It was dark, I could not see anything. Warmth surrounded me, almost like I was next to a fire or wrapped in blankets. I struggled to remember what happened to me. Then I had it.

Flashback

Malefor disappeared in a flash of black clouds, and I could see him no more. Striking at his last location, Solaris's light beam hit nothing, and only succeeded in parting the black mist for a few seconds. Laughter sounded from all around, and Solaris couldn't pinpoint the sound's location. It just seemed to come from everywhere at once. Solaris felt the power of fury surging through him, begging for a release. Solaris let the power flow through him, rising into the air as he did so. He opened his mouth and-

Flashback ends.

Solaris opened his eyes as he was shaken awake from the nightmare. He was in some sort of medical wing of a building similar to the one at his old village. Solaris's heart felt heavy after thinking about it. Shaking his head to clear it, Solaris looked around slowly, taking in the surrounding room. Beds, fit for Dragons lined the walls of the room. Beside each was a small stone table with a bit of cloth in the middle. The rest of the room was bare except for a couple of shelves in the center of the room full of what smelled like herbs and medicines. Before Solaris could take in anything else, the door banged open, and a Golden yellow Dragon stepped out into the bright light of the torches.

"Ah, our visitor is finally waking up!" The strange Golden Dragon walked up to him with a pile of herbs, and started to mix them into a large stone bowl picked up from the center shelves.

Solaris looked at the Golden Dragon with suspicion. "Where am I? What is going on?"

"My, you must be very confused right now. We found you in a field surrounded by a circle of burnt grass. Pretty sure I know how you got there, but enough about that. What matters is that you are safe, and you are welcome to our temple. My name is Volteer, Guardian of Electricity."

Solaris was taken aback at that. He was in Avalar! Here was the electric Guardian from old treating his wounds and making sure he was alright. Solaris was speechless for a moment before recovering his senses.

"My name is Solaris. I'm a light Dragon out of the wastes."

Volteer gave him a critical look. "The wastes eh? That's a long way for anyone to travel. Why ever would you do it? If you don't mind me asking."

Solaris liked the attitude Volteer used on him. It really made him feel safe. Here was someone who was interested in him, someone who cared that he lived. "I saw this… this blast of purple energy spear itself into the air a few days ago. I knew who made that kind of Energy, as I've seen it before. I thought that I would join Avalar in the defense of everyone. I had a clash with Malefor a few years back, I want to help out however I can."

Volteer got a gleam in his eye when Solaris told him that. "I will leave questions for later. Right now, you are going to Drink this. It will help you heal, and judging from you wounds you need all the help you can get." With that Volteer passed him a bowl full of the herbal elixir.

Solaris looked at the stuff with suspicion, not trusting the smell of the concoction. "What is this?" Solaris asked.

Volteer just smiled and said.

"It will help you heal, just drink it quick."

Solaris still wasn't convinced. He had lived away from civilization for years, and had managed to do so by not eating or drinking anything he didn't recognize. Old habits never really go away, only slumber until aroused again. Solaris didn't want to disrespect Volteer by throwing it way or refusing, but neither did he really want to drink it.

"What's in it?" He asked Volteer, again sniffing the mixture.

Volteer sighed. "I know you have had a rough journey from wherever you came from, but you're going to have to trust me. I have been doing this for a very long time, and never once have I hurt a Dragon from an herbal mixture."

Solaris still had second thoughts about it, but he didn't want to annoy Volteer anymore than he already had. With that, he took a deep breath and dumped the contents of the bowl down his long throat. It tasted vile, like bitter fruit, and only through difficulty did Solaris actually manage to keep it down.

When Solaris finished the bowl, Volteer took it away and handed him a leg of what looked to be deer. Solaris raised an eyebrow at that, waiting for Volteer to explain.

Volteer looked at him with an amused expression. "What? Don't trust me still? It's just deer, but, judging from the marks on your scales, you have been living in sand for a while now. Never seen sand scours like that before. Anyway, you lost a lot of blood, and if you want to be out of that bed by tomorrow, you're going to eat that deer."

Solaris submitted to eating the deer, with Volteer handing him more until he had consumed at least half of it. Solaris felt strangely tired afterwards. "Volteer?"

Volteer looked up from his task of cleaning his tools and herbs up. "Yes, Solaris?"

Solaris found it a little hard to think through his fatigue. "I… feel,,, tired…" Solaris lay back on the bed, and Volteer placed a blanket on him.

"Yes, the herbs tend to make Dragons tired afterward. It has something to do with the components that…" Volteer was saying.

Solaris was quickly falling asleep, even before Volteer had finished talking.

Solaris woke up in the same bed that Volteer had left him at. Bright light shone in from the window, a start contrast to what had been yesterday's falling sun. Solaris took the blanket off him, and got off the bed. Solaris took a few steps, holding on to the bed for support. After a few steps holding the bed, Solaris felt strong enough to walk about the room unaided. Solaris took a look around the room, quickly finding a door that must lead out. Hurrying towards it, Solaris reached the door, and opened it. Outside was a small hallway with a door at the end of it. Solaris heard talking in low hushed voices behind the door. Solaris approached it, feeling a bit like he wasn't supposed to be there, sneaking through the medical wing.

Solaris reached the door, and, unlike the last one, he actually had to use his element to open the door. The large circular door turned until all three circles stopped at the corners of the door, and slid into the floor. Solaris found himself looking into the middle of a large corridor packed full of Dragons, each a different size and color.

As soon as the door opened everyone stopped talking and dead silence filled the room. Solaris felt embarrassed to have opened the door, with all those eye's staring at him. Then the muttering began. He could hear every Dragon clear as day talking about him under their breath to their mates, or friends.

Solaris was about to close the door on everyone when he noticed four Dragons approaching him from the south. They were all four of them adult Dragons, one of each of the four main elements. Solaris noted Volteer among them, and behind them, two smaller Dragons walked. Solaris started as he saw these two Dragons.

The one on the right was a male, clearly, but that wasn't what set him apart from everyone else. He was purple. Already Solaris felt his tension rising as he looked on. The last Purple Dragon he had seen was Malefor, on the top of that cursed mountain trying to kill him. Looking to the right, Solaris found himself looking at what he thought was just an ordinary black female Dragon. That soon changed for him.

I feel like I've seen her before… but where? The answer hit him like a sack of bricks. He had met this young Dragon long ago, at the center of his village. There was only one female Dragon with a complete black hide like her, with that same scarlet underbelly looking like blood in the light. Here before him was the Terror of the Night. Here before him was the abomination that had killed his beloved mate, his parents, and the village elders. Cynder.

Solaris could not help himself, he jumped back at their approach, and growled low in his throat. Immediately the purple reacted with the speed of someone born and living in war. He jumped forward and placed himself between him and Cynder. The surrounding Dragons all reacted like a flock of frightened birds, backing away from the purple and the light facing each other down. The four Guardians all jumped between the purple and Solaris, two facing each Dragon. The green muscular one stepped forward and shouted in a militaristic voice.

"Enough! We have not come here to start a fight!"

The light grey one also stepped forward. "Well put, Terrador." The red then bent forward and muttered something into the purple's ear. Solaris tried his hardest, but could not catch what was said. The grey then turned to Solaris, and started to talk to him.

"That's quite enough, young Dragon! There is no need to act this way, you are among friends. We have come here to settle why you are here, where you came from, and to give assistance where needed. Obviously you feel threatened by these two, they are going to wait out here while we talk in there." He said pointing to the medical bay.

Solaris looked to Volteer, who nodded at him. So Solaris turned and walked back into the medical bay with the four adult Dragons following him. As they entered the room, the Blue one who had yet to speak closed and locked the door with an ice blast. They all walked forward and sat down in a circle of chairs in an adjacent room.

"Now," Said the blue one, "What we would like to do first is introduce ourselves. My name is-"

Solaris cut him off. "You are Cyril, Master and Guardian of the ice element, that's Volteer, master and Guardian of the electric element. You are Terrador, master and Guardian of the earth element, and lastly, you are Ignitus, Master and Guardian of the fire element. The Guardians who helped lock Malefor away the first time. I know who you are. What I don't know is why Ignitus looks the way he does, it is my understanding he was a fire dragon."

They all stood looking at Solaris with surprised expressions on their faces. Never had any outsider before been able to recognize any of the four Guardians without asking for names first. The only one who did ever get it was standing right in front of them waiting for an explanation as to what was going on.

Terrador looked particularly interested in what this strange dragon might know.

"well," he said. "You obviously know who we are, might we get the name of you?"

Solaris knew these Dragons would never betray him to anyone, no matter what was at stake. "My name is Solaris, I'm a light Dragon out of the north."

Cyril spoke then, wanting to know more of his situation. "Solaris, how much do you remember from before we found you? If you're willing to share, we'd like to find out what caused all your injuries in the first place."

Solaris thought for a moment. How much did he really remember? It was all so foggy. After he'd seen that bright white light, he'd been unconscious to everything around him.

"uhhh, I don't know really. I remember flying towards a strange shaped mountain. In the valley's surrounding it were thousands upon thousands of Grublins. And army in the making. I went inside to find out who led these new forces, try and take him out while they were distracted with mobilizing the army…."

"And then what happened?" Ignitus asked.

"Then I got caught, and was hindered in my escape by the security there. They have it locked down tight, I barely made it in without being killed multiple times. Then I found myself surrounded, and the next thing I knew a Black Dragon was striding towards me, claiming that I would be killed or turned to the dark, and that I should just give up."

Ignitus stopped him again. "You fought a single black Dragon by yourself?"

Solaris nodded in acknowledgment. "Do you know who he is?"

Ignitus nodded. "His name is Auron, he is the son of our enemy. He was in charge of keeping Warfang busy while Malefor unlocked the destroyer He was called away from duty by Malefor and hidden away, likely in the event that Malefor would fall."

Solaris nodded again. "I fought with Auron, and almost got him, and then he showed."

Volteer gave him a sharp look. "Who?"

"Malefor." Solaris said.

Ignitus looked baffled by what Solaris had told him. "You met the dark master and survived?"

Solaris nodded, and proceeded to tell them about his first encounter with Malefor's servants. He described in great detail how Malefor had tried to poison his mind. They must have been there talking for a few hours, all about the encampment, Malefor and his son, and Solaris's background. Solaris told them everything about the night raid on his village, holding nothing back. When he finished there were more than a few teary-eyed faces in the room.

Ignitus stood up. "Would you now be willing to meet with my two chiefest advisors?"

Solaris thought about it for a moment, guessing who they were before nodding.

"Good." Ignitus said. "Please try to stay calm, they are not going to hurt you either." Ignitus opened the door and said to the assembled crowd.

"Spyro, Cynder. Would you please come in here?"

Solaris readied himself for an apology, wanting these two on his side as well.