Outrider

"One day, the Skralls shall takes vengeance on you, on all of you, for the Forced Exile, Toa. And your pain will be legendary."

- Skilliox, revealing the Outriders' origins.

The Outriders are a brutal race of Shadow warriors, descending from the Skralls, and living in the Northern Steppes.

Race History
To see the history of the species before the Forced Exile, click here.

After their defeat at the Battle of Bara Magna, the Skralls still tried to fight, altought they were still forced to surrender after 3 years of constant siege. Having lost all honor and all battles, the Skralls were forced by the order of Mata Nui, which wanted to respect still their right to live, to dissipate their forces. This could have seemed a worthy end, as they were beggining to become citizens, but pression of the Matoran, which "feeled unsafe near such barbarians", and some "accidents",  drove the Order to relocate all Skralls to the most sterile part of the Northern Continent ; the Northern Steppes.

The Skralls took that as an insult, but had to follow the orders of the winner (as they had the weapons). Some Skralls hid away, or were hidden away, from the Order's patrols. Most of them, however, finished up in ice caves, forming up tribes, and restoring to their old life style. Their isolation from the Southern Regions fed up their hatred toward what they called "the unworthy children of Light".

Also, the installation of the Junctus Prime fortress cutted their normal plundering path. As hunger stroke, after one hundred years, the ranks of even the most resilient warriors, a new warlord took power over most of the tribes' leader. Named Skilliox, he and his Dark Shamans' cult began preaching he words of "the Great Dark Lord". Building a government based primarily on military merit and honor debts, Skilliox restored the Skrall people to their former glory, as they began to rise, he also instored a dark inquisition, burning alive albinos Outriders and the one not practicing the State's religion.

Something unknown wiped most of their memories during their thousand of years of isolation, and the only remaining artefacts of Skrall's culture went into the hands of Skilliox. To the few who tried to befriend them, they began calling themselves "Outriders", a term that the Matoran used to qualify these plunderers and solid warriors.

Culture
A very proud race, the Outriders based most of their lives on the primary cult of strength. Anyone strong enough, or having accomplished military deeds, can raise rapidly in the tribal hierarchy. Most of the males' life is to become a perfect warrior, using the Swords used by the fallens, or the great Thornax-engineered launcher. The females, on the other hands, have the choice between becoming a Dark Shaman for the Great Cult, or or becoming servants for the greater warriors.

After Skilliox's rise to power, another opportunity rose for the most worthy ; a greater chain of command was forged, and new opportunities of secondary job began popping for the new Empire. Skilliox also instored a new religion, talking about "the Great Dark Lord", the fallen one. His Cult believes that He will return, and bring the Southern Regions on a silver plate for his followers, which fuels the machine of war.

Outriders have a deep hatred for the Matoran and the Toa, althought after their memory loss, they don't remember why. Formerly because they were betrayed by them and brought to this forsaken land, Skilliox used that disorientation to tell them it was because the Great Dark Lord tells them by subconscious that the toa were His enemies. After the Toa Junctus' observations, it would seem this hatred will be a reason to war.

On the other hands, Outriders believe the Fenrixx hound to be a sacred Rahi, symbolizing their own strength and endurance. Skilliox instored a regional-wide competition of Fenrixx race, that he called "the Cult of Speed". After the event, the Outriders are known to plunder northern Matoran villages and to begin "the Matoran hunt", another event that Skilliox approved.

There exist a tribe entirely composed of Albinos Outriders. Naming themselves "White Muakas", their tribe is the biggest in all the Northern Steppes (not to be mingled with the Empire, which is an alliance of Outriders' tribes), and are in a state of open war against the "normal" people of Skilliox. While outnumbered, their nomadic nature keep Skilliox from discovering any traces of them. They are ace in the art of camouflage (white on a white background), and are known to have the fastest Fenrixx hounds of the Steppes. While their political structure and culture works the same way as their counterparts, they do not make war for the plunder, as they think it's unworthy of them, and their cult is based on the fact that, because of their skin color, they have both the power of Light and Darkness in their blood. This religion makes them more open to the other inhabitants of the Continent, as they think that they are to be examples to their fallen brothers.

Tools and equipement
Most Outriders warriors think of their equipement as sacred artefacts from the Great Conflict. As such, they care for them as much as a comrade's life, which means a lot.

Outriders are usually equipped with their Ancestor Sword, which they believe are a crucial link between them and the Element of Darkness. Also, most of them carry a Thornax Launcher. In case the warrior runs out of ammunitions, he can charge with his Ancestor Shield, usually equipped on his back when he uses his Thornax Launcher.

Skilliox tends to all of his warriors, and as so, he gave each one of them a Fenrixx hound, which they can mount to use in battle against their enemies. They tend to it as if the hounds were gods.