Hoo! I'm glad you guys like the story so far. I got all psyched up for the next chapter, so I began to write it. And here it is!

(By the way, I'm going to do review responses in the following chapters only for anonymous ones. Signed ones will be replied to via PM.)

REVIEW RESPONSE:

uplate: Ahh, you flatter an ol' dragon. I'm not THAT inspiring. Out of curiosity, under what name did you post a dare in my T&D?

AND CHOMPER ROCKS MY SOCKS! Woohoo!

This is, once again, a "linking chapter." Sorry.

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A Storyteller's Work

With a loud creak, Cynder opened the front doors of her castle. The smell of scented floor wax greeted her unsuspecting nose like a wave of sleepiness. Her chandelier was dusted, the carpet beaten clean, and the windows were polished. Even her portrait of Fabius feeding a young Cynder biscuits had been put in a new, dark-wooded frame. I must be seeing things… Cynder thought, blinking her sleepy eyes. My palace is so clean!

At the top of the curving staircase stood an ominous Faust, his murky brown eyes narrowed seriously. He grunted, "Queen of the Conquerors… I assume your task has been successful?"

"The apes in the swamp are terribly malnourished and their clothes look as if they haven't been clean for decades," Cynder hissed. "Tell Gaul that I demand he send fresh provisions and armor for his soldiers of the swamp."

The ape slowly descended the staircase, his frown unchanging. Faust mumbled impatiently, "Certainly, Cynder. But have you found Ignitus yet?"

"There has been no sign of him since yesterday's attack." For a moment, Cynder wondered if she should mention something about the little purple dragon that one ape was ranting on about. With a mental roll of her eyes, she dismissed the idea. Surely one little dragon couldn't be that dangerous.

"Darn it…" Faust swore. "This has to be the seventh time we've had a lead on his location and failed to track him down. Surely one of Gaul's soldiers should have known where the attack was?"

"Negative."

There was a dark silence. Cynder stared challengingly at Faust, whose expression was unreadable.

Finally, Faust rumbled, "Malefor will not be pleased."

"I'll keep that in mind," Cynder snarled. Faust strode pass Cynder to make his way to Convexity, making the dragoness frown. She didn't like that ape. There was something about him that made Cynder feel uncomfortable. The dragon was unsure if it was his rough, battle-scarred exterior or his expressionless eyes that made her heart tense when she saw him.

As soon as he had left, Cynder closed the front door and marveled at the shininess of all the objects in the front room. Everything from the obsidian vases to the individual diamonds on the chandelier had been polished until a sparkling incandescence glowed within them, even in the dimming sunset light.

"Surprise!" Fabius shouted. With an excited jump, the ape leapt out of his bedroom and to the top of the stairs, running into the dark dragoness. "I cleaned the place up especially for you!"

A happy smile replaced Cynder's ponderous gaze as she exclaimed, "Oh! So that's why everything is so neat and polished!"

Fabius grinned in an apish way and excitedly asked, "Is there anything else you'd like me to do for you?"

Cynder looked down at her feet. With a rush of guilt, she realized that she was walking on her father's cleaned floor with muddy paws. She chuckled bashfully, "Well, a bath would be very nice…."

"Of course, Cynder! It's already warmed up," Fabius chattered, beaming at the thought of catering to his daughter. Still feeling a little guilty, Cynder slowly hovered through the halls as she followed Fabius to a large room with a massive tub of water.

To any small creature, this would have been like a large, steamy Jacuzzi. The candle's lights in the room were low as Cynder slipped into the warm depths like a graceful seal, making a perfect circle as the water diffracted over the sides of the pool. Cynder slowly breathed out, relieved at the soothing feeling of liquid bubbling beneath her toes and water rolling over her wings like wind across a meadow.

The dragoness opened her eyes and slowly looped through the clear waves, moving as fluidly as an eel. She caressed the bubbles as they drifted peacefully to the surface. The muck and grime that had coated Cynder but a little while ago had sunken to the bottom of the warm water like heavy sins weighed upon a mortal's heart.

With a sharp loop, Cynder gained momentum as she suddenly plowed upward, her throat clenched in her neck. Air, she choked. Need air…

Then… she surfaced.

In a brilliant shower of golden bubbles over the light from the candelabra, Cynder rose like a magnificent serpent from the depths, spreading her wings wide and tilting her legs inward as she coiled towards the tiled floor. Like a cat, she landed perfectly on the ground, her tail gradually curling with her.

"All clean?" Fabius gibbered, his smile wide with pleasure.

Cynder noticed that his eyes were closed. "Don't worry about it," she chuckled. "Time to dry off!" The dragoness took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and blew two long, streams of warm air out of her nostrils. The steam dissipated, and the force of the heat quickly dried Cynder off.

When the steam cleared, she saw Fabius's fur was fluffed out in all directions.

"Dad!" she laughed.

Fabius's eyes grew wide with embarrassment as he shook his fur down in front of Cynder. "Haha… sorry about that," he snickered.

Cynder smiled and stared outside. Time can be hard to tell when the sky is always filled with magical electricity sparking between massive crystals. "How late is it, Father?"

"It's seven-thirty."

Cynder yawned deeply and murmured, "Is it bedtime already?" Her eyelids drooped half-closed as she felt all her senses dull with her realization of the time. "Will you escort me to bed?"

Fabius quietly nodded as he held on to Cynder's flank. The dragoness closed her eyes, breathing deeply as she allowed the ape to guide her up the stairs. His hairy hand on her flank gave Cynder a comforting message.

You are not alone. I'll always be there.

Her green eyes flashed open when she heard her door creak. She glanced through her room, dimmed by candlelight. The outside world had now grown dark, the rippling lightning of the crystals flashing now and again. With a languid motion, Cynder crawled underneath the magenta blankets and sank her head on the red pillows.

With a long yawn, she squinted her sleepy eyes towards where Fabius had strode next to her, smiling with a fatherly pride at her. With a sleepy sigh, Cynder mumbled, "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me a story."

Fabius chuckled, blinking his warm brown eyes. "Of course, my little girl. Which story do you want to hear?"

Cynder opened her eyes wider, pondering over it. "Can I hear Uncle's story? It's been years."

At her words, Fabius raised an interested eyebrow. "You haven't heard that one in a long time…"

"Please," Cynder huskily rumbled. "Do tell it to me."

"As you wish…"

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"Around the time of the great dragons of old, when they had forged a mighty alliance with the Atlawa and the Manweersmalls, there existed one small dragon whose power was underestimated by all he knew and loved. His parents were both creatures of Earth, which was interesting, since he bore no resemblance to their massive, green bodies. His scales were a dark violet, with yellow horns and spikes; he looked like a dragon from a fairy tale.

"When his parents were reluctant to allow his training to commence, he insisted that his training begin. They were hesitant not because they didn't know what his element would be—but because they thought that he would make a fool of them for being a purple dragon."

"But why would they say that if purple dragons are so powerful?" Cynder asked.

"Hush… Just listen…

"Back in those days, no one knew what a purple dragon was; that explained why his parents bid him only grief instead of love. But when he finally convinced them that he was worthy of training with his friends, he astonished them: rather than producing a powerful Earth Flail or Earth Shot, a blast of explosive fire escaped his lips!

"He continued to train his Fire element until he one day woke up and discovered he had learned the Ice ability. Soon after came Wind, Electricity, Shadow, and even some I don't know! The elders encouraged his training, astounded by his abilities…

"…But one day they inexplicably banished him. I am uncertain of what had occurred… only the Chronicler knows how he was exiled. Some say that he had used his unimaginable powers to wreak havoc through the Dragon Realm; the story he himself told was that they had grown jealous of his superior talent.

"In a fit of rage, the dragon pledged that he was going to one day show that he was worth something. Instead of returning and bringing everlasting peace, he assembled an army of apes to harness the power of the gems and to wage war against all of dragon-kind."

"Cynder," Fabius breathed. "Your uncle needs your help. Until he is in command of the entire realm of the dragon, he will continue to fade into nothing but a fitful spirit, yearning to one day be heard. If you can harness the essence of the four main elements from the guardians, then you may take his place by his side."

"But I don't understand." Cynder turned around to face Fabius. "Why did Uncle choose war? And who is this 'Chronicler' guy?"

"The tale behind the Chronicler is another story entirely," the ape sighed. "He is a legendary dragon who has spent uncountable seasons in a library on an unknown island. As time passes him by, he adds new information to the history of the dragon race to the Books of Time."

Cynder sat up straight. "I want to see him."

Fabius chuckled. "Ah, Cynder! You remind me a lot of myself when I was a little boy. You can't see the Chronicler. Nobody knows where he lives."

"But shouldn't we know the truth? About Uncle?"

An uncomfortable silence lingered between them.

"…Some things are better left untold, Cynder." Fabius gave her a warm hug. "Now go to sleep. You'll be training some more with Uncle tomorrow."

Cynder said nothing. She only watched as her foster father blew out the candle and closed the door. Turning to her side, Cynder sank further beneath the covers, her eyes half-open. Why is Uncle the way he is?

The questions that burdened her were lifted from her mind as she sank beneath the covers. Her sleep was heavy and peaceful that night, quietly resisting the restless storm which forever danced in the Concurrent Skies.

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I hate, hate, hate, HATE getting stuff in late!

Yeah. There will be humor and maybe some mild action in the next chapter.