List of places in BIONICLE

This is a list of places in the BIONICLE universe.
== Overview ==
Although not fully made obvious in storyline so far, there are two levels to the BIONICLE world: the surface, and the underground. Matoran were never supposed to live on the surface; almost all known lifeforms live in large domed caverns and the few exceptions are those who wandered to Mata Nui, those stranded on Voya Nui, and those who escaped the Pit.Pridak's Face at BZPower forums, post #1 Because of this, the surface world is largely unexplored; and few know that there even is a surface above them, referring to that area as "beyond the sky".BIONICLE Legends #4: Legacy of Evil, p. 118-119
The following are known differences between the surface and the underground worlds:
* Lifeforms: All known underground beings are biomechanical, but the surface world is known to have completely organic creatures. Upon seeing the island of Mata Nui for the first time, Toa Whenua noticed strange birds - strange to him, because they were completely organic and unlike the biomechanical birds he was familiar with.BIONICLE Adventures #5: Voyage of Fear, p. 116
* Composition of objects: Everything below the surface, from inanimate objects to the bodies of living beings, is made of some form of protodermis; but there are some non-protodermic things above the surface. This is suggested when Toa Nokama commented on the surface water, which is unlike the liquid protodermis "water" surrounding Metru Nui.BIONICLE Adventures #5: Voyage of Fear, p. 114
* Sky: The surface sky is similar to the skies of Earth, with a sun, moon, and stars; but Metru Nui, at least, has its own false sky obscuring the fact that there is a ceiling above, and its two "suns" are holes with transparent coverings that light shines through. Metru Nui's sky also has stars of some sort, but it is unclear just what they are made of. Both the Toa Metru and the Piraka were amazed at the brightness and heat of the surface sun as compared to the underground ones they were used to; the Toa Metru also noted how far the sky reached, with no stone barrier (cavern wall) to hold in the sea.BIONICLE Adventures #5: Voyage of Fear, p. 113; BIONICLE Legends #4: Legacy of Evil, p. 117-118
== Major Places ==
=== Mata Nui ===
Mata Nui is a tropical island, named after the Great Spirit. When the underground city of Metru Nui fell in the Great Cataclysm, the Toa Metru fled and discovered this island on the planet's surface. After rescuing the city's inhabitants from the Visorak and evacuating them here, they became Turaga and led the Matoran in settling villages. The Matoran would live on the island for a thousand years, despite frequent attacks by Rahi that were controlled by Makuta. Recently, the path to Metru Nui has been reopened, and the Matoran have left Mata Nui in order to repopulate the city.
=== Metru Nui ===
Metru Nui is an island city located far beneath the surface of the island of Mata Nui, and is one of the most vital locations in the BIONICLE universe. It was the original home of about a thousand Matoran prior to their immigration to Mata Nui. Metru Nui was completely devastated by the Great Cataclysm and the following Visorak invasion, but the Matoran have finally returned after a thousand years and have fixed the damage.
Metru Nui is the northernmost location known to Matoran (though not at the planet's northern pole). Official Greg Discussion p. 187 at BZPower forums, post #5597
=== Voya Nui ===
Voya Nui is an island floating on the oceans of the planet's surface, south of the island of Mata Nui. The land mass broke off of an underground continent a thousand years ago during the Great Cataclysm and landed on the planet's surface. It has since become anchored in place by Mahri Nui (see below).
A number of Matoran had been sent to the region from Karzahni's realm (see below) at almost the dawn of time. Since then, they have had to struggle to survive, especially after the region became a stranded island. Unknown to the Matoran, a powerful Mask of Life was also hidden on Voya Nui, under the volcano, Mount Valmai. The island had came under attack by a group of Piraka who wanted the mask, but it is once again free and now openly under the protection of Axonn. Voya Nui has since returned to the underground continent from which it broke.
=== Mahri Nui ===
Mahri Nui is a city of Voya Nui that had sunken into the sea, to a place where it is completely surrounded by the Pit (see below). Though the city and its Matoran inhabitants continued to survive thanks to air bubbles that keep out the water, they were constantly besieged by a group of warlords called Barraki. Mahri Nui has since been destroyed, with its Matoran evacuating and rejoining the Voya Nui community. 
=== Karda Nui ===
Beneath the underground mainland that Voya Nui broke off of is Karda Nui,Karda Nui name officially released in an Australian LEGO Magazine; reported here and confirmed by series writer Greg Farshtey which is considered to be the core of the universe. A Matoran now living in Karzahni's realm has described the core as "the world that feeds the world. The wellspring of flame that blazes bright, yet burns none but its bearer. And he, oh, he it burns until there is nothing left, not even ashes."BIONICLE Legends #2: Dark Destiny, p. 108 (The place is sometimes referred to by the shortened phrase, "the world that feeds the world".) Specifically, he helped build the Toa canisters there. Since Voya Nui has broken through the "sky", water from the sea outside has been rushing in, but because the location is so large it is nowhere near flooded.Official Greg Discussion p. 257 post #10257 The Brotherhood of Makuta has begun attacking in an attempt to take over the core of the universe."Brotherhood of Makuta" entry, BIONICLE Encyclopedia Second Edition
=== Spherus Magna ===
Spherus Magna is the home of the Great Beings, Glatorian, and Agori. It was also the home of the former Elemental Lords of Stone, Sand, Water, Fire, Ice, and Jungle, these are also the main six elements of Spherus Magna. In the old days of Spherus Magna, each of the six tribes were ruled by an Elemental Lord, beings created by the Great Beings themselves. One day, two Agori from the village of Iconox found a strange liquid which had the power to either mutate, or to destroy. That substance is called Liquid Protodermis. The Elemental Lords held a meeting about what to do with it. The Elemental Lord of Ice claimed it, for it was found on his land. A quarrel broke out, which eventually led to a war. This was called the Core Wars. Two Agori were sent out by the Great Beings to get a sample of this strange liquid. They succeeded in bringing it to the Great Beings, but they were to late. The war had caused so much to the planet, that it exploded into three planets, Bara Magna, the largest, and the two smallest, Bota Magna, and Aqua Magna. See Core War for more.
=== Bara Magna ===
After the Shattering, most of the Agori and Glatorian stayed on Bara Magna, a great wasteland. At first, everyone worked alone to survive, but each tribe came back together. This time, they had no leader, for the Elemental Lords disappeared. They might have been destroyed during the Shattering, or maybe the Great Beings had destroyed them for causing the war, no one knows. All they did know was that they needed to work together to survive. Because of the Core War, The Great Beings designed robots called Battera which killed anything or anyone with a weapon on sight. These Battera had the power to make themselves look like anything. The Skrall, a kind of sapient being, were the really only ones affected by the Battera. Because the Skrall were warriors by nature, they always carried weapons. after a while, various Skrall outposts were found destroyed and deserted. Only one outpost of Skrall survived, but the outpost itself was destroyed. As the only Leader Class Skrall left, Tuma led his remaining Skrall forces south, near the other Agori villages, were they plundered and terrorized the villages and villagers. With the help of most of the Glatorian, Mata Nui, and Agori, Bara Magna got rid of the Skrall, and Bara Magna was safe again, but not for long. Makuta Teridax, the head of the Brotherhood of Makuta, now possessing Mata Nui's old robot body, now sought to destroy Mata Nui. With his army of the remaining Skrall, Piraka, and Rahkshi, he attacked Bara Magna. Mata Nui, now possessing a large robot body too, battle Teridax on ground. In the end, Mata Nui slammed Teridax's head into an oncoming moon and destroyed him. With his last remaining power, Mata Nui reunited Bara Magna, Bota Magna, Aqua Magna, and the rest of Spherus Magna's fragments, and recreated Spherus Magna. Although all of the Agori, Toa, Matoran, and Glatorian were free, there was always something to mourn over. Mata Nui was now dead, but his spirit was still alive, but it left the people of Spherus Magna to choose their own path.
=== Bota Magna ===
Bota Magna was one of the three main remains of Spherus Magna which was completely Jungle. It also held the last remaining intelligent Vorox.
=== Aqua Magna ===
Aqua Magna was another of the three main remains of Spherus Magna which was completely water.
== Other places ==
=== Artakha ===
The Matoran speak of legends of a "Great Refuge" where no darkness can enter; where one can work safe from harm. However, they are mostly considered just that - legends.
But Artakha does exist, under the rule of a being also named Artakha. It is home to some of the world's most accomplished Matoran builders and crafters, and their work has made Artakha into what is likely the most technologically advanced city in the BIONICLE world.
=== Daxia ===
Daxia is the Order of Mata Nui's secret headquarters. Most of Daxia's attractive features are hidden from unknowing visitors: There is little fresh water to be seen, but it collects in underground lakes. The temperature is amazingly hot, but this allows rare plants to thrive. The Rahi there are savage, but they will only attack each other if they are provoked.
The Order of Mata Nui fortress is inhabited by Order members only; the Order keeps no servants or slaves to tend to their needs. It was built by the first members, those who oversaw the construction of Artakha and Karzahni. The fortress is frequently updated with state-of-the-art weaponry; more than enough, the Order believes, to repel any potential invasion on the off-chance that their enemies discover their existence. And in the worst-case scenario, the Order is fully prepared to destroy Daxia and take the Order's secrets to the grave.
=== Destral ===
Destral is the Brotherhood of Makuta's base of operations. It is dominated by the Brotherhood fortress complex including labs, armories, prisons, etc.; all equipped with traps and hidden weapons intended to catch intruders. However, the Brotherhood does not actively discourage others from setting foot on Destral - they need subjects for their experiments, after all. The Brotherhood chose Destral for their home in part because it has large amounts of energized protodermis; a necessary part of many experiments.
Destral is extremely tough to find, as it changes locations from time to time using a massive dimensional gate. How the Brotherhood summons such a gate is unknown.
=== Karzahni ===
Where legends stated that good workers were sent to Artakha (above), they said that poor workers would be condemned to a nightmarish world; one shrouded in darkness and even hotter than Metru Nui's Great Furnace. This land had no name, but was referred to by the name of its ruler, a being called Karzahni.
=== Odina ===
The headquarters of the Dark Hunters. Odina is far from any trade routes and has no neighboring lands; the Hunters believe the location of their sanctuary is unknown to all outsiders. Once inhabited, the Shadowed One and "Ancient" had killed off the natives, and made it their home. All day, airships and boats can be seen carrying Dark Hunters on their missions.
Odina is characterized by its sheer, hundred-foot-tall cliffs on all sides of the island; there is only one passage down to a shore called "Nidhiki Beach" (named for the noted traitor, as this was the spot where he was infamously mutated). These cliffs only add to the defenses of the death-trap-filled Dark Hunter fortress and training grounds, which take up most of the island's southern region.
Recently, the Toa Nuva were allowed to infiltrate and breach Odina. While there, Toa Pohatu used his power over stone to affect the fortress, which would cause it to crumble to dust after they left.
=== The Pit ===
The Pit is the place where the Order of Mata Nui banishes the world's most vile beings and traitors to the Great Spirit beyond redemption. It was once in an underground cavern, but the Great Cataclysm caused the dome that surrounded it to be destroyed, exposing the Pit to the ocean on the planet's surface. The Pit flooded and the inhabitants escaped into the ocean, where something in the water immediately mutated all immersed in it into aquatic forms. This allowed the prisoners to survive but - no longer able to breathe air - they were unable to escape to the surface, so the sea has become effectively an extension of the Pit. Some time later, the island of Voya Nui floated into that region of ocean, and Mahri Nui sank to a point where it is resting on the Pit's upper reaches.Official Greg Discussion p. 223 post #6685
Some current inhabitants of the Pit are a group of warlords called the "Barraki", Nocturn, and now Brutaka. All other prisoners have scattered across the sea bottom, most of them becoming scavengers; these escapees are currently being hunted by the Pit's robotic guards.Official Greg Discussion p. 235 post #9374
Coincidentally, both the Visorak and the Piraka have been described with the term "creatures from the pit",BIONICLE Adventures #7: Web of the Visorak, p. 119 and BIONICLE Legends #1: Island of Doom, p. 67 but series writer Greg Farshtey has said that this is at least a different pit;Quoted in The Pit Appearances topic at BZPower forums, post #20 and it is possibly a figure of speech not directly connected to the actual location.
=== Xia ===
Xia is the homeland of Roodaka and her people, lean black-armored weaponsmiths called the Vortixx. The female Vortixx are the rulers of Xia; they are the managers and product designers, and the only ones allowed to travel from the island. The males do all the physical labor.
Xia's most prominent feature is a sentient peak known only as "The Mountain". The Mountain reacts to climbers by opening crevasses under them and swallowing them whole. It has become a rite of passage for two Vortixx, one male and one female, to climb up the Mountain and back. Pairs that succeed are rewarded - individuals that succeed at the expense of their partner, even more so. Beyond the Mountain, Xia is completely industrialized, with every inch covered by weapons factories, warehouses, etc. There is no clean air and no fresh water, as the factories completely pollute both. Roodaka has also mentioned acidic grass and rains of fire.BIONICLE comic #24
Xia was once ruled by Pridak, who chose it to be the center of weapons production for his kingdom. After he and the other leaders of the League of Six Kingdoms were banished to the Pit, Xia continued producing weapons for whomever was willing to buy. The most prominent buyer came to be the Brotherhood of Makuta, particularly in the form of battle rams and other siege engines for the Visorak armies. The Vortixx also invented Cordak blasters and Zamor launchers. When the Kanohi Dragon was deported from Metru Nui, it was relocated to Xia; Roodaka said that "In your city, this is a monster. On my island, it is ... an ill-tempered pet."BIONICLE Legends #4: Legacy of Evil p. 62 The Vortixx are now claiming that they don't know the Kanohi Dragon's current location,Official Greg Discussion p. 224, post #6704 but the Order of Mata Nui believes that they are secretly studying it in order to base new weapons off of it.
Xia welcomes anyone willing to buy their goods, and is currently doing good business by selling weapons to both sides in the war between the Brotherhood and the Dark Hunters; production has even increased due to a rumor that the League of Six Kingdoms will return. Unfortunately for them, Botar chose Xia as a place to banish the Tahtorak that had been set loose on Voya Nui, and the creature has since gone on a rampage.BIONICLE News Update post #1 Fighting against the Kanohi Dragon, their battle is currently laying waste to the island. The buildings, factories, and even their infamous Mountain was damaged in the destructive chaos.
=== Zakaz ===
Zakaz was once a beautiful island with advanced cities and abundant resources. Its people, the Skakdi, lived in relative peace with their neighbors. Then the Brotherhood of Makuta interfered: Makuta Spiriah, claiming to be a renegade but probably working under orders, arrived 75,000 years ago and began tampering with the Skakdi, giving them elemental and vision powers. He then left the island under the eye of the Visorak for a while, but the Skakdi overthrew them and began fighting each other. Either Spiriah's tampering had affected the Skakdi's minds as well as their bodies, or perhaps the new power just went to their heads; but whatever the reason, every minor disagreement escalated into a full-scale war. Now Zakaz is nothing more than a wasteland, with the remaining Skakdi fighting over what little is left. The only free zone is the island's central water source, but there's no telling how long this truce will last.
The Brotherhood has declared the island quarantined - one of the only decisions that the Order of Mata Nui concurs with - with only the Dark Hunters daring to go there to recruit new members. But even this is risky; six Skakdi who joined the Hunters later dared to betray them, calling themselves "Piraka". Dark Hunter watercraft are currently in place around the island as a precaution against the Piraka, who the Shadowed One believes may return to Zakaz if they manage to secure the Kanohi Ignika. One faction on Zakaz has apparently formed an agreement with the island of Xia, as supply shipments from that island have been left on the shore only to disappear, meaning that the balance of power could soon shift.
Zakaz is home to a number of Tahtorak, whom the Skakdi have used as mounts in the past. Highly intelligent, the Tahtorak do not take kindly to this, and one dying specimen revealed to an Order of Mata Nui member that they planned to strike at the Skakdi when the time is right.BIONICLE World
One Skakdi horror story concerns a terrifying being called Irnakk, who is brutal and destructive even by Skakdi standards.
Zakaz is located south of the realm of the Karzahni, several days travel from Metru Nui.
Barraki Ehlek also lived in the seas surrounding Zakaz, before his exile to the Pit.
=== Zone of Darkness ===
The Zone of Darkness is a pocket dimension where no light exists, and is the home of the fearsome Zivon monster. It is known by various other names like "Zone of Shadows", "Field of Shadows", etc. Kahgarak can use their Rhotuka spinners to open gates to this Zone, either summoning the Zivon or banishing enemies. Krahka and Tahtorak were last seen being sent to the Zone of Darkness with a Zivon, but unknown to all recently escaped when Brutaka opened a dimensional gate to there. They then reappeared on Voya Nui.
=== Unamed Locations ===
Several other locations have been mentioned in passing in relation to major characters; here is what we know so far:
* The Shadowed One's homeland is "a land of shadows and ice". It was a peaceful society until the Dark Hunter codenamed "Ancient" rebelled against the codes of behavior, offering his services to whomever could pay; leaders hired him to crush their enemies and the land entered a civil war."The Shadowed One" entry, BIONICLE: Dark Hunters guide
* Sidorak's and Krekka's homeland is one that thrives on bloodshed. When one clan builds something of worth, the neighboring one attacks and tries to destroy it. A popular pastime is watching death matches in the island's arena. Sidorak is of the island's elite race, while Krekka is one of the lower class. Also native to this island are Voporak, who was a clan leader; and the Dark Hunter codenamed "Gladiator", who was a warrior in the arena.
* In Keetongu's homeland, Keetongu's race used Tahtorak as mounts. Keetongu's race is all but extinct now, and he is the only member of his species that is still alive.
* Contrary to popular fan rumor, Sidorak's and Keetongu's homelands do not share a cavern with Xia.Official Greg Discussion p. 232 post #6931
* Nocturn destroyed his home island in a fit of rage.
* The lands conquered by the Visorak include the homelands of Dark Hunters Firedracax and "Primal", and the homeland of Krahka.
* The Dark Hunters codenamed "Conjurer" and "Tyrant" ruled their own lands.
* The Dark Hunter codenamed "Guardian" came from an island in the midst of civil war. Different tribes battle against each other, most likely for greater power. At least two tribes carry Rhotuka launchers.BIONICLE Dark Hunters Guide, Guardian entry
== References ==
General information comes from the BIONICLE World guidebook; see List of BIONICLE media.
== External Links ==
* Locations page on BS01 Wiki, along with detailed entries of each location.
Category:BIONICLE