Out of the dark ages I have returned
“It is said among the wise, ‘Toa of Fire never falters due to lack of strength or courage.’ Zerkah illustrates the implied darkness of this proverb. For while a fearless warrior and inspiring leader, he cares not to sustain the present reality, and this may well prove his undoing.
Zerkah is one of the Lords of the Burning Order, leader of the Toa Vihagu, and first in line for the lordship of House Kihanu, with a noble lineage going back 5,000 years to Kihanu Noral I, knight of Edelis and mentor of the legendary prince Cadeia. Born in Talis, Zerkah was forced to flee as a child from the oncoming Malevolent horde, with his parents, Lord Kihanu Noral XIV and Lady Thrae, and cousins Mokatu and Sirac.
A firsthand witness of the destruction it has caused his home, Zerkah carries a vendetta against the Malevolent, which manifests in an almost crazed optimism that he will defeat it. The eradication of the Malevolent and liberation of all it oppresses is his end goal.
I do not doubt that Zerkah’s grudge against the Malevolent has a significant psychological impact. While he has deep sympathy for individuals living under the Malevolent’s heel, and will become great friends with those who share his vision, he regularly overlooks the interests of those who have different agendas. This has already caused tension with the more independent-minded among the Toa Vihagu.
The fate of the young Toa band, therefore, rests with the liabilities of this man…”
I’ve wanted to make some changes to the Toa Vihagu for a while now. I made a few changes in November/December of last year, but the bulk of modifications came in a two week stint before school started. The current updates are motivated by my possible displaying at BrickFair North Carolina next year, and if I’m going to be displaying these MOCs I want them to be as good as possible.
Which isn’t to say that I’ve made them as good as possible now. I’ve made some good progress, definitely but there’s still changes I intend to make between now and BFNC.
Zerkah, the leader of the Vihagu, seemed as good a character as any to introduce the types of changes I’ve made (as you can see here, Jetera has changed very little.) He is, of course, based off the version I made in 2016, but with a few modifications:
*His torso now includes a more stable internal structure, based on Chrin’s. His lower torso is further filled in.
*The shells on his arms have been swapped.
*He now uses Jetera’s thigh design.
*He has a brand new pair of shins.
*The sockets on his feet have been swapped, and his feet have been further filled in.
*He now has a signature weapon, a battle-axe (which I designed last year.)
I originally wanted to remove the Mata red shells on his thighs in favor of Metru red ones, like I did with the forearms, but the size 5 shells were too small for his physique. Furthermore, he ended up looking very dull without the Mata red to brighten things up. I feel like I made a good compromise with swapping out his forearm plates, however. The “iron boot” that has been part of his design since V1 is now gone. Its final fate has not yet been determined – I think the concept adds to his character but I have yet to make a good-looking physical version.
I intend to further develop the shins and fill in most of the pinholes. I’d also like to give him a new head structure (namely one that has eyes).
As always, comments and critique are appreciated.