The same day, in the city of Warfang.

High above the towers and spires of the ancient dragon city, two black dragons were chasing each other around.

"Hurry up, Slowpoke!" One of them shouted behind himself between fits of laughter.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Cy!" The one protested.

They were Rune and Cyrus: The twin princes of Warfang.

The two black dragons had been living in Warfang with their family for four years now. In that time, the city had changed considerably. With the Malefor ordeal resolved, Warfang became the new hub for dark dragons; they came in from secret corners all across the realms. And of course, many non-dragons returned to the city, either to start new lives, or to pick up the pieces of old ones they'd lost. But honestly, a lot of this was a tad too much for Rune to handle. He was just happy to finally have his original family again.

If only things in Warfang were truly peaceful. But the smoke rising up from the streets in the outer district proved that this just wasn't the case.

"Come on, Rune, don't fall behind!" Cyrus snapped back at his brother. "We need to hurry up!"

Rune flinched; he'd been lost in his thoughts again. He shook his head and beat his wings harder. "Sorry, Cyrus."

Rune and Cyrus were both seventeen now. Rune had gotten taller and become bulkier in build; however, he was still years away from the muscular frame his father Baneth had. All six of his horns had gotten thicker, and his mane was neatly trimmed. Cyrus was taller as well, but was still shorter than his brother. He was also much leaner than Rune; his frame was slender, almost feminine. His four dark horns and magenta talons were polished to sheen, and a dark purple crystal hung around his neck on a small chain. This had some… unfortunate side effects when out amongst others.

The two black dragons flew toward the southern gate of Warfang; Rune could see even more pillars of smoke rising up from the streets. The princes' mother, High Queen Elenar, had dispatched a squadron of soldiers to investigate the area. Cyrus wanted to see what was happening, so he took off as soon as he heard the news. Rune tagged along reluctantly; he didn't want to see his brother get hurt in the process.

The closer the two got to the area, the more they could hear sounds of battle. Down below on the streets, a multitude of wooden carriages had crashed into the sidewalk in a severe pile-up. Some of the carriages were on fire, and nearby water dragons were struggling to douse the flames in a panic. A medical unit was on standby near the pile-up, and several medics were tending to injured civilians.

"Oh, this looks bad…" Cyrus grimaced. "Do you think that-?"

The prince was cut off by an explosion a few blocks away, just behind the wall of smoke.

"Yes." Rune sighed. "Whatever you were going to say, the answer's yes."

"Well, let's go lend a paw, then!" Cyrus declared. "Descendants of Spyro and Cynder need to help the people, after all!"

The shorter black dragon beat his wings and descended through the cloud of smoke without a hitch. Rune just grimaced and hurried to chase after his brother.

~~…~~

Two grey-hided dragons stood tall; one was male and the other female, and both wore dark grey robes. They were surrounded on all sides by dragons of various colors. The attackers had one thing in common: they wore bronze-tinted armor.

The male dragon pounded the earth and roared furiously; a burst of red waves erupted from his maw and struck several dragons. A few of the enemies stood their ground, but a few more collapsed in fear. The grey drake snorted and charged forward to smash the standing enemies asunder with a powerful ram.

He was Grail, General of the army of Warfang, and oldest living Deep Shadow.

As the General did battle with several of the attackers, his dragoness companion hissed and got into a battle stance to face off against any who rose against her. She unleashed a powerful roar of her own, though her magic gave it the form of a ear-piercing wail. The enemies wore helmets that mostly shielded from the attacks, but a few of them still became disoriented and collapsed against each other. The dragoness scowled as she sprang forward to do battle. She was Rose, another member of the Deep Shadows.

Grail and Rose were sent by Queen Elenar to deal with a group of invaders who launched a surprise attack that morning. The two Deep Shadows had arrived with several soldiers, though most of their forces were splintered off to deal with the separate threats across the city blocks. Five innocent dragons, light and dark alike, were already slain by the time the Deep Shadows arrived.

"Give up now, freaks!" One of the dragons in bronze armor hissed. "You can't fight forever!"

"Neither can you!" Grail stood up tall and roared.

"This doesn't look good, Grail." Rose said as she came to a stop at the General's side. "Though I doubt appearances are valid, if we're lucky."

"If I were half the age I am now, it wouldn't be a problem." Grail replied. "I'm getting too old for this."

"I suppose time hasn't been kind to you very much." Rose said as she shifted into a different fighting stance.

"Speaking of time…" The fear dragon grumbled. "Where in the world is that draken? She should have gotten here by now! Little Miss Blade-Mistress…"

"Now's not the time for complaints, Grail." Rose stated.

With that, the two Deep Shadows returned to battle against the enemy forces. On one side of the battlefield, Grail thrashed about amongst the squadron of soldiers. He moved as fast as his aging body would allow, and slashes at their bodies with red-tinted talons. Several blasts of ice and lightning were sent his way, but the material of his ark robes prevented the projectiles from piercing his hide.

You'd think they'd learn by now… Grail thought with a snort.

Using the last reserves of his magic, Grail unleashed several fear wails against the enemy soldiers. One by one, they began collapsing upon the street once again. The General took the opportunity to slash at their heels to keep them from rising up again. Grail would have loved to just kill them then and there… but the High Queen had ordered that he take prisoners instead of leave bodies.

On the other side of the area, Rose unleashed several more ear-piercing shrieks. Little by little, her magic worked its way through the helmets the soldiers wore. And, of course, she was no slouch when it came to physical combat, and did her best to fend off the onslaught of enemies.

Unfortunately, while Rose was distracted, a fire dragon managed to sneak up from behind and stab her left hind leg with his talons. The dragoness cried out in pain as the metal pierced her robes. The dragon traced long, brutal slashes along her flank and part of her side. By the time Rose managed to double back from the attacker, her clothes were stained with blood. Rose limped away, cursing under her breath the whole while, as the fire dragon approached with a red glow in his maw.

"GRAIL!" the dragoness cried out, her voice amplified with her magic to ensure her comrade's attention. The General quickly spotted Rose on the ground and charged to her aid. As he ran, a storm of lightning descended from the sky. A few of the bolts managed to singe the tips of his five horns, making him snarl.

Grail slammed into the offending fire drake and knocked him away, making him spill his fire breath allover the place off to the side. Unfortunately, the force of the blow caused pain to spring up across his back and flanks, making him crumple over on the ground beside Rose. He struggled to regain his footing as Rose clutched her wounds.

"Are you alright, Rose?" Grail asked with a groan.

"At the moment, no." She said through a wince. "How would really be a good time to call for some reinforcements, but I'm low on magic."

"Me too…" Grail snorted in frustration.

Grail and Rose looked around as the bronze-armored dragons approached them. Many of them growled as they charged up their magic. The General forced himself to shift to stand above Rose; hopefully his bulky frame would absorb most of the attacks and keep his ally from taking deadly hits.

"You're in for it now, freaks." The fire dragon from before growled. The soldiers to his left and right charged up their magic. "The Sons of Culmubrae will have their revenge!"

Grail tensed up as the dragons prepared to attack…

"HALT!" A dragoness screamed across the way.

The soldiers all flinched at the declaration. The leader carefully turned around and was alarmed to see a red dragoness approach from the other side of the road. She was flanked on either side by several dark dragons in silvery armor.

The dragoness had mane of hair, which was pulled back from her eyes. She wore a set of dark robes, though a red sword scabbard was strapped to her flank. She gazed angrily at the bronze-clad dragons as she dug her talons into the ground as a show of force.

"Guardian Apella…" The male red drake said with a sneer. "You have a lot of nerve to show your face, traitor."

"I'm no traitor." Apella scowled. "And it's Deep Shadow Apella, now."

The dragoness reached over to grasp the hilt of her sword in her jaws and pulled it free. She then took a feral stance as the silver-clad soldiers prepared for a fight.

"Surrender now, or else." The dragoness hissed around her sword hilt.

"We don't surrender to traitors!" The red drake roared.

With another snarl, Apella charged forward, her soldiers following suit. The male drake led his own soldiers forward into battle, and there was a mighty clash. Magic exploded against magic in the hefty brawl, and Apella's sword slashed at scale and armor alike.

This was just enough of a distraction for Grail to help Rose onto her paws. The grey dragoness still winced as she tried to keep the bleeding under control. He then pulled her back a short distance as Apella dealt with the last of the assailants.

One by one, Apella rendered her opponents unable to fight. Patches of burning flames raged on all across the arena; not of her own design. After a good long fight, soon only one assailant was left; the lead fire dragon. Apella snarled at the enemy and held her sword at the ready.

"You may have taken down my allies…" The assailant growled. "You may even defeat me. But you won't stop the Sons of Culmubrae, traitor!"

Apella barred her fangs and charged forward as the assailant did the same. With a slash of blades and a burst of magic, the assailant's forelegs were rendered useless. The drake howled as he collapsed to the ground, and Apella forcibly pinned him down. And as if by some miracle, this was the exact moment when reinforcements arrived in the form of dark dragon soldiers.

"Take all of these dragons straight to the dungeons!" Apella ordered as one soldier applied a muzzle and shackles to the lead assailant. "No killing; the High Queen wants them alive for trial."

"Yes, ma'am." The soldier saluted. He then signaled those orders to the rest of the dark dragons. With the enemies rendered pacified, Apella put her sword back in its scabbard. She sighed as she made her way across the street and over to Grail and Rose.

"Are you two alright?" Apella asked.

"Do we look like we're alright?" Grail snorted. He then winced in pain as something groaned in his back.

"Well, don't worry: Cerulean will be on his way shortly." Apella smiled.

This wasn't the first time that surprise attacks were launched on the streets of Warfang. Though the Order of Culmubrae's highest members were officially locked deep in the bowels of the dungeons, their influence was still spread out across the lands. Groups of hateful dragons rose up to avenge the former Pappas Richteriel. They called themselves the Sons of Culmubrae, and would stop at nothing to wreak havoc for dark dragon kind until their dying breaths.

"What kept you, draken?" Grail snapped at Apella. "I would have expected a former Guardian to be able to arrive on time when dispatched by the queen."

Apella sneered. "Look, I'm sorry that I didn't get here before Rose was injured. But I needed to rally together the troops; they'd been scattered in various smaller skirmishes. Look…"

The dragoness turned and pointed off toward the sky; several more smoke stacks had risen up during Grail and Rose's initial battle. The one-eyed dragon scoffed and fell back onto his haunches.

"Well, you'd best learn to move faster than that in the future, Sword-Mistress." He flapped his wings. "There's never time to waste when the civilians are being attacked."

"I know that…" Apella said bitterly.

Apella was once the Fire Guardian of the Prime Temple, to the west. She and another Guardian, a water drake named Cerulean, were given the offer to become Deep Shadows after the Malefor ordeal ended. Elenar had hoped to further diversify the ranks of the Deep Shadows as a sign to the people of Warfang that light and dark dragons could come together in unity once again. While this made sense to several other Deep Shadows, Grail found it difficult to place his trust in a former Guardian.

"That was amazing!" Cried a young voice from behind.

Immediately all three Deep Shadows got into a fighting stance and turned to face the newcomer… only to realize that a black dragon was standing before them. Another black dragon came to a landing beside his brother and grimaced.

"Whoa, easy there." Prince Cyrus said as he fell back onto his haunches. "It's just me."

"Your highnesses?" Apella asked worriedly. She scanned the skies for any other young dragons that might be arriving. Meanwhile, Grail stomped forward and growled in exasperation.

"What're you two doing here?" Grail demanded.

"We were just curious as to what was going on over here." Rune answered. He looked over at Rose and gasped upon seeing the dragoness's wound. He skipped past the other Deep Shadows and held a forepaw out toward her flank. His talons glowed a bright blue as he channeled his healing magic.

Apella sighed and shook her head. "Boys, this is a battle zone, not a playground."

"You don't think we know that?" Rune asked incredulously. He had to sift through the shreds of Rose's robes to make a bandage. "Are you okay, Miss Rose?"

"I'm alright, my prince." She said. Once the worst of Rose's wound had healed up, she carefully stood up and stretched her legs. "I thank you for the help, but Apella's right; this is no place for princes."

"But we want to help." Rune insisted. "What's the point of training us if we're never supposed to see combat?"

"Yeah!" Cyrus exclaimed. "We can handle ourselves out here! We're black dragons!"

Grail groaned and rolled his eye. "Your skill is irrelevant: you're still BOYS in my gaze. And as such, you're to stay as far away from the battles with these Sons of Culmubrae as possible." He stamped his paw. "As General, I order you both to return to the Palace of Kings."

Rune balked. "But-"

"GO!" Grail roared. Rune stammered for a bit, and ultimately just sighed and turned around.

"If you say so, General…" Rune extended his wings. "Come on, Cy."

"Yeah, yeah…" Cyrus unfurled his wings with a grumble.

The two black dragons took off into the sky and went north toward the central district. Rune supposed they could have just shadow-jumped there… but where was the fun in that? He liked flying through the sky much better; from way up there, everything looked so peaceful… smoke-stacks from the attacks notwithstanding.

"Hey Rune, I'll race you home!" Cyrus called from behind. Rune was about to stop and agree to the race… only to be knocked out of his flight pattern as his brother took off at mach speed. Rune gasped as he struggled to regain himself, and then snarled in frustration.

"You cheater!" Rune yelled. "You're using wind magic again!"

Cyrus only laughed as he made for the center of Warfang. Rune put a bit of wind magic into his own wings and chased after his brother…

Back on the ground, the three Deep Shadows watched as the princes left the area. Grail's anger died down, and he stretched his back out to get the kinks out.

"Look at them." He said with a grunt. "So full of life and vigor. It makes me feel all the more aged and decrepit just watching them."

"You don't seem that old to me." Apella shrugged. "Err, if it's any consolation."

"Hmph." Grail shifted to look back at Rose. "Come on, let's get you to Cerulean. Prince Rune might know a bit of healing magic, but it's best to have a master medic check you out just to be safe."

"Sure…" Rose nodded.

The three Deep Shadows left the area, leaving their soldiers to drag the Sons of Culmubrae off to the dungeons.

~~…~~

Rune and Cyrus chased each other above the many rooftops of Warfang on their way toward the Dragon Spire. It was still the biggest tower in all of Warfang, with the Palace of Kings seated atop it. Nobody was allowed to fly on up to the Palace of Kings all willy-nilly, so the princes had to glide down toward the garden surrounding the Spire to climb up that way. As they made their descent from the sky, some of the citizens spotted them. A few of the younger dragons even waved to the princes. Rune put on a soft smile and waved back… while Cyrus spun donuts in the air around his brother. Cyrus did somersaults, barrel rolls, and a whole host of maneuvers on his way down.

As the boys came to a landing in the garden, Rune grimaced as Cyrus extended his wings with dramatic flair and put on a big grin.

"Good day, Warfang!" Cyrus declared. "The princes have arrived!"

A few of the younger dragons nearby applauded, while Rune just rolled his eyes and walked forward into the garden to reach the door.

Ever since Elenar became the high queen of Warfang, the royal family had officially moved into the Dragon Spire. The building as a whole was used mostly as a place of worship and learning for dragons that weren't able to make the journey to the Prime Temple. Young dragons, both light and dark, lived and studied there under the Deep Shadows. Rune and Cyrus attended some of the same classes as the other students; Elenar felt it was best for the princes to interact with their future subjects.

Before Rune could put his forepaws on the front doors of the Dragon Spire, Cyrus rushed past him and shoved it open. He then turned around and grinned smugly.

"I win!" Cyrus declared with a flourish of his wings.

"Only because you cheated." Rune protested. "AGAIN."

"Oh, what?" Cyrus snapped. "Just because I'm better at wind magic than you?"

"YES." Rune said flatly. He walked around his brother and entered the building.

"But if I remember right…" Cyrus said as he trotted alongside Rune. "you can teleport clear across the city."

"But I didn't." Rune snorted.

"You never said we couldn't use magic, Rune." Cyrus grinned.

"Well, just once I'd like to have a competition handled solely with endurance." Rune grumbled.

The two black dragons started to bicker back and forth for a bit, until a disembodied voice cut them off.

"Where are you two been?!"

A cloud of smoke emerged between Rune and Cyrus, separating them. As the smoke vanished, a lean dragon with crimson scales appeared with a scowl on his muzzle. The drake looked between the two princes with frustration in his poison-green eyes.

"H-Heya, Wraith." Rune grimaced.

Wraith's appearance had hardly changed in the last few years, save for a small stubble of green hair upon his chin. He was still as skinny as ever, with his scales being a rich crimson. The drake paced around the princes and fanned out his wings in anger.

"Your mother's been giving me an earfrill-full for an hour!" Wraith snapped. "You better have a good explanation for where you've vanished off to."

"We were just checking out what all the commotion was over by the southern gate." Rune said.

"Oh, you mean those attacks that your mother was concerned about?" Wraith asked in exasperation. "Were you trying to make yourselves the target of a hate crime?!"

"Hey, the other Deep Shadows had everything under control." Cyrus pouted. "We were fine."

"Oh, whatever…" Wraith snorted. "Just get inside already."

The princes exchanged uneasy glances and shrugged. They walked deeper into the Dragon Spire, with their tutor following close behind.

The temple was hustling and bustling with adult dragons and non-dragons: most of the young dragons had left for home when the school day ended. They passed by the doorway to a chapel: After the peacetime started, Elenar had the chapel refurbished so that people could offer up respects to Lord Spyro and Lade Cynder together. Seated in the center of the chapel, on their haunches, were two teenaged dragons.

"Hey…" Cyrus called out. "We're back, Tina!"

"Sssh." Wraith hissed and brought his voice to an angry whisper. "No shouting in the chapel."

The dark-yellow dragoness stood up onto her feet and turned around. She smirked at the princes and stepped forward. "Heya, boys."

Tina had been one of Cyrus's closest friends in their childhood, and that remained the same to this day. She'd become more muscular as she got older, and she gained a few new scars to her forelegs from her years of roughhousing. Her dark mane was as wild as ever, and one of her bronze horns was slightly chipped at the tip.

Tina picked up her pace as she approached the two princes. She looked about ready tackle one of them… but that came to an abrupt end when Wraith stepped before the princes and glowered at her. Tina yelped and slowed to a quick stop.

"Uh, I just coming to greet the princes, Wraith." She said with an innocent smile.

"Yeah, sure…" Wraith rolled his eyes.

"You really should know better than to try that in the chapel, Tina." Said the other young dragon in the room. She rose up onto her paws and stepped over.

"Well I don't need a lecture from you too, Chal." Tina snorted.

Chal, short for Chalice, was the grandchild of General Grail. She was relatively close in age to Rune and Cyrus. Hers was a silver hide and a bronze underbelly, and her build was toned, yet lean. Chalice wore a black bandana around their neck. She had four grey horns; two large ones behind her eyes, and two smaller ones behind her lower jaw. She had a crimson mane, which fell down to the base of her neck.

Chalice lost her parents during the attack on The Hive many years ago. She was one of the many dark dragon children who were placed into temporary slumber during King Baneth's plan to take over Warfang. Ever since the dilemma ended, Chalice lived with her Grandfather in Warfang, and trained alongside other young dragons.

Wraith stepped out of the way of the chapel and led the way down the hall. "Come on, you bozos. We've got places to go."

Rune, Cyrus, Tina and Chalice followed after the Deep Shadow as they went down the hall. Though it didn't take long for a young dragoness to call out to the group… more specifically, to Rune. And they were more than a little sultry

"Heya, Rune…"

Rune came to a stop and blushed. Looking down the corridor, he spotted a fire dragoness making her way down the hall. Cyrus looked at his brother quizzically for a moment, but then stopped when he realized who was coming. Soon Tina and Chalice stopped as well, leaving Wraith to grumble.

"What are you all gawking at?" Wraith demanded. "It's just Princess Sandra."

Sandra was the daughter of King Horus, the former Steward of Warfang, and current King of the Pyrus Volcanoes. The red-scaled dragoness was graced with four horns that resembled antlers atop her head. She was slim and curvaceous, and was considered one of the more attractive dragonesses in the Dragon Spire. She wore an elegant cape, and equally-radiant jewelry on all of her talons. Sandra swayed her pink hair from side to side as she approached the group.

"Nice to see you back safe and sound, Prince Rune." Sandra said with a grin. She came to a stop in front of Rune and brushed some mane hairs out of her face. "The rest of the girls were getting worried."

"Well…" Rune began. "There's no need to-"

"Nothing to be worried about, hot stuff?" Cyrus abruptly stepped in front of Rune and fanned out his wings in a heroic pose. "Rune and I saw more dangerous stuff when we were kids!"

Sandra flinched and stepped back a bit, a forepaw raised instinctively from Cyrus's sudden action. She then groaned and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I get the point, Prince Cyrus. Good for you."

"Hey, I was just saying-" Cyrus was cut off by Chalice grabbing his tail and pulling him back.

"You might want to cool it, Skippy." Chalice scolded. Tina stood beside the dark grey dragoness with a forepaw covering her giggling muzzle. While Cyrus glowered at Chalice and Tina, Rune tried to keep a straight face while Sandra sat on her haunches before him.

"Any chance of you joining us at the next study group session?" Sandra asked playfully. "I think it's supposed to be held in YOUR place next time."

"Uh, sure, Sandra…" Rune blushed again. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Sandra smiled and scooted just a bit closer to Rune. The prince felt just a bit compelled to lift up his wing to drape it over Sandra's back. This action made the dragoness smile even wider. Rune almost smiled back… up until a gruff voice interjected.

"You better not be up to anything funny with my sister, Prince Rune."

Rune immediately pulled his wing away as a large fire dragon emerged from the corridor. Sandra just groaned as the drake stomped right up to Rune. The black dragon sheepishly stepped away from Sandra.

"Nothing funny at all, Prince Lantel." Rune said quickly. "Nothing!"

Puberty was indignantly kind to Prince Lantel; he was one of the larger dragon students in the Dragon Spire. His two horns were broad and blue, and his long black mane was a matching hue. Despite his regal gaunt, he clearly had slight bitterness in his azure eyes. He outfit was lavish, like his sister's, with the primary feature being his silvery-white cloak. He came to a stop and glared down irritably at Rune.

"Why were you just lurking in the shadows, Lantel?" Sandra demanded. "Spying on me again?"

"I'm just keeping an eye on you." Lantel pointed his muzzle in the air. "You know what Dad said: we need to keep out of trouble while attending the school hear. And that means making sure YOU…" Lantel poked his sister in her beak-like muzzle. "Don't do anything rash."

"And what's so rash about spending time with the future High King?" Sandra asked smugly. She stepped close enough against Rune that their flanks were touching. This of course made him flush all the redder. "We'll be seeing a lot of him for the rest of our lives, so we might as well be on good terms with him."

"Uh…" Rune scooted a bit away from Sandra. He glanced back at Cyrus, Tina and Chalice.

"Hey, you can always spend time with ME." Cyrus winked at Sandra. "I'll be around for all your life, too."

"Yeah, that's nice." Sandra said quickly with a snort. Cyrus glowered at being blown off, while Tina and Chalice giggled again.

"Being on good terms?" Lantel said with a snort of his own. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever…" He leaned his head down and glared into Rune's eyes. "Just as long as YOU don't pull any crap."

"Hey, I'm not up to anything. Seriously." Rune stamped his forepaw.

"Alright, alright, break it up!" Wraith shouted. He teleported between all of the young dragons and spread his wings to force them to step away from each other. "I've had it up to my HORNS with all of these delays!"

Wraith leaned his head down and glared at Lantel and Sandra. "Classes are definitely over. If you've got any after-school programs to deal with, get to it. Quit taking up space in the hallway!"

Lantel and Sandra stared indignantly at Wraith's face.

"We were just talking to our Future High King." Lantel grumbled.

"Well you can talk AFTER the princes have met with the queen." Wraith declared, giving a pronounced snort to out-perform the ones the fiery heirs made. "For now, do as your Deep Shadow commands and get out of the way."

"Is that any way to talk to royalty?" Sandra pouted. "We're the children of the king who gave the Ivory Crown to Elenar! We deserve respect!"

Wraith immediately put on the dourest and most disappointed look he could must. He inched just a bit closer and wracked his talons on the floor.

"You have ten seconds before I assign each of you a 3000-word essay on the practical application of Astrology. " Wraith said flatly. "Nine. Eight. Seven."

By the time Wraith had gotten to six, Lantel and Sandra were fleeing down the hallway. Rune had to admit; it was hilarious seeing Lantel making a run for rose up to his full height and sighed in satisfaction.

"And no running in the halls!" Wraith called after them.

"I'll see you later, Rune!" Sandra called over her shoulder as she vanished up a staircase with her brother.

"Wraith, you weren't really going to give such a comically-long essay to Sandra, were you?" Rune asked.

"It call comes down to her behavior, kiddo." Wraith gave another pronounced snort. He then grumbled. "Geez, that hurts the nose. How can they stand for that?"

Rune just shrugged and resumed walking forward, as did the rest of the dragons. Along the way, Cyrus gave a few irritated huffs. Rune couldn't help but feel sorry his brother; this wasn't the first time that Sandra had blown him off like that. At least Tina and Chalice had finally stopped giggling had had the same empathy on their faces. As the group walked onward in silence, Chalice decided to trot alongside Tina. She whispered into Tina's ear frill, and then backed up to speak louder.

"So Tina, how's about heading out for a tour of the city sometime?" Chalice asked.

"What for?" The dark-yellow dragoness snorted (to Wraith's disdain).

"A little food, a little sightseeing..." The Fear dragoness gave a shrug. "I know this lovely spot over by the park for a nice little picnic. So what do you say?"

"Hmm..." Tina tapped her chin. "Maybe, maybe not…"

Cyrus grumbled upon hearing this exchange, and loudly cleared his throat to cut in. Tina and Chalice looked over at him curiously… and then burst into snickers.

"I told you that would get him riled." Chalice stuck her tongue out.

"That's not funny…" Cyrus sneered.

"Oh, relax, Shorty." Tina gave a grin. "You know we're just messing around with you."

"Well you're too good at it." Cyrus grumbled. "If you two won't take me seriously, then who will?"

"I take you seriously, Cy." Rune frowned.

"You don't count: you're my brother." Cyrus looked away. Rune glowered at that, but Tina flapped her wing to keep him from replying. She winked at Rune, and then quietly crept up to Cyrus.

"Well then, if you want to be taken seriously…" She said, arching her back like a feral cat. "Then let's see how you WRESTLE!"

Before Cyrus could react, Tina had tackled him to the floor.

"Gotcha, shorty." Tina declared with a chuckle. Cyrus squirmed around, trying to get free of her grip, while Rune and Chalice stood over them in bemusement. Wraith however just slowed to a stop and slumped his head in derision.

"We're never going to get to that audience chamber…" Wraith sighed.

"Tina, get off!" Cyrus demanded. He struggled in vain to push her to the side.

"Come on, Cy." Tina pouted. "Show me your serious face and push me off."

Cyrus pushed with all his might; he even filled his muscles with a bit of earth magic for a boost. But despite even that, he still couldn't get Tina to budge. Rune and Chalice continued to laugh at the sight, the older black dragon getting a bit of satisfaction for being told he didn't count.

"It's amazing, Cyrus" Rune chuckled. "All this time, and you still get beaten up by girls!"

Tina and Chalice immediately stopped and glared at Rune, immediately his grin faded.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chalice snapped.

"Uh..." The prince stammered.

Chalice stamped the ground and lunged forward to tackle Rune. With a yelp, the prince vanished into his own shadow and disappeared, leaving Chalice to collapse onto the cold floor. She then immediately sprang up and looked around angrily. Across the way, Rune reappeared from another shadow and rose to his feet.

"Cheater!" Chalice pouted.

"Hey, you started it." Rune shrugged.

Across the way, Tina finally got up from Cyrus and helped him back onto his feet. He then took a breath and glanced over at Chalice. The shorter prince stepped around his friend to address Chalice directly.

"What was that you said about a park?" Cyrus asked.

"Yeah, that park several blocks down from the Dragon Spire." Chalice turned toward Cyrus and shrugged. "What about it?"

"If this park is as nice as you say, then maybe I'll go check it out myself." Cyrus declared. "If Tina's going there, I'm going there."

"Not before you speak to your MOTHER, you won't!" Wraith snapped. Cyrus yelped; the Deep Shadow had teleported beside him. Before Cyrus could get away, Wraith bonked him on the head.

"Hey!" Cyrus rubbed his head with a wing-thumb.

"That's for wasting more time." Wraith snorted. "And in the interest of fairness…." The Deep Shadow teleported to Rune's side and bonked him on the head in the same manner.

Rune glowered as he rubbed his head as well. "What was that for?"

"For being more like Cyrus than you think." Wraith snapped. "Now, if you're all done, messing around, We need to get going. You're teenagers, not cubs. Start acting like it."

"There's nothing wrong with having some fun, Wraith." Rune replied. "We're busy almost all of the time; can't we get a moment to relax and joke around?"

"Not when the QUEEN is breathing down my neck all the time because of your joking around." Wraith motioned with his talons in a sarcastic manner.

"They may be older than they once were," A new voice interjected, catching everyone off-guard. "But they're still in their youth."

The teenagers turned to look behind Wraith as two dragons descended a staircase. One was a dark grey dragon and the other was a green dragoness, both of whom wore the same robes as Wraith. It was Albanion and Wraith.

"You're a bit too forgiving these days, Elza." Wraith said to the dragoness.

Albanion and Elza were now the top bodyguard and advisor to the High Queen. They were also officially mates now, with Elza considerably gravid. She took slow, careful steps as she came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. The princes walked around Wraith to dote on their aunt post haste.

"Heya, Aunt Elza." Cyrus smiled.

"Are you doing okay?" Rune asked.

"I'm alright, boys." She chuckled. She was about to make small talk, but Albanion forcefully cleared his throat to get the princes' attention.

"You're late." He said with a scowl. Albanion cast a glare at Wraith. "What's taking you so long to get them to the throne room."

"Hey, don't give me that." Wraith snapped. "They up and vanished on me this morning and ran off to go sight-seeing."

"And you had trouble keeping a close watch on them?" Albanion's glare deepened, which made the crimson dragon falter. "Weren't you supposed to be able to keep close watch on them wherever they went?"

"Err…" Wraith cleared his throat. "I also had to keep an eye on these other students."

"It's after hours." Albanion snapped. "When classes aren't active, the princes are your HIGHEST priority!"

"Alright, alright!" Wraith gulped. "I'll do better next time."

"See that you do." Albanion sneered. Rune and Cyrus exchanged uneasy glances; this wasn't the first time that their running about had gotten the crimson drake in trouble.

"In any case…" Albanion took a deep breath and looked down at the princes. "Once the trial is over your mother wishes to speak to you two."

"Trial?" Cyrus queried. Elza frowned and nodded yes.

"Yes, there's another one going on." Elza sighed. She glanced over at Tina and Chalice and frowned. "It's best not to give the details around these two."

The two dragoness looked at each other uneasily. Rune and Cyrus, however, tried to stand tall.

"You can tell me what happened." Rune said. He trotted forward to head up the staircase. "I can handle it, Uncle."

"We'll see if you can…" Albanion said. He followed Rune up the stairs, though took his time so that Elza could keep a brisk pace behind him. Cyrus was the last to ascend the stairs, though he looked back at Wraith with a grimace.

"I, uh, I guess we won't need you to escort us to Mom." Cyrus chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Wraith."

"Yeah, yeah…" Wraith rolled his eyes.

Cyrus glanced over at Chalice and Tina. "We'll see you later I guess, girls. Bye."

"You don't mind if we head to the park without you, do you, Cy?" Tina frowned.

"Uh… no, not at all." Cyrus shrugged. "Nothing wrong with two friends heading off together. See you later."

Cyrus turned and rushed up the stairs quick as a flash. Rune sighed and hurried to chase after his brother. With shrugs of their own, Tina and Chalice bowed their heads in respect to the Deep Shadows before walking off toward the entrance of the Dragon Spire. Soon, Albanion, Elza and Wraith were pretty much by themselves as they ascended the stairs.

"Times sure have changed quite a bit over the years." Elza said.

"As have the princes." Albanion gave a soft smile.

"Yeah…" Wraith sneered. "They respect the two of you so much more than they do me lately."

"Well, we're their aunt and uncle, Wraith." Elza replied. "Plus, you're quite younger than us; I'd wager that the princes see you as more of a sibling than a mentor."

Wraith sighed; he wasn't sure how he wanted to tackle that argument.

"You didn't take offense to that, did you?" Elza frowned. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't worry about it." Wraith sighed. "Well, I've got places to go; I've got a curriculum to refine for my students tomorrow. I'll talk to you two later."

With a snap of his talons, Wraith vanished in a puff of smoke. Albanion and Elza just sighed.

"We'd best pick up the pace ourselves, my love." Albanion said. "You have an appointment with Cerulean."

"Right." The wind dragoness smiled. With that said, they walked together in relative silence.

~~…~~

The trial was well underway by the time the princes arrived.

Many dragons were gathered in the secondary throne room on the lower half of the Dragon Spire. The walls were carved out of red stone, and a great number of small orbs of magical fire illuminated the entirety of the room. Several rows of wooden bleachers served as seats for the onlookers, all of whom kept quiet as they watched the proceedings.

High atop a pedestal was a golden throne. And upon that throne sat a dragoness with grey scales: High Queen Elenar.

Elenar held a stoic expression as she beheld the throne room from her perch. A dark cloak fell down her back, and her horns and ankles were decorated with silver jewelry. She also wore a silver choker, upon which was a small purple gem. An elegant, white crown sat between Elenar's horns; The Ivory Crown of the High Monarch.

Two dragons sat to the left and right of Elenar's perch. To one side was a dark grey dragoness in darker robes: Dona. And to one side, also in robes, was an aged black dragon: Elder Urobos. They were to serve as the High Queen's advisors during the trial. They glared intently at the dragon on trial; a muscular wind dragon named Vordus.

Vordus was locked in chains and wore a thick muzzle upon his face. He never looked away from Elenar as he sat on his haunches. The dragon wouldn't dare try anything; not with the half a dozen silver-clad soldiers standing by along the nearby columns.

Elenar glanced across the way at a pair of dragons seated in bleachers, both of whom were struggling to keep their composure. It was a couple: a male lightning dragon and a female wind dragoness. The drake held his lover with a wing as she shook with grief. Elenar shut her eyes and sighed; she felt nothing but pity for those poor souls… but she couldn't give her weakness. She had to be strong.

"Vordus of Wind…" Elenar said with an intimidating voice. "You stand accused of the murder of the child of Salem and his mate Angelina."

The very word sent a murmur of unease throughout the crowd.

"No less than SIX witnesses have stated that, as soon as you saw the child riding atop her mother's back, you blasted Angelina with your magic and wrestled the hatchling away." Disgust grew with every word Elenar said. "Once you had the hatchling, you strangled her to death with your bare forepaws." Elenar lowered her head and scowled. "Do you DARE to deny this?"

The wind dragon looked the High Queen right in the eyes. "Of course not, your grace. If anything, I'm proud of myself."

The declaration left many dragons taken aback, especially the mother of the child. Elenar, however, had to hold back her swelling anger.

"Proud?" She repeated. "PROUD? And what in the dragon realms possesses you to be proud of strangling a hatchling?!"

"For one thing, the all-important detail that's been neglected from the witnesses' testimony." Vordus declared.

"And what would THAT be?" Urobos demanded with a snarl.

"You of all dragons would know, Elder Urobos." Vordus said flatly. "That was no hatchling; it was a beast."

The crowd murmured again.

"Excuse me?" Elenar snapped.

"I'll say this nice and clear, for all to hear…" Vordus took a deep breath and rose his voice. "Its. Scales. Were. WHITE!"

A murmur rose through the crowd yet again. Elenar held back a growl, and she fell back in her throne. Down below, however, she could hear Dona doing all the growling for the queen; quite justifiable, given the circumstances.

"What did you say, Vordus?" Elenar demanded.

"You heard me well enough, your grace." Vordus answered. "The dragons Salem and Angelina conceived a WHITE DRAGON." He struggled in his chains. "This is what happens when dark and light drakes breed together, your grace. And any dragon of YOUR lineage knows what happens when a white dragon is allowed reach maturity."

Elenar's face darkened.

"The moment I laid eyes on that… that THING, I knew I had to act!" Vordus exclaimed. "It needed to die, before it grew up to kill us all instead!"

"STOP!" Angelina shrieked from across the way, tears in her eyes. "Stop talking about my baby like that, you bastard!"

"That dragoness is out of her mind, my queen." Vordus said, never even glancing in the grieving mother's direction. "She should have known better when she laid her egg. No dragoness alive has ever managed to tame a white dragon."

"SHUT UP!" Angelina screamed. She sprang away from her mate and charged toward Vordus with a furious gait. However, before she could strike with her talons or magic, a few soldiers descended upon the dragoness to restrain her. Angelina fought and growled as she did her best to reach the murderer. But before long, Angelina was taken back to her husband as she wailed miserably. All Elenar could think to do was look upon the poor dragoness with sympathy.

"So…" Elenar looked back at Vordus. "What do you expect to come of our deed, Vordus? Do you think you deserve to be rewarded for killing a white hatchling?"

"All I really want is to be commended." The wind drake replied. "Who else but you could understand the dangers of a white dragon; you are descendant of Runileon the Wicked, after all."

Yet another murmur rose through the crowd. Elenar had had her fill of this dragon for a lifetime.

"Very well." The high queen said coldly.

"What?!" Angelina and Salem shouted incredulously.

"Vordus of wind…" Elenar stood up tall and scowled at the drake. "As a 'reward' for the murder of an innocent child, I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment and mandatory castration."

"WHAT?!" Vordus screamed. He struggled in his shackles as the guards descended upon him. "Have you gone mad?!"

"You heard the queen!" Urobos declared. "Take him to the dungeons immediately!"

Vordus fought with all of his might against the guards as they dragged him to the far side of the throne room. He grew so desperate that it took a dozen guards all tugging on his chains to subdue him.

"This isn't right!" Vordus screamed. "I'm a hero! I saved you all! You can't do this to me!"

Elenar gave the wind dragon a cold, hateful glare as he was taken out of view. Across the way, Rune and Cyrus watched as the dragon was lead away. The princes were in the upper bleachers to avoid intermingling with most of the crowd. They felt chills down their backs as they glanced at the anger on their mother's face; it was race to see her in such a state.

Once the dragon was gone, Elenar looked across at Salem and Angelina. "Step forward."

The dragoness had finally calmed down as her mate led her forward. They came to a stop and looked upon the queen uneasily.

"Let it be known that you have my unending sympathy for your loss." The high queen frowned. "However, I would be remiss if I didn't scold you for being careless."

"Careless?" Salem grimaced. Elenar looked directly at Angela, who shrank back from the queen's gaze.

"You were warned." The queen whispered. "I told you that taking your hatchling out in public was a grave mistake. You should know how dark drakes feel about white dragons. And yet you didn't even disguise your daughter with a shroud?"

"I…" Angelina shook with grief. "I'd thought our people had finally changed. I…" She lowered her head and cried again. "I didn't think… there were still some who…"

Elenar rose up to her full height and sighed. "If you ever have another white-hided child with your husband, keep it hidden away, like the others. It's for the best that they remain hidden, for now. Is that understood?"

"Y...Yes, my queen." The dragoness bowed her head. Salem soon bowed as well.

"Good…" Elenar sighed. "You may leave now. And once again, you have my condolences for your loss."

"Mine as well." Urobos said. "I'm sure that Lady Cynder is guiding your daughter's spirit through the afterlife as we speak."

"Th-Thank you, Elder Urobos." Angelina said dubiously.

Salem and Angelina made their way out of the throne room. Elenar watched them go with a sigh. She made a silent prayer, hoping that this would be the last time they'd lose a child.

During the last four years, light and dark dragons integrated with one another in the walls of Warfang. Many of them found love. This spurred on the anger of hate-filled dragons, who would go on to found the Sons of Culmubrae in protest… but the union of light and dark had another problem altogether: the conception of white dragons.

White dragons were rare; born only from a union of light and dark dragons. Their power was strange and unstable, at least according to records and legend. And the last time a white dragon had reached full power? Well, Elenar wasn't born yet. However, that dragon's presence would be forever known to the shadow dragon royal family…

Rune and Cyrus waited until all the civilian dragons had cleared out of the throne room. They then glided down to the floor and trotted up carefully to the throne.

"Hi, Mom." Rune said cautiously.

"Heya, Granddad." Cyrus grinned over at the aged black drake. "And hiya, Dona."

"Hmph." Dona stood up tall.

Elenar gave a soft sigh as she extended her wings out from her cloak. She carefully flapped them as she descended down to the floor to land between her sons. She put on another serious face as she looked down at them.

"I really wish you two hadn't witnessed the trial." Elenar said. "Murder is never a good subject to be spoken about around dragons your age."

"It's alright, Mom." Rune grimaced. "We know that things in Warfang aren't exactly smiles and roses."

"Yeah…" Cyrus scratched his head with a wing-thumb. "But in any case, we're here now. So, what did you want to talk to us about, Mom?"

"Well, for starters…" Elenar shot Cyrus a slight glare. "Wraith tells me that you've been showing off your magical abilities in front of the students here at the Temple... again."

Cyrus balked, and stepped back nervously. "Hey, I wasn't 'showing off,' so much as 'showing them what I can do.'"

"That's the same thing, Cyrus." Urobos said sternly. "You need to learn some humility."

"It's not like I'm trying to lord over the other students." Cyrus flapped his wings indignantly.

"Well you still need to exert some self-control." Urobos continued. "Other dragons your age might come to think that you consider yourself superior to them. Your duty is to lift other up, not put them down." The aged dragon stamped his paw. "Is that clear, Cyrus?"

"Yes, Granddad…" Cyrus sighed in defeat. Rune frowned, and draped a wing over his brother's back to hug him.

"As for you, Rune…" Elenar said. Immediately Rune tensed up and looked up at his mother, but her quick smile put him at ease. "A scroll arrived from Glenhaven today."

"It did?" Rune blinked.

"Yes." Elenar smiled. "Guardians Hontus and Voden will be arriving in Warfang within a week."

Rune's eyes lit up. He'd been waiting for a response from Glenhaven for a couple of weeks now. He could barely contain his excitement; his talons wracked the floor as he struggled to keep from skipping about.

"Are all of your belongings packed up?" Urobos asked.

"I've got a set of supplies prepared for when Hontus gets here." Rune said. "It's all under control."

"Good." Elenar lowered her head to her son and smiled "Are you leaving your sword here, or are you going to bring it with you?"

Rune blinked in surprise. Immediately his smile faded and he twiddled his talons. "Uh…"

The sword in question was the weapon that the prince's father, King Baneth, used to wield in battle. The sword's blade was silver in color, and decorated with gold patterns. The hilt was completely black, with the image of a Blue hourglass etched into each side of the guard. A large garnet gemstone was emblazoned in the sword's pommel.

The sword was a gift from Baneth to Rune, before the former willingly cast himself away into the core the world. And since then, Rune had been uneasy about wielding it. But everyone was always so insistent on him learning to fight.

"I'm not sure." Rune finally said. "I guess I'll decide by the time Hontus gets here."

"Alright, then." Elenar replied. "Rune, Cyrus, you two can leave now. I've got other business to attend to."

"Alright, Mom." The princes said. Elenar spread her wings and gave her sons a big hug.

"Mooom…" Cyrus said with a flush of embarrassment.

"D-Don't you think this is going on for too long." Rune added. "We're not cubs."

Elenar let go of her sons and smiled. "You'll always be my cubs, boys."

After the princes had left, Elenar let out a long, solemn sigh. She then turned toward Dona, who'd remained in silent contemplation the whole time.

"Are you alright, Dona?" She asked.

"Voden…" Dona said. Urobos looked upon the dragoness as she leaned back a bit. "He's coming, too?"

"Yes." Elenar nodded. "It's been quite a while since you've seen him, hasn't it? I would have hoped that the news would make you happy."

"I… I am…" Dona said uneasily. She then scowled at Elenar and flapped her wings indignantly. "I'll deal with the news in my own time."

"Indeed." Urobos smiled. "I'm sure you'll have a lot to talk about."

"Hmph." Dona flapped her wings again. "Maybe we will, maybe we won't. Either way, it's none of your concern." She rose up from her throne. "I need to be going: my daughter needs me."

"Say, how is your daughter?" Urobos asked. "It's been a while since we've seen her."

Dona gritted her fangs. "Riven is doing just fine; there's nothing to be concerned about, Urobos."

"Well there's no need to be antagonistic." Urobos frowned. "We're just concerned for her safety: attacks against white dragons have only increased these days, and we want to be sure that Riven is safe."

"That's very kind of you." Dona said, somewhat halfheartedly. She stood up from her throne and walked around the queen. "I just wonder, though: What would Baneth think right now?

"About what?" Elenar demanded.

"Well, you're doing everything you can to protect the young white dragon hatchlings and cubs here in Warfang…" Dona looked Elenar in the eyes. "Yet you still haven't gone to see yours."

Elenar balked… and then glared. "It's not for lack of trying, Dona!"

"Right, sure…" Dona nodded back. "But I distinctly remember a certain black dragon king insisting that you go to see her. Yet you never did." Dona tilted her head. "So, what's stopping you now?"

Elenar growled and opened her mouth to snap at Dona… but she faltered again. She couldn't think of a response. That only gave Dona a smug grin.

"Well, no more time to waste. Ta-ta!" With that said Dona opened up her shadow and sank down into it. It sealed up behind her, and she was gone; off to other parts of the Dragon Spire. Urobos watched her shadows with a snort, while Elenar just fell back onto her haunches and sighed.

"This day has been one of the longest I've had to endure in a while now…" Elenar sighed. "I wonder if it would be unbecoming for a High Queen to have a stiff drink from the wine cellar."

Urobos frowned at the queen. He stepped a bit closer and draped a fat wing over her back. The dragoness sighed and slumped against her father-in-law; her crown nearly fell from her head, but she steadied it quickly.

"Do you think Baneth would be pleased with how I've led his people?" Elenar asked.

"My dear, Baneth worshipped the ground you walked on." Urobos stepped up to her and patted her forepaw. "You could decree that all dragons stick their heads in the mud for six hours a day and he'd STILL stand by your decision."

Elenar chuckled a little. "I suppose that's true…" Her smile faded. "But Dona's right: I need to reach out to Bergan."

"Are you sure?" Urobos grimaced. "Tensions are fierce here in Warfang. It may not be the best idea to reveal to the people of Warfang that you-"

"It doesn't have to be immediately announced to the whole world." Elenar continued. "We'll start small… ease our way up to revealing the biggest secrets."

Elenar rose up from beneath Urobos's wing and paced about in a circle.

"There's so much planning to do…" Elenar sighed. "I've sent so many letters to Faeshrine asking to speak with her. But Bergan has never replied back directly; it's either that Vice President, or any other number of his associates." Elenar lowered her head to the floor and glowered. "Maybe I should just have Wraith teleport me right into the middle of Bergan's office."

"That won't work: you know that." Urobos scolded. "Some horrid contingency plan would keep you out of there. And besides; the High Queen can't just up and leave Warfang without warning anyone."

"You're right…" Elenar fell back onto her haunches and frowned again. "But I have to do something…" She turned her head toward the skylight up above. "I just want to him again. I want him to forgive me."

Urobos could only frown at Elenar as she sat before him. Before long, the both of them got to thinking about how different things were back then… back Elenar, Bergan, and Baneth were all children.

~~…~~

Greetings, friends and loved ones.

This chapter wound up being slightly later than I would have liked. Coming up with new ways to flesh out scenes and establish the minor characters can be trickier than you might think. Still, Wednesday has arrived, and I haven't missed an update.

If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider giving a review to tell me what you liked about the story or characters. And I guess if I spelled something wrong, let me know about that too.

Tenebra ecce Veritas.