Kirikori Nui

Every decade or so, the skies over Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. darken with wings. Kirikori Nui are locust-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. that swarm the islands in waves countless enough to obscure the sun. They're herbivores despite their scythe-like jaws and powerful legs, meaning they're after crops and vegetation, not MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body.. The TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. understood this cycle well enough to keep watch for it. They knew the old stories, which describe skies darkened by wings and calls that could drown out all other sound.

The Swarmers Arrive#

Kirikori Nui are 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. that matter only in numbers. A single creature is unremarkable. Thousands or millions emerging from wherever they spend their dormant years present an entirely different problem. They strip vegetation bare. Crops suffer. Island ecosystems recalibrate. The creatures themselves are built for this ecological role: their jaws cut through stems and leaves with brutal efficiency, their powerful legs launch them across vast distances in bounds that cover ground faster than most 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. could manage.

What makes them unusual is their temperament. Despite scythe-like jaws and powerful legs apparently designed for predation, Kirikori Nui are remarkably cautious. A slight disturbance sends them bouncing away in incredible leaps. They avoid confrontation. This contradiction between fearsome appearance and actual shyness is part of what makes them invasive pests rather than active predators.

A Cycle Known and Watched#

The TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. understood Kirikori Nui as a natural phenomenon tied to time. Their emergence happens with enough regularity, roughly every ten years, that advance preparation is possible. The ancient legends, which the TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. preserved and passed down, frame these swarms as events of consequence: wings darkening the sky, calls loud enough to drown out all other sound. Whether that's historical record or mythological exaggeration remains ambiguous. The message is unmistakable. These creatures mattered enough to remember.

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