Chapter 9
"Speech"
"Native Dragon Tongue"
One must always learn about the past, less it's not repeated again.
- Archivist Wyrith Age of Remembrance.
The raft bucked a bit more as dawn approached the 4 occupants, the first one alerted was Cynder who was currently up adjusting the raft's course as the others slept. She had elected to take the last waking shift of the night as to make sure the raft stayed on course and towards their intended destination. Though the task itself wasn't hard, Cynder couldn't help but think about what she overheard the day prior to the present. '"I want to spend the rest of my life by her side no matter what happens..."' That is what she had heard Spyro say as she flew back, and since then it's been on the back burner of her mind; however, now that she was currently awake alone, no other thoughts crossed her mind but that one as she blushed heavily at it. 'It was probably something else he meant...' Her thoughts raged. '...he probably means one of the other dragonesses he saw while we were in Warfang...yeah that must be it...he wouldn't want someone like me...' She let out a sigh as she looked to the trio in the raft with a somewhat longing look. One that, if anyone would see, conveys a sense of dread and sadness. Regret filled her features as she shook her head some to clear her mind, failing to notice two sets of eyes on her. Cynder then turned her head to the group as she noticed they began to wake up, Hunter being the first to fully arise. Cynder stepped away from the aft section of the raft to let Hunter take over as she sat on her haunches in front of the two stretching dragons while looking further down-stream.
"Morning..." Cynder said with a small smile to everyone as she reached behind a crate. This caused the three males to look confused as she lifted her head back up to reveal some fish she managed to catch in the middle of the night. She passed them around to everyone, each gratefully accepting the gift with either a 'thank you' or in a simple nod of the head. Ravenwing was the first to eat his fill, followed by Spyro. Hunter seemed to pull out a knife from a sheath on his belt and start skinning the fish before cutting small slices he cut free.
"Did anything interesting happen while you were up?" Spyro asked while slurping down the tail of the fish, finishing it off after the second gulp. Cynder shook her head some.
"No not really, just a slow ride. Decided to grab those before you all woke up so we wouldn't need to stop." Cynder said with a small smile that spread across her muzzle. Spyro seemed to nod in approval as the sun crested over the horizon, unseen by anyone, and the sky became a bright shade of oranges and blues.
"We should be close to Warfang by now." Hunter commented as when the sun rose, he recognized the surrounding area around them, taking note of the blackened ash like area ahead of them. Spyro and Cynder nodded some while Ravenwing gave a small snort. The raft rocked again and the 4 occupants were drawn to a dock area ahead of them where a few more rafts as well as a small boat was docked. A wolf like mammal approached the group as Hunter cast the rope to the shore. The wolf caught it and began to guide the raft in, flashing a surprised look to Spyro and Cynder before guiding the raft along-side the dock. The wolf was built in a more muscular build, a deep blue coat followed by a white neck, and jaw line led down into a white underbelly, helping him stand out from the other dock hands that rummaged and moved along in the background.
"I see you returned after all!" The wolf called out to Hunter, who seemed to nod. "And with the two dragons of legend no less!"
"I will admit, I expected the voyage to be a lot longer than it was Beridus." Hunter replied to the wolf who chuckled a small bit.
"It's fine Hunter, as long as you took good care of her." The now named Beridus replied as the 4 disembarked from the raft. Hunter nodded a bit as he grabbed his supplies and placed them in a big. Spyro and Cynder climbed onto the dock easy enough with no issue, though due to being almost 1.5 times taller than Hunter and Beridus, Ravenwing's weight caused the dock bellow to creak and sag a small bit. "And who are you stranger?" The wolf said with an extended paw-like hand to Ravenwing. The grey dragon clasped the wolf's hand with a forepaw and shook it.
"Name's Ravenwing." Ravenwing replied. The wolf nodded a bit.
"Well it's good to meet you, can't say I've ever seen a dragon like you before, but who am I to judge?" The wolf said non-chalantly with a shrug. The grey dragon let go of the wolf's hand and chuckled some.
"Well I can't say I've seen a wolf of you're character before either." Ravenwing responded in an equally sarcastic manner, a smirk across his lips. Beridus smiled a bit and had a small laugh to himself.
"So you all headin' to Warfang right?" Beridus asked. The 4 nodded in reply a bit as Beridus smiled a bit. "Good, with you two here.." He said gesturing to Spyro and Cynder. "...we can focus on repairing relations with the neighbors. I heard the Guardians wanted to speak with you two should you be found."
"How are the Guardians doing anyways?" Spyro asked.
"Well Cyril and Volteer seem to be bickering like crazy while Terrador tries to keep the peace between them all." Beridus replied while he scratched his chin, causing Spyro and Cynder to groan a bit.
"Not again..." Cynder mumbled to herself. Spyro gave an agreeing nod to Cynder's reaction and sighed some. Ravenwing seemed a bit confused but didn't press the matter as he instead just listened and took it all in. No one seemed to notice as Spyro spoke up again.
"What about Sparx?" Spyro asked to Beridus. "How's he holding up?"
"Sparx...Sparx..." Beridus trailed off snapping his fingers before his eyes lit up. "Oh yeah the lightbulb who wont shut up..." Spyro deadpanned while Cynder snickered at the nickname. "He's been coming down here every day ranting about a lot of things. He does miss you though from we could gather but when asked to join the searches he...well..." Beridus said putting a hand on the back of he head and rubbed some sheepishly. Spyro seemed to nod in understanding as he sighed.
"He never was one for exploring, it's ok." Spyro replied with a sheepish look spread on his muzzle. Beridus nodded some as he handed a sack to Hunter, the contents sounded like the clinking of metal inside. Ravenwing was the first drawn to the bag before tending to an itch by the strap on the satchel.
"We'd better get going now. Thanks Beridus." Hunter replied. The older wolf nodded a bit and smiled.
"Feel free to take another raft if you need it, just make sure the downpayment is the same as always." Beridus replied before turning away when he head a crash as two moles were arguing. The wolf sighed a bit and seemed to get angry as he noticed the stacks of metal boxes and seemingly broken glass near by. He grumbled and turned to the moles and began to march over there with balled fist, ready to give them a piece of his mind. The 4 watched Beridus march off and turned ahead and looked past the tents of the small port and into a tree-line up ahead.
"Shouldn't be more than an hour of walking..." Hunter said before being tapped on the shoulder.
"And how fast would it be to fly there?" Ravenwing asked. Hunter paused some and looked to Ravenwing.
"Well for you three it would be a matter of minutes." Hunter replied. Spyro and Cynder seemed to nod at the answer.
"We'll go on ahead then." Cynder suggested. Spyro seemed to nod as they took to the air and hovered, but Ravenwing had a different idea.
"Want a lift?" The grey dragon offered, seeming to surprise the Cheetah some. Hunter looked to Ravenwing and seemed to think it over for a second or two before shaking his head.
"I will be fine, you three should really get going before another search is dispatched." Hunter said, earning a nod from all three dragons. Ravenwing took off as well and went higher into the air, followed by the two younger dragons. When they peaked over the trees, the trio saw a large set of stone walls rising far above the trees in the distance. The grey walls seemed to have flying dots next to them, hoisting things up to fix what seemed to be holes in the wall from the distance. The grey dragon seemed to sigh some and shake his head at the city, his mind thinking back to his home before meeting Ignitus. A chill ran through his spine as he continued to look on. 'I hope this place isn't like. Yersko.' He thought to himself with a frown on his face.
"You ready?" Spyro seemed to ask Ravenwing as the grey dragon looked on. The grey dragon was snapped from his thoughts and turned to Spyro and Cynder who seemed to take notice of Ravenwing's shift in mood.
"Y-yeah..." Ravenwing replied as his ears perked up some, his frills spreading out, conveying how he was taken by surprise by the question. He nodded some and Spyro and Cynder flew on. Ravenwing followed behind the duo as his mind still thought back to the life he lived before. 'It shouldn't matter anymore...to everyone I'm dead anyways...' He thought as he flew on, the city getting closer and closer by the second.
As the trio of dragons approached, it wasn't long before they were spotted. "Tre' mor' dr'gons 'ppro'chin'!" They heard a thick accented voice yell from the top of the wall. as the tops of buildings seemed to just barely peak out over the walls, the three were intercepted by a pair of green dragons with varying shades of browns as their secondary color. Their horns were curved back and upwards in a crescent style that arced back. One of the drakes had a hammer like tail-'blade' while the other seemed to have a 'blade' similar in design to a drill. The one with the hammer was slightly bigger than the other one and both drakes seemed shocked when they saw who they were approaching. All 5 dragons stopped in the air and hovered a bit, neither group saying anything before the first of the green dragons spoke, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Purple dragon!" He said in surprise, causing Spyro to raise a brow in surprise. "We did not know of your arrival..." He said as his vision turned to Cynder and Ravenwing, looking at them with apprehension.
"Well we just got here a few minutes ago..." Spyro said before noticing the glares sent to the darker dragons, the two green dragons then turned to Spyro and nodded.
"The Guardians requested you presence should we see you return..." The smaller dragon said as he hovered a bit lower.
"Where are they anyways?" Cynder asked, trying to to shy away under the glare of the two green dragons who turned to her. Ravenwing and Spyro both observed the glares and moved a bit closer to her.
"Is there a problem...?" Ravenwing asked with a stern glare between both green dragons. Both dragons looked to him and seemed to growl a small bit due to the aggressive glare being sent their way. Both Spyro and Cynder sighed a bit. Spyro then glared at the two green dragons who backed down a small bit and turned back to him.
"No problem..." The larger of the green dragons said. "The Guardian's are overseeing the construction of the academy right now." The trio of new arrivals nodded and began to fly past the two green dragons who turned to them.
"Wait...let us guide you..." The smaller one said, flying up in their path. The trio turned to one another, as if asking themselves if they want to allow them to do it. The green dragons looked between each other before Spyro's voice broke the silence.
"Sure, why not." Spyro replied with a shrug. The green dragons bowed to him a bit in reply, their larger frames dipping a bit before they turned around and flew ahead of the trio, who gave chase. As they crested the wall, Spyro, Cynder, and Ravenwing saw the extent of the repairs being done. They saw various dragons of all shapes and sizes with lift harnesses around their bodies, moles on the ground level and on rooftops of the city buildings. The buildings themselves seemed to be designed with ornate carvings of similar quality to the pillar they saw from the outpost a few days prior.
Various workers and citizens noticed the shadows flying overhead, and looked up in surprise. A few people down by the center of a square of some of the taller buildings started cheering a bit at the sight of Spyro and Cynder. The cheering of a few residents grew as more and more of the city was flown over. Spyro and Cynder seemed to look shying away from the ground and tried their best to focus on the flight path the two green dragons took them on. Ravenwing seemed to notice the attention the two garnered and seemed to be actually surprised by the cheering that seemed to take like a tidal wave in the city of Warfang. 'Here comes the hero worship.' He thought to himself. 'I wonder how being celebrities will corrupt their childlike minds.' Ravenwing sighed in his thoughts as he surveyed the landscape bellow. Various species of dragon, moles, cheetahs, and wolves dotted the streets bellow, some of them were looking up and cheering, others seemed to be talking amongst each other, and some of the younger ones seemed to be following behind the 5 dragons on the ground, or at least trying too. A snort of amusement came from the grey dragon as they flew on. Soon the 5 dragons reached a clearing where a great multitude of dragons were hoisting heavy stones and setting them up upon walls of a partially complete structure, moles seemed to be filling the gaps with mortar and other bonding materials as cheetah arrows with ropes attached to them were launched to the upper edge of the wall. The ropes were tied to stones of various sizes and hoisted up by teams of wolves to the top of the building. Near the edge of the building plot, a large green dragon, similar in color to the guides Spyro and Cynder were following, was talking to a set of smaller dragons, pointing to a large table with a draft for the project upon it. Spyro and Cynder instantly perked up at the sight of the large green dragon and all but called out to the green dragon with surprise. "Terrador!" Spyro called out, causing the green dragon to perk up some, first hearing the tidal wave of cheering and seeing the crowd of people before looking up and noticing Spyro, Cynder, and three other dragons near them.
"Spyro, Cynder!" He called back in surprise at the familiar faces as the 5 dragons came in for a landing. The green dragons were first, standing a slight bit taller that Spyro and Cynder when they landed. The last one who landed was Ravenwing who looked around a bit to the building, whistling some in surprise at the scale of the building as he stood a head or so shorter than Terrador, being the tallest of the 5 to land. "Where did you two find them?"
"On the city walls about to fly in, Master Terrador." The first of the guide dragons said with a confident expression. The second of the green dragons nodded as well to corroborate the story of the first one. The largest green dragon of the group nodded.
"Thank you, you two are relieved. You did a good thing today by bringing them here." Terrador replied. Both smaller green dragons beamed with pride and nodded, taking to the sky and flying back to the wall, leaving the trio of new arrivals with the large green dragon.
"Thank you Master Terrador." They called out in unison as the smaller green dragons took off and flew away. A soft smile came across Terrador's muzzle as he turned back to Spyro, Cynder, and Ravenwing. The grey dragon seemed to intrigue Terrador a bit due to the lack of seeing any dragon like him before.
"It's good to see you again, young dragons." Terrador said in a relieved voice a bit before turning to the sky to look around. "I assume Ignitus..." He started before Spyro nodded a bit while looking down some. "I see...We lost a good dragon that day." He said solemnly while closing his eyes. The moment of silence lingered in the air a bit before Terrador broke it. "So where have you two been these last few weeks?"
"Well we woke up in a cave about week's flight away..." Spyro replied, as he remembered the blackened landscape at the cave entrance.
"At first we thought we were out for a lot longer." Cynder commented, making Terrador cock a brow some.
"What gave you that impression?" Terrador asked. Both younger dragons gestured to Ravenwing who by this point turned from the large structure to Terrador and blinked some.
"Wait, what happened?" Ravenwing asked with a raised brow as both Spyro and Cynder were pointing at him with their tails.
"What is your name, young dragon?" Terrador inquired.
"Ravenwing." The grey dragon replied as he locked eyes with Terrador. The green dragon was taken a small bit by surprise by the crimson irises that seemed to bore into him. Terrador blinked some and regained his composure. "So um...what were we talking about?" Ravenwing asked as he looked between Spyro and Cynder.
"Well we were talking about how when we first woke up you gave us the impression we were out longer than a few weeks..." Spyro said trailing off.
"Look just because I didn't know about your war doesn't mean anything purple boy..." Ravenwing retorted in a sarcastic and light hearted manner. Spyro chuckled some at the reply.
"What do you mean, didn't know about the war? Where are you from young Ravenwing?" Terrador asked, his attention fully to the three arrivals. The grey dragon seemed caught off guard for a minute before shaking his head some.
"North, kinda why I have this in the first place..." The grey dragon replied as he gestured to the long black strip of fluff from his head to just before his tail blades. Terrador made a mental note of the sharp nature of the blades before noticing the satchel around Ravenwing's torso. Ravenwing, seemed to notice Terrador's gaze before coughing a bit. "Never heard of the war you all had before these two love-birds told me about it." Ravenwing stated as he gestured to Spyro and Cynder, causing both younger dragons to blush and turn away from each other. The grey dragon chuckled a bit as Terrador nodded some at the answer, though not understanding the term 'love-birds'.
"We aren't mates..." Spyro and Cynder grumbled in unison as they looked down, only causing a smile to grow on Ravenwing's muzzle.
"I see..." Terrador stated as he seemed to look deep in thought. His thoughts were interrupted when his gaze was torn to a yellow and blue dragon seeming to throw electricity at a rock before carrying it. The green dragon sighed a bit and turned back to the trio. "I'm sorry to say this young dragons, but I have matters to attend to here."
"Where are Cyril and Volteer?" Cynder asked, her embarrassment wearing off a bit.
"They are at the temple right now, probably arguing again about heritage or something..." Terrador mused as he shrugged. Spyro and Cynder nodded in reply.
"So Cyril and Volteer are...?" Ravenwing asked with a raised brow.
"My fellow Guardians." Terrador explained with a confused glance. "Cyril is the Guardian of Ice, and Volteer the Guardian of Electricity..."
"Let me guess...you're Earth?" Ravenwing asked, earning a nod from Terrador as well as a raised brow of his own.
"Indeed I am young dragon...though I must ask, if you didn't know about Cyril and Volteer, how did you know I was the Earth Guardian?" Terrador asked.
"Well your name is Terrador...Terra is Latin for Earth..." Ravenwing mused as he shrugged. "It honestly was just a shot in the dark." He added, the explanation confusing everyone else in the conversation. "What...?"
"What's Latin?" Cynder asked.
"It's an ancient language that no one speaks anymore..." Ravenwing replied, trailing off a bit. He rubbed the back of he head a bit sheepishly under the confused glares he received.
"I can't say I know of what you speak Ravenwing, but I'm sure Volteer would be able to help explain it if he was here." Terrador said as he shook his head. "You two..." He said gesturing to Spyro and Cynder, "...Should get going to the temple, I'm sure Cyril, Volteer, and Sparx would like to know you're ok." Spyro and Cynder nodded. "As for you Ravenwing, when you can, mind meeting me in the temple's training arenas?"
"What for?" Ravewing asked.
"I have never seen your kind before today young Ravenwing...As such I'd like to know about your abilities and what you can do." Terrador said matter-of-factly. Ravenwing just gave a casual shrug to the comment and shook his head.
"Yeah yeah, ok ya old geezer..." He said with a huff after being called young again. 'I'm 25 for crying out loud...I'm not that young.' He thought to himself. Terrador blinked in confusion and shook his head, dropping the subject before turning back to the drafting table.
"I will see you all later today." Terrador stated. The trio nodded a bit and took off into the air again, Spyro and Cynder leading the way with Ravenwing close behind. The partially constructed building was quickly replaced by more streets that seemed relatively undamaged from the army that had laid siege just a few weeks prior. 'Either they work fast or they only gotten through the outer gates...' Ravenwing mused as he flew on behind the pair of younger dragons.
"So what do you think?" Spyro asked, turning to Ravenwing as they flew between a tight gap between two stone towers and slowly approached a large complex like building in the city center. The building itself seemed to be swarmed by various dragons rushing in and out of the building, landing and hopping from stone balconies. The exterior was carved in neat ornate depictions of dragons flying high and standing strong against the rest of the world. The main entrance seemed to be a large door made of a deep brown oak colorization with bull-ring door knockers.
"Well it's certainly bigger than I expected..." Ravenwing said honestly with a shrug as the trio approached the large structure.
"That's what I thought too." Spyro remarked.
"No kidding, when we saw the temple for the first time...It blew us away..." Cynder added as they started making their descent. The grey dragon seemed to nod at the comments as the trio landed upon the edge of the stone stairway, unfortunately they didn't go unnoticed as a lot of citizens surrounding them seemed to stop their normal activities as they stared at Spyro and Cynder with surprise, conveying a sense that they couldn't believe what they were seeing. A dense silence protruded the air before everyone began to swarm their location. Shouts and cheers erupted from the approaching crowd, causing Spyro and Cynder to look around in panic before rushing on up the stairs, bringing the large crowd with them. Ravenwing just stood silently in surprise as everyone rushed past him and even some younger citizens between his legs as the door closed on the crowd of cheetahs, wolves, moles, and adolescent dragons that were unfortunate enough to make it just in time for it to happen. The grey dragon chuffed bit and began to stretch his wings a bit, that was until the sound of panicked flapping came from above him. Ravenwing turned around and looked up, only to be met with the sight of a blue dragoness with light blue accents that seemed to only emphasize the darker blue scales even more. It's horns were swept back and curved toward the middle a bit and on it's forehead it had what seemed to be a form of clear gem with a rope around it holding it in place. Though the grey dragon didn't have the time to take in most of the features as the dragon seemed to be approaching at a very high rate of speed. Ravenwing could only yelp in surprise as the dragoness crashed headlong into him, trying and failing to slow down, and sending them both down to the bottom of the stairs.
The two dragons seemed tangled together as a result, with Ravenwing's muzzle firmly pressed against the dragoness' foreleg and her face being covered by one of his wings. Immediately the duo pulled themselves from each other and stood a few feet apart. It was at this point, Ravenwing could get a clearer look at the dragoness that barreled into him. She was slightly shorter than himself, but about a foot longer, her build was lean and slim with a heavy emphasis on speed with her curves and muscle structure, curves that seemed enticing to Ravenwing for some reason. The grey dragon quickly shook his mind clear of those thoughts as light brown eyes scanned over him as she wore a panicked and apologetic look on her face. "I'm so sorry sir!" She said quickly as she collected herself a bit and huffed. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah I'm fine...outside of the obvious." Ravenwing replied as he stretched some from the impact and returned to a neutral expression.
"Oh I'm so glad to hear that...I haven't crashed into anyone since I was a hatchling..." The dragoness said, rambling a bit, causing Ravenwing to raise his paw.
"Woah, woah, slow down." He said, causing the dragoness to look at him curiously, before noticing the smile across the grey dragon's face. "Look it's ok, I'm not mad..." He assured. "Mind if I ask your name?"
"My name?" The dragoness inquired before receiving an eye-roll from Ravenwing. The grey dragon nodded a bit in reply as the dragoness looked away some embarrassed. "It's Crystal." She replied, flinching a bit as if she expected some sort of reaction. Ravenwing just shrugged a bit and nodded, which surprised the blue dragoness.
"Well nice to meet you Crystal, my name's Ravenwing." The grey dragon replied. The now named Cyrstal nodded a bit. "So um...why were you flying so fast?"
"Well I had wanted to get here before the doors closed because of some family business..." She said looking up to the doors that were still closed and the crowd still gathered at the entrance.
"Family business?" Ravenwing asked with a cocked brow.
"Well I was going pay my Sire a visit." She replied. "He can be a pain in the neck sometimes. But I guess being the Guardian of Ice does do that..." She said offhandedly, making Ravenwing semi-surprised but it wasn't anything past a slight sputter.
"Guardian of Ice?" Ravenwing asked, to which Crystal nodded, causing Ravenwing to chuckle a bit. "What does he do, fly to the artic and yell at a frozen lake for the day or something?" The grey dragon snickered at his joke, but was surprised to hear a giggle come from Crystal's direction.
"No...he is responsible for the training of and record keeping on all things Ice dragon related..." She replied after her giggling fit ended. "Though I would pay gems upon gems to see him do that!" The blue dragoness giggled again.
"Oh I bet it would look something like..." Ravenwing said before coughing a bit and putting on an accent. "...'Th'ts righ'! You's best stay frooz'n!'" The grey dragon and blue dragoness both laughed quite a bit at that.
"So, what brings you here?" Crystal asked after they both stopped laughing. Ravenwing sighed a bit and looked to the crowd that slowly began dispersing when a few guards showed up.
"Well I was here with my friends before the crowd came and made them rush inside..." Ravenwing replied. "Was coming here to have a chat with the Guardians myself anyways though."
"Oh you were?" Crystal asked as she perked up a bit. The grey dragon nodded a bit with a slight raise to his brow. "Well luckily for both of us I know a back entrance we can use. It's not to far out the way, and I can let Sire know you wanted to talk to him." Ravenwing seemed to smile and nod a bit at this.
"Well, um, thanks." He said, taken a bit off guard. Crystal nodded and took off into the air again, and gestured Ravenwing to follow her. The grey dragon complied and the two took to the sky, circling the massive complex a bit before Crystal lead Ravenwing to a balcony near the roof on the rear side of the temple. Crystal landed first and pushed open the door, which revealed a long set of stairs down a corridor. Ravenwing landed behind her as she began to make her descent. "Should I get the door?"
"Nah, this place needs the air." She retorted as she continued down the stairs. The grey dragon nodded a bit and left the door open, following the blue dragoness down the stairs of what seemed to be an emergency exit/maintenance corridor. The blue dragoness continued down the spiraling staircase a few more flights before turning to her left and pressing on an old wooden door. The door creaked open, causing both dragons to cringe a bit as the door opened to reveal a large open room with grandstands around a center arena looking area in the middle. A fence seemed to extend up to the roof from the top of the arena and a small doorway could be seen on the wall of the arena.
The grey dragon whistled a bit impressed with the room as Crystal closed the door behind them. 'Well at least they don't slack on the training program.' Ravenwing mused with a smirk as he waited for his guide. Crystal passed him and smiled some. "So who're your friends?" She asked as they exited the room through a door to a hallway with various paintings of old dragons and scenes of the city first being constructed adorning the walls.
"Well they were the reason that crowd formed to begin with." The grey dragon said as they walked on, taking a left up at a corridor ahead of them. Crystal perked up some at that.
"What'd they do?" She asked curiously, not knowing exactly who the crowd was there to see. Ravenwing shrugged a bit.
"Well I mean...I'm not sure if I believe it myself to be honest." Ravenwing said in reply. "Something about...'bringing the world back together with very strong magic that left them drained'..." The grey dragon added while musing to himself. Crystal stopped short for a second and cocked her head, before her eyes widened in surprise. Her mouth opened and closed a bit as words failed to form, causing Ravenwing to raise a brow in confusion. "Uhhhh..."
"You know Spyro and Cynder?" She asked, earning a slow nod from Ravenwing as he sighed and facepawed, expecting her to rush off and swarm them just like the city folk outside the temple. "That makes sense now why the crowd was there." Crystal said with a small giggle before raising a brow at Ravenwing's slightly surprised face. "What?"
"Oh...um, nothing." Ravenwing said quickly before turning away, Crystal shrugged a bit and continued forward, leading the grey dragon to another set of stairs that lead to the top floor of a expansive 2 story library. Upon entering the library, the pair was subjected to the humming of a figure further off in the distance on the ground floor. The figure was a large yellow dragon with a blue underbelly, horns, and wing membranes as well as tail blade. The yellow dragon seemed busy reading a book with a pair of reading glasses upon his muzzle. Ravenwing leaned over to Crystal as they walked along the upper floor to a set of stairs that would lead them downstairs. "Who's that?" Ravenwing asked gesturing to the dragon as Crystal gave the yellow dragon a look of familiarity.
"Oh him?" She asked pointing to the yellow dragon with her tail. Earning a nod from Ravenwing. "That's just Volteer. He's the history buff around the temple, mainly just sits in here and reading when not arguing with sire about bloodline issues."
"Bloodline issues...?" Ravenwing asked with a raised brow. "Your blood-type defective or something?" Crystal looked at Ravenwing confused for a minute and shook her head.
"Wha-no." She said as they began descending the stairs, drawing the attention of Volteer who looked up from his book. "Just sire is very...traditional. He touts we are from a 'pure ice dragon bloodline' and we have some form of regality associated with it."
"I assume you don't share those sentiments?" Ravenwing asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Well..." Crystal said looking a bit sheepishly and nodding to answer his question.
"What she means is that it's a statistical improbability such a bloodline still retains it's pure sanctity." Volteer added as he padded over, taking both younger dragons out of their thoughts and looking slightly up to the dragon who was half a head taller than both of them. Ravenwing was about to open his mouth and reply but then Volteer continued on. "Frankly Cyril has just seemed to loose it in his old age, for I distinctly remember some of Terrador's lineage originating from the same area of Dante's Freezer as well. Oh but pardon me and my lack of manners, who might you be young dragon?" Volteer asked Ravenwing with a genuine curiosity to the grey dragon. Ravenwing cocked a brow and shook his head some as he stared at Volteer with his crimson irises.
"I'm Ravenwing, sorry to interrupt your reading." Ravenwing replied as he looked to the book that Volteer had set on the table next to the trio.
"Oh its of no trouble," Volteet replied waving a paw dismissively to Ravenwing. The yellow drake then seemed to curiously eye Ravenwing a bit and hum in thought. "Though it's curious...I've never seem a dragon of your kind before. Your scales and...fur..." He added in a curious tone, "...suggest a northern climate but your torso and abdominal muscles indicate a speed frame of a southern dragon."
"Meh, I get that a lot." Ravenwing replied with a shrug as he tapped his claw on the floor from Volteer's rambling, a sigh escaping his lips. "I used to live quite a bit north so I've been living under a rock for about 23ish years..." The grey dragon added while shaking his head fur from his eyes to clear them.
"Are you sure you do not require medical attention young dragon? It must've been strenuous with that much weight upon your spine." Volteer said in a worried tone causing Ravenwing to look very confused and Crystal to snort before giggling.
"I think it was a northern expression Volteer..." Crystal said between giggles as Ravenwing nodded some to confirm Crystal's assumption. Volteer seemed to ponder this a second before nodding.
"I see. I must apologize for my misunderstanding." The yellow dragon said before Ravenwing waved a dismissive paw.
"It's ok." The grey dragon stated before looking past Volteer and to the door. "Though um...you wouldn't happen to know where your 'lake of quests' or something is located...got to make a house call." Both Crysral and Volteer raised a brow and shook their heads before Volteer seemed to perk up a bit.
"You mean our Pool of Visions?" Volteer asked to which Ravenwing nodded. "Well yes I do, but I must ask what do you mean by this...'house call'...?"
"W-well um...just forget it..." The grey dragon replied before mustering a fake yawn some. Crystal was the first to respond to it.
"Oh I can show you where the guest rooms are." She said earning a nod from the grey dragon. "Thank you for your time Master Volteer, just try not to piss off sire to much..."
"Hmph...that blue headed brute has more ice in his ears than he's breathed in 3 centuries." Volteer said while sighing some before nodding. "But I shall endeavor my best to keep him calm, especially since I've heard a rumor of Spyro and Cynder returning." Both younger dragons nodded a bit before turning to leave, though when they reached the door Volteer called out to them before grabbing his book. "Enjoy your stay young Ravenwing!"
"Yeah yeah, Auf Wiedersehen." Ravenwing replied as he left the room leaving Volteer utterly confused as to what the grey dragon had said while the door closed. Once outside the library and into the halls, Crystal turned to Ravenwing and seemed to look at him curiously.
"So what did you want with the pool anyways?" She asked. "It's only used to contact the Chronicler when there is a crisis." Ravenwing shrugged a bit.
"Well I mean I did say I had to make a call..." He replied with a deadpanned tone while shrugging a bit which threw Crystal for a loop. "Just need to tell the old coot I dropped off the two squirts and then be on my way."
"Wait you know the Chronicler!?" Crystal exclaimed in surprise. Ravenwing covered his ears a bit and grit his teeth at the volume.
"Ow, yes I do...you don't have to make a big fuss about it." The grey dragon said as he looked to Crystal who seemed a small bit embarrassed. "Can we just drop the subject for now...?" The cyan blue dragoness nodded her head and turned back to the hallway.
"Can I just ask how you met him...? No one has seen or heard from him in 2 weeks." She asked before the grey dragon sighed.
"Later ok." He said in a rushed voice.
"Promise?" She asked while looking back at him with seemingly big puppy dog eyes. Ravenwing grit his teeth as his mind became conflicted with thoughts of leaving or staying just a bit longer.
"Fine yes, I promise. Just stop giving me that look, it's a bit creepy." He replied as Crystal giggled some and turned back to lead the grey dragon through the halls, eventually stopping by a generic looking brown door. Crystal opened the door a bit to let Ravenwing inside but the grey dragon turned to her a bit as he opened the door a bit wider. "Thanks."
"Oh it's no problem, dining hall is further down the hallway to the right and bathhouse is to the left." She said with a small smile. Ravenwing seemed to nod before starting to head into the room. "If you ever need anything just ask, I'll help as much as I can." Ravenwing replied with a smile and a nod.
"I'll keep that in mind." The grey dragon replied. Crystal nodded a bit and turned to leave, though she couldn't shake the feeling of a small flutter in her chest as she went to her quarters. Ravenwing chuckled sa bit as he watched her walk off. 'I'll admit, she's got spunk.' Ravenwing mused as he couldn't help his eyes slightly drawn to her hips somewhat before he went into his room, closing the door behind him. He examined the small room which only really had a set of pillows on the back end of it, away from th lights of the afternoon sky peeking in from the skylight. 'I've had worse...now to crack open that book more and see what else I can figure out.' He thought as he lied down and began to read the pages of the book, though unknown to the grey dragon, a crescent moon pattern on the book began to glow upon the cover, filling the room with unnatural light and consuming Ravewing's vision before he had time to even react.