In an attempt to collate all Bionicle content into cohesive books my own way, I hit upon the idea to give each year a Legend and occasionally a supplementary couple of expository legends. I present them here for you all to enjoy and release them for use by anyone who wants to.
Year 1: quest for the masks
The First Legend
Gathered friends, listen now to our legend of the BIONICLE.
In the Time Before Time, the Great Spirit Mata Nui descended from the heavens to care for all living things. He brought joy and light to our island home, and taught us the three virtues: unity, duty, and destiny. We, the Matoran, embraced these gifts, and, in gratitude, we named our island home Mata Nui, in his honor.
Our world was a joyful place, but it was not to last.
For Mata Nui’s brother, the Makuta, had followed after him. He was consumed with jealousy, and envied how we honored his brother. And so, he betrayed him, and after a mighty struggle, he cast Mata Nui into an endless sleep.
While the Great Spirit slept, our skills and knowledge were weakened by Makuta, yet we still would not revere him. So the Makuta unleashed his shadows, bringing dark places to the land that we dared not go, and used evil beasts to separate us, breaking our unity, hindering our duty, and clouding our destiny.
But all is not lost. One legend remains. It speaks of six mighty heroes who, too, will come from the sky.
They are the Toa.
Six heroes, with one destiny: to free the world from the Makuta and his beasts.
They cannot do this alone, however.
They will need both the power of the great masks, and each other, for together, they are strong.
We have waited through the years, waited for the day they arrive, and begin their fateful quest.
And while we wait, so, too, does the Makuta…
The Legend of the Toa
Legends speak of six mighty heroes, the Toa, whose destiny it is to vanquish the Makuta, and free Mata Nui from his slumber. Their energies are drawn from the very elements, and their masks possess great power. The Turaga keep their legend alive, telling tales of these Toa and the prophecies of their coming.
Long have the Tohunga waited for these Toa to arrive. They have built Kini temples in their honor, and maintained their Suva shrines for the day the Toa use them to store the Great Kanohi they have found. Now, their patience has been rewarded. Now, six gleaming canisters of enigmatic design and mysterious origin have washed ashore on the island of Mata Nui.
Now, the Toa have come.
Tahu, Toa of fire, makes his home in the fiery bowels of the Mangai volcano. He moves quickly on molten rocks, and surfs on streams of lava. He wears the Kanohi Hau, the Great Mask of Shielding, and wields the mighty Firesword to cleave through the hard basalt of the volcano, and keep the lava moving towards the sea. The Tohunga have the greatest respect for his power, knowing the incredible fury of fire. They don’t see this hotheaded Toa as a force of destruction, however. He’s revered as a guardian, the provider of the fire by which they warm themselves at night and keep the dangers of the darkness away. His fiery temper is his weakness, and he must avoid rain and water.
As the Toa of ice, Kopaka inhabits the wintry slopes of Mount Ihu. Kopaka’s personality reflects his icy exterior: gruff, calculating, and coldly methodical in his actions. With his Kanohi Akaku, the Great Mask of X-Ray Vision, he can see hidden paths, and into the mountain itself. He uses his Ice Blade to summon and dispel the ice storms that surround Mount Ihu. With one skillful swipe of his blade, Kopaka can conjure up an avalanche or freeze anything it touches. On Mount Ihu, Kopaka skis up and down the slopes with ease, using his long blade to cut and melt his way through the ice and snow. The Tohunga respect his great power, and value his presence for the protection he affords against Mount Ihu’s fury. He must stay well clear of fire, for heat will slow his movements and his reactions.
Lewa is the Toa of the air. His jungle at the foot of the volcano is always jumping with life. Birds, insects and Tohunga buzz around the treetops, chattering and shrieking. But all live in fear of the darkest places, in the swamp that lies beneath the treetops. He controls the winds and the clouds, but hates water. He uses his Kanohi Miru, the Great Mask of Levitation, to glide effortlessly from tree to tree, and his Axe to cut through the vines that entangle the canopies. Lewa is almost monkey-like in form, and prefers to inhabit the treetops in the jungles surrounding Kauae Bay. He tends to stay far above the ground below, as he is clumsy when forced to walk around on two feet. It is said that Lewa shall use his instinct and bravery to make his way in the world. But it is also said that his wisecracks and jokes may be his undoing.
Onua, the Earth Toa, watches over the land and intervenes to restore balance when it is threatened. His underground realm is said to be as dark as the Makuta would wish it, and care must be taken when entering this labyrinth of tunnels and caves. The Kanohi Pakari, the Great Mask of Strength, and his mighty claws give him the power to tear through the earth almost without effort. With his great hands, he has riddled Mata Nui with tunnels. Onua is at one with the land, and can communicate and learn from it. He can hear trouble coming from miles away, and can even persuade the landscape to do his bidding. His low, squat body and head allow him to move quickly in the tunnels, and his infrared eyes give him amazing night vision. He rarely emerges onto the surface, though, as even the pale daylight of Mata Nui can damage his sensitive eyes. Onua’s hearing, however, is incredibly powerful, and he also possesses great strength and surprising dexterity.
The water Toa Gali is the only female Toa, and extremely wise. The Kanohi Kaukau, the Great Mask of Water Breathing, gives her the power to dive underwater indefinitely, and her powerful Hooks speed her swiftly through the sea. Gali makes her home in the waters of Lake Naho, where she can swim and move swiftly among the icy waterfalls plunging to its surface. She is sometimes said to be heard playing in the swirling whirlpools and fast currents which can pull the unwary to the bottom of the sea. She is extremely agile and swift, with incredible jumping abilities and her own form of acrobatic self-defense. But her concentration and temper always fail her when she is too hot or too dry.
Pohatu, the Toa of stone, is well liked by the other Toa for his rock-solid dependability. The Tohunga revere Pohatu as the spirit of every rock and stone, constantly watching over them in their daily lives. The slow moving Pohatu is extremely strong, and can literally move mountains. His power is so great that he can cause massive boulders to explode like bombs, and can guide the path of rolling rocks and debris with great precision. Pohatu can cross the island in a matter of seconds using Kanohi Kakama, the Great Mask of Speed, and can kick boulders with incredible force and unerring accuracy with his powerful feet. Pohatu’s only fear is water, since he doesn’t know how to swim and will sink like a stone.
It is foretold that when the Toa arrive, they will begin their quest to destroy the Makuta. To do this, they will need to seek and gather six great Kanohi. Some are hidden in places only the Toa can reach. Others are guarded by nightmare beasts.
Even with the power of the masks, the Toa will need unity most of all, for together, they are strong.
The Legend of the Makuta
No creature that speaks has seen the Makuta and returned.
It is said his lair could be in every shadow, every scrap of darkness. Some say he has three heads. Others say he has many forms that change. That he, or IT, can be many things at once: cobra, tiger, hawk. The legends speak of the Makuta as a whirling, kicking, screaming, clawing beast that must be defeated before he emerges from deep below the surface of Mata Nui, and replicates into a vicious swarm of separate and equally deadly beasts.
It is said that only the Toa can stop this from happening, and save Mata Nui. And only as one can they hope to prevail, for together they are strong.
One thing above all else is certain: he is patiently waiting, preparing for the day when he will have his chance to truly dominate Mata Nui. And if that day comes, the people of Mata Nui will know untold harm.
So the legend says.
Year 2: the Bohrok Swarm
Gathered friends, listen again to our legend of the BIONICLE.
In the Time Before Time, six mighty warriors called Toa came from the skies. Their purpose: to free us from the shadow of the Makuta, and awaken his brother, Mata Nui, from endless sleep. These Toa were separate, and without purpose, until we, the Turaga, shared the legends of our island, and taught them the virtues of the Great Spirit.
United, they fought back the darkness of the Makuta. They gathered the masks of power, and found their Golden Kanohi. They freed the mighty beasts, the Rahi, from Makuta’s influence.
As their duty required, they journeyed far below the surface to the lair of the Makuta. There, they fought the most powerful of Rahi, the Manas, and faced their own inner darkness in the Shadow Toa, before coming face to face with the Master of Shadows, himself.
Believing themselves victorious, and their destiny achieved, the Toa now begin their return to the surface.
If only they knew what stirred in the darkness by the thousands, what unstoppable force of destruction, what swarm of nightmares, has ceased it’s slumber.
If you wake one, you wake them all…
The Legend of the Bohrok
When legends were young, one word was never spoken for fear that the legend was true.
That word was Bohrok.
It is said the Bohrok sleep an eternal sleep, cocooned since the start of time, waiting to hatch. The words of warning written long ago are inscribed upon the walls of their chambers: If you wake one, you wake them all.
Once awakened, the swarms are unstoppable, a force so mighty it can grind mountains to dust, level jungles, unleash flood waters, and turn life-giving rivers dry as the desert sands.
The swarms are divided into six breeds: The fiery Tahnok, who can melt anything in their path. The treacherous Gahlok, masters of the flood tide. The powerful Nuhvok, who lurk below. The cunning Kohrak, with their icy blasts. The fearless Pahrak, who turn mountains into crumbling stone. And, most dangerous of all, the vicious Lehvak, whose acid venom can dissolve even solid rock.
Worse, the Bohrok do not work alone. They are aided in their mission by smaller drones called Bohrok Va. But behind the faceplate of each Bohrok is it’s deepest secret and true power: a Krana. The Krana are living creatures housed within the robotic shells of the Bohrok. Each of the eight types of Krana fulfill a different role in the swarm, and endow its Bohrok with different powers. The Krana are the Bohrok’s greatest strength, a power so strong that even the fate of the Toa is threatened, but also their greatest weakness. Even the mightiest of Bohrok can be humbled if parted from its Krana. Yet still, the Krana are strong enough to steal the mind, and add their host to the swarm, and even the Toa may not be immune to their power.
This, then, is the purpose of the Bohrok Va. They exist as couriers, bringing replacement Krana to Bohrok that have lost theirs, or require a different type. There are whispers, too, that there is someone or something greater that controls the Krana and directs the Bohrok Va, but of the nature of this entity or entities, even their existence, even the legends say little.
The Bohrok are like nothing the Toa have ever faced, a threat at once entirely alien, yet strangely familiar. They are an enemy that contains aspects of the Toa themselves, yet are nothing like them.
The Bohrok swarm will not stop. They have but one purpose: to cleanse the island of Mata Nui of every tree, river, cave, and mountain. They are single minded in this mission, and will not hesitate to remove any obstacle, one way or another.
It is said the only hope of victory lies in the Krana. The Toa must gather the eight types of Krana from each of the six breeds of Bohrok. They will unlock the secret of their defeat.
So the legend says.
Year 3: Bohrok Kal and the Mask of Light
Gathered friends, listen again to our legend of the BIONICLE.
In the Time Before Time, six mighty and almost unstoppable swarms of machines called Bohrok had emerged from the depths of our island home to ravage and destroy.
Our protectors, the Toa, fought back, and repelled the swarms long enough to find the center of their nest, and confront the Bahrag: twin queens of the Bohrok swarms.
Taking with them the Krana, the living minds and true power of the Bohrok, they used them to unlock the Exo-Toa armor, and all the power they wielded.
A titanic clash rocked the foundation of our island, and unleashed primeval energies upon the Toa, transforming them.
In the end, they were victorious, the queens imprisoned and vanished, the swarms stopped in their tracks. And from this victory, they emerged with power far greater than they had ever known.
Now, and forevermore, they were Toa Nuva.
Peace is restored on the island of Mata Nui, but it is only the quiet before the storm. The Toa Nuva are soon to feel the weight of pride, and learn that all power comes with a price.
As the last weapon of the swarms is unleashed, an even greater darkness stirs below. A darkness so deep, it can be challenged only by the brightest light…
Year 4: City of Legends
Gathered friends, listen again to our legend of the BIONICLE.
In the Time Before Time, our world was the glorious city of Metru Nui. For one hundred thousand years, it had stood as the pillar of civilization, the paragon of peace in the universe, the City of the Great Spirit.
We believed this world would never change, that our noble Toa would always protect us, that the City of Legends had no new legends to make.
We could not have been more wrong.
As our heroes vanished one by one, an unrelenting evil was growing in the shadows, rooted in darkness, and spreading it’s vile tendrils throughout our city.
As Metru Nui’s defenders dwindled, and the forces conspiring against us grew, it seemed there would soon be no one left to save us…
Year 5: Web of Shadows
Gathered friends, listen again to our legend of the BIONICLE.
In the Time Before Time, the Toa Metru, we ourselves, had struggled against the darkness to save our city.
But we failed.
The matoran were trapped in eternal slumber, only just spared the horror of witnessing the Great Spirit cast into endless sleep as well.
But we saw.
We were there. And we carried the weight of those events on our souls. We had trapped the perpetrator of this nightmare, the Makuta, in a prison forged from our own powers. Yet we still had to find a safe haven for the matoran of our city.
As we fled the Great Cataclysm that had befallen Metru Nui, we could take only six matoran with us, vowing to return for the rest.
Our journey was not to be an easy one, the home we found, far removed from what we had hoped for, and our return to the City of Legends would prove to be a nightmare far worse than anything we had yet faced…
Year 6: Voya Nui
Gathered friends, listen again to our legend of the BIONICLE.
In the Time Before Time, Takanuva, the Toa of Light, triumphed. The Makuta was crushed, and the path opened to return to Metru Nui, our true home.
Many old friends awaited us there, and the task of rebuilding our once great city was set to at once.
We have truly begun to undo the damage done by the Makuta one thousand years ago, but only just. The Great Spirit still sleeps, and the quest to awaken him must now face a more trying task.
The fate of all life now depends upon a single mask. A mask that has, for one hundred thousand years, brought nothing but death. A mask coveted by the forces of darkness, and cursed by its creators. A mask that must now be found if there is to be any hope for the future.
Time, it seems, for Mata Nui and the universe, is quickly running out…
The Legend of the Ignition
On a lost land afloat,
a secret brings hope.
When light starts to die,
new stars will rise.
From a world gone under,
comes lightning and thunder.
What darkness divides,
a cut will unite.
When death comes to steal,
a hero will be revealed.
While shadows reach the sky,
legends learn to fly.
Dive into the darkness, ignite the flame within.
Now, there is no turning back.
Make the future begin.
Year 7: Mahri Nui
Gathered friends, listen again to our legend of the BIONICLE.
In the Time Before Time, the Great Spirit Mata Nui was cast into an endless sleep. For a thousand years, we were beset by the pawns of the Makuta, Mata Nui’s brother. And in that time, the Great Spirit’s hold on life grew weaker.
In our hour of greatest desperation, new heroes were called upon by destiny to restore him to life.
The Toa Inika have braved the lightning, and walked through the fire. They have not wavered in their pursuit of the Mask of Life.
But now that pursuit leads them to a world gone under. And the greatest evils of the past one hundred millennia now rise to welcome them, and prepare to wage war for the power of the Mask of Life…
Year 8: Karda Nui
Gathered friends, listen again to our legend of the BIONICLE.
In the Time Before Time, on the mysterious island of Mata Nui, six canisters washed ashore on a golden beach, and new and powerful legends were born. They were the Toa Mata: six heroes with one destiny.
They challenged the darkness of evil Makuta, and the terrible menaces he unleashed. Time and victory brought new weapons, masks, and armor, and new, and greater power than ever before.
These Toa Nuva needed all their power, all their skill, and all their wisdom to combat more dangerous threats like the Bohrok-Kal, and the dreaded Rahkshi, Makuta’s darkest pawns. They brought fear, destruction, and doom to the island. When the Seventh Toa joined their ranks, the Makuta was defeated, and the way home to Metru Nui was revealed.
The time came for tales to be told of our long lost home, a land which, long ago, had its own heroes, who fought for justice with all their powers and skills. Braving any danger to keep their city safe. They fought and they won against threats from beyond the Silver Sea, against their own law enforcement turned on them, and against their very selves.
As we journeyed home, evil continued to grow, reaching greedily for the legendary Mask of Life. But the mantle of hero was worn by new Toa, on a quest to save the Great Spirit from death. They never surrendered, they never wavered in the face of evil. They let nothing get in their way, not on land, or under the sea.
No matter where the Mask of Life might go, no matter who dared to try and possess it, they were there.
With enemies on every side, outnumbered and under attack in the depths of a strange ocean, they found a way to win, and though it cost the life of one of their number, they brought the Great Spirit back from death.
No matter what the future may bring, some things will never change, like the courage and daring of true heroes.
And now, our heroes rush to fulfill their destiny, and face their greatest challenge: a battle in the sky at the core of the universe. The Toa Nuva have returned to finish the fight.
The final battle is about to begin…
Year 9: Bara Magna
To whoever this testament finds, gather your wits, and listen well, for truth soon passes into myth, and myth to legend.
My name no longer matters; my title, an anachronism, and inconsequent. To understand what is, I will tell you what was.
Before, in the time when we still had time, this world was a wonder, and its people dutifully united, the architects of their own destiny. We walked among them, and they looked up to us. If only we had less often looked down on them.
Leaders were made, who guided them in civility, but then broke them in war. And the blood spilled by them fell upon the hands that made them.
War, like the prize, consumed all, and left behind monsters and aberrations. Fire assailed fire, but begat only desolation.
Hope was raised up to gaze upon the stars, soon to be sent forth for the sake of all living things. When time like sand slipped away, the end came.
Hope, in that hour, left.
My name, none will remember; my title and its implication, made nothing but a lie. The truth is this: on our heads lies the weight of a world; on our hands, the lives lost to the fire; at our feet, the shattered promise to those who called us great.
I leave this chronicle of life’s struggle and antithesis, this Bionicle, for posterity and solidarity against the eroding tide of time. May it serve a remembrance of the events of this age, and give meaning should the day come, and hope return…
Year 10: Journey’s End
Gathered subjects, listen again to my legend of the BIONICLE.
In the Time Before Time, the Great Spirit Mata Nui descended from the heavens to crash helpless into the sea of an alien world. Carried within were you, the ones meant to sustain him. You were desperate and without purpose.
But this was hardly new.
For the Great Spirit had a mission to complete, and a vast universe that held his attention far more than the one within his metal form.
And so it fell to us, the Brotherhood of Makuta, brought into existence by the Great Spirit himself, first to fill the universe with animal life, then to crush conquerors, then to end wars. And for every selfless act and every measure of justice we meted, Mata Nui recieved all the devotion, all the thanks.
And we recieved nothing.
When the Brotherhood chose me to lead them, my superior cunning conceived a plan whereby Mata Nui would fall, and the Makuta would rise.
But even with your Great Spirit asleep, and even less mindful of you, if it were possible, you still refused us the honor, the worship, we rightly deserved.
I set the Rahi against you. I unleashed the Bohrok swarms. I loosed those who should never see the light of day.
Yet still, you foolishly kept faith in Mata Nui, and your Toa, who forced me to alter and improve my masterful plan.
When the time came, and Mata Nui died, a poor deluded hero surrendered his life so Mata Nui could regain his. But not before I took his place, and saw my plan come to fruition when other Toa achieved their destiny, and awakened your new, rightful Great Spirit: me.
The Great Spirit who once ignored me is now exiled to the void. The Toa who once challenged me are now powerless, Nothing. The matoran who once shunned me now live in fear of me.
I have won.
This universe is mine.
And it is only the first…
Tahu finally spoke, “Come my friends. It is time to begin.”
The Next Legend
And so they did. Then did the Toa achieve their ultimate destiny: to free the world from the Makuta and his beasts. And so there, at that moment, ended the Time Before Time. For as is said, and is true, all endings are beginnings. And on this day, Time began.
Time for alliances to be forged and peace to be written. Time for friendships new and old. Time for sharing, remembering, building, adventuring, dreaming. Time for civilizations, divided by strife, now to live in unity. Time for a new people to pursue a duty bestowed by the Great Spirit. Time for them, one and all, Toa and Glatorian, Matoran and Agori, to find their destiny. Time for history to be written, and tales to be told, of a time before time. And time for heroes long gone to become legends undying.
In time, the Great Beings returned, welcomed back to the world they had banished themselves from. And in time, in the Time After Time, in a world unrecognizable, the Great Spirit indeed walked the world once more, and returned to those he left, once time had changed them, elevated them from his subjects, to his peers.
And most of all, most singular and centric of all: time for an illuminated future, and for stories unending.
This is, and for all Time will be the way…of the BIONICLE.