Mazeka

"For too long, my people have said they were 'just Matoran.' They have relied on Toa to save them, as if they were helpless Rahi who couldn't take care of themselves. No more. Today, Matoran begin fighting for what's theirs!"

- Mazeka, BIONICLE.com

Mazeka is a heroic Ko-Matoran who once lived on the Tren Krom Peninsula. He was recruited by the Order of Mata Nui and currently works as a spy.

Early Life
Mazeka once worked as a scholar in a village on the Tren Krom Peninsula. Vultraz, a Ta-Matoran, desired the research Mazeka and his mentor had worked on. Vultraz killed Mazeka's mentor and stole the tablets. When Vultraz murdered an entire village to obtain a rare gem, Mazeka sought him out to bring him to justice. The two clashed many times, but with no apparent victor, and Mazeka never recovered his mentor's research tablets.

During a fight with Vultraz on a cliff around the year 996 A.G.C., Mazeka seemingly killed Vultraz by kicking him over the edge of the cliff. Pulled to safety by a disguised Gorast, he returned to his village to spread the news.

Order of Mata Nui
As a result of his apparent defeat of Vultraz, Mazeka was contacted by Order of Mata Nui member Jerbraz. He was tasked with stopping beings like Vultraz, and protecting their potential victims. His first mission was to seek out the Matoran Krakua.

He was brought to a small village of De-Matoran by Jerbraz, who had him retrieve Krakua. Soon after he reached Krakua, a commotion occurred in the village and the Matoran of Sonics, who were sensitive to noises, were brought down by a wall of sound. Luckily, Mazeka had placed his hands over Krakua's ears just before the attack, saving the Matoran of Sonics.

Krakua was taken away by Jerbraz while Mazeka faced the cause of commotion. After some fighting, Mazeka's mask was knocked off and he fell to the ground. There, he realized that the intruder was actually Vultraz, and the Ta-Matoran prepared to behead Mazeka. However, Vultraz decided that Mazeka was to live, and that the Ko-Matoran would bear the shame for having his fate rested upon Vultraz. Vultraz then left the furious Mazeka, and Mazeka demanded training from the Order of Mata Nui in order to track down and defeat Vultraz.

Five years later, Mazeka journeyed to the island of Stelt to find the whereabouts of Vultraz. There he confronted a rogue Nynrah Ghost based on reports that Vultraz had brought his Skyfighter to be modified by the Fe-Matoran. He found out from the Matoran that Vultraz was heading to Karda Nui, and that the Matoran was to bring something to Makuta Icarax. Having removed the Fe-Matoran's mask to force the news out of him, Mazeka stepped on the mask and broke it before departing on his Swamp Strider.

Mazeka returned to the Isle of Daxia, and snuck into the fortress, taking down two guards along the way, in order to question Helryx about Karda Nui's whereabouts. Although he successfully broke into Helryx's chambers, he found that Helryx was not present and that in her room was a senior Order of Mata Nui member, Tobduk. Having fought Tobduk before and lost on all occasions due to the warrior's ability to become stronger by feeding on anger, Mazeka calmly questioned Tobduk about Karda Nui. Tobduk refused to answer, stating that he would only do so if Mazeka would help him on a mission. After accepting, Mazeka accompanied Tobduk to the island of Destral, where they broke into the fortress, and Tobduk confronted Makuta Tridax as Mazeka dragged Vezon away.

However, Mazeka did not know who Vezon was, and thus saw no reason of killing the insane Skakdi. Instead, he allowed the Skakdi to flee outside of Destral, and take his slim chances there. After Tobduk killed Makuta Tridax, Mazeka lied to Tobduk, stating that Vezon had died, and he then left with Tobduk to learn of the whereabouts of Karda Nui.

After gaining directions from Tobduk, and retrieving his Swamp Strider from Daxia, Mazeka made his way to Karda Nui. Once there, Mazeka began his search for Vultraz, who had stolen a tablet theorizing how the Great Spirit Mata Nui created the Makuta species. As he was searching, Vultraz spotted him from above on his Skyfighter, and the Shadow Matoran set his vehicle on a power dive towards Mazeka.

Before either reached each other, a portal accidentally created by Vezon suddenly opened between them, and both Matoran were hurdled into it.

A moment passed, and Mazeka then found himself exiting the portal and heading towards a massive tree banded with golden metal. He jumped clear of the tree just in time, and found Vultraz clinging to a tree, his vehicle having plummeted towards a giant creature in a lake and was destroyed. Mazeka then spotted a Ga-Matoran resembling a Toa and a Toa of Water resembling a Matoran coming out of the surrounding woods, and questioned them of his location. The Matoran-like being responded by telling him that she was Toa Macku, that he was on Spherus Magna, and that she was pleased to meet a survivor of The Melding.

Intrigued by their location, Mazeka questioned Macku about the story of Spherus Magna. Macku told the pair about the emergence of the Energized Protodermis, and how the Great Beings created the Toa, who were short in stature, to retrieve the substance and repair the damage caused by the Protodermis which threatened to shatter the planet. After she finished talking, Mazeka questioned about how he and Vultraz could get back home. Macku then redirected them to see the Great Beings.

After Macku left, Mazeka confronted Vultraz, who was interested in staying and taking over the alternate Spherus Magna. Soon afterwards, Macku arrived with Teridax, who guided them to the Great Being's fortress. After a long trip, they arrived, and made their way through the many elaborate designs that led into the Great Beings' council room. Teridax soon brought to their attention that upon reading Vultraz's thoughts, he discovered that he was filled with Shadow. The Great Beings insisted upon using the Shadow Matoran for testing, and attempted to make an offer with Mazeka that if he wanted to return to his homeworld, then he would have to leave Vultraz in Spherus Magna, although he could take one person from the alternate universe back with him. Mazeka still felt responsible for being Vultraz to justice, so refused to accept the offer. However, the Great Beings forced him to accept the deal, and had Chirox and Vamprah drag Vultraz off. The Ko-Matoran picked Teridax, and the two prepared to return to Mazeka's dimension.

Teridax's Reign
The pair eventually arrived in an uninhabited region of the Southern Continent. The Makuta demonstrated his Light powers to the Matoran by killing the dangerous flora residing there.

Abilities and Traits
Mazeka is highly skilled in combat and a great strategist as a result of his training with the Order. He is also larger than most other Matoran because he rebuilt himself. As with all Order members, his mind is shielded from telepathy and mental attacks through training.

Mazeka was not always as ruthless as he is now. At one time, he was much more gentle and innocent. However, due to training with the Order, combined with repeated battles with Vultraz, he has become much more cruel, and will not hesitate to use force to carry out his missions.

Tools
Mazeka once used a small dagger during a fight with Vultraz. He also kept several weapons in his home.

Mazeka piloted the Swamp Strider, a powerful vehicle crafted by Helryx. The strider was armed with a heavily modified Midak Skyblaster, but was destroyed when Mazeka was sent to an alternate dimension.

Set Information
Mazeka and the Swamp Strider were released in Summer 2008 as a store-exclusive set in Wal*Mart. Mazeka uses 11 pieces and has four pins, two attached to his feet, two attached to his hands, to hold onto the Swamp Strider.

Quotes
"I want to learn how to fight. I want to learn how to win clean ... and win dirty. When I'm done, I want to be a master with a blade, with my fists, with any kind of weapon-–and then I want you to get out of my way."

- Mazeka, Brothers in Arms

"I really don't want to kill you. You're a link to my past ... a reminder of all the things I avoided becoming. But you keep getting in my way, and I can't have that."

- Vultraz, Brothers in Arms

"Everything ends eventually... and sometimes, you're not sure why."

- Mazeka, Brothers in Arms

Appearances

 * Brothers In Arms (First Appearance)
 * Destiny War (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * Reign of Shadows
 * BIONICLE: Mistika (Non-canon Appearance)