AN: Hey guys, I made a map of my version of the dragon realms. It's nothing to flashy just mainly to give you some perspective to my story. If you're interested you can see it at my deviant art. Thefoxtails . deviantart . com
"Good morning Kane, you said there was something you wanted to ask of us yesterday?"
"Yes yes, I will get to that shortly. I just wanted to thank you for participating in your festival last night. By the way, you two did a wonderful job with the dance, everyone watching was enthralled. I know it may be different for outsiders but it is very important to my people and a good festival reflects upon the rest of the year"
"Heh, you can thank Cynder for that, she insisted."
Cynder smiled silently, pleased at her mention.
"This topic is still quite sensitive to me but I'm asking you to bring my brother back to answer for his crimes. A few weeks after you departed to took a small group of his loyalists to the edge of the Tall Plains, bordering the volcanic plains to worship a fire elemental. To him working with an outsider was unacceptable and hatred filled his shallow heart. He sought revenge with the only being that could possibly respond to the petty emotion, a fire elemental. It has been on the edge of our territory around the fertile soils of the volcanos for as long as the tales can remember but it has never attempted anything due to the earth elemental present here that protects us."
"That sounds awful, have you heard no word from him?"
"No, and has sparked this urgency is that my scouts have reported that the fire elemental is on the move. He threatens the entire way of life for our people. If he returns here the earth mother will be unpleased for sure and there will be chaos."
"Any chance he will go peacefully?"
"I Doubt it, he has been brooding over this for years."
"Battling a fire elemental is going to be tough, unfortunately, I haven't mastered the water element as there is no current guardian due to the lack of dragons present. However, I think together Cynder and I can do it. We've had to face a golem before so it isn't anything new for us."
"So Cynder, do you feel up to taking down a fire elemental?"
"It would be my pleasure, I owe this much to your people Kane, whether you believe it not"
"Thank you, I couldn't ask for more capable allies, nay, friends."
"It should take you only a few hours to reach the elemental if you need any previsions feel free to ask our quartermaster and we will happy to share with you. May the earth mother bless your return."
And with that, the three heroes made their leave, with Sparx breaking the silence. "Can we go for a week that we don't have to fight for our lives?"
"You secretly love it Sparx, why else would you come along?"
"Yeah, maybe I do…"
It was still morning by the time the fire elemental came into view and the fire elemental was a sight to behold. It stood twice as tall as an adult dragon, its entire body flaming in an orange glow. It seemed to be living flame with a rough set of arms, legs and a head that could be seen faintly amongst the glow.
"Damn the only water nearby is the ocean" cursed Spyro
The pair surveyed the area, it was fairly open area with small patches of golden grass and thick bushy scrub which sprung up spatially amongst the gentle sloping hills.
As the fire elemental noticed the pair of dragons it let out a guttural growl, clearly unable to communicate in any meaningful way. Behind the elemental Spyro could make out 5 Atlakas who were following behind it.
"There, behind the elemental, there are 5 Atlakas. That must be Karns brother and his followers. Sparx do you think you can keep watch on them while we take on this fire elemental?"
"Sure thing bud, stay safe okay?"
"We'll do our best."
Their talk was then unceremoniously interrupted by a fireball that was hurled towards them, although neither of them moved as it sailed harmlessly above their heads, most likely a warning shot.
Sparx dipped away into the bushes nearby as Cynder turned to Spyro.
"Well that's our invitation I guess." Letting out a small laugh
"This is going to be tough, there is no way we can lure it into the water like we did with the golem back at warfang, and I can't breathe water…."
Interrupting his doubt Cynder was focused on the task at hand "We'll think of something on the fly, I don't think the elemental is going to wait for us"
The two dragons flew in, taking careful stock of the situation as they flew around the elemental which seemed to be waiting for them to take the first move, weighing up its options.
Spyro decided to go in low around the back leg of the elemental unleashing a torrent of frost charged breath at the exposed leg. He snarled as the ice was evaporated harmlessly to steam before it could reach its mark. Cursing this obvious outcome he attempted to regain some altitude. However, he was stopped dead in his tracks when the fist of the elemental snaked towards him at lightning speed, moving with an agility he did know was possible from such a large adversary. The punch took him fully in the side of his face which sent him reeling towards the ground. He managed to regain his balance enough to prevent smashing into the floor but he could feel the blow still ringing in his head.
The elemental wasted no time in watching Spyro struggle against his blow and turned instantly to the other pressing threat which was the black dragoness. A fiery hand shot out towards her but she was ready and unleashed a torrent of shadow fire which caused the elemental to contort its hand to avoid most of the blast. The altered trajectory allowed Cynder to move out of the way with ease as she noticed parts of the elementals fire had been extinguished where they had come into contact with her shadow breath.
She let out a soft groan as the fire rekindled itself shortly after and the elemental look completely unfazed about what had just happened.
Cynder decided to press what little advantage she had unleashed another torrent of shadow breath at the body of the elemental. It reeled back quickly but its right leg took the tail end of her breath and the flames spluttered as they were engulfed by the shadows.
Spyro had shaken most of his concussion off and took his opportunity to dive in towards the right leg and unleashed another torrent of ice breath at the exposed leg. He was rewarded with an unearthly sound as the elemental seemed to rear in pain. It unleashed a fiery vortex around itself in an endless rage which drove the two dragons back as they shielded their eyes. The leg of the elemental did not reignite but it still looked like it had plenty of fight left to give, seemingly eyeing the pair more wearily now.
If we keep going at this rate I'm going to run out of breath before we can disable the golem's flames... there has to be another way…"Spyro over here!" called Cynder "We can't keep harassing the elemental like this we are just going to tire ourselves out before we can get in any meaningful damage."
"So what are you thinking?"
"We have to trick it somehow, your ice breath seems to be the only thing that causes it any damage, if I draw its attention…"
"I can't let you be a distraction it's too dangerous" His eyes pleading with her.
"Spyro I know the dangers, it's the only way. I'll be careful I promise."
"Alright, i trust you."
And with the two dragons re-engaged the elemental with renewed a vigour. Wasting no time the elemental moved forward attempting to swat the dragons as they flew around him. A fiery hand grabbed for Spyro as it attempted to herd him towards the elemental head as it unleashed a giant fireball in his direction. Realising there was no way out Spyro counted with his own breath of fire which caused the two projectiles to meet and explode in a shower of sparks, sending an eerie glow across the yellow plains.
Cynder wasted no time as the elemental exposed its back and she channelled all her energy into her shadow breath. A massive torrent proceeded to extinguish the flames across its back, exposing the solid core which seemed to hold the elemental to this realm. As it whirled around to face her she did not stop her assault and pressed forward. I have to buy him time she thought, no matter the cost.
The elemental completely enraged at this point brought both its hands together and swatted at the dragoness causing his grievances. Cynder tried her best to spiral out of the elementals reach but she felt a hand make contact with her left wing and a horrifying crunch. The next thing she knew was a strange darkness as the ground rushed up to meet her.
Spyro could feel his heart in his mouth as he watched Cynder and the fire elemental duking it out together. He carefully worked his way towards the exposed back of the elemental now deprived of flames thanks to Cynder as he prepared to unleash his frost breath. His thoughts there interrupted as he heard a sickening crunch and out of the corner of his eyes saw a black shape plummeting towards the earth.
"Cynder!"
The world seemed to slow down as he realised the situation. Please, ancestors, don't be dead he thought to himself as panic and adrenaline flowed through his veins. Taking every bit of his will to prevent himself dashing over to the dragoness he managed to Blink back the tears as he summed every bit of energy he possessed and poured it into his breath.
The elemental cried out in pain as its victory was cut short and it tried to answer the other dragon present. However, as it attempted to turn around its body wasn't responding properly as his core began to freeze.
Spyro pushed on with a relentless fury as the core became encrusted with ice. With ruthless precision he brought his tail smashing into the core which shattered under the blow, searing the elemental in half.
While the blow would be mortal to the elemental in time it could still function without its legs and decided on its final act, if it couldn't win then neither would anybody else. The elemental head began to glow in a fiery heat as all the remaining flames began moving towards the one position, channelling an intense fire.
"Shit, Cynder!" Spyro roared with all his might as he realised what was happening.
Diving towards the unconscious dragoness he grabbed onto her, attempting to form a shield against the fire as he had seen Ignitus do when they crossed the ring of fire.
Behind him, he heard an intense explosion as a wave of fire rippled across the landscape. The white shield flared to life, and for a brief second it seemed like it would hold but Spyros inexperience caused it to shimmer away, and then there nothing.
Sparx took his leave from the group, silently muttering to himself about the things his friend made him do, although he was glad Spyro kept him safely out of the combat. Giving a wide birth around the elemental Sparx took into the woody brush which was thick in the area. Being small certainly had its advantages in eavesdropping as he was able to find a spot in the brush where he could hear the Atlawas talking, although he didn't have a clear view of them.
"That purple dragon again…"
"He single-handedly defeated an earth golem three years ago, do you think he can match a fire elemental?"
"He's got help this time too, there's a black dragon with him."
"Hey!" Sparx barely managed to muffle his voice in time as he released what he was doing. Damn bastards forgot I even existed he mumbled to himself.
"Brimstone is powerful, he is more than enough to handle these two dragons." Sparx could hear the confidence in his voice.
"We've pored so much effort into bringing him into power, the sacrifices in blood we made."
Sparx grimaced as he heard the words. What sacrifices? He thought to himself as he spat in disgust.
"Vengeance will be sweet, common let's get a good view of the fight."
He decided against following as they went out into the open, as they clearly did not sound like they could be reasoned with. I guess I'll have to wait for them to finish with the elemental before we decide what to do with them. His thoughts were then interrupted as a large explosion rippled through the otherwise gentle expanse. He could see the flames taper off before they reached him but a look of complete and utter horror filled his face. "Spyro... Cynder…. Please let that be your attack" he muttered as he dashed out of the brush, knowing full well that it wasn't Spyro who had unleashed such destruction.
He was greeted with a hideous scar in the landscape. The gentle yellow grass had scorched away in a 50-meter radius around the central point to where the crumbled remains of an elemental rested. Gentle flames licked the edges of the grass hungrily but there was no major blaze. He chanced a glance over to where the Atlakas had been but he glanced away immediately at what he saw. Visibly he was shaking, although he had seen things die they had been actively trying to kill him, this was something else. The charred bones were all he needed to realise there were no survivors. Letting out a strangled sob he saw a purple shape amongst the black in the creator.
"Please be alive... Please you can't be dead now brother… And Cynder too, please." he whispered in silent prayer as he flew towards the dragons. As he arrived he could tell how serious it was. Some of Spyros pristine purple scales had been scorched completely and there were numerous patches of blood oozing from his body and tail. Cynder had been shielded from the worst of it but still barely looked in a better condition than Spyro, and one of her wings was clearly injured. Both of the dragons were still breathing, although it was laboured in Spyros case.
"Spyro, Cynder, wake up please." He begged as flew around there faces.
There was no response at all from the two as they looked completely out of the situation. Sparx mind began to run at a million miles an hour as he wrestled with himself internally about what to do. I've got to help them he muttered. Shit shit shit, if they die this is all going to be my fault. I need to find some red crystals immediately or they aren't going to make it.
With the utmost urgency urging him onwards Sparx flew towards the nearby hills hoping to find a cave with crystals or at the very least some medicinal herbs that might be just enough to keep the pair alive.
Tara sighed as she gathered the fresh spring herbs and vegetables that were plentiful in the volcanic soils on the edge of the tall plains. Today was just another ordinary day for the pair since the dragon temple had been raided 20 years ago. She had barely escaped with her partner Rin that fated day. They both had travelled from the Eastern Islands a few years before to witness the year of the dragon hatching, which had included an egg of their own. However the fates were not kind to them as the temple raid was burned vividly into their mind, every egg had been lost, including their own. The two of them had barely managed to make it out alive and had ever since lived in seclusion on the fertile land at the edge of Tall Plains ever since.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard what seemed to be a loud bang in the distance. Wondering if it was a volcanic eruption she flew gracefully into the sky and observed her surroundings. Hmmm, I don't see any ash clouds, I wonder what it could have been? Oh well, it's a welcome distraction from picking herbs she mused. Needing no second explosion to peak her curiosity she flew lazily in the air towards the explosion.
Not 30 seconds into her flight she heard a yell from bellow her.
"Please stop!"
She slowed to a hover and saw a curious looking dragonfly before her.
'You gotta help me please my friends are dying"
"Woah, slow down I heard an explosion what has happened?"
"My friends, two dragons were fighting a fire elemental and it exploded… Please, they are barely alive and I can't carry them... They need red crystal now or they are g.. g. g... going to….."
Interrupting the dragonfly before he burst into tears "Shh, it's going to be okay. Come with me, my home is just around the corner. We have some supplies that can help and we will go back and get them okay?"
All Sparx could do was nod as his mind raced with a million questions during the short journey. It felt like the longest period of life even though it took less than a minute. The pair touched down in front of a sheltered cave, nestled away in the hills. A brief surge of relief flooded his face as he doubted he would have been able to find this cave without the help of this dragon.
"Rin! You need to get some red crystals and get out here stat."
"On it honey!" Sparx heard the voice booming out from the cave.
A blue dragon emerged shortly after with a leather satchel on his side. Noticing the dragonfly next to her he asked, "What's going on?"
"There is no time, we'll explain on the way" Tara replied, her voice filled with urgency.
AN: Writing actions scenes with dragons is fun and challenging if anybody has any feedback on this, in particular, I would love to hear it.
Hope nobody saw that happening, the story is starting to get interesting now ;).
Leaving you quite a few cliffhangers, I'm mean, aren't I? Next chapter will be fairly large.