Chief Archivist

The Chief ArchivistArchivistA Matoran keeper of records and relics, the Archivist held one of Metru Nui's deadliest jobs. was the title held by the head of the ArchivesThe Archives of Metru NuiThe Archives of Onu-Metru were the central repository of Matoran knowledge and Rahi specimens, maintained by the Archivist Corps beneath the city's surface. of Onu-MetruOnu-MetruThe deep archive-city that made mining and historical records preservation the beating heart of Metru Nui., the vast museum of RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. and artefacts beneath Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. The Chief ArchivistArchivistA Matoran keeper of records and relics, the Archivist held one of Metru Nui's deadliest jobs. held the keys to the deepest sub-levels, decided which research and exhibits went ahead, and took orders from TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. DumeDumeDume is a Turaga of Fire and the former ruler of Metru Nui, distinguished by his red and black coloring and the Noble Kanohi Kiril, the Mask of Regeneration. As a member of the Turaga of Metru Nui, he wields a Staff of Office and commands a weakened mastery of Fire. He later resides on the reformed Spherus Magna.. The Onu-MatoranOnu-MatoranEarth-wielding Matoran of the deep who adapted to darkness and built the Matoran Universe's defensive cavalry. who held the office is never named. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire; BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear)

Office and Authority#

The Chief ArchivistArchivistA Matoran keeper of records and relics, the Archivist held one of Metru Nui's deadliest jobs. sat at the top of the ArchivesThe Archives of Metru NuiThe Archives of Onu-Metru were the central repository of Matoran knowledge and Rahi specimens, maintained by the Archivist Corps beneath the city's surface. and was in charge of the whole system. The office held the only keys to certain sub-levels, so ordinary Archivists couldn't simply wander into them. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire)

Authority over the facility wasn't absolute. TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. DumeDumeDume is a Turaga of Fire and the former ruler of Metru Nui, distinguished by his red and black coloring and the Noble Kanohi Kiril, the Mask of Regeneration. As a member of the Turaga of Metru Nui, he wields a Staff of Office and commands a weakened mastery of Fire. He later resides on the reformed Spherus Magna. had the final word, and when he wanted a project ended, the Chief Archivist carried out the order. (BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear)

The Chief Archivist also turns up in an older story. When the Kanohi DragonKanohi DragonA fearsome Rahi that plagued Metru Nui with soot and darkness, freed by Dark Hunters and exiled to Xia. attacked Metru Nui, MavrahMavrahA Metru Nui Archivist who fled his city rather than let Turaga Dume cull his pet sea Rahi, drowned in a feeding frenzy a thousand years before the Great Cataclysm, and was rediscovered alive aboard the Red Star. tried to follow the creature down through the lower levels of the Archives, and WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui. and the Chief Archivist stopped him going any further. (BIONICLE Legends 4: Legacy of Evil)

Daily Operations and Security#

The ArchivesThe Archives of Metru NuiThe Archives of Onu-Metru were the central repository of Matoran knowledge and Rahi specimens, maintained by the Archivist Corps beneath the city's surface. stretched through many levels beneath Onu-MetruOnu-MetruThe deep archive-city that made mining and historical records preservation the beating heart of Metru Nui., with the most dangerous RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. kept in stasis tubesStasis TubePreservation devices that slowed life processes to near-stasis, widely used across the Matoran Universe for both archival storage and secure imprisonment. in the sub-levels. Archivists catalogued new exhibits, sealed Rahi into the tubes, made sure nothing broke out and kept an eye on the sub-levels where the fiercest creatures lurked. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire; BIONICLE Adventures 3: The Darkness Below)

Anything involving the sub-levels passed through the Chief Archivist, since the office decided what research could happen down there. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire; BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear)

The Underwater Rahi Study#

The best known project run under a Chief Archivist concerned several huge, ancient sea RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. that had turned up outside Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. They were brought into a sub-level of the ArchivesThe Archives of Metru NuiThe Archives of Onu-Metru were the central repository of Matoran knowledge and Rahi specimens, maintained by the Archivist Corps beneath the city's surface. to be studied in secret. Only the Archivists MavrahMavrahA Metru Nui Archivist who fled his city rather than let Turaga Dume cull his pet sea Rahi, drowned in a feeding frenzy a thousand years before the Great Cataclysm, and was rediscovered alive aboard the Red Star., WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui. and OnepuOnepuOnepu is an Onu-Matoran and the High Commander of the Ussalry, bearing a Pakari and wearing the purple and black colors of his kind. Connected to the element of Earth, he resides on Spherus Magna., the Chief Archivist and TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. DumeDumeDume is a Turaga of Fire and the former ruler of Metru Nui, distinguished by his red and black coloring and the Noble Kanohi Kiril, the Mask of Regeneration. As a member of the Turaga of Metru Nui, he wields a Staff of Office and commands a weakened mastery of Fire. He later resides on the reformed Spherus Magna. knew about it. (BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear)

The creatures weren't used to being penned in and kept trying to escape. One nearly slipped out to sea on Onepu's watch. Another attempt did so much damage to the cavern that tremors ran through the Archives and broke stasis tubesStasis TubePreservation devices that slowed life processes to near-stasis, widely used across the Matoran Universe for both archival storage and secure imprisonment. on other levels, and in the chaos one of the Rahi almost ate Whenua before Mavrah pulled him clear. (BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear)

Furious, DumeDumeDume is a Turaga of Fire and the former ruler of Metru Nui, distinguished by his red and black coloring and the Noble Kanohi Kiril, the Mask of Regeneration. As a member of the Turaga of Metru Nui, he wields a Staff of Office and commands a weakened mastery of Fire. He later resides on the reformed Spherus Magna. ordered the project ended. The Rahi were to be removed from the city by the VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming., and any that strayed too close to Metru Nui were to be killed. The Chief Archivist passed the order to the three Archivists. Mavrah argued that the creatures should be kept for science, but the Turaga refused. (BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear)

Consequences and MavrahMavrahA Metru Nui Archivist who fled his city rather than let Turaga Dume cull his pet sea Rahi, drowned in a feeding frenzy a thousand years before the Great Cataclysm, and was rediscovered alive aboard the Red Star.'s Flight#

MavrahMavrahA Metru Nui Archivist who fled his city rather than let Turaga Dume cull his pet sea Rahi, drowned in a feeding frenzy a thousand years before the Great Cataclysm, and was rediscovered alive aboard the Red Star. wouldn't let it go. The night before the Rahi were to be moved, he smuggled them out of the city and fled with them into the Great BarrierThe Great BarrierThe enormous underground dome of rock and solid Protodermis that enclosed Metru Nui and the Silver Sea, sealed Teridax into a cliff face, and was finally cracked open during the Great Cataclysm., where a band of KralhiKralhiThe first attempt at automated law enforcement in Metru Nui, the Kralhi were ordered destroyed for draining their captives into uselessness, and some later served the exiled Archivist Mavrah beyond the silver sea. joined him. (BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear)

The Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety. found him there after The Great CataclysmThe 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., while they were carrying the sleeping Matoran away from Metru Nui. Mavrah assumed they'd come to drag him back to the city and set his Rahi and Kralhi on them. The battle that followed whipped the waters into a frenzy, and when Mavrah ran to the water's edge to calm his creatures, a wave swept him away. (BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear)

WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui., who had worked in the ArchivesThe Archives of Metru NuiThe Archives of Onu-Metru were the central repository of Matoran knowledge and Rahi specimens, maintained by the Archivist Corps beneath the city's surface. before he became a Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety., recognised his old colleague and tried to talk him down. Mavrah laughed off his account of the city's fall and refused to believe it. (BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear)

Identity, Successors, and Legacy#

The MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. who held the office of Chief Archivist is never named. The books describe the office and what it did, and they name the Archivists who worked under it, such as MavrahMavrahA Metru Nui Archivist who fled his city rather than let Turaga Dume cull his pet sea Rahi, drowned in a feeding frenzy a thousand years before the Great Cataclysm, and was rediscovered alive aboard the Red Star., OnepuOnepuOnepu is an Onu-Matoran and the High Commander of the Ussalry, bearing a Pakari and wearing the purple and black colors of his kind. Connected to the element of Earth, he resides on Spherus Magna. and WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui.. (BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire; BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear; BIONICLE Legends 4: Legacy of Evil)

Whether the same Matoran held the post through the Kanohi Dragon attack and the sea Rahi study isn't stated. (BIONICLE Legends 4: Legacy of Evil; BIONICLE Adventures 5: Voyage of Fear)

When the Great CataclysmThe 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. struck, the Matoran of Metru Nui, Archivists included, had already been sealed in Matoran spheres, so none of them were on hand to deal with the damage to the city. (BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui; BIONICLE Adventures 4: Legends of Metru Nui)