Baterra

The Baterra were mechanical shapeshifters built by the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. during the Core WarThe Core War: the war that shattered a planetThe Core War was fought on Spherus Magna over Energized Protodermis. It ended in the Shattering, which tore the planet into three planetary fragments. on Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.. Their role was to end the war by force, eliminating any armed combatant they encountered. When the ShatteringThe Core War: the war that shattered a planetThe Core War was fought on Spherus Magna over Energized Protodermis. It ended in the Shattering, which tore the planet into three planetary fragments. became inevitable, the Great Beings tried to shut them down with a failsafe, but it failed, and the Baterra went on hunting armed warriors on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.. (The Yesterday Quest; Empire of the Skrall)

Commission and design intent#

The Baterra were a war-time intervention. The Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. had turned Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. into a battlefield over Energized ProtodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards., and the Great Beings, unable to stop the Core WarThe Core War: the war that shattered a planetThe Core War was fought on Spherus Magna over Energized Protodermis. It ended in the Shattering, which tore the planet into three planetary fragments. by peaceful means, unleashed what they themselves came to call a doomsday weapon. The Great Beings later known as HeremusHeremusThe Great Being whose hope for the giant robot supplied the name Mata Nui, a builder of the Baterra, and one of the rulers of Spherus Magna before the Shattering. and VelikaVelikaVelika is a Great Being who disguised himself as a Po-Matoran on Mata Nui, wearing a powerless Komau and bearing an affinity for Stone. Colored in golden brown, grey, and orange, he worked as an inventor and carried Power Carvers as his tools. He was last known to be located on Bota Magna. had a hand in building it, and the Baterra were also set to building the Valley of the Maze around the Great Beings' fortress. (The Yesterday Quest; BIONICLE: Journey's End; All Our Sins Remembered)

The targeting rule was blind to allegiance. A Baterra was programmed to target and kill any being carrying a weapon, whatever its tribe, and to leave the unarmed alone. When a group of AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and lived by the Glatorian arena system. travelling north saw Baterra shapeshifting by a river, the machines ignored them because they carried no weapons. (Empire of the Skrall; BIONICLE Glatorian 3: A Hero Reborn)

Construction and capabilities#

The Baterra were entirely mechanical. Their weapons were blades attached to their bodies, which transformed along with them, so that a disguised Baterra was always armed. The killing was quick and silent, which is where the Skrall found their name for them. (Fall and Rise of the Skrall; Empire of the Skrall)

The defining capability was shapeshifting. A Baterra could alter its form to match its surroundings: a tree, a rock, a pile of stores. The disguise was good enough to fool trained warriors at close range. In one ambush, as Branar noted, the attackers appeared out of the darkness, struck, and vanished before the patrol knew what had happened. (Empire of the Skrall; Fall and Rise of the Skrall)

The Baterra also worked together. Multiple Baterra could set traps as a group: in one engagement, two Baterra fled from the Skrall instead of disappearing, leading their pursuers into what looked like a forest, where a mass of Baterra disguised as trees ambushed them. In another, Baterra planted uprooted trees as decoys along a path and waited nearby disguised as rocks. (Fall and Rise of the Skrall; Empire of the Skrall)

The Skrall encounter#

The Baterra's best-documented campaign was against the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule., after the Skrall moved into the region north of the Black Spike MountainsBlack Spike MountainsThe mountain range north of the Bara Magna desert that served as the Skrall homeland after the Shattering, became Baterra hunting ground, and was destroyed when the Mata Nui robot fell upon it.. The Skrall dubbed the shapeshifters Baterra, an ancient word meaning silent death. BranarBranarThe Skrall warrior who survived a Baterra attack in the Black Spike Mountains, earned his name from Tuma, carried the Baterra warning south, and fought the Skrall's last battle at Roxtus. was among the first Skrall warriors to encounter them. (Empire of the Skrall; Fall and Rise of the Skrall)

BranarBranarThe Skrall warrior who survived a Baterra attack in the Black Spike Mountains, earned his name from Tuma, carried the Baterra warning south, and fought the Skrall's last battle at Roxtus. was leading a small patrol scavenging for supplies in a wooded area when the two flanking warriors failed to respond to hails. He ordered weapons drawn. The Baterra appeared out of the darkness, killed three of his troops, and vanished. Branar ordered a return to the fortress, and he and one other warrior fought their way back. For bringing word of the new enemy, TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. rewarded him with a name, the greatest honour a Skrall warrior could receive. (Empire of the Skrall)

It was not the last time BranarBranarThe Skrall warrior who survived a Baterra attack in the Black Spike Mountains, earned his name from Tuma, carried the Baterra warning south, and fought the Skrall's last battle at Roxtus. faced the Baterra, but none of the later battles ended in Skrall victory. The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. were skilled, ruthless, and efficient warriors, but they could not fight a foe that appeared and disappeared at will, and they were never able to choose the time and place of a battle. The Baterra attacked when they chose to, sometimes several times in a day, and on one occasion triggered an avalanche on the Skrall. (Empire of the Skrall; Fall and Rise of the Skrall)

One attack ended with a Baterra destroyed, revealing to the Skrall that their attackers were machines. Two others fled rather than vanishing, and the Skrall followed them into a forest that turned out to be Baterra in disguise, which decimated the pursuers. Cut off from supplies, the Skrall fortified their base, but Baterra disguised as stores of wood were carried inside and ransacked the fortress. (Fall and Rise of the Skrall)

The Baterra also broke the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. command structure, raiding Skrall outposts and killing all but one of the leader class. That survivor, TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat., ordered the fortress set on fire and led what was left of his people south to occupy the city of RoxtusRoxtusThe largest Agori village on Bara Magna and the seat of Tuma's Skrall, Roxtus was the centre of the Empire of the Skrall until Mata Nui defeated Tuma in single combat.. (Fall and Rise of the Skrall; Empire of the Skrall)

Empire of the Skrall and the MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield. incident#

The Baterra stayed near the Black Spike MountainsBlack Spike MountainsThe mountain range north of the Bara Magna desert that served as the Skrall homeland after the Shattering, became Baterra hunting ground, and was destroyed when the Mata Nui robot fell upon it., and the Skrall ran monthly patrols to track their movements. On one, BranarBranarThe Skrall warrior who survived a Baterra attack in the Black Spike Mountains, earned his name from Tuma, carried the Baterra warning south, and fought the Skrall's last battle at Roxtus. took a warrior along to herd VoroxVoroxThe warrior caste of the Sand Tribe, reduced to feral pack hunters in the wastes of Bara Magna after the collapse of their civilisation in the Core War.. Baterra killed a Vorox and then the warrior, but let Branar live. He took it as a message: the Baterra were so sure of themselves that they were giving warning. His report that the Baterra were closer than expected led Tuma to move up his attack on AteroAteroThe free city at the heart of Bara Magna, home to the Arena Magna and the Great Tournament, destroyed by Tuma and the Skrall during the opening match.. (Empire of the Skrall)

TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. and StroniusStroniusAn Elite Skrall who earned his name by proving he was worth remembering. then travelled north to bargain with the Sisters of the SkrallSisters of the SkrallThe female Skrall faction, exiled from their males and armed with innate psionic powers that made them the true rulers of the Rock Tribe.. On the way back, the Baterra set decoy trees along their path and waited disguised as rocks. When the two Skrall readied their weapons against the trees, two Baterra struck from behind, wounding Tuma in the back and knocking both warriors out. The AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and lived by the Glatorian arena system. MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield. arrived and kicked their weapons away, and the Baterra, seeing no armed threat, held back. (Empire of the Skrall)

MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield. had worked out the rule years earlier, when Baterra wiped out a caravan but ignored him. He dismissed the machines and they departed, then used the moment as leverage, telling TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. that he knew how to deal with the Baterra and demanding to be named Tuma's successor should anything happen to him. (Empire of the Skrall)

The failsafe and what it produced#

When it became inevitable that the ShatteringThe Core War: the war that shattered a planetThe Core War was fought on Spherus Magna over Energized Protodermis. It ended in the Shattering, which tore the planet into three planetary fragments. would happen, the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. tried to use their failsafe to shut the Baterra down. It failed, and the Baterra remained active. Many were in the desert region of the planet when it broke apart, and so ended up on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.. (The Yesterday Quest)

The failure made the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. think about how much power each ToaThe Toa: Heroes of the Matoran UniverseThe Toa were biomechanical guardians sworn to protect the Matoran, bound by a strict code and defined by sacrifice across every age of the universe. would have once Mata Nui returned. If the Toa went bad, the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and lived by the Glatorian arena system. would stand no chance, so the Great Beings built a new creation for one purpose only: to destroy Toa. They named it Marendar, an Agori word meaning salvation, and sealed it in a vault. (The Yesterday Quest)

Legacy on the reformed planet#

The Baterra were still a power in the story's last years. When a giant figure rose above a hill during the battle at RoxtusRoxtusThe largest Agori village on Bara Magna and the seat of Tuma's Skrall, Roxtus was the centre of the Empire of the Skrall until Mata Nui defeated Tuma in single combat., the Skrall panicked, and writer Greg Farshtey later said they had taken it for a Baterra. Their attacks on the Skrall had already reshaped the north of Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna., and their pressure on Tuma helped set off the attack on Atero. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn; Empire of the Skrall)

The reformation of Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. did not, in any told story, deactivate the Baterra, and the serials end without settling their fate. As far as the story goes, staying unarmed remained the only sure defence against them. (The Yesterday Quest; Empire of the Skrall)