Lariska

"I know where all my enemies are. After all, I'm the one who buried them."
— Lariska to Hakann, Legacy of Evil

Lariska
Dark Hunter
Powers	None
Tools	Daggers
Status	Alive
Location	Spherus Magna
Pronunciation	lah-RIS-kah

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Lariska is a stealthy and dangerous Dark Hunter and one of the Shadowed One's most trusted operatives.

Biography

Little is known about Lariska's past, but she might have come from a land where every day is a battle for survival.

Dark Hunters

Lariska became a Dark Hunter some 10,000 years ago.

Lariska was Hakann's first challenger upon his initiation into the Dark Hunters. He managed to bring Lariska down with a mental blast, but the Skakdi found her back on her feet with a knife to his throat the second he turned his back.

Sometime later, Lariska attempted to keep part of the payment from a mission to herself, and lost her left arm as punishment from the Shadowed One. It was replaced with a completely mechanical one.

Lariska was later among the legion of Dark Hunters sent to capture Metru Nui, which soon developed into the Toa-Dark Hunter War. While she was in Ga-Metru, she and Hakann spotted Toa Nidhiki walking in the abandoned streets. Instead of killing the Toa of Air, Lariska offered him the opportunity to betray his fellow Toa and win the city for the Dark Hunters. The next night, Nidhiki met with her again and ended up agreeing; Nidhiki planned to lead the full army of Toa into a trap at the Canyon of Unending Whispers, where the Hunters would ambush them from above. However, Lhikan discovered the betrayal, and when Lariska and her Dark Hunter legion revealed their positions, they instead found themselves surrounded by three hundred Toa. The Dark Hunters were forced to surrender and the war was ended. Lhikan sent all the Dark Hunters back to Odina, along with the shunned Nidhiki. The Shadowed One punished Lariska for her failure. She became close friends with Nidhiki after the war.

Lariska accompanied Nidhiki and Krekka on a mission to steal prototype Zamor Sphere Launchers from an armory owned by Nynrah Ghosts on the island of Nynrah. She distracted a Toa who was guarding the armory while the other two Hunters stole the weapons.

After Roodaka arrived on Odina, Lariska discouraged Nidhiki from speaking with her, though the Toa of Air disregarded her words. That night, she witnessed Nidhiki's mutation and fled to the fortress immediately afterward.

One of Lariska's missions included executing a Toa of Gravity. To prepare for the fight, she trained herself with levitation Kanoka to simulate zero gravity. She killed the Toa and received payment for the job, which was given to the Shadowed One. When she returned from her mission, Lariska substituted as the head of the Dark Hunters while the Shadowed One and Sentrakh ventured to Metru Nui to find out who had killed Nidhiki and Krekka.

Order of Mata Nui

Lariska was hired by the Order of Mata Nui to join a strike team composed of Roodaka, Brutaka, Makuta Spiriah, Carapar, Takadox, and Vezon organized to free the former Brotherhood of Makuta leader Miserix. Brutaka had her secretly follow the group when they sailed away from Stelt. After Spiriah commandeered the boat, Lariska sent word to Ehlek's species to be prepared to take out Spiriah's Zyglak as soon as they arrived at Zakaz. After that, Brutaka introduced her to the rest of the team.

Lariska accompanied the team to Tren Krom's Island so that her "teammates" could pick up weapons for the raid on the island where Miserix was imprisoned. Unfortunately, the party was attacked by the powerful entity Tren Krom, forcing Lariska to come to Spiriah's aid after the Makuta was wounded while trying to escape. After Brutaka was taken by Tren Krom, Lariska led the team inside Tren Krom's cave and argued with the powerful being. This resulted in her having her mind read by Tren Krom and being temporarily knocked unconscious. Outraged at what he learned from Lariska about the current state of the Matoran Universe, Tren Krom gave all of the team members nightmarish visions. After killing Carapar for attempting to slay him, Tren Krom chose to permit the team to leave his island, believing that living in the universe they had created was far worse than anything he could do to them.

Before the team's arrival on Artidax, Lariska was openly concerned about Takadox and his silence, but Brutaka dismissed her concerns. After arriving, Lariska suggested that Spiriah act as a "stalking Kinloka" - that he would lead the team to trigger any traps while the rest followed. After being alerted of one such trap by Vezon and safely going over it, the team entered a tunnel dug into the side of a mountain. When Brutaka realized Takadox was missing, Lariska spotted him as he triggered the trap they had just passed, causing an avalanche that trapped them inside the tunnel. Lariska then caught Vezon trying to escape via a side tunnel and brought him back. After progressing through the tunnel, Lariska was the first to hear a noise that Vezon later pointed out to be thousands of insect Rahi moving on the floor and blocking the exits. Lariska wanted to fight her way out of the situation, but Brutaka wanted Spiriah to try his powers first, causing the Makuta to act up. After a minor scuffle, Spiriah failed to move the Rahi and Brutaka opted for Lariska's suggestion. Roodaka then mutated a way through them, leading the rush towards a large chamber containing Miserix.

After a brief conversation between the team and Miserix, which resulted in Spiriah's death, Lariska recognized the chains containing Miserix and proceeded to find a weak link in them on Brutaka's order. After shattering the chains, the klakk that were circling the chamber attacked the team, forcing Vezon and Lariska to try fend them off. Miserix used his power scream ability to the knock the klakk unconscious, along with Vezon and Lariska. After Miserix freed himself from the volcano, Brutaka dragged the semi-conscious Vezon and Lariska onto Miserix's back, along with a newly stunned Roodaka, and allowed Miserix to take them north. Lariska then assisted the Order of Mata Nui in their war against the Brotherhood of Makuta.

Teridax's Reign

After Teridax took over the universe, Lariska and Guardian were part of a small team led by Tahu in the ruins of Karzahni. Makuta killed Guardian and gave the rest a choice: return to Metru Nui with the Exo-Toa surrounding them or die. Onua arrived at that moment, defeated the Exo-Toa by opening a chasm beneath the machines, and joined the group. He proceeded to inform them that the Order of Mata Nui agents they had planned to meet up with had fallen at the hands of Rahkshi. He suggested that they instead travel to Daxia and destroy the Energized Protodermis pool there, from which Onua suspected Teridax was creating his Rahkshi. This mission was successful, and the group later split up.

After the Matoran Universe was critically damaged in the Battle of Bara Magna, Lariska immigrated to Spherus Magna.

Abilities and Traits

Lariska is tough and cynical. She is a limber, Toa-sized being clad in dark teal armor. Her left arm is completely mechanical after being punished by the Shadowed One. Although she is able to wear and use Kanohi like the rest of her species, she chooses not to do so.

Lariska is incredibly fast and agile and can perform astounding acrobatic maneuvers. She does not like to rest, preferring to move around; she has been known to spontaneously start doing somersaults and backflips. She can be very quiet when hunting, and she has senses so acute that she was able to detect Nidhiki when he was using a Kanohi Volitak.

As the one who convinced Nidhiki to betray the Toa, she felt responsible for what happened to him.

The Shadowed One has noted that Lariska is a Dark Hunter whom the other Hunters fear. He cited this fact when he asked Lariska to run the organization in his absence.

Tools

Lariska is a skilled hand-to-hand fighter and an expert with many weapons, but she prefers throwing daggers, which she sometimes coats with poison. Currently, she carries a set of combat daggers made from Protosteel, which the Order of Mata Nui gave the Dark Hunters as payment.

Quotes

"Get up, Rahi bones. Lariska's class is now in session."
— Lariska to Hakann, Legacy of Evil

"First lesson, Rahi bones. Don't turn your back on an enemy until you're sure she's stopped breathing. And don't turn your back on a Dark Hunter until her body has rotted in the sun and her armor's been scattered to the winds."
— Lariska to Hakann, Legacy of Evil

"Lariska shrugged, already restless. She liked to be moving all the time. Standing around and talking was torture for her, which is precisely why the Shadowed One made her do it."
— Narrator, Time Trap

"I am leaving the island for a short while. You will oversee things here in my absence."
"Why me?"
"Because the other Dark Hunters are afraid of you. And you are afraid of me."
— The Shadowed One and Lariska, Time Trap

"... the day I kill you, Shadowed One, you will see it coming. I want you to see it coming."
— Lariska, Time Trap

"This is the last member of our team. Treat her as you would me... and be sure she will treat you even worse than I do. Her name's Lariska."
— Brutaka, Federation of Fear

"... Lariska, the wise, wonderful, and gloriously homicidal."
— Vezon, Federation of Fear

Trivia

• Lariska is Greg Farshtey's favorite Dark Hunter.

Appearances

Books	Online
Novels BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap (FA) BIONICLE Legends 4: Legacy of Evil (F) Guides BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated Birth of a Dark Hunter BIONICLE: Makuta's Guide to the Universe	Story Serials Federation of Fear Destiny War (M) Reign of Shadows