Aerther

Aerther is a Makuta in the Great Culling Alternate Universe and member of the Brotherhood of Makuta.

History
In an alternate universe, much like the core one, over 100,000 years ago, Aerther, like all Makuta, was created from a pool of Antidermis on an island in the southern chains of the Matoran Universe by Mata Nui. He was tasked with the creation of Rahi and serving the will of Mata Nui.

Following the Matoran Civil War, Aerther was assigned to Metru Nui to negotiate peaceful relations between the Matoran, where he quickly gained a reputation for using his position as a Makuta and his powers to intimidate them into cooperation with each other. Baelzebus, impressed with him, met with him and gave him information on how to construct the Spear of Soul Fission.

Afterwards, Aerther was given jurisdiction of the southern portion of the Northern Continent, which he ruled with an iron fist, using fear mongering and a secret police to keep the residents in line.

When the day came that Makuta Teridax proposed that the Brotherhood of Makuta betray Mata Nui and take over the Matoran Universe, Aerther sided with Teridax against Miserix but secretly wanted to be the one in charge of the Brotherhood. Because of this, he began to plot against him, and shared this plan with four other Makuta.

Eventually, Aerther, like all Makuta, evolved past the need for a physical body, becoming gaseous antidermis within armor, no longer needing to breathe, eat, sleep, or able to feel pain. Teridax had the Nynrah Ghosts come to Destral to modify the Makuta's armor to suit this new form. Afterwards, the Makuta made the collective decision to purge their inner light, becoming beings of pure shadow. Aerther was one of the first to do this.

Due to the threat they posed to their new armor, the Brotherhood began a genocide of Toa of Iron and Magnetism. Aerther would capture many Fe-Matoran and use them to experiment on with his Spear, splitting them into separate beings and torturing them for pleasure. Unbeknownst to him, one of these Fe-Matoran was actually an Av-Matoran in disguise, named Kaaze, who he successfully split into two Toa-like beings, named Accel and Mordokai, who he would torture horribly for years.

Eventually, Aerther, like all Makuta, evolved past the need for a physical body, becoming gaseous antidermis within armor, no longer needing to breathe, eat, sleep, or able to feel pain. Teridax had the Nynrah Ghosts come to Destral to modify the Makuta's armor to suit this new form.

After the Great Cataclysm, Makuta Icarax became disillusioned with Teridax's plan and chose to conquer the Matoran Universe through might. He launched an assault on the Northern Continent with an army of Manas crabs. Aerther composed an army of his own to fight back, and personally fought with it on the battlefield, before Teridax put a stop to the invasion himself.

Before they could die to the Energy Storms in Karda Nui, thanks to Makuta Baelox's Mask of Targeting, Aerther was able to see Bitil and Gorast and used his Mask of Kidnapping to save them from the brink of death.

Shortly after Teridax seized control of the Matoran Universe and the exile of Mata Nui's spirit and the Mask of Life into space, Aerther began his betrayal of Teridax and detonated a series of charges above the coliseum, causing it to collapse in on itself and damage the Core Processor. Teridax was unable to move his body as a result, and became trapped within it. Aerther, supported by Baelox, Traadox, and Bolas, then declared himself leader of the Brotherhood, and announced his plans for the Great Culling: the extermination of the Toa and the Order of Mata Nui, and the absolute seizure of the Matoran Universe by the Brotherhood as a whole, without Teridax in it.

Shortly after the announcement, Aerther visited a debilitated Gorast in her cell. He promised her a chance at revenge, and that he would make it all right for the Brotherhood, but Gorast had lost all faith in the Plan and the Brotherhood, and was not impressed by his words. She lashed out at him, and Aerther, disgusted by the rejection, reminded her that he had saved her life for a purpose, and that she would fulfill this purpose whether she liked it or not. He then left her to think on this alone.

Personality and Traits
It is said that even before the Makuta extinguished their inner light, Aerther had none of his own. In his short time as a diplomat, Aerther abused those around him, exploiting his intimidation factor to make others do what he wanted. He would happily have the Matoran prostrate themselves in his presence, showering him with praise and making him the center of attention. As the Makuta of the southern part of the Northern Continent, he acted like a dictator, ruling the Matoran there through fear. His ego is matched only by his anger, being quick to rage and phenomenally thin-skinned.

Once he became leader of the Brotherhood, Aerther demonstrated his laziness, content to sit upon his throne and let others, especially Traadox, handle running the affairs of the organization for him, showing that Aerther cares more about having the title of Leader than actually being one. Despite this, Aerther does have the capacity to plot and scheme, as he successfully conspired against Teridax and won, but it goes without saying that the majority of the dirty work and preparation was done by those he worked with, and that it was a largely thankless job on their part. Aerther is not one for gratitude, and is mostly a sociopath who uses other people to get what he wants.

In battle, Aerther demonstrates a disturbing penchant for cruelty, often preferring non lethal blows that do not outright kill his opponents but rather prolong their suffering. Using his fists as his primary weapons, Aerther chooses to reduce his foes to a bloody pulp, barely recognizable as what they once were, and finds great entertainment in this, known for laughing loudly as he pummels them to bits. Despite having many different Kraata powers, Aerther rarely uses most of them, as they do not cause the level of pain that he desires in his opponents. All of this said, Aerther prefers fighting fit, capable foes, not because he has any sense of fairness, but rather because he gets greater satisfaction out of utterly destroying strong opponents than he does killing off someone who was already weakened.

Tools and Abilities
Aerther wears a Great Kanohi Kruuduu, the Mask of Kidnapping, which has the ability to instantly capture and teleport a person to him if he can see where they are. On his back are two implanted Kinetic Energy generators, which generate a massive amount of power that he can channel into his fists.

He currently wields the Spear of Soul Fission, which has the power to split the soul and divide its owner into two beings based on the Light and Dark essences of their soul. He has used this power largely for experimentation, and rarely wields it in battle.

Like all Makuta, he has access to the 42 Kraata powers, control over the element of Shadow, and the ability to produce Kraata.

Trivia

 * Aerther originally started out as the leader of "The Organization", a shadowy group dedicated to experiments on Toa and Toa creation. He was not initially a Makuta.
 * Aerther was the first creation DatOni made using CCBS pieces.