Solaris took a deep breath. This was a moment he had both been dreading and rejoicing for since he had lost his parent, and his home, everything. This was the moment he was to look his adversary in the eye, against all odds, and let her go. This was the time that he would meet with the one who never once faltered in his attempt to destroy Malefor, the two who had also given up everything for the good of the world, and managed to save a world. Solaris knew his soul, along with all on this earth had rested in the claws of these two Dragons.
He had heard the story from a couple of cheetahs who had been claiming lost lands in the waste for expansion. They told of a fearsome pair of Dragons that had annihilated an entire army of Darkness alone, and completely devastated Malefor. Some even said that Malefor had submitted before the fury of these two Dragons. One of an intense purple color, the size of a mammoth and able to control any element. The other was derived from the dark, but turned to light by the power of the purple. Now they both hungered for revenge against Malefor, and had gotten it, along with saving the entire world.
Solaris was nervous, how could he stand in front of these two? These great Dragons had done more than anything he had done in his life. The door opened to reveal the two Dragons. The cheetahs had gotten their color right, but they were wrong about everything else. These Dragons were no bigger than Solaris himself was, a fact that registered they were no older than he either.
The purple, while fearsome enough, was just as big and muscular as Solaris himself was. His face had broad, kind inflections on it, marking him as a kind individual. Solaris didn't know how he could juidge people based on their face, but he could.
The black Dragon on his left, while a bit on the slim side, was unmistakable to Solaris. The jet black color had lessened somewhat in the intervening time they had been separated, but there was no mistake on her identity. This was the Terror of the Night, living in the presence of the four Guardians. Solaris thought at first that they may not recognize her, but dismissed that thought immediately. If Solaris had been able to recognize her, then surely everyone else had too.
"Solaris," Ignitus said. "This is Spyro and Cynder, the saviors of our world. They are the one's who wanted to meet you. We know that you have met with Malefor, and if you would be willing to help, we would like to implement you into our plans. Take it away, Spyro."
The purple Dragon stepped forward and held a paw out to Solaris. "Hello, my name is Spyro." He had a very friendly manner about him that evoked good feelings all around. Solaris couldn't help but smile and answer in just as friendly a tone.
"Hello Spyro. My name is Solaris, I have heard much about you." Solaris took Spyro's paw and shook it up and down vigorously. Next Spyro looked over his shoulder at Cynder. Cynder looked very unsure of herself, looking at Solaris almost as if she recognized him. She finally stepped forward and joined Spyro in meeting Solaris.
Cynder reluctantly held out her hand to Solais. "Ummm, hi Solaris. My name is Cynder." She mumbled out awkwardly. Solaris immediately felt pity for her. Just looking into her eye's told him the entire story. She had been under a lot of emotional stress in her life. She hated what she was before, and even now questioned what she was doing here. Though less than she did before, as there was some happiness in there. All this Solaris could see just from looking into her eye's.
He reached forward and grasped Cynder's hand, shaking it up and down as vigorously as Spyro, and forced a warm smile. "Hello, Cynder. Word of your bravery has reached me even in the far north." Though he wasn't talking of her bravery, he knew she had taken a lot of courage to go on the mission, and he saw now that it affected her outwardly as well. She smiled at him with a warm smile, and some of the tension lifted from her shoulders. Now that greeting were out of the way, Spyro delved right to business.
"Solaris, we found you on the northern edge of the forest, with burn and puncture marks all around you. You were headed to Avalar right?"
Solaris nodded. "I wanted to present myself to whoever was in charge here and be as much use as I can in the fight against Malefor." Solaris looked for any sign as to what everyone was thinking. The Guardians, along with Spyro all looked pleased with the decision he made. But not Cynder. Cynder looked unconvinced with his decision. She must know that there was something more behind it than he was letting on. Clever girl.
Spyro continued with what he was saying. "I heard from Volteer that you actually managed to infiltrate the enemy camp. As in, you managed to see all their fortifications and preparations for the coming war. Is this correct?"
Solaris nodded again. "Yes. I first found a hidden bolt-hole that the sentries used to get into the fortress. The hole led down into some sort of forge or smelter. They had hundreds of thousands of weapon built there already, and the smelters were pouring out more metal into molds by the minute. It was a weapons factory to end the world."
Spyro looked thoughtful. "He may actually be trying to do just that. His last attempt was to use the destroyer to split the earth, killing everyone there and starting the next age, only this time without Dragons. You say there was an entire invasion army, he may be trying to clear the world of Dragons, instead of destroying the world."
Solaris put on a shocked expression. "What can we do to stop this? We need to start our own army immediately!" Solaris said, exasperated.
Spyro shook his head. "An army that size will take time to move. We have months yet before they will even move out, and months before they will make it to Avalar. We have plenty of time, and you're right. An army is being created. But right now it's none of your concern. What is our concern is to stay rested and regain your strength, then maybe meet some of the Dragons around the temple. Ancestors know they all want to meet you."
Solaris saw the wisdom in that, being able to meet everyone and get to know them would be good. Spyro and the Guardians had plans for him in the future, but right now he just wanted to take a look around the temple.
Spyro cleared his throat, gathering the attention of everyone in the room. "If that is all, then let's let Solaris go and rest up, or do whatever he likes. Right now we all should relax a little."
The Guardians all nodded, all except Terrador. "I will take the next sentry watch on the wall. You all have a rest, we've been on the vigilant side for days now, and could all use a break. Go, I will keep watch." With that, Terrador took his leave for the outer wall. The meeting began to break up as each Dragon went to their separate tasks.
Solaris followed Spyro and Cynder out the main entry of the room, noticing that the Dragons who had been waiting outside had all left. He walked down the corridor for about a dozen paces before he noticed something odd to him. Spyro and Cynder had been closer than two Dragons should have been for the entire meeting. In fact, he had only seen one other pair of Dragons so close before, and that was him and Nova when they were together.
Thinking about it more, he watched as they both entwined tails as they walked down the hallway. Realization of what was going on struck Solaris like a box of bricks. They had both been inseparable because they were probably together. No, probably Mated already. The thought made his heat heavy. He had been going to ask Nova to be his mate the very night Cynder had attacked his village. Solaris sighed and fought back a wave of tears that built up in his eyes.
Still struggling to keep from crying, Solaris broke off the hallway to the main chamber to explore the outside of the facility. He just ambled through the facility without a purpose, not listening or hearing anything anyone said to him. He felt alone, not really belonging to any one group of Dragons. As a light Dragon, Solaris had always been different from the others, no wonder Spyro and Cynder stayed away from everyone. He had been wandering through a courtyard somewhere on the eastern side of the massive Temple when a gong rang.
The note the gong produced was large and bass, it shook him to his bones. Solaris began to see Dragons trickling into the courtyard, in pairs mostly. But there were a few groups that came as well, all heeding the call of the gong. Solaris had no idea what was being signified here, but he started to follow all the Dragons. They took a left down the east wing, right after the main entrance. This path led to a massive caver, though Caver wasn't quite the right word. The expanse of rock he was entering was a cave at some point, but it had been widened and chiseled to make it appear built by mortal hands.
As Solaris descended deeper into the earth, the temperature dropped to a cool breeze that was always welcome to one born out of the waste. The draft of air carried a scent with it, one which he had not smelled in years. He had only smelled this back at his old village, the night everything had gone to darkness. There was a feast being prepared somewhere down here. Solaris fell in with the other one or two hundred Dragons all going down the tunnel, but they gave him a wide berth. At the bottom of the caver was a space unlike any Solaris had seen before. A great expanse of stone brick covered the floors, it's grey face holding the marks of over a thousand years use. All along the room were long ovalular tables fitted with seats made for Dragons. Food of all sorts was placed out among the tables, many offering different selections of food.
Solaris did not know what to do. The other Dragons had fallen in to eating, talking with their peers and small groups. Solaris felt alone at this point, until he felt someone bump into him from behind. Solaris turned around to excuse himself, but stopped when he found himself face to face with Cynder. She was standing with a nervous posture, as if unsure what to say.
"Hey. I noticed that you couldn't find anywhere to sit. You're welcome to sit with us." Cynder said with an edge of hope in her voice. Solaris just looked at her for a few moments, wondering if he should. Solaris recognized a kind deed when he saw one, so he gratefully accepted. "Thank you, Cynder. You and Spyro have been so kind since I got here."
Cynder smiled at him, turning and walking by his side until they met Spyro, Flame, and Ember at one of the Tables. Cynder sat down next to Spyro, and Solaris sat next to Flame and Spyro. Flame and Ember were both very curious to meet him.
"Hi, my name's Flame. You're that new light Dragon out of the north." Solaris nodded, as if answering a question that was blatantly obvious for everyone to see.
"Yeah, it was Ember and I who finally found you while on patrol. You were out of it, babbling nonsense and whatnot. Still, you look much better now, and it gladdens my heart to see that you're okay."
Ember expressed her concern as well, trying to be as neat and polite as possible, yet still pore over every detail that lay before her.
"We wanted to make sure you were okay, make sure there wasn't any threat to Avalar, you know?" Ember was saying.
Solaris inclined his head towards Ember, thanking her for her concern. "My thanks to all of you. I don't think I would have made it without you to help me along the way." Solaris smiled and began to eat some of the delicious smelling food. Taking numerous bite once he tasted it. Solaris was kept busy for the next hour with Ember and Flame asking him questions about his childhood, where he grew up, and how it was different from the lifestyle here. Spyro and Cynder actively participated in the conversation, making it more agreeable for Solaris.
They were all describing their childhoods in Avalar, making wonderful stories that Solaris loved to hear. It had been so long since Solaris had friends, ten years almost since the last of his old world died. He like each of them in their own way, and loved how they actively participated with him.
They stayed at that table long into the night, talking of their lives. Spyro and Cynder retold how they had dealt with Malefor in the war, a story that Solaris loved.
It was at that moment that Spyro and Cynder had excused themselves from the table, professing a want to be alone for a while. Solaris watched them go, wondering what they really wanted.
Spyro and Cynder both went back to Cynder's room, locking the door behind them for the night. They were both tired beyond belief from the endless patrols that took up their day. It wasn't until they were both in bed, holding each other in their arms, that they began to talk.
Cynder was the first to start. "What do you think?"
"I think he is a promising young Dragon. He reminds me of Ignitus in attitude, but a personality like Terrador."
Cynder nodded. "What do you think, Cynder?" Spyro asked.
Cynder paused for a moment. "I don't know. He is completely trustworthy, if that's what you're asking . But there's something else to his character that most can't see. He is hiding something, I can feel it. He never said anything about losing any family or close friends in the raid."
"What you're getting at, is that he had another reason to be here, and it wasn't me."
Cynder nodded and curled a little closer to Spyro. "I just have this crazy feeling that I've met him before… somewhere. And I don't know If I can look him in the eye and still feel alright if this was some time when I was the Terror."
Spyro really felt for her, he knew what it was to be possessed by the dark.
"I wonder what he could be hiding…" Spyro said to Cynder. He turned to look her in the face, wanting to talk about it more. But Cynder was already asleep, so Spyro did the same. Until the next day they were neded.