Chapter Forty-Nine: Fame and Glory
The Cloud Kingdom marketplace bustled with activity, even with the boisterous North Wind looming overhead. Despite how high up the storm giants were from everyone else in Skylands, that wild jet stream always seemed to make its way up here. The North Wind always brought all sorts of unusual chaos in the early spring, from rainstorms to hailstorms. For the laidback storm giants, who never faced too much hardship, it was mere water off their back.
Lightning Rod felt the wind blow through his lustrous locks, noting how the statue of him shimmered in the sunlight. The artist that had commissioned it did a remarkable job on it, if Lightning Rod had to say so himself. They got his beautiful long hair correct. They got his wonderfully scruffy beard just right. The statue's chiseled abs practically resembled his perfectly chiseled abs. Of course, it could never do justice to the real thing. Perhaps Lightning Rod's body would be preserved in ice on the moment of his death, so that the people could still behold the sight of their beloved guardian.
Boy, wasn't that a morbid thought?
People passed by him on the street, gasping and waving excitedly in his direction. Lightning Rod returned their excitement with pleasant smiles and waves, which caused them to become even more wild. Everyone in the Cloud Kingdom, from small child to well-rounded adult to grizzled old man, recognized him as a guardian and protector. For when there was a problem that couldn't wash off their back like water, Lightning Rod was there to save the day. He had rescued countless civilians from burning buildings, falling debris, and bad seafood- and everyone hailed him as a demigod to rival the demigods of old. He really did enjoy the valor they saw in him.
But somehow it felt hollow today. He couldn't quite place the reason why.
A chorus of gasps and screams sounded through the air. Lightning Rod looked up, spotting a figure falling from the sky. It appeared to be a dragon, though of which kind still couldn't be determined. But Lightning Rod didn't waste a moment. He summoned a gust of wind below him, propelling him into the air. He caught the dragon before he hit the ground, hopping down on clouds that the town guards sent up for him. Lightning Rod landed on the ground, gently setting the dragon on the brick road.
It was a young purple dragon, his horns sparkling orange in the light. He seemed unconscious, his breathing remaining steady. There were no nicks or bruises on his body, meaning that nothing had attacked him. Of course, he did appear incredibly fatigued.
"I get it. He zonked out," Lightning Rod muttered to himself. "Young and stupid, isn't he?"
The presence of the purple dragon caused a bout of worry in the crowds. The Cloud Kingdom was the highest region in all of Skylands, and it was near impossible for anyone to reach. How could this dragon do that?
"It's an intruder!"
"How did he control the North Wind?"
"Are we being invaded?"
Lightning Rod found a group of town guards floating tentatively toward him, staring nervously at the dragon. They were waiting for him to tell them what to do.
Well, he didn't think it was an invasion of any kind. It just had to be an action from a dumb kid.
"Contact Queen Cumulus," Lightning Rod told them. "Tell her to move him into the castle infirmary."
The guards nodded, hurrying off in the direction of the castle.
Things fell back into their usual places after that. Once everyone decided that Lightning Rod and the guards would take care of everything, they found no reason to worry. And if he were honest, Lightning Rod preferred things to remain that way. How could the kingdom worry about anything like an invasion?
He made his way to the castle the next day, noting how the castle guards gave him no problems for coming unannounced. Maybe it was due to the purple dragon's visit- of course, they had been letting him come for the past two weeks without any trouble. Lightning Rod gave pleasant greetings to the castle servants, making his way up the tapestry-decorated stairs to the white-clad infirmary. He found the room mostly empty- as was always hoped for- though he noted two regal-looking storm giants standing by one of the cots. One of them was the beautiful and benevolent Queen Cumulus, ruler of the Cloud Kingdom. The other was Lord Stratosfear, and…
"Speak up, runt," Lord Stratosfear spat. "I want to know exactly what it is you people are planning. How big are your armies? What kind of artillery do you have? When and how are the rest of them coming?"
"Stratosfear, don't overwhelm him," Queen Cumulus insisted, setting her hand on his shoulder. "He's clearly lost and confused from his trip- and likely poor, given his thin framing. Let him get his bearings."
The purple dragon lifted his head up, looking at the two of them. "Is this the Cloud Kingdom?" he asked.
Lord Stratosfear crossed his arms. "No, this is the Soda Springs," he scoffed. "Where else do you think we are?"
The dragon furrowed his brow. "Well I know we're in an infirmary. Where this infirmary is, I can't clearly tell. But I know you two are storm giants, and you almost never leave your home, so I have to fathom a guess."
"Don't you sass the king of the land!"
Queen Cumulus stepped between the two of them. "Stratosfear," she growled. "Go. Corner. Now."
King Stratus stepped back. "But-"
Queen Cumulus glared at him. The lord slumped his shoulders, floating off toward a corner.
"Now, then," Queen Cumulus began, hands clasped. "Young dragon, what is your purpose for coming here?"
Lightning Rod floated up to the cot, crossing his arms with a smirk. "He has no purpose," he explained. "He's a kid who got lost on a stray gust of wind."
Queen Cumulus placed her hands on her cheeks, brimming with excitement. "Lightning Rod! The demigod hero has come to visit!" she cheered. "As his savior, perhaps you can help us settle this matter."
"I really just wanted to make sure he was okay."
"You really are too noble."
The dragon looked at him, cocking his head with a smirk. "So you helped me out that day?" he asked. "I really do owe you one, truly."
"Oh, nothing a few gifts can't fix," Lightning Rod insisted. "But I'm right, aren't I? You simply took a wrong turn?"
The purple dragon chuckled sheepishly. "You could call it a wrong turn, but I don't think wrong turns get you so enormously lost," he insisted. "I was on a scouting mission for the Skylanders, visiting around Motley Meadows. I came across a wild gust of wind, and I thought it might help me get a good leg back home."
"You didn't realize that it was the North Wind?" Queen Cumulus asked.
"I'd never come across it before. I never could have imagined that it would take me to the Cloud Kingdom, of all places."
Queen Cumulus looked over at Lord Stratosfear in the corner, brow furrowed. "Did you hear that? It was a simple mistake, is all."
"There's nothing 'simple' about it!" Lord Stratosfear argued. "Who are these Skylanders? Would they want war with us?"
The purple dragon gasped, hopping off of the cot. "I need to get in contact with them," he realized. "They probably have no idea where I am, or how to get to me."
"That's a good place to head to," Queen Cumulus decided. "Let's access the castle communications and contact your Skylander group. Lightning Rod, if you could come for assistance."
Lightning Rod shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "I may be impressive, but I can't really work communications," he replied.
"I meant for you to act as a liason for the young dragon. Make sure he stays safe and comfortable during his stay here. Let's be off, then."
Queen Cumulus made her way out of the infirmary. The purple dragon cocked his head at Lightning Rod, apparently curious about his comment- though Lightning Rod couldn't imagine why. Lightning Rod led him along, following the queen out of the infirmary and through the castle.
He realized that she hadn't told Lord Stratosfear to come along with them.
Well, it wasn't that big of a loss.
The castle had a large tower dedicated to communication systems, from computers to radios to everything else in between. The monarchy always prepared to talk with outsiders, either for trade or for any possible conflict. Once Lightning Rod and Queen Cumulus arrived with the purple dragon, they told one of the workers to send out a signal to a group known as the Skylanders, and they opted to use the computers for it.
Lightning Rod and the purple dragon hung back, waiting for their cue. He found a tapestry depicting himself at the Storm Giant Games, heroically defeating an invading armada. It was the only enemy force that the kingdom had seen in a long time, and no one had dared attack them since. He thought that the purple dragon needed to understand exactly who he was.
"Alright child, picture this," Lightning Rod began. "It's the free-throwing portion of the big game. I'm right there, about to make the perfect move. Then suddenly, a terrible fiend called Kaos attacks, and the crowd is sent into a fear-fueled panic. I have no other choice, so I throw my boulder at the flagship and send it hurtling back down below us. I singlehandedly saved the day."
"Whoa, is that true?" the purple dragon gasped. "That's impressive."
Lightning Rod proudly crossed his arms. "Why yes, I must say that I did make a bold, impressive move. Nothing that any normal person could've done."
The purple dragon furrowed his brow in confusion. "There you go again with that."
"With what?"
"You appear really noble until you try to paint yourself a hero. People who care about what they do normally don't try to do that, at least from my experience."
What was he insinuating? Lightning Rod put the safety of his people before anything else. He did care about what he did. He wouldn't bother trying to help anyone if he didn't. The world needed to recognize Lightning Rod as a hero for it.
They brought their attention to Queen Cumulus, who was fiddling with the video function of the camera. She seemed to have difficulty trying to communicate with whoever was on the other line, while the worker instructed her on what to do. Lightning Rod walked the purple dragon closer to them.
"Hello, hello, this is Queen Cumulus of the Cloud Kingdom," the queen shouted on the speaker. "I request an audience with the leader of the Skylanders, whoever that may be."
"You're looking at him right now," a diminutive voice insisted. "We're both on screen together. This is Portal Master Eon."
"A Portal Master? How distasteful."
"We work to protect the wellbeing of everyone in Skylands," a commanding voice replied. "I recognize that my title doesn't immediately bring about trust, but I assure you that I'm on your side. What kind of trouble are you in that you needed to call for?"
Queen Cumulus smirked, looking at the purple dragon. "No real trouble," she explained. "One of your own simply found his way here."
"Without a rocket?" the diminutive voice wondered. "But that's impossible."
"Not when you ride on the North Wind."
The purple dragon excitedly moved up to the computer, eagerly looking at the individuals on the screen. Lightning Rod snuck in a look, finding two individuals on the monitor. One of them was a brown-furred mole creature, his glasses appearing to be rather thick. The other was an old man wearing a horned helmet, though the volume of his long white beard was truly impressive. It made Lightning Rod feel self-conscious about his own beard.
"Master Eon! Hugo! It's so good to see you!" the purple dragon cheered. "You'll never guess what happened!"
The mole creature took up the screen, practically locking it in a death hold. His teeth were bared, but his eyes held wide fear and relief. "Spyro, where the heck have you been!?" he yelled. "You never came back to the Citadel, and you never contacted us about where you were going! We send out Sunburn to get you back! We were worried sick about you!"
"Oh you didn't need to get Sunburn out there. I can handle myself."
The mole stepped back, sighing. "He'll probably be inclined to take the North Wind here, too," he moped.
"Few would risk riding on the North Wind," the old man argued. "I can't imagine Sunburn doing so. But Spyro, how did you manage to find it?"
The purple dragon, known as Spyro, shrugged. "I didn't even realize it was the North Wind at first," he explained. "Only after I got in did I realize what it was."
"And you couldn't get out until you found a place to land, is that right?" Master Eon elaborated.
"Yeah. But I think I could get better control of my trajectory now that I know what it is."
Lightning Rod noticed Spyro's smile fade as Master Eon appeared deflated.
"What is it?" Spyro muttered.
"Nothing," Master Eon insisted. "You just remind me of an old friend I haven't seen in a long time. He actively sought out the North Wind's origins every time it came up."
"Yes, it is certainly a strange phenomenon," Hugo noted. "Always stopping somewhere in the Cloud Kingdom, always starting in a random location, and always dissipating in the middle of spring. Which begs the question of how we get you back down. A simple pull through the Portal might suffice, but-"
"I'll accompany him back to your Citadel for you," Lightning Rod announced.
Master Eon and Hugo scanned the screen, looking for the presence of the one who had spoken. Lightning Rod moved Spyro out of the way, presenting himself on screen.
"I am the great and powerful Lightning Rod, and the fabulous hero who rescued your dragon friend from certain doom," Lightning Rod announced. "I have no qualms about delivering him back to your Citadel."
Queen Cumulus grimaced. "What should we do without you, though?" she asked.
"I'm sure you can hold your own without me," Lightning Rod insisted. "I can't be the only one protecting the Cloud Kingdom, you know."
Queen Cumulus nodded forlornly. "I'll prepare a ship for the two of you, then," she decided.
She took Lightning Rod's place in front of the screen. "Is that alright with you two?" she wondered.
"I suppose," Master Eon decided. "It means we won't have to expend too much power trying to fetch Spyro on our own. I'll contact Sunburn and let him know that he doesn't have to keep searching. Thank you for letting us know that Spyro is safe."
"It's my pleasure. Just hang tight, then."
Lightning Rod looked over at Spyro, who stared at the ground with a frown on his face. He seemed upset about something. What it was, Lightning Rod couldn't be sure. The young dragon had been much cheerier while talking with his friends, though, yet-
Oh.
Lightning Rod and Spyro rode in one of Queen Cumulus' best cruise airships, meant mostly for leisure and excitement. It held three large bedrooms, seven game rooms, five kitchens, and the top deck held eight pools and hot tubs where one could view the passing clouds. The young dragon appeared rather anxious about their choice of transport, seeing as it didn't have much in the way of defenses. Admittedly, it had no weapons- and the hull itself couldn't withstand heavy attacks. But since Lightning Rod was leaving with him, Queen Cumulus was rather timid about expending one of their warships for such a small task.
Spyro actually spent most of their trip hidden in the cockpit with the captain, directing their course. Lightning Rod found him in there one afternoon, noting how annoyed the captain seemed. He couldn't shake the queasy feeling in his stomach. He hadn't been able to talk to Spyro in a way that didn't push him away further. He'd never been in the wrong before, and it didn't feel very nice, at that.
"Ahem, I'm sure the captain knows where he's going by now, don't you good sir?" Lightning Rod announced.
"Yes…," The captain mumbled.
"So Spyro, the two of us should hang out in the hall for a bit and give him some space, shouldn't we?"
Spyro didn't say anything, but he walked up to Lightning Rod. The two of them walked out of the cockpit, standing in the hall. Lightning Rod twiddled his thumbs together, trying to piece together his next statement. Oh, this was really hard.
"You look like you have something to say," Spyro muttered.
"Yes, erm," Lightning Rod began. "I… realize that you wanted to keep talking to your friends. It was...rude of me to butt in the way I did."
"Yeah, really rude."
"I didn't mean to come across that way. I was eager to continue helping. And when I butt into other people's conversations...they don't mind it as much. It's a force of habit, I suppose."
"Hm."
"Actually...this isn't quite accurate...I'm more curious about you than anything."
Spyro raised a brow at him. "Really?"
"You're the first outsider I've gotten to speak with. No one I've met before has your standards of heroism, or conversation, or...I simply wanted to learn as much about you as I could. Accompanying you back to your home...could show me what your world and friends are like."
"You could've just asked to come along. I'm sure Master Eon would want to meet you, too."
"Believe it or not, but the Cloud Kingdom does depend on my protection. I can't get up and leave without purpose, no matter how I seem to lack in nobility in your eyes."
"I didn't mean it like that. It's just...if you do feel like a hero, you don't have to try so hard to convince others of it."
Lightning Rod cast his gaze on the ground. That hollow feeling returned. What was...what was he doing there? How big were his exploits?
"I don't think...I feel like a hero," Lightning Rod admitted. "I'm flawed. I only touch a small area. My actions don't have as large an impact as I'd like them to."
"I see," Spyro nodded. "Well, don't worry about being flawed. Everyone's flawed, and everyone has something they need to work on to be better people. And if you want your actions to have a bigger impact, you could travel the world and help people out of various predicaments they've fallen into."
"Hm."
"Actually, I think you should really talk to Master Eon. We're always looking for new Skylanders, and I'm sure he'd really want to see you."
"Your group actually does do heroics?"
"Heck yeah! What do you think? Do you want to give it a try?"
Lightning Rod stroked his mighty beard in thought. His world was too small. There wasn't much he could do to bring about the greatest change. But if he expanded into the larger world...could he become an even greater hero out there?
"I think I would like to meet Master Eon in person," Lightning Rod decided.
"Cool! I'm finding it harder to wait and get there now!" Spyro beamed.
"Perhaps we should head out on the top deck to scope out your home?"
"Sounds good."
Spyro raced ahead of him, and then halted. He turned his head to look at him, grimacing. "Oh and...sorry if I've been huffy at you," he muttered. "I guess I can get kind of petty sometimes."
"I'll say it's justified this time," Lightning Rod decided. "And it's water under the bridge, right?"
"Right."
They continued walking together. Lightning Rod noticed the hollow feeling close itself, replaced with excitement. He really could be a great hero, couldn't he? He couldn't wait to meet Master Eon.
