Ulex

Ulex was a Ta-Matoran who lived on Powai Nui. He was a political progressive who advocated for the rights of his breed and wad the leader of the Foundry.

Early History
Ulex was created as a Ta-Matoran and assisted in the creation of the Matoran Universe like many of his species. He was then placed on Powai Nui, where he chose to reside in what would later become Po-Powai due to its hot environment. There, he joined a tribe of other Ta-Matoran and earned a job as a Rahi herder. It is assumed at some point that he was subject to discrimination due to stigma and superstition surrounding those of his Element, and that he did not take kindly to it.

When the Powai Nui Governing Coalition was formed, Ulex was happy to see a formal government formed on the island. He continued herding Rahi, while also exercising his newfound ability to engage himself in the island's political discussion, which at the time was very populated and rather chaotic. Although he hoped that the coalition would help to combat prejudice against Ta-Matoran, he was displeased to see that it did not interfere and that such prejudices persisted.

The Foundry
Ulex eventually decided to speak his mind on these issues and began holding meetings where he would publicly speak to other inhabitants of Po-Powai about the mistreatment of his breed. After he earned enough followers, he collected them and formed the Foundry, a Ta-Matoran rights activist group. Among its ranks were several notable Matoran, such as Detras, who would later lead the Toa Powai, and a Ta-Matoran who later wrote a fiction book about Toa Maroona committing a coup d'etat against the coalition. Leading the organization, he commanded several nonviolent demonstrations to try and convince the coalition to make laws prohibiting Elemental discrimination. He also had members frequently engage in humanitarian work.

However, following disruptions and infighting within the Foundry, Ulex grew distrustful of other Matoran breeds, and eventually discharged all non-Ta-Matoran from the group. Additionally, those who questioned the group's actions met the same fate. Separated from any criticism of his ideology, he allowed his ideas to fester into more dogmatic and supremacist ones, eventually believing that Ta-Matoran were meant to rule the island. He led several "sieges," quick and brutal battles and assaults against groups with opposing ideas.

After losing several of these battles, he confronted his group's head engineer, Detras, and tasked him with creating a Divurgo-powered firearm which they could use. Angered by the group's corruption, Detras collaborated with Le-Matoran Forest Ranger Lewok and the two created the Lokhart C5, a firearm designed to backfire on the user. These weapons were used in the next siege and almost immediately brought the Foundry to a huge disadvantage. Because of this, Ulex died from blood loss after he took a lethal gunshot wound to his chest.

Legacy
The Foundry quickly dissolved after Ulex' passing, very few of its members retaining the same ideas he had taught them. He became a symbol of corruption on the island and his death was used as evidence for a legal case which concluded with the regulation of organizational activity by the coalition.

Powers and Equipment
As a Ta-Matoran, Ulex had dormant powers over the Element of Fire, which manifested as a resistance to high temperatures. He wore a powerless Pakari, the Kanohi Mask of Strength.

Personality and Traits
Originally, Ulex was fair and always considered opposing opinions when formulating his ideas. He would ensure that nobody was harmed or benefitted too greatly by anything he planned or could have some leverage over. After leading the Foundry for some time, however, his natural leadership skills took him over, turning him into a political organization's equivalent of a dictator who madly believed that his own breed was superior to all others.

Appearances

 * Against the Storm/Volume IV (Mentioned)

Trivia

 * Ulex' named was taken from Ulex, a genus of flowering plants more commonly known as gorse or furze. This name was chosen due to the plant's high flammability and subsequent ability to be a fire-climax plant, and for the fact that it is an invasive species in several areas.