Chapter 1: The Day Before

6:00 AM

The first rays of sunlight fell upon the city of Warfang. All sorts of creatures were getting ready to start the day. A cheetah got out of bed to take a bath. A dragon shuffled around in his shop to open up. A mole signed in at his job at a construction site. Another cheetah walked through the marketplace as the shopkeepers got their tents ready.

The cheetah had white fur and was wearing the typical Avalar cloak. His hands were tucked into his belt as he walked up and down between the stalls. Customers gradually began to fill the streets of the market, bumping into each other and filling the streets with the sound of chattering. The cheetah blended much better into the crowd now. His eyes glided through the crowd, observing patrons as they passed by.

He spied a female cheetah whose coin purse dangled from her belt behind her back. She was busy looking at a fine piece of trout caught no less than an hour ago. The male cheetah got in closer, getting his claws ready. Once he was in arm's reach of the female, he noticed that she had two cubs with her, helping their mother pick out dinner. Without missing a beat, the male cheetah tucked his hand back into his belt and casually walked past the family. Another chance would come soon enough.

After a few more trips up and down the streets of the market, the white cheetah disappeared into an alley, walking just a bit faster than before. He spotted a wooden crate on the ground and, making sure he was alone, took the chance to sit down. He reached into the neck hole of his coat and pulled out four coin purses before dumping them onto the ground. "Not a bad haul," he said with a smirk. There were several iron coins bearing the face of a mole, a few copper coins featuring a cheetah, and one silver coin displaying the face of a dragon. After arranging the coins to add up, he said, "Four jills, one crock, and eight pons." He reached into the neck hole again, this pulling out his own coin purse that was fastened around his neck. "And I should have about three jills in here. So seven and some change." The thief leaned over and scooped the coins into his purse. He tucked the purse away and walked on.

6:30 AM

The thief came to a tavern down in the northern section of Warfang. At first glance nothing seemed special about it. There was the occasional idiot who got drunk and caused a scene, a cute dragon maid, and a cheetah playing his flute. The thief approached the bar where a mole was busy writing in his ledger. The thief placed three copper coins on the counter. "Morning, Furon. One ticket."

The mole kept writing, not even glancing at the money. "Ticket prices went up. It's one jill now," said Furon.

The cheetah gave a small chuckle. "No, it isn't."

Furon finally set down his quill and looked up at the thief. "Yes it is, asshole. Keeping the business a secret from the guards is getting harder. We're bumping up the prices to cover expenses. So you have three options, Mesa. You can either pay me two more crocks, buy a drink, or get the hell out of my bar." The mole glared into the cheetah's eyes.

The cheetah just laughed again. "Furon, you and I both know the guards have bigger things to worry about than a dump like this. If you're gonna bluff, at least make it believable."

Furon glared for few more seconds until he couldn't suppress his grin any longer. He proceeded to burst out laughing, causing Mesa to join in. "Ah, damn it!" They laughed even harder. "You gotta admit it was a good effort!"

"Yeah, I'll give you that," said Mesa.

Furon took the coins from the counter and pulled a slip of paper from his apron. "Go on in!"

Mesa took the ticket and nodded. Furon allowed him to step behind the bar and opened the back door for him. The door shut behind Mesa and he found himself in the kitchen. A red dragon was hard at work roasting a turkey with her fire breath. "Morning, Coa," said Mesa as he walked past her. Coa gave him a nod since she was too busy to talk at the moment. He went through another door and came to a narrow staircase. Thankfully there were torches to help him see. The sturdy wooden steps didn't so much as creak when Mesa made his way down. He found himself in front of yet another door. He could hear cheering and booing coming from the other side. The thief knocked and a mole opened the door. Mesa handed him the ticket and was allowed in.

The enormous basement was filled with cheetahs and dragons, with a few moles and even an Atlawa. They were all gathered in a circle around the center. Two cheetahs in the middle of the circle were viciously pummeling each other. The blue cheetah knocked the yellow one onto the ground before sitting on him and beating his face in. The yellow cheetah power through the pain and grabbed onto the blue one's tail, yanking with all his might. The blue cheetah recoiled in pain, giving the yellow one the chance to free himself. He put the blue cheetah in a headlock, forcing him to the ground. The two cheetahs each kept getting the upper hand over the other, fueling the drive to fight no matter how badly they got beaten. The audience kept cheering and booing throughout the whole thing.

Another bar was stationed at the right side of the basement, this one managed by a green dragon. Mesa approached the counter and set down ten iron coins. "One ale, Gell."

The green dragon slid the coins into a tray. "Sure." Gell took a bottle out from under the counter and set it down on top.

"Thanks," said Mesa. "So what's the roster today?" he asked while opening the bottle.

"Right now, we got Spring and Aimon. Next up is Boulta and Munn. After that, Hysteria and Hex go head-to-head."

Mesa's ears perked up. "Hold on, Hysteria's fighting today?" He immediately fished through his purse. "Four jills on the Iron Queen."

7:30 AM

A mole stood in the center of the circle. "We have a big one coming up, ladies and gentlemen. Our first brawler is none other than a crowd favorite! Please allow me to introduce you to the Iron Queen herself, Hysteria!" The crowd went wild with applause as a large crimson dragon stepped up to the center. She had a white underbelly and wings, and blue eyes. From her skull sprouted three large black horns which arched backwards and then curled up at the tips. The tip of her tail featured a spiked club. The fear dragon was rather tall with an intimidating physique. Her muscles were the product of heavy training ever since she was a child, and the curves of her scales only emphasized her figure. Only the Earth Guardian Terrador surpassed her in bulk.

"And now our second brawler, we have a newcomer who just started last week. He aims to take all and end all, please welcome Hex!" The audience cheered as a black dragon stepped forward, but not nearly as much as they cheered for Hysteria. He was rather young, about two heads shorter than Hysteria. His lean body wasn't as impressive as Hysteria's, but it made him very nimble. He smiled up towards his opponent, eager to get started.

Hysteria smirked back. "You've been in some good fights, rookie. Even took down Maser. Ready for a real fight?"

"You bet," said Hex. "Don't hold back just because I'm new."

"I never hold back," Hysteria said with a chuckle.

"Bets are now closed for this fight," the mole called. "Ready!" He stepped back and joined the crowd in the circle. "Begin!"

Hysteria went for a wide sweep with her massive claw. Hex took advantage of his superior agility to swipe at her nose. Unflinching, Hysteria continued her attack, only for her claws to meet air. Hex had used his shadow powers to merge with the ground, leaving a black cloud in his place. The cloud moved underneath Hysteria, alerting her to Hex's next attack. She jumped out of the way as Hex shot out from the cloud claws first, barely missing her. Hysteria took the chance to tackle Hex while he was in midair. Hex couldn't react in time as Hysteria slammed into him and pinned him to the ground with her claws around his throat. He struggled to get free, but the bigger dragon lying on top of him was much too heavy. He couldn't even use his magic with her massive paw cutting off his oxygen.

Hysteria raised her free paw and bared a single wicked-sharp claw, bringing it closer to his face. Hex tried to fight back, but he could barely even stay conscious from the lack of air. Hysteria gave a quick slash, leaving a small stinging cut on the black dragon's face. "I've watched you fight. You have potential, rookie," she said. "But right now it's just not enough against me. Remember that scar. Keep training. Face tougher opponents. I'll be waiting for a rematch." She let go of Hex's throat, giving him a moment to gasp for air. Without warning, she grabbed his skull in both paws and slammed it against the floor, knocking out the newcomer.

Everyone in the circle cheered for the fear dragon. "That's enough!" the mole called. "Iron Queen Hysteria is the winner!" The applause raised even higher. Hysteria stood proudly before the audience. A small scratch on her nose was the only damage she received, not even deep enough to bleed.

9:00 AM

After watching a few fights and enjoying herself, Hysteria stepped out of the tavern and into the blinding sunlight. "Damn," she said, using one wing to shield her eyes. "Thought it was supposed to rain today." She fondled a coin purse tied around her neck. "Twenty jills just to put down a rookie. Poor kid."

Hysteria walked through the city streets, giving off an aura of confidence in every step. She eventually came to the marketplace. "Hm?" Something in the corner of her eye got her attention. She could see the large fountain sitting in the center of the city. The fountain had three statues standing back-to-back in the center. One statue was shaped like a mole, the second resembled a cheetah, and the third was in the shape of a dragon. Each statue had water pouring from the mouth into the basin below. Standing in front of the fountain, facing the market, was a female dragon with light blue scales, dark blue wings and underbelly, and blue eyes. Dozens of small scaled horns arched back from her head. The end of her tail had a large fan that greatly increased her maneuverability while flying. She was a head shorter than Hysteria. She was busy going through a large brown pack. "Hey, Typha!" Hysteria called out.

The blue dragon looked up in surprise, then smiled. "Oh, Hysteria, good morning!"

"Everything okay?"

"Oh, don't mind me," said Typha. "I'm just making sure I didn't forget anything!"

"Got it." Hysteria simply stood for a moment while Typha continued to check her bag. "So... tomorrow's the day, huh? Spyro turns fifteen."

Typha stopped digging, but didn't look up. "Yeah, he does." After a brief pause, she looked up again to Hysteria. "Has he... said anything to you?"

Hysteria shook her head. "I don't think he sees me that way. Probably intimidated. You?"

Typha blushed and looked down. "We're good friends, but I doubt he'd be interested in a servant like me. I think he only has eyes for Cynder."

"Yeah, no kidding." Both dragons stood silently for a moment, avoiding eye contact. "Hey, sorry to make it awkward," said Hysteria.

Typha giggled. "No worries. I'd better go. I have some meat in here and it needs to be stored right away."

"Right," said Hysteria. "I was about to start shopping myself. Take care!"

"Bye!" said Typha. The blue dragon slung the pack over her shoulder, making sure to secure the strap. With a few beats of her mighty wings, she was airborne.

9:15 AM

Typha soared high above the landscape. The strong breeze never failed to bring a smile to her face. She used her tail fan to make otherwise impossibly sharp turns in the air. She could look down and see the valley and mountain range that seemed to stretch on without end. To the South she could just see the ocean, and to the West were the jungle and forest. After playing around for a bit, Typha regained focus and headed towards the mountains North-East of Warfang. Sitting on the side of the largest mountain in the country was a large stone temple. Many moles and dragons were hard at work with construction on different sections, although the main building and a few wings were already complete. Typha glided down to the courtyard and landed gracefully on the stone walkway.

"Ah, there you are, Typha! Just in time." Standing in the middle of a giant doorway leading into the main building was a large blue dragon, standing proud in stature.

Typha bowed her head. "Good morning, master Cyril."

Cyril gave a small nod in return. "I'm sorry to throw a chore upon you right when you arrive, but the Fire Initiates just finished their training for the day and left the training room in a right mess. You're the only wind dragon here, so could you-"

"Clean up the ash? I'll be right there!" Typha walked over to the entrance where Cyril was standing.

Cyril held out a claw. "Here, I'll take those supplies." Typha removed the bag and handed it over the Guardian. Before she walked away, the ice dragon put one paw on her shoulder. "We appreciate all the work you've done for this temple," he said.

Typha blushed and gave a beaming smile. "I'm glad to help, master." With that, she walked off into the temple.

10:00 AM

The training room was a large round chamber easily over twice the size of the original. The walls were brown with red markings. A round hole in the ceiling allowed sunlight to pour in. Three large doorways stood equidistant from each other; one lead to the balcony outside and the other two lead to different parts of the temple. Typha was hard at work, blowing enourmous clumps of black ash out of the room with her powerful wind breath. All of it blew out over the balcony to be carried off by the wind. Wherever it landed would eventually be washed away by the rain. Typha worked as thoroughly as she could, using her claws to get at cracks her breath couldn't reach. Finally, she managed to gather the remaining ash into a small pile at the door. With one last deep breath, Typha summoned a massive gust that blew away the pile of ash.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" a voiced cried.

"Oh no, Cynder!" Typha yelled, covering her mouth with one paw. A large black dragon who had just flown in found herself sprayed with ash. She landed on the balcony, coughing uncontrollably. Tears flowed freely in a desperate attempt to shield her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Cynder! I didn't expect anyone to just fly in!"

Cynder coughed for a bit more before finally managing to clear her throat. "One moment." She suddenly vanished into a black cloud on the ground, causing any ash on her to fall. The cloud moved a few feet away before Cynder emerged again, completely clean. She smiled towards Typha. "Sorry, that was honestly my own fault. " Cynder had black scales, magenta wings and underbelly, and green eyes. Two large blades poked out of the thumbs of her wings. Nine long ivory horns arched out the back of her head. At the end of her tail was a wicked-sharp scythe. She was incredibly tall, even surpassing Hysteria in height, but her body was very slender. The shadow dragon was wearing an elegant suit of armor. The armor itself was silver with gold trim. Every piece was custom-fitted for her frame. The helmet fit her skull like a glove, especially around the horns. The armor on her tail was made of several segmented pieces so as to not limit her movement. The crest of Warfang decorated the chest plate. She removed the helmet, revealing odd markings on her forehead and under her eyes. Her face and neck more a few scars from past fights. "I was doing my usual patrol when I decided to pay a visit to the temple. The other caretakers told me you were cleaning the training room, so I thought I'd say hi. If I knew it was ash you were cleaning up, I would have been more careful."

The two girls laughed together "Well I'm glad to see you," said Typha. She walked over to the small pile of ash Cynder left.

"Here, let me get that," said Cynder. Typha stepped aside as Cynder took a deep breath. Powerful winds blew out of the black dragon's maw, effortlessly sweeping away the ash. "Least I could do," she said with a smile.

"Thanks."

"I just wish I got here earlier so I could help you clean the whole room!"

Typha shrugged. "I'm just glad to serve the temple."

"So what's new? Anything crazy happen?"

The wind dragon shook her head. "Not really." She looked to the side, awkwardly moving around. "Hey, Cynder?"

"Yeah?"

"I... I know that tomorrow Spyro becomes adult."

"Ah..." Cynder muttered, also looking awkward now.

A few seconds passed, then Typha spoke up. "I just wanted to say... I'm happy for you and Spyro."

Cynder lowered her head for a moment. "Typha, you know Spyro loves you. He may still decide to ask you."

"Cynder, he asked you to be his mate three weeks ago. He knows that with his strength he can have as many women as he wants, but he's only asked you." Typha forced herself to smile. "Listen, I know you and Spyro have been through so much together. If he is only going to stay with one mate, he couldn't have made a better choice than you."

Cynder walked moved closer and wrapped her wings around Typha, the closest a dragon could get to a hug. Typha did the same. "I'm sorry."

The dragons hugged for over a minute before breaking away. Typha's eyes were slightly watery. "I should get going. A caretaker's work is never done."

Cynder nodded and put her helmet back on. "Understood. I should get back to the city." The dragons bid each other farewell and Cynder flew off.

2:00 PM

Cynder walked through the streets of Warfang, still wearing her armor. As she passed by an alley, she spotted a cheetah wearing black armor leaning against the wall, looking incredibly sick and ready to vomit out his intestines. "Shell? What's wrong, did you eat something?"

The cheetah shook his head. "Lieutenant, Cynder, I was about to arrest a crook when he threw some potion in my face. He ran off and now I feel like this."

"Did you see where he went?"

He ran down this alley less than a minute ago. He was a white mole wearing a black jacket."

"Get to a healer, Shell!" Cynder immediately sprinted down the alley.

"Yes, Lieutenant!" Shell called back.

Cynder turned her head down every side street she passed, carefully keeping an eye out for the suspect. She soon found herself in Old Corner, the original town that Warfang started from. The alley was much more narrow, with several old wooden buildings huddled close together. She had to tuck her wings in just to avoid hitting the walls. She turned a corner and saw a series of wooden homes lined up. A few citizens walked along the street, among them a white mole wearing a black jacket and carrying a satchel. He was walking away briskly, but didn't seem to notice Cynder yet. Cynder took the oppurtunity to walk over to him from behind. She put one paw on his shoulder. "Excuse me, citizen. I have some-"

The thief spun around and attempted to throw a bottle of green liquid in Cynder's face. The lieutenant was ready though, and caught his wrist, forcing him to drop the bottle and shatter it, spilling the substance all over the ground. "Damn guards can't mind your own business!" he shouted.

Cynder effortlessly pinned the much smaller thief to the paved road. She grabbed a set of wooden shackles from her hip and bound his wrists together with it. "By order of Queen Elora Hephaea, you are under arrest for crimes against Avalar and its people. What say you in your defense?"

"Burn in Hell!" the thief cried.

Cynder pulled him up and nudged him to walk. "Get moving!" She seized his bag and placed it in her teeth so she could properly walk with all four legs. Together the two walked on, with the thief spitting insults and slurs the whole way.

2:30 PM

Cynder was still walking with the thief. He had given up screaming and was now just burning silently with anger. "Almost to the dungeon, there you can mope all you want." They walked a bit further where they began to pass a shop. However, Cynderr's attention was caught by a yellow dragon who stepped out with a large sack swinging on her shoulders. "Zatira?"

The dragon looked towards Cynder and gave a slight smile. "Cynder, it is good to see you!" the dragon said with a thick foreign accent. She had yellow scales with a black underbelly and wings, as well as brown eyes. A dozen tiny silver horns trailed down the back of her neck in three rows of four. A small silver blade lay at the end of her tail. Zatira was a little short for a dragon, especially when compared to Cynder, and had a rather slender frame, but Cynder was still thinner. "I not have much time." She motioned in a direction with her head. "You are going this way?"

"I am, actually. Just taking this suspect to the guardhouse."

"Then we have some time!" Zatira walked with Cynder and the thief.

"I guess you're getting supplies for a job?" Cynder asked, looking at Zatira's job.

"Exactly. A city north of here was taken over by bandits. I have been trying to drive them out for a week now. I ran out of rations, so I am back in Warfang to resupply. This is my third trip."

"Wow. Are you making a profit at this point if you keep having to stock up?"

Zatira shrugged. "Probably not. But I can't abandon all those people wanting to go back home, can I?"

Cynder nodded. "Glad to see there are some mercenaries that care about more than just money."

"Feh," the thief muttered.

"Congratulations, by the way," said Zatira.

"For what?" Cynder asked, puzzled.

"For getting kind, yet strong, man like Spyro, of course."

Cynder paused for second, having to catch up before the others noticed. "Oh, uh, thank you!"

"No, really! It is not mockery or scorn. You know how to make Spyro happy!" She gave Cynder a wide, genuine smile. "You deserve each other! I can't imagine all the darling little hatchlings you two will have!"

Cynder stopped dead in her tracks. Zatira noticed and stopped as well, making sure to grab the thief before he tried to run. Cynder's mouth was hanging open. Her eyes opened so wide that they seemed to be on the verge of popping out. "I... We..."

Zatira creeped closer, a look of concern on her face. "Cynder? What is wrong?"

Cynder barely seemed to register Zatira or anything else around her. She blinked a few times before finally coming back to her senses. "I'm sorry, Zatira. I should really get this suspect off the streets already."

"Wait, what happened?" Zatira asked.

"It was good to chat!" Cynder nudged the thief to move. "Let's get going." Zatira looked on, confused and worried.

4:00 PM

Zatira stood before a market stall. She was watching the vendor, a cheetah, pour several small red crystals into a bag. "All right, so it'll be four jills for two pounds of healing crystals," said the cheetah.

Zatira fished out three silver coins and five copper ones out of her purse, then handed them to the vendor while he gave her the bag of crystals. "Thank you very much."

"Take care."

Zatira tossed the bag into her sack and walked on. "That should be everything." The electric dragon wandered for a bit, making sure she had everything she needed. She found herself in front of a large building, all white with a black roof. The building was so large it could be mistaken for a palace. Carved in stone above the front door, was Grand Library of Warfang. Zatira looked up in interest. "I could use a good read." She climbed up the marble steps and pushed open the old wooden doors.

Zatira stood in a large hallway that lead to the center of the building. As she walked down, she admired the paintings of various influential historical figures hung up on either wall. When she came to the center, the library opened up substantially. Rows upon rows of bookshelves spread out in each direction from the center. One could look up and see the balconies of the other three floors, each filled with thousands of books. At the very center was a round desk with three librarians, each wearing a blue sash over their shoulders. Two were busy helping other visitors, so Zatira approached the last one, a cheetah. The cheetah librarian gave Zatira a warm smile. "Yes, do you have any questions?" she asked.

"Hello, it has been while since I last came in. Where is your Vitreaic section?"

The librarian gestured upwards. "All of our foreign language books are on the second floor in the North-East corner. From there the shelves will be labelled by language alphabetically. Books written in Vitreaic should be near the end of that section."

Zatira nodded. "Thank you." Following the librarian's directions, Zatira soon found herself in front of a bookshelf with the label Vitrealla (A-F) with more shelves lined up leading up to Z. Zatira browsed until she found a book that caught her interest. Непоколебимый Cолдат, which translated to The Unwavering Soldier. Zatira skimmed the first page before closing the book and walking away with it, keeping balanced on three legs. Now on the first floor, Zatira walked past several more shelves on her way to the checkout desk.

"Zatira." The electric dragon turned around at the sound of her name being called. Before her stood a large pink dragon. Her underbelly and wings were slightly different shades of pink from her scales. She had large, gentle blue eyes. Two broad yellow horns sprouted from her head, ending in extremely sharp points. A purple frill cascaded from the top of her head all the down to the end of her tail, which had a heart shape on the tip. She was an average height for her age and had a full, curvy body. She wore a golden heart-shaped choker with a red gem in the middle, as well as a blue librarian sash over her shoulders. "I though it was you," she said whispering but still clearly excited.

"Ember, I forgot you worked here," said Zatira, being sure to keep her voice down. "How have you been?"

"Doing well," said Ember. She noticed a book out of place and fixed it. "Every day I somehow manage stumble upon a book I didn't even know we had. It may seem dull, but I find it exciting. What's new with you?"

"I actually have job north of here. I just needed to get supplies. I saw library and decided to get book." Zatira motioned at the book in her paw.

"Oh, sorry, I don't want to keep you is you're busy."

Zatira shook her head. "Not problem. We can catch up after I finish with job."

Ember nodded. "That sounds fine. You know where to find me."

9:00 PM

Ember and several other librarians stepped out of the library. The female cheetah who helped Zatira fumbled with a set of keys. A blue dragon turned towards Ember. "So, Ember, I don't suppose Spyro's claimed you yet, has he?" Ember ignored the question, not even acknowledging the question. "Cause you know, my offer still stands." He leaned in, giving a lecherous smile. "Come on. Give me a shot. You'll see I'm a good guy, promise."

"Goodnight, everyone," said Ember. She flew off while the others bid her farewell.

11:58 PM

Ember's room was a plain stone chamber with plenty of space for a growing dragon. Her choker and sash rested on a wooden chest. A large mirror meant for dragons stood beside the door to the bathroom. Ember lied asleep on a gigantic cushion that took up a quarter of the room. She turned lightly in her sleep before suddenly opening her eyes. The pink dragon stretched her neck and yawned before realising that her whole body was sweating. "Ugh. Disgusting." She reached up above her and lifted the wooden window open, allowing a cool breeze to enter the room and the moonlight to pour in. Ember moved a wooden bar to keep the window propped open. With a little more light, she turned towards a painting hung on the wall beside her. It was a portrait of herself Spyro standing together, smiling for the painter. Ember gave a small smile, but couldn't supress a tear running down her cheek. With the distant toll of the midnight bell, Ember lied back in bed. "Happy birthday, Spyro."

25 iron pons = 1 copper crock. 5 crocks = 1 silver jill. There is no gold coin. To give an actual value, two pons are about one USD. The twenty jills Hysteria won are approximately $1,250. In this story, Vitrea is the equivalent of Russia, this includes culture, language, and accents.