Cavern of Light

The Cavern of Light was a LightstoneLightstoneGlowing crystals that powered Onu-Koro's mines and revealed secrets beneath Mata Nui. mine in Onu-WahiOnu-WahiThe underground kingdom of Mata Nui, home to the Onu-Matoran and Toa Onua. on Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years., and the main source of lightstones for the village of Onu-KoroOnu-KoroOnu-Koro was the earth engineers' city, where underground isolation created one of Mata Nui's most self-sufficient settlements, until the Bohrok came.. Its entrance lay in the tunnels that linked Onu-Koro with Ta-KoroTa-KoroTa-Koro was a settlement located in Ta-Wahi, home to the Ta-Matoran, Tahu, and Vakama, and formerly connected to Teridax. The settlement was ultimately destroyed. and Le-KoroLe-KoroLe-Koro is a village situated within Le-Wahi, inhabited by the Le-Matoran and home to Turaga Matau and Toa Lewa. The settlement was once held under the control of Teridax., and it could only be entered when opened with a special key. (Mata Nui Online Game)

Discovery and purpose#

The cavern's walls held LightstonesLightstoneGlowing crystals that powered Onu-Koro's mines and revealed secrets beneath Mata Nui., the glowing crystals the Onu-MatoranOnu-MatoranEarth-wielding Matoran of the deep who adapted to darkness and built the Matoran Universe's defensive cavalry. used to light their underground village. The entrance bore the words "CAVERN OF LIGHT". (Mata Nui Online Game)

Lightstones mattered. The Onu-MatoranOnu-MatoranEarth-wielding Matoran of the deep who adapted to darkness and built the Matoran Universe's defensive cavalry. lived in tunnels far from daylight, and when the cavern was cut off, Onu-KoroOnu-KoroOnu-Koro was the earth engineers' city, where underground isolation created one of Mata Nui's most self-sufficient settlements, until the Bohrok came. had to make do with torches, which did little to keep away Rahi such as the Kofo-Jaga. (Mata Nui Online Game)

Access was restricted. The entrance had to be opened with a key, and the Onu-Matoran Kaj, one of the guards of Onu-Koro, was assigned to protect the cavern. (Mata Nui Online Game; Mata Nui Online Game II: The Final Chronicle)

Structure and location#

The cavern lay in Onu-WahiOnu-WahiThe underground kingdom of Mata Nui, home to the Onu-Matoran and Toa Onua., reached through the tunnel network beneath the island rather than from the open surface. Inside, pipes and a pump controlled the flow of lava through the workings. (Mata Nui Online Game)

The locked entrance and its guard kept the mine's lightstones safe for the village that depended on them. (Mata Nui Online Game)

Lightstone harvesting#

Onu-MatoranOnu-MatoranEarth-wielding Matoran of the deep who adapted to darkness and built the Matoran Universe's defensive cavalry. miners worked the cavern, bringing lightstones back to light their village. The Onu-Matoran were the island's miners, at home in the tunnels beneath Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years.. (Mata Nui Online Game; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia)

For a village that lived underground, a steady supply of lightstones made the difference between a lit home and a dark one, as the torch-lit days after the cavern was cut off showed. (Mata Nui Online Game)

TakuaTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light.'s intrusion#

Shortly after the coming of 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., burst pipes flooded the cavern with lava, and Kaj had to evacuate the area. Lightstone production stopped. (Mata Nui Online Game)

When the wandering Matoran TakuaTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light. arrived, Kaj warned him against trying to cross the lava flow. Takua went anyway, surfing the lava on his lavaboard to reach the pump that controlled the flow. (Mata Nui Online Game)

Takua repaired the pump mechanism and the lava drained away. The miners went back to work, Onu-Koro had its lightstones again, and Kaj was grateful for what the Chronicler had done despite his warning. (Mata Nui Online Game)

BohrokBohrokHive-minded mechanical creatures designed to reshape worlds, the Bohrok represent a threat the Toa Mata never expected. invasion and collapse#

When the BohrokBohrokHive-minded mechanical creatures designed to reshape worlds, the Bohrok represent a threat the Toa Mata never expected. swarms woke, GahlokGahlokWater-element Bohrok swarms that flooded Mata Nui's aquatic zones with relentless purpose. flooded the caves of Onu-WahiOnu-WahiThe underground kingdom of Mata Nui, home to the Onu-Matoran and Toa Onua., and Kaj fled the village with the other Onu-Matoran. (Mata Nui Online Animations; Mata Nui Online Game II: The Final Chronicle)

No story shows what the flooding did to the Cavern of Light itself. (Mata Nui Online Animations)

Abandonment after the awakening#

The Matoran later left Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. and returned to 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 cavern does not appear in the story again. (BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui)

Legacy#

The Cavern of Light is a small but memorable part of the Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. Online Game: a locked mine, a guard who said no, and a Chronicler who rode a lavaboard across a river of lava to get the lights back on in Onu-Koro. (Mata Nui Online Game)