Alrighty,i'll bet you've noticed i've changed up the plot a bit and it only goes further from here!

A week past and the young dragoness still kept on growing. Her teeth were almost all in and she was gonna try meat soon and she also resembled a four year old dragoness now. Venus couldn't keep her off him due to her being half his height now.

"Come on Vi-Vi! Chase me! Chase me!" Voltara yelled,wagging her tail playfully.

"Come on now. You need to go do your daily training with Shealyne. Remember?"

"Aw...i wanna play!" she whined.

Venus sighed and rolled his eyes. "We'll play after you finish your lesson,now run along."

"Humph,fine." she said in defeat. She had gotten better at speaking and she was excited knowing she would be able to fly soon,so she was rarely in a bad mood. Only time that happened was when the voice talked to her,but she had been silent for a while,pleasing the amethyst angel.

She quickly fought her way through the underbrush and made her way to a large clearing where she had been training and there Shea was waiting.

"Took you long enough. You've got plenty of energy,try using it to get here sooner."

Voltara rolled her eyes. "Yeah,yeah. So what are we doing today?"

Shea took a breath and reminded herself to be patient. "We're going to practice the part of fear that you've not been satisfactory in. Underwater and Arial combat."

Voltara went rigid. "Uh...i don't know how to fly yet remember and well...water is cold."

"Voltara. In order to fulfill your purpose you need to master these things. Every dragon is taught how to swim,fly and fight."

"Defeated twice in one day...fantastic..." "Fine,where do you want me?"

Shea nodded and pointed her tail towards a nearby lake. "You and i will dive under and you will use your Fear element to attack me. Got that?"

She hesitantly nodded. "Alright...if you wish..."

The duo walked over and Shea dove under,creating a massive splash that was strangely accurate in hitting the young one. "Really Shea? Did you have to get me wet before i even hit the water? Really? Ugh..."

Taking a deep breath she leaped head-first into the lake. Once underwater she instantly grabbed her shoulders with her front legs due to the temperature. "I swear it's like she makes it freezing on purpose! It's in the middle of summer and this water feels like there's a sheet of ice above it."

Shaking her head,she attempted to ignore it and scanned her surroundings. Once she spotted the red glow of Shea's eyes she instantly dove down as she barely avoided the blast. She quickly then turned herself around and set off a blast of her own but it hit empty water. "What? Oh crap!"

She sensed Shea's life force behind her and swam up but she wasn't fast enough and this time Shea's attack connected. The pain seared through her but unlike when she hatched,it didn't make her cry...it pissed her off. She noticed this started ever since she'd struck Fentus. Now every time she felt pain,her blood boiled and her first instinct was to blast the hell out of what struck her,but she tried to restrain herself.

"I don't wanna hurt her. I don't want to hurt her. I don't want to hurt her!" she repeated to herself.

Shea froze upon seeing the child's reaction. She saw that Voltara was clutching her head and shaking. "I didn't even hit her that hard..." "Voltara,are you alright?" she called out,not like the young female could answer.

(She hates you,blast her! She hates you,blast her!) the voice throbbed in her mind.

"No! No! We're just training! Stop it!" Voltara screamed mentally. The pain from Shea's element breath was long forgotten by now,all she could feel was the cold suffocating her and her throbbing brain. Seeing her begin to flail madly,Shea quickly swam over,grabbed her,and burst from the water. In the air,wings spread Shea tried to rouse the girl.

"Voltara! Relax! You're out!"

"Oh,i wish!" she responded,mentally as Shea's voice sounded so distant.

(She has you in her grip,attack her now! Before it's too late!)

"Why do you want me to attack her so badly!? What is there to fear!?"

(You.)

The dragoness grit her teeth. "W-what?"

(They fear you...and one day they will end you out of that fear. However,you must use that to your advantage. Show them how powerful you are and then they will never challenge you. Fear is your enemy and ally.)

"Voltara!"

The voice came through much clearer than it had before and Voltara managed to open her eyes. "S...Shea?"

"Oh thank gods! Are you alright!?"

"I...don't know...i'm scared..."

Shea blinked,feeling the child go limp in her arms as she proceeded to land. "Scared? Of...of what?"

"Me..."

"What element do you think she'll learn next?" Vexx asked,wondering if Venus had a clue. He and Nayer returned from scouting the area not long after Voltara left to go train with Shea and they were wondering when she'd need to train with another dragon.

"I'm not too sure Vexx. Shea says she's not doing so well with her current element,so it's hard to say when she'll unlock another."

Nayer's face twisted in concern. "I'm worried,Shea seems be a little...strict with her."

Vexx shrugged. "That's just Shea. You know as well as i do that she cares very much for the young one. She's just a bit more apprehensive. She only wants what's best for her."

"She could be a little gentler with her though. Voltara doesn't respond well to...her type of methods."

"We all can't be that soft on her forever. She needs a little wake up call."

"Vexx..."

"No,Nayer he's right. She just can't take it all at once. I should let Shea know when they come back."

"I'm sorry guys...i just can't help it...i like seeing her happy and i wish she could always be like that. Plus i kinda like coddling her...after all she'll never have a real mother."

"That seems to be a strange trend..."

"Venus,what do you mean?" Vexx asked,perplexed.

"Well,i found that despite there being multiple purple dragons and dragoness...the parents of them are never documented..."

"Are you sure? You couldn't find any names?"

Venus shook his head. "No,not in the slightest. Trust me i looked hard. I was hoping there was a chance the knowledge would help me locate Voltara's mother and father,but as you can tell i had no luck."

"Hm...oh! There's Shea! Guess they finished early!" Nayer yelled,gleefully. Unaware that would quickly fade away upon seeing Shea's face full of panic.

"Everyone,something's wrong!"

She quickly landed and laid the unconscious amethyst on the grass.

"Shea,what happened!?" Venus asked,attempting to rouse Voltara.

"I'm...not too sure...we were training and i blasted her with a weakened breath but instead of fighting back she started to flail and scream so i got her out of the water..."

"Go on..." Vexx encouraged,voice shaking.

"Then once i had her she started gritting her teeth like she was in pain. I managed to rouse her for a moment and she said she was scared...of herself..."

"Why would she...what..." Nayer mumbled,obviously confused.

"Volty...come on,wake up. Tell us what's wrong!" She didn't move.

"Venus calm down. Let's just put her in her nest and let her rest. She can explain when she wakes up."

"What if she doesn't!?"

"Venus..." Nayer started.

"No! Don't say it'll be ok! I've what what's happened to Purple dragons and this tends to lead into what the Dark Master-"

"VENUS! That is enough!" Shea bellowed,gaining everyone's attention. "Don't you DARE compare her to HIM! That is what Fentus thinks she is. Do NOT even think about feeling the same way!"

Venus went silent as he picked up the younger female gently in his teeth and walked into their cave,avoiding her icy gaze.

She sighed. "Please tell me neither of you share the same thought."

Both Vexx and Nayer shook their heads. "Of course not. Even if i tried,that sweet smile of hers would smash that awful thought to bits. I may not know as much about her species as you and Venus,but i can tell she's not evil. She's too loving." Nayer explained.

Vexx nodded. "Exactly. There's too much light in her eyes. No darkness could ever cloud that."

Shea nodded. "Agreed. Once she wakes up,hopefully she can ease Venus' nerves."

The trio looked and saw him laying in his nest with Voltara pulled close,tail wrapped around her protectively. Shea sighed again;"Let's leave them be for now."

(Voltara...)

Said child's name being said caused her emerald eyes to snap open in a panic. It was then she noticed the drastic change in surroundings. The space around her resembled a sky but it was a warping brilliance of dark blue and black and what she was standing on was a cold floating platform that had blue light seeping through the cracks with strange symbols etched into the stone. Being unfamiliar with this location,she looked around frantically as her breathing quickened.

(Don't be afraid.)

She let her fear turn to anger. "Why shouldn't i be!? I don't this place! Who the heck are you anyway!? I've always heard your weird freaking voice in my head and i don't wanna hear it anymore! Go away!"

(I would if i could. I don't exactly like being trapped inside you either.)

Voltara's anger faded to confusion with a twinge of fear. "Wh-what? What are you talking about?"

(Don't you know what you're meant to do?)

She wasn't sure how to answer that. The others had mentioned that she was meant to do something but she quite understood what. So she shook her head,no.

(Of course you don't. They never do,do they?)

They? "What do you mean they? Are there others like me?"

(There were,the ones who came before you. Your ancestors.)

"My...ancestors? Did they know what they were meant to do? Did they do it?"

(No,they did not. They were all told what their objective was and they all ignored it.)

"What was this objective?" she asked,voice shaking slightly as her wings twitched.

(To cover this land in Umbra and fire. Umbra means shadow.)

"Wh-what!? Well...what did they do instead?"

(They saved the land from the threat they were meant to aide.)

Voltara let her fear vanish like a specter and stood proud,wings spread and tail swishing from side to side. "Then that's what i will do! I would never shroud others with darkness! Especially not my friends! No one deserves pain like that!"

(Not even Fentus?)

Her breath hitched at the sound of his name and her reaction was extremely noticeable.

(He hurt you and tried to kill Venus. If he and your friends mean so much to you,shouldn't you get revenge for them? None of them can stop him,but you can.)

"What makes you think i can!? They're all much stronger than me!"

(No,they're not. You may think they are,but you couldn't be more wrong.)

"How could i ever be stronger than them!? I can't even master one element...let alone mutiple ones!"

The voice didn't respond this time,but what did respond to her was a shadow rising from the stone floor she was standing on. It formed a dragon about the same age as Nayer(Fifteen,think the size Spyro and Cynder were in Dawn of the Dragon) and then the shadow released the form.

It had the exact same structure as Voltara,only her colors were different. Instead of dark purple scales,hers were black and instead of blue horns,underside,wing webbing,and tail blades they were dark purple. Her head spines,markings,wing fire markings and middle tail blade were a navy blue instead of black. The two most defining features though were her eyes and...accessories. Her eyes were not the shining emerald color that Voltara had. Instead they were a dull gray with slit irises with an evil green fog seeping out the corners in a repeating wave. The accessories were a silver choker,silver bracers on both front legs and one on her tail. They were all adorned with orange gems and seemed to chain her to the stone floor.

(You are stronger than them and anything else in this world,because you have me.)

The moon was high in the sky when the little she-dragon awoke. She at first was blinded by the darkness of the cave but soon her eyes adjusted and she was able to handle it. It was then she realized she was laying next to Venus. Right next to him.

"What happened? Did i pass out or...i guess Shea brought me back...i probably pissed her off bigtime..." she thought,worridly.

(Don't let it bother you. What they think of you doesn't and shouldn't matter to you.)

"So what exactly are you,my shadow?"

(Yes,what you saw is an example of what you might resemble when you get older. Looks pretty good,right?)

Voltara blushed. "I...i don't know...i guess..."

(Come now,don't be so modest. You're a powerful and beautiful dragoness. You should be bragging like no tomorrow.)

She rolled her eyes and huffed. "What would be the point of that? Maybe when i'm older and have a better hold on my powers i can brag,but right now i'd just look like an idiot. More than i already do."

(You're no imbicile. You just need the right teacher,like myself.)

"Like i'd trust you to teach me anything,you wanted me to hurt Shea!"

(Like she didn't deserve it. You know she did.)

"She did not!"

(You need air. Do you want to go outside?) the voice echoed,changing the subject.

"Yes...but how can i get out? I'm almost being crushed by Venus over here,not to mention that Shea and Vexx are standing guard just outside."

The voice chuckled. (Simple,by using one of my elements. Shadow.)

"Shadow? Oh,that's Venus' element! Wait,you can use that element too?"

(Yes,but you will have to trust me here. Just for a moment,do what i say.)

"Humph,that depends on what you want me to do."

(You won't have to lay a claw on anyone,alright?)

Still unsure,Voltara hesitantly agreed. "Fine,what do you want me to do?"

(Alright,what i need you to do is open your mind and heart to me. Think about the soothing,silent abyss of darkness and then focus on how much you wish to hide within it. This will enable you to disappear under the ground and hide in the shadows of anything. Living or dead.)

The child shuddered at the last phrase,but did what her shadow said. She thought about the darkness and thought over and over how much she wished to escape through it. She then shut her eyes. When she opened them,she was floating in the very dark void she wished to enter. She started to panic being almost engulfed in the Umbra,but suddenly her shadow appeared next to her. Not in full form,but it the form coated by her own type of Umbra,which was black and purple flame with sparks coming off her.

"Where am i!?" she asked,frantically.

(You're in Venus' shadow. You did it.)

She gasped "Really!? Um,now what do i do?"

(You can't see right now because you're in a cave. Move forward and you'll be able to see in a moment.)

"Alright." She started trying to move and found that moving through the darkness was very similar to swimming in water and so she used that knowladge to help herself through. Sure enough,after a few minutes of swimming through the shade she found that she could see outside. To her it looked like she was seeing it from underwater,further causing her to compare it to being underwater.

(Good,now look at Vexx and Shea. See how they don't notice you?)

Looking over,she noticed that her shade was right. Despite being right next to the duo,they took no notice of her.

"Why can't they see me? Can they not hear me either?"

(No,they cannot hear you and the reason they can't see you is right now you just look like a shadow being cast. Not to mention it's the middle of the night. It's nt easy to see a small shadow like yours in the dark. Unless you're another Shadow dragon that is. They see very well in the dark. You'll develop that as you grow as well.)

"Ok...wait how come you can show yourself under here,but not above?"

(I am your shadow Voltara. Where are shadows usually seen?)

"Below us..."

(Exactly. Down here are were all shadows hide,only a select few are strong enough to reveal themselves to creatures who cannot enter this plane. I am not able to do this yet but as your power grows,so will mine.)

This made her shiver. She was worried what would happen if her shadow grew stronger,she still didn't really trust her. At all. "Where should i go now?"

(Head into the woods to a grassy cliff-side not far from where you were attacked. I think you'll like what you see there.)

Nodding,she swam through the shadows of the trees and various animals that called the place home,a warm breeze occasionally piercing the cold stillness of the darkness. As she moved she noticed how alluring the forest looked at night. With the leaves of trees casting their helpful shade onto the forest floor and the stars twinkling above as the moonbeams shone through the tree gaps...the whole scene seemed...intoxicating.

(We're here.) the voice said suddenly,snapping her out of her trance.

"Ok,um how do i get out?"

(How else? You've been comparing this to swimming,how do you exit a body of water?)

"Ah,gotcha." she responded,swimming upwards and bursting through the Umbra like a dolphin from water. It even left fragments of darkness behind and she was dripping with flickering black flames. She was about to express distaste of that,but then she saw what her shadow had led her there for. Just below the cliff was a magnificent field of black and red flowers with crystals of various colors piercing through the ground,reflecting the moon's light which shone down like a sheet on the whole scene. Voltara had never seen such beauty and her heart practically flew into a graceful somersault.

"It's...amazing. Wow...How did you..."

(It doesn't matter little one. What does matter is that those dragons haven't been forthright with you. Darkness isn't something you should fear,it's a natural beauty that you should hope to gain favor of. Just look at that wonderful moon.)

"I'm...looking...i'm speechless right now. Is this really what darkness is? The others act like it's a nasty poison...but here it just...it looks too beautiful..."

"Not all darkness is this beautiful. Most of it is what your allies say,a nasty venom."

Voltara swerved around,trying to locate the source of the voice. Her heart was skipping beats as she thought she'd been caught by Venus or something,but when the owner of the voice made himself known,she relaxed.

The owner was a male black dragon with blue eyes,horns,underside,and spines along with a waning crescent moon marking on his right shoulder.

"Who...are you?" she asked.

"My name is Crow. What's your name little one?"

Voltara didn't want to answer at first,as she had been warned about being too trusting and she guessed Crow could sense her hesitance.

"No need to be afraid. I'm not on Fentus' side. Quite the opposite."

That's all she needed to hear. "Oh! In that case,my name is Voltara,but my friends call me Volty."

Crow chuckled and sat next to her. "Not a bad nickname. I've never had one since my name is short enough." Although he knew that was a lie.

She thought about this for a second and jumped up saying;"I could call you Crowy!"

He chuckled again. "Call me what you wish little one. Tell me though,was that the Shadow element you were using?"

She froze. "He's a Shadow dragon,isn't he?"

(Yes,most black dragons are.)

"Shoot..."

Meanwhile,Crow looked on as she seemed to be having a mental argument with herself. "Is she talking to herself?" "Voltara?"

This snapped her out of it. "Hm? Oh! Um..yes?"

"You don't need to be ashamed. You're a purple dragoness,you're supposed to acquire elements such as that."

The child huffed. "Yeah,trust me...i've heard that more than enough times. It's almost gotten annoying."

"It's a path you should stay on,believe me...straying too far from your intended path is a fatal mistake sometimes."

"Fatal?"

"It means,deadly." he explained,lowering his voice as his blue eyes hardened,showing no light.

She gulped. "Oh...alright..."

Realizing he may have been too harsh,he gazed down to the scene below. "Would you like to go play down there?"

Her nervousness vanished instantly. "Yes! Yes! Oh my gosh,YES!"

"Alright,come with me." he stated,opening his wings and gliding down. Leaving Voltara feeling really awkward. Once he landed,he looked back up at the cliff expecting her to follow. "What's the holdup little one?"

"I...can't fly!" she called down.

"Those dragons should speed up their teachings,you should know how to fly by now. Alright,well why don't you give it a shot right now?"

"What!? But i can't..."

(Trust him. He's a black dragon,so you can trust what he says.)

"But i don't trust what YOU say."

(Says the one who just entered the Umbra by following my instructions.)

"Grr...alright fine!" she said,aloud. "What should i do?" she asked,now calling down to Crow.

"Get a good running start and right before you leap off the cliff,spread your wings all the way out. You should be able to rise and once you do,flap your wings every once in a while to stay in the air."

She stood still for a moment to process the information. (Remember. Run,spread,and flap. Simple.)

She took a breath and gulped. "Alright,i can do this." With that,she took a few steps back and charged forward. As she reached the cliff's edge,she opened her blue and black wings and jumped as high as she could. To her surprise,she actually did start to rise and in response she started to flap frantically to stay up,but she found this was causing her to lower.

"Don't flap too quickly! That won't help you! Flap occasionally!" Crow called.

Hearing his advice,she tried it and saw that it did help. She was actually flying! "Oh my god,i'm actually flying! I'm flying shadow!"

(Well done. I'm very proud and i'll bet he is too. Why don't you go down and receive your praise.)

"Ok,how do i get down?"

(Maneuver your body downwards and glide down. Near the bottom,flap your wings to regain yourself,then fold them.)

"Alright,got it."

Doing what her shadow said,she landed in front of Crow who looked pleased. "Well done little one. You should be proud. I sure am. Now,there is one more thing i wish to teach you."

She cocked her head to the right. "What's that?"

He motioned to the glowing crystals. "Over there,come."

Following behind him,she noticed how good the grass felt at night. It was cool and soft on her paws unlike during the day when i was crunchy and rough,yet another thing the night gifted her.

"Here,you see these? They're essential for a dragons survival."

"They are?" she asked. "Why have i never been told about them?"

"I don't know,but you should've been. The red ones will heal your wounds and they are helpful if no one around knows healing magic. After all,it is hard to learn and master. The green ones help restore your elemental energy."

"It has to be restored? Maybe that's why i'm having so much trouble...why didn't they tell me!?"

"Relax,they might've had a reason. Don't jump to conclusions. Here,just go and take your anger out on one. Once you shatter it,your body will absorb the shards. You'll feel a surge of power,i'm sure."

"Alright!" she shouted,raising her rear in the air like a canine and charging forward at the nearest green crystal. Smashing into it with her head caused it to crack so she finished the job by whacking it with her tail since her claws were too short. As she saw the shards hit the ground she saw them float into the air and then into her and she marveled at how good it felt. It felt like a warm snuggle and she purred at the sensation.

"Feel better,Voltara?"

"Yes,very!" she shouted,hopping around and tail going like a propeller.

"Alright,alright calm down. Now using your Shadow element,why don't you head home? It's almost dawn."

"Alrighty! Bye!" she said,starting to dash away.

"Wait!" she stopped.

"Don't tell your allies you saw me,alright? This'll be our little secret."

She gave him a concerned look,but her shadow once again convinced her to trust him. "Alright,i won't tell! Bye!" With that,she dove into the shadow of the treeline and vanished.

"Crow,is it?"

Crow turned his blue gaze to see a familar and nasty sight. "Fentus. What do you want? If it's the kid,you'll have to go through me."

"Of course i want her,but not for the reason you think."

"Elaborate."

"Fine." he snorted. "It is true that i still want her gone,but now i have found that there is a better use for her."

"That is?"

He grinned. "Her soul,Crow. Her soul. If i can get a hold of her soul and shatter it then this awful birth of purple dragons will cease. There will be no base to create the soul of a new one."

Crow's claws and out and his teeth flashed in the moonlight. "Why the HELL would you come to me with this information?"

"Because i know you hold a grudge against her species as well."

He froze. "How is he aware of that!?" "That doesn't mean i'll help you in killing her and her species off."

"Crow,think about it. The only times a purple dragon is born is when the world is in dire peril or they are born to bring about our destruction. Do you see any threats to our world?"

Crow maintained his hard glare,but said nothing.

"I thought not. Like it or not Crow,Voltara will be the next bringer of destruction. She will become the Umbra Mistress,unless we end her now."

Crow looked away,no longer to maintain eye contact.

"Crow...believe it or not,i sympathize. It's hard that the Terror of the Skies was your ancestor. That's led you to believe that you must aid the purple dragon in whatever form they come in. It's a philosophy that's been passed down in your family for years,but you must remember..." he paused,looking at the marking on his shoulder.

"A purple dragon was also the reason your family was cursed with the marks of darkness."