Toa
From BIONICLEsector01, working on 1,439 articles.
| Toa | |
| |
| Species | |
| Powers | Elemental Power, Mask Powers, Toa Power |
| Location(s) | Scattered Amongst the Matoran Universe |
| Status | Active |
| Pronunciation | TOE-AH |
The Toa are the heroes of the BIONICLE Universe. They defend the Matoran and the Turaga against harms too great for them. They are generally tall (their average height is about 1.6 Bio, or about 7 feet or 2.2 meters), powerful beings that have Elemental Powers and a Kanohi. Toa also carry "Toa Tools", which aid in the channeling of their Elemental Powers (but are not required), and almost always wear armor. Toa tend to serve the powers of good, though such isn't guaranteed. An example was shown in Nidhiki's betrayal, which proved that Toa can be swayed by their negative emotions such as greed.
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[carve] History
In early Matoran history, the universe was first protected by the Hand of Artakha. However, their methods were viewed as too harsh, and thus they were disbanded. On Artakha, Helryx was created as the first Toa, a Toa of Water. Other Toa were created by empowering chosen Matoran with Toa Power from Toa Stones.
Over the ages, the Toa's numbers grew. Assisted by the Brotherhood of Makuta, they began to work against any threat. Together, they massed against the rebellious League of Six Kingdoms.
Returning to their positions as protectors of Matoran, things went well for the next several thousand years. However, some Toa were eliminated by the Dark Hunters, and others joined them. A group began to grow suspicious of the Brotherhood, believing they would take on the same goal as the League: to overthrow the Great Spirit Mata Nui. They gathered information about the Brotherhood, the names of their members, fortress locations, etc, on a Makoki Stone. However, their base was situated next to a Frostelus encampment, and they were soon attacked. Overwhelmed, a new inexperienced Toa, Lhikan, was ordered to take the stone and run. However, when he went to retrieve the stone, he found it to be gone, stolen by two Skakdi who then joined the Dark Hunters.
When the Dark Hunters declared war on Metru Nui, numerous Toa from all over the universe rallied under Lhikan's command to defend it. The war ended when one of the Toa Mangai, Nidhiki, tried to rule the city by betraying his brothers and sisters to the Hunters. However, Lhikan learned of the betrayal, and agreed to permit the Hunters to leave at the request of Hakann in exchange for the Makoki Stone. The Toa then ambushed the Dark Hunters, forcing them to leave and to take Nidhiki with them.
Several thousand years later, the Toa Mangai began mysteriously disappearing after being sent out on missions. Lhikan grew suspicious of Turaga Dume, who was actually Makuta Teridax in disguise. To ensure that new Toa would arise to stop him, he gave Toa Stones to six chosen Matoran, following the stars (which Teridax tried to defy, but the Order of Mata Nui ensured their existence). Together, these new Toa sealed Teridax in a cage of Protodermis and brought the Matoran to the island of Mata Nui for safety.
In wake of the Great Cataclysm, Toa everywhere became aware of the Brotherhood's treachery. From the Codrex, six Toa Canisters carrying the Toa Mata were sent to the island of Mata Nui to begin Mata Nui's reawakening.
A thousand years later, the Matoran Takua would gather up all six of the Toa Stones which the (now Turaga) Toa Metru hid on the island. Using the Toa Stones, he summoned the Toa Canisters of the Toa Mata, which had malfunctioned and laid floating in the Endless Ocean after the Great Cataclysm ocurred. The Toa arrived on the island, and began to undo the attacks and damages done to the island and its inhabitants by Teridax. They would become the Toa Nuva, and Takua would consequently become Takanuva, Toa of Light, and together, they would momentarily defeat Makuta Teridax and return to the island of Metru Nui.
Shortly after, a new team of Toa, the Toa Inika, was created from six Matoran who were transformed by the energies of the Red Star whilst on search for the missing Toa Nuva, who had went to the island of Voya Nui to find the Ignika, Mask of Life. They were successful in their search, becoming the Toa Mahri along the way, and the Toa Nuva would embark on a quest to prepare the universe for Mata Nui's reawakening, who had been casted into slumber by Teridax.
They were successful once more, and were sent to the Universe Core, Karda Nui. Equipped with new armor and weapons from Artakha, the Toa Nuva embarked on a final confrontation against the Brotherhood of Makuta.
[carve] Toa Teams
There are many groups of Toa. Specific information about each generation can be found at their respective pages:
Out of the Toa revealed so far, the Toa Nuva are the most powerful, both in their Kanohi and Elemental Powers.
[carve] Toa Powers
The Toa have many abilities; these vary greatly, but they all have some in common, the Great Masks of Power, Elemental Powers, and Toa Power being some of them.
[carve] Elemental Powers
All Toa have these powers; among the different kinds are Stone, Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ice, Light, Sonics, Gravity, Plasma, Magnetism, Lightning, Plant Life, and Iron (although most Toa of Iron and Magnetism have been killed by the Brotherhood of Makuta). There are many more that have not been seen. Control over this power isn't granted instantly; it must be learned. And it is much harder than you'd think. Any novice can cause an explosion of flame or start a hurricane--but it takes a while to learn to do small things, such as simply lowering the temperature rather than freezing an enemy, and it takes years to achieve complete subtle control over these abilities. Every time a Toa uses their Elemental Powers, they draw from a reserve of Elemental Energy. This reserve isn't infinite; they can drain themselves completely if they aren't careful, and then they have to wait for their energy to recharge before they can use their powers again. Until then, they will only be able to perform very small tasks, such as light breezes or slight trickles of water.
Most Toa have a partial resistance to their native element, however this only extends to limited amounts. For instance, a Toa of Ice could withstand a blizzard, but could still freeze to death. This is not always the case, as Toa of Sonics still retain their weakness to loud noises.
[carve] Mask Power
All Toa wear and can use the abilities of the Great Kanohi. It's all part of being a Toa, like the armor or the elements; if you can't do it, or don't wear a mask, you aren't a Toa. Control over the Great Masks, like the elements, isn't granted immediately. The wearer must wait before they can even access their mask powers. When they do, it usually comes about during a time of stress or their equivalent of an adrenaline rush; from then on, they can access its powers. When they learn to do so, complete control is granted almost immediately. Exceptions are the Inika, whose masks were sentient, allowing them to use their powers instantly.
[carve] Toa Power
This power is what makes a Toa a Toa. Each one has it, and can use it seemingly instinctively; unlike Elemental energy, Toa Power is one-way. Once used, it doesn't recharge, so it must be used cautiously. Two uses of Toa Power have been seen thus far. One is taking an inanimate object (stones, so far, but possibly a mask) and charging it with power. These Toa Stones, as they are called, have produced two effects so far when the power is used. First, it has been used to create new Toa out of Matoran/Toa Stones. The second time, the power was used as a beacon to call six already existing Toa to Mata Nui. The second use of the power is to channel it directly into other creatures. The only ones to do this so far have been the Toa Metru, and when they did this, they awoke the thousand Matoran from their artificial sleep. Toa Power also has the use to heal, such as the Toa Metru did when they found an injured Rahi. It isn't known if it has more uses. A Toa will turn into a Turaga if he/she has completed his or her destiny and sacrifices their Toa Power for the greater good. It is also possible to use Toa Power before your destiny is complete, in which case you will turn into a Turaga as soon as you do complete it, as seen with Lhikan, who became a Turaga as soon as the Toa Metru became Toa.
[carve] Other Abilities
- Toa have other abilities as well, including the ability to merge into Toa Kaita.
- One little-known power is the ability to forge a mental link with another being and send them visions of things seen from the eyes of the Toa who created the links. We have only seen this twice. One example is when Gali created a link between her and Takua before she and the other Toa Mata descended into Mangaia to fight Teridax (Mata Nui Online Game).
- When physically linked with a Toa, Av-Matoran and Shadow Matoran that are former Av-Matoran are granted unusual abilities. The Toa is also able to see the Matoran's memories.
[carve] Toa Code
The Toa Code is a series of principles developed over the time, after the Toa realized that their success depended on having the trust and respect of the Matoran, and not their fear. Although this code's exact rules remain vague, one of the most important is that Toa must not kill their enemies, unless the Toa have no other choice. Almost all Toa follow this, the exceptions being Helryx, who cannot afford to obey the Code, and Lesovikk, who does not consider himself worthy of the title 'Toa'.
[carve] Quotes
- "A Toa-hero knows no fear!"
- — Matau, Legends of Metru Nui
- "You know, Jaller always used to say that Toa were invincible, because the things they stand for--unity, duty, and destiny--were invincible. Oh, we had seen them injured, even defeated temporarily, but somehow they--we--always stood to fight again. Even in the worst moments, I thought surely we would win out and return home again. That's what Toa do, isn't it? "
- — Hahli after Matoro's death, Downfall
- "It was Toa who defeated the Dark Hunters when we attempted to conquer Metru Nui. It was Toa who engineered the war between us and the Brotherhood of Makuta that still rages today. Leaving a Toa, any Toa, alive is like keeping a Doom Viper for companionship."
- — Zaktan
- "You are an anachronism--pure and noble heroes, still striving for right in a universe of chaos, unwilling to admit that your day is long over."
- — Zaktan, describing the Toa from his point of view to Tahu, Island of Doom
- "No wonder we had to be chosen to be Toa. Nobody would ever volunteer for this job."
- — Nuju, Mystery of Metru Nui
- "A Toa is not someone who has no fear--but someone who masters their fear."
- — Vakama's thoughts, Legends of Metru Nui
- "We’re Toa, Tuyet-–and Toa don’t run."
- — Lhikan, The Many Deaths of Toa Tuyet
- "We’re Toa. Don’t we always win in the end?"
- — Nikila in Lesovikk's vision, Dreams of Destruction
- "You have to be insane to be a Toa at all. It's the first requirement for the job."
- — Helryx, Swamp of Secrets
- "Do you know why we Makuta hate Toa so much? It's because you are what we could only pretend to be, once upon a time--heroes who do good for no reward. And so we call you fools, and even slay you...because we could not be you."
- — Krika, Swamp of Shadows
- "Matoran with the calling sometimes are a little ... eccentric. Almost like their brain knows something it isn’t telling them."
- — Jerbraz, Brothers In Arms
[carve] Trivia
- 56 Toa remain alive in the Matoran Universe. Of these 56, 22 are known: the 6 Toa Nuva, the 5 Toa Mahri, the 6 Toa Hagah, Takanuva, Lesovikk, Krakua, Helryx, and a captured Toa in suspended animation on Odina. Toa Ignika is not included because he is not truly a Toa.
- Despite varying size in sets, most Toa are about the same height.
- When Matoran are transformed into a Toa by normal means, their armor will take the shape of what they expect a Toa to look like.
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