Artakha: The Great Refuge

ArtakhaArtakha: Master Crafter of the Great RefugeArtakha is one of the most powerful beings in the Matoran Universe, the reclusive ruler of the hidden island that bears his name, whose crafters made the Avohkii. He governed a refuge no evil could enter and armed the Toa Nuva for their trip to Karda Nui., also called the Great Refuge, was an island in the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. governed by the being ArtakhaArtakhaArtakha is the master craftsman of the Matoran Universe, ruler of a hidden island where the Toa Mata came into being and the Avohkii was forged. and home to its finest MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. crafters. It was a land of advanced technology, and other cities, Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. among them, were based on its design. Many of the universe's most important artifacts came from its workshops, yet by the later ages it survived only as a name in Matoran legend. (BIONICLE World)

A refuge of legend#

In Matoran legend, good workers were sent to Artakha, a place where no evil could enter, while damaged or poor workers went to the land of KarzahniKarzahniA realm of the Matoran universe built by the Great Beings as a place to repair Matoran, turned into a prison by its incompetent ruler., ruled by Artakha's rival. (BIONICLE Legends 2: Dark Destiny)

The island lived up to its name. Artakha meant it as a refuge for hard-working Matoran, and its ruler could change its look and climate at will. A member of the Order of Mata Nui described it as going from beautiful and idyllic one moment to dark and forbidding the next, depending on the impression its ruler wanted to make. (BIONICLE World)

Its reputation rested on what it produced. Helryx, the first Toa, and the Toa MataToa NuvaThe form the Toa Mata took after stepping into the Energized Protodermis beneath the Bahrag, with new masks, new tools, and the elemental scale to fight Karda Nui. came into existence there, using materials from the Great Beings, and the island forged the AvohkiiAvohkiiThe Avohkii is the Mask of Light, a golden mask that granted its wearer the power of Light and the ability to spread understanding. It was worn by Toa Takanuva.. Its ruler also made the Toa Nuva's Adaptive Armor and the vehicles Rockoh T3, Jetrax T6 and Axalara T9. (BIONICLE World; BIONICLE: Makuta's Guide to the Universe; BIONICLE Legends 8: Downfall)

Geography#

Artakha lay west of the Northern Continent. It was the first island the Great Beings built for the Matoran Universe, a land of modern cities with an enormous sculpture of a Kanohi Hau at its centre and Artakha's fortress in the middle of the island. (BIONICLE World)

It wasn't always cut off. A land bridge once linked it to a larger, uninhabited island. After the Brotherhood's raid, the islanders destroyed both the bridge and the neighbouring island to keep their home hidden. (BIONICLE World)

The Order's erasure and the visit of the Toa Nuva#

About 2,500 years before the main story, Makuta KojolKojolKojol was the Makuta assigned to oversee the region of Artakha, leader of the raid that stole the Avohkii, and the unwitting source of the virus that weakened Mata Nui. raided Artakha for the Avohkii on the Brotherhood's orders. The Crystal Serpents and the island's devices damaged his strike force, but Rahkshi distracted the defences long enough for Exo-Toa to deploy, and Kojol himself went into the fortress and took the mask. (The Mutran Chronicles; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Afterwards Artakha asked the Order of Mata NuiThe Order of Mata NuiThe covert organization founded by Helryx to serve the Great Spirit directly, operating in concealment from a fortress on Daxia and waging the open war against the Brotherhood of Makuta that decided the fate of the universe. to remove all traces of his land. The Order destroyed every map that showed it and eliminated everyone who knew where it was, Kojol included. Over time the island slipped into legend. (BIONICLE World)

The Toa NuvaToa NuvaThe form the Toa Mata took after stepping into the Energized Protodermis beneath the Bahrag, with new masks, new tools, and the elemental scale to fight Karda Nui. were later invited there. They arrived to find a tropical island of happy Matoran that changed around them into a land of storms and dying plants. At the fortress, Artakha asked for the stories of their recent deeds, then gave them Adaptive Armor and teleported them to Karda NuiKarda NuiThe vast cavern at the core of the Matoran universe, home of the Av-Matoran's Sky Villages and the Codrex, and the site of the battle to awaken Mata Nui.. (BIONICLE Legends 8: Downfall)

The fall and the exodus#

When TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. took control of the Matoran Universe, he sent RahkshiBionicle Rahkshi: the Sons of Makuta from Mask of LightRahkshi are armoured hunters made from kraata, the slug-like creatures of the Makuta. Six of them chased the Mask of Light across Mata Nui in 2003. Here's what they are, the different kinds and where they turn up in the films, books and comics. to Artakha to kill its ruler. LewaLewaToa of Air, member of the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva, whose career was marked by repeated possession, body theft, and aerial campaigns from Le-Wahi to Karda Nui. arrived to find shattered Rahkshi on the coast, more advancing on the fortress, and the island's Matoran fighting a desperate holding action. Artakha told him it was too late and sent him to Tren Krom's island instead. (Reign of Shadows)

Artakha himself later left the island to intervene in the battle in Metru Nui's core processor, and the story doesn't return to the island after that. Greg Farshtey later said, outside the stories, that its Matoran moved to Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. after Teridax's defeat. (Reign of Shadows)