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Chapter 16

Identity

The sound of the morning routine rang in his ears as he stretched his body. The Dragon Village he had been staying in, was bustling with activity, and it was quite evident. Dragons were everywhere. This was probably the first time Malefor ever saw dragons that just…were there. They weren't cowering in fear. They weren't shouting, nor were they angry. They were just there, dealing with the morning affair, without a care in the world; without a care, that the dragon that had caused so much violence and turned the Dragon Realms upside down was right before them, examining their every move.

It felt…unsettling. It was like a dream to just seem too surreal even for a dream.

Yet, it was reality. Not a dream one would normally dream about.

Malefor had woken up that morning to find the owner of the cave awake and had left him to do some errands, he assumed. He only knew the latter, when a dragon, a teenage one, visited him. Much to his surprise, the dragon didn't seem to flinch, cower, or even show any signs of fear and apprehension towards him. He still couldn't get over the fact that these dragons didn't know who he was. He just relayed the message to him in calm, natural, flat, maybe even bored tone of voice.

It would seem that Sera had asked the dragon to tell him that he was free to roam around, as long as he didn't cause trouble; along with the fact, that he wasn't to leave, until she had spoken to him. He didn't understand why she didn't wait for him to wake up to talk to him, to talk about whatever it was, she wanted to talk about. Maybe this morning 'errand' of hers wasn't an errand as he originally thought. Then again, maybe he was just thinking too much of this. Nonetheless, he mentally agreed to the condition and decided to wait for her.

Now, as he walked down the path to the village, dragons of all ages, young and old, passed by him, and gave him fleeting looks. No one bothered him, and no one talked to him. It was like he wasn't there. However, Malefor could feel their curious gaze, as he turned around and walked further. It wasn't like he didn't want to talk, but he had expected to be surrounded by the village dragons, curious to know who the strange looking dragon was in the village. But it was like there was something stopping them; like a warning to not approach him, given by the leader or group of dragons who hold authority in this village.

Whatever the main reason was, Malefor grateful.

His luck of dragons not discovering his identity, and his cover not being blown wide open, would eventually run out. He'd rather be out of here, when that time comes.

A few minutes of walking alone later, Malefor found himself sitting alone at the riverbed of the village. He felt contented to just sit there, and take a moment to reflect on what to do. He still had not forgotten what he was to do.

He remembered the task given to him by his Master, Master Gale, and he remembered it vividly. He needed to basically team up with Spyro and Cynder and stop the Dark Essence. And maybe along with it, get back his Purple Essence. That was when an intriguing thought presented itself before him. Spyro also has the Purple Essence. That means, he is somewhat of a ticking time bomb, since he also has the dangerous Dark Essence. But he shook his head. He knew Spyro. The chance of him awakening his Dark Essence, to the same level he did, are very slim; almost to none.

But that was the main problem.

How on earth was he to find Spyro and Cynder? He could start looking at Warfang. They'll probably be there. If he understood the flow of things correctly, they should be there, along with other dragons, studying at the Temple. The two may be heroes of the Dragon Realms, but aside from fighting, they didn't know anything else. Other dragons…there should be other dragons there. If there were surviving dragon villages like these, the Guardians would have surely contacted them to regroup back to Warfang. That was the logical thing to do. But in order to get in there, Malefor needed to change his appearance. Or at least some of his features, his scales prominently, in order to blend in and not cause mass panic. From that point on, he'd just improvise up until he manages to convince the Guardians or Spyro and Cynder that's he's on their side now.

He sighed. It all seemed…plausible. But the problem with all plans is that there's always room for error, no matter how much you try to stop it. He only had one shot at doing it. If he screwed up, he would have failed his mission, failing also the request of his Master.

The stakes were ridiculously high for him.

"You seem to be troubled, may I ask why?"

Malefor's thoughts were grinded to a halt. He was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't even notice that someone had walked up to him. He glanced to his left to find an old looking dragon give him an inquisitive stare. His scales were of light blue color, while his underbelly had a faded glow to it; both sets of which, lacked the usual luster one would normally see. His body was completely battle tattered, littered with scars, some more prominent than others. Whoever this dragon was, his time back when he was young was rough. It looked like….

It looked like war scars.

"I know. I'm not much to look at," he said. Malefor blinked.

"Wow, you're the first dragon that ever talked to me, aside from Sera, from this village," he replied.

"And I think I may know why…Mal," said the dragon.

Malefor looked at him, surprised that he knew his name.

"H-how do you know—"

"Your name?" The dragon chuckled and smiled at him.

"I know more than just you're name…Malefor."

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"Oh my gosh…do you know how hard that was?" she asked her. "I cannot believe I actually managed to pull it off!" She fanned herself, as she recounted the events that had happened earlier. Glancing to her left, she snapped her fingers, seeing as her friend wasn't paying attention to her.

"Rave? Hello? Are you even listening?" The green dragoness seemed to have been staring out the distance, outwards from the window sill.

"Eh? What were we talking about again?" she asked, smiling sheepishly.

"Are you thinking about him again?" Ember asked, looking at her with a toothy grin.

"Who?" Rave asked, wondering who she referred to.

"You know, Izrayl?" said Ember. "Honestly Rave, I know you told him about us. About the four of us being close friends. But I'm guessing you never had the courage to actually—"

She was cut off as Rave shushed her. As Ember said, Rave did fill in Izrayl's missing memories by talking with him, during the short time they had together, when she had first arrived and laid eyes upon him again. She told her everything she could, in the clearest and summarized manner as possible. She even told him that she was the one that made the satchel that he had been carrying around when he was sent out to be the Messenger. However, she did filter some things. Like how she had been acting towards him.

"I know okay. You know that, and I know that. I'm just worried about him," said Rave.

"And I'm guessing, he has little to no concern about you. As far as he knows, you're just a best friend. Nothing more, nothing less; that was your chance; why didn't you tell him?" asked Ember.

"I couldn't. It…didn't feel right. It wasn't…him. You know what I mean?"

"I think I do. In any case, can we get back to what we were talking about?" Ember smiled at her.

"Yes," replied Rave.

As the two kept chatting, a curious thought popped up inside Rave's head.

"Ember, did you see Li in class today?" she asked.

"Li? I don't think so. Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen him earlier today too. Where do you think he is?" Ember answered. "Why are you even asking about him?"

"I don't know," Rave shrugged. "I just feel…he seems familiar to me."

"Familiar how?"

"He just reminds me of someone," said Rave. Ember nodded sceptically.

"Am I getting the hint that you want to be friends with him?" she inquired.

"Yes," Rave replied, putting emphasis on the word.

"You're bluffing," said Ember.

"I'm serious!"

Then, as if on cue, the dragon being talked about, passed right in front of them. Li, silent and stoic as ever, walked passed them. Ember and Rave could only stare at the mysterious dragon.

"I call your bluff then," said Ember, grinning at her.

"Fine," said Rave, going after Li.

"This should be interesting."

Rave quickly rounded around the corner, and saw Li standing outside the balcony. He was staring out into the horizon, standing idly. Down below them, student dragons roamed around and happily chatted amongst fellow peers. Rave nonchalantly positioned herself beside him, trying her best to not seem awkward. She contented herself to looking out at the horizon as well. Warfang had a good skyline. Since the buildings moles constructed weren't tall, the view from the Dragon Temple, which rested atop the highest point in the city, was wonderful.

At the current position, one had a bird's eye of view of the whole city. One could even hear the sounds from the nearby construction area where moles busily rebuilt parts of the Dragon City.

Rave sighed, surprisingly finding it hard to think of things to say. She was confident earlier in speaking with him, but now, her resolve seemed to have crumbled. She easily pictured Ember laughing, at her failed attempt. Still, she decided to brave herself in starting small talk.

"Um…Li?" she began. The dragon merely glanced at her, acknowledging her that he was listening. Rave felt that he was scrutinizing her. She couldn't even manage to make eye contact, at his piercing eyes.

"I was wondering, you were absent earlier at classes." She gulped, trying not to croak. "Is something wrong?"

The dragon just merely raised a brow, and Rave wondered if she was prying too much. Seconds ticked by, and she found herself waiting for an answer to a question that hung in the air. Odd thoughts also passed across her head as she waited. She pondered that he might actually be mute in the first place; explaining why he was quiet. She didn't exactly remember him talking during the first time they saw him.

Was he really mute?

"Listen, um, if you don't want to tell me I—"

"It's fine."

Rave blinked; surprised that he actually talked.

"I had to…do some things."

Rave noted how he talked. Aside from his voice, which sounded pretty much how teenage dragon would sound, he gave her the subtle impression that he was choosing his words carefully; like he didn't want to say something, because he'd soon regret saying it.

"Oh…I see," she nodded, smiling to herself. Now she was making progress with the small talk; time for them to get properly introduced.

"Oh, I guess you don't my name. My name is—"

"Rave; I presume?"

"How did you—"

"I overheard you talking with your friend earlier. Ember was it?"

"Oh…"

She just giggled sheepishly.

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