Takhal

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

TAKHAL
MASK OF CONTAGION
Powers	Allowed user to create a pathogen with a limited existence
Component Kanoka	Unknown
Pronunciation	tah-KALL

The Kanohi Takhal was the Mask of Contagion. It allowed its wearer to conjure a transmissible pathogen with properties of their choosing and let it propagate for up to three days, after which it would disappear.

History

The first Takhal were forged by Brotherhood of Makuta maskmakers with blueprints derived from studies of the Lamarak and the Zatth. They were used exclusively for Rahi population control, as their properties made it simple for a Makuta to kill off a specific number of individuals of an overabundant Rahi species before terminating all instances of the pathogen. Around the time of Makuta Miserix's deposition, another method of population control was found in specially-designed Infected Kanohi. These proved to be more reliable than the Takhal, as the mask's pathogens were prone to randomly mutating, creating strains with different properties and possibly throwing off a Makuta's plan. Because of this, the mask fell in popularity. Eventually, it was only used by a handful of Makuta, and only in small-scale population control operations.

The first use of the Takhal on non-Rahi was during the Brotherhood's attack on the Barraki after they attempted to overthrow Mata Nui. Several plagues were allowed to spread throughout the warlords' armies in the days leading up to the Brotherhood's surprise attack, a tactic devised by Teridax. This would be the only time the Brotherhood would use it in warfare, as during their later wars against the Dark Hunters and the Order of Mata Nui, the diverse species makeup of their opponents' armies made plagues an unreliable weapon.

Others would still use the mask for other purposes, however. Some in the Brotherhood theorized that Makuta Gorast was only able to conquer the Visorak horde by creating a pathogen with her Takhal that made the Rahi docile and compliant. She, of course, denied this, proudly claiming that she'd conquered them with her own blood, sweat, and tears. She even challenged Chirox to a duel to the death when he accused her of using her Takhal, only backing down when Teridax intervened. In another case, a Makuta named Murkha attempted to use his Takhal to stop a Protodite infestation on his island, but became infected himself, leading to his death. The other Makuta mocked him for this, with some calling him the "second Spiriah".

Later, the Brotherhood briefly considered use the Takhal to rid the universe of Toa of Iron and Magnetism. The idea was to spread an infection that would be asymptomatic in most Toa and Matoran but would be lethal to Toa of those two Elements. This was quickly ruled out due to concerns over strain mutations. However, a similar idea would be used by the microbe-obsessed Makuta Antharahk to rid his island of Leskya Nui of much of its Fa-Matoran population.

Powers

Upon activation, the wearer of a Takhal could formulate the properties of a pathogen in their mind before infecting a nearby target with it. The properties the wearer could specify included its symptoms, its transmissibility, its lethality, its mode of transmission, whether it could be asymptomatic, and which species of organisms it could and couldn't infect. After this, the mask would deactivate, as the mask did not require focus to keep the pathogen in existence.

After infecting its first victim, the pathogen would spread for a maximum of 108 hours (three Spherus Magnan days), after which all instances of it would cease to exist, leaving no lasting symptoms in those still infected. The wearer could also use the mask to terminate the pathogen early. Alternatively, it was possible for the pathogen to die out on its own, especially if its lethality rate was too high. After a pathogen was terminated, the mask would be unusable for a number of days proportional to the number of individuals the pathogen had infected.

The mask had several weaknesses:

1. After creating a pathogen and infecting a patient zero with it, the wearer would not have to focus on using the mask. Instead, they would begin to be weakened physically, proportional to the total number of cases. High enough numbers of cases would render the wearer immobile.
2. The wearer would always be susceptible to their pathogens. This circumvented any natural pathogen resistance and/or regenerative powers the wearer may have had. Together with the first weakness, this meant that the safest way to utilize the mask was to infect an individual before finding a safe, remote location nearby, where the wearer could remain weakened for the duration of its spread.
3. The pathogen could randomly mutate on its own, possibly creating different strains with properties outside of what the wearer had specified.
4. The wearer couldn't control what could and couldn't treat or cure the pathogen. Often, the pathogen would be treatable or curable using natural remedies accessible in the area near where it was conjured. However, it was often possible for a pathogen to develop resistance to treatment or curing through random mutations.

Wearers

Great

• Makuta Murkha - Formerly as a secondary mask; deceased
• Two Makuta who were killed by Icarax for not immediately siding with Teridax - Formerly; deceased
• Several other Makuta - Formerly as secondary masks; deceased

Matoran

• A "fixed" Matoran in Karzahni

Trivia

• Even before the Brotherhood of Makuta's corruption was revealed, Toa considered the Takhal to be immoral.
• The mask's name is taken from Mongolian тахал, meaning "plague".
• Anyone is free to include this mask in their pages and creative works, and add to this page's Wearers section.