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Kikanalo

Bionicle's most underestimated Rahi: intelligent herd creatures whose stampedes terrified even Dark Hunters on Metru Nui.

By Lore Fortress Editorial
Kikanalo

The Kikanalo were massive rhino-like 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. from Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., and they're proof that some of Bionicle's scariest creatures looked that way by accident. These herd animals lived in Po-MetruPo-MetruMetru Nui's Stone District, home to carvers whose work defined the city and site of an ancient conflict that threatened to divide it.'s Sculpture FieldsSculpture FieldsThe Sculpture Fields were the open Po-Metru courtyards where Po-Matoran carvers worked statues too large for any building, hid one of the Great Disks, and gave Onewa his first confrontation with Ahkmou's betrayal., digging up ProtodermisProtodermisThe engineered substance building the Matoran Universe, protodermis exists in countless refined states from mundane metal to diamond-hard crystal to the destruction-or-transformation force of energized form. scraps in work that seemed mindless until you talked to one. Most beings dismissed them as brutes. The Dark HuntersThe Dark HuntersA mercenary organization founded on Odina by The Shadowed One and Ancient, contracted across the Matoran Universe for assassination and theft, and ultimately reduced to a battered remnant by the fall of the universe itself. learned otherwise when a stampede of Kikanalo became their worst nightmare. It turns out they were far more intelligent than they appeared.

Not Just Brutes#

Most beings on Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive. dismissed Kikanalo as mere beasts. They stampeded and dug through ProtodermisProtodermisThe engineered substance building the Matoran Universe, protodermis exists in countless refined states from mundane metal to diamond-hard crystal to the destruction-or-transformation force of energized form., which screamed 'brainless animal.' Toa NokamaNokamaNokama served as Toa Metru of Water, endured the Hordika mutation, and led Ga-Koro and later Ga-Metru as Turaga through three eras. discovered otherwise when she used her KanohiKanohiMasks that grant powers and sustain life, they're the most vital artifact in the Matoran Universe. Rau to communicate with a stampeding herd in Po-MetruPo-MetruMetru Nui's Stone District, home to carvers whose work defined the city and site of an ancient conflict that threatened to divide it.. Rather than mindless noise, she heard actual language. The Kikanalo were sapient, intelligent enough to hold conversations and grudges against the Dark Hunters.

Stampede and Roar#

A Kikanalo stampede was something even seasoned hunters feared. During 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.'s early encounters, Dark Hunters KrekkaKrekkaA brutish but ineffective Dark Hunter with no powers or masks, Krekka was outmatched from his first moments in Metru Nui. and NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. barely survived one. KrekkaKrekkaA brutish but ineffective Dark Hunter with no powers or masks, Krekka was outmatched from his first moments in Metru Nui. threw himself into a ditch while NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. leaped onto a tower. The physical force of a herd in motion was devastating, but the Kikanalo had another weapon: a sonic roar that could blast predators away. 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.'s Kikanalo ally proved this by destroying a unit of ZadakhZadakhThe Vahki model assigned to Po-Metru, the Zadakh were the strongest of the order-force lines and carried Staffs of Suggestion that left any Matoran they struck willing to follow orders from almost anyone. VahkiVahkiMetru Nui's mechanical law enforcement squads, designed to maintain rigid order but ultimately undermined by chaos beyond their programming. with a single roar, scattering them while the Toa escaped.

Allies to the Toa#

Kikanalo and 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. became unexpected allies, a partnership that proved crucial. The herd revealed that Dark Hunters had captured Toa LhikanLhikanToa of Fire, leader of the Toa Mangai, and the last Toa of Metru Nui, who surrendered his Toa Power to create the Toa Metru and died defending Vakama. and brought him to the Canyon of Unending Whispers. Without their information and combat support, the Toa's rescue mission would've failed. After Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.'s fall, the herd migrated to Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. alongside the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body.. Some Kikanalo later reached 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 the PirakaPirakaSix rogue Skakdi mercenaries who broke from the Dark Hunters to hunt the Mask of Life on Voya Nui. treated them as obstacles. HakannHakannThe Skakdi bully known for pure aggression, from Dark Hunter mercenary to Piraka thief driven by violence and power. killed several simply because they got in his way, a moment that revealed how little the PirakaPirakaSix rogue Skakdi mercenaries who broke from the Dark Hunters to hunt the Mask of Life on Voya Nui. valued anything beyond immediate self-interest.


Compiled from primary sources by Lore Fortress editorial. Reviewed by Joe Garratt, Editor-in-Chief.

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