Plans on Ice
"Yes, yes, Volteer," Cyril said sardonically, "it's clear months of tortured captivity have done nothing to curb that electric tongue of yours from incessantly wagging."
"It's just that everything you've told us is simultaneously exciting and egregious, exhilarating yet ominous, enthralling and tragic, enchanting and, er…"
"All right, no more thesaurus for you, pal," Sparx said.
"Will all of you please be quiet!?" Ignitus almost yelled, exasperated. "You should be thankful, Cyril, that you didn't suffer the same fate as Aurora! Now if the rest of you do not mind, we must attend to the matter of rescuing Sapia, Zen and Elora!" He turned to Spyro and Sheila. "Where did you say they were taken?"
"Dino Mines," Spyro replied. "To mine Dark Gems for Red. We have to get there and save them!"
"We will, young Dragon," Aureole soothed. "But it's likely to be heavily guarded; this will need some careful strategic thinking."
"Can't be that well-guarded, can it?" Sparx shrugged.
"Oh, it is," Ignitus said. "It's their main prison; for the Dark Armies' strongest adversaries. Now, how do we proceed?"
"I believe I can help, Ignitus," Cyril replied. He turned to Spyro. "Well, young Dragon, since you learned a few things about Ice and magic on Tall Plains, I suggest we adjourn to the dojo so I can share the finer details with you." His voice became more layered with pride. "The legacy of the great Ice Dragons, my ancestors, the best of the best of this otherwise bedraggled lineage, is long and well-chronicled. Why, with my help, saving your friends is a certainty."
Ignitus, Volteer and Aureole all looked rather exasperated, resigning to the return of Cyril's frequent boasts. Sparx rolled his eyes, bored out of his exoskeleton. Sheila just shook her head.
"Typical Ice Dragons... so aloof and full of themselves..." she muttered
"Your pomposity, arrogance and pretentiousness remains odious in the extreme," Volteer agreed.
"Yeah, whatever Volteer said…" Sparx said.
"Shall we?" Cyril asked Spyro, ignoring the others' comments. Spyro nodded.
"So Cyril, how will Ice be different from the other elements?" Spyro asked, as they made their way to the dojo.
"Certainly, Fire, Electricity and Wind are nice side-lights," Cyril said. "But Ice is a power worthy of the elite, such as myself. It requires a cool, detached mind-set, as well as sharp intelligence. I trust you have those?"
"I suppose so," Spyro said, unsure.
"Very well, let's begin." Like the other Guardians had before, Cyril summoned Ape dummies for Spyro to fight.
"Now then, Spyro, you'll have to remain calm and cool. Focus the cold and fury inside you. Be rigid in your focus. Remember your anger and sadness at Aurora's death. Do not permit these emotions to consume you. However, do not cast them aside either. Think of them as separate to yourself and use them to fuel your strength. Feel the cold rise inside of you and channel it into the Ice Stream."
Spyro wasn't sure how he could control his feelings the way that Cyril descripted. Instead, he recalled how he felt when he first used the Ice element. Spyro felt a wave of cold sweep through his body. It was rather uncomfortable, but he endured it. He charged forward at the dummies and let loose a stream of Ice from his lips. The smaller dummies were frozen immediately, allowing Spyro to shatter them with a horn-dive. The larger dummies needed slightly longer streams of Ice to freeze entirely. Spyro had to employ Aureole's Wind evasion movements to avoid being hit by the dummies in the meantime. The first large dummy he shattered with a swipe of his tail; the second by a horn-butt; and the third with a slash of his claws.
"Hmm, beginner's luck, I'd say," Cyril commented, offhandedly. Spyro felt slightly annoyed by his tone, but he bucked up.
"Now let's try to up the challenge," Cyril said, summoning more dummies. "See if you can catch the dummies as they run around."
"Right." Spyro chased after the scampering dummies, streaming Ice from his mouth. This proved rather difficult, as the dummies were quick and nimble. Spyro decided to quicken his step with Wind again.
"Hey, hey! Just Ice here!" Cyril barked sternly. Spyro would've scowled at him, but he was too focused on catching the dummies. Finally, he cut one off, freezing it in place and tackling with a horn-dive. Turning to the others, he kept his eyes out for unexpected diversions. Every time a dummy changed course near him, Spyro went for it, freezing it and then slashing at it, cutting the dummy down.
"Even a completely blind Dragon finds success once in a while," Cyril remarked.
"Can you give the insults a rest?" Spyro snapped. "I'm not in the mood for your ego, when my sister is in danger. Or does that not matter to you?"
"It does matter, but you need to improve substantially if we're going to save her," Cyril said. "Especially if you go to the Dino Mines, into the lion's den. Losing your temper like that won't help you master Ice any faster."
Spyro groaned in annoyance. "Fine."
"It's important that you think before you act. Now..." The Ice Dragon summoned more dummies, these ones bigger and wielding clubs. "Time to learn how to apply the Ice Shard, which should allow you to freeze enemies from a great distance. Focus the ice into an icicle and fire it with your enemy."
"Okay then." Spyro dodged a strike from a dummy's club and took aim. He sent an ice shard at the dummy, freezing it where it stood. Spyro rushed in and struck it down with a tailspin.
"Very impressive," Cyril grinned. Spyro appreciated his change in tone. After again demonstrating his ability to chase after moving targets, they moved on the Ice Fury. After providing Spyro with some Spirit Gems retrieved from Tall Plains, Cyril taught Spyro to gather all the Ice power from within. This Fury was two-fold in its release. The first wave that Spyro unleashed froze all the dummies surrounding him. Then a second, more forceful wave shattered them into tiny fragments.
"Well, well," Cyril said. "Looks like you have a firm grasp at the element of Ice, something few outside us Ice Dragons can boast."
"Thanks, I guess," Spyro said. "Now, you also said you were going to teach a bit about magic."
"Ah, yes, of course," Cyril said. "I suggest we find a beginner's book about casting magic and take it from there. After all, the casting of magic is an extraordinary art in which we Ice Dragons are experts. Why, I happen to be the best Magic Crafter there is in the modern age. Sure, Volteer's skills are remarkable, too, but he's nowhere near as refined as I am."
"I'm sure Volteer is better than you care to admit," Spyro muttered under his breath. He followed Cyril out of the dojo. They first paid a visit to the Professor, to whom Cyril enquired where the study was located. It was a small room with only a few bookshelves. As Cyril and Spyro browsed them for suitable tomes, Spyro saw something of interest.
"Huh? What is this book about?" Spyro wondered.
"Oh that, it's about the history of the best Dragon Warriors from our time. An interesting read, but irrelevant to what we seek" Cyril said. "We need a book on the basic-ah!"
He took down a weathered volume titled Magical Codex: A Beginner's Guide to Dragon Magic.
"This should start you off, perfectly," Cyril said, passing the book to Spyro. "Have a little read of it; it's always important to understand the theory before attempting the practical."
"I think I can do that." Spyro said as he sat down and started reading the guidebook. He started with the basics on magic.
'Magic is essentially a form of the ethereal energy that binds the universe together, formally known as Aether. Though Aether in its purest form cannot be wielded, it is possible for a Dragon to tap into the magical energy that resides within all of them. With the power of Magic, a Dragon is capable of abilities not typically demonstrated by most other species. Such examples include moving objects without physical contact, communicating with another via thoughts alone, and even reshape matter. Notably, unlike Elemental abilities, a Dragon's source of Magic does not require replenishment with Spirit Gems. However, it does require focus and clarity of mind to be successfully applied.'
Spyro was fascinated by this. He flicked forwards a little to the specific abilities done with Magic.
"Maybe we can start with a Magic blast."
"Well, that can be a good start," Cyril nodded.
"Cool. So how I do that? "
"As you may have gathered from your encounters with Sirorrialth and Bianca, Magic is typically cast using a suitable conduit; like my sceptre, for instance." He held it up for demonstration. "Given how you do not yet possess your own, you may use my sceptre to practice." And he landed it to Spyro.
"Now, the trick is to focus on the energy in your body; no thoughts of any elements - just the magic in you to fire a basic blast."
"Okay, will it work?"
"Putting your experience aside, I don't see why it shouldn't. Unless, of course, you have no talent."
Spyro was really starting to get annoyed by Cyril's put-downs, but he chose to hold his tongue.
"Okay, try to blow a small chunk in the wall."
"Fine, I will." Spyro raised Cyril's cane, pointed it at the wall, and uttered the incantation used to cast the basic Magic blast. A shot of pink energy shot from the end of Cyril's cane, leaving a small hole in the wall.
"Whoa!" Spyro smirked. He did it again, leaving another chunk on the wall.
"Hmm, impressive," Cyril said. "That should come in handy if you feel low on energy and need to hold your enemies at bay, long enough to allow an escape; not that I think it's needed, personally.
"Now, let's try a healing spell. I see you still have a few bruises from your journey to Tall Plains. No doubt you had already used Spirit Gems, having taken in the healing power of Red Gems. See if you can heal yourself.
Spyro closed his eyes and chanted quietly. His aura glowed red, and suddenly, all the residual pain he felt vanished. "Wow, I feel… great. Way better."
"Excellent," Cyril smiled. "You're something of a natural. Then again, your mother was an Ice Dragon and a Magic Crafter as well, so I guess that's where you get it from."
"My mother?" Spyro asked, surprised. "You know her?"
"Why yes. Sibylla was a great dragoness and a fine example of Ice Dragons, even if she did go into exile for some time."
"Exile? Why?"
"Oh, nothing serious, Spyro; it was her choice, anyway. Anyway, she disappeared shortly before the attack on the Temple, and we haven't seen or heard from her since."
"Yeah, Ignitus told me," Spyro said. "You reckon she's still alive?"
"Not sure. It is a mystery..." Cyril said. "Once we save the remaining two Guardians, save Elora, Sapia and Zen and stop Cynder's plan, we may find Sibylla. Wherever she is..."
Meanwhile, Deina has just learned of the Thieves' failure to capture Spyro.
"Gaaah! What you mean you failed to capture Spyro?!" Deina snapped at the leader.
"I-I-It wasn't our fault, Mistress. He only got help from that kangaroo lady," the Leader pleaded. "We could've gotten the upper hand if the dragon was alone."
Deina ran a hand over her face. "Surely, you should've handled the Kangaroo as well. Besides, I have heard that Cyril was freed, and the Stone Sentinel is no longer a rampaging monster."
"P-P-Please, my Queen, give us another chance to prove ourselves… We can-"
"Silence!" Deina shouted, making the thieves cower in fear. "Bianca, have these so-called experts taken to the dungeons. You should all consider yourselves lucky that I'm sparing you from torture. Capturing those fauns will be useful to us. Still, we do not tolerate failure."
"But-but what about capturing the Purple Dragon?" the Leader asked.
"I will see to that myself," Deina replied.
"Your highness?" Bianca asked in surprise.
"I can't trust those fools in capturing that Dragon anymore; and I don't can't risk the other Generals going too far like Sirorrialth almost did. So, I will go to Dino Mines, myself, to wait for him. It's time that Spyro and I became acquainted." Deina grinned wickedly.
She drew her staff. "Bianca, General Grendor, you two keep an eye on everything here. And keep an eye on those Dragon Eggs we've acquired."
"Yes, ma'am," Bianca and Grendor said, bowing.
Deina proceeded to the Palace Portal. The Rhynoc that operated it bowed in respect.
"Where to, ma'am?" he asked.
"Dino Mines," Deina said.
"On it!" He set the coordinates on the Portal and Deina grinned as she entered it.
Back at the temple, Cyril and Spyro re-joined the others. After several hours, Spyro's Magic training was complete. Although weary, Spyro felt stronger than ever, having gotten the hang of telekinesis, healing, magic blasts, and basic transformation.
"I see you've passed your next element," Ignitus smiled.
"Yes, and he has also learned some fundamental magic," Cyril said. "It will serve him well in the battles to come."
"Now, can we go and save Elora, Sapia and Zen?" Spyro asked anxiously. "The sooner we get going, the better!"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. The Dino Mines is heavily guarded, and the Dark Gems are dangerous to be near, as they react to negative emotions." Ignitus warned. "The mines are located in the Jurassic Jungle, where my old home used to be… "
"Not to mention, the location for the next guardian to save," Volteer said.
"Yes, indeed," The Professor said. "Cordelia, the Water Guardian."
"Spyro, I know you're worried for your sister and her friends," Ignitus said, gently, "but remember what I said back on the Crystal Islands; don't charge in, fangs blazing."
Spyro remembered. "I know, but the thought of her and the others imprisoned just sickens me! What if the Dark Armies are hurting them?"
"Yeah, but you need to control yourself. Especially considering that glowing power of death you had when you fought that Sirorrialth guy," Sparx said.
"I'm sure that Spyro will be able to control his Fury Surge," Cyril replied. "Our training together will help him stay cool under duress."
"I'll be comin' along with you," Sheila said. "I owe Spyro for helpin' to save my home."
"Your help is appreciated, Sheila," Ignitus thanked. "But I can't guarantee your safety."
"I know what I'm signing up for, mate," Sheila said, solemnly.
"Planning for this rescue may take a while," Aureole said. "Spyro, you may want to rest in the meantime. We understand you're anxious to save your sister, but you won't be much use to her if you're exhausted."
Spyro sighed. "Alright, alright."
"Tell you what," Aureole said. "How about I come with you and help you sleep peacefully? We Dream Weavers are experts in that, after all."
"But what about helping us strategize, plan, arrange, prepare?" Volteer said. "Alongside Terrador, you're the expert, professional, authority!"
"I know. But we do need to be fully prepared, and first thing is making sure this young dragon gets some rest after his hard day," Aureole replied.
Sparx yawned. "Sounds like a plan. Besides I am beat too."
"You haven't done much Sparx," Sheila noted.
"I've been… keeping my distances. Besides, I could be Spyro's eyes if I spy on those Apes."
Aureole led Spyro to his room and helped make his bed, so that he could lie down very comfortably. After giving him a Spirit Gem to replenish his strength and energy, Aureole sat down close to Spyro, her legs crossed.
"Before we begin, Spyro, I want you to know that I truly understand your anxiety to save your sister," she said. "My daughter… is out there too…" Her voice quivered. "Saving her will need a lot of careful planning… and a remarkable amount of luck."
"Man, I'm sorry to hear. I do hope the best for her," Spyro said.
"Oh, anything will be the best for her," Aureole said, more to herself than Spyro. "Especially given what she's doing right now…" Her voice trailed off as she gazed into the distance, her eyes glassing over.
"What?" Spyro asked.
Aureole came back to Earth. "Nothing for you to be concerned about," she said. "Now, just close your eyes, relax all your muscles, and let go of all tension." And she began to throat-sing, producing a melodic and soothing tune.
"Okay then." Spyro lay his head down
"Try not to dwell on anything awful. Focus on my voice," Aureole whispered calmly, in-between her throat-singing. Spyro soon began to feel sleepy. He tried his best not to worry about his friends, knowing he would be going to rescue them, but he couldn't stop himself thinking about them. Still, Aureole's chanting was beautiful to listen to; and before long, Spyro found himself drifting off to sleep, snoring quietly. Aureole smiled at the young dragon.
"Pleasant dreams," she whispered, stroking Spyro's head before she left the room to regroup with the Guardians and the Professor.
Dino Mines had once been a peaceful town in the desert near the volcano known as Boyzitbig and the surrounding Jurassic Jungles, home of the Fire Dragons. But now, it had been converted into the Dark Army's main prison camp. The desert area was swarmed by Dinosaurs, Apes, Riptocs and Rhynocs. The whole operation was overseen by Red, as he was familiar with the area, given he had once been Elder prior to his banishment. The prisoners were made to work in the half-flooded mines, mining for Dark Gems that had been discovered underground.
Deina was speaking with Red in his main sanctum. "Ah Red, I see you have things under control." Deina said.
"Hmph, yes, I have. I am grateful for the three new prisoners you have provided for my camp. Especially since they also know that purple runt, Spyro," Red grunted. "Maybe if they stay long enough, one of them will crack and we'll have the location of their base."
"Indeed," Deina agreed. "Speaking of which, we should expect Spyro and the Guardians making a rescue attempt. That's why I'm here."
"Ah, so we're setting a trap for the Dragons then?" Red smiled. "Now I'll have another chance to show Ignitus who the true master of Fire is!"
"Indeed and we will have the Purple Dragon right where we want him," Deina said. And I can hopefully make my move with him she thought