Chapter 1: History
It had begun long ago. The war between the sides of a once peaceful kingdom, once united under law and order, once beautiful, once stable. The kingdom had been united under the title of "Ninjago", its reaches stretching across the entire planet known as "Gia". The kingdom held two opposing forces: the people of "Light" and the people of "Darkness". The people of light used diversity and love to bring their kingdom into peace and prosperity, while the people of darkness used violence and hatred to force citizens to kneel before their lord. Within the kingdom of Ninjago, two brothers ruled opposite sides: Wu as the lord of Light, and Garmadon as the lord of Darkness. Wu, being wise and understanding, opened his side of the kingdom to the people of darkness, wishing to share some of the kindness that his people harbored in hopes to lighten their hearts. Garmadon, being evil and filled with hate, forbid his people from leaving his side of the kingdom, using force to keep Wu's people away through merciless killing. Though Garmadon's efforts angered Wu, the calm-minded lord sought to maintain peace through treaty instead of war. He sent an advisor to the border of the Lands of Darkness, containing a message for Garmadon himself. Garmadon, hating his brother and anything to do with him, had the messenger killed and the treaty burned in their hottest forge available. He sent a small fleet to Wu's doorstep as payback, killing dozens of innocent villagers and burning their homes and farms to the ground. Wu could not ignore his brother's aggression any longer. His brother's actions were a threat of war, and Wu declared it. Garmadon, being sly and angry, declared war back on his brother, bringing their rivalry to the light. Ninjago had been split in half, one side aiming for peace and life while the other craved chaos and death. Throughout their two year start, the sides seemed evenly matched until Garmadon started playing with fire. He used magic beyond his understanding, spreading an incurable disease throughout his land that corrupted his people and turned them into monsters. His monsters began to gain the upper hand in the upcoming battles, taking more and more area to expand upon their lands. Wu had no choice but to draft warriors into his army, including women, relying on their styles of fighting and strategies to win him the war. Wu's kingdom was split between many individual lands and people: Fire, Earth, Lightning, Ice, Water and so on. These tribes worked together to form elemental bonds, using their power to drive back some of the forces from the dark. Eventually, they were simply regarded as "Soldiers of Light", while Garmadon's army were called "Corrupted". Occasionally, Garmadon's monsters broke through their barricades, swarming out into the open lands and taking down farms and villages full of innocent people, killing all without mercy. Now, few soldiers with powers actually remained. The soldiers of today tended to rely on weapons such as swords or guns, occasionally being seen with something such as a mace or axe. Cole had been drafted into the army a while ago, finding himself on the battlefield not long after his training ended. He'd made some friends, something that other soldiers said to avoid doing, and still had all his limbs. He was sitting next to Kai, his hot headed Fire blacksmith friend, reading a book. Kai was dressed in traditional Fire armor, decorated with red and golden flames. He looked up when Jay, his inventive Lightning engineer friend walked over, smiling. Jay liked to wear his blue Lightning armor, graced with golden lightning bolts and little white storm clouds. Nya, Kai's sister and Water healer stood beside him, holding up a small box. Nya wore a lighter blue armor set, graced with golden water droplets. Kai liked his swords, Nya liked her knives, Jay liked his nunchucks and Cole himself liked his scythe. Cole wore his old Earth armor set, even with it being lighter and only having shoulder plates on it. It was graced with mountains made of gold across the front and back, its black cloth seeming more appropriate for battle than any other color. Other than being super strong and awesome with his personal weapon, he didn't have any other skills of importance. Nya and Jay sat in front of him, Nya holding out the box excitedly. "What's that for?" Kai asked. "It's our missions box, Kai! It tells us which troop we go out with this time." she said, glaring at her brother annoyedly. "Open it up, I'm excited." Cole said, putting down his book. He wanted to keep reading, since the book was about the only race that he still wanted to see on the battlefield, but he ignored it for now. Nya pulled out the first sheet of paper, handing it to Jay. He whooped in excitement, hopping back and forth while Nya pulled hers out. She handed the box to Kai as she chuckled, watching him pull his out. "Crap." Kai muttered, Cole pulling his out. Cole read his detail for the day or week or whatever:
COLE HENCE:
DIVISION: DIVISION 1
TYPE: EARTH
WEAPON: SCYTHE
SERVICE TIME: 8 MONTHS
MISSION:
Escort Troop 21 to Fort Chimera and wait for further instructions once arrived.
Cole sighed. Kai's hands were shaking as he gripped the paper in them, Cole placing a hand on his shoulder. "What'd you get?" he asked, Kai showing him the paper. MISSION: Assist Troop 38 into Area 12 and reclaim by any means necessary. Report casualties and enemy kills once area is retaken. Wait for further instructions once Area 12 is retaken at Fort Hokage. Cole looked up into Kai's watering eyes, seeing his fear growing by the minute. "I don't want to go back out there. I just got back less than a week ago. I'm not ready to see them die again so soon." Kai whispered into his ear. Cole leaned in and carefully switched the papers in their hands, giving Kai his mission. "What are you doing?" the Fire warrior asked. "Helping you. My mission is boring. Plus, I haven't gotten the chance to go back out yet. They think they can keep me stuck back at camp the whole time." Cole whispered back, winking at Kai. Kai wiped his eyes and looked over the mission, letting a small relieved sigh escape his lips. "What'd you guys get?" Nya suddenly chirped up, Kai nearly dropping his paper. "I've got to go back out and help Troop 38 retake Area 12." Cole said, stating it like it was his mission. "I've got to assist Troop 21 to Fort Chimera." Kai said, his voice a little shaky. "Dammit! I have to stay and help with Medic Duty again." Nya pouted. "I have Kitchen Duty." Jay said, making a satisfied face. Cole looked down at the paper and read the time to move out. "I have to leave at eight tonight. I'd better get packing, so I'll see you guys." Cole said, standing up and walking back to his shared tent. He went over a list in his head, packing precisely everything he'd need for the week long trip. When everything was put together, he hunkered down for a few hours sleep, waking up again at seven thirty. He snatched his stuff and headed out to meet the troop, finding them all powerless soldiers. They each carried a gun, showing off their inability to use elemental powers, their group being about five hundred in size. The troop was mixed in size and tribe, none of which being from the Ice tribe. His mind instantly reverted back to his book, thinking of how they might react to seeing him instead. The book held one description, and it was brief: usually tall, weak, slender and harbor some form of a symbol to stand out. They loved to speak about intelligent topics and will engage upon seeing an opportunity. Cole wished to the gods that he could meet one, even if it might be dying or dead already. The Ice tribe hadn't been seen in over a year, since the greatest of their fleets had been struck down upon a breach in the barricades. Some soldiers liked to think that they were hiding and trying to gather their weapons and soldiers back, others said they were extinct. From what Cole had experienced, he was sure they were extinct. He walked with the troop as they marched out to the border of Area 12, finding another troop waiting for them. "Cole Hence, sir." Cole said, introducing himself to the commander. "Ah, we have a chance then. From what we've experienced, the corrupted have been focussing their attacks directly in the center of the barricade, trying to drive us out of the entire area. We've managed to create a blockade here, at the border, but they won't let us push through." the commander said. "We could attempt a surround maneuver. You could lead a force to the left, and your general could lead the others to the right, and I could shoot straight up the middle." Cole said, running his fingers over the massive map. "That could work, soldier. Thank you." the commander said, dismissing Cole and issuing out the commands. Cole took his place in the center of the troop, watching as they broke off and started heading around in secret. After a few minutes, he ran straight into the foggy portion of the battlefield, pulling out his scythe. His eyes caught on a corrupted pulling back to arm itself with a sword, Cole slicing off its head. Within seconds, the field became hellfire. Soldiers were firing madly at the corrupted while said corrupted charged them, attempting to impale or eat or rip apart their bodies in their angry frenzies. Cole dismantled a larger corrupted, blocking a blow to his shoulder with the handle of his scythe. He swung the blade backwards, taking the other corrupted's heart with it. He felt a cold wind blow through him, looking up and freezing in his tracks. His eyes caught on a figure bent over a soldier, dressed entirely in white. Its face was hidden with a white hood and cloak, along with most of its body. It was bent over the soldier, its hands extended towards his chest. The soldier was freaking out, struggling back and forth, but he was missing both of his legs. The figure carefully reached forward, hands diving into his body. He cried out in pain or surprise, before the hands retracted and he went limp. In the figure's hand was the man's heart, no longer beating and cold. The figure placed the heart into a small bag at its side, walking off into the distance. Cole was about to follow when he felt a hard object impact the back of his head. He didn't even feel himself hit the ground as the blackness took him.