The Prophecy of Heroes

The Prophecy of Heroes was the foundational teaching of the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors.. It was given by the Mask Maker 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. in the moments after the Battle of the Mask Makers, foretold the coming of six elemental 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., and named the sign of the aligned stars by which the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. would know to recite it. It was answered at last by the Mask of TimeMask of TimeThe Kanohi Vahi is the Matoran Universe's deadliest mask, capable of stopping or accelerating time, and its creation nearly tore Metru Nui apart. when the most recent generation of ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. gathered at 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. and drew 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. from the sky onto OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors..

Origin after the Battle of the Mask Makers#

The Prophecy of Heroes was born out of the catastrophe that ended the age of the Mask Makers. 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. had publicly reprimanded his brother 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. for forging masks that combined more than one element, a transgression of the foundational law of OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. mask-craft. The dispute culminated in 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 creation of 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 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.'s strike to knock it from his brother's face. The shock wave that followed put both Mask Makers into a deep slumber and devastated 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 much of the surrounding island.

It was in the immediate aftermath of that shock wave, with his body failing and his brother already lost to sleep, that 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. gave the prophecy to the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of the day. He whispered it with his last conscious breath, before they laid him to rest in a tomb prepared for him by the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of all six regions. The words named the heroes who would come, the Masters of the ElementsElementsThe full elemental system of the Matoran Universe, covering the six primary elements, the secondary group, the opposed pair of Light and Shadow, and the apex Element Lord tier of Spherus Magna., and the condition under which they could be summoned in the time of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors.'s greatest need. From that point forward the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.' office was defined as much by their custody of the Prophecy of Heroes as by their defence of their regions.

Custody by the Protectors across generations#

The ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. treated the prophecy as the central inheritance of their office. Each of the six regional ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. was told the prophecy by their predecessor, almost always a parent, alongside the duties of regional defence and the keeping of the elemental masks passed down within each line. Each ProtectorProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. was entrusted with the historical knowledge of the Prophecy of Heroes and inherited the duty to recite it in times of peril.

The prophecy was sacred knowledge passed down among the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. and was not made public among the wider OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. population. Nilkuu of Stone in particular was described as a firm believer in destiny, and the temperament of the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. as a body was shaped by long acquaintance with words none of them expected to see answered in their own lifetimes. In times of peril, when regional defences had been exhausted and the elemental masks were no longer enough, the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. were to gather at 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. and speak the prophecy. It was the rite of last resort, the use that every generation hoped they would not be the ones to perform.

The sign of the aligned stars#

The prophecy named its own hour. It foretold the alignment of the stars as the sign that the time of summoning had come. The ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. watched the night sky as part of their regular duty, and the alignment was understood as an external condition outside any tribe or ProtectorProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.'s power to advance or delay. When the stars aligned as foretold by the Prophecy of Heroes, and not before, the rite at 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. became permissible. The same alignment also marked the period in which 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 in force across the island, the rising tide of evil that the prophecy was framed to answer.

Each of the six ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. made the journey at this hour. Vizuna of Jungle came after defending a Jungle village from 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. with unexpected help from Narmoto of Fire. Nilkuu of Stone was lost 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. on the way and was guided in by a young OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. named 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., driven from his own village by the same 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 ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of Fire, Ice, Water, and Earth converged on the temple from their own regions in the same period.

The recitation at the Temple of Time#

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. was the only site at which the prophecy had its intended effect, because the Mask of TimeMask of TimeThe Kanohi Vahi is the Matoran Universe's deadliest mask, capable of stopping or accelerating time, and its creation nearly tore Metru Nui apart. was the only artefact through which it could be answered. The mask was kept within a secret vault inside the temple. Even the wisest elders of the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. did not entirely understand what the Mask of TimeMask of TimeThe Kanohi Vahi is the Matoran Universe's deadliest mask, capable of stopping or accelerating time, and its creation nearly tore Metru Nui apart. could do, but the formal teaching held that the prophecy and the mask had been paired from the beginning, designed by 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. with both halves in view.

The recitation was a formal one. The six ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. gathered around the Mask of TimeMask of TimeThe Kanohi Vahi is the Matoran Universe's deadliest mask, capable of stopping or accelerating time, and its creation nearly tore Metru Nui apart., and each spoke the portion of the prophecy assigned to the office of their region. The full text was answered by the mask. Six 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. fell from the sky onto OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors., each landing in the territory of the element they bore. Narmoto of Fire heard the loud crash in 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. shortly afterwards and led his people to its source, where he met TahuTahu, Master of Fire: Leader of the Toa of OkotoTahu of Okoto was the Master of Fire summoned by the Protectors, the hot-tempered would-be leader of the Toa who opened the Labyrinth of Control and held the line at the Black Volcano.. Each of the other ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. met 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. of their element in turn and guided them through the regions for weeks in search of the Golden Masks of Power that 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. had forged after his vision in the same temple, centuries before.

The summoning was the culmination of the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.' office. Generations of ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. had held the prophecy in trust and had hoped not to be the ones who answered it. The generation of Narmoto, Izotor, Vizuna, Kivoda, Nilkuu and Korgot were the ones who did.

The full text at the Temple of Light#

The version of the prophecy that the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. recited at 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. was not the complete document. The full text was preserved as carvings on the walls of the Temple of LightThe Temple of LightThe great temple at the center of Mata Nui where the Mask of Light was placed, the Toa of Light was born, and the gate to Mangaia opened beneath the floor., the inner sanctuary that 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. reached only after their initial campaign against the Lord of Skull SpidersLord of Skull SpidersAn oversized Skull Spider that guarded the ancient City of the Mask Makers and commanded the rest of its species through the Golden Mask of the Skull Spiders. 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. himself. When 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. finally read the carvings, he learned the full contents of the prophecy and understood the larger arc of the events that had begun with 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 loss of 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..

The complete reading was first performed by GaliGali, Master of Water: The Toa Who Closed the RiftGali of Okoto was the Master of Water of the Toa, the team's mediator at the Ancient City, and the Toa drawn into the Shadow Realm at the Black Volcano who returned with the means of the second banishment. in unusual circumstances. When 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 power drew her spirit into the Shadow RealmShadow DimensionAn alternate dimension sealed forever after Makuta was pulled in by the Mask of Ultimate Power's destruction, then trapped by the Toa's combined elemental assault., GaliGali, Master of Water: The Toa Who Closed the RiftGali of Okoto was the Master of Water of the Toa, the team's mediator at the Ancient City, and the Toa drawn into the Shadow Realm at the Black Volcano who returned with the means of the second banishment. was able to enter a temple within 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. that the living could no longer reach and view the Prophecy of Heroes in its entirety. The reading enabled her to advise her fellow 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. on what needed to be done to stop 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. and shaped the strategy of the latter stages of the campaign. The walls of the Temple of LightThe Temple of LightThe great temple at the center of Mata Nui where the Mask of Light was placed, the Toa of Light was born, and the gate to Mangaia opened beneath the floor. and the carvings within 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. were therefore the two sites at which the prophecy existed as a complete written text. The version the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. had carried orally for centuries was the operative portion only.

The Prophecy of Heroes therefore stood at every hinge of the second age of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors.. It was 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.'s last gift before his long sleep, the inheritance of the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. across generations, the rite that summoned 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. at the appointed hour, and the strategic document that guided the campaign against 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. once 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. had reached the inner sanctuaries. Its custody, by ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. who never expected to invoke it, was the structure that allowed the island to survive 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 heresy at all.