War Stories
Ok I am back been up to a lot recently working and all that broke my computer screen no biggie, but I am back I will continue this story I must finish it...THE SHOW MUST GO ON! Anyway, RnR enjoy etc you are all awesome and have a great day. Chaio
The soft midnight blue skies envelop me as I glide through the moonlight on open wings feeling the cool air whip past my face. It was pleasant and relaxing seeing the ground below fly past me as I continued on into the night. A movement to my right catches my attention and I bring myself to a stop using my wings to keep me hovering in the air. Another dragon is flying in the distance and a soft humming fills the air around me as I watch it glide further and further away. I try to follow it as it dives into the forest below and disappears underneath the trees. I drop too and land where it seemed to be last and see a soft white trail of flowers that have sprouted where there were none moments before. A feeling sprouted in my chest, a longing, and I follow them not know what I will find. Before long a clearing appears between two trees and I step into it and see the dragon across a small pond. A large dragon whose wings span the length of the clearing and scales shine brightly in the moonlight. It has bone white scales and glowing blue eyes and it looks at me and I feel as if it can see into my soul. "Wake up," is all it says and the world goes black around me.
My eyes fly open and I sit up suddenly looking around confused. The moon still hung in the sky like a giant glowing marble and cast a soft light into the bedchamber. That dream was so real I could almost swear I was actually there. Suddenly a soft humming fills the air again and I blink trying to seek out the noise in the moonlit darkness. It seems to be coming from outside the room. Carefully and quietly I slipped out my bed and swiftly followed the sound slipping out of the bedchamber as quiet as a mouse so as not to disturb the elder dragons. The humming cut through the training room as well and was coming from the main chamber so I approach the wooden doors and push them open and step in.
As I turn from closing the door I'm greeted by a dimly lit room. The pool that I always see Terrador and Cyril standing over is washing the room in a soft light as the moon outside reflects off it. The humming seems to be coming from it. I walk over to it and look down into the still waters. At first, all I see is my reflection looking back at me, but then the water ripples starting from the center of the pool and expands out until it hits my refection. Suddenly I see a different image in the pool.
Striking blue eyes stare up at me and beautiful silver scales that seem to sparkle in the moonlight as a beautiful dragon appears. She looks at me and smiles and I can suddenly hear the humming clearly and it is coming from her. As the pool ripples again another dragon appears beside her. This one a rather large black dragon with red eyes and a gap in the scales on his chin shows a silvery scar that goes down to the base of his neck. He looks me in the eye and bows his head. The image in the pool suddenly changes and I suddenly I see the temple library. It is as if I'm looking through someone else's eyes as the image moves forward and into the library. They walk straight past the dragon statue and to the bookshelf and I see a large black scaled paw enter the image and push a few books out of the way and grab a hold of a scroll. The scroll is rolled up and wrapped with a red ribbon to keep it closed. The hand puts it back down and the image ripples and the two dragons are standing there again. They both smile at me and bow their heads as the pool ripples and they disappear.
My mind is reeling as I gaze into the pool for a few moments trying to process what had just happened. I suddenly realize what they were trying to show me and, quickly and quietly, I head off to the library. The halls of the temple are dark as all the torches have been extinguished and the only light is the moonbeams that shine through the windows. As I make it to the library door and open it up I'm relieved to find the torches in the room are still lit and I slip in and close the door behind me. Walking straight to where the image in the pool showed me I see it. The scroll is laying there as if someone had left it just for me to find, but it looks different. The scroll looks older and ragged and the ribbon is faded. The worst part is that half of it appears to have been ripped off leaving only a small portion of the scroll remaining. I carefully pick it up and bring it over to a table and slide the ribbon off and open it. At the top of the scroll is a rune that I can't read but someone has scrawled a word underneath it. Leaning close I read the word "Metal". The rest of the scroll is filled with runes with some being the same as the one on top but I cannot read any of it. I sigh but then looking closer I see someone has scribbled a few words in the space between some of the runes. It reads "This is the scroll of the ancients telling of the ability of old called Metal. This ability has long since been thought dead..." The rest of it is lost to where ever the other half of the scroll lies now.
Reading and rereading these words don't help much, but as I'm about to put the scroll away, a sudden pounding in my skull throws me off as my vision blurs and I crumple to the floor. I close my eyes then open them standing back up. Looking around I see that I am not in the library anymore, but instead, I appear to be standing in a dimly lit cave. As my eyes scan the area I see her again. The large silver dragoness is laying on the ground humming that same lullaby and caressing something between her front legs. I slowly walk around and see it's a small black baby dragon. She is singing him to sleep it appears. Suddenly there's a voice at the entrance of the cave.
"Luna? Luna?!" It calls frantically
"Irons?" She looks up as a large black dragon appears in the cave. They don't appear to notice me or maybe I'm not really there because the black dragon seems to look straight through me at the silver dragoness. "Be quiet I just got him to sleep." She looks down at the baby dragon who is snoring softly.
"Luna there's no time," Irons says "We need to get you out of here Malefor found you." He checks over his shoulder.
"N-No," Luna says fear in her eyes "He couldn't have…how?"
"I don't know but you have to take Shadow and leave now." He says "Malefor sent Mykyr."
Luna stands up and the baby dragon wakes up startled "Momma," He says sleepily yawning "Momma I thought it was bedtime." He looks up at the dragoness with half-lidded eyes.
She has a soft look in her eyes as she bends her head down "oh sweetie I'm sorry, but we have to go," with this she picks him up and sets him on his feet just for him to sit down too tired to move "honey there is a very bad dragon after us we need to…" Whatever she said next I don't know as the scene seems to shift and blur and suddenly the cave is less inviting. There is blood on the floor that is coming from the entrance and I follow its trail and see the dragoness backed into a corner with the young dragon behind her. She has been cornered by a large intimidating black dragon that wasn't the one from before.
"Oh Luna," He says with a sickly sweet voice "you didn't think you could hide from my master forever did you." He looks from her to the baby dragon behind her. "You and your bastard," he chuckles evilly "Oh don't worry little one I won't hurt you. I'm just going to kill your mother if she doesn't give you to me right. NOW!" He lunges for the baby but is intercepted by the silver dragoness as she sinks her teeth into his neck and throws him away.
"Mykyr you will never have my child," She says fiercely as she puts herself firmly between the black dragon and the young dragon.
The large black dragon coughs and spits up a little blood and laughs again "Oh Luna you're not even supposed to have him," he says "Tsk tsk tsk you broke tradition didn't you falling in love with that traitor Irons." He has started twiddling something between his fingers as he stands back up. He throws it at Luna's feet and I see it's a large silver talon. "Here a gift from Irons probably the only thing you'll ever have left of him," He laughs harder at Luna's distraught expression "Oh yes he was quite a fighter almost had me, but he was weak to side with the elder dragons and their army. We are stronger and if you'd have come with us, in the beginning, none of this would be happening."
"Y-You evil bastard," Luna says her voice breaking.
The black dragon begins to approach her chuckling evilly "Oh yes I am," His expression is one of pure malice "now hand over the kid or do I have to tear you to pieces to get to him?"
Luna looks back at the young dragon who is standing there shivering in fear she looks back at the black dragon "Mykyr you will never have him," She says and the black dragon lunges at her. What happens next is almost unreal as the black dragon seems to halt in midair and then, enveloped in light, disappears. Luna falls over coughing violently and shivering. "Sh-Shadow come here," She says weakly and the young black dragon approaches her. She lifts her head and I can see her eyes are glowing slightly as she lifts a paw to the young dragons head. "I can't protect you anymore," She says softly "but I can send you away from this." She places a talon on his head and the young dragon vanishes. "Be safe...my child," She says laying her head down "You will...return...one day long from now." I watch as she seems to turn to mist and vanish.
I'm left in a void left to reel over what I just witnessed. A memory? A hallucination? Was there some higher power at work? No, yes, maybe? My mind goes a thousand miles a minute and I sit down staring into the void willing myself to focus. "Mother..." is all I say when my eyes are suddenly filled with light and I am thrust back into consciousness again.
Suddenly I jerk awake and stand up. I had passed out on the library floor and I must have hit my head because I have a splitting headache. My blood goes ice cold as a voice interrupts my thoughts. "So, you've been doing a bit of late night reading?" It says and I turn to face the large green dragon that is standing on the other side of the table.
Frozen in place I take a sharp breath "Terrador," I say slowly "ah yes I've just been trying to learn a bit more about the abilities Volteer was teaching me about."
Terrador looks down at the scroll and grunts "Ah yes this ability is ancient," he says seemingly uninterested in the fact I was just passed out on the floor "there has only been one dragon I've known to possess it." He looks back at me with a hint of interest in his eye. Moving around the table he sits down next to me. "I seem to have been avoiding you," he says keeping his eyes focused on the scroll.
I nod sitting down "Maybe a little," I begin to wonder what's going on "Is there a problem?"
His answer comes slowly but he sighs "Yes there is a problem," He looks away for a second "Volteer has been speaking with me, keeping frequent updates about your progress, and continually tells me to get over my old grudges." He takes a deep breath and continues "I find it hard to forget my past, and your arrival has brought it back to me with a vengeance and I fear you might never understand why I feel this way."
With a sudden spike in my courage, I stand up "you know what," I say letting a little anger into my voice "I'm tired of you avoiding me and treating me like a threat."
He seems taken aback by my sudden outburst and I see a look twinkle in his eye, respect maybe, quickly he responds "you may not understand why" He says "but if you would let me I can explain."
I can sense a change in his body language he seems to be a little nervous or apprehensive. I sit back down "Ok, fine, then explain." I say still angry with him, but I will hold the rest of my judgment when he gives his reason.
Clearing his throat he begins his tale. "Long ago," he starts "Long before even Spyro was born. There was a time when this temple abounded with life." He looks around "This library was full of young and new minds full of excitement. There was a time when there were eight dragon elders and not four. They were Mykyr, Brega, Eitr, and Otti. Each was black dragons with a mastery of Dark, Wind, Poison, and Fear respectively. They taught the black dragons, who were the only ones able to use these abilities, of each generation on how to control and master their skills so as to not harm anyone since those powers are very dangerous." He takes a breath and continues "Peace was plentiful in this land with little evil to be found in it, but then the purple dragon was born. Malefor grew up around all eight of the elder dragons and in turn learned each light ability, but then he began to learn the dark ones. He showed prowess that we had never seen before learning each ability and mastering it. Once he was done there he wanted more power that we would not and could not give him. Though we tried to help him he fell into darkness and evil. We banished him from the temple and he fled into exile. We knew he would be back, but we did not know he would come back with such ferocity. His first return he offered us a simple choice. To join him or to renounce him and die." Terrador's voice filled with a burning hatred at those last words. "The demon then left us to brood amongst ourselves. The dark elders immediately suggest we heed him, but the rest of us shunned that idea. Little did we know that they had taken council amongst themselves and soon we found our numbers dwindle as the dark elders and all but three of their pupils leave and join him. Of the three that remained was Irons our general for our army. The other two were Cynders parents, but they fled with the rest of the dragons into hiding, but they were later killed, but not before Cynder's egg was laid. Irons, on the other hand, was loyal until the end. He was the dragon I was talking about who had discovered and master the Metal abilities on his own. He was my friend and when Malefor attacked we faced his armies as brothers upon the field of battle." He stops for a second and looks around "Now I guess it is time I explain my distrust after giving you the history. It all happened after Malefor, who was now calling himself the Dark master, was defeated. His defeat sent the apes and the black dragons into hiding, but years after we began hearing of apes raiding small villages and even sightings of black dragons. Around this time there were new eggs being laid and as we expected another purple dragon was to be born as the prophecy predicted. Soon after though the dark armies rose up coming from the wilds and in force they began to march across the land. We fought them valiantly but we were no match for the black dragons were with them and they appeared to have more power than before. We began to hunt the black dragons and before the temple was overtaken we hunted all but their masters into extinction. Once the temple was breached and Ignitus had hidden the purple dragon away all four of the dragon elders and the remains of the guardian dragons flew with a vengeance. We first hunted down Eitr the master fear and with our small force, of which we lost one, we defeated him and Cyril froze him in a glacier. Next, we hunted Otti and Brega who were masters of fear and wind. They fled to a small island far to the south and as we fought them we mortally wounded Otti, but before we could turn on Brega she summoned a tempest and we fled to find that the winds began to encircle the entirety of the small island then and even to this day. We keep a constant watch on the island to make sure Brega never escapes. Finally, we went on the hunt for Mykyr who had hidden well once he caught wind of our vendetta. We had only five of our numbers left myself, Ignitus, Volteer, Cyril, and Irons with the rest of the dragons in hiding. Irons still had contacts spread throughout the land and one night while we rested a very injured cheetah ran out of the forest to us and delivered a message. He told us that our greatest treasure was about to be stolen. At first we thought it was Spyro but the cheetah shook his head and told us it was the one who shone like the moon. When he said this Irons had left almost immediately while I and the other three dragons began to interrogate the cheetah for more information. We found that the information was hidden in our minds and we had used strong magic to wipe the memory from ourselves so as to keep the secret hidden."
I had been listening intently the entire time but when he said this I quickly asked: "Was it a silver dragon?"
Terrador looks very surprised "Yes it was a silver dragon how would you know that?"
"I uh read about them," I lie.
He looks at me suspiciously and continues his story "Yes it was the ancient silver dragon she was to be reborn that year since her time had come to pass on, but we had hidden her from Malefor because of the incredible power she possessed. Many worshipped the silver dragons as gods. In any case, once we had the information we set out after irons and once we arrived we found many dead apes and irons body. He was dead and his body mutilated. I was furious and I ran in to find the cave filled with nothing but mist and blood. Then in my mind, a voice spoke to me. It told me what I was looking for and where to find it. Without a second thought, I flew out with more anger than I ever held before. I found the traitor atop a volcano where he lay waiting. When he saw me approach he stood up and sneered in all his arrogance. He spoke to me and told me how he found the silver dragon. He spared no detail in describing Iron's death. My blood was boiling" Terrador was shaking now his voice trembling with rage and sorrow "I found myself filled with so much hatred and fear, but also something more bloomed inside of me. A power I never thought I could possess. It seemed as if time slowed before me and my element was more powerful than before. This power the ancients granted me to slay the demon before me and rid the world of his foul kind once and for all. I attacked and he had no time to retaliate. We fought on top of that volcano until his bitter end when I plunged him deep into the magma. He tried to escape but I buried him under tons of rock. That day was the last day Mykyr ever had in this realm." By the end of his story, I saw he was beginning to grind a groove in the stone floor beneath his paws.
"I never knew that," I tell him feeling the revelation wash over me as he ends his story.
He takes a deep shaky breath "I am sorry Shadow for treating you the way I have this past week," He says "I just miss my friends, my brother, and the dark elders were the ones who tore them all away." He begins to cry. I watch as the battle-hardened warrior sheds his silent tears. I want to say something but before I can Terrador rises to his feet and turns and begins to walk to the door. "Good night Shadow." With that, he leaves.
I stand there in complete silence for a second and then I get up and roll the scroll back up, fit the ribbon back over it, and place it back on the shelf. I then leave the library as well and walk back to the sleeping chambers. I stop in the main chamber and walk over to the pool of water and look into it to only see myself in the dim reflection. As I enter the sleeping chambers I see Terrador has fallen back asleep or is a very good pretender, and I go and lie down. Sleep finds me instantly and is filled with the silver dragoness. She smiles at me and we fly silently together. The night wears on and the day will soon come, but for now, I have a faint memory of a time before with someone who loved me.