Call of the Ancestors
Chapter 17: "Dead dragons tell no tales."
Miarko had to ask again, just to make sure he hadn't misheard the Guardian's words. "I'm sorry but… What? Ifrit, Ignitus has been dead for years." He started, sitting down upon his haunches and just staring at the dragoness in disbelief.
He was, admittedly, starting to think she might've had a screw loose, that the pressure and stress of Guardianhood was too much for the poor woman… Those ideas were something Miarko would have believed, had Ifrit not spoken her next sentence.
"It has come to my beliefs that he has taken upon himself the mantle of the Chronicler. A dragon tasked by some cosmic laws to record, study, archive and watch over a great "Era". Such a thing as a new Chronicler hasn't happened since… Well… The recorded history of this age began." Ifrit explained, her words not clearing much up for the Fire Captain, who had little more than a confused look upon his face.
"So you are saying that despite clearly dying, something which is backed up by accounts of both Cynder and Spyro themselves, Ignitus is still out there recording all of our past and present events all at once?" He asked, still clearly not believing this at all, "and so now you wish for Seth and myself to find this mythological dragon who less than half of the populace in this very city even know about, or even less so: Believe that he even exists?" Miarko continued to question.
Ifrit gave him the deadest of deadpan looks when she replied. It was clear that she possessed an iron will and a deep conviction towards her cause with every word she spoke. But despite all that, Miarko still felt a shred of doubt. "Yes. The sole problem with this is that, according to our sources, it is impossible to find the islands where the Chronicler resides if you haven't either been told the way, or been there before. This is why I have sent for a person who shall guide you two there."
"Was it really necessary to wake me up at this hour?" came the all-too-familiar voice of the Director, Spyro. The purple dragon sauntered in slowly, seemingly just have woken up for the day, despite the late hour.
Miarko looked over towards the Director of the DOW, saluting. "Sir, I-" He started, only for the Purple Hero to interrupt him.
"No need for formality here, Miarko. At ease." He commanded, before turning to Ifrit, whom was quick to explain the situation as to who they were going to find.
Spyro looked as confused as Miarko did upon hearing about Ignitus, but he got a slight smile upon his purple snout.
"Very well. I shall make sure to get them where they need to be, and back again if it is required. Miarko, grab Sethelis; this should be the first thing you do in the morning. Meet me at the base of the DOW tower. We've got a long journey ahead of us, so pack sturdy armor and plenty of rations. I will see you there." Spyro further ordered towards the red Fire Captain, who once more saluted.
"Yessir."
Miarko had a feeling that this wasn't going to be as easy as Spyro made it sound to be.
An hour or so later, Miarko found himself back at his office, he was preparing some paperwork in advance as to not miss out on much during his time away, readying it to be sent to Terron. Across the room, having not bothered to use the door but rather used her powers to creep in under it, was a familiar night-blue Dragoness.
Sethelis sighed and looked at Miarko, "Did we really just get roped into this?"
Miarko grinned lightly and winked, "Think of it as an extended vacation. Just a longer one and one that may decide the fate of the city and possibly all of the Realms. No pressure!"
Miarko looked over to his companion just in time to see Sethelis rolling her eye at his casual reply, his gaze being met by hers. The Fire dragon could see what could only be described as 'annoyed affection' upon her face.
"I approve of your optimism, but not on your light take on the whole 'saving the world' part." She admitted, as she studied some old medallions he had upon a small shelf by the doorway.
Miarko looked over his pack again, making sure that he had gotten everything sorted, all the while he continued the conversation, "It's not like we haven't been there before. You were there when the City nearly fell, weren't you?"
Sethelis nodded. "Yup, and like everyone else I could see that horrific giant too. Talk about nightmare stuff, am I right?" she asked, rhetorically. It wasn't every day one could see a lava monster constructed out of giant mountainsides.
"Let's just hope we won't need to fight one of those again. One was enough."
Miarko stopped for a moment and his smile faded. He stood there, frozen for a few moments, before shaking his head and saying, "Yeah. Nightmarish stuff."
Sethelis looked over, seeing his shift not only in movement but also in tone, "Do I sense some trauma?" She asked, her voice much gentler than her actual question.
Miarko looked over at her and shook his head, returning his focus to his bag, 'No, no. Nothing to worry about. Just thinking about Spyro and Cynder and what they did during that battle. They were what inspired me to even take up the role as an independent soldier."
The fire dragon noted that Sethelis already had her own bag ready, resting between her wings upon her back. "Talk about great idols you had there. I just did it because it was the job which suited me best, simply put." he'd hear her comment. Which… Sprung an interesting train of thoughts in the Fire Dragon's mind. He pondered for just a few seconds.
Now when he thought about it, it did occur to him that whilst Sethelis was the kind of dragoness who'd gladly dig up any old dirt she might've been able to find on anyone that she had to work with to an extensive degree, she was very secretive about herself.
Miarko would not even be surprised if she even had found some old medical records from his time at the Academy just because she could.
That thought made him chuckle, remembering that book on Fire Dragons he'd found at her place about a month back. Her secrecy did not really bother him, but rather Miarko knew that she had to be like that due to the rules of the 18th. Then again, since they now were… intimate, he figured he'd have a better chance than most to get to know her. Sethelis the dragoness, not Sethelis, Captain of the Shadows.
"Who were you before all of this?" Miarko asked, "I've asked about your personal history and all that, I know, but did you change after the War and joining this team?"
As the question arose, Sethelis seemed like it was her turn to freeze up for a second. "Oh, I changed, yes. One can say that you don't feel as tough as you did signing up when you're actually on a battlefield."
"Toughness…" Miarko replied, trailing off, "I think I know how that feels. After the siege, I tried to...I tried to hone myself, my body. Become a greater weapon. So I'd never have to taste the sting that I did that day."
Sethelis sighed, sitting down upon her haunches again, across the familiar wooden desk. "Well, I would certainly say you are damn better than some scrawny newly enlisted private." She complimented. Something which… Wasn't actually that common to hear from her lips. Miarko knew this, but he also knew that most of Sethelis' feared reputation amongst the DOW subordinates which didn't hail from the 18th also usually were exaggerated. Ghost stories, almost.
"Heh. You're something else," he responded simply, "Something that I...quite like," he said, approaching her. He was...doing his stride.
"Aww, look at you. Already back on track with being yourself." She remarked, remaining still and letting the dragon approach. Who was she to reject Miarko the infamous captain of the 17th from doing his thing?
He pounced on top of her. The two rolled to the floor with a light thud.
Sethelis giggled. "Weren't we supposed to be prepping for a mission?" She thought to herself, desperately trying to recall if the door was locked. "... You did lock the door, right? Would be bad if, let's say, Terron walked in." The Shadow pointed out from her trapped position upon the floor, nodding towards the door itself a few meters away.
"I'm fairly certain...I think…?" Miarko responded, already distracted.
Sethelis let her stone facade crack with a giggle, something that went completely against her stone-hard reputation within the DOW tower, but then again… Miarko had that effect on people.
"... Miarko, the master planner. I can finally see why they needed someone like me signed up on this investigation." She teased. "For real, whilst being all risque is kind of part of our job, I think we might want to keep said jobs. I'd hate to be the talk of the Tower so to speak. Or for Cynder to find out." She admitted. And the red dragon could've sworn he heard her say "And my agents would never shut up about it.", but it must've been his imagination.
A moment of silence.
"Could you go check?"
Miarko sighed and wrought himself off of Sethelis and walked over to the door, locked it slowly and with much fanfare, "Happy now, love?"
"You could call me satisfied. Then again, I have suddenly been promised…" she undid the metal fastener on the leather straps keeping the backpack on, the container, letting it slide off of her back as she spoke. "... Something else. And in a office no less? Wild." She murmured, snaking her way around the desk and onto his seat. "So, Captain… Ready to undertake your mission?"
She was grinning.
Miarko yawned and closed his eyes, sitting down, "No. In fact… That trek to the door wore me out. I think I'll just lie here." He pretended to fall asleep.
"Wow." Was all Sethelis said, and he could hear that she was disappointed in his sudden lack of effort. "I guess I will just have to walk over to that lazy red rug, then." She said, he could almost hear her rolling her sole eye, and he could indeed hear her paws on the floor. The Fire Dragon would feel her cooler body slip down next to him.
It was quiet for a short moment, before suddenly Sethelis spoke up. Her words made him chuckle slightly.
"... Wanna do it on the floor?" She asked.
It was early. Very early, in fact. The sun had barely even gotten close to rising over the treeline, the fields of grasslands and steppes that surrounded the splendid Dragon City was still dewy and cold, specks of mist coating the landscape. It was almost as if time had frozen in these early morning hours. The only sound besides the wind rustling in the leaves of the occasional tree was some birdsong, or some early morning person taking a walk on the marble streets of Warfang.
One such occurrence was two dragons soaring through the skies, Sethelis and Miarko who were making sure to be timely and meet up with Spyro outside the DOW's tower.
Upon landing the two could indeed see the unmistakable purple scales, orange frills and golden horns which all were attached to a familiar individual. The two Captains landed, making their way over towards the Purple Hero, saluting. However they were both dismissed casually, and whilst they both knew Spyro wasn't much for such things like formalities, Sethelis did have to bite her lip as to hold back a sigh.
Spyro was decked out in a set of simple metal armor which consisted of plating over his tail, a chestplate and a simple set of legguards. The Purple Hero was also wearing a backpack which was seemingly packed to the brim with supplies, compared to Miarko who had made sure to, as he had put it himself, 'have enough' or Sethelis whom had, in Miarko's opinion, wasted an hour trying to calculate the exact amount of rations she'd need to bring.
"Rather too much equipment than too little." Spyro spoke, having noted how Sethelis' eye was onto his backpack. "So, we'll be heading out at any moment. Retracing some of my steps in the journey I undertook to stop Gaul about…" He stopped, thinking for a little bit. "... Thirteen-ish years ago. Ancestors, time really does fly. And so shall we. Onwards!"
And with the brief anecdote cleared out of the way the three took to the skies once more, passing through Warfang's new defensive magical bubble and off into the distance. Sethelis had to admit that once they were through the defense, she felt whole again, as if a chunk of her very soul had been forcefully shoved back into her body. Lacking one's element in the day-to-day life was just hard enough, given how Dragons developed almost a lifestyle surrounding it, used it in their work, at home or just in general. But this? It was like a weight had been lifted from her chest and been replaced with a pleasant feeling of wholesomeness. She glanced towards Miarko, and noted pretty much instantly how that gleam in his eyes had returned. A fiery spark.
Even Spyro seemed more energetic and 'up', picking up his flying speed and almost zooming ahead of the two Captains.
The three didn't speak much, but rather focused on putting as much ground behind them as possible, given what a risk it was to go with such a small group and out into the wilderness. Land swooshed by beneath their paws in blurred mixes of greens, browns, yellows and even spots of deeper reds or purples. Autumn was finally creeping in over the Dragon Realms.
Given how slowly seasons moved Warfang was in trouble, as it relied on the Fire Dragon population to keep it clear of snow during winter. Sethelis thought to herself that they better solve this Anointed Ones issue quickly, or winter might just catch them dead in the frozen water. As they flew across a patch of wood which was slowly having it's trees replaced with large fungi and massive orange mushrooms towering above the ground, Sethelis called over to Spyro: "Director! Where exactly will we be headed?" She asked, to which Spyro just cryptically answered with a beat of his wings and a "We'll be following the Silver River!" He called over his draconic shoulder.
And indeed, not long after this they could see the long snake-like water source beneath them, slithering along the landscape. The sun was now standing far up in the sky, the time approaching midday. Something which was noticeable on the flying dragons. Their speed had dropped significantly, and Spyro was eventually lowering himself down to the ground, swiftly joined by the other two who were traveling with him. The Director was standing still for a bit, catching his breath. "I… I have spent far too much time behind a desk and too little working on my cardio." He said. "If Sparx was here, he'd be calling me fat again." The purple one continued, earning a questioning look from the two Captains.
"Your adoptive brother, sir?" Miarko asked, as Sethelis was busy drinking from the nearby river. To which Spyro nodded, turning to face the Fire dragon, a smile resting on his lips. "Yes, but that Dragonfly went back to my foster family." He explained, imitating his brother's voice for a bit: "Well, whilst you're busy leading this here big military spiel someone's gotta be back home and make sure the old ma' and pa' are alright, ya know?" Before laughing. "We write almost every day, though. Despite being so different, we're still family." Leading to Miarko thinking for a bit on his own family or if Sethelis missed her parents or siblings if she had any. The Dragons decided to rest for a bit. There is still a long way to go, as they are now almost at the place where Spyro started his journey the first time. The dragon temple located deep within the swamps which grew along the Silver River.
A/N:
I hope you've missed us, because we are back! Bringing things like a roadtrip to an unknown place filled with potential dangers!
Sounds exciting, I hope. Because, whilst me and Mike has taken a bit of a summer vacation away from writing and such (due to all sorts of different things. Real life can be a relaxation and a bother at times!) we should however be able to get back into the swing of things with our semi-regularly posted chapters soon enough!
As always, we appreciate any and all feedback! Reviews are always read and responded to when we can get to them.
See you next time!
-Mike & Hawk