Chapter 38
As the vanguards walked toward the courtyard of the temple, they found the council and their families waiting patiently with Icarus, Magma, and the rest of the choir. "Ah good, our lead has arrived." Magma stated.
The fire dragon had, apparently, neglected to mention to the council that Leon was the choir lead, because Gaia immediately asked, "Oh…one of the vanguards is your new lead?"
"Yes ma'am." Magma said.
"Oh how exciting," Volteer chirped, "if you don't mind me asking…who?"
"Him." Magma said, pointing a talon at Leon.
"Oh, this is perfect." Anima stated as he rolled his eyes, "We're going to have the most despicable creature on this planet sing for us."
"I think it's going to be great." Athena stated, wrapping her arm around Leon's.
"What an abomination." Anima stated.
"Enough, Anima…I think you've plagued this poor fellow long enough." Vulcan said.
"Oh sure, take his side…you always do."
"Oh ancestors, not this again." Cyril said.
"We have bigger things to deal with right now." Terrador stated, ending the conflict.
As time went on, the courtyard quickly filled with citizens of the city. All of them wore looks of worry and uncertainty as they gathered in a large crowd in front of the council. The vanguards and choir stood to the side and waited in case the council required assistance. It was an odd feeling for the vanguards as they saw concerned parents huddling with their mates and frightened children. Leon was immediately filled with guilt as he looked upon the scene. "I caused this..." he thought to himself, "...and I'm going to set it right again."
"Brothers and sisters," Terrador began, raising his voice so all could hear, "we realize that most of you are concerned for the well-being of yourselves and of those most close to you...the enemy is at our doorstep, and they come with the intent to take our home from us…" The crowd paid close attention as the earth guardian spoke, "we have fended off an attack like this before, and we will do it again…" Terrador's mood then darkened, "but we will not lie…there will be blood and death before the end…" Terrador looked at each of the faces in the crowd, "on this day…we tell the dark master that he will not take us down so easily…" The earth guardian's words seemed to positively affect the crowd before him, "as our ancestors have fought and won many wars with apes and wolves and orcs, so shall we fight and win this battle!" The crowd erupted in a cheer as the earth guardian finished his speech.
"Now then," Cyril began, "we hope that you all will enjoy an old fashion war song played by our own choir."
The council moved aside and Magma took the stand, "This song…was created by a species that has long since been forgotten…but it has been reignited by the lead of our choir…prince Leon Lovidico." The crowd gave each other looks of confusion as Leon and the rest of the choir took the stand.
"It wasn't necessary to call me 'prince'." Leon whispered to Magma.
"No one gives you the respect you deserve…so I thought I would be one of the first." The fire breather said with a smile.
Leon didn't think that the dragons should show him any kind of respect or kindness, but he appreciated Magma's kindness, "Thank you." He said before turning his attention to the crowd. The vanguards stood to the side and watched intently. Only Spyro and Cynder had heard Leon sing, and the rest of them were extremely curious about his talent, especially Athena. Leon had chosen this particular song for a reason and he intended to make himself known to the dragons that his only concern now was to help them in any way that he could, "This song…was played before our troops would go to war." He stated to the crowd, who murmured in uncertainty about this situation, "It gave them strength and courage…and I hope it does the same for you." The band began to play and Leon and the choir began to sing;
On a cold winter morning,
In the time before the light
In flames of death's eternal reign, we ride towards the fight.
When the darkness has fallen down,
And the times are though alright.
The sound of evil laughter falls around the world tonight.
{Fighting hard, fighting on for the steel}
{Through the wastelands evermore.}
The scattered souls will feel the hell. Bodies wasted on the shores.
{On the blackest plains in hell's domain,}
{we watch them as they go.}
{Through the fire and pain, and once again we know!}
{So now we're flying free.}
We're free before the thunderstorm.
{On towards the wilderness,} our quest carries on.
{Far beyond the sundown,}
{Far beyond the moonlight.}
{Deep inside our hearts and our souls!}
{So far away,}
{We wait for the day.}
{For the lives are so wasted and gone}
{We feel the pain of a lifetime, lost in a thousand days.}
{Through the fire and the flames} we carry on!
As the red day is dawning,
And the lightning cracks the sky.
They'll raise their hands to the heavens above {with resentment in their eyes.}
{Running back through the midmorning light.}
{There's a burning in my heart.}
We're banished from a time in a fallen land to a life beyond the stars.
{In your darkest dreams see to believe.}
Our destiny is time.
{And endlessly we'll all be free} tonight!
{And on the wings of a dream}
{So far beyond reality.}
{All alone in desperation} now the time is gone.
{Lost inside, you'll never find.}
{Lost within my own mind.}
{Day after day this misery must go on!}
{So far away,}
{We wait for the day.}
{For the lives are so wasted and gone}
{We feel the pain of a lifetime, lost in a thousand days.}
{Through the fire and the flames} we carry on!
Now here we stand with their blood on our hands.
We fought so hard, now can we understand?
I'll break the seal of this curse if I possibly can.
For freedom of every man!
{So far away,}
{We wait for the day.}
{For the lives are so wasted and gone}
{We feel the pain of a lifetime, lost in a thousand days.}
{Through the fire and the flames} we carry oooon!
As the last note faded into silence the crowd stood in disbelief. For a moment, Leon thought that they had hated his song, but then a massive cheer erupted before him as the cheetahs, moles, and dragonflies clapped their hands, and the dragons began flapping their wings against their hides to simulate a clap. Magma gave Leon an approving nod and Leon cracked a smile before he, the choir, and Magma exited the stand, "I'll admit…I'm impressed." Cyril stated to Leon.
"Thank you." Leon said. Anima kept his maw shut and just wore a scowl on his face.
Leon looked towards the vanguards and barely had time to see Athena run past them and wrap her arms around his neck, "That was incredible!" She said.
"You've never heard him sing?" Terrador asked skeptically.
"Uh…he doesn't like to sing around other people, normally." Athena said, trying to keep up the charade. It wasn't necessarily a lie, as Leon did feel more comfortable singing when he was alone.
"I see." Terrador stated, "Leon, you have great talent…don't waste it."
"I won't." Leon stated.
Terrador then turned back to the crowd, "You may all return to your business…tomorrow we shall meet at the main gate…and prepare for battle." The crowd slowly began to disperse until it was only the council and the vanguards, "I trust that you'll be mentally prepared for tomorrow." Terrador stated.
"Of course." Spyro stated.
"Very good…you are all dismissed."
The vanguards bowed before heading back towards the dining hall. They stayed silent on the way there as they severity of the situation finally hit them. The silence continued as they ate until Charlotte said, "What should we do now?"
Spyro thought for a moment before saying, "Spend time with the ones that matter most." He stated, looking at Cynder. Cynder leaned forward and press her lips to his and they kissed for a long time. The rest of the vanguards watched, and Athena looked longingly at them, "Why can't I have that with Leon?" She wondered.
As they broke off Spyro gazed into Cynder's eyes. He wanted to ask her to be his life-mate, but he was still nervous about it, "Well…" Leon began, rising from the table, "I suppose a little more training will do me some good."
"Oh, no you don't." Athena said as she stood up and grabbed his arm, "We have a date, remember?" Leon had actually completely forgotten about it, and he didn't truly want to sit and talk when a major battle was right around the corner, "Come on…you don't want to hurt my feelings, do you?"
"Shit." Leon stated in his mind. "No, of course not." He told her.
"Good…now come on." She began dragging him towards the door.
As he was being dragged out of the hall, he looked back at Cynder and mouthed, "Save me."
Cynder giggled and watched as they disappeared through the door before turning to Spyro, "How about some alone time?" She asked, seductively.
"Sure." Spyro said, not having to think.
"Have fun you two." Crystal said as the two mates rose from the table and headed towards the temple.
"So what about the rest of us?" Twitch asked.
"Spyro was right." Fang stated, "We should spend time with our mates."
"I think I like the sound of that." Twitch said.
"He meant, spending quality time." Zephyr stated, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, mating is quality time." Twitch said, "Besides, what do you think Spyro and Cynder are doing?"
"Cynder was waiting for permission from her father before doing that with Spyro again…those two deserve it." Crystal stated.
"Tell you what…you spend some quality time with me…and we'll see how things go." Zephyr said.
"That works for me." Twitch said.
"Do I get the same deal?" Flare asked Crystal.
"I don't see why not." Crystal stated.
"And what about me?" Fang asked, turning to Charlotte.
"I suppose…but you're going to have to earn it." Charlotte stated.
As Leon and Athena walked down the street, Leon noticed that there wasn't anyone in sight, "I think it's safe to drop this act for now." He stated.
"You never know," Athena said, "better safe than sorry." She didn't care whether there were people around or not, she wasn't going to let Leon slip away from her. As they walked, the only sound they could hear, was the wind, and immediately, both Athena and Leon felt like something was wrong. Leon's eyes began thoroughly scanning the area in front of them and Athena's ears twitched wildly. The two of them heard a crash and spun around just in time to see three cheetah's attack them from behind.
Song: Through The Fire And Flames
Artist: Dragonforce