The Skrall Conquest of Bara Magna

The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. conquest of southern Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. was the year in which TumaTumaTuma rose from the survivors of the Baterra massacre to rule the Skrall Empire from Roxtus until Mata Nui defeated him in single combat., the last surviving leader-class SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule., turned 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. into the strongest power on the planet. It started with the Skrall's flight from the BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. in the north and ran through a secret partnership with the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and lived by the Glatorian arena system. traitor MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield., dealings with the Bone HuntersBone HunterDesert nomads of Bara Magna who raided for survival until their alliance with the Skrall nearly conquered the continent. and the attack that destroyed 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.. It ended in the Battle of RoxtusThe Battle of RoxtusThe climactic engagement at the Skrall stronghold of Roxtus on Bara Magna, where Mata Nui defeated Tuma in single combat, Metus was exposed and transformed, and the Glatorian and Agori drove off the Skrall and Bone Hunters., after Tuma lost a duel to 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.. Much of the story is told in the 2009 serial Empire of the Skrall. (Empire of the Skrall; BIONICLE Glatorian 2: The Fall of Atero; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn)

The Skrall on Bara Magna#

The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. had been feared warriors in the Core WarThe 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.. Cut off from their homeland by the Shattering, they set out to tame the volcanic, unstable land north 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, over tens of thousands of years, became its undisputed masters. Their society ran on class: leader-class Skrall like Tuma at the top, elite warriors such as StroniusStroniusAn Elite Skrall who earned his name by proving he was worth remembering. below them, and ordinary warriors at the bottom. A name was a rare honour for a warrior. (Empire of the Skrall)

That rule ended when the BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. arrived. A patrol in the Black Spike Mountains was cut down, and only its leader and one other warrior made it back to the fortress. For bringing word of the new enemy, Tuma rewarded the leader with a name, BranarBranarThe Skrall warrior who survived a Baterra attack in the Black Spike Mountains, earned his name from Tuma, carried the Baterra warning south, and fought the Skrall's last battle at Roxtus.. Tuma then learned that the other Skrall outposts had already been destroyed. (Fall and Rise of the Skrall; Empire of the Skrall)

Tuma led a legion out to fight. The Skrall were picked off one by one, and Stronius managed to destroy a baterra and discover that they were machines. When the legion followed two baterra into a forest, the trees turned out to be baterra too, and most of the legion was wiped out. Back at the fortress, the survivors were besieged. When a supply party brought back firewood that was really baterra in disguise, Tuma had the fortress set on fire and led the survivors south. (Fall and Rise of the Skrall)

The other leader-class Skrall had died, leaving Tuma to lead the tribe. He took the Skrall army and the rock Agori south through the Black Spikes. Along the way the males abandoned their females, the Sisters of the SkrallSisters of the SkrallThe female Skrall faction, exiled from their males and armed with innate psionic powers that made them the true rulers of the Rock Tribe., whom they had long distrusted and banished. (Empire of the Skrall)

Tuma at Roxtus#

South of the Black Spikes, Tuma set up in the village 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.. He ordered the Skrall to join the planet's arena system and fight GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. for resources, and a Skrall won the Flame Geysers north of VulcanusVulcanusThe Fire Tribe's settlement on Bara Magna, caught between resources and threats. from the fire tribe in an arena match. (BIONICLE Glatorian 1: Sands of Bara Magna)

Tuma believed his people could never hold too much territory, be too well defended or pause even for a moment. Roxtus never rested. Skrall patrols came and went all night, Bone Hunters rode up to the gates with captive Glatorian and Vorox to sell, and Agori prisoners built new walls and repaired Skrall weapons and armour. A patrol that failed him could end up feeding the two-headed SpikitSpikitA two-headed desert creature used as a draft animal across post-Shattering Bara Magna, valued for strength and endurance and feared for its appetite., which usually meant being fed to them. (Empire of the Skrall)

Tuma also wanted the exiled Glatorian MalumMalumFire Tribe Glatorian banished from Vulcanus for trying to kill Strakk in the arena, who took over a Vorox pack in the wastelands of Bara Magna., who led a pack of Vorox. His patrol captured Malum and brought him to Roxtus, hoping to learn how he controlled the beasts, but Malum turned the demonstration in the arena into an escape and fled into the desert with two of his Vorox. (Empire of the Skrall)

Intelligence and the Bone Hunter pipeline#

The conquest plan rested on information. Tuma wanted Bara Magna ready to fall before he struck, and he would not risk a war on two fronts, with the Glatorian ahead of him and the baterra behind. (Empire of the Skrall)

His source was MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield., an ice Agori who arranged Glatorian matches between the villages. Metus offered, through the Skrall AtakusAtakusAtakus is a Rock Tribe Agori who served the Skrall as gate guard of Roxtus, arena assistant and Tuma's spokesman, and the Agori who first tested the loyalty of the traitor Metus., to supply information on the villages and their defences and to act as go-between with the Bone Hunters, and Tuma accepted. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; Empire of the Skrall)

The Bone Hunters were the other part of the plan. When Metus argued against a Bone Hunter raid on Vulcanus, Tuma knew it would only make them go ahead, and his patrols secretly copied their plans. He made sure the Bone Hunters got a detailed map of Vulcanus too, reasoning that either result helped him: if they razed the village, Vulcanus was gone, and if they failed, there were fewer Bone Hunters to deal with. (Empire of the Skrall; BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

The arena served him as well. A Skrall beat the jungle tribe's GreshGreshA young Glatorian of the Jungle Tribe who served Tesara and later joined the alliance that defended Bara Magna during its final crisis. in a match over an oasis both sides wanted. Afterwards Metus, in disguise, passed that Skrall word of a trade caravan leaving TajunTajunTajun was a village of the Water Tribe, situated on the banks of the Skrall River., meant to reach Tuma and from him the Bone Hunters, so that a raid would leave the water tribe hungry for a season. (BIONICLE Glatorian 1: Sands of Bara Magna)

Branar and the Baterra warning#

The one thing Tuma's spies couldn't tell him was where the BaterraBaterraMechanical shapeshifters built by the Great Beings to end the Core War by killing every armed combatant on Spherus Magna, and the failsafe that never shut them down. were. Every month he sent out a "Vorox run": captured Vorox driven north along the route the Skrall had taken, so that if the baterra were moving south, the Vorox would run into them first. (Empire of the Skrall)

On one run, BranarBranarThe Skrall warrior who survived a Baterra attack in the Black Spike Mountains, earned his name from Tuma, carried the Baterra warning south, and fought the Skrall's last battle at Roxtus. and two warriors were driving a half-dozen Vorox along a mountain trail when one wandered off and was torn apart. Branar released the rest, but nothing attacked them. Then his remaining warrior fell dead beside him without a sound. Branar was left alive, and he understood why: the baterra wanted the Skrall to know they were coming, and that they could choose who lived. (Empire of the Skrall)

The news forced Tuma to bring his plans forward, and he moved the attack on 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. to the next day. When he told Metus, the Agori guessed the reason and claimed he knew how to kill the baterra. Tuma threatened him with the Spikit, but Metus refused to share anything unless he became Tuma's partner, and Tuma, putting his people first, agreed. (Empire of the Skrall)

The Sisters of the Skrall#

Tuma and Stronius then rode north to the Sisters of the SkrallSisters of the SkrallThe female Skrall faction, exiled from their males and armed with innate psionic powers that made them the true rulers of the Rock Tribe., hoping to win their help against the baterra. The Sisters, whose minds were their weapons, ordered Stronius to give up his club, and when he refused, a mental attack dropped him to his knees. Tuma took the same pain and stayed on his feet, having sworn never to kneel before the Sisters. Their leader said he had nothing they wanted and ordered both killed. (Empire of the Skrall)

Tuma saved them with one word: AngonceAngonceThe Great Being who named Mata Nui, stayed out of the Baterra project, was said to have lingered on Bara Magna to watch the Agori, and raced too late to stop Marendar when the Toa reached Spherus Magna.. Legend said a Great Being of that name had once taught a female Skrall how to rise to a new level of power, and every Sister hoped to find him. Tuma claimed Angonce had stayed close enough to watch the Agori, and offered that in exchange for their freedom and a pledge to destroy any baterra they met. The leader agreed, privately planning to steer the baterra toward the males instead. (Empire of the Skrall)

On the way home, Tuma and Stronius spotted a pass full of trees that hadn't been there before. The trees were uprooted decoys, and while the Skrall watched them, two baterra disguised as rocks struck from behind and wounded Tuma in the back. When he came to, his weapons were gone and Metus stood there unarmed, sending the baterra away. Metus alone knew the secret: baterra kill only the armed, so he had kicked the Skrall's weapons out of reach. He used the moment to make Tuma name him heir to the legion if Tuma fell, and Tuma quietly ordered Stronius to kill Metus if that ever happened. (Empire of the Skrall)

The Sisters set out for the Valley of the MazeThe Valley of the MazeThe northern Bara Magna maze 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. in search of Angonce. In Sahmad's Tale they turn up underground, disguised by illusion and serving AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment., who claims it was she, not a Great Being, who gave them their mental powers. (Empire of the Skrall; Sahmad's Tale)

The fall of Atero#

The Skrall struck 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. during the Great Tournament, when Glatorian from across Bara Magna had gathered there. Berix, Raanu and Metus went looking for the missing Skrall and found an army marching toward them. Raanu ran to warn the arena, and Tarix rallied the Glatorian to fight. One Skrall told Gresh that they meant to take what they wanted by force. (BIONICLE Glatorian 2: The Fall of Atero)

The Glatorian saw that the city was lost and fled into the desert, regrouping later in a cave. When the Agori explorer Tarduk returned from the north, he found the Atero arena in ruins with a Skrall shield planted in the ground like a banner. (BIONICLE Glatorian 2: The Fall of Atero; Riddle of the Great Beings)

Tuma then allied with the Bone Hunters to attack TajunTajunTajun was a village of the Water Tribe, situated on the banks of the Skrall River., and afterwards patrolled the ransacked village with a force of Bone Hunters. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation))

Mata Nui and the Battle of Roxtus#

The conquest was interrupted from outside. One night Tuma and Stronius saw the Kanohi IgnikaThe 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. streak across the sky. Stronius took it for a shooting star, but Tuma doubled the patrols anyway. It carried 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., who reached the southern villages and joined 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., GreshGreshA young Glatorian of the Jungle Tribe who served Tesara and later joined the alliance that defended Bara Magna during its final crisis., Ackar and the other survivors. (BIONICLE Glatorian 3: A Hero Reborn; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn)

The final confrontation came in the 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. arena. Tuma had gathered an army of Skrall and Bone Hunters, and Mata Nui challenged him to single combat for the freedom of Kiina and Berix, whom Metus had captured. Refusing would have shamed Tuma, so he accepted. He was much stronger and boasted to his army after every blow, which exposed the baterra wound on his back. Mata Nui struck it again and again until Tuma fell unconscious. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (novelisation))

Metus then announced that the Skrall and Bone Hunters would follow him. Before his orders could be carried out, a giant figure rose over a nearby hill and the Skrall panicked, thinking it a baterra; it fell apart into a swarm of Scarabax beetles. The united Glatorian and Agori charged in. Mata Nui caught Metus after two Vorox tipped over his vehicle and turned him into a snake with the Ignika, and the heroes' combined elemental powers drove the Skrall and Bone Hunters away. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn)

Aftermath#

The defeat broke the rock tribe. The Skrall, without a leader, scattered, and the villages that had beaten them went on to unite their tribes. Tuma, disgraced, was briefly held prisoner by the united forces but escaped in the chaos of the battle. (BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn; BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn Official Movie Guide)

Stronius gathered some of the surviving Skrall around him, and after Mata Nui reformed Spherus Magna he lived on the restored planet. The Skrall had been driven from Roxtus for good. (BIONICLE: Journey's End; Sahmad's Tale)