Disclaimer: I don't own ANY characters of TLOS, the only character I own is Ivor.

Shadow scales


The time had finally come.

In Warfang, young dragons went to the guardians to unlock and learn how to hone their abilities and skills as well as to be taught of the virtues of the ancestors before them. To teach little dragons about life and all it has to over, that had been the guardians role for centuries…they didn't get to do that for the dragons born in the Year of the dragon, but they do for the next generation.

Of course, little Ivor was going to be part of that.

Spyro and Cynder both walked their son through the town, the streets slightly slippery due to the thin coating of snow and ice covering the ground.

It had been a week since it was discovered that their son was a Shadow dragon like Cynder and, thankfully, it didn't take him long to get over his brief stint of illness so he felt much better than he had done before. He was even excited about having the opportunity to learn and to socialise and befriend the other little dragons and make lifelong connections!

Spyro and Cynder, on the other claw, fretted about this a bit.

Spyro never got the chance to talk to other dragons in his youth as he was raised by Dragonflies so he didn't know how he felt about his son integrating with other whelp's his age. While he was given a warm reception by the dragons now, he had no idea how things would have been if he had been raised alongside his own kind and if the night of Gaul's raid had never happened.

Cynder was afraid of how the other little dragons would treat her son because of her.

Children picked up phrases, words and whispers from their parents and they had little nice to say about her and her being the former "Terror of the skies". She worried that the other little ones would pick on her sweet Ivor because of who his mother was and she knew full well how much that stung, she didn't want her baby boy to go through any bullying of any kind…however she couldn't homeschool Ivor in order to spare him from the cruelty because the young one needed to socialise.

Neither she nor Spyro had that opportunity so it was only right their only son did.

Ivor ran ahead of them, slipping and sliding on the ice a little as he did so.

Dragons, being reptiles, tended to make them a tad more sluggish in the cold. It was a slightly different story for Fire dragons as the cold didn't affect them physically but it did have this affect and made them awfully moody, both Spyro and Cynder had witnessed Ignitus go through a bout of mood swings during the winter season in their youth.

Despite this, Ivor was remarkably in high-spirits and was just as bouncy as ever.

"Slow down!" Spyro called out to the white-scaled whelp "You don't wanna slip and fall on the ice, do you?"

Upon hearing his father's words of warning, Ivor slowed his steps from a run to a slight trot with that same energetic bounce with the tails of his favourite scarf fluttering in the chilly breeze behind him. He wore a huge energetic grin on his muzzle and his small developing wings practically buzzed as the electricity of excitement coursed through his small body.

His slower pace allowed his parents to catch up to him, at least.

He was so excited that he didn't even notice the adult dragons eyeing him as he and his parents passed through the city streets; he didn't quite realise it but he was the recipient of a ton of stares whenever he and his parents would enter the Dragon city and it would be from a list of reasons such as being the son of the great purple dragon or being the son of the spited and loathed ex-terror of the skies or even for having such a unique coloured pelt.

Some stares were of awe, other stares were full of scorn and deep loathing…

Cynder and Spyro had both spotted the observers very easily but made it a point to try and make sure Ivor didn't catch sight of those stares himself, trying their best not to make him self-conscious when it came to said stares.

The family of three made their approach towards a staircase that led to a big and grand structure that was the Guardians temple.

This place was the oldest to have been erected in what used to be the ruins of Warfang. It was a large citadel that was crafted from drystone with a dome-shaped top, a spire poking out from said top. The door was a large oval shaped opening in the entrance and there were rather moderately-sized square-shaped holes that made up the windows. Not only that but there was even a large crystal gem sprouting out of the cobblestone ground right in the entrance of the place, said crystal reflecting a series of multicoloured lights off of it and casting the plethora of sparkly colours when the sunbeams hit it just right.

"Spyro! Cynder!"

The two adult dragons felt their own eyes light up when they heard a chorus of familiar voices call out towards them.

The voices belonged to Terrador, Cyril and Volteer.

The three guardians had awaited the heroic couple at the bottom of the staircase while other dragons —ranging from tiny whelps to adolescents— were gathered at the entrance of the temple/citadel to make preparations to head inside.

Spyro and Cynder both hastened their steps, still being wary for the ice covering the street beneath them, and they met up with the three guardians.

Terrador, Cyril and Volteer happily received the purple and black dragons, especially in this setting.

"We were eagerly anticipating your arrival!" Cyril exclaimed with a high amount of enthusiasm that could rival Volteer. "We couldn't be more thrilled over this chance to properly imbue some proper wisdom in the young yet to-be-educated minds of the new generation!"

Terrador and Volteer both side-eyed one another and then turned their attention back to the two adult dragons.

Then Terrador noticed the absence of a certain yellow insect.

"…Where is Sparx? I wouldn't have expected that annoying yellow irritant to have been in absentia on such an important day such as this?"

Spyro hesitated on answering that as he fumbled for a good excuse.

"He…isn't too fond of the cold so he couldn't join us."

That was a terrible fib, he knew that much, especially thanks to the dubious looks he was receiving from the guardians and his own mate.

What he didn't want to tell them was that the true reason for his adopted brother's absence was that he had been blathering on and on about going on holiday to visit the citizens in Tall plains and had left for his trip half an hour prior. He never did get over not getting gratitude after Spyro and he saved the world that first time so he made the odd visit to Tall plains so he could continue to be worshipped by the llama people before coming home again…

"Hi!"

A familiar tiny voice rang out from down below, cutting into the conversation.

Everyone glanced down to see little Ivor whom looked happy beyond rational thought, his amethyst pools glimmering and shining like gems. His tiny scythe-tipped tail was wagging from side-to-side as he bounced on the pads of his tiny claws —he was behaving like a tiny excitable puppy.

"Ah, there you are little Ivor. Are you excited for a day of learning, a chance to whet your appetite for knowledge beyond all measure?" Cyril asked the small white dragon with genuine enthusiasm.

Ivor giggled and nodded.

"Yes sir!"

Spyro, Cynder, Terrador and Volteer all rolled their eyes collectively.

Of course Cyril would be happy about teaching the young whelps, if he didn't have his ice abilities then his true abilities would have lain in his enthusiasm and passion to teach the next generation of Dragons —the ice guardian might have spent most of his time being a sarcastic spoilsport but he seemed like a different dragon when he was suited into a teaching role.

He seemed nicer and more patient…maybe even a tad smug and overly-confident in his teaching abilities.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!

A distant but loud bell (that sounded like a gong) resounded through the air, causing the very earth itself to vibrate beneath everyone's feet.

Every young dragon lifted their head towards the temple and proceeded to ascend the sandstone/clay/rock-made staircase with great haste in order to make their way inside before the second bell sounded. It was clearly a sound that the dragons were clearly familiar with and dreaded to hear a second time; of course it was the familiar sound of the temple bell sounding, somewhat like a school bell.

The guardians were no different, of course, so Terrador, Cyril and Volteer all started to climb the stairs quickly to join the other younglings so class didn't start without them.

The small white dragon turned in an attempt to follow the others but was stopped when he decided to go back and say goodbye to his parents before heading up the stairs and going inside. He allowed it as both Cynder and Spyro both nuzzled their only son affectionately, causing him to giggle, and bid him a temporary farewell.

"We'll see you later, son, okay?" Spyro asked.

Ivor nodded.

"Okay, papa!"

"And remember to be on your best behaviour."

"Yes, mum!"

Then Ivor squeezed out of his parents' embrace and proceeded to get a move on to start his very first school experience. He hopped and then ran upstairs, not even daring to look back since he would have spotted both his parents breaking down and bursting into floods of tears if he had.

All Spyro and Cynder could do was hold each other while snivelling as they watched their only son begin the stages of growing up…


The inside of the Guardians temple was bustling as young dragon whelps of all ages trained inside the arena and doing a range of differing activities such as using the practice dummies to hone their own unique abilities, playing games, socialising with one another to build and strengthen bonds in the future, whetting their appetites for knowledge and things like that.

Ivor was in amazement as he watched so many young dragons his age do their own thing.

His eyes were wide and overflowing with excitement yet he was so lost in thought that he didn't quite realise was that his feet started moving involuntary as he started to glance around to further visually study his choices.

But what could he do?

There were so many options for him that it was difficult to decide upon first glance!

Hmmm…he could try and use the practice dummies? Nah, he would try that later…he didn't want his first day to be overshadowed. Literally. Perhaps he could go and ask the guardians about some other activities? No, they were probably busy right now since they were currently preoccupied with other little dragons running amok. Or maybe he could see if anyone wanted to play? Yeah, maybe then he could-

"Oof!"

His thoughts were interrupted when he crashed into something, sending him tumbling to the ground. Flustered, slightly disoriented and reeling quite significantly from the abrupt jolt back to reality, Ivor looked up to see a dragon a year or so older than he was looking down at him with glowering eyes.

"Hey!" The slightly older dragon snarled angrily, baring his fangs and wrinkling the bridge of his snout in distaste.

Ivor got a good look at him and noted the bright red scales that covered his body, the four bronze horns protruding from atop his head and the end of his snout and the bronze chest plates covering his chest and underbelly and wings, his spiky tail with porcupine-like spindles coming out from the tip and, finally, his amber orange eyes speckled with flecks of gold which were currently glowering and full of scorn.

Ivor swallowed nervously but managed to right himself and get back to his feet once more.

"O-Oh. Sorry, I-I didn't see you…" He stuttered.

A weird silence followed as the red dragon and the former's group of friends all stared at Ivor as if he was a different being entirely. Ivor stared right back up at them as he got to his feet and stood up and Ivor started waddling up to the small group of dragon whelps…only for them to back off as soon as he came close.

Ivor wanted to cast aside the awkwardness in the atmosphere.

He put on a smile and decided to ask whether or not he could join in on the fun and games.

"H-Hey! Can I play with you guys?" He asked, timidly.

The whelps all froze in place, the red dragon especially after hearing that inquiry.

There was this strange glint sparking in the whelp's eyes which Ivor couldn't properly gauge but, whatever it was, it made his insides freeze and he started to feel as though he was wrapped in snow…and no scarf could warm him up. He felt goosebumps begin to dot all over his body (despite this occurrence being impossible for reptiles) and he ducked his head in between his shoulders.

He didn't like where this was going…

"Us? Play with a freaky dragon like you?"

"I'm not freaky, you meanie! Why would you say something so horrible?"

"My names Blitzen! You'd do well to remember that, snowball!"

"B-B-But I told you! My names Ivor!"

The red dragon, named Blitzen, smirked as he took a step towards Ivor.

"Face it. You're nothing but a freak! Look at those white scales!"

Ivor's eyes started to swell with tears. How could he say those things? He scowled out of frustration and his breathing became quick and heavy. His heart was pounding, his head felt as though it was on fire, his entire body began to heat up from the tips of his head and facial horns to the tips of his claws. But his anger and body cooled and turned to fear when one of the other dragons happened to lock eyes on the purple material wrapped around his neck.

"Heeeey?" One of the young dragons eyed Ivor's scarf. "What's that scarf doing around your neck?"

Ivor recoiled and backed off to keep his scarf safe from the evil eyes it was receiving, shakily answering the inquiry.

"E-Erm…it's from my mum…" He replied.

"Hah!" Blitzen let out a loud laugh, puffing his bronze-plated chest out with pride. "I'm a fire dragon so I don't need such a silly thing like a scarf!"

Blitzen leaned forwards and clamped his maw down on one of the scarf tails and proceeded to tug hard on it, unfurling it from the small white-scaled whelp's small neck. Once he had the piece of material in his mouth, he made sure to bite down on it hard, glaring evilly at Ivor.

"Hey! Let it go! That's mine!" Cried Ivor.

The little fire dragon then spat out and threw the scarf aside.

Ivor yelped as he was then pushed back down to the ground and watched with horrified eyes as his favourite scarf was sent fluttering to the ground and landing in a muddy puddle, dirtying the material. He whimpered when one of the bullies roughly slammed his claw down on the ground and the scarf, purposefully covering it in more mud.

That served to upset Ivor even more.

Blitzen only mocked and jeered at him, however.

"Aww…you gonna cry, you freak?"

The little white-scaled dragon whelp's eyes started swelling up inside his eyes as he looked around, tucking his wings against his sides in a poor attempt to make himself smaller in the view from every other whelp whom was at the playground, watching his torment as though it was something out of a performance.

The little dragon squeezed his eyes shut, forcing those tears to stream down his face and drip freely off her muzzle as he came to the realisation that nobody was going to help him.

That was until...!

"Hey! Back off!"

Ivor's eyes snapped open when he heard the voice.

When he glanced up, he found his gaze setting upon a small dragoness whom had taken to standing in front of him in a protective stance. Her legs were slightly spread apart and her wings were both splayed out to the side whilst she had her chest puffed up. She even wore an angry expression upon her face with her snout wrinkled at the bridge. She had vibrant reddish pink scales with bright pink spots adorning her body with a pale yellow chest plate and wings with the framing of said wings were crimson red.

The young dragoness twisted her head to look down at Ivor, revealing her eyes to be a beautiful shade of sapphire blue.

Ivor was stunned and dumbstruck as he still lay flat on the ground, his heart beginning to pound hard in his tiny chest. He didn't know why but he felt this strange sensation tugging at his heartstrings and gut as soon as he saw her but he pushed those feelings aside, whatever they were, and decided to focus on what was happening right in front of him.

"Wha!? Who're you? Stay out of this!" Blitzen shouted.

He tried to circle around the small dragoness to get to Ivor but the female side-stepped in front of him, preventing him from trying to get to the downed young dragon. The female continued to glare daggers at the young but bigger fire dragon standing in front of her, her eyes practically burning holes into his soul. She flared her nostrils aggressively, said nostrils emitting a thick black smog that promised a blast of fire to burst from her mouth.

She stomped one claw to the ground as she made an exclamation.

Her voice was anchored with a furious hiss.

"My names Ignitia! The great fire dragon Ignitus was my great uncle!"

Everyone stopped and turned their heads to watch the scene unfolding before them, especially after hearing that the female was related to the late guardian Ignitus. They knew that her father, Flame, was the nephew of Ignitus as well as the fact that both Spyro and he had a fierce rivalry…but they couldn't believe the scene taking place before their eyes as they observed with keen interest.

Blitzen took a step back, clearly slightly intimidated, but he glared back at the dragoness.

"Wh-What does that matter? Let me teach that freak a lesson!"

"What kind of lesson?" Ignitia challenged "That he shouldn't be treated with regular dragon decency!?"

Blitzen's eyes narrowed into tight slits whilst a growl rumbled from the bottom of his throat.

"Are you blind!? He's got scales as white as nasty old chalk, that ain't normal! Besides! His mama is evil too!"

"Hey! Encase you forgotten, miss Cynder helped saved the world from being a crumbling mess with mister Spyro! If it weren't for either of them then we'd not exist right about now!"

Ignitia and Blitzen scowled at one another as the two whelps stood in an arched, watchful position with their snouts just inches apart from another as they both awaited one another to make a move. The small dragoness had her glare fixated and her back arched up and her tail coiled around her hind legs. She was on the qui vive for any sudden movements as she watched the bully.

Blitzen's mouth gaped open and the faintest hissing sound seeped from his throat.

"Young dragons, that is enough!"

Ignitia and Blitzen jumped when they heard the cry and they swivelled their heads in the direction of where it came from just in time to see none other than Terrador charging towards them with a stern look etching itself on his grizzled facial features; each running step the large Earth dragon took shook the stadium in which young dragons honed their abilities and it almost knocked over some of the younger whelps who had taken to observing what was happening regarding who is essentially the boss of the younger whelps, the relative of Ignitus and the son of Spyro and Cynder.

As soon as Terrador reached the quarrelling whelps, a smile blossomed on Blitzen's muzzle.

"Guardian Terrador! Thank the ancestors you're here! That little freak attacked me and I was just defending myself! Please kick him outta here!"

Ignitia and Ivor both looked at the dragon's performance in a mix of horror and astonishment.

He was blatantly lying!

Ivor hadn't even lain a claw on him!

How could Blitzen say such a thing? How could he have such a strong grudge against Ivor who had done nothing wrong? It was clear that Blitzen was not a nice whelp lying to get Ivor in trouble when he had done nothing wrong, that was going too far! Neither Ivor nor Ignitia wanted to get in trouble, especially not on the first day of guardian school! That would be the worst way to start anything and it would be worsened if they were just caught in the crossfire and bear no fault but are punished either way.

Both Ivor and Ignitia instantly started to protest simultaneously, their individual words becoming a mess of intelligibility as they both tried to explain what had happened.

Terrador silenced them with a stern clearing of his throat.

The guardian of earth wasn't known for being a strict disciplinarian but he knew exactly how to handle whelps, being around Cyril and Volteer had taught him all about how to handle youths running amok and how to treat them fairly but also dish out a serving of scolding should someone put a claw out of line.

After the whelps were silenced, Terrador turned his attention back to the fire dragon whelp.

It took all of Blitzen's bravado not to falter beneath the giant dragon's shadow. His legs began to shake and threaten to give out while he took several steps back, out from the large dragon's shadow, a mild fear shimmering in his crimson red eyes.

"Now then," Terrador started to speak with a really stern note in his gruff voice. "You are certain that young Ivor here harmed you?"

Blitzen nodded firmly, his eyes narrowed and he was trying to conceal a secret smile.

….It dropped, however, when Terrador's own eyes narrowed at the whelp as he gave him a look of disappointment and upset.

"Don't lie to me, young dragon. I was personally overseeing everything and not once did I see Ivor harm you in the slightest, you seemed to be harming him as a matter of fact."

Terrador's voice was now as cold as Cyril's arctic cold ice breath and his facial features had become as hard as stone. He towered over the young whelps but craned his large yet bulky neck a bit so he could stare down at them. His posture had turned rigid and his eyes had become narrowed into slits as he let another growl rumble from the chasm-like depths of his throat, it almost sounded like a growling drainpipe.

He wasn't fuming by any means but he was disappointed with Blitzen, more likely because he caught him out.

Blitzen's body language had changed, too, as his body flattened towards the ground and he briefly resembled a kicked puppy. His wings had folded and were huddled against his sides and he shuffled on the spot as he kicked the ground with his eyes now fixed to the sand/dirt ground below. His eyes were slightly narrowed and he gave a soft "humph" under his breath to convey how cross he was at the situation, this was unfair!

It wasn't his fault!

That runt deserved it!

After shuffling for a second, he stomped his right claw down on the ground and barked heatedly.

"His mama is evil! He shouldn't be around us normal dragons!"

"Does that mean you don't trust us?"

"H-Huh…?"

"We've allowed Cynder to live among us because we trust her, we've helped raise her after she came to us after she was freed from being used by the Dark master. So if we trust her but you don't, does that mean you don't trust us to make good decisions?"

Blitzen's small body was quite literally radiating with fury as fire and smoke puffed from both of his nostrils. He knew he couldn't argue with the guardian of Earth, especially not when he made a point…a point which he wholeheartedly disagreed with but it was a valid point nonetheless.

That didn't stop him from trying to argue against it, however.

"But…But…B-But!"

Terrador had enough and cut off the small fire dragon's objections once and for all.

"That is quite enough! You shall come with me and we shall see what punishment to dole out upon you and then we shall tell your parents."

Blitzen's expression turned from anger to horror at the mention of his parents; No! If they knew what he had been doing then they would ground him for a week! He wanted to object further but his words had died in his throat as he found that he couldn't argue any further lest he wished to make his inevitable punishment last longer.

He didn't stop wearing his raging glare, however, as he simply kicked the dirt beneath his feet in a silent tantrum as he followed Terrador with heavy, sulking steps.

It was obvious that he wasn't the least bit pleased that he was in such a situation where his parents were going to scold him severely and then ground him but he'd wish that they'd see that these whelps deserved to be bullied…especially that little runt Ivor! His mother was evil, everyone but the guardians could see that! It didn't matter that Ivor was the son of the legendary purple dragon, his mother could never truly change…she was just biding her time until she could strike —Ivor was just like his stupid mother, especially with those scales as white as snow and he needed to be put in his place.

Then they'd see that he was right to bully him…

Once the bully was gone, Ivor and Ignitia looked at each other.

A momentary silence brewed between them as they took in what had just transpired:

They were both under verbal attack by this idiot of a fire dragon who then tried to turn them both into scapegoats when he was caught out in his horrid and unacceptable behaviour! He was a big bully and they were glad that they got a spare moment of peace, maybe now they could get acquainted.

Ignitia's eyes softened at the whelp and smiled gently at him, her posture relaxing and she was radiating this warmth that spread from her to the whelp that she was trying to calm. She proceeded to gingerly lay the piece of fabric down in front of the white dragon whelp and then she sat back on her haunches as she watched Ivor pick the scarf up and wrap it around his neck and restoring it to its original position, albeit the fabric was slightly mucky.

Ivor smiled after he had his scarf back on, where it belonged.

"Th-Thanks." He said.

Ignitia smiled warmly.

"You're welcome."

The small dragoness decided that now it was time for introductions, they weren't given enough time to introduce themselves to one another before due to the bullying,

"As I already mentioned before, my name is Ignitia. What's your name?"

"….Uhh, my names Ivor."

"So Spyro and Cynder are your parents? I bet that's soooo cool!"

Ivor's purple eyes lit up like fireworks exploding in the night sky when he heard that, this was the first dragon that treated him nicely; he had noticed all the other whelps throw him looks of disgust but he tried to take them in his stride. He hoped that, maybe, he could befriend more of them when they get to know him! It was, perhaps, a foolish hope but it was a hope that made him wish harder and harder that it would come true.

Either way, Ignitia was not just pretty but kind-hearted too!

He nodded in agreement with her comment.

"Yeah! My mama is so nice and she gives the best hugs and papa is so strong and plays with me when he isn't on a super cool mission!"

The two dragon whelps started to converse amongst themselves as they walked off towards some plush practice dummies.

"So your great uncle was the great Ignitus?" Ivor asked.

Ignitia couldn't help but puff out her chest with pride and smiled.

"Yeah! My dad was his nephew, my dream is to become the next fire guardian and be just like him when I grow up!"

Ivor's eyes went wide as he stared at the female dragoness in pure wonderment and awe, his little tail wagging like he were an excitable puppy dog; he couldn't help but find her fierce bravery and devotion to her dream admirable and cool. He didn't know what he wanted to be when he grew up yet, maybe he wanted to join his dad on super cool missions and save the world someday just like his parents did.

The thought thrilled him more than anything else had ever done before.

As they walked along, Ivor and Ignitia continued to converse.

The topics of which they included in their conversation were things like what they wished to become when they grew up, what powers they had, their families and their home lives.

The more they talked, the more they became fast and solid friends.

The one thing that Ivor didn't know how to bring up was his abilities since he knew that he wasn't a normal dragon and it wasn't just because of his chalk white scales but because of how he had those cool shadow powers. He didn't want to bring it up, though, since he noticed the worry on his mother's facial features and he also saw how the other dragons treated his mother for being a shadow dragon…what if they treated him bad too?

He couldn't let the others find out, especially not Ignitia…

The two whelps talked and talked until the end of the day and Ivor realised that he had just made his very first friend.


A/N: Heres a new chapter, everyone!

I hope you enjoyed it. Its Ivor's first day at guardian school and he made his first friend and first rival. In this story I made Flame the nephew of Ignitis because I thought it would be good for a prequel fic I have in the works.

You guys are awesome and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

-Chloemcg