Kardas

Kardas was a winged RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts. dragon created by the Mask of LifeThe 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. during the Toa InikaToa Inika and Toa MahriSix ordinary Matoran transformed by lightning from the Red Star into heroes who ultimately revived the Great Spirit itself.'s fight in the Chamber of LifeChamber of LifeThe Chamber of Life was the vault beneath the Lake of Lava of Mount Valmai on Voya Nui where the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, lay hidden. beneath Voya NuiVoya NuiAn island born from catastrophe and hiding the universe's most powerful artifact, Voya Nui was everything Bionicle 2006 promised: danger, mystery, and a race against time.. Before that he had been FenrakkFenrakkA Fenrakk Spawn mutated by the Mask of Life's curse and fused to Vezon as a guardian, then reborn as Kardas after Vezon rode it into the lava of the Chamber of Life., a giant spider that the mask had fused to VezonVezonHe started as a weapon misfire and a throwaway joke, and the canon spent four years quietly turning him into its most useful expendable asset. as one of its guardians. When Vezon drove his mount into a river of lava, the Ignika remade the spider as a dragon, with Vezon still fused to its back. (BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Creation#

When VezonVezonHe started as a weapon misfire and a throwaway joke, and the canon spent four years quietly turning him into its most useful expendable asset. tried to steal the 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., the mask cursed him. A Fenrakk spawn was mutated into the giant FenrakkFenrakkA Fenrakk Spawn mutated by the Mask of Life's curse and fused to Vezon as a guardian, then reborn as Kardas after Vezon rode it into the lava of the Chamber of Life. and fought him, and the mask then fused the two together as its new guardians. Fenrakk gained Vezon's power to absorb kinetic energy, and the pair waited in the Chamber of LifeChamber of LifeThe Chamber of Life was the vault beneath the Lake of Lava of Mount Valmai on Voya Nui where the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, lay hidden. for anyone who came for the mask. (BIONICLE Ignition 3: Showdown; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

The Toa InikaToa Inika and Toa MahriSix ordinary Matoran transformed by lightning from the Red Star into heroes who ultimately revived the Great Spirit itself. found that blows against the pair only made them stronger. Vezon even showed off by having Fenrakk slammed repeatedly with a rock. The Toa slowly gained the edge, and JallerJallerJaller served as Captain of the Ta-Koro Guard, led the Toa Inika to Voya Nui, and commanded the Toa Mahri through the recovery of the Mask of Life. tried to force Vezon and his mount back towards the lava so they would surrender. To the Toa's surprise, Vezon drove his steed into the lava on purpose. While Vezon held the Ignika, Fenrakk would come back stronger each time he was beaten, and the mask now transformed him into Kardas. (BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno)

The change happened only once. A spider went into the lava, and a dragon came out with Vezon still on its back. Both forms were unharmed by lava. (BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno; BIONICLE Ignition 5: In Final Battle)

Powers#

Kardas's abilities were quite different from Fenrakk's. The dragon constantly generated concussive force inside its body and released it as explosive blasts. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno)

That power was also a danger to the dragon itself. If Kardas didn't release the energy, it would force its way out as an explosion that would kill him, so he had to keep firing. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

What Kardas didn't have was the kinetic absorption that had made Fenrakk so hard to hurt. The mask had traded one power for another, and the new guardian could hit back hard. The fight soon turned in Vezon and Kardas's favour, and the Toa were close to losing. (BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno; BIONICLE Ignition 5: In Final Battle)

Defeat at the Chamber of Life#

Just before the final blow, Jaller had KonguKonguKongu captained Le-Koro's Gukko Force before lightning from the red star turned him into a Toa of Air, who later served among the Toa Mahri. use his Mask of Telepathy to read the Ignika's true feelings, and it turned out the mask didn't want Vezon as its guardian any longer. Furious, Vezon aimed his Spear of Fusion at MatoroMatoroA quiet Ko-Matoran translator who became a Toa Inika and then a Toa Mahri, Matoro gave his life with the Mask of Life to restore Mata Nui.. (BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno; BIONICLE Ignition 5: In Final Battle)

Before he could fire, Jaller launched a special zamor sphere he had received from AxonnAxonnAxonn served as an arbitrator under the Hand of Artakha and later as an Order of Mata Nui agent, guarding the Kanohi Ignika on Voya Nui for thousands of years.. It froze Kardas and his rider in a stasis field, and Matoro took the Mask of Life from the back of Vezon's head, separating Vezon from the dragon. (BIONICLE Ignition 5: In Final Battle)

The dragon wasn't finished. When the Piraka confronted the Toa, the Ignika made Kardas fire one last blast at Matoro, knocking the mask out of his grip. It flew up to the island's surface and plunged into the sea, leading the Toa where it wanted them to go. (BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno)

VezonVezonHe started as a weapon misfire and a throwaway joke, and the canon spent four years quietly turning him into its most useful expendable asset. as rider#

The bond between Vezon and Kardas was the mask's doing, not Vezon's choice. He had come to the Chamber of LifeChamber of LifeThe Chamber of Life was the vault beneath the Lake of Lava of Mount Valmai on Voya Nui where the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, lay hidden. to claim the 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. for himself and ended up fused first to a spider and then to a dragon, though in typical Vezon fashion he seemed to enjoy having a monster to ride. (BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno; BIONICLE Ignition 3: Showdown)

Once Matoro pulled the mask away, the fusion ended and the two went their separate ways. Vezon later turned up on BrutakaBrutakaBrutaka guarded the Kanohi Ignika on Voya Nui, betrayed the Order during the Piraka incursion, was mutated in the Pit, and later led the Order's strike team to free Miserix.'s team in Federation of FearFederation of FearAn Order of Mata Nui strike team of imprisoned villains, led by Brutaka, rescued Makuta Miserix from the volcanic prison of Artidax so the Order could turn him against the Brotherhood.. Kardas left the chamber on his own. (BIONICLE Ignition 5: In Final Battle; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; Federation of Fear)

Later movements#

Kardas made his way to the surface of Voya NuiVoya NuiAn island born from catastrophe and hiding the universe's most powerful artifact, Voya Nui was everything Bionicle 2006 promised: danger, mystery, and a race against time., where he was challenged by another giant Rahi, the TahtorakTahtorakMassive, articulate Rahi that turned against their Skakdi riders and nearly wiped out an entire civilization., which had been let loose by BrutakaBrutakaBrutaka guarded the Kanohi Ignika on Voya Nui, betrayed the Order during the Piraka incursion, was mutated in the Pit, and later led the Order's strike team to free Miserix.'s Kanohi OlmakThe Kanohi OlmakThe Kanohi Olmak was the Great Mask of Dimensional Gates, a portal-opening Kanohi forged by Artakha. Only two ever existed in the Matoran Universe, and both passed through the hands of figures who reshaped the late storyline.. The Tahtorak won, and Kardas fled to the island of Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years.. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE: Makuta's Guide to the Universe)

On Mata Nui, Kardas fought the BohrokBohrokHive-minded mechanical creatures designed to reshape worlds, the Bohrok represent a threat the Toa Mata never expected. swarms and was badly wounded. Gali NuvaGali, Toa of WaterThe Toa Nuva of Water and conscience of the Toa Mata, whose attunement to her element anchored the team across every campaign from Mata Nui to Karda Nui., there on a mission to help awaken Mata Nui, found the dragon unconscious and used her power to heal it. (Toa Nuva Blog)

Gali's choice to heal rather than kill a creature that had nearly destroyed another Toa team says a lot about her. Kardas later reached Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., where he was subdued and kept in the ArchivesThe Archives of Metru NuiThe Archives of Onu-Metru were the central repository of Matoran knowledge and Rahi specimens, maintained by the Archivist Corps beneath the city's surface.. The idea that the Toa Mahri were the ones who captured him comes from a later online answer by Greg Farshtey rather than the stories. (Toa Nuva Blog; BIONICLE: Makuta's Guide to the Universe)

By the time of Destiny War, Metru Nui was quiet, with the Kardas Dragon subdued and most of the other loose Rahi back in the Archives. A dragon the Mask of Life had built ended up held in the same vaults as the city's other dangerous beasts. (Destiny War)

Significance#

Kardas showed the Mask of LifeThe 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. reshaping a creature completely when a fight went against its guardians. The 300-foot Venom Eel300-foot Venom EelA Venom Eel mutated to colossal size by the defensive reaction of the Ignika, active in the waters around Mahri Nui during the search for the Mask of Life., enlarged by the mask to protect it, kept its original shape. Kardas was a different animal altogether from the spider he had been. (BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno; BIONICLE Legends 6: City of the Lost)

The Ignika later went further still: in Karda Nui it built a body for itself out of plant matter and called itself Toa Ignika. The dragon in the Chamber of Life was an early sign of that power, and of a mask that made its own choices about what it needed. (BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets; BIONICLE Legends 5: Inferno)