*468 years ago*

Nya's POV

I look down at the bags in my hand. Taking a deep breath in, I take in their flimsy, patched up material. The different shades of beige contrast with each other, the different patches being different colors. Mom and dad insisted that these raggedy bags would draw the least amount of attention in my travels, but I'm still a bit hesitant on their quality. Besides, if someone tries to rob me, I can protect myself anyways.

I look around my little shabby room for the last time for possibly decades. The clay brown walls stare at me, and the straw bed pressed up against the wall sends a wave of memories back into my head. It was on that bed that my parents first told me that I was an elemental master, that they told me that is why I would have to stay home after I turned 18. I wouldn't physically age after that, and people would notice.

Now, however, I'm receiving my 160th birthday present. When I told my parents I wanted to see the world, they were nothing less than terrified. However, after I reassured them that I would be fine and that I'd send letters, they hesitantly decided to let me go. They got me funding for about one month of food, shelter, and supplies. After that time, I either need to come home since I ran out of funding or make the money myself.

I walk out of my dusty room and into our main living area. My mom and dad are waiting in their wooden chairs, talking quietly to each other. When they hear my footsteps, their conversation immediately comes to a halt.

"It feels like just yesterday you were waddling around here and stealing your father's tools," Mom gives me a sad smile. "Now, look at you. You're all grown up."

"I'll be back soon. I could never leave you two alone for long," I give them a comforting smile. Being their only child, I'm not surprised that they're upset that I'm leaving.

"Before you leave, Nya, your mother and I would like to tell you something," my dad informs me. When he doesn't start telling me, I realize that he's waiting for me to sit, so I take the seat across from them.

"Do you remember what your mother and I told you a century or so ago about why I don't age like other humans?" my dad asks me. The hesitation in his eyes takes me back slightly.

"Yeah. Mom transfers some of her past elemental energy over to you which allows you to age at the same rate as her. Is that not true? It's clear that you don't have powers yourself" I question one of the fundamental pieces of information in my life. Once elemental powers are passed on to a new host, the previous elemental master begins to age at a slow rate. While Dad looks older than mom, they both age at the same rate.

"In the decades before you were born, there was a group of elemental warriors unlike any seen before them. Initially, there were only 4, the masters of earth, ice, lightning, and fire..."

"The elements of creation. Their powers are above any other powers out there. They're like if the other elemental powers were increased exponentially," I notice the pattern. My mother nods.

"Yes, but these 4 were even stronger than their predecessors of the same elements. United, they were a nearly unstoppable force. Then, a fifth master joined them, the master of energy, the one destined to save all of Ninjago from tyranny. The five of them together could take on hundreds of humans at a time, a force unseen in all of history. However, they always used their powers to protect, never to take or for malice.

They held a close alliance with the royal family at the time. The three princesses, Skylor, PIXAL, and Harumi each were in a relationship with one of them. While this would usually be an illegal practice, the king, Chen, allowed it. In his mind, it was fitting that his daughters would be with the strongest in all of the land. He would soon regret it though.

One day, the king went to check on his middle daughter, PIXAL, and walked in on an atrocity. PIXAL had been slain, her head thrown to the side of the room away from the rest of her body.

All throughout the room, there were signs of the elemental masters of creation there. There were sear marks on the walls and small fires around the room. Her head was ripped off messily, meaning it only could have been done through the pure superstrength that the master of earth possesses. The metal of her bedframe was electrically charged. Her body was as cold as ice, and all of her energy had been sucked out of her.

When the king called for the five of them to be captured and executed, the kingdom burst into chaos. The elemental warriors split and fled, using their powers as a means to escape the city. None of them were captured, and the other two princesses went missing that day as well..."

"I'm sorry, but what does this have to do with dad?" I interrupt my mom who took over the story.

"The master of fire. His name was Kai. He... he's your brother. He inherited my power," my dad drops a bomb on me. My eyes widen significantly.

"I...I have a brother?" the fact that I have a sibling alone sends me into a state of shock. I've always believed that I was an only child, but there was someone before me, someone who I had no idea existed. The discovery stuns me.

"You met him once when you were just a baby. He showed no signs of hostility. He loved you so much, but ever since the incident...we just couldn't trust him. He didn't try to come home. We haven't tried to bring him home, either. It's safer for all of us that way."

"There is still an association with the fire and water elements due to your mother and I. We don't want you to be dragged into the stigma of the elemental masters of creation, so we want to advise you to avoid using or telling anyone about your powers at all costs. We don't want you to be attacked or for whatever you built to be torn down because of it."

"Why did you keep him a secret from me?" I ask, deadpan. "I could've handled it."

"We didn't want you to look for him. If he turned on the royal family that he looked at like a family, he would have no problem hurting you," mom tells me. When I go to counter it, I realize that she's right. Now, I want to go out and find him, and especially a couple of decades ago, I wouldn't have been able to hold back. I take a deep breath.

"I won't look for him. I promise. I also won't tell anyone about my powers. I understand the dangers," I tell them. The two of them look between each other, surprised.

"That..was surprisingly easy," my mom folds her hands on her lap.

"I told you, I'm mature now. I can resist the temptation," I try to prove them right in their decision to let me go.

"Still, please be careful."

"I will be."

---

"Come on Zippy. We only have about a mile to go until we reach the town," I pet my horse. It's been a week's journey to this town, but it was necessary to go far. I have to make sure no one could possibly tie me back to my childhood. Zippy, however, hasn't been a fan of the long commute. He's huffing and puffing. Subtly, I use my powers to give him a bit of water, and that quenches his thirst. However, he's still fatigued.

The path down the forest is a bit dark, but I can see an opening in the distance, a tunnel of light. A few rays also find their ways through the holes in the trees, creating little specks of light on the ground.

I partially zone off as I finish the ride, trying to picture my life in this village. I haven't ventured outside of my property for over a century, let alone talked to anyone. I also don't know how society as a whole has advanced. When I last went into the town, everyone still lived off of subsistence farming just like my family still does. Things could be totally different now.

Gradually, a pain in my left shoulder appears. It's a dull sting at first, but the more time goes on, the more it hurts. "Geez, I haven't made it to town yet, and I'm already hurting."

Soon, I enter the town. It's a lot larger than the small town that my parents and I used to go to. Merchants are lined up further than the eye can see, trying to sell goods from food to clothes to luxury items. People play music in the center of a courtyard while others dance around them. The sight makes my eyes widen as I rub my shoulder to try to ease the pain.

"Let's find a place to rest," I tell Zippy. Dismounting him, I try to lead him through the crowd to find somewhere to spend the night. However, it's so dense that I have to travel around the periphery.

I try to search, but after hours, there's still nothing. Everyone has turned us down. The sky darkens into a black covering. I slump down against a wall, losing my drive. Additionally, the pain in my shoulder hasn't let up since I got here. I thought hydrating might help some, but it did nothing. It's contributed to my exhaustion. Now, more than ever, it starts to throb.

No one wanted to let a single woman and her horse spend the night at their establishment. They said that it would "give off the wrong image" because everyone assumed that I was running away from something, either my family or an engagement. They view it as a crime for a woman to be on her own, so they charged extra to compensate, and I couldn't afford that.

"The city isn't safe at night. Are you new in town?" a voice pulls me away from my thoughts. When I look up, I'm met with a man walking towards me, holding a lamp in his hand. He rubs his right shoulder before fixing his auburn hair. His blue eyes pierce into my soul. Something about him gives me a different vibe than everyone else in the town. My parents warned me about the deceit of city people, but my gut tells me that he isn't trying to use me.

"First night," I answer simply. The chill of the night explores my body, making me shiver from head to toe. "Every inn turned us down. They wanted over triple what my budget is."

"Sounds like them. Those Inn Masters are some of the greediest people I've ever seen, and I've seen some nasty people. One time, I watched them throw a mother and her child onto the streets because she gave birth on one of their beds. They're sickening, really," he elaborates, his words coming out of his mouth quickly. As he talks, I try to apply pressure to my shoulder to ease the pain.

"It's my first time going to a city since I was a little girl. I remember it being such a wonderful place," I say with nostalgia, "but now? Now I don't know what I'm going to do. These people act completely different to what I'm used to and have completely different customs."

"People these days are lacking hospitality. Isolating others and treating them poorly does nothing to help anything," he gives me a comforting smile, showcasing a view that distracts me from the conversation. I quickly try to regain myself. Out of everyone I've seen today, he's surely the most eye-catching, but I'm not here to look at boys. "If you want, I have an extra bed at my place and a stable for..." he drifts off, looking at my horse.

"Zippy."

"Zippy, a stable for Zippy. I have a horse named Wisp, and she would sure like a friend. You don't have to take the offer if you don't want to, of course, but I just thought that..."

I laugh a bit at his rambling, but then my parents' warnings fly into my brain. "What do you gain from this?"

"I won't have to worry about something happening to you the rest of the night, firstly," he starts, rolling back on his heels. The flicker of the flame from his lamp reflects against his eyes, contrasting the blue and the orange. "I'm also in need of company. I'm a bit much for a lot of people to handle, and it's been so long since I've had a friend..." the somber tone of his voice makes me feel bad for the man in front of me. He's very charming and charismatic. While he does seem to talk a lot, I can't see him being friendless. If anything, his seemingly extroverted nature would leave him with many friends.

My instincts take over, my gut driving me towards him. I stand up sticking out my hand for him to shake. "I'll take you up on that offer. I'm Nya, by the way."

He sticks his hand out to meet mine, and the second that his hand touches my skin, the pain, the sharpness in my shoulder, instantly floods out of my body. Instead, there is a slight zap in my hand at the initial contact, but it soon goes away.

I feel a pull towards him, a powerful draw that I'm unsure of. Yes, I find him very attractive physically, but it feels like more than that. It could possibly be that I haven't really had any positive interaction outside of my household until him.

My head starts spinning, and he seems a bit confused himself, probably at my reaction. "Nya, I like that name. I've only heard of it once before. I'm Jay."

A/N: Chapter 1! Definitely more of a context chapter, giving the backstory about the elemental masters.

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