Naraku

This article was written by Kralich. Please do not add to it without the writer's permission.

Naraku
Character
Species	Toa
Group	Toa/Matoran/Metru Nui, Ta-Metru Enforcers (former), Inhabitants of Bara Magna/Old Matoran Universe, Ta-Metru Enforcers (current).
Occupation	Leader of the Ta-Metru Enforcers
Powers	Creation of lava waves, fireballs, and resistance to areas of extreme temperature.
Gender	Male
Kanohi	Hau (Altered)
Tools	Twin-bladed Flame Claymore, wrist mounted Flare Launchers
Status	Unknown; last seen alive
Location	Bara Magna Sand Wastes (last seen)
Pronunciation	Naar-ra-koo

Once a Matoran who worked in the depths of Karzahni, now a Toa of Fire who leads the unofficial Ta-Metru Enforcers with six other Matoran of Fire.

History

Naraku was once a Matoran who worked in the long forgotten times before the Toa Mata arrived on Mata Nui. He was antisocial and passive, sticking out amongst his peers for his lack of emotional attachment to anyone or anything. He was deemed 'broken', and sent to a fate Matoran of the era often committed suicide to avoid; working in the hellscape of Karzahni.

There, in the place where it is said there is ice that burns and fire that chills, he was regularly tortured by the tyrannical leader of the realm, Karzahni, after which the realm is named. He was insulted, even by the Matoran in the same hellish environment as him, for his social ineptness, and this caused him to draw further into himself. Eventually, he drove himself to madness and lost all contact with reality altogether. He was killed by Karzahni for failing to obey his commands. However, Naraku's spirit was saved by the Kanohi Ignika which, unknown to anyone living at that time, saved the spirits of every Matoran which died in Karzahni and placed their spirit in a new body to live out a new life. Their memories prior to their rebirth would not be possessed.

Naraku with one of his Matoran allies, Hateshi

However, the League of Six Kingdoms Incident disturbed the Ignika's power and caused Naraku to be reborn many millennia later than he should have been; just before the arrival of the Toa Metru in Metru Nui. With no memory of his former life, he lived as a Ta-Matoran. He retained his introverted personality, but the rebirth process altered him such that he was more open to interaction with others and soon learned to be more confident in his own ability and that of others.

He was present throughout the events that followed the Toa Metru's arrival, including being placed comatose in spheres by Teridax, and the coming of the Toa Mata when the Toa Metru led the Matoran to Mata Nui. It is at this time he came across an unusually altered Hau which seemed to have been carved by one from an altogether different dimension. His curiosity got the better of him and he wore it. Moments after, he was transformed via a surge of elemental energy into a Toa of Fire, and his armour was altered such that it, too, looked as if it were forged in an alternate universe. His transformation was followed by similar transformations by nine other Matoran, three of which wore especially odd masks, the largest of that trio looking monstrous in size compared to the other inhabitants of the island. The Matoran and Turaga, however, considered this a blessing, as this reality's Toa Mata had failed in their mission to imprison the Bahrag and had been killed. Together, the ten new Toa defeated the Bahrag and fulfilled the destinies of the Toa Mata for them.

When Takanuva, who still came to be, albeit with different allies, defeated Makuta Teridax, the inhabitants of Mata Nui were shepherded to the City of Legends, Metru Nui. After the many thousands of years spent away from the island, it had begun to be overrun by wild Rahi, smugglers, and Dark Hunters seeking to claim the city's riches for their own. Thus, the ten Toa were formed in seven separate teams; one for each Metru, and an additional team to protect the Turaga and senior members of society, which consisted of the three most powerful members of the ten. The Toa were then instructed to select six Matoran each to form a peacekeeping group.

Naraku selected his Matoran due to their previous experience in having served in the Ta-Koro Guard, as well as his own experience of them having been hard workers and fearless fighters. Together, his group achieved the most renown of any other, dealing with threats such as an infant Kanohi Dragon which threatened the entirety of Ta-Metru. It became clear that, following the complete reconstruction of Metru Nui, a police force would still be needed to keep the peace across Metru Nui, so each of the Toa-led groups were kept on in order to fulfil this role. Naraku and his team were successful in their role.

Many years later, Makuta Teridax wrested power from Mata Nui, and a dark age began for the inhabitants of the Matoran Universe. The peacekeeping groups ensured Metru Nui remained safe, despite Teridax's best efforts at destroying the city, but it was not without cost. The Ga-Metru Lancers and Le-Metru Rangers were both utterly consumed in a battle with a crazed Tahtorak, which was only stopped when the seventh Toa group combined their powers to disintegrate it altogether, and the Onu-Metru Bastions were also obliterated when a cavern fell on Onu-Metru, killing many of the inhabitants of the Metru.

Naraku, on his guard

It is shortly after these tragedies that Mata Nui finally defeated Teridax in their final confrontation, and Naraku, along with all the survivors in the Matoran Universe, escaped onto Bara Magna. With their purpose completed, the Enforcers were kept on only as temporary peacekeeping support whilst proper police groups were established. When they were formally disbanded, Naraku felt a loss of purpose he had not felt before. He spent some time tracking down the rest of the members of his team, and after they all confessed they also had little else to spare the time with, they unofficially reformed the group, taking to the Bara Magna Sand Wastes to protect travellers from Bone Hunters, Vorsk, and other hostile lifeforms. Naraku was last seen working with his group to defeat a hungry Scopio, a feat that would prove almost as difficult as the defeat of the crazed Tahtorak many years prior. It is unknown whether he has survived the encounter.

Tools and Abilities

Naraku, having spotted danger

Naraku was a capable user of the element of fire for many reasons, not least of which due to the foreign nature of his mask, which granted him an innate boost to his abilities, as well as its usual power of shielding, being, essentially, the Kanohi Hau. Furthermore, the mask formed odd armour around his body which gave him a good resistance to extreme temperatures, such that he could spend short periods of time fully immersed in lava before beginning to feel uncomfortable. The armour also absorbed fire elemental energy it came into contact with and fed it back into his reserve, although absorbing too much could cause an overload which could disable his abilities altogether.

He wielded a twin-bladed Fire Claymore, which was able to carve through anything up to Protosteel with ease, with the ability to deal damage to the hardened material if used for a prolonged period of time. The weapon also doubled as his focus for his elemental powers, and was further supplemented by the wrist-mounted Flare Launchers he possessed, which enabled him to eject columns of flame from his wrists at short- to medium-range.

Personality

Naraku, preparing to charge

Naraku was an introverted individual, even after his rebirth by the Kanohi Ignika. He disliked social contact and preferred to work alone. His manner was more reminiscent, ironically, to beings of Ice rather than fire, as he was cool, calm, and collected in most situations, possessing virtually no temper. However, he was a capable fighter and fearless when it came to protecting his allies or doing his duty. Additionally, he begun to warm to his Matoran cohorts once on Bara Magna, and developed fledgling friendships with them all. It is rumoured he once had feelings for Katraya, the Toa in charge of the Ga-Metru Lancers, although this is still a touchy subject even to this day, and he usually does not discuss it.