After listening to the last TTV podcast (119) I have realised that now all the pieces are put together.
As explained in the podcast episode it is possible that Lego has intentionally left some hints/connections that could be used to connect the new Bionicle universe with the old one.
This is my version of how the universes might be linked.
It all started when I watched the new Bionicle trailer that was posted on the Bionicle official Facebook page. Most people have probably noticed that but I am going to repeat this. If you stop the trailer at 00:54 you can see Ekimu and Makuta shaking hands. On their left in the sky you can also see a VERY weirdly shaped cloud.
To me personally it reminds me only of one thing. Vahi, the Mask of Time.
Looking at what we have in the new Bionicle plot we have already seen two hints regarding time. First is the Vahi-shaped cloud and second is the mentioning of the “Temple of Time”. We don’t know exactly what this place is but I would assume that the Temple of Time is the place that we see in the trailer, where saw the Maskmakers.
The whole thing with time travel is backed up by the hints thrown by a Lego representatives. More on that you can find out in the last TTV podcast episode (119).
In addition to that another hint was given about Vahi being just a half of a mask (see the same video).
This is where this gets interesting. Vahi is one of three legendary Kanohi. Except Vahi other two legendary Kanohi were actually created by the Great Beings. Vahi however is a bit different.
As we all know in the old Bionicle Matoran Universe the Mask of Time was created by Vakama when he was Toa Metru. Considering that other two legendary masks were created by the Great Beings, it is possible that Vakama has created just a half of the mask due to his nature or his abilities at that time. That would explain Vahi being a “half of a mask”.
Now let’s talk about Mask of Creation. According to the text description it seems appropriate to assume that this is what Artakha’s mask would look like. So, as soon as we knew that the Mask of Creation is going to be introduced in the new Bionicle line, many people thought that we will see Artakha. But, unfortunately, we didn’t.
But consider this. What would happen if Artakha was to create Vahi? As we know Artakha and Karzahni were created by the Great Beings, which we would make them probably the closest ones by the power they have. In addition to that, according to the Mask of Creation description, Artakha could create virtually anything using his mask if he knew how this thing is made. So I think that combining just his power and the abilities of his mask he could create Vahi.
More than that, he could create a “full” Vahi.
Well, guess what… Artakha actually did create Vahi. But another one.
Do you remember a guy called Takanuva? How he traveled through lots of dimensions and universes to find Toa Nuva before their final battle in Karda-Nui?
Well, one of this universes was the Toa Empire which was ruled by evil Toa Tuyet. In that universe Takanuva met Makuta Teridax and Kriika who in exchange for finding Brutaka gave him the task to prevent Toa Tuyet from receiving Vahi which was supposed to be delivered by Jaller and two Toa Hagah. And in that universe the mask was created… by Artakha.
To fully understand what I am talking about you should read a web-series called “Dark Mirror”.
So Artakha could use Vahi to travel to Okoto and for some reason give his mask to Ekimu. On this topic there is another interesting fact from the same podcast episode. When asked whether the Maskmakers have created their own masks themselves, Lego representatives said that they can’t say anything about it. It could be that the Great Being have created their masks, or that Ekimu actually got the mask from Artakha.
I guess right now this is all I came up with.
This theory however have some details to be settled. According to the same episode, the six Toa we meet in the new Bionicle line are the same Toa Nuva we met before. It could be easy to say that Artakha took all six Toa with him when he travelled to Okoto. However we meet them in the Toa Empire. In addition to that nearly all of them were evil and served Toa Tuyet.
But I can’t help but think this theory is the one that brings all the mysteries together: half-Vahi, time travel, Mask of Creation.
What do you guys think about this?
Update
There is one more thing that I forgot to mention when creating this topic.
Putting aside all the theories and speculations, we know that a Lego employee has heavily hinted to the time travel topic even when he wasn’t asked about it. He also hinted that Vahi looks “like just a half of the mask”.
While I was building up my theory I visited the biosector01 article about Vahi. In the section “Set Information” it says that the Vahi was the first Kanohi designed by Lego.
So…
Is this another great secret like Mata-Nui being a giant robot? Did the Bionicle team decided from the very start of the series that Vahi would be just a “half of a mask”? That Vahi would play such a big role in the future?
That’s an interesting topic…