Forgotten

by Torchie1

It has been one year since Spyro and Cynder had thought that they defeated Malefor and the world has returned to peace. They were were wrong, when two mysterious dragons suddenly arrive in Warfang with knowledge that he had returned. With a second war already in motion, Spyro has to find another way to defeat The Dark Master. What he doesn't know, is that secrets are being kept...

2. Chapter 1 - Dawn

Chapter 1: Dawn

The sun had barely begun to rise in the Warfang sky, the first glimmering rays of sunlight illuminating the sleeping, battle-worn city as the earliest of morning birds chirped their respective melodies. On top of the outer walls of the city of Warfang lay a black dragoness sitting on her haunches, her bright aquamarine eyes directed at the rising sun. The patrolling guards that were doing their rounds gave her a small salutation that she briskly returned before turning back to the sunrise.

Cynder took a deep breath of fresh morning air, savouring the way the cool, unfiltered air swept through her lungs, bringing with it a wave of relaxation through her and a small contented smile on her muzzle. The black dragoness was always an earlier riser. To her, sleep was a bore and a burden that only halted productivity that was achieved when one was conscious. For whatever reason, she never seemed to enjoy sleep nor really require a lot of it, being able to function throughout the day with only a few hours rest. This predicament brought with it many a restless night where she would lie in her bed, awake, just looking at the ceiling until her eyelids felt heavy and she would drift asleep.

There was also the second reason she awoke so early. Her smile spread as her gaze focused back at the image in front of her, the early morning rays reflecting off her brilliant aquamarine eyes as she took in the scene for the hundredth time.

There are few creatures in the world that enjoy the sun's beauty more than her. She had loved it so much that the black dragoness has gotten into the habit of returning to this very spot on the city's wall to survey the rise and fall of the giant ball of warmth for as many days as she could throughout the last year. The first few times she did this, many of her close friends thought of it as an obsession and had tried to discourage it, but she didn't allow it – they were not the ones that were trapped inside of a dark tower for the first few years of their life.

She had told them that the reason she came out every morning was simple - she enjoyed it.

The dragoness closed her eyes and took in another lungful of fresh morning air, savouring the smell of the clean forests just outside the city and she once again felt her body sag in lethargy. She sat there for a minute, eyes closed, taking in deep breaths of the air and feeling the early morning sun on her black scales. She wished she could sit here all morning without any interruptions. Alone.

The smile faded, her eyes taking on a glimmer of sadness as she her gaze gently drifted open to her paws. That wasn't true. She longed for her most trusted companion to join her on mornings like this. Unfortunately, Spyro was never a dragon to wake early enough in the morning to be able to join her for the sunrise, though the two had settled on making it a habit to watch the setting of the sun together for the last couple of days. Although, she could remember a time where he wanted to join her for the morning "watch" a month ago, but that only revealed to her that the oaf was content on making the solid stone wall his bed as much as a soft cushion.

Spyro.

A dragon with such innocent gaze and selflessness of actions that it would have made the dragoness puke if she hadn't been chained to him and been forced to tolerate it. The purple dragon had rubbed off on her in a way she had not expected and now, a year later, he was her closest friend and one of the few creatures that had believed in her ever since she abandoned her old master, Malefor. Just thinking about the young purple dragon brought emotions that the dragoness had not experienced and she felt her cheeks get slightly hotter. It was a few more seconds until she managed to calm herself down, but the memory of the dragon was still fresh on her mind and she could feel that the heat on her face had yet to fade.

The black dragoness, held up a paw to her head, a sheepish smile on her face. Ancestors above, she was glad that she had black scales, otherwise if someone caught her like this she would die from emba—

"So, what'cha thinking about?"

Cynder started, jumping an inch off the ground as she whipped her head to face the intruder, already to her feet and in a hasty battle stance. A pink dragoness stood roughly a metre away, a dainty paw held to her muzzle in a weak attempt to hold back a chuckle. The dragoness was around Cynder's age and was heavily adorned in golden jewellery which complemented her golden horns and chest plates.

Not being a fan of being surprised, the black dragoness held back a snarl as she glared at the opposing dragon. "Why would you sneak up on me like that, Ember?!"

Ember let out an unrestrained chuckle before giving the black dragoness a victorious smirk. "I'll have you know that I didn't really sneak up on you at all! I was just flying around, enjoying the brilliant morning sun before I noticed you. I landed. It was only after you didn't give inclination that you heard me that I spoke up." The pink dragoness flicked her paw in a dismissive gesture. "But that doesn't matter right now. You looked deep in thought there so it made me curious. What. Are. You. Thinking. About?"

Cynder recoiled from the opposing dragoness' straight-forwardness, turning away bashfully. "N-Nothing."

"Hmm, yes. How interesting," she commented, her smile taunting. "So, I'm not normally into betting, but let me take a gamble and say you were thinking of a certain purple dragon?"

"I wasn't!" Cynder countered indignantly, a fresh tint of red coming to her dark scales.

Ember laughed. "Let's imagine I believe that. So, mind telling me why you're blushing then?"

The black dragoness stuttered. "I-I'm not blushing!"

"Could have fooled me."

The black dragoness glared daggers at the opposing dragoness, not saying anything before turning away, dismissing the question. She waited a few seconds before; "What do you want, Ember?"

There was silence for a few moments before the black dragoness heard Ember pace over to her right before laying down beside her, her attention switching to the sunrise. Most of the humour from their conversation had already faded, the last remnants of a teasing smile falling from pink dragoness' expression.

The jewelled dragoness waited, not saying anything as her pink eyes took in the horizon and the early morning glow glimmered off her golden horns and jewellery. Another few seconds passed before she turned to Cynder, her gaze tinged with uncharacteristic worry. "I just wanted to know how you are feeling about today."

Cynder faltered at the mention of the date and her eyes misted over as she recalled the occasion.

Celebration Day.

A day dedicated the Spyro and her victory over The Dark Master, Malefor – the malicious evil purple dragon who almost brought about the end of the world, if it wasn't for them. Or more specifically, if it wasn't for him.

Cynder slumped slightly as she remembered the battle and the events that followed shortly after. She gritted her teeth in anger. She felt like an extra to the battle; a side character that did little in the battle but be a burden to the heroic protagonist of this entire adventure. She was useless; a helpless hatchling trying to fight a battle she had barely believed in.

Frankly, if Spyro had not given her the kindness of a second chance, she probably wouldn't have believed in the cause she was fighting for at all. The world was harsh and she was not inclined to try and save such a terrible place that had tried to kill and hurt her at every possible chance during her early life. Back then, it was kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten. Live or die - she was not aware that there were more options. Now, the black dragoness was viewed as a hero for that decision and she knew that she made the right choice.

It was hard to believe that it had already been a year since that day. Time just seemed to fly with the celebrations, the congratulations, the celebrations and then finally the mediocrity of going to Warfang's learning school every day. Unsurprisingly enough, growing up as a war criminal doesn't prepare someone for the history of dragonkind and the understanding of complex number equations. At least it was normal, which the dragoness was thankful for. Both herself and Spyro deserved a chance of a normal life.

Seeming to notice the black dragoness' hesitation, Ember perked up again. "I-I can only imagine how these celebrations must be for you, Cynder. You were the Terror of the Skies after all." The pink dragoness turned her gaze back to the sunrise, her muzzle scrunched in thought. "It must be difficult to face the families of the people and seeing all of those affected by the destruction that you had caused against your will. On top of that, you have already had to battle against all of those that had wished to undermine you because of it for most of this past year and this celebration would only bring more of those thoughts to the forefront." She paused, turning back to her companion. "I honestly don't understand how you do it."

Cynder thought of making a sarcastic remark, to thank the pink dragoness for reminding her of being one of the most relentless killers on the battlefield, slaying hundreds if not a thousand dragons in total. For being the lead cause of so many families being torn apart and bringing misery over many.

But she held it back, knowing it would only make the opposing dragoness feel guilty and lead to a situation that, frankly, she was not in the mood to deal with. Instead, she just shrugged. "I guess I just learnt to live with it," she simply stated. An unsatisfied frown told Cynder that she wanted more, so she continued, resisting the temptation to roll her eyes. "It's kind of sad, but after a while I just learnt to get used to it until it began to matter less and less to me."

Ember gave Cynder a long look, the unsatisfied frown still on her face but the pink dragoness said nothing of it, instead turning back to the sun with a small, "Fair enough."

A long moment passed in silence, the only sounds coming from the steadily bustling city behind as creatures prepared for the celebrations of the day. Cynder allowed her gaze to return to the sun to take in the last remnants of the sun peeking over the horizon, brightening the world to a new day. Seeming to take that as some sort of sign, Ember got to her feet, brushing off some stray pebbles that managed to stick to her flank with a paw.

"Well, I should really take my leave now," she stated, giving Cynder a glance. "Got to make sure my mate-to-be doesn't sleep in for his first important day of being the unofficial fire guardian of Warfang."

Cynder chuckled and gave the pink dragoness a smile. "That does seem like something Flame would do."

Ember returned the smile with a small chuckle. "It is completely something that Flame would do. I swear that dragon is secretly half sloth or something."

"Wouldn't surprise me."

Ember took a few steps toward the city until she was on the edge of the wall before turning back to the black dragoness. "I'll see you in an hour for the breakfast then?"

Cynder nodded. "See you in an hour."

The jewelled dragoness returned the nod before she opened her wings and dropped out of view, leaving the black dragoness alone on the Warfang Wall once more. Cynder, however, had no intention to hurry. She had an hour after all and that was plenty of time to get prepared for the day – even if it was the day they were going to be the star of the show.

The black dragoness let out a contented sigh, allowing her head to droop until her chin touched the ground as she soaked in a few more minutes of morning sun. A glimpse of a thought to wake her companion crossed her mind, but she dismissed it just as quickly.

As much as everyone harps on about Spyro's laziness, she had faith that the purple dragon could awake at a reasonable time on such an important date. He wasn't as lazy as that dolt, Flame who literally required someone to wake him up.

Right?

---

The sun rose high in the Warfang sky, the rays of sunlight illuminating the battle-worn city as the already bustling streets were in motion. Market vendors called out their various wares as a busy crowd shuffled through the city to take in the festivities.

Inside a room located at the outer walls in the Dragon Temple of Warfang rested a partly awake purple dragon, his eyes closed as he lay on his bed of many cushions.

Even though he was conscious, Spyro loved meditating in the morning - to just soak in the sounds and smells of the world around him as he lay in his bed, lounging and content. He barely moved on these sluggish mornings and this one was no different with his luxurious bedding being just a bit more comfortable than usual.

The purple dragon lay like that, in the limbo between asleep and awake, eyes closed, body relaxed and a small lazy smile on his muzzle. After a better part of an hour of quiet meditation, he began to feel the drape of blissful slumber overcome him once more before suddenly:

"Spyro?"

The voice rang clear through his head, grating against every single nerve in the purple dragon's body and disrupting his once-peaceful rest. A small moan escaped his mouth at being jolted out of his sleepy stupor but he did not bother open his eyes. He knew the voice all-too-well and he wished that on these mornings that he could ignore it.

"Hey…Spyro!" The purple dragon closed his eyes tighter in a vain attempt to shut his brother out and get back to his resting. Dear ancestors, how hadn't he developed some sort of immunity or at least the ability to ignore the dragonfly's voice without effort?

"Spyroooooooo? Hey! Wake up, big buddy!"

"What do you want, Sparx?" Spyro groaned drowsily, keeping his eyes closed as he half-heartedly swatted at the dragonfly with a wing. To his surprise, it had seemed to make contact as he felt a small amount of pressure on his wing and the room fell into blissful silence…

For a moment.

"What was that, Spyro!? Do you not have any respect for your poor brother which you had, quite dully, swatted aside like some kind of fly!?"

Spyro opened one drowsy eye to look at his brother. The golden dragonfly was utterly flustered, his small arms crossed in front of his chest, his wings moving faster than the drowsy dragon could see as he fluttered half a metre in front of the purple dragon's eye, a glare on his small face. Sparx sported the barest of bruises on the side of his head that seemed to be where the dragon 's wing had connected. Seeing the dragonfly so flustered made Spyro smile in amusement.

"Well, you are a dragonfly," the dragon stated, a sluggish but impish smile on his muzzle.

The dragonfly raised both hands to his chest and twirled in the air as if he was hit. "I cannot believe what I am hearing!" he cried out, a fake hurt look on his expression. "My own dear brother saying that I am anything like the very food I eat!"

Spyro rolled his eyes before he closed his eye again, the smile still planted on his muzzle. "What do you want, Sparx?" he repeated, amused.

"Hey! HEY! I'm not letting you go to sleep again after I went through all that effort of getting you up!"

"Is that so?"

"Well, yes!"

Spyro yawned and rolled to his other side so that his back was facing the dragonfly.

"Okay, you do that..." He could already feel the cover of sleep drape over him. To make it better, Sparx's raised and annoying voice was sounding more and more faded by the second. Finally, he can get back to his restful nap for at least a few more hours and maybe get up before lunch. Actually, he wasn't even hungry anyways, so he may even skip that as w-

Twak!

Spyro's body reacted far before his sleep-addled brain could register the sting of pain on his forehead, his eyes snapping open and his body jumping to life. He was on his paws and was already three quarters of the way through swiping at the dragonfly with a forepaw before he could comprehend what he was doing. Sparx quickly darted down and the paw flew harmlessly past the dragonfly's head, seeming to have expected the strike this time.

Sparx sighed, raising a small arm to wipe away a non-existent bead of sweat from his forehead. "Well, at least you're awake now."

"Sparx! Wh-Why? What?"

"Man, I swear that the only way to wake you up nowadays after you've defeated The Big Bad Guy is to give you a good wack on the head – or in my case, the forehead."

Spyro could feel his anger rising and he was tempted to give his brother the shouting required from such a rude awakening, but he decided against any further argument, instead letting out an irritated sigh and glare at the dragonfly, now annoyed. "What do you want, Sparx?"

"Well, technically, it's not about what I want but what someone else wants."

Spyro raised an eyebrow at that, now more intrigued. "And who is this 'someone else'?"

"What's the fun in me telling? How about you guess?"

Spyro let out a weary sigh at that as he felt the beginnings of a headache writhe itself into existence. He was unprepared for this morning. Come to think of it, he doubted anyone would be prepared to deal with the dragonfly at such an early time of the day.

The purple dragon raised a paw and massaged his temple, giving his brother another glare as he went back to sit on his bedding. "Sparx, you just woke me up. I'm tired, I'm drowsy and to be blunt I'm really not in the mood for your games right now. Either you tell me who put you up to…whatever this is, or I'm going back to sleep."

The golden dragonfly pouted at that and crossed his arms across his chest. "Hey, I'm not getting a kick out of waking you up either, you know! I just thought I should tell you about the morning meal which you are late for because you are my bro."

Spyro paused at that, his paw still on his head as he peered at the dragonfly inquisitively. "Morning meal? For what?"

"Well, I dunno, maybe for you and Cynder for saving the world!"

His eyes widened. "That's today!?"

"Well, it's not tomorrow…or yesterday…or the day before that…or the day after tomorrow," the dragonfly trailed off into a murmur.

"Sparx! Why didn't you tell me this before!?" The purple dragon jumped to his feet as sudden, invigorating energy flooded through him, already zoning out the dragonfly's response as he looked around his living quarters with renowned haste.

The room was relatively spacious for sleeping quarters, being at least ten metres wide and a few more metres long. At the far end of the room, there was a balcony that overshadowed most of Warfang, giving quite a stunning view of the city below.

Despite it, Spyro never liked the amount of space he was given when the guardians had initially suggested the room to be his living quarters. The purple dragon was used to sleeping in much smaller, cramped spaces, having grown up as a gargantuan dragonfly. The sight of having so much empty space to be called his initially made him uncomfortable. He also thought it was too big for *just sleeping*, but the guardians were persistent in their decision and had told him that he deserved the extra living room for saving the world. He felt that it would be rude to argue to that.

Lavender eyes scanned over his various furniture, looking from his bed, to the colourful, multi-coloured beaded curtains which divide parts of his room, to the mostly empty oakwood bookcase and finally to his heavily decorated chest of armour. His gaze paused on it.

"You don't think that I would have to wear my decorative armour, would you?" he asked, turning to his brother.

The dragonfly gave the chest a brief look before shaking his head. "Nah, the ceremony is only in the evening, after we celebrate the tournament winner. That's when the public would see you and when you get to look all spiffy and sparkly."

Spyro gulped at that, sudden panic coming to his features as he turned to his paws in despair. He had completely forgotten that he had promised the guardians to give a speech at the end of the day. To say he was unprepared would be an understatement.

Although Celebration Day, as the citizens of Warfang have dubbed it, was focused on celebrating the end of the war and freedom it has given creatures, the Ice Guardian Cyril had suggested the idea of both himself and his companion Cynder to make an appearance, which by extension meant some kind of speech. Both young dragons were against the idea initially but they knew regardless of what they felt, they had to go through with it. They would hate to be the cause of a restless crowd on such a joyful event. And so, they swallowed their discomfort and nodded their heads.

The purple dragon was not even in front of the crowd and was already regretting his decision. The speech would be the second time he would be in front of such a large crowd. He could still remember the events following himself and Cynder returning to the cheering city of Warfang a year ago when they defeated The Dark Master…

Spyro shook his head, clearing his head from the thoughts as he turned to the door in his room, his gaze filled with renewed determination. This was not the time to worry about that. He had other more important things to focus on.

He turned to Sparx and gestured with his head toward the door.

"Come on, we should go before we get any later," the purple dragon said as he walked through the door swiftly, not waiting for the dragonfly.

Sparx rolled his eyes as he fluttered beside the purple dragon. "Correction; before you get any later."

The two mix-matched brothers emerged into long, broad hallway decorated with a few pictures of various apparently well-known dragons and moles. Like many of the rooms inside the temple, clean white marble tiles made up the ground of the corridor, with only a small strip of deep red, lush carpet in the middle of the hallway. To their left was one more door before the end of the hall while the right was access to other sleeping quarters and the rest of the temple.

Spyro went to go right but hesitated, looking at the lone door to his left, a look of uncertainty coming to his face.

"She's already ahead of us, Spyro," Sparx said blandly, reading the purple dragon's mind with an annoyed scowl. "Who do you think told me to wake your lazy tail up?"

Not waiting for an answer, the dragonfly flew ahead and toward the temple's dining room. After a brief, hesitant pause and a quick glance toward Cynder's room, Spyro turned and followed his brother. The pair navigated through the once-intimidating hallways in the temple with ease that came with living in the building until they were in front of a set of wooden doors.

Spyro placed his shoulders on the right door and heaved. With more effort than he would have preferred, the purple dragon opened it until the space was large enough for the young dragon to slip on through.

As soon as the pair of mismatched brothers entered the room a piecing, young voice disrupted the dull murmur of conversation in the room.

"Heeeeeeeeeey, look what the moles drag-gon!"

There was a long-drawn-out moment of stunned silence before Spyro heard a loud slap to his right. A quick glace revealed an exasperated Sparx with a tiny hand over his face, shaking his head in annoyance…or was it disappointment? While the sight made the purple dragon smile, he also resisted the urge to follow suit.

"That was terrible," the dragonfly said, his voice muffled through his hand.

Only a brief moment later, the purple dragon heard another slap from ahead of him and he turned to face it. A group of dragons were all sitting on ornate cushions around a lengthy, circular table – already full of food he noted, all now staring at a pair of dragons, and the source of the noise. A pink dragoness glared at the fiery red dragon beside her, a paw held out post-slap as the opposing dragon held his jaw, a pained look on his face as he gazed at the dragoness.

"Is that any way to welcome the beloved dragon who rescued our hides on the very celebration of him doing so?!" Ember hissed to the red dragon, her eyes still bearing a glare that could cause someone to question if she had the fear element itself.

"It's not my fault he took too long so that I had enough time to make it up," Flame whined back as he rubbed the slightly redder scales on the side of his jaw with a forepaw.

"It is your fault for making such a dreadful pun, however…!"

Despite the situation, Spyro found himself smiling as he saw the two young dragons bicker between themselves. This wasn't even new to the two of them – ever since they came to the city a few months back, Flame would be getting into his various antics and Ember would be at his back, ready to ruin any source of enjoyment that the red dragon would get out of it. At first, Spyro did not know how to feel about the two when he met them, but they turned out to be quite likeable people and the longer they seemed to stay around, the more he began to like them.

Suddenly realising the distraction, the purple dragon zoned the pink dragoness out and took the chance to allow his gaze to drift across the table, quickly recognising the three elemental guardians; Terrador, who was trying his best to be stoic, although he could see a small smile tug at the green dragon's face; Volteer, who wore a smile, mirth in his eyes as he observed the events before him; and Cyril, who was in stark contrast to his fellow guardians and was glaring at Flame, a thin line forming across his muzzle.

The three elder guardians of Warfang had their work cut out for them after Malefor's defeat, having to manage the rebuilding of most of their fair city while making sure everyone had a place to stay and an active guard to keep everyone safe, all while dealing with their deceased friend and colleague, Ignitus. Spyro could never understand how they managed it, but thanks to Terrador taking up the unofficial role as head guardian, things worked out for the better.

The purple dragon quickly recognised Cynder who was looking at the proceedings beside her with amusement as the two loud bickering dragons continued to argue just to their right.

As if sensing his gaze, she turned toward him and their eyes met. The black dragoness gave him a small smile, half-raising a wing to gesture at the empty seat beside her. Spyro returned a sheepish smile before his gaze fell to his seat beside the black dragoness. All he had to do was get to his seat without getting the attention of everyone else – that should at least reduce the lecture time the guardians would give after they realised.

That idea was to be short-lived.

The purple dragon had not even taken a few steps before Cyril's stern, aged voice slashed through the air like a viper, instantly ending the conversation between Flame and Ember and seizing all attention of those inside the room. His icy blue eyes met Spyro's startled lavender and the scowl on his muzzle deepened.

"I expected better from you, Spyro," the blue dragon told him coldly. "It is expected that, as the purple dragon, you are to attend all meetings that request your presence on time, or to at least not be the cause of the delay. This is the third time in the last week where you have been late to a meeting…"

Spyro turned downwards in shame as the ice guardian continued, though the words itself were lost to the purple dragon as he had this talk. To make matters worse, the ice guardian wasn't exaggerating – this was the third time in a week that the purple dragon has been late to a meeting, which led to unnecessary chores and even more lectures. Ancestors above, he felt like a misbehaving hatchling being scolded after doing something they were not supposed to.

A pang of regret swelled through him as he was suddenly assaulted by stray memories of his early childhood with his foster parents in the dragonfly village. The purple dragon almost chuckled as he recalled the mischief both himself and Sparx would get into as they played harmless pranks on the other villages and scout areas of the land that were dubbed forbidden by their parents. Of course, it was because of the two brothers doing the latter that had allowed him to discover his true origins and to fight and succeed against a maleficent purple dragon who tried to destroy the world. He missed the days when he was a small creature in his own small world full of small dragonflies, who lived in their small homes with their small problems. Now he was stuck in a life of responsibilities he didn't want and being told off for being late to a meal.

As if hearing the purple dragon's thoughts, Volteer stood and gave the ice guardian an exasperated look. "Now, now Cyril, we have all witnessed this debacle before," Volteer interrupted, each word spoken at a pace and velocity that Spyro has learnt was common for the guardian. "It does not need to be stated, but everyone at present is aware that your actions are to the benefit of Spyro, however repeating the same actions in an attempt to gain a different result is non-beneficial for both Spyro and everyone in this room." He took a quick glance at Spyro before continuing. "I suggest we do not delay today's proceedings any further and to have this conversation at another occasion and another location. What say you, Cyril?"

The ice guardian was silent for a few long moments, just looking at his comrade in thought as if he was trying to settle a debate in his mind. It was another long moment before Cyril turned away from Volteer and toward Spyro, an almost defeated look on his face. "Volteer is right, we are already behind schedule and there is no point in delaying the celebrations further. However, Spyro, I will still be having a talk with you regarding your duties as the purple dragon." He turned to Terrador, expression hard. "That is all," he indicated before taking a seat.

The earth guardian returned a small nod back. "Very well," the green dragon rumbled in his deep voice before turning to Spyro. He silently gestured to the purple dragon's seat beside him and the young dragon followed the silent order without question, settling down near the head of the rounded table beside Cynder and the earth guardian.

Terrador waited a short amount of time after the young dragon had seated before he turned to the other members at the table.

"As you all know, today we are celebrating the first annual Celebration Day, a day which celebrates the defeat of The Dark Master, Malefor, through a long battle against our esteemed Spyro and Cynder." He turned to the two dragons briefly, a small smile on his muzzle. "It is because of this that I will need everyone to act in their best behaviour. Flame! As Ignitus' successor you are expected to remain with us for most of the day and to learn how we behave and deal with today's proceedings." The earth dragon gave the young dragon a small glare. "We also expect you to act mature as there will be many important faces for you to meet and your actions would directly affect Warfang's reputation."

Flame opened his mouth to retort but a hard glare from Terrador silenced any objections, leaving the fire dragon with a mouthful of air. Instead he released his breath with a defeated sigh before muttering a small, "Yes, sir."

Having felt like he got his point across to the red dragon, the earth guardian turned to Spyro and Cynder. "This applies to both you and Cynder as well, Spyro. As Cyril has already mentioned, you are expected to act your part as the purple dragon – which includes talking with those that could help our cause in rebuilding and improving Warfang after the sun has risen past its highest point."

Spyro silently nodded. He was already aware of his duties as purple dragon. It was something hard to ignore with the guardians already having started preparing him for socialising with those of 'high status' a few months in advance. It made the purple dragon have even greater respect for Terrador and his colleagues as he had learnt that the battle of words was just as intense as on the battlefield with a dragon's sharp wit being as dangerous as any talon or tailblade.

Terrador gave a satisfied nod, glancing at the other members around the table. "The outline of the day is simple; after this meal we will all go our separate ways in making sure everything is ready and is working perfectly. Then at noon, we will all meet up again to speak with those that can help us, before finally at sunset we watch the finals of the tournament being held throughout the day where Spyro and Cynder are expected to give a speech after rewarding the winner of the tournament with their prize." He paused for a moment. "Any questions?"

The earth guardian waited a few seconds, studying the other members of the table for any hint of queries.

When he found none, the earth dragon turned back to the purple dragon and the black dragoness beside him, a soft smile on his muzzle. "With the planning out of the way, I would like to formally award you, Spyro and Cynder, with a gift from the guardians and all those from Warfang in acknowledgement to the tremendous feats both of you had endured to save the world from The Dark Master."

As he said that, the guardian gave a small gesture with his wing and Spyro turned to see a small group of moles enter the room. The purple dragon's eyes widened and his jaw hung agape when he beheld what they were carrying.

The small, squat creatures were having a hard time carrying in two young draconic mannequins that were around the same size as a young dragon. On each model was a full set of ornate armour, cleaned and polished until it sparkled in the light. Even from his seat around the table, Spyro could see the exquisite craftsmanship of both sets of armour with various glyphs and runes engraved into the metal, many sparkling with arcane magic. The respective armour looked somewhat akin to each other, however they had a similar colour combination to their owners with the purple dragon's being prominently gold with a bit of purple and Cynder's armour being mostly silver with a few patches of black. Other than the colour palette, the black dragoness' armour was slightly more curved to fit Cynder's frame than the purple dragon's armour, but that was where the differences ended. They were obviously meant to be worn beside each other. There was so much to take in about the armour that Spyro doubted that he was able to see everything the armour offered.

For now, all he could do was stare in amazement at this gift. He spared a quick glance at Cynder to see that she had a similar look of astonishment on her face. She caught his gaze and Spyro's heart fluttered a bit at the look of pure unadulterated happiness in her aquamarine eyes. His own gaze softened when he recalled that this was the first real gift she had received in her entire life. Aside from the small tokens of thanks from the many inhabitants of Warfang, the black dragoness hadn't received any gift that was of significant value and was strictly for her alone.

He offered a quiet smile when he noticed a small tear come to the dragoness' eye and he raised a comforting wing over her. Cynder said nothing, but offered a small apologetic smile as she gently shrugged off his wing, which the purple dragon lowered without hesitation. The black dragoness turned to Terrador, a joy-filled smile clear across her muzzle.

"T-Thank you Terrador, I'm sure Spyro would agree with me when I say that these gifts are greatly appreciated," Cynder said, accompanied by a small nod from the purple dragon.

"Excellent! We are most pleased that this gesture is to your liking. However, that is not all! In addition to being visually appealing, each piece of armour also contains some of the most potent enchantments known to dragonkind!"" Volteer piped up as he rose a directing paw to the sets of armour again.

For a long moment Spyro was rendered speechless by this development. Finally, he stammered, "Wow. I...I don't know what to say! Thank you all so much."

The guardians responded with a smile and a small nod. Terrador cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and continued, "Now that all the gifts are out of the way, I would like formally announce the start of the Celebration Day!" He raised a wing so that the wing curled and the edge met the middle of his chest in salute. "May the Ancestors and all of those who lost their lives to this war watch over us on this faithful day."

The other dragons around the table repeated the gesture. "May the ancestors watch over us," they all repeated.

Spyro stared at the elder guardians around the table and it was clear that they themselves were reminiscing on the memories of Ignitus. Just thinking of his name brought an unexpected wave of emotion to the purple dragon's eyes. His gaze wandered to the portrait of the previous fire guardian in the room. Despite only knowing Ignitus for a month or two, the fire dragon's death had revealed how much Spyro liked the dragon. It felt painful to relive his memories of the guardian, as selfish as that was.

The purple dragon sat still, pondering and remembering the less intense moments he had with Ignitus when he was jostled out of his thoughts by the sounds of eating from those around him. Blinking away his thoughts, Spyro finally looked at the feast before him.

It looked amazing. Spiced meats, meat pastries, some leaf-like dishes, fruits and even various drinks were scattered around the table. Despite the emptiness in his stomach and the saliva gathering at the edges of his mouth, the purple dragon was having a hard time deciding on what to eat first. After a few seconds of debating without success, the purple dragon grabbed the nearest thing around him – a leg of lamb with assorted spices on it – and began digging in.

It was amazing. Despite having lived in the Dragon Temple ever since both himself and Cynder had saved the world, and being fed a large variety of great foods, this was easily one of his favourites.

Within a minute, all the meat around the bone was gone and he grabbed the next thing closest to him and began devouring it at a rapid pace. As bad as his manners were, he did not get any strange looks from the other dragons around the table, each of them seeming to be enjoying their choices to a similar extent, albeit at a more restrained pace in the case of the elder guardians, an amused smile on their faces.

It was after a couple of minutes of uninhibited eating that Spyro heard the large doors into the room creak open and the purple dragon turned, mouth still full of food to see a mole enter the room and quietly close the doors behind him. The purple dragon instantly noticed by the armour that the mole was wearing and the badges upon it that it was one of the many Dragon Temple guards.

The stout mole took a few steps into the room before giving a deep bow and meeting Terrador's gaze. "I am most sorry to interrupt your meal, masters. However, there is a pair of interesting-looking young dragons outside that have requested to meet you."

The earth guardian's brows raised an inch. "Young dragons you say?" he inquired surprised before turning to the other elder guardians questioningly. His sight was met with a pair of denials from the other guardians as they shook their heads.

The earth guardian returned a small nod before turning to the mole again, his gaze gentle but stern. "Tell them that we have a busy day ahead of us and that we cannot be taking any meetings this morning." He paused. "If that is all, you are dismissed," he said, turning away from the mole in a polite but dismissive gesture.

The mole raised a small outstretched arm. "Excuse myself again, Master Terrador, but the two seemed to foresee your dismissal because they asked for me to give you their names in an attempt to change your minds."

Terrador returned his gaze to the guard, his gaze showing the barest of frustration though his tone was level. "What are the names of these guests of ours?"

The guard turned his gaze to the ground and fidgeted with his paws nervously seeming to have also noticed the guardian's annoyance. "They had said that their names were Cavice and Flare," the mole said before hurriedly continuing, "but if you would have me to send them away I will do so without any…" He paused. "Master Terrador?"

Confused, Spyro followed the guard's gaze to the guardians curiously. A look of disbelief was on the elder guardians' faces as a stunned silence descended upon them. At this point, everyone else around the table had also noticed the guardians' reactions and had stopped their eating, all gazes now turned to the elder dragons curiously. It was only a couple of seconds of silence until Terrador gained a bit of composure.

The earth guardian nodded toward the mole. "Yes…yes, you can let them see us."

The guard now cocked his head to the side curiously, a notable amount of concern on his face. "Masters, if you feel like these two may be a threat, we can always escort them in confi—"

"Th-That would not be a requirement," Volteer cut in quickly, still looking slightly flustered. "You may escort them in without restraints as they are young dragons that we have faced before and they are not a threat to anyone here. We trust these two to keep a respectable air among them."

The guardian's final words were shortly followed by a snort of amusement from Cyril, though the ice guardian did not add anything further.

The guard looked from the electricity guardian to Terrador, silently asking for final confirmation. The earth guardian nodded once and the mole gave a quick bow before exiting the room, closing the heavy doors behind him.

Another long silence settled upon the room. The guardians seemed to be deep in their thoughts with their gazes fixed in front of them. It was another few seconds of silence before Spyro decided to break the lapse in conversation, allowing his curiosity to get the better of him.

The purple dragon looked up at the earth guardians beside him. "Who are these dragons, Terrador?"

"They are some foolish hatchlings we met shortly after the Eternal Night," Cyril cut in acidly, his expression in a powerful grimace, teeth slightly bared. "They suddenly came to the previous Dragon Temple shortly after your departure to find Cynder, Spyro." He turned to Terrador. "Your decision was hasty, Terrador. All this meeting will accomplish was to put our already tight schedule further behind and for what? To satisfy these hatchlings with a proper welcoming that they would not even appreciate!?"

The sudden venom in the ice guardian's voice caught Spyro off guard and silenced any further questions the purple dragon had, though it only fanned the flames of his curiosity.

After another moment of silence where the earth guardian stayed silent, Cyril turned back to Spyro and continued, "Those hatchlings had taken advantage of Ignitus' kind heart to take them in by convincing him that their lives were harrowing up to that point yet they did not openly reveal why." The ice guardian's jaw clenched in anger as he stared at the plate of food in front of him. "Then they benefited even further by convincing us to train them in basic and advanced elemental magic!"

"Were they capable?" Cynder asked suddenly, brow raised.

Cyril whipped his head to face the black dragoness, the anger still clear in his eyes. "No! They were completely inept hatchlings that couldn't even conjure basic elemental techniques! If it were not for Ignitus, I would have abandoned them right there out of their complete incompetence." The blue guardian snorted. "It makes me glad for what happened to them! Darn maggots got the-"

"That is enough, Cyril!" Terrador roared, his deep voice rumbling through the room and startling everyone around the table. He gave his fellow guardian an intense glare, rage evident on his expression. Cyril didn't seem fazed.

The earth guardian let out a low growl. "You go too far! You know why we took them in, and it has nothing to do with what you just mentioned!"

The ice guardian gave another snort but didn't make any notion to reply, seeming to concede. Terrador turned to the younger dragons around the table, the scowl still on his face. "All you need to know is that these two were lost in the forest when we took them in and trained them shortly before we came to Warfang."

The unanswered question that everyone seemed to be thinking was, So why are they not in the city already? However, the elder dragons did not give the answer.

Spyro allowed his gaze to fall to the plate of unfinished food in front of him, his appetite for the meal already faded. A grimace came to his muzzle as his eyes misted over in thought. Why were the guardians so surprised when the guard announced the names? He was obviously missing a part of this story that the guardians were not being open about and it made the purple dragon feel uneasy.

The door creaked open and everyone in the room stopped, all heads turning to the entrance. The same mole guard was standing, paws behind his back professionally though there was an air of hesitation around him as he gave a quick look around the table. The mole turned to Terrador once again.

"M-Master Terrador, would now be a good time to escort our guests in?"

The guardians regained their composure, sitting up to look more presentable before Terrador responded with a small nod. "Yes, you may let them in."

The mole returned the gesture before turning behind him and gesturing with a paw to the creatures behind. The room was silent as the pair of young dragons entered the room.

The first thing Spyro noticed about the two newcomers was that they held an air about them. Though they looked around his age, the guardians – and by extension everyone in the room, seemed tense as the duo slowly examined the room. Both dragons wore long, black cloaks that shrouded their bodies, revealing only their tails and wings. The hoods of the cloak were pulled back to reveal their faces. Both dragons were decorated with jewellery from horn rings to a pair larger rings that wrapped around the upper and lower parts of their tails. The jewellery itself was mostly gold with a few glimmering gems imbedded into it, but while it was an obvious show of wealth, it wasn't as glamorous as many nobles the purple dragon had met.

As the duo approached, Spyro spotted ornate golden chokers around their necks which had massive gems imbedded right in the centre. Both dragons also had dark, elaborate-looking satchels that were looped between their neck and forepaw. The satchels didn't seem to get in the way as they approached, though he could imagine that they would make it hard to run.

While both were well-built, one of them; a red scaled dragon with bright fiery red eyes, was larger and burlier, standing at least a few inches above his blue scaled companion. His gaze seemed to wander nonchalantly as he entered, his eyes scanning across the various furniture that decorated the interior of the meal room, not seeming to examine each thing in detail but looking nonetheless. Though the tension in the room was palpable, his body was relaxed and he didn't seem affected by the atmosphere.

The other dragon, a smaller blue dragon with bright teal-blue eyes was looking straight at the occupants around the table with an eye of intrigue, though his face revealed little if any emotion. The dragon's eyes trailed through all occupants around the table, stopping on the purple dragon for a moment longer, but his face was a blank slate as he returned his gaze to Terrador.

The purple dragon raised a brow as his eyes scanned over the duo's unique apparel again. He had not seen cloaks of this kind being used by a dragon – these types of clothes were common among the other, bipedal creatures around Warfrang such as cheetahs and moles, but the concept of such a design to be worn by a quadrupedal creature was new to him and a quick glance to the others around the table only confirmed his suspicion. The cloaks themselves looked finely-made and there was a golden trim that traced the outer edges of the cloth which also seemed to scream wealth.

Spyro averted his eyes back to their faces as they stopped a metre in front of the table, the red dragon's demeanour suddenly becoming slightly more dignified though he was still relaxed.

Terrador looked down at the pair of dragons, his eyes gazing over each of them. A long moment passed in silence as the earth guardian studied the young dragons before a warm welcoming smile came to the guardian's features. "It is a pleasure to see both of you again, Cavice, Flare," he said, nodding toward the dragons as he said their names.

The blue dragon, Cavice, gave a deep bow, revealing a pale silver armoured paw as he extended a foreleg across his chest, his cloak flowing seamlessly as he did so. The red dragon, Flare, followed suit after his companion as he mirrored the gesture, also revealing a gauntleted paw before it vanished beneath the dark cloak once more with a small clink. It suddenly occurred to Spyro that both newcomers were armoured beneath their attire – to what extent and the reasoning behind doing so worried the purple dragon, though he tried his best not to reveal it.

Cavice gave a small smile as he looked at Terrador again. "The feeling is mutual, Master Terrador."

The blue dragon turned to the rest of the elder guardians and gave a small bow toward them. "It is also nice see you too, Master Cyril. Master Volteer. It truly has felt like a lifetime."

Cyril returned the nod silently and Volteer pipped up, sitting up a bit straighter as he beamed at the two dragons. "Yes, quite so! The two of you provided us quite the astonishment by landing here on the morning of Celebration Day!" the yellow dragon buzzed, the words flowing seamlessly past his maw at a rapid pace.

Flare, the red dragon, stepped forward at that, a small sheepish smile on his face. "Ah, yes. We do want to apologise about that; we were not aware that we had decided to visit on the anniversary day of such a…monumental event." He paused. "We would have delayed our arrival should we have known."

The electricity guardian turned to the red dragon with the beaming smile still on his face. "You seem to have misinterpreted my statement, young dragon! I had only stated as such due to your unexpected arrival on such an event!"

"While we're on the topic of the event," Cyril cut in, before Volteer could respond further – earning himself a glare from the electricity guardian which again didn't seem to faze the blue dragon. The ice guardian gave both Cavice and Flare a narrowed look and continued, "I believe you haven't met the other members of the table yet," the ice guardian said, raising a directing wing at Spyro, Cynder, Flame and Ember as he began introducing everyone. The purple dragon started, sitting up a few inches in attention as the two visitors turned to him.

Cavice had the same guarded look on his face as when he had entered, his gaze seeming to once again pierce the purple dragon, to take him apart piece by piece and be able to read him as if he was a book. Flare seemed a little less restrained to hide his emotions as he gave Spyro small, apologetic smile as the red dragon regarded him, seeming to be aware of the affect his companion's gaze was having on the purple dragon, though he made no attempt to reveal anything more.

Spyro gulped silently. Here he thought that he had gotten used to being the centre of attention over this past year through all the countless meetings he's had with the remaining nobility in Warfang, but he would be lying if he thought that the strangers' stares left him at ease.

"Well then. On behalf of my brother and I, it is an honour to meet you, Master Spyro. Master Cynder. Master Flame and Ms Ember," Flare said with the smile, both visitors giving a small bow to the dragons and dragonesses as he said their names.

Spyro blinked. Brother?

His gaze narrowed onto the duo while they were busy focusing on the other younger dragons, the purple dragon's eye concentrating on each part of them that would reveal any similarities between the two for a few seconds. He found very little. While they both had some similar features, with both their horns and chest plates being the same colouration of gold, their differences were even more vast with completely different scale colours and stature. And if their scale colour was any hint to their elements, then that only brought about more questions than it answered.

After all introductions were finished, Terrador cleared his throat to get the attention of Flare and Cavice. "I would hate to shorten this meeting, young Flare and Cavice, however we have quite a lot of preparation to get to so that this celebration goes smoothly." The smile returned to his face. "Do you by chance have a place to stay in the city?"

The brothers shared a glance before Flare stepped forward. "We had just flown in this morning so we were actually going to find a place after this," the red dragon responded, his expression revealing nothing about his thoughts.

The earth guardian paused, his brows narrowed in thought as his gaze drifted down to the empty plate in front of him. A moment passed before he returned his eyes to the pair of dragons. "How would you feel about staying in the temple?"

There was an instantaneous reaction from Cyril as the ice guardian stood from his seat, a glare on his face and an objection on his lips, but he stopped when his earth guardian companion met his gaze with equal intensity. The two fought a silent battle between them that lasted a few brief moments before Cyril relented, a deep set scowl on his face as he silently took his seat once again wordlessly.

Flare paused and his gaze scanned over the ice guardian throughout the entire event, his fiery red eyes examining the blue dragon for a few moments. A relaxed smile came to his face as he turned back to Terrador, and he gave another small bow. "We would like that very much, Master Terrador."

"Excellent," Terrador rumbled, the glare falling from his face as the smile returned. He turned to the electricity guardian beside him. "Volteer, would you be kind enough to guide our two guests to the spare rooms we have in the temple and briefly show them around the city until noon?"

The yellow guardian nodded his head, his expression suddenly brightening as a large smile spread across his muzzle. "It would be an honour to be an attendant in exhibiting the immensity of Warfang on such a tremendous day!"

Volteer almost bounded until he was beside the visitors, the conflict between his colleagues already seeming to be forgotten as he paused and turned to the two guests. "Come along now, we have an immense volume of historic enlightenment to delve into before the sun is high!"

Flare and Cavice nodded their heads silently, not providing any resistance to the idea as the yellow guardian almost jauntily exited the room. They paused, giving the members of the table another bow before they followed silently.

Spyro's gaze fell to his paws again as his eyes misted over in thought. Those two scared a deep part of him. He did not know what they did to trigger such a strong reaction within him, after all, they were rather polite to him. But the very presence they had around them made the purple dragon on edge and uncomfortable. And now those two were supposed to live in the dragon temple alongside himself and Cynder?

Dear ancestors, I hope this feeling is wrong.

"That went better than expected," Terrador suddenly declared, breaking the silence as he climbed to his feet. Spyro piped up at the movement and turned to the earth guardian, half a dozen questions already on the edge of his tongue but before he could voice them the green dragon raised a paw, halting him. His gaze trailed across all the younger dragons, a stern scowl on his face. "I understand all of you have your own questions about those two, however this is not the place or the time to discuss it." His gaze swept past each of the dragons' once again until his eyes finally met the purple dragon's. "I promise you answers after the festivities today but until then we have many things to do in very little time." He gestured with a wing toward Flame and a seething Cyril and the two guardians and Ember stood. The three dragons came to his side as he turned back toward the purple dragon and Cynder.

Terrador offered a comforting smile. "Do not worry about those two for now, young dragons. Please enjoy this celebration that is being held in your honour until we call for you. Both of you deserve to revel in your victory." The two heroes nodded their heads silently and he turned and left with the other two guardians and Ember in tow. The future fire guardian had a deep scowl on his muzzle as he followed along, seeming to be none-too-impressed at following the two other guardians as little more than an observer, but he did not verbally address it. Ember gave a small wave which the purple dragon gingerly returned as she exited.

A few moments passed in silence before a yellow dragonfly fluttered to the side of Spyro's head.

"So, was it just me, or did those two just feel…wrong?" Sparx blurted out, a scowl on his little face.

"What's this? The Great Sparx the Dragonfly is quivering in his wings over two little dragons?" Cynder cut in, an impish smile on her face as she walked up beside Spyro. The black dragoness gave him a small smile in greeting which the purple dragon promptly returned as he stood from his seat.

The golden dragonfly crossed his arms across his chest and rose his chin, dignified. "I'll have you know that my intuition has never lead us astray. Should you need an example, I would like to kindly remind you of that time last month where I voiced my concerns in forcing Spyro to join you for your early morning sun-addiction? He didn't even last half an hour before he was flat unconscious on the city wall!"

Spyro let out a small chuckle, a sheepish smile coming to his expression. "In my defence, I had told both of you before that I'm not a morning person."

"As everyone now knows because of your little hiccup with the time table today," Cynder commented with a playful smile.

The purple dragon let out another sheepish chuckle before he turned to his paws, his cheeks reddening. Cynder chuckled at the purple dragon's reaction and gave him a reassuring bump with a wing as she walked passed him, a comforting smile on her lips.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Spyro. We have an entire day to get through and I doubt being a bit late is as much of a big deal as Cyril made it out to be."

Spyro gave the black dragoness a questioning glance. "You sure?"

Cynder rolled her eyes though the smile remained. "Spyro, we've known the guardians for slightly more than a year. Have you seriously not figured out how Cyril is by now?" Spyro opened his mouth to respond, but she quickly cut in. "Don't answer that." The black dragoness walked a few steps ahead before saying, "You coming?", not even turning to face him as she walked out the room.

"Y-Yes," Spyro stammered as he jogged to catch up to the dragoness.

Cynder had not gotten too far ahead and the purple dragon managed to catch up to her in a matter of seconds. The two dragons and a mildly irritated dragonfly ventured through the temple's hallways in silence until they came to one of a few entrances to the temple. An excited smile came to the purple dragon's face as the din of many voices and the bustle of a busy city came to his ears. As the group came to the entrance, Spyro peeked his head outside. What he saw left him speechless.

A countless amount of a wide variety of creatures marched up and down the busy streets of Warfang as far as his eye can see, some of them having massive smiles on their faces as they ate greasy-looking foods and walked throughout the bustling city.

The massive smile returned to Spyro's muzzle. Dear ancestors, he hadn't seen and heard such a variety of colours and noises in all his life. It was exciting to see so many creatures turn up to an event like this and to restore some life back to the city. To think that there was such an uproar from something Cynder and himself did. It was enough to fill the purple dragon with pride.

He turned to his side to see Cynder looking at him with an amused smile on her face. She chuckled when she was caught staring and absent-mindedly turned to the city. "I forgot, you hadn't seen it already," she said with a smile. "Turns out that waking up earlier than the average dragon has its perks."

"You saw this already!?" Spyro blurted out, which only sparked another chuckle from the black dragoness.

"Yep," she turned back to him, a wide smile on her face. "I couldn't wait to be able to celebrate but it didn't cross my mind that you hadn't seen how busy the city has become until now." She paused. "So, what do you think?"

"I-I…I don't know. I didn't expect so many people to be here," he stammered out. The purple dragon could barely contain his excitement to start celebrating and to do as much as he could in the one day – he didn't even know what he could do.

Seeming to have noticed the opposing dragon's reaction, the Cynder nudged the purple dragon encouragingly. "Well? What are you waiting for, hero?" she stated the smile still on her face.

Meeting the dragoness' sarcasm with a bright smile, Spyro let out a massive laugh full of excitement as he spread his wings and flew to the day's events, a smiling Cynder and Sparx not far behind.

---

Author's Note:

It's been awhile. ^^;

So quite the long chapter this time since I wanted to cover a lot this time. There's a good chance that the chapters from here on would not be anywhere near as long as this one and should not take as much time to write...hopefully.

I would love to hear your opinion on this chapter and all constructive criticism is always welcome so if you ever find a problem with the chapter, please tell me.

Thank you for reading the chapter, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll try to get the next one out as soon as I can.

Until then!