After the quake during the Great Cataclysm, great stalactites broke off from the ceiling of Karda Nui and buried themselves in the ground. Av-Matoran, displaced from their homes by the quake, built sky villages atop the upturned bases of the stalactites. These villages were linked to each other by vine bridges. Transport between villages was also accomplished by means of flight packs worn by the Matoran. After the Makuta invasion, some of the villages were protected by lightvines, luminescent plant life from the swamp below.1