Long before time had a name, there was the First Realm of Oni and Dragon, Kigana. There lived two powerful tribes that control the forces that would later create the Sixteen Realms. The tribe of light are known as Dragons, ruled by the first dragon named Sukuri. The tribe of darkness are known as Oni, ruled by the first oni named Tohakai.
Though they both have a goal to keep the light and darkness balanced, the Oni and Dragon were mortal enemies. They started a never-ending war, both sides having equal power that cancel each other out. The endless battles caused the First Realm to evolve quickly from civilizations advancing to It was then the First Spinjitzu Master, Hikari was created, with powers over both. Due to the immense energy, the Oni and Dragon fought over what side he would end up choosing in the war, since they knew that he was the key to winning.
Hikari befriended the Firstbourne Dragon, and together, they created the Golden Dragon Armor, and sought to unite the two races of the realm. What Hikari did not realize was that the both sides were after him so they could control him and end the war on their favor. However, when he did find out, he knew he could not stay. Despondently, he left the armor to be guarded by the Firstbourne and The First Spinjitzu Master then created a relic called the Realm Crystal and escaped through a portal to a realm that would soon be born as Ninjago.
When the Oni found out about the escape, they were furious. Tohakai, reigning as the dark king of the Oni, created Yakunan, the Overlord, to bring Hikari back to the First Realm and end the war in their favor. This goal have brought on another never-ending battle that not only ended up becoming an important part of Ninjago's history, but will bring about a great calamity to all the realms. Yakunan and the First Spinjitzu Master fought fiercely but neither of them could gain the upper hand. But the Overlord refused to accept defeat, so he created the Stone Army, a legion of nearly indestructible warriors, shifting the balance to his side. Knowing he would soon fall and to keep the darkness from gripping the world, Hikari decided to split the land into two separate islands: Ninjago and the Island of Darkness, Kunesua.
Millenniums passed since the Great Battle between light and darkness, and Ninjago grew into the peaceful land that is known today. Hikari finally settled in peace, bearing two sons: Garmadon and Wu Kamiare. Garmadon was destined to turn evil, as he had inherited his father's destruction powers, but Wu, who inherited creation powers, refused to let that happen. Garmadon refused as well. They were too close. Wu gave some of his own powers to him in order to prevent the inevitable corruption, but they were able to regenerate. Fortunately, their father gave Garmadon special teachings to control the darkness within him, as he knew that his eldest son would hold an important role in the future.
Centuries passed since Wu and Garmadon's birth, and the Kamiare Brothers soon had families of their own.
The first of the children is the master of wind, Morro Sakura, the patient and no-nonsense adopted son of Wu. He used to live a hard, abusive family life and escaped into the streets when he was only five. After rummaging the trash for food around the Brothers' monastery, Wu found the poor boy and decided to give him something to eat. Seeing how injured Morro was, Wu decided to give him a home and trained him to defend himself. Eventually, Wu started to see Morro as his own son, thus the master of wind became the first of the descendants of the Brothers.
The second of the children is the master of energy, Lloyd Montgomery, the benevolent son of Garmadon. Garmadon met Misako while out on errands, and took her in after learning her abandonment of her crazy strict parents. Eventually, they had a beautiful son—the prophesied hero that will decide the fate of the balance. Garmadon felt the need to break tradition and he decided to give his first name as his son's last. The destruction elemental quickly found out about Lloyd's destiny and had made a vow to protect and train his son for the upcoming prophecy.
The third and final child is the master of snow, Elsari Sikosu, created by Wu from his elemental powers. The original master of snow, Honoka, lived her life without creating a successor for her power, so she asked Wu to create a child to pass down her element before they faded away to oblivion. With the combined elemental powers of Wu and Honoka, they created a beautiful baby girl named Elsari. Before passing on, Honoka gave Wu the ownership of Elsari and told him to protect her at all cost.
A decade passed and five ninja joined the team that the Kamiare family started to continue protecting Ninjago.
Kai and Nya are the descendants of Ray and Maya Smith, the late masters of fire and water and former blacksmiths. Kai is a hotheaded teenager with a loyal heart. Much like Garmadon, he will protect those he cares about, putting his life on the line if need be. Nya, on the other hand, is a carefree, independent girl who stops at nothing to prove her worth in society. As one of the two female members of the team, she puts her all into everything she does. As Ray and Maya were good friends of the Kamiare family, the fallen elementals entrusted them with their children before they passed.
Jay is the son of Cliff and Lena Gordon, and the master of lightning. He is the joker on the team and a skilled inventor. When his parents died, he was adopted by Ed and Edna Walker who live in a junkyard several miles from Ninjago City. One day Jay was flying his wings that he had recently invented, only to crash land into a bulletin board. Wu saw him and recruited him to join the team.
Cole is the son of Louis and Kamara Brookstone, and the master of earth. He is both independent and strong minded, and doesn't hesitate to do the right thing. His father implored him to become a dancer just like himself upon his mother's death, but Cole refused and ran away. A few days later he was climbing on the mountains of the monastery when Wu found him and took him in.
Zane is an android. He was built by Desmond Julien, since he was unable to have children of his own. One day, an old man, Eido, the master of ice, visited their house in the snowy Birchwood Forest. He was on the verge of dying, but he was strong enough to implement his powers into Zane's system. Master Wu visited the place a few years later after Desmond's passing. Zane is now an instrumental part of the team.
However, unbeknownst to the Kamiares and the rest of the ninja team, evil has all but arisen. The Overlord was stranded on the island long enough to create two sons: Xenudah and Clouse. He died soon afterwards, but the two brothers of darkness vowed to bring their father back to life.
And it is that goal that starts the upcoming war that will decide the fate of Ninjago and all of its inhabitants.