Skull Raiders

The Skull Raiders were an ancient band of pirates who plagued the island of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors. in the years before the Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers.. After being driven into one of the island's mountain ranges by EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness., MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City., and the ancient ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived., their leader KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. accepted MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s offer of alliance against EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness. and bound the raiders to the conspiracy that produced the Mask of Ultimate PowerMask of Ultimate PowerA heretical Kanohi forged by Makuta of Okoto that contained the powers of all six elements and ruined the Mask Makers' civilization the moment it was worn.. The cataclysm at Capital CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below. trapped them beneath the island. They dug their way back, built a city in the depths, and eventually returned to the surface as the Skull Creatures under KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation.'s renewed command.

Pirates of the pre-Toa age#

The Skull Raiders entered the historical record of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors. as a band of pirates who preyed on the island in the years preceding the Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers.. The OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. settlements of the period lived in relative peace under the joint authority of the two Mask MakersThe Mask MakersThe two legendary craftsmen of Okoto, Ekimu and Makuta, who forged the island's Kanohi and whose rivalry ended in the cataclysm at Capital City. and the ancient ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived., and the raiders were the single recurring threat to that order: the one constant disruption that the surface tribes had to contend with before the breaking of the island.

The campaign against them was sustained. EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness., MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City., and the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of the time conducted a series of engagements against the raiders that eventually drove the survivors out of OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. territory altogether and into one of the island's mountain ranges. The mountain refuge was the closing position of a long war. The raiders did not surrender; they were displaced. From that defeat onward they were no longer a presence on the inhabited part of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors., but a buried problem at its edge.

The alliance with Makuta#

The second phase of the raiders' history began with MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s approach. Some time after the mountain expulsion, and during the period in which MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City. was forging the Mask of Ultimate PowerMask of Ultimate PowerA heretical Kanohi forged by Makuta of Okoto that contained the powers of all six elements and ruined the Mask Makers' civilization the moment it was worn. in violation of sacred OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. craft law, he sought out KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. and offered the raiders an alliance against his brother EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness.. KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. accepted on behalf of his people and pledged the raiders' service to MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.. The compact bound the displaced pirate band to the same conspiracy that was about to produce the Mask of Ultimate PowerMask of Ultimate PowerA heretical Kanohi forged by Makuta of Okoto that contained the powers of all six elements and ruined the Mask Makers' civilization the moment it was worn., and it converted the raiders from an independent menace into a faction inside the unfolding crisis at Capital CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below..

The alliance did not survive the Battle of the Mask MakersThe Battle of the Mask MakersThe unveiling of the Mask of Ultimate Power at Capital City, the strike of the Hammer of Power, and the cataclysm that drew a metropolis into the Shadow Realm and left Okoto without its Mask Makers. in any meaningful operational sense. When EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness. struck the Mask of Ultimate PowerMask of Ultimate PowerA heretical Kanohi forged by Makuta of Okoto that contained the powers of all six elements and ruined the Mask Makers' civilization the moment it was worn. from MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s face and the mask shattered, the release of its combined elemental energies passed through the island and reached the mountain cave in which the Skull Raiders had taken refuge. The cave was buried by the same discharge that drew Capital CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below. into the Shadow RealmShadow DimensionAn alternate dimension sealed forever after Makuta was pulled in by the Mask of Ultimate Power's destruction, then trapped by the Toa's combined elemental assault.. MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City. had bargained for an ally on the surface and ended the day having buried that ally beneath the surface as a side effect of his own attempt at power.

The underground city#

The raiders did not die in the collapsed cave. They dug themselves out and constructed a city of their own beneath the mountains, with KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. himself driving the tunnel that eventually allowed him to exit the underground metropolis and re-emerge on the surface. The buried city was an entire society in the dark: a settlement built by what had been a pirate band, occupied by the surviving raiders, and headed by KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. until he resumed operations above.

The political shape of the underground city solidified during the long period of MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s confinement. MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s spirit reached out to the Skull Raiders from the Shadow RealmShadow DimensionAn alternate dimension sealed forever after Makuta was pulled in by the Mask of Ultimate Power's destruction, then trapped by the Toa's combined elemental assault., and the message he delivered was directed: the cataclysm that had trapped them was EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness.'s doing, not MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s, and EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness. was the obstacle to their return. The grievance gave MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City. a renewed instrument under the surface. Only KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation., now called the Skull GrinderSkull GrinderThe title borne by Kulta after his alliance with Makuta, marking his role as the wielder of the Mask Stealer Staff, the mask-burner at the Mask Makers' forge, and the first foe to defeat the Toa in single combat on Okoto., and his lieutenant Skull BasherSkull BasherA Skull Creature guardian of Okoto's Temple of Creation, armed with mask-draining powers and hook axes. responded to the call in the first wave. The remainder stayed behind in the underground city, awaiting orders to mobilise that would never come.

AxatoAxatoAxato is a Skull Creature from the island of Okoto who served as the leader of the Skull Creatures in the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a spear, Axato possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and formerly wore a powerless Skull Mask. and the holding force#

The internal command of the underground city fell to AxatoAxatoAxato is a Skull Creature from the island of Okoto who served as the leader of the Skull Creatures in the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a spear, Axato possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and formerly wore a powerless Skull Mask., the tribal commander whom KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. left in charge while he took the surface operation forward. AxatoAxatoAxato is a Skull Creature from the island of Okoto who served as the leader of the Skull Creatures in the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a spear, Axato possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and formerly wore a powerless Skull Mask. was a holdover from the original pirate band, one of the raiders' commanders from the era when they had still been a surface threat, and his promotion to garrison commander reflected the same factional continuity that ran through the rest of the underground society: the same body of pirates, in the same chain of command, conducting a different and quieter operation.

AxatoAxatoAxato is a Skull Creature from the island of Okoto who served as the leader of the Skull Creatures in the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a spear, Axato possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and formerly wore a powerless Skull Mask.'s charge was disrupted when a hawk under the control of a Skull SpiderSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. delivered two captives to him, the Stone Tribe OkotanOkotanThe Okotans were the villager population of Okoto, six regional groups corresponding to the island's six elemental regions, who lived through the Battle of the Mask Makers, the long retreat into the lesser villages, and the recovery of the Ancient City after the defeat of Kulta and the revival of Ekimu. children AkoAkoAko was a young villager from the Region of Stone on Okoto who, separated from his elders during the great relocation, was abducted by the Skull Raiders alongside Oda and rescued from the buried city by Ekimu and the Toa. and OdaOdaOda was a young villager from the Region of Stone on Okoto, abducted with Ako by the Skull Raiders during the relocation to the City of the Mask Makers and rescued by Ekimu and the Toa from the buried city under Axato., separated from their family during a relocation toward the City of the Mask MakersCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below.. The captives were later joined by LewaLewa, Master of Jungle: The Daredevil Toa of OkotoLewa of Okoto was the Master of Jungle summoned by the Protectors, the rebellious flier who quested for the Mask of Jungle in the Region of Jungle and bonded with Uxar in the second wave., who was himself captured during the rescue attempt that followed. The arrival of the children turned the underground city from a passive holding force into the site of the final engagement.

The rescue and the collapse#

EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness. and the surface ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm., now reunited and re-equipped after the defeat of the Skull GrinderSkull GrinderThe title borne by Kulta after his alliance with Makuta, marking his role as the wielder of the Mask Stealer Staff, the mask-burner at the Mask Makers' forge, and the first foe to defeat the Toa in single combat on Okoto. at the Mask Makers' forge, set out to recover the abducted children. The rescue took them to the Skull Raiders' underground city, the same metropolis the raiders had built after digging themselves out of the buried cave. GaliGali, Master of Water: The Toa Who Closed the RiftGali of Okoto was the Master of Water of the Toa, the team's mediator at the Ancient City, and the Toa drawn into the Shadow Realm at the Black Volcano who returned with the means of the second banishment. challenged AxatoAxatoAxato is a Skull Creature from the island of Okoto who served as the leader of the Skull Creatures in the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a spear, Axato possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and formerly wore a powerless Skull Mask. to single combat as a distraction, and the remaining Toa and the Mask MakerEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness. used the cover she provided to extract AkoAkoAko was a young villager from the Region of Stone on Okoto who, separated from his elders during the great relocation, was abducted by the Skull Raiders alongside Oda and rescued from the buried city by Ekimu and the Toa., OdaOdaOda was a young villager from the Region of Stone on Okoto, abducted with Ako by the Skull Raiders during the relocation to the City of the Mask Makers and rescued by Ekimu and the Toa from the buried city under Axato., and LewaLewa, Master of Jungle: The Daredevil Toa of OkotoLewa of Okoto was the Master of Jungle summoned by the Protectors, the rebellious flier who quested for the Mask of Jungle in the Region of Jungle and bonded with Uxar in the second wave. from the raiders' grip.

The escape was not clean. The Skull GrinderSkull GrinderThe title borne by Kulta after his alliance with Makuta, marking his role as the wielder of the Mask Stealer Staff, the mask-burner at the Mask Makers' forge, and the first foe to defeat the Toa in single combat on Okoto., freed from his imprisonment beneath the Temple of CreationTemple of CreationThe Temple of Creation lay buried in the dunes of Po-Wahi, dedicated to the Principle of Creation and gated behind four charms and a Kolhii skill check. by a Skull SpiderSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. acting on MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s order, intercepted the party at the city and challenged EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness. to a final duel. EkimuEkimu the Mask MakerEkimu was the legendary Mask Maker of Okoto, brother of Makuta, and bearer of the Mask of Creation who struck down his brother's tyranny at the cost of his own consciousness. accepted, the Toa stood aside under the agreed terms, and the Mask Maker defeated him with OnuaOnua, Master of Earth: The Sage Toa of OkotoOnua of Okoto was the Master of Earth summoned by the Protectors, the quiet sage who separated Tahu and Kopaka at the Ancient City and felled the Lord of Skull Spiders with his Earthquake Hammer.'s borrowed Earthquake Hammer. The rescuers withdrew with the captives, and the underground city collapsed atop the remaining Skull Raiders in the same operation that had brought down the Skull GrinderSkull GrinderThe title borne by Kulta after his alliance with Makuta, marking his role as the wielder of the Mask Stealer Staff, the mask-burner at the Mask Makers' forge, and the first foe to defeat the Toa in single combat on Okoto.. The pirates who had been the surface menace of the pre-cataclysm age, the alliance partners of MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s first conspiracy, and the underground society of the long centuries between, were buried inside the city they had built for themselves.

Legacy on the island#

The Skull Raiders' record on OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors. is the record of a faction that survived every defeat except its last. They survived being driven into the mountains. They survived the burial of their cave under the cataclysm at Capital CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below.. They survived as an underground society for the long centuries of MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s confinement. The collapse of their own city in the rescue of AkoAkoAko was a young villager from the Region of Stone on Okoto who, separated from his elders during the great relocation, was abducted by the Skull Raiders alongside Oda and rescued from the buried city by Ekimu and the Toa. and OdaOdaOda was a young villager from the Region of Stone on Okoto, abducted with Ako by the Skull Raiders during the relocation to the City of the Mask Makers and rescued by Ekimu and the Toa from the buried city under Axato. ended the line. No indication ever came that MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City. would mobilise them again, and there were no raiders left to mobilise.

The structural lesson the Okotans took from the raiders was a lesson about MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City. rather than about the pirates themselves. The same cataclysm that drew Capital CityCapital CityThe former main city of Okoto, drawn into the Shadow Realm by the destruction of the Mask of Ultimate Power, leaving the Black Crater on the surface and a ruined court for Makuta in the dark below. into the Shadow RealmShadow DimensionAn alternate dimension sealed forever after Makuta was pulled in by the Mask of Ultimate Power's destruction, then trapped by the Toa's combined elemental assault., scattered the Golden Masks of the future ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm., and produced the Black CraterBlack CraterThe vast depression in Okoto's Region of Stone, left when the Mask of Ultimate Power drew Capital City into the Shadow Realm, and the site from which Umarak later raised the Black Volcano. also trapped his own allies underground. The Skull Raiders' history demonstrated, in the form of an entire faction's burial, that MakutaMakuta (2015)Ekimu's brother and rival Mask Maker, who forged the forbidden Mask of Ultimate Power and was sealed in the Shadow Realm with Capital City.'s ambition damaged everything within reach of its discharge, including the people who had pledged him their service. The compact KultaKultaKulta was the leader of the Skull Creatures, a group native to the island of Okoto, and operated from the City of the Mask Makers. Armed with a Mask Stealer Staff and Hook Blade, he possessed the ability to drain masks of their Elemental Powers and once held both the powerless Skull Mask and the Mask of Creation. had signed on behalf of his raiders ended with the raiders sealed inside the same island they had once raided.