Bahrag

The Bahrag were the twin queens of the BohrokBohrokHive-minded mechanical creatures designed to reshape worlds, the Bohrok represent a threat the Toa Mata never expected. swarms: Cahdok, the blue queen, and GahdokGahdokOne of the twin Bahrag queens, Gahdok commanded the Bohrok swarms alongside Cahdok until the Toa Mata sealed them both in solid protodermis., the red queen. Created by the Great Beings to lead the Bohrok in cleansing Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. Island and to craft kranaKranaThe small organic creatures that controlled the Bohrok, made in eight types plus a mutated variant, without which no Bohrok could serve the swarm. for them, they commanded the BohrokBohrokHive-minded mechanical creatures designed to reshape worlds, the Bohrok represent a threat the Toa Mata never expected. toward a single objective. As Gahdok told the Toa Mata, all that did not belong would be removed, and the island would be as it was in the time before. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE 7: What Lurks Below)

Origin and purpose#

The Bahrag were the command of a vast cleaning system. They were given no knowledge beyond the needs of their task, and knew nothing of beings such as TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. or the Toa MataWho are the Toa Mata?Six warriors built to order by Artakha, stored in canisters, dropped into the ocean. This is the origin story of Bionicle's heroes and why their first week of work was entirely amnesiac.. When Teridax roused them early with a sonic signal, they had no instructions for being woken before their time, so they assumed the hour had come and sent out the swarms without regard to the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. still living on the island. (BIONICLE Chronicles 2: Beware the Bohrok; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Unlike other major antagonists of the period, Cahdok and GahdokGahdokOne of the twin Bahrag queens, Gahdok commanded the Bohrok swarms alongside Cahdok until the Toa Mata sealed them both in solid protodermis. pursued no personal aim. They even recognised the Toa MataWho are the Toa Mata?Six warriors built to order by Artakha, stored in canisters, dropped into the ocean. This is the origin story of Bionicle's heroes and why their first week of work was entirely amnesiac. as fellow servants of Mata Nui, fighting them only because the Toa stood in the way. When they were released months later under different conditions, they resumed the same task without change. (BIONICLE 7: What Lurks Below; BIONICLE Legends 7: Prisoners of the Pit)

The two queens could be told apart by their colours and antennae: Cahdok was blue with long, thin antennae, while GahdokGahdokOne of the twin Bahrag queens, Gahdok commanded the Bohrok swarms alongside Cahdok until the Toa Mata sealed them both in solid protodermis. was red with short, clubbed ones. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Powers and abilities#

The Bahrag wielded the elemental powers of the six main BohrokBohrokHive-minded mechanical creatures designed to reshape worlds, the Bohrok represent a threat the Toa Mata never expected. breeds: fire, water, ice, stone, earth, and acid. In the Nest, GahdokGahdokOne of the twin Bahrag queens, Gahdok commanded the Bohrok swarms alongside Cahdok until the Toa Mata sealed them both in solid protodermis. boasted to the Toa Mata that all the powers of the Bohrok belonged to the queens, switching from fire to stone in the same breath. (BIONICLE 8: The End of the Toa?; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

The second tier of their abilities was illusion. The Bahrag could create powerful illusions, which they used to protect their nest from intruders. They could also speak telepathically to the kranaKranaThe small organic creatures that controlled the Bohrok, made in eight types plus a mutated variant, without which no Bohrok could serve the swarm. and to the Toa, though they spoke aloud to the Toa as well. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE Chronicles 2: Beware the Bohrok)

Proximity defined the shape of any fight with the Bahrag. The queens were symbiotic, drawing power from each other, and their powers grew more concentrated the closer they stood. Side by side, their defences were so great that a powerful barrier formed around them. (BIONICLE: The Official Guide to BIONICLE; BIONICLE 7: What Lurks Below)

The Bahrag also made the kranaKranaThe small organic creatures that controlled the Bohrok, made in eight types plus a mutated variant, without which no Bohrok could serve the swarm. that controlled the Bohrok, by exposing a substance to energized protodermis. A carving in the tunnels beneath the island showed the queens dipping a mysterious object into energized protodermis and drawing out a krana. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

The first confrontation and the Protodermis cage#

The Toa MataWho are the Toa Mata?Six warriors built to order by Artakha, stored in canisters, dropped into the ocean. This is the origin story of Bionicle's heroes and why their first week of work was entirely amnesiac. entered the Bohrok NestBohrok NestThe subterranean chamber where the Bohrok slumbered beneath Mata Nui until Makuta's machinations awakened them. wearing Exo-ToaExo-ToaToa-sized powered armor built for the Brotherhood of Makuta, worn briefly by the Toa Mata against the Bahrag and later used as enforcers under Teridax. suits, having collected eight kinds of krana and unlocked the armour. Three Toa fought Gahdok while the other three took on Cahdok. The armour's extra power let the Toa gain ground at first, but it hampered their elemental powers, and as the queens were cornered in the same chamber their combined defences grew so strong that even a blast from an Exo-Toa dissolved before reaching them. The battle reached a stalemate. (BIONICLE 7: What Lurks Below; BIONICLE 8: The End of the Toa?; BIONICLE Chronicles 2: Beware the Bohrok)

The Toa shed the Exo-ToaExo-ToaToa-sized powered armor built for the Brotherhood of Makuta, worn briefly by the Toa Mata against the Bahrag and later used as enforcers under Teridax. armour and combined their six elemental powers in a last effort. The combined energy formed a sealed protodermisProtodermisThe engineered substance building the Matoran Universe, protodermis exists in countless refined states from mundane metal to diamond-hard crystal to the destruction-or-transformation force of energized form. cage around Cahdok and GahdokGahdokOne of the twin Bahrag queens, Gahdok commanded the Bohrok swarms alongside Cahdok until the Toa Mata sealed them both in solid protodermis.. The Toa then fell into tubes of energized protodermis and emerged as 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.. With the queens imprisoned, the swarms could no longer be directed against the island. (BIONICLE 8: The End of the Toa?; BIONICLE Chronicles 2: Beware the Bohrok)

The queens were not destroyed. They remained alive inside the protodermisProtodermisThe engineered substance building the Matoran Universe, protodermis exists in countless refined states from mundane metal to diamond-hard crystal to the destruction-or-transformation force of energized form. cage, and as the cage closed Gahdok warned the Toa that they could not imagine what they had unleashed. The cage itself became the target of the Bohrok-KalBohrok-KalSix elite Bohrok designed to free the imprisoned Bahrag, they nearly defeated the Toa Nuva before the Toa turned their own powers against them. campaign that followed. (BIONICLE Chronicles 2: Beware the Bohrok)

The Bohrok-Kal and the Nuva Cube#

The Bohrok-KalBohrok-KalSix elite Bohrok designed to free the imprisoned Bahrag, they nearly defeated the Toa Nuva before the Toa turned their own powers against them. were six Bohrok the Bahrag had mutated as a precaution, in case the queens were ever unable to reach the swarms. Released by the queens' defeat, the Kal stole 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.'s Nuva SymbolsNuva SymbolsStone carvings housing the Toa Nuva's elemental powers, designed to seal the Bahrag but vulnerable to a crippling flaw., which they meant to use to free the Bahrag from their cage. (BIONICLE Chronicles 2: Beware the Bohrok; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

The six Kal carried powers the standard swarms lacked: gravity, plasma, magnetism, vacuum, electricity, and sonics. When they reached the Nest, the Exo-ToaExo-ToaToa-sized powered armor built for the Brotherhood of Makuta, worn briefly by the Toa Mata against the Bahrag and later used as enforcers under Teridax. there were fighting them on their own, and Gahlok-KalGahlok-KalThe magnetic-powered Bohrok-Kal whose own power became its undoing when victory was within reach. used its magnetism to crush the last two. (BIONICLE 11: A Matter of Time...; BIONICLE 12: Absolute Power)

The ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. Nuva's eventual countermeasure was not direct attack. TahuTahu (2001)Tahu was the Toa Mata of Fire and leader of the team, from his first landing on Ta-Wahi Beach to the destruction of Teridax's Rahkshi army on Bara Magna with the Golden Armor. used the Mask of TimeMask of TimeThe Kanohi Vahi is the Matoran Universe's deadliest mask, capable of stopping or accelerating time, and its creation nearly tore Metru Nui apart. to slow the Kal, but their krana-kal turned silver and protected them. GaliGali, Toa of WaterThe Toa Nuva of Water and conscience of the Toa Mata, whose attunement to her element anchored the team across every campaign from Mata Nui to Karda Nui. then came up with a plan: the Toa pooled their powers into the stolen symbols, feeding the Kal more energy than they could handle. One by one, the Kal's powers went out of control and destroyed their mechanical shells, and the Toa's powers returned to them. The Bahrag remained in the cage. (BIONICLE 11: A Matter of Time...; BIONICLE 12: Absolute Power)

Release and the second cleansing#

The Bahrag's second active period began under very different conditions. AxonnAxonnAxonn served as an arbitrator under the Hand of Artakha and later as an Order of Mata Nui agent, guarding the Kanohi Ignika on Voya Nui for thousands of years. of 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. had sent the ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. Nuva to find a scroll in the Great Temple of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., and the first task it listed before Mata Nui could be awakened was for the BohrokBohrokHive-minded mechanical creatures designed to reshape worlds, the Bohrok represent a threat the Toa Mata never expected. to finish cleaning the island. The Nuva returned to the Nest and broke the seal holding Cahdok and GahdokGahdokOne of the twin Bahrag queens, Gahdok commanded the Bohrok swarms alongside Cahdok until the Toa Mata sealed them both in solid protodermis.. After a brief conversation, the queens sent a signal awakening the swarms once more. (BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno; BIONICLE Legends 7: Prisoners of the Pit)

The change in circumstances explained the change in policy. By then the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. had moved back to Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., so the island was empty of the inhabitants whose presence had first set the Bahrag's task against the ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed.'s defence of Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years.. The swarms cleared the island and completed their job. (BIONICLE Legends 7: Prisoners of the Pit; BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui)

The Bahrag play no part in the later conflicts at 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. or on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.. Writer Greg Farshtey later said that after the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. was damaged beyond repair, the queens left their nest and moved to the reformed Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.. (BIONICLE Legends 7: Prisoners of the Pit)

Summary#

The Bahrag occupied an unusual position among the major powers of the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control.. They were not opponents of the Great Spirit's plan but a part of it, created to clear the island surface when the time came. Cahdok and GahdokGahdokOne of the twin Bahrag queens, Gahdok commanded the Bohrok swarms alongside Cahdok until the Toa Mata sealed them both in solid protodermis. received no redemption and no change of purpose. They were contained when their work clashed with MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. survival and released when it did not. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE Legends 7: Prisoners of the Pit)