Such Is Life
Chapter 2
Flame yawned hugely and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, trying desperately to focus on the words on the book in front of him. "Ember," he said, "Remind me why we're researching medicinal plants instead of training?"
"Because it's useful information, and it could very well save your life one day," replied Ember, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
The pair had ventured into the depths of the temple library before dawn, when the Guardians usually took over and kept the others out so they could read in peace. Ember sat in the midst of a vast pile of books, reading three or more books at once. She would read a paragraph in one book, make a note on the piece of parchment that she was using to take notes on the things that she read, then start reading a paragraph in another, completely different book.
Flame had spent most of his time walking back and forth between the shelves, searching for a certain book that Ember needed—the problem was, Ember frequently didn't know exactly which book she was looking for, so Flame had to randomly pick a book that was about the general topic and hope that she liked it.
Flame sighed. "I'm going to go get breakfast. Do you want anything?" He offered.
"No thanks," said Ember distractedly, not looking up from her current book.
Flame deflated slightly and then started walking out of the library, the tip of his tail flicking dejectedly. Ember caught this out of the corner of her eye, and said, "Could you bring me a roll or something?"
Flame perked up immediately, and after walking calmly past the old, wizened mole librarian, took off at a sprint towards the kitchens.
Ember sighed, putting down her current book, A Guide to Sentient and Carnivorous Plants. "Are you sure that this is a good idea, Marilyn? I sure am causing Flame a lot of trouble," she said, looking sadly at one of the bookcases.
The air shimmered where Ember was looking, and suddenly, a green and yellow dragoness appeared seemingly out of thin air. She had Ember's build: curvaceous, with the same, wide hips somewhat short legs, and the same bubbly vibe about her. Her horns were curved like a ram's, and they, her scales, claws, and teeth shone brightly from the constant attention she gave them. "Of course it'll work. How could it not?" She answered, flashing her friend a small, confident smile. "Men need to be tested every once in a while."
"But I'm already sure that Flame's a good guy," Ember protested. "Why do I need to prove something that I already know?"
"Because," Marilyn said impatiently, "Only the best males can actually keep up with his mate's demands. It's only common sense."
Ember groaned, rolling her eyes. She was about to protest further, but Marilyn perked her head up at the sound of running footsteps and concentrated hard, winking out of visibility just as Flame screeched around the corner.
"Ember, it's Terrador!" He shouted, doing a quick about-face and running at full tilt in the direction that he had come, Ember hot on his heels.
"How rude," muttered Marilyn, winking back into visibility. "Not even a goodbye."
The crotchety old mole librarian walked past the bookshelves that Marilyn was standing between and, without even looking in her direction, pointed one of her crooked fingers at the piles of books that surrounded Marilyn, and said "They're not going to pick themselves up, you know."
Marilyn scowled at the old mole's back.
~…~
Flame, the Guardian of Fire.
Hm, I could get used to that, thought Flame bemusedly, despite the news that he had just been told. His mind tended to wander whenever Volteer started ranting.
Flame's personal thoughts were interrupted by one of his red paws being crushed by a dainty pink one. He winced and looked over at Ember, who gave him a cutting look that said, Pay attention, dumbass.
The two remaining Guardians, Flame, and Ember had gathered in the large, circular training room of the Temple. After breaking the news to the two young dragons, he had appointed Flame as the temporary Guardian of Fire, at no small shock to either apprentice. They had had some training, of course, but despite that fact, neither of the two dragons were completely ready for the title of Guardian.
"… And despite these losses, we must remain vigilant against the recurring forces of evil. Flame, you and Ember will find Spyro and Cynder, and bring them back here. Is that understood?" Volteer finished his rant.
Flame and Ember nodded. "Do you have any idea where they are, though? It's impossible to scour the entire planet in search of two adolescent dragons. There's just no way," Flame protested.
"Ah, this here is my department," Cyril answered with a mirthless smile. "I've found a way to locate purple dragons by using a Mana Crystal to hone in on the unique elemental field that purple dragons give off!" His smile turned into a broad, proud grin. "Providing he's still alive, of course," he added as an afterthought, earning him a cold look from Volteer. He beckoned the two young dragons to follow him out onto the small balcony that overlooked the countryside, with Volteer following a small distance behind them.
A massive, teardrop-shaped green crystal was standing, pointing straight up at the sky, held in place by an odd-looking harness made of metal wires. Flame and Ember simply stared, mouths hung open in shock, at the contraption; neither of them had seen a crystal even half that size. It was easily sixteen feet tall, and about twelve feet across at its widest point. A small sphere of blue Spirit Crystal, about three inches wide, was somehow balanced on the very tip of the Mana Crystal.
"C-Cyril, where did you find this Mana Crystal?" Ember asked incredulously.
"Oh, it was nothing, really, particularly for one such as myself. One just has to dig deeply enough," he said, swelling slightly in pride. With a small, self-asserted smile, he strode dramatically over to the contraption and, with a flourish, put a paw on the side of the Crystal for a short moment and then stepped back as the entire contraption started to spark and glow brilliantly, small bolts of green lightning shooting across the metal wires. "Flame, Ember—I give you, the Spyro-Locator!" He roared over the crackling of the lightning.
The lightning and glowing began move upwards into the blue Spirit Crystal, making it glow white-hot. Then, suddenly, the light vanished, dissipating into thin air.
"What… just happened?" Flame said, slowly uncovering his head with his wings.
"Did it work, Cyril?" Volteer asked hesitantly.
"I certainly hope so," Cyril replied, reaching up on his hind legs and grabbing the blue Spirit Crystal in his paw. "This Mana Crystal was nearly impossible to move." He tapped the blue orb a few times with the tip of a claw. It flashed brightly for a short moment, and then half of the orb started glowing, pointing to the Northwest like a compass. "Ah, it worked!" He shouted triumphantly, holding the sphere above his head. He cleared his throat sheepishly, bringing the orb back down. "I'm happy it worked, of course, but I'm not ecstatic—and I won't be until you two bring back our two heroes, safe and sound like I'm sure you will." He smiled warmly.
Ember walked up to Cyril and inspected the crystal sphere. "It works like a compass—only, instead using magnetism, it uses the unique elemental signature of Spyro." Cyril handed the orb to her, and she turned it around a few times, observing the way that one half of the sphere always seemed to point to the horizon of the Northwest. "Brilliant."
Cyril simply beamed.