“You still have that mask?”
Volaan knew who had spoken without even having to look. Only one Matoran on the island spoke like that to him, and only one felt so strongly about his mask: the Ga-Matoran Dalu.
Strictly speaking, Volaan didn’t need to wear a mask at all. Most Matoran would grow weak and eventually comatose without one, but thanks to certain modifications done by Karzahni, Volaan was the sole exception.
“You’re the one who always said I looked dumb without a mask.”
He’d still had the mask Karzahni had given him when he first came here, but he’d given it to another Matoran who had broken his. Mask-making tools and materials were hard to come by on Voya Nui, and the materials that were available were better suited to other purposes. Since then, Volaan had gone maskless for centuries.
“You look even more ridiculous with that mask! It doesn’t fit with your colours or armour design.”
That is, until he found a strange golden mask buried in the dirt. Gold was a rare colour, usually reserved for masks with great power or significance, yet this mask didn’t seem to be great or noble, and no Matoran knew of any legends about it. It seemed, for all intents and purposes, to be purely decorative, not unlike the Copper Victory Masks given in Metru Nui.
“On the contrary, I think that the fact that it sticks out makes it seem important. It makes me look special. Not that I am special.”
To Volaan, the mask was special even if it had no significance at all. It was unique and different, and he wore it at all times now. Dalu didn’t see it that way, though. To her, actions needed to be practical; wearing a mask you didn’t need was as silly as walking around with a baby Gafna on your head.
“If you’re so determined to wear a mask, why don’t you trade with one of the Ce-Matoran?”
Dalu had made this argument before. Since most Matoran masks adopted the colour of their wearer, and Ce-Matoran naturally had gold armour, if Volaan traded with a Ce-Matoran then they’d both have masks that fit their colours.
“I don’t want to get rid of it,” he said simply.
Dalu gave a snort at that. Despite his claims to the contrary, she felt he wanted to wear the mask because he wanted to be special. His name roughly translated to “Good Guy’s Journey”, and he was determined to live up to it – but not by being special and important, simply humble and helpful.
“Why? It’s worthless.”
At this, Volaan finally turned to her. “Never get rid of something if you think it has even an ounce of value. There is a destiny for everything; you just have to put in the work to find it.”
Even Dalu couldn’t come up with a good counter to that, and so the two Matoran would just continue to agree to disagree. But who knows, maybe that mask really would be important to someone some day…
Additional photos:
Built as part of Ghid’s Secret Santa project, for @GoodGuy2006. Based upon his current avatar, his avatar at the time (the Mask of Control), and the quote in his bio.
