Well, this is it. My first crossover. I've decided to set this up with some of the principles of Gift of the Spirits, going with the whole "release" of the dragon rider. For those of you who haven't read that, It is the final stage of being dragon and rider, allowing the shapeshifting from elf to dragon for both. Well with that said, let's join the first group of unlikely acquaintances… oh and thanks to Fresh Blood for writing the FF that inspired this.
"Umm…Mother?" Cynder snapped back to reality at the sound of her son's voice.
"Yes Delfian?" The blue dragon she spoke to was looking back at Spyro with confusion in his eyes. She allowed herself a moment of pride as she watched her son, Delfian. His scales were the darkest shade of blue possible and his wings were a calm forest green on the underside. With eyes of a brighter green, the young dragon was just under twelve years old but was incredibly intelligent for his age.
"Mom, why's Dad so tense?" Cynder chuckled as she watched Spyro's actions. At the slightest crack from the woods around them, he would twitch and glance around, sometimes jumping into a crouch and growling.
"We've had some bad experiences around here. He's just protective of us." Cynder continued walking down the forest trail with Delfian beside her and Spyro trailing them. "Don't worry though, we'll be fine." She put a protective wing around her youngling and he smiled.
After traveling down the path a bit farther, Delfian turned to his mother once again and asked, "Where are we going again?"
Cynder grinned and nuzzled her son's head. "Your father and I found a portal to another realm and the new Elders wanted us to investigate it. So we weren't going to leave you there alone." She looked back up the path and saw something glimmering in the distance. Calling back to Spyro, she altered her steps to slow down a bit. "Spyro, love, I think I see it."
The purple dragon ran up to her other side and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Good eye, Cyn. Let's hurry up and see what we can find out."
They hurried forward down the path through the forest and soon came to the place where Cynder had spotted the portal. Sure enough, there was a small orb resting on a stone pedestal just off the dirt path. As they approached, the orb began to float and a circle appeared beside the trail. The circle glowed pure white and they took a step towards it. Now standing directly in front of the gate to a new realm, Delfian moved closer to Spyro and looked up into the large dragon's purple eyes. "I'm scared, Dad."
Spyro smiled at him and pulled him close. "I'm here son, don't worry. It's always a little frightening the first time through a portal. We'll keep a tight hold on you, Delfian." His gaze returned to the circle and he squared his shoulders. "Let's go." They stepped through the portal and the air around them grew heavy for a few seconds before sliding back from their bodies, allowing them to slip through to the other side.
As they felt the pressure of the portal diminish, they looked around their new surroundings. The trees were tall and the air was still. Spyro fluttered his wings in anxiety; it was too quiet. Cynder unraveled her wings and flapped them strongly, propelling her into the air and she took the time to search her surroundings. The forest stretched on in every direction save one, in which a river wound out of the trees and cut through a plain that lay beside an immense desert. She flew back down to the other two and grinned. "It's beautiful, but I've never seen anywhere like it before."
Spyro shrugged. "Well it is another realm, so different is expected. Let's take a walk around. Maybe we'll meet somebody."
They began to stroll around in the shade of the trees and after many hours of searching, they found no signs of life. Starting to get frustrated, Delfian suddenly threw back his head and let out a roar. This startled Spyro and Cynder, who turned to look at their son. Just as Spyro was about to ask why the blue dragon had done that, a shadow passed above them. All three eyes swiveled upwards just in time to see the outline of what appeared to be a dragon fly through the air. Delfian cracked a grin. "There are dragons here too!" He was about to run off after the shadow but Cynder grabbed his leg with her tail.
"Hold on there, we don't know if they are friendly. We go as a family." She nodded to Spyro and they ran into the woods in pursuit of the creature. They burst out of the forest just as the sun passed below the horizon and they glimpsed the creature flying across the plains to the east. Realizing that catching up on foot was nigh impossible, they spread their wings and took off.
As they neared the creature, they saw that it was larger than any dragon they had ever seen in their realm. Cynder also noticed a strange deformity on the thing's back and became curious as to what it was. They grew closer and she squinted her eyes to try and make out the deformity's details. It was another animal that looked much like an ape. Memories of the apes from her realm flashed through her mind and she growled quietly, speeding up her pace and moving in to attack it.
To her surprise, just before she dove the ape called out to her. "Wait! Eka fricai un Shur'tugal!"
Though she did not understand his words, she got the feeling that he was not an enemy. The strange ape made a motion downwards and the dragon it was on suddenly dove to the ground. Now curious, Cynder followed, looking back quickly to see that Spyro and Delfian were trailing her. She quickly descended to the ground to see that the ape had dismounted the dragon and stood with its arms crossed by its side. Alighting gently upon the grassy hillside, she waited for her family to join her. When the other two touched down behind her, the ape uncrossed its arms and raised them, palms extended outwards in a show of peace. It started walking over to them, hands still outstretched, and spoke softly. "Skulblaka, eka mulabra ono un onr breoal né haina. Atra nosu waíse fricai."
Irritated by his strange language, Cynder retorted, "What the hell does that mean?"
The ape halted its forward progress with a stunned expression on its hairless face. "You speak?"
Spyro snorted and stepped forward to stand beside his mate. "Of course we speak, doesn't the dragon behind you?"
The ape cast a glance back at the sapphire dragon and nodded. "Yes, she can talk as well, just not in the same way as you. She speaks with her mind. As do all dragons, I thought." It shrugged. "Guess I was wrong."
Despite the creature's friendly disposition, Cynder still did not trust it. Suddenly, a voice resonated within her mind. Greetings, young dragons. I am Saphira and this is my Rider, Eragon. Cynder whipped her head around to glare at the sapphire dragon, who simply bowed her head in acknowledgement. And just so you know, he is not an ape. He is a human…or at least he was before. Now he's more of an elf than a human.
Spyro must have heard this as well for he assumed an expression of utter confusion. "Elf? Human? What are they? How did you just talk to us?"
The "elf" supposedly called Eragon chuckled. "I am now an elf and Saphira just spoke with her mind, as I said she does. That's the only way she can communicate." The dragon that he called Saphira strode forward to stand only feet in front of them. She lowered her head to study Cynder carefully.
You are a strange little dragon, hatchling. I have never seen a coloration like yours before.
Cynder was taken aback by Saphira's words. "I am not a hatchling! I have a mate and a son!"
Saphira recoiled from the black dragoness and turned her gaze to Delfian and then to Spyro. Who are you tainted beings?
Spyro growled dangerously as Cynder let out a gasp. Spyro moved between his mate and Saphira, placing his tail on Cynder's chest protectively. "We are NOT tainted! We are dragons from the temple and trained under the Guardians themselves. I should kill you for saying that to my mate." He cast a sorrowful glance at the black dragoness. "Her past was not her fault." He growled again. "I should have known that dragons in another realm would still hate her."
Saphira returned his growl. I never said that I hated her. How can I hate someone I have just met? And I doubt that a tiny dragon like you could kill me. I could simply step on you…
Cynder snarled and loosed a ball of swirling shadows at the larger dragon. The projectile smashed into Saphira's chest and knocked her onto the ground; sliding backwards a few feet on her back. The shadows morphed after impact, creeping across the fallen dragon and keeping her pinned to the ground.
Eragon cried out and grasped at his chest as he ran to her side. He placed his free hand upon the writhing shadows and chanted, "Losna Saphira fra du sundavar!" The dark element binding Saphira dissipated instantly, allowing the sapphire dragon to roll back onto her claws. Eragon stepped in between her and the other dragons, trying to make peace. "All of you knock it off!" They didn't seem to hear him. Spyro crouched low to the ground, ready for an attack while Saphira reared her head back in preparation to release a jet of fire. Frustration getting the better of him, Eragon put a hand out to both parties and yelled, "Malthinae!" All of the dragons, save for Delfian, froze in their tracks, held by the invisible force of Eragon's spell. He lowered his hands and began to lecture them. "Is this really how you have learned to deal with others?" He addressed the question to no one in particular. "Seriously, this is pathetic. You're squabbling like angry mother hens. Calm down!" He turned to Spyro. "Now, I'm sorry if what Saphira said offended you, she was just surprised. But, that gives you no right to attack my dragon like that!" Both the purple and black dragons lowered their heads in shame. Eragon immediately whipped around and confronted Saphira. "However, I do know you, and you know better than to go out and speak things like that to complete strangers! And to think that you used to admonish me for my words against others." He laughed mirthlessly. "It's incredible how naïve you can be." Crossing his arms, he shifted his gaze from Saphira to Spyro to Cynder. With a smirk plastered on his features, he asked, "Now, if I let you go, can you three get along?" After getting a nod from his detainees, he released the magic that bound them and heard a sigh of relief from Cynder. Facing the black dragoness, he gave a warm smile. "Let's do this right. Hi, I'm Eragon Shadeslayer and my dragon is Saphira Brightscales. What are your names?"
Spyro tried to force a smile like Eragon's. "I am Spyro, third purple dragon of the Dragon Realms. Behind me is my mate, Cynder. Lastly, the dark blue dragon behind her is our son, Delfian."
Delfian showed some of the best manners of the group so far and made a movement resembling a bow. "A pleasure to meet you, Mister Shadeslayer and Miss Brightscales."
Seeing the formality of the young dragon made Eragon let out a laugh. "Please, call us Eragon and Saphira. Anyway, what brings you to Alagaesia?"
Cynder looked around. "So this realm is called Alagaesia, huh? Interesting." She began to wander about the hill upon which they stood, occasionally bending down to sniff a flower growing in the grass. Spyro sighed softly as he watched his mate stroll around the grassy knoll.
Shaking it off, he hurried to answer the elf's question. "We were sent by the dragon council to investigate a new realm and ended up here."
Eragon rubbed his chin in thought. "I haven't ever heard of the dragon council…in fact, there are really only two real dragons left in Alagaesia until the last egg hatches. Saphira is the only female left…" A devious smile leapt about his lips but he said nothing.
Delfian walked up to Saphira and sat down in front of her with a goofy grin. "What's a Rider? You said that Eragon was your Rider. What does that mean?"
The large sapphire dragon lowered her head to be eye level with the darker blue hatchling. Well, young one, in our land long ago, the dragons and elves made a pact. It allowed elves and later humans to be bonded to a dragon hatchling if a certain spell was said over the egg before it hatched. I chose Eragon as my bond partner and he became my Rider. We share thoughts and feelings, and we endure past all others. And we just recently learned that it dragon and Rider can be "released" into a special ability. It allows dragon to become elf and elf to become dragon.
Delfian sat in shock of what he just heard. Shapeshifting? That was something unheard of to him. What else? More of these strange beings that shift forms? He shook his head. No, he said that there was only one other "Rider" in Alagaesia.
Spyro strode over to Cynder. "What should we do, love?" Cynder whispered to her mate.
Spyro nuzzled her scaly cheek. "I think we should see if we can't make friends with this Eragon. We do need the allies in case something else threatens the Dragon Realms again."
Cynder planted a kiss right on his lips. "That's my Spyro, always thinking ahead. I love that about you."
Spyro smiled and turned to Eragon. "If it is okay with you, we would like to accompany you wherever you are going, to make up for our earlier actions. Perhaps there's a way we can work together."
Eragon returned the expression. "Perhaps there is. Good to see someone who looks past bad encounters. Well, in truth, we aren't exactly going to anywhere in particular. In fact we were trying to decide whether we wanted to explore east of the Edda River or fly to Vroengard to see the homes of our ancestors."
Cynder's eyes sparkled at the mention of Vroengard. "Ooh that second one sounds exciting. Why don't we go there?"
Then we shall. Eragon, do you want to fly with me or join me in the sky? Saphira had stepped over to join them with Delfian padding along beside her.
Eragon shrugged the question off, his devious smile returning to his lips. "I think I'll join you in the air this time, my friend. I feel the need to stretch my wings once again." With that said, Eragon dropped to his hands and knees and his body began to morph. His smooth skin melted into shimmering black scales and the short fingers at the end of his hands stretched into razor sharp ivory talons. As the elf's body grew, spikes sprouted from the length of his spine and wings formed out of his shoulders. With his face elongating into a snout and his eyes shaded gold, his transformation to a majestic dragon was complete. The black dragon now stood slightly taller than Saphira and simply dwarfed Spyro and his family. Eragon let out a joyful roar and flexed his enormous wings above his head, bringing them down forcefully to propel himself into the air.
Saphira growled softly and followed suit, joined almost immediately by the smaller dragons. They began their trek west, flying into the setting sun.
Their flight lasted well past dark before Delfian called out to Cynder. "Mom, I'm getting tired. Could we stop for tonight?"
Cynder nodded and flew in front of Eragon to stop him from going any farther. "My son and I are tired. We wish to rest here for the night so we can cover more ground tomorrow."
The giant black dragon bobbed his head in acknowledgement. Very well. Let us descend.
They landed in a grassy valley, still in the plains along the edge of the forest. Saphira lay down in a large depression in the ground and Eragon curled himself around her. Spyro and Cynder did the same and Delfian cuddled up next to his mother.
Eragon was about to drift off into slumber when the youngling's voice emanated from his thoughts. Do you love her?
Eragon opened one golden eye to stare over at the little blue dragon. My, you're a quick learner.
Do you love her? Delfian asked again, persistence etched into his voice.
I do love her, but not as a mate. We have been together as friends for over three years, but only recently have been able to spend time together like this. Besides, we haven't even done the courting dive, so we couldn't be mates, even if I did love her as one.
The melodious sound of the youngling's laughter echoed throughout Eragon's mind. I never asked if you were mates, Eragon. You went into that. You might want to rethink your feelings towards your dragon.
Embarrassed by the small dragon, Eragon shot back, What do you know, you're just a hatchling!
His remark was met by more laughter, the sound slowly fading as Delfian retreated from the confused dragon's mind. Eragon closed his eye again and attempted to return to sleep, but his racing thoughts prevented any peace. He sighed and gazed at the dragoness in the curve of his frame. Looking down upon her awakened something inside of him and he found himself wrapping his wing over the sapphire dragon. Was the young one right? Do I love Saphira? he asked himself. But she is my dragon and I am her Rider. I can't be her mate too, can I? He shook his head gently, not wanting to wake Saphira up to his current state of mind. No, how could I be, after all we went through together. I'd know if I loved her like that. What could possibly be driving me to think like this? Why do I wish to be with her in that way? I am just her friend, nothing more. He growled. But I am a dragon now, I could be more. He leaned his head down across her neck, avoiding her spikes carefully. A pleasant scent wafted into his nostrils and he inhaled the aroma deeply. Seconds later, he realized that the scent was Saphira. She smells incredible. Maybe I am in love with her. just maybe… The scent of his dragon lulled him into a calm state of mind and slumber soon overtook him.
That's it! First chapter done, tell me if you think I pulled it off so far. More to come soon so be patient and don't rush me. Next chapter's could be graphic, I mean it is M for a reason *evil chuckle* Well I'm off to sleep it's 4:42 in the morning and this is done, so I'm happy. A great ending to a great day.
Laters!