Ihu-Koro

Ihu-Koro is a small village built on Mt. Ihu that has rapidly grown over the past few years. It was formerly used as a base for the Toa Maasi, but now is a Koro in its own right.

Description

What used to be a small village of approximately 30 composite ice and wood houses is now much more substantial. A massive tree grows in the middle, large enough to shield the center, older part of the town from the worst of the weather. While similar to the native tree species of the region, the gargantuan tree is plainly not natural. The core of the settlement is protected from attacks by a 5 bio tall, 3 bio thick iron coated wooden wall that surrounds the first huts, the only gate facing the path down the mountain.

The inn, tavern, grocery and smithy shops are located in a central square around the tree, though other establishments have started to spread through the village, particularly in the section between the two walls. The hospital, which has finally had its additional wings made more permanent, also clutters the interior of the village.

The refugee “tent city” of sorts that had sprung up around the interior wall has been replaced with wooden, stone, and ice homes. Most of the residents of the outer ring are former Ko-Koronians who decided they'd like to stay in Ihu, as well as the various immigrants who have come in since thanks to its increased prominence. The larger exterior wall furnished by Po-Koro surrounds this section, sheltering it from wind but not snowfall.

Locations of interest include the graveyard nearby, where the previous residents of the village are buried, and the Forge in a ravine, where the rena is mined and smithed. The elevator up from a newly dug tunnel that goes toward Onu-Wahi is also found a good distance inside the exterior wall, allowing for commerce between the village of Earth and its highest neighbor.

A Gukko platform has also been added, allowing Gukko riders from Le-Koro easy landing and take-off.

History

Ihu-Koro is, in truth, the second village to bear its name. The first was massacred, its residents left to freeze where they fell in the bloody snow until finally being buried only a few years ago. The village was rebuilt by exiles and rejects, a band of Toa who didn't even stay in the village long enough to be considered its Toa Team, leaving it in the hands of similar rejects and exiles that found the idea of a mountain haven too appealing to pass up.

For a time, it was more of a lawless settlement than a true Koro.

This changed with the discovery of Rena ore. Flocks of miners, smiths, and families came, and the rule of law finally took hold--along with their election of Ahka Tamara, a Vo-Matoran with a distinctly community mindset, to lead them. The Koro still languished, small and relatively insignificant, until the fall of Ko-Koro. The Ihu Koronian Highlanders lost a quarter of their number in the fall.

However, the necessity of good relations came to the forefront with the followers of Makuta so close by. While fighting a... questionable guerilla war effort, Ihu established itself as an ally to many of the other Koros, trading their horded Rena for supplies, aid, and troops.

And when the time came to retake the village of Ice, its small neighbor provided much of the military regulars who participated in the assault, serving as the ground accompaniment to the Gukko Force. Similarly, a detachment of Highlanders stayed in Ko-Koro until a new Akiri could be elected--and only recently returned up the mountain.

Ihu-Koro was the location of the golden weapons, but their current whereabouts--and their bearer--is unknown.