The Feral Plains/Volume I

The Feral Plains: Volume I is the first part of The Feral Plains. It was first written in five episodes by CaptainLandr0ver on the Lego.com Gallery under the name "tomatopaste101", and was later proofread, edited and combined into a volume to be released here.

Glimpse
Arvos skittered up the sand and clumsily sifted through the flexible greatgrass. While his bright red armor was revealing, his stature and the nature around made him nearly invisible from a distance. With all of the giant flora it was impossible to see anyone from more than 10 feet away. But this time there was an exception. He'd seen something- something that was definitely a sentient upright being, a Matoran- standing just on the edge of the bank of the Desolation River (which was dried up, of course). He couldn't even remember exactly what color it was- blue, maybe? Light blue? It was sort of more of an azure... and some white, he couldn't forget that. But he didn't know what it's intentions were. Was it hostile? Where did it come from? What is it here for, in this land where everything that doesn't want to eat you is sand and grass? How come he'd never seen such a thing before?

He could just barely see his two allies standing atop the jagged shrine of rocks, dried mud and wiry grass. He was thinking of what to say to them, what he had saw, what his assumptions are. As far as he knew, Turaga Maroona would probably know the most about what he was going to tell them about. As always, Omakah would probably tell him some conspiracy-like lie that involves invaders from beyond the stars. That got Arvos thinking that the strange Matoran could be an invader. All of the other tribes were always mysterious, but this Matoran didn't resemble any man he'd seen before.

He finally arrived to his friends. "Where in the name of Makuta have you been?" scolded Turaga Maroona in her gentle yet somehow piercing voice. She was quite old, that was for sure, but also wise. But she was as wise as she was... not completely there.

"Well, I didn't think you'd care..." Arvos said in between his gasps for the cold stinging air of dusk. "I mean, you didn't come looking for me, so-"

Omakah spoke up. His buff, gravelly voice said, "Are you kidding me?! Turaga Maroona here can barely walk a mile without needing to rest for days on end, and we had no idea how far out you'd gone!"

"Well," Arvos said, "I saw something. A Matoran, I-I think..."

"You must be seeing mirages, boy," said Maroona.

"It's not hot enough for mirages," replied Arvos. Under his breath he added "Plus, Maroona is the only one who sees hallucinations, and she sees a lot of 'em."

"Could be an explorer from one of the tribes that left," said Omakah. "Although that's unlikely. Possible, but unlikely. They haven't come back in years."

"I still don't believe you," said Maroona.

"Well, if I wasn't completely sure, I wouldn't have ran all this way..." argued Arvos.

"Well, alright," said a reluctant Maroona.

All three of them crouched down in the depression near the dried riverbank. They squinted hard, but couldn't see anything- aside from Arvos.

"Look, there it is!" he exclaimed a bit too loudly, and Maroona shushed him. "Standing in the same spot."

And sure enough, there it was. A white Matoran-like being, standing with an unidentifiable tool in his hand. There was blue on him, too... but it wasn't opaque like most armor, they could see the remaining rays of sunlight refract inside of it.

"Wait..." said Maroona "I think, I... I know what that is. Not who that is. But I know what we must do."

Salvation
Maroona, Omakah and Arvos all stood around the East side of some sort of shrewd three-legged machine, in the middle of the dried-up Desolation River. The sun had begun it's standard ritual of rising over the innumerable mountains. The once cold early morning air was already being warmed by its gentle emissions.

"Here it is," said Turaga Maroona, "The, uh..." she struggled to think of a name. "The Shrine of Salvation."

"Salvation, huh?" said Arvos. "We don't need any saving, we can do it ourselves."

Maroona chuckled and replied, "I think that what we are about to face is bigger than ourselves. The shrine will work when I speak the words."

"What words?" asked Omakah. "I doubt this thing even works. Froms the looks of it this things' been unused for years. Plus, since when can words make a 'magical' thing do 'magical' stuff?"

"It’s… not exactly magic, although it may appear to use it to you," said Maroona, and she gestured for them to stand back. "Ar essi ereüm, Traek üm ür Salaevia!" She chanted. When her helpers asked, she claimed that she had said “By the power of the Three Virtues, bring us a salvation!”

The shrine bursted to life. It's three arms split into six, each one with a now glowing ball of light on the end: Clockwise, they went Green, Orange, Yellow, Red, White, Blue.

The White one, which pointed directly East, glowed while the others faded out and a large sphere of radiant white energy emerged, and spark-like noises spat out of it.

After fifteen seconds, the sphere disappeared and in it's wake was a tall and lanky, yet intimidating Toa of white, blue, and gold. He had a great white spear with a gold pointed head and an odd-looking mask.

"It still works." said Maroona. Arvos and Omakah were staring in awe, oblivious to Maroona’s babblings. "I know who this one is-" she paused to search her vast mind- "This is, um... Oh, I forget.... I know his name starts with an ‘N’..."

"Navahko," spoke the character in a smooth, flawless voice. "My name is Navahko, and I suppose it's been too long for you to remember."

"Y-yes, Navahko!" exclaimed Maroona. "Mata Nui, I haven't seen you in years!"

Arvos and Omakah still were speechless, and the former had fallen to the ground from surprise. It took them a while to see that he was a Toa of Ice. They'd heard of him, but had never seen him in person.

"There are, er, visitors behind you," Navahko spoke again, "They look like Matoran, sort of, but... more alien looking..."

"It's him! The one I saw yesterday!" cried Arvos excitedly. Indeed, the white-and-azure figure was standing, aiming some sort of blaster at them, along with a yellow female ally who was doing the same. The yellow one had some sort of machine on her back with a metal pole that pointed upward, which looked like it could perform long-range communication.

They were definitely hostile, no doubt. All of them froze there, waiting to see when the two strangers would use their weapons. They were scared; they did not know their capabilities, much less anything about them. They only had an inkling of whether they were Matoran.

The three of them felt a gush of icy wind from behind them, and Arvos looked back with wide eyes to see that Navahko was gone.

A blur of white and gold came rocketing down right in front of the two hostiles. As it landed, a burst of chilling air was sent out like an icy shock-wave.

It was obviously Navahko, now kneeled down with his spear pressing the hostiles against the dirt hill, their weapons out of their hands.

The Ice Toa had jumped up scores of meters into the air and come down right in front of the attackers to trap them. Maroona, Arvos and Omakah were utterly stunned. Turaga looked at them. They'd never seen a Toa do that before.

"Amazing," said Arvos.

Tremor
Navahko was still knelt down, pressing the invaders against the hill. He didn't shiver or twitch one bit, he stayed strong and motionless in the same stance.

Turaga Maroona sent Arvos and Omakah over to aid Navahko. They had their tools out; Omakah with a sturdy hook and Arvos with a sword that was a bit too big for him.

But the yellow invader was not going to lose without a real fight. She scanned her surroundings, where Navahko's limbs were positioned, and devised a plan of escape.

And this plan she set into action, flinging her leg up to the Toa's chest and pushing against the hill to pry his spear away from her chest. Her foot jabbed the Toa's abdomen and he jolted, giving her the chance to further push him away from her.

With a knee to the stomach and a flawless kick at the jaw, Navahko was sent tumbling back, and in the blink of an eye the yellow one had her foot on his chest.

The white one quickly got up and grabbed his weapon and held it ready to aim and fire at Arvos and Omakah.

The two Matoran were frightened at what had just happened. Never before had they seen a Matoran (or at least someone like a Matoran) overpower a Toa with such ease and in such little time. They still stood in a defensive position, but were also cowering behind their weapons.

Navahko was trying to catch his breath, which was hard since someone was standing on his chest. He was dizzy, unable to grab his spear, as it was too far away to reach. He was not fatigued, but simply could not get up. With each attempt to get up the invader's foot found a new pressure point to prod and cause him pain.

The white invader had grabbed the yellow invader's weapon for her, and both were now aiming at Omakah and Arvos. Navahko worried that if he got up that they would use their weapons.

The once warm sun rays were now very hot, and everyone was panting and squinting their eyes. Arvos felt very lightheaded and briefly lost his defensive stance. The sudden movement made the invaders inch closer and into a more fearsome position. Their eyes were locked onto the Matoran like a cougar's onto a stiffened deer.

But they did not see what was happening in the background, or hear it, as a new figure stood behind Arvos and Omakah. He was definitely stronger-looking and taller than Navahko.

By the time the two invaders noticed him, it was too late. He lunged forward and brought his broad battle axe down onto the ground, where it sank in and caused a mighty roar from the bowels of the earth. The ground ahead of it erupted into chaos, splitting and rising and grinding its way toward the two invaders. When it reached them, the ground beneath them shattered. The ground blasted from the ground and pelted them like a tsunami of sand and buried them under loads of sediment and gravel. Their weapons had been shaken out of their hands, and they were caked in sand and dirt.

The dust that had been stirred up settled back down, and they were able to get a good look at this new bing. He was a Toa, that was for sure. His armor was colored silver, black and bright red, and his frame was nothing but robust and powerful. He looked like the kind of being who could cause the earth to act like it just did.

"Meet Corduk, Toa of Earth." said Turaga Maroona from behind.

Return
Now the two Matoran came into view. Toa Vandir could see them clearly. On the left was Jeko and on the right was Merdana.

Both were heavily covered in dirt and dust. Whatever had happened up there, it hadn't gone in their favor. They more looked like to remaining soldiers retreating from a lost battle than two scouts eager to share their collected information.

"What happened?" asked Vandir loudly. His voice was lofty, but fierce. There was no response until the Matoran came down to meet him. When they arrived, they sat down on a rock. Jeko had been hurt quite a bit, and he was cradling his arm and wouldn’t let anybody touch it. Merdana called him a weakling under her breath, in between her panting.

"So?" Vandir asked again. "What happened? Rahi? Savages? Rockslide?"

"Toa," answered Merdana. Vandir put on a face of disbelief.

"Toa?" The Toa of Air said. "How many?"

"Two Toa, two Matoran and a Turaga," said Merdana. "We got scared and we held up our weapons. We didn't know if they were hostile or not, but it turns out they were. The first Toa trapped us against a hillside, and when I escaped past him the second one used his elemental powers to trap us in a pile of earth."

"Huh," said Vandir. "We better go up there and give them some sort of proper greeting."

"That's not all, though." said Merdana. "The Turaga, she used her mask power... she had the Mask of Psychometry, I think. She just touched my blaster, and now she knows what we’re here for I assume.  Any secrets we have had she might know. They probably know that we are here to colonize the island."

"Well, we should get to know them better," said Vandir in a logical tone of voice, "maybe apologize. Sounds like this was all a misunderstanding."

A Ga-Matoran spoke up behind Vandir: "Should I get Jeko cleaned up and healed while you meet the natives?"

"That would be very helpful of you." said Vandir. "You can tell the rest of the camp what Merdana told me, too."

While the Matoran helped Jeko back in the direction of the camp, Merdana and Toa Vandir began their walk up the dried river. They passed the colony's border fence.

"I need to know more about these Toa," said Vandir. "What element was the first one?"

"Ice," said Merdana. "His name was Navahko and the Earth Toa's name was Corduk."

"I've never heard such names before." replied Vandir. “But they seem familiar, somehow…”

After hours of walking, they saw a group of figures standing at the edge of a patch of greatgrass. They appeared to fit Merdana's descriptions. Vandir looked at the Turaga and the Matoran and guessed their elements, although he was doubting his assumptions of the Toa’s elements.

He thought of what to say, and also of what they would say. Did they even speak the same language? Would they be forgiving for the way Merdana and Jeko had acted, or were they mean, possibly savages?

He didn't like the fact that they had two Toa. If they were savages, then he was doomed. Hopefully they were nice.

Greeting
Vandir told Merdana to stay behind. He walked up to the Toa of Ice.

"Um... Hi there," he said. There was skepticism in his voice.

"Hello," said Navahko. "Do you need any help?"

Vandir was releived. They definitely weren't savages, although they looked like ones.

"Well, uh..." continued Vandir, "I just came here to give you a proper greeting. I am Vandir, Toa Leskya of Air. Behind me is Merdana; she is the lead scout for our camp, Camp Vandir."

"Toa Leskya, huh?" said Corduk. His voice was deep and philosophical. "So, you're from Leskya Nui?"

"Indeed." said Vandir. "Our home has been destroyed by the forces of the Makuta, and we have come here to rebuild a new home for us."

"As in, colonize?" asked Navahko. He couldn't help but think about how he was taller than Vandir.

"Well, sort of, but not really," said Vandir. "To colonize means to gain political control over. We only seek a home, not the creation of a government."

"We don't have a government," piped Arvos. Turaga Maroona shushed him.

Vandir began to look fatigued, and Navahko saw distress in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" asked Navahko.

"Um, yeah I'm- I'm fine," stuttered Vandir. "Though I feel a bit dehydrated."

Corduk's mask began to glow, indicating it being used. It was the Kanohi Bongah, the Mask of Perception. He could detect something lurking in the deepest bowels of Vandir's soul... something devilish.

"I can get you some water, if that would help-" said Navahko.

"I'm fine!" said Vandir, his voice rising. "It's just... I,"

Corduk felt the urge not to speak of what he saw in the Toa’s soul.

Navahko said "Sir, I don't think you're doing that well... you're acting irritated."

"Because I am irritated!" Vandir exploded. "You attacked Merdana and Jeko! You buried them under earth!"

They all paused and stared at each other..

"So yes, I AM a bit irritated!" yelled Vandir. “I mean, you would be pretty agitated if some random beings just attacked your Matoran, wouldn’t you?! Look, we just got here, and our home is a heaping mess of rock and lava thanks to the Brotherhood, so just-”

In a flash of rage, Vandir snapped his weapon toward Navahko, who blocked just in time.

Navahko began overpowering Vandir, pushing him back. The Air Toa's feet dug up the soft dirt. But Vandir was angry, not in a civil way, but like a beast. He had a notch at the end of his weapon, and had Navahko's spear trapped inside of it.

Vandir lunged again, this time rapidly twisting his blade, disarming Navahko and sending him falling onto the sediment below. His next target was Corduk, who just barely was able to block Vandir's attack.

Vandir unleashed a bombardment of swipes onto Corduk, all of which Corduk barely blocked. Navahko got back up and reached for his spear, but Vandir lashed out at hand, swiping at his hand and striking Corduk again in the blink of an eye. Dust hovered over the ground like an eerie fog.

The next twenty seconds were full of Vandir and Corduk vigorously swiping at each other. Corduk's axe made it hard for him to attack quickly, thus Vandir was able to jab him in the stomach more than a couple of times. At one instance, Corduk struck Vandir's blade with such force that the resulting noise caused a flock of birds to scatter in the distance, and the greatgrass was blown down to the ground.

Vandir stopped, and without hesitation darted to Merdana, picked her up, and launched himself down the hill with his elemental Air powers. Navahko and Corduk were left scathed, bruised and shocked at what had just happened.

Trivia

 * Most of the chapters happen dirrectly after the previous chapter, if not only hours after the previous.
 * Volume I contains Episode 1-5 from the Lego.com Gallery. The five episodes on the Gallery contained 24 pictures total. Ten of these pictures were selected to be released onto the CBW.
 * There is no previous volume, and Volume II is the next in The Feral Plains.