Spyro: Dawn of Light
Part 2, Chapter 17
"So...some weird male voice spoke to you?"
Neves nodded, Rivyera giving him an odd look. Terrador flicked his wings a bit and grumbled to himself. The water dragoness sat up and stretched, then lay down on her other side, curling her tail around the eggs and pressing them against her belly to keep them warm. "Strange...a lot of things seem to be accessing this island without hindrance..."
"Hindrance?" Neves asked, tilting his head.
Terrador nodded. "Tonight at dinner I'll tell you, since the others should hear as well. But tell us more about this voice."
"He sounded...tired, almost. I mean, I'd been chasing him...it...whatever it was, never got a clear look. But...something about him felt...good. Like sunlight almost. He sounded cold like ice but warm like sunlight. And probably not much older than me."
The earth guardian prumed, eyes closed in thought. "When you think back, does it seem like it might have been that white-ish figure you young ones used to see here and there three years ago? Wary though I may be, it seems to be on our side."
"Could be neutral too, only resolving conflict," Rivyera suggested.
"Well...I think it may be the same creature, it avoided my sight the same way it used to back then." Neves yawned and pushed his glasses up with his paw to rub his eyes. "I'll keep an eye out. I was gonna talk to Spyro or Caelos later but that voice got to me first I guess..."
Terrador stood up and stretched, a few joints in his back cricking. "Let the others know that another mission is in line, you young ones may like this one. A little dungeon run would be good for you."
Neves sighed but nodded, then turned around to head out. "Neves!" Rivyera said, making him stop. "Later tonight, bring Shimmer and Cynder down here. We need to have a bit of discussion about various things. No, no, you're not in trouble," she added with a slight laugh at the look on his face, "just some things that need to be talked about." He nodded silently and left the room. Terrador sat down a little further away from Rivyera and laid down. "It's been a while since we talked alone."
Terrador nodded with a slight smile pulling at his lips. "Indeed, it's been too long. Though, we haven't really needed to for years since we're all clustered together every day."
"I know. But how are you and the others holding up up there now? You look tired."
The old earth dragon sighed. "Ignitus has been more and more perturbed by things, though he keeps them silent. Volteer and Cyril are constantly at each others' necks, and Cyril has been having one of his downward swings again."
She grumbled a bit. "Depression again? He's got to stop being so haughty."
"He's decided he's going to take the kids to their training when they're done with this Warfang mission."
"Any luck locating the earth elemental?"
He shook his head. "None. Ignitus has been asked to have Spyro do some research at the Settlement underground library and delay his training."
Her eyes widened. "Delay? But...that would mean..."
Terrador nodded grimly. "Yes. The fate of the world now stands at the door."
"All it needs to do is knock..."
"Indeed. But, let's turn to other matters. How are you and Night doing?"
She giggled at his informal tone. "We're doing well. I'm still out of it from the birth but it's been years since I've seen Night so happy." She looked down at the eggs and smiled, purring softly in her throat. "All three eggs seem to be alive this time around."
"And how are you feeling about it?"
She shot him a sly sideglance and smirked. "You should know me by now."
He chuckled and shrugged. "Rhetorical I guess. Congratulations and I hope they hatch healthy and lively." Rivyera nodded and lay her head down by the eggs, nuzzling them gently and purring a little louder.
"How's Volteer taking to it? Last time he seemed a little anxious."
"I think he's over-analyzing it again. He's afraid that you and Night rearing children in the temple here will shelter them much like it did with Neves." He stretched again and grunted. "I should get going though and see if Nightshade is back, he needs to be informed of the developments."
She nodded again and yawned. "Send him down here please and let him know-...wait, nevermind. I'll just tell him myself."
Terrador nodded and quietly left. She watched him, thinking way back to her first days as a diplomat between the Oceanic Isles and the Dragon Temple. Terrador had been the most amicable back then, a little gruff and crude but the most caring of the bunch. Ignitus had always been a little..."out there" in his own little visionary world, Cyril had been a high and mighty prat, and Volteer was constantly yapping a mile a minute at any given chance where his extensive knowledge could be applied; when he wasn't chatting he was conducting all sorts of experiments using his electricity. Terrador was always focused on combat and tactics, but he'd been her first friend here. Luckily he hadn't been interested in a relationship, since she was already mated to Nightshade, who followed her to the temple a few years later after some rather tense issues back in his homeland. Nightshade became Terrador's sparring partner for a while until Terrador began to feel his age affecting his ability to casually fight. Suddenly Rivyera looked up with a grin. "That's it! They haven't seen a true dragon battle yet have they...hmmm..."
Dinner was again fairly quiet, this time though for a definite reason. Shimmer had used a secret ingredient in everyone's meals and they were trying to figure out what it was. Plazyma chewed on the bird meat slowly, then glanced up at Shimmer. "Is it chokeweed juice?"
"Mmmm...close, but no."
Volteer grumbled, brow furrowed in concentration. "I know this, I know I should know this..."
"You know that you know that you know this?" Spyro said under his breath, the others around him snorting with contained laughter.
"It's gotta be stalworti extract, I can't think of anything else..." Flame mumbled.
"That's pretty close too."
Neves paused, then rolled his eyes. "It's both isn't it? Mixed together."
"Heehee," she giggled. "You got it."
Neves smiled, but then glanced up as his father walked into the room. "What was Mom saying about a 'dungeon run'?" he asked. Nightshade lay down nearby before answering slowly.
"We're not terribly certain, but...Ignitus? Would you like to tell them?"
The old fire dragon looked at them solemnly. "We've received reports of strange energy and sound disturbances below Warfang."
Plazyma tilted her head curiously. "Under? There's more than just the basements?"
"Yes," Terrador replied, "a vast labyrinth of Warfang's ancient history, the old underground fortress city. It was there that Malefor, the first purple dragon, would often train his powers when he wasn't under tutelage here at the Temple. Before he fell into darkness."
"Malefor...the Dark Master..." Flame mumbled.
"Exactly. There are many statues and carvings there in honor of his heroics before his pride set in." Cyril cleared his throat before continuing. "It's also believed that he left some items of great power there when the fortress was essentially abandoned in favor of the city above, for it was difficult indeed for merchants to cart their wares through the treacherous caverns, and it was a time of great commerce. Malefor would often seclude himself down there and wander the empty subterranean halls, and now there are strongly-held rumors that he discovered and concealed artifacts of great power there for his future use. Or...that he communed with far darker things than apes and rhynocs."
The ice guardian's vocal tone drop made the younger dragons look up at him suspiciously. Spyro's eyes narrowed. "So...we need to go in and check to make sure something hasn't awakened..."
"And if it has, vanquish it..." Plazyma finished for him, then grumbled to herself. "Just great...and here I thought we could actually enjoy ourselves before that mysterious training you all keep mentioning."
Nightshade chuckled. "It should be a nice trek for you kids, it's a big place and if anything is down there, it'll take a while to find you."
Volteer finished chewing his mouthful, then craned his neck to look back at the shadow dragon. "But which is more complex on the nerves, the aspect of-" He paused, eyes crossed as Sparx landed on his nose and started flashing. "Er...Spyro? Care to divulge?"
"He's asking you to use common tongue, not big words." Spyro and the others had to seriously restrain themselves from giggling at that.
Volteer cleared his throat and paused, then cleared his throat again, speaking slowly. "I was merely putting forth the contemplation- er...was asking the ponderation... ergh... I mean to say... oh by the Ancestors!" They all burst out laughing at the red tinge on his face from the effort of condensing his vocabulary.
"Which is worse though?" Flame asked when they'd settled down enough, "Exploring the underground city while constantly waiting for some kind of attack, or going in and actively looking for the enemy even if it isn't there?" Volteer grumbled something that sounded like "Exactly my point..."
"Just try to enjoy ourselves as we've been doing here, and if an attack comes, deal with it. Take things in stride rather than constantly fretting about them." They all turned to look at Spyro as he said this. "What? Just saying from personal experience."
"Someone's turning into another philosophical fire guardian..." Terrador said with a smirk, nudging Ignitus with his wing. Ignitus just half-smiled back and huffed.
"Indeed. But yes, in two days you young ones will set out for Warfang, and shortly after you return, your new training begins. Take the time in Warfang to collect yourselves and calm your minds. You may find somethings there that could shed some more light on our current situations." With that he went back to his meal, the others doing likewise. The silence felt a little uneasy though, bringing to Neves' mind what Terrador had mentioned earlier.
"Terrador...what did you mean when you were talking about the temple earlier?"
Terrador glanced up at him. "It's time you kids learned about the real purpose of this Dragon Temple. As you've seen, it houses a large library underneath, and is where the guardians of the various realms convene when needed, although in recent years most of the other guardians have disbanded due to old age and not having chosen successors. Volteer here could fill you in on the building's functions, but I think Sparx would rather hear it from someone less...verbose." They all chuckled, except Volteer, who looked a litle miffed.
"Well pardon my excessive vocabulary skillsets..."
Ignitus shook his head humorously. "This Temple also houses a rather complex fielding system that protects it from harm. The last time Tephra bombed us with Earth Missiles, which was shortly before Spyro rescued Cynder, the damage done to the Temple itself was only slight. Harnessing Spirit Geodes, or large collections of Spirit Gems, we're pretty much completely protected...most of the time. I have a feeling Ripto has been trying to scry on us with magic, but if he is, he would be fairly unsuccessful."
"As of late, however," Cyril cut in, "as evidenced by Sparx's surveillance, we've had some rather...interesting occurrences. For example, that floating glowing object he sighted. No doubt in my mind that it was a spying device. Such barbaric things normally would not be able to pass beyond even the furthest grain of sand of this island's shore."
Cynder looked confused. "But why all the protection then? Why can't they just put up similar protection around the cities?"
Nightshade's tail scraped along the tiles. "It's not as easy as it may sound, Cynder. This temple is one of many scattered around the world. In ancient times this Temple and the others acted as a protection network, allowing the guardians to communicate and send protection almost instantly if a threat was detected. With the peace of the recent era, however, most of them have been slowly abandoned. Some are now ruins. But the Spirit Geodes used to project protective fields are a rare natural occurrence. The Temples were built into the Geodes."
"Wait...built into?" Flame asked. "How big were these geodes then?"
"Vast. They were essentially isolated caverns of Spirit Crystals. The geodes were collections of these crystals within gigantic boulders that could often be found floating on or even just above the water. This Temple wasn't built on the biggest one, but two centuries ago many of the bigger Spirit Gems from the abandoned Temples were brought here. We are now sitting on the biggest concentration of Spirit Gem energy on this planet. However, we cannot utilize it like the smaller blue outcrops of gems you've encountered and broken. These are a different strain of crystal and energy."
Volteer nodded, clearing his throat. "This island, by geological laws, should not even still be here. Between the Temple's construction and the modern day, erosion and weathering would have ground this island to sand and rock at the bottom of the ocean. It's thanks to the Spirit Geodes that this island still stands. Not only does it offer protective powers, but this unique species of crystalline energy also makes the Temple itself semi-sentient. It's not draconic magic that causes the doors to open for you or to lock themselves when a threat is detected. It's the Temple itself sensing when its functions are required." They all looked at him in astonishment. Sparx flickered rapidly. "Um...Spyro?"
"I think he's thinking what were all thinking..." Spyro said, trying not to laugh. "That speech must have taken a ton of effort."
"You have no idea." They all broke out laughing, then set back to their meals, the kids thinking over just how complex this building must be.
"Wow..."
They all looked around at the vast caverns surrounding them. After gliding down a long flight of stairs, they were now standing on the entrance balcony to a huge underground citadel. The air was warm and thick with moisture, a slight breeze wafting up from below and carrying with it the metallic odor of its source, a river of magma. Stretching from this balcony was a very wide bridge-road with granite rails and intermixed marble and porphyritic granite tiles lined with age-greened grout. Mats of cave lichens draped like curtains from the railings, almost like banners left over from an abandoned ceremony. More mats of mosses and lichens patterned the walls, in some areas stretching between broken stairwells. Not too far down the road was an "island" of sorts, a tall, broad rock spire upon which was set what looked to be a checkpoint, and further beyond that was the central trade area, a vast circle of stone masonry dotted with rocky tables and supports for tents and portable shacks. Ornate lampposts carved from the very rock of the island stood hanging over the central plaza like trees, some of their "fruit" lamps still retaining a dull throbbing glow from their days of glory. The moss seemed to favor these sylvan semblances, stretching between the branches and leaves to give it even more natural color, turning the oak and beech and other tree likenesses into willows. On the far wall was a gigantic wheel with torches long devoid of fuel, and starting from either side of this structure, homes and dwelling spaces were built into the walls, barred from access by thick, ornate tarnished brass fences. Tall, spiraling stone stairwells led from floor to floor, several sweeping stairways leading from the bottom-most floor even further down to chambers the dragons couldn't see from their current position. Here and there in the open spaces, the steam from below rose up in spiraling columns. What amazed them the most was that this entire place had been carefully planned and cut to focus these drafts, which they could see spiraling up and curling around things to meet an end at safety over the plaza. Off to the left, towards the Dam, there was a sealed-off area that looked like it led to a complex system of tunnels and passages. Spyro didn't quite know why but he felt as if he had to go over there.
"It's like...stepping back in time or something," Flame whispered, his voice carrying a bit but not echoing due to the thickness of the air around them. It was quite humid and stuffy, but not overly warm.
"The ancient halls of Warfang..." Terrador grunted. "Long, long ago this was a vast trading complex, back when Warfang was a huge Dragon defense city and the moles were always finding more and more ore and gems the further they delved. Unfortunately, they also awoke some very nasty creatures."
"Sounds like something I've heard in a story before," Spyro said with a smirk.
"Possibly. Some stories have their bases in this place." He turned aside, looking up the entry stairwell leading to the city above. "I have some errands to run. You young ones be safe and stay together. There are older and more dangerous things than golems and gnorcs in the world's depths." Taking his leave of them he disappeared as the heavy stone door rolled shut behind him. They looked at each other nervously, then without a word began their trek across the bridge to the plaza. In some places the railings were broken, in others part of the bridge had broken off, but it was still very sturdy and probably wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"Strange sound and energy disturbances..." Neves grumbled, then looked over his shoulder at Shimmer. "Can you feel anything?"
She shook her head. "The air is too heavy and there's too much fluctuation from those air currents, it's throwing off any attempt I make to feel for any strange pressures or other local weather abnormalities."
He looked at Plazyma. She shook her head and shrugged her wings. "Like she said, the moisture here makes it hard for me to sense any electrical things approaching. Though, it'll be useful in conducting currents if needed."
"Great, two sensors out..." Turning to look at Spyro he found that the purple dragon had fallen back and was still staring off to the left at the sealed-off tunnels. "Hey Spyro! Wake up! Feel any shadow or dark things?"
Spyro started a bit, then shook his head. "Nope. Seems to be clear." He didn't want to say it but he felt as if something was demanding him to go over there and investigate. Something kept pulling at his mind...summoning him.
And that made him wary.
-
After about two hours or so of wandering around checking out the plaza, looking for any clues that might lead them to whatever was causing the reports of strange sounds and energies, they took a break for lunch, choosing the safety of an old home with a fenced balcony overlooking the plaza. It was more of a long, maze-like set of hallways they were sitting in, but it gave them some protection and a system of defense if anything should happen. Cynder didn't eat much, she was too busy constantly looking around nervously.
"Something wrong Cynder?" Flame asked.
"I don't like this place...it scares me..."
He cocked his head at her, then went up to her and folded his wing over her back. Spyro pretended not to notice, though he almost failed; a stabbing pain shot through him and almost made him cry, so badly did he want to be in Flame's place... He didn't have long to dwell on it though. A very subtle but distinct energy wave suddenly swept over them, then the air throbbed with a very low, almost inaudible bass tone. It sounded as if the very earth itself was starting to yawn or something.
"Caelos!" Neves shouted. The air shimmered around them and the noise began to steadily grow in volume until they could hear it perfectly. It sounded like a low, drawn-out growl. "Shimmer?"
"I can't really...I don't know what it is, it feels like air pressure but it's not, I don't know what this is."
All too soon the energy and sound both stopped short, leaving a very eerie silence. Spyro growled. "That was definitely some kind of creature, but what could make a noise like that?"
Plazyma stood up and stretched, then paused, staring at the tiling she was on. "Guys...these tiles are loose..."
"So?" Flame asked.
Looking around warily first, Plazyma proceeded to press the tile she had found to be loose. The room around them grumbled and shook a bit, then out of the ceiling at the far end a wall suddenly dropped. Spikes of dark crystal popped out of the surfaces, and the wall began approaching them, the crystals on the edges shattering with a loud CRUNCH as the moving stone came flush with the hallway walls. And it was gaining speed. "RUN!" Plazyma yelped, her paws scrabbling against the stone before her claws took hold. They bolted down the long hallway, now realizing they'd walked straight into a trap. The hallway was the only way out, but the wall behind them was gaining speed steadily. Spyro glanced over his shoulder, his eyes widening. They weren't going to make it, the wall was moving way too fast! Thinking quickly, his whole body suddenly coursed with electricity, then before his friends could react, forks of lightning arced from him to them, then cracked through the air to a point outside the end of the hallway, carrying them there. He couldn't relocate himself with that though or he might have overshot the landing, so gritting his teeth he pulled earth energy from the stone floor and from the walls around him, his les glowing green as earthen strength raced through him, helping him run faster. He was almost out, he could make it!
Then his paws lost their grip and he slid on the floor. "AAAH-" CRUNCH
The others stared horrified as the dust settled around the wall now pressed up against the end of the hallway. "SPYRO!" Cynder and Shimmer screamed, racing up to the huge stone slab and pulling at it in vain, trying to wrench it back.
"...S...Spy..." Plazyma barely whispered, her insides knotted tightly in terror and disbelief. Cynder suddenly shrieked.
"THERE"S BLOOD!" she screamed as a thin trail of blood trickled past her.
"No...he...he couldn't have...survived that..." Neves whimpered. "Spyro..."
Caelos shakily walked over to the blood that was slowly making its way from around the stone. Shimmer suddenly burst out crying, as did Plazyma.
"This...THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! SPYROOOO!" Plazyma cried out, racing up to the stone, the air all around them cracking repeatedly as she zapped the block, trying to melt it. All she could do was singe it though, it wouldn't budge in the least despite all their efforts.
The wind dragon shivered and heaved, trying not to break down himself, then stopped and stared at his shadow as it overlapped Spyro's blood. It was subtly shifting yet he wasn't moving a muscle. All at once Spyro suddenly materialized from Caelos' shadow, laying there with nasty gashes along his back, hips and tail. Complete stunned silence fell over them for a few seconds, then all at once they were gathered around him. ~He's still alive!~ Caelos said, his ear pressed against Spyro's chest. ~Shimmer! Neves! He needs health crystals, he's not going to last long!~
Small red shards of gems fell from Shimmer and Neves, clattering on the floor. Plazyma quickly scooped them up with her wing and tail, then poured them over Spyro. "Please work please work..." she mumbled desperately. They watched as the crystals let off a faint light and melted into Spyro, his wounds closing up instantly. He still didn't move though.
"He must have used his shadow energy to save himself at the last possible second...who would have guessed he could use the shadow cast by his own blood to slip out..." Neves muttered. "Guys, we're gonna need some mana crystals, and Shimmer, if you have any asgarn leaves in your inventory we're gonna need them. Those spikes weren't natural crystals."
Cynder gingerly lay her paw on Spyro, then growled. "If you don't work fast, he's not gonna live...we're not alone down here. He's only got half an hour. I know this magic..." As she looked at Spyro, wondering why he'd just risked his life for her, memories suddenly flooded her head, overwhelming her vision. Without warning she suddenly toppled over onto him in a dead faint from overload.
