Chapter 4: Reflection

Striding through the near pitch black corridor with only the quick clacking of talons being heard, the purple dragon made for his usual place of meditation. Out beneath the fantastic array of stars where the wind currents would bring him to peace, the Temple landing platform provided the perfect environment for him.

Entering a deep state of meditation was the only way Malefor could recover his elements now. He would need every second to accomplish this task and was making no delay in getting there so he could begin.

Before he entered the visions room again, he stopped dead in his tracks when something caressed the tips of his wings. Startled, he swung his neck around but nothing was behind him, nothing but the dark and dingy corridor he just came down.

"What in the realms was that?!" he gasped to himself.

Scanning the corridor, his yellow eyes settled on the boarded up door he crashed into on his way to the storage room earlier. For some reason Malefor couldn't look away and soon found himself slowly walking towards it. The boards that barred his entrance were of a heavy oak that sagged from many centuries of rot. Whistling through the split timber door behind the boards – thanks to Malefor's recent clumsiness – a small breeze breathed upon his scales.

He rolled his eyes and released the breath he had unknowingly held, His sudden nervousness was nothing more than a jump at the wind. But just as Malefor turned around to continue on to the landing platform, he froze upon hearing it.

Mal…

It was just a squeak of a whisper, but Malefor tensed up and slowly looked back at the boarded up door. Something within his soul – some need – he couldn't explain, begged him to enter the room before him.

Letting the urgency of his meditation float away for a brief moment, the purple dragon rose up on his hind legs and pulled the virtually brittle boarding off the door with his powerful fore legs and claws. Setting back down on all fours, he stared at the ruin of a door, unease plaguing his features. Hesitantly, Malefor moved his paw to the opening facia mechanism on his left. The second his claws rested on it, a cold shock ran through his paw and his eyes dilated…

A small purple dragon with red horns scampered as fast as he could through the bright Temple corridor. Around the bend in the corridor behind him, a chorus of shouting, laughing and the clacking of claws on granite grew nearer. He stopped at one of the large round doors and put his small paw on the opening mechanism. Relieved when he heard it opening, the whelp bolted inside and closed the big doors behind him.

Catching his breath heavily in the only room he found unlocked, he anxiously hoped the ones after him wouldn't find him. Just as the intimidating paw falls passed by, a voice cried out, "Wait stop, Creep's hidden in this room, I can hear him." The little dragon's heart sank, tightly closing his strange eyes as he prepared for the usual affair.

"Hiding in my room hey."

The purple hatchling squeaked upon hearing someone behind him. Opening his eyes, he darted his head towards the owner of the voice–

A loud snap brought Malefor out of the lost moment in time. Blinking away the lapse, he saw that the parting doors had stopped at the halfway point. The opening mechanism must have broken just now after centuries of disuse he presumed. Drawing in his wings and pressing them against his flanks, he proceeded through the gap into the room.

Inside, Malefor found the dimly lit room to be rectangular except where the walls curved around in a semi circle on the far side. Three massive arched windows dominated the curved wall, allowing a panoramic view of outside when standing at that end of the room.

Nearer to him, the floor was a complete mess. Many items and trinkets littered the floor, most of which had rusted or fallen apart. Looking around the rest of the dilapidated chamber, Malefor saw a collapsed and sagging desk and bookcase to his left and a tapestry in a heap on his right. He moved over to the wall ornament and pulled it out along the floor. As the purple dragon narrowed his eyes upon inspection, he found that the depiction had unthreaded but the colours had barely faded at all; ice blue and pearl white…

–A young light blue dragon, whose scales shone like ice in the sunbeam from the window, studied the frighten purple hatchling. He rested on the left side of the room on a large round cushioned dais that was far too big for his age. The colour of his scales, and his four jagged horns matched the blue and white tapestry that hung on the wall behind him.

Behind the little purple dragon, the doors began to open. "Get behind me," the blue dragon said to the smaller purple dragon as he got off his bed. Hurriedly, he complied and cleared his throat as the doors opened to reveal a trio of young dragons with wicked snarls and mischievous looks on their faces.

"Oh look… little weird eyes has got himself a body guard now," mocked the leader of the gang.

"Maybe he does," replied the blue dragon with a trace eagerness in his voice.

"He stole some of our fruit this morning, again! So get out of our way, this has nothing to do with you."

Tilting his head, the blue dragon smirked at them and flared his wings, inviting them to advance. The dragon who had been talking tried lunging around the defending dragon to get at the smaller purple one but got a nasty shock when his head was locked in the blue dragon's right paw. Bringing his paw down, the blue dragon slammed the bully's jaw against the granite floor where it cracked loudly with it.

The little purple dragon's mouth hung agape as one of the dragon's that relentlessly picked on him, scrambled away from his sudden protector. Moaning and on the verge of tears, the bully ran out of the room with the other two in tow. Slightly intimidated by this dragon's quick prowess, the hatchling came out from behind him and stared up at the blue dragon's face.

After admiring his little paw work with a smirking nod, he looked down at the purple dragon with a pleasant smile on his muzzle, "You okay there?"

Hanging his head back down to stare at his paws, the hatchling shyly nodded and gave a heavy sigh.

The blue dragon sat on his haunches next to him and offered a wing around the younger ones' back. "What was your name again?" the blue dragon kindly inquired, "I have a terrible memory when it comes to names," adding with a chuckle.

The purple hatchling nervously looked back up at the stranger's face. He tried not to look back down as the blue dragon's aqua tinted blue eyes met his slitted yellow ones, "M-Mal."

"Mal is it, pleased to properly meet you, I'm Shardis."

He immediately withdrew his paw from the tapestry. His throat felt raw and his limbs shivered from the very thought of 'that' name. A snarl grew on the purple dragon's face, withering away as soon as it appeared only to reappear again. There was no question whose room Malefor found himself in.

"What am I even doing in here, huh?!" he shouted out to no one in particular. Only the howling wind and its whistle through the rooms' windows met Malefor's earfrills in response.

Malefor was torn. He desperately wanted to head out to the platform where he could meditate but something deep within pleaded with him to stay in this damn room. Narrowing his eyes and suppressing a growl, he slowly turned away from the door and paced over to the great arched windows. His face twitched with each step. Why was he delaying, he couldn't explain and nor could he refuse whatever was driving him.

Sitting down on his haunches in front of the center window – the height of which was twice his own – Malefor stared out at the circling clouds around his abode. The pale dark blue light of the night sky shone on the cloud tops while the bottom of them was a dirty orange brown from the glow of the burnt lands far below. Every so often, a dull flash of lightning would light up part of the clouds before a faint crackling rumble would echo back and forth. Looking up he saw two bright stars; one blue and the other purple within a sea of multicoloured points…

Two young dragons, one blue and the other purple, entered a large cave while carrying large sacks in their mouths. They cantered over to a mound of treasure in the torch lit underground – curtesy of the purple's fire breath – and emptied the heavy sacks onto the pile. Both were ecstatic as many gems and trinkets poured out onto the growing horde.

"I can't believe we managed to get away with so many jewels with out anyone knowing," Mal noted as he marvelled at their growing horde with his strange eyes.

"What do you mean," Shardis smirked as his threw himself onto the treasure, "we were always going to get away with it." The red, blue, green, and purple colours of the gems clashed with the ice blue and pearl white scales of Shardis. "Besides," he said with one of his energetic grins, "they don't deserve this finery anyway. They should have to fight for it, shouldn't they Mal."

The purple dragon nodded with a good natured laugh and rammed into Shardis. Both of them wrestled over the treasure, trying to push the other out of the pile as they played one of their favourite games; 'king of the horde'.

A sneer stained Malefor's face as the sudden memory invaded his mind. He tore his gaze away from the sky and stared down at the cold granite floor. Closing his eyes he shook his head, trying to rid himself of these thoughts but they wouldn't fade. Looking back up at the sky, he continued his sneer at the stars.

"What do you want?! Do you think I miss those pointless games, all the stupid banter and your meaningless friendsh–" Malefor's sneer melted as he hung his head, looking at the ground just outside the window.

The thing was though, Malefor didn't know what to think of his long forgotten friendship with 'that' ice dragon. Snorting a rough breath, he cursed himself for acting so juvenile. Even a millennia onwards, he still couldn't bring himself to mention 'his' name. As if the spoken word would somehow summon him and Malefor would suffer for a transgression he couldn't fathom being responsible for but dreaded all the same.

Fidgeting with his talons, the purple dragon stared out at the clouds. Although he had seen it many times before, the cool blue of the cloud tops now reminded him of Shardis…

"Are you ready to go Mal?"

"Yeah, I've said my farewells to this place."

Shardis blinked in confusion and tilted his head at Mal, "But… I thought you said you weren't going to s–"

"Oh I did, that hasn't change," Mal nodded, then gave a toothy grin, "but I had to say goodbye to the rooms, the gardens, the doors, the corridors, the windows, the kitchen and anything that isn't everyone else."

Shardis barked a loud laugh, "Ancestor's praise your sense of humour purple boy."

Shardis whipped his tail around at Mal's hind legs, tripping the purple dragon who laughed it off with a flick of his right wing at the blue dragon's head. Just as they were getting into another one of their wrestles, a deep voice broke into their fun.

"Quit that nonsense you two!" boomed Phoenox's voice in his usual condescending tone, "behave as hatchlings in front of my comrades and the council of Warfang and I'll flattened you both."

Jumping back to their paws, the two dragons saw the Master of Fire pace down from the doorway onto the landing platform. The dark red dragon bore his gaze into the two young dragons as he walked around them to the end of the platform, holding his gaze on Mal the longest as he awaited their response.

"Yes Master," replied Mal and Shardis with their heads held ridiculously high.

Snorting, Phoenox turned his massive black horned head away from the two, "Just as well,"

While the Guardian faced away from the two young dragons, Shardis whispered into Mal's earfrill while pointing with his blue wing down at a group of young dragonesses chasing each other around in the gardens below.

Mal grinned as he and Shardis built a small bit of elemental magic in their throats. Breathing a fine layer of mist over the air where the dragonesses played, Shardis let the air become saturated for Mal to add his measure. With a flick of his tongue, Mal sent a pulse of electricity into the mist.

Short screams and yelps filled the two dragons earfrills and the both of them broke down laughing, Hearing them above, some of the dragonesses shakily glared daggers at the purple and blue dragons where as the younger ones just ran back into the Temple crying.

Oblivious to the mischief the two had just caused, Phoenox took off into the sky and beckoned them to hurry along.

"Time to go Mal," chuckled Shardis as they both got up.

"Finally."

The purple dragon couldn't help but smile as he thought of the fun he and the ice dragon had gotten up to so long ago. Malefor remembered how the two of them would egg each other on to stir up the old Guardians or work together to prank or scare some of the other dragons. One time, Shardis had covered a thin layer of ice in one of the corridors and convinced him to lure his bully's down it. After overcoming his trepidation, thanks to Shardis's reassurance and optimism, he followed through and had some fun for the first time.

Malefor knew very well that if it wasn't for Shardis, he would've remained the scared and insecure little whelp he used to be. Forever submissive and terrified of what everyone thought of his purple scales, his serpent-like yellow eyes and abilities. He never would have amounted to anything at all.

The gentle smile faded off Malefor's muzzle and was replaced with a steady growl rolling up his throat, "Is that it! Is that want you want of me!" Jolting his gaze back up at the stars, his loud rumble continued, "You want me to thank you for everything you did for me or else your so-called Ancestor's won't let me complete my destiny! Is that it!"

Only the gentle breeze coming in through the arched windows and the silence of the night answered him.

"You don't deserve that satisfaction," he whispered at the stars, "You were only my friend when it was convenient for you. When the Elder's sentenced me into exile, you alienated yourself from me when I needed you the most."

Malefor remembered that day, still clear as if it were yesterday. It began when Enceladis found him enhancing a spirit gem in order to harness more power from it. The Council of Warfang then accused him of corrupting it with dark magic and charged him with blasphemy against those preposterous Ancestors they so ludicrously prayed to. He was to be banished at sunset unless he rallied those who could prove his crime was unintended. But when he begged Shardis to come to his defence, the ice dragon had refused in the most inconsiderate of ways. It wasn't a long and justifiable excuse, it was just a cold and mundane decline.

He shivered at the thought of the last thing Shardis had ever said to him. That 'one' word resonated deeply with Malefor and was the more disturbing part of the nightmares that plagued him ever since his resurrection. Shardis was never present in the Realm of Convexity when he was imprisoned, but in his nightmares, he was always there to relay that same gut wrenching word.

Malefor narrowed his eyes as he snarled at the sky, "Damn you. I hope you found life miserable. You deserve nothing else, I hate you!"

The gentle breeze picked up just a little and the cool air soothed the purple dragon's features until his face was bland once again. Even though he meant those words, his stomach knotted. He wanted to hate Shardis with every fibre of his being, but he just couldn't do it.

He knew why. Everyone he had ever met were unnerved by his ugly yellow eyes. The moment they made eye contact with him they would falter and look away, but not Shardis, never him. He looked at Malefor as if he possessed the same eyes that everyone else had. The ice dragon had taught him so much, helping him turn his pathetic existence around.

Malefor use to look up to Shardis in every way. He was clever, funny, brave, determined, his snarky attitude towards the old Guardians struck a cord with him too but above all, he held an unbreakable air of confidence. The purple dragon couldn't have wished for a better role model and… friend.

When Shardis had betrayed that friendship, he couldn't believe it. This dragon, the only one who appreciated him, cast him aside like the scum they use to have their way with. It was like a freezing spear pierced through his chest but finding nothing as it plunged impossibly deeper into his flesh, waiting for it to impale something, anything but never doing so.

Before Malefor could dwell on it more a powerful gust of wind blew in through the windows and caused a shiver to run up his back and into his wings. Suddenly, a flutter of energy danced in his core. Malefor's eyes widened as he realised a trace of his Wind element had begun to surface.

"Hmph," mild surprise laced his grunt. Sitting here in this panoramic viewing room and remembering his past had put Malefor in the right mental state. "I might as well do my meditation here, it's a good enough spot I guess," muttering to no one in particular.

Curling his purple tail around to his forepaws with the double edged tail blade resting on his left talons, he gently laid his massive wings onto the floor. He hung his head down, breathing in a long deep breath through his nostrils as he arced his neck back up. Slowly exhaling out of his mouth, he relaxed and let his head slowly hang low again. Malefor maintained this pattern of respiration until he was on the brink of falling asleep.

In this state, Malefor lost track of time. Hours could pass in what felt like minutes and vice versa. He had to concentrate to stay like this or else he would be in strife. If he drifted too far into his meditation, he would fall asleep and relive his nightmares. If he tried to think too hard, he would fall out of his pattern and would have to begin his meditation again from scratch. Both prospects were unacceptable for him right now.

The whispering stream of wind that blew in through the windows caressed his slow heaving form. As the serene air clipped his earfrills, Malefor let his mind wonder to his scales. The cool air ran over them, seeping in between each amethyst scale and letting it click back into place as it left.

Inside Malefor's core, the pocket of Wind magic swirled faster with every inhale and exhale he drew. Faded grey light danced and swivelled in the back of his heavy eyelids, growing ever brighter. Slowly his wings lifted off the floor, ripples of air racing over the folds in the bronze membranes. His eyes rolled backwards as the hot blood in his membrane vessels cooled from the rushing of wind…

Ripping torrents of wind sheathed Mal as he fell from the highest tower in Warfang. Twisting his body into a controlled spin, the purple dragon held his wings close to his flanks as he dove at the ground.

As he picked up speed, the air moving around him screamed in his earfrills and a bright grey curly wake of energy lengthened behind him. Drawing dangerously close to the cobblestone, Mal waited until his better judgement drilled into the back of his skull to pull up. Not two seconds away from impact, he unleashed a blast of Wind at the ground and flared his wings.

The purple dragon bounced off an invisible cushion of air, somersaulting back up the way he fell. The swirling wake parted as Mal soared skyward, dragging all of it back up with him in a vortex of twisting wind.

Mal came to a hover high above the city. Relaxing his wings, he held them out to their full extent, but he didn't fall. A twister, barely visible spun around his form, holding him aloft.

"Excellent," shouted Zephiros far below, "You have mastered the inverted tornado. With this technique, an injured wing will never keep you from your place in the sky. Well done, Malefor."

Malefor's scales tingled and his wings slowly fluttered as the element of Wind returned to his command. Breathing deeply in his meditation, a small smile appeared on his muzzle. How good it felt to feel the free essence of Wind dancing to life within him once more. Letting his wings fall back to the floor, he continued his deep meditation as small eddies tickled his scales from the air current through the room.

Falling even deeper into his detached state, Malefor felt for the slightest twinge of his other elements; a flare, a vibration, a spark. Through his half closed eyelids, a flash of light from the clouds darted in front of his eyes unnoticed but resonated with his heart like a sudden jolt.

Static droned in his head, as the yellow, white and blue of electricity ran through up his spine. It zapped his insides as it erratically licked at the edge of his core, fighting to flicker to life in his limbs…

Bright yellow sparks danced up the purple dragon's legs, flicking outward as they enveloped him. Closing his eyes, Mal slowly rose up into the air, letting the erratic element build up within him. The large room buzzed and a winding drone grew in volume as the electricity arced from every fibre of the purple dragon.

"Unleash the fury now," spoke Galvinn as he observed his student's performance.

Snapping his eyes open, Mal extended his wings and a wall of brilliant zapping cords exploded away from him. The room became a blaze of yellow zipping stars, singeing the very air as they darted back and forth.

Touching back on the floor, the purple dragon deeply inhaled the static in the air. After a couple of moments of capturing all the electricity, he built all of it up in the back of his throat. Bemused, the Guardian of Electricity narrowed his eyes at what the younger dragon was doing. Before he could question it, Mal launched a bright sparking orb from his maw which flew through the air and detonated with a resonating pop and flash on the wall.

Mal looked towards his master, awaiting his reaction with a smug look. "In-Incredible!" stuttered the yellow dragon, "never have I seen that technique before! A ball of electricity as a projectile to detonate at a later point! Remarkable! You are a prodigy Malefor."

In and out Malefor breathed, maintaining his deep mediation as his Electricity element pulsed to life once more. At the back of his mind, he let the surging current of power stagger to the bottom of his paws, small blue sparks jumping between his talons as it did.

Letting his claws sink through the granite floor, the electricity earthed out into the ground. The cold rock under the granite quietly vibrated to the electrical intrusion. Small resonating patterns shivered up into his paws, but it cooled and soothed him like the soil beneath the undergrowth.

Jittering steadily, Malefor honed his thoughts on this quick rocking motion. Inhaling, the vibrations dulled; exhaling, they grew more violent. Falling deeper into the blackness of his subconsciousness, his body began to sway as the rumble of rock and stone rattled his limbs from within. His core fracturing like a shell with green light shinning through the cracks from the inside…

The wall of rock in front of Mal cracked with a grinding squeal. His talons ran into the ground where he directed the element of Earth through it and into barrier of stone. Webs of green light pierced from within the wall as they crisscrossed over the entire surface.

Crouching low to the ground, the purple dragon breathed an Earthen flail out in front of him and spun around on the spot. The glowing lime green flail whipped around and struck the cracked wall with enough force to break a leg. A bright flash of emerald light lit up the training area, followed by clouds of dust and the brutal crash of boulders tearing through dummies, stone structures and the training room wall behind it.

When the dust cleared, utter devastation lay ahead of Mal but he noticed one of the targets still stood upright. Looking to his right, the newly appointed Guardian of Earth 'Terrah' nodded her head in approval of his feat and allowed him the freedom of finishing the task with ease.

He snarled eagerly and leapt high into the air. Powering his wings above the defiant target, he summoned a sphere of rock to form around his body. When enough weight was acquired, Mal dove down upon it in a green aura of rock, pummelling into the floor like a meteor.

The purple dragon's eyes snapped open as a jolt jarred his legs. The haze over his eyes cleared and the world around came back into focus. Malefor's mediative state was slipping away.

Steadying his breathing pattern, he briefly looked around the room. Fading ribbons of green webbing ran from the floor around his paws and up through the walls. The stone pillars between the arched windows were threatening to crumble apart from the Earth blast he must have released into the ground. His limbs relaxed back into place, knowing he had recovered another element. Looking outside, he nearly let out a gasp of panic before his focus on breathing prevented him.

The brilliant array of stars had all but disappeared, leaving only the brightest few still visible in the now royal blue sky. On the horizon beneath the swirling mass of clouds, the sky was slowly turing to a greenish yellow from the light of the coming sunrise.

Malefor let the frightening sight go to the back of his mind. He couldn't let anxiety determine his fate now. Breathing in; Breathing out, the purple dragon relentless persisted with his meditation, falling back into his detached state relatively quickly.

Cool night air drained into his nostrils like a slow stream of still water, soothing his slow heaving chest. Malefor could feel the essence of his three awoken elements twist around his deep thoughts as they intwined around each other.

He felt for his two remaining elements to dance to their master's command once more. With every draw of breath, he plunged deeper into the well of his core. All conscious thought left his mind as the black abyss of nothingness stared back at him. He fell deeper into the pit of his elemental source, seeking; reaching; praying for the tiniest flare of Fire or the stabbing chill of… Ice.

The darkness parted beneath his mental delve and he was sucked unwilling deeper and deeper until his world flashed…

Mal strode through the late afternoon sun bathed streets of Warfang with four of the city guard escorting him to his requested destination. The purple dragon, although an adult in his own right was still smaller than the four dragons making sure he didn't try anything.

Moles, dragons and others on the sidewalk muttered to themselves as they watched the disgraced purple dragon being led down the road. Mal cast them angry sneers and narrowed his eyes at anyone who dare make eye contact with him. He gave a snort of satisfaction as they all looked away and falter when they did.

Turning a corner in the street, the entourage made their way down to a small domed dwelling. Arriving at the entrance, the guards parted to let the purple dragon access.

"Be quick Malefor," stated the leading guard, "you'll need to have your defending party at the Council before sundown if you wish to remain in Warfang."

"Yes, yes, I know." Mal grumbled as he opened the large door to enter.

Pacing briskly inside, Mal marched down a short corridor to a room where he found the one he was looking for. A blue dragon with four jagged white horns and a smaller one on his snout adorning his head, rested on a large cushion whilst leisurely reading. When the purple dragon racked the doorway with the back of his talons, Shardis looked up from his scroll to him.

"Oh, good evening Mal, how are y–" Shardis stopped when he saw the desperation in the purple dragon's strange eyes.

"I'm not doing well at all Shardis, you see–"

"What have you done!" whispered the ice dragon as he slowly got to his paws. Shardis stepped forward just a little, his maw was hanging open slightly as he gauged Mal's face with his unblinking aqua tinted blue eyes. Before Shardis could say anything, the purple dragon blurted out everything.

"The Elders! They're going to banish me at sundown! They don't understand! I'm not the problem, they are! I did nothing wrong! They were just crystals! They don't understand me! They don't underst–" Mal nearly jumped out of his scales when Shardis broke in furiously.

"Mal you moron! I told you not to tamper with spirit gems again! Don't you listen! Are you stupid!"

The purple dragpn's breath caught in his throat and he backed away slightly.

"You should have thanked your lucky stars I didn't tell the Guardians when I found that indigo sparking abomination of a crystal! you created last month." He rolled his eyes as he added, "And then you go and do it again for Ancestor's sakes!"

Shocked, he tried to respond but just stuttered and hung his head to momentarily look away from Shardis's venomous glare. Why his friend was being this way with him he couldn't understand, but it hurt and he didn't know why it did.

"You knew full well that doing something like that is considered blasphemy and abhorrent!" the ice dragon's voice grew harsher through his now bared fangs, "Did you think that they would make an exception with you, or what!"

"N-no… okay m-maybe, but they… they still don't understand." Breathing deeply, Mal looked pleadingly at him with his eyes, "But right now I need your help… They've given me the chance to get out of this. I just need you to come with me to the Council and convince them that–"

One sharp word cut into the air, "No."

Mal blinked in confusion, "Wh-what do you mean–"

"No," he repeated with narrowed eyes this time.

"B-But I need your help–"

"No," he bluntly said once more. Shardis gave a flick of his eyes towards the exit behind Mal before settling his ice cold glare back on the purple dragon's wavering yellow one.

Mal couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening to him. This was his best friend, he would never do this to him. Trying his best to strengthen his voice, the purple dragon let a plea roll of his tongue but pathetically stumbled on it as it came out.

"Sh-Sh-Shard…"

All words died in his throat after his stutter and the silence hurt almost as much as the chilling stare the ice dragon gave Mal. It was a look he was familiar and comfortable with from everyone except Shardis. His insides felt like lake water in the winter and his joints like shards of ice splitting under that indifferent gaze. Just as he thought he could hear creaking ice, the long silence was broken.

"No."

Mal's chest froze. The ice dragon could have spat a freezing icicle at him and it would've felt the same. His limbs felt numb and lifeless but he didn't collapse. Like a corpse frozen in a glacier, he stood rigid as a statue as his world turned to ice around him.

He couldn't bare it any longer and tore his yellow eyes away from the cold stare of the ice dragon. Mal turned around and slowly paced his frozen limbs back through the small corridor, feeling the stranger's eyes bore into the back of his skull as he left.

Looking down at his paws as he put one in front of the other, Mal exited the dwelling and found himself in the company of the guards once more. Without saying anything, they gathered around him and marched with him in the direction he was already heading; the main city gates.

The cooling air of the approaching night now felt unnaturally hot against his frigid purple scales as every step on the warm cobblestone street burnt his frozen paws. His earfrills droned with the sound of muttering and whispers from the passing civilians but he made no effort raise his head to glare at them with his now burning eyes.

When they arrived at the gates, the sun was touching the city horizon behind the purple dragon. Hearing a command barked from one of the guards and the heavy clank of the metal hinges swinging, Mal continued his solemn pacing unimpeded under the great city parapet. Only when he walked into the shadow of the massive city walls and heard the reverberating clank of steel on stone, did he stop.

Standing alone in the dominating shadow with nothing but open wilderness in front of him for leagues, the purple dragon stared at his paws. An hour passed before he looked up at the distant horizon shrouded in the blackness of the night. His face was relaxed as he scanned it with his strange yellow eyes. Alone, they burned brighter than the faint stars above the dark world now before Malefor.

Taking one step into the night, he let the creak of ice in his limbs crackle apart. Taking the next, the chill within his chest started to thaw and something new began to bloom. With every increasing step, his core flickered and flared with a fire Malefor savoured. Intense delight twitching all over his warped face.

Now cantering across the dark plain, the purple dragon kept his eyes locked on the horizon, never looking back or giving the Dragon City another thought. He began to bound as fast as his legs would carry him over the cold ground and soon the lights of civilisation faded away behind him and still he pushed himself further.

Burning madly, his muscles stretched and flexed as he charged through the empty wilderness. The ice in his limbs and chest melted away from the inferno raging from his very heart, consuming every fibre of his being with ravenous hunger.

With one massive bound, Malefor leapt into the air and beat his bronze wings down. He soared high into the sky, feeling the wind catch him and push him higher into the darkness. Beating his wings again and again until the ligaments howled in pain, the all enveloping fire set them ablaze as well.

Fire coursed though his body like liquid metal until even his purple scales shone with a reddish brilliance. Finally, the burning rage from his heart melded with the burning in his fiery golden eyes and the dark sky opened to Malefor.

He beheld a world engulfed by raging and all consuming flames, burning everything to ashes until only dust caked his tongue. Far away in the center of the cataclysm, a shinning amethyst star in the shape of a dragon roared his victory louder than the deafening hell storm itself. Brighter and brighter the purple light burned until it grew to encompass the entire world in a bright flash.

Malefor slowly opened his eyes as he exhaled one last time, trails of indigo smoke escaping his nostrils as he did. Sunlight streamed through the arched windows, striking his yellow eyes and beginning to warm his purple scales. He felt the cold surface of ice coating the floor and looked down to see strands of icicles much like spider legs, reaching up into the cracked walls before him.

Looking back up at the horizon, he saw the sun just starting to vanish underneath the bottom of the swirling clouds as it rose. A sly grin twisted across his muzzle as he looked higher through the arched window to the now ice blue sky. Weightlessness built up in his lungs as he observed the cold colour of that sky with an intense fang bared smile running across his warped purple face.

"Hm hm hm hm hm, thank you Shardis," he said with a mad yellow gaze piercing the heavens, "Thank you for pointing me to my destiny."

The smoke emanating from his nostrils thickened as giddiness overtook every thought in his head. Chuckling deeper and raspier, Malefor opened his maw to let liquid flames froth from his mouth as the crackle of fire melded with his laughter. With a quick but deep breath and he rent forth a massive bellow that echoed throughout the Temple with his insane glee.

Feeling lighter than air, he screamed manically at the sky and clouds. His eyes stung from the thick smoke steaming from his nostrils that now hung around his head. Tainting his view of the sky, wispy red waves evaporated off his yellow eyes that now shone as hard and bright as the sun; save for two deep dark slits that ate all light.

When he finally settled down, Malefor got up from his haunches and strode out of the chamber he would never visit again. A tiny flick of air nicked the edge of his tail as he left but he paid it no mind as he rushed down the corridor.

With powerful steps, he made straight for the central foyer post haste. Entering the Visions room without a single glance at the water in the center, the purple dragon continued on to the doorway between the banners of Ice and Fire.

It was quiet in the large foyer of the Temple when Malefor arrived but the air still wavered like a mirage from the heat of the fury he unleashed the day before. Waiting for the two dragons to arrive at any moment, he found himself falling back into a steady rhythm of breathing again as he listened to the tiniest whistle of wind high above.

The sound of small pawfalls interrupted his short reprieve but it matter not; they were here. Malefor made out voices muttering something he didn't quite catch but he smiled to himself as they approached from the other side of the massive metal doors on the opposite side of the foyer. The purple dragon chuckled quietly.

"It's time."

With a flick of his eyes, the great Temple doors opened to the last ones daring to deny him his destiny. Marching into the foyer, Spyro and Cynder beheld the large purple dragon Malefor with both determination and terror in their eyes.

"At long last, my guests have arrived. Please, come in."

Well that is it for now. Thank you so much for reading through to the end of this story and whether you liked it or not, or thought the writing had any quality, I appreciate the time you gave for me. So please leave a comment.

Again, many thanks to the awesome spyro fanfic writers I mentioned at the beginning of this story. They opened my imagination to this fandom and inspired me to try my hand at creative writing.

I'll be gone for the rest of the year probably but I have many other ideas for tLoS and will return with something new relatively soon.

~Maze-Eye