Excerpt Eighteen

When the Toa Nuva returned from the chamber of Cahdok and Gahdok, fear and uncertainty rippled through the land. Who were these strange, armored giants? Could they really be the Toa who had fought for and protected the Matoran all this time? Their raw power and frightening visages left much uncertainty…

Worse still, these Toa Nuva were not behaving as the Matoran had come to expect their heroes to act. They were quarreling, fighting amongst themselves, and finally their unity was shattered. Each Toa Nuva returned to his or her village, convinced they had no further need for each other.

That was far from the only strange occurrence on Mata Nui at this time. In the moment the Toa defeated Cahdok and Gahdok, strange symbols appeared in each village. These were the symbols of the new Toa Nuva, and the Matoran of each village placed one on its shrine. Although some of the Toa Nuva dismissed these icons as merely decorative and nothing more, the Matoran were determined to treat them with respect and guard them against Rahi or other threats.

But such best intentions were for naught. In one dread night, powerful thieves struck in each village. With ease, they rendered the guards helpless and stole the symbols of the Toa Nuva. Little did the Matoran know what the devastating consequences of this would be…