The Cavern of the Elements

The Cavern of the ElementsElementsThe elemental powers of the Matoran Universe, covering the six elements of the first Toa, the rarer elements beyond them, the opposed pair of Light and Shadow, and the separate Element Lords of Spherus Magna. was the upper level of the underground laboratory of the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. near TajunTajunTajun was a village of the Water Tribe, situated on the banks of the Skrall River. on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.. It held six chambers arranged around a central area with six spires, each chamber representing one of the elements of Bara Magna. The name comes from writer Greg Farshtey rather than from a story, and no story says exactly what the chambers were for. (Secret Lab; BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation))

The underground lab at TajunTajunTajun was a village of the Water Tribe, situated on the banks of the Skrall River.#

The Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. used their underground laboratory near TajunTajunTajun was a village of the Water Tribe, situated on the banks of the Skrall River. to design and develop their creations. The great works of the Great Beings included the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control., 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. and the Kanohi IgnikaThe 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.. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation); BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

Long after the Great Beings were gone, the Glatorian 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. found the lab and kept it as her private sanctuary from the hardships of life on Bara Magna. The Agori 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. found it too, visited often, and got its lights working. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation); BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn)

The purpose for which the cavern was used#

No story explains what the six elemental chambers were used for. They sit on the lab's upper level, around a central area with six spires, each chamber representing one of the elements of Bara Magna. (Secret Lab)

The obvious connection is to the Element LordsElement Lord of RockRock Tribe warrior remade by the Great Beings into a being one with stone, ruler of the Rock Tribe during the Core War, and the elemental claimant who turned the river fight on the way to the Valley of the Maze.. The Great Beings, needing help in leading the people of Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., chose one leader-class SkrallThe Skrall Conquest of Bara MagnaThe year in which Tuma turned Roxtus into the strongest power on Bara Magna, dealt with the traitor Metus and the Bone Hunters, and set the southern villages on the road to the Battle of Roxtus. and six warriors to represent the most populous tribes: Fire, Water, Jungle, Sand, Rock, Earth and Ice. The stories don't say where that transformation took place. (All Our Sins Remembered)

The transformation procedure#

The Great Beings endowed the seven chosen warriors with the elements, creating the Element LordsElement Lord of RockRock Tribe warrior remade by the Great Beings into a being one with stone, ruler of the Rock Tribe during the Core War, and the elemental claimant who turned the river fight on the way to the Valley of the Maze.. The change made them one with their elements: each could create, control and absorb its own, and was immune to its effects. (All Our Sins Remembered)

Over time the Element Lords also took on the personalities of their elements. The Element Lord of RockElement Lord of RockRock Tribe warrior remade by the Great Beings into a being one with stone, ruler of the Rock Tribe during the Core War, and the elemental claimant who turned the river fight on the way to the Valley of the Maze., once a leader-class Skrall, became a living embodiment of rock and the master 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.. (All Our Sins Remembered; BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

Arming and placement of the Element LordsElement Lord of RockRock Tribe warrior remade by the Great Beings into a being one with stone, ruler of the Rock Tribe during the Core War, and the elemental claimant who turned the river fight on the way to the Valley of the Maze.#

After the transformation, the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. gave the new Element LordsElement Lord of RockRock Tribe warrior remade by the Great Beings into a being one with stone, ruler of the Rock Tribe during the Core War, and the elemental claimant who turned the river fight on the way to the Valley of the Maze. armour and weapons, and the lords became the rulers of the planet, each commanding the tribe they came from. (All Our Sins Remembered)

The arrangement held. For several thousand years the Element Lords lived alongside one another without incident, until the discovery of Energized ProtodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards. gave them something worth fighting over. (All Our Sins Remembered)

Consequence and the long aftermath#

The Element Lord of IceElement Lord of IceThe Element Lord of Ice is a member of the Element Lords and a former Glatorian who once served as the leader of the Ice Tribe on Spherus Magna. Wielding the element of ice and bearing white coloration, the Element Lord of Ice resides on the reformed Spherus Magna, the homeland from which the species originated., in whose lands the substance was found, would not share it, and the other lords went to war for it. 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. followed, and in the end the planet itself broke apart in 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. that produced Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna., Bota MagnaBota MagnaA verdant jungle moon separated from Spherus Magna for 100,000 years, then restored by Mata Nui himself at the climax of the Core War. and Aqua MagnaAqua MagnaThe endless ocean where the Matoran Universe found refuge and Mata Nui made his final stand.. (All Our Sins Remembered; BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

The lab survived the Shattering beneath the sands near TajunTajunTajun was a village of the Water Tribe, situated on the banks of the Skrall River.. When the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. and bone hunters destroyed the village, 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. led 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. and AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna. there to shelter the wounded Gresh. Mata Nui recognised the glyphs on the walls, and when he touched the door marked with the Three Virtues, the Mask of Life opened it, revealing a lower level where he found a drawing of a giant mechanical being like the one he had once ruled. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation))

Later, locked in a cage in 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., Kiina and Berix agreed to share the lab as a sanctuary. The Cavern of the Elements, with its six elemental chambers, is a reminder of the Great Beings' work with the elements, whatever its exact purpose was. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation))