Rasi looked curiously at the falling star. The star was emitting a reddish gold light as it plummeted downwards. Rasi then realized something. The star was heading towards him. The Ta-matoran dashed down the sloping plateau and hid, cowering, behind a large obsidian rock. As the red-gold star neared the surface of the plateau, increasing in speed, the polished black surface of the obsidian glowed as if on fire. The star crashed into the plateau, sending rubble everywhere. Rasi whimpered in fear. He waited. Seconds seemed like minutes; minutes seemed like hours. Finally, he summoned all of his courage and looked at the plateau. Something seemed to be moving. Something was happening inside the screen of smoke. Rasi stealthily made his way up the broken plateau.
The Ta-matoran struggled up the jagged, sloping side of the plateau. He tried his best not to break off rocks, but the occasional pebble fell, ricocheting down. Yet the sound of the bouncing pebble was muffled by the sound of movement and the flickering of fires coming from inside the cloud of smoke. He peered into the thick smoke, and to his surprise, he saw a being. Yet, the being was assembling itself, connecting pieces of his body together to form a tall, intimidating figure. The being was armored in red, gold, and gunmetal gray armor. Two swords were sheathed and rested on his back, along with a bow, though no quiver was in sight. The being stopped moving. Rasi was so busy staring at the being, that he did not see the rock. His foot disturbed it, and it bounced down the jagged side of the plateau. In the silence, each bounce was like an explosion. The being turned sharply, and Rasi made an involuntary shout. The face was bare, and the cyan eyes seemed to pierce into Rasi's own green ones. A hand shot up and unsheathed a katana-like sword. Rasi immediately noticed that it looked like a flame.
"Who goes there?" the being demanded.
"Only a lowly matoran," Rasi said, afraid. He backed away slowly.
"Matoran…" whispered the being, "Why do I know this word? Anyway, you do not look like a threat, and you definitely don't sound like one."
"Who are you?" the matoran asked. The being thought. The answer came almost immediately.
"I am Talak," the being replied.
Talak knelt and picked up a red mask. He put it on his face, and he felt the raw power course though his body. The matoran gazed in awe at the red mask on Talak's face. He had never seen such a mask before.
"Are you a Toa?" Rasi asked.
"I do not know," Talak responded. Toa and Matoran sounded so familiar to him. But why?
"Maybe Turaga Tahu would know," Rasi said, "He knows everything! If you are a Toa, a hero, then… you could save us."
"Save you from whom? Or what?" Talak asked. Toa, Matoran, Turaga. Why were these words so familiar?
"The darkness," Rasi said softly, "The darkness. It has terrorized us for many years, and all those years, we have resisted. But the darkness is growing stronger now, and the Turaga say that we may not survive this time. You have to be a Toa. You must…"
"I will try. If I am a Toa, I will fight for you and your people. If I am not a Toa, then I will fight like one. I promise." Talak held out his hand, and the matoran shook it.