Bingzak

Bingzak was a young villager from a settlement in the Region of JungleRegion of JungleThe rainforest region of Okoto, home of the Jungle Tribe and the Protector of Jungle, ground over which Lewa sought the Golden Mask of Jungle and bonded with Uxar, and the coast from which the Labyrinth of Control rose offshore. on the island of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors., the apparent sole survivor of a Skull SpiderSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. raid that destroyed his home, and the guide who led the Protector of StoneNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. to the Temple of TimeThe Temple of TimeThe Protectors' most sacred site on Okoto, built to house the Mask of Time and the place at which Ekimu received the vision that prepared the island for the coming of the Toa. at the moment the Prophecy of Heroes had to be recited. His entry in the second-age record is brief in word count and disproportionately large in consequence: the navigation he supplied to NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. was the link that allowed one of the six ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. to reach the temple at the stars' alignment, and the rescue that produced the pairing was NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone.'s first recorded use of the Elemental Sandstone BlasterThe Elemental Sandstone BlasterThe Elemental Sandstone Blaster was the close-range melee and sand-blast weapon carried by Nilkuu of Stone through the second-age campaign on Okoto, and the tool that passed to Pohatu in powered-up form at the temple of the Golden Mask of Stone. outside the desert.

The destroyed village#

Bingzak's home was a village in the Region of JungleRegion of JungleThe rainforest region of Okoto, home of the Jungle Tribe and the Protector of Jungle, ground over which Lewa sought the Golden Mask of Jungle and bonded with Uxar, and the coast from which the Labyrinth of Control rose offshore., the forest country of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors. that lay between the desert and the central capital. The Jungle TribeJungle TribeThe Jungle Tribe of Tesara originated in Bota Magna, weathered the Shattering, and sent Gresh and Vastus into the Bara Magna arena system. villagers of the region lived under the Protector of JungleVizuna, Protector of Jungle of OkotoVizuna was the village elder and Protector of Jungle in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Air Elemental Flame Bow, descendant of Agarak, and guide who led Lewa through the rainforests to the Golden Mask of Jungle.'s authority and inside the layered cover of the forest itself. The cover was no longer sufficient by the time of the Prophecy. Skull SpiderSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. infestations had spread out of the boundary zones into the deep forest, and raids on Jungle TribeJungle TribeThe Jungle Tribe of Tesara originated in Bota Magna, weathered the Shattering, and sent Gresh and Vastus into the Bara Magna arena system. settlements had begun to produce casualties the Protector of JungleVizuna, Protector of Jungle of OkotoVizuna was the village elder and Protector of Jungle in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Air Elemental Flame Bow, descendant of Agarak, and guide who led Lewa through the rainforests to the Golden Mask of Jungle. could no longer cover.

Bingzak's village was hit during this period and destroyed. The record implies that he was the sole survivor; the rest of the population is not accounted for in the second-age sources. He escaped with little more than his mask, which is to say with nothing else: no provisions, no weapon, no companion, and no surviving relative to whom he could attach himself.

The pursuit through the forest#

A group of Skull SpidersSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. chased Bingzak through the forest region after his escape from the destroyed village. The pursuit was the standard outcome of a successful raid: any survivor who broke clear of the wreckage of the village became a target for the patrol that had attacked it, and the spider faction was capable of sustained pursuit through wooded country at a speed that an unarmed villager could not maintain for long. The chase was the second engagement of the spiders against Bingzak's particular family and household, and it was the engagement at which they should, by the ordinary balance of the situation, have caught him.

The pursuit cornered him. The geography of the corner is not described in the surviving notice, but the operational shape of it is clear: the spider band closed the angles around him, and he was at the point of being overrun when the unrelated movement of another party intersected his.

The intersecting party was NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone., the Protector of StoneProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.. NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. was crossing the Region of JungleRegion of JungleThe rainforest region of Okoto, home of the Jungle Tribe and the Protector of Jungle, ground over which Lewa sought the Golden Mask of Jungle and bonded with Uxar, and the coast from which the Labyrinth of Control rose offshore. on his way to the Temple of TimeThe Temple of TimeThe Protectors' most sacred site on Okoto, built to house the Mask of Time and the place at which Ekimu received the vision that prepared the island for the coming of the Toa. to join the other ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. for the recitation of the Prophecy of Heroes that the stars' alignment required. He had become lost in the forest country, a difficulty he did not freely admit to his peers, and the route he was actually following at the moment of the encounter was not the route he had planned. The result of the navigation failure was that the Protector of StoneProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived., armed with the Elemental Sandstone BlasterThe Elemental Sandstone BlasterThe Elemental Sandstone Blaster was the close-range melee and sand-blast weapon carried by Nilkuu of Stone through the second-age campaign on Okoto, and the tool that passed to Pohatu in powered-up form at the temple of the Golden Mask of Stone. and trained in combat against the spider population of the desert, arrived at the precise point in the forest country where Bingzak was being cornered.

The rescue#

NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. intervened and broke the Skull SpiderSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. attack with the Elemental Sandstone BlasterThe Elemental Sandstone BlasterThe Elemental Sandstone Blaster was the close-range melee and sand-blast weapon carried by Nilkuu of Stone through the second-age campaign on Okoto, and the tool that passed to Pohatu in powered-up form at the temple of the Golden Mask of Stone.. The Sandstone Blaster served the Protector as both a melee armament and a close-range sand projector; the weapon's combat profile made it well suited to clearing the kind of compact spider pack that had cornered the villager. The rescue ended the pursuit, dispersed the surviving spiders, and left Bingzak alive and standing.

The encounter changed the operational situation for both parties. Bingzak now had a protector who could keep him alive in country that had killed every other member of his village. NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. now had a witness to his presence in the forest country, a development that touched on the navigation difficulty he had been concealing, but more importantly had a survivor on his hands whom he could not leave behind without committing a moral fault of a kind the Protector lineage did not tolerate. The Protector convention was to defend villagers; an unarmed and orphaned villager standing in a clearing he had just cleared of spiders was a charge the Protector could not refuse.

The guide to the Temple of TimeThe Temple of TimeThe Protectors' most sacred site on Okoto, built to house the Mask of Time and the place at which Ekimu received the vision that prepared the island for the coming of the Toa.#

The arrangement that emerged from the rescue was a trade of capacities. NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. supplied the combat protection and the standing of the Protector of StoneProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.; Bingzak supplied the local navigation. Bingzak offered to lead NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. to the Temple of TimeThe Temple of TimeThe Protectors' most sacred site on Okoto, built to house the Mask of Time and the place at which Ekimu received the vision that prepared the island for the coming of the Toa., and NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. accepted, on the grounds that it was wrong to leave the orphaned villager on his own. The offer and the acceptance are the two acts that the record assigns to the pairing in explicit language, and they are the basis on which the rest of Bingzak's role rested.

The journey to the temple was conducted under Bingzak's guidance through the part of the Region of JungleRegion of JungleThe rainforest region of Okoto, home of the Jungle Tribe and the Protector of Jungle, ground over which Lewa sought the Golden Mask of Jungle and bonded with Uxar, and the coast from which the Labyrinth of Control rose offshore. that NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. could not navigate. The route is not described in detail in the surviving notice, but the outcome is: the two reached the Temple of TimeThe Temple of TimeThe Protectors' most sacred site on Okoto, built to house the Mask of Time and the place at which Ekimu received the vision that prepared the island for the coming of the Toa. together in time for NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. to take his place among the other ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. at the stars' alignment. The Prophecy of HeroesThe Prophecy of HeroesThe dying instruction that the Mask Maker Ekimu pressed into the Protectors of Okoto, foretelling the coming of six Toa and the sign of the aligned stars that would let them be summoned. was recited as it had been foretold, and NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. performed his portion of the rite as the second-age Protector of StoneProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived..

The wider campaign value of the navigation was considerable. The Prophecy required the presence of all six ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.; a missing Protector would have left the rite incomplete, and the only way NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. reached the temple at the right hour was the route Bingzak knew. The Jungle TribeJungle TribeThe Jungle Tribe of Tesara originated in Bota Magna, weathered the Shattering, and sent Gresh and Vastus into the Bara Magna arena system. child whose village had been destroyed by Skull SpidersSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. was the figure on whom the completeness of the Protector convention turned at the most important moment in the Prophecy's history.

After the temple#

After the recitation, NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. returned to the desert with Bingzak. The Protector's village in the Region of StoneRegion of StoneThe northwestern desert region of Okoto, home of the Stone Tribe and the Protector of Stone, site of the Battle of the Mask Makers and the Black Crater, and the territory through which Pohatu hunted for the Golden Mask of Stone. was the natural destination for both: NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. resumed his regional duties, and Bingzak, with no village or family to return to, settled into the desert village under the Protector's protection. The two waited together for the next stage of the prophesied sequence, the arrival of the six ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm. from the sky.

The waiting ended when PohatuPohatuPohatu was the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva of Stone, guardian of Po-Wahi, whose speed and steady humour anchored the team through every era of the Matoran Universe., the Toa of StonePohatuPohatu was the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva of Stone, guardian of Po-Wahi, whose speed and steady humour anchored the team through every era of the Matoran Universe., came down within the Region of StoneRegion of StoneThe northwestern desert region of Okoto, home of the Stone Tribe and the Protector of Stone, site of the Battle of the Mask Makers and the Black Crater, and the territory through which Pohatu hunted for the Golden Mask of Stone.. NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. sought the Toa out and assumed the role of guide for the desert crossing to the temple that held the Golden Mask of Stone. Bingzak does not appear in the record of that crossing as an active participant, but the household he had joined in the desert village was the base from which NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. set out, and the Protector of StoneProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. who guided the Toa across the desert was the same Protector whose own crossing of the Region of JungleRegion of JungleThe rainforest region of Okoto, home of the Jungle Tribe and the Protector of Jungle, ground over which Lewa sought the Golden Mask of Jungle and bonded with Uxar, and the coast from which the Labyrinth of Control rose offshore. had been completed only because Bingzak had supplied the navigation.

Standing in the record#

Bingzak's recorded life is short and tightly causal. The destruction of his village placed him in the forest. The pursuit cornered him at the point where a lost Protector of StoneProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. happened to be passing. The rescue produced the pairing. The pairing produced the navigation. The navigation produced the Protector's arrival at the Temple of TimeThe Temple of TimeThe Protectors' most sacred site on Okoto, built to house the Mask of Time and the place at which Ekimu received the vision that prepared the island for the coming of the Toa.. The arrival completed the Prophecy convention. The completion preceded the arrival of the Toa.

He is one of the four named second-age OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. villagers in the record, alongside MeleaMelea, Stone Villager of OkotoMelea was a villager from the Region of Stone whose nephews Ako and Oda vanished during her family's relocation to the City of the Mask Makers, forcing Ekimu and the Toa into a rescue against the Skull Raiders., AkoAkoAko was a young villager from the Region of Stone on Okoto who, separated from his elders during the great relocation, was abducted by the Skull Raiders alongside Oda and rescued from the buried city by Ekimu and the Toa., and OdaOdaOda was a young villager from the Region of Stone on Okoto, abducted with Ako by the Skull Raiders during the relocation to the City of the Mask Makers and rescued by Ekimu and the Toa from the buried city under Axato., and the only one whose contribution materially altered the Protector convention's ability to function. The Jungle TribeJungle TribeThe Jungle Tribe of Tesara originated in Bota Magna, weathered the Shattering, and sent Gresh and Vastus into the Bara Magna arena system. orphan rescued from a Skull SpiderSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. corner in the forest was the reason the Prophecy of Heroes was recited by a full convention rather than by five ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. and an empty space.