BIONICLE Adventures 8: Challenge of the Hordika

"It was a difficult decision. The rage of the Rahi ruled our hearts, and in none more than mine. We faced enemies of great power and great cunning, and we had to do it stripped of our mask powers, stripped of our traditional Toa tools, yes, stripped of our very selves...."
— Turaga Vakama

Challenge of the Hordika
Book
Series	BIONICLE Adventures
Author	Greg Farshtey
Publisher	Scholastic
ISBN 0-439-69621-6

Challenge of the Hordika is the eighth BIONICLE book in the BIONICLE Adventures series by Greg Farshtey, released in April 2005.

Synopsis

Krahka sneaks into the Coliseum to challenge Roodaka to a fight. Roodaka ends up winning the fight, and forces Krahka to work for her. Kualus reveals to Nuju that he can speak the language of the flying Rahi. Rahaga Iruini reveals to Matau that he was once a Toa as well.

The Toa Hordika begin searching for components to make Airships, hoping to build a fleet to carry the Matoran to safety. Vakama finds a Toa Disk with Nuhrii's mask on it instead of his own, and notices that his own Toa Disk had something else on it, which was scratched out and replaced with his own mask. Krahka uncovers writing in the Great Temple from a Ko-Metru Scholar who had predicted the names of the Matoran who had been destined to become Toa Metru (the Ga-Matoran had covered it up afterwards, preferring Mata Nui's will not be revealed that way). Krahka sneaks out while Nokama fights a Gate Guardian. Nokama, while retrieving the Great Masks from the Great Temple to take to Mata Nui, sees the names; they are the names of the six Matoran who had known the locations of the Great Disks, not the six Toa Metru.

Iruini reveals to Matau that Roodaka mutated the Rahaga, just before many Visorak invade the building they are in. Onewa discovers Teridax's hidden lair in Po-Metru. He finds a tablet, planted by Krahka, containing a terrible secret. Vakama breaks into Toa Lhikan's chambers and finds a journal which reveals that Lhikan originally planned to give the Toa Stones to the Matoran who knew the locations of the Great Disks, then mysteriously changed his mind.

A Kahgarak spinner sends Whenua and Bomonga into the Zone of Darkness. They follow another Kahgarak in that realm, hoping to escape. Pouks catches Krahka near the Po-Metru lair of Teridax. He and Onewa convince her to help them after Pouks reveals that the Visorak, led by Roodaka, had defeated the rest of Krahka's kind. She admits that she planted the evidence about the Toa's destiny, but that the evidence itself is real. A Visorak Roporak sent to spy on Krahka overhears her agree to betray Roodaka. Matau is fooled by an Oohnorak into letting the Visorak into the hangar in Le-Metru. Meanwhile, the other Toa Hordika see the Visorak heading towards Le-Metru and follow, assuming that Matau and Iruini are in trouble. Krahka summons the Tahtorak. She gets him to obey her after telling him that the Visorak have the answer to his question, but want to hide it from him. Krahka, Onewa, and Pouks ride the Tahtorak towards Le-Metru, rescuing Nuju and Kualus from some Visorak on the way. Whenua and Bomonga escape from the realm of darkness by following a Kahgarak out of it, and they appear right next to Sidorak in the midst of the battle in Le-Metru. The Tahtorak, Krahka, and the other Toa Hordika and Rahaga arrive. Zivon is summoned from its dimension of darkness - and Whenua and Bomonga, trapped by webbing, are to be its first meal.

The Tahtorak and Krahka fight the Zivon, while the Hordika trap the Visorak in their constructed tower while Sidorak flees. As the rest of the Visorak are defeated, a Kahgarak tries to hit the Tahtorak with its spinner, but Krahka knocks the Zivon into Tahtorak, and all three disappear into the Zone of Darkness. Onewa kills the Kahgarak in anger.

The battle is won. The Visorak trapped inside the Tower turn on each other. The few survivors are released and chased away. The Toa Hordika claim the tower as their own and Norik shows them how to charge the gate with elemental energy, which will stop any attempts to break in.

Onewa reveals the contents of the tablet from Teridax's lair. Teridax had planted the idea in Lhikan's mind to make them Toa instead of those who were destined for the task.

Characters

• The Toa Hordika
• The Rahaga
• The Visorak horde
• Roodaka
• Sidorak
• The Zivon
• Krahka
• The Tahtorak of Metru Nui
• A Gate Guardian

Trivia

• The front cover depicts prototype models of the Toa Hordika used for the preliminary key visual.
• Kualus comments that "Gukko" is a possible insult in the Gukko's language. It is unknown if this is true.
• On page 23, Onewa and Pouks observe a Kane-Ra herd and discuss how to scare the Rahi away. This conservation ends with an enraged Onewa tearing a chunk of rock from the canyon's wall. On page 56, however, Onewa has calmed down, and he uses the rock to awaken a pack of Rock Raptors that attack a Kikanalo herd. This is explained as being a herd consisting of both Rahi.
• On page 84, a group of six camoflauged Visorak are erroneously identified as "Vahki Vohtarak." These are intended to be Visorak Roporak.

See also

• Saga Guide - The Great Rescue
• Timeline - The Great Rescue

External links

• Challenge of the Hordika archived on Wall of History