Toa Hagah

"Clad in armor forged from precious metals, and wielding both Toa tools and Rhotuka launchers, they were the elite."

- Turaga Vakama, Web of Shadows

Toa Hagah was the name given to groups of elite Toa who once served as guards for members of the Brotherhood of Makuta. Seven groups of Toa Hagah have been known to exist: those of Makuta Teridax, Antroz, Chirox, Mutran, Spiriah, Tridax, and the Makuta of Stelt. Following the rebellion of the group led by Toa Norik, all other Toa Hagah were eliminated or corrupted, leaving only Norik and his five companions, who were transformed into the Rahaga. Hundreds of years later, they were returned to their Toa forms.

Recruitment
The individual members of Teridax's Toa Hagah had been active as Toa for some time before they were merged into a team. They were selected by the Brotherhood of Makuta from pre-existing groups of Toa with origins from various areas of the Matoran Universe. This selection was further narrowed by assessing the merit of each Toa's individual accomplishments, and those chosen were bestowed with armor made of precious metals, to honor them as elite Toa. As a dedicative token, members of their former teams presented them with Kanohi in the shape of masks worn by past heroes.

Brotherhood of Makuta
For several centuries, the Toa Hagah performed their duty well of protecting Teridax and the other Makuta, and also dealing with such localized threats as a Hoto Bug invasion. When they discovered the greater plots of the Brotherhood, however - the enslavement of Matoran, as well as cooperation with the Dark Hunters - the Toa Hagah, under Norik, rebelled and fought bravely against Teridax and the rest of the Brotherhood. They took away victories such as the theft of the Mask of Light, which the Brotherhood had confiscated years before from Artakha. During the raid on the Makuta’s Destral, when they stole the Mask of Light and the Makoki Stone, they also there defeated Teridax. Gaaki, Kualus, Pouks, and Bomonga were seized and imprisoned in the raid’s aftermath, and suffered mutation into Rahaga at the hands of Roodaka. Norik and Iruini did not initially share this fate. Norik was active elsewhere, and Iruini had resigned the team due to his belief that they did not allot adequate time in dealing with serious threats. Learning of the Toa Hagah’s captivity, Norik and Iruini, then in possession of the Avohkii, briefly joined forces again to rescue their allies. The rescue was successful but ultimately ended in their mutation as well. Roodaka told the Visorak at hand to let the Rahaga be, for she believed that they were no longer a threat.

Protection of Xia
The Toa Nuva held Roodaka captive during their quest to prepare the universe for Mata Nui's awakening. The Rahaga were brought to the island, and Roodaka was forced to undo her ancient mutation, and thus the Toa Hagah reformed. Briefly after the transformation, the Toa Hagah guarded Roodaka, though not without bitterness, given the mutual animosity between them. When Roodaka was taken by the Order of Mata Nui, the Toa Hagah's task turned toward the protection of the Vortixx of Xia from the destructive conflict of the returned Tahtorak and Kanohi Dragon. They managed to subdue both Rahi before confronting a new problem: the Dark Hunters, who wished to destroy the island in the effort to prevent their enemies - the Brotherhood of Makuta - from receiving further weaponry.

Hunt for Teridax
In response to the attack, Iruini rushed to confront the oncoming fleet. Eventually, the rest of the Toa Hagah were teleported to the lead ship of the fleet, upon which they learned of the existence of the Order of Mata Nui and its leader, Helryx. She gave them a mission to discover the location of Teridax and delivered Zaktan as a guide, an assignment which most of them accepted. Gaaki, however, did not, and stood shocked from a scene of the future she witnessed from her Mask of Clairvoyance, which showed them journeying into a "place of death" and that one of them would not return.

The Toa Hagah later arrived on Metru Nui with help from Botar's Replacement, where they encountered the Toa Mahri. They told the five Toa that they had come to destroy the Coliseum. The Toa Hagah believed it necessary in order to pursue Teridax, who had slipped into hidden caverns deep beneath the city that could not be accessed unless the obstruction of the Coliseum was removed. The Toa Mahri refused to let them accomplish this task, and the two teams engaged in a heated battle. During the course of this struggle, a monstrous Rahi beast was released from the Archives, and the Hagah and Mahri ceased fighting in order to subdue it. The two alliances then came to an agreement, and formed a plan of compromise. Together, they then lifted the Coliseum from its foundations and opened a passage into the underground, and the Toa Hagah sealed it as they descended. As they refused the Mahri’s offer of help, the great structure was lowered back into place.

The Hagah traveled through the underground, passing series of inscriptions along the journey. Their presence triggered an ambush, and caused a surge of magnetism to restrain them to the wall, and a stream of molten Protodermis to flow down the corridor. Before the Protodermis overtook them, Makuta Miserix rent a hole in the tunnel wall and teleported them to safety. Norik then explained the history of the Toa Hagah to Miserix, and the Toa and Makuta joined in a pact of trust in their efforts to destroy Teridax.

The Toa Hagah entered a chamber filled with strange, sophisticated machinery and two corpses on the ground, which Kualus and Bomonga examined. Bomonga revealed that the beings had been dead for many thousands of years, and suspected that they were not residents of the Matoran Universe, which Miserix confirmed upon studying their armor, which was not composed of Protodermis. A portal opened in the chamber suddenly, and several beings emerging from it. The Toa Hagah and Miserix prepared themselves for battle, but the figures were revealed to be Helryx and Keetongu, followed closely by Axonn and Brutaka. After brief talk between the three parties, a bolt of energy erupted from a nearby control panel and shattered Brutaka's Kanohi Olmak. Makuta Teridax announced his presence, and proceeded to destroy Zaktan after briefly speaking to the group.

Even after Brutaka revealed that they were within the mind of the Great Spirit, Miserix attacked the machinery in an attempt to end Teridax. The other Makuta only responded by cloaking Miserix in illusion, trapping him on the wall within a portrait. Turning his attention to the Toa Hagah, Teridax placed them in a powerful vision, one in which they had achieved victory and peace permeated their universe. The Hagah departed the hidden chamber, wholly and blissfully unaware of the true nature of their circumstances.

Teridax's Reign
The Toa Hagah emerged from the depths of Metru Nui and began to patrol the city. Several Matoran approached them in a plea for help, but the Hagah dismissed them. Tren Krom, present in Lewa's body, later dispelled the illusion from their minds, and thus freed, the Toa Hagah began functioning with the resistance against Teridax.

When the Great Spirit Robot was damaged beyond repair as a result of the Battle of Bara Magna, the Toa Hagah migrated onto the reformed Spherus Magna.

Spherus Magna
At the request of Kopaka, Gaaki gathered the Toa Hagah, and the group went in search of the Toa Mahri, who had fallen under the influence of a strange creature.

Toa Empire Alternate Universe
In this alternate universe, the Brotherhood of Makuta never recruited Toa to be Toa Hagah, and so the individual members of the team never received new Kanohi or metallic armor. In this realm, Gaaki, Pouks, Bomonga, and Kualus had instead pledged themselves to uphold the values of the Toa Empire.

Members
The Toa Hagah team formerly in the service of Makuta Teridax consists of:

Quotes
"Whether they wait for us or not, Takua, they deserve to be remembered as the greatest Toa."

- Turaga Vakama, Web of Shadows

"You were always heroes. Now you just look the part."

- Toa Nuva Tahu to the Toa Hagah, Toa Nuva Blog

"Perhaps, Hagah, we will get to see just how effective you are at 'protecting' a Makuta, after all."

- Makuta Miserix to the Toa Hagah, Dwellers In Darkness

Trivia

 * The word "Hagah" means "Guardian" in the Matoran language.
 * All of the Toa Hagah's staffs have limited powers of their own.

Appearances

 * The Mutran Chronicles (Not Mentioned By Name)
 * Comic 25: Birth of the Rahaga (In a Flashback; First Appearance)
 * Comic 27: Fractures (In a Flashback)
 * BIONICLE Adventures 9: Web of Shadows
 * Toa Nuva Blog
 * BIONICLE Legends 9: Shadows in the Sky (Mentioned Only)
 * Destiny War
 * Dwellers In Darkness
 * Comic 15: Mata Nui Rising (Mentioned Only)
 * Reign of Shadows
 * The Powers That Be
 * BIONICLE: Encyclopedia (Mentioned Only)
 * BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated (Mentioned Only)
 * BIONICLE: Makuta's Guide to the Universe
 * Toa Hagah Promo Animation (Non-canonical Appearance)