The Kanohi Ignika was the Mask of Life. It was guarded by Umbra, Axonn, Brutaka, and any other guardians it created for itself.2
Notes
The full extent of the Ignika's power was unknown. It was shown to bring inanimate objects to life, take on different shapes, evolve or enlarge living things (a venom eel, Fenrakk, Gadunka, Protodax), levy curses (Vezon, Kyrehx, Dekar), and totally change a being's form (Hydraxon). The Barraki believed that it was capable of reversing the mutations done to them by the waters of the Pit. It was known for certain that it was the only object capable of fully restoring the life of Mata Nui and that using it in that way required that its user die.2
The Ignika was considered a Legendary Mask.3
In addition to being the only item capable of healing Mata Nui in the event of his illness, the Ignika was also designed by the Great Beings to fulfill another vital function. In the event that the Matoran universe should devolve into a hopeless state of war or anarchy, the mask was designed to drain all life from every being in the Matoran universe, ending it once and for all. When such a time approached, the Ignika would turn from its normal gold color to silver, then finally from silver to black when the end time arrived. None of the Ignika's guardians, including Axonn, Brutaka, and Umbra, were aware of this mechanism. Only Makuta Teridax was able to intuit its true purpose from scattered sources, which included old legends and information found on Artakha.4
Toa Ignika soared into battle on his skyboard, ready to challenge the Brotherhood of Makuta.1, 5 Inspired by the heroics of Toa Matoro, the Mask of Life created a body for itself and teamed with the Toa Nuva to save the universe. Although much of his energy had to go to maintaining his new body, Toa Ignika was still extremely powerful. He was eager to experience actually living, having friends, and being a hero. He talked rarely, as he did not yet have a good grasp of spoken language. Toa Ignika was brave and quite reckless, but his great power had saved him from any serious harm. Toa Ignika wore the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life. He carried a Midak Skyblaster and lifeblade. His vehicle was a skyboard. While he was not as powerful in this new form, Toa Ignika could still bring inanimate objects to life, communicate telepathically, and evolve or devolve other beings.1
Toa Ignika carried a Midak skyblaster and wore the Mask of Life. The wings of his skyboard could fold out for flight.5
When Toa Ignika spoke, it sounded as if he had just learned to use his voice. As of story year 2008, the Mask of Life was on a countdown to the annihilation of every living thing in the universe. This had to do with things being out of balance, and it was the only way to make things right.6
Toa Ignika sacrificed his new "life" to awaken Mata Nui. Although Ignika could not die as Matoro had, he still put the universe before his own needs and desires.6
Makuta Teridax knew that Voya Nui was the rumored hiding place of the Mask of Life.7
Voya Nui was the hiding place of the powerful Mask of Life.8 The Mask of Life was kept hidden in the Chamber of Life beneath Mount Valmai.9
The Toa Ignika was a living being that embodied the power of the Mask of Life.10
The Kanohi Ignika was created by the Great Beings, with two purposes in mind. The mask could be used to revive the Great Spirit Mata Nui should his life energies ever wane. It could also wipe out all life in the universe should it become necessary, opening the way for new life to be created. The mask was gold in color, but it would turn silver and then black if its countdown to destruction began. The mask was hidden on Voya Nui and guarded by sentries such as Umbra, Axonn, and Brutaka. Over the course of 100,000 years, it was taken from its resting place only once. To prevent abuse of its power, the mask would curse anyone who touched it when not destined to do so. Some examples of its curses were: making everything inanimate come to life wherever the afflicted went, giving the victim a death-touch, and inflicting madness. The Ignika was also able to evolve or devolve any living being, transform beings completely, teleport beings across the universe, and more. It was considered a Legendary mask along with the Kanohi Vahi.11
Mata Nui's mask was capable of transforming anything that was at least partly organic.12
Once Mata Nui's spirit was imprisoned in the Ignika, Mata Nui's consciousness overrode the Ignika's. Mata Nui could control the Ignika's powers, but Mata Nui's spirit itself basically had no power. While the Ignika flew through space, it was still cracked.13
The Mask of Life was more powerful than a Great Mask.14
The Mask of Life could help keep Mata Nui alive, but it would not awaken him.15
The Mask of Life could take life away from an organism.16
The Ignika could not resurrect beings.17, 18
The Ignika was highly unlikely to have been formed from six disks like the Vahi was.19, 20
The Mask of Life was at least as powerful as the Vahi.21
The Kanohi Ignika was not more powerful than the Vahi, they just had different powers.22
The Ignika and Vahi were on the same power level because the elements they represented were codependent.23
The Ignika and Vahi didn't necessarily have different levels of power, just different kinds of powre. Life couldn't exist without time, and time was irrelevant without life to affect.24
No sane being who knew the truth about the Ignika would want to use it for anything other than its intended purpose.25
The Ignika was always active, though it was often just waiting for someone to take it so it could serve its purpose.26
Zaktan recalled a legend that the Ignika would be used by a Toa every 5,000 years to keep the universe running. This legend was an exaggeration; the mask was not worn nearly that often.27
The Ignika had many powers such as future sight, hovering, fusion, enlargement of other beings, accelerating plant growth, healing, and essentially any Life-based power besides resurrection.28
If the Mask of Life were destroyed, it would unleash the power of life and bring every inanimate object to life with wants, needs, and demands. Every living creature would constantly evolve into new forms.29
Beings would be unlikely to want to use the Ignika to save anyone besides Mata Nui's life due to the method of curing.30
A single use of the Ignika would save Mata Nui's life indefinitely unless future events threatened his life again.31
The Mask of Life could give life, but not to the dead.32
The Mask of Life could evolve existing things and give life to inanimate objects, but it could not create life whole or create life with no spirit. Therefore, it could not directly help a Makuta get a physical body.33
The Mask of Life didn't create organisms out of nothing, it evolved what was already there.34
The Mask of Life could take multiple forms, including the Voya Nui Online Game's "Mask of Vision", which was canon.35
The Ignika would be unlikely to shape itself to resemble an existing Kanohi design because it wouldn't want to be mistaken for a different mask.36
The Ignika could shapeshift pretty much at will. Like life, it came in many forms.37
The Ignika could take many shapes, but it had to remain a mask.38
The Mask of Life could take on many forms because it was an avatar of life and life could take many forms.39
The Mask of Life existed to regenerate the life energies of Mata Nui. That was its original and only purpose.40
The Ignika had to be brought to a specific place to be used correctly, otherwise it wouldn't help Mata Nui any.41
The Ignika needed to be used in the "world that feeds the world" to save Mata Nui.42
The Mask of Life could bring inanimate objects to life, but could not bring the dead back to life.43
The Mask of Life could kill by drawing its element back into itself.44
When a Matoran died, his spirit eventually disappeared. Even if the Mask of Life could give life to the Matoran's corpse, it could not recall the lost spirit.45
No being, besides potentially the Great Beings, could repair or reforge the Mask of Life.46
A destined bearer of the Ignika could carry the mask if they possessed a different body. Someone who wasn't destined to bear the mask who possessed the body of someone who was destined would be incapable of carrying it without being cursed.47
The Ignika chose Matoro as its guardian because he possessed qualities the other Toa Inika did not. Toa like Hewkii and Kongu were beings of action, athletes, and military leaders while Matoro was a thinker, among other things, and had a past interest in Rahi that showed his deep-seated respect for life. Hahli would also have been a good choice, but she had a different destiny.48
Regardless of the strength of the user, the Mask of Life couldn't be used to raise a being from the dead.49
The Mask of Life probably couldn't keep its wearer alive as long as it was being worn.50
The Mask of Life could take life away.51
Toa Ignika could unleash a Nova Blast.52
Toa Ignika had a Toa-level control over Life.53
The Ignika couldn’t change a Toa to a Matoran, or a Turaga to a Toa.54
The Ignika could not grant minds to things.55
The Vahi could be used to slow the Ignika countdown.56
It’s probable Toa Ignika could have formed a Toa Seal with 5 other Toa.57
If Toa Ignika’s mask were taken off, its body would desintegrate.58
The only thing able to reverse the Pit Mutagen was the Ignika, and possibly Mata Nui.59
Curses
Transformations created by the Mask of Life were permanent.60
Any being capable of wearing a mask could put the Mask of Life on, but bad things would happen to that being if they were not the being intended to wear it.61
A being could only retrieve the Ignika without being cursed if they were destined to wear it, use it, or carry it.62
The Ignika changed beings that touched it when it was not their destiny to do so, but it was also capable of changing beings that did not touch it.63
If a being touched or carried the Mask of Life without physically making contact with it, they would not be cursed.64
The Ignika's curses could override the powers of the Spear of Fusion.65
Teridax would be cursed if he touched the Ignika. He would not have been cursed if he manipulated someone else into touching it; the mask could not make that kind of indirect connections.66
The Ignika had control over its curses.67
The Ignika couldn't curse non-living things, but it could certainly affect them.68
Curses passed once the Ignika was transferred to another being.69
Sentience/Sapience
The Ignika cursed all beings who touched it that were not destined to do so, sort of as a defense mechanism. The Ignika was extremely powerful, but had a very basic, almost naïve view of life, acting like an organism that just came into being. Sometimes it saw its "curses" as helping recipients by giving them powers connected to life, but it never worked out well.70
The Ignika knew who was destined to wear it.71
The Mask of Life had enough sentience to protect itself.72
The Ignika retained sentience when it was worn.73
The Ignika was likely aware of Teridax, the Brotherhood of Makuta, Order of Mata Nui, Dark Hunters, Toa, Karzahni, and Artakha by the time the Piraka arrived on the island because it was pretty well wired into the universe.74
The Ignika could speak through telepathy, but didn't talk to Vezon besides letting him know when intruders approached.75
The Ignika was unable to speak in the way most beings could.76
The Ignika didn't really have a personality, but had basic drives and the power to satisfy them.77
The Ignika probably had the ability to sense intentions.78
The Mask of Life could use its power on its own.79
The Ignika wasn't inherently good or evil, but more of an avatar of the element of Life. It could be wonderful or cruel, balanced or capricious, and could provide tests and challenges. It did not go out of its way to help heroes or villains. It was also unaware of the extent of its own powers. Sometimes it believed the curses it was bestowing were blessings because it was unaware how difficult it was for a normal being to control the power of life.80
The Ignika didn't feel pain.81
The Ignika had its own consciousness.82
The Ignika didn't have a gender.83
The Ignika didn't know about its failsafe function.84
The Ignika couldn't bring Mata Nui back to life the same way it brought Hydraxon back.85
The power of the Mask of Life in and of itself was not sufficient to bring back the dead.86
Other Information
- Greg Farshtey was asked about the possibility of a Toa of Life at the end of 2005. He was concerned it might unbalance the story.87
- In mid-2006, Greg Farshtey was asked if the Ignika could make a body for itself. He replied that it wouldn't bother because it would have no plan if its body was lost in battle or the mask itself got damaged or destroyed.88
- Greg Farshtey stated in March 2007 that there wouldn't be a Toa of Life because the element was too powerful and it would unbalance the story.89
- By mid-March 2006, Greg Farshtey had not seen the Mask of Life. He stated unofficially that there might be multiple shapes.90
- Greg Farshtey had seen the Ignika by April 2006, but believed it would have multiple different forms over the Ignition Trilogy. He referenced the mutability of life.91
- In February 2007, Greg Farshtey stated that if the Ignika were to ever be a collectible mask or be included in a set, it would be in 2008.92
- By the time it was decided that the BIONICLE team liked the design of the Mask of Life seen in the Creeps from the Deep Cinematic, it was too late to release the mask in plastic that year.93