#buruka

Aswang Party 02: Boroka

Pyla keeping up with her training regimen. Buruka’s helping out.

The Toa Magna (And Friends)

“I know it’s a crazy idea. To think that if we have the nerve to just step up and do it, we can conquer evil and save the world. To think that a handful of people can be the crucial factor that makes all the difference, when everything seems so hopeless. But the even crazier thing is it works. You of all people should know that. You said your name was Balta, right? And your friend sulking in the corner over there is Dalu. I know about you two. Toa Kongu told me. You’re already heroes; you and your friends beat the odds and saved the world when you were just matoran. And now you’re toa! Think of what we could accomplish if we all worked together. The Makuta Nuva will never know what hit him!” - Pyla, Glatorian of New Tesara and Leader of the Toa Magna

“What is a toa team? That question was once easy to answer, back before the Great Rejoining. But now I’m not so sure. Things are more complicated. Like those Glatorian that have elemental powers. They claim Mata Nui himself called them toa. Are they a toa team? We call them the Toa Glatoria, but ask someone if they’re actually toa and you’re bound to start an argument. Does a toa team have to be all toa? What about the glatorian and agori? And the matoran... there are thousands of admirable matoran warriors who have always been a crucial part of our society despite going unnoticed and unthanked. Just look at Kapura and the Ta-Koro Guard. Since the rejoining I have even seen warriors of Stelt and Zakaz, peoples that used to disgust me, fight passionately and honorably to protect the law, culture, and freedom of our new world. Dare we call them toa? I think that one day soon there will be a toa team that will redefine the meaning of that term. One that will make us truly consider what being a Toa entails at its very core, apart from the body and the powers. A toa team for the new world, for all the people of the new world, or at least a start to getting there. And when that team appears, I will name them the Toa Magna.” - Turaga Dume’s secret journal

***

Things were rapidly going wrong in Bara Magna. Makuta Onezu Nuva’s grip over the southeast was growing ever wider and stronger, and even the desperate emergency plan put into motion by Turaga Pohatu had somehow gone awry. Tanma had not arrived at Faxon Koro as planned. Rahaga Kafes was distraught.

But perhaps destiny was still on the side of light. In this darkest of hours, fate had gathered in and around Faxon Koro a small group of beings: some weary, disillusioned veteran heroes; some driven and reckless youngsters; many, in some strange way, both at the same time. All of them more powerful than anyone suspected, least of all themselves. All of them unsettled at what was happening to their people. All of them lost and unsure of what to do... except, perhaps, the young Glatorian from New Tesara. She had a fire inside her. She could unite them.

With her help, Kafes organized one last stand. They created a team. An unlikely crew to be sure, but one that somehow gave Kafes more reassurance than she had had in years. It was a sign. Mata Nui was with them. The team’s mission? Find out what happened to the Toa Avohkii. Bring them back. And strike at Onezu when and where he would never expect it.

As they set off on their journey, not even the most optimistic among them understand how crucial they will be in the days ahead. Or how deep the bonds they forge with each other will be. Now, they are simply a group of people looking to help. But they will go down in legend as the first true toa team of the new age. The Toa Magna.

Team Roster (*honorary toa magna and member of the reformed VNRT)

Pyla of the Jungle Tribe - team leader, warrior, and morale booster

Balta, Toa of Fire - deputy leader and warrior

*Garan - deputy leader and strategist

*Kazi - strategist

Irex, Toa Hordika of Air - scout and air support

*Piruk - scout, warrior, and spy

Dalu, Toa of Water - primary offensive warrior

Gyraci - primary defensive warrior and combat expert

Buruka - mascot, pet, and annoyance

***

THEY’RE HERE! MY INCREDIBLY SELF-INDULGENT TOA TEAM!

*confetti*

Once again, I shove in all of the voyatoran just because I can. In all seriousness though, I really did want to include Garan, Kazi, and Piruk in the story, and Buruka’s just fun to throw in there too, but really the core toa team here is the toa and glatorian. Also, fun fact, this whole project (by which I mean both the ROO story and the blog) was basically all started when I came up with the character concept for Gyraci of all people. The whole story and all the characters I built (original or not) grew out of thinking about who he would be and how he would interact with people. Not that he’s, like, the star of the show or anything (if I had to choose a protagonist for ROO at this point it would be either Dalu or Tanma), but I did just want to acknowledge that he was the catalyst for everything I’ve done with this story and this blog.

And with that... this concludes all of the MOCs I was planning to post related to this weird little story I’ve been doing. I don’t really know if this is end of ROO content on this blog or not... I’d like to come back to it and maybe actually WRITE SOMETHING at some point, and maybe someday I’ll come up with more ideas for characters to build and add to it. But at this point in time I’ve gone through all of the character ideas I had, and I have other original MOCing content I wanna post for a while.

Pyla, Glatorian of New Tesara

***

In the post-rejoining world of Bara Magna, there is no longer any need for the glatorian arena system. Resources are plentiful, and all of the major Agori tribes are now allied as part of the Matagori nation. Glatorian warriors have modeled their new role in society on the matoran’s toa: they are noble protectors of the matagori both in peace and in battle. To be a glatorian is still an honorable and coveted position within the agori tribes. Perhaps even more so, now that agori society is gradually growing less harsh and cynical.

Despite still being a rookie, Pyla has more than earned that honor.

Pyla is a young glatorian of the jungle tribe. Though she was alive well before the Great Rejoining, she and others of her approximate age are still considered by most to be “new worlders”, part of the first generation of matagori to grow up in a reformed, post Rejoining world. Pyla became a rookie glatorian of the Jungle Tribe just a few short years before the Rejoining, and ever since she has been in training as one of a group of apprentices to the legendary veteran glatorian Vastus. Despite studying alongside both glatorian and toa, Pyla rose to the top of her class over time, not only because of her combat skill but also because of her sharp mind and natural affinity for leadership. Some say she has a natural talent for handling rahi too... not because she actually does, but because Buruka, the village nuisance, happened to take a liking to her (he follows her around whether she wants him to or not). She is now in line to become the official secondary glatorian of the Jungle Tribe whenever Vastus retires.

Unfortunately, just before Pyla and her fellow students could graduate as full-fledged glatorian, Onezu’s empire arose. In New Tesara, a city now constantly under attack, most of the veteran toa and glatorian are leading the defense while the rookies fill out the ranks. But Pyla, as the most capable of Vastus’s students, has been entrusted with the dangerous duty of a courier. She travels many kio between New Tesara and other wartorn cities to deliver messages and supplies. But Pyla longs to take a more active role in the conflict. Maybe if she meets the right people in her travels she’ll get her chance...

***

Newest character in the ROO crew (is it okay if I just call them that from now on?)

Buruka

In the jungles surrounding new Tesara, 100 years after the great rejoining of Spherus Magna, there dwells one very mischievous creature. Experienced travelers and traders on the forest roads are always on the lookout for this infamous ape.. snake… thing high in the trees, lest they find their goods stolen for food or themselves pelted with overripe fruit for sport. Some say Buruka was once long ago a matoran or even a turaga, a hapless victim of the Visorak Hordes of old who succumbed completely to hordika madness. Others dismiss this story as nonsense and say that he’s just a particularly rare and intelligent species of rahi. Despite his initially frightening appearance, Buruka is, as the victims of his pranks and thefts know, ultimately harmless. He just wants food and entertainment. But his curious nature and his penchant for antagonizing New Tesarans would definitely land him in some serious trouble… if he wasn’t so good at evading capture.

This guy is an old MOC. Not sure why or when I built him, but I still like him. Sorry about the iffy background and lighting, this is honestly the best place I have to stage photographs right now. If you’re on desktop, click through the photos to see captions.

Kafes, Rahaga of Lightning

Kafes was once a Turaga. Loved by her villagers, honored by her peers, she watched over Keta-Koro, a newly established matoran village on the plains of Spherus Magna. Life was peaceful and good in this brave new world.

Then tragedy struck. A swarm of visorak appeared one day, as if from thin air. It was a small and chaotic group, nothing like the great horde of olden days, but nevertheless they swept through a community that was completely unprepared for them. Keta-Koro was the first town to be hit. The Visorak were defeated at great cost by a small army of brave Glatorian and Agori, but not before Keta-Koro was wiped from the map. Buildings leveled. Foodstores burned. Every single matoran captured and transformed into hordika.

It was Kafes that picked up the pieces. When others despaired, she rebuilt. She gathered the scattered and mutated matoran back under her wing. She gave them the strength and support they needed to fight off hordika madness. With them she built a new village. She even gained the support and favor of her neighbors in New Tesara when it was discovered that she could control Buruka (he only does what she tells him to 30% of the time, but that’s 30% more than he does for anyone else).

Some outsiders call Kafes’s new village Hordika-Koro, but Kafes calls it Faxon-Koro... the village of kindred. And the name is accurate. As ramshackle and isolated as it is, Faxon-Koro is a community of trust. A family. It is a place that hordika from around the world can call home, can turn to for love, support, and acceptance. And it’s all because, even when things were at their darkest, Kafes didn’t give up.

Another old MOC. I think the idea was to design a better Rahaga than what lego did. Which basically just means adding that ball joint for neck articulation. I also took off the Rhotuka spinner because I kind of prefer it off.