Prologue

What has gone before…

Long ago, when the universe was still being born, the Great Beings realized that it required a core from which all energies would flow. In their great wisdom, they created a massive chamber that would provide power eternal for the Great Spirit Mata Nui and the universe he would rule. They named this chamber “Karda Nui,” the Matoran phrase meaning “Great Heart.”

The place they created was more than just another cavern — it was so vast as to almost be a universe of its own. Barren desert stretched for hundreds of miles in every direction, and the roof of Karda Nui was so high above the ground it could barely be seen. But the universe core was incomplete, flawed, and much work had to be done before it would serve its purpose.

A tribe of Av-Matoran — villagers imbued with the power of Light — was sent to complete the last tasks required to prepare the core. Their labors were long and dangerous, as sentient energy beings called avohkah struck at random and killed or injured many Matoran. The crisis grew so great that a team of new heroes, the Toa Mata, were sent to Karda Nui to keep the villagers safe.

These Toa —  Tahu, Gali, Pohatu, Onua, Lewa, and Kopaka — were raw and inexperienced. Still, they managed to use their wits and elemental powers to beat back the avohkah long enough for the Av-Matoran to finish their work. As the Matoran left Karda Nui, the Mata’s true mission was revealed: They would spend thousands of years in the Codrex, a dome inside Karda Nui, waiting to be called should Mata Nui be struck down. Sleeping within Toa canisters, millennia would go by without their even knowing. The canisters would also serve to protect them from the awesome energy storm that would rage when Karda Nui first became active.

Time passed. Moisture caused great stalactites to form on the roof of the cave. Within that roof, Av-Matoran civilization flourished, protected from predators and anyone else who might wish them harm. And the Toa Mata slept on…

Then, slightly over 1,000 years ago, disaster struck. The Brotherhood of Makuta attacked the Great Spirit Mata Nui, sending him into an unending slumber. The Toa Mata’s canisters were launched in an effort to save him, but a malfunction would keep the Toa asleep for another millennium. A massive quake rocked the universe, causing the stalactites — and the Matoran who lived above — to fall. Worse still, a hole opened in the roof of Karda Nui and water from outside began to pour in. The sands below were turned into a swamp.

The surviving Av-Matoran built new villages on the tops of the stalactites, which were now impaled in the ground. They lived in peace and harmony in their new home. A thousand years passed this way until the Matoran had almost forgotten how to fear anything.

All that changed mere days ago. Dark, bat-winged shapes appeared in the skies over Karda Nui. They were powerful members of the Brotherhood of Makuta, and they used creatures called shadow leeches to corrupt many Matoran of Light. Soon, only one village survived, and it was only a matter of time before it too fell.

Salvation arrived in the form of Tahu and his team — transformed into more powerful Toa Nuva — who fought the Makuta in the sky and in the swamp. Now, with time running out for the universe, both sides are preparing for what will be the final battle.