The Kin is the main good organization on Metru Nui. They have gained many allies and achieved guild status. They're the figure-head of the Coalition of Charity guild.
History
Originally, the Kin were not much more than a group of underpowered rebel Toa that once trained at the once prestigious government facility called 'The Academy'. After a failed attempt to flee Metru-Nui for the surface of the Matoran Universe, one of the rebels managed to escape getting rounded up like cattle and encountered an epiphany that would change the rebel movement forever.
Toa Saeras, once an Elite-level Cadet at the Academy, returned from the Great Barrier to share what he had learned with the broken rebels. His words and example of the long lost 'Ancient Ways' were taken with a grain of earnest by a number of disheartened rebel Toa, and together these enlightened Toa formed 'The Kin'. In a few short weeks, the movement grew exponentially and the Kin way of life turned the world they knew upside-down and inside out.
The Kin would have continued with this boon, had it not been for a temporary loss of sight of their goal of restoration. As a result of their growing hubris, they found themselves open to attack by the Academy's Headmaster himself... and in the end, Toa Saeras was killed trying to buy time for his beloved Kin to escape to safety.
Awakened and galvanized by Saeras's martyrdom, the Kin movement was revitalized and re-imagined. Over time, past the Elementa Masks, and random attacks from the Academy's now defunct 'Project: Soulless Enforcer', the Kin (under Saeras's spiritual guidance from beyond) continued to draw more followers, and as a result the faction grew in complexity.
Once again, their purpose was lost in the politics, and despite the return of Toa Saeras's physical presence, the Kin found themselves open and vulnerable... this time from an extra-dimensional threat called 'The Santun'. Toa Saeras, disheartened by the hard-headedness of the Kin, had vanished without a trace several days before the Santun attack, and was not there to save his Kin from the resulting Massacre.
The Massacre did nothing to awaken the Kin from their internal political turmoil, which continued long after their islet base was razed. So, in a desperate attempt to cease all the in-fighting, the Kin disbanded as an organization and the surviving members scattered to their fates.
It wasn't until Saeras reappeared on the scene with a mysterious new apprentice, did the Kin finally learn of the damage they had done...
Currently, the Kin's spiritual link, the Bloodbrand, has been rendered into fragments from the Great Massacre, and only re-gathering the Kin and re-forging their bonds as a family would the damage done to their spiritlink be repaired...
Goals
"When will they see? This is no longer about Zyrul. This was never about being potent politically. What we are charged to do is beyond any villain or cause. We are called to restore and rebuild. We are called to live for the Inheritance that lies beyond this darkened reality. We are called to heal and protect. We are called to be more than soldiers, but to be -heroes-. ... We are ultimately called to Love, for it is the very core of all we do. ... How quickly do we forget, Kin. How quickly do we forget." - an excerpt from Saeras's Kinomicon/Holocron
Facets
- The Ancient Ways
- The Spirit Realms
- The Great Master
- The Inheritance
- The Bloodbrand
- An integral part of the Kin disciplines, the Bloodbrand is the living and invisible indicator that one is a Kin, and is the key to accessing the 'Spirit Link' (See Below).
- As described by Saeras, the bloodbrand is 'the gift of change that turns the blood of a false Toa into the blood of a True Toa.' However, anyone (including Matoran) can get a bloodbrand and not be changed in such a radical way. In this light, there are two bloodbrands, while the same in essence, their potency is vastly contrasting:
- --Common/false Bloodbrand:
- This only allows a Kin member to communicate via the Spiritlink of the bloodbrand with other members of the faction. On occasion, a Kin with this bloodbrand can sense spirits and communicate with them, but beyond that, not much else. Kin with this bloodbrand are free to join and leave the faction as they please. By leaving the Kin, an ex-patriot would subsequently lose the bloodbrand and any spirit communication over time.
- --Complete/True Bloodbrand:
- When a Kin comes to grips with his fallen nature and is sincere in accepting the gift of change and restoration the bloodbrand brings, only then will the Bloodbrand completely transform the bearer (Toa, Matoran, or otherwise) into a being connected to Destiny and the Spirit Realms. By becoming a 'child of the Master', however, one permanently cements his allegiance to the Kin. If one tries to leave, the brand that granted their transformation will slowly burn with grief, sapping away the power and effectiveness they once had. Even Death or Blazes cannot break a True Bloodbrand seal, and if one insists on going to blazes with a bloodbrand seal (common or true), their fate will be far worse than one who never had a bloodbrand.
- Over time, a devoted True Bloodbrand-bearer will gain and hone certain skills that only can be unlocked by a True Bloodbrand link to the Spirit Realms.
(List of available True Bloodbrand skills to be added later.)
- Spirit Link
- The Spirit Link, or 'Spiritlink', is a potent spiritual network that connects the Bloodbrand-bearers of the Kin as both an avenue of long-distance communication, and(for the more proficient practitioners of the Ancient Ways) the ability to sense and contact the denizens of the Spirit Realms. Also, a True Bloodbrand wielder (once skilled enough with their Bloodbrand skills) can actually 'feel' and 'hear' the universe through the Spirit Link.
- The Bloodbrand and the Spiritlink are so closely intertwined and the two terms have been used interchangeably since the start of the Kin order. Over time, the newer generations of the Kin simply call the relationship between the two facets 'The Bloodbrand'.
- As of late, though, the Spirit Link has been shattered and fragmented by the Kin Massacre and the subsequent disbanding of the Kin order.
- Spirit Channeling / Catalyst
- --Spirit Channeling
- A Kin bearing a True Bloodbrand seal will eventually develop enough Spirit Attunment to channel the presence of any 'lesser spirit', like deceased Toa or Matoran, and act as a sort of host vessel for the spirit to ride in. This is usually a symbiotic agreement; the spirit gets a ride around the Mortal Realms and a way to communicate to mortals, and in return, the vessel gets access to ancient wisdoms.
- --Spirit Catalyst
- In time, mere chanelling will lead to catalytic abilities. As a catalyst, one can tap into the energies of the Spirit Realms and their ability to channel will no longer be limited to being a spirit's mouthpiece; one can actually gain access to that spirit's powers and abilities and can use those powers almost instantaneously... if trained properly. If the catalyst is not trained properly, becoming a spirit catalyst can be disastrous for the mortal realms and the host vessel (more often than not the vessel becomes a vegetable, or dies.) Most Kin, when trained carefully, can channel the abilities and powers of one spirit at at time. The only known Kin to channel more than one spirit is the current leader, Saeras.
Members
Alta (Hahligirl56)
Dwin (Dwin Xerius Blackfire)
Kaldun (Zyglakky Fishy)
Korruhn (Crimson Jester)
Lazok (Blackchimaera)
Pohaka (Pohaka)
Saeras (Moutekea)
Tommi (Tom)
Zezak (Zyglakky Sharky)
Takrah (Father Callahan)
Hakava (Hak)
Hua (Joshua the Drummer)
Seshu (Khote)
Rahkar (Lewa Freakazoid)
Sufik Siate (Khote/Blackchimaera)
And many, many more...
Allied Factions
The following are sub-factions of the Coalition of Charity, a guild that originated from the Kin and that the Kin is figure-head of: The Old Guard