For this chapter I suggest listening to Castle of Glass, by Linkin Park. The lead singer, Chester, recently died, may he rest in peace. I've never been the most noisy fan of this band, but I enjoyed their work all the same.
The dragon chronicler had no need for sleep; an ability that Ignitus was thankful for. He was still able to sleep, and he even still felt weariness and tiredness; but if he needed to go without sleeping then he could do so with no negative effects.
Usually he would sleep; he had always known that premonitions, visions, and messages came more easily to a sleeping dragon; and being the chronicler had only increased his understanding of just how important that could be. But he also genuinely enjoyed dreams; even the strange and meaningless ones that were all he usually received. Ignitus had always been relatively fortunate with his ability to remember his dreams; it was a completely useless ability for a guardian and yet strangely it was one of the things he was most thankful for.
In the earliest hours of the morning most of Warfang was asleep; the sun would not dawn for hours yet. They lacked his ability to function at times like this, they were still natural dragons after all. He was… something else.
Ignitus stopped outside a room with two guards, Malefor's room. He wondered if the purple dragon had the same ability Ignitus did, or if he was going to be woken out of his sleep. Ignitus found little sympathy for Malefor if it would be the latter case; the purple dragon had not earned any kindness from him.
"Sir, you can't come in here." One of the guards said.
"None of the guardians ever specifically gave that order." Ignitus replied. "And I have an excellent memory for such things." He gazed at the earth dragoness who had spoken; he knew her from at least fifty years ago. She had been a novice in Warfang at the time. "Shade, isn't it? I'm glad to see you're well. During the dark times I despaired and lost touch with Warfang. I did often wonder if everyone was alright; although I foolishly assumed the worst."
"You were a hero." Shade replied. "And you returned still as a hero when you brought in Spyro. Maybe you made mistakes and just got lucky; but you're still a hero to a lot of Warfang; especially after you gave your life to defeat…"
"Him." Ignitus finished, nodding at the closed door. "Well, his dark side. I don't trust this supposedly pure Malefor much more than I trusted the old one; but we do need his help."
"Why do you want to see him?" Asked the other dragon. A lightning drake who Ignitus did not recognise.
"He has taken something from me; this is an issue that is not related to Spyro and therefore it's something I'd prefer to settle with Malefor myself. Do not worry, I will be cautious and tactful. You will not need to fight him, and this will not jeopardize the alliance between him and Warfang."
Shade and the other dragon discussed quietly between themselves for a minute, then stepped aside. "Very well Ignitus. Just be careful. And if there is a fight then we'll do our best to aid you; even if that means attacking Malefor."
Ignitus bowed his head. "Thankyou. Both of you." He knocked politely at the door and then stepped through.
Malefor, sitting at the window and staring out into the night sky, turned and looked at him idly. "Not going to ask for permission to enter?"
Ignitus shook his head. "This isn't even your room, and you certainly never asked permission to enter my home."
Malefor chuckled. "For the record I did ask, and you refused. I can see you're still annoyed about that; and I presume that the guardians have no idea you're here to talk to me. You had better be careful not to, how did you put it? 'jeopardize my alliance with Warfang.' Don't go starting an argument Ignitus, your pride might cause a rift between Warfang and myself. After all I only really need help from Cynder."
Ignitus paused, annoyed at Malefor's arrogance and considering how best to make a cutting reply. But was it his own arrogance causing him to do this? Malefor had stolen at least two books from his library, and Ignitus' goal was to get them back; not to try and take some vengeance.
Malefor looked back out at the sky. Ignitus sighed and spoke. "Every dragon for themselves. It's a miracle we have a society left at all. And not just dragons, the canines, the moles, especially the cheetahs and other felines. Everyone is only interested in bettering themselves; and yet we are made worse by it. How else could a seemingly inferior species like the apes rise to be the dominant force in the world? They didn't have the strength of dragons, the expertise of moles, or the survival abilities of the other furred races."
"You forget that the apes disagreed eventually, and now they are in ruins if not completely extinct." Malefor observed.
"And you forget that your dark side was the one that put them there." Ignitus shot back instantly.
"True."
Malefor inclined his head, he met the Chronicler Dragon's gaze with his own vibrant purple eyes. Ignitus' rusty brown eye colour was the only thing that had survived his transformation into a blue dragon; but Malefor had never known Ignitus' eye colour before he'd transformed and he didn't notice it now either.
"What I did to the apes was one of my many mistakes. If you want me to admit I've done the wrong thing then fine, I have. I regret things. You win. But if you're trying to make me atone, then don't bother. I am already atoning in the most useful way that I can: by bringing peace to this world. Serving a sentence that someone like you imposes would only get in the way of that task I have set myself."
Malefor looked away, but not before Ignitus had noticed the exhaustion in his eyes and his tone. "You haven't had any sleep have you?" He asked.
Malefor sighed and shook his head. "No I haven't."
Clearly the purple dragon needed rest; despite his powers he was still just a normal dragon in that way. He would be sleep deprived before long due to his stubbornness. "Why aren't you sleeping?" Ignitus asked.
"Why aren't you?" Malefor responded.
"Sleep is a luxury for me, not something I need anymore. But you do need sleep; so why aren't you sleeping?"
Malefor gazed out at the skyline of Warfang. "I haven't slept, and I haven't eaten either. I don't trust this city. Did you know there are three poison dragons here? Every living known poison dragon is right here in Warfang. Cynder is one of course, there is also Imperia's beloved student Nadder as well as her sister Miasma. I would not trust any of those three to save me from an assassination; they would be as likely to help kill me as they would to cure me from poison. Dragons are resistant to most poisons, and with my healing I would be even more difficult to kill; but it would be stupid of me to eat, drink, or sleep."
"You don't trust others enough, do you?" Ignitus said.
"Enough?" Malefor raised an eyebrow. "An interesting choice of word. I do trust some individuals, eventually; and to a degree."
"Imperia, for example?" Ignitus queried.
"She's a special case. I trust her completely because I know that she has my best interests in mind every time she does something she thinks will affect me; and she generally has a positive effect on the world around her even when she isn't acting with a plan in mind."
"That doesn't make her special, that makes her normal. I think that's what you fail to understand: even people who don't seem perfect at first, people who have flaws and weaknesses or who keep secrets about themselves from you… it doesn't really matter, because people are good hearted."
Malefor laughed wryly. "Murder, capitalism, oppression, war, rape. 'People' are not good hearted; they are selfish and stupid animals, always obsessed with themselves, who need some sort of leader to keep them in line. Religion did the job in the tribal ages, the Guardians do their best now, but if there was nothing then the world would spiral away into chaos."
"There are some bad hearted ones among us, but every individual has both good and bad in them. I'd trust my life to any dragon in Warfang, not only Imperia."
"You're dead." Malefor pointed out. "This trusting others with your life caper did not end well for you."
"I gave my life, protecting Spyro from the ring of fire." Ignitus said with a smile. "He and Cynder trusted me, a cowardly old dragon who they by all rights could have blamed for all of their problems. They trusted me and my flaws with their lives, and I did not let them down."
"You're no coward." Malefor said, startled by Ignitus being so harsh on himself.
"I was." Ignitus said firmly. "I ran and hid and left my apprentice Flare to fight and maybe even die in my place. I couldn't endure the war when I thought all hope was gone. The other guardians were captured and the promised hero was nowhere to be seen because I had failed them all when I let Spyro's egg wash away down a river. I searched for Spyro one last time, and when I failed I stayed hiding away in that miserable swamp because I couldn't bear to return. That was a cowardly act."
"Well…" Malefor hesitated. He felt this bizarre urge to say something nice to Ignitus, to reassure him. But he didn't know what he could say. What sort of comment could he make that would not come across as hollow flattery? "Well… I always respected you; and in the end you played an essential role in destroying the Dark Master. So even with your flaws you were up to the task. I suppose you could say that I had a form of trust in you during that time; and you didn't let me down."
Ignitus responded with a smile, a genuine smile that hid no plots, no ploys, and was not a calculated action. A normal smile of true appreciation.
Malefor's lips twitched upwards as he did his best to return a smile of his own. He was not entirely sure how this had happened or even what exactly had happened; but he felt he'd done a good thing for Ignitus and it felt… nice. "I suppose you do have a point. If everyone in society was as selfish and untrustworthy as I sometimes act like they are then society itself would have collapsed by now no matter what was trying to keep it together. Don't expect me to eat or sleep anytime soon, or to expose my back to an assassin's blade. I'm not that careless; but I suppose that you are right about trust. I can afford to extend trust a bit more easily. Maybe…"
Ignitus almost wished the purple dragon goodnight and left then and there; but he suddenly remembered that he hadn't yet gotten what he had come for. "Do you trust me enough to tell me which books you took from my library? You can keep them if you need them, but I want to know."
Malefor froze for a moment, feeling that he had been manipulated. Ignitus' talking about trust had just been a well executed ruse to put him in this position and further undermine his mental state with guilt and suspicion. At least the accursed old drake hadn't made him promise. Malefor would have been in an even worse position if he'd needed to break his word in order to refuse…
What was he thinking? Malefor shook his head to clear it. He was jumping to a conclusion. Ignitus had been talking about something he genuinely believed in, he was not cunning enough to take his bright view of the world and turn it into a tool for bending others to his will. That was what Malefor did, not Ignitus. No. This was simply chance, that Malefor had opened himself up to Ignitus so far while forgetting why the Chronicler had come to visit him at all.
Ignitus had been being genuine through their conversation, he'd had no plan for how to make Malefor tell him what he wanted to know; he'd just gotten lucky.
Ignitus watched worriedly as Malefor looked away, the purple dragon had tensed up and it was obvious that his mind was working furiously to comprehend something. Paranoia caused by sleep deprivation, no doubt. Malefor's naturally suspicious and overly calculating mind probably wouldn't be helping him either. Ignitus felt a twinge of pity for the ancient dragon before remembering Malefor could tear him limb from limb with about as much effort as it would take him to kill a rabbit. Actually even with that thought in mind Ignitus still felt sympathy; it was just tempered by caution.
Malefor suddenly chuckled, a sound with a slight undertone of madness to it; but he was laughing at himself. "My apologies, Ignitus. I've gotten more emotionally invested in this conversation than I had realised…" He thought for several moments. "If I asked you to trust me, and then I told you that you don't need or want to know?"
It was Ignitus' turn to hesitate. "I… would trust you. Reluctantly."
"Well I'll tell you anyway, it's no great secret. I took two books. Spyro's life story, frustratingly incomplete though it is, and one other that will hopefully be of value in the future. They're both safe enough at my fortress; hidden so that neither Spyro nor you would be able to find them easily."
"So you won't tell me what the other book is?" Ignitus asked.
"It's Tales of Our Guardians, although the guardians referred to within it are not the ones which protect and command Warfang."
"Indeed. That book is a history of the Dragon Ancestors; it tells you how to find their council, who they are, and what they can and have done."
"It's full of glowing praise for them, but there are some useful bits of information to be dredged out of it."
"Useful… how?" Ignitus asked cautiously.
"Useful for someone who wanted to kill the gods." Malefor replied softly.
"Impossible." Ignitus whispered. "I've researched the Ancestors, I wanted to know more about the spirits we pray to. They are good, they are not violent, not dangerous. They don't deserve to be attacked by you or anyone else."
"They oppress dragonkind, they are insidious; turning us against each other. War, famine, cruelty; such things are well within their power to cause."
"They have no motive." Ignitus countered. "Why would they do that?"
"Control." Malefor told him. "They've stagnated our societal progress at this stage since recorded history. Steam and metal springs are not the limits of technology; and yet we have never done anything better. They're keeping our numbers low and keeping us in the dark."
"Even if that is the case, which I cannot bring myself to believe, they must have their reasons. The ancestors protect us; that is their duty. My position as the Chronicler makes me part of their kind, and I assure you that I'd only act in dragonkind's best interests."
"And yet you've never met these legendary figures, the embodiments of war, hope, willpower, serenity; the whole pantheon. You've never encountered any of them."
"Well no. But we don't need to."
"On the contrary, Ignitus. My eventual goal has always been to track them down and make them explain themselves."
"And if you don't like their explanation?"
"Crush them into submission; of course." Malefor said coolly. "Preferably without casualties, but I'll do whatever is necessary."
"What if I'm right? What if they are doing this for the sake of us all?"
"I doubt that. I think they have their own interests at heart."
"And I feel that perhaps you do too. If they have a good enough explanation then you have to leave them be. To do anything else would make you a tyrant."
"And a hypocrite." Malefor agreed. "We can't have that. In the unlikely event that the Ancestors do have a suitable reason for their actions then I shall leave them be."
"Are you sure you even have the power to challenge them?" Ignitus asked. "Not even you are undefeatable."
"Perhaps not. But with the aid of Spyro and Cynder I am extremely confident in the chances of success."
"Was this your final goal all along? You wanted to get Spyro and Cynder on your side so you had fighters to support you on this mad bid for godhood."
"You make that sound so selfish." Malefor chuckled. "I want to protect the world from their dark sides. If they join me in achieving my next goal that will simply be a bonus. But if they choose to live their own lives after they're free then I would not presume to stop them."
"You have fallen far. Even your lighter self is shrouded in darkness and evil." Ignitus sighed. "There is still hope for you… although it is scarce." He bowed slightly to the purple dragon. "I'll see you again soon, I'm sure."
"I look forwards to it." Malefor said dryly. "Please don't mention any of this to the others."
Ignitus sighed. "You can trust me. I won't tell them about this. But with all my heart I wish that you'll turn away from this path. You will not find any happiness down that road."
"Your advice is noted." Malefor said. He returned to staring out of the window as Ignitus departed.
After breakfast Cynder and Ember joined Ember's parents in wandering to the Dragon Temple; many other dragons were migrating in the same direction as rumours had spread that Terrador was going to address everyone about the events that had gone on after the Shattershelf siege. Cynder and Ember had told the pink dragoness' parents the basic account of what had gone on, without going into too great detail or trying to guess what Terrador had planned for them to do next.
Embers parents had been attentive listeners, asking insightful questions when they wanted something to be explained while still respecting that Cynder and Ember didn't want to be fussed over too much.
The four of them joined a murmuring crowd in one of the meeting rooms in the Temple; staying quietly on the edge of the group.
Volteer wandered into the room, giving cheerful smiles to whoever he recognised or whoever caught him in eye contact. There was no raised part of this room, making things informal but also making it difficult for the crowd to see what was going on. Volteer balanced on his hind legs and cleared his throat.
"Ahem! Excuse me everyone! Can we have some quiet in here?"
The volume of the dragons talking lessened somewhat. Volteer nodded in satisfaction before continuing to speak.
"Thankyou! Now, ahem, this room is not entirely fit for purpose; such a gathering would be more suitable for the auditorium. However we shall make do with this, so can I get you all to genuflect. Relax? Take a seat? Sitting room only, that type of thing." He chuckled. "Also can those of you at the front shuffle back somewhat? Several moles want to be here to see what's going on, so make some room here please!"
The crowd gradually did as Volteer asked, everyone sat down and a group of about thirty moles who had been hovering by the door finally came in and sat down. They looked like a class of young dragons to Cynder, a mental image that made her snort slightly to herself in amusement.
The black dragoness glanced around the room, she saw about a hundred dragons had gathered, although more latecomers were drifting into the hall and sitting down.
The volume of conversation, which had stayed low after Volteer's announcement, suddenly rose to an urgent pitch as Terrador walked into the room accompanied by the purple dragon himself, Malefor.
A few of the dragons stood up in panic, shock, or anger, but Volteer and Terrador both spoke at the same time to ensure that the room stayed under control. "Everyone sit down please!"
Reluctantly the other dragons sat down, although the volume in the room stayed at almost a roar of argument and conversation. Everyone stayed away from Malefor, many wary or angry looks were directed at him. He didn't seem to care very much about the fuss; or perhaps he was simply trying to appear unconcerned.
Terrador waited for several minutes until dragons had stopped arriving, but he soon realised that this was pointless. All of Warfang would be packed into this room if he waited for long enough, so he might as well get started. The Earth Guardian cleared his throat and asked for silence.
About a quarter of the crowd noticed and quieted; the rest of the group all talked until they were eventually shushed by those who had paid more attention.
Terrador remained standing, with Malefor standing partially behind him. Volteer joined the moles on the floor and listened.
"Thankyou everyone for coming. I apologise for the lack of space; this was meant to be a debriefing for the dragons who went on our mission, and I was planning to make an official announcement later today. I'll make the announcement now informally; and I'd like everyone to tell anybody who didn't attend here that I will address the city as a whole in the main square this afternoon."
Several dragons tried to speak up with questions or comments, but Terrador gestured for silence and they subsided.
"The guardians led a relief force to Shattershelf several days ago; we successfully saved the city. However Spyro was captured by Malefor. This is common knowledge around Warfang at the moment; but now that we have enough information I can clarify what has occurred since then. The rumour that Imperia turned traitor to the guardians and this is why she was imprisoned is true; however we currently have her re-captured and she's not considered any threat to Warfang."
Terrador paused for breath, but nobody interrupted him this time.
"Cynder and Ember went after Spyro. Imperia later escaped and followed. We arranged a small force and pursued."
For the sake of brevity Terrador left out the detail that Malefor had come to free Imperia, as well as where they had gone.
"By the time we arrived we found that Spyro had turned to his dark form and fled; while Imperia had been… very seriously injured… trying to keep him under control. Malefor played an important role in saving her life; and we've decided to give him a degree of trust in return for his help with bringing Spyro back alive and well."
"Are you insane!?" One of the dragons at the back of the group yelled. "He's a mass mass murderer! You Guardians are supposed to be protecting us, not trusting rogue psycho and freakishly powerful dragons to stay in the city!"
"The duty of the Guardians is to make informed decisions and choose the right path even if it is difficult or involves taking risks. If you have information that is relevant and not biased by hatred then take it up with one of the guardians once this meeting is over. If anyone else has information that we ought to know then don't shout about it now in front of the dragon who you're concerned about." He gazed sternly around the room. "Does anyone else have any criticism to make that's too urgent to wait until later?"
There were a few unhappy growls, but nobody said anything.
"Malefor? Would you like to speak?" Terrador stepped across so that Malefor was in more direct view.
The purple dragon paused, thinking. "I'm sure most of you have bad history with the Dark Master. I do as well…" He trailed off for a moment, deciding what to say. "As I told a friend not long ago; I've chosen how to make amends for my past. I'm serving my own sentence; so any vendettas or personal attempts at making me pay will simply be a waste of my time."
The purple dragon stepped back slightly, before thinking of something else to add.
"I'm pleased to be back in Warfang, and I'm no danger to any of you. You might not believe that at first; but when in time you all find yourself still alive you'll realise that I can be trusted, I hope."
An uncomfortable and rather hostile silence met his words. Malefor shrugged, seeing that he wasn't going to win the room over to his side anytime soon. He stepped back to be behind Terrador so the green dragon could close out the meeting.
"Alright, we'll be asking for volunteers to search for signs of Spyro. It will be dangerous, and we won't force anyone to search. Anyone who wants to join a search party should speak to Cyril to receive a group, a search area and advice on remaining safe. Only dragons who are adult and have proven themselves capable or well trained will be accepted; at Cyril's discretion. He'll be in his office I expect, look for him there. We'll have the city wide announcement in the main square in several hours, tell everyone who didn't make it here. This meeting is now over, thankyou for attending."
A murmur of conversation came from the group at that. Terrador bowed slightly to the crowd and then walked out, followed by Malefor.
Volteer stood up and smiled around the room. "Thankyou again! Malefor seems like an interesting and decent enough dragon to me at least. I do hope you'll give him a chance. Warfang has not been as welcoming in the past as I would like." He glared slightly, and then tilted his head at a more cheerful angle. "We're a welcoming, safe, and strong city because we all support each other. I'm proud of that." With that the lightning Guardian followed Malefor and Terrador out of the room.
The crowd of dragons drifted away, talking amongst themselves. Cynder, Ember, Shira and Vulken began to wander back to Ember's parent's house.
"Well that was concerning, but also a bit relieving at the same time." Shira said thoughtfully. The fire dragoness swished her tail in a way that reminded Cynder of Flare for a moment. "I still find it hard to believe Imperia was in cahoots with Malefor; and as for Spyro… I'll see about joining a search party. He's done a lot for Warfang and he deserves all the help we can give. I liked what Volteer said about us being a safe and supportive city."
"It's certainly better than Shattershelf. No offence to them." Cynder said.
Ember nodded. "True. But there are plenty of good dragons there as well as there are here."
"I keep on hearing that." Cynder noted. "I'm not sure if I'm beginning to believe it or if I should hang a flag on my tail which says 'I've heard this all before.'"
Ember giggled. "I think you'd get more use out of a 'Not as grumpy as I look' flag."
Cynder huffed, but had to show a slight grin. "I can neither confirm nor deny that."
Shira and Vulken looked on, smiling; both pleased to see their daughter getting on so well with Cynder.
Vulken frowned. "I never was much of a fighter, but I think I might be able to look for Spyro too."
Shira put a wing over him reassuringly. "I'm sure we'll go into a group together, I'll feel safer knowing you're there."
Vulken smiled. "But you're the one who's probably going to be looking out for me."
Shira licked his cheek. "You'll do great I'm sure."
Ember rolled her eyes and looked to Cynder. "They're going to keep on being weird, let's escape while we can."
Cynder nodded and shrugged in agreement; she and Ember left them to it.
The pink and black dragons waved goodbye and then wandered off into the streets.
"Where are we going?" Cynder asked curiously, as Ember seemed to be walking in a more purposeful way as if she had someplace in mind.
"I don't know." Ember said, smiling. "I just want to escape before my parents remember they wanted to ground me. We can go meet up with the others. That's where I was thinking we'd go, I suppose. They'll probably be in the common area on the north side of the city trying to find out what happened. I didn't see them at the meeting."
Cynder nodded. "Cool. Although I think I'll let you handle telling them all about it. Most of them probably still don't like me." She frowned to herself, trying to remember them all. A lot had happened since she'd fought with Ember and her posse in the arena.
"Flora may not like you, but the others will be fine I'm sure." Ember said hopefully. "I was always the most nasty about you, so without me doing that it'll all be okay."
"Well your parents turned out way nicer than expected, so probably these guys will too." Cynder agreed.
Ember led the way, and they soon arrived in a nice town square with several dragons talking or relaxing. The city seemed to have come to a partial standstill, nobody looked busy anymore, instead they all just seemed to be waiting.
Among the crowd were several dragons of Cynder's age who she recognised. Ember's friend group of Flora, Flame, a lightning drake and an ice dragoness were all there; and so were Seizo and Miasma hovering on the edge of the group. They were all looking around, talking amongst themselves, or asking other dragons if they'd heard what Terrador had told everyone.
The ice dragoness noticed Ember and Cynder and immediately pointed them out to the rest of the group. She beckoned them to a more private spot and they soon gathered in a small alcove off the main square.
Ember gathered Flora and the ice dragoness in a hug. "Cyria! Flora! I've missed you guys!"
"You were only gone a few days." The ice dragoness, Cyria, noted. Cynder remembered more about her now, she was the trainee ice guardian and she'd been the first to make it up to Cynder after the fight had happened. She'd also been the most difficult opponent out of the group.
Ember nodded. "Yes but a lot happened and it felt like ages."
"A lot must have happened." Flame agreed. "You and Cynder were right in the middle of it! It must have been incredible. Is it true that Spyro turned dark to stop Malefor destroying the world?"
"Rumours have been going around like crazy." Cyria said. "I thought it'd be best for us to talk here in a bit of privacy otherwise the whole crowd of dragons would be trying to interview you two."
"Malefor didn't try to destroy the world." Cynder said, doing her best to slip into the conversation without being noticed too much. "Spyro went dark sort of by accident. It definitely wasn't his choice or his fault."
"Malefor doesn't seem like a world destroyer dragon to me." Ember added brightly. "I met him." She looked proud. "He was scary, but not that scary. Sort of like Cyril."
"Ahh, because we needed another Cyril." Cyria laughed. "My uncle is such a nightmare, but he's a great dragon in his own way and he's great at teaching. Cyril is scary, but he's not bad sort of scary. So the whole thing about the Dark Master being separate, that's true?"
"Yep." Ember confirmed enthusiastically. "I'll start from the start and tell you guys everything!"
While the pink dragoness began to tell the, by now well rehearsed, story; Miasma and Seizo circled around the group to be near Cynder. Those two were closer friends to Spyro, and knew Cynder a bit better.
"Are you okay?" Seizo asked quietly to Cynder.
She nodded. "Not too bad I suppose. We're going to get Spyro back, so there are better things to be doing than just me feeling bad for him."
Seizo nodded in agreement. "That's a good way to be. With that mindset I'm sure we'll be able to get him back in no time." He looked at Miasma; the poison and shadow dragoness did not seem so confident, although that may have just been her natural shyness. He put a wing around her and smiled encouragingly.
"So… how have you two been?" Cynder asked curiously.
They both blushed deeply and mumbled about how things were going great between them. Cynder giggled slightly and decided not to press for more details. They all tuned back in to Ember and let her finish filling them in on the details of everything that had gone on.
"And then Terrador told us to go see Cyril if we want to join in the search for Spyro!" The pink dragoness said. Then she frowned. "But they also said we'd have to be adult… so we're probably not allowed to help." She sighed in frustration.
"That's sensible, even though it's disappointing for us." Seizo said. "Although I think you'd find searching to be more boring than you expect."
"It's not about being the one to find Spyro. It's just that I want to help."
"Really?" Seizo said, not quite able to hide his scepticism.
Ember bit her lip and nodded. "I've been really selfish for a long time, but I don't want to be that same Spyro obsessed narrow minded dragon anymore. I want to help Spyro, not be his hero. I'm not strong enough to be a hero anyway…" She sighed again.
"You are actually." Cynder said. "You saved me and you've been so brave."
"Maybe I'm a hero trainee." Ember said, unable to remain mournful for long. "But still, I just want to help in whatever small way I can, and if I can't be part of a search party I'm not sure what to do."
"I'm not sure search parties will find anything at all." Cynder said gravely. "I think that Dark Spyro is going to come to us. Specifically he's going to come for me and Malefor. We'll have to get ready for him, and quickly."
I had a huge part with Hope that was going to go in this chapter, but then I decided it would be neater if it went in the next one. Sorry to be such a tease, but on the plus side the next chapter is over halfway written already!
I'll see you soon~
-4Dragons