Le-Wahi

Le-Wahi was the jungle region of Air on Mata Nui, and not only the southernmost but also the largest region of Mata Nui. Its treetops housed the Air village of Le-Koro, the home of the Le-Matoran.

Description
The region was distinguished primarily by being almost entirely lush forest and jungle, with trees that reached incredible heights and beautiful plantlife. It was also home to almost as much fauna as there was flora, being populated by all sorts of Rahi, from birds like the Gukko and Kewa to large quadrupeds like the Ash Bear. The village of Le-Koro was located in its treetops, where the Le-Matoran thrived.

Origin
Le-Wahi was formed along with the rest of the island when the Great Spirit was rendered unconscious by the machinations of Makuta, and fell face-up into the seas of Aqua Magna; his malfunctioning camouflage systems caused the island to form over his face.

Shortly after this Great Cataclysm, the Toa Metru would arrive on the newly-created island with the rescued Matoran of Metru Nui, and make the island their new home. After exploring the new environment, Toa Matau found the southern jungle area he dubbed Le-Wahi to be the most appealing for the people of Air, as its dense trees and vines mimicked the chaotic nature of the Le-Matoran's original home of Le-Metru. Later, after sacrificing his Toa Power to reawaken the Matoran, the now-Turaga Matau helped his people construct the village of Le-Koro high in the treetops of Le-Wahi.

Dark Time
For some time, the Le-Matoran enjoyed a life of peace, prosperity and happiness. However, after 100 years, Teridax returned to attack them, infecting hordes of Rahi with his dark influence and unleashing them on the Matoran; this period of turmoil came to be known as the Dark Time. At one point during this time, Turaga Matau himself was captured by a flock of infected Kewa birds and held against his will in their nest; fortunately, a wandering Ta-Matoran known as Takua arrived in Le-Wahi, and saved the Turaga of Air.

After healing the Vuata Maca Tree with a crystal, the traveler also found a Toa Stone that Matau had hidden long ago inside a false tree, and after finding five other such stones hidden in the other regions of Mata Nui, assembled them at Kini-Nui. This created an explosion that sent Takua flying through the air, ultimately crashing into the sands of Ta-Wahi beach and losing his memory. Unbeknownst to the Matoran, the explosion had been a signal summoning six large canisters to the shores of each island region. The one that reached Le-Wahi's Kanae Bay bore Lewa, the Toa of Air.

Quest for the Masks
The first mask Lewa found (a Kakama was located at the bottom of an underwater cave in Le-Wahi. However, his foot got caught in a tangle of seaweed, and the Toa of Air would have drowned had he not had his Air Axe to cut through them and the newfound speed granted by the Kakama to rocket to the water's surface. Immediately, afterward, however, he was suddenly attacked by an ambushing Nui-Rama, and a Muaka appeared to finish him off; only with the help of Toa Onua of Earth was Lewa able to survive.

Another Kakama - this one belonging to the Fire Toa Tahu - was also located in Le-Wahi, stuck high up in a large tree. Tahu and his companions, Gali and Onua, tried several different ways of retrieving the mask, but Tahu grew impatient and used his Fire Sword to burn the tree down. Though this was successful, it also set several neighboring trees ablaze, forcing an angered Gali to put out the flames with her water powers.

The Battle of Le-Wahi
At some point toward the end of the Toa's quest, Le-Wahi became the site of a major battle when Makuta assaulted Le-Koro with a massive swarm of infected Nui-Rama, abducting Matau and most of the village's Matoran and forcing them to work in the Nui-Rama Hive. Even Lewa himself was captured, and had his mask replaced with an infected one, enslaving him to Makuta's will. Only a small handful of Le-Matoran - including the Gukko Force Commander Kongu, Navigator Tamaru, and the Musicians Sanso and Makani.

Shortly after the first attack, Takua returned to the village and met the remaining Le-Matoran, only for the Rama-swarms to begin another attack on the village only minutes later. In a daring move, Kongu led a rescue mission by Kewa bird into the hive, with himself leading the attack on Ka, his pet Kahu, while Takua rode behind as second, bringing down any Nui-Rama that tried to stop them. They ultimately made it into the hive, but the rescue attempt was short-lived, as a green blur knocked them out of the sky, grounding and injuring Ka. Speaking to a broken-spirited Matau, Takua learned that even Lewa had fallen victim to the swarms, and under Makuta's influence was now an even bigger threat than any swarm of Nui-Rama.

Seconds after the conversation, Lewa himself appeared (now in a blank-eyed, zombie-like state due to the stained and pitted mask on his face), followed by a large Nui-Kopen (which held Lewa's mask in two of its claws). What he and the swarm leader would have done to the Matoran is unknown, however, because at that moment Onua burst through the earth to confront the possessed Lewa. A vicious battle ensued between the Toa of Earth and Air, which ultimately ended when Onua used a Noble Matatu to telekinetically knock Lewa's infected mask off with a Hoto Bug. He then used the Matatu to snatch Lewa's real mask from the Nui-Kopen's grasp and return it to the weakened Toa. Now freed from Makuta's enslavement and with his powers fully restored, Lewa leaped aboard the Kopen, and manipulated it via Komau to help rescue the captured Le-Koronans, along with Takua and Taipu. After returning to Le-Koro, Matau, the Le-Matoran and Taipu all celebrated their newfound freedom, while the two Toa resumed their quest and Takua continued his own journey.

The Bohrok War
Later, Le-Wahi and its inhabitants would again fall victim to another attack, this time by the swarms of the Bohrok. Lehvak and Nuhvok laid waste to the region, dissolving flora with acid and levelling trees. They even destroyed Le-Koro, and Matau and all but two of the Le-Matoran were captured by the Bohrok. Their masks were then replaced with Krana, making them all mindless drones of the Bohrok. Shortly afterward, Lewa returned to his home from Ta-Koro to discover that his entire village had fallen to the Bohrok. The Krana-controlled Le-Matoran and Matau pled for Lewa to free them, claiming that the Krana's hold over them was limited to their bodies and not their minds. However, as he tried to help them, the Le-Koronans all overpowered him, and replaced his own Golden Kanohi with a Krana Za.

Worried for Lewa's safety, Onua ventured into Le-Wahi, only to be attacked by the Krana-possessed Toa himself. This time, however, Lewa had the upper hand, as the Krana Za's telepathic power meant that he could anticipate any attack Onua thought of initiating. Lewa was on the verge of finishing off the Toa of Earth, but Onua managed to appeal to Lewa's true nature. Finding himself unable to kill his brother, and managed to overpower the Krana and rip it off his own face.

Meanwhile, the two sole Matoran who escaped the Bohrok attack, Kongu and Tamaru, set up camp somewhere with Takua, Nuparu and the newly-founded Boxor Squad. Together, they devised a plan to free the other Le-Koronans: Since the Nuhvok were invincible in close quarters, Tamaru and Kongu lured them out of the dense jungle and into a clearing; here, they were seemingly cornered by the Bohrok and the infected Matoran (led by a Za-wearing Matau), but suddenly holes opened up in the earth beneath the controlled Matoran, trapping them and allowing the free Matoran waiting below to remove their Krana, while Nuparu's new Boxors advanced from their hiding spots to deal with the Nuhvok.

After the Toa Mata ultimately defeated the Bohrok swarms, they were exposed to energized protodermis and transformed into enhanced versions of themselves, becoming the Toa Nuva - as a result, a unique symbol for each Toa appeared in each Koro's Suva, including the shrine in Le-Koro. The village itself was rebuilt and expanded, but it would be a while before Le-Wahi's ravaged ecosystem recovered, and the swamps below remained dark and fearful places where few Matoran dared go.

The Coming of the Kal
Shortly after being transformed by energized Protodermis, the now-Toa Nuva chose Le-Wahi as a location to test their newly-enhanced powers in a mock battle. However, the duel soon became personal between Tahu and Kopaka, and Gali was forced to cut the exercise short.

Not much later, six silver-colored Bohrok were seen infiltrating each village around Mata Nui, and stealing their Nuva Symbols - as a result, the Toa Nuva lost their elemental powers. While wandering through Le-Wahi, Tahu Nuva, Takua and Jala found the now-powerless Lewa sprawled in a bush; he had been flying after the black-and-silver Bohrok who had stolen his symbol, but had suddenly found himself unable to control the air on which he flew. He was the first of the Toa Nuva to join the powerless Tahu in their quest to defeat the Bohrok-Kal.

Later in the struggle, Gali, Kopaka and Lewa joined to form Wairuha Nuva in an attempt to stop Gahlok, Kohrak and Lehvak-Kal; however, they were soon overpowered and separated when the three elite Bohrok joined to form Bohrok-Kal Kaita Ja.

The Quest for the Seventh Toa
Takua and Jaller would later travel again through Le-Wahi (this time aboard Pewku, Takua's pet Ussal Crab) in their search for the Seventh Toa. However, they were attacked by an Ash Bear known as Graalok; fortunately, they were saved by Lewa, who explained that the bear was simply protecting her territory, calmed the Rahi and gently sent her away. He then summoned a native Gukko bird to carry them to Ko-Wahi.

The Awakening of Mata Nui
In order to prepare for the Great Spirit's awakening, the Toa Nuva were forced to free the Bahrag from the prison they had placed them in years ago, and unleash the Bohrok swarms again to wipe the island of Mata Nui clean of all obstructions. Le-Wahi was stripped of all vegetation, and later completely shattered by Mata Nui's massive head rising from the depths of the sea.