Ice Villagers

The Ice 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 IceRegion of IceThe northern frozen region of Okoto, home of the Ice Tribe and the Protector Izotor, a country of glaciers, tundra, and flash-freezing blizzards, and the territory through which Kopaka hunted for the Golden Mask of Ice., the northern 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 glacial valleys and snow-covered mountains of the region under the authority of the Protector of IceProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived., IzotorIzotor, Protector of Ice of OkotoIzotor was the village chief and Protector of Ice in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Ice Blaster and the Ice Saw, descendant of Uganu, and guide who led Kopaka for weeks through the snowbound tundra to the Golden Mask of Ice., who inherited that office from a long line of ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. descended from the ancient UganuUganu, Ancient Protector of Ice of OkotoUganu was the Protector of Ice of Okoto at the time of the Battle of the Mask Makers, ally of Ekimu, gatherer of Melum's elemental crystal, and founder of the lineage that descended to Izotor.. They were the population KopakaKopaka, Master of Ice: The Chivalrous Toa of OkotoKopaka of Okoto was the Master of Ice summoned by the Protectors, the cold perfectionist who shielded the Protector of Ice from the Skull Spiders and disputed leadership of the team with Tahu at the Ancient City., the Toa of IceKopaka, Master of Ice: The Chivalrous Toa of OkotoKopaka of Okoto was the Master of Ice summoned by the Protectors, the cold perfectionist who shielded the Protector of Ice from the Skull Spiders and disputed leadership of the team with Tahu at the Ancient City., was summoned to defend, and they were the tribe that endured the longest stretch of 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. incursions in the silent country at the top of the island.

The region and its tribe#

The Ice Villagers were the population of one of the harshest 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 IceRegion of IceThe northern frozen region of Okoto, home of the Ice Tribe and the Protector Izotor, a country of glaciers, tundra, and flash-freezing blizzards, and the territory through which Kopaka hunted for the Golden Mask of Ice. occupied the northern section of the island and consisted of frozen tundra, glacial expanses, and snow-covered mountains, with bridges of ice spanning the deep crevices that broke the country across its lower elevations. Great storms swept the open ground with violence sufficient to flash-freeze any traveller without sufficient shelter within minutes. The tribe organised its settlements around the sheltered mountain valleys, in locations selected for protection from the wind 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 Ice Villagers were the population of the cold country and the tribe with the most demanding climate to manage. Their settlements were clustered, defensible, and equipped to outlast the storms that the open tundra produced. The terrain reduced the volume of cross-region travel, and most journeys between the Ice Villages were planned around known crossings of the ice bridges and the patterns of the snowstorms. A stranger to the region required a guide to cross any significant distance safely.

The tribe's appearance reflected the region. The Ice Villagers were chiefly pale in colour, kept to silver and white tones in the palette common to the northern 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 Ice 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 Ice 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.'s deliberate work, supplied the cold counterweight to the fire and stone regions and held its place 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 Ice 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. UganuUganu, Ancient Protector of Ice of OkotoUganu was the Protector of Ice of Okoto at the time of the Battle of the Mask Makers, ally of Ekimu, gatherer of Melum's elemental crystal, and founder of the lineage that descended to Izotor., the ancient Protector of Ice, 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 IceProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. continued to be passed down through Uganu's descendants until it reached IzotorIzotor, Protector of Ice of OkotoIzotor was the village chief and Protector of Ice in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Ice Blaster and the Ice Saw, descendant of Uganu, and guide who led Kopaka for weeks through the snowbound tundra to the Golden Mask of Ice. as the most recent holder of the title.

The Ice 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 cold country was, by its nature, already organised for defensive settlement, and the transition to the post-cataclysm regional order was less disruptive in the Region of IceRegion of IceThe northern frozen region of Okoto, home of the Ice Tribe and the Protector Izotor, a country of glaciers, tundra, and flash-freezing blizzards, and the territory through which Kopaka hunted for the Golden Mask of Ice. than in the regions that had relied more directly on the lost city's infrastructure. 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 IceRegion of IceThe northern frozen region of Okoto, home of the Ice Tribe and the Protector Izotor, a country of glaciers, tundra, and flash-freezing blizzards, and the territory through which Kopaka hunted for the Golden Mask of Ice. 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 Ice Villagers, settled in their mountain country under IzotorIzotor, Protector of Ice of OkotoIzotor was the village chief and Protector of Ice in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Ice Blaster and the Ice Saw, descendant of Uganu, and guide who led Kopaka for weeks through the snowbound tundra to the Golden Mask of Ice.'s defence, endured a sustained period in which the spiders moved through the snowfields and the ice bridges 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.

Izotor, as Protector of Ice, defended the regional villages with the Elemental Ice Blaster and Ice Saw that the office handed down with each generation, and held the tribe together through the worst of the incursions. 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 IceRegion of IceThe northern frozen region of Okoto, home of the Ice Tribe and the Protector Izotor, a country of glaciers, tundra, and flash-freezing blizzards, and the territory through which Kopaka hunted for the Golden Mask of Ice.'s terrain and climate made the work distinctively difficult. The villagers organised their lives around the defence of the settled valleys, the maintenance of the routes between the Villages of IceRegion of IceThe northern frozen region of Okoto, home of the Ice Tribe and the Protector Izotor, a country of glaciers, tundra, and flash-freezing blizzards, and the territory through which Kopaka hunted for the Golden Mask of Ice., 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 Kopaka#

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.. KopakaKopaka, Master of Ice: The Chivalrous Toa of OkotoKopaka of Okoto was the Master of Ice summoned by the Protectors, the cold perfectionist who shielded the Protector of Ice from the Skull Spiders and disputed leadership of the team with Tahu at the Ancient City., the Toa of IceToa of IceThe warrior role for guardians of the Ice element, typically drawn from Ko-Matoran, with the option to ascend to Turaga status., crashed in an unknown location of the Region of IceRegion of IceThe northern frozen region of Okoto, home of the Ice Tribe and the Protector Izotor, a country of glaciers, tundra, and flash-freezing blizzards, and the territory through which Kopaka hunted for the Golden Mask of Ice. and was greeted by IzotorIzotor, Protector of Ice of OkotoIzotor was the village chief and Protector of Ice in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Ice Blaster and the Ice Saw, descendant of Uganu, and guide who led Kopaka for weeks through the snowbound tundra to the Golden Mask of Ice.. The Protector and the Toa set off together to find the chamber that held the Golden Mask of Ice, the cold counterpart to the Golden Masks the other Toa were also seeking. The journey took weeks and crossed the worst of the regional terrain, with 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. following them throughout.

The Ice 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 settlements. The arrival of KopakaKopaka, Master of Ice: The Chivalrous Toa of OkotoKopaka of Okoto was the Master of Ice summoned by the Protectors, the cold perfectionist who shielded the Protector of Ice from the Skull Spiders and disputed leadership of the team with Tahu at the Ancient City. nevertheless changed the conditions under which the Ice 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 Ice 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 AncientAncientAncient is a dark blue and gold operative who served as both an agent of the Order of Mata Nui and a member of the Dark Hunters, armed with Kanoka and a Rhotuka. City. 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 Ice Villagers' contribution to it brought the cold 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 Ice 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 BeastsThree variants of humanoid beast, each grown from a single mutated Shadow Trap by Umarak the Destroyer to occupy the Toa of Okoto. 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 Ice Villagers settled into a sustained period of peace, presumably continuing the work on the recovered city, and the regional villages in the Ice country resumed the rhythm the storms 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 Ice Villagers who had grown up after the threat had ended.