Makuta's Diary - 2

When I launched my plan to take over this universe, I will admit that I did not think big enough. I thought I could be satisfied with seizing power in the city of Metru Nui. By doing that, I could control the flow of energy from the city's power plants to the rest of the universe, not to mention being able to decide when—or if—the Great Spirit would ever awaken again.

Now, as I look back at my setbacks there, I realize it was fate's way of telling me I was meant to rule more than just one city. Oh, the plan began well enough—I captured and imprisoned Metru Nui's pathetic ruler, Turaga Dume, and took his place. I reprogrammed the robot guardians of the city, the Vahki, to serve me. I hired Dark Hunters to eliminate Toa Lhikan and his teammates. And I found a foolish little mask maker, Vakama, and demanded he create for me a Mask of Time.

I was like a Visorak spider in the center of its web, watching as my prey became entangled in the strands. One by one, Toa were made to disappear, until only Lhikan remained. The Matoran of the city accepted me as Dume, never once questioning my order to close the sea gates and isolate Metru Nui from the rest of the universe.

If there was a moment when it began to go wrong, it was when Nidhiki and Krekka failed to prevent Lhikan from handing out Toa Stones to six worthless Matoran. Those six became Toa Metru, a new team of meddlers determined to interfere with my plans. I had unleashed an intelligent plant menace of my own creation, the Morbuzakh, on the city, driving the Matoran into panic. The Toa Metru used the Great Disks and destroyed it.

But even that I was able to use to my advantage. They had temporarily used up their elemental powers in the fight and had not yet mastered their mask powers. When they couldn't show either to a crowd of assembled villagers, I branded them as frauds and ordered their arrest. But my Vahki and Dark Hunters were only able to capture three, leaving Vakama, Nokama, and Matau free.

I would not allow any delay in my plans. While some Vahki pursued the three Toa, the rest captured the city's Matoran and put them into canisters where they would be forced into a deep sleep. Over time, they would lose their memories of how they had been imprisoned. Then I would free them and they would hail me as their rescuer, gladly giving me their loyalty and complete control of Metru Nui. Of course, it would take many centuries for that to happen…unless I had the Kanohi Vahi, the Mask of Time, and could speed up time for the sleeping Matoran.

Vakama had succeeded in making the mask, by combining the six Great Disks. But before the Vahki could get it away from him, he and his allies had succeeded in freeing the other three Toa Metru and Lhikan, who had now become a Turaga. Then they dared to mount an attack on me—me!—totally ignoring how hopeless their cause must be.

Needing more power for the coming fight, I absorbed the energies of the Metru Nui power plant, along with the bodies and minds of Nidhiki, Krekka, and my flying Rahi, Nivawk. Shapeshifting into a large, winged form, I challenged Vakama for possession of the Vahi, even as earthquakes crumbled the city around us. He was tricky, ducking and dodging and hiding from my sight until his friends could arrive.

Even then, I would have absorbed him as I had the Dark Hunters had he not suddenly realized how to use the Mask of Time. He slowed time down around me, delaying my revenge. But the fool could not control the Vahi's power and trapped himself in the time slowdown as well. I knew I had only to wait until his will weakened and he would be mine.

I never saw Turaga Lhikan running toward us, or his leap in between us. But when time at last flowed normally, it was Lhikan who took the blast meant for Vakama and died. Given a second chance at life, the Toa Metru attacked, trapping me inside a prison of solid protodermis locked with a Toa seal.

They thought me defeated and helpless, of course…Toa often make that mistake. They could not know that I was reaching out with my mind to a pair of my servants, who would soon arrive in Metru Nui and avenge my defeat…

Makuta, the Great Spirit

X X X

Late in the afternoon they resumed their journey. Strakk observed how a Sand Bat exploded out of a dune to throw itself onto a Sand Fox and then dragged it underground. The Spikit saw the same and grunted in anger and fear. Large, winged serpents, Sand Bats lived underground due to their dislike of direct sunlight. They erupted out of the sand to attack prey, then dove back under again.

"I hate those things," Strakk said. "You never know where they are until they're right in front of you."

"Giant scorpions are even worse," Tarduk said. Despite the heat he shivered. "I've seen them several times while searching for artifacts in caves."

"There's an easy way of avoiding such encounters," Strakk said.

"How?"

"Stop wandering around in caves," the Glatorian replied.

"I can't stand Dune Snakes," Kirbold remarked. "You want to know why?"

"Why?" Strakk said.

"Because they are everywhere around us."

Gresh's Sand Stalker suddenly reeled in panic, followed by Strakk's mount. The Spikit tore at the reins and made efforts to break free. However, Kirbold managed to hold the beast under control. Everywhere around them the dunes moved, the poisonous snakes slithered right beneath the surface of the sand.

Another underground-dwelling serpent, Dune Snakes lived in nests beneath the sand. It looked like a sea of waves rolling under the dunes, but it was neither a peaceful nor comforting sight. The bite of one of these serpents could lead to death within seconds, not to mention the snakes were absolutely fearless. They wouldn't hesitate for a second to attack something larger than themselves. They could quick surround even a large animal and kill it with multiple bites.

"We must have ridden right into a nest!" Strakk said. "What do we do now?"

Gresh tried desperately to get his Sand Stalker under control again. "When your mount topples, jump off or you'll be trapped beneath it."

"Thanks, I certainly would never have thought of that," Strakk growled. "If you had just listened to me…"

"Look!" Tarduk yelled. "A path!"

He was right. Somewhere to the right there was a strip of sand that wasn't moving. It was clear to all of them that this was the best and only way out of danger.

"Let's go!" Gresh said who had already turned his Sand Stalker into the direction of the passage.

Strakk was already ahead of him, letting his mount jump over half a dozen snakes that had darted out of the sand. Behind the two Glatorian, Kirbold urged the Spikit forward. Strakk was now a good distance ahead of the group and didn't look back. Suddenly his Sand Stalker toppled over. The next moment, he was up to his waist in liquid sand.

"Help!" he cried.

"We can't help him," Kirbold claimed. "If we get too close we'll sink, too."

"He's a Glatorian. I can't leave him behind," Gresh said. "We can ride around the liquid sand and pull him out."

"Not without riding through the snakes," retorted Tarduk.

"It seems we don't have a choice," Kirbold said. "It's either him or us."

Gresh had no time to think. For several seconds, the sand devoured Strakk, and the snakes gradually formed circles around the caravan. The only escape was through the soft sand, but the trailer was heavy as stone. Suddenly he had an idea! It was about as crazy as suicide, but there was a small chance of success. Everything depended on how high Gresh could jump and how fast his Sand Stalker was, as well as his knowledge of the dunes. If even one element of the plan failed, none of them would escape alive. "Tarduk! I need a rope attached to the Exsidian! Now!" shouted Gresh.

The Agori quickly cut the rope. He tossed it to Gresh, but it reached only two meters.

"Whatever happens now, nobody separate!" ordered Gresh. "Keep each other in sight and don't talk, okay?"

Kirbold and Tarduk obeyed. None of them spoke a word. On the other side, they were approaching the Dune Snakes. Gresh took the rope, tied it to his Sand Stalker and galloped off. He had to execute each step with precision. Upon reaching the bank of soft sand, he forced his steed to jump. In that same instant, he hurled the rope over the treacherous sands in Strakk's direction. Strakk caught the rope, and he was yanked free from the trap by Gresh's Stalker.

"You saved me!" Strakk cried, delighted and surprised. "I can't believe it!"

"I had to," said Gresh. "Now get back to the caravan."

"Are you crazy?!" Strakk cried. "You want to go back into the jaws of the Dune Snakes? I care about Exsidian, but I won't risk my life for it."

"Not even if you're risking the loss of something valuable?" replied Gresh.

"No way!" Strakk shook his head.

"I haven't got time to argue," said Gresh. "You can have half my payment if you help me."

Strakk's eyes shone with eagerness. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

The two riders jumped from the smooth sand and grabbed onto the harness, hoping that their mounts wouldn't be caught by the serpents' fangs. But instead of stopping at the caravan, Gresh and Strakk spun around. The Agori looked at the Glatorian in silence, both wondering if Gresh had lost his mind.

"Is there a reason for why we're doing this?" Strakk asked.

"Yes," said Gresh. "Dune Snakes are blind on the surface, right? So they don't use sight or smell when hunting."

"They use hearing," Strakk guessed. "They respond to vibrations on the surface, so we're making noise."

"Exactly," Gresh smiled. "It works, see?"

Strakk looked back. The snakes no longer surrounded the caravan, but now they were heading towards the Glatorian.

"Ahhhh!" Strakk shouted.

"Over here!" shouted Gresh.

The Tesaran Glatorian rode over the soft sand, with Strakk right behind him. Gresh's mount jumped back from the deadly place. Strakk managed to do the same. The hungry Dune Snakes were unable to avoid the sand trap, which absorbed them without giving them a single moment to escape.

"Good thinking," admitted Strakk. "Using one trap against another—the liquid sand against the snakes. Although it did cost you half of your pay…"

Several hours later, the travelers arrived at the foot of the Black Spike Mountains. They found a narrow path between the rocks that was so narrow only one rider could fit through at a time. Gresh had Strakk go first, while he himself covered the rear. Strakk showed little enthusiasm for his proposal, but Gresh explained that if someone had been following since Iconox, they would not plan a frontal ambush, but an attack from behind.

"You never know," said Strakk. "There were traps in places where no one would've ever expected. But you're too young to remember that."

"When was it exactly?"

"During the war. At a time when Bara Magna was part of a larger world…long before The Shattering…"

Gresh had heard little of the war that changed the world 100,000 years ago. Other Glatorian were reluctant to talk about it. Apparently they wanted to eliminate all the memories related to that event.

"Enlighten me," said Gresh. "What has that got to do with this?"

"The Black Spike Mountains were one of the few places where there were no battles," Strakk said.

"No one wanted to fight here?" said Gresh.

"No one dared to approach this place," said Strakk. "Check out these rocks. I bet there are many deposits of precious metals and who knows what else. Do you think anyone would want to extract it? Not even the Skrall were foolish enough to come here."

At the mention of the Skrall, Gresh pressed his hand to the reins of his mount. It was no secret that the Rock Tribe was not from the desert regions of Bara Magna. Their home was among a land of volcanoes in the far north. They had lived there for many centuries, protected by their warriors, the Skrall. Not long ago, the Skrall and Rock Tribe appeared in the south, inhabiting the Black Spike Mountains and the surrounding land. When they reached Roxtus, it became the largest village on Bara Magna. It was rumored that they had moved to the area running to escape something far more dangerous than they themselves were, but there was no evidence of this and the real reason remained a mystery.

It soon became evident that the newcomers were not dependent on forging friendships with other tribes. Although they sent warriors to battle in the arena, any sane Glatorian knew not to try and face them. Anyone who had to deal with them would face the leader of their tribe, Tuma, who only desired to have the Skrall take what they wanted. However, by far, the Skrall followed the rules during arena matches. The fighting system in the arena was not a problem for the Rock Tribe—the Skrall were lovers of battle. So far no Glatorian had managed to defeat them…ever.

Gresh knew that perfectly well. Not long ago he lost a duel against a Skrall warrior in the Vulcanus arena. The Skrall was willing to break the rules while fighting in the arena, and had another Glatorian not intervened, the encounter would have been the last thing Gresh had done in his life. That simple memory brought him shame. Tesara had had its chance at victory, and he had failed them. Gresh stopped thinking about it. It was not the best time to be thinking of the past. He and his companions had just entered the territory of the Rock Tribe. The only bad thing that could happen now was if they were attacked by Skrall.

"Look!" Kirbold said suddenly, pointing to the top of a hill.

Gresh looked up. The Glatorian saw three Skrall on the edge of the summit. However, as soon as he got a better look, he realized they were simply helmets and pieces of armor hanging on stilts above the sand.

"They're only puppets," Gresh said. "Probably to help deter uninvited guests."

"Look at them more closely," Strakk said.

"I did look at them. So what?"

"They're not pieces of Skrall armor. One is red, another is blue, and the third is green," Strakk pointed out. "Where do you think they came from? They're the spoils of dead Glatorian. Am I right?"

"I don't think so," said Gresh.

"Go ahead, don't believe me, rookie," laughed Strakk. "They came to find the end of their lives."

"You should remain silent," a voice whispered.

The Glatorian turned quickly, raising their Thornax Launchers towards where the ominous words had come from. Tarduk grabbed the reins of the spikit, just in case they had to flee. Kirbold crouched down in case there were any enemy projectiles. Up on a rocky hillside, was a red armored Glatorian. Strakk and Gresh recognized him immediately. He was called Malum. At one time his name was spoken with great respect, but Malum's wild temperament had caused problems. During a match in the arena, he had tried to kill Strakk after being pushed farther and taunted repeatedly in the arena. For that crime he was banished from the village of Vulcanus. Since then, the desert had become his home.

"Well, well, look who it is," Strakk said. "And I thought you were eating Sand Bats."

"Do something!" whispered Kirbold. "He just wants the Exsidian!"

"Don't worry," said Strakk. "Why would he seek Exsidian in an area so remote? And besides, if Malum wanted it, he would have taken it before we entered the mountains. Right, old friend?"

Malum looked at Strakk with a cold stare. "I've never been your friend."

"What do you want?" asked Gresh.

"I warn you," Malum answered. "The Skrall have become more ambitious. Many of them are in the mountains, chasing something, or someone…maybe you. You should listen to their talk of Tajun. Would you be interested?"

"Why would you care?" spat Strakk. "Will you regret it when we're killed by the Skrall, before you can take your revenge on us?"

The dark smile on Malum's face didn't reveal anything good. "To be completely honest…yes."