The Unknown Turaga Saga
From '''UTWiki''', the [[The Unknown Turaga Saga|Unknown Turaga]] Wiki.
The Unknown Turaga Saga is a collective term used to refer to four comic series by Turaga Dlakii and a pair of epics by Dreiken and Turaga Dlakii which exist in the same universe and continuity. Though not the first of its kind (it was actually the second, following the age-old, now-dead Nosferatu), the Saga collectively is the longest-running plot-oriented comic series in BZPower history.
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The Component Series
The Unknown Turaga Saga is comprised of four comic series (one of which has yet to come), one upcoming epic, and one upcoming game. For more details on each (sans the epic), click on the headings to view that specific component's page.
LIGHT
The first chapter in the Saga (though the third to be written), starting 300 years before the Great Cataclysm, details the origins of Dlakii as a Ko-Matoran slave on Destral, and of his rise to power and eventual fall from grace as the Toa of Light and the leader of the Toa Calix.
The Unknown Turaga
The second chapter in the Saga (though the first to be written) occurs 1000 years after the Great Cataclysm, and about a week after the supposed death of Makuta Teridax. Dlakii is now a Turaga, residing on a large property north of Port Spirit. For reasons unknown, he came under fire from Teridax, who sent armies of dark creatures after him. As a result, Dlakii accidentally gathered a troupe of followers, left the Northern Continent by sea, and eventually arrived on Mata Nui for a final confrontation with Teridax.
The Unknown Turaga: Chronicle Edition
This series, due whenever Dlakii feels like doing so, is merely a remake of the original series, bringing enhanced graphics and story; the plot, however, will remain much the same.
The Unknown Turaga: Ultimatum at Mangaia
The film finale of the first series is still in production, awaiting an undisclosed release date. Essentially, it will continue a day after where the first series left off, detailing Dlakii's army's raid on Mangaia, and the final battle against Makuta Teridax and Noir.
The Unknown Turaga II: Land of Dragons
Chronologically the third series (though the second to be written), this series takes place about ten years after the events of The Unknown Turaga. After a vicious attack was launched on the small island city of Kaku Nui, Dlakii chooses to once again enter the fray of war and wipe out the Shadow Dragons, a breed of dangerous draconian creatures responsible for the extinction of Proto D's species. Along the way, the band meets with Harkha, Dlakii's former teammate from LIGHT, and learns of a sinister Brotherhood of Makuta plot.
Sons of Shadow
The fourth series of the Saga, set five years after Land of Dragons, is to be presented in a unique manner; rather than being a comic series, it will be presented only as an epic; it is to be written by Dreiken. Originally, it was due for an end-of-2008 release, however a bout of writer's block has forced Dreiken to delay work on it for some time longer.
It has also been stated that Sons of Shadow may be the first in a line of epics by Dreiken, expanding the Saga even more.
The Unknown Turaga III: The Flames of War
The planned fourth and final series of the Saga, not due to be released until after the completion of LIGHT, which could very well be a few years away.
Continuity
When writing a comic in the saga, Turaga Dlakii tries to ensure that it can fit with the official BIONICLE storyline. Though several aspects of his pre-2007 comics don't fit in, this problem is set to be rectified with a series of remakes of the first series and minor alterations of certain episodes of Land of Dragons.
Other details that do not fit with official Bionicle canon, such as the existence of female Ta-Matoran, have been explained as being attributed to the location of the Saga; being isolated from the rest of the world resulted in several impossible variations in the inhabitants of The Northern Isles.
Sprites
Thus far in the series, Dlakii has used only two types of sprite for the series. For The Unknown Turaga and The Unknown Turaga II, he used The Rayg Kit 2.0, meaning he used the kit for two years. For LIGHT, though, he commenced using The ToM Kit 2, making him one of only two comic authors on BZPower who still do so. Throughout the Saga's history, however, various other kits have been used for parts which neither of the others can provide; for instance, the Rahi and Visorak featured early in LIGHT were of Tolkien's Game Sprites.
The People
A rather large range of people have worked directly on The Unknown Turaga Saga in various ways, as listed below; these people include those behind the series and its lore, and voice actors in LIGHT and Ultimatum at Mangaia. Note that the makers of sprite kits used in the Saga are not listed, as they (with the exception of ToM Dracone, who has seen at least one frame from the comics sporting his work) are most likely not aware of the series' existence. The people listed here are colour-coded according to their rank on BZPower.
- Turaga Dlakii - Founder and creator, voice of Dlakii and Arukka
- Dreiken - Author of Sons of Shadow, assists with the development of the world of the Saga to some extent
- DudeNuva - Voice of Duvek/DudeNuva and Harkha, occasionally suggests new ideas
- Lai: Toa of Shadows - Voice of Lai and Dreiken, responsible for a small number of story ideas
- Roa McToa - Voice of Enira
- The younger sister of Vorthon - Voice of Hev
- Phyoohrii - Voice of Beliwa
- Tahuri - Voice of Vak and Teridax
- Kotahn - Voice of Thekoo and Dume
- Karkava - Voice of iKKF
- Toranova - Voice of Proto D
- GoldDragon - Responsible for one location in the Northern Isles
- Xaeraz - Voice of Noir
- Lewajohnson - On standby as the voice of Eljay
- Fighty - Voice of Chya (pending)
Other Media
Games
Since Turaga Dlakii is in BZPower's video-game industry himself, he has planned quite a few games under the Unknown Turaga banner. The only one he's bothered to publicise is one based on the original series and the movie, appropriately named The Unknown Turaga: The Game. This game, if not all of them, will be in a play style similar to the Fire Emblem series; indeed, Dlakii has spent quite a large amount of time trying to make aspects of The Unknown Turaga fit in with Fire Emblem game mechanics, and has even developed some of the sprites. This project has been in the works since 2006, much like the movie.
Epics
In mid-2006, Dlakii started writing The Dlakii Chronicles, a more detailed and written version of the events of The Unknown Turaga Saga, starting from the first series. However, due to a lack of interest from both the readers and Dlakii himself, it was temporarily discontinued. He has commenced work on rewriting it and is planning to release it to the BZPower public some time soon, this time commencing at the beginning of LIGHT; an excerpt of the first chapter of LIGHT was released in his blog, From the Spriter's Desk.
Additionally, as abovementioned, Sons of Shadow will be presented solely as an epic, unless Turaga Dlakii chooses to make comics based on it which, given the other aspects of the Saga, is unlikely.
Wiki
- For main article, see The Unknown Turaga Wiki.
More recently, Dlakii has opened a Saga-specific wiki, named The Unknown Turaga Wiki. Hosted on Editthis, the Wiki serves as a comprehensive source on all things related to the Saga.
Trivia
- Since The Unknown Turaga was the second serious comic series to ever be created, The Unknown Turaga Saga is the longest-running comic series of its kind.
- It is also the first - and at present, only - comic series in BZPower history to implement voice-acting into its films, not counting SPIRIT's PSAs; indeed, it was SPIRIT's work that acted as something of an inspiration on that front, as Turaga Dlakii himself assisted with the production of the fifth, Mantax Facts PSA.
- The Unknown Turaga Saga is the only such continuity to be handled autonomously; at present, only Turaga Dlakii himself contributes to it, though as abovementioned, this is due to change.
- Turaga Dlakii has written a massive timeline detailing the history of The Northern Isles; so far, only Dreiken has seen it, and he is using it as a reference when writing Sons of Shadow.
- Curiously, throught most the Saga's history, none of the characters (save for the Permanent Guest Stars) were based on anyone in particular, instead being the work of Dlakii's imagination. It wasn't until Harkha's introduction in Land of Dragons that a character was based on a real person outside of BZPower, and there are several characters based on MOCs who are set to appear in LIGHT and The Flames of War.
- There have actually been two different versions of Sons of Shadow, and both were, at different times, considered to be Saga canon. The first was a sprite comic series which acted as a sequel to Dreiken's original comics; these comics were much less serious and sported several non-canonical details, and were set before Land of Dragons rather than after. They were later removed from Saga canon in favour of the upcoming epic version.
- A cheap imitation of The Unknown Turaga Saga also exists, known as The North-Western Isles Continuity.
