Nyad

*Not to be confused with the episode.*
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> Why are you sad? You have everything. You are eternal and endless. You are an ocean full of wonder and life. Your former body is a small and frail thing. Why would you want to go back to it?
>
> Nyad to Nya, "The Call of Home"

## Information

### Species

Merlopian (formerly)
Living incarnation of the sea

### Family

Maya (descendant)
Kai (descendant)
Nya (descendant)

### Voiced by

Andrea Libman

**Nyad** is the embodiment of the Endless Sea and the first Elemental Master of Water. She was a Merlopian warrior who once defeated Wojira.

## History

### Prior to the series

Nyad was the first Elemental Master of Water and was able to control whales and ride on their backs. During the Battle of Nine Days, Nyad sacrificed herself by becoming one with the Endless Sea and took the Storm and Wave Amulets from Wojira. It was thought she disappeared afterwards and was never heard from again. She actually still exists as a water spirit and spent the next several thousand years exploring the Endless Sea. Eventually, she forgot who she was, but did knew she had merged with the sea.

Maya and Ray named Nya after her. When Nya was a child, Maya told Nya of Nyad's tale.

### The Call of Home

As Nya swims in the Endless Sea, Nyad comes up to her and greets her. Nya questions who Nyad, is, to which Nyad responds that she was one with the sea like Nya. Nyad says that she has been watching Nya, and questions Nya's actions regarding saving a man from drowning.

Nyad guides Nya to a sunken ship, and advises her to look above to the surface. Nya tries to get Nyad to remember who she once was, a warrior who single-handily defeated Wojira. However, Nyad doesn't remember that, and wants Nya to listen to the whales. Nyad explains to a desperate Nya that there is no way for her to return to her life on the surface, and tells her that the ocean is their home.

Nyad tries to convince a sad and disappointed Nya that she is eternal and endless, an embodiement of the ocean that is full of life and wonder, while her body was small and fraile. She explains to Nya that the sea is connected to their powers, and there is no way they could be given up. Although she thinks it is possible for Nya to give up her powers to return back to normal, she wonders what Nya would be without them.

She wishes Nya good luck on her return back home.

## Other appearances and mentions

### A Big Splash

Wu told the ninja about Nyad and how she defeated Wojira.

### Riddle of the Sphinx

Benthomaar asked Nya if she could control whales, like Nyad. He then explained the tale again, and Maya said that she told Nya the story when she was a child.

### Master of the Sea

Benthomaar tells the ninja how Nyad was able to defeat Wojira by merging with the Endless Sea, which ultimately sealed her fate as she could not return to her original form.

### Nyad

While the ninja were hiding from Kalmaar and Wojira, Nya asked Benthomaar how Nyad became one with the sea to defeat Wojira. Benthomaar highly advised that Nya not think about merging with the sea, as she would lose herself if she did so, just like Nyad did before her.

## Personality

Very little is known about Nyad's personality. But it could be implied that before she merged with the sea, she was once a heroic and sacrificial heroine willing to do anything to defeat Wojira and free the realm from her.

After being stuck in her new form for thousands of years, Nyad underwent a significant change in her personality and lost all memory of her identity. Although she is not evil, Nyad still lost a sense of morality, as shown in "The Call of Home" most likely due to the merger with the Endless Sea with associated memory loss when she believed it was neither right nor wrong if people died in the ocean and questioned Nya for rescuing a man who fell off a boat in a storm.

Nevertheless, Nyad is friendly and has some level of compassion when she helps Nya regain a sense of her old self and comforts her when it seems that she could never return to her human form and leaving Nya on a positive note wishing her good luck.

## Official description

### The Legend of Nyad

*The first Elemental Master of Water—and Nya’s ancestor—was a brave Merlopian warrior named Nyad. She fought her greatest battle deep in the Endless Sea against an enormous sea serpent called Wojira. Legend says that long ago, the monster was awakened and Nyad defeated her on the last day of the Battle of Nine Days. To do so, Nyad had to lose herself in her elemental power and become one with the sea. She was never seen again.*

### Allies

* Merlopians
* Islanders
* First Spinjitzu Master
* Whales
* Nya

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### Enemies

* Wojira

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## Appearances

### *Ninjago*

#### Season 14: Seabound

* 165. "A Big Splash" (pictured)
* 174. "Riddle of the Sphinx" (mentioned)
* 176. "Master of the Sea" (flashback)
* 179. "Nyad" (mentioned)
* 180. "The Turn of the Tide" (mentioned)

### Ninjago Magazine

* 81. *Mech vs Monster!* (flashback)
* 91. *Water Dragon!*

## Etymology

Her name is originated from the name of nymphs from Greek myth who presided over fresh water, naiads. Meanwhile, the name of the latter derives from νάειν, "to flow," or νᾶμα, "running water." Her name may also be a reference to a fictional water elemental from *DC Comics*. However, the most likely reason why she was so named is that it comes from the name of her successors, Nya.

## Behind the scenes

* In the Czech dubbing of "Riddle of the Sphinx," her name is misspelled as Nya.

## Trivia

* Nya is named after her.
* Despite being a Merlopian, Benthomaar's story depicts her with purple skin, similar to a Keeper's.
* The markings on her face before the merging with the Endless Sea are similar to Benthomaar's.
* Chronologically, she is the first known Elemental Master to not be human, though Zane precedes her when going by debut appearances.
* She is the first original Elemental Master to be named.
* In "The Turn of the Tide," Kalmaar pronounces her name as "Ny-ad" rather than the normal "Nee-ad." This is a reference to the name's origin.
* The symbol on her helmet is the same as the golden medallion on Kalmaar and Benthomaar's chest, as well as Trimaar's crown.
	+ It is likely that this symbol is simply a representation of Merlopia in general.
* In *The Book of Elemental Powers*, it is stated she was Nya's ancestor. However, Tommy Andreasen later confirmed that they are not related but it is unknown it's a lie.

## Gallery

### Design variants

Nyad pre merge.pngPre-mergingNyad Ep176.jpegMerged with the Endless Sea (Past)Nyad post merge.pngMerged with the Endless Sea
### Season 14: Seabound

Ninjago–A Big Splash–6’53”.pngWojira Ep165.jpegNinjago–Master of the Sea–1’13”.pngNinjago–Master of the Sea–1’23”.pngNinjago–Master of the Sea–1’26”.pngNinjago–Master of the Sea–1’31”.pngScreenshot 2021-04-28 9.12.15 PM.pngScreenshot 2021-04-28 9.12.17 PM.pngNyad merging with the Endless SeaNinjago–Master of the Sea–1’40”.pngScreenshot 2021-04-28 9.12.20 PM.pngNinjago–Master of the Sea–1’42”.pngNinjago–Master of the Sea–1’49”.pngScreenshot 2021-04-28 9.13.10 PM.png
### Season 15: Crystalized

Crystalized–The Call of Home–3’04”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–3’30”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–4’08”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–4’41”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–7’44”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–7’54”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–8’30”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–8’50”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–9’03”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–9’23”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–9’30”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–9’42”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–9’54”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–10’00”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–10’14”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–10’25”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–10’28”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–10’33”.pngCrystalized–The Call of Home–10’39”.png
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Riddle of the Sphinx"
2. ↑ "Master of the Sea"
3. ↑ *The Book of Elemental Powers*
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1533120470224101376

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