Chapter 10. Measures Taken
By: Dardarax
Disclaimer: I Dardarax do not own Spyro, Cynder, The Temple or any other character or place that belongs to the Spyro franchise. Furthermore I would like to inform my readers that in case of a rabid lamppost attack, be sure to stuff your ears full of pudding. Also several of my characters are featured in this chapter, their names are listed below.
Lyrith snored peacefully in the faded light of his room. The light filtered through the drapes and across the wide open space of his room. He lay on his back, paws sticking up into the air, occasionally twitching. The light played across his scars, creating small slivers of shadow across his body. The room was barren, achingly empty of furnishings and personal touches. Lyrith's belongings were stashed away in the cabinets and drawers of his wardrobe and desk, the only true furniture in the room.
Inferna watched Lyrith sleep with a small smile. Her eyes locked on his muzzle, which hung open, his tongue lolling out. The Fire Guardian had snuck into Lyr's room a few minutes ago and had settled by his bed to watch him sleep. A wide grin broke over her features as Lyr shuffled in his sleep and snuggled up to the pillows of his bed, completely content to continue sleeping.
Inferna giggled. The noise apparently disturbed Lyr's rest as one of his eyes cracked opened. He stared uncomprehendingly at Inferna, who leaned closer for a better look. Lyrith gave a startled yelp, and shot out of the bed. He hit the floor with a bump and glared at Inferna.
"What the hell! Why are you in my room? How long have you been there?"
Inferna chuckled at his panicked expression and shook her horned head.
"You know, you're kind of cute when you're asleep. But then you wake up and get all grouchy. Relax."
"I'm not cute!" Lyrith growled angrily. Inferna shook her head again.
"Whatever. I came here to tell you breakfast will be starting soon, and to give you this." Inferna handed Lyrith a card. He examined it. It was a timetable of classes. He glanced up at her.
"I took the liberty of choosing your classes for you." Inferna explained. "I picked the ones I thought you would enjoy the most. Did I choose well?"
Lyrith looked down examined the card again. His day would start off with magical histories, a sports program, and math, followed by a writing course with Inferna and then lunch. After lunch he would have combat practice, dragon histories and finally a survival training program.
"They all sound really interesting." Lyrith nodded in approval.
"Excellent." Inferna grinned. "It is your first time here, and I think you may want a guide to show you around for the first couple of days. He should be here shortly."
They waited a minute and then a sharp rapping at the door drew their attention.
"Come in!" Inferna called over to the newcomer. The door swung open and a young white dragon rushed through. He stood to attention in front of Inferna.
"I'm here Lady Inferna, I am sorry I'm late!"
"You're not late. In fact, you are right on time." Inferna gave the Albino servant a comforting smile. The white relaxed in relief.
Lyrith examined the new Albino with interest. He was of stalky build, and larger than Lyr by almost a head. He lacked much of the muscled mass Lyr possessed and his white scales were more of an off-white colour than Lyrith's snow white. The other white's eyes were a pinkish red. However, the new Albino had a pair of magnificent silver horns that put Lyr's silver-grey set to shame.
"I haven't seen another Albion since Malicina…" Lyrith winced at the painful memory and immediately pushed it away before he could dwell on it.
"Lyrith, this is Aiel. He will be your guide for a few days while you get used to the Temple." Inferna said, gesturing to the silver horned white.
"Nice to meet you Lyrith." Aiel chirped and lifted a paw to shake. Lyrith took Aiel's paw suspiciously and Aiel shook his paw vigorously.
"Aiel, would you show Lyrith here to his classes for a few days while he gets used to his new home?" Inferna asked the white who nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes my Lady, I would be honoured."
"Then escort him to breakfast, you both must be famished."
"Yes Lady Inferna! Come on Lyr, let's go get some grub!" Aiel grabbed Lyrith by the paw with his tail and dragged the smaller Albino out of the room. They were halfway to the student kitchen before Aiel let Lyr walk on his own. Lyrith only managed to keep from snapping at Aiel because he was intrigued about the existence of another Albino in the Temple.
"Wow!" Aiel grinned oafishly down at Lyr, which irritated the smaller white. "You are so lucky to be Inferna's student!"
"I suppose I am." Lyrith grunted as they turned a corner and into the hall that led to the kitchens.
"You get to learn from the Guardians! Master Volteer sometimes teaches me and my brother stuff, but you get to actually study with them. It's incredible, fantastic, amaz…"
"Ah Aiel! It is good to see you up and about." A large red dragon interrupted, stepping in front of them and blocking their path. "I have a task for you and your runty friend."
"Uh Torch, I have…" Aiel tried to cut through but was silenced by Torch's rant.
"My friends and I require fresh cream from the pantry. No excuses."
"But Inferna…"
"Would agree with me fresh cream is better than regular milk. Go. Now. Before I get irritated."
Aiel was trapped; Lyrith could see that in his pinkish eyes. He clearly did not want to cross the red dragon, Torch. But the Albino servant also had an assignment to complete. He had to escort Lyr around the Temple, and dragging the new student around the Temple on small errands would not achieve this end.
Torch sat smugly in the middle of the corridor, blocking any attempt to get past. His muzzle twisted into a malicious grin. The red was a foreboding sight, bigger than even Aiel; his muscled body had a chiselled look to it. Torch looked like he could have broken both Albinos between his paws without a second thought. He was a bully, and a big one. Lyrith came to Aiel's rescue.
"So you must be Torch. Droth mentioned you during our conversation last night. That is, before I treated him to dinner." Lyr bared his fangs in a wide grin that was as much a threat as a greeting. Torch glared down at Lyrith who had stepped forward between him and Aiel.
"Ah yes, it is the white rat. Why don't you go scurry off to the trash bin where you belong." Torch sneered, a wicked gleam in his eyes. Lyrith's grin only widened.
"I would love to stay and talk, but we are supposed to go for breakfast. And Aiel is my guide, Inferna's orders. You would not want to disobey her, would you?" Lyrith let the question hang. Torch glared at Lyr, and then reluctantly stepped out of the way. Lyrith smirked and stepped past Torch. Torch stopped Lyr with a paw.
"Listen here rat. I am the top drake around here, and as far as you go, you are the dirt beneath the lowest's paws. You ever cross me again and there won't be enough left of you to regret it." Torch growled, he gave Lyr a push and turned on his heels and tramped back down the hall.
"When that day comes Candlestick, I will gladly kick your ass." Lyrith called after the red, who glared back at the white.
"That day will come sooner than you think rat. And you will be the worse off." Then Torch disappeared into the kitchen. Lyrith and Aiel stood in silence for a moment, and then the silver horned dragon sighed with relief.
"Wow. I have never, ever seen anybody stand up to Torch like that. Thanks by the way, for getting me out of that mess."
"No problem." Lyrith breathed out the breath he had been holding. On an instinctive level, Lyr had known that Torch had been way out of his league, and could have easily destroyed him right there in the hall way. The white was just relieved that he had left the verbal swordplay in once literal piece.
"Let's go get some grub."
"Torch looks like he just had to eat a pinecone." Savron chuckled to Igneous when the infuriated red stormed into the room. Torch stomped past the line and took a seat beside Thunder and Wintra who had picked out his meal for him. A moment later, Lyrith and Aiel entered the kitchen and took their place in line. Savron laughed harder when he saw Torch's expression darken even further at the arrival of the Albinos.
"New Snow is like a cheese grater to Torch's proverbial cheese!"
Igneous chuckled at his friend's apt description of the white's effect on Torch. "Proverbial? Sav have you been learning on me?"
"Oh shut up!" Savron growled playfully, pushing Igneous out of the line and towards their table. Lyrith watched them go, his keen red eyes locking onto Savron's purple scales. Aiel noted Lyr's gaze.
"That is Savron and Igneous. They're both… well… nice. They are some of the only few here who will actually talk with me without ordering me around." They observed as the two reached their table and sat down with a group of other dragons. They chatted a moment, and then the group burst into peals of laughter.
Ember gave Lyr a bowl of jam after he had picked out his meal, and Lyr thanked her.
"Igneous is Torch's equal in terms of power and intelligence, but he is second in ranking for highest marks. I think Savron could reach the top if he tried but…"
A burly black dragon bumped into Aiel as they left the table and sent the Albino tumbling face first into the buffet table.
"Greedy swine! I was going to have some of that. But now I can't. I don't want to catch your uselessness." The buff shadow dragon snarled at Aiel. Aiel pulled himself from the platter of saucy chicken wings spluttering.
"S-sorry. I didn't mean to get in your way." Aiel's face was smeared with sauce, which created splotches of orange on his white scales. The students nearby laughed at the greasy white, who flushed with embarrassment.
"You had better be sorry. Thanks to your carelessness, you have ruined everybody's appe…"
Lyrith stepped past the black dragon and, without batting an eye, wrapped his tail around the dragon's legs, and sent him tumbling into the buffet, right where Aiel's face had so recently been implanted. The crowd burst into guffaws as the shadow dragon surfaced gasping for breath. Aiel skipped past the dragon and caught up to Lyrith, who was taking a seat at an empty table, placing his plate on the table.
"How did you do that?" Aiel asked as he sat down beside his white friend.
"Do what?" Lyr asked his voice puzzled, but his eyes held a fierce amusement. They dug into their meals; Aiel had washed the sauce from his muzzle and now gorged himself on the delectable food.
"Mm, wow. This is way better than what we servants get to eat!" Aiel gasped, taking a break from shoving food into his muzzle.
"It is better than what I used to eat that is for sure." Lyrith agreed, as he finished his turkey leg.
Aiel glanced over at Lyr as he scooped up a pawful of jam and started lapping up the red substance.
"Why do you eat jam? Dragons don't eat jam."
Lyrith pushed the bowl over to Aiel with his free paw. "Give it a try, it's good."
Aiel gave Lyr a sceptical glance, and then dipped his claws into the jam and licked them experimentally.
"Pah! This is repulsive! It is so thick and has no taste at all. How can you eat this?" Aiel choked, pushing the bowl away. Lyrith frowned. He had always assumed he liked sweet foods because he was an Albino.
"If other Albinos can't taste sweet things, then why can I?" Lyrith pondered, and then shrugged. It would not matter if he was the only dragon in the world who could taste sweet foods; he could, so he would live with his odd eating habits. Lyr picked up the bowl again and finished eating.
A bell tolled and the students got to their paws and started walking through the many exits.
"Classes are starting Lyr, what do you have first?" Aiel asked, getting to his paws and started through the nearest door.
"Magical histories." Lyr grunted, getting up and following suit.
"May the ancestors have mercy on your soul."
"What? Why?"
"Two words, Professor Cadence." Aiel said nothing more as he turned and led Lyr through the maze of hallways to his first class.
The classroom was unnaturally silent when Lyrith stalked in. Aiel had refused to enter with him, saying that on no uncertain terms were servants allowed in this classroom during class. Aiel had told Lyr that he would be back to guide him when class was over.
All eyes fixed on Lyr as he entered. Lyrith looked around for a seat and found an empty desk by the stage. He walked down the stairs towards the stage, ignoring the unwavering gazes of his fellow students.
"Well look who has finally decided to show up!" A rumbling voice echoed around the silent room like thunder. Lyr glanced down and caught sight of the fat wind dragon sitting on the stage. His one blue eye blazed with malice as it followed Lyrith to his seat.
"You are late. Normally I would give you a detention for such behaviour. But with your unevolved scales and brain, I can hardly expect you to understand a difficult concept such as time."
The class murmured amongst themselves, Cadence ignored them, the object of his ire being Lyrith, who paused to glance up at the clock. The clock was a circular mechanism of twelve small hourglasses. A complex system of weights and pulleys would flip the next hourglass in the circuit over once the previous one had filled up, moving the clock in an endless cycle. There had been one such device in the orphanage, and it had cost the Mother, and therefore the orphans a fortune.
"Actually I am right on time, Caddie." Lyrith sneered, his red eyes flashing. "Maybe you should get your eye checked."
The students around the class let out a collective gasp. Cadence's eye ridges furrowed with fury.
"I see we have a smart muzzle here. I will give you one warning, Snowy. Do not speak unless I give you permission. Otherwise we will have a long talk while you rot in detention."
Lyr looked unimpressed as he sat down. The white examined his claws but said nothing.
"Good." Cadenced grunted. "Now class, for the past week we have been studying Sub-Elements. We have learned Sub-Element origins, roles in society and we have discussed a few of the kinds of Sub-Element types found. Today we study Albinos."
Lyrith sat up in shock, Cadence peered at Lyrith with malevolent glee.
"And since we are so fortunate to have an Albino in our class, maybe we could ask him a few questions."
Tirren groaned. She could not help but feel sorry for the white. He had only just arrived and he had already offended most of the school. Cadence was going to torment the poor drake relentlessly, and pointing out the new student's disability was going to be the best way to do that.
"So how about it Snowy? Why don't you tell us what it is like to have no element?"
Lyrith did not answer. Instead he looked around the class with interest, as if looking for someone.
"Snowy I have addressed you! Answer me!" Cadence snarled, glaring daggers at Lyrith. The white continued to ignore Cadence. The wind dragon instructor marched over to Lyrith's desk and slammed a paw down, startling the Albino.
"ANSWER ME!" Cadence roared.
"Oh! You were talking to me! I thought you were talking to someone else." Lyrith gasped in mock astonishment. "I only answer to my name, Lyrith. Snowy is not my name."
Cadence spluttered at Lyrith's condescending tone, talking to the teacher as if he were addressing a child. The class chuckled as Cadence attempted to regain his composure.
"SILENCE!" The one eyed grey roared, shutting up the chattering students. "Fine then, Lyrith. Would you like to tell us what it is like having no magic?" Cadence repeated, rolling his eye. Lyrith paused and thought about the question. Finally he shrugged and looked Cadence in the eye.
"I don't know. What it is like to have magic?"
The class sat in stunned silence, pondering the question set before them. Cadence growled, angry at having his question so easily deflected.
"Then why don't you demonstrate on the stage?" He inquired maliciously. Lyrith glared at him, his blood red eyes burning. The white stood up and trudged onto the stage, and then he sat down. The class waited, but Lyrith just sat, saying nothing.
"Well?" Cadence snickered. Lyr rolled his eyes.
"What did you expect me to do? Try and breathe fire? Freeze the stage? Shoot lightning out of my ass?"
The class laughed, and Lyrith stormed off the stage, his irritation hanging about him like a black cloud.
"Since our Albino friend was less than cooperative, everyone receives extra homework." Cadence sneered. The class groaned and cast Lyr angry glances. Lyrith suddenly wanted nothing more than to sink into the floor.
Cadence began his lecture on the fundaments and facts of Albinos. He would often make insulting quips and remarks as the lesson progressed. Lyr felt increasingly uncomfortable and out of place in the room full of 'true' dragons. The students would laugh at the jokes, fully aware there was an Albino among them, and for once Cadence did nothing to stop them.
"If all of my classes are like this, I might be better off back in the slums…"
Lyrith stretched his cramped muscles, his body still stiff from the long sit in magical histories. Around him other students also stretched, flexing muscles and limbs. They stood in the center of a large open air gymnasium. Along the walls stacks of training equipment were stored, everything from weights to balls to pulleys. Serion, the physical trainer of the Temple strutted around the room, eying the students before him.
Nearly all of the other students were larger and beefier than Lyrith. But their physique was that of bodybuilders, they were muscular, but that was all. Lyrith could tell at a glance that most of the students here did not balance their exercises, focusing on strength alone and ignoring most of the other aspects of fitness.
"Now that you are all settled from your dull morning routines, it is time to start our warm up." Serion called, coming to a stop in front of his class. "And if you haven't noticed, we have a new student with us. His name is…" Serion glanced down at Lyrith, having already forgotten his name.
"Lyrith?" The Albino supplied. Serion nodded emphatically.
"Lyrith! He will be working with us from now on. I hope you can keep up Lylith! Today's warm up will be a jog!" Serion turned and began at a slow trot around the gym. The class followed after. Lyrith jogged along behind the ice dragon sports coach. A massive fire dragon beside Lyr chuckled darkly.
"You may think you're tough runt. But Serion is relentless, a stick like you won't last five minutes here."
The two horned red dragon sped up as Serion picked up speed. Lyr kept pace as the jog evolved into a fast trot, and then a gallop. The entire class raced along the track behind the ice dragon coach, who started to chant.
"Hup. Two. Three. Four. Hup. Two. Three. Four. I. Won't. Stop. Till. I. Reach. Six! Hup. Two. Three. Four. Hup. Two. Three. Four…"
The class groaned at the declaration and quickened their pace yet again. Within minutes Lyrith found himself at the front again, most of the class lagging behind unable to keep up the relentless pace. Beside him, Lyr saw Savron the purple, who ran while whistling a jaunty tune. A small yellow lightning dragoness who danced and whirled as she ran and a few other athletic drakes.
"Four. Five. Six! Alright were done!" Serion declared slowing to a halt. Lyr followed suit as did the others around him. Several seconds later the rest of the class caught up, panting for breath they stumbled past Lyr and towards the nearest water trough. Lyrith felt a surge of satisfaction as the red dragon from the start of the warm up staggered past and gulped down a mouthful of water. The white dragon felt energised rather than tired, this run reminded him of his jogs down to the lake after his supper at the orphanage.
Savron appeared the same way; his breathing was even and he was laughing at the antics of the little yellow dragoness.
"Iwannarace! Iwannarace!" She cried exuberantly, bouncing around Serion delightedly.
"Calm down Zindy!" Savron chortled, walking over to the energetic lightning dragoness. "We can't keep up. What did you say? You want a race?"
"A race!" Serion bellowed, causing the entire class to cringe at the words and the ear ringing volume. "That sounds like an excellent idea!"
The class groaned but was too tired to argue.
"Alright, take a quick breather and then get into position!" Serion commanded, taking a seat at the starting line. The other students jostled Lyrith as they moved into position. The white soon found himself wedged between the fire drake from before and a wind drake. They pushed and shoved the smaller white as they tried to get a better position. Lyr snarled and pushed back, nearly knocking the wind dragon over.
The race track ran from one end of the gym to the other, a wide bend turned the course back in an arc causing the track to run back to the other side of the gym. There the two ends of the track met, forming a loop.
Finally the line settled and everyone crouched waiting for the signal. Lyr's heart was pounding. This was it, a chance to prove himself in front of a teacher. Cadence had not given him any such chance, but now he would show he was worthy, even if it was only in sports.
Serion raised his head and gave off a shrill whistle. The dragons took off, shooting across the packed dirt race track like coloured comets. Lyr started to run, but the red swiped his paws out from under him. Lyr cursed as he crashed to the ground, the red laughed as he raced ahead. Lyr scrambled to his paws and raced off in pursuit.
Despite the difference in size, Lyrith was considerably faster than the bulky drakes of his class, and rapidly gained ground. Serion watched impressed as the white recovered from his slip and shot off after his classmates. The Albino moved in long powerful leaps, a feral gait that ate up ground like a starving drake.
Savron and Zindy broke away from the other dragons, racing neck and neck for first. Lyrith caught up to his classmates as they neared the bend in the track. A bulky lightning dragon and the red tried to block Lyrith off, but the white slipped through an opening. He weaved between the running students like water through a crack.
One brawny ice dragon shoved over, trying to knock the white over. Lyrith skipped forward, avoiding the dragon who crashed into several others. They went down in a heap, tripping up all of the other racers behind them.
Zindy pulled ahead of Savron as they raced past the bend, behind them, an athletic earth dragoness raced into third. Lyrith burst from the cluster of racers not far behind her. The brown snarled in irritation as the Albino gradually gained on her. Ahead of them, Savron and Zindy hurtled along the race track, Zindy now far ahead of Savron and most of the way to the finish line.
"I will not be beaten by a filthy white!" The earth dragoness snarled. She released a burst of earth magic into the ground. The ground behind her exploded upwards in pillars of stone, barring the way.
Serion, who had barely tolerated the tripping and shoving, growled and rose to his paws, ready to call out the earth dragoness. What he saw next stunned him into silence.
Lyrith leapt into the air and landed on one of the stone pillars. The Albino skipped and jumped across the range of stone with an agility that astonished the ice dragon teacher. Lyrith took one last leap and landed in front of the earth dragoness at a run. The dirt that sprayed up behind the Albino caught the dragoness in the eyes, blinding her long enough for her to trip and fall. Serion gaped in amazement as Lyrith sped on, as if he had never encountered an obstacle.
Lyrith was just as amazed as Serion; he glanced back at the barricade he had overcome. The other students were forced to run around, none willing to try the daring stunt Lyr had pulled off.
"How did I do that?" He wondered, and then smiled at the teacher's shocked expression. "Best not let them know it was a fluke."
Lyr caught up to Savron on the last stretch of the race. Ahead of them Zindy flashed across the finish line, but continued racing around the room, squealing in delight. Lyrith pulled up beside the purple, the finish line now only seconds away. Savron grunted and sped up, bounding across the ground in massive leaps. Lyr kept pace, his muscles straining with each bound. The ground churned beneath them as they hurtled towards the end, neither wavering, eyes focused on the goal ahead.
Savron put on a last burst of speed as the neared the end, hoping to gain ground, but to no avail. They crossed the line, neck and neck, neither surrendering an inch.
Lyrith ground to a halt several meters past the finish, breathing heavily. He wouldn't have been surprised if his breath came out as steam. Savron staggered to a halt beside him and stood, legs spread wide apart, head held low breathing hard. The two dragons stood side by side, purple and white, complete opposites, yet equals.
The other students stumbled past the finish behind them, and Savron glanced up and grinned warmly at Lyr as the other students staggered past.
"Must be… nice to… look down on a purple… from second… Eh Snowy?"
Lyrith blinked in astonishment as Savron moved away from him and towards the water trough along with the other students. Zindy was still bounding around the room, her cheers echoing through the silence.
"Iwon! Iwon! Iwon!"
But Lyr ignored her, he had done it. He had beaten a purple! A feat he had never before dreamed possible. A goofy grin spread across his features. Serion walked over to Lyrith and patted him on the back with a strong paw.
"Good job Backflip. Those were some impressive moves out there. I can definitely see why Inferna chose you, keep it up and you will be an excellent dragon." The ice dragon coach praised. A loud whoop and crash made him glance up, a look of horror creasing his muzzle. He rushed past Lyr and charged after Zindy, shouting at her to put the trophy back.
Lyrith strutted over to the trough and drank deeply, a prideful grin playing across his features. He had placed second in a race, beaten Savron, son of the legendary heroes Spyro and Cynder and had impressed one of his teachers on his first day… There were worse ways to start off your day in school.
"He beat you!" Igneous asked for the fourth time, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yes, he beat me," Savron repeated exasperated. "by a nose, but he still beat me."
They sat on the bleachers in the combat training area, watching as Terrador began his introduction to a new combat move. He described its strengths and weaknesses, and when and when not to use it. On the other side of the area, Spyro and his class started setting up for his lesson.
"I still can't believe it." Tirren scoffed. "New Snow beat you in a race? You are one of the fastest runners here Sav, it is unbelievable that he could beat you at racing."
It was just after lunch and the three sat in Terrador's advanced combat class. Savron had found his friends during their lunch break and had described to them the athletics class he had had with the Albino, going into great detail about the race. His friends had been shocked to hear the news that Savron had lost a race to the Lyrith, and constantly repeated their sentiments as if by doing so, they would somehow change the fact.
"Believe it or not, he still beat me."
"First he takes out Granite and Droth, then he all but spits in Cadence's eye. And now he beats you in a race. What will New Snow do next?" Tirren asked the air in front of her, raising her front paws in question. A sudden murmur grabbed their attention as Lyrith walked through the door with Aiel.
"Well we are about to find out." Savron replied flippantly. Aiel scurried in front of Lyr, and bowed to Spyro.
"Sorry we are late sir. I got us lost for a bit."
"That is alright. Class has just started. Next time though come a bit early." Spyro answered beckoning them over. Spyro watched the Albinos curiously. Aiel, whom Spyro had seen many times before gazed at him reverently. He walked hesitantly alongside Lyrith, fidgeting like a nervous rabbit. Lyrith however, moved with confidence, strong and powerful. The difference between them was obvious to any close observer. Aiel was a servant, Lyrith was a warrior.
"But how much of a warrior." Spyro thought as he watched Lyrith take a seat on the bleachers. The students nearest him edged away. Aiel stood awkwardly beside Lyrith, not willing to take a seat among his superiors, but also unsure as whether or not he was supposed to leave.
"Aiel, would you like to help in today's lesson?" Spyro inquired of the Albino, Aiel nodded enthusiastically and jogged onto the dirt training ground to stand before the purple.
"What do you want me to do master Spyro?" Aiel asked breathlessly. Spyro grinned down at the white.
"Do you see that statue over there, by the wall?" Spyro pointed to his right with a claw, indicating a statue of a Cheetah warrior. Aiel nodded. "There is a switch behind there. Every time I do this," Spyro lifted his head and blew two streams of blue flame into the air. "I want you to pull that switch. Understood?"
Aiel nodded again and bounded over towards the statue.
When Lyrith had entered the training ground, Terrador had stopped his instruction and turned to watch the scene with interest. As Aiel took position by the statue, Terrador turned back to his students.
"I think today we will watch Spyro's class train. Take note of where they make mistakes and leave themselves open for attack. Tomorrow I would like a paper describing the twelve most common mistakes a rookie fighter makes, judging solely on your observations."
The Earth Guardian's students, who had already been watching the class, dutifully continued their staring.
"Now before we can begin our lesson," Spyro spoke to Lyr, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I need to know your current level of combat experience. Lyrith, would you be so kind as to come up here beside me?" Spyro beckoned Lyr to stand beside him and the Albino stood up. Lyr ambled over to the purple and stood in front of him. The other students shifted and murmured to each other. They were all anxious to see the white fight. Many hoped to see the white put in his place, but many others were curious to know if he really was a good fighter, or if Granite and Droth's defeat was a fluke.
From over in Terrador's class Wintra snickered. She sat between Torch and Thunder who were both grinning evilly.
"Hoo boy, it's about time we get to see some action." Thunder rumbled. Torch chortled maliciously.
"Yeah, it is not often we get to see practice dummies beat on a helpless lizard as a class project!"
"Maybe we should call in some of Aquina's healers, he will certainly need it. Because Whitey is in for a world of hurt." Wintra giggled.
"Step into the ring Lyrith. There you will fight several training dummies, defend yourself, and defeat as many as you can." Spyro informed the white. "The fight will start as soon as you are in the center of the ring."
Lyrith said nothing as he walked into the ring; he stopped at the center and looked back at Spyro. The purple hero raised his head and blew two streams of blue flame. From the other side of the room Aiel pulled the switch down. A loud clattering noise echoed around the chamber. Then suddenly, six wood and straw dummies pulled themselves from the ground. They were larger than the Ape dummies Lyr had fought, and each carried a wooden club. They stood around him for a moment, and Lyr could only stare in amazement.
The dummies suddenly gave off animalistic shrieks and rushed forward, raising their clubs to strike the small Albino. Spyro watched as the calm, collected Albino changed, Lyr's body lowered to the ground, and his lips peeled back to reveal his jagged fangs. Red eyes burning, Lyrith roared his challenge and rushed forward, his lithe body moving fluidly. The dummy nearest Lyrith swept its club at the white. Lyr jumped clear over the dummy's swing and over its head. A powerful sweep from his talons tore its wooden head from its shoulders and hurled it into the bleachers. The students yelped and ducked for cover as the wooden head whizzed past and crashed into the stone wall behind them.
Lyrith landed on all fours, behind him the decapitated dummy collapsed twitching. Two more charged the white, Lyrith dodged to the side, avoiding their strikes. Lyrith's claws whipped forward, lacerating the stomach of one of the dummies. A second blow from Lyrith slashed across its throat, spilling out straw like blood.
The second mannequin recovered from its swing and struck at Lyrith from behind. The blow clipped Lyr across the back. Whirling, Lyrith pounced on the wooden dummy. His tackled forced the larger creature to the floor, Lyrith's jaws clamped down on its neck. The dummy struggled beneath the white as Lyr proceeded to tear the wood and straw out of its throat.
The remaining three dummies crept up on the grappling pair. Lyrith sensed the danger just as they raised their clubs. He threw himself off of his victim as the clubs came whistling down, the thick wooden mallets crashed into the sprawling dummy, splintering its wooden frame.
Spyro watched Lyrith fight, impressed. The white was clearly an experienced fighter, and obviously well trained. He made no wasted movements, and struck only to kill or maim. The purple dragon felt a smile crease his muzzle.
"I guess Inferna made a good choice after all. I wonder if he is as good at studying as he is fighting. If he is, he will easily make the prodigy mark, even without an element." Spyro thought pleased.
Tirren gasped as she watched Lyrith dispatch three of the six mannequins in rapid succession. Moving with a savage grace, he tore another apart with brutal efficiency before it could recover from its swing. Beside her, Savron and Igneous watched the scene with avid interest; they too seemed to share her sentiments. They watched as Lyrith danced with the last two dummies, nimbly dodging their attacks and striking back with fast, powerful blows.
"Man, he must have had a hell of a teacher." Igneous commented to Savron as they watched. "It is like watching a cat play with a mouse, and he's the cat."
Lyrith flipped over one of the remaining two dummies. As he summersaulted, his tail blade flicked out and sliced a chunk off of its blocky head. It stood, twitching as Lyrith landed behind it. Lyr turned and gave the mannequin a shove, sending it sprawling into the last dummy. The wooden creature swung its club and batted the motionless straw creature out of the way. Lyrith charged. The dummy swung wildly, caught off balance from its previous swing. Lyr ducked underneath its clumsy swing and gored the dummy with his horns. A jerk from his head tore open its sternum, and straw poured out of its eviscerated chest. It dropped its club and stumbled backwards; it wobbled for a moment, and then toppled to the floor.
Lyr huffed and then smirked, casting a glance over towards Spyro. The purple dragon was nodding, a smile of approval etched across his features. The students sat stunned from the furious battle. None had really expected it to end so quickly, or in the white's favour.
From across the training hall, Terrador started clapping, the sound sharp against the silence. Spyro joined in, giving the Albino a toothy grin. After a moment, the other students joined in, their applause was half hearted at best, and many gave Lyr icy looks, a mixture of fury and loathing. Despite the lackluster and in many cases hostile applause, Lyrith felt pride well up in him.
Aiel stood up onto his rear paws and clapped wildly, grinning oafishly. Wintra glared at the silver horned Albino spitefully. Aiel stood fairly close to where they were sitting. A malicious smile creased her features. As Aiel took a step forward to congratulate his friend still applauding, Wintra blew a small burst of ice at his paws. Aiel slipped on the slick patch of ice. He flailed as he fell, and reached out for the nearest thing to keep him from falling, the switch. The lever was pulled down with him and came to a stop with an ominous splintering noise.
All around Lyrith the wooden dummies pulled themselves back together, the wood and straw fitting back together seamlessly. They swung their weapons at Lyrith who sat stunned at their sudden reappearance. The weak applause faded and was replaced with cheering as the dummies took another swing at Lyrith who was still trying to recover.
Spyro whirled to face Aiel who was desperately trying to push the switch back up. The purple raced over to the struggling Albino.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Spyro roared at Aiel who flinched away from his harsh words.
"I-I'm sorry master! I slipped and fell!" Aiel cried, cowering away from Spyro's furious expression. "I accidentally pulled the switch and it broke! It won't go back up!"
Spyro glanced back at Lyrith; he had recovered but was slowly being beaten back. Every time a dummy fell, it immediately repaired itself and continued the fight. Lyr was tearing them to pieces but nothing he did could stop them.
Spyro growled. "Help me push this back up. Then we will talk about what you have done."
Aiel nodded solemnly, resigned to his inevitable punishment. Terrador appeared by their side and together they began trying to force the lever back into place.
Wintra, Torch and Thunder laughed uproariously at the scene as Lyrith was beaten down by the dummies. He fought valiantly, dodging left and right, striking down dummy after dummy, but they never stopped, he was struck multiple times from all angles. Tirren glared at the trio with disgust. She was sure they were behind the commotion, but had no proof to support her theory.
The trio's laughter was abruptly cut off, as a dummy reared up in front of them, raising its club. Torch and Thunder threw themselves to the ground, but Wintra who had been sitting between them, did not react quick enough. The thick wooden club caught her across the side of the head and sent her sprawling.
All around the training ground shouts of alarm sounded as dummies appeared from the ground and attacked the students. Torch rolled to his paws and sent a stream of molten fire at the mannequin. It was engulfed in flame and quickly disintegrated from the intense heat.
"Get up!" Torch ordered of the dazed Wintra. He grabbed her paws and pulled her pack up. She swayed dizzily for a moment before her eyes focused again. Tirren and her friends' amusement at seeing Wintra put in her place quickly dispersed as several dummies charged them.
The room was soon engulfed in fighting. Fire and lightning streaked through the air and into the horde of training dummies. Sheets of ice flashed over the mannequins and tremors and earth bullets tore through the straw army. Gusts of wind blasted dummies out of the way, and here and there, fountains of black fire, creeping shadows and whips of darkness could be seen.
In the middle of it all, Lyrith fought. With much of the dummies attention taken off of him thanks to the all-out battle raging around him, he pressed forward. Moving like a white whirlwind he tore through the dummies leaving a trail of rebuilding straw and wood behind him. Lyr broke through the crowd of dummies and found himself in open ground.
He caught sight of a pair of water dragons battling off half a dozen mannequins and slowly being pressed back. Lyrith charged forward, and with a powerful leap, slammed into a dummy that was moving to strike the blue dragons. Catching the wooden doll beneath the chin with his horns, Lyr tore its head off with a yank of his head. In a flash the water dragons seized the opening and shot jets of water from their mouths. The high pressured streams cut cleanly through the wood and straw of three of the remaining five.
"Dude, we like, totally didn't need your help." One of the blue dragons spat. Lyrith shrugged and with a flick of his tail sliced through a dummy's legs. Leaving the wooden doll and the water dragons behind Lyr turned and ran off to the next group of combatants.
"Heave!" Spyro roared as he, Aiel and Terrador attempted to force the switch upwards. The lever groaned and then snapped with a splintering crack. The three looked down at the broken off length of the switch with horror.
"Uh-oh." Aiel whispered. All around them the battle raged, elements flashed and dummies were tossed about like ragdolls. It was an all-out war between the students and the training dummies.
Spyro looked around, panic rising to the surface. The dummies were totally out of control, and the students probably did not realise it, but there was no longer a restraining force holding the mannequins back. This was no longer a game.
"Terrador, what do we do!" Spyro asked, fear hitching up his voice.
"I don't know!" The Earth Guardian responded, panic also setting in. "The only thing keeping the dummies going is the mechanism, but without the switch we can't…" Terrador trailed off, both he and Spyro realising what to do at the same time.
"The mechanism!" They cried in unison.
Terrador pushed Aiel out of the way as Spyro examined the wall beside the statue. Finding the correct spot, Spyro stood on his hind paws and drew a foreleg back and he clenched his paw shut. Bolts of green energy crackled around his paw as he drove it at the wall. The smooth marble disintegrated in a blast of dust where he had struck. A spider web of cracks stretched out for meters around the point of impact and a small tremor knocked Aiel over.
Through the hole in the wall, the three could see the churning gears and tubes of incandescent energy. It was the mechanism that kept the dummies moving. Gripping the lever in his paws and praying to the ancestors that this would work, Terrador shoved the lever into the spinning gears. The machine ground to a halt.
Lyrith had been pulling the stuffing out of one dummy when it suddenly went limp. He dropped the dummy in surprise and looked around. All of the other students were looking around like him, confused at the sudden cease of combat. The dummies littered the floor, straw and wood scattered across the battle field. Lyrith sat down relieved. He had enjoyed the fight at first, but he had had it harder than most of the other students. They could destroy multiple enemies at once with their element; he could only tear his victims to pieces one by one. Lyr had soon felt the pressure as wave after wave of immortal dummies attacked. Lyrith had always prided himself in being an expert at fighting against many opponents at once, but when your victims got right back up after a disembowelling, you were in trouble.
Suddenly Lyrith smirked. "I hope all of my classes are this interesting."
Spyro looked around at the destruction. Scores of dummies were strewn around the room. The training ring had been torn apart in the battle, and the once level dirt ground was hilly with craters and piles of debris.
None of the students appeared more than a little bruised, in fact, many were laughing, as if the battle had been nothing more than a game of tag. Spyro sighed.
"Class dismissed!" The purple shouted over the chatter. The students whooped and poured out of the room. Lyrith sighed with disappointment as he padded out of the room. It took him a moment to realise his guide was not following him. He turned and watched as the two teachers rounded on Aiel, who shrunk back beneath their accusing gazes. The white looked down defeated as he awaited his punishment.
"I still can't believe that they banned you from the combat training ground!" Lyrith hissed as they strode down the hallway back to his room. Lyr's last class had ended half an hour ago and, the smaller white, still enthralled by the Temple, wanted to drop off his homework before exploring some more.
"No, it is alright. Besides I could have gotten a lot worse." Aiel sighed, and then smiled at the enraged Albino beside him.
Lyrith looked at the other white sceptically.
"I could have been kicked out of the Temple." Aiel supplied. Lyrith considered his argument, and then nodded in agreement.
"I guess you could have had it worse."
They arrived at Lyrith's room and stopped at the door. They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Aiel opened the door for Lyrith. Lyrith stepped in. The room was much how he had left it in the morning. All but barren, pillows scattered across the floor. Lyr stalked over to his desk and dumped all of his homework out of the sack Aiel had given him. Most of his assignments were from magical histories, but he had a scattering from his math and dragon history courses as well.
Overall his day had been great. His math teacher, Volteer had been enthusiastic, and the class had whizzed by. When Lyr left, his head had been throbbing from the combined effort of trying to understand both his teacher and the content of the class. But the excitable Lightning Guardian had not even seemed to notice his white scales.
He had then been brought to the library where Inferna gave him private lessons on writing. The quiet calm of the massive room had been a blessing after Volteer's lesson.
Once his combat training had finished, Lyrith had gone to dragon history with Cynder. Cynder had Lyrith sit up front and had caught him up to their current topic while the rest of the class did a project. The Shadow Guardian had treated him with care, as if dancing around the issue of his scales. But her kindness had cheered him up greatly.
His day had ended with a lesson from Hunter, the cheetah. The feline warrior was another figure of legend for Lyrith, but unlike his dragonic teachers, had treated him like an old friend. Hunter's lesson on survival had been fast paced and exhilarating. Very few dragons were involved in it, so Lyrith had been able to relax with the Cheetah warrior and have fun.
"So how was your day Lyr?"
Lyrith leapt into the air in alarm as Inferna materialized beside him, having somehow managed to remain hidden in his room, despite being twice his size.
"Damn it Inferna! Stop doing that!" Lyr roared in anger, stomping his paw down on a loose sheet of paper. Inferna snickered. Lyrith grumbled as he started gathering up his papers, which had fallen the floor in his surprise. "You could have told me she was here Aiel." The grumpy white complained.
"But she told me not to. I can't just disobey orders." Aiel chuckled.
"So how was your day?" The Fire Guardian repeated an amused smile on her features.
"It was great, except for magical histories."
"Why? Was Caddie being a grouch?"
Lyrith said nothing; instead he picked up a sheet of paper from his desk and handed it to Inferna. She took it and examined the page. She frowned as she started reading. Her frown evolved into an outraged snarl as she reached the bottom.
"He… how dare he!"
Lyrith turned and padded over to Aiel.
"I would like to go back to the library Aiel; I want to see what kind of books I can take out."
"Sounds great!" Aiel agreed cheerfully. They moved towards the door, but Inferna caught Lyr with her tail.
"You won't have to worry about Cadence; I will deal with him personally." Inferna growled clutching the sheet in her paw so tightly she nearly crushed it. Lyrith nodded his thanks and the two Albinos slipped from the room.
Inferna watched him go, anger pouring off of her in waves. She was certain that what was written on the sheet had hurt Lyr more than he was willing to show. But she also knew from her week traveling with him that pushing him would only make it worse.
"Cadence will pay for this." Inferna whispered, grinding her fangs. She stomped from the room, and slammed the door behind her.
Spyro and Terrador walked down the Temple halls towards the council chamber. They had spent the whole rest of the day cleaning up the disastrous mess in the training ground, directing servants and even participating in the job itself. The damage done to machine would take days to repair, and the wall weeks.
The purple saviour felt bad for punishing Aiel the way he had. The white was always a willing helper and enthusiastic about any job he took up. But he had also wrecked a valuable and expensive machine, and had put their students in danger. Even if it had been an accident, such an act could not go unpunished.
Spyro's mind however, was elsewhere. Lyrith's display in the training room had astounded him. The white moved with a kind of grace and power Spyro had not seen anywhere except in older and experienced warriors. Spyro had caught glimpses of the Albino fighting in the chaos of the class brawl and had been thoroughly impressed. Despite not having an element, Lyrith had handled himself well in the battle field, taking down as many if not more dummies than any other student.
Spyro and the Earth Guardian turned a corner, and the purple broke the silence.
"So Terrador, what do you think?" Spyro asked the silent green.
"Think of what exactly?" Terrador rumbled.
"Our new student." Spyro answered. Terrador frowned as he gave the matter some thought.
"As a teacher, I say we put him into intermediate, and let him go up from there."
Spyro nodded. "But?"
"But as a warrior and a dragon, I say we put him straight into advanced training. I am hesitant to admit it, but he may well be the best close combat fighter of all of our students."
Spyro smiled, he had come to the same conclusion as well. They entered through the council chamber to find the rest of the staff sitting in their places.
"How go the repairs to the training rooms?" Cyril asked from his seat as the two dragons took their places.
"Smoothly." Terrador responded. "The damage is not as bad as we had feared; the main problem is the wall. We can get spare parts for our machine, but our workers will have to work night and day for nearly a week to get the wall fixed. But since that isn't practical, roughly three weeks until the job is done."
The staff nodded in satisfaction. Volteer stood up.
"Itrustyouweren't too hard on my servant, Terrador, Spyro." The Lightning Guardian spoke, slowing as he finished his sentence. Spyro shook his head.
"We banned him from the training room and gave him dish duty for two weeks. Considering the damage the punishment is minimal."
Volteer nodded in satisfaction and sat back down. It was Darius who spoke next.
"Now on to the purpose of this meeting. What is the decision on our new student's status? Is he a prodigy or just another dragon?"
"Well I found his performance to be more than satisfactory!" Serion bellowed, drawing complaints from those around him. "He did excellent in my physical training program."
"He showed remarkable learning capabilities in my class." Volteer agreed. "He has an astounding, astonishing ability to grasp a concept almost immediately."
"I agree completely." Cynder replied, nodding to the yellow Guardian as he took a seat. "Lyrith took very little time to understand anything I taught him, and is showing a great deal of determination in his work."
"Lyrith is capable and enthusiastic." Hunter nodded, his arms crossed. "I agree with everything said so far."
Terrador cleared his throat. Everyone looked to him as he spoke.
"Spyro and I watched Lyrith in the training ground today, and what we have found is that he is a remarkable fighter. Possibly among our best. Even without an element he is as capable as any in a fight."
"You must be mistaken." Cadence growled and stood up. The rest of the staff murmured in puzzlement as Cadence glared at the speakers.
"The white who entered my class preformed dismally. He was unable to answer any of my questions; his writing was illegible and was undeniably rude. He showed absolutely no respect to his superiors and further more mocked his teacher in front of his class. This cannot be the same student you are referring to, and if it is, than he is most definitely not a prodigy."
Cadence was all but shouting as he came to a close, his blazing blue eye wide and spittle frothing at his muzzle. The staff sat in shock at his announcement. Inferna who had been glaring at Cadence the entire time stood up.
"It was the same student, Caddie, and he is little to what you claim he is. Lyrith can be rude, but only if he thinks he is being mocked. He has a bit of a short temper, but he is nothing to what you say he is!" Inferna roared at the grey who sneered.
"It is I who decide what I think of him, Infernal, not you. So shut your trap."
The staff gasped at the wind dragon's blatant disrespect for the Fire Guardian.
"I believe that you purposefully antagonized Lyrith, and maneuvered him into a position where you could mock and humiliate him in front of his classmates." Inferna returned with a sneer. The staff gasped again at her accusation. Cadence reeled as if bitten.
"What!" He cried in shock.
"If you do not have proof Inferna, then please keep your opinion to yourself." Terrador rumbled.
Inferna smirked. "Oh but I do have proof."
Terrador raised an eye ridge as Inferna produced a sheet of crumpled paper from behind her horns. She placed the sheet on the table and slid it over to Terrador. He picked it up.
"That is an assignment sheet Lyrith received from his magical histories class." Inferna clarified to the other staff members as Terrador opened and read its contents.
The Earth Guardian's expression changed from curiosity to disbelief as he read the paper. He glared at Cadence and started reading.
"Question one: What is the most common parentage of an Albino? Question two: Why do Albinos possess no element? Question three…"
As Terrador read the list the staff started casting Cadence disgusted glares. He had been purposefully drawing attention to Lyrith's scales during the course of his lesson. Their anger grew more prominent as the questions continued.
"Question twelve: In your opinion, do you think Albinos should be removed from our society and put back into the wild where they belong?" Terrador finish with a growl, the paper crumpled in his talons as he glared at Cadence with revulsion. The room exploded into outraged shouts as the Earth Guardian finished, Cadence stood strong against the glares and shouts, a scowl on his face.
"Explain yourself Cadence!" Spyro snarled, furious at the offensive paperwork they had just listened to.
"They are merely questions." Cadence responded with a shrug. "The students have to learn about our new arrival to better understand him. Was there something wrong with trying to bring understanding to our young ones?"
"Not like this Cadence." Cynder growled, hackles rising. "We do not want our students to scorn Lyrith; we want him to be accepted. He has had enough trouble being accepted without you making it worse!"
"Another thing," Cyril cut in, raising a claw. "The last question, it appears to be a petition posed as a question. Such a deceitful method for getting your point across is unacceptable Cadence. You are not the only one who has a few issues with having an Albino in our school, but this will not do. Not only are you inciting the student body against one of their own, but we have never authorized such a petition."
Cadence shrugged. "As I said before, it is merely a question, I meant nothing of…"
"THAT IS ENOUGH CADENCE!" Terrador thundered over the din, slamming his mace ball tail down on the stone table. The talking abruptly stopped.
"You have no right to speak in this matter. For now I will only give you a warning. Do not continue this behaviour. Another incident like this and I will have you replaced."
"Replaced!" The one eyed wind cried out in alarm.
"Yes, for you will have shown us you are a bad influence over our students." Terrador growled. He turned back to the staff. "Thank you Inferna for bringing this to our attention. All in favour of discounting Cadence's opinion say aye."
A chorus of ayes sounded. Cadence was too shocked to object.
"Motion carried. And the bet closed. The second option, Inferna returning within three months and with a prodigy wins."
Darius, Volteer and Spyro whooped and jumped to their paws. Flame and Serion bumped paws, and Hunter leaned back satisfied at the outcome. The rest of the staff sighed and reluctantly nodded.
Inferna watched the display with amusement, and then a frown crossed her features.
"Excuse me." She called out, and the staff looked to her curiously. "Would you be so kind as to tell me the other bets, and why so few of you actually believed in me?"
The six victors stopped cheering and snickered as the rest of the staff looked at each other embarrassed. Inferna waited patiently as Cyril cleared his throat nervously.
"Well, you see…"
Characters created by Dardarax:
Lyrith
Aiel
Savron's Gang (Savron, Igneous, Tirren, Zindy)
Torch's Gang (Torch, Wintra, Thunder)
Temple Staff (Inferna, Cadence, Serion, Darius)
Double digits baby yeah! I hope this chapter was satisfying after the long wait I gave you. It certainly did take a while to finish, but I feel content with my work. The next chapter is considerably shorter than this one, so it should be out sooner, rather than later.
I would also like to take this time to point someting out. If you want to PM me, you are welcome to, just make sure that your own private messenging feature is on. That way I can reply to any quesitions you may have. If I can't reply, then I feel frustrated that someone sent me a message, probably wants a response, and won't get any because they can't take messages. Call it a pet peeve.