#maaray

[tsarbomba567]

I have an idea for another Serpentine tribe: The Hydrophiline.

They're an aquatic Serpentine tribe that can swim and live both underwater and on land. They are a maritime people, whom excel at the art of shipbuilding, navigation, and trade. The Hydrophiline also partake in scavenging shipwrecks, where they retrieve and reverse engineer the technologies that the defunct ship used. They contain some of the best admirals the Serpentine have at their disposal. They're also the best when it comes to naval combat, whether it be boarding or getting boarded by enemy combatants, or ship-to-ship fighting. Their venom is unique compared to the other Serpentine, since those bitten by a Hydrophiline become paralyzed, with the only known cures to be either a blend of sea and land herbs or the antivenom from the Hydrophiline Staff.

In terms of height, they can range from anywhere to 6'6" to 8'2". As for colouration, they can range from having a yellow belly and brown back, cream to black, or uniform dark grey with white sides; their colouration widely varies.

The precursor to the Hydrophiline are the Maarays. These Serpentine-looking eels were Wojira's attempt to create her own Serpentine species due to jealousy. After the Devourer found out about Wojira's Maarays, she helped Wojira create her own Serpentine species, and thus the Hydrophiline were born. The majority of the Maaray population used to live with the Merlopains, with the rest either living in isolated communities or living with the Hydrophiline, but after the Wojira Incident, some of the Merlopain Maarays decided to leave to either leave for the isolated Maaray villages or join the Hydrophiline.

More under the cut.

During the First Serpentine War, the Hydrophiline commandeered Elemental Alliance boats and blockaded human ports; luckily the human prisoners they took were treated very well (and were eventually released) compared to their mainland brethren. The clashes that followed favored the Hydrophiline, and the humans - seeing that they couldn't tackle the seafaring tribe head on - decided that the best course of action would be to avoid the Hydrophiline, not fighting them since the Alliance was guaranteed to lose any engagement with them. So when the mainland Serpentine surrendered to the Elemental Alliance, the Hydrophiline staged several landings on the Ninjago mainland, aiming to set their surface-dwelling brothers free. The results of this operation were mixed. Some landings were a success, others stalled, and a few naval invasions were Gallipoli-like disasters. Eventually the Hydrophiline had to withdraw, and they begrudgingly settled for a white peace, where the sea Serpentine weren't allowed onto the Ninjago mainland. They could only watch as the land-dwelling Serpentine were locked away in their respective tombs.

After the war's end, the Hydrophiline went on to explore undiscovered lands, as well as scrounging up anything from ships sunk during the war. The years that followed saw them get hands on new technologies from fresh shipwrecks; from one of these they got a radio working, and they used it to get details on events occuring on mainland Ninjago. With each shipwreck, the tribe got more on par technologically with the humans. It wouldn't be long until they get wind of the Serpentine's release, as well as Devourer being unleashed and killed, and so on. Sometime later, they heard radio chatter between two humans about the Tournament of Elements.

It was this radio chatter that led them to discover Chen's insidious plot to use the Tournament as a means of becoming fake Anacondrai and take over all of Ninjago. The Hydrophiline - whom had bugged the Cultists' lines of communication - decided to plan for ways to subvert Chen's plans via clandestine sabotage. They would jam communications between Chen and his forces, as well as damage some of their vehicles and ships to malfunction, poison some of their rations with Hydrophiline venom, and so on. These subtle acts of sabotage slowed down the Cultists long enough for the Elemental Alliance to muster their forces. This of course frustrated Chen, who wanted a quick war; this was on top of reports of some of their ships mysteriously sinking on their way to Ninjago from his island. Chen's plans were fruitless, since in the end he and the Cultists were banished to the Cursed Realm by the Anacondrai Generals.

Through all of this, the Hydrophiline managed to keep a low profile. No one suspected them as the reason for the Cultists' slow advance, nor were they implicated in the sinking of some of Chen's ships (which the Hydrophiline then scavenged the hell out of).

After the end of the Second Serpentine War, the sea Serpentine went back to their normal routine of surveying the mainland, while scavenging shipwrecks and going on expeditions to unexplored lands. Recently though, they have started to trade with the Merlopains, but after the Wojira Incident, ties between the two were temporarily cut. As the two sides began to slowly reestablish diplomatic and economic ties, they get an unexpected visit from a merchant ship called the SS Anton. After the sailors of the vessel - a mixture of humans, Serpentine, and Turned - greet the Hydrophiline, the admiral of the ship delivers a message to the sea Serpentine's leader, informing them about the existence of the Republic of Mu, and how they're offering diplomatic and economic ties in exchange for the Hydrophiline sharing their naval tech with the Mulians, who would use them for defensive and civilian use. After some debate, the leader of the tribe agrees to the terms, so long as they can overlook the construction of any warships.

[tsarbomba567]

Here's some more background on my other Serpentine side OCs, Jack, Elizabeth, and Elijah.

Jack

This creative, modernist red Vermillion is an unusual specimen compared to the rest of his brethern. For a start, Jack - 27 years old and 6 foot 6 inches tall - isn't made up of little snakes like the others, but rather looks to be a Serpentine (though he can turn into a singular snake at will); he also has a hood similar to the Great Devourer's. Combined with the fact that he didn't have the Devourer's appetite to consume everything, as well as having a free will (aka not part of the Vermillion hivemind), he was mocked for not being like the others. All of this abuse leads him to abandoning the Vermillion at the age of 18, though it seemed like they really didn't care about his departure; ironically, his egg was the first one that Acronix and Krux got hold of, several years before the Serpentine were released, which means he's the first one to hatch (and that he's technically the oldest Vermillion). After wondering for some time, he comes across a town, populated by humans and Serpentine. Puzzled, he ventures further inside, where his strange appearance catches the attention of many passers-by. Eventually, he reaches a house, which seems older than the rest of the town, and just as he was about to move on, the door opens, revealing a human in a cassock; they invite the Vermillion into their house.

The human reveals themself to be Bennett Grant, before telling the Vermillion that he could stay at his place while they can find a place in New Hope for the snake to live. During his stay at Grant's place, Jack learns of Bennett's past, as well as the town's come to being, and the two become friends; more than that, Grant proposes that when the Devourer had her first clutch of Vermillion eggs, some of the last remnants of her untainted purity were put into his egg, possible explaining both his appearance and free will. After some time, a house is built for the Vermillion, and he departs for his new home, though occasionally he comes to visit them. Now, he's become a blacksmith that excels in metallurgy, though lately he's been getting into gunsmithing. (He also wields a bastard sword.)

Elizabeth

[Art by Serpentfever]

Before her death, this smart yet resilient female Pyro Viper - 84 years old and 7 foot 8 inches tall - was the commander of the royal guard for Mambo V and his family, wielding a khopesh. The Pyro Vipers under her command were a formidable force, one that many didn't wish to provoke. That all changed when Aspheera overthrew the king; despite being a magic user herself, Elizabeth couldn't compete with Aspheera and her use of both Spinjutzu and magic. She and the royal family were imprisoned during Aspheera's short reign, which ended with Wu and Garmadon restoring Mambo V back to the throne, while Aspheera was imprisoned in her specialized prison cell. Unfortunately, Aspheera's actions had left their mark, as it proved that anyone popular with the people could overthrow their unpopular king. Over the coming years, Elizabeth watched as the kingdom slowly deteriorated and declined due to the constant revolts and attempted coups. Though she died before she saw it, she knew that the Pyro Vipers would soon die out due to the constant instability that led to unnecessary bloodshed.

When Aspheera revived the Pyro Vipers, Elizabeth originally wanted to go up to the true Deceiver and strangle her, but stopped herself, knowing that most of the newly resurrected Serpentine would blindly follow the traitor. As she tried to find others that would join her, she stumbles upon her old royal guard detail, who also hate Aspheera. After some conversing, they all decide that they can't take on the rest of Aspheera's followers, and begrudgingly leave for better pastures. After several days of slithering throughout Ninjago, they come across a small town, where their sudden appearance has bewildered its residents. Searching for the town leader results in this group of Pyro Vipers coming across a strange red Serpentine and an Oni dressed in a cassock. Upon seeing the Oni, Elizabeth conjures up a fireball and throws it at them, only for them to use magic to block the attack; the two sides then calm down, and the two individuals introduce themselves. Grant then puts in an order for specialized housing that the Pyro Vipers can live in, since there's a possibility that they would accidentally start a fire in a traditional house. For the meantime, Elizabeth's group camp outside New Hope until their specialized accommodations are completed. Until then, Elizabeth waits patiently, not just for their homes to be completed, but to also exact her revenge on Aspheera for the actions she's done.

Elijah

Before the death of Trimaar at the hands of Kalmaar, this shrewd, sociable Maraay - equipped with a trident with Wojira engravings - was like the rest of the guards, except that he has azure markings and eyes instead of the usual cyan eyes and markings (which also include his teeth and neck scales); he also didn't hate the surface dwellers, having a neutral view of them; and is 41 years old and 6 foot 7 inches tall. He's the leader of a small unit that consists of 20-25 guards, all of whom he has befriended. Before Kalmaar's usurpation, Eli was involved in an horrific accident: He was in the presence of another Maraay guard, who's trident was malfunctioning, when it suddenly fired an electrical bolt that hit Elijah on the left side of his face, rendering him unconscious. When he came to, he finds that he can only see from his right eye, which detects a concerned Glutinous; the scientist says that he's lucky to be alive, considering that the electrical charge should have killed him. Though he survived, it did cost him his left eye - which has a star-shaped cataract - as well as leaving a Lichtenburg figure (aka an electrical scar) on the left side of his face.

Now back on duty, the Maraay gets back commanding his guard unit. One day, his unit was rotated to guard the entrance to the throne room, when he sees Kalmaar and Gripe go in, and out of curiosity (as well as his suspicions about Kalmaar), slightly opens the door to the room and peeks inside. From here, he sees Kalmaar murder Trimaar and several royal guards, all the while Gripe watches on; suddenly, Gripe turns to see him peering in, and Eli commands his troops to immediately leave their posts and follow him. Seeing his confused comrades, he tells them that Kalmaar has killed Trimaar, while his servant Gripe watched. Furthermore, he states that Kalmaar will probably usurp the Merlopain throne and attack the surface dwellers via reawakening Wojira. His men are shocked to learn of Kalmaar's betrayal, even more so by a unit of Maraay guards approaching to arrest the "so-called traitors" for aiding in Trimaar's death, confirming Eli's story. After defeating the Kalmaar loyalists, the group decides - after some bickering - to leave Merlopia and go to Ninjago.

Eventually, Eli's unit reach the shores of Ninjago. Exhausted, they move inland before settling down for the night, though the next morning they move once more. After a few days, they have made it to Ninjago City, only for sirens to go off and signal to seek higher ground. Thinking quickly, they decide to into the NGTV building to seek shelter. After scaling several levels, they are safe from the ensuing flood and Wojira's wrath. As they watch in awe and horror, a human citizen spots them, and several of them ready to fight, the most notable being a human in cossack. Eli orders his men to stand down, while he explains their situation to the humans. They all eventually calm down, before preceeding to look back at the window to see Wojira and Kalmaar continue their wrath; as they do, Elijah realizes that Wojira looks like she's in pain, and sees that the human next to him - Bennett - had the same thought. Before they can communicate this, Nya - now merged with the sea - kills Wojira. After the flood recedes, Bennett asks him and his men whether they would like to join him and live in a town called New Hope, to which they all agree to. At first, the citizens of the town are wary of the Maraays (which they expected), but eventually warm up to them. Though he now likes to go fishing, there is still one thing on his mind: Make Gripe pay for his treachery by working for that tyrant Kalmaar.