Chapter 9

Shadow of Warfang

Solaris gazed up at the faded, ruined gates before them, the look only amplified by the setting sun. The crumbling stones around the once resplendent gates contrasted well with the otherwise well-constructed Warfang behind them.

She was surprised by how well–concealed the underground gate was. It was situated in the south-western corner of the city – a relatively abandoned sector, as it only contained jail cells lined up in a row adjacent to the weapon mills and stoneworks. The rest of the abandoned cityscape was dull, neglected and infested with moss and other strangle plants, though there was little movement from animals anywhere. The journey was quick, but so quiet and eerie that even Volteer remained silent while gliding down with her.

They both carried saddlebags strapped to their backs – mostly writing materials including charcoal and thick paper, along with some leatherbark sheets for general notes. Several large, round bags were strapped to Volteer's flank so as to not damage any writings they would be making during their expedition. They didn't bother bringing food, as what little they would need could be found fresh, even if it was just small rodents like bats and mice. Volteer was particularly amused that Solaris would come in useful for frying their food; she offered no comment upon it.

'How do we get these open?' Solaris finally spoke up.

'The old-fashioned way, I'm afraid.'

Volteer took the lead and paused right in front of the gate, furrowing his yellow brow uncomfortably. 'It just occurred to me that... we may not be able to get in this way, if the Shadows have moved the crimson keys from their positions. Troublesome little creatures.'

Solaris' eyes quickly focused on a large hole in the stone wall, up to their right. 'Can't you get through that hole?'

Volteer shook his head. 'Not without deep, long wounds from those jagged rocks. You shouldn't have trouble, though.'

Solaris narrowed her eyes doubtfully. 'I'm not going in there alone. That's suicide.'

Volteer nodded reluctantly. '...Yes. Well, help me with the gate, then.'

Together, they pushed the gate open enough for them to slip through. Solaris checked the insides for handles, lest they be trapped inside. Thankfully, there were large metal beams inside that served the purpose, and they let the gate swing shut as slowly as it opened. Solaris couldn't help but feel apprehensive as being trapped underground, since she'd never been closed in before. Volteer didn't seem to notice, as he immediately began nosing the floor for any clues to where they should start.

'Solaris, do me a favour and light any torches you see. We cannot find what we're looking for without proper illumination.'

She took a moment to unfreeze herself and spotted a row of torches only just visible from the daylight outside. She blew a quick puff of fire to light the area up, and made her way to the left stone path and lit a string of torches. Apart from the clutter of stone pots and urns along the way, she couldn't yet see what Volteer was so excited about. Volteer was probing the walls behind her, trying to find any runes at all.

'Volteer, explain something to me.'

He paused momentarily to look at her. 'Hm? What is it?'

'What do you expect to find down here?' she asked. 'You've been so busy talking to yourself that I don't truly know what this place is or what it represents.' She lowered her head as she recalled her time in the Lorekeeper's Tower. 'I know this was a massive training ground for your dragon Ancestors, and that Malefor was trained here... given that big plaque on the wall.'

Their eyes were drawn to a stone carving, in great detail of a purple dragon resembling Malefor. Volteer's expression fell a little, as the hopes of the Ancestors were depicted in this carving: of a champion of dragons who would make his mark on the world. And he did – just not the way they wanted. The way anybody wanted.

'I wonder if Spyro will look like that; and be as powerful.'

Volteer couldn't help but frown down at her. 'Solaris... you shouldn't speak so lightly of this.'

'Why?' she questioned firmly. 'Isn't a weak purple dragon a pointless endeavour?'

Endeavour? What does she mean?

'What are you talking about, my dear? The purple dragon is a prophecy; not an endeavour.'

Solaris frowned in confusion. 'That's not the way our people tell it. We pass down tales of the purple dragon being a deliberate amalgamation of strong bloodlines of all types of dragons, so as to use all elements and bring balance to the dragon race.'

Volteer couldn't believe what he was hearing, even as intriguing as the tales sounded. 'I don't believe I've read anything about such things... do you believe them, Solaris?'

'They are tales; nothing more. But whether or not the purple dragon is deliberate, they need to be strong in order to protect other dragons. It seems Malefor was a failure.'

Balance...

Solaris nodded to herself affirmatively. 'Volteer, if you would be so kind, remind me to read up on your so-called "prophecy" when we get back to Warfang. I still have much to learn, it seems.'

Volteer sullenly continued to study the plaque, before he snapped back to his senses. While Solaris continued lighting torches ahead, he poked around Malefor's depiction for runes or writings. There were a few distinct urns in the corner of the stone walls, marked by gold rims on their lids. From the crumbling debris coming out from their depths, he guessed that any scrolls inside were long since decayed or destroyed.

Still, something about the urns made him carefully unpack each one; laying it on its side and using the light to see if anything inside survived. He almost gasped with delight when the thinnest urn contained a bound scroll in relatively good condition. He quickly unpacked a flexible metal tube and sealed it inside, fighting his desire to immediately unroll it as it would likely crumble.

He was about to leave the area when another flame by Solaris illuminated the floor and markings caught his eye. There were only a few, but they were large and deliberately carved into the floor. Great care had been taken, but they were jagged and deep as if they wanted to enforce the message too much. Out of the several runes, only one was complete.

SCUM.

Volteer's previous enthusiasm once again dissipated, as the message sent chills down his spine. While he questioned who wrote this message about who, he quickly guessed. From the position it was carved, it looked like a dragon had scratched the message after examining the plaque of Malefor just above. But was it an Ancestor cursing Malefor? Or the other way around?

'Volteer!'

Solaris was waiting at the end of another stone junction, extending to the left into the darkness. Solaris glared at him uncomfortably, shooting weary glances ahead. 'Are you done over there? I don't want you to get lost staring blankly into space. How would I explain to the other Guardians?'

He managed to grin a little as he strode away, wary that they were being watched – like Malefor himself was still haunting the place.

Spyro slowly woke to a golden light flashing before his eyelids. As he opened them and yawned, he became quite alert as he spotted Sparx amongst the backdrop of the Skavengers' supply barge. He quickly looked around, and was relieved to see that the sun hadn't yet risen completely, and that Cynder and Talon were still around. Talon was still perched on the crate he was before.

'Sparx?' Spyro whispered. 'What's wrong? We haven't been discovered, have we?'

Sparx shook his head quickly. 'No, but... look up.'

He did, and flinched. Right above them, hanging from the ceiling, was a huge, bright-yellow bug creature. It looked somewhat like a crab, but with the long body of a scorpion. And it was just sitting there, and the lack of distinct eyes or jaws made it difficult to know whether it intended on attacking them or not. From their distance, Spyro guessed it was larger than one of the Skavenger soldiers, and almost as long as he was.

Spyro could see why Sparx was creeped out. It was moving just enough for them to know that it was alive. It didn't have obvious pincers either. He hoped it was harmless, as they couldn't afford to fight the creature now while the rest of the ship could be alerted to their presence.

Talon didn't seem at all bothered by it, despite Sparx's direct protests.

'Hey you! Bird guy! Do something! You probably eat these things, right?' He waved his hands in front of the avian's firm gaze. 'Helloooooo!'

'Sparx, keep it down!' Spyro hissed, as Cynder began to stir.

'What's up with those two?' she murmured as she yawned.

'They're just arguing over what to do with that giant crab up there.' Spyro explained shortly.

Cynder raised her head slightly, and her tired eyes widened. 'Um. Yeah, that's creepy.'

'Hey, don't ignore me! Stup – Ow!'

Spyro focused on Talon, trying to get a reaction from him like the night before. After a few moments, he got a vague idea of the bird's thoughts.

'Uh... Sparx? I think that crab's harmless.'

Sparx stopped buzzing around Talon to zoom back to Spyro, folding his arms suspiciously. 'How would you know? Why don't you go up and ask, huh?'

A soft thud drew their eyes to the deck, where two large shell pieces now lay. It looked like a clam or oyster; probably large enough for either of them to eat. But the shell was picked clean of any meat. They looked back up to the crab, which began making soft clicking noises, before slowly crawling away and up through one of the cannon ports.

Spyro smiled to himself. 'See, Sparx? They only eat seafood.'

His brother eyed him flatly. 'Says you. You're not a tiny insect.'

They fell silent as they heard footsteps and low growls from the level above them, along with a few yelps of surprise.

'Ah! Not one of those lim' crabs ag'n...'

'Zip't! We're suppos'd to be watchin' for dem ghosts.'

'But won't Snotty get mad?'

''Bout what?'

'Not cuttin' this thing to ribbons.'

'Seems kinda wasteful, if yer ask me...can we eat it?'

'Yeuch, yer barkin' up the wrong tree dere. Dat skin's hard as wood! No way we can cook't.'

'All we be need'n is a fire. Roast the thing good, sprinkle some sea salt...'

The two began arguing for a few moments, before one growled in annoyance.

'Ya idiots! It be gone awready.'

Spyro glanced at his companions nervously. 'We should move.'

Without another word, they crept along silently, with Talon swooping from perch to perch behind them, as they made their way towards the waste shaft. Cynder listened for footsteps, and the moment they disappeared, she took the lead flying in a spiral motion up through the shaft. The morning sun was beginning to rise, its deep orange rays piercing the hull and lighting up the opening above them.

Cynder and Spyro grasped the edge of the wooden rim, Cynder peeking out first before they all moved cover on the ship's main deck. Several metal cages were stacked untidily before them, and they managed to remain hidden as a small troop of leaders and soldiers continued chasing the limb crab. Cynder stifled a snigger at how fast the thing was moving over the ship's surface, while the Skavengers were struggling to keep up by jumping up and down decks.

'Are they looking for us?' Spyro mused quietly. 'If they are, there might be Commanders roaming about...'

'Speaking of which...' Sparx began, '...what are we supposed to do once they catch us? Isn't the point of all this to find out what happened to their ship?'

Spyro nodded. 'We have to find the captain, and get that information out of him. And then, there's the matter of their crimes against Warfang...'

Sparx couldn't help but smirk to himself. 'Heh... sounds like we might be able to torture one of those miserable mutts.' He glanced at Cynder. 'How about it, Cynder? You can use that freaky red stuff that hurts my ears!'

Spyro was surprised at the suggestion; from what little he did know, Skavengers were canines, and thus had amplified hearing. If Cynder's Fear powers could exploit that... but he quickly shook his head.

'Sparx, if we do that, that'll just antagonize them more. I'd rather solve this peacefully...'

The dragonfly rolled his eyes. 'Whatever. It's just an option.'

Cynder looked similarly amused as she glanced up at Sparx. 'Your way sounds kind of fun, actually.'

'Cynder! Not helping.'

Spyro risked a better view by hopping onto the largest cage in front of them. Before him, the plain deck was smaller than the other warships, and there were no defence cannons or sentries. The red-white striped sails were intact and wide against the wind, but had no discernible markings. Spyro began scanning the other ships within sight to see any markings on their sails, hopefully one under a captain's banner. Cynder quickly joined him, keeping an eye out for any nearby intruders.

While most ships he could see had the same flag designs, there was one noticeably larger ship shrouded by blue fog in the distance. He could see its outline clearly despite this, and after a few moments staring at it, he recognised it as the one containing the Fellmuth Arena – the same ship he was imprisoned on for nearly a week. The only foe he truly remembered was the armour-clad troll, the Executioner, who had been his foe fully intending to kill him rather than toy with him. Thankfully, Dragon Time had kept him from ending up as his victim.

He blinked in surprise. It had only just occurred to him that he hadn't been using Dragon Time at all since he and Cynder awoke from stasis. He quickly recalled that he tried using it in the first battles in the Mountain of Malefor ruins; he couldn't use it at all. Worse, he couldn't recall the sensation, either; it was as if his powers completely changed after three years in a time crystal. He also couldn't contact the Chronicler about it; no visions or voices came to him anymore, dream or not.

'Spyro? You OK?'

Spyro nodded slowly as he was brought back to reality. Cynder eyed him worriedly, as did Sparx.

'I was just... remembering things. That ship... that's where they got you, Cynder.'

Cynder frowned solemnly as she glanced in the same direction. 'Don't remind me.' She sighed quietly. 'That's where we have to go, isn't it?'

Spyro nodded. 'That's our best chance to find the captain. None of the other ships match its size.'

Spyro noticed Talon perched overhead, taking advantage of the wooden beams extending from the mast. They made their way to the ship's bow, still creeping past many empty cages. However, he noticed slight movement within some of them; several Armadillos were trapped, their own cages buried forgotten amongst the other empty ones. They were obviously frightened; their tiny black eyes darting around despite their armoured bodies being still; meaning they had been like this for a while, most likely without food or water.

'What are you doing?' Sparx grumbled as his brother studied the creatures sympathetically.

'You remember that blue one, Sparx?' Spyro murmured sadly. 'I wanted to free it, but I wasn't strong enough.'

Cynder shook her head. 'If we smash the cages open, the whole ship will hear. What can we do for them, anyway? The Skavengers probably eat them; and the only way off is off the plank.'

'She's right,' Sparx agreed, 'We should go, Spyro.'

After he reluctantly turned away, Talon let out a startling shriek, causing them to jump. They suddenly became aware of thundering footsteps right below them, and before they could fly away, a hidden trapdoor burst open and a large clawed paw shot out and grabbed Spyro's tail. As it pulled down on him, Cynder immediately slashed at the arm, causing a yelp and the arm to recoil. They backed up as two large Commanders crept out of the new hole, eyeing them greedily.

'Heh... Snotty was wrong again!' The first Commander, who was missing the usual eyepatch, stroked his large blade. 'Dragons! An' bigger than our last haul.' He eyed Cynder, brandishing her teeth, and he glanced at his arm's claw marks. 'And feisty, too! Been a while since we had dragons in the Arena.'

'If you think you're locking me up...' Cynder began angrily, '... you're sorely mistaken.'

The second Commander eyed Spyro in shock. 'The... the purple dragon! The one that off'd Skabb! Careful, Blither...'

The Commander called Blither simply eyed him with a wide grin. 'Heh. He was the best entertainment we ev'r had, Blather! Just imagine the fun we'll have with these two now that they're not mere whelpings no more.'

Sparx, who was now hiding behind the mast, eyed Blither with disdain. Moron. The only reason Spyro stuck around in those fights the first time was to get that map. He could have tried to escape any time in those battles – what makes you think he won't now that his wings are bigger?

'Wait!' Spyro barked when the first brandished his sword. 'We're not here to fight! We just want to talk to your captain; we need information.'

Blither scowled down at the dragon. 'How you know we have a capt'n? You offed ours, remember!?'

Cynder shook her head firmly. 'We know your captain is Snotty now. Take us to him already! And you better not try anything funny, or you'll be sorry.'

The two Commanders eyed each other warily. 'They know 'bout Snotty... what should we do?' Blather asked, but Blither just waved his free arm dismissively.

'I say we bound 'em up and take 'em to Snotty! Then we can throw 'em in the Fellmuth pit with the Blundertails!'

Blather shook his head, but Blither took no notice and grinned at the dragons hungrily. 'Let me soften you up first!'

He rushed forward to swing at Cynder, but she stopped him in his tracks with a burst of Fear breath at his face. He recoiled briefly, but shut his ears quickly, and still snarling, advanced again.

Blather reluctantly unsheathed his sword to back up his comrade. Spyro moved to block his way as Cynder dodged another of Blither's blows, sending him stumbling forward through the pile of cages, causing the Armadillos to moan in distress.

Cynder eyed Blither angrily, their treatment of her years before racing back through her head. She couldn't help but smile with satisfaction at having the chance to fight back, after three years.

'Cynder, try not to – '

'I know, I know.' Cynder sighed. She couldn't kill him... but she could fight back.

'C'mere!'

She easily dodged Blither again, who bashed his head into the mast, causing the ship to sway ever so slightly. She laughed out loud; this guy was as dumb as he looked.

'You c'mere, snake!'

Blither snarled as he chased her around the mast repeatedly, not taking the hint that she could move as she pleased in circles around the blundering warrior. She began to grow bored; removing this guy without killing him was going to be a problem. She eyed the next broken post; an idea forming in her head.

'Hey, moron!' she taunted as she began backpedalling toward the post. 'I heard those tiny mongrels insulting you before! Like how your brain's smaller than theirs!'

Blither simply growled at her in response, hastening his steps.

Cynder let him chase her around the new post a few times before she leapt up onto it, and as he swiped to grab her, she launched off his arm and put him in a strangle-hold with her tail. She let out a continuous stream of Fear breath into his face, which caused his eyes to widen painfully despite trying to shut the sound out.

Sparx eyed them, strangely fascinated by the sight.

Cynder, once Blither had been disoriented enough, jumped off and circled around the post, ramming it with her side, before it cracked heavily and collapsed right on Blither's head.

Spyro and Blather, still eyeing each other warily, stared over at the sight. 'Cynder!'

'Relax.' She eyed the fallen Skavenger, knocked out cold by the blow, the post split in half. 'He'll be up and about in a few hours.'

Blather stared at her open-mouthed, but didn't seem like he was completely surprised. 'Uh... I didn't want to fight! You saw, right?'

Spyro nodded. 'I know. We don't want more trouble than necessary... Blather. So please, can you take us to Snotty?'

Blather still looked confused as to what to do, scratching his head as he thought it over. 'Snotty sent use here on orders to destroy the intruders... but he doesn't know that the intruders are dragons... but he'll be mad if he does want them dead... and then he'll make me walk the plank...' He shuddered.

The dragons examined him in confusion. Was he really that scared of the captain?

While they stood there, they were interrupted again by scuttling and shuffling. Then, the limb crab from before edged over the deck, ignoring the dragons and Skavengers as it crawled towards the aft. From the trapdoor, a whole platoon of leaders and soldiers emerged, and stared blankly at the scene before them.

'Dragons! Get'm!'

'Urgh!'

Cynder groaned heavily as they quickly backed up against the edge of the ship. With nowhere to go, and no way to fight without killing against a whole platoon, she and Spyro dove off the edge, Sparx speeding forward in an attempt to keep up. As several leaders aimed their muskets up at them, Talon slammed into the back of their heads, beating them with his claws for a moment before taking off after them.

Cynder couldn't help but glare at Spyro's back as he took the lead towards the Arena ship. 'Is there any way to talk sense with these guys?'

Volteer and Solaris had made quite a lot of progress over the next hours. With Volteer's energy, especially, they combed the entire left wall until they reached a dead end, resting at a square platform marked with several Fear columns nearby, which they ignored. Though they'd only recovered several scrolls, even this amount excited Volteer to no end. Solaris doubted whether they'd be able to decipher anything, as any runes she found were meaningless without greater context. Several cut words meant nothing unless the sentence is sufficiently filled in. On the platform they now stood on, Volteer was examining a stone tablet covered by moss and dirt; he'd only found it when Solaris noticed the corner poking out as she lit the nearest torch. She now sat impatiently, as she thought she heard footsteps under the stone platform and inside the walls. She couldn't shake the feeling they would have company soon.

'Well?' she called stiffly, still looking around. 'Is this one incomprehensible like the others?'

Volteer didn't immediately answer. 'Hm... no... but this is... hm.. and if that...'

Solaris groaned to herself. How could he not feel the skittering sounds all around him? He must get lost in his work. Bad timing...

Another minute passed, and Solaris was beginning to fidget.

'Are you done yet? Can we not take a charcoal copy on a scroll and move on? We've been here too long...'

'Relax, my dear. We'll have to sleep at least one night down here.'

Solaris just stared at him. What? Is he serious?

'What about the Shadows? What if they attack us?'

Volteer continued probing the tablet. 'That's why we take turns on watch.' He muttered to himself for a few more moments, then nodded to do as she suggested; laying a thin sheet of paper rather than leatherbark, and with some difficulty managed to scrape charcoal over it and the tablet to make a text copy. As he finished, wrapping the scroll and turning to her, she eyed him expectantly. 'Well? What was so important that you went silent for a while?'

'Training techniques!' Volteer blurted happily. 'The foremost discovery is that the Ancestors used conduit mechanisms to power their training dummies, meaning any teachers wouldn't necessarily need to be present for training, and that students could use them to train themselves at their leisure!'

Solaris' brow rose in surprise; something like that would be quite useful to a dragon like her, not to mention the other students currently under Volteer's care.

'How do they work?'

Volteer glanced around as he continued talking, not being able to keep his face still. 'Different conduits were used for each element. For electricity, a special metal construct was used, stuck in the middle of a training ground, and if enough electric energy was projected into it, nearby dummies would automatically activate and fight any moving objects not one of them in their vicinity. They would also automatically deactivate once their magical energy storage was spent. If we could find even one...!'

'What about the other elements?' Solaris asked hopefully. 'Like fire, for example?'

Volteer's demeanour fell a little. 'Well... the tablet didn't mention the specific materials required for the other elements, unfortunately. This will take some thought... fire conduit, hmm...' As he gazed upwards in thought, he sighed heavily. 'Ignitus... were you here to help...'

'Ignitus?' Solaris repeated curiously. 'Was he an old friend?'

'Yes... lost to the war, for Spyro and Cynder's sake.'

When he didn't say more – something uncharacteristic of him, Solaris nodded respectfully. 'I see... My condolences.' She tried to think of what could be used to store fire energy, as this "Ignitus" must have been the previous fire guardian.

Metal conducts electricity, apparently... what conducts fire? Metal as well, but if exposed to too much heat, it would melt, and wouldn't be a stable conduit for training...around the volcano, what materials did we ever find? After one eruption, we found some crystals left exposed, surviving the lava flow over it...diamond?

'Volteer? Would carbon crystals... such as diamond... absorb heat as a conduit?'

The electric Guardian simply stared at her. 'Why, I never...! How did you think of that? I never would have guessed...' He smiled with approval. 'We'll have to take it up with Mason when we return. He would know of how to do such a thing.'

Solaris couldn't help but feel somewhat satisfied with herself. If she could help the other dragons train and get stronger, then she'd already have improved the lives of these dragons – something the other magma dragons wouldn't have cared about. And that satisfied her greatly.

Then they both froze; a light chuckle echoed through the floor, followed by many more behind it. The sound of scuttling gradually rose until the sound was right underneath them.

'Shadows.' Volteer spoke shortly, bracing himself. 'Prepare to defend yourself! Shadow extermination is another objective here.'

Solaris examined him for a moment, before taking a deep breath. He sounded pretty confident, so the Shadows must not be that strong. She lowered her head defensively, following the sounds to the surface. Let's see what this enemy looks like.

Out of the indent from which they pulled the stone tablet, a pair of glowing green eyes appeared, bobbing around unnaturally. As the creature leapt out and eyed them curiously, a skeletal form shrouded in dark magic was brought into the light. The sight unnerved her a little, but she quickly snapped out of it as a dozen or so similar creatures spilled out.

Volteer immediately loosed a chain beam that stunned half of them in their tracks, and he caught one to crush it underfoot before it recovered. He swatted the rest over the side of the platform with a wing and tail, though they quickly latched back on and climbed back up.

The rest sped toward Solaris in a line, and she spewed a stream of blue flame as the first neared her. Their screams were sudden and loud, catching her off guard, as the charred remains of bones fell before her. Those that survived faltered at the sight of fire, but regained their confidence as more Shadows gathered behind them.

There are too many!

Volteer raised his wings and beat them down suddenly in one swift motion, causing a gust of air that stunned the nearby Shadows long enough for him to take off. Just out of their reach, he began firing off bursts of electricity as they hastened to climb after him, even attempting to jump off the platform in an effort to cling onto him.

Taking the hint, Solaris swatted aside several undead in her way as she charged through them to dive off the edge. As she pulled out of her dive, she turned and aimed at the corner of the platform, where many Shadows gathered in an attempt to catch her. Gathering energy, she spat out a concentrated burst of magic, releasing a fire bomb which sent stone and Shadow flying in every direction.

'Good! Keep it up!' Volteer voiced.

With the advantage in the air, it was a simple matter of dropping whenever the Shadows got close enough to leap at them. After a while, the Shadows gave up and the few survivors retreated back into the hole from which they came. Despite the ease of the fight, both dragons felt drained at the loss of energy, and quickly sought out an energy crystal on the other side of the stone platform.

After they'd both recharged, Solaris eyed Volteer questioningly. 'How do you expect to exterminate them if they keep running away like that?'

Volteer simply shrugged. 'We can only do so much. They cannot breed, obviously, so it's only a matter of time before they're removed from here for good. Of course, that depends on how many Apes were turned into such nuisances in the first place...'

'How many do you guess were part of Malefor's army?'

Volteer shook his head solemnly. '... Thousands, at least. The battles I participated in only told me that the Apes' strategy is to overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers.'

Solaris frowned to herself, remembering the first class she had with Volteer, and her thoughts on the Guardian dragon race. 'Is that how they defeated you?'

Volteer shook his head, unsure. 'I'm... afraid I don't know. The loss of the leaders, combined with the low morale of our people at the time, proved too much for us. We... weren't strong enough, at a critical time, and our peoples payed for it.'

Solaris studied him for a moment. 'Don't let it affect you. What's important is that you learn from your mistakes.'

Volteer was silent for a moment. '...Were that so many lived long enough to learn.'

Solaris grimaced coldly. How long are they going to dwell on this? 'Focus on here and now, and how we can help future generations, Volteer. There's no point to... this.'

Volteer slowly nodded, perking his head up. 'Yes... of course, you're right. If we can find more about what happened in the past, then we can learn how to avoid it. Very well... where to next...' He began to examine the area around them. Solaris had lit most torches in the area, and he spotted a small stone platform on the outside wall below them. As his gaze ran along it, another wall of carvings shone in the flickering light.

'Ah! Another area... let's go!'

Solaris followed him without a word as they glided down, carefully finding their footing as the platform was thinner and less stable than the main level. Most of the wall was covered in vines and moss, which made it even harder to find any runes of any sort. As they went along, Volteer became increasingly excited.

'It seems this area was made by an Earth dragon, but alone... and not all at once.' He peered at the thick cubic blocks arranged side by side, irregularly spaced from the wall, as if the Earth dragon didn't bother checking their uniformity, just moving the blocks out enough to create a stable platform. Solaris also noticed strange marks on all of them: the stone's upper surface was not one colour, but many shades of grey starting and stopping irregularly. They both edged along carefully, as they didn't want to dislodge anything, lest the whole platform collapse.

'That Earth dragon did a poor job, then.' Solaris observed. 'No wonder there isn't much here. They didn't even push the blocks all the way out in one go.'

Volteer shook his head, smile never leaving his face. 'There must be a reason for this. The Ancestors' training ground had many centuries of construction time – this construct must have been made after they finished. Can't you feel it, Solaris? There is a concentrated source of energy nearby – perhaps an elemental conduit! We must find it, my dear.'

Solaris frowned, quickly trying to pinpoint the energy source. It took a moment, but she did sense something... strange. It was like an energy crystal, but didn't project its magic at all, hiding it away, like its magic was sealed from the world.

'I feel it... but I have no idea where to look.' Solaris growled. 'I can't sense anything apart from the fact it's there.'

Volteer nodded. 'That is understandable, of course – you are yet young. Though it's strange – I can tell it's of the Earth Element. Don't magma dragons have Earth powers?'

Solaris nodded impatiently. 'Yes, but I told you – I don't have those powers.'

'Ah yes. My apologies.'

Volteer stopped and turned around, prompting Solaris to duck out his way as he edged along, still searching for the seal. As they moved, Solaris tried to focus as well, but like she predicted, moving didn't change her perception of the energy source. She sighed as she followed Volteer.

They went back and forth a few times, before Volteer finally stopped on what seemed the largest part of the platform. He touched the wall with his paw repeatedly, not bothering to use his eyes to feel the energy. Then suddenly, one block lit up with the bright green sigil of the Earth Element, and he exclaimed happily.

'Yes, I've got it! Come, Solaris.'

He pressed down on the block, and the grinding of rock signalled a hidden door opening very close by. Volteer hurried forward along the platform around a corner, gesturing for Solaris to follow. 'A hidden stone vault!'

Solaris felt brief excitement flash through her as she saw Volteer's large yellow body disappear with a flick of his tail into the wall, and she hurried forward. The wall had opened, somehow with only the blocks inside sliding inwards, purely on magical energy. Energy still lingering, after so many centuries...?

'Volteer?'

She called to him, but he was simply standing in the middle of a large, closed square room, lit by a single energy crystal growing in the corner. There was almost nothing in it, except, of course, large sheets of leatherbark with lines and lines of small runes all over them. Some were even legible from where they were standing. Solaris smiled to herself; Volteer was dumbstruck with joy.

'We found–'

She gave his tail a sharp tug, growling a warning. 'Quiet! Those Shadows are still out there. You want them to destroy these writings?'

Volteer, wide-eyed, shook his head silently, which visibly took some effort on his part. He inhaled and exhaled a few times. 'Yes, yes, calm down... Must save them...'

Solaris waited until he stopped trembling with excitement, before she began to inspect the first sheet. She read the first few lines, and her jaw dropped.

'Volteer, this is... someone's personal accounts...'

'A primary source...?' Volteer echoed in disbelief. 'This is incredible! Far more valuable than even a conduit! This could reveal much about the Ancestors and their methods of training. This room... could be a secret hideaway for one of the Ancestral Earth dragons!'

Together, they gently pried one leatherbark sheet from the vertical pile and managed to lay it flat on the floor. Despite its age, this leatherbark was still flexible enough not to crumble from their touch. As they stood side by side, they were both eager to read through, as most runes were clear and legible, and those that were not were simply filled in with too much dust, and could be cleaned out if they got them back to Warfang. This first one had enough text for them to read it, and understand its contents. The writing itself seemed untidy, and larger than necessary – almost reminding them of Cynder's learning to write.

It has been... days, and I've never seen something... grand. Mother and ... are so proud that I was chosen. A Paragon, named... the first dragons. This must be because I caused a small fire, ... being an Earth dragon. Father was ... mad, but that all seems forgiven now. I miss them... they tell me once my training... complete, I can see them again, but our people's future comes first. That ... my main reason for trying so hard. The... are so strange, so ... alien. Yet I can sense they ... my abilities, as they train me faster than any other. They ... speak of the war, but I don't want to hear about suffering and death. I need to ... if I want to see Mother and Father again.

Solaris blinked in surprise. Someone that could use Fire and Earth? And they chose him to be a "Paragon"? Maybe Magma dragons were once part of the Guardian race...

'Volteer, is this a magma dragon?' Solaris voiced. 'Perhaps the first?'

Volteer shrugged, still containing his excitement. 'I am unsure, but it's a possibility! It all depends on when your people seceded from ours, and whether that was before or after the construction of this room...'

The sheet before them now finished, they gently slid it to the other side of the room. Volteer combed through the others, rolling up those that were too covered in dust, until he found another that they could read sufficiently. He lay it down, and they began reading. This time, the writing was clean, and made full use of all the available space, with more runes ingrained on the page.

Father is ... They attacked the nearby valley, swarming our people with sheer numbers. Father couldn't get away. I arrived too late. Even ... I managed to kill at least a dozen, now with my training nearing its end. I couldn't see him... he was dying when I found him, and ... poison finished the job. I managed to save a resident named Wylthera along with her extended family, but too many still died. If only ... of the wind was better. I could have ... here first. I could have saved the ... . I could have saved Father.

Those wyverns must pay for this. The Ancients still believe we have won, but they weren't there – among the corpses, among the smell of blood and destroyed land. I ... shake the feeling, like that land itself is screaming... me. What is ... is that not even my fellow Earth dragons felt the ... way. How could the Ancients be so confident? I have questioned ... repeatedly, but they answer only ... riddles. So many fellow warriors look up to them, and despite their inaction, their ineptitude on the front lines, they follow orders. Do they even care ... us? Or do they only serve ...

But... don't need to follow orders. I only ... to save as many as I can, and get ... enough to do so. Even if the ... don't understand staring into your ... dead face, I do.

Electric – I must ... it, in order to pick those creatures out of ... sky.

Solaris and Volteer both fell silent even as they finished. Electric... Wind. It must be... a purple dragon. Malefor.

They both shifted warily; suddenly they were concerned there were hidden traps in the room, or that Apes or powerful Shadows would break through the wall and attack at any moment. After they froze for several seconds, still nothing came.

'Malefor... this was his room?' Solaris questioned in disbelief. 'You'd think he'd be given a much better and larger dormitory, if he was their "Paragon" or whatever he was.'

Volteer, surprisingly, didn't smile or say anything.

'Volteer?'

He just hung his head tiredly. '...I must see if there are any more. But this is... troubling...'

'Why?'

The question was far more difficult than she posed it. Volteer sighed as he turned over what he and the Guardians knew about their Ancestors; what little there was. Once again, Ignitus knew the most, but despite Volteer's questioning of him in the past, he either didn't know their history or didn't divulge it. Just what was he hiding? If anything...

'The Ancestors... we've only ever venerated them. Respected, worshipped, even... and yet, these accounts paint them as unsympathetic rulers, using the dragon race as thralls of war.'

Solaris frowned to herself. 'There's not enough information here to confirm that. Those missing words may have twisted the real message. Not to mention Malefor himself most likely wrote these.'

'But he would have no reason to lie about this... in this hidden lair, most likely away from the Ancients' eyes, along with his trainers and fellow warriors whom he didn't get along with... Were the Ancients simply ignorant or unaware of what they were doing? And those who followed them seemed blind to this... All except Malefor...'

Solaris groaned heavily. 'You're assuming too much, Volteer. Over half of these writings we haven't even seen. Wait until we've returned to Warfang, and properly deciphered these sheets, before making assumptions about the past. This is only one viewpoint, Volteer. It's important that we try to find others in these ruins. So don't lose your head!'

Volteer couldn't help but smile to himself. The way she spoke... it reminded him of Cyril, chastising him like usual. To think, a Guardian being scolded by a foreign child...

Solaris didn't react to his smile, only waited for his answer.

'Ah... I suppose you caught me there, my dear.' He eyed the remaining sheets, before looking around the room again for other items. Then, his body suddenly sagged, and he realised he'd been knotted up throughout the entire documentation, and he groaned lightly.

'Uh... yes. I seem to have forgotten what time it is. We've been combing around for a long time... but it doesn't feel as such.' He grinned to himself. 'Time flies when you're having fun, indeed...'

Fun? Solaris shook her head in slight disbelief, but stood resolute as Volteer began to clear a space on the stone floor. Despite its age, the residual magic left over by its previous occupants gave the area an ethereal warmth; even Solaris began to feel slightly drowsy, but Volteer had been over-exerting himself in his excitement.

'I'll take the first watch then, Volteer.' As she made for the door, she glanced back at Volteer, who was already curling himself up. 'Will you be safe here?'

Volteer yawned widely before answering. 'We... we'll be better off in a hidden place like this. So long as we don't attract too much... attention. And you don't wander off.'

'Of course I won't wander off. I'm not an idiot.'

Satisfied, Volteer rested his head and closed his eyes. Solaris stood guard by the entrance, not wanting to even poke her head out for fear of being spotted. She groaned as she predicted the outcome of her turn.

If he doesn't shut up... not only will the Shadows find us... I won't get any sleep either. Feh.

Spyro, Cynder, Sparx and Talon were forced to keep their distance as all nearby ships began to bombard them with constant waves of cannonballs. After the first group of Skavengers rose a black flag, all ships within sight sent similar signals, sending the fleet into a frenzy in order to shoot them down. Using his instinctive pathfinding abilities, Sparx managed to get his three companions to a safe distance... which happened to be hovering between three ships closing in on them.

'Ugh...' Sparx tiredly led them upwards until the cannonballs could no longer reach them. But the air was thin, and Spyro, Cynder and Talon wouldn't be able to stay up here for long.

'What do we do?' Cynder wondered breathlessly. 'Now the plan is falling apart, Spyro... we somehow riled them all up without even trying.'

Spyro didn't immediately answer, but scanned the skyscape below them. The largest ship, the one he spotted on the way in, was in sight. If they could only reach the captain... he needed to at least try to talk with him.

'We should... get to the captain's ship.' He breathed. 'Then we can try and talk...'

'What, by bludgeoning his bodyguards to death?' Sparx grunted.

Spyro sighed. 'If we have to, Sparx.'

As they gave him confused glances, the purple dragon felt a little guilty. Their mission wasn't the only reason he wanted to find the captain – he felt he needed answers about the Elraith, as if he knew it was connected to Convexity. And he felt bad that Sparx and Cynder were now in danger because of him. Not to mention Talon seemingly stayed alongside them without complaint, despite the situation.

Sparx took a deep breath, surveying the closest path down towards the ship. He spotted the closest cannons on two of the battleships' aft side, contained on a large deck at the front of the ship. 'OK... follow me. This could get messy.'

Sparx sped down as fast as he could, as the three other fliers glided down steadily to match his speed. The dragonfly led them down between the lower decks of the ships as fast as he could, before ascending high again out of range of the pursuing ships. Strangely enough, the captain's ship wasn't moving, but several cannons on the main deck were pointing up at them. Sparx glanced around the deck, but it was equally full of cannons with no openings for them to approach.

'Well, that's it then.' Sparx pointed out the cannons. 'This is the closest we can get without getting face full of cannonball. Take your pick, Spyro.'

Spyro glanced around at them remorsefully. 'You... you guys don't have to come with me, you know. I can go alone, and you three can escape...'

They simply stared.

'Are you kidding me!?' Cynder exclaimed in disbelief. 'I told you that I'd stay with you! I signed on for this mission too! Don't you forget it.'

Sparx nodded at her. 'I'm coming too, Spyro. I'm not letting you leave me behind... ever again!'

Spyro smiled gratefully, and exhaled in preparation as they eyed the massive ship below them. To get to the main deck, then break through to the captain's cabin... or wherever he was. And if they took too long, reinforcements from the other ships would eventually surround them, and they would be forced to fight their way out. If such a thing happened, their mission would most likely be a failure, in any case.

'We have to try, Spyro.' Cynder seemed to read his expression. 'We can't go home empty handed.'

'Alright...' Spyro rotated his shoulders in an attempt to stretch his back muscles. 'Let's go.' He pointed at his horns, and Sparx hastily hooked himself between them, holding on for dear life. Talon crowed, as if declaring war.

They dived.

The slight mist cleared quickly as they passed through, and the cannons began to fire, though they couldn't hear the signals due to the wind in their ears. They reacted instinctively to avoid the volleys, using their previous experience with the Destroyer to guide themselves between the black projectiles. But once they were within eyesight of the cannoneers, they witnessed a strange sight.

A Skavenger the side of a leader was waving his arms and screaming at the troops on the deck, sending them all running around hastily in confusion. This only seemed to anger him more, prompting the angry canine to grab the nearest soldier by the scruff of the neck and shove him into the nearest cannon just before it fired, sending the poor pirate plummeting to his death. The troops quickly fell silent, and were standing still in a somewhat orderly manner by the time the quadruplet fliers came close to landing. That first leader waved his arms up at them, but not in a hostile manner. It seemed he wanted to talk to them, as they heard his yelling when slowed to a glide.

''Ey! Ya Skylubbers, come down 'ere, will ya? I much be needin' a word with ya.' As they hesitated, now hovering in the air, he gave a quick glance to the formed troops behind them. 'Ya don' need to worry 'bout them. My display 'dere shut 'em up good.'

'Why should we trust you?' Cynder yelled defensively. 'You'll just make them attack us when we land!'

The leader frowned, and then grinned devilishly. 'Ya want me to send 'em all overboard? It'd be a right jolly show!'

This quickly caused a unanimous shiver among the troops. Spyro quickly shook his head. 'No! We'll cooperate.'

Despite his words, the three landed at the far end of the deck, not too close to the edge, and not too close to the Skavenger. Sparx cleared his throat as he unstuck himself from Spyro's horns. 'Now what–'

'You killed your comrade.' Spyro growled loudly, to which the Leader only smirked. 'You didn't need to do that!'

The Skavenger was dressed differently than the other Leaders they'd encountered so far. While possessing the same grey fur under his armour, he wore black garments and blue-painted armour pieces on his shoulders and paws. His eyepatch was pushed back from his eyes, both beady black eyes studying the new arrivals. The canine laughed with a raspy edge. 'Heh! I'd be more grateful, if I was you. A bit o' force is all 'dese here idiots understand when goin' crazy.' He took his long rapier and stabbed it in the ground with both paws, prompting a few whimpers from the small crowd. 'A dumb pirate bein' an eckspendable pirate! They know 'dis well.'

'Dumb?' Spyro echoed, wanting to understand why this pirate was even talking instead of shooting.

'They be misint-er-pret-ing me orders! I told 'em to destroy 'dem eel ghosts if they found 'em! Well, they found ya, it seems, and thought you were the ghosts! Curse them idiots who manage to lose an eye in 'dere first year!'

Cynder sighed impatiently, as they stepped forward, tired of raising their voices to talk. 'OK, fine. You're not going to attack us. So what do you want with us? Where's the captain!?'

The canine tilted his head obliviously, before grinning widely, a crazy look in his eyes. 'Eh? And 'ere I thought you Skylubbers were all smarty!' He stepped forward with surprising speed, holding out his left hook towards Spyro. 'The name be Snotty da pirate dog! Pleased to meetcha!'