Spyro, Cynder, Taelas, and Lyara darted through the sky, propelled forward by a strong updraft, courtesy of the former terror of the skies. Their route to Warfang was roundabout to some degree. They kept a wide berth of the forces that were streaming towards Avalar.
The horde of corrupted dragons was cascading towards the valley. Soon they would be upon the defenders. The thought of what battle would transpire there sent shivers down each of their spines.
For their own purposes however, the distraction was enough. No dragon from the invading forces peeled off to confront them. The four could feel the bloodlust emanating from the throng as their harrowing cries filled the sky. They wondered how many even took notice of them at all.
Having seen enough, Taelas turned to face their own prospect. In the distance was a veritable maelstrom of energy crackling across the sky. More confusingly, even from that distance he could see rubble and whole buildings lifting into the sky. Reality was being torn asunder along with the sky and taking the laws of gravity with it. Lightning struck regularly as the very world seemed to be remaking itself.
Taelas could feel his muscles tense up as he had to will his wings to continue flapping. A quick glance to Lyara showed that she had similar concerns in mind. She had been doing well to hide her feelings but the purple dragon knew better than to think she was okay. His parents were another story.
Spyro and Cynder hardly seemed to bat an eye. The gravity of the situation was clearly not lost on them. Taelas could only imagine that their stoicism was something that came with experience. They had after all saved the world when they were younger than him. Not to mention the slew of less notable, but no less dangerous, plots they'd foiled since.
"We still have some time." Spyro said, drawing Taelas from his thoughts. As he spoke the wind around them died down. It seemed as though it was his doing, but Taelas know it to be his mother's. "We've fought them ourselves, but had little luck. Lyara, did you have any sort of thoughts as to how to beat your brothers?"
"Or is the direct approach still the best?" Cynder added, peeking back at the dragoness.
Lyara's snout moved as she chewed on her gums, considering what she knew. Marindor had explained many things to her in their time together, not the least of which was the ritual used to alter her brothers. Unfortunately, he'd not mentioned any true weaknesses, as far as she knew they were made to withstand what was known to be the deadliest environment known to dragons.
"I'm afraid the elders may have outdone themselves when making them." Lyara answered sadly.
"Nothing for it then." Cynder commented, glancing back to Spyro, who nodded.
"Although, there may be one thing." Lyara continued, drawing their attention once more. "Sol and Arum were made to live in convexity. As such, they thrive off the energy itself. It quite literally sustains them. It takes the place of sustenance, heals their wounds, replaces the need for sleep."
"Really hoping there is a 'but' coming." Cynder said as the dragoness went quiet.
"There is one flaw, if you can call it that." Lyara said. "I cannot sustain myself on energy however, my body was altered in much the same way. The only difference is that I had a limiter put in place to prevent me from absorbing too much energy. While they don't have that problem, they can still only hold so much energy within themselves."
"And when it's all used up…" Taelas surmised.
"Won't they just absorb more from their surroundings?" Spyro asked.
"They could try, but their ability to do so likely mimics mine. In large amounts, it can't be done quickly. They also probably can't absorb much in the middle of a fight." Lyara replied.
"It's a battle of stamina then." Cynder said grimly.
"Best to split them up at the very least." Spyro said, pondering quietly for a few seconds. "Cynder and I will fight one, and you two will stop the other."
"Spyro." Cynder said curtly, making the purple dragon give her a pensive stare. "You can't expect them to fight alone. We should pair up with them instead."
"No." Taelas interrupted from behind them. "You two have been fighting for decades." Taelas began. "You know each other better; you'll be more efficient."
"And what about you?" Cynder asked.
Taelas shrugged and threw a small smile Lyara's way. "We've seen our share of battles."
Lyara smirked, glad that, if nothing else, she had the purple drake at her side. "We'll have each other's backs." She replied.
"Ancestors…" Cynder sighed as she turned back to Spyro. "He gets this from you, you know."
"There's no time to waste." Ryn said gnawing at a bandage that was already coming loose from his scales.
"What are you doing?" Syra asked frantically as she reached out and pushed his snout away. She tried awkwardly to stick the cloth back in place, but found that its adhesive properties were already gone.
"What do you mean? I can't move in these things." Ryn answered as he ignored her prodding. His teeth clenched around a different strip of cloth and he ripped it free before spitting it onto the ground.
"You're going to fight?" Syra asked, taken aback.
"Of course I'm going to fight." Ryn countered as he tore another bandage away.
"Ryn you can't, you're already hurt." The dragoness argued.
"Courting for less than a day and already I'm getting orders." Ryn mumbled. He thoughts he'd said it quietly enough but he heard a snort from Aegis at the comment. If nothing else he at least seemed to understand his predicament.
Syra rolled her eyes at her father before turning back to the earth dragon, who was swiftly becoming unbandaged. Some of his scales still seemed tender, clearly in the process of being shed. The wound in his gut hadn't fully healed either, a thin layer of scar tissue being all that was keeping him from bleeding once more. "This isn't a joke you know." She said quietly.
For the first time since the conversation began, Ryn stopped what he was doing. He turned and looked at the dragoness as she took a meager stance, unable to stare back at him. Ryn sighed and moved a little closer to her, the intimate distance between them making Syra hesitate further.
"I appreciate that you're worried about me." Ryn said gently, his voice no more than a whisper. His words made Syra droop as she knew the answer that was coming. "We're going to need everyone, injured or not. You know that."
Syra looked at him, her eyes quivering. They were close, almost too close, the slightest movement and they'd be touching. It dawned on her then that he was likely pushing past whatever physical discomfort he might be feeling. It wouldn't serve for her to do nothing but doubt him.
"I'll just have to watch your back." She said with a resigned sigh. She glanced up at him with an apprehensive smirk, it was the most she could muster.
"Stole the words from my mouth." Ryn answered softly.
"Are you all ready?" Azshea asked as she flexed her wings.
"As we'll ever be." Aria offered as she and Ivarik stepped up beside them. The ice dragoness still had a tear in her eye and a sniffle in her snout from watching her family leave. Despite that, she seemed as determined as any other.
"Then we're going." Aegis said. "Stay close, even when we approach the battle. There's no telling what we'll find." The lightning dragon turned to fly away, but stopped short. His jaw set, he looked at Azshea who grimly stared back. After a moment, Aegis turned to look back at the confused youngsters. He looked over each of them, quietly milling through his thoughts. "If nothing else, remember this." He began. "Those you encounter will do whatever they can to end your life. There is no room for hesitation on a battlefield. Kill them, before they do the same to you."
Azshea felt herself twitch at the blunt comment. To give such a cold-blooded command to those barely on the verge of adulthood felt wrong no matter how she looked at it. Silently, she considered her own battles at their age. She'd struck down dragons just the same. Those images would cling to her mind until the end of her days. While she never wanted them to experience the same feeling, she didn't dare oppose Aegis' warning. This was a matter of life and death.
"Let's go." Aegis grunted as he lifted himself into the air. The others followed closely behind as they set out towards the onslaught that was already underway at the edge of the valley.
It wasn't long until they could all see the ugly details of the battle going on before them. While they could certainly hear the fighting from a distance they couldn't see much from where they'd taken off. As they drew near in the sky, the battle splayed out before them.
A slew of violet dragons of all shapes and sizes darted towards the valley. Many had already landed and were wreaking havoc on the ground. Others flew overhead, loosing elemental barrages, each blast tinged with the chaotic energy that consumed them all. Most still sported the element that they'd been born with, however a rare few harnessed raw convexity itself. The onslaught of attacks was already tearing the valley asunder twisting the once tranquil scenery into a hellscape.
Amidst the bedlam were their allies. While the corrupted dragons fought seemingly with no direct tactics or order, the forces of the valley formed into groups, drew lines, and manipulated the terrain for cover. Near to the center of their forces were the cheetahs. While their numbers paled in comparison to the dragons around them, their arrows were plenty devastating. While a projectile wasn't likely to slay an enemy alone, the shock of being hit with such an arrow proved enough to send most plummeting to the earth.
"There." Aegis prompted, nodding to a breach in the defenses. Without waiting for any sort of answer, he dove through the air. Azshea was immediately behind him, more than ready to take her mate's side in combat.
The four behind them hesitated for only a moment. It was Ryn and Ivarik that looked at each other first, each seeming to silently dare the other to move. A second later, they both sprung forward, tucking their wings in and diving after the fire and lightning dragons in front of them. Syra and Aria followed suit.
Aegis veered upward at the last second, leveling off and skimming the earth. He slid along the grass into position next to his other allies. Before he'd even stopped skidding along the surface, he sent a crackling burst of energy straight into one of the nearby assailants knocking the purple drake backwards through the air.
Almost immediately, the lightning dragon saw another approach from his side. He turned to face the oncoming threat, but found the drake swept away by his mate. Azshea slammed into the enemy's side, grinding him into the earth. Mostly unphased, the dragon snapped his jaws forward latching onto her leg.
She cringed at the feeling of blood being drawn. Keeping her composure, Azshea kicked up her back legs before planting her paws squarely into the dragon's soft underbelly. The drake spit as he was forced to unclench his teeth. In that moment, Azshea kicked off his body, hawking a fireball at his prone form. She fell back into position next to Aegis as her fiery inferno exploded upward into the air. There was little time for chatter however as more dragons approached to confront them.
Back in the air, Syra dove after the two males, Aria beside her. They had only descended for a few seconds before something caught Syra's eye. Her head snapped to the movement. With no time to even let out a yelp, she whipped her body to the side, spiraling and altering her trajectory just enough to dodge out of the way of a gnawing drake that strafed past her.
Completely caught off guard, Syra flipped herself right side up and extended her wings, the leathery membranes stretching painfully against the sudden burst of air beneath them. She ignored it and righted herself. A sudden uneasiness came over her as she glanced around, her friend nowhere in sight. It was then that she realized what had happened.
Aria fell through the sky, the violet drake tangled with her. Her survival instincts forced her to act without thinking. As the two tumbled through the air her enemy hardly seemed phased by the impending collision with the earth. Brandishing her talons, she clawed at his hide leaving deep lacerations and trying anything in her power to wrest herself from the clutches of the insane drake.
The dragon simply laughed through any pain he might have felt, before bringing his head forward, biting her shoulder and piercing her flesh. Aria cried out in pain as the dragon sunk his jaws into her. She felt adrenaline course her veins as the pain radiated through her whole body.
Focusing as best she could, she manifested her element. A deadly spire of ice formed almost instantly near to her enemy's skull. Without a second thought she slammed it towards her intended target. The ice pierced flesh and bone, a spray of blood coated her scales, and a second later the jaws around her loosened.
Wasting no time, she struggled to get free. Wrenching herself away from the maw she found the ground almost upon them. With no time to think she angled herself atop the now dead dragon as they crashed down. Aria felt her bones shake as she bounced off the body and across the earth, a fresh burst of agony finding her as she careened out of control.
The dragoness tumbled into a stance her world spinning, head pounding as she somehow managed to stay upright. Having lost her bearings in the air, she forcefully blinked and looked around trying to take in her surroundings. It was chaos and as she turned in place. She could hardly piece any information together before another violet drake was diving towards her. She willed her muscles to move her, but they wouldn't listen.
Bracing for the end, she felt a tingle cross over her scales. There was a crackling boom and a blinding flash. With strained eyes, Aria watched as Ivarik collided with the oncoming foe, lightning coursing his body and stretching out chaotically to the vicinity. Their clash sent both sliding backwards, Ivarik stopping just beside her. As the other dragon recovered, Ivarik wasted no time spitting another bolt. The purple dragon stood straight his muscles locking. Before he could do anything else a fissure lurched towards him and the earth lifted beneath his paws flipping him over before promptly crushing him.
Ivarik traced the attack to Tera, the guardian of earth. The dragoness nodded before moving on to her next opponent, having no time to look after them. Ivarik didn't pay it much mind as he turn to Aria who still seemed shell shocked.
"Are you alright?" He asked quickly. "I heard you cry out I-
"I'm fine." The dragoness answered abruptly. She shook her head trying to rid it of the trauma of the last minute.
Ivarik gave her a pensive look taking in her already battered appearance, then without warning craned his neck and spat another blast of lightning. Aria didn't see it but she heard another dragon behind her crash to the ground. There was no doubt that he'd saved her again.
"We should get back to the others." Ivarik said, his eyes darting frantically as he tried to keep track of every possible enemy around them.
Aria nodded as the golden drake began to make his way past her. She was glad he at least knew what direction to go. Despite the relief of having him with her, she couldn't lower her guard. Doing what she could to block out the pain of her wounds, she began to watch the battles around them, knowing that at any second they could find themselves entangled.
There were already bodies littering the ground. Those that hadn't already met their end were writhing in the mud and grass. Aria could hardly believe how quickly everything had collapsed around them. The most frightening thought was that it had only just begun and already the air was thick with blood and death.
The azure dragoness struggled with her senses, wanting to block out the imagery but knowing that she needed to be alert. It was during this constant internal battle that she felt heat radiating on her scales. A quick glance told her that there was no fire nearby, on reflex alone the dragoness mustered a wall of ice between herself, Ivarik, and the source of the warmth.
A fraction of a second later there was an explosion that shook the very earth. Hot air rushed past the side of the barricade, the ice melting, cracking, and finally shattering leaving the two dragons to be blown away still by the cataclysm.
Aria's world blurred as she struggled to rise from the aftermath. There was a ringing in her head as she stumbled and pushed herself up. Ivarik was beside her in a similar state. All around them the fighting had dulled, but not ceased. Some still battled, but the blast had served to put distance between many combatants.
Almost fearing to look, Aria turned towards the epicenter of the explosion. She felt her blood run cold as, amid the cloud of smoke, was a purple dragon the likes of which she hadn't ever seen. He was far larger than the others. His very form was fury itself. She could feel his presence and it made her tremble as it threatened to overwhelm her. Cassius watched as the dragoness' legs wobbled, his teeth flashed, as he turned his attention towards his next victim.
Lyara shivered as she felt the energy of convexity saturate the air around her. The walls of Warfang passed below her. The city before her was in shambles. Little more than rubble remained in most places. Above and around them, stray buildings and even chunks of the earth itself floated listlessly. Thunder and lightning cracked through the sky above, they were the only sounds that broke the otherwise ominous atmosphere. Silently, she wondered if this was all her brothers had known for their two thousand years of solitude.
"It's time." Spyro said from the front. Lyara looked up to find him watching both her and Taelas. She looked to her friend next to her. Taelas gave her a sidelong glance and a slight nod. He was determined, and she couldn't help but gain a little confidence from his example.
"Before anything else, we need to close the focal point they've been manipulating." Lyara explained. "I'll need Taelas' help to do it though."
"Then we'll need to make a distraction." Cynder commented, eyeing Spyro who nodded his agreement.
"How long will it take?" The purple dragon asked.
"Only a minute or two." Lyara answered. "Unlike the others it hasn't been left to tear into this realm. It should be simpler to repair than the others."
"Think you can handle that?" Spyro asked turning to his mate who smirked in response. Spyro took the silent answer gladly and turned back to their query.
They were fast approaching the ruins of the guardian tower. They knew the gods would be there. In all their time, they'd rarely deigned to move from that spot. With an army of crazed dragons at their disposal there was little need to after all.
"We go straight in, don't give them a chance to react." Cynder said, her eyes narrowing on her target in the distance.
Like a snake she gracefully darted forward, the wind propelling her before Spyro could even answer. The purple dragon turned back to the two who looked taken aback by the black dragoness' quick jaunt forward.
"Work quickly. Don't worry about us." Spyro said firmly before turning and diving forward as well.
Arum picked his talons against the marble flooring beneath him. The floor already bore numerous scratch marks but it didn't stop him from marring the surface further. He sighed in discontent. "Why couldn't we go with them?" He droned angrily.
"Because as long as our sister is alive, we need to protect this place." Sol said, his patience thinning.
Sol breathed a heavy sigh. He opened his mouth to speak but found himself gasping for breath as Cynder smashed into his chest head first. She'd approached at a downward angle and as she made contact, they simply slipped into Sol's shadow. The speed at which their disappearance occurred seemed like little more than a blur to Arum who blinked curiously as he stood up and looked in vain for his now missing brother.
A moment later, Spyro crashed into the black dragon's side at full force. The two of them sailed away through the air, Arum crashing, body first, into the remains of a nearby building, Spyro immediately behind him.
Taelas and Lyara watched in stunned silence as the two gods seemingly vanished before their eyes. As they began a quick descent, Taelas almost felt a pang of sympathy for Malefor from the old tales.
The two landed and Lyara quickly skittered over to the focal point that hummed incessantly nearby. Taelas bounded after her, although she gestured for him to hurry all the same. Without a second thought, he put a paw on her side and she immediately went to work.
The purple dragon watched the swirling mass of energy before him begin to shrink. Lyara had been correct, the two had kept the damage to a minimum, which was likely not their intent, but a fortunate side effect of claiming any energy that seeped through the rip in the realms. Naturally Taelas' eyes drifted upwards as he took in the scene above. It was as if there was a window to another world in the sky. One empty, dark, and chilling world. Taelas swallowed hard and focused on the task before them.
Spyro heard the eager roar of Arum far closer than he would have liked. The purple dragon braced himself as the black drake sped from fog of dust they'd formed. There was a terrifyingly joyous expression on his lips as he crashed forth, knocking over anything in his path. Spyro squared himself, his talons digging into the remnants of the street. His tail slammed the earth and the ground beneath Arum ruptured.
The black dragon lost his footing almost immediately, but never once did the smile leave his face. Crazed, Arum didn't halt his forward movement, instead his gait swiftly adjusted from a sprint to short leaps as he drove himself towards his enemy.
Before Spyro could think to make another move the black dragon smashed into him. Spyro landed on his back with a trembling thud. Arum brandished his claws as he moved to strike. He heard Spyro's tail slam the earth again however he didn't predict the impact it would have. The earth beneath them heaved upwards launching the two into the air. In the confusion, Spyro reached out and grappled with the black drake spinning them around until their positions had flipped.
When they landed heavily, he stood over Arum. Wasting no time, he reared his head back, tongues of fire already falling from his maw. Before he could loose the devastation however a beam of convexity cut past his horns. Spyro had barely dodged the attack, but it had made him falter. In that moment, with unseen strength Arum pushed him upward lifting the smaller purple dragon into the air. With one final kick to the gut, Spyro bounced upward, the air escaping his lungs. Beneath him, he watched as Arum quickly rose, and launched himself forward once again, horns ramming into the purple dragon.
Little more than a gasp escaped Spyro's throat as he tumbled away on a short flight until he crashed through a nearby building. As the rubble and dust around him settled he pushed himself back up. He could hear the black dragon's laughter growing closer. He shrugged off the pain and met his opponent's grinning face.
Cynder and Sol burst from the shadows some distance from the focal point. Taking full advantage of the diversion, Cynder bit down on her enemy's neck. She was surprised to find his hide too hard to break. In frustration, she whipped herself around in the air pulling him along for the ride. At the opportune moment, she released him and watched as the white dragon shot towards the earth before impacting and kicking up a burst of dust.
Not satisfied, and knowing him to be far from dead, Cynder growled as she flapped her wings one, twice, and a third time, scythes of compressed air screeching towards where the white dragon had landed. Their sharp whistles abruptly ended as they met their target, scattering the cover that had appeared around the snowy dragon.
Cynder watched with narrowed eyes as the attacks sliced across his scales, clear wounds cutting into his hide. Sol flinched for only a moment, before sparks of violet energy seemed to weave his broken body back together as if nothing had happened.
He smirked at her from the ground, and a second later, he released a blast of convexity. Ever nimble, Cynder bent around the attack as she descended, carving through the air with ease. Sol continued his barrage as she closed the gap between them. Each beam was nearly grazing her. Cynder could feel her scales burning just from being close to the volatile energy.
She grit her teeth as she pressed forward tucking in her wings to gain more speed. Sol was staring her dead in the eyes, his crimson orbs thirsty for her demise. As he pulled his head back to release another attack, Cynder couldn't help but smirk. She quickly altered her trajectory to meet the ground more quickly and phased through her own shadow.
Sol, unbothered, swung his head back downward while hopping into the air himself. As he'd predicted, Cynder appeared beneath him, leaping from his shadow face first into a blast of convexity.
Cynder roared as she was brought to an immediate stop, the whiplash threatening to snap her bones. Only a few feet above the ground she fell with a thud, Sol landing immediately over her, a wry smile on his lips.
Cynder ignored the pain radiating across her scales and instead focused her anger on the one above her. The dragoness' eyes shifted hues into a frightening red. She witnessed the telltale signs of her power taking hold, confusion, and a sudden stiffness. While she'd have preferred to send him running, she knew that this was the best she would get.
Taking her chance, she kicked his exposed stomach bouncing the drake upwards. Scrambling to rise she whirled around, the blade of her tail cleanly catching his throat as he came back down. She heard Sol land on his paws, making little more than a gurgle. Satisfied, she turned to confirm what she'd done.
Surprise, followed by annoyance was all that she was met with however. Before her, Sol stood, mildly hunched over, faking a gag, a grin appearing on his face. The gash on his neck was already sealing, violet sparks snapping across his scales.
"You aren't even mortal anymore." She spat, bringing the white dragon's grim antics to an abrupt end.
"Not a mortal." Sol replied darkly. "A god."
Almost before the words had left his mouth he darted forward, fangs flashing in the waning light.
Arum opened his maw wide, a blast of convexity pulsing forth. Opposite him, Spyro did the same. The two masses of energy crashed together in the center, twisting and trying to overwhelm the other. The spectacle didn't last however as the energy collapsed in on itself.
The ground buckled, the loose rubble was flung aside, and both dragons were swept up in the destructive explosion that followed. Spyro felt his world spin. He closed his eyes and tucked in his limbs. The rocky debris he impacted with stuck to him, curtesy of his element. Soon he bounced across the landscape in his makeshift earthen shield, hardly feeling the constant crashes. When he finally felt himself stop, he dropped the barrier and promptly fell face first onto the ground.
With a small growl, he pushed himself back up, he wouldn't have much time to recover. Even knowing such a thing, he still felt his blood chill when he saw Arum next to him in his periphery. Spyro felt the red eyes bore into him. Snarling in defiance, he shifted his neck enough to narrowly dodge the incoming swipe. He felt the talons scratch his scales, tearing his hide just enough to let blood trickle out.
His momentum already set, the purple dragon spun completely, slamming his tail into the black dragon's face and knocking him off balance. Arum hardly seemed to care as he shifted himself and easily recovered without so much as flinching. Excited for another scrap, Arum rammed back into the purple dragon.
The two tangled in a flurry of claws. When they finally separated, Spyro stood with various cuts lining his hide, a snarl on his lips. Arum however simply sizzled with violet energy, erasing any sign of tussle.
As Spyro breathed taking the much-needed lull in the struggle, he watched Arum intently. He was surprised that the black dragon hadn't already assaulted him again. Throughout their brawl he'd never let up. He didn't seem like one to strategize, why he'd stopped was anyone's guess. Spyro didn't much care about the reason, he needed a plan. He wasn't meant to kill him, only keep his distracted, slow him down. Although he'd hardly be opposed to the former.
"Are you ready?" Arum asked, casually interrupting the violet dragon's burgeoning thoughts.
"Ready?" Spyro asked inquisitively. He couldn't even manage to keep the surprise from his face.
"I wouldn't want this to end too quickly." Arum snickered as he ran his talons across the broken stone beneath him. "Sol never lets me fight. So, I'll savor this, and enjoy plucking every one of your scales from your body."
"You'll die trying." Spyro snarled, the threat doing little more than firming his resolve.
Arum cracked a smile, the grin of a child who'd been given a new toy. Spyro paid it little heed as his enemy burst forth. Waiting for his moment to strike, Spyro watched as the dragon haphazardly approached. When he knew Arum wouldn't be able to stop, he shoved himself to the side. Arum breezed past, his jaws snapping nothing but air.
Spyro landed at the same time the black dragon did, however he was still faster. Calling his element, the very air around Arum froze. The crystals crept from the ground up his limbs, as if possessed. The onyx dragon struggled in vain, repeatedly shattering the ice materializing around him. For every section he broke, two more took its place. Spyro watched silently as an increasingly frustrated Arum was steady encapsulated.
Roaring in futility, the ice solidified around him locking his limbs, torso, neck and finally head in place. When Spyro finally deigned to breathe it was as though an iceberg had formed before him. With a heavy sigh he allowed himself to relax, but only for a second. Looking back at the frozen dragon his eyes narrowed. He could still see Arum attempting to wrest himself from his prison, his shadowy form shifting just slightly inside the cocoon. Spyro's snout twitched as he slammed a paw into the earth. Within the chamber of ice, eight separate spears lurched forth, piercing the black dragon from all sides.