A/N: Here is the next chapter, my beta actually did this faster than last time. So that's good.


"Vaecitus is at the gates."

Empyrean saying used frighten hatchlings.

Chapter 10: "I Like a Challenge"


Glint tossed and turned in bed, he eventually felt the sun's glare breach his window and onto his eyes, causing him to shut them tighter, making wrinkles near his ridges. He then threw a pillow on top of his head and yawned. The dragon was thinking about what Aurea had told him the previous night. The concept of this...'Amourian Festival' was confusing, but the dragoness didn't really seem comfortable explaining it for some reason. He considered pushing her for answers but decided not to because someone else could explain it to him. Maybe Fynir, or Spyro, or Cynder, or Sarin, Zeth maybe too.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he heard some gentle knocking on his door. Glint groaned and tossed the blankets off before getting off the bed. He walked over to a smaller room and pulled aside a bucket of water before just dunking his head into it and out. The dragon let the water drip for a moment before drying himself with a towel. Now he felt more awake. The dragon walked over to the door and opened it.

There, he saw Cynder, whom he had least expected at this time casually leaning on the wall across the door. "Morning Cynder," the dragon greeted cheerfully.

"Morning Glint," the slim, black dragoness replied nonchalantly, looking at her claws for moment before walking up to the white dragon. "You know, I'm surprised you haven't got mauled by a crowd of dragons so far. White Seraph. Well, at least you're doing good for attending the well-being of others."

"What is this about Cynder?" Glint asked, he felt the dragoness wasn't really at the point yet.

"Well, you have no dragonesses chasing you either, like Spyro used to." She continued with a sly smirk before chuckling to herself.

"What do dragonesses have to do with me?" The dragon asked, which made Cynder frown. He is either clueless or just dense. Hopefully, the former. Otherwise, I'd tell Aurea to start hollowing out his head. Cynder thought.

"Want me to stop misleading you into pointless topics and cut straight to the point?"

"Yes. Yes please." Glint said.

"You're no fun Glint," Cynder said, frowning as she gently shoved him. "So… Have you ever wondered about… love? Or maybe having that special dragoness with you all throughout your life?"

"Love? Special dragoness?" The dragon reiterated, still lost as ever.

"Glint. I'm talking about being in love with someone not just loving someone. There is a difference. You can love your parents-" Cynder stopped herself, gazing at Glint curiously. "You love your parents right? I got the impression that you were basically an orphan."

"I am an orphan technically… I hatched…" He paused, suddenly more deep in thought. "No… there was someone, the frequent to infrequent visits… I wasn't alone as I thought…" Glint said in wonder.

Cynder seemed intrigued, "So that explains a lot more, no wonder you didn't starve to death or have harm come to you… Who do you think it was?"

"I…" the light dragon started slowly, thinking. "My… brother maybe." He saw Cynder's moment of surprise.

"You have a sibling? An older brother? What happened to him?" Cynder asked, she was very curious about this. Another light dragon... How many more are still out there?

"He… is the misguided one."

"Misguided one?"

"The dark dragon that's been lurking around. Hunting me… and Spyro." Glint said a little quickly, slightly uncomfortable talking about his older brother.

"Oh," Cynder looked down for a moment before saying, "So do you have to… kill him?" She asked, looking back up.

"Maybe not. I'm told he could be freed if I do it right. It runs the risk of death, but I'm willing to give it a shot." Glint said with smile.

"Glint, if you both die… consider the light element gone forever. And what about Aurea, you know she will be devastated right? The two of you are pretty close."

"Really? You think Aurea would be that upset if I died?" Glint asked, he knew she was getting quite close with him.

"More than upset, actually. But that brings me to my point that I was getting to earlier. Glint. Learn about love. And don't do something you'll regret. That's all I ask." Cynder said before turning, she started to walk away but turned her head back and smirked. "Catch you later Glint, don't do something you'll regret!" She said before disappearing in the shadows, leaving the white dragon thinking.

"How in the world does someone learn about an emotion such as love?" He asked himself, the dragon then craned his head closer towards the hall. His door was still open, and he could hear someone walking in the hall. Glint went out and closed the door.

"Why hello, Z'kil, a frigid morning isn't it?" Glint turned his head towards the voice and saw Lykos, who motioned towards the window with his head. Apparently, the wolf had come back from his daily meetings with the Guardians. The white dragon walked over and saw the snow. The massive amount of snow.

"Oh right… winter," he said to himself, making the wolf besides him chuckle quietly.

"So what were you and Cynder talking about? If I may ask." Lykos said, his tail sweeping the floor behind him as it wagged in a rhythm like movement.

"You heard?' Glint asked, he was amazed the wolf managed to at least hear them talking. The wolf nodded shortly after. There was a small silence before Glint brought up his question that just formed in his head. "Lykos? Can you tell me about love?"

"Love?" The silver wolf repeated with a tinge of surprise in his tone. He suddenly grinned, "Why? Did someone catch your eye, Z'kil?"

"No… I was just wondering, what's the difference between love and being in love?" The dragon said with curiosity, he wondered what Cynder was getting at.

"The difference, Glint? Well, I love my clan mates and I love my family. You could say you love someone like a brother or sister. Nevertheless, it is not the same as being in love, it is something different. Normally, being in love deals with one person. As of now, I do have a potential mate I am courting… but I'm not sure how much difference there is between my kinds ways and yours, Z'kil. Did that help?"

Glint nodded, "I think I understand. But what is courting?"

"You are so naively ignorant about essential life lessons my friend, but this is understandable coming from your background, however." The wolf stopped his talk for a moment, considering how to explain it to his white scaled draconic friend. "Courting, or rather the more laidback version, dating: is simply the action to test compatibility with a potential mate. Courting is more formal, mind you, dating is more laidback as it has less opposable restriction for both parties." Lykos watched the dragon as he nodded, he considered asking the light dragon if he was being pushed into a courtship scenario, but the wolf quickly considered against it.

"Do I have to know the difference between the two?" The white dragon asked, as the wolf just finished his thoughts.

"I would suggest it. Where is that dragoness friend of yours? Aurea. She is intelligent, perhaps she'd be willing to give you a more detailed run through of the differences."

"Well, thanks Lykos. How is the thing with the Guardians going?"

"Amicably, I assure I'd rather not bore you with the details." The wolf said, nudging the dragon beside him with a smile.

"I see. Well, thanks again Lykos. I have something to do, so I guess I will see you again soon?"

"Definitely." That was all the wolf said before his ears perked up suddenly. Glancing at Glint for a moment, the wolf quickly rushed out of the room and exited the temple without another word. The white dragon considered seeing what made him rush down so quickly, but decided against it. The glance the wolf had given him assured him nothing was wrong. So he decided against it.

"You know… if you really want to free Novac, you better start working on improving your skill with your element, dear," came the unmistakable voice of Glint's mother.

"I know." Came back Glint's reply. "Andmom? Was it really Novac who cared for me when I hatched?"

"I believe so, dear. Would you like to see?"

"Now?" Glint asked turning around, surprise laced in his voice.

The figure that was Illumielle giggled, "No. You'll get to see it later." The next thing he knew, she was gone. Sighing, Glint now had couple of options. He could always find at the library or seek out Fynir or… His thought process stopped there as he heard the sound of two dragons talking. Jeez, that many people coming through here today? Glint walked down the stairs and saw Fynir and Sarin walking together. They were talking about something, he was sure; it seemed something serious though as there was hardly any changes in expressions from both of them. They soon noticed Glint watching them, resulting in Fynir waving him over with a green cloth that he had been carrying for some reason.

"Hey Glint, want to come to the dojo with us?" He asked.

"Sure. I got nothing better to do anyways." Glint replied as he caught up with them. He looked at the cloth and glanced at Fynir and Sarin. "What is with that?"

"The cloth? I don't know." Fynir responded.

"You'll both see soon." Sarin chimed in. She blinked, "Where is that egghead friend of yours Glint?"

"Aurea?" Glint answered, causing Sarin to nod. The Light Dragon wouldn't get a, chance to respond, as the question was quickly answered when the group heard the faintly vexed voice of the dragoness from behind.

"Excuse me?" She said as they all turned around.

"You heard me, egghead." Sarin said with a slight snicker. Both of the male dragons looked at each other, silently debating whether they should stop things from escalating.

However, it seemed Aurea wasn't quick to anger. Instead, she took a breath and replied, "Sarin. From what Glint tells me, you like to have some fun with teasing and so forth. This really doesn't seem to be that, but… are trying to provoke me?"

"Maybe." The earth dragoness replied with a huff. The two stared at each other intensely.

Fynir lightly nudged Glint, whispering quietly. "Hey… maybe you should cut in. Although, I wouldn't mind if I was the topic being fought about." However, before Glint could respond, the two dragonesses both turned their heads, looking at Fynir. They had apparently heard the second part of his statement.

"What did you just say?" Sarin growled, causing Fynir to smile sheepishly as he slowly backed away. Aurea looked to Glint, who sighed as he saw her pleading silently for him to end the exchange.

"Stop this, all of you," he said, getting in the way of Sarin. The dragoness scowled at Glint for a moment before taking a breath, calming herself. Fynir looked relieved while Aurea watched with curiosity. Glint continued, "I know you and Aurea aren't off the best of starts. And Fynir says stupid things sometimes." A 'hey' was elicited as a result of this statement, coming from Fynir; it fell on deaf ears. "So can we just ignore the ugly and get back to the pretty things?"

"Sure. Sure. Just as long as I don't have to talk to book nerd over there." Sarin said sharply while Aurea had a hurt look on her features.

"Sarin…" Glint started, noticing the damage.

"Yeah, sorry." She said dismissively, waving her paw. Aurea mouthed to Glint that it was fine so he didn't bother the press, but he casted a chastising look regardless. Sarin seemed to ignore it and continued to make her way. Fynir started to follow her, while Glint and Aurea hung a bit back.

"Sorry if she hurt your feelings. Sarin is not bad though, I can assure you." Glint said to the yellow dragoness apologetically.

She glanced at the two dragons ahead, "I'm sure you're right. I just wish I knew why she's like that."

"Personality maybe?" Glint replied with a shrug. "You tagging along with us to the dojo?"

"Um, sure. Just as long as Sarin doesn't try to vehemently provoke me again." The dragoness answered slightly shyly, "After that, you remember that you have a session today, right?"

"Of course." He said with a smile before adding in, "I also now understand what you were talking about when I asked you about the Amourian Festival yesterday."

Aurea panicked a bit internally, "R-really? When?" She stammered out.

Ahead of them, Fynir said to Sarin. "Those two are a paper and rock."

"That doesn't make any sense." Sarin replied, rolling her eyes.

"Right. Bad analogy, then." He replied, before letting the silence envelope them again. He did pay attention to the two talking behind him, however.

"Lykos explained everything to me today earlier, Cynder also talked with me about that." Glint explained to Aurea, who then asked.

"Um… are you considering going then?"

"Maybe..." He replied in thought. "You?"

That made the dragoness really panic as she tried to find some way to escape the question. "The dragon I'm interested in is oblivious to how I feel. I don't know yet." She answered diplomatically.

"Aw, really? Why don't you just ask him then?" The irony in this situation would have amused Aurea greatly if this wasn't such a delicate situation for her.

"I don't have the courage." The dragoness replied meekly, avoiding eye contact. She was worried he would ask who it was. But luckily, the question never came as they soon arrived at the dojo.

"So, why did you want to come here anyways?" Fynir asked the earth dragoness.

"I want to. What else?" Sarin replied curtly, "hand me that cloth." Fynir tossed the green cloth to the dragoness. She looked at it briefly, everyone watched her, curious as to what she was going to do. And to everyone's surprise, she used it to blindfold herself, tying the cloth tightly, she smiled at herself before turning her head towards Fynir, pointing her covered eyes to face exactly where he was.

"Surprised?"

"Uh, I think everyone is." He replied as the dragoness turned her head towards the last two.

"You're seriously going to fight blindfolded?" Glint asked, tilting his head. "I didn't even know it would be possible."

"I like a challenge," Sarin simply said in response as she assumed a fighting stance as six practice dummies popped up to challenge the dragoness.

"Glint," Aurea said quietly, earning his attention. "If you must know, any dragon can fight blindfolded if they wish. Earth dragons just have an easier time with it than most. Observe." She pointed to Sarin circling the six dummies who were also doing the same to her in turn.

The dragoness seemed to be listening to every step the dummies took. The odd part was, she kept switching her gaze constantly as if she could see them. The first two dummies charged suddenly, waving their swords in a mock warcry. The dragoness' head snapped towards their direction and she immediately placed an earth wall between the two to split them up before shooting two earth missiles at them as they came from both sides; causing them to roll on the floor before destructing.

As Sarin recovered, the other four came rushing around her earth wall. The dragoness responded by placing two more earth walls at her flanks so she could funnel them into a narrow line. She soon saw them rushing through her little narrow hallway and charged an earth missile before firing once more.

It hit the lead dummy with more impact than the last missiles she had fired, causing it to hit the other dummy behind it. They both landed on the floor they destructed. The dragoness realized there was only two at the front, so that meant…

Sarin leapt forwards as a sword sliced the air where she had been moments prior. She then quickly hit one of the walls of earth, causing small bits of rock to fall out. Before the dummy could do anything else however, an earth missile hit it and caused a repeat of the last two who had failed. The moment the earth walls collapsed, silenced enveloped the room for a moment. The only sound to be heard was that of Sarin's breathing slowing down.

Suddenly, a clapping erupted from a spectator, which steadily got faster. "Phenomenal display, Sarin," said Aurea, who was the one clapping. Soon the other two joined in as Sarin stood straight and walked over to them, blindfold still on.

"Thank you, Aurea." She said with a nod and smile, which seemed to surprise everyone for a moment before they all smiled along too.

"It was an impressive display of skill, to claim otherwise would be folly." The yellow dragoness replied kindly.

"How did you do that? It's like you could see what they were doing the entire time." Fynir asked in amazement.

"If I were not an earth dragon, it would be really my sense of hearing. But since I am, along with hearing, it's the fact that I can sense even the slightest movement if I focus enough." She explained. "So...does anyone want to spar?" Sarin said a moment later, looking back and forth between the three. No one spoke up. Sarin just grinned, "Okay, I get to choose then." She placed a claw on her muzzle… "Fynir."

"Really? You choose me, the crippled one, over these two fine specimens? I can't fly!" The fire dragon protested but to no avail.

"Oh shut it you. You can't fly. And I can't see. It's fair enough."

With eyes darting between the two, Aurea said. "She's right, Fynir. If she chose Glint or I, then we could just fly and make it harder for her."

"I would like that challenge at some point, though." Sarin chimed in.

"You're not helping, Aurea." Fynir said with a groan. The dragoness just smiled innocently. "Glint? Your input?"

The white dragon scratched his head before replying earnestly. "Sorry Fynir. I have to agree with Aurea." He shrugged. The red dragon just groaned harder at this before looking at Sarin.

"Fine. Let's get this over with.' He said in a low voice,

"Great!" Exclaimed the eager, blindfolded, dragoness.

The two took their places at opposite ends of the dojo while the other two moved towards a more suitable viewing distance. They began the spar by circling each other, closing distance; it was almost like a dance. That was, until the earth dragoness shot a barrage of earth missiles before running to engage the fire dragon who leapt out of the way of the barrage, making it miss, before sprouting a torrent of fire at the dragoness, who was forced to stop and conjure a wall of earth in front of her that blocked the flames. The dragoness then punched the wall, breaking it and causing the debris to fly towards Fynir. The Fire Dragon focused on dodging the biggest chunks, not caring if the smaller ones pecked him since it seemed inevitable. Once again, the earth dragoness closed in, taking advantage of his focus that was elsewhere.

She quickly sprouted a long narrow hallway of earth between her and the dragon, catching him by surprise as well as blocking any view from outside. Sarin smirked and charged a shot of earth before firing at the fire dragon who stood still, trapped and trying to plan his movements accordingly. As the shot flew towards the dragon he leapt on the wall before starting to leap back and forth between the two walls at his side, advancing as he unleashed multiple fireballs, which the dragoness shielded herself with another wall of earth against, rendering the fireballs useless as they harmlessly hit the wall.

Fynir realized she could always do this and his element wouldn't be able to do anything, so he leapt on top of the edge of the rough rocky wall and channeled his elemental power onto his body. This formed an outline of him before he flapped his one useless wing and one good one. The outline flew towards the shield and once it made contact, obliterated it. The walls collapsed as well, causing the fire dragon to lose his footing and fall. There was a great amount of smoke from the explosion as well as more produced by the walls collapsing.

Fynir stood up quickly as he landed on the floor, he couldn't see anything, the thick smoke clouded his vision. There was a small moment of silence before out of the corner of his eye an earth missile flew towards the dragon and hit him on the shoulder, causing him to spiral backwards before hitting the floor and rolling backwards several feet. This was followed by a thunderous rumbling as a mass of earth shards made its way through the ground and toward him. The dragon scrambled quickly on his feet and jumped out of the way, making it miss as it simply hit the wall behind him.

The smoke was still present in a dense concentration, this still limited his sight to a mere few meters. When the dragon thought the dragoness had given on her elemental attacks another hail of earth missiles came his way, he dodged and dodged and dodged. However, every time he dodged one another would come his way, and the worse part was, the shots were getting more and more accurate as it seemed the dragoness was predicting his movements sharply. Fynir knew he needed a way to close in without her noticing, the problem was that she could sense every step he took, but to her disadvantage she would be blind if he stayed still. However, that meant she would rely on her hearing instead.

Oh, how the dragon wished he could fly, the match would be easier for him if he could. As the smoke finally cleared, he saw Sarin standing there calmly, sweating from her constant elemental usage, she was still in focus despite that. Nevertheless, it seemed she wasn't able to detect Fynir yet. Fynir looked around, unable to move, fearing detection. He noticed a rock and slowly reached down to grab it.

As he picked it up, the dragoness' head spun towards his direction. He froze and held his breath. For a long time she stared at his general direction before moving her head towards the other side. Fynir took advantage of this and threw the rock at that side. It made the dragoness fire a shot before she realized her mistake, but it was too late as Fynir leapt through the air with a mighty gust and pounced the dragoness. He knocked her down with great force causing her to lose her breath for a moment. Before she could do anything to force him off, she already found a tail at her throat.

"I win." Fynir said proudly, while breathing heavily. Tense from all the action, he let out a sigh. Sarin smiled and clapping was again heard from the white dragon and dragoness on the other side of the room.

"Despite being disabled, you fight well, Fynir." Sarin said.

"Thanks," Fynir replied with a grin.

"Now." She started, "Get off." The dragoness commanded cheerfully with a laugh as she pushed him off onto the floor, the dragon landed with an 'oof' and stood back a moment later. "Whew, you really made me expend a lot of my elemental energy on you, Fynir." She said, standing up as well.

"Excellent display of battle though Fynir," Aurea said, walking up to the two with Glint who smiled at them before dropping red and green gems for the pair to use, which they did thankfully. "Utilizing her sense and sound disadvantage to your own." The yellow dragoness continued.

"Thanks, Aurea. I think it would have ended earlier if I thought of it sooner."

"It certainly would have," chimed in Glint. He looked at Sarin. "So was that a challenge?"

"Whitey, I assure you it was. I enjoyed it." She responded.

"'Whitey'?" Aurea repeated looking at Glint who shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sarin calls me that, amongst other things."

"That's right, cream head." She said with a chuckle, which Glint joined in with.

"Anyways," Aurea started, "Glint, we have to go to the library."

"Oh, right. Sorry you two, we have to go." The two hurried away to the library, leaving the two dragons alone.

"That's fine Glint," Fynir said before looking at Sarin who took off her blindfold.

Her bright green eyes landed on the fire dragon. "So… back to work I assume?"

"Yep."


Aurea walked towards the library with Glint following closely next to her. On the way there, they had trivial conversations with subjects constantly changing. The snow on the ground just made it more difficult to traverse through due to its unusual increasing height; it seemed to be constantly drifting with the wind. This type of weather wasn't that common in Warfang. It normally rained around winter, with most days just being simply overcast, and certainly now snowing like it was, In Avalar, especially the plains, it would rain, but the days were normally clear and sunny there as well.

"So, a little chilly, isn't it?" Glint asked the dragoness next to him, her eyes on the ground, she was in a thought-like state that was just broken by the question he had posed.

"Yes. A bit… but an ice dragon would tell you otherwise." She replied as they reached the library entrance.

Glint opened the doors and said, "So, to continue with what I was saying earlier... I understand what you were talking about when I asked you about the Amourian Festival." The dragoness almost froze completely in her tracks as she started to head in.

"Y-you do?" She again got anxious about the current situation.

"Uh, yeah. Is there something wrong with that? Something I'm not supposed to know?" The dragon asked as he entered.

"No…" The dragoness breathed, "It's just surprising you managed to find out yourself."

"Actually, Lykos told me about some things, and there was Cynder too."

"Oh…" The dragoness murmured, unsure what to think about that. "Did Cynder tell you anything important?" Aurea asked, her topaz eyes gazing at Glint's browns.

"Well, she said to 'learn about love' and to not do something I will regret. I just wonder how she expects me to learn about love." He responded staring back at the yellow dragoness' eyes. They look… kind of pretty. He thought before he suddenly realized what he just said to himself mentally. What? Why did I think that?

"Okay… I see…" Said Aurea, nodding, "Anyways, do you want to know what the lesson is for today?"

"Yes, please." Glint replied eagerly, his tail almost wagging and his attention now purely focused on the dragoness, who smiled warmly at his eagerness.

"Would you like to take a guess?" She asked. He simply stared back. No response. "No?" The white dragon shook his head. "We are going to learn about the 'Draconic Age'' She answered, the dragoness saw the dragon open his mouth but before he could say anything she beat him to it. "Or rather review it; I knew you were going to ask." Glint began to head upstairs while Aurea checked a few things at the front desk before she followed along too.

"Why do you say 'learn' then?" Glint asked, as the dragoness reached the top floor, where they usually spent their time.

"I say it because we didn't cover everything last time. You could learn something new, it's likely."

"Oh, okay." The dragon nodded as he waited eagerly for Aurea begin. She walked over to a bookshelf and scanned the titles quickly, her eyes darting as fast as they did when she was reading a book itself. After a few moments, she took a book off the shelf and turned around to see another book on the table already.

She instantly gazed at Glint who noticed. Grinning, he said "Surprised? I bookmarked it for you since you seemed to have forgotten about it last night."

"Thanks. I really appreciate that." She replied as the light dragon beamed.

"It's the least I can do for a friend like you," Glint responded. It felt odd for him to say that all of the sudden. He did not know why, though.

"Yeah… friend…" Aurea muttered silently before setting the book on the table and going straight to the 'Table of Contents'. She was surprised she hadn't given herself away to him… yet. "So what was the time period before Malefor was hatched called?"

"The Draconic Age."

"Okay, so then, does anyone know how Malefor's egg came into existence?"

"No, there's lots of theories and speculations however."

"Good, good." The dragoness said before flipping the books pages to a specific chapter. "Now, what about the element of convexity? When did it come into existence and by who?"

"Convexity is thought to be made when Malefor first used it, so he's normally credited for the new element."

"But?"

"But nowadays, most think otherwise. Someone else had used the element before but no one knows who."

"Alright, one last review question. Who were Malefor's birth parents?"

"No one knows. Some claimed he was a product of the Ancestors, while some think he was an orphan from the start, ditched by his birth parents."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you know this stuff," Aurea said with a warm smile. Glint responded by giving her a similarly bright smile in return.

"So what now?"

"This question is before the Draconic Age, but is good to know when it started. What was the last conflict before the aforementioned war? Who were the belligerents?" I don't expect you to answer this completely right, but try your best."

"The last conflict was mainly between the two greater kingdoms of Empyrea and Lemuria—I don't know the name—but the participants were obviously, the two I just mentioned and I believe Ryhilm, Balnike and the lesser kingdom of Cissonis."

The dragoness nodded, "It's called the Lenarian War, after the Ancestor, Lenari. As for the belligerents, you forgot the Usin League consisting of Framis, Siventar and Maldoka."

"Well, it was a good first try right?" Glint said with in a laid-back tone.

"Yes it was. Now-" the dragoness stopped as she heard the door open. She looked at Glint apologetically before uttering an excuse as she headed down the stairs. She was surprised to see a wind dragon younger than her, if only by a year or two.

"Hello! You are Aurea, right? You manage the library when the Guardian Volteer is occupied?" The dragon said quickly before taking in a breath.

"Um… yes. I'm Aurea, and you know of me...how?"

"Sarin told me to ask you to find books regarding rare materials. I'm her apprentice." He said proudly, almost boastfully, with a tinge of humility oddly enough. Everything he said rung a bell.

"Zethur right? You won the contest for the Crafts and Arts last year, if I remember correctly."

The wind dragon beamed, and did a little hop. "Yep, that's me! And you were the pretty dragoness next to Guardian Volteer when Guardian Terrador was announcing the winners."

"Pretty?" She restated quietly with burning cheeks. "That was me alright." She said diffidently, shifting uncomfortably.

Zeth just grinned as the dragoness started to search for books regarding the subject Sarin had requested. He tagged along, "You know, it's surprising how much people don't know of you. I mean, being related to a guardian had to bring some attention, maybe not as much as Spyro's fame but enough to have people at least recognize you."

She answered normally; she had already expected the question beforehand. "I don't… prefer the crowds. I like being in the shadows of others."

Zeth looked at her curiously, he could understand Spyro's predicament of having many dragonesses chasing you and fans mobbing you. But, he couldn't, however, understand hers. Was it not at least nice to be recognized by others? "You weren't from here, I heard. What about where you originally came from? Did people care at all?"

Aurea took a book off the shelf and gripped it tightly, she thought deep back into her younger days. Though she wasn't exactly keen on talking about her past, the topic regarded her more joyful days of adolescence however, so it wasn't so bad. "The village cared. We were the nobles of the place basically, just due to my mother's relation to her brother, my uncle. Volteer. I was not fond of it, regardless. It made me feel abnormal, an aberration." She handed the book to Zeth, who took the book. "I'll get you a couple more, just in case." She said.

"What about the boys?"

"What about them?" The dragoness replied, glancing at him curiously.

"Wouldn't there be many dragons getting crushes on you?" The question put her into a deep thought once more, she slowed her actions as a result.

"Well. I suppose there were petty crushes by most of the boys. I mean I was constantly approached by them, but that stopped after a couple years, when it was perfectly clear I wasn't really interested in anyone at that point." The yellow dragoness broke her thoughts and handed him another book she plucked right out of the shelves. She started to head towards a new direction.

"Then what 'bout friends? Surely, you had some before getting here right?"

"Friends?" Aurea had friends in her home village; they were her friends from since she was a hatchling. Where they were now, she did not know. Her ties with her small group of friends broke after she had left for Warfang, as none of them had been able to go to the city with her. She didn't even know if they had even survived the war. The dragoness remembered everything about them, what they looked like, their personalities. "I had friends from before. They were… There was Farus, an uncommon fear dragon, amiable and polite, but sometimes he got upset over the most trivial of things. Sear, our leader really, she was always the most adventurous of us all and she normally got into fights with Farus. Raven, he was normally the most mature out of all of us. And finally there was Phenyla, the intermediary of the group, she was an artist too. I know she is still out there. I saw her works at a shop once. I never really got into contact with her, despite how easy it would probably be." The dragoness shook her head and actually realized just how lonely she was after she left. That was until Cynder and Spyro came along.

"Why don't you contact her now? Wouldn't it be nice to talk with an old friend?" Zeth asked, as the dragoness handed him one last final book.

"Won't she be mad at me? I mean, if I could have contacted her before why didn't I do so earlier? Maybe it's best to leave some things in the past…"

"I don't know, maybe you should ask someone other than me. But honestly, she won't be mad, how could the mediator be mad if she's normally the one making everyone not mad?" He said with a cheerful laugh.

"You have a point… I will consider it… Thanks Zethur."

"I prefer Zeth! And you're welcome!" The wind dragon replied with a grin as he placed the books in his bag. "Thanks for the books! I'll make sure Sarin returns them."

Aurea nodded and went over to the main desk and pulled out the checkout book. She scribbled down the names of the books onto a sheet of paper and placed it back on its original spot. She then headed back upstairs, her thoughts now filled about her original friends. When the dragoness reached the top, she was surprised to see Glint gone. There was a note on the table however, so the dragoness wasn't worried yet. She walked over and picked up the note. It read.

Aurea, I've gone to go get something. I'll be back soon, perhaps right as when you're reading this considering that you're taking a long time. A long time. A very long time…

The dragoness slightly giggled at his little antic on the paper and but stopped as she noticed the window was open. It was closed earlier, and she knew the white dragon left by the window, but he would normally close it behind him as he would leave...

She looked around and saw nothing, the dragoness thought she heard a snicker from behind but as she glanced, nothing. It was right when she turned back she was stunned to see Glint sitting there while tossing a fruit into his mouth before chewing it slowly. He looked at Aurea.

"What?"

"I—Never mind. Can I ask you something?" The dragoness said.

"Go on…"

"Do you think that I should...get in contact with one of my childhood friends?"

Glint was surprised by the question and looked at her curiously. "Sure. But I don't know anything about your old friends." Aurea stared at him, considering whether she should share the same story with Glint as she did with Zeth. The dragoness sighed and began her tale once more. At the end of it, the white dragon smiled. "Honestly, you really should. I bet your friend misses you a lot."

"You really think so?"

The dragon nodded firmly. "Of course."

"Thanks for your input. I guess I'll do so. Now… let us continue on with the lesson, shall we?" Glint immediately assumed a more attentive posture and waited for the dragoness to begin. They continued where they left off previously and the hours flew by. Before they knew it, it was sunset. "Alright, so that concludes everything today. Questions?"

The white dragon shook his head and watched as the dragoness placed the books back in their natural places. "So are you going to contact your friend now?"

"I think I will, and I know just the place to get information about her." The dragoness said as she finished tidying up the place.

"Good luck then. See you later Aurea!" Glint yelled as he was already out of the library and in the sky. Leaving the dragoness to herself. She went down to the first floor and exited the library before coming face-to-face with Volteer.

"Ah, Aurea dear, I was just about to inform you that I have resumed my duties as the librarian. You no longer need to substitute, however, knowing you, I suppose you'd like to be my assistant?" The dragoness nodded. "Excellent! How was your session with Glint today?"

"It was fine Uncle. Have I ever mentioned Glint is a good student? Always attentive and eager to learn."

"No, you have not dear… I'll be taking your word for it." Volteer then gazed at her, "are you off with an errand? It appears that you are heading somewhere."

"Actually Uncle, I was going to get in contact with an old friend." She replied, making him raise a brow.

"I see. Your mother, frankly, never mentioned your friends often. She only said that you followed them around as they went onto little adventures outside the village. I wish you luck, then. If you do get in contact with your friend, do not be afraid to introduce them to your old uncle." He said with a chuckle.

The dragoness nodded, "Right. Thank you Uncle." She said before taking off. The dragoness noticed the snow had melted a lot during the time she spent in the library. Dark clouds loomed ahead, signaling another storm on its way. She weaved through the crowded streets of Warfang towards the shop she had seen her friend's works at. Luckily, she had been to the store before as she normally ran errands for the guardians, not just for Volteer. The yellow dragoness stopped at the front of the store, and peeked at the window. It was still open. She walked up and opened the door before being instantly greeted.

"Welcome! How can I help you miss?" A mole behind the counter exclaimed with professional courtesy. He paused in the moment of recognition though. "Ah, lady Aurea. Are you running an errand for the guardians again?"

"No, not this time, Carten." She responded along with a quick shake of her head. The dragoness knew Carten while she was at a fairly young age; he actually was a family friend who moved to Warfang with her.

"Then, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit then?"

"Do you still have any works by an artist who goes by 'Phenyla'?"

"I do, her works are getting popular around the neighboring towns and villages. Let me show you." The stubby mole quickly hopped off his seat near the counter and walked over to a piece that depicted a very familiar place to Aurea, it was titled 'Of Home, Never Forgotten'. The dragoness smiled at this.

"I knew you'd like this one. Home sweet home eh?"

"Yeah," the dragoness said as images of her childhood flashed in her mind.

"Well, I can't offer it for free. But I can give you a pretty steep discount; I know how much this can mean to you."

"I'll buy it, just have it delivered to my room next night. You know where it is, Carten."

"Of course, an odd choice not to have it now. So, payment at-"

"Delivery," she finished for him.

"Alright." He said with a chuckle. "Is there anything else?"

"Is there any way I can get in contact with the artist?"

"Funny that you ask. She's here right now at Warfang, there's going to be a small section in the Warfang Art Museum featuring her works there. She'll be there as well. Or so this poster claims. He said, walking over to the counter and handing her the poster. Keep it." He said with a smile.

"Thanks you Carten. I appreciate it, really."

"You're welcome Aurea. It amazes me every time how much you've grown." The mole replied amicably with a wave as the dragoness left the store.

Aurea looked at the poster, skimming the words quickly before making her way towards the Warfang Museum, again weaving through the crowd that was slowly getting smaller as time passed and late evening approached. She arrived at the museum and looked up at it. Its marble structure lightly glistened as the last rays of the sun beamed upon it. She walked up stairs and was suddenly blocked by a guard as she reached the top.

"Halt!" The guard shouted. "The museum is closed due to the preparations of the exhibit."

"Let her in." Another voice said from behind the guard who glanced back and nodded.

"Yes sir."

"So what brings the niece of our electricity guardian Volteer here?" Said the dragon who stood behind the guard that previously blocked her path. It was merely the officer in charge.

"I just wanted to talk with one of the artists featured here." She replied, the dragon just nodded and walked back towards his post.

"Enter freely then. No one else will try to stop you once inside." He called back.

The dragoness went inside and found herself in a dimly lit museum. There was a lot of movement from deeper within, most likely the workers setting everything up. Aurea looked at the poster once more and followed its directions to the section her friend's art would be. She passed through the many galleries and eventually stopped as she saw a silver-scaled dragoness with six horns, two of the end ones curved backwards while at the same time the two next to them curved in the opposite direction forwards. The dragoness was sitting near a canvas and examining it. Her electric green-ish blue eyes slowly moved as they scanned the canvas in front of her, her tail waved impatiently, showing its long serrated tail-blade as her slightly flared wings showed her imperial blue membranes, which also indicated her underbelly color was the same.

The dragoness seemed unaware of Aurea's presence and so she began her slow walk, each step filled with unease as she drew nearer and nearer. Her mind was swarming with many thoughts of the possible things that could happen next. It all ceased, as the dragoness was merely a meter or two away from her old friend.

"H-hello Phenyla." She squeaked out.

The wind dragoness in front of her instantly whirled around, her face slowly creased into the emotion of surprise intermixed with joy. Her green-blue eyes flashed with recognition as her wings flared out before she suddenly threw her arms around the yellow dragoness who yelped in surprise of the sudden contact.

"Aurea!" She cried in elation, "It's been such a long time! A little over a decade if I'm not mistaken." Phenyla said before releasing her old time friend.

"Y-you remember me? And you're... not angry at me?" Aurea said in a small tone, eyes down.

"Of course I remember!" She replied, looking the dragoness up and down while grinning widely. "It's hard to forget someone with such distinct features as yours. And no, I'm not angry at all, how could I, the one normally breaking up fights between Sear and Farus, be angry?"

Aurea regained her composure, and gave her a small smile. "I'm glad then. I was worried you would be...I haven't even bothered to even contact you, or anyone else for that matter."

"Never mind that. How are you? What have you been up to lately? And better yet, how much have you changed?"

The yellow dragoness slightly recoiled at the bombard of question but answered them. "I'm doing fine Phenyla, I've been spending my life at the temple for the majority of my time living here. And what do you mean how much have I changed?"

"So you're still the same quiet, nerdy, bookworm, that I used to know?" Phenyla said in a teasing manner with a raised eye.

"Maybe not as quiet as before… but I'm still the same." Aurea replied with a quiet giggle.

"Good to know, then! There is so much we have to talk about! You know, we should definitely hang out again!" The wind dragoness replied, her voice dripping with the elation of seeing her old friend. "I've been thinking about moving into Warfang but I'm not sure if the city life is for me. What do you think?" She finished as she craned her head slightly.

Aurea took her words into thought before replying slowly. "You can always stay at the temple. It is relatively peaceful there. Where do you live currently?"

"A little unheard of village called Erera."

"I see, well… It is really up to you. And if you want to meet somewhere, I would suggest the library at the temple. I'm normally there."

Phenyla grinned knowingly. "Of course you're at a library Aurea, they were like sanctuaries for you! Oh! And since you live at the temple then that means you know Spyro and Cynder right?"

The yellow dragoness nodded.

"Wow. It must be nice knowing our two heroes…" She said as a moment of silence between the two settled in.

It was soon broken by Aurea, who asked, "How are the others? What happened when I left Rinil?"

"You mean Sear, Raven, and Farus? Well, after you left we stuck together even stronger because everyone was quite upset at your departure. However, after the war, we all kind of split, I mean, we kept contact, but we really don't see each other all that much anymore."

"Oh. Do they still remember me?"

"Well…" the dragoness started, pausing for a moment, "Sure. They might not recognize you on first sight like I did, though."

"That's fine. I am more worried about their reactions than if they recognize me or not." She stated, worry lacing her voice.

"Don't worry about it! If I'm there, surely nothing will happen." Phenyla then looked up at a clock in the room, seeing the time, she looked at Aurea. "You should go, it's getting late and I still have some things to do. I'll see you tomorrow. It was nice catching up with you Aurea."

The yellow dragoness nodded in agreement, and said her goodbye as well before exiting the building and returning to the temple.


Glint laid in bed, unable to sleep, his eyes stared at the ceiling above before fixating themselves on the window. He was waiting for his mother. It wasn't long before he heard a voice in his head. Sleep child, then you'll see. The dragon closed his eyes for a moment. And that was all he needed to do before he suddenly found himself in a vision.

A lone egg stood amongst the piles of grass and moss, the egg itself was still. There was only the sound of the wind, howling as time simply passed. Suddenly, wingbeats were heard as someone drew closer. Which was then followed by the soft landing of a dragon, the low clanking of armor followed every step as the dragon came into view. Revealing his torn and tarnished armor that contrasted greatly with his dirty white scales. The dragon saw the egg and walked over to it slowly, he gently touched it.

"Still not out yet, huh?" Said the dragon who was definitely Glint's brother, Novac. He paused for a moment as the egg slightly stirred. "Ah, I take that back then…" He said with a light chuckle as the egg stirred more and more frequently. The dragon stood back as he heard a hiss, a snake coiled itself around the dragon's leg and dropped a dead rat.

The dragon picked it up. "Well, it's better than nothing." He said, looking at the egg, which a cracked as a muzzle came out into view first. "Thank you Psamathe." He said with a nod at the snake, who simply hissed before slithering elsewhere. Novac took off his armor, starting with his cracked helmet, he tossed the pieces to the ground while more and more of the hatchling's body came out of the egg. Once finally free, it took a moment to gain its senses before looking at Novac. It opened its mouth and out came a yawn. "Well. What to call you?" The light dragon mused, "Or perhaps you should make your own name, brother." He concluded moving towards the little hatchling before nuzzling him, which made him come closer to Novac's leg and hug it firmly, his little, short wings wrapped around like a coat. He looked up and opened his mouth again. Novac expected a yawn but was surprised as his instincts took action and made him pull his head towards the side as a very faint, glint, of a beam of light shot out and hit the cave ceiling, little pebbles fell down onto Novac. He was surprised for a moment, but looked down at his brother again, who chirped happily.

"Glint. Perhaps that will be your name, when the time comes. Ultimately, it will be your choice to choose a name for yourself. It's not mine." He said to his brother who stared back dumbly. Novac dropped the rat that Psamathe killed in front of his brother, who promptly ate it with one snap.

"I've got a limited amount of time. Then I'll have to leave…" He laid down on the floor, his brother walked even closer and snuggled in next to him. "But for my last days here… I'll spend them with my only family left." Novac said in a somber tone, glancing at his already fast asleep brother, "Please, have the strength to survive on your own without guidance brother. There is no one else after me… Ancestors… grant him that strength…"

The vision shattered and Glint was thrown back into reality. He looked around and considered what he saw. Eventually, the dragon narrowed his eyes. "I must save my brother. It is a debt that I have to repay." He said to himself. The dragon started to consider what he thought was the ultimate task. As he relaxed, the dragon found himself falling deeper and deeper into sleep before finally losing himself in the mindless abyss.


A shaded dragon stood outside Warfang, the distant city's outline was still very prominent despite the darkness. The cloudless sky above was dancing with many stars, as the beautiful, vibrant colors of the night and the moons brought a would be sense of serene peace. If it were not for ominous actions about to take place. The dragon had spent time preparing for this, and in a few hours… It would begin.

The guilty will be punished.


A/N: Well. It'll be a while before the next one comes, considering I barely started on it and school is making it harder to actually find time to write the next chapter.

if you want a (really) rough estimation of when Illuminate will be done. I'd say in a couple more chapters or so (around five-ish)... I say 'rough' because I'm not too sure myself.

Anyways... Thanks to my beta reader Unit Omicron for making me feel ashamed (XD) of my knowledge of the English language.