Finally, after so long, and over many delays, the Choros is finally here. Over the week Spyro had taught Cynder what can be considered the basics of using the training arena, at least enough to be able to create a non-threatening Wyvern. When the young Dragon told the Guardians what they found that day, was overwhelming, especially for Terrador. They hadn't spent much time in the Ruins since though, it was truly a headache preparing for the Choros. Spyro was more nervous than anything. For the first time, he would see a city of Dragons, a species that several months ago, he believed was just about extinct. Thought, he was excited at the same time. It was an odd feeling, being so nervous to the point that your leg starts to shake thinking about it, and so excited that you want to jump in the air and cheer. Cynder was much the same, very excited yet nervous, but nervous for a much different reason, for it was because of her that nearly all Dragons were wiped out, she only hoped that they would understand. Flame and Ember though were not nervous at all, they are one with the Dragons whom come, what's the need in being nervous? They expected for the other Dragons to arrive over the week, but apparently, plans have changed. They are all arriving today, this won't be hectic at all, Spyro sarcastically thought to himself. Spyro had even heard a rumor that Prowlus's pride, or tribe, was coming, though it could simply be gossip. Dragonflies from Spyro's home were also coming. The Purple Dragon was so excited for his family to come, to meet the guardians, and to see the city, and finally, after many months he would see Sparx, though there was still time.

All of the Dragons met in the dining hall. Each of them discussed who they wanted each the others to meet, except for Cynder of course. Flame's father, mother, and sister (none of the other Dragonlings even knew Flame had a sister), Ember's aunt was coming.

"How come your parents aren't coming?" Cynder asked the Pink Dragoness as she chewed through her lamb.

"Oh, well my dad died during the war," Ember said, she didn't even seem to mind that much though, Cynder felt bad instantly though, because she knew that it was likely her fault, though obviously, she didn't bring it up. "I don't really remember him, he died when I was very young." She paused. "And my mother-" Ember sadly sighed and looked down. Cynder was confused, she wanted to ask, but she knew that asking would make things worse.

"There was a plague in their city a few years ago, her mom was one of the healers and she got sick," Spyro whispered in her ear. Instantly Cynder felt regret. She was about to open her mouth but…

"You don't need to whisper Spyro. You're right in front of me, I can hear you." Ember smiled.

"I'm sorry Ember -"

"It's fine Cynder, I appreciate it." Ember cut off. "My mom gave me this necklace just a few moments before she died, it's why it's so important to me." Ember looked down at her necklace. Cynder didn't know what to say. Ember looked back up. "It was a pretty bad, a lot of our people died. Remember Flame?" Ember looked at the Red Dragon

"How could I forget." Flame said, he was much less jolly than he was a few moments ago.

"Did you lose someone too?" Spyro carefully asked.

"We all lost someone." Flame said. "For me, it was my Grandma. There were a few others, but losing her hurt the most." Flame smiled, looking back at the memories. "She was awesome. She told me so many stories, back before all of these wars, before the Dark Master. Apparently, she would get into a lot of trouble back when she was young, those stories were always fun to listen to. It seemed like all she wanted to do was spend time with me, and I spent most of my time with her. Right before she died she told me that she was proud. She was proud to leave the world, knowing that I'm here, that she was proud of me. She said that she will look over me in excitement to see what I'd become." Flame chuckled. "It's a little weird, even in death she keeps me out of trouble." The Red Dragon smiled.

"I wish I could have met her." Spyro smiled.

"You would have liked her." Flame took a breath. "She was a bit of a smart-aleck though." Flame chuckled. "Where do you think I got it from?" Spyro and Flame laughed.

"What was her name?" Spyro asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"It was actually pretty cool, Anzhelika." Flame was in a good mood, Ember felt bad though, she knew Flame's grandmother. She would always go the infirmary and give gifts and warm wishes to the sick. Ember's mother was quite fond of Anzhelika.

After a few moments, the doors behind them opened. Terrador walked inside in a very good mood. Not too far behind many Dragons walked inside, consisting of adults, children, fire dragons, ice, lightning, earth, and even some Black Dragons walked inside. The second that they entered the building, eyes locked right on the Dragonlings, specifically Spyro.

"This is the dining halls if you -" Terrador was cut off by several very young children that charged after Spyro. The Green Dragon laughed. "If you wish to eat you can come here at any time you wish." The hatchlings were all followed by even more parents. Flame laughed.

"Good luck." The Red Dragonling said before getting up and stepping to the side." The hatchlings swarmed around Spyro on the table, and the floor. Though, it was nothing like Flame, Ember, or any of the other Dragonlings would have expected. The hatchlings bowed. The rest of the Dragons made their way to the Dragonlings.

"It is truly an honor to meet you Spyro and Cynder." One said before bowing. All the others did the same. Cynder was surprised, she didn't think she would get any praise, honestly, she thought that people would be scared, or would call her a murderer. One Dragon made his way through the crowd. He was a large Red Dragon, with curved horns, and a yellow belly, actually he somewhat resembled Flame. Although he had many scars all over his body, the most prominent was a slash mark across his face, obviously caused by a set of claws. His voice was deep, and even somewhat menacing. "My apologies, it must be odd for you to be near so many Dragons after growing up in a Dragonfly village." The hatchlings quickly looked up at both Spyro and the Dragon in shock.

"Is that true?" One asked another.

It seemed like Flame was trying to get the Dragon's attention. Eventually, he just nudged the Dragon.

"Ah, Flameon, it's good to see you." The Dragon's smile grew wider.

"Flameon?" Ember chuckled.

Flame rolled his eyes. "Hey, dad."

"This is your dad?" Spyro said. The other Dragons left them to their own. They knew that later would be a better time to talk to Spyro, though it was very obvious that they did not want to leave. The hatchlings were much more stubborn though. Flame's father looked at the hatchlings and pointed his snout towards the other Dragons. The hatchlings slowly, and unwillingly got up and left. Flame's father quickly spun back around to Spyro and Cynder.

"Ah yes, where are my manners. I am Inferneon, leader of our city, Veteerithis, and obviously, father of Flameon." Flame gave his father a look of irritation. "Err, Flame."

"it's an honor to meet you as well." Spyro bowed, as did Cynder. Inferneon smiled. He looked at Cynder for a moment, he froze for a moment, before he sat down.

"Do you mind if I sit?"

"No, not at all," Spyro said. The Red Dragon sat where Flame was previously, in front of Spyro, and next to Ember, he seemed to find it rather comfortable.

"Uhm, dad, is mom and Grandpa here?"

"Yes, I believe they are with the rest of the guardians at the moment."

"Awesome, I'm gonna go check up on them." Flame began to run towards the door.

"Your sister is with them as well!"

Flame rolled his eyes. "Great," Flame ran out the door, entirely out of sight.

"I'm gonna guess that he and his sister don't get along very well?" Ember said.

"Actually, they are very close."

"Then why did he sound disappointed when he heard that his sister was here?"

Inferneon laughed. "Their personalities are very much alike, though his sister is a little more intense." The Dragonlings clocked their heads.

"What do you mean?" Spyro asked.

Inferneon smirked looking back at the memory. "Just before Flame left to come here, they had an argument, and while Flame was sleeping, his sister, Fiamma set his bed on fire." The Dragonlings laughed. "Anyway, speaking of Flame, how has he been doing?" Inferneon asked concerningly.

"From what I can tell, pretty well," Spyro said. Honestly, he wasn't sure, the only point of reference that he had was the duels that they had, but Spyro had no idea how he did in his general education classes.

"Excellent!"

The Dragon and Dragonlings spoke with each other for some time. They talked about various subjects, varying from Warfang, to life stories, and more. They lost count of how many Dragons came up to them, specifically Spyro, and told many thanks. Much to both Spyro, and Cynder's irritation, many Dragoness's came up and flirted with Spyro, even ones that were years older than him, it was quite uncomfortable. Inferneon told them to leave, and hopefully, they stay gone. There were some Dragons that squealed with excitement when they saw Spyro, other's voice shook when they spoke to Spyro, and many were to shy too meet him. It was very confusing for Spyro, he was still only a child, though matured Dragons were sometimes too nervous to meet him. Most of them reminded Spyro of Flame when they first met. Spyro wasn't sure because of the large crowd, but he could have sworn that someone fainted. Cynder and Ember laughed, Spyro was very awkward, and shy as well. Most of the time he didn't even know how to respond. Many of the Dragons that came up noticed this very quickly and laughed about it.

"You have the courage to go to the tower of the Dark master and fight him, but too shy to respond to other Dragons." One of the Dragons said before laughing. Finally Flame walked through the doors. He quickly rushed to Spyro. Cynder did pay extra attention though and saw many eyes of rage staring directly at her. Though most were very respectful and didn't look like they wanted to charge down Cynder.

"Oh, hey Flame- "

"Yeah hey Spyro." Flame interrupted. "Just a fair warning, my sister is coming here, and she is really into you." Spyro's eyes grew wide.

"Please don't tell me- "

Flame laughed. "Not like that, let's just say she's a really huge fan."

"This should be interesting," Cynder muttered. Flame took his seat in front of Spyro, with a smile on his face, just waiting for the show. It even looked like Inferneon was genuinely intrigued to find out what would happen. A few moments passed, and then suddenly the doors busted open caused by a Red Female Dragonling. It didn't take long for Spyro realize who it was. Clearly, it was Flame's sister, Fiamma. She actually looked similar to Flame, aside for the gender difference obviously. She appeared to be about the same age as Flame. Her scales were the same, red body, yellow belly, and horns. Though her horns were more straight than curved like Flame's, though it still curved. Her eyes locked dead on Spyro. She clearly wasn't like Flame when meeting Spyro. She charged towards him with eyes of excitement. Spyro grew concerned for a moment. Flame chuckled. Fiamma quickly ran up and pushed Flame out of the way.

"Hey!" Flame shouted as he was forced to the ground.

"Oh my god, it's so cool to actually meet you! I'm Fiamma, but I'm sure you already knew that!" She spoke so quickly, it was hard for Spyro to keep track. She took a deep breath. "Sorry, give me a sec to calm down." She took a few deep breaths. It was clear that both Cynder and Ember were resisting the urge to not laugh. Inferneon was mildly amused, Flame was somewhat annoyed though. "Ok, I'm good!" She was finally speaking at a comprehendible speed. "It's so cool that my brother is friends with the Spyro." The Spyro? The Purple Dragon thought. "So, what was it like to fight the Dark Master?" She leaned in with interest.

Inferneon laughed. "Save it for later Fiamma." The Red Dragoness sat straight, disappointingly.

"Ok, dad." They sat there in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments.

"Sorry but me and Cynder need to get going," Spyro said, somewhat uncomfortably.

"Oh, ok! It was great to meet you! Can we talk later?" Fiamma desperately asked.

"Sure."

Cynder resisted to roll her eyes and laughed. "Let's go."

They said their goodbyes to Inferneon and his children, along with Ember, after which they left for Spyro's room. As they were about to walk through the doors several hatchlings charged after Spyro, while a few parents followed behind.

"Can we come with you?" One of the hatchlings asked. Spyro and Cynder couldn't help but smile.

"Excuse me, Spyro, and Cynder." One of the parents said. There were several, but they obviously elected this dragon to speak for them. "If you don't mind, do you think our kids could spend some time with you two, they've been asking us if they could for the past hour."

"We don't mind," Cynder said before Spyro even had the chance to blink. The Hatchlings instantly grew excited, or more excited.

"Cynder?" Spyro mumbled. The Parent noticed this.

"If it's a problem we don't mind, just-"

"No, really, it's fine. Spyro just isn't used to being around other Dragons." Cynder pointed out.

"Not used to being around other Dragons?" The Dragon said in disbelief.

"He never grew up around Dragons, and about 6 months ago we thought that Dragons were just about extinct."

"Wait, is the story where you grew up around Dragonflies true?" Spyro nodded. The Dragon laughed. "Never thought that'd be accurate. Anyway, thank you for letting them spend the day with you." Both Spyro and Cynder nodded. "We trust that you will make sure they're safe."

"Don't worry, nothing will happen to them, you have my word," Spyro said. These were his first words to the Dragon.

"Thank you, young Dragon, that's comforting to know." The Dragon looked down at the Dragonlings. "If any of you need anything come find me, or your parents. And be careful." The Dragon looked at one Hatchling in particular. It was a small, green, female hatchling, with wide and hopeful eyes. "That goes double for you."

She chuckled. "Yes, papa!"

The Dragon smiled. "Have fun, young ones." He said as they walked off. The hatchlings all were very excited, running around in all directions, simply having the time of their lives, and they haven't even done anything yet, but there was one that didn't talk, or even ran, just slowly walked behind the rest. She was a Black Dragon. She had similar features to Cynder, though she didn't have the markings on her face like Cynder has on hers. She also had no tail blade, which realistically, is to be expected, hatchlings are never allowed to have tail blades.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Spyro awkwardly asked the hatchlings.

"Can we see your stuff?" One hatchling asked ecstatically.

"Uhm, yeah, sure, that sound good Cynder?" Spyro turned around, Cynder had started to lag behind to talk with the hatchling that excluded herself.

"Yeah, sounds good Spyro." She brought her attention back to the hatchling. The hatchling was looking down. "Hi there," Cynder said happily. The hatchling looked up.

"Oh, hi." She was very quiet, but she seemed to be somewhat happier.

"What's your name?"

"Valeerika." Still, she was very reticent.

"That's a pretty name."

"Thanks." Valeerika smiled. As they walked to the towering building that held both of Spyro's and Cynder's rooms, the two Black Dragoness's spoke with each other. Valreeka and Cynder walked the whole way together. Spyro learned something that he did not expect of Cynder, she is very good around kids. She got along very well with all of the Dragonlings. Finally, they reached the tower. Spyro hesitantly looked back.

"You guys know how to fly, right?" All the Dragonlings shook their heads. Spyro sighed, and then chuckled. "Stairs it is then." They all started to make their way up the large tower.

"Someday you're gonna have to learn to use stairs and not have a fuss," Cynder smirked.

Spyro rolled his eyes "So long as I can fly, that day will never come."

"Didn't you only learn to fly a few years ago, you climbed stairs, and as I recall you didn't mind one bit." Cynder pointed out.

Spyro smirked. "Let's have a vote. Out of all of you, who hates climbing stairs?" All the Hatchlings raised their tails up. "Looks like you're the only one Cynder."

Cynder smirked and then looked to the side. "Well, not the only one." Valreeka's tail did not rise an inch. Both Cynder and Valreeka smiled. After a few moments, some other Dragonling's tails went down.

Spyro sighed, and then laughed. "Just once I'd like to beat you in an argument, just once." The Hatchlings all laughed.

Cynder laughed. "Don't count on it Spyro." She said with a smug look as she passed him on the stairs. They all walked up the stairway, Spyro cursed himself for wanting to have the top room when he first chose it, and after a few minutes of non-stop climbing, they finally reached the top. Spyro blasted fire, and the doors swung open. The hatchlings ran in without a second of hesitation. Spyro stopped for a few moments and simply gazed upon the children. They took interest in everything in his room, but after a few moments of looking at walls, and different decorations their attention went to a large chest to the side of his room. A chest that contained Spyro's most precious and powerful armors.

"Spyro can we look inside the chest?!" Many of the hatchlings pleaded to Spyro. The Purple Dragon hesitated. He leaned into the side to whisper to Cynder.

"What do you think?" Spyro asked.

"It's your stuff Spyro, your choice."

Well, that really helped, Spyro sarcastically thought to himself. He looked down to the hopeful Hatchling.

"Go ahead." They all ran to the chest, they were but a moment away from seeing the armor that Spyro used in his battle against Malefor. "Just be careful." Spyro slipped out just before they opened it.

Valeerika didn't pay much mind to it. She seemed much more drawn to the books in the corner of the room. She resisted the urge to charge after them, though it was very difficult. Valeerika had always loved books and learned to read before most other Hatchlings. It was very obvious she was drawn to them, it only took a few moments for Spyro to take notice.

"Do you want to look at the books?" Spyro asked brightly. She quickly looked up at Spyro and nodded, with pleading eyes. Even from a distance, she saw books that intrigued her. "Go ahead," Spyro said with a smile. Valeerika ran after them. The young Hatchling loves books, but unknown to all the others in the room she also loved fighting, such as arena duels, but as a Black Dragon, she was far too weak for that, so instead she turns her attention towards books, scrolls, and other founts of knowledge, something that is very rarely seen in hatchlings. She was also very quiet, another unusual feature for a Hatchling, she's only shared a few words with Cynder, but not many. Although she was the quietest and the least included of all the hatchlings, she intrigued both Spyro and Cynder above all of the others.

After a few moments of them watching Valeerika with interest Spyro turned his attention back to the rest of the hatchlings for a moment. They had opened up the chest, one hatchling was wearing one of Spyro's helmets, though it was far too big, the hatchling put it on anyway, at least did his best to, even though it was 3x the size of his own head. The Purple Dragon chuckled at the sight, as did Cynder.

They both glanced back at Valeerika. She seemed to be most interested in the old scrolls. While they were written in a dialect of Dragonian that was even difficult for Spyro to understand, they had already been translated, by whom is unknown, the Dragon that did translate it left no reference to their identity. Spyro didn't read too much into the scrolls, but he does recall some of it. It referenced to a time very old, during the time of the Dragonian Empire, something that Spyro had not even known existed. There was a revolution by corrupted Shadow Dragons that sought to destroy the Dragonian Empire and rule it for themselves. Those Black Dragons called themselves the Itzal.

That was the last of what the Purple Dragon could recall. Spyro snapped out of his thoughts after he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Quickly the door swung open and Flame walked in. "Hey Flame!" The Red Dragon took a few steps and looked at the chaos of the room. The hatchlings ran about, making as much noise as Dragonfly possible.

Flame laughed. "Seems like you've got your paws full."

"Yeah, this isn't gonna be fun to clean up."

"Like you're gonna clean up." Cynder slid in before anyone else had the chance to say anything.

Spyro rolled his eyes. "I do clean up, and I will."

"Uh-huh?' Cynder eyed the Purple Dragon closely. Spyro rolled his eyes. "Flame, do you know anything about these Hatchlings?"

"Uhm, if you mean do I know them personally, most of them, yeah."

"What do you know about her." Cynder pointed her snout at Valeerika.

Flame hesitated for a moment. "Remember the plague that was in our city that I told you about?" Cynder nodded. "Her whole family was taken out by it." Flame said quietly. Cynder gasped in a hushed voice.

"What do you mean by 'whole family?'"

"Everyone, parents, grandparents, sister, brother. I'm pretty sure that she's the last of her bloodline."

"So, who takes care of her?" They were whispering at this point, to not get Valeerika's attention.

"A family adopted her, they treat her like she was their own kid, but she really fell apart. This is probably the best that I've seen her."

"So you've kept a close eye on her too?"

"I did the best that I could, but it's tough to talk to her. Not that I can blame her, I couldn't imagine if my parents died." He paused for a moment. "And if that happened to Fiamma…" He stared with a blank face for a moment, as if he were recalling a past experience.

"Flame?" Cynder leaned in. Flame's eyes were wide. He quickly shook his head out of the trance.

"Sorry." He quickly shrugged it off as if it didn't happen.

"But how could anyone not do anything to help her, to try and help her family after they were dying one by one."

"Because they couldn't. Cynder she's not the only Hatchling to have lost their family, there were a lot of families where nobody made it out. You can't imagine how bad it was." Cynder went silent, she really couldn't imagine it. She's witnessed many horrible things, but nothing like that. She's seen and caused death, but only by the slash of a tail blade, or cut of claws, maybe even the burning of fire, but not by a disease where the old, the young, the strong, the bold, and even children die, slowly, one by one, and you can't do anything about it. "Anyways, I didn't come up here to talk about the plague. Terrador is calling us down to the training yard to duel."

"I thought there were no duels today," Spyro said.

"Well, it was due to the request of Ember's aunt, and my parents, because Fiamma begged them." It took only but a moment, and barely even that for the hatchlings to swarm after them.

"Can we come?" One said.

"Yeah, we wanna watch!" Another yelped before being toppled over by another Hatchling who likely wished to make the same request.

It even grasped Valeerika's attention. While she didn't run after the Dragonlings, she did put any books and scrolls that she looked at away, and made her way with the rest of the hatchlings.

"Uhm." Spyro wasn't sure whether to let them come or not. Though if they were left unmonitored, they would likely hurt themselves.

Spyro nodded to the Hatchlings, and made his way through the door, with Cynder, Flame, and the excited Hatchlings.

After a short walk, they all were very close to the training yard. The hatchlings were even more energetic than before, Spyro didn't even think that was possible. Even Valeerika seemed to be excited.

Spyro and Flame were talking about fighting tactics. For a few days, Flame had been asking far more questions than he usually did. Spyro didn't know why this happened, but he was happy to help anyway. Ember still is the only one to know of that night, and Flame was more than thankful, though oddly enough the two still hadn't mentioned it, not even in private.

Cynders' eyes were still on Valeerika. She was absolutely heartbroken for the little Hatchling. Cynder went through so much physical pain, yet she couldn't think what went on inside the head of the little girl. At least that's what Cynder thought. Though truly she knew all too well both the physical and mental boundaries of pain, and even beyond that, but those horrific recollections were locked away. Hopefully to never be seen again.

"So, Flame." Spyro said. "What's it like being the son of the leader of your city?" He asked with a smug look.

"Actually, that's new."

"What do you mean." Spyro enquired.

"When I was there, my dad wasn't the leader. The original died, and my dad was chosen to take his place only a few months ago."

"So why was he chosen?" Spyro asked, more intrigued than he was before.

"Remember when I told you that my family is pureblooded?"

"Is that seriously why he was chosen," Spyro said, somewhat disappointingly. He didn't mean to sound rude, but Spyro believed that pureblood alone shouldn't make you fit for leadership.

"Well, he's also a war hero. Though having pureblood certainly helps." Flame pointed out. Now Spyro felt bad for his comment. Flame chuckled.

"So, he fought against Malefor?"

"Yup, he was the general at that time."

"Sorry for asking, Flame, but how is he alive? Pretty much all of the soldiers during the war, and all of the generals were specifically targeted." Flame paused for a moment, remembering the story, and began to speak very quietly.

"Well he almost died, but he was too injured to go to one of the battles. He hadn't heard anything for days on how the attack went until maybe a week or so maybe half the army made it back. Most of the militia was destroyed, the Dark Master had a new weapon that single-handedly killed them all." Flame looked back. His eyes locked on Cynder, whom was still watching the little Black Dragoness.

"Cynder?" Spyro couldn't believe it. Single-handedly, were the two words that continuously rang through his head.

Flame nodded. "Soldiers called the weapon, the Terror of the Skies. It and an entire army were heading towards a small city that my dad was at. They began evacuations to a somewhat nearby city that was more defended, where my dad was from, my home, Veteerithis, every dragon had to get everything they could carry and leave. My dad along with whatever army was left stayed behind until everyone made it out. There were only a few left, but Cynder, and the Dark Armies got there. My dad fought face to face with Cynder, and he couldn't win."

"So how is he alive?" Spyro desperately asked. The Purple Dragon detested cliffhangers, he needed to know how Inferneon could have possibly made it out.

"There was a scream over the battle from one of the apes saying, 'the earth guardian's location has been discovered' Cynder left the rest of the apes to destroy anything that was left. All of the evacuations had been finished, so my dad and the few that were left retreated into the mountains. The apes were sure that they would all freeze to death, so they left them to their fates. Eventually, they made their way back to the city. We were sure that they died, my dad literally walked into our house as my mom and grandma were planning the funeral." Flame chuckled. Then a frown came across his face. "A few months later the plague started." The Red Dragon sighed. "But that fight with Cynder is how he got that scar across his face." Flame looked back again. Cynder's eyes were dead on him. He instantly felt his heart drop. The Black Dragoness quickly ran up to the other Dragonlings.

"I heard everything Flame, you should have told me," Cynder said.

"And you really don't understand why I didn't tell you."

"I understand why, but you still should have!" There was only silence between the 3 Dragonlings. The hatchlings were paying no mind to their conversation, in fact, many of them had been playing tag.

"Do you remember it?" Flame solemnly asked. Cynder thought for a moment.

"Honestly, no. I don't remember much when I was Malefor's pawn. Just bits and pieces, but I did think that I recognized your dad from somewhere." Again, they went silent. It was so weird for Flame to think about. For years he had heard stories about Cynder, the terror of the skies, Wrath of the Dark Master, bringer of chaos and destruction, along with so many other titles, the Dragon that nearly killed his father, that nearly extinguished the entire Dragon race, yet he's known her for nearly 7 months, and despite all the things he's heard about her, she is one of the kindest Dragon's he had ever known, someone that he calls a friend. Things surely have changed over the year.

They were walking up to the training yard. As they got closer a few figures emerged over the steps. One that was very obviously Inferneon. He was much larger than all the other figures. Blazeus was also there, he appeared to be somewhat ill, though still, he looked like he was in a good mood. Next to Inferneon stood a female Fire Dragon, whom was likely Flame's mother. She had many of the same colors as Flame and Inferneon, except for one distinct feature. Her eyes. Flame, Fiamma, Inferneon, and Blazeus all had orange eyes, though hers were yellow. Fiamma stood in between the Dragoness and Inferneon. They were on the left side of the entrance. To the right was a single lightning Dragoness. It must have been Ember's aunt. Her belly scales were pale, and the rest of her scales were yellow with blue markings coursing through. In front of the entrance stood Terrador. Ember was nowhere to be seen. She's likely late, the Dragonlings thought, even though it is very unusual of her to be late. Once they got closer, the hatchlings started to notice who was there. The mere sight of Inferneon was enough to make them stop playing and walk in an orderly matter. Spyro was amazed, they had more energy than anyone he knew, yet still, Inferneon managed to make them stop, and he didn't even say anything.

The Fire Dragoness stepped forward and bowed. "It is an honor to meet you, I'm Serafina, mother of Flame." Both Spyro and Cynder also bowed. Her voice was very soothing and somewhat calming.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Spyro said brightly. Serafina took a step back, and the lightning Dragon stepped forward.

"Hi, I'm Asani, Ember's aunt." She was smiling and very relaxed. Unlike most others, she didn't bow. Spyro was grateful for this, he himself found it somewhat awkward in most situations, a simple greeting was enough for him. "Do you know where she is? I haven't seen her since she first left to come here."

"I saw her almost an hour ago, but I don't know where she is now," Spyro replied. There was silence between them for a few moments.

"Uhm, lord Inferneon do you mind if I speak to you for a moment?" Cynder asked.

"Lord?" Spyro whispered to Flame.

"It's what the leader of a city is called, sort of a sign of respect." Flame whispered back.

"Oh."

"You seriously didn't know?" Spyro shook his head. "Huh, with all those books that you read I would've expected you to know."

"Please, just Inferneon." Flame's father paused. "What is it you wish to say?" Cynder stuttered for a moment.

"Uhm, can we talk in private?" Serafina seemed to grow somewhat concerned when Cynder said this. It wasn't entirely evident, but it was clear she knew whom gave Inferneon his most prominent scar. Serafina whispered to her mate. She spoke too quietly to understand what she was saying, but everyone got the idea, except for Asani, she was very confused.

"It's fine Serafina, no need to worry," Inferneon responded. He still spoke at a whisper, but his voice was understandable even at a distance. "Of course, Cynder." They both walked away from the group, far enough that nobody would know what was said, even if they spoke like normal rather than a whisper. "What is it on your mind?"

"Uhm, well, Flame told us the story about how, well how you almost died, how you got your scar." She was very quiet and very nervous. Her voice was at a stutter. "I cannot tell you just how sorry I am for that, I didn't have any control I-" Inferneon made a sign with his paw to shush her.

"You have nothing to apologize for." The Dragon smiled

"Of course, I do! All of those people that I killed –"

"Cynder, I will be truthful. When I first came here and first saw you, I had my skepticisms, but now I stand here speaking with you, thinking is this truly the same Dragoness that was the Dark Master's pawn, who killed so many other Dragons, and almost killed me. The answer that I have found is no. You simply share the same body." He paused for a moment. "May I ask you something?" Cynder nodded. "You said that Flameon told you the story, do you not remember?"

Cynder shook her head. "I don't remember most of what happened with Malefor, but none of the memories that I have are good."

"Curious…" Inferneon muttered. Cynder clocked her head.

"What's curious?"

"I wonder, what could have happened that would cause your own mind to lock away those memories, and why? Was it the magic of the Dark Master, or your own mind defending you from what transpired?" Nothing but silence went on for the next few moments. "Before we return to the others, I would like to give you some advice."

"What is it?"

"Move on." He simply put.

"Huh?" It was so abrupt. In what world could one simply just move on from such scenarios.

"Move on from those memories. Don't let them shape who you are. You are not the terror of the skies, or hand of the Dark master, or whatever titles you were given during the reign of the Dark Master. You are Cynder, one of the saviors of the world, and the Dark Master's destruction." Inferneon's words did make Cynder feel better. "But do not forget."

"What?" Cynder was baffled. Why wouldn't she want to forget those awful memories?

"Do not forget your past. If you reject those memories someday they will come back, and there is no telling what they could do to you. Accept them, and remember them, but don't let them change you." Cynder nodded. Truly though, she wasn't fully willing to accept it. Cynder remembered the most awful things, invading city's, and homes. Killing Dragons, Dragoness's, and even Hatchlings, but Inferneon was right about one thing, Cynder needed to move on.

Flame and Fiamma seemed to be fond of hatchlings, so they had been spending their time waiting for Ember talking with the young ones, along with casually speaking with each other. Though the others, Spyro, Serafina, and Asani, were sitting in complete silence they had no idea what to say. Serafina seemed somewhat nervous for some reason, and Asani seemed a little anxious. It was likely because of Spyro, though she wasn't anything like the other people that the Purple Dragon spoke to earlier in the day. Asani was mostly collected, but it was exactly that, mostly, it's hard to act like you would any other day when in the presence of the Purple Dragon himself. Serafina didn't seem nervous due to Spyro though, no it was for an entirely different reason, and Spyro was fairly sure that he knew. He couldn't blame her. Cynder almost killed her husband, and likely would have killed her and any other Dragon in their city if she could have found them. Spyro only hoped that Serafina could move past these horrific events to see who the true Cynder is. Blazeus was very calm and relaxed.

"So Fiamma, did anything happen back at home?" Flame asked. He had been gone for so long, something must have happened.

"Well let's see, your friends got in trouble, again, and after that, they got in trouble again, and then well that's about it."

"Seriously?"

Fiamma chuckled. "No, well actually I don't know."

"What do you mean?" Her brother asked.

"Well, there's a rumor spreading around the city that the healers are extremely close to finding a cure."

"What?" Flame blurted out.

"Like I said I don't know for sure." Fiamma smiled. "But, chances are pretty much in our favor." Spyro quickly ran over.

"I thought that the plague in your city has been gone for at least a couple of years," Spyro said.

"No, it only started to clear up maybe a couple months before Flame came here," Fiamma said. "But it's still pretty big. Not nothing like a few years ago though. There's not a lot of us that get infected now, all of the ones that are infected are sent to a certain part of the city to keep it from spreading, and most of the ones that are infected live."

"It's nothing like it used to be." Flame added.

"Well, you must be excited Flame." Spyro said. The Red Dragon smiled.

"You have no idea." His mind dwelled on all the heartaches of the Plague. He and so many others lost so much. Friends, family, the elderly, and the young were all victims of this.

Flame particularly remembered one event. It was the last time he had ever sneaked out of the city. In an area that many did not go to he managed to dig his way out, with the help of a few Earth Dragon and some others whom were part of Flame's group of friends. He had left the city with some friends, without permission obviously. They had been doing so at least once a week at the time. It helped them forget what was happening at home, which is likely why Flame never got in much trouble the few times he was caught sneaking out, generally just a lecture of the dangers of leaving the city, so on and so forth. He still went, obviously. In fact, this time he hadn't been caught for months. Well caught is a loose term. Flame was fairly sure that his parents knew exactly what he was doing, that just they grew tired of telling Flame not to go, and ultimately decided that it was good for him anyway. His parents never did fully agree to the 'no one comes in, and no one leaves' policy.

This was also the first time he was brave enough to go to the forest. It was the first time he had ever been in one. The city was more in a mountain plains area, without a forest being anywhere nearby. Although he hadn't felt very comfortable going all the way to the forest which was at the least an hour walk, they wouldn't dare fly at risk of the city guards catching them, or worse, the being whom lived in the tower high above the surface far in the distance, Malefor. Scouts had reported that the sightings of grublins and other dark creatures have increased recently, so the Dragonlings were extra careful, which was sure to make it so it would take longer to get there, but to them, it was worth it. Flame went with 5 other friends and the whole way they played and joked with each other. Once they got there they couldn't believe their eyes. They had seen pictures of forests, but nothing compares to seeing it in person. Birds chirped, animals grazed in the grass and trees. A river with so many fish it was impossible to count. They spent most of the day there. They planned to leave only an hour after they got there, but simply lost track of time. They played a variety of games, ate some of the fish, and simply enjoyed themselves. Flame wanted to simply stay there and not return to the city, but he couldn't, even with the plague, and all the chaos that had come from it. There were people there that he couldn't simply leave, his parents, his grandparents, friends, and as much as he hated to think it, his sister.

Eventually, they decided to leave. They very slowly left the forest. They weren't too upset about it, they were sure that they would come back at some point, but still, it was disappointing. By the time they had gotten back, it was dark. This certainly wasn't good. Dragons weren't supposed to be walking about at night, especially Dragonlings. All of them covered the hole with dirt and rocks, then spread and quickly made their way home.

Though while he made his way back he heard someone calling his name. For a slight moment, he thought it was one of his friends in danger for some reason, but the voice was much deeper and much more familiar, it was his father. Though his voice has no anger, it was of urgency, as if something had gone wrong. There was no point in hiding, Inferneon obviously knew that Flame had left, and likely beyond the city. Flame ran to the voice, the look on his father's face was one that he will never forget. It was completely distraught. That was the night that he learned that his Grandmother was sick, along with one other…