Call of the Ancestors

Chapter 7: The Price of Nobility

"Seeking excitement could be done in many different ways for a noble from the frozen north!" They said, "Coming to Warfang will bring some new views. New people and odd customs!" They said.

Sydale knew this wasn't true though. Living the high-born life was always such a bore. You didn't get to see whomever you wanted, you didn't get to talk to people in the wrong manner… Heck, she wasn't even allowed to leave the residential palace located in the riverside a few miles away from the city when she wanted to. And she simply didn't have the capability to even grasp why. Why would anyone want this? The food might be good, but it all tastes the same after a while. One gets tired of the lavish and luxurious.

One gets tired… Of all these rules.

This… Established order. Unwritten rules dictating her every step just because she happens to be related to that stuck-up Ice Guardian. She used to like uncle Cyril. She did, until she came of age, that is. As the "etiquette" suddenly started to apply to her too.

But this all was about to change. Sydale sat by her desk in her room, glancing out at the city's pristine walls shining in the distance. She had laid her pristine blue paws upon a scroll, which she had opened and placed upon her study-desk. It was a report delivered in utter secrecy.

It seemed like the letters were completely jumbled, no straight lines or actual coded messages, yet Sydale had no problems reading it.

Because she wasn't the one translating the text.

"The items were recovered on schedule.

The charges has been set by our agents, albeit they might risk needing to be activated remotely.

No casualties, stage ready for the next step.

Awaiting orders within the City walls."

The short text brought a toothy smile to the ice dragoness' lips. The thoughts in her mind started to straighten out for a bit, forming a sentence rather than busy half-formed words.

"Good. Proceed as planned. However we need to gather intel on any potential threats." These thoughts weren't hers, and she knew it. But what price wouldn't she be willing to pay to see the world brought to their knees and haunches? Or even better, seeing the Realms shed any kind of structure and order?

She looked out the window, which she has opened. The marble walls shone bright white in the sunlight.

Soon.

The Ice dragoness stood up from the desk and walked slowly over to the balcony beside the room. She was alone her bedchambers, albeit she still felt as if someone was in there with her. She sighed, feeling tired even if she knew very well that it was the middle of the day.

Proxy-magic… Was tiresome business, and it was only through a miracle that she had uncovered the true potential in the art. Being of noble blood usually allowed her to make requests for items that normally would've been seized by the law and had her executed for witchcraft, perhaps even sorcery.

She had managed to get her paws onto it through a game of chance, really. Her father, whom was an esteemed author, historian and researcher of ancient draconic lore, had received books from an unknown donor. Using nothing but dumb luck allowed Sydale to snatch the black tome sealed via chain. The metal hadn't been hard to break; Just freeze it to the point of the metal withering into nothing.

She glanced at the book, which she had been carrying around with her in a satchel hidden under her cloak. She sat down on her haunches, picking up the book after reassuring herself that no one was around. The heavy tome almost weighed her down. It was said that this book had the spells bound within which once were used by the King of the apes, Malefor's general, Gaul, when he enslaved the black dragoness Cynder, forcing her to carry out the commands of the Dark Master. Sydale was inclined to believe the stories, as the book itself still reeked of that unmistakable ape smell.

Within were contained spells that were capable of terrible deeds. She placed a paw onto the old leathery cover, opening it. The old text was written in a questionable red substance, still in draconic calligraphy, albeit a very old dialect of it. However, Sydale already knew which page she wanted to go to. Flicking through the grim images displayed, of arcane symbols and sacrilegious rituals until she reaches the section that was labeled,

"Ergo Proxy magicis, Continere vel contineri."

According to her own knowledge of ancient draconic calligraphy, the phrase meant "Proxy Magic, control or be controlled," and she was very familiar to the subject. She would even dare call herself adept at the arts of Proxy magic. This would've normally meant bad news, but for Sydale this merely meant more followers. She needed an army.

An army that was worthy of the higher cause. And amassing one in secret hadn't been easy. She read the texts, thinking on the last reports that had been coming in. One mentioned DOW soldiers infiltrating one of their cells within the city. And then oh-so-discreetly blowing the thing up with everyone still inside.

Sydale chuckled to herself. She had heard that they finally caught on onto her plot. How they now were trying to figure out what her next move might be. But she knew that as far as they'd come in their search, the further away their true goal was going to be.

The Ice dragoness placed her paws on her tiara, the silvery and ornament piece was gleaming in the sun. She took it off, and it felt as if a weight equivalent of the entire world was lifted off of her wings and shoulders. She looked upon it, knowing that once she had started to wear it, there had been no way back. But Congeria had shown her the blind truth. And hence, she fights. Resulting in Sydale having the highest need to prove herself worthy.

"You are troubled," came a sudden voice, startling the Ice noble.

Quickly recovering, she responded, "The Defenders have discovered your plans."

"The Defenders are not a problem. It will be a problem if my Influenced begins to doubt her goals, however," came the voice.

"I'm not doubting your goals-"

"Our goals, Influenced. We are one, host," responded the voice.

Congeria had been a benevolent master through the short time since Sydale had allowed her into her mind. It hadn't been exactly what the Ice noble had expected, however. She had expected direct control from the Mistress of Chaos, like the old stories detailed of her armies of fanatic zealots, completely deprived of free will back in times before modern history, she had forced former peaceful nations under the gigantic Ice Kings up in the cold north wastes of Dante's Freezer into an eternal war, trapped under her chaotic influence even after her banishment by the other Ancestors. But that hadn't come to pass. Instead, it was suggestions and advice on how to continue with the path that Sydale had been wanting to go down for some time before the Proxy magic had overtaken her psyche. Perhaps that was for the better, Sydale still wasn't sure when she had taken part in the ritual Whether or not she even wanted the help of the dead god.

"I know, Mistress," responded Sydale, "My mind is yours."

"Indeed. You are a better servant than I could have asked for. The Anointed Ones have served me well, but your aims are so much...better," stated the dead god.

"Mistress, if I may…" began the Ice noble, steering the conversation away from the current topic, "I have a question to ask of you."

"You wish to know where I wish you to go from here...you are still concerned about the Defenders. And the...heroes," stated Congeria, reading the mind of the Ice noble.

"They are a severe threat, even if they are a long way from discovering my identity and our true plans. The very fact that the Saviors direct their organization is a cause for concern. They have both become the most powerful denizens of these Realms."

"You have done your research, I see," said the voice with a bored tone, "The "Directors" aren't even leading their efforts. They are distracted by the matters that the Defenders are tasked with dealing with. You know who I'm truly interested in."

"The two Captains, Mistress?"

"They lead the investigation against us, and are now entangled with each other. The partnership is distracting for their real goal. It serves my purposes well."

"Very well, Mistress," stated Sydale, "But back to my original question…"

"You know my aims, Sydale. What more do I need to explain?"

"My role in all this, Madame."

A light chuckling came from the voice, before she answered, "My dearest Sydale, you will be the instrument of corruption, the bringer of chaos, if I may... Your role is more pivotal in all this than you think."

"My role in what?" Sydale asked, not admitting it to herself that she was feeling a very slight sliver of fear.

"The complete annihilation of this world."

Sidestep. Forward. Duck. Left. Right. Parry. Wide swath. Riposte. Froward. Stab.

Elmira threw her cutlass to the ground in anger, shaking her head. A carved up straw dummy sat in front of her, sword marks cutting clean through it.

The Fellmuth just wasn't in the same shape that she had been in during her Captaincy. Now she was clumsy, her reactions were slower as well as her sword arm being far from as strong as it once had been. She was one of the few female Skavs, and one of the even fewer number of female Captains in the fleet. Despite her gender, she had risen to prominence in her fleet, leading her galleon both in combat and as a commander. She had been one of the masters in sword-to-sword combat both on her ship and throughout the fleet. This was uncommon for a captain and nigh on unheard of for a female of the race.

Now, the cutlass lay at her feet, unused as it had been for months. Ever since she had escaped the Noints', the Captain hadn't picked up a sword at all, hoping to avoid detection from the cult. It had worked to stave off her former comrades, but the guise hadn't worked when the Defenders came to threaten her with imprisonment for assumed dealings with the Noints'. They had been wrong, of course, but that had not stopped the Shadows from taking her to the Tower to be interrogated and…

Tortured.

It had been quick, nothing like the pain she had once experienced as an enemy had hit her with a high fireball during a raid with the Noints'. It was the audacity of it. She had been more than willing to cooperate with the Fire Captain, right? What right did the DOW have to force that slagged Shadow Captain to use her element on Elmira?

The Skav felt her rage building up inside her as she thought about it. She roared and kicked the straw dummy to the ground, breaking it into several pieces.

"I see you've gotten the better of your enemy," came a voice unfamiliar to the Fellmuth.

Elmira turned around, finding the formal demeanor of Terron greeting her. She had seen this Earth dragon briefly a few times, mainly tailing the Fire Captain around. She assumed he was some kind of assistant or lieutenant. The Skav knelt down and picked up her cutlass, turning towards a row of bottles a few meters away as she answered him, drawing her flintlock.

"And I see you could have better places to be rather than to bother me." She replied, focusing and hoping that at least her aim hadn't deteriorated. Even if she felt a little rusty when she held the weight of the pistol and fired.

Blam!

A small puff of smoke and the sound of something tiny made of metal hitting a wall, none of the bottles had been hit.

"Shipwrecks!" The female Skav cursed, having started the rather tedious process of reloading. Terron stood and watched her, just about to address the, in his eyes, unsavory pirate about that the deal she had demanded back in the office of Cynder had met a compromise…

"The ship you requested is under construction and is expected to be done before the end of this year." He addressed, formal as per usual. That did in turn lead to Elmira sighing slightly, as she felt the tension disappearing. Finally! This was the first single shred of good news she had heard in days! The Fellmuth got done with re-loading her weapon, albeit she holstered it and turned to face the lieutenant, looking both thoughtful and happy.

"So, the fire captain's lapdog brings good news! What's the catch?" She exclaims, her tone went from a faked optimistic tone only to give in to the usual sarcasm. Terron hadn't expected the pirate to figure that little part out so easily, however he showed her no signs of her getting the upper paw in this; "Well, the one little restriction we've put up is that you may only sail under DOW flag as long as you command that vessel." He stated, not being able to keep a tiny hint of a smug smirk going on in the very edges of his snout. The pirate looked shaken at first, before countering with a "And how did you lot expect me to accept that?! If my people would catch me doing such a thing I'd be hung for treason towards the fleet, forced to fight in the arenas as a deserter and not to mention, I'd be shot! Several times!" She exclaimed, obviously angered.

Terro simply remained calm and composed. Even if the female Skav was mere centimeters away now, having walked up towards him in anger."Because it's either that, or you'll not get a ship, and the Directors wouldn't be able to guarantee your safety either." Elmira knew when to fight or when flight was the only option, and this was one such deadlock. She folded her arms across her chest, nodding bitterly.

She was backed into a corner, with the Anointed Ones at one side, the Fellmuth fleets on the other, as well as the DOW hanging over it all with their ultimatum. She was put in a lose - lose scenario and had nothing better to do other than what her guts told her to. Bargain.

"So, when will I be able to go on my merry way without having to risk certain death?" The Fellmuth asked, awaiting a reply from the lieutenant. She wasn't expecting him to allow her even the slightest ounce of leverage, but Elmira had to admit, she is not too good at reading dragons faces.

She squinted slightly, as Terron replied: "It is not in my position to bargain here, if you wish to negotiate about the deal you'll have to bring it up with the Madame Director, not me. I could get you an appointment if you want." The earth dragon said, awaiting yet another irritated outburst.

Albeit there was none. And when he focused his view once more, the pirate was gone. "... I hate it when they do that." Terron mutters to himself, before turning to more important matters, leaving the scene.

Elmira had never been to the DOW Tower before, she had only been told that any Fellmuth whom sets a foot in there never steps out unchanged. And now she had to admit that she felt all the odd looks she'd get from the personnel, most at the mark on her forehead. Albeit she pays them no notice as she hurries her way up the long spiralling staircase leading to the offices of the Directors. She glanced at one or two odd paintings of honorary members, important people to the city itself and even one or two former employees.

Almost like a… Staircase of Fame. Elmira shook her head, as she found this to be a silly custom. The Fellmuth only told of their greatest heroes via tales and myths. People should be known for their deeds, not their ugly mugs.

However she did reach the top, catching her breath slightly before knocking at one of the two pairs of large double doors. The one she had knocked on was marked with a polished brass sign; "Spyro" it said.

"Come in!" came a warm voice from inside, obviously belonging to Spyro.

Elmira did as requested, and stepped inside, casually closing the door after herself. "So, I think no introductions are in order, as I am sure you know my name by now." The pirate says, looking over at the purple saviour, as she walked over towards the male, sitting behind his desk which was cluttered with documents and scrolls.

"We've met, Elmira," came his response, "Unless you're trying to forget that meeting already. Either way, what can I do for you?"

"I've come to bargain." Elmira simply stated, sitting down in a chair, crossing her legs and leaning back, "Your mate put up some… Questionable terms if you want me to work for your little squad of do-gooders."

"Those terms were worked out by the Co-Director and the Shadows," Spyro nodded in response, "While I have reviewed them, I was not present for the decision making process. Why, are they not to your satisfaction? We can amend them, if you like."

Elmire shook her head; "Please skip the fancy talk, Spyro. You know what I mean? Or will I have to go over the horrible things that might happen if I'm caught by my own kind whilst sailing under the DOW flag?" She pointed out, intensively watching the Director. His golden horns gleaming in the rais of the sun which were streaming in from one of his many big windows, giving the purple hero a excellent view of the surrounding Warfang.

"I'm afraid that I'm not entirely aware of the cultural ramifications of this decision," responded the Director, stroking the orange frills on his chin, "The last time I had any interaction with your people, they set me into an arena several times and tried to get me to kill Cynder and a few other creatures. They didn't even stop until I soundly defeated the fleet Admiral, Skabb. So, please, enlighten me."

Elmira blinked a few times, trying to hide her surprise. From the stories she had heard, Skabb was the toughest and most fearsome Fellmuth there had ever been, and that he was slain by a dragon. She just hadn't imagined it to have been the purple dragon. "Well… Erhm, you see," The pirate started, before going over the various punishments she'd have to endure. Including the ones she had mentioned to the lieutenant earlier. "... You see what I'm dealing with, here?"

Spyro laughed for a moment, surprising the Fellmuth pirate, he stopped after a few moments and said, "So your situation is almost like my own ten years ago. Caught in a situation that you had never wanted to be in and forced to carry out a burden that you never asked for. So...you want to retain the ship for your own purposes and not serve this organization, is that it?"

Elmira nodded eagerly at his proposal; "Yes. Ideally I'd just be on my way by now, sailing back to my fleet. But I wouldn't mind aiding you in taking down Congeria's little cult either." Spyro leaned back in his seat, seemingly pondering exactly what to do about the situation that the Skav had just put him in. Leaning back towards her, he spoke.

"This is the best I can give you," he said, looking straight at her, "You will serve as a sort of privateer for the DOW during this conflict. You'll have command over your ship and crew, but ultimately the directions and advice will come from the Director and I. Does that serve you better?"

Elmira nods once. Firmly. "That sounds better. Albeit I'll probably need some form of visum signed by both of you. And I have to admit that I think the "Madame Director"," She said, doing little air quotations with two clawed fingers as she spoke. "Would approve of signing. I think we should get her here…"

"Oh, I'm already here," came Cynder's voice from behind Elmira. She had likely been standing there for a majority of the conversation, "Mate, I thought so highly of you, and you try to reform the deal behind my back?"

"You and I both know the original terms presented to Elmira would not be to her liking. This sort of arrangement will still suit both of our purposes" stated Spyro, grinning slightly at his mate's mockery.

Elmira leaned back in her chair, visibly enjoying herself as she smugly watched the two living legends, the slayers of Malefor, bicker back and forth like a older mated couple. And she was enjoying every second.

"And you think that you have the exclusive rights to renegotiate agreements that you yourself already agreed to, is that it?" shot back Cynder, looking far from contempt with her mates sudden compromise of her plans.

"Of course not, beloved," responded Spyro, grimacing, "Sometimes it is simply more efficient to forego the traditional agreements and decide on something that is simply more appeasing for both sides-"

"You don't get to decide that, Spyro!" she shot back, angry, but not shouting, "We agreed when we took over this organization that this would be a mutually-agreed upon leadership. We would not go behind the other's back to accomplish anything, do anything without the other's approval. Why change that for something as small as this?"

Spyro looked down, clearly ashamed, "Because this crisis is unlike anything we've faced since then. We need Elmira's agreement to make this relationship beneficial for her and for us."

Cynder grinned at this and shook her head, "It was necessary, hm?" quoting the Purple dragon.

That is when the pirate once more opened her maw; "This little bickering argument was amusing. I'll give you that. But your purple lover over there has a point, Cynder." She simply stated.

"Either you thought you were cléver to restrict me with a DOW signature, but I am now obviously seeing your great interest in my welfare." She continued, propping herself up in her seat, as her voice was gaining it's trademark ironic undertone.

"Your sarcasm does you little credit, Skav," responded Cynder, her voice stern, "This is a partnership of convenience, that is all."

"Oh, so now my respectless tone is the problem, madame?" The Skav retorted, now standing up. "You see, Cynder… Convenience normally requires both parties to be on a positive to yearn wanted results. It wouldn't be too good if I were to… Oh I dunno.." She was slowly gaining a smug grin, her golden and silvery replacements gleaming in the light of the setting sun. "Fire upon a friendly DOW ship during a battle?"

"I would hunt you down and butcher you like the animal you are, Skav," responded the Black dragoness, growling.

Elmira wasn't taken aback by the threat of the former Terror of the Skies. But she was willing to see how far she could take this. Because despite everything the Fellmuth pirate had been put through, she yet had to reveal her Trump card in this little play. And Cynder didn't know it yet, but her cards just ran out.

"Oh, is that a little hint of something I hear? Listen closely Spyro. I am certain you've heard that undertone before, maybe whilst you were in a old fortress known as Concurrent Skies? The Dark Master's puppet seems to have some strings left, still attached."

Spyro stood up and tried to hold back Cynder before she flew into a blind rage. The black dragoness was seething, her jade eyes sent Elmira a glare, which would be fatal if looks could kill. It seemed that the very mere mention of Malefor set her into a stage of absolute anger.

"Let's try not to antagonize the Black dragoness, shall we?" said Spyro with a serious tone, "Cynder, beloved, perhaps it would be best if you left the room for the time being."

Cynder wanted no part of this. Ripping herself from her mate, she pounced at the Fellmuth, attempting to dig her sharp claws into the canine's face. Even if Cynder was fast, Elmira was faster. The Fellmuth managed to dodge under the dragoness who was flying towards her, rolling up on her feet, as she dragged her cutlass, taking a stance.

Spyro was meanwhile attempting to meddle peace between the two; "Cynder… Please, just try to calm yourself!" He pleaded. But Elmira had also had enough. Time to get some payback on this damned organisation.

"Yeah, Cynder? Leave with the tail between your legs, because we both know you wouldn't stand a chance without the Proxy magic giving you an edge." She egged on, grinning.

Cynder hissed angrily, landing next to the Fellmuth and delivering a roundhouse swipe to her legs with her tail. The Skav quickly jumped over the swipe and attempted to use her cutlass to strike the Black dragoness across the face. This forced Cynder back, as she didn't wish to get stabbed. Cynder knew she was at a disadvantage here, as she prefered to keep environmental damage to a minimum, and very much so to the point that she doesn't even dare using any of her elements, risking hitting Spyro.

Elmira reached for her flintlock, still keeping her gaze fixated upon the dark dragoness as she drew the weapon in one quick movement…

Blam!

Cynder flinched. She was sure that she was dead now. That is when the smoke cleared and Spyro was seen in between the two. A metal bullet held between his fangs. He spat the projectile out, and Elmira dropped her pistol, knowing she wouldn't have time to reload. But she knew something she could do instead. So the pirate lunged forth, vaulting over the purple hero and doing a last-ditch attempt to swing her cutlass at the Madame Director.

And she felt that she had hit something. She glanced at her cutlass. Red was dripping from the curved blade onto the fortunately red carpet. The pirate gave a cocky grin: "Oh, did I hurt you?"

Spyro turned around slowly and took in what she was seeing.

The cutlass had caught onto the Black dragoness' face, a gash across her eye and neck had quickly formed. She looked up at Spyro, whimpering something unintelligible before passing out onto the floor. Bleeding profusely.

Spyro turned back around, his eyes burning as if set aflame. Before the Fellmuth could react, a strong force sent her flying backwards into a wall, breaking the bookshelf she had hit, leading to the Skav not only getting knocked out, but also having a few books fall down onto her unconscious form.

"Medic!"

A/N: Here we go! We are once more back with another chapter. And some good old drama to come with it!

Well. Some drama, involving a cutlass to the face, the introduction of a key character and Spyro not telling his mate about important things. Besides all that, Mike and I are deeply sorry for taking over a month to get anything out. But sadly the truth is… Holidays can be a mess, especially when they all take place during the weekends when we're normally appointed to writing!

Now since the new year is up and going, we're wishing you guys a happy 2017, and hoping it'll only get better from here on out! We appreciate every little point of feedback and reviews we get, and it helps us to see what you guys want to read and it helps us with making Call of the Ancestors even better! So make sure to do that, and if you're new, make sure to Follow, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

See you guys in a few weeks with another chapter!

-Mike & Hawk