Chapter Two: Trial and Error
"Where have you been my friend, we thought you were in trouble for the past week, you never gave us the location of your journey." Terrador said as Hunter lowered his hood, showing the small scar down the front of his left eye.
"Never mind the scar, I was attacked by a few poachers, they paid for their actions with their lives," said Hunter who smiled at the Guardian dragons for their warm welcome. "I figured Spyro and Cynder would have been here by now, are they still celebrating their marriage?"
"Indeed until the young dragons soon arrive, I'm afraid we boast some terrible news." Terrador said as Hunter gave him a look of confusion.
"We have come to realize that the Dark Energy inside of Spyro's body doesn't exist, it is actually-" Cyril was cut short as he was confronted by a Mole guard who was panting heavily from running from his post at the main gates.
"Draikor is among the main gates by now, we were surprised by the Lizard warrior's soon arrival, your commands?" the Mole stammered out of breath as Terrador moved closer to make the order.
"Have him be suspended in the cage where he is at now and issue a warning to the citizens to keep away from the prisoner, we don't want any blood spilt here in Warfang by that sadistic sadist." Terrador ordered as the Mole, without hesitance, ran back through the temple doors towards the Lizard warriors and the prisoner cage.
"Cyril, when did we form an official alliance with the Lizard warriors of the East?" Terrador asked as he was unfamiliar of the partnership made with the intelligent yet violent species of reptile citizens.
"Ever since the final war with Malefor I suppose, but we never really made an official document pledging our alliance with their kind." Cyril answered as the three headed for the court room in the temple.
"Shall we head for Warfang my love?" Spyro asked as the two had just finished cleaning their last set of glass eating plates and placed them in a cupboard above the sink.
"We should, it's getting close to the afternoon hour and we don't want to keep the Guardians waiting for too long." Cynder said as she placed the last glass plate on top of the stack of glass plates in the cupboard.
"Alright, let's get going, race you there honey!" Spyro said as he shoved the massive boulder in front of the cave entrance as soon as Cynder was through the cave.
"You don't think too well do you?" Cynder said as she took flight with incredible speed as she left Spyro alone, still shoving the boulder back in front of their cave for security.
"Hey, not fair, you distracted me!" Spyro yelled in happiness as he flew with lightning speed to catch up to Cynder.
"I'll just fly low and wait to see if he can find me down here." Cynder thought to herself as she flew close to the trees in the Valley of Avalar. As she expected, Cynder watch Spyro shoot out from the forest like lighting as he looked and flew in a straight line while looking for her.
"Cynder, um where did you go?" Spyro called as he searched the skies for Cynder.
"Run away before I get you!" Cynder yelled from behind as she zipped past Spyro like an arrow.
"Get back here you goddess!" Spyro yelled as the two chased each other back and forward all the way towards Warfang.
"Here we are, Warfang, we can't seem to get away from this place for too long so it seems." Cynder said with a chuckle as the two landed among the city's interior outside the Dragon Temple.
"Cynder, what are those strange looking warriors outside of the temple?" Spyro asked as he looked among the green scaled Lizard warriors of the East.
"Those look like the Eastern Lizard warriors, they are very hostile from those regions, most likely Hiudentianas," said Cynder as they approached the decorative steps of the temple. "Best not to anger them, they don't care much for any other kind of species other than their own."
"This is a prison wagon made of iron; do these markings on the bars make sense to you Cynder?" Spyro asked as he ran his paw over the majestic carvings over the iron bars of the cage.
"I'm afraid not, it might possible be an entrapment spell to keep whoever was in in locked up." Cynder said as they passed through the temple doors which were guarded on either side by the Lizard warriors.
"This place seems to change every time we come, they've changed the Mole guard's armor and weaponry completely," Spyro said as he observed the city before entering the temple with Cynder. "I'm beginning to see more dragons and Cheetahs to, and if I'm not mistaken, I think I saw some Apes as well. I would never believe that the death of Malefor would cause such a change to his former Ape minions… I thought they could never escape his dark embrace."
"The power of good and faith will always conquer the darkness honey; you of all people should know that." Cynder said with a smile as the two entered the temple.
"I figured you'd say something like that." Spyro said with a smile, knowing that Cynder would get his obvious smart and witty behavior.
The golden decorative hall of the temple brought back happy memories to Spyro and Cynder as they both look towards the church where their wedding was held.
"Reminiscing already I see." Cynder said with a smile as she caught Spyro staring into the open doors of the church with happy looking eyes.
"That was the most important day in my life no doubt, you should have seen how nervous I was when I was getting ready with Flame," Spyro said with a smile that spread from one side of his face to another. "That day will always be in my heart, just like you" Spyro and Cynder shared a brief kiss before nearing the court room.
"I hear a trial in session; do you head Volteer's voice?" Spyro asked as he listened through the thick, wooden doors.
"Barely, should we go in?" Cynder said as the two looked at one another in confusion.
"We don't want to distract them, if we come in quietly and keep to the outside of the room then we should be ok." Spyro said as he began to push the large wooden doors open. The court room was completely empty, only Draikor, Terrador, Volteer, Cyril, Hunter, and four Lizard warriors were in the court room as Spyro and Cynder entered the room. Hunter, along with the four Lizard warriors stood near Draikor who was shackled by green and gold braces among his wings, arms, and tail on a stone platform to keep him from moving while a heavy iron chain was latched around his neck and hooked into the stone platform to keep him from lashing out with his teeth.
"That black dragon emits an aroma of death my love, stay away from him." Spyro said as the two took their seats at the far corner of the court room to watch the sentence hearing.
"Draikor, you are brought here today to pay for your sins against dragon kind," Terrador said whom he and the other two Guardian dragons sat behind a long, decoratively carved wooden desk which seemed to rise high above the court room floor. "The acts of murder towards three know scriber dragons, four Cheetah warriors, eight Mole architects, and five counts of arson which lead to the deaths of eighteen Ape herbalists whom came from this city of Warfang. Do you honestly think we will set you free after these acts of treason to the good of the world?"
"Terrador, you obviously don't know why I did what I did," Draikor's voice sounded as smooth as silk, though the raspy sound of ground gravel was behind it as well as he spoke with the look of murder burning through his cold, impassionate silver-blue eyes. "I killed those three dragons for their blood; the taste was indescribable, sweet and bitter to the tongue. Those Apes reminded me of what good has done to once such loyal warriors to darkness, so I killed them because of their disloyalty. Those Moles are always finding new ways to push civilization to a newer age, something that can bring the ruin to the dark forces which can liberate this world from true nature. And the Cheetah warriors, such a degrading race, they believe that the force of nature or whatever the garbage that they choose to live by is the true way to live, and I just felt like killing at that time as well." The court room was deathly silent as Hunter's eyes flared with rage to the words which fell from Draikor's lips.
"If the words you have just spoken reached the civilians outside of this court room a thousand blades would be among your heart." Cyril said who was stricken by the murderous dragon's words.
"We should have you exiled to the darkest realm in existence, though we have no access to this realm, the Forbidden Realm," Volteer said with a distasteful look in his eyes. "The realm is another dimension lined with fire and ash and brimstone. We found this land centuries ago, though you would see this dimension to fit for your standards anyway and death would only bring you happiness. How does life in prison sound to the judge?"
"It seems fit for him, life in prison only to succumb to the insanity of him wanting to kill another… seems acceptable. And besides, killing you would show a bad example for the new age of peace," Terrador said as he slammed his paw down onto the desk. "Life in prison for the acts of treason against the new age, case dismissed!" Spyro and Cynder both made their way up towards the front of the court as soon as Terrador finished delivering Draikor's sentence.
"Stay away from him…" Spyro whispered as the two began to pass the dark dragon.
"Well, look at this beautiful dragoness; tell me something, have you ever been with a dangerous dragon before?" Draikor asked as his face smiled over Cynder's beauty.
"You should hold your tongue if you knew what was good for you!" Spyro said in anger and jealousy as he was surprised by his own motives.
"You must be Spyro, tell me this young hero, have you ever experienced death before, I hope I get the chance to kill you so I can say I killed the most powerful dragon alive!" Draikor's words seemed to echo in Spyro's head as the anger for Draikor began to boil over.
"I hope you rot in that prison cell and the rats eat you alive!" Spyro couldn't believe what he was saying as the Lizard warriors hauled Draikor away who was laughing to Spyro's feeble insults.
"Jealous a bit today aren't we?" Cynder said with a laugh as Spyro began to blush.
"Just because we're married doesn't mean that I'll let some dragon that is a threat to society compliment you however he wishes to." Spyro said as Hunter left the court room without any words shared.
"He must still be furious to Draikor's insulting words of his kind, let him rid himself of this anger on his own time," Terrador said as he turned his attention to Spyro and Cynder. "Young dragons, it is good to know that you arrived without any troubles, shall we discuss your summoning in the Dragon Study?"
"We shall. Where is Draikor going to be held imprisoned anyway?" Spyro said as all five dragons made their way towards the Dragon Study.
"Below this temple we created two chambers, one for prisoners and the other for rituals which could possess a threat to civilization, Draikor will spend the rest of his days down there." Cyril concluded as the five dragons made their way up the spiraling stairs up towards the Dragon Study. The spiraling staircase seemed as though it would take eternity to climb as the five dragons finally reached the Dragon Study, forbidden to be accessed by any normal civilian as Terrador pushed open the large, decorative doors into the study.
"This room is… unbelievable." Spyro said in astonishment, observing the fine paintings and varnished furniture such as the desks, chairs, and the bookshelves in the abnormally large room. The dome shaped ceiling was clustered with paintings of dragons, Cheetah warriors, civilizations, and the sky in the day and night.
"Only people who are recognized as trustworthy individuals are allowed to enter this room," Cyril said as him and Volteer went to separate desks, no doubt to study and research as Terrador sat the two young dragons down next to the gold plated fireplace onto a lovely cushioned sofa.
"I think this news might come as a shock to you Spyro, I don't wish to think of yourself as weak or anything." Terrador started as he reclined in an old reclining chair across from the two young dragons.
"Tell us, I won't criticize." Spyro answered, though he was lying as he didn't know what to expect to escape from Terrador's tongue.
"We've done some research and we discovered that you aren't plagued by Dark Energy from the Convexital beam which summoned Malefor back to this world three years ago." Terrador said, memories resurfaced as Spyro shook them away.
"Then… what is it then?" Cynder asked, seeing that Spyro was at al loss of words.
"It's a demon, it lives and adapts to your habits." Cyril said as he looked up from his study.
"He's right," Terrador said as Spyro kept focused on the subject at hand. "When the Convexital beam was at its strongest height of intensity, you happened to be caught in the middle of the beam. That same beam caused a realistic rip in reality and opened up a somewhat type of portal into the Forbidden Realm where demons who plagued this world long ago are forced to reside in a realm where fire and ash is the landscape and torture is an everyday course for the remainders of their eternal lives."
"So what you're saying is that it has been hiding behind Convexity until the time is right, right?" Spyro asked as he was more intrigued by Terrador's theory.
"Yes in a sense," Terrador said as Spyro sat up straight with his back hunched over, signaling his interest to his possession. "By what you've told us about your gift of Convexity, it is triggered by certain emotional states. The demon itself favors anger and sorrow. Haven't you noticed that when you are angry or sad your body gets overwhelmed by a black, dark aura?"
"I always thought of that as Dark Energy taking over me." Spyro said as he knew there was a catch to the story.
"Spyro, there is no such thing as Dark Energy… The darkness is the demon being fueled by Convexity," Terrador said as Spyro's eyes widened in surprise. "I know this comes as a shock but you should be lucky to even be in control over yourself, Convexity is probably the only thing besides the good inside of your heart keeping the demon from consuming your soul."
"How do we get it out of my body?" Spyro asked as he grew more determined than ever to rid himself of the demon.
"There is a ritual which requires a clear crystal to harness such a creature, thankfully we already have one in the lower levels of this building, such a rare find it is to have a naturally clear crystal," Volteer said as he explained the ritual ingredients. "The next ingredient is by far the rarest substance in this world. The ingredient is a special type of water that only exists in one region of the land, in the Hallow Cave. The water is known as the Water of Forgiveness, water that possesses the power to heal and support not only the body, but also the soul."
"Where is this cave and how far away is it?" Spyro asked, now determined to find the cave more than ever.
"It is about three hundred miles away from the city, past the Volcano of Cripyro; it should take you roughly two weeks at most to fly there nonstop with little sleep." Cyril said as he showed the group a map of the land. "I advise you leave tomorrow, the weather may change due to the season shifting from spring to summer."
"Alright, do I need a special veil or container for the water and how much will I need?" Spyro asked as he, Cynder, and Terrador stood from the chairs.
"I will ask Hunter to go with you on your journey, you will need about two pints of the water and there is a specific type of jar I will ask of him to bring when he shows up here at the temple tomorrow." Cyril said as he placed the map of the land back amidst his clustered desk of books and paperwork.
"We should head back to our home then and prepare our home for a long departure." Cynder said as she looked towards Spyro.
"No Cynder, I want you to stay here with Flame and Ember while I'm gone, who knows what is in that cave." Spyro said as Cynder looked at him with a confused face.
"He's right Cynder; there are stories about behemoth like creatures living in the cave, protecting the water." Volteer said as he made his way back towards his desk
"I will let you two take your leave, you'll need the sleep for tomorrow Spyro; stamina will not be your friend in this journey." Terrador said as he escorted Spyro and Cynder towards the Dragon Study entrance doors.
After traveling halfway down to spiraling stairs to ensure that the Guardians would not hear of their conversation, Cynder finally said, "I know of the creatures which live in that cave."
Spyro, in awe, looked towards Cynder while traveling down the staircase and said, "Then why didn't you tell them of the creatures?"
"Because I know they won't survive long if they trifle with you," Cynder said with a smirk as Spyro smiled to her whit. "But seriously, they are highly dangerous and shouldn't be taken for granted."
"How did you come to know of what lies in that cave?" Spyro asked as he was eager to know.
"When Malefor was still in control over me he had me assign a group of Apes to gather all of the water as possible." Cynder explained as the information confused Spyro.
"Why would Malefor want the water, what could he possibly want to do with water such as that, he wouldn't have any personal use for that type of water would he?" Spyro said as he pondered with the idea.
"He was planning on corrupting the water and allowing the water to spread over the water of the land, corrupting anyone to evil who drank it." Cynder said as Spyro's eyebrows crossed while he shook his head.
"Pretty primitive plan, yet it would have been effective, why didn't that plan come to pass?" Spyro asked, now wondering what went wrong with Malefor's plan.
"Only one Ape returned out of thirty that I sent out on the task," Cynder said, this information surprised Spyro. "Before he died from poisoning, the Ape mentioned that a giant pit viper was the cause of his poisoning, the first creature you will encounter. The next beast was a giant tunnel web spider which managed to capture nearly ten of the Apes while the pit viper killed about eight of them. The one that finished off the rest except the one Ape that managed to barely escape was a creature not of this world."
"What do you mean 'not of this world'?" Spyro asked as the two neared the bottom of the staircase.
"The creature is as black as the opposite side of the moon," Cynder said as Spyro listened closely. "The beast is able to take form whatever it touches and can mimic the traits of the being it comes into contact with."
"Then it looks like I might have my hands full for a while, did the Ape ever catch a glimpse of the water?" Spyro asked, hoping to get some proof that the water did exist.
"He said that the water was as white as the most blinding crystal imaginable." Cynder said as the two made their way back out into the busy streets of Warfang and took flight back towards their home, hoping to get some sleep before the next day came to pass.
"He hasn't spoken to me once and we're almost home, must be thinking about tomorrow's challenges." Cynder thought to herself as she flew slightly behind Spyro before touching down outside of their cave. Spyro stood up on his rear legs and pushed the large boulder from out in front of the cave entrance. His strong, sturdy arms and legs use to tremble when shunting the boulder from his way but he now grew accustomed to the labor as he, with the seemingly greatest of ease, slid the boulder from the cave entrance.
"Check the trunk in front of our bed while I secure the cabinets and the other rooms." Spyro said as he rummaged through their home in search for anything valuable that might be worth something if stolen. Cynder smiled; usually she would take care of a task such as this while she allowed Spyro to do the easy jobs.
"Everything's ok here darling!" Cynder called to Spyro as he was now going through the living room, packing away the collection of books and pearls which were his and Cynder's to share.
"Alright, did you notice anything in the bedroom sweetheart?" Spyro asked, almost oblivious to his surroundings as his tail almost knocked over his collection of stone figures, one was of the shape of Ignitus he carved himself not one week after Cynder and his honeymoon.
"I did notice one thing," Cynder said with a smile as she leered towards the purple dragon. "Maybe you should come over and look at it."
"Can you open that trunk in there for me please?" Spyro said as he took the pearls, sculptures, and the precious blue gem he kept as a moment from their honeymoon to Shoal Bay and placed them all in the trunk in their bedroom.
"I think I saw it on the bed mattress." Cynder said with a smirk as Spyro looked the bed over.
"Where, I don't see nothing but-" Spyro was cut short as Cynder tackled him on the bed while the two howled in laughter.
"Check everywhere for danger when you go to inspect something." Cynder said with a smile as she kept Spyro pinned.
"When you have someone pinned like this, you have to remember one important thing." Spyro said as he smirked.
"And what would that be?" Cynder said as she looked at him with a confused look.
"Make sure their feet are secured!" Spyro said as he wrapped his rear legs around Cynder's waist and user her bodyweight against herself, Spyro whipped her around to where she was below him.
"Alright, you win; just make sure to keep on your guard when you go in those caves ok?" Cynder said as she kissed Spyro gentle as he released his beloved wife and lay next to her in their disfigured bed.
"I plan on it… why do I always have to be the one to fix the world?" Spyro asked, startling Cynder as she never heard him ask that before.
"Because you were born to do so, what more proof do you need?" Cynder said as she then realized her choice of words might have been to strong.
"I just don't want this anymore, the fighting and wars, I'm tired of all of it," Spyro said as Cynder noticed his faded scars across his face, a remembrance of Malefor he will always carry. "Stop looking at the scars please, I can hardly bear to live with them let alone for you to look at them." Cynder shook her head as she continued to look past the scars into his eyes.
"Scars are scars Spyro, everyone has them, it's what you stood for behind them is what makes them stand out the most," Cynder said as she kissed Spyro's cheek. "You obtained those scars trying to protect me when we were apart, that's more than enough to stand proud with those across your face. Besides, they only draw attention to your beautiful purple eyes."
Spyro smiled as he leaned over and held Cynder in his arms and said, "You're right, like always, we need to get some sleep honey." Spyro said as he kissed his wife goodnight before they both fell asleep in each other's arms.