Xia
A hostile island southeast of Metru Nui, home to the Vortixx and their brutal mercenary culture.
Xia is a large island in the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. Universe, the notorious homeland of the VortixxVortixxThe amoral weapons dealers of Xia who sold to anyone willing to pay., a warrior species obsessed with weaponry and power. It sits southeast of Metru NuiMetru NuiThe city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive., and if you've read anything about the place, you know it's not somewhere you'd want to visit. The environment alone tries to kill you at every turn. RoodakaRoodakaShe spent the entire Visorak arc letting everyone think they were using her, then walked away having beaten the Brotherhood and the Toa at their own game., the island's most famous leader, characterized the conditions as brutally inhospitable. Fire rained from the sky, the grasses were filled with acid, and the rock itself seemed intent on devouring all who walked upon it. This isn't exaggeration. Xia's conditions shaped everything about its people and their society.
The Island of Warriors and Builders#
Xia produced some of the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. Universe's most skilled weapon crafters and artificers. The VortixxVortixxThe amoral weapons dealers of Xia who sold to anyone willing to pay. didn't merely live on the island, they thrived on its harshness, using resources that would've been worthless elsewhere to forge tools, weapons, and devices of incredible sophistication. Their culture emphasized self-sufficiency and power through ingenuity rather than cooperation. This made them natural allies to anyone with coin and a desire for firepower, particularly the Dark Hunters and other factions willing to operate outside traditional laws.
The island's government reflected its values perfectly. Power came from strength, not consensus or diplomacy. RoodakaRoodakaShe spent the entire Visorak arc letting everyone think they were using her, then walked away having beaten the Brotherhood and the Toa at their own game. epitomized this ruthless approach better than any other leader in Xian history. She ruled through sheer force and intelligence, brokering deals with the Brotherhood of MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate., the League of Six KingdomsLeague of Six KingdomsThe League of Six Kingdoms was an alliance composed of various species, with ties to Xia and many other islands. Connected to both the Order of Mata Nui and the Brotherhood of Makuta, the League included Pridak among its ranks, and its members collectively held several powers of unknown scope. Its stated objective was the overthrow of Mata Nui., and the Dark Hunters themselves. Xia's entire economy revolved around these transactions. Weapons flowed in and out of the island's forges. Information and profit flowed even more steadily.
The VisorakVisorak (Rahi)Spider-like Rahi employed by the Brotherhood of Makuta whose name meant 'Stealers of Life' and whose swarms threatened the Matoran Universe. Arc and Xia's Collapse#
The island's role shifted dramatically during the invasion orchestrated by MakutaMakuta (Species)Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate. forces in the 2008 arc. Xia wasn't conquered militarily, but its position as a neutral arms broker dissolved completely. RoodakaRoodakaShe spent the entire Visorak arc letting everyone think they were using her, then walked away having beaten the Brotherhood and the Toa at their own game.'s own ambitions clashed with external pressure from multiple factions, forcing her into increasingly desperate choices that alienated potential allies. The VortixxVortixxThe amoral weapons dealers of Xia who sold to anyone willing to pay. found themselves isolated, caught between powers far larger than themselves.
This period marked the beginning of the end for Xia as an independent power in the MatoranMatoranThe most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body. Universe. What happened afterward remains fiercely contested in canon, but the island never regained its former influence or political prestige.
Compiled from primary sources by Lore Fortress editorial. Reviewed by Joe Garratt, Editor-in-Chief.
Sources
- WikiBiosector01: Xia
- BookBIONICLE Legends 8: Downfall — Chronicles Xia's involvement in the Visorak invasion and the Toa Inika storyline
- ComicBIONICLE Adventures 2007 to 2008 — Roodaka and Vortixx society depicted across multiple issues
- SerialGreg Farshtey serials — Canon Contests and Story Serials covering Xia's history
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Related entries
Metru Nui
The city beneath Mata Nui functions as the Great Spirit's brain, housing the Matoran whose labor keeps the god alive.
Makuta (Species)
Shadowy Antidermis beings and the Brotherhood's elite, Makuta commanded darkness and shaped the Matoran Universe's fate.
Visorak (Rahi)
Spider-like Rahi employed by the Brotherhood of Makuta whose name meant 'Stealers of Life' and whose swarms threatened the Matoran Universe.
Vortixx
The amoral weapons dealers of Xia who sold to anyone willing to pay.
Matoran
The most abundant species in the Matoran Universe, chosen by Mata Nui to inhabit and maintain his cosmic body.
League of Six Kingdoms
The League of Six Kingdoms was an alliance composed of various species, with ties to Xia and many other islands. Connected to both the Order of Mata Nui and the Brotherhood of Makuta, the League included Pridak among its ranks, and its members collectively held several powers of unknown scope. Its stated objective was the overthrow of Mata Nui.
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Bomonga
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Charger was a Kane-Ra bull transformed into a sentient being and recruited into the Dark Hunters, a brute fighter sent against impossible odds who solved every problem by force.
Cordak Blaster
A six-barrel revolving cannon manufactured on Xia, capable of firing explosive Cordak charges through air and water alike.
Darkness
The Dark Hunter assigned to shadow The Shadowed One himself, waiting for any sign of weakness in the leader he was prepared to replace, and one of the few Hunters his master openly counted among the most powerful.
Eccentric Rock
The Eccentric Rock was a Xian weapon disguised as an ordinary rock that burst on impact to splatter sticky Protodermis into a cage, used to trap Rahi for the Archives of Metru Nui.
Energy Extraction Rifle
The Energy Extraction Rifle was a Xian weapon that drained the energy of other beings to even the odds against power-endowed foes, later adapted by the Makuta as a painless means of creating Kraata.
Energy Siphon Blade
The Energy Siphon Blade, formally the Nihu-Motara Energy Siphon Blade, was a Xian weapon that absorbed a being's life force and channelled it along the blade. It was effective against Toa and Skakdi but met resistance from the stronger elements.
Griffin Gauntlet
The Griffin Gauntlet was a weapon forged on Xia that, on contact with its target, encased the victim in a ring of crystal Protodermis and crushed them by rising pressure. It was conceived as a weapon that could threaten even a Makuta.
Hagah Plasma Cannon
The Hagah Plasma Cannon was a Xian-built plasma weapon that doubled as a fixed defense turret sized for Matoran and a large two-handed blaster, guiding its shots along a laser the plasma followed to its target.
Helryx
Helryx was the first Toa created by the Great Beings, founder of the Order of Mata Nui, and commander of its covert war against the Brotherhood of Makuta.
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