The Codrex

The Codrex was a huge sphere covered in concentric circles, built by the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. in Karda NuiKarda NuiThe vast cavern at the core of the Matoran universe, home of the Av-Matoran's Sky Villages and the Codrex, and the site of the battle to awaken Mata Nui.. 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. slept inside it in their canisters until they were summoned, and it was where the reawakening of 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. was finally set off. It came through the Energy StormsEnergy StormsThe raw-energy maelstroms that filled Karda Nui whenever Mata Nui was awakened, incinerated the Brotherhood of Makuta contingent at the climax of the Final Battle, and fed the Great Spirit's body with the energy it needed. intact. (BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets; BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

Construction and purpose#

The Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. built the Codrex in Karda NuiKarda NuiThe vast cavern at the core of the Matoran universe, home of the Av-Matoran's Sky Villages and the Codrex, and the site of the battle to awaken Mata Nui.. It first stood in the middle of the sand plains on Karda Nui's floor. 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., stalactites fell from the ceiling, and one landed on the Codrex and moulded itself around it, leaving the sphere half-buried in its tip in what became the Swamp of SecretsSwamp of SecretsThe Swamp of Secrets was the mutagen-saturated wetland that filled the floor of Karda Nui after the Great Cataclysm, serving as a Brotherhood stronghold until the Energy Storms.. (BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets; Takanuva's Blog)

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.'s canisters were kept in the Codrex, and they slept inside until the time came for them to be summoned. (BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets; BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

The energy field and the keystone#

An energy field surrounded the Codrex. Anyone who tried to get in with the field up was thrown back, and when TahuTahu (2001)Tahu was the Toa Mata of Fire and leader of the team, from his first landing on Ta-Wahi Beach to the destruction of Teridax's Rahkshi army on Bara Magna with the Golden Armor. Nuva first found the sphere again in Karda Nui, with no memory of what it was, that's exactly what happened to him. (BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets)

The only way to lower the field was to place the completed keystone in a niche on the outside of the Codrex, shaped like the symbol of the Great Spirit that also appears on the 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.. Once the Toa NuvaToa Mata and Toa NuvaSix biomechanical heroes created by the Great Beings to awaken Mata Nui and defeat the Brotherhood, transformed once and tested across an entire age. had regrouped and been joined by TakanuvaTakanuvaHidden among the Ta-Matoran as Takua, the disguised Av-Matoran who became Takanuva was the sole Toa of Light produced in the Matoran Universe's full history., they fitted the keystone into place and the field came down. (BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets)

Breach and the Antroz incursion#

The Toa Nuva went in, and the MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. AntrozAntrozMakuta commander who led the Phantoka assault on Karda Nui and pilot of the Jetrax T6, ultimately outmaneuvered by Kopaka's superior strategy. quietly followed them. In one of the chambers the Toa found six slots where their canisters used to be. Then they accidentally triggered a mechanism that revealed three vehicles. (BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets)

PohatuPohatuPohatu was the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva of Stone, guardian of Po-Wahi, whose speed and steady humour anchored the team through every era of the Matoran Universe. and LewaLewaToa of Air, member of the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva, whose career was marked by repeated possession, body theft, and aerial campaigns from Le-Wahi to Karda Nui. each took one, and Antroz stole the Jetrax T6Jetrax T6An ice-element airship stolen by Makuta Antroz in the climax of the Karda Nui conflict. from KopakaKopakaKopaka was the Toa Nuva of Ice, the loner of the Toa Mata, and one of the six warriors created on Artakha to protect the Great Spirit Mata Nui.. Flying it out of the Codrex, he smashed it into a giant Lightstone, charging the craft with ancient energy. Pohatu and Lewa chased him, and the fight spilled outside, while Takanuva left to evacuate the Matoran. In the middle of the battle the Makuta KrikaKrikaThe cautious Mistika leader who survived by never taking unnecessary risks, until Teridax's Plan forced his hand. used his intangibility to pass partway into the field and then turned solid again, overloading it until it collapsed. (BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets)

Contents and the T-series vehicles#

The three vehicles were the Axalara T9Axalara T9A sleek airborne tank equipped with Midak Skyblasters, the Axalara T9 was Lewa's weapon when air superiority mattered most in Karda Nui., the Jetrax T6Jetrax T6An ice-element airship stolen by Makuta Antroz in the climax of the Karda Nui conflict. and the Rockoh T3Rockoh T3One of three vehicles hidden in the Codrex, piloted by Pohatu during the climax of Karda Nui's story.. ArtakhaArtakhaArtakha is the master craftsman of the Matoran Universe, ruler of a hidden island where the Toa Mata came into being and the Avohkii was forged. had teleported them into the Codrex so they could be used to escape Karda Nui when the Energy Storms came. (BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets; BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

Half of the interior was sealed behind a door, and the other half was packed with machinery. The Codrex could keep the equipment inside it safe from the storms, but not living beings. Anyone hoping to ride out the storms inside would have needed a Toa canister, and those were long gone. (BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

The Ignika and the reactivation#

Six giant Lightstones stood inside the Codrex. Their job was to channel pulses of energy from a Toa's presence into 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 shock him awake. (BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

In the end it was Toa 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. who did it. He gave up his body inside the Codrex, and rather than sending slow pulses of energy as the Toa Nuva would have had to, he poured all his power into one massive jolt. It went through the Lightstones and acted like a defibrillator on the Great Spirit's body, and Mata Nui awoke. (BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

Survival of the Energy StormsEnergy StormsThe raw-energy maelstroms that filled Karda Nui whenever Mata Nui was awakened, incinerated the Brotherhood of Makuta contingent at the climax of the Final Battle, and fed the Great Spirit's body with the energy it needed.#

The Energy StormsEnergy StormsThe raw-energy maelstroms that filled Karda Nui whenever Mata Nui was awakened, incinerated the Brotherhood of Makuta contingent at the climax of the Final Battle, and fed the Great Spirit's body with the energy it needed. that followed swept through Karda NuiKarda NuiThe vast cavern at the core of the Matoran universe, home of the Av-Matoran's Sky Villages and the Codrex, and the site of the battle to awaken Mata Nui., and the Codrex came through them intact. (BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

Significance#

The Codrex tied the beginning of the Toa Mata's story to the moment Mata Nui woke up. It was where they slept before they ever reached the island of Mata Nui, and where, a long time later, the Great Spirit was brought back to life. (BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets; BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)