The Great Volcano

The Great Volcano stood at the centre of 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 the north of Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna., a region that had once been part of the unbroken planet of Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.. It looked like an active fire mountain, but it was really a power plant built and disguised by the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed., with one of their fortresses inside it. The country around it was ruled by the Element Lord of FireElement Lord of FireFormer Glatorian of the Fire Tribe, remade by the Great Beings into a being one with flame, ruler of the Fire Tribe through the Core War, and the elemental warlord whose feud with the Element Lord of Ice broke open again in the White Quartz Mountains., who never discovered what the volcano truly was. (Journey's End; Riddle of the Great Beings)

The Lord of Fire's seat#

After the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. created the Element LordsElement LordsSeven elemental warriors transformed by the Great Beings who refused to end their war even after the world broke., the unstable volcanic country around the Great Volcano came under the rule of the Element Lord of FireElement Lord of FireFormer Glatorian of the Fire Tribe, remade by the Great Beings into a being one with flame, ruler of the Fire Tribe through the Core War, and the elemental warlord whose feud with the Element Lord of Ice broke open again in the White Quartz Mountains.. He never learned that the volcano was a disguised power plant. When he left to fight 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., the Great Beings used his absence to build 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. around it. (Journey's End; Riddle of the Great Beings)

The Element Lords' war was fought across the planet until the ShatteringThe 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. broke Spherus Magna apart, leaving the volcano and the Maze on the desert fragment of Bara Magna. (All Our Sins Remembered; Journey's End)

The Great Beings' fortress and the Power Source#

The Great Volcano was more than a disguise. The Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. used it as a store for their artefacts and records, and inside it lay one of their fortresses, where they made several of their creations. Among the things kept there was the Power SourcePower SourceThe energized artifact that powered Mata Nui's prototype robot during the final arc of BIONICLE. for the giant robot they had built before 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., a prototype that had failed and exploded, scattering its parts across the land. (Journey's End; Mata Nui Saga; BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn novelisation)

The outside of the volcano was hidden beneath a tower that could melt away to reveal the mountain. Pipes pumped false lava to keep up the illusion, and under a thin layer of volcanic rock the volcano was made of metal. A screen inside recorded details of the prototype robot, Mata Nui's mission and the Core War. (Journey's End)

A hundred thousand years later, the Agori 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. entered the volcano's outer tower and was caught in chains above the lava. When 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. and Click reached the volcano, a voice questioned them; Mata Nui answered with the Three Virtues and was let in. He freed Tarduk and escaped as the tower melted, then saw through the illusion, cut away the rock and found a hatch. Inside he found the screen describing his mission and remembered it. Tarduk guessed that a power source for the second robot might be hidden there too, and together they found the Power Source for the prototype and carried it away. (Journey's End; Riddle of the Great Beings)

With it, 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. brought the long-dead prototype robot back to life and used it to face TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. in the Battle of Bara Magna. (Journey's End)

After the Reformation#

After the Battle of Bara MagnaThe Battle of Bara MagnaTeridax brought the Great Spirit Robot to Bara Magna, and Mata Nui rose to meet him in the ancient Prototype Robot, in the battle that ended the Matoran Universe and reformed Spherus Magna. and the death of Makuta TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna., the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. left the Great Spirit RobotThe Great Spirit Robot, explainedBionicle's whole universe lives inside a 40-million-foot robot built by the Great Beings. Here is what it is, why it was built, and how it ended. for the surface of the reunified Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., where they began new lives alongside the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and lived by the Glatorian arena system. and GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them.. The published story does not say who, if anyone, made a home at the Great Volcano. (Journey's End)

A volcano with two histories#

The Great Volcano stood in two chapters of the Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. story. To the Element Lord of Fire it was simply a fiery mountain in his territory. To the Great Beings it was a power plant and a vault, and the artefact it guarded decided the final battle. (Journey's End)