Chapter 12:The Time Is Near
From that point on, Asher had the drive he needed, and the training grew easier as time passed. Once he had found his drive and peace of mind with Cyril, his fire began to rise. The black dragon was more focused than ever, breathing down a small stream of fire as best as he could. Alongside Terrador he was now finally showing promise, flames were coming out and burning hot. While pillars rose around the guardian, hoping to promote Asher to go even further and bigger.
Asher collapsed, losing his breath as he fell onto all fours with completely winded lungs. He tried to breath deeply and slowly to recover, as he witnessed Terrador's manipulation over stone. Large pillars raising all around him while a ring filled with pebbles and rocks spiraled around him. He was the epitome of a dragon that was at peace with his nature element, and a master of it. That proved to be quite the challenge to keep up with, but Asher now had a secret weapon.
With one last breath, he slowly looked to his right arm to see the photo of Cynder. Thanks to Cyril, it was frozen to his forearm where Asher would always see it, and find his heart for the journey. He slowly turned his head and stared at the photo, looking to his sister as she stood elegantly in the sunlight. Her darkness fading away from the light that Spyro himself showed her. Now it was Asher's turn to rise and become strong enough for the journey that awaited him.
So he slowly stood back up and relinquished everything he was feeling from that one glance of the photo. He took a strong deep breath in, thinking of Cynder, putting her in his mind to warm his heart. He clutched his claws and breathed out with all the lung power he could. With this strong breath came fire, great fire, it streamed out like the fire of a true fire dragon, and it burned so hot. It's heat radiated like the sun, enough to shine and cook the very stone beneath their feet.
The fire bashed against the sand and dirt, scorching it all to black and crispy. As the flames spread and rolled like tiny waves across the grounds, threatening to peel red paint from the wood of pillars. Finally, Asher lifted his head up to raise the fire towards the sky and wave it around. Letting flames fly through the sky, symbolizing the triumphant victory of a true dragon. Terrador nodded and continued with his own show of nature, only for the center of the roof to suddenly come down.
The roof remained partially intact but smashed up some good dust and dirt clouds. This was all thanks to a misdirected wave of the flame that immediately crumbled and scorched the red pillars. They went black and fell apart to embers, forcing sections of the roof to come tumbling down. What wasn't completely destroyed was smoking, proving that there was still some work to do. He was starting to harness his fire, but now another requirement was needed, he needed some self control.
And with some easy flow through a spirit freeing dance, he would surely get it. He danced free on all fours, as he mimicked the movements of Volteer, and once again the guardian showed his talent. Letting lightning circulating and coiling around the electric dragon, knowing who was in control. This was a bit difficult to accept with humility, seeing such a chatty dragon display such power. Normally annoying people were not known for such abilities and power over elements.
This was embarrassing, and him not being able to do as Volteer did hurt his pride. Even after an hour of dancing, his fire was not willing to be at peace and accept the will of it's vessel. This irritation finally forced Asher to give in after thirty more straight minutes of dancing. He dropped down to his belly, and could only raise up to a kneel while panting from the nonstop movement.
"Not bad, but you must remember your drive. Release your spirit and feeling,"Volteer tried to instruct him on what to do if he hoped for control over his fire,"Your emotion will bring it forth, but then it's a matter of acquiring peace in your mind, and control over your feelings. Only then will your fire alight and bend to your will."
"I appreciate the spiritual talk…! But I'm a guy who's trained to go into a rage when facing great challenges…!"Asher argued, showing that his mercenary life was still very much a part of him still.
"This isn't the mercenary life any more, Asher. It's time to let all that go,"Volteer insisted that Asher's mercenary mind was cleansed and a new view took over,"You must become a dragon, let your once cold and hardened heart become warm and open."
"That's not something a guy can just do. Purge twenty years of mercenary training?"Asher insisted that he could not possibly change what he was raised to be.
"Then at the very least, you can purge the hate and anger the training left behind in your heart."Volteer pushed him a bit more, hoping to get Asher fighting and accepting inevitable change.
Asher growled, not liking the idea of pushing away some of the things that helped him survive. His mercenary mentality numbed him to any pain or weakness when battling the enemy. Allowing weakness to be shown seemed like a death sentence, but he was desperate to learn and finally go on the search. So he took yet another good look at the inspiration for what he was doing. A long moment of gazing at the photo of Cynder softened up his heart, and made him think of the visions he had seen of her.
With her voice and her image within his head guiding the former merc's heart. He slowly got back up onto all fours, he closed his eyes and focused on the mere image of a free and happy Cynder. And that's when he felt that it was time to try again, so he gazed to Volteer, wanting to continue the dance.
And so they did, Volteer took the lead and Asher followed his movements once more. He let out a deep breath and followed his movements, dancing and swinging with the gentle breezes. For another hour there was nothing but pure focus, elegant moves, and unfaltering peace. Then at long last, Asher found his peace in the form of a small vision of his fire around Cynder. Masking her and protecting her from the darkness around her, something he had once done when they were mere eggs.
He watched his flames circulate around her, almost like a parent holding it's child. Ready to kill and burn away anything that dared to attack her, this was the will of his fire and the will of Asher himself. In that moment, the fire and Asher's will became one, their intentions were the same. So they came together for the sake of defending the dragoness, the fire had at long last awakened. It swarmed around his body, turning his scales from black to bright red while his horns carried the great flame like a torch on his head.
His body had become so bright and surround by serpent like swirls of fire, he had managed to appear like the sun. Just like his time with meditation, he was at peace and letting the fire form. But this time, it formed by the strength of his heart and mind, rather than raw feeling. This was a dramatic next step in his training as a dragon, as long as he kept this desire to find Cynder. He would improve more and more, until he was a complete dragon reigning through the realm strong and proud.
"Excellent! Simply excellent! Finally we are getting somewhere with this dragon,"Volteer admitted his own impressed feeling for the younger dragon,"You would have made a curious sibling student for Spyro…! Who knows what the two of you could have accomplished together."
These more recent stride in Asher's progression were the start of his true growth. Once his fire had been manifested and brought under his control, refinement and combat training could begin. At first, two more days of the same training was in use, until Asher's fire truly was stable and flowing. Once they were certain of his progress with the element of fire, it was time for some refinement. For he now needed to craft and learn how to properly weave and use his fire in the real world.
Cyril started him off with some simple target practice with white and red ringed targets. Accuracy and speed needed to be improved so he would not misfire or miss his shots of white hot flames. So he was brought out towards the landing strip, where there was plenty of space for target practice. Cyril over saw this section of training as Asher stood near the entrance to the palace. Looking out towards the the half a mile stretch of landing strip, where ten targets were set up at different distances.
Ten feet, twenty feet, thirty five feet, fifty feet, seventy five feet, ninety feet, and the final four were a hundred feet away. Seven different distances he needed to focus on and shoot with great precision. Thankfully his mercenary training did allow him to shoot tiny wads of magma like fire from at least sixty feet. Though that didn't help his confidence and hitting targets at a hundred feet. The first four targets would be easy, but once he got to seventy feet, that's where the struggle would start.
"Remember to focus, start with accuracy before improving on your speed. Take all the time you need!"Cyril instructed and Asher released a deep breath before taking a glance at the photo.
With that encouragement, he unleashed his fire in small balls of fire, bigger than his wads. He hawked and spat four balls of fire, and they made their precise mark on the closer targets. They shattered and erupted into flames, incinerating within seconds and crumbling apart like dead leafs. Then he made the mistake of blasting another at the seventy five foot target with over confidence. This mistake caused the fire to miss it's target by several feet, it barely even cooked the paint.
He growled, upon coming down from his bit of confidence before, he was reminded of where his accuracy was limited. Cyril nodded, now the he had also learned the limit of Asher's accuracy. The younger dragon expected some wise dragon words along with a lecture, but this was actually an easier fix than most others.
"Do you recall the training you underwent with the Alphas?"Cyril asked, and Asher groaned before turning to him and slowly nodding.
"Take the time I need, and use all the power I need to reach my target…"Asher panted and took some time to catch his breath.
There was more than just that to his target training, it required a strong mind. And a mind set that helped to deeply focus and make the target seem so easy to hit from the furthest reaches. It was a combination of killer instinct and imagination, gazing at the target of choice for as long as he needed. Until the mind envisioned it closer and closer to his eyes, as if the target moved towards him. Once the target was as big as a melon in front of his face, then the time came to shoot.
With a sigh, he began to focus and get himself into that mental state with little struggle. The only struggle was when he needed to focus on a target way further out than what he was use to shooting. This would take more time than normal, and whatever focus he could muster to hit the target. Cyril patiently wait for him to shoot, but ten minutes passed by and so far there was nothing. The ice dragon was even ready to go back inside and leave Asher to it, but then it was finally happening.
He felt the target grow in his vision, it's colors widening as it drew ever so near. He needed to take a few breaths to remain cool and collective, letting his eyes and mind bring the target into the perfect shot. He fought every desire to tense up his muscles and shoot from the chest. Before he then unleashed another orb of pure flames as far as he could shoot it, this one nearly took his breath away. But it thankfully paid off, as his fire demolished the seventy foot target in a flash of flames.
"Excellent! That will be all. We'll continue this tomorrow,"Cyril decided to end it there until the next day, when Asher was completely revitalized,"Once you're able to perfectly hit the four targets at the end, you will be ready!"
"I have plenty of accuracy for shooting targets at a distance. I normally don't let enemies get too far,"Asher insisted after worrying about how much time was spent on this training so far,"They run away, a little run will close us back together. What's the point of sharp shooting from that far away?"
"Well you just never know what you may run into out there,"Cyril incited before slowly walking away with a simple chuckle,"It be wise to avoid close encounters that would end in severe harm to yourself and others!"
Asher groaned, trying to hold back the irritation of the training he still required. He was dying to finally get out of the palace and go on the search, but these guardians were persistent. He even dared to think that they might have been obsessed with him, like he was just the dragon they needed. It was strange, but he was the first dragon they had seen in a long time, and they were masters. So after a moment of thought, he made a decision out of respect for himself and the guardians.
"Fine…! One more day…! After that, I'm leaving. Whether they like it or not."Asher decided before he went back into the palace to rest up and move on to the next piece of training.
This one was more up his alley, and it only required a mix of his skill and his fire. A simple sparring session with Terrador was all it was, and he needed to know how to use his fire in the heat of combat. The challenge was somewhat obvious, Asher was too use to using physical strengths. Using them in close combat was easy and natural, but using fire in combat was different. This would challenge his self control over his muscles and his element of fire, they needed to be used as one.
So this sparring session was taking place for Asher to learn how to harness his fire when in a heated fight. So far, Terrador was not holding back on him, perhaps this would be revenge for the first fight? As they started with a simple yet very vague difference in claw to claw combat. Asher was immediately struggling with how different four legged combat was compared to two legged combat. This made him hesitate and a bit slow to understand Terrador's four legged form.
That would cost him, as Terrador would jump side to side to avoid his hooks and jabs. That momentum would carry on and Terrador would throw some swift hooks of his own. Asher would quickly put up his forearms, using them as shields that would deflect, but also bruise from the blows. As a guardian of earth and stone, his blows felt like stone as they smashed against him. A back stepped allowed Asher to evade and jump forward to land a jab to the jaw.
Terrador was able to take it however, and returned the favor with an uppercut to Asher's jaw. He followed up with a round house tail whip, smacking Asher in the chest, sending him skipping into a wall. He stuck there in the hole he made in the wall, before slowly pulling himself out. The young dragon yanked himself out and fell to his knees, panting after the surprising fight Terrador was putting up. It was starting to look more and more like some much wanted pay back.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were sore about the outcome of our last fight!"Asher yelled out while very slowly standing back up with a hard groan.
"Hmm… We are masters, Asher. We do not hold grudges no matter the reason. As masters we must present ourselves as good examples for our students,"Terrador denied the claim before Asher stood tall again,"Combat skills are average, not as effective as they were before. Struggling to find the balance between fire and physical combat?"
"Whatever gave you that idea?"Asher was heavy with sarcasm as he wiped his mouth and popped his knuckles.
"Your heart is the strongest muscle you have, and it always will be,"Terrador insisted that there was a sort of similarity between a heart and muscles,"Your heart is the source of your strength. Let it's drive bind it with your muscle, rather than let it close out your fire."
"So now all of a sudden, my muscles need to be working with my heart? What happened to using your heart, not your muscle?"Asher questioned the odd turn his training had now made.
"That was for the awakening of your fire. Once it was awakened and your heart was guiding you, then your muscle could return,"Terrador explained the reason for the previous training that Asher went through,"Now your heart must be in sync with your muscle to use your true power…! Much like what had happened in our bout."
"Wonderful, I'm getting tossed back and forth with lessons like an over ambitious school boy…!"Asher growled and decided not to stand for this change of tactic with his abilities.
He simply grumbled and walked away, not ready to deal with getting his hide kick just to fuse his abilities. He stormed into the palace and slammed the door behind him to take a needed break, While Terrador sighed and held back his own frustration for such a complicated student. This really was not working like it did with Spyro, Terrador was too use to students being naturals at training. This was in truth his first complicated student that struggled, and it was quite the weight to carry.
Meanwhile, Asher went inside and quietly made a move towards his room to relax. As well as make some plans for what he vowed to do in two days whether he was ready or not. The black dragon manage to sneak his way up the stairs and get into his room where he could be alone. He slammed the door shut and started by peeling the photo of his arm to put it back in the bracelet. The photo stung quite a bit coming off, but he manage to get it off and put it back where it belonged.
"I'll just need an outfit and some food for the travels. Can't take anything from the palace, they'll start to suspect something."Asher planned out how he was going to ready himself to leave when the time came.
He rushed to his own closet to pick up something that Asher wished to be made. During his time here, he had gotten himself a brand new Avalarian inspired cloak made by Warfang's finest. Long sleeved and short legged, reaching all the way to the wrists of his claws while the other end only reached down to half of his back legs. A cape was attached to the back, and it was thick enough for even the most coldest regions. A nice black hood topped it off with silver lining just like the rest of the outfit.
It would serve him well as a form of light armor and a show of civilized was a necessity that he would always keep as a dragon raised by Avalarians, plus they did feel cozy. He took the outfit out and folded it up to place on the corner of his bed, preparing for a quick pack up and departure. He sighed deeply to remain cool and calm, remembering everything he needed to do. Only to cease up the moment he heard knocking on his door, he quickly threw the outfit under the bed.
Hunter had then entered the room quietly and slowly as Asher stood with his claws behind his back. Hunter took a quick glimpse around, as if he was being watched, or at least wanted to be sure he wasn't. Once the ghost was clear, he shut the door to face Asher with what he already knew.
"You're planning on leaving soon, aren't you?"Hunter asked, and Asher slowly turned around with his arms crossed.
"What would give you that idea?"Asher challenged Hunter's assumption, seeing if he really thought that Asher was going to leave.
"The guardian's ancient ears may miss a few words, but mine hear everything around the palace,"Hunter responded and spoke of actually hearing the words that Asher spoke of to himself,"Are you sure it's wise to be leaving before your training is complete?"
"I'm… I'm not going to waste any more time that I already have here, Hunter,"Asher sighed and pulled his outfit back out to lay on the bed corner again,"I need to get out there and find my sister. I don't want to wait any more, and I can't keep her waiting any longer."
"I know… I just want you to remember and be ready for the dangers that lay ahead of us."Hunter understood and offered some last minute caution to the black dragon.
"I'm well aware of what is lying in wait for me around the world. I've read about them non stop for almost a week straight,"Asher reminded Hunter, and the ally agreed with Asher's insistence,"Now if there's anything else you need to know, say it so I can get back to preparing for the trip."
"I only have one more thing. When and what would you like me to start packing as well?"Hunter asked, enforcing the idea that he was more than up for coming with Asher.
The young dragon paused and looked to him, not knowing how to feel about the Avalarian's loyalty. No matter what he did, Hunter was insisting on aiding him however he could. They came from completely different lives, one was a mercenary raised by only the most vicious and rough. While the other was raised with culture and a deep sense of humility, honor, and respect. Yet some how, the two of them found mutual trust and friendship with each other, it felt all too strange.
"Well… Wait till tomorrow night to pack some food, small weapons and water. Try to travel light,"Asher sighed and finally gave in to Hunter's persistence,"Tell Sparx at the same time so there's little chance he'll mouth off about the plan in front of the guardians."
"Right, and where will we be going first?"Hunter asked to know the first location that awaited them.
"I don't know yet, but we'll find out once we get out there and use the crystal,"Asher responded and looked to the window, looking out to the wide open world they would venture into,"For now, play it natural. We'll talk about it more tomorrow after another round of training."
"Very well, I'll leave you to get situated for dinner tonight."Hunter decided and strolled to the door to leave, and give Asher privacy.
"Yeah…"That was Asher's only response before Hunter was off to ready himself for dinner.
With Hunter taken care off, Asher took the time he had to look towards his bracelet. A part of him was thinking of going to the main hall and using the crystal embedded in the bracelet. He could learn early on where Cynder was going so they could make a quick escape into an adventure.
"They seem to go to sleep these days around eight or perhaps nine,"Leo suddenly chimed in as he sat on the window sill with his arms crossed,"Their old, so they can't stay up as late. Perhaps an hour after they go to bed would be your best bet if you're going to pick up the trail."
"Thanks… You're really trying hard to be my fairy god mother, aren't you?"Asher questioned and turned to his comrade.
"Well the mother part is more or less a bit of a stretch. Last time I checked, I was all man…!"Leo joked and he chuckled, as did Asher.
"That has yet to be determined…! You tell Felious my decision yer?"Asher stopped the laughter and turned serious when it came to what he decided.
"I decided to wait off on sending the letter till you were absolutely sure,"Leo Answered and lowered his head to think for merely a second,"Seems like you have. So now you could say I'm worried about what may come to pass."
"As long as Felious stays out of my way, there shouldn't be an issue."Asher made his thoughts on the Alpha issue clear.
"He won't stay away, that's the problem. The guy's gone mad, Asher,"Leo tried to make the dragon understand what was unfolding with the Alphas,"You go on this journey, and he will pursue you relentlessly. He won't stop until you return to them or die…!"
Asher growled quietly as he slapped his claws down on the bed with stress. The information he was forced to hear was heart throbbing, his own mercenary family giving him an ultimatum. He was going to be labeled for death if he did not return to them, this was the choice he was given. He gripped at the bed, trying to contain the stress and frustration this information was providing. Slowly, Asher looked at Leo, shaking his head before pounding at the bed once and deciding.
"Just…send the letter…! I don't care any more, just send it already!"Asher breathed deeply and pushed to make his decision final, regardless of the consequences
"Very well, I was just making sure you-"Leo was interrupted by Asher suddenly snapping at him in frustration.
"I'm well aware of what I have to do! Now just…stop trying to convince me to turn away!"He yelled with outrage while Leo remained silent.
The archer realized that any further pushing would ended in possibly violent confrontation. So to prevent Asher from being provoked any further, he simply nodded and quietly walked to the window. He hopped through the window and hung on the side before looking back to Asher.
"Well… I guess… I'm glad you decided to make your own decisions for a change,"Leo admitted and looked away for a moment, not knowing if he really meant what he said,"Just… Don't get yourself killed. And you better treasure what you'll have with your sister when you find her."
"I don't plan on dying any time soon…"Asher answered before walking over to the door to leave for dinner.
With that, Leo had no more desire to argue the case or try to make Asher turn away from the adventure. He sighed and slowly left the window, allowing Asher to continue on his path. He still had no idea why this dragon was so determined to seek out his sister, he had even chosen a path that made enemies out of the only family he knew. Yet he was still willing to walk it regardless. As strange and confusing as it was, he still could not help but respect the heart Asher was putting into this journey.
"Where did this sudden heart and warm blood come from?"Leo wondered before leaving for the inner walls to deliver his message.
Half an hour later, all dragons, Sparx and Hunter sat down to piping hot racks of ribs. Sizzling and smoked, meat as succulent and juicy as fresh melons, a dinner fit for large dragons. It smelled as good as the perfect Avalarian vixen, and even that barely effected Asher much. For he was bothered by the choices he was making, the choices that would anger the Alphas. He sat at the end of the table while the guardians sat to the right together, while Sparx and Hunter sat to the left.
They all dug in, eating without any restraint and savoring the well prepared food. No bit of meat was left behind, but Asher's silence was starting to bother and slow their enjoyment in eating. His strange silence was a bit new and worrisome, almost as if he had suddenly tapped into emotional conflict about his choices.
"Something troubling you, Asher? You don't seem to be eating like you normally would."Hunter decided to be the one to question the troubles of the black dragon.
"Yeah, aren't you the one who usually eats like the biggest barbarian at the table?"Sparx recalled the few times that he ate with Asher, and remembered the absolute mess Asher made at the table.
"I'll remember that one for later, Sparx… And… I've just been starting to think a bit,"Asher admitted since there really was no hiding too many things from the guardians and his new comrades,"The choices I've made were all my own. I had never made my own decisions before I finally left the Alphas."
"Well that's a good thing! You're becoming your own dragon! You are following your own path,"Volteer joined in and tried encouraging Asher to accept and embrace this change,"A dragon can be guided towards his or her path, but it is up to them to decide which path they wish to follow. It all starts with YOUR choice, no one elses."
"And recently I learned that my choices have caused my own mercenary group to turn on me,"Asher finally took a bite of his ribs while the masters went wide eye and silent,"They demanded that I either return to them or die. I chose to continue my path, and now they want my blood…!"
"I'm sorry but… WHAT?! So does that mean we might…?"Sparx was taken back, hearing this information about Asher's old group.
"How do you know of this…? We've seen no other among the palace that you were familiar with?"Cyril questioned the knowledge Asher revealed to them.
"Lets just say the Alphas have good sources throughout the realm, and that's part of how they get around so much,"Asher responded to the question before revealing more,"So perhaps by tomorrow they'll be aware of what my decision is, and they'll come here with the intent of killing me…! My own family wants me dead…!"
"You mean…that by tomorrow there's gonna be a bunch of large, burly, dangerous mercs coming to Warfang, looking for a fight,"Sparx exclaimed and imagined the pain such vicious mercenaries would put him through,"What were you thinking?! Why did you even bother telling them anything?! You could have just NOT talk to them ever again!"
"They would have come either way! Only in that case, they'd assume all of you were the enemy holding me captive!"Asher shot out of his chair to snap at the dragon fly for daring to blame him for the Alpha's threat.
"Well you could have at least tried saying, hey I gotta do this but I'll be back soon after I find my sister!"Sparx mocked and tried to make up an idea of what Asher could have done.
"The Alphas don't fall for such things. They demand that choices are made, and silver tonguing their ears doesn't work,"Asher tried to explain how the mercenaries worked due to Sparx lack of knowledge about criminals,"Why are you even caring, they want ME! They don't want you! They want me! So why are you weeping about it like some skittish coward?!"
"Well maybe some of us don't want mercenaries chasing us all the way to our siblings,"Sparx continued to argue, even when the guardians stood tall to try and break it all up,"You ever thought about the idea that we may lead them to Spyro and Cynder? You could very well end up getting them killed!"
"That's enough, Sparx! You know this was not Asher's intention, and he did give us fair warning before!"Terrador roared at the dragonfly to stop his ranting on the matter.
"What part of it's ME they're after do you not understand!? Are you that in love with only listening to yourself,"Asher slammed his claws down, and put a small crack in the table,"I'm the one who's going to be putting my neck out just so you can see your brother again! I'm the one who decided to fight the Alphas should they get in my way, family or not! How about you shut up and stop being a coward once in your life!"
"Asher! Calm yourself!"Cyril demanded and Asher growled, slowly and deeply breathing with anger.
It took a moment for Asher to relax himself, his body was puffed up to half of it's true size. Steam dared to emanate from his fists before he gripped the table to squeeze it and force out his stress. Once he was breathing and expunging his frustration, he began to come back down from his rage. His muscles deflated and shrunk down to their slim yet tone figure around his whole body. Before he quietly stormed out of the dining hall, leaving the rest of the group to look at Sparx with disappointment.
"What?"Sparx seemed confused about the scowls and disapproval he was getting.
"Asher spoke more truth than you think Sparx. He really is the one taking the most risk here…!"Hunter decided to school the dragonfly on what he personally understood about the black dragon.
Meanwhile, Asher had burst out of the room and slammed the doors behind him. Before stomping out into the middle of the dimly lit main halls, flickering with small torches for light. He grumbled and snarled and growled at the ignorance of the dragonfly, the lack of gratitude was mind blowing. He felt no regret for his choices, but not only did his choice make him an enemy to his only family. But now his choice was being slandered and ridiculed, as if the path he was on was ruining the lives of others.
This of course would mean nothing to him back in the days of being a stone cold merc. But ever since his heart began to open for his spirit to grow and his fire to rise to the surface. Asher began to feel things he did not feel before, anger and frustration were common, but then a new feeling struck him. It was powerful, forcing him to slowly walk to the nearest pillar and sit down. Before lowering his head and letting this feeling settle in, it was like a sharp cold weight on his chest.
He gripped his chest, fearing that it could perhaps be a heart attack or perhaps heart failure. But then he felt his face dropping from it's previous rage and fury, into something else. It was like a form of sadness, maybe like the sadness his sister felt when she spoke to him the last time. Was that the feeling he now felt?
For a solid five minutes he sat there with his claws against his chest, panting and fighting this feeling. Watching the glimmering moon starting to rise in the sky to prepare for the night. Wondering how he was going to come to grips with this emotional struggle. It felt like a part of him was dying, and he had less within himself to fight for, it even dared to cause some regret. But he new better than that, he just needed some way to heal what was going wrong inside his chest.
"Grief is never an easy feeling to understand, is it,"Cyril had suddenly emerged from the dining hall and found Asher sitting against the pillar,"Especially when all your life, you as a mercenary had been forced to suppress it."
"Is that what this is…? It usually has no place among the Alphas…"Asher tightened the grip against his chest and shuddered.
"But now that your heart has opened for your fire, it has fought for a spot deep in your heart,"Cyril pointed out the cause for these sudden emotions he was able to feel,"But know that these feelings are strong and cannot be allowed to destroy you."
"I know… It just takes time for me to-"
"But do not forsaken them and try to suppress them."Cyril interrupted Asher with insistence that these feelings should some how be embraced.
Asher slowly looked to him, not liking the idea of these chaotic feelings getting defended and even pushed upon him. These feelings hurt, they made him feel weak and incapable of even moving. Yet, Cyril praised these feelings as if they meant so much more than they felt like they did.
"It hurt, there's no denying that. And it is true that your feelings could destroy you,"Cyril admitted that much as Asher looked back to the night sky once more,"But when you're able to embrace these feelings and overcome them, they allow you to tap into power you've never known before."
"You're saying that feeling like miserable trash will make me stronger?"Asher questioned while slowly looking to his bracelet.
"Not the feeling itself, but mustering the strength to over come them will,"Cyril incited while Asher blankly looked to his bracelet, contemplating what to do next,"What you chose will always have repercussion and sacrifices, but they're yours to make however you wish, Asher."
Asher sighed, and slowly pulled out the photo from his bracelet to look at it once more. Hoping that somehow it would help him embrace his choice and put away any thoughts of regret. It did appear to dull the pain, as his chest got a bit light thinking about the idea of seeing her face at long last.
"And willingness to sacrifice things can also be a show of great strength…"Cyril squeezed in one more bit of wisdom while Asher continued gazing at the photo.
He laid against the pillar for the longest moment of his life letting the mere picture do it's thing. It did seem to heal this apparent grief in his heart, it even took away the cold and replaced it with warmth. The very same warmth that his body felt when surrounded by his own fire. With one deep breath, he gripped the photo tightly and finally found that strength Cyril spoke off. As he finally began to stand back up and shake away the grief, allowing a brighter and warmer feeling to take it's place.
Cyril nodded at his sudden revival from the moment of emotional distress. Watching him rise from an inner struggle was like seeing a new mighty dragon rising to the occasion. The photo went back into the bracelet when Asher was satisfied, and decided to raise his bracelet into the air.
"I was planning to wait till all of you were asleep to do this, but I suppose I don't feel like waiting any longer."Asher admitted before the red crystal did it's thing and brought forth the old memory he had seen before.
Red light filled the hall and crystallized the room before Cynder appeared before them. This time however, Asher rushed to her side as she was walking away to leave the palace. He followed her as she stopped and spoke the words, follow me, before taking off into the sky towards her own journey. Once again, he followed her this time, rushing out of the palace with Cyril behind him. As they burst through the door, Asher kept his bracelet raised to keep the vision going.
As they made it outside, they witnessed Cynder taking a most peculiar change in direction. She curved to the right and made a full turn to go over the palace across the back of the city. She appeared to be heading north, several locations were in that direction, from the infamous Mt Malefor to the Burning Lands and even the Magic Crafter Lands. This meant he had a lot of ground to cover. So much awaited him on this path, so many towns, homes, and great lands.
"North… Guess I know where to look first now."He admitted while watching her vanish to the north, where both of their adventures would soon begin.
"Indeed… There is quite the grand adventure awaiting you young dragon…!"Cyril admitted as he watched the memory fade so they could see the twinkling stars of a hope filled night sky.
Sorry to end it there, but the real journey begins next chapter so be prepare for one tough trip. We're about to explore the furthest reaches of the Dragon Realms just as Spyro did in the days of his legends beginning. Now it's Asher's turn to follow the path of his sister, and create his own legend just as the great purple dragon did. Stay awesome every one.