The Throwing Knives

The Throwing Knives were a pair of hand-carried back-up weapons wielded by KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth., Protector of EarthProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. of OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors. in the second age. They were the close-combat and short-range thrown half of her standing loadout, paired with the body-mounted Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. that handled the ranged role, and they carried the underground engagements that the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. could not finish on its own. The knives were the secondary armament in the loadout but the primary instrument of the close-quarters work that the tunnels of the Region of EarthRegion of EarthThe western elemental region of Okoto, home of the Earth Tribe and the Protector Korgot, a country of treacherous ravines, obsidian fields, and underground tunnels, and the territory through which Onua hunted for the Golden Mask of Earth. regularly produced.

Construction and dual-mode operation#

The Throwing Knives were built as a matched pair rather than as a single hand-thrown spike, and the working configuration assumed both knives would be carried together. The construction supported two distinct modes of use within a single piece of equipment. Held in hand, each knife was a close-quarters strike weapon, suited to the kind of engagement in which 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. had closed inside the effective envelope of the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. and had to be removed by direct contact. Released from the hand, each knife was a thrown short-range projectile, suited to the moments in which the rapid-fire weapon had run dry but the target was still too far away for the strike mode to reach.

The dual-mode construction was the structural feature that made the knives work as a back-up to the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors.. A pure melee weapon would have failed in the gap between the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors.'s effective range and arm's reach. A pure thrown weapon would have left no answer to the 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. that closed inside throwing distance. The hand-carried knives covered both contingencies in a single matched pair, and the two-weapon arrangement let KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth. open with one knife at range and keep the other in reserve for the close work that frequently followed.

Place in the Protector of Earth's loadout#

The knives were the secondary armament in KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth.'s standing loadout. The primary weapon was the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors., the body-mounted rapid-fire weapon built directly into the ProtectorProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.' armor and capable of delivering several blasts in a short span of time. The integrated layout of the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. meant the weapon was always on the wielder, always oriented, and always available without the time cost of drawing a hand armament, and the standing position of the knives in KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth.'s hands therefore did not displace the ranged armament when the rapid-fire weapon opened up.

The two-weapon distribution was a working arrangement rather than a contingency. The body-mounted Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. carried the standing ranged capability of the loadout, and the hand-carried knives covered both the ammunition-exhaustion contingency and the close-range engagements the rapid-fire weapon was not optimized for. KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth. could open with the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. at range and transition to the knives without losing the ranged capability of her loadout, and the knives could be thrown to extend the ranged engagement past the moment the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. went dry or held in hand for the close work the integrated armament was not suited to.

The contingency of ammunition exhaustion#

The recorded purpose of the Throwing Knives was the ammunition-exhaustion contingency. The Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. was a sustained-fire weapon that delivered several blasts in a short span, and the same characteristic that made it effective against a multi-target threat made it vulnerable to running its ammunition supply down. The knives were the answer the Protector of EarthProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.'s standing equipment provided to that vulnerability. They were the weapons that took over the engagement when the rapid-fire armament had nothing left to fire.

The pattern was a structural feature of the wider council of six ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.. Each ProtectorProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. carried a primary armament keyed to the working conditions of the region and a secondary tool that covered the contingencies the primary did not. The Protector of StoneProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. NilkuuNilkuu, Protector of Stone of OkotoNilkuu was the village elder and Protector of Stone in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Sandstone Blaster, rescuer of Bingzak, and guide who led Pohatu across the desert to the Golden Mask of Stone. paired the Elemental Sandstone BlasterThe Elemental Sandstone BlasterThe Elemental Sandstone Blaster was the close-range melee and sand-blast weapon carried by Nilkuu of Stone through the second-age campaign on Okoto, and the tool that passed to Pohatu in powered-up form at the temple of the Golden Mask of Stone. with the melee body the same weapon offered when its sand-blast projection mode was insufficient. The Protector of FireProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. NarmotoNarmoto, Protector of Fire of OkotoNarmoto was the village elder and Protector of Fire in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Fire Blaster and the Flame Swords, descendant of Mamuk, and guide who led Tahu across the volcanic region to the Golden Mask of Fire. paired the Elemental Fire BlasterThe Elemental Fire BlasterThe Elemental Fire Blaster was the ranged tool and weapon carried by Narmoto of Fire through the second-age campaign on Okoto, capable of lighting campfires and driving away Skull Spiders, and the armament that passed to Tahu in powered-up form at the temple of the Golden Mask of Fire. with the Flame SwordsThe Flame SwordsThe Flame Swords were the paired melee armament carried by Narmoto, Protector of Fire of Okoto, and the blades that passed to Tahu in powered-up form at the temple of the Golden Mask of Fire. at his belt. KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth.'s pairing was the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. and the Throwing Knives. The arrangement reflected the standing principle of the ProtectorProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.' equipment, in which no single instrument was permitted to be a single point of failure.

Service in the Region of Earth and alongside Onua#

The knives served through the second age as part of KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth.'s standing equipment in the underground villages of the Region of EarthRegion of EarthThe western elemental region of Okoto, home of the Earth Tribe and the Protector Korgot, a country of treacherous ravines, obsidian fields, and underground tunnels, and the territory through which Onua hunted for the Golden Mask of Earth.. The country was a system of tunnels and low-ceilinged chambers that the EarthRegion of EarthThe western elemental region of Okoto, home of the Earth Tribe and the Protector Korgot, a country of treacherous ravines, obsidian fields, and underground tunnels, and the territory through which Onua hunted for the Golden Mask of Earth. villagers had cut into the rock beneath the surface, and the close confines of those tunnels were terrain in which a hand-carried throwing weapon worked better than a bow or a longer-reach armament. The knives' short throwing range was a feature rather than a limitation in the tunnels, and the close-quarters strike mode was the standing answer to 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. that had cornered an EarthRegion of EarthThe western elemental region of Okoto, home of the Earth Tribe and the Protector Korgot, a country of treacherous ravines, obsidian fields, and underground tunnels, and the territory through which Onua hunted for the Golden Mask of Earth. villager against a tunnel wall.

When the prophesied moment arrived and the ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. gathered at the Temple of TimeThe Temple of TimeThe Protectors' most sacred site on Okoto, built to house the Mask of Time and the place at which Ekimu received the vision that prepared the island for the coming of the Toa. for the recitation of the Prophecy of HeroesThe Prophecy of HeroesThe dying instruction that the Mask Maker Ekimu pressed into the Protectors of Okoto, foretelling the coming of six Toa and the sign of the aligned stars that would let them be summoned., KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth. took her place among the council with the knives at her hands and the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. mounted in her armor. The six ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm. fell from the sky in answer, and KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth. found 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., Toa of EarthOnua, 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., in her region and accompanied him on the long journey to find the Golden Mask of Earth. The body-mounted layout of the Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. kept the ranged capability online across the tunnels without occupying either of KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth.'s hands, and the knives remained available for the close engagements the underground country regularly produced.

The Golden Mask of Earth#

The decisive recorded action came at the location where the Golden Mask of Earth was kept. KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth. and 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. reached the mask, but Skull SpidersSkull SpidersThe arachnid swarm that raided the villages of Okoto, clamped infection masks onto its captives, guarded the City of the Mask Makers under the Lord of Skull Spiders, and broke against the arrival of the Toa. attacked at the moment of recovery. 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. donned the mask and used its enhanced power to save KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth. from being overrun, and the arrival of the Golden Mask in the hands of the Toa of EarthOnua, 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. ended the immediate engagement.

The knives were part of the close-defense capability KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth. brought to that engagement. The chamber in which the mask was kept was the kind of enclosed space the knives had been designed for, and the close-quarters strike mode of the matched pair was the working answer to 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. horde that had pressed into the chamber alongside KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth. and the newly arrived 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.. The pattern was the same pattern the other ProtectorsProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived. followed at their own region's temple. The standing armament held the line until the ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm. reached the Golden Mask, and the recovery of the mask ended the engagement before the secondary tools had to carry the rest of the action on their own.

What the pairing meant#

The Throwing Knives were the part of the Protector of EarthProtectorsThe six elders of Okoto's villages, each wielding elemental powers and guarding their regions before the Toa arrived.'s loadout that the wielder kept in her own hands rather than the part the office had built into her armor. The Rapid ShooterThe Rapid ShooterThe Rapid Shooter was the ranged armament built into the armor of Korgot, Protector of Earth of Okoto, and the Earth-region entry in the wider family of Elemental Blasters carried by the council of six Protectors. was a feature of the role and was inherited as part of the standing equipment of the office. The knives were a personal armament in a more direct sense, drawn by KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth. at the moment of engagement and returned to her belt at the end of it. The matched-pair construction was the same construction the Flame SwordsThe Flame SwordsThe Flame Swords were the paired melee armament carried by Narmoto, Protector of Fire of Okoto, and the blades that passed to Tahu in powered-up form at the temple of the Golden Mask of Fire. of NarmotoNarmoto, Protector of Fire of OkotoNarmoto was the village elder and Protector of Fire in the second age of Okoto, wielder of the Elemental Fire Blaster and the Flame Swords, descendant of Mamuk, and guide who led Tahu across the volcanic region to the Golden Mask of Fire. used and the same construction the StormerangsStormerangsPohatu's boomerang weapons that double as speed-enabling foot attachments called Jetarangs. of PohatuPohatu, Master of Stone: The Stubborn Toa of OkotoPohatu of Okoto was the Master of Stone summoned by the Protectors, the stubborn sandstorm-rider guided by Nilkuu through the Region of Stone whose hesitation at the Labyrinth cost the team the Mask of Control. used in the ToaThe Toa of Okoto: The Six Heroes Summoned to Save the IslandThe six elemental heroes summoned by the Protectors of Okoto, who recovered the Golden Masks, woke Ekimu, fought the Skull Army, and twice banished Makuta to the Shadow Realm. generation, and the two-knife distribution let KorgotKorgot, Protector of Earth of OkotoKorgot was the village elder and Protector of Earth in the second age of Okoto, the only female Protector, descendant of Etoku, and guide who led Onua through the tunnels and caverns beneath the island to the Golden Mask of Earth. throw one and keep the other for the strike that followed. They were the part of her equipment that did what hand-carried back-up weapons had always done on OkotoOkotoOkoto is a world whose known inhabitants include the Toa, the Mask makers, and the Protectors., and they did it well enough to carry her through the campaign without further modification.