Iron Canyon

The Iron Canyon was a canyon on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna., known both as a Core War battlefield from the days before 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. and as the place where KarzahniKarzahniBionicle used one cursed name three times, for a being, a realm and a plant, and every one of them earns it. This article untangles all three.'s shattered body was found on the eventual surface of the reformed Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.. The canyon's history spanned both ages of the planet, from the war that broke the original world to the events that followed its restoration. It formed the south-eastern part of the Wastelands, with the fire tribe village of VulcanusVulcanusThe Fire Tribe's settlement on Bara Magna, caught between resources and threats. to its west. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; The Powers That Be)

Geography on Bara Magna#

The Iron Canyon was a canyon located in the desert expanse of Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna., the largest fragment of the original Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. and the world that 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. had come to inhabit after 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.. It lay in the barren Wastelands, with Creep Canyon to the north-east, the Sea of Liquid Sand to the west, and VulcanusVulcanusThe Fire Tribe's settlement on Bara Magna, caught between resources and threats. beyond. Its passes offered a rough back route toward the fire tribe's village. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

The terrain was extremely rough and narrow. The Agori Raanu described its stone falls, narrow twists and paths so steep even a rock steed would not try them, and said anyone taking that route would have to be insane. The same features that had made it a deadly battlefield in the Core War continued to define it long after. (BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

The Iron Canyon was distinct from the other named canyons of Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.. Creep Canyon lay to its north-east and Sandray Canyon elsewhere in the desert. The Iron Canyon was a separate place with its own history. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

Battle of the Core War#

The Iron Canyon was one of the recorded battlefields of the Core War, the conflict fought across the original Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. over the discovery of Energized ProtodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards. and the question of which faction would control it. The war drew in the planet's tribes under their Element LordsElement 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., and raged 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 apart the world that hosted it. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna., the GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. who would later become the Prime GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. of VulcanusVulcanusThe Fire Tribe's settlement on Bara Magna, caught between resources and threats. for the Fire TribeFire TribeThe master smiths of Bara Magna who forged tools for all tribes before the Shattering scattered them into conflict., was among those who fought in the battle at the Iron Canyon. The narrow passes forced armies to hide and march single file, and many ambushes were sprung on them there. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

The outcome of the Iron Canyon battle is not recorded. 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. as a whole ended without a victor when 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. tore Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. apart, and the Iron Canyon, like the rest of the planet's surface, was left to weather the geological aftermath as part of the Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. fragment. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna)

Bara Magna Era and the Battle of Bara Magna#

After 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. and the reorganisation of AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and lived by the Glatorian arena system. society around the surviving villages, the Iron Canyon retained its place in the geography of the desert. It appeared in the catalogue of Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. locations recorded by the inhabitants, who had reconstructed a working understanding of the terrain across the generations since the planet had broken. The canyon held no settlement. After the Shattering the fire tribe settled in VulcanusVulcanusThe Fire Tribe's settlement on Bara Magna, caught between resources and threats., to the west. (BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna; BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

The canyon played a part in the defence of VulcanusVulcanusThe Fire Tribe's settlement on Bara Magna, caught between resources and threats. in the run-up to 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.. A few weeks after the Battle of Atero, Bone Hunters led by Fero rode through the canyon to raid the village, but the fire tribe Agori and a group of Glatorian sprang traps there and the raiders fell back. Once the defenders believed they had given up, Fero's band rode off and attacked from the south instead. (BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

The canyon's place in this era reflected its general character. It was a piece of terrain rather than a settlement, and its appearances in the record came in connection with the events that crossed it rather than from any sustained habitation. The pattern continued into the post-Reformation period. (BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus)

Karzahni's Death and the Air SwordAir SwordLesovikk's air-focusing blade, discovered abandoned at Iron Canyon after his apparent confrontation with Karzahni.#

The most consequential event recorded at the Iron Canyon took place after the reformation of Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., when the planet's fragments were reunited and the population of the former Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. emerged onto the surface. KarzahniKarzahniBionicle used one cursed name three times, for a being, a realm and a plant, and every one of them earns it. This article untangles all three., the tyrant of the realm that bore his name, travelled to the canyon and was murdered there. (The Powers That Be)

The body was discovered by KopakaKopakaKopaka was the Toa Nuva of Ice, the loner of the Toa Mata, and one of the six warriors created on Artakha to protect the Great Spirit Mata Nui. and PohatuPohatuPohatu was the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva of Stone, guardian of Po-Wahi, whose speed and steady humour anchored the team through every era of the Matoran Universe., who had been searching for LesovikkLesovikkA Toa of Air and former commander whose team was destroyed, leaving him fractured and searching for purpose.. (The Powers That Be)

LesovikkLesovikkA Toa of Air and former commander whose team was destroyed, leaving him fractured and searching for purpose.'s Air SwordAir SwordLesovikk's air-focusing blade, discovered abandoned at Iron Canyon after his apparent confrontation with Karzahni. was found nearby, which pointed at the ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. of Air. Before they could leave, a cyclone struck, and Kopaka blocked the winds with a wall of ice. The two Toa then left with the body in tow. (The Powers That Be)

VelikaVelikaVelika is a Great Being who disguised himself as a Po-Matoran on Mata Nui, wearing a powerless Komau and bearing an affinity for Stone. Colored in golden brown, grey, and orange, he worked as an inventor and carried Power Carvers as his tools. He was last known to be located on Bota Magna.'s Hidden Hand#

The case constructed at the canyon was not the truth. The killing of KarzahniKarzahniBionicle used one cursed name three times, for a being, a realm and a plant, and every one of them earns it. This article untangles all three. at the Iron Canyon was carried out by VelikaVelikaVelika is a Great Being who disguised himself as a Po-Matoran on Mata Nui, wearing a powerless Komau and bearing an affinity for Stone. Colored in golden brown, grey, and orange, he worked as an inventor and carried Power Carvers as his tools. He was last known to be located on Bota Magna., who had left the Matoran UniverseMatoran UniverseA civilization of biomechanical beings living inside a colossal robot, destroyed when Teridax seized control. with everyone else after the death of MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna.. He looked like a Po-MatoranPo-MatoranThe Stone-element Matoran of Po-Metru and Po-Koro, carvers and quarry workers, the most athletic of the Matoran types and the population behind the Kohlii and Akilini circuits., but Greg Farshtey later said he was a Great BeingThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. in disguise. VelikaVelikaVelika is a Great Being who disguised himself as a Po-Matoran on Mata Nui, wearing a powerless Komau and bearing an affinity for Stone. Colored in golden brown, grey, and orange, he worked as an inventor and carried Power Carvers as his tools. He was last known to be located on Bota Magna. had taken LesovikkLesovikkA Toa of Air and former commander whose team was destroyed, leaving him fractured and searching for purpose.'s Air SwordAir SwordLesovikk's air-focusing blade, discovered abandoned at Iron Canyon after his apparent confrontation with Karzahni. and used it to commit the murder. (The Powers That Be)

VelikaVelikaVelika is a Great Being who disguised himself as a Po-Matoran on Mata Nui, wearing a powerless Komau and bearing an affinity for Stone. Colored in golden brown, grey, and orange, he worked as an inventor and carried Power Carvers as his tools. He was last known to be located on Bota Magna.'s plan extended well beyond the Iron Canyon. The killing of KarzahniKarzahniBionicle used one cursed name three times, for a being, a realm and a plant, and every one of them earns it. This article untangles all three. was one step in a plan to remove powerful beings from the old universe who might stand in his way, and he went on to murder Tren KromTren KromThe first purely organic creation of the Great Beings, exiled to a stone island after surrendering the core of the Matoran Universe to Mata Nui. in Bota MagnaBota MagnaA verdant jungle moon separated from Spherus Magna for 100,000 years, then restored by Mata Nui himself at the climax of the Core War.. The Iron Canyon was one of two named sites of his killings in the story. (The Powers That Be)

The deception relied on the very features that made the canyon recognisable. The body in the canyon and the blade beside it told a story that two ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. acting in good faith could easily believe. Because the serial was never finished, the full consequences for post-Reformation Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. were never told. (The Powers That Be)