Mahri Nui Mask of Destiny

Into the Darkness

Chapter Eight

Written by Greg Farshtey

1

Makuta, in the body of Maxilos, swam rapidly through the dark waters of the Pit. As he did so, his mind drifted back to the past and the journey that had brought him to this place and time. Had it really only been some hundred thousand years ago that he first saw the light of day, along with his fellow Makuta? Chirox, Antroz, Vamprah, Mutran, and the others?

2

They had been selected by the Great Spirit Mata Nui for a special purpose. It would be their job to bring into being the plants and animals needed to keep the universe running smoothly. Over time, their role expanded. The Brotherhood of Makuta became responsible for watching over the lands and seas of the Matoran Universe. Internal threats to the power of Mata Nui were crushed by armies led by Makuta.

3

While the Great Spirit focused on matters of cosmic importance, the day-to-day safety and security of the world fell on the shoulders of the Makuta. Oh, there were Toa, of course, blundering about and noisily dealing with what they laughingly referred to as menaces, but the true power to create and destroy rested with the Brotherhood.

4

Logic dictated that the Matoran would come to realize how much their puny lives depended on the Makuta and would behave accordingly. But no, when they held their Naming Day festivals, they did it in honor of Mata Nui. When they finished a day’s work, they thanked Mata Nui for the successful completion of their labors. Mata Nui, who was so far above them, they might as well have been fireflyers scurrying about his feet.

5

So many millennia of being passed over led to jealousy, and jealousy to resentment, and resentment to hatred, until just beneath the surface of every Makuta burned a desire to see the Great Spirit humbled.

6

But it was not until the failed rebellion of the Barraki that the Makuta of Metru Nui began to think maybe, just maybe, something could be done. But his plan extended beyond just Mata Nui’s defeat. No, it was a labyrinthian scheme: a plot that drew into its web multiple teams of Toa, Dark Hunters, Bohrok, Visorak, and more. And yet despite all its twists and turns, the plan was also breathtaking in its simplicity.

7

“There is a small Rahi called a water wraith,” he explained to the rest of the Brotherhood some eighty thousand years ago. “So small, so insignificant is it that larger fish do not even consider it a worthy meal. But every now and then, a bold water wraith will attack a creature much larger and more powerful than it. It is a one-sided battle, of course, that ends with the poor water wraith in the mouth of its foe. Of course, what the larger fish quickly discovers is that the outer shell of a water wraith is coated with deadly poison. The larger fish dies instantly, and the water wraith escapes to feast for months on its very foolish and very dead opponent.”

8

“Sometimes, my brothers,” he had said, seating himself on his obsidian throne, “the best way, the only way, to win… is by losing.”