The truth of Purple
"You know what we want is the same as you Spyro! No blood has to be spilt." Umbrafor ordered.
"I will tell you what I told your master, I'm doing things on my own terms!" Spyro bellowed back.
"Why do you continue this stubbornness? It won't get you anyway on your own."
"I refuse to be forced to work for you, where you can manipulate me just like you did to all these other dragons. I'm doing things my way."
"And that means teaming up with traitors? Why is that you team up with him, who used to be one of us yet you refuse to join forces with us?" Umbrafor mentioned, directing this comment more at Charditus than anyone.
"Because I know what you have done to him and his team, and is it because of things like that I am forced to do this. Now give me Cynder, and then I won't have to tear your throat out."
Though Charditus was focused on the conversation he became wary that the other sentinels were started coming out of hiding, slowly encircling the two dragons.
Cynder on the other hand was fully focused on the conversation. Spyro was speaking in a way she hadn't heard before, it was full of hate. She could also feel some sort of disturbance coming off him, even at this distance.
"We'll here you go. I was planning on giving her to you anyway. However, I won't be as gentle as originally intended." Umbrafor hissed.
And just like that Umbrafor flung Cynder as hard as he could at towards Spyro. The black dragoness tried to open her wings to slow her tumble, but the way she was spinning made it useless. So instead she braced for the hard landing that was to come.
Thud! She hit the black tile floor like brick and continued sliding until she came to a resting halt just below the set of stairs Spyro was standing on, unconscious but otherwise fine. A glorious bruise formed from where she landed but no permanent damage done.
Spyro dropped the diary on the ground and rushed over to Cynder's side, picking her up and holding her close.
Charditus too scampered down the stairs to cover Spyro. But this proved to be a mistake as two of the sentinels got behind them and blocked off their escape route. It was nine vs two, unfair odds even if one of them was a purple dragon.
Cynder was thankfully alright and should awake in time. But still Spyro held on for his own comfort. He had longed for her touch for over her a month, to feel her heart beat against his, simply to drive away this hole caused by loneliness. But now…now was not the time he could indulge himself. Spyro felt rage invade his veins. The sight of Cynder carelessly and helplessly tossed into the air triggered the dragon in the wrong way. Spyro could feel the darkness crawling back into his mind, dark thoughts of vengeance and hatred filled his head as the shadows overflowed out and onto his skin. Turning him back into his shadowy hideous form of Dark Spyro.
Charditus was in shock and awe of the sight. Umbrafor had mentioned about this before multiple times. But to see it first hand was something else. The crackling lightning, the distortion and even the white saucers that were his eyes quickened Charditus's breath. Even the other dragons took a few cautious steps back just to be safe. Giving this evil incarnation more room.
"Don't you feel it Spyro? The voice in your head, they're calling. Fate is calling for you to do what is needed. So, come with me and together we will accomplish what we sought to do." Umbrafor tried one last time to reason.
"You will all die!" Spyro hissed, voice shrill and distorted.
"Soldiers, do what you will with the traitor but leave the other two alive!" Umbrafor ordered.
All hell broke loose. Charditus's attention was thrown as a fire ball whistled past his face belonging from none other than Boldor.
"I've been waiting a long time to finally smash your face in." Infernius eagerly spoke. "You lot back off, he's mine." He demanded.
The other dragons backed off, all well-aware of Infernius's wild temper.
"Infernius, you know what Umbrafor is planning to do. We should be stopping him!" Charditus tried reasoning, leaping back to avoid another fire ball.
"And why would I do that?" the other fire dragon laughed, spitting more fire balls in between pieces of dialogue.
"Because thousands of innocents will die!"
"Who am I to argue who dies when I'll be the one alive, I've got everything I need right here. Who cares when I'll be the one alive and you won't."
Charditus rolled to his left when Infernius lunged forward claws first.
"There is no getting through to him, or any of them. Umbrafor has broken then beyond reason and guilt. The only thing I can do then is put them down." Charditus thought.
Charditus once again dove backwards as Infernius slashed forward.
"Run coward run!" He squealed in excitement, blood lust over taking his mind as he went into a frenzy. His claw strikes became quicker and deadlier. Things only got worse when Infernius activated his ability and his claws caught alight, glowing bright and hot.
Charditus didn't get a chance to retaliate, all he could do is hope Charditus exhausts himself soon. He dashed to his left once more as the frenzied dragon raked downwards once more. Coincidentally a rogue ice spike hit the same place, whistling passed Charditus and instead embedding into Infernius's shoulder.
A loud howl from Infernius quickly broke his rage as he clutched his injured shoulder.
"What the hell Saphira!?" He roared.
The gorgeous dragoness frowned at him. *Well you shouldn't have been standing there." She growled back.
"Grr…just be more careful then. He is mine!" Infernius growled to himself, chasing after the other red dragon once more.
"Not if I have anything to do with that." Saphira thought to herself determined.
Charditus backed off a little, but due the cramped conditions of the courtyard movement were restricted and he found himself sandwiched in between the two dragons.
Infernius leapt first into the air. Bearing out his claws wide to rake deep into the skin of the dragon, however this left his underbelly open wide. Charditus aimed himself ready to counter attack. But didn't get a chance when Saphira intercepted and struck the red dragon heavily in the head, causing his brain to collide with his skull and knocking him unconscious.
Charditus could barely believe it as Saphira landed gracefully in front of him.
"Are you done gawking? We need to get Cynder to safety." Saphira reminded, hurrying and grabbing one part of the dragoness.
"What are you doing?" Charditus asked bewildered.
"I'll explain later, but we need to get into the tower out of here before Spyro completely loses control and turns on us."
"You expect me believe you just like that?"
"No, I don't expect to earn your trust right now. But we don't exactly have the time to do so, so let's move."
Charditus didn't question anymore, he simply stopped talking and hurried over, picking up the other half of Cynder and together they carried her back up the steps.
Two of the sentinels noticed the trio of dragons making a break for the tower, so they broke off from the others and charged up the stairs.
"You continue upwards, I'll slow them down." Saphira decided.
She gently dropped Cynder to the ground and went to engage the other two dragons.
However, a torrent of fire streaked between, creating a three-foot fire wall that divided them. The two dragons reared up in as the barrier burst way above them.
Charditus and Spyro shared a quick glance of acknowledgement.
"The longer we take the more risk we are at." Saphira ordered, retreating and helping carry Cynder once more.
"We won't have to worry about friendly fire, Spyro intentionally meant to do that." Charditus reassured.
Both dragons took Cynder up the last step and safely around through the door.
"Sir! The other two managed to get through the door." One of the sentinels called out.
"Do not worry about them for the moment. Focus all your efforts on Spyro!" Umbrafor yelled.
Spyro had a lot more control than Saphira previously commented. But even then, he could feel the shadows creeping up on him, threatening to take control. This form of Spyro gave him immense power and new enhancements to his current elements such as the lingering fire he made earlier.
But even then, with this power Spyro was struggling. He was facing off against seven dragons, all specialised and trained in taking down purple dragons, masters of teamwork and thus very effective hunting machines.
Two of the dragons, an ice and fire one, twin brother and sister were in almost synchronisation. One of their tactics were hitting their target with fire, then ice so the target was hit constantly feeling hot then cold and thus wearing them down. This was what they were doing to Spyro, who found it more annoying than anything but even he began feeling the effects. On top of these the other four dragons were also using their powers against him, in total the constant bombardment was exhausting Spyro, as he didn't have any time to retaliate. Umbrafor merely watched on, confident that he had finally caught this elusive dragon.
Spyro was getting beyond breaking point, angered he couldn't do anything to fight back.
"Enough!" He roared. Upon those words, dark winds spawned from his body and pushed outwards with huge energy, hitting the dragons around and sending them flying into the surrounding crystals, many left groaning and aching from the sudden and sheer power. Even the flames Spyro created were snuffed out completely. Umbrafor too was thrown to his feet, unmoving for the moment.
Spyro was panting, this burst…this fury was more powerful than any he had done before. But if did what it needed to do. Feeling he was now safe Spyro turned and gravitated slowly towards the doorway, where he had seen his allies safely make it.
However, as Spyro moved further inwards a sudden wind blew into his face, getting stronger and stronger by the second until it felt like a gale hitting him. Spyro tried very hard to resist this sudden storm, flapping his wings with all his might but it was simply no use, he was getting pushed back too much.
Spyro turned to see what caused this sudden wind to find Umbrafor standing there, completely unaffected by this unusual phenomenon.
"HE must be causing this!" Spyro thought to himself annoyed.
Without hesitation Spyro opened his maw and charged up a beam of convexity. Five seconds later he unleashed it, straight into the chest of Umbrafor. At first Umbrafor tried resisting, standing his ground and grunting from the burning pain. He dropped his wind power and instead fully focused on fighting. Eventually though he succumbed to the pressure, getting launch clear off the ground and straight into the crystals several meters behind him. Black smoke obscured him from sight but Spyro didn't care, the threat was gone.
Spyro hovered over to where the diary remained remarkably undamaged, and picked it up in his free talons, before going flowing lightly into the tower, door closing.
Umbrafor meanwhile just simply laid there resting, the smoke cleared enough for him to just see the dark dragon enter the tower. He struggled to get up, very few dragons could survive a blast like that, let alone rise-up after it. However, he was not uninjured. Blood seeped in constant streams from the centre of his chest, and he even felt very weak, like he could topple over any moment. But he had a mission to fulfil, a goal given from Fate herself so he couldn't falter now. He stumbled forward back into the courtyard and surveyed the surroundings. Destruction surrounded, along with the moaning bodies of his sentinels.
"Everyone get up!" He yelled. But no one responded, instead they continued grovelling and whining of their pain.
"Now! Or I will truly give you a reason to whine." He snapped, and upon hearing those words, upon understanding their meaning all seven dragons, even Infernius who had recovered from his hit scuttled to their feet and slinked over, even if they wished to do nothing more than complain and take a rest.
"That was disgraceful of all of you…However it is not over. Spyro is holed up in this tower and he will not escape!" Umbrafor certified.
Umbrafor and his seven followers approached the door, some now less than eager to reface the purple dragon. The door slid open, showing no purple dragon or any others at that.
"No…where are they? This wasn't shown to me…I was shown to have the purple dragon in my grasps!" He said bewildered. Losing his cool for once in his life. "Don't just stand there, spread out! Search the roof and all the rooms, they have to be around here somewhere."
"You heard him! Get a move on!" Infernius added. Reasserting himself as the bossy underling he was known for.
"Infernius…a moment please." Umbrafor said sweetly.
"Yes sir?" he replied., getting closer to the black dragon.
"Can you please tell me…WHY I am down to seven dragons!" He erupted out in fury.
This made Infernius flinch and suddenly rather nervous. "It…erm appears she has betrayed us sir." He replied meekly.
"Betrayed us? Is it coincidental…that two leaders…two of three of my most trusted dragons turn against me?" Umbrafor threatened.
"If you're worried about me sir, well…you don't."
"You have better be correct, because these turns of events do not bode well for you!" Umbrafor cautioned.
"Of cause sir, but I won't fail you like those traitors."
A moment of silence passed.
"Well…why are you still here? Get searching!" Umbrafor commanded.
"But sir, I'm a team leader, I tell them-"
"After that disgraceful performance, I have no choice but to take control of the whole operation. You are but an underling now, equal to your peers. Now go, I have to report this failure to Master Malefor…"
Infernius muttered some nonsense before sulking outside.
Umbrafor felt the same energy grip his finger, and knowingly he raised his ring to eye level.
"I feel you're stress, Umbrafor. Did things not go according to plan? Malefor grinned.
"How was it possible for them to get away?!"
"Do go on."
"After a disappointing loss, he and his allies retreated into this very tower…but they are nor here… they got away somehow…"
Malefor seemed to found the whole thing amusing.
"And how do you suppose he got away? You know all about the purple dragon regime."
"Of cause…He must have teleported them, he was still in his dark form." Umbrafor growled in frustration. "Master, where are they now? We need to find them."
"Can you not just find them with your abilities?"
"His convexity beam as left me…slightly weakened, thus I cannot summon my powers right now."
"Oh how disappointing…but lucky for you I can sense him, they are in the northern side of the burnt lands now, right on the border."
"Then we shall head there at once." Umbrafor decided.
"All units be ready! We need to get moving."
Meanwhile Infernius was sulking outside, he had always stayed on Umbrafor's good side, but was worse that out of all the dragons that turned against, it was Saphira…
"Why did you do this Saphira…Why would you join the traitors? We had everything here…friends, respect, each other…and even a place in the after world together…"
"Hey boss, we need to go, Big man needs us." One of his passing friends mentioned. "You okay boss?"
"Sure, let's just go." Infernius replied.
The other red dragon simply looked at him, this wasn't the Infernius he knew.
"Why are you still here, we got a dragon to catch." Infernius added with a bit more pep.
"Roger that!" The other dragon replied more convinced. Both dragons headed back into the room where Umbrafor was waiting.
"We head for the burnt lands! That is where we are going." Umbrafor decided.
"But sir, we were just there, and we're exhausted and hurt…" One of the twins complained.
"You don't deserve rest. Not after such an appalling show of force. No, instead I am going to push you even further. Now move out! Anyone falling behind will be left behind!" Umbrafor snapped, as he and the other dragons flew upwards and out through the hole in the roof, back towards where they just were."
The door slammed behind Spyro, he gazed upon the three dragons huddling close. Saphira and Charditus were tending to Cynder. Both dragons carefully eyed Spyro as he begun levitating nearer.
With a single flash Spyro transported himself and the three other dragons away from the danger, and straight into the edges of the burnt lands, just beyond the borders of the flame wall.
This sudden journey made Charditus and Saphira minds spin while they struggled to not hurl up.
Spyro though seemed completely unaffected, he simply gazed upon his friends waiting for them to recover.
Charditus was the first to do so, as he looked up at Spyro.
"How…how did you do that?" He asked in dismay.
Spyro then out of nowhere grunted in pain, suddenly slightly losing his balance as he tensed up. Electricity sparked off. Charditus tried to move in to help but Spyro put a talon out to stop him. Instead a moment pass as Spyro willingly broke the spell over-casted on himself. The shadows dissipated and the amethyst eyes returned. It was getting harder to do so, but Spyro was still in control…for now.
After a moment of heavy breathing Spyro answered. "It is one of the abilities of the purple dragon. Though I seem to only able to it in my dark form. He then looked down upon Cynder. "How is she?" Spyro asked monotone.
Charditus raised a brow at the sudden lack of emotion Spyro had. This was the dragoness he sought after for so long, yet know he asked the question like she was just a stranger.
Saphira, who was less informed on the situation simply followed his instructions, leaning over and checking her pulse on her neck. "She'll be fine and awake shortly." She answered.
"Alright. I need you to stay here, I have some business I need to attend to." Spyro ordered.
"Where are you going?" Charditus asked confused.
"I've got things I need to do, and besides. I need you to question your friend and ask her why she is here. So, I presume if I her alone with someone she knows she will be more inclined to tell. Besides that, Cynder won't be going anywhere in her current state and in treacherous lands like this we need all the help we can get. If, however you get in trouble call for me." Spyro said taking off for a mound of black rocks not too far away. As quickly as they appeared Spyro was gone again.
Charditus was baffled to say the least, still watching at where Spyro disappeared. "The idea of leaving someone alone like this is not making it obvious like he did…"
"Spyro seems a lot rougher than usual lately…" he spoke mostly to himself.
"Can you blame him, after everything we had done to him…I guess you'll want to know why I'm here then, that's what Spyro asked you to do now isn't it." Saphira called out, grasping Charditus attention.
"I don't think he meant it forcibly…but I admit I am intrigued. Why would you risk everything including your own life to help us? Unless this is all a ruse to get us killed." Charditus said as he approached, he hunched his back ready to pounce.
"No! That isn't why I am here." The truth is…I was scared." Saphira pleaded, her voice faltered slightly as the truth was finally about to come out in one big cascade.
"Scared?"
"It all started when we were still hatchlings thrusted into this stupid program. At first, even if we didn't get a choice to leave, even if we were isolated from the world I was honoured to be a Sentinel. To be able to serve my kind when we were ready was what kept me going. But when me and my squad were finally forced into work it was completely the opposite to what were trained for. Umbrafor lied about everything going on in the outside world and said that we were the good people." Saphira sombrely whimpered, staring at the ground. "But were NOT the good guys." She hissed, kicking a pebble on the ground. "We were nothing but bullies."
"Keep going…with the story." Charditus ushered.
"Right…shortly after we were discharged for 'duty', Umbrafor called our squad in because he needed to talk to us. To tell us there is more to our purpose than to stopping criminals. But when he revealed the truth…when he told us that our true purpose is to help him destroy the world…my world just broke in half." Saphira was almost in tears at this point. Charditus could feel it, real emotion coming off her. Instead he came and sat down beside her, draping a comforting wing around her.
"Keep going." Charditus encouraged.
"I was torn. I didn't want the world to end…but at the same time I was scared of dying. So, with no choice I played along. Everything up to this point I've done was to just blend in. So, when I heard the world almost ended…that Spyro brought it back together. I was just an emotional wreck of relief, glad that this whole thing had been put to an end, that I could finally be free. But no…my hope was crushed when Umbrafor told us of the plan, to use the Dream Caster to have another attempt at destroying this world."
"The Dream Caster?" Charditus asked.
Saphira nodded. "It's a room created by Malefor that has a switched inside. When properly set up it has the power to make the user's dream become a reality."
"Wait…how come he hasn't used it then?"
"Because like I said it requires a lot of setting up to do. That's why me and Infernius squad was forced to collect dark crystals."
"Right…back to the story sorry, I distracted you."
"After learning of what Umbrafor planned I really wanted to run away. But what use was that if he could just find me again. So again, I secluded my true wishes deep into my heart and acted on."
"What changed that?"
"Well…hoping Spyro stopped Umbrafor was my original ideal…but one month passed and nothing happened. Time was running out and I realised I couldn't hide forever. But at the same time, I felt like I was alone amongst all of you, that I no one felt the same way I did. That was at least until I heard your squad had been released it gave me some hope, and…I admire you for that." Saphira said, brightening up a little and smiling.
Charditus felt his cheeks burn a little but quickly shook it away.
"And then what?"
"Well I…after you left Umbrafor put a strangle hold on us, taking direct control over our squads so were forced to listen to him. Then the whole Burnt lands happened with your squad and then Concurrent skies…"
Charditus felt his heart sink a little at the mention of his squad, he hadn't had much time to think about them since and the loss still weighs heavily on him.
"When I saw you standing side by side with Spyro I knew it was my time to break free. So, I did what I did and at last defected to your side. Spyro is our only hope of stopping this…and although I fear losing my life…I'm more afraid of losing this world again." Saphira spoke passionately.
Charditus nodded.
"Do you believe me?" Saphira asked.
"Honestly I had my doubts…but I believe you." Charditus responded.
Saphira sighed upon those words and rested her head peacefully on his neck. She was glad she finally didn't have to be fully aware in case someone discovered her charade. However, to her surprise he moved his away awkwardly.
"I'm sorry…that spot was reserved for someone else." Charditus replied.
"Oops…sorry." Saphira bumbled as she inelegantly shifted herself away.
"No, no…not your fault. I guess I haven't really gotten to grips with it yet." Charditus sighed.
"Though I don't understand how it feels to lose all your friends. I fully regret not being able to help. So, I understand if you hate me."
"It's not your fault. You couldn't risk blowing your own cover. No, only one dragon is responsible for this and he will pay."
"I've spent too long hiding, and if Umbrafor is truly this close to destroying the world then I will stand by you." Saphira added confidently.
Silence fell between them as they waited patiently for Spyro to return.
"Any idea why Spyro brought us here?" Saphira asked.
"Honestly No, he has refrained from telling me too much, but I trust him if will lead to the demise of Umbrafor and the rest of the sentinels. How about you? Do you have any more information Umbrafor kept from my squad?"
"No…" Saphira replied.
"Is something wrong?" Charditus quickly responded.
"Charditus…though I was pretending to be a sentinel. There were some things I weren't faking like my friends. Do we really have to fight them?"
"If you stand by our side then yes."
"Can we not at least try and persuade them first, see if they will at least join our side?"
"Umbrafor has broken them, corrupted their minds with his lies. Do you really believe any of them are capable of that?"
"I'm sure at least some of them are. The twins Blaze and Glaze would. Even if none of them join isn't it worth to at least give them the option. They had been through the same torture we have, and look at how many of us have come back from it. Me, you and your entire squad, that's nearly half of the sentinels. So isn't it at least worth the shot."
Charditus stared blankly for a moment to make up his mind. "If someone else besides you had asked this I would've doubted it. But it being you has proven to me even the other sentinels can change. Alright we will try to at least talk sense into them."
"What about Spyro though, do you think he'll agree?"
"From his expression, he doesn't sound like he really cares. I mean he let you in without an explanation. So, I doubt he will argue."
"Okay sweet." Saphira smiled.
"Let us not celebrate yet…this is only the start of a battle, and no doubt Umbrafor will be back."
Silence fell between them again. Looking for something to keep interaction Saphira brought Cynder up.
"So how did you find her?" She peaked up.
"Cynder? We'll what you don't know is that we had encountered the frost golem before."
"Really? That's very coincidental." Saphira responded amazed.
"We thought so as well. But we had encountered it in a section that was one way in and one way out. So, we followed it and eventually stumbled upon a cave. It was there we found Cynder encased in a crystal-like breath." Charditus explained, his voice darkening as he told his story.
Saphira then asked the dreaded question. "Then what happened?"
"We couldn't break Cynder out of the crystal. The golem then reappeared, and although it broke Cynder out itself. It also took my only friends away from me."
"Did they die bravely at least? In what they believed in?" Saphira asked softly, hoping to bring closure to the pained dragon.
"They did…" Charditus replied weakly. Images of Blizarus's last few comments before getting blasted popped into his mind.
"They faded one by one, blasted by the creature's breath..." Charditus added.
"Just like how it captured Cynder?" Saphira said tactlessly.
Charditus eyes grew wide.
Saphira then hurriedly apologised. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean it like that."
"Just like how it captured Cynder…" Raced through his mind, realisation begun creeping in his mind.
They will still alive.
He immediately spun Saphira around in a hug, repeating "thank you" over and over again. Saphira was getting more confused and dizzy at his sudden outburst.
"Thank you for what?" Was the only thing she blurted out. One moment he didn't like her touch the next he was all over her.
"Don't you see! They are still alive! Just like Cynder was they are Alive!" He whooped in overwhelming joy. Tears of happiness ran down his cheeks.
Saphira reread her sentence in her mind. Charditus finally let her go as he barely could contain himself.
"But Charditus…even if they are alive aren't they buried alive in that cave. We all felt the vibrations and saw the rocks fall even if we weren't there."
"Saphira! Why are you trying to dampen the chance. They are alive and I've got to go save them right now." Charditus argued, getting ready to dash off.
"I'm not trying to ruin the moment. I just don't want you getting your hopes up only for them to be broken…There will be a lot of things that will affect our chance of finding them. Things like where the cave is, how bad the cave in is…If the golem is still there. Just all of them combined means our chances of successfully getting them is next to zero." Saphira insisted, understanding his desperation but also understanding the fact they would need the golem to break the crystal, but at the same time they would need to fight it, which they couldn't do even when there were four of them, let alone three dragons.
"But I got to save them…" Charditus's voice wavered.
"And we will. Or at the very least try to. But I just don't want you to feel disappointed if we can't…"
"I can't just leave them..."
"We will talk to Spyro about it when he gets back okay?"
Admitting defeat Charditus let go of a sad tear. Knowing that he could go save them yet at the same time being unable to was too much to bear. "Okay…"
While Charditus looked down at the ground he noticed he still had the thick leather armour on from his time in the sentinels, bad memories surfaced in his mind. Without hesitation, he snipped the chin strap and took the helmet off.
"What are you doing?" Saphira asked.
"Cutting my ties to the sentinels. When I find my friends, I want to greet them as free dragon." Charditus replied, cutting the straps on the piece of leather that held onto his tail.
"Oh." Saphira replied. "Alright I suppose I better do the same." Saphira shrugged.
Both dragons continued stripping down their armour bit by bit, chucking it aside in a leather pile. It was just surprising they lasted this long, constantly battered by axes, clubs and an assortment of other weapons.
"Ancestors it feels good to be rid of them." Charditus sighed satisfied, not only was it a large weight removed but the straps constantly rubbed against his body creating friction burns. Saphira too was soon finished, chucking her tail plate onto the pile.
"Not going to lie, it does feel great." Saphira smiled.
Charditus then just felt the urge to just lay down, to place his stomach down on the ground without his underbelly armour obstructing. It felt odd, but the warm ground was relaxing to say the least. He closed his eyes and least this new wave of pleasant heat spread throughout his skin causing his heart to melt just a little. If only his friends were here to experience this.
"What are you doing?" Saphira asked once more.
Charditus snapped his eyes open. "Just trust me, just gently rest your underbelly on the ground."
With nothing else to do Saphira did, she flopped her belly onto the ground, and immediately the intense heat swarmed her belly. She quickly raised it back up in discomfort.
"Ouch, I thought it was going to be pleasant Charditus!" Saphira grumbled.
"Don't just force yourself against it. Ease into it, let the fire cradle you." Charditus reassured.
A little more hesitant, Saphira carefully lowered her abdomen back onto the ground slowly, and just like he said the fire was slower to react, providing a more relaxing warmth to spread throughout you.
"Aaah…" She blissfully breathed.
A moment of heavenly silence pass before Saphira asked, "What do we do now?"
"Nothing, we wait for Spyro."
"Perfect…"
Spyro had put some distance between him and his friends, so even if they came over the rock to find him it would be hard still to spot him. He placed the book down against the blackened earth and opened it up to the first page.
He then raised the ring up towards the book.
"Malefor! I know you are here spying on me. I now summon you." Spyro ordered.
And just like that the illusion of Malefor's face appeared.
"You're getting wiser it seems."
"Enough of the crap, translate the first page of your diary." Spyro said bluntly.
"I could do that…or I could propose another suggestion to you, one you would find…more to your liking."
"No. Enough of your bull crap. I am telling you for the final time I am not going to be used by Umbrafor."
"Then it's a deal." Malefor gleefully spoke.
Before Spyro could speak a ripple of purple electricity sparked from the ring and onto Spyro's talon. It didn't hurt to say, but the unexpectedness of it caused Spyro to turn his head away.
"What did you do!?" Spyro demanded.
"Now, now. Before you get angry look down at the diary." Malefor spoke.
Spyro quickly glanced down at the diary, at to his disbelief he found he could understand the writing. "But…how?"
"I have the ability to bestow all kinds of unusual powers like so."
"Why would you do that? I do not understand. You know full well I won't even negotiate with Umbrafor and vice versa."
And again, the twisted dragon offered a reasonable explanation.
"Oh, the chaos I can cause even now. But to answer your question you are right. Why do you need Umbrafor when you got allies of your own? And plus, it has become more than apparent you will not waver from your path. This energy I feel, there is no doubting it. My work is finally complete, leaving you to finalise my legacy!"
"But…you know how much I don't want to do this…how much I loathed having to get help from you of all dragons. I can just destroy this ring and be rid of you." Spyro countered unsurely.
"Go ahead, I've got two more rings, and as long as I have those two my influence in this world will not disappear." Malefor grinned.
Spyro was now hesitant…there was something in his voice that gave it away. Malefor would not so willingly change his mind without there being a hitch.
"…Begone. I have no use of you right now." Spyro told.
"As you wish…" Malefor gloated before fading.
Spyro really wanted to get rid of the ring, he had no use of it anymore, not when he can read the book himself now. But there was definitely something Malefor was not telling, so it would be better to hold on to the ring just a little longer in Spyro's eye.
Instead Spyro lowered her claw and focused directly into the first page of Malefor's Journal.
"Let us begin this then."
Just letting you readers know that each break in the up-coming parts represents a different day in Malefor's journal. I also apologise if its long a boring…
"Finally, I am released. So many years had passed that even I had lost count." It read. "I am feeling weak from my conferment but my powers should return soon."
"I slept for a long time and it felt…reinvigorating. But I cannot slumber for long, I have work to do. What remained of the apes found me…and what I discovered is that their greed has no end. I gave them the power to harness crystals…yet they demand more. When I refused them of their desire they turned on me…so I cursed them all to the darkness!"
"Now without an army to do my bidding I find myself at a stalemate, that was till I remembered getting taught a spell to creating a creature with nothing but rock, organic material and a part of my life energy. I am also finding myself unable to write long chapters, I am too busy and only using this as a reminder."
"After multiple fails I finally create a successful creature known as an Orc. There appears to be life inside of it but it is unresponsive to my commands. I need more practice!"
"Finally, I had perfected the being, completely obedient and not demanding in return. However surely there needs to be a more efficient way of creating the amount I require?"
"After some digging around I had finally found it. An artefact from a time even before me with infinite power in the heart of the realm long forgotten. If I somehow be able to harness it…It will be some time until I next update my journal…"
"I had finally discovered it, a small settlement containing three buildings, far older than anything I had even heard of. I need to begin excavating it immediately."
"It appears my digging has aroused suspicion; two accursed guards had come searching this area. I momentarily abandoned the area until they finally left."
"Patrols are becoming more and more common to my annoyance. It won't be too long before I no longer can hide it. Something needs to be done."
"I had finally made a break through…one of my Orcs had discovered an entrance into the main segment and upon further inspection it was better than I could have hoped for, the entire room was still intact!"
"Bah! I had finally been found. But no worries… I have a plan ready."
"Hahaha! Their expressions were priceless. A 'little' army of dragons moved to engage me from Warfang…dang that city to Convexity! However, to their scared looks an impenetrable wall of fire burst upwards into the sky. It was a complicated spell, to make it not burn me or my orcs and only my enemies."
"Ever since my grand re-entrance many of an attempt had been made to break through to no avail. I really have out done myself. I have also been sending detachments of orcs to rile up the nearby villages"
"Now that the pests have been dealt with it had finally allowed me to delve deeper into this location, in one room, most likely a dormitory I had discovered a note book written in an old language. It looks important so I must translate it!"
"This is harder than it looks. Two weeks I have been studying and all I have managed to uncover is the purpose of the book. It may be a while before I actually write in here."
"It's been six months! But I had finally managed to interpret the first page and what I have found is ground breaking, I was right about the book. As it turns out this journal belonged to the purple dragon before me. No information about who he was or anything but my guess he was forced into a similar situation as me…so he had designed this machine as means of power for himself…but what for? Now I have decoded some words translating should go on smoother."
"One year had passed And I have nearly translated the entire book…but on a more interesting note one of my orcs had discovered an ancient beast. A golem I do believe is what it is. I was so fuelled. If I could reawaken it would certainly forward my campaign!"
"It took more energy than I thought but it worked…this fire golem is under my control. I am already making plans to siege Warfang and this will certainly help. But now I must return to decoding that piece of work. I need it if I am going to create an army."
"Another sixth months and finally…It is complete. I had decoded the journal. Anything I write here now is simply a case of self-reminding."
"The first thing I need is a crap load of dark crystals, interesting thing that seem to steal energy off living things and feed into magical constructs. Which is too bad considering my own weakness to them. But it appears that the orcs themselves are immune to their sapping nature. These crystals seem to what gives the artefact its power to create. However, without a power source there is no way to get anywhere enough energy from these crystals."
"The previous step is complete. The next thing I need is a Fire stone. Huge red stones that burn forever. Rare yet they seem to form in volcanic regions. I had accompanied my golem to Mt. Boyzitbig in search of a fire crystal. But on my way, we were intercepted by those damnable Guardians. We fended them off for now but they are tougher than they look, something must be done to prevent this happening again. We got what we needed though and headed back behind the safety of the fire wall which has been a life-saver so far…however I fear there are weaknesses still inside of it."
"The golem hosted the fire stone on a pillar out in the open not too far from the main room. And then finally came the last step…"
"There was one more phase, a room beside the pillar had a single black orb suspended in the air said required a blast of convexity to act as an ignition. This energy will then be sent into the fire stone where it will then be focused and condensed before fired back to the main room. Then it will be a simple case of gripping a staff in the middle of the room and letting my wishes be known!"
"Yes! It had worked! I stepped outside and hundreds of orcs had begun rising from the grounds out of nothing! At this rate, I should be ready to assault Warfang in a year."
"I found myself force to expand my fire wall outwards to compensate for my growing army. In addition to the orcs though other Species seem to be created, adding variety to my army. Another thing to note is a side effect of the fire wall is that the terrain within had changed drastically. What was once a lush field and now turned into a desolate un-traversable lava field with its own volcano. I personally do not mind it but this heat is insufferable…"
"Those bloody guardians keep delaying my work. I send platoons of orcs to deal with pesky outside villages and they keep getting whipped out by aerial bombings. They simply cannot deal with dragons left in the open…I will personally have to see the destruction of those guardians. On a different not I have yet been unable to locate the whereabouts of the other purple dragon by the name of Spyro or that traitor Cynder. They need to be found soon otherwise they could damage my plan in more than one way…"
"I personally lead an assault on guardians. Cowards must have saw me coming though, they had long abandoned it…still it was only the first of many victories to come. I decided they still needed a reminder of my power, so I took chunks of their temple and raised it up into the sky as a beacon that I will not be defied! It also now serves as my domain away from this heat."
"A new occurrence had popped up. It seems the species known as grublins, were not as extinct as first thought. What more they appear to be in numbers greater than I originally had anticipated. What more they seem to want to team up and further my own goals. I admit I did not expect this, however their small stature may be what I need to fit in the final piece of the plan. Now all I need is for a large enough army to be able to destroy the city of Warfang. At this rate, it should only take six months and not the original two years I had first thought."
"Today one of the orcs had discovered another golem…deep blue in colour. Perhaps a different species. However, with another golem under my control I will work wonders."
"Bad news…this Golem appears to be too wild even for me to control. It flew into a rampage and fled somewhere in these lands. Not that it matters."
"The army is almost finally ready. A week or so from now and we shall be ready to march upon Warfang…However a thought had occurred to me. There are many cities after this and no doubt I will take numerous losses. Surely there had to be a more efficient way, surely the purple dragon before me didn't take this long to destroy this world."
"I cannot belief my own stupidity! I had overlooked a key piece of information. Apparently, this purple dragon had used the machine I dubbed as the Dream Caster to create a beast known as the Destroyer. Quite a fitting name as it dwells very deep in the core of the volcano waiting to be awakened. It will then crawl out and go about an event known as the Fire belt. However, it also appears the creature can be controlled to follow other instructions. I've got work to do but thankfully things should be easier as I've started noticing the development of fire stones right here…"
"A slight problem it seems…I followed the instructions in the diary and nothing happened. Perhaps I need to give it more time?"
"I am now but a day away from being away being ready to assault Warfang, only final small changes need to be done. However, Spyro and Cynder have been found and captured. It is now imperative they need to be routed off quickly…but not just like this No. They need to die gloriously together! So, I had designed these special collars that will bind them together…I would've overseen their execution but I am far to, busy but this task is still too important. So instead I am sending my golem to finish them off."
"Gah, how useless are these creations? Those two snakes had escaped my clutches! No…I need to relax, I have recalled the Golem so I can have him ready for the siege. We attack in the morning."
"It's time. I had waited for a week for this 'Destroyer' to be awakened but nothing had happened. I grudgingly have to do this the hard way. I have given the order for the attack and as we speak thousands of orcs march for Warfang."
"This earthquake I am feeling…what is it? So far, the war is not going well. Reports say Spyro and that traitorous bitch had showed up and Warfang and are turning the tide. It's time…I sent in the golem."
"The earthquake is becoming more apparent and the volcano more active…Yet no reports have found a cause? But in disappointing news, despite almost breaching the city that bloody dragon had somehow dispatched the golem! I had recalled the troops for retreat in a humiliating defeat. I swear I will ruin everything that purple dragon loves! He has betrayed the natural order of things, the true meaning of the purple dragon!"
"I had grown sick of this noise! I am going to personally investigate it!"
"I can't believe it! The Destroyer is awakened! It is starting the belt of fire! The final moments of this planet draw to an end and I will have fulfilled the prophecy of the purple dragon."
"Those cockroaches still resist even when its futile. They had admittedly cleverly delayed the Destroyer by trapping it in the canyon. But like I said only delayed it! The destroyer lives on and makes the final steps for the volcano."
"More reports come in that Spyro and Cynder had somehow bypassed the fire wall. No matter, it is too late. I think it's time I teach that traitor a lesson and re-educate Spyro on the true role of the purple dragon."
"This will most likely be my last journal entry. They approach at last to no doubt come and see me. But the Destroyer has not yet reached the volcano. I simply need to delay them long enough…It's time I finally go greet out guests…"
Spyro finally closed the diary. He already knew his goal…And now he knows how to accomplish it.
Oh dead. Will Spyro actually go through with this plan? Or will Cynder and Co still be able to save him? And what will happen when Umbrafor arrives once again?
Heya all, just thought I would let you know the bad news…There is perhaps only a couple more chapters of this part of the story unfortunately ):
But regardless I hope you all enjoy this chapter. And hey, if you are enjoying the story why not hit that follow/favourite button and leave a review? It would seriously help me and the story out and allows me to make better chapters.
Farewell for now Amigos.