Chapter 2: Prospects

By Dardarax

Disclaimer: I, Dardarax, do not own Spyro, Cynder, the Guardians, the Dragon Temple or any other character or place belonging to the Spyro Franchise. I do however own a number of original characters, who are listed at the bottom of this chapter. Also I appear to be stuck in a vat of rotting coupons. Please send help to 6-9 Bottom View Avenue. Thank you for your time.

The faint flickering of the candles slowly died away as the last of the wick was devoured. The glimmer of light that parted the darkness of the Temple library dimmed until Tirren had no choice but to snuff it out and produce a replacement. The green dragoness muttered to herself as she fumbled for the candle to place it on the plate beside the old one. A spark from a fire stick lit the wick and light bloomed around the Table once more. Opposite her Sleet sighed and put the book he was reading down so he could rub his eyes.

"Why are we up so early again? Couldn't this studying wait until later? The sun's barely even risen!"

"Sorry Sleet," Tirren said with a sigh, "but this was the only time I was able to get these books. Darius would only let us read them when there wouldn't be many other students around. Knowledge about Convexity is a dangerous thing to be loaning out."

Sleet grumbled but returned to the book, yawning broadly. Tirren smiled and shook her head at the scrawny ice dragon's exaggerated expression. She returned to her own book and skimmed through the next few pages of the text before Sleet spoke up again.

"How did you even manage to get him to loan you these texts anyway? Aren't these from the forbidden section? Students aren't supposed to be looking at these."

"I told him it was so I could help Savron out with his 'problem.'"

Sleet nodded in understanding. Ever since Savron first lost control nearly a year ago his bursts of Convexity have been growing more frequent, if less violent. His training with his parents, Spyro and Cynder, was only helping so much, so getting some knowledge about the subject would give Savron an extra edge in learning control.

"Is that the only reason?" Sleet pondered.

Tirren frowned and buried her face into the book, pretending not to hear.

"Come on Tirren. You implied there was more to it than just Savron's metamorphoses. Otherwise you would have left out the 'it was' part."

Tirren sighed and put the book down. "Fine. I was curious about how Convexity worked. The magic teachers bring it up constantly but they never go into detail about it. I want to know where it comes from, how it manifests and more importantly-"

"How to beat it."

"Yeah, exactly."

"Alright, I get it," Sleet murmured, beaming. "After all, Darius wouldn't give it to you simply because you're curious. So you mentioned Savron and…"

"I didn't lie, Sleet, I do want this to help Savron," Tirren huffed and glared down at the younger drake. "But I'm also curious about it too."

"Okay, okay, sheesh," Sleet waved a paw to dispel the tension in her gaze. "I get it. Don't worry."

They returned to reading, each scanning the pages for something of interest. After a long lapse of time Tirren glanced up to Sleet and spoke.

"So I hear you aced the combat training exam, Sleet. How was it?"

"Oh, well, um," the three horned ice drake quickly put the book down. "It was hard, honestly. And I would never say I 'aced it.' I passed that's all."

"But you did it by yourself this time. That's quite impressive."

Sleet rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, smiling sheepishly. "Well, I guess I did. Lyrith didn't help me train this time around. But I did still follow his suggestions from last time."

"Even still Sleet, good for you. You're really improving," Tirren grinned confidently.

"Well, uh, I heard you received nearly perfect scores on Magical History, Draconic Lore and Magical Theory, Tirren. Is that true?"

"Yes, it is," Tirren said with a beam of pride. "I worked my tail off on those exams but I managed it. I need to improve a bit on my Arcane Mathematics and my Crystal Agriculture skills though. I didn't do as well as I could have on those."

"Well, those are very advanced techniques and it's rare for anyone to… I think I found something!" Sleet hissed and pointed to a spot in the book excitedly. Tirren slammed her own book shut and leapt over to Sleet's side. She followed the movement of his talon to a faded couple of paragraphs lower down on the page. They sat in silence as they read the passage, squinting to make it out in the dim light.

Convexity, despite its violet appearance, is an element of darkness. Its origins are to the dimension of its namesake, Convexity, which is the void space between alternate existences. Its power is alien to our world and cannot be naturally produced unless some connection to the dimension has been previously made. Those that can make contact with Convexity however gain access to a very mutable and varied source of energy that can greatly strengthen any form of magic. However it is not an all-powerful energy source. Even this alien power has a weakness and a crippling one at that.

The exact origins of Light Magic are unknown, but it is presumed that when Convexity was first introduced to the world that a balancing act occurred. In order to even out the alien intrusion upon this world the races of the world adapted to have some means of defending itself. Light magic may have existed prior to the opening of the First Gate by Hyterill but if it did its innate opposition to the darkness Convexity provided allowed it evolve to become a potent weapon against those who have been tainted by it. Light magic, in addition to its many other uses, can utterly dispel all but the most intense conjuring of Convexity and causes severe pain and agitation in those who have been touched by it. Users of Light magic are extremely rare, however, with few outside of the dragon race capable of utilizing this potent elemental magic. There are legends that speak of schools of wizards who once taught this to a few select members of the non-dragonic race. If such is true that practice has long since died out and now only the Light Dragons and Purple Dragons can wield this magic.

Tirren looked up at Sleet and smiled.

"Well it is something alright."

"Yeah. So the weakness of Convexity is Light magic," Sleet mused.

"Not all that surprised honestly. Spyro used that to banish the darkness on Savron when he first lost control."

"I guess he did. Wasn't entirely sure if that was light magic, but now it makes sense."

"Unfortunately Light dragons are nearly extinct," Tirren sighed and sat down across from Sleet.

"And even if they could help Savron, it sounds like it would cause him more pain than would be worth it."

"Yeah…"

"Well there must be something else. Let's keep looking and…"

"Did someone say my name?"

Sleet and Tirren stopped and looked towards the library entrance where a young purple dragon stood with a smirk plastered over his face. He sauntered over to them and sat down beside Tirren, grinning at the pair.

"So what are you two doing? It's a lovely morning out! Quit with the studying and let's go. We don't have classes for another month!"

Tirren rolled her eyes and scooted her cushion so that she was further away from Savron.

"We're doing research into Convexity. And why are you up so early Sav? Don't you normally like to sleep in?"

"I was having a bit of trouble sleeping," Savron waved a paw dismissively. "Besides, I couldn't stop thinking about you," he whispered, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. Tirren just reached out with a paw, grabbed his face and pushed him, causing the violet dragon to tumble back with a shout and crash into the ground.

"Not cool," he groaned, laying stunned on the stone, his paws curled up close to his chest in pain.

"I'm not interested in dealing with your silly games, Savron," Tirren huffed as she returned to her book. "If you're going to stay here, act serious and don't do stupid things like that."

"Fine," Savron set himself squarely on the cushion beside her and slumped down on the table. "So you're reading up on convexity? Why'd Darius let you take those books out?"

"I wanted them to look up some way to help you with your training," Tirren replied, not looking away from the book.

"And because she's curious about how it works," Sleet answered.

"Oh hush."

"Really? Why thank you Tirren!" Savron smiled at her broadly. "You're one of the best pals I have!"

Tirren glared at him as he started to move a wing over her back and he grudgingly backed off.

"You're welcome," she said finally, once his wing was back in its proper place.

"Though, you really don't need to concern yourselves," Savron said with a prideful smirk. "I'm doing fantastic with mom and dad's training! I can regain control in seconds now!"

"I doubt that," Tirren huffed, looking up to him from her book. "Because it says here that it takes years for anyone to gain control of a full convexity transformation."

"Phh, what do they know? Did they have to do training for it? Not likely!" Savron laughed. "Besides, my parents had mastered control of it after hardly any time at all! And they're teaching me how to use it just as good as them. There's nothing to worry about!"

Tirren looked over to Sleet who shrugged. Neither of them had ever been to one of Spyro's or Cynder's sessions with Savron themselves so they had to take his word for it. But if Tirren's experience with Savron in other lessons was anything to go by, she doubted it was going as well as he said it was.

"If you say so, Sav," Tirren sighed and gave a small shrug as she picked up another book. Savron stopped her and shook his head with a smile.

"Can't we just put these away for a while and go and enjoy the day together? Being stuck in a dark library hunched over books all day can't be good for you."

Tirren started to argue, but soon found herself out in the hall outside of the library anyway, Savron having somehow managed to convince them to go with him. The crisp morning air dulled in the warmth of the slowly blooming horizon. Savron took a deep breath and smiled.

"Ah. Nothing better than a morning stroll, right?"

"Well," Sleet coked his head. "I'm pretty sure a morning fly is better, though I'd personally find a nice juicy steak more enjoyable, or getting perfect on a test, or…"

Savron groaned. "Okay I get it! Fine! Seriously it's like all you do is complain or criticise me!"

"Maybe if you stop projecting onto us then we'll stop complaining," Tirren suggested, giving him a smarting smile. "Just because we're with you doesn't mean we agree with your opinion."

Savron shook his head, dismayed. "I should never have gotten the two of you to come out with me…"

"Good. Now you know how I felt," Tirren giggled, triumphant. They continued their stroll, plodding through the soft, dew drenched grass of the gardens to a massive slab of stone often used as a table. They settled down by the table and Savron pulled out a small cloth package from his satchel and set it down on the table. He unwrapped it to reveal a bundle of steak sandwiches and turkey legs.

Tirren glanced up at him suspiciously. "What's this?"

"A picnic bundle."

"And you just happened to have that at the ready hm?"

Savron gave her a flat stare. "Tirren, if I was trying to sneak a date with you, I wouldn't have brought Sleet along," he gestured to the small azure dragon who had already grabbed a slice of sandwich and was stuffing it down his face. "It's my breakfast."

"Oh… sorry," Sleet mumbled, hearing the last part. He put the remaining quarter of his sandwich back on the cloth. Savron snorted and waved his paw.

"Don't worry about it. You guys can have some."

Sleet had the remainder of the sandwich in his muzzle almost before Savron finished. Shaking her head Tirren looked back to Savron, eye-ridge raised. "So why did you bring us out here then?"

"Presumably to enjoy the view, fresh air and sunrise. I don't always have an ulterior motive," Savron shrugged. Then he grinned and gave Tirren a wink. "Though, if you want there to be…"

Savron picked himself up off of the ground a moment later, nursing his stomach and giving Tirren a dirty look.

"I was joking! You really don't have a sense of humour at all, do you?"

"I do, which is why I don't find you funny."

"Hardy har," Savron rolled his eyes. He was about to say more when he froze, his gaze fixing on something behind Tirren. The violet dragon's muzzle fell open and he quickly moved to hide behind some bushes. Tirren glanced back and blinked in surprise. A beautiful blue ice dragoness had just stepped out into the garden and was looking around. Her face was covered by a silk mask of the same colour as her sapphire scales, but was embroidered with silver and gold designs.

"Is that…" Sleet murmured, staring wide eyed as well.

"That's Wintra," Savron gestured for them to join him in the bushes.

"When did she get back?" Tirren swallowed hard.

"Last week I think," Savron hissed, craning his neck around in the bushes to watch Wintra more carefully. "Her parents finally let her come back after… the convexity incident."

Tirren glanced down at Savron grimly, noticing the guilt and terror in his face. Then she saw Wintra turn and start towards them. Everyone froze as Wintra's blue eyes settled on them. She turned and hastened the opposite way, bowing her head so they couldn't see her mask. Savron sighed uneasily and returned to his meal unenthusiastically. Tirren let out a breath of relief, glad that no confrontation had occurred, but could not help casting her gaze back to where Wintra had stood, unable to banish the weight in her chest.

They ate the rest of their meal in silence, none willing to broach the topic on all of their minds. Finally Savron stood up and packed the cloth away.

"Well, I should get going. Mom wants me to come in early for the training and I should probably be there by now. Though, after that I don't suppose you'd be willing to go on an adventure with me?"

"Maybe, depends on where," Tirren stood up as well.

"There's an old tunnel system I found under Darrowlight a while back. It looks like it's big enough to have something of interest in there. Want to come?"

Tirren and Sleet glanced at one another and then shrugged. "Sure, sounds good."

"Great! Meet me on balcony five in the Grand hall. And tell the others about it too, if you see them," Savron skipped back to the Temple with a smirk, giving them one last wave before he disappeared from view. Tirren smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I hope I don't regret this like last time we went with him on one of these 'adventures.'"

"Don't worry too much about it, Tirren. I'm sure it'll be great this time!" Sleet said as he strode after Savron. "Anyway, I'm going to go catch up on some reading. Talk to you later!"

Tirren waved after him, nodding in agreement. Then she sat down and sighed once more. Tirren looked to the spot she'd last seen Wintra, uneasy. She sat for a long moment, contemplating, then shook her head and returned to the Temple, trying to forget about her thoughts.


Typhous sighed as the knocking at his door grew more insistent, the grey dragon throwing his scarf around his neck. "I said I shall be with you in a moment! Please calm yourself!"

It was late in the morning and Typhous had only just risen, having been awoken by a ferocious knocking at his door. The only reply he'd gotten from calling out was more knocking, and the sound had started to pound achingly around Typhous' tired skull. Typhous muttered grumpily to himself he straightened his scarf and clamped the bells to his horns. Then stamped over to the door to see who was knocking.

He struggled around the huge table and seats that sat in the center of his room and around the glass cupboard of his personal treasures. He idly picked up a fallen book and placed it back on his bookshelf as he came to a halt by the door, which he opened with a grumble.

"I swear to the ancestors this had better be important, or I'm going… I'm going to do something nasty!" Typhous muttered to himself as he gripped the handle of his door and pulled it open. "What do you wa…" Typhous started, only for his muzzle to fall open. He let out a gasp as his father, Aephion, grabbed him and yanked him into a huge hug, crushing Typhous against his chest.

"There you are, Son! What were you doing sleeping in so late today! Don't you know that's bad for you?"

Typhous squirmed out of Aephion's embrace and staggered back a few steps to escape another hug attempt.

"Father? What are you doing here?" Typhous gulped down lungful's of air.

Aephion laughed and slapped Typhous on the back. "What? Didn't you get my letter? I've been reassigned here to protect the Temple. After the attack last year the Five, er, Six kings felt it necessary to increase security here."

"Oh."

"Also, with the Feran dignitaries arriving to oversee the training of the new Guardian of Fear, it was felt that some protection would be in order to ensure their safety. Really son, have you been sleeping that long?"

Typhous sighed and smiled weakly as Aephion nudged him jokingly with a wing.

"So I take it that means you're going to be living here?"

"Of course it does. What part of reassignment did you not understand?"

"Well, that's great news!" Typhous said with a clenched smile. "It'll be great to have you around, dad. Anyway, it's probably time I go for lunch, so…"

"I shall accompany you. I do need a tour of the place after all. It's been years since I came here myself, so I could use some assistance."

"It'll be my pleasure," Typhous sighed. The young grey dragon stepped out of his room and turned towards the nearby kitchen, his four horned head drooped in defeat. Aephion didn't seem to notice and gazed about the Temple with interest. Typhous arrived at the kitchen and filled up a plate of leftover lunch, Aephion following suit, nodding to the passing students as he stacked up his small plate.

The kitchen was a huge room filled with dozens of tables and hundreds of cushions for the dragons to sit upon. A massive buffet table dominated the center of the room, where the many students of the Temple gathered for their meal. Off to the side feline, canine and dragonic servants brought in more dishes from the ovens to replace the empty trays.

"So, will you be acting as general from the Temple from now on, or are you leaving those duties behind for now…"

"I can act as general from here," Aephion shrugged and took a bite of chicken. "Though my position in Warfang has been replaced, for now at least. Anyway how did you do in your exams? Did you ace it buddy?"

"I got high grades, yes."

"Excellent! I bet you're one of the top students here by now!"

"Well, no but…"

"Oh don't say that about yourself! Of course you are!" Aephion laughed. Then he looked around, smirked and turned back to Typhous with a wink. "I couldn't help but notice there's a lot of good looking dragonesses around here. How many of them have you been with, huh?"

Typhous blushed furiously and his muzzle fell open as he struggled to find something to say to that.

"Oh don't give me that look," Aephion chuckled, slapping Typhous on the shoulder. "You're a good looking dragon, so you shouldn't be ashamed of that sort of thing!"

Typhous looked around, his face still flushed. Nearly all of the students in the kitchen were staring at them, watching with amusement as Aephion continued on about how Typhous should have gotten a girlfriend by now, as it was only natural for a dragon his age to do so. Typhous ate in silence as Aephion talked, doing his best to ignore the stares of those around him.

"Mm, you there, albino, can you get me some more of the turkey?" Aephion called out over the crowd. Typhous looked up to see who he was talking to and froze, his eyes flying wide as he saw Lyrith turn to face them, the white dragon's eyes ablaze.

"What did you just say?" Lyrith demanded, slamming his plate down and approaching Aephion. Aephion's amused smile vanished, to be replaced by a cool glare.

"Did you not hear me the first time? I want some more turkey. Go fetch it for me."

Typhous jumped up as Lyrith opened his muzzle to snarl back, cutting both off. "Dad! Lyrith isn't a servant; he's a fellow student and a friend!"

Aephion glanced between Typhous and Lyrith, puzzled for a moment. "Oh. I see. You must be the albino student I've heard all those rumours about. It is a pleasure to meet you," Aephion extended a paw out in greeting. Lyrith looked down at the paw but did not take it.

"Um… Father, I just remembered that Lyrith and I were going to go visit Igneous today. I hear he's caught a flu or something and we wanted to check and see if he's alright," Typhous got up quickly and pushed his plate in front of Aephion. "You can have my lunch. I'll meet up with you later, okay?"

"Does it have to be now?" Aephion frowned. "We only just met up and I wanted to…"

"Yes, it does. Sorry father," Typhous stood and walked over to the confused and still angry Lyrith. "Follow my lead," Typhous hissed into his ear as he turned to the door and exited quickly. Lyrith glared at Aephion one last time before following.

Typhous sighed in relief once they were out of the kitchen and turned to Lyrith.

"Sorry about father. He's very traditional in his views and usually doesn't know better."

Lyrith snorted and glanced back at the door. Then he turned back to Typhous, raising an eye ridge. "So, are we really going to check up on Igneous?"

"We might as well," Typhous shrugged as he turned down the hall towards Igneous' room. "I meant to go visit anyway, after I heard about it. So now is a good a time as any."

"Fine. I don't have anything better to do anyway," Lyrith shrugged and followed in Typhous' steps. There was silence between them for a moment, both walking in stride. Typhous finally spoke, melting the silence away.

"So… how's your first full year at the Temple been?"

"Pretty good."

"I'll admit it wasn't much of a change for me. Well, other than the quality of the teaching. The private school I went too tended to coddle me, especially considering who my father was. Here, well, I get to earn my victories. How about you? Compared to your school what's the Temple like?"

Typhous gave Lyrith a smile and waited. Lyrith turned his head away and remained silent, acting like he hadn't heard the question. Typhous sighed and turned back to the hall, dropping the attempts at conversation.

Ember answered the door and beamed down at the two cheerfully.

"Are you here to see Igneous! Great, he's been hoping for some visitors. Come in, come in!"

The two stepped into the colourfully decorated room and passed the large couches. They followed Ember over to Igneous' room, where she knocked on the door and chirped out that he had some visitors.

"Who is it mom?" he asked, his voice weak through the door.

"Typhous and Lyrith, dear," Ember glanced back at the two and smiled.

"Oh, great! Let them in!"

Ember pushed open the door and the pair strolled in, looking around. Neither had been in his room many times before, so the sight of his semi-messy room was a novelty. Trinkets and toys were scattered about the floor, not in the way of anything but noticeably out in the open. His curtains hung astray and the window sill was stacked with books half read. His desk was clean save for the leather backed book lying open atop it, ink splotches dotting the surface of the table. Igneous himself lay on a bed of plush cushions, a blanket thrown over his large body. A bowl of water filled with ice sat by his bed along with a heavy text open for him to read.

Igneous waved them over, rising off of his bed so he was sitting upright. He pulled the blanket back around him as he started shivering uncontrollably.

"Hey guys," he murmured, his voice low. "Thanks for dropping by. What're you here for?"

"We just wanted to see how you were doing," Typhous said with a shrug.

"Oh, thanks. The only visitor I've gotten today was Savron. Tirren dropped by yesterday but it seems like everyone's too busy for me lately."

"No problem," Typhous said with a smile. "What was Savron here for? He's usually not the visiting type."

"He was telling me about the adventure he'd been planning for today," Igneous chuckled. "He was hoping I was feeling well enough to go but… even if I could mom wouldn't let me."

"He's got an adventure planned? He hasn't told us about that yet."

"Really? Well he did tell me where it was, in case I felt better. I'm sure he'd love for you two to go though."

Lyrith smirked. "I bet he would. I haven't been on one of them for a while now."

"Alright, well, go to balcony five in the Grand hall in about…" Igneous glanced out the window. "Three hours? Yeah, three hours."

"Thanks, Igneous," Typhous gave him a large grin. "I appreciate it."

Lyrith nodded his agreement.

"Anyway, how have you two been doing?"

"Well…"

The three chatted for a long while, Igneous and Typhous doing most of the talking and Lyrith only occasionally joining in. After roughly half an hour the pair rose, Typhous saying that they've taken up enough of his resting time and that they should be going. Igneous waved them goodbye as the pair left. Once outside the two looked at one another, not sure what to do next.

"So, is there anything you have to do at the moment?" Typhous glanced around the hallway.

"I don't…" Lyrith started, only for his eyes to widen. He slapped a paw to his head and he groaned. "I almost forgot. I was going to meet with Voltlyn."

"Oh, are you too late?" Typhous asked, concerned.

"I don't know. I'll meet you at the balcony," Lyrith snorted and rushed back to the kitchen. Typhous watched him go until the white drake vanished and then he sighed. The grey dragon turned and made his way back to his room, wondering if he should go searching for his dad before he could do any more damage.


The kitchen slowly emptied back out into the hallways, with Tirren leading the way. She ignored the mundane banter of the students behind her and sought a seat by one of the open windows to enjoy the view outside. It was high noon out and the summer air was clear and clean. Tirren smiled, closing her eyes to soak up the sunlight for a moment, before she gazed about in search of something to do.

"I suppose Savron's done his training by now," Tirren sighed. "So I should probably go check-up and…"

"There you are, Tirren," a deep, rumbling voice reverberated behind her. Tirren jumped and turned to face the speaker, quickly bowing.

"Master Terrador! You startled me!"

"I'm quite sorry, Tirren. I suppose I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that. Regardless, I wish to speak with you," Terrador smiled at her reaction.

"Is something the matter, Master Terrador?"

"No nothing is wrong. In fact, that's why I've sought you out," Terrador placed a heavy paw on her shoulder. "Please, come with me. This is a private matter I wish to discuss."

Tirren frowned, nodded and rose to follow the Guardian of Stone. The ancient, battle worn dragon moved with shocking grace given his girth and age. Power and authority were scribed all across his body. The students melted to the side to allow the pair through, whispering at the sight of Tirren following in tow.

Tension settled in Tirren's chest as they walked in silence together, though she knew she shouldn't be so worried. Terrador had outright said that nothing was amiss. Yet the tension remained, growing tighter as she strained herself trying to think of what he wanted her for.

Terrador came to a stop by an unoccupied study room and gestured for her to go inside. Tirren did so and sat down by the table, watching Terrador as he shut the door and turned to her.

"So, why did you bring me here?" Tirren looked around the room curiously. "Is it something about my marks? Did I do well on the exam or…"

"I wish to ask you if you would join my Guardianship program."

Tirren froze, staring at Terrador with wide eyes, stunned not only by the proposal but the bluntness of it. Terrador's muzzle twitched up into a smile and he waited for her response.

"Guardianship program? You me want… I mean, you want me to go into a Guardianship program?!"
"Indeed I do."

Tirren stared at him speechless, before a huge grin broke over her face.

"Yes! That sounds amazing! I'd love to-"

Terrador raised a paw to silence her. "I appreciate your enthusiasm but this is not a decision you should be jumping into. Guardianship is a lifelong commitment that will risk your life and consume nearly all of your personal time."

"Oh…"

"And that is assuming you pass. This is a difficult course which will strain your skills to the limit and put pressure on the rest of your classes. Even still, I would not ask you if I did not feel you had great potential in you, Tirren."

Tirren nodded slowly, but the grin had only dimmed somewhat, warmth and strength rising in her chest.

"For this reason I want to go over some things with you before you make a choice, so that you know exactly what you will be getting into should you accept."

"I understand."

"You will soon enough," Terrador said with a smile. "Firstly, I need you to know that this is a multi-part course and one that will span several years of training for you. Secondly, I want you to know that you are not going to be the only candidate for the training."

"Really? Who else is going?"

"I'm not going to tell you, at least not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I do not want outside pressure affecting their choice. It must be something that they alone chose to do. That is why I brought you here, so that none will know and encourage a decision."

Tirren's grin faded and she nodded slowly. She supposed that made sense. If it became public knowledge that a student was a candidate for becoming a Guardian the other students would flock to either congratulate them, thereby creating a sense of duty to do join, or try and push them away from the decision out of jealousy. It also meant that potential candidates could attempt to weed out the competition before the course started.

"As for the classes themselves, it will be covering a wide range of topics, from High-Magic, to tactics and diplomacy and even learning some of the more… unsavoury parts of dragonic lore and magic theory. And be aware that this is strictly graded and most will likely fail. Only a select few will be chosen as apprentices to the Guardians, which in turn will take many more years of study and practice before one is considered ready to join our ranks."

Tirren gulped but continued nodding as he spoke, the anxiety from before returning.

"With all of that said, I do believe you are capable of becoming a Guardian, Tirren, and a wonderful Guardian at that. Your focus, determination and wit are to be admired and having you among our ranks would be a service to all of Dragonkind."

Tirren beamed, her whole body straightening at the praise. She started to open her muzzle to agree to the course, but Terrador cut her off once again.

"I don't want your answer now. This is a decision that requires time for consideration. Think it over for a week or two and then arrange a meeting with me. I will accept no decision before then."

"Alright, Master," Tirren murmured and bowed her head. "I will consider, though I'm sure I know what I want… If I may ask, is there a time limit? A day where it is too late to make the decision?"

"I need to know the day before the first classes start next semester," Terrador said, smiling. "Though I suspect most will come to me with their decisions long before then."

"And you will only reveal the identities of the students once the classes have started, right?"

"Yes. And I also request that you keep this information to yourself as well. I do not want to be approached by ambitious students or a student sponsors who think they can talk, buy or bully their way into Guardianship. This is something for the chosen alone."

Tirren bowed her head and murmured her understanding. Terrador smiled and rose, moving to the door.

"Excellent. Now, consider both the pros and cons of my offer seriously. I only want those fully invested in the idea of becoming a Guardian to take the class. Once you've done that, come and see me with either answer. It is perfectly acceptable to refuse."

Terrador slipped out of the room, leaving Tirren by herself, stunned by what had just happened to her.


"That was a lovely lunch. Thank you Lyrith."

"Don't know why you're thanking me. It was free after all."

Lyrith and Voltlyn stepped out of the kitchen and into the hallways, satisfied by their long meal together. The white dragon had only just caught the topaz dragoness as she exited the kitchen. Once together they sat alone in the kitchen and snacked on leftovers until nothing was left. With nothing left to munch on the pair headed out into the Temple to look for something else to do.

"I mean thank you for, um, for staying to eat with me," she smiled, looking down from the proud white dragon and out into the grounds below.

"Oh," Lyrith said, his brow furrowed. "You're... welcome?"

Voltlyn giggled under her breath, too quietly for Lyrith to hear.

"Anyway, what have you been doing lately? I haven't seen much of you since the exams."

"I've mostly been doing some painting for the clients Typhous sends my way. I'm finally starting to get enough to pay back mom's debt."

"That's great," Lyrith gave a strained smile, his sharp fangs bared in a real, but unsure grin.

"Yeah. And mom's been adapting to the life here as well. Being away from Charah's casinos is doing her good."

Lyrith nodded sagely, his red gaze turned to the hallway ahead of them.

"How about you?" Voltlyn inquired.

"Alright."

"Anything else?"

Lyrith grunted and told her that that was all that he had to say. Voltlyn considered pushing a bit more but decided against it.

"So your duel with Thunder is coming up…"

"Yeah, it is."

"Do you think you can take him?"

Lyrith chuckled and nodded his head. If he could defeat Thunder once he could do it again. A year's time wouldn't change that. Voltlyn nodded at that, but watched him with concern regardless. As much as she wanted to trust the confidence in his face she knew better. She was sure he was worried, even if he himself didn't realize it. He'd fallen unconscious during their last battle and won only through a cloudy, berserk fury born from an intense survival instinct. And since Thunder knew what to expect from Lyrith now, Voltlyn knew there would be no quarter given.

"If you say so," Voltlyn forced a smile to try and show her confidence in him. Lyrith simply stared straight ahead, not seeming to notice her smile. They were silent, neither speaking for the longest time. Then, abruptly Lyrith turned to her, an eye ridge raised.

"Savron's doing an adventure today. Would you like to come with us?"

Voltlyn hesitated for a moment, falling back a step. Lyrith stopped to turn to her, expression curious.

"Oh, yes!" Voltlyn beamed. "I'd love to go! I wanted to all those other times, but I was always so busy. When are we going?"

"I think we're supposed to meet him at balcony five soon. We should probably head up there."

"Alright, lead the way!"

The pair resumed their walk and headed up the steps. They had just reached the third floor when they saw Typhous making his way down the hall past them. Lyrith jogged to catch up, the wind dragon turning to smile to them as they approached.

"Lyrith, Voltlyn. How good of you to come. I take it you want to come on the adventure as well Voltlyn?"

"Yeah," the topaz dragon bowed her halo horned head in agreement. "By the way, thank you again for all of the help, Typhous. I have so many commissioners now that I scarcely have time to work on them."

"No problem at all," the grey dragon said with a grin.

"So, where's the balcony?" Lyrith asked, his red eyes searching the doors along the right side of the hall.

"I believe that is it up ahead," Typhous gestured to a door a fair ways up the hall. Lyrith nodded at that and resumed walking, Typhous and Voltlyn falling into step behind him. They stepped up to the door and came to a stop, Lyrith rapping on the thick wooden frame with a clenched paw.

"Who's that?" Savron called from the other side of the door.

Lyrith smirked, pushed open the door and stepped inside without replying. Inside sat Savron, Sleet and Tirren who were all huddled over the large central table. Lyrith nodded to each of them, but lingered especially long on Savron's incredulous stare.

"Lyr? Ty? Voltlyn? How did you know?"

"Why? Did you not want us to join you?" Lyrith sat down across from the purple dragon and give him a wicked smirk. Voltlyn sat down beside him and Typhous took a spot by Tirren.

"Well, no… I mean, yeah I'm glad you're here; I'm just surprised is all. After your first adventure with us I thought you weren't interested in going anymore…"

"I just needed some recovery time," Lyrith huffed and examined his chipped talons. "It takes a while to thaw your anger after having half your face frozen."

Savron chuckled nervously. "Yeah… sorry about that. Promise it won't happen again. Anyway, I'm glad to see the two of you here."

"It's our pleasure," Typhous said with a bow of his head. "And Igneous told us, to answer your previous question."

"Oh. So he's not coming?"

"Unfortunately not."

Savron sighed and then shrugged. "Oh well, hopefully he's not sick next time."

"Yeah," Tirren sagged slightly.

"So, are you going to tell us what we're doing?" Lyrith leaned back against a wall as he ground his claws against the stone floor. "Because we only just got here."

"Alright, good point," Savron slapped his paws down on the table in the center of the balcony. "So our current plan is to investigate the tunnel system under Darrowlight that I found two weeks back. I'm fairly certain that nobody's been down there, since I found the entrance behind some broken concrete. It looks like it leads into the remains of some of the buried houses that sank into the marshland. That means it should be completely unexplored and filled with all sorts of neat stuff. It shouldn't be too dangerous since, well, I doubt any Darrowlight citizens kept anything particularly dangerous as pets. There might be some big bugs or something but nothing big. Sound good with all of you?"

Lyrith grunted, with Tirren, Voltlyn and Sleet hesitantly following suit. Typhous tapped his chin with a claw thoughtfully, before nodding his understanding

"Great! So, I've got some basic gear with us here," Savron pulled out a small sack and opened it. "A couple spare life and energy crystals. All the bandages I could sneak out of the clinic. Two dispelling draughts I made in my sorcery class two years back. I'm pretty sure they'll still be good… and aside from some food that's it."

"No armour?" Tirren asked, looking up from the pile of supplies and giving Savron a hard stare.

"Couldn't afford to swipe any for this trip," Savron shrugged. "Besides, it's not like there'll be any cursed apes down there. Like I said, sunken Darrowlight houses."

"I guess…"

"Good, so, if that was the only objection," Savron looked around to see if there were more. Nobody spoke up. "Then each of you will take some of the supplies and we'll be off. I'll carry the sack for any special stuff we find along the way.

Lyrith rose and took the pouch of life crystals and the dispelling draughts, packing them away in his own satchel. The rest grabbed something for themselves and, once everything was away, glided down from the balcony into the Grand Hall. They strode through the front gates, Savron commenting that they were just going down to get some books to the guards. They flew down to the eastern side of the bustling village and settled by some rickety old houses close to the Mushroom Forest. Savron led them around and down one of the cellar doors of the house, which was unlocked and unfurnished. He explained that the house was foreclosed due to structural problems and so it wasn't intruding, which pacified most of his friends. He came to a stop by a big crack in the concrete wall and placed a paw on it. He shone bright green for a few seconds as he melted the stone away from the crack, to reveal a huge tunnel leading down into the darkness.

Savron turned to the others with a huge grin and gestured for them to follow him inside.

Dardarax's Characters

Lyrith, Savron, Tirren, Sleet, Voltlyn, Typhous, Igneous

Aephion

Wintra

Thanks once again to Rurik-Redwolf and GoldenGriffiness for their help in editing. =)

Writing's been a bit slow for me lately. What with me settling into my apartment life, signing back up for University and my renewed addiction to Skyrim I can barely focus on writing. Still I'll be forcing myself back to hard work now that chapter 2 has been posted. And once I've gotten some sleep. I've waited far too long to post this one up tonight. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chap. Sorry, I'm not in a very funny mood right now, so I'm not doing many jokes down here like I usually try to. XD

Next Chap will be up on July 19th