Krana

"Each Bohrok carries within it a krana, their greatest strength. Also their greatest weakness."
— Turaga Vakama, The Bohrok Awake

Krana
Bohrok
Powers	Controlling their wearers Granting their wearers power(s) Communicating telepathically with each other
Status	Dormant
Location	Bohrok Nests
Pronunciation	KRAH-nah
Set	8559 BIONICLE Krana 8597 Kanohi Nuva & Krana Pack

Krana are small organic creatures that link the Bohrok or other beings to the Bohrok swarms.

History

Kopaka on his quest to collect the krana

The Toa Mata with the krana they collected

The original krana were created by the Great Beings by exposing the remains of the process that created the first Matoran to Energized Protodermis. This procedure resulted not only in krana, but also Zyglak.

The Bahrag were later taught how to create krana on their own using a different process that did not result in Zyglak, and were given Energized Protodermis to do so. A carving depicting the process the Bahrag used was inscribed on a tunnel above Metru Nui.

When the Bohrok first attacked Mata Nui, the Turaga of the island instructed the Toa Mata to collect a specimen of each of the eight krana varieties from each of the six Bohrok types. The Toa then placed the forty-eight krana into niches on the floor of a Bohrok Nest, thus opening up pathways to six Exo-Toa.

After the Bahrag were defeated and imprisoned in a Toa Seal, the Matoran dumped many krana into a deep pit, which they sealed and marked with warning signs. However, many krana still remained in stasis in their nests.

When the Toa Nuva returned and freed the Bahrag in preparation for Mata Nui's Reawakening, the Bohrok destroyed the krana pit and most likely retrieved the creatures inside.

Abilities and Traits

The krana receive commands from the Bahrag and can assimilate biomechanical beings to the Bohrok swarms by latching onto their faces and controlling their minds. Krana cannot control organic beings, such as those native to Spherus Magna, as they do so by overriding their host's programming. Krana can also slow down their life processes. Like the Matoran and Toa, krana are a form of artificial intelligence. All krana can communicate telepathically with each other and the Bahrag, but only the Krana Za can communicate with other beings.

Krana were unable to operate Bohrok-Kal. Instead, the Bohrok-Kal were operated by krana-kal, krana which had been exposed to the same mutagen as the Bohrok-Kal.

Krana are able to crawl very slowly, like slugs. Krana are genderless.

All Rahi fear and avoid krana as they sense something about them is amiss.

Types

There are forty-eight varieties of krana: for each of the six breeds of Bohrok, there are eight types that each bestow a different power. Bohrok cannot serve the Bohrok swarms without a krana, and if a krana is ever lost it is the task of the Bohrok Va to replace it. Krana will adjust to whatever breed of Bohrok they are placed into. Krana of different Bohrok breeds are designated with the name of the Bohrok and the krana's suffix. For instance, a Tahnok's active Krana Ja is a Tahnok Ja, while a dormant one is a Tahnok Va Ja.

Krana Vu being used by Pahrak

The eight types of krana are listed below, in descending order based on their rank.

Krana	Power
Krana Xa	Swarm Commander - Strategy Grants its Bohrok the ability to form complex plans. These krana lead the Bohrok swarm on their mission.
Krana Za	Squad Leader - Telepathy and Limited Mind Reading Can communicate telepathically with, and read the minds of, other krana and beings.
Krana Vu	Surveyor - Limited Flight Grants its Bohrok the ability to fly short distances. These krana fly ahead of the swarm to confirm that the path is clear.
Krana Ca	Clearance Worker - Strong Defense Shielding Can shield itself and others from attacks. These krana spearhead the swarm's mission.
Krana Yo	Mole - Tunneling Grants its Bohrok the ability to tunnel through almost any substance on Mata Nui.
Krana Ja	Scout - Radar Can use radar sense to detect distant obstacles in the swarm's path.
Krana Su	Worker - Strength Possess colossal energy, granting its Bohrok enhanced strength. These krana inhabit only the strongest of Bohrok.
Krana Bo	Sentinel - Infrared Vision Can see in the dark. These krana serve as night-time guards, as well as guides into dark caves.

A Tahnok's Krana Xa

Krana have both active and dormant states. Krana are active if they are inside an operating Bohrok or if they are attached to a being's face. When not commanding a host they go dormant, conserving energy and turning a different color. Bohrok Va do not need krana to operate, so the krana they bear are always in the dormant state.

		Xa	Za	Vu	Ca	Yo	Ja	Su	Bo
Tahnok	Active
	Dormant
Gahlok	Active
	Dormant
Lehvak	Active
	Dormant
Pahrak	Active
	Dormant
Nuhvok	Active
	Dormant
Kohrak	Active
	Dormant

Set Information

Krana Sets
8559 Krana	8597 Kanohi Nuva & Krana Pack

A Krana Xa in a Bohrok headplate

Krana were first released in early 2002 as rubbery plastic collectibes. They were produced in a total of twelve different colors: blue, orange, red, green, lime green, and medium blue, which could be found in the Bohrok sets, representing active krana, and yellow, purple, dark gray, tan, black, and white which could be found in the Bohrok Va sets, representing dormant krana. One random krana appeared in each set in the color used by that particular Bohrok or Bohrok Va.

Bohrok sets would fling their krana as a defense mechanism when their eyes were pressed, while Bohrok Va would fling their krana when their right arm was moved. The krana could be attached to the heads of the Toa Mata and other characters. However they were not able to be connected to the head piece introduced with the Toa Metru in 2004.

Krana were also available in 8559 BIONICLE Krana (alternatively release as 8569 BIONICLE Krana), a small set that included three random krana and two random Golden Kanohi or Silver Kanohi worn by the Toa Mata. While the back of the box showcased only the active-colored krana, the box also could contain the dormant-colored krana.

During the latter half of 2002 set 8597 Kanohi Nuva & Krana Pack (alternatively release as 8598 Kanohi Nuva & Krana Pack) became available, containing three random krana in the same colors as before as well as two random Kanohi Nuva in any of the primary colors of the six Toa Nuva.

Though there were eight krana designs, they all shared the same design ID of 42042. This was due to the way the designs were randomized, with each position in the mold featuring a different design. There were eight different designs due to the space available in the mold. This same randomization method was used for the Kraata, as well as the krana-kal which used the same design.

Each krana bears three Matoran letters on its reverse side. The first letter in these codes form an acrostic of BIONICLE.

• Xa: BMR
• Ca: IEK
• Vu: OMA
• Za: NMG
• Bo: ICR
• Yo: CAG
• Ja: LPP
• Su: EPF

Quotes

Carvings of Krana Xa, Vu and Bo

"These krana are not objects of power, like our Kanohi - they are alive!"
— Kopaka, To Trap a Tahnok

"What — you — you read my thoughts, Lewa?"
"I am a Bohrok Za, a squad leader. My Telepathy powers are meant to communicate with my swarm. But your thoughts are so slow and transparent that I can read them with no effort at all."
— Onua and krana-controlled Lewa, Beware the Bohrok

"I know the krana controls your body, Lewa, but not your will. If it is so strong that it can make you harm a friend... Then go ahead -- I will not defend myself. But I know you, Lewa. I have fought beside you... and I know you are stronger than this parasite."
— Onua to Lewa, Into the Nest

Trivia

• Matoran would classify krana as Rahi, even though they are not.
• The pronounciation of Krana Xa and Za are identical, as they are both pronounced as "ZAH," When the Bahrag communicate telepathically with the Bohrok and Bohrok Va, they send both the name and image of the krana, and as such do not need to distinguish the names.
  • However, on the Bohrok Swarms Promo CD, the Krana Xa is pronounced as "KSAH."

Appearances

A krana targeting a maskless Tahu

Books	Comics	Online	Multimedia
Novels BIONICLE Chronicles 2: Beware the Bohrok BIONICLE Chronicles 3: Makuta's Revenge (M) BIONICLE Chronicles 4: Tales of the Masks (M) BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui (F) BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets (M) Guides The Official Guide to BIONICLE 2003 Style Guide BIONICLE: Metru Nui - City of Legends (M) BIONICLE: Rahi Beasts (M) BIONICLE: Encyclopedia (M) BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated (M) BIONICLE: Makuta's Guide to the Universe (M) Activity BIONICLE: Collector's Sticker Book (M)	BIONICLE BIONICLE 4: The Bohrok Awake BIONICLE 5: To Trap a Tahnok BIONICLE 6: Into The Nest BIONICLE 7: What Lurks Below Ignition BIONICLE Ignition 12.5 (M) Promotional Bohrok Promo Comic McDonald's 3: Secret of the Swarm McDonald's 4: Into the Nest Lunchables 1	Chronicle Wall of History (M) Short Stories "Protection" (M) Animations Mata Nui Online Animations Toa Nuva Promo Animations (NC)	CDs Bohrok Swarms Promo CD Toa Nuva Promo CD (NC)

See also

• Krana-kal

External links

• BIONICLE.com Krana Page