Of course, I could not bring up Natale without talking about his partner in crime. Makuta Madilim is also one of my oldest MOCs, dating back to April 2015. Despite the simplicity of his build and how much I have changed since then, I’ve become too sentimental to this character to change the figure any further (the only major change I’ve done between then and now was adding claws to his right hand’s fingers in 2017 or so).
Madilim wears the Kanohi Koniec (pronounced cone-YEK), Mask of Slumber. This mask grants him the ability to knock any target unconscious for a period of time if he makes sufficient physical contact with them; i.e. his full hand must be touching his target. His other primary tool is a broadsword, which he took from a tribe of Skrall Raiders shortly after becoming a Makuta, as a way to prove his strength.
At first glance, one can easily tell that Madilim’s armor is asymmetrical, being mostly silver with some black limbs and his right hand having four fingers while his left has five. The reason for this is directly related to his backstory.
For a while, life was pretty normal for the Air village of Le-Lachia. Madi and his sister Settel (pronounced set-TELL) were out playing in the fields a number of acres away from their home when they noticed two figures off in the distance, one red and one green, and opted to investigate. As they approached, the two figures seemed to disappear out of thin air. Before they could ponder what just happened, something hit them from behind and knocking them out. Madi couldn’t see Settel’s reaction, but as for him, his armor protected him just long enough for the strike to be painful.
Several months later, Madi finally reawakened on an operating table in a dimly lit room. He wasn’t sure of what was happening all around him, but no one was there for him to ask. All he could make out were strange devices and screens to his right, beeping a slow, steady rhythm, and his armor. It had changed from green to silver and…gotten bigger? He lifted his left leg. It functioned with no problems at all. He lifted his right leg. It appeared to work just fine, but he didn’t feel it moving at all.
This caused him to panic and thrash around, alerting the officials to come to him. Three people came into the room. Two of them he recognized–they are the same people from the day he and Settel were hit–but the third one was a mystery to him. The man, introducing himself as Makuta Miserix, told Madi how he and his sister were attacked by an strange creature and were caught in a fight with it. The two other Makuta who found him and his sister sensed potential in Madi and elected to repair him and indoctrinate him into the organization. His sister was believed to have died in the scuffle, so the Makuta left her behind. With his mind everywhere and nowhere all at once, Madi wondered why the Toa did not save him. Miserix laughed, stating that the Toa disown everything the Makuta have to stand for; by refusing to save Madi, Miserix believes that the Toa have, once again, declared that their dogma is more important than doing what’s right. With this newfound knowledge in mind, Madi accepted Miserix’s offer to join the Brotherhood of Makuta. Appreciative of the offer, Miserix opted to wait until Madi recovered from his injuries before being able to test where he would fit in among them.
After he completed his physical therapy, Madi was taken by Miserix to a camp occupied by the primitive Skrall tribe. The mission was simple: If Madi was to be a warrior Makuta, he must take a weapon from the Skrall, but he must not kill any of the clansmen. Madi accepted the challenge and put his skills to work. He showcased that he was an exceptional martial artist and learned that his surgery under the Makuta awakened his elemental powers of air, powers that were prophesied by the elders of his village. With these newfound abilities, he made clean work of the Skrall and took the sword of the final warrior he beat. Madi didn’t say a word, simply standing over the defeated clansmen and comprehending what he had just done. Miserix came to congratulate him on passing his test with flying colors and welcomed him into the Brotherhood. Madi accepted his new position, but had one detail to clear up.
“My name isn’t Madi. From now on, I am Madilim.”
After several years of low relevance, Madilim and the other Makuta were forced to emigrate from Okoto on account of supposed genetic experimentation. After several weeks of complications, he and the other Makuta joined Marlinan noble Natale Mortalis into the Luxtene Towers, which would serve as the Makuta’s new headquarters. While there, Madilim and Natale learned that they compliment each other very well; they have similar senses of humor, Madilim serves as the optimist to Natale’s pessimist, and, when on duty, have similar fighting styles that cover each other’s weaknesses. Soon enough, Madilim and Natale would become best friends and would gain a reputation among the other Makuta as “those two guys.”
Trivia
- Madilim is one of the few characters of mine whom I can trace their etymology. In this case, the word “madilim” is the Filipino word for “dark.”
- The current version of Madilim is the fourth version of the character I created.
- The first version was a black and lime green military general who had a cheeky sidekick named Cojera (pronounced co-HEH-ra). Cojera remains canon and will receive his own post another day, but “Madilim v1” was scrapped.
- The second version was an all black shadow warrior of sorts who had no tolerance for tomfoolery. “Madilim v2” was scrapped because he was an incredibly bland character.
- The third version was basically Kiina with four arms (who is Kiina?). It was as ridiculous as it sounds. “Madilim v3” didn’t last a single day.
- Eagle-eyed readers will notice that his legs are constructed slightly differently. His left leg has a friction adder while the right leg does not (leading to the armor on the left leg hanging slightly lower than the right). This is not something I like, but something I have to live with until the parts I need come in the colors I require.
- Originally, Madilim’s figure used a small amount of super glue to attach everything properly, but I have since figured out how to get the look I desired using “legal” Lego techniques.
The Toa Archives 