In the Time After Time, it is told
How, being enlightened by the Sage Takanuva,
Marendar, the wrath of the Great Beings, turned
Upon the remaining Element Lords...
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        Letâs talk about the cancelled Bota Magna arc of Bionicle.
        We know the general synopsis of the Valley of the Maze arc, which wouldâve had its own film as a sequel to The Legend Reborn. We can see how 2009 laid the groundwork for what shouldâve been 2010; Thereâs the mention of the Element Lords, as well as Tardukâs quest. Thereâs emphasis on the maze and the Skrall, the setup of the Baterra that Tuma is struggling with, as well as the map that alludes to the Great Volcano up north; Later revealed to be artificial and housing a power source used in the Prototype Robot.
        But Iâm curious about the Bota Magna arc⌠The synopsis of the fifth film âwhich keep in mind was a rough draft- ended with the Great Volcano erupting, unleashing its power source in an arc of energy that would strike the Prototype Robot and power it. By this point, itâs ready for Mata Nui to control, thus setting the stage for the final battle with Makuta. However, Mata Nui is unable to do this, because he, Kiina, and Ackar are diverted to the jungle moon of Bota Magna instead.
        I questioned what was even the point of the Bota Magna arc beyond presumable filler, an attempt to sell Bionicle dinosaurs as toys; We know thatâs what Bota Magna wouldâve had, hence Reign of Shadows mentioning biomechanical dinosaurs. And I presume Bara Magnaâs Rock Steeds were the prelude to these dinosaurs, likely beasts who were left behind on Bara Magna and managed to survive in the desert.
        But thereâs an important plot thread set up multiple times in TLR, as well as the previous Bionicle saga; The Great Beings. We never get to see them show up despite all this buildup of finding them, and the Yesterday Quest has our team of protagonists search for the Great Beings⌠In Bota Magna. And itâs clear that Greg is trying to write in some cancelled concepts from the original years of 2010 and 2011 for Bionicle; The Element Lords being Velikaâs generals is likely to make up for how they were robbed of being 2010âs main villains.
        And while a lot of things are just Greg inserting stuff into canon for the heck of it, thereâs also the confirmation of at least one Great Being on Bota Magna; The one cursed by the Ignika, which also plays a central role in the Bara Magna arc, despite its soft reboot nature. Thus, aside from pulling in buyers with the allure of dinosaurs, I think the Bota Magna arc wouldâve served as the long-awaited introduction of the Great Beings, and likely wrapped up a lot of questions and origins for Mata Nui and the Great Spirit Robot.
        After all, what else is there to do, when the Prototype Robot is fully-powered and ready to go by the end of 2010? What narrative reason is there to divert and delay Mata Nui from his quest, when he should otherwise be ready to fight Makuta⌠Besides the Great Beings? The Bota Magna arc wouldâve brought in the Great Beings, and the dinosaurs wouldâve been additional worldbuilding that leads up to their presence; Itâs confirmed that the Great Beings modified fauna such as the Skopio or Iron Wolves, after all. So the region where they were located would, presumably, suffer the most from their science.
        Mata Nuiâs quest for closure on the Great Beings likely wouldâve put him at odds with the Glatorian and Agori who despise technology. Their armor is âsyntheticâ, being a fusion of metal and plantlife, and they wield tools of similar substances, as well as stone. In addition to dinosaurs, we probably wouldâve gotten some Glatorian-Agori sets with new armor and weapon pieces that reflect this symbiotic nature, likely dual-molded.
        Thus, while Mata Nui has to grapple with dinosaurs, he inevitably earns the ire of the Bota Magna Glatorian and Agori when he brings up the Great Beings. And the presence of said Great Beings probably means that the Glatorian-Agori were at odds with them for a while, post-Shattering. Mata Nui mightâve eventually called the Great Beings out on their meddling with nature, and how their projects have potentially harmed Bota Magna and given its inhabitants more reason to be distrustful of them.
        Not only that, but we mightâve gotten to see the Skrall homeland, which we know was on Bota Magna. Thus, itâs possible we couldâve gotten a set or two regarding Bota Magna Skrall, or it could just be a brief detail that Greg threw in, that wouldnât factor into the primary storyline that much. Thereâs also the Northern Frost, where the Ignika was cooled, also located on Bota Magna; So both locations may have been planned for the cancelled 2011 arc.
        Now I want to get onto the Mask of Life. As I mentioned, it was brought over with Mata Nui as part of the soft reboot nature of the Magna saga, and its deadly powers have been showcased; Imbuing weapons with elemental energy, transforming living things, and so forth. While the Cursed Being was introduced way back in 2006, I think he wouldâve been brought back in 2011, as the story was nevertheless still exploring the power of the Mask of Life. So while Bota Magna finally shows us the Great Beings, in doing so this arc explores the origins of Mata Nui⌠As well as the Mask of Life heâs wearing. I donât think itâs a coincidence that a place vital to Ignikaâs creation, as well as a Great Being afflicted by it, is all here.
        And given how verdant Bota Magna is, teeming with all sorts of biodiversity, it probably wouldâve been a setting to further explore the Mask of Lifeâs full potential. It's got plenty of life to work with, as well as a Great Being who could give insight into its creation, with the Northern Frost providing additional lore. This Cursed Being couldâve been an antagonist as well, possibly bearing ill will against the Mask of Life and wanting it destroyed or removed, which would of course put him at odds with Mata Nui.
        Who knows? If the Mask of Life was going to become more relevant and have its origins explored with Mata Nuiâs on Bota Magna⌠Maybe its consciousness, as Ignika the person, would finally return! Given how Mata Nuiâs arc is about learning to be a better leader and make up for his neglect, perhaps we wouldâve seen Ignika continue his storyline of becoming a proper hero, and owning up to his mistakes; Possibly resolving things with the Cursed Being and freeing him of his curse as apology, setting up parallels with Mata Nui with taking responsibility. They are physically intertwined with one another, after all, to the point where Mata Nui is associated with Ignika, and Ignika has the GSR on its visage too!
        Now, Kabrua and his Vorox. This is possibly just a thing Greg threw in of his own volition, but maybe itâs not! The Vorox did get a hard deal back on Bara Magna, and Mata Nui represents Sand; Heâs the closest thing to a Glatorian Legend set for the Vorox that weâd get, his first encounter is against one, and his sword made from its stinger! Mata Nui is thematically tied to the Vorox in that sense.
        They may not have had sets, but perhaps Kabrua and his Vorox would be antagonists, having a grudge on the Glatorian because they⌠Somehow know how their brethren on Bara Magna have been treated? Okay thatâs kinda weak, but maybe thereâs communication tech that told them, since Velika had that. Kabrua possibly recognizes Mata Nuiâs sword as a Vorox stinger and is made even more hostile as a result.
        As a growing ruler, Mata Nui takes it upon himself to help the Vorox, making peace with Kabrua; The Mask of Life, whose potential is being explored here, is offered as a possible solution. Given how it made Icarax devolve as a Makuta, perhaps Ignika could do the same/reverse, undoing the degeneration of the Vorox. Now itâs possible Kabrua actually tries to take the Ignika away from Mata Nui for this purpose, and this is another reason for conflict, rather than a solution to it; Getting some old Barraki vibes hereâŚ
        Finally, thereâs one more thing I want to discuss, and thatâs the infamous Earth Tribe. Now, itâs possible that this was never planned, and Greg just made it up out of nowhere to throw the fans a bone with new story content, that sort of thing. But based on what we know about the Earth Tribe, as well as the Valley of the Maze film⌠I think the Earth Tribe was, for the most part, a planned part of the Bota Magna arc.
        The first hint is the presence of Tera, a Glatorian of the Earth Tribe. They wouldâve been in the Valley of the Maze film, and I donât think Greg misremembered Teraâs element, either. The fifth filmâs climax wouldâve had our protagonists open a door requiring all of the elements, though Iron was unfortunately left out as always. Hence, thatâs why the characters of âBucketheadâ the Skrall, Oris the Jungle Glatorian, Likus of Ice, wouldâve been included; They fulfill elemental quotas. And I donât think the toy designers and story writers would want to include a redundant protagonist.
        Because Buckethead has so much of a role in the Valley of the Maze film, I doubt Tera was meant to take his place as Rock, and Greg made a mistake; Their name invokes Terra, meaning Earth to begin with! And I donât think they were meant to be Sand, either- Mata Nui fulfills that role, heâs literally made of Sand and arguably more Element Lord than Glatorian. I think Greg remembered Teraâs element properly, that there was going to be a new tribe, the Earth Tribe, introduced- And Tera would be our setup to this ânewâ element.
        Their character couldâve also been a potential source of exposition, one foreshadowing and building up to the reveal of the Earth Tribe, for their proper role in the Bota Magna arc. Iâm guessing we wouldâve learned from Tera how the Earth Tribe didnât participate in the Core War, with the Earth Lordâs machinations possibly laid outright, or saved to be revealed in 2011. If the Earth Lordâs evil isnât known by this point, itâs possible Mata Nui and co. would assume the Earth Tribe as good thanks to their experience with Tera. We mightâve seen the Earth Tribe welcome them in with open arms, only for the Earth Lordâs evil to be revealed, as she plans to use Mata Nui for her own nefarious purposes.
        Perhaps she wouldâve been after the Great Beings, just want to control Bota Magna, etc. While the other Glatorian-Agori of Bota Magna are shown to be paranoid, itâs possible some deadly foreshadowing would occur, with a few warning Mata Nui and revealing the Earth Tribeâs machinations; Only to be dismissed as ignorant savages. Alas, just because Tera was good, doesnât mean the rest of their tribe is⌠Theyâre introduced in the same year as Buckethead, who is also a good representative of an antagonistic tribe.
        We know from Greg that the Earth Tribe wouldâve had brown and black coloration, and their motif is agriculture. Their connection to Earth wouldâve been about soil for farming, rather than mining; And in canon, they cited their lack of participation in the Core War as concern for the planet and nature. The Earth Tribe would probably be initially presented as harmless, nature-loving hippies, and the Earth Lord as a âgoodâ Element Lord, a Mother Nature-esque figure⌠Only for the Earth Tribeâs true colors to be revealed. The Earth Lord would take on the role of a Gaia-esque figure, perhaps a vengeful Mother Earth, though Iâm not sure if sheâd care about the planet like an actual Mother Earth character would.
        The nature-loving motif of the Earth Tribe also places them well at home on Bota Magna, and in canon, most of their population was stranded on the jungle moon. That makes them an even better fit for Bota Magna, and thus gives more reason to believe they were planned as part of the Bota Magna arc as a whole. Since I speculate we wouldâve gotten more lore and information about the origins of the series, the Earth Lordâs machinations in orchestrating the Core War would tie well into this.
        Her control over soil would make the Earth Lord very deadly; Possibly allowing her to pull more weight than an individual Element Lord normally did in the previous year, thanks to suitable terrain. Her elementâs connection to nature through the soil it grows in would be weaponized, to make the Earth Lord an antagonist well-suited to the setting; But not as OP as the Jungle Lord. Thus, the Earth Lord is connected enough to nature to be a threat in a verdant world, but not SO connected as to be unstoppable.
        Hence, the Jungle Lord canât be on Bota Magna because heâd be too powerful there, so we have Earth, an element close enough to elevate the Earth Lord over her brethren and justify herself as a separate threat and not just a rehash of 2010âs antagonists, but again; Not too connected to the environment as to be OP. This narrative balance would help the protagonists, and perhaps we wouldâve seen Mata Nui and co. explore the treetops of Bota Magna to get away from the Earth Lordâs reach, thus setting up the introduction for Pterosaurs. In addition to her narrative weight as an orchestrator and connection to Bota Magna, I imagine the Earth Lord wouldâve further stood out from her brethren thanks to having an actual army to work with; Her tribe still serves her.
        Who knows, perhaps through the Earth Lord we wouldâve learned about the origins of Energized Protodermis, and gotten further lore on this substance that caused it all. We couldâve learned more about Protodermis and its connection to its energized variant, which would be further topical as Protodermis is the literal building block of the Matoran Universe, Mata Nuiâs own body. Thus, the conflict with the Earth Tribe gives Mata Nui and the audience more lore regarding Energized Protodermis, its nature, and even its contributions to his own body.
        Going into further speculation, perhaps Mata Nui wouldâve needed to address the existence of Energized Protodermis; Is it a necessary evil? It caused this Core War, but perhaps it wouldnât have happened if not for the Earth Lord. HIS people didnât start wars over it, so itâs possible the issue really is just in society and its unity, and not in the substance. Perhaps Mata Nui would contemplate what to do with Energized Protodermis, and maybe its consciousness wouldâve also been reintroduced, similar to Ignika as the unnoticed mind of a powerful force. Perhaps the Energized Protodermis Entity would be revealed to be a puppetmaster of even the Earth Lord, forcing Mata Nui to defeat it.
        Itâs worth noting that in canon, energized protodermis is used to stabilize the GSRâs power source; And we know the Prototype Robotâs power source is unstable itself. This fact is brought up in our canon final battle but ultimately does little other than explain why the Prototype blew up to begin with⌠But I have to wonder if in addition to closure on the Great Beings, the Bota Magna arc wouldâve brought much-needed energized protodermis. Thus, Mata Nui returns to Bara Magna with the substance, allowing him to stabilize his Prototype Robot, so he doesnât have to worry about it exploding again.
        This would be another contribution to the Prototype Robotâs reassembling, and further justify the Bota Magna arc, when Mata Nui seemingly already has what he needs to fight Makuta. Not that Bionicle has ever concerned itself too much with ânarrative importanceâ, but regardless. The Magna saga seems to have been the story teamâs attempts at telling a more concise story thatâs easier to keep track of, hence the mainline films; So maybe they had this stuff in mind.
So to put in order my speculation on what was planned for the Bota Magna arc;
        Mata Nui and co. land on Bota Magna. They encounter biomechanical dinosaurs, seeing the works of the Great Beings before their very eyes. Their goal is to head back to Bara Magna, but they get into conflict with the Glatorian-Agori who hate technology, whose sets introduce new dual-molded pieces meant to represent metal and plantlife.
        These antagonists would reveal the presence of the Great Beings, thus incentivizing Mata Nui to find them as a way off Bota Magna, and to also get further aid and much-needed closure. We probably wouldâve had an arc of Kiina adjusting to Bota Magna, since her whole deal was escaping the planet; Maybe sheâd accept it, maybe sheâd learn not to take her old home for granted. Perhaps Kiina would come to the conclusion that Bota and Bara Magna suck, leading to despair; Only for Mata Nui to bring hope when he learns from the Great Beings how he can bring new life to Spherus Magna after reforming it.
        He possibly learns this when exploring the Mask of Lifeâs origins; He finds the Northern Frost where it was cooled. The consciousness of Ignika might return, to take responsibility in parallel to Mata Nui; Either way, these intertwined characters have both of their origins and pasts explored. The Cursed Being shows up, separate from his brethren, and is a likely antagonist and source of lore regarding Ignika, and a neat callback to 2006. To show how heâs a better ruler now, Mata Nui might free the Great Being of his curse; Perhaps heâll reflect on how he treated Makuta as well, in parallel to Ignika.
        We wouldâve explored the Skrall homeland, possibly providing further closure to the Rock Tribe back on Bara Magna; Maybe Buckethead would help the scattered Skrall rehabilitate and learn to coexist with the Agori tribes, and Tuma may join in on this, or continue to be a background threat like in the fifth film. Mata Nui informs the Bota Magna Skrall that thereâs peace now, no more reason to fight.
        Kabrua and his tribe might show up, caring about their Vorox brethren back on Bara Magna; Thus, they have reason to be adversarial with our protagonists. They may or may not desire the Mask of Life, which might make or break Mata Nuiâs conflict with Kabrua, regardless heâll cure the Vorox anyway because heâs a good person. Given the Skrallâs penchant for enslaving Vorox, we might see the Bota Magna Skrall and Vorox fight a bit, with Mata Nui caught between and having to navigate this as well, hoping for both factions to make amends after meeting Buckethead.
        Finally, weâd roll around to the Earth Tribe, the hidden tribe from whom Teraâs existence sets up. Not only was Tera a good person, but this Earth Tribe seems to be kind, nature-loving hippies who care for the planet, hence why they never participated in the Core War. Even their Element Lord is good, a benevolent Mother Earth figure, hence why sheâs still on good terms with her tribe unlike the rest of her brethren.
        However, somethingâs amiss about this group⌠Perhaps the tech-hating Agori/Vorox warn Mata Nui, but their previous antagonism makes the protagonists skeptical. Perhaps weâd see a common trope where all but one of the protagonists buys the act; Maybe Kiina would, wanting to believe in this new world she found, or sheâd be suspicious of the Earth Lord, having professed her own wariness of the Water Lord in 2010. This leads to drama between the protagonists over whether or not to trust the Earth Tribe.
        From the Great Beings and Earth Lord, we learn more of the Core War, the Great Spirit Robotâs creation, Ignikaâs past, and so forth. The importance of energized protodermis is brought up in all of this, and Mata Nui realizes he needs some if he doesnât want his Prototype Robot back on Bara Magna to explode when he takes control. The danger of energized protodermis is something Mata Nui struggles with, and its consciousness possibly reveals itself as the final antagonist behind it all.
        The Earth Tribeâs treachery and machinations are revealed; Our protagonists have to evade the Earth Lord, maybe head to the treetops and encounter some pterosaurs. Mata Nui probably exercises his leadership in befriending the Bota Magna Agori, forming an alliance with them against the Earth Tribe, who seek to exploit the Great Beings, Mask of Life, and energized protodermis for themselves; He cites how the Earth Tribe caused this Core War, after all.
        Perhaps the Bota Magna Agori didnât know the truth of the Earth Tribe, but learning this helps them stop blaming technology for the Core War, but instead the true culprits. Thus, Mata Nui makes peace with the Bota Magna Agori, who are less hostile to technology now. Kabrua and his Vorox might recognize the Earth Lord as the domino effect cause of their brethrenâs degeneration, and ally with Mata Nui and the Bota Magna Skrall against a common enemy, just like the Agori Tribes against the Skrall in 2009; And/or, Kabruaâs Vorox ally with the Earth Tribe since they also hate Mata Nui and his friends, only for that to inevitably fall apart.
        Mata Nui learns about how the Earth Tribe has the last source of energized protodermis -with the rest being under Makutaâs control inside the Matoran Universe- thereby setting another goal and victory in defeating the Earth Lord, which he of course does. Mata Nui now has the substance he needs to properly rival his arch-nemesis. The Energized Protodermis Entity, set up as far back as a seemingly inconsequential side story from 2004, probably not even planned to be important like the substance it embodies, is potentially resolved; Revealed as a man behind the man for the Earth Lord. Maybe it even acts as an Element Lord of Protodermis, a final antagonist of that species after two years of fighting them.
        Mata Nui finds closure from the Great Beings, who may or may not ally with him; They probably go off into space as Greg planned for the canon story serials. The Great Beings might leave information and resources to help Mata Nui with, either at the end of the final battle, or they skedaddle right before. Either way, Mata Nui fully understands his mission now, and he has a swanky new spaceship to fly back to Bara Magna; Maybe itâs the Red Star, which the Great Beings call over from Aqua Magna.
        Its importance IS set up in Riddle of the Great Beings, and was tied to the Valley of the Maze; Maybe the Great Volcano was used to launch it into space alongside the GSR? Maybe the Red Star is where the Great Beings have always been, monitoring the Matoran Universe but unable to do anything to help besides create the Toa Inika. On Bota Magna, Mata Nui might activate a signal that calls the Red Star to him, where the Great Beings emerge and explain it all; Fans have speculated the Red Star wouldâve contained the Great Beings in early 2001 concepts. Â
        Kiina realizes she doesnât have to choose between Bara and Bota Magna, because all three fragments will be reunited once more; She can still visit her old friends, like Berix and Gresh! The peoples of Bota and Bara Magna reunite, the Skrall reconcile with the Agori with the help of Buckethead, and Mata Nui stays true to his word and uses Ignika to heal the minds of the Vorox. Malum and Kabruaâs interactions are left up in the air, and as for the Earth TribeâŚ
        Well, given the more positive and kid-friendly direction of the intended âMagna Trilogyâ of films, I imagine the Earth Tribe would also learn to make amends; Not everyone is bad, our first introduction to them is Tera! With Tera, we might see members of the Earth Tribe who want to just peacefully coexist, who are sick of the Earth Lordâs scheming. Thus, Skrall and Earth Tribe parallel one another, and join the Agori alliance with the Vorox.
        Thus, the Bota Magna arc ends. This sounds like a lot, so maybe itâd take place across two years, like Bara Magna beforehand. Either way, the ultimate battle is finally set up; Mata Nuiâs Prototype Robot is ready for him to control and fight Makuta with. The matter of the Great Beings is settled, and we actually get to explore Bota Magna as a setting. Lore, origins, and backstory are clarified here, instead of being subcontracted to a graphic novel.
        Given how the Agori have been living inside of the Prototype Robotâs pieces, I have to wonder⌠Would they act as its workers, as a counterpart to the Matoran and other biomechanicals of the GSR? Itâd make sense in-universe, perhaps Mata Nui learns from the Great Beings that the Prototype failed because it lacked energized protodermis and workers to maintain it.Â
     Itâd also be thematically fitting; Mata Nui fails the people of his old body, so he makes up for it and returns in a new body, with a new following of workers with whom heâs properly engaged with and united. This puts him at odds with Makuta, who has the biomechanicals, and contrasts in his tyrannical rule over them, a dark echo to Mata Nui as a terrible god. Mata Nuiâs relationship with the Agori reassures the Matoran that their Great Spirit isnât going to fail them again.
        This does place potential complications in Mata Nui and Makutaâs final battle, of course; Now Mata Nui has to make sure the Agori inside of him arenât hurt, either! Maybe the final battle would have both robots emptied of its inhabitants; This harms Makutaâs GSR as his workers are gone, giving Mata Nui a much-needed edge. It also allows the smaller inhabitants, the Agori and Matoran, to fight on ground-level against Makutaâs armies, in parallel to the battle of titans above.
    Perhaps weâd see Mata Nui successfully reunite Spherus Magna before he has to fight Makuta; Which of course brings Makuta to him anyway, because now theyâre on the same celestial object. Then we have what Bionicle Stars shouldâve been, as a proper conclusion that bridges the Matoran Universe and Magna storylines, while also not being rushed.
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All the Great Beings ever wanted was control. Not simply control over a tribe or a planet, they knew better than that. They thought bigger. They knew that control came from knowledge. And the ultimate knowledge would naturally garner the ultimate control. So they threw themselves into their research, dissecting the universe, probing its fundamental laws, gaining further knowledge and power with each new discovery.
And yet, they hit a snag. When they had probed so deeply they thought they almost had the ultimate truth in their hands, they encountered a property of that truth that they couldnât understand. It appeared first as a sort of pull. A force that guided the universe towards certain states.
Was it inexorable fate? Did it mean, as many of the Great Beings had suspected, that free will was an illusion?
No, it didnât quite work that way. That would have been simple, understandable, acceptable even. The universe was not that kind to the Great Beings. The universe, it seemed, wanted to play a game. It wasnât fate, it was . . .
It became the question that filled the Great Beingsâ minds day and night. What was it?
First they went to their original teacher. The Great Beings had once conquered the Dream Eater to gain their genius. Perhaps they could extract the truth from the Dream Eater about . . .
Annona laughed loud and long at their question. And in her impossible eyes, the Great Beings saw fear.
So they returned to their workshop and kept up the research, no wiser than before. As the Great Beings delved deeper into this this new thread of reality they discovered that it just grew more complicated and frustrating. It was indescribable and unjustifiable, it contradicted itself constantly. And no matter how maddening it became, it was impossible to look away from, because it always seemed to be posing the question: what is your . . .
But they made no progress. Even as their obsession deepened, the Great Beings could not find even a scrap of sense or consistency that wasnât torn down by the very next discovery. Â Not even the laws of randomness applied. The truth that they knew must be there always felt like it was just out of reach. Many abandoned the subject in disgust, returning to the safety of technological innovation.
And in the northern frost, up sprung the pool.
The Great Beings knew immediately that something had happened. The world just felt different when they woke up one day. But it took them a few days to receive word from the source. An abnormal seismic event that had the Element Lords of Ice and Earth acting strangely. Whispers circulating among the tribes.
They got a sample as quickly as they could. It was . . .
It seemed that this new substance was a physical distillation of the very same law of reality they had been studying. Which was impossible. But the Great Beings had found themselves growing disturbingly used to the impossible. As they continued to experiment with the substance, their thoughts became preoccupied with the same irrationality. They tried to put it out of mind. Fundamental properties of the universe werenât sentient. They didnât intentionally manifest as pseudo-matter and place themselves so as to taunt living beings.
Did they?
Word spread quickly among the tribes. Everyone knew about the mysterious pool in the north. Everyone had heard or, if they were unlucky, seen what happened to those who touched the surface. They knew of the monstrous transformations, the rending flesh and splintering bone that reshaped itself like clay, the increasingly strange and metallic screams that ring to this day in the ears of the witnesses who heard them. And those were the lucky ones, the cases where the poolâs effects could be understood by the mortal mind. Some who had touched it were just gone without a trace.
Yes, everyone on Spherus Magna knew about the pool.
And it pulled them.
People of every tribe, some hundreds of miles away, would be plagued by the uneasy thought of its existence at all times of the day. Agori would wake in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, the image of the poolâs shimmering surface burned into their mindâs eye even if they had never seen it before. Like an oil slick on the fabric of reality. They would stand at their windows and look at the starry sky, and grip the windowsill so hard their fingers bled to stop themselves from walking away towards the northern horizon.
Come, whispered the pool, donât you want to see whatâs in store? I am here for you and only you. Come to me. Take the dive. Accept your . . .
Ask a Magnan today why the Core War was fought, and they will tell you it was over power. âThe pool in the north held a substance that could be turned into a weapon,â they will say. âThe Element Lords coveted it. They wanted to use it to conquer each other.â
Such is the legend they tell to save themselves from the memory of a truth they canât understand. No one truly knows why the Core War started, but deep in their hearts they know it was never really about power. It was about the pull.
As the war raged outside their fortresses, the Great Beings continued their research. No longer did they find joy in the work of discovery; all that was left was the all-consuming need to understand. Gradually, day by day, experiment by painful, dangerous, experiment, they began to unlock the secrets of the poolâs contents. They named it. They stabilized it. They purified it. They changed its state. They made things out of it.
They made life out of it.
The ultimate creation, the only thing that had eluded the Great Beings for all of their lives. From the darkness they had dubbed âprotodermisâ emerged a light of a kind they had never seen before.
A strange light. A light they feared. They named it Ignika.
And when one of their number touched it and was cursed, and then driven insane, they asked him why. âWhy did you touch it when you knew it was dangerous? You knew its effects could not be predicted.â
The mad one laughed long and loud at the question. âWell, it had to be done!â he said. âIt had to! I had to! It was my . . .â
They locked him in a tower so they wouldnât have to hear him anymore.
Impossibilities remained, but the Great Beings had found a hope to cling to. Maybe they didnât understand the substance, but they could control it. And what better way to exercise their control over it than to build with it? With the new properties they had discovered in protodermis, they would make their greatest creation yet. A machine to fly into the stars and explore, to discover the meaning of its own substance. To discover the truth. And then, once it had found the truth, to bring it back to them. And then, finally, they would know. Finally, they would understand . . .
The Great Machine was large. Larger than the Great Beings expected it to be. Its very foundations stretched to the sky. Within them lay miles of passageways, tons of wires and gears, endless machinery that blotted out the sun. It felt as if the rapidly growing framework warped space around it, to make the pitch black tunnels within spiral on into an endless maze of shadows, larger than the frame that encased it (larger than the planet itself?). Once an Agori made a break for foundations and disappeared into them before the worker drones could stop him. No one knows why. Perhaps he felt pulled to them. He didnât come back out. Reports that the drones had detected voices coming from within the maze were ignored.
The Great Beings went one day to their architect slave. Artahka, the maker of the Great Machine. Together, they observed the components he had designed as they were lowered down, down, miles down into the depths of the Machine to be put into place. Artahka smiled. He was proud.
Then the Great Beings asked him what a partâs purpose was.
He looked confused. âI donât know,â he said, as if it should be obvious that he wouldnât. âMy mask shows me what must be made, and I have the drones make it.â He smiled again. âIt is all in the course of . . .â
Oh, how the Great Beings howled at the sound of that.
Oh, how they punished the architect slave for the mere mention of the word. For the first and last time in his life, Artahka knew pain.
He wept, for he did not understand. âWhy?â he cried. âWhy do you hurt me when I only do what you made me to do?â The Great Beings did not listen.
As the Core War raged around them and the world fell to pieces, they pushed forward. Â The machine began to take on a shape at once familiar and strange. The Great Beings hadnât intended to build it in their own image. As it grew ever larger, they grew less and less sure of why they did what they did. Why build islands? Why simulate soil and weather? Why create domes arched like the sky? It didnât matter, they were sure this was what they must do.
Every resource they had, every hour of their days, every last scrap of their passion and their sanity, they threw into the construction of the Machine powered by the contents of the pool. It was their final victory against the Great Impossibility, they told themselves. âLook what we have built from that which confounded us!â they said. âLook how we have dissected it, determined its properties, bent it to our whim! With this, we have conquered! With this, we control . . .â
And so they built a living altar to their hated god.
And when Velika, The Riddler, stole away and secretly planted a seed in the minds of their worker drones, even though he knew he would not like the results, he could not tell you why he did it. (Well, it had to be done, he thought to himself. It had to. I had to.)
And when the Machine was launched, the Great Beings dragged themselves back to their decrepit fortresses and vaults, locking themselves away to wait out the apocalypse they had been unable to prepare for. They could not remember or explain why they had done everything they had done over the past year. They were no longer even sure if the Machine would even do what they had made it for. But they knew there was nothing left for them to do now. Only wait.
And when the matoran opened their eyes for the first time onto the universe, they were confused and frightened. And they turned to the Great Machine, and they gave it a new name. And they asked it, âWhat are we to do? How are we to live? Give us principles to guide us.â
Gonna headcanon the Element Lord of Fireâs name as Flagra, as in Conflagration. Not only does it just sound cool to me and fits his vibes and appearance, but while there are plenty of terms associated with or describing fire...
Conflagration specifically evokes a type of uncontrollable, destructive fire; One that causes mass devastation. And I think that fits the Element Lords who scarred society with the Core War, before ultimately shattering their planet with it; Fire Lord himself was the one who triggered the energized protodermis and the Shattering!
The Element Lords are like primal, untamed nature. Theyâre Glatorian whoâve lost control of the elements and been consumed by them, until theyâve become those elements without any control or restraint, just chaos lashing out; The mindless will of natural disasters incarnate, who thematically tore apart their world and civilization. Basically Hordika but with elements instead of animalism, is how I like to think of it.
Iâm really curious as to what the Element Lord sets wouldâve looked like, had Bionicle not been cancelled. The graphic novel and serials describe them as pure, raw forces of elemental nature, basically just the elements themselves- Which I imagine would be a lot harder to convey with Bionicle pieces, and some of that depiction would be lost in translation. I guess Stuart Sayger got to do much more stylized designs that didnât fit with Bionicleâs aesthetic since the sets were never going to be released anyway, and thus didnât have to be constrained by the limits of the system at the time.
But then again, the Glatorian sets ended up feeling a lot more vibrant and elemental than the actual Toa of later years, thanks to their bright colors and molded armor pieces designed to invoke the elements- So we couldâve gotten some really interesting designs regardless! I have to wonder if the Element Lords wouldâve been canister sets, Titans, or divided somewhere between the two... And if we wouldâve gotten proper names for them, I presume.
