Three quarters of the songs in this story are on my list of favourites, some of them I didn't discover until I was writing this, (Guide You Home, and Miracle by Shinedown are the two main examples) many of the others just worked so well with the story that I had to include them

Coincidence? I think not.

This chapter: Warriors, by Imagine Dragons.

"A purple and a black egg were laid in the year of the dragon, and the board was set. With the addition of two more rare dragons Malefor and I had to re-work our plans yet again. But this time it was even better. The plan was more dangerous, with higher stakes and a bit more complexity, but also with a far, far bigger prize at its end."

Imperia sat up on her bed, gazing at the other four Guardians with excitement.

"It's no coincidence that Spyro, Cynder and Malefor are such extraordinary dragons. Malefor is neutral about fate, but he does not trust in it. I don't necessarily think that fate is real, but I still trust it, to a degree. And I think that Spyro, Cynder and Malefor were fated to be great dragons, they were destined to fight this battle against their darker natures, because that darkness balances their potential. Darkmire and Malefor lost against their darker sides, or came to a standstill at best. But Spyro and Cynder, with the help of Malefor, could be spared that. I believe that this world has always been fundamentally balanced. But this, this is a time when we can stand against our destiny… and win."

Terrador and Cyril looked sceptical. Volteer looked thoughtful. Flare's expression was unreadable. Imperia considered them, smiling.

"If the laying of a purple or black egg is an act of fate, then what does it mean? We don't have very much to work with from before Darkmire. All legends from that time are practically gone. But if you believe that these dragons are born for a purpose… the Darkmire dragon and the Dark Master both existed for destruction. Spyro and Cynder came as saviours. It stands to reason that they keep our world in balance, keep it in a constant state."

Imperia grinned.

"But what if they didn't? What if we took this opportunity, and changed the world? Malefor was supposed to be balanced by Spyro and Cynder, but I'd rather see the three of them join forces. Imagine that world, a world where Malefor, Spyro and Cynder work together. No war could be fought against all three of them; anything they wanted they could do, anything at all. Just imagine, a new age of peace, all of dragonkind united under its three greatest dragons!"

She rose from the bed and prowled back and forth in her cell, practically radiating excitement.

"This is his plan! And it's so beautiful. We're succeeding, do you see? Cynder is freed, Spyro will be saved, and Malefor will teach them everything." She tilted her head smugly. "And I stand to profit from this too. After all I am close to the three of them. Anything I desired could be mine; all I'd need is a sweet smile and a few kind words."

Cyril shook his head. "That is what this has all been about? You're deluded, Imperia, thi-"

"But is she?" Volteer interrupted. "Considering our present state, this isn't an unfeasible goal."

"It's not about how possible it is!" Cyril insisted. "It's, and I can hardly believe I'd get into this argument with you of all dragons, Volteer, but it's a question of morality!" He looked at Imperia. "What you're talking about is fundamentally wrong. You'd change the face of this world by force, but you don't expect there to be consequences?"

"Yes, I do expect there to be consequences." Imperia said sadly. "I wish there weren't, but there would be."

"And yet still you refuse to acknowledge that what you are doing may not be the right thing?" Cyril asked, frustrated. Imperia's enthusiasm switched off instantly, she stepped back.

"Hey, calm down, Cyril. This is Malefor's final goal. Not mine. I'm not quite so ambitious. I don't want to see the world united under three dragons, even dragons as great as Cynder, Spyro and Malefor. I like the world ok as it is, and I'm content with simply nudging it in the right direction."

Cyril paused, confused; Volteer, who had been about to continue arguing with him, also stopped.

"I've talked with Malefor about this. Unfortunately I can't outwit him in a debate of logic. He's ever so slightly cleverer then me." Imperia laughed. "And my argument was the same as yours Cyril, but it's an emotional argument, and Malefor isn't likely to be swayed by 'it doesn't feel morally right'. In this matter I cannot persuade him."

The dragons were silent for almost a minute. Volteer, Flare and Terrador were trying to come to terms with the morality of Malefor's plan. In theory it was the right thing to do, but it wasn't so easy in practice. Cyril had already decided on his opinion, he was thinking about the possible results of Malefor succeeding. Imperia let them think; she herself was trying to decide what to say in order to help the others, and hopefully also to get herself released.

Terrador was the first one to speak. He had learned long ago that the way to deal with something too big to come to terms with was to put it in the back of your mind and focus on something that you could manage, then to come back to the difficult issue later. This had always been his strategy, and it had always kept him sane.

"We still haven't heard the details of this plan. The final result of it we can discuss later, but for now this meeting is about you, Imperia."

Imperia lay belly down on the floor, nodding. "I'll keep telling then."

"We had you, Malefor, The Dark Master, Gaul and the two ice dragons." Flare said helpfully. "And now the eggs of Spyro and Cynder have been laid in the Dragon Temple. Now, you had a plan?"

Flare finished speaking and looked expectantly at Imperia for a moment. Then she realised what she had just said, and her expression turned to horror.

"You told Gaul how to get into the temple, knowing he had orders to destroy all but one of the eggs."

All fondness that had been in the eyes of Terrador, Cyril, Volteer and Flare vanished instantly. Imperia saw it happen, and felt a flood of misery roll through her. She lowered her head.

"Yes."

"All of those baby dragons, dead." Flare said.

Imperia felt tears gathering in her eyes. "Yes…"

"And you were the one who arranged it all?"

"The plan would have worked without raiding the temple. The Dark Master needed an egg, it didn't matter which one. I told Gaul how to get into the temple, and ordered him to get the black egg unharmed. I told him we needed that one, I lied." She looked up at the guardians, her eyes filled with pain.

"I couldn't have stopped what happened! It was the order of the Dark Master, not Malefor. Malefor could have nothing to do with it, I told him I'd look after everything and it would all be ok. I had to do it all myself. The Dark Master ordered all but one egg destroyed. Gaul heard the order. Stopping it would have meant going up against both him and his Dark Master, and then the apes would have fought their way into the temple anyway! Not even Malefor could have protected me if I had spoken out. Gaul thought I served the Dark Master. I… I had to let it happen… I couldn't stop them, and I couldn't betray them until the time was right. We… we wanted all of the eggs to survive, but we just couldn't… It was all I could do to ensure the safety of the black and purple eggs."

She choked back a sob. The other guardians looked at her with a mixture of anger and pity.

"Imperia…" Volteer moved forwards, wanting to comfort her. Terrador put his tail in the way and shook his head. Volteer stepped back. Terrador spoke to Imperia gently.

"In war many sacrifices have to be made. You will be judged fairly. I can see why you did what you did. Now, please continue your story."

Imperia nodded, sniffling. "Sorry…"

The guardians waited as Imperia composed herself. A single tear rolled down her snout. She shook it off.

"We saved the black egg. We saved Cynder. Over the next several years the Dark Master trained her, transforming her into the Terror of the Skies. I could hardly bear to watch that happen. I thought that what I had done telling the Apes about the Dragon Temple would be the end of the horror, but it wasn't. The Dark Master kept Cynder's dark side contained; just as Malefor had known would happen. Malefor was able to exert some degree of influence over Cynder, making her physically unable to kill a purple dragon, and also preventing her from capturing Ignitus until the time was right."

Imperia giggled very slightly. "If you really wanted to be safe from the Terror of the Skies all you actually had to do was paint yourself purple. She wouldn't have been able to kill you even if she tried. I ended up painted purple for a while, it suited me, apparently." She grew serious again.

"The fire dragons split off from their alliance with Gaul, Magmar would not ally with him after hearing about the black egg, and for the first time in history the apes had a civil war. Many went to Shattershelf, many more stayed with Gaul. Then, for the first time, the Terror of the Skies was used as a weapon."

"The first time of many." Terrador said.

"Yes. Many times I watched her get sent out, and come back often covered in blood. I could barely stand it, knowing that there was an innocent girl hidden deep within that monster. Those years were among the worst of my life. Three of the guardians were captured." Imperia looked at Volteer, Cyril and Terrador, blushing.

"And I am really, really, extremely sorry about that… I swear I am."

Volteer looked slightly amused. Terrador and Cyril were not.

Imperia glanced away. "Anyway… uh… then Spyro came back, and it was such a relief. He had gone missing, but we knew he hadn't been killed. Ignitus was meant to raise him, but we all know how well that turned out. We waited for years, and when Spyro returned from living with dragonflies he was everything we had hoped he would be. He grew strong at a prodigal rate, much faster than we had expected, and eventually he went seeking the Terror of the Skies." Imperia sighed. "And he did beautifully. The power of the four guardians had all been drained. I filled a crystal of my own power, because all five elements were needed."

Imperia smiled.

"Further proof that Wind is a guardian element, just in case you wanted it. So all but my crystal were used, and the prison of the Dark Master grew very weak. Then Malefor arranged for Spyro to fight against Cynder, in both her controlled and her unbound form. Spyro defeated Cynder, freeing her from the evils that had controlled her for all of her life."

"How could you have known what she'd be like once she was free?" Volteer asked. "The psychological effects alone… I watched Cynder with great care when she first came back to us, and considering her history I had honestly expected her to be seriously emotionally damaged."

"I never knew for sure. Malefor promised me that she could be saved, and in that I simply had to trust blindly. But he was right. The Cynder we know and love was not consumed by the Dark Master, or the dark aspect of her own nature. She's perfect, and she's happy." Imperia spoke as much to reassure herself as to reassure the others. "What I did to Cynder is my greatest shame. I love her with all of my heart, and I only want her to be happy."

"She was happy." Flare said softly. "When I saw them together in Shattershelf, she was truly happy."

Imperia nodded, once again feeling tearful. "Thank you…"

"Until Malefor tore them apart. Until you told her the truth about yourself."

Imperia wasn't able to look directly at Flare. "Please…"

Flare sighed. "You thought you were doing the right thing. I know."

Imperia began to cry. "That… That was not what I wanted."

"Flare. I understand how you feel." Volteer spoke softly. "And you're not the only one. But please, don't take that hurt out on Imperia now. You two need a chance to talk together, don't let anger control you."

Flare hesitated. "Is… is that what just happened?" She looked genuinely unsure. Volteer looked from her to Imperia. Flare stared. "I shouldn't have said that. Imperia I'm sorry." She looked back at Volteer. "Do I do this often?"

"First time." Volteer said. "Normally your control is perfect."

"Imperia, I'm really sorry… I spoke without thinking."

"No need to apologise." Imperia wiped her eyes, sitting up. "It's not that important."

Terrador considered the situation. "We'll leave you for a while, Imperia. Volteer you're free to stay here if you choose to."

Volteer nodded. Terrador offered Volteer a key and the electric dragon accepted it silently.

Terrador, Cyril and Flare walked up the stairs and away.

Cynder crawled out from the bed and looked around. She had been woken by the sound of the door opening quietly. Three orcs stepped through, each carrying food. They set it down carefully on the ground.

Cynder focused some of her mana, creating poison, just in case they decided to attack, but the stony creatures didn't seem to have any interest in her at all. In only a few seconds they were leaving again.

Cynder considered going for the door. She could easily take down three orcs, but she decided not to. At the moment she was in a bad position, and she needed more advantage over Malefor before she went for round three. He had outmanoeuvred her and Spyro once, and then trapped her for a second time.

Cynder sat down, and her tail landed on something hard. She looked down and saw she had sat on a pink paw. She smiled and stood up again; then she gently shook the paw.

Ember groaned, buried in the sheets. Cynder felt like talking to the other dragoness, but when Ember seemed reluctant to get up she lay back down and thought instead.

A few minutes later Ember nosed out of the sheets. Her blue eyes blinked at Cynder.

"Hi Cynder." Ember said.

"Good morning, Ember." Cynder replied.

"Is it morning?"

"I don't know, there are no windows but breakfast was just delivered, so I suspect it's somewhere around that time."

"Right." Ember sat up. She pulled her heart tipped tail out from the sheets and went to investigate the food. "What sort of breakfast does Malefor serve?"

Cynder rose to her feet and walked beside Ember. "Not sure. It only arrived a few minutes ago."

"Bread. Meat. Some fruit." Ember looked approving. "Good choices. Oh, and plenty of water." She nodded, satisfied.

Cynder shrugged, she started selecting bits of food to eat. Ember sat down opposite her and the pair of them ate in silence for a few minutes.

Ember eventually stopped eating, licking her lips. "That was nice! I wonder who prepared it. Not orcs, surely?"

"You'll probably be glad to know it wasn't drugged or poisoned." Cynder said, she speared another piece of meat on her claws and put it in her mouth. Ember made a face at the comment.

"I didn't even think about that."

"Don't worry; even if it had been poisoned I could have healed you."

"Do you think Malefor would actually try to poison us?" Ember asked hesitantly.

"I don't know." Cynder said. "I really don't know…"

"He seemed nice enough." Ember said. "He was polite, and he has a pleasant voice."

"I still don't trust him." Cynder said.

"You don't trust easily, do you?" Ember asked.

Cynder shook her head. "Definitely not."

"Hmm…" Ember looked at the wall.

"But I am starting to trust you."

Volteer unlocked Imperia's cell. He stepped inside and walked straight to the lovely silver dragoness.

"Imperia, how are you?" He wrapped his wing around her comfortingly.

Imperia shuddered as she sobbed again. "Not great… I just… I…"

Volteer hushed her softly, resting a paw on her shoulder. "Take a few minutes. I'm not going anywhere."

Imperia nodded and rested her head against his chest. After a while she giggled.

"This isn't going as well as I had hoped it would."

"What do you mean?" Volteer asked.

"I really hoped I could just have a nice time, finally telling you guys the secret I'd kept from you. I've wanted to tell you everything for so long, but I couldn't. I thought this would be a relief to tell you, and then all of you could understand that nothing has changed between us and we could get along again."

"That may not happen easily." Volteer said.

"Yes, it's not looking great." Imperia sighed. "But I can't wait down here."

"Imperia…"

"Yes?"

"If you ask… then I will let you out. Right now, I'll unlock the chain and we can walk up the stairs together. They might try to stop us, but I could hold off Terrador, Cyril or Flare for long enough for you to escape."

"Oh Volteer… Thank you." Imperia murmured. "But I couldn't ask you to do that."

"That's a relief." Volteer said. "I'd have done it, but I'm glad not to."

"I take it this means you're not mad at me?"

Volteer pulled Imperia closer. "I have no problem with you at all. But the issue of Malefor is a bit more difficult."

"I know…" Imperia said. She nuzzled his scales. "I'm working on it. He's a good dragon at heart."

"So are you feeling better?" Volteer asked, smiling.

"Much better. Thanks for the hug." Imperia laughed. "So you and I are ok?"

"How could we not be?" Volteer chuckled. Imperia purred as she felt his body vibrate.

They lay in silence for a minute, and then Imperia sighed.

"I feel really bad about Flare."

"She feels betrayed. She had reason to suspect you, but she chose not to do anything about it. It's because she cares so much about you that she feels this way, not because she's actually feeling anger towards you."

"Oh, so you've psychoanalysed her?" Imperia asked playfully.

"Not really. I just tried to understand what she's thinking." Volteer said. "But I think that makes my assessment no less accurate."

"I love it when you're smart." Imperia said coyly.

"I'm always smart." Volteer said. "I think. Am I? I don't know, it's difficult to det-"

Imperia kissed him to quiet him. "You are indeed always smart. And you're cute when you babble."

Volteer blushed. Imperia licked his snout.

"So, we have some time alone." Imperia noted. "Would you like a massage?"

"Oh yes please!" Volteer smiled.

Ember had been astonished by Cynder's words. She didn't respond, but her mind was racing. The Black dragoness wasn't done with her yet though.

"Ember, do you remember when you first woke up, and I was there?"

Ember nodded hesitantly. "Yes?"

"It was just before that when Malefor healed you, but before he did I had come to visit you, and I tried to talk to you. Can you remember any of that?"

Ember shook her head.

Cynder hesitated. "It was a lot easier to say it when I thought you were dying, but what I said then is still true now."

Ember tried to guess where Cynder was going with this conversation, but her mind went blank. "What did you say?"

"What I said… that is… What I'm saying is that I'm really sorry about the way I've treated you. Especially about when you tried to apologise to me and I just made it all worse. I'm sorry, Ember."

Ember couldn't respond at first, so Cynder continued.

"It was right after that when I realised how unfair I had been to you, and I felt just awful. Then… then you saved me, and when I thought you were going to die I was really scared that we wouldn't get a chance… You don't have to forgive me, Ember… I wouldn't blame you if you didn't."

"I do forgive you, Cynder." Ember said immediately. She went straight to Cynder and put her wing around the black dragoness. "I forgive you completely."

Cynder sniffled slightly. She rested her head against Ember's side. "Why did you save me? You must have known Magmar would try to kill you."

"I don't know… It just felt like the right thing to do."

Cynder snorted. "You're courageous, and stubborn. Even when we were enemies I always had to respect that."

"Thanks. I think."

"Was there ever a time when we could have been friends? Before we ended up fighting each other?"

"I think… there were a few days. When I barely even knew your name. I thought you might not be so bad." She made a soft sound of amusement. "Then I started to dislike your arrogance, and the way that you were always around Spyro. I guess in hindsight it's my fault that we weren't friends."

"It's my fault too. I only thought of you as competition, and I wanted to… well…" Cynder trailed off. "If you had been the one to go on adventures with Spyro, and then been connected to him by the chain… I don't know if I'd be like I am now, but if I cared for him that much, and then you were always with him, and if I felt that jealous…" Cynder giggled slightly. "I'd probably have tried to strangle you, or something."

"You did try to strangle me." Ember pointed out. "But that was my fault, I formally challenged you." She smiled at Cynder. "But I forgave you for that too."

Cynder looked startled. Ember blinked.

"Cynder?"

"Yes?"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just… that's the first time I've ever seen you really smile."

"Oh…" Ember felt a pang of regret. "Sorry."

"Please don't stop. You have a really beautiful smile, Ember."

Ember nodded, her smile returned. It reminded Cynder slightly of Imperia's smile. "Thanks, Cynder."

Cynder smiled back at Ember. "Who cares what chance there was for us to be friends? We're friends now, and that's what counts."

Ember laughed.

"Oh, Ember, I didn't finish up what I wanted to say. There was one other thing I told you while you were dying that I need to tell you now."

Ember nodded. "Ok, what was it?"

"You remember the end result of our fight, and about you having to give up on Spyro?"

"Yes?" Ember looked unsure.

"You can forget it."

Volteer walked up the steps, smiling to himself. As he emerged back into the open air he found Flare waiting for him.

"How is she?" Flare asked. "You were there for a while."

Volteer smiled. "I think she's ok. You should go and see her."

Flare nodded silently.

"Has Terrador said when we'll be continuing with her questioning?"

"He said we'd continue as soon as you two were finished."

Volteer blushed. "Well shall we go and tell him that we can continue?"

Flare nodded, she casually shot a fireball into the air, where it exploded and hung above them. Terrador arrived only moments later. Volteer raised his eyebrow.

"You prepared?"

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." Terrador said. "How is Imperia?"

"She's fine. She'll be ready for us to continue." Volteer said.

Cyril walked up. "Shall we?"

The guardians went back the way Volteer had just come, emerging into the dungeons again to find Imperia lounging on her bed in a rather sexy pose, eyes closed.

"Well you all came back in a hurry. I thought we might be taking a few hours break at least."

She opened her eyes and looked at them playfully, rolling onto her paws and floating up into the air.

"Are you likely to cry again?" Cyril asked.

Imperia laughed. "Oh I make no promises on that count! But I'm willing to continue from where I left off. Volteer comforted me." She threw a wink to the electric dragon, who blushed again.

Imperia hovered gracefully just inside the bars, now looking down at the guardians.

"So Spyro saved Cynder, just as he was meant to, and from then on the plan was supposed to get back on track, with it all being nice and easy. They could take all the time they needed to get to know each other, and become strong. I always hoped they'd become partners, and especially if they were different sexes and could possibly have children. If they had have been friends that would have been fine too, the important thing was that they could work together. Eventually, when they were old enough and strong enough, they would fight against the Dark Master and defeat him. Malefor taught me about magical sigils, and I used my knowledge to begin designing the snake bands. They're some of my best work, far better than this old thing." Imperia gestured to the energy chain which was fastened to her neck. "In time the wind element would be used on Malefor's prison too, and he could be defeated."

"That's not exactly what happened." Volteer noted.

"That's definitely not what happened." Imperia laughed. "No, The Dark Master saw a chance, and he took it. Gaul grabbed my crystal and used it to finish freeing his master, and things rapidly turned to chaos. Malefor had prepared Gracious and Seth to assassinate Gaul, but it was too late, the ape king had done his job. And then Spyro and Cynder got themselves tangled up in the mess before we could sort it out."

"How ironic." Cyril said.

"Yes, it was a bit ironic. And things only got worse. Gaul was killed, but Spyro and Cynder ended up trapped in crystal. My treachery was found out by the apes and I forced to cut all contact with them, Gracious and Seth could only go back to Darkmire's Tomb to wait, and the Dark Master was set loose on the world once again."

"For three years." Terrador said.

"Three scary, desperate years, yes." Imperia agreed. "He knew now that I wasn't on his side, I was no longer protected. If we hadn't have been able to free Spyro and Cynder then I would have probably needed to go up against the Dark Master myself. I would have had Malefor's help and the Dragonslayer… It's hard to tell how that would have gone. Even with Spyro and Cynder together it was close, but they won again, and the Dark Master was ended."

Imperia smiled.

"After that it was all nice. Malefor's crystal was locked away; his body entombed in a cave deep within the earth, the world was saved. Malefor no longer visited me in my dreams and I missed him deeply, but I could finally meet the two beautiful, wonderful dragons who I had watched over for all of their lives."

The guardians didn't respond at first. Each of them was thinking of Spyro and Cynder, and the time just after the downfall of the Dark Master.

"I love them both, and it was such a pleasure to be able to spend time with them." Imperia sighed. "Sure there were a few little problems, like Cynder leaving Warfang, but I arranged for her to come back as soon as I could and I kept regular contact with her while she was away."

"You went travelling every other day it seemed." Flare commented.

"I'd have barely come back to Warfang at all, if it hadn't been for you, Volteer, and my class at the Dragon Academy."

"Glad to be so appreciated." Volteer grumbled.

Imperia laughed.

"So how exactly did Malefor come back?" Volteer asked curiously. "I studied that crystal, but was able to determine very little about its nature before we had it bound in iron and locked up."

"It acts as a magnet, a draw to keep what can arguably be called the spirit from moving on. It bound Malefor's will to this earth, and constantly drew him towards it. The embodiment of Malefor's consciousness was rather spookier then I expected it to be, it resembled a dragon in form, but it was ethereal and didn't seem to be self-aware. It was like a ghost. I helped it take the purple gem, opening the doors and incapacitating the guards, and then it left to go to Darkmire's tomb. Then, on the night when Spyro and Cynder had their date I felt him return, his mind stronger than it had ever been. I put my snake charms back on Spyro and Cynder, and from then on all I needed to do was tell Malefor what was going on."

Imperia curtsied.

"And that is basically everything that's ever happened between me and Malefor."

Terrador sat before a roaring fire, looking into it as if hoping to see the answer to all of his problems in the flames.

Flare sat beside him, her tail was curled around so that the last metre of it rested within the glowing coals. Occasionally it flicked, as she habitually liked to spin it around her, but she controlled the movement and left her tail where it was. She wasn't looking into the fire; she was gazing instead at Cyril and Volteer.

The four original guardians had left Imperia's cell and gathered in a meeting chamber to decide what was to be done with their newest member.

Terrador and Flare remained in pensive silence while Volteer and Cyril had an unusually civil argument that, for once, did not turn into a battle of insults.

Volteer, of course, wanted Imperia to be set free. Cyril admitted that he wanted the same thing, but he insisted that at the moment he didn't trust her enough to allow it.

"Cyril, if everything she's told us is true and accurate, then would you consider releasing her?"

"Leaving aside that I am obviously already considering releasing her in order for us to have this conversation at all, the answer would be yes. But we have no way to prove large portions of her story, so I'd rather determine her trustworthiness with other means."

"She still behaves exactly like Imperia; if she'd been holding up a pretence for all of this time then I'd expect her to have dropped it now that her cover is blown. That she's still acting like herself makes me think that the Imperia we knew is genuine."

"It'd be impossible to fake being as ridiculous as she is, constantly, for all these years." Cyril admitted.

"My point exactly. But… ah… not precisely in the way that I'd have put it." Volteer said.

"And we also need to keep in mind that she's telling us what we want to know about Malefor." Cyril said.

"Is that increasing her trustworthiness or decreasing it?" Volteer asked warily. "She has effectively betrayed him, even if she'd prefer we didn't use that word."

Cyril hesitated. "Increasing."

Volteer looked across at Flare. "Her intentions seem to be good."

"Terrador, what do you think?" Cyril asked.

The earth Guardian sighed deeply. "In forty eight years I'll have trained my apprentice sufficiently to be allowed to step down as earth guardian. I'd think that I'd like to retire soon after that, and find a nice place to live, somewhere where I don't need to fight in any wars, or decide the fate of the world. I'd like to have a peaceful life for eighty years or so."

Cyril, Flare and Volteer weren't sure what to say to that. They stared at him.

"Seizo is a brilliant and capable young dragon. If he can keep progressing as he has, then he will be a better guardian then I'd ever hoped to train, and I'll be glad to let him take over my position."

He glanced around at the others.

"I can't allow Imperia's release until this crisis is dealt with, but I don't want her held a minute longer than necessary. We also can't trust her opinion of Malefor, as much as I'd like to. We need some way to have influence over him."

"Influence?" Volteer looked doubtful.

"A way to control Malefor. Perhaps not to stop him, but at least to limit him."

"Isn't that what Imperia wanted as well?" Volteer asked. "Some things she said gave me that impression."

"Perhaps." Terrador said wearily.

"You're thinking of using her as a hostage?" Cyril asked doubtfully.

"I wish I could think of a better plan. Seizo could perhaps think of one. We won't do that to Imperia, not unless she agrees to it. But I don't see many other options. Cynder isn't here, and we can't match him in open combat without a dragon time user. We need to be able to control Malefor."

Terrador looked tired as he spoke. He looked at the expressions of the faces of Volteer and Cyril, neither of whom looked happy with his idea.

"I think the probability of that working is extremely limited." Volteer said.

One of the guardians had yet to speak; Terrador knew he needed her opinion too.

"Flare? What do y-?"

He turned, but the fire dragoness was gone.

-4Dragons