Serpentine War

History[]

Prelude[]

Ancient conflicts[]

Over millennia of living in Ninjago, the Humans and the Serpentine lived separately, but in a fragile truce with no intentions of attacking one another. While neither side generally sought conflict with the other, both species, starting from the days of the ancient Serpentine under Mambo V, lived in total isolation from one another, with neither side crossing each other's borders.

Centuries before the war, the Serpentine tried to warn humans of the coming of the Golden Master. When humans refused to listen, the Serpentine tried to terrify them underground with the Great Devourer, who was ultimately defeated by the people of Ninjago and imprisoned in Ancient City of Ouroboros.^[2] Subsequently, tensions between humans and Serpentine increased, fueled by the isolation of both groups. Some of this tension was expressed in conflict, with some Serpentine and human forces clashing in small skirmishes.

Chen's scheming and the forming of the Elemental Alliance[]

In the early modern days of Ninjago, the sons of the First Spinjitzu Master, Wu and Garmadon, had gone their separate ways. Wu continued to reside and teach at their monastery, while Garmadon was in the teachings of Master Chen along with Clouse. At the time, tensions between humans and Serpentine were finally starting to die down, with even the Anacondrai tribe under Arcturus offering concessions for a truce between both species. However, Chen found the peace between the humans and Serpentine boring and wanted to pull some strings to provoke a conflict.^[3]

Chen and Clouse decided to continue their pursuit and collected numerous Anacondrai artifacts and clothes to imitate the Serpentine tribe, attacking human villages and stealing their supplies. By doing so, they intentionally encouraged the humans' distrust for the Serpentine. Wu and Mystake soon learned of these covert attacks and started recruiting Elemental Masters for an alliance that would fight the Serpentine if necessary. They approached several masters, including Sono, Leo, Benton, and Brook, who, however, as the only one, decided not to join their forces.^[4]

For centuries beforehand, the Serpentine tribes, namely Hypnobrai, Fangpyre, Venomari, Constrictai and Anacondrai, did not trust each other. Chen, who did not give up his plan to start the war, realized that the only way to start it was to unite all the tribes. This led to Chen later contacting the Anacondrai tribe - who, according to Pythor, were ready to agree to the truce and uphold it - with false information, claiming that the humans would use this truce as an opportunity to attack the Serpentine. As a result, Arcturus and the Anacondrai generals began preparing to fight the humans.^[5]

Around the same time, Chen realized that some Serpentine were trying to warn the humans of the Prophecy of the Golden Master who would destroy the world. One of these Serpentine, Strike, was approached by Chen who lied to her and told her the prophecy could only be prevented by studying stolen Serpentine artifacts, supposedly hidden by treacherous humans who stole them along with the snakes' culture. Strike believed him and met with all the Serpentine tribes' generals but the Anacondrai, including the Hypnobrai, the Fangpyre, the Venomari, and the Constrictai. Together, they decided to send some soldiers to Jamanakai Village due to its symbolic importance as a home of stories. However, they were only supposed to peacefully retrieve their artifacts from the villagers, not start a conflict.^[4]

Progress of the war[]

Battle of Jamanakai Village[]

When the Serpentine led by the Hypnobrai General and the Venomari General came to Jamanakai Village, they demanded the villagers to return the Serpentine artifacts to them. However, they were lied to by Chen and there were no valuables in the village. Clouse deliberately provoked the snakes by throwing vegetables at them, disguised as a villager, thus starting the first battle of the war. In response, the Serpentine started plundering the village and burning the buildings. Soon after this, the Elemental Alliance arrived to stop them, as Misako heard of the alleged arrival of the snakes to the village.^[4]

However, before the first battle began, Pythor, a low ranking Anacondrai opportunist,^[6] persuaded his tribe to oversee the march and join a conflict should one arise - a proposal which Arcturus and other tribal leaders, being already wary of the truce with humans due to Chen's misinformation, readily accepted. So, they built a camp of their own near the village and observed the encounter. After they saw the Alliance's arrival and how they almost defeated their brethren fighting in the village, the Anacondrai decided to mobilize against them to help the other Serpentine, entering Jamankai Village and thus giving their fellow Serpentine much-needed reinforcements. After the fight, the Anacondrai won the Battle of Jamanakai Village and the Alliance had to retreat to their camp.^[4] Chen informed Garmadon of the battle, and requested that he assist him and side with the snakes. Though the evil in Garmadon's veins tempted him, he resisted and denied Chen's request, subsequently leaving his master and venturing off to find a way to stop a potential conflict, coming to the Serpentine’s former realm called the Wyldness.^[3][7]

Smaller battles[]

Following the Serpentine's victory in Jamanakai Village, all the five tribes joined their forces and formed a massive army. They then started attacking the humans of Ninjago and fought many battles with the Elemental Alliance.

Villagers living near Headstone Road were faced off against the invading Venomari and Hypnobrai tribes. Although they couldn't defeat them alone, masters Benton and Hibernus came to aid and used their Earth and Ice powers to win this battle.^[4]

Libber, master of Lightning, and the citizens defended Tanaka City, fighting the Fangpyre and the Constrictai tribes. While they almost lost, the Time Twins came to help them and together they won the battle.^[4]

The Serpentine tried to access different parts of the Ninjago Island using boats sailing the Endless Sea, but Sound and Water masters Sono and Maya used their powers to sink their ships in the Battle of the Moon Springs, thus preventing them from occupying additional territories.^[4]

While all the tribes were losing to the Alliance, the Anacondrai managed to secure a victory over masters Wu, Ray, Leo, and Dusk, who weren't able to break through their army lines at the Black Cliffs. The Elemental Alliance thus had to retreat to an unknown village. However, Master Leo used his power of Form to shapeshift into an Anacondrai and worked as a spy. He then learned the Anacondrai's next move was to cross the Birchwood Forest.^[4]

Battle of Birchwood Forest[]

The Elemental Alliance, alongside Ninjago soldiers and rice farmers, came to the Birchwood Forest prepared with almost all their forces, waiting for the Serpentine to come. While waiting, Garmadon came to their help, finally returning from his quest, although with no success. Soon, the Anacondrai tribe led by General Arcturus came to the forest and after refusing Wu's terms to surrender, the battle had begun.^[3][4]

During the battle, Garmadon discovered that his former ally, Mogra the Tengu, had defected to the side of Chen and the Serpentine. Enraged, Garmadon fought against his former ally, fighting alongside his brother to defeat and capture him.^[8]

While the forces of both the humans and the Anacondrai were equal, the Alliance almost managed to force the Serpentine to retreat. As victory seemed imminent, Clouse secretly used his Dark Magic to control Benton, making him attack his own kind. Arcturus used this opportunity to regain the advantage in the battle, and with Benton on his side, he and the Anacondrai won the battle. With the alliance retreating, Benton built a giant Serpentine statue to celebrate the victory, before Clouse lifted his spell and Benton regained consciousness, horrified by his actions.^[3][4]

The final battle of Chen's monastery[]

The defeated alliance withdrew to Jamanakai Village. However, Garmadon noticed that one of the villagers was playing the flute and hypnotizing a snake in a basket. After being joined by Strike, who realized it was Chen manipulating both sides all along, the Elemental Alliance hoped to use similar flutes to impose a state of understanding and peace between the humans and Serpentine, and decided to invade Chen's library to find the remnants of the Sacred Flutes.^[4]

The Elemental Alliance went to Chen's monastery, guarded by the Anacondrai and General Arcturus. Strike tried to reason with him, but was unsuccessful, so the Alliance started fighting the Anacondrai, thus starting the final battle of the Serpentine War.^[4]

While fighting, Brook and Sono sneaked to Chen's library and used their powers to make replications of the Sacred Flutes, soon discovering that the flutes didn't foster empathy, but rather immobilized the Serpentine who held a desire to control humans in their heart. With the help of these flutes, they managed to control all the Serpentine in the monastery, wining the Serpentine War once and for all.^[4]

Aftermath[]

With the help of the Sacred Flutes, the Elemental Alliance managed to control all the Serpentine. Leo used the flute to control the Anacondrai in the Birchwood Forest and Ray escorted them to a tomb in the Sea of Sand, sealing the whole tribe except for the general there never to be freed again. Maya used her flute to guide the Venomari tribe to a tomb in the Toxic Bogs, Levi used the flute to escort the Constrictai tribe to a tomb on the top of the Mountain of a Million Steps, Libber used a flute to guide the Fangpyre tribe to a tomb beneath the Cemetery of Souls, and Hibernus locked away the Hypnobrai tribe in a tomb in the Glacier Barrens.^[4]

The war ended, and the trial began with the Anacondrai generals. The generals begged for mercy, arguing they were misled by Chen, but Mystake, who was one of three judges, rejected their request. Garmadon therefore used the Book of Spells and expelled the generals to the Cursed Realm so that they could no longer threaten Ninjago. Although Strike questioned whether she too should be banished to the Cursed Realm, Wu refused, arguing that the flute’s lack of effect on her proved her pure intentions, and that her actions proved an alliance between humans and Serpentine was still possible.^[4] Chen and Clouse were charged for their crimes and were exiled to a secluded island. With the war over, peace ensued in Ninjago.^[3]

Consequences[]

Over the next decades, humans completely forgot about the Serpentine and began to consider it just a legend.^[9] The Elemental Alliance disbandedand, and after Garmadon was completely overcome with evil by the Great Devourer's venom, Wu banished him to the Underworld.^[10] The Serpentine remained in their respective tombs, and the Anacondrai slowly died out, only survived by Pythor, who ate most of his kind in order to survive, and Strike. However, almost forty years after the war, little Lloyd Garmadon wanted to follow his father's example and released the Hypnobrai tribe.^[9] Skales would soon take command among the Hypnobrai and expel Lloyd, leading to a failed attempt by Lloyd to get revenge against the Hypnobrai by releasing the Fangpyre and leading them to an attack - which backfired as Fangtom, the Fangpyre general, had been friends with Skales prior to the war. Pythor freed the remaining Serpentine tribes after Lloyd, in a final moment of desperation, opened the Anacondrai Tomb. Pythor then took the title of Snake King and united the tribes, using them to gather the four Fangblades and release the Great Devourer, seeking revenge against the humans for imprisoning them in tombs.^[11] However, the Great Devourer would be killed instead by the likes of Garmadon who then subsequently took over leadership of the Serpentine.^[12]

Skales would then succeed Pythor as the new Snake King after usurping Garmadon only to trap the Serpentine in the Tomb of the Stone Army.^[13] During their imprisonment, the Serpentine had made peace with humans and committed themselves to living underground in isolation.^[2]

However, Chen prepared a plan on his island and later organized the Tournament of Elements,^[14] where he gathered all of the current Elemental Masters in Ninjago and stole their Elemental Powers, which he needed for the spell of transforming into Anacondrai.^[3] After this transformation, Chen began the Second Serpentine War, which ended with Garmadon's sacrifice and the exchange of his soul for the souls of the Anacondrai generals in the Cursed Realm.^[15]

Participants[]

Humans side[]

• Elemental Alliance
  • Sons of the First Spinjitzu Master
  • Ray
  • Maya
  • Hibernus
  • Libber
  • Benton
  • Dusk
  • Levi
  • Leo
  • Sono
  • Brook
  • Time Twins
• Ninjago soldiers
• Mogra (formerly)
• Strike

Serpentine side[]

• Serpentine
  • Anacondrai
    • Anacondrai generals
      • General Arcturus
    • Pythor
    • Strike (for the truce)
  • Hypnobrai
  • Fangpyre
  • Constrictai
  • Venomari
• Chen
• Clouse
• Mogra
• Benton (briefly; involuntarily)

Known battles[]

• Battle of Jamanakai Village
• Battle of Headstone Road
• Battle of Tanaka City
• Battle of the Moon Springs
• Battle of Black Cliffs
• Battle of Birchwood Forest

Appearances[]

Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu[]

Season 1: Rise of the Snakes[]

• 1. "Rise of the Snakes" (mentioned)
• 4. "Never Trust a Snake" (mentioned)
• 5. "Can of Worms" (mentioned)
• 6. "The Snake King" (mentioned)

Season 3: Rebooted[]

• 30. "The Curse of the Golden Master" (mentioned)

Season 4: Tournament of Elements[]

• 36. "Only One Can Remain" (mentioned)
• 40. "Spellbound" (flashback)
• 41. "The Forgotten Element" (mentioned)
• 42. "The Day of the Dragon" (mentioned)
• 43. "The Greatest Fear of All" (mentioned)
• 44. "The Corridor of Elders" (mentioned)

Season 7: The Hands of Time[]

• 66. "The Hatching" (flashback)
• 67. "A Time of Traitors" (mentioned)

Graphic novels[]

• Tomb of the Fangpyre (vision; non-canon)
• Ninjago: Strike of the Serpentine (flashback)

Comics[]

Ninjago: Garmadon[]

• 4. "The Snake in the Garden" (flashback)

Ninjago: Shatterspin[]

• 1. "The Wyldness" (pictured)
• 2. "The Lycan King" (mentioned)
• 5. "Homecoming" (mentioned)

Trivia[]

• Three parts of the Serpentine War's story have been told in the series.
  • In Rise of the Snakes, it is explained that the five tribes of Serpentine all fought against each other for rule over Ninjago.
  • In "The Curse of the Golden Master", Acidicus explains that all five of the tribes tried to warn the people of Ninjago about the coming of the Golden Master, but they thought the Serpentine were the enemy and that started the wars.
  • In a flashback from "Spellbound," all five of the tribes are seen working together against the Elemental Alliance, later revealed to have been tricked by Chen into fighting them.
  • The concept of the five tribes battling against each other is not mentioned in the later explanations of the wars.
    • Tommy Andreasen later clarified that the tribes fought amongst themselves before Chen united them.^[16]
• Ninjago: Strike of the Serpentine combines all previous versions and lore drops about the war and corrects/clarifies some inconsistencies between versions.
  • In Season 1: Rise of the Snakes, it was stated that the Serpentine were not united before the war and were fighting each other. Although this is not really the case, it is shown the Serpentine tribes were brought together because of the war and because of Strike's attempts.
  • In Season 1, it was also stated that the Sacred Flutes are as old as the Serpentine themselves and were created to combat them but in Season 4: Tournament of Elements it was implied they were already created beforehand while Garmadon got the idea to use the flutes when he saw one being used on a snake. This novel combines the two as the original flutes were made centuries before the war but they were lost and broken until Brook and Sono repaired them.
  • In Season 3: Rebooted it is stated that the war was caused because the humans did not listen to the Serpentine who tried to warn them about the the curse of the Golden Master. However, in Season 4 this was retconned/ignored as it was Chen who manipulated the Serpentine and the humans to fight each other. This novel again combines the two as Strike was trying to warn the humans about the curse and indirectly caused the war after being manipulated by Chen.
  • Characters from flashbacks from other installments (not just Season 4) also appear in this comic, including Libber, Acronix, and Krux from Season 7: The Hands of Time, and Mogra from Ninjago: Garmadon.
• While the conflict was referenced in several episodes of Rise of the Snakes, it was not referred to by name until Tournament of Elements. Similarly, its place in the timeline was not confirmed until it was revealed to have taken place 40 years ago in "The Hands of Time."
• The conflict is referred to as both the "Serpentine War" and "Serpentine Wars" throughout the series. It can be assumed that "Serpentine War" refers to the conflict as a whole while "Serpentine Wars" refers to the conflict as a series of battles, though there is not much difference between these two.
  • The war was also known as the Anacondrai Wars, as Lloyd called it that way in "The Forgotten Element."
• When asked if Misako fought in the Serpentine War, Tommy Andreasen said "[she] may have been involved in some civil resistance, but the EMs were in charge."^[17]
  • Misako's implication in the war was finally confirmed and shown in Ninjago: Strike of the Serpentine.
• The war serves as a very important event in Ninjago's history and the storyline. It serves as the backstory for Season 1, Season 4, and for some events in Season 7. It also helps to explain the Golden Master in Season 3 and serves as the motivations for the majority of Serpentine villains.
• The events of this war are taught to students in Ninjago's schools.^[18]
  • It's possible that it was added to the curriculum after the Ninja had finished their educations, as they were largely unaware of the events of the war prior to its introduction in the show, and had debated whether or not the Serpentine were real in the first place before encountering them for the first time.^[9]

• Tommy Andreasen had previously explained in a tweet that the Serpentine tribes were constantly at war with one another before Chen united them under Arcturus’s command. Strike of the Serpentine slightly alters this account by showing that Chen urged Strike to unite the Serpentine tribes even though they did not get along, and later in the war, these tribes placed themselves under Arcturus’s command following the victory at Jamanakai, which was secured thanks to the intervention of the Anacondrai.^[16]
  

Gallery[]

The images on Serpentine War need to be organized. You can help the Wiki by adding images to the appropriate section on "Serpentine War." This template can be removed once images have been organized.

In Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu[]

Season 3: Rebooted[]

Season 4: Tournament of Elements[]

In Tomb of the Fangpyre (non-canon)[]

In Ninjago: Garmadon[]

In Ninjago: Strike of the Serpentine[]

Translations[]

Language	Name
French	Guerre des Serpents
Japanese	ヘビヘビ戦争 (S4) ヘビヘビの戦い (S4, S7)

References[]