Chapter 3

In the dead of the night, Lunar began to prepare for a journey. She planned to head north, to find the alleged Dark Temple where the four Night Guardians resided, teaching young dragons the arts of Poison, Fear, Shadow and Wind.

She ran through a mental checklist. 'Food. A gourd of water. A pouch of gems. And my sharpening stone.' This was something she used to sharpen her claws and teeth. Most young dragons carried one, but as they got older, they became adept at finding good ones in situ.

She took one last look at her chamber, whispered a goodbye to her sleeping sister and brother, and glided out the window. She had mastered this, even though flying was still far out of her grasp as the muscles on her back were not fully developed yet.

She landed clumsily in a dense forest, dislodging several irritated squirrels. There was a full moon in the sky, just like the night she had hatched.

She wondered irritably, and not for the first time, why it had taken her so long to develop her powers and why Cynder had freaked out when she had managed to summon a small ball of darkness. She remembered the expression on her mothers face when she said, rather harshly, 'Get back inside. I don't ever want to see you do that again. Don't ask me to teach you as I am not authorised to.'

Lunar gritted her teeth. She decided she would deliberately flout her mothers' wishes and practice as she journeyed. She stood, as her mother had taught her, on her hind legs, positioned her claws, and concentrated. Almost instantly, a ball of shadow appeared between her claws. She wondered aloud, 'Is this all I can do? Or can I aim it and shoot it?'

As these thoughts passed through her head, it shot from her paws and an elm tree nearby burst into black and purple flames. Suddenly, a feeling of exultation swept through her, and she gathered the power into her mouth instead of between her paws, and screeched as though she were a Fear dragon. It burst from her open jaws and turned a weeping willow into a massive black crystal. These powers… they're obviously a combination of Mom and Dad's powers, with my own unique twist on them. I wonder what else I'm capable of…

Suddenly, she laughed. 'I'm definitely going north to the Dark Temple, and I won't ever listen to Mom or Dad again. I'm old enough to make my own decisions, so damn them. The Temple is for wusses like them and Mithura and Tyraidor anyway.' And to confirm this decision, she shot black electricity at a nearby shrub. She climbed the black crystal tree she had made earlier, and found that she could also sculpt things she had made with her mind.

When she got to the top, she jumped, and furiously flapped her wings. Realising she still couldn't fly, she glided instead, reaching the edge of the forest.

She smiled to herself. Something told her this life was going to be better than her old one.

Pity she didn't realise what was waiting for her in the Dark Temple.

XxXxX

'WHERE IS SHE?!?' The screech rent the hallways of the Temple as Cynder rampaged through her offspring's' quarters. 'I AM GOING TO KILL HER WHEN I FIND HER! I WILL PUT HER THROUGH SO MUCH AGONY SHE WILL KNOW HOW I FELT WHEN I WAS HER AGE!!!'

'Now, Cynder,' Spyro said nervously. 'There's no need to get all worked up over nothing, is there?' He turned to Mithura and whispered, 'Is there?'

He shook his head. 'No, Dad. Lunar has gone missing, though.' Spyro leaped up in the air in shock.

'WHAT?!' he squeaked. 'WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE HER?'

'At dinner last night. I'm going to search our room. She might have left a note, or taken something that would indicate where she went.' And with that he paced out of the room.

Tyraidor looked worried. 'Daddy?' she whispered. 'I think I know where Lunar went.'

He looked at her in surprise. 'You do?' he asked. 'Where do you think she went?'

'I heard her say it to herself when she came in after hanging with Mom outside last month. She said something about how no-one would find her and she could hone her skills there.' She trailed off, uncertainly.

Spyro clenched his teeth. 'Did she say where, exactly?' he asked earnestly.

'S-she said…' Here Tyraidor gulped. 'She said, "I'm going north, and they won't be able to stop me!"'

'Hurkk,' said Spyro in shock.

'Ahem… are you sure? You're absolutely positive?' he asked, once he had composed himself.

'Yeah. And she also said something about…' she thought for a moment. 'Oh! She said something about a… a Dark Temple, I think…' she looked up at him. Stories of the Dark Temple were the stuff of nightmares. 'Is… is it true, Daddy? Could she have actually gone north?'

'Father! Mother!' Mithura shouted. He came thundering down the corridor and screeched to a stop just in front of Spyro. 'I found this on Lunar's pillow!'

Cynder chose that moment to come storming in, steaming mad about her eldest daughter's disappearance. She stomped over to him. 'What have you found?' she yelled, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him until his head bobbled on his neck.

'It's a note from her. Listen: " I am leaving. Don't follow me. I won't be coming back. –Lunar."' He frowned. 'We have to find her. She'll die if she goes north!'

Cynder sat down in shock. 'She's… gone? Just like that? But… why? We were always supportive…'

Spyro twined his tail with hers. She'll be fine,' he reassured her. 'She's independent, she can look after herself.'

Cynder stood, and shook herself slightly. 'I… have to go make… dinner…' And with that she staggered off with a dazed look on her face.

'I'll inform the Guardians,' he confided in his offspring. As he left, he mused aloud, 'They'll have to find someone to replace Ignitus soon… hmmm…'

The two siblings turned to each other. 'What will we do?' whispered Tyraidor.

Mithura sighed. 'I guess there's really nothing we can do,' he murmured.

Tyraidor just stared at her brother, and he looked helplessly back, both of their eyes brimming with tears over a sister who they thought was lost to them forever. Little did they know, she would be the biggest problem in their lives for a long, long time.