CHAPTER NINE
The island of Saevta
“Are you nervous, Krakua?”
Wide green eyes met Viraka’s blue ones. “No,” the De-Matoran whispered.
A loud roar pierced the air, causing Krakua to jump and clamp his hands over his ears. Viraka sighed quietly as she shook her head. She knew it would have been a mistake to bring a sound-sensitive Matoran to an island as noisy as Saevta. But Helryx had given her this task and Krakua had been brought along as part of his training. If he couldn’t handle a little noise, then what hope was there that he would be an effective agent of the Order?
“Come on,” she said, stepping around the large rock they had been hiding behind. “I think they’re done fighting.”
Krakua said nothing as he followed her, humming loudly to himself as a way to calm his nerves. The vast, expansive desert surrounded them as they approached the group of Saevta warriors that had been fighting. A gold-plated one was standing triumphantly over his defeated foes, raising his arms to the sky as he released a hearty laugh from his large, fanged maw.
“Another victory for Taurrus!” the fearsome being bellowed. “The Champion of Saevta has no equal!”
The defeated Saevta all glared at Taurrus as they picked themselves up and limped away from the scene. Taurrus continued to stand there, basking in the moment, as Viraka and Krakua approached him.
“A very impressive display, mighty Taurrus,” Viraka said to the tall, horned being. “Your people are truly deserving of such a warrior.”
Taurrus laughed again, though it did not sound so mirthful this time. “These savages deserve nothing of the sort. If it weren’t for those as noble as me keeping things together, our race would have gone extinct by now thanks to centuries of infighting.”
“I see,” Viraka murmured. “Was Botar such a being?”
Taurrus glanced at her, his eyes narrowing. “I know who you are, winged one,” he growled softly. “Or, rather, I know who you represent. Is Helryx too busy to speak with me herself?”
“So to speak. You know why we’re here then.”
“I don’t believe you have come here for any other reason,” Taurrus replied. “But what purpose could you and your friends possibly have for a third Saevta? Are Botar and Shikaiju not enough?”
“Botar is dead,” Viraka said grimly. “And Shikaiju has betrayed us to the Makuta.”
At this, Taurrus’ expression became a solemn one. “That is… I am sorry to hear that,” he said quietly. “I had always carried a great amount of respect for Botar, which was why I had suggested him to Helryx in the first place. And Shikaiju… she was always a difficult one to categorize. I’m not sure if anyone trusted her; not even those who considered her a friend.”
“I’m sure they weren’t the only ones,” Viraka replied. “In any case, we are in urgent need of another Saevta, especially if we hope to gather the forces necessary in fighting the Brotherhood of Makuta.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go with those guys,” Taurrus said dryly, pointing in the direction his former opponents had gone. “They clearly don’t stand much of a fighting chance, especially if a warrior as great as Botar can be so easily slain.”
“Actually, we were hoping that you would join us.”
Taurrus looked at her in surprise. “Me? Why?”
“As you have proved just now, you are one of if not the greatest warriors of Saevta. The Order of Mata Nui could use someone with your talents.”
The gold Saevta frowned as he looked off into the distance. “But… if I leave, our society will fall apart.”
“There is more at stake than what is happening here,” said Viraka. “The fate of the universe is at stake.”
Taurrus snorted. “Oh, I’ve heard that phrase quite a few times. More often than not, it is a great exaggeration.”
Viraka sighed, folding her wings tightly against her back. “Are you with us or not?”
“How much of a say do I have in the matter?” Taurrus asked, smirking. “If I say no, will you simply choose a different Saevta? Or will Helryx herself come here and try a more… direct approach in persuading me?”
Viraka opened her mouth to reply but Taurrus cut her off. “Very well,” he said. “I will lend my talents to your Order… but only until the Makuta have been vanquished. Don’t expect me to become your ferryman after all is said and done.”
“I’m not sure there’ll even be a need for one once this is all through,” Viraka muttered. “But I thank you nonetheless, mighty Taurrus.”
The Saevta chuckled. “Thank me after I do whatever it is you need me to do. Speaking of which… do you have anything particular in mind?”
“Well,” Viraka said, “there is a team of Toa that Botar was supposed to check in on. They should be in the realm of Karzahni by now.”
“Karzahni, eh?” Taurrus laughed again as he flexed his claws. “Talk about a heavy workload on the first day of the job.”
The island of Karzahni
“You have a name, don’t you?”
Takua stared at the Matoran that had initially brought him and the Rahaga into Karzahni, still waiting for an answer. Even when standing close to him, Takua still could not make out the mysterious Matoran’s eyes from within the shadows of their ghastly mask. It made it impossible to tell if the Matoran was even listening to him.
Just when Takua was about to ask again, the Matoran spoke a single word: “Janar.”
Takua blinked at him. “Pardon?”
“My name is Janar,” the Matoran said, his voice no louder than a whisper. “It has been… so long since someone has called me by that name, that I have almost forgotten it.”
Takua smiled as he placed a hand on the other Matoran’s shoulder. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that any more, Janar. Soon, there’ll be plenty of people around to call you by that name.”
Janar slowly nodded, though he continued to stare off into the distance as he had been for the past while. Sighing, Takua turned away from the Matoran and looked around to see how the others were doing. Toa Varian and the Rahaga were gathering the freed Matoran of Karzahni and trying to coax them out of the trance-like state that centuries of torturous labor had placed them in. Orde and Seldaan were laying nearby, still recovering from their injuries, while Lesovikk and Arctur stood over the constrained Karzahni, having removed his mask in case he woke up and tried to use it on them.
Chiara and Zaria had gone off in search of Toa Orkahm and Vhisola, although Takua couldn’t help but dread that the surviving Toa Metru would be too far gone, either mentally or physically. Even so, their earlier fight with the Manas — and Umarak before then — had proved that the Toa Metru were not qualified to defend Metru Nui. Although he had only known them for little more than an hour, Takua already had more faith in these new Toa — “Toa Tenebrae” as they called themselves — than he ever had in Nuhrii and the others.
Takua turned back to Janar, hoping to get him talking again, only to notice a giant being with fangs and claws standing next to the other Matoran. Takua let out a scream and fell onto his back, scrambling away as he gazed at the large creature in fear.
The monstrous being looked down at him and, much to the Matoran’s surprise, exhaled deeply as it sighed. “I have to admit,” it muttered, “it’s rather heartbreaking to always earn that kind of reaction.”
“Don’t move!” Toa Lesovikk and Arctur were immediately at Takua’s side, brandishing their tools at the being. “State your business, Saevta,” said the Toa of Air, “before we do to you what we just did to Karzahni.”
“My, what a warm welcome,” the Saevta said dryly. “And here I was under the impression that you needed my help.”
“Lower your weapons, Toa!” A winged female being appeared from behind the Saevta, accompanied by a De-Matoran. “My name is Viraka of the Order of Mata Nui.”
“The Order?” At this, Lesovikk lowered his blade, with Arctur following suit. He glanced up at the Saevta, noting that his armor was similar to that of Botar’s, only with red replacing blue and gold replacing silver. “I thought Botar would be picking us up.”
“I’m afraid Botar is dead,” Viraka replied. “Helryx send me to recruit another Saevta so that you and Karzahni could be brought back to Daxia.”
“Well, we’re a little wary of other Saevta,” said Arctur. “Especially after our encounter with Shikaiju.”
Viraka nodded solemnly. “Yes, I am aware of that. But Taurrus here is one of the more noble members of his species. He is more than willing to serve the will of Mata Nui.”
“Only to an extent,” Taurrus said pointedly. “I don’t want anyone to raise their expectations of me too high.”
He shifted his attention to Karzahni, who continued to lay there comatose and maskless. Walking past the Toa and Matoran, Taurrus approached the mad ruler and hoisted him up by the metal bars that restrained him.
“I’ve heard legends of this being,” Taurrus mused. “I have to say, I’m a little underwhelmed.”
“You know where to take him, yes?” asked Viraka.
Taurrus grinned at her before vanishing in a flash of light, taking Karzahni with him. Seconds later, he returned in the same fashion, with Karzahni nowhere to be seen. “It was as if he was never here,” the Saevta said with a laugh.
“I guess that’s that, then,” Arctur said as he sheathed his Energy Blades. “Is there anything the Order wants us to do now?”
Before Viraka could answer, Takua spoke up as he got back to his feet. “The Rahaga and I need to return to Metru Nui,” he said. “Turaga Dume had sent us to find the Toa of Light, but we were intercepted by some being named Umarak. He took the Mask of Light and stranded us here.”
Viraka frowned. “The Makuta have the Mask of Light? Oh, Great Beings protect us….”
“There’s no time to waste then,” said Lesovikk. “Let’s head to Metru Nui.”
Viraka shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. The Brotherhood of Makuta have taken over Metru Nui; their homeland of Destral is co-inhabiting the Great City’s dome.”
Takua’s eyes widened. “No,” he murmured in shock.
“That’s all the more reason for us to go there,” Arctur said. “As Toa, we are sworn to protect the Matoran.”
“But there are only seven of you,” Viraka said pointedly. “With two of your number being injured,” she added, nodding in the direction of Orde and Seldaan.
“What would you have us do then?” asked Lesovikk. “If we don’t do anything, then the Makuta will continue to terrorize the Matoran of Metru Nui, if not worse. I know you’re not a Toa, but surely even you must understand that that is not right.”
Viraka looked at the Toa of Air, a curious expression on her face. “Haven’t you yourself sworn yourself from ever being considered a Toa again? I am surprised you care so much about the Matoran all of a sudden.”
“I’ve always cared about the Matoran,” Lesovikk muttered. “Toa or not, that has never changed. Your Order has given me a chance to make up for my failures. Defeating Karzahni has only checked off one of those boxes. Saving Metru Nui would check off another.”
“I see. But are you only doing this for your self-conscious, or because you believe it is right?”
Lesovikk opened his mouth but could not come up with an answer. Not waiting for one, Viraka turned her attention back to Taurrus.
“Take us to Daxia, Taurrus,” she said to the Saevta. “We will discuss this further with Helryx.”
“Wait!” Takua exclaimed. “What about these Matoran? What about Toa Orkahm and Vhisola?”
“We’ll have to leave them here for now,” Viraka replied. “Don’t worry, we’ll come back for them.”
Takua severely doubted that but had no chance to speak as he was grabbed by the arm and taken away from the realm of Karzahni in a flash of light.
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