Hey everyone. I didn't have anything better to do so I decided to go ahead with the second chapter of Aegis Arcanum. I hope you all enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN THE SPYRO UNIVERSE. ONLY MY OCS.

Chapter 2: Arcadia

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Arden followed Hunter and the others for a while, wondering all the time just how far this arena was when suddenly, a team of six moles pulled a series of levers that started a cacophony of screeching metal and rattling chains as two large doors opened.

For a moment, bright sunlight blinded him yet he continued onwards, never losing sight of Hunter's shape. Then, as the glare faded, he found himself in an open area. Most of the arean was covered in sand yet in the middle stood a marble tiled platform. Arden suddenly felt several hundred pairs of eyes on him and turned and looked up and nealy gasped at the number of young dragons that had filled the arena. Upon a low seated area, Arden saw the Guardians, the King and Queen, Spyro and Cynder seated and anxious to see what he was capable of. He saw Hunter walking towards the marble platform and followed. Terrador's voice boomed behind them.

"This is a sparring match between our weapon master Hunter of Avalar, against the newcomer Arden Jaeger. This is a match to first blood, submission, knockout, or deathlock. Meaning Arden, that is you hold your blade to Hunter's neck that is a deadlock. No fatal blows are to be allowed or accepted and both of you will uphold the highest standards of honor in combat."

There was something familiar about what Terrador said but Arden still couldn't place it. He was so deep in thought he missed the signal to begin and as a result was punched in the face. He went wide eyed and gazed at Hunter.

"If that had been a dagger or a sword, you'd be dead. Pay attention and stop daydreaming!"

As Hunter charged with his sword ready, Arden pulled hard on the sword on his belt, yet for some reason, the blade wouldn't budge. Hunter saw this but kept on the attack. Then, from out of nowhere, Arden remembered something from his past.

He ripped the sword from his belt and used the scabbard to deflect the blow, jumped right to avoid the second cut and then held his position, right hand on the sword grip, left hand on the scabbard. His mind flashed to a location he couldn't remember.

A massive city stood in the distance. The white marble towers of the castle stretching towards the sky. Nearby, a waterfall fell over a series of rocks that formed the beginning of the Sanin River. Across form him, a grizzled old swordmaster stood; cantankerous, ill-tempered, and smoking from a long stemmed pipe. As if by some unknown cue, the swordmaster blew into his pipe releasing a voluminous cloud of smoke that began to crackle and hiss with both fire and lightning. Without warning, he got up and strode quickly towards him, furious for some unseen and forgotten offense, and struck him over the head with his staff.

"YOU IDIOTIC WHELP! IF YOU WERE TO TRY HALF OF THOSE ILL CONCIEVED ATTACKS AGAINST A NECROMANCER, REVENANT, OR EVEN A PIGMY GOAT, YOU WOULD BE EITHER DEAD OR IN TERRIBLE AGONY! HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING?! HAVE YOU NOT LISTENED TO WHAT I'VE TOLD YOU?! HMPH! YOU WISH TO JOIN THE ORDER YET YOU ARE TOO PIG-HEADED TO REALIZE YOUR OLD TRAINING IS USELESS AGAINST WHAT WE FIGHT! I CAN SEE YOU THOUGHT TO EXPERIMENT WITH COMBINING TWO SWORD FORMS BUT THEN AGAIN I CAN'T STAND THE THOUGHT OF YOU BUTCHERING THEM! DRAW YOUR BLADE! NO NOT THAT WORTHLESS PIECE OF STEEL, YOUR TRUE SWORD! THE SWORD FORGED FOR YOU AS A MEMBER OF THE ORDER...OR HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT LESSON TOO...hmph. Our swords only respond when their Master beckons them. A touch on the hilt is not enough, one must say the name of their sword to unbind it. It is this technique that keeps our blades from being stolen and used against us. Now, I will remind you only once more. If you forget again, I'll take your sword and give you a rotton old stave to fight with. Your sword's name is..."

Arden jerked back to consciousness just in time to dodge another stab and side cut from Hunter. The cheetah didn't look smug but was also not lax either. He apparently knew never to underestimate his oppenent and he was keeping his distance except to attack. He looked pointedly at him.

"Arden, why haven't you drawn your sword? Is it possible that it's cursed in there?" Arden shook his head, a memory and a name surfacing in his mind.

"No. It's just that, until now, I'd forgotten the name of my sword, but no longer." Arden held the blade and scabbbard horizontally of him and closed his eyes and began to speak.

"In the name of all that is Good and Just, let the world hear thy name and know thee as the Sword of the Righteous and Just. Arcadia! Here my voice and hearken to it!"

A sound like a series of chains snapping filled the arena and the white gem in the pommel gave off a soft glow. Arden, without hesitation, gripped the sword and, to the astonishment of all in the arena, drew the blade with no effort at all. A sound of crystal bells ringing replaced the echo of chains as the sword came free. As Arden opened his eyes and positioned the blade in front of him, he recovered another memory.

He stood before the same waterfall as before, with Arcadia in his hands. Straw and wooden dummies fell left and right as he went through the motions. The swordmaster sat on the large rock as always, only this time, he was not impatient or furious. Instead, he was beaming.

"Excellent! Excellent! You have mastered one of the four sword forms from the 'Dance of Blades'. I can now tell you the name of the style you have learned: Resilience. This sword sytle is used against an opponent who is faster than you. Learn to see his attacks and weave through them; for even the most resiliant and flexible of reeds can weather even the swiftest and most ferocious of storms. Take my lessons to heart and you shall never be broken."

Arden came to and rolled to the side as Hunter brought the blade down where his head had been a split second before. He rose and readied his sword and charged, launching an attack at Hunter.

Their blades met with a sharp 'clang' as they rebounded from one another. Arden blocked a riposte with the scabbard and stabbed towards Hunter, who blocked the attack with the flick of his wrist. Then, Arden did something completely unexpected, he flipped the grip on the scabbard and slashed it towards Hunter who, in battle frenzy, thought it was the sword and blocked it, allowing Arden to angle the blade point up towards Hunter's throat, stopping a hair from his jugular. He then heard a loud bellow that echoed through the arena.

"ENOUGH! The-The winner is...Arden Jaeger with a deadlock!"

Arden withdrew Arcadia and sheathed it. Hunter took a few deep breaths and looked at him with admiration.

"I...I've never...not even Chief Prowlus could best me in one-on-one combat, yet, you have succeeded. I am impressed by your skill, and by your honor. You are truly a worthy opponent."

Arden gave Hunter his thanks and bowed. A gesture he remembered from his memories when sparring against another warrior. As he clamed down, he became aware of cheering from the stands and as he turned, he saw every dragon, mole, and cheetah in the temple arena cheering loudly. Even the King was applauding and Spyro and Cynder cheered the loudest of all. Hunter looked at him again.

"May I ask, who taught you how to use the sword? And, what style of swordfighting is that?" Arden nodded.

"The sword technique is called 'Resilience'. As for my mentor..." Arden couldn't explain it, but he felt a tear come down his face, as if remembering some forgotten terror. He reached up and touched the tear and examined it on his finger. Hunter saw this and immediately remembered the amnesia.

"I apologize, I forget about your lost memories." Arden shook his head.

"No..no, it's all right. I just, for some reason, felt sorrow at the thought of my teacher. I..I think he was killed at some point in my past but I cannot remember. That's why I..." Arden didn't complete his sentence as he felt woozy and fell, landing on the marble floor of the arena hard enough to see stars befor his vision faded.

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"TRAITOR!"

The word echoed through Arden's skull as he came too. He saw the waterfall again, only this time, the city in the distance burned and the night sky glowed red with the flames. All around himwere the bodies of slain warriors wearing silver plate armor. Each with expressions of fear and anger on their faces.

"TRAITOR!"

The word echoed again and Arden rose and saw a man in pitch black armor holding a black blade locked in combat with his mentor, Master Jyno. The old man no longer wore deep blue robes but rather the same silver armor and wore a mantle of deep blue over his shoulders that whipped in the wind. Master Jyno and the dark knight had their blades locked and Jyno was spitting curse after curse upon the knight.

"DID YOU LEARN NOTHING FORM YOUR TIME HERE?! YOU ARE MESSING WITH FORCES THAT SHOULD BEST BE LEFT ALONE! YOU RETURN HERE, SLAUGHTER YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND FOR WHAT, TO FURTHER HIS GOALS?! HE WILL SURELY KILL YOU ONCE HE HAS WHAT HE WANTS!" The knight laughed.

"You are a fool Master. I will become stronger than him. I only further my own agenda. Once he has served his purpose, I'll kill him and take his place. Then I will be the master!" Jyno huffed in his usual fashion.

"Only the master of evil, fool! Evil eventually turns upon itself. It will destroy you in the end! All things come full circle. Such is the nature of life." Again the knight laughed.

"True that may be. But you will not be around to see it."

Their blades met again only this time, Master Jyno's blade snapped in half, the sword tip flying into the knight's open viser. A howl of agony escaped from the knight as he staggered backward, blood dripping down from the gash the sword had made over his right eye. Jyno, turned and saw Arden.

"You are alive. Good. Flee. Flee while there is still a chance. Seek out Master Valden, he shall continue your training from there. I..I may not have said it often enough. But I'm glad I was able to teach you something that may save your life someday. Now, fly you fool! Now then, as for YOU! BANZAI!"

Master Jyno charged the knight with the remainder of his sword, intent on burying the blade in the knight's face or knight saw him coming and blocked the attack with his shield then struck him with the shield. As Jyno stood dazed, the knight wheeled around and the sword slashed Jyno through the neck, the old man's head tumbling free and bouncing once, twice, three times before landing nearby. The old man's eyes still radiated energy and then the light faded from them.

As the knight turned to face Arden, a glow surrounded him and for a moment blinded him. When his vision cleared, he stood upon a hill overlooking the burning city and the Hall of the Order. The crest still visible even through the flames: a shield with gold trim, one half deep blue, the other royal purple, a sword divided the shield in half. One one side were three red stars, and on the other side was a gold cresent moon enveloping a blue and red star. A name jumped unbidden, but remembered, to his mind: Aegis Arcanum, the Arcane Shield. Arden knew his master's last breath was a teleportation spell that had saved his life.

Shedding a single tear for his fallen master, Arden turned and walked into the forest towards the location of the next Hall. Both for his training, and to bear the ill news he was witness to.

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Arden awoke and sat up with a start, frightening the dragons who were with him and sending the dragonfly, Sparx, screaming for his mommy towards a corner. Arden realized that he was breathing heavily and that his cheeks were stained with tears. Now he knew why.

The Guardians were there and Volteer approached.

"You remembered something?" Arden nodded and relayed everything he had seen. The knight in black armor, the mention of the 'master' he served, the death of his master, and the Aegis Arcanum. At the recollection of his master, he saw tears form in Spyro's eyes. Arden wondered, had he felt the same pain and sorrow he'd felt at some point?

"Master Jyno taught me how to wield the sword and also the first of four sword forms: Resilience. From what you and Psijic told me of what you saw from my staff, I have to assume I completed my training and fought a minion of the dark knight, if I hadn't already faced him. I have forgotten all but the most basic of my lessons and upon those memories I must begin again. Master Volteer, you said you sensed strong magic within me. Could I ask you to teach me magic? It is possible something in a lesson might click and I may remember something else." Volteer looked thoughtful for a moment and despite what looked to be the beginning of a protest from Cyril, Volteer nodded. Cyril began to open his mouth when Terrador stamped down on his left forefoot hard. Cyril glared daggers at him but kept his mouth shut, instead, bid them all a good night and limped down the corridor to his chambers.

Spyro looked at Arden when the others had left.

"These will be your quarters. Volteer felt it prudent that you be granted an exception and housed here with the Guardians, Cynder and myself here on this wing so that none of the more mischievious students get the idea to annoy you or try to best you in an unofficial duel. If you need anything, the pull rope there will summon a servant for you, plus, if you need us, the Guardians are down the hall that way, Cynder is three doors down this way and I'm right across from you. Now, it's getting late and we have to wake early tomorrow." Arden looked curiously at the purple dragon.

"Early for what?" Spyro chuckled lightly.

"Lessons of course. Even thought Cynder and I are housed here we are still students, as are you now. We just have special circumstances that require us to be...uh...guarded at all times." Arden raised an eyebrow in curiosity at this and Spyro explained everything to him. After he finished explaining everything, Arden stood dumbfounded and unable to speak. Spyro took this opportunity to excuse himself and head for his room and allow Arden to collect his thoughts.

As Arden lay down to sleep, he heard an echo in his mind. It was still far away, but it was closer than it had been before.

"Arden...just a little longer...we're coming..." This time, he was able to reply to the voice. Gathering his strength, he focused on where the voice had come from.

"Rehne..."

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Okay everyone, sorry if the chapter seems a bit short but as I said, my home is undergoing renovations. The only problem with moble homes, every part has to be special ordered. Good grief... Until next time!

Next Chapter: Rehne Arrives

As always, please rate and review.