The Dawn Ages
"The Dawn Ages" is the term used by modern Matoran scholars to describe the earliest days of the universe, now largely remembered as myth. This was the time in which the founding principles of the Matoran Universe were established.
Background
Long ago, fearing the destruction of the planet of Spherus Magna, the Great Beings created the Great Spirit Robot as a machine capable of mending their planet. However, for complex reasons, they knew that the planet could not be reformed for several thousand years, and so they sent the Great Spirit Robot on a mission of space exploration to advance their knowledge. The robot was governed by an AI known as Mata Nui, who was able to both study alien civilizations, and exercise complete control over the environment within his new body.
The Great Spirit Robot, a machine the size of continents, needed a vast amount of labor to keep itself running. This was accomplished by the use of biomechanical beings known as Oropi, who would perform unique functions to assist in its maintenance and repair. The first prototypes of Oropi became ancient and powerful beings in the Matoran Universe, including beings such as Helryx, Artakha, Karzahni, Orde, Takua, and Tren Krom. In its initial stages, the Great Spirit Robot was built on the surface of Spherus Magna, at first by a combination of Agori labor and vast machines, and later by Oropi laborers. It was protected from wild animals and bandits by warrior Oropi known as Barramoi. To later Matoran, this time was known as the Labors in Darkness.
Artakha and Karzahni
According to Matoran myth, the two powerful beings known as Artakha and Karzahni held a contest to see who would occupy which role in the working of the universe. Artakha won the competition with his superior building skill, and was awarded the Mask of Creation alongside an island where he could create fantastic objects, while Karzahni lost the competition, being given the Mask of Alternate Futures and an island where he would be tasked with repairing broken Matoran.
The Hand of Artakha
The being Artakha, seeking to protect the universe around him, invited several other powerful prototype Oropi to form a group known as the Hand of Artakha, which was dedicated to preserving order. However, its members lacked cohesion and often committed violent acts on a vigilante basis, and so the group was disbanded. Later, one of its members, Toa Helryx, formed the Order of Mata Nui, a successor organization which worked in secrecy to enforce the will of Mata Nui directly.
The City of Legends
The foundations of Metru Nui, the City of Legends, were laid in the Time of Darkness by unthinking Matoran. The city was designed to harness the energies of laboring workers within its limits, and use them to power the mind of the Great Spirit. To oversee the labor of the Matoran, the Great Beings instituted one of their prototypes, a Turaga of Air by the name of Raganga ("First Elder"), to watch over the city. Raganga's
The Awakening
Once the Great Spirit Robot launched into space and left Spherus Magna, it could no longer rely on resupply and external maintenance, so the burden of all maintenance fell on the Oropi. The most common species of Oropi by far are the Matoran, who were initially Unawakened, meaning that their intelligent minds lacked any sort of emotion or ego. This suited their design specifications as the perfect laborers. However, the rogue Great Being Eparchos, who had stowed away inside the Great Spirit Robot in the body of the Po-Matoran Velika, decided to Awaken the Matoran, unleashing a process which granted the diminuitive workers free will and emotions on par with every other being. This decision instituted a massive ethical quandary within the society of other Oropi, who split on the issue of whether it was ethical to force Matoran to work in conditions that they now found cruel or unsuitable.
The Toa Cordak
Close to the center of the Great Spirit Robot, near the island of Varn, the local Matoran were under constant attack by the highly dangerous beings known as Zyglak. In response, the Toa of the local region began to operate as a unit, forming the first Toa team, the Toa Cordak. They were initially successful at repelling Zyglak raids in the region, but during one such raid, the leader, Toa Lesovikk, failed to direct his team in time to save them from their foes, and became the only surviving member of the team. Devastated, Lesovikk took to wandering throughout the Matoran Universe, searching for purpose.
Rise of the Barraki
Mata Nui, growing increasingly disinterested in the petty squabblings of the Oropi beneath him, decided to delegate his authority to a group of six beings, each from a separate Prime Species, to govern the Oropi in his stead. These six beings, chosen for leadership potential, soon gained the name of Barraki (meaning "warlords") for the brutal fashion in which they crushed all who declared them unfit to rule. In a few short millennia, the Barraki had conquered nearly all known Domes of the Matoran universe, with the exceptions of the Southern Islands and Metru Nui. This began the League Era, an era of peace pockmarked by brutal repression and constant rebellion, which lasted several millennia.