#bionicle zakaz the island

[legend-as-old-as-time]

Parts of the fandom have spoken! I’ll share my self-indulgent skakdi and Zakaz headcanons.

While copying out my notes, they grew even more... Be aware that this is a longer post! I'll put the largest part under a readmore if asked for.

Edit: I was pretty tired yesterday, so I forgot to give shout-outs to @mothnem and @crystaltoa. Headcanon 1 started in a discussion between mothnem and I about their AU and they created some of the details that inspired my headcanons as a whole. Crystaltoa listened to my ramblings and gave feedback.

Please reblog this version!

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Headcanon 1: Some of the skakdi are part of the GSR’s immune system. Rather than warriors and shepherds protecting the workers as GSR’s internal structures directly like toa do, these skakdi keep the ecosystem and people healthy by dealing with sicknesses. All people in this area of jobs have cooperative elemental powers. (This is before the Awakening and some of the time after, prior to other political players interfering.)

One group are doctors. They can read living beings’ energy and determine whether or not they’re healthy by touch. If they’re not, they figure out the cause and craft medicine from protodermis. They have an easier time reading species created directly by the Great Beings or Mata Nui like their own, vortixx, stelts, or matoran.

Medical assistants help the doctors. Writing reports, fetching materials, watching over the process of medicine making, etc. Some of them are apprentices meant to become doctors themselves.

Another group acts similar to phagocytic cells. They are special operations who step in when contagious diseases appear. Immune to most diseases, sicknesses, and toxins; will not spread any even after prolonged contact with these things. These traits make them different from the doctors. But they’re able to read living beings’ energy, too. They are specialized in either of these three jobs:

Scouts. They – always six with the main elements – venture into areas with suspected or confirmed sickness, whether it affects the flora, the fauna, the people, or any of them combined. They determine sick plants by eating parts of them. If they can’t locate or touch living specimen, they eat remains of dead plants and of rahi to determine the cause. They create crystals from their findings and forward them to messengers to bring them back to the doctors to scan. Sometimes, they’ll send patients for better care.

Their job includes locating the focus of diseases, marking the area, and setting up quarantines where necessary. Scouts give emergency first aid to stabilize, including slowing down patients’ bodies / putting them into a coma by cooling them down or flushing out specific toxins via water energy. If they can’t save them, they give palliative care instead.

Contagious remains of Great Beings Creations (GBC) and of rahi, and plantlife, are burned. The remains are encased in stone and earth. Skakdi of air control that no airborne pathogens or embers spread.

Messengers. Quick on their feet, they work in groups of three to ensure their cargo – patients, medical crystals, notes, medicine – reaches their destination.

I have no designation for this job yet, but these skakdi tend to be the biggest and are heavily armored. Primary job: They protect the scouts (who are no warriors) from the flora and fauna. Their secondary task is a last resort: to destroy and eat highly contagious rahi and plantlife that have gone out of control. They can’t be cured or there’s no time to scout for a cure first. They ruthlessly kill them, eating the remains within seconds. They produce the same crystals as the scouts, but with more data.

The health specialists make up only part of the whole skakdi population. On Zakaz, a big part of what is created and built is for own use, like tools and devices to build houses and machines. Medicine and energy supply machines are the most exported goods. Some are farmers and fishers because eating food is seen as average part of life. Some are traders who bring back goods for further processing from Xia or Metru Nui. Zakaz also has doctors specialized in reparing and healing fellow skakdi.

In locations outside of Zakaz, skakdi do similar jobs to the other people around them, like smith work or teaching or being healers.

To repeat, this is how things were supposed to go.

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Headcanon 2: Specific organizations of and leading matoran wanted to gather more power in the GSR, over their own people and over others. They invented and spread several lies about the other GBC (Great Beings Creations), including that eating with their mouth made them barbaric and thus lesser (and dangerous). Along with these lies came sanctions and restrictions as well as the restriction of information to only what was approved.

One of such places was Metru Nui shortly before, around, and after the civil war. The aim was both to extort better trade conditions for Metru Nui and dissuade local dissenters from leaving because of the unknown. Affected GBC would also be less likely to host refugee matoran, seeing matoran in general as the source for their problems. And the turaga used that resentment as false proof of their lies. The Order of Mata Nui helped in spread of the propaganda.

Skakdi soon were met with suspicion and anger from their matoran peers. Many had to leave their previous homes because their work as well as their person were rejected. They rightfully grew resentful of them.

Makuta Spiriah’s arrival on Zakaz made things worse. Seeing potential for warriors in the skakdi because of their protectors, he trained volunteers in combat and strategy. He also modified a large group to be stronger and more aggressive, including installing the spine slugs.

Skakdi volunteered for many reasons. They feared attacks by matoran as well as xian forces. They wanted revenge. They feared Spiriah’s retaliation if they refused. They wanted to be able to protect themselves when dealing with rahi. They wanted power for power’s sake. They wanted to take control of Zakaz. They wanted to take control of the GSR (the Barraki had almost managed it, had they not.)

Not all inhabitants agreed to go with Spiriah’s plans. Whether it was the depths of the modifications or the modifications on their own.

All factors that created a metaphorical bomb for existing tensions to rise and explode. Spiriah lit the fuse when left the island and the visorak in charge of Zakaz.

How dare the Makuta leave them alone?! Many skakdi were struggling with side-effects that only appeared then – like uncontrollable and heightened aggression. The healers and doctors didn’t have the resources to help them.

How dare he put the visorak in charge?! It was an insult to the prouder inhabitants, already slighted by the matoran. Others feared Spiriah’s retaliation as well as what the visorak would do if they went against the horde.

In this confusion, the common question was: What to do now?

Social upheaval changed Zakaz forever over this. A civil war broke out that involved more and more inhabitants until half of Zakaz’s population was fighting each other. They killed the visorak during this conflict, having now a large, armed and trained force to fight back against them. They were also partly immune to their venom. Distinct factions evolved from the combatants, often led by people who fueled the war.

The other half of the population hid in fear of getting pulled into combat and / or get killed. The Brotherhood of Makuta and Krika getting involved only brought a temporary, tenuous peace, and being completely isolated from the outside world and many stranded outside their home.

The Order of Mata Nui didn’t aid Zakaz either, leaving them struggling with the loss of resources and internal power struggles, and their home ravaged.

It was a political calculation. Strengthen the matoran organizations close by, divide the GBC further, and because they didn’t want to invest either time or resources to help Zakaz. They failed to consider the long-term consequences of locking away the GSR's health specialists and leaving their jobs to the Brotherhood alone.

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Headcanon 3: Officially, the whole of the island is under a common leadership. Unofficially, the government Makuta Krika installed and is loyal to the Brotherhood (by necessity) has trouble keeping the peace.

The island is divided by philosophies and politics. The travel ban is imperfect. The two remaining war factions have been aiming to come to power ever since the civil war stopped. Both have been making dealings with Xia leadership in secret for weapons, including selling their own people into slavery.

Criminal gangs control little pockets on Zakaz and terrorize the population. Many of them work with the war factions. Some areas reject modified skakdi, other reject unmodified ones, often violently. Vezok comes from one of these areas, which explains Vezon’s thoughts about “home”.

Most skakdi leaving Zakaz are either refugees desperate for safety and a better life, daring traders who regularly sneak or bribe their way past the blockade, and criminals. The former two groups try to stay out of sight, while the third couldn't care less.

They’re breaking the law already, so what? Who cares about hurting matoran sensibilities? (Like eating meat in front of them.) Those are the skakdi most matoran meet .

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Headcanon 4: Makuta Krika banned travel to control Zakaz. Just because Spiriah had caused trouble locally didn’t change that he created a new army the Brotherhood could use.

And by forcing the skakdi either into hiding or onto Zakaz, the Brotherhood could step in to take over their jobs.

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Headcanon 5: Larger and more batches of surviving refugees took advantage of the Great Cataclysm’s chaos. The tsunamis threw the blockade into disarray and destroyed dozens of ships outright. The coastal patrols both on land and water got destroyed in many places as well.

The refugees fled Zakaz once the Silver Sea calmed down some, when the various leaderships and groups focused on survival and maintaining their strongholds.

[sepublic]

Region-District Parallels

           Fun fact; There is a direct duality, a parallelism between the six Elemental regions of Okoto, and the six districts of Xia in Bionicle: RaE! Each one corresponds to its other island counterpart, respectively, with Xia’s districts being a ‘dark mirror’ of the role the Mega-Villages serve on Okoto as well! Specifically, the Mega-Villages and their respective regions are synonymous in these dualities…

           Stelt parallels the Vuata Maca; The Macans grow flora, crops, and food, and Stelt is where nutrition and crops are mechanically-grown and hoarded within greenhouses and facilities! The Gukko Airforce acts as the primary means of transportation for people and goods across Okoto, and Stelt does the same with its Chutes for Xia! Trade and Okoto’s economy is facilitated by the Gukko Airforce, while Stelt is the main heart of its economy, with black markets, banks, smuggling, all that stuff going on.

           Tametru’s parallel to Tawahi is obvious; They both start with Ta and are adapations of Fire-related locations in G1. They’re both the hottest areas of their respective islands, and use that heat to melt down materials and reforge them into stuff. Weapons are made here, amongst other metallurgic tools.

           Now, despite its heavy reliance on water and its presence… Voymari is actually meant to mirror Marn! Yes, water is a big deal and Voymari has a few shipyards, but its primary export and industry is mining; Just as the people of Marn specialize as tunnelers due to their subterranean location. Voymari relies more on mining and changing the landscape than anything else, deals with minerals in the air, and so it’s just naturally more suited for the element of Earth.

           Zakaz and Levato go hand-in-hand. They’re both located in vast, barren deserts and rely a lot on scavenging. They have naturally brutal conditions, but also have entertainment; Levato specializes in the arts, in sculptures, as well as board-games, and sports like Kolhii. Zakaz’s entertainment comes in the form of brutal gladiator matches and races, but it also has its own sports like Akilini, and of course theater productions, studios, and casinos as well.

           Nynrah goes with Kiniga! This one is less obvious, and that’s my fault; I never DID make my own separate post detailing Kiniga, but I may do that soon! I think I’ve finally begun to figure it out, so look forward to that…! Anyhow, Nynrah was and in some ways still is the sector of education, and Kiniga is where a lot of schools and textbooks are located! Medicine and healing is a big deal in Kiniga, and in Nynrah, the Nynrah Ghosts work specifically towards the anatomy of others and how to alter it. Water is the stuff of life, and it can sustain it… But with Nynrah, it was used to carry chemicals, mutagens, and Visorak into the bodies of others, horrifically transforming and distorting them.

           Finally, Artidax is the direct counterpart to Kokoro! Both involve knowledge and information; Kokoro stores past texts, deciphers them, and reads the stars. It is well-versed in the lost traditions and ancient culture and religion of Okoto. Artidax’s computer-banks store vast quantities of information, and both areas value the power of the mind and ‘thought’. Artidax’s satellites can read weather patterns just as Kokoro reads the stars, and it relays information and decodes data transmissions, just as Kokoro interprets past texts and forms predictions, and then brings that information to the rest of Okoto through the Gukko Airforce. Both have arctic locations in the north; Or at least Artidax did, but most of the snow and ice has melted. Some of it still remains, however. Finally, while the Region of Ice hosts another race of sapient beings, the Frostelus, Artidax hosts sapience separate from humans in the form of AI!

           Additionally, each Xian District in RaE has the same symbol as their corresponding Metrus from Metru Nui, you can probably guess which is which at this point. As G1 fans may have noticed (so basically, 99% of the Bionicle fandom), I took a LOT of inspiration from Metru Nui’s industrial, hi-tech city setting! If Okoto adapts the mythical, island parts of Bionicle, I wanted Xia to be an adaptation of the futuristic, sci-fi part of it, its later years; This includes the Bara Magna saga as well, which is somewhat represented in Zakaz and its Baran Desert. Naturally, Xia’s G1 namesake itself, as well as the districts’ namesakes, played heavy roles in influencing the island and its landmarks and locations, to varying degrees.

           Each district also takes heavy, direct influences in terms of aesthetic, function, and appearance from locatons in other forms of media as well! Stelt is based off of the images we have of Xia in G1, specifically its polluted air and its dark, mechanical skyline. Its whole deal with trade is also from G1 Stelt as well. It probably has the least fictional influences, in all honesty.

           Tametru is based off of G1 Ta-Metru obviously… But a lot of it is also inspired by Hotland from Undertale! In fact, everytime I think of Tametru, Another Medium plays in my head… Hotland is almost entirely responsible for my conception of Tametru as a location, not gonna lie, and I personally consider Another Medium to be my ‘theme song’ for Tametru! I love that song…

           Voymari is actually based not only on Mahri Nui (specifically with the Fields of Airweed and the semi-aquatic setting), but also the look of its towns and the skyline and shipyards come from Corellia’s Coronet City from Solo: A Star Wars Story! Sue me, I thought it was a cool movie with lots of cool locations that visually inspired me… Also, the idea of ‘Saltlung’ comes entirely from the town of Stain’d-by-the-sea from All the Wrong Questions.

           Zakaz is… literally just Bara Magna from G1, combined with Mad Max. Not much else to say here, honestly, other than that it also some adequately-developed cities and small nations, kind of like how G1 Zakaz had some urban areas before Spiriah ruined everything. Like G1, Zakaz has a LOT of conflict, and the Skakdi as well to boot!

           Nynrah started off as Fallout’s post-apocalyptic wasteland, but then it was combined with a lot of Resident Evil after I got into the series and realized just how well it fit; Specifically, the whole situation with Raccoon City and monsters roaming about the streets. In all honesty, Resident Evil’s monster aesthetic and whole corrupt scientist group schtick has overtaken as Nynrah’s primary influence. There’s also just a LITTLE bit of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, believe it or not. I went with the fact that G1 Nynrah had the Nynrah Ghosts, who are very science-oriented, and worked from there.

           Finally, Artidax is a combination of the aesthetic of Blade Runner and other cyber-punk settings, but is also blatantly ripped from Sanctuary Fortress, from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes! Brilliant game… Fun fact, Artidax was the last district to be planned and designed by me, by a LONG shot. For like three years, I didn’t even know what Artidax was supposed to be, what its function was, what it looked like; All I knew was that The Mountain existed within it, and that was about it. And even then, it wasn’t like I intended for The Mountain to have anything to do with Artidax’s lifestyle, as well! Occasionally, I even entertained just giving up and making The Mountain take up the entirety of Artidax…!

           But, I held on; I waited for inspiration, and lo it came to me with Sanctuary Fortress! I love Metroid Prime 2, it’s a great game and you should seriously play it! Metroid’s hi-tech, mythical settings are VERY conducive to Bionicle in general, and I have much to thank Retro Studios for their creative influence on me! Once I saw that mountainous region, with the hi-tech facilities of drones and computers, with coding that seemed to come from the skies… It all came into place!

           As you can probably tell, the Artidax District bears the least resemblance to its G1 namesake. The G1 Artidax was known for having a bunch of volcanoes and being where Makuta Miserix was imprisoned. I sort of tried to maintain that spirit by making the Artidax District mountainous (and mountains are basically sauce-less volcanoes), because I already had the heat and molten theme with Tametru. Mostly, I just took the name of Artidax because it was an island location in G1, and I needed a name for the final Xian district.