(So the TL;DR is pretty much that Velika is a former scholar who used his wits and knowledge to become a Merchant King, Hafu is relatively inexperienced and relies on the previous Merchant King for guidance, and he’s also at risk of coups because of his semi-incompetence, and Ahkmou is a statesman who fled to the desert because he couldn’t pay his debts to the bank and convinced other members of the crime group to overthrow the previous Merchant King)
So, looking around the message boards, there isn’t a lot of backstory on the merhcant kings, and I have some backstory ideas for each of them (some of these come from other topics, such as Matoran Ideas [Characters][Art], and once again, not trying to plagiarize), but I have some ideas of my own as well.
Velika:
I feel that Velika, as the merchant king who loves riddles, should be the most respected out of the three because he’s been able to keep his position for the longest time out of the three. I also feel that in his younger years that he went against Motaran traditions and originally traveled to the great centers of learning in Tiro, but he became frustrated with the complacency of the Matoran of Tiro and their refusal to use the knowledge that they learn outside of a scholarly setting. When he returns to Motara, he easily overthrows Kerato (the name comes from the original Protector of stone in G2) and has been able to survive many coups since. He is ambivalent about the return of Pohatu, as he isn’t afraid of Pohatu, but he doesn’t want any of the other Merchant Kings to get Pohatu on their side.
Here’s a little something I whipped up that explains Velika’s backstory in a more literary way:
Velika looked over the jagged canyon that he once knew as his home. Nothing looked different than when he had left all those years before. Should I have left? he asked himself. He looked back, but Tiro was too far in the distance to see.
“No. I’ll show them that knowledge isn’t just meant to be studied. I’ll show them that knowledge…” he looked at the satchel of manuscripts and books he was carrying with him, “can do many things.”
He found the old, battered passageway that took you to the bottom of the canyon. The steps of the passageway were crooked, and some of them had completely fallen down into the canyon. He looked up, and saw that the sun was going down. Tomorrow.
The sun had not even risen yet, but Velika found himself awake on the cold rock. Someone is nearby.
“You know why we’re here” a powerful voice echoed from the bottom of the canyon.
“Yes, of course I do. Here’s the money. Take it and leave.”
“Well, how nice of you! Look at that (insert name here), some people still have respect for the Merchant Kingdoms.”
Velika had been watching from over the edge of the canyon. In the moonlight, he could just barely see a face dull orange mask. Don’t get involved, just observe.
“I know, right? I mean, if you had just made it easy for us and hadn’t made us chase you for so long, we would’ve just wanted the money. But unfortunately…”
Velika turned his head away. The muffled screaming of the Matoran echoed for what seemed like an eternity.
After he saw that the thugs had started to walk away, he ran down the passageway as fast as he could, hoping that he could help the victim. However, he miscalculated when he didn’t realize that the thugs weren’t as far away as he thought. By the time he reached the wounded Matoran, the thugs were waiting for him.
There was only one way he thought he could get out of this.
“If the great being wishes to crush those beneath him, why is he considered a fool?”
“What?” replied the larger thug.
“Do you understand how to decipher the words of one who does not want to be understood by a fool?”
“Now listen here fella…”
“Okay, I see that you cannot understand riddles… Why do you wish to harm this poor Matoran over here, or why do you wish to harm myself, if you could get so much more out of them?”
“Uhh… Okay.”
“Do you think we should listen to him?” the other thug said. “How harmless could this little runt be to us? What can he do, throw books at us?”
“Yeah. Take him back. Kerato will know what we can do with them.” The larger thug seized Velika’s arm, and slung the other Matoran over his shoulder.
“What are you doing that for? He’s already dead. Just take this one.”
Velika watched the other Matoran drop back into the desert sand. He said nothing. For nothing needed to be said.
When Velika woke up the next morning, he was being thrown to the ground by the brute, and he took a while to readjust himself to his surroundings. All around him, merchants and thugs and precious metals and goods of all shapes and sizes. In front of him stood a Matoran in rusted armor with green lines that formed some strange patterns. He was looking at some of the books that Velika had been carrying.
“You are a scholar?”
“The mysteries of life that are unknown to those that keep their head in the sand are not so mysterious to those that look up once in a while.”
“I assume riddles are your thing. If you only choose to speak in riddles, I would advise you to stay quiet, or else you’ll get a good beating from some of the less intelligent merchants among us.” The Matoran closed the book and extended his hand to Velika to help him out of the sand. “My name is Tuma. I think that we will have some use for you here.”
Ok, I know it’s not that great, but that’s why I’m open to critiques.
Hafu:
While Hafu has had his title of Merchant King for longer than Ahkmou, he is still new to it, and often makes mistakes as leader, and there are rumors about a young Matoran who came from Tiro (Nuparu), who is plotting to stage a coup d’etat in the near future (maybe a year 2 thing, since Nuparu would want revenge against his/her (idk what gender Nurparu will be)).
Hafu is also the Merchant king who is the most friendly towards Pohatu, seeing that Ahkmou has ruined his relationship with Pohatu by trying to get him to throw a Kolhii match. He hopes that by strengthening his connection with the Toa that his position will remain secure.
Ahkmou:
Ahkmou was once a respected statesman who lived in the capital city of Motara (I think Kivi is a pretty cool name, so I’ll just call it Kivi because it means stone in Finnish), though he was never a fan of Kohlii, unlike many of his acquaintances. But after he was unable to pay off his debts to the bank, he was sentenced to the mines. He escaped Kivi, and escaped to Pouks’ Merchant Kingdom to escape from the hunters.
His skillfulness as an orator allowed him to quickly rise to prominence in Pouks’ eyes, up to the point where Ahkmou was within Pouks’ inner circle. However, Ahkmou was able to get the other members of the inner circle to help him overthrow Pouks (or other person, I don’t know who) Pouks was captured and remains a prisoner of Ahkmou. Unlike the other Merchant Kings, Ahkmou still has strong connections with people in the capital, and uses these connections to his advantage (such as getting money and political power through corruption).
As always, I’m open to constructive criticism and other ideas and viewpoints.