Branar

Branar was a warrior-class SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. of the Stone TribeThe Stone TribeThe Bara Magna tribe of the Black Spike Mountains, organised under Skrall warriors and Rock Tribe Agori, that Tuma forged into the continental army fielded from Roxtus. and one of only two warrior-class members of the species ever granted a personal name, the other being the elite-class StroniusStroniusAn Elite Skrall who earned his name by proving he was worth remembering.. His name was bestowed by TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. in recognition of a BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. ambush survived in 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 he served thereafter as a scout, a patrol leader, and a senior fighter in the army that took 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., razed TajunTajunTajun was a village of the Water Tribe, situated on the banks of the Skrall River., and fell at the Battle of RoxtusThe 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 united tribes broke the Skrall and Bone Hunter army.. He survived the dispersal and lived afterward as an ordinary citizen of the reformed Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint..

The Shattering and the loss of the homeland#

Branar entered the historical record as a warrior of the Stone TribeThe Stone TribeThe Bara Magna tribe of the Black Spike Mountains, organised under Skrall warriors and Rock Tribe Agori, that Tuma forged into the continental army fielded from Roxtus. garrison stationed in the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. fortress city 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.. Like every other SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. of his generation, he had been cut off from the original homeland of the species when the ShatteringThe Great CataclysmThe day Makuta Teridax put the Great Spirit to sleep, the Great Spirit Robot fell from the sky, Metru Nui flooded, and Voya Nui tore loose from the Southern Continent. tore Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. away from Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.. The tribe had carried out of the Core WarThe Core WarThe generations-long war on Spherus Magna over Energized Protodermis that produced the Shattering, the exodus of Mata Nui, and the long Glatorian peace on Bara Magna. its caste structure, its language, and its forge knowledge, but not the territory that had supported it. The garrison of which Branar was part patrolled the surrounding ranges and engaged the increasing number of attacks from the shapeshifting BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down.. He held the standard rank of warrior-class SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule., unnamed and indistinguishable from his peers, until the day his actions in the field forced an exception.

Earning the name#

The recorded incident took place on patrol in 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. during the period of escalating BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. attacks. Branar led a small reconnaissance team into the higher passes and was ambushed by the shapeshifters in their standard manner: silent strikes from objects disguised as stones or trunks, no warning, and the death of any SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. carrying a weapon. Branar's team was destroyed save for one other warrior. Branar himself fought clear of the ambush and managed to retreat to the fortress with the surviving member and the report.

The information he carried was significant. It included the location of the engagement, the number of BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. involved, the tactical pattern they had used, and the confirmation that the shapeshifters were continuing to advance through the Spikes. TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat., the last surviving leader-class SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule., granted the warrior the personal name Branar in recognition of the survival and the report. The award broke the standing custom of the species. Among warrior-class SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule., names were the strict property of the leader caste; only one other warrior, StroniusStroniusAn Elite Skrall who earned his name by proving he was worth remembering. of the elite class, ever received the same honour. Branar's name therefore marked him out for the rest of his service as one of two warriors in the entire surviving population permitted to be addressed by anything other than a number.

The retreat south and 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 fortress city in the north was untenable. The BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. attacks had killed every leader-class SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. save 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 made every routine reconnaissance a gamble. 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 withdrawal of the male population south through 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., abandoning the females to their own organisation and the city to the BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down.. Branar was part of the migrating force. The journey ended at the abandoned AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. trading town 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. at the foot of Skull Mountain, where the 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. had cleared the original inhabitants and the walls and the central arena remained intact.

The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. brushed the 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. aside and occupied the town. Branar took up duties as one of the senior patrol leaders, responsible for the continuing reconnaissance effort against the BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. that TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. had not stopped fearing. The garrison reorganised on a permanent wartime footing, with patrols ranging the wastes day and night and the senior warriors entering the GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. arena circuit to dominate the southern fight economy. Branar's specialty was the scouting work rather than the arena.

The monthly BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. patrol#

Branar's most documented engagement came on the monthly BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. reconnaissance run, a standing patrol in which he led a SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. team and a complement of captured 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. into the southern foothills of the Spikes to test for shapeshifter movement. The 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 used as bait. The thinking, set out in the briefings TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. had provided, was that the BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. would engage the 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. first and reveal themselves. The 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. would die in the engagement and Branar might escape with the information. Failing that, his failure to return would itself constitute information.

On the patrol on which the system finally produced a definitive answer, one of the 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. was found dead with no visible cause. Branar ordered the rest of the 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. released, judging that the bait phase of the operation was finished. The remaining 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. escaped without casualty. When Branar turned around to confer with his team, one of his SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. warriors was killed at his back. Branar drew the conclusion the BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. had intended him to draw: the shapeshifters had killed only enough of his patrol to send a message and had let him escape specifically to deliver it. The advance south was no longer hypothetical.

Branar mounted his Rock SteedRock SteedBipedal desert creatures used as mounts by the Skrall and Bone Hunters of Bara Magna. and rode for 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. without further reconnaissance, reaching the city at speed and presenting TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. with the warning. The intelligence had immediate operational consequences. TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. had been planning an assault 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. at the Great Tournament. He brought the timetable forward by a full day, recognising that any delay risked the BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. reaching the city before his own army did. Branar's run had reset the pace of the entire southern campaign.

The campaign and the fall 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.#

Branar joined the raiding party that struck 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. the following day. The assault, conducted during the Great Tournament when the city was unguarded and the GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. population was concentrated in the arena, killed GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. and AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. in unrecorded numbers, demolished the arena, and broke the city as a political and economic centre. Branar fought through the operation as a senior warrior in the line, equipped with his standard Skrall SwordSkrall SwordThe standard melee weapon of the Skrall, often enhanced with a Thornax Launcher for dual-range combat., Saw Blade ShieldSaw Blade ShieldThe dual-purpose shield carried by the Skrall warriors of Bara Magna, which rotated like a buzz saw to function as a melee weapon and whose face bore the map of the Valley of the Maze., and Thornax LauncherThornax LauncherThe Thornax Launcher was a scrap-built projectile weapon produced by Agori engineers, firing Thornax fruit and standard across Glatorian and Skrall ranks.. The razing of TajunTajunTajun was a village of the Water Tribe, situated on the banks of the Skrall River. followed within weeks in a combined SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. and Bone HunterBone HunterDesert nomads of Bara Magna who raided for survival until their alliance with the Skrall nearly conquered the continent. operation, and Branar participated in that engagement as well.

The empire ended 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. in a single afternoon's combat. 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 MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. inside the prototype body the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. had built for the Mask of LifeThe Mask of Life (Kanohi Ignika), explainedA failsafe forged by the Great Beings to recharge a god. It curses everyone who touches it, and by the end of Bionicle it had learned how to be a hero., challenged TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. to single combat for the freedom of the captured GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them.. TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. accepted, fought, and fell. The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. army, panicked by a swarm of ScarabaxScarabaxSmall desert beetles of Bara Magna, welcomed as helpful scavengers by most Agori but dismissed as vermin by the Skrall. beetles taking the shape of MalumMalumFire Tribe Glatorian exiled from Vulcanus for arena killings, who became the warlord of a Vorox pack in the wastelands of Bara Magna. and convinced by the false signal that the BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. had reached the city walls, broke and ran into the desert. The elemental powers awakened in the GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. finished the units that turned to fight. Branar fought to the end at the city and surrendered with the remainder of the tribe rather than flee with the routed army.

After the dispersal#

The surrender ended Branar's combat career. After the final destruction of the RahkshiRahkshiArmor suits powered by parasitic Kraata, Rahkshi were Teridax's most effective soldiers and among Bionicle's most visually iconic early enemies. by the Golden ArmorThe Golden ArmorA glossary entry distinguishing the two distinct artifacts known as the Golden Armor: the six-piece relic worn by Tahu on Bara Magna, and the six golden masks of the Toa on Okoto. and the death of TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., the surviving SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. under StroniusStroniusAn Elite Skrall who earned his name by proving he was worth remembering. laid down their arms, and Branar passed with them into the reconciled population of the reformed Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.. He lives there still in the latest recorded period, ordinary in citizenship for the first time in his life. Branar was one of two warrior-class SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. ever called by name. The other, StroniusStroniusAn Elite Skrall who earned his name by proving he was worth remembering., survived through different choices. Branar survived by recognising when the BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. had decided to spare him and acting on the message they had sent.