Ta-Metru Foundries

"He paused in front of a massive, blackened building that had once housed a forge. Here, construction tools and other equipment had been cast from molten protodermis before being sent on to Po-Metru for finishing."

- Narrator, Mystery of Metru Nui

The Ta-Metru Foundries, also known as Forges, are manufacturing installations located in the Ta-Metru district of Metru Nui.

History
The Foundries are the site of the second step in the production process of manufacturing items and tools. After Protodermis is cleansed of impurities in Ga-Metru, it is heated as it travels through a series of locks to the Foundries. Here, the molten Protodermis is poured into molds, then cast and recast and recast again until perfect. The skill of the worker is essential to this process, as poorly made items will break under stress or fail to function at all. Vakama spent almost his entire life as a Matoran in the Foundries. Before the Great Cataclysm, certain Rahi chose to make this place their home, such as the Furnace Salamander, Hikaki, and Ranama frogs. Also, the Ga-Metru Proto Drakes often came here to remove the parasites that latched onto them while swimming. The Vahki Nuurakh were known to have guarded Foundries due to their importance. Vakama often used his personal foundry as a Matoran when trying to construct the Vahi for Teridax, who was then disguised as Turaga Dume. Once, after failing to create the mask, Toa Mangai Lhikan appeared to the Ta-Matoran and gave him a Toa Stone, asking him to protect the heart of the city. Before he could continue, the Dark Hunters Nidhiki and Krekka appeared and attempted to capture the Toa. Lhikan lost the battle after surrendering to save Vakama, as Nidhiki threatened to drop the Matoran into molten Protodermis. The Dark Hunter then did so regardless, though Lhikan managed to save Vakama before he was taken away. After the battle, Teridax came to his forge and inquired of the status of the mask. Upon being informed of the lack of progress and that the purity of Vakama's disks was not to blame, he left. Vakama later left also, for the Great Temple.

When the Toa Metru began their search for the Matoran who knew the locations of the Great Disks, Toa Vakama journeyed to the foundries to find Nuhrii. He asked Brander about Nuhrii, and Brander, not believing the tall being was really Vakama, tested him. He successfully passed Brander's test and received information on Nuhrii's location. He located Nuhrii, and in addition, he found Morbuzakh knocking over vats of molten Protodermis. Thinking quickly, he fired a freeze disk from his Kanoka Launcher and froze the plant. After the danger had passed, Vakama questioned the rescued Matoran about how the vine got so far into Ta-Metru and managed to get a hold of the vats. The Matoran could only tell him that a four-legged creature had snuck in and sabotaged the controls. The Toa soon left to resume his search with Nuhrii.

After the Great Cataclysm and during the Great Rescue, Toa Hordika Vakama traveled with Rahaga Norik to his personal forge in search of Airship parts. Not being able to find the machinery after rummaging through his old work bench, the poisoned Toa flung a weaken Kanoka at a wall in anger. The effect caused the wall to crumble which revealed a passage containing a Kanoka with Nuhrii's mask engraved on the front. This caused Vakama to believe he was not meant to become a Toa Metru, though later he found evidence which proved he was.

The Foundries were repaired by the Matoran of Metru Nui, after they returned to the city and began work on restoring it. Any further damage suffered by the Foundries as a consequence of the Great Cataclysm was later fixed by the Staff of Artakha. The Foundaries, along with the rest of Metru Nui, were severely damaged when a fragment of one of the moons of Bara Magna struck the head of the Great Spirit Robot during Teridax's battle with Mata Nui.

Appearances

 * BIONICLE Adventures 1: Mystery of Metru Nui (First Appearance)


 * Comic 16: Toa Metru!


 * BIONICLE Adventures 2: Trial by Fire


 * BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui


 * BIONICLE Adventures 4: Legends of Metru Nui


 * BIONICLE Adventures 8: Challenge of the Hordika


 * BIONICLE: Encyclopedia (Mentioned Only)


 * BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated (Mentioned Only)


 * Vakama's Toa Metru Mini Promo CD


 * Stop the Morbuzakh! (Non-canonical appearance)