The Elemental Sandstone Blaster

The Elemental Sandstone Blaster is the weapon of NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone., the Protector of StoneProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors., in the 2015 story of the BIONICLE reboot, a separate continuity from the original saga. It is the Stone version of the Elemental Blasters carried by the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of the island's six regions. LEGO.com describes it as a weapon meant for melee that can also do damage at close range with its sand blast. In the 2015 books Nilkuu uses it twice to knock a Skull SpiderSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. off a creature it was controlling. (Protector of Stone character profile; BIONICLE: Island of Lost Masks; BIONICLE: Revenge of the Skull Spiders)

Construction and dual function#

The Elemental Sandstone Blaster was meant first as a melee weapon. Its sand blast is the second function, able to deal damage at close range. The set listing gave it a slightly different name, the Elemental Sandstorm Blaster. (Protector of Stone character profile; Protector of Stone, LEGO set 70779)

The Protectors hand their gear down through the generations, usually with only small changes, and each Protector's equipment is made for their own region. Nilkuu inherited the job of defending a village in the Region of StoneRegion of StoneThe northwestern desert region of Okoto, home of the Stone Tribe and the Protector of Stone, site of the Battle of the Mask Makers and the Black Crater, and the territory through which Pohatu hunted for the Golden Mask of Stone. from his father. (Protector of Stone character profile)

Place within the Elemental Blasters family#

The Elemental Sandstone Blaster belongs to a family of weapons, one for each Protector. The Protector of Fire carried the Elemental Fire BlasterThe Elemental Fire BlasterThe Elemental Fire Blaster was the ranged tool and weapon carried by Narmoto, Protector of Fire, in the 2015 reboot story, able to light campfires and shoot Skull Spiders, and the weapon he used to hold off the spiders while Tahu claimed the Golden Mask of Fire., the Protector of Water the Elemental Torpedo BlasterThe Elemental Torpedo BlasterThe Elemental Torpedo Blaster was the accurate diving weapon of Kivoda, Protector of Water, in the 2015 reboot story, which he carried while guiding Gali to the shrine of the Golden Mask of Water., the Protector of Earth a Rapid Shooter, the Protector of Ice an Elemental Ice Blaster and the Protector of Jungle the Air Elemental Flame Bow. (Protector of Stone character profile)

The Protectors used them together under the city of the Mask Makers, firing their Elemental Blasters at the roof of the Lord of Skull Spiders' lair until it collapsed on him. (BIONICLE: Revenge of the Skull Spiders)

Service in the Region of Stone and the rescue of Bingzak#

Nilkuu got lost in the Region of JungleRegion of JungleThe rainforest region of Okoto, home of the Jungle Tribe and the Protector of Jungle, ground over which Lewa sought the Golden Mask of Jungle and bonded with Uxar, and the coast from which the Labyrinth of Control rose offshore. on his way to join the other Protectors at the Temple of TimeThe Temple of TimeThe Protectors' most sacred site on Okoto, built to house the Mask of Time and the place at which Ekimu received the vision that prepared the island for the coming of the Toa.. There he met a young villager named Bingzak, whose village had been destroyed by Skull SpidersSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa., and protected him from several of them. In return Bingzak guided him to the temple, where the six Protectors recited the Prophecy of HeroesThe Prophecy of HeroesThe dying instruction that the Mask Maker Ekimu pressed into the Protectors of Okoto, foretelling the coming of six Toa and the sign of the aligned stars that would let them be summoned.. (BIONICLE: Island of Lost Masks)

Bingzak went home with Nilkuu. Days later, after the Toa fell from the sky, Skull Spiders attacked Nilkuu's fortress village at night, and Pohatu flew in to help. During the fight one of the spiders took control of Bingzak, who turned on the sentries. Nilkuu used his blaster to knock the spider off him and free him. (BIONICLE: Island of Lost Masks)

The temple of the Golden Mask of Stone#

Nilkuu then guided PohatuPohatu, Master of Stone: The Stubborn Toa of OkotoPohatu of Okoto was the Master of Stone summoned by the Protectors, the stubborn sandstorm-rider guided by Nilkuu through the Region of Stone whose hesitation at the Labyrinth cost the team the Mask of Control. through the Region of Stone to the shrine of the Golden Mask of Stone. As at the other shrines, the Skull Spiders attacked, and the Protector held them off while his Toa went for the mask. (BIONICLE: Island of Lost Masks; LEGO BIONICLE webisodes, "The Power of the Golden Masks")

Surrounded by spiders as he neared the mask, Pohatu took to the air on his Stormerangs, flew past them and claimed the Golden Mask, then raised a sandstorm that blew the spiders away. The Toa's new power saved their Protectors. (LEGO BIONICLE webisodes, "Pohatu"; LEGO BIONICLE webisodes, "The Power of the Golden Masks")

The pattern of inheritance#

The blaster is part of the Protectors' inheritance. Nilkuu took on the role from his father, along with the Prophecy of Heroes his ancestors had learned from Ekimu, and the Protectors' gear has changed little across the generations. (Protector of Stone character profile)

NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. parted from Pohatu once the Toa set off for the City of the Mask MakersCity of the Mask Makers: Home of Ekimu and MakutaThe City of the Mask Makers was a city on the island of Okoto, named for the brothers Ekimu and Makuta who dwelt there before the Battle of the Mask Makers. It fell to ruin and became the lair of the Lord of Skull Spiders before the Toa reclaimed it., but later answered a summons from VizunaVizuna, Protector of Jungle of OkotoVizuna was the village elder and Protector of Jungle in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Air Elemental Flame Bow, descendant of Agarak, and guide who led Lewa through the rainforests to the Golden Mask of Jungle. to follow the Toa there by another route. Under the city a giant snake controlled by a Skull Spider attacked the Protectors. Nilkuu fell behind and used his Elemental Sandstone Blaster to knock the spider off the snake's face. Freed, the snake turned out to be playful, became Nilkuu's friend and gave the Protectors a ride toward the Lord of Skull Spiders' lair. (BIONICLE: Revenge of the Skull Spiders)