Chapter Nineteen: A Guardian's Whereabouts
It was a while that Hunter provided his explanation from the new elemental attack that the purple dragon now possess, to issues surrounding that element that dates back to the past.
Positioned on her haunches, Dawn, her attention diverted slightly from the others, grew silent for a while trying to adjust to the information that was given to her in regards to what transpired with Blade.
Terradon, having to want to know what has happened with his childhood friend, was in the same sitting position next to her with his attention also diverted slightly from the others. And after hearing the explanation, he was silent as well while the others, including Sparx, regarded their expression with the same reaction.
"So, uh…" Terradon started to speak. "Let-Let me, uh…Let's see if I'm able to catch any of this. Um, fear is a dark element?"
Hunter nodded.
"Yeah."
Then, Terradon applied his attention to the others.
"And Blade was able to wield this ability through his negative emotions?"
"Sadly, yeah."
"But if it's a dark element, how is he able to obtain it without exposure to that darkness?" Dawn asked while diverting her attention to the others. "Because you said in your explanation that this element is obtain by—"
"I know what I said." Hunter intervened. "And I wish I had an answer to that. But I don't. It's a mystery to me."
Hunter knew that was a lie by saying that and Bianca knew that too by a glance at him. He knew what was going on with Blade by theory, but kept that info to himself for the time being.
With a slight nod of comprehension, Dawn looked over to where Ember was resting while Terradon and the others noticed and followed her example.
"Well, at least we know why he did it." Terradon spoke.
With her attention still to Ember's resting form, Dawn's thoughts trailed to Blade's earlier words.
"You are all my responsibility. Your lives matter to me. And I will do whatever it takes to protect you."
Those true, inspiring words seems to uplift Dawn's spirit, but she often wonders just how much farther will Blade go to protect the ones that he cares for.
She just hopes that he doesn't go too far, because upon Hunter's words, this element is of dark origin. If not controlled properly, he'll give way to this dark power's influence.
The thought of Blade being influenced by this dark power has worried her at this point.
Yet, knowing that he was unconscious and fully capable to revive has strayed her from such worries as she diverted her attention forward shortly before she heard a groaning sound that got her attention sharply back toward the position of the resting pink dragoness, only to find that the tavern owner, Ivan, was slowly waking up a few feet away from the adult dragoness.
Instantly, Terradon went over to where the tavern owner was positioned while Dawn followed him.
When they got there, Ivan was in an upright position while groaning and massaging his forehead from the pounding migraine that intruded upon his head.
Slightly shaking his head of the migraine, Ivan opened his eyes to find Dawn and Terradon in front of him, both dragons' facial expression etched with concern for the tavern owner's well-being.
"Sir, you okay?" Terradon asked.
Ivan didn't say a word as he surveyed his surroundings shortly before noticing Hunter and the others nearby.
Not recognizing any of them, his attention diverted to Dawn and Terradon before speaking.
"Who are all of you?" He asked.
"My name is Dawn." She spoke with a smile.
"And I'm Terradon, grandson of earth guardian, Terrador." Terradon spoke with a proud smile to his face. "Perhaps you've heard of him."
Regardless of his slight migraine, Ivan spoke.
"Yes, I'm familiar with him and the other guardians. Please to make your acquaintance. My name is Ivan."
Dawn and Terradon issued curt, respectful nods.
"Please to meet you." Both dragons said.
Then, his attention went to Hunter and the others, who have approached towards his position seconds later.
"And, uh…" Ivan started to speak before Dawn intervened.
"The veteran archer here is Hunter. The other one next to him is Wind. The sorceress is Bianca, the dragonfly is Sparx." She halted herself for a second while addressing the dragonfly upon notice of the color. "And although I'm perplexed, nice color, Sparx."
"Thanks." The dragonfly replied.
"And, uh..."
Dawn trailed off for a second to divert her gaze to the resting pink dragoness positioned a few feet next to the tavern owner.
Ivan noticed and looked to the other side of his resting area to find the sleeping pink dragoness there.
"That one is my aunt Ember." Dawn resumed. "She and Bianca were the ones who got you and the others out of there."
Regarding Ember's sleeping body, Ivan diverted his attention to the others, especially Bianca and spoke.
"Thank you."
"Welcome, Ivan." Bianca spoke, with a nod and smile.
Slightly shaking his head from the migraine that appears to be coming and going every few seconds, Ivan surveyed his surroundings once more only to stop when his startled gaze came to rest on a certain purple dragon.
"Is that…?" Ivan started to ask, but halted his words and decided to see for himself.
Dawn, Terradon, and the others followed his gaze towards Blade's resting body before Ivan strained himself up and started on approach towards the purple dragon.
Slightly staggering forward and regaining himself, Ivan took a slow approach while observing the sleeping purple dragon.
"That's Blade." Dawn started. "He was the one that was speaking to you out there."
Ivan regarded her comment with a nod, yet kept his attention to Blade and resuming his observation.
Aside from the bluish coloration on the scales and silver thorns protruding all over his body, Ivan sees that this was indeed a purple dragon. But he couldn't help but feel that this dragon resembles so much of a dragon that he met years ago.
During the observation, Dawn and Terradon came to thought on another issue that took place outside.
"Uh, Ivan?" Dawn spoke as Ivan turned his attention to her. "Just a simple question, but back outside, you called him Spyro. Why?"
His gaze diverted a little to the side, Ivan was silent for a minute before answering.
"Maybe it's disorientation, but I guess this dragon reminds me of the dragon that I met years ago along with an ice dragoness I believe."
The comment practically caught Hunter and the others attention.
"Ice dragoness. You mean Glacia?" Hunter asked.
With his attention to the others, Ivan nodded.
"Yes. You know her?"
"Know her? She's part of our family." Hunter started before making a paw gesture towards Blade. "Blade is her son."
Although slightly stunned by the info, Ivan nodded.
"Oh. I see." He spoke before turning his attention back to the resting Blade. "And the father?"
"We don't know." Hunter answered rather quickly, before, upon anticipation of his reaction, calming himself down. "I mean, we know, but we just don't want to talk about it."
In silence, Ivan nodded comprehensively as Ember's bodily form was slowly stirring to an awakened state while the ordeal went unnoticed by the others.
"How, um…" Bianca started. "How did you meet Spyro and Glacia?"
With a deep sigh, Ivan spoke.
"Well, thirteen years ago, by chance or fate, they showed up at my tavern—the one I own--on the east about several miles from here in the middle of a mild, brewing sandstorm. They didn't have anything to eat or drink so I accommodated them as best as I can with drinks and shelter."
As the others listened intently, Ember, who was fully awake, listened in as well as Ivan resumed.
"A day went by from their stay when Glacia came in wondering where Spyro was. I've often wondered that if there was something wrong with him seeing that he has been quiet, distant, and somewhat cold as of late. And by cold, I mean the expression on his face. No emotion."
With the exception of Dawn and Terradon, Hunter and the others, especially Ember, had knowing expressions in their eyes upon remembering the state that Spyro was in since that horrible tragic event.
Regardless, they kept their straight posture before Ivan resumed.
"From what I was told, she eventually found him--thanks to Sophia, ancestors rest her soul--face first down in the middle of the desert and brought him back to the shelter. I helped to revive him while she stayed with him. I don't know what else happened between the two but by the following day, he entered my tavern and simply apologized for how he reacted to me. But in my opinion, it was unnecessary. I wanted to apologize to him myself for getting in the middle of something that I couldn't comprehend. But that didn't stop him from making a friendly paw shake."
Although half of the explanation has brought a smile to his face, his expression went grim upon the next piece of info that he spoke of.
"Then, our village was under attack by apes. Spyro managed to ward them off, but in the end, Glacia was captured, according to him, and he went in search for her. That was the last that I saw of both of them."
Dawn, Terradon, as well as Hunter and the others grew in silence upon the story as Ivan spoke on another issue.
"By the way, where is Spyro?" He asked.
The question itself placed the group, minus Dawn and Terradon, whose minds were left in wonder to the subject, in mournful silence as Ivan noticed.
"Is something wrong?"
"Uh…no." Hunter spoke. "It's just, um…Spyro…is no longer with us. He's dead."
Almost immediately, Ivan's expression, as well as Dawn and Terradon's, grew in sadness upon the news.
"My God, I'm sorry to hear that. How did he—" He started to question before Bianca intervened.
"Ivan, all you need to know is that he died fighting a good cause. That's all."
Seeing that the subject may be too traumatizing to hear once again, Ivan nodded and, despite his saddened state, decided to drop the issue.
"Okay. Fair enough."
No sooner that he finished his words that a soft groaning sound has caught the tavern owner and the others' attention as the sleeping form of Blade started to stir.
"He's waking up." Dawn spoke as Ember strained herself to stand on her hind legs before Hunter and Bianca quickly noticed by surprise.
"Ember, you're awake. How long—" Bianca started to question.
"Long enough to hear the story that he was telling." Ember interrupted before her worried attention diverted to Blade. "What about Blade? Is he all right?"
"He's fine, I think he's waking up. By the way, his name is Ivan."
Ember regarded the adult mole with a nod.
"Nice to meet you."
Ivan nodded in response before their attention went back to Blade.
Meanwhile, the purple dragon in question was groaning softly while his eyes fluttered opened.
His sights were blurred until they came into focus to find that many familiar, worried eyes were on him.
Then, his sights trailed to one individual that was both smiling, yet worried at the same time.
"Dawn." His voice softly spoke.
"Hey, sleepyhead, you all right? I mean...you gave me quite a scare."
"That's makes two of us, sweet cheeks." Sparx spoke, addressing Dawn while looking to Blade.
"Make that three." Terradon followed. "Dude, you all right?"
Blade shook his head a bit from the sudden dizziness.
"You good to stand?" The earth dragon questioned.
"Yeah, I-I, uh…think so."
Blade strained his body upright on all four and succeeded, but staggered a bit due to the dizziness, which resulted in Ember catching his near fall.
Blade looked to Ember.
"Thanks."
Ember provided a loving smile.
"You kidding? I should be thanking you."
Blade wanted to smile for the comment, but his frown stayed to his face upon guilt.
"But you got hurt."
Ember nodded.
"True, yet I am still alive. And, besides Bianca, I have you to thank for that."
Then, Ember provided a soft, gentle kiss to the purple dragon's right cheek while caressing the back of his head afterwards.
Blade nearly blushed upon the action, yet held his composure.
"You truly are Glacia's son."
Blade smile a bit, but the expression slowly diverted to a saddening frown upon the mention of his mother.
"Mom." He softly spoke.
Ember noticed his expression with a saddened frown of her own.
"Hey, don't you worry. You said it yourself that your mother is still alive. Right?"
Blade nodded.
"Well, then, focus on that, and not the bad things."
"I just wish I knew where they are keeping her."
With her gaze diverted downward a bit, Ember nodded slightly.
"So do I, Blade. So do I."
"Blade, I presume?" A voice spoke as Blade looked to find that it was Ivan with a grateful smile to his face.
"You presume right. You are…?"
"My name is Ivan. I own a tavern shop due east of here."
Blade nodded.
"Oh."
"And I would like to personally thank you for saving the villagers here, myself included."
With a smile, Blade nodded.
"Think nothing of it."
Then, Blade's expression came to thought of another issue as he softly sat on his haunches.
"Listen…I've been meaning to ask you. Outside, you called me by a different name: Spyro. Why?"
"Let's just say that you remind me of someone that I knew years ago."
Blade grew silent for a while, and then nodded.
"Oh, okay." He spoke, before getting on to a serious matter. "Listen, the issue outside isn't the only reason why we're here. You see, a day ago, the elder guardians have been taken against their will. We are trying to find them and get them back. I'm to assume that you know of the guardians."
Ivan nodded.
"I do."
"Okay, so my question to you is: Have you seen either one of them? Any one that came around here lately?"
Ivan diverted his attention away from Blade in thought for a while.
"Yes. I saw one during my capture."
His answer abruptly brought the attention of Terradon and the others.
"Do you recall what this guardian looks like?" Blade asked.
Ivan sighed while coming into thoughtful recollection of the event.
"I was a little disorientated at the time, but I think it may have been a green dragon."
All were in stunned silence upon the information, especially Terradon.
"Shit. That's my grandfather. He's here somewhere."
Out of fearful desperation, Terradon, to Blade's notice, directed Ivan's attention to him by use of his tail.
Ivan grew startled by the action, but kept his posture.
Terradon, upon notice of his action, eased himself of his fears at the moment.
"Okay, think back. Where were they taking him?" He asked with a calm stature.
"I think that they were heading far down east past the village where my tavern is located."
Blade nodded.
"Then that's where we're headed."
"But what about the village that they have crossed path with?" Wind asked. "What if they did the same thing there like they did here?"
Blade had time to think this over.
"Good question." He said before diverted his attention to Ivan. "How many villages do you have here?"
Ivan shook his head in uncertainty.
"My memory could be cloudy at times when it comes to directions. But I'm guessing that this village here is on the west side. There are two that are in the north and south region. Given the east that I know of, that makes it four."
Blade nodded before, while standing on all four, leaping off the cushion, and then addressed the situation with the others.
"All right, we're going to have to split up. Half goes to the villages while the other half goes with me farther down the east area."
"I'm with you, Blade." Dawn spoke, paddling to his smile.
"So am I." Sparx followed as he flew next to the purple youngling.
Blade regarded Sparx, but did a double perplexing take upon notice of the silver coloration on his small body.
The dragonfly took notice.
"What?"
"Uh…nice look."
Sparx looked to himself and nearly blushed in embarrassment having almost forgotten about the color.
"Oh, uh, heh, heh…thanks. Don't know how it happened, but thanks."
Regardless of his expression, Blade nodded.
"Oh." He spoke, before his attention went to the others. "Anyone—"
"I'm with you, Blade."
Blade looked to find that Terradon stood beside Dawn with strong determination etched on his face.
Blade issued a curt nod before facing the others again.
"Anyone else?" He asked.
No one spoke a word as Blade felt a soft paw caressing down his back.
Blade looked to find that it was Ember kneeling down to his length with a saddened expression in her eyes.
Blade noticed.
"Ember, what's wrong?"
Ember was silent for a bit.
"Blade, can I count on you to protect Dawn?" She questioned.
Blade nodded.
"Yes. But aren't you coming with us?"
Ember shook her head.
"No, because I'll be going with them to the villages. Half and half, a fair choice."
The statement was a surprise to Blade considering both he and Ember share a common value in the insurance of Dawn's safety.
Blade looked to Sparx, and then back at Ember.
"Uh, Ember, no offense to Sparx—"
"None taken, I think." Sparx spoke before Blade resumed with Ember.
"But other than the healing power of pixie dust, he can't fight. You can."
Ember nodded.
"True. But you'll need him regardless. I can cover more ground with Hunter, Wind, and Bianca."
Blade still felt uncertain about this and before he could protest any further, he felt a paw on his left forepaw.
He looked down to it before looking over to the owner of that paw to be Dawn, who presented him with a comforting smile to her face.
"It's okay, Blade." She spoke softly. "It's okay. Because it's like I said, I am willing to fight by your side regardless of the dangers that are involved."
Those words brought comfort back into Blade's bodily being as he provided a smile to his face before nodding.
"All right." He said.
Then, he looked to Ember and nodded in response.
Ember presented a loving smile before her attention went to Dawn.
"You be careful, sweetie. And stick to this one, okay?"
With a humorous snicker, Dawn nodded.
"Okay, Aunt Ember."
With the smile intact, Ember nodded and stood on her hind legs before going towards Hunter's group as Blade, though hesitant in speech upon a sudden theory to mind, spoke again on the situation.
"And listen, um…when you're done with the east region, trail to our location."
The sudden change of plan was a bit abrupt and it caught Hunter's group as well as Blade's own group by surprise.
"Wait, why?" Wind asked.
"Because if I'm right, and I hope I am, maybe there's a connection with these force fields and the crystals. We find that and destroy it, and then, other than take care of the apes and shelter the villagers, we won't have to worry about it all."
Both groups took this theory to mind for a while.
"Well, it's worth a shot." Hunter spoke, caressing his chin in thought as he looked to Blade. "You think you'll be able to find this source?"
Blade shrugged his shoulders, his wings fluttering in reaction.
"I won't know unless I try. You okay with that?"
After much thought, Hunter and the group nodded in response before Blade looked to his group.
"You guys okay with the plan?" He asked.
With a smile, Terradon nodded along with Dawn and Sparx.
"Yep."
"And are you ready for this?"
Once, again, Terradon, as well as Dawn and Sparx, nodded.
"Ready and willing." Terradon spoke.
Blade looked to Hunter's group.
"You don't have to tell us twice." Wind spoke, brandishing his crossbow.
Blade nodded before looking to Ivan, who apparently was watching the ordeal the whole time since the purple dragon's awakening.
"Well, my friend, this is where we part ways. It was a pleasure meeting you." Ivan spoke.
Blade nodded.
"Likewise. Who knows? By fate or chance, we'll meet again someday."
Ivan shrugged his shoulders.
"We might. You never know."
Blade chuckled inwardly.
"See you around, Ivan."
Ivan nodded.
"Safe journey, young Blade."
Then, with a determined mind, Blade looked and addressed the others.
"All right, guys, let's move. We got a guardian to save."
Looks like Blade and his group are on the search for Terrador while the others sought to rid the other villages of the apes and crystals littering the realm. My original intention was to have Blade awake early after the dream, but I like to get a few scenes out of the way at this point. Plus, I had an original chapter name, but I'm saving that for next chap. Anyway, until next time. Ciao!
In the next chap, Dargaul's forces sought to derail Blade's group in reaching the captive guardian; Ember seeks closure from the past.