Chapter 17
Legend of Spyro: Stormfront
"War? We have to get back to Warfang now!" Cynder's voice was unmistakably urgent.
"We can get back by the tomorrow morning if we push it." Spyro said just as urgently as Cynder. He threw his satchel back on over his neck readying to head out.
"Woahhh, young dragons, the attacking force is still many leagues from Warfang; I would give it at least a week before they arrive. You should at least stay the night." Ignitus said his tone calm and collected.
"But we need to get back to warn the others!" Replied Cynder.
"You'll have plenty of time to warn everyone Cynder, for now take a rest and when you wake up, you can leave."
"But-"
"If you leave now you will drop out of the sky before you even reach the shore." Ignitus's tone more serious this time. "You will not help anyone if you leave now. The faster you dragons begin to rest the faster you can leave. There are a few bedrooms through that door over there." Ignitus tilted his head towards the door to his left.
Cynder looked towards Spyro for support, but received only a shrug in response.
Spyro began to walk towards the door.
Cynder looked at Ignitus again, his face showing how firm he was on his position. Cynder decided there was no arguing with the teal blue Chronicler and followed Spyro towards the door.
The door creaked open; leading into a hallway very similar to the ones before it, except for it having a few doors of the same design as the rest lining the hall.
Spyro walked up to the first one, the door responding when he came to within a few feet of it, Cynder doing likewise with the door across the hall from his. The room was the same teal blue as the rest of the building and was very bland. A large pile of teal blue cushions were lying towards one side of the square room with a few shelves of books as its only real accompaniment, except for a trunk on the opposite wall.
Cynder removed her satchel from her shoulder and walked over to the pile of cushions. Suddenly she was aware of how very tired she was. It felt like every limb on her body was numb. Maybe Ignitus had been right.
Spyro was awoken by a knock at his door. It could have only been at most two hours since he fell asleep. He went to the door, expecting to see Cynder there, but was proven wrong to see the large teal blue form of Ignitus at the door.
"Ignitus? What is it?" Spyro asked still groggy.
"Come we have much to discuss." Ignitus turned down the hall towards the main room. Oddly his door did not close behind him…. He dismissed it as a glitch or something.
"Okay let me wake Cynder." Spyro began to walk towards the door she currently resided in.
Ignitus turned his head to look at Spyro. "No, do not wake her."
"What? Why?" Spyro asked confused at the Chronicler's declaration.
"She is not to hear this conversation; it is for your ears only."
Spyro was bewildered at hearing this, "Did Ignitus not trust Cynder? No that couldn't be it; Cynder had proved her faith several times over. It must be something different."
Spyro followed Ignitus out of the hallway and into the main room. However they did not stop there either. Ignitus entered another door that connected with another room.
It was dark at first, since there were no lights on the in the room, however Spyro's vision eventually adjusted. To reveal a large room one completely lined with shelves upon shelves of books of all different colors. The room was a series of circles all spiraling from the center and an aisle cut through leading to the center and as Spyro presumed the other side. He counted a total of ten rings from the very most inner towards the outer.
"How many-" Spyro stopped walking in shock at the endless rows of books.
"Thousands. There is a book for every dragon living as you know. But that is not what we are here for." As the Chronicler continued to walk down the aisle, his paws making soft echoes in the chamber. They cut through the center which had several wooden desks and shelves and cabinets, and exited in epicenter towards the other side of the rings of shelves. There was another door leading out of the gigantic library.
Ignitus walked towards the door, it responding as normal and stepped inside.
Spyro walked into a room which looked much more homely than the rest of the temple. A warm fire crackled merrily in the hearth. The furniture was arranged neatly to provide sitting room, and several tables were littered with quills, books and papers. An archway opened over to what looked like a kitchen.
As Spyro entered the door, Ignitus stood beside it and ushered Spyro in. When the door closed behind it, he heard a mechanism click signaling that it was locked.
"Now that we are more secure we can begin. This is what you really were called here for Spyro." Ignitus sat down on his haunches.
"But what about Cynder shouldn't she hear this too?" Spyro asked wanting to have the black dragoness by his side.
"Spyro I'm going to have to swear you to secrecy on this one. No one and I mean no one except who I deem is to ever hear this conversation understood?"
Spyro nodded reluctantly.
"Now as you know war is coming to Warfang. This war will be very different from the last. This is a war between dragons and dragons alone, and you very few options before you. This war will prove more devastating than Malefor's ever will. The previous war was just war, Warfang fighting for survival against a tyrant and monster. However, this one will be different; no side will be right or wrong, each one fighting for their respective sides. However whichever side is victorious it will have irreparable consequences for dragon kind. Dragon kind will fade as there will be too few of us left, and dragons will be forever gone from history."
Spyro noticed Ignitus seemed unsettled, more unsettled than he had ever seen him.
"As you see it, you have two possible options. One, for you, Spyro to fight for Warfang. Warfang will win if you stand for it, as you will be the main weapon of its defense, and you will be ordered to kill in its defense."
"But the guardians would never attack-" Spyro started to respond.
"My fellow Guardians will not help you; they will see it as self-defense." Ignitus retorted harshly.
"Then I won't fight!" Spyro responded desperation clear in his voice.
"That was your second option, but it is worse than the first. If you do not fight for Warfang, Cynder and you will return to warn the Guardians of the approaching doom. They will ask you to fight in their defense, but you will refuse. However, Cynder will not, she however will fight for Warfang, and she will die for it without you by her side. Of course you will react to this, and you will start down a path that cannot be returned from."
Spyro gulped at the thought. Losing Cynder would be unbearable for him… he could only imagine what might happen.
"If you are thinking what will happen if you lose Cynder, you are correct. It would cause you to give into your emotions and you would do unspeakable things."
Spyro felt a small pit in his stomach open up, "Then what am I supposed to do?" For once in his life Spyro felt utterly useless.
"I will tell you of the plan that I have formulated, but I'm going to warn you. It will also come at a great cost. I'm so sorry I have to ask this of you."
Cynder woke up gasping for air.
It felt as if her entire lungs had been filled with ash and dust. If felt so real, she had been in the volcano that they had fought Malefor. The walls had been glowing with red hot heat. She was standing on what looked like a stone bridge but it stopped half way over to the other side. The pool of magma at the bottom shooting a geyser high almost overtaking the bridge above it. The air was filled with a thin black smoke and particles of ash. She looked towards the end of the bridge and she saw a figure masked within in the smoke, a dragon. As it began to turn towards her, it felt as if her lungs began to fill with water and then… she woke up.
She rubbed her head with her paw, as if trying to forget what she had seen. She decided to take a walk to hopefully calm her mind. She got up from her cushions and went towards the door, which opened promptly before her, and she began her walk down the hallway. As she passed Spyro's door she saw that it was open. She peeked in, only to see no purple dragon lying within.
"Where could he have gone? Maybe he couldn't sleep either?" She thought to herself.
She continued her walk towards the door that led to the main chamber, expecting to see Spyro pacing the main chamber, but to no avail. For the room was empty except for the large glowing hourglass at its center. Then she noticed that there was another door on the other side of the giant time piece. And briskly padded over too it. It opened just as the rest of them did, to reveal the massive library that it contained.
Cynder was in awe of the shear volume of volumes that it contained. She had always liked books, but there was so many, shelf upon shelf, row after row of books. She could spend her entire lifetime reading only a small fraction of the books that were present. She would love to stop and read one, but Spyro was still missing.
She passed the center of the massive library to spot the door on the opposite end. She briskly padded over to it, her paws making a soft echo. This door however did not open like it normally should have. That is when she noticed the faint sounds of voices coming from the other side.
"Spyro must be catching up with Ignitus, after all this time I'm not surprised." She thought and was about to turn away and go back to bed, but she heard a voice rise inside.
"They wouldn't be reminiscing if they are angry at each other. What could they be talking about?" Cynder put her head up to the door hoping to hear more but the voices were still faint. However she could make out a few words here and their but it all was gibberish without the rest of it.
"If… pret-… to summon the… might make peace possible… However you will have too…" This voice was obviously Ignitus's voice as it was slightly deeper and had more of a rasp to it.
"How will… save anyone?" This time Spyro's voice, sounding as if it was in protest of what the Chronicler had said before.
"Hopefully both sides… sue for peace at the threat." Ignitus responded.
"But that will… everyone will think…" Spyro's voice sounded worried
"I'm sorry Spyro… the only way. Will you… do it?"
It was now apparent to Cynder they were discussing some sort of strategy for the coming war, but why wasn't she in on it? Did they not trust her? Did they think her not capable?
Cynder suddenly felt her temper flare and was very close to pounding on the door to demand an answer, when she heard Spyro talk again.
"If it is for everyone… then yes. Yes, I'll do it." There was note to finality to Spyro's words.
"Thank you Spyro, I'm so sorry… had to ask this of you." Ignitus responded.
What were they planning? Cynder was deep in thought trying to figure what the two dragons had been doing, when she heard a click come from right in front of her. The lock…
Cynder jumped into her shadow as fast as she could, the light cast out from the doorway was blocked partially by Spyro as he walked out. He was staring at the ground, his face somber.
"Cynder forgive me…"
"For give him of what?" Cynder thought in her secluded spot around the corner of the door deep in her hidden cloud of shadow.
Spyro began walking towards the innards of the library; Cynder went around him still in her shadow down one of the side aisles, beating Spyro there.
She slipped under the door, and sped past the hourglass of the main room. She was back in her room, and lying on the cushions when she heard the outside door creak open and then close again.
"What were they discussing in there? Why wasn't she brought along? What did Spyro agree too?" These thoughts bounced around inside Cynder's head until she fell asleep once more.
It was nearly midnight in the dragon city of Warfang, but a certain fire dragon could not sleep. Flame rolled off of his bedding inside the dragon academy. He had a place for nights liked these where he needed to calm his mind. Ever since he stood up Flare, she had not spoken a word to him… after the harsh telling off that she gave him.
He shuddered at the thought of her furry. Flame stepped out of his room, and began to walk towards one of the towers that led to the roof of the building. He climbed the winding staircase that led to the roof, which was only lit by what little moonlight seeped in the arched windows. He walked out the tower towards the balcony. He liked to stare at the stars and constellations this late at night; they helped to bring him his peace of mind.
Low and behold there was another dragon out on his balcony. He couldn't quite make out the figure from behind, but he could definitely tell that it was a female fire dragon.
"Hello?" He asked trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.
"It's you…" There was an unmistakable edge to the voice that cut through the night air.
Flame immediately recognized the voice as Flare's, "Sorry for disturbing you." Flame quickly turned around to extricate himself from the situation before it got ugly.
"Did you come to apologize?" Flare said turning her head from looking at one of the huge moons and back towards Flame.
Flame almost said, "No." Before he clamped his jaw shut as hard as he could, "This could be my chance." He thought.
"Um, yes…" He told her in as a calm of a voice he could muster.
"Good, then say it." She responded demandingly.
Flame gulped audibly, and hoped that he wouldn't screw this up. "I'm sorry Flare, I shouldn't have forgotten about our date like that."
"Good, now sit down with me." The edge in her voice was now gone.
Flame gave into her demand without thought, not wanting to upset the dragoness any further. He calmly looked up towards one of the constellations in the sky, this one shaped like a dragon.
"You know they say that one was created the night Spyro and Cynder beat Malefor." Flare said her voice calm and quite commenting about the constellation he was staring at.
"They deserve a lot more than a constellation…" Flame responded gazing at the stars connecting the dots into the shapes that they formed.
"That they do."
You see that one was a lot quicker. Even though it was a little short, however it was important as well.
