Author's Note: I am adding a new language to this story but not in full. Little peices of it here and there where needed. I am enclosing a translation of all the words used in each chapter as we go so you might want to copy and paste these translations if you want to understand all of whats going on.

Shakuron: Pronounced Sh-ah-coo-Ron. It means Guardian it can be used to represent a guardina of partically anything and as such certain words are used to determine spesific tasks.
Ras: Pronounced R-az. The az is pronounced similar to the of gr-ass, means Let
Xe: Pronounced Z-ay, Means 'The'
Mor'na: Prounced More-Nah, Means path
Ve: Pronounced V-ay, Means be
Ishirna: Pronounced E-sheer-nah, Means Revealed
With the last five words translated to you then the phrase found later on is, 'Ras xe mor'na ve ishirna' or 'Let the path be revealed'
I believe that I have been fair in writing this so if you find it tedious or any such thing than by all means continue to read this and I won't take any responsibility for the confused, I would like however to request your opinions on wether or not it seems okay. If you don't like it then help me to redo it. If you do like it then encourage me to write more or less of it. If you have any Ideas on words for the Language then I would be all to glad to take them into consideration. No onto the story! I think I've wasted enough of your time.

Chapter 16

Spyro looked out over the garden of Luna's house from the balcony of his room. He had requested a room separate from the others. He didn't yet dare chance his company on the others, not with the venomous presence of the Dark Master on his mind. He couldn't accept the curse that lay upon him but all the same that didn't stop the Dark Master laughing out into the night while Spyro slept. It had been nearly two days since they had first discovered the existence of the Soul Scar and Spyro himself wanted to be sure he was capable of controlling the evil within him before they set out again. It was not an easy thing, as of yet all he succeeded in doing was controlling the Dark Master but it had always been while he had been alone. Ember had tried several times in the past two days to talk to him but every time he caught sight of her, he felt the twinge of the Dark Master's desire to take her. Spyro knew full well that the only reason he wanted to do this was because of the amount of pain that it would cause in several lives.

Spyro had managed so far to resist the power of the Dark Master and keep him suppressed but Spyro knew that eventually he'd have to confront him. Luna had told him he'd have to confront the Dark Master. She had told him by speaking these words to him, 'Fear not the darkness within Spyro, Fear it and it will control you, Hate it and it will tear you apart. But embrace it and you will find that fear will have no hold on you and the darkness of fear and the darkness within may become your ally.' Spyro had found these words not at all to his liking but was smart enough to see the wisdom behind the words. The Dark Master had done so much to hurt him in the past but when Spyro had finally killed him, he had felt free at last. No longer were his dreams haunted by an evil faceless being who laughed mercilessly, the menace had gone and Spyro had finally had the chance of living peacefully. But now… now the Dark master was apart of his soul, with him forever. Spyro didn't know what to think or say about this nor could he manage or find any way in which to tell Cynder about the curse he was forced to bear.

Almost as if these thoughts had echoed out of his room he heard a knock on his bedroom door. 'Enter,' said Spyro absentmindedly, not really caring much about whom it might be. The door opened slowly and Spyro heard a soft female voice speak behind him, 'Spyro, are you alright? You look worried.' Spyro sighed and turned to face his mother who had entered the room and shut the door behind her. Raelin looked at him and said in a gentle voice, 'Spyro don't forget that you are not alone in this curse, remember I too bear a Soul Scar.' Spyro looked at her and realized that he had been foolish and forgetful in the extreme as to have forgotten this. Turning away from her and looking out the window he spoke, his eyes fixed on the crystals above him, 'Mother, why is it that I always seem to face these problems. All my live, all I ever wanted was to live peacefully, with the one I loved by my side.' Raelin moved behind her son and wrapped her wings around him, whispering in his ear as she did so, 'Spyro, Listen to me, you may as well be resigned to what has been given you, I was myself incapable of escaping what was given to me to deal with. It will be hard, I know this but with your friends it will not be so bad.' He turned his head slightly to look at her wings and smiled, even amongst his worry he was capable of finding solace amongst friends and family.

Spyro knew all to well that the chance existed that he would lose ones he loved on this quest of his, but the mere fact that they still stood behind him, offering support and comfort in his time of need was more precious than a thousand diamonds. 'Mother, I am happy. For once in a good while I am happy. I will see the end of this with hope in my heart,' Spyro said as he genteelly extricated himself from his mothers hug. Spyro looked at his mother and asked as another concern occurred to him, 'How am I supposed to tell Cynder about this Curse?' She stayed quiet for a minute or so, clearly thinking on how best to answer him, eventually she looked at him and said, 'My son, from now on you'll have to trust to her judgment. She is on her own now and will have to fend for herself with the aid of her friends just as you are now. Perhaps in time you will find the means of removing the spirit of the Dark Master from your soul but until then all you can really do is hope.' Spyro looked back out over the scenery and upon the silvery-blue crystals in the ceiling above him; they were colored so like Masami. This reassurance wasn't what he wanted, he knew well enough that Cynder would accept this curse with him and love him regardless of what he had to bear; they had been through to much for anything less. It wasn't this reassurance that he wanted, what he wanted to know was the sake of his daughter.

He wanted to know that the son of his adversary would hold out long enough to resist the evil of his father so that if he wanted to start a family with Masami, it could be done properly and not be tainted by darkness and evil. Spyro was most afraid of Takeshi falling into darkness and of Lethek using his new pawn to hurt Spyro even more than had already happened. He wanted to know that she was going to have a relatively normal life after this rather than have to bear reminders and pain of a dark period of her life. In reality Spyro knew that none of these reassuring thoughts were likely to happen, not when Lethek's Evil and Takeshi's love were part of the equation. Raelin seemed to sense these thoughts; she sat down next to him, looking out over the twilit courtyard as Spyro tried to avoid her eyes. This became impossible as she used her tail to turn his head to look at her. He looked into her eyes, those eyes which glowed faint silver and were currently filled with compassion for her youngest son. She spoke in such a gentle voice that it was almost like the wind, 'My son, I know you fear for her life, but I also know you fear for her young mind. I can see the fear and worry reflected in your eyes. It saddens me that I can do nothing to help you, all I can offer you are the comforts of a mothers arms and the promise that I will do everything within my power to help you save her.' Spyro again felt the twinge of the Dark Master in his soul, the desire of the Dark Master disgusted Spyro and he knew for sure that on this matter he'd always win.

With a powerful amount of will power he crushed the Dark Master's new thoughts in such a way that Spyro's chest gave a visible twitch of anguish. Spyro looked away from his mother and back out over the garden. Spyro had never known such pains as he had felt but despite all he had experienced the time he had spent with his mother had alleviated some of his fear. Raelin got up to leave but before she had reached the door Spyro's voice called back to her. 'Mother, how am I to commune with the Dark Master without being corrupted by him or letting him loose?' The question did not surprise her; she had expected him to ask long before this and was ready to answer him. Turning around she said, 'To commune with him, find within you a vision of the thing which means more to you the life itself. Once you have it, the Dark Master's poison will not hurt you and you will be in control.' She smiled to him before turning to leave. Spyro smiled, he already had an image of the thing he cherished more than life itself. Cynder, his love, He already had a vision in his mind of her radiant beauty, the warm feeling he felt when she smiled at him. He allowed the feelings and the visions of them in romantic situations, where nothing in the world mattered to them except each other. Slowly, cautiously, he looked inwardly at the Soul Scar and saw the face of the Dark Master reflected back at him as if the dark scar were a mirror. Spyro could feel the Dark Master's twisted anger and rage roiling off of him like a poisonous fume but with the thought of Cynder fixed firmly in his mind and heart, the feeling became nothing more to him than awareness.

Spyro looked at The Dark Master and asked, 'How is it that you have continued to exist attached to my soul?' The Dark Master laughed a cruel laugh and said in a manic way, 'It was simple and in its simplicity lay its brilliance. You had been greatly weakened on our final battle as you well know. I felt a small opening in your weakened soul and when you dealt the killing blow I used the last of my power to rip my soul from my body and latch it onto your soul. It had some unforeseen consequences and I slipped into a dormant state.' Spyro looked grim as he thought about what could possibly have awoken him. He reasoned that the recent encounter with Lethek and the trauma that he had gone through might have reawakened the Dark Master with his sorrow and misery. Spyro was unsettled by the news that his most hated adversary apart from Lethek, had clung to life on his soul. He felt dirty, contaminated, unworthy to even socialize with his friends, with the soul of a monster living off him like a parasite. He was saddened by the thought of his family and he was tired of the hardships he had endured. He had reached the limits of his endurance time and time again yet even though his body and mind had been broken repeatedly, he had always gone on. What was the point anymore?

To what means did he fight now? Was it for love and family or was it for himself and the easing of his pain? Surely the latter but even still; such hardships had always been endured in his life time. He could no longer enjoy the innocence he had once had in his youth, he had grown up. 'Yes….Think these thoughts of despair, they are always an ever present source of misery and the source of my power.' The Dark Master smiled at Spyro through the black window of the soul scar. He knew that Spyro's greatest weakness was his family and friends; he knew that Spyro's misery was a strong source of power for if he could only use it against him; Spyro could become a useful puppet. Spyro looked through the mirror and said as a thought occurred to him, 'What is dark magic?' The Dark Master looked surprised at this question but realized that as part of Spyro, his existence deepened on Spyro surviving his ordeals. He looked at the young dragon and said in an even, carefully controlled voice, 'I suppose that my power might help you survive. If so then if you will allow me to do so, I will train you to use and control dark magic.' Spyro looked at the Dark master carefully, trying to judge if he had any ulterior motives but seeing the impassive face of the Dark master and realizing that his need might be dire, he nodded slowly. Spyro felt sure that this might be a ploy to gain control of his body and use it as he saw fit.

But Spyro knew also that he was fighting powers beyond him. In the fifteen years since he had killed Lethek he realized one thing, he had only killed his older brother by shear luck. Lethek had grown over confident and misjudged Spyro's abilities. Had Lethek stayed focused his strength completely, Spyro would have died. Spyro saw at that moment that he needed to find the means in which to grow more powerful; even if that meant learning the dark arts. Spyro breathed deeply as he asked in what he hoped was a calm voice, 'Can you teach me now?' The Dark Master grinned as he mentally went over all of his lessons. Though he possessed an amazing amount of raw power he had still needed to seek a teacher to teach him to control and use it. He was pleased that he still remembered all of his lessons in perfect detail. He nodded silently and said calmly, 'Very well, we shall begin now. First lock the door to ensure that we are not interrupted.'

Spyro did not much like the idea of locking himself in; if something went wrong he might need some one to help him fight of the evil within. But he did as instructed reasoning that his training might be hazardous if someone else tried to disturb him while using these powers. When he had locked the door the Dark Master spoke to Spyro in a commanding voice. 'The power of Darkness, what you first must understand is that they are a part of you and that these powers are only as evil as the user wills. If you want to kill an entire village indiscriminately then your powers are used dark indeed, but if you wish to cast a barrier around the same village to protect it from others, then your powers are indeed righteous. The powers of darkness generally reflect the user, from the good to the bad. But this reflection does not affect your power or control, only your tendencies to do certain acts.' Spyro nodded though he was a little confused. If the powers of darkness were only as evil as the user then that meant the dark magic's were in no way evil on their own. He had seen these same powers used for murder and destruction so how then could they be used for such things as protection. Spyro looked at the Dark Master and asked in a puzzled way, 'What exactly are the powers of darkness?'

The Dark Master laughed cruelly at the question and responded in no kind tone, 'The powers of darkness cannot be explained; the powers of darkness are pure power and magic, nothing more. You simply use it as you see fit but be warned, these powers drain your energy as you use them. If you are not careful you could cause yourself to collapse from the effort and in the worst case scenario it could cost you your life. These powers are never to be trifled with.' Spyro felt deeply uneasy about this last bit of news. If the powers of darkness could kill the user then why was Lethek able to do so much with these powers? Spyro also was struck with the thought that even if the user didn't die, so much more harm could happen to him and others around him. If the was to lose control over these powers, who might he maim or kill by accident. How did Lethek have so much power while showing so little drain on his strength? The Dark Master waited for Spyro to speak, being apart of Spyro he knew perfectly well what Spyro was thinking about. 'Lethek is directly connected to magic. His spirit is constantly siphoning magic from everything seen and unseen around him. He is only as powerful as the link allows but no matter how small the link is, he still has an enormous amount of power flowing into him.' The words of the Dark Master worried him somewhat but he immediately saw a bright side, 'Is it possible that he could destroy himself with his own power if he absorbs too much of it?' Spyro asked already thinking ahead.

If it were possible to cause Lethek to absorb to much magic into his body then maybe he might have a chance of defeating Lethek before the battle even began. The Dark Master stayed quiet for a moment or two before answering in a quiet tone, so unlike his usual tone, 'I believe that it is possible but even so Spyro, his power and strength are without equal, it would take an exceptionally large amount of power before his limits are broken.' Spyro's heart lifted as a heavy weight was lifted off of his mind, though the odds were not great, the chance was still there and that was more than what he had had a few moments ago. The Dark Master gave a grudging smile at the lighthearted feeling that now radiated from Spyro but he had more pressing things on his mind at the moment, primarily the lesson. 'Spyro, I think we had best continue our lesson,' the Dark Master reminded him. Spyro's hopeful feelings didn't fade as he cheerfully replied, 'Of course, so where do I start?' The Dark Master sighed, Spyro's cheer was revolting to him but he spoke to him regardless, 'First you must find within yourself the barrier of your inner most Magic, the Shakuron.'

Spyro looked bewildered as he asked, 'The what?' Spyro had never once heard this word and it fell oddly on his ears. The Dark Master calmly explained, 'The Shakuron, or in an approximate translation, Magic Guardian, is a dormant magical spirit that lies deep within all of those who are capable of using magic. It is there to protect the inner most powers of that are directly connected to magical energy. Every single creature intent on unlocking such power that they were not able to have must battle with it.' Spyro looked slightly less confused as he thought over his elemental magic's, his furies, and innate regeneration capabilities. Yet over the long years of his life, he had never once had to fight such a creature. Spyro asked the Dark Master about this, 'How is it that I have Magic yet have never had to battle against this Shakuron?' The Dark Master laughed in apparent amusement and Spyro politely waited for him to stop and respond. The Dark Master calmed himself quickly and responded to Spyro's question with his voice slightly weaker than before, it had been some time since he had laughed because of something genuinely funny. 'The Shakuron guards magic that you did not inherit naturally, your elemental powers and so on were born into you, the Shakuron guards magic that you weren't born with, Saegra, Dark and Light magic's, Shape shifting, invisibility, and elemental powers of enormous levels in strength and power. Such things are guarded by it, but even if you successfully defeat it, you must unlock your new powers yourself.'

Now Spyro understood, it was protecting powers that he couldn't learn naturally, powers that he would never possess without unlocking them from within. Spyro looked into the eyes of the Dark Master, searching, looking for any sign of deception but finding none he asked, 'How do I challenge it?' The Dark Master nodded, and explained in an eager voice, 'If you want to challenge the Shakuron, look within yourself and find your magic.' Spyro nodded silently, he was nervous at the eagerness in his voice but obeyed none the less. He looked deep within and searched for his magic; it was not easy. He had never had to look for his magic, it had always come to him naturally, but as he searched and viewed the memories of his past uses of it and before long he found it. It was a strange feeling, it felt warm, alive, and intelligent, but at the same time it felt cold, brisk, and calculating as if wondering about this new being. Spyro breathed deep and without consulting the Dark Master on what to do next he spoke to the magic, 'I seek the means to unlock my power. I seek to challenge the Shakuron. Will you grant me this chance?' There was silence from the magic, though it did seem to intensify. After a few moments of silence Spyro began to think that something was wrong, perhaps he was not clear enough on what he wanted to do for the magic to understand, surely he had spoken clearly but perhaps he should try again. He readied his mind to speak again when a voice that was both enduringly familiar and yet completely unfamiliar spoke to him. 'Spyro, do you truly wish to seek this power? Is it within you to accept and use wisely such strength?'

The voice was warm and light but also very gruff and slightly scratchy, as if it hadn't been used in awhile or perhaps had been used too much. Spyro looked within himself, searching for any amount of corruption that might deny him control over these new powers. The worry that he might be doing this to gain the power needed to fight Lethek was a strong doubt, 'but,' he reasoned with himself, 'If I don't do this or get this power, I may not have the strength to save Cynder and Masami.' With this reassuring thought firmly fixed in his mind Spyro said, 'I am prepared to control this power, I still wish to fight the Shakuron to unlock the inner most powers that have been denied me.' The voice did not reply but the feeling of magic began to increase in intensity until in his minds eye, he seemed to see the power of magic flowing like a blinding stream of water. His eyes began to hurt even though the light was in his head and not around him. The light grew brighter and brighter until his skull seemed about to explode with this solid light and then finally the light seemed to find an exit. It began to flow out of him but he soon realized that much more than the light was going with the stream of magic. He felt as if he was floating on water but before his mind had fully adjusted, everything went black.

Spyro seemed to float suspended in an ocean of some kind. He knew that it wasn't real, the water was not cold or wet, the surf was muted, and there was no sound except the steady pulsing that came from all around him. Voices seemed to whisper out from the darkness around him the steady pulsing rippled out across the void. 'I must be dreaming,' thought Spyro weakly as he slowly became more and more aware of his surroundings. He tried to open his eyes but the muscles would not obey him, he felt the same weakness when he tried to lift his right foreleg. 'What happened to me? Am I dead or merely dreaming?' These thoughts ran through his head as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. Spyro thought wryly, 'I wish I could see, at the very least I'd like some solid ground to lie on.' No sooner than when he had finished these thoughts did both of them happen, he immediately felt his strength return and the void in which he had been floating become solid ground underneath him. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around; the place that he now sat in was so miraculously beautiful and mysterious that he was completely speechless at the sight of it.

No number of exclamatory words could describe it. The void was in no way dark, it sparkled with a multitude of colors in every conceivable hue and hung above and around him like a mist. A myriad of star like objects floated in the mist in numbers greater than Spyro could count. He spotted one of these objects floating about two yards of the edge of the island on which he stood; his curiosity got the better of him and he went over to look at this marvelous sight, was he about to see a star up close? He came up close to it and looked into the mist that surrounded it; the mist made it hard to see clearly into the star. He leaned in closer and without meaning to, brushed the tip of his nose against the mirror like mist. His heart skipped into his throat as the mist cleared to show a crystal like object that was completely transparent, this itself was not frightening but what had scared him was the small infant dragoness the lay suspended inside. Spyro swore and uttered aloud, 'what manner of vile sorcery is this, why is something so beautiful marred by something so ghastly?!'

A warm, calm, caring voice spoke out from behind him, 'It is what it is, you cannot change anything about it, nor would you want to, Spyro.' Spyro wheeled around sharply and crouched down to charge his attacker when he suddenly stopped mid movement. A dragoness stood before him on her hind legs, wearing robes of a perfect white, tied around her waist with a sash of pure gold. She stood with dignity and pride with scales of a perfect shade of lavender with eyes of a delicate light blue. 'Who are you?' asked Spyro, as the dragoness watched him with mild interest. She smiled gently and spoke again in that same warm voice, 'I am known by many names from several different tribes from all of the realms, but you may call me The Caretaker for that is my job.' She gestured with one paw at the surroundings and spoke again, 'This is the place where magic passes to your world from the unknown beyond but it is also the place where souls find their eternal rest. Every star that you see around you, are the spirits of the departed of all the realms who come here for the eternal rest from the life that they led, no matter who they are.' Spyro nodded slowly and felt his fear grow, if he was here, in the land of eternal rest, then that must mean that he himself was dead. She laughed, a melodious, chirruping laugh that made Spyro soul leap; she looked at him amused and said in a light hearted tone, 'Oh no young dragon, you are not dead. This is also the meeting place and junction where those individuals who seek to challenge the Guardian come. Spyro looked dumbfounded at the Caretaker and asked in a weak hoarse voice, 'How did you know that I was here to fight the Shakuron?'

The caretaker looked at him and said with a bite of impatience at his slowness, 'Why else would you be here? Do you honestly think that you are the first to covet the power that can be gained from this battle?' Spyro shook his head and snapped back at the comment, 'I do not covet power! I need this power so that I may save the lives of my family.' It was the truth after all; he didn't seek this power because he wanted it but because he needed it to have a chance against Lethek. She snorted and turned away from Spyro, 'You 'need' this power? Why do you need this power? I have never been able to understand why one as rare and strong as you would need more power.' She seemed to no longer be aware of him. Her eyes had slid out of focus and she seemed to be staring into space, at something he couldn't see. 'Why? Why Lethek did you want to betray my trust? What reasons did you have to fear the nameless mysteries of death?' She seemed as if to feel a pain of which Spyro would never comprehend but her last sentence had certainly caught his attention. Spyro sharply moved in front of her and asked in an eager voice, 'What do you know of Lethek, does he have any weakness that you are aware of? Please tell me!'

She glared at him and despite her beauty, her face showed nothing but pure hatred. She backed away from him and growled menacingly, 'So… It is Lethek's power that you covet? Consumed by power and playing the hero in search of more power.' She looked in his disbelieving face and said, 'I will not allow you to face the Guardian, so much the better for the world to spare it from another despicable creature such as yourself.' This conversation was rapidly going from bad to worse. He could not believe that this snarling angry dragoness was the same one that he had met upon arriving here. He looked into her eyes trying to find the reason for hostility and for the briefest of seconds he saw it as the name of Lethek passed through her mind. This dragoness had loved the dragon Lethek and from what she had said it must have been before his days of evil. Spyro cleared his throat and asked what seemed to be an obvious question, 'Did you love my brother?' The dragonesses face went from anger to confusion faster than blinking. She knew Lethek; he had always been completely open with her and had never once mentioned a brother. But she saw another inconsistency in this statement, Lethek was nearly two thousand years old and had been raised an orphan. She looked into the face of this dragon and saw no similarities between him and Lethek. Pondering this she asked, 'How old are you?' Spyro, taken aback by this question promptly responded, 'Almost thirty-one, why?' She nodded and answered, 'Because it's impossible for you to be related to Lethek. I know him and in a time before his evil became everything that he is to this day, I was his love. But that was nearly two thousand years ago.'

Spyro's mind reeled at this shocking piece of information but before he could quite get his bearings she spoke again, 'I did not love your brother Spyro, your brother is not Lethek. But I cannot tell you more than this but I am sure you have gathered by this time that your true brother is someone else.' Speechless, Spyro simply stared at her as this new knowledge slammed into him with all the gentleness of a rampaging wyvern. If Lethek was not his Brother then who was? Lethek had said that he was his brother but this information complete contradicted everything he had been led to believe about Lethek. He was on the verge of speech when the Caretaker once again spoke up, 'I see know that you never coveted power but I must warn you; the powers guarded by the Shakuron are not to be trifled with and can ultimately be your demise. You must be vigilant and careful.' She paused for a moment gathering her thoughts before she spoke again, 'Are you sure that you really want to face the Guardian?' Spyro didn't answer. He still wanted to know more about Lethek but even he could see that there was no point in forcing the issue. He could ask but she was more than likely going to say no again. In the end he nodded and she smiled slightly. She was still uneasy about letting him fight the Shakuron but she was merely the caretaker and had no real power to refuse him the chance. She walked to the edge of the small island and spoke the words, 'Ras xe mor'na ve ishirna.'

The air seemed to ripple and bend as the words permeated the air. Light seemed to follow the twisting lines of the solid air and before long they had banded together to form a shimmering 'O' of pure light. Six beams of light came from the walls of the circle and connected in the middle before fanning out to create a shining mirror of magic. She stepped aside and said to Spyro, 'Through here lies the Guardian. He will be strong and the battle will be hard but if you are determined enough you will succeed.' Spyro stepped forward cautiously, he had no idea what he could be on the other side but what he did know was that it was likely to be strong in both magic and might. He took a deep breath and said to the Caretaker, 'Thank you for your help. I hope we will meet again.' She laughed again, that same chirruping laugh and said, 'Oh Spyro that you can be assured of. The only question is when.' He smiled, he had very little to fear by coming back here, it was warm and pleasant and who knew what lay in his after life but one thing was certain, it was going to be a pleasant relieve when he had lived out his life.
He looked back at the portal and let out another sigh before walking through the portal to face the Shakuron, the Guardian.

Tell me how I did. Please R&R