BL8 - Given Adaptive Armor

They had reached the massive iron doors of the fortress. There was no sign of a knocker or any other way to signal their presence. As it turned out, none was needed.

“Who are you? Why have you come here?”

The voice was indescribably ancient, and yet young at the same time. It came from everywhere around them — the fortress, the rocks, the trees, even the air itself.

Tahu took a deep breath. This had to be Artakha talking to them. It wasn’t easy to know how to answer a legend. Artakha was rumored to be the greatest builder and designer in the universe. Some of the greatest artifacts known, from the Mask of Light to the Mask of Shadows to the Nuva masks he and his friends wore, were said to have come from Artakha’s forge. Yet, if the stories were to be believed, no one had actually seen Artakha in all the millennia of his existence.

Maybe that is about to change, thought Tahu.

“We are —” he began, then stopped. “But you already know, don’t you?”

“Does the sun know its light?” the voice responded. “You have come here to find arms and armor for your fight. I tell you that the weapon you need cannot be found here — that must be sought in the world that feeds the world. As for the other…”

The storm suddenly abated as quickly as it had arisen, replaced by a cold wind that made even the Toa Nuva of Ice shiver. Sleet and snow began to fall, half burying the Toa in a matter of moments.

“Tell me what you have done on your path to this place,” said the voice of Artakha.

“Are we here to play games?” Kopaka Nuva responded. “Your name is spoken with respect in a thousand places, Artakha. I begin to wonder if those who honor you have been deceived.”

Artakha’s laughter was like thunderclaps. “You amuse a being who was already weary of life when you first set foot on solid ground, Toa. And there is iron behind your icy facade — that is good. You were made far better than anyone knew. But my question still needs answering.”

Tahu swiftly described the Toa Nuva’s most recent adventures, including the freeing of the imprisoned Bahrag, the downfall of the realm of Karzahni, and the assault on the island of the Dark Hunters. Artakha said nothing, merely listened.

When Tahu was finished, there was a long period of silence. Then the snow and sleet were gone, replaced by warmth and sunlight. When the ice melted away from the Toa, it left behind gleaming masks and armor on the ground at their feet.

“You have done all that has been asked of you, and more,” said Artakha. “You have earned these masks and armor. Wear them well, for they are perhaps my greatest creation. Wherever you journey, they will adapt to your surroundings. No terrain, no climate, no wind or wave will ever again be your master.

“Now you must leave here. The time has come at last for the Great Spirit Mata Nui to awaken — and you must be the ones to bring him back to those who need him.”

“Wait!” said Tahu Nuva. “Let us see you!”

“Come with us!” said Onua Nuva, Toa of Earth. “Your aid would be welcome, Artakha.”

“No,” said Artakha, even as the Toa Nuva’s vision began to blur. “Where you travel, you must travel alone.”

A moment later, the island of Artakha was gone — or so it seemed. In fact, the Toa Nuva had been transported from the island by the power of its ruler. When their vision finally cleared, they were in midair, high above a strange Matoran village. Somehow, their armor had shifted in a hundred ways, making it possible for them to stay aloft. But there was no time to wonder about that — all around them, a battle raged in the sky.

“Go, Toa Nuva,” the voice of Artakha echoed throughout this new land. “Go and find your destiny at last!”


- BIONICLE Legends 8: Downfall, Epilogue