The Mountain in Balance

The MountainThe MountainXia's sentient peak that grew by consuming its inhabitants before becoming too dangerous to exist. in Balance was an unstable stone sculpture that stood in the 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. of 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., the stone district 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 piece was a deliberate exercise in carved equilibrium, its full mass resting on a narrow central support, and its summit was the resting place of the Po-Metru Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi.. The sculpture entered the record 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. era because it was the structure that nearly killed 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. during the Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi. hunt and the structure that confirmed the ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. of Stone's suspicion of AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who collaborated with Makuta Teridax and later imposed false Turaga rule during Teridax's reign. as 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. whose information had to be acted on but never trusted.

The sculpture and its design#

The MountainThe MountainXia's sentient peak that grew by consuming its inhabitants before becoming too dangerous to exist. in Balance was one of the largest individual works in the Po-Metru 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., the open carving grounds where 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. cut the statues too large for any roof to span. The piece took its name from the carved equilibrium that defined it. The full mass of the sculpture rested on a narrow central support, and the upper sections were composed so that the weight on either side balanced precisely across the column. The composition gave the impression that the whole structure stood at the moment before falling, and the impression was not far from the truth. The MountainThe MountainXia's sentient peak that grew by consuming its inhabitants before becoming too dangerous to exist. in Balance was structurally sound only because the original carver had calculated the load with extreme care, and the piece was understood across 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. as a showcase of the district's skill rather than as a durable monument.

The sculpture's summit was the part that mattered to the Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi. record. The Po-Metru Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi., the Great KanokaKanoka DisksMetru Nui's most versatile artifact: flying disks equally at home in sport, combat, and crafting. of the stone district, was stationed high on top of the structure. The placement was not casually done. Each of the six Great Disks had been hidden in a location appropriate to its 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., and the 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. disk was lodged on the most precarious work in the carving grounds. Only a MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. who already knew where the disk was could have pointed a ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. to it; nothing about the Mountain in Balance from below suggested that a KanokaKanoka DisksMetru Nui's most versatile artifact: flying disks equally at home in sport, combat, and crafting. sat on its crown.

Ahkmou's information#

AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who collaborated with Makuta Teridax and later imposed false Turaga rule during Teridax's reign., the Po-MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. carver who had been chosen as the 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. MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. of Time, knew the disk's location and was the one who told 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. where it lay. He named the Mountain in Balance specifically and described the disk as resting on its top. The disclosure was technically cooperation. AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who collaborated with Makuta Teridax and later imposed false Turaga rule during Teridax's reign. had agreed to accompany 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., 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., and NuhriiNuhriiNuhrii was a Ta-Matoran mask-maker of Metru Nui, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, who later served in the Ta-Koro Guard on Mata Nui. in finding the Ta-Metru Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi. in the Fire Pits and the Po-Metru Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi. in the 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., and he did supply the address that made the 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. retrieval possible at all.

He did not, however, take part in the retrieval itself. AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who collaborated with Makuta Teridax and later imposed false Turaga rule during Teridax's reign. stood off while 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. climbed the sculpture, and the ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. of Stone went up alone. The pattern fit the 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.'s wider conduct during the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear. crisis. AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who collaborated with Makuta Teridax and later imposed false Turaga rule during Teridax's reign. was, at that point, in private contact with 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. NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. and KrekkaKrekkaA brutish but ineffective Dark Hunter with no powers or masks, Krekka was outmatched from his first moments in Metru Nui., and his usefulness to them depended on 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. failing rather than succeeding. The MountainThe MountainXia's sentient peak that grew by consuming its inhabitants before becoming too dangerous to exist. in Balance was an obvious hazard. Sending 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. up it without warning was, in effect, the 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.'s contribution to the Dark Hunter contract.

The collapse and 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.'s survival#

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. climbed the Mountain in Balance and retrieved the Po-Metru Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi. from the top. The act of removing the disk shifted the load above the central support, and the entire sculpture collapsed on him. The fall accounted for the full mass of the carved upper sections, and 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. was buried under the debris.

He survived because the collapse left a hollow. A pocket of clear space, formed by the way the upper blocks settled around his position, fell directly over him and held the loose stone back. The pocket was large enough for him to occupy and stable enough not to give. 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. was extracted alive, and the Po-Metru Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi. was recovered with him. The retrieval counted as one of the more dangerous moments in the Great Disk hunt and was recorded in BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by FireThe Quest for the Great Disks and the Burning of the King RootThe Toa Metru's hunt for the six Great Kanoka Disks across the districts of Metru Nui and their assault on the Morbuzakh's central core in the Great Furnace of Ta-Metru. as the principal 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. episode of the campaign. The sculpture was destroyed in the process. The 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. workshops never reproduced the composition, partly because the structural calculation had depended on the original carver's hand and partly because the Mountain in Balance had served its purpose as a hiding place and no longer had one as a monument.

Significance in the Great Disk hunt#

The MountainThe MountainXia's sentient peak that grew by consuming its inhabitants before becoming too dangerous to exist. in Balance was the 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. installment of the Great Disk campaign and one of the two retrievals that 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. personally led. The Ta-Metru Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi. had been taken from the Fire Pits with 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. and NuhriiNuhriiNuhrii was a Ta-Matoran mask-maker of Metru Nui, one of the six finders of a Great Disk, who later served in the Ta-Koro Guard on Mata Nui.; the Po-Metru Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi. was the second of the pair, and it was the one that nearly killed him. The successful recovery completed the 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. contribution to the set of six KanokaKanoka DisksMetru Nui's most versatile artifact: flying disks equally at home in sport, combat, and crafting. that 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. needed to destroy the King Root of the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear. in the Great Furnace in Ta-MetruTa-MetruThe fire district where Ta-Matoran perfected their craft and powered Metru Nui's industry for thousands of years.. Without the Mountain in Balance disk, the ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. would not have had the full kit required for the assault.

The episode was also the first hard confirmation of AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who collaborated with Makuta Teridax and later imposed false Turaga rule during Teridax's reign.'s character. 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. had been suspicious of the Po-MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. from the start of the Great Disk hunt, and the willingness to send a ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. up an unstable sculpture without comment was not the conduct of a MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. who wanted his rescuers to live. The retrieval at the Mountain in Balance, together with the chase across the 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. that followed the NidhikiNidhikiOnce a guardian of Metru Nui, Nidhiki traded his Toa honor for Dark Hunter gold and paid the price. ruse, established 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.'s lasting reluctance to trust AhkmouAhkmouA Po-Matoran carver of Metru Nui, one of the six Great Disk holders, who collaborated with Makuta Teridax and later imposed false Turaga rule during Teridax's reign.. The two pieces of evidence were the basis of the ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. of Stone's later refusal to accept the 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.'s word at face value through the remainder of the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear. sequence.

Aftermath 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.#

The MountainThe MountainXia's sentient peak that grew by consuming its inhabitants before becoming too dangerous to exist. in Balance was not rebuilt. The collapse had reduced the sculpture to debris, and the 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. workshops moved on to other commissions. The carved blocks were cleared from the site as part of the normal cycle of work in the open courtyards, and the position the Mountain in Balance had occupied was eventually used for other pieces. Nothing of the original composition survived, and the 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. record of the sculpture was reduced to 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. account of the retrieval and the carver tradition that the work had once been the most ambitious balance piece in the district.

The destruction of the Mountain in Balance happened before the Great CataclysmThe Great CataclysmThe day Makuta Teridax put the Great Spirit to sleep, the Great Spirit Robot fell from the sky, Metru Nui flooded, and Voya Nui tore loose from the Southern Continent. and the VisorakVisorak (Rahi)Spider-like Rahi employed by the Brotherhood of Makuta whose name meant 'Stealers of Life' and whose swarms threatened the Matoran Universe. occupation that closed the 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. entirely. When the carving grounds were eventually abandoned, the absence of the Mountain in Balance was already an established feature of the site, and the sculpture passed into the 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. record as the work whose only documented appearance had been its collapse on 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.. The disk it had hidden was the more lasting artifact. The Po-Metru Great DiskThe Great DisksThe six legendary Kanoka of Metru Nui, one hidden in each district, recovered by the Toa Metru during the Morbuzakh crisis and later fused into the Kanohi Vahi., together with the other five, was carried by 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. to the Great Furnace and used in the destruction of the MorbuzakhMorbuzakhA sentient plant monster created by Teridax to terrorize Metru Nui and control its population through fear. King Root, which closed out the crisis the 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. retrieval had been a part of from the start.