Chapter 8: Dragon's Learning Together
This was all too new for Asher, for his whole life he walked alongside mercs on missions both good and bad. Hunting people or taking things, and maybe even burning things to the ground. This was an all new experience for him, walking among his fellow dragons and an honorable Avalarian. And these dragons had new ideas to share, things Asher needed to know about himself and the dragon race themselves. All the things he was kept away from, it was time for the black dragon to learn.
First they needed to break the ice before they actually made it inside and to the archives. Asher was kept away from fellow dragons, and the life of the mercenary was all he knew. So they needed to offer him something new try, live like a dragon, see if honor was his thing. See if he was as strong as they have heard from his hidden missions, an already skilled dragon was a fascinating one. Cyril had to study the black dragon, see where he compared to Cynder.
"So… Being among mercenaries your whole life, eh? Must be quite a tough guy world for you to lead,"Volteer decided to be the one to break the silence and stir up a conversation among dragons,"What's it like to live among these Alphas? Hunter says they're sort of mediocre in skill."
"Is that right? Well like I said to Hunter. You haven't seen them when they're sober."Asher made that point clear with the dragons like he did with Hunter.
"Really? Mercenaries of respectable skill? I'll need to see it before I believe it."Terrador needed to be honest about what he believed to be the common trait of a merc.
"And why exactly are you actually walking on two legs? That looks awfully uncomfortable,"Volteer admitted the moment he witnessed an actual dragon on his two back legs for the first time,"Did those brutes force you to walk like that?"
"Not sure if you would call It force. After all it turned out to be pretty helpful in a tight situation,"Asher defended his second nature form of walking,"Plus now my claws don't get as dirty, and I can enjoy a more clean meal."
"Hmm… Never thought of it that way…"Terrador admitted to only himself as they finally made it inside the palace.
"Look… You guys messaged me here, wanted to chat, wanted to help me find my sister,"Asher was not one for too much small talk, he was here to finally learn,"You fought alongside her, and you helped her and this Spyro defeat Malefor. Please…! I wanna know about her…"
"To the point, are we? The journey to find her will be very long and require much patience,"Cyril warned and felt a tense urge of aggression growing in Asher,"You'll need to exercise patience if you want to find her."
"Exercise patience? You're going to tell that to a guy who's been looking for her since since he was young?"Asher questioned right back, not liking the idea of being told to wait on finding Cynder.
"Things take time, young dragon. There are things you need to learn, things about the world that you must know,"Cyril defended the requirements Asher needed for his search,"It won't take too long to learn, think of this as preparations for-"
Asher silenced Cyril by stomping and coming to a cold stop full of silence. First they call him young dragon, they talk down to him like a child, and now they seem to already deem themselves his masters. Acting as if Asher needed to follow their rules and regulation, not in their life or his. He slapped his tail down in defiance, refusing to go any further if he was going to be talked down to like this. So far it seems like they underestimate him, or they see him as the innocent student Spyro.
"Lets get something straight here before I go any further…! I'm not some young child, so don't call me young,"Asher slowly crossed his arms and flicked and whipped around with aggression,"And I'm not some school boy with half a dozen books tumbling out of my arms. I'm here to learn a few things and be on my way to find my sister, nothing more!"
"Asher…! At least try to show some restraint and respect while among the guardians…!"Hunter insisted, hoping for a peaceful resolve, rather than a heated one.
"So I'd appreciate if you stopped acting like school's in session. I'm a grown dragon with a lost sister out there,"Asher approached them, hardening his mind and throwing up his defenses to meet the guardians face to face,"If you wanna show me some tricks, fine! But all I'm here for is a couple points in the right direction and whatever info you can offer, after that, I'd like you to move out of the way!"
"Hmph… This should be expecting by someone raised by mercs… We will see if you're ready to leave…!"Terrador remained calm minded, but did feel a need to keep his guard up, now that Asher was proving to be testy when his patience was thin.
"Though I suppose we should remember you're full grown dragon. And you never agreed to be our student."Volteer added to help lighten the mood of things.
"But if you wish to learn this info you will need. You must exercise patience…Asher…!"Cyril decided to try giving a bit to Asher, when he got pass the yelling, Asher's requests weren't all that unreasonable.
"Hey! Sorry I was late! I had uh…not sleeping things to do around the palace,"Suddenly the bright shining dragon fly himself flew down to say hi to the group,"So I heard the twin himself finally showed up and made himself at home…! I wanted to come down and see him for myself!"
"Greetings Sparx, and yes, Asher has arrived to Warfang."Cyril responded as Sparx floated around them.
"Asher huh? That's not too different of a name from Cynder, you know they both have a thing to do with fire and ash,"Sparx trailed off and floated pass them without realizing where he was floating,"I guess it makes sense since they're both twins, so they need to be related in some ways-"
Sparx did not look where he was flying, thanks to his impressive chatty nature. So it was barely a surprise when he bumped right into the snout of the black dragon himself. He grabbed at Asher's snout and collected himself when his breath got knocked out a bit, that's when he met eye to eye with Asher. The dragon stood there looking a bit confused, this was his first time seeing a sentient dragon fly. So he was in for a surprise when Sparx started chatting it up with him.
"Whoa! Talk about Cynder two point zero! This guy really is the real deal,"Sparx exclaimed and backed off to get a better look at this black dragon,"It's like Cynder if she had more spikes on her jaws and her wrists…! Also if she ate nothing but steak and chicken six times a day!"
"Who's this giant fruit fly?"Asher questioned, seeing as the dragon fly was ready to throw some judgment on his looks out there.
"Whoa…! Someone definitely has his sister's bad attitude. You know? Back when she was working for the bad guy,"Sparx decided to compare Asher's sour mood to Cynders cynical one when she was a servant to Malefor,"And look how that turned out? Got taken down by me and Spyro, and probably never got over it in her ow-"
Suddenly Sparx's big mouth got him into trouble once again, he was suddenly grabbed tight. Trapped in the large claws of the steaming dragon who already found irritation in the dragon fly. He was a profound talker and quite the trash talker it seemed, the same kind of people he silenced for coin.
"You know what else I can do like her back in those times? Incinerate big mouth pests that are all bark and no bite!"steam and embers grew in his jaws as fire threaten to come out of his mouth.
"You know this doesn't help your case whe-… Ok ok easy with the fire big fella!"Sparx muffled through the tight squeeze he was in, and started panicking when he saw the fires growing.
"Enough of this! Release the brother of Spyro, immediately!"Terrador demanded that Asher do the respectable thing and relinquish his grasp on Sparx.
"This bug is the brother of Spyro? Color me skeptic."Asher had some issues buying the idea that a legend's brother was a mere dragon fly.
"Well I am…! And crushing me isn't going to help your journey if you were to go find her,"Sparx gagged and struggled to squeeze free from his capture's grasp,"So you mind letting me go? You won't find her or my brother if you crush me to pieces…!"
"You better be telling the truth about that, for your sake, insect…!"Asher slowly released the dragon fly, letting him stretch his wings and flex his arms.
"Enough! Now please, follow me Asher. The rest of the group have some preparations to do for today,"Cyril insisted that Asher went with him so the others could work on something a bit more important,"I have some things to show you in my study. You'll want to listen and learn…"
"Very well… Lead on then, ice dragon."Asher agreed and followed Cyril to his study, leaving the rest of the group behind.
This left the other two guardians to give their first hand opinions on Asher. Sparx already had his opinion, he was no different or less insufferable than Cynder was with him. Hunter however felt their opinions were simply because this was possibly their first time dealing with a young but full grown dragon, not a teenaged or very young dragon.
"He's undisciplined, and not very respectful. He tries to distance himself from us, not at all interested in knowing his own kind."Terrador finally came out and said what he thought about the black dragon.
"Well Cynder wasn't all that different too, aside from being a bit more respectful and humble with her mistakes,"Volteer pointed out a bit more clearly about the black dragon and his similarities with Cynder,"Perhaps we should also remember that this dragon is full grown, not a youngling by any means. He's lived a full life to this point and has accepted his own views and ways."
"Ugh… This is why we only agreed to train YOUNG dragons…"Terrador still felt a bit upset that a dragon like Asher wasn't like most dragons they once knew.
"Try not to lose faith, guardians. Asher may appear to be a bit hardened and not the most respectful,"Hunter decided to make his case about the faith he had for Asher,"But he has passion in him, I've seen how he can be. And I know he wants nothing more than to see the only family he has left."
"I do hope so… Cyril sees some very dangerous things that will stand in his path…!"Terrador warned of an unknown danger that was lurking between Asher and Cynder.
Meanwhile, Asher followed Cyril out of the hallway and into a small dark room. It was another hall, but a lot smaller with torches lighting the path up to some degree. He had a feeling this palace would have some secrets and things to share with him, and it's size would fit his need for exploration. He looked to Cyril, not knowing what to expect from this much older ice dragon. For all he knew, they could be planning to capture him and do who knows what with the only other black dragon in the world.
They both then went through a door at the very end of the very long hallway. In the next room there was a spiral stair case, and that meant a whole lot of steps to walk up. Thankfully his cardio was top notch, but that only traded one issue for another, what to expect at the end. So they walked up the stairs, it was longer than it felt at first, it didn't hit him until halfway up. At least there were windows for him to look out to see that they were ascending up one of the towers.
The higher they went the more of the gold and red city of stone he could see. It was quite the impressive city indeed, he had to give it to the other dragons for that. Together that city was made by both them and the moles, and remained an unstoppable and nearly impenetrable city. The view was becoming a bit worth while, but just as he was starting to enjoy himself. That's when Cyril chimed in with some small talk, interrupting Asher's train of thought.
"Not sure if I should start with the basic things… You clearly done your home work on Cynder and Spyro,"Cyril started out as he looked to the door they were soon approaching,"Spyro was the pupil we trained that cleansed Cynder of the darkness and freed her from Malefor."
"Yeah… Don't worry, I'll do my best to sprinkle in a thank you for being there for her."Asher sighed, remembering the tale of Spyro the purple dragon, destroyer of Malefor,"Has… Has he been good to her as far as you know?"
"Far as we know, they have become inseparable. They both set out to find you ten years ago,"Cyril and Asher came to the door, and the ice dragon slowly opened it with a ice cold touch of his claw to the lock,"And it began after she paid us a long awaited visit."
"And she told you that she was looking for me?"Asher asked before they both went into Cyril's abode for learning.
"There's more to it than just that…"Cyril remarked before they both got a gander at the library like room.
Cyril always knew this place as his area for learning and foreseeing oncoming events. But this was all too new and interesting for Asher, the books, the gizmos for memorizing and learning. This was more than an upgrade from what the Cheetah town offered, he felt the urge to explore.
"Feel free to look around a bit. There's something I need to retrieve…"Cyril informed and walked on to search for a little something to give to the black dragon.
Asher took the advantage he was given to walk off and explore this massive library. There were many books, that was to be expected of course since this seemed to be a library. He tapped a globe and then made it spin with a push of his claw it spun for the longest time as he moved towards the books. Scoping them out to see any book of interest, he made it through one shelf without interest. Most of what he saw so far he already knew of, from the origins of the dragons, to Malefor the dark master.
Then he noticed a book that looked a bit more newer than half of the others, still had a bit of dust on it. So he took it out and dusted the book off before reading the title, it seemed to be a book about Spyro. He read the basic things on the purple dragon before, but this seemed to speak of his training and his abilities. As well as the feats he conquered using these abilities, now Asher was interested. He opened it up, and began to read, learning the extent and complexities of the purple dragon.
The mighty purple dragon, only one had existed before Spyro's time. And all we ever knew was fear for it, then Spyro's time had come. Like the dark one himself, this purple dragon's ability to learn and gain power had no limits, everything became his own to command. Ice… Fire… Electricity… Earth… He could learn it all, much like Malefor himself.
He silently read, and felt great surprise to hear that all Spyro could use four natural elemental abilities. Fire, ice, lightning and earth, Spyro mastered all of these powers. But of course this went much deeper than he knew, realizing that Spyro could have easily become like Malefor. After all, with so much power at his disposal, how could one not be consumed by it.
For some… We feared Spyro, for he was the purple dragon that the dark master was. The dark dragon Cynder once witnessed the dark side of Spyro, a dark form brought forth by sorrow, grief, anguish, and anger. Yet he went on to be our savior, when a darker but more awarding path was offered to him. He purified Cynder the black dragon with his unique enchantments, defeated Malefor, and used his magic to repair the entire planet itself, even if it meant he could die.
"So… It's not what you are that defines what you will be… It's what you choose,"Asher saw a lesson from these two paragraphs alone, and they started to make him think a bit,"Props to you ya gold hearted purple SOB… So… Does this mean I could have just chose to not be a mercenary?"
"I found it! This will be your greatest aid on the search that awaits you."Cyril once again interrupted his train of thought and got his nose out of the book.
He closed the book up and slowly put it away with a sigh before walking to the guardian. In the ice dragon's claws there rested a very tiny ruby that glimmered like a small red star. He stood before the guardian, and looked to the tiny ruby, not understanding it's purpose.
"Place this gem into the bracelet and your sister's path will be revealed."Cyril stated while Asher was hesitate to take the gem.
"What do you mean, her path will be revealed?"He asked while very slowly reaching out and taking the ruby from Cyril.
Cyril did not answer, instead from out of the blue, he gestured Asher to follow him. While Asher slipped the ruby into the bracelet, the ice dragon took the lead and made for a balcony. Asher looked up from making sure the gem was in nice and tight before noticing where they were walking. Glass doors were pushed open and they walked out onto the tower's balcony. There, Cyril froze for a moment and let his wings spread wide and full of freedom before looking to Asher.
"I'm going to show you how he gem works. Just try to keep up now…!"He teased and suddenly leaped over the railing to take flight down the tower.
Asher hyped himself up with confusion, and ran for the ledge to pursue the dragon. He vaulted over and quickly spread his wings to start pursuing the ice dragon down the tower. Hid vision narrowed to the guardian, making sure that he did not lose Cyril during the flight. Quickly the ice dragon pulled up and flew towards the large stone landing strip, So Asher followed. Cyril looked back and saw Asher quickly catching up to him, the audacity of youth never cease to amaze him.
So for a scenic route, Cyril took the young black dragon around the edges of the strip. Flying at full steam to enjoy the strong sky wind rolling off his ancient scales and through his wings. They quickly made a sharp turn around the circular curve of the strip, Asher mirrored Cyril in kind. But once he had made the turn, he was the only one to notice a little wall flower up against the wall of the strip. Cyril kept his head forward while Asher and the climber locked eyes for a moment, recognizing themselves as old comrades.
"Leo?"He thought, recognizing the bow that belonged to only the best archer he knew.
"There he is… Watch your front, fool!"Leo quickly yelled and jumped to the side to hide away from any other eyes.
Asher quickly looked back to his front, an barely manage to make a sharp right. Avoiding a wing breaking slam to the side of the wall, he slowed down and saw Cyril make some distance between each other. Quickly the black dragon realigned himself and shot towards the guardian once more. Letting some of his enchanted and abnormal speed be his guide in the pursuit. This allowed him to fly as fast as the great gales of wind themselves, it took no time at all to catch up to Cyril.
He even slowly got in front of Cyril and decided to kick back, flying backwards. Cyril was astonish to witness one of Asher's abilities in use, his speed was more than he expected. Volteer was a fast dragon as well, but this was a first to see a fast flying dragon without electricity as an ability.
"I'm keeping up! How about you?"Asher bragged a bit before Cyril silently chuckled.
"We're going for the hallway where we first met!"Cyril warned before Asher flipped over and flew forward again.
"What's waiting for us there?"He asked before they approached the door.
"A place to test the ruby, and begin the path…"Cyril answered before they both came in for a landing.
They both came to a soft landing at the door, Asher let out a deep breath from the exhilarating flight. He brushed himself off while Cyril shook himself off, it had been awhile since he had a high octane flight. How he longed to be the youthful dragon he once was, just like Asher.
"You nearly steered off course. What happened back there?"Cyril asked and Asher looked away for a second to think about what to say.
"I thought I saw something on the wall, it distracted me… I steered straight again though."Asher decided not to rat Leo out since he did help Asher stay flying straight.
"Fair enough, we are reentering the main hall, and we're going to test the ruby out,"Cyril explained before slowly opening the doors and guiding Asher inside,"Stand in the middle of the hall and raise the bracelet into the air. This will allow you to witness the words we shared with Cynder before she left."
"Really? So this is… Like some sort of key to seeing past events?"Asher thought as he looked to his bracelet.
"Correct, and since this belonged to Cynder. It is following her past events and the path she took after she left…"Cyril explained further before Asher slowly raised the bracelet to the air to let it do it's business.
"Then let's give this thing a world…!"Asher decided before the ruby began to sparkle and crackle with sharp static.
He watched as the ruby in bed itself on the top of the bracelet and made his arm rumble. They a little glittering light suddenly shot out of the gem and floated to the middle of the hall. Before it then grew bright white and red, exploding with great light that coated the room in glittering images. As if it was then coated in small crystals, turning the hall into a crystal cave. Once the stage was set, then the images of the bracelets owner appeared as she did ten years ago.
Along with all the dragons and even the dragon fly she spoke with, Cyril remembered it well. She entered the building, and of course, Sparx was there to greet her after a long time. She immediately found herself mused by the greeting, Sparx was always a bit of an irritable talker. Judging by her behavior, Asher could tell her and Sparx did in fact have a history together. But he was more distracted on actually seeing her, as she spoke the very same words she did before.
"He and I were taken by Gaul under the orders of Malefore...! I'm remembering more and more of it as I go. For some reason, my brother was sealed within a prison of amber. Malefore chose not to do to him what he did to me."
Slowly Asher approached and started to circle around the conversation continued on. As she spoke of Malefor imprisoning him and using him to corrupt her, it was a bit infuriating to hear this. Then she admitted that she had returned to the lair to find him, but Asher was already in Cheetah town by then.
"And did you find him…?"
"No… Only his egg shells… He had to have hatched, so me and Spyro are leaving to find him. And we were hoping to request some help from all of you… He's out there somewhere. And I want to see if you will keep an eye out for him."
"Of course we can look out for him, Cynder! Just the thought that there's another young dragon only means so much more hope for our people. A dragon like you helping to grow back our world would be an absolute boom to the dragon realm, the only concerns we have is what he might be like if he was in your presence as an egg during your time with Gaul. He may very well be scarred mentally or even insane from what he retained as an egg."
After the exchange of words between Cyril, Cynder and Volteer, this made him reflect a bit. He wasn't crazy, but he still did some pretty bad things growing up among mercenaries. It still upset him to hear that Volteer believed him to potentially be a danger to the world after what had happened. But all he really cared about was the point to this past event he was seeing, as he reached out to her. As she turned away to actually contemplate that possibility.
"We will keep an eye out, but be prepared if things might not go the way you hope, Cynder…"
This allowed for more deep thinking to take place, Asher felt worried for her. He thought that might actually put the damper on her spirit and desire to find him, but then it happened. She stubbornly refused to give up on this personal endeavor and continue to go about the search.
"Me and Spyro are going to search for him regardless… If he's alive out there, we will find him. But if you're able to find him… Make sure he gets this… As a symbol of our freedom…"
Asher watched for a moment as she surrendered the bracelet that was now on his arm. He then looked to the bracelet with so much more content and care, understanding it's meaning a little bit more. She explained it's meaning of freedom from Malefor, and he nodded in response to her words.
"We understand… We will keep our eyes vigilant for any signs of your twin… Is there…anything we could tell him if we do…?"
The doors were opened, and it looked like she was about to leave without words. Then she stopped right in front of Asher, looking forward as if she was now looking at him. Silence took over as they both stared into each other's eyes, this built up a great burn of weird feelings in his heart. To see her this close, desperate to find him, it made Asher reach out to her again. His claws went through her, but all that derailed the moment she finally voiced some final words.
"Tell him… If he wants to find me… He just has to do this..."
Asher leaned in close to hear the key to finding her, as if she was meaning to say it directly to him.
"Follow me…!"
With this sudden message delivered, she calmly walked away from the group. She looked back one more time and exited the palace before sprouting her wings to take off. The black dragoness took to the sky no longer looking back, on her way to find the only family she truly had. While that very family was now watching her leave, until the gem's illusion disappeared. The lights and images vanished, and the light that caused it returned to the ruby itself, Asher was left in a somewhat solemn mood.
He looked to the bracelet, and raised it to his front before the ruby glowed once more. He let out a deep breath and watched several rays of light shine through the sides of the gem. Before they both came together to form a blinding red column of light that focused in the very same direction she took flight in. After a moment of assessment, he nodded, for this gem was showing him the way. At the same time, Asher understood the meaning behind her words, follow the path she took.
"I get it now… I need to follow where she went to find me, right?"Asher admitted and Cyril slowly nodded, for they understood everything Cynder meant that day.
"Yes… That conversation wasn't just for us, but it was for you as well. She was hoping you'd hear the message,"Cyril explained and grasped the bracelet to show Asher a little bit closer,"You missed our final words, but when she looked back. We showed her this, and she was made aware that her message would be carried on. When she left, a clear path was made for you to follow."
"Sort of like a scavenger hunt through past events? A bit of a new game for me, but doable."Asher remained confident regardless of the different sort of journey it appeared that he would be going on.
"You could say that, but there will be dangers on this path… We've seen these threats,"Cyril warned before gesturing Asher to follow him once more after getting an eerie feeling,"Monsters, old enemies, fiends, and worse… They're all obstacles in your path."
"And like obstacles before all this, they will fall and die to me…! No one will stop me!"Asher showed the very same determination Cynder showed before departing for the search.
"Those are some bold words, but that will only get you so far. Your skills have yet to be determined,"Asher slowly looked to Cyril, it sounded like his strength was being questioned,"You may be confident, but we need to be sure that you are ready. You may be a grown dragon, but you are still young."
"And because I'm a young dragon, it means I'm too weak? Say what you wish, but know I'm ready to prove all of you wrong!"Asher challenged that thought and cracked a tight fist to back up the defense.
"If that is true, then you won't mind showing us what you can do, and prove it…!"Cyril accepted that challenge as they continued on down the hall towards a studded red door.
"You saying you want to challenge me in some sort of arena or battleground?"Asher asked before they finally came upon the large door before a chuckle left Cyril.
"Something like that."That was Cyril's simple answer before he started opening the doors.
Both doors were slow to be opened, even as Asher decided to assist the older dragon. Once the doors had finally entered, he could already tell where this challenge was really going. They were now staring into a large round room, there were large red columns holding up a roof with an opening in it. Letting the sun shine down upon a round ring with sand and earth for ground. The ring itself was a respectably large area, plenty of room for flying and letting power unleash a bit.
That would be required, seeing as Volteer and Terrador were standing right before the ring. Hunter sat to the side, looking to Asher and Cyril, knowing why they were now here. Asher did find interest in what was now clearly a challenge of combat between himself and the guardians. This meant he couldn't pull any punches, as confident as he was, these dragons were experienced. And the Alphas always warned him of the dangers of fighting older and more experienced foes.
"I'm guessing you already know why you are here, now?"Terrador asked while Asher slowly crossed his arms.
"Yeah… Apparently I need to kick your tails all over the place before you agree that I'm ready to leave,"Asher answered and got a chalenging chuckle out of Terrador for his bold statement,"So which tail am I kicking first? The hard one? The chatty one? Or the cold one?"
"I think I will be more than enough for you?"Terrador already volunteered to be the one to fight Asher, eager to put the younger dragon in his place.
"Indeed, all though, it's actually because Terrador would be perfect for testing the strength abilities you possess,"Volteer explained, but changed his mind a bit when the eyes darted at him for being techinical,"But… Anything is allowed to go in this friendly sparring if you wish. Let's just remember to be good sports about this…!"
"Right… Age before beauty then, big green."Asher decided that Terrador would go first and he'd follow him into the arena.
"Very well… Cocky young dragon…!"Terrador agreed and turned to enter the ring first before Asher followed in kind.
They all watched as the two entered the sands of the ring in complete silence. All accept for Sparx, who returned with a bag of buttered up butterflies for a nice snack to go with the battle. He cheered before finding a spot on a wood beam right under the roof, this would be exciting for him.
"Alright! Let's see if the big bad black dragon can back up all that talk he's got!"Sparx cheered and took a tiny handful of butterflies to eat.
"At last, we get to see what you're truly made of, Asher. I want to see it and remember it true,"Hunter insisted while failing to notice another secret onlooker spying from the edge of the roof opening,"It's been a long time since two dragon's fought each other like this…!"
"Show me how far you've truly come Asher…! Let's see your power truly show…!"Leo watched from the roof's edge as Asher and Terrador went to both ends of the ring to stare each other down.
Next time, I'll try my best to make this kind of battle something special to remember. Hope to entertain you all, and hope to do a good job of making this story epic for all of you. Time to prove how far one will go and how hard one will fight to find something or someone special. Stay awesome every one.