"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."

― Mae West

Chapter 4 The White Seraph

A loud cry of surprise followed by an even louder thump woke Glint up. At first he simply groaned and shut his eyes even tighter, trying to ignore what he heard. After he heard some more commotion outside he threw off his bed sheets. And pushed the door open, he walked all the way to the top of the stairs. The same place with his trap. He smiled mischievously as he saw a purple dragon laying on the floor, groaning. He looked dazed, slightly. When he saw the splattered remains of the egg from yesterday that made him smile. His attention wasn't of focused on Glint yet, heck, he didn't even know the white dragon was there.

Glint found himself trying as hard as he can, not to laugh. He twisted his expression a bit, trying to mold it into one of innocence before he got Spyro's attention. He suddenly replaced it with a blank one. He wondered how long he could keep up his act before Spyro concluded he set this prank up. "Are you okay Spyro?" He asked, a slight hint of concern was evident in his voice. Although he wasn't very worried, dragons were tough, falling down a short flight stairs wouldn't hurt.

Much.

"What do you think? I fell down a flight of stairs and now there's some egg on my head. I feel fine!" Spyro replied sarcastically as he stood up.

"And what would you do if found the perpetrator of this act?" Glint asked, remembering the lesson Aurea had given him in criminology. He still kept his blank expression, it was for the act, was it not?

"Hmmm, well, I would–say, what made you come to the conclusion that someone was involved with this? Not to mention the perpetrator could only be one dragon." Spyro said, narrowing his eyes at Glint as he drew closer to the conclusion.

"And who would that be?" Glint asked, rather innocently, ignoring the now present glare from Spyro. He watched as the purple dragon shook his head, clearing it of the egg, it splattered on the ground. He spoke up indignantly, although, the way he said it suggested he really wasn't angry.

"Glint. I'd suggest you run now. Because, I wouldn't like to be chased around by a certain purple dragon." There was slight hint of humor laced in his tone, though, it was cleverly hidden.

Glint eyes widened as he saw Spyro close the gap between them. Nevertheless, he laughed, finally doing what he wanted to do originally. The purple dragon flared his wings in anger as Glint took off running, "Catch me Spyro! Lets see how great purple dragons are!"

"Come back here!" Said Spyro as he pursued the white dragon. He had a hidden smile, one that Glint couldn't see. The two ran around the hallways for a while, Glint himself just realized how fast the purple dragon could be. He soon came across a window, outside was the gardens. He hopped out, using his wings to slow his descent by gliding down. He ran to a tree and hid behind it listening for sounds of movement. He heard a faint noise, that resembled someone landing. Glint peeked out of the corner, Spyro was standing there, moving his head around, trying to find the white dragon, he stopped right at his hiding spot. Glint froze, he needed to act fast, Spyro had ether saw him and was making his way as he thought. Or he could have just suspected he was there, but didn't really think he was there.

"Found you!" Spyro said as he ran towards Glint, who took off once again. He sprinted towards the front of temple. Passing through foliage, and jumping over objects. He heard wing beats, Spyro was pursuing him
through air. He soon spotted three dragons, Fynir, Cynder and Aurea. How convenient, he sped towards the three and hid behind them as low as he could. Moving cover, it wasn't very good for hiding since Spyro was probably still in the air.

"Uh, Glint what are doing?" Fynir asked as he watched the white dragon move along with them as low as he could. Trying to actively camouflage himself.

"Shhh, hiding."

"From what?" Cynder asked.

"Spyro, I kind of made him angry..."

Spyro saw Glint hiding behind the three dragons, he smirked and dived down towards Glint. The white dragon responded by running again, Spyro took pursuit. The three dragons watched as the two ran around in circles. Eyes following the purple and white blurs as they moved back and forth. "Spyro must have really been that angry to chase Glint like that," Fynir commented.

"Shouldn't we be doing something about it?" Aurea asked, she was worried someone could get hurt.

"Those two are running around like idiots," Cynder stated as her eyes followed Spyro, never losing track of him. She was amused by the two. "Oh wait... They are being idiots. I should break this up and give them a long lecture about being complete idiots." She wanted to 'face palm' in this case.

"If they are running around like idiots, then wouldn't that make us idiots for not doing anything about it?" Aurea mused, Fynir shook his head as he saw Glint jump over Spyro, who seemed surprised by his sudden acrobatic skill.

"So, what you're trying to say, is that: by standing here and watching them makes us idiots and they are idiots for chasing around each other for pointless reasons; wouldn't that make all of us idiots?" Fynir said, rubbing his temples as he felt more and more confused by where this conversation was going.

"I find it funny watching the two like this. Hopefully none of them won't get hurt." Cynder frowned upon that thought. She had ignored what Fynir concluded, as really? Who would put that much brainpower into that thought process?

Aurea suddenly looked embarrassed,"I-I, um... Just deny we ever had this conversation." She said, her voice went high from embarrassment, but still retained its softness. She tried to ease her embarrassment by staying silent.

"I give up, this is too confusing. Aurea don't do that again, your egghead magic is too strong," Fynir said jokingly. She lowered her head, even more embarrassed by his joke.

"Okay, I get your really persistent Spyro, but can't we settle this with some drinks and a nice talk?" Glint said running down the stairs and back up.

"Well that sounds good, the only problem is: Do you really think I'll agree to that?" Spyro asked, causing Glint to stop. The two faced each other and stared. Glint slowly smiled, widening his smile inch by inch as they continued to stare down. Spyro's expression showed no hint irritation, but rather...

Amusement?

"No, I don't," he replied as he took to the air. Spyro followed suit. He led the purple dragon to the temple roof. Stopping at the very top, Spyro flew straight at him preparing to tackle him out of the sky. Glint smiled, Spyro wasn't going to expect this. He flew towards Spyro, confusing him. He suddenly dived about under and made a swift loop around the purple dragon as he turned around. Glint disappeared in the clouds, leaving a dumbfounded Spyro and three shocked dragons.

He flew towards the same city district that he was in before. He landed at a courtyard, there was a fountain there and he walked towards it before peering deep into its reflective, bright blue-hued, water. Out of the reflection he could see his facial features. His eyes followed the large clouds that were passing by in the sky, slowly moving towards the sun to undoubtedly rid of its light temporarily.

"Isn't it wonderful? The clouds, they tell stories of their own sometimes." A frail, senile, voice emanated from behind. Glint turned around, slightly startled from the sudden voice. He found his gaze on an elderly dragon with grayish scales that had small vibrant hues of blue. His striking gray eyes made him easily recognizable by Glint. His horns were stubby and rather feeble by now. Although they retained a nice reflective shine.

"Hello, Elder Tarkish. I hope you've had a pleasant day yesterday," He said in a courteous manner as he smiled brightly.

"No need for the courtesy young dragon. Your help with the errands have already shown me a lot about you," Tarkish replied in his usual weakened voice.

"I'm sure you still have a lot to learn about me," Glint smirked. This elicited a chuckle from the older dragon.

"Indeed, I do. You never stop learning even when at this age." He stated, his eyes held a recollective gaze. One that rivaled the guardians. Tarkish was probably the eldest dragon alive, maybe old enough to know anything about Malefor when he wasn't evil. "I suppose your here for something else than small talk?" He asked.

"Yes actually, I–" Glint's stomach growled loudly. "Well... that explains it," he said almost sheepishly.

Tarkish smiled, "Ah, so you've come here for my offer?" Glint nodded mutely. The elder merely beckoned for him to follow. He led Glint through the densely populated inner-sections of the city. The white dragon actually never enjoyed being crowded, especially since it's his second time passing through large crowds. Some citizens who saw Glint stared as they noticed his scale color and what they meant. Though those who did were seniors, not the juniors that were abundant in this city. Soon enough they stopped by odd, quaint, house with a brown roof. It's structure was made out of logs, each evenly and carefully placed with unparalleled precision. There were four windows, each one had simple pane design.

When they went inside, the atmosphere changed to a nice, old-fashioned one. It was quite hard for Glint to describe it. There were three wooden chairs. In front of them was a fireplace, on top of the fireplace were two miniature wooden figures of dragons. Tarkish gestured to one of the chairs, Glint obliged and sat down. "Let me inform you about your meal first. It's one unique piece." The white dragon leaned his head forwards, curious about what the elder dragon has to say. "Now, the meal you are going to granted is from an Arctic Honed Deer. This is not your regular deer. They are much larger than their counterparts here, but what really makes them stand out is their antlers. Really sharp, enough to pierce a dragon's scales and quite possibly kill them. Combined with their intelligence, it makes them a hard prey. Albeit a worthy prey."

"Is there a difference a taste?" That had to be Glint's first question.

Tarkish smiled at his question, an odd question to start with, but amusing nevertheless. "A big difference youngling. My grandson hunted one of them during the war, during one his arctic missions, brought a piece of its flesh back for me."

"Why offer me the meat though? I can't eat that, now that I know the rarity of the meat."

"Because Glint, you've helped a lot yesterday. It is only just."

"I suppose..." The white dragon replied reluctantly. Noticing the white dragon's reluctance, Tarkish added another reason.

"I've ate the meat before, if that's what your concerned about. So it would be best to extend the generosity to you."

With no other reason to object, Glint finally agreed to eat. As Tarkish brought out the already cooked meal, Glint was prepared to hear more about this deer and his grandsons arctic expeditions.

Spyro walked down the small corridor, his tail waving around anxiously. The Guardians had called for him and Cynder, but he couldn't find Cynder and had no idea where she was. So he decided it be best to just go alone to see what the Guardians wanted. Maybe it had something to do with the missing role of the Fire Guardian? Ignitus... He still felt a piece of himself missing since his death at the Belt of Fire. Ignitus was a like a father to him and held Spyro's respect even now. Feeling a sense of sadness, he slowed his pace, contemplating about those events. If it was because of that, then whoever the successor of Ignitus be, he or she would have to be darn good one. Upon exiting the corridor he made a turn to the right and opened the large chamber room doors.

"Greetings young Spyro!" The familiar voice of Volteer rung out. "Where is Cynder?"

"I don't know." Spyro could see only two of the three guardians. Where was Terrador? "Where ever Cynder is, I'll–"

"You'll inform her what we are about to tell the both of you when you see her." Cyril said, stating exactly what the purple dragon planned to do afterwards. In slight surprise, Spyro merely nodded. "Spyro, I'm afraid you're getting too predictable in your actions. Do something to surprise me next time, will you?"

"Lets get straight to the point!" Volteer said swiftly, snapping his claws, "Spyro, with our increasing busy schedule, we'd thought it be best to employ the two of you with some errands. You and Cynder will receive your first task in this packet," he handed the packet to Spyro as he took in a breath. The purple dragon took ahold of the packet delicately. "Questions?"

"Two. Where is Terrador and how long will we be doing this?" Spyro asked, his eyes peered around the room, as if he thought the Earth Guardian was hidden.

"Terrador is currently occupied with some military exercises that he going over with our meager army. You can expect these errands, to continue for an unspecified amount of time. Even we do not know when things will ease up." Cyril replied, he glanced at Volteer briefly who nodded.

"Remain optimistic Spyro, it's about time the two of you stopped being a bit indolent," Volteer then waved his paw dismissively, telling the purple dragon it was time for him to go. Spyro complied and immediately set off to find Cynder.

"Thanks for helping Cynder, I don't think I can do this all by myself," a golden scaled dragoness said, smiling as she landed on a grassy field. She waited for the black dragoness who was previously next to her to land. The clear day along with calm winds, the atmospheric singsong chirping of birds, all of that made this day into tranquil one. And nothing could change the atmosphere of the valley now.

"It's not a problem Aurea, I've haven't been to Avalar for a while, especially the valley," Cynder replied. The two dragonesses were close friends, ever since they met. Aurea didn't shy from Cynder because of that, in fact, she was quite open to her. Spyro, she was comfortable with too. It was just with newcomers, or strangers, she had hard times preventing her self from being timid. "What are we looking for again?"

"The Mercliosa byseph. A small flower, with a magenta center, the pedals are colored a light shade of violet. It's been noted to contain simple healing properties. Obviously not as potent as red gems."

"You always give out more information than needed," Cynder stated, frowning, she kept her gaze out on the fields.

"Some excess information can be helpful," Aurea replied, preparing for
their search. She gently laid down a bag she brought to contain the flowers and took out a piece of cloth before attaching it to a long metallic rod. She gently placed on the ground and made sure it stuck up all right before picking up the bag. She neatly placed it around her waist.

"Same marker for rendezvous huh?" Cynder asked curiously, a similar bag was around her waist too.

"It's been the same since we've started doing this," Aurea replied simply.

"Never changes?"

"Probably never will."

With that the two dragonesses separated. The Valley of Avalar had hardly changed during the time Spyro was reconstructing the world, piece by piece. The lush grassy fields which the wind gently blew on and roaring of the river nearby was still present. They had hardly changed in their relative pre-war geographical location. This remained to be true for other notable landmarks. Generally, the shift in locations for Avalar, Warfang, etc... Had hardly changed. Cynder was the first to find one of the flowers that Aurea seeked. It was cleverly hidden beside a small patch of flowers that looked almost identical to the Mercliosa. She padded over to the patch and gently plucked the flower out before placing it in her bag. "One out of two to go..." She said to herself.

Cynder lifted her up as she heard movement from the forest nearby, more specifically, the bush right next to a large cluster of trees. She hardened her gaze on that area, ready to defend herself from potential threats. Her body tense with anxiety as experience from the war taught her a lot about the possibilities of ambushes. The bush rustled for a bit, causing her to inch away slowly. She stopped after the rustling had calmed. Cynder tried to hear for any more movement.

Silence.

She didn't dismiss the possibility of danger yet, but relaxed her stance and kept one eye focused on the area. She continued her search at a normal pace, hopefully deceiving whoever was watching her that she had dismissed the possible threat. The only thing that could possibly harm her that could burst of out of the bush was a predator. There were, of course, some species of predators actually hunted dragons despite their relative strength and overall power. Hopefully Aurea wasn't experiencing anything like this right now.

Upon spotting another flower after a few moments she leisurely trotted over to the flower. Prepared to yank it out, she stopped in mid-action as something came out if that bush. Cynder quickly whirled around and growled threateningly. She stopped when she found herself looking at a rabbit, who simply nibbled on something whilst staring at her calmly. Cynder let out a hearty laugh, she overreacted for this rabbit?

A bit stupid if you thought about it, but better safe then sorry she supposed. Her laugh slowly died down to a small giggle before it ended with a low sigh. Cynder turned around without another thought and picked up the flower before making her way back to the rendezvous. Eager to tell Aurea about the minor event.

Aurea had already found the first flower, but was having slight trouble finding the second, she spotted a purple blur briefly, zipping by before it suddenly landed right on the river in front of her, splashing water all over the place. She hardly had time to put her wing to avoid being soaked. "Spyro? What are doing here?" Aurea asked as she saw the purple dragon's sheepish grin as water droplets fell over him and her wing; which was completely soaked.

"Sorry about that, I have to talk to Cynder," he replied as Aurea folded her wing. He gave her apologetic expression as Aurea examined herself.

"It's alright. Cynder is on the other side, if she's done with her task. Then she should be by that large tree over there. It has a marker, you can't miss it."

Spyro nodded before readying his wings once again, but he stopped and stepped out of the water, remembering that he kind of soaked Aurea. Once out of the water he ran towards the tree. "Might as well get some exercise," he murmured.

Aurea watched as he ran up to the tree and was immediately tackled by Cynder who was watching him from a hidden position. They rolled down the grassy fields, both laughing with great volume. Aurea smiled, happy for their happiness. She returned her attention to the area around her. The water that Spyro splashed had found itself on everything. She saw a flower that didn't seem to be present earlier. In fact, it was hidden by some grass. The bonus was that it was the flower she was looking for. Aurea gently pulled the flower out and placed it her bag. She turned around and began walking towards the rendezvous, where the purple dragon and black dragoness were.

"Okay Spyro, I know your not here to say 'hi'," Cynder said in between laughs, before she slowly got off the grinning purple dragon, stepping off to his left. He got up a moment after and stretched for a small moment before rotating his head towards the smiling black dragoness. "So what are you really doing here?"

"Here, take a look at this," he said, bringing out an already opened packet. Cynder took it silently curious about the packet when she first saw it. She pulled out piece of paper that was labeled with her name in a sophisticated handwriting. Probably Volteers. She skimmed the paper before lifting her head to face Spyro.

"Looks like the both of us aren't going to slack anymore."

"Heh, what's your assignment? I've got to collect some gems around the mountains here."

"Something with the moles. Hold on," Cynder read the paper thoroughly this time. "Alright, doesn't seem so bad. Might be a bit boring. I've got to help the moles with manufacturing a weapon. Lets pray to the ancestors there's going to be no malfunctions or a misfire," she said with an unenthusiastic tone.

"Sounds more interesting to me," Spyro commented.

"Of course, you boys and things that go 'Boom!'" She sighed, turning her slightly. "Aurea, you don't have to stand there. It's nothing that you can't eavesdrop on, now stop being a polite dragoness and come here."

"I wasn't eavesdropping. I was waiting for you two to finish," she replied, defending herself as she came closer to the other two dragons.

"Cynder is just teasing you Aurea. I thought you would know that," Spyro said in his usual friendly tone. "What are two doing here anyway?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Collecting flowers, Aurea wants to study them," Cynder said as she handed one of the flowers over to Aurea, who took it and placed it her in bag. "Here Spyro, why don't you smell it? I haven't bothered to." The purple dragon leaned his head forwards and took in a quick sniff before jumping back, he covered his nose as he let out a disgusted yell that was slightly higher pitch then normal. Cynder laughed at his mishap, she honestly never thought it would smell bad. Aurea simply giggled lightly.

"Nasty!" he said as placed his head next another patch of flowers that certainly smelled better. They could only see his body and tail in his rather comical position.

"I forgot to mention these flowers have a horrendous scent. That's the only negative aspect," Aurea said in apologetic tone, she slightly angled her head downwards, as if she was hoping to avoid a scolding from Cynder, or possibly Spyro.

"Should have told me that," Cynder remarked turning her head towards the electricity dragoness, her emerald eyes glistened.

"I thought you were the one who said 'You always give more information then needed.'" Aurea shot back, she knew what Cynder said earlier would come back to become a weapon of words.

"True," she said thoughtfully, lashing her tail about. She wished days were more similar to this, always lighthearted and carefree. She wordlessly handed the flower to Aurea who placed it in the bag before returning her attention to Spyro.

Aurea began walking to the tree itself, she craned he head back towards Cynder and Spyro. "Spyro's ability to smell is going to be disoriented for at least a day," she picked up the marker, removing the cloth before she placed the rod back in and folded the cloth neatly before she put that in too.

"Are you kidding me!?" Spyro yelled, popping this head out, with an incredulous expression. Cynder let out another booming laugh which didn't help with Spyro's sense of disbelief. Aurea didn't respond as she took flight back towards the Warfang.

"From your expression, I can tell you've enjoyed the meal." Tarkish said, a smile growing on his features as he gazed upon the now satisfied dragon before him.

Glint nodded, the satisfied expression on his face was still present. Along side his meal, he asked for a tale of Tarkishs' grandson's journeys in the arctic. He found himself enjoying every little tale that Tarkish had to share. The elder dragon had already earned Glint's respect, now Glint would be eager to come back for more tales with no doubt.

"Young dragon, you should take a walk around the district. See what the people say. I trust that it will be flattering to you," Tarkish suggested.

Puzzled, the white dragon gave the elder dragon a look of question. Who merely gestured to the door with his tail. He seemed to be saying 'Go outside, and you'll know what I mean.'

Not seeing any reason to object the white dragon politely nodded and departed. As he strode out towards the streets that were constantly being shadowed by the clouds. Obstructing any sunlight and making the rather hot day a bit more cooler. Glint just walked without destination, randomly turning and stopping, trying to see what the old dragon was implying. He stopped at a large building made out of marble, smoke billowing out of the top of the chimney. Sounds of metal being beaten made its way to his ears. He stared at the building, curious. He wanted see if he could come inside and therefore looked around for any signs permitting entrance it the building.

There were none. He eventually decided to knock. Walking over to the door, he lifted his paw and gently knocked. Only loud enough to be heard. The sounds didn't cease, but it did lessen. Suddenly the door swung open, revealing a very familiar earth dragoness with protective eye covering. Her eyes widened when she recognized the dragon before her. "Glint? What in ancestors name are you doing here and how did you find this place?" She extended a single claw and poked him the chest, whilst giving him a cold stare.

"I feel very welcomed, thanks," Glint replied, ignoring her stare, while waving his paw dismissively. She still had that look... "Alright. Fine. Ruin my fun, I was checking this place out and I found this place randomly. Honest."

Sarin stare relaxed as she nodded before smiling. "I thought so," she murmured as she let the white dragon inside the building. "I was just messing with you if you didn't know."

"I figured as much," replied the white dragon. He watched was the green dragoness closed the door before turning her attention at the Glint who stared back with relaxed expression, even his body language showed he was completely calm and relaxed.

He was tranquil.

"Your one odd dragon you know?" Was Sarin's only statement to his manner.

"'Tis best to be odd, otherwise you won't stand out milady'" he replied with an sophisticated-like accent. Sarin shook her head as she chuckled as his humor act.

"Okay, enough horsing around. I let you in my establishment of smithing. I think it's time for you to get serious now," she said as grabbed a tool to pick up a piece of heated metal from an anvil before dipping it into water briefly and pulling it out. Glint kept his expression but he reverted his voice back to normal. He wasn't quite sure what 'horsing around' meant, but he could guess.

"Again, ruining my fun here Sarin."

"Shut up. I see–"

"Master Sarin? Who are you talking to?" The green dragoness sighed as younger dragon with grayish white scales and stormy grey eyes popped his head out. His eyes focused on Sarin. He sounded a bit younger than the two dragons who glanced at each other. Glint raised a brow, asking for an explanation silently. Sarin shot Glint a quick glare before replying.

"A friend."

"Oh, okay."

"Name? Element?" Glint asked immediately, he sticked three claws out in front of Sarin's face as he said the last word. "Occupation?"

"Zeth, Wind, he's my apprentice numnut," she replied, pushing his claws away.

"Really? You? An apprentice?" Glint scoffed, "that's hard to believe 'Rin," he added a small smirk along.

Sarin placed the heated metal back on the anvil, letting it rest. At the same time Glint figured out what it was supposed to be. A decorative statute or figure of something. "I found others find it easy to believe," Sarin said as she stopped what she was doing. "Well, since your here, I might as well show you around. Unless, you have an objection?"

The white dragon shook his head.

"Good. Zeth, I need you to come here please."

The same grey dragon appeared from a corner, walking towards the two dragons with a nervous expression. The young dragon had slight difficulty when it came to speaking with his mentor. Upon reaching the two, he stopped, gulping as Sarin laid scrutinizing eyes on him. His eyes briefly darted to Glint, who posed to speak for the young dragon. "I think your making him nervous."

Sarin seemingly ignored his comment, keeping her gaze at the wind dragon. She responded to Glint after a minute. "I know. Zeth, you need to relax. It's not like I kicked your butt or anything," with that, she added a small smile to help calm the trembling wind dragon.

He nodded before taking a deep breath. "What is it that you require Master?" His eyes met the dragonesses green ones.

Sarin nodded, glad he was calm. "I'd like you to give my friend here a tour of the smithy," she said, giving Glint an ominous look that caught him off guard. He stuck his tongue out childishly in response before reeling it back in as he saw Zeth's eyes change direction. Sarin snickered silently at his behavior.

"Yes ma'am," replied Zeth, he pretended to be unaware of the petty conflict between the two. The green dragoness nodded. She disappeared as she went opened a door and went inside. He saw Glint smile as he motioned for the light dragon to follow. They went straight towards the middle before stopping.

"So, Zeth, as you might know I'm–"

"The White Seraph," Zeth said, cutting him off. "That's what some locals are starting to call you from what I've heard."

"I didn't know. But call me Glint, its my name." So that's what Tarkish meant. He thought.

"Okay, well. Here's the foundation of our work zone, there are two anvils, each coupled with their own respective forges. We have tools here on these wooden tables by the anvils. Do you know how black smithing works?"

"Yeah," Glint could recall a brief explanation from Aurea from the day before when he asked out of curiosity.

"Oh good, I was hoping you'd know." The wind dragon lead Glint towards a large room, it was filled with many crates. "Here's our storage area, food, tools, materials, all of that is stored in here."

"You live here?"

"My parents sent me here, as I requested. I miss them though." He replied with a distant expression, but unexpectedly, he gave Glint a big grin. "I aspire to be a great smith one day! Perhaps better than my mentor," he stated cheerfully. Completely out of the blue.

"Sarin's works are famous?" Glint asked, surprised.

"Yeah, her works are famous for their intricate and beautiful designs, especially around the neighboring villages," he had a dreamy glint in his eye.

"Hmm, well... You've mentioned your parents, how exactly did you get to be an apprentice of a renowned smith?"

"My grandfather, he's friends with her and he apparently convinced her to take me under her wing," He said casually. Something seemed odd, now that Zeth mentioned his grandfather. He had a perfect mental picture of Tarkish in his head, and when compared to the young dragon, he could see some similarities.

"Is your grandfather... Tarkish? By any chance?" Glint asked nonchalantly, he had to confirm his suspicion.

Zeth seemed surprised for a moment, he formed a couple of words before falling silent. He blinked and looked around briefly, "How did you know?"

"I've met him, helped him with some stuff. Uh, he mentioned about a son, but no grandsons. I just had some loose strings and a wild guess." Glint shrugged, he couldn't say more.

"Oh, Da always mentioned grandfather, he seems fond of him."

"I can see why."

"Come on, I'll show you my room!" The grey dragon exited the room with a breeze and rushed up a set of stairs. Glint followed slowly, taking his time to observe the area around him. Within moments he reached the room and was greeted by a small tickling breeze. He raised his brow as he saw the wind dragon move the breeze with his paw, he then closed his paw, forming a fist. And the breeze he felt, it disappeared at the same time.

The room itself was small, not cramped though. There was a bed to the right corner, with a nightstand to its left. On top of that was a journal, a bottle of ink that appeared to be used recently. The room had small sculptures that hung on the walls. Each sculpture had no similarities in terms of appearance, some looked amateur-made and some looked more professional, they appeared to be hung in most recent to oldest.

"Nice room, you made all of these?" Glint pointed to the nearest sculpture.

"Yep! All made with pride despite the flaws!" Zeth replied ecstatically, he seemed like one that was always willing to improve, despite all odds. Something Glint could admire.

"Cheery aren't you?"

"That's what my mum and da say!"

"That's odd, how come you're so nervous around Sarin?"

"It's a no-brainer, Glint. It's because of her status, she's renowned!" He jumped up flapping his wings once, everything shook gently as he landed in front of Glint. "And she's a bit intimidating," he added, "don't tell her I said that though..."

"I won't..."

"This is Crazy! Out of all the training we did, this one has to be the worst. Officially!" Salk shouted as sprinted towards Warfang's walls, he shuddered as he saw a cannonball fly by his side. Alongside him was Opji and the rest of his battalion. Cannonballs flew by the first ranks, all ether narrowly missing or completely. The booms that would signal a shot fired repeated and repeated incessantly.

"Oh relax, these might be real cannonballs, but I know for a fact they are purposely trying to miss." Opji, replied calmly, he watched as Salk face palmed clumsily as he was running whilst doing so. Salk gave his equal a stunned look after that. Another cannonball whistled by the two hitting the ground behind them, it crackled and boomed as it bounced on the ground before rolling to a complete stop meters away from them.

"How do you know all of this!" He shot him an incredulous look.

"If you've bothered speaking to the Captain, then I'm sure you'd know," replied Opji as he rolled his eyes.

"Ceasefire!" A booming baritone voice emanated from the walls, it echoed loudly around the area, never losing its volume. The suddenly halt of booms from the cannons became apparent fast, it ended with a long silence before the Earth Guardian Terrador, could be seen overlooking the now winded soldiers from the wall broke that silence. "3rd Spearhead Battalion, you've successfully completed your exercise! You may return to your quarters."

"Master Terrador, was this exercise necessary?" Currahee asked, he watched as the troops scattered into one bulging mass of winded dragons, they slowly entered the city and back towards their barracks.

"It is, our troops must always be ready for war. We are weak right now, any potential threats may seek to conquer us. Status report on our units Captain?"

"We have one battalion of dragons, 2 diverse platoons consisting of evenly placed dragons and moles. In total, our effective military strength is meager, as we only have 400 something total military personnel. All are ready for assignments sir."

"Is our manpower is still a problem?"

Currahee nodded, "We only have a thousand or two moles left, along with a rounded 700 dragons left. I'm afraid any ambitious power-hungry neighbors could easily defeat us in battle through conventional engagement."

"Have we established diplomatic relations with nearby settlements?"

"Yes, in fact, we know there are four villages around Warfang, all of which has been integrated within our borders. There is one city-state from the far arctic north, so far, they wish to remain independent."

"The Council is one who deals with situations like this. Lets hope they deal with this wisely. Captain Currahee, I trust you'll keep our troops fit," Terrador said.

"Yes sir, I will."

"Good, I have to attend to more pressing matters," the guardian left without another word as Currahee made a quick salute before continuing his duties.

"So Spyro, why did you choose me to this again?" Fynir asked, the two are traversing by the mountains. Scars of desolation left by the war remained untouched and were evident around here.

"Because Fynir, I need another dragon who can use fire and your that dragon," replied Spyro, he stopped when they caught sight of some crystals, more specifically, red and green ones. Fynir watched as Spyro walked up to the crystals, he went into an aggressive stance and swung his tail at the crystals with great force. They snapped and when the pieces hit the ground, they broke into small bits. Fynir looked around for more crystals as Spyro did his work. He found his gaze to the near woods. His eyes caught sight of a pair of eyes looking back at him. The red dragon blinked in surprise, when he opened his eyes, those eyes, whoever was watching disappeared. He was left wondering whether it was simply nothing or something that concerns him.

Fynir found another batch close by and by himself, broke the crystals and placed them near the rendezvous area. He heard Spyro call out his name, the dragon looked towards the grey clouds that were massing overhead. They all seemed to be heading forwards the general direction of Warfang, the sun that once illuminated the dense, lush, forest below the mountainside he was standing on was gone. Now darkness enveloped the same forest below, creating an ominous feeling within Fynir's gut. He never really liked that feeling, but he chose to ignore it. Confident there was going to be no trouble as he continued to Spyro.

The purple dragon was standing by a large gaping hole to his left. It was a cave entrance. Inside, there was many specks of green, blue, and red. Everyone of those specks were glowing brightly, and were leaving behind a strong concentration of energy. "Okay, now you see why I've asked you to accompany me?" Fynir nodded, speechless as the purple lightly nudged him, "Come on, you know how to make a fire orb right?" Again, Fynir nodded, Spyro wasn't concerned with his silence, he instead formed a small bright orb of flames with paws. He released it and it began orbiting the purple dragon like a celestial moon that granted them light in this dark cave. Spyro was the planet, and his moon was the flaming orb.

Fynir copied the purple dragons technique, it was a simple illumination trick that all fire dragons learn. He made sure his orbited around him too before focusing on the cave. Spyro entered without a word and became hardly visible, only his purple scales and the orb illuminating his scales was present. Fynir followed Spyro, uneasy as it was too dark. The two stop at various places with gems, breaking them and storing them inside their bags.

The red dragon never really let his guard down, so did Spyro, who feigned unawareness. "Spyro. The Savior of the Realms. I've found you here, separated by those who could protect you." A voice emanated from nowhere. There was a sudden drop of temperature as Fynir saw a dark dragon with red eyes covered with a misty smoke, drop from above him. It grabbed the red dragon by the throat before he could react and held him with a firm grip. Spyro suddenly appeared, rushing the hostile dragon. It saw this and... smirked? The dragon suddenly disappeared within the darkness and moments later, the purple dragon was immediately knocked over with Fynir's unconscious body. They rolled off into a puddle of water, extinguishing the flaming orbs that once orbited both dragons.

Spyro saw the dragon run towards him claws extended and ready rip the flesh from him. Spyro had realized the dragon had chosen the perfect location to strike, this cave had hardly any visibility and the only things that naturally illuminated the area was the gems that glowed so brightly. It certainly played its card well. He wasted no further time musing about the threat that was closing in, the purple dragon charged at his opponent. Claws extend and tinted with the heat of his fire, the area around him suddenly let up as his claws made contact with the shade's, it hissed and swung its tail at Spyro, who simply parried it with his own before rolled backwards to gain space. The shade simply disappeared and materialized a few feet back. "The death of Malefor shall not go unpunished!"

Spryo didn't see it coming as he was suddenly hit by a burning sensation before flying backwards, he let out gasp as he hit a wall behind him. Pain screamed all over his chest, he saw the dragon stand in front of him. It raised its tail, poised to finish the purple dragon. Instead it lowered its tailed and hissed before disappearing. Spyro slowly breathed in and out, unable to grasp why it stopped.

His eyes landed on Fynir, who was still unconscious. He ran over to him and gently picked the red dragon up. Ignoring the pain on his chest he also picked up a bag of gems, he didn't if Fynir sustained any wounds. But... he broke two red gems he got out of the bag. One for himself and one for Fynir. Spyro looked out the entrance of the cave and slowly made his way there.

"Glint, I just wanted to thank you for coming. It's nice to have study buddy for once," Aurea said as she began placing everything away, cleaning up for tomorrow. Her eyes met the white dragons brown ones, he simply smiled before responding.

"It's been a pleasure, I think I'm beginning to enjoy these sessions more and more." He went over to the yellow dragoness before helping her. She gave him a nod of thanks before returning her attention to her own work.

"I–"

"Glint! Aurea! I require your presence in the first floor!" Volteer's voice came out of the floors below them. The two dragons complied immediately they walked downstairs quietly chatting until they were greeted by the electricity guardian.

"What is it uncle?" Aurea asked.

Volteer gave the two a grim look, "I have to inform you that Spyro and Fynir were attacked whilst outside the city" Before ether of the two dragons could speak he continued. "Do not worry, both are fine, the only thing that concerns me is the one who attacked them in the first place. I'm afraid the two of you can't leave the city for your own safety, at least until we can rid of the problem."

Glint looked at Aurea who stared at Volteer, eyes wide with slight fear. He gave the dragoness a reassuring rub with his shoulder, surprising Aurea but she accepted it regardless. Volteer dismissed the two, silently trying to comprehend the two's relationship status for a moment, before returning his attention to more important matters.

As the two dragons made their way to find the locations of their friends. They all had worries plaguing their minds. Soon enough they ran into Cynder who seemed to be covered in soot, although it was hard to tell considering she had black scales. "Cynder, I'm assuming you've heard?"
Aurea said meekly.

The dragoness nodded slowly, a great deal of concern was written over her emerald eyes. She feared for Spyro. "Both dragons are at the infirmary. That's what I've been told."

"Come on! Lets go!" Glint said, he didn't want to delay any further. They continued towards the infirmary and stopped once reaching there. Cyril was already tending to the two dragons, along with a couple of moles. He noticed the there's presence, but didn't turn his head. As he was focused on the two unconscious dragons.

"Master Cyril? What happened?" Cynder asked, she went over to Spyro, Glint, respectively went to Fynir and stared his paw. Contemplating something. Aurea just stood in-between the two dragons, she found it hard to look at Spyro, she turned her head away towards Fynir and Glint. Who gave her a reassuring smile upon noticing her disturbed expression.

"The two were attacked by an unknown hostile, Spyro arrived at the front gates before passing out. I could only guess..."

"We could hypothesize Master Cyril..." Aurea kept her head down as she continued. "What if they were attacked by a corrupted being? Look at Spyro, there is a tell-tale sign of wounding by an adversary from the darkness." They all focused on Spyro's chest, there was an odd burn mark, black as night, it was hard to determine what exactly Aurea meant.

"An astute observation Aurea, I-wait, that's not a normal burn mark..." Spyro suddenly began thrashing, throwing his paws around, mumbling about something indistinguishable, everyone backed off as the moles rushed in to prevent him from harming himself.

"You see? Whoever attacked him gave him a dose of corruption. It will not only encourage corruption and darkness inside of him, possibly turning him into mindless proxy. But he could also be killed..." Aurea said in fear, she shifted uncomfortably.

"Spyro, what have you gotten yourself into?" Cynder whispered to herself.

"I want to examine them." Glint said suddenly, causing everyone to turn their heads towards him, all asked for an explanation for his sudden outburst.

"Why young dragon? I know your element is rare and valued, but what good can it do here?" The guardian said, casting a dubious glance upon the white dragon.

"Just let me... Master Cyril, I implore you," he said rather desperately, his pleading eyes bore into the Ice Guardian. Who sighed.

"Very well. Do what you will." He turned to the other dragons, "I'd suggest you all leave him alone. I think he'll need the privacy." Cyril nodded at the moles who were tending the two dragons, they left the room without a word spoken.

Glint watched as the two dragonesses slowly left his field of view. Aurea murmured a quick good luck to him. He looked at Fynir and walked over to him before placing his paws on the red dragons chest. He closed his eyes and checked to see if there was any darkness injected into the dragon. He found none. Relieved, he took paws off and focused onto Spyro. He examined the wound on the purple dragon, it was just a burn, but it was definitely seething with darkness. Glint placed his paw on Spyro's golden chest and closed his eyes. Forming a mental image he found a himself looking into Spyro's subconscious. He suddenly felt a sudden force push him away causing him to stumble, he regained his balanced and glowered at the thought of failing.

Glint growled and tried again, the darkness sensed his intrusion, it acted like an actual being who knew a threat was about. This time he tried to be a little more aggressive, just one breakthrough and the rest would be history. Once again he was met by the darkness trying to repulse him, he countered hard and swiftly before managing to find a hole. He immediately diverted and sent light through the mental hole. It glowed brightly. Glint removed his paws, he wasn't quite sure what he did. But a voice in the back of his mind told him he was doing something correct. Now he had to wait for results. The dragon let out a sigh as Spyro started to stir and then stopping shortly after.

Glint exited the infirmary letting the moles tend to the two dragons once more. He found himself met by the worried gaze of Cynder, Aurea was staring out a window. She appeared to be in deep thought. "So? How did it go?" Cynder asked.

"Good, I suppose," Glint replied, he put a claw to his chin, gently scratching it. "I'm not sure what I did will help. But I have a feeling it will."

"Alright, I guess I shouldn't be worrying," Cynder relaxed her expression and softly sighed, she felt as if something wasn't right. But waiting is the most viable option before jumping to conclusions.

"You shouldn't. I'd call it a day and just move on with the day. Whatcha say?"

"Glint, we need to talk..." Aurea said unexpectedly. She still had her head towards the window. Her eyes closed solemnly.

Cynder motioned her towards the yellow dragoness before turning to leave. Glint went up to Aurea, she began leading him off to their dorms. Silence was the only thing there, that was, until she spoke up. "Whatever you did to Spyro was a nice positive reinforcement for Cynder. However, I can only wonder about Spyro's fate. Tell me Glint; what drives you to do this?"

"What?" Glint blinked, he stopped when Aurea stopped. She looked down, shying away from his gaze.

"I... I need to know," she murmured.

"I'm doing this because, he's a friend, not just that. If Spyro was a stranger I'd still help him, to save his life. Life is something not toyed with, it's something dear, something sacred. I know not the secrets of it. What I do know is that it's a gift. The Gift of Life is something... understandable. Spyro, he's a gift, one from the ancestors. He has a long life ahead of him, I want to see it fulfilled. Whether good or bad."

"What about you?"

"Me? I'm just a light dragon... I'd sacrifice almost everything to see how much good I can bring into this dark world."

"You have a very strong moral idea... I'm glad to know." Aurea said as she made her way to her dorm.

"Wait!" Glint ran up to the dragoness, he looked deep into her eyes. "Why did you want to know?"

Aurea gave him a sly smile, another action he didn't expect from the dragoness. "I just wanted to know you better..." That was all she said before leaving the confused white dragon. He could only watch as the dragoness disappeared down the hall. His mind was processing many things. The dragon yawned, realizing how tired he was. He made his way towards his dorm. Ready for a good rest, and hopefully a more relaxing day to contemplate.

A/N: Well, I hope everyone had a good weekend. Wow, this chapter is biggest so far. I didn't intend it to be that big. Guess I got carried away.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, reviewed, or just read it! I appreciate the reception!

Special Thanks to: Darkness Oversoul, Unit Omicron, htffan951, for being among the first three reviewers. I appreciate your patience and feedback!

One last thanks to B1ackbird for pointing out errors!