Southern Islands

The Southern Islands are two chains of islands in the Matoran Universe.

History
The Southen Island were originally created by the Great Beings and intended to be part of the Matoran Universe. The landmass' specific purpose remains unclear, as most have never been colonized. The beings who do live there primarily deal in exotic fruit and Rahi, only found in that region. However, most live only to sustain themselves, not to make a living, as resources and space are very limited.

When the Hand of Artakha was disbanded, one of its former members, Axonn was bereft of purpose and resorted to conquest, eventually conquered a number of the Southern Islands. Hydraxon later approached him and offered him a membership in the newly formed Order of Mata Nui, and with a new reason for living, Axonn gave up his dreams of conquering.

During the expansion of the League of Six Kingdoms 80,000 years ago, the Islands were largely ignored by the Barraki, as they carried little strategic value, either for war or for profits. As such, life there was almost entirely unaffected by the Barraki's rule.

Several of the islands contain locations of many hidden things, such as the pool of Antidermis Mata Nui created the Makuta from, a huge pool of energized protodermis, and the island where Makuta Miserix was imprisoned following the Brotherhood of Makuta's revolt.

Many other species have made the Southern Islands their homes over the years, and at one point, the Visorak conquered several of the islands.

Sentinels Alternate Universe
In the Sentinels alternate universe, travel and exploration was encouraged and as a result, the Southern Islands became much more heavily populated than it is in the Core Universe. All the islands in general were more populated, and some previously unpopulated islands had colonies on them.

Landscape
Due to the various amounts of islands, the landscape of the chain varies from location to location. They are generally barren, with few amounts of species living on any given island. Most islands are very tropical, with temperatures being very consistent.

Ora Nui
Ora Nui is the largest region in the Southern Islands, and politically encompasses the two other islands directly next to it. It is very mountainous and rocky, and contains several volcanoes. Plantlife is moderate, but rare minerals are plentiful, making them a prime export of the region. Large portions of it are either mountains or stretches of canyons, while the rest is hilly grassland.

Rode Nui
An island north of Ora Nui, it too is very mountainous, however, it is nearly entirely covered in plantlife, and has several species exclusive to it.

Zenax Nui
By far the most valuable island in the island chains, it contained large amount of water, lush jungles, minerals, and a good supply of wild Rahi and plants to be eaten. Many Matoran reside here, primarily Po-, Le-, Su-, and Bo-Matoran.

Nearly as big as Ora Nui, the north and northeastern areas are covered by dense jungle, where Bo- and Le-Matoran make their homes. The Southeast contains a small section covered with the ruins of a large fortress, rumored to hold several artifacts. To the west, a Volcano forms part of the coastline, and is surrounded by a large plain, where Po-Matoran are able to mine valuable materials. In the north, the main feature is the gargantuan waterfall which some Matoran harvest energy from.

Known inhabitants

 * Aescela
 * Aeza
 * Celuxa -formerly
 * Cyrax -deceased
 * Eltanin
 * Kuvxef
 * Kyhae
 * Luoya -formerly
 * Miserix
 * Terminator -formerly
 * Tusval -formerly
 * Viretha
 * Voron
 * Keetongu's Species
 * Botar's Species
 * Terminator's Species
 * Tahtorak
 * Klakk