The Legend of Spyro

Warriors of the Fallen

Chapter 2: Starting to...

Smoke, Fire...debris, blood...he could see it. A large compound, shattered. Shapes crawling all over it, digging, looking. But above it all, malus, hate, anger; Something was not happy. Wait, the winds shifted, A large Eye stares at him, "I CAN SENSE YOU!"

Spyro snapped into a sitting position and out of his dream. His heart was raising from whatever he had just seen, his breathing even reflected it. Then the crackling of a campfire brought him back to earth and his attention to Marshal who was sitting on a log tending to the fire.

It was still a good bit before morning; they had decided the day before to stay in the clearing where they had met and helped Marshal. The couple was tired, and Marshal needed to get reused to having full reign of his magic again, so it made sense not to go too far.

Spyro looked to the still sleeping Cynder next to him. She was using her helmet as an improvised pillow; this allowed her long dark hair to flow freely. She looked so peaceful. It was a complete opposite to how she looked when he first encountered her, a walking creature with barely enough life in her to do the job she needed to do. Her hair had been the best example of her state, back then it had been tattered, torn and in patches. Even after he freed her, it was still barely there, but it had been recovering. After the time crystal, however, her hair had been able to recover fully.

Thinking about back then, and the difference in the hair from then to now brought him back to what he had recently seen in his dream which brought his attention up and over to an observant Marshal.

Marshal had not even raised his head from tending the fire, and yet he was still observant and knew what was troubling him, "Horrible...wasn't it?"

Spyro took another deep breath, "What?"

Marshal looked at Spyro now, his eyes almost empty, "The vision you just had. He spotted you didn't he?"

Spyro nodded, not even questioning who Marshal was talking about, "Yeah...I was looking at some strange wreckage; it looked to have been a rather large military complex. Dark shadowy figures were all over it, going through the rubble. I could sense...darkness, and then suddenly I was looking at a blood-colored eye. Then the presence...It...It was almost crushing...and so loud."

Marshal nodded, "Yup, that sounds about right. You'll need to be careful with those visions in the future; he's excellent at sensing when something like that is around him. The first time he did that to me I almost passed out, only the fact that he didn't know it was me kept me alive."

Spyro shuddered lightly, "I'll, um, keep that in mind."

"We'll have to move quickly in the morning."

"Huh?"

"Since he sensed you, it's highly likely he'll send some of his forces in our general direction to investigate. And if he finds out I'm in the area; I can guarantee we'll have an army marching on us."

"He likes you that much?" Spyro's tone a bit light-hearted, still trying to ease the shock he had just gone through.

Marshal shook his head, "Not really. More like he really gets a kick out of messing with me, and really wants me to Fall."

Spyro gulped, "I can imagine why. As strong as you are, You as a Dark or even a Corrupted dragon would be utterly terrifying."

"I know...He seemed to think I could have been as powerful as the Dark Master if I Fell completely." He breathes deeply before continuing, "Thankfully, I had a few reasons, not to...reasons that let me fight on as I was and hope that one day, we could get out."

Spyro leaned forward, "What sort of reasons?"

Marshal was silent for long enough that Spyro started thinking he was not going to respond, but then he did speak, "There...were others depending on me. He had a lot of others in that complex you saw. I fought to stay alive in the hope of giving them hope as well as to remember those we lost getting where we were. That's also the reason I'm here now…"

"Did they escape? The others you were with?"

A nod, "Yes. We all managed to get out as the compound fell to pieces at the same time the world did. We scattered at first, to make tracking us difficult. Hopefully, the others started to group back up again. They'll need each other."

"We can help you look. Maybe we'll encounter them as we travel."

Marshal smiled lightly, "Thank you. Now I think you should go back to rest."

"What about you?"

He shook his head, "Can't sleep right now, my magic is still a little...energetic. I got some earlier; I'll be fine."

"Alright...just don't push it, Marshal."

Spyro laid back down and despite his troubled mind, found sleep to come quickly. He was just thankful for the rest of his dreams where more peaceful.

To see a vision is to see life. To experience a vision is to know the world.

-Magical Visions proverb

The sun was only coming up when she started to stir, and the warmth next to her almost made her go back to sleep. But the smell, that is what got her to get up.

Cynder opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a chest plate, one she knew well. When looking up, she had to fight not to reach up and drag her hands through Spyro's hair in its free-flowing straight. Thankfully the sound of meat sizzling caught her attention and was able to redirect her attention.

Cynder had first to force herself to move away from the being she cared much about, even shift his arms off of herself slightly so as not to disturb him as she sat up.

When she finally direct her attention to the sizzle, a hand was needed to catch the strip of cooked meat being tossed at her.

"Sorry in advance to the lack of finesse in the flavor, haven't had the time to learn cooking properly."

Cynder looked to the wind dragon, the same one currently sitting on a log and cooking what looked like a freshly caught rabbit. How he was able to both find and catch said creature while not disturbing their rest, was an even greater question.

After looking at the meat and deciding it was cooked enough, she took a bite. A bit of chewing later, "It's cooked alright. But very plain."

The other dragon shrugged, but he kept peeling and cooking the meat he had.

Cynder got up and started to stretch; she was still partially feeling the damage she got from fighting the Dark master. Thankfully it was one of her better mornings, her bones and muscles were not complaining as much as they had been.

When she was done, she looked back at Marshal. Said dragon was looking down at what he was cooking, seeming not to care. This suited her just fine; it's not like she knew who he was. There was even a small part of her that doubted whether helping him out of the limiters was also a good idea. That portion of her brain was quickly drop-kicked into oblivion with her remembering who had placed them there. Even with what little she remembered, she knew that if Shadowfang wanted him suppressed, it was because he was a threat to him in some way. She almost wanted to ask him but was unsure of how.

Thankfully she was saved from having to ask anything by the young man in question speaking up, "You should probably wake up your partner then get ready to move. It's getting on in the morning, and it would be better to get a move on sooner rather than later."

Cynder's eyes scrunched up as she looked up to the sun which was just about finishing coming over the horizon. She could understand his position. Who knows how far any form of civilization was from them. So she sighed and decided to wake up sleeping beauty beside her.

For as long as there has been life, there have been fallen. Before the depths of magic was known, Fallen merely referred to those that fell in battle. As time went on, however, the term expanded. Nowadays to fall can mean one of three different connotations: Dead, Corrupted, or Dark.

The oldest and most natural to explain of the three meanings is of course to die. To Die in battle was to fall in battle. This term has continued to apply to any soldier on the battlefield, but once elsewhere things become more complicated. As you are no longer in combat, you could not have gotten injured thus causing you to fall to your death as it were. There is always the literal definition: fell off an object or place. The usual difference to differentiate between strict interpretation and metaphorical has usually been pronunciation and emphasis on a capital "F."

When the depth and understanding of magic began to be explored and expanded upon the more...evil side of it was also identified. Not all magic is evil, not all magic can turn someone evil, and just because one is evil does not mean one always does bad things. All of that is a matter of perspective, usually. To have fallen into Corruption or Darkness, on the other hand, that is the general consensus of a bad thing.

Corruption and Darkness both start with the same thing, an ordinarily good magic user. A common thread among magic users is the need to express some manner of control over their emotions. If the magic user allowed themselves to feel emotions it is of no real worry; the worry comes when you let the emotions control you. Positive emotions generally do not have this level of control, hateful and negative emotions do not play by the same rules. When exposed to certain stimuli and situations, a magic user can lose themselves and become...a twisted version of themselves.

Of the two options, Corruption is the tamer, but it is also generally the first step. Corruption can be caused by direct magic or by the degradation of one's mind to where they start to ignore the "Light" of life and start to concentrate on the "Dark" of light. Frequently the drop into corruption is a slow process which takes time; one has to break a mind first. Some go willingly into Corruption, but these people tend to do so to get a job done and have something for which to cling to so that they may remember why they are there.

A mage of sufficient strength could, in theory, have Corruption within them, but still be themselves. To do this, however, requires a considerable amount of mental skill and a certain amount of magical ability/affinity so as not to indeed Fall. Corruption can be undone with the correct application of Magic and willpower but is very difficult. Depending on the method and type of Corruption depends on what it takes to remove the Corruption and to let the magic user return to their previous self.

If the Corruption goes deep enough, or if the person wishes it, a magic user can go from Corrupted to Dark.

To become Dark, to fall to Darkness, this is the worst situation. There is no coming back, except in the most extreme of circumstances. Once you have declined to Darkness, you have given yourself over to death. To be Dark means to want to destroy all, and usually to place yourself in a place of power over all. There are many reasons why Darks do what they do, some wish to destroy, others to rule, and others only want to be seen. In the end, it all means the same, they want power and will do anything for it.

Those who have fallen to Darkness do not care who or what is in their way and will do even the most heinous acts. It's been said that some have a loose grip on reality, but it's better to say that they do not care for the current reality we all see and wish others to be condemned to their reality.

To Fall to either Corruption or Darkness can cause both physical and magical changes to a mage. Some get stronger thanks to the infusions of touching the darker side of life as well as allowing their negative emotions to fuel their magic. Others lose control of their power, it growing beyond their control or they no longer care to control it at all. There are more ways to be affected, but the most common traits of one who has fallen is a physical appears to change to more dark and harsher colors and a prevalent aura of malice and hate.

To fight a Fallen without someone of sufficient strength is foolhardy. They have no restraint and will fight like a cornered animal at every stage of the fight. It is smarter to be mindful of these possibilities and to do your best to make sure you never encounter a Fallen.

-Magical History 101: Who are the Fallen

Spyro moved another branch out of his way; the forest was thick where they were. He could only just see Marshal not ten feet in front of him. The only reason Spyro knew Cynder was almost next to him was the sounds she was making as she too fought her way through the forest.

They had been traveling for a few days, and he was already starting to notice several strange things about the young dragon they were following.

Cynder almost seemed to read his mind as she leaned as close as she could and whispered, "Things not adding up for you either?"

Spyro head bob side to side slightly, "A bit. He seems to have no trouble in this thick forest despite not knowing where we are going. He always knows where to get food. Despite wearing only those rags, he is without a scratch every night. Other than that first night, I don't think I've seen him use his powers once. And have you ever caught him sleeping?"

Cynder nodded her head in agreement as the statements came out and when the question was asked she shook her head, "No, even when I've tried to take watch he's been awake and always tells me to go back to sleep."

Spyro nods fiercely, "Same. It's honestly getting strange."

The two had to hold off for a little bit as they worked their way through a somewhat stubborn group of bushes. Then Cynder continued, "I agree, it is strange. Think we should try to talk to him?"

Spyro nodded again, "Yes, tonight."

The two stopped talking after that, too busy trying to keep up with the man in front of them.

They never noticed the sigh that Marshal let out as they came to their decision.

AN: Two chapters for two different stories so close together...alright I'll admit I had both almost done. I didn't realize how close I was until I had reached it. Now this one ended more because I liked the stopping point and because I want to make sure more of the next chapter is done right. Sadly there will be a lot of talking in the next one, but if done as I want it too it will set the foundation for what I want these three's overarching relationship to be.

I know I don't have much out for this and again I will apologize for that. This story is a different set of problems from my regular attempts because while I have a general plotline, I know more about the background than I do about the story I want to write. And to make it worse, I aim to do this story from the general viewpoint of Spyro, Cynder and other Legend characters as much as possible. This means I can't easily reveal what other characters are going through; this has to be done through body language and a lot of subtle movements/actions. It's a challenge for me, but I also feel it more accurately reflects what I want this story to be. I don't want an "I interact with Spyro" story; I want a "Spyro and Cynder discover" story. In other words, I don't want to "include" Spyro/Cynder; I want it to be "their" story with friends. Hence the difficulty.

I do hope you guys are enjoying what I got with this so far. I am hoping to have more out and about soon. Please let me know what you think. So, until we meet again, Happy Reading.