Qedua

Qedua, formally High Chief Turaga Qedua of Powai Nui, was a Turaga of Stone. He founded and led the Powai Nui Governing Coalition and subsequently became the High Chief of Powai Nui.

Early History
Qedua was among the last Toa to be created by the Great Beings in Toa form. He was placed on Powai Nui and tasked with stopping the island’s Matoran tribes from warring with each other and killing each other without considering any consequences. He was placed in the desert of the island, which was the most war-torn area on it thanks to the belligerent Ta-Matoran tribes which inhabited it. After studying the region and charting what he explored, seemingly more interested in its landscape than its inhabitants, he decided to name the island Po-Wahi Nui, which, in Matoran, meant "great region of Stone", unaware that the island was not entirely desert.

He was then found by a group of Po-Matoran, who were elated to find a Toa on the island. After joining them, he learned as much about the island from them as they themselves knew. He also shared his own findings with them, including his own proposed name for the island, which at the time was simply referred to as "the island" by its inhabitants. Despite the fact that they told him that not all of the island was desert, they still accepted the name Po-Wahi Nui. After shortening it to Powai Nui, they went about, declaring to other tribes in other regions that a Toa appeared and had named the island.

This led to a massive migration of Matoran to the northern section of the desert region, all eager to meet this Toa. With them gathered, he gave them all an impromptu speech, telling them that he was there to bring peace and subsequent prosperity and happiness to the island. Many of the listeners supported his claims and began to supply him equipment when he announced that he would travel the entire island to meet as many of its inhabitants as he could. He did so, traveling counter-clockwise around the island through a forest region, a snowy mountain, and a vast grassland before ending in the desert he began in. During this trip, he gave names to each of the regions (Le-Powai, Ko-Powai, Vo-Powai, and Po-Powai, respectively), which were soon used by a large majority of the island's inhabitants.

Over the next tens of millennia, Qedua's influence would spread throughout the island, convincing many of the belligerent tribes that peace was ultimately more valuable than power or land. He began to collaborate with various organizations, namely the Kakkan Containment Organization (KCO), the Ranger's Guild, the Thunderhead Union, and the Trailworks Organization. He was eventually successful in effectively stopping all war on the island, and was gifted for his actions. However, as he was not transformed into a Turaga, he knew that he hadn't yet completed his destiny. He studied what his destiny could possibly be for several days before coming to the conclusion that it was for him to form an official government for the island.

Forming the Coalition
Over the course of around a decade, he gathered enough support and resources to form the Powai Nui Governing Body (PNGB). Composing it were the four organizations he had allied with, all reformed into branches of the government: The KCO, which became the Department of Containment; the Ranger's Guild and Trailworks Organization, which were combined to form the Department of Wilderness Preservation and Trailworks; and the Thunderhead Union, which became the Department of Communication and Finance. At the center of the Body lied the Symposium, a council composed of high-ranking members of each Department and Qedua himself, who was crowned as the "High Chief" of the Body and all of the island.

While many were glad to see a government on the island, there was still backlash, particularly against the department system and the way that it took freedom and individuality away from the former organizations. In response to this, Qedua and the Symposium reshaped the Body into the Powai Nui Governing Coalition (PNGC), which was more of an alliance between the three branches. The Department of Wilderness Preservation and Trailworks was still kept as one organization, the Associaton of Powai Nuian Wilderness and Trailworks (APNWT). At this time, Qedua was finally transformed into a Turaga, as his destiny had been to form a government to keep Powai Nui united.

Toa Powai
With no Toa on the island anymore, the Great Beings placed the Toa of Lightning Maroona on the island. The Coalition grew a distrust for the Toa, who acted more like a vigilante than the adventurous, speech-giving Toa Qedua had been. Qedua, however, admired her heroism and began to communicate cordially with her. Although she constantly rejected his proposals for her to associate with the Coalition and her actions scraped near illegal on more than one occasion, she and Qedua stayed on good terms. The public would come to call them "frenemies".

After the creation of the Toa Powai by Maroona, the Coalition placed restrictions on the Citadel of the Avesians, which contained the Grand Augur that had been used to create the Toa. Before these restrictions were placed, Qedua ordered a meeting with Maroona, who had recently transformed into a Turaga, at the Citadel. There, Qedua told her the news about the Citadel before giving her advice on coping with her recent transformation.

The Great Regression
To be added...

Appearance
As a Toa of Stone, Qedua was naturally covered in brown and tan armor, with bits of grey. He was described as being very robust in shape, with wide shoulders.

When he was transformed into a Turaga, Qedua lost his brawniness and became short and hunched over like most Turaga. His armor remained the same colors. As time went on, he added to his armor, most notably with a chain bracelet around his right wrist, but rarely had it modified. He was, however, known to have his Kualsi reshaped frequently. At the time of the Wraith Syndicate's invasion of Powai Nui, it was in the shape of a Great Pakari.

Powers and Equipment
As a Toa of Stone, Qedua had powers over the element of Stone. He wore a Great Kualsi, the Mask of Quick Travel, which allowed him to instantly teleport to any location within his line of sight. When he transformed into a Turaga, his powers over Stone were severely diminished, and his Kanohi was turned into a Noble Kualsi. His Toa tool was formed into the Mahi Staff, an ornate staff which acted as his Badge of Office as a Turaga.

Personality and Traits
Qedua was practical and realistic, yet empathetic and compassionate. Everything he did was in the name of generating peace and prosperity among the Matoran he ruled, and he made it his goal to try and be as transparent as possible. Despite the hardships he endured constantly, he was always determined to stay in office, even if he considered resigning for the sake of retaining his patience.

As time went on, the struggle of having to deal with every major conflict on the island tired him and made him rather melancholic. In particular, he grew a distaste for the Symposium he formed and operated, which never seemed to have his own goals of peace and prosperity in mind. Constant infighting and arguing among the governing council's wildly varying beliefs had also fatigued him. He yearned to be free from his duties if it meant he could spare himself from the day-long arguments which, according to him, were often drawn out by Symposium members' entitlement to themselves. Knowing full well that this would allow the Symposium to shatter entirely, however, he remained in office to protect the population from whatever would happen if he were to resign.

He also greatly despised being the representative for the entirety of the Coalition and felt sorry for anyone reasonably dismayed by its actions. When faced with major backlash for decisions made by the Coalition, especially that which was directed at him, he would always remorsefully apologize for their actions and try to shift the blame off of himself. At times, he even spoke as if he were simply a messenger for the Coalition who didn't support what they had actually decided.

Appearances

 * Against the Storm/Volume II - Mentioned
 * Against the Storm/Volume VI - First appearance

Trivia

 * Cap originally planned for Qedua to share the Symposium's overly pragmatic and uncompassionate behavior, almost as if to act as an on-and-off antagonist for the renegade Toa Powai. While writing the scene in which he first appeared, however, he considered having him be the complete opposite, and instead be sorrowful about the actions of the government. He liked the idea of having him be more of a sorrowful character whose creation had effectively turned against his ideals.