Hello everyone! Next chapter is up, yipee! I wanted to go ahead and get this chapter out of the way before I go back to working on "Pierce the Veil," but don't worry, a new chapter will be coming out for that one soon. This is a longer chapter, and they're probably only going to get longer.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Make sure to leave a review!

With a ferocious roar, a young red dragon sent a storm of fire into the attacking hoard of animated straw dummies. The flames reduced straw and wood to nothing but ash and charcoal, leaving the remnants of mannequins smoking on the ground.

Spyro shook his head and let out a sigh when the young dragon let out a gasp and toppled over.

"You're still using too much energy. Using that much flame is overkill. Try again, and focus this time."

The practice dummies repaired themselves, their immolated forms clicking back together flawlessly. Spyro paced around the ring as the Fire dragon tried again, with marginal improvement. From the benches, other students watched, all of them also exhausted from their own training.

Spyro had found that he was a perfect fit for teaching magical and combat training. Originally, he'd wanted nothing to do with teaching, but constant urging from his mate found him at the Temple nonetheless. His grasp of the four main Light elements, along with most Sub-Elements, coupled with the fact that he'd spent more than half his life fighting made him perfect for his position. He'd originally thought the work tedious, but he found the satisfaction of watching a student grow into a warrior was well worth the monotony that came at some times.

The student in the ring was excellent in physical combat, but when it came to magic, he was unable to control how much magical energy he expended. He clicked his tongue in disappointment as the student collapsed again, expending just as much energy as the last attempt.

"Clearly, this isn't working," he sighed. The student spluttered an apology.

"S-Sorry, I'll try harder this time."

Spyro shook his head. "It's clear that we must result to extremes to learn control."

The young dragon gulped. Spyro grinned as he stalked to the other side of the room and took his place by the lever that activate the dummies. The rest of the class, who had splayed out on the benches waiting for class to end, perked up, their interest piqued.

"Your next exercise is simple," the purple dragon explained. "I will activate three training dummies and you will take them our by destroying them with one fireball each before they reach you. For every that does hit reach you, that is one remedial lesson. For every fireball over three that you fire, earns you one remedial lesson…"

The class chuckled at the dragon, as his the color drained from his face.

"… and for every fireball that hits me, the entire class will receive a remedial lesson."

The class burst out into angry mutters, only worsening the young Fire dragon's anxiety.

"However, if you can take out all three in three shots, I'll end class early. In two, I end the next class early as well. If you can do it in one, I'll cancel tomorrow's class."

The class's displeasured groaning turned into excited whispers, and they began whooping and hollering in support of the Fire dragon. A hint of color returned to the student's scales as his classmates cheered for him. Spyro could see the reignited flames of determination in his eyes.

"Alright," he said, placing a massive paw on the lever, "give the word, and the exercise will begin."

The dragon took a deep breath and centered himself.

"Ready."

Spyro pulled the switch, and three dummies sprang to life and charged. Opening his maw in sharp bursts, the student released two orange fireballs from his mouth. Both struck true, blasting two of the dummies apart. He turned his aim towards the third, which had reached almost reached him. Quickly, the student let off another shot. The bolt of flame blew the mannequin apart, showering Spyro with charred chunks of wood and straw. The purple drake sighed as the class exploded off the bench in cheers and laughter, sweeping up the Fire dragon and parading him out of the room.

Spyro chuckled, picking straw and splintered wood from his scales as the sound of the students' celebration faded.

"I see you've taken to being the fun teacher, for once." Spyro looked up to see Adrian, the Temple librarian, enter the room. He was tall and thin, and his scales were an electric blue. He was a rare type of Lightning dragon, which was obvious considering his scale color.

"I suppose so. What brings you here, Adrian?"

The twig-thin Lightning dragon chuckled. His eyes were a stormy gray. He looked like a living thunderstorm.

"Our presence has been requested in the Great Hall. Lady Seraph has arrived."

A crowd of students bustled about the Grand Hall. Every student, teacher, and staff member had gathered there, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Lightning Guardian and her new student. Skylar, Desirée, and Psychrel weren't the only ones speculating on the new student. Recently the new arrival was all anyone could talk about.

Skylar sat in a balcony overlooking the massive chamber. Sitting beside him were all of his friends: Desirée, Psychrel, a Lightning dragon named Storm, a Wind dragon named Tempest, and a young Ice dragoness named Vee.

In the center of the hall, a wide stage had been put up where the head staff sat, each as anxious as their students.

"Looks like everyone's on edge," Desirée observed. Psychrel nodded.

"Yeah, this is the first time that something like this has happened." Vee fidgeted about.

"Come on," she groaned. "When will they get here?!"

"I think we're about to find out," Psychrel murmured. A messenger scrambled into the hall and up to the stage. He muttered something to Terrador, and then scurried away to stand by the entrance. Everyone saw him approach, and knew exactly what it meant: Seraph was here.

Beside Skylar, Vee shifted anxiously.

"This is it this is it this is it!" she whispered excitedly. The silence that descended upon the Grand Hall was suffocating. No one knew what to expect from the young Lightning Guardian.

A fanfare from the trumpeters situated in the wings signaled the Guardian's return. The massive wood doors swung open, and for a second, not one eye in the hall blinked. Then in strutted Seraph. Her topaz scales shimmered in the torchlight. The Grand Hall erupted in applause as the students and staff welcomed the Guardian back home.

On the stage, Spyro flashed his friend a wide smile, and then his eyes found her student. His jaw hit the floor. Up in the balcony, Skylar and his friends had similar reactions.

"No freakin' way," Skylar gasped. He was the only one who could find words. All his friends could do was stare in disbelief at the raptor that walked at the Lightning Guardian's side.

"This has to be some sort of joke," Tempest chuckled, albeit weakly. "She can't have chosen a Sadrian after all those months of searching."

Psychrel was eerily silent, his eyes wide and his jaw open. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.

The applause that had filled the Grand Hall dissipated as fast as it had appeared, everyone falling into deathly silence once they laid eyes on the raptor. That did little to deter Seraph, who held her head high and kept a confident smile on her face as she sauntered up to the stage. The raptor also had his head up and eyes forward, but in the place of a cool smile, he wore a flat scowl. Dragon, cheetah, mole, avian, wolf, it didn't matter what race you were, anyone would wilt under the judgmental stares being directed at the raptor, but he didn't waver once. The tails of his black, ankle-length coat billowed behind him as he and Seraph strode towards the stage with purpose.

Nova let the judging stares bounce off him like pebbles thrown at a castle wall. To him, the constant glares of disapproval were nothing new. He'd encountered more than his fair share of that during his time as the Black Blade of Kaibyr. He repressed a smile. He was going to have to prove himself, just like when he started fighting. The challenge excited him.

In a balcony across from Skylar and his friends, a Fire dragon watched Seraph and the raptor take the stage. Anger boiled in his gut, and his fangs ground together.

How… dare she! he raged, holding back the urge to take a swing at something. How dare she try to insult me! How dare she think that me and that filth are equals!

He watched as the Lightning Guardian began to address the hall. He felt bile in his throat, and couldn't watch another second of this. He stood and stormed out of the room. Behind him, a lithe Ice dragoness, a hulking Earth dragon, and Wind dragoness followed him out of the room, leaving the balcony empty.

"Thank you everyone for being here today," Seraph announced, her voice echoing off the Grand Hall's high ceilings. "I understand that I have been gone for a very long time. However, now I have returned, and I'm not going anywhere."

She pressed on, knowing full well that no one was paying attention to her. All their attention was directed at Nova. "As you all have clearly noticed, I've brought someone with me. This is Nova. He will be joining you in your classes from now on, and I hope you all will give him with the same respect you give your peers." She gave the audience her biggest, best smile. "He will be joining you in your classes tomorrow, but for today, he will explore the Temple and get his bearings. Thank you once again for your warm welcome. Now go enjoy the rest of the day!"

Seraph led Nova over to the staff as the students filed reluctantly out of the Grand Hall, casting second glances in Nova's direction. One by one, she introduced him to the Temple's staff members. The raptor shook all of their paws in turn. Cyril gave Seraph an icy glare as he shook Nova's hand. Caldera gave Seraph a worried frown as she took Nova's hand in her massive paw.

Terrador took the raptor's hand in a vise-like grip, which Nova did his best to match, despite their difference in size. The Earth Guardian was the first of the staff to look him in the eye. His intimidating green orbs sized up the new student. In the young raptor's eyes, Terrador saw a flame of ruthlessness that should never burn in someone so young. He also felt the strength of Nova's grip in his paw. The raptor projected an air of determination that seemed to permeate the air around him.

Oberon was the first to speak to him, and the first to smile at him. "Hey there Nova," he said with relative warmth, extending a paw. "My name's Oberon. I'll be your homeroom teacher."

Nova took the Shadow drake's paw in a firm grip. "A pleasure." Although he hid it well, Oberon was surprised by the edge in the raptor's voice. He hadn't said much, but he had just made two words of amicable greeting sound like a threat. Volteer also greeted Nova with words, lots of them. The old Lightning Guardian shook Nova's hand up and down, threatening to almost tear the raptor's arm clean off. Seraph briefly greeted her uncle before ushering Nova on.

Of all the staff, aside from Volteer, Cynder was the best at putting on a welcoming face. She gave Nova a warm smile as she shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to have you here Nova," she said, a motherly warmth in her tone. "I hope you'll enjoy it." Nova nodded in silent thanks before moving on to the black dragoness's mate.

Spyro, just like Cynder, gave the raptor a smile. "It's nice to meet you Nova." When the raptor shook the purple drake's paw, something changed. His face hadn't changed, as if it was set in stone, but the look in his eyes was completely different. The flames of ruthlessness in his eyes had been replaced, snuffed out by a vacuum. The only thing Spyro saw in Nova's vivid yellow irises was a black shadow, and hole void of mercy or compassion. In that moment, Spyro's demeanor didn't waver, at least on the surface, but looking into Nova's eyes, he saw something, felt something. He couldn't put his talon on it, but something about the raptor seemed… off. Nova's unblinking stare made the purple dragon's stomach churn with unease.

Spyro pulled his paw back and cleared his throat. "I hope I'll see you in some of my classes." Nova nodded and moved on to the other staff members, leaving Spyro with a pit of restlessness in his stomach.

Once Nova had finished shaking paws with the last staff member, Thyrion, Seraph toured him around the Temple. As reluctant as he was to admit it, the Temple's towering architecture was impressive. From the gardens to the murals, he was surprised at how elaborate the Temple's design truly was. By the time they had finished, the sun had dipped below the horizon. At the same time, Seraph was showing Nova too his room.

"This is it. This is where you'll be staying during your time at the Temple. It's almost dinnertime, so once you've gotten everything unpacked, head down that hall. That'll take you to the Dining Hall. I'll leave you to it. I've got some work to take care of." Seraph sauntered down the hall and out of sight as Nova eased his door open. As it swung open, Nova's jaw dropped.

The room was easily ten times larger than his room back at the orphanage, if one could even call it a room. On the wall to his right sat a large, circular bed covered with lush navy-blue bedding. On the wall opposite the bed was a hardwood desk with three fully stocked sets of bookshelves on its right. To the left of the desk was a door which led to a fully furnished bathroom, equipped with a washbasin, closet, and clean towels. On the far wall, a curtained doorway led to a balcony overlooking the city of Warfang.

Nova walked in with wide eyes. His belongings were all piled neatly by the desk, but he didn't pay them any mind. He was much more concerned with his room. He went to the desk first, opening every drawer, he found stacks upon stacks of parchment. On the bookshelves, he saw more books than he'd ever seen before. He thought of taking his bag off and leaving it in the room, but thought better of it. He was in foreign territory, and still didn't know if it was safe to leave his things unattended.

The tolling of a bell reminded Nova that dinner was being served. Choosing to leave the little unpacking he had to do for later, Nova left the room. He followed the winding halls until he found himself at another open set of massive wooden doors.

The boisterous sounds of conversation died out as waves of silence crashed over the Dining Hall. The raptor didn't pause for even a moment before striding over to the counter where food was being served. He knew everyone's eyes were on him, but he didn't care. He approached the cook, a bright pink dragoness, who smiled at him.

"You must be the new student!" she chirped, giving him the second genuine smile he'd seen all day. "What's your name?"

"Nova," he grunted. "And you are?"

"You can call me Ember!" She gestured at the vast selection of food laid out before her. "What can I get for you, Nova?"

"Chicken, fish, and salad, please." The dragoness whipped out a lunch tray and ladle.

"Finally, a student who eats their greens!" She reached for the salad, but Nova cut her off.

"No need for the tray," he said, reaching into his back. "I brought my own." He fished out the lunch tray he had used to defend himself back at the orphanage. It still had the dent from Rheagan's head.

Ember gave the raptor an odd look, noticing the giant dent. "What happened to it?"

"Dropped it," Nova lied. "Don't worry. It's clean." Choosing not to press further, Ember scooped the salad and meat onto his tray. Nova nodded in thanks and went to find a table. He eventually found an empty seat in the corner and took a seat, placing his meal down in front of him. He felt everyone's eyes following him, but he paid them no mind.

Skylar, Desirée, Psychrel, Tempest, Storm, and Vee stared at him as he tore into his food, not seeming to care that he was being watched.

"He eats like you, Psy," Desirée joked. The Psychic dragon only grunted in agreement, his eyes not once leaving the raptor.

"Uh oh," Vee murmured. "Trouble." The tiny dragoness pointed a talon at two dragons strutting towards the raptor's table. One was a gangly Ice dragon, the other a herculean Earth dragon.

"Dammit," Desirée grumbled. "Of all the people in Furnus's gang, it has to be these two. Poor guy."

Nova had just torn into his filet of fish when two shadows fell across the table. The two dragons stood in front of the raptor expectantly, waiting for him to look off. The entire Dining Hall had noticed the dragons approach, and had gotten even quieter. Nova didn't even look up at the two.

"Fuck off."

The two dragons, along with the rest of the Dining Hall, balked at the raptor's response. The Ice dragon lowered his head, putting his face only inches from Nova's.

"What'd you say, Sadie?" Nova didn't even give the dragon a glance. Instead, he kept eating cutting into his fish.

"You deaf or something? I said, 'fuck off.' Can't you see I'm trying to eat here?" The Ice drake slammed an irritated paw down on the table.

"You've got a lot of nerve talking to us like that! Do you know who we are?"

"I couldn't give a shit who you are. Fuck… off!"

The raptor's tone sent chills through the Dining Hall. His voice felt like a million tiny, frigid knives cutting into the students' very soul. Across the hall, Skylar shivered.

The Ice drake flashed Nova a fake grin, doing nothing to hide the fury in his eyes. "You should treat your superiors with more respect!" His paw, quick as lightning, snatched the raptor's tray out from under him. The dragon sneered as he slid it to the opposite end of the table. "There, maybe now you'll pay attention."

THUNK!

The students jumped as Nova drove his fork into the table, lodging it deep within the wood. Nova was silent, his gaze not leaving the table. The entire Dining Hall watched in silence, everyone too scared to break tension that had fallen. With deliberate slowness, Nova drew himself up to his full height, his chair scraping agonizingly against the cold stone floor.

"Big fucking mistake!" Before the Ice dragon could react, Nova lunged across the table. His hands clamped around the drake's horns like a vise. Nova grunted as he drove the dragon's head into the table. Wood splintered with a deafening crack as the Ice drake's head broke the table in two, sending Nova's dinner flying. The white dragon staggered back, stunned. With the table no longer there to keep them separate, Nova closed the distance. He grabbed the dragon's horns again. He wrenched the drake's head down and brought his leg up, driving his knee into the dragon's jaw. His horned, white head snapped upward, and his eyes rolled back. He collapsed like a sack of bricks.

"Bastard!" the Earth drake roared. He never got the chance to attack. Nova snatched his now empty dining tray out of the air and whipped it around, bashing the dragon upside the head. The Earth drake dropped quicker than his friend, hitting the stone floor with a thud.

The room stared at the raptor in stunned silence. The fight, if one could even call it that, had happened so fast that they hadn't had time to register what happened. One moment, Nova was sitting in his chair eating, the next, a table was broken in half and two dragons were unconscious. Ember stood behind the lunch counter, her jaw slack in disbelief.

Nova sneered in contempt at the two semi-conscious dragons.

"Fucking sad sacks of shit. Finally getting a real meal and you to come along." He brushed off his tray and stuffed it back into his bag.

The Ice dragon, who began to struggle to his paws, wheezed and collapsed as Nova delivered a swift kick to his solar plexus, pushing the air from his lungs.

"Fucking pathetic," Nova spat. "You sad pricks have ruined my appetite." He shouldered his bag and stormed out of the Dining Hall, leaving the battered dragons, broken table, and crowd of students in stunned silence.

Storm ducked under the table as the raptor stalked by. No one dared utter a word.

"What… the hell just happened?" Desirée asked, not realizing that she had been holding her breath.

"I… don't… know," Psychrel murmured in response.

"Well I know one thing," Storm squeaked, "that guy is scary."

The shouting echoed down the cold stone hall as Seraph stomped towards the Council chamber. Finally, she had let her anger loose. Her blood had been boiling since that abysmal welcoming ceremony for Nova. She had anticipated the students' reactions for the most part, but she had not expected her peers to act with such little polish.

As she approach the chamber, she could make out what was actually being said.

"… A Sadrian?! She must be insane! I refuse to accept that that boy has any skill at all!" A voice that harsh could only belong to Cyril.

"We should not be treating Nova with such contempt," Adrian argued. "We should not only trust his ability, but in Seraph's." She could hear the measured patience in the Lightning drake's voice.

"And what 'abilities' have any other Sadrians had?" Cyril snapped. "Look at that girl who works for Typhoon, she can barely walk in a straight line without dropping something."

"What one Sadrian can do should not dictate what others can," Oberon interjected. Another harsh voice, Typhoon's, scraped through the air.

"I refuse to acknowledge that… that thing as an equal!"

Seraph had heard enough when Nova was referred to as a "thing." She threw the doors open, letting them bang off the stone walls.

"Is that why you all were so cold to Nova?" she asked, a frigid edge in her voice. "Because on his first day he hasn't proved himself?" She glared at the Temple staff. "I expected better from you."

Most of them had lapsed into silence. Some of them ashamed as they realized that they may have overreacted. Cyril, however, refused to back down.

"I refuse to accept him as one of us."

"Calm down, Cyril," Cynder admonished, giving the Ice Guardian a disapproving glare. "Seraph is right. We should give him a chance. I'm sure Seraph had her reasons for taking Nova as a student, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind explaining them." Seraph was met with a room of expectant looks as her peers awaited her response.

Seraph sighed as she regained her composure. "Fine, I suppose I owe you all that." She cleared her throat. "I chose him because—"

The doors flew open with a bang as Ember came charging in. Everyone stared at the pink dragoness in surprise. Flame, her mate, moved to comfort her, but she waved him off.

"There was… a fight… in the Dining Hall!" she wheezed. "Cyren and Trench attacked Nova!"

Terrador sighed, pinching the bridge of his snout. "Not again. How severe are his injuries?"

"Trench and Cyren are both unconscious, and probably have concussions." A tsunami of shocked silence crashed over the chamber.

"You mean… Nova won?" Terrador stammered.

Ember nodded frantically.

"I've never seen someone move that fast! He beat them in no more than two seconds!"

The shocked silence that filled the chamber was broken by Seraph letting out a laugh. Everyone gave the Lightning Guardian surprised and confused looks as she cracked a smile.

"Consider my reasoning explained." Her blue eyes twinkled joyfully. "If that isn't proof enough for you, test him yourselves." She turned and strutted towards the door, flashing a displeased Cyril and Typhoon a confident grin.

"Well, I'm exhausted. Good night."