Hello there. Jack of Knaves here, coming at you with a brand new Spyro the Dragon project. You see, I've been a fan of Spyro the Dragon ever since I was a small boy, playing my way through Ripto's Rage on the PS1, and I thought it'd be a fun idea to try my hand at writing a series of novelizations for the Reignited Trilogy with Cynder and her own dragonfly companion joining Spyro on his quests, and perhaps, when we hit the Ripto's Rage arc, work in a love triangle between Spyro, Cynder, and Elora. Of course, I do have plans for a Spyro 4 story, but not Enter the Dragonfly, although I will still do a polished up and modified version of A Hero's Tail, as truth be told, I actually like that particular installment. But, I think that's enough on my end. Let's begin!
Chapter One
Crystalized Dragons
Heroes aren't often born for greatness. They are mostly chosen or, and most likely, through luck. Whether that luck was bad or good, no one can say. What matters is that the hero defeats the villain, saves the damsel in distress and the world, right? Well, most of it, anyway. But when picturing a hero, you would see an overly-exaggerated image of a knight in shining armor riding into battle on a gallant white steed. You would never imagine that sometimes, heroes come in various shapes and sizes. I should know. I'm a hero.
My name is Cynder, and this story is one of a few that I share with one other. Our realms were in terrible danger and it was up to the two of us to save it. And how did we come to this, you ask? Well… it all started with an act of hooky, and of course, dragons.
The world I live in is known as the Dragon Realms, named after its most gifted and powerful residents, which would be us: the dragons. There are lands within the realms that have been affected by or have affected the residents depending on location and personality. The story of how me and my best friend at the time started with six worlds that were significantly close to home, and, well, truth be told, one of them actually is my home, before we went on to save the distant realm of Avalar, and the Forgotten Realms after that, and that's just the beginning. But, those are tales for another time.
However, there's a couple things you should know about me. Unlike most other dragons, my scales are black as obsidian, which, in dragon culture, is a sign of a cursed dragon, or a dark omen. I believe this to be the reason why my biological parents abandoned me, but thankfully, I was taken in by a rather intimidating, but ultimately good natured dragon, who just so happened to be a black-scaled outcast like me by the name of Malefor. Trust me, if you took one look at Father, you'd probably make him out to be some kind of master of darkness or something else akin to the forces of evil. But, you couldn't be more mistaken.
Needless to say, my black scales made me the target of the school bullies, and it certainly didn't help that my dark complexion kept the more friendly dragons at bay. But there was one dragon my age that defended me and got the others to back off. He was also an unusual dragon. His scales were a very rare, though more positively received color: purple. His eyes also held the same color while his horns, spines, tail-tip, and wing bones were golden. The membranes in his wings were a dusty red. Fluttering next to him was a golden dragonfly with blue eyes.
These two would become my best friends: Spyro and Sparx.
Oh! Before I forget, I should probably mention that it's a tradition amongst the dragons that once a hatchling reaches a certain age, he or she receives a dragonfly companion. This was done in honor of a heroic dragon from a bygone era. My mint green dragonfly is named Styx.
I couldn't tell what kind of dragon he was, since his purple coloring was an exceptionally rare feature in any of the kingdoms, but the way he defended me got me to assume that he had Peace Keepers blood in his veins.
After that, the four of us became the closest of friends and we were rarely seen apart, almost like brothers. Spyro protected me for a time until I got better with my magic and self-defense skills. Or, at least, good enough to tell the bullies that if they didn't leave me alone, I would turn them into frogs, give them electroshock therapy, a free shower, or freeze them solid, and actually follow through with my threat if they didn't believe me.
But even then, we would hang out during and after school and often on the weekends. I could tell that Father was thrilled that I had found friends at school. But, of course, there were times when we got in trouble, mostly by Spyro's claw. He had a record for causing mischief at school and often played hooky for some reason or another. Of course, there were times that I went along with his mischief and got into some trouble afterwards. Although, I must admit, it was totally worth it.
Now, in case you were wondering, there are in fact five kingdoms, well, technically six, but we don't really count the last one, as it's more of a Gnorc Kingdom.
The first Kingdom is called Artisans. The Artisan Kingdom is a lush green land with ornate castles and pleasant countryside. Its dragons are the most peaceful of them all. The Artisan dragons have a gift in the arts, having created many beautiful things from fine poetry to the most beautiful of songs. If you need an army of artists, the Artisans dragons would gladly help you out.
The Kingdom after Artisans is known as Peace Keepers. This desert and ice land is the best place to raise some of the strongest dragons in the realm. Warrior dragons are most notably found in Peace Keepers, specializing in the art of physical combat and defense, and as a result, they're more of the 'attack first, think later' types. Whatever you do, don't become enemies with a Peace Keeper dragon. It might just be the last thing you remember doing before becoming crippled.
The Kingdom I live in with Father is called Magic Crafters and for good reason. Magic is practically sewn into every mineral of the land and its residents thrive in creating spells and solving unsolvable puzzles. I myself have mastered the secrets of fire, electric, water, and ice breath, as well as being exceptionally skilled at transfiguration and defensive spells. The Magic Crafters dragons had adapted well in the mountainous region and we happily call it home. But the thing about Magic Crafters dragons is that most of us are totally shy and would rather work on their spells than make friends with outsiders, myself and Father being the exception. Admittedly, I've always wanted to learn more about curses and hexes, but the other Magic Crafters are a bit hesitant about teaching me that. Whether because hexes and curses are actually dark magic, a big no-no for a Magic Crafter or if the superstition behind black-scaled dragons has something to do with it, I don't know.
After Magic Crafters comes the realm of the Beast Makers. The swamps of the Beast Makers' Kingdom I often found frightening. The sky in Beast Makers was always dark and, truth be told, I have a terrible fear of complete darkness. And before you ask, no, I don't need a nightlight. The moon is fine for me, thank you very much. Anyway, the dragons of Beast Makers, while they may be strong, are the kings of self-indulgence. If they had their way, they would lie around in their swampy baths and listen to some nice music. However, it is the Beast Makers who make up the creatures of the realms, including fodder animals, but that's for another time.
In truth, the Dream Weavers Kingdom, I'll admit, is the most fantastically beautiful of the Dragon Realms. High in the skies in lofty castles live the Dream Weavers dragons, whose specialty is, you guessed it, dreams. Though they are more secluded than Magic Crafters dragons, Dream Weavers dragons have the responsibility of tending to the dreams of others and eliminating the threat of nightmares. I had never seen Dream Weavers nor their world until my little adventure, but I can assure you it is a sight to behold. Although, certain places where the nightmares dwell, like Dark Passage, which is referred to by locals as "Nightmare Road," are the exception… if I never set foot in that place again as long as I live… it'll be too soon.
Technically, the last realm isn't truly a realm made by dragons. Originally, it was a junkyard world, where the dragons would dump their trash and leave. However, it had become the home realm of me and Spyro's first major enemy: Gnasty Gnorc. Gnorcs are ugly creatures who are part gnome and part Orc, and as the biggest and ugliest of the bunch, Gnasty was the leader. He was once a resident of the Dragon Realms but found it difficult to live under the dragons' rules and traditions. He grew worse when he developed a sense of greed for Dragon treasure, which is made up entirely of gems. Ultimately, Gnasty was banished to the junkyard for causing trouble, but the Gnorc found the place delightful, renaming the place Gnorc Gnexus. Since then, he hasn't really been much of a problem.
That is… until the day he somehow snatched a TV…
Dragon Realms-Enroute To The School Portal
"Aw, come on, Cyn, It's just for today," a purple dragon with two large golden horns and a yellow spine that continued all the way down his back, said to the female black dragon with silver horns that was walking beside him. Two dragonflies, a bright, golden one, and a mint green one, floated some distance behind them.
Cynder rolled her eyes. "That's what you said the last four times and each time, one or both of us got in trouble. And I don't want to get another scolding from Father again," she said firmly.
Spyro sighed as he tried again to get Cynder to go with him. "I promise, Cyn, that it will be the last time."
"The last time this month or this week?" Cynder replied coolly.
Spyro groaned as he and Cynder walked the path that led to the school's portal. "Please, Cynder. It's Friday and you deserve a three-day weekend."
Cynder turned to face Spyro. "I'm not the one who needs constant tutoring just so he can pass the class, Spyro. We need to keep our grades up if we are to pass."
Spyro sighed before he decided to pull out the fireballs. He gave off a coy smile as he tilted his head slightly. "Alright. I'll just go to Artisans on my own. Shame. It would be a great place for you to write your report while we have a picnic…"
A red blush escaped Cynder's face as her eyes widened with disbelief. "S-Spyro! You-you shameless flirt!" the dragoness stammered as Spyro let out a mischievous chuckle.
There were rumors circulating around the school that Spyro and Cynder had the hots for one another, but whether those rumors were true or not, neither of them had a clue, even as to their own feelings on the subject, though they were both too shy and too nervous to actually work through them, so for now, they remained friends. But, with how easily the dragoness got riled up whenever Spyro flirted with her, maybe she actually did have feelings for the male dragon, but she was still too nervous and embarrassed to actually know for certain.
"Well then? Shall we?" Spyro said, a smirk on his face.
Cynder heaved a sigh. "All right, then. Fine, let's go to Artisans and play hooky," she said reluctantly.
"All right! Last one to the balloonist is a gnorc!" Spyro called out before charging in the direction of the aforementioned balloonist, with Cynder, Sparx, and Styx following right behind him.
Gnorc Gnexus-Gnasty's Loot
A towering, lumbering Gnorc clad in gold-plated armor lumbered into his treasure room carrying an oversized chicken leg that he had procured from the other side of the Dragon Realms and turned on the television before sitting on an almost completely collapsed sofa, only to discover that the TV he had recently acquired was displaying the "Please Stand By" rainbow.
"Hey! Start working, you piece of junk!" Gnasty Gnorc bellowed at the TV as though it could actually hear him.
Oddly enough, at Gnasty's command, the screen flickered into the image of what seemed to be an elderly dragon taking a snooze on his staff. Gnasty shrugged and started munching on his chicken leg, figuring that something better would come on eventually.
Artisan Kingdom-Hollows Library
"Whoa, what's going on here?" Spyro asked as he, Cynder, Sparx, and Styx arrived in the Artisan Kingdom's Hollows Library to find that there was a camera crew there, apparently filming something.
"I dunno," Cynder replied.
"Well, whaddya say we go check it out?" Spyro said right before he caught sight of an unsuspecting fodder animal, more specifically a sheep, standing nearby. "Hey, Cyn! Lookie there! Wanna have some lambchop for lunch today?" the purple dragon said, pointing out the sheep.
Following Spyro's gaze, Cynder saw the sheep. "Sounds like fun to me. Plus, it'll spawn a butterfly for Sparx and Styx to munch on."
And on that note, Spyro and Cynder began to charge towards the sheep, Sparx and Styx following right behind them. The sheep, sensing immediate danger, bounced away from the two dragons as quickly as it could, making a beeline towards the camera crew right as they were about to start filming.
"Okay, rolling!" the director said, causing an elderly dragon by the name of Astor to awaken from his nap as Spyro and Cynder raced past him in pursuit of the sheep.
"Oh! It's been peaceful here in the five worlds… or is it six…? For a dragon's age!" the elderly dragon said. "We now have twelve thousand treasure… or is it fourteen thousand…?"
"What about this Gnasty Gnorc character? Now, I understand that he's found a magic spell to turn gems into warriors for his cause," Bob, the dragon conducting the interview, said.
"I'll take that question…" another, younger dragon by the name of Lindor said as the camera-dragon turned its lense towards him.
Gnorc Gnexus-Gnasty's Loot
Gnasty Gnorc's interest in what was currently on the TV piqued ever so slightly when he heard his name come up, but not really enough to capture his full interest. That quickly changed once he heard what was said next in the interview, right as he was about to take another bite of that delicious chicken.
"Gnasty Gnorc is a simple creature," the dragon on the TV said, triggering Gnasty's outrage.
"SIMPLE?!" snarled Gnasty, tossing down his chicken leg and giving the TV an angry look.
"He has been contained in a remote world, and is no threat to the Dragon Kingdom," the dragon continued.
"NO THREAT?!" roared Gnasty, his anger and outrage growing by the second.
"Besides, he is ugly!" the dragon finished.
"UGLY?!" Gnasty said, an absolutely devastated look crossing his face. He knew that Gnorcs weren't exactly the most beautiful or handsome creatures in the Dragon Realms, but what that dragon had just said was completely uncalled for.
Gnasty had long since accepted the dragons banishing him to their junkyard, seeing this place not as a trash heap, but a delightful place full of things to tinker with, and even a few old spell books for him to experiment with. But, now…
Now the dragons had finally crossed the line.
"That does it!" roared Gnasty as he grabbed both his horned helmet and his massive scepter-mace hybrid that had a magical crystal infused at the top, and aimed his weapon towards the heavens, unleashing a powerful spell upon all dragonkind. With the dragons entombed in crystal, nothing and no one could stop him from taking every last shiny piece of treasure that the dragons had, taking everything that wasn't nailed down, and then ripping off the nailed stuff.
With that thought in mind, Gnasty turned towards his personal collection of gems, and got to work creating the lieutenants that would command his forces in each of the Dragon Realms.
Artisan Kingdom-Hollows Library
A look of horror was on both Cynder and Spyro's faces as magical energy rained down upon the Dragon Realms, turning the dragons into crystal before they vanished in a bright flash of light. Judging from what was going on, it was safe to say that everyone in the Dragon Realms, even those at school, were being subjected to the same fate.
"Cyn, I don't know about you, but I think Lindar just made Gnasty Gnorc mad, and it's starting to look like we got some things to do," Spyro said.
"Agreed. We should get back to the Artisan Homeworld. Maybe the castle library has some kind of spell book or something we can use to reverse Gnasty's spell and release everyone from the crystal," said Cynder.
With a nod of confirmation, Spyro and Cynder, with Sparx and Styx tagging along behind them, made their way towards the Hollow's Exit Portal.
And that's a bingo! If you guys liked what you saw here, then be sure to drop a fave, follow, and a review, and join us next time as the adventure truly begins!