Voya Nui

Voya Nui is a fictional island in Lego Bionicle storyline; and the first main setting of the Legends story arc. It is south of the island of Mata Nui; and had come into being when it violently broke off from the mainland a thousand years ago, during the Great Cataclysm. "Voya Nui" means "Great Journey" in the Matoran language (a reference to its abrupt trip from the mainland to its current location), though the island has also been called "The Island of Doom" and "The Daggers of Death" for its harsh landscape.

History
Over a hundred thousand years ago, the ruler Karzahni was sent broken Matoran for repair, but he didn't do a very good job. Wanting the "repaired" Matoran somewhere out of his sight, he sent them to a faraway volcano that came to be known as Mount Valmai.

Soon afterward, the Great Beings forged the Ignika Mask of Life and hid it away underneath Mount Valmai, crafting its chamber and a staircase leading down to it. They soon sent an agent called "Umbra" to protect it.

Possibly around the same time, the Order of Mata Nui sent two more guardians, Axonn and Brutaka, to live in the region and keep an eye on the mask. They also took on the responsibility of secretly watching over the Matoran as well.

Around eighty thousand years ago, a civil war called the Great Disruption was raging in the city of Metru Nui. As this was damaging to the health of the Great Spirit Mata Nui, a team of Toa led by Toa Jovan entered the region around Mount Valmai and made their way to the Mask of Life; facing and defeating all the obstacles and guardians in their path. They used the mask to restore Mata Nui's life energies, but not all of the Toa survived its use. Jovan later became a Turaga and became a leader to the Matoran of the region.

One thousand years ago, the Great Cataclysm struck due to Mata Nui falling asleep. It caused Mount Valmai and the surrounding region to break from the mainland and be launched up to the planet's surface, where it came to rest floating on the water. Many died that day, including Turaga Jovan; and the region was from then on known as the island of Voya Nui.

Daily life for the Matoran was a struggle for survival; constantly fighting droughts, Rahi attacks, harsh terrain and the occasional natural disaster. At some point one of the coastline settlements sank into the sea, and the remaining Matoran still throw food and gifts into the sea in memory of those lost, unaware that those living in the sunken settlement are still alive (see "Mahri Nui" below).

In the present day, a group of Dark Hunters began investigating rumors of the death of Makuta, and when they found his armor they mysteriously gained knowledge of the island and the Mask of Life. Abandoning the Hunters completely, they began calling themselves "Piraka" and started scheming to claim the mask for themselves. A few weeks later, informed the Toa Nuva that Mata Nui was not only asleep, but dying; and that they would need the mask to heal him.

The first of these to arrive on Voya Nui was Vezon, a mad Piraka who betrayed his team and tried to reach the mask first. The rest of the Piraka followed soon after, thinking Vezon to be dead. They pretended to be Toa in order to gain the trust of the Matoran, but they could not hide their sadistic and cruel natures and some of the Matoran became suspicious. The Piraka soon dropped the act, using a virus called antidermis to enslave almost all of the Matoran and ordering them to drain the lava from Mount Valmai. Only six escaped, as they weren't in the settlement when the Piraka attacked; these six began to actively rebel against the Piraka's tyranny.

By this time Brutaka, who had long been losing faith in Mata Nui, chose to abandon the Order and ally himself with the Piraka in order to get the Mask of Life for his own benefit. Axonn stayed by his vow to protect the Ignika, and began fighting the Piraka whenever he encountered them.

The Toa Nuva soon arrived and quickly found themselves in battle with the Piraka. Though they were defeated, they were able to escape with their lives and meet the Matoran rebels. But a second battle ended even worse; as the Toa were defeated and taken captive by Brutaka.

That same night, the Red Star caused a thunderstorm over the island, and six lightning bolts struck Toa canisters carrying Matoran who wished to aid the Toa Nuva. As a result, the Matoran emerged as Toa Inika, who quickly met and teamed up with the rebel Matoran.

In the first fight between the Inika and the Piraka, Hakann ignited an underground gas pocket, causing a massive explosion that blew away part of the island's forest and exposed the staircase leading to the Ignika's resting place. While both teams braved the guardians the mask created, Axonn defeated Brutaka and the Matoran rebels freed their friends and the Toa Nuva; they also learned of the survival of those in the sunken region. Ultimately, it was the Inika who were able to claim the Mask of Life - briefly; it flew away from them and dove into the ocean.

Currently, the Piraka have gone into hiding, waiting for the right time to strike. Axonn has stepped forward as the Matoran's protector, no longer hiding his presence from them. And the Toa Inika are preparing to enter the underwater world of Mahri Nui.

The stone cord anchoring Voya Nui in place has recently been severed, causing Voya Nui to sink and begin traveling back to its original location. The Matoran and Axonn are riding safely inside the landmass.

Regions
While Voya Nui does not seem to have regions as distinctly separated as Mata Nui's or Metru Nui's, there do seem to be different "rings" based on the six major elements. From outermost to innermost:

Water: Voya Nui Bay - This is the area of water that Voya Nui surrounds (the island is a crescent shape). The area is filled with dangerous waters and extremely strong currents. Some land sank into the bay a few hundred years ago, including another Matoran village, and it was recently discovered that the Matoran there are still alive. For more details on this region, see "Mahri Nui" below.

Ice: Ice Ring - Voya Nui's outermost coastline is lined with a treacherous ring of sharp, extremely hard ice, making any sea landings especially dangerous.

Air: Green Belt - This is a thin stretch of forest that is strangely thriving with energy. Avak and Thok incorrectly suspected that the Mask of Life was hidden here, providing the region with life; but the green belt does hide the entrance to a stairway that leads to the Chamber of Life that holds the mask. There is also a protodermis lake that provides drinkable "water", and judging by the Voya Nui Online Game, the Matoran village is also in this region. In the center of the village, a buried white stone covers a secret passage to Mahri Nui.

Stone: Voya Nui Desert - Beyond the green belt, much of Voya Nui is rocky wasteland. The Matoran have a fortress here that they retreat to when village defenses aren't enough, and the Piraka have had their stronghold built in another part of this region.

Earth: Nui Caves - Voya Nui has a network of underground tunnels, but these were mostly unexplored by both Piraka and Toa Inika. However, both groups have traveled through the underground passage leading to the Mask of Life, reaching from the green belt to Mount Valmai.

Fire: Mount Valmai - In the center of Voya Nui's landmass is Mount Valmai, an active volcano. Directly beneath it is the Chamber of Life, where the Mask of Life is kept. Before discovering the secret passage, the Piraka tried to get the mask by having the Matoran drain the lava from the volcano.

Mahri Nui
Centuries ago, a large fragment of Voya Nui's land, including the small city of Mahri Nui, sank into the sea. Something in the water quickly began mutating the Matoran, but thankfully the village's impact freed many small air bubbles that they quickly fashioned into protective fields, saving them not only from further mutation, but from drowning in the sea. They soon found that a native kind of Rahi called Hydruka could easily harvest air from a certain kind of seaweed, so they tamed the beasts to do so. Forgetting most of their life on the surface, save for a few fragments, the Matoran began to make a living in their new surroundings. They formed a Council to help everyone work together; Matoran took turns at leadership, and meetings were held monthly to make plans for the future. Every month, Mahri Nui would get fallen gifts from above, but it was really the Voya Nui Matoran throwing objects into the water in remembrance of their brothers, not realizing that the inhabitants of Mahri Nui still lived.

Unfortunately, the land sank dangerously close to the Pit, where the Order of Mata Nui condemns the world's most vile beings. Some of those beings, a group of warlords called the Barraki, are now terrorizing the Matoran. Ehlek, especially, wants retribution for the Barraki fortress that Mahri Nui crushed when it sank. However, the Matoran knew little of their attackers, as they never saw more of them than a passing claw or tentacle; they only knew that people kept mysteriously disappearing. At one point there was a "safe hour", the time when Rahi don't roam the sea. Some tried to flee for the surface but died because of the pressure. Eventually, tired of isolation, a Le-Matoran named Defilak proposed to go out into the black waters to find out what was going on.

Shortly afterward, the Ignika Mask of Life arrived from Voya Nui and things began to change. The Barraki made their presence known to the Matoran; particularly Pridak, who captured Defilak's scouting expedition. The group manages to get back. The Ignika enlarged a venom eel to defend itself, and the giant beast threatened Mahri Nui until Defilak shattered its lightstones, hiding the city in shadows. The Barraki then claimed the Mask of Life, causing it to glow so brightly that all of Mahri Nui was blinded by its light.

After the light dissipates, Mahri Nui comes in contact with the Toa Inika, who were changed by the mask to survive in the Pit. At first they thought the Toa were of the Pit but Defilak chose to trust them. While Matoro stayed at the city, the others went to free the Fields of Air. However, they were captured by the Barraki, thinking they were prisoners like them. Though the fields were cleared, Mahri Nui, believing the Toa were in league with the Barraki, opened fire on Matoro, forcing him to flee where he was captured by Hydraxon. When the other Toa escaped and returned to the city, they convinced the Matoran they are here to protect them. Matoro then returned with a new robotic ally known as Maxilos (in reality the Makuta of Metru Nui in disguise). The Matoran then honoured them by calling them the Toa Mahri.

In order to search for the mask, the Toa decided to cause a civil war between the Barraki by making their armies fight each other. As a result, the "safe hour" was no more and a few Matoran and Hydruka got caught in between. The Matoran then noticed that an army of mantas were being lead by the Barraki Mantax and Toa Mahri Hahli. Meanwhile, an ancient Toa named Lesovikk arrived in the Pit to investigate rumors of an army of Zyglak being gathered by the tyrant Karzahni, who had followed the Toa Inika to Voya Nui and then to Mahri Nui. Lesovikk ended up facing Karzahni in a brief battle, but Karzahni left in search of other prey after attacking a Matoran friend of Lesovikk's.

Karzahni would them come across Makuta and Matoro, who had been into the ruins of the Pit and found the body of Toa Tuyet, which Makuta intended to use to recreate the Nui Stone using the Staff of Artakha. Hearing the name of Artakha, Karzahni attacked the two first physically and then with his army of Manas, only to be defeated. Employing his Kanohi Olisi, he struck Makuta but in return had his mind shattered and was flung away, fleeing wounded to a nearby cave. He was then pursued by Lesovikk and the Toa's new Matoran companions, who planned to destroy him, and trapped Lesovikk in a vision of an alternate timeline to neutralize him as a threat.

Icarax, another member of the Brotherhood of Makuta fresh from a battle with the Toa Nuva, delivered the Staff of Artakha to Makuta before departing. Makuta's attempt to recreate the Nui Stone was thwarted by Brutaka, who stole back the Staff and delivered it to Botar, who transported it away. He and Maktua faced each other in battle, with Matoro fleeign to rejoin the other Toa Mahri, but broke it off as Makuta left to secure the Kanohi Ignika and promising to finish it later.

Hahli was not defecting, but rather trying to keep the Kanohi Ignika away from Hydraxon. The Mahri Nui Matoran were sent into the Voya Nui underground caverns to safety with their former friends, and the Cord was shattered between the two island cities, while the Matoran were kept safe. Mahri Nui was destroyed as the island drifted downward and then to its former location.

Locations
Mahri Nui is located on top of a slab of land called Mahri Rock. The following places are landmarks on Mahri Rock and the surrounding Pit:
*Fields of Air - Just outside of the city are fields of the airweed that collect the vital air bubbles needed for the Matoran to survive. Carapar attempted to ransom the Mask of Life from the Matoran by having his Keras crab armies occupy these fields, but the giant venom eel drove them away and ate several hundred of them.
*Stone cord - A long stretch of rock leading up towards the surface that was formed when Mount Valmai's lava went down into the waters. It connects Mahri Nui to Voya Nui, and contains a secret passage between the two.
*Pillars of Salt - An area at the northern edge of Mahri Nui, formed from the accumulation of the salt in the waters slowly building up over the years. Serves as Pridak's favorite hunting grounds.
*Razor Whale's Teeth - An underwater rock formation in the exact center of Barraki territory. Nocturn likes to hang out there when not serving under Ehlek.
*Octo Cave - The cave where Kalmah breeds the Sea Squid used as ammunition by the Barraki.

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