Kualus

"I am doing the same thing Toa do. I am saving one who cannot save himself."

- Kualus, BIONICLE Adventures 8: Challenge of the Hordika

Kualus was the Toa Hagah of Ice. He was formerly one of the six Rahaga.

Toa
Not much is known of Kualus's life before his recruitment into the Toa Hagah. What is known, was that he was active as a Toa for quite some time beforehand, operating as a member of another Toa team. Whether or not Kualus was this team's leader has not been revealed. When the Brotherhood of Makuta decided that Makuta Teridax needed Toa bodyguards, Kualus was selected as representative Toa of Ice. He was endowed with metallic armor to indicate his status as an elite Toa and his former teammates presented him with his current Kanohi as a badge of honor.

Toa Hagah
Kualus's new Toa team performed protecting Teridax from everyday threats well. He served as a bodyguard on a Brotherhood of Makuta fortress mainly protection Teridax against Rahi attacks, until they found out the Makuta were not protecting the Matoran. Kualus and the others tried to steal the Kanohi Avohkii from the Brotherhood, but he and three other of the Hag ah were captured and turned into half Toa Hagah, half Rahkshi creatures by Roodaka, which she called Rahaga. Norik and Iruini escaped with the mask, but came back to help their friends. They fought Roodaka and freed Kualus and the others, but Norik and Iruini were soon mutated too.

Rahaga
Kualus and the Rahaga went to many lands, looking for the legendary Keetongu, who could reverse their mutation. They eventually came to Metru Nui and hid themselves and the Avohkii in the Archives. When Roodaka, Sidorak and the Visorak hordes came and mutated the Toa Metru into Toa Hordika ,the six Rahaga saved the Toa from falling to their doom. They introduced themselves and told them about Keetongu. Kualus and the others eventually found Keetongu, but the Toa decided to reverse their mutations after they saved the Matoran. After a long battle, the Rahaga and the Toa defeated Roodaka and Sidorak and Keetongu reversed the Toa Hordika. The Toa left for Mata Nui, but the Rahaga stayed in the ruined city. Before they left, Kualus apparently taught Nuju the language of the flying Rahi. Sometime while they were there, Kualus and the others found Turaga Dume. The 7 then predicted the future and waited for the Matoran to return to Metru Nui someday. Some time during their wait, they defeated a Visorak horde that had arrived late.

When the Toa, now Turaga, Matoran and the Toa Nuva arrived in Metru Nui, the Rahaga welcomed them, but were frequently away to help lands that had been attacked by the Visorak. Later, they went to Xia to aid a battle between the Kanohi Dragon and a Tahtorak. The Toa Nuva were already there and had captured Roodaka. They forced her to reverse Kualus's and the other Rahaga's mutations, turning them back into Toa Hagah.

Toa Hagah Again
The newly-reformed Toa Hagah had been fighting the Tahtorak and the Kanohi Dragon when Toa Gaaki used her Kanohi Mask of Clairvoyance to see that there were hundreds of Dark Hunters approaching. Iruini used his Kanohi Kualsi to race to the spire to the flagship of the oncoming fleet. He soon found out that the Shadowed One was on the ship. Helryx, the leader of the Order of Mata Nui, was also there. She was flanked by two warriors, one who disappeared and reappeared with Kualus and the other four Toa. Toa Helryx told them she had a job for them: Makuta Teridax had last been seen as a Maxilos robot in the Pit, but now they believed the Order knew where he was now. However, Gaaki using her Kanohi mask, stated, "Death ..... all around ... we are going to a place of death ... and one of us will not return!"

Their goal: track down the missing Teridax before he could execute the final stages of the plan. The only way to find him would be to smash the Coliseum. They then met the Toa Mahri, who started attacking them upon learning that they were there to destroy the Coliseum. Toa Kualus teamed up with Bomonga in an effort to pin down Nuparu. Toa Kualas used his Mask of Rahi Control. A huge hand came out of the ground grabbing Nuparu. Toa Hahli blasted Kualus with a powerful blast of water. Then the monster Toa Kualas used to have under control erupted from the ground in a rampage. Well over 60 feet high, it walked over to Ko-Metru. The Toa Hagah and Toa Mahri stopped fighting and went to stop the giant beast. But Jaller and Norik had already discovered that the beasts fear fire. Their twin blasts drove it back into Po-Metru. The creature wasn't about to go quietly. It hurled Toa Nuparu trough the sky at deadly speed. Hewkii whirled and used his Mask of Gravity as he had never before, applying just enough power to slow the Toa of Earth without ripping him apart. Bomonga, at max size, landed a rain of blows on the Rahi. Now it was Kongu and Iruini's turn, as they combined all their air power with the power of the Toa of Fire to create a swirling tornado of flame. The Rahi was directly in the eye of the storm, which was so hot it melted nearby mountains into slag. The beast fainted. Pouks, Hewkii, Norik, and Jaller then used their powers to carve a tunnel through the ground beneath the Coliseum while the other Toa lifted the huge structure, and Pouks then worked with Norik to seal the tunnel behind them as they went.

While underground, the team came across an inscription on the wall in a dialect which none of them could read. Pouks suddenly brought on the fact that their mission had been going well, and as if that triggered the traps, the Hagah were magnetically forced to the ceiling, while molten Protodermis rushed down to destroy them.

They were saved by Makuta Miserix. Then Miserix, the Toa Hagah, and Zaktan were soon in another chamber. While the other Hagah talked to Miserix, Pouks attempted copying the Makuta's power, although he was slashed across the face by the dragon, who claimed he 'didn't like being imitated'. Inside another tunnel, they soon found across a room filled with machinery, and two corpses. Miserix tore off a section of one of the corpse's armor and found out that it was not made of Protodermis. Suddenly a portal opened and beings emerged. The beings turned out to be Helryx and Keetongu, while Axonn and Brutaka emerged from another portal. After Zaktan was killed by Teridax, (and Brutaka's mask was shattered by a blast of energy) Brutaka revealed that they were inside the mind of the Great Spirit. Miserix was then transformed into an image in the room by Teridax, while the Hagah were hit with a wave of mental energy that would make them see only happiness and peace in everything, even when others were in peril.

When Tren Krom arrived in Metru Nui he broke the mental illusion in the minds of the Toa Hagah. He later escaped the Matoran Universe after Teridax was killed and is now living on Spherus Magna. After Kopaka spoke with Toa Gaaki, the Toa Hagah were given permission to investigate the situation of the Toa Mahri, who had fallen under the influence of a strange gold being.

Dark Mirror
"Our friend, Takanuva, seems to be carrying a conscience. That is a heavy burden in a place like this. You would be amazed how many poor, dead beings I see on the side of the path who just couldn't go one more step with that load on their back."

- Kualus, Dark Mirror

At one point, Kualus and Bomonga were assigned to obtain the Kanohi Vahi. They were interrupted by Takanuva, who claimed that he had been sent by Tuyet. Kualus, not believing Takanuva, forced him to walk in front. Kualus later commented on the fact that Takanuva would be likely to die due to his morals, continuing that keeping the Matoran in fear was an effective way to maintain order. This was punctuated by an attempt to attack Takanuva, one that would ultimately be interrupted by Lesovikk, who blew away the two Toa Hagah.

Abilities
As a Toa of Ice, Kualus could create and absorb ice. This also gave him the ability to control ice, create snowstorms, and travel via ice bridge. These abilities were lost when he was turned into a Rahaga, but he regained his powers when Roodaka turned him back into a Toa. As a Rahaga he could also communicate with flying Rahi.

Personality
Kualus was fiercely protective of all flying Rahi, and even spoke in their language at times, adding clicks and whistles to his sentences. He taught this language to Nuju. He was skeptical of Keetongu but believed in Norik and believed there was much wisdom to be learned from Rahi.

Tools
Using his Rahaga staff, Rahaga Kualus could summon flying creatures or warn them of danger by blowing through it and playing it like a flute. He also had a Boomerang Rhotuka spinner, which attached to a Rahi and then brought back to him. According to Dark Mirror, he carried a Sub-Zero Spear and a Rhotuka Launching Shield as a Toa and wore a Mask of Rahi Control as well.

Set Information

 * It was released in late 2004.
 * Its set number is 4870.
 * The set contains 28 pieces.

Appearances

 * Comic 22: Monsters in the Dark - First appearance
 * BIONICLE Adventures 7: Web of the Visorak
 * BIONICLE Adventures 8: Challenge of the Hordika
 * Comic 23: Vengeance of the Visorak
 * Comic 24: Shadow Play
 * BIONICLE: Rahi Beasts
 * BIONICLE: Encyclopedia
 * Comic 25: Birth of the Rahaga
 * Comic 26: Hanging by a Thread
 * BIONICLE Adventures 9: Web of Shadows
 * BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows
 * BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated
 * Toa Nuva Blog - First appearance as Toa Hagah
 * Dark Mirror - Alternate timeline
 * Dwellers In Darkness
 * Makuta's Guide to the Universe

Trivia

 * Kualus was one of the two Rahaga not to speak in Web of Shadows, the other being Pouks. However, in the comic animation on the BIONICLE 3 DVD, he did have a talking role.
 * His name was pronounced 'Koo-las' in the film.
 * The canon appearances of Toa Hagah Pouks, Bomonga, Gaaki, and Kualus were drawn by Specter-L and won TTV Message Boards' Canon Contest #3: Honor Guard. SubParFauxPas built an inspirational model of Kualus that won the first part of the contest.  The model features a 3D-printed Great Mask of Sensory Aptitude modeled by Brian Khổng (KhingK).