It became apparent, after some time, that the Warrenzimmer entity was nowhere in sight. Perhaps they got separated in the sandstorm. Perhaps the shadowed man had chosen a different path. It did not matter to Kopaka. He was vaguely surprised, being that the Warrenzimmer had been so eager to form an alliance, but ultimately it just reaffirmed the Toa's sense of isolation and self-reliance. Again, the context and memories for why he chose never to trust hasty promises and offers eluded him. This began to trouble him as he turned around on the spot and began striding towards the flickering mote of warm light. When one completely relies on themselves, any sense of self-doubt becomes doubly threatening.
In the gathering gloam of the desert night, only the sound of vague winds and his own mechanical whirring echoed in the peaks and valleys of the dunes. Here and there, a scrubby bush would appear. The chirp of some insect would occasionally pierce the veil of isolation, reminding the Toa that even if he was isolated from the words and thoughts of others, the very land itself was with him. It was at least some measure of comfort against the anxiety of feeling uninformed about his origins or purpose.
More walking delivered the Toa to the far side of the dune from the fire, and the sky was now an inky shade of indigo. Stars burst forth in their full measure, and Kopaka's telescopic lenses could discern that some of them were also planets. On the horizon, a gigantic streak of milky white arched all the way across the sky. It was a dense ring system, kept in delicate balance by this World's single orbital companion. The moon shone directly overhead in a waxing crescent, intersected by the ring of Erde Nona. Kopaka breathed softly and turned his attention back to the moment. He called upon the powers of the Kanohi Akaku, and peered through the soft, packed sand in front of him.
The X-Ray mask showed him a small campsite on the far side, occupied by a single organic humanoid and some sort of feathered, bipedal pack animal. The humanoid was not armed at the moment, but there was some sort of firearm stashed in the saddlebags of the beast. Kopaka calculated for a moment, and decided that this entity possessed all the appearances of someone who had decided to be here...which the Warrenzimmer entity had lacked. Intention infers preparation, which in turn belies cognizance. The Toa decided to engage this new entity.
___
The night was young when Gurzag Ru'Banon was settling in for worship. She had already hunted, thanked, and devoured a small pair of desert lizards for her supper, complemented by the fragrant juices of cactus fruit. Simple meals thanked Nona in her bounty, and Gurzag contemplated the consumption of flesh as her first meditation of the night. Partway into the meditation, however, Nugget the Chocobo began to scratch and caper in a worrisome fashion. Gurzag opened her eyes and surveyed the landscape. The Orc's eyes could easily see in the combined moon and ringlight, and saw nothing around the small watering hole where they had camped. It wouldn't have necessarily been a surprise; the creatures of Nona's deserts had few inhibitions about drinking the wasteland's dew. But there were no stalking hyenas or varren in sight.
Gurzag and Nugget had camped directly with their backs to the high dune that protected the small oasis from the wind, so the threat couldn't be behind them. Unless...
The Orc whirled up from her cross-legged position, plunged her heavy hands into the saddlebag and trained her hunting rifle at the top of the dune in a swift, growling motion. But instead of seeing a giant, ambushing scorpion, she was met with the cold, electronic gaze of some type of robot. It was armed with a sword and shield, and the orc's finger wrapped around the heavy trigger. The robot adapted a guarded stance, but did not move. A quiet breeze rolled through the desert glade; Nona's quiet caress, reminding the orc shaman to be patient and open.
Patient. Open. But not easy prey. Gurzag kept her gun trained on the intruder. The robot spoke first.
"It is not my wish to fight. I find myself...lost, and in need of direction." Kopaka murmured in his soft, buzzing voice. Gurzag's alerted muscles softened, and she looked the curious creature up and down. She had come here to commune with the desert, not guide a wayward soldier. But, then again, Nona embraced all who lived on her face. This was a test, and she would meet it apace. The rifle was unbolted, and lifted to the orc's shoulder.
"Come then. Sit with me by the fire. Let your weapons rest with mine." the orc said, laying the rifle against a nearby rock. Kopaka considered this for a moment, before slotting his sword into the gaps of his shield and sending it sliding down the dune, where it clanged against the same rock. Kopaka approached after, sliding down the shifting, ringlit sand with a degree of dexterity and skill that caused the orc to grin.
"You make riding the sand look so graceful." she chuckled, sitting down at her fire once more. Kopaka skidded off the bottom of the slope, and walked purposefully towards the crackling warmth. It did not comfort him; the cold was his ally. But it was not unwelcome either. Like all the elements of the world, the fire simply was, which pleased the Toa.
"I am Kopaka, Toa of Ice. Sand and the powdered snow have much in common." he said softly. Gurzag regarded him with a mix of curiosity and bemusement.
"Toa...of Ice indeed. Thought this new chill was a desert breeze, but I suppose it is you?" she asked. Kopaka looked at her for a silent moment. She was either very astute, or naturally inclined to the ways of elemental existence. Either possibility indicated that he had chosen well to approach this entity. Kopaka nodded.
"Blessed is Nona. I am Gurzag, Shaman of Nona. Well. Shaman in training." the orc woman said, spreading her arms. Kopaka regarded her form closely. Her skin was a russet gray color, with a sheaf of white hair pulled back into a high ponytail. A stern jaw produced two, slightly pointed tusks, and her entire body rippled with powerful muscle. Similar to the Warrenzimmer entity, she was entirely devoid of any mechanical or cybernetic components. The bionicle glanced over at the feathered biped, who did not provide a name for itself. Kopaka concluded that it was a beast, incapable of speech, and subsequently ignored the chocobo.
"Shaman, you say? I have heard the word Nona recently, from another whom I met in the sandstorm. That entity called it Erde Nona. That is the name for this place?" Kopaka asked. His tone was soft, but completely neutral. There was no indication of anger or resentment in the buzzing voice. Just a simple quest for information.
"That's what the planet is called, yes...but those of us who are close to her just call her Nona. You must be an Outsider then? Wound up in the desert in a place you don't know?" Gurzag asked, leaning forward to try and catch Kopaka's eye. The Toa kept his gaze focused on the hissing and dancing fire.
"Explain the term 'Outsider." Kopaka stated. Gurzag leaned back and glanced up at the rings, and mouthed a silent prayer. She besought Nona to send this wayward soul on a blessed path.
"Some people who come here...not just this world...are called here from other realms. Other moments in time and space, or what have you. No one knows how. What do you last remember before being in the storm?" Gurzag asked gently. The blue optics built into Kopaka's face narrowed slightly, as he tried to recall anything other than the dark sleep.
"Words. Glimpses. A few faint ideas. But so much of it is steeped in shadow. So much that I do not know." the Toa said softly. A sense of embarrassment began to boil up inside of him, but he froze it in place and did not let it manifest. Gurzag thought hard for a moment, contemplated the teachings of Nona, then smiled.
"Sounds like the desert cleaned you." she said with a mischievous smirk. Kopaka snapped his eyes up to meet hers, but the orc was undaunted by the sudden display of resentment.
"You bet, cleaned you right up. That's what the sand and wind and water do..." Gurzag said, running her hand through the white grains beneath her, "...they scrub, carry old ways, and vanish. Take away things that aren't needed anymore. That's why I'm here."
Kopaka's optics blinked for a moment.
"To become...clean?" he buzzed. The orc shaman nodded vigorously.
"Clean the spirit! Out here is nothing but the quiet and yourself! To be clean is to become new. Get rid of old silt and muck that doesn't need to be carried." Gurzag chimed. Kopaka looked down at his own arm, caked and spattered with windblown sand and dust. His usually gleaming white carapace had adopted a grimy, gritty appearance. Normally he was not given to fussing over his external appearance, but the Gurzag entity's metaphor bothered him. He chose to change the subject.
"Tell me more about...Nona. Outsiders. These Worlds." he asked. Gurzag raised a bushy, white eyebrow but grinned. Nona would guide this fresh Outsider. Help him become clean. Help remind her why she remained committed to the Mother planet. Gurzag told Kopaka about the Crossroads, the worlds, the people in them. She told him stories of the Arbiters, and of thing that had come and gone. Gurzag told Kopaka about other Outsiders who had become famous and powerful in the Crossroads, and enigmas of the Medium and the Void.
At the end of these stories the moon had passed over its zenith, the chocobo had lied down to sleep, and the campfire had grown low. Gurzag stretched and yawned, and smiled at her new, quiet disciple. He had spoken little of himself and his ways, but it was apparent that he was an embodiment of Nona's cold smile. Her rage and her stern love for the children of the Crossroads. She knew Kopaka would not stay on this World, or with her to learn more about the Mother's love, but she knew he would take Nona's teachings with him.
She said a prayer of thanks to Nona the following morning. The Toa had made it clear that he would accompany her to the nearest Arcanium Transport hub, and that they would part ways there. He was bidden forward by an intuition and desire to seek out something that he could not define. She had called the Toa a 'religious person', but refused to define that when Kopaka had asked her. Gurzag had simply stated that, if he continued to follow the quiet voice that had guided him to her camp in the first place, he would continue to find what he was looking for.
Kopaka did not know what that was, but three days later, as the rocket shuttle to Opealon rocketed into the stratosphere of Nona, he Toa looked down at the planet, where he had been first called to. He could see the desert, and it familiar dunes, vanishing over the limb of Nona, as her rings widened and intensified with each passing moment. No, he did not know where he was going or what he would do; the memories of his life prior to the Crossroads continued to be elusive. It did not, however, bother him anymore. The Toa felt that the memories would not be what defined him or gave him purpose. Those prerogatives were in the future now, and he felt...clean.
