Bone Hunters: the Agori who left the rock tribe and became desert raiders

The bone hunters are a tribe of nomads inhabiting the desert of Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.. They were once AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and lived by the Glatorian arena system. of the rock tribeRock TribeThe dominant warrior civilization of Bara Magna, built on brutal expansion and ruled by Tuma until internal betrayal and the Skrall's defeat disbanded it., broke away, and developed into their own race, and every part of their reputation on the wastes follows from being left outside the arrangement everyone else agreed to. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation))

What are bone hunters?#

They are Agori who stopped being Agori, a rock tribe offshoot that split away long enough ago to count as a separate race, and their whole way of living is a consequence of that break. They stand about as tall as an Agori but have a sharper sense of smell and better tactical thinking. Since diverging they have grown a second set of inner eyelids, which shields their eyes from the hot desert sun and the dry air, and they speak a language of their own. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

They ride rock steedsRock SteedBipedal desert creatures used as mounts by the Skrall and Bone Hunters of Bara Magna. by preference, since those are better suited to combat, and will use sand stalkersSand StalkerDesert creatures that made Bara Magna's vast distances traversable, though their animal instincts made them unreliable in genuine danger. instead. Their weapons include Thornax launchersThornax LauncherThe Thornax Launcher was a scrap-built projectile weapon produced by Agori engineers, firing Thornax fruit and standard across Glatorian and Skrall ranks. and swords along with anything scavenged, such as FeroFeroA veteran Bone Hunter who rode the rock steed Skirmix, led a raid on Vulcanus, and fled the Battle of Roxtus before the Skrall lost.'s Skrall blade. For night hunting they carry darkfire torches, which give off heat but no light. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

Why do they raid?#

The Shattering left them out of the settlement, and everything since has followed from that exclusion rather than from any doctrine. When the cataclysm broke Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. apart, the bone hunters were not included in the social system organised on Bara Magna. To obtain what they needed they became thieves, taking food, weapons and whatever else came to hand. They raided trade caravans and, on occasion, villages, and rarely left anyone alive to report it. Captured GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them., Agori and 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. were brought to 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.. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

They are counted a single tribe but they have no overall leader, and they prefer not to be part of a social structure at all. Leaders are assigned for particular missions and no further. Depending on the quarry they work alone or in packs, they hunt Agori, Glatorian and Vorox for sport, and they remain open to a bargain if there is profit in it. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

The alliance with the Skrall#

Months before Mata NuiMata NuiBuilt by the Great Beings to restore Spherus Magna, Mata Nui sustained an entire civilisation inside his body, was deposed by Teridax, and reclaimed his purpose as a mortal on Bara Magna. arrived on Bara Magna, 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. approached Fero's band with an offer of alliance with the rock tribe. They hesitated, then agreed. Their first act under the arrangement was to increase the trade in captives sold to the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule.. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation); BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

Work followed quickly. A representative acting for TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. met bone hunters to keep them off VulcanusVulcanusThe Fire Tribe's settlement on Bara Magna, caught between resources and threats., and they attacked it anyway, which forced RaanuRaanuRaanu is an Agori of the Fire Tribe, distinguished by his dark red and yellow-orange coloration, who served as the leader of Vulcanus and the Fire Tribe on Spherus Magna. He wielded a Flame Blade and Fire Shield as his tools of office. Following the reformation of the planet, Raanu continued to reside on the restored Spherus Magna. to contract Glatorian from other villages to defend the place. Acting on information leaked by Tuma, they began raiding trade caravans out of TajunTajunTajun was a village of the Water Tribe, situated on the banks of the Skrall River. and cut the village off. Several were ambushed and killed by TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. and the Skopio XV-1Skopio XV-1Telluris's weaponized mechanical Skopio, a patchwork war machine built to dominate post-Shattering Bara Magna., with one surviving long enough to warn a group of Glatorian and Agori about the machine. (My LEGO Network BIONICLE Campaign; Empire of the Skrall; BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; The Crossing)

The raid on Vulcanus#

The Skrall handed over a detailed map of Vulcanus, and the bone hunters set about eliminating the village and everyone in it. Fero led the raiding party and was given the map, then lost it in a fight with GeluGeluGelu is a Glatorian of the Ice Tribe, native to Bota Magna, who formerly served as a secondary Glatorian for the city of Iconox. White and dark blue in color, he wields an Ice Slicer and a Thornax Launcher and resides on the reformed Spherus Magna.. He gathered a team of veterans and set out anyway. On the way his hunters wandered off to kill Vorox for sport, which he rebuked them for, and one of them questioned whether the mission was necessary at all. Fero killed him. The team also tried and failed to capture AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna. and Gelu. (BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

A separate camp of bone hunters was attacked in the night by MalumMalumFire Tribe Glatorian banished from Vulcanus for trying to kill Strakk in the arena, who took over a Vorox pack in the wastelands of Bara Magna.'s army of Vorox. The hunters formed a firing line to deal with the beasts before Ackar broke their ranks, Gelu joined in, and a large battle followed. The Vorox and Glatorian eventually withdrew and left many wounded hunters behind. (BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

Fero's band tried to enter Vulcanus through Iron CanyonIron CanyonA canyon on Bara Magna, site of Core War battles between the Fire and Water Tribes and later the location where Karzahni's body was found after the reformation of Spherus Magna.. Traps set by the Agori and Glatorian killed and wounded several of them on the way through. He pushed the survivors on, then turned them around. Riding out, he gave a surprise order, and the band looped around to hit Vulcanus from the Sea of Liquid Sand instead. They knocked out the sentry, destroyed property and struck at Agori until Ackar came out to defend his village and Fero engaged him. More Glatorian arrived, the hunters were overwhelmed, and the survivors retreated. (BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

The Skrall War#

Metus sent a group to stop Mata Nui, Ackar and KiinaKiinaKiina is a Glatorian of the Water Tribe who served as the secondary Glatorian for the village of Tajun on Spherus Magna. Colored in shades of dark and light blue, she wielded a Vapor Trident and a Thornax Launcher in combat. Following the reformation of Spherus Magna, she continued to reside on the restored world. on the road to Tajun. They reached Sandray Canyon to find the three already fighting a Skopio. Mata Nui turned the beast's tail-mounted Thornax launcher on them, then brought down an avalanche that buried the hunters and the Skopio together. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation))

Elsewhere a group allied with the Skrall struck Tajun and plundered it, patrolling the village under Tuma, though Ackar and a group of Glatorian slipped past them and knocked several out. At TesaraTesaraTesara is a location belonging to the Jungle Tribe, situated to the south of the White Quartz Mountains and to the north of the Dunes of Treason. another group helped Metus capture BerixBerixBerix is an Agori of the Water Tribe who lived on Spherus Magna. A scavenger by trade, he is recognized by his blue and dark blue coloration and carries a Water Sword and shield. and Kiina and took them back to Roxtus. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation))

Mata Nui came to Roxtus for them and challenged Tuma to a duel. He won, freed his friends, and exposed Metus. Then a massive beast made entirely of scarabax beetles frightened the bone hunters and Skrall into disorder, and an Agori and Glatorian army assaultedThe Battle of RoxtusThe climactic engagement at the Skrall stronghold of Roxtus on Bara Magna, where Mata Nui defeated Tuma in single combat, Metus was exposed and transformed, and the Glatorian and Agori drove off the Skrall and Bone Hunters. them and won. The bone hunters abandoned their allies afterward, and it was believed they killed and looted any Skrall stragglers they came across. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation))

After the reformation#

Once the Agori of Vulcanus moved to the mega-village, the bone hunters set up a fortress in Iron Canyon and began targeting the Vorox for scavenging rights, wiping out a Vorox nest north of the Skrall RiverSkrall RiverA critical water source in Bara Magna's desert, controlled by the Skrall through a strategically vital dam.. When Mata Nui gained control of the prototype robotThe Prototype RobotThe Great Beings' earlier and unstable attempt at the design that became the Great Spirit Robot, scattered across the Bara Magna desert and reassembled by the villages to carry Mata Nui into the final battle with Teridax. he tried to warn them, the Skrall and the Vorox to take shelter before TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. arrived. They ignored him. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation); BIONICLE: Journey's End)

Mata Nui restored Spherus Magna and covered much of Bara Magna in plant life, and the bone hunters now live there alongside the Agori, the Glatorian and everyone else. Writer Greg Farshtey later said that, some time after the battle, a number of them joined the growing force of criminals and warriors led by the Shadowed OneThe Shadowed OneThe Shadowed One is the leader of the Dark Hunters, a black, yellow, and silver figure based on Spherus Magna. Armed with a staff and a Rhotuka, the Shadowed One directs the organization., leader of the Dark HuntersThe Dark HuntersA band of mercenaries and thieves founded on Odina by the Shadowed One and Ancient, hired out across the Matoran Universe, and left a battered ruin by the time Teridax ruled the universe. out of the Matoran Universe. No story shows this. (BIONICLE: Journey's End)

In an alternate universe where Mata Nui completed his mission, the bone hunters were conscripted into an army led by the Makuta MiserixMiserixThe deposed Makuta leader clawed back from exile to hunt the brother who stole his throne. and attacked Tesara, where VezonVezonHe started as a weapon misfire and a throwaway joke, and the canon spent four years quietly turning him into its most useful expendable asset. had just arrived from the core dimension. (Reign of Shadows)

Naming and appearances#

Dee Bradley Baker voiced them in BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn, where they were given the appearance of AtakusAtakusAtakus is a Rock Tribe Agori who served the Skrall as gate guard of Roxtus, arena assistant and Tuma's spokesman, and the Agori who first tested the loyalty of the traitor Metus.. The January to February 2009 issue of LEGO BrickMaster Magazine states they are distantly related to the Skrall. Contemporary LEGO catalogues and bios frequently and wrongly described them as members of the rock tribe. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn; Fero and Skirmix!; LEGO Catalogue 2009 (UK))