Darius

Darius was the guardian of the Shrine of Creation and later a Toa of Life as one of the seven Toa Nova.

Biography
Darius was created by the Great Beings at the same time as the Shrine of Creation, millions of years before Koya Nui was inhabited by Matoran. There he slept as he awaited the arrival of six Toa of prophecy, whom he was told would best him in combat and obtain the power of the Mask of Creation.

Millions of years later, Darius was awokened by the Great Beings, who told him that the Matoran had began to colonize on Koya Nui, and it was his duty to protect the Matoran as well as the shrine until the Toa arrived. Unfortunately, there was a large explosion at the nest of the Skrillin, and they began to swarm Koya Nui, attacking Matoran. Darius battled against them, and in the process lost his left arm. He was able to stop the Skrillin raid once and for all as he approached the remains of their nest and attempted to negotiate with the Skrillin Queen. The queen refused to halt the attacks, and so Darius struck her down, leaving the Skrillin to slowly die out.

Many years passed and the Skrillin had become a distant memory, amounting to a mere legend the Matoran would tell in the dark of night. Darius continued to defend the shrine, honing his skills with one arm and proving even more powerful than when he had two arms. He had heard news of Toa appearing around Koya Nui, questioning the villagers about a creature called Redd. It was not long before Darius himself faced Redd, but he could not prevent the powerful fiend from entering the Shrine of Creation. Moments later, six Toa appeared, and Darius prepared to fuilfill his destiny. Weakened by Redd, he could not stop the Toa from entering the Shrine.

As he watched the Toa clash against Redd from the outside, he was powerless to stop Redd from damaging the Mask of Creation. He witnessed the Toas' transformation and decided that it was too late, as it was not his destiny to expose himself to the Mask's power. Instead, he witnessed from the shadows and followed the Toa after their victory over Redd. During the celebration at Ba-Koya, a large, metallic creature began attacking the Matoran. This creature was familiar and yet different to Darius, and after further inspection recalled that this was a Cyborg Skrillin, a subspecies of Skrillin distinguishable by its bipedal body and metallic plating. The beast rushed towards the Toa, but was intercepted by Darius, who cleaved the creature in two before vanishing to protect the other sections of Koya Nui. The particular Koya he had to protect was Fa-Koya, as its resident Toa Fanua had gone missing.

After defeating the Cyborg Skrillin, Darius met the Toa at the Great Toa Shrine and told them all about his duty to the Great Spirits and the Skrillin. He said that they had been nearly completely wiped out, but the destruction of the Mask of Creation must have leaked its energy into their nest, mutating the remaining Skrillin into Cyborg Skrillin. He recalled the Great Beings creating three beings to balance the birth, life, and death of all Rahi, and now that the Mask of Creation which regulated the birth of Rahi was destroyed, they would have no choice but to battle the Lords of Catastrophe and Apocalypse in order to restore balance. After this explanation, a light shone from the center of the Great Toa Shrine, and the Great Beings told Darius that he must awaken his sleeping power. In a radiant flash of light, Darius transformed into the Toa Nova of Life.

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The Toa and Darius all gathered again with their new powers, except Fanua, who was still missing. Darius had absorbed power from the Mask of Creation after returning to the Great Shrine of Creation and became the Toa of Life, taking Fanua's place as the sixth Toa. They all went to battle the Lords of Catastrophe and Apocalypse, but could not defeat them until Fanua appeared, displaying a massive amount of power and destroying the foes with ease. The destruction of the Lords of Apocalypse and Catastrophe led to a chain reaction that began to sink Koya Nui, and so Fanua displayed one last power and created a large globe that gloated magnetically in the sky for the Matoran to dwell. The Toa all went into this globe except Darius, who felt he belonged with the shrine. He sunk back into the sea with Koya Nui, and dissolved into energy, leaving behind only a Kanohi... The Mask of Life. =====

Mask and Tools
Before becoming a Toa, Darius carried only a worn protodermis katana and no Kanohi, leaving his face exposed.. There was nothing particularly special about his katana, however he was extremely skilled in using it, being able to rival even a Toa with technique alone.

After transforming into a Toa Nova, Darius unlocked the powers of his Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, which he wore not on his face, but instead as armor for his lower torso. Kanohi Ignika could evolve and devolve creatures at will, which he used to bring the Skrillin to their original state and help them repopulate into an intelligent and peaceful race. The mask could also heal and revive the injured and dead.

Traits
Darius is an advent believer in duty, and is willing to sacrifice everything to ensure his duty is fulfilled. He is polite and wise to his fellow Toa, and as he was charged with the task to protect the Matoran by the Great Beings, will stop everything to defend the citizens of Koya Nui.

Darius has traits that allow him to fill any role on the team, which he developed from his years of solitude. He can endure in battle for incredible amounts of time, heal his allies, and inflict massive damage on the enemy. These traits make him a valuable member of the Toa Nova.

Trivia

 * Darius was given the power of the Kanohi Ignika by the Great Beings because they believed that his willpower and determination could control its power wisely. However, he chose to let his body dissolve so that the people of Spherus Magna could choose what its power was to be used for.
 * Darius can serve any role on the team on thanks to his bulk, strength, and healing abilities.
 * Darius is one of three Toa Nova who weilds a sword. Darius's style is based on Bushido, an ancient moral code used by samurai. His variation is modified to accommodate for his missing arm.