CHAPTER TWO
Over the one hundred thousand years Axonn had lived through, he had seen and accomplished many things as a conqueror and a member of the Order of Mata Nui. He had seen cities fall, sometimes at his own hand. He had seen horrifying creatures, corrupt beings, mad Turaga, even a homicidal Matoran.
But never in his life did he foresee himself training Toa. For a time, such duties given to the Order of Mata Nui were assigned to Hydraxon or Trinuma. Axonn was uncertain that he was fit for the job, but Toa Helryx had said that she had confidence in him, which was enough for the warrior.
As Axonn entered the training facility in New Atero, he immediately had to duck as a lightning bolt hurtled towards him, missing his head by an inch. He looked up to a see a blue-and-white armored Toa of Lightning, standing alongside a Toa of Fire and a Toa of Air.
The Lightning Toa carefully backed away when Axonn stared coldly at her. "Sorry," she said quietly.
Axonn said nothing in reply as he walked into the room and waited for the three rookie Toa to line up before him.
"Right then," he muttered as he paced back and forth. "My name is Axonn, and I am going to be your trained. You have no need to tell me your names. I already known them."
His head snapped to the Toa of Fire. "Taron of the Northern Continent. Considered to be brash and reckless even for a Ta-Matoran."
He moved on to the Toa of Lightning. "Nira of the Tren Krom Peninsula. Known to have frequent, somewhat violent outbursts."
Finally, he reached the Toa of Air. "Leran of the Southern Continent. Just as young and inexperienced as the other two, but as far as I've been told, you're the only Air type who can stand still for more than five minutes."
Axonn turned his back on the three Toa. "Now then," he said, "let's see what you're made of."
From his back, he pulled out a large axe, receiving surprised looks from the rookie Toa. A smirk appeared on his face as he turned around to face them.
"Throw whatever you've got at me."
* * *
Two Thornatus dune chariots drove across the sandy Wastelands, their wheels creating dust clouds in their wake. From his stance on one of the vehicles, Toa Jaller could see the vast jungle of Bota Magna up ahead.
From the chariot's pilot seat, the Water Glatorian Jaller knew as Kiina looked up at him. "Helryx is sort of right, you know," she said. "Whiled I don't know much about Bota Magna, the Wastelands are a very dangerous place."
"So I've heard," Jaller replied. "Ackar told me that this place serves as a home to the Bone Hunters and the savage Vorox..."
"Not just the Vorox," Gresh called from the other dune chariot. "Eleven years ago, a Glatorian named Malum was exiled to this place for his crimes. During his exile, Malum encountered a pack of Vorox and gained dominance over them."
"Really?" Jaller said. "Strange that Ackar never mentioned him."
"Malum's a subject the Fire Tribe prefers not to talk about," Kiina said quietly, and left the topic at that.
As the two chariots drove on, Jaller began to notice a shifting in the sand. The others noticed it as well, and Kiina slowed down her dune chariot while Jaller and his fellow Toa Hewkii and Nuparu brought out their Toa tools.
Soon, emerging from the sand was a pack of Vorox, their spears, swords, and bladed tails poised for attack. Jaller noticed that they looked a lot like Glatorian warriors, save for the tan armor and their more bestial appearance.
Moving through the pack was a burly, stout being who wore red, sand-caked armor, and wielded large, clawed gauntlets attached to his arms. His fiery eyes were ironically cold as he stared at Jaller, Kiina, and the others. In a voice that sounded like an erupting volcano, he spoke.
"Hello, Kiina," he said to the Water Glatorian. "And Gresh. I see you have picked up some interesting companions over the years."
His eyes fell upon Jaller. "You look like a Fire Glatorian," the being said. "But at the same time, you are different. Who are you?"
"My name is Jaller, Toa of Fire," Jaller answered, tightening his grip on his Power Sword. "I am one of many who came from another...world, and migrated to Spherus Magna ten years ago."
The being arched an eyebrow. "I see. So that must've been the result of those two giants fighting all those years ago. I've been wondering what that was all about."
"Yeah, well, know you know," Kiina muttered, raising her Vapor Trident. "Now will you kindly move out of the way, Malum?"
The exiled Glatorian let out a harsh laugh, as if his throat was dryer than the desert itself. "I'm afraid I cannot, my dear. I can't just let you walk through my realm, unless you give a good reason for doing so."
Toa Hewkii smirked. "You want a good reason? All right."
He nodded to Nuparu, who returned the smile and stomped the ground with his feet. A large wave of sand rose up and engulfed Malum and the Vorox. Hewkii then used his elemental power to turn the sand into stone, which encased around his victims' legs, particularly gluing them to the ground.
Malum glowered at the two Toa. "Subtle..." he muttered. "Good enough, I suppose."
As Hewkii and Nuparu climbed back onto the dune chariot, the exiled Glatorian went on. "I see that you're headed for Bota Magna. Very brave, I must say. I sent half a dozen Vorox there once to investigate the region. They never returned."
"Too bad," Hewkii grunted. "We'll make sure to say hi to them."
Jaller cast an aside glance at the former Fire Glatorian. "Any words of advice?"
"Tread carefully," Malum said. "And if you walk into the face of death...well, don't say I didn't warn you."
Without another word, the two vehicles revved up their engines and continued their journey across the barren Wastelands.
DUDE. This is awesome.
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