The Core War

The Core War was the generations-long conflict on Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. over Energized ProtodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards., the silver liquid welling up from the planet's core. The war tore the planet itself apart in the event known as the ShatteringThe 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., dispersed the surviving population across three planetary fragments, and indirectly produced both the 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. robot and the long GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. arena tradition that followed.

The world before the war#

Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. before the war was a green and ocean-crossed world. RaanuRaanuRaanu is an Agori of the Fire Tribe, distinguished by his dark red and yellow-orange coloration, who served as the leader of Vulcanus and the Fire Tribe on Spherus Magna. He wielded a Flame Blade and Fire Shield as his tools of office. Following the reformation of the planet, Raanu continued to reside on the restored Spherus Magna. of the Fire TribeFire TribeThe master smiths of Bara Magna who forged tools for all tribes before the Shattering scattered them into conflict., recalling the period from the desert ruins of VulcanusVulcanusThe Fire Tribe's settlement on Bara Magna, caught between resources and threats. a hundred thousand years later, described living vessels gliding above open ocean and impressive creatures of all sizes inhabiting a flourishing forest. The planet was the work of the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed., creators of all living beings on its surface, who maintained a formidable structure with no visible entrance in a vast central valley.

The governance system was straightforward. Having determined they could no longer remain directly involved with their experiment, the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. appointed six Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. to govern Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. in their place: Fire, Ice, Water, Rock, Sand, and Jungle. Later additions of Earth and Iron brought the tribal map to eight. The Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. had originally been GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them., warriors who had risen to lead their tribes in the pre-war culture of single combat and craft. The Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. then remade them into immortal embodiments of their elements, transforming them from leaders who held fire as a tool to beings who were fire with intent. They became weapons platforms with grudges, and were given political authority on top of that.

The discovery of Energized Protodermis#

Energized ProtodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards. was the central cause and the central engine of the war. The liquid welled up from the planet's core in the lands occupied by the Ice TribeIce TribeOne of Bara Magna's six major tribes, the Ice Tribe produced legendary Glatorian like Strakk and survived the Shattering intact.. Its discovery disturbed the peaceful nature of the Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke.' rule almost immediately. Investigation revealed that the substance possessed the power to transform or destroy other materials. It would later be used by the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. themselves in the construction 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., and the ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. of the later era were among its products. To the tribes of Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., it was the most valuable resource any of them had ever encountered.

The six Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. convened to determine who should control the source. 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. claimed it directly, on the grounds that it had appeared within his tribe's territory. The other five rejected the claim. War followed across desert, jungle, and mountain.

The tribes at war#

The Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. commanded; the tribes fought. The Fire TribeFire TribeThe master smiths of Bara Magna who forged tools for all tribes before the Shattering scattered them into conflict. marched under the Element Lord of FireElement Lord of FireFormer Glatorian of the Fire Tribe, remade by the Great Beings into an immortal being of pure flame, ruler of the Fire Tribe through the Core War, and the elemental claimant whose feud with the Element Lord of Ice broke open again in the White Quartz Mountains. and produced the generation of warriors who would later become AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna.'s peers on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.. The Ice TribeIce TribeOne of Bara Magna's six major tribes, the Ice Tribe produced legendary Glatorian like Strakk and survived the Shattering intact. held the initial claim and fought to maintain it. The Water, Rock, Sand, and Jungle Tribes entered the conflict under their own Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke..

The Iron TribeThe Iron TribeAn entire civilization consumed by dream-hunger, leaving only scattered survivors who dared not reveal their origins. was nearly annihilated, partly through combat and partly through a plague that swept their forces. The few survivors became wandering Iron GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. such as TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance.. A subsequent split within the Sand TribeSand TribeBara Magna's strangest tribe, Zesk and Vorox degraded by cataclysm into barely-sentient packs. produced the feral 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. population that would haunt the post-Shattering desert.

CertavusCertavusCertavus was a Prime Glatorian of Iconox, a Great Tournament champion, and one of three architects of the post-Shattering arena system on Bara Magna., the first great Ice TribeIce TribeOne of Bara Magna's six major tribes, the Ice Tribe produced legendary Glatorian like Strakk and survived the Shattering intact. GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them., fought through the war and his technique formed the basis for the arena tradition that followed it. AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna. carried his Flame SwordFlame SwordAckar's fire-channeling blade that proves a weapon can be as much the master's gift as the warrior's tool. through the war for the Element Lord of FireElement Lord of FireFormer Glatorian of the Fire Tribe, remade by the Great Beings into an immortal being of pure flame, ruler of the Fire Tribe through the Core War, and the elemental claimant whose feud with the Element Lord of Ice broke open again in the White Quartz Mountains., survived the Shattering, and spent the subsequent hundred thousand years swinging the same sword in the arena pits at VulcanusVulcanusThe Fire Tribe's settlement on Bara Magna, caught between resources and threats.. The arena system itself was a deliberate ceasefire mechanism for soldiers who had already fought one resource war to a planetary fracture.

The Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. respond#

The intervention of the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. came late and out of fear of their own creations. They sent two AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system., RaanuRaanuRaanu is an Agori of the Fire Tribe, distinguished by his dark red and yellow-orange coloration, who served as the leader of Vulcanus and the Fire Tribe on Spherus Magna. He wielded a Flame Blade and Fire Shield as his tools of office. Following the reformation of the planet, Raanu continued to reside on the restored Spherus Magna. and KyryKyry, Agori of the Fire TribeKyry was an Agori of the Fire Tribe who stood guard for Raanu at the Energized Protodermis spring before the Shattering, sounded the alarm at the Raid of Vulcanus, and spread word of the Glatorian alliance through the desert of Bara Magna., to obtain a sample of the substance. The creators of the planet were already unable to access the warzone directly. The two AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. found themselves in the middle of a vast battle and barely escaped with the sample. The Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. analysed it and discovered what their accounts described only as a very grim truth. The implication preserved across later canon was that Energized ProtodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards. was bound directly to the stability of the planet's core, that the ongoing war over it was actively destabilising Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., and that the elemental governance caste they had created had no built-in mechanism by which it could be made to stand down.

Two simultaneous projects followed. Neither involved negotiation.

The first deployed the baterra, autonomous machines designed to target and kill any armed warrior on the battlefield. The targeting rule was indifferent to allegiance. To carry a weapon was to be hunted; to drop a weapon was to be ignored. The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. encountered the baterra at the war's edges, and the encounter reshaped their entire culture. 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 the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. who emerged in the post-Shattering era did so as second-order Core War casualties, displaced by the consequences of a war they had not themselves fully entered.

The second project was the construction of the 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. robot. The Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. commissioned a separate race to build a massive robotic vessel intended to explore other planets in search of refuge, and engineered creatures to construct a fortress concealing the evidence of their work. The robot's mission was a planetary evacuation plan presented as exploration.

While these projects proceeded, the Fire TribeFire TribeThe master smiths of Bara Magna who forged tools for all tribes before the Shattering scattered them into conflict. captured the pool 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. and began tapping its power directly. RaanuRaanuRaanu is an Agori of the Fire Tribe, distinguished by his dark red and yellow-orange coloration, who served as the leader of Vulcanus and the Fire Tribe on Spherus Magna. He wielded a Flame Blade and Fire Shield as his tools of office. Following the reformation of the planet, Raanu continued to reside on the restored Spherus Magna. and KyryKyry, Agori of the Fire TribeKyry was an Agori of the Fire Tribe who stood guard for Raanu at the Energized Protodermis spring before the Shattering, sounded the alarm at the Raid of Vulcanus, and spread word of the Glatorian alliance through the desert of Bara Magna. attempted to warn MalumMalumFire Tribe Glatorian exiled from Vulcanus for arena killings, who became the warlord of a Vorox pack in the wastelands of Bara Magna. of the consequences and were ignored. The robot lifted off. The fortress sealed. The war continued.

The Shattering#

The break came during the late war period. The mechanism, as the wider canon records it, involved the activation of 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., forged by the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. to be capable of restoring or destroying life on a planetary scale. The activation destabilised Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.'s core sufficiently to shatter the planet.

The world divided into three smaller bodies. Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. retained the desert population centres and the bulk of the war's survivors. Aqua MagnaAqua MagnaThe endless ocean where the Matoran Universe found refuge and Mata Nui made his final stand., an ocean world, would much later be the landing point of the 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. robot. 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., the forested fragment, drifted away with most of the surviving wildlife and several populations the surviving records never fully catalogue.

The Shattering did not end the war. It separated the combatants without resolving the dispute. 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. still held the original territory. The Element Lord of FireElement Lord of FireFormer Glatorian of the Fire Tribe, remade by the Great Beings into an immortal being of pure flame, ruler of the Fire Tribe through the Core War, and the elemental claimant whose feud with the Element Lord of Ice broke open again in the White Quartz Mountains. was still in the field. The Energized ProtodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards. source remained, buried in the cracked guts of three planetary fragments. The fight paused, by geography, for the next thousand centuries. In the northern wastes of Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna., the fire-versus-ice front remained active, with surviving AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. caught between forces they had no historical context to understand. SurelSurelSurel is a Glatorian and the Element Lord of Ice, native to Spherus Magna. Clad in white and light blue, he wanders the reformed Spherus Magna armed with a spear. explained the situation to TardukTardukTarduk is an Agori of the Jungle Tribe, distinguished by his dark green and lime coloration. A treasure hunter by trade, he wields claws and spikes and makes his home on the reformed Spherus Magna. after a near-fatal incident with a stray fire blast. The blast had not been aimed at them at all. It was an attack on the Lord of Ice's frozen enemy, and they had simply been caught in between, of no more account to the Element Lord than dust.

The fate of the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. at the Shattering remains unclear. The fortress was their containment plan, but their personal locations afterwards were never fully resolved. VelikaVelikaVelika is a Great Being who disguised himself as a Po-Matoran on Mata Nui, wearing a powerless Komau and bearing an affinity for Stone. Colored in golden brown, grey, and orange, he worked as an inventor and carried Power Carvers as his tools. He was last known to be located on Bota Magna. was later revealed to have been one of them, reduced to MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. scale aboard the 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. robot. The architects had effectively withdrawn by the time their experiment finished cracking.

The post-Shattering settlement#

The surviving AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. and GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. woke on a piece of desert that had previously been a coastline. Most tribes remained intact in personnel. The leadership did not. The Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. had been displaced, with some imprisoned beneath the new terrain and others prowling the wastes. The Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. were absent. The Energized ProtodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards. was sealed beneath the geology of three different worlds.

The arena replaced the war. AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. settled into villages and resolved resource disputes through single combat between GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them.. The arena pits at VulcanusVulcanusThe Fire Tribe's settlement on Bara Magna, caught between resources and threats., IconoxIconoxIconox is a village of the Ice Tribe, situated in the White Quartz Mountains., and TajunTajunTajun was a village of the Water Tribe, situated on the banks of the Skrall River. were established to channel inter-tribal conflict into a form that would not destroy the remaining settlements. AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna., StrakkStrakkA profit-driven Glatorian mercenary from the Ice Tribe who fought in Bara Magna's arenas before joining Mata Nui's cause., TarixTarixThe Water Tribe's toughest fighter, Tarix earned his place through instinct and hard-won experience in the arena., and the later GreshGreshA young Glatorian of the Jungle Tribe who served Tesara and later joined the alliance that defended Bara Magna during its final crisis. all fought in a system designed to prevent the resumption of the war their predecessors had survived. The mechanism was simple: two warriors struck one another with weapons until one yielded. The alternative on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. had already happened once.

The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. were the exception. They arrived from outside the original tribal map, refugees from the northern 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. lands and the baterra that had hunted them, and brought military doctrine in place of the arena code. The eventual move of 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 the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. against the southern villages in the Fall of 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. shattered the surviving ceasefire. The reaction across Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. was widespread and immediate. The villages recognised the pattern of open warfare as the precise state of affairs they had spent a hundred millennia avoiding.

The closing of the loop#

The Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. era functioned as the long second act of the war. The arrival 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. on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna., exiled from his own body and cast onto the planet via 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., closed a hundred-thousand-year loop. The robot 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 to find a new home returned to the planet they had been trying to escape, deposed and reduced to a stranger in the desert.

The Battle 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 which 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 his GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. coalition broke the 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. alliance, was the moment the survivors of the Core War achieved a clear victory. AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna. received actual elemental fire from 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 GreshGreshA young Glatorian of the Jungle Tribe who served Tesara and later joined the alliance that defended Bara Magna during its final crisis., 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., and TarixTarixThe Water Tribe's toughest fighter, Tarix earned his place through instinct and hard-won experience in the arena. the equivalents in their own elements. For a span of minutes, the surviving GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. wielded power on the scale once held by their grandparents' Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke., and used it to defend villages rather than to fight a renewed resource war.

The end of the Reign of ShadowsReign of ShadowsThe year Teridax ruled the Matoran Universe from inside Mata Nui's body, and the scattered resistance plots that ran against him until the Great Spirit returned from Bara Magna. closed the wider loop. 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. used 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., the same artefact whose earlier use had shattered the planet, to fuse Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna., Aqua MagnaAqua MagnaThe endless ocean where the Matoran Universe found refuge and Mata Nui made his final stand., and 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. back into a reformed Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.. The 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. robot's body was reabsorbed into the rebuilt world. The MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. who had inhabited its interior emerged to share the planet with the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. and GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them.. The Core War's original political question, of who controlled the substance, was voided rather than resolved.

The surviving Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. remained at large on the reformed planet. Some were sealed; the Lord of Earth was reportedly imprisoned beneath the surface. The Lord of Fire and the Lord of Ice continued their conflict across the northern wastes, now as a problem for the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. and the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. jointly. The Energized ProtodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards. source itself remained beneath the new terrain, unclaimed and inaccessible. A hundred thousand years after 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. had claimed it, the dispute that had broken the planet had no settlement, only a long pause.