Chapter 4 is up, and sooner than I expected.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Spyro universe, I only own my OCs.
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James sat at the desk on the dragon deck reviewing the photographs and file that Greagor had given him, as he looked over it, he heard a dragon come up behind him.
"What are those?" asked Ignitus, curiously. James smiled as he showed the photos to the small dragon.
"These are photographs, pieces of paper that have images on them."
"Like paintings?"
"Sort of, photos only take minutes to take and develop, while a painting can take months."
Ignitus cocked his head to the side and stared at the photos.
"What are those things in the photos?"
"Those are called zeppelins, they are flying machines that use hydrogen or helium to fly, Admiral Greagor has asked my opinion about the design and the numbers on this report."
"What's so special about flying gas bags?" asked Spyro as he walked up, the other dragons from the Southlands were with him as well.
"Zeppelins are relatively new inventions, however they have already proven their worth as civilian and military craft, though from the size of these models, they look ready for civilian market, however, the numbers suggest military."
"Why would the Federation repurpose civilian zeppelins for war; they have no armor," asked Greagor as he walked up.
"Sir, these are not repurposed models, they are brand new. If these numbers are accurate, our informant gave us more intel than we could hope for, by these numbers, each zeppeilin is roughly two hundred fifty feet long, fifty feet wide and thirty foot tall; this close shot here shows breaks in the cabin meaning this one is incomplete, one the other hand, this one is complete. Look at where the breaks are on this one and tell me what you see on the complete one."
Greagor took a magnifying glass off the desk and looked at the complete ship.
"My God, those couldn't be cannons, could they?"
James nodded ruefully as he confirmed what Greagor feared
"I'm afraid so sir, these are war zeppelins, meant to be able to protect themselves from the Dracocorp, and also be able from the size to carry and land four hundred foot soldiers each; and if these numbers are correct, they are somehow building ten per month. These airships are meant for the sole purpose for invading and dropping troops and then supporting them from the air, essentially they play the same role as our Dracocorp, only the airships are made of metal and carry large numbers of troops, even our largest dragons can only carry ten men."
"What do you suggest Professor?"
"I suggest we make all haste to Sanijo, the engines should still be good, push them; afterward I'll order the Leviathan to standby with the dragon cars. I may have a counter measure at Launces, however I will need Shimmer well rested so that I can get to the factories and get the machines working on the countermeasures."
Shimmer raised his head, he had been dosing.
"So the dragons will ride in the dragon cars, when we reach Launces, you will get the blueprints, and I will fly you to the bases at Stahlhelm, Gylados, Victorus, and Royalis? Heh, just like old times. Plus, our visitors would like the experience of the luxury the dragon cars provide."
"Indeed old friend, just like the old days."
"Wait a moment, I was under the belief humans and dragons were equals, yet you ride dragons?"
"Not all the time, only when the threat of war is imminent, and any bit of intel could help us be prepared. Syllia hosts a fair amount of dragons but humans dominate the landscape. The dragons have their own government, laws, and cities. For a nation inhabited by two different species and co-exist, they must share things and understand one another, understand that even with our automobiles and trains and ships, dragon back is still the safest and quickest mode of transportation, a dragon won't suddenly stop flying all of a sudden and send you hurtling to your death, and there is nearly nothing in the air to crash into." James paused to make sure Spyro and the others understood.
"A dragon, especially a military trained dragon, can fly at greater speeds than anything on the land; cars and trains are bound to the earth by roads and rails and are set by what speeds they can go, a dragon on the other hand is not bound to any such laws, they can go anywhere they want to whenever they want, that is what makes them fascinating beings. As for the union, the dragons were numerous yes, but there were not enough of them to stop an opposing army, when the dragons discovered how many humans there were and how we used our intelligence to create tactics and weapons, they joined an alliance with us, humans are the soldiers of the earth, the dragons are the soldiers of the skies, the alliance made during our "Steel Age" profited greatly, the dragons helped us build civilization with their elements, and we protected them using our tactics, within a century, the dragon population had nearly tripled, within human and dragon cities, castles were built for the females to guard their eggs and the humans guarded alongside the dragons; in our entire six hundred year history, only once did a hatchery citadel fall, the Battle for the Red Lagoon saw the destruction of the human garrison at Fort Lagoon and the destruction of over one hundred dragon eggs; that atrocity was what started the "Blood Wars" between Syllia and Tellanos, for over one hundred years, our countries fought until finally, a detachment of dragons laid waste to the Tellanian capital and they surrendered."
Several dragons from the Southlands nodded as James continued explaining the history of Syllia to them.
"As you are no doubt aware, you dragons have excellent memories, the lesson at Fort Lagoon taught the dragons that not all humans were good and instilled a hatred for any who hurt young ones. In the Federation, it is a symbol of great honor to earn the title "egg-breaker" or "dragon-slayer", for they remember the Fort Lagoon slaughter as a moment of triumph over a stronger being. What they didn't count on was that dragons have a tendency to remember slights against them in great detail, the slaughter is no exception, as a result, first time parents are forbidden to leave their eggs in a human hatchery city, however, cities that have a "home wing" are an exception."
"And Launces is at the top of the list of home wing cities," shouted Aaros proudly, "My egg hatched there and so did Captain Shimmer and his brother's eggs, in fact a home wing is comprised of dragons that have hatched at that city. Shimmer though is the wing leader not because of his age but because of the link between him and the Professor. You see sometimes a dragon egg or eggs as the case may be are presented to the ruling family as a request by the parents to be instructed in the culture and mannerisms of humans, or in rare cases when the eggs parents are killed, they are sent to a human hatchery and they become wards of the ruling family. Also when a human joins the Dracocorps he is assigned to a dragon to learn about us so that he or she knows what to expect. Both Shimmer and Pyre were the Professors assigned dragons, and they consider each other nearly like brothers; when the Professor became a mechanist, Shimmer and Pyre were assigned to Launces as the start of the city's new home wing. In fact when I find the right dragoness, I plan on placing them at Launces, because the Professor would never turn on us and Launces has the second biggest military garrison in the whole of Syllia."
"Well that won't be for a few more years whelp, so you best keep your head clear of thoughts of females while we're at war," growled Crusadus, the wing's earth dragon as he grabbed Aaros' tail tip and pulled him back.
James held up his hand to pause Aaros.
"First off, only Shimmer was assigned as my partner. Pyre was assigned to Gerald." Aaros looked at James curiously.
"Gerald? You mean Gerald Ross? The Dragoon lieutenant who went missing after the Battle for Callen's Hill?" James nodded sadly.
It took Spyro a few moments to process what he had heard, the humans were trusted by these dragons to guard their eggs, naturally the parents were also there but still, he had never even allowed the moles, or even Hunter to stand watch over his and Cynder's eggs, if she had been here she would have flipped. He gulped, what would Cynder think if she found out he was going to a nation that was about to be at war, even worse, what would say when he returned with Ignitus? He shivered at the thought, it was one thing to face an angry female under normal circumstances, having to face her after she learns that her son had gone off on an adventure to a new country was an entirely different matter. Still, he was glad to see Ignitus coming out of his shell, he was skittish when he first came on the Arkibus, when he got used to the humans however, he was quickly making friends among both dragons and humans, and was constantly running about the dragon deck and the ship. In the five days they were at sea, he had lost a lot of his shyness.
He couldn't understand how the humans were able to get Ignitus to warm up to them, the only dragons that Ignitus wasn't shy around was him, Cynder, the Guardians and Flame and Ember's son Ash. He laid down again and was about to dose off when a bell sounded on the deck followed by a voice over the speaker.
"Land ho, port of call, Sanijo straight ahead!"
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The Arkibus created something of a spectacle upon arriving, the dragons of the Sanijo home wing stared in shock at the damage done to the fleet, but the thing that got the most attention was the purple dragon and the wing of new dragons on the foredeck, the humans were surprised as well but their's was focused on the damage to the fleet in particular the Arkibus because of the holes in her side and her slight list to starboard. As the ship docked, the crew dropped anchor and used massive cables to tie the ship to the pier, upon disembarking, Spyro saw several humans with strange devices, and he went to have a closer look, then to his surprise the devices all began to flash brilliantly and the people began talking all at once. Ignitus, being the inquisitive dragon he is, barreled down the gangplank and looked right into the front of one of the devices, giving the human holding it a fright. As he stumbled back, another of the humans shouted at him.
"Hey, watch it Jeeks, you break that camera it's coming out of your pay."
Ignitus backed up and watched the admiral and the professor address the people gathered before them, Spyro watched as well, then one of the devices flashed again, and as if on que all the others flashed again as well, only Shimmer's claw on his shoulder and the fact that no one was hurt kept Spyro from jumping off the ship.
"No worries, Spyro it's what the humans call the "press", a group of people who go about asking questions and writing the stories they hear for others, the cameras you see are for the newspaper, the big camera there is for the newsreels."
"Newspaper? Newsreels?"
"Yeah, the newspaper is a sheet of paper that humans read, it's like a book, only it relates to current or recent events. The newsreels are used in buildings called "theatres" and they are broadcast immediately. It's all very fascinating, why I've been in the news myself, and I suspect, you and your son will be too."
Spyro moved forward to watch the press, then they started asking questions.
"Admiral Greagor, Amanda Keeting, Syllia National News," said one, a female, "a lot of us are wondering as to why your fleet is in such a state, and how did this happen?"
Greagor smiled lightly and looked toward her.
"Well, Ms. Keeting, about four days out to sea we encountered a fleet we believe belonged to the Federation of Tellanos, and without warning we were fired upon, we lost six ships in the battle and as you can see suffered extensive damage to four more, we lost four hundred men but in the end we stopped the fleet, it is actually thanks to the timely arrival of the purple dragon and his wing on deck there that we survived the battle otherwise we'd have all fallen."
"I see and who is this young one here? He seems a bit young for combat."
"That's Ignitus and he's my son, and to answer your question he did not participate in the battle in fact he is not even supposed to be here," said Spyro as he jumped off the deck, back winged and landed softly. After a moment of surprise and shock to being addressed by a dragon, her smile returned and she nodded towards him.
"I see and your name good sir?"
"I'm Spyro, the purple dragon; I come from what you call the Southlands."
"I see, then Lord Spyro, you have the gratitude of a nation for protecting a fleet of the Royal Navy."
"You also have my thanks for bringing James back to me," said a woman as she approached, Spyro looked at her and stopped, she smelled like a dragon, but she looked like a human, beside her was another female this one smaller, but smelled the same.
"Lysa, Thera, you came to greet us!" exclaimed James as he ran over to them, he embraced the young girl and kissed the older female.
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James was ecstatic to see Lysa and Thera here, however he knew that he was going to get a lecture when he got home.
"Admiral, I'm going ahead on the Leviathan, I've got to get those blueprints ready."
"Go ahead, I've got a car waiting to take me to Royalis."
"Professor, what is this about blueprints," asked the reporter. Greagor immediately interceded and blocked the press' way to James.
"I can answer that ma'am, he has urgent business to deal with, the blueprints he is referring to is a weapon to defend against air attacks, we have reason to believe the Federation has introduced a new type of airship developed solely for war, these blueprints are urgent and must be put into production immediately."
"Admiral, are you saying there is a possibility for invasion?"
"It's possible, however upon seeing the strength of the Federation Navy, I'd say it is more than likely."
"Sir aren't you worried that talk like this could cause a panic?"
"An even bigger panic will ensue if we are invaded without warning, at least the news will have a chance to put the frontier towns on alert so be sure to put this story on the Frontier Express first thing in the morning."
"Is that a military waver, sir?"
"Yes it is, and since you heard me say it you don't have to worry about signatures. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a report to make at Royalis."
While Greagor kept the press busy, Spyro, Ignitus, and the other dragons had followed James to a building he called a train station, once on the platform, he heard a loud whistle and saw a massive machine arriving along the steel tracks.
"Spyro, Ignitus and other Southland dragons, I give you the "Leviathan", the most powerful steam locomotive on the Syllian Intercontinental Railway, the single car there is a passenger car, the larger cars behind are dragon cars, cars large enough to fit six dragons each, plus comforts, if you need me I'll be in the forward car, just tell the stewardess and I'll be along shortly."
Spyro nodded and watched as the doors on the dragon cars opened. As Spyro and the other dragons entered, they saw places to rest, tables in front of the seats, and other comforts that Spyro had never seen before. He looked in askance of Shimmer, but he was already lying down and speaking to a stewardess about 'roast lamb', Ignitus took a seat by the door, and Spyro tentatively followed suit.
A few moments later another stewardess came to him and Ignitus smiling cheerfully.
"Hello sirs, welcome aboard the Leviathan, I'm Susan, your stewardess, and the Count has instructed that you and your son can order whatever you wish as he's picking up the tab, the same as the other dragon cars. If you're not hungry or thirsty, let me know when you are."
To Spyro's amazement, Ignitus piped up quickly.
"I heard Shimmer about 'roast lamb', what's that?"
Susan looked toward him and nodded.
"Roast lamb is a dish called mutton, it is very popular with some dragons, although some prefer roast beef or chicken, and to drink, well we have water, tea, coffee, and for alcoholic drinks, beer, wine ,or spirits; although you have to be of age which in Syllia is eighteen."
"Oh, well I'm only seventeen, but I'm curious, what's tea and coffee?"
"Tea is a beverage served hot or cold, sweet or unsweet that is made by boiling tea leaves in water, the leaves release a syrup in the water and gives the tea it's flavor, coffee is a drink made by grinding coffee beans into a pot of boiling water, coffee is a drink best drunk hot to get the full enjoyment, although it can be cooled off if you worry about burning your tongue. If the spirits are to your liking, we have a keg of Northumbrian Whiskey on board and it is an excellent year." Ignitus thought for a moment, he looked at the menu the stewardess had and decided.
"I'll try what Shimmer's having, roast lamb and to drink, I'll have tea."
"Do you want the tea hot or cold?"
"Hot please and sweet."
"Alright, and for you sir?"
"This looks good, what is it?"
"Roast Hog? It's a specialty that many dragons get, it is a whole wild hog, roasted and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and various other spices indigenous to Syllia. It is also our most plentiful dish since wild hogs and considered a nuisance animal and there are thousands of them, hunters are paid well to, heh, 'bring home the bacon'."
Spyro nodded, "I think I'll try the Northumbrian Whiskey you mentioned."
"Excellent, I'll tell the chef. I'll have your drinks out soon."
When the waitress was gone, he heard Shimmer laugh, Spyro looked at him curiously.
"What's so funny?"
"I heard you order the whiskey, all I can say is sip it, don't gulp, that stuff is strong enough to make you think your innards are ablaze. Looking at her though, I wish I had that shape-shifting ability instead of firing beams of light."
"You're in love with a human; How's that possible?"
"Same way one falls in love with another dragon, only humans are about half our size; if only I was a shapeshifter, however I am a light dragon. We cannot have the same luck as Lysa."
"You mean the professor's wife?"
Shimmer nodded sharply and went back to his thoughts.
"Yep, she's a shapeshifer dragon, a rare dragon like me however she has no elemental powers. She, like so many other shapeshifters, were looked down upon by the others, one day she was in human form and she was attacked by bandits, then hearing her screams, the professor, or I should say the Count de Launces, now that we're back in Syllia,came from where he was mourning his family and with his guards fought off the bandits; you'll have to get the rest of the story from Lysa or James."
Spyro was immediately shocked.
"She's a dragon?!"
Shimmer chuckled and nodded, amused by Spyro's obvious shock.
"Yep, shapeshifters can change forms at will, they are not bound by normal boundaries. In fact their union was seen as a blessing, the union between dragon and man has been seen before, but this time it was a strengthening of the pact dragons and humans made, the fact they had a daughter, and later two sons, brought humans and dragons closer than ever before. For that reason alone, even if I didn't already consider James my best friend and a brother, I would lay down my life to protect him and his family. You're mated right Spyro? You know what it's like to want to protect someone no matter what right?"
Spyro thought back to during the war when he had been chained to Cynder, and after that when she had laid Ignitus' egg; he would have done anything to protect her, so yes he knew the feeling all too well.
As his thoughts wondered to Cynder, he felt the train lurch as it started rolling down the line, picking up speed as it left Sanijo and proceeded swiftly to the city the humans and dragons called Launces.
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One hour later they were flying down the line, Ignitus had finished his dinner and was watching the scenery go by. Shimmer looked at him and chuckled knowingly. Never seen anything like that before, huh?"
Ignitus shook his head slowly.
"I've never gone this fast on the ground before and the land is so green, our land is beautiful too, but it's been ravaged by day, I would like to see my homeland restored to this kind of beauty."
Shimmer chuckled again and followed Ignitus' gaze out of the window.
"Well you know this place was a battlefield during the Syllian War."
"What?! B-but this place is so beautiful, so serene, there are trees, birds, rivers and fields. How is that possible?"
"It's all thanks to the human in the front car. James invented machines to fill in the trenches, trucks to move the bodies and assigned people to plant new trees; a place that would have taken years to return to normal was healed in a few months. His inventions have always helped or defended the nation, he is a hero and those of his bloodline has become second only to the king, normally by the time Thera, or Magothera, her dragon name, turned nineteen, she would have had suitors lined up, but she inherited the shapeshifting powers of her mother so there would be no place for her in dragon society, but because she's part dragon, there is no place in human society, she's alone."
Ignitus sighed deeply, Shimmer heard this and looked at him curiously.
"I saw her once; she's gorgeous, I can't believe no one will court her."
Shimmer immediately focused on Ignitus, his gaze hardening, but not threatening.
"What kid, you like her? If that's the case tread carefully, James won't mind, however, that girl has the love of her entire city and the nearby dragon city Volcanos, you break her heart, you will have Lysa, the Launces Home Wing and two cities to deal with, including me. I see that girl as my niece as do many of the wing, if you decide to pursue her, I beg you, do not hurt her; the last time she was hurt it nearly killed her."
Spyro watched with interest, his son had never displayed interest for a female, he hoped that Ignitus' effort would work, this could be the finale that would shatter his air of skittishness.
Ignitus shrugged, then he looked at the stewardess as she came in.
"Excuse me, but do you know anything particular about this train?"
Susan nodded and smiled at Ignitus.
"Why yes, all employees of the train company are briefed on the locomotives we serve on, the Leviathan is a modified version of the Grandeur locomotive, it was made specifically to pull the dragon cars, due to its massive six-ten-four design, it was required to enlarge the frame. Due to this, the Leviathan is the most powerful locomotive in the country if not the world. It has set the world record for speed, cars pulled, and miles traveled, and is the pride of the nation's railway service."
Listening to her continue lulled Spyro to sleep, as he closed his eyes he saw Ignitus listening intently, and Shimmer was watching the stewardess longingly.
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A sharp, long whistle woke Spyro from his slumber, he walked out of the dragon car to find the others, Shimmer's wing was taking off, Ignitus was speaking to Thera and Lysa, James had already gone to the castle, and upon seeing him, Lysa smiled.
"So you are Spyro. Your son has told my daughter and I much about you, I am glad to formally meet you, I am Lyseerah de Launces, and my daughter, Magothera de Launces. While James is away, you can make yourselves at home in the castle."
"But we're dragons, will we be able to fit in a human building?"
"You will; James had the castle modified after he found out about my 'powers', he was actually enthralled with the idea of having a dragoness for a wife. Most likely Shimmer has told you about how James and I met, truth is he was in a graveyard mourning his family, he had lost them during the war, and when he heard my scream, he came running determined to stop a life from being taken after the war was over, sadly the brigands refused to surrender and were put down, it was nearly love at first sight the way he looked so dashing; saber and revolver drawn, his blue and white uniform illuminated in the day light, afterward I asked to repay my debt by becoming his apprentice, even in my city we had heard of the mechanical genius and I had wanted to meet him, he just happened to be working on a complex invention and needed my help. It took five months to finish it, however, during the last month, I needed to shapeshift to reach a certain area and James saw me. At first I was scared about what he would say and I took off, flying straight for home. However, he followed me. He told me he didn't care that I was a shapeshifter so, right there, in front of my parents, he proposed."
She paused for a moment, as if reliving that moment for a while, then she cleared her mind and continued.
"By that time I was so smitten with him I couldn't say no; when my mother asked him why he loved me, he simply replied, 'It doesn't matter if she's dragon or human, the way I see it, in dragon form there is more of her to love'. I know it sounds corny, but the way he said it there on the balcony of my father's home in Volcanos with the sun setting behind us, it just made my heart melt."
Spyro was stunned, just by listening to Shimmer and Lyseerah, he felt as if he knew James better than before. Hearing the sound of wings above them, he looked up to see Shimmer flying past with a harness and a rider on his back. James and Shimmer were departing, and by the way Shimmer was soaring, the bluprints must have been extremely important.
They would return soon, he was sure. As he turned back to Lysa and Thera, he heard another flurry of wings. Spyro looked at Ignitus and saw something he'd only seen once; his son's face frozen in fear.
Turning around he saw why, standing there, in all her glory, was Cynder looking almost like the 'Terror of the Skies' again; smoke coming from her nostrils, a massive scowl on her face showing all teeth, behind her stood their daughters, both worried for their mom, and both wore out from the extremely long flight. Indeed, looking closely Spyro could see perspiration on her scales, he took a step forward only for her glance to sharpen.
"Spyro, where is he? Where is that disobedient, inconsiderate son of mine?! I am gonna pound it into that thick skull, that he no doubt inherited from you, that he had no right to run from the temple like that even if the problem with the bullies got out of hand, he has no right to run off, he nearly gave me a heart attack, and the other guardians were falling over themselves nearly trying to find him!"
By this time Spyro saw the tears in her eyes forming, without a word, he went forward and wrapped his wings around her, letting her sob freely into his shoulder and neck. Behind him, Ignitus was also tearing up; he had realized his rash action had forced his pregnant mother to leave the safety of the lair and take to the skies to find her son.
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Chapter 4 done before dinner, wow what a closeout eh? In the next chapter, a fiery family reunion, and a massive pipe organ.
Okay, now then for you locomotive fans out there, the numbers I mentioned for the Leviathan is standard code for steam locomotives, the first number is the number of small guide wheels on the front, the middle number is the number of large drive wheels, the last number is the number of trailing wheels on the rear of the engine, therefore the numbers 6,10,4, means the Leviathan has six guide wheels, ten drive wheels, and four trailing wheels, (trust me, that's a BIG locomotive).
Well until next update, please rate and review.