Toa Mangai

The Toa Mangai were a group of Toa led by Lhikan which protected Metru Nui from danger.

Formation
The Toa Mangai were first assembled when Turaga Dume was threatened by the Dark Hunters, who wanted to build a base in Metru Nui. These eleven Toa were called from many different islands to fight against the Kanohi Dragon, which the Dark Hunters had unleashed. After a month-long battle and half of Ta-Metru being destroyed, the four Toa of Ice managed to freeze the Kanohi Dragon. It was then shipped off to Xia, where it remained until its battle with the Tahtorak. Despite being given the option to return to their homelands, all eleven Toa remained to protect Metru Nui.

Tuyet's Betrayal
At some point in time, while most of the Toa Mangai were away on missions, Dark Hunters slipped into Metru Nui, searching for a fabled artifact; the Nui Stone. One of the Toa of Water, Tuyet, caught wind of the Hunters and realized they were after the stone, which she possessed. Unwilling to relinquish the stone, she murdered a Ta-Matoran, and placed a tablet with her own name on his corpse. When confronted by Lhikan and Nidhiki, she denied any knowledge of the incident, and left the other two to their investigation. Later, she killed another Matoran, a Le-Matoran, and placed the signature tablet on the corpse once more. Confronted again by only Lhikan, Tuyet revealed the existence of the stone, though she denied possession of it. She revealed to him that the Hunters were searching for it, and that the deaths of the Matoran were a countdown. Lhikan and Nidhiki later confronted these Hunters, though they themselves denied killing any of the Matoran. However, Tuyet was unaware of their defeat, and murdered a Ga-Matoran to keep up the semblance of the countdown. Lhikan and Nidhiki soon realized that Tuyet was behind it, and confronted her in her home. Though she tapped into the power of the Nui Stone, they managed to defeat her, and locked her in the Coliseum, where she was taken away to The Pit by Botar.

Toa/Dark Hunter War
After being denied a base in Metru Nui, The Shadowed One launched several operations in an attempt to gain control of the city. When all failed, he ordered a full scale invasion of the island. While the Toa Mangai attempted to defeat the enemies, they were quickly outnumbered, and the Dark Hunters neared victory. However, Toa Naho was able to sneak past the Dark Hunter lines and off of Metru Nui, and quickly gathered more than one hundred different Toa from other lands. During the war, Lariska approached Nidhiki, asking him to betray the Toa. Nidhiki accepted and later led the Toa into an ambush as instructed by Lariska. Meanwhile, over 200 more Toa were arriving to assist the Toa already on Metru Nui to defeat the Dark Hunters.

When the 300-plus Toa under Lhikan's command appeared, Nidhiki and the Dark Hunters found themselves outnumbered. Lhikan, in hopes of recovering the Makoki Stone as promised by Hakann, let the Dark Hunters live, under the condition that they would take Nidhiki with them. Reluctantly, Nidhiki left with them and trained recruits to the Dark Hunters.

Teridax's Plan
After many years of peace on Metru Nui, Turaga Dume was silently captured, and the leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta, Teridax, impersonated him. The false Dume sent the Toa Mangai on various missions from which they never returned. This was because Teridax had hired three Dark Hunters, the mutated Nidhiki, Krekka, and Eliminator, to kill the remaining Toa Mangai. For one mission, he sent two Toa and the Chronicler Kodan to seal the Coastal Gates only to be killed by Eliminator upon arrival.

When only Lhikan remained, he stole the Toa Stones from the Great Temple and brought about six new Toa, the Toa Metru, becoming a Turaga in the process. After a series of events, Nidhiki was absorbed by Teridax, Tuyet died in the Pit, and Lhikan was killed by Teridax while saving Vakama's life, leaving behind only the legacy of the Toa Mangai. Various memoirs of the Toa Mangai were eventually placed inside the Coliseum for safekeeping.

Members
Of the eleven Toa, only four are known by name.

There was also three more unknown Toa. One of the Toa on the team wore a Kanohi Kakama. This Toa, like most of the others, was sent by Teridax in disguise to close the Coastal Gates and was killed by Eliminator, leaving only the mask behind.

Trivia

 * The word "Mangai" is a Matoran word for "protector".
 * Some locations on the island of Mata Nui were named after Toa Mangai, such as Naho Bay. The volcano dominating Mata Nui itself was named the Mangai by Turaga Vakama, both in honor of the Toa Mangai and in acknowledgement of the volcano's protective nature.
 * BZPower and BS01 member Nuhrii the Metruan created a theory that gave the Toa Mangai their name, which Greg Farshtey accepted into the official canon.

Appearances

 * BIONICLE Legends 4: Legacy of Evil (In a Flashback)
 * The Many Deaths of Toa Tuyet (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * Birth of a Dark Hunter
 * BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * Destiny War (Mentioned Only)
 * BIONICLE: Rahi Beasts (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * BIONICLE Encyclopedia (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * BIONICLE: Dark Hunters (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * BIONICLE World (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * BIONICLE Encyclopedia: Updated (Not Mentioned by Name)