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Order of Mata Nui
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The Order of Mata Nui is a fictional organization from Lego Bionicle storyline. The Order of Mata Nui was first formed by the Great Beings at roughly the same time as both the founding of Metru Nui and the formation of the Brotherhood of Makuta. It was formed as a secret society dedicated to serving the will of the Great Sprit Mata Nui. It is one of the most powerful organizations in the Bionicle universe, and the only groups who can currently rival it are the corrupt Brotherhood of Makuta and a mercenary guild called the Dark Hunters. Their base of operations is located on the island of Daxia. Secrecy The Order works in utmost secrecy, leaving public acts of Mata Nui's will to his chosen warriors, the Toa. Members are not permitted to reveal the Order's secrets, except in the direst of circumstances. Because of this, very few know about the Order's existence: *Members of the Brotherhood of Makuta "probably have suspicions, but don't know about it directly." * knows that there is a group that serves Mata Nui; he learned this from the now-deceased plant creature Karzahni. *Dark Hunter leader the Shadowed One is aware of a "mysterious third player" that rivals both the Hunters and the Brotherhood, and has tasked the Hunter codenamed "Gatherer" with finding more information. (Should Gatherer's investigation bring him a little too close to the truth, the Order will probably have him killed.) *Axonn's allies in the race for the Mask of Life - the Toa Inika, the Toa Nuva, and six Matoran of Voya Nui - have learned of the Order. *The residents of Artakha know of the Order, and Artakha himself requested that the Order make the land's location forbidden knowledge. *Brutaka has mentioned his membership in the Order a few times, but is generally regarded as either crazy or a bad liar and he has never been taken seriously.Note: He was in the order but when he heard of something he believed that he had done something wrong. He went to voya nui and made a deal with piraka. He was banned from the order by doing that. Activities The following is what is known about the Order's activities in the Bionicle universe: *The Order sent Axonn and Brutaka to act as a first line of defense for the Ignika Mask of Life, joining Umbra. *Over eighty thousand years ago, the Order tampered with Ehlek's species in an attempt to engineer a race to combat the Brotherhood of Makuta. This was done in a way so that the species was not aware of who did the tampering. *After the Great Disruption in Metru Nui, the Order placed an agent in the city to potentially ward off future problems. *After the Brotherhood of Makuta invaded the land of Artakha, the Order accepted the ruler's request to eliminate all knowledge of the land's location. In addition to altering and destroying maps, they took everyone who knew the location - including Order members - and made them disappear. They also prevented anyone who attempted to locate Artahka from finding it. *Around sixty thousand years ago, Mata Nui erased the memories of everyone outside the Order of a six-month period. This was done in order to cover up the Order's scattering of disguised Av-Matoran throughout the world, including Takua in Metru Nui. Historical records of this time have also been erased, which can be presumed to be the work of the Order. *When Mata Nui set the stars to present false prophesies concerning the identities of future Toa, the Order planted evidence that supported these prophesies such as Toa disks. This deception fooled Makuta and allowed the correct Matoran to become the Toa Metru. *After the Great Cataclysm, an Order member was sent to the island of Mata Nui to keep an eye on events there. However, the Order was unaware that this member was quickly killed, and therefore did not send a replacement. *The Order created a guide to eleven of the world's key locations (the Bionicle World guide) to inform its agents, be shared discreetly with Toa if events warrant, and (if Mata Nui dies) potentially serve as a final record of the world and its people. History The Order started out as a group called the Hand of Artakha. However, the Hand's members were too undisciplined and tended to cause as much damage as they prevented; and with the rise of Toa it was decided to disband the organization and reorganize, forming the Order of Mata Nui. The Hand only existed for a short 200 years, compared to the tens of thousands of years that the Order has been operating. The first members of the Order (presumably when it was still the Hand of Artakha) were those who helped build the realms of Artahka and Karzahni. They created a base of operations for the Order on the island of Daxia, stone by stone. Once the job was done, they swore to never reveal the Order's existence to anyone. Except in extreme circumstances, exposing the organization is punishable by death. (It is unknown whether the Hand had such a vow of secrecy). Recently, the events leading up for the search of the Kanohi Ignika may lead to revealing themselves, and the Order is prepared to fight in a final battle for not only Mata Nui, but the survival of the universe. They may also have to go against the wishes of Artahka, and seek out the legendary figure, as his wishes are not more important than the Great Spirit himself. Membership Unlike their counterpart group, the Brotherhood of Makuta, the membership of the Order is comprised of several different races. As such, the Order does not have any uniform set of powers that all members naturally share. However, all members have had their minds shielded from telepathy and mental attack, due to the sensitive information they carry. Potential recruits are quietly observed and tested several times over before they are offered to join, and even then they are not yet told the full extent of what they will be a part of; so far none have turned down such an offer. In addition to being tested, to be recruited, a being must be willing to leave his friends and homeland behind, to do whatever is asked of them, and have sufficient power to do it. Beings not permitted to join the Order include Matoran, Toa, and Turaga; on the grounds that they have their own destiny to follow. Former Dark Hunters and Brotherhood servants are also barred from membership. Members Active Members There are currently two prominent members of the Order of Mata Nui. Axonn Axonn was originally a member of the Hand of Artakha. When that group disbanded, he made a name for himself as a fearsome warrior, cutting a swath of destruction and conquest through the southern lands. But then another former Hand member, Hydraxxon, came to him and offered him a place in the Hand's successor, the Order of Mata Nui. Given a chance to do something greater than for himself, he did a number of missions for the Order until his permanent assignment: Axonn would then be teamed up with Brutaka and stationed in the region that would become Voya Nui in order to guard the Ignika Mask of Life. In the process of guarding the mask, Axonn and Brutaka also secretly protected the Matoran of the region. The only one of these who discovered Axonn's existence was Kazi, who kept this knowledge secret. When evil beings calling themselves Piraka came to the island searching for the Ignika, Axonn vowed to stop the invaders no matter what. Unfortunately, an embittered Brutaka chose to side with the Piraka, turning against Axonn and the Order. Axonn aided a new Matoran ally, Balta, and began harassing the Piraka. Two of the Piraka soon stole Brutaka's power and Axonn moved to go after them, but listened when Toa Jaller insisted that he will not take them on alone. Instead, he chose to look after Brutaka while others tracked the Piraka. Upon their success, Brutaka woke up, and Axonn tried to reason with him, expressing hope that he would return to the side of good. But Brutaka refused to listen, and instead attacked. Realizing that his friend was truly lost, Axonn flew into a cold fury and became nigh-unstoppable; destroying the Piraka's antidermis virus before Brutaka could gain power from it. After Brutaka was defeated, Botar appeared to banish him to the Pit; Axonn still held hope for his friend and pleaded on Brutaka's behalf, but Botar only threatened to banish Axonn as well. With the Piraka's plans foiled for the time being, Axonn has stepped forward to be the protector of the island's Matoran, and has opened a secret passage for the Toa Inika to follow to Mahri Nui. He has also vowed to free Brutaka from his prison one day. Soon after the Inika left, a began to threaten the Matoran, having emerged through a portal of Brutaka's. To keep the Matoran safe, Axonn requested that Botar teleport it away. Later, he helped the Voya Nui Matoran evacuate safely underground, and protected their Mahri Nui brethren from the mutated Piraka. Finding the Toa Inika changed as the Toa Mahri, he also provided them with a Terrain Crawler that fixed their equipment and acted as transport. He's currently hiding in Voya Nui's caves with the Matoran as the island returns to its original location. Axonn wears the Kanohi Rode, the Great Mask of Truth, allowing him to see through any trick. He also carries a giant axe that, when thrown, automatically returns to him as if it were a boomerang. He can fire beams of energy through his hands or the point of his axe. More powers have been hinted at - he cured Toa Gali of madness and imbued a Zamor Sphere with the ability to make a stasis field (suggesting he has the same ability himself) - but his full range of abilities has never been shown. Brutaka Brutaka started out as a lieutenant of the Brotherhood of Makuta, but didn't like the regimented lifestyle. He was recruited to the Order of Mata Nui as something of a scholar.(This was before the rule forbidding those with Brotherhood affiliations.) Though a formidable fighter in his own right, he was also able to analyze and reason quickly. After working as a troubleshooter for a while, solving a number of problems but also causing some (such as teleporting a into Metru Nui); the Order decided to pair his intelligence with the power of the famed warrior Axonn, and the two were assigned to guard the Ignika Mask of Life and the Matoran of what would become Voya Nui. However, since the Great Cataclysm, Brutaka has come to believe that the Great Spirit Mata Nui has forsaken his people, and has begun to question his purpose: "Being a good little soldier for the Order of Mata Nui? Serving the will of some entity who's either dead or dying, depending on who you talk to? Spending another thousand or ten thousand or a hundred thousand years on this rock, guarding a mask instead of using it for my own benefit?" Unfortunately for Axonn, Brutaka acted on his disillusionment; turning on the Order and deciding to help the Piraka claim the mask (specifically, whichever one of them can give him their antidermis Zamor Spheres) - but, like each of the Piraka, he planned to steal the mask for himself. After Axonn began harassing the Piraka, Brutaka fought him and left him badly beaten. He and the Piraka then faced the Toa Inika, only to have two of the Piraka steal his power and leave him unconscious. When the Toa Inika returned his powers to him, he rejected Axonn's offers of peace and attacked yet again. Unable to overcome his foe, he attempted to get to the vat of antidermis, but was thwarted when Axonn destroyed it. Axonn then knocked him unconscious with a blast of energy, allowing Botar to take him into custody despite Axonn's protests. Axonn has vowed to free Brutaka one day, hoping that his friend can be redeemed. Botar deposited Brutaka in an undersea prison called the Pit, where he was found by two Barraki, Ehlek and Carapar. Hearing Brutaka explain who he was, the Barraki recognized the Mask of Life as one they had seen a local Matoran with. Brutaka concluded that fate must want him to have the mask and demanded that the Barraki take him to it. They played along and together confronted the mask's carrier, Dekar. Brutaka insisted he hand over the mask, announcing he was a member of the Order (omitting that he had fallen), but Dekar countered that if he was supposed to have the mask, he would have found it himself. The Barraki considered his talk of an Order a fairly flimsy lie, and had him dragged off by a giant squid. He survived, however, and after scouting out the situation in the Pit he came across Maxilos. Recognizing the being as Makuta, Brutaka was disgusted and he intervened. He stole the Staff of Artakha from Makuta, calling for Botar to take it far away. Once that was done, the two fought, and Brutaka taunted Makuta with the fact that Hydraxon now had the Mask of Life, thereby forcing Makuta to break off the fight and regain control before Hydraxon did something terrible. Recently, Brutaka (Now reformed) has captured Ex-Brotherhood of Makuta member Spiriah, Roodaka, Vezon, and Barraki Carapar and Takadox in order to build a team to free former Makuta leader, Miserix from an island guarded by Rahi and other horrible creatures for an unknown reason. However, the group has been betrayed to a group of Zyglak by Spiriah in order to change their course to go to Zakaz in order to exact his revenge on the Skakdi(Piraka).Yet, Brutaka had a "friend" follow their ship when they left Stelt (the island where Sidorak lived).When the Zyglak attack the Dark Hunter ship on Zakaz,they defeated by this new ally, who are designed to kill Makuta.The captain, a female named Lariska who had a left mechanical arm, became the last member of Brutaka's party. The team reached an island, where one the agents of Mata Nui dropped off some weapons, but the team met a legend called Tren Krom.During their encounter with the alien that was older than Mata Nui and the stars, Carapar got vaporized into dust. Tren Krom let the team go, leaving them to the evil world that they had created. Brutaka wears the Kanohi Olmak, the Mask of Dimensional Gates, allowing him to open portals to other places, including pocket dimensions attached to the Bionicle universe but not alternate realities. These portals stay active even if Brutaka is unconscious, and only disappear once they are used. The full extent of his powers has never been revealed, but he also carries a large, double-ended blade, a gift from Axonn that can launch blasts of electrical energy; and he has two additional blades hidden on his back. His strength is so great that he can wound six Toa in one blow, and he becomes stronger and meaner when he absorbs the antidermis virus into his system. After being exposed to the mutagenic waters of the Pit, Brutaka now breathes water instead of air, and has sprouted spikes and a dorsal fin. In Dark Mirror, the alternate Brutaka was allegedly killed by Toa Bomonga. Other Members The information and illustrations in the Order's location guide are attributed to three members: Jerbraz, Johmak, and Tobduk (see note under "Trivia" below concerning their names); an unnamed fourth member collected this material and did the actual writing for the guide. Trinuma is a nine-foot tall warrior, who went to a rendezvous with Botar, but was attacked by Icarax. Trinuma barely made it back. In Gali Nuva entry 10, the last one, he put the Staff of Artakha into a sort of power cradle. He said that it would unleash the full power of the staff. Former Members Hydraxon Hydraxon was a member of the Hand of Artakha, and later became part of the Order of Mata Nui. One of his early assignments was to give combat training to the Toa of Mata Nui, and recruiting Axonn. Afterwards, he became the jailer of the Pit, until he was badly injured in the Great Cataclysm and killed by Takadox. However, he has recently seemed to have returned from the dead. Seeing that many prisoners have escaped the Pit after the Cataclysm, he has made it his mission to track them all down - unfortunately, he has decided that anyone in the ocean must be a "runner" escaped from prison. In truth, the current Hydraxon is not an original, but rather a copy. The Mask of Life, needing a guardian, used its power to transform a Matoran named Dekar into a reincarnation of the late jailer. This "Hydraxon II" fully believes that he is the original, but Dekar's memories are still buried deep within him (though Hydraxon denies them whenever they come to the surface). While this Hydraxon believes that he is a member of the Order of Mata Nui, only the original is considered to actually have had Order membership. Hydraxon had claimed the Mask of Life and, recalling some of Dekar's experiences, intended to destroy such a dangerous artifact. Eventually, Toa Matoro² convinced him that, at the very least, he could let the mask go and pursue other runners for a while. Hydraxon is a weapons master, and is equipped with thick armor, explosive boomerangs, wrist knives, blades on his back (which he can launch mentally), and a six-barreled cannon called a Cordak Blaster. He has no mask or powers, but does not need them due to his skill as a fighter. When asked about Hydraxon's relative strength level, writer Greg Farshtey gave this statement: "I would say not as strong as Axonn, but highly skilled. In the same way Captain America can beat a stronger opponent using his shield and leverage and pressure points, Hydraxon can do the same with his tactical skill and his weaponry." Where the original Hydraxon breathed air, the Mask of Life made the reborn one able to breathe water instead; it also made him unaffected by the Pit's mutagenic waters. Botar Botar's name was feared even within the Order, for his job was to retrieve defeated enemies - traitors to the Order and those beyond all redemption - and banish them to the Pit. Incredibly dedicated, he threatened anyone who impeded him with the same fate as his intended targets; and had even gone so far as to state that his job of punishment is something akin to an art form. Botar's long list of captures includes the Barraki, Toa Tuyet, Brutaka, and Karzahni. He has also aided other Order members on occasion: once, as a favor to Axonn, he teleported a away from Voya Nui, displaying a rare sense of justice and humor by making Xia its destination. Shortly afterward, Brutaka called him to take the Staff of Artakha away from the Pit. Botar was best known for his teleportation, which could have been manifested as either disappearing into thin air or surrounding himself and any targets with a ring of energy. His other powers are unknown, but he seemed to have a knack for knowing exactly where he was needed. He also wielded some kind of bladed weapon. Despite his frequent trips to the Pit, Botar had not been changed by its mutagenic waters because he has never stayed long enough to be affected (he deposits his prisoners and leaves within a fraction of a second) - in fact, over the thousand years that it was flooded, he never even noticed. When he was called by Brutaka to help him in Federation of Fear, he and another member, Trinuma, were attacked by Icarax. Unfortunately, Botar was destoyed by Icarax's extreme magnetic powers, crushing him. Other Former Members *The member placed in Metru Nui after the Great Disruption revealed the Order's existence - and its role in planting evidence supporting the false Toa Metru - to the plant creature known as Karzahni, sometime while the city was under control of the Visorak. Karzahni said the member "told me the whole story… before he died." He later passed this information on to Toa Vakama, thus allaying Vakama's previous fears that he and the other Toa Metru were not meant for their roles. *Soon after the Matoran arrived on the island of Mata Nui, an Order member came to the island by Toa canister. Makuta noticed the powerful stranger's arrival and, ignorant of the being's connection to the Order, fought and killed him. Since the member never had the chance to alert the Order of danger, the Order sent no reinforcements; leaving the island unwatched for the entire thousand years that the Matoran lived there. Vezon later found the member's canister and used it to get to Voya Nui. Agents Though the Order prefers not to involve outsiders, there are a few that they have commissioned to act on their behalf: Pit Robots To aid Hydraxon in keeping the Pit's prisoners from breaking out, the Order requested a number of guard robots, which were built on Artakha. Since the prison shattered, most have left the Pit to pursue the escaped prisoners. These robots wield swords through which they can channel their internal energies and Cordak Blasters. Many also command Energy Hounds that can track any being by its unique energy signature. Apparently designed to work in any environment, they can function underwater and on land. They can be affected by the mutagenic waters of the Pit, but the process is much slower for them than it is for living beings. Maxilos Maxilos is the name given to one of the Pit's robotic guardians, specifically the only one that has stayed in the Pit. After the Mask of Life arrived in the Pit, it was possessed by Makuta; Makuta then used the "Maxilos" identity as cover for a while before abandoning the (then badly-damaged) shell. Hydraxon has taken the scrap and intends to repair Maxilos. Maxilos' Energy Hound companion is named Spinax. It is possible that "Maxilos" is a name shared by all of the Pit's robots; series writer Greg Farshtey has stated that he has not decided whether it is a collective name or an individual one. Other Agents Mana-Ko are large crab Rahi that guard vital spots for the Brotherhood of Makuta. What the Brotherhood doesn't realize is the Mana-Ko actually serve the Order of Mata Nui, guarding Brotherhood possessions that the Order doesn't want falling into the wrong hands. They also send back vital information that the Order can use. Like Order members, Mana-Ko have been given mental shielding. Krakua also serves the Order, having provided information to Toa Vakama and Toa Lesovikk. Trivia *Axonn and Brutaka both appear as enemies in the Bionicle Heroes video game, found in the Desert and Volcano levels respectively. However, the game is non-canon, and Axonn is meant to be a hero character in the storyline. * Farshtey once said that Axonn's axe, particularly its ability to return to its owner, is based on Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. (This is presumably the Marvel Comics version as opposed to the actual mythological Mjolnir.) *Axonn's name may be based on "axe", while Brutaka's name may be derived from the word "brute" or "brutal". *The names of the three Order agents who provided pictures for the Bionicle World guide are nods to the guide's real-life illustrators: Jeremy Brazeal ("Jerbraz"), John McCormack ("Johmak"), and Toby Dutkiewicz ("Tobduk"). *Strangely, the Order base of Daxia seems to include a statue of a Bohrok and a Voya Nui Matoran (identical to Balta), even though the Bohrok don't appear to have anything to do with Voya Nui. This has confirmed to be intentional, and the significance of this will be explained in Bionicle Legends #10. 
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