Defects Universe

The Defects Universe is an alternate universe where the Great Beings rushed the creation of the Matoran Universe, causing numerous errors, which, in turn, caused it to dissolve into anarchy.

History
The Defects Universe first diverged during the end of the Core War. The Great Beings, underestimating the time until the Shattering, took several liberties in programming the Mata Nui AI. Initially stable, Mata Nui reached the point where he created the Makuta. However, the Makuta went berserk, killing or enslaving nearly the entire population of the Matoran Universe in a matter of months, and put Mata Nui to sleep as a result. In the process, two Toa, named Helryx and Orde, were killed.

Eventually however, during Velika's tampering, the beings of the Matoran Universe gained sentience, including the Makuta. This partially fixed the Makuta's mindless bloodlust. However, the signal to summon the Toa Mata was released. The Toa Mata, only recently sealed into their Toa canisters, retained their memories, and immediately confronted the Makuta. However, not being powerful enough to stand against all the Makuta, they were decimated. They scattered, and two Toa, Lewa and Onua, managed to escape, but with mortal injuries. They discovered the nearest Matoran, and instinctively sacrificed all their Toa power to create twelve new Toa before expiring.

At this point, several Makuta discovered the gathering, and attacked the newly created Toa. Although some of the Toa and most of the Matoran escaped, five Toa perished in the conflict. Word was swiftly sent across the Matoran community to travel underground, and hundreds of underground Matoran communities were created.

In the months following, a large portion, although not a majority, of the subterranean villages were wiped out by the Makuta. The rest became heavily fortified, and linked through a series of tunnels.

Aboveground, the Makuta created Rahi for the purpose of hunting and imprisoning, and re-enslaved the various other races of the Matoran Universe. To make up for the absence of Matoran, many Xians and Steltians were put to work maintaining the facilities Mata Nui needed to live. Although asleep, Mata Nui remained in a stable condition, despite the absence of the Mask of Life.

Cultural differences in Matoran life
In Matoran villages, the six main tribes, intended to be the cornerstone of the Matoran population, were instead extremely diminished in numbers, evening out more closely with the secondary tribes. However, an exception to this rule were Onu-Matoran, who often took up positions of prominence due to their natural adaption to underground living. Also prominent tribes included the Fe- and Ba-Matoran.

Turaga were also extremely rare, as they only came into being as a Toa was on the verge of death, due to the extreme danger the Matoran species faced and the need for Toa. To circumvent this, some Toa took on more advisory than combative roles, though they were still more than capable of fighting if need be.

Additionally, a flaw in the creation of Toa by the Great Beings removed a normal Toa's ability to differentiate the shape of their armor based on their perception upon transformation. In addition, most Toa were very limited in their elemental capacity, only being able to progress to a certain point before leveling out.

Notable Locations

 * New Onu-Koro, the largest and one of the earliest Matoran villages.
 * Ba-Koro, located directly above the universe core, it was unusual for lacking the diversity most villages had.
 * Ga-Bo-Koro, a rare superterranean village, nestled in the Southern Islands.
 * Makuta Fortress, located on the former island of Metru Nui, and head of the Makuta Empire.