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Chapter 28: The Tale of Laisha's Past"Wait a minute," Lloyd questioned. "Did you say Laisha is Skylor's mother?"
"Yes, I did, didn't I," Yang sighed.
"That's impossible," Lloyd retorted. "Her mother died years ago. Both Skylor and Chen were there by her bedside as eyewitnesses. And besides, the master of amber wouldn't just turn stone cold and let someone rob her daughter of her powers."
"It's entirely possible," Yang added. "If it's possible to resurrect the dead, then why isn't it possible to maintain one's existence a secret for years? Why, didn't your mother hide from you for years?"
"You leave my family out of this," Lloyd rebuked.
"Then you stop nosing your way into mine," Yang shouted.
"I can do as I please," Lloyd retorted.
"Who taught you that, your father?!"
"Alright, you asked for it," Lloyd shouted.
Lloyd charged a ball of energy, aiming it straight at Yang's chest. Yang prepared to leap into Airjitzu, his hands positioned for the jump. Before they could fire, though, Morro jumped in between them.
"Enough," Morro yelled. Morro clapped, summoning a blast of wind that knocked Lloyd and Yang off their feet.
"Enough of this madness," Morro ordered. "We came here for answers, not for fighting each other."
"You're right," Yang sighed. "My apologies, Lloyd. I am to blame for mentioning your past. It's just that you touched on wounds I haven't visited in years."
"Care to open up a bit," Morro questioned.
"Perhaps, but tell me this first," Yang offered. "How do you know about Laisha?"
"Laisha serves the villain we're fighting," Lloyd answered, "and as I've mentioned, she possesses a deadly mastery of elemental powers. She attacked some of my friends, and we have evidence suggesting she is the second-in-command."
"So you have seen her in person," Yang asked.
"I haven't, but my friends have," Lloyd nodded. "She is stronger than they first suspected, but her judgment has been…naïve."
"That's my daughter alright," Yang sighed. "Come, sit. The time has come to tell the truth, now that old wounds are open again. Master Wu, of course, knows fully well my tale, but it is better that I share, lest his version fails you in the heat of battle.
"Laisha arrived on cold winter night many years ago, back when I still taught students the art of Airjitzu. At that time, with my students abroad on holiday, I cared for the temple alone, tidying for the new year of training ahead. That particular night, I wiped the front windows, then noticed a basket lying outside my front door. Sure enough, when I looked inside, there was tiny Laisha, wrapped in furs and dressed in orange silk, a message hanging on the handle of her crib.
"Immediately, I felt pity for the child, taking her under my care as my own, at least until her parents could be found. But I never found her parents. From the few sources I had, I learned that her parents were village chieftains, the father an official for the emperor and the mother an elemental master of amber. Unfortunately, Anacondrai marauders killed the father in battle, then kidnapped and slew the mother after she abandoned Laisha. Because of this, I raised Laisha as my own.
"Just as you gave Wu pride, Morro, so Laisha filled my heart with gladness. She was my best pupil, the closest student I ever taught. Every move I taught she perfected; every proverb I explained she grasped. Nothing I prepared could overwhelm her, and she soon inspired my entire class to greater performance. Ah, yes, for nineteen years I lived in golden harmony, at peace with everything and everyone around me. Then the War of Silence destroyed all my bliss."
"The War of what," Lloyd interrupted.
"The War of Silence," Yang answered.
"I've never heard of it," Lloyd shrugged. "Master Wu never mentioned anything to us about this war of silence, let alone hint to its existence in the timeline."
"Wu means well to protect you from much of the past," Yang sighed.
"What was the War of Silence," Morro asked.
"In Ninjago, Wu, Chen, and I were three Masters, teachers of three of Ninjago's four arts," Yang continued, "but there was also a fourth Master, Chimmug, who in his cult taught the art of stealth and silence. He emphasized the tranquility of nature, the silence which brings to man when he taps into its potential, an art emphasized via meditation and induced napping.
"Chimmug, however, hated elemental powers, viewing them as disruptions of nature's silent harmony. He particularly despised Spinjitzu, Airjitzu, and sorcery, which he claimed were concoctions of the Overlord to distort the natural balance. But he could do nothing to prevent our training, for his order was too weak in influence and number to effect change in Ninjago."
"How then did he start the war," Lloyd asked.
"He didn't," Yang sighed. "The emperor did."
"Just a minute," Morro interrupted. "Until recently, the royal family has lived secluded, isolating themselves from the affairs of Ninjago."
"But you speak of more recent times," Yang winked. "Back then, he was powerful, and he used his authority to maintain order in Ninjago. Even the Serpentine respected and obeyed his commands. He, however, fell prey to the seductions of Clouse, one of Chen's young, ambitious sorcerers, and he believed Clouse's lie that Chimmug plotted to assassinate him. So during the Day of the Departed, he ordered the extinction of Chimmug and his order, launching an attack on the temples of the cult.
"Had Chimmug simply pleaded his case, all would have been resolved peacefully. Chimmug, however, took the emperor's attack to heart, allied with the Serpentine warlords, and then razed Old Ninjago City to the ground. In doing so, he declared himself ruler of Ninjago, ordering that all surrender their fidelity to him. Chen and most of the elemental masters refused, thereby declaring war on the Order of Silence. Thus, the war began and for four years it raged, with neither side gaining or losing ground."
"What does this have to do with Laisha," Lloyd asked.
"During the fifth year of fighting," Yang continued, "Chen secretly appealed to me for aid, requesting that I help defeat Chimmug and restore the peace that had been lost. It was the hardest decision of my life, and I spent several sleepless nights pondering every option, until only one choice assured me of survival – neutrality. I chose neutrality out of concern that war would destroy my students.
"But Laisha chose a different path. She sought to partake in the war on Chen's side and all my persuasion could not dissuade her from her decision. So with tearful eye, I wished her luck and sent her off, hoping she would turn back to me after seeing the futility of war. But she never returned, and I never saw her again."
"What happened to her," Morro asked.
"It was not until my restoration that I learned of her fate," Yang nodded. "As I expected, Laisha joined forces with Chen, fighting alongside his forces in battle against Chimmug. During that time, she learned from Wu her origins, then trained to become the elemental master of amber. Eventually, she used that power to banish Chimmug and most of his order to the Realm of Silence, thus ending the war and becoming the heroine of the day.
"For many years thereafter, she served Wu, fighting off Serpentine warriors and assisting in their banishment during the Serpentine War. During that war, however, she fell in love with Chen, eventually marrying him in secret and moving to the island with him after the fighting ceased."
"We know the rest," Lloyd nodded. "She gave birth to Skylor but died when Skylor was about three years old. But what I cannot grasp is the connection between your daughter and the Laisha my friends fought recently."
"That I do not know," Yang shrugged. "But know this, green ninja, dark powers are at work in Ninjago, and what was once impossible is now occurring. Two years ago, resurrection was unfeasible, yet here now your father and Morro walk Ninjago alive. Nothing else I can advise, except that you stay your course, lest you be shattered to pieces by the crashing waves of darkness."