Nightfall |Glacier Story|

Chapter 1

Third Person POV

Cole Hence packed his black duffel bag with a sigh. He gently folded some T-shirts and a couple hoodies. He went through his drawer, searching for anything else he would need to take, until he came across a photo. It was a photo of his family, it was taken when Cole was very young. It was the first family photo that they took together, and it was Cole's very favorite.

The picture displayed a small raven-haired child on his very first birthday. He had chocolate frosting all over his face and cake in his hands. His mother was trying to clean her son, while the father was laughing with a wide grin spread on his face.

Cole's family took a lot of photos, but this one was his absolute favorite. He liked even more then their very last photo together. He didn't want to think about that right now, though.

He wiped away his tears and placed the photo on top of all the clothes in his bag. He zipped the bag shut with a brisk motion and slung it over his shoulder. Cole took one look at his room, then shut the door. He headed down stairs to where his father was waiting.

"Did you pack well, Cole?" His father asked and placed his hand on Cole's shoulder. "While I do support creativity, that bag better not be filled with a bunch of art supplies." Cole shook his head.

"No Dad, I didn't pack just art supplies." Cole rolled his eyes, but a small smile shone through. "I don't think I'll even have time to draw." He sighed. Mr. Hence noticed Cole's saddened mood. He left to room momentarily, and returned with a bracelet.

"Is that...?" Cole asked when his father handed him the beaded bracelet. His father nodded. Cole slipped the beaded bracelet onto his wrist.

"She would want you to have it." Mr. Hence sighed. "You should get going, before they forcefully come to get you. Goodbye, son."

"Bye Dad." Cole hugged his father, hopefully not for the last time. Though he paused before he walked out the door. "Do I have to go?" Cole frowned, he knew what the answer would be, but a part of wished that his father would answer differently.

Sadly, his father replied with the response that Cold dreaded. 

Cole walked through the dark streets, keeping his eyes down. The people here weren't as sugarcoated as the items they sold in stores. He climbed up a hill that overlooked all of Lord Garmadon's territory and paused when he reached the peak.

Factories that made weapons and synthetic sweets were embedded deep into the land. They spat out an intoxicating smog that tainted the sky. Small tangles of neighborhoods sat in between the monstrous factories and the border. 

Cole frowned upon the small houses. Sure, he grew up there, but that didn't mean that he liked it. He shook his head, trying to get himself back on track. He was apart of this land, he had to protect it.

His eyes slowly glided over to the border, the wall that divided Ninjago. Cole couldn't see much, but small green hills peaked over the cement divide and clear blue rivers ran between them. He sighed and walked away, before he could get even more distracted. 

Dead grass crunched under Cole shoes as he arrived at the army headquarters. Cole paced around the camp until he found a place filled with a bunch of tables. Unfortunately, most of the tables were already full, but there was one table where only two people.

Cole sat down at the almost empty table, hoping that the others wouldn't notice him. Alas, they did.

"Hi! Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you before. I'm Jay! What's your name? I'm gonna guess that your name is Kirby." The one with blue eyes said quickly with a high pitched voice.

"I'm Cole, not Kirby" He replied rather annoyed at Jay's babbling.

"It's nice to meet you, Cole. Oh and this is Lloyd!" Jay pointed to the blonde sitting next to him.

"Wait. Lloyd Garmadon?" Cole asked, easing an eyebrow. "Son of Lord Garmadon?"

"Heh, yeah. That's me." Lloyd said with a small smile. A girl with long, very blond- almost white- hair who was standing on a raised wooden platform signaled Lloyd to come over with a brick hand motion. "I've gotta go take role and assign posts for the night. It was nice meeting you, Cole."

Cole nodded and stood up, following Jay and all the other soldiers to the platform where Lloyd stood. Lloyd started calling out everyone's last names, and the soldiers responded with "here", just like in grade school.

"Has the Hence family sent a replacement for Jade?" Lloyd called when he reached Cole's last name.

"Yes, I'm here..." Cole said quietly and raised his hand. Lloyd look at him with a look of sympathy, though it was cut short by the blonde girl elbowing him, telling him to keep going.

"Okay, now on to who will be patrolling tonight.." Lloyd groaned. "Everyone's favorite position. Okay so Anderson, Adams, Hamilton, Mitchell and Miller can take the east posts, and Carls, Hansen, Hence, Jennings and Timpany can take the west posts."

"Woo! I get the night off!" Jay exclaimed, Cole only replied to Lloyd's announcement with a sigh. After the group of soldiers dispersed, Cole made his way to the armory to get ready to go guard his post. He slipped into a black uniform, and grabbed one or two handheld weapons.

Cole set off with the soldiers to the west side of the border as the sun dipped below to horizon.