Know there are a few similarities between this story and Secrets of Convexity. I revised this chapter so it wasn't as similar, but didn't throw off the storyline at all. I would also like to see more reviews this time since I got two reviews total for chapter 7. I'm not sure if it is because its winter break and no one is around or if this story is beginning to suck. Please R&R so I know if I should continue or not.
Chapter 8: The War of the MindSpyro woke up a few hours later and no one was in the room. He let his mind expand and heard talking in the Hall of Time. He knew that the Chronicler, Shadedulath, and Cynder were talking about what had just taken place.
He opened the door and quietly left the room heading outside.
"I feared something like this would happen," the old, grey dragon said, "Marthaeter has greater control over Spyro than I thought."
"What can be done to help him?" asked Cynder.
"Nothing, but Marthaeter's death," the Chronicler replied, "And for that to happen we need Spyro to kill him."
Cynder looked down in disappointment. "Cynder there still may be hope," Shadedulath quickly interjected, "Lord of Time is there anything that we can do for him at the moment?"
"Cynder," the Chronicler said, "You must show him how much he means to you now. It will help him remain strong against the evil that seeks to control him. Shadedulath you can spend time and build up his confidence. Besides that there is nothing we can do."
They ended the discussion and Cynder went back to the room to be with Spyro. She got in there and the room was empty. She looked around and realized that the door was open when she entered. She sprinted back out the door in search of Spyro.
"Spyro where are you now?" she asked as she searched.
Spyro landed on the island that he was just at a few hours earlier. He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked out onto the horizon.
Cynder arrived a minute later and she called his name. When he didn't respond she yelled, "Spyro, don't do this again."
Spyro turned his head quickly and looked at Cynder and said, "It's just me this time."
"Spyro what are doing out here?" Cynder asked, "You should be get your rest."
"I needed to think for a minute," Spyro replied.
"About?" Cynder questioned softly.
"What I can do to stop this," Spyro answered.
"And have you found anything?" she asked with hope.
"Yes," Spyro whispered as he hugged her, "I'm leaving to go into the uninhabited regions of the realm to fight off Marthaeter without endangering anyone who is close to me."
"No Spyro," Cynder pleaded, "Don't go. There are other ways."
"Like what Cynder?" Spyro asked. Cynder remained silent, knowing that he had caught her bluffing. "I'm sorry Cynder, but I will return when I feel it's safe."
He held her closer as she began to cry on his shoulder, "I don't want you to go."
"I don't either," Spyro whispered, "But I need to. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can after I kill Marthaeter."
"Ok," Cynder replied.
They shared a kiss and held each other for another minute before Spyro left, flying off into the horizon. Tears flowed again from Cynder's eyes and she watched until she couldn't see the purple sparkle in the sky anymore.
She waited for another hour hoping that he would return, but he didn't. She reluctantly turned away and went inside to her room where she fell asleep alone and cold.
Despite the blankets that she had gathered she still felt the cold feeling of loneness. Spyro was the one who had kept her warm, but with him gone, she felt the coldness of the world swarm in. She felt feelings that she hadn't felt since she was under Malefor's control. She didn't like it and tried to ignore it. She thought about her love and prayed that everything would be all right. She hoped most of all that he would return swiftly.
Spyro had been flying for hours. His wings hurt and he required a good rest. A range of mountains was straight ahead of him about a twenty-minute flight away. He landed on a mountain that was in the center of the range to avoid detection. The mountains seemed to be a cage that bound him to this mountain. He liked the idea for the time and found a suitable cave about three quarters up the mountain.
He looked out at the dark storm clouds that were coming in from the west. He was thankful that he had found shelter. He went about twenty feet into his new home and fell asleep.
Rain fell from the clouds in thick blankets. Lakes appeared in the valleys of the mountains while lightning flashed through the sky. A flash illuminated the cave, which Spyro was sleeping in and loud thunder soon followed. Spyro awoken when the thunder rumbled through the narrow cave. He looked around and saw that it had begun to downpour and sighed.
He never liked the rain, but Cynder did. The only problem was that Cynder wasn't here and that gave Spyro no point in enjoying the water that fell from the heavens. He turned around and found himself looking straight into the eyes of a lug fur covered animal. Spyro had no idea what this creature was, but knew it wasn't friendly.
He leapt back as a large claw was swung at him. Spyro fired a stream of ice onto the claw of the creature, freezing it to the ground. The creature tried to free its claw, but found it to be hopeless. The creature took its other claw and broke off the frozen part of the claw. With both weapons available it charged Spyro. Spyro moved back to the edge of the cliff and jumped at the last second. The creature leapt to catch Spyro, but was too slow and fell down to the valley floor about two thousand feet below.
Spyro exhaled deeply and entered his cave to escape the rain. He shook himself off and lay down to sleep again. The rain continued to pound down on the land around him, He found himself drift into sleep. "Cynder," he whispered.
Cynder lay beneath the mountain of blankets she had, trying to sleep, but with no avail. It had been only five hours since he left, but to her it felt like years had passed. She focused on the good times she had with Spyro and slowly came to rest with pleasant thoughts whispering "Spyro."
The night passed like a storm over the mountains and Spyro woke up to a beautiful valley below his new home. He landed in the valley and took a drink from the pond that gathered near the southern edge. He finished his drink and looked at his reflection. He stared long and hard at himself, not pleased with what he saw. His scales were a darker purple than the typical bright purple of his youth. The one thing that he hated was the scare that ran across the left side of his face. It made him look darker and less of the caring dragon he was. What bothered him the most were his eyes. They took the same color of his scales and lacked the warmth and life that he once possessed.
"How could Cynder love me when I'm like this?" he questioned, "I'm not what I was back then." He sat for some time staring into the reflection when he thought of an idea. "I'll use the Chronicler's training to help me return to what I was before," he thought, "I will return to Cynder a new dragon."
He turned away from the pool and found a spot under a large tree. He sat down and began to shift through his thoughts, hoping that he would find something that would help. He made a quick run through of his life and found nothing. He decided to run through it again, but he would look deeper into what was happening. He did so and found very little that would help, but it sparked hope for him and he repeated this process for sometime until the sun was nearly setting.
"What!?" shouted Shadedulath, "He just left after what happened?"
Cynder nodded trying not to break into tears like she did last night.
The Chronicler spoke saying, "It is good that he left."
"How is that good?" Shadedulath exclaimed.
"If Spyro stayed here under my power he would not be able to see if he would be able to survive on his own," the grey dragon answered, "It is good that he is willing to test himself. I'll watch over and minimally assist him."
Cynder couldn't help but let a tear fall from her eye. The Chronicler noticed and said, "Come young dragon, he will be alright. He is far more talented and stronger than we all thought. He is the one to save us all."
"But how can you be sure that he will be alright," Cynder questioned.
"He will hold onto you for support in his trails," the ancient time keeper replied, "You are the one who will ultimately save him from the darkness within himself as he did for you. You will return the favor to safe his life."
Cynder closed her eyes and looked at the ground. She took a deep breath and left the room leaving Shadedulath, Walker, and the Chronicler.
They all looked at each other wondering what to do now. Shadedulath looked back to Walker and nodded. He shifted his gaze to the Chronicler and said, "We will leave you and train our new warriors."
"So be it," the dragon said getting up.
The two bowed and left to train for the upcoming war.
Night came to Spyro's home and he dreaded it. This was the time when the Dark Master came to torment him. Spyro knew how to drive him away, but it prevented him from dreaming of Cynder. Spyro knew he had to confront the Dark Master to wipe him from his mind and now was the perfect time, when he was determined to change and overcome all to be with Cynder again. He laid and waited for that demon to knock on the door of his mind. Spyro would then open it and give him one hell of a surprise.
Cynder couldn't take it. It had been a full day and she hadn't seen Spyro. She needed him. She loved to talk to him, be in his arms, seeing his smile, embracing him, sleeping next to him, and kissing him. She was going crazy due to the lack of his presence.
"Spyro come home soon," Cynder whispered.
The Dark Master entered Spyro's mind and whispered, "Spyro I have returned."
Spyro woke up and opened his mind to him slowly.
The Dark Master's essence entered and said, "Thank you. Now I have come to tell you that Marthaeter is sending all forces out to destroy the realm."
"How long until his forces enter the realm," Spyro asked.
"Three weeks," the Dark Master smiled, "There is nothing that you can do. Your friends don't nearly have the forces to hold back Marthaeter's hordes."
Spyro grew irritated of this and decided that he should destroy the Dark Master once and for all.
"Thank you for the warning, but I'll defeat the horde myself if need be," Spyro replied sternly.
The Dark Master broke out in laughter, "You wish you would be able to defeat a hundred of these creatures that Marthaeter sends. He doesn't just send shadow spawn, shadowlings, and zeks, but fierce dragons, raging demons, and angry spirits. You have no chance."
"Neither do you," Spyro pointed out as he began the process of eliminating the Dark Master.
"What, NO!" the Dark Master screamed as he was shredded to bits from Spyro's mind.
Spyro had used the massive amount of Convexity within himself to enter his mind, destroying anything that wasn't friendly. He would have to thank Marthaeter whenever he saw him, but he hoped that wouldn't be for some time.
The Convexitial energy finished its job and left Spyro. He immediately felt a great burden lift from his mind. He fell asleep and dreamed of Cynder.
The Chronicler touched Spyro's mind and said, "Well done young dragon you have freed yourself."
"Not completely," he returned through the mental link.
"Let your mind drift Spyro and I'll help with that," the Chronicler's voice said.
Spyro rested his mind and left his body heading to the realm that he would never expect to see again.
Soft blue colored space surrounded him with several stars and a couple planets. They were far off, but still beautiful. The ruins of ancient temples and buildings lay waste across the stone platforms.
The Chronicler's voice returned saying, "Head for the temple and I'll help you with the last problem you have."
Spyro took flight and landed at the ruined temple a minute later. He saw something move inside and he ran into see what it was. What he saw shocked him.
A grand grey dragon that was young in age with many instruments and scrolls in his pouches. A short grey haired beard sat on the dragon's chin and two horns that curled in towards his head.
"Chronicler?" Spyro asked.
"Yes, it is I Spyro," the Chronicler answered, "Or the one I was many centuries ago."
The shape of the Chronicler shifted into the present form of the ancient grey dragon.
"I must tell you one thing before you are ready to fight Marthaeter," the Chronicler said, "Never lose hope and always remember those who are closest to you. They will give you the courage and hope needed to pass all tests in life."
"Thank you," Spyro said.
The Chronicler vanished, but his voice said, "Look into the pool and think what you want Cynder to hear."
Spyro thought, "Cynder."
The frightened voice of Cynder asked, "Hello? Who is that?"
"Cynder it's Spyro," Spyro telepathically exclaimed.
"Spyro?" Cynder returned the call, "Is that really you?"
"Yes baby it is me," Spyro cried, "I'm glad to hear your voice again."
"As am I," Cynder replied, "When are you coming back? Nothing is the same without you love."
"Soon," Spyro replied, "I have cast the Dark Master out forever and I'm going to confront Marthaeter in two days."
"No, Spyro, don't go alone against him," Cynder begged, "Let me help you with this."
"I'm sorry Cynder, but this is something I have to do on my own," Spyro said, "I'm sorry."
Cynder began to cry saying, "I just don't want to lose you."
"You won't," Spyro quickly assured her.
"You promise," Cynder asked.
"With my life," Spyro replied.
"Stay safe and come home soon," Cynder said, "I miss you."
"I miss you too," Spyro stated, "I love you baby."
"I love you too dear," Cynder returned.
With that farewell Spyro withdrew slowly from the connection and was standing alone in the ruined temple of ancient times. His mind slowly slipped from the realm the Chronicler brought him to and he was in his cave again. Alone and cold without Cynder near him.
The next day Spyro woke up later than usual and went to the valley below to meditate as he did the day before. He was interrupted a short time into his meditation by a dark presence.
He opened his eyes and looked around for the source. A cloaked figure stepped out from several trees and said, "Well, well. If it isn't the purple pest who defeated me at the temple. I'm back to see how you are doing and I'm ready to kill you."
"Delrothban," Spyro spat, "How do you think you can kill me if I nearly killed you last time?"
"Like this," Delrothban produced three black daggers from his cloak and threw them at Spyro. All three dug into his chest and began to burn him. The poisonous features ate at the flesh under his hard scales and injected him with their deadly venom.
Spyro used his Convexity powers to destroy the poison running his veins and focused on destroying the blades that would have killed him if he were a weaker dragon. After a few seconds the daggers exploded with a flash of purple energy.
Delrothban growled and threw another dagger at Spyro. Spyro used the powers of the mind to knock the flying dagger aside. Delrothban drew a large sword and charged forward hefting the blade above his head, preparing to cut Spyro in half.
Spyro dove to the side and unlocked Convexity. His body didn't change colors as it usually did, but his eyes did glow a purple color. Unlike the other times, Spyro was in control of his powers and used them as he wanted. Spyro fired three balls of Convexity energy at Delrothban.
The deformed human dodged all, but the last ball and was thrown against a nearby tree. Spyro dived at Delrothban and smashed a fist into the human's face. Spyro followed up with driving his head forward, connecting with Delrothban's head.
Delrothban slowly slumped to the ground and reached for his sword. Spyro watched as the dark human desperately grabbed his weapon and pulled himself to his feet.
"You still can't kill me," Delrothban laughed as he stood up. Spyro slammed his tail down on Delrothban's back, pushing him back to the ground. "When I'm done here you'll be nothing more than a legend," Delrothban continued receiving another tail strike to his back forcing him to the dirt again. "And then I'll kill your mate Cynder," Delrothban said with venom.
Spyro had enough. He let his anger take over and his power was unchecked. Convexity flowed through him freely and engulfed his mind. Spyro remained the same on the outside, but on the inside his soul was surrounded by a sphere of hateful energy that fueled this rage. Spyro's scales were still purple, but the edges of them began to glow with purple light. Fainter light started to illuminate through his hard scales and gave him a look of greatness, a powerful aura that surrounded him.
So much Convexitial energy was being produced by Spyro it caused the ground to glow a dark purple color. The area of colored land around him grew by the second. The area of land that was glowing reached thirty feet and Delrothban fled, coming up to the bank of the lake.
As he ran out of room he jumped into the air and landed about three feet out into the lake, landing with a splash of water. The purple glow spread into the water as well and caused the water to bubble with mysterious powers.
Delrothban fled to water and returned to dry land only to retreat from expansion of power. The ground near Spyro suddenly cracked and split. The fissures ran away from Spyro and expanded as the glow did.
Delrothban was utterly shocked at the power, which Spyro had gained. "There is no possible way that he should be able to control such power," he thought, "Unless, he is helping him."
Currents of purple electricity began to run along the faults in the land. The clouds above them began to gather to their location and formed a hole directly above Spyro. Purple lightning crashed into the ground kicking up dust and rocks. Delrothban coward in fear and began to retreat towards the edge of the valley to escape the power that Spyro had unleashed.
A Shadow of Katsumoto named Hotakata was several miles from the valley. He knew that the valley would be a good resting spot and changed course, making his way to the valley. An hour passed and he looked towards his destination.
Storm clouds began to gather near the valley. Hotakata found that unusual since the clouds were moving to the southeast only minutes ago and now the clouds from each direction focused on one spot. Something of great power dwelt there and if Hotakata's hunches were correct he would find his target.
Lightning descended from the clouds into the valley unnaturally. He sprinted towards the valley at full speed and knew for sure that Spyro was there.
"Kill him,"a voice echoed through Spyro's mind,"Make this miserable fool pay for his stupidity."
Spyro smiled and laughed, "It would be an honor to kill him."
"Master!" Delrothban shouted as he scrambled on the ground.
Spyro continued to smile as the dark human begged for mercy and a second chance.
Spyro felt the entity inside demand that he speak directly to his pawn. Spyro let his master do so.
"You pathetic fool,"the voice shouted from within Spyro, "You have failed me multiple times. Your usefulness has run its course and now it is time to end your service. You are though too dangerous to be kept alive so I'll have my new apprentice kill you."
"Marthaeter," Delrothban growled, "You used me for your own gains. I swear that you will die by his hands."
"Your foolish brother couldn't kill me so who else can?"Marthaeter questioned, "Shadedulath is weaker then Katsumoto ever was."
"He is more experienced and more deadly than Katsumoto," Delrothban replied, "But he will not kill you. Your new pawn will."
A loud laugh echoed through the valley, "He is fully mine. I have complete control over this creature. He will never be able to betray me."
"So you think," Delrothban said.
Spyro interrupted asking, "Master may I kill this creature now?"
"Yes you may," Marthaeter answered, "Once your done, come to the Shadow Vale and I'll instruct you from there."
Delrothban dissipated into smoke and Spyro looked around. He saw a shadow form at the edge of the lake. He fired at beam of Convexity at him, which pierced his side. Delrothban fell to the ground unconscious.
Spyro watched his form, but it made no movement. Spyro concluded that he was no more and walked to the water edge. He looked down at himself and noticed that he was falling back into his dark side like a few days ago. Spyro tries to rid himself of this evil, but a strong force entered his mind.
"Oh I wouldn't do that if I were you," Marthaeter said, "If you resist me I'll corrupt your love."
Spyro immediately stopped resisting and took off, flying north.
