2009

'WARNING: The entire contents of this page are spoilers. Do NOT read on if you do not wish to have various details of the 2009 story spoiled for you.'

2009 was the ninth year of the BIONICLE story and the first year after the awakening of Mata Nui. Instead of taking place in the Matoran Universe like the first eight years, it moved the story to a new planet, Bara Magna.

The Story So Far
Berix; an Agori of Tajun was searching in the desert of Bara Magna for anything of value--metal, armor, weapons--when he ran into the Bone Hunter Fero and his Rock Steed Skirmix. Fero was prepared to kill Berix and take what he had found when the Glatorian Gresh showed up and launched his Thornax at Fero's hand. Fero prepared to take down Gresh, but he had been traveling with Tarix and Strakk, two other Glatorian. Fero fled and his mount ended up trampling the three Glatorian in the process. Shortly afterwards, a pack of Vorox attacked the four travelers. After a brief battle, ex-Glatorian Malum signaled the Vorox to stand down, apparently having become the alpha male of that pack. Gresh, Strakk, and Tarix departed for Vulcanus, because Gresh had a battle with a Skrall there. Berix went elsewhere.

In Vulcanus, Raanu and Metus were arguing about how the Fire Tribe needed a new fighter after Malum's exile. Metus told Raanu that no one wanted to work for him at that moment, since it would mean fighting a Skrall. A little later, the fight began between Gresh and a Skrall. The battle lasted less than three minutes before Gresh was defeated. Skrall moved in on him, planning to kill him, but Tarix stopped him.

Later, the same Skrall traveled to an unknown location to meet with someone (it is heavily implied that the someone is Berix, since they talk about Tajun and Berix is later found by Tarix in the same location, but this is not confirmed). This mysterious figure told the Skrall that a trade caravan would leave Tajun within a week, and if it could be intercepted and raided by Bone Hunters, Tajun would go hungry, be forced to challenge another tribe for their food and lose (the figure implied that he would ensure Tajun would lose: "If they lose--which they will--"), leaving them easy prey for the Rock Tribe. The Skrall left to tell Tuma.

Tuma ordered the Skrall to reveal the information about the caravan to a captured Agori, and then allow him to escape, where he would be captured by Bone Hunters and reveal all he knew to them in return for freedom. The Bone Hunters would then attack the caravan as the mysterious figure had intended them to, and the Skrall's plan would be set into motion. Tuma ended his orders by saying "But the time is coming, warrior, when we will not need to act through others... Soon, we Skrall will shed our skins like the sand dragons and be revealed for what we are--conquerors, rulers! We will attack...we will win...and Bara Magna will be ours!"

Changes From The Earlier Story
As 2009 starts, the BIONICLE story will be severely changed. Here are a list of some of the major changes.
 * The setting will change from the Matoran Universe to a new planet, Bara Magna.
 * The Stone element has been changed to Sand, the Air element has been changed to Jungle, and the Earth element has been changed to Rock.
 * All of Bara Magna's tribes are of mixed genders, instead of all male except for a single female tribe.
 * Unlike Matoran, inhabitants of Bara Magna eat and digest food like humans.
 * Bara Magna inhabitants have never heard of Mata Nui, Toa, or anything else that was common knowledge in the Matoran Universe.
 * Instead of masks with powers, Glatorian and Agori wear helmets. New helmets are generally not forged like Kanohi were by Ta-Matoran, since the Agori are bad at making new things, and only really capable of fixing up broken things.
 * The Agori are much less advanced than the Matoran--Thornax Launchers are the most powerful weapon they have.
 * The Matoran focused on prophecies and legends a lot more than the Agori do, since the Agori are more focused on day-to-day survival in the harsh Bara Magna climate.
 * Nothing on Bara Magna is made from protodermis--that is exclusive to the Matoran Universe.

Agori
The Agori could be said to be Bara Magna's Matoran. In fact, the Great Beings based the Matoran off the Agori. There are five tribes of Agori: Fire, Water, Jungle, Ice, and Rock. The tribes generally stay separated from each other, each in their own city. The tribes compete for resources with Glatorian (see "Social System"), knowing that war would unnecessarily waste lives and resources. Despite this, friendships between Agori of separate tribes are not frowned upon. Notably, Agori can live as long as Matoran, as can all Bara Magna inhabitants. Here is a list of known Agori:
 * Atakus--An Agori of the Rock Tribe; he guards the Rock Tribe's city, Roxtus. He is "a servant of the evil Skrall". He is strong and fast, and few can take more than one hit from his twin swords.
 * Raanu--An Agori of the Fire Tribe, as well as the leader of the tribe's village, Vulcanus. He can seem harsh, but as leader of the Fire Tribe, he has to be tough to help his people survive in the dangerous world of Bara Magna. He carries a fire blade and shield, and is said to be smart enough to know what it takes to win in the arena.
 * Berix--An Agori of the Water Tribe; Berix salvages ruined equipment and patches it back together. He carries a water sword and shield to defend himself while scavenging equipment, and the shield was presumably found in ruins near Tajun. It has been heavily implied that Berix plans to betray his city and considers himself one of the Rock Tribe, though it may be another character.
 * Metus--An Agori of the Ice Tribe; Metus is fast-talking and smart. He searches Bara Magna for a warrior worthy to fight and win for the Ice Tribe in the Arena Magna matches. He carries an ice axe and shield and is ready to meet any challenge.
 * Tarduk--An Agori of the Jungle Tribe who sees the hard life of the Jungle Tribe as simply another challenge to be overcome. He uses his claws and spikes to defend himself as he searches the desert for lost treasures or ancient technology.
 * Zesk--Zesk is actually the name of a separate species, see "Zesk and Vorox" section below.

Glatorian
The Glatorian are comparable to the Toa of Bara Magna, but do not really act as heroes. Three species (see "Zesk and Vorox" and "Skrall and Tuma" below) on Bara Magna can be hired as Glatorian, who fight for one tribe and against another. To be hired as a Glatorian, the Agori tribe must think you have the ability to win for them. Glatorian tend to have preferences of tribes they work for, but there is no set-in-stone tribe that each Glatorian will fight for. Glatorian ride animals called Sand Stalkers and wield various weapons, along with Thornax Launchers. These are the known Glatorian:
 * Malum--A red Glatorian of the main species, he was exiled to the wastelands for trying to kill a Glatorian after he had already surrendered. He currently wanders the wasteland, challenging other Glatorian he runs into. He carries two flame claws, and is said to be the last being a Glatorian wants to meet. At some point after his exile, he became the leader of a pack of Vorox.
 * Gresh--An experienced green Glatorian of the main species who fights for the Jungle Tribe. He will play a large role in the first half of the year, as a hero. In the second half of the year and the movie, he will have a slightly less important role, and will apparently be more relaxed. He is incredibly fast and agile, as well as surprisingly strong, making him a tough foe in any fight. His favorite move is to backflip away from an opponent and fire his Thornax launcher in mid-air. He carries two blades that he can put together for use as a shield, called a double bladed shield.
 * Tarix--A blue Glatorian of the main species who fights for the Water Tribe. Tarix is one of the most experienced and respected Glatorian, "winner of a thousand battles". He is fierce but fair in the arena. He carries twin water blades that were probably found in ruins near Tajun and is a hero in the 2009 story. With the tubes on his body, he can breathe underwater.
 * Strakk--A white Glatorian of the main species who fights for the Ice Tribe. He will gladly save anyone from Bone Hunters (see "Bone Hunters" section below) if they pay him enough, and if not, he'll gladly ride right past them. He is ruthless and ambitious, and will do whatever it takes to be named champion of all Glatorian. He carries an ice axe, making him a dangerous opponent to turn your back on. He is apparently a villain of the 2009 story according to set descriptions, but he has so far only been seen to act heroically in the story.
 * Vorox--Vorox is the name of a separate species. The Vorox set is representative of a general Vorox. See "Zesk and Vorox".
 * Skrall--Skrall is the name of a separate species. The Skrall set is representative of an individual Skrall, but he is not named, since Skrall only receive individual names if they do something significant. See "Skrall and Tuma".

Zesk and Vorox
About 100,000 years ago, the Sand Agori and a separate species known as Vorox began to regress from intelligent beings into barbaric beasts. The Sand Agori became known as Zesk. This was due to a disaster, the same disaster that changed Bara Magna from the relatively-prosperous place it had once been. Zesk and Vorox can speak a broken version of the Agori language, but their thoughts are closer to beasts than sapient beings.

The Zesk watch for danger with their four eyes and defend themselves with scorpion-like tails. They lurk underneath the sand, waiting to attack anyone who comes into their territory.

Vorox, while considered Glatorian, do not fight by their own will and are instead forced to fight by certain tribes. Groups of Vorox are led by pack leaders. There are quite a lot of Vorox compared to other Glatorian types. Vorox ambush foes using their stinger tails and swords. Their fury makes them hazardous to any Glatorian crossing the desert of Bara Magna.

Skrall and Tuma
The Skrall are the third species on Bara Magna that are hired as Glatorian. However, the Skrall do not work on a freelance basis, and instead all fight for the Rock Tribe, forced to by their leader Tuma. Thus they are considered to be part of the Rock Tribe. The Skrall and Tuma are evil, but at the start of the 2009 story, have not committed any acts to cause them to be considered evil.

There are more Skrall than there are other Glatorian. They are faster and stronger than other Glatorian as well, and tend to dominate in the arena easily, said to be the toughest and most dangerous Glatorian of all. As such, they come off as arrogant, and can be downright nasty in person. They carry rotating saw blade shields. Individual Skrall are not allowed to have names or even nicknames unless they are given one by Tuma. This is only done if the Skrall has done something important. Skrall live for battle and fear nothing.

Tuma, the mysterious, cruel, and warlike leader of the Skrall and the Rock Tribe, is capable of fighting as a Glatorian but does not do so. He is considerably bigger than the other inhabitants of Bara Magna, and it is not known if he is a Skrall or another species entirely. Tuma is a master of the sword. He is bent on having the Rock Tribe take over the rest of Bara Magna, and if he cannot rule the planet, he will grind it to dust.

Social System
After the planet-wide disaster 100 millennia ago, Bara Magna's inhabitants developed a social system to avoid losing lives and resources through war. When two tribes have a disagreement, they settle it by having a match between two of their Glatorian. These matches can be one-on-one, team matches, a team of a Glatorian and Agori versus another team with a Glatorian and Agori, or matches with vehicles. A Glatorian is considered to have lost when he surrenders or is clearly unable to continue fighting. The tribe that wins will get the resource that is being fought over. The Zesk and Vorox do not take part in this social system. Bara Magna has no currency, and instead uses goods and services as payment for the Glatorian.

Bone Hunters
The Bone Hunters are a nomadic species living in the wastelands, separate from the Agori. They are bandits who raid trade caravans and occasionally villages. They are related to the Rock Tribe, but not part of it, and the details of their relationship are not currently clear. They ride on animals called Rock Steeds. They eat Thornax stew, made from explosive Thornax fruit, which is generally not eaten by other species.

The only currently known Bone Hunter is the fierce hunter Fero, who has a Rock Steed named Skirmix. Fero and Skirmix ride across the sands of Bara Magna, looking for Glatorian to capture and bring back to the arena of Roxtus. Fero carries a Thornax launcher and Skirmix has savage jaws and a stinger tail.

Geography
Before the disaster, Bara Magna had more rivers, but currently it only has one. It is mostly a desert planet, peppered with oases and containing some smaller regions that aren't desert. There are no oceans. There are six cities on Bara Magna:
 * Roxtus, city of the Rock Tribe in the north.
 * Vulcanus, city of the Fire Tribe.
 * Iconox, city of the Ice Tribe.
 * Tajun, city of the Water Tribe.
 * Tesara, city of the Jungle Tribe.
 * Atero, a free city where Agori of the Fire, Water, Ice, and Jungle Tribe live.

In the past, Bara Magna was more civilized and far more advanced. Tarduk and Berix search for treasures left behind by the ancient Bara Magna inhabitants.

Aside from the at-least-six sapient species, Bara Magna has wildlife. Some of these are organic creatures. Exploding Thornax fruit grows in the desert, and is usually harvested and used as a projectile by Glatorian.

Bara Magna is probably close to the Endless Ocean Planet where Mata Nui crash-landed after Teridax poisoned him, because the Red Star can be dimly seen from there. Now that Teridax has taken over Mata Nui's body, he will probably not be interested in conquering Bara Magna, since he sees it as relatively worthless, having nothing to conquer.

Trivia

 * The 2009 story will take place over several months, unlike the past three story years which took place in a course of mere days.
 * At the beginning of the 2009 storyline, there is no "evil" on Bara Magna, in that no tribe has done anything outwardly evil yet. It has been implied that this will change.