Hey everyone! Sam here, and I am happy to present to you the prequel to my Skylanders series, Skylanders: The Heretic Jewel, which ties into major pieces of Skylanders: Pure. I will start publishing Pure once I get about ten chapters into this story. Now, you will notice that Cynder's personality is like that of later stories, such as Dark Warriors, while at this time in the series' chronology, she was quite fragile when it came to what could make her either sad or angry. However, I changed that for this, just so I wouldn't have to adjust to the other style. Hope you all enjoy it, and if you ever need to ask me anything, send me a Private Message! Have a great day, and God bless!


Prologue:

The Dark Jewel

The young Elf bounded through the forest filled with evergreen trees and green grass and trickling streams, unable to wait until she returned to the castle. She wanted to show her mother and father the flowers she had found. She was sure they would be happy with her findings.

At the moment they were residing in a Kingdom of the Life Realm, known as the Viridian Kingdom, so that her family could create a treaty between the main Life Realm and the Kingdoms throughout.

Her parents were the rulers of the Life Realm, making her the princess, and the next in line after they passed. So long as one of them remained King or Queen, she would remain princess, which she was fine with. She didn't want to grow up just yet.

She found herself on the stone path to the castle's front gates seconds later. All around her now were the trees, as they had been in the forest. This time, however, they were only on either side, with little foliage in front of her.

This was not because they had cut the trees or other foliage down; rather, it was because the path in front of them was natural. That was what the King of this Realm had told them anyway.

She made her way up the path until she found the gates in front of her. The guards there saw her and opened the gates for her. She found her parents talking to the King and Queen of the Viridian Kingdom, their conversation being one in hushed tones.

When they saw her, they hushed themselves up. She wondered what could possibly make them do such a thing. It wasn't part of their nature.

"Hello, Stella," said her mother. "How was your little traipse through the forest?"

"I wouldn't call it a 'traipse,' Mother," said Stella. "I would call it a journey through a beautiful landscape full of beauty and wonders, where the roots hide secrets and the rivers are filled to the brim with truth. Look at these beautiful flowers I found!" She showed her.

Her mother smiled at her. "I'm sorry, dear," she said. "We're…in the middle of a conversation. We must return to it. I want to be with you right now, but I can't. Just go inside and find something to do for the time-being. This shan't take much longer, my dear."

Stella obeyed, though she felt she needed to hear all that was being said. While being hushed up and secretive was not part of either of her parents' respective natures, eavesdropping was one of hers. She'd been doing it for quite some time, ever since she could remember. Her thirteenth nameday had not yet come, meaning she had been doing such things since her fifth nameday had come and gone.

She found a slightly open window in the storage room just to the left of the foyer. She kneeled down beside, making sure to remain out of sight from the adults. From here she could hear all they were saying. At the moment, it was her father speaking:

"…That blasted fool of an Elf, he decided to betray his own Kingdom and assassinate his King. They caught him, of course, and locked him up. They won't execute him, however. Queen Quercu of the Glande Kingdom said it would be against their laws. Now, while I do understand the meaning behind morality and choices, I also understand that certain measures must be taken in order for such a situation to never happen again…especially in the situation we're in now."

"Yes, the war between the Dark Master and the Realms who have stood up against his tyranny," came the voice of the King. "It is understandable that most of these Kingdoms and Realms are afraid of all that is coming, but we must stand together if we are to defeat Malefor."

"Don't use that name!" hissed the Queen. "It is an evil thing—"

"Still your tongue, Elvess!" commanded the King. "I am sorry to speak in such a way, especially to you, but the Dark Master's true name is not taboo. It is not a blasphemy to all ways of life, as you are seemingly suggesting. Malefor is his true name, and he is one to be feared, I agree. But there is no reason to cower just in front of his name. That shows true weakness, which I am sure you do not have."

"I understand," said the Queen.

"Yes, now, back to the business at hand," came the voice of her mother. "There have been reports that Malefor has many different allies on his side, those he considers his generals. Have you heard anything of this sort?"

"Yes, we have," replied the King. "We've seen some of them in action, which is both fortunate and unfortunate, if you ask me, or rather, us." He was referring to his wife. "As far as we know, there are two generals for Malefor. One of them is the Ape King, known as Gaul. He was blinded in one eye during one of the most recent battles, I read in a report from Salvus, a cousin of mine. Gaul is definitely strong and powerful. He wiped out one faction of the Woodland Armies with only a hundred men—er, Apes. That's one of the many parts of Malefor's army, and they're all led by Gaul. But there are other soldiers of his, many of them creatures from the deepest depths of Infernus."

"I do not believe that," said Stella's mother. "Infernus may be a real place, but I do not believe any of these creatures came from it. The only real creature I could believe would come from there is Malefor. Does anyone really know where he really came from?"

"No," said Stella's father. "But there's no point in worrying about that kind of information. What really matters right now is knowing who the other generals are. I believe I read about one. Their name was Aemus. He is an Ice Dragon, and he's very cunning. He killed an army of Treetops Elves when they confronted him after he was wounded by one of the Curare Arrows from one of our own, actually. There was one more, but I cannot remember their name…Wait, I do remember their title. They're more new than the rest, I've seen. They've only been around for maybe five years." An eerie silence filled the void that had been filled by their words moments before. "They are known as the Terror of the Skies."

"What is their true name?"

"Cyn—"

Suddenly, a heavy vibration rocked the castle, knocking Stella off her feet.

She yelped in pain as her head collided with the ground.

She jumped back to her feet with quick, cat-like reflexes.

That was normal for all Elves to have, especially those who lived in her area of the Life Realm.

She heard footsteps hurrying to the front door, and she hurried out of the room to make it look as if she had just run from another part of the castle.

She succeeded in doing so, and when her parents and the King and Queen entered, it looked as if she had just run into the foyer from the common room.

"What was that?" she asked them. "Was it an earthquake?"

"It was no earthquake," said the King. "That kind of vibration could only be caused by one of Malefor's soldiers' machines, either one that can tunnel underground, or one with powerful explosives. I'd rather the former. At least the former is easier to defeat if you have the right amount of power."

"Yes, but that would still be horribly dangerous," Stella's mother said. "I've seen battles with those things, and they took out whole towns, and even cities. We must tread carefully here, Ignavus."

"No," the King, Ignavus, said. "I know what we must do. We must run. There is no hope in fighting these soldiers. Malefor has finally won. We must run for our lives."

"You coward!" exclaimed Stella's father. "You cowardly fool! If you force all these people to run, you risk killing them all! You do not deserve to be the King of these people! You don't deserve this power! I cannot believe I gave you this honor!"

"It's too late to take it from me," Ignavus said. "It's too late, because I'm going to continue my reign here for a while longer. You will have to kill me before I stop being the King. I will never leave."

Stella's father looked as if she wanted to punch Ignavus, but he held back, knowing it wouldn't be kingly to do so.

All of a sudden, another vibration rocked the castle, this time being so great that parts of the castle began to fall from their places.

"Blast!" whispered Ignavus. He looked at everyone in the room, then turned and ran. "We are all doomed, because of you!" he yelled at Stella's father.

When he was gone, her father said to everyone, "We must run. These are no ordinary vibrations. These are explosions. If we hurry, we can make it out in time. But we first have to save the civilians."

"I am so sorry," said Ignavus's wife. "I had no idea this would happen. My husband is a coward. I cannot believe it. It's too hard to believe that any of this would happen, that he would actually show such colors as these."

"Do not blame yourself, Amator," said Stella's mother. "It is not your fault. But we have no time for this. Let us go, and quickly!"

They ran, Stella being a little behind due to her shorter legs. Despite this, they were still fast as wildcats. They burst out of the castle and ran through the gates.

They followed the same path Stella had walked to get to the castle, only this time, they were going the other way. They had to get to the town soon, before something horrible happened.

What could be happening? Stella thought. Why is any of this happening? Why would the King of this part of the Realm be such a coward? This isn't making enough sense! I don't understand any of this! None at all!

She wondered what the state of the town would be, especially since the vibrations had been revealed by her father to be those of the machines that shot explosives.

When they arrived, all Stella could do was look on in horror, observing the Hell that had once been a beautiful town.

Fires blazed in every direction, buildings were in shambles, and the streets had been torn up until there was nothing more than a large black pit in the middle of the town. The surviving citizens surrounded the pit, many of them beaten and hurt, with clothing torn and wounds evident. Little children cried, and their parents held them close, hoping to comfort them.

"Hello, citizens of the Viridian Kingdom," came a voice. Stella looked up to see, high on a cliff overlooking the town, a large beast made of what looked to be obsidian rock, with symbols stretching across the whole body. Spikes jutted from his back, the sides of his head, his jaw, his arms, and legs. What seemed to be black smoke billowed off its body. Its eyes were luteous, its mouth illuminated by the red light within. "You may all be wondering what I am. I am a Shadow Golem, a creature created by the Purple Dragon you all know as Malefor. He created me to destroy those who stood in his way. I have gone by many names throughout my…somewhat short lifetime. But you may know me as Zelophehad. I am the reason for this destruction. There is a reason for this: in this Kingdom, there is a specific object I am looking for. An object Malefor is looking for. It is called, as I recall it, the Heretic Jewel."

Voices of surprise drifted amongst the citizens. Stella heard some of the words spoken by them, including, "Heretic Jewel, did he say?", "What in the name of God is that?", and "Since when was that thing in our possession?"

"If you must know, 'heretic' means, 'Anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle.' The Heretic Jewel was created by unknown means millennia ago," explained the Shadow Golem. "It was created, supposedly, to destroy a Realm because the creator did not believe it was right to follow their beliefs, their doctrines, their principles. After the Realm was destroyed, the Jewel was hidden somewhere, because the creator could not believe what they had done. I have searched for it for three years, and I was finally able to track it down…to here, in the Viridian Kingdom. I shall have what is mine now. But the question is: Where is the Heretic Jewel? Where has it been hidden? Where is it, you wretches?"

"Is that what you want?" asked the voice of the King. Ignavus appeared, holding an indigo, diamond-shaped gemstone in his right hand. "You can't have this. You have an idea of what this gem can do, but you have no understanding. If you use this jewel, you will destroy all the Realms. You may think you will only destroy some of them, those you do not care far, but that is far from the truth, Zelophehad. Yes, I have heard of you. I do know what you are capable of. You can kill me, if you wish. It does not matter. You will never set your claws on this stone."

"Give…that…stone…to…me!" growled Zelophehad. By this time, Stella could understand how he was speaking. His voice was slightly distorted, his voice mostly soft, though by this time, it was obvious he was angry.

Another thing she realized was the fact that the King was not the coward she had believed him to be. She suddenly understood why he had acted the part, why he had left them. It had not been because he was a coward. It had been to find the Heretic Jewel and prevent it from falling into the Shadow Golem's hands.

"You foolish creature," said Zelophehad. "Elves have always been foolish. You believe you're better than the rest of us. You believe you can conquer all! You are nothing, Elf. You, with your green skin, pointed ears, and yellow eyes, are nothing. Give me the Heretic Jewel. I can contain the power and control it. With it, I will be a god."

"You will be nothing," Ignavus said. "You are nothing. Go back to your freak of a creator."

Many of the citizens, including Stella's parents, agreed and began speaking up against the Shadow Golem. It did not seem to faze him, however, much to Stella's surprise.

"You will all die," Zelophehad said. "And I'll be there to gloat."

"But you'll have to find the Heretic Jewel first," said Ignavus. Stella turned to see him concentrate. She wondered exactly what he was doing.

Then she saw the white aura surrounding the gem. A bright flash of white light appeared, and in a matter of seconds, the gem was gone.

"WHERE IS IT?!" roared Zelophehad. "WHERE DID YOU SEND IT?!"

"Somewhere that you shall never find it," replied Ignavus.

The Shadow Golem raised his hand at the King. "You will pay for this."

He blasted some kind of dark energy at the King, hoping to kill him.

Stella's father jumped in the way of the blast, taking it fully in the chest.

He gasped in horrible pain, a pain that Stella had never seen before.

Tears poured from her eyes.

When the blast had finished, her father slumped into the King's arms. Stella and her mother rushed to him.

"Where did you send it?!" asked Zelophehad.

"As I said, somewhere you shall never find it," Ignavus said. "You can search for it as long as you wish, but you shall never find it."

Zelophehad growled. "That is fine, King." He spat out the last word. "I will search for it. Despite your words, I know that it shall surface again, and when it does, I will be there. Nothing ever stays hidden."

Zelophehad disappeared in a flash of black Shadow energy.

Stella looked to her father, whose breath was coming out in short, rugged gasps.

She saw the blood seeping through his evergreen robes.

The tears would not stop flowing. The same went for her mother.

"Stella…" came his voice. "Don't…do not be scared…do not be afraid. Do…not be…saddened. You are…strong. You will…become…a hero. You are the strongest Elf I…have ever…known." He began coughing. "Use the abilities you…were given. Use your stealth to…your…advantage." He looked to his wife. "I love…you. Take care…of…her."

He gasped again. It was obvious his end was near. He looked to Ignavus. "Thank you," he forced through. Then he looked up at the sky and said, "Iamque maxima omnium usu."

And last, he closed his eyes in noble repose, and died.

Many tears were shed over his body. Stella sobbed most of all.

"I am sorry for this," said Ignavus. "I wanted to do what was right. I know that I seem like a true coward for what I've done. I do not know how I can live with myself."

As Stella sobbed, she heard the terrible roar close to the town.

Seconds later, she was torn away from her father's body as Dark Fire engulfed all that was left of the town.

She walked through the streets alongside her mother and Ignavus, hoping to escape the horrors that she had experienced that night. Pain was in her chest, though it was not a physical pain. It was a pain that signified loss, and that kind of pain was almost like that of an amputation.

The longer that she was forced to live with such a pain, the worse she was going to feel. She didn't want to have to deal with this, though she knew there was no escaping it.

Suddenly a roar sounded throughout the city, and one of the last things she remembered from that night was looking down and seeing a dark shadow spreading across the ground, then looking up into the sky to see what looked to be a large Dragon.