Sahmad and the Hunt for Annona: The Iron Tribe Slaver's Last Pursuit

SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. of the Iron TribeThe Iron TribeAn entire civilization consumed by dream-hunger, leaving only scattered survivors who dared not reveal their origins. was, by the time of the 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. confrontation over 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., the last living member of his people. He had spent a hundred thousand years selling captured AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. into SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. slavery. In the closing weeks of the Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. era he learned that 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. which had erased his tribe was about to return, and set out to find its source. The hunt drew in his fellow Iron tribesman TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance., the mutated 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., the dream-feeding entity 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., and ultimately 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. of Aqua MagnaAqua MagnaThe endless ocean where the Matoran Universe found refuge and Mata Nui made his final stand.. It was the pursuit SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. had postponed for a hundred millennia, and the one he survived to complete.

The Iron Tribe before the plague#

The Iron TribeThe Iron TribeAn entire civilization consumed by dream-hunger, leaving only scattered survivors who dared not reveal their origins. had lived 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. 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.. They mined ore, 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 maintained good relations with every neighbor save the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule.. Then miners working the outer ranges began behaving strangely. They reported that the only thing wrong was that they had stopped dreaming. As SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. later observed, when a being cannot dream, waking life becomes the nightmare.

This was 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.. Affected miners' minds tore themselves apart over weeks. The condition spread. A handful of tribesmen, SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. and 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 discuss opening the immune ones to discover why, and the two retreated into a cave with whatever weapons they could carry.

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. The 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 itself was the vector. Trade collapsed. One Iron AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. who attempted to defect was driven into the forest by his hosts and killed by RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts.. TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. devised the mineral disguise: paint over their armor to pass as members of an unknown tribe. The disguise bought them limited sanctuary and no friends.

By the time the tribe was extinct, SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. had drifted south. He watched 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. erupt; he watched AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. die from weapons forged with iron his people had mined; and he laughed. 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. split 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. away, he was already on what would become Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. with a wagon, 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. he had bribed into loyalty with food, and a long-term plan to sell the surviving tribes' AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. to the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule.. He executed that plan for roughly a hundred thousand years.

The return of the plague#

When 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. clashed in the sky above 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., SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. recognized that his window for unfinished business was closing. He retrieved TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. from the wreck of a SkopioSkopioSkopio were biomechanical scorpion predators of Spherus Magna, modified ages past with integrated Thornax Launchers and surviving the Shattering as desert ambushers. war machine, which had been sabotaged by the GlatorianGlatorianTribal warriors of Spherus Magna who settled disputes through arena combat, until the Skrall conquest enslaved most of them. outside the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. Mega-Village (a confrontation 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. detailed in their own accounts of 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. campaign). SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. coaxed TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. into his wagon with the promise of rebuilding the SkopioSkopioSkopio were biomechanical scorpion predators of Spherus Magna, modified ages past with integrated Thornax Launchers and surviving the Shattering as desert ambushers.. He had no intention of doing so.

Their next companion arrived sooner than planned. A talking snake spoke to TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance.'s blade before he could strike it down, asking only to be killed. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. recognized 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 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 serpent 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. 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 plague was returning.

The three travelled north, 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. into the mountains. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. found the first physical evidence: a triangular scar in 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. A second tentacle brushed the earth back into place. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. 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. Three tentacles obliged.

The chamber and Annona's reveal#

SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. woke on a cot in what appeared to be a healer's chamber in a 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 on 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.; the SkrallSkrallA black-armored warrior species from Spherus Magna that dominated northern Bara Magna under Tuma's rule. had fallen, the AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. had made peace, his old tribesmen were dead but he was welcome. 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. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. recognized the deception in a sentence. AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system., in his experience, did not smile at him. They sneered, cursed, occasionally spat. They did not smile.

The illusion broke when SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. glimpsed an Iron AgoriAgoriThe villager species of Bara Magna, organised by tribe and settlement, who governed their villages and arranged the Glatorian arena system. woman in the market and gave chase. She was the woman he had loved before the plague had taken her. She fired a ThornaxThornaxThornax was a hardy desert fruit native to Bara Magna, eaten unripe as stew and fired ripe from launchers across Glatorian and Skrall ranks. at his head, and he died.

He woke again in the chamber, now 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, no stronger than TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. or 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 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 became 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 faction long thought extinct. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. 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. Not an experiment, the voice answered when SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. asked. Lunch.

A sphere of cold light expanded in the chamber. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. described it as looking into the sun and seeing reddish afterimages of things too terrible to name. 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 fed on it instead. It had gone underground. It had returned hungry. It had found a small Iron Tribe village. 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., the latter now restored to bipedal form, broke through the wall to drag SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. toward the surface. They ran for daylight ahead, only to find that the light was not daylight at all. The entity was breaking through to the surface, and SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. 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 journey to 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 now loose and broadcasting its presence as it sought its next meal off-world. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. made a split-second decision. He sprinted into the entity's energy sphere as it teleported, dragging TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. with the promise of a recovered SkopioSkopioSkopio were biomechanical scorpion predators of Spherus Magna, modified ages past with integrated Thornax Launchers and surviving the Shattering as desert ambushers. 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 the warning that staying behind meant death. The three emerged in the 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, heavily defended, and impregnable. This was 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., the 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.. The being had been created in the SkakdiSkakdiA brutish warrior species from Zakaz whose pair-dependent elemental powers and moral void made them one of Bionicle's few irredeemable factions. homeland of ZakazZakazThe island where Skakdi civilization developed, shaped by isolation and harsh Makuta rule., where the SkakdiSkakdiA brutish warrior species from Zakaz whose pair-dependent elemental powers and moral void made them one of Bionicle's few irredeemable factions. had dumped a ZyglakZyglakZyglak are a species of dark red, dark blue, and white creatures who are amphibious and wield spears and knives in combat. Formerly confined to the Pit, the Zyglak now inhabit Spherus Magna., a VortixxVortixxThe amoral weapons dealers of Xia who sold to anyone willing to pay., a Steltian, and the five sea-snake-mutated PirakaPirakaSix rogue Skakdi mercenaries who broke from the Dark Hunters to hunt the Mask of Life on Voya Nui. into a tank of energized protodermisEnergized ProtodermisA sentient substance that could remake or annihilate any being that touched it. One of the Matoran Universe's most lethal hazards. and waited to see what climbed out.

What had climbed out 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. about dreams. 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.'s followers, all warriors constructed from the dreams of their constituent species, were caught mid-fight against the empty air 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 illusions. The clash resolved into the clearest statement of what 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. was, delivered to 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. directly. 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 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 followers could not exist without them. To 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. they were food. To the gold being, dreams were the raw material of conquest and enslavement. 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. was too full. It had just consumed every latent dream in the gold being's warriors at once, and the warriors dropped to their knees raving or turned weapons on their leader. The gold being's power weakened. 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.

Telluris's death and the dream-trap#

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. 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 SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. did not follow him. As SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. reflected afterward, TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. was not worth dying for. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. doubted anyone was. TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance. reached the entity and died mid-scream.

SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. shifted from witnessing TellurisTellurisAn Iron Tribe scavenger and one of the few immune to the Dreaming Plague, reduced to solitary vengeance.'s end to seizing 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 pulling him toward the 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. He observed that one of them, partially wrenched free 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., could be broken off. He snapped the tip away 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, ran 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 the spike, eyes closed against the entity's blinding radiance, and hurled it. The spike lodged near the joint of one of the energy tentacles, positioned so the tentacle could not reach to dislodge it. 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. locked eyes with SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. across the distance, and SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. heard the gold being's voice in his mind. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. understood the win condition. 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 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 to direct the most powerful dream-shaper present to dream a single thing: no more dreams. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. closed his eyes and dreamed that no one 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 dream energy that fed 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. ceased to exist.

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. It would starve before any local population could be drained. It proposed a bargain to the gold being: a dream of another world to feed in, where it could live and be sated and leave Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint. untouched. 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. agreed and instructed SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. to dream the dream. 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. protested. The gold being assured the entity that SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. would honor the agreement.

SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. had been planning the betrayal for thirty seconds. He closed his eyes and imagined a lush, green paradise populated 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. 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. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. looked at the fading entity and remarked simply that he had it.

Aftermath#

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 afterward and observed that SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. could as easily have dreamed it out of existence. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. declined the offer. The gold being was not his problem yet. The gold being asked SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. to dream the world back into dreaming, which would also restore its own power; SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. did. The gold being warned him they would meet again. SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War. answered that the gold being should let him know when its army was coming. He might join up.

He walked north. He intended to reach the mountains where his tribe had died, to say the goodbyes he had been postponing for a hundred millennia. Whether he ever reached the graves is not recorded; what is recorded is that he walked across 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., through tribes that would have killed him on sight, with the dream-eater who had ended his people 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 confirmed 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 documented the existence 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. 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.. It confirmed 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 remained psionically empowered. And it preserved, in SahmadSahmadA slaver, a survivor, and the only living memory of a people the Dreaming Plague erased before the Core War.'s recollection of the woman he had loved before the plague, 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. That single fact, drawn from the memory of a slaver remembering his wife, did more to establish Bara MagnaBara MagnaA desert world of tribal warfare and scarce resources, one of three landmasses that formed Spherus Magna. as an inhabited world than any number of population surveys.