Ha ha, I needed to write a scene between two of the later chapters I've written already, so yay for extra fillers. It was a bit in the story that needed exploring, though, so I kind of had to do it. But I finished it, so here's another chapter for you all (another chapter of Bitten should be coming soon, for those who are currently reading that one).
Anyway, once more, reviews will be after the chapter, so go ahead and read the chapter!
Spyro and Cynder slept through the morning. It was noon before they woke up again, re-energised and rested, both their periods of sleep uninterrupted. It was a good feeling. Yesterday had been a bad day, as Spyro and Cynder's minds dwelled only on that nightmare and what it meant. The siege on Warfang. The being of shadows. And now another nightmare added to their confusion and disorder. The bloody dragons. The word 'bloodlust'.
Cynder decided it would be best to spend some time with her friends. She badly needed the company. She needed someone to talk to other than Spyro and the guardians. Spyro, however, quickly rushed over to the training arena, even skipping breakfast (really, it was lunch). Spyro's mind rushed, only thinking of Cynder's nightmares and his wish to get stronger so he could protect Cynder from the inevitable danger that could be coming.
The training arena was empty. Spyro smiled, and walked over to a ring, ready to fight. Stepping into the ring, he concentrated hard, creating about twelve orcs inside the arena, ready to fight. He felt exhilarated; he hadn't felt like this in years. His heart began to pump faster and adrenalin filled his body. He dropped to a crouch as the orcs turned to him and snarled. An orc leapt at Spyro, and he instantly released a large stream of fire that took down the orc, as well as another that had gotten too close. Two more were sent sprawling to the ground but got up quickly. Two orcs leapt on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
Then Spyro did something he never knew he could, and he smirked at the new ability. He channelled his electric powers throughout his body, turning it into an electric bomb. He released the energy, sending lightning bolts flying out in all directions, disintegrating the two orcs on top of him. The eight remaining orcs dodged the bolts that flew at them. The orcs quickly recomposed themselves after staggering about from dodging the electricity that threatened to destroy them, and they quickly flung themselves at Spyro, axes stretched out.
Spyro breathed out a strong beam of electricity, which an orc tried to block with its axe, but the sheer force of the lightning bolt flung the axe out of its hand, leaving it defenceless. Immediately, Spyro lunged at the defenceless orc and bit forcefully into its neck and twisting its head around, immediately killing it. Spyro flung the dead orc into the air, which then disintegrated into black dust as the fake enemy was destroyed. Another orc attacked him, managing to land a hit. The axe slashed across his flank, and Spyro winced in pain, feeling beads of blood dribble down his flank. Snarling angrily, Spyro leapt at the orc, headbutted it, sending it sprawling to the ground, dropping its axe. Spyro leapt on top of it and shoved his claws into the orc's chest, killing it as its heart was pierced.
Six orcs now remained, and Spyro suddenly took them all out at once with a massive burst of fire. Spyro stayed in his crouch for a few moments before straightening and, with a huff, blew all the smoke out of his nose. Malefor has really made me strong. I don't remember being that powerful before that, Spyro thought with a chuckle. I really must thank him.
"No. He was the enemy." Spyro groaned out loud. "There's no way I'm thanking that monster."
But he made you stronger, Spyro thought again. Don't deny it.
"No. Resist it. Resist it," he grunted. "What is going on?"
He fought it out in his head for a little while longer, once side wanting to thank Malefor for making him strong, the other wanting to have nothing to do with the now-deceased Dark Master. He had no idea what was making him think these thoughts. Eventually, the voices died away.
But Spyro wasn't finished in the ring. After fighting the orcs, he knew he was too powerful for them. He needed a challenge. So he concentrated hard, real hard. The concentration strained him, his brain pulsating painfully against the sides of his skull as he tried to create his next opponent.
"Good afternoon, Cynder. How are you today?" Pyron asked as Cynder walked into the library.
"Exhausted. Physically and mentally." Cynder groaned, sitting down next to Pyron and Freeze. "The past two days have been terrible."
"Why is that, Cynder?" Freeze asked, her voice high-pitched, even though she was twenty-two. "Have people been mean to you again?"
"No. I've just been having these nightmares recently. I don't know what they mean but it feels like they're meant to mean something. They're absolutely terrible, and they're draining my energy." Cynder explained.
"Maybe you could explain them to us." Freeze suggested. "We might be able to help you figure out something. Plus, we're in the library. Books dating back to ancient times are stored here. Maybe we could find something to help."
"Thanks, but they're not really for the faint-hearted. Especially the second one. That one was very gruesome." Cynder said.
"That doesn't matter. What matters is that we find out what they mean. Because if you feel like they're meant to mean something, then they probably do. I think we need to figure out what your nightmares mean." Pyron said, his deep voice rough and gravelly.
Cynder looked at Pyron and Freeze. She had known them for a few years, and she knew that they would do anything to help her out. Especially Pyron. He had been willing to give up anything for Freeze, and it seemed like he was willing to do the same for Cynder. Reluctantly, Cynder explained both her nightmares to the two dragons. Immediately, their faces fell. "Look, maybe we should just forget about it. It's not really something I think you should get involved in." Cynder muttered, lowering her head.
"No, Cynder," Pyron said, walking towards her and lifting her head with the tip of his tailblade. "This sounds very serious. You need to get to the bottom of what those dreams mean, and we're going to help you, whether you want it or not."
Cynder blinked, her emerald green eyes tearing up. "Thank you," Cynder said, smiling.
"Have you told the guardians? This might be something that they need to know, as well." Freeze asked.
"Yes, I went to the guardians immediately after having the nightmares," Cynder replied. "They're just as clueless as I am about the dreams."
"Well, the first thing that we need to look for is a book of ancient dragons. Those blood dragons you explained seem really bad, and they could have existed in the past." Pyron suggested. "I propose that we split up and find as many books of old species of dragons that we can."
The three adolescent dragons split up and went searching for books for about an hour before they returned to where they were sitting earlier. Pyron had found about four books, Cynder found two and Freeze found one (although it was the largest one). They searched through their books for several hours, trying to find something that mirrored what Cynder saw of the blood dragons in her nightmare. They attempted searching through dragons that were red, that were made of liquid, or that had yellow eyes. They found nothing.
Until Freeze let out a yelp. "Did they look like this?" she asked, turning her large book so Cynder could see.
"Yes! Yes, exactly like that! Only they were made of blood, but they were composed exactly like that!" Cynder exclaimed.
"What is it? Read it." Pyron said.
Cynder moved the book closer to her as she began to read, "'Leech dragon; their outer layer is composed of dark magic in both liquid and airborne forms, they could enter another dragon's body and steal their magic. Their yellow eyes could sense magic ruptures where dragons moved or attacked. The magic they steal feeds them and gives them life, and the more magic they steal, the stronger they get. The species was important in the Great War of Magic, where they became extinct about five hundred years through the war, ending the Great War. The Great War of Magic ended about two and a half million years ago.'"
"They've been extinct for two and a half million years?! Why are you getting something similar to them in your dreams two and a half million years down the track?" Pyron exclaimed.
"Someone must be trying to bring them back. They sound like a powerful ally. Or enemy. Whatever the affiliation." Freeze suggested.
"But the thing I can't get out of my mind was that instead of being made of dark magic in my dreams, they were made of blood. Someone might be changing their genetics to take on a different form or ability." Cynder theorised.
"But who? And when will they appear?" Pyron asked.
"I don't know. The when isn't my concern, though. It's who. I don't know who it could be, but the fact that someone is bringing them back worries me." Cynder said.
A librarian, a female ice dragon, walked past them. "The library's closing. Could you please leave for the night?" she asked with a kind smile.
"We've been here that long?" Freeze asked.
"Seems like it. But we'd better leave." Pyron asked, standing up and turning to leave.
Cynder and Freeze followed Pyron out of the library, walking out into Warfang, which was tinged red with the sunset. "At least we found something useful," Cynder said. "It might not have been exactly what we were looking for, but the leech dragons are close enough to those blood dragons that there could be some similarities. The form of the dragon was almost exactly the same."
"Should we go tell the guardians about our discovery?" Freeze asked. "This is probably something that they need to know."
Suddenly, there was a loud roar. Everything went silent, and Cynder, Freeze and Pyron exchanged worried glances. "What was that?" Pyron asked.
"I don't know, but it sounded like it came from the training arena," Cynder said. "Spyro said he was going to be training there today. He could be in trouble!"
"Well, we should probably see if he's alright!" Pyron said.
And with that, Cynder, Pyron and Freeze ran off to the training arena, panting heavily. They all stopped to see a large green explosion engulf the training arena. Volteer came up behind them as the smoke disappeared, revealing a half-obliterated training arena, with holes in the walls and ceiling, and huge chunks of earth and ice sticking up out of the ground, with small patches of fire burning on some of the stone blocks that had fallen out of the building.
A voice rung throughout the clearing, one that was all too familiar to Cynder and Volteer. "Yes! I did it!" Spyro shouted as his purple form appeared through the parting clouds of smoke.
Spyro was bruised and battered, although not wounded, apart from a small cut on his flank. He panted heavily, smoke billowing from the corners of his mouth as he laughed. Cynder looked over to a large pile of roof that had fallen down in front of Spyro and saw a large black paw sticking out from underneath it. Before Cynder could tell Volteer, supposing he hadn't already seen it, the paw dissipated into black dust, and the pile of rock fell down without the body to support it.
Cynder looked over at Volteer. He did not look happy. Volteer opened his mouth and spoke. "Spyro, what is this?" Volteer asked sternly.
Spyro's head snapped to look at Volteer. "What is what?" Spyro asked, an odd tone in his voice, but Volteer didn't seem to notice.
What really frightened Cynder was Spyro's eyes. While his bright purple irises were still visible, the white sclerae had a faint glow to them. "What is this preposterous mess, Spyro?!" Volteer repeated.
Spyro's gaze softened and the faint glow disappeared from his eyes as he looked around him and gasping, as if only just realising the damage he had done to the building. "Oh. I must have gotten carried away with my training." Spyro said, all forms of malice suddenly gone from his voice. "I'm sorry, Volteer."
"It's alright. We'll get it fixed in no time. But don't let it happen again." Volteer warned.
"Yes, Volteer," Spyro said, walking over to Cynder, Pyron and Freeze and smiling. "Well, how was your day today, guys?"
"Yeah, good, I guess." Freeze said, shrugging.
Pyron just turned to look at Cynder, who was looking at Spyro with an odd glance. "Cynder, are you alright?" Pyron asked her.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I just thought I saw…" Cynder started, cutting herself short when she realised what she was about to say.
"Saw what?" Pyron pushed on.
"N-nothing. It was nothing." Cynder replied. "I'm still kind of exhausted from those nightmares I've been having."
"The nightmares? You told them?" Spyro asked.
"Yeah. I did say that I needed the company to help calm me down. And it'd make more sense to them if I told them about the nightmares." Cynder explained. "Plus, we decided to do some research at the library, and we found something interesting about the dream with the blood dragons."
"Really, now? Can you express what that intriguing topic would be?" Volteer asked, walking up to them finishing the short conversation he was having with one of the earth dragons in charge of construction.
"Well, we had the idea to search for some books about the ancient dragon races to see if the blood dragons had any resemblance to anything, and we found something. The form of the blood dragons exactly resembled an extinct species of dragon called the leech dragon, which had the ability to steal magic from other dragons. They went extinct two and a half million years ago, when the Great War of Magic ended, so I'm confused why a blood version of them have appeared in my dreams." Cynder explained.
"Leech dragon? I think I've heard of them before." Spyro said. "I don't remember where, though. Apparently, they were the most lethal dragon of their time. But yes, my concern is the same as Cynder's. Why are they appearing in her nightmares?"
"I'm just as perplexed as the both of you. I truly am apprehensive about what this all could mean. I'll go and inform Terrador and Cyril and see what they think of this dreary and mystifying complication." Volteer said. "Keep doing some investigation. It is essential that we have as much information as imaginable. Since Cynder's had two nightmares already, and some dots have been connected between nightmare and reality, we need to be prepared for anything."
"Are you sure it's not just a coincidence?" Spyro questioned. "You never know. Dreams can do that."
"I'm not sure it was just a coincidence, Spyro," Cynder said, giving him a stern look, still wary after Spyro's odd reaction when questioned about the damaged training arena earlier. "Those dreams mean something, and I'm determined to find out what that is."
Spyro just shrugged and walked off. Pyron and Freeze looked at each other with confused faces. Cynder rolled her eyes as she turned to follow Spyro. "I'll go talk to him. Anyway, see you guys later." Cynder said.
"Alright. Goodbye, Cynder. I hope you stop having nightmares." Freeze called.
"I doubt it," Cynder replied, breaking into a sprint as she ran after Spyro.
It didn't take long for Spyro to notice Cynder catching up with him. "Hey, Cynder," Spyro said.
"What was that about at the training arena?" Cynder asked, not letting his calm, friendly attitude distract her from her concerns. "What did you create that you had to destroy the arena to beat it?"
"I… I don't remember." Spyro stammered, his gazing tearing away from Cynder. "In fact, I don't remember much of my training today at all."
"Any of it?" Cynder repeated.
"No. Not at all." Spyro replied, shrugging.
What? How could he suddenly just lose his memory like that? Cynder thought.
"So… this leech dragon thing. Pretty creepy, huh?" Spyro asked, snapping Cynder out of her thoughts.
"What, how they're appearing in my nightmares?" Cynder replied.
"Yeah. Except all… bloody and gory." Spyro added. "I'm not sure what to make of it."
"Me neither. But for now, I'd just like to get some sleep. I'm exhausted." Cynder groaned as she and Spyro turned and entered their house.
Spyro rolled his eyes and groaned with annoyance. "What will it matter, Cynder? You'll probably have another nightmare again." Spyro said.
"I didn't have one this morning. Who knows? That might be the last of them. Those nightmares may have just been bad dreams." Cynder replied, shrugging. "But I still have to be prepared and looking deep into those nightmares. If they mean something, it's definitely a big warning."
"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, see you in the morning, Cynder." Spyro said.
Only one review, but 'IllusionMaster17' proved a good point. He said he was unsure about reading Demonised because of the category 'Tragedy' and reading the word 'gore' in my previous A/N. If I've managed to grab your attention with Demonised, great, but if this gets too intense for you, you can stop reading. This fanfic is rated M for a reason, and it's quite heavy on gore/violent content, and it's also pretty dark, as somewhat evident by the name of the story. Most of the intense gore content comes in at around Chapter 20 and onwards, so there's a bit to go until we hit that spot. But I hope you all stick around, and enjoy!
I'm gonna move on now. Please leave a review because it really helps me out; let me know what you want to see, what you liked and didn't like (don't be too negative about it though unless it's a major problem with the story), and if there's anything I did that could be improved.
See you all!