"Time?" two female voices ask.

"Yes. Is it the sand of the desert or the element, is it the river or the relative amount of what has passed between two happenings. Time, what is it? The desert or the elemental. For to long have we wasted precious time on this question. We hold the time in hands, but we are transfixed by what it is." two distinctive males answer.

As Spyro and Cynder lazed upon the stones this so called "prince" paced. Still they could not find anything to explain what had happened. It had been years since Malefor's fall. The dragon race had begun to gain the respect, the elegance and also gained the majestic tones that had been before Malefor.

Sparx had talked to Spyro after they had arrived back at Warfang. Together the two of them had left to find there home swamp. Spyro had asked Cynder to stay in Warfang, Sparx had stayed with family of dragonflies, which left Spyro to return to Warfang alone.

Cynder had flown to the temple near that very swamp, then made her presence known. She managed this by flying overhead, wrapped in shadows darker than the night she knew Spyro and Sparx would know it was her. Not wanting to intrude she waited in the ruins of the temple that had once stored her egg. Spyro had shown that night. Torn somewhere between mourning and pride. Tears filled his eyes, remorse, anger, pride and several other emotions filled his eyes, steps and posture.

"They're dead." he said simply. He smiled proudly, and the hurt beyond knowledge. She simply went to him and rubbed underside of his neck.

That was the night they had found the companionship of lovers between them. She draped a wing over him that night as he sobbed endlessly on her shoulder. She kept silent knowing to well that there was nothing to explain, having had already lost Ignitus. One of the few to have had looked past the deeds committed by her while under control of Malefor. The night was not nearly forgotten in Cynder's memories.

The next morning once they both awoke Spyro explained how they had died. After the world had started to crumble his foster parents had lead the dragonflies of the swamp to safety and kept watch at the mouth of the tunnel that they had hid in. The flames from the destroyer had consumed bodies. Nearly all the other dragonflies escaped unharmed or with minimal damaged.

After that night they had both gone to see Sparx. He was already taking control and becoming somewhat of a leader among the dragonflies. Already he had repaired the mental stability of the dragonflies. That was the last time they had seen Spyro's foster brother, and entertaining annoyance of a flying mouthpiece.

They had settled down within the year after that farewell. Both agreed that had to stay near Warfang. To protect it and to train a new generation of dragon's, also they had helped a search party that had searched for dragons in hiding after the war. As the dragons came so to did more stories, more idea's and new and intricate battle strategies.

The gaurdians had passed on information of the elements to Spyro and Cynder. Now Spyro had a masterful control of nearly any possible element. Cynder had managed to master her natural abilities plus she now had a basic control of most other elements. They had both managed to gain a respectful amount of control of there unique abilities. Which to this day still had no name.

The incident as far as Spyro and Cynder could discern was a by-product of Spyro's time element. They had asked this several times of themselves, he had been teaching some of the younger dragons at the time how to defend themselves. The incident seemed to have started there, after he had slowed time down to show them just that you should always expect the unexpected.

Though Cynder was a black dragon her scales had begun to lighten after the death of Malefor. Now they were a very dark deep purple. Not the midnight black that they had once been but somewhere between purple and black. Never was she told if her egg was black or purple. After meditating upon it, she had concluded that she was born a purple dragon. After all Spyro had managed to turn black while fighting Gaul, and even right in front of her eyes in the ring of fire, nearly turning on her. She considered now that due to the over exposure of the dark element the elements that would have been in her easy grasp had faded leaving her with shadows and poisons.

They had found themselves in a room, the dome shaped roof broken. A platform with sand rising up out of it in the middle dominated the smartly architectural room. The room had no roof and a bright full moon had shone down upon them. Spyro had been intrigued by the floating sand, though after a short discussion they had decided it would be better to find out exactly where they were.

They flew up out of the room and went high into the sky. Marking where they had flown from they found themselves on a island. It was night two ships off in the distance were fighting. Flames covered one ship which was nearly destroyed, on the other ship flames had spread though they were beyond stopping the ship would still last a few more minutes.

Spyro was the first to see the battle that amazed them both. On a platform there was a large winged creature, which was neither dragon nor grublin or wyvern. It was much like a dragon, though had characteristics of a cheetah and ape.

The only thing that could have been more mesmerising was the being that represented the cheetahs covered in tendrils fighting the large beast. It's black tendrils that covered it, moved with no discernible pattern, there was a faint yellowish desert sand glow to it which just made it seem darker than anything they had seen before. Then the eyes those sharp blue eyes. Spyro knew that this being was dark beyond knowledge but dark from torment or dark from evil were two things that needed to be answered.

Cynder watched with wonder as the dark figure moved with an amazing amount of grace, slowly bringing down the larger beast. Which was easily five to eight times it's size. Though the beast was large and had a resemblance to a dragon, it controlled no element other than the air which it flew.

"Should we join?" Spyro had asked.

"Well which side. The flying beast seems to resemble a dragon but fights for blood not for food, why would it pick something that small for a feed, and what is that thing that look 's like a cheetah?" Cynder said.

Unable to discern friend from foe, both Cynder and Spyro landed on the edges of the platform. The larger beast swiped a claw at the other. It was moving to fast for anything to get out of the way. Then the smaller beast moved to fast to keep track of though somehow it had dodged the larger one and was now on top of it. It stabbed the larger beast in the base of the skull and moved it down the it's neck braking the spinal bones and effectively killing it.

Instead of lying down and dying the thing disintegrated. Simply broke apart into sand. The sand blew slowly away.

The creature that had just killed the now disintegrated beast slowly started to walk towards them. It had two swords both were held ready though not offensively, neither was the pose non-harming Cynder was not about to let her guard down. She could see Spyro ready for a battle if needed.

"Who and what are you?" the figure said.

"We are Dragons, our names can wait. Where are we and what are you?" Spyro said, in a carefully guarded flat voice.

The figure put his swords away and was moving much to fast to see, Cynder managed to see it's intention but was helpless to stop it. She saw it pull a dagger out and run quickly towards her. At the last moment it halted and tripped. She came to about it's waist. She had not fully grown yet and still had a far way to go. It landed to her side. She saw Spyro pin down the thing and growl at it. He's tail holding it's legs down and his paws binding it's arms. Neck arched back so he could look the thing in the eye.

"So you can control the sand's" the thing said. Humour lacing it's voice. "So who is dying first?"

"You. If you do not tell us what we want." Cynder said. Pushing her head close to the things face breathing out a very potent amount of augmented fear which would not affect Spyro. She saw the fear work it's way to the things blood.

"I am the prince of Persia. I came here to change my fate. I failed the first time so I became this... thing... or wraith. It rewound time and gave me a second chance. I must not fail this time. So if you two do not let me get up you will leave me with no choice but to kill you."

Cynder shrouded herself lightly in darkness Spyro still pining the thing down. "And how may I ask do you plan to kill a shadow?" Cynder said.

"Similar to every other shadow on this forsaken island." it said.

Both Cynder and Spyro were suddenly flung backwards, the creature stood up slowly. Cynder could taste sand in her mouth."was this what it meant by control the sands?" she thought to herself, spitting out the sand in her mouth. Currently hovering 20 feet off the platform.

She located Spyro he was hovering a few feet away from her. He too had sand in his mouth, they Cynder started to locate the creature, it had pulled out both of it's swords. To destroy it or not?

Cynder started to descend along with Spyro. As they neared the ground the thing walked slowly towards them. Cynder still held the slight shroud of shadow around her body which she now cloaked herself and Spyro in. Over the time since the dark masters death she had managed to control and use her abilities in ways that astounded some of the most experienced dragons.

Spyro then raised a wall of fire around the podium, the thing wasn't getting out unless it could fly now.

The creature started to run at them at a normal speed. Then being hurtled into the sky from a pillar that rose just in front of it. The two swords clattered on the ground. Cynder then caught it in a ball of compressed air that had turned solid and lowered it to the ground again. Spyro then brought forth chains of earth and heated them into a glass dome around the creature. The dome was tall enough that the creature could stand comfortably and thick enough that it was going nowhere quickly. A hole in the centre near Cynder and Spyro, allowed them to hear it without straining their ears.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" the thing yelled at both of them. "You are dragons that control elements of the world, you can even control time. So WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"we want to know where we are and no we can't control time but yes I can slow it down and even foresee some events." Spyro said controlably.

This seemed to send the creature thinking for a second. "So you can not rewind it?" it seemed genuinely confused. Cynder still wasn't letting her guard down, there were still to many unexplainable factors.

"What are the sands?" Spyro said.

If the creature was confused at the idea of not being able to rewind time that was nothing compared to the shock that went other it's face now. "Y, y-, you do not know what the sands of time are?" it stumbled.

Cynder looked at Spyro to see a look of equal confusion on his face as she felt.

The Griffin had been enough to cause the prince to rethink the amount of legend and myth that might actually be real. But really? Talking dragons that knew nothing of the sands of time? First there was the vizier, then the sands, then the Dahaka than Shahdee then Kileana, then the sands of time again. Then the griffin now this. Two talking dragons that one of which could control time and one that had a finesse that only a master of war or torture could appreciate.

The prince sighed and hung his head low. "Let me out of here and I will tell you everything I can about all the questions you might have." he said.

"You just tried to kill us. Twice. Why should we let you out? Where are we?" the darker one asked it looked to be a female even sounded like one.

The prince could sense the abnormal fear that hung in the air. Having identified it when the female had breathed on him earlier he managed to ignore it. He also tried something that might work.

"Well that fear that you're sending in here won't work, however the hell you're doing it. Any way you are on the island of time and I can help you." he said. Taking a gamble.

It paid off. Both the dragons looked at each other slowly the barrier melted away. He did not move, as the barrier got down to the ground he stood he's ground as the two dragons circled him. It was going to be a long day after all.