The Keeping Place is a mysterious location used by Mata Nui himself to keep powerful objects from falling into the wrong hands, and deliver them into the right ones.
Description
Reaching the Keeping Place is very difficult. The Place itself seems almost to exist separate to ordinary reality; time and space seem to work differently inside.
Having entered the Place, beings find themselves in a beautiful valley, with a waterfall and river flowing nearby. It is flanked by rocky cliff-faces. The Keeping Place seems to have sentience of its own, and is able to select beings worthy of its gifts to enter its vaults. These vaults can take many forms; a beach, a mountain-side, a treehouse...these do not seem to be 'real' locations in the traditional sense, but neither are they illusions. The Place is also capable of creating challenges to test those who enter.
History
Takua was allowed to visit the Keeping Place by Mata Nui; however, the knowledge of its location was removed from his mind afterwards. He was, however, able to set the Wanderer's Company on the right path to find it.
Joske Nimil was chosen to find the Keeping Place and help the Company gain entrance; to do so, he sought out the Crystals of the Principles. When he placed them in the small Amaja circle near the Great Telescope, he was transported into the Keeping Place (along with Heuani, who managed to sneak in with him). Inside the Place, he was given a Mask of Conjuring, and proceeded to battle Heuani. Their fight became so ferocious that the Keeping Place forcibly ejected them for its own preservation.
Having defeated Heuani, Joske helped the now-Toa Maru to enter. The Place tested each of them, and, they having succeeded, granted them each a powerful new Kanohi. They then left the Keeping Place together. It has not been entered since.
Trivia
- The Keeping Place has only been accessed as part of the Staff Plot, and is not reachable without special permission.