Legacy of Spyro: Love Through Fire
Well guys, here we go. This is where the trilogy will take flight. Shall we begin? Who knows what is in store around every corner. Thank you my friends for keeping with me this far, now without any further delay, let's start the adventure. –VPR
(Prologue)
(Seven years after Cynder's passing)
"Life… what is your purpose," his words echoed in his mind while staring at the painting of his dragoness, deep in thought in her memory. "It just feels pointless to live without you here…" He was alone in his cave, not a single sound was heard except the small splattering of the occasional teardrop which fell from his purple eyes and onto the smooth, stone floor next to his tail. He then looked to his left, concentrating on the small veil of black liquid which breathed a toxic odor inside the corked bottle.
Placing the painting back on the nightstand, he extended is left hand, carefully retrieving the black liquid which was contained in the ever so fragile glass veil. He then wrapped his claws around the wooden cork and began to open the poison contraption.
"Cynder… forgive me… My reason to go on just can't bear the pain from your loss any longer." Spyro said, almost pulling the cork out of the veil just before he heard his son enter he cave.
"Hey dad, I'm home!" Skyro shouted, stretching his wings out as he looked around the cave for his father.
"Hey son I'll be out in a minute, how was your day today?" Spyro stammered, wiping the tears from his eyes and hiding the veil under the nightstand as he left his bedroom. He did not realize how much time had gone by since early that morning when he had to make sure that Skyro had gotten up on time to leave for school on Warfang.
"Not too bad really, pretty excited about tomorrow though." Skyro said with a smile, giving his dad a hug as he and his father sat down at the kitchen table.
"I bet you are kiddo, big graduation day for you and a birthday today as well at Warfang am I right?" Spyro said, joking with his son as he pretended to forget about Skyro turning fifteen that day.
"Yeah I got to meet Smoke and Flare at the school before sunset, they said they have a gift for me.' Skyro said, smiling towards his father who returned the same look.
"Look at you son, turning fifteen today and graduating from school next week," Spyro said, thinking about all the years Skyro had spent studying the ways of the dragon, perfecting his elements, and becoming his own identity. "Your mother would have been so proud of you." A short moment of silence followed after Spyro's words, strangely giving them both a little relief rather than generating tension between the two.
"But anyway son, I'm going to Warfang today to meet with Terrador in the next hour or so and discuss about the new city we plan on building, would you like to go with me?" Spyro asked, now smiling to the fact he still had a son, a constant reminder of Cynder.
"Yeah dad I'll go with you." Skyro said as they both stood from their respective chairs and made their way out from inside their cave and onward towards Warfang.
Chapter One: The Beginning
Hunter and Bianca held one another's hand as they pressed on next to the winding rivers which flowed steadily through the Valley of Avalar, admiring the peace that the land had to offer once more, a time where peace was among the land once more which the world desperately yearned for. The soft tune of the birds filled the air with music while the very light breeze caused the trees to ever so softly flutter the new green leaves among each branch, giving the air a small amount of bliss of music to one's ear. Hunter grew to love Bianca and even married her though his heart was not ready to move on from his previous lost mate from years past, but Bianca changed all of that.
The way Bianca was gave Hunter a sense of happiness and peace within himself, even after opening up to her and telling her what had happened to his former lover and son, the possibility when Apes savaged their home most likely may have ended their lives. The possibility was great even though Hunter was taken prisoner and forced to fight among Skabb's fighting ship where he sent Spyro a message telling him that hunters were beginning to enslave and kill off most of the dragons among the land. The two were happy, Bianca and Hunter, even over the course of seven years' worth of rebuilding the damaged world they managed to keep together.
"I love you Bianca." Hunter simply put, smiling which most have never seen him do before. He turned towards her and kissed her gently among her forehead.
"And I love you Hunter." She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close to her, feeling the warmth of his body radiate into her ear. Hunter's missing arm never once bothered her, not even when she had first seen the sight of his mangled form seven years ago.
"Do you think he is doing ok?" Bianca asked, knowing that Hunter would know what he was talking about.
"He has been though something I would never wish upon someone Bianca… he never deserved to lose her nor did she never deserve to leave him," Hunter said, trying to think of what to say next. "I know that a bit of time has passed now and that he has Skyro by his side to take care of now… but you know he has to be in a world of pain to this day."
"I wish there was something all of us can do for him… it's so sad to see him like how he is now." Bianca said, looking among the blue skies, watching small comets zip across the sky to what seemed to be no particular direction at all.
"I'm afraid there is nothing we can do for him, this is something he has to face on his own, regardless of how much we yearn to help him." Hunter said, turning to the sound of shuffling grass behind him.
"Please forgive me for interrupting your time Chief Hunter, I must ask you to come back to the village as soon as you can, there is someone there who would like to have a word with you." A Cheetah peasant said as he caught his breath swiftly while among Hunter's presence.
"You are excused my friend, did our visitor say what thou name is?" Hunter asked as the three began walking next to the river back towards the Cheetah Village.
"I'm afraid not, I looked at what the Cheetah was wearing and took for granted that he was of importance and did not want to be asked silly questions." The Cheetah said, thinking that he must sound foolish now that he realized he had made an error.
"No question is a silly question my friend, let us see who our visitor is shall we?" Hunter said as the three continued their walk alongside of the river. Something told Hunter that who he was about to meet was someone of great importance to him. It was an indescribable feeling as if this had all been planned out up to this point in time. The question was who however.
"Ah Hunter, you are here, there is someone here who would like a word with you." Prowlus said, joining the group as well as they continued into the Cheetah Village.
"You wouldn't know the fellow's name would you Prowlus?" Hunter asked, watching Prowlus shake his head in dismay.
"He wouldn't say, he just kept asking for you." Prowlus said, causing Hunter to know for sure that whoever was waiting for him knew him personally. They were soon at the center of the village where a large crowd had formed around one in particular individual.
"What is going on here?" Hunter asked, causing the crowd to open up to allow the Cheetah who was in the center of the crowd to come forth towards Hunter.
"Are you Hunter?" The Cheetah said, his voice sounding close to Hunter's though it was just a little bit higher pitch than Hunter's.
"Yes I am, who might you be friend?" Hunter asked, showing kindness to the Cheetah who he had no idea who he was.
"I wasn't around my father long enough for him to give me a name before I was taken by Apes… the last thing my mom said was that if I was to be able to escape that my father's name was Hunter." The Cheetah looked into Hunter's eyes that were filled with shock.
Warfang, the Dragon City was a place full of life and energy now. Civilians finally regained their lives, working hard every day to maintain a solid living while keeping their surrounding habitats in the most upright of care. Terrador looked out from the top of the stairs leading up to the Dragon Temple from the city street, looking at what had been accomplished over seven long years.
"How is everything looking?" Cyril asked, signing off different papers to construction rights of the workers who were patiently waiting for their payment of rebuilding Warfang and the soon to be mega-city.
"Fine from what I can see, just another beautiful day," Terrador said, stepping away from the balcony and back into the study. "How is the paperwork coming along?"
"It will be a very tight budget, but I think that with the available resources we do have and favors that some of the surrounding townships and civilizations owe us, our plans can commence whenever we are ready." Cyril said with a smile, assuring that all financial and services will all be at Terrador's disposal.
"Volteer, what of the location of this new city, where shall it be built?" Terrador asked, looking at Volteer who was busy scanning maps of the continent in desperate of a location.
"No luck yet, most of the areas where there is a flat piece of ground is in use of already of either tribes or farming, I would hate to hinder food supply if there was an alternative." Volteer said, scratching his head as he continued to survey the maps once more.
"No hurry my friend, we still have work to be done here before we can focus on our next task," Terrador said, looking among the tax reports and other papers scattered among Cyril's desk in surprise how much was owed to the workers. "That's a lot of payment that is owed."
"Indeed it is, but never the less, we will make tenfold when the new city is complete," Cyril said, still signing papers even as Terrador was standing over his desk. "When is Spyro supposed to arrive?"
"Within the hour I presume, he can take his time, he has a graduation for his son to attend to today also before he can discuss business with us as well." Terrador said, biting his lip to the thought of Spyro, knowing that he had not been the same since Cynder's death.
"Neither he nor Skyro both didn't deserve what happened to them that day," Volteer said, looking up from the maps and taking off his lasses in exhaustion, taking a break from his search. "And knowing that that little… freak is still alive out there is unacceptable."
"I know you're angry, but we must focus on the tasks beforehand, we can't use our resources looking for one dragon to satisfy revenge when we have other expenses to worry about, large expenses," Terrador said, wishing he reworded his sentence. "… Even if the whole city wanted to see him dead more than Spyro… even if it would offer me some comfort knowing that he didn't have to live with the thought of him still alive."
"I'll be in the back row with Flame and Ember kiddo, alright?" Spyro said with a smile, hugging his son who smiled back in return.
"Alright dad, I'll see you in about ten minutes or so." Skyro said, running off into the school which was right next to the Dragon Temple. The graduation platform was already set up with pews lining the bottom of the stairs which lead up to the Dragon Temple. A podium rested in the middle of the top of the stairs and large, multi-seated pews lined to the left and right of the podium where the class would take their seats after receiving their graduation certificate.
"Hey buddy, how's it going?" Flame asked, accompanied by Ember who both gave Spyro a separate hug, Ember's exceptionally tight. She thought a lot about Spyro after Cynder's death, knowing that she was the closest to her as a friend and would offer him company if he ever needed it which made Spyro feel better overall.
"Pretty good, son is graduating, I can't be any happier," Spyro said with a smile, forgetting about his depression for a brief moment. "How about you two, is everything going alright with you guys?"
"We've been ok lately, not much to do anymore except help out Everglades if they ever need any service or labor work done," Flame said, soon turning to Ember who looked absolutely beautiful. "What have you been doing lately honey?"
"I've been making weaved baskets and other little trinkets for the school here and for the Everglades and the Cheetah Village if I have some left over," Ember answered, turning around to see that the ceremony was about to begin. "Where was you going to sit Spyro, don't you have a reserved spot up in the front row?"
"Yeah but I let someone else have it, I told Skyro I was going to be sitting in the back row," Spyro said, turning towards the pews. "Where were you two going to sit?"
"We'll sit with you, we don't know really know anyone else here besides you." Flame said with a smile, escorting Ember over to the pews as Spyro joined the two as well. Spyro wasn't the only one watching, Cynder was watching as well.
"Ignitus look," Cynder said as both her and Ignitus looked down from the Chronicler's domain in the White Isles. "Skyro's graduation ceremony, he did it. I'm so proud of him." Cynder spread a smile across her face as she looked down into the Pool of Visions.
"I am truly proud of both him and Spyro; he kept his promise to you just like he said he would," Ignitus said, looking at Spyro who was smiling as they began to hand out graduation certificates. "He hasn't smiled like that in a long time."
"I know, but I don't know what to think of it," Cynder said, watching as Flare was the first to be honored by her peers. "I don't know if I should feel bad that he hasn't been happy for so long or to feel joy knowing that he finally can have his good days to."
"You can't really answer that question Cynder, it is best for him to see light when he wants to." Ignitus said as he returned to his books, leaving Cynder to stand by the Pool of Visions with her thoughts.
"Skyro, please step forward." Terrador announced, retrieving the young dragon's diploma from Cyril as Volteer handed Terrador a seal of approval from the Guardians which granted him access to the dragon study which was only given out to a few selective number of students.
"Go get 'em son." Spyro said to himself, smiling as he watched Skyro step up to the podium to accept his diploma and seal.
"I cannot be any more proud of you than your father must be; here is your diploma and Dragon Study seal," Terrador gave Skyro his awards and them took hold of his right hand for a handshake and smiled to the young dragon who was smiling back to him. "Happy birthday Skyro… may all of your wishes come true." Skyro nodded his head in acceptance as he took his seat next to his fellow classmates.
"Hey, do you have anything planned after the meeting with the Guardians?" Flame asked Spyro as he, Spyro, and Ember clapped with the crowd to Skyro's accomplishments.
"Not that I can recall right off hand, is there something I should be aware of?" Spyro asked, sitting back down in his chair as he looked up and watched Flare head up to the podium next.
"We were going to that one restaurant in Everglades to grab something to eat and wanted to know if you and Skyro wanted to accompany us." Ember said, watching her daughter accept her awards.
"Yeah we can do that." Spyro said with a smile, clapping with the crowd once again for Flare and her accomplishments.