A/N: Hello fellow Spyro fanatic. =D I've had the idea for this story for nearly year and after too long a time I got around to summoning the motivation, determination and inspiration, I finally have something new(sort of). Yaaaayyyyy! XD Thank you '4Dragons' for beta reading this for me, it's a great help mate. Now, this story is set in the same universe as my other Spyro fic. It's not vital that you have read that first but if you have then you'll recognise a couple of my characters from that fic in this story.

Enjoy =D

~ A Tale of Ice ~

Chapter 1

Naming

The crisp air felt refreshing in the evening sunlight. Red and amber leaves whirled through the sky on a gentle breeze. Across the surrounding mushroom forest of the Dragon Temple, the setting sun's final breath of warmth bathed the land in a bright rustic gold. Flying above the land, dragons both young and old were enjoying the last rays of the sun before retiring to their chambers in the great monument. It had been a perfect Season of Wind day.

By the entrance of the Temple, two adult fire dragons were exchanging pleasantries with the residents returning from the afternoon activities. It was a busy time for the dragons and none were keen to miss out on gossip during the Year of the Dragon. When the last vestiges of sunlight were gone, the two dragons strode into the Temple corridors and began lighting the torches mounted on the walls with their fire breath. Many dragons held off sleep until the night had matured during this exciting time of their twelve year calendar. There was still much fun to be had and many stories to share. Firelight would be needed for a while yet.

Chief of all the excitement were newly hatched dragons. Sires and mothers fawned over their little drakes and drakesses as they began to take their first steps and slowly learn to use their young voices. Most of the eggs laid for this Year of the Dragon had hatched by now, but for those still awaiting the hatching of one of their own, their anticipation only brought more joy and excitement. However, not all could stay up so late to enjoy the jubilation.

Just as the two fire dragons were lighting the last torches, one of them heard something behind him and looked back down the corridor they just came. It was only there for a moment, but the fire dragon thought he saw a speck of yellow and blue out of the corner of his eye.

"What is it, Flint?" asked the other dragon when he noticed his colleague looking startled.

"Hmm?" Flint muttered, looking back at the other dragon. "Oh… nothing. It's not of my concern anyway," he sighed with a smirk on his muzzle.

The two of them finished with the torches and continued down another corridor to the main foyer. When the two large fire dragons were gone, a small blue hatchling with four small jagged horns peered around one of the corners in the corridor. His name was Shardis. After a moment of listening for echoes down the corridors, he released his breath.

"Phew! You nearly got us caught, Cat! And then we'd be in twouble," he whispered to the little yellow drakess with him. "Wait until I say 'go'."

"Okay I'm sowwy," replied Cathade; a little too loudly.

"Shhhhhh!"

Cathade only nodded in return this time and after Shardis did a double check to see if the coast was clear, he whispered 'go.' Scampering quickly down the corridor, both hatchlings made for the corridor opposite the one the fire dragons went down. Soon they were hiding around another corner and waiting to see if anyone was further down or not before going again.

Normally these two would be sound asleep in the orphans' chamber but Shardis was too excited tonight. He just had to show his nest mate what was up. As they rounded another corner they came to the precipice of a massive stairwell. Every step was more than half the depth of their body's height; a daunting climb down indeed for the two little dragons.

"Hmph, why do we need to see this now, Shardy?" Cathade said with a yawn, "Can't it wait till morning, I'm too sleepy."

Still full of energy at this late hour, Shardis hopped down the first step. "No it can't, c'mon, Cat."

Groaning with a whimper, Cathade followed her partner in crime down the big steps in single file. Each step was larger than the length of an adult dragon's entire paw and claws combined. One of them could've laid out head to tail on a single step and there would still be plenty room left. It took Shardis and Cathade a minute to reach the bend halfway down the stairwell, and seeing no one in sight further down, they made the rest of the descent after another minute.

Their luck had been good so far and they were nearly at their destination.

Sneaking along the right side of the corridor, they came to a stop at the protrusion of a huge round archway frame – the biggest in the Temple. The doors were open as light and shadows could be seen shifting on the corridor wall opposite the entrance. From outside the room, Shardis and Cathade could hear the soft cooing of dragoness voices and the faint but distinctive sound of cracking eggshell.

Looking around the corner, Shardis could see a huge domed room with a wide hay-cushion shelf around the walls. A curtain hung from the lip around the edge of the shelf with varying colours segregating different parts of the circular shelf. Several eggs were visible over the lip of the shelf and two dragonesses – one green, one blue – were busy encouraging an occurring hatching. They had reached the orphans' hatchery.

The two dragonesses were facing away from the entrance. Their bodies were blocking the egg that was currently hatching from view; the very egg Shardis was keen to show his nest mate. They had to get closer. Eyeing the curtain nearest to the entrance he saw a gap between the folds and immediately got an idea.

"Cat," he whispered, "grab my tail."

Cathade complied by putting his white tail blade in her mouth and waited while Shardis watched the dragonesses intently. The green one's head was held low and hidden behind her wings; coaxing said hatching egg. The blue one, however, was sitting up on her haunches and might catch sight of them if they moved now. She looked utterly frozen to Shardis, almost as if she was just a statue. Minutes passed slowly for the anxious hatchlings and Cathade had to muffle a yawn on Shardis's tail, which he wanted to glare at her for.

Just when Shardis lost patience, the blue dragoness lowered her head towards the hidden egg. Wasting no time, he darted out into the open with Cathade in tow and plunged through the gap in the curtains in a mere instant.

"Huh?!" The hatchlings froze as they heard one of the dragonesses speaking aloud. "Did you hear something, Gemma?"

"Sorry? Uh… no, no I didn't–" The reply was broken by an excited squeal, "Look, Kriya, the little one's head is breaking through the shell this soon; Kriya, look!"

Cathade breathed a sigh of relief, only for Shardis to get away from her in his giddy excitement. She slowly caught up to him, being careful not to make any noise against the pots, bundles and wicker baskets kept under the shelf around her. Hidden from the dragonesses, they moved around the curvature of the room until Shardis was certain they'd get a better view now. Dropping onto his chubby belly, he shuffled towards the edge of the curtain and poked his little head underneath. Cathade reluctantly did the same and huddled next to her nest mate, looking up at what he was so eager to show her.

Purple caught their gaze and held it like a hawk did its prey. It stood out amongst everything in the hatchery. The bright sandstone of the walls, the glittering blue and green of Kriya and Gemma's scales and the bright firelight from the torches on the walls: all seemed to pale next to the egg's colour.

After admiring the odd colour for a moment, Shardis and Cathade realised something else. The top of the purple egg appeared to be moving. It didn't look like eggshell and only after another moment did they realise they were looking at a tiny purple head. Its eyes were still closed but then a tiny paw emerged, pushing more of the eggshell away from its still encased body.

Their mouths hung in awe as they watched the hatching dragon come to life and free itself of its pretty egg. It tried to unfurl its tiny wings, but the purple egg shifted in response and toppled backwards. Shardis couldn't help snickering and Cathade forced his mouth shut with her paw to avoid being discovered but couldn't quite mask it entirely. Luckily neither dragoness seemed to notice.

Gemma lowered her snout to lick the rest of the eggshell off the purple hatchling. When she finished freeing the little one completely she couldn't help but chuckle and looked up at Kriya.

"You were right again, it's a drake. How do know what gender an egg will be? It's freaky."

Kriya shrugged. "Well… I've nursed a lot of hatchlings over the years and you kinda feel it in your heart after a while."

"Oh come on!" Gemma said, rolling her eyes at Kriya. "There's got to be more to it than that!"

Kriya only gave Gemma a gentle smirk and let her gaze focus on the little drake. He was curling up into a ball and beginning to doze off. It didn't matter how many times she witnessed this, it always brought a smile to her muzzle. The both of them were so wrapped up in the newest addition to the dragon race, they were completely oblivious to the little spies in their midst.

Shardis craned his neck to get a better view of the purple hatchling. He'd been waiting months on end to see what the dragon in the purple egg would look like and wanted so desperately to see him now. From his vantage point he could only discern three little bronze horns tinged with red on the little drake's head. Edging upwards, Cathade tried to pull him back behind the curtain but only managed to be dragged out herself.

Straining to look over the lip of the shelf, Shardis and Cathade could see the little purple hatchling's face. As if on cue, his eyelids fluttered open and stared back at the two of them. Yellow eyes shone like gold in the hatchery's firelight and they held him rigid. It wasn't their colour, but rather their shape that unnerved Shardis. He had never seen eyes like them before and he didn't know whether he should wilt under their stare or be drawn forwards.

Cathade whispered to Shardis, "He has snake eyes, why does he have snake eyes, Shardy?"

"I dunno–"

A deep stern cough broke the moment. "What are you two doing here!"

Shardis and Cathade tumbled over each other, alerting the dragonesses to their presence but that didn't matter now. The two hatchlings looked around for the source of the rigid voice and froze when they found the owner of it standing in the doorway: a large fire dragon. He towered over even Gemma and Kriya, who had bowed their heads to him. His scales were a deep crimson that appeared like stained blood in stark contrast to his pitch-black wings and chest. Two great obsidian horns curved back from the side of his skull while in between three smaller horns crowned the top of his head. However, it was his sharp grey eyes that paralysed both hatchlings. After a moment of silent scolding, the Fire Guardian Phoenox stepped forward.

Shardis slumped down in defeat but Cathade broke down and buried her head in her wings bawling, "I'm sowwy, I'm sowwy, I'm sowwy, I'm sow–"

"Get back to your chamber now, you two!" demanded Phoenox.

Cathade scampered around the giant dragon like her tail had been lit on fire, while Shardis grumbled and meandered around him, dragging his small wings along the ground.

"Pick up your wings and step to it!" growled the daunting fire dragon under his sneering glare. Shardis picked up the pace begrudgingly and, before he left the room, Phoenox added, "And don't think the two of you will be escaping punishment. Tomorrow you'll be pulling out frogweeds for breaking the rules. Now go!"

Shardis grimaced at that thought and quickly scampered off. When the sound of the hatchlings' small claws had vanished, Phoenox shook his head and muttered something under his breath. Turning to the bowing dragonesses, he studied them for a moment before speaking.

"You may rise, nurses."

Gemma and Kriya lifted their heads to meet the fire guardian's eyes and Phoenox detected a hint of trepidation from Kriya as she did so. Taking small strides forwards, the dragonesses parted to allow the guardian to see the new hatchling.

The purple drake appeared to be a little winded and perhaps about to fall asleep but all that aside, he was perfectly fine. As all three dragons lowered their heads to inspect a little closer, however, they noticed something strange. Through his half-lidded eyes, where there should have been a round pupil, a wide black slit was seen and his yellow eye colour didn't stop at the white of his eyes; there was none. It took a moment to realise what they were seeing but when they did the atmosphere in the room changed.

Gemma's eyes went wide and she gasped as she stepped back, a state of worry written all over her face. Kriya had a similar response but remained silent while possessing a curious look on her face. Alternatively Phoenox did not appeared perturbed by this development and only raised a scaly eye ridge, cocking his head.

"Oh poor little soul, his eyes haven't formed properly," despaired Gemma, her voice having lost her earlier elation. "This is horrible!"

Sensing Gemma's ultimate fear, Kriya stepped back to the hatchling to inspect his eyes. "Pardon me, master Phoenox, may I?"

Phoenox gave her a sidelong glance and raised his head back up, stepping back to allow the ice dragon to do her work. She lowered herself so she could get as close to the little one as possible and see directly into his eyes. After a moment of bobbing her head side to side and up and down, she gave a gentle sigh.

"Never fear, he's not blind. His eyes are tracking my movements."

Gemma couldn't have made her relief any more blatant with her heavy sigh of breath and the tug of her smile quickly returning to her muzzle. "Oh thank Ancestors. I couldn't imagine anything worse."

Kriya smiled at her colleague but her mouth pouted as she studied the little one's eyes some more. "I do wonder why his eyes are like this, though." Turning to look at the Fire guardian, who held his gaze firmly on her, she inquired nervously, "Master Phoenox, y-you wouldn't h-have any ideas?"

Phoenox stared silently at Kriya for a moment, glancing at the purple hatchling as he regarded her question. Exhaling deeply, he tilted his head and stared into thin air as he spoke. "There are old legends of creatures having similar eyes, one of which being a dragon." Bringing his gaze back to Kriya, he finished with a dismissive look in his grey eyes. "But more likely it's just a natural defect. I myself knew a dragon who hatched with blue in one eye and brown in the other. Whatever went wrong, it's out of our hands."

Kriya and Gemma nodded, seeming satisfied with his answer, and returned their attention back to the little one. After a moment of finishing off cleaning the tiny purple drake, Gemma paced across the hatchery and pulled open a curtain under the shelf to reveal cushioned nesting baskets. Just as she was about to grab one, Phoenox interrupted her with his deep stern voice.

"No… go set up a private chamber first before you transfer him. Kriya, you go with her, I'll watch over him until it's ready."

Kriya stepped out in front of Phoenox, bemusement written on her face. "Um… Master Phoenox… M-my apologies, w-why would we isolate him from the other orphans? He's different, true, but surely this is unnecessary."

Phoenox looked down at Kriya, showing no sign of wavering in his hard eyes at her comment. She wilted under his piercing glare, but he broke it off when Gemma added to Kriya's remark.

"Little ones won't question the significance of his unique colour," Gemma stated waving her forepaw in dispute, "nor worry about his… peculiar eyes."

"But I will."

Gemma tried to form the words in her mouth to combat his decision, but it was like his hard stare forced her mouth shut. This momentary silence from her only served to accentuate the finality of his words. Eventually she hung her head in acknowledgement. She knew better than to argue with a Guardian, let alone Phoenox.

Kriya stepped towards the door, motioning for her colleague to do likewise, "Come on, Gemma, we mustn't keep the little one waiting."

Nodding glumly, the green dragoness made it quickly out into the corridor. Just as Kriya was about to exit herself, Phoenox's stern voice called out to her, quietly this time.

"Kriya... a word."

Kriya stopped in the doorway and turned to face Phoenox. Keeping her head bowed to him and not making eye contact with the great dragon, she answered. "Yes, master Phoenox?"

"I trust you'll be doubling your attention here for the unwanted eggs over the colder months," he stated with a twitch of his muzzle. "Especially those two," He motioned with his wing towards two of the eggs on the far side of the hatchery.

Kriya didn't have to look - she knew which eggs he was referring to - but couldn't help it. Her eyes momentarily wandered over to two greyish blue eggs. Having only been laid three months ago, they had lost their lifeless pale blue and begun to take on the colour their elements would be. One was becoming a silvery grey while the other was turning into a dark charcoal. Hopefully they would hatch before the Year of the Dragon was out, but if they didn't…

"Wind dragons are a rarity nowadays, as you know." Phoenox then changed the pitch of his voice and put on a feigned expression of worry. "It would be such shame if they were to just miss out on the gift of this special year."

Kriya cleared her throat. Looking up into Phoenox's eyes for just a moment, she nodded but choked on her response. "I-uh-yes. I-I understand, m-master."

"Good… I don't have to remind you then what happens if you… fail." Phoenox finished with an edge to his words. He inwardly smiled seeing Kriya flinch and look down at her paws to hide from his gaze. With a flick of his snout, he motioned for the dragoness to get going. She was out of the room at a brisk pace and when he could no longer here her talons on the granite, Phoenox relaxed onto his belly and brought his head around to study the little purple hatchling.

Alone with his thoughts, Phoenox let his mind wander as he watched the fresh drake decide whether to sleep or stay awake. He found it rather cute and couldn't help but feel the ends of his muzzle tighten into a gentle smile. The purple hatchling slowly sat up and looked up at Phoenox's face, blinking tiredly while cocking his tiny head. Playfully the fire guardian pushed the little drake over with his big paw and gave a toothy grin when the drake sat back up and snapped at one of his talons, gnawing on it with all the strength he could futilely muster.

"A defiant spirit, very good to see."

As Phoenox let the little one nibble on his paw, he couldn't help but recognise certain features his mother and sire possessed. "It's a pity your mother didn't want you, she would've been adorned with many gifts for being the one to bring you into the world." He shook his head as he thought about her. "Hmph… stupid drakess."

Thinking about the purple drake's sire, Phoenox contemplated how others would react to that dragon if they knew this hatchling was his. The fire guardian looked away and stared at the door, gnawing his lips in thought. 'A lot of gossip for starters… not that it will come to that.' After a short moment of thinking, he noticed the little one had tired himself out and fallen into another little doze.

"Tsk, I suppose I should name you. You'll need a unique name for sure, I knew that the moment your egg began to take on an indigo hue."

Phoenox bit on his tongue, pondering over the many names he'd heard throughout his life and in the fables. What would he name this special dragon? If his knowledge of history served him correctly, no one had ever officially recorded a living purple dragon before. Many knew of them from old tales and ancient prophecies, but not even the Great Elders who were known to live well beyond three and a half centuries had ever encountered one.

The fire guardian scoffed just thinking about those Elders. Although he didn't look it, Phoenox was much older than he looked. He remembered a very different time to those of only a couple centuries prior, but he dare not speak of it. There were many secrets he held and he couldn't trust them with anyone, not even his fellow Guardians. Even if they were understanding, he was not going to risk it.

Letting his gaze fall back to the hatchling, Phoenox sifted through his memory to come up with something special for him. Every time he found a suitable name he immediately shot it down due to something about it that irked him. Grinding his teeth, he racked his mind, annoyed at how hard this was. Eventually the hatchling fell asleep and Phoenox could see the steady rise and fall of the little one's chest. It was then he noticed wisps of smoke trail from the purple drake's nostrils with each sleepy breath. A spark ignited in the old fire dragon's eye.

"Fire, eh… how interesting."

A name came to mind that straight away felt right to Phoenox. He remembered hearing it for the first time from his village mistress long ago. A smile tugged at the corners of his muzzle just thinking of that old dragoness. Phoenox always loved her stories. His favourite were the ones of giants, mighty heroes and mystery. The name in question was from an old tale called 'The Hunting Hooves': a story he had loved to hear again and again as a drake.

His light smile became a smirk as he quietly chuckled to himself. Phoenox remembered having nightmares about those monsters chasing him with their hooked chains, arrows and cleavers as their horrifying gallop drew ever nearer. It probably wasn't the best tale to tell to young dragons, he knew.

Phoenox didn't believe much of fable was historically accurate but, despite it being a horrific tragedy, its hero always brought pride to Phoenox's heart. With a hum of approval, there was no doubt in his mind what he'd name the purple hatchling before him.

"Your life will make this world better for us all, just as hers did long ago. In honour of the greatest ancestor of fire, you shall be known as Malefor."