Present...

"Malefor was said to have been over five hundred years old, at the time of his resurrection at the Well of Souls. Sadly, besides his family and that he was trained by the Elder Guardians, not much is known about his life before banishment. One of the ancient Elder Guardians did write in his personal journal, that Malefor was immensely kind and more than eager to further develop his skills." His voice reached out over the class before him, attempting to keep their attention on him and the history. Spyro saw a paw rise up from the back of the group. "What is it?"

"If he was such a kind dragon then how was he so corrupted?" The student asked, poking his head up above the dragon in front of him.

"We don't exactly know. As I said, not much is known about his earlier life or any specific reason for his vendetta against dragons. Personally, I think it has something to do with his family that caused him to turn to corruption." His story rang true through the memory in his head, yet he couldn't trust if Malefor was telling the truth. The story didn't sit with him right, how much sense it made to him.

"Then why did he experiment his own son?" He froze for a moment. They had told the city of Eclipse's parentage when they returned and at first it caused mass confusion. Seemingly no one could fathom why either of them would go against each other, there were even accusations that Eclipse was a spy. If not for Terrador's intervention then the city's mistrust would've grown to possibly bubble over onto Aurora or Cynder.

"Again, we don't know why Malefor decided to experiment on Eclipse instead of someone else. Maybe he was too deep in his corruption to understand who Eclipse was…" It wasn't really a lie, he really didn't know why Malefor put Eclipse through the experiments, but what he heard in that cave suggested otherwise. The idea of the corruption loosening on Malefor made him ask himself if he really did push him back to the light. "...but we can't honestly know for sure."

"What was he like?" The fight between him and Eclipse returned to his mind, he remembered Eclipse's face just before he left. The guilt and pain was infectious, his own expression matching the late black dragon's. "Spyro?"

"I'm sorry, what was Eclipse like?" The student spoke up again and everyone's faces took on the same curiosity. "I don't think I'm the best person to answer that." He tried to give them a small smile to appease them but the looks in their eyes didn't falter.

"We want to hear what you thought of him." The same student spoke for them all, as the entire class nodded in agreement.

"Well, I didn't know him for very long. He was only here for a month or so. I really only know him from reputation and what Cynder told me about him." He tried to escape the conversation again.

"But what did you think of him while he was here." The escape attempt failed.

"Eclipse was…" Words died out for a moment. Various memories were kicked up like dust, clouding his mind in a storm. How do I do him justice? I barely knew him. "He was strong, loyal to his friends, dedicated to the protection of everyone in the city. I admired him for his courage and how far he was willing to go for people he didn't know." Spyro thought for a moment, pausing in mid stride in front of them. "He was a good friend."

"Then why did you cause him to leave after fighting you?" That was a question he was still trying to find the right answer to. Was it pure jealousy or rage? Did Malefor cause me to do it or was it my own darkness? It should've been easy, justifying something he did to others, however he couldn't find the words to do it.

"That's enough for today." Cynder came to his rescue, breaking into the discussion. There were a few moans of disappointment in response but the class slowly dispersed into the surrounding grounds. A few gave him sideways glances as they left, and for some reason, the looks reflected anger. "Seems like the great hero needed to be saved."

"I suppose I have to thank you for that?" He rubbed the back of his head, an uneasy laugh exiting his mouth.

"There's no need, I could see how uncomfortable you were with the question." She returned a smile, circling in to the other side of him. "You did right by him."

"I betrayed him in life, I won't betray him in death." The memory of his friend's nod echoed through him along with his final request of him. There was a part of him that regretting going through with closing the tunnels behind him. That was also the part that wanted to drag him back to Warfang with them, but Eclipse had earned his respect. Not just as a warrior but as a friend. It felt wrong to go back on him in that moment, he made a choice that no one thought would've needed to be made.

"Something tells me you won't." He followed her gaze to the raised platform where Ardere was cleaning up the blacksmithing area. A genuine smile replaced the forced one once he saw that Aurora was laying on the short wall that ran along the edges.

Aurora was starting to reintegrate with society, occasionally visiting the Academy's grounds and watching the classes. That was the extent of her self-planned outings however, the only other time she came out was to eat with them. The lack of outdoor journeys had began to take their toll on her body. Her scales had lost their glimmer, along with her eyes becoming more dull. She had also began to gain weight, her midsection having slowly grown widder over the past four months.

"It's good to see her out and about, makes me happier." Spyro began to walk over to them, Cynder by his side.

"As I said, you're doing right by him." She moved closer to him, leaning on him slightly. He liked to think that they still had that spark from when they fought Malefor. That she cared for him as much as he cared for her but he didn't want to impose anything. While they had reconnected on a friendly level, he was unsure if she wanted to take it a step further. Going of what she said at the center of the world wasn't an option to him anymore.

Frost and Nathora landed next to Ardere as the two of them reached the steps. Frost was still working with Nathora to become a reserve scout like she was. The two of them working on the various skills required to be recruited. Nathora had decided to give up her position as a senior scout so that she could teach. A shocking decision to him at first, but not an unwelcome one. Ardere has been getting closer and closer to anointed the Fire Elder Guardian, one of the youngest but his age didn't deter him.

"I swear, these students are the same age as us but are far less mature." Ardere complained as he threw a hammer into a basket. "Half of them don't even pay attention, then everyone swarmed Aurora when she got here."

"Well one, blacksmithing isn't exactly the most interesting thing to watch." He shot Frost a glare. "Two, everyone wants to know what Eclipse was like when he wasn't being the warrior everyone knows." Spyro noticed Nathora twirl her tail around Frost's as well as giving off a small content sigh. She quickly undid it once she saw that he was staring at them.

"I don't get how he made it so entertaining." Ardere sighed, swiping a fresh ingot into a bucket of water.

"Maybe because he was using unusual materials instead of just steel? Plus he knew what he was doing." Frost continued, casting a glance back at his tail. Nathora casually stepped away from him, as if trying to hide that she was wrapped around his tail.

"At least I can take a hint…" He grumbled.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow at him.

"Nothing." With a sigh, he continued to watch the steam rise from the bucket.

"Anyway…" Cynder quickly changed the subject. "...how is our favorite ice block's training going Nat?"

"He's quite a bit away from anything resembling a disciplined scout." Nathora smiled as the eyebrow turned to her. "I have hope for him though."

"Good to hear. Maybe then we can get him out of his lazy tendencies." The group laughed as the eyebrow dropped into a frown.

"Hey! I've gotten better."

"I beg to differ." Ardere chimed in again.

"Says you, all you do in the morning is complain about being hungry and having to teach 'a bunch of children'." The red dragon took on the frown before splashing Frost with the hot water.

"And here I thought teaching would make you more mature." Cyril gently landed next to Ardere, a smile spreading across his face.

"I apologize Elder Cyril." He bowed into his apology.

"There's no need for the formalities, besides that makes me sound too old." Cyril gave a hearty chuckle. The Guardians have been tirelessly reorganizing the city after Armavir's siege. Cyril remained the overseer of the Academy while also juggling testing other guardian initiates and personally preparing Ardere for his Elder Guardianship. Terrador's rebuilding the city's defenses from the ground up, using the two sieges as examples of how to improve. Volteer's been handling virtually everything else, from housing to rebuilding. He's mostly seen putting all his extra energy to use within official scrolls and monitoring rebuilding efforts.

"Sorry, still trying to get used to the idea of being someone important." A shy smile came out of the bow.

"You've always been important, especially to me." Aurora slid off the half wall, giving him a peck on the cheek before sitting next to him.

"Thanks Aurora."

"As much as it makes me happy to see you all smiling and laughing, I need to borrow Spyro for something." Cyril's smile disappeared along with everyone else's. Why do they need me? Did something already happen to one of my students? Spyro looked among the faces of his friends, each of them looking just as confused as him.

"I'm sure whatever you need to tell him, you can tell all of us." Everyone nodded with Spyro's words.

"You can tell anyone you want to after, but for now it's best if we kept this between us." He shook his head. What are they hiding from everyone, and why are they choosing to exclude Cynder from this?

"At least let Cynder come along, the two of us can handle anything together." He saw Cynder duck her head with a smile coming across her face.

"I'm afraid that Cynder is one of the reasons this must remain secretive."

"Oh…" The situation continued to confuse him. How is she one of the reasons? Her smile fell from her face, instead being replaced by confusion. His curiosity had peaked but his concern for the secrecy had peaked with it. Cynder nodded towards him when their eyes met but he wasn't looking for her approval. "Alright, I'll go, but I will be telling everyone here about it when we're done."

"Understandable." Cyril wasted no time before lifting off into the air.

"I'll be back soon, just save a seat for me at dinner." Spyro shortly followed, letting them watch the two fly off into the more populated part of the city. It wasn't long before they landed outside the now Guardian's Temple. Being lead inside by the older dragon, he couldn't help but feel a strange coldness surround him.

The feeling of being watched accompanied the chill. It felt as if the walls had eyes and they were silently judging him. Something red caught his attention in the corner of his eye but it disappeared when he turned to it. He hadn't realized that he could be this paranoid up until now, with his scales beginning to uncomfortably itch.

"Come, there is much to discuss." Cyril called after him from an adjacent room. Spyro's mind came out of the deep thoughts and he had just realized what he was staring at. It was a large mosaic of a dragon split down the middle by black and white. The two different colored eyes stared back at him, one colored red and the other colored blue. "Spyro, you must-" He stopped once he realized what was causing him to take so long. "Oh, this is one of the few mosaics we've been able to recover. Its centuries old from what we can gather and it seems to allude to some sort of prophecy."

"What prophecy? I thought all the prophecies were destroyed when Malefor was banished?" Spyro had never heard of any other prophecies besides the purple dragon's.

"They were, the ancient Guardians believed that prophecies would only lead to bad futures. They attempted to destroy most of the evidence of all the prophecies, but lucky some small pieces of them managed to survive. You should ask Ardere or one of the other initiates, I've tasked them with putting them back together." Cyril carefully ran a paw over the mosaic, attempting to keep his talons from scratching it.

"Could I see the other mosaics you've recovered?" He looked around the room but found no other restored ancient works lining the walls.

"I can show you the others another time, but it's important that we send you on your way before nightfall." Cyril stepped away from the wall, holding a wing out to gesture towards the doorway he had just appeared from. He felt the eyes follow him as he walked away with Cyril, the strange sensation of being watched continuing to spark his own paranoia.

The war room was only used for expeditions now that the war was over. The days of planning troop movements and tactical bickering was buried somewhere in the past. Most of the maps were replaced with newer versions, all the marks of war being removed. It was strange to the map without the battle lines and the small tokens, however it wasn't completely empty. Small red circles dotted the mountains to the north of Warfang, some with small labels or notes.

"What are these for?" Spyro ran a paw over the dots, tracing the path away from the mountains. They're heading towards the city?

"I do apologize to you in advance, we haven't exactly been honest with you or your friends as of late." He cocked his head to the side, slightly wincing. Spyro opened his mouth to speak but he was quickly cut off. "Please, let me explain." He pointed to one of the mountain peaks, this one was labeled 'The Broken Mountain'. "After you and Eclipse defeated Malefor in the tunnels, the mountain became unstable and began to destroy itself. While you may have slowed the process by sealing the tunnels, we fear that the mountain will eventually become a volcano."

"It could destroy the city and life as we know it." Volteer entered the room, closing the door behind him.

"Don't be overdramatic, there's a slim chance that it can actually destroy the city. Most of our predictions seem to agree that there will be some complications, but that's a rabbit hole i would rather not go down at the moment." Cyril shifted his paw over the approaching dots. "We've been slowly scouting out the land, ensuring that the Dark Army cannot reform to attack us again. These red dots represent places where our scouts found evidence of some sort of struggle. While we haven't found any bodies, we want to find out who are fighting all these battles-"

"-and why they're getting closer to Warfang with each passing day." Terrador entered the room, clad in his bulky Earth Guardian Armor.

"Yes, thank you Terrador." Cyril confirmed awkwardly. Terrador stood on the other side of him, flanking him with Volteer. His armor shifted as he moved, making his footsteps heavier while the plates made a sharp 'clang' as they collided. "We can't do anything about 'Broken Mountain' at the moment, however we want you to try and find the combatants of these battles. Try to befriend them, bring them back here. Do everything you can to avoid fighting whoever they are."

"What if I'm forced to?" Spyro studied the map, quickly determining where the best place to begin his search was.

"Then win." The larger green dragon was unreadable but his command was clear.

"I still see no reason why Cynder can't accompany me, it would help if someone was watching my back." Spyro raised an eyebrow at their combined worried expressions.

"We fear that with the proximity of Broken Mountain and her relationship with Eclipse, she may be more of a liability than an asset." Terrador continued, drowning out Cyril.

"Yes, and there have also been rumors circulating that Eclipse's spirit haunts the grounds. While these are likely just rumors, we would rather not have the two of you find out the hard way." Cyril reached below the table and placed a piece of scroll on the map. "This is one of the drawings we've found lurking around the city."

The picture depicted a shadowy figure dropping from the sky, with red eyes being the only indication that it was indeed a dragon. The words 'The living must fear the dead' were quickly scribbled at the bottom. If these aren't rumors, then she really could be a liability.

"Once you return, find me to give your report." Cyril eyed Terrador as he left them. Spyro didn't know how to feel about this mission or how all three of them gave it together. From what he knew, the Guardians haven't briefed anyone together since the war. It was also worrying to see Terrador in his full armor, he hadn't worn it since the Dragon Temple fell fifteen years ago.

He grabbed a scout bag on the way out, he didn't want to be caught in the crossfire without some sort of medical supplies. The leather bag sat securely on the front of his chest with the metal clip fastening under his forearm. The bag didn't have much in the way for crystals, a handful of energy crystal along with a single healing crystal, but it had medicinal herbs and bandages. As much as he wanted to have more healing crystals on hand, the supplies he had would have to do. Spyro was already tight on time if he was to avoid the night.

The sun was already beginning it's journey westward when he flew over the north wall. Grey urban streets were replaced by the mostly green forest with some of the leaves already painting themselves different colors. Shades of red, orange and yellow were littered among the monotonous green.

As his eyes locked onto The Broken Mountain, his mind wandered away from the present. When a single word shattered his understanding of evil and the dragon that claimed to be it's master. He always thought that Malefor was always meant to be evil or that he liked being the way he was. Eclipse's entire existence proved that this was false.

Malefor had a life, he had a family, he actually held all the promise that the ancient Guardians saw in him. There was good in him down in that cave, maybe even when I faced him before. Yet everyone describes me as being just like him, does that mean they think I will fall like him? Will I? The thought of becoming like Malefor began to worry him more than usual.

"Marek!" The shout brought him back, his ears fixating on what sounded like a dragoness. Fire engulfed a tree below him, the fire quickly spreading to everything surrounding it. A cold breeze and small flakes rose up, just as quickly countering the flames.

He angled his wings, forcing the air to bring him to the ground. Dropping to the ground, the signs of the fight showed around him. Thin sheets of ice and frost coated various surfaces while embers scattered from a dead fire. Cracks plagued the trees, most of them coming with their own dents.

The dragoness in question stood with her back to him with her rapid breathing being one of the first sounds he heard. Her scales seemed to be fine, no imperfections nor any signs of blood on them. They were a darker blue than he'd seen on a ice dragon, the sunlight showing off the deep blue hue. She turned to him and for a moment he thought it was Cynder. Brilliantly bright green eyes stunned him in that same moment and made him break eye contact. They were both silent, he didn't know what to say and it seemed like she didn't either.

"Are you okay?" He broke the silence, still awkwardly avoiding her eyes.

"Nothing that won't heal fortunately." The strange ice still held firm but there was a new feeling. She felt familiar somehow, even though this was their first meeting. "You're Spyro the purple dragon."

"I am, but who are you?" He found the ability to look at her directly but she didn't share the same courage.

"I'm Felice."

"Haven't heard that name before." It was still felt uncomfortable to talk.

"It's an older name, my father loved history." A small frown crossed her face.

"Where is your father?" And where's this Marek? He kept that question private for now, he didn't want this to seem like an interrogation.

"I don't know. He's been missing for months now." Do the Guardians know about this?

"You should come back with me to Warfang, we'll be able to help you look for him." She shuffled nervously, pulling her limbs closer to her body. "I'm sure we'll be able to find him."

"Me and my brother were actually coming to Warfang for that reason." She laughed nervously. Spyro looked at her closer than before and he noticed that one of her wings wasn't folded in. Instead it covered her side as if it was trying to replace the scales. "Oh, don't mind that. I'm just a little sore."

"Could I just see it?" He stepped closer.

"There's no need. It's fine really." She shuffled backwards and held the wing closer to her.

"Hiding it is only making me more suspicious." Another step away from him answered his question. "Felice, please?" Her eyes went between them for a moment, anxiety making them move faster. She frequently looked to the side covered by her wing, briefly lifting it up to see better.

"You can see when I get to Warfang." Trotting past him, the dragoness hugged her wing back to the side in question. There was a small wince from her as she passed, which made him worry more, but he didn't want to push the issue further. "Why are you out here?"

"I guess I was looking for you." He followed her to the previously burning tree.

"Looking for me?" Looking over her shoulder, she raised an eyebrow.

"Not specifically, I was sent out here to find the source for all small battlefields coming from Broken Mountain." Felice shivered, unfurling her wings for a second. It was long enough to see the fresh burn that was still slightly sizzling. "I assume that those were caused by you and this Marek you were shouting after."

"Me and my brother…" She trailed off, retracting her wings slowly over the burn. "...we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things."

"I got that feeling when he lit a tree on fire."

"My brother is a hot head, like most fire dragons. He tends to take the more aggressive routes while I tend to stick to diplomacy." The explanation was accompanied by a embarrassed smirk.

"Are you the stubborn one or does he hold that title too?" He teased.

"Rude, but yes, I've been told that I am the more stubborn of the two." Her smirk seemed to be more genuinely happy than embarrassed. She completely turned to him, those green eyes capturing his attention like a bear trap. A moment passed where they stared at each other in silence, but it was a quick moment. "Is this when you kiss me?"

"W-W-What?" The question brought heat to his cheeks and made him stutter. No, this is Felice not Cynder. I won't betray her again.

"The way you look at me, into my eyes. You get lost in them and you begin to smile in a adoring way. Your muscles relax along with your overall strong demour, you've either developed feelings for me or there's someone who I remind you of." The analyzation was spot on, like she took it straight from his mind.

"Y-Yes you do, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give you any hints that I may of…" He chose the next words carefully under her curious gaze. "...developed anything of that nature for you."

"It's fine, you're not the first dragon that's done that." Her smile widened. "Though I wouldn't mind if that changed?" More blood rushed to his cheeks with the pointed question.

"No no no no." Spyro quickly defended himself while back away from the now encroaching dragoness. "I-I have my eyes on another dra-"

"Am I not adequate enough for you?" She rose a sly eyebrow.

"N-No, you're beautiful and all it's ju-"

"It's just that I'm not pretty enough?" Her assault continued.

"You're plenty gorgeous, I'm just-"

"Oblivious?" She started to giggle. "Relax Spyro, I'm only teasing you. Consider it payback for that stubborn comment."

"Oh..." The blush didn't leave his face however, only becoming more intense instead. "...anyway." He panned through all the questions he had for her, deciding it was best to change the subject. "Is there anything or anyone specific you're looking for in Warfang, besides your father obviously."

"Yes, do you know Eclipse?" Do I know him? Can I answer this question or should I get Cynder to answer it. I only knew him for a few months and I ruined everything for him. Maybe I should give him a proper grave by the mountain. Would that make me feel better? Would he be happy with me if I did so? It shot him back to the moment the student asked him. His mind wrapped itself in the questions he had then, pulling him into a flurry of doubt and confusion. I should find her an- How does she know him?

"I did."

"You did?" She cocked her head and took a step towards him.

"I'm afraid to say that he's dead." Felice retracted the forward step, the happy smile dropping into disbelief. The feeling pushed her back again and caused her to slide into a sitting position. "He died a two months ago, in the second Siege of Warfang." The explanation seemed to bounce off her. Ice froze over the space between them, bringing with it the cold silence.

Looking skyward, Spyro saw the night was rapidly approaching. Crickets were already beginning to chirp and the owls began their monotonous songs. Time was fleeting if they were to return to Warfang without fear of remnant attack. His mind was plagued with the possibilities of the dangers in the night, adding to the pile of questions he wanted answers to.

"We need to leave, it's not safe out here at night." Turning his back to her, he unfurled his wings but stopped before he took off. Felice wasn't following his example nor had she moved from her spot at all. "If we don't leave then we could be attacked by remnants of the Dark Army. I don't want you to get hurt."

"He's dead…"

"Yes, now please, we must go." He grabbed her wrist only to find it cold. It brought his attention downwards to see that her scales had somehow turned darker than before. "Felice what are you-" The words died in his mouth when her eyes went from green to white.

"Dead…" Jerking his paw back, fire surged up his throat. "...of course" The white dimed back to blue while the scales around her wrist lost their darkened shade. "I-I heard he died, I just didn't think it was true." A innocent smile quickly replaced the disbelief on her face. "I'm sorry if I worried you, I zone off sometimes."

"No worries, I do it sometimes too." He couldn't help but feel suspicious about where Felice came from. On the outside he made it look like he shrugged it off, but his mind was bustling with questions. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can still find someone to help you in Warfang. We just need to get there first."

"Oh! Right." She nervously giggled before spreading her wings out. For the moment he could see it, he saw how large the burn was. Felice was in the sky before he could speak however, just as quickly winging out of sight. There was a moment he stayed behind and studied the area without the dragoness. What happened here? What caused them to disagree in such a violent way? The image of the burn interrupted his thoughts, reminding him of his priorities.

Taking to the sky felt harder than usual, too many questions were begging him back to the ground. What is she? Is she somehow related to Eclipse? What if she's another one of Malefor's secret dragons like Armavir? His eyes wandered along the dark blue scales when he caught up to her. Why does she feel familiar?