Okay, seriously? What is it with these crazy long chapters I'm writing? Once again, I had to cut this chapter off way short of where I was planning for it to end when I saw that I was already up to 20 pages and only halfway through what I wanted to put in for this chapter...
*sigh*
Anyway, here you are with chapter 9, part 1...or does that make this chapter 8, part 1 because of chapter 5...?
Ugh, I'm so confused...
Chapter 9:
A sharp knocking sound cut suddenly and loudly through the peace of the early morning, and almost immediately upon his bed a young purple dragon stirred groggily, emitting a prolonged groan of irritation at the unwelcome disturbance.
"Who is it?" the faint, tired voice of Sparx grumbled from out of sight behind the purple banner that served to cover his sleeping hollow from the light. "Spyro, make 'em leave. I'm comfy."
Spyro groaned again, sorely tempted to make some kind of retort, to say that he was quite comfortable as well and that Sparx should take charge for once in his life. Why did it always have to fall to the purple dragon to do everything?
The knock came again, more insistently this time.
"Young Master Spyro?" a small voice called into the room from the other side of the door in between knocks. "Are you in there?"
No, I'm not, Spyro grumbled in his mind, shifting slightly on his cushions so that he was lying stretched out on his back and wishing that he could just fall back asleep.
It had been the same each morning ever since his and Cynder's return to Warfang. Spyro had been expecting that, after giving them the first day back to recuperate the guardians would begin pushing for the resumption of training, or that they would have some new task for him that would occupy his time in the city. After all, ever since learning what he was he'd had duty thrust upon him. Always there was something expected of him. Always there was a new task that he needed to complete. And while the guardians in fact had given him a new task at the end of that first day, it hadn't been at all what he was expecting.
His new assignment, and that of Cynder, had been to spend the next few days familiarizing themselves with life in the dragon city. Not a specific mission. Not a strict training schedule. Their assignment, basically, was to do nothing, just experience life in Warfang. They were free to do as they wished, and the two of them had eagerly done just that. Spyro, especially, had taken to sleeping in quite late in the mornings, savouring the chance to get a long, full night of undisturbed rest without some terror awaiting him when he awoke. At times he wondered if he was allowing himself to get lazy, but then again whenever he had those thoughts he was forced to admit that he liked it.
The knock came again.
"Does the world need saving again already?" Sparx moaned. "We just got finished saving it!"
Spyro snorted, grinning, though he still had yet to open his eyes. We? he thought. Funny, I don't quite remember it that way.
The knocking came once again, the loudest yet, and reluctantly Spyro realized that, whoever it was, they weren't about to leave. Grumbling ill-temperedly, he slowly rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself to his feet, taking a long moment to stretch his body out from his head all the way back to the tip of his tail. Then, after blinking a couple of times to make his vision fall into focus, he pushed open the curtain that he had pulled over his bed chamber and descended the steps into the common area. He paused for a moment to glance out the balcony opening, through which he could see the high walls of the temple standing proudly, gleaming in the warm glow of the barely-risen sun. Then the unknown visitor knocked on the door yet again, and with a sigh Spyro turned around and hooked a talon through the iron handle, pulling it open.
"Oh!" the mole standing beyond the doorway stammered, jumping slightly as the door opened and he saw Spyro's sleepy head poking out into the hallway. "Um, I'm terribly sorry to wake you, but the guardians have requested that you meet them as soon as you can in the tournament dome."
Spyro frowned in confusion. What could be happening that the guardians would summon him at this hour?
"Alright, thank you," he sighed, his voice still sounding groggy from having just woken up. He went to close the door but stopped himself suddenly. "Oh, um..."
"Yes sir?" the mole said, looking back midway through turning to leave.
"What's the tournament dome?"
The mole looked surprised by the question. "You mean nobody's showed it to you yet?"
Spyro shook his head.
"Oh, well it's very easy to find," the mole assured him. "It's directly to the south of the temple, just below the courtyards. It's the largest building there with the domed roof."
"Oh, alright. Thank you again."
The mole nodded and gave a small respectful bow before turning and hurrying off down the hallway, glancing somewhat nervously over his shoulder at Spyro periodically as he left as if feeling guilty and anxious about disturbing him. Sighing and shaking his head, Spyro was just about to close the door to go rouse Sparx when he hesitated. Glancing toward the side room containing their beds, he soon heard a soft snore from behind the banner. Sparx had already fallen back asleep.
Might as well let him rest, Spyro decided quickly, and without a sound he opened the door the rest of the way and slipped out into the hall. Once the door was shut behind him he began making his way toward the staircase, but he hesitated again when he passed the door to Cynder's room. If the guardians had something they wanted to speak with him about, and it was important enough to have him called from his room, shouldn't he tell her as well?
He spent a long moment standing there, undecided, struggling between not wanting to disturb the dragoness if she was still sleeping, but also knowing that if something of importance was happening then she would want to know.
He was just about to knock on her door when another thought suddenly occurred to him. Maybe this summons was specific to him, and didn't involve Cynder. If something was happening that concerned them both then the guardians would have sent someone to get her as well, probably the same mole that had just woken him now. This wasn't the case, so he decided it was alright to leave her to rest a while longer.
"Sleep well, Cynder," he muttered quietly as he turned and began descending the stairs.
The streets were still cast in the shadow of the surrounding buildings when Spyro stepped outside, making it seem almost like a prolonged twilight had settled over the city even despite the bright sky overhead. As he walked Spyro was frequently stopped in the street by dragons and moles wishing to extend their enthusiastic greetings and admiration. In each instance Spyro was able to excuse himself from them in short order, explaining that the guardians were waiting for him, and all at once he found himself to be extremely grateful for the previously unwelcomed summons. Over the past few days it had been nearly impossible to avoid getting trapped in the streets by the city's residents, but this summons certainly gave him a convenient excuse for a quick getaway without the usual guilty feeling that would have normally come over him for rebuffing the moles and dragons that were understandably eager to meet and speak with him.
Finally, about ten minutes later Spyro had managed to circle around the temple grounds and a large building that he thought must be the tournament dome came into sight ahead. It was certainly the largest structure around, except of course for the temple, and the roof was indeed shaped like a wide, low dome. Eager to get out of the streets, Spyro picked up the pace and soon had dashed through the front door.
"Ah, Master Spyro!" a mole just inside the main hall greeted him as if he had been expecting the young dragon's arrival. "There you are. The guardians are on the arena floor waiting for you. If you'll just follow me, I'll take you to them."
Finding the mole's calm and professional demeanour quite refreshing after the citizens outside, Spyro quickly followed the short creature as he scampered at a rapid pace through the large stone hallways of the expansive building.
"So what exactly is this building for?" Spyro asked as they walked, craning his neck to look all around at his surroundings. "I mean, the name gives me a pretty good idea, but..."
The mole chuckled. "Indeed, the name does speak for itself. Not the most creative, in my opinion, but it is what it is. Yes, this building is primarily a large arena for all kinds of public events, but it also doubles as the city's primary training ground and even sometimes as just a basic workout area for the city guard. The vast majority of the space in the building is devoted to the arena floor, and almost all the rest is for the stands."
"What kind of tournaments were held here?"
"Just one, actually, but it was certainly a spectacular event! You see, before the war, the Warfang Tournament was quite a famous event in these lands. Every three years dragons from all across the Dragon Realms would travel to this city to prove their strength against opponents just as determined as they were. The tournament usually stretched over the duration of three days, but it was accompanied by a week-long festival throughout the city." The mole gave a long sigh and smiled. "It was truly a spectacular thing to behold. Of course, that was a long, long time ago."
"So dragons would come to the city just to fight each other?" Spyro asked, puzzled.
The mole glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Put simply, yes, but it was far more than that, young dragon. Since the only fighting you've ever done is for survival, it's not surprising that you have reservations about doing any more of it. However trust me when I say that sparring for the simple sport and enjoyment of it is quite a thrill. There are stories of some quite spectacular battles that occurred during these tournaments. But for the participants, the allure isn't just the chance to prove their skills. Believe it or not, a lot of comradery is developed between the participants during the event, and often times bitter rivals in the ring would leave this city as new lifelong friends."
"Really?"
The mole nodded, smiling. "Yes indeed. Maybe now that the war is over, someone will have the presence of mind to restart the tradition. Once you see the festival in all its glory, you'll understand." Then he chuckled. "We might even get a record turnout, what with dragons from all over the lands just itching for a chance to test themselves against the great purple dragon—if you chose to participate, of course."
Spyro paused hesitantly, and the mole laughed.
"Well, at any rate, that matters little right now. There's quite a lot of work that needs to be done before our world is in a state to permit such an event."
A silence fell between them as they both drifted off into their own thoughts. Spyro glanced away distantly as he tried to picture the event that the mole had described in his mind. What would it be like, he wondered, to see Warfang packed to overflowing with dragons visiting from every corner of the lands, the streets bustling and brightly decorated as the celebrations swept over the city, all centered around the grand building in which they were now walking. He found it difficult to imagine, but at the same time the idea certainly seemed appealing.
Maybe someday I'll see it, he thought wistfully. Someday...
He frowned a moment later, however, as the pair rounded a corner and Spyro suddenly became aware of distant sounds echoing down the corridors toward them. As they drew nearer, Spyro realized that they were the sounds of fighting. He felt a swell of worry within him, wondering if there was some kind of trouble, but just then the mole let out a low chuckle.
"It sounds as if the guardians decided to let loose a little bit while they waited," he said. "That sounds like quite the training battle going on out there."
"What do you mean?" Spyro asked, confused. "Are they fighting each other?"
"You'll see," was all the mole said in reply.
Puzzled and still feeling a little concerned, Spyro nonetheless resigned himself to wait silently until he could see for himself what was happening. The sounds of battle continued to grow louder as they proceeded through ever-narrowing corridors until, finally, after rounding a final bend Spyro could see a large open space ahead that he assumed to be the arena floor. A moment later they left the hallway behind them and emerged just below the stands on the side of the massive ring, the enormous chamber lit brightly by what must have been hundreds of large torches that formed a solid ring around the outside wall of the room at the back of the stands.
What immediately caught Spyro's attention, however, was the battle unfolding before him.
Unlike what the mole had said, it wasn't the guardians engaging in the contest. Instead they sat in a group off to the side several dozen feet away from Spyro and the mole, watching as the battle unfolded in the centre of the ring. Hunter was with them. Puzzled, Spyro looked into the centre of the floor and was shocked to see Cynder there.
What's she doing here already? he wondered.
What was more surprising was the fact that, at that moment, Cynder was facing off against no less than seven mid-sized ape warriors, their bodies covered in light armour and viciously sharp swords clutched in their hands. Spyro was horrified to see the loathsome creatures inside the city, wondering how in the world they had gotten there and why the guardians were doing nothing to help fight them, but at that moment Cynder dashed to the side and raked her talons across the throat of one of the apes. With a strangled-sounding cry the ape tipped backward to the ground before its body crumbled away in a flash of light. Spyro then relaxed as he immediately realized that the apes were only training dummies, much like those that he had faced in the training room of the old temple except more life-like. Like that training room, Spyro deduced that the arena here was constructed with the power to summon the animated dummies at will.
Now facing six, Cynder looked as if she was entirely at home in the centre of the pitched battle, actually grinning broadly as she easily dodged the vicious swings of the apes and effortlessly countered with physical attacks or her elements. Within seconds one ape that had the misfortune of overextending on an attack was dispatched by a blast of poison to the face. A second was felled as it charged Cynder from behind only to have the dragoness perform a back flip over its head and land with her talons digging into its back, snapping its neck with her jaws an instant later. Two more met their ends when Cynder spun around and unleashed a piercing scream with her fear element, freezing them both in place from pure terror. A single swing of her glinting tail blade dealt swift deaths to them both. All the while Spyro stood frozen on the side of the ring, amazed by her skill and mesmerized by the way she moved, her slender body seeming to flow with effortless grace from one position to another in the ring, the ape warriors never coming anywhere near hitting her.
There were now only two apes left, and these two seemed to be a notch above the others when it came to skill, for they were managing to hold their own against the deadly black dragoness to some degree. It was still obviously a losing battle, however, and only moments later Cynder managed to trip one of the apes with a swing of her tail before spinning around and unleashing a hurricane-force blast of wind at the other, sending it rocketing through the air to smash into the solid stone wall beneath the stands on the far side of the arena, its body breaking apart into nothingness instantly after impact. Now only one remained, but it was soon clear that it wasn't going to go down without a fight.
With a terrible cry the ape leapt high into the air and brought its weapon slicing down, aiming to catch Cynder while her back was turned, but at the last possible second Cynder spun away and the fierce blade clanged against the stone floor where her hindquarters had just been a moment before. Cynder retaliated by slashing her talons downward but the ape managed to block the attack on the flat of its blade. Then, with surprising agility, it twirled its sword and knocked Cynder's forepaw to the side, leaving her exposed for another attack that was only an instant in coming. The ape's sword whipped toward her neck and Spyro was only a split second away from shouting a warning, but before he could Cynder's body suddenly disappeared, merging with the shadows beneath her and the ape. The look of confusion was plain as day on the ape dummy's face as its sword sliced through nothing but air.
What happened next was so fast that Spyro almost missed it. Before the ape could even move out of its unbalanced position Cynder suddenly burst up from the shadows on the floor, surging up into the air and spinning around at the same time, landing a devastating combo attack as she passed the startled ape. First the talons of her right forepaw raked across the ape's chest, followed immediately by the vicious blade on the centre joint of her right wing. Last of all her tail blade whipped up and cut the deepest gash of all, leaving the ape with no less than five horribly deep lacerations from right hip to left shoulder. Slowly, almost as if in slow motion, the dummy tipped over backward before breaking apart and disappearing, leaving Cynder standing alone in the centre of the large, open arena floor.
"Excellent, Cynder!" Terrador exclaimed, a broad smile on his features. "Very well done. I can honestly say that I've never seen that degree of skill in any dragon your age. Very, very impressive."
"Thanks," Cynder replied breathlessly, beaming at the guardian's praise.
"Your mastery of your elements is truly astounding as well," Cyril added. "And you learned entirely by yourself?"
Cynder nodded. "I didn't really have a choice."
The guardians nodded in understanding.
"Remarkable," Cyril muttered distantly.
"Indeed, most admirable," Volteer said, nodding. "Commendable. Estimable."
At that moment Spyro heard the mole beside him clear his throat loudly, and the three guardians, Hunter and Cynder all snapped their heads around at the unexpected noise.
"Spyro!" Cynder exclaimed, surprised but also clearly pleased to see him there.
"Ah, you're here. Good," Terrador said, also sounding pleased. He turned his gaze on the mole and nodded his head. "Thank you for bringing him."
The mole gave a small, respectful bow before turning and walking quickly out of the arena, disappearing from sight down the stone corridor in only a few moments.
"What's going on?" Spyro asked curiously as he began advancing toward the waiting guardians.
"I was up early this morning," Cynder began explaining as she came over to his side. "I couldn't get back to sleep, so I went to watch the sunrise from on top of the temple. The guardians were there, and they asked if I could show them my elemental powers."
"Really?" Spyro asked, surprised. He looked toward the elder dragons. "How come?"
"Simple curiosity," Terrador replied with a chuckle. "After all, Cynder left the old temple before we ever had a chance to get a demonstration of her abilities. As such the only information we had on her powers was what firsthand exposure we had from..." He paused and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "...before."
In the tense silence that ensued, Spyro looked worriedly toward Cynder and saw her shrug with a sheepish half-grin. Much to his relief, however, she didn't seem upset about the mention of her past. Though surprised by this realization, Spyro suddenly felt incredibly proud of her as well. It warmed his heart to see that her efforts to let go of her past were having some success.
"Well, I for one think that there is no need to be dredging up such unpleasant memories at a time like this," Cyril cut in a moment later.
"Yes, yes, you're right," Terrador nodded sharply, as if snapping out of a trance. "Anyways, thank you very much for this, Cynder. It is a very impressive set of skills you have developed."
"Thank you," she said, smiling gratefully.
Terrador inclined his head graciously toward her before turning his gaze on Spyro. "Well, since you've arrived, I suppose we should get down to business. Spyro, would you accompany us back to the temple?"
"Uh, sure," Spyro nodded after a brief pause, surprised by the request. "So, you didn't call me here for some kind of training?"
"Oh, no, there will be plenty of opportunities for that, but at another time," Cyril said, shaking his head.
"Yes," Terrador agreed. "Right now, however, there is something that we wish to discuss with you in a more private setting."
"Oh," was Spyro's simple reply, still feeling slightly confused. "Alright."
"And of course you are more than welcome to accompany us, Cynder," Volteer added quickly.
"Indeed, this matter concerns you as well," Terrador nodded. "Would you like to join us?"
Cynder nodded without the slightest hesitation, and Spyro grinned with amusement at her eagerness. Obviously she didn't want to be left out of anything that was happening in the city.
"Good. This way, then."
The three guardians stood and headed for the corridors leading out of the arena, and Spyro moved to follow them once they'd passed. Cynder hurried to catch up with him, and Spyro smiled happily as she leaned her body against his and quickly nuzzled him under his chin.
"You look like you're still half asleep," she teased him when she pulled back, smirking.
Spyro laughed. "Yeah, well, that's about a half less than I wish I was right now."
Cynder laughed lightly. "What is this, some kind of vacation? You'd think you were royalty or something, the way you laze around all day."
Spyro shot her an indignant look and she laughed again before sighing and leaning her head contentedly against his shoulder. Though Spyro still felt mildly annoyed from her comment, the feeling didn't last at the welcome contact. He had just returned his attention forward when he heard muffled chuckling from behind him.
"What?" he asked indignantly, turning his head to look back at Hunter.
"Oh, nothing," the cheetah smirked, shaking his head with clear amusement. "Don't you two mind me."
"Don't antagonize them, Hunter," Terrador chuckled from ahead, and Spyro felt his face burn with embarrassment when he realized that the guardians were also shooting amused glances in their direction. "Honestly, let the young ones have some peace."
"Of course, Terrador," Hunter said, bowing his head respectfully, though there was still a clear twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
Mercifully, the rest of the trip to the temple took only a couple of minutes. Soon Terrador had led the small party up the many flights of stairs and through various winding corridors until they came to the door of his private chambers. Pushing the door open with a forepaw, he then stood aside and motioned for the others to enter, to Spyro's mile surprise.
"We will be able to speak without fear of interruption in here," the earth guardian explained when he noticed Spyro's puzzled expression. "Go on in. There's plenty of room."
After hesitating a second longer Spyro nodded his head obediently and followed the other guardians inside. Once they were all through, Terrador entered and closed the door behind him.
For a moment Spyro stood in awe of the room laid out before him. It was significantly simpler in design than his own chambers, the guardian's chambers consisting of only the single large, round room, but it was still incredibly spacious. A large desk was set under one of the chamber's two large windows that allowed the morning sunlight to stream in, clearly a workspace for the guardian, while the rest of the room was taken up by various shelves, drawers, and chests of positions. A thick green and brown rug decorated the centre of the cool stone floor, while a large collection of cushions of the same colour scheme was set against the left wall under the cover of a thick curtain. Though Spyro, out of a desire to not be nosy, didn't pay much attention to the various personal items stored on the shelves and chests, he couldn't help but feel his eyes drawn toward the large, worn set of bronze armour hanging from the wall above Terrador's cushions, bearing clear indications of being worn in countless battles, the old, worn surface almost completely covered in scratches, small dents and other tears and nicks attesting to all the action the earth guardian had witnessed.
"You all might as well make yourselves comfortable," Terrador told them, his deep voice shaking Spyro from his distracted thoughts. "Don't be shy."
Cyril and Volteer nodded their heads immediately and found comfortable positions on the floor as Terrador moved to sit over on the right side of the room, between the two windows and facing the gathered dragons and Hunter. Cyril remained sitting off to the side while Volteer lay down on his stomach on the edge of Terrador's rug. Hunter, meanwhile, stepped over to the Guardian's pile of cushions and surprised Spyro by grabbing two of the largest ones off the top without the slightest hesitation, or even asking for permission. He glanced at Terrador to see if he would be upset by this, but the large earth dragon showed not even the slightest reaction. Then Hunter tossed the larger of the two cushions toward Spyro and Cynder before carrying the other over to a corner off to the group's right and sitting cross-legged on top of it. Spyro spent a short moment just staring at the cushion that Hunter had offered him and Cynder uncertainly before exchanging a glance with the black dragoness and finally giving a small shrug. He grabbed the edge of the cushion in his jaws and dragged it closer to the rest of the group before sitting on one corner of it. Cynder curled up on the rest of it, leaning against Spyro's side.
"Good, everyone's settled," Terrador said approvingly once this was all finished. "We can begin, then."
"What's going on?" Spyro asked curiously. "Has something happened outside the city?"
"Oh, no, nothing of that sort," Terrador said quickly, raising a paw reassuringly. "No, the other guardians and I simply had a couple of small things that we wanted to discuss with you, Spyro. And you as well, Cynder, of course, though we had originally planned to tell you separately. It's fine, though; this is easier."
"Okay," Cynder said slowly. "So what is it?"
Terrador seemed to take a moment to collect his thoughts, and Spyro frowned slightly with confusion when he thought he saw a small twinge cross the guardian's expression as he took a deep, steady breath. It was soon gone, though, and when the earth dragon looked up again and spoke it was with a steady voice.
"Well, the other guardians and I have been doing a lot of thinking since the two of you told us all that had happened since we parted ways, seemingly so long ago now. Specifically, about the news of Ignitus's passing."
"Oh," Spyro said, his voice quiet, and he glanced away momentarily as that familiar, dull feeling of loss tugged at him, remembering the difficult conversation from the day of their return and its continuation from the day afterward. Beside him Cynder shot a concerned glance in his direction, and Spyro knew why. It had been an extremely difficult tale for them to tell, even if they had left out the part where Spyro had devolved into his dark form out of grief, for obvious reasons.
"We've been discussing the matter extensively," Terrador continued, bringing them both back to the present. "A few days ago we came to the decision that a full, public memorial service should be held in his honour. It's this that we wanted to inform you of."
Spyro and Cynder waited expectantly.
"The preparations are all well underway. We've been working extensively with the moles for the past few days to get everything arranged. The moles report that everything should be ready in three days' time, so that is when the service will be held. At dawn, three days from now, the city will gather here in the temple grounds to honour our fallen comrade."
Still Spyro and Cynder remained silent, both because they didn't know quite what to say in this situation as they processed all that they were being told, and also because they suspected that there was more coming.
"What we would like to ask," Terrador said a moment later, confirming their suspicions, "is if the two of you would feel up to taking part in the service."
The two young dragons straightened up in surprise at the request, and they exchanged an uncertain look before turning their gazes back toward the guardians.
"Taking part how?" Spyro asked finally.
"It doesn't entail much," Terrador assured them. "Mainly, we're simply asking that those who knew Ignitus closely gather at the front with Cyril, Volteer and I during the service. There will be other small things, of course, but if you agree we'll fill you in on those during the days leading up to the service. So what do you say?"
Again Spyro looked toward Cynder, feeling a little unsure of himself. She also looked hesitant, but after a moment she gave an almost imperceptible nod, and Spyro nodded more firmly back. Then he looked back toward Terrador.
"We would both be honoured to be involved," he declared.
A small smile came across Terrador's features. "I thought you might. Good. Very good. As I said, we'll explain everything in more detail over the next couple of days, but right now we just wanted to let you know. That's that settled, then."
"Was there anything else?" Cynder asked.
The three guardians all nodded.
"In fact there is one more thing," Terrador said. "And it is somewhat related. You see, the day before the service, two guests will be arriving at the city."
"Guests?" Spyro repeated curiously, tilting his head to the side. "What kind of guests?"
"Well, you see, before the war's sudden and considerable rise in intensity several years ago when you first appeared, Cynder, we guardians would frequently travel to the other dragon cities in these lands to assess their general state and that of their defenders. During one of these trips to one of the larger cities to the north-east, we made something of a discovery."
"A rather unexpected one, too, I must say," Cyril added, speaking up for the first time since their meeting had begun.
"Indeed," Terrador chuckled. "A young dragon, just a couple of years younger at the time than you yourselves are now, who showed remarkable promise in the use of the fire element. He caught Ignitus's eye almost immediately. He was young, of course, and something of a handful for his parents, but he had spirit and strength, especially for his age. Ignitus quickly realized his potential, and after speaking with him and his parents he announced that he would like to make this dragon his apprentice to become the next fire guardian."
"Really?" Spyro said, straightening up in surprise again.
Terrador nodded. "When Cyril, Volteer and I returned to Warfang a couple of days later, Ignitus remained behind to begin training the young one, assessing his skills and mentoring him in a broad range of studies that he would need to eventually complete before becoming guardian, a process that would take several years. A month later he left and returned to us in Warfang, leaving the young one's teaching in the hands of his parents and the city elders until the day would come that he would be ready to come here to Warfang to begin his advanced training in the temple under Ignitus directly. The original plan was for that to happen two years ago. Of course, fate put an end to that plan."
"So, this dragon is who's coming in two days?" Spyro guessed.
Again Terrador nodded. "Very good. You see, once the fighting grew so much in intensity years ago, most of the outlying dragon cities and villages were overrun by the sudden surge of enemy forces. When that happened we lost all contact with the young dragon and his family, and it was feared that they were among those killed in the fighting. However, when we re-established contact with the eastern refugee city we eventually received word that in fact the young dragon had survived. When he learned from our messenger that Warfang still stood and that the war was over, he expressed his desire to come here and resume his training as soon as possible. That is why he's coming here now."
"And that is also part of the reason why we selected the date we did for Ignitus's memorial," Cyril spoke up. "We were of the opinion that it was only right that the dragon that was meant to be his pupil was present for the ceremony."
"I see," Spyro said, his tone becoming a touch more solemn. "But what does this have to do with us?"
"I'm glad you asked," Terrador said. "We were wondering if you two might be willing to meet our guests at the main gate of the city when they arrived and guide them here to the temple."
"I'm sure we could do that," Cynder said immediately, turning to Spyro for confirmation, and he nodded without hesitation.
"We'd be happy to."
Terrador smiled. "Good. We'll be sure to let you know when they're supposed to arrive. I'm sure it will be a comfort for them to be greeted by a couple of dragons not too far from their own age. This city will be quite a new experience for them both, I expect."
Spyro nodded understandingly, remembering when he had first seen Warfang and how daunted he had been by the size of it.
"Oh, and one more thing, Spyro," Terrador said suddenly. "Obviously, since we only recently received the news from you, it seems to be a safe assumption that this dragon doesn't yet know of Ignitus's death. I would warn you not to make mention of it until you arrive at the temple, at which point Cyril, Volteer and I will break the news. He was very fond of Ignitus, just as you were, and revealing his would-be mentor's death is something that should be done delicately."
Spyro nodded immediately in understanding. "Don't worry, Terrador. You can trust us."
Terrador chuckled. "Indeed, there has never been any doubt about that. Thank you, Spyro, and you too Cynder. This is a great help to us."
Spyro and Cynder both smiled as they rose to their feet, as if to say that it was nothing.
"Good. That's everything, then. You two go on and enjoy your day. Tomorrow there will be considerably more work to do as we prepare for the memorial service, so you might as well enjoy this last chance to rest while you can."
Both young dragons nodded quickly before turning toward the door and eagerly hurrying out into the hall, determined to take full advantage of this chance to relax for what may be the last time in a while.
However, even as they left the temple, they found their minds still filled with questions about the two guests that would be arriving in the city in only a couple of days...
*.*.*
Two days later found Spyro and Cynder sitting together just within the small courtyard behind Warfang's main northern gate, the same courtyard where the two young dragons had assisted in holding the line when Malefor's armies had tried to penetrate into the city. It was nearing midday, and as such the streets were fairly busy around them. However, due to the fact that they were right at the edge of the city, they found that the activity wasn't to a level that it was overly distracting. For the most part they just ignored the goings on of the city behind them and spent the moment they had to enjoy each other's company.
Or, at least, enjoy each other's company as much as they could with Sparx there.
"Are you sure this was the time the guardians said to be here?" Sparx asked as he 'paced' back and forth through the air in the small courtyard, trying very hard not to look at the two young dragons as they sat together, for at that moment Cynder was doing as she often did now and was leaning snugly against Spyro's shoulder, her head resting against his neck just above his chest. He, meanwhile, had his own chin resting against the top of her head. "I mean, we've been here for almost an hour! And I still don't see what the big deal is about this kid anyway. What's so special that we have to come all the way down here and spend half the day waiting for him to show up? Is he nobility or something, because if he is then you would think he would want to be on time to keep up appearances!"
"Sparx, would you just relax?" Spyro chuckled. "They'll be here eventually."
Cynder snorted suddenly as she tried to contain a laugh, and Spyro shifted his head to look down at her quizzically.
"Just the irony," she explained, barely moving to meet his gaze. "As I recall, you were doing almost the exact same thing not all that long ago in Bayside, and it was me telling you to relax."
"I just took your advice to heart, I guess," Spyro smirked. Then he looked back up at Sparx, who once again was taking extreme care not to look back at them. "You know you don't have to stay here. If you want to leave, I'm sure Cynder and I will be fine without you."
"Oh, no you don't," Sparx retorted immediately. "I'm staying right here to keep an eye on you so you two don't try anything funny."
"How is this keeping an eye on us?" Cynder asked, grinning wryly. "You haven't so much as looked at us for the last half hour!"
Upon hearing her teasing words, Sparx couldn't help but spin around to glare at her. As soon as he saw her snuggled up to his brother, however, a purely disgusted look came over his expression that caused both Spyro and Cynder to laugh.
"Okay, this is killing me," he said in exasperation. "Really, I don't want to know, but it will drive me insane if I don't know. How did this happen?"
"What do you mean?" Spyro asked.
"What do I—" Sparx blurted. He gestured emphatically with his hands at the two of them. "This! I mean, the last time I saw you two before you left, you were, what, good friends, maybe? And that I was okay with. I could live with that. But then, one month later, you show up back here and you're..."
For just the briefest of instants he looked almost like he might be sick, and though Spyro would normally be amused by this he was beginning to find Sparx's over-dramatization of the whole situation just a little bit tiring.
"Sparx, why does this have to be such a big deal with you?" he sighed. "It just happened, okay?"
"But that's what's bugging me!" Sparx insisted. "I don't know, maybe if I knew the whole story it would be easier for me to get it out of my mind, but just the shock and mystery of it all is really messing with me! Come on, give me something here."
"You actually want to know?" Cynder asked sceptically.
"No! But as long as I don't know I'm never going to have any peace, so let's just get it over with."
Spyro paused for a moment in consideration, wondering if he should take pity on his brother but at the same time not very much liking the way he was demanding an answer. He glanced toward Cynder, wondering what her opinion was.
"I suppose it help would pass the time," he said at length.
"Aw, do we have to?" she asked with disappointment clear in her voice. "I was really enjoying torturing him with this."
Spyro gave her a look that was half amused and half disapproving, and she sighed heavily.
"Oh, fine."
"Just try and keep it to the bare minimum on details, okay?" Sparx said uncomfortably.
"Okay, Sparx," Spyro sighed with a half-grin, shaking his head.
Over the next several minutes the two dragons told Sparx about everything that had happened since their escape from the centre of the world, focussing especially on the time they had been able to spend together in peace in Bayside as their true feelings for each other had become more and more clear. While Sparx clearly wasn't enjoying the story, Spyro was glad to note that hearing about how hard Cynder had worked to save his life seemed to have some effect in alleviating a small amount of the dragonfly's distrust of her. When she confessed how terrified she had been that Spyro wouldn't make it, Sparx was genuinely shocked.
"You were really that scared?" he asked in a hushed voice, his eyes wide with surprise.
Cynder nodded, her expression tight. "Yes. I've never been more scared of anything in my life."
Sparx let out a long, low whistle and rubbed the back of his head numbly. "Wow. I have to admit, when I made you promise to look after him I didn't think you would go to that kind of lengths to do it."
"Why not?" Cynder asked defensively. "I cared about his safety too, you know, and on top of that I take promises seriously!"
"Whoa, hey! Easy! I get it. I just wasn't expecting that much, that's all." He gave a tense sigh and paused for a moment to collect his breath before continuing, "So, my question still hasn't been answered. What happened next?"
After a brief pause the pair continued their story, telling Sparx about their flight to the falls and how, that evening, they had confessed everything. This was the point where Sparx clearly wasn't enjoying himself at all, but when they reached the end of their tale he seemed caught by surprise by the ending. He just hovered there for a moment staring at them before finally speaking.
"That's it?" he asked, sounding somewhat underwhelmed. "Here I was expecting some kind of mushy, disgusting, nauseating story straight out of a nightmare, but all that really happened was that Spyro started babbling like some idiot?"
"Hey!" Spyro exclaimed indignantly. "I'm not denying that, but that still hurts."
"Oh, come on, it wasn't so bad," Cynder laughed. "It was a very elegant little speech."
"Yeah, for Volteer maybe," Spyro snorted, and Sparx nodded his head in agreement. "Oh, dear Ancestors, I was so embarrassed."
"Well I thought it was sweet," Cynder said reassuringly, smiling and nuzzling him gently under the side of his jaw, and Sparx immediately made a disgusted noise and turned away.
Spyro didn't believe her in the slightest, but he didn't press the matter any further.
Just at that moment, Spyro suddenly heard some kind of commotion from the top of the wall ahead. Puzzled, he looked up toward the battlements. Cynder and Sparx also seemed to notice the disturbance and looked up as well. A few seconds later they could just make out the call of one of the mole guards over the sounds of the city behind them.
"Who goes there?" was the call, but the dragons and Sparx were unable to hear the reply after that. It seemed as though the guard was satisfied with the answer, though, because only a moment later they heard him shout out, "Open the gate!"
"Think it's them?" Spyro asked Cynder.
She nodded quickly, and beside them Sparx gave a relieved sigh.
"Finally!" he exclaimed. "I'm seriously tempted to give this guy a piece of my mind for making us wait this long!"
Spyro rolled his eyes, and beside him Cynder snorted with quiet laughter.
They all became serious as the gates began to grind slowly open, however. As they slowly swung in toward the courtyard the purple dragon felt a small twinge of anxiousness run through him. What would this dragon be like, he wondered? If he was such a skilled fire breather that he was selected almost on the spot to become the next fire guardian, Spyro couldn't help but wonder if there was something tremendously important or intimidating about him. Still, he tried not to let his worries show as he stood waiting patiently for the gates to open enough to let the unknown travellers through. Finally, almost an eternity later, the gates ceased moving and silence descended over the courtyard.
Here we go, Spyro thought nervously.
For a moment there was no sign of movement through the gates, but then Spyro saw a shadow approaching from beyond the door that was obscuring his vision, then another beside it. A second later two red fire dragons stepped hesitantly through the gate and into the courtyard.
Spyro was caught by surprise by the sight of them, if only because they were significantly younger than he had been expecting. One was male and the other was female, and the male—which Spyro assumed had to be the dragon the guardians had been speaking of—looked to be no more than seven or eight years older than Spyro and Cynder were at the absolute most. As such he was hardly as big as Spyro had pictured him to be, only standing about a foot and a half taller than Spyro and Cynder. The dragoness standing beside him looked to be almost of identical age as Spyro and Cynder as well.
The male dragon was a deep crimson in colour, while his wings and chest scales were of a bright yellow shade. He had two horns on the top of his head that were somewhat similar in shape to Spyro's, curving slightly backward as they rose out of his skull. These horns, as well as his pronounced crest and his wide tail spade were an almost pure white in colour, which made them stand out strikingly against the darker shade of his scales, and Spyro thought it was unusual to see such a contrast of colour on a fire dragon—though, admittedly, he hadn't seen all that many in his lifetime. His eyes were bright red, and the look in them gave him a strong presence, as if he commanded some sort of natural authority. Overall he was of moderate build, appearing to possess a fairly well rounded mix of speed and strength.
The female, meanwhile, was a much softer shade of red, like that of a rose. Her chest and wings were a soft, deep pink, while like her brother her horns, crest and tail spade were white, though not quite as bright as his and with a slight golden tint to them when the light shone on them just so. While in her brother the bright white crest and horns were the most eye-catching features, for her it was her eyes. They were a bright green that contrasted surprisingly with the rest of her colouring, and again it was a feature that Spyro thought was slightly unusual for a fire dragon. However, unlike her brother, her eyes didn't contain the same strong light in them, and she seemed to tend to curl her thin, almost frail-looking body in on herself nervously.
Shaking off his initial surprise, Spyro began walking toward the two visitors with Cynder and Sparx by his sides as the gates slowly began to swing closed again. After swallowing nervously and taking a deep, steadying breath, Spyro called out to them.
"Hello there. Are you the dragons that are supposed to meet the guardians today?"
Both dragons whipped their heads around at his call, and when their gazes fell on him their eyes nearly bugged out of their skulls in shock.
"My name is Spyro," Spyro continued, feeling somewhat awkward under their incredulous stares. "And this—"
"You're the purple dragon," the male fire dragon gasped, cutting Spyro off mid-sentence. "The one they say defeated the Dark Master."
Spyro allowed a hesitant grin to form at the corner of his muzzle. "With a lot of help, yes. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I don't know your names..."
"Oh, yes, of course!" the dragon exclaimed, sounding embarrassed, and all at once he shook off his state of shock and proceeded much more confidently. "My name is Sirius, and this is my sister Faren. It is truly an honour to meet you, um...Spyro, you said it was, right?"
"That's right," Spyro said, grinning more easily now, and he inclined his head graciously in greeting. "It's very good to meet you both."
Sirius grinned broadly, and though he still felt slightly intimidated by the red dragon's larger size Spyro couldn't help but smile back. There was just something about his confident stance and his smile that was infectious. He noticed quickly, however, that Faren was on the opposite end of the spectrum and seemed almost to hide behind her brother, appearing extremely nervous whenever Spyro met her gaze.
"You'll have to forgive my sister," Sirius chuckled when he noticed Spyro glancing concernedly in her direction. "She's terribly shy around new people, and I'm sure you can understand that your reputation doesn't exactly help in that regard."
"I suppose so," Spyro nodded, feeling slightly uncomfortable knowing that someone he had never even met before felt so intimidated by him. "But please understand, I don't want you to think of me as being any different than anyone else. I'm just a dragon too."
Sirius laughed. "I hardly think you can be called 'just' a dragon, Spyro. But I respect that, and I'm glad to see that you haven't let fame turn you into some stuffed up jerk with a superiority complex."
"Yeah, well, that's my brother for you," Sparx cut in, hovering closer to the two newcomers. "Too humble for his own good."
Sirius and Faren both looked up at Sparx in surprise, and it was a moment before Sirius finally spoke up.
"Brother?" he said, clearly puzzled, glancing between Sparx and Spyro. "And how exactly does that work?"
"Adoptive brother," Spyro chuckled. "His parents raised me when they found my egg in the swamp."
"Really?" Sirius asked, surprised and obviously intrigued.
"It's a long story," Sparx grunted.
"Yes, it is," Spyro agreed, nodding. "Another time, maybe."
"I'll hold you to that." Then Sirius seemed to finally notice Cynder standing beside Spyro, and a slightly sheepish look came over his expression. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I just realized that I never got your..."
He trailed off unexpectedly, and Spyro was suddenly aware that for some odd reason both Sirius and Faren were now staring at Cynder with a strange expression on their faces, somewhere between shock and wariness. Frowning with confusion, he looked toward the black dragoness to see that she seemed just as confused as he was.
"Um, yes, my name is Cynder," she said uncertainly, appearing uncomfortable under their stares.
At the name 'Cynder', both fire dragons jerked back in surprise and, Spyro noticed quickly, fear. Faren immediately retreated until she was almost entirely hidden behind her brother, and the tension was clear in his body as well.
"Cynder?" he repeated somewhat unsteadily. "But...but how can that...I mean, what are you..."
"Sirius?" Spyro said, growing uneasy in the face of the larger dragon's anxious body language. But while he was confused, inside a suspicious feeling that he knew what had caused the newcomer's reaction was growing. "Are you alright?"
"I-I don't understand," he said hesitantly, glancing away from Cynder toward Spyro for only a split second. "How...What is she doing here?"
The fear in his voice all but confirmed Spyro's suspicion, though inside he had been desperately hoping he was wrong. Beside him Cynder winced noticeably, her gaze dropping toward the ground.
"You don't have to be afraid," Spyro said quickly, moving a touch closer to her protectively.
"I'm not what I used to be," Cynder added, her voice tight, almost pleading them to believe her. "I swear to you, I'm not. Thanks to Spyro, I've changed."
"But...but how..."
"It's a very complicated story," Spyro tried to explain. "But please believe me when I say that Cynder was forced to become what you no doubt heard that she was, against her will. She never had a choice. Malefor forced her to do everything she did."
Behind him Cynder nodded, the look of pain clear in her eyes, and when he saw this Sirius seemed to hesitate, locking on to her gaze and holding it for a long time as if trying to judge from her expression and her body language if he could believe what he was being told. Very slowly, he seemed to relax.
"Is that true?" he asked her.
Cynder nodded again, her expression imploring, and Sirius straightened slowly.
"I believe you," he declared finally.
Spyro let out a silent, tense sigh, and he looked back at Cynder to see her gaze drop once again to the stone street as she heaved a shaky breath.
"Thank you," she said in a quiet voice.
"I believe you, but you have to understand it's not easy," Sirius continued, his voice tense. "After hearing all those horrible stories about the Dark Master, it's not hard to imagine that he would use someone against their will as his servant. And it's easy to see that you are definitely not the same as what you used to be, because you see...my sister and I have seen you before."
Cynder let out a weak gasp, an expression of horror coming over her features, and Spyro immediately shifted closer to her again, not at all liking where this was going and unable to imagine how it was for the dragoness.
"When?" Cynder forced herself to say a moment later.
"A number of years ago," Sirius replied grimly. "On the night that our home city was attacked."
Cynder cringed the most forcibly yet, turning her head away as if to try and hide the shame she felt, and in a strained voice she asked, "I led that attack, didn't I?"
Sirius's only reply was a nod, a sad look in his eyes, but whether he was saddened by the memory of the loss of his home or whether he felt sorry for causing Cynder this pain was unclear to Spyro. He thought it was probably some of both.
"Well, I'm glad to see that you two made it out, at least," she said after a long, tense silence. "And your family, too? I heard your father was the chief elder of the eastern city..."
"Our father made it with us, yes," Sirius nodded, but then a twinge of pain showed in his eyes. "But...our mother died that night."
Spyro faltered, a feeling of sadness and pity washing over him. His concern was solely for Cynder at that point, though. He quickly turned his head to look back at her again and felt his heart sink when he saw the horror and the terrible shame and remorse in her expression. The pain she felt was all too clear, and she closed her eyes tightly and looked away as if trying to fight back tears.
"I have to go," she said suddenly in a terribly unsteady voice. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..."
"Cynder!" Spyro called worriedly as she turned around and took off running through the streets of Warfang. At that moment he felt a nearly overpowering urge to run after her, but something stopped him. He realized that he couldn't leave Sirius and Faren like that, no matter how badly he wanted to. He still had a job to do. He still had to make sure they reached the temple to see the guardians.
"Sparx," he said suddenly, looking up imploringly at his brother. "Can you go with her?"
"What?" Sparx exclaimed, caught by surprise.
"She needs someone to be with her, but I can't go. Please, Sparx, it's important!"
Sparx just hovered there uncertainly for a moment, grappling with himself, before finally he heaved a relenting sigh.
"Oh, alright," he groaned. "But only for you."
Without wasting another second he was gone, zipping off over the heads of the moles and the few dragons in the streets, soon disappearing from sight in the direction that Cynder had gone. When he could no longer see either of them Spyro let out a long, sad sigh, feeling almost sick with worry for Cynder and hating himself for not being able to be there for her.
"I'm sorry," Sirius said from behind him, startling him.
Spyro turned around to face him curiously. "You're sorry?"
"For upsetting her," Sirius replied, motioning with his head in the direction that Cynder had gone, and he had a guilty look on his face. Though he was slightly surprised that Sirius would be concerned for Cynder, Spyro could easily tell that his words were genuine.
He sighed and looked away. "It's just hard to see her like this. She's been trying so hard to move on, and she's done so much to redeem herself. I just hate seeing that all undone."
"You should have gone with her."
Spyro sighed again but shook his head. "No, the guardians asked me to escort you to the temple, and it's important that I do that. You don't know the city, after all. I'll go check on her after I've taken you there."
Sirius was silent for a long moment, looking as if he felt guilty for keeping Spyro from being where he clearly wanted to be, but finally he gave a relenting nod.
"Thank you."
Spyro nodded in return before turning southward to set off up the street to the centre of the city. "Come on. The guardians are probably waiting."
Together the three of them set off down the street at a slightly hurried pace, weaving their way through the many other bodies that crowded the stone roadway. Spyro noticed that as they walked Faren kept nearly glued to Sirius's side, appearing very nervous with so many people she didn't know all around her and obviously daunted by the size of the city. His attention was brought back to the older dragon when he suddenly spoke up, though.
"Listen, I just want you to know that I don't blame her," he said.
Spyro looked up at him in surprise. "You don't?"
Sirius shook his head after a brief hesitation. "I mean obviously I did at first, but we've long since accepted our mother's death, and I see now that Cynder didn't do what she did by choice. You've made me realize that she's not to blame, and I want her to know that."
Still caught off guard by Sirius's unexpected gesture, Spyro looked toward Faren for some kind of confirmation. After a brief pause she gave a small, hesitant nod of agreement, and Spyro looked back up at Sirius.
"I'll make sure to tell her," he promised. "And thank you. I'm sure that will mean a lot to her."
"Good," Sirius said, giving a weak smile.
It took almost another half hour of mixed walking and flying to reach the temple grounds, and once there Spyro quickly led the two guests through the main doors and toward the inner hall where he was told the guardians were waiting, anxious to drop off the visitors so that he could go find Cynder. When they entered the enormous meeting hall they found the three guardians gathered in the centre of the room, waiting and talking quietly amongst themselves.
"Ah, you've made it!" Terrador said happily when he noticed their entrance. He quickly stood, along with the other guardians. "Sirius, it is very good to see you again. And Faren, you too. You had a safe trip, I take it?"
Both young dragons nodded.
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."
"But where is young Cynder?" Cyril spoke up, looking around curiously. "Spyro, wasn't she with you?"
"She was, but..." the purple dragon began slowly.
"There was some trouble during our meeting," Sirius explained apologetically.
A look of understanding came over the expressions of the three guardians.
"Oh, dear," Volteer muttered.
"If it's alright, Terrador, I would like to go see her now," Spyro said hopefully.
Terrador nodded immediately, concern clear in his eyes. "Yes, of course Spyro. Thank you for bringing our guests. You are excused."
"Thanks!" Spyro exclaimed gratefully before spinning around dashing for the exit of the assembly hall. However, just before he reached it there was a small flash of golden light and Spyro skidded to a stop to find himself face to face with Sparx.
"Hold up there, big boy," he said, spreading his arms out to block his brother's path.
"Sparx? What is it?" Spyro asked in confusion, worried by the grim look on his brother's face.
Sparx gave a tense sigh before saying in an apologetic tone, "She wants to be left alone. Sorry, bro, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to go over there right now."
"But..." Spyro began to protest, only to be cut off by Cyril.
"Allow her some time, Spyro," the ice dragon said in a gentle but firm tone. "She's strong, but even the strongest among us need some space from time to time."
"Cyril is right," Terrador nodded. "Why don't you remain here for now, Spyro? Don't worry, it will be alright."
Spyro remained locked in place for a long, tense moment. An extremely large part of him wanted to just push past his dragonfly brother and run to Cynder as fast as he could, but he was also forced to realize that it probably wouldn't do any good anyway. Though he knew she was hurting, he also knew that she was an extremely independent dragoness. Crowding her now would probably only make matters worse, and would earn him nothing but her anger. He sighed sadly when he was forced to admit that there was nothing he could do.
"She'll be alright in time, Spyro," Terrador said reassuringly as the young purple dragon reluctantly turned around and plodded back over to the group. "You'll see."
"Yes, Terrador," he said meekly.
As he found a place to sit he noticed the three guardians exchanged worried glances, clearly concerned for both him and Cynder, but everyone knew that now wasn't the time to dwell on such things. Terrador cleared his throat and returned his attention to the two young fire dragons.
"Now, down to business I suppose," he said in his rumbling voice.
Sirius nodded quickly, but just then he seemed to notice that something wasn't entirely right. He glanced quickly around the large chamber before turning a quizzical look on Terrador.
"Where's Ignitus?" he asked.
Terrador gave a long sigh, his eyes dropping closed for a moment, and when the two young dragons saw the tense looks on three guardians it seemed as though realization struck them. Slowly a look of shock settled over their expressions. Then Terrador spoke up, a hollow note in his voice.
"I'm afraid that we have some difficult news to give you."
So I haven't actually started the next part of this chapter yet, so I don't know how long it will be before I'm ready to post that. I'll try to keep it from being too long.
Hopefully this is the last delay before I can actually get to the chapters I'm really looking forward to writing. It's gonna be good!
That's all for now. Until next time...