Disclaimer: Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu and Legends of Chima are both own by LEGO Company.
The Gorge of Eternal Death is a very deep gorge found in Chima. It is believed by all the tribes that there is no way out of the gorge. Starting somewhere near the Fangs and, going down, one would realize that it isn't as eternal as it seems. The Gorge is very deep, but not deep enough to kill someone if they were to fall.
Inside, the Gorge is connected to a massive cave system that runs deep below the Outlands. On these caverns, a pair of crocodile royals will soon discover something that will change their lives as they know them.
King Crominus stares suspiciously at the figure before him, wondering if he can defend his wife, pondering when the stranger would strike.
The serpent noticed this, and for a minute he wondered the same, contemplating the best course of action. His stomach growled, these two would make a fine meal, but he was stronger than his urges, he knew he stood more to gain in an alliance than in an enemy.
"Do not be concerned, I mean you know harm. Now, as I was saying, my name is Arcturus, and whom may you be." The serpent said, giving a small curtsy as he did.
"I am king Crominus, and I will not repeat myself, who are you?!" yelled the crocodile king. "What my husband is trying to say is, what are you doing here?" Crunket quickly intervened, trying to defuse the situation before it was too late.
"That is a long story, miss…" Arcturus began. "Ohh, queen Crunket at your service," she responded calmly. "Well, miss Crunket, mine is a tale of great betrayal and sorrow. Lost, wandering these caves for years, surviving on the meager morsels that can be found amongst the cracks, fueled by my desire to return, and reclaim what is rightfully MINE! He said, losing his temper near the end. "But enough about me, tell me how did you get here, is there a way out!" he eagerly asked.
"I'm afraid we are just as lost as you are; our tank fell into the gorge during a battle a few days ago," Crunket told him apologetically. "Ah yes, I was wondering what that noise was. Well, no use standing around, come follow me." He said as he slithered away.
Crunket began to follow before Crominus got in her way, "I don't trust him, dear, we should go another way," he told her. "Go where exactly? I know is not ideal, but it's better if we stay together, he seems to know his way around here better than us," responded Crunket. "Fine, but I'm keeping my eye on him," Crominus told her as he followed Arcturus. "I'm counting on it, my love," Crunket said happily as she followed them.
Sometime later, on the deep bowels of the gorge, the wayward group continues making their way through the caverns.
"Soo, Arcturus where exactly are we going?" asked a curious Crunket, breaking the silence of the caves.
"There is a low breeze coming from somewhere up ahead, and I can pick up a slight sent from the same direction, my best guess is that your crash may have caused an opening to appear, one that can hopefully get us out of this place." The old snake answered.
"So you can take us straight at the maws of the rest of your tribe!" accused Crominus with a low growl.
" You have met them, have you? I figured from your reaction to me. So, Pythor actually did it, that fool! I presume that they failed, didn't they? I warned them, I told them it was an idiotic plan, but do they listen, nooo. They wanted glory, they wanted conquest, well look what that got them." Arcturus ranted aloud; annoyance clear in his voice.
"You didn't take part in the attack, did you? Please, tell us your story, is clear we will be here a while." Ask a compassioned Crunket.
"Mine is a tale of many twists and turns, one you would not likely believe," Arcturus warned. Undeterred, the croc queen merely looked him in the eye and said, "Try us!".
"Very well, my people are not from around here, our native lands are far far away." Arcturus began.
"So, you are truly not from Chima?" Crunket asked intrigued. "We did not even know of this place until a few years back." He responded. "So why are you here!" intervened Crominus, still assessing the possible threat. "We were banished, victims of a cruel fate." Arcturus continued.
"In our lands, war was no stranger to us, always at odds with our neighbors and with ourselves. The Serpentine were always separate from the affairs of others, we cared for our own. But even then, we knew the sting of battle, when the five tribes were formed, tensions began to arrive. Infighting, for the most part, but full-on war was not far behind. It forged us and made us into one of the strongest warriors in the land. But it also made us respect one another, we knew our strengths and theirs. So when one of them warned of a great disaster, we listened. Magic was not something unfamiliar to us, doe sorcery had not been practiced in a long time, we still listened and were frightened. Warnings of a great being clad in golden armor, with the power of creation at its hands, destroying everything around us, plunging the world into the everlasting dark. Knowing the danger, we tried to warn the others, get them to listen to us, to hide underground, where the golden master could not find us. But they never listened, so we had to make them. We sent beasts, we sent warriors, we would attack them until they had no other choice but to follow us underground. We built great tombs, safehouses where we could wait for the coming storm."
Turning to his companions, the old general continued, "It almost worked, soon peace would be reached, until we received another warning. One of their own came to us, saying that the other planned to betray us. We foolishly believed them and continued the war, no longer caring for their well-being, our battles now fueled by indignation and anger. And leading the charge was the strongest of all the tribes, mine, the Anacondrai. And leading the Anacondrai was I, General Arcturus. I led them in glorious battle, and one by one they fell. We were undefeated, or so we thought. Just as we sent our best, so did them, the Elemental master. Beings of great power that could wield the very elements at their hands. But even with that, we still battled, we still won. And we would have been victorious, until the infighting began. Too late did we realize that our supposed ally was a scheming, foul-hearted creature that would betray anyone to get what he wanted."
Laughing to himself, Arcturus turned to his companions once more before saying, "If not for his dishonorable ways, he could have been one of use. "Only one can remain" had always been the saying of my people, but it took me too long to realize what it truly meant. Not until it was too late, the masters soon found a weapon that could stop us all, a simple, blasted flute. No matter the tribe, no matter the warrior, it was always the same. Soon, we faced trial for what we had done, our sentence was given, and we were cast out. Banished to places unknown." He said solemnly.
"Eventually, we made our way here, to the place you know as the Outlands. There we built a new life for ourselves, and all was good. Or so I thought, one day I was betrayed by one of my own, a conniving snake called Pythor, who took my throne and let me rot down here. Forced to eat nothing but spiders and scorpions, maybe the occasional bat. But I will return and when I do, he will pay." Arcturus finished with a strength in his voice not present there before.
"Now, tell me. What exactly did he do afterward, I know you know," he said, his voice calming down once more.
"He's a crafty one, I'll give you that, he amassed an army and took us by surprised during one of our celebrations," Crominus informed the old snake before him, truly conversing with him for the first time. "No doubt by pure luck, I assure you," Arcturus added with a condescending tone. "Be that as it may, his forces were fearless, they charged straight towards us, matching us blow for blow. Unfortunately for him, mine is a tribe of warriors, we turned the tide allowing me to confront the worm head-on. He almost got my daughter, before I showed him who the real warrior king was, he was tricky doe, turning invisible and slinging out of the way. We were evenly matched until our ground support arrived, we thought we had the advantage until red snakes started falling from above, turning our vehicles against us! We were fortunate they could get our air support and we could send the scum packing, back to the Outland I figure." Crominus continued his tale.
"Idiot!" Arcturus said. " You are fortunate that he was so impatient in his quest for conquest, had he taken his time he would had been unstoppable. Anacondrai are not just great warriors; they are great spies as well. Had he been smart, he would have sent them to spy on your tribes, assess your strengths and weaknesses, take your technology, sneak into your infrastructure, and take you down with one quick lethal strike." The old general continued, much to his companion's despair.
Noticing the look on the pair's faces, one of horror and another in suspicion, he quickly added, " I would have done the far more reasonable thing and tried to forge alliances with your people so that we could thrive on these new lands, but alas my ways are not so favorable anymore." He finished off.
"How lucky for us," Crominus said sarcastically.
Suddenly, a commotion could be heard from up above, followed by a slight tremor. "What was that!" they wondered, when suddenly something could be seen falling towards the depts of the gorge, "Is that…" Crunket wondered before the objects were revealed. Chi orbs began to fall and clattered as they hit the floor, rolling downwards toward the deep abyss. " Chi!" cried out the crocodile royals before giving chase. "Quickly, we need to catch it, this could be our only hope!" Crominus said as the trio made their way into the darkness.
And with the creatures of the caves as their witness, history would surely be made.