The Core War: the war that shattered a planet

The Core War was a war fought on Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. among the planet's rival elemental tribes for possession 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., the glittering silver liquid springing from the planet's core. The Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke., leaders of the tribes, started the fighting and drafted the warriors into their armies. The war ended 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., when the planet split into three fragments, and it lies behind 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 GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. arena system that followed. (All Our Sins Remembered; BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

The world before the war#

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. was a living, flourishing world shaped by the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed., the enigmatic creators who had once led it. (All Our Sins Remembered)

Needing help to lead the planet's inhabitants, the Great Beings chose warriors to represent the most populous tribes and gave them power over the elements, creating the Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke.. Changed by the transformation, they became one with their elements, and they went on to rule the tribes they came from in peace for a long time. (All Our Sins Remembered; BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

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 cause of the war. When some of it worked its way up to the surface in the Northern Frost, the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and lived by the Glatorian arena system. of the Ice TribeIce TribeOne of Bara Magna's six major tribes, the Ice Tribe produced legendary Glatorian like Strakk and survived the Shattering intact. found it and began studying it. Some saw it as a power source, others as a weapon, since it changed or destroyed whatever it touched. (All Our Sins Remembered; BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

Once he heard of the discovery, 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. took control of the spring. The other Element Lords wanted the substance for themselves, and the long peace between them gave way to war. (All Our Sins Remembered)

The tribes at war#

The warrior species were drafted into six armies and sent against one another, while the Element Lords directed them. The fighting spread across the planet and drew in most of its people. (All Our Sins Remembered; BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

Not everyone fought. The Iron TribeThe Iron TribeAn entire civilization consumed by dream-hunger, leaving only scattered survivors who dared not reveal their origins. had already been broken up by a plague, and the Bone HuntersBone HunterDesert nomads of Bara Magna who raided for survival until their alliance with the Skrall nearly conquered the continent. roamed the deserts and stayed out of it. The Element Lord of JungleElement Lord of JungleThe Element Lord of Jungle was a being native to Spherus Magna who was formerly of the Glatorian species, wielded power over the jungle element, and carried a sword. A member of the Element Lords, the individual once led the Jungle Tribe and bore green coloration. fused soldiers to the trees of one forest, which became known as the Forest of Blades for the weapons they still held, and the Ice Tribe warrior 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. was given the job of training iron wolves as weapons. (Riddle of the Great Beings; BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

The Glatorian of later years were veterans of the war. AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna. led the Fire Tribe against TarixTarixThe Water Tribe's toughest fighter, Tarix earned his place through instinct and hard-won experience in the arena. and the Water Tribe in the Field of Mist, and near the end of the war he fought through a month-long battle in Iron Canyon, where narrow passages forced armies into single file and ambushes cost huge numbers of lives. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

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 Great Beings hated the war and tried diplomacy again and again, without success. They also sent the Agori 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 went with Raanu to sample the Energized Protodermis spring before the Shattering, tried to raise the alarm at the Raid on Vulcanus, and spread word of the Glatorian victory through the desert of Bara Magna. to bring back a sample of energized protodermis for their experiments. (All Our Sins Remembered)

Studying the sample, the Great Beings realised that energized protodermis was damaging the planet. (All Our Sins Remembered)

They answered in two ways. First, they built the baterra and programmed them to kill any armed combatant in the war, and the machines began hunting the fighters down. (All Our Sins Remembered)

Second, they went back to an old project and began building 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. (All Our Sins Remembered)

Meanwhile the Fire TribeFire TribeThe master smiths of Bara Magna who forged tools for all tribes before the Shattering scattered them into conflict. seized the energized protodermis and set about tapping its power. (All Our Sins Remembered; BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

The Shattering#

The Fire Tribe's efforts broke the planet apart. In the disaster known as the Shattering, Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. split into pieces, and the completed Mata Nui robot, with 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. in control, was launched amid the chaos. (All Our Sins Remembered; BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

The planet became three smaller bodies. Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. was left as a desert where most of the war's survivors lived. Aqua MagnaAqua MagnaThe endless ocean where the Matoran Universe found refuge and Mata Nui made his final stand. was an ocean world, where no Agori are known to have survived. 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. was a forested fragment where survivors lived far more comfortably among plentiful plants and animals. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; Reign of Shadows)

The Element Lords were trapped by the Shattering and didn't get free for a long time. When they did, some headed north. About 100,000 years after the war, the Element Lords of Fire and Ice ran into each other in the White Quartz Mountains and started fighting again, and the Agori 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. and his friends nearly got caught in it. (Riddle of the Great Beings)

The Great Beings themselves faded from the scene after the Shattering. One of them, it was later revealed, was 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., living as a Matoran inside the Mata Nui robot. (The Powers That Be)

The post-Shattering settlement#

The survivors on Bara Magna quickly decided that full-scale war was impossible in their wrecked society. Veterans of the Core War founded the arena system, so that disputes between tribes could be settled by single matches between Glatorian. A few of the surviving warriors lived in the Agori villages, while the rest became bandits in the wastelands. Bara Magna lost the ability to make its own technology and scavenged what the Great Beings had left behind. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

The arena system held for a very long time. It started to crack when the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. under TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat. attacked the village 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., the first sign that open war was coming back to Bara Magna. (BIONICLE Glatorian 2: The Fall of Atero)

The closing of the loop#

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 had been launched during the war, and long afterwards Mata Nui himself came back. Thrown out of his own body, he arrived on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. inside 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.. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn)

At 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., Mata Nui and his allies broke the alliance of the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. and the Bone HuntersBone HunterDesert nomads of Bara Magna who raided for survival until their alliance with the Skrall nearly conquered the continent., and he used the Ignika to give Glatorian such as AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna., GreshGreshA young Glatorian of the Jungle Tribe who served Tesara and later joined the alliance that defended Bara Magna during its final crisis. and 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. real elemental powers. For the first time since the war, Glatorian wielded the elements, this time to defend their villages. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn)

After the battle on Bara Magna in which Teridax was killed, Mata Nui brought 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 together into a restored Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., and the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. came out of the robot to share the planet with the Agori and Glatorian. (BIONICLE: Journey's End)

The war's original question, who controlled energized protodermis, was never settled. A planet had broken over it, and the Element Lords who started it were still at large when the story ended. (Riddle of the Great Beings; BIONICLE: Journey's End)