One of the earliest posts I made here featured my extended Toa Mata team. They were alright, but they weren’t great. I’ve improved a lot with Stud.io since then, so I figured I’d take a crack at upgrading them. Introducing… the new Secondary Toa Mata!
Buckle in, because this is going to be a long one.
Some Backstory:
The Toa Mata, as we all know, were created by Artakha himself with the purpose of reawakening Mata Nui should the Great Spirit ever fall ill. Each Toa Mata was a master of their element, with greater control than even other Toa. There was Tahu, Toa of Fire; Kopaka, Toa of Ice; Gali, Toa of Water; Lewa, Toa of Air; Pohatu, Toa of Stone; and last (but certainly not least) Onua, Toa of Stone.
Those were not the only Toa Mata, though. Artakha created eight more, one for each of the “secondary” elements. These Toa Mata were built as a failsafe - if the primary Toa failed, then these eight would be sent in to finish their job. After their creation, they were sent to Daxia where the Order of Mata Nui trained them and gave them their purpose. Once the training was finished, they were stored in Toa Canisters at a secure site off the coast of Metru Nui. If at least three Toa Mata died, the Canisters would automatically be launched.
Luckily, none of the six Toa died, so the backup team simply waited in their canisters. When the Great Cataclysm struck, the earthquakes damaged the site’s launch mechanisms. The canisters didn’t launch, but now the device that sensed the main six’s life forces was crippled. Though once its range was effectively infinite, there were now places it couldn’t reach - one of those places being Karda Nui. When the Toa Nuva were sent to the World that Feeds the World, the device assumed they had all instantly perished and it launched the backup team.
The team’s Canisters washed up on Mata Nui’s shores while the Bohrok were razing the island to the ground. Obviously it would only make sense that the hordes of rampaging monsters trying to destroy everything were the bad guys, so the Toa Mata leapt into action. They managed to slow the Bohrok down a little, but were ultimately unsuccessful in stopping them. While attempting to plan one final, desperate offensive, a strange giant suddenly teleported into their midst. This was Botar’s replacement, and he informed them of their folly before whisking them away.
The secondary Mata fought in the tail end of the Destiny War, and they participated in one of the many rebel groups against Teridax during the Reign of Shadows. During the Battle of Bara Magna, the team fought hard against the hordes of Rahkshi, taking down an entire legion of the Makuta’s Sons on their own.
As the years wore on, the team eventually split up. Only two of the Toa Mata still work with the Order. The rest moved onto other things.
I think that’s enough of a preamble. Let’s discuss the actual Toa themselves now.
Favlos
Species: Toa
Element: Magnetism
Kanohi: Hau, Great Mask of Shielding (Modified appearance)
Weapon(s): Dual Hookstaves
Abilities: Advanced control over magnetic fields; Shield generation
Affiliation(s): None; Order of Mata Nui (formerly)
Favlos was designed as a Turaga in Toa armor. To contrast with Tahu’s fiery energy and bold leadership, Favlos was made to be wise and cool-headed. His body, unfortunately, was also made to fit that role - even from his inception, he was old and frail. This made certain individuals (namely Boro and Bayi) question his role as leader. Whenever one of them challenged him, Favlos was quick to put them in their place - usually with his quick wit and aged wisdom, but sometimes with his strong Magnetism powers. By the end of the group’s training, Favlos had certainly earned his team’s respect.
It didn’t last too long. Favlos was very capable of leading his team on missions or dealing with their infighting. He did not have a head for military strategy, and so during the battles with the Bohrok, Favlos made some questionable decisions. He split the team into three smaller groups - already a bad idea - and sent them on missions that would ultimately be futile even if the groups had succeeded. Only one of them, the duo of Bayi and Detro, managed to consistently score victories.
Over the course of the Bohrok debacle, Favlos steadily lost his team’s support. Though they (mostly) still followed him, even Suul and Vokri had begun questioning his orders. Only Fenix, with his blind loyalty, stayed by Favlos’ side. It was a relief for the old Toa when the colossus teleported them away. Using what he had learned on Mata Nui, Favlos was able to gain some respect back during the ensuing disasters. Although Bayi and Ceviri left, the others stayed by his side during the Reformation.
After only a couple years on Spherus Magna, Favlos quit. He was getting too old. After bidding his teammates farewell, he embarked on a voyage to a secluded island on the edge of the Uncharted Sea. There, he continues to live as a hermit to this day. It’s a meager existence, but he enjoys his life there. Should his team ever come calling, though, he is prepared to don the mantle of leader once more.
Suul
Species: Toa
Element: Plasma
Kanohi: Sirwi, Great Mask of Rahi Control
Weapon(s): Charger Mace
Abilities: Advanced control over plasma; Extreme resistance to heat; Mental influence over Rahi beasts
Affiliation(s): Order of Mata Nui
Suul was among the more… “normal” of the Toa Mata. You’ll see what I mean by that later. He got along very well with Vokri and Favlos, while being generally friendly and open to all his teammates. Ever the bright mind, he was tinkering with things virtually as soon as he could. During his training, he always tried to think outside the box. There’s one event that can really show that. Much like Hydraxon before, the trainer (a four-armed giant who would later die to Voporak’s time field) removed the Toa’s masks and hid them around the training island. Suul’s Kanohi was placed within a super-chilled vault that, try as he might, he simply could not melt. The idea was to promote teamwork - if Suul reached out to Favlos or Fenix, one of them could use their powers to open the safe. Instead, Suul utilized stones, sticks, and any other debris he could find to construct a drill which he used to break into it. He accomplished the task, although the trainer was none too pleased by it.
To Suul, the Bohrok war was a chance to truly put his mind to the test. The engineer was put to work by Favlos to build something the Toa could use to win. Suul managed to create a two-legged, three-armed mech from Bohrok shells. As soon as the Toa of Plasma hopped into the cockpit, he realized something - behind the controls of a giant vehicle was where he was meant to be. Much to his dismay, Suul only got to use his glorious creation once before it was melted by Lehvak. He was devastated, but he had little time to dwell on it before Botar’s replacement came to whisk the Toa away.
Following the Reformation, Suul remained with the Order as an engineer. He designed, built, and tested countless new vehicles, such as the Thornatus V11 or Axela Speedbike. Of all the Toa Mata, Suul was probably the one who fought most to keep the team together, and who was most affected by its splintering. Now the only sibling he still works with is Vokri. If she were to leave the Order too… well, Suul tries not to think about it.
Also fun fact, Suul is the only Toa Mata (thus far) who has a physical moc
And of course I had to give him the Axelara:
Vokri
Species: Toa
Element: Lightning
Kanohi: Kopiko, Great Mask of Direction
Weapon(s): Typically the Surging Edge, her greatsword, but she has a very large collection of swords and occasionally uses some of those instead
Abilities: Advanced control over lightning and electricity; Superspeed (when charged with electricity); Knows the way to anywhere she needs to go
Affiliation(s): Order of Mata Nui
Vokri is another of the “normal” secondary Mata. Friendly, positive, and eager to fight, she was a good match with Suul. In fact, they got along better than anyone else in the group. During training, Vokri seemed to enjoy pretty much everything they did - especially weapon practice. She got quite good with her sword by the time they were stored in their canisters.
Against the Bohrok, Vokri used her speed and agility to her advantage. The tasks Favlos gave to her usually involved scouting, as she could go somewhere, explore, and leave before anyone even knew she was there. Even her speed wasn’t enough to stop the swarms, though, and Vokri was forced to retreat with the rest of her team.
After the Battle of Bara Magna, Vokri noticed that many of the opponents she felled had really cool swords. After the battle, she picked through the fields of corpses and took some of the most interesting ones. This was the start of her affinity for collecting things.
In the coming decades, Vokri spent thousands upon thousands of Widgets on her various collections. Her private arsenal of swords was certainly the most impressive, but she also has a substantial amount of clocks, toy Rahi, and interesting rocks/gems. The breadth of her collections is widely known, and her sleeping quarters in the Order HQ is so jam-packed with stuff that she has to store most of it in private storage houses.
I also gave Vokri an alternate look based on the color scheme I think Lightning should have gotten (blue and yellow):
Fenix
Species: Toa
Element: Iron
Kanohi: Falenx, Great Mask of Victory
Weapon(s): Ferrospear, Discus Shield
Abilities: Advanced control over specifically the atomic element of iron and other ferromagnetic metals; Enhanced strength compared to the other Toa Mata; Gains strength, stamina, and durability when his mask is active (though it leaves him proportionately weakened when it deactivates)
Affiliation(s): Fallen Sun; Order of Mata Nui (formerly)
Now we begin to delve into the stranger Toa Mata. Fenix was built as a tank, standing half a foot taller than his siblings and with muscles that put Pohatu to shame. He was always very dogmatic, accepting Favlos’ leadership without question and encouraging his teammates to do the same. Loyalty was pretty much all he cared about. Well, loyalty and the thrill of battle. He and Vokri got along quite well in that regard. They were teamed up during the Bohrok debacle, and the two fought like a single entity. Though Vokri was lightning-fast and nimble, she was frail and not too strong. Fenix was pretty much the exact opposite. The two managed to cover eachother’s weaknesses, for the most part.
Vokri also covered for one of Fenix’s greatest flaws: no matter how outnumbered he was, how stacked the odds were against him, the Toa of Iron would never retreat. Death was preferable to cowardice. So when the Bohrok inevitably overran their position, Vokri would have to knock Fenix out and drag him away, lest he be slaughtered by the hordes.
Fenix remained in the Toa Mata until Favlos retired. At that point, his team leader was gone, along with most of his teammates. The Toa Mata were over. That was when he was contacted by a mercenary group calling themselves the Fallen Sun. It consisted primarily of Skrall and was led by a Fire Tribe Glatorian. The Sun existed to wage war on behalf of others, and was strictly regimented to ensure loyalty and cohesion. This was perfect for Fenix, who accepted the invitation without hesitation.
The Fallen Sun truly was a dream come true for Fenix. It was everything he could have hoped for. Quickly the Toa rose through the ranks. In a matter of years, he went from a lowly grunt to a field commander to one of the creed’s top commandos. It helped that his loyalty to the leader, a Glatorian known only as Hellfire, was practically second to none. Currently, he serves as a commando and a drill sergeant, training new recruits to be just as great as him.
I also gave him an alternate color scheme based on another Toa of Iron moc I’ve made (though I haven’t posted him yet). Here you can see Fenix using his shield like a frisbee, which is his favorite method of fighting:
Ceviri
Species: Toa
Element: Psionics
Kanohi: Kiril, Great Mask of Regeneration
Weapon(s): None
Abilities: Advanced mastery of psionics, which includes (but is not limited to): Telepathy, mind control, telekinesis, illusions, and manifesting psionic energy as weapons, orbs, shapes, etc; Receives prophetic visions like Vakama (which are utter nonsense as often as they are true); Can heal inorganic objects if they have been damaged
Affiliation(s): Church of Mata Nui; Order of Mata Nui (formerly)
Ceviri was not always as… pious as she is today. Ever since she first awoke, she has had a deep spiritual connection to Mata Nui, but it was not so all-consuming at first. During her training, she often prayed, and sometimes received strange visions in return. These were typically nonsense, but not always. Her teammates found her a bit eccentric, but nonetheless she got along well with most of them.
Upon awakening on the shores of Mata Nui, Ceviri knew something was not right. Although Favlos and the rest insisted that the Bohrok needed to be stopped, something deep in Ceviri’s soul told her that the Bohrok were doing exactly what Mata Nui meant them to. Still, despite her misgivings, she went along with it. That was until she received a vision, in which she saw the Great Spirit Robot rising from the ocean. She knew then that what the Toa Mata were doing was wrong and they needed to leave now. After the vision passed, she hurried back to the base camp. An argument ensued between the Toa, each having a different idea on how to proceed, until Botar’s replacement came and took them all away.
As Ceviri watched Mata Nui and Teridax battle it out on the sands of Bara Magna, she had the most intense and vivid vision of her life. Mata Nui stood in front of her and implored her to “carry out [his] will” and “save the souls of the desert savages”. It was at that moment that Ceviri became much more… severe.
Along with a few others, including Toa, Turaga, and ex-Order members, Ceviri established the Church of Mata Nui, a religious organization dedicated to spreading the good word of Mata Nui. Her work was not taken kindly by the Agori, and Ceviri did not take kindly to their heresy. In the coming years, her biggest adversary would be the League of Three Kingdoms, a defensive pact between the Skrall Empire, Kingdom of Zakaz, and Vorox Confederacy. Although she hasn’t been able to yet, she would like nothing more than to lead a righteous crusade against the League and either exterminate or “convert” the barbaric heathens living there.
I also gave Ceviri an alternate look. Pink and purple are both criminally underused colors in Bionicle, and Psionics should absolutely have used them as its primary color scheme.
Detro
Species: Toa
Element: Sonics
Kanohi: Thanatu, Great Mask of Undeath
Weapon(s): Vibro-Claw
Abilities: Advanced control over sound and sonic waves; Can return from death once (albeit with significantly reduced mental faculties and physical abilities)
Affiliation(s): New Atero Scrapyard; Order of Mata Nui (formerly)
Poor, poor Detro. He was the last of the Toa Mata to be designed, and by that point Artakha may or may not have been running out of high-quality Toa parts. When he built Detro, some weak joins were used, which would come back to bite the Toa sooner or later.
At first, Detro was fine. He was a bit reserved and did not speak often, but he still enjoyed being in the company of his siblings. Due to his quiet nature, he was the only Toa that Bayi actually kind-of got along with. Detro passed much of his training with flying colors, quickly learning how to use sound as a weapon and tool even when his hearing was so sensitive. Alas, it was not to last, and everything started going downhill when he climbed into his canister.
Over the countless millennia, Detro’s body began to decay. To be fair, he wasn’t special in that regard - even the original six Toa Mata decayed during their slumber. Unlike them, though, Detro did not fully heal when he stepped onto the shore of Mata Nui. His joints were irreversibly damaged. And that wasn’t all - during his rest, his hearing had somehow completely slipped away. Now fully deaf, Detro had to adapt quickly. One issue: When being constantly assaulted by Bohrok, there really was no time for that. While on missions with Bayi, Detro learned fast how to live without hearing, although he still had a lot of trouble. This all culminated with Detro and Bayi being sent to stop a Tahnok swarm in Le-Wahi. The duo went into the jungle and was soon surrounded by Bohrok. Bayi expected for the two to stand and fight, but Detro panicked and fled, leaving the Toa of Gravity to fend for himself. As Detro sprinted back towards the Toa camp, his bad joints finally caught up with him. His right leg fell off. It quite literally just disconnected from his hip mid-stride. Shocked and in pain, Detro hobbled back the rest of the way on one foot.
At the camp, Detro informed his friends how Bayi was killed in action. Each hand motion sent daggers into the Toa’s heart, but what else could he say? Admitting the truth was just not an option, and to be honest, Bayi probably died there anyway. Imagine Detro’s surprise when the black-and-purple Toa came stomping back to the camp, murder in his eyes. The arrival of Botar’s replacement was probably the only thing that saved Detro from being killed right then and there.
In order to avoid Bayi’s vengeance, Detro went into hiding as soon as he could. During a battle with Skakdi on Bara Magna, the Toa decided to fake his death and run away. He hid out in a small mountain range for a few years until the city of New Atero was complete. Upon reaching the city, he lived in the streets as a vagabond for another decade or so. He moved around often and stayed on the outskirts of town. As the years passed, more and more of Detro’s limbs and armor fell off, forcing him to build replacements. Often he would scavenge through the New Atero Scrapyard, the largest junkyard on the Bara Gaia continent, for parts. The scrapyard expanded slowly as more and more people dumped their junk there, eventually becoming so big that Detro was able to just camp there full-time.
Around seventy-five years after the Reformation, the administrator of the scrapyard retired. Detro, feeling a bit bold, stepped up and offered to take over the role. Despite having no experience in administration and being a vagabond, his offer was accepted. The scrapyard has since flourished, although few know that Detro was responsible for it. He still pretends to be little more than a homeless vagabond living among the trash, and so far that has been a good enough cover story to keep Bayi from finding him.
Bayi
Species: Toa
Element: Gravity
Kanohi: Urutau, Great Mask of Adaptation
Weapon(s): Grav-Dagger
Abilities: Advanced control over gravity and gravitational fields; Immediate adaptation to adverse climates and situations
Affiliation(s): Hunters’ Guild; Order of Mata Nui (formerly)
Despite the odd quirks of the other Toa Mata, they were mostly “normal” from the beginning. Bayi was not like that. He was cold, standoffish, and reclusive from the get-go. In battle, his strategies often shocked his teammates with how violent and cutthroat they were. Bayi had little time for things like “morals” or the “Toa Code”. To him, it was either kill or be killed. But when paired with his cold and often cruel attitude, his Toa siblings didn’t see his pragmatic reasoning. They just saw him as a soon-to-be murderer. They weren’t far off.
Bayi didn’t necessarily enjoy killing. He simply saw no practical alternative. That being said, he did enjoy waging war on the Bohrok at least a little - until Detro betrayed him and left him stranded against an army of Tahnok. Seeing no other options, Bayi created a small black hole which destroyed all the Tahnok and a good chunk of the jungle before collapsing. The Toa of Gravity stomped back to the camp, fully intending to kill Detro on sight. Unfortunately he was interrupted by Botar’s replacement.
Bayi abandoned his team and the Order as a whole as soon as he could. He toyed with the idea of joining the Dark Hunters or another criminal group at first, but ended up enlisting in the Hunters’ Guild. It wasn’t long before he gained a reputation as a master assassin, taking only bounties that were wanted dead. All the while, he has been searching for Detro, eagerly awaiting the time when he can finally take his revenge.
Boro, aka Rho
Species: Toa
Element: Plantlife
Kanohi: Faxon, Great Mask of Kindred (modified); Marmaru, Great Mask of Chameleon (formerly)
Weapon(s): Silverbow; Protosteel arrows; Pyro arrows; Flood arrows; Thunder arrows; Cordak arrows; Golden Longblade; Energy sword; Twin Thorn Daggers; Power Anchors; Oaken Shortbow (formerly)
Abilities: Advanced chlorokinesis; Mimicry of any form of plantlife
Affiliation(s): Hunters’ Guild; Order of Mata Nui (formerly)
Boro is a name that has not been uttered in a long time. Like Bayi, Boro was a lone wolf. He did not like working with the other Toa one bit, and rarely even interacted with them. Despite Suul’s attempts at friendliness and Favlos’ attempts to convince him to work with his siblings, Boro stayed frosty at best towards them. So much did he dislike the idea of working in a team that he snuck away one night. He just… vanished. Using his Mask of Chameleon, which allowed him to perfectly blend in with his surroundings, he was able to escape the compound on Daxia he was being kept in. Boro bid the island goodbye and sailed away on a raft made from tree trunks and vines.
After a few days at sea, Boro reached a small, temperate, forested island. It was the perfect place for him. Boro made a log cabin, grew a garden, and started hunting the island’s Rahi for recreation. Eventually he would discover that he wasn’t alone on the island - deep within the forest resided a village of Bo- and Onu-Matoran. Although Boro didn’t want to introduce himself, he did act as the village’s mysterious protector, stopping hostile Rahi beasts and using his power to prevent famines during dry summers. Boro remained elusive, never revealing himself to any of the villagers (save for the resident Turaga). After all, he wasn’t seeking praise or worship. It was a meager existence, but Boro - or Rho, as he decided to call himself from then on - didn’t mind. A quiet life of farming and hunting was infinitely preferable to saving Mata Nui’s life and fighting Makuta. And in his off time, he read up on ancient tablets given to him by the Turaga. From their teachings, Rho learned some very rudimentary magic, which sparked an interest in the art.
While on a hunt, Rho stumbled across an injured Fikou Nui trapped under some fallen trees. Although the Toa was originally going to put the beast out of its misery, something about the spider’s cries struck him. Instead, he rescued it. Rho expected for the spider to attack him, but it was remarkably docile. He nursed the Fikou back to health and named her Samsari. He soon learned that Samsari wasn’t exactly normal. She had been altered substantially by an unknown party, and her webs had some sort of teleportation effect. When she spun a web (though for a Fikou Nui, a “web” is more a den of silk) it joined up with any other webs she had made before, transforming them into a fast travel system. Simply walk through one and emerge somewhere completely different. Rho used this to his advantage, having Samsari create several webs across the island so he could get around quickly.
For a long time, Rho and the village remained isolated from the larger world, until a wooden sailing ship appeared on their horizon. A being that Rho supposed was a Toa of Water stepped ashore. As the island’s guardian, Rho intercepted him and asked his business. The being introduced himself as Lord Atlan, explorer and naturalist. The two ended up talking, and Atlan informed Rho of a new Guild of huntsmen that had just been formed. Intrigued, Rho agreed to travel with Atlan to visit said guild. With a heavy heart, the secret Toa Mata left his village and home behind, taking only his weapons and Samsari with him.
On the voyage, Atlan made a pit stop at the island of Nynrah for resupply. While ashore, Rho decided to take advantage of the opportunity. He bought new weapons, along with a change of armor and some body modifications to appear much less like the Order’s runaway Toa Mata. Although he had no currency, he was able to grow some very valuable plants that the crafters there accepted as payment. Now with a new look and new weapons, Rho continued on the voyage until they reached Stelt, their destination.
It was on Stelt that Rho met the leaders of the fledgling Hunters’ Guild, a Toa of Ice called Wizzerd and a Toa of Fire named Joshur. They welcomed him into the Guild with open arms. Despite Rho’s distaste for group work, he took a liking to the Guild. It was there that he met a robot named Mecn who reminded him a lot of Suul. Much to Rho’s surprise, the two actually got along quite well, and (against Rho’s better judgement) soon became good friends.
During the Destiny War, the bounty hunters of the Guild became mercenaries, paid by the Order to pick off Brotherhood agents and sympathizers. This continued into the Reign of Shadows, though following the Reformation the Guild was returned to its original purpose. In the mostly-lawless continents of Bara and Bota Gaia, bounty hunting was the best way to keep criminals off the streets. Rho enjoyed a nice boom of business in those uncertain times, collecting a few new weapons in the process.
One day, maybe thirty years after the Reformation, a thief named Kanii broke into the Guild’s headquarters, located on the small, frigid continent of Tundris Gaia. Kanii was caught, and among his possessions that the Guild confiscated were a few magical tomes he had stolen from one of the Order’s leaders. Rho decided to hold onto these and studied them. With their help, he was able to invent a powerful tool called a Power Anchor. These nullified all the “special” or “magic” abilities of anyone and anything in range, whether they be a Toa’s elemental powers, a Skakdi’s eyebeams, or a Kanoka disc. Rho kept the secret to creating them close to his chest, since he believed no one but himself could be trusted with such devices. Although believe me, many have tried to figure it out.
Everything was good for Rho until fairly recently, when a bounty destroyed his Kanohi Marmaru, which he was pretty upset about. He tried a few different masks that the Guild had in their archives, but none of them worked for him. So, Rho bit the bullet and visited Kanii, now released and running a pawn shop. Kanii sold Rho a very, very special mask. It was a Faxon made of wood, and instead of mimicking Rahi beasts it mimicked plants. Although Kanii charged two arms and two legs for it, Rho coughed up the payment. Ever since, he has continued enjoying a pretty steady workflow. Life has been good.
And here’s how Rho looks now, along with Samsari:
Phew! That was a lot. If it was a lot for you to read, don’t worry, it was a lot for me to write. I started this post three days ago. In any case, I really hope you enjoyed! These are vast improvements to my old secondary Mata (which in turn were vast improvements to the original secondary Mata models) and I’m really glad with how they turned out. And since I’m not sure where else to put this, here is a view of the pedestals without the Toa on them:
Alright, now I’m done.
