The Pit

"They call themselves Barraki--it's a Matoran word meaning "warlord." They dwell in the depths of a strange sea, a place only the very brave or the very foolish would ever dare to go. Carapar. Ehlek. Kalmah. Pridak. Takadox. Mantax. Once, they were rulers...handsome, respected, and feared. Today, they are monsters. Matoran everywhere are grateful the Barraki are trapped in this Pit. And they would tremble is they knew how close these six were to breaking out..."

- Narration, Comic 7: Mask of Life, Mask of Doom

The Pit was a jail used by the Order of Mata Nui to imprison those who were considered to have committed unpardonable crimes. The Pit had a jailer (Hydraxon) and guards (Maxilos and Spinax). The being who brought the prisoners there was the Order member Botar. However, the jailer was killed by the Barraki Takadox during the Great Cataclysm and Maxilos was possessed by Teridax 100,000 years later. The Ignika eventually recreated the Matoran Dekar as a new Hydraxon with no memory of dying, yet with visions of his Matoran life.

Post-Great Cataclysm
In the Great Cataclysm, the jail part of the Pit (referred to as the Inner Pit) collapsed and flooded. Many prisoners, such as Toa Tuyet (the one from a different universe) died, but several escaped and were turned into water-breathers by the Mutagen in the waters of the Pit. Zyglak began to inhabit the inner Pit after the Great Cataclysm.

The Pit was later a part of Spherus Magna.

Geography
The seas around the Pit, referred to as the outer pit, were black and filled with danger. Here, the six Barraki lived after escaping, along with many other mutated former prisoners wandering along its seabeds. Ehlek also built a base there, although it was destroyed when Mahri Nui sank.

Notable Features

 * The Pillars of Salt was an area at the northern edge of Mahri Nui, which served as Pridak's favorite hunting grounds.
 * The Razor Whale's Teeth was an underwater rock formation in the exact center of Barraki territory.
 * The Octo Cave was a cavern where Kalmah first found the Squids. He banned the other Barraki from accessing it after Mantax ate half the brood.

Mutagen
The waters of the outer Pit contained a strange Mutagen. It transformed almost anyone who stayed in it long enough into Rahi-like water-breathers, including most of the prisoners of the Pit.

Known Prisoners

 * The Barraki
 * Pridak (Formerly)
 * Kalmah (Formerly)
 * Ehlek (Formerly)
 * Takadox (Formerly)
 * Mantax (Formerly)
 * Carapar (Deceased)
 * Nocturn (Deceased)
 * Tuyet (Reanimated)
 * Brutaka (Formerly)
 * The Matoran leaders of the Metru Nui Civil War (though it is unknown if they were still in the Pit during the Great Cataclysm, if they are alive, or if they're still there)
 * At least one Skakdi. He was wounded by Pridak and left for dead to the ocean predators.
 * Roodaka
 * Karzahni (Deceased)

Non-Prisoner Inhabitants
These beings inhabited the Pit, but were not prisoners.
 * Toa Mahri
 * Jaller
 * Kongu
 * Hahli
 * Nuparu
 * Matoro (deceased)
 * Hewkii
 * Hydraxon
 * Maxilos
 * Teridax ( while controlling Maxilos)
 * Spinax
 * Lesovikk
 * Karzahni
 * Zyglak
 * Mahri Nui Matoran
 * Gadunka
 * Several types of marine Rahi

Quotes
"What possible reason could Mantax--or any of us--have for wanting to go there? There's nothing below but the prison in which we were held for thousands of years."

- Kalmah, Comic 7: Mask of Life, Mask of Doom

"I hate this place. It's a foul, wretched dungeon without even a trace of light." "No wonder we felt at home."

- Kalmah and Takadox, Comic 7: Mask of Life, Mask of Doom

Trivia

 * Mantax searched the Pit every night for the Brotherhood Tablet of Transit, proof that one of the Barraki was a traitor.
 * Before the inner Pit was flooded and destroyed, it was a cave with cells.
 * Zyglak roam the remains of the old Pit, since nothing else lived there after the Great Cataclysm.