Sylah

Sylah
Sylah was formerly a Matoran from the Southern Islands, who along with many others, was kidnapped and converted into a mutated Toa-like creature (intended to be a biological entity similar to Marendar). However, along with the help of Toas Rahzahkea and Shard, Sylah escaped and brought vengeance to her tormentors. After roaming the Matoran Universe for many years, she escaped to New Atero, and joined the people there in defending against the various evil beings there.

History
Sylah was originally a Vo-Matoran living on one of the Southern Islands, which was famous for its Toa Team, which included Rahzahkea. She was normally ignored by most of the other Matoran, due to her unremarkable appearance and personality.

At one point (as seen in a flashback vision imposed by Necrosis), Sylah had the opportunity to warn Rahzahkea (who had arrived on business) of Kiyara's rise to power, but neglected to because she was too shy to speak to him.

The Project
Some time after the island's Toa had left, Sylah, along with large amounts of other beings, was kidnapped and taken to Kiyara's island fortress, in order to be used for his experiments.

Strangely, Sylah was able to survive the initial testing phases, and was twisted into a Toa-sized, albeit powerless being. Kiyara expressed personal interest in her status, and personally experimented on the former Matoran, causing Sylah to further mutate into something else entirely...

Later, Rahzakhea and his Toa team broke into the fortress, inadvertently discovering the experiments occurring inside. Sylah herself, who had managed to temporarily escape her containment area, ran into the Toa, and in the ensuing chaos, both the mutant and the team were captured by the fortress guards. Sometime later, an unknown amount of time after Rahzahkea's capture, Sylah had been forcibly converted into a monstrous entity, more reminiscent of a Makuta than a Toa. Despite attempted resistance, Sylah remained susceptible to a hypnosis device, built in to Kiyara's mask, which reverted her into a robotic, Toa-killing state.

Kiyara attempted to summon Kirathel, but an unknown error in the attempt caused an energy pulse which shut down several key parts of the fortress.

Rahzahkea and Shard escaped their cells, leading a huge group of mutants against the guards and Kiyara. The tyrant sent his own "Bio-Marendar" squad, led by Sylah, to quell the resistance, but Rahzahkea managed to help break their mental controls, and the squad joined the resistance in the attack.

Kiyara faced down the group at the top of his fortress, but was mauled and tackled into Kirathel's portal by the entire Bio-Marendar squad, excluding Sylah, who managed to leave the portal. She then departed from the ruins of the island to find a new life elsewhere.

Life in the Matoran Universe, and New Atero
Sylah moved to various parts of the Matoran Universe, fighting multiple dark creatures and tyrants in a self-imposed "vengeance" against beings like Kiyara.

Despite her actions, Sylah, due to her twisted appearance and powers, was feared by all those she "liberated", and was apparently attacked by a well-meaning Toa team at one time.

Some time later, Sylah left the Robot and flew aimlessly over the planet, reaching New Atero. She conversed with a nearby Toa, who showed a strange lack of fear or disdain towards her.

Having nothing better to do, the mutant helped try and find survivors in the rubble of the Temple of Light (which she had landed near) and inadvertently discovered a being called the Hunter watching them.

Sylah attacked, resulting in a long conflict where the Hunter escaped. Along with several other Toa, Sylah followed him and tried once more to best him, but was confined to a stalemate.

The Hunter escaped, along with a Toa who joined him, and Sylah returned to New Atero.

Rolvik's Assault
During Rolvik's Assault, Sylah aided the defenders of New Atero in fighting the invading forces of Torok's Legion. However, despite her and the defenders' best efforts, Rolvik was able to trigger his Compound Mask and cause an explosion, devastating the area.

Calm Before the Storm, and Shadow Invasion
Sylah fought against the monsters in Shadow Invasion, aiding Shadus in disintegrating Necrosis and forcing him to flee to another location. She also fought the Shadow Army along with the rest of the Toa, and was noticeably relieved when the opposing force was defeated.

Doubt and Death
Some time later, Sylah encountered Torok and briefly conversed with him about his purpose in entering TNC's universe. He in turn stated a desire to return the universe to what he believed to be its natural state, chaos, and even offered to turn her into either her normal Matoran form, or into a "true" Toa should she follow him. Confused by his seeming good intentions/the fact he wasn't directly attacking her, Sylah parted ways with him peacefully.

Later still, she returned to Makuro's abandoned headquarters, as Necrosis had returned with a powerful device, the Ordon, and summoned/called Torok

Xantha's Arrival
TBA

The Heralds
TBA

The Catacombs, and the Suva Battle
Sylah went along with the other members of the Vanguard into Onu-Magna, and did indeed attempt to fight Skatos along with them. However she, and the other Vanguard members, were forced to flee when the catacombs began collapsing.

Sometime later, she and the other Toa made their way to the Suva, and fought the Hunter and Hanah yet again. Sylah in particular argued fervently with Hanah, that Torok's twisted ideals had produced no practical results or anything but darkness and misery, and that his way was unacceptable to her. This finally cemented her break from the Chaos Legion, as she ultimately held more loyalty to the Vanguard than the Legion.

She also fled with them after the arrival of Solorok, briefly attempting to stop his meteoric attack.

The Tower
TBA

Appearance and Tools
Sylah was originally a normal-looking Vo-Matoran, but after mutation resembled a reptilian Shadow Toa, almost like a Makuta. Her body also contained more bio-material (i.e. flesh) fused into it than a normal Toa.

The Toa possessed wings and (at several points) a tail, as well as claws and a Mask of Adaptation, fused to her face.

She wielded a sword she had taken from one of Kiyara's guards  for many years, but while chasing the Hunter, supercharged it to a point where the metal melted.

Personality and Traits
As a Vo-Matoran, Sylah was timid and very infrequently seen in public, preferring to keep to herself and remain in her dwelling on the Southern island she inhabited. This regrettably made her vulnerable to Kiyara and his minions' plan, as not many people would miss her.

As a hybrid Toa, Sylah was initially very dark and bitter about life. Apparently she had attempted to hunt beings of darkness with her powers after being transformed, and only succeeded in terrifying the Matoran or Toa she encountered, leading to at least one instance of a group of volunteers trying to drive her off. However, as she spent more time with the Vanguard, Sylah began to grow more positive, and, well, heroic, as she fought for a common goal alongside beings perfectly willing to accept her. She even formed a peculiar bond with Shadus, another equally "monstrous" Toa of Shadow and Lightning.

As a neo-Toa, Sylah's positive attributes were amplified, as she was in her own words "normal again", having accepted her previous monster form and then gained a new one when she was on the brink of decay. However, she showed signs of being tired with the Vanguard and their endless wars, wishing there was a way to preserve their world without continuously being at war.

Powers and Abilities
Sylah possessed a variety of abilities post mutation, putting her as potentially one of the strongest Toa in New Atero.

Her powers include;

- Electricity Manipulation and Control: Sylah could create and manipulate electric forces on a level above, primarily due to her power to absorb bio-electricity from other beings to weaken them and strengthen herself. It is unknown whether she can manipulate electrons.

- Shadow Manipulation: With her nature as a hybrid, Sylah could create shadow energy or constructs, and could even fight beings like Xantha for a time.

- Regeneration: Sylah demonstrated a strong healing factor, shown to help her survive and recover from an internal shadow blast by Xantha in several minutes.

- Flight: Sylah's wings, fused to her by Kiyara, allowed her to fly for long periods of time.

- Speed: Sylah was capable, at full power, to fly to the upper atmosphere of Spherus Magna, and back down in minutes (originally intended as an attack, but she has never attacked at this speed).

Adaptation/Transformation: As a result of her fused mask, Sylah could transform her body to suit a variety of needs, such as; - Shifting to a shorter, normal Toa-sized form with no wings and bladed limbs to move much faster.

- Shifting or un-shifting a spiked tail.

- Second Sight: Sylah, along with several other of the "Bio-Marendars", was given a built in second sight, which allowed her to locate various beings by following special energy trails they passively gave off. This heightened her potential for hunting, but could be abused/manipulated (like when Kirathel's powerful trace momentarily blinded her).

- Darkspace Manipulation: After being infected with Darkspace energy and having her essence transferred to a body formed by Xantha, Sylah gained the ability to full manipulate and generate Darkspace power, though she is still relatively unskilled in this art.

Relationships
Shard: Sylah is decidedly distant towards Shard (the two have never spoken in character) as they both still resent each other (Shard due to her monstrous nature, Sylah because of said resentment).

Rahzahkea: While originally blaming Rahzahkea for her transformation, Sylah has moved on, and sees him now as an ally, rather than an object of hate. In fact, she has become more inwardly sympathetic to him, following his increasing downward spiral involving his own perceived inability to be an effective hero.

Shadus: Both Shadus and Sylah have a friendship unique among most of the other beings in the Vanguard They have shown a more closer camaraderie, and Sylah has risked her life for Shadus (and him for her) on several occasions (such as when Sylah recharged Shadus and saved him from death). Both of their similar natures likely play a part in this attraction.

Torok: While initially hating Torok for sending beings like the Hunter against New Atero, Sylah's loathing is slightly lessened (as she understands his reason, however mis-aligned his methods might be). She even joined his group of allies (although this may have been driven by Kirathel mentally influencing her).

Her respect for Torok however, does not extend to his subordinates like the Hunter or Solorok, who she sees as beings corrupted by their own definition of the truth. This respect in and of itself was completely or virtually completely lost after the Secret Battle, replaced by a nervous distrust masking helpless anger towards him. Though she does not trust or like him, Sylah is able to talk civilly with Torok, though this is likely to not direct his fury towards herself or her friends.

This civility has been markedly damaged following the Secret Battle, as she know views Torok the way other Toa view an angered Kane-Ra Bull; though he may have some trace of light, it is either too dangerous to be useful to the Vanguard, and knowledge of wha this is willing to do is both frightening and disheartening.

Glacies: Though ignorant of his darker natures, Sylah was deeply grateful to the Matoran for his kindness and understanding towards her, not being distant like 'Kea or mistrusting her. Though unaware of his death for a long time, she was hit hard by his death, uncaring of what he had done in the past, and only caring for the kindness (however false or restricted) he had shown her.

Kirathel: The relationship between Sylah and Kirathel is unknown, but it is likely that she has the same bitter anger towards the Demiurge as Rahzahkea.

Trivia
- Sylah was entered twice into the roleplay, the first time being retconned after she proceeded to hide in a corner of the Temple of Light and respond to a post not meant towards her.

- Sylah and Shadus being shipped together was alluded to by several users on the role-play (one of them channeling Greg Farshtey and yelling that love isn't canon).

- In original drafts of the Axia story, Sylah was a completely normal Water Toa, who fought alongside a Toa of Fire named Talrah, who played best friend to the "chosen one" Rahzahkea, then called Shard, who was in turn a Toa of Twilight intended to stop a war between several kingdoms on the planet.