The Karzahni Plant

The KarzahniKarzahniA realm of the Matoran universe built by the Great Beings as a place to repair Matoran, turned into a prison by its incompetent ruler. plant was a sentient creation 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., made with energized protodermis as a prototype for the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear. and named after one of the most feared beings in Matoran myth, 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.. It was meant to cut the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. off from the coast, but it grew too intelligent and too willful for Teridax to use. Abandoned by its maker, it died twice and played a real part in the story of the Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety. before Teridax killed it for good. (BIONICLE Adventures 6: Maze of Shadows; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap)

Origin and abandonment#

Teridax created the Karzahni a short time before his attempt to take over Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.. He named it after Karzahni because he wanted his creation known by the name of one of the most feared and hated beings in Matoran mythology. Its job was to cut the Matoran off from the coast of the city, so they could not escape to other lands once he took power. (BIONICLE Adventures 6: Maze of Shadows; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

The design failed on its maker's own terms. The plant grew too intelligent for Teridax's purposes: it wanted more than to be part of his plan, it had ambitions to rule, and it had too few weaknesses for him to exploit. He abandoned it and made the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear. instead, a plant that was more obedient, less powerful and less ambitious. As with his other experiments, he had given the Karzahni a limited lifespan, and the plant hated him for it and looked for any chance to kill him. (BIONICLE Adventures 6: Maze of Shadows)

The captive operative and the false Toa#

At some point, a member of the Order of Mata NuiThe Order of Mata NuiThe covert organization founded by Helryx to serve the Great Spirit directly, operating in concealment from a fortress on Daxia and waging the open war against the Brotherhood of Makuta that decided the fate of the universe. came too close to the Karzahni's tunnels. The plant trapped him and tortured him, and once he had told it everything he knew, it killed him. (BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap)

Among the things it learned was a secret about the Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety.. Mata Nui had worked against Teridax so that the Makuta would expect the wrong Matoran to become Toa, while VakamaVakamaA Ta-Metru maskmaker transformed into the Toa Metru of Fire, leader of his team through the Visorak war, and Turaga of Ta-Koro for a thousand years., NokamaNokamaNokama served as Toa Metru of Water, endured the Hordika mutation, and led Ga-Koro and later Ga-Metru as Turaga through three eras., OnewaOnewaOnewa served as Toa Metru of Stone, led Po-Koro through the Dark Time, and constructed the Metru Nui statue honoring the fallen Toa Mahri Matoro., WhenuaWhenuaToa Metru of Earth and later Turaga of Onu-Koro, formerly an Onu-Metru archivist whose career in the Archives shaped his role across the rescue of Metru Nui and the long residency on Mata Nui., NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. and MatauMatauA former Le-Metru test driver who became a Toa Metru, Matau wielded air, illusion, and shape-shifting before sacrificing his Toa power to wake the sleeping Matoran. took Lhikan's power instead. The plant kept the secret until long after the Toa Metru's time in the city. (BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap)

The bargain with the Toa MetruMetruIn the Matoran language a metru was a single district of Metru Nui; the city was divided into six such districts, one for each element, and the term covered both the place and the elemental community that lived in it.#

The Karzahni's chance came when the Toa MetruToa Metru and Toa HordikaSix Matoran elevated by Lhikan to save their city, mutated by Visorak venom, and restored in time to deliver the population to safety. went through the labyrinth beneath Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. on their way back to Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. to rescue the remaining Matoran. The plant watched them fight the Rahi NuiRahi NuiA monstrous mutant Rahi engineered by Teridax to hunt the Toa across two separate conflicts., which wounded NokamaNokamaNokama served as Toa Metru of Water, endured the Hordika mutation, and led Ga-Koro and later Ga-Metru as Turaga through three eras. with its poison. Later it caught the Toa in a tunnel, killing the serpent that had been following them, and offered a deal: they would bring it energized protodermis from Mangaia, and it would cure Nokama. (BIONICLE Adventures 6: Maze of Shadows)

The plant claimed the substance would make it powerful enough to defeat Teridax. It gave Nokama a temporary cure and let the Toa go. When they came back with a vial, Nuju worked out the plant's real motive: it didn't want power, it wanted to escape the expiry date Teridax had built into it. The Karzahni admitted as much and gave Nokama a permanent cure in exchange for the vial. (BIONICLE Adventures 6: Maze of Shadows)

The transformation the plant hoped for didn't happen. Energized protodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards. transforms only those destined to change and destroys the rest, and the Karzahni wasn't destined to change. As it died, it told the Toa Metru that Metru Nui had changed and that they must kill Teridax. (BIONICLE Adventures 6: Maze of Shadows)

Regeneration and the truth about the Toa MetruMetruIn the Matoran language a metru was a single district of Metru Nui; the city was divided into six such districts, one for each element, and the term covered both the place and the elemental community that lived in it.#

The death didn't last. When the Toa built the Lhikan IILhikan IIA desperate ship built from Vahki scraps and strange plant matter to rescue Matoran from Metru Nui before it fell., they made it float with logs sliced from the Karzahni's main root. A single shoot grew from the logs, and the protodermis of the Silver Sea revived it. (BIONICLE Adventures 7: Web of the Visorak)

When the Lhikan II crashed on the coast of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., the shoot took root and grew into a new Karzahni, with the old plant's personality and memories. It grudgingly helped TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. by playing the Morbuzakh in an illusion he had trapped VakamaVakamaA Ta-Metru maskmaker transformed into the Toa Metru of Fire, leader of his team through the Visorak war, and Turaga of Ta-Koro for a thousand years. in, attacking him to make the illusion more convincing. A BoggarakBoggarakA Visorak subspecies specializing in deception and illusion, Boggarak served as Roodaka's personal guard during the Metru Nui invasion. disguised as Nokama "rescued" Vakama by grabbing the plant's vine, wounding it and driving it off. (BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap)

While nursing that wound, the Karzahni thought about turning against Teridax. Its chance came when the Shadowed OneThe Shadowed OneThe Shadowed One is the leader of the Dark Hunters, a black, yellow, and silver figure based on Spherus Magna. Armed with a staff and a Rhotuka, the Shadowed One directs the organization. destroyed Vakama's launcher and Vakama fell. The plant caught him and saved him. (BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap)

Then it told him the truth, hoping to help him defeat Teridax. It explained its part in the illusion, and it revealed what it had learned from the dead Order member: Mata Nui had worked against Teridax so that Vakama and the rest of his team would be the ones to become Toa. Teridax then encased the plant's main root in a shell of shadow, and the Karzahni died for good. (BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap)

Capabilities and significance#

The Karzahni was built much like the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear., except that it was made mostly of a kind of moss rather than vines. It was physically far stronger than its successor, and because it didn't feed on fire, cold and ice didn't weaken it: it could keep moving even when frozen. It also knew how to cure the Rahi Nui's poison. It was fully sentient, spoke, bargained and planned. (BIONICLE Adventures 6: Maze of Shadows)

Its importance to the wider story lies in what it told VakamaVakamaA Ta-Metru maskmaker transformed into the Toa Metru of Fire, leader of his team through the Visorak war, and Turaga of Ta-Koro for a thousand years.. It confirmed that 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. had acted to make sure the right Matoran became the Toa Metru, against Teridax's plans. A failed prototype, abandoned by its maker, ended up handing the Toa of Fire a key piece of his own history. (BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap)