Piraka Stronghold

"Despite the warmth of the outside air, the interior of the stronghold was deathly cold."
— Narrator, Power Play

Piraka Stronghold
Location
Status	Destroyed
Position	Voya Nui
Pronunciation	PIE-rock-ah

The Piraka Stronghold was a fortress the Piraka resided in during their occupation of Voya Nui.

History

Concept art of the Piraka Stronghold

The Stronghold was built by a team of Matoran led by Velika, ordered by the Piraka, who were posing as Toa. After completion, however, Matoran were forbidden to enter, with the exception of prisoners. The stronghold was protected by numerous robotic Nektann.

After being attacked by rebellious Matoran, Avak retreated here. The Piraka then held a meeting overheard by Piruk, who heard the Piraka say they were not Toa. This resulted in the creation of the Matoran Resistance. Later, in the central chamber, the Piraka tested their new weapon on Dezalk, a Ta-Matoran. Multiple Matoran were questioned in the Chamber of Truth.

This room has also been the location for several skirmishes among the Piraka, Toa, Matoran, and others. After defeating the Toa Nuva, the Piraka kept their masks and weapons in the Stronghold. Shortly after this, Avak and Thok came to the conclusion that Zaktan was tricking them as to the whereabouts of the Kanohi Ignika and confronted him in the Stronghold, imprisoning him in a resonance field created by Avak. Hakann and Brutaka soon after arrived and Brutaka began attacking the other two Piraka. At the same time, the Toa Nuva and Matoran Resistance arrived at the Stronghold and tricked Piraka Reidak into opening the secret entrance. Reidak, running in, attacked his fellow Piraka, unintentionally freeing Zaktan. The Toa Nuva and Resistance, after retrieving the former's masks and weapons, then entered the room and were defeated by Brutaka and taken prisoner by him and the Piraka respectively. The Matoran were questioned in the Chamber of Truth, from which they escaped later. Upon being recaptured by Hakann and Zaktan, Dalu was later taken back to the Stronghold but escaped again after Hakann and Zaktan fought, blaming each other for her initial escape.

The Stronghold was later the site of a battle between the Piraka and Toa Inika. During this fight, Brutaka's power was stolen by Hakann and Thok. The stronghold was greatly damaged after being the location of a battle between Hakann and Thok against the other four Piraka, Brutaka, and the Toa Inika, at the conclusion of which Brutaka's powers were restored to him and all the combatants were knocked out. While the Piraka and Toa Inika left in search of the Ignika, Axonn, who was present for the battle, remained to look after the recovering Brutaka. Upon Brutaka regaining consciousness, Axonn attempted to convince him to return to his duties of defending the Ignika instead of seeking to possess it. When the Tahtorak was accidentally freed from the Zone of Darkness by Brutaka during his battle against Axonn, who had been unable to persuade his former friend, it tore a hole through the wall of the stronghold. The stronghold was eventually obliterated during Voya Nui's descent back to the Southern Continent.

Locations

Many other chambers could be found throughout the stronghold. Some of them were empty. Some had equipment. One had walls that were covered with crude carvings of Vezok and Vezon's names. The stronghold's interior was very cold.

Central Chamber

The central chamber of the fortress held a cylindrical gathering crystal for Antidermis. If anyone besides Zaktan approached the crystal, they would experience dizziness, pain, and confusion.

Trophy Room

There was a large chamber acting as a trophy room or training room. A pair of contraptions in the center of this training chamber trained users to stay atop a Rahi such as Tahtorak, while a cage and a collection of trophies each occupied a corner of the room. High on the wall of the same room, the six Kanohi Nuva plundered from the conquered Toa Nuva hung from large, rusty nails. The masks were later retrieved, however.

Set Information

Piraka Stronghold Set

8894 Piraka Stronghold

The Piraka Stronghold set

8894 Piraka Stronghold was released as a playset in 2006. It contained 558 pieces including six Piraka and six Toa Inika minifigures.

An Antidermis Zamor Sphere was mounted on a stand in one of the towers to represent Zaktan's Crystal of Collection, and from the same tower Zamor spheres could be rolled down a track to another tower equipped with a Zamor Launcher. A gear beneath the track allowed the spheres to be transported one by one.

One of the stronghold's gates is a giant blue replica of a Skakdi-like face akin to those faces featured in the Piraka and Irnakk sets. Six pointed, glow-in-the-dark teeth inside this face are jointed to act as a gate.

Also included in the set were a smaller gate, a red battery-powered light intended to act as a laser in conjunction with a lens piece, an immobile Nektann, a Lavaboard, and a chariot drawn by a Zamor Launcher-wielding Fenrakk Spawn Spider.

Quotes

"Using only the barest fraction of his new power, he brought the Piraka stronghold to life. Walls grew arms that reached out and seized the Toa and Piraka. The floor formed stone shackles to bind their legs. The building itself seemed to be laughing as it tightened its grip on its prisoners."
— Narrator, Power Play

Trivia

• Piraka.com is based in the Piraka Stronghold.
• The Piraka Stronghold was designed by LEGO model designer Torben Skov.
• In the 2006 Playset Commercial, the narrator states that the Piraka Stronghold is alive. While at one point Thok did use his powers to bring the stronghold to life, the effect was only temporary.

Appearances

Promotional art of a battle at the Piraka Stronghold

Books	Comics	Multimedia
Novels BIONICLE Legends 1: Island of Doom (FA) BIONICLE Legends 2: Dark Destiny BIONICLE Legends 3: Power Play BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno Guides BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated BIONICLE: Makuta's Guide to the Universe	Ignition BIONICLE Ignition 1: If a Universe Ends ... BIONICLE Ignition 3: Showdown BIONICLE Ignition 5: In Final Battle	Online Games Island Investigation (NC) Voya Nui Online Game (SC) Video Games BIONICLE Heroes (NC) Commercials Piraka Commercials (NC) 2006 Playset Commercial (NC)