The Serpentine warriors were among the fiercest fighting forces in history. During the Great Serpentine War, their efficiency and fury matched (in fact, overmatched) the humans’ superior numbers. Every snake had the strength of five men and fought like ten, and only the ancient masters of Spinjitzu slowed them down. And masters of Spinjitzu were few.
The five tribes of snakes each had a different power, giving them a distinct advantage until the First Spinjitzu Master began granting the humans powers of their own. An Anacondrai named Arcturus led the Serpentine tribes as a king, and under his rule two great cities were built. The first city was Arcturus, so-named by Arcturus’s brother as a token of respect. It was built deep within the great jungle to the west, as a place of art and music and plenty. The city of Ouroboros was built on the shores of a great sea in the east, as a stronghold, a place of war. The snakes would’ve won the war had the five tribes not fought with each other. Their distraction allowed for the secret creation of the humans’ Sacred Flutes, which emitted (along with a warm, soothing lilt) a very specific frequency of sound which could incapacitate a snake. With these flutes, the Serpentine tribes were separated and rounded up into massive tombs, upon which a powerful spell was placed that prevented them from being opened or destroyed. Only the Key of Dens, an ancient dagger that siphons power, can break the spell and open the tombs, and Garmadon took this and sealed it where only he could find it. Over the centuries, the two great cities were buried. Arcturus was lost to the overgrowth of the jungle that became Hiroshi’s Labyrinth. Ouroboros was lost to the desert, as the once great sea dried up and became the Sea of Sand. Over the centuries, critical knowledge was buried with them. When Lloyd Garmadon deciphers his father’s clues and finds the vault in the catacombs of Jamanakai, he finds the Key of Dens, unaware of its nature. The inlaid map first leads Lloyd to the icy south…
The Hypnobrai When the Serpentine lost the great war, the Hypnobrai were the first tribe to surrender. They were the scholars and tricksters of the Serpentine, relying less on their physical prowess and more on their cunning and their power to control minds. But upon discovering that the Sacred Flutes canceled their powers, the humans made quick work of the woefully unprepared Hypnobrai. A warrior named Skales was among the youngest of the Hypnobrai fighting force, and he was one of the last to be herded into the tomb his tribe now calls home. He was subject the longest to his people’s gruesome surrender, so he has a lot of hatred pent up. General Slithraa, a family friend, was once just as fierce, but he’s mellowed somewhat with age. At first, Skales had no ambitions to become General of the Hypnobrai. But when a human finds his way into the tomb and uses some hideous manner of arcanum to turn Slithraa’s power on himself, Skales quickly resents having to take orders from a mammalian child. But Slithraa will not be reasoned with in his state, and he far outmatches Skales in hypnotic prowess. So the aging General must be gotten out of the way by other means…
-last edited on Aug 10, 2022 3:49:16 GMT by F.I.R.E.
Post by F.I.R.E. on Aug 8, 2022 23:57:07 GMT
The Fangpyre The Fangpyre tribe had a strange power compared to their fellows - their venom can mutate whatever it touches, transforming even the benign and lifeless into an animated snakelike avatar. With this power, they turned entire forests against mankind during the Great Serpentine War. Their powers even worked on humans, and they could often be seen working with the Hypnobrai to jointly add numbers to the Serpentine ranks. It was through this joint effort that the Fangpyre twins Fangtom and Fangdam met and befriended Skales, the young Hypnobrai warrior. The twins had two heads each, an aberration among Serpentine, and Skales relied more on his physical prowess than his hypnotic power, an aberration among Hypnobai. The three misfits got along well, even as the war came to an end and the tribes’ alliances dissolved. The Fangpyre were imprisoned in a clearing in the middle of an old, dead forest, wherein the mutant Fangtom won control of the tribe as General, with his brother serving at his right hand. Their leadership proved effective, with four heads between them. When Lloyd Garmadon released them, they served him only for so long as it took them to find the Hypnobrai - Fangtom was quite confident that he could get through to Slithraa through Skales. He just hadn’t expected to find his old friend in Slithraa’s place. That made things so much easier…
-last edited on Aug 10, 2022 3:49:37 GMT by F.I.R.E.
Post by F.I.R.E. on Aug 8, 2022 23:59:05 GMT
The Anacondrai Every Serpentine tribe had its strength - the Constrictai had their brawn, the Hypnobrai had their exceptional minds, the Venomari had their speed and flexibility, and the Fangpyre had their communal resourcefulness, all useful traits that went hand in hand with their powers. The Anacondrai thrived off of sheer endurance and volcanic ruthlessness. In peacetime, this made them outcasts, but in war, they quickly became renowned as the greatest of the Serpentine tribes. Their general, Arcturus, was a tactical genius, and the most hardy of all the Serpentine. His brother was the most volcanically ruthless. Together, they led the Anacondrai to a virtually unchallenged dominion over Ninjago. When it all fell apart, the Anacondrai were the last to fall in line. They were imprisoned on an island in the middle of the same great sea where Ouroboros was built, but their fate was worse than the other tribes’ - when the sea dried up and became the Sea of Sand, the local fauna moved on, and the Anacondrai were left with nothing to eat - except each other. Arcturus, ever noble, sacrificed himself to feed his tribe. His nephew, Pythor, was… less noble. Pythor’s own ruthlessness and cunning allowed him to stay on top. When it came down to him and his father, he won out, and became the last of his kind. The Anacondrai have a particular power set - their scales shift to bend light and sound, rendering them invisible even to most modern instruments. But light doesn’t reach them in this state, making them effectively blind. Thus, their vestigial eyes, while shiny and intimidating, are completely non-functional, and they rely much more heavily on their sense of smell.
-last edited on Aug 10, 2022 3:49:52 GMT by F.I.R.E.
Post by F.I.R.E. on Aug 9, 2022 0:01:19 GMT
The Constrictai Short, dense, and markedly strong, the Constrictai were renowned for their capabilities in burrowing and construction. Architects from all tribes were involved in designing the two great Serpentine cities, but they were built almost exclusively by Constrictai laborers. Arcturus was adamant that there be no hierarchy between the five tribes, but he also believed in letting each tribe do what they did best. Their general, Skalidor, is no brute, despite his imposing, grizzled features. He’s a stalwart, pragmatic tactician with centuries of experience - he’s been in charge of his tribe longer than any of the other current generals, by far. Unlike Skales, Fangtom, Pythor and Acidicus, he was a general back when Arcturus was king. The Constrictai’s highly developed muscles grant them deadly grip, and as such they rarely fight with anything but their bare hands and tails, distinctly unlike the other tribes. Even their venom, which causes near-instant paralysis, is a very final measure.
-last edited on Aug 10, 2022 3:50:07 GMT by F.I.R.E.
Post by F.I.R.E. on Aug 9, 2022 0:03:09 GMT
The Venomari The Venomari are quick and adaptable, able to shift and squeeze their way out of tight spaces in every sense of the word, making them functional opposites of the Constrictai. They’re incredibly flexible, and they’re masters of deception, a skill that makes a powerful assist to their venom, which causes wild hallucinations. They were imprisoned in the Toxic Bog, a more deadly offshoot of the great jungle where the city of Arcturus was built. The jungle was a place of communion for all Serpentine, before the human Hiroshi stole their maps and claimed it as his Labyrinth.
-last edited on Aug 10, 2022 3:50:28 GMT by F.I.R.E.
Post by F.I.R.E. on Aug 10, 2022 0:52:11 GMT
Zoey Machia
Dr. Zoey Machia is a history teacher by day, an anthropologist by evening, and a Serpentine enthusiast by night. When the ninja first fight the Hypnobrai at Jamanakai, it’s Machia who teaches them that the antidote to the snakes’ hypnotic power is contained within the jewel of the Hypnobrai staff, and it only takes a few drops to cure the entire town. She gives them all her notes on the Serpentine, which come in handy during the Fangpyre attack in the Sea of Sand. Later, she works with Nya and Sensei Wu to develop the ZX uniforms for the ninja, which are designed with the Serpentine threat in mind. Fangpyre bites can’t penetrate their armor, and Constrictai have to squeeze a lot harder than normal to get their desired effect. They also come with visors, which protect the eyes from Venomari venom and, ideally, filter out the Hypnobrai’s hypnosis, although this effect was never tested. Dr. Machia exists… mostly as a stand-in for Nya in the latter half of Episode 1, because I couldn’t contrive a reason for her to visit Jamanakai immediately after it was attacked.
-last edited on Aug 10, 2022 3:50:51 GMT by F.I.R.E.
Post by F.I.R.E. on Aug 10, 2022 1:38:55 GMT
The Walkers
Edward and Edna Walker live out in the Sea of Sand, within driving distance of the metropolitan Ninjago City. They are the owners and sole workers at Ed & Edna’s Scrap and Junk, which, on satellites, appears as a massive heap of old, broken machinery and assorted knick-knacks. From the front, its somewhat-functional sign illuminates the harsh desert before it in a dim red glow, a beacon of old, broken things made anew. Often, Ed and Edna trek into the city in search of more abandoned machines to add to their collection - and to visit their son, Jay. Jay hasn’t returned their calls in a while now. (The cell service up at Wu’s monastery was just abysmal, Jay tells himself.) Ever since he moved in with Sensei Wu, he’s been sending them letters, keeping them posted on his various escapades and that one time he helped save the world. Between the new Serpentine threat, the monastery burning down, and the ninja throwing themselves into getting their new home in shape, Jay hasn’t kept up his usual correspondence. Their son missing one letter wouldn’t be too much of a concern for most couples. Ed and Edna Walker are not most couples. As soon as Jay’s biweekly letter is a day late, the Walkers scramble up to the Spinjitzu Monastery to find it burned to the ground, and follow various footprints and abandoned campsites to the Destiny’s Bounty.
-last edited on Aug 10, 2022 3:51:02 GMT by F.I.R.E.
Post by F.I.R.E. on Aug 10, 2022 2:18:53 GMT
Dr. Alistair Julien
I did a lot with Dr. Julien. The way I’ve written him, he was a foremost expert in robotics engineering once upon a time. From age 24, he was an engineer at Borg Industries, before it was even called Borg Industries. It wasn’t until ten years later, when he was one of the company's senior researchers, that two of his coworkers, Allan Borg and Vanessa Utterson-Borg, took over the company and it became Borg Industries. He and Allan disagreed for a while on the direction the company should take.
Julien in that time was obsessed with creating artificial humans to surpass and outlive humanity. His logic was, eventually our sun will burn out, the universe will grow cold, and humanity will likely not evolve fast enough to survive. But sapient androids could evolve themselves, and endure.
Allan’s approach was much more practical and directly altruistic (in ways his grandson, Cyrus, would come to emulate). He claimed that Julien’s ideas would never catch on. They relied too much on abstract projections of a very far future, whereas Allan wanted to remain in the here and now.
Eventually, Julien relented, and left Borg Industries, taking most of his robotics research with him. His vision evolved as he grew older and his philosophy mellowed out, and eventually Zane was born. An android that could pass for human. Julien opted not to share his achievement with the world. He decided Allan was right, that the world at large wouldn’t yet appreciate what he’d done. Instead of Julien’s professional zenith, Zane became his son. Julien was 102 when he passed away on the couch in his treehouse. His last act was a somewhat short-sighted one, taking away Zane’s memories to spare him the heartbreak of his death. When Zane finds his blueprints and learns all this, he’s still left with questions. The biggest one being, if he was in front of Julien’s couch when he lost his memories, how did he end up on the road where he woke up?
-last edited on Aug 10, 2022 3:52:32 GMT by F.I.R.E.
Post by F.I.R.E. on Aug 10, 2022 2:51:51 GMT
Lou Hence Jr.
Cole’s father is the lead singer of the Royal Blacksmiths, a three-time Blade Cup Champion singing group. He’s also an overbearing perfectionist, and a steadfast man of tradition. Cole was very nearly named Lou Hence III. He was also very nearly a graduate of the prestigious Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts. He didn’t take kindly to music school, and wasn’t keen to follow in Lou’s footsteps, but unfortunately Lou is also incredibly stubborn. Marty Oppenheimer’s friend and protege, Esther Mori, started a talent competition some 50 years back, and the prize is the aforementioned Blade Cup, a trophy with an ancient dagger built in. That dagger is one of the Silver Fang Blades, artifacts made from the baby teeth of the fabled Great Devourer, and an instrumental part of the ritual to free it. (I’ve rewritten it such that the Great Devourer is trapped in another dimension, perhaps some subset of the Cursed Realm, because for the life of me I cannot figure out how the thing bit the Destiny’s Bounty in half but couldn’t eat its way out of its presumably stone prison.) Of course, the guy who found the Fang Blade (former big-time archaeologist Clutch Powers) had no idea what it was, so it was deemed safe enough to be made into a trophy. And every year, the Royal Blacksmiths compete in the Esther Mori Competition of Performing Arts for that trophy. This year, they won, which means the Blade Cup is on a shelf in Lou’s house. Which means Cole has to visit his father, whom he hasn’t talked to in years, and convince him to give up his greatest prize.
I didn’t have much to say about this guy. He delivers the mail. He’s one of the only people in Ninjago who actually knows the location of the Spinjitzu Monastery. For Sensei Wu to trust him with that, there must be more to him than meets the eye, but he seems pretty happy doing what he does.
Another old acquaintance of Sensei Wu’s. She makes many of his favorite tea brews, including the... weird ones. Wu himself is a talented tea maker, but Mystake is well-versed in the alchemical know-how needed to make things like interdimensional portals. For Sensei Wu to trust her with that, there must be more to her than meets the eye, but she seems pretty happy doing what she does. Sort of. Hard to tell if she’s ever happy, really.
Garmadon is soaking up energy in the realm of Yin, darkness, where the Overlord is from. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s getting the Overlord’s attention by soaking up all the evil energy juices here. All Garmadon cares about for the moment is massing enough power to be able to simultaneously wield all four Golden Weapons. Well, almost all he cares about. A couple years back, Garmadon discovered that his long-lost son Lloyd is, in fact, alive, and was kept hidden from him for centuries. He managed to get Lloyd out of Darkley’s hidden boarding school, and was able to keep tabs on him until Sensei Wu and his ninja forcibly booted him from the Underworld. From Yin, communicating with Lloyd was more difficult. Service is spotty in the realm of darkness, apparently, and Garmadon was only able to send his son half-formed clues as to the location of his vault in Jamanakai Village. There’s lots of handy things in there that Lloyd could’ve used to survive. Lloyd found the vault, but instead of staying, he left with the Key of Dens, which led him to the Serpentine tombs. Wu has the displeasure of explaining that to him, and that Pythor, an old enemy of theirs, was alive, and has taken Lloyd hostage. Garmadon immediately drops everything to escape Yin and return to Ninjago to save Lloyd. He already has what he needs, anyway. Now, he’s powerful enough to wield all four Golden Weapons without them turning him to ash. And he has enough hands for it to be practical. (There’s no battle armor in this character maker, so we’ll just pretend this is what he wore during his brief stay on the Bounty.)
From a teaching standpoint, Wu takes a backseat this season. This is the season wherein we meet Misako and explore their friendship, and where we meet the Stone Warriors of the Overlord’s army, petrified veterans of a war Wu’s father fought in. For his students’ purposes, Wu is a fountain of useful knowledge and history. But another secret of his is revealed: the Overlord. More of his past is revealed through the Tower of Tears story, which is when he discovered that Garmadon is alive.
Nya is at the crux of one major change I made to this season: rather than searching for an apartment in Ninjago City, the team makes a home out of Nya’s Samurai X cave, where she kept her exo-suit and other stuff.
Because... we know she has such a place. She has to have had somewhere to hide her stuff where the ninja wouldn't find it. She's no slouch as a blacksmith, but that exo-suit still would've taken forever to build. She was probably working on it from the minute she escaped the Underworld, and the ninja didn't know. She must have been keeping it somewhere.
So, I put a name to the place. It’s not far from where the Spinjitzu Monastery was, and it’s well hidden, so Wu spends a lot of time up at the monastery, making repairs as best he can, while the ninja train Lloyd, and Nya tinkers with her own equipment (which was distinctly not Great-Devourer-proof), and with the Ultra Sonic Raider, which she gives wings.
