Okotan

The Okotans were the villager population of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors., the island shaped by the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. and divided into six elemental regions. They lived in villages distributed around the island, in six types that corresponded to the six regions of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors. in the same arrangement that produced the six ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.. Their recorded life spanned the early peace under the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City., the cataclysm that became known as the Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers., the long retreat into the lesser villages, the second-age conflict with the SkullSkull GrinderThe title borne by Kulta after his alliance with Makuta, marking his role as the wielder of the Mask Stealer Staff, the mask-burner at the Mask Makers' forge, and the first foe to defeat the Toa in single combat on Okoto. and SpiderSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. factions, and the post-war recovery of the Ancient CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below. under the restored EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness..

The early peace under the Mask Makers#

In the period before the Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers., the Okotans lived in relative peace on OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors.. The recorded threats of the early age were limited to the raids of the Skull RaidersSkull RaidersThe ancient pirate band that plagued Okoto before the Mask Makers, was driven into the mountains, allied itself with Makuta, was trapped beneath the island by the cataclysm at Capital City, and dug its way back as the Skull Creatures under Kulta., a pirate force whose eventual defeat at the hands of the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. and the ancient ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. removed them from the surface as an organised problem for several thousand years. The Skull RaidersSkull RaidersThe ancient pirate band that plagued Okoto before the Mask Makers, was driven into the mountains, allied itself with Makuta, was trapped beneath the island by the cataclysm at Capital City, and dug its way back as the Skull Creatures under Kulta. survived in the underground city they had built beneath the mountains, but their absence from the surface allowed the Okotan population to grow into the order the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. had been shaping for them.

That order rested on the Mask Makers' work. The Mask of CreationThe Mask of CreationThe signature Kanohi of Ekimu the Mask Maker, capable of bringing into being whatever its wearer envisioned. Stolen by Kulta the Skull Grinder, reclaimed at the Mask Makers' forge, and worn again in the final defence of Okoto. and the masks the makers produced beside it were the instruments the Okotans used to shape the island into an ordered home. The shaping was deliberate. Mountains, valleys, rivers, and coastlines were arranged into the regional pattern that produced the six elemental regions and the six villager types corresponding to them. The Okotans of the early age lived in at least two great cities during this period, one now called the Capital CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below. and the other now called the Ancient CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below., with the regional villages distributed around the island as outliers of the larger settlements. Their Mask Makers held a semi-leadership status in the early-age order, the figures whose work made the cities possible and whose presence the Okotans treated as the closest thing the island had to formal authority.

The Battle and the Mask of Ultimate Power#

The Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers. ended the early peace. The cataclysm that produced the battle, and the Mask of Ultimate PowerMask of Ultimate PowerA heretical Kanohi forged by Makuta of Okoto that contained the powers of all six elements and ruined the Mask Makers' civilization the moment it was worn. at its centre, removed both Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. from the active leadership of the island in a single event. One was rendered comatose, the other lost; the original capital was taken into the Shadow Realm by the Mask of Ultimate PowerMask of Ultimate PowerA heretical Kanohi forged by Makuta of Okoto that contained the powers of all six elements and ruined the Mask Makers' civilization the moment it was worn., and the population of the city was lost with it.

The Okotans who survived the loss of the city were now without their semi-leadership. The ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of the regions took on the work the Mask Makers had performed, but the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. were not Mask Makers and the work was not the same. The post-cataclysm environment, with elemental forces strengthened and landscapes changing in ways the population could not predict, exceeded the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.' capacity. The Okotans abandoned the Ancient CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below. and retreated to the lesser villages guarded by their respective regional ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived..

The retreat into the regional villages#

The lesser villages became the standard Okotan settlement form for the entire second age. Each region had its own villages and its own Protector. The villages were typically smaller than the lost cities, built in the local material of each region, and oriented around the Protector's headquarters as the centre of regional authority. The Region of FireRegion of FireThe volcanic region of Okoto, home of the Fire Tribe and the Protector of Fire, Narmoto, and the country in which Tahu landed and was guided across lava streams and erupting mountains to claim the Golden Mask of Fire. had its volcanic settlements under NarmotoNarmoto, Protector of Fire of OkotoNarmoto was the village elder and Protector of Fire in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Fire Blaster and the Flame Swords, descendant of Mamuk, and guide who led Tahu across the volcanic region to the Golden Mask of Fire.. The Region of WaterRegion of WaterThe eastern water province of Okoto, home of the Water Tribe and the Protector of Water, Kivoda, and the region through which Gali was guided across rivers, lakes, and deltas to claim the Golden Mask of Water. had its coastal villages under KivodaKivoda, Protector of Water of OkotoKivoda was the village elder and Protector of Water in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Torpedo Blaster, descendant of Owaki, and guide who led Gali through the underwater region to the Golden Mask of Water.. The Region of StoneRegion of StoneThe northwestern desert region of Okoto, home of the Stone Tribe and the Protector of Stone, site of the Battle of the Mask Makers and the Black Crater, and the territory through which Pohatu hunted for the Golden Mask of Stone. had its desert villages under NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone.. The Region of EarthRegion of EarthThe western elemental region of Okoto, home of the Earth Tribe and the Protector Korgot, a country of treacherous ravines, obsidian fields, and underground tunnels, and the territory through which Onua hunted for the Golden Mask of Earth. had its cavern villages under KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth.. The Region of JungleRegion of JungleThe rainforest region of Okoto, home of the Jungle Tribe and the Protector of Jungle, ground over which Lewa sought the Golden Mask of Jungle and bonded with Uxar, and the coast from which the Labyrinth of Control rose offshore. had its forest villages under VizunaVizuna, Protector of Jungle of OkotoVizuna was the village elder and Protector of Jungle in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Air Elemental Flame Bow, descendant of Agarak, and guide who led Lewa through the rainforests to the Golden Mask of Jungle.. The Region of IceRegion of IceThe northern frozen region of Okoto, home of the Ice Tribe and the Protector Izotor, a country of glaciers, tundra, and flash-freezing blizzards, and the territory through which Kopaka hunted for the Golden Mask of Ice. had its mountain villages under IzotorIzotor, Protector of Ice of OkotoIzotor was the village chief and Protector of Ice in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Ice Blaster and the Ice Saw, descendant of Uganu, and guide who led Kopaka for weeks through the snowbound tundra to the Golden Mask of Ice..

The dark forces sent by MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City. into the second-age environment compounded the strain on the regional order. The Skull SpidersSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. emerged as a constant raiding presence, the Skull RaidersSkull RaidersThe ancient pirate band that plagued Okoto before the Mask Makers, was driven into the mountains, allied itself with Makuta, was trapped beneath the island by the cataclysm at Capital City, and dug its way back as the Skull Creatures under Kulta. returned from their underground city under KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation.'s leadership, and the wider degradation of the island's stability left the Okotans without the protection the Mask Makers had once provided. The Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers. faded into legend over the centuries, retained in the regional records but no longer remembered as a living event.

The Prophecy and the arrival of the Toa#

The Prophecy of HeroesThe Prophecy of HeroesThe dying instruction that the Mask Maker Ekimu pressed into the Protectors of Okoto, foretelling the coming of six Toa and the sign of the aligned stars that would let them be summoned. became operationally relevant to the Okotans during the second age, as the conditions it described, the dark forces, the diminishing capacity of the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived., and the open call for outside help, began to match the conditions the population was actually living through. The six ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of the regions journeyed to the Temple of TimeThe Temple of TimeThe Protectors' most sacred site on Okoto, built to house the Mask of Time and the place at which Ekimu received the vision that prepared the island for the coming of the Toa. at the alignment of the stars to summon the foretold heroes.

The summoning brought the ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm., six elemental heroes whose arrival at the regional villages was the first contact between the Okotan population and a force capable of operating at the scale the second-age threats had reached. The Okotan villagers of the period during which the Toa undertook their initial gathering of the Golden MasksThe Six Golden Masks of Power of OkotoThe ultimate elemental Kanohi of Okoto, forged by Ekimu from sacred Elemental Crystals, hidden in shrines across the island, and worn by the Toa as the proof and the instrument of the Prophecy of Heroes. continued their lives with relatively little immediate change to their conditions, but the recovered Mask Makers' tools and the eventual defeat of KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. at the Mask Makers' forge restored the balance the early age had relied on. The revival of EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness., the Mask of CreationThe Mask of CreationThe signature Kanohi of Ekimu the Mask Maker, capable of bringing into being whatever its wearer envisioned. Stolen by Kulta the Skull Grinder, reclaimed at the Mask Makers' forge, and worn again in the final defence of Okoto.'s maker and the surviving Mask Maker, returned the semi-leadership figure the population had lost.

The return to the AncientAncientAncient is a dark blue and gold operative who served as both an agent of the Order of Mata Nui and a member of the Dark Hunters, armed with Kanoka and a Rhotuka. City#

After the defeat of KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. and the revival of EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness., many Okotans returned to the Ancient CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below. and began the work of rebuilding the area. The reoccupation of the long-abandoned city was the largest single demographic shift of the post-war Okotan population, and the work was substantial: the second-age environment had not maintained the city's infrastructure, and the surface of the recovered area required clearance, repair, and reorganisation before it could function as a population centre at the scale the early age had supported.

The peace was not absolute. Three interruptions appear in the record. The first was an attack by surviving Skull WarriorsSkull WarriorsThe undead ice-armed footsoldiers raised from the giant skeletons buried beneath the City of the Mask Makers, deployed by Kulta the Skull Grinder as the numerical backbone of his assault on the abandoned capital of Okoto. and Skull SpidersSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa., the remnants of the underground city's force after the collapse of the buried metropolis. The second was the destruction of a village in the Region of JungleRegion of JungleThe rainforest region of Okoto, home of the Jungle Tribe and the Protector of Jungle, ground over which Lewa sought the Golden Mask of Jungle and bonded with Uxar, and the coast from which the Labyrinth of Control rose offshore., an event tied to the wider conflict between the regional ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. and the spider faction. The third was the siege of the Ancient CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below. by the Elemental BeastsElemental BeastsThe Lava, Storm, and Quake armies summoned by Umarak the Destroyer from Shadow Traps and the environment of Okoto, raised to distract the Toa while he gathered the fragments of Makuta's Mask of Ultimate Power. sent by Umarak the DestroyerUmarakUmarak hunted the Elemental Creatures of Okoto until the Mask of Control bound him to Makuta's will and remade him as the Destroyer., the culmination of MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s long campaign against the island and the engagement that ended with the Toa's final departure.

After the Toa departed, the Okotans entered a sustained period of peace and presumably resumed work on rebuilding the Ancient CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below.. EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness., now functioning as an authority figure for the city, planned to recreate ancient airships that would allow rapid travel between the recovered capital and the Okotans' various villages, a return to the inter-regional transport network the early age had maintained. The ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived., their mission to protect the Okotans complete, became storytellers, recounting the legend of the Toa to young Okotans.

Description and appearance#

The Okotan villagers tended to be more monochromatic than the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. and were of a similar small size to the regional leaders. Many Okotans in the same village were identical to each other, with the same coloring within the village's regional palette. The Water and Stone villagers appeared in more standard shades of blue and brown than their respective Toa, and Earth villagers were mainly violet rather than the black associated with the Earth element in the older records. The masks they wore were powerless masks in the usual case, although the population retained the ability to use some mask powers when the occasion arose. Named second-age villagers include AkoAkoAko was a young villager from the Region of Stone on Okoto who, separated from his elders during the great relocation, was abducted by the Skull Raiders alongside Oda and rescued from the buried city by Ekimu and the Toa., OdaOdaOda was a young villager from the Region of Stone on Okoto, abducted with Ako by the Skull Raiders during the relocation to the City of the Mask Makers and rescued by Ekimu and the Toa from the buried city under Axato., MeleaMelea, Stone Villager of OkotoMelea was a villager from the Region of Stone whose nephews Ako and Oda vanished during her family's relocation to the City of the Mask Makers, forcing Ekimu and the Toa into a rescue against the Skull Raiders., and BingzakBingzakBingzak was a young villager from the Region of Jungle on Okoto, sole apparent survivor of a Skull Spider raid that destroyed his village, rescued by Nilkuu in the forest and the guide who led the Protector of Stone to the Temple of Time., the four Okotans whose individual contributions to the second-age narrative the surviving record preserves in full.

Standing in the record#

The Okotans are the second-age population of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors., the people whose continuous existence on the island links the early-age order of the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. to the post-war recovery under EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness.. They are the population the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. protected, the population the ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm. were summoned to defend, and the population the Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. had originally shaped the island for. The retreat into the regional villages after the Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers. was their longest period of settled life, and the return to the Ancient CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below. after the defeat of KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. was the largest single change of footing in their recorded history.

The ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. who once shielded them now tell their children the story of how they were shielded. The legend of the Toa, recounted as a settled narrative rather than a living campaign, is the inheritance the post-war Okotans hand down to the generation that grew up after the threat had passed. The villagers of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors. are the audience for whom the second-age chronicle is, in the end, preserved.