The Shattering

"As I left my home planet, energized protodermis leaked from the world's core and triggered a massive explosion that flung two huge chunks into orbit."

- Mata Nui, Mata Nui Saga

The Shattering was a cataclysmic event that took place on the planet Spherus Magna.

History
The event was triggered when Energized Protodermis leaked from the core of the planet to the surface. Ice Agori soon discovered the substance and its destructive properties. The other tribes soon discovered it, and what it was capable of, and began warring for its control, under the command of the Element Lords.

As the war raged, the old rulers of Spherus Magna, the Great Beings, collected a sample of the liquid and discovered that its spread was causing infrastructural damage to the planet itself, and that any efforts to drain it would cause massive damage. When the efforts to make the fighting stop proved unsuccessful, the Great Beings created a giant robot that would observe other worlds and other cultures, trying to learn from them. Then it would return to Spherus Magna and help repair the damage to the planet.

The Fire Tribe, in an effort to claim the power of the Energized Protodermis, managed to break into the Ice Tribes well, and began siphoning off the substance from its spring. A chain reaction began in the core of the planet and eventually it caused the planet to shatter into three pieces.

The majority of the population was stranded on the largest chunk, housing the region of Bara Magna. This chunk eventually developed into a new planet. The jungle covering a large part of the region was reduced to just a few trees and shrubs, while the desert expanded, causing most of the rivers in the region to disappear. Of the Agori who had been in the region when the Shattering occurred, a large number died, while the rest tried to find shelter in the ruins. They lost the ability to invent new things and were forced to rely on what was left of the Great Beings' technology. The Sand Tribe, in particular, regressed to a primitive and savage state. North of the Black Spike Mountains, the Rock Tribe, who had been cut off from its homeland along with its warriors, estabilished an empire. The other four tribes, who had lost most of their warriors, began to rebuild and estabilished a new social system thanks to Core War veterans and other Agori, such as Raanu.

The other two chunks of Spherus Magna became worlds of their own. The piece housing Great Sea was completely covered by water and became Aqua Magna, while the Great Jungle formed the celestial body of Bota Magna. The two moons began orbiting around Bara Magna.

Aftermath
Many of the denizens of the planet were killed or injured as a direct result of the Shattering. Spherus Magna separated into several fragments, including Aqua Magna, Bara Magna, and Bota Magna. Bara Magna became home to the majority of the surviving population.

With many of the former cities of Bara Magna reduced to ruin, the tribes settled into small villages, each home to hundreds of Agori. The Rock Tribe established a home up north, near the Great Volcano, and attended its own affairs. The nomadic Sand Tribe society regressed into a savage, animalistic state; its warriors became known as Vorox, and its Agori became the Zesk.

Appearances

 * All Our Sins Remembered (In a Flashback)
 * Decadence (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * Fall and Rise of the Skrall (Mentioned Only)
 * Mata Nui Saga (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * Brothers In Arms (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * Destiny War (Mentioned Only)
 * Riddle of the Great Beings (Mentioned Only)
 * Empire of the Skrall (Mentioned Only)
 * The Crossing (Mentioned Only)
 * BIONICLE: Raid on Vulcanus (Not Mentioned by Name)
 * BIONICLE: Journey's End (Mentioned Only)
 * Sahmad's Tale (Mentioned Only)
 * The Yesterday Quest (Mentioned Only)
 * BIONICLE: Mata Nui's Guide to Bara Magna (Mentioned Only)