Fire Villagers

The Fire Villagers were the OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. population of the Region of FireRegion of FireThe volcanic region of Okoto, home of the Fire Tribe and the Protector of Fire, Narmoto, and the country in which Tahu landed and was guided across lava streams and erupting mountains to claim the Golden Mask of Fire., the volcanic province of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors., and one of the six regional villager tribes that the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. had shaped the island to support. They lived in settlements distributed across the lava plains and the slopes of the great mountain ranges under the authority of the Protector of FireProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived., NarmotoNarmoto, Protector of Fire of OkotoNarmoto was the village elder and Protector of Fire in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Fire Blaster and the Flame Swords, descendant of Mamuk, and guide who led Tahu across the volcanic region to the Golden Mask of Fire., who inherited that office from his father in a line reaching back to the ancient MamukMamuk, Ancient Protector of Fire of OkotoMamuk was the Protector of Fire of Okoto at the time of the Battle of the Mask Makers, ally of Ekimu, gatherer of Ikir's elemental crystal, and founder of the lineage that descended to Narmoto.. They were the population TahuTahu, Master of Fire: Leader of the Toa of OkotoTahu of Okoto was the Master of Fire summoned by the Protectors, the hot-tempered would-be leader of the Toa who opened the Labyrinth of Control and held the line at the Black Volcano., the Toa of FireTahu, Master of Fire: Leader of the Toa of OkotoTahu of Okoto was the Master of Fire summoned by the Protectors, the hot-tempered would-be leader of the Toa who opened the Labyrinth of Control and held the line at the Black Volcano., was summoned to defend, and they were the tribe most directly associated with the most dangerous of the island's six regions.

The region and its tribe#

The Fire Villagers were the population of the most dangerous of the six elemental regions of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors.. The Region of FireRegion of FireThe volcanic region of Okoto, home of the Fire Tribe and the Protector of Fire, Narmoto, and the country in which Tahu landed and was guided across lava streams and erupting mountains to claim the Golden Mask of Fire. occupied the volcanic country of the island and was home to a chain of great volcanoes that erupted at random, with broad lava streams running south from the mountain ranges to form burning lakes before they reached the sea. The tribe organised its settlements around the safer slopes and the cooler stretches of the lava plains, in locations selected for protection from the worst of the volcanic activity and for proximity to the routes that connected the regional villages.

The arrangement matched the wider OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. pattern. Each of the six OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. regional tribes lived in its own kind of settlement, built in the material the region supplied and oriented around the Protector's headquarters as the centre of local authority. The Fire Villagers were the population of the volcanic country and the tribe with the most volatile environment to manage. Their settlements were clustered, defensible, and equipped to outlast the eruptions and the lava floods that the open country produced. The terrain reduced the volume of casual cross-region travel, and most journeys between the Villages of FireRegion of FireThe volcanic region of Okoto, home of the Fire Tribe and the Protector of Fire, Narmoto, and the country in which Tahu landed and was guided across lava streams and erupting mountains to claim the Golden Mask of Fire. were planned around known crossings of the lava streams and the predicted patterns of the eruptions.

The tribe's appearance reflected the region. The Fire Villagers were chiefly bright red and orange in colour, drawn from the volcanic palette common to the southern country, and were of small stature comparable to the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. who led them. Many villagers of the same settlement were identical to one another, with the same colouring drawn from the regional pattern that the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. had originally shaped. The masks they wore were the powerless masks common to the OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. population, although the tribe retained, like its siblings in the other regions, the latent capacity to use some mask powers when the occasion arose.

The early peace and the cataclysm#

In the period before the Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers., the Fire Villagers lived in relative peace under the semi-leadership of the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. and the order they had shaped the island to support. The recorded threats of the early age were limited to the raids of the Skull RaidersSkull RaidersThe ancient pirate band that plagued Okoto before the Mask Makers, was driven into the mountains, allied itself with Makuta, was trapped beneath the island by the cataclysm at Capital City, and dug its way back as the Skull Creatures under Kulta., whose defeat at the hands of the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. and the ancient ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. removed them from the surface for thousands of years. The Fire country, the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City.' deliberate work, supplied the volcanic counterweight to the ice and water regions in the elemental balance of the island.

The cataclysm that produced the Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers. ended that peace for all six tribes, the Fire Villagers among them. The strain of the Mask of Ultimate PowerMask of Ultimate PowerA heretical Kanohi forged by Makuta of Okoto that contained the powers of all six elements and ruined the Mask Makers' civilization the moment it was worn., and the duel between the brothers at the original capital, sent shock through the elemental regions; the city was lost to the Shadow Realm with the population still inside it, and the semi-leadership the OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. tribes had relied on was removed in a single event. MamukMamuk, Ancient Protector of Fire of OkotoMamuk was the Protector of Fire of Okoto at the time of the Battle of the Mask Makers, ally of Ekimu, gatherer of Ikir's elemental crystal, and founder of the lineage that descended to Narmoto., the ancient Protector of Fire, survived the cataclysm and joined the surviving ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. in the task of finding the missing masks. The role of Protector of FireProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. continued to be passed down through Mamuk's descendants until it reached NarmotoNarmoto, Protector of Fire of OkotoNarmoto was the village elder and Protector of Fire in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Fire Blaster and the Flame Swords, descendant of Mamuk, and guide who led Tahu across the volcanic region to the Golden Mask of Fire., who inherited the title from his father as the most recent holder of the office.

The Fire Villagers retreated, with the wider OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. population, into the lesser regional villages under their respective ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.. The volcanic country was, by its nature, already organised for defensive settlement, and the chain of safer slopes and sheltered valleys supplied protection from the post-cataclysm conditions that the open lava plains could not match. The Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers. faded into legend over the centuries, retained in the regional records but no longer remembered as a living event.

The Skull Spider menace#

The second age brought a new threat to the region. At some point during the long silence after the cataclysm, the Region of FireRegion of FireThe volcanic region of Okoto, home of the Fire Tribe and the Protector of Fire, Narmoto, and the country in which Tahu landed and was guided across lava streams and erupting mountains to claim the Golden Mask of Fire. was overrun 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., the small dark creatures that MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s shadow had sent against the island. The Fire Villagers, settled on their volcanic slopes under NarmotoNarmoto, Protector of Fire of OkotoNarmoto was the village elder and Protector of Fire in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Fire Blaster and the Flame Swords, descendant of Mamuk, and guide who led Tahu across the volcanic region to the Golden Mask of Fire.'s defence, endured a sustained period in which the spiders moved through the lava plains and the mountain passes and posed a constant raiding threat to the regional settlements. The combination of the spiders and the Skull RaidersSkull RaidersThe ancient pirate band that plagued Okoto before the Mask Makers, was driven into the mountains, allied itself with Makuta, was trapped beneath the island by the cataclysm at Capital City, and dug its way back as the Skull Creatures under Kulta., who had returned to the surface under KultaSkull GrinderThe title borne by Kulta after his alliance with Makuta, marking his role as the wielder of the Mask Stealer Staff, the mask-burner at the Mask Makers' forge, and the first foe to defeat the Toa in single combat on Okoto.'s leadership, left the wider OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. population without the protection the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. had once provided.

NarmotoNarmoto, Protector of Fire of OkotoNarmoto was the village elder and Protector of Fire in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Fire Blaster and the Flame Swords, descendant of Mamuk, and guide who led Tahu across the volcanic region to the Golden Mask of Fire., as Protector of Fire, defended the regional villages with the Elemental Fire BlasterThe Elemental Fire BlasterThe Elemental Fire Blaster was the ranged tool and weapon carried by Narmoto of Fire through the second-age campaign on Okoto, capable of lighting campfires and driving away Skull Spiders, and the armament that passed to Tahu in powered-up form at the temple of the Golden Mask of Fire. and the Flame SwordsThe Flame SwordsThe Flame Swords were the paired melee armament carried by Narmoto, Protector of Fire of Okoto, and the blades that passed to Tahu in powered-up form at the temple of the Golden Mask of Fire. that the office handed down with each generation, and he held the tribe together through the worst of the incursions. The Blaster lit campfires and drove off 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. at range; the Swords supplied the close-quarters tool the cooler stretches of the lava plains required. The role he played was the role each of the six ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. played in their respective regions, but the Region of FireRegion of FireThe volcanic region of Okoto, home of the Fire Tribe and the Protector of Fire, Narmoto, and the country in which Tahu landed and was guided across lava streams and erupting mountains to claim the Golden Mask of Fire.'s terrain and volcanic activity made the work distinctively dangerous. The villagers organised their lives around the defence of the settled slopes, the maintenance of the routes between the Villages of FireRegion of FireThe volcanic region of Okoto, home of the Fire Tribe and the Protector of Fire, Narmoto, and the country in which Tahu landed and was guided across lava streams and erupting mountains to claim the Golden Mask of Fire., and the careful preservation of the historical knowledge of 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. that the office of Protector held in custody.

The arrival of Tahu#

The summoning 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. brought the foretold heroes. When the stars aligned, the six ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of the regions journeyed to the Temple and 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., and six ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm. fell from the sky onto OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors.. TahuTahu, Master of Fire: Leader of the Toa of OkotoTahu of Okoto was the Master of Fire summoned by the Protectors, the hot-tempered would-be leader of the Toa who opened the Labyrinth of Control and held the line at the Black Volcano., the Toa of FireToa of FireThe Elemental protectors of the Matoran, most often rising from Ta-Matoran to command the power of fire., crashed in an unknown part of the Region of FireRegion of FireThe volcanic region of Okoto, home of the Fire Tribe and the Protector of Fire, Narmoto, and the country in which Tahu landed and was guided across lava streams and erupting mountains to claim the Golden Mask of Fire. and was greeted by a party of Fire Villagers and their Protector. NarmotoNarmoto, Protector of Fire of OkotoNarmoto was the village elder and Protector of Fire in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Fire Blaster and the Flame Swords, descendant of Mamuk, and guide who led Tahu across the volcanic region to the Golden Mask of Fire. explained the Toa's destiny while the party was ambushed 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.; TahuTahu, Master of Fire: Leader of the Toa of OkotoTahu of Okoto was the Master of Fire summoned by the Protectors, the hot-tempered would-be leader of the Toa who opened the Labyrinth of Control and held the line at the Black Volcano. defeated the spiders almost incidentally, and the party bowed down to him as the foretold hero of the region. He and the Protector set off together to claim the Golden Mask of Fire, the volcanic counterpart to the Golden Masks the other Toa were also seeking.

Before they could reach the chamber, they were ambushed again. The Protector held off the swarm with his Elemental Fire BlasterThe Elemental Fire BlasterThe Elemental Fire Blaster was the ranged tool and weapon carried by Narmoto of Fire through the second-age campaign on Okoto, capable of lighting campfires and driving away Skull Spiders, and the armament that passed to Tahu in powered-up form at the temple of the Golden Mask of Fire. while TahuTahu, Master of Fire: Leader of the Toa of OkotoTahu of Okoto was the Master of Fire summoned by the Protectors, the hot-tempered would-be leader of the Toa who opened the Labyrinth of Control and held the line at the Black Volcano. pressed on, surfed across the lava on a Lava Board, and claimed the Golden Mask just as Narmoto ran out of ammunition and was overtaken by the spiders. TahuTahu, Master of Fire: Leader of the Toa of OkotoTahu of Okoto was the Master of Fire summoned by the Protectors, the hot-tempered would-be leader of the Toa who opened the Labyrinth of Control and held the line at the Black Volcano. used the mask's power to reach the Protector and clear the swarm, and the two departed for 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. to join the other Toa and ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.. The Fire Villagers were not the principal actors in the campaign that followed; the ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm. and the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. were the foreground figures, and the regional populations continued the ordinary work of survival in their volcanic settlements. The arrival of TahuTahu, Master of Fire: Leader of the Toa of OkotoTahu of Okoto was the Master of Fire summoned by the Protectors, the hot-tempered would-be leader of the Toa who opened the Labyrinth of Control and held the line at the Black Volcano. nevertheless changed the conditions under which the Fire Villagers lived. The campaign that delivered the Golden Mask, the recovery of the wider OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. record, and the eventual defeat of KultaSkull GrinderThe title borne by Kulta after his alliance with Makuta, marking his role as the wielder of the Mask Stealer Staff, the mask-burner at the Mask Makers' forge, and the first foe to defeat the Toa in single combat on Okoto. at the Mask Makers' forge restored the elemental balance the early age had relied on, and the revival of EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness. returned the semi-leadership figure the population had lost at the cataclysm.

After the war#

After the defeat of KultaSkull GrinderThe title borne by Kulta after his alliance with Makuta, marking his role as the wielder of the Mask Stealer Staff, the mask-burner at the Mask Makers' forge, and the first foe to defeat the Toa in single combat on Okoto. and the revival of EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness., many Fire Villagers joined the wider OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. return to the Capital CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below., known by then as the Ancient CityThe Ancient CityThe former capital of Okoto, also known as the City of the Mask Makers, where Ekimu and Makuta forged the Masks of Power, where Ekimu was laid to rest after the Battle of the Mask Makers, and where the Toa of the second age awakened him to lead the campaign against Makuta.. The reoccupation of the long-abandoned capital was the largest single demographic shift of the post-war OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. population, and the Fire Villagers' contribution to it brought the volcanic country's people back into contact with the inter-regional life their ancestors had known before the cataclysm. The Ancient CityThe Ancient CityThe former capital of Okoto, also known as the City of the Mask Makers, where Ekimu and Makuta forged the Masks of Power, where Ekimu was laid to rest after the Battle of the Mask Makers, and where the Toa of the second age awakened him to lead the campaign against Makuta.'s reconstruction required clearance, repair, and reorganisation on a scale the regional villages had never needed to support, and the Fire Villagers supplied their share of the work alongside the populations of the other five regions.

The peace was not absolute. The surviving Skull WarriorsSkull WarriorsThe undead ice-armed footsoldiers raised from the giant skeletons buried beneath the City of the Mask Makers, deployed by Kulta the Skull Grinder as the numerical backbone of his assault on the abandoned capital of Okoto. and 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. attacked the recovered city. The wider conflict between the regional ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. and the spider faction continued in the regions themselves. The siege of the Capital CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below. by the Elemental BeastsElemental BeastsThe Lava, Storm, and Quake armies summoned by Umarak the Destroyer from Shadow Traps and the environment of Okoto, raised to distract the Toa while he gathered the fragments of Makuta's Mask of Ultimate Power. under Umarak the DestroyerUmarakUmarak hunted the Elemental Creatures of Okoto until the Mask of Control bound him to Makuta's will and remade him as the Destroyer. brought the final phase of MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s campaign against the island to its conclusion, and the Toa's eventual departure left the island in the hands of EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness. and the regional ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.. The Fire Villagers settled into a sustained period of peace, presumably continuing the work on the recovered city, and the regional villages in the Fire country resumed the rhythm the eruptions and the seasons set for them. The ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived., their mission complete, became storytellers, and the legend of the Toa passed into the inheritance of the generation of young Fire Villagers who had grown up after the threat had ended.