The district of Ta-Metru is filled with foundries, furnaces, and massive cone-shaped factories, scorched and blackened by the soot and charring from the river of molten Protodermis. Here virtually everything in the city is made, from Kanohi masks to Kanoka disks to basic tools. To Matoran from other Metru, Ta-Metru is seen as loud, grimy, and way too hot a place to visit. But without the work done here, the city would grind to a halt very quickly. Not even Ta-Metru crafters are perfect, however. Sometimes the items they create have flaws, big ones or small ones. Even the tiniest crack can render a Mask of Power useless. When that happens, the flawed creations are run through Protodermis reclamation furnaces like this one, to be melted down for future recasting. Vakama has never liked this system, believing it makes it too easy for Matoran to erase their mistakes rather than learning from them. This is by no means the largest furnace in Ta-Metru. That honor belongs to the Great Furnace, which is so intensely hot that Matoran can only work there for very short periods. Currently, no one is employed there due to the presence of Morbuzakh vines in the area.
Ta-Metru is home to many different kinds of workers, from mask makers like Nuhrii to Matoran who monitor the flow of Protodermis through the district. No one starts out as a mask maker -- normally, a proto-smith begins his career by designing small, decorative items and other things of little value. Eventually, if they are sufficiently skilled, they work their way up to designing disk launchers and other important tools. The best of the best become mask makers, the most vital job in all of Ta-Metru. Nuhrii's home is typical of the dwelling place of a veteran mask maker. The walls are lined with plagues showing Kanoka disks and the masks he has made of them. A large window looks out on the factories of Ta-Metru. Most mask makers have work tables in their homes so they can tinker when they are not at work. For that reason, Ta-Metru homes are commonly well-lit so the proto-smiths can better see what they are doing.
The foundries are the second step in the production process. After Protodermis is cleansed of impurities in Ga-Metru, it is heated as it travels through a series of locks to the foundries. Here the molten Protodermis is poured into molds, then cast and recast and recast again until perfect. The skill of the worker is all-important: poorly made items will break under stress or fail to function at all. Vakama spent virtually his entire life in foundries like this. He progressed through the ranks of workers until he became a renowned mask maker. His skills were so well-respected that Turaga Dume personally requested that he create a Kanohi Mask of Time. He soon discovered, though, that even with the best disks he could lay his hands on, the mask could not be successfully forged.
After flawed creations are melted down in the Protodermis reclamation furnace, molten Protodermis is carried in vats to be fed back into the system. It then travels from the reclamation area back to the foundries for use by workers. The vats travel high overhead on a series of cables and their progress is governed by Protodermis vat control centers like this one. The job is highly important, as in its molten form, Protodermis can melt through most substances. Were there to be a major spill, much of Ta-Metru would be damaged. Since the Ta-Metru foundries are in operation day and night, the vats are on the move all the time as well. Unfortunately, these areas have proven to be highly vulnerable to attacks by Morbuzakh vines. Despite requests made to Turaga Dume, additional Vahki Nuurakh patrols have not been added to the reclamation areas. There is some concern among Matoran that if the vines are not stopped, the entire reclamation process will have to be shut down for the safety of the Metru.
Flawed Kanohi masks and other items are sent to this desolate spot to be sorted and fed into the reclamation furnaces. It is an area no Ta-Matoran likes to visit, being essentially a monument to failure. Here piles of cracked, chipped, or broken Kanohi masks stare blankly at visitors; mangled disk launchers wait to be melted down; and dozens of useless Matoran tools gather dust. This is one of a growing number of areas in Metru Nui that receive no protection at all from the Vahki. The common logic is, "Who would want to rob a junkyard?" This makes it a dangerous place to visit, because both Morbuzakh and wild Rahi can rampage through with no one to oppose them.
The Morbuzakh vines first began appearing on the outskirts of Ta-Metru, crushing factories and driving Matoran from their homes. Many dwellings, like this one, have been abandoned with their residents moving in with friends or staying close to Vahki hives for protection. This particular house was the site to which Nuhrii was lured. Toa Vakama's effort to rescue him were threatened by the appearance of Morbuzakh vines.
The district of Ta-Metru is filled with foundries, furnaces, and massive cone-shaped factories, scorched and blackened by the soot and charring from the river of molten Protodermis. Here virtually everything in the city is made, from Kanohi masks to Kanoka disks to basic tools. To Matoran from other Metru, Ta-Metru is seen as loud, grimy, and way too hot a place to visit. But without the work done here, the city would grind to a halt very quickly. Not even Ta-Metru crafters are perfect, however. Sometimes the items they create have flaws, big ones or small ones. Even the tiniest crack can render a Mask of Power useless. When that happens, the flawed creations are run through Protodermis reclamation furnaces like this one, to be melted down for future recasting. Vakama has never liked this system, believing it makes it too easy for Matoran to erase their mistakes rather than learning from them. This is by no means the largest furnace in Ta-Metru. That honor belongs to the 
Ta-Metru is home to many different kinds of workers, from mask makers like Nuhrii to Matoran who monitor the flow of Protodermis through the district. No one starts out as a mask maker -- normally, a proto-smith begins his career by designing small, decorative items and other things of little value. Eventually, if they are sufficiently skilled, they work their way up to designing disk launchers and other important tools. The best of the best become mask makers, the most vital job in all of Ta-Metru. Nuhrii's home is typical of the dwelling place of a veteran mask maker. The walls are lined with plagues showing Kanoka disks and the masks he has made of them. A large window looks out on the factories of Ta-Metru. Most mask makers have work tables in their homes so they can tinker when they are not at work. For that reason, Ta-Metru homes are commonly well-lit so the proto-smiths can better see what they are doing.
The foundries are the second step in the production process. After Protodermis is cleansed of impurities in Ga-Metru, it is heated as it travels through a series of locks to the foundries. Here the molten Protodermis is poured into molds, then cast and recast and recast again until perfect. The skill of the worker is all-important: poorly made items will break under stress or fail to function at all. Vakama spent virtually his entire life in foundries like this. He progressed through the ranks of workers until he became a renowned mask maker. His skills were so well-respected that Turaga Dume personally requested that he create a Kanohi Mask of Time. He soon discovered, though, that even with the best disks he could lay his hands on, the mask could not be successfully forged.
Flawed Kanohi masks and other items are sent to this desolate spot to be sorted and fed into the reclamation furnaces. It is an area no Ta-Matoran likes to visit, being essentially a monument to failure. Here piles of cracked, chipped, or broken Kanohi masks stare blankly at visitors; mangled disk launchers wait to be melted down; and dozens of useless Matoran tools gather dust. This is one of a growing number of areas in Metru Nui that receive no protection at all from the Vahki. The common logic is, "Who would want to rob a junkyard?" This makes it a dangerous place to visit, because both Morbuzakh and wild Rahi can rampage through with no one to oppose them.
