Solek, Nascent Toa of Light

[NovaNuva]

Solek, Nascent Toa of Light

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Bio: Solek spent the better part of the hundred-millennia existence of his world living in the Nui Caves below the Southern Continent, in the Av-Matoran city that lay there. However, unlike most Av-Matoran, he often ventured to the surface, interacting with surface Matoran and seeing the world beyond the caves he called home. He would often spend time listening to Kirop’s tales of the six legendary Toa who defended the Av-Matoran from the fearsome creatures of Light at the dawn of the world, idolizing Tahu and Kopaka especially, always wishing he could be a Toa. And it seems that Destiny heard this wish… for it would come to pass that Takanvua, the first Toa of Light, would come to the Av-Matoran caves, seeking to create a second Toa of Light to aid him against a great coming darkness. This would be Solek, who, upon donning the Avohkii, was transformed into a Toa. Solek would spend time training and bonding with Takanuva, but after a terrible tragedy befell the Av-Matoran city, he would be left to wander the Southern Continent as a vagabond protector, serving Matoran wherever he could, no longer having a place to call home.
But this wayward life can only last so long, for soon Solek will find Destiny calling him again to fight the great coming Shadow… and his choices will leave an indelible mark upon history.

Personality: Solek as a Matoran was a cheerful, adventurous being. Not content with life in the caves, he would venture aboveground on a regular basis to see the wider world for himself. He also showed a great deal of awe and reverence towards the idea of Toa. Despite never having met one, he idolized them, from stories told by both Kirop and Matoran aboveground. When he became a Toa, Solek would find himself struggling to live up to his idols of the past. However, his adventurous spirit, his bright compassionate heart, and his sense of Duty (solidified by Takanuva’s guidance) ensure that his self-doubt never keeps him from working to serve and protect the Matoran. While he isn’t yet comfortable with the way strangers will idolize him (being a Toa of Light), he works his absolute hardest to show his worth. The struggle between his doubts and his desire to do good is a constant battle he faces… but Solek always meets this battle head on, in hopes of one day living up to the legends like Tahu, Kopaka, and Takanuva. And beneath all of that struggle, Solek’s compassion gives him a great deal of understanding for others, often comforting the distraught and the uncertain with his warmth and relatability.

Tools/Abilities: Solek wears a Mask in the shape of a Noble Akaku… however, he has yet to unlock his mask power (and find out what it is). Originally granted a simple blade, Solek had it forged into part of his Bladestaff of Light (to emulate the staff weapon that Takanuva uses). Solek has command over the Element of Light, with all the powers and abilities that come with this. While he is not yet a master of utilizing his element, he is quickly learning the extent of his abilities, and displays a raw power that could one day become something truly awe-inspiring.

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Solek, the main character of the Present storyline in the NLAU. He’s essentially the mascot for my AU. Not really sure if he’s necessarily a self-MOC, but he is undoubtedly the main MOC for now.
Solek is one of the MOCs I had from back in the early 2010s (so well before he became a meme). Back then, I didn’t have the parts for a Takanuva, so when I wanted to make a Toa of Light, Solek was my choice. Upon reemerging from the dusty Bionicle bin, he was carried over into my new story (one of a select few MOCs I preserved).
I’ve taken his canon personality (the Toa Mata fanboy thrust into being a hero by Destiny) and carried that over to his Toa iteration, where that manifests in nagging doubts as he tries to live up to his idea of a true Toa, formed by the stories he’s heard. He also shares a very close bond with Takanuva, which will be explored in “Present, Part 0," though this relationship will arguably be more impactful for Takanuva (for reasons).
His build is fairly simple, but I am quite fond of it (and it might end up receiving upgrades within the story, heheh). The lack of gold parts is intentional, and will be addressed later on.

Also, if anyone has any ideas for a special/unique/fitting power for his Kanohi, let me know!

[DuneToa]

Is Takanuva still alive there? And the rest of the Toa Nuva?
Also, an idea for his mask power: same as the Kanohi Kadin, allowing him to fly. This would let him be like the Toa Nuva and Takanuva in Kardas Nui, flying to fight the Makuta of the skies and the swamp.

[Rukah]

Ooh this guy looks pretty cool. A nice, simple moc, and I like the lore as well! Hope to see more of it sometime, neat job.

[NovaNuva]

Solek becomes the second Toa of Light approximately 250-300 years after the Great Cataclysm. (Still working out the exact time frame!)
Takanuva, the hero of Metru Nui and honorary seventh Toa Metru, is alive and well!
As for the Toa Mata… the last anyone saw of them was the Av-Matoran, who the Toa Mata defended bravely from the Avohkah at the dawn of the MU… well, except for [REDACTED].

Now, the Kadin… that would actually be pretty nifty, for Solek to be able to fly… especially since the Av-Matoran never developed their jetpacks (due to the Great Fall into Karda Nui never occurring).

[Eilrach]

cool build

[Toa-Panem]

Sweet moc. Love the hordika legs and weapon.

[Rhyla416]

like anything with solek - this is wonderful!

[Frogbomb518]

A masterpiece. He’s ethereal.

[WaterGafna]

Story is great, and I like the sword on the MOC. If I understand correctly, this is part of your New Light Alternate Universe? I like NLAU lot.

I very much like how Solek strives to emulate legendary Toa Mata. Solek likely sees Toa Mata as more functional than they are, these perfect ideal heroes to imitate in all things, which is rather funny, considering Toa Mata, while good, just are not perfect.

The mention of a tragedy is mysteriously ominous. What horrible fate befell the city?

Concerning the mask power, I agree with Solek having a flying mask, but think he could have a new and different form of flight. We had levitation, we had outright flight, so perhaps a floating bubble?

Kanohi Phuru, Mask of Bubble lets user to create a giant floating bubble around themselves. This bubble can be controlled, which would make Phuru best of the flying masks, if it was not easily broken, potentially sending user into freefall.

(Ph is likely pronounced like in old varieties of Ancient Greek. If I were to have to transliterate that to English it would be something like P;Hoo;Roo, not Foo;Roo) (The name is not Greek at all, being derived from the Old Chinese word for bubble. I took my best attempt to figure how the word should be pronounced, and modified it to fit BIONICLE more)

(I used Wiktionary to find a word to base name around. I originally wanted to use either Latin or Greek word, but the Latin word is plain ugly, and Greek word would need modifying very much, and its primary meaning is blister. I then wanted to use Japanese, and the word was good. Out of curiosity, I looked at Chinese, and found the Old Chinese word was even better than Japanese word, and so I picked it. I at first wanted to combine the two words, but they did not fit together well.)

[NovaNuva]

Correct! As I’m telling it currently, the NLAU has two ongoing storylines: the Past, and the Present. The Past storyline tells the adventures of Takua, Chronicler of the Toa Metru. The Present storyline tells the tale of Solek, the second Toa of Light. (The ‘new light’ for which my AU is named.)

Indeed! He only knows of the Toa Mata from the tales Kirop tells of how they bravely defended the Av-Matoran from the Avohkah, having never met them himself. So his idea of a Toa is rather idealized, not grounded in the reality of being a Toa.

As for the tragedy… that will be told soon enough… for Solek’s character, it’s significant because he feels responsible for letting it happen (despite the circumstances being beyond his control). And the specter of this will follow him (in a surprisingly literal way).

Mask of Bubble, huh? That sounds quite interesting, to be sure… I’ll have to ponder that one! I definitely love the concept! Especially with a name that is so well thought out