Dark Legacy

by Dardarax

23 years after Spyro and Cynder saved the world from destruction, peace finally reigns. The dragons have returned and all flourish beneath the rule of the Five Kings. Now it is time for the next generation to mark their place in the annals of history.

21. Calamity

Chapter 21. Calamity

By: Dardarax

Disclaimer: I, Dardarax, do not own Spyro, Cynder, Warfang, the Temple, or any other character or place that belongs to the Spyro... Do I seriously still have to do this? I mean come on! It's so old now!

Savron: Hell yes! It's one of our favourite parts!

Still a disclaimer: Fine. That belongs to the Spyro franchise. Several of my characters are featured in this chapter, their names are listed at the bottom. Also, said characters are big fat jerks, who won't feed me unless I do what they say. In addition, Savron is actually a fairy princess who... No! Not the collar! Aaaggghhhh!

Thunder cracked over the skies of Warfang as the cacophonous roar of pelting rain pounded upon the great stone city. The rain fell straight down, unwavered by even the slightest breeze. At the very center of Warfang the mighty palace of the five kings stood, its spires towering up and nearly touching the black clouds boiling in the sky. It's countless windows shone with golden torchlight, speckling it's bleak grey walls with colour.

Deep in the bowels of the palace, at the very heart of the stronghold, court was in session. The chamber was vast and cavernous with a high domed ceiling and many marble arches. The chamber was circular, with tall bleachers for the council of the realms resided along the sides of the chamber. The bleachers were packed with bodies, people from every race. Dragons, moles, felines, canines and avian, all in attendance for this momentous event. Each sat on a different level of the bleachers. The avians roosting at the top, the moles right below them, and the canines and felines mingled together in the middle. The dragons sat on the lowest levels of the bleachers, their seats lowered and cushioned so they could sit comfortably on their haunches.

At the back of the chamber, upon a large platform, five massive thrones stood. Each throne was of different design. On the far left was a small small platform itself, with a tiny staircase leading up to it. Upon the little stage an equally small mole sat, robed all in blue and bearing a metal hammer easily the size of his body. He hefted it with ease, his tiny appearance concealing his great strength.

On the other side of the stage a great perch was placed, plated all in gold with cushions wrapped around the pole that stretched out horizontally across it. There a great hawk stood, a pair of small spectacles resting on its beak, wings folded behind it's back. He browsed the book placed in front of him, flipping through the pages with its massive talons.

Two high backed thrones sat on either side of the center throne, and while the thrones were of the same shape, they were vastly different in appearance. One throne was lavishly decorated in cushions and shrouds of deep green cloth. A thickly built wolf lounged upon it, one leg draped carelessly over an arm of his throne as he picked his fangs with a claw. His pelt was an aged grey, and his one good eye gazed lazily at the ceiling.

The other throne was stark of comforts, no cushions to ease the discomfort of its hard, flat stone. However the grey stone was carved with the images of hunters and wild animals. Prowlus, the old orange feline sat ridged on his seat, eyes hard. His claws tapped the stone arm of his throne impatiently, the muscles of his muzzle twitching in irritation. The center throne was little more than an elevated slab of stone, with a massive crimson mattress sitting atop it.

Pyron was an enormous dragon, made even more so by the stiff way he lay upon his throne. He stood easily a head and a half taller than the next largest dragon in the room, his muscled body as hard and chiseled as any statue. His polished crimson scales gleamed in the bright firelight of the room, and old battle scars crisscrossed his form like a maze etched into his body. A golden cape was draped over one flank, and thick gold chains hung from his four black horns.

Pyron's yellow-orange eyes were fixed on the circular bowl carved into the center of the floor, his expression grim. There a troop of armoured guards stood behind a chained and bound red dragon, who stared solemnly at the floor. Torch's eyes never rose to meet his father's, and he made no move as the room scrutinized him in eerie silence.

Finally, the last of the council arrived, a slim grey wind dragoness. She hurried over to her spot in the bleachers, and took her seat awkwardly, looking around at her peers anxiously, before turning her gaze upon the prince.

"Cyrine, you read the charges." Pyron rumbled, shattering the quiet. Cyrine, the hawk king, cleared his throat, and started reading from the documents placed to his left.

"Ahem. Prince Torch here by has been charged with multiple cases of assault and rape, both of the first degree, blackmail and the enslavement of another being. The Guardians of the Dragon Temple declared the prosecuted guilty of all charges upon examining the victim's injuries, hearing the victim's confession to the charges, and the testimony of a witness to the acts. What does his majesty King Pyron have to say on this matter?"

Pyron looked up from Torch and at the surrounding monarchs. Prowlus looked the giant red dragon in the eye, and nodded.

"This is a dragon matter, we will have no part in it."

"Aye." The wolf agreed, swinging his leg off of the arm of his throne, and slouching back into the cushions. "He be yah son, yah deal with 'im."

"I concur." The mole piped in, gesturing his ascent with his hammer.

Pyron nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, Prowlus, Diatrax, Albiard." The dragon king murmured, nodding to each of the tree in turn. He then returned his gaze to Torch, who looked up at his father, relief flooding his features.

"Father." He spoke, forceful but not demanding. "You can't really believe these charges? It's just a hoax that Albino rat cooked up to get me in trouble. If anyone..."

"Be silent, Torch." Pyron growled, his fangs flashing in the firelight. Torch's relieved expression cracked, nervous apprehension filling his eyes. Pyron cleared his throat, and without looking away from Torch, called out in a booming voice.

"Kohl, Blaze. I know you are listening. Come over here." The dragon king's ringing voice echoed in the silence. After several heartbeats, two dark red dragons stepped out from behind a cluster of pillars, and strode purposefully towards Pyron. They were large, though Blaze, the younger of the two, was slightly bigger than Kohl. Their golden silk shrouds ruffled in their wake as they moved, and circlets of gold crowned each of their heads.

Kohl bore his fathers black horns and his stout, powerful muzzle was pursed shut in a tight line. Blaze's six, elegant golden horns gleamed in the fire light, and his beak-like muzzle, which normally hinted at a secret smile, was drawn and stiff. Neither looked towards their half brother, their vibrant green eyes held pointedly away from him.

They came to a stop beside Pyron, but did not take a seat.

"What is it father?" Kohl asked, looking to the red dragon monarch on his right. Pyron cleared his throat.

"If you were king, what would you decide, given the circumstances?" He asked, gesturing down to Torch with a paw.

All three of his sons froze. Torch stared up at his father with a mix of horror and hope, while Kohl and Blaze looked at each other with apprehension.

"Um... Well..."

"Take your time." Pyron rumbled, never taking his eyes off of Torch. Kohl and Blaze quickly glanced down at Torch, and then turned to each other and started whispering. Their discussion was interrupted when a pink dragoness from the bleaches stood up and howled at Pyron.

"NO! You cannot decide Torch's fate like this! He's your son, Pyron! Our son! There should be an investigation! A full trial! A..."

"SILENCE CHARAH!" Pyron bellowed, getting to his paws. "Be seated and be grateful I do not drag you up here on charges of illegal enterprises!" Charah flinched back at his words, and Pyron sneered down at her. "Yes, I am fully aware of what you've been doing, and it is because of your gambling rigs that this was allowed happened."

The pink dragoness slowly took her seat, eyes wide at the declaration, and cast Torch an apologetic glance.

Pyron snorted, sat back down, and turned his attention to Blaze and Kohl. "Continue, and do not let that wench distract you."

Kohl nodded, and Blaze smiled. They turned back to their discussion earnestly, and a tense quiet filled the room as everyone waited for the two to make their decision. Half a dozen minutes passed before the two brothers nodded and turned back to their father.

"Well..." Kohl began, clearing his throat, and forcibly keeping his eyes away from Torch. "Given the charges and the evidence given," Kohl looked over at Cyrine, who nodded. "we have decided that the best punishment would be..." Kohl's eyes flicked over to Torch, who gazed up at him piteously. Kohl swallowed hard, and struggled to speak.

"We decided the best punishment would be lifelong banishment from the realms." Blaze finished for his older brother, rushing the ending. Torch flinched at his brothers' decree, and tensed nervously as he waited to hear what his father had to say.

Pyron nodded solemnly, his eyes closed. "I agree entirely."

"NO!" Torch roared, eyes wild. He lurched forward, but the guards surrounding him restrained him. "You can't do this! Please father! Please!"

"Have mercy!" Charah pleaded from the stands, head in her paws, weeping. "Have mercy! He's innocent! I just know it!"

Pyron ignored the two, and continued his decree, his voice growing into a booming roar to drown the two out.

"I HEREBY BANISH YOU, TORCH, FROM WARFANG, THE TEMPLE, AND THE SURROUNDING VILLAGES AND COUTRY SIDE FOR THE REMAINDER OF YOUR LIFE. ON PAIN OF DEATH!"

Kohl and Blaze stared at their father in horror, realizing it had been their decision that had determined their half brother's fate.

"AND FURTHER MORE!" Pyron bellowed, his massive body tense as he delivered the final decree, his eyes screwed shut. "I DISOWN YOU FROM THE ROYAL FAMILY, AND STRIP YOU OF YOUR RANK AND POSSESSIONS FOR BETRAYING THE TRUST GIVEN TO OUR FAMILY BY OUR PEOPLE!"

"No no NO NO!" Torch screamed, his body shaking as he fought to get closer to Pyron, tears falling from his yellow eyes. "Father! Please don't!"

Pyron's eyes opened, and turned to Kohl and Blaze, refusing to meet Torch's gaze. "I have only two sons now." Pyron murmured, his eyes filled with distant tears. "Cast this wretch out of our kingdom, and should he ever return, end his miserable life." Pyron declared, swallowing his tears and turning his stoney eyes upon Torch.

The guards surrounded Torch, and dragged the former prince out of the chamber, kicking and screaming. The council looked on, some shocked, others hard faced as the fallen prince vanished out of the courtroom door, Charah wailing the entire time.

The massive stone doors of the chamber slammed shut, and the canine king, Diatrax, glanced over at Pyron his eye gleaming coldly.

"Ah, that be a very lenient punishment, Pyron. Normally we would have sentenced the criminal to death for such an offense."

"Even I cannot send my own child to hang." Pyron whispered hoarsely, closing his eyes, the tears finally starting to fall. "And I doubt any of you could say differently."

Diatrax grimaced, but said nothing more. Cyrine and Albiard nodded in agreement, watching the red dragon with sorrow. Prowlus looked as if he was about to argue the point, but his eyes flickered over to the bleachers. There, a young orange female cheetah stood watching the room with interest, her thin gold tiara sparkling in the torch light. Prowlus's mouth snapped shut, his eyes softening.

A low murmur of conversation rumbled under the sound of Charah's weeping. The nobles of the court eyed each other anxiously, murmuring about the event they had just witnessed. Pyron let out a long, shuddering sigh, and put his head in his forepaws.

The two red dragon princes glanced at their father, and then at each other. The dragon king looked up, and blinked his tears away, his expression sombre. He climbed off of his throne, and turned to his two remaining children.

"Come, Kohl, Blaze. Let us go and mourn the loss of a family member." The giant red turned away, into the hall that lead from his platform, and into the palace. The two brothers followed after Pyron, heads bowed in grief.

The kings watched them go, expressions grim, understanding the pain of the father who sent his son away, and knew he would never see him again.

---

The birds sang joyfully in the Temple gardens, flitting from tree to tree in the warm spring day. The sun was high in the sky, and only a handful of puffy white clouds dotted the brilliant blue sky. A soft breeze rustled the trees, swaying them in a slow, rhythmic motion.

Lyrith walked through the Temple halls, a feeling of contentment warming him. He breathed in the sweet fresh air, glad to be living the life he was living now. He passed through the crowds, moving unhindered among the students and servants. Occasionally a student would look his way, but it was never the hate filled look he was so used to. Now their gazes were filled with open respect and often admiration.

The Albino let out a long, pleasant sigh as he left the corridor and moved out into the great hall. He slipped through the mass of bodies to a wide open space, where he stopped.

"Now then," Lyrith mused, his red eyes roaming the great hall, passing over its many wonders. "where should I..." Lyrith's gaze fell upon Voltlyn and Danrah moving through the crowd towards the gardens, and he stopped, his eyes intent. They were burdened with sacks of canvas sheets, brushes, bottles and wooden tripods as they made their way out of the great hall.

Lyrith raised an eyeridge and followed after them, his curiosity piqued. They left the Temple and stepped out into a small garden off to the side of the Temple entrance. They shrugged off their sacks of paint, brushes and canvas, and started setting up a pair of tripods. Lyr moved up behind them, red eyes sparkling.

"You two painting?" He asked quizzically. Voltlyn jumped in surprise and whirled to face Lyr.

"O... oh. Hey Lyrith." She murmured, once she saw the white hided dragon.

"Yep, Voltlyn's teaching me how to paint." Danrah answered, smiling jovially.

Lyrith looked over at her curiously. "Really? Do you mind if I watch?"

"Uh... well... I guess not..." Voltlyn mumbled, glancing down at the ground anxiously, flushing slightly. Lyrith grinned and helped the two set up, placing the tripods up, and arranging the paints and brushes. Once he was done, Lyr sat down on his haunches nearby, and watched as they chose their paints and started tracing the scene.

They painted a small grove with a single tree dominating the center. A bed of blue flowers lay around the tree like a rug. Voltlyn started outlining the scene, and occasionally glanced over to Danrah, giving her tips and pointers. Sometimes, the lightning dragoness stepped over and showed the shadow dragoness how to paint a certain line or texture of the painting. Lyrith watched with interest as the canvas was gradually coloured in, the paintings slowly coming to life.

"I never realized how difficult this was." Danrah grumbled, trying for the fifth time to paint in a nice looking branch on the tree. Voltlyn glanced over to the black dragoness and grinned softly.

"It just takes time and a lot of practice." Voltlyn put her brush down and moved over to the black dragoness, eying her painting closely. "You're doing very well though. It took me a long time to get as good as you are now."

Danrah blushed and giggled in response to the compliment, her tail flicking back and forth in pleasure.

"Uh... well... you've helped me out a lot too."

Voltlyn shrugged noncommittally, and returned to her own painting. Lyrith eyed the two paintings, his red eyes burning with interest. Danrah's was fairly rough, the lines and curves sketchy and colours stark against each other. Voltlyn's was nearly flawless when compared to the scene she was painting, the colours blending together seamlessly to form the image she worked on. It seemed as if she had taken the landscape and imprinted it directly onto the canvas.

"Could I try?" Lyrith asked, sitting up and stretching fluidly. Voltlyn looked over at the Albino, a bit surprised, and then shrugged.

"I don't see why not." She murmured softly. She turned to her painting, and removed it from the tripod gently. She tacked it to a small plank of wood and leaned it up against a tree. She then picked up a fresh sheet and placed it on the tripod, using the grips to hold it in place. She backed up and nodded to Lyr, who stepped up to the tripod and selected a brush. He looked over his canvas, standing on his hind paws, and examined the scene, selecting his colours with his keen red eyes. Then he set to work, dipping his brush into the bottle of brown paint.

Danrah continued her own painting, now aided entirely by Voltlyn. She occasionally glanced over at Lyrith, curious to see how he was doing. He painted methodically, trying to emulate Voltlyn's easy brush strokes, his eyes hard and intent on his canvas, only looking away to examine his scene. After nearly a dozen minutes of painting, Danrah couldn't hold herself in anymore, and put her brush down.

"What are you painting, Lyrith?" She asked, suppressing a giggle. Lyrith frowned and glanced between his painting and the tree they were facing.

"Well... I'm painting the same thing you are..." He answered slowly, as if unsure of exactly what she was asking. Danrah snickered, and moved over to Lyr and examined his painting. Voltlyn, curious, also padded over. What she saw caused her to clamp her forepaws over her muzzle to stifle her giggles.

Lyrith's canvas was a disastrous meshing of colours.

"That's supposed to be a tree!" Danrah exclaimed, her snickers growing to wild giggles. Lyrith's frown deepened to a small pout, and he nodded.

"Yes. See, this is the tree trunk..." He motioned to the brown strip that coloured the center of his painting. "this is the leaves..." He pointed to the mess of green paint that topped the 'tree trunk'. "and this is the flowers." Lyrith gestured to the blobby blue smudge that surrounded the base of the 'tree'.

Danrah struggled to keep from laughing out right, and Voltlyn smiled weakly.

"Well... it could be a... lovely interpretive painting..."

Lyrith snorted, and the two females finally broke into peals of laughter, holding their sides as they gasped for breath between guffaws.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me what time it is?" A formal yet anxious voice inquired, cutting into the laughter and causing the three students to turn around. A thickly built deep crimson dragon stood politely on the Temple door steps. His dark brown mane framed his face and neck, with two large bat ears poking out of his fur. A cat tail swished back and forth nervously from beneath his cape, and his leathery wings twitched, as if ready for flight.

Lyrith blinked in surprise that the sight of the strange dragon, not sure what to say. Danrah wiped her tears away, and glanced up at the sky.

"Well, judging by the position of the sun, I would say roughly three... Four o'clock?"

The dragon sighed in relief, shaking his head. "That's good to hear. My caravan won't be leaving for some time." The dragon opened his eyes, and caught sight of Lyrith staring at him curiously. The dragon blinked in shock, and then grinned.

"Ah! So you must be the Albino I've heard so much about! It's good to meet you. My name is Gorgulline, the Ambassador of the feran kingdom." The feran stretched out an ink stained paw, and Lyrith took it dubiously."

"Um... Lyrith." Lyr replied blankly, unsure of what else to say when addressed so formally.

The feran nodded in approval. "The Guardians seem very proud of you, Lyrith, especially Inferna. Even Cyril has said some good things on your behalf."

"Re... really?" Lyrith muttered incredulously. Gorgulline nodded.

"That he did. Now if you don't mind, I've got to get going. As they say, on time is twenty minutes early!" Gorgulline turned, and waving his tail in farewell made his way towards the Temple gates. The three stared after him curiously, Lyr's terrible painting forgotten.

"Why haven't I seen him around before?" Lyrith asked, glancing over at the two dragonesses.

Danrah shrugged. "Nobody has seen much of him around the Temple. Even I've only seen him three time before this during the year he's stayed here. He doesn't leave his rooms much."

"Ah." Lyrith grunted. He stared after the feran ambassador for a moment, and then shrugged. The white dragon turned to his painting and took up a brush. He dipped it in a bottle of paint, prepared to get back to work.

"Here, let me help you." Voltlyn murmured, stepping up beside the Albino. She removed the canvas Lyr had been painting on, and placed a fresh sheet of canvas on the tripod. Voltlyn took up position behind Lyrith, and took his paw in her own. Then, guiding his paw, she started paining on the canvas. Lyr stood, allowing her to take control, watching as she started outlining the tree, her brush strokes slow steady, yet purposeful.

After a few minutes, Lyrith started recognizing the patterns in her brush strokes in relation to the scene, and started moving his paw on his own. Upon feeling this, Voltlyn backed down, letting the Albino regain control of his brush, occasionally twitching his paw to aid his brush strokes. Danrah stood back and watched the two, a knowing smile creasing her muzzle.

Steadily, bit by bit, Voltlyn had to adjust Lyrith's paw movements less and less as the painting started to take form. For the first time in her life, Voltlyn felt truly relaxed, standing in the Temple gardens, helping her friends with her favourite hobby. All was good. The topaz dragoness let her gaze wander around the gardens, to the trees, the flowers and the sky.

Her eyes made their way back to Lyrith, and his features jumped out at her with sudden clarity. The slimness of his body, and the slight curves of his chest, waist and hips which were so odd on a male dragon now seemed so natural on him. The scars that traced his body only seemed to amplify this, the maze of cuts accenting his muscles and shape of his body.

Voltlyn's eyes followed the scars up to Lyrith's face, and settled there. Lyr's blood red eyes gazed down at the canvas he was painting on, unwavering in their direction. His eyes were so intense that Voltlyn felt a shiver run down her spine, half convinced he could bore holes into stone with his gaze alone. His face however, was set in a calm expression, almost tranquil.

A sudden ringing of bells shattered Voltlyn's dream-like state, and she tore her eyes away to look up at the sky.

"Hm? It's dinner already?" The colourless dragon grunted, just as surprised as Voltlyn, and moved to put his brush away.

Voltlyn suddenly became acutely aware of how close they were standing. Her chest was pressed up against Lyrith's folded wings. One paw was holding his, the other resting on his shoulder and her hips a mere claw's breath away from his rump.

Voltlyn all but leapt away from the Albino, her face flushing a deep scarlet. Lyrith felt her leave, the warmth from her body vanishing with her absence. He turned and looked over to her, raising an eye ridge upon seeing her nervous blush. Voltlyn's eyes fell to the floor, and her paws shuffled anxiously.

"Wow, that's way better than the garbage you made last time." Danrah teased, grinning as she walked up to the two. "I can actually tell it's supposed to be a tree now." The shadow dragoness giggled and nudged Lyrith playfully, to diffuse any anger he might feel at the statement. "Now come on, we're going to be late for supper! We can come back for the paints and stuff later!" Danrah gestured to the Temple entrance hurriedly as she started towards the steps.

Voltlyn nodded, her blush fading and followed after Danrah, glancing quickly back at Lyrith as she went. Lyrith gazed after Voltlyn, his eyes wide. Then, he took off after them, a small smile creasing his muzzle.

---

"Alright, Savron, it's time to start your lesson." Cynder barked at the young purple seated before her, directly in the middle of the training ring. "As you know, convexity is a magic that functions similar to a drug. It grants extreme magical power while simultaneously removing one's inhibitions entirely, leaving them morally barren. What we're going to do here, is sharpen your mind and harden your moral compass, so you can control and contain convexity, allowing you to retain your morals while under its influence."

"Yeah yeah yeah, get on with it." Savron grumbled, slouching on his haunches and looking around bored.

Cynder reached forward and cuffed Savron lightly across the head.

"Ow! What was that for!" Savron hissed, rubbing at his head and glaring up at his mother angrily. Cynder returned the glare.

"That kind of attitude is not helping, Savron. It's things such as that that make it so easy for the convexity to take over. You must stay strong, this is not something to take lightly."

"In order for this to work, you'll have to stay vigilant not just in your own inner battle, but to everything around you as well." Spyro grunted, appearing from behind a curtained off section of the training grounds, and padding towards the two. "If the power of convexity were to strike at you in the middle of a battle, you must be able to control it, as well as continue fighting at the same time. Getting yourself killed while you try to contain it is useless, as is losing control because you're too busy defending yourself."

"Alright." Savron sighed, shaking his head and sitting up. "So what do I do about that? What kind of training can help me learn this skill? You aren't going to make me change, and fight it off with my willpower, right?"

Cynder snorted. "Of course not, that's a stupid idea. You're not ready to make the transition yet." Cynder sat up as well, and moved over to the curtains Spyro had come through. Spyro gestured for Savron to follow, and the three slipped into the chamber. Savron's muzzle dropped open in surprise at the sight before him.

The room was large, but low ceilinged. Wooden beams touched the stone roof, and the plank floor beneath their paws creaked and groaned. In the middle of the room, a long twisting dirtpath was set out. All along it, rolling logs, gaping pits and twirling wood dummies were placed, barring the path.

"An obstacle course!" Savron muttered, incredulously. "You're making me do an obstacle course? It's not even a very good one! Where are the stone pendulums you used on me when I was ten? Where are the dart and elemental traps?"

"All in due time." Spyro grinned, looking down at his son. "And it's not just an obstacle course you'll be doing. This test is one of three components, this is just one of them."

"And what might those other ones be?" Savron groaned, sitting down and looking at the course with dismay.

"The other two parts are a test of intelligence, and a test of will." Cynder replied, moving over to a platform overlooking the course, and glancing over it. "This course is a test of reflex and speed. They will all be done consecutively during the training."

"Basically, you'll run the course, while answering all of Cynder's questions to the best of your ability, while fending off a mental assault from me." Spyro beamed, his purple eyes gleaming evilly. "If you fail any one of these parts, you have to start the whole thing over again. Once you've mastered the course, we'll take it up a notch, change it around a bit, and add a couple more traps. Then you'll do it all over again. When you're able to go Terrador's infamous death course while doing all of this, you'll be ready to try transitioning."

Savron swallowed hard, his green eyes wide, and then nodded. "Alright... doesn't sound so bad."

"That's the spirit!" Spyro laughed, patting Savron on the back. "Well, take position."

Reluctantly Savron moved to the start of the obstacle course, and crouched, waiting for the signal. Spyro took a seat on a cushion beside Cynder, and closed his eyes. A slight glow of purple surrounded him, as he focused. After a brief moment, he opened his eyes. His pupils had vanished, swamped in a bright golden light.

"Can you hear me, Savron?" Spyro's voice echoed inside Savron's mind.

"Yes dad." Savron acknowledged, nodding towards his parents.

"Good. Now as you run the course, I'll be doing this," A sharp pain stabbed into Savron's brain, making him yelp in shock. "to you every one and a while to try and ruin your concentration. Do you remember how to block mental attacks?"

"Uh huh." Savron murmured, shaking his head to clear it off the phantom pain.

"Great. Then you can go. Just keep your wits about you and concentrate on what you're doing, you should be fine."

Savron nodded, and took off. He raced over the wood floor, and around the first bend, toward the rolling log floor.

"What's eighteen times three?" Cynder shouted, as Savron jumped onto the logs, and glided across them, his momentum rolling the logs and carrying him across.

"Uh...fifty four." Savron shouted back as he started running again. Savron felt a jab at his mind, but he formed a mental membrane around his conscious to protect himself from the attack.

Savron reached the spinning dummy's and slowed. Their wooden arms whirled about them, all at different heights, speeds and directions.

"What is the most suitable punishment for buying contraband material?" Cynder bellowed. Savron, ducked under the first of the dummy's and side stepped another.

"Depending on the materials, anywhere from..." Savron's mental guard fell as he focused on the question, and in the opening, Spyro jabbed hard into Savron's mind. Savron yelped, and jumped up, right into the whirling arms of the padded dummies. The arms battered Savron across the face and sent him crashing to the ground, moaning.

"Start again." Cynder sighed, shaking his head. Grumbling, Savon got up, and padded back to the start. Once he was in place, Cynder nodded to him, and Savron took off down the course. Immediately he felt several jabs come at him from Spyro, and Savron focused on forming the barrier around his conscious. The young purple skipped over the logs, and moved across the field towards the dummies. Savron repelled several more mental attacks, and hardened his mind shield. He distantly heard some thing in the distance, but Savron took little notice of it as he defended himself from his father. Savron ducked under the dummies' whirling limbs, and rushed through unharmed. He reached the pit and jumped onto the stepping poles. He leapt across, dancing over the wide pit easily.

He reached the other side, but something was nagging at him.

"What am I miss...?" Savron thought as he moved along the course towards the finish.

"Start again! You didn't answer any of my questions."

"Damn it!" Savron growled, stopping and stomping back to the start of the obstacle course.

Savron pelted down the course, gritting his fangs as he focused his mind on the task at hand. Four quick jabs came at him, and he nullified them as he leaped over the logs.

"Fourteen, times four, subtract seven." Cynder barked.

Savron did the calculations in his head quickly, managing to beat back the mental spike Spyro sent his way at the same time.

"Uh... Fourty nine!" Savron called back, hitting the floor at a dead run. He made it to the spinning dummies and started to skip through them.

"What's the best solution to resolving a dispute between two families waring over a space of land?" Cynder questioned. Savron focused, hardening his mental membrane against Spyro's attack, and analyzing the question.

"Depending on..."

Savron, so focused on his mental tasks, had slowed to a near stop in the middle of the group of whirling wood, and was battered to the ground.

"SHIT! FUCKING SHIT!" Savron roared as he lay beaten on the wooden floor. "How the hell am I suppose to do all three things at the same damn time! It's impossible!"

"It's not impossible, Savon, but it is extremely difficult." Cynder murmured, shaking her head as Savron got up and stormed over to the beginning, hitting the wooden beams as he went, infuriated.

"No, it is impossible! I try to focus on all three, but my mind can only focus on two of them, and the third slips through my claws like sand! I can't keep a hold of it! Why do I even have to answer these stupid questions anyway?" Savron bellowed, turning to face his parents angrily. "It's not like I'll be doing a test in the middle of a battle!"

Cynder snorted, and looked down at Savron sternly. "You need to do these questions because in battle, you need to do more than just fight off opponents. You need to think, rationalize, and solve problems while fighting. If you can't think because you're too busy defending yourself from foes, and convexity at the same time, you're bound to make mistakes. And mistakes will get you, or others killed. Now get started."

Savron sighed in defeat, couched, and took off down the track.

...

Hours trudged on as Savron ran the course again and again, each time failing in different, but equally frustrating ways. His parents often set their son up for defeat, timing their questions and strikes with the most difficult parts of the track. The young purple dragon forged on, fueled by frustrated rage, and the need to show his parents he was capable of completing their task.

Finally, Savron slumped against a wooden pillar in the middle of the track, utterly exhausted. He panted hard for breath, his green eyes hooded and his body shaking from exertion.

"I can't... go any... farther." Savron wheezed, his tongue lolling out as he heaved in deep breaths. "I must've run this course... a million times... Can I... take a break?"

Spyro looked over at Cynder, the glow in his eyes fading away.

"He's spent." The purple saviour grunted, getting up and stretching. "His body can't take much more of this kind of strain. If we push Sav any harder, he'll collapse."

Cynder shook her head and sighed. "Alright, I understand. It's important for Savron to learn how to control himself, but his well being is far more important. And besides," Cynder grinned. "it's almost dinner time, we're all starving."

Spyro laughed and nodded over to Savron. "Okay Sav, you can go and enjoy the rest of the day with your friends."

"Yes!" Savron cheered weakly, pushing himself away from the wooden beam and shakily made his way over to the exit. Cynder padded over to him as he moved, stopping him halfway across the training grounds.

"You've done well today, Sav." Cynder murmured, leaning down and hugging Savron tightly. "I'm very proud of you."

Savron flushed lightly at the gesture, and grinned. "Aw, thanks mom."

"You do know, that even though I'm hard on you, I still love you with all my heart. Right, Savron?" Cynder asked solemnly, looking her son directly in the eyes.

Savron nodded. "Of course, mom. Don't worry about it."

Cynder smiled, nuzzling Savron affectionately. "That's good. Now off you go, you must be starving."

"You have no idea." Savron chuckled, turning and shuffling over to the exit. "I'll see you later!"

"Don't forget to get up early!" Cynder called after her son as he left the chamber. "Lessons begin tomorrow! You don't want to be late!"

"Sorry mom! I can't hear you over the sound of my stomach rumbling!" Savron called back over his shoulder mischievously as he vanished around the corner.

Cynder shook her head disparagingly, a small smile creasing her muzzle. "Males." She sighed, covering her eyes with a paw.

"We can't help it, it's how we are." Spyro chuckled as he moved up beside his mate, grinning.

"Well you should try harder." Cynder teased, poking at Spyro with a claw. "All you males can think about is food, playing around and sex. With that kind of attitude, all you males come off as ignorant savages."

"What can we say," Spyro snickered, poking back at Cynder. "Ignorance is bliss. And besides, you love us savages the way we are, don't you?" Spyro tickled Cynder's flank with his claws, and she slapped him lightly over the head, giggling.

"I suppose I do have a certain fondness for you, you big oaf." Cynder gave Spyro a short nuzzle, and then backed away, smiling. "Now let's fill your barbarian stomach up with grub before you get grumpy."

Spyro grinned, and made a dopey expression, thrusting out his lower jaw and rolling his eyes to either side of his head.

"Tummy growl. Spyro want food!" He grunted, chuckling stupidly.

Cynder snickered at his expression, and slapped him across the shoulders. Spyro's face returned to normal and he joined in with her laughter.

"Alright big boy, let's go get something to eat." Cynder chuckled, turning and striding out of the chamber. "I'm starting to feel a bit peckish myself."

Spyro grinned after her as she made her way out of the room, and then followed his mate, feeling his stomach protesting it's prolonged emptiness.

Savron padded quickly down the halls, his sore legs keeping him from sprinting to the kitchens. The bell rung halfway down the hall to the kitchens, and the purple dragon sped up, hoping to get their first.

He made it, and managed to skip ahead of another student and grab the first plate. Savron piled his platter up high with food, his stomach snarling irritably at him to hurry up. The purple dragon finished pilling up pieces of poultry, and shuffled over to his table, balancing his plate on his forepaws as he walked. More students started to pour in as Savron took his seat. The purple sighed in relief as he proceeded to stuff his face, munching down on his meal.

"So how did the training go?" Igneous asked, sitting down beside Savron, placing his plate of food down on the table with a soft thump. Savron tore into his third steak, devouring it in half a dozen large chomps. He swallowed hard, and panted.

"It was... okay, I guess." Savron mumbled picking up a rack of ribs and gnawing on them savagely.

"What did you do?" The red dragon asked, curious.

Savron sighed and shook his head, swallowing so he could speak. "Maybe later, I'm dying of hunger right now."

Igneous shrugged and started on his own meal. Several minutes later, Lyrith, Voltlyn and Danrah took their seats, and each eyed Savron speculatively as he scarfed down half of his plate of food in under a minute.

"Was the training tough on you?" Danrah asked, grinning as Savron tried to figure out if he could fit both a steak, and a chicken leg into his muzzle at the same time.

"Umph, Yesh it mwash." Savron mumbled, and choked as his food went down the wrong way. Danrah clubbed Savron across the back with her paw, and the purple dragon coughed up a hunk of meat.

"Thanks." Savron wheezed, gasping for breath.

"No problem." Danrah said, grinning.

The others soon arrived, Sleet, Typhous, Zindy, Tirren. Everyone gathered up their food, and took their seats. Each questioned Savron on his training as they arrived, and Savron each gave them increasingly terse refutes.

"Seriously! Why can't all of you just drop it!" Savron grumbled as Tirren took her seat. "I'm deadbeat tired. Isn't that answer enough!"

"Alright, alright, settle down Sav." The emerald green dragoness mumbled, shaking her twisted horn head. "I'm sorry if I hit a nerve."

"Yeah, well, it's just that everyone's been asking me about my training. I don't really want to think about it at the moment." Savron sighed, putting down the last, chewed up bone from his meal, and leaned back on his cushion.

"Ican'twaitforclassestomorrow!" Zindy chirped, bouncing up and down in her pillow. "It'ssoexciting! I'llbetakingallkinds ofcoolthings! LikeDragonhistories andmagicaltheoriesand..."

Tirren sighed and reached over, clamping a paw over Zindy's muzzle to silence her. She continued her nonstop rambling, her muffled voice echoing behind Tirren's paw.

The table snickered at the sight of Zindy nodding to herself as she spoke through Tirren's paw, not noticing or caring that she couldn't be all waited for Zindy to finish before returning to their conversation.

"Well, I'm not looking forward to lessons." Savron grumbled, shaking his head irritably. "Now with the new training program mom and dad are putting me through." Savron looked around, and seeing everyone at the table holding their curiosity back, smirked. "Alright, I'll tell you. I just wanted to finish eating before you all started bombarding me with questions."

"Sowhatisit? Isitsomesupercool awesomeneatmindtraining?" Zindy spouted, quivering in excitement. "Orisitmaybethattheyuse convexityonyou andyouhavetofenditoff? IsthatisSav? Isit?"

Savron snorted. "No, it's just some lame obstacle course test thing that they make me run over and over again while honing my mind. It's all just lame bullshit, and I don't see how it'll help with my 'problem'."

"I'm sure they know what they're doing." Danrah murmured, stripping the last of the meat off of her chicken wing.

"Mom and dad aren't all knowing." Savron snorted. "And they're not infallible like so many ignorant townsfolk believe. They can make mistakes too."

"But this is something they had to go through with themselves." Danrah argued. "I doubt that... Vash! Vash over here!" Danrah abruptly sat up and started waving to the dark blue dragon who had just entered the kitchen. The cloud pattered dream drake looked over, and nodded to his sister, the spiny tendrils on his head shaking as he moved his head. Danrah sat back down, and flushed at the stares that Savron, Lyrith and the others gave her.

"Oh, sorry. Vash is my brother. Is it okay if he sits here too?" Danrah asked shyly.

Savron shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Great!" Danrah got back up and gestured Vash over. The dream dragon quickly gathered his food up, and moved over to their table. Vash stood at the table for a moment, before taking a seat beside Danrah.

"Well, like I said. This is Vash, my brother." Danrah introduced, patting Vash on the back. "Cynder brought us both to the Temple about half a year back. It's good to finally be able to meet all of you."

"Indeed." Vash said, his brown eyes scanning the dragons before him.

"Brother eh?" Savron murmured, looking Vash up and down. "You two don't look all that alike..."

"Vash was adopted." Danrah answered, smiling. "Dad liked what he saw in him, and so he took him off the streets to live with us."

"You were orphaned?" Tirren murmured, her expression distressed. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

Vash nodded, his eyes falling to the floor. "In a way, yes. There's old superstitions about Dream dragons in shadow dragon lands, ones that go back more than a century. Mom and dad were farmers, and very old fashion, so they did their best to drive me away. Beating me, making me do all the chores, and scolding me for everything I did. I finally took the hint on my fourteenth hatchday, when they 'forgot' for the third time, and took off. My sister, Falwee, followed after me, and we made our way to the city."

The faces of all those at the table were pained as Vash related his story in a deadpan voice, pausing only to eat his meal. Lyr examined Vash, his expression blank and unreadable, his paws crossed in front of his face as he leaned against the table.

"Naturally, most peasants think the same as farmers, so they didn't take kindly to a dream dragon 'polluting' their streets. We were harassed constantly, and we struggled to survive on scraps and the little money we could scrounge. We were lucky when Danrah's father came and saved us, taking us away from all of that." Vash looked over at Danrah, and smiled. "To which I will be eternally grateful for."

"Don't be silly, Vash." Danrah giggled. "He's your father now too. It's okay to address him as such."

"Right." Vash agreed, his grin showing teeth.

"Wow, Vash. I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that." Savron murmured, shaking his head. "It must have been hell."

"What kind of dragons abuse and mistreat younglings?" Igneous sighed, shaking his head regretfully. "Especially their own children?"

"Well, at least it turned out well in the end." Tirren murmured, looking over at Vash sympathetically.

Vash nodded. "At least."

"Well, anyway, I'm Savron." The purple dragon said, reaching out a paw towards Vash. The dream dragon took it, and shook the purple's paw firmly. Savron went through the motions of introducing his friends, and Vash shook each one's paw in turn.

"... And this is Lyrith." Savron finished, gesturing to the Albino. Lyrith extended his paw, but Vash made no move to take it. The dream dragon just stared at Lyrith, his brown eyes sharp as knives. Lyrith raised an eyeridge at the violent stare Vash sent his way, and felt a slow sneer crease his muzzle. The others at the table eyed Vash puzzled as the two stared each other down, neither moving an inch.

"Vash, don't be rude." Danrah hissed rebukingly into the dark blue dragon's earfrill. Vash snorted and gripped Lyrith's paw tightly, squeezing it as hard as he could, as if to crush Lyr's paw. Lyrith's sneer widened into a wicked grin, and he squeezed back with twice the force. Both dragons continued their battle of wills, while the others watched, confused. Finally, Lyrith felt the bones of Vash's paw creak under the force of his grip, and the dream dragon let go. Lyrith released him, and looked up into Vash's eyes. The drakes brown eyes burned with quiet fury as he retreated from the contest, and Lyrith snorted turning away and back to his food.

Danrah sighed and shook her head disparagingly at her brother's actions. Savron looked between them, and shrugged. Then, he glanced around the table, his expression darkening.

"I... I don't suppose any of you have seen Wintra around? I haven't seen her since the... Incident, and I was wondering what had happened to her..."

"She hasn't left her rooms since she got out of the infirmary." Tirren murmured, biting into a turkey leg. "Not even to get meals. The Guardians are having them delivered to her, but she wont be staying here for much longer."

"Why's that?" Savron asked, puzzled. Igneous looked up at Savron, and smiled weakly.

"Her parents are coming to collect her. They're furious about what's happened, and don't want her in the Temple any longer. She seems to be thinking the same way. With Torch's gang broken up, and her... Well her 'friends' having abandoned her, she has no more wish to stay here."

"Oh... I see..." Savron sighed, his head lowering, eyes down cast. There was a long pause in the conversation, as no one could think of something to say. Finally, Danrah broke the quiet.

"Well, um...What were we talking about again?" She asked the purple. Savron looked up, and frowned thoughtfully.

"I believe it was about school or something like that." Savron mused, tapping a claw to his chin.

"I think you had just finished telling us how much you hated your training, Sav." Tirren corrected, and Savron nodded emphatically.

"Oh yeah, that was it!" Savron, smiled gratefully at Tirren, and cleared his throat, shaking his head. "I have no idea what my parents are thinking. How in the world will this stupid course help me in the slightest?"

---

The moon rose in the dusky evening sky, and the wind blustered across the hilly plains west of the Temple. Stars speckled the sky and the two crescent moons shone down over the landscape. A small caravan had settled for the night in the grassy plains, and at its center a steam powered carriage stood. Gleaming yellow lamplight streamed out of its windows, like a star in the midst of the grass.

Gorgulline lounged on his bed of pillows, a bowl of brandy and a plate of assorted meats at his side. He idly gazed out the window, watching the darkening landscape out through his window. Set on a small table, a long sheet of parchment lay, writing scrawled across it's white surface. The words were packed so tightly together, that it almost appeared to be a solid block of text squeezed onto the page.

Gorgulline's gaze occasionally returned to the sheet of paper and scanned it, reading it over and over again. The slightly plump feran smiled. This was probably his life's greatest achievement. He had spent a year negotiating with the Guardians and the kings about forming an alliance between their two kingdoms. It was a work of genius. One that allowed Kaiser to retain control of his own lands, while gaining the protection of the Dragon Realms. Sure they had to share much of their resources and supply workers and troops to the Realms, but the benefits greatly out weight the cost of this alliance.

Gorgulline sighed. "All that's need to be done now, is have King Kaiser sign the treaty, and this year of negotiations and bickering will be finished. No more letters to Kaiser so he can know what's going on. No more midnight meetings, and no more staying awake late into the night to work out loop holes in our agreement. Everything will be good again." Gorgulline took a long sip from his bowl of brandy and popped a ball of breaded meat into his muzzle. "And I can finally go back home and see my family again." Gorgulline muttered to himself, closing his eyes and stretching out on his bed.

A sudden rapping at the carriage door startled him, and Gorgulline nearly knocked over his bowl of brandy as he leaped out of his bed.

"What is it?" Gorgulline demanded sourly, rolling the treaty up and placing it in a small box on top of his dresser. The carriage was surprisingly spacious, with room to move about freely despite the bed of pillows, the dresser table and mattress couch cluttering up space. A small fire crackled in the tiny furnace off to the side, providing both warmth and additional power to the carriage.

"Well sir." A young voice spoke anxiously from behind the door. "Someone bearing King Kaiser's seal has arrived, accompanied by a battalion of soldiers."

"An escort?" Gorgulline grumbled, frowning. "I don't remember requesting an escort. Send him in!"

There was a short pause, and Gorgulline sat down, tapping a claw on the floor of the carriage impatiently. Then the door creaked open. A tall figure robed and hooded in a purple cloak stepped in, a long staff topped by a purple crystal in hand. Around his neck, the seal of the feran king hung on a leather cord.

Gorgulline blinked in surprise. "Jaxar?" He murmured incredulously. The robed figure chuckled, and pushed back his hood, revealing the twisted features of the half-breed sorcerer.

"Your skills in deduction are as keen as ever, Gorgulline." Jaxar grinned, closing the door behind him. Gorgulline's frown deepened.

"And what is your business here, Jaxar? I don't recall asking for an escort."

"I'm here on the king's business." Jaxar murmured mysteriously, fingering the seal he wore.

"And what business might that be?" Gorgulline asked speculatively, eyes narrowed. Jaxar laughed, and patted the ambassador on the shoulder, having to reach up above his head to do so.

"Treaty business." Jaxar chuckled, taking a seat on the mattress.

Gorgulline relaxed, smiling. "It's right here, safe and sound." The feran gestured to the box where the treaty was held.

Jaxar nodded. "Very good, we wouldn't want our kingdom's future wrecked or lost."

"Indeed." Gorgulline agreed nodding as well. "So what is your purpose here, Jaxar? I thought you were prince Ramolous's service?"

"I still am." Jaxar admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "But the king's orders supersedes any princes'."

"Very true." Gorgulline consented. "Though you're avoiding my question. Why are you here, Jaxar?"

The sorcerer laughed and sat up. "Please, take a seat. I'll pour us some water, I'm terribly thirsty."

Gorgulline nodded and sat down on his mattress. Jaxar moved over the the cabinets and started searching through them.

"The left one." Gorgulline huffed, rolling his eyes. Jaxar nodded his thanks, set down his staff and opened the indicated cabinet, drawing out a pitcher of water, a cup.

"Well you see," Jaxar began, as he unstoppered the pitcher and started pouring himself some water. "the king is greatly concerned about the treaty, and has sent me to make sure it is well in hand."

"I suppose that is understandable." Gorgulline said, nodding. "He would naturally be concerned about our one hope of uniting our kingdom with the Dragon Realms."

Jaxar nodded and took a sip of his water, and then glanced over at Gorgulline.

"Would you like some?" Jaxar asked, raising the pitcher suggestively. Gorgulline shook his head.

"No, I am fine thank you."

"Oh, but I must insist." Jaxar grinned, grabbing a bow and tipping the pitcher over it. The water exploded out from the pitcher, sloshing over Gorgulline's face, drenching him in water. The feran ambassador gasped in shock as the water struck him, and he fell over onto the floor.

Jaxar smiled warmly, and set the pitcher down, and closed his fist tightly. The water suddenly gathered up around Gorgulline's head into a solid sphere of water. Gorgulline opened his muzzle to cry out for help, but water from the sphere rushed into his maw, cutting him off. His eyes widened in horror as he choked and spluttered, unable to draw breath. He clawed at the sphere with his paws, trying hopelessly to remove the water from around his head. Jaxar tipped his cup back, and drained the last of his water, sighing in relief and pleasure once he was done.

"Ah that was good. Nothing like a cool glass of fresh water after a long day of marching." Jaxar smiled cheerfully, his yellow eyes gleaming in the lamp light as he glanced over to the drowning drake beside him. Jaxar walked slowly over to the box containing the treaty, and opened it up. He set his staff down as he pulled out the scroll, unfurling it and glancing through it's contents. Jaxar nodded appreciatively.

"Very good! I can see why Kaisar sent you to arrange it." The purple clad sorcerer rolled up the scroll and put it back in it's box.

Gorgulline writhed on the floor, clutching at the water. He screamed as the globe of liquid drowned him, but only a gurgle and a stream of bubbles emerged to show for his efforts. Jaxar glanced around the room, his expression one of cheerful amusement. His eyes stopped at a small portrait hanging on one of the walls. The half-breed stepped up to the painting, picking his staff up as he went.

The portrait was off three ferans. Two adults stood proudly over a dragonling feraness, who clutched Gorgulline's leg tightly with her forelegs. Gorgulline's wing was draped over his mate's back lovingly, and she rested her maned head on his shoulder, grinning down at their hatchling.

Jaxar plucked the painting from the wall, examined it closely. "Is this your family? They're lovely, you must be so proud of them, and they you. Your daughter looks so happy as well, probably because she finally gets to see you after so long away on diplomatic missions."

The feran ambassador's struggles weakened, as he ran out of air. His eyes were wide with horror as he desperately tried to suck in air, but only succeeded in inhaling more water. The sorcerer smiled, his grin as sweet as honey as he moved over to the dying dragon, sitting down beside him.

"You know, sometimes I wish I had a family. But then I remember that I'm not the type of man to raise kids, you know what I'm saying?" Jaxar chuckled, holding up the picture and looking at it. Gorgulline's struggles were little more than quivering twitches now. The deep crimson dragon stared mournfully at the portrait Jaxar held up as darkness started to creep into his distant eyes.

Jaxar sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry." He said, a small smile crinkling his features. "I'll take good care of them." Jaxar grinned his sugar sweet smile revealing crooked fangs. Gorgulline gave one, last final effort to try and strike out at the sorcerer, but his paw barely moved. Then, he sagged, his eyes glazing over as the last of his dwindling life flickered out.

Jaxar got up, and unclenched his fist, letting the globe of water slip away from the dead dragon's head and slosh onto the floor. The half-breed shook the tension out of his hand, and then stepped out of the carriage, where Travix waited patiently. The blood dragon sat in front of the carriage, facing a a group of Feran and panther caravan guards who were boxed in by three score of soldiers.

Jaxar clasped Travix on the shoulder as he passed, and the blood dragon sat up, grinning.

"Alright, all of you work for me now." Jaxar called out to the guards as he came to a stop in front of them. "You'll all obey my orders now, and..."

"B... But the king employed us to protect the..." One of the guard protested, stepping forward. A panther soldier butted the guard in the stomach with his spear.

"Don't interrupt Lord Jaxar!" The panther growled in rebuke.

Jaxar stepped in before any further hostilities could ensue. "Do you know what this means?" He asked, holding up the seal he wore around his neck. The guards stared at it, and the one beside the first speaker spoke up.

"Well..."

"It means," Jaxar cut in before the guard could finish. "that I have the king's authority behind me. And that means you listen to me, or you're committing treason."

The guards all glanced at each other nervously. Jaxar grinned.

"So now that you know your situation, It's time for you to choose: Work for me, or commit treason."

The soldiers took up battle stances, the panthers raising their weapons, and the ferans stretching out their gauntleted claws. The guards hesitated for only a moment before bowing to Jaxar in relative unison.

"We are at your service, Lord Jaxar."

The halfbreed sorcerer smirked, and let the seal fall back onto his chest. "Good." Jaxar murmured, his crooked fangs gleaming in the moonlight. "Then your first order is to burn the caravan, and everything in it. I don't want even a trace of it left."

The guards looked at Jaxar horrified, mouths agape in shock.

"B... But sir." A guard exclaimed, stepping forward. "The treaty and the ambassador..."

Jaxar raised his hand, and snapped his fingers. Tendrils of air lashed out from around Jaxar, and whipped around the feran's throat. The guard gasped and gagged as the tendrils squeezed his throat, choking him. Jaxar clucked in disappointment, and tapped the seal he wore.

"Burn the caravan." He whispered, smiling sweetly. He released the guard, who collapsed, sucking in great lungfuls of air. The other guards looked at each other, and then quickly moved to grab torches and lanterns from the caravans. Jaxar and Travix stepped back so they could watch, smiling smugly.

"I don't shupposhe that you'd let me eat one of them?" Travix whispered, eyeing the guards hungrily. Jaxar shook his head.

"Maybe after we've finished our mission." He sniffed as the first of the caravans caught fire. It only took a few minutes for the fire to spread to the other carriages and transports, lighting up the night with crackling flames. From inside, screams sounded as the occupants were burned alive, battering at the doors the guards had barred. The ferans and panthers watched, sickened as the fire consumed the carriages, and all that was inside, smoke billowing upwards into the sky.

Jaxar clapped his gloved hands together, to catch their attention.

"Alright." He said bruskly, dusting his robes off. "It's time to get moving, the night's still young after all, and we have one last assignment to complete." Jaxar looked around as the panthers and ferans gathered around him. He smirked. "You all know who are targets are?" Jaxar asked, and glanced around at the assembled soldiers. "For those of you who don't ask around. I'm not in the mood to explain everything over again. I will say, however, that once our mission has started, I want no set backs. If someone gets in the way of our mission, you are to kill them, no questions asked."

---

Savron paced around his room irratably, his brow furrowed in frustration as he moved impatiently around his room. Only a faint sliver of silvery moonlight cut through the curtained windows, illuminating his relatively tidy room. Savron occasionally glanced over at his door, pausing and cocking his head, as if listening for something. Then he would resume his restless treadding about his room.

Finally at the point where it seemed he might start pacing a grove into the floor, Savron stopped, listened, and then gave a satisfied nod. The purple dragon moved stealthily over to his door and slowly opened it. The soft, even snoring of his parents echoed around the cavernous expanse of their chamber. Savron smiled victoriously, and slipped out through his door, slowly shutting it behind him. He glided down to the study floor, and wandered over to the exit. Taking great care he opened the door without a sound, and exited his parent's chamber. Once he was out in the hall, Savron closed the door and strode down the hall purposefully, not making any effort to hide himself. He turned several corners, smirking in satisfaction, never once looking back. Unnoticed by the purple, several figures slipped through the shadows behind him, silent and invisible, stalking the purple drake as he made his way down the hall.

...

Lyrith yawned as he made his way down the corridor towards the great hall, blinking tiredly to clear his eyes of exhaustion. The hall was dark, with only a handful of flickering torches to light the way. Wavering shadows pooled in the corners and around the statues as Lyrith made his way through the halls, slowly edging towards his destination. The white dragon turned into several side passages, doubled back a few times as his weary mind lead him astray, eventually making it to the great hall.

Lyrith traversed the wide open space groggily, sore and tired from his long work rutiene at Deran's forge, and his nightly exercise.

Lyrith shook his head and stummbled as he dozed off on his paws, his mind slipping into a trance as he fought for wakefullness. A small hiss of pain, broke him from his half slumber, and he looked around, blinking blearily. Off in the corner of his eye, Lyrith noticed dark shapes glidding into a corridor off to the side, one shape hobbling crookedly after the others.

Lyrith stopped, his weariness forgotten, though still weighing down his thoughts and body.

"What the...?" He murmured, blinking several more times. Lyr shook his head, and looked again. The shapes had vanished. The white listened hard, but could hear nothing more than the whispering wind outside. Lyrith shook his head again, and started to turn away, when he stopped.

"I didn't survive on the streets by dissmissing things as figments of my imagination." Lyrith thought grimly, altering his course from the male's corridor, to the female's corridor, moving towards where he had last seen the shapes. The Albino slipped into a patch of darkness, and vanished from sight, and started stalking his shadowy prey.

...

Savron knocked lightly on the door five times, paused, and then knocked three more times in rapid succession. He waited for a moment, suffling uneasily in the female's corridor, nervously glancing sidelong down the hall. Finally the door opened, and Savron sighed in relief. The grey dragoness Miranda gazed out at the purple, a coy smile creasing her features.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up." She smirked, eyes wandering from Savron's face and down his body.

Savron returned the smile micheviously. "Sorry I'm late, hotstuff." Savron whispered, stepping into the room and planting a light kiss on the dragoness's muzzle. Miranda murred, and then pulled away, guiding him into her room, and shutting the door behind them.

"I was wondering if you were still up for our little, get-together." Miranda grinned, and moved around Savron, brushing her side up against his. Savron grinned, and they made their way into her chamber.

Her room was dimly lit and spacious. Her desk, cabinets and book shelves were all crowed together along one wall, with everything neatly aligned in order of size. The other side of the room was dominated by a massive horde of cushions, all a lush green in colour. A chest lay by the bed, and several small bedside tables were covered in lit candles, most of which had burned down to a nub.

"I would never miss out on a meeting with you, Miranda! Especially a meeting like this!" Savron exclaimed dramatically. Miranda giggled.

"Well of course not? Who would?" The grey wind dragoness lead Savron over to the bed, moving slowly so Savron had ample time to oogle her. He blushed furioulsy as she moved her body to show off her best features. She lay down on her back, and stretched out luxuriously, spreading her wings out over the bed, and resting her head on the pillows. Miranda looked up at the purple and winked suductively. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Savron hesitated, not quite sure what he was supposed to do, his eyes flicking over to her nervously. Miranda sighed, and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going to wait all night here."

Savron smiled weakly, and padded over to her, moving so he stood over her, and looked down. She leaned up and she kissed him passionately, lowering his paws to her body, so he could stroke her flanks. Savron, held the kiss for a moment, before breaking it smiling down at the dragoness below him, panting for breath. He was just starting moving to kiss her neck when a loud knock sounded at the door, startling to two dragons.

Savron glanced down at Mirnada, a consternated look on his face. "I... I don't suppose expecting someone else?"

Miranda shook her head. Savron climbed off the wind dragoness and moved over to a corner of the room, out of sight from anyone entering the room. Another loud knock sounded, and Savron nodded his head towards the door.

"You get it. I'm not supposed to be here."

The grey dragoness nodded in agreement, rolling to her paws and moving over to the door. She reached it at the third set of knocks, and Savron mouthed the words 'I'm not here' to Miranda. Miranda gripped the door handle in her paw, and took a moment to compose herself. Then, she threw open the door, with an irratated expression.

"Well? What do you..."

She got no further as a spear plunged through her torso, and emerged out of her back in a spary of blood. Miranda screamed, and Savron stared in horror as she was violently kicked off the spear by a burly panther. A squad of three panthers and two ferans burst into the room. They glanced around and caught sight of the stunned purple dragon, who stared uncomprehendingly at them.

"There he is!" The panther who had impaled Miranda shouted, pointing to Savron. "Kill him!"

Savron's trance was broken as they stepped over the grey dragoness, who lay gasping and weeping in a growing pool of her own blood. Savron gave a howling roar of pain and fury as they advanced towards him, and lunged at the coming assassins, fangs barred, tears streaming from his eyes.

...

Lyrith jumped as a wailing scream tore through the air, causing Lyrith to trip over his own paws in surprise. The colourless dragon bolted from the shadows, and raced down the hall towards the source of the noise, grateful he had followed the shadows after all. Lyr turned at the opened door and stopped, stunned at what he saw in the room.

A group of five intruders stood over Miranda, who lay bleeding on the ground. They battled Savron, who dodged away from their attacks, striking back with his claws, his green eyes enraged beyond the point of reason. Flickering over his hide, whisps of darkness flickered. They gave Savron an eerie look as he fought, but never swallowed him completely.

Lyrith hesitated only for a second longer, before pouncing on the nearest foe, a sword weilding panther, and bearing it to the ground. The attackers whirled around as the Albino tore at the panther, ripping at her armour with his talons. Savron spared Lyrith only a glance before inhaling, and blasting the nearest Feran with arcs of lightning. The jungle fear dragon howled and collapsed to the ground, twitching.

Lyr gripped the struggling panther's head in his jaws, and twisted it violently, feeling her neck break with a sickening crack under him. The black feline fell still. By now the noise of the fighting had awaken all the other students, and the females barrged out into the halls, only to run head long into feran and panther reinforcements. Screams and howls exploded along the halls as an all out battle along the corridor.

The one feran still standing glanced between the two dragons who had flanked him and his squad, and then nodded to the two remaining panthers.

"You hold the purple off, I'll deal with the Albino." The adult feran grunted, turning to face Lyrith, sneering. He inhaled sharply, and then screamed at the top of his lungs. A wave of crimson energy exploded out towards Lyr, who narrowly ducked it. Lyrith rolled to avoid the paw strike the feran had aimed at his head, and twirled around, slashing the feran's leg with his tail blade. The feran roared in pain, jerking back, allowing Lyrith to duck under the larger dragon's legs, and come up behind him.

"Hold still dammit!" The crimson jungle dragon screeched, turning to face the colourless dragon, enraged. His face was met halfway there by Lyrith's taloned paw. The Feran staggered back, yowling in pain, clutching at his bleeding face with his paws. The feran spat out several spheres of red energy from him maw, which arched out and slammed into the white dragon with explosive force.

Lyrith was blown off his paws, and into the air. He landed with a thump against Miranda's desk and was stunned, giving the feran enough time to clear the blood from his eyes. The feran screamed again, washing Lyrith with a wave of dark red energy. Lyr, who had been just getting to his paws, felt his limbs lock in place as the magical fear took hold. The feran sneered at Lyrith, who stood, shaking in place, unable to move or defend himself. He stared up at the feran, his red eyes wells of terror.

"Oh I'm going to enjoy this, lizard." The jungle dragon snarled, stalking over to Lyrith and smacking him across the room with a paw. Lyrith crumpled to the ground, still quivering with fear. The feran grinned, and padded over, raising his paw again, claws flashing as he aimed to take the Albino's head from his shoulders.

Savron clawed at one of the two panthers, but the sword bearing feline jumped back out of reach, flicking out his sword and cutting Savron's cheek. The two danced and ducked Savron's blows, occasionally slashing back with their weapons. Slowly, step by step, they flanked the purple, forcing him to turn his back on one of them, so they could attack him from behind.

Savron growled and clawed and bit at the two, his green eyes flicking back and forth as they manovered into postion. He knew what they were doing, and knew that if they forced him to completely lose sight of one of them, he would be as good as dead. A sharp jab in Savron's flank caused him to snarl in pain.

"Enough of this!" Savron thought, infuriated. "They want to play games? Well, I can play games too!" Savron gave a short snort in the direction of one of the panther's causing it to flinch back, expecting a magical attack. Using the small opening, Savron stepped into the shadows pooling in the corner of Miranda's room. The panther's thinking they had him cornered, rushed in, and struck out at the patch of darkness. There was no response. Confused, they tried again, with similar results. The didn't see Savron emerge from the shadows behind them, and take a deep breath. The blast of earth shards caught them from behind, ripping through them like paper, and splattering the walls with blood and gore. The two felines crumpled to the ground, torn apart like rag dolls.

Savron glanced around the room, and stared in horror as he saw the feran approach Lyrith, who lay unmoving on the floor. He collected his wits in time to see the feran raise his paw with killing intent, and shouted out as loud as he could.

"Yo! Furface! Think fast!" Savron inhaled rapidly, and spat a ball of fire at the feran. The jungle dragon looked over at Savron, saw the ball of fire coming, and ducked it. Lyrith's fear stiffened limbs finally loosened, and he dove to the side, swinging a foreclaw blindly in the feran's direction. The claw caught the ducking Feran by the throat, the sharp talons digging into his neck and tearing it out.

The feran gurgled as blood spouted from the slashing hole in his throat, and collapsed to the floor, twitching. Savron grimmaced in revultion as the dragon clutched at his throat, vainly attempting to hold the blood in as it gushed out of his torn throat. Then, the purple rushed over to Lyrith, who stood shakily beside the dying drake, shivering.

"Thanks." Lyrith murmured, looking up at Savron gratefully, the magical fear still clinging to him.

Savron smiled. "No problem."

A low groan drew their attention. The feran Savron had struck with lightning lay on the ground, moaning in pain as he tried to rise, his limbs shaky. Savron started over to the feran, his expression grim. An earth powered punch from Savron knocked the jungle dragon's lights out, and it slumped back to the ground, unmoving. Miranda whimpered pitifully as Savron rushed over to her. Her paws were clasped over her injury, only slowing the bright flow of blood pouring out from the hole in her torso.

Lyrith limped up beside them, and looked down at Miranda pitingly. "Do you think she'll be okay?" The white asked, his expression exahusted from all that had happened that day. Savron shook his head.

"I don't know, but we have to get her to the infirmiry." Savron grunted, looking up at Lyrith. "You carry her, I'll clear a path."

Lyr blinked in surprise, stupified by the authority in which the lax purple spoke. Savron stared Lyrith straight in the eye, his green ones hard and dangerous. The flickers of darkness had faded, but were still present all across his body.

"Wrap her wound up, pick her up, and follow me."

Lyrith did as he was told, tearing a drape and binding it around Miranda's torso. He then hoisted her up, and draped her over his back. Once she was secure, Savron stepped out into the hall.

It was chaos. The female students of the Temple fought fang and claw against the invaders; and while the panthers and ferans were larger and better equiped than the students, they were outnumbered two to one. The students fought well for younger, smaller combatants, their training in combat classes serving them well.

As Savron stepped out of the room, a panther looked up from hacking down a fire dragoness, and grinned.

"So that's where you've been hiding!" The feline shouted, advancing towards the purple, backed by two ferans. Savron stood strong, unwavering as they neared.

He blew out a stream of intense fire at the ground between him and the invaders, causing them to jump back in alarm. The flames burned brightly, but left the three unscathed.

"Was that it?" One of the Feran's laughed, looking at Savron incredulously. "Was that all the power a mighty purple can bring to bear?"

Savron smirked and moved his paw into the darkness off to his right. Their shadows, which had flickered behind them from the light of the fire, rose up and impaled the three from behind like spears. The three howled as they were stabbed by their own shades, and fell writhing to the floor. Savron grimaced and stepped over the fading wall of fire, and out further into the hall. Lyrith glanced down stunned at the defeated soldiers as he moved passed them, awed at Savron's power.

A Feraness lunged at Savron, but didn't get far as a blast of green energy intecepted her, taking her to the ground in a heap.

"What are you doing here? Sav? Lyrith?" Tirren demanded, worming her way towards the two.

"It's good to see you too, Rin." Savron smirked. His smiled quickly faded as another dragoness was stabbed and fell crying to the ground. The purple raised a paw, and slammed it against the ground. The invader's cried out in surprise as blocks of earth burst out of the ground, and clamped around their ankles.

"Get down!" Savron roared to the students, who had stopped fighting as the invaders attempted to free themselves from the stone. Everyone dove for cover as arcs of lighting exploded out of Savron. The bolts of electricity ripped out in every direction, over the students and towards whatever grounded object they could find, which happened to be the assassins.

The invaders screamed as the electricity slammed into them, coursing through their body, and down towards the ground, stopping hearts and burning away flesh. Savron slumped once the burst of energy had been expended, and sat down, panting. All of the students stood, and looked around at what remained of the panthers and ferans. All eyes turned to Savron, who stood and cleared his throat.

"Alright. Everyone, listen up!" Savron shouted, his voice ringing out in the sudden silence. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm not going to stand idly by while some assholes attack our home and school! I want all the injured to gather up in a group. Those who can't walk get carried. Everyone who're not injured, or carrying someone injured, will form a wedge around the group. I'll take point. We're heading for the infimiry, and we'll take down anyone who tries to stop us!"

The dragonesses only hesitated for a moment before following his instructions, moving across the corridor, gathering up all the wounded. Only a few had to be carried, and most of the injured could still fight, so little fuss was made. The group gathered quickly, forming into a wedge shape with the wounded in the middle. Once everyone was in position, Savron lead the way.

Lyrith, trapped in the middle of the formation, couldn't help but notice that Savron was no longer standing in his usually slouchy posture. He stood tall and proud, his purple scales gleaming in the torch light. He looked every bit the son of the heroes who had become legend amoung the realms. A sudden smirk spread across Lyrith's face, and he adjusted Miranda on his back, so that they could both be more comfortable.

"Who knew he had it in him?"

---

Spyro shifted fitfully in his sleep, caught between the world of dreams, and reality. He shuffled over on his bed, and snuggled up closer to Cynder, enjoying the warmth of her body, and the rise and fall of her breathing. Yet something was amiss. Something was wrong, and he could feel it. An old sensation he hadn't felt in years tickled at him, touching his senses, but not fully registering, holding him back from the rest he so greatly desired.

A soft grunting noise roused the already halfwoken Spyro from his slumber, and shattered his last vestiges of sleep. Spyo grumpily opened one eye, and looked around. It was then that he recognized the feeling, a feeling of danger, of wrongness. The battle senses that Spyro had accumulated so many years ago were screaming at him, weakened from more than a decade of inactiviy. Spyro stiffened momentarily as it prickled down his spine, before forcing his body to relax.

Now fully on the alert, Spyro listened intently to his surroundings, waiting to hear the noise again. He picked up on it almost immediately, the telltale shifting noise of an intruder... a group of intruders, attempting to move silently through a dark, unfamiliar room. Spyro mumbled, and shifted his head closer to Cynder's.

"Cynder." He breathed, so lightly that one standing next to them could not have detected it. She moved over lightly, and shifted her muzzle closer to Spyro's.

"You heard it too." She murmured, not even making it a question. Spyro gave the barest grunts, and Cynder rolled over slightly. Spyro edged away from Cynder, not enough to be noticeable, but enough so they would not impede each other's movements when they rose.

The pair lay together, breathing low and steadily, occasionally snuffling and shifting around as they listened and waited. From their hanging bed, Spyro heard the shifting come to a stop. The purple waited for a tense moment, ears strained. The faint sound of beating wings echoed through the room, clearly audible in the dead silence of their chambers. Spyro cracked an eye open and saw two adult dragons hovering, just beyond the vieled curtains surrounding their bed.

They hung their for a moment, before gently landing on the edge of the platform. The sudden addition of the dragons' weight caused the platform to swing, the massive chains holding the bed up creaking and groaning as they adjusted. In the dim light, Spyro could finally make out the intruders. Two crimson ferans stood stalk still, hardly daring to breath as the platform rocked back and forth.

Once the platform had settled, the two maned dragons moved cautiosly over to the massive bed the heroes lay on, raising their armoured talons to strike.

Cynder exploded out of bed like a coiled spring, and slammed into one of the ferans, snarling. Her sudden rush sent the two tumbling off the side of the platform. Cynder positioned the screaming feran below her as they fell, and landed with a sickening crunch of crushed bones as they landed on top of a panther. The impact reduced the feline to a red paste, and snapped the wings and spine of the feran who had been unlucky enough to be ambushed by Cynder. The black dragoness leapt off of the howling feran, unaffected by the fall, her victim having absorbed most of the impact.

Spyro followed Cynder out of the bed half a second after her. He whirled around, and slammed his tail into the second feran, hurling him off the bed. The crimson dragon crashed into the wall, and fell dazed to the ground far below. Spyro hurled himself off the bed, and glided down, watching Cynder leap off the first feran, and twirl around to confront the intruders.

The remaining three ferans, and four panthers glanced between the two with shock and fear as they were flanked, Cynder advancing from one side, Spyro landing on the other. The two as they landedclosed in for the kill, and the would be assassins howled their battle cries, and charged, hoping to swarm the two heroes.

Spyro cleaned the blood from his talons with a fresh stream of water from his muzzle as he and Cynder stood amoung the wreckage of their room. The corpses of the invaders scattered across the floor like discarded, blood soaked dolls. Spyro's purple scales were spattered with blood, while Cynder was all but drenched in it. She moved about the room, stabbing the cadavers with her tail blade, checking to see if any were alive. None were.

Spyro glanced over the dead littering their floor, staring at them in puzzlement.

"But... Why?" He thought, trying to work out what exactly had just happened. "Why did they attack us? We had just finished working out our treaty?. We had reached a consensus. Why attack us now, when they have nothing to gain, and everything to lose?"

Spyro turned to ask Cynder what she thought of all this, and saw her rushing over to Savron's room. Spyro froze, suddenly terrified. He bolted after Cynder, who threw open Savron's door.

"HE'S NOT HERE!" Cynder yelled, turning to look at Spyro fearfully.

Spyro glanced into the room himself, and then lookked over the slim, black dragoness.

"Let's go find him. I don't know exactly what's going on, but there's no doubt it's dangerous to be out and about right now."

"No duh, Violet." Cynder grumbled, gliding down the the exit. Spyro followed and the two barged out into the hall. Distantly they heard shouts and sounds of combat, and the two dragons stopped to figure out which way they should go. Spyro glanced down each hall furtively, hoping to see some sign of his son, when something else caught his eye. The purple dragon moved over to the nearest window, and gasped. Cynder stepped up beside him to see what was the matter.

The Temple gardens burned. The beautiful trees, flower beds and shrubs were cloaked in swaths of bright flames. The carefully groomed groves and glades were consumed in raging fire, black smoke billowing up over the walls and into the sky. Trees crashed to the ground as they were eaten away by the voracios flames, and birds flocked up into the sky to escape the destruction.

"Oh no." Cynder whispered, staring in horror. "No no no."

Spyro scanned the blazing foliage, his amethyst eyes anguished as he watched years of work burned to ash in mere minutes. His gaze caught on the sky blue scales of a young ice dragon, who bolted through the burning trees, chased by three torch bearing panthers. The felines laughed and joked as they toyed with the student, who vainly tried to outrun his tormentors.

"Shit." Spyro hissed, turning and running off to the nearest landing pad. Cynder saw the figures moments later, and growling, took off after her mate. Spyro reached the landing pad, and hurled hiself off. He sped down towards the group of panthers far below, his body glowing bright green as he fell. The purple dragon slammed into the three panthers like a coment, the emerald energy he had gathered up around him exploding out, sending up a massive spray of dirt and stone.

Spyro shook himself, and climbed out of the crater he had formed, the blast of magic having cushioned his fall. The ice drake lay dazed on the ground, stunned by the explosion that had so nearly blown him away.

"Are you alright, Sleet?" Cynder asked, as she landed. The scrawny ice dragon nodded blearily.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Spyro murmured, helping Sleet to his paws. Sleet shook his head.

"I... I don't know. I was just doing some training routines Lyr showed me a while ago so I would be in shape for next semester. Then out of nowhere, those panther's attacked. I panicked and fled." Sleet looked down shamefaced.

Spyr nodded. "It's okay to have retreated. Those weren't training dummies, and you were out numbered. There's no shame in fleeing against such odds."

Sleet sighed and nodded.

"Have you seen Savron around?" Cynder asked as they started moving off, Sleet standing between the two heroes.

"Um... Not since dinner no." Sleet murmured, shaking his head.

"Damn." Cynder spat. "What is he thinking? Running off in the middle of the night without telling us where he'll be!"

The three exited the burning gardens, and moved towards the Temple gates, where they found a pitched battle raging between the Temple guards and the invaders. The ferans and panther's fought desprately against the guards, but were slowly being surpressed. Flame led the guardsmen, clad in his flame patterned armour, he sent swaths of bright blue flames into the enemy lines. Spyro and Cynder moved into the fray, keeping Sleet close. They closed the distance between them and the red dragon captain, occasionally batting away a spear and blasting the jungle dwellers with their magic.

They arrived to find Igneous fighting alongside his father, hurling fireballs into the attacker's lines, scattering them.

"Flame, what's going on!" Spyro shouted over the din as they neared the massive fire dragon. Flame gave Spyro a quick look, and then returned his gaze to the fight around them.

"Some of these bastards snuck into the Temple and started attacking the students and staff. These fellows appeared when we tried to sound the alarm."

Spyro cursed. "We can't find Sav, did you happen to see him?"

"Sav's gone missing?" Igneous cried, looking up at Spyro as he burned the fur off of a panther. Cynder nodded in conformation. Sleet bit his lip anxiously, and stepped back as a sword swing came a little too close to him for comfort. Igneous dodged a spear thrust and looked up at his father imploringly. Flame sighed and nodded reluctantly.

"Go, you'll be safer with them anyway." Flame grunted, knocking the weapon out of a panther's hands, and blasting it in the face with a blaze of fire.

Igneous looked back over at Spyro and Cynder, and grinned. "Okay, let's go." The red dragon wove through the combatants, back towards the Temple, Spyro, Cynder and Sleet all tailing Igneous as he went. Behind them, Flame shouted incouragement to his men.

"Keep formation! Don't break line! We'll beat these bastards back out of our home if it's the last thing we do!"

Igneous led the three into the Temple, and stopped in the great hall, looking around. Spyro came to a halt behind him.

"So, where do you think he is?" The purple dragon asked, looking down the many corridors anxiously. Igneous grinned.

"Well, if he snuck out this late, than there's really only one place he could..."

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you two!" A small, furious voice called out scornfully. All four dragons turned to look as Sparx appeared, buzzing up to the purple dragon, glaring.

"Sparx! I'm glad to see you're okay!" Spyro chuckled, relieved. Sparx rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, we all know that you couldn't live without me, chunky. But I'm not here for pleasatries. In case you haven't noticed, the WHOLE TEMPLE IS UNDER ATTACK!" Sparx shouted, flying over and gripping Spyro by the nostrils so he could look into Spyro's eyes.

"Yeah, we noticed, nightlight. Thanks for stating the obvious." Cynder sighed. Sparx glared over at the black dragoness heatedly.

"Well maybe I won't tell you where Savron is then." Sparx huffed, turning his head away from Cynder angrily. Cynder's annoyed expression changed from dour, to hopeful.

"You know where he is!"

"Of course." Sparx grunted, glancing back at Cynder. "You were the one who made me tail him wherever he goes, remember?"

"Where is he?" Spyro sighed, relieved. Sparx winked.

"Oh, in the female's corridors again." The dragonfly chuckled.

Igneous laughed. "I knew it!"

"Yeah, the tyke went off and met up with Miranda for a little... well, anyway, a bunch of these psychos burst in, stabbed Miranda, and attacked Savron. I went straight off to find you two, but you weren't in your rooms." Sparx sighed dramatically. "Do you have any idea how many times I could have gotten squished trying to tell you all this!"

Cynder turned to Sparx, and smiled sardonically. "I'm sure it wasn't nearly as many as you think it was, Nightlight. Now could you show us to Sav?"

"Say please." Sparx grumbled, turning his back on the black dragoness.

"Please?" Cynder smiled, flashing her white fangs winningly.

"And have Ember make me a butterfly sufflea once this is all over." Sparx demanded.

Cynder rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"And..."

Cynder glared at Sparx, and the dragonfly's mouth shut.

"Alright, alright, don't be so pushy." The golden dragonfly buzzed off down the hall leading into the female's corridor, and Spyro gave a small snicker.

"He never learns, does he?" Spyro chuckled. Cynder eyed her mate as they started after the dragonfly, her eyes twinkling.

"You tell me, he's your brother."

The sound of combat reached them just as they reached the females' chambers, and hurriedly, the group changed course. They followed the noise to a small crossroads in the corridors, and stumbled upon a small scale war tearing up the hallway.

A cluster of students bore through a squad of invaders, carving through their ranks like a knife through wet paper. Leading the group, Savron blazed through the enemy, opening the way for the rest of the wedge to push through.

The purple and black dragons decended upon the remnants of the attackers, tearing the unsuspecting ferans and felines to shreads in a matter of seconds.

Savorn sighed in relief as his parents mopped up the last of their attackers, and sat down, grinning gratefully.

"Thanks mom, da..."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE FEMALES' CORRIDOR!" Cynder shrieked, stepping over and glaring down at Savron, bringing down all of her fury and worry upon Savron's head. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW SCARED WE WERE WHEN WE FOUND YOU MISSING!"

"Mom." Savron murmured, raising a claw. "Can we..."

"I had thought they might have taken you hostage, or worse!" Cynder continued, cutting off Savron's interuption.

"Mom." Savron tried again, his voice raising in volume.

"Not to mention..."

"WOULD YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME!" Savron roared, glaring up at Cynder angrily. The black dragoness blinked in surprise at the commanding tone in his voice, and Spyro stared at his son, shocked.

"You can lecture me in front of the entire school later." Savron growled, lowering his voice to its normal volume. "But getting the injured to safety is far more important than scolding me for ever little stupid thing I've done in the past hour. Will you help us or not?"

Cynder swallowed her anger down, and nodded. "Fine. Spyro, guard the rear, I'll lead the way."

The formation quickly formed up again, and they swiftly made their way through the halls towards the infirmiry. Sliding through rooms, padding down stairs, and punching through small groups of invaders.

"We're almost there!" Tirren shouted as they rounded the corner, into the hall where the infirmiry was located. "Just a little more and..."

The crowd faltered at the sight of a mob of panthers and ferans swarming the infirmiry. Only two dragons held the infirmiry against the invaders. The chill blue Ice Guardian Cyril, and the flourecent pink Ember.

Cyril swatted at the coming assassins, knocking weapons aside and freezing them in place with quick blasts of liquid ice. Ember beat at the coming soldiers, clawing and biting, forcing them back, though her movements were less swift and sure. Cynder sped up her pace, rapidly closing in on the fight.

A panther swung a blade desprately at Ember's flank as it fell, blood gushing from it's torn throat. The blow landed, slashing open Ember's side. The pink dragoness roared in pain, rearing up and taking a deep breath. She expelled the breath with a howl, and a solid bar of white flames exploded out of her muzzle. Ember swept it in an arc across the attacking force, the intense beam of fire burning all it touched to cinders in less than a second. She carved a swath through the jungle dweller's ranks, dozens of attackers dying instantly as they were disintegrated. The survivors of the blast took one look at the pink dragoness, who sat down panting in exertion, and fled.

Cyril stood pressed up against the wall, keeping as far away from the blast zone as he could, and glared over at Ember.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMING! I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! My pure ice dragon liniage doesn't give me next to no protection against your hellfire!"

Ember looked over at Cyril and giggled. "Oh don't be such a sourpuss! It didn't get anywhere near you!"

"Are you two alright?" Cynder asked asshe came to a stop by the two dragons. Ember nodded, her cheeful expression turning dour.

"We are. but Aquina is overworked with all the wounded. And Volteer..." Ember trailed and kicked a pile of ash laying nearby. Cyril closed his eyes, and shook his head.

"Is there something wrong with Volteer!" Spyro asked anxiously. "Is he hurt, or..."

Ember sighed. "He's not hurt, not physically anyway."

Cynder's eyes softened. "Oh no."

Ember nodded and opened the door. "Spyro and Cynder are here, with more students." The pink dragoness called, ushering in the students. She stopped Igneous as he started to pass, and hugged him tightly. "Oh Iggy, I was so worried about you. Is Flame..."

"Dad's down by the gates holding off the rest of the panthers and ferans." Igneous answered, hugging his mom back.

Ember sighed in relief, and let the young red go after one more tight squeeze. "Okay, now you get inside, your friends are all in there."

Igneous nodded, and rushed in after his friends.

Lyrith sighed in relief as he laid Miranda down on one of the spare cots. The makeshift bandage he had wrapped around her was stained red, and she had long ago lost conciousness. Lyrith sat down and looked around the room, the all prevading sound of groans and sobs drowing out all other sounds.

The room was jampacked with students and staff, most sitting on the ground, huddled up with friends. Physicians ran amoung the cots, treating the injured as quickly as they could, before moving on to the next patient. The smell of blood and sick mixed with antibiotics created a sour tang in the air that cloyed at the Albino's nostrils, turning his stomach.

"Oh no no no." Savron moaned as he passed, and Lyrith glanced up to see the purple rushing over to the other side of the room. Lyr got up and followed after, dazed. The purple and white dragons arrived at a small cot, which Typhous and Volteer crowded around, distressed, horrified expressions creasing their faces.

On the cot, Zindy lay, sprawled out over the cushions, her paws were clasped over a large bandage, which wound around her stomach. Blood stained the whole cloth red, and her face was screwed up in an expression of pain.

"Owie. Owie. Owie..." She whimpered, tears streaking down her young face as she clutched at her wound.

"D... Don't worry Zindyala." Voltleer whispered tears flowing openly from his eyes as he brought yet another life crystal to her muzzle. "You... You'll be f...fine in no time."

"Oh Zindy." Savron choked, tears blurring his vison. "How could this happen to you?"

Lyrith looked between them, the world spinning around him as the moans and cries of the victims rang through Lyrith's head. The white dragon slowly sat down, his veritgo sending his mind reeling. Lyr's paws shook uncontrollably as he rested on his haunches, bile rising up in his throat. He sat there, motionless, eyes blank as he watched the life he had finally grown accostomed to, fall apart around him.

---

The fires raged in the Temple gardens, left unchecked as the battle tore through the Temple. The clash of metal and sounds of screams echoed throughout the hallowed academy, like a horrible, symphony of despair. In the distance, the town at the foot of the Temple had lit up as the alarms sounded. Villagers rushed up to the Temple, bearing water and sand to put out the flames. Smoke billowed up, black and impenitrable as fire licked the top of the Temple walls.

Jaxar and Travix stood atop the highest point on the walls, watching the carnage below with interest.

"Hm... They're putting up a better fight than I thought they vould." Travix grunted, watching as their soldiers mounted yet another charge on the line of guardsmen protecting the Temple entrance. Jaxar chuckled, and sipped from the flask of wine he held in one gloved hand.

"It wont be long now. Once they regroup, they'll crush all the opposition they face." Jaxar murmured, his stained red fangs gleaming in the light of the forest fire blazing below. Travix snickered and tossed the last of his cheetah leg bone over the wall, and into the garden. The blood dragon shifted so that he was lying on his back, and sighed.

"That wash hardly filling at all! I'm shtill hungry!"

Jaxar shook his head, and smiled condesendingly. "It's your own fault that you chose to play with your food. Half of it went to waste by the time you actually started eating."

Travix sighed again, mournfully. "I know, I know. Nexsht time I'll be more careful. It'sh jusht..."

"Lord Jaxar!"A gruff voice called, and both the sorcerer and the blood dragon glanced over to the newcomer. An older feran raced onto the platform that they sat on, and bowed to the purple clad half-breed. "Lord Jaxar, we are being forced back! We've lost more than two thirds of our men in this battle alone, and reinforcements from the village are on their way! If we keep this up, we'll be slaughtered!"

Jaxar sniffed and looked away. "I know." He stated, matter-of-factly.

The feran glanced up at Jaxar, confused. "You know!" He demanded, standing up and staring at the sorcerer. "Then why haven't you called a retreat yet! Why haven't you and your familiar," The soldier glanced at Travix, and then back at Jaxar. "entered the fray yet? Surely with your power..."

Jaxar stood up, and shook his head, raising a hand up outward in front of him.

"Oh nononono! That would be entirely agains the plan!" Jaxar exclaimed, waving his hands as if to ward off the bad suggestion. The feran sighed in relief.

"You have a plan? Excellent. What is it, may I ask? An extra battalion of soldiers? Some magical constructs or monsters you'll conjure up?"

Jaxar shook his head and laughed, turning to look back out over the Temple.

"Oh none of those things. I think the plan is working out quite well, don't you agree, Travix?" Jaxar asked, gesturing out to the battle field. Travix nodded in agreement, a twisted grin spreading across his features. The soldier stared at Jaxar incredulously, an expression of horror drawing across his muzzle.

"You... You mean your plan is to have us all killed?" He roared, taking a step forward. "Why? Whay have we done to deserve this! Why has the king ordered us to attack this place!"

Jaxar flashed his crooked fangs in a wide grin, and lifted the seal he wore off of his chest. He flicked it, and the gold and silver of the medalion melted away like hot wax. Jaxar held up the thong of leaver, and the feran gasped, taking a step back in shock. Where the seal had once hung, now only a simple river stone remained.

"You... You were never in the service of king!" The feran screamed, eyes growing wild. "You lied to us! You betrayed his majesty and dragged us along with you! You'll pay for..."

The feran never finished as Travix slammed into him, moving faster than the blink of an eye. The blood dragon tore the feran's throat out with his monsterous fangs, and clamped his muzzle to the gushing wound, sucking down all the blood that poured out.

Jaxar grinned. "I may have betrayed your king, fool, but I have served my king well."

Travix swallowed down several muzzlefuls of the feran's blood, and then looked up, smacking his muzzle. His long, barbed tongue cleaning his muzzle and face of blood, as he thoughtfully tasted his meal.

"Shtrong, veathered, but shlightly exhotic. Well sheasoned, with a shmokey oak aftertaste... Oh thish is very good!" The blood dragon grinned, returning his attention to the now dead dragon before him. His fangs flashed as he gorged himself on the feran. First sucking the corpse dry of all blood, and then feasting on its tough, dry flesh.

Jaxar sighed and shook his head, glancing down at the battle. The last of the panthers and ferans were being butchered by the Temple guards, and the fresh soldiers from the village. Many tried to flee, but were quickly brought down by arrows, or blasts of magic.

"It looks like it's time to get moving." Jaxar grunted, looking over to the Travix. The blood dragon looked up from his meal, sighing.

"Already?" He whined, getting up and whiping his face clean of excess blood. Jaxar nodded, and Travix sighed again. "And I wash finally shtarting to enjoy myshelf." The blood dragon grumbled, stepping up beside the purple clad sorcerer. Jaxar patted Travix's shoulder sympathetically.

"I know, I know. But it's time to leave, the party is over." Jaxar glanced back over his shoulder, over to the Temple and smiled sadly. "It was nice getting to come back here and visit again, though. So many memories."

Jaxar returned his attention to Travix and traced his finger through the air. A trail of blue energy cut through the air where he traced, and it quickly formed into a doorway. Jaxar put his hand up against the door, murmured an incantaion, and pushed it open. The hot air of the jungle rushed out through the gateway, occompanied by the sounds of the jungle wildlife.

Jaxar gestured for Travix to enter first, and the blood dragon begrudgingly stepped into the doorway, vanishing as he moved from one place, to another. Jaxar cast one final look over his shoulder, and smiled.

"Don't forget your part of the bargain!" He laughed, his eyes moving a small patch of shadows clustered behind a statue on the wall. Then he turned back to the portal, and slipped through it as well. The gateway vanished as he passed through, leaving the burning gardens, bodies and screams of the dying, behind him.

Characters created by Dardarax:

Savron's gang: (Savron, Lyrith, Vash, Danrah, Igneous, Zindy, Tirren, Sleet, Typhous.)

Inferna.

Royal families: (Pyron, Kohl, Blaze, Diatrax, Albiard, Cyrine.)

Charah, Torch, Wintra

Ramolous, Jaxar, Travix.

Ugh. This took so long to finish. A record (for me) 18000 words. ^^

To be honest, I cried a bit while writing this chapter. It's so sad. Especially what happened to Zindy... :'(

Anyway, so much happened in this chapter, that I'm tired just thinking about all of it. Torch's trial, which I hope was satisfying enough for all of you. Savron's training, which was all off the top of my head. And the attack. Now things really start to get intense and dark. I imagine you can guess what'll happen next.

Also, I'm sorry to leave you all hanging like this, but I'm going to be taking a short break from writing. You see, I've been so eager with these last couple chapters, that I haven't taken the time to catch up with my rough copies. This means that I have no material to use at the moment. Therefor I'll be taking a break, no longer than two months, and likely no shorter than one month, to catch up on my rough drafts. Once I'm done, I'll be able to update fairly frequently, as I won't have to write any more rough drafts between good copies any more. So, once again, sorry, but you'll have to wait to see the aftermath of this battle. :(

I will be online though, so you're all welcome to PM me if you have something to say. =)

Ps. Just for the record, Iggy didn't inherit his power from Flame. XD