The Barraki were six powerful rulers who were condemned to the Pit and fought the Toa Mahri for possession of the Mask of Life. They were Pridak, Ehlek, Kalmah, Takadox, Carapar, and Mantax.
Notes
"Barraki" was a title, not a species name, and was the Matoran word for "warlord."5
Banished to the Pit 80,000 years ago, the Barraki warlords waited millennia to have their revenge on the universe. They were armed with incredible knowledge of battle tactics and vampiric squid launchers.6
Once, long ago, the Barraki lived on land. They were, in fact, the rulers of six powerful kingdoms. They were later exiled to the Pit for crimes against Mata Nui. They escaped, but they were mutated by a strange substance in the sea water into the forms they came to have. Each looked different because each one was a member of a different species. The Barraki were no longer able to breathe air, so they had to live underwater. Some of their weapons they found, and the rest they made themselves. Each Barraki had added a special feature to his armor that allowed him to clip living squid on and carry them as ammunition.7
The Barraki's best tool was their ability to sneak up on a foe.8
At one time, the six Barraki were warlords and kings who ruled over their own realms on land. They attempted to rebel against Mata Nui and were defeated by the Brotherhood of Makuta. They were banished to the Pit for their crimes. When the Great Cataclysm released them from the original Pit, they were mutated by the ocean waters into hideous, water-breathing creatures. After this mutation, they could not hope to regain their kingdoms unless they found a way to reverse the changes. They commanded armies of sea creatures in the waters of the Pit. When the Mask of Life sank into their realm, they seized it believing it could restore their original forms, allowing them to resume their conquest of the Matoran universe.9
For any team of Toa to defeat the Barraki was a daunting task. Each of them was a cunning and dangerous foe, with detailed knowledge of their environment and how to leverage it in combat.9
All six Barraki carried squid launchers.10, 9
Barraki was a Matoran word meaning "warlord."11, 12, 13
The Barraki once formed an alliance called the League of Six Kingdoms and ruled a significant portion of the known Matoran universe. They attempted to overthrow Mata Nui 80,000 years ago but were defeated by an army led by Makuta Teridax. Before they could be executed, Botar transported them to the Pit. The Barraki remained imprisoned in the Pit until the damage caused by the Great Cataclysm allowed them to escape. Once free, they found themselves stranded at the bottom of a strange ocean with no air for them to breathe. However, a mutagenic agent in the waters severely mutated them, making them able to breathe only underwater and to survive at great depths. Unable to leave the ocean, the Barraki formed underwater armies of sea creatures and plotted revenge against Mata Nui and the Brotherhood of Makuta. After the Matoran city of Mahri Nui sank into the upper part of the Pit, the Barraki periodically hunted its Matoran for sport.11
When the Kanohi Ignika drifted down into the Pit, the Barraki seized the mask, knowing that its power could transform them into their former selves and allow them to reclaim their kingdoms. The Barraki entrusted the Ignika to Nocturn, who lost it. The Toa Mahri tricked the Barraki into warring among themselves, giving them time to search for the Ignika. The Barraki realized their error and banded together to battle the Toa Mahri for possession of the Ignika.11
Before their mutation, each of the Barraki was originally an impressive, perfect physical specimen.11
Pridak was the leader of the Barraki.14
Teridax held the Barraki in disdain, considering them to be bunglers who lacked finesse.15
The Brotherhood of Makuta truly believed the Barraki were a threat to them.16
The Barraki sought the Mask of Life to enact revenge on the Brotherhood of Makuta and the Toa.17
The Barraki were overall more intelligent than the Piraka.18
The Piraka would have the edge in a battle between the Barraki and the Piraka as they had more powers and better ranged abilities. Zaktan and Reidak in particular would be difficult to sneak up on or ambush. The Barraki had an edge in an underwater conflict, but the Piraka would be more likely to win a one on one fight.19, 20
For the most part, the Barraki were extremely intelligent. The smartest among them had Makuta-level intelligence.21
The Barraki didn't exactly hate each other.22
The Barraki didn't care about each other as friends.23
The Barraki respected each other.24
The Barraki didn't exactly respect each other, but they feared each other.25
The alliance between the Barraki was stronger than the alliance between the Piraka.26
There was no member of the Barraki the others didn't trust.27
The Barraki were arrogant and imperious.28
The Barraki were not interested in anyone else's benefit or ambitions but their own.29
The Barraki were not looking to destroy everything; they were conquerors who found it pointless to destroy what they were conquering because it wouldn't leave them anything to rule.30
The Barraki were legendary conquerors who won battles.31
The Barraki were very much involved in their battles.32
The Barraki were nothing if not efficient, and as such didn't have their armies fight each other.33
The Barraki were possibly capable of using Kanohi, but it's doubtful they would even if they could. In their minds, relying on a mask power would be a crutch. They used weapons, but their true strength was in their minds, limbs, and ability to rule. A hero who depended on their mask and weakened if it was removed was contemptible in their eyes.34
The Barraki could use Kanohi if they chose to, but they did not.35
The Barraki weren't concerned with the Ignika's curses, believing the mask couldn't do anything worse than their current fate.36
The Barraki were warlords, meaning they were brutal when they needed to be, but practical above all else. They wouldn't hesitate to kill a being if they'd benefit from doing so or they had no use for the being. If they wouldn't benefit though, it'd be a pointless expenditure of energy and a waste of resources. Barraki thought in military terms.37
The Barraki took big risks if they felt they were warranted. Had they been in Sidorak's place during the Visorak conquest of Metru Nui, they would've seen through Roodaka's schemes and had her executed within seconds.38
Barraki was a title, not a species name. It meant "warlord" in Matoran. There were only six of them.39
The Barraki had a leader.40
The Barraki were led by one of their own; they did not answer to anyone outside their group.41
With some reservations, the other Barraki respected Pridak, but also bristled a little at his attitude because they were all rulers and conquerors and didn't want to be treated like followers.42
The Barraki were less scared of Pridak and more respectful of his power.43
It was rare for other Barraki to challenge Pridak for his leadership.44
The Barraki looked down on those who used masks to do things like make themselves run faster or generate shields, but considered their intended use of the Ignika to be different.45
The Barraki's sense of mercy depended on whether one was in their way or not. If a being wasn't in their way, they had no reason to kill them.46
It's doubtful the Barraki would be recognizable to those who knew them before their mutation.47
The mutated Barraki had mandibles on either side of their heads.48
The Barraki's long term goal was to go back to being what they were before: conquerors and rulers.49
The Barraki were not species revealed prior to story year 2007.50
The Barraki all came from different homelands.51
The Barraki weren't from Artakha, Karzahni, Metru Nui, Voya Nui, Daxia, Xia, Odina, Zakaz, or Destral.52
Before their banishment, there was no Barraki lacking in intelligence.53
The Barraki exhibited behavior similar to their animal counterparts to some extent.54
Like Pridak, the other Barraki ate with their mouths.55
None of the Barraki were vegetarian.56
The Barraki couldn't absorb energy directly through contact with purely organic beings.57
The fish eaten by the Barraki were mostly organic.58
The Barraki weren't very tolerant types, they were dictators.59
A member of the Barraki might be inclined to keep the Mask of Life from the others because if only one of them returned to normal that member wouldn't have to share the universe with the others.60
The Barraki referred to themselves as Barraki.61
The Barraki species were not seen in the first six story years.62
Without powers and tools, the strongest Barraki was Carapar.63
On an evilness scale from one to ten, with Makuta Teridax being a ten, the Barraki were a nine.64
The Barraki would rather live in the Pit for 80,000 years than die because the former gave them hope for escape.65
Before learning of his betrayal, all of the Barraki were creeped out by Takadox, but not to the point of actual hatred.66
Water breathers like the Barraki couldn't hold their breath in air bubbles any more than a fish could hold its breath if pulled out of the water. Like the fish, Barraki didn't have lungs.67
The Barraki's weapons were removable.68
The Barraki found conquering territories fun.69
The Barraki didn't become powerful through backstabbing. They were conquerors who grew powerful through strength and conquest.70
Some Barraki were masters of some forms of hand to hand combat, but as generals, not all of them had mastered all forms of combat.71
The League of Six Kingdoms referred to a political alliance, Barraki referred to the individual leaders of the respective kingdoms involved.72
The Barraki were like a military alliance between nations; they didn't have to like each other, but they knew they needed each other.73
The Barraki were dictators who were intended to maintain order by suppressing all freedom, ensuring the universe ran efficiently.74
Given their reputations, the Barraki could probably attract a lot of mercenaries and thugs fairly quickly even after their banishment.75
Armies
Pre-mutation
The Barraki cared that their armies were intact and capable of fighting.76
Before they were imprisoned, the Barraki's armies had largely the same composition species-wise.77
The original Barraki armies had ex-Dark Hunters in them.78
The Barraki's pre-banishment armies were not vastly different in composition. They were mainly made up of mercenaries, ex-Dark Hunters, Matoran criminals, and the like. Ehlek's army was the most unique as it tended to have more members of his own species in it.79
The Barraki's original armies were made up of ex-Dark Hunters, Matoran, and other mercenaries from other species.80
The Barraki didn't have any kinship with their soldiers.81
Post-mutation
The Barraki's underwater armies were organic.82
The Barraki took control of their underwater armies with sheer willpower.83
Each Barraki had thousands of creatures in their underwater armies.84
The Barraki's undersea armies didn't understand the Matoran language.85
The Barraki's underwater armies followed them because the Barraki themselves had features in common with them in addition to incredible intelligence. For example, Pridak had the power of a shark and the mind of a tactical genius, so the sharks followed him as his will was greater than theirs.86
The creatures that followed the Barraki saw them as the "alphas" among them.87
The Barraki controlled their armies the same way lions controlled prides. The other creatures sensed the Barraki were the alpha males and followed them.88
Both/Unclear
Barraki likely fought alongside their armies.89
The Barraki's armies numbered in the thousands.90
There wasn't much of a difference between the Barraki's armies with regards to brutality.91
Other Information
- The name "Barraki" came from LEGO's agency in Denmark.92
- Greg Farshtey found Mantax and Ehlek to be the most difficult Barraki to write.93
- Greg Farshtey preferred the Barraki sets to the Piraka sets because hey were more differentiated than the Piraka were.94
- The Barraki at their peak were on the level of Alexander the Great or Caesar.95
List of Barraki
- Pridak
- Kalmah
- Carapar
- Mantax
- Ehlek
- Takadox