The Peaceful Moments

Author's Note: Hey everyone, it's time for a new update and I'm super excited about it. Things are looking great and I'm really enjoying writing this story. It's not looking like I'm going to stop anytime soon. I've got a lot of things planned out, rearing and ready to go. I wont say expect more frequent updates because I'm trying to pace both you, (The readers) and myself. There are a lot of things going on in this story that all feed into one another and the last thing I want is to dig myself into a hole trying to pump out chapters because I can't contain my excitement. With those things said, I want to give you all a little tip… There are a lot of tiny details in my story that hint and connect to each other, even in the songs. This isn't a ploy from me to get you more involved in my story even though that may be the result, I just want all of you to discover things and enjoy the story to its full potential. There are tons of little details and easter eggs I like to add for both Spyro and Bloodsouls fans alike, take your time to look and notice them. This is a massive step up from my previous story and the most ambitious thing I've ever tried to accomplish with my writing and it has me STOKED. I'm doing my absolute best to make sure I have everything figured out before I release a chapter and nothing makes me happier than seeing you guys support and read my story. Thank you.

Enjoy the chapter!

The moon hung high and aglow, stars shimmered and danced, enjoying their day: The world's night. Waves, colored pearl in the synodic light, lapsed against themselves as the ocean tides rose to overtake sea stacks and push against barnacled cliffs. The distant howling of wild wolves filled the silent night, the chattering of gulls having ceased at the day's dusk; they rested peacefully on the stones and crevices of the rock face. Brisk wind swept away leaves from the quiet forest overgrowth, the reflection of white moonlight shimmered off the glossy surfaces of tree petals, dazzling to the eyes. City life was a distant memory, the industrialization of urban expansion forgotten to this vast stretch of nature. The remnants of an ancient cathedral rested peaceful and undisturbed against the slope of a great cliffside, overlooking the sea at the start of a mountain range. Cobwebs and disease resided within the great chapel, bats and spiders having made it their home, fond of the cold damp walls.

The gentle whistle through stone arches sang voiclessley in the desolate halls and chambers that resided below the massive church. Countless corpses rested within the tombs, names long forgotten; unscribed.

A loud clap struck down the peacefulness of the night, soon followed by a sound similar to that of fabric tearing, the sound startling the coastal birds into wakefulness and terror.

The thin veil that divided realities sat torn amongst the ruined cathedral walls, a devastated hungry world poured through like blood seeping from a wound, a thick, dark, and corrupt blood that burned the life away, malforming and regressing all it touched; Nightmares teemed into the world. The ocean darkened scarlet, a river of crimson slowly spreading to consume and strangle the swift sea; a parasite that thrived. The green of trees and grass faded to a dull grey, wilting and collapsing in the suffocating reach of this parasitic grasp; Its touch grew, hindered by none. Beasts of both the known and unknown spread, rushing off to uncertain lands where their malicious nature could take foothold and build, overrun all with their twisted will.

The night grew hot, the plants and leaves deteriorating into ash that covered the ground nothing but stone and the bare carcasses of trees and shrubbery remained, resting like tombstones. Small creatures died, suffocating, the ash choking them as they struggled to adapt and search for food and water.

Dead awoke, centuries of buried souls rising from beneath the loose ash and abandoning their tombs below the surface, aimless and insane. They scattered into the night, dragons taking to the skies and teams of vicious undead wolves and panthers stormed together as they scoured the surface. Limp corpses without legs or arms wailed into the night, agonizing howls of suffering and pain; resurrection an unfavorable fate for some.

The cold emerald eyes of a dragoness watched from the peak above the conflux, tail swinging and muscles tense. Her eyes darted between moving figures, blinking rapidly in the warm wind along with the gentle flapping of her wing membrane as they shook in the strong looked northeast, the gentle thrum of her soul told her she needed to head in that direction. Perhaps it was civilization. She slowly stretched her wings, thin layers of crust, dirt and ash falling off as they spread apart. She crouched low to the ground before pushing off, sending her into the air. The wind caught her, lifting her higher into the night sky; for the first time in millennia, she flew.

The audience burst into applause, whistles, howls, and roars of approval fed into one another, harmonizing to intense decibels. Cynder couldn't help but give a small giggle as she watched spyro cringe, most likely from the noise; it went on for a while. The noise finally died down once the band started playing another tune, dragons separated, finally leaving the plaza and allowing enough leg and shoulder room to walk around. Citizens of warfang, same species of not, gathered together, danced, sang, and talked with minds free of trouble or strife. They all shared the same life, no matter how different from each other.

The sheer joviality of that night put a smile on her face, warmed her heart, and numbed her troubled mind; it was bliss.

Her eyes looked back to the stage, unable to find her friend. Could she still call him that after so long? She scanned the crowd, looking for any sign of purple scales and yellow horns. Her mind raced as her eyes darted back and forth, head turning to search behind her; no sign of him. She made her way towards the edge of the crowd, close to the foliage that made up the sides of the commons; she sat down, pursing her lips. She continued to look across the sea of heads and moving bodies. Where did he go?

She looked up at the starry night.

Spyro shied away from the uproar of cheers, the cacophony much too loud against the amplified bowl of the amphitheater.

He launched himself into the sky along with a tide of other dragons as the band started playing another song; he'd prefer to not have to sing again. He circled around the plaza, eyeing the crowd from above as he looked for any dragoness that bared some semblance to that of Cynder's.

Wind swept over his face, drying his eyes out and forcing him to blink rapidly until the thin film that protected them slid over. His gaze slowly drifted to the lit form of the Dragon temple, in awe of its enormity. Towers triumphantly rose into the night, lit by firelight that washed over the walls like cascading yellow waterfalls. Almost every inch of it was lit, a beacon that shone away the night.

Spyro glanced down to see the crowd much thinner than it had previously been, the grass finally visible and plenty of room to land. He scanned the lobby once again, eyes darting between the shapes of female dragons; he spotted someone flying through the air. He squinted, looking more closely at the peculiar form of a dark colored dragoness slicing through the air before disappearing into the night, her scales falling off and into the crowd before she vanished from sight. Spyro's heart jerked, quickly deciding to give chase and flying in the same direction he saw the dragoness disappear to. However, he quickly lost her, unable to find any sign of the dragoness anywhere. He shook his head before giving a small huff. Why would she leave so quickly? He knew she didn't like crowds too much but… Something felt off.

Spyro's mind drifted, the melodic tunes from below sweeping his consciousness away until all he could hear and feel were the pattern and refreshing air. In the moment, he looked at the beauty of the city, admiring the soft river glow of firelight that swept through the streets. They spanned across the entire dragon metropolis, further defining its vastidity. A pleasant growl resonated within his throat, thoroughly enjoying the landscape until his gaze sank back to the plaza.

Suddenly, he spotted movement to the west end of the commons, in a small outcropping that looked to be a resting area, just left of the stage.

His wings froze, the faint outline of an ebony dragoness visible; a nervous smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Spyro slowly descended.

Cynder sat facing away from the crowd, quietly, doing her best to not think about the lost opportunity she had to make amends with her only friend. Her talons dug into the ground, as her tail slashed away at a small shrub; her mind couldn't decide what to feel. She gave a small exhale of breath before letting her head droop slightly. Her eyes burned, threatening to leak tears as they watered. Cynder jerked her head straight up, letting the water drain from her lids. She wouldn't cry, not here. The ebony dragoness turned around.

She froze.

"Hey Cynder…" Spyro coughed hesitantly. "It's… uh… been a while."

She gave a small laugh, her eyes watering up bowed her head shakily as greeting, one he returned just as anxiously.

"That was a lovely song…" Cynde hummed, her head hanging bashfully.

He simply shuffled his feet and cleared his throat; his eyes took periodically glances to the ground and back up at her.

There was a long pause, both dragons studying each other and waiting for the opposite to make a comment.

He stood up and meandered closer to her, the typical distance of two strangers meeting; She shuffled slightly, her heart sinking at the lack of familiarity. It wasn't until now that she realized how much bigger he was compared to her, almost two heads taller. She looked at his expression, his eyes soft but his face stern, wise. Faint scars decorated his snout and cheeks, not enough to ruin his complexion but add character. Her mind drifted to that last time she saw him, how young they'd both been. He was kind to the point where you would think him ignorant. In a way it was true, how knowledgeable can you be when you were raised by dragonflies? She wondered how much he'd changed since then.

Spyro watched her silently, pondering his own thoughts. He remembered her being so strong and reserved, which he supposed remained true now but... it was difficult to see. He associated those words with the young her, he couldn't possible expect her to act now the same way she did when they were both younglings. She was definitely grown, well exercised and put together, even though he had obviously caught her at the worst time, he could tell she was very mature. He wasn't sure how he felt about her, it had been so long since they last saw each other. During his time alone, he'd always wondered where she had gone how she was doing. There was never a doubt in his mind that she was safe, she was more than capable.

They both broke from thought, realizing that they had let the conversation die.

Spyro was the first to speak.

"Where did you go?"

Cynder's heart sank, knowing that she would need to explain eventually, but mentally hitting herself for not thinking about what she would say. Her tail swung from side to side as her eyes darted around, her mind tripping over itself.

"I'm sorry…" She burst out.

Spyro's face contorted, eyes raised, and mouth pursed; his head tilted to the side just a little.

"What for?"

There was another long pause.

"For leaving…" Her voice shook, cracking slightly.

She watched as his shoulders visibly sank, casting his head to gaze off to the side, looking anywhere but at her.

She felt it… The guilt. Only this time it was worse tenfold.

He stood up, his scales sliding together and his knuckles popping as he turned around, he slowly distanced himself from her.

Cynder's heart writhed in her chest, her eyes stung and a wail threatening to escape; she was sure he was going to leave. However, he stopped. Cynder's breath hitched, stifling a defeated sigh as he turned his head and twitched it in the direction he was facing, gesturing for her to follow him; he started walking again.

Her paws fumbled beneath her as she quickly stood up and hurried to match his pace.

He lead her to a small cobbled pathway, wide enough for them to walk side by side but only just. Small torches were sparsely placed along the sides, so as to keep the path lit. The tops of the trees offered cover from the night, giving them a stronger sense of privacy; they calmly made their way down the path.

"Why are you here?"

Cynder looked away, her eyes stern and mouth taut. She'd never expected him to ask that, let alone so firmly. Was he mad at her?

"Because… I felt it was time to come back." Her voice sounded distant, unsure, the words dying on her lips as she spoke.

He didn't reply.

Flickers of orange light reflected off her dark scales, the small crackling of fire coming and going with each torch they passed. Even in the night the birds still sang, the offset sounds of celebration keeping everything up, even at this hour.

Cynder looked ahead, the narrow path they were on opened up to a tiny meadow with a single, large brazier lighting the entire area; they both stopped a few feet from the bonfire.

Spyro laid down, looking up at her until she did the same. She sat down first, the cool grass relaxing and soothing against her warm body. She let the rest of her body fall naturally, her forepaws crossing as she suddenly became very comfortable with the environment.

She took a second to look around once again, admiring the serene garden all around them. She'd noticed many more gardens now than the last time she was in Warfang, then again there were a lot of new things to Warfang she wasn't familiar with.

She focused back on Spyro, his gaze fixated on the brazier beside them; he gave a melancholy sigh.

"A lot has changed." He spoke indiscriminately.

"Warfang or us?" She couldn't help but question.

He looked back at her, a blank expression on his face. Cynder's eyes searched his, shaky sea green scanning distant purple. He spoke.

"Leaving Warfang was a trial, for both of us I'm sure. I wouldn't have found Ignitus if I hadn't left." His gaze turned back to the bazier, the fire lighting the front and side of his features.

Cynder's head perked, paws shuffling as she looked to Spyro for more. Why wouldn't he look at her? It was her turn to look away, the shame of her betrayal washing over her again.

"I should have gone with you, helped you look for him." There was a small lilt in her voice; resentment. For herself?

Spyro gave a great sigh, the flames of the braier flickering and swaying in the exhale.

"I can't be upset, it's been too long. He told me about this day, told me that we would need to seek comfort in each other." He attested. " Where did you go? I've always wondered."

"West…" She answered.

Spyro nodded deftly, his mind going back to the day he left.

"I flew east, opposite of you then. I went across the plains and sea."

Cynder watched the orange flames dance and flicker in Spyro's eyes as he spoke. She let herself shuffle closer to him, trying to pay attention to the story.

Cynder finally took time to thoroughly examine the dragon in front of her; he looked battleworn. Her eyes examined the broken shine of several of his chest plates, deep cracks running through them, the remnants of battle. They had to be new, dragons shed their scales every forty-five years. What had he been up to?

She looked to his face, taking the time to look back at the scars she noticed earlier, the faint trace of scar ran across the left side of his mouth, along with another that rested on his cheek. These were much older, possibly from the war against Malefor. She looked at the rest of his features, much of his complexion different than the last time she saw him. The first difference being the new chin horn he had grown, similar to that of any guardian. The second was a new pair of horns that had grown beneath his first set, much smaller but much sharper looking. Lastly, her eyes noticed the spines joined by tattered wing membrane, resting at his shoulders and other various joints on his body.

So much of him had changed with such little differences.

She brought her thoughts back to the story, not wanting to upset the purple dragon for not listening.

"I'd never flown so far. By the time I found land again my wings felt torn. There wasn't much either, just floating islands." Spyro licked his lips, the fire drying them out.

Spyro shook his head as if discarding a disruptive thought.

"So much of the world had changed, taken apart by The Great Destroyer. I couldn't put everything back together." The purple drake huffed, his talons digging into the dirt.

Cynder nodded her head in understanding, the same guilt and frustration still lingering in her mind.

"But I found it, The White Isle. Id never expected to see Ignitus as the Chronicler."

Cynder felt herself mentally stumble, the wave of information staggering. She reeled her head back, eyes wide with surprise.

"Of course he couldn't come back, his soul was bound to the isle. The last thing we talked about was you and I." Spyro sighed.

This caused Cynder to shuffle her forepaws, grunting as she cleared her throat.

Spyro nodded deftly. They both turned their heads at the sound of an explosion before realizing it was another set of fireworks going off.

"What then?" Cynder blinked, firelight flickering against her scales; the grass bristled as she shifted her weight.

There was a pregnant pause. Spyro looked back to the fire once again, his eyes distant

"He told me he couldn't come back, that he had a new responsibility. He said… once I left there, I wouldn't be able to find it again…" His lips turned up into a slight sneer before relaxing again.

Cynder looked up at the stars in thought, the night sky glowing with color. Red, yellow and green sparkling dots decorated the sky. The gaseous clouds of nebulae, bathed the background in purple, orange, and blue hue.

Cynder faced the purple dragon, the two of them finally looking at each other.

This pause wasn't awkward, but honest and full of understanding.

Spyro turned to admire the meadow they were in, noticing a white wooden arch with roses growing along the sides of it. A small bird bath stood next to it, two tiny beautiful blue jays ruffling their feathers in the water, cleaning themselves and enjoying their company. He turned back to the path they had come from, the music still playing along with the sound of comradery still audible.

"I think we should get back to the party." He gave a small chuckle as he stood. The birds fluttered out of the water and into the trees, startled by the movement.

Cynder sighed slightly, disappointed that their time alone had to draw to a close.

"I don't see why not."

They walked together, back down the path that they came, although a little closer to each other than previously. Gorgeous arrays of flowers bloomed along the edge of the cobblestone, yellow, blue, violet, maroon, chartreuse, orange, every color imaginable; she never noticed before.

The rustle of leaves as they fell from branches along with tree blossoms as the danced in the gentle breeze, was completely surreal. She found herself in a place she used to call home but for once, she was finally seeing it as that, a home. She looked forward to see panthers, moles, and cheetahs dancing with each other in the soft grass while dragons soared above in the night sky.

The song suddenly changed and she found the pace slightly different among the crowd. She couldn't help but pay attention. She looked to her left, Spyro watching the audience, a faint smile on his lips. Without a moment's notice, more dragons launched into the air, joining the others that had already left the ground. She watched in awe as the started dancing, their wings folding and swinging rhythmically in tune with the delicate strumming and playing of instruments. Suddenly, she found herself humming the tune and her eyes tracing the choreography, the movements quick and exciting, freeing to the soul; they looked as if they could dance all night long.

"Dragons in the sky, the fighting has begun

Shadow versus light, and who will stand when it is done?

Magisters and fright, his destiny it calls

Inquisitor your hand will reprimand before he falls!"

"Now are the days of wine and gilded arms

Now are the days when magic is reborn

Seal up the breach, the evil is no more

Once and for all, we close the darkened door"

"Darkness never ever rise again

Darkness never ever rise again"

The pair stayed on the ground, staring up at the great spires of the Dragon Temple, enjoying the laughter, music, and company all of Warfang had to offer.

I practically wrote all of this chapter in one sitting. It took incredibly long and I more than likely have bedsores now. Do you see what I do for you guys? XP

This is a key turning point in the story, we're nearly finished with the exposition and I'm more than excited to give you more. For those of you who might be disappointed that the Intro to this story is slowly coming to a close, take a breath. There is a decent amount of story time left for me to give to you before the excitement starts, so stay tuned and of course, please feel free to leave a review, they are starstriking to read!

Once again a massive shoutout to Dardarax for Beta reading, and reviewing my story. It most certainly be as good as it is without his help. For those of you who aren't familiar with him, you should really go check out his stories; He's a Veteran.

Anyways, for those of you unfamiliar with the song I used for this chapter, I'll give it to you.

Fall of The Magister - DA: Inquisition Trespasser Bard song

It's a wonderful song that I thought matched the tone of the story perfectly, as I believe for all of the songs I've selected.