Chapter 7: Wonders of Warfang
"The Dragon City is a place of great wonders and achievements of the dragon and mole races. A city where all are equal, but some believe they are more equal than others."
"Its beautiful up here," Cynder remarked earnestly, standing between Spyro and Flame. Her words were complimented by the silence of her companions as they all gazed in complete wonder at the expanse of ornate masonry and stellar construction that was Warfang. The Doxantha suddenly veered hard to starboard, sweeping around to the right as she drifted over the rough middle of the city. Castle Hill sat to the far left of the airship, the center Keep surrounded by four towers with red cone shaped spires connecting to the centre by stone bridges. The rocky plateau on which the castle was built was almost entirely hollowed out with extensive tunnels and chambers, ornately furnished like a palace. Spyro looked along the viaduct running out from beneath the castle, watching the trains of wagons and carts of merchants and traders spanning nearly its whole length. The Doxantha completed its turn and now followed the viaduct towards the east as he heard voices shouting behind him and orders relayed.
"Make ready to dock!" he heard the Captain say, the purple dragon lifted his head over his left shoulder as numerous moles rushed about the ship to their posts. Moments later he felt his stomach rise slightly as the airship began to descend slowly from its straight, level trajectory. He glanced to the right to the excited faces of his companions as they approached the end of their journey. Flame stepped back from the railing and tapped his feet excitedly on the deck as though he were dancing as Ember smiled as bright as ever in her life. Cynder's level of excitement was far more restrained, she continued to gaze upon the city with keen interest but the look in her eyes was one more of anxiousness, as if she wished to be more excited than she really was. Spyro understood her mixed feelings; her unease when in the presence of large crowds, particularly due to her unpleasant experiences with those who had bullied her. As much as he knew she tried, it was easy for her to become jaded and think that the masses in the streets were all secretly judging and belittling her. He found himself nudging up close to her and peering out as she did, hoping it would provide some relief. He tried to look distracted as he saw her head and eyes tilt to him in his peripheral vision, but his heart made him acknowledge her as he met her gaze in turn, the black dragoness curling the edges of her snout into a sweet smile that he was sure he had never seen her wear before.
The Doxantha continued her slow decent over the city, still moving forward as she was now almost level with the viaduct spanning across the city. The four survivors looked across to the dragons and moles on the viaduct, a large green Earth dragon towing a wagon crammed with wooden barrels looked over to them and raised his right wing in a wave as the several moles riding on the wagon waved their hands cheerfully to the young dragons. Spyro waved back to them with the others, inevitably those on the viaduct recognized the small purple dragon among the group and the simple waves became cheers and shouts of excitement.
"It's him! The purple dragon!" they yelled. Sure enough these exclamations were heard all across the viaduct and soon those traversing across it began crowding along the edge, waving and shouting towards the airship that their prophesised saviour was aboard. Spyro waved to them, forcing a smile to remain even as he quickly felt overcome by the sheer amount of unrequited praise incurred for the simple act of being. For their part, his friends reacted to the fanfare in their own ways; Flame flashed a toothy grin and forwent his usual modesty, waving boisterously as he revelled being in the presence of the young celebrity. Ember stood tall and held her head up with a pompous smile as she turned her head back and forth as if the crowd had turned out solely for her. Cynder, not content to delve into self-delusion, smiled limply and only waved half-heartedly to the crowd.
The Doxantha began to turn to starboard again as the viaduct approached the tunnel under the observatory. The airship swung around as she passed by the bridge spanning the two plateaus. Spyro and the others looked ahead to the large, bronze rectangular building that was the Warfang Airdock. It was a multi-storey building with three wide wooden balconies stacked on each of its levels that stretched around the front and sides of the building. Wooden cranes were fixed to each corner of the balconies to assist in the loading and unloading of airships. The top floor was reserved for military ships and those with large masts such as the Doxantha, the second and third levels were mostly used by the cargo and passenger gondolas that operated in the city, with enough space between floors to give the airships wide enough berth of each other. The three floors were completely open at the front and sides to maximise room for cargo and passengers, with the back of the building housing three elevators that could go between the three levels. Beside these were doorways that lead to spiral stairwells to allow passengers and workers to move between the levels if the elevators were not available. These narrow passages were solely intended to be used by moles and not dragons as it was assumed a dragon could chose to simply fly or glide down between the levels if they so desired.
There was enough space on each side for three ships to dock alongside each other parallel to the ramp, presently all but the top deck was fully occupied. Built into the four corner pillars of each deck were guard towers bristling with cannons to protect against possible air attack. The Doxantha swiftly gained height as she rose to become level with the top deck as she turned to port to come around to the front of the airdock, slowing her forward momentum as she glided silently beside the wooden maneuvering along the viaduct and airdock was wholly unnecessary as she could have come straight in when they crossed the sea, but the Captain had been in a cheerful mood and wished to show off his prowess with handling the flying behemoth, though Spyro doubted the crew appreciated the extra work. He and Cynder, Flame and Ember stood on the main deck as the airship slowly glided to a halt, the four young dragons shaking with excitement. Various mole labourers and dragons milling about the tower moved to receive the Doxantha as she finally came to rest, the crew preparing to extend the gangplank across to the dock. With a gleeful laugh, Spyro leapt up and perched himself on the railing of the deck, taking his friends by surprise. "What are you waiting for?" he exclaimed before he suddenly leapt from the ship, spreading his wings out as he glided down onto the stone floor of the tower. The floor was ornately decorated with most of the space laid in blue stone bearing the same image of the flag flown aboard the Doxantha of the golden dragon and mole figures with an outer layer of blue and white tiles forming cubes set inside each other around the outside.
As he glanced over his shoulder, the others swiftly followed behind as they glided down beside him. The dockworkers all stammered as they beheld the four survivors, with Spyro naturally drawing the most attention. The usual phrases followed, Spyro being able to almost predict them before they were spoken.
"It's him!" said a mole. "The four who lived!" exclaimed a dragon.
"His name's Spyro isn't it? And those are his friends!" a worker said into the ear of his colleague. Several other hushed whispers simmered among the small crowd of a dozen or so as the purple dragon merely sighed and cast friendly glances to them, not wanting to appear rude. As he casually scanned across their faces and waved to his 'fans', a mole at the back of group pushed his way through to the front, Spyro's eyes lighting up as he recognised the bald headed biped.
"Well, bless my soul!" the mole exclaimed as he lifted up his magnified spectacles.
"Mason!" Spyro cried cheerfully as the mole approached them. The four of them stepped up as he waddled up to them. Professor Mason was one of Warfang's most ingenious and most respected scientists and engineers. He was descended from one of the architects that had helped design and build Warfang centuries ago. He was wearing his usual attire, a faded and worn khaki leather coat covered in numerous burn marks and stains from his many experiments. It was unbuttoned, revealing his dark brown scale armor vest that he had worn during the war against the Apes which Spyro assumed he was wearing for a reunion or ceremony as Mason was now retired from the army, working at the Observatory and Science centre. Though certainly not the only professor in Warfang, he was often referred to simply as "The Professor" due to his unmatched knowledge and skills but also had a reputation for dangerous, seemingly pointless experiments that would normally have destroyed the career of most other scientists.
"Hello, my friends!" he grinned as Cynder beamed and she strode up to the eccentric mole,
"Its good to see you, Professor," she greeted warmly.
"Miss Cynder, always a pleasure," Mason replied nobly, "And Master Flame. Master of fire yet?" he chuckled.
"Uh, working on it," Flame grinned sheepishly.
"How goes your work, Professor?" Ember asked brightly.
"Ah, Miss Ember," he said with a hint of sadness, "So many ideas and so little time during the day! Well, today I'm going to finish early anyway. I'm attending a dinner tonight with my old regiment, thought I'd save myself the trouble changing and just put my old armour on this morning!" he said proudly as his hands grasped the edges of his coat. With a stiff back he waddled over and stood face to face with Spyro who looked perplexed by the serious appearance now adopted by the mole. Mason lifted his spectacles and squinted his beady little eyes which became almost impossible for Spyro to see as a result. The little ants that they became twitched and shifted before he lowered his spectacles down again, the purple dragon starring back at his own reflection in them.
"Why so pensive, young Spyro?" he asked curiously, seeing the clouds of discontent in his eyes, "Its your birthday isn't it? Why, it is all of your birthdays!" he exclaimed as he looked across the faces of the four dragons, "These four days of leisure are in your honour, after all."
"It's just…errr…" Spyro stumbled nervously, "We had a long training session yesterday. Guess it sapped my strength a little."
"Well, you've got a firm set of wings, Master Spyro," Mason affirmed as he reached out and clapped his hands confidently on Spyro's shoulders, "Just as well with the weight you must carry but never mind that now," he said as he took a few steps back, "No doubt you are here for some fun and adventure, hm? I shan't hold you up any longer. I'm only here waiting for my delivery to come."
"Working on another invention?" Cynder asked as Mason began to turn away. The Professor froze midstep and turned about with childish excitement.
"Yes!" he cried triumphantly with his hands on his hips, "A real game changer! If you are curious, come by my lab later this afternoon. I should have my delivery by then. Cheerio!" he bided merrily as he turned around and walked back through the crowd. By now the excitement had fizzled out and the workers had resumed their tasks, though they still looked up every so often to see if the celebrated purple dragon was still in their presence. Spyro and the others stood watching the works going on around them as they surveyed the inside of the tower. There were unlit torches hanging off the four pillars and a great golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It consisted of a golden ring with dozens of candles around its circumference with a large, glowing orange crystal fitted into a metal brace in the centre. The crystal was imbued with fire magic, enchanted so that it would light all torches and candles in the tower magically once the sun had gone down. Such crystals, mined and then enchanted with elemental magic, were widely used throughout Warfang for lighting, heating and many other purposes intended to make life easier for its inhabitants. It was in stark contrast to the temple in which the four friends lived, almost archaic by comparison.
A loud whoosh from behind diverted the group's attention as Spyro and his friends looked behind to see Ignitus having just swept in from above and land on the deck. As they turned around and began to walk towards him, the other Guardians swept in alongside him, folding their massive wings and stepping inside the tower. Ignitus looked down to the young dragons as they formed up beneath the gaze of the Guardian dragons. It was only then that Spyro noticed the small leather bags tied by strings hanging around each of the Guardians necks.
"Rearing to go, I see," Ignitus observed lightly.
"If that's okay, Ignitus," Spyro replied meekly. The Fire Guardian chuckled,
"Of course, Spyro. But before you go lets go over the rules one last time, shall we?"
"Okay," they replied together. Ignitus glanced to his colleagues beside him before he settled his eyes on the purple dragon in front of him.
"Rule number one?" asked the red dragon.
"Stay together as a group," Spyro answered brightly. Ignitus nodded and looked to Terrador on his right, who leaned down and eyed Cynder.
"Number two?" he asked.
"Be on our best behaviour," she replied dully. Terrador leaned his head back and looked across to Volteer on the left of Ignitus.
"Rule number three, Flame?" he asked quickly of the young fire dragon. Flame jumped like he had been stung as he heard his name said.
"Uh, stay in public places and always in sight of others?"
"Correct!" the Electric Guardian replied sharply. Finally, Cyril, who remained as still as a rock, only moved his eyes onto Ember who starred up at him expectantly.
"And the fourth rule, young Ember?" he asked duly.
"Meet outside the western gate at sundown," she answered smugly.
"Correct answer, as to be expected!" boasted Cyril, his lavish praise over such a trivial matter inciting eye rolls from nearly all present.
"Very well then," Ignitus nodded, "But before you go, we have something for you," he announced brightly. With that he reached up with right paw and grasped the small bag hanging around his neck and with a light tug, snapped the string and handed it down to Spyro. The sound of rustling coins made his eyes light up as he gasped thrillingly.
"Wow! Thank you, Ignitus!" he grinned as he reached out with his right paw and took hold of the little coin purse. The other Guardians did the same and handed the little bags off to the young dragons. Spyro sat on his haunches and eagerly pulled the bag open with his thumbs, exposing the glittering gold coins within as the sunlight touched them. Cynder, Flame and Ember all followed in this, each staring hungrily at the little hoard they had been allocated.
"Now don't spend it all in one day!" Volteer cautioned them.
"And avoid gorging on sweets, young warriors!" Terrador added, "Excessive weight makes you an easy target in combat."
"I hardly think a battle was ever lost because of one too many delicacies, Terrador," Cyril chided in dryly. As they spoke, the young dragons each stood on their hind legs and faced each other in pairs; Spyro faced Cynder and tied the remains of the string around her neck before she did the same for him. Spyro looked over her shoulder as she did, watching as Flame awkwardly stood with Ember tying the sack around his neck. He chuckled inwardly as he watched the fire dragon's face; it was comically uneased as he closed his eyes if she were trying to strangle him instead. Ember was near snout to snout with him and he leaned back nearly pulling her over with him.
"Hold still!" she snapped.
"Sorry!" he said quickly, still keeping his eyes shut. Spyro creased his brow as Flame's behaviour was oddly nervous even for him. Cynder finished tying his bag as she sat down and turned her head around to her companions. Ember finished helping Flame who remained oblivious until she uttered a curt , "Ahem!" and he with a nervous flush opened his eyes and began ham-fistedly trying to tie Ember's bag around her neck. He dropped the bag at first, then seemingly couldn't stop his fingers from shaking as they tried to fasten the string around the pink dragoness's neck.
"Here," offered Cynder who could not bear the delay he was causing, moving over to Ember and easily tying the bag from behind as the red dragon averted the gaze of all who were watching.
"A little excited are we, young dragon?" asked Ignitus humorously.
"Sorry," Flame replied meekly, "Just too busy thinking of all the fun we'll be having!" he said uneasily. Spyro and Cynder shared a curious glance with each other, to which they both just shrugged and turned back to the Guardians.
"So, can we go now?" Cynder asked impatiently.
"Indeed! Have fun!" Ignitus said cheerfully. Without any delay, Spyro took the lead and ran off into the tower as his companions followed closely behind.
"But remember to meet me outside the city at sundown!" he heard Ignitus call after them as the four young dragons ran in a staggered line through the middle of the top floor, nearly running into several moles and dragons on the way as they followed in Spyro's wake. He led the charge around the left side of the air dock and ran down the outside deck. With only a quick look over his shoulder, he leapt over the end railing out into the air surrounding the tower. His wings fanned out as he pulled into a sharp right-hand loop, gliding downwards in a corkscrew past the second level of the airdock, startling the passengers and workers watching on as Cynder followed just above and behind him with Ember and Flame completing the rest of the corkscrew. After three tight loops, Spyro then banked left and aimed straight along the bridge heading towards the Observatory, flying only just above the heads of the commuters making their way across. He looked over his shoulder again as he heard laughter behind him, seeing the others following behind as they swept over the bridge. With a cheeky grin, he beat his wings furiously to give a burst of speed, pulling himself up higher and flipping over to the right in a barrel roll above the bridge. He rolled again to the left, looking behind to see the others mimicking his performance.
His grin broadened as he suddenly dived down the left side of the bridge, weaving in and out of the massive curved archways of the legs spanning far down to the ground. As he swopped for the fourth time back to the right side, he braced to swoop back out again just as Cynder suddenly appeared to his left and crossed in front of him, her triumphant laugh induced a joyful cheer from the purple dragon. As if choreographed behand, Spyro shot out the leftside of the bridge and pulled up sharply, curving over backwards as he passed by Cynder speeding in the opposite direction, the two dragons looping over and back through the centre of the bridge as the crowd gasped at them.
Flame and Ember watched the performance high above the bridge, the red dragon in awe at his friends' performance but Ember watched the pair with evident jealousy. She frowned purposely as she glanced at Flame flying beside her to the left, his open mouthed and wide eyed stupor further boiled her temper.
"Dive down the other side!" she ordered him crossly.
"What?" Flame asked quizzically.
"Just follow me and do what I do!" she shouted, ignoring his repeat of 'What?' as she knew he would follow her anyway as he was easily led. Ember fluttered her wings and dived at a high angle down the right side of the bridge towards the bottom of the archway ahead of her. She angled her wings back for more speed, plummeting like a meteorite as Flame dived down the other side, struggling to keep up with her.
"What are we doing?!" he shouted across to her.
"Spinning like a candy swirl!" she shouted back resolutely.
"Candy swirl?!"
"Now!" she bellowed. Ember swung hard inside the archway as they neared the ground, flying out the other side with Flame passing through behind her. She pulled up steeply as she slowly banked to her right, curving upward like a bow and flying upside down as her speed propelled her over the top of the bridge, rolling back over as she performed the long swirl through to the next archway. Too focused on herself to see her partner, she performed the same sharp climb and loop again as a flash of red crossed overtop of her as she flew upside down over the top of the bridge.
"Like this?" Flame cried as he rocketed past. She craned her neck to follow him as she dived down again, watching in pleasant amazement that his actions mirrored her own near flawlessly.
"Yes!" she cried joyfully as they swept past each other under the bridge. Ember grinned vaingloriously as Flame laughed in high spirits. They climbed again in the same swirling curve as they intersected overtop of the bridge, Ember only then noticing that Spyro and Cynder were no longer in sight. As she twirled upside down, she looked down her chest through her legs and saw that they had landed around the middle of the bridge far behind them as she entered another dive. Even worse, in the few moments she had seen them she saw they had attracted a small crowd and were still apparently the centre of attention even with her display. Feeling abashed, she swept under the bridge moodily and flew overtop of Flame as they crossed over and climbed once more. Above the bridge, Ember swept her wings back and halted in mid air like a horse with its reigns pulled, Flame cluelessly speeding past her until he realised her sudden stop and shuddered to a halt in the air.
"What's wrong?" he called to her, the pink dragoness suddenly heaving back and taking off towards Spyro and Cynder perched on the edge of the bridge. Flame grumbled under his breath and took off after her.
Spyro stood alongside Cynder upon the blocky stone railing that marked the edges of the bridge, his front claws pulling over the edge to the maze of golden-brown buildings sprawling out hundreds of feet below. Several Moles and dragons had cheered and clapped when they had landed on the bridge after their aerial display and continued so now. After thanking them, he and the black dragoness had turned and had been staring down at the colossal achievement that was Dragon City when they had seen Ember and Flame begin their own performance. Spyro now watched as the pair flew towards them, beaming brightly to them though Ember looked strangely cross. Another group of onlookers cheered and waved as they approached, her face seeming to soften as she fluttered her wings and landed on the block to his right and Flame doing the same beside her. He glanced to Cynder on his left who nodded in admiration for her friend's actions.
"That was something, you two," she remarked with a hint of jealousy.
"Thanks," Ember replied proudly before Flame could get a word in, "You did okay, yourself," she added, to which Cynder only smirked mirthlessly. Flame choose not to say anything and just sat on his block, closed his eyes and inhaled triumphantly. Spyro looked back out to the city below, imbued with too much excitement to let the dragoness's jabs at each other dampen his spirits. He looked down at the bag of gold around his neck and quivered with thoughts of what he could spend it on.
"Well," he announced as he glanced side to side at his friends, "What are we waiting for?" he yelled excitedly before he took a leap and threw himself out over the city, his wings fanning out rigidly as he heard his friends cheering and whooping as they jumped after him. He stretched his forelegs out like he was swimming, eyes and mouth open in wonder as the towers and buildings below slowly became bigger as he drifted through the air. Even from so high he could smell the cooking fires of countless households and street markets, hear the rambunctious singing of the taverns and alehouses, see the figures of dragons and moles passing each other by in the streets as the children now on holiday laughed and played in jaunty bliss. Spyro looked over his shoulder and saw his friends mirroring his behaviour, letting themselves descend as the wind desired, not hurrying to bring an end to the spectacle they each viewed beneath them. As he looked forward, he breathed in the air passing over him, spiced by the cooking of the city. It was like a massage for his senses, rubbing away the concerns that had been plaguing him. The view of the city mesmerised him, the sense of freedom he now felt bought a dancing smile to his face. Spyro was the happiest he knew how to be.
Their steady decent eventually bought them down to earth, Spyro gracefully landing in the middle of the wide-open street, trotting the last few steps as his momentum evaporated and his presence invited the usual reception. As his friends landed beside him, the pedestrians and merchants all stared at him with wide eyes. He ignored them as he looked to his companions as they gazed around the high walls of the golden brown buildings and towers. From above it was majestic but from below, in spite of the friendly atmosphere, the city seemed almost intimidating like an endless maze of stone that one could become endlessly lost in. But then that would not seem a bad thing as the young dragons observed the countless stalls lining the streets selling almost anything that could be imagined; the vendors with their wheeled carts and portable cooking facilities offering up freshly cooked rodents and fish, the gem dealers offering nonmagical stones for decoration and jewellery or offering those infused with magic for everyday use.
"Get your fire gems here!" a mole merchant shouted from the right side of the street behind his stall of assorted gems, holding up a red diamond shaped gem for the passers-by to see, "Put one above the fireplace and roaring flames for days on end! Great holiday prices!" Scanning over to his left, Spyro watched a yellow dragon with green wings stand up from behind his stall and hold up a green spirit gem in his front paws
"Spirit gems! Never do without!" he shouted in contest to his rival across the street, "Great for home storage! Never be caught off guard when you need your mana!" Spyro heard Flame chuckle,
"Why would you buy spirit gems when you could just go get them yourself?" he asked Ember.
"Not everyone has the time to go foraging for them, that's why," she replied evidently. With a light chuckle to himself, Spyro started walking forward while the others followed behind him. Almost at once, the merchants on the leftside of the street began trying their best to draw his attention to their wares, shouting overtop of each other as the four friends passed them by.
"Master Spyro! Can I interest you in some Spirit gems? Always handy to have around!" asked the yellow and green dragon.
"No, thank you," he replied civilly.
"Sir? What about a new cloak?" asked the mole behind the next stall, "Great for cold nights!"
"I'm fine, thanks," Spyro said calmly.
"A nice fried rat, sir?" asked the next.
"Sorry, I already ate," the purple dragon answered, so far keeping his cool.
"Fancy a new quill, young one?" asked an orange dragon behind a stall of books and scrolls, "You look like an aspiring writer, if I do say!"
"Thank you, but no," Spyro told him, his façade beginning to crack. He didn't notice the smirk that Cynder struggled to suppress at the sight of him rebuking every hopeful merchant that they passed by. Flame seemed to enjoy the show just as much while Ember seemed disappointed that none of the merchants seemed to give her any attention. They passed by another dozen stalls, each one more ravenous than the last until they finally reached the end of the street which split into a three-way junction. Spyro paused and lowered his head before shaking it,
"I though they were going to tear me apart!" he exclaimed. Cynder laughed,
"If you didn't think you deserve praise before, you do now for keeping your head through all that!"
The next few hours proved to be even more hectic as the four dragons wandered the streets of Warfang, with seemingly every merchant and shopkeeper they passed trying to secure business with the legendary purple dragon. It was irritable, especially since Spyro knew the main reason why many of them did so was purely so they could advertise the fact that he had been a patron or customer. As the four of them passed down a narrow street lined with shops and restaurants, they passed by a bookshop that Spyro recalled he had once visited a few years ago when he had been sent to pick up a book for Cyril. Though it was already paid for and he had merely gone to collect it, since the day he had left that same bookshop now hung an additional sign above the entrance that boasted, "The Purple Dragon's favorite bookshop!"
But it had not been all pain, of course. Not every vendor and merchant had been bypassed or avoided by the group. The first place they had spent some of the money given to them was at a sweet shop where the four of them had indulged their sweet tooth. They did not take Terrador's advice too close to heart as they ate handfuls of colourful candies made to resemble gems and delicious toffees and humbugs of every flavour imagined and some never before. The shopkeeper had allowed them the privilege at half price, of course saying that it was an honour to have the 'four who lived' visit his store and, though he didn't say so, now being able to advertise having done business with the purple dragon. If only for his friends, who enjoyed the benefits it provided, Spyro held his tongue and did not say how it made his status feel hollow and made him feel more like a sideshow attraction.
Yet despite that it did not dampen one particular moment that occurred in that time, even if he had in fact put on a show. As they strolled through the streets spending their money, Spyro saw a group of six mole children who had been running and play fighting with wooden swords and shields when they had seen him. The little warriors had squealed with excitement and rushed up to them, shouting their hearts out.
"Is it really you?!" they cried, "Are you Spyro!?" Though the attention and grovelling of the merchants had worn him down, Spyro mustered a smile for them as he appeased them.
"Yeah, that's me," he replied simply. A chorus of "Wow's" echoed from the mole pups as they gathered around him and stared in awe at his purple scales.
"Can you really breath all four elements?" asked one of them. Spyro chuckled less humorously,
"There are actually five elements, you know, Wind," he told them, flashing his eyes over to Cynder beside him, who beckoned to him warmly in response.
"Yeah, but you get the cool elements, right?" another of the children said, Cynder sighing grimly.
"I can use more than one, that's right," Spyro replied carefully, "But they are all cool, no matter what they are. I'll bet you guys wish you could breathe fire or ice or anything, right? Wouldn't that be cool?"
"Heck yeah!" yelled the pretend soldiers.
"Well," Spyro said with a snicker, glancing around to check his surrounding, then suddenly he jumped into the air and hovered several feet above the ground, "Which do you guys think is best?" he asked as he cast a quick blast of flame up into the air. He shot a crackling stream of lightning to the left and a glistening cloud of blue ice to the right. To finish he dropped down quickly to the ground as the mole pups cheered. Spyro opened his mouth and a green mist like cloud shimmered in front of him towards the pups who backed up frightfully before they felt the stone beneath their feet rustle and thick grass grew from the cracks of the paving stones and formed tiny islands beneath their feet. They gasped in wonder as they reached down as touched the lush grass that he had summoned before like water running down a drain, the grass shrivelled away back into the cracks as if it had never been there.
The pups all dropped their toy swords and shields and began clapping and cheering, Spyro stood grinning triumphantly with his wings outstretched as a number of observers began clapping for his kind act of amusing the mole children. He looked to his right as Cynder sat on her haunches and with her usual wry smile and sarcasm slowly clapped her front paws a total of three times while Flame clapped his paws like a wind up monkey toy with Ember at his side sharing her appreciation for making the children happy. Compared to the heckling he had endured from the merchants, the joy he had bought the little warriors made his heart gleam as he stepped forward and playfully rubbed his front paw on the head of one of the young moles.
"You guys have fun, okay?" he bided them as walked forward, Cynder and the others following with him as the pups continued to cheer him on.
"Thank you, sir!" they shouted, the one who received the pat on the head reaching up and touching it reverently as his friends gathered around him enviously. Spyro grinned proudly as they left the pups behind, soon hearing their toys swords and shields clattering again as they resumed play. It felt good to him to do something with his status that just bought innocent joy and not wealth or bragging rights to someone's business. But soon enough, after a minute or so of walking in silence, the shopkeepers stared appearing again outside their stores, trying desperately to earn his patronage, chipping away at the thick skin he had been wearing all day. Ignoring them, he heard quick steps up beside him as Cynder scooted up on his right and nudged him with her shoulder,
"So you feel like a hero now?" she asked light heartedly,
"I think you just made their day."
"More like made their year!" exclaimed Flame who rushed up to his left side, "Those little guys are gonna' be your fans for life!" The red dragon was suddenly pushed aside as Ember squeezed in between him and Spyro.
"That was very noble of you," she said in a sugary voice, ignoring Flame's protests, "But only we know how great your powers can be," she said as she fluttered her eyelashes at him.
"Well," Spyro replied as he nervously avoided her gaze, "I just didn't want to disappoint the little guys."
"Oh, you never disappoint anyone, Spyro," Ember said with patronising veneration, making the purple dragon roll his eyes.
"You never disappoint anyone, Spyro!" Cynder suddenly mimicked in a mocking tone, "Why don't you just stop trying to draw attention away from him to yourself!"
"Me!?" Ember cried furiously, "Why don't you stop brooding for a change?!"
"Cut it out!" Spyro snarled, staring daggers at both of them, the two dragonesses swiftly retreating at his outburst, "Lets just have fun okay? And not let who I am get in the way of that?" he asked in a strained voice.
"You're right," Flame concurred, "We should see what fun we can have because of that!" he suggested brightly.
"No!" Spyro roared crossly, slamming his feet down to a halt, startling his friends, "Can we just forget who I am for a day? Can we just stop making a fuss about it? Next time someone tries to sell us something cheap because of me, I'm going to tell him to charge it at double price!"
His sudden outburst left his friends white faced as he scowled at them. He had unconsciously hunched down like he was ready to pounce. The ridges of his eyes suddenly lifted as the shadow of a bird passed over him, triggering something in his mind as he rose up and became aware of the numerous pairs of shocked eyes that were watching him. He meekly avoided their gaze as he felt embarrassment swarming over him like a breeze of shame.
"Sorry," he murmured shortly as he took off in a brisk run, not looking to see if his friends were following, almost hoping that they weren't. Cynder, Ember and Flame didn't follow straight away as they mentally processed what had happened. Before either of them could speak, Cynder stiffened her posture and looked to them judgingly,
"Lets do him a favour and not get on his nerves, okay?" she said with a flustered sigh before she took off in a run to catch up to Spyro.
Spyro approached the end of the street that broke away into two lanes at a 'Y' shaped intersection, between the two lanes was a wide triangle shaped fountain, one of Warfang's public drinking fountains. The fountain's stone walls rose about five feet high with a small outer step to allow easier access for moles. A stone dragon head hang from the outside wall of the middle building as a stream of water projected from its mouth out to the middle of the pool of water. A few dragons had knelt down to quench their thirst as a few moles scooped handfuls of water for themselves as Spyro found himself stopping just by the fountain. He stepped just to the left side of its tapered point before using the step to lean over and begin lapping at the water. He starred at the glistening blue tiles on the bottom of the pool before he splashed water against his face, hoping it would cool his mind as he heard footsteps shuffle up beside him. Without even looking he knew it was Cynder.
"Are you okay?" she asked plainly.
"I didn't impress anyone there, did I?" he sighed glumly. He sat his chin on the edge of the fountain as Cynder bit the inside of her cheek as she leaned her shoulder against the stone work. She looked behind her and saw Flame and Ember standing a little way back down where they had come, looking concerned as if to ask if it was safe to approach. She only gave a light shrug as she looked back and tried to think of something not predictable to say to the purple dragon. Watching her, Flame leaned across to Ember and whispered,
"I think we should give him some space. Cynder always knows how to straighten him out."
"Yeah…" Ember nodded genuinely, seemingly the most unsettled by Spyro's outburst. Flame stepped forward and gave her a light touch with his paw as he guided her across the street to the stalls on the right side of the fountain, hoping it would distract her while Spyro and Cynder talked,
"We'll just be over here!" he called as they crossed over.
"Okay," Cynder replied distractedly, keeping her eyes firmly on Spyro, still waiting for the right words to come to mind.
"You don't have to say anything, you know?" Spyro told her dryly, "I know it's what you're thinking about, but I'm the one who should be thinking of what to say."
"Like what?" asked the black dragoness.
"Sorry? I lost my head? I don't know…" he said with sardonic humour, enough to make Cynder giggle. Her giggling came to a halt as a flash of inspiration suddenly projected into her brain, making her smile with pride.
"You know, Ember wasn't wrong, Spyro."
"About what?"
"You never do disappoint. Not me, at least." Spyro lifted his head and looked at her with half lidded eyes as if he had just woken up. His mouth lifted into a faint smile,
"Does that make me a hero, yet?" he asked with faint sarcasm.
"Maybe, if you keep working on it," she returned warmly. Spyro sighed appreciatively and lifted his paws up on the edge of the fountain, resting his chin down again on them as he starred across to the other side of the pool.
Meanwhile, Flame had walked Ember towards a line of stalls across the other side of the fountain. Nearest to them was a stall operated by a rather unique individual; an Atlawa tribe member. The llama like biped stood tall like Hunter with white and dark grey fur covering his body and forearms while the rest of his arms up to his shoulders was bare skin, tanned by the sun. His broad, squarish muzzle and large brown eyes regarded the two young dragons seemingly with suspicion as they curiously approached. His stall was unique in that it was not a simple wooden table or cart like most of the others but was constructed from bamboo shoots and had a roof made from layers of large green leaves, some bigger than Flame or Ember. As the pair stepped up they saw he was dressed in only a simple but colourful skirt like garment tied around his waist, layered in a descending triple pattern of yellow, blue and green. His stall was packed with clothing of similar designs and miniature stone ornaments and pottery. Beside the stall was an Atlawa totem also made of bamboo, its hexagon shaped head bearing the image of the blocky face of the tribe's shrine god, a behemoth made of stone that was worshiped by them as they believed that their prosperity and peace was intrinsically linked to his appeasement. Whether it was or wasn't Flame didn't know, but he stepped up and gazed at the totem in fascination.
"Not for sale, for blessing of fortune," the llama said gruffly as he noticed his interest, Flame and Ember stepping back cautiously. The llama then stiffly held up in his left hand a poncho the same colour as his own attire, "You want buy this? Luggs sell to you for five gold," he offered coarsely. 'Luggs' as he said his name was, did not have the friendliest of mannerisms, though Flame and Ember knew this was not intentional. The Atlawa were a proud and hardy people, but hardly the most sophisticated. They mostly kept to themselves and few visited Warfang for either business or pleasure, Luggs evidently being one of those few.
"Uh, thanks but it's not really my style," Flame replied carefully.
"How about this?" Luggs offered immediately, throwing his right arm up and left arm down to reveal a strange red and green pot plant clutched in his hand, "You want for food or for looking at? Good for both!" he boasted.
"Uh…."
"Oh my gosh, Flame! Look at this!" Flame heard Ember squeal, only then noticing she had moved onward, having quickly lost interest in the Atlawaian merchandise.
"Sorry, maybe next time!" Flame said apologetically as he rushed to follow her voice, leaving Luggs standing perturbed behind his stall. He saw Ember standing on her hindlegs with her front paws pressed against a shop window a short distance on from the stall. The storefront was unique with a wooden green façade standing out conspicuously from the usual stone fronts of most of the shops in Warfang. He looked up and read the gold painted letters above the store, Artisan Jewellery, Moneybags Enterprises incorporated.
A large glass window took up most of the storefront while a massive dragon sized door was built on the left side. On the bottom corner of it was a small, mole sized door so that any mole customers need not try and force open the massive door to enter. As Flame moved beside Ember, he starred up into the window to see what she was gazing at. His eyes widened as they fell upon a crystal bust of a dragon's chest and neck which alone was a spectacular piece but was not what drew Ember's attention. Upon the bust was a gold collar like necklace with a glistening red heart shaped gem hanging from its centre. The gold collar was studded all around with four acorn sized gems in the colour of the elements, red, blue, green and yellow. He stood up and pressed against the window for a closer look, seeing his reflection in the glass beside Ember's, her bright blue eyes reflecting the shine of the jewellery she was enamoured with.
"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked longingly.
"Yes, you are…" he murmured absentmindedly.
"Huh?" Ember asked with a perplexed brow.
"…you're right, it is beautiful!" he corrected hastily, flashing a nervous smile. She stared at him queerly for a few moments before apparently accepting his answer and gazing back at the necklace, Flame swallowing hard with embarrassment. Ember dropped down onto all fours and untied the bag of gold around her neck. She placed it on the ground and pulled it open with her claws, the contents rustling as she stared at the coins dejectedly.
"No way I can afford it," she said downheartedly, "Even if I hadn't spent any of it already." She sighed remorsefully and squeezed the little bag between her paws as Flame watched her sadness in abject pain. Watching the light of her face fade away like a flower being torn apart by pests affected him in a way that all the sweets in Warfang could never hope to make better. He sighed thoughtfully and took hold of his bag of gold in his right paw, shortly making up his mind as he tugged at it harshly and broke it from the string around his neck.
"You know," he announced graciously, Ember looking up to him, "If you add my gold on top, you could afford that." The pink dragoness gasped in disbelief, her face lifting up into the skies, "Really? Are you sure? But you couldn't do that…"
Flame blushed and shrugged, "I'd just spend it all on candy anyway."
Spyro lifted his eyebrows as he stared across at Flame and Ember in front of the jewellery store, unable to hear their voices as he watched their curious behaviour. Ember suddenly started jumping excitedly about as passers by watched her behaviour with confusion. Like a mountain goat springing about a rocky incline, she bounced around before bounding through the door into the shop with Flame following behind.
"What was that about?" he asked Cynder to his right. She shrugged her shoulders and suggested,
"You think Flame asked her to marry him?"
"What?" he scoffed.
"Well, I wouldn't jump around like a maniac unless that was what happened," she explained casually.
"If Flame asked you to marry him?" Spyro asked cluelessly.
"What? Flame? No!" she cried furiously as Spyro began laughing as she said, "I mean that only if I was being proposed to would I act like that."
"Oh really?" he asked humorously, "And who would be proposing?"
"Indeed, who on earth would it be?" coldly asked a third voice. Spyro and Cynder both looked behind to see a trio of cold blue eyes staring vainly at them, the middle pair belonging to the author of the harsh remark. Spyro scowled as he beheld the trio of Ice dragons, a male and two females approaching behind them, some of the other younger dragons that Spyro and his friends cared not to socialise with. The leader of the group was a dragoness with aqua blue scales and white underbelly and wings. She had a similar appearance to Cynder, her face was broadly similar in shape to the black dragoness, but her snout was more firmly streamlined without the rounded beaklike shape of Cynder. Instead of white horns growing from the back of her jaw she had thorny, serrated blue fins like the flippers of a fish. Similar thorns continued all the way down her back and tail, the end of which formed a double-sided blade like that of a throwing axe. Her smile was unfriendly and her contemptuous gaze lingered over the pair markedly.
"What do you want, Glacious?" Cynder sneered at her,
"Aren't things a little too 'common' around here for you?" The blue and white Ice dragoness chuckled dismissively, her two companions laughing with her automatically. Glacious's blue eyes stared coldly in retort.
"Oh my poor friend, I would like to think you would know what is common and what my place is above," she said arrogantly as she turned her eyes to Spyro, "But then again, you of all people should know better than to mingle with her kind."
"As opposed to yours?" he replied harshly as he stepped forward, "You watch how you talk to my friends, Glacious," he said warningly.
"You know, I might have a little more respect for who you are if you acted more like I would expect, choosing your friends more carefully for a start," Glacious said ostentatiously, "With all that is expected of you, having the right friends can make a big difference."
"I'd rather earn my way, not have it put in front of me on a silver platter," Spyro replied coldly. Glacious laughed again, joined by her pair of automatons, though her eyes betrayed how vexed he was making her become.
"From what I've heard, your skills aren't even that remarkable, even with all four elements at your disposal," she retorted, dragging out her pronunciation of 'four' to deliberately smite Cynder. Spyro's brow darkened as he took a step in front of her as he growled at Glacious,
"Last time I checked there were five, not counting Aether. Say what you want about me, but leave her alone." Glacious smirked as she peered over his shoulder at Cynder as she glared back at her.
"I suppose Spyro could be a problem if he really wanted to be, because what would I have to fear from you? Blowing air in my face?"
"Why you…" Cynder snarled as she lurched forward, Spyro turning and holding his wing out in front of her to block her.
"Stop it, don't give her what she wants," he said warily.
"I wasn't. I was just going to give her what she deserves," Cynder replied sorely.
"I think that was a threat, Glacious," said the male Ice dragon on Glacious's right.
"I think so too," said the female on her left. Glacious narrowed her eyes disdainfully at the black dragoness who had stepped around beside of Spyro, though he kept his wing out to prevent her moving any further. The purple dragon moved his eyes cautiously between them as the next few moments passed by silently but tensely.
"Can you imagine the ruckus my father will make if he found out you threatened me?" asked Glacious cuttingly.
"You need him to fight your battles for you?" Cynder snapped.
"And you need Spyro to fight yours?" "That's enough!" Spyro barked, striding up and standing face to face to Glacious who's eyes widened as he bared his teeth and kept his snout only a hairs width from her. A puff of steamy air exhaled from his nostrils against her face.
"You want to play like that? My friends and I have the Guardians on our side. Maybe I could ask Cyril to make things harder for you in the trials…"
"How dare you!" Glacious snarled, suddenly finding courage as she pushed her snout against him and showed her teeth, "Purple dragon or not my father will have your hide!"
"Leave. My. Friends. Alone." Spyro said slowly, his wings stiffening and his eyes not blinking as the two other Ice dragons stepped back nervously, Cynder moving to Spyro's right and gently patting him on his right wing with her left.
"Lets keep this civil," she told him calmly, "Or at least as much as she knows," she added snidely. The sound of her voice more than anything was enough to calm him as Spyro pulled his head back and Glacious pulled back hers. Her companions moved alongside her again as the threat seemed to have passed.
"You might have the Guardians, but I have family. Something you and your other friends know nothing about," Glacious remarked with a wicked smile. Spyro dug his claws into the pavement at her words, clamping his teeth hard against each other but saying nothing. "But I suppose I have the four of you to thank for these holidays," she snickered as Glacious and her entourage smugly strode passed them, headed down the street Spyro and his friends had come from.
Spyro and Cynder watched vehemently as they left, the trio rudely walking against the flow of pedestrians, those who did not give way simply being barged aside by the three Ice dragons. As they disappeared into the crowd, a flustered Spyro turned away sharply back to the fountain, climbing up on the side and plunging his head fully under as he let out a cry of rage into the water. His muffled roar did not go unnoticed by those closest, but he didn't care as after a few moments he drew his head back from the water and shook it violently. He was breathing heavily as he leaned his right side against the edge of the fountain, water dripping from his face down to his feet. He drew in his breath as he reached up and tried wiping the water from his eyes when Cynder appeared in front of him. Before he could speak she balanced on her hind legs and gripped him by the shoulders. Spyro froze as her eyes stared back into his earnestly, suddenly losing the breath he had just reclaimed.
Cynder leaned in close to him as he watched her mouth intently as it opened a few inches from his snout. His heart felt like it was jolted by lightning as he closed his eyes as she moved closer, suddenly feeling a gust of wind blowing over his face. He opened his eyes just as the water in them dried from the wind, the wind that came from Cynder's mouth. She leaned back as she directed her funnel of wind over his face and chest, drying him of the water that had soaked him. He let out a slight chuckle as a sheepish grin reddened his face, wondering why he had for just a moment thought something different was going to happen. As she closed her mouth the wind stopped and she let go of his shoulders, Spyro touching his now dry face and chest.
"Thanks," he said blushing.
"Thank you," she replied sweetly, "Guess my Wind breath isn't so useless then, huh?"
"Not at all," said Spyro warmly. "But I'd be happy to see her get carried away by a tornado," Cynder hissed. Spyro chuckled grimly,
"As long as you can't be blamed for it."
"Hey guys!" boomed a cheerful voice from behind. Spyro turned his head over his shoulder as Cynder peeked around him, both of their eyes shrinking at the sight they beheld.
"Flame, what are you wearing?" Spyro exclaimed at the sight of the red dragon wearing a yellow, blue and green poncho that dangled over his chest like a large bib.
"And how did you afford that?" Cynder asked of Ember as her eyes fell on the ornate heart shaped necklace she now wore.
"Flame bought it for me! Isn't he so sweet? And isn't it just beautiful?" Ember cried gleefully as she lifted her head to give a better view of her new prize. Flame blushed and brushed his front paw against his new garment,
"I only had five coins left over and Ember thought she should get something for me, so she bought this from the Atlawa guy."
"Yeah, its really you…" Cynder remarked dryly.
"That's quite impressive," Spyro shuffled around as he eyed Ember's necklace, "But did Flame really buy that for you?"
"Yes, he did!" she cheered as she suddenly pulled him over with her wing and wrapped him in her forelegs, squeezing him tight as Flame failed to keep his composure,
"It was nothing… really!" he choked.
"Hmmm," Spyro mused impressively. He looked over to Cynder who tilted her head in a shrug of agreement to him. After Ember had relinquished hold of him to stare at her reflection in the fountain, Flame caught his breath and asked,
"What were you guys doing? Was someone talking to you?"
"Nobody important," Cynder replied sharply, "Should we get going now?"
"Sure, times wasting!" Ember agreed merrily as she leapt off the fountain. She sprang onto her feet and darted around the other side of the fountain into the other street, Flame watching her and remarking,
"I guess we're going this way," before he trotted off after her, leaving Spyro and Cynder alone. The two young dragons looked at each as their companions went ahead, the purple dragon giving the black dragoness a light shrug and saying,
"I guess we're going that way."
"I guess we are," she agreed humorously, Spyro chuckling with her before they set off together in a brisk walk to find their friends. As the pair rounded the tip of the fountain, they saw Flame and Ember playfully running and jumping in the street far ahead of them yet without saying anything they seemed content to watch them and walk together in a brisk but steady pace. It seemed an oddly coincidental and unconscious act but one they were happy to carry on with. It was a few moments later that Cynder leaned across to him and murmured,
"See? I knew I was right."
"About what?" he asked curiously.
"You never do let anyone down."
End of Chapter 7.
Next Chapter: Avalarian Nights.
More Spyro trivia:
During the planning stages of The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, the Ice Guardian Cyril was originally going to be female and named "Glacious". I decided to re purpose the name for a new character, a sort of female dragon version of Draco Malfoy I guess you could say.
Also the name "Luggs" that I used for the Atlawa character was the name assigned to the hapless Llama we see in a cutscene during A New Beginning being taken away in a cage by a Dreadwing, ie being "lugged away" hence the name.
Anyway, thank you for reading and please fav and leave a comment of you have any critiques or anyting you'd like to say. See you next chapter!