Sahmad

Sahmad was the last surviving AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. of the Iron TribeThe Iron TribeAn entire civilization consumed by dream-hunger, leaving only scattered survivors who dared not reveal their origins., a slaver who roamed Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. for roughly a hundred thousand years between the ShatteringThe 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 Battle of Bara MagnaValley of FearThe fifth Glatorian Legends event in which Mata Nui traversed the Valley of the Maze toward the tower of the Great Beings while Teridax, ruler of the Matoran Universe, resolved to come to Bara Magna and kill him.. He survived a plague that had erased every other member of his people, lived through the collapse of two worlds, and ended his recorded story walking north across the reformed Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. toward the graves of his tribe. He carried a whip and a blade with an attached Thornax launcherThornax LauncherThe Thornax Launcher was a scrap-built projectile weapon produced by Agori engineers, firing Thornax fruit and standard across Glatorian and Skrall ranks., drove a Baranus V7Baranus V7A Rock Tribe transport chariot that survived the Shattering and ended up in the hands of a desert bandit. chariot pulled by a bribed SpikitSpikitA two-headed desert creature used as a draft animal across post-Shattering Bara Magna, valued for strength and endurance and feared for its appetite., and answered to no tribe, no GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. league, and no agreement made before he had been born.

Origins in the Iron Tribe#

Sahmad was born into the Iron TribeThe Iron TribeAn entire civilization consumed by dream-hunger, leaving only scattered survivors who dared not reveal their origins. in the mountains of Bota MagnaBota MagnaA verdant jungle moon separated from Spherus Magna for 100,000 years, then restored by Mata Nui himself at the climax of the Core War., long before the Core WarThe Core WarThe generations-long war on Spherus Magna over Energized Protodermis that produced the Shattering, the exodus of Mata Nui, and the long Glatorian peace on Bara Magna. and the ShatteringThe 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. divided the world. The tribe mined ore and forged tools, traded with the Fire TribeFire TribeThe master smiths of Bara Magna who forged tools for all tribes before the Shattering scattered them into conflict. for finished weapons, and lived on civil terms with every neighbor save the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. to the south. Iron Tribe AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. were rough and coarse by reputation but honored for their work, occupying an unremarkable middle rung in the social order of pre-war Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint..

That changed when miners working the outer ranges reported that they had stopped dreaming. The condition spread. Affected tribesmen lost their minds over weeks and died. A small minority, Sahmad and the scavenger TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. among them, proved immune. The rest of the tribe began to consider opening the immune ones to discover the reason for their resistance, and the survivors retreated into hiding.

The neighboring tribes refused aid. The SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. mocked the appeal. Other AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. closed their borders, fearing the iron ore itself was the vector. TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. devised the mineral disguise, painting over their armor to pass as members of an unknown tribe, but the disguise bought only limited sanctuary. By the time the last few survivors agreed to scatter, Sahmad had already begun travelling south.

The hundred thousand year hunt#

When the ShatteringThe 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. tore Bota MagnaBota MagnaA verdant jungle moon separated from Spherus Magna for 100,000 years, then restored by Mata Nui himself at the climax of the Core War. and Aqua MagnaAqua MagnaThe endless ocean where the Matoran Universe found refuge and Mata Nui made his final stand. away from the world, Sahmad was already in the band of desert that would become Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna.. He had no tribe to rejoin, no settlement to claim, and a settled grievance against every AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. people who had refused his tribe shelter. He scavenged a Baranus V7Baranus V7A Rock Tribe transport chariot that survived the Shattering and ended up in the hands of a desert bandit. chariot from the wreckage of a Rock TribeRock TribeThe dominant warrior civilization of Bara Magna, built on brutal expansion and ruled by Tuma until internal betrayal and the Skrall's defeat disbanded it. supply line, bribed a SpikitSpikitA two-headed desert creature used as a draft animal across post-Shattering Bara Magna, valued for strength and endurance and feared for its appetite. into pulling it by promising regular food, and built a working career on capturing isolated AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. and selling them into SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. bondage.

The trade ran on the surviving tribes' inability to defend their outliers. Sahmad worked the edges of settled territory, took farmers and hunters caught alone, and delivered them to the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. garrisons supplying RoxtusRoxtusThe largest Agori village on Bara Magna and the seat of Tuma's Skrall, Roxtus was the centre of the Empire of the Skrall until Mata Nui defeated Tuma in single combat.. He occasionally offered the wronged tribes a chance to win their members back by sending a GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. champion against him in arena combat. The offers were rarely taken.

This was his life for roughly a hundred thousand years. By the time Mata NuiMata NuiBuilt by the Great Beings to restore Spherus Magna, Mata Nui sustained an entire civilisation inside his body, was deposed by Teridax, and reclaimed his purpose as a mortal on Bara Magna. arrived on Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. in the body the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. had built for the IgnikaThe Mask of Life (Kanohi Ignika), explainedA failsafe forged by the Great Beings to recharge a god. It curses everyone who touches it, and by the end of Bionicle it had learned how to be a hero., Sahmad's reputation was settled enough that his name was spoken in respect and fear by both AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. and GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them.. Sahmad would later observe that other AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. never smiled at him. They sneered, cursed, occasionally spat. They did not smile.

Confrontation at the Mega-Village#

Sahmad's first on-page appearance came at the close of the Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. campaign, on the outskirts of the new AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. Mega-Village built around the reactivated Mata NuiMata NuiBuilt by the Great Beings to restore Spherus Magna, Mata Nui sustained an entire civilisation inside his body, was deposed by Teridax, and reclaimed his purpose as a mortal on Bara Magna. robot's wreckage. Driving his Baranus V7Baranus V7A Rock Tribe transport chariot that survived the Shattering and ended up in the hands of a desert bandit., Sahmad challenged the GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna. and KiinaKiinaKiina is a Glatorian of the Water Tribe who served as the secondary Glatorian for the village of Tajun on Spherus Magna. Colored in shades of dark and light blue, she wielded a Vapor Trident and a Thornax Launcher in combat. Following the reformation of Spherus Magna, she continued to reside on the restored world. directly, evidently testing whether the Elemental Powers awakened in the surviving GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. had altered the local balance enough to threaten his trade. They had.

AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna. channelled his elemental fire and KiinaKiinaKiina is a Glatorian of the Water Tribe who served as the secondary Glatorian for the village of Tajun on Spherus Magna. Colored in shades of dark and light blue, she wielded a Vapor Trident and a Thornax Launcher in combat. Following the reformation of Spherus Magna, she continued to reside on the restored world. her water. Sahmad's SpikitSpikitA two-headed desert creature used as a draft animal across post-Shattering Bara Magna, valued for strength and endurance and feared for its appetite. and chariot were subdued before he could break off. The two GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. warned him to give up his slaving and let him leave, an unusual leniency given his record but consistent with the post-war restraint AckarAckarVeteran Glatorian of the Fire Tribe and prime fighter for Vulcanus, Ackar served from the Core War through the defence of Spherus Magna. was modelling for the rebuilt arenas. Sahmad walked away without his trade but with both his life and his vehicle. He took the warning seriously enough to leave the Mega-Village's orbit. He took it seriously in no other respect.

The encounter mattered less for the fight than for what it confirmed: the post-war order was no longer one Sahmad could quietly operate inside. His old market in SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. buyers was collapsing along with RoxtusRoxtusThe largest Agori village on Bara Magna and the seat of Tuma's Skrall, Roxtus was the centre of the Empire of the Skrall until Mata Nui defeated Tuma in single combat., and any future work would have to find another purpose.

The return of the plague#

Sahmad's purpose found him. While Mata NuiMata NuiBuilt by the Great Beings to restore Spherus Magna, Mata Nui sustained an entire civilisation inside his body, was deposed by Teridax, and reclaimed his purpose as a mortal on Bara Magna. and TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna. were still in the sky above the desert, he recognised that the window for unfinished business was closing fast. He retrieved TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. from the stranded carcass of the Skopio XV-1Skopio XV-1Telluris's weaponized mechanical Skopio, a patchwork war machine built to dominate post-Shattering Bara Magna. war machine, sabotaged earlier by GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. acting on intelligence from the Valley of FearValley of FearThe fifth Glatorian Legends event in which Mata Nui traversed the Valley of the Maze toward the tower of the Great Beings while Teridax, ruler of the Matoran Universe, resolved to come to Bara Magna and kill him. operation, and coaxed him aboard the Baranus V7Baranus V7A Rock Tribe transport chariot that survived the Shattering and ended up in the hands of a desert bandit. with a promise to rebuild the SkopioSkopioSkopio were biomechanical scorpion predators of Spherus Magna, modified ages past with integrated Thornax Launchers and surviving the Shattering as desert ambushers.. Sahmad had no intention of honoring the promise. He needed a second pair of hands and the only other survivor of his tribe was the obvious recruit.

The third member found them. A talking serpent slithered out of the dunes and spoke to TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance.'s drawn blade, asking only to be killed. Sahmad recognised the voice. Mata NuiMata NuiBuilt by the Great Beings to restore Spherus Magna, Mata Nui sustained an entire civilisation inside his body, was deposed by Teridax, and reclaimed his purpose as a mortal on Bara Magna. had transformed the treacherous Ice TribeIce TribeOne of Bara Magna's six major tribes, the Ice Tribe produced legendary Glatorian like Strakk and survived the Shattering intact. AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield. into snake form at the conclusion of the Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. campaign for betraying the tribes to the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule.. MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield. confessed that he had stopped dreaming. The Dreaming PlagueThe Dreaming PlagueAn entire Agori tribe lost the ability to dream, then lost their minds, then died. The cause was not a disease at all. was active again.

The three travelled north into the foothills, retracing the route MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield. had taken from RoxtusRoxtusThe largest Agori village on Bara Magna and the seat of Tuma's Skrall, Roxtus was the centre of the Empire of the Skrall until Mata Nui defeated Tuma in single combat.. Sahmad found a triangular scar pressed into the earth, roughly three feet wide at the base, matching no known animal track. While he examined it, TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. vanished beneath the ground. A red spined tentacle wrapped MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield. and dragged him down. Sahmad fired his Thornax launcherThornax LauncherThe Thornax Launcher was a scrap-built projectile weapon produced by Agori engineers, firing Thornax fruit and standard across Glatorian and Skrall ranks. into the hole, hit nothing, and stood at the edge knowing that a careful tracker would have left. Instead he shouted at the dirt to take him too, and three tentacles obliged.

Annona and the chamber beneath the desert#

Sahmad woke on a cot in what appeared to be a healer's chamber in a new city called New AteroAteroThe free city at the heart of Bara Magna, home to the Arena Magna and the Great Tournament, destroyed by Tuma and the Skrall during the opening match.. A friendly Water AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. explained that he had slept for 750 years, that the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. had fallen, that the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. tribes had reconciled, that TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. and MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield. were long dead, and that he was welcome in the new order. ToaToa (2001)Biomechanical heroes bonded to elemental powers and masks. Not born, but chosen and transformed. and GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. walked the market together. KiinaKiinaKiina is a Glatorian of the Water Tribe who served as the secondary Glatorian for the village of Tajun on Spherus Magna. Colored in shades of dark and light blue, she wielded a Vapor Trident and a Thornax Launcher in combat. Following the reformation of Spherus Magna, she continued to reside on the restored world. arrived, older now, with a useless left arm and a warm greeting.

Sahmad identified the deception in a single sentence. The AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. of his lived experience did not smile at him. He pursued an Iron AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. woman through the market, recognising her as the woman he had loved before the plague had taken her. She levelled a Thornax launcherThornax LauncherThe Thornax Launcher was a scrap-built projectile weapon produced by Agori engineers, firing Thornax fruit and standard across Glatorian and Skrall ranks. at his head and fired, and he died.

He woke again in the chamber, surrounded by Iron AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. on every cot, all speaking in unison in a voice that was not theirs. They told him he had proved weaker than expected and that weak souls tasted lovely. The Iron AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. shimmered and resolved into Sisters of the SkrallSisters of the SkrallThe female Skrall faction, exiled from their males and armed with innate psionic powers that made them the true rulers of the Rock Tribe., the psionic female faction long assumed extinct. Sahmad learned quickly that the Sisters had not created the plague. The entity that animated them had. It had gifted the Sisters their psionics for amusement, hoping they would destroy the male SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule., and had lost interest when the Sisters were driven into hiding. The plague had been something else entirely. When Sahmad asked whether the plague had been an experiment, the voice answered that it had been lunch.

A sphere of cold light expanded in the chamber. The entity claimed to predate the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed., to have tried to touch their minds, and to have discovered that their minds had fed on it instead. It had retreated underground, returned hungry, and found a small Iron Tribe village to feed on. Crimson tentacles erupted from the sphere. TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. and MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield., now restored to bipedal form, broke through the chamber wall and dragged Sahmad toward the surface. They ran for daylight, only to find that the light above was not daylight at all. The entity was breaking through to the surface with them, and Sahmad heard its name in his own head as it exulted: AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment..

The trap on Aqua Magna#

AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. was loose and already searching for fresh dream-energy off-world. Sahmad made a split-second decision. As the entity teleported, he sprinted into its energy sphere and pulled TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. and MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield. with him. The three emerged in the open ocean of Aqua MagnaAqua MagnaThe endless ocean where the Matoran Universe found refuge and Mata Nui made his final stand., drowning. Fifty yards inland they sighted a beach, and above it on a cliff sat a fortress described as gleaming and impregnable: the Gold Being's FortressThe Gold Being's FortressA vast cliffside fortress raised on Spherus Magna by the Golden-Skinned Being and unmade during Annona's attack., stronghold of the Golden-Skinned BeingThe Golden-Skinned BeingA fusion of nine beings produced by Skakdi experimentation on Zakaz, the Golden-Skinned Being made dreams real for those who fed him..

What stepped out of the fortress was already arguing with AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. over a confiscated meal. AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. fed on dream-energy directly. The Golden-Skinned BeingThe Golden-Skinned BeingA fusion of nine beings produced by Skakdi experimentation on Zakaz, the Golden-Skinned Being made dreams real for those who fed him. and its SkakdiSkakdiA brutish warrior species from Zakaz whose pair-dependent elemental powers and moral void made them one of Bionicle's few irredeemable factions. followers, all constructed from the dreams of their constituent species, were beings to whom dreams were the raw material of conquest. Spears of stone erupted from the ground and impaled AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment.. The advantage held only briefly. AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. consumed the latent dreams of the gold being's SkakdiSkakdiA brutish warrior species from Zakaz whose pair-dependent elemental powers and moral void made them one of Bionicle's few irredeemable factions. warriors in a single draught, and the warriors collapsed raving or turned weapons on their leader. AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. tore free of the spikes laughing. The fortress began to melt.

TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. broke first. He charged AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. with a branch from the beach, screaming, and died mid-step. Sahmad did not follow him. He pulled MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield. toward one of the partially wrenched spikes the Golden-Skinned BeingThe Golden-Skinned BeingA fusion of nine beings produced by Skakdi experimentation on Zakaz, the Golden-Skinned Being made dreams real for those who fed him. had summoned, broke off the tip with MetusMetusMetus was a transformed Agori from Spherus Magna who worked as a Glatorian recruiter. Originally a member of the Ice Tribe, he later joined the Rock Tribe. White and ice blue in coloration, Metus wielded an Ice Axe and an Ice Shield.'s help, sprinted toward AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. with his eyes closed against the entity's radiance, and hurled the stone. It lodged near the joint of one of AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment.'s energy tentacles, in a position the tentacle could not reach to dislodge. The wound was not fatal. It bought seconds.

The Golden-Skinned BeingThe Golden-Skinned BeingA fusion of nine beings produced by Skakdi experimentation on Zakaz, the Golden-Skinned Being made dreams real for those who fed him. reached into Sahmad's mind across the distance. The win condition was clear. AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. fed on dreams; the gold being made dreams real; the way to kill the entity was to direct the most powerful dream-shaper present to dream a single thing. Sahmad closed his eyes and dreamed that nobody on Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. or any nearby world could dream, wish, or hope. The gold being made it real. The food source vanished.

AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. understood at once. The entity proposed a bargain: a dream of another world to feed in, a place far enough from Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. to leave the surviving populations untouched. The gold being agreed and instructed Sahmad to dream the destination. Sahmad had been planning the betrayal for the previous thirty seconds. He closed his eyes and imagined a lush green paradise populated entirely with creatures exactly like AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment., all of them dream-eaters of equal hunger. They would feed off one another, and within a year not one would remain. AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. faded out of the world.

After the walk north#

The Golden-Skinned BeingThe Golden-Skinned BeingA fusion of nine beings produced by Skakdi experimentation on Zakaz, the Golden-Skinned Being made dreams real for those who fed him. approached Sahmad on the beach and observed that he could as easily have dreamed it out of existence too. Sahmad declined the suggestion. The gold being was not his problem yet. The gold being asked Sahmad to dream the world back into dreaming, which would also restore its own power, and Sahmad did. The being warned him they would meet again. Sahmad replied that the gold being should let him know when its army was coming. He might join up.

He walked north, intending to reach the mountains where his tribe had died and say the goodbyes he had postponed for a hundred millennia. Whether he reached the graves is not recorded. What is recorded is that the last living member of the Iron TribeThe Iron TribeAn entire civilization consumed by dream-hunger, leaving only scattered survivors who dared not reveal their origins. crossed a Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. welded back into Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint., with the dream-eater who had ended his people defeated behind him and the Golden-Skinned BeingThe Golden-Skinned BeingA fusion of nine beings produced by Skakdi experimentation on Zakaz, the Golden-Skinned Being made dreams real for those who fed him.'s coming invasion ahead.

The hunt produced several records of significance for later historians. It established that the Iron TribeThe Iron TribeAn entire civilization consumed by dream-hunger, leaving only scattered survivors who dared not reveal their origins. had been driven to extinction by AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment.'s feeding rather than by any natural illness. It confirmed AnnonaAnnonaA predatory entity older than the Great Beings, the dream-eater Annona fed on the minds of sentient life and ended the Iron Tribe before its banishment. as an entity older than the Great BeingsThe Great BeingsScholar-inventors of Spherus Magna whose creations shaped the Matoran Universe and whose absence defined the conflicts that followed. themselves. It proved that the Sisters of the SkrallSisters of the SkrallThe female Skrall faction, exiled from their males and armed with innate psionic powers that made them the true rulers of the Rock Tribe. had survived in hiding and retained their psionic gifts. And in Sahmad's recollection of the woman he had loved before the plague had taken her, it preserved the only on-record evidence that AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. experienced romantic love at all.