Ruthos

Ruthos was a Kraata-powered war machine built by Makuta Antharahk and Drakah. He was the former War General of the twos' mechanized army before he was ejected from it and supposedly killed in a mission. He then found his way onto Powai Nui and joined Tetradon's forces.

Early History
Ruthos was created through a collaboration between the Makuta scientists Antharahk and Drakah using a Kraata of Plant Control. After various tests, he proved himself to be worthy of the title of "War General" of a growing army and was given the title. Ruthos trained and refined his skills and abilities while the rest of the large army, composed of machines such as him, was created.

When the army was ready for deployment, Ruthos was tasked with leading a first attack on the southern coast of the unsuspecting Matoran-populated island of Leskya Nui. The attack was successful, and a small portion of the coast was occupied. However, the island's Toa team, lead by Vandir, retaliated immediately by setting up heavy defenses around the island. After the next attack was led by Ruthos a full-out war had begun.

Ruthos would continue to lead several attacks on the island, which resulted in a series of wins and losses. When a Toa of Iron appeared, Ruthos alerted Antharahk and warned him about their next attack. Antharahk ordered him to send one airship containing an experimental weapon built by Drakah called an Incendiary onto the capital of Leskya Nui. Additionally, since Ruthos broke one of Antharahk's strict rules and was sentenced to death, he urged the War General to go on the the airship for a more "honorable" death.

Dirge
Ruthos did as such, and Antharahk and the rest of his army assumed him to be dead. The blast created by the Incendiary ended up destroying the entire island of Leskya Nui, ending the war.

Ruthos survived the blast somehow, and left the destroyed island. His Kraata was damaged and mutated, causing him to decay plantlife at will rather than control it. He ended up on the nearby island of Powai Nui, and after several years of lurking he was found by Dark Hunter "Alchemist" and his associate Phi. Ruthos reluctantly decided to join them for the sake of his own survival.

Against the Storm
Ruthos assisted the two in retrieving the Staff of Vortices from the tunnels of the Kakkan Containment Organization. He was present when Tetradon and Pretadix were transported from and unknown location to Le-Powai using the staff. Although at first the two were skeptical of Ruthos, Tetradon soon found a use for him after learning of his special ability called "Blight." He sent him to the village of Le-Powai, where Navahko, Lewok and Salvina came in response to sightings of him. Upon seeing Ruthos, Navahko gave chase to him, pursuing him through he thick forest before Ruthos used his powers to cause him to fall and hurt his foot.

Appearance
Ruthos' armor was dark red and brown, except for his lower right arm, which was silver. His head was composed of a single red optic sensor protected by a helmet. He shrouded himself in several black cloaks to hide his strange appearance and unsightly color scheme.

Powers and Equipment
As his Artificial Intelligence uses a Kraata of Plant Control in order to give him sapience, he adopted it's powers as well. Previously, his powers were much likely those of a Rahkshi of Plant Control, allowing him to create, destroy and manipulate plants. After surviving the detonation of the first Incendiary, however, the Kraata was mutated, leaving it with only the power to destroy plants. This ability, which Ruthos called "Blight" after a plant's symptomatic response to pathogens, was rendered more acute and powerful. The ability seemed to turn itself on randomly, causing Ruthos to cause nearby plants to wither occasionally.

Ruthos was about as strong, agile and enduring as the average Toa, save for a few specific areas. A series of gyroscopes inside his body gave him exceptionally good balance, allowing him to run and jump across thin platforms. He was also capable of adjusting his optic to vastly varying brightness levels, allowing to see relatively well in complete darkness or looking directly at the sun.

Ruthos' right arm bore a sharp red blade and a small muzzle belonging to a firearm which he could fire automatically.

Personality and Traits
For his entire life, although in varying degrees, Ruthos was always skeptical of his creator and leader Antharahk. Any chance he could, he would find ways to break the tight rules piled on top of him, risking death just to prove to himself that he was more than a mindless machine. As one of the few of his kind who were given sapience, he saw himself as superior to those who were not given it.

After surviving the destruction of Leskya Nui, Ruthos' disdain towards Antharahk turned into a burning malice. Freed from the restrictions of his thoughts, words and actions, he took numerous opportunities to speak ill of him, constantly putting him at odds with Phi. This mentality bled into his relationships with other authority figures, namely Tetradon.

In his post-War state, Ruthos found himself to be hideous and hid himself in cloaks to reflect this. He grew furious with anyone who tried to remove them or see through them.

Appearances

 * Dirge (First Appearance)
 * Against the Storm/Volume II

Trivia

 * Ruthos' inclusion in Against the Storm was decided rather late in it's conception. Cap originally would have another one of Antharahk's war machines tag along with Tetradon, who had also survived the destruction of Leskya Nui and hated Antharahk.
 * The brown in Ruthos' color scheme was added due to a shortage of pieces, as he was imagined as being entirely dark red and black. After finding this color scheme to be unpleasant to him, Cap had the idea of having Ruthos shun his appearance and hide himself in a cloak.
 * This color scheme also inspired his "Blight" ability, as it reminded Cap of the colors of a wilting red rose.