Chapter 1: Dragon Origin

Many thanks for deviantArt member mastergamer20 for helping me with this.

Disclaimer: I own only Elora's parents.

The baby purple dragon gazed up at the two dragonflies, Flash and Nina. The two dragonflies were astounded by the tiny creature before them.

"Incredible," Flash breathed.

"Someone must've left this baby here," Nina wondered as she looked up the river. "You think he came from the river?"

"I don't think so. In any case though, we can't leave him here. I think we should take him in until he's grown up. Or until his family comes looking for him."

Nina nodded. It made sense; there was no logic to judging whether the creature was dangerous or not based on appearance. The two dragonflies lifted the small boat up and carried the dragon to their home in a pit, where a yellow glowing egg sat, a yellow baby dragonfly poking his head out. He was crying.

"Shhhh, it's okay, Sparx. It's all right," Nina shushed her child, lifting him into her arms. She had hoped they would make it back before he hatched, alas there was no changing what was.

"You know, we should name this little one as well. What do you think we should call him?"

"Hmmmm, I was thinking… how about... Spyro?"

"Spyro… huh, I like it." Flash looked at the baby dragon. "Spyro, this is your new brother, Sparx."

Spyro and Sparx looked at each other with wonder.

"I'm sure you two will become good friends," Flash said. He then patted Spyro's head gently. "Don't you worry, little one; we'll take good care of you, until your family comes looking for you. If they do at all…"

But they didn't. No creature like Spyro ever came looking for him. Not that Flash and Nina seemed to mind; nor did Spyro himself. As far as he knew, he was a dragonfly like the rest of them; a big purple one, perhaps, but a dragonfly, nonetheless. He and Sparx became thick as thieves; inseparable brothers, despite being very different in a lot of ways.

At the age of six, Spyro was playing tag in the swamp with Sparx. The young dragon was it, racing after his brother's golden trail.

Sparx laughed. "Ha, ha, ha, you never catch me, big boy. Face it, you're too slow."

"Heh, you're toast when I catch you!" Spyro said, leaping over logs and rocks in his path.

Sparx broke from Spyro's sight, and hid inside of a nearby mushroom cap. Spyro didn't see where his brother went but he could smell him. Sniffing the air, he could tell that Sparx was still close, so Spyro looked around the clearing.

"Great, now where'd he go?"

Sparx gave a quiet chuckle. Unfortunately for him, Spyro also had strong hearing and caught the faint noise. Smiling slyly, he pounced at the mushroom, tore it up and touched Sparx.

"Tag! You're it!" he cried, and dashed off.

"Oh, you!" Sparx said. "Come back here!"

Spyro laughed as Sparx chased him through the swamp, when he noticed something shining in a cavern.

"Huh?" Spyro wondered, just as Sparx caught up and tagged him on the head.

"Ha! Tag, I told you you're too slow big boy! Maybe you're not good at…" Sparx saw the cave too. "Tag? What are you looking at?"

"I see something shining in the cave in there."

"Hmmmm, we should have a look."

Sparx moved forward, but Spyro tried to stop him.

"W-wait, we can't go in there. Mom and Dad told us not to wander into any caves. It could be dangerous. What if we get in trouble?"

Sparx rolled his eyes. "Dude, we're kids. We always get in trouble. The worst Mom and Dad will do is scold us. I've learned to tune it out. Besides, I bet there's treasure in there."

Without waiting, Sparx flew in. Spyro groaned and followed him inside. The roof was dipping with water, and fungi grew all over the place. Just then, Sparx cried out.

"WHOA!"

Spyro gasped and ran ahead, until he came upon a big pink crystal.

"We're going to be rich!" Sparx said excited.

Spyro looks at it. "Wow, it is a big gem."

"No duh, Sherlock!" Sparx teased. "Now come on and dig this out so we can make something great with it."

"No!" Spyro said. "I think I want to keep it, actually."

"Why?"

"I don't know why, but there's something about it that seems... attractive... mesmerising..."

"Hey!" said a voice behind them, and the brothers jumped. They heard the sounds of soft clopping, and a girl approached them from the cave mouth. She wasn't like any creature they'd ever seen. She looked like a doe that walked on its hind legs and had hands. Her eyes were green. Brown hair ruffled around her pointed ears. She wore a leafy dress and bracelets. Spryo and Sparx couldn't tell much more about her, though she seemed a few years older than them; about ten.

"What are you doing with my gem?" the girl said indignantly.

"Your gem?" Spyro asked.

"Yes, mine!" the girl huffed. "I know, technically, it belongs to you dragons, but if you're gonna use it, at least ask before you do."

"I'm so sorry, but... wait, what did you call me?" Spyro asked, confused.

"A dragon," the girl replied.

"No, no, you've got it wrong. I'm a dragonfly," Spyro said.

The girl laughed. "Ha, ha, ha, then you're the biggest dragonfly I've ever seen!"

"Ha-de-ha-ha," Spyro said dully. He'd heard that before, many times. At first, it had bothered them, but he had learned to ignore it. "And what are you meant to be? Some kind of goat?" He was looking at the girl's legs; she tilted her head down to meet his gaze.

"I'm a faun, you dork!" she teased.

"Oh heh, sorry," Spyro said.

"So you don't know that you're a dragon?" the girl asked.

"No. Everyone in our family are dragonflies, so I thought I was one too. I've never even seen a dragon myself," Spyro said, dropping his head. Everything was starting to get confusing.

"Well, I heard stories from my parents that dragons are noble warriors protecting those in the Dragon Realms against the Ape Army," the girl explained. "Did your parents ever tell you, at least?"

"No, they haven't," Spyro said, shaking his head.

"Listen, faun girl, I think you mistake my brother for something else," Sparx said, frowning. "Spyro may look like an odd dragonfly, but he's still my bro! So lay off him!"

The girl realized how uncomfortable Spryo was. "Oh… sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Let me introduce myself. My name is Elora. My parents and I recently moved to this swamp to get away from the war. Your name is Spyro, right?" she asked.

"That's right," Spyro replied. "This is my little brother, Sparx."

"Hey, I'm the same age as you are!"

"You know what I mean."

"I was born first!"

"Well, Mom and Dad saw me hatch from my egg first."

"Hey, don't play that card on me!"

Elora laughed again. "You two are so funny!"

The boys chose to abandon their argument. "You say you and your parents recently came to this swamp?" Spyro said to Elora. "Why don't you come and live with us?"

"Really?"

"Of course, well if your parents are okay with it," Spyro said. Though Elora was a stranger to him, it seemed only polite to offer her and her family some shelter.

"That would be perfect, thank you! They're still looking for a good spot for our new home. I'll go find them. They're not far off."

Spyro gave Elora directions to where they lived. As she left to fetch her parents, Sparks and Spyro returned home to inform theirs.

"She actually seems quite nice," Spyro said.

"Well, as long she doesn't take up much room," Sparx grumbled. "Your tail hogs up enough space as it is."

"Come on, she and her parents need help." Then Spyro began to wonder. "About what she said about me; being a dragon..."

"Don't believe that, do you?" Sparx asked.

"I… I don't know," Spyro admitted. "I mean, I suppose it could explain why I'm different, but I don't want to feel like... like I'm not part of this family."

"Hey, you are too, Spyro," Sparx said. "Big or small, purple or not, you are my brother."

Spyro smiled. "Thanks, Sparx."

Elora had worked faster than expected, for she arrived with her parents just as the boys reached their house. Her father, Cleem, was big, brown faun with thick antlers and blue eyes. Elora's mother, Shabae, had albino white fur and green eyes.

"Mum, Dad, these are my new friends, Spyro and Sparx," Elora said. "They've offered to let us stay with them and their parents."

"That is nice of them," Shabae said.

"Very interesting. There's a dragon here in the swamp," Cleem said as he looked at Spyro.

"Well, I'm more of a dragonfly, mister," Spyro said, still not wanting to talk about the subject yet. "Come on, then. We'll introduce you to our parents."

Spyro and Sparx led the Faun Family to their home. Flash and Nina saw them returning.

"Boys, you're back early," Nina said.

"Yeah, and we met a new friend and her parents," Spyro said as he showed them Elora and her folks.

"Hello," Cleem said, inclining his head. "Pleasure to meet you. I am Cleem; this is my mate, Shabae and our daughter Elora. We recently fled our forest when the war reached us. We were offered a home among your kind by your children, if that's not any trouble for you."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Nina said. Her mate leaned close to her.

"Darling, do we even have room for three… whatever they are?" Flash whispered.

"They're fauns, Dad," Spyro said, "And I'm sure we do. Besides, they're essentially war refugees. At the very least, we could help them make shelter."

"War?"

"Yeah, a war from a place called the Dragon Realms," Spyro explained.

"I'm surprised that you haven't heard of it," Cleem remarked. "The war has been going for six years now."

"Hmmm. We don't often see travellers in these parts, so we don't hear much news from outside our swamp," Flash replied.

"Also, they think that Spyro himself is a Dragon," Sparx chuckled. "Can you believe it?"

When they heard those words, Flash and Nina knew that they have to tell Spyro the truth about his birth. But first, things first, they had to help make their new friends comfortable.

"We can help set up shelter," Nina said. "We can use branches and leaves."

"But we must warn you, there are quite a few pests in this area, mainly Frogweeds and Bulb Spiders," Flash added.

"Oh, that should be no trouble," Cleem said.

"We've had to deal with pests before, being forest dwellers, originally," Shabae said.

A little later, the fauns had had their new shelter set up and were gathered around a campfire, cooking dinner. While they were doing so, Spyro approached his parents.

"Mum, Dad, I... I am your son, aren't I?" Spyro asked, rather anxiously.

"Of course, you are," Nina said, flying forwards to stroke Spyro's snout. "You'll always be our son. But what Elora told you is true; you aren't a dragonfly. We found you as an egg, floating in the Silver River. Since we couldn't find your parents, we decided to take you in until they came looking for you. So far, though, no one has."

"Oh, I see." Spyro looked off into the woods. "I wonder why they dropped me off in the Silver River?"

"I don't know, but I assume it could be because of this war in the Dragon Realms," Flash said. "If they thought it was too dangerous to be with them, then they might have believed you would be safer somewhere far away; and hoped that someone like us would find you."

"Spyro, we realize you must want to find your own kind, and we understand," Nina said, "but if what Elora and her parents say is true about the war, the Dragon realms are no place for a child your age to be."

"Well I do want to know more of myself." Spyro wondered. "But if you want me to, I can stay..."

"For now, that is what we want," Nina said. "But I promise you; when you're old enough to fend for yourself, you can go and find your dragon family."

"Okay, Mum," Spyro replied. "I... understand."

7 years later...

"8... 9... 10..." Spyro counted. "Okay, coming, ready or not!" He was playing hide and seek with Sparx and Elora.

Over the years, Elora and her family had settled in remarkably well with the dragonflies. Despite their initial awkwardness, and herself just as different to the two boys as they were to each other, Elora had become like a sister to Spyro and Sparx, and they always enjoyed playing together. Elora had learned not to talk about Spyro being a Dragon in front of him, as it made him uncomfortable.

Spyro had grown considerably, being now 4 feet, 3 inches long, from head and tail. His wings could now enable proper gliding, and his horns extended just over a foot in length.

He had never stopped thinking about where he came from; what was going on in this 'war' the Dragons were fighting. But, trusting his parents, he did his best not to let it bother him too much. He was still young, and war was no place for him. But he couldn't possibly know that this simple game would catapult him into that war much sooner than he'd thought.

Spyro looked for his adopted siblings as Sparx and Elora hid behind the trees. Together they snuck away from the dragon, looking for a good hiding spot.

"You think Spyro will find us this time?" Elora asked.

"Doubt it, since I've found the greatest hiding spot in history, come on!" Sparx flew ahead and Elora followed him. The faun had a handmade backpack which held firewood, supplies and her gem.

Spyro's amethyst eyes scanned his home; he snuck over to the huts that Elora and her parents had made for themselves, and peeked inside. Neither Sparx nor Elora were in there.

Then, he heard a soft rustle of leaves on the slope heading up from his home.

"Uh oh," Elora whispered, and hurried off after Sparx. Spyro didn't see her, but he heard her hooves moving.

"Alright, then, here I come," he said, and he followed.

Unbeknownst to the children, a band of thieves were roaming the Swamp nearby. These Thieves searched for materials the Apes could use to fuel their armies and weapons. They were mysterious creatures, garbed in striped blue robes with their faces hidden among their cloths.

"You think we'll find some stuff to sell for the Apes in this Swamp?" one of the Thieves asked.

"Of course we will," the leader said. "We just need to find the right sources."

The Thieves looked around when they heard someone nearby.

"Hold on! We're not alone here…" the leader said as he got closer, and saw Elora & Sparx wondering by. The cover of Elora's backpack slipped, and the leader saw something gleam inside.

"Ah-hah," he said quietly. "Looks like we've got something, boys…"

At that moment, Sparx got caught by a Frogweed.

"Ah, right, let me out of here, you overgrown fungus!" he cried in a muffled voice. "Elora, a little help!"

"Hmm, I dunno," Elora said teasingly. "Frogweeds need to eat too, you know?"

"Elora, please, help a brother out!" Sparx begged. "My wings are gonna decay!"

Elora, giggling, delivered a sharp kick to the Frogweed, causing it to spit Sparx out.

"Bleargh! Now I smell as bad as Spyro does when he hasn't bathed in a while!" he groaned, as Elora chuckled at his predicament. Neither noticed the Thieves approaching until it was too late.

Meanwhile, Spyro was following his brother and sister. A few Frogweeds popped up, but Spyro knew how to deal with them. He slashed at them with his claws, butted them with his horns and whipped them with his tail. They sank back into the Earth, defeated.

"Now where could those two have gotten to?" Spyro wondered.

"Hey, let me go, you crooks!"

"Elora! Sparx! What's wrong?"

Spyro ran ahead and saw Sparx and Elora being grabbed by thieves.

"Get off me!" Elora shouted.

"We will, cutie, one we get that treasure!" The leader chuckled as he got out her gem.

"Hey! Leave them alone!" Spyro growled at the thieves.

A Thief gasped in fright. "A Dragon? Here in the swamp?!"

"Why is there a dragon here? I thought the Apes killed all of their eggs years ago!" Another Thief said.

"Who cares? It's still a small dragon!" The Leader said. "Get rid of him!"

The two thieves got out their blades, ready to fight Spyro.