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// Prologue: Discovery 
// Story: The Mata Nui War 
// by Suukorak 
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	A lone Roporak scurried through the dark stone corridors. Most Roporak were used as snipers, but this one had been assigned to scout a minor island. The horde couldn’t be bothered with every island it came across, so it sent scouts out to find the worthwhile targets. The Roporak wasn’t pleased by the change of scenery; the whole island it had been sent to explore was deserted. Not even Rahi lived here anymore. Still, there was the matter of this construction it was now exploring. What remained of the huge building was built like a castle, but its function seemed to have been closer to a lab. So far, the Visorak had found little sign of what was being researched. For that, it was thankful. It cleared its mind with a snap of its mandibles, and continued its exploration.
Another tiny room. This design seemed inexplicable. Along these corridors were dozens of rooms barely larger than the Roporak itself, separated by thick stone walls and even thicker metal doors. Many were locked; the few that were open seemed empty. It glanced down the corridor. Only four doors to go.
It reached up to the handle of the next door with its mandibles, and pulled hard. The door slid slightly outwards, then began to resist. It was even harder to open than the other doors had been, but it was clearly unlocked. As the Roporak pulled harder, it heard a squelching rip and the door swung open a little further. The Visorak peeked through the crack of the doorway, and saw… vines?
The Roporak heaved again and tore a few more vines loose. The door swung open and slammed against the stone wall.  Both were so heavy that there was no noise other than a soft thump. The Visorak redirected its attention to the room. Vines had clearly been growing on the door for decades, with only its immense weight holding them back from consuming the entire building. But they seemed to lead to a black, swirling hole in the wall – possibly through it. Cautiously, the Roporak poked its foreleg into the hole. Nothing happened. It reached its whole leg through – besides disappearing, nothing. It could still feel the leg, and – after pulling it out to check – it was still there. The Roporak hesitated for a moment, but knew its duty. It leapt headfirst into the hole.
It immediately decided that its jump was a mistake. It felt itself warping, folding and unfolding, stretching and shrinking and rotating; but the sensation was short-lived. It emerged a moment later and fell on its side. Dragging itself upright, the scout tried to find its bearings.
It seemed to be in some sort of cavern, overgrown by immense vines that stretched out the cave entrance not very far away. Behind it was the same swirling black hole, suspended in the cave wall, with a few thinner strands of the vine reaching through. Uncertain of what to do, the Roporak walked slowly towards the outside. As it approached the light, it camouflaged itself and tried to move slowly to stay invisible. The Visorak emerged slowly into a forest of black trees. Insects buzzed everywhere, and there were signs of abundant larger Rahi – damage to the trees, nests, even a faint smell of excrement. Before it could try to make sense of its observations, it heard a howl and footsteps. It retreated quickly to the edge of the cave and kept its camouflage up. A few small, strange-looking Rahi darted past the Visorak’s cave, followed by a larger one,  a predator – made out of wood?
The Roporak withdrew further into the cave, coming back to the portal. This place would need many more scouts, the Visorak reasoned, and Sidorak would need to hear of this as soon as possible. Bracing itself, the Roporak leaped again through the portal and out into the world it knew. It quickly started back towards Sidorak’s camp and the rest of the horde.

Sidorak pored carefully over his map of the surrounding area. One by one, his scouts were coming in; they had found these islands barren. The Visorak were on their way to the northern continent, but the horde had had to cross great expanses of blank sea to get there, interrupted only by barren dots of land. The boredom, and, more importantly, the hunger, was making them restless. Their next bloodlust would be formidable. If he kept them waiting much longer, they might devour a Zivon in their frenzy. The Visorak’s king was beginning to get restless as well. The Visorak were intelligent, but even Sidorak would hesitate to call them civilized. He wondered how hungry they would have to get to eat each other… or him. He was in dire need of good news.
A knock at the door drew Sidorak out of his thoughts. “Come,” he called. An old, wiry Visorak pushed open the door and bowed as best a Visorak can, stiffened by its thick ebon shell. “Angasorak,” Sidorak said, and he nodded even though he knew the spider could not see him. Angasorak was one of the cleverest of the Oohnorak – just enough to be effective, not too much to control. It was just as loyal as all the Oohnorak; this one had once infiltrated a dissident group, of its own initiative, to destroy a mutiny. To better infiltrate, it had allowed itself to be blinded. Angasorak was Sidorak’s most trusted advisor, his bodyguard and doorman. “Angasorak,” Sidorak called. “Speak.”
It clicked out a message in the spiders’ metallic language. Another scout, Sire.
Sidorak frowned. The scouts hadn’t been bringing him good news lately. “Bring him.” The Visorak scuttled back through the door, and reemerged a moment later with a Roporak in tow. They both bowed, making their obedience. Sidorak crossed his arms. “You’re late,” he remarked, and though he was more or less indifferent, he enjoyed the shudder he saw overtake the Roporak. “What have you found?”
It is difficult to describe in full, the Roporak explained, but to be brief, I found a portal. It led to some kind of forest filled with strange creatures, Rahi of flesh alone.
“How large is this forest?”
It was difficult to tell, but judging from the Rahi I saw, it would have to be of considerable size. If I may make a judgement, Sire, I believe it is worthy of more than a single scout.
Sidorak gestured for the Roporak to rise, and beckoned him to the map, carved, to scale, into a table. Sidorak stood and walked over to the map as well. “Show me this portal.”

Buried deep beneath the snows surrounding the Crystal City, an ancient mind stirred. I’ve been away too long, it thought. After a thousand years, they remembered me. Yet it’s only been two more and I can sense great change. The tiny shard of horn began to grow, softening and sprouting a thin coat of fur. Turmoil is coming to this world, and I will take center stage once more. The horn grew larger, and sprouted into a full pony body, pushing the snow away. I will reclaim my kingdom, and extend it to the ends of this world. Snow began to melt around the body as it warmed up. It reached up and began to dig its way out of the snow. Sombra shall rise!