Sand Stalker

"When Glatorian need to cross the vast desert of Bara Magna, they do it on sand stalkers. These four-legged mounts can go long distances without food or water and can cross dunes without losing their footing. Though not as fierce in battle as the rock steeds of the bone hunters, they have greater endurance than those creatures and are easier to tame."
— LEGO BrickMaster Magazine March-April 2009

Sand Stalker
Creature
Conservation status	Common
Known locations	Bara Magna Bota Magna
Set number	Sand Stalker (instructions)

Sand Stalkers are docile hooved creatures native to Bara Magna.

History

Sand Stalkers are bred for endurance by the Agori and Glatorian to be ridden in the desert of Bara Magna.

The Crossing

Metus acquired several Sand Stalkers for the Glatorian escorting a convoy that was transporting Exsidian to Vulcanus. When the party rode in a Dune Snake nest, the Sand Stalkers panicked and Strakk's unseated its rider, who fell in a patch of quicksand. To save him, Gresh tied a rope to his Sand Stalker and pulled the Iconox Glatorian out. The two then used their mounts' footfalls to lure the Dune Snakes into the quicksand.

Later, the convoy was ambushed by the Skrall in the Black Spike Mountains. To escape, Gresh used a Thornax Launcher to cause an avalanche, and the Glatorian used their Sand Stalkers to escape. When the avalanche threatened them, however, they left their mounts and tried to find shelter into the wagon, with Gresh using the saddle in an attempt to deflect the rocks.

When Ackar and Kiina tried to search for the caravan, they used Sand Stalkers. Finding the members of the convoy in the Skrall River, with the wagon destroyed and the metal at the bottom of the river, they realized they would not be able to load the cargo onto their mounts. Strakk was sent in the desert to find a party of Skrall, which he identified from their Sand Stalkers. The Iconox Glatorian tricked the Skrall into fishing the Exsidian out of the river and giving them a new wagon. The Skrall did so, but when they tried to kill Strakk and take the metal for themselves, they were ambushed by the other Glatorian. Their Sand Stalkers rapidly caught up with the Spikit pulling the wagon. However, Ackar managed to trick the Skrall into fighting a party of Vorox led by Malum. The former Glatorian pursued the convoy on a Sand Stalker, but did not attempt to fight its escort.

Later, the party was attacked by Telluris on his Skopio XV-1. Ackar's Sand Stalker panicked, but the Vulcanus Glatorian kept it under control. Telluris attacked him, using an explosive Thornax to down both him and his mount. Kiina reacted using her Sand Stalker to evade all the vehicle's fire and jump on it. Ackar teamed up with Gresh to distract Telluris and, using his own Sand Stalker, managed to reach the vehicle's wheels and block them with the Exsidian ingots.

Tarduk's Expedition

During their expedition to track down the Red Star, the Agori Tarduk, Crotesius and Kirbold borrowed three Sand Stalkers from Metus to travel into the White Quartz Mountains. At one point, the mount Kirbold was using was sent off in another direction to provide a distraction for the creatures pursuing the party. The Stalkers later stumbled upon a den of the creatures, known as Iron Wolves, and halted, refusing to get any nearer to the half-mechanical creatures.

After successfully escaping the Iron Wolves, the traveling party eventually reached the Forest of Blades. Kirbold refused to go further, and parted the group, taking a Stalker with him. Tarduk was forced to dismount, and share a mount with Crotesius.

Other Sand Stalkers

Gelu also had a Sand Stalker. When a convoy he was escorting was attacked by Fero, the creature was fundamental in keeping Skirmix at bay, allowing Gelu to engage the Bone Hunter without interferences.

After Mata Nui gave lush life to the newly reformed Spherus Magna and was collapsing, Ackar and Kiina rode their stalkers to the site of the Prototype Robot.

Toa Orde, Chiara, and Zaria along with Gelu took Sand Stalkers into Bota Magna to locate the Great Beings. Orde's stalker was attacked by Vorox using a ranged explosive weapon. The four were captured off their Stalkers.

Abilities and Traits

Sand Stalkers are used for transportation across the deserts, as they have the ability to survive with little sustenance for long periods of time. They are also very sure-footed, able to cross dunes without sinking into them. While smaller than Rock Steeds, they are capable of holding their own against them in battle one-on-one.

The Skopio are the natural predators of the Sand Stalkers.

Set Information

The Sand Stalker is a combiner model that uses parts from the Malum and Fero & Skirmix sets. The instructions for the Sand Stalker were released in the March-April issue of the LEGO BrickMaster magazine.

Appearances

Books	Online
Novels BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (M) BIONICLE: Journey's End Guides BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna (M) Activity BIONICLE: Glatorian The Crossing	Story Serials Empire of the Skrall (M) Riddle of the Great Beings (FA) The Yesterday Quest