The Kanohi Dragon has roared! Those watching the live 810NICLE Day presentation today will have seen the spectacular announcements in our “Roar of the Kanohi Dragon” segment. Another article has covered the Peter Mack and Cathy Hapka interviews, but here we will explore the latest breaking news on the Vision of the Great Beings!

Two years ago on BIONICLE Day, the Vision of the Great Beings team went live with its first story content. Featured in the livestream were the first chapters of three all-original stories, Mazeka, Legacy Weapons, and Light on the Dunes. In the weeks that followed, the rest of Mazeka was released, and that December the second chapter of Light on the Dunes was published as well.

One year ago on BIONICLE Day, the Vision of the Great Beings team returned. This time the livestream featured the third and final chapter of Light on the Dunes, as well as The Yesterday Quest chapter 4 and The Powers That Be chapter 5—our first attempts at continuing the actual stories that had been left off over a decade ago. In the weeks that followed, one more chapter of TPTB and two of TYQ were published on M&L. But this past March, on the site’s anniversary, all new chapters of TPTB and TYQ were abruptly pulled. Why? I’ll get to that shortly.

There have been countless, countless efforts at continuing the story of BIONICLE. So many brilliant writers and creatives have taken stabs at furthering the story—either by picking up where the serials left off or by moving ahead in time, to near or distant points after the Great Being Civil War has concluded. Some people try to stay loyal to what Greg lay out in his answers, while others put their own spin on the future of the story. There’s no way our story could be better than every the other stories out there, even if we got Greg Farshtey involved.

Why do I say this?

Well,

Because we have enlisted the advice of Greg Farshtey in shaping this story.

No, our story will not become canon. It is no more canon than any of the other continuation efforts that have been made or will be made. (And if there are any people who are still confused about this, we can provide further assurances.) But the goal of this project has been to make something as close to how BIONICLE canonically would have gone—the closest we can approximate, anyway. Something that follows Greg’s vision. And what better way than by being guided by the hand of Greg Farshtey? Greg has given us new insights and new information about the lore as it existed, such as the never-before-known location of the Great Beings. After reviewing and giving notes on the stories we have written (which have been revised accordingly), we will move forward writing stories with his consultation.

This is why the chapters of TYQ and TPTB were pulled from the site. Now that Greg has examined them, the revised editions will progressively again go live in the coming weeks, along with the new chapters of each story that are now complete ready for release. Six final, never-before-seen chapters of TPTB and six final, never-before-seen chapters of TYQ will debut in the months to come, rounding out the first major segment of the VotGB narrative.

Furthermore, as a bonus update, as of this moment we have published all of our research on the likely future of the BIONICLE world on BS01. Although Greg often refrained from setting any one future in stone, he did frequently give his thoughts on the course the BIONICLE world would take after the abrupt conclusion of the serials. Now every quote we’ve managed to uncover has been added to the timeline on BS01—a collection that spans four and a half pages.

Now…

Up until now, this project has been a private group run by Litestone Studios with creatives pulled from MnL, WoH, RSG, TGA, and BS01. Mazeka, Legacy Weapons, Light on the Dunes, The Yesterday Quest, The Powers That Be, and a couple other stories were written by individuals or small teams, reviewed by the group, and then published.

But when TYQ and TPTB are finished, we’re looking to bring in creatives from the community including you. Yes, you.

Whether you’re a writer with ideas about the direction of the story moving forward, or if you want to write a character piece set in the post-JE timeline, this is your chance. Even if you just have ideas you want us to include, we’d love to talk to you. If you’re interested in helping to write and guide the story, we’d love to chat with you. If you’re a moc builder, artist, or musician with any desire to see this through, we’d love to chat with you. The opportunity to see this story to its end – and to do so with Greg Farshtey – is one we want to bring as much of the community onboard as possible. This story is the community’s story.

So, we hope you enjoy this new, revised version of The Powers That Be and The Yesterday Quest, and we are so excited to see what the future has in store. And check out the exclusive, Greg Farshtey-narrated excerpt below! –if it sounds familiar, you may recognize it from the brand-new Essenger/Cryoshell song… We are nerds, after all.

Check out The Yesterday Quest Chapter Four here, and check out The Powers That Be Chapter Five here!

And stay tuned to our Twitter and our Discord for more updates!

As Above, So Below:

Deep in the heart of the Bota Magna forest, in a city veiled to all outside observation and untouched by wandering travelers, a lone mind stirred. Dimly, it had sensed what was transpiring above. The chaos of the great battle had ended, and a tentative peace seemed to be settling. Now the mind pondered the meaning of what it had seen.

And it pondered those who now sought a place on a world they had never known.

Is there a place for you now that your world has burned out?

Much had changed. The planet had been restored to its original form. And yet, as Tahu had surmised, Spherus Magna would not be truly healed until atonement for the Core War had been made. The Toa and the denizens of Mata Nui’s universe had acted out a grand simulation—an experiment to teach the Great Beings the lessons necessary to make amends. But the free will these denizens had gained caused the experiment to spiral out of control. And now the Toa ironically undertook the task of stopping new evils spreading on the planet.

These machines were never built to make things right.

A pair of eyelids twitched for the first time in millennia. Their owner stirred and attempted to move. The tubes and wires lining his prone form jumped and shook. And as an unconscious being fought to surface out of the depths of his own mind, the pull of his self-induced slumber proved too strong. Straining against the power restraining him, the mind of the Great Being screamed.

The world outside is dying while we slowly drown… Not living… just surviving.

* * *

Far to the north, Angonce’s thoughts turned once more to his brothers and sisters who had sealed themselves away eons ago.

Locked in your paradise, he thought bitterly. A sanctuary burns while you play god. As above—

—so below, Heremus’s thoughts finished, resigned. So below…