Chapter 2: Arrival At Warfang

The walk through the tunnel was an unsettling one, that was true. The place was almost dark, if not for the occasional torches that were placed on the walls.

The air was stiff, and it wasn't helping my injured wing. In fact, it had gotten worse since me and Hunter had entered the tunnel. It didn't help that I couldn't control the damn things, since every time I tried, I was rewarded with more pain for my troubles. While the walk was indeed uncomfortable, it did cross my mind that this was the same tunnel that Spyro and Cynder took to get to Warfang. And if I was right, there was an old temple near Warfang.

Heh, Warfang. It was quite the beautiful location, besides the fact that it was almost destroyed in the third game. I decided that I at least needed to know what to expect, just in case it had changed since the events of the third game.

"Hey Hunter, what does Warfang look like? I have never been there myself." I asked, hoping to change the mood.

"You don't know about Warfang?" He asked. I mentally cursed myself for my shortsightedness. All of the dragons in the Dragon Realms would know of Warfang. Why didn't I think of that?

"I don't know much, but I do know that it's near the old temple. Well, at least, I think it is." I said. Hunter seemed to buy it. "The market district is a sight to see, but the war has made it into a wreck. In the last days of the war, the Dark Master, Malefor, attacked the city. The dragons were able to hold off the Dark Master's forces, but just barely. The city was evacuated, but only now that the war has ended that people are returning to the city."

I couldn't believe it! Everything was just piecing together. This war, Warfang, Malefor the Dark Master, everything. "I'm sorry to hear that. If I knew about this, I would've helped…"

"Don't worry, it's okay. It's mostly the buildings that were destroyed. Nothing a decent amount of earth dragons can't handle." Hunter said. That cheered me up a little, but I couldn't help but feel guilty. Warfang would have been awesome to see.

"Anyway, how was it that you injured your wing?" Asked Hunter.

I gave off an embarrassed chuckle. "I got distracted, and forgot to keep myself in the air and crashed, and my wing hit a tree while I was falling. You know what happened after that." It wasn't all a lie; I technically DID crash, but not literally.

"Heh. I got broke my arm once in a similar way, but I had gotten scared, nothing more, nothing less." Hunter admitted. I managed to suppress a laugh.

Hunter looked forward in front of us. "We're here."

I looked and saw a spectacular sight; a large city surrounded by a large stone wall. It was true; most of the city was in ruins, but there were dragons, moles, and cheetahs working together to repair the damage. I was interrupted from looking at the city when Hunter called out to someone.

"Spyro!" Shouted Hunter. I saw a purple dragon look around and eventually look at Hunter. When he did, he started running over; looking like he wanted to chat.

"Hunter! It has been awhile. What brings you here to Warfang?" The dragon asked.

"I came to help out with repairing the damage that was done to the city, but on the way, I met this dragon." Hunter pointed at me. The dragon eyed me with a cautious look about him. "His wing is injured, and I decided to get someone to fix it." Said Hunter. This caused the dragon's expression to changed almost immediately.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Spyro. What's yours?" Spyro asked, holding out a clawed hand.

"Uh, Drago. The name's Drago. Nice to meet you too." I nervously said.

"Well, Hunter, I have to see to the restoration of the city, but Terrador will help you get started helping with the repairs. He's in charge of the city's restoration, and I'm pretty sure he would like to meet Drago. I just wish Ignitus was here…" Spyro replied. He looked like he was about to cry. "Well, I'll see you later."

"I'll see you later as well." Said Hunter. Spyro then turned around and flew off.

"Well, lets get someone to fix your injured wing." Hunter said. I nodded in agreement, as we made our way to the centre of the city.

Spyro was about to cry after mentioning Ignitus. I guess Ignitus was his father or something. I always thought it was Malefor, but I may be wrong.

The buildings were in a sorry state; some so damaged, it was impossible to tell what they looked like before the war. Try as I could, I couldn't even piece them together. This level of destruction… it just made me feel sorry for all the inhabitants of Warfang; they have seen so much destruction and ruin, and death. I just couldn't believe the fact that civilisation like this could stay together for this long, considering that this war was probably a frightening one as well.

When we arrived at Warfang's temple, I was amazed. It was MASSIVE! The sheer size was just incredible by itself.

We entered what I could only guess would be a hospital. There were many patients either sick or injured in some way. Me and Hunter approached a mole, who I presumed to be a doctor. If anything, I was ready to get my damn wing healed.

"So, what is the matter?" Asked the mole. Thankfully, Hunter did all of the talking.

"This dragon's wing is dislocated. It's nothing major, of course, but if you don't have time right now…" Hunter answered, but was cut off at the end.

"It's okay, I have time to do this. Besides, it's better to have it healed now than later." Said the mole.

He told me to lay on the bed so that it would be easier for him to heal my wing. I mentally was happy. At least my wing would finally stop hurting!

He asked questions, and also asked how I injured my wing, and I answered every single one that I could. If I couldn't answer, Hunter answered for me. It was until I felt my wing snap back into place that I was relieved to not have to worry about my wing hurting as much as it did before. He told me to move it around, and I managed to at least control the things.

The mole dug into one of its pockets and took out a red crystal. He then handed it to me. "Take this. If you need it, it will heal your wing, if you ever injure it again." The mole said. "Thank you." I replied politely. "You're welcome. Now, if you excuse me, I need to tend to some patients."

I looked at the red crystal. Somehow, the more I looked at it, the more it seemed to be familiar. Every time I tried to think why that was, it was like a piece of my memory was missing. 'Maybe it's just my imagination.' I thought.

I looked around and saw that Hunter was not currently with me. A quick scan of the room showed me that he was talking with a green dragon. 'Wait, that dragon looks familiar. Why is that?'

Hunter finished talking with the dragon and walked to the exit. I was about to join him, when the dragon stopped me.

"Greetings, young dragon. I am Terrador, one of the three remaining elder dragons. Tell me, what is your name?" He said, while holding out his hand for me to shake. His voice was full of dignity and authority, and his stature clearly showed this as well. Despite old age, it was easy to spot large amounts of muscle. His scales were a deep forest green, and his underbelly as well as his wing membranes were coloured brown.

I gulped in slight fear; he was BIG! Bigger than he was in the games. He was clearly several feet taller than me, and clearly had more weight. I decided to try and not make him angry. I didn't know how strong he was.

"D-Drago." I nervously stuttered. I took his hand and shook it, but I didn't expect his grip to be so strong! He almost crushed my hand with the sheer strength he possessed.

"Drago?" Terrador said. Something flashed in his eye, but I couldn't tell why that was. "Nice to meet you."

"N-nice to meet you too." He was scary, but I could tell anyone could get to know him if given the time. I noticed the many scars on his legs; he has seen battle, that's for sure.

"I heard that you injured your wing. Hunter told me what happened." Terrador said. I took this information in. "I have something to ask you. Where did you live before coming here?"

I realised that I would have to lie to him. I needed a very convincing story to convince him.

"I… I never had a home. I never even knew my parents…" I answered; trailing off at the end. I realised that I had started crying, so I tried to wipe away the tears.

"I-I'm sorry to hear that." Terrador said.

'He actually bought it?!' I thought.

Also, I had realised my fears were stupid. Terrador was surprisingly comfortable to be around, not to mention engaging in a conversation. Despite his rough exterior, I could tell he was quite friendly to those in need of help.

"I'm guessing that you don't know much about our history?" That was true; I don't know much, but if I remember correctly, I knew some of it.

"You mean, you want me to learn our history?" I asked. It was true, as I definitely needed to know at least most of it; any less and dragons would get suspicious.

"Yes." Terrador answered, confirming my question.

"Well, in that case, I would be happy to learn our history." It felt kind of weird calling their history mine, but I didn't have a choice.

"Good. Now, I'll have someone to take you to where you will sleep." Terrador looked around, trying to find someone who wasn't currently busy. "Cynder!" And from out of a crowd, a black dragon poked their head above the rest. After seeing Terrador, the dragon preceded to walk towards him, as well as me.

As she got closer, I realised that she was a dragoness. A beautiful one also; her black scales shining brightly, and she had a magenta red underbelly, and her wing membranes were magenta red as well. Her eyes were an emerald green, which seemed to shine quite beautifully.

"Yes? What do you need, Terrador?" She asked. "Cynder, meet Drago. He is new to Warfang and needs a place to sleep. Will you guide him to a room?" Terrador asked.

"Yes." Cynder answered. She looked at me before talking. "Hi, I'm Cynder. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." I replied in response. She was beautiful, but I knew that she already was in love with Spyro. And something told me that she still hadn't told him her feelings towards him.

As we walked down the halls of the temple, I tried to memorise the place, since it was so big. This proved useless, as Cynder broke the silence.

"So, where're you from?"

I sighed. Now I had to lie to Cynder. Things did not look good today.

"I…" I trailed off, sadness and guilt entering my body. Sadness for how sad my lie was, and guilt for lying in the first place. "I never had a home, nor did I know my parents…" Again, I trailed off.

"I…" Cynder tried to speak, but decided not to.

Now I've done it. In my stupidity I had made her sad. The mood was cheerful, but now, the mood felt dark and gloomy.

"Cynder, what's wrong?" I asked, trying to be polite and caring towards her.

"…" She didn't answer. I was about to ask her again, but she cut me off. "We're here." She said, as she pushed open the doors to the room that was where I would be staying while in Warfang.

"Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow." She said. She then walked away, and when she was out of sight did I enter the room.

I took it upon myself to read some of the books that were stacked on the bookshelves that were in the room. They were filled with content; from history and legends, to facts and even beliefs.

I laid on the bed and thought about what had just happened. 'Okay, I should not have done that.' I thought to myself.

I knew that she used to be the dreaded Terror of the Skies. She had killed many families as that monster, leaving behind destruction and fear in her path. After Spyro had defeated her, she returned to normal. 'She must still hate herself for what she did. Tomorrow, I have to tell her that I'm sorry for making her sad.'

As I got ready to sleep, my stomach gurgled. I mentally cursed myself before going to sleep.

(Hours later)

(Cynder's POV)

I woke up lying on my back. Sweat was covering my forehead. 'That was not a good dream at all.' I thought. As I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I saw that it was still night time. 'Probably early morning.' I thought. I decided to go see if Drago was ok.

I walked to his door and entered the room. The first thing I saw was Drago sleeping without any blankets. I smiled; seeing him sleeping peacefully was something that cheered me up. I decided to make sure he didn't sleep the rest of the night without blankets.

When I put the blankets over him, I was about to leave when I heard someone speak.

"M-mommy?" I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. As I looked around, when my eyes looked at Drago, I realised that it was him who spoke. As I walked closer to him, he started to talk in his sleep more.

"Mommy? Daddy? Where are you?" He said. 'He must be having a nightmare.' I thought. That, and all the sweat on his face. I decided to watch over him, just in case he woke up and needed to be calmed.

(David's POV)

The sight was horrifying.

Fire was everywhere, and I felt like I was melting alive. I tried calling out to my parents, but no reply came. Then, out of nowhere, I saw a large black dragon; flying right towards me…

"Ahhh!" I woke up all of a sudden, as quickly as the nightmare had begun. 'A dream! It was just a dream. But it seemed so real…'

I noticed the blankets that were over me. 'Someone must be in here with me.' I thought.

I looked around the room, and saw no one. Then all of a sudden, a shadow appeared next to me, seemingly coming out of the ground.

"Ahh!" I tried to get away, but was rewarded with hurting my wing.

"It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you." I recognised the voice. Cynder.

"Cynder! You scared me." I managed to say. "Sorry. I came to see if you were ok. Although, I didn't expect you to start having a nightmare." Said Cynder.

'She heard me talk in my sleep!' "It's ok, I-I'm fine." I told her. That was when I remembered what I did some time ago.

"Cynder, I'm sorry." She looked at me with a confused look on her face. "I didn't mean to make you sad. It was really stupid of me to do that…" My voice came out small, but audible. Cynder looked at me with a caring feeling around her. "It's ok. We all make mistakes, someday. And besides, I've dealt with it for a long time. I'm actually used to everyone thinking I'm still the Terror of the Skies."

"Yeah, but still, it was just stupid of me to do it." I replied.

"Anyway, did you ever know your parents? At least see a picture of them?" She asked.

"No, but I wish that I could see them again…" I tried to make sure I could keep my true past hidden from her, or anyone else for as long as I could.

That was when I started crying. I couldn't believe I was making myself look like a child in front of her! But, if anything, it is what she would have done in my place.

(Cynder's POV)

I saw him just start crying. He cried like nothing I had ever seen before. 'He must miss his parents so much. It's just so weird; he doesn't know anything about his parents. No names. No appearances. Nothing. It's like his memory was wiped of anything related to his parents. I realised, as I exited the room, that we shared some things in common.