Element Lord of Rock

The Element Lord of Rock was a former leader-class member of the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. species, remade by the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. into a being of living stone and given mastery over the element of Rock. He led the 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.'s army during the Core WarThe 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. on Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., and after 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. he was stranded on the fragment that became Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna., where his territory included the Black Spike MountainsBlack Spike MountainsThe mountain range north of the Bara Magna desert that served as the Skrall homeland after the Shattering, became Baterra hunting ground, and was destroyed when the Mata Nui robot fell upon it., the White Quartz MountainsWhite Quartz MountainsA jagged mountain range in the northern reaches of Bara Magna, once ruled by the Element Lord of Rock and later home to Surel and the Iron Wolves., and the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. homeland. His most fully documented appearance came during the failed AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. expedition to the Valley of the MazeThe Valley of the MazeThe northern Bara Magna labyrinth where the Great Beings hid the unstable Power Source of the Prototype Robot, sealed behind puzzle traps and a fortress that few outsiders ever survived to describe., where he saved 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., CrotesiusCrotesiusA Vulcanus pilot who went from dismissing legends to answering one in Riddle of the Great Beings., and KirboldKirboldKirbold is an Agori of the Ice Tribe, distinguished by white and grey coloring, who serves as a maintenance worker on the reformed Spherus Magna. He carries a blade as his primary tool. from drowning in a freezing river only to warn them, in the form of a stone duplicate of 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., that the power at the heart of the Maze was his alone to claim.

Origins and Transformation#

Before his transformation, the Element Lord of Rock was a leader-class warrior of the 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., the population that would later be known across Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. simply as the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule.. The tribe inhabited the rougher uplands of Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., and its leader caste managed the warrior body through a strict hierarchy that the later SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. 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. inherited intact. The future Element Lord stood at the top of it.

The discovery 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. at the planet's core changed the position. The substance leaked to the surface and was identified as a resource of decisive value. The tribal leaders convened to discuss who would claim it, failed to reach agreement, and went to war. The Core WarThe 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. drew in every tribe on Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., and the 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. committed its entire warrior population to the fight.

The Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. intervened in the conflict by selecting one warrior from each major tribe and remaking them, in the underground lab beneath the surface, into immortal embodiments of their respective elements. The future Element Lord of Rock was the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. selection. The process turned him into a being made of rock, given mastery over the element and the purpose of leading the 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. for the remainder of the war. Six other warriors underwent the same procedure: the future Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. 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., 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., WaterElement Lord of WaterFormer Glatorian of the Water Tribe, remade by the Great Beings into a being of living water, ruler of the Water Tribe during the Core War, and the elemental claimant who dragged the Tarduk expedition under the River Dormus., 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., Sand, and Earth. The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. under his command continued to fight as a conventional army, but their leader now matched the scale of the other Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. directly.

The Core War and the Shattering#

The Element Lord of Rock led the 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.'s army through the closing phase of the Core WarThe 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.. The war ended by catastrophe. The continuing extraction 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. from the planetary core destabilised Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., and the planet broke apart into the three fragments that would later be known as Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna., 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., and Aqua MagnaAqua MagnaThe endless ocean where the Matoran Universe found refuge and Mata Nui made his final stand.. The Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. judged the Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. responsible.

The Rock Lord was stranded on the Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. fragment along with most of his tribe. The fragment carried with it the territory that became his accepted domain through the long GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. era: the Black Spike MountainsBlack Spike MountainsThe mountain range north of the Bara Magna desert that served as the Skrall homeland after the Shattering, became Baterra hunting ground, and was destroyed when the Mata Nui robot fell upon it., the White Quartz MountainsWhite Quartz MountainsA jagged mountain range in the northern reaches of Bara Magna, once ruled by the Element Lord of Rock and later home to Surel and the Iron Wolves., and the rest of the original SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. homeland. His portion of the war did not stop with 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.. He continued his feud with the other Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke. directly, the conflict outlasting the planet that had produced it.

Encounter at the River Dormus#

The most fully recorded appearance of the Element Lord of Rock during 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. era came during the 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. expedition toward the Valley of the MazeThe Valley of the MazeThe northern Bara Magna labyrinth where the Great Beings hid the unstable Power Source of the Prototype Robot, sealed behind puzzle traps and a fortress that few outsiders ever survived to describe.. The three AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. explorers, having passed through the Forest of BladesForest of BladesThe high-plain forest north of the White Quartz Mountains where Core War soldiers stood frozen as bladed trees in the territory of the Element Lord of Jungle., reached the river that flowed through the northern Valley and were dragged under by the Element Lord of WaterElement Lord of WaterFormer Glatorian of the Water Tribe, remade by the Great Beings into a being of living water, ruler of the Water Tribe during the Core War, and the elemental claimant who dragged the Tarduk expedition under the River Dormus., who allowed them to breathe and demanded the route to the Maze. The conversation deteriorated into an argument.

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. then attacked the same position, freezing the river around the Element Lord of WaterElement Lord of WaterFormer Glatorian of the Water Tribe, remade by the Great Beings into a being of living water, ruler of the Water Tribe during the Core War, and the elemental claimant who dragged the Tarduk expedition under the River Dormus. and the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. alike. The water lord escaped through his own element. The three AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. did not, and were left to drown. 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. noticed a slab of rock that rose under them and carried them clear, and watched the ice break apart from below as something massive moved through it. The intervention came from the Element Lord of Rock, who had been observing and chose to break the engagement.

The Stone Duplicate#

The Rock Lord did not present himself in his own form. He took the shape of a stone duplicate of 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., retaining his elemental composition but mirroring the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system.'s features, and addressed the party with the voice of a SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule.. The duplicate told 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 companions to go back, that the Maze was his to conquer and not theirs, and that rock was already unyielding; given the power of the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. on top of that, no world would be safe. The power would be his alone, and the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. would not be allowed to interfere with that.

The exchange shifted when the duplicate acknowledged that the party had encountered many dangers in reaching the Valley and were missing their homes. CrotesiusCrotesiusA Vulcanus pilot who went from dismissing legends to answering one in Riddle of the Great Beings. and 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. did not answer. KirboldKirboldKirbold is an Agori of the Ice Tribe, distinguished by white and grey coloring, who serves as a maintenance worker on the reformed Spherus Magna. He carries a blade as his primary tool. nodded. The Rock Lord released them with a single condition: they could travel on and learn what they had to learn, but were to take nothing back with them, and were never to return. The rock statue of 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. then crumbled to dust.

The encounter ranks as one of the few recorded instances of an Element Lord exercising restraint toward an AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. party. The Rock Lord did not act out of sentiment; he saved the explorers to make a territorial claim on the Maze and set conditions on their behaviour there. No rival was to remove anything from a vault he considered his property in advance of his own arrival.

Powers, Form, and Final Disposition#

As a leader-class SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. before his transformation, the future Element Lord of Rock possessed no elemental powers of his own. The procedure in the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed.' underground lab replaced that baseline with full mastery over the element of Rock. He could shape stone, generate it, move it as a coherent mass, and assume forms made of stone that imitated other beings, as the duplicate of 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. demonstrated. His own body was rock, and the surrounding stone of the Black Spike MountainsBlack Spike MountainsThe mountain range north of the Bara Magna desert that served as the Skrall homeland after the Shattering, became Baterra hunting ground, and was destroyed when the Mata Nui robot fell upon it. and the White Quartz MountainsWhite Quartz MountainsA jagged mountain range in the northern reaches of Bara Magna, once ruled by the Element Lord of Rock and later home to Surel and the Iron Wolves. was effectively an extension of his available material. The transformation did not, however, free him from the rivalries of the Core WarThe 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., and the river encounter showed all three involved Lords pursuing the same vault while undercutting one another at every step.

The Element Lord of Rock survived the Battle of Bara MagnaThe Battle of Bara MagnaThe Great Spirit Robot fell from the sky carrying Teridax in stolen flesh, and the desert world below produced a champion who carried Mata Nui's consciousness back into the fight. and the reformation of Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.. The reunification of the three fragments did not undo the transformations the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. had performed during the Core WarThe 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., and the Rock Lord remained alive on the reformed planet alongside the other surviving Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke.. His feud with them appears to have continued, though no further engagement of his is documented. Of the seven Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke., he was the only one drawn from the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. population rather than from the GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. tribes. The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. 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. 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. preserved a memory of him as their distant former commander in the Core WarThe 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., and warriors like StroniusStroniusAn Elite Skrall who earned his name by proving he was worth remembering. traced their tribe's military identity back to that earlier service. The Rock Lord himself did not return to take up that command. The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. of the GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. era fought on without him.