Ezule

"Do not mistake me for a simple scientist. Once, I was a callous murderer, now I am a committed loyalist. I let my determination and intentions grant me the power to butcher an entire island of innocent lives. I am still attempting to atone for my sickening crimes, and I will gladly live with the guilt, but if you claim my actions are unjustified when it comes to their morality, then we are already at dangerous odds."

- Ezule

Ezule is a guilt-ridden Intellian scientist who was condemned to the Pit for committing an unpardonable offense.

Early Life
Originally native to the mountainous island of Nocterra, Ezule initially applied to become an engineer, though later chose to become a scientist upon realizing his mind and skills could be put to better use. Steadily, Ezule became one of the most promising scientists on the island. For many years, Ezule would continue living a peaceful existence until disputes with the Saursapien blacksmiths of Archosa resulted in Nocterra declaring a full-scale war upon the crafters.

Wishing to help his people and partake in the war, Ezule left his quiet life to join the Intellian/Necronite espionage groups. Ezule was then trained as a spy and field operative, and after proving his skills, was sent on a number of very dangerous reconnaissance missions. Though the nature of most of his missions remain unknown, it is known that Ezule was once sent to assassinate a Saursapien military commander, though failed to do so. During this particular encounter, Ezule's second set of arms were ripped off. After three years of fighting, the Brotherhood of Makuta stepped in and forced the two quarreling lands to sign an uneasy truce.

With the purposes of the spy group now rendered defunct, Ezule retired from service in the intelligence divisions and returned to his original life as a scientist. Eventually, he became one of the island's best researchers, becoming particularly specialized in the study of toxins. His expertise eventually gave him a home in Nocterra's central city, a place reserved only for the island's very best. Despite his incredible credentials and reputation, Ezule became bored with the limits of his homeland and sought to challenge his intellect.

Hiatus
Deciding that the rest of the universe would hold many more mysteries and challenges for him, Ezule left Nocterra to journey around the countless lands of his world. On most of his journeys, he would spend extended periods of time studying the culture and behavioral patterns of these land's inhabitants. During his journeys, Ezule had an encounter with Toa Lesovikk during their respective travels, though the nature of the encounter remains unclear.

Eventually, Ezule settled down in the docklands of Stelt, choosing the unstable region due to the presence of various races and species who regularly visited the island. During his stay, he regularly assisted those who required his scientific knowledge in exchange for equipment and information that could help him in experiments or his studies of other cultures. Due to his awareness of the criminal activities on Stelt, Ezule would only give his knowledge to those who wouldn't severely misuse it.

Though this venture initially flourished, Ezule's talents eventually caught the notice of the Shadow Syndicate, whose representatives frequently sought to recruit him as an operative. However, Ezule refused, and when Syndicate operative personally threatened him violence, the Intellian killed him and used his death as a warning. Instantly enraged, the Syndicate's leader, Lethal, sent a Skakdi named Kormak to deal with him. Surprisingly, Ezule successfully beat Kormak into submission and turned him back, though not before the thug severely punctured Ezule's neck, forcing him to connect a breathing apparatus to his throat in order to survive. Following this encounter, Lethal gave up on attempting to kill the Intellian.

Brotherhood of Makuta
A year or so after this encounter, Ezule was approached by the Brotherhood of Makuta, who wished to recruit him into their group because of his talents. Impressed with the vast resources the Brotherhood held at its disposal, Ezule joined the Brotherhood as a scientist, and his remarkable expertise allowed him to quickly rise into a position of power. After becoming a lieutenant and establishing himself as one of the Brotherhood's top scientists, Ezule was placed in charge of a small Matoran-populated island.

300 years before the Great Cataclysm, Makuta Teridax instructed Ezule to develop a toxic substance that could kill upon contact. Interested by the prospect of such a chemical, Ezule worked tirelessly to produce a virus that could successfully carry out Teridax's requests. Despite being aware of the possibility of the Makuta weaponizing it, Ezule was too committed to his work to take it into serious consideration. After months of trial and error, Ezule produced a virus that exceeded all expectations, including his own.

Despite being fully aware of its potential, Ezule willingly approved of the virus being tested on the Matoran that populated the island under his control, disregarding his morality on the decision as pure illogical thinking. His cold and detached attitude towards the testing of his toxin would later play a role in determining his fate. When the chemical was released, all the Matoran subjects were killed within hours, proving the virus' efficiency.

This massive loss of life caught the attention of the Order of Mata Nui, who deemed his unforgivable crimes worthy of a lifetime imprisonment in the Pit. After being subdued and taken away by Botar, the Order destroyed his virus and the formula required to create it. Whilst the Brotherhood was puzzled by Ezule's disappearance, they did not investigate the matter any further, despite the loss of the virus.

The Pit
Ezule would remain in his cell for the next 300 years until the Great Cataclysm struck the Matoran Universe, which resulted in the Pit's outer dome being split, allowing Ezule and the other prisoners of the Pit to escape into the surrounding seas. There, the Pit Mutagen present in the Black Waters gave him the ability to breathe water, though his physical appearance was not affected by the mutagen.

However, during his imprisonment, Ezule had began to feel guilt and remorse for his crimes, and subsequently declared that he deserved this banishment. He then opted to return to his cell and isolate himself from the activities of other escapees such as the Barraki warlords. Eventually, however, Ezule was forced to leave the Pit when a tribe of Zyglak took up residence in the ruined prison. Ezule then took up residence in a small cave near the Pillars of Salt, living out a simple existence without interaction with the rest of the world.

1,300 years after being imprisoned in the Pit, the revived jailer of the Pit, Hydraxon began recapturing escaped prisoners, forcing many of them to go on the elusive. Rather than flee, Ezule willingly turned himself in to Hydraxon, becoming one of the first recaptured prisoners of the newly-repaired Pit.

War with the Brotherhood
Not long after his re-imprisonment, The Order offered to pardon the Intellian of his crimes and grant him his freedom if he aided them in their war with Brotherhood of Makuta. Feeling this service could provide him with the opportunity to amend for his past injustices, Ezule accepted the offer and joined the Order's army.

After being freed from the Pit and having his breathing apparatus modified, Ezule supplied the Order with all his knowledge of the Brotherhood's infrastructure, providing particularly in-depth information on the location of many Makuta bases. Upon discovering details of his former life as a highly-trained spy during the Archosa/Nocterra War, the Order sent him on a number of reconnaissance missions to uncover any of the Brotherhood's secrets.

On one mission, Ezule traveled to Versuva to infiltrate Makuta Dredzek's hidden base, looting it of all its valuable equipment. In addition, he also stole a number of the Makuta's viruses, which he later analyzed and deciphered. However, the Order wished to use these viruses against the Makuta, and instructed him to alter them it suit their purposes. Though initially hesitant to do this, Ezule agreed to modify them and allow them to be used against the Brotherhood as weapons.

Ezule's last known appearance was during the Order's attack on Destral, where he was seen healing wounded Order operatives. After Destral was won, Ezule was sent to safeguard a cache of Vortixx weaponry hidden near the Tren Krom Peninsula. Though a battalion of Rahkshi was sent to recover the shipment, they never succeeded in doing so.

Teridax's Reign
Shortly after the Order's victory and the final defeat of the Brotherhood, Makuta Teridax assumed control over the Matoran Universe and Mata Nui's robotic body. Unsettled by Teridax's success, Ezule joined one of the countless rebellions against the Makuta's reign in order to make a difference. When Teridax's Rahkshi invaded Odina, Ezule attempted to aid the Dark Hunters upon recognizing how useful they could be in fighting the Makuta. Despite his efforts, however, the Dark Hunters were forced to relocate to Xia.

When the Great Spirit Robot was crippled and heavily damaged following the Battle of Bara Magna, Ezule and the surviving denizens of the Matoran Universe migrated to Spherus Magna, where his mutations were undone by Mata Nui using the Ignika.

Abilities and Traits
After years of extensive and rigorous study, Ezule has become a scientific genius, particularly in the study of toxins. His fierce intelligence is only matched by his keen analytical abilities, which when matched with his photographic memory, make him seem more observant to detail than a user of the Kanohi Trezket. Due to his training as a spy, Ezule has become very detached, and excels and hiding all and any emotions he may have. During his time with the Brotherhood, Ezule proved to be an especially cold individual, as shown when he was willing to test his toxic virus on an island of Matoran just to get results.

Originally, Ezule did not believe in the concept of good or evil, and by extension, he did not view his actions as morally ambiguous. However, after being banished to the Pit for his heartless actions in his service to the Brotherhood, he began to reconsider this viewpoint, resulting in him feeling guilty for his actions. Ever since his release from the Pit, Ezule has been doing everything in his power to atone for his past, even going as far to declare his siding with the Order as his penance. Despite his ethic crisis, Ezule will be cold when necessary, sometimes acting acting with almost casual ruthless.

As an Intellian, Ezule possesses powerful telepathic abilities, to the extent that he can read minds, create mental illusions, and create psychic barriers within the minds of others. Due to exposure to a virus of his own creation, Ezule has a slight resistance to Pit Mutagen, although he was still transformed into a water-breather. In addition, due to his training as a spy, he is a master of stealth and sabotage, which have made him an extremely talented infiltrator. Although he avoids battle, Ezule can still hold his own against multiple enemies with ease, and he capable in both armed and unarmed combat.

Tools
When forced into fights, Ezule generally relies on a combat staff he salvaged from Hydraxon's weapon cache in the Pit. He also bears a shoulder-mounted Nynrah Ghost Blaster, a weapon which he can aim and move with his thoughts. Ezule also has a Protosteel battle shield mounted on his arm, which has been designed to endure most forms of attack. After his neck was punctured by Kormak, Ezule was forced to connect a breathing apparatus straight to his windpipe in order to breathe.

This apparatus was later filled with water when he became a water breather, though was emptied once his mutations were undone by Mata Nui. Like many Intellians, Ezule also possessed an additional pair of arms, each of which ends in a long blade. However, both these arms were ripped from his anatomy during a violent encounter with a Saursapien warrior.

Trivia

 * Ezule's name was derived from the Italien word "esule", which means "exile".
 * Fundamental aspects of Ezule's character were based off Mordin Solus, a Salarian scientist from the Mass Effect games.