The legend of Spyro: Dawn of a new era

by Vindictive456

Occuring right after the ending of Dawn of the dragon, this story takes Spyro and Cynder on a journey through a totally new world where dragons haven't been seen for centuries and magic does not work in the way they are used to. Join the dragon duo from the games as they face new challenges, learn to live with their choices and discover a little more about each other.

4. Chapter IV: Starting anew

Author's note: Hey there everyone, I'm finally back! Did you miss me? I sure missed you. My experimentation with this story is now much further along than I initially planned but I'm very determined to keep it going. This chapter gives out the first taste of action and intrigue paired with a healthy dose of charachter development, you are more than free to give out your sincere opinions on how the story is progressing and, if you like, shout out some ideas that could make it more interesting. I'll be taking a break from writting right after I publish the next chapter of The New Tales of Zootopia, trust me, it will be a doozy. But do not worry, I'll return very soon with even more story beats. Until then, Enjoy and have a fantastic reading.

Chapter IV: Starting anew

Soon enough it was morning, Cynder was hit by the shining rays of the sun appearing over the horizon and she pressed her eyes shut, just wishing she could stay asleep for a little while longer. The dragoness brought her right wing over her head in a futile effort to convince her mind that the hour of awakening from her slumber was still a long time from then, she leaned her head to the side and scooched a few inches away from the light of the sun, closer to the wall of the cavern and closer to Spyro, still fast asleep on his own little nest and not giving a single shred of mind to the light hitting over his head.

The dragon released a soft hum as he moved for a short second with his eyes still closed shut, his head turned around while laying over his crossed paws and over a cozy spot on his nest and, without realizing it, he was facing Cynder and their faces were very close to one another. The dragoness saw as his nose contracted as he draw small breaths, the little smile he had on his muzzle, the peaceful way he moved his wings and unhinged his shoulders while he was sleeping, she found that absolutely precious and thought:

"I wonder what he is dreaming about."

Dreaming. That is a word that passed by her head and that made her think even more on another subject that she hadn't thought about for the longest time. Not too long ago, every time Cynder closed her eyes for sleep, she was accustomed with having only visions of dreed penetrating her mind. Fearful images of the evil Malefor invading her subconscious and forcing her to lead his villainous campaign to destroy all of those who got in his way. Curiously, those thoughts haven't crossed her mind during her sleep anymore. Cynder had peaceful nights of sleep more recently, her mind experienced serene hours of meditation and her dreams had become far more peaceful, that made her wonder if Spyro, placed so close to her, was a decisive factor relating to her tranquil sleep.

After that wave of thought ended flowing over her mind, Cynder decided to turn her attention to the outside world, there was wind, strong wind, there weren't many clouds floating by but there was noticeable signs that the temperature was dropping and there was the wandering shade of a few heavy billows creeping across the western sky. Cynder arrived at the conclusion that the weather was just about to take a turn for the worst and with the way the cave presented a slight upward incline by its entrance, there was a likely possibility that the rain water would overflow into the inside and flood their living space in a matter of hours, causing watery damage to their living conditions and to their recent acquired supplies.

Cynder knew that she had to act fast but she also knew that it was unwise to leave without notifying Spyro of her whereabouts first and foremost. Cynder decided to wake him up, she softly placed her paw over his right shoulder and spoke up:

- Spyro.

Cynder's voice was quickly noticed by Spyro, the eyes of the young dragon opened up and his body began to slowly move as he awakened. Spyro released a little yawn and spoke up:

- Good morning Cynder. Did you sleep well?

The dragoness showed a little smile before answering his question:

- I slept just fine. How about you?

Spyro moved the rest of his body to make sure everything was okay with him, he felt a small dose of pain coming from his hind leg and decided to report that promptly to his friend:

- My leg started acting up again. It is not hurting as much as before but I am still not sure I can walk just yet.

Cynder nodded in understanding and made sure to remember to apply the anesthesia that had been presented to them by Zachariah at a later time. She leaned her head closer to ask:

- I'll get you the medicine Zachariah gave us later. Anything else?

Spyro looked around for a bit, he moved his paws over the leaves of his side of the nest and answered:

- I'm feeling alright, but I didn't have quite the peaceful night of sleep. I'm pretty sure there is a bug on my side of the nest.

As Spyro said that, he lifted a leaf with his left paw and was shocked when a big beetle crawled from under that very spot he was attempting to survey, the colorful arthropod ran away with intense speed proportional to his tiny but numerous legs and scurried out of the cave making a small screeching sound an clicking his tiny limbs against the stone on its way out. Cynder sounded off a little yelp after eyeing the creature and Spyro turned over to her after getting the confirmation he was looking for but never expected to find:

- Knew it.

Cynder walked a couple of steps closer to the cave's entrance to certify that there was no seeable trace of the insect, she leaned her head to the side to acquire a better look and breathed easier after seeing that the arthropod intruder was gone. She looked behind until her eyes had landed over Spyro, still laying over his nest with a calm expression on his face, and spoke up:

- Did you see the size of that thing?! It was huge!

Spyro laughed and answered to that:

- It was probably just scared. It must have been using this leaf as a shelter before you plucked it from the tree.

Cynder believed that the theory presented by the dragon was reasonable but she also took that chance to present the dragon with her most important concerns for the time. Cynder walked closer to Spyro and pointed out to what called her attention as soon as she had woken up:

- Spyro, there is bad weather approaching and there is a risk that the cave might become flooded. The flowing water can damage our sleeping spaces and cause some of our supplies to become unusable. I need to go out and find a way to stop it.

Cynder extended her wings, ready to go out and fly in search of a solid solution that would see them and their shelter free of the upcoming rain, however, she halted her moves as soon as the voice of her friend sounded off from behind her, asking her to hold on:

- Cynder, wait!

The dragoness tucked her wings and turned around to pay attention, Spyro, with his paw raised, asked of her:

- What are you going to do exactly?

Cynder made certain to position herself in a wide and solid stance, placing emphasis as she launched her answer that she had a strategy that placed power before a viable plan of action. With a flame in her eyes she answered to Spyro:

- I'm going up there and I am going to use my wind to blow that rain away from us.

In a different situation, that plan could have worked, possibly giving them plenty of time to think of a more permanent solution, but there were considerable hinderances to their situation to be counted and Spyro made sure to place all of them in the open. He moved himself over his nest adjusting his upper torso to the side and gestured with his right paw to call Cynder so she would come closer and take a seat for herself. The dragoness obliged and laid her body right in front of her friend, Spyro saw that she had ceased her movement and asked of her:

- Is that the entirety of your plan?

- Yes. Why? What's wrong?

Spyro took a short breath before airing his criticisms towards her stratagem:

- Zachariah told us only yesterday that the beings of this land have not seen any traces of living dragons for centuries, if anyone happens to see a dragon moving a rain cloud away with nothing but a breath that could reveal our presence and place us in a very unpleasant position in regards to our need for refuge in this kingdom.

Cynder opened her mouth in order to launch a hearty protest but her line of thought was interrupted by the dragon's unarguable logic corelating to their need to keep a low profile until he was fully recuperated from his injury. Spyro saw that he had the upper hand in that argument and decided to continue with making his point:

- There are also creatures that might have need of the rain. There is an abundance of flora in this region that needs plenty of water to survive, moreover, there is a good chance that improper handling on the clouds positioning will result at a much worse climate phenomenon and that the resulting weather occurrence might strike a nearby location with people inhabiting it. Those are considerable risks and I am not willing to take any of them.

The dragoness pouted when facing the fact that there were too many variables to consider with her previously thought course of action, the cloud was getting ever so closer to their position by the second. Spyro was set and determined to formulate a plan of action that would be just perfect to remedy their current situation without using too much of their powers or time, he asked Cynder to remain with him so they could think of a solution together, the dragoness reluctantly agreed and started to think with him. Spyro opened the discussion up once more by pondering out loud:

- The main thing we need to worry about is stopping the water from flowing into the cave. What can we do in order to prevent that?

Cynder was clearly not into strategizing, she was much more keen on acting on a problem than thinking it through, but she decided to give it a shot. Without taking too loon to think about it, the dragoness shot a solution out in the open:

- What if we dig a small moat in front of the cavern? We could redirect the water somewhere else.

Spyro pointed a claw to her and spoke up, rapidly listing the good and the bad points in accordance with her solution:

- That is a great idea! Unfortunately, I don't think we would be able to dig a channel deep and wide enough to redirect the rain water in time, the earth around the cave is either too soft or too hard to make a consistent redirecting route. If the accumulated water would to overflow that might just make things worse for the both of us.

Spyro tried to make his own solution, implementing a heavy tone of engineering into his plan:

- What if we grab a few logs, some leaves and that big sheet that Zachariah gave us and construct a rudimentary cover for the front of the cave? It could provide safe insulation for the water.

Cynder saw an immediate crack in his plan:

- How would we keep the leaves together over the sheet to use it as cover? Without a way to glue them together the wind will blow them away and the collected water will just seep into the sheet anyway.

Spyro scratched the bottom of his jaw and answered to that:

- True. We could use tree sap as a potent adhesive for the leaves.

Cynder shook her head in an apparent negative motion and spoke up:

- That could take too long. Such heavy lifting and positioning would take too much out of our time, even with the two of us working together. Also, I have no idea if the sap of the trees could be used as a strong enough glue, the water could just wash it off and all of that work would've been for nothing.

Spyro lowered his head as he understood the dragoness point of view, her primary solution to just blow the clouds away and be done with it all started to sound more plausible by the minute. Cynder's impatient stance on the matter was also becoming more testy with time, she believed that just sitting around and discussing the current situation instead of taking action against it was only eating away at the time they had to solve the problem. The two dragons racked their brains in order to quickly think up a viable solution they could implement, Cynder was half convinced that she would need to act on her initial impulse in the end so she joked with a very sarcastic tone in her voice as she threw an unfounded solution into the air:

- Too bad we can't just wall ourselves in against the rain. The cave entrance is a major opening and it does not give us protection against the elements.

Spyro's mind was suddenly sparked by her words, the young dragon reviewed probable resources that they would need to implement a simple but, admittedly, viable and efficient. The young dragon clutched his fist and hit it against the ground as the completed idea struck his mind and he spoke up making his voice reverberate through the cavern:

- Cynder, that is it! We will build a wall!

The dragoness made a dismissive gesture with her right paw and said:

- Spyro, I was joking.

- Well… I am not.

Spyro pointed one claw to the entrance of the cave and explained what he meant by that:

- We can build a small upward step and mold it in a form that will shield the incline by the entrance from the rain water, that will keep ourselves, our nests and our supplies from getting soggy in the long term. We need to grab some rocks and line them up in an arching pattern by the entrance.

Cynder was already seeing a flaw in that plan, she spoke up to it:

- Won't the water just seep through the gaps between the rocks?

- Not if we seal them together with a strong bonding agent, cement.

Spyro began to explain his strategy much better by gesturing with both of his paws as they clamped and scrolled over the ground as if they were pointing to a neat diorama depicting the cave. He continued speaking:

- We need to use wooden twigs as a way to line the rocks and then we use an extract of mud and crunched gravel to seal the gaps, I can use my earth attributes to crunch the gravel into dust and mix it with the mud, then I can use my fire and your wind to dry the mixture and solidify it, making a small wall that should provide enough protection against the overflowing water from the rain.

Cynder's eyes were wide open as she heard the final details from his plan and believed that there was a huge probability that they would succeed with an elaborate but elegant solution, if she hurried along to retrieve all they would need for such a project. She decided to take the rest of her doubts away by asking of Spyro:

- Do you really know how to make cement on your own?

- Not necessarily, this is an approximation to the rapidly solidifying compound that Terrador showed me how to make a while back. It is going to take a lot of gravel, but it should be easy to compile and crush it into dust using my earth abilities. After mixing it with some water, the resulting substance will be resilient, fast hardening and sufficiently stable to make this task possible.

Spyro did his best to try and rise from the ground so that he could offer his assistance in making his idea come into fruition, unfortunately his wounded leg started acting up, Cynder rushed to the back of the cave and retrieved the medicine that was presented to them, being careful to apply it over Spyro's scales and not come into direct contact with it as it was instructed. The effects of the gel that Zachariah had applied the day before were quickly taking effect and the dragon was feeling the sharp needle of pain in his leg which was previously constraining his movements starting to diminish in intensity. Cynder noticed the face he made and the sharp inhale he sounded through his teeth as he recalled the uncomfortable feeling that struck him just one minute ago, the dragoness rushed closer to him to offer her assistance in case he needed it and stop him from moving anymore. Aspiring to convince her friend to not exert himself without a good enough reason, she offered to do all of the heavy lifting herself and leaving the dragon with the most comfortable task:

- I'll pick up some pebbles from outside that you can use to grind into dust, you can stay here until I come back with the rest of the building supplies we will need.

Spyro showed her a single positive nod with his head and the dragoness exited the cave to put in place all that she needed to do for their plan to work out. With great efficiency, Cynder collected small twigs and big enough rocks to line up a good enough molding foundation in front of the cave, Spyro did as he was instructed and used his unique abilities to mix enough of the bonding compound inside a small wooden bucket to create the small wall. The purple dragon crushed a great amount of small rocks between his paws and poured every scoop of dust he could produce inside a bucket with mud retrieved by Cynder from the river nearby, he spent a considerable amount of time making sure that every ingredient was mixed properly to ensure that his plan would work at the end.

The processes that the two dragons entrusted each other to go through were somewhat tedious but they made it work with great efficiency and time to spare. After Spyro was done preparing the concrete and taking out enough moisture from the mixture, he handed the bucket filled with the compound to Cynder and she dispensed over the line of rocks and twigs over and over again, taking the time to mold it quickly with her paws and pat it down with her tail to test the small structure stability. After certifying that the little wall was resilient enough, Cynder retreated back inside the cave and back to Spyro's side, the two dragons combined their abilities and dispersed a direct and warm breeze, making sure that their newly constructed barrier was fully solidified and ready to be tested, they didn't have to wait long before hearing the rumbling of the rain getting near and the first drops of water falling from the sky.

The weather was brutal, the rain dropped over the cave and the canopy of leaves from the forest just outside was shaken thanks to the ferocious winds, but luckily Spyro's idea had worked. The miniscule wall working in conjunction with the natural rocking formations on the outside of the cave were just enough to stave off the water and keep their makeshift home dry and cozy, there were a few instances when the wind would blow a few drops inside the cave and over their heads but not enough to actually bother them too much, it was actually a little refreshing for them to get a few drops of water after so much work to keep the inside of the cave dry.

Cynder waited a few minutes, laying right near Spyro, watching the outside world and directing glares of expectancy down to the ground to certify that the wall was high and reliable enough to perform its single intended task, it would appear that the little barrier was hastily cobbled together at first glance, but through the efforts of the two dragons, it held on better than they could have imagined. Cynder believed that her line of thought regarding that was a little silly, it was such a little thing, a tiny commodity that was meant to enhance their living conditions for a little while longer, but she felt happy and satisfied beyond words to see it coming into fruition. More so, she was glad for the fact that she had contributed with the realization of something that did not involve the destruction of anything in any capacity alongside someone she cherished so much, thinking like that made a little smile appear on her face.

The dragoness snuggled her body over the soft leaves beneath her and close to her friend and the two of them simply remained inside waiting for the rain to move on. Spyro kept watching the rain and smiling for the longest time as he saw the weather outside which only seemed to get worse with every passing minute and Cynder wasn't sure why he was doing that, she leaned a little closer to Spyro and nudged him slightly with her shoulder before asking:

- Do you think we will be okay like this?

Spyro answered her without taking his eyes away from the recently constructed barrier and the ambient outside:

- I think it will be okay. The water is being deviated away thanks to the wind and the geographical incline just behind the cave. Plus, this moist air from the rain feels quite refreshing.

Cynder concurred with him by simply showing a smile and leaning her head over his shoulder to feel the natural warmth of his body closer to her. The two dragons remained inside their reclusive hide out and kept making improvements to their living conditions as days went on. During certain days Cynder and Spyro encountered different tasks and the two sat together to find new and inventive ways to use their combined abilities and make their new home work for them. Most of their ideas panned out just fine like when Cynder used her wind commanding skills to clear the area outside the cave and using her darkness controlling ability to map out the forest at night to scare away predators that might prowl up on them while they were asleep. Of course, not all of their ideas worked out as they planned, one night Spyro tried to test out an idea he had picked up from Volteer and used his electric breath condensed in a small ball of energy to produce a lasting source of light that could be contained and controlled making it possible for them to see at night without wasting too much firewood, it only worked for a short while since the small sphere of yellow lightning lasted a mere ten seconds before it combusted into a curtain of sparks right in front of him.

Difficulties aside, their limited time of respite was quite enjoyable. With the passing of the days, Cynder kept caring for Spyro and applying the medicine given by Zachariah so that he would gradually heal each day, but she was doing so much more than that. Every passing day, after waking up and tending for Spyro and to what he needed, Cynder would fly away and scour different areas of the forest around her to try and find a red healing crystal that would expedite his recovery. Cynder would return after her search, having her paws full with a variety of crystals, blue rocks that were cold as ice, yellow stones that reverberated with electric force, even pitch black jewels that were small as pebbles but weighted heavier than massive slabs of granite, unfortunately none of them had the kind of energy she was searching for so she would just leave them by a spot inside the cave as items She and Spyro could use later as soon as they figured out how.

Two entire weeks had passed by since the two dragons had arrived in this strange new kingdom and, thankfully, no life-threatening menace had found them. The cave at the center of crescent island was not visited by any menacing creatures or wandering travelers, unfortunately, that was all about to change. Cynder was returning from her latest excursion, flying low and preparing herself for a landing, just when she was about to touch down on the ground once more she saw movement in the distance, it was Spyro. The young dragon was outside the cave, up on his feet and carrying a heavy piece of wood on his back, Cynder thought that was very imprudent of him and decided to have a word as soon as she got in closer. After dismounting from her rushed landing, Cynder walked in the direction of the dragon and called his name before getting in closer:

- Spyro!

He turned his eyes towards her and dropped the slab of wood he was carrying with him on the ground. The purple dragon saluted his companion and gave her a warm welcome as soon as she came a little closer to the cave entrance:

- Cynder, welcome back. Did you see anything interesting while you were out today?

The dragoness already had a small list of interesting sights that she managed to spot while cutting the skies since that very morning but she let all of that aside to have a few words with her friend. Cynder pointed a claw at Spyro before loudly asking of him:

- What are you doing?!

Not really getting the precise point of that question, Spyro leaned a little closer and answered her:

- We are running low on fire wood. I walked to a clearing nearby to find some we could use. Luck is definitely on my side because I found this huge fallen branch right over there.

He pointed to a spot right behind him while extending his left claw and gesturing with his right wing. Cynder was not very uplifted by his answer, she placed a paw over his shoulder and said:

- Spyro, you shouldn't be moving around like that. What about your leg?

The dragon wiggled his body around for a short second as he answered to her concerns:

- Cynder, I feel fine. My leg is not hurting as much as before and I want to help out wherever I can. I already checked around and discovered something amazing. There is a clearing on the western side of the island with plenty of wood and I found a line of trees where we can get fruit to eat.

Spyro said so as he showed Cynder a piece of fruit he was carrying with him under his left wing. The fruit had a nice reddish exterior and Spyro had already taken a bite out of it and Cynder could already smell a sweet scent coming from it. It didn't look like the fruit had much juice or pulp but Spyro had already attested that it was eatable to which Cynder complained with some much warranted concern:

- You shouldn't be moving until you are fully healed and you really shouldn't just be eating strange fruit you find in the forest. I'm the only one here with poison resistance.

Spyro made short work of her concerns as he said:

- Relax. I saw a pack of birds gorging themselves on it and I figured it was okay. Plus, Zachariah told us himself that the flora of this place is not dangerous. Do you want a bite?

Spyro said so as he dangled the partially eaten object in front of her. The dragoness refused to that as she walked past him and said:

- No, thanks. I don't feel hungry.

Cynder entered the cave as she stepped over the small protective barrier they had erected to ward off the rain water and sluggishly moved towards the nest by the left side edge of the cavern, she turned her body around and tossed herself over the leafy bed before releasing a long sigh and closing her eyes to rest. Spyro watched the whole thing from outside the cave, he leaned his head to the side as he thought and figured that Cynder must have been really tired to bother herself with anything else that day. The dragon decided to just continue on what he was doing before and dragged the large branch inside the cave, he picked the piece of wood up from the floor with his mouth and carried it inside before tossing it to the side so that they could split it into smaller pieces later. He approached Cynder over her bedding area from the side, sat himself on the ground next to her and asked:

- Are you okay?

The dragoness did not open her eyes but she heard him loud and clear. She turned her head and answered to him:

- Yeah, just tired. I made it further off in the air than any other day this week.

Cynder turned her whole body over the nest before taking a nice deep breath and continuing with her report:

- I found a big field with small trees, they had twisted branches but the leaves were quite colorful and fragrant from above. There is a large lake that we can use to get more drinkable water to the east. I also spotted a group of travelers making across the road to the north. Most of them were carrying supplies but there were a group of scouts in the front carrying weapons and ammunition for bows and ballistae. I believe it would be safer for us to stay on our cozy little island for the time being.

As soon as Cynder was done with her report, she turned her body over the soft leaves of the nest and got a little more comfortable, moving her wings into a more suitable position in order to get some much deserved sleep. Spyro laid his body near her and waited patiently with his front paws placed one on top of the other in case there was anything else she wanted to say, no other sound aside from her calm breathing came to him, so he decided to ask:

- Do you need anything?

Cynder only wanted to rest but she couldn't help but smile after hearing that and answering to him in kind:

- All I need right now is to take some time to catch my breath.

Spyro nodded his head, even if she couldn't actually see him doing it, he raised from the ground and turn his entire body over in the direction of the entrance before saying:

- I'm going to head out and get the rest of the things that I found, you can rest as much as you want.

The dragoness turned over, raised her head from the comfy spot where it was resting and called over to Spyro as to order him to stay inside:

- Spyro! Do not head out! You should stay to make sure you're all better.

The dragon extended his wings into half-span before turning around and walking a couple of steps to reapproach her, he leaned his head down and said:

- Cynder, I don't want to stay still anymore. I feel better and I want to help. You should stay here and rest, you keep saying that you're fine with doing all of these things but you hardly eat and I know that you are barely sleeping at night. It is not good for you to push yourself this hard.

The dragoness raised from the nest completely to emphasize her point of view as she squinted her eyes and extended her wings before saying:

- But I need to push myself this hard, Spyro! We still have no idea where in the world we are and the roads around the island are becoming more and more traveled with each passing day. I need to be careful every single day I take flight so no one will follow me and find out where we are living. If we are not careful we might attract attention and get into more trouble than we can handle by being discovered.

Spyro understood why she was so concerned, he leaned a little closer and tried once more to convince her to let him help by speaking with a soft tone of voice:

- Please, Cynder. You won't have to worry about me being seen, let me help you. I won't go far, I won't even take flight. Just let me help with something.

Cynder knew that being helpful, being a hero, was already engraved within the dragon's spirit. He wanted to feel as less of a burden and assist her in any small tasks to alleviate the weight over her shoulders. Too tired to contradict her friend and convinced that Spyro would go out on his own no matter what she said and that he would undoubtedly seek the chance to see how much of his old strength he had already recovered, Cynder decided to give him permission to exit the cave and gather any useful supplies on his own. Spyro was really happy with the chance to do so and he once again promised that he was not going too far before exiting the cave.

The purple dragon exited the cave and went to search through the trees of the clearing he pointed out earlier, he felt great ease as he collected thick sticks of firewood, small rocks that could be used for future construction and a few fruits like the one he had shown Cynder. There was no need for him to utilize his magical attacks or even waste energy with high-flying moves, he performed his entrusted task with small flare and complete practicality with only his regular physical skills. Spyro wasted a good portion of the day and plenty of trips but he didn't even care about any of it, he was just happy to be out of the cave and doing something he considered useful after such a long time recovering and immobilized, he felt good with just being able to move at all. Most of the days he just laid over his own spot of the nest, waiting for Cynder to return from her latest flights and trying to keep his mind busy by imagining new improvements for the cave or even possible scenarios in case the two of them were discovered and ambushed, but now he was actually out and doing something, he needed that.

Tired but ultimately satisfied, Spyro returned to the cave and sat over a spot on the ground near Cynder, he had already stored the fruit he collected along with all of their other supplies and stacked the firewood he had gathered on a neat pile at the right corner further into the cave. Cynder woke up and the sun was already setting on the horizon, there was a calm breeze entering the cave and she also saw Spyro peacefully resting nearby with a big pile of wood placed close to him. Cynder smiled after thinking how much effort he must have made to accomplish that while she was sleeping, she decided to let him have his own time to rest and have her own time to do something else and burn off the excess energy she had.

Cynder exited the cave and gave a few steps outside, she took a deep breath and looked up into the sky, the stars were just starting to show up and there was a draft gradually building up from the east. Cynder opened her wings and felt the wind passing over her head and her scales, it felt really good, her mind and her body were so relaxed and she wished to stay there for a little while longer, she did just that. Placing herself in what felt like hours of self-imposed meditation, Cynder closed her eyes and opened her spirit to everything else happening around her. As the time passed slowly giving way to the imposing darkness of the night, Cynder admired in stillness all of the wonderful sounds of the nightly creatures just starting to awake and of the wind, still gently brushing past the trees, but there was something else, an inconvenient sound that threw her mind out of balance for a second and woke her up from her peaceful moment of reflection.

Cynder opened her eyes and looked around as she reached a sudden conclusion: there was a presence nearby and she could feel it. She heard a curious sound coming from her left side, a rustle in the leaves, sticks forcefully breaking and a series of quick footsteps that were getting more distant by the second, that was definitely not the wind. The dragoness' heart shot off with shock as she turned her head in the direction of the suspicious noise, she figured that there was something there, something bigger than a wild critter crossing the forest path in search of food or shelter. Cynder felt the unnerving urge to follow that sound, to quell her suspicions about its origins, it was more than simple battle or hunter's instinct, she had to make sure that she and Spyro were safe.

Cynder gave a single leap high into the air, kicking her entire frame up with her hind legs and gently flapping her wings as she moved ahead in order to cautiously mask the sound of her own steps, she landed on the ground only a few feet away from a narrow trail into the woods surrounded by a field of prickly bushes and an ominous old dead tree by the left. There was a smell in the air, a putrid, unidentifiable smell, a scent similar to aged ale but also containing heavy traces of spoiled fruit and putrefied meat. The dragoness started to wander what could it be while doing her best to not throw-up when faced with the rotting stink in the air. Recalling to the conversation that they had with Zachariah a few days past, Cynder wondered if there could be any users of evil magic nearby and if the unseen entities could be interested in bringing harm to her and Spyro, she needed to find out for herself.

Cynder decided to continue her pursuit for the truth in silence as she landed on the few branches belonging to the trees at the right side of the trail, the smell was getting stronger. Cynder stopped for a moment once she saw a peculiar clue stuck in one of the bushes, an out-of-place detail that called to her eyes and made her step down from the trees and onto the ground once more. She saw a small piece of animal skin, a thin shred of leather that looked like it belonged to a piece of clothing that was left behind, she was on the right track. Cynder continued to advance and kept her eyes and ears alert for any signs of an ambush, she didn't have to move too far to notice that the tracks had led her to the edge of the island and to a small rock bridge that connected the two portions of the trail leading out. Cynder saw little choice, she glided over the bridge and continued on her hunt.

After landing on the other side of the river and leaving the bridge behind along with crescent moon island, Cynder abandoned the visible trail and moved only a few more meters before her keen senses took notice of an aggressive conversation that was happening at a clearing ahead:

- Stop with your incessant prattle and just tell me what you have found!

The dragoness heard an intimidating voice, an authoritarian speech with a screeching bellow in its tone. Cynder descended into the bushes and sneakily approach the origin of the sound until, at last, she found the target of her hunt. Up ahead, on a small clearing, just a few meters off the beaten path, there was the light of a bonfire and surrounding it there was a trio of ugly creatures receiving orders from a much larger one, looming over the lit fire in the middle.

The three creatures answering to the orders being given to them were small humanoid looking beings, they had scrawny arms and legs, stumpy torsos and were dressed only with dirty loincloths that were made from a leathery fabric which Cynder recognized even from a distance. Leading those creatures was a bigger but similar looking beast, the elderly monster was covered with a cloak, looking down on his smaller subordinates and holding a crude weapon on his right hand, a long staff with a straight wooden hold that was sort of crooked near it's handling center and the withered skull of an unknown animal on it's tip. Cynder ducked and laid her entire body on the grassy ground so that she would remain unseen, she extended her wigs forward and used them to gently shove the leaves of the bush she was hiding out of the way so she could clearly see and hear all that was happening.

One of the smaller creatures spoke out with a set of random garbles and grunts that Cynder couldn't understand but the leader of the group seemed to be getting all of the important details about whatever was being reported to him. Cynder flinched to the left as she heard the taller figure speaking with the same screeching voice she had heard before:

- What do you mean? They haven't left the cave unguarded yet?! That is absurd! There is nothing of inherent value inside that cave. Why do they refuse to leave it and move on?

Both of Cynder's eyes shot open with surprise, her mind flared up as she asked if they were talking about the cave where she and Spyro took shelter. She listened a little more as the tall figure spoke again:

- Those two creatures have taken refuge inside the crescent moon cave for far too long. I have told you all, we can use that cave as a lasting hide-out to attack nearby travelers, but if we don't find a hide-out then all the inhabitants of the nearby villages would become wiser to our presence. We must act quickly or risk being eliminated since there appears to be even more adventurers seeking to hunt our kind down with every passing day. Accursed adventurers! I would kill each and every one of them if I had the chance.

It was more than confirmed, those creatures have been spying on Cynder and Spyro for an extensive amount of time, not to mention that they apparently wanted to take the cave for themselves and use its strategic location for their own purposes. Cynder was just about to spring into action until she heard one of the smaller creatures growl in a more reassuring manner, the bigger monster leaned in a little closer and spoke up:

- One of them is not very active? That is interesting. That might mean that he is incapacitated due to an injury.

The malevolent intent in his voice was palpable as the creature thought out loud and started figuring out a winning stratagem for himself. Cynder kept to her hiding spot as she continued to observe and listen carefully. She heard another one of the little ones speaking with a new set of growls and the big one in charge spoke up in surprise:

- And they have been collecting magical crystals from this region? Excellent! I could use new sources of power for our clan. It will make it that much easier to subdue others to our will.

That word worried Cynder, "Clan", sure fire sign that there could be even more of the monsters and that the small group she had tracked was nothing more than a scouting party. Cynder listened a little bit more and that is when she discovered the plans of the monsters once the bigger one spoke:

- We shall await until the two of them are fast asleep before our attack. Once we dispose of the able one the other shall fall without a problem. We will take the cave and all of its contents to ourselves. I wonder if their hollowed skulls can be used as good decoration for our new lair.

Cynder let her rage explode as she thought:

"Enough observing! Time for action!"

Using her powers of fear with great precision and control, Cynder took a quick breath and fired a small concussive bullet from her mouth while still remaining in hiding. The small sonic projectile flew through the air and accurately hit the back of the head of one of the smaller creatures by the fire, causing the green imp to fall to the ground, panic and contort around in utter disorientation, immediately throwing the other creatures into a haze:

- What in blazes was that?!

The biggest of the group yelled out and he soon got his answer once Cynder revealed herself, jumping out of the bushes and kicking up eaves and dust into the air, the dragoness advanced with no fear to be seen against the assailants. After seeing the dragon rushing against them, with claws and teeth in clear view, the big monster in charge pointed the tip of his staff at her and released a decisive command:

- It's one of the creatures from the cave! Finish it off, before it disrupts our plans!

The two remaining minions under the larger creature's commands were quick to follow those orders, they turned around to face Cynder and dashed towards her with weapons in hand, the one from the left brandished a spiked wooden club while the one on the right held tightly to a large blade with a taped handle. Cynder was a little surprised to only then notice that the smaller creatures were using weapons to hold her at bay, she didn't give it too much thought of effort as she effortlessly floated away from the reach of their weapons and sought small openings which she could exploit to deliver decisive blows.

The first of the little monsters used both of his arms as it swung its blade in a wide arch from right to left, Cynder flapped her wings to retreat from the blade and waited patiently to see if the creature would deliver another attack. Convinced that the blade was far too heavy for the creature in front of her to react too quickly, Cynder took a short breath and shot another magic projectile that encapsulated the creature's head within a thick sonic bubble in a mere second of time and made him ease the grip on its weapon, the dragoness took the chance and swung her right paw at him while still positioned in mid-air, swiping the little monster aside and turning her immediate attention to the next target in line. Cynder's next opponent was far more focused but still very thoughtless in the middle of combat, the second monster advanced against her and swung his club from side to side with recklessness and savagery. Cynder used her tail like a bladed whip to sweep the little monster's leg and cause him to fall, once she took his balance away, the dragoness used her left paw to deliver a heavy swipe that left him inactive on the ground.

After disposing of the three minions with ease, Cynder directed her eyes to the leader of the creatures as he directed an iron gaze at her. Holding his staff firmly in his right hand, the big creature gestured with his free hand at Cynder and spoke up:

- You have a warrior's instinct. It does not change the fact that you shall be destroyed along with your ally. That cave belongs to me.

Cynder bared her teeth and prepared to pounce over the creature while yelling:

- That cave is our home and you will never hurt my friend!

Cynder leapt into the air with her claws placed up front and the full intent of ripping the creature to shreds, but her chances were significantly diminished once her opponent showed his full fighting capabilities. Just before the dragoness threw herself into the fight, the creature flipped a vertical dial on the handle of his staff and directed it's tip at Cynder, she figured that there was an attack coming at her but nothing could prepare her for what came next. The skull on the tip of the staff showed a bright flare in its hollowed out eyes just before a curtain of flames was erected between the monster and her. Cynder flapped her wings frantically to evade the attack and get enough altitude to better survey the danger, it was hard to see clearly with the sudden light caused by the flare but she could absolutely see the devious smile that the monster had on his face. Placing herself on a battle stance just after landing back on solid ground, Cynder asked, demanding an answer:

- Who are you?

The villain was more than glad to answer to that, he took some breath before clacking his staff on the ground and speaking up:

- I am Groth! High sorcerer of the eastern goblin tribe. I have been scouring this region, lurking in the shadows for too long, searching for a new place that I could call home. Somewhere my tribe could use to proliferate and assume control over this wretched land.

He pointed the tip of the staff at Cynder once more before continuing:

- The cave you have chosen as a shelter is a perfect strategic spot to hold out until we are strong and numerous enough to plunder the nearby village. Simply surrender and I will concede to you a painless death.

Cynder was well familiarized with that kind of speech, she quickly detected a tone in his voice that gave the would-be sorcerer a tone of self-imposed superiority, he thought himself above anyone who would step on his path, but there was also a light dose of uncertainty in his voice showing that he was mildly impressed and that he definitely never faced anyone like Cynder before. Cynder gritted her teeth and clamped the claws of her right paw on the ground as she prepared to launch herself on another attack, she ran ahead and jumped towards him but her efforts were once again thwarted by his crafty arsenal. After seeing the dragoness starting to advance against him, the monster touched the dial on his staff once more and pointed the item at her, only this time the magic weapon released a gust of wind powerful enough to knock Cynder off her original trajectory and tossing her back with impressive strength.

Cynder was uphauled and disoriented, her wings caught the wind attack and were nearly torn from her body as the sudden gust hit her out of nowhere, she was sure that the creature that she was facing could only command fire, apparently she was mistaken. She tucked her wings while spinning in midair in order to regain some control but it wasn't enough, the monster took the offensive during her moment of weakness and waved his staff to summon another wind attack that hit her just as hard as before and tossed her in the direction of a nearby tree with a strong enough trunk and bark to render her inactive through sheer force of the impact. Cynder had to protect herself, she couldn't afford to give into panic or to get knocked unconscious, she only had a fraction of a second to switch her magical attributes from fear to darkness and prevent herself from felling the full force of the impact. As her back collided against the hard bark of the tree, she felt a great deal of pain but not as much as she would have if her body wasn't gradually turning into shadows.

As Cynder collided back first into the tree, she released a loud grunt that echoed around through the clearing, her entire body became enveloped in a cloud of dark mist as she achieved the attribute switch just in time and the transformation softened the blow as she regained her senses and returned her attention to the fight ahead by turning herself into a shade. Groth couldn't make sense of what just happened and Cynder used that confusion to her advantage. Moving along the ground like she was swimming at high speeds thanks to her shadow form, not quite liquid but not entirely solid, Cynder made a line towards her opponent, using the dim lighting of the environment as cover. The monster looked for her, readying his weapon to launch another attack, but it was already too late for him. Before he knew what was happening, Cynder emerged from the ground, regaining her complete physical form in the process and delivering a devastating uppercut to the monster's jaw.

The great goblin stumbled back, growling in pain with one hand on his jaw as he tried to reorient himself and holding on tightly to his weapon to ready a new and more advanced attack. Cynder, after landing the blow and reassuming her fighting stance, drew long breaths through her mouth and took note of her body's condition to make sure that she could still put up a fight. The spot between the bases of her wings was sore and her tail was a little hurt due to her forced maneuver from earlier, she felt uneasy but there was also another feeling that rose from deep inside her chest and took a hold of her, the exhilaration of battle. Cynder was glad to be fighting again, not just because it was a big part of who she was but because she was protecting herself and Spyro. The dragoness had little time to enjoy that sensation as he focused returned outward to her massive opponent that was back to giving orders to the little minions under his command:

- I do not know what sort of creature are you, but I shall enjoy ripping you apart. Get up and hold her down, you idiots!

Cynder looked around and found the three little goblins were back on their feet and preparing their weapons to take her down, even the first creature she had stunned with her sonic bullet earlier was back in action, wielding a flimsy spear and advancing against her. Cynder had little time to react but she made do with the time she had, not bothering to change her magical attribute, the dragoness dashed forward with a single flap of her wings in order to take down the creature that appeared closest to her in a swift and effective manner.

The first goblin readied his blade, elevating it over his head in order to deliver a decisive blow that would split her skull in half but Cynder was much faster and accurate than him in battle. The dragoness was still a significant distance away from her target when she released a breath that enshrouded the little creature in a menacing sheet of living darkness, the goblin panicked and dropped his weapon doing his best to focus on shaking off the unknown power taking a hold of him, a useless effort since the mist continued to follow him around while dealing an excruciating amount of damage over time. Cynder turned to the left and went right to dealing with another one of her attackers, the little goblin employed the same level of strategy he had before as he kept swinging his spiked club from side to side with each step he took against Cynder. The dragoness decided to utilize a bold tactic as she leapt high and over her opponent until she was placed right behind him, she had all the chance she needed to attack him, first with an upward slap of her horns, then with a double swipe of her claws. The little monster tried to react but Cynder didn't give him the chance to attack since she promptly delivered another straight head-butt that caved his nose in and caused him to tumble unconscious to the ground.

Only one minor opponent remained and Cynder figured that he wouldn't be as easy to put down since he had already seen both of his comrades fail to defeat her, he was furious and he showed that with each of his attacks. The third goblin dealt stab after stab with his spear as he kept advancing against Cynder forcing her to retreat little by little as she looked for an opportune moment to counter-attack. Wielding his spear on his right hand and leaning his body off to get himself a little more reach to his attack, the little gobbling thrusted the spear with the intent of piercing her throat and Cynder picked up on that, the shock of the modified attack caused her to place her left paw on the way to try and deviate the spear's trajectory, an oversight that did not play well in her favor, since the tip of the spear had edged sides her defensive action ended with Cynder receiving a wide gash on the palm of her paw. The dragoness had taken damage but she was still good enough to keep fighting, she ignored the spot of pain on her left paw and did her best to continue the battle like nothing had happened.

The leader of the goblins was watching the whole battle in utter disbelief, he was terrified and intrigued in equal measures while looking at the menacing creature that was dispatching his subordinates. He needed to take action and deal with her quickly before she became a harder complication to his plans and he knew just what to do.

After making sure that Cynder would be busy enough with the other goblins, Groth moved the dial on the handle of his staff into another position the made it reverberate with a different type of energy, he raised the staff over his head like he was wielding a massive sledgehammer and prepared to dish out a massive attack without the dragoness's knowledge. Cynder realized that the leader of the creatures didn't get too involved in the fighting and figured that he was cooking something up, however she only noticed that when the little goblin in front of her slowed down his attack to catch his breath. She looked to the left and her eyes caught a glimpse of the sorcerer preparing his staff for an attack, the dragoness felt a cold shiver swiftly climb the back of her neck and every instinct she had was telling her to get out of the way before it was too late. Giving the control of her body solely to reflex and intuition, Cynder rolled out of the way, tucking her wings and paws to get onto a safe distance from whatever trick the larger monster was about to unleash, a sudden explosion and a crackling sound told her she had done the right thing just in time, but once she looked over on what had happened she was left disturbed.

Placed at the spot she was positioned only seconds before, Cynder saw a big round crater, a perfect circular hole that appeared suddenly on the ground near her. Cynder gasped in shock and slowly approached the sight of the hole to identify what had caused it, the revelation of what lied beneath only increased her level of fear. At the bottom of the whole, not too far from the surface, there was the body of one of the little goblins, crushed beneath a massive amount of pressure that came seemingly out of nowhere, like an invisible pilar had descended over him and the ground, the little creature had definitive signs of broken bones and several bleeding gashes on is body, he twitched in pain for a few seconds before succumbing to the pain and passing out lifeless at the bottom of the hole.

Cynder looked over to the leader of the little creatures and found him holding onto his weapon with a devilish smile on his lips. The dragoness gritted her teeth at him and asked:

- WHAT DID YOU DO?!

The creature adjusted his posture before speaking up with tons of bragging in his voice:

- Did you like that, beast? It is called "gravity magic" and it is one of the most powerful magical elements in the world. I increased the gravity on that spot so much that it crushed everything, would've crushed you if you hadn't moved.

Cynder cried out to counter his bragging tone, even if it was clear that he didn't care about what had happened:

- You just killed one of your own!

- It matters little to me. Goblins, like myself, multiply fast. You can take out as much of these worthless pawns as you like, there will always be more, ready to fall in under my control.

He finished his sentence as he positioned his weapon for another attack, no spell was dispersed from the staff as he continued to prattle on in order to gain some more time to ready a devastating attack:

- We steal, learn and grow out of any other being's perception or consent. Take me for instance. I have been alive on my own, surviving for so long that I learned to speak other tongues, I learned how to fight better, I learned how to command others and I learned how to wield power that only I can control. The same power that will destroy you.

That is when the weapon reverberated once more and the monster got into position to dish out the same attack he used before. Cynder got into position so she could dodge the spell but the goblin decided to not attack before letting a few more words out:

- Once you are out of the way, I will gladly dispose of your ally and my kind will make far better use of the island cave than the two of you ever did. Soon, this entire region will be under our control.

Cynder was furious, she was going to take that monster down once and for all, at least she intended to do so until something else beat her to it. Just as the great goblin was about to release another crushing attack, a fast moving object appeared from the forest, like a flaming arrow fired from a ballista, the unidentified projectile opened its way through the trees and the leaves, crossed the clearing and struck the left side of Gorth's torso, throwing him off balance and breaking some of his ribs. The monster was thrown off and slid over the grassy ground with the momentum of the unexpected attack, letting his weapon fall out of his hands during the process. Cynder was speechless at first, she had a feeling on what had just happened and her confirmation came as soon as she saw the so called projectile land on the ground and dissipate the flaming aura of energy around him to reveal his true form:

- SPYRO?!

Cynder spoke up and the young dragon, noticing that there was no time for discussions or pleasantries, yelled out as he pointed to the fight at hand:

- Cynder! Keep the pressure on the big guy. I'll give you some cover.

It was a nice strategy, even if it was half thought and even if the last thing she wanted was her friend getting in the way and getting hurt all over again. Spyro made a quick dash in the direction of the remaining little goblins, who were already rising up from the ground to get back in the fight. The purple dragon released one attack after the other, opting to use his electric breath to keep himself at a safe distance and quickly subdue his adversaries. Cynder saw that he seemed to have everything under control and decided to focus on taking Groth down for good before he had the chance to do any more damage.

The dragoness advanced against the staggered target and changed her magical attribute in order to keep the momentum of the fight going against him. Cynder chose wind as a form of attack and so did her opponent as the goblin switched the setting on the staff's dial. Growth launched a continuous blast of wind magic in Cynder's direction and the dragoness stood her ground as she delivered a tornado shaped attack out of her mouth that cancelled the goblin's magic out. Groth was taken aback by that, given enough time Cynder's wind turned out to be much stronger and concentrated than the one he was utilizing, he clacked his staff on the hard ground and asked with a fowl tempered shout:

- What are you?!

Cynder was confident and daring, she answered his inquiry, bringing out great pride as she fully admitted to who and what she was:

- I'm Cynder. I'm the slayer of rivers, former herald of destruction and the living terror of the skies. I am a dragon! And I am your end!

Spyro heard all of that as he continued to push the little minions back with his own magic abilities, he couldn't be more happy at that moment. Spyro turned his attention back to his diminutive opponents who advanced towards him with great hesitation, the two had sustained so much damage that they could hardly fight anymore, the purple dragon only had to dispatch a small sized breath with his earth power to knock both of the creatures down without much effort. He looked over at Cynder once more and found her in the midst of a fierce battle against the leader of the monsters, it was just about over and he decided to rush over and help her out.

Cynder was at the final stretch of her battle, the monster was really struggling against her, every time he attempted to switch the settings on his weapon dial the dragoness would swoop in and hit him with a long range attack that would leave him disoriented and he could only stumble backwards as she hit him with shot after shot of her sonic breath. Groth was just about done with it all, he was going to put it all on one final attack as he raised the staff and said:

- I am done. Once I end you both there would be nothing standing in the way of my tribe ruling these lands.

Cynder was just about done with him as well, she had the chance to end it all with just one more attack, she awaited her opening and she got just that as the goblin turned to a stance that would allow him to swing at her with all his strength while unleashing another powerful wave of fire that would put her at a good enough disadvantage to finish her off with another hit of gravity magic, unfortunately for Groth, his hopes of victory were dashed once he forgot to take the other dragon in the field into account. Spyro fired a blast of electricity that whizzed through the air and hit the villain's hand, the lightning bolt exploded in a small and concentrated flash as soon as it hit the green creature's flesh and he released a loud growl of pain once he detected the sheer strength of the previously unobserved attack:

- *YEOWCH!*

The staff clacked against the ground and Cynder took that chance to dash towards the weapon and take it for her own, the dragoness held the staff in her claws and kept it out of reach from the wannabee wizard, the enraged monster clasped one of his hands over the one that had received the lightning strike and looked over to the dragoness with an unbridled fury in his eyes. Cynder stood there, holding to the weapon and assuring that the fight was finally over, Spyro rushed to her side and got into a fighting stance, just in case the monster still had any fighting left in him. Groth shriveled in pain as he spoke up:

- Miserable creatures! I will end both of you even if it's the last thing I do!

Cynder could not believe how persistent the monster actually was, she pointed the staff at him while holding to it in her right paw and said:

- If you do not leave this place the last thing you will ever do is have your remaining minions retreat with whatever is left of your retched corpse.

The malevolent being watched as the dragoness waved the staff in the air and could not hold back a menacing chuckle, even if he was in an unbearable amount of pain. He looked over at her and asked:

- Do you really think you can use my weapon against me? Only a well versed spell-caster can use that tool properly. You may have magic but neither of you is a wizard.

Cynder showed a smug smile and placed her retort:

- I don't need to be a wizard of any kind to split your skull in two. Now, leave!

The green monster and his two remaining minions retreated into the darkness of the forest, Cynder believed that it was all over but she also feared that there might have been more of the creatures to contend with, she felt somewhat worried for not having finished the monsters for good but she also felt satisfied with her victory. Spyro was positioned just alongside her and he relaxed as soon as all the monsters were out of sight, he sat himself on the ground and looked over his friend as she sat herself on the ground as well and took in a few deep breaths to regain her energy. The dragon leaned a little closer to his friend and asked:

- Are you alright? That was some fight.

Cynder took in the deepest breath she could to get enough air so she could speak up:

- What are you doing here?

Spyro leaned his head back when faced with her question, Cynder was short on breath and he thought that her voice would have been much louder if it weren't for that. He remained seated on the ground and extended his wings outward in an effort to ascertain his own ground as he answered her:

- You were gone and I could hear the rumbling of a battle all the way from the island. I was worried about you. What was all of that?

Cynder clamped the staff on the ground and released some air before answering to Spyro:

- Those creatures were going to invade our cave and ambush us in our sleep, they have been observing us for some time and I had to take the chance to finish them or risk letting them taking us both out.

Spyro let his wings down and his tail moved over the ground swiping off some lose gravel in the process. The dragon didn't take his eyes away from his friend, he wanted to help her and she knew very well that his natural impulses were exactly what helped her win and what kept both of them alive during that fight. Cynder opened her wings and slightly leaned over to Spyro as she whispered:

- You could have been hurt and I am mad that you joined in on the fighting, but you helped me and I'm also glad you came.

Spyro released a little laugh and showed Cynder a wide smile, the two dragons raised from the ground and Cynder placed the staff on to her back so she could better carry it, she signaled to Spyro with a wave of her left paw and said:

- Let's get back.

- You're taking that thing with you?

Spyro asked as he pointed a claw to the staff on her back, the dragoness shrugged it off and answered:

- It may be useful to us, plus it is way safer than just leaving out on the ground where anyone can take it.

Spyro could not even attempt to argue with that logic. They started to walk back to the bridge leading to the island, however Spyro took notice of something as they were walking side by side, Cynder had her right paw closed as she walked, she wasn't putting all of her weight on the right side of her body, she was limping and that got him worried that Cynder was hurt but just didn't feel like telling him.

The two dragons arrived safely in the cave where there was still a small bit of fire lighting up the campfire just inside. Cynder placed the staff in the corner and approached the nest with the intent of laying down and sleeping for the night, but Spyro stopped her as he walked closer and asked of her:

- Cynder, are you sure you're okay?

She turned her head in the direction of his voice and answered:

- Of course I'm okay. Although, I am slightly worried that there may be more dangers like that around these parts, we might need to consider building a few defensive structures around the cave so we can…

Spyro walked around until he was positioned right in front of her, he sat himself down and swooshed his tail around until he was positioned much like a sentry between Cynder and the nest, saying with no words that he didn't intend on letting her go to sleep without getting what he required from her. Cynder found that very peculiar and sudden, her heart skipped a beat as he saw Spyro calmly walking in front of her and turning his body around to block her off. She tried leaning her body to find a way past him so she could get to the nest but Spyro leaned his body in the same direction and extended his left wing to block her way and get a more decisive stance in that moment. Cynder made her body return to its previous stance and asked:

- Spyro, what are you doing?

The dragon took some air through his nose and said:

- Cynder, let me see your paw.

The dragoness took that as an immediate sign that he had noticed the way she was walking, Cynder's eyes shot open with a degree of surprise and she quickly deviated her eyes away from him and turned her face to another direction in a futile attempt to hide from him. Spyro already figured what was going on but he was still concerned with her well-being, he scooched a little bit closer and asked again:

- Please Cynder, let me see your paw.

The dragoness pressed her eyes shut but ultimately decided that it would have been futile to hide it away any longer. She extended her right paw towards him and Spyro gently searched for any sign of damage, he only needed one second to find the cut that Cynder was hiding from him. Spyro looked at her and said:

- I knew it. Why didn't you tell me?

- I just… didn't want you to worry about me. This is nothing, just a shallow cut.

Spyro placed both of his paws over her wrist and saw that the cut was not very deep but it was still enough to cause a considerable amount of blood to seep out of her body. Spyro looked over at Cynder and said:

- Cynder, you're hurt. Of course I will worry about you. We need to look out for each other, you need to tell me if something is wrong so that I can help. You may be strong but you're not invincible, no one is.

Cynder lowered her head in silence, she didn't want to say anything else that might be misunderstood, she really appreciated Spyro's help and she didn't wish to stop him in any way. Spyro left Cynder still for a moment as he turned himself towards the cave's interior and said:

- You stay right there, I'm going to grab some clean water and a gauze. I think we have some from the supplies Zachariah left here.

Cynder opened her mouth to protest against that but she closed it soon after without saying a word, she just let Spyro rush off to the back of the cave where he search rapidly but methodically for the items he had spoke of. After a couple of minutes, Spyro returned with a packed of wrapped gauze in his right paw and a gourd filled with clean water in his mouth, he sat close to Cynder and asked for her hurt paw so he could clean it and wrap it up, he did his best to make it so the bandage would be properly wrapped around her paw to protect the recently made laceration but he also made sure that it would be too tight as to not bother her. Cynder winced from time to time but he always assured Spyro that he was doing a good job and in just a few minutes he was done.

Cynder's right paw was wrapped up and she moved around a little to check if she could still move around on her own, it all seemed to be in order. With all of that resolved and all discernible danger dealt with, the two dragons moved to their nest and tucked themselves in for the night, Cynder had slept through a good portion of the day but her recent battle made her more tired than ever before so she didn't have any problems wandering off into deep sleep. Spyro still had a lot of energy stored over, he fidgeted and rolled around on his nest as he tried to find a better position to sleep, he eventually tired himself out and relaxed as the only sound he could hear was his own heartbeat and Cynder's peaceful breathing.

The two dragons have had their first taste of actual battle since coming to this new land. A place with different laws, different threats, a different sky, there was still so many questions that needed answering, but, for the time being, they could rest easy knowing that they were safe and that each of them was more than capable to protect and tend for the other.