Ignika

History
A hundred thousand years ago, near the creation of the universe, the Ignika Mask of Life was forged by the Great Beings so that the Great Spirit Mata Nui's life energies could be restored if needed. The Great Beings hid the mask under a volcano named Mount Valmai. Since then, the Order of Mata Nui has sent agents to protect it: first Umbra, and later Axonn and Brutaka.

Around eighty thousand years ago, the Great Disruption in Metru Nui had damaged Mata Nui's health. Toa Jovan led his team to Mount Valmai, and they reached and used the Mask of Life to heal Mata Nui, but not all the Toa survived the incident and the ones that did quickly replaced the mask out of fear of its power. Jovan eventually became a Turaga and led the Matoran that lived in the region.

One thousand years ago, Mata Nui fell unconscious from an attack, causing the Great Cataclysm. Mount Valmai and the surrounding area broke off from the mainland, stranding all who lived there (many died in that incident, including Turaga Jovan). This region became known as the island of Voya Nui.

Currently, several groups have come to Voya Nui to claim the Ignika. Former Dark Hunters calling themselves "Piraka" want to claim the mask in order to ransom it for wealth and power. The Toa Nuva hope to use the mask to heal Mata Nui, and six Matoran who came to help them have become the Toa Inika.

While the Toa Nuva were quickly taken out of action, the Piraka and Toa Inika have had to face several guardians. The Piraka entered a kind of nightmare zone that brought their worst fear, the monster Irnakk, to life. The Inika also entered this zone and fought enemies they had faced as Matoran, only to have their worst fears happen as their powers spiral out of control and kill their foes. The Inika also faced some Protodax (Protodites enlarged by the mask), but Umbra wiped them out to claim the honor of slaying the Inika for himself.

Eventually, both groups reached the Chamber of Life, only to find one more guardian: the mad Piraka, Vezon. He had reached the mask, only to become cursed, he was fused with a giant Fenrakk spider, and worse, the mask itself had fused to the back of Vezon's head, making him believe that its removal will kill him. While the Piraka were defeated, the Inika made some headway in fighting the two - only for the mask to evolve Fenrakk into a Kardas Dragon. Toa Kongu was able to read the mask's mind and find out that it wanted to dispose of Vezon as a guardian in favor of Toa Matoro, as Matoro was a kind, self-sacrificing person, he had volunteered to give his life earlier and, on the way to the island, had offered to help someone that seemed to be in need -never realizing that the "someone" was a manifestation of the mask's power. Vezon became enraged this news, allowing the Toa to use a Zamor Sphere that froze him in space and time so that Matoro could safely take the mask.

However, Matoro could not keep his grip on the mask, and it flew away to lead the Toa Inika where it needs to be used. It dove under the sea towards Mahri Nui, where it was first claimed by some local Matoran but then taken by warlords called "Barraki".