A/N: The first chapter of my rewritten Spyro the Dragon story.
I only own the plot and my OC's
Enjoy.
"I love you."
Spyro threw open his eyes, breathing heavily as the memories going round and round in his head finally dissipated. Looking up at the sun, his eyes squinting due to the intense light before covering the front of his face with his wing, he realised with a growing smile what had happened. We did it... We actually did it! Summoning what strength he had left, he slowly raised himself up off the ground, shaking his head to clear the last of the glare from his eyes, and took in his surroundings.
What he saw amazed him, he of course had expected to see numerous chunks of the world's core floating around him. Instead he was greeted by a brilliant blue sky with hardly a cloud in sight, shining green grass sprinkled with flowers and cool fresh air. His eyes went wide as he took in the scene around him breathing in loads of the new air that was surrounding him and the growing smile became the first one that he had smiled in a long time.
Then he remembered something. Cynder. The one who had stayed and fought with him against Malefor in the last battle against the Dark Master was nowhere to be seen. Did... No... Cynder couldn't have... Died! No... He grew desperate as thoughts of the black dragoness being dead stabbed him like a thousand knives. He knew that he had to find her. Looking around the area he was in he tried to see where she could have gone.
Could... Could she have left me...? No... she would never do that, no after everything we've been through together. But then again... She did confess her love for me...? Does she think I don't like her back? That would probably- His train of thought was suddenly broken off as he heard a rustling sound come from some bushes nearby. Using what strength he had gathered, Spyro, despite his exhaustion, pushed himself to his feet and readied himself for the fight that was most likely coming.
The purple dragon tensed as the rustling increased in volume before the bushes parted to reveal- "Cynder!" Said dragoness was standing in front of him looking very much alive and well. She was carrying her left forepaw off the ground showing that she was in pain but her emerald eyes of the same colour were filled with concern. "Spyro? Are you alright? You look pretty tense?" she asked. "I am," he replied. "And I could ask you the same thing. Where have you been."
"I woke up before you and decided to try and work out where we are after the world was put back together," she said, dropping down in front of Spyro whilst taking care to not to aggravate her injured paw and to give him some space. Lying back down, Spyro relaxed as he felt new energy surge into his body and strength return to limbs. It felt so good to feel his powers return even if it was at a marginal pace.
After a long while, and with his strength restored, the young purple dragon slowly got up. An action that was mirrored by the dragoness. "I think we can call this a rousing success," she said happily, looking around at the meadow they had turned up in. "I'd have to agree," said Spyro with joy. "You did it, Spyro." He turned his gaze upon Cynder. "No Cynder," he said, firmly. "We did it. I couldn't have done it without you," he said, smiling at her warmly and she smiled back.
Then his face fell and his mood saddened. "I just wish that Ignitus could be here to see it though," he said softly, memories of the Fire Guardian filling his mind. "Spyro, you know what he said to us down in the core. "A dragon does not truly die. He lives on binding himself with nature and the earth." As long as you believe in him, he'll never die." "Yeah, I guess you're right, I shouldn't dwell on it for too long," his smile returned, as did Cynder's.
"Also, there's one more, teeny, tiny little thing that you should know," she added, giving a small sly smile. "What's that?" Spyro asked, cocking his head curiously, guessing from the look on her face that it wasn't her paw. "Tag! You're it!" she cried, tapping his nose with a claw before shooting off into the sky. "Cynder! No fair! Come back here!" he yelled. She looked back behind her to see the indignant looking purple dragon giving chase.
"You'll have to catch me first slowpoke!" Cynder yelled back. And so, for the next few minutes, the pair chased each other all over and around the meadow happily enjoying the other one's company. They relished in the freedom and peace that they had worked for so long and so hard to achieve. But it was finally over. The evil shadow of Malefor was finally and completely gone.
Forever.
"I'm gonna get you for that, Cynder!" Spyro laughed, as he began to chase the black dragoness all across the sky. "In your dreams, Spyro," the dragoness laughed back at him. "I've always been faster and always been a better flier than you, so there's no way in Avalar that you could hope to catch me." She pulled out of a dive and hovered over Spyro as he slowed down beneath her before she took off again.
"What? Since when?" he asked. "Since always," she replied, looking over her shoulder to see how close he was to catching her. "And I'll prove it to you too," she added, before angling herself upwards once again. Spyro watched with wide eyes and then gasped as she gave a mighty flap of her wings and shot straight up in the sky. His eyes grew wider as she suddenly turned on a dime and dove back down towards him.
Cynder zipped past and swatted Spyro on the nose with the tip of her tail blade causing him to let out a sneeze after she passed. "Tag! You're it again!" she called back at him as she began laughing again. "Wait, I was it to begin with!" Spyro protested looking over his shoulder, not looking where he was going. "You can't just do doubles because you want to!" Cynder just giggled at him as she continued to hover in place.
That was, however, before her expression suddenly changed to horror as she saw where Spyro was going and realised what was going to happen. "Spyro!" she called frantically. "Look out!" "What?" Spyro looked back round in front of him just in time to see that he was heading straight towards the ground. He was going too fast to either stop or pull out in time. The only thing he could do was yelp loudly in surprise before he collided roughly with the earth.
The purple dragon bounced and skidded along across the ground, kicking up chunks of dirt as he did so until he finally came to a stop. Cynder gasped in horror. She hadn't meant for Spyro to get hurt. Cynder quickly dropped to the ground and dashed over to him, worry filling her. "Spyro! Spyro, are you okay?" she asked, her voice holding great concern for her friend. Said dragon slowly picked himself up and shook himself down.
"I'm alright," he replied to which the black dragoness sighed with relief. "Not my first crash landing. Just a bit embarrassed, that's all." His friend gave him a small smile. "So it's just your pride that's hurt?" she asked. "Well, that, and one other thing," he replied, a smile gathering on his face. Now it was Cynder who cocked her head in curiosity. "What's that?" she asked. "You are... Tag! You're it!" he cried, tapping her nose with his paw before jumping back and out of Cynder's range.
"Hey! No fair!" she snapped and lunged for Spyro, but he easily sidestepped her. "You may be the better flier than me, Cynder, but out of the two of us, I'll always be the fastest!" he chortled as he dodged another swipe. Now it was the black dragoness's turn to look indignant. "You can't just tease me like that then play it off like it was just nothing but some kind of game!" "Yes, I can," Spyro laughed. "You just did so I followed your example."
Cynder dove for him once again, but he dodged and took off laughing with the dragoness close behind him. Determined to get her own back. After a few more minutes of playing chase, the two of them finally settled down and landed beside a small stream to refresh themselves and to decide their next move. "I guess the most important thing we should do is head back to Warfang," Spyro said at length.
"Agreed. Everyone else was heading into the tunnels under the city for protection that last time we saw them," the other replied. The purple dragon nodded before relapsing back into thought as he cast his gaze up to the brilliant blue sky with both snow white clouds and floating islands of various sizes dotted here and there above them. While he was doing that, he didn't notice Cynder looking him over and admiring the way his scales gleamed in the bright sun.
Her mind, meanwhile, was drifting back to two things. The first one was the pain in her left forepaw, she had landed on it awkwardly whilst scouting out the area and it hurt when she put any matter of weight on it. The second one was much, much, more prominent. It was the four fateful words that she had uttered back down at the core just before everything had gone black. Had Spyro heard her was the main question.
It pained her to think that the dragon she held feelings of affection for did not know how she felt about him after so long. Cynder had, at first, only viewed him as a friend, mainly because he had saved her from the Dark Realm, where Malefor had been imprisoned following his first defeat at the power of the Guardians. Her feelings had become stronger when she discovered that he had left the Dragon Temple to make sure she was safe.
Next he had saved the lives of both himself, her and Sparx at the Mountain of Malefor when it had collapsed and they had been awoken years later. Following their meeting up with Hunter, being captured by the Cheetah Tribe, defending Warfang when it had been besieged by the Dark Master's forces, reuniting with the Guardians during said siege, destroying a dam to stop the Destroyer from completing the Belt of Fire, and finally confronting Malefor in his fortress.
Her heart sank a little as she remembered how, in order to get them to the Burned Lands, which led to Malefor's lair, Ignitus had sacrificed himself in the crossing. Spyro, overcome with grief, had turned into his dark form and tried to go back and save him but she had stopped and comforted him by telling him he was not alone and encouraged him to continue the journey because Ignitus wanted them to.
In the final confrontation with Malefor, the Dark Master had broken the mysterious green energy chain that had that tethered them together throughout their trials, and then corrupted her back to his cause. Cynder was thankful for the fact that she didn't remember much of her own dark form but did know that it had been broken by Spyro saying that without her there was nothing to fight for.
After that, Malefor had, angered by the turn of events, binded Spyro and her together once again to kill them both before beginning their battle in the air. As the two of them had flown, and fought against Malefor, the Destroyer had completed its circle, marking the end of the world. After another long and tiring fight with him, the trio had plummeted into the center of the earth as they continued their battle.
She and Spyro had overpowered the Dark Master with a combined Convexity Attack and knocked Malefor from the air. He had gotten back and proclaimed that he was eternal, unable to be defeated, only for him to be sealed away in the world's core by the spirits of the ancestors shortly after. The green energy chain had also finally disappeared from around their necks at last as its creators' influence faded away.
Cynder was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice Spyro walk up to her and begin to call her name. The Purple Dragon had broken out of his own sky watching and noticed the far away look on his fellow winged reptile's face. "Cynder? Are you alright?" he asked. When she didn't respond he waved a paw in front of her face. That finally seemed to bring her back into focus for she blinked several times and then shook her head.
"Sorry, Spyro," she replied. "I got distracted by my thoughts." And you, she added in silent afterthought. He smiled. "Understandable, I've had that happen to me when I'm contemplating something important. Ignitus said that it's a normal occurrence." "Well, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who goes off into the clouds every now and then." The pair laughed at her little conundrum before taking off into the sky.
As they soared over the Burned Lands, something immediately caught their attention. When they had first seen the landscape from up close, it had been a fiery, uninhabitable wasteland filled with lava streams and mini volcanoes. Now, nearly all of the volcanoes were gone and the lava streams had also settled to much more calmer flows. True the earth was still black but it was clearly a lighter shade than before.
"Tell me I'm not the only one seeing this?" Spyro asked as they paused to hover over the land below them. "You're not," Cynder replied. "What do you think caused this?" the Purple Dragon asked. "Maybe it was your powers?" the dragoness replied. "After all, you were destined to save the world." "Maybe that means more than I first thought?" Spyro continued. "Perhaps I didn't just heal the world, I remade it as well." "Well, let's find out."
The journey back to Warfang was interesting for the pair because the landscape of their planet had changed dramatically since they had last sene it. What they wanted to see more than anything else was what had happened to their friends and family in the time that they had been gone. "I hope everyone got into the tunnels alright," said Cynder, her voice filled with concern. "I'm sure they did Cynder, so don't worry," Spyro replied as they flew on.
"Besides, the Guardians have survived times like these before so we can count on their experience to believe that they made sure that everyone who could made it to safety," he added. "I suppose so," Cynder replied. Midday was approaching as the duo finally arrived back at the city. They stopped and hovered several arrow shots away to study it. "Doesn't seem that damaged since we left it," Cynder said observing the city from left to right.
"In fact it's already starting to look normal once again. Heck, some of it's changed completely." "We can probably thank both my powers and the moles for that," said Spyro. "Cyril did tell me that they were the best workers in the whole of Avalar one time. I think we'll get more answers when we land. Come on." And with that they flew on down towards the city, the wind whistling past their wings and the sunlight warming their scales.
It was a warmth that grew and grew as they made their way down towards the city. There was no sign of the army Malefor had sent to destroy the city of the siege engines that had been used to try and destroy the main gate. Even the great cannon that had been used to destroy the battering ram was standing in its pride of place atop the gatehouse, its polished gold and onyx form shining in the sun.
Warfang, also known as the Dragon City, was a massive settlement dedicated to the dragon race. The city sported many landmarks including many dragon statues and a grand library. Despite being a city made for dragons, it was mainly populated by the Moles who had built it. It had been nearly decimated by the resulting defence against Malefor's overwhelming army of Grublins and the Golem.
When the survivors had emerged from the tunnels they found that their world had not only healed but changed completely. The city was the first sign of that. It was now divided into five fifty foot high levels, each surrounded by high walls. The first wall, they quickly discovered, was built out of an unknown yet indestructible black stone. The gates connecting the levels did not lie behind one another in a line, but faced in alternating directions.
They either faced southeast or northeast, save for the first and fifth gates, which both faced east. A pinnacle of rock, the summit of which was level with the city's uppermost tier, jutted out from the front of the city in an easterly direction, dividing all but the first and sixth levels in two. Each separate level was scattered with many alleys, narrow passageways, and, in some cases, full-fledged houses.
On the sixth level, the largest building had been designated as a healing ward and was surrounded by pleasant gardens. Finally, also within the sixth wall, was the great Citadel of Warfang, with a mighty tower - three hundred feet high, so that its apex was one thousand feet above the plain. The citadel also contained armouries, barracks and mess halls as well as the residence of the Guardians, a council and feast hall.
Cyril the Ice Guardian smiled from the high window of the council building in which he sat as he watched the moles continuing to work on the patches of damage that had been caused by the siege launched by Malefor's troops, and the Larva Golem that had risen from the depths of the earth under the influence of the Dark Master himself. Since the Guardians had emerged, along with those who had gone with them into the caves beneath the great city for shelter, things had been joyful.
But as always work came before pleasure, and everyone knew that there was plenty of work to be done and they had got to doing it. Everyone had wanted to celebrate the fixing of the world and the defeat of Malefor, but this merriment was undermined by the fact that Spyro and Cynder had most likely perished in saving the world. This patch of sorrow had quickly grown and eventually nobody had felt like celebrating at all.
He turned as he heard the sound of pawsteps and buzzing wings behind him, and saw his fellow Guardians, and friends, Volteer the Guardian of Lightning and Terrador the Guardian of Earth, as well as Sparx the Dragonfly and Hunter the Cheetah coming towards him. Cyril simply nodded in greeting before he once again turned his gaze eastwards to the horizon as he scanned the skies for anything that might show that Spyro and Cynder were alive.
While the healing of the earth should have been a clear sign of this, he had his doubts. Terrador seemed to share his mood equally and even Volteer, who was usually a walking, talking thesaurus pretty much every time he opened his mouth during a conversation, held his tongue for once, as did Sparx who was also silent. While the dragonfly wasn't that particularly fond of Cynder, given her origins, he had to admit she had helped Spyro through difficult situations.
The Ice Guardian lowered his head and looked down at his paws his mind dark with the thought that even though the world had been saved, the ones who had saved it had sacrificed their lives to save them. Victory had been won, but at the greatest of costs. He raised his head again, and was about to turn so he could speak to those behind him when out of the corner of his eyes he suddenly saw two tiny specks appear in the distance, coming closer and closer towards the city.
"What in the name of all Avalar?" His voice roused the other four, breaking them out of their stupor. They followed his gaze upwards and they too see what he was looking at. For a few moments, the quartet just stared in complete wonder at the two dots as they came nearer and nearer, wondering who or what they were. And then... They saw it! They saw what they had lost all hope of ever seeing again.
In an instant the sun's rays of light shifted slightly and reflected off of something. Something. That. Was. Purple! It was only there for an instant, true, but it was all the conformation that they needed. There was only one dragon they knew that had purple scales. As they continued to watch, the two dots had now close enough to turn into specks. Then those specks came closer and turned into dull shapes, until finally they saw that who it was.
It was those who they thought they would never see again.
"IT'S SPYRO AND CYNDER!" Terrador roared in jubilation as the emptiness in their hearts disappeared instantly as immense joy filled its place. This cry was quickly echoed throughout the city as the citizens, who heard the roar of the Earth Guardian, also looked up and saw that the two heroes of Avalar had returned to them safe and sound after they had been thought to be dead at the paws and malice of the Dark Master.
As they came closer to the city, Spyro and Cynder had been amazed at how much it changed since the siege. Their wonder had quickly been replaced by joy when they heard the roar and smiled as they knew who it belonged. That clearly meant that if the Guardians were alive then so must everyone else. "Hear that, Cynder? They're cheering for us!" the purple dragon said happily as they glided over the city walls, the cheers of the citizens filling their ears.
Cynder nodded happily in immense elation as they continued on towards the citadel where the Guardians had been living both before and after their return. Slowly they set themselves down on the landing pad that they had used before when they had reunited with the Guardians after the battle for Warfang. "Do you think they're even here, Spyro?" Cynder asked, looking over at him.
"Spyro! Buddy!" came a cry from in front of them. A voice that was all too familiar. "That answer your question," the purple dragon replied with a smile before turning his gaze back to the entrance to the building. Sparx had appeared in the doorway and he dashed forward to hug Spyro's neck. "I'm glad to see you too, Sparx, and I missed you as well." The dragonfly then turned to Cynder and smiled.
"Good to see little Miss Cynder's still in one piece," he said. "Is that supposed to be a comment or an insult?" came the reply. "In truth, I have no idea," Sparx responded with a shrug. "Well, we, on another note, are very glad to see the both of you," said Cyril as he, Volteer and Terrador came out onto the scene. "It's good to see you all as well," said Spyro. "And what about me," came another familiar voice.
"Don't I get a "Hello" and a "How have you been?" as well then?" "Hunter!" The anthro male cheetah had arrived seemingly out of nowhere and had a big smile on his face as he came forward to greet the two heroes who hugged him, a motion he returned. After everyone had caught up and things were settled down, Cyril asked the one question that Spyro had been expecting, and dreading, the most.
"Where is Ignitus? He did not return to us from the Belt of Fire?" Spyro's face fell while his heart sank. "He... He died after he got us through to the Burned Lands." The other Guardians fell silent at this revelation and it too struck them hard and they too felt their hearts sink. Cyril shook his head as tears pricked at the edge of his eyes while Terrador and Volteer bowed their heads in sadness.
Eventually, the Earth Guardian spoke. "Spyro, everyone, there is no reason for us to feel pain over his loss. What he did was the right thing to save our world. So let us strengthen ourselves and weep no more." He looked at Spyro and Cynder. "If it weren't for him, you two would have never stopped Malefor. It was his sacrifice that led you both to achieve your victory over the Dark Master," said Terrador solemnly.
Fighting back his own tears, Spyro was embraced by the Earth Guardian. Cynder, Sparx and Hunter were filled with sorrow as well and moved forward to hug their friend as well. "Yes, we all know it hurts to lose someone you cared about, but never let his death overcome you. Always remember, that he will always be there for you. Always," said Terrador firmly as he held Spyro comfortingly.
"I know, Terrador. But I wish he was still here. To see the world as he wanted it to," said Spyro. "He will always be there for you, even if you don't see him," said the green dragon. "Thank you," said the Purple Dragon gratefully. "You are among your greatest friends, young dragon," added Cyril. "That's why we always have and always will be there for you, Spyro," said Cynder. At her words Spyro smiled.
They were right.
Although Ignitus was gone, there were still plenty others left to help him. There was Cynder who constantly stood by his side, Sparx, who had been with him from the very beginning and was willing to go with him wherever he went, Hunter, who had found and rescued them and was always ready to lend a hand, and finally there were the Guardians who had taught him everything he knew.
Spyro then felt his heart then rise. They were right. He was far from alone in this world. "My friends," said Spyro. "Yes, Spyro?" said Cynder. "Yeah?" asked Sparx. "What is it young dragon?" asked Volteer. Spyro then looked round at everyone, taking in their looks of anticipation. "Thank you... All of you. For being there for me no matter what," said Spyro. Everyone smiled, happy to see that their friend's spirits had returned.
"You are most welcome, Spyro," said Terrador. "Hear, hear," agreed Volteer. "You took the words right out of my mouth," said Cyril. Then Sparx spoke. "I'd hate to say this so soon Spyro, and I really hate to do this especially since Ignitus meant so much to you and all, but, I gotta go back home and make sure the folks are alright. We haven't seen them since we were imprisoned in that amber."
"You can go ahead and do that Sparx," Spyro said with a smile. "We've been away for so long and done so much, who knows what's happened since." "Well, I'll see you all soon." With that said, the dragonfly buzzed off towards the entrance. Before he went through, however, he stopped, turned back to face the group and pointed a stern finger at the pair and gave them a look of the same nature. "You two make sure to behave while I'm gone. You got that."
His words only took a few seconds to sink in.
"Sparx!" Spyro and Cynder both went red, which was surprising as Cynder's black scales made it hard for practically any other colour to show up on her face, as they realised just what he was talking about. Their embarrassment was only fueled further as the former's adoptive brother left, laughing his head, while the Guardians and Hunter also broke down into peels of amusement at the sight of the pair that stood before them all.
"Ok! Ok! I think we've had our humor for the day," said Terrador mirthfully. Cyril nodded in agreement as he finally calmed down. "Oh, by the Ancestors, I needed that!" the ice dragon said as he recovered. "Now then, I suppose you too will want something to eat, drink and a comfortable place to rest and relax until further notice?" he said to the two younger dragons who both nodded eagerly in agreement.
As if on cue, at the mention of getting some food, their stomach's suddenly rumbled in a sharp reminder that they hadn't eaten anything since going to confront Malefor in his volcanic fortress. They smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, that would be nice," said Spyro and Cynder nodded in agreement. "Well, if that's all, I think we can supply the lot," grinned the Ice Guardian. "Lead on," invited Spyro.
Taking this as his que, Cyril turned and walked towards the entrance and the others followed him. "We can hold a funeral for Ignitus later on once you are ready for it," said Terrador. "In the meantime, I think it's time for a celebration! In honor of Spyro the Purple Dragon and Cynder!" said Volteer grandly. "There will be time for celebrations and the like later, Volteer. First, we have to attend to the young dragons here," said Terrador.
Later that night everyone in Warfang gathered in the citadel for the funeral of the Fire Guardian, Ignitus. All of the citizens, dragons, moles, elves, and more. Even Chief Prowlus and the rest of his village came to the funeral to pay their respects. All were saddened by the loss of Ignitus, but they knew that he would forever be remembered by both themselves and all who would come after them.
A memorial had been built to honor the late fire dragon. It consisted of a huge slab of marble stone with a bronze figure of Ignitus on a mini-pyramid of four more slabs of marble. It had two pillars that each had a fire on top of them standing on either side. Intricate patterns of red gold in the shape of flames circled their way up the columns like vines. In front of the memorial was a fire pit itself that had not yet been lit. The marble stone had writing etched in on its surface that ran as follows:
In memory of the noble Fire Guardian Ignitus
Who gave his life so the Purple Dragon Spyro could achieve in his legendary quest to defeat Malefor, the Dark Master
Although his spirit had passed on to the afterlife, he shall always be remembered as a teacher, a friend, and a brother
As long as this fire burns until the end of time, all we know that he keeps an eternal vigilance over Avalar and all its inhabitants
When the Guardians, along with Spyro, Cynder and Hunter appeared, everyone went quiet. The funeral had begun. Spyro and the others walked up to the memorial and turned to face everyone. Hunter made to go and stand alongside his people but was immensely surprised when Prowlus motioned for him to join the five dragons at the front. The warrior gave his leader a grateful nod and rejoined the quintet.
He knew that while his chief was strict, strong and very leery he was willing to admit his wrongdoings. Furthermore, he had led both his tribe and more of the Free Peoples of Avalar into battle against Malefor's army outside the city walls before following the Guardians into the tunnels for safety. When Hunter had next seen him again, the older cheetah had, and currently still did, his left arm in a sling. Not even he had escaped without injury.
During their confinement, the pair had agreed to deal with their differences once the world was back at peace. All thoughts of peace left the minds of those gathered as Terrador took a step forward and cleared his throat to get their attention. "Everyone. We are gathered here tonight to honor the memory of our lost friend and ally, Ignitus the Fire Guardian. Who gave his own life in order for the new Purple Dragon to succeed in his destiny to stop Malefor.
And now that the war is over, we may look to a future of peace and prosperity. Ignitus himself made the most honorable sacrifice of all. This fire shall remain burning for all time, a memorial to our fallen friend. And he shall not be forgotten. Before we light it, the Purple Dragon himself, Spyro, wants to say a few words." The Earth Guardian stood aside as Spyro, who was feeling more than a little nervous, moved forward.
"Everyone... There are little to no words to describe this moment. I know you probably don't know Ignitus as much as I did. Before I met him, I didn't even know who I was, nor how special I was. But when I met him, I didn't just learn who I was, he told and taught me everything I needed to know. He taught me how to fight and how to defend both myself and to protect those whom I care about from harm.
When I learned that I was a dragon, I've always wanted to find my real parents. But during my travels, I never did. However, every time that I was with Ignitus, I felt like I was home. He... was the closest thing I ever had for a father. He took care of me, helped me, mentored me, and even saved my life on occasion. But when he was gone, in the Belt of Fire, I was broken. I lost the only one that was close to being my real family. It... killed me to see him gone."
Spyro closed his eyes and lowered his head. Cynder immediately moved forward to stand beside him, as did Hunter. As the crowd heard Spyro's speech, everyone had different reactions. Some did the same as the purple dragon, others shedded tears. Even Chief Prowlus, despite his misgivings, had tears in his eyes. After a few minutes, the young dragon opened his eyes and continued his speech.
"But I know now that, even though he sacrificed himself to get me and Cynder through, it gave us the chance to get to Malefor and stop him from completely destroying our world. His sacrifice... led us to victory," said Spyro. He then looked up at the starry sky, where a dragon constellation had appeared, shimmering in the inky blackness. "Ignitus, I know you are out there somewhere right now.
I want to let you know that I thank you for everything you have done for me. For all of us here. And I know you will always be there for me, even if I can't see you," said Spyro. The Guardians and everyone all smiled proudly at what the Purple Dragon said. Spyro then looked out over the crowd. "This day does not belong to one being but to all who stood against the shadow of evil. Let us together rebuild this world so that we may share it in the long days of peace."
For a moment silence reigned. Then, suddenly, a slowl, rhythmic sound was heard from somewhere in the crowd. Everyone looked to see that Meadow, the healer of the Cheetah Village, was clapping in response. At first it was just him but then more and more of those gathered joined him until, at last, the whole room erupted into a chorus of applause and cheers. Spyro smiled and bowed, basking in the praise.
Once things had quietened down, Terrador then turned to Hunter and nodded at him in a given signal. The latter nodded back and, picking up a lighted torch froma nearby pedestal, he carried it over to the memorial and lowered it down to the fire pit, igniting the wood gathered there. As the fire started to crackle it slowly started to turn from orange to red to gold. As one, everyone then bowed down in front of the shrine, including the Guardians, Hunter, Cynder, and Spyro.
Silence settled over everyone in the city.
After a minute, everyone got into a single line and approached the memorial to pay their respects. One by one, they placed exotic flowers next to the base of the marble slab and walked slowly away. Some said words while others whispered a blessing. Spyro was the last of them. But his gift of respect was different. It was a Spirit Gem from the city's treasury. But instead of putting it down alongside the flowers, he walked up to the fire pit itself.
He said something that others couldn't hear before he dropped the Spirit Gem into the fire. At first nothing happened until a starry blue mist began to manifest itself from the gem and swirled itself up into the air and into the sky. Everyone watched it as it disappeared into the night sky. Then, a voice was heard. It was the voice of Spyro chanting verses. A song for his mentor.
Spyro: Oh, misty eye of the mountain below
Keep careful watch of my families' souls
And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke
Keep watching over Avalar's sons
(Spyro paused before continuing.)
If this is to end in fire
Then we should all burn together
Watch the flames climb high into the night
(Cynder came up to stand beside him on his right.)
Cynder: Calling out mentor
Stand by and we will
Watch the flames burn on and on
The mountain side,
And if we should die tonight
Then we should all die together
Raise a glass of wine for the last time
Calling out mentor
Prepare as we will
(Hunter joined the pair and kneeled down before placing a hand across Spyro's right shoulder. This action made the purple dragon look from one of his friends to the other and all three smiled at each other.)
Hunter: Watch the flames burn on and on
The mountain side
Desolation comes upon the sky
Spyro: Now I see fire
Inside the mountain
And I see fire
Burning the trees
And I see fire
Hollowing souls
And I see fire
Blood in the breeze
(The Guardians smiled as they witnessed the three friends before they stepped forward to stand behind them.)
Cyril: And I hope that you remember me
Oh, should my people fall
Then surely I'll do the same
Terrador: Confined in mountain halls
We got too close to the flame
Calling out for new hope
Cynder: Hold fast and we will
Watch the flames burn on and on
The mountain side
Volteer: Desolation comes upon the sky
Now I see fire
Inside the mountain
Cyril: And I see fire
Burning the trees
And I see fire
(The voices of the five dragons the single cheetah reverberated all around the memorial. Footsteps made them look round to see Chief Prowlus and Meadow appear on Cynder's left.)
Prowlus: Hollowing souls
And I see fire
Blood in the breeze
And I hope that you remember me
Meadow: And if the night is burning
I will cover my eyes
For if the dark returns
Then my brothers will die
Cynder: And as the sky is falling down
It crashed into this lonely town
And with that shadow upon the ground
I hear my people screaming out
Hunter: Now I see fire
Inside the mountains
I see fire
Burning the trees
Volteer: I see fire
Hollowing souls
I see fire
Blood in the breeze
Cyril: I see fire
Oh you know I saw a city burning out
And I see fire
Terrador: Feel the heat upon my skin, yeah (fire)
And I see fire (fire)
And I see fire burn on and on the mountain side
Spyro: (Quietly) And I hope that you'll remember me...
Silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire, was all that followed.
Songwriters: Edward Christopher Sheeran/Ed Sheeran
I See Fire Lyrics (C) United Lion Music
