Chapter 1: Fading Radiance
By Dardarax
Disclaimer: I, Dardarax, do not own Spyro, Cynder, the Guardians, the Temple or or any other character or place belonging to the Spyro Franchise. I do, however, own this colossal stuffed teddy bear that watches you in your sleep. He dreams of octopi. So, so many octopi... I also own my own characters who are featured in this story. Their names are listed at the bottom.
The summer sun meandered slowly towards the horizon over the small town of Darrowlight. Long, angular shadows pooled in the wake of the tired sun; shadows made even darker by the vast presence of the Dragon Temple looming high on its rocky throne. A warm breeze whistled through the streets and alleyways and sang to the tired workers on their way back home.
A young white dragon stalked down the half empty road. He was small for his age, with an oddly feminine frame. His reed thin body was, however, as tough as leather and coiled with ropes of muscle. Long, silvery scars etched his pearly scales and grey underbelly, covered only by the satchel that hung around his neck. His dark red eyes remained focused on the market place ahead; his stride quickened as he neared it, hoping the bookstore was not yet closed.
He caught the door to the shop just as the large air dragon emerged, yawning. The albino stopped him with a paw. The wind dragon blinked and looked down at him, raising an eye ridge.
"Master Lyrith, what brings you here at this hour?" the shopkeeper asked with a frown. Lyrith smirked at being called 'master,' enjoying the disdain in the shopkeeper's voice as he said the word.
"The book I bought from you today is missing three chapters," Lyrith replied, pulling out a large volume from his satchel. "I want you to replace it."
"I'm sorry Master Lyrith," the air dragon replied, forcing a smile. "But we're closed."
Lyrith stood his ground, his red eyes intense.
"Sir, it really is too late," the shopkeeper stammered as he met his gaze. "Come back tomorrow and…"
Lyrith continued to stand in his way, his hard eyes scorching. Finally the grey dragon cracked and he looked away with a sigh.
"Alright, I suppose finding you a new copy would only take a few moments."
Lyrith nodded, satisfied and then took a seat at the entrance to wait for the shopkeeper to return. After a few minutes the grey dragon bustled back, muttering to himself. He gave Lyrith the new book. The white dragon accepted it, but did not move out of the way; instead he quickly flipped through the book to make sure everything was there. The air dragon waited impatiently, wanting to get going, but not willing to try and shoo Lyrith away.
After a full minute of checking, Lyrith looked up and put the book back in his satchel.
"Alright, I have everything I need," he turned away to walk back down the street. He made it halfway along when he stopped and glanced back at the shopkeeper as he locked up. "Oh, right… uh, thanks."
The shopkeeper gave him a stiff wave and Lyrith turned to continue on his way. The sun sank even deeper, the shadows it cast now bloated and swollen black. Inside the small houses Lyrith could see the families gathering for dinner, laughing and embracing one another.
Not that long ago, Lyrith thought, he would have looked into those buildings with envy. He would have wished to be part of such festivities. "Now," he thought with a grin, "I'm just as well of as them, if not more so."
Movement off to his left caught his eye and Lyrith turned his gaze to search the shadows. A gang of five young drakes emerged from an alley to his left, moving to cut Lyrith off and surround him. The albino groaned and came to a halt.
"Great," he thought, glowering around at the five thugs. "And my day was going so well too."
"Alright, milky," the leader of the thugs started, taking a step forward to menace the albino. "Give us all your stuff and we might not break bones."
A sneer spread across Lyrith's face at the slur 'Milky.' It had been a while since he had heard that from anyone. Since his adoption most had been careful to not use derogatory terms around him. Though, once upon a time that used to be all he ever heard. It was always easy to pick on the powerless drake, the one who couldn't breathe fire in your face or shock you into unconsciousness if you insulted them. It was almost refreshing to hear it again.
Lyrith glanced around at the thugs not recognizing any of them.
"They must not know who I am," Lyrith thought to himself with a chuckle. "Or they probably wouldn't have tried to mess with me."
"Hey, milky! Don't just stand there cowering, hurry it up and give us your stuff!"
"Yeah, we're on a schedule here!"
"Start with those pendants, they look valuable."
Lyrith glanced down momentarily at the two pendants he wore. One was gold set with a large polished opal and the other was a locket with a large ruby embedded in the front. A sneer crossed his face as the leader, who, frustrated by the silent albino stomped forward to snatch the pendants away. Lyrith sidestepped the swipe and pounced, smashing his head against the big blue dragon. The large, plate like scale crowning his head absorbed most of the impact on Lyrith's end, but the wet thunk and scream that followed proved the thug wasn't so lucky. The bully clutched at his head and stumbled back blood trickling between his claws. Through watery eyes the drake glared at Lyrith and let loose a howl of rage.
"Kill him! Kill the bastard now!"
Lyrith sneered as the rest of the thugs rushed towards him, approaching from all sides. The white dragon lunged at the thug in front of him and swiped a paw at his head. The bully caught it on his horn but Lyr twirled around and lashed out with his tail to knock him flat on his haunches. The other thugs followed after Lyrith, who grabbed the fallen drake by his large horns. He heaved him up and spun him around, throwing him bodily into the other dragons. They cried out in surprise as their friend slammed into them and they toppled like a fence under a rockslide.
The leader of the gang looked down at his friends and then glared over to Lyrith, blood from his broken snout oozing into his fangs. He inhaled and blasted a long stream of icy liquid at the white dragon`s legs. Lyrith saw the attack but couldn't get out of the way in time. He snarled as the fluid splattered along his left side and froze solid, biting into his scales as it held him in place. Lyrith struggled to free himself as the ice dragon lined up another blast.
Two wicked sharp shards of ice flew from his snout, soaring straight at Lyrith. Lyr twisted his leg; the ice fractured around it, only to crack several of his scales. Now free he threw himself to the ground to avoid the attack. Lyrith rolled back to his paws, but his still partially frozen leg and broken scales caused him to wince and lose his balance.
By now the other four dragons had gotten shakily to their paws and saw the albino injured off to the side. Two charged while the others separated to flank him. Lyrith took a second to think, then charged left, heading for the fire dragon. He launched himself at the thug, hunching his left side in front as he aimed for a full body tackle. The fire dragon desperately blasted Lyrith with a burst of flame, in an attempt to ward him away.
The ice along Lyr's flank melted under the intense heat, having protected him from the worst of the fire. Then, he ploughed into the thug, sending him crashing to the ground. Lyrith rolled over him and, back on his paws, stomped down on the drake's head, knocking him out cold with a crack.
Lyr grinned and, now free of the ice, dashed through the opening he created and towards the ice dragon leader. The thug cast several more spikes of ice at him as he approached, fear growing in his face as the white dragon ducked each one. Lyrith sidestepped the last spike and then pounced, striking down at the thug from above, claws extended.
The gang members skidded to a halt as the ice dragon let out a scream of pain, their muzzles falling open as they saw him being borne down. He and Lyrith crashed together against the pavement. Lyrith stood over him, the white's claws dug deep into his flesh, his fangs at his throat. There was silence for a moment as everyone took in the sight. Then, Lyrith let go and grabbed the drake by the horns to smash his head against the cobblestone. The ice dragon's eyes glazed over and he collapsed limply under the albino. The other dragons stared, stupefied at Lyr as he turned to them with a smirk.
Shouts from some guardsmen caught their attention and the remaining three drakes panicked and fled, running back into the alley and leaving their friends behind. Lyrith faced the feline guards as they stopped to glance around at the mess the fight had made of the street.
"What's going on here?" one of the felines demanded.
"These two and their friends mugged me," Lyrith gestured at the thugs.
"Oh, uh… that's good," the feline replied, startled by Lyr's brusqueness.
"Do you need more or can I go?" Lyrith winced lightly in pain as he stretched. Then he glanced up at the Temple above. "I have places to be."
"Um, well we'll need your name and we'll need…"
"Lyrith."
"Oh! Inferna's son! Please, go right on! We will take care of this sir!"
With that the guards gathered up the two unconscious thugs and dragged them away, only pausing to give Lyrith a short bow. Lyrith grinned at this, hardly able to keep himself from laughing. Then he turned to trot back down the street, heading up the path towards the Temple. Rather than flying, Lyrith decided to take the time and walk, enjoying the strain on his muscles despite the light pain. The view from the path leading up the mountain was gorgeous, from the setting sun to the light speckled town of Darrowlight below.
Lyrith grunted in satisfaction once he reached the large gates leading into the Temple and he stepped through. The guards, a wolf and a dragon glanced down at him and saluted, letting him pass into the garden. Lyrith nodded back, keeping his face neutral to the guards as he entered.
It was so strange for him to be getting such positive attention, even after nearly ten months since Inferna, the Guardian of Fire, adopted him. Having lived seventeen years in an orphanage in the slums of Warfang, such treatment was almost alien to Lyrith, especially considering how poorly most dragons saw albinos.
Lyrith sneered at the thought. He had been relentlessly bullied as a child, being both small and colourless. The fact that he possessed no powers had all but removed his dragoninity in the eyes of others, giving them free access to beat, harass and insult him to their hearts content. Though, he always gave back whatever they sent his way, often times with some extra pain to boot.
Lyr snorted, shaking his head to dismiss the thoughts of the past. Having cleared his head he made his way towards the Grand Hall of the Temple. He was halfway up the steps when he heard his name being called. He looked around and caught sight of a topaz coloured dragoness waving to him from one of the gardens by a setup of paints. Lyrith turned and strode over to her, a warm smile on his snow white face.
"What are you painting, Voltlyn?" Lyrith asked as he approached the plump lightning dragoness. She smiled bashfully and turned her blue gaze to the painting.
"It's, um, a little weird," she said with a nervous laugh, picking up her brush to gesture at the painting. "T… Typhous's commissioner was both specific and, well, um, rather vague in what he wanted. So…"
Lyrith stopped beside her and examined the painting. It was a painting of two avians flying side by side through the sky, only it was upside down and completely inverted in colour. The clouds were blue and the sky a milky, swirling white. The sun was black and the avians' colours were swapped with black instead of the typical white of a dove. Lyrith glanced over at her with a raised eye ridge.
"It's simple but, um… strange to describe," she continued, returning her brush the painting. "There's still more but I'm just trying to get this part done…"
"I don't understand it myself," Lyrith said with a shrug. "It's interesting, but why someone would do this doesn't make any sense to me."
Voltlyn shrugged, giving him a smile. "That's alright, it is rather abstract."
Lyrith sat beside her for a bit, watching her paint. It was only when it had grown noticeably darker that he turned back to speak with her.
"Will you be packing up soon?"
Voltlyn looked up and noticed the dwindling light and sighed.
"Yes, I probably should stop now."
Lyrith nodded and stood up to help her. She gave him a grateful smile and together they took the painting down, set it against a tree and then packed away the rest of the tools. Lyrith hauled up the supplies while Voltlyn carefully carried the painting, in a special sling to keep it from smudging. She took the lead, Lyrith trudging behind with all of her gear. She led him up through the grand hall, mostly empty except for a few students or servants taking an evening walk. They followed the corridors until they found a staircase up and then began their ascent.
Lyr stared after her as they walked and wondered what was on her mind. It had been a while since they had talked and he was curious as to how she was faring. On the outside she didn't show much distress from her time under the abusive talon of Torch, but Lyrith did not doubt it was still there. Even he knew better than to bring it up to her and risk opening such deep wounds.
Voltlyn glanced back and caught Lyrith gazing up at her and she flushed a bright pink. She averted her eyes once more. Lyrith chuckled at this. He couldn't help but like how modest she was about everything. Whether it was her trying to start up a conversation with him, or her giving out gifts, she always couldn't help but stammer and blush. Lyrith became aware of the heavy weight of the gold and ruby locket hanging from his neck and he smirked. Voltlyn had given him it on his hatchday only a few months back.
"Heh, I would have torn them limb from limb had they actually taken this away from me," Lyrith thought back to the thugs he had encountered earlier.
"Sorry, what was that, Lyrith?"
"Nothing."
A smile cracked Lyrith's face, and he sighed deeply. Then he frowned, and pushed the warm feeling away into the back of his mind. Voltlyn lead him through a few halls and into the female's corridor. It was unremarkable, looking very much like the male corridor, despite what most male students claimed. Voltlyn stopped halfway down the hall and placed the painting down carefully against it. She took her key out of her neck pouch and opened the door. She gestured for Lyrith to go in first to put the supplies down
Lyrith stepped into her room and carried the luggage into a corner and gratefully dropped it down. Then he turned and took a look around her room. He would have said it was bare of furnishing and decoration, as the walls were empty of tables, bookshelves and personal items, but this wouldn't be entirely true. Paintings were everywhere, lying on the floors, stacked up in piles and leaning against walls. The difference was that these paintings weren't for decoration, but rather were in storage. These were Voltlyn's own work, left here until she could find a buyer.
Lyrith turned to face Voltlyn as she carefully walked the painting into the room and placed it gently down on a stand to let it dry. Then, exhausted she flopped down on the bed of colourful pillows to rest. Lyrith stood awkwardly in her room as she nestled down, debating what to do. Finally, after one more glance around the room, he cleared his throat.
"So, Voltlyn, um, where did you learn to paint?"
Voltlyn was silent for a moment, looking up to stare at Lyrith with confusion. She opened her muzzle and stopped, trying to think of the right words.
"Oh, well, um, it's nothing special, I just sort of picked up it…"
"So you're telling me that you've always been this talented?"
"Well, no, but um, I mean…"
Lyrith waited for her to answer, pretending to be emotionless while really grinning inside. She stammered for a bit before finally collecting herself with a sigh.
"I… I got a lot of help from my dad," she said finally, looking down at the floor. "At least, before he died. After that I had to practice on my own…"
Lyrith was silent for a moment, realizing that he may have just tread on some wounds of hers.
"Well it definitely paid off," he said finally, taking a step towards her. "I'm… sure your dad would be proud."
She gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Lyr."
Lyrith fell into an awkward silence once more and he quickly glanced around trying to think of something to say. When nothing came he looked back over to her and sighed.
"I suppose I should be heading off now."
"Oh… um… right," Voltlyn murmured, her eyes downcast. The silence returned for a half-minute before Lyrith finally turned and started towards the door of her room. She spoke up once again which caused him to stop.
"So, uh… Lyrith. Would you like to, um, maybe go do something together tomorrow?"
"Like what?" he asked, looking back at her with a raised eye ridge.
"Um… well, I don't know… I guess we could think of something after lunch…"
Lyrith blinked then nodded in agreement. "Sure… let's do that."
Voltlyn beamed. "Okay, um, how about we meet in the dining hall after lunch tomorrow?"
"Alright. I'll meet you at the dining hall then," he said as he stepped out of the room and gave her a weak grin of his own.
"Yeah, see you then," she said as he shut the door, still smiling.
Lyrith took a step back from the door and stared at it for a moment, before he sauntered off to the male's corridor. He headed to the kitchen, it being the fastest route to his own room. He had just entered the kitchen when he noticed that his wounds didn't hurt anymore. Lyr looked down and saw that the cuts and broken scales were healed. The white dragon frowned, trying to remember when he'd taken a life crystal and decided that it was probably just after the fight. He had a couple spares in his bag after all. With that out of the way he resumed his walk, feeling oddly tired.
Lyrith turned right as he entered the male corridor, only to freeze, petrified like a marble statue. Standing just outside his room was a huge bright yellow lightning dragon. The muscle bound drake glanced up at Lyr, smirked and stalked over to him.
Lyrith sneered, his muzzle pulling away to reveal his fangs. "Thunder."
"There you are, snowflake," Thunder declared, his voice resembling his namesake. "I was just dropping by to make sure you were going to follow through with our duel next week."
"Of course I will, foghorn," Lyrith said with a smirk. "I'm not going to pass up a chance to beat your ass twice in front of a crowd."
Half a year ago Thunder, probably under orders by the dragon Torch, provoked Lyrith into started a duel between them. Against everyone's expectations, Lyrith had just barely come out victorious, somehow managing to beat a dragon with two elements, despite having none of his own. Now, months later the rematch was finally around the corner and Thunder never let Lyrith forget this fate.
Thunder laughed heartily. "You won't be so lucky this time, albino. I'll prove to everyone that the last time was a fluke. As good as you are, a powerless lizard like yourself won't match up to a drake like me. After all, I was taking it easy on you the first time around. I won't make that mistake again."
Lyrith's grin widened. "You know, Thunder, I'm glad you have the sound element, because I'll be making you squeal so hard that everyone in the kingdom will know how badly I beat you!"
Thunder laughed. "The only time I scream for females is when they're under me. So yeah, you might actually have a shot at that, Snowy."
A vicious growl tore out of Lyr's throat and he resisted the urge to pounce on Thunder and crush his smug muzzle with a few good stomps. Thunder, seeing Lyrith had no response to that, strode past him confidently. Lyrith watched him go, fuming in frustration.
"Oh yes, I'll make you scream," Lyrith hissed after Thunder, making a tearing motion with his claws. Thunder paused outside of his room and glanced back to him, giving him a wide, humourless grin. They locked eyes for a moment, both refusing to back down. Then, finally, Thunder chortled and stepped into his room and vanished from sight. Lyrith watched the door for a full minute before he turned away, heading to his room in an irritated huff.
He unlocked the large stone door and slipped into the chamber that was now his home. The room was cavernous, the tall ceiling was almost large enough to do flying exercises in and the wide carpeted floor was so thick and fluffy that his paws sank satisfyingly into it. A massive desk lay to his left, while a good half dozen bookshelves stood to his right. After a year of living here he had finally started making an impact on the room with personal effects, but large empty spaces on the walls and floor begged to be filled.
The white dragon had gone three steps into the room before he stopped, dropped his bag to the ground and looked around. It was very dark, the light orbs scattered about the chamber having been shut off and the curtains drawn closed so the moonlight could not get through. He narrowed his eyes and then moved cautiously over to his desk, drew open the drawer and then slammed it shut. The signal turned all of the sunglobes on, lighting up the room in a flash. He squinted at the sudden brightness and then took another look. Hidden behind a large curtain was an adult fire dragoness, her paws sticking comically out of the bottom.
Lyrith grinned triumphantly.
"Not this time, Inferna," he said with a laugh. The dragoness sighed in consternation and stepped out into the light. Her red and orange, flame pattered scales gleamed in the light and her twin gold horns were decorated in their usual bells. Lyrith always wondered why she was able to hide so well with such noisy decorations. She gave him a toothy smile as she plopped down in front of him.
"What gave me away?" she asked with a chiming chuckle.
"Nothing in particular. It was just that this was the exact situation I expected you to try and surprise me with."
Inferna sighed sadly, raising a paw to her forehead. "Am I becoming that predictable? I suppose I will have to change my strategy now that you've got me pinned down!"
Lyrith rolled his eyes. "I'd rather you not do it at all, mom."
Mom. It was still so weird saying that for Lyrith. Just over a year ago he'd been an orphan. He was a nearly adult dragon who had never known his parents or even what it was like to have any. In the orphanage he had grown up in, no potential adopters had ever even considered him for a moment. He'd been the albino brat, a wild drake to be scorned. Then, Inferna came along and brought him to the Temple. She hadn't adopted him then, simply taking him in as her student, though that would come to change months later. More amazing than that, was the fact that she was the Guardian of Flame, one of the most respected dragons anywhere in the world. Now he, Lyrith, once a street rat albino orphan, had more political clout than most nobles. Words couldn't describe how delighted he felt whenever he saw the reactions of some smug busybody or aristocrat the moment they learned who he was.
"Well too bad," she lifted her snout into the air with a playful huff. "It's far too much fun startling you, especially in really awkward situations."
"Not for me."
"Who said it was about you though?" she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Do you have business here mom, or are you done?" Lyr asked, unable to hide a smile despite his annoyance
"I do," she declared. "I came by to wish my son goodnight."
Lyrith started to give a snarky reply and then stopped himself with a sigh.
"Oh, um… thanks mom. Good night yourself…"
Inferna wrapped her wings about him in a light hug. After a few seconds she backed away and smiled at his slightly embarrassed face.
"So, did you get the book exchanged?" she asked, sitting down once more.
"Yeah, just barely," Lyrith sighed. "Had to push a little though."
"I hope you mean figuratively," she said, half-jokingly.
"Yes I mean figuratively," he shook his eight horned head. Six of the chipped, grey spikes crowning his skull curled backwards, while the last pair jutted forward just under his jaw, almost like a pair of tusks. Of the set of six horns the largest was the middle pair, which curved back a fair bit further than the rest.
"Oh, good."
"Though I didn't treat those bastard thugs with such kindness."
"Oh dear, did someone…"
"Yeah, some pricks jumped me while I was heading back. I sent them on a crash course with the pavement. Won't be bothering me again for a while."
Inferna sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry Lyr, I was hoping that once I adopted you that would stop."
Lyrith shrugged. "I'm just used to it. Don't bother worrying about me."
Inferna gave Lyrith another hug, pulling him tightly against her chest. "If you ever need to talk about it…"
"Yeah, yeah," Lyrith returned the gesture begrudgingly. She broke away and sighed, looking back out the window.
"I suppose I should leave now. It's getting late."
"Probably," Lyrith said with a shrug. He finished with a sly smirk. "And I bet Deran is waiting impatiently."
Inferna blushed lightly, but gave him a wide grin in response. "Oh yes, do I have a night for him in mind, I've gotten some…"
"I don't want to know," Lyrith said flatly, placing a paw on his forehead. Inferna snickered and pranced towards the door, giving him a wink.
"Well you're the one who brought it up."
"And I immediately regretted it."
Inferna opened the door and stepped out.
"Goodnight, Lyr."
"Goodnight, mom," he said after a moment's pause, remembering to smile. Inferna gave him a bright nod and then slowly closed the door. Lyrith stood for a while, facing the door silently. Then he turned to his bed, wandered across the vast distance towards it to finally flop down on the soft cushions. He curled up on it and only faintly remembered to shut off the sunglobes. He picked up one of the books sitting by his bed and slammed it down on the ground, causing the globes to trigger off.
He lay in the darkness, the rising moon peeking through his drapes at him. He let his mind wander off, but it kept returning to the duel with Thunder. It was only hours later that Lyrith managed to doze off, to dream of beaten lightning dragons.
It was the silence that halted the old gold dragon's typical joviality. Shimaria stood with her golden back turned to him, her gaze fixed intently down at the scroll on the table. She glanced up at him as he entered, her young face stark.
"You're late, Mirrolus," she turned back to the scroll.
"I was out dealing with a tribe of Grublins. They were causing trouble for our trainees and I felt it prudent to…"
"It's not your job to deal with such things anymore. Your place is here, teaching said trainees so they can deal with those kinds of threats."
"I certainly hope that's not the reason you have called me here, Shimaria. If it is then I will leave. I've heard it enough times from the other generals that-"
"That's Lady Shimaria, Mirrolus. Remember your place."
"if each complaint were a brick I could build a to-scale model of Aurscalis Keep."
Shimaria groaned and put her six horned head between her golden paws. "Dammit Mirrolus, had you been anyone else you'd have been hanged by now."
Mirrolus' muzzle twitched upward momentarily. He stepped towards her and placed a paw on her shoulder.
"Shimaria. What is the matter? You are far more tense than usual."
"I tend to get like that when around you," Shimaria shrugged his paw off of her shoulder and turned to look up into his face, her gaze hard. "So would you cut the act and pay attention?"
"Even more so than usual," Mirrolus repeated firmly.
"Guards!"
A pair of silver armoured gold dragons burst into the room, searching for threats.
"Help the Master Inquisitor to his seat. He seems to be having trouble hearing again."
The guards saluted and moved over to Mirrolus. The old dragon rolled his eyes and waved them away, taking a seat across from Shimara.
"Fine, fine. I'll pay attention, but you really do need to relax."
The guards glanced between them, hesitantly saluted and returned to their posts, their confused expressions masked by their helmets. Lady Shimaria watched them go and then sighed, turning to face him.
"I wish you'd stop making me have to do that. I don't like having to pull authority on you. You just force my paw, far too often."
Mirrolus waved a paw dismissively. "You said you wanted to get to business, fine. If you haven't brought me here for disciplinary duty for my apparently misguided attempts at doing my job, then why am I here?"
Shimaria steadied herself, taking a deep breath. "The Archivists have informed me that the Prophecy is coming to fruition."
Mirrolus shot up on his cushion, his green eyes wide.
"Why did you not tell me this right away?"
"Because you were purposefully being a pawful."
Mirrolus sat back and shook his twin horned head. "Had you told me that right away…"
"Like you would have given me the chance. Regardless, I brought you here because I have particular need of you," Mirrolous raised an eye ridge at that. Shimaria took another steadying breath before she continued. "For this reason I believe it is finally time to leave the shadows of these lands and return to our home. It is time to reclaim what is rightfully ours and in order to do that I need an emissary. Someone I trust who will go to the Dragon Temple to ready the way for the Order of the Golden Shield's return. I can think of no one better than you, Mirrolus."
"I see. It will be my honour, Lady Shimaria."
"What? No flippant remark?"
"This is serious, Shimaria. Such a monumental event should be met with grace and respect, especially by you, the head of the Order."
Shimaria stared at him incredulously for a moment, her muzzle having fallen open in shock. She swallowed back the bitter anger that bubbled in her chest and forced herself back on topic.
"As I was saying, being the oldest and most experienced member of our order none are more qualified than you to act as dignitary in preparation for the order's return. The Guardians, being trained in the traditional ways will be our greatest allies at regaining our old position."
"You would not send me in place of one of your trained diplomats if you did not require my talents, Shimaria. Tell me everything."
"In addition to making diplomatic contact you will also keep an eye on a few particular individuals for me," Shimaria handed the scroll before her over to Mirrolous. "As of now they are under our protection but the corruption within them is still a problem. I need to know if they will be an issue. And if they are…"
Mirrolus looked over the information on the three and nodded slowly. He glanced up, his expression calm.
"If they cannot be trusted with their curse, my lady, then I will deal with them as I have all who were corrupted by convexity."
The gold dragon rolled up the scroll and tossed it into the cold fire place. He turned and parted his muzzle, loosing a lance of light at the parchment. The scroll disintegrated beneath the burst, the purple and black ink scorched away in an instant.
"Even they would not be much of a threat against me, my lady. Should it come to that."
Characters Owned by Dardarax:
Lyrith, Voltlyn, Inferna, Thunder, Torch.
Mirrolus, Shimaria
So, I've just moved house from my home of some 19-20 years to a new apartment. This is, naturally a huge change in my brother's and my own life. I'm certain this will help inspire me to write to some degree, at least for a while as these sorts of changes do tend to bring about new ways of looking at the world.
Either way this won't be stopping me from updating Dark Legacy. I'll be going on a two week schedule, posting a chapter every two weeks from now on. I'm not sure if it'll be on Friday or Saturday but I will try for Friday.
So yeah, I hope this chapter was up to your expectations. I know it's short compared to my old ones from DL 1 but I swear I have a good reason for it. You see, one of the major problems I always faced when writing DL 1 was that the length of the chapters made it almost impossible to properly edit and take forever to write. So if I hit an uninspired streak it means I couldn't just plough through it to get to the end as it would take forever. So I'm shortening the chapters to about 8000-10,000 words maximum to esure that I can write them quickly and edit them expertly. This means you'll get lots of updates (no more two month or longer dry spells) and higher quality writing than before. In exchange though, you'll have a bit less to chew on with each update. xP Still, I feel this style will serve us all better in the end and will ensure I hardly ever slack off.
Thank you all for reading. =)
Ps. A special thanks to my betas Rurikredwolf and Goldengriffiness for their help editing my story. I couldn't get this kind of quality without you two. =3