A familiar paw pulled Ignitus through the hallway into the recesses of the castle. They climbed up flights of steps, heading up the spire. Although Ignitus' legs complained every time they took a step, he hung on and they finally reached the upper floors of the spire. Amazingly, Ignitus had managed to hold on to Spyro and Cynder as they climbed up the steps. Outside the windows, Ignitus caught glimpses of the city's scintillating nighttime lights. The torches on the walls of the hallway illuminated the dragon's face. It was a mature face, one Ignitus had not seen for a long time. It bore an extreme resemblance to Spyro's face, the shape of the muzzle and that playful glint in those eyes gave away his identity.
"Baero! You're alive!" Ignitus cried out, relief plain on his face.
"In the flesh, Ignitus!" Baero replied, still leading them down the hallway.
"Where are we going?" Ignitus enquired to his old friend.
"To save my son, of course! Solaris is also alive, in case you were wondering." Baero replied, slowing down slightly.
"I'll carry my son, Ignitus. You must be tired!" He took Spyro from Ignitus and after adjusting Spyro to a comfortable position, continued down the hallway.
"Thank you, Baero. So, is Chrisil…"
"She's… passed away. So has Hrunting…" Baero interjected, his voice suddenly quieting down to barely a whisper.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Baero. She was a good dragoness. I believe she was your wife, right?"
"…Yes… she was." Baero muttered in a low voice, full of guilt.
Ignitus saw this and decided not to press the matter any further as they hurried down the halls. They eventually came to a stop in front of a large door bearing ancient carvings. Baero brightened up and flapped his wings leisurely, causing a small tornado to manifest and struck the door, causing it to glow brightly. When the light subsided, the crystal had vanished leaving a massive doorway into a splendidly decorated room.
"Welcome to the Guardian's wing, Ignitus. It's been a long time since you stepped in here, hasn't it?" Baero chirped as the two dragons walked into the large foyer. There was a large waterfall in the middle of the foyer pouring down into a large, glimmering basin, the sound of the waterfall strangely distant and calming. The room was pleasantly cool and the starlight shining from above illuminated the foyer ever so slightly with its faint radiance. The foyer was circular in shape with crystals hanging from the clear ceiling that served as chandeliers when the Guardians willed it. There was no need for that fro now as Baero led Ignitus to one of the rooms.
With his mastery over wind, Baero was an obvious choice for the job of Wind Guardian. He and Ignitus were good friends since they were just hatchlings. When they grew up, both of them became Guardians of their respective elements which, being the young dragons they were at that time, they were absolutely ecstatic. Baero's wings were slightly larger than most other dragons which helped him control the winds more easily. He looked every bit a Wind dragon with his ash-grey scales and sharp eyes. Beneath all that seriousness, though, lay a heart of gold. He would willingly lay down his life to protect those he held close to him, which could be seen in Spyro, being Baero's son. On the day of the raids, Malefor's armies attacked the city of Lazarus first. Baero, knowing that his child would be the purple dragon of prophecy, entrusted his best friend with the egg, telling him to run as far away with that egg as possible. Ignitus was reluctant at first but he eventually relented and headed to Warfang. That was the last Ignitus saw of Baero, until today. It wasn't the most ideal reunion but, Ignitus was glad to see his friend alright.
They stepped into a room where a shadow dragoness sat on the bed, reading a scroll. She heard a sound and looked up and almost couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Baero walking in with Ignitus, both carrying a young, comatose dragon in their arms.
"Hello, Solaris, long time no see!" Ignitus said cheerfully as he stepped into her room. She stood up and strolled over to Ignitus to give him a hug but when she saw Cynder in her current condition, tears pricked at her eyes. She was shocked to see Cynder in this state.
"You can see for yourself, Solaris." Baero said, stepping into the room shortly after Ignitus.
"What happened?" Solaris asked Ignitus, her voice shaking for fear of her daughter's life. Solaris was the mother of Cynder and they looked remarkably alike except for the fact that Solaris had a more mature face than Cynder. Her scales were just a shade darker than Cynder's, the only prominent difference being that her tail did not have the metal tip of Cynder's. She was also a childhood friend of all the Guardians. Resourceful and independent, she was as skilled in combat as Ignitus or Terrador which secured her spot as the Guardian of Shadow. It was from her that Cynder inherited her feistiness and independence. Now, looking at her daughter in such agony, she couldn't help but let out a small sob as she placed took Cynder's paw, gently stroking it as Ignitus set Cynder down on the bed.
"It's Malefor that's doing this to her heart. He's trying to use Cynder as a vessel for his return. Cynder's putting up a strong fight but she can't hold out forever, not now that she's expecting." Ignitus explained, looking at Cynder solemnly.
Just then, a white dragon with grey eyes and an eye patch over his left eye that looked to be the same age as Spyro and Cynder stepped in, rubbing his eyes with his paws, looking as if he'd just woke up.
"What's with the ruckus? I'm trying to…" He stopped mid-sentence, surveying the situation in the room. With a solemn gaze, he nodded.
"Is something wrong with her heart?" He said as he pushed his way through Ignitus and Baero. Stopping next to Cynder, his eye glazed over as he stood there looking at Cynder.
"Who is he and what is he doing?" Ignitus asked, startled by the sudden appearance of the young dragon.
The dragon snapped out of his trancelike state and turned to Ignitus, treating him to a warm smile.
"My name's Bolzan, and who might you be?" The newcomer said as he looked straight into Ignitus' eyes. In his eyes, Ignitus saw a deep wisdom beyond this young dragon's age. Apparently, he was older than he seemed.
"I'm Ignitus. You just said something about Cynder's heart…" Ignitus replied, curious about what he was doing.
"Yes, I did." Bolzan replied nonchalantly.
"But, how can you see into her heart?" Ignitus questioned, unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice.
"I'll explain it to Ignitus, go do your job, Bolzan." Baero interjected. Bolzan nodded and went back to Cynder's bedside.
"He, in spite of his age, has mastered both Light and Shadow, hence his title "Twilight Guardian". Apparently, both elements work differently when combined so, he cannot be called a Guardian of Light or Shadow." Baero explained.
"Also, he really is 15 years old, the same age as Spyro and Cynder. He didn't come from the same batch of eggs as Spyro and no record of him could be found other than his birthday. When we checked with the Chronicler, he said that Bolzan really was 15 years of age."
"You haven't answered how he could look into hearts, Baero." Ignitus reminded Baero.
"Ah, that's… tricky to explain at best. Something happened in his early childhood that gifted him with mastery over Light and Shadow as well as the ability to look into other hearts. However, he won't divulge further than that."
"Hmm… how interesting…" Was all Ignitus had to say.
Just then, Bolzan looked away from Cynder and turned to Ignitus.
"There's some really bad corruption on the surface of her heart but, amazingly, it didn't reach her inner heart but, she is pretty exhausted and I don't think she can resist it any longer. Also, I saw 4 other hearts in there and they don't seem corrupted, either. Is she pregnant?"
"Yes, she is expecting soon."
"Really? Great! I suppose Spyro over there is the father, right?" He jerked his head towards Spyro.
"How… how did you know that?" Ignitus stuttered, considering that Bolzan had never seen Spyro or Cynder before.
"Oh, that. I kept seeing images of her and Spyro together so; I just pieced the pieces together. Not that hard to find out, admittedly. It also helped that the both of you kept repeating his name." Bolzan reasoned, sniggering a little when Ignitus blushed at his own blunder.
"Besides, it's good that Spyro's here. Lazarus wants to meet him as well and that is the key to helping Cynder. The darkness is far too strong to be dispelled via normal methods so and Spyro is the purple dragon of prophecy, after all. He should be able to master Lazarus' element and that should do the trick."
"Wait, you mean Lazarus the dragon?" Ignitus asked, remembering a large statue of a dragon encased in crystal deep within the foundation of the spire that he had seen a few times in his youth.
"Are you sure about this, Bolzan?" Baero questioned, fearful for the possible consequences of his actions. Solaris looked up, shocked at what Bolzan was hinting at.
"If Spyro dies, I'll hold you responsible for it, you know that." Baero warned, his voice taking a nasty edge.
"I'm willing to bear that burden. I just can't stand by and let Spyro and Cynder be separated. Besides, I'm sure we'll all sleep better knowing that at least we tried, right?"
Baero could not say anything to that kind of reasoning. He merely nodded and left the room. Solaris also stood up and strolled over to Bolzan, giving him a light pat on the shoulder as well as her consent in the form of a tearful nod. She dimmed the lights and went to bed next to Cynder, letting her daughter feel her warmth as she fell asleep. Both Bolzan and Ignitus were alone in the room, their eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
"I hope you know what you're implying, Bolzan. Spyro could die because of what you're about to do."
"I hope I do, Ignitus. Lazarus told me to do this and, trust me, I'm not insane. Good night." Bolzan left the room silently, leaving Ignitus alone in the room.
Outside, a raven crowed ominously, filling the room with its plaintive cry…