Wullthaug

"I expected a champion, not a depraved brute." –Alleika on Wullthaug

Wullthaug–nicknamed "Lizardface" by Gorvok and mockingly called the "Rahi" by Burna and other Dista-Ta Matoran–also known as the Prince of Four Horns, was a male Biosynth of the Threkshee species and the heir to the throne of the Thaug Dynasty. Born on Vulganau, Wullthaug was placed in a Cradle during the Black Vulga invasion and shuttled to Dista. There he was raised by a Matoran community before being exiled for killing Burna. Wullthaug sailed to the Scattan Islands, where he served as a Starved Gun during the Scattan Wars. He was captured by Black Vulga soldiers and brought back to Vulganau, where Gorvok freed him. Wullthaug helped forge an alliance between the Second Guard and the Threkshee Resistance, and led the main attack in the Vulganau Uprising. He fought and killed Purthak, resulting in the creation of the Kanohi Blade. Wullthaug left Vulganau shortly after the defeat of Purthak and the First Guard.

Early Life
Wullthaug was born on Vulganau as the son of King Isolthaug of the ruling Thaug Dynasty. Wullthaug was a mere infant at the time of the Black Vulga invasion of Vulganau. When news reached Isolthaug that the Black Vulga were killing Threkshee and intent on conquering the island, he ordered his guards to place his infant son in a Cradle and shuttle him off of Vulganau. Wullthaug was secured inside a Cradle, where he entered a deep coma. Isolthaug's soldiers escorted the Cradle onto a vessel and began sailing away from Vulganau. The Black Vulga quickly learned Threkshee royal families were sending their offspring away from Vulganau, and hunted down many of the Cradle-carrying ships. Wullthaug's however escaped.

The crew of Wullthaug's ship began searching for a safe landmass where they could raise him. Their vessel however was steered into the heart of a storm, where all but a single crew member was killed. The surviving Threkshee soldier was severely injured, but determined to deliver the infant Wullthaug to safety.

Eventually the island of Dista was located, and the soldier landed his ship on the beach of Dista-Ga. He unloaded the Cradle, but decided not to open it for fear he would not survive long enough to care for Wullthaug. Indeed the soldier died not long after landing of internal injuries. His corpse, his ruined ship, and the Cradle carrying Wullthaug were eventually discovered by a troop of Ga-Matoran from Dista-Ga. The Ga-Matoran informed Turaga Kada of the discovery, and Kada assembled the other Turaga and the Toa Osta to examine the Cradle. Turaga Vorils used his Noble Rau to translate the inscription on the Cradle's side, which read "Wullthaug" in Threk. The Matoran opened the Cradle to see the infant Wullthaug still alive. They chose to name him "Wullthaug" after reading that name on the Cradle's side, and committed to raising him as if he were a Matoran.

Life on Dista
Wullthaug was raised initially by Kada and the Ga-Matoran on Dista. Kada appeared keenly aware of what was needed to help Wullthaug grow, including regularly feeding him organic food prevalent in and around Dista-Ga. While living in Dista-Ga, he forged a strong friendship with Tava. Eventually Wullthaug matured into a being roughly the size of a Matoran, and it was believed he would not grow any larger. At this time, Kada insisted that either Dista-Onu or Dista-Ta claim Wullthaug as their own, believing he needed guidance from males after being raised by females. Turaga Onau was quick to claim responsibility for Wullthaug, who secretly wanted to train him to become a powerful warrior in service of Dista-Ta for the Battle Dista. Wullthaug learned how to forge weapons from fire like the other Ta-Matoran of the village, but he was widely mocked and ridiculed by Burna and his friends, who called him the "Rahi."

Over time Wullthaug began to hate life in Dista-Ta, and appealed to Onau to let him return to Dista-Ga. Onau refused, still seeking to make him a loyal fighter for Dista-Ta. In protest, Wullthaug escaped Dista-Ta, outrunning Ta-Matoran pursuers. Wullthaug ran to Dista-Ga and begged Kada to take him. Kada reluctantly accepted, and allowed him to live among Ga-Matoran.

Shortly after Wullthaug reentered Dista-Ga, village training for that year's annual Battle Dista competition began. Onau sent a delegation of Ta-Matoran to demand Wullthaug's return, but Kada refused. Kada later asked Wullthaug if he would like to represent Dista-Ga in Battle Dista, and when Wullthaug learned that Dista-Ta had selected Burna as their representative, he accepted. Wullthaug was given a sword and shield by Kada to train with. When the day of the Battle Dista arrived, Wullthaug entered an arena against Dista-Onu's representative and Burna. When the match began, Wullthaug managed to quickly disarm the Dista-Onu fighter, who conceded and left the arena. This left only Burna and Wullthaug, who dueled for some time before Wullthaug finally bested Burna.

Following the duel, Burna ambushed Wullthaug in an isolated area outside the arena, accompanied by some of his Ta-Matoran friends. Burna and his gang attacked Wullthaug, threatening to kill him. Wullthaug resisted, and fought off all of Burna's companions before taking the sword Kada had given him and killing Burna with it. Burna's friends were shocked, and fled to report news of Burna's death to Onau. Wullthaug quickly fled to Dista-Ga.

When news of Burna's death reached Dista-Ga, Tava told Wullthaug that Dista-Ga was on his side, but every Ta-Matoran on the island wanted Wullthaug dead. She advised that for his own safety he leave Dista and never return. Tava gave Wullthaug a Ga-Matoran sailing vessel to this end. Wullthaug asked if Tava wanted to come, but she declined for fear that she might be needed to defend Dista-Ga in the event of civil war, as Onnyx and Bruton of the Toa Osta had left Dista for unknown reasons and would be unable to help the situation. Wullthaug boarded his vessel carrying his only possessions–his sword and shield from Battle Dista–and sailed away into the saline-Cascatine oceans.

Period of wandering
Wullthaug drifted aimlessly for years from island to island in the Shimmering Seas, growing older and maturing as he did. He eventually landed on the Scattan Islands, which was in the middle of its long campaign against the Tilbori Reach during the Tilbori Scourge.

Life in the Scattan Confederation
Wullthaug eventually became a second-class non-Scattan citizen living in areas belonging to the newly formed Scattan Confederation. There he would quickly learned the dominant Scattansa language. He supported himself through various odd jobs, always keeping his sword and shield handy in the event of a conflict.

Scattan Wars
Conflict eventually came as the Scattan Confederation showed signs of fragmentation. As the rogue Scattan nations began seceding from the Confederation, battles began ensuing between the Confederate military and rogue militias. Wullthaug lost most of his work during this time, but over time learned of need for so-called "Starved Gun" mercenaries. Wullthaug used weapon-building skills he learned on Dista to fuse his blade to his left arm, and turned his shield into the Gunbuckler. With these new tools, Wullthaug offered his services to several rogue militias.

During one mission, Wullthaug fought alongside the Skakdi Starved Gun Gorvok, and the two befriended one another. Wullthaug and Gorvok took several missions together before Gorvok expressed interest in leaving his life as a Starved Gun in search of a more meaningful purpose. The two had a solemn farewell, before Gorvok left. Wullthaug was once again alone. As the Scattan Wars entered the phase where numerous warlords were fighting for territorial control, Wullthaug was approached by Auzzath, who had seen Wullthaug from afar. The two lowered their guards, recognizing they were both from a mysterious species about which they knew little. After sharing their life stories of being raised by communities that looked nothing like them, Auzzath and Wullthaug became quick friends. Auzzath recruited Wullthaug into the crew he was working for, explaining that they had just lost a crew member and needed a replacement. Wullthaug was then brought before Sadisma and Vyzia. Vyzia at first loathed Wullthaug, who saw him as an opportunistic newcomer not to be trusted. Sadisma however believed Wullthaug deserved a chance to prove himself, and so finalized Wullthaug's recruitment. Wullthaug and his newfound crew began taking assignments together, this time primarily for the warlord Dizyade, who had established himself as one of the three most powerful warlords in the Scattan Wars. During several battles against the forces of Skyketh and Glisgiss, Wullthaug saved the lives of Vyzia and Auzzath multiple times, and was in turn rescued many times by everyone on their crew. This helped Wullthaug's reputation within the crew, and Vyzia began to show greater acceptance of Wullthaug. The crew even participated in the final raid on Glisgiss's last stronghold, directly fighting Glisgiss before he escaped.

During one battle, a massive artillery explosion separated Wullthaug and Auzzath from Vyzia and Sadisma. Both Wullthaug and Auzzath were temporarily knocked unconscious, and became lost from their crew mates. After regaining consciousness, Auzzath and Wullthaug searched to no avail for their former crew mates before moving on themselves.

While walking through the desolate ruins of the battlefield where they were separated from Sadisma and Vyzia, a squad of Black Vulga soldiers sent into the Scattan Islands by Purthak as part of Project Dethrone identified Wullthaug as an important target. They ambushed and surrounded Auzzath and Wullthaug. Auzzath returned fire before being fatally shot by a Black Vulga soldier. Wullthaug was devastated, but was hit with a stun gun from another Black Vulga soldier. Unconscious, Wullthaug was loaded aboard their vessel, and sailed to Vulganau.

Return to Vulganau
The Black Vulga soldiers that had stunned Wullthaug brought him onto Vulganau and carried him inside Purthak's main compound. Wullthaug was strapped down to a table, where he was awakened by Dalnok. Dalnok began speaking several languages, until Wullthaug showed he recognized Matoran words. Dalnok explained that Wullthaug was on the home island of the Threkshee species, the Biosynth species to which Wullthaug belonged. He further explained although the Black Vulga had long since conquered Vulganau, the Threkshee Resistance remained active on the island and was sabotaging Black Vulga operations. Dalnok continued that Wullthaug was the son of King Isolthaug, the so-called "Prince of Four Horns," whose supposed continued survival was an important symbol of hope for the Resistance. Dalnok offered Wullthaug a commanding position in the Black Vulga if he offered to present himself to the Threkshee Resistance. Dalnok's hope was that by showing the Black Vulga had captured Wullthaug, the Resistance would lose hope and abandon their fight. Wullthaug however refused, citing how Black Vulga soldiers murdered Auzzath. At the time of interrogation, a Black Vulga commander entered the room and said that Purthak had ordered Wullthaug be released. Dalnok was skeptical of the order but allowed it, and after he left, the mysterious Black Vulga commander revealed himself as Gorvok. Wullthaug was shocked that Gorvok chose to join the Black Vulga, but Gorvok insisted he did it to help change the organization for the better.

Gorvok helped escort Wullthaug to safety, where he was greeted by a squad of Black Vulga Second Guard soldiers. Gorvok explained that he wanted to forge an alliance between his soldiers and the Threkshee Resistance in an effort to overthrow Purthak, but the Resistance still considered Gorvok and his soldiers loyal to Purthak. Gorvok's plan was to have Wullthaug vouch for the Second Guard's intentions and help negotiate an alliance.

Wullthaug, Gorvok, and the Second Guard soldiers were then ambushed by Threkshee Resistance fighters led by Alleika. A brief skirmish ensued before Wullthaug showed himself. Alleika, who like all Threkshee in the Resistance had learned the Matoran language through fighting the Black Vulga, recognized him as the Prince of Four Horns, and demanded an explanation. Wullthaug explained that Gorvok was leading a splinter group of Black Vulga dedicated to overthrowing Purthak. Alleika then escorted Wullthaug back to the Resistance's headquarters. Toa Onnyx was present at the headquarters, who recognized Wullthaug from Dista. Onnyx explained that after he and Bruton left Dista, Black Vulga soldiers shot and killed Bruton, and that he joined the Resistance to fight Purthak's forces.

Wullthaug eventually met Zeuzaus, leader of the Resistance. Wullthaug, Gorvok, and Zeuzaus all agreed to forge an alliance between the Second Guard and the Resistance, and plans were made to assault the main compound on Vulganau.

Vulganau Uprising
The planned attack would consist of two phases. Gorvok and Onnyx would lead Second Guard soldiers in a false attempt at an armed coup outside the main compound entrance to draw the bulk of First Guard forces to them. Wullthaug and Alleika would then lead an army of Resistance fighters through a back entrance accessible through entry codes Gorvok made available to them. With the bulk of First Guard forces focused on Gorvok's false attack, Wullthaug and Alleika would lead their army inside the compound with the aim of killing Purthak.

On a cold morning, Zeuzaus ordered the attack, and the Vulganau Uprising began. Gorvok and Onnyx first led their false attack, and First Guard soldiers responded as expected. Wullthaug and Alleika then led their army through the back entrance to the compound, and battled their way through First Guard defenders to Purthak's control room. The Threkshee Resistance fighters offered to engage First Guard soldiers to allow Wullthaug and Alleika to pursue Purthak. Wullthaug and Alleika accepted, and managed to break into the Black Vulga control room.

Inside, Purthak revealed himself, having successfully integrated himself with the first set of operation Kanohi emulators produced by Project Dethrone. Wullthaug and Alleika began firing their guns at Purthak, who responded by activating a Great Miru to levitate off the ground and dodge their attacks. Purthak then simultaneously activated a Great Matatu, lifting and throwing large objects across the room at Wullthaug and Alleicka. Wullthaug noticed Purthak still had only activated two of three emulators. Wullthaug ordered Alleika to flank Purthak and force him to divide his attention between both of their guns. In response, Purthak activated his final emulator by equipping a Great Hau in the hope of shielding himself. Shortly after doing this, Purthak's emulators began glowing bright green, and although his Kanohi powers were still active, it appeared as though Purthak had overloaded them. Wullthaug and Alleika suspected Purthak would soon explode, and attempted to run. Purthak however, consumed with vengeance and anger, used his final moment and used his Matatu to pull Wullthaug closer to him. Wullthaug could not escape the telekinesis, and Purthak eventually exploded mere meters away from Wullthaug. The explosion instantly killed Purthak, blew Alleika back against a wall of the chamber, and severely injured Wullthaug. Alleika rushed over to Wullthaug, and noticed that in the explosion one of Purthak's emulators had become fused to Wullthaug's left arm blade weapon, with a Kanohi Miru still attached.

Rebuilding Vulganau
The Vulganau Uprising had been a success, and the Black Vulga, now under Gorvok's leadership began helping repair the damages and assisting the Threkshee in rebuilding their home. Wullthaug had been brought to former Resistance headquarters to be treated for his injuries. During his recovery, Wullthaug discovered that every night he was experiencing dreams of Toa dying or in great pain. Alleika then looked at Wullthaug's arm, and theorized that the source of the visions was the fusion of a Kanohi emulator to his blade. After Wullthaug had fully recovered, he spent time alone on Vulganau studying the new blade weapon on his arm. He soon discovered he could turn the blade on and off by simply sending commands through thoughts. Then Wullthaug realized he could materialize and dematerialize the Miru that had been attached to the blade. After further experimentation, Wullthaug realized he could activate the Miru's levitation powers. He then named his new weapon the Kanohi Blade. After further activations of the Kanohi Blade however, Wullthaug was bombarded with visions of the Toa Osta, particularly Toa Bruton and Toa Gyza shortly before their deaths.

Wullthaug, concealing the power he discovered he possessed, informed Gorvok, Zeuzaus, Onnyx, and Alleika that he intended to leave Vulganau. He asked Gorvok if he could use a Black Vulga vessel to travel, and Gorvok accepted in return for Wullthaug's help in the Vulganau Uprising. Zeuzaus, Onnyx, and Alleika confronted Wullthaug shortly before his departure, asking him why he was leaving Vulganau, to which Wullthaug replied, "None of your business." He then left Vulganau and sailed out into the saline-Cascatine oceans.

Abilities and traits
Wullthaug's personality changed gradually over the course of his life, but he was often a loner. He rarely connected with someone enough to call them a friend, but the few that he did consider friends he felt the utmost loyalty to. Such individuals included Tava, Gorvok, and Auzzath. Generally he preferred total solitude, but valued friendship when he found it.

Wullthaug was prone to sarcastic remarks and dismissiveness towards others. He was skeptical of political causes, and so took well to the life of a Starved Gun whose only interest was food and profit. His life experiences on Dista, the Scattan Islands, and Vulganau made him something of a cynic. Even when told he was a legendary figure in the eyes of the Threkshee, he shrugged the comment off as superstitious nonsense.

Wullthaug's two main tools were modifications of the original Matoran sword and shield he received from Kada for his participation in Battle Dista. He would transform his shield into the Gunbuckler, and would eventually witness his sword become the Kanohi Blade.