Mersery

"Knowledge and wisdom are different things entirely: Knowledge is the knowing of facts and trivialities; wisdom is the ability to use that knowledge correctly."

- Mersery

Mersery is a powerful, time-sensitive Mersion scholar native to Versuva and a senior member of the Order of Mata Nui.

Early Life
A member of the Mersion species, Mersery originally aspired to become a scientist and scholar on his homeland of Versuva. During his younger days as a learning student, Mersery was apprenticed to the prominent scientist Kulant, who mentored him during his time as a pupil. Eventually, Mersery was inducted into the Great Academy in hte city of Keadrah, the finest learning institution on the entire island. During the inception ceremony, Mersery got lost and missed out on the welcome ceremony, and after further wandering, found his way into a hall where he bumped into fellow new student named Herkain, whom he quickly befriended.

During their time learning within the Academy, Mersery and Herkain would work, learn and study for a decade until they were chosen to take their final graduation test for full-time scholarship, a test which if they passed, would make them the youngest graduates in the Academy's history. During one of their assignments together on Rahi study, they adopted and observed the nature of a Versuvian Glider Owl, who Mersery would go on to keep and name Terkla.

However, this all changed when the Xevthian Empire and their leader, Alxor, arrived, who conquered Versuva and enslaved the Mersion race. Whilst the rest of his kind was forced into intense physical labor, Mersery, at the time a young scholar, was selected by Alxor to become an engineer, and was forced to design weapons and war machines for the Xevthian's armies.

Whilst Alxor began preparing his forces for a final invasion on the northern lands, Mersery was able to slip through his army's defenses, and escape Versuva. On behalf of his people, Mersery turned to the Hand of Artakha, and asked them to help his people fight off Alxor and his empire. The Hand agreed, and with the help of Mersery himself, managed to defeat the Alxor's forces, and capture the warlord.

Seeing that his skills could be put to better use, Mersery joined the Hand. Mersery served the Hand for at least one hundred years before it was disbanded, resulting in him returning to Versuva. Mersery would eventually graduate from the Great Academy, becoming a Grand Scholar, and slowly surpassed all other professors in their fields of research, and many of his work colleagues came to consider him one of the greatest scientists in Mersion history. During this time, he became a member of the Council of Eight, the ruling body of Versuva.

Later, however, Mersery played a key role in the disbanding of the council after he was led to believe that the group had become inefficient in combating major threats. Following the removal of the council, Mersery was offered the prestigious position of becoming the first, single ruler of Versuva, though he declined the offer, fearing he would be corrupted and driven mad with power should he accept the offer.

Order of Mata Nui
Some time after the Hand's disbanding, Mersery was approached by Toa Helryx, who offered him a place among the newly-formed Order of Mata Nui. Mersery accepted the offer, and was among the first to join the group. Soon after, he made a name for himself as one of the Order's top scientists and eventually managed to gain the position of one Helryx's advisers. Also, Mersery sought out a fellow Order member named Axonn, and had him sharpen his combat skills.

Roughly 60,000 years ago, Mersery was one of the Order members who helped remove a number of Av-Matoran from their homeland and relocate them throughout the universe, an action taken as a precaution should the Brotherhood of Makuta ever be corrupted, and attempt to wipe the Av-Matoran out. Once done, Mata Nui erased this six-month period from the minds of all except Mersery and the rest of the Order in an event that would eventually become known as the Time Slip.

Several years later, Mersery worked with an Intellian scientist named Zardex in order to create a mutagenic compound that would allow the Order to enhance the abilities of normal Toa, effectively creating an army of super-powered soldiers. Although he worked closely with Zardex on the project, he was unable to attend the actual trial run due to being involved with other important experiments.

Later, Mersery helped several Order members modify Barraki Ehlek's species, in hopes of making soldiers capable of combating the Brotherhood of Makuta. However, this project was a failure, and Mersery was forced to withdraw from the experiment. Some time afterwards, Mersery was severely wounded during a conflict with a Makuta named Icarax, resulting in the Order having his armor modified and rebuilt.

Shortly after the Order learned of Voparak's creation, a being who could sense fluctuations in the fabric of time, Mersery willingly volunteered to undergo a similar experiment so the Order would have an operative capable of tracking down the Kanohi Vahi if it ever came into existence. The project itself ended with mixed results, with Mersery successfully gaining limited Time powers, though being unable to control them properly. Because of this, the Order fitted Mersery with a special armor forged by Artakha that both contained his powers, and gave him better control over them.

Several years later, Mersery sensed large temporal distortion in the fabric of time. Curious as to what had been responsible for it, Mersery was instructed by Helryx to track down the source of the distortion. During his search, Mersery was brought into confrontation with a number assassins, who attempted to prevent him from finding the source. Despite their best efforts, Mersery managed to survive their attacks, and managed to locate the disruption's source on the island of Chrone.

After infiltrating the island's fortress, Mersery made his way to the main chamber where he discovered several beings performing some kind of time-based experiment. Deeming them responsible for the earlier disturbance, Mersery managed to stop the experiment before it could be continued. He was then confronted by a mysterious figure, who identified himself as Millennium, leader of the legendary Shadow of Ages. The pair then fought, though Mersery proved to be the better fighter, and defeated Millennium.

Sensing great potential in him, Millennium offered Mersery membership into the Shadow of Ages, as well as the role of his apprentice. Although deeply tempted by the offer, Mersery declined the offer, recognizing the tyrant he could become with such power at his disposal. Angered at his refusal, Millennium attempted to kill Mersery, though only found himself being aged by hundreds of years by the Mersion's time powers. Weakened, and in no state to fight, Millennium vowed vengeance on Mersery, though was unable to prevent him from escaping.

Upon returning to Daxia, Mersery attempted to open an investigation into the surviving records of the Shadow of Ages in order to learn more of their true motives. However, the inquiry was quickly closed down once the Order lost all detailed information regarding Millennium and his allies, and any attempt to relocate his island base of Chrone failed when the maps suggesting its location also mysteriously disappeared.

Roughly 700 years ago, Mersery was sent to Zakaz to recover a Skakdi warlord named Freztrak. After successfully rescuing him mere moments before his intended execution at the hands of a rival warlord named Nektann, Mersery brought Freztrak to Daxia where he recruited him into the Order of Mata Nui.

War against the Brotherhood
During the war with the Brotherhood of Makuta, Mersery was sent back to Versuva in order gain the allegiance of his kind for the Order. Although it took some convincing, the ruler of Versuva eventually brightened to the idea, and began supporting the Order's war efforts.

Mersery was later teamed with another member of the Order, and together, the pair planted an explosive device on the isle of Artidax that was set to erupt once the Visorak arrived on the island. From there on, Mersery fought mostly on the front lines of the war, and was also seen attempting to drive off the Brotherhood's forces on Nynrah, during which he battled a Makuta named Dredzek. Although the Brotherhood managed to hold a strong resistance, Mersery and the others eventually managed to force them off Nynrah. He was later seen combating the Brotherhood's forces on Destral.

Once his duties on the island were complete, Mersery was sent on a mission far to the east of Zakaz to receive a delivery of weapons. He then traveled to Metru Nui, where he aided the Order in fortifying the island city's defenses for an imminent attack by the Brotherhood.

After fortifications were completed, Mersery returned to Daxia, where he was said to be taking part in a top-secret experiment being performed in one of Daxia's underground laboratories.

Teridax's Reign
After Makuta Teridax took over Mata Nui's body, the Makuta destroyed Daxia and many members of the Order. However, Mersery managed to survive, and was later seen looking for a hidden cache of weapons with several other Order members somewhere south of Karzahni. Unfortunately, a squadron of Rahkshi got there first, took the supplies and captured Mersery and his allies. Though he remained in captivity for some time, Mersery was able to fight his way out of imprisonment and make his way to Destral.

There, Mersery was seen trying to scavenge anything useful from the remains of the Makuta's fortress that could be used to fight Teridax's forces, though later departed. Mersery then returned to his homeland of Versuva so as to aid his kind in defending the island from a large army of Rahkshi. Despite the efforts of both Mersery and the inhabitants of Versuva, the island eventually fell before the Rahkshi, forcing Mersery to flee.

When Teridax was killed, the Matoran Universe was left in ruin, and so Mersery forcibly migrated to Spherus Magna, as did every other inhabitant. On the surface of the new world, Mersery witnessed the restoration of Spherus Magna, and the founding of the new civilization of the Matoran and the Agori.

Spherus Magna
Several days later, Mersery traveled to newly constructed village on the outskirts of Bota Magna. After agreeing to stay behind to oversee the completion of the village, Mersery decided to travel further into jungle. However, upon entering a small clearing, Mersery was ambushed by a group of Skrall led by the elite warrior Tervok. Despite threatening to kill a captive Fire Agori named Falmed, Mersery battled the assembled Skrall, using his numerous powers to defeat a majority of them. However, after being badly injured by a blast from Tervok's Thornax Launcher, Mersery was left with an ultimatum by the Skrall. Either have Falmed's life taken, or be killed himself.

In the end, Mersery agreed to give up his life, though before Tervok could kill him, Mersery noticed the surrounding plant life was slowly burning, indicating someone was on his way. After stalling for a short time, a massive burst of fire erupted from outside the clearing, and the fire Glatorian known as Flardrek arrived. His arrival distracted Tervok long enough for Mersery to send him reeling into a tree with a blast from his Midak Skyblaster. Upon witnessing the elite Skrall's defeat, Tervok's remaining forces abandoned him and retreated.

Following a heated argument between Flardrek and Tervok, the Fire Glatorian decided to let Tervok live, in order to allow him to experience the humiliation of his defeat. Flardrek then had Falmed freed, before departing with Mersery. However, Tervok, unwilling to admit defeat, attempted to attack Mersery from behind, only to be swiftly repelled by the Mersion's advanced fighting prowls.

They then returned to the nearby village, only to find under attack by a bounty hunter named Skorr. Despite his best efforts, Mersery was unable to defeat him, and the Zeverek soon attacked him. After revealing he knew his identity, Skorr impaled Mersery with his tail blade, releasing a deadly venom into his body. The bounty hunter decided to let Mersery live, feeling he would prove to be a worthy opponent in the future. Weakened by Skorr's venom, Mersery fell unconscious.

He then experienced a strange vision, where he found himself back on his home island of Versuva. After being taken before a class of young Mersion students, Mersery agreed to act as a stand-in teacher whilst the usual instructor retired to his dwellings due to illness. Mersery was then forced to teach the students about an ancient myth, which he realized was one regarding Millennium and the Shadow of Ages. Upon sighting a cloaked being observing him, Mersery charged after him in an effort to catch the entity.

After a heated chase, Mersery managed to catch the being, pin him to the ground, and unmask him. The being turned out to be none other than Millennium himself, who began using his powers to cause a violent cataclysm to occur on the Versuva, twisting the very fabric of reality to turn the island's inhabitants into his servants. Before Mersery could confront Millennium, the Shadow of Ages leader constricted Mersery with three tendrils made of shadow to the point where he fell unconscious.

Mersery then awoke to find himself in a void of darkness. Before he could ponder too deeply on his fate, Falmed's voice sudddenly echoed through the illusion, causing it to crack in half and reveal a bright, white light. After drifting through the gap, Mersery awoke to find himself back in the real world on Spherus Magna. After Falmed explained the extent of Mersery's wounds, Flardrek beckoned him to examine a house on the outskirts of the village. Inside, Flardrek showed Mersery a previously unknown room, which had been hidden behind a stone wall built against a large, rocky outcropping. After examing the hidden chamber, Mersery and the others began speculating on what Skorr could have potentially stole from it. After leaving the hut, Mersery and his friends were confronted by the Skakdi Freztrak and Toa Soalaz, both of whom insisting they had important information to share.

Far Future
In a possible future, Mersery would go on to chase Millennium not only across Spherus Magna, but throughout dimensional space, and followed him through a number of different alternate universes, the timelines of a majority of these universes being out of sync with that of the prime reality. Mersery would travel and battle Millennium across multiple plains of existence, and was forced to leave a majority of his friends behind in order to protect Spherus Magna. Eventually, he would come to learn that his death was impending, and soon began entering a mild depression. After 700 years spent hunting down Millennium, an older, wounded version of Mersery arrived on a beach of the Spherus Magna of the prime reality, where he limped on to continue his search for Millennium.

However, before he could leave he encountered a mysterious being, who revealed he had come to kill Mersery to prevent him from interfering with his plans. Although having been aware of his impending death three months prior, Mersery did not believe that it was his time, wishing to defeat Millennium before dying, though was informed that Millennium was a key element in the killer's plans, who revealed he had just murdered Karzahni and Tren Krom. Too weak to resist, Mersery was helpless when the traveler stabbed him repeatedly. The wound proved too great for Mersery, and upon adding that up to all his other wounds, he collapsed and died. It remains unknown if this future came to be true, and it remains possible this was simply in an alternative timeline.

The Kingdom Alternate Universe
In an alternative universe, Matoro failed to save Mata Nui in time, and Mersery and most of the surviving inhabitants of the Matoran Universe migrated to the island of Mata Nui. After the Kingdom of the Great Spirit was established, Mersery assisted Nuju and Nuparu on a project for space travel in order to find new lands to populate.

Abilities and Traits
Extremely intelligent and equally wise, Mersery is highly respected amongst both his colleagues, and by the inhabitants of countless lands, and is often looked up as a mentor figure by those around him. He is surprisingly calm in times of danger, having been hardened due to his numerous experiences throughout his life. Amongst his friends, Mersery is known to be a friendly, benevolent, and amiable person, and is noted for having a generally curious and inquisitive nature. He is very talented at keeping others in good spirits and high morale, and is very easygoing towards others. When he was younger, Mersery was shown to be an extremely curious and eager to learn, being a bit naive and reckless when making decisions. He took every opportunity to expand his knowledge, and would often study well into overtime, and pushed himself beyond his limits to learn, frequently exhausting him. He was often branded as being a bit of an eccentric by others, though he was generally liked among his peers. However, he significantly matured during the events that befell him when the Xevthian Empire invaded Versuva.

However, masked beneath his warm surface of wisdom and positivity, is a very serious, contemplative, secretive, wistful, and somewhat mysterious side; with the amount of death and suffering he has witnessed having made him somewhat melancholic, weary, and sombre underneath. On another note, Mersery is also a very persuasive negotiator, and an efficient diplomat; making him very skilled at winning others over to his side. Though he dislikes being in positions of authority, Mersery has proven himself to be a strong and capable leader. He also possesses a keen tactical edge, which has made him a brilliant strategist. In addition, he is extremely driven to the Order's cause, and has a strong sense of commitment to the will and law of Mata Nui.

However, despite his well-meaning nature, Mersery's main personality flaw is his lust for power and knowledge. Although he only ever desires to use this power for good, he finds those best suited for power are those who do not desire it. Although he dislikes to admit it, Mersery is emotionally handicapped by his own increasingly advanced age, and he strongly feels his old age is limiting him. He sometimes attributes this attitude towards his age as the reason for his melancholic streak. Regardless, Mersery is, at heart, a scientist, and an extremely talented one at that; having gained a great degree of skill in the study of all fields of scientific matters. However, at the same time, Mersery is known to be a master swordsman and duelist, despite his disdain for violence, and is renowned for fighting with a powerful, yet elegant combat style.

Standing approximately 8.5 feet tall (2.59 meters/2 bio), Mersery possesses a muscular, yet lean figure. His physical appearance varies radically from that of the rest of his kind, due to the fact that he has rebuilt himself following his battle with a Makuta who severely damaged his original armor.

Due to the experiments performed on him, Mersery possesses a number of Time-based powers. To those who know him, Mersery could be considered one of the most powerful beings in the history of the Matoran Universe, although he concedes that his levels of power fall behind those of entities such as Teridax, the Shadowed One, or Tren Krom. Although his powers don't range as far as that of the Kanohi Vahi, and in some instances, the Dark Hunter servant Voporak, Mersery can still perform several powerful feats. Mersery is capable of focusing chronal energy into beams of energy, which can age or de-age objects or living beings. He can also sense shifts and fluctuations in the fabric of time, and is capable tracking them down. However, he generally refrains from using these abilities due to both their dangerous reality-warping effects and his abhorrence for violence. Originally, Mersery was unable to properly control his powers, though his specialized armor has allowed Mersery to both contain and master his powers over time. Mersery has also embedded half of his time powers in his Chronal Staff. Though this stabilizes his powers, it also means that if the staff is divided from him, his temporal powers will gradually weaken.

Like other members of his species, Mersery is capable of manipulating the elemental forces of his surroundings to a limited extent (i.e. He can manipulate sand if he is in a dune or desert-based environment). Whilst he is capable of manipulating the characteristics of his environment, he cannot manipulate them to the same extent a Toa could. He also possesses keen night vision, immunity to Pit Mutagen, resistance to intense cold, and powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Mersery also has the ability to manifest a Rhotuka with the ability to warp his target's perception of time, by either accelerating it or slowing down based on his whim. In addition to this, Mersery's mind is shielded against all forms of telepathy and mental assaults, as with all Order members. Due to his sensitive eyesight, Mersery possesses a special ocular implant that filters out bright light, effectively allowing him to see in daylight conditions.

Mask and Tools
Mersery originally wore the Kanohi Trezket, the Great Mask of Awareness, though later discarded it in favor of the Kanohi Makiti, the Great Mask of Shape-Shifting, which allows him to alter his form or impersonate any being he wants. It also grants him the ability to copy all the powers of the being he is disguising himself as.

Mersery wields the Chronal Staff as his primary weapon, which is capable of releasing powerful shockwaves, channeling Mersery's powers, and amplifying them to a limited extent. This tool has an artificial launcher built into it that allows him to fire Rhotuka, and half of his time-based powers embedded within the staff. He also possesses a pair of razor-sharp claws, which were given to him following the experiment that granted him his Time powers. Whilst not physically part of his anatomy, the claws are part of his armor.

He also carries a Midak Skyblaster. A cord connected to both Mersery's armor and his Skyblaster allows him to focus his elemental Time powers through his weapon, allowing him to fire blasts of both light and chronal energy. Due to a special modification, Mersery is capable of intertwining his time powers with the light blasts of his Skyblaster. Another alteration to the weapon allows Mersery to draw from his own inner light, harvest it, and provide it as an energy source for his Skyblaster. However, whilst Mersery's inner light will eventually regenerate, he will be tempted by strong dark urges for a short period of time, and as such, this modification is only ever used as a last resort.

Alternate Versions

 * Mersery

Trivia

 * Mersery is Chicken Bond's Self-MOC.
 * Mersery is one of the oldest members of the Order of Mata Nui still alive.
 * His quote was suggested by user.
 * A MOC of the same name was made by Toa Hydros.
 * Due to varying time periods between the creation of Toa Hydros' and Chicken Bond's versions of Mersery, both MOCs bear little resemblance to each other.

Storyline Appearances

 * Evils Unbound
 * Journeys of Darkness (First Appearance)
 * The Curtain Descends

Non-Storyline Appearances

 * The Eternal Game
 * Dark Realities
 * Dark Future
 * Killcount
 * The Hand of Fear
 * The Dark Side (Mentioned Only)
 * The Darkness in Life
 * Shadowplayer's Journey
 * In Darkness Forever
 * Haunting in Shadows