Ignitus had woken Spyro early the next day as the previous night he had located the Ice Guardian Cyril the previous evening in the pool of visions. He was a little reluctant to go due to James still having only recently arrived but Ignitus assured him that he would be well looked after. Now Ignitus was moving to make good on that promise as he approached the room James had chosen.
When he arrived he knocked gently on the door. There was no answer so he knocked again more firmly. Still no answer so this time he pounded the door so it could have been heard across the entire dormitory.
The continued lack of an answer compelled him to investigate so he opened the door. The room was empty of any occupants. This caused Ignitus a brief burst of concern but he quickly dismissed it and continued back to the centre of the temple to search for the young dragon.
As he walked he pondered the whereabouts of the white dragon. It was possible he was in the library as he had shown an interest there or could have even left the temple altogether for some unknown reason. Then something happened that he did not expect. He received assistance from an organ in the form of the light ach of hunger. The perplexingly simple insight from his stomach made him think of exactly what time of day it was; morning and in the morning the most enticing thing to get one out of bed was a decent breakfast.
He immediately set a course for the kitchens.
"James? Are you there?" He called out when he finally reached the galley.
"Huh? No, he ain't here." A rough voice said dismissively.
Ignitus looked to see the hare; Jack sitting in the corner surrounded by a number of broken cooking utensils, there was also a strange if not unpleasant smell in the air. He narrowed his eyes. "Then what are you doing here?"
Jack snorted. "This place is a dump. I'm good at fixing stuff and since James is so good at cooking stuff I decided to invest in that. In case you can't put two and two together I'm fixing this place up." He grumbled.
Ignitus was a little surprised at this. "And the smell?"
Jack shrugged. "James is good at cooking. He made a couple of omelettes for us this morning."
This surprised Ignitus further. Omelettes were made of eggs after all and dragons came from eggs so they didn't really eat them. Of course they tolerated others eating them but… it just seemed strange that a dragon would, especially as he knew there was plenty of meat in the pantry. Thinking about it, they didn't even have any eggs in their stores of food so where exactly had James got them? He put the thought aside for now; he had more important things on his mind. "Well do you know where James is now?"
Jack once again gave an uncaring shrug as he continued to try and bend a spatula back into shape. "Said somethin about going flying, joy flying or something like that, I don't really know… you own the place after all, shouldn't you know?"
He nodded in acceptance of the information. "Very well, thank you for telling me."
Jack's response was another uncaring shrug. Ignitus simply turned and left, hares weren't exactly known to be polite so he put up with the creatures rudeness. At least he was doing them a favour in fixing things.
He continued onwards to the circular platform at the front of the temple. He arrived just in time to see a white creature with blue wings streak into a cloud… and soon drop out of it in an uncontrollable fall. Ignitus reacted immediately, taking flight to intercept the falling dragon but he soon realised he would not reach James before he hit the ground. A fealing of dread passed through him as all he could do was watch and futilely dive towards him.
Ignitus could only watch fearfully as the young dragon plummeted to his death… but then he began to reorient, to level out into a vertical dive and then spread his wings moments from hitting the ground below. There was a brief cry of excitement as he did so.
Ignitus began to move towards James who was now gently regaining altitude. With a stern expression wondering exactly what the boy was doing tempting fate like that.
William quickly noticed the much larger red dragon and adjusted his speed accordingly. His movements were still a little jerky but he was quickly getting the hang of flying. Having a rudimentary understanding aerodynamics also helped.
"Good morning… Ignitus, wasn't it?" He asked lackadaisically, yet his demeanour was not devoid of genuine politeness.
"Yes, good morning to you to young one, but I cannot help but wander what you are doing out here?" His voice was heavy and his expression stern but seemed to have no effect on the young dragon who continued to lazily flap his wings and smile contently.
"Practicing flying of course." He said simply.
"Practicing by performing such dangerous and irresponsible stunts?" He questioned as one would a disobedient child.
William raised an eye ridge at the older dragon, irritated by the tone. "How else am I supposed to learn aerial manoeuvres? I have heard the history of this land from two different people now, this is a dangerous place and it stands to reason that I will find myself falling out of the sky at one point or another. Is it not best I know what to do when that time comes?" He challenged the older dragon.
Ignitus gave him a discontent huff at the boy's use of logic for verbal fencing as it were. "You have a fast thinking tongue and you are right, it is best to be prepared for such eventualities. However I insist that someone at the very least observe your practice if not properly instruct you less you wish to find yourself stranded with a broken wing or worse without help."
"And who's to say I haven't received instruction on flying before?" He accused and then smiled. "But if you insist; watch and learn. You may even spot something you already know." He teased the older dragon knowing full well Ignitus could surpass him in skill. However it was well worth it to see the expression of brief astonishment turn to disbelief and chiding on his face.
He began accelerating into a shallow dive before sharply re-angling his wings so he moved sharply upwards a short distance and hung there in the air vertically for a moment before allowing himself to fall backwards and flip over backwards so he was once again facing forward and began to flap furiously to regain his speed.
It did not take long for Ignitus to figure out how the move would be useful when being pursued by an attacking enemy. James continued to practice sharp turns and swerves, dodging imaginary foes and attacks. He seemed to have a liking for being in free fall as he often performed sudden drops and steep, near vertical, dives. He appeared to be a natural flyer though clearly inexperienced as he more than occasionally wavered in movements and got surprised by changes in wind patterns or thermal currents. His stunts also revealed he was clearly, to some degree, a thrill seeker.
Eventually he appeared to tire and began to descend back to the temple balcony. Ignitus followed him and landed with a few heavy beats of his wings. James was sitting there on his hunches examining one of his claws and looking rather pleased with himself and board at the same time.
"Impressive, you are certainly imaginative with your movements and you have the makings of an elite flyer in you, but you still have a lot to learn. Your knowledge on wind patterns and spotting thermals is clearly lacking." Ignitus explained.
A brief scowl crossed the boy's face before he composed himself. "Well, I'll have to fix that won't I? Speaking of such is there someone here who could help me decipher your alphabet? We shear a language but the markings we use where I come from are different to yours… dramatically so I might add." He stated stiffly, not yet completely comfortable with the older red dragon.
Ignitus thought about it for a moment. "Volteer would probably be better suited to the task then I… but before you wonder off to find him I was hoping we could talk."
Will cocked his head. "What about?"
"You. While you have not been here long it is only natural we still know little about you. However these are uncertain times and we must side with caution, I hope you understand when I say we need to know who those close to us are." He explained ominously.
Will nodded and began listing things out in a chirpy tone. "All too understandable. My favourite colours are green, yellow and blue in that order. My favourite foods are pizza, curry and spaghetti bolognaise though I can't stand yogurt, bananas or mushrooms… though I assure you the nearby forest causes me little distress. I enjoy… abstract sports, games of strategy, riddles, sending bullies thrice my size to hospital even if I end up joining them… Oh, chocolate, can't forget chocolate. I enjoy rock music though I'm partial to anything that sounds good. I find art largely boring as it has little perpose in my eyes, though occasionally I find something pleasing to look at. I fined the ideas of slavery, genocide, rape, dictatorships and powerful religious organisations abhorrent although I should mention that doesn't mean religion altogether, just as long as you keep it between yourself and those who actually want to hear it. Personally I say 'no gods or kings', my destiny is my own, although some events become inevitably unavoidable at some time before their happening. Also; don't take it personally but I tend not to trust authority figures even if they've gained my respect; it's an instinct and habit of sorts. Oh, and my first word was duck, my mother and farther never told me but I assume there was a volley of toys thrown every which way soon after."
Ignitus saw clearly that the boy was dodging the question. It was also obvious that he would get on with Volteer, the pair of them having a comparable ability to crank out unscrupulous amounts of what most perceived to be verbal garbage.
He sighed in mild frustration. "That is not exactly what I meant young one. I need to know where you come from… where your loyalties lie."
William's expression quickly turned to one of distaste. "I have also recently discovered I dislike being referred to as 'young one'. I have a name, please use it. As for my loyalties I will answer your question with another question; is that truly a fair thing to ask of not just a child but someone who still does not have the full picture of what is going on? Regarding my origins, that is not a subject I feel comfortable discussing, especially with someone I have only just met." He said sourly. "Now, if you will excuse me I have to see a dragon about some runes." He then turned and scampered off in search of Volteer.
For the first time in a while Ignitus truly did not know what to think. Yes the child was rude and insolent but he also had a point. How could he be expected to choose a side in a war he knew next to nothing about? He was intelligent and stubborn, a volatile combination for a child but not impossible to deal with. Realising he would have to be patient and wait to gain the young dragons trust he reserved his questions in the faith that they would be answered eventually. Still, he was a Guardian and he was sure that made him an 'authority figure' in James's book and by deduction it made the boy much more difficult to deal with as James had practically admitted himself. Still, he was sure the young dragon would come around to his point of view eventually; thinking on all that Cynder and her armies had done it was hard to imagine any reasonable person not doing so. He just hopped the boy turned out to be a reasonable person.
William felt a little bad about how he had snapped out at Ignitus… well, apart from the 'young one' bit. The only reason he did it was because he wanted to make him stop asking questions about his origins. He didn't take a hint when he tried to brush it aside with humour so he got more aggressive. Maybe it wasn't the best way to do so; the highly aggressive defence could just as easily arouse suspicion as it did deter questions from the more timed. It most certainly wasn't the best way to make friends with his host even if he had truly hit a sensitive spot.
His not too distant history…
His family…
'Still, no taking it back now.' He thought to himself.
He continued onwards. By the sounds of the things William had been and his brief encounter with the yellow dragon Volteer he was an intellectual, so logically he decided the first place to look for him would be the library. If he was lucky and Volteer was there it would save him from walking back and forth across the temple.
Luck, as it seemed, was on his side as Volteer was where he predicted; looking through books on numerous topics and murmuring to himself. Slowly William approached. "Um, excuse me?"
Volteer perked up. "Hum what? What? Oh! Young James; it's most delightful, delectable and jubilant to see you. Ignitus believed you would be coming to see me in my uh, domain of expertise." He said happily.
If William still had hairs, they would be standing on end right now. He hadn't told Ignitus he was interested in books, the fact he wanted to learn the language made it apparent he wanted to read something but he had only told the large red dragon a few minutes ago. The only conclusion was that ether Ignitus was spying on him the previous day or Spyro had told him. Ignitus's size made the former near impossible. He tried to suppress a pang of hurt at the young dragon's action; after all he seemed to be strongly affiliated with this group and Ignitus seemed to be some sort of mentor or farther figure to Spyro, but try as he may William could not help but feel a little betrayed. He didn't like people talking about him behind his back and spilling his desires and aspirations to the world, something he had been laughed at for too many times. It was a thing that had happened far too often when he was younger leading to him becoming a little paranoid. He decided to somehow slip his feelings on the mater subtly to Spyro later; he hated having a potential friend also be someone else's method for keeping tabs on him. However for some reason he felt he could still trust the dragon, he seemed familiar in a way… and those eyes, almost romantically deep, understanding and companionate. Whoever got his attention in the end would be a very lucky girl indeed.
'Well, dragoness.' He corrected himself. 'Which would still be a girl… wouldn't it?'
It suddenly dawned on him that he could be stuck here a very long time and the longer he stayed here the larger the chance of him 'going native' as the saying went.
"Um, James? You seem a little distracted and diverted. Something on your mind hum?" Volteer questioned.
William stiffened up a little from being pulled out of the proverbial clouds before relaxing again. "My apologies, a distracting thought caught me."
"Quite understandable, quite understandable. So, what brings you to my little, uh, domain?" Volteer inquired humorously.
"Well I'm afraid I am unable to read your script. It is quite different to what I am used to, despite us clearly using the same language, at least on some base level, we use dramatically different alphabets and perhaps even grammatical rules. I may be able to decipher it on my own with a little information but that would take a considerable amount of time." William explained.
Volteer cocked his head at the information. "You are versed in the art of decryption?" He asked, a little astonished.
"Well, only a few basic techniques I picked up… nothing serious but where I come from interception and decoding messages is our primary source of information gathering regarding… opponents, of all varieties." He admitted as modestly as possible. And it was true, in modern times many terrorist plots or attempts by other nations to screw the UK over had been foiled by intercepted messages allowing them to halt or even back fire such plans. They were also good with feeding out misinformation though that was another story.
Volteer seemed intrigued by the idea. "How intriguing, yes that would be a most valid and plausible tactic, much more subtle then spying or even eavesdropping though there must be some difficulty in acquiring said messages… but I divulge. Let us see if we cannot facilitate a transition between our alphabet and yours…" He proceeded to retrieve several sheets of parchment, a pair of quills and ink pots, placing them on a table the right height to be comfortable for Volteer lying down in front of it. It was also thicker, no doubt testament to a grown dragon's strength. William being considerably less then fully grown had to sit on his hunches. He was mildly intrigued by the, to him, antiquated righting instruments.
And so they began to match up the characters to each other through their sounds. Dragon script or Draconian, as Volteer named it, being composed of numerous scratch like marks had more characters then the English alphabet; covering all the ch and sh type sounds though used the same symbol for Y and I strangely enough. Soon enough they had it all nailed down and all that was left was for William to memorise it.
While William's pride caused him no end of grief and discomfort over the action Volteer stood by his side tentatively as he read through a number of simple scripts reading them aloud so Volteer could correct mistakes and point out grammatical rules that differed with that of English of which William made notes of.
It was just passed mid-day when William decided he was comfortable with reading the language, if not writing with it just yet. He could only read it half as fast as he could English but he knew in time he would speed up, the input of knowledge was more than enough to stave off the annoyance for him.
When he was done he gathered his notes and they packed away the materials. "Thank you for the assistance, I appreciate it. A lot." William said sincerely.
Volteer smiled warmly. "Think nothing of it my boy! It's part of my duty to pass on what I know to the next generation."
"Still, I must thank you anyway. You've given me a chance to help myself learn and progress, a chance to self-determinate. Thank you." He truly did appreciate the help.
Volteer beamed at the heart felt appreciation. "Why, it has been a while since…" He murmured quietly. "Well then, I'm glad you think so highly of me, literature was always Cyrils strong spot after all."
"Just… one more thing though. I was wondering if I could take a few books back to my room to read." He asked politely.
Volteer nodded. "I don't see why not, as long as you put them back when you're done. Was there anything specific you were looking for?"
Will shrugged. "Mainly background information. Local history, local dragons… flying. Useful things to know really."
"Ah, well then I have a few recommendations for you…"
Volteer began to walk around the room, occasionally picking up a book. Will used this opportunity to pick up a couple that might look suspicious if Volteer spotted the titles of. The yellow dragon came back with four books, Will had picked up two of his own; 'Storm Riding: Advanced Flying Techniques for Dragons' and 'A Guide to Dragon Health & Relations'. The six books plus his notes would be difficult to carry but not impossible as Volteer had also taken the time to retrieve a sling he could carry the books with. The only problem was it had to be carried in the mouth, a prospect more than a little distasteful to Will.
Before he left Volteer gave him a run down on the books. "First we have 'Prominent events and history of the Dragon Realms'. Not very in depth but it should give you a basic understanding of current events. Then there's 'Tall Plains to Avalar and other landmarks'. It should be enough to give you an idea on where you are and how to get where you want… probably shouldn't tell Ignitus I gave you that one, I think he wants to keep you here; his intentions are good and I recommend you do stay but… just in case."
This caught William off guard. 'Perhaps my simple act of thanks had more of an impact than I thought.'
"Here we have 'Flying and Flight for Dragons'. It has plenty of information on performing areal manoeuvers, identifying wind patterns and even a bit on aerial combat!" He said excitedly, though William was trying to resist rolling his eyes at the childish conveyance of the incentive. "Finally we have; 'Elements: a Basic Comprehension'. It doesn't have too much information on your own element but it contains the basics of every elemental ability we know of, yours included."
This perplexed William. "I'm sorry but… my element?"
"Of course my dear boy. Your element." Volteer mused. Then he caught wind of James's unsteady expiration. "You, don't know about you're element, do you?"
"Um… no." Carefully considering the look of astonishment he quickly concocted a half-truth to explain. "We don't rely on those types of abilities really… we more concentrate on engineering, craftsmanship, technical skills."
Volteer didn't look entirely convince but it would seem his curiosity got the better of him. "Really? How so? In what way? Do you know why?"
William found he was digging himself into a deeper pit and had to think fast to get out. "It's… a long story. Another time perhaps? Anyway, you said you knew what my element was?"
The inquisitive yellow dragon looked a little disappointed but continued none the less. "Well, the colouration of a dragon's scales usually indicates his natural element, though admittedly discrepancies aren't completely uncommon. For example; my primary colouration is yellow and of the element electricity. Ignitus is red and fire dragon. Since your primary colouration is white I am assuming you are of the element light, a very rear breed indeed."
That sparked William's interest more than anything else. "Light? That's… that's a rather flexible ability. I could do a lot with that…" The possibilities he could think of were rather broad depending on how deep this ability could tap into and that was without understanding light on the quantum scale.
Volteer nodded excitedly. "Yes, white dragons were known to do many strange and unusual things. Some could turn themselves invisible, others could create strange illusions and others could project it in concentrated beams that could burn as intensely as any fire. However you are unusual; most white dragons were exactly that, white. They had no other secondary colours and their eyes were of a reddish shade." He explained with some confusion.
The description sounded familiar to Will. "Albino…" He murmured as it clicked into place.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, albino. Well it's… it's a sort of birth defect I suppose. Creatures born 'albino' lack any pigmentation in their fur or skin making it ghostly white. The same goes for their eyes, the iris mussel has no pigmentation and so they have no colour, just the natural pinkie red of mussels." He explained as best he could.
"Ah yes! I've heard of such cases before, but you certainly don't appear to conform to it." He observed.
Will thought about it for a moment and then he remembered what had happened in Warfang. "Volteer, back in Warfang… I, I electrocuted an ape just before it could attack Spyro. With electricity."
This griped Volteer's attention. "Really? Are you sure? How odd. I will have to confer with my colleague Ignitus. This is a little unusual… though you do have some yellow colouration. Perhaps I will be instructing you further in the near future hum?"
That put a crick in Will's mood. Not so much the idea of Volteer teaching him but rather his conference with Ignitus. There was something about the fire dragon's suspicious attitude towards him that annoyed William, he knew he hadn't done anything to earn his trust but then had he really done anything to earn his suspicion either?
"Well… if that's all?"
"Yes, yes. I most enjoyed your company, very much indeed." Volteer exclaimed in his usual cheery manor.
"The pleasure was all mine." Will gave a quick nod of his head in thanks. Then picked up the sling full of books and began to return to his room.
Once he was there he began putting the browed books on the second shelf of the book shelf in his room and put the papers into a draw in the desk. Looking around at the room it still seemed to be rather bare. However before he could think of a way to rectify the problem his ponderings were interrupted by a knock on the door.
He proceeded to answer the door to find the familiar face of Ignitus, presumably here to ask him about what he spoke to Volteer about.
"I assume you're here about me shooting bolts of electricity." Will stated blandly.
Ignitus nodded. "Yes, in fact we would like to see what you can do. That is, if you don't mind giving as a demonstration."
Will thought about it for a moment and decided he didn't really have anything better to do right now. "Very well, lead the way."
This seemed to please Initus. "Good, good. This way."
They trekked through the halls at a pace William wasn't exactly comfortable with; too slow. Eventually they reached the large training hall. Volteer joined them soon after, there was just enough room for the two to observe.
The statue began to descend and William walked up to the edge to try and get a look of the mechanisms below but unfortunately could see little through the thick darkness below. He grunted in annoyance as the three segments covered the top of the hole.
This behaviour baffled the older dragons slightly but Ignitus pressed forward. "We shall start by assessing your combat abilities young James, before moving onto elemental abilities."
A training dummy materialised in the centre of the room. The object's appearance stunned William slightly, being of a scientific mind set the 'magic' here unsettled him greatly. What surprised him further was when the dummy began to circle him, wooden sword guarding his front.
Deciding on his tactic William charged strait forward as if to attack but stopped right in front of the bracing dummy. When he halted the dummy heisted for a moment but Will stayed still until the dummy began to swing at him. Will rolled to the side and lunged at the dummy's leg grabbing it with in his powerful jaws and pulling back hard sending the dummy tumbling onto its back. Will proceeded to jump onto the dummy pinning it and proceeded to rip at the fabric body sending the wool and sawdust stuffing flying. He, somewhat unnecessarily, finished it off by slashing at its wooden neck and yanking the head to one side breaking it away from the body.
Calmly Will stepped off the body of the now wrecked dummy and to his surprise its remains dematerialised in the same manor it appeared. He turned to face the pair of older dragons. He began to examine his claws giving a board appearance. He enjoyed acting the part of the cocky, arrogant but level headed bastard. It annoyed his teachers to no end and amused him highly even if he didn't believe half the things he was saying.
Ignitus nodded in approval. "Good, you do indeed have a good foundation for combat but your technique, while fearsome, is unrefined and awkward."
"Fearsome? That was downright ferocious!" Volteer hissed quietly to Ignitus.
Ignitus ignored him and cleared his throat. "As I said, it still needs some work so I recommend a little more practice. Now, let us see how you deal with multiple opponents." As soon as he spoke three more dummies appeared.
Now William was feeling a little uncomfortable. The dummies slowly moved to surround him but William decided to charge at the right most dummy to catch them off guard. The other two quickly moved to assist but were too late. Like before Will dodged an attack by rolling out of the way and then jumped onto the dummies back and ripped at its head with his claws, aiming for a quick kill. He jumped back and the dummy flailed around for a moment more before falling to the ground.
Unfortunately this put William in a difficult position, the other two dummies now had him with his back against the wall, close enough to each other to support the other if Will attacked.
He couldn't attack without taking a blow so he ran round the edge, narrowly missing a swing from one of the mock swords. Now in more open ground he spun around to face the two dummies once more. Then he noticed something, the barbed spike on the end of his tail. He grinned for a moment, thinking of what he could do with it. He made his choice.
He dashed at the two dummies and they predictably bought their guard up. He ducked between them and unfurled his wings shoving them to the sides. He spun to face one and jabbed backwards with his tail into the dummy behind him creating a gaping hole in the thing's chest. He then pounced the other, jabbing his tail forward under himself and into the chest of the second dummy, finishing it off with a slash of his claws. He heard a creaking noise and turned in time to see the first dummy lunge haphazardly at him with its sword. William again rolled to the side and backed off a little.
To be honest he was more than a little surprised the dummy was still standing, though admittedly it was staggering around due to the wound it had taken. Will waited patiently for it to make one last desperate attack, easily dogging it then jumping onto its now exposed front sending it crashing to the ground. He finished it off with a stamp of his hind leg to its head. Then calmly he approached the guardians, trying his best to conceal his heavy breathing through his nostrils. He refused to look undignified after only two rounds of combat.
"So, what is next? A challenge dear I ask?" William stated simply.
Ignitus furrowed his brow. "Do not be so quick to judge your enemies so. You may just underestimate them one day. Now, again." Three Dummies appeared again.
Despite his condescending attitude William was paying attention and knew that something would be different this time around even if it wasn't completely obvious at first. Of course his uncertainty as to how it had changed only lasted about half a second. All three dummies rushed him at once.
William was quick to dash to the left, out of the way but received a nick from the left dummy. It was nothing more than a distraction but it annoyed Will as it was the first time they had managed to touch him.
He turned ready to face them but they were already charging, not giving him time to think. He had to bolt again to avoid being pummelled by the wooden swords.
Thinking fast he moved so the dummies were lined up and jumped onto the one nearest forcing the other two to manoeuvre around their friend who was at present being mauled by Will. As soon as the dummy was down he moved away and not a moment too soon as a mock sword came down hard where he used to be. Not wasting the moment Will attacked the legs of the dummy sending it toppling but had to retreat before the other remaining one could get a hit in, though not without a large chunk of the first dummy's leg.
He bolted away to put some space between himself and the remaining dummies. When he stopped and turned to face them he couldn't help but smile in satisfaction at the limping dummy. The first of course was still rushing at him. The initial shock of this head on approach had worn off now and they were beginning to get predictable. This time he waited until the dummy was almost on top of him, then, when its sword began to swing down on him he darted between the things legs. He wasn't large enough to fit through the gap but that was half the point; he applied as much force to the task as possible casing the dummy to become unbalanced and fall forward over William, landing behind him. He wasted no time in whipping around and finishing the dummy off by jumping hard down on the things back, crushing the wooden frame inside.
He turned to face the last dummy who was hobbling towards him. He smirked and felt an pang of empathy for a cat playing with its pray. He began to circle the remaining dummy, just a little faster than it could turn to face him. Then he started to dash around it, forcing it to turn back the other way to keep him is sight. Will repeated this twice more but on the fourth time halted and jumped back just as the dummy whipped around keeping himself out of sight. Then, he pounced. The dummy didn't stand a chance and soon lay still on the sandy floor.
William picked himself up once more and walked back to the pair of Guardians. They looked reasonably satisfied with what he had accomplished. "Sneaky that, changing their behaviour." Will commented nonchalantly. "But still, not particularly difficult to deal with. Fun though."
"Hum, impressive, you have a clearer sense of how to adapt to a changing situation, an excellent accomplishment." Volteer complimented.
Ignitus on the other hand looked irritated. 'Perhaps disappointed?' Will pondered.
"Yes, very good. Now, again." Ignitus insisted much to Volteer's surprise.
Will turned around just in time to see five dummies appear, this time one of them was much larger and threatening. The two smaller ones to his left and right began to rush him.
As James began to battle the dummies once more Volteer leaned over to talk to Ignitus quietly. "Ignitus, what are you trying to accomplish here? He has already stated he has not had much in the way of combat experience, however unfathomable that is to believe right now, so why are you pushing him?"
"I am waiting for him to use his elemental abilities, so far he is holding back. He has not used flight to gain an advantage nor his elemental abilities. He's showing off." He stated a little distastefully as James finished dispatching the two dummies that rushed him.
William realised the trap that was set for him almost too late. While he was dealing with the first two, the second pair of dummies had circled round so he was now being charged from three directions. Not good.
Calming himself he did the first thing that came to mind, drilled into him by his farther. Attack the largest target, the 'leader'. While these were only dummies and so far appeared unaffected by fear or physiological attacks, even pain, when in real life the death of the biggest, strongest guy on their side would cause at least a little panic.
He waited for the large dummy to start swinging his weapon and then lunged strait for the arm holding the sword, clenching his teeth down hard on the thing's arm. This of course left his back open for attack which the dummy did indeed exploit, hitting him hard with his free hand. However William refused to let go without at least a chunk of the dummies arm despite the rather horrible taste of wool and saw dust entering his mouth. He began to flail his fore claws around, casing as much damage as he could. Eventually he had to let go, catching sight of the other two dummies approaching the fray cautiously. As fast as he could he slipped around back and climbed onto the things back and began to claw at it and stab at it with his tail. The larger dummy however was a lot harder to dispatch then his smaller companions and simply flailed around trying to dislodge William from its back. Finally Will managed to land a stab of his tail through the things throat 'killing' it.
It wavered for a moment before, fortunately, falling onto its front and much to William's pleasure one of the smaller dummies. He grinned as he raised a claw to strike the dummy but was interrupted by a sudden and rather painful impact to his back. Not wasting a moment he leaped forward away from the sores of the impact, pushing his back legs down on the trapped dummy hoping to cause at least some damage.
He spun around to see the remaining dummy tread over his fallen 'leader' to get to him. Will almost involuntarily growled at the dummy. He leaped into the air and dove down on his opponent shoving him to the ground. The dummy attempted to swing its sword at him but William was faster, pinning its arms with his own forelegs and digging in with his claws. He jabbed forward with his head, gripping the thing's 'neck' and twisted it sharply breaking it.
Calmly, but breathing heavily, he climbed off the dummy and strode towards the remaining trapped dummy who was struggling furiously. He held his tail spike above the things head and then did something unexpected. "Do you wish to surrender?" He asked almost mockingly, but the dummy paid no attention and simply continued to struggle. Will sighed and put on a satisfied smile. "I thought not." His tail spike plunged down into the dummy's head and turned back to the Guardians, still breathing relatively deeply.
Volteer seemed quite pleased. "Well done, well done indeed! Though you really should pay more attention to your surroundings; a blow like that could have been fatal… and you didn't really need to offer mercy to a thoughtless peace of training equipment…"
William shrugged. "If I do not show restraint and maintain composure in training how am I supposed to do so in real life?"
Volteer chuckled. "It would appear you are wise beyond your years."
Again William shrugged. "That and it's amusing to hear them beg for their lives… even if you do grant them mercy." That visibly unsettled Volteer. William smirked. "I teas of course."
That calmed Volteer's nerves though he still seemed unsure.
Ignitus on the other hand still seemed upset about something. "Again." He demanded.
William narrowed his eyes at the dragon briefly and turned to see seven dummies appear. Four were the small ones, two of them were the larger ones and the final one was the largest yet, at least twice the mass of the second largest ones.
He had little time to think as the four smaller ones charged at him. He immediately dashed to the right and began to skirt the edge of the training arena, dodging and weaving around the larger opponents as they tried to intercept him. He needed a plan and fast. He looked around franticly, looking for anything to give him an edge over his opponents. Then he spotted something that made him grin, true it was rather cliché but he had no time to think of something more original. He continued to circle his opponents, dodging and changing direction in an attempt to herd and lure them into the centre of the room.
When he thought he had them in as good a position as he could get them he leaped into the air, flapping his wings intensely to get to the top of the room. When he reached it he made his intentions clear when he landed on the large iron chandelier suspended there by a frayed rope. He slashed the rope with his claw and jumped back as quickly as he could. It dropped like so much dense metal to the dummies gathered below.
Two of the smaller ones survived, managing to get out of the way in time but William quickly dispatched them.
Then panting heavily he turned back to the Guardians, panting heavily this time. He felt more drained after the intense fighting then had ever felt before in his life. He turned and scowled at the Guardians briefly before straitening himself out and putting on a blank and stoic expiration. He was an Englishman after all; he had a reputation for a stiff upper lip to maintain.
The Guardians stood there gaping at the young dragon.
"Is that good enough to redeem myself for not paying enough attention to my surroundings?" He asked calmly, the sarcasm behind the comment well hidden.
"That… that, that was brilliant!" Volteer stuttered. "In all my years I have never seen such an innovative solution displayed by someone so early on in their training!"
Ignitus shot Volteer a disapproving look. He cleared his throat. "While you did find a rather… innovative solution to our situation it had rather… destructive side effects. Such outcomes are not always desirable."
William snorted. "Collateral damage! You're the one who insisted on pitting me against impossible odds."
"Then why didn't you use your elemental abilities to even the odds?" He questioned.
"My what?" William said in surprise before catching on. "You mean the lightning thing? Then why didn't you say so!"
"This was meant to be test of all your fighting abilities, not just your ability to cause chaos." Ignitus explained, his voice strained by stress.
"I thought you said this was to be an estimation of my physical combat abilities. Magic is about as far from physical as the words that come out of my mouth." In truth he remembered little of the sort being said but he was no stranger to bending the truth a little to win an argument when he was pissed off… or to save himself from embarrassment.
Ignitus hesitated for a moment. 'Did I say that? If I did…' He shrugged the thought off and turned his attention back to the boy in front off him.
"Let me guess; my next task is to clear up the mess? Well sorry, you're out of luck. And if that means I'm no longer welcome I'm sure someone else will be willing to give me what I want in exchange for a far more reasonable price. Who knows, maybe this Cynder fellow isn't as bad as you make him out to be, chances are you excaudate because he's your enemy." He marched past the Guardians, an air of contempt surrounding him.
Ignitus was more than a little stunned by the comment, even a little angered.
"Wait! What about your elemental abilities, we still have yet to see them!" Volteer called out disappointedly.
"You can consider the demonstration postponed, I have better things to do then smash your toys to pieces all day." He pouted as he disappeared around the corner. In truth he was simply too tired to continue right now.
A moment later after a brief silence Volteer turned to Ignitus. "I told you we should have just asked him." He said, devoid of malice or spite. To Volteer he was simply stating a fact.
Ignitus groaned in irritation, though admittedly more at his own failings then Volteer's strait forward statement. He simply walked to the pool of visions and lay down, calming himself and attempting to gain insight on Spyro's progress in Tall Plaines.
William collapsed onto his bed. He regretted snapping like that. He could be vicious with his words and at the same time maintain enough composure to add to the shock and seem far more serious than he actually was.
He groaned in annoyance at how his mussels ached and realised he also regretted forcing himself to calm down faster than he should have done after each fight and just to show off. He rolled his eyes at the thought of his own vanity.
He sighed and got up. The adrenalin was wearing off but his mind was still buzzing far too much to get any real rest. He quickly retrieved a book, the one on elemental abilities and took it back to his nest to read.
Not long after getting past the basic introduction he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He groaned again in irritation. "Enter… at your peril." He joked sourly.
It was Volteer. "You may be talented but I doubt you could match a Guardian just yet." He replied in good humour.
William raised an eye ridge. "Want to make that a bet?" He asked slyly.
Volteer shook his head, an amused expression. "No, most certainly not. I am afraid I am here to talk on other more serious matters… your little outburst primarily."
He sighed. "Physical exertion and demanding situations usually do that to me. It makes me irritable… and impatient."
"Clearly… but I must still ask if you were serious. Joining the dark army is nothing to joke about. I highly doubt it is what you would want… it is most likely you would be made a servant or common foot soldier." Volteer commented, his voice was heavy with concern.
"No… I was bluffing. Words can sting as easily as any other weapon. I was running on adrenalin at the time, stuck in an offensive mind set. I am sorry if I offended you… or scared you." William apologised calmly. He was tempted to lash out again, ask if Ignitus had sent him to subdue his temper but he held back. He was too annoyed, upset and groggy to be angry… if that made sense.
"Well, that certainly is a relieving fact to know."
"Still…" Will was thinking. "Is this Cynder really all that bad? Everyone has a story, a reason. I mean, he could have simply killed you before he left you at Dante's Freezer. What's his motivation?"
Volteer sighed. "I suppose you won't be satisfied until you get your answers but for some of it I will have to confer with Ignitus. The information is… sensitive."
Will rolled his eyes. It bought back memories of when he had asked his dad about the things he did at his job. "Don't worry, I'm more used to that answer then you'd think. What can you tell me?"
"Well we suspect Cynder was stolen as an egg and she was indoctrinated by the apes. They are cruel and vicious so I have little doubt torture was involved not to mention dark and forbidden forms of magic." He commented grimly.
"Wait, Cynder's a chick? And… a slave?" He said in grim realisation.
Volteer hesitated. "That term would not be… entirely inaccurate. And yes, she is a dragoness. Though I believe her enthralment is far more complicated then then simple slavery." He speculated.
William frowned. "If you are forced, coerced or manipulated into doing something you would not normally do on a regular, long term basis then by my definition you are a slave." He addressed firmly. "That includes dark magic, possession or anything else that may be used to control someone against their will." He truly did despise slavery.
Seeing the dark look in James's eye Volteer decided not to pursue the topic. "You don't seem to be getting on too well with Ignitus. I assure you he is a good person, I've known him almost all my life and I have never seen him act out against anyone without good reason. However you seem rather unsure of him."
The abrupt change of subject caught him by surprise for a moment. "I find him… unsettling. He's hiding things, not telling the whole story and pretending he is. I can take someone telling me I'm not allowed to know something for a reason but beating around the bush like that? It feels like he's trying to manipulate me."
Slowly James's point of view began to fall into place in Volteer's mind. "I see. I suppose I can understand where you are coming from. You have obviously travelled far to an unfamiliar land with new and perplexing rules. I suspect that where ever you come from the dangers you must be weary of are more subtle, you are used to dealing with tricksters and con artists over those who would attack you directly, no?" He deduced, a slight air of excitement in his voice.
William felt like he had been slapped in the face. "Yeah… how'd you work that out?" He asked in a dazed expression.
Volteer chuckled. "My dear boy, one does not become a Guardian without good cause for one to be so."
Will groaned inside his head. 'Okay, so maybe they are in charge for a good reason… still doesn't mean I trust them yet.' He thought to himself. "Yes, your right. Intelligence is far more important where I come from than physical prowess, though strength is most certainly not irrelevant."
"That is fortunate; while the strong cannot always become intelligent the intelligent have every chance to become strong. After what I saw you do in the training ground I have little doubt you will adapt and find your place here… you just need to be a little more patient." Volteer comforted.
William simply sat there for a moment, spaced out as he stared at nothing as he so often did. 'Find my place here? Should I even be here? I certainly didn't ask for this… but do I want it?' The questions scuttled through his head like so many little bugs. Eventual he came to a decision. "I think I will stay here for the foreseeable future… it's certainly the safest place I've been so far. However don't expect me to bend over to Ignitus's beck and call. I will not become someone's laky like Spyro has."
Volteer seemed a little disgruntled by the reply but also rather happy about it. "You have an odd way of seeing things but it is no real problem. For now I am simply relieved that you are choosing to stay, though even if the temple is one of the safest places to be right now it is by no means safe… just safer than anywhere else. So, now we have that settled how about we see what that allegedly electrical maw of yours can do, shall we?"
William hesitated. "Uh… no. Sorry but no. I'm still rather exhausted. How about later this evening?"
Volteer looked him over him for a moment. "Very well… but I will hold you to that! Now, I think I best attend to some of my duties. It has been an enlightening experience conversing with you. I most certainly enjoyed it."
William nodded. "As did I."
With that, Volteer nodded in return before leaving and William settled down back into his book. "Sort of." He muttered afterwards.
Volteer approached Ignitus who was still staring into the pool of visions.
"Any news on Spyro?" He asked.
"No, not so far." Ignitus sighed. "What of our guest? He is not too distressed I would hope?" He asked half-heartedly. He had not gotten off to a good start with the young dragon.
"He is upset but not terribly so. We haven't driven him off just yet." Volteer answered seriously.
He sighed again, deeply. "I just don't understand Volteer. It has been so many years since I have had to deal with children. When Spyro came along he was so agreeable and understanding. This James on the other hand… well, he's…" Ignitus felt he was at a loss of words to describe the youngling.
"Rude? Arrogant? Condescending? Vain? Prideful? Precocious? Stubborn? All of this and more? Humm?" Volteer listed off rapidly. He then chuckled at Ignitus's now irritated expression. "Yes stubborn, like another friend of mine when he was young. Remember he has travelled far for reasons I doubt even he himself knows or at least understands. He is as suspicious of us as you are of him. One of you will have to make a first step, break the ice so to speak."
Ignitus sighed. "Perhaps you are right… perhaps the events of the world have turned me senile early." He joked. "We have to make him, no, show him we are not a threat and that he is indeed on the right side of the fence. The question is how…"
"Well I have already gained some trust from him through teaching him to read our writings." Volteer suggested half-heartedly. "He seems to respond well to people assisting him in evening his odds, levelling the playing field."
Slowly an idea began to manifest in Ignitus's head. "Perhaps if… yes that might work…"
"What is it Ignitus?" Volteer asked feeling unsure of what his old friend was cooking up beneath his cranium.
"Since the boy won't take our word for it we'll just have to show him." Ignitus said determinedly. He walked back to the pool of visions leaving Volteer wondering what he meant. "Come, let me explain…"
Authors' notes: Apogees if this is a little late, the last half of this chapter didn't come quite as smoothly as the others, I even had to cut it off a little at the end.
My thanks to 'Cory ()' for pointing out the mistakes, they will be rectified soon. Further thanks to all the other reviewers for their support, it's always good to know when one is doing well. Oh, and also to 'Mekkor0101', a dragon in a top hat may very well make an appearance. Thanks for that, the idea made me laugh to!
It may be a little while before my next update as this story is being received so well and I want to get some more solid planning down on paper, I usually just get a general idea in my head and make the rest up as I go along. At least want to get some scaffolding up for this one.
Till next time then.