Dark Hunters

The Dark Hunters were a shadowy band of mercenaries and bounty hunters whose existence was rumored for centuries. They were said to be as powerful as Toa but far less moral, willing to take on any job provided the pay was high enough. Historically, the Dark Hunters were paid with everything from skillfully crafted tools to secrets to political power. They had a history of conflict with Toa and with Metru Nui.¹

Notes

As of story year 2004, although no Dark Hunters had ever been spotted before in Metru Nui, whispers of their existence had reached the Matoran from other places. The Dark Hunters were said to be as powerful as Toa, though far from being heroes. They would take any job, no matter how evil or destructive, if the reward was great enough.²

The Dark Hunters Nidhiki and Krekka were beings that lived to hunt Toa. They came to Metru Nui for their "favorite sport": Toa hunting.³

According to Nidhiki, Odina was home to several hundred killers (Dark Hunters).⁴

The Shadowed One was the founder and leader of the Dark Hunters, a villainous group of bounty hunters and thieves. Ruthless and powerful, he even dared to declare war on Makuta, a conflict that raged for over 1,000 years.⁵

The Dark Hunters proved to be a menace to Matoran, Toa, and even members of the Brotherhood of Makuta for thousands of years. The organization, led by the Shadowed One, consisted of warriors and wanderers gathered from all around the Matoran universe. Together they formed a powerful organization. Their reach and influence were pervasive throughout the world. The Dark Hunters were willing to perform any task for the right price, no matter the risk; members learned to fear the Shadowed One's wrath far more than any consequences their missions might have. Dark Hunters would steal, spy, deceive, kill, and bring destruction to countless lands in the name of profit.⁶

As of story year 2006, the Dark Hunters consisted of hundreds of operatives scattered throughout the known Matoran universe. From his fortress, the Shadowed One assigned their missions, housed the treasure they collected, and enforced their laws. Disobedience was punished with execution; treachery was punished with torture far worse than death.⁷

The Dark Hunter Eliminator acted as a kind of troubleshooter for the organization. When a Dark Hunter failed his mission, he was dispatched to eliminate the incompetent and then carry out the mission himself. Other Dark Hunters universally hated Eliminator.⁸

Many beings were drawn to the Dark Hunter life by the potential for profit and adventure or simply to escape the life they had been living before. Others were pulled into the organization by force.⁹

Major foes of the Dark Hunters included the Toa and the Brotherhood of Makuta.¹⁰

The Dark Hunter Guardian ensured that captured Dark Hunters were silenced before they could divulge information to their enemies. He was kept extremely busy during the Dark Hunter-Brotherhood of Makuta war.¹⁰

The Shadowed One used the Hordika Dragons in collecting debts from clients who were reluctant to pay. They fulfilled this role with some regularity, to the Shadowed One's chagrin.¹¹

Few Dark Hunters operated solely on their own.¹²

The Shadowed One looked for qualities such as instability, violence, and insanity in Dark Hunter recruits.¹³

It was not unusual to have someone join the Dark Hunters in furtherance of their own ambitions.¹⁴

Although they were enemies of the Dark Hunters, Toa at times proved to be fertile ground for recruiting new members. Nidhiki was not the first Toa to join the Dark Hunters and was in fact unusually reluctant.¹⁵

The Shadowed One was satisfied with Dark Hunters who were blindly loyal, sufficiently effective to remain employed, and willing to follow orders as long as they got paid and the chance to kill something on occasion.¹⁶

No outsider was permitted to know the location of the Shadowed One's fortress. Ordinarily, someone being brought for an audience would have his eyes covered to prevent his seeing anything he should not. The purpose of the Shadowed One's organization was to gain power and profit by taking jobs others found too dangerous or illegal to attempt. There were no limits to how far a Dark Hunter would go for the right price. The Shadowed One envisioned beings as powerful Toa but unfettered by conscience or morality. Any Dark Hunter trainee who was defeated in mock combat, if he did not serve some further purpose, would be executed, and his body returned to his home island as a warning to others. Ancient warned Vezok that the downfall of every Dark Hunter followed the same path: being caught trying to hide spoils from the Shadowed One.¹⁷

Zaktan claimed that discontent with the Shadowed One's rule had been spreading among the Dark Hunters for years before his failed rebellion. They resented having to hand over every treasure they found and being imprisoned, or worse, for offending their leader.¹⁷

At any given time, anywhere from fifty to a hundred Dark Hunters were stationed on Odina. Some were there for rest and recreation between missions, others for training, and a few the Shadowed One just wanted to keep a close eye on.¹⁷

For Dark Hunters, leaving Odina without authorization was punishable by death.¹⁷

The Dark Hunters were a group of mercenaries who would do anything for the right price. In their time, they battled Toa, unleashed monstrous Rahi on defenseless cities, kidnapped Turaga, stolen artifacts, and even seized control of entire islands. For years, the Brotherhood of Makuta used the Dark Hunters to strike at their foes. In recent times, they were an ever-present menace to Toa. The organization harbored the worst collection of thieves, killers, maniacs, and would-be tyrants in the Matoran universe on their island base of Odina.¹⁸

Although the Order of Mata Nui knew the location of Odina, they allowed the Dark Hunters to continue to exist because it suited their purposes, particularly because Dark Hunters were an adversary of the Brotherhood of Makuta during the ongoing Dark Hunter-Brotherhood of Makuta War. The Order intended someday to deal with the threat of the Dark Hunters severely.¹⁸

The courtyard of the fortress on Odina served as a training area for Dark Hunters. There, they were taught to kidnap, steal, and eliminate their enemies. On Odina, there was no mock combat — all fights, even training exercises, were to the death, unless the Shadowed One wished otherwise.¹⁸

From their base of Odina, the Dark Hunters hatched countless plans of both great daring and great evil. In their time, the Dark Hunters possessed or pursued virtually every item of value, from the Makoki stones to the Ignika, at one point or another.¹⁸

The Dark Hunters' membership came from many different species. Dark Hunters usually fell into one of five categories:¹⁸

Those with criminal natures: Some Dark Hunters were simply evil, violent, or immoral by nature and enjoyed destruction for its own sake.
Social outcasts: Some Dark Hunters were shunned from society because of their appearance or behavior. With nowhere else to turn, such individuals were easily recruited into the Dark Hunters.
Those with all brawn and no brains: Some members' only true skill was to break things, which they gladly put to use in return for food and shelter.
Victims: Some members, through trickery, blackmail, or some other means, were forced into joining the Dark Hunters and made to believe they could not leave.
The cunning: A small number of members, who tended not to last very long, remained because they had ambitions of overthrowing the Shadowed One and claiming leadership of the Dark Hunters.

All Dark Hunters had in common their fear of their leader, their disconnection from normal society, and a talent for violence.¹⁸

The Dark Hunters' island headquarters was Odina.^{19, 20, 18}

No one outside the organization knew exactly how many Dark Hunters there were. They were allegedly led by a charismatic and powerful individual known as the Shadowed One, a being said to be respected even by Makuta.¹

Whenever a request for the Dark Hunters' services came in, the Shadowed One decided how many and which agents to send. He often paired agents who seemed like poor teams (Nidhiki and Krekka, for instance), but they were inevitably successful in their missions, since they were cognizant of the severe price for failure.¹

The Dark Hunters jealously hid their secrets and enforced their own rules. Summoning a Dark Hunter for no reason or refusing to pay could result in hideous consequences. Causing the death of a Dark Hunter, even indirectly, was the worst offense of all and risked the direct attention of the Shadowed One.¹

The Vortixx did work for the Dark Hunters.²¹ Xia was the source of much of the weaponry used by the Dark Hunters.^{22, 23}

Dark Hunter ships patrolled the waters around Zakaz.²⁴

The Dark Hunters were thieves, bounty hunters, and mercenaries under the command of a being known only as the Shadowed One. Based on the island of Odina, the Dark Hunters would take on any job, lawful or unlawful, as long as the pay was good enough. Along with the Brotherhood of Makuta, they were considered one of the most dangerous organizations in the Matoran universe. Over the millennia, Dark Hunters stole treasures, eliminated Toa, kidnapped Turaga, and even overthrew the governments of entire islands. They forged a relationship with the Brotherhood of Makuta, often doing jobs for Makuta Teridax or others. The Shadowed One recruited from just about any species, and the group included a wide variety of members, even some ex-Toa. Some Dark Hunters were outcasts seeking a place to belong; others were adventurers; others were criminals who wanted the chance to steal and harm and get paid for it.²⁵

The organization had a firm set of rules. Any treasure found by a Dark Hunter on a missions was to be turned over to the Shadowed One. Any Dark Hunter who betrayed the group or tried to quit would be hunted down and eliminated. Anyone outside of the organization who killed a Dark Hunter would also be eliminated.²⁵

In recent times, the organization had grown more daring. After their request to build a base in Metru Nui was refused, they invaded the city and attempted to conquer it. As of late story year 2009, the Dark Hunters remained a very real threat to safety and peace, despite the destruction of their fortress.²⁵

Some Dark Hunters managed to leave the organization, but were unable to fully cut ties with them. The Shadowed One did not approve of Dark Hunters leaving the organization.²⁶

Dark Hunters were not permitted to quit. They either died on missions or were executed for failure.²⁷

The Dark Hunters didn't believe in amassing armies for large scale battles.²⁸

It is unlikely that any Dark Hunters doubted Mata Nui's existence.²⁹

The Dark Hunters had existed for a long time by story year 2005.³⁰

Toa would not hire Dark Hunters.³¹

Dark Hunters infiltrated, stole, and assassinated. They were not slow or clumsy, with the exception of Krekka.³²

Dark Hunters carried out whatever missions they were assigned. Their individual goals didn't matter, they followed orders.³³

The Dark Hunters consisted of a lot of different species.³⁴

Before the Dark Hunter/Brotherhood of Makuta War, it was typical for the Shadowed One to send Dark Hunters to the Makuta for alterations or upgrades.³⁵

In exchange for returning with treasures, Dark Hunters were given shelter, food, protection from their enemies, and work they found exciting. The Shadowed One would arrange the deaths of anyone who left the organization.³⁶

No Turaga joined the Dark Hunters.³⁷

Before they went to war with each other, the Dark Hunters worked for the Brotherhood of Makuta most of the time.³⁸

Beings didn't necessarily have to do anything to be considered for recruitment to the Dark Hunters, sometimes it came down to what powers a being had, where they lived, or what they could bring to the organization.³⁹

Ex-Dark Hunters were present in the Barraki's original armies.⁴⁰

The Order of Mata Nui was easily as powerful as the Brotherhood of Makuta and more powerful than the Dark Hunters.⁴¹

Other Information

The concept for the Dark Hunters came from the story team in 2002 when plans were made for Nidhiki and Krekka. Story bibles tended to deal with the story for individual years, so the 2001 and 2002 bibles did not mention the Dark Hunters. Greg Farshtey invented the Shadowed One and created identities for most combiner models.⁴²
An earlier draft of the prologue to BIONICLE Legends #6: City of the Lost put ex-Dark Hunters in Pridak's army. Writer Greg Farshtey mentioned that he had concerns that the Dark Hunters might not have existed at that time and the sentence might be modified. It was changed to a more generic term in the released book.^{43, 44}
The excerpt from the draft of BIONICLE Legends #6 mentioned Dark Hunters in Pridak's army,⁴⁵ but Greg Farshtey had also answered that the Barraki didn't know about the Dark Hunters.⁴⁶ He clarified that it was a slip of the tongue on his part and books always take precedence over the answers he gave to fans.⁴⁷

List of Dark Hunters

Nidhiki
Krekka
Lariska
Triglax
Hakann
Avak
Reidak
Zaktan
Thok
Vezok
Airwatcher
Amphibax
Ancient
Charger
Conjurer
Darkness
Dweller
Eliminator
Firedracax
Gatherer
Gladiator
Guardian
Hordika Dragons
Kraata-Kal
Lurker
Mimic
Minion
Poison
Primal
Prototype
Ravager
Savage
Seeker
Shadow Stealer
Spinner
Subterranean
Tracker
Tyrant
Vanisher
Silence
Devastator
Vengeance
Phantom
A bird-like Dark Hunter

Other Agents

Sentrakh
Voporak
The Recorder