Once, long before the time of our fathers and grandfathers, the land was whole. 

It was as rich and abundant land, a land of rolling hills and pristine forests and its people were many and exotic. Some arrived on ships from distant lands and chose to stay. Some were descended from the hill-folk, and could recite the names of their ancestors beyond the most ancient histories. War was not unknown, but peace was the rule: a peace born of strength and abundance.

Nowhere was the glory of that age greater than in Gijoko, the legendary city of the Fire Clan. Forgotten sculptors fashioned its walls with such cunning that the peasantry believed them alive; a forgotten Turaga forged its laws both strict and fair; forgotten Turaga trained its Toa in fighting techniques subtle and fierce. Even its wisest scholars wrote proudly on sheaves of gilded parchment that the strength and honor of the Fire Clan would endure forever… 

…And then, in the span of one year - one sowing, one harvest, one terrible winter - it was all lost. 
Nobody knows now what they were, demons or spirits or monsters; nobody knew then, either. They were simply the Horde, black and inhuman, and they rose in the thousands and tens of thousands from beyond the northern borders, somewhere in the trackless mountains. Where they passed, nothing lived. Even the trees withered and died. There were no bodies, or survivors to bury them. 

Disali the Elder ruled Gijoko in those days, and he was no coward. When he learned of the Horde threat, the most valiant of his toa rode forth to meet them at first light, hundreds of heroes beneath hundreds of fluttering Fire Clan banners. It was two weeks before the first and only toa returned, slumped and over his saddle, his dark blood caked over dozens of vicious, ragged wounds. He was quite dead. Somehow, his Kikanalo had fled far and fast enough to escape its rider's fate. Disali knew in that instant that the Fire Clan's only hope of survival lay in a similar flight.

A week later, the walls of Gijoko- walls that had never fallen to a siege - were abandoned, and the Clan of Fire began its long march south. As the months of ceaseless travel passed, the great column of Kikanalo, wagons and matoran swelled with refugees, those who knew the proud Fire Clan would never flee an opponent who might be beaten. Those who chose to stay and defend their lands were honored. Nobody ever heard from them again. Always, the scouts sent north failed to return, and always, the Fire Clan marched south.

At the end of the sixth month, they crossed the final ridge and saw the ocean. The Fire Clan had nowhere left to run.

Disali the Elder had, of course, foreseen this. He set his scholars to devise an escape for his people, and there had been plenty of time for argument and debate during the long march. But there was no time to build ships and nowhere to hide. The greater part of the Fire Clan's army had already fallen tin the first disastrous ride against the Horde. Disali's only hope rested in a locked, silver-bound chest within his private wagon: the Orb of Fire, most ancient of the Fire Clan's treasures and the symbol of his leadership. Some tales claimed that the Orb could summon the spirit of the spirit of fire itself, if the need were great enough. Few believed these tales, but the need was indeed great. As his weary people prepared for a final stand against the Horde, Disali passed leadership of the clan to his son, Aoran the younger. Then he stood alone-to attempt the impossible, and to die. 

To his last moments, there were no witnesses. We know only that he succeeded. The gathered refugees heard the crash of the Fire Spirit’s fury as a terrible wall of air smashed matoran, Kikanalo, and wagons to the ground. Everywhere, the land seemed to writhe in agony. Many of those who survived the long and grueling march were crushed beneath cascades of stone, or disappeared into chasms that appeared beneath their feet. The rest huddled together and prayed for deliverance.

When the quake subsided, the survivors of the Fire Clan's wrath could barely move for fear. It took all of the younger Aoran's courage to begin directing the construction of shelters from the remnants of the train. If the Horde had come upon them, they would have met with no resistance. But the Horde never came.
It was then - surveying the broken remains of his people - that Aoran the Younger realized they were the Fire Clan no more. It was something in the eyes of every matoran who had seen his home abandoned to evil; something in the stance of every warrior who knew his bravest comrades had fought, and died, rather than run away. They belonged now to the earth, not to the heavens. Yet they would still be fierce, and they would toil in their new lands with pride. Out of this humility and grim determination, the Serpent Clan - our clan - was born.

Today, if you travel north beyond the mountains, you will reach a ragged cliff overlooking a swirling, vicious channel, full of rocks and debris. On a clear day, you may glimpse the outline of the opposite shore, but more likely it will be cloaked in the mists. The Fire Spirit’s fury broke the land as well as our people, and our ancestral home lie across the impassable waters of the channel. Whether the Horde still waits on those foreign shores, none can say.

We think about it less every day. This is our home now.
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Locations of Objects


Kanohi : Before the fall of Gijoko, the matoran collected the Kanohi, and carried them during the march. Now scattered, many Kanohi are thought to be lost or destroyed by rogue Piraka. The Serpent and Ice clans wish to have all Kanohi in their possesion, but the other clans attempt to stop this from happening, by keeping what few Kanohi they find for themselves. Being the most powerful tool to any clan, (With the exception of the Orb of Fire) it is ideal to keep them in your possesion, and not surrender them to the Serpent and Ice clans.
Weapons : Swords, Axes, and the like were lost by the fallen Matoran and Toa during the last stands against the Horde. Many are destroyed, but if anyone ever happens to come across any, it is common for them to keep the weapon, or sell it for a profit.
Shields : Scattered around the realm, they once belonged to Matoran and Toa in the Great War and Final Stand. Finding one of these can provide extra defence, or extra wealth.
The Orb of Fire : This artifact is thought to be lost by the ages, but rumour has said it is now in the possesion of the Air Clan. 

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Clans

Within the borders of this broken land, Three Alliances maintain an uneasy coexistence, fraught with tension and, at times, slavery and open war. The Ice and Serpent Clans in the northwest, the Stone and Earth Clans high on their northern plateau, and the Water and Air Clans in the fertile lowlands. And always, at least in some minds, there is a ghost of a fourth clan, the lost Fire Clan, forefathers of the Serpent. 

Despite their proximity, no three peoples could be more different. As yet there is no clear victor in this three-handed struggle; alliances and enmities are unstable, and you never know who or what might be massing on your borders. If you are to survive in this world, you must study your enemies and your friends alike: know their ways, their warriors, and their weaknesses.


Serpent Clan
Like their totem, the Serpent Clan knows the value of a stealthy approach and a sudden, lethal strike. Their soldiers tend to be tricksters and thieves as well as deadly fighters, skilled in techniques to baffle mounted pursuit and lure opponennts into ambush. The Serpent Clan also possesses the secret of zamor, and has adapted it to many offensive purposes. This clan is led by Aoran the Younger.

Water Clan : Toa 0/6
Alone among the Clans, the Water Clan does not seek to control or conquer its enemies - their only goal is to return home. To this end, they hope to recapture the Serpent Orb, the ancient artifact by which the land was broken, and use its magic to return them to their island. This clan is led by Koril, and has an advantage of stealth to steal Kanohi from other clans.

Air Clan : Toa 0/6
Those of the Air Clan live and die by ancient martial codes and philosophy and believe that power is worthless without wisdom and discipline to guide it. They live according to feudal traditions, each member of the clan fulfilling his role, for excellence and balance in life, and this philosophy permeates their lives. This clan is led by Oran, and has an advantage of flight and an army of Gukko birds.

Earth Clan : Toa 0/6
Earth Clan matoran are brutally strong, and the Ice Clan used them as laborers to mine their own land for metal and minerals to create powerful Kanohi. This still shows in their fighting style - long denied weapons, they adapted mining tools into combat equipment. Spikes and clubs once used to shatter stone were repurposed to deadly effect when they won a vicious war of liberation, led by a former miner named Zymeth. This clan is led by Zymeth, and has an advantage over other clans by creating powerful weaponary.

Stone Clan : Toa 0/6
Of all the clans, the Stone Clan are the most attuned to nature; it is the focus of their religion, and even their homes, tools and weapons are fashioned from raw stone and uncarved wood. Their culture revolves around a game called Tegitan, roughly a cross between Kolhii and Akilini, that trains them for war, keeps them strong and fierce, and embodies their sense of life. Their religion and magic are druidic - they worship the power of nature, and draw on it to inspire their fighters and frustrate their foes. This clan is led by Arah, and has an advantage of endurance and strength.

Ice Clan : Toa 0/6
Physically weak but magically strong, alternately sycophantic and vengeful, the Ice Clan bows to the strong and rules the weak. Their ability to manipulate the superstitious Earth Clan has served them well. By raping the Earth Clan's lands of all its best metals and minerals, the Ice clan has become rich on the blood, sweat and tears of others. This clan is led by Gorrun, and are able to create powerful kanohi with the simplest of tools.
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Joining


Name : 
Clan (Water, Air, Stone, Earth, Ice) : 
Species (Matoran, Toa) : 
Appearance (Colours, Mask, Weapon/s) : 
Profile :


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Rules


-No invulnerability
-Be realistic. We can't have people running around with tissue boxes, now can we?
-No switching clans. Ever.
-Each clan will have a maximum of 6 Toa. Don't worry, because Matoran get things Toa don't.
-Don't make random things occur, such as a jelly asteroid coming down and eating up Binkmeister  
-Share the glory. Whilst doing things well, it's best not just saying you did this and that. It annoys people.
-Whatever your clan is is what your powers are related to.
-The Serpent Clan is made of a select group. I choose who is in it. No way around it.
-If you choose to be a Toa/Are lucky enough to be one, you may not have masks of time or mass destruction. As much as we'd like it, it's not going to happen. Ever.
-This story is set around 50,000 years after the Toa Nuva landing on Voya Nui. They are dead.
-Your IC: posts must count.
-Anything that is not to do with the actual RPG, such as saying what you have and such, goes in the Discussion Topic.
-You will be given three warnings. Break them all, and you shall be banned from participating in this RPG.
-If you break a rule, you will go kaput. 
Players

None