Chapter 4

Deep underneath the earth, magma had long ago leaked out of the bottom of the earth separate of the volcano, where the mantle and the crust had met. Unseen, it slowly ate away at the rocky soil like a chisel, chipping the earth away as pressure built up within the volcano. When Malefor had reigned over the land, even the volcano itself had become corrupted by his immense power, and had erupted on his command, so great was his darkness. This lava had fueled the ring of fire. With this, the small leak exploded outward as the pressure built up, and the force of the explosion channeled the lava down into a main stream, blowing a hole in the side of the volcano. When Malefor had been defeated, the magma gently sank back down, the roaring eruption dying, which isolated the lava outside of the volcano. Eventually the lava hardened into a peculiar, wavy lava rock. The ring of fire, as a result, too sank into nothing, the lava that fueled it simply hardening into the odd, fluid looking rock. The lava had drained down the side depression as well, creating a maze of naturally made underground tunnels. Now, evil had made their home here…

Volcanic soil is extremely fertile, and because of the fire disappearing, the land began to heal itself rapidly, and grass, trees, bushes, and other foliage began to take over what used to be a barren wasteland of fire and ash. All became at peace.

That is, until one, fateful day in which a new evil was awakened…

An egg, one last, remaining egg, hatched into the arms of a grublin.

Long had the armies of Malefor been scattered across the far north regions, outside of the realm. Their lives were devoted to Malefor's flesh and blood, bent by his will. With Malefor's death, their purpose had become confused. But not lost.

For indeed, this new hatchling was of Malefor's flesh and blood. And this is what they had been awaiting. The birth of a new devotion!

From the second of his being born, Malefor's old will was revived within the young hatchling, and the evil force that had bent the region to its core was remade. The volcano erupted once again, and the ring of fire was revived. However, hardened lava had formed at the very back of the tunnel, blocking the lava from escaping down the tunnels once more. The tunnels stayed empty. However, everything that had grown back was destroyed. The land was enslaved to the same will, lived through in another being.

Malafron!

Through these very tunnels, Desraa walked with purpose down the catacombs. His master had called to see him, and despite his high rank as general, the cheetah felt nervous. When his master called, it was never a friendly chat or a bit of small talk that he wanted. Oh no, it was always very important, and the cheetah had no idea what was on his master's mind at any given time. All he could hope was that he remained in favor in Malafron's sight.

Desraa turned left down another corridor, to see two grublins slacking off at guard duty. At seeing Desraa, they immediately stood to attention, hoping he hadn't seen them. In fact, the cheetah warrior had seen them, but he had no time to reprimand them. His master was waiting.

Desraa turned one last time, this time to the right, to see a wide, stone door, heavily guarded by four crossbowmen and four grublins armed with spears. The cheetah waved them off.

"Stand aside. My master wishes to speak with me."

At this, they instantly obeyed. Desraa strolled upward, to face a strange looking knob in the shape of a brain. He grabbed it, slowly turning it to the left. The door flew open, sliding to the right, into the wall. Desraa entered the chambers of Malafron.

The cheetah warrior stepped in, only five paces, and then kneeled onto the ground, bowing his head down to the ground in respect. Desraa's voice resonated around the room, as he shouted out,

"Hail, Lord Malafron, son of Malefor! Ruler of the underworld! Controller of darkness! Destroyer of light! Master of the mind!" As he said this, the door behind him slid shut.

Desraa kept his head down, trying to keep as still as possible. Another voice, very young, spoke out.

"Save it, Desraa. On your feet, I need to discuss something with you."

The cheetah immediately followed Malafron's command, and stood up, without another word. In front of him, Malafron rose up.

To the casual observer, the dragon looked almost comical for his position. Malafron stood only around one meter high, and was actually smaller than Spyro and Cynder. He was only about a year old, and his voice sounded absurdly young for a ruler. His appearance was odd as well. His head and neck were solid purple, but his body melted from a light purple at his head to an extremely dark mauve, darker than Spyro, at the tail. He was not a true purple dragon, but he treated himself as such, reliving his fathers' spirit through his physical form. Malafron stood onto his naturally made throne, a waterfall of lava rock. The hardened lava had completely blocked the volcano from cascading its magma down the expanse of tunnels, and not a single space remained for the volcano to enter into. The lava had come to rest here in this chamber, hardening into the liquid looking stone.

Malafron stared into Desraa's eyes. He felt uneasy, waiting for his master to speak. Malafron laughed to himself.

"Be relaxed, my general. I need to ask you a question."

Desraa was immediately alert, awaiting Malafron's every wish His head rose from the ground, to looking straight at Malafron. The son of Malefor peered into Desraa's mind, and he asked him,

"How many are at our disposal?"

Desraa immediately answered. "About thirty thousand strong."

Malafron pierced his mind. He spoke truth. The young ruler smiled.

"Excellent." He purred. "That will be enough."

"Enough for what?" asked Desraa cautiously.

Malafron shifted his gaze from the floor to his general. His eyes dilated as he thought of his plan.

"The dragon city."

Desraa's eyes grew wide. "You're planning to take over the dragon city!"

Malafron rolled his eyes. "Found that out all by yourself, did you? Yes, that's part of my plan."

Desraa's eyebrows rose upward as Malafron said 'part'.

"Uh… part, milord?"

Malafron swished his tail back and forth, obviously pleased that Desraa had asked the question.

"Yes… part. Now, listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. As you know, I was born without any elements. A mutation, I assume. However, I would never trade physical abilities for the power I have now. My power is of the mind!"

Desraa had experienced this power firsthand, and was still experiencing it. After all, Malafron had convinced him of his cause. That was why the cheetah was here in the first place, instead of in Avalar, where he had been cast out of.

"Of course, you already know this." He continued. "This mind is the manner into which my main plan will go into effect. I have already delved into Spyro's mind. His bond with Cynder is strong. Because of this, I could not take over his mind directly. So, instead, I have slowly worn away at his mind as he rests. I still am.

"How, you might ask? I have simply discovered his fears as a result of entering his thoughts. He fears to lose Cynder. He fears to lose all those that he loves and cares about. Because of the land being destroyed once again by the fire, he now fears Malefor more than ever, fearing that he has returned, an fearing that, if, he and Cynder could not defeat him last time, they wouldn't be able to this time. So, in turn, I have plagued his mind with Malefor's face, with Spyro being defeated by him."

"Finally, Spyro fears giving in to darkness. I have sent him nightmares as he sleeps, of him giving in, letting go, and falling away from those he held dear. Of him desiring evil. The best part is, all of these are my thoughts, but Spyro thinks they are his. And eventually, they will be lived through him as a result of my power. His fears are introduced in his nightmares, and they are as of consequence, lived in reality. He will be made into a useless wreck within time. I will break his bond to his love, his world, and then, when he is weak, I will strike. The only thing stopping me from exercising these fears for my own purpose is Cynder. She is scared of this too. Because of her fear and Spyro's love for her, he seeks to comfort her, distracting him from his fears. Because of this, I have tried to enter her thoughts as well, but she has grown a mightily strong bond with Spyro. I cannot delve into her thoughts, because her fears are recognized through Spyro. She is comforted by his presence. She knows how evil possesses the mind, and she's experienced it firsthand, thanks to my father. So, I will have to control Spyro to control her. This is my plan, my full plan. But taking over the dragon city will boost it in two ways, one, disheartening both Spyro and Cynder, causing their minds to weaken, and two, as a distraction to what I really want, which is them. Malefor's goal was to destroy the world, but his method failed. My goal is to destroy it as well, but instead, I will have both Spyro and Cynder at my side as the world falls into chaos and hopelessness." Malafron concluded. "This is my plan."

Desraa shuddered. An only one year old dragon with the voice of a child had just told him the most masterful plan he had ever conceived in his life. If this came from him as a child, than what would he be like in his adult years? It seemed impossible.

Malafron had heard the cheetah's thoughts, and smiled to himself. He spoke again.

"So, with this said, I will need you to lead the attack of Warfang."

Desraa had heard what his master said, and swelled with pride. "Thank you milord! I will not fail you!"

Malafron smiled. "I dearly hope not."

Desraa could not help but shudder at what Malafron had just said. He dearly hoped not as well.

"Gather the army, and in three days time, report back to me. I will be waiting, my general."

Desraa got up from his kneeling position, and the door slid open. The cheetah warrior walked out, anxious to do his master's bidding. Malafron waited until the door shut once again. He sighed.

"Spyro, Cynder, you will be mine…"

Authors note: Sorry if this chapter is hard to follow, I know it's a lot to take in. Please, review! Let me know what I can improve on!

P.S. I do not own Spyro or anything involving the franchise, but I do own Desraa, and Malafron. Please ask me first if you want to use them!