Tests and Trials

Official description[]

Three original stories featuring exclusive content and focusing on events from the brand-new LEGO® NINJAGO® storyline (2023 Dragons Rising season), filling in the TV show storyline-a treat for existing and new fans. Revisiting some well-known characters and introducing new heroes, these stories describe their adventures shortly after a mysterious and unpredictable phenomenon, known as the Merge.^[3]

Plot[]

Dragon Riding[]

Lloyd told Arin and Sora that they would be practicing dragon riding today. Lloyd urged them to practiced their jump, punch, and kick techniques while in flight. Arin was surprised by this challenge and asked when they would ever be doing any of those while riding a dragon, to which Lloyd admitted they likely never would. Sora however surmised that the exercise was to teach them balance and focus rather than fighting - a claim Lloyd hastily agreed with. Wyldfyre then stepped out into the courtyard and mocked the exercise, stating derisively that neither focus nor balance were required to ride dragons. When Arin asked her for advice, Wyldfyre pretended to fall asleep and began snoring loudly, much to his dismay.

The two young ninja then began their training, with Sora riding atop of Zanth and Arin atop of Jiro. Arin was nervous, however, for he had so far only ridden dragons alongside the older ninja and never by himself. To make matters worse, Jiro was uncooperative with Arin's attempts at riding him and Wyldfyre openly told Arin that he was approaching things all wrong. Arin once again asked her for advice, to which Wyldfyre stated that she already was providing it. Arin then stormed off in frustration.

The next day, Zane took over the lesson and taught Arin and Sora how to jump onto a dragon, demonstrating by leaping onto the back of the Mountain Dragon. Sora successfully followed with Zanth, while Arin attempted to jump onto Jiro. Although he was able to land atop of Jiro's back, he soon fell off when the dragon flapped his wings. Zane advised Arin to think less and to trust his instincts; Arin then followed Zane's advice, but after an hour of continuous failure, he was ready to give up. Wyldfyre again seemingly mocked Arin's efforts, hollering that he was approaching things all wrong, only irritating the boy further. When he started venting to Sora about Wyldfyre's lack of help, Sora suggested that perhaps Wyldfyre really was offering Arin advice the whole time and pointed to how Wyldfyre's interactions with Heatwave were vastly different than Arin's interactions with Jiro. She suggested that Wyldfyre was trying to demonstrate to Arin that he needed to first bond with the dragon he was trying to ride rather than treating the dragon as nothing more than a mount.

Arin acknowledged Sora's words, but before he could try to practice again, Lloyd rushed into the courtyard and shouted for everyone that they had to get going, as another MergeQuake had been spotted. Arin protested that he was not ready yet, but had to start bonding with Jiro now rather than practicing. Arin offered Jiro a melon, but Jiro rejected it. Wyldfyre then urged Arin to be himself and Arin rushed into the monastery to retrieve one of his pies. Jiro accepted the pie and allowed Arin to climb atop his back. The group then set out in the skies, with Arin practicing his jump, punch, and kick routine in the air and proclaiming that he was on his way toward becoming a real ninja.

The Most Important Thing[]

Bonzle asked Cole to bring her a femur bone - a request that confused Cole. He asked her three times to confirm, and each time, Bonzle only stated flatly that it was important. Knowing that this was her final answer, Cole set out deeper into the Land of Lost Things in search of a femur bone.

After walking about for a moment, Cole encountered the Hoarder, prompting him to undertake his golem form to fight the mechanical beast. As he fought, Cole spotted a femur bone lying in a pile of junk behind the Hoarder. Unfortunately, the Hoarder was far too powerful for Cole to defeat, and too fast for him to go around it to retrieve the bone. As the Hoarder's attacks became increasingly aggressive, Cole retreated back to the Rookery without the femur.

Upon returning to the Rookery, Cole found Bonzle lounging on the couch. She asked him if he had obtained the femur yet, to which Cole gasped between breaths that he was unable to, for it was in the Hoarder's possession. He tried to ask again about the bone's importance to Bonzle, but she would only reply by shrugging her shoulders and saying it "just was" important to her. Although this was not the answer Cole wanted to hear, he replied after catching his breath that if it really was that important to Bonzle, he would get it for her. Confronting the Hoarder again, Cole opted this time not to undertake his golem form, allowing him to more easily maneuver and dodge the Hoarder's attacks. When Cole reached the femur bone, the enraged Hoarder knocked the entire junk pile over, burying Cole beneath it, and tried to snatch back the femur. Fortunately, Fritz and Spitz arrived just in time to distract the Hoarder, buying enough time for Cole to escape. As he and the children ran, he asked them how they found him, to which they replied that Bonzle had sent them.

A few moments later, the three arrived in the Rookery and Cole handed the femur to Bonzle. She thanked him and added it to a cabinet containing hundreds of neatly stacked femur bones - a sight that shocked Cole into complaining about the importance of Bonzle's request. Bonzle replied that "bones are really useful," before plopping back onto the couch with Fritz and Spitz. Cole laughed in reply and Bonzle then asked him to bring back a carved bowl, emphasizing that it was "really important."

The Missing Mask[]

Inside the Shadow Dojo, Ras muttered to Jordana and Cinder that the Blood Moon would soon rise, and soon they would be able to release the Forbidden Five. Ras then sat atop a large throne and looked to the smaller, uglier throne adjacent to it. Turning back towards Jordana and Cinder, he wondered aloud which of the two would become his new second-in-command. Both of them immediately started dashing towards the smaller throne, with Cinder using his power of Smoke to reach the seat first. Jordana then landed on Cinder's lap and refused to budge, even trying to apply more weight in an effort to force him out of the throne. As the two continued to bicker like children, Ras groaned that this was not how he had envisioned his day going.

Sometime later, Ras called Jordana and Cinder to him. He showed them a rack of Wolf Masks and informed them that one was missing; whoever found the missing mask would become his right hand. Ras then gave each of them an instrument and a map before bidding them to begin their challenge. As the two left and continued to bicker, Ras let out another groan.

Jordana then opened the dial and watched as it rotated between several numbers, finally settling down on the number four. Realizing that the dial's turns were a code, she opened up the map and saw that it depicted the layout of the Shadow Dojo with numbers marking various areas. Following the clues, Jordana rushed to the underground tunnels, only to discover that Cinder had already beaten her there. Cinder told Jordana that the mask wasn't here, but rather another clue depicting a raging river. Cinder transformed into smoke and vanished down the closest tunnel while Jordana inspected a glowing star design, triggering a booby trap set up by Cinder in the process. The chamber began to fill with thick ash and Jordana ran out, choking on the smoke that now blinded her eyes. Although she could not see, Jordana heard the sound of a rushing river nearby and hurried over, dipping her hands into it to wash her face. Unfortunately, this was the wrong river and was actually a rushing stream of mud! Cinder mocked her efforts and pushed her into the mud stream, where she was swept away.

When Jordana finally reached dry land, she was cold and covered head to toe in mud. However, she refused to give up and spotted a glowing star just like the one from the etching she had seen earlier. Climbing her way upward, Jordana discovered the wolf mask and retrieved it before running all the way back to the Shadow Dojo and Ras' chambers. As she began to present the mask to Ras, Cinder entered from behind in his smoke form and snatched the mask from Jordana's hands before taking the smaller throne. Angered, Jordana swiped some of the mud from her body and threw it at Cinder, pelting him with it. She shouted in victory and began throwing more mud at Cinder who rose from the seat and assumed a fighting stance. Ras however stopped both of them and quietly whispered to Jordana that one day, the smaller throne would be her's. He then produced a hose and washed down both Jordana and Cinder, grumbling that they were both very smelly.

Appearances[]

Characters[]

• Arin
• Bonzle
• Cinder
• Cole
• Fritz
• Geo (mentioned)
• Jordana
• Lloyd
• Ras
• Sora
• Spitz
• Sweeper
• Wyldfyre
• Zane

Creatures[]

• Heatwave
• Jiro
• Zanth

Species[]

• Dragons
  • Djinjagan Dragons
  • Fire Dragons
  • Lightning Dragons
  • Mountain Dragons
• Humans
• Nindroids
• Oni/Dragon/Human hybrids
• Spells
• Tigers

Locations[]

• Imperium
  • Land of Lost Things
    • Rookery
• Ninjago
  • Mountains of Impossible Height
    • Monastery of Spinjitzu
      • Dragon stables (mentioned)
• Wyldness
  • Forest of Spirits
    • Shadow Dojo

Trivia[]

• The book was originally titled "Stories from Different Realms."
• The story "Dragon Riding" states that Arin never rode a dragon on his own, which means that it takes place between "The Battle of the Second Monastery" and "The Temple of the Dragon Cores."

Errors[]

• Despite the second story taking place before the events of Season 1, Cole uses his Elemental Golem without Geo's help.
• Jiro is described as being a purple dragon when his scales are dark blue.

Gallery[]

Translations[]

Language	Name
German	Sieg über Monster und Drachen

References[]