So now we're at Chapter 9 and I'm taking a break from the action in lieu of training.
DISCLAIMER: This has nothing to do with Eragon, How To Train Your Dragon, Dragon Booster or any other stories involving people who ride dragons. Also I do not own Spyro, just my OC's.
Anyway, here we go.
Chapter 9: The Art of the Riders
By sunset, Troy and the dragons were arriving at the Temple. Ignitus, Volteer and Hurricos were waiting for them on the balcony. "You made it back with Cyril!" Hurricos cheered.
"And that's not all," Troy replied as they landed.
Ignitus' eyes widened in surprise. "Hydrus and Botanica," he breathed. "Is that really you?"
"Yes, Master Ignitus," Hydrus replied, bowing his head. "It's good to see you again."
"We never thought we'd see you again," Botanica added. "Especially not after Cynder captured us."
"She took you too?" Hurricos gasped. "She held me prisoner at Dante's Freezer."
"I don't understand it either," Astral admitted as they made their way back to the Grotto.
"Oh Cyril, it's such a marvellous pleasure to see you again," Volteer then spoke up. "After so many weeks kept apart, I was actually starting to miss your obnoxiousness."
"Yes, yes, Volteer," Cyril sighed. "I see that months of tortured captivity have done nothing to slow that electric tongue of yours from incessantly wagging."
"It's just that it's all so exciting, exhilarating, enchanting, enthralling…" Volteer tailed off, stumbling over his own words.
"All right, no more thesaurus for you, pal," Sparx moaned.
"All of you please, be quiet!" Ignitus shouted. "It is certainly encouraging that Spyro, Astral and Troy have managed to free two of you to allow this reunion, but haven't we forgotten someone?"
"Yes, of course," Astral said quietly. "Master Terrador."
"Precisely," Ignitus replied. "Now how do we proceed?"
"I think we can help with that, Master Ignitus," Hydrus called out. "You see, Astral somehow learned the Water and Plant elements in her travels. So tomorrow, Botanica and I should give her some training so she can learn how to master them."
"And I can help Spyro here as well," Cyril put in, looking down at the purple dragon. "Well, young chap, since you learned a few things about Ice on Tall Plains, I suggest that tomorrow we should adjourn to the Training Room so I can teach you some more. The legacy of the great Ice dragons of yore, my ancestors…" Sparx, Ignitus and Astral all groaned and shook their heads as Cyril spoke. "…who come from the best of the best in this somewhat bedraggled lineage, is long and storied. With my help, rescuing Terrador should be a certainty."
Volteer let out an exasperated groan. "Your pomposity, arrogance and pretentiousness is odious to the extreme."
Troy nodded in agreement, and the young dragons laughed at Cyril's frustrated look.
The next morning, Cyril took Spyro to the Dojo for his Ice training, while Astral, Botanica and Hydrus went out to the garden for their lessons. Troy was about to follow them out, when Hurricos came running up. "Hey Troy, hold on a minute."
"What's up, Hurricos?" Troy asked.
"I have a proposition from Argos," Hurricos replied. "Come with me."
The Wind dragon led Troy into the back passages of the Temple, where Troy found the humans he rescued from Dante's Freezer.
"Ah, Troy," Argos said as he entered. "Good to see you again."
"You too," Troy beamed, shaking the older man's hand. "I believe you and Hurricos have something to ask me."
"Indeed," Argos confirmed. "You see, at the moment, you are the only Dragon Rider in the Realms. We were wondering if you and your friend, Astral, could teach some of us your skills. You will need help in the battles to come."
Troy thought for a moment then he nodded slowly. "Yes, Argos. You're absolutely right. One Dragon Rider won't be enough against Cynder's armies. All right, I'll do it."
"Excellent," Argos cheered.
"I'll go see if Astral agrees to it," Troy said.
"And I'll get Master Ignitus," Hurricos added. "I'm sure he'll be honoured to perform the first Dragon Rider Initiation Ceremony in centuries."
Troy headed back through the Grotto to the gardens, where he found Astral shooting out perfect Bubble Snares which caught some dummies and suspended them in air, before she took them out with some air combos.
"Great job," Hydrus called out. "Now it's time to master the Water Fury. Just relax, and feel the waters rush through you like the currents of a river. See yourself as a mighty dam, holding the flood waters back. Then, when the time is right, release the water."
Astral stood in the middle of the garden as six Medium dummies appeared and charged forward. Just as they were about to reach her, she closed her eyes and focused her power and then she released a massive tidal wave at them, washing them away.
"Well done, Astral," Hydrus cheered. "You've mastered the element of Water!"
"All right," Astral cried. "That was exhilarating!"
"You can take a break for a while," Botanica said. "Then I'll help you master Plant."
"Astral, maybe you can help me," Troy said. He explained Argos' proposal to him.
"Seems fair," she said, nodding. "After all, we can't stay at the Temple all the time; the Guardians will need someone to protect it. Okay, I'll help out."
"And so will we," Hydrus called out.
"Yes," Botanica agreed. "We've been hiding out too long. It's time we helped out in the battles to come!"
With a smile, Troy led the dragons back into the Temple where they found Argos and Ignitus waiting for them with his people.
"Hurricos told me everything, young Rider," Ignitus explained. "I never thought I would see the day that the humans would join us in battle once again. Performing this ceremony would indeed be a great boost to our morale."
"I have informed them about our battles," Argos informed him. "You may speak to them now."
For a moment, Troy was nervous. He had never spoken to such a large group of people before. He turned to Astral, who smiled and nodded. Reassured by his friend, he turned back to the humans.
"Listen up," Troy began. "You've all suffered at the hands of these Apes, under the terrifying eye of Cynder. But now, you're all free and safe. However, it's not going to stay that way forever. As long as Cynder still rules, you will never be truly free. But there is still hope even in these dark times. My friend, Spyro, has been destined to restore peace to the world. Likewise, I have been chosen to reform our ancestors' ties with the dragon race. Astral and I are the first of the Dragon Riders, but alone we might not be enough. Therefore, I ask you: will you join us in the battle to bring peace back to the Realms?"
At first, the humans didn't seem assured, but one by one, a cheer began to ring out that grew and grew, until the Temple resounded with the humans' shouts.
Troy nodded proudly. "Very well. At the moment, there are three other dragons waiting to aide you in our training. Who will volunteer?"
Argos stepped forward. "I will take that offer. I may be old, but there's still some fight in me left."
"I will help too," said a young swordsman with raven-black hair.
"As will I," added a blonde-haired middle-aged woman.
"Step forward," Troy declared.
As the humans came up, Ignitus spoke to them. "Argos I already know, but tell me your names and what skills you can do."
"My name is Godric," the young man answered. "I was one of the most skilled swordsman back in my home village."
"And I am Athena," the woman then said. "I'm one of the best archers in my home."
"Well then, kneel down, please," Ignitus told them.
As they obeyed, the Fire Guardian turned to Troy. "Draw out your sword."
Troy did so, and Ignitus turned back to the humans. "Do you hereby promise to uphold the ancient laws of the Dragon Riders; to protect the innocent and vanquish the wicked, to be true to your partner come what may, to never turn your back on the enemy and to offer up your lives in the face of combat?"
"We do," the humans replied.
Troy then stepped forward and tapped the flat of his sword on each of their shoulders.
"By the powers vested in me as a Guardian of the elements," Ignitus declared, "I hereby name you Dragon Riders! Step forward and claim your weapons."
It was then that Troy noticed several pieces of human and dragon armour lying nearby. "I thought my armour was the only set."
"Yours was the most special of them all," Ignitus explained. "We kept it separate from the other pieces especially for you. The rest of the armour had been stored away in a hidden room inside your chamber."
Soon, the humans had dressed themselves. Argos had collected a heavy war axe, Godric now wielded a silver sword and Athena had armed herself with a wooden bow and a quiver of steel-tipped arrows. At the same time, the other dragons were ready in their armour. Hurricos' bracers had sharp curves, Hydrus' armour was edged with bright blue trim and Botanica wore a helmet with a sharp point that stuck outwards like a second horn.
"Now your partner will be chosen for you," Ignitus told them. He then closed his eyes and focused.
"How does one's partner get chosen?" Troy asked.
"Master Ignitus is tuning himself into the Riders' thoughts," Astral explained. "Once that's done, he'll focus onto the dragons' thoughts and determine which is the most compatible with the humans. We were already chosen by the Ancestors to be partners; that's why you didn't have the ceremony."
Just then, Ignitus' eyes flicked open. "The choice has been made. Hurricos, you will be partnered with Argos."
"Makes sense," the Wind dragon replied. "Argos trusted me the most."
"Athena, you and Hydrus will be partners."
"Very well," Athena said, stepping next to Hydrus.
"Which means, I've been partnered with Godric," Botanica finished before Ignitus could speak.
"Alright," Troy then spoke up. "Ladies and gentlemen, both dragon and human, let's begin our training."
For the next few hours, Troy and Astral trained them in the basic skills of airborne combat, using flying dummies. Hurricos used his powers to suck the wind out from under the dummies wings before Argos took them out, sometimes with help from his partner's bracers. Hydrus used his coloured armour to hide out in the clouds before swooping down and catching the dummies off guard, allowing Athena to fire her arrows. Botanica slowed down her enemies with several Razor Leaves then dived forward and speared several off them with her helmet spike while Godric fought off the rest. It took quite a while, but soon Argos, Godric and Athena mastered the skills well.
Afterwards, Astral and Botanica went back to the garden for further training. Soon, Astral had mastered Vine Crush, then she learned the skill Razor Leaves, which involved shooting sharpened leaves with such velocity that they cut down her enemies. Finally, she mastered her Plant Fury, which involved bedazzling her foes with petals and leaves before unleashing a wave of energy as powerful as a hurricane which took them out.
Then she joined Troy as they watched Spyro finish his training, which, he said afterwards, was a lot harder than his last two training sessions, because Cyril was so strict.
The next morning, Troy, Spyro, Astral and the Guardians met back at the Grotto, where Ignitus had some unusual news to tell them.
"So, what exactly are you saying, Ignitus?" Cyril asked puzzled.
"Yes," Volteer agreed. "Your hypothesis is an intriguing one, but it's perplexing to the extreme."
"Huh?" Sparx asked.
"He says he doesn't know what he's talking about," Astral translated.
"Girl, I never know what he's saying," the dragonfly sighed.
"What I'm saying is that Cynder is preparing for a terrible moment," Ignitus explained. "She's searching amongst the young dragons for someone special, and she's also harnessing the Guardians' powers into those crystals. Both are needed as a powerful key to unlock a portal… that must never be opened."
"Why, what's behind this portal?" Troy asked.
Ignitus hesitated for a moment before answering, "That doesn't concern you right now, Troy. What does concern you is going with Spyro and Astral to Munitions Forge and freeing Terrador before Cynder can create another crystal from his power."
Volteer then added, "…and before the volcano, BOOM, blows its-"
"That's enough, Volteer," Ignitus interrupted. "There's plenty of time, plenty of time…"
"Plenty of time?" Sparx cried. "What, we need more time for horrible things to happen to us? Why didn't we just stay on Tall Plains? Oh, I'm a big deal there."
"Quit complaining, Sparx," Spyro said as they set off to the balcony. "Maybe there's a tribe on Munitions Forge you can save too."
"Yeah," the dragonfly sighed, "but there's always something special about the first tribe you save, you know."
As the group left the room, Ignitus sighed and muttered to himself, "Let's hope she doesn't find you, my apprentice…"
Oooohh, mysterious. Good place to finish.
So now this is your last chance to give Astral a fourth element. Whatever you decide, I'll try and invent an OC to train her.
So, next time, Troy, Astral and Spyro travel to Munitions Forge and meet the Manweersmalls. So wait and see.