Way of the Departed

*“It is cold and I am freezing.”*

— The beginning of Cole's constant dream

## Magazine Cover

**Way of the Departed** is a could-be-canon spin-off of *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.* It was originally released on October 29th, 2017. Cole is the focus Ninja of the installment and Clouse is the main antagonist. It is currently ongoing.

It is intended to be a midquel between the Master Trials arc and the Oni Trilogy arc. It focuses on Cole discovering the origin of his ghost scar, and how it ends up fading away between seasons.

It is preceded by *The Hands of Time* and followed by *Sons of Garmadon*.

## Plot Summary

Cole discovers the origin of his ghost scar and more about the ancient and dark magic that Sensei Yang used to create Airjitzu, known as Edo Magic.

## Characters

* Alyce
* Cole - Kirby Morrow
* Claire
* Clouse - Scott McNeil
* Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
* Kai - Vincent Tong
* Jerahn
* Karlof - Scott McNeil
* Kodokuna Yang - Michael Donovan
* Lloyd Garmadon - Sam Vincent
* Milo
* Misako - Kathleen Barr
* Morro - Andrew Francis
* Nuckal - Brian Drummond
* Nya - Kelly Metzger
* P.I.X.A.L./Samurai X - Jennifer Hayward
* Ronin Kognito - Brian Dobson
* Seliel
* Seliel's father
* Wu - Paul Dobson
* Zane - Brent Miller

## Battles

* Alyce vs. Skulkin & Karlof
* Cole vs. Clouse
* Seliel & Cole vs. Skulkin
* Cole vs. Karlof

## Locations Visited

* Endless Sea (dream)
	+ Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master
		- Ice labyrinth
* Ninjago
	+ Temple of Airjitzu
	+ Nom
	+ Forest of Tranquility
		- Fire Temple
* Underworld

## Chapters

* *WotD #1*
* *WotD #2*
* *WotD #3*
* *WotD #4*
* *WotD #5*
* *WotD #6*
* *WotD #7*
* *WotD #8*
* *WotD #9*
* *WotD #10*
* *WotD #11*
* *WotD #12*
* *WotD #13*
* *WotD #14*
* *WotD #15*
* *WotD #16*
* *WotD #17*
* *WotD #18*
* *WotD #19*
* *WotD #20*
* *WotD #21*
* *WotD #22*
* *WotD #23*
* *WotD #24*

## Notes

* Tommy Andreasen explained he was keeping the novel non-canon for now in order protect his creative autonomy when developing it, though it may be able to be accepted as canon once it's completed. He later stated, "It is written to not contradict canon. And supply some answers if you consider it canon."
	+ Previously, Tommy Kalmar called the novel "Cool fan fiction" and Tommy Andreasen described it as "off-canon".
		- At one point, Andreasen noted the possibility of *Way of the Departed* being published along with another book, in the same way *The New Ninja* included two stories written by fans.
* Andreasen considered the concepts in the novel too dark to be used in the series.
	+ Its story was never meant to be an episode or a part of the series, as it is made without any official LEGO involvement.
* Lar is mentioned in Chapter 4 the novel. Seliel tells Cole he was visiting Nom, claiming to be the Master of Water, a reference to his role in the non-canon book he appeared in. It's implied that this book was a story written by Lar himself.
* Chapter 17 originally had Cole remembering the Tiger Widow, but a fan pointed out Cole would not remember the events of Skybound, so Andreasen changed it.
* As of September 1, 2020 (Chapter 22 being the most recent chapter), Andreasen stated he was around 2/3 or the way through writing it. He would later state that he had around 10 chapters left to write.
* The fate of the Temple of Airjitzu will be explained by the end of the story.
* When Andreasen finishes the book, he will revise all chapters to fit with the current lore explained in the show, such as the fact that enough Traveler's Tea has now been shown in "*The Kaiju Protocol*" to open a portal to the Departed Realm despite Yang's statement in Chapter 2 that Traveler's Tea is not enough.
* This is the third occasion of Clouse being main antagonist of an installment. The first being *The Realm of Shadows*, then *The Dark Island Trilogy*.

## Continuity

While the novel is not canon to the television series, it does offer some possible explanations and additions to the main storyline.

* This story takes place half a year after the end of *The Hands of Time*.
* As explained in Chapter 21, Airjitzu draws on Edo magic, which is a dark form of magic, which is why the ninja don't use it after *The Hands of Time*, with the exception of once in Prime Empire, which was digital, meaning no magic was involved.
	+ Because Edo magic draws on dark earth magic, that is how Airjitzu was formed, because it allows the user to escape from the earth. It also explains partially why the Temple of Airjitzu continues to float in the air.
* In Chapter 6, Zane makes note that summoning Elemental Dragons has become harder for the ninja to achieve. He theorizes that this has to do with the loss of Master Wu (presumably because the Ninja were constantly afraid they wouldn't be able to find him,) but is for the most part unsure. This helps explain why these dragons don't appear as of *Sons of Garmadon*, though it doesn't explain why they don't use them after Wu returns, or why Wu doesn't use his own dragon.
* Yang's students had names and lived in villages that were destroyed by Edo magic during their imprisonment in the Temple.
	+ Three have been named so far; Jerahn, Alyce and Milo.
		- Jerahn is the ghost student that Cole called "Chuck."
	+ It is also revealed that they also retain the same scar that Cole received, except theirs is like a real scar, faded into their skin.
		- While the novel has yet to be completed, it may provide insight as to how and why Cole's scar has faded into his skin as of Season 8.
* The novel suggests that Chen and Clouse manipulated Krux and Acronix after the Serpentine War into going against the Elemental Alliance and informed them where the eggs of the Great Devourer were. This was originally a scrapped idea for Season 7.
* In Chapter 22, Ronin is said to have a family with a wife and a daughter. He also says that Clouse threatening their safety is the reason he kidnapped Zane and P.I.X.A.L..
	+ It is also suggested in this chapter that Ronin's supposed encounter with the Ninja happened *before* the events of *Rebooted*, which means that their first encounter with Ronin could not be during the events of *The Shadow of Ronin*, which takes place before Season 5.
	+ Ronin's last name is revealed to be "Kognito."
* This is the first mention of Wojira and Cole's mother, both of whom would go on to have more prominent roles in the following seasons.
* It is revealed that the scar on Cole's forehead is a rift that leads to the Departed Realm. Cole has constant dreams of the rift opening and consuming Ninjago, and Master Yang gets involved to stop it from happening.
* Chapter 1 reveals that since Master Wu's disappearance, Lloyd began training more intensely, and his eyes began to glow green.
	+ This is meant to explain this design variation as of Season 8.
* It is explained that the reason Cole shifts from using a scythe to a hammer is because the hammer was a gift from his father.
* Chapter 3 reveals that Lloyd split the Ninja up into search parties to go after Master Wu. This connects to Season 8, where it begins with each Ninja in their respective search parties looking for their lost Master.
* Jay theorizes that someone named "Ekosan" is the new Samurai X and then denies having said this. This is likely a reference to Echo Zane, with Jay denying it because no one remembers the events of Skybound except for him and Nya. Another guess of his is that Samurai X's identity is that of P.I.X.A.L., which is alluded to in the Season 8 episode "*Dead Man's Squall*," where her identity is revealed and he says "I knew it!"
* Seliel, the "Phantom Ninja" from *Who is the Phantom Ninja?*, appears in this novel.
	+ This is but one of the conflicts to current canon that this book entails, as Seliel and the events of that book are considered non-canon.
	+ This novel also makes reference to the events of this book several times.
* Since *The Dark Island Trilogy*, Clouse has become King of the Underworld and began a plan to escape using Cole. His plan is to accumulate Edo magic in the village of Nom by erecting old Edo buildings to cause Cole's scar to erupt, letting him back into Ninjago as well as other Edo Sorcerers, use the bodies of the Nom villagers as hosts, and together they will take over Ninjago. Cole only went to Nom in the first place because his scar was giving him trouble, possibly because of the time he spent in the Temple of Airjitzu, which is connected to Edo magic.
	+ It gets revealed that ghosts need hosts to cling onto Ninjago, which is the reason why Cole began fading away during the Day of the Departed.
	+ Cole's connection to the Temple of Airjitzu, and the pain it causes his scar may explain why the Ninja do not return there after Season 7.
* Misako reveals that they discovered P.I.X.A.L. in the computers at the Samurai X Cave, and she has since been transferred to the Ninja's main computer system. Though she has been found, they are still unaware at this time that she is Samurai X.
* Lloyd discovers through notes that Wu left behind that they will have to reteach Spinjitzu to him. Though they don't know it yet, this is because Wu has become a baby after being touched by the Reversal Time Blade.
* Claire's mother's description of the Departed Realm from Chapter 18 matches the appearance of the Grasslands from "*Endings*."
* In Chapter 18, Wu speculates that there may not be any Dragons left in Ninjago. This is confirmed not to be the case as of *The Island* considering that Zippy is living on the Island of the Keepers.
* The events of Season 1 are referenced when Claire remarks that the entrance to the Underworld through the Fire Temple has been blocked due to an eruption, referencing the events of "*The Green Ninja."*
	+ It is further revealed in this scene that the entrance to the Underworld through the temple is the same kind of "back door" from the Wailing Alps to the Cloud Kingdom, featured in Season 5.