The Dark Hunters

The Dark Hunters were a band of mercenaries and bounty hunters headquartered on the island of OdinaOdinaOdina is a member of both the Dark Hunters and the Cliff Screechers, operating within the Matoran Universe. Formerly in possession of the powers of Vamprah, Odina retains no elemental abilities in the present day. and led by The Shadowed OneThe Shadowed OneThe Shadowed One is the leader of the Dark Hunters, a black, yellow, and silver figure based on Spherus Magna. Armed with a staff and a Rhotuka, the Shadowed One directs the organization.. Most members were known only by codenames, and they specialised in theft and assassination for profit. The organisation was founded by the Shadowed One and AncientAncientAncient is a dark blue and gold operative who served as both an agent of the Order of Mata Nui and a member of the Dark Hunters, armed with Kanoka and a Rhotuka., fought a long war with the Brotherhood of MakutaThe Brotherhood of MakutaAn organization of Makuta created by Mata Nui to build Rahi and keep order in his universe, later seized by Teridax and turned into the instrument of the Plan that overthrew the Great Spirit., lost NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. and KrekkaKrekkaA brutish but ineffective Dark Hunter with no powers or masks, Krekka was outmatched from his first moments in Metru Nui. on Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., and by 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. was described as a battered ruin. (BIONICLE: Dark Hunters; BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap; Reign of Shadows)

Origins on the home island#

Ancient came from the same homeland as the Shadowed One. He rebelled against its harsh rules and started a new life hiring himself out to whoever paid, and his example turned a peaceful land into a divided one ruled by warlords. His loyalty was bought, never earned. (BIONICLE: Dark Hunters)

The Shadowed One and Ancient met at the end of the civil war on their homeland, and the idea for the Dark Hunters was born. (BIONICLE: Dark Hunters)

The Odina operation#

Travelling together, the two found Odina and seeded their organisation there, driving off or killing most of the island's original inhabitants. Odina's fortress became their base, and its location stayed secret: recruits were brought in blindfolded or unconscious. (BIONICLE: World; BIONICLE Legends 4: Legacy of Evil)

The Toa Nuva found out how well guarded it was when they came for the Staff of Artakha. Even on the least guarded approach they had to deal with sentries and wandering Dark Hunters, and once inside, the Shadowed One sealed them in a stone cell. Pohatu got his own back on the way out, leaving the fortress set to crumble. (Toa Nuva Blog)

At the start of the Destiny War, the fortress destroyed by Pohatu Nuva was being rebuilt fast. (Destiny War)

The Shadowed One was the unquestioned leader. SentrakhSentrakhThe Shadowed One's mysterious bodyguard commands transmutation and illusion, leaving Vakama barely alive in Time Trap., created in one of his experiments to produce better Dark Hunters, served as his bodyguard. LariskaLariskaDark Hunter defined by discipline and tactical competence, Lariska was one of the Shadowed One's most dependable operatives before joining Brutaka's desperate mission. ran the organisation when he was away. The named roster included AirwatcherAirwatcherA Dark Hunter guard whose lethal effectiveness vastly exceeds every other aspect of his character., AmphibaxAmphibaxAmphibax was a soldier of Ehlek's army during the League of Six Kingdoms who lost a hand searching for his fallen warlord, became an undersea wanderer, and was recruited into the Dark Hunters as a specialist in aquatic missions., ConjurerConjurerConjurer is a Dark Hunter who formerly served as a Matoran warrior-king. Brown, gray, and red in coloration, Conjurer wields a Disintegration Staff and a Rhotuka in battle., DevastatorDevastatorThis oversized Dark Hunter brags about god-like powers no one's ever seen him use., EliminatorEliminatorA Dark Hunter fixer who executes failures and finishes their missions, defined entirely by capability and reputation rather than backstory., FiredracaxFiredracaxA rare Dark Hunter whose name was actually his name, not a codename. One of Bionicle's simpler characters, but memorable for it., Gatherer, GladiatorGladiatorA Dark Hunter enforcer tasked with testing new recruits. One of canon's most obscure characters., Kraata-KalKraata-KalA mutated Kraata who broke free from parasitic servitude to become a Dark Hunter., Lurker, Mimic, MinionMinion: the Silent Dark HunterMinion was a Dark Hunter who began as a Rahi experiment of the Brotherhood of Makuta. Made sapient by their tampering, he overheard their secrets, escaped to Odina, and was kept by the Shadowed One as a guard who could never be made to speak., PrimalPrimal: The Trophy-Hunting Dark Hunter"Primal" was one of the most troublesome of the Dark Hunters, a survivor of a Visorak-ruined homeland who hunted for trophies and whose harsh sense of justice sometimes turned him against his own employers., PrototypePrototype (Dark Hunter)An unstable fusion of Fire and Earth, Prototype was forged through biomechanical mutation and hired for his violent unpredictability., RavagerRavagerRavager was a powerful Dark Hunter found wandering a coastline with no memory of his origins, whose adaptive sword and shield grew stronger to match any foe., SavageSavageSavage was a Toa of Earth mutated into a Toa Hordika by Hordika Venom, driven feral when his own teammates failed to recognize him, and recruited into the Dark Hunters by the Shadowed One., SeekerSeekerSeeker was a Dark Hunter assigned by the Brotherhood of Makuta to guard the Mask of Light, cast out when the Toa Hagah stole it, and obsessed ever after with finding the mask he had failed to keep., Shadow Stealer, SilenceSilence: the Soundless Dark HunterSilence was a Dark Hunter and a gift to the organization from Roodaka, whose Rhotuka was held responsible for his appearance. He generated a field that deadened all sound around him, making him an abductor who could take targets from the most heavily guarded places without a scream being heard., SpinnerSpinnerSpinner was a former Toa of Air who, after being left for dead and revived by the Dark Hunters, became a mutated agent obsessed with hunting the Toa he blamed for his fall., SubterraneanSubterraneanAn Onu-Matoran defector to the Dark Hunters, armed with maces for underground combat., Tracker, TriglaxTriglaxA shapeshifter with no confirmed appearance, a habit of pocketing what he was paid to fetch, and one canonical betrayal that put a Toa of Psionics in a stasis tube., VanisherVanisherA willful Dark Hunter with minimal canon presence but clear personality markers. and VengeanceVengeance (Dark Hunter)A Dark Hunter with unknown origins whose name masks the obscurity of his true identity and purpose.. VoporakVoporakVoporak is a mutant member of Sidorak's species and a servant of the Dark Hunters. Clad in dark red, black, orange-yellow, and silver, he wields Rotating Blade Tools and a Rhotuka spinner and commands the power of time. He resides on Spherus Magna. worked for him too, on loan from the Brotherhood. (BIONICLE: Dark Hunters; BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap)

Recruitment#

The Dark Hunters recruited through manipulation, force, treachery and even mutation. (BIONICLE: Dark Hunters)

The future PirakaBionicle Piraka: the Six Skakdi Thieves Who Hunted the Mask of LifeThe Piraka were six Skakdi who quit the Dark Hunters, took over Voya Nui by posing as Toa and went after the Mask of Life in 2006. Here's who they were, how the Voya Nui story played out and what happened to them afterwards. came in after a theft. HakannHakannThe Skakdi bully known for pure aggression, from Dark Hunter mercenary to Piraka thief driven by violence and power. and Vezok stole the Makoki StoneMakoki StoneA magical relic holding the secrets of the Brotherhood of Makuta, split into six pieces and scattered across the Matoran Universe. from a Toa fortress under siege by Frostelus, and Ancient cornered them as they escaped. He took the stone and brought the two SkakdiSkakdiA brutish warrior species from Zakaz whose pair-dependent elemental powers and moral void made them one of Bionicle's few irredeemable factions. into the Dark Hunters, and four more of their species, ZaktanZaktanMutated Skakdi leader of the Piraka, formerly a Dark Hunter whose body was dissolved into a colony of Protodites by the Shadowed One and reformed with its consciousness intact., AvakAvakA Skakdi thief whose perfect prisons made him invaluable to the Piraka's Mask of Life heist., ReidakReidakA sadistic Skakdi thug who traded the Dark Hunters for the Piraka and paid the price. and ThokThok (the Drifter)The Piraka's cowardly thief learned that ice guns and dirty tactics can't save you from Toa with elemental fury., joined with them. (BIONICLE Legends 4: Legacy of Evil)

AirwatcherAirwatcherA Dark Hunter guard whose lethal effectiveness vastly exceeds every other aspect of his character. came in another way. When two Dark Hunters arrived in his homeland he attacked them and killed one. The survivor brought him to Odina, where the Shadowed One talked him into joining. (BIONICLE: Dark Hunters)

NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. was a Toa MangaiToa MangaiThe defenders of Metru Nui before the Toa Metru arrived, a team that fell to betrayal and relentless war. of Air who agreed to sell out Metru Nui to the Dark Hunters. Lhikan, who had been watching him, bargained for the Makoki Stone with Hakann and surrounded the Hunters with reinforcements. He let them leave on condition that they took Nidhiki with them. The Hunters later stole the stone back, split it into six pieces and sold them to the Brotherhood. (BIONICLE Legends 4: Legacy of Evil; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia)

Nidhiki didn't stay content. When he met the Vortixx RoodakaRoodakaShe spent the entire Visorak arc letting everyone think they were using her, then walked away having beaten the Brotherhood and the Toa at their own game., he offered to reward her if she helped him defect. She reported him to the Shadowed One instead, and in exchange for Dark Hunter training she used her Rhotuka power to mutate Nidhiki into an insect-like monster. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia)

MetruMetruIn the Matoran language a metru was a single district of Metru Nui; the city was divided into six such districts, one for each element, and the term covered both the place and the elemental community that lived in it. Nui and the loss of senior operatives#

Thousands of years later, the Shadowed One hired out Nidhiki, Krekka and Eliminator to Teridax, who was posing as Turaga Dume on Metru Nui. Nidhiki and Krekka hunted LhikanLhikanToa of Fire, leader of the Toa Mangai, and the last Toa of Metru Nui, who surrendered his Toa Power to create the Toa Metru and died defending Vakama. as he gathered Toa stones and captured him in Vakama's forge, then went after the new 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.. (BIONICLE: Dark Hunters; BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui; BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui)

Their last fight came on the Toa Metru's Vahki transport. Onewa used his Mask of Mind Control to make Krekka attack Nidhiki, the two fell off, and Teridax's shadow caught them. He absorbed their essences to fuel his own transformation. (BIONICLE Adventures 4: Legends of Metru Nui)

When neither came home, the Shadowed One went looking for them, sure a Toa had killed them. He left Lariska in charge and set out for Metru Nui with Sentrakh and Voporak. (BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap)

Voporak found the VahiKanohi VahiThe Kanohi Vahi was the Legendary Mask of Time, forged by Toa Metru Vakama from the six fused Great Disks of Metru Nui during the city's evacuation., the Mask of Time, and handed it to the Shadowed One. Teridax tried to bargain for it, but Vakama made the Shadowed One see that Teridax had killed his two Hunters. In the fight that followed, Vakama took his mask back and escaped. The Shadowed One declared war on the Brotherhood. (BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap)

The war with the Brotherhood#

Before the war, the two organisations had a deal that suited both. The Brotherhood modified the Shadowed One's agents to make them more effective and loaned them weapons, and the Dark Hunters lent their members' services to the Makuta. (BIONICLE: Dark Hunters)

That's why Dark Hunters turn up guarding Brotherhood property. When the Toa HagahToa HagahElite Toa teams appointed by the Brotherhood of Makuta to serve as personal guardians, later rebelling against their creators. defected and stole the Avohkii, NorikNorikToa of Fire and leader of the Toa Hagah, who broke with the Brotherhood of Makuta to recover the Avohkii and led his team through a thousand years of mutation as a Rahaga before being restored. and IruiniIruiniIruini is a Toa of Air, formerly a Le-Matoran and a member of the Toa Hagah who served as bodyguard to Makuta Teridax. He wears the Great Kualsi, wields a Cyclone Spear and Rhotuka Launching Shield with a healing Rhotuka, and resides on Spherus Magna as a Rahi Hunter and protector of Matoran. fought their way through Visorak outside a Brotherhood fortress, and Krekka attacked them. Iruini used his cyclone spear to launch the Dark Hunter over his head. Nidhiki was there too, on his way to question the captured Hagah. (BIONICLE 25: Birth of the Rahaga)

The Order alliance and AncientAncientAncient is a dark blue and gold operative who served as both an agent of the Order of Mata Nui and a member of the Dark Hunters, armed with Kanoka and a Rhotuka.'s activation#

Ancient was secretly a spy for the Order of Mata NuiThe Order of Mata NuiThe covert organization founded by Helryx to serve the Great Spirit directly, operating in concealment from a fortress on Daxia and waging the open war against the Brotherhood of Makuta that decided the fate of the universe.. In the Destiny War, as he watched the sea from Odina's beach, a formation of flying Rahi brought him a message that only he could read. The time had come to make the Shadowed One see the only possible future for the Dark Hunters, and if his old friend failed to see reason, Ancient would have to kill him. (Destiny War)

He didn't have to. The Dark Hunters sailed for Xia in a huge fleet, with orders from the Order to stop the island supplying the Brotherhood. The Shadowed One meant to wipe out the Vortixx until HelryxHelryx: the first Toa ever createdHelryx was the first Toa ever made, commissioned by the Great Beings on Artakha long before the Toa Mata. She founded and led the Order of Mata Nui. arrived and threatened to drown his fleet. The Hunters occupied Xia instead and made it their base. (Dwellers In Darkness)

On Xia, the Shadowed One found viruses that Makuta Kojol had brought to the island before his death. He told Ancient he meant to use them, then disintegrated him to keep the secret. (Destiny War)

He then agreed to meet the BarrakiThe BarrakiSix warlords who built an empire spanning most of the Matoran Universe, fell to a Brotherhood strike, and spent millennia imprisoned in the Pit. leader PridakPridak: the most savage of the BarrakiPridak was the most savage of the six Barraki warlords and commanded an army of sharks. The League of Six Kingdoms ended with all six imprisoned in the Pit. in Karzahni, after the Barraki claimed they knew how to use the viruses. (Destiny War)

Lariska, meanwhile, had joined BrutakaBrutakaBrutaka guarded the Kanohi Ignika on Voya Nui, betrayed the Order during the Piraka incursion, was mutated in the Pit, and later led the Order's strike team to free Miserix.'s team on its mission to free Makuta Miserix. (Federation of Fear)

Decline and dissolution#

When Teridax took over the Matoran Universe, he sent Rahkshi to Odina, but the Dark Hunters had already moved to Xia. (Takanuva's Blog)

Under his rule the survivors scattered. 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. ended up hiding in the ruins of KarzahniKarzahniA realm of the Matoran universe built by the Great Beings as a place to repair Matoran, turned into a prison by its incompetent ruler. with a band that included two Dark Hunters, GuardianGuardianA Dark Hunter who tracked down captured operatives before the fall, and later fought beside Tahu in the ruins of Karzahni. and Lariska. (Reign of Shadows)

On ZakazZakazThe island where Skakdi civilization developed, shaped by isolation and harsh Makuta rule., a Skakdi warlord rallying his people summed up the new state of things: the Brotherhood was no more, the Dark Hunters were a battered ruin, and the Toa were scattered and hiding. (Reign of Shadows)