Overview
The Children of the Wolf (also known as the Children of the Wyldness) are a group of human children from the Wyldness living in the Forest of Spirits. They are the descendants of the wolf warriors who escaped petrification following Argus' curse on the Wyldness.
History
History[]
The Wyldness[]
Asa watched Garmadon get out of the portal to the Wyldness from a distance. Garmadon used his sword to cut off a small bit of Asa’s hair that was sticking out from a rock. Later, Asa found the four other children looking at the bones of an animal, discussing their next meal. Zuri asked Asa about his missing hair and through a series of actions, he explained what happened. After learning of this, Warby wanted revenge on Garmadon for messing with his brother.
The children stood outside the Shadow Dojo and questioned how its doors opened. Then, they saw Garmadon fly through the walls of the dojo. Thinking he had rung the gong and knowing the Lycan King would have heard it, they tried to find Garmadon. They later found him lying on the ground, unconscious. Warby tried to wake Garmadon up by slapping him multiple times to no avail. Just then, the Lycan King stared down at the children.
The Lycan King[]
As the Lycan King stared down at the children, Balun carried the unconscious Garmadon and told Asa to start running away. Asa looked down at the Mallet of Shattering in front of him and, out of curiosity, picked it up. This enraged the Lycan King and he attacked Asa. Warby jumped on Asa, pushing them both away from the Lycan King's attack. Zuri tried to slow the Lycan King down using a slingshot. The children ran away. Warby asked Balun why he was carrying Garmadon and the latter replied by saying they needed to ask Mama Mawa how Garmadon opened the Shadow Dojo. Iriel noticed the Lycan Kings's inability to get through the gorge and Warby and Asa taunted the beast. The Lycan King struck the gorge, causing it to crumble.
Garmadon woke up with a headache and saw Asa in front of him. The rest of the children emerged from the rubble and realized they were trapped. Warby blamed Garmadon for their situation and Garmadon asked Asa for the mallet. The five children watched as Garmadon threw the mallet to no avail. When the Lycan King got ready to howl, Balun explained that the howl could turn them to stone if they got caught in it. Warby yelled at Garmadon to get them out of there. Garmadon agreed and Iriel told him to hurry. The children stood in confusion and awe when Garmadon managed to perform Shatterspin. Garmadon asked them what happened and Warby tried to explain it when the Lycan King howled. The children and Garmadon dodged the attack. Balun told them to get in the boat and they all sailed away.
Garmadon asked the children what the Lycan King was and who they were. Iriel explained that the Lycan King was a beast that haunted the woods. She, along with Balun and Warby, introduced themselves. Iriel told Garmadon about Zuri and helped Asa introduce himself. Zuri reminded Iriel that Garmadon was their prisoner, and they should not be so friendly to him.
When they arrived, Zuri called out to Mama Mawa and the latter was delighted to see them. Zuri explained that Garmadon unsealed the Shadow Dojo and showed Mawa the Mallet of Shattering. They all went inside her house to discuss further. Inside, the children drunk soup while Mama Mawa and Garmadon talked. Garmadon mentioned how the land was dying and Iriel and Balun explained how the Wyldness used to be beautiful. Garmadon asked what caused the realm's devastation and Zuri asked Mama Mawa if they could trust him. The children listened as Mama Mawa explained how the Forbidden Five used to rule the Wyldness and lead the Wolf Clan. Afterward, Garmadon asked what would happen if someone without an Elemental Power rang the Gong of Shattering and Balun and Iriel explained that one would lose everything. The children sat as Mama Mawa told Lord Argus's story.
After she told the story, Mama Mawa said that the five children, Balun, Warby, Asa, Iriel and Zuri, were the last Children of the Wolf. She explained that only the children could defeat the Lycan King, but they needed to learn the ways of their ancestors. Mama Mawa told Garmadon he would be their teacher.
Masters and Students[]
A bit over a week later, Zuri watched Garmadon practice his newfound skills over Shatterspin. Surprised to see that he could actually perform the art, Zuri began copying his movements, believing that if she did so, she too could learn Shatterspin. Unfortunately, Zuri's movements caused her to fall out from the tree she had been hiding in, alerting Garmadon to her presence. When Garmadon angrily reprimanded her, demanding to know why she had been spying on him, Zuri answered by pointing out that Garmadon hadn't taught her, or any of her friends, anything yet. Their verbal argument caught the attention of the other children, who immediately rushed over and escalated tensions, believing that Garmadon had pushed Zuri out of a tree. In frustration, Garmadon stormed off and declared he would teach them when he had something to teach.
At nightfall, the children sang and danced around a campfire when Garmadon arrived and began cutting Asa's hair. After finishing, Garmadon informed the children that their training would begin promptly the next day. The next morning, Garmadon lined up the four older children and taught them proper etiquette first; first, the master would bow to his students, then they would bow to him, and finally, they would all bow to their ancestors.
For their first exercise, the children were charged to carry a heavy bucket of water in each hand with outstretched arms. As each child began to tire and strain themselves in performance of the action, they began to question the point of the exercise. Specifically, Warby asked why Asa got to nap instead of participating, and Balun asked about how long they had to hold the buckets. Garmadon answered both questions, explaining for the former that Asa was too young for the strenuous training; and for the latter that they were to hold the buckets until Asa woke up from his nap. This statement shocked and horrified Iriel, who immediately dropped her buckets in reaction. With a smirk, Garmadon stated that Iriel's failure to complete the test reflected on all of the children, and all of them were now to be punished by performing one thousand push-ups.
For their second test, the Children of the Wolf were instructed by Garmadon that explosive speed was essential towards unlocking Shatterspin. To his irritation, however, the children were far more interested in the bird that Asa was roasting than Garmadon's teachings. Nevertheless, Master Garmadon saw a potential teaching moment and informed the Children that whoever could race to the top of a nearby mountain and return first with the flag he had planted before Asa finished cooking would get to enjoy the bird. Before Garmadon could even finish his sentence however, his students were already dashing off towards the mountain. Motivated by his desire to taste meat for the first time in ages, Warby ran on ahead of the others and snatched the flag. However, he tripped on the way down and tumbled into the others, knocking all four children down the mountain until they finally came to a rest by Garmadon's feet. To add further insult to injury, Warby's efforts were in vain for his fall had greatly slowed his descent, and instead of being rewarded, he and the others were punished with another set of one thousand push-ups.
Eventually, Garmadon deemed the Children of the Wolf to have made 'acceptable' progress with their training - enough for them to be taught the first basic attack of Shatterspin. After demonstrating it to them, Garmadon instructed each child, one after another, to repeat his actions, with Balun going first. As he stepped up towards the boulder, Balun mused that the series of actions should be simple enough. Although he repeated his master's actions to the letter, he only lightly tapped the boulder, believing that a light tap would have been sufficient to unleash his stored kinetic energy. This performance disappointed Garmadon who chided Balun for thinking too hard about the action and called on Iriel to be the next to demonstrate. For her part, Iriel struck the boulder too softly and instead hurt her own hand. Next it was Warby's turn. Although the boy boasted that all would be impressed by his ability, he lost control over his punch and struck himself in the face! Zuri on the other hand, was able to successfully perform a Shatterspin strike, impressing Garmadon. At nightfall, the children celebrated their progress with song and dance around the campfire, though unbeknownst to anyone, Asa had approached the same boulder and obliterated it to dust with a powerful burst of Shatterspin, one even stronger than Garmadon's abilities.
Destinies[]
While the Children of the Wolf faced their final test with Garmadon, Asa and Buck Buck were asked by Mama Mawa to forage for food. After failing to catch a rabbit, Asa followed it into the Shadow Dojo where, in the chamber that held the Gong of Shattering, he encountered the spirits of the Wolf Mask Warriors. As the ghosts surrounded the boy and asked if he was the child foretold by the Forbidden Five, Asa became overwhelmed and fainted.
Elsewhere, the other four children engaged with Garmadon in their final test. Using the terrain of the wetlands to their advantage, the children lay in ambush as their master waded past. As soon as he neared, they children sprung their trap, aiming to take the scarf he had tied onto the Mallet of Shattering. Warby and Iriel were the first to attack, springing from their hiding spots and fighting Garmadon as they attempted to snatch the scarf. Garmadon complimented them on the improvements to their fighting style, especially noting how they were using the terrain to their advantage. Balun then revealed himself from the water behind Garmadon, catching him off guard as Zuri leapt down from her hiding spot to attack. Garmadon evaded these attacks and mocked the children as they surrounded him, remarking that while they had improved, it still wasn't enough. In response, Zuri ordered her friends to carry out their Plan B, and all four children turned to strike down a nearby tree, caving them inwards onto Garmadon. As he dealt with the falling trees, all four children lunged at him simultaneously, though he managed to knock them back with the Mallet of Shattering. Fortunately, Iriel had managed to snatch the scarf admist the chaos, much to Garmadon's bemusement as he conceded victory to them.
As the sun disappeared across the horizon, Warby, Iriel, and Balun prepared the boat that they would be using to search for their enemy. As they worked, the children discussed the future that awaited them once the Lycan King was defeated. While Warby and Iriel shared more optimistic views, Balun remained cautious and warned of the possibility that an unknown force had been pulling everyone's strings from the shadow. Elsewhere, Zuri returned to the wetlands in search of Garmadon and the two returned to the docks just in time to see Balun making fun of their master. Irritated by this discovery, Garmadon promptly ordered the boy to perform one thousand push-ups before turning back to Zuri who then asked her master about his plans once the Lycan King was defeated.
In response, Garmadon admitted he would return home to Ninjago but offered the children a proposal to return with him. Before any could respond to Garmadon's suggestion, an exhausted Buck Buck emerged from the forest and collapsed before the group. In panic, the children rushed to tend to the bird, learning from him that Asa had been kidnapped by the Lycan King!
Homecoming[]
Alongside Garmadon and Mama Mawa, the Children of the Wolf journeyed to Lupindor in search of Asa and the Lycan King. As they arrived outside the Hall of Wolves, the den of the Lycan King himself, Garmadon ordered the children to stay out of sight while he looked for Asa. Nevertheless, with some prodding by Mama Mawa, Zuri ordered the others to forgo Garmadon's orders and to instead take up vantage points across the ruined hall should an opportunity to strike present itself.
Meanwhile, Asa awoke atop the stone throne in the hall and was greeted by the Lycan King who offered the boy a large leaf to shield himself from the rain. As Asa began to wander about these empty, ruined halls, Garmadon caught sight of him and called out to him. Unfortunately, this also caught the attention of the Lycan King, instigating a fight between the two. As they fought, Zuri ordered her friends to strike now. The four then leapt from their hiding spots and attacked the Lycan King's Runes of Binding with Shatterspin. Although Zuri proclaimed victory, Warby pointed out that they had in actuality failed; their attacks had not been synchronized and as such, they failed to destroy the runes. Enraged by their attack, the Lycan King prepared to unleash a petrifying howl, releasing the blast towards Asa and Mama Mawa. The older children then ran ahead to protect their friend, throwing themselves in front of the blast as they were turned to stone.
Saddened by his friends' sacrifice, Asa's unleashed a powerful burst of Shatterspin against the Lycan King, striking the lycanthrope with enough force to knock him onto the ground while destroying all four Runes of Binding on his own! With the Spectral Crown corporeal once more, Garmadon attacked and knocked it from the Lycan King's brow, vowing not to allow his students' sacrifices be in vain. Unfortunately, Mama Mawa revealed "herself" to be, in actuality, Zaiden Kane, the arch-nemesis of the Wolf Clan. Kane then seized the crown and used it to take control once more over the Lycan King, aiming to resume their conquest of the Wyldness. Ordering the lycanthrope to unleash another howl at Garmadon, Asa dove in and saved him just in the nick of time. The two then fled from the Hall of Wolves into Lupindor, intending to make their way back to the Shadow Dojo. As they ran, the two destroyed one of the stone bridges that Kane and the Lycan King were crossing, dropping their foes into the waters below.
After arriving at the Shadow Dojo, Asa revealed to Garmadon that he could actually speak all this time, but hadn't had anything important to say. Aware of Garmadon's fears of ringing the gong, Asa donned a wolf mask and took the Mallet of Shattering from Garmadon before ringing the gong himself. As Kane and the Lycan King burst into the dojo, Asa turned to face the pair as the wolf mask he wore glowed with red light and was absorbed into his body. Now unleashing the true power of Shatterspin, Asa fought hard against Kane and the Lycan King, succeeding in stealing the Spectral Crown from Kane's head. With a final declaration, Asa crushed the crown between his hands, unleashing its stored energies as he, Kane, and the Lycan King were all enveloped in a blinding white light. When the light faded, all three were gone, leaving behind nothing but a burned scrap of Asa's clothing.
Asa's sacrifice however, would not be in vain. With the destruction of the Spectral Crown, the curse that had been beset upon the Wyldness was lifted, restoring all those who had been petrified by the Lycan King to life once more. As Garmadon's students entered the dojo and hugged him, exhilarated over their victory, Garmadon was left to sadly pass on the news of Asa's sacrifice. He and the children then mourned the loss of their friend.
Eventually, the day came to bid farewell to Garmadon. Gathering at the pool by the Stone Wolves, Garmadon expressed his pride in his students and how much he would miss the qualities that made them all unique, citing Zuri for her courage, Balun for his thoughtfulness, and Iriel for her sweet nature. Although he could not think of anything for Warby in particular, Garmadon simply settled with saying that he would miss the boy in his entirety. After exchanging some final, parting words to Zuri, the Wolf Clan informed Garmadon of their intentions to rebuild far away from here, with Zuri as their new leader. On that note, Garmadon bid his students farewell and departed for Ninjago once more, leaving them with a restored realm to call home and a new future to build.
