Aarto

Aartok was an Agori chef from the Fire Tribe.

Early Life
Similarly to all other members of his species, Aartok began his life on Spherus Magna roughly 150,000 years ago. Hailing from the southernmost regions of Bara Magna.

By the time of the Core War, Aartok came to take on a role as one of the Elemental Lord of Fire's foremost strategists and advisers, staying above the combat for the majority of the conflict and informing much of the Fire Tribe's military effort. However, following a string of defeats owing to the superior tactical mind of Certavus, Aartok's strategies were called into question and the Agori was demoted to a combat position in Malum's battalion. With the Fire Tribe gaining key strategic ground and seizing many of the natural Energized Protodermis deposits in the final days of the Core War, Aartok became a political scapegoat for many of the Fire Tribe's earlier losses on the battlefield.

With Energized Protodermis reserves in the planet's core losing stability as a symptom of increased mining activity and depletion of natural reserves, a planet-wide shockwave known as The Shattering was known to have been triggered, causing planetary fragmentation and propelling to large chunks of the planet away from the surface. Participating in a battle in the central belt of Spherus Magna, Aartok was among the multitude of combatants who would become trapped on Bara Magna.

Bara Magna
Devastated by the apparent loss of the Elemental Lords as well as a majority of his fellow combatants, Aartok was swift to accept the Glatorian Social System established by Certavus, Vastus, Ackar, and Tarix, which proposed a truce between the remaining Water, Ice, Jungle, and Fire tribes. With Tarix later establishing the Glatorian Creed, the denizens of Bara Magna recognized a collective unifying movement revolving around Glatorian arena matches so as not to risk armed conflict over the few resources available for each tribe.

Taking residence in the city of Vulcanus unknowingly built from the wreckage of the Prototype Great Spirit Robot, Aartok was among Raanu's primary supporters when he reorganized the Fire Tribe, and brought it into the newly-formed social system. During this time, Aartok vocally supported Ackar as the Fire Tribe's first Glatorian representative. Witnessing Ackar's victory over Kiina in his premier match, Aartok dedicated himself to supporting the Prime Glatorian and attended a great number of his future arena matches.

Aartok was known to have established himself as a vendor selling Fire Tribe memorabilia from the Core War, laying the foundation for some of the village's earliest tourism industry and going to great lengths to welcome visitors from other tribes. Roughly 70,000 years ago, however, Aartok retired from this unfulfilling profession and pursued a more creative venture in the culinary sphere. Owing to his impressive reputation among the settlement's tourism community and existing interest in cookery, Aartok would eventually establish himself as the head chef at Vulcanus' largest inn.

After gaining competence in the culinary world, Aartok would later become business associates with an Agori farmer named Falmed. Negotiating a contractual agreement, Falmed became the inn's official Thornax supplier and made frequent deliveries of the fruit, which Aartok would then use as the staple ingredient of menu. Together, the two Agori collaborated to make a palatable recipe, though Aartok later denied Falmed's role in its entirety, claiming credit entirely for himself.

Aartok was among the Agori spectators of the arena match between Glatorian Botax of the Water Tribe and Flardrek of the Fire Tribe, a match which ended in Flardrek's favor.

Losing a bet on an arena match between Ackar and Vastus, Aartok was at one point assigned to a trade caravan bound for Tesara, carrying the spoils of a raided Core War weapons cache found on the outskirts of Vulcanus. During the journey across the Wastelands, the convoy was attacked by a group of Vorox and Zesk. Aartok managed to survive the assault, returning to Vulcanus in disgrace. In order to uphold the Fire Tribe's obligation and pay reparations for the initial arena match, Aartok would later accompany a second convoy, this time unwillingly reinforced by Glatorian Perditus in the Thornatus V9.

Roughly six months ago, with rumors pertaining to a Bone Hunter raid on Vulcanus in circulation, Aartok's inn was host to several Glatorian patrons. During this time, Aartok quite notably began an argument with Glatorian Strakk and barred him from the establishment. When the rumors proved valid, Aartok then witnessed the Bone Hunter siege of the village and participated in an effort to drive them out of the settlement. With the help of the newly-established Glatorian Defense Force, the Fire Tribe remained unencumbered by the Bone Hunter raid and eventually managed to drive the invaders out of Vulcanus. In the days following the assault, Aartok set about repairing the local inn, which he later alleged in an insurance report had been damaged by Glatorian Strakk during the climax of the battle, noting that no other properties in the neighborhood had been damaged as such.

Shortly after the arrival of Mata Nui on Bara Magna, Aartok was persuaded by Glatorian Ackar and took up arms against the Skrall, joining a campaign to drive the Rock Tribe from their ancestral home in Roxtus. Bulldozing over the enemy forces with their numbers, the unified Agori and Glatorian movement eventually won the day, suffering minimal losses and winning a decisive victory, driving the Skrall out into the Wastelands. Offering valuable tactical support to Vastus and Tarix, Aartok was crediting for his role and won back some of his dignity lost from the Core War. Shortly afterwards, Aartok then assisted in the construction of the single, unified city. After the villages were united as per Mata Nui's specifications, Aartok, like the rest of Agori, took up residence in the Mega-Village for a short period of time. Whilst inhabiting the structure, Aartok markedly posited that the Prototype Great Spirit Robot might have been the intended place of residence for the Agori tribes, though his claims were swiftly rebuked.

Later, when Mata Nui returned from his journey to the north, Aartok and his fellow Agori were forced to vacate the structure so as to power up the Prototype Great Spirit Robot and engage the hostile Matoran Universe, which had become visible in the upper atmosphere of Bara Magna. As the two robots engaged in a confrontation, Aartok assisted the inhabitants of Bara Magna in debilitating the Matoran Universe, enjoying limited success. Aware of their presence, however, Teridax took the opportunity to release legions of Rahkshi onto the planet's surface.

Defending Glatorian Pertidus and manning the Force Blasters of the Thornatus V9 for the duration of the conflict, Aartok was relieved from battle with the Rahkshi with aid from Toa Tahu, who using the Golden Armor to vaporize the Rahkshi forces. Mata Nui was then able to complete his mission of reforming Spherus Magna from Bara Magna, Bota Magna and Aqua Magna. Following The Reformation, Sperhus Magna was revitalized into a paradisaical world able to accommodate the denizens of both Bara Magna and the Matoran Universe.

Several days later, Aartok joined a group of Agori and Matoran who moved to the outskirts of Aqua Magna to construct a new coastal village.

Abilities and Traits
A culinary innovator and dedicated supporter of Glatorian Ackar, Aartok believed in ethical and honest workers. Raised in the village of Vulcanus in the years following The Shattering, Aartok was always an upstanding citizen, possessing an artistic streak that was lost upon his fellow villagers.

Arsenal
During the Core War, Aartok was also known to have wielded a rudimentary shield. Following The Shattering, this weapon was replaced with a Spiked Shortsword.

Trivia

 * Aartok's name traces its inception to a naming contest hosted by BionicleChicken, where BobTheDoctor27 proposed the name Vraatok.

Appearances

 * BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus - Not Mentioned By Name