Chapter 11: The Beginning
Just as Ember shouted the warning, twin cannon shots hit a building behind her. The cannon turrets on the wall responded by firing back at the enemy. Now, the war has begun. The cannons on Warfang's ramparts opened up at the enemy and rained down a hail of cannon fire, which the opposition army did likewise. The warriors were ordered not to attack unless the enemies try to scale the walls.
"Compared to the first siege, this one really started off with a bang," Cyril joked as a bullet shot flew past his head.
The turret beside him exploded into steaming bits and the controller of the turret was flung out and landed in front of Cyril.
"They're damn good shooters," the mole said weakly.
"Crap, this isn't good," a rebel soldier said as he fired a rifle shot towards the enemy ranks.
Cyril saw exactly why he said that. Ladders were being pushed up the wall and the undead began climbing it. Morpheus went to the closest ladder and knocked it down with a kick. The entire ladder fell along with the undead on it to the ground with a loud crunch, crushing them to death permanently.
Cyril pushed two ladders and cut one grappling hook rope to prevent the ramparts from being overrun.
"Don't let them overrun the ramparts or all will be lost!" Cyril commanded.
One dragon soldier got impaled in the chest by a grappling hook, killing it instantly. The hook retracted and pulled the dead dragon soldier off the ramparts and into the sea of undead warriors. Flame blew a stream of fire down the ramparts and burned the undead soldiers as they advanced towards Warfang's gates. The other dragons followed and soon, the grounds below became a massive fire field. From far, the enemy tanks and artilleries continued their barrage of cannon fire from long range. The rampart turrets can't reach them and the artilleries they have were decimated.
"Spyro, halt their armored units and put them out of action!" Terrador yelled out to Spyro.
Spyro nodded and he beckoned Cynder to follow. Ass they flew in the skies, rifle shots filled the air and threatened to hit them. The two dragons were engaged by undead riders but they easily repelled them and bashed them to the ground with flurries of combos and power attacks. The enemy tanks and artilleries were situated on a hill and their cannon barrels flashed and belched smoke and fire. Rifle soldiers shot at Spyro and Cynder but the two evaded the shots deftly. When they touched down, they started whacking the tanks. Their claw attacks can't hurt the tanks so they resorted to breath attacks. Spyro's fire breaths worked well in melting the tank armor while Cynder's powerful wind breath blew away the light artilleries.
"Get those two! They're attacking our tanks!" someone yelled.
Spyro turned and saw a group of undead warriors heading for them, this time they wore full armor and carried stave weapons. Spyro didn't manage to dodge the first pierce that came at him and a spear head hit his chest.
"Spyro!" Cynder called out!
Spyro only smiled back and burned the warrior to crisp.
"Morpheus is right. Mithril armor is stronger than I could've imagined," he said gleefully.
The handsome-looking dragon in armor then turned his attention to several other warriors. They hit Spyro with all they got but the mithril armor he wore protected him from the blows. Cynder came up and helped Spyro in fending off the enemy warriors. After dealing with the last tank and artillery piece, the two braved another storm of gunfire and returned back to Warfang.
"Thank the ancestors you're okay, Spyro. Now with their cannon attacks impeded, we should have one less problem to worry about," Terrador said.
"That doesn't mean we're out of trouble yet! The enemies are still trying to scale our walls!" Cyril said.
Suddenly, undead warriors in red armor appeared on the ramparts and glared at the defenders with menacing looks. Before Terrador could give the command to attack, the warriors in red armor leapt at the closest dragon warrior and slit their throats so quickly that they didn't even see it coming. The victims clutched their throats and fell to the ground before dying from blood loss.
"They're fast," Terrador thought.
One leapt at Terrador and attempted to slit his throat but Terrador blocked with his wing and the blade came in contact with his wing. He let out a growl of pain and blood spattered across his face. Before the undead assassin touched the ground, Terrador grabbed it by the neck and slammed him to the ground with a force equivalent to a juggernaut (large lorry) slamming into a wall. The undead became a pile of bones.
"Attack them!" Terrador ordered.
The undead warriors fought back and they were agile. Many fell dead before the undead warriors were eliminated. Suddenly, Terrador caught sight of multiple undead soldiers coming up the ramparts.
"Oh no, this was just a diversion," he said angrily to himself.
The ramparts were in danger of being overrun by the undead and they had to fall back to the streets. Many dragons were dispatched to guard the temple and incubation chamber for they fear that the new brood of dragon eggs might be destroyed if they're not careful.
"Spyro, leave the holding back to us. You dragons guard whatever the hell is precious to you!" Morpheus said to Spyro.
Spyro nodded and fell back to the temple. Cyril helped out Morpheus and the human rebels to fight off the undead. Cyril was badly hurt when a ballista shot punctured his stomach and it was still lodged there. Blood flowed from it but Cyril didn't seem to care. He kept on fighting.
"Go…defend the temple…I'll hold them off!" Cyril said to Spyro and the others.
"Cyril, don't! You'll get yourself killed!" Spyro yelled.
"I'm not going down without a fight! Go now!" Cyril roared.
His ice breath was tainted with blood and he felt his body weakening. Cyril did not stop though, he kept on fighting alongside the human rebels. Spyro took one last look at Cyril before heading for the temple. One the way to the temple, they were bombarded by another wave of cannon fire. Some hit the temple and threatened to destroy it but thanks to the mole's sturdy construction of the temple walls, they held nicely even after being pounded multiple times. A cannon shell exploded behind Spyro and Cynder and threw them off their feet, making them hit into a wall.
"Are you two alright?" Terrador asked.
"We're a little beaten up but still fine nonetheless," Cynder said and stood up groggily.
"Good, we're almost there to the temple. Come on, don't slack!" Terrador said aloud.
Just when they reached the temple entrance after going up a flight of steps, they couldn't believe their sights. Most of the dragon warriors have been massacred and their dead bodies littered the grounds outside the temple. Some sported burn marks while others had deep wounds and pieces of them sliced off. In the middle of the temple courtyard stood a demon centaur and he was smiling evilly at the three.
"I was expecting you sooner or later…Spyro," Kharnak said with malice.
"Not you again," Spyro said in dismay.
"Yes, dragon, it's me. You think I didn't know that you've been talking with Titan before the invasion now, did you?" he asked.
"What about it? He gave me a power that will destroy you forever," Spyro threatened but Kharnak only laughed.
"How can you hurt me when my vassal is protecting me from such harms? That power of yours only work a few times so don't push it," Kharnak said.
Spyro tried the first attack but something repelled him and sent him flying backwards. Spyro skidded on the ground for a few meters before coming to a grinding halt.
"Ouch…my head hurts," Spyro mumbled.
"See what I mean? My vassal has the power over my defenses but not over me. It is because of him that I was able to fight in the mortal world. I guess Titan hadn't told you that," Kharnak smiled darkly.
"Spyro, let me deal with him," Cynder said.
"No, you can't! He's mine to deal with!" Spyro said angrily.
Terrador thought he saw Spyro's eyes turn demonic red for a while. Somehow the darkness that coursed through him must have changed to an even more powerful one. Something doesn't feel right and Terrador didn't like it.
"Cynder, let him fight," Terrador said.
The black dragoness let out a small sigh and nodded.
Kharnak stomped on the ground and sent a shockwave hurtling towards Spyro. Spyro dodged aside and charged at Kharnak. Before he could reach the centaur, he was hit by a sword and his armor shattered into millions of fragments.
"Your mithril armor maybe strong but not to the power of gods and immortals," Kharnak said while pointing his sword at Spyro.
Spyro gave a roar of anger and charged at Kharnak again, strafing left and right to throw off Kharnak's aim. He got close enough to land a slash on Kharnak but the centaur spun his sword around and hit Spyro. Spyro quickly rebounded and attacked relentlessly. He tried another Death Bringer attack but again he was repelled. He felt more dark powers surging through him and his mind burned with hatred. Titan warned him against using too much and now something was bothering his mind, as if someone had inserted evil thoughts into him.
"Spyro, you're strong. Why fight the undefeatable when you can join them and be ruler? You were a dragon destined to change the world and you have the power to do so. Titan knew that because he did the same thing," a voice said.
Suddenly, a vision of the past appeared and Spyro saw Titan fighting the then more primitive humans. Many were slaughtered but some survived. Titan laughed evilly and burned them into charred bodies. Spyro noticed the dragon staring at him and before he attacked, the vision was gone.
"No, it's a lie…Titan would never do such things!" Spyro said loudly.
"From the First Age of Dragons to the present age, all purple dragons were destined to change the world and even the celestial god dragon has such a past. He wouldn't tell you that because he is ashamed of his actions. But still, you can see that the desire is still there. Why resist?" the voice continued.
Spyro covered his ears and shook his head. It was too much for him. Suddenly, he felt someone shaking him out of the trance and pulling him back to reality. It was Cynder and she had a sympathetic look on her face.
"Spyro, whatever goes on in your head, don't listen. Don't leave me alone," Cynder said softly and tears rolled down her cheeks.
Spyro's heart warmed and he felt like crying.
"No, I won't leave you," he said while tears began swelling up at the corner of his eyes.
They heard Kharnak laughing and he set his sword into the ground.
"How sweet. Two young dragons in love in the midst of battle. I've never seen anything so touching in my entire life," mocked the centaur and he laughed again.
"You shut up," Spyro growled.
Oh well, I guess I have nothing to say at this point because my forces seem to be retreating. Well, it has been fun fighting you guys but I really must go now," Kharnak said.
He took his sword and with one mighty slash, he cut down the dragon temple and it crumbled into pieces. The dragons opened their eyes wide in horror as the dragon temple came crashing down.
"No, the dragon eggs!" Terrador yelled in horror.
"Oops, my bad," Kharnak mocked.
He suddenly grabbed Cynder by the neck and tied her up with magic chains.
"I'll need her and don't mind if I 'borrow' your girlfriend for a while. Try experiencing some loneliness for once," the centaur said and he laughed evilly before disappearing into a cloud of black smoke.
Before they disappeared, Spyro though he heard Cynder's plea for help.
"Spyro, don't leave me alone!" she cried out and her voice faded.
Spyro wanted to cry but somehow, he felt anger in him. He let out a loud roar to the heavens and called by Cynder's name so loudly that he felt even the heavens could hear him. Finally, he broke down. The battle was over within 3 hours but the loss was great. Cyril was mortally wounded and the dragon temple was destroyed. Terrador felt great loss.
"Terrador…we lost the temple," Cyril said weakly.
"Cyril, the younger generations are dead…the dragon race is in danger of going extinct," Terrador said to his dying friend.
"No, they're not dead. I…replaced them with fake eggs and the real ones are safe in my study," Cyril smiled.
He coughed out some blood and his breathing became shallow.
"Terrador, the call to the heavens has arrived. Take…care of Spyro," were his last words before Cyril closed his eyes and slipped into death's embrace. The humans bowed their heads in respect while Terrador did so as well. Spyro felt great loss at the same time as he lost yet another elder he knew for years.
That evening, Spyro looked at the sunset and recalled the events that happened earlier. Valcor came to his side and sat down beside him.
"We all lost a good friend. I understand how you feel but it won't bring him back," Valcor said sympathetically.
Spyro felt an urge to use the book of necromancy but he decided against it. It would be dangerous.
"No you don't. Not only have I lost Cyril, I've lost my loved one as well. That feeling is worse than losing Cyril," Spyro said sadly.
"Ah, the black dragoness yes? I know how much she meant to you…and I'm willing to fight alongside you to get her back. I can't stand to see our purple hero looking so moody all the time," Valcor smiled.
"You think?" Spyro snorted.
"Cross my heart Spyro, I'll fight alongside you," Valcor said.
All Spyro could think off now is the Epicenter. He wanted to go there and give the undead a piece of his mind.
"Cyril had not died in vain. He succeeded in keeping the enemy away from your duel with Kharnak. Should he have died earlier, you might have been harassed," Valcor said.
Valcor stood up and patted Spyro's back.
"Take it easy, kid," he said before leaving.
Spyro was deep in thought and his heart burned with anger. He wanted to avenge Cyril and get back Cynder. He wanted to destroy the Netherlord and Kharnak. Spyro wanted them dead and he wanted to start tomorrow.
