A/N: Yes, you have seen this before. However, I haven't even touched it recently, so I deleted it. Not wanting to completely lose it, I decided to also post first chapters of story ideas I have here, to get feed back on the ideas without making a new story for it.
The Protector's Tale:
The Bitter War
Chapter 1: Ambush in the Woods
The caravan moved through the valley path easily. It was a small valley with gradual, sloped, forested walls. It was small, so the golems that made up the caravan could only stand three shoulder-to-shoulder. The golems were noisy, but no living thing nearby would want to attempt to stop them. A dragon wearing all black armor marched at the head of the progression. He sighed and glanced back at the cart they had stolen. On the cart was a large wooden box, large enough to carry two young dragons, carrying the reason the armored dragon and the group of golems were so far from the Eastern Front. The dragon glanced at the golems, one of which was pulling the cart.
The golems stood eight feet tall at the top of their head, had three feet wide shoulders and possessed our spider-like legs. They had regular arms, with hands that had sharp, stabbing tips. All of the golems were made of light grey stone, and had a purple crystal in their foreheads. Dark purple lines, starting at the purple crystal, covered the golem's body. The observing dragon gave a slight shudder, remembering how those pointed claw-like hands tore the castle guards and their armor to shreds. He was glad he was on the winning side of the war. Since the average dragon was seven feet at the shoulder and has a two feet long neck, the golems were just a foot smaller than them, but they towered over all of the other cheetahs or moles or any other creature really.
Hiding behind the trees on the walls of the valley were ten other dragons. They were all armored from snout to tail tip with dark, almost black, green armor that had a dark brown trim. The youngest, a dragon known as Legend, stood behind a tree and stared at the progression. His horns went back at a steep upward angle, before take sharp angle back then up again with tips curling to point backward, giving the horns a slight lightning bolt appearance. His horns and the lower jaw were covered in a dark green paint, making their true color unknown. He was trying to come up with a plan, one that would get most of his men out alive. Despite being the youngest, only twenty-two years of age, of the twelve assembled dragons he was the most skilled and experienced, as well as the leader, of them all.
"Got a plan yet, Legend?" a voice came from behind him. Legend looked at the armored dragon behind him. This dragon looked very much like Legend, with the same horns and age, the differences being that the speaker had a rounder muzzle, his body was closer to the ground, his eyes were ruby red instead of Legend's purple, and he had a broader build then Legend. This was his best friend and second in command, Firebrand.
"Almost, get your team to the other side of the valley." Legend whispered. Firebrand nodded and motioned with his wing. Four of the assembled dragons followed him. Of the ten dragons, there were two from each of the six elements: fire, earth, ice, electricity, shadow, and wind. Well, there was supposed to be two more, dragons of electricity, but they were dead and had yet to be replaced. Firebrand's team had one of each with the exception of fire; he was one of the two fire dragons of the ten and Legend was the other. When Firebrand and his company were at the other side, Legend began to direct his troops.
"Sub-Zero, stand by that tree." Legend said to the group's ice dragon while motioning to a tree at his left. The ice dragon nodded and stood where he was being motioned to. "This is the plan; on the signal Firebrand, Sub-Zero, Queen, and I are all going to create steam. Wind Breaker, you are going to cover the golems with that steam." Queen was the other ice dragoness in the squad, and Wind-Breaker was the wind dragoness. "Then Dark, you are going to shift in and out of that place and hit as many golems as possible without getting yourself killed" Dark was the teams shadow dragon, tall and thin and just as deadly. "While Stone is going to be bombarding the golems with earth missiles. Any questions?" Legend asked his squad. Dark was the only one to question Legend.
"You expect us to do this by ourselves, when did you tell Firebrand's squad this plan? And who is going to grab the package?" Dark questioned their leader.
"For the first question, you forgot that it is Firebrand who is leading the other squad." that was all Legend had to say. Those two were in no way related, but they were closer than brothers. They can communicate an entire plan just by the look in their eyes. "And the answer to the other question is me and Firebrand. We will be grabbing the package." Everyone nodded. "Ready?" Everyone nodded again. "Good, then be ready at a moment's notice."
The golems were now parallel with the twelve dragons' position. There were three small flashes in quick succession, and that was the signal they were waiting for. "Now." Legend whispered. The night was spilt by the roar of two large plumes of flame as they sped across the air. Sub-Zero and Queen both unleashed their ice breaths, creating large plumes of steam which Wind-Breaker and Dust-Devil, Firebrand's squad's wind dragon, blow at the golems. While the golems couldn't quite be surprised, they could still be blind. Legend caught sight of Dark as he shifted through the ground. Legend saw him again as he slammed his four paws into a golem's chest, pushing off of it and phasing through another shadow only to shift out of a third shadow and into a second golem. Green earth missiles flew from both side of the valley. Earth was the most effective element against the golems, mostly because it was the most physical of the elements. The wind dragons were almost always slaughtered in hand-to-hand combat with the golems.
Legend decided that it was time to grab the package. He cut his fire breath short, and soon Firebrand did the same. Legend spread his wings, leapt into the valley, and slammed full force into a golem. He jutted his head forward and broke the gem in the golem's forehead, causing whatever fell magic held the creature together to fail and the golem to fall apart. His victory didn't last long, though. A second golem rammed head first into Legend's side. Legend was only six feet at the shoulder with a two foot neck; not at his full height yet due to his young age, making him the same height as the golem. The golem swung its claws and caught Legend against the side. The young dragon roared in pain as golem's claws tore through his armor like it was nothing but a wet piece of parchment. The jagged claws tore at his flesh, pulling small chunks of meat out as well as a large amount of scales. Legend whipped around his leaf shaped tail spade and slammed against the golems head, hoping to get the gem in its head. He missed. The golem reared up and pierced Legends hind leg with its pointed and spider-like legs. The wound only immobilized Legend, because there were now two stony spears in his haunch. Before the golem could deliver the finishing blow, Firebrand landed on the golems shoulders and blasted his strongest fire breath on the golem's head at point blank range. The golem collapsed and dissolved as the gem in its forehead overloaded and broke. Firebrand and Legend were the only two who ever killed golems like that.
"'Bout time you got here, Firebrand. I thought you would have to carry my body back to Warfang Castle." Legend said as he took Firebrand's paw and stood up.
"No, you're too heavy to carry." Firebrand replied as he helped his very good friend up.
"Hey! I thought I was the taller, thinner one and you were the smaller, broader one." Legend replied with a small smile on his lips. The smile dropped when he said "Let's grab the package and get out of here." Firebrand nodded and grabbed onto one side of the box as Legend grabbed onto the other. They quickly started powering their wings as they started to lift off. Golems started to charge them, but they were warded off at the last second by Night, the second shadow dragon and a female, Dark, Stone, and Granite, the second earth dragon and a female. Legend and Firebrand powered their wings as they started to slowly ascend. Unfortunately, a golem ran up and slashed Firebrand's wing. He roared, but before he could retaliate Night appear out of nowhere and tackled the golem. She rolled into the shadows by Firebrand's side. Dust-Devil and Wind-Breaker flew above them and began to use their wind ability to lift them up. Despite the strain on their wings, Firebrand and Legend finally lifted off of the ground and took off, with the wind dragons at their sides of course.
The other dragons joined them as they all lifted off and began to fly away from the misty valley. Legend decided to call roll. "Roll call!" he shouted over the whipping of the air. "Firebrand?"
"Here!"
"Queen?!"
"Here!"
"Sub-Zero?!"
"Here!"
"Stone?!"
"Here!"
"Granite?!"
"Here!"
"Dark?!"
"Here!"
"Night?!"
"Here!"
"Wind-breaker?!"
"Here!"
"Dust-Devil?!"
"Here!"
It gladdened Legend's heart that none of his teammates were killed this mission. But not dead does not mean not injured. Dark and Night had dented helmets, as well as the metal claws on the tips of their gauntlets were dulled and bent. Legend had the large slash across the side, and Firebrand had both a slightly shredded wing and the armor that protected the left side of his face was gone, but the blood on that side of his face did good to hide the true color of the scales. They had been flying for an hour now; the golems had gotten far away from the Warfang Castle. There were slight fringes of red on the horizon, marking the closeness of the morn. Legend noticed the struggle that his friend was having, and decided to touch down for a moment. It wasn't just for Firebrand's sake. The large wound on Legend's side had dripped a steady flow of blood; both he and Firebrand could really use a cluster of gems
"You all head back to Warfang Castle; Firebrand and I are gonna stay back. It'll be a bit, so don't worry." Legend said loudly and firmly. Perfectly in sync, Firebrand and Legend began to slowly descend, but quickly enough so that none of the other dragons could protest. They landed in a clearing and watched as the rest of the dragons flew away. Firebrand panted softly, his shredded wing dripping blood.
"You didn't have to stop or me, you know." He said with a smile as he slumped onto the ground. Legend should have thought this plan through better. It was already difficult to fly in the very heavy armor, and they could barely keep pace with the other eight dragons.
"I felt like it. Besides, your scales are showing." Legend said, pointing at the left side of Firebrand's face. Legend reached into a pouch strapped at his hip and pulled out a strip of cloth and a small metal canister. He tossed both items to Firebrand, who caught them. Using the cloth, Firebrand began to wipe away the blood on his face. Legend turned away and scanned the clearing for a cluster of gems. He found a cluster and smashed it. Legend picked up a few red and green gems and tossed them over to Firebrand. The second-in-command caught them and absorbed them. By now he had wiped the blood away and opened the canister, revealing dark green face paint. After healing the scratches on his face, he dunked the cloth into the face paint and smeared it all over the exposed facial scales.
Legend absorbed the rest of green and red gems. Both dragons felt much better now. "Hey, why don't we check to see what's in this crate?" Firebrand asked, motioning to the crate.
"We were never told to open." Legend replied, laying down for a quick rest.
"All we were told was literally 'precious… king's… save... that way!'" Firebrand said, imitating the page that had been completely out of breath when he had come to the dragons, these ten dragons that were known as the King's Wraiths. "We were never told not to open it." Firebrand said as he stood up and walked over to the crate.
"I could charge (you) with insubordination for defying my orders." Legend said as Firebrand tugged at the nails keeping the lid on.
"You wouldn't do that." Firebrand as tugged the first of sixteen nails, four per side.
"Why wouldn't I?" Legend asked his closest friend smugly.
"I know you well; in fact, you will be joining me soon." Firebrand replied smugly. It took a few seconds before Legend walked up and started tugging at the nails at the other side of the crate. It wasn't long before all of the nails were off of the box. Before Legend or Firebrand could make a move to remove the lid, it was blasted off by a large torrent of shadow fire. Firebrand peeked his head over to see what was in the crate. But as soon as the tip of his snout went over the edge of the top, another blast of shadow fire blasted out of the crate. Firebrand crouched down by the crate, wiggling his claws underneath it. He looked at Legend, who had moved to one side of the crate. Legend nodded. With a light grunt, Firebrand reared on his hind legs and threw the crate to its side. There was the sound of startled squeals as the crate tipped over and whatever was in it rolled out.
What tumbled out were, surprisingly, two dragonesses, a pink one and a black one, probably only a year younger than Legend and Firebrand. The black dragoness had a slim frame, was well curved, and was long and tall; all the traits to make for a beautiful young dragoness. She had a blood red underbelly and wing membranes, green eyes, and her horns and tail spade were both silver. She had six horns, the first two starting at the back of her head and stretching back, the tips turning up. The second pair started at her temples and followed the same pattern as the first set, and the last pair started underneath her ear holes and was the shortest pair.
The pink dragoness had a thicker build then the black one, and wasn't as long or tall as the black one, but still has the curves and body shape the made for an attractive dragoness. She had a gold underbelly and magenta wing membranes with blue eyes. Her horns curled back, almost like a ram's except they were not meant for ramming. She had a light blue frill starting at the crown of her head and ending at the back of her head. The pink one whimpered as the black one stepped over her and growled at Firebrand and Legend.
"Ma'am, calm down." Legend said calmly. The black only snarled and let out another tongue of shadow fire. Legend and Firebrand dodged, but the shadow flames still caught his paw. The shadow fire leaked onto his scales and burnt like acid, but didn't consume flesh. "Ma'am! Calm down!" Legend said more loudly this time. No one had time to respond because a hollow, whistling sound drifted into the clearing. Firebrand's eyes widened as soon as he heard the sound.
"Hollow Hounds!" He yelled to Legend, whose face dropped at the revelation. "On the crate! Now!" Legend yelled as he jumped over to the dragonesses and began to shove them to the crate.
"Why?!" The pink one shrieked, clearly scared out of her wits; before the black dragon could reply, some… thing jumped out of the ground. It looked a dog, and was about four feet at the shoulder. It was made of stone and had a dark purple gem embedded in its forehead, and there were dark purple lines starting at the gem going all over its body. Its muzzle was a hollow cylinder, and from the cylinder came the hollow whistling noise they were hearing. Without a growl or any other noise then that hollow whistle, it leapt at them. Firebrand tackled it from the air and pinned it to the ground, smashing the gem in the center if its head, causing it to crumble.
"That is a hollow hound, now get on the crate!" Legend yelled as he grabbed the black dragoness and literally threw her on top of the crate. The black squealed and twisted as Firebrand, who had since climbed on the crate, caught her and set her down. The pink looked at Legend.
"Please don't throw meeeee!" She tried to plead as Legend picked her up and threw her on top of the crate. But another hollow hound popped out of the ground and leapt at her. It locked its strange muzzle around her foreleg and dove into the ground. The hollow hound dragged the pink's foreleg with it as it dived into the ground. This was how the hollow hounds fought. They would grab a dragon or mole or cheetah, and drag part of him under the ground, and then snap off the limb with a crunch that could heard above ground. Legend stared in horror as he saw the look on the pink dragons face; it was the same look that he had seen so many times on the Eastern Front.
But before the sickening crunch could be heard, Firebrand leapt from the top of the crate and landed by the pink. One arm wrapped around her waist while the other plunged into the turned earth that her foreleg was in. He seemed to grab something, and with a loud roar, he tore the hollow hound out of the ground and threw it across the clearing. His foreleg still hooked around the pink's waist, he leapt atop the crate and set her down. Legend cast a look at Firebrand. He hadn't displayed such strength since they had met their respective fathers at the Eastern Front. Legend cringed as he remembered their parent's fate.
"More hounds!" Firebrand yelled as more and more hollow hounds started to pounce out of the ground at them; that hollow whistling always sounding. One leapt at the black dragoness, but Legend rammed his head forward and sent it the other direction. Another hollow hound leapt at them, but this time it was intercepted by a fireball that Firebrand sent out. This went on and on, the hollow hounds never loosening up. One leapt at Legend; Legend grabbed its chest, reared on his hind legs and threw it over his head. He then came down on another Hound as he went down to his forepaws, grabbing the hounds head on the way down and slamming it into the crate before tossing it off. But time began to eat away at Firebrand and Legend. They were fatiguing, the heavy armor wearing on them after hours of hard battle. Their moves were becoming sluggish and slow; the fact that they had to defend two dragonesses only made matters harder. The black was smart; she just kept hers and the pink's head down. The sun had now peeked over the horizon, evidence that the morning was still hours off.
Three hollow hounds leapt Legend and Firebrand at the same time. But before they could react, an earth shot shattered one; several large icicles collided with the other; and the last was tackled by a dragoness in the same armor as Legend and Firebrand. The rest of the Wraiths had came back for them. The dragoness, Night was her name, that had tackled the Hollow Hound slashed at it several times with shadow covered claws. But before she could leave, another hollow hound leapt out of the ground, locked its jaws around her neck, and dragged her head underneath the soil. Her limbs flailed as Stone moved to help her, but before he could reach her there was a sickening crunch. The body stopped flailing and went limp. Stone roared in fury as the more and more hollow hounds started to leap out of the ground. The clearing became lit with the elements of the Wraiths as they blasted at the hollow hounds.
"We need to get out of here!" Dark yelled as he blasted a hollow hound with his shadow fire. Legend twisted around and let out three fireballs in quick succession, blasting another hollow hound back and blowing off one of its limbs. "Agreed. Firebrand! No time for modesty!" The black female spoke for the first time in their short time knowing each other.
"What is that supposed to mean?!" She shouted above the sounds of battle. She turned her back to Legend so she could question Firebrand. Before she could say a word, her eyes widened in shock and horror as she felt a heavy weight settle on her back and a pair of forearms wrap around her midsection. "No!" She yelled in indignation. The pink dragoness squealed as Firebrand jumped on her back in a similar fashion to how Legend had.
"Dust-Devil! Wind-Breaker! We need to get off of this crate!" Legend yelled up to the two wind dragons. They nodded and started to use their wind element help lift Legend and Firebrand, as well as the dragoness's they were carrying. The black was shrieking the whole time about how improper this was. All of the Wraiths were beginning to leave. They were taking off one by one, till only the earth dragon, Stone was left. Before he left, he ran over to Night's dead body and slipped off the armor that covered one of her claws. He jumped with a massive flap and was clear of the reach of the Hollow Hounds. Without a minute to lose, they all winged it out away, Dust-Devil and Wind-Breaker using their wind element to help Firebrand and Legend. It was already hard enough to fly with all of the armor, and the addition of a dragoness to carry made things even more hard.
"I say, put me down this instant!" The black that Legend was carrying yelled. The pink dragoness was just quiet as she was carried by Firebrand.
"I cannot do that ma'am." Legend said as the black started to squirm "We need to get back to Warfang Castle as soon as possible. Remember that crate you were in? There was supposed to be something important to the king in there." Legend explained. The black started to calm down, so he assumed that she was of understanding. "We need to drop you and the pink one off at the Warfang Castle and then find out what has been taken."
"It was a clever tactic, mostly because the golems never needed surprise or tactics at all." Firebrand said. The black spoke up to Legend now.
"Good sir, I think that you should take a better look at me and my sister." The black requested. Legend did so, and noticed that the black now held her foreleg so that her upper arm and shoulder was facing up. Legend only cast a quick glance, but what he saw was enough to make him do a double take. On her shoulder and upper arm was a complex tattoo of a set of runes. The runes were so dark blue they almost blended in with her black scales. Casting a look at the pink dragon, he noticed that she too had the same tattoo adorning her shoulder, except the tattoo was a lighter shade of pink.
"Son of a-!" Legend was thankfully able to catch his tongue before he could utter the curse.
"What is it Legend?" Firebrand asked as he noticed his surrogate brother. "Look at her shoulder!" Legend tossed back. Firebrand did so, but he got closer to uttering the same oath that Legend did. But just like Legend, he caught his tongue. "What is the commotion?" Granite asked, turning her head to look at her leader. Legend ignored her as he turned to the black.
"I am so, incredibly sorry, Princess Cynder and Princess Ember. We did not know that it was you two we were to find." Legend stated. All of the Wraiths turned to attention when they heard that it was Princess Cynder and Princess Ember that they were escorting.
"That is alright, wraithmen." Cynder stated. "But could you set me and my sister down now? This... position is less than comfortable, if you know what I mean." Cynder requested with a slight blush. Legend thought for a moment, trying to determine if they were in walking distance of Warfang Castle. He nodded to the rest of his team, and they slowly descended. The rest of the team landed first, but Legend and Firebrand hovered over the ground, just long enough to let go of Cynder and Ember, then they landed themselves. As soon as Firebrand touched the ground, Ember shot over to him, pressing against his side and whimpering slightly. Cynder frowned slightly. She walked over to Ember and tried to talk with her, as to convince her to leave Firebrand's side. But Ember said nothing, only whimpered and, using her mouth, gently pulled Firebrands wing over her. Cynder frowned and was about to admonish her sister, but Legend lightly tapped her on the shoulder.
"Leave her be, she just went through her first encounter with the golems. They have that kind of effect on people. It is some form of enchantment that scares all sense out of you. I am greatly surprise that they had no effect on you." Legend said kindly. With a slight smile, he said "You should have seen me and Firebrand after the first time we fought with the golems, we were almost charged with insubordination because we wouldn't let go of the captain." Cynder cracked a smile at the joke.
"Would you mind too much to introduce me to my father's Wraiths?" Cynder asked politely. Legend nodded and pointed out the Wraiths as they walked towards Warfang, which was still a ways away. Ember still walked under the wing of Firebrand. Along the way, Cynder and Legend spoke with each other.
"Tell me," She would say,"How is the Eastern Front fairing?"
"As it always is, slowly moving west, towards us. How much closer, I cannot answer that. It has been a while since I have been over there, what with being one of the King's Wraiths and all." Currently, the kingdom of Warfang was locked in a brutal conflict, known by the people as 'the War of Bitter Tears'. Warfang has been part of this war for the last several generations.
It is King Terrador, Cynder and Ember's father, and his three High Advisors, Lords Ignitus, Cyril, and Volteer , that had were combined all of the kingdoms fighting force's and were putting up a great offensive. Warfang would actually be the third kingdom to enter this war. All of the lands east of the Kingdom of Warfang had succumbed to the golems; now they were all grey and barren. No matter how many were defeated, new ones seemed to be waiting to pop out of the grey ground and attack.
It wasn't a completely hopeless situation, King Terrador and his forces were actually able to push that golem's forces back ten miles. While it wasn't much in the terms of land, it was progress. Right now was during the six month the stint in which the King, his Protector, his High Advisors, and his Wraiths and part of the army returned to Warfang Castle and the city that surrounded it. The soldiers could only serve on the Eastern Front for six months at a time, otherwise they would go insane.
"I forget, I see so rarely of you wraithmen, what is it that you do?" Cynder now asked. Legend was tempted not to answer; the business of the Wraiths was secret even from the queen. He was about to explain himself, but he saw a look in her eye, one that was begging to have her mind distracted from her time in the golem's 'care'.
"We Wraiths do many things," Legend began, "But first and foremost, we are the king's hand. While he has the Lord Protector as his shield, he has the Wraiths as his sword. We will go where he says, do as he says, and fight who says. Our job is to be devoted to him, and do whatever it is he wants or needs. That is the simplest way to explain the job of the Wraiths." He explained to her.
"Why are you called Legend, and he Firebrand, and she Granite?" Cynder now asked.
"There is a reason why, so that none know our true names. We are given our false names based off of ourselves. The reasons, I would like to keep to myself for now." Legend said courteously. Cynder nodded understandingly. She cast a glance at Firebrand and Ember. Ember was still nestled under Firebrand's wing, but she seemed less tense. They seemed to make idle conversation, Firebrand making a joke every now and then and causing Ember to nervously laugh. She was still glued to his side, though. Cynder frowned at her sister.
"That is improper." She stated. Legend tossed a glance at the two, also frowning.
"As long as he doesn't become too attached, it matters little to me." Legend stated. Cynder cast a dirty glance at Legend.
"It is still improper!" Cynder exclaimed. Legend looked at her questioningly.
"Is that true? Princess Cynder, you must not have spent a stint of time round the borders of the kingdom. That kind of thing is the least to be worried about in the terms of improper." That caused Cynder to be quiet, which in return made Legend sadden a bit. It was fun, debating and talking with the princess. They began to talk again, having long and enjoyable debates. The sun was rising when they reached the outskirts of the city that surrounded Warfang Castle. The arrival of the little seen Wraiths caused a stir in the people who were just beginning to rouse. The crowds began to gather as people shouted "Those two are the princesses!" As the crowds started to thicken, the Wraiths formed a circle around the two dragonesses as they walked through the city and to the walled castle in the center. The guards saw them and immediately opened the gates. They strolled into the courtyard of the castle.
A fully grown dragoness walked into the courtyard. She looked much like Cynder, except her eyes were pale blue and her underbelly was pink. The tips of her horns turned down at a sharper angle than Cynder's. She had fur and silk drapings over her shoulders and back, the raiment of a noble, with a six rings adorning her horns. She had the same complex tattoo on her shoulder as Cynder and Ember had. This was Queen Varja; the mother of Cynder and Ember, the daughter of the Alpha dragon from the most powerful feral colony. The tattoo was her family crest, and was therefore passed to Cynder and Ember. As soon as the queen saw her children, she dropped her royal countenance and rushed for her daughters. Ember too rushed forward to her mother, but Cynder stood fast and walked toward her mother slowly. It was strange, to be out in public without the many fabrics, drapings and dresses that she wore. She felt almost naked, despite the fact that she was completely covered in scales.
Varja caught Ember in her wings and held her close to the queen's chest. "My daughters! You are safe!" Varja exclaimed as she nuzzled the top of Embers head.
"Mommy!" Ember said to her mother, happily clinging to her. Cynder finally made it to Varja. Varja looked down at her elder daughter. Cynder walked over and throw her arms around Varja, wrapping her forelegs around her mother's neck. She made not a sound as she nosed her mother's neck. Legend motioned to the rest of the Wraiths to leave. Before he could leave, Cynder climbed down and walked up to the lead dragon. She looked him up and down. "May I know the name of my savior?" Cynder asked as she motioned for Legend to remove his helmet. Legend shook his head.
"I cannot do such. Only the king may know who may we are." Legend answered. Cynder frowned.
"Stay at the castle for the night, you and your wraiths. You can wear masks, and you may dine well, bathe in a hot bathes, sleep in beds made with the finest of down." Cynder plead once more, hoping to find a way to repay her savior. Once more, Legend shook his head.
"We cannot do such. It would not be becoming of a Wraith to succumb to such lavishes." Legend stated once more. Cynder's frown deepened.
"At least let me give you jewels and treasures. I know they no value to a wraithmen, but it is the last that I can offer!" Cynder pleaded. Legend sighed.
"We cannot do such. You are correct; as a Wraith, we've no need of gold or treasure." Legend denied her once more. Cynder's lips became a flat line as she walked to her mother. They conversed in a quiet whisper for a while. Varja had a grin on her face as she motions to Legend. Cynder sighed and walked back. She stood in front of the lead Wraith and looked Legend in the eyes. Without warning, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Legend's eyes widened as the princess kissed him.
What the hell? Legend thought to himself. He should have pulled away, but he found that his muscles were locked. So this is what it is like to be kissed. Wait a minute, this is my first kiss? I really don't have a life. Well, neither does Firebrand. I take comfort in that fact. The two stood there for a while. Thankfully, only few had seen the pulled back a little, only enough so that she could whisper against Legend's lips
"They say that the first kiss of a princess could ward off death at least once. Do not waste that chance." When she finished speaking, she pulled completely away and walked back to Queen Varja. "May I know where King Terrador now resides?" She politely asked her other. Queen Varja said "The training room." With a curt nod, Cynder walked away. Legend still stood wide eyed. Firebrand was about to say something, but the fire dragon was cut off. Legend looked to his friend, only to find that he too was being kissed by a princess, Ember. Unlike his captain, Firebrand had his head turned and only received a kiss on the cheek. The rest of the Wraiths laughed at the two of them. Ember ran giggling back to Queen Varja and walked away with her.
Legend laughed nervously and motioned with his wing to the other Wraiths. Legend took wing and flew out of the courtyard. They all flew around the castle a while before they flew down to one of the base of one of the guard towers. They all landed and walked single file into the door at the base. The door led to a staircase and went down into the ground. They followed to staircase till Legend, who was in the lead, met another door. He pushed it open and walked in the spacious barracks. The barracks were for the Wraiths only, and few know where it was despite the obvious entrance.
There were twelve beds, and next to each bed was a lidded crate, a cabinet, and a mannequin of a dragon. Before each dragon went to separate beds, to remove their armor, Legend looks to Stone. The earth dragon hands Legend the claw covering that he took from Night. Legend takes it and gently puts it on the ground. Legend sat on his haunches, and the rest of the dragons copy him. Legend put his claws to his forehead, then his mouth, then his forepaw, and his heart and said 'Equidem mortem pro libertatis bene mori'. All of the other Wraiths followed right after him. When they were done, they each went to their own beds.
"Hey Flame! Looks like that princess was giving you some attention!" Granite tossed over her shoulder as she removed her helmet and revealed her granite grey scales. She had mossy green lines along her body, these lines resembling ivy. Her underbelly was a greyish-green, while her horns were and wings were black. Trish's tail spade was mossy green, and shaped like the head of a pick-axe. Her horns were triangular shaped and wide, and at on the sides of her head. She was only two years older than Firebrand and Legend. Firebrand groaned as he removed his helmet and revealed his crimson red scales.
"Shut it, Trish, you're just jealous that I can attract the opposite sex and you can't." Firebrand, or by his real name, Flame retorted. The red dragon looked over to his friend, Legend, who already had his helmet and gauntlets off and was in the middle of removing his cuirass. "Besides, it was him that actually swapped-spit with a princess, not just a peck on the cheek!" Flame exclaimed. Legend chuckled as he said "A peck? Ember almost tackled you." Legend stated as he looked down and examined his purple scaled paw.
"Ah, shut it Spyro! You were too busy staring at Princess Cynder's hind end to notice what really happened!" Flame jabbed. Spyro didn't stumble as he said "I was just staring in front of me. Cynder was in front of me." The purple dragon stated calmly. Flame chuckled as he went about removing the rest of his armor. When they were all done, some stayed up and chatted, but the death of Night made none of them want to jibe at each other.
Spyro lay down on his bed and opened the crate with the hinged lid. There was row upon row of tiny vials with corks on the top. He pulled on out and took out the cork. Spyro quickly down the contents of the vile; he felt his mind emptying as the potion took effect. Spyro lay down on his bed and looked to the other Wraiths; each had done the same. They all had to, or they would go crazy. All because of the golems.
But before Spyro fall asleep, the feeling of Cynder's lips entered his mind, and he found himself smiling.
≤Ω≥
Cynder walked down the halls of Castle Warfang as she looked for the spiral staircase that lead to her father's personal training room. She was glad that the halls were empty of the bond servants and ladies-in-waiting. She always held herself tall and regal, her coldness and emotionlessness like a winter night sky, her majesticness and beauty like the shining stars. But the golems and their cursed magic cracked that iciness from her face, revealing a scared child. She held herself together for the sake of Ember and to not embarrass herself. But she could not hide the beginnings of tears on her eyes.
Cynder found the staircase, and descended quickly. Her claws clicked against the chilling stone staircase as she listened to the sounds of Terrador training drifting up from his underground training room. She reached the large wooden door at the end, rearing up and pushing it open. As soon as the door opened, Cynder let out a terrified shriek. Golems were advancing on her father, the large earth dragon beating at them with his element, claws and tail spade.
King Terrador was a large dragon, a bit taller than average, eight feet for his shoulders and two feet for his neck, but much thicker and more muscular. His scales were the colors of thick grass, his underbelly being the color of dried mud. He had with him a very rough and grizzled face, and the ropey scars across his body that told the tales of many battles he had been through. The empty eyes told of the lives he had taken. His tail spade was a flanged mace, and his horns were like a rams as they curved around. His green eyes locked onto Cynder as she screamed again. Careless of the golem dummies he was training with, the king rushed to his daughter and swept her up into his wings, crushing her against her chest in a fatherly hug.
Cynder was weeping into his chest, slightly hysterical. Her body was small compared to him, as she was only five feet at her and two-and-a-half feet at the neck. She had resisted the fell magic placed on the golems for as long as she could. She was know away and safe; safe from danger, and safe from gossiping lips. The bottled up fear left in her tears as she clung to her father, the large earth dragon gently stroking her back to calm her.
"I was scared father, I thought that you wouldn't be able to find us or save us. Why did you send your Wraiths? Why didn't you come yourself?!" Cynder asked, looking at her father with almost accusing eyes and words. It hurt Terrador, dashing his relief against cold rocks that his daughter was still scared and still felt alone.
"My daughter, you know that I cannot risk myself when it is not necessary."
"But your Wraiths can?" Cynder asked, her composure returning. She still clung desperately to her father. The questions were giving her mind a distraction.
"The cold truth is that the Wraiths are already dead. Their lives, their personalities, everything they had that kept them alive, is gone. They are no more than the armor they don." Her father explained, leaning his great head down to nuzzle her. "My daughter, I would have charged to save you and Ember without a thought. But I had your mother to think of, my kingdom to think of, and my Protector who would kill me if I were so reckless." The king explained, Cynder calming her tears and her hostility.
"I would not wish you to leave Queen Varja alone." Cynder stated as she slid from her father's embrace; she still leaned against him. Terrador sighed at his daughter.
"She is not only your queen, my daughter. She is your mother, and you need not take such formalities with me." Terrador tried to explain. This was another handy distraction.
"I must be formal, in front of the king."
"I am your father, then your king."
"You were king before you were my father." Terrador sighed at his daughter.
"Do I have to order you treat me as you loving father for you to do such?" He asked, as he smiled slightly down at her. She cracked a small, rare smile back.
"No. Come along, Father, we must return to Mother and sister." Cynder said as she and Terrador went away. She had overcome the magic of the golems that had infected her.
She still clung to Ember that night, just as her sister clung to her.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed that. How many guessed Legend was Spyro? Was it that easy? Please tell me.
SOLI DEO GLORIA