Chapter 3: Discussion
Ratchet followed the two dragons a few paces behind. The sun had already set, but the landscape was well lit by the moon. Spyro stopped walking, causing Cynder, Ratchet, and Clank to follow suit. Spyro looked around for a few moments, and then said
"This way." He started walking towards a forest.
"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Ratchet asked the purple dragon.
"If you have any better ideas on what to do on a planet that you've never been on, I'm all ears," Spyro told Ratchet in a challenging voice. Ratchet shifted his weight between his feet, and said
"No, it's just, uh…" He couldn't come up with a good explanation. He hung his head, again failing in an argument. Spyro nodded his head as Cynder gathered rocks and wood. She put the rocks in a circle, and then put the wood in the center of it. Spyro lit it with a fireball, the fire already crackling nicely.
"Do you have anything that you can store water in?" Spyro asked Ratchet. Ratchet looked at Clank who pulled out two water skins. Clank handed them to Spyro, who took them in his mouth and then ran in the opposite direction; disappearing in the trees and bushes in no time.
"So" Ratchet said as he sat across from Cynder, catching her attention. She stared at him with green eyes, awaiting whatever he said.
"What is it?" Ratchet asked. Cynder cocked her head to one side; not understanding the question.
"Excuse me?" Cynder asked.
"I mean, is it a boy, girl, twins, what?" Ratchet said, gesturing to her swollen belly.
"Oh" Cynder laughed lightly, "I'm not sure. Dragons lay eggs, but I do have an unusually high number in me right now." She ran a paw over her belly, happy to know she would soon be a mother.
"I must say, you and your husband are not what I expected." Ratchet said.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Cynder asked accusingly.
"What Ratchet meant to say, is that he expected another enemy to fight, not two strangers with the same morals and mentality of him." Clank quickly said in Ratchet's defense. Cynder nodded her head.
"I wasn't always this way, though. Spyro and I were once enemies" Cynder told the two, eyes glaring into the fire, reflecting on her past. Ratchet saw this and didn't press any further.
Meanwhile…
Spyro had already filled one water skin, and was beginning to fill the second. He kept thinking about Ratchet, what he must have gone through. Spyro also knew he would have to tell him about his race, and how close he truly was to them, be didn't dare do that until he spoke with his guardians.
Spryo heard a rustle of the bushes behind him. He carefully and slowly plugged the water skin and placed it next to the other one. After he did that, with the speed of a cat, he leapt backwards, bounced off a tree and pounced on a sheep. He saw two more and quickly and mercifully killed them too. He looked around for a moment, and caught the scent of a something else. Inhaling deeply, he knew he smelled a fox. Cynder loved roasted fox.
Spyro quickly flew up in the air, saw the fox, and dived bombed it. Dinner for the night had been caught. Spryo grabbed the legs of all the animals after placing the water skins on his back, and started hauling his catch back to the clearing.
Spryo walked out of the bushes, and was greeted by Cynder with a warm smile. Ratchet gave Spyro a confused look at the animals, and Clank looked at him with an unreadable expression. Cynder grabbed a thin rock and placed it on part of the fire. Spyro quickly got to work on removing the wool and the fur, and then cutting up the pieces of the animals everyone wanted.
After everyone had selected their meat, Spyro began cooking it.
"Believe me, no one, and I mean no one can cook like my mate can. Every dragon and dragoness tried to best him, but legend does say that the purple dragon can wield many abilities that others cannot. I guess cooking was one of them" Cynder praised with a small grin. Spyro couldn't help but smile also; he was used to getting praise for his heroic deeds of the past, but Cynder's compliments always were the best out of all of them.
Ratchet nodded his head. He could see the meat cooking, but he knew, somehow, that Spyro wouldn't overcook it or undercook it. He didn't know how he knew, he just did.
"How is Spyro different from the other dragons?" Clank asked. Spyro looked at Clank and then told the history of the purple dragons.
"Long ago, there was a dragon kingdom. It was ruled by a single king, who already had nine generations of heirs. All of them were proud, well behaved, and were happy to share the kingdom when their father passed. They agreed to expand the kingdom, into nine different holds. The king agreed, but knew there would have to be a single ruler to watch over the other nine. He was old just like his wife, who was weakened by their last clutch. They agreed to have one more.
"She died, and laid only a single egg. This egg was purple in color, something that had never happened before. After a few months, the egg hatched. The dragon was just as purple as the egg it had hatched from. He was unique in that he could wield the four elements; fire, electricity, ice, and earth. As he trained with the guardians, he grew arrogant. He eventually grew more powerful than the guardians, and demanded that the kingdom be given to him immediately. His father, still mourning the death of his wife, refused.
"Furious, he started attacking the city with every breath he had learned. The guardians quickly subdued him and brought him before the king. He banished his son, and told him to never come back. He left, and built an army of apes. The dragon's name was Malefor." Spyro shuddered at the name. Cynder also fidgeted uncomfortably at the name. Ratchet and Clank both leaned forward, intrigued. Spryo flipped the cuts of meat as he continued the story.
"The wars between Malefor, who was given the name of 'The Dark Master', and the dragons lasted for centuries. Eventually, the dragons were able to trap him in a dimensional prison. The apes continued to build their ranks, waiting for the moment to strike back. Then, about 15 years ago, a prophecy was fulfilled; a prophecy that spoke of another purple dragon that would bring down the Dark Master.
"A single purple dragon egg was laid and placed in a nest containing the next generation of dragons. The dark armies learned of this, and attacked the new dragon temple in order to destroy the egg, and also capture one." Spyro looked at Cynder, awaiting her consent. She nodded her head at him, though a bit reluctantly.
"Only one dragon can open the portal that served as the Dark Master's prison. Cynder was that dragon. She was taken by the apes, corrupted by darkness, and served as the Dark Master's puppet. The purple egg was sent down a stream, and hatched. The dragon was adopted by dragonflies. One day, playing hide and seek with his adoptive brother, he discovered his origins. He then set out, and found an old guardian, named Ignitus. He taught him about being a dragon, and told him that other guardians had been taken by Cynder.
"The purple dragon saved not only the guardians, but rescued Cynder from the Dark Master's hold. After another attempt would be made to raise the Dark Master, the purple dragon fell under the control of the Dark Master. Cynder saved him, and both were caught in the cave. The purple dragon preserved them with newfound power; they were found three years later. The resurrection of the Dark Master had happened.
"Luckily, the dragon finally found Malefor, and confronted him. He and Cynder defeated him, and returned home. That dragon, as you may have surmised by know, was me. I can control the four elements, and I'm next in line for the throne."
Ratchet and Clank gaped at Spyro openly, unsure of what to think. This dragon, a creature of legend, brought down a centuries old enemy of dragons, and that enemy was the first ever purple dragon.
"How did you do it, emotionally speaking?" Ratchet asked.
"I had the support of friends and family behind me, every step of the way." Spyro explained. Ratchet looked into the fire, anger boiling inside his soul. How come he had no family, because they felt bad for one lonely cragmite, and he double crossed them, killed his parents, and they fled to another dimension? How come this dragon had his family, adoptive or not, to encourage him every step of the way?
Spyro saw this in Ratchet's eyes.
"You're closer to them than you realize." Spyro told Ratchet as he handed him a piece of lamb, going back on his promise to wait until he talked with the guardians.
"I don't know about that." Ratchet said uncertainly, and then took a bite.
"Wow, this is really good." He exclaimed. He held up his water skin towards Spryo, signaling his satisfaction.
"Ratchet" Cynder said
"We know where your race is."
Ratchet looked at Cynder, eyes wide.
"You know about my family, where are they? Can I see them?" He asked frantically.
"Yes" Spryo told him.
"When?" Ratchet again, asked, more urgently than the first time.
"Tomorrow." Spyro answered simply.
"You're going to open a portal to my family tomorrow?" Ratchet asked.
"No" Spyro said
"We're going to a city, a day's walking journey, called New-Hope, the city of the Lombaxes."