Entry Four

It was not long after the Toa Nuva’s transformation that something most disturbing took place. Thousands of years ago, the Toa Hagah succeeded in stealing the Mask of Light from my fortress and concealing it somewhere. As it turned out, the mask had been smuggled to the island of Mata Nui, hidden inside a marker stone. A millennium later, it was found by a miserable Matoran named Takua… and suddenly, for the first time, I had reason to be concerned.

I am a creature of shadow, like my brother Makuta. Light is our enemy, and the possibility of a Toa of Light coming into being was a cause for dread. I had resisted unleashing Rahkshi on Mata Nui, knowing the destruction they could cause. But now I had no choice — the mask had to be recovered before a Toa of Light could be created!

My Rahkshi did what they did best — destroying, crushing, terrorizing, and they brushed aside Toa Nuva as if the heroes were fireflyer bugs. But for all that, they could not corner Takua and his friend, Jaller, long enough to take back the mask. Even my efforts to fill the Matoran with fear did not completely deter them from searching for the “seventh Toa.”

In the end… ah, in the end, I was forced to improvise. My Rahkshi went down in dismal defeat before a reunited team of Toa Nuva. Takua himself turned out to be the destined Toa of Light, Takanuva. Worse, he was not satisfied with surviving long enough to transform — he was determined to invade Mangaia and challenge me!

I thought with the speed of chain lightning. I knew that the Matoran returning to Metru Nui would be the first step toward the reawakening of the Great Spirit. But I also knew that inevitably they would find the city again someday… and perhaps the time was right for them to do so. I also could not be certain that I could walk away from a battle with Takanuva and his allies undamaged.

Thus when Takanuva confronted me, I allowed him to think he had defeated me. I knew that if the Toa believed me beaten, they would move on, never imagining that I was truly planning. Oh, all did not go smoothly… A stumble into energized protodermis resulted in Takanuva and I being merged into one being, Takutanuva, a truly revolting experience I hope never to repeat. And when returned to our individual selves, a collapsing gateway shattered my armor… an annoying turn of events.

The Matoran had found their home once more… the Toa Nuva were triumphant… and the threat of the Makuta was over… or so I wished them to think.

For a Makuta, being without a body is most… disturbing. We exist as energy, but still, we need a shell to inhabit — if not our armor, then a robot body or a living form with no spirit inside it (as difficult to find as an intelligent Toa). If we are without a body for more than a few weeks, we lose the ability to keep our energy intact, and we die.

I had been floating in Mangaia for some days in my energy state, pondering my next move. I had sensed that the Great Spirit was dying. I knew the Toa would soon realize this as well, and would seek out the legendary Mask of Life to save him. If I could delay their finding it, my ultimate plan could still succeed. But how?

The answer came when six ex-Dark Hunters calling themselves “Piraka” came to loot my lair. Subtly influencing their minds, I implanted the idea that they should journey to Voya Nui, rumored hiding place of the Mask of Life. They were thieves by natures, so it took little effort to convince them to go. I also made a few other “suggestions,” including the construction of a great crystal vat to house my energies on the island.

Did I truly believe this collection of misfits, robbers, and brutes would succeed in stealing the mask? No. But they would frustrate and delay the Toa, and turn time into my ally. They successfully invaded the island — posing as Toa! — and used zamor spheres filled with a small portion of my substance to take over the minds of the Matoran population.

Then they began their search for the Mask of Life (looking in the wrong place, the fools), and stupidly allowing six Matoran to escape and hide in the mountains. They managed to forge an alliance with a warrior named Brutaka, although there was something about him I did not trust. But when the Toa Nuva arrived — a surprise to the Piraka, if not to me — they outdid themselves. Although it did not suit my plans to see Tahu and his little band killed on Voya Nui, I will admit to enjoying what happened next…