Chapter 3: The Introduction
Kopaka and Ko-Kohilii continued in silence until they came to what seemed to be an unoccupied hut.
"This will be yours," Kopaka motioned towards the hut.
"Mine?" Ko-Kohilii asked and Kopaka nodded. Kopaka stood up straight and looked the other matoran in the eyes. "If I hear that a matoran has invaded her privacy, that matoran will be brought straight to me. Understood?" The matoran mumbled their agreement and then went back to their daily chores.
Kopaka turned back to Ko-Kohilii. He put his ice-white hand on her small shoulder.
"You will be fine. The matoran never disobey and order from a Toa. Go on. Go check out your new home."
Ko-Kohilii walked inside the hut she now called home and looked around. The room was empty, except for a bed underneath a small window, which let a small box of light inside. It shone brightly on the light gray icy floor of the hut. She wondered about the cold. There was no glass to the cold out and the warmth in. There was not even a door. Then she noticed a small fireplace against a wall. She remembered that she was not bothered by the cold as she was walking with Toa Kopaka. She was one of the Ko-matoran. She was invincible to the cold. Ko-Kohilii walked back outside.
"What do you think?" Kopaka asked.
"It's a little empty…and gray." She answered sadly. Kopaka had a small smile on his normally sour face.
"You will make it what it is," he said. "Make a stone or ice carving, put it in your house. Make a Matoro doll," Kopaka started slyly. "Put him on your bed so he will always be near you." Kopaka joked. Ko-Kohilii had an embarrassed smile creeping onto her young female face. "Come on now, I was only joking." He said sympathetically.
"Now there is a first!" Said a voice Ko-Kohilii recognized instantly. She spun around and came face to face with Matoro.
"Oh! Hi!" She said embarrassed once more. Kopaka had backed up and was standing with Turaga Nuju. Both of them were watching closely.
"I live next door," He said. Matoro pointed at the ice hut to her right. To your right lives Naiza, he's one of the matoran who sends messages to the other Toa if something is wrong wanted or needed. Or maybe just requested. Speaking of the other Toa they are waiting in the Village Square by the Suva."
"Suva?"
"A dome which is filled with elemental energy. A place where a Toa can regain energy and strength," Matoro recited as if he was reading from an ancient text. "Come on. Let's go meet the other Toa!" Matoro said as he grabbed her by the hand. "The square is not far from here!" He grabbed Ko-Kohilii's hand and pulled her in the direction of the square.
Sure enough as Matoro pulled her closer to the village square, which was filled with curious matoran, who obviously had heard of her arrival, and to see all the Toa in the same village, Ko-Kohilii started to see multicolored figures start to appear. You could tell their colors easily in the white terrain. Red, blue, green, brown, black, and golden yellow. Matoro struggled to pull her through the crowd, which was talking excitedly. The crowd immediately parted when Nuju and Kopaka came through. Kopaka glared at the other matoran.
"SCAT!" he hissed at them. The matoran obviously heard him because every single one of them went in a different direction, until no one else was left in the square but the seven Toa, what seemed to be the other Turaga, and what seemed to be other matoran of other villages.
Ko-Kohilii could guess which one was Toa Tahu because he was red and orange just like fire. But the other Toa, she knew nothing about. For Kopaka had only mentioned Toa Tahu and Toa Gali very briefly. And Kopaka said Tahu's name like it was a very sour lemon. Next to Tahu was a green Toa, who was talking excited and very fast to a brown, strong looking Toa. Next to the brown Toa was a blue Toa, who must have been Toa Gali, the only girl and protector of the village of girls. Gali was talking to a black one who also looked strong. And next to the black Toa was a golden yellow one, who was leaning on his staff, gazing thoughtfully at the sky.
"Ah…Toa Kopaka. It is good to see that you do have some control over your village, " Tahu snarled. "Too much control, if you ask me…"
"I didn't ask you," he mumbled
"As I was saying…You need to learn how to control your control over your matoran. If you don't learn, the matoran will know you as the bossy one, not the silent one. Why have I been summoned?"
"Me? Bossy? You must have made a mistake. Look at the way you order your matoran around." Kopaka snapped. The two Toa continued to argue for about five minutes. An orange Turaga stepped towards Ko-Kohilii.
"I am Turaga Vakama of Ta-Koro, the village of fire. I am sorry Toa Tahu and Toa Kopaka argue like this," Turaga Vakama introduced sadly. "If only the eighth Toa did exist, maybe they could bring unity between these two." Tahu heard this.
"Unity!? Ha! Never! If the eighth To did exist, he could never bring unity between us two," he commented.
"If they did exist, how are you so sure that it would be a boy?" Ko-Kohilii cut in. Tahu looked at her for the first time. He looked her up and down.
"I'm not. Who are you?"
"This is…" Kopaka started.
"Hi!" The green Toa piped and he leapt in front of Ko-Kohilii. "I'm Toa Lewa, the spirit of air. And who are you?"
"As you were saying…" Tahu said with a hint of impatience in his voice. Kopaka continued.
"This is…"
"Lewa! Lewa! Lewa! Lewa! Lewa! Lewa! Lewa! Lewa! Lewa! Lewa! Lewa! Lewa!" Lewa interrupted once more, his hyperness taking over him, like a bohrok's krana on a Toa. He was practically shaking with energy.
"Yes, Lewa. We already know you are Toa Lewa." Tahu snorted. Ko-Kohilii could do nothing but smile. This Toa Lewa was filled with energy. "Why don't you be quiet…Wait, that is not possible, you cannot be quiet. So just go sit under that icy tree. My mistake…go sit in that icy tree," Tahu said with relish.
"Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay!" Lewa giggled as he grabbed his twin air katana, placed them under his arms and soared into the nearby icy tree.
"Would anyone else like to interrupt me?" Kopaka asked furiously. "Good. This is
Ko-Kohilii. The only female Ko-matoran," Kopaka continued cautiously. Watching the look creep onto Tahu's tempered face.
"A girl in a guy's village?" Tahu roared with laughter.
"I knew he would do that," Kopaka said softly to Ko-Kohilii.
"Tahu, we told you about the legend of a new era. An era of unity. Where girls will live in a boys village in peace." Turaga Vakama told Tahu. Tahu raised one flaming red eyebrow.
"Why was I not informed?"
"You were," replied the brown Toa. "I was there." The brown one turned to Ko-Kohilii and smiled. He put out his large silvery-brown fist. She stood dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.
Kopaka didn't understand what he was doing either. Than it hit him like a boulder that Pohatu just kicked at him at full blast. An era of unity… Kopaka leaned over and whispered in her ear. Ko-Kohilii closed her hand into a fist and clunked it against his. Toa Pohatu seemed satisfied.
"This is Turaga Onewa. The Turaga of Po-Koro. And this is Hewkii," Pohatu motioned towards the brown matoran at his side. "He is the all-time top scorer at the sport of Kolhii and is one of the few Po-matoran strong enough to crush boulders with his head as well as his feet." When Toa Pohatu said this, Hewkii beamed.
And so, Ko-Kohilii met everyone. Toa Gali, Turaga Nokama and Hahli (the new chronicler) from Ga-Koro, the village of water. Toa Tahu, Turaga Vakama, and Jaller (the captain of the Ta-Koro guard) from Ta-Koro, the village of fire. They called Toa Lewa back. She met Toa Lewa, Turaga Matau, and Kongu (captain of the Le-Koro Gukko Bird Force) from Le-Koro, the village of air. She also met Toa Onua, Turaga Whenua and Onepu (captain of the Ussalry, the Onu-Koro defense force) from the village of earth, Onu-Koro. And last but not least she met Toa Takanuva, the Toa of light. Who also lived in Ta-Koro. They explained the sport of Kolhii. The rules, the players and the history of the game.
Ko-Kohilii was exhausted as they walked back to her hut with Matoro and Toa Kopaka.
"I'm tired, yet strangely happy from all the things I learned today." Ko-Kohilii said sleepily. Kopaka could do nothing but smile as she said this. He had a feeling that she would fit in just fine.