Poliaz (location)

"A slender blue figure rose from her seat. "If it pleases you, lords, I would like to protect my home once again also."

―Soleku addressing Balin and Nivorn prior to the Makuta attack on Poliaz

Poliaz (location)
Location
Position	Directly south of the Tren Krom Peninsula
Status	Destroyed
Pronunciation	POH-lee-Ahz

Poliaz was a tiny island just off the southernmost tip of the Tren Krom Peninsula. It was owned by a Turaga of the same name.

History

Geographically, the island that became the island of Poliaz was originally a low-lying seamount south of the lower peninsula on the Northern Continent. This changed, according to Matoran myth, after an almighty battle between the Onu-Nui Serpes, and an ancient sea creature, in which Serpes raised the land into mountains of white marble and left the creature stranded on a high plateau to be devoured by his precious serpent rahi pets. It is rumored that the very bones of this creature lie within the cellars of the palace of Lord Poliaz.

After it rose above sea-level, Matoran from the peninsula came to the island and inhabited it. At one point the matoran of this island underwent a rebuild by Makuta Raximoras to help them live in their homes more easily, and were granted longer arms and stronger shoulders. After this, Makuta Raximoras was stationed as this island's protector, though mostly kept to his own projects and ignored the matoran. This changed after a Toa known as Poliaz sold his elemental powers to Razimoras, and received the island as part of the deal (on the condition that Raximoras' workshop be exempt from the deal and he'd be able to continue his projects unhindered).

Poliaz established a mansion in the center of the island and devoted the rest of his life to living in the lap of luxury, employing many of the natives. He became popular after improving the island's defenses and helping its towns develop. Over time its towns merged into one small marble city, which became a bastion of art, culture, music and good food in the Matoran Universe, though it was not free from gangs and organised crime. Poliaz amassed a grand collection of artifacts and Kanohi masks, and appointed a Vortixx pirate named Vanembar as his viceroy after he became the island's leader.

The island acquired its first Toa team, the Toa Poliaz, after a male Toa Hagah of lithium named Tolovan reneged against Makuta Gorast, his mistress, and returned to Poliaz where he had been a Matoran. He became the island's guardian, and was joined by a native Toa, Lizena, a few years later. The two found they worked well together, and fell heavily in love. These two guarded the island from threats (mainly from the sea) for many years, until Gorast took revenge upon Poliaz, and took Toa Tolovan back as her own, dominating and corrupting him with her powers.

A drastic time in the island's history was when a Kanohi Dragon attacked. The Kanohi Dragon killed Lizena, but was driven away by a group of native matoran.

After Lizena's death, Vanembar launched a new scheme to create new Toa for the island. Five Matoran natives (Gringat, Xalos, Gratigan, Soleku and Orabmar) survived the process, and the team was bolstered by two Archons of Earth (Abarium and Kana) who had come to join the team for their own reasons. This team continued to defend Poliaz from many enemies, namely pirates and rahi.

Many years later, the Toa Vanember were also destroyed. Vanembar launched the same scheme again to create new Toa, but the island was destroyed by Gorast following the Great Cataclysm. The island was obliterated by the Makuta, and cracked in half. All of its artifacts and Kanohi masks were stolen by the Makuta for their own use. Poliaz remains derelict to this day.

Geography

Poliaz was composed mainly of white chalk and marble supposedly created by Lord Serpes. This marble made the island beautiful, but infertile and dry. Many quarries were made in the heart of the island in order to create buildings and bridges.

Farmers were either restricted to the rich mudflats circling the island, which produced good food, or the woodland in the south of the island, which was good for fruit trees, and is more fertile than the rest of the island due to larger amounts of soil. Fishermen thrived on the island, however, and fish and seaweed made up a major part of each Poliaz Matoran's diet. The island's remoteness and lack of technological infrastructure meant that few matoran recharging stations existed.

A "pathway" led into the island from its eastern side, which was called the "Walk of Serpes" by many. This pathway was the width of five football fields, and widened nearer the coast, forming a bay once it reached it. It was here that the island's main docks were, letting ships arrive mainly from the northern and southern continents, Stelt and, sometimes, Korrothis. By contrast, its western shore was mainly sheer cliffs, which were scaled only by the bravest or most foolhardy Matoran. On the south shore was a large cave that went beneath the island. Poliaz's Onu-Matoran choose to live here, rather than in the surface city like the others.

A series of catacombs existed beneath the highest hill of the island as well. These contained Lord Poliaz's artifact collection.

Known Inhabitants

• Abarium
• Black Delta Gang
• Eki
• Gratigan
• Gringat
• Kana
• Lizena
• Orabmar
• Poliaz (being)
• Raximoras
• Soleku
• Tolovan
• Vanembar
• Xalos

Trivia

• Poliaz's name is derived from "Poland", as its Makuta invasion originally mirrored the Nazi invasion of Poland, although the storyline has changed since then to avoid such connotations.
• Poliaz matoran are often described as having accents similar to speakers of the romance languages.
• The Island of Poliaz is roughly the size of the British Isle of Wight. In fact, due its general shape, rock type and location south of the Northern Continent, it is almost identical.
• Poliaz's culture has been described as "A cross between Ancient Greece and Renaissance Italy"
• This place is Gringat's homeland, and mirrors in its landscape the area in which much of User:Gringat's family was born, although not where he himself was born.

Appearances

• Lords of Korrothis
• The Isle of Thorns (mentioned)