So, I am back with another Bionicle build. This lovely lady is Ryylem, the Antumbran Knight.
Let’s begin the walkthrough of the design process. If you have seen some of my previous MOCs, then you probably can guess that this started with the weapon. I wanted to give Ryylem a unique weapon that could transform from a melee weapon to a blaster or gun of some sort. Originally I went with a sword, but it looked pretty bad. I decided instead to go with a Naginata once I had an improved design. The weapon can even fold up unto a sheathed form.
I knew I wanted to give Ryylem control over light and shadow, so I initially wanted to use a color scheme of black and trans-clear. However, once I decided to use the crystal mask of light, I added some gold to go along with the gold sparkles in the mask. And if it was not already apparent, she has hair. It looked to me like the hair was an extension of the mask of light, so it works.
And now, her backstory. This is a condensed version, since the full version is rather long.
A servant of Diaa bound to an ancient and sacred oath of honor, Ryylem is a knight from a distant island. As was standard for all knights, Ryylem wears a Mask of Light, allowing her to control many forms of light. After falling in battle, Ryylem unleashed hidden innate powers of shadow of which she had no former knowledge. Single-handedly holding off an army with her new-found powers of light and shadow, Ryylem expected to be heralded as a hero. Instead, her people feared her dark powers and cast her from society. Left with only her armor and her naginata, Ryylem fled to Okoto, an island torn by a war between Conduits and Predecessors. She adopted the title Antumbran Knight and was hired to defeat the Conduits. She worked closely with a particular Predecessor named Diaa, the Predecessor of Light. Ryylem followed Diaa when he attempted to overthrow his fellow Predecessors, and was imprisoned in stasis deep within Okoto. Diaa rescued her following his reawakening. Now, Ryylem works with Diaa to conquer Okoto and create a new world according to his will. Though she follows Diaa, she is neither heartless nor dishonorable, and her loyalty has come into question more than once.
Ryylem’s title, Antumbran Knight, means the Knight of Shadow in Light. As her name implies, she has control over both elements. Her power over light allows her to create flashes, lasers, and radiation. Her power over shadow allows her create illusions, become invisible in shadows (which she rarely does. Hiding is dishonorable, after all), travel through shadows, envelope areas in darkness. She wields a transforming naginata which can be used to channel her powers in blade form. In blaster form, the weapon can launch focused concussive blasts.
So, that is Ryylem. She is one of my favorite MOCs so far. I hope you like her, too. For more information about her backstory and how she relates to other characters in my head canon, details about the construction of the gunblade, and more pictures, I suggest you check out the full album here: Ryylem | Flickr
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! As always, advice, comments, and suggestions for improvement are appreciated. Thanks!
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