to update every two weeks… life happened. I’m gonna keep it on a once-a-month schedule this time.
