The Sanctum

The Sanctum was the central chamber of the Ko-MatoranKo-MatoranIce Matoran who were quiet scholars and star-watchers, built to survive the frozen peaks of Ko-Wahi. village of Ko-KoroKo-Koro GuardThe defensive force of Ko-Koro on Mata Nui, also known as the Sanctum Guard, drawn from Ko-Matoran trained for vigilance in the icy peaks. on the island of 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., the meditation hall of TuragaNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro., and the only building on the island whose walls bore the inscribed prophecies that the Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. astrologers had spent generations translating from the future. Both a place of contemplation and a working scholastic institution, it was the most famous location in Ko-KoroKo-Koro GuardThe defensive force of Ko-Koro on Mata Nui, also known as the Sanctum Guard, drawn from Ko-Matoran trained for vigilance in the icy peaks. and the seat of the village's defining trade.

Place in Ko-KoroKo-KoroKo-Koro is a location in Ko-Wahi, home to the Ko-Matoran and associated with both Nuju and Kopaka. Its exact size is unknown.#

The Sanctum stood at the heart of Ko-KoroKo-Koro GuardThe defensive force of Ko-Koro on Mata Nui, also known as the Sanctum Guard, drawn from Ko-Matoran trained for vigilance in the icy peaks., the village of the Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. hidden in the high crevasses of Mount IhuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro.. The settlement itself was concealed beneath an enormous chunk of solid ice that bridged two glaciers and was flanked by crevasses on all sides. Access was severely limited. The village had a single main gate set above a deep crevasse, guarded at every hour by the Sanctum GuardSanctum GuardThe defence force of Ko-Koro, fourth-largest of the Matoran militaries on Mata Nui, charged with protecting the village and holding the Tren Krom Break against Rahi attacks during the Great War., and only one other known entrance: a tunnel running from inside the Sanctum out into the Drifts, the wind-scoured ice fields that the MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. called the Wastes. The Sanctum was therefore not only the spiritual centre of the village but its second gate, controlled by the same authority that kept its prophecies.

Within the layout of Ko-KoroKo-Koro GuardThe defensive force of Ko-Koro on Mata Nui, also known as the Sanctum Guard, drawn from Ko-Matoran trained for vigilance in the icy peaks., the Sanctum stood among the carved ice rooms and built ice huts where the Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. lived their daily lives. Its position was unmissable. It was the chamber to which every MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. of the village returned for council, for meditation, and for the recitation of newly translated prophecies, and it was the place to which visitors from outside Ko-WahiNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. were directed if they had business with TuragaNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro.. The village's other notable sites, Mount IhuMount IhuA snow-capped peak in Ko-Wahi where Kopaka sought his first mask and Nuju honored his mentor. itself, the Temple of PeaceTemple of PeaceThree riddle stones in The Drifts gated the way into the Temple of Peace, and Hahli is the only character who ever got inside before the Bohrok flattened it. high in the Drifts, and the lookout point of North MarchNorth MarchA frozen passage between Ta-Koro and Ko-Koro where a Ta-Koro Guard outpost fell to Makuta Teridax., were peripheral to its civic life. The Sanctum was the centre.

The Wall of Prophecy#

The defining feature of the Sanctum was the Wall of ProphecyWall of ProphecyAn inscribed wall in the Sanctum of Ko-Koro that recorded visions interpreted by Ko-Matoran astrologers and guarded by Turaga Nuju.. The Wall was not a single panel but a continuous inscribed surface that extended across the interior of the chamber and gave the building its purpose. On it were carved, in the matoran script of the Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. Seers, cryptic predictions of the future as the astrologers of the village had perceived them. The inscriptions had accumulated over the long peace of the island, line upon line, layer upon layer, until the chamber's walls held the village's entire collective foresight in a single coordinated record.

The Wall served two functions simultaneously. It was a reference, a worked archive of every prediction made by the Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. of 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., to be consulted whenever events on the island raised the question of whether they had been foreseen. And it was a meditation surface in its own right. Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. entered the Sanctum to sit before the Wall, to read along the lines, and to allow the patterns of the predictions to settle in their minds while their own visions formed. The Wall was therefore both an output and an input of the village's prophetic discipline.

The labour of maintaining the Wall was divided between two occupations. The Adepts were the Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. who deciphered the prophecies already inscribed, working from the cryptic carvings to the underlying meaning, and who passed their readings on. The known Adept of the Sanctum was KylmaKylmaKylma was a Ko-Matoran scholar of Metru Nui who became an Adept in Ko-Koro, deciphering the prophecies of the Sanctum and dictating them to the scribe Jaa., who in his MetruMetruIn the Matoran language a metru was a single district of Metru Nui; the city was divided into six such districts, one for each element, and the term covered both the place and the elemental community that lived in it. Nui life had been a Knowledge TowerKnowledge TowerThe crystalline spires of Ko-Metru that housed memory crystals, sheltered the district's Scholars, and stored much of the city's accumulated knowledge. scholar and who carried his trade forward unbroken into 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. era. The Scribes copied the Adepts' translations onto fresh material, preserving them outside the Wall itself. Jaa was the Sanctum's recorded Scribe and translated NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro.'s bird-language utterances to the Wall in the same manner. The Adept and the Scribe were the two halves of a working partnership: one read what was already there, the other recorded what had just been understood.

TuragaTuragaFormer Toa who fulfilled their destiny and transformed into leaders. Turaga wield Noble Kanohi masks and weakened elemental powers, guiding their communities. Nuju and the Acolytes#

TuragaNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. was the Sanctum's senior authority. The chamber was the seat from which he governed Ko-KoroKo-Koro GuardThe defensive force of Ko-Koro on Mata Nui, also known as the Sanctum Guard, drawn from Ko-Matoran trained for vigilance in the icy peaks. and the place to which he returned for the meditation that produced his pronouncements. NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. communicated only in the bird-language of the MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. 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., a discipline he had cultivated as a sign of his withdrawal from common speech, and his utterances required interpretation by his appointed translator. MatoroMatoroA quiet Ko-Matoran translator who became a Toa Inika and then a Toa Mahri, Matoro gave his life with the Mask of Life to restore Mata Nui., the Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. who served as NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro.'s interpreter, was the link between the TuragaNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. and any visitor who came to the Sanctum on business.

The Sanctum also housed a second class of resident: the Acolytes. An Acolyte was a Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. who meditated specifically on the anger of Mount IhuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro., the brooding mountain at whose feet the village had been founded. The recorded Acolyte of the Sanctum was LumiLumiLumi was a Ko-Matoran native to Metru Nui who served as an Acolyte on Mata Nui, meditating in the Sanctum on the anger of Mount Ihu and the Ko-Koro principle of Peace.. The presence of the Acolytes alongside the Scribes and Adepts gave the Sanctum the character of a working seminary rather than a passive monument. Different orders of Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. sat in the chamber simultaneously, each pursuing their own discipline, each contributing to the village's understanding of what was coming and of what was already pressing down on the village from the mountain above.

The Sanctum GuardSanctum GuardThe defence force of Ko-Koro, fourth-largest of the Matoran militaries on Mata Nui, charged with protecting the village and holding the Tren Krom Break against Rahi attacks during the Great War. and the secret tunnel#

The Sanctum's defences were as deliberate as its scholarship. The Sanctum GuardSanctum GuardThe defence force of Ko-Koro, fourth-largest of the Matoran militaries on Mata Nui, charged with protecting the village and holding the Tren Krom Break against Rahi attacks during the Great War., alternatively known as the Ko-Koro GuardKo-Koro GuardThe defensive force of Ko-Koro on Mata Nui, also known as the Sanctum Guard, drawn from Ko-Matoran trained for vigilance in the icy peaks., was the standing military organisation of the village and the fourth largest military force on 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., behind only the Ta-KoroKoroThe Koros were the six elemental villages established by the Toa Metru on Mata Nui after the Great Rescue, each tied to one element and one Turaga. Guard, Le-KoroLe-KoroLe-Koro is a village situated within Le-Wahi, inhabited by the Le-Matoran and home to Turaga Matau and Toa Lewa. The settlement was once held under the control of Teridax.'s GukkoGukkoA large, swift bird-like Rahi domesticated by the Le-Matoran as the mount of the Gukko Force, the second-largest Matoran military unit on Mata Nui. Bird Force, and Onu-KoroOnu-KoroOnu-Koro was the earth engineers' city, where underground isolation created one of Mata Nui's most self-sufficient settlements, until the Bohrok came.'s UssalryUssalryOnu-Koro's branch of the Mata Nui Military, made up of Onu-Matoran riders mounted on tamed Ussal crabs and led by High Commander Onepu.. The Guard was established some time after the start of the Great War against TeridaxTeridaxTeridax orchestrated a thousand-year scheme that ended with him occupying the Great Spirit Robot itself before his death on Bara Magna.' infected 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., and it stood watch at the village's single main gate. Together with the Ta-Koro GuardTa-Koro GuardThe Ta-Koro Guard was the largest standing Matoran fighting force on Mata Nui, captained by Jaller and active from the early Rahi conflicts through the return to Metru Nui., it also defended the Tren Krom BreakTren Krom BreakA lava formation in Ta-Wahi named by Vakama after the exiled organic creation, used both for Ignalu surfing and as a Ta-Koro Guard outpost. against incursions from the south.

The Sanctum itself contained the village's secondary egress. A concealed passage led from inside the chamber out into the Drifts, the desolate region the Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. called the Wastes. The tunnel was not common knowledge. The Scribe Jaa was the MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. who would, in due course, show the passage to the ChroniclerTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light. TakuaTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light. when TakuaTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light. arrived in the Sanctum on the errand that would take him onward through the Drifts. The tunnel's existence meant that the Sanctum was not merely the village's centre but its emergency exit, and that the MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. charged with the Wall of ProphecyWall of ProphecyAn inscribed wall in the Sanctum of Ko-Koro that recorded visions interpreted by Ko-Matoran astrologers and guarded by Turaga Nuju. were also charged with the keeping of the village's most sensitive piece of infrastructure.

The chamber was also the destination of every significant visitor who came to Ko-KoroKo-Koro GuardThe defensive force of Ko-Koro on Mata Nui, also known as the Sanctum Guard, drawn from Ko-Matoran trained for vigilance in the icy peaks.. The pattern is visible in the ChroniclerTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light. TakuaTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light.'s first entry into the village, when TuragaNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. could not address him directly without MatoroMatoroA quiet Ko-Matoran translator who became a Toa Inika and then a Toa Mahri, Matoro gave his life with the Mask of Life to restore Mata Nui.'s interpretation, and TakuaTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light. was sent up Mount IhuMount IhuA snow-capped peak in Ko-Wahi where Kopaka sought his first mask and Nuju honored his mentor. to find the translator and bring him back to the chamber. On TakuaTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light.'s return, NujuNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. used the Sanctum as the venue for the message that would set the ChroniclerTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light. on the journey to gather the TuragaNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. of every village. The pattern was the same for the Toa MataWho are the Toa Mata?Six warriors built to order by Artakha, stored in canisters, dropped into the ocean. This is the origin story of Bionicle's heroes and why their first week of work was entirely amnesiac.. KopakaKopakaKopaka was the Toa Nuva of Ice, deputy commander of the Toa Mata, and one of the six warriors crafted on Artakha to defend the Matoran Universe., the ToaWho are the Toa Mata?Six warriors built to order by Artakha, stored in canisters, dropped into the ocean. This is the origin story of Bionicle's heroes and why their first week of work was entirely amnesiac. of Ice, took counsel at the Sanctum in the early period 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. war and was directed from there to his work in the wider campaign. The ToaWho are the Toa Mata?Six warriors built to order by Artakha, stored in canisters, dropped into the ocean. This is the origin story of Bionicle's heroes and why their first week of work was entirely amnesiac., the ChroniclerTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light., and the TuragaNujuNuju served as a Ko-Metru seer, Toa Metru of Ice, and Turaga of Ko-Koro who spoke only in bird calls translated by Matoro. of other villages all met their Ko-KoroKo-Koro GuardThe defensive force of Ko-Koro on Mata Nui, also known as the Sanctum Guard, drawn from Ko-Matoran trained for vigilance in the icy peaks. counterparts in the Sanctum, before the inscribed Wall, in the presence of the Adepts and Scribes who tended it.

Destruction with the village#

The Sanctum did not survive the closing years of the Matoran UniverseToa NuvaThe form the Toa Mata took after stepping into the Energized Protodermis beneath the Bahrag, with new masks, new tools, and the elemental scale to fight Karda Nui.'s history on the island. When the Toa NuvaToa NuvaThe form the Toa Mata took after stepping into the Energized Protodermis beneath the Bahrag, with new masks, new tools, and the elemental scale to fight Karda Nui., acting on the Scroll of Preparations, reawakened the BohrokBahragCahdok and Gahdok were the twin queens of the Bohrok, sealed in a Protodermis cage by the Toa Mata and later released to finish their cleansing of Mata Nui. swarms by freeing the BahragBahragCahdok and Gahdok were the twin queens of the Bohrok, sealed in a Protodermis cage by the Toa Mata and later released to finish their cleansing of Mata Nui. queens, the swarms were set loose to complete the unfinished cleansing of 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. island that had been interrupted years earlier. Ko-KoroKo-Koro GuardThe defensive force of Ko-Koro on Mata Nui, also known as the Sanctum Guard, drawn from Ko-Matoran trained for vigilance in the icy peaks., abandoned by its MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. population after the rediscovery of Metru NuiThe 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., was destroyed in the same general sweep, and the Sanctum with it. The Wall of ProphecyWall of ProphecyAn inscribed wall in the Sanctum of Ko-Koro that recorded visions interpreted by Ko-Matoran astrologers and guarded by Turaga Nuju., the meditation hall, the secret tunnel, and the chamber's other features were lost together.

What the Sanctum had preserved was nonetheless not lost. The translations of the Wall of ProphecyWall of ProphecyAn inscribed wall in the Sanctum of Ko-Koro that recorded visions interpreted by Ko-Matoran astrologers and guarded by Turaga Nuju. had been copied by the Scribes onto separate surfaces and removed from the chamber, and the prophetic discipline of the Ko-MatoranTa-MatoranThe Fire-element Matoran of Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, forgers of masks and Kanoka, lava farmers, and the standing core of the Ta-Koro Guard during the war for Mata Nui. continued in the rebuilt Metru NuiThe 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. Knowledge Towers from which the village's tradition had originally been transplanted. The chamber itself ended with the swarms, but the inscribed wisdom it had housed had already moved on with the population that had read it.