Legend of Spyro: Stormfront
Chapter 23
Volteer and Cyril trotted quickly to catch up to the still fuming Terrador. The green dragon was making his way quickly through the streets of Warfang. The shops were closed and the stragglers of the day were returning to their lodgings.
"What will we do with Magnus?" Volteer asked as he caught the earth dragon.
Terrador snorted rudely at the sound of his name. "He is the least of our problems right now." "But still we must deal with him. Find out how he got that platoon in the Council chambers with none of us knowing Volteer."
"Cyril, go find Flare and Flame, and Cynder as well. Bring them back to our quarters. Their past experience will be invaluable," he continued at a brisk pace.
Cyril turned around and quickly returned up the hill hoping to catch Cynder. Leaving only the two remaining Guardians
"Spyro might have gone rogue, but I don't think he has lost full control, yet." Volteer said tryin to calm his angered colleague.
"That's not what I'm worried about. He could very well join with our enemies, and if he does… we will have no choice but to give up. Now go! We must act with haste."
"Where are you going Terrador?" Volteer asked as they parted.
"To send a message to Hunter." And with that he was gone around the next corner, leaving Volteer and Cyril to carry out his orders.
*.*.*
Cyril climbed the wide road that lead to the Council room in the center of the dragon city. Looking at the structure it was obvious that one of its four towers at the corners was missing. A jagged edge was all that remained of the purely decorative spire. Being decorative and having no pathway to its pinnacle no one had been injured in its collapse. It had collapsed inwards towards the center of the domed roof, which thankful to the mole's marvelous engineering took the falling stones without collapsing, but still several bricks lay scattered in the street some whole. Others were contorted and jagged from the blast of the convexity.
He reached the summit citadel, and the steps of the marred building. The Dragon Guard was there keeping curious citizens at bay, and assisting in the cleanup.
Cyril craned his neck around looking for a sign of black or magenta scales. After a few minutes of searching he spotted curled black form at the top of the stairs near the entrance to the chambers.
Cynder hadn't moved from the spot, where she had fired upon Spyro. A white cloth was wrapped around her right foreleg small red splotch at its center. She lay in a daze ignoring the meanderings of the soldiers around and below her, and the moles that had arrived to clear the rubble. A ghostly white look shone in her eyes.
"Cynder," Cyril spoke softly.
She made no move to acknowledge his presence.
"Cynder," Cyril spoke again.
"Huh?" She asked slowly coming out of her dazed depression, upon hearing her name.
She looked up towards the Ice Guardian. Cyril could see the pain hidden away behind her emerald irises. She returned to her head to its former position without saying a word.
Cyril lay down next to her sensing that Cynder would be difficult to coax from her shell and rightly so.
"Cynder I understand that you are going through some tough times here but-"
"How could you know what I'm going through?" Cynder demanded suddenly, her voice filled with rage and anguish. "You couldn't possibly understand!"
"Cynder I—"
"Go away! We were supposed to be together! It wasn't supposed to be like this." She turned head in defiance away from the astonished Guardian.
Cyril thought for a moment trying to think of words that could comfort her.
"Cynder I know Spyro and you were close, but we need you, now more than ever. With Spyro under the control of his inner evil, we will need all the help we can get."
She turned around once more, her face full of surprise and shock. "W- What did you say?"
"I know you were close and all but—"
"No, no the second part." She interrupted him.
"That Spyro had lost control to the darkness again." Cyril finished his words seeming to have an effect on her.
"You mean that he wasn't doing it on his own?" Her mood seeming to brighten, if only a little.
"Did you not hear Volteer inside the chamber? That he believed the darkness was once again influencing his behavior."
Cynder's mouth hung agape for a moment. In her rage she must have dismissed Volteer's theory.
"Are you sure?" She asked shakily.
"Yes I'm sure Cynder. Spyro would never betray his friends to death, unless he was not given a choice. I'm sure of it."
Cynder then spoke as if she could hardly dare to ask the words. "Do you think we can get him back?"
"I'm sure of it Cynder."
*.*.*
Moments later Cynder found herself once again in the Guardians quarters. She felt herself starting to hate this place. Every time she came to the white stone building it was in bad times with bad news. The table was still covered in scattered papers. A large map was spread across the floor with several markings on it, lines, arrows, circles all denoting some form of military movement. She walked past these with Cyril to where the other Guardians with Flame, Flare and the leader of the moles Mason, were gathered. Cynder did not want to be the one to tell them what had happened and tried to stay away from the conversation they were having, when Flare turned towards her.
"It's alright Cynder, we'll get them back. Both of them, I swear it."
Flame poked his head out from the other side of her and nodded an affirmative.
"T—Thank you."
Terrador cleared his throat indicating that he wished to have their attention before beginning.
"Under the current… circumstances we believe we have found the best course of action. We will march to the enemy and engage them outside the walls of Warfang. We leave tonight."
"The moles will march along with the dragons. If we fall, we fall together." Mason added.
Flame spoke up insistently. "You mean we aren't staying in the walled up and fortified city?"
"No Flame, the enemy would be able to lay siege to us in here, and starve us to death. We must go out to meet them."
"What if Spyro and Quake attack the city while we are away?"
"Spyro's goal was to have power, when we talked with him in the chambers. If he destroys the city who will he have to command? We are going to draw both Spyro and the foreigners away from the city.
Terrador paused letting his words sink in for a moment. "It will also avoid any collateral damage to Warfang's civilians, after we leave. If we are… defeated then they have been instructed to surrender to avoid any more bloodshed."
Flame continued to look at him skeptically. His home was all he had, and he had no intention of losing it. "Then we'll fight for all its worth."
"That we will Flame, that we will." Cyril responded the room descending into silence. Not a sound was to be heard. Everyone was wrapped up in their own thoughts, fears and hopes.
A bell rung signaling the guard at the front door had need of them.
"I hope that is who I'm expecting." Terrador spoke before getting up and disappearing down the hallway. A few muffled voices could be heard then the opening and closing of a door. Terrador stepped back into the light of the room a hooded and cloaked figure following him. A quiver and bow were slung across his back.
He pulled back his cloak to reveal orange fur.
"Hunter!" Cynder cried.
"Hello young Cynder." He waved cheerfully. "It's been awhile." He approached and knelt on one knee before her and picked up one of her paws. "We'll save them, whatever it takes."
Cynder felt that somehow, maybe just a little their chances had brightened. "Thanks Hunter."
He put her paw back on the ground as if it was an object to be revered, and stood.
"Aye, laddy, it's good to have you here Hunter." Mason said in greeting.
"It is good to see you as well Mason." Then he turned to Terrador.
"I came as fast as I could old friend. Your letter was most… disturbing. Are you sure you do not want the warriors of my tribe? I'm sure they could be most useful."
"These are dragon matters only Hunter. I did not want to involve your village in another of our wars. That and I doubt even you could convince Prowlus to help us once more."
"You may be right. However I'm sure I could pose a very persuasive argument. But that is your decision and I will respect it."
"Thank you Hunter."
The bell rang once more. Terrador once again stood and left the room. The clanking sound of fully armored dragons could be heard. Terrador then returned.
"It is time my friends. The army of the moles has assembled and the Dragon Guard is ready for flight."
"It's best that I go to my troops then." Mason responded the stout mole said in parting.
"Very good then my friend." Terrador nodded letting the leader of the moles pass before he once again turned to rest of the group.
"We'll be moving out shortly. You young dragons…" He motioned to each of them. "…need to get anything that you believe could be useful, I would suggest some armor."
Cynder remembered all the chests she went digging through for pieces of armor when she fought Malefor. The moles were kind enough to have them polished and put away in an armory where they it could be safe from corrosion.
Flame and Flare eyed each other for a moment nervous looks on their faces. Then spoke in unison.
"We don't have any armor."
"I will acquire you a set from the moles and it will be set in the wagon train for you. No need to worry." Terrador said with a smile on his face.
"Really?" Flare sounded excited.
"Of course. We can't have you going to battle unprepared. Now hurry and meet us at the front gate in fifteen minutes."
"Yes sir." They nodded excitedly before leaving through the front.
"Cynder I believe your sets of armor are in the care of the moles correct?"
"Yes all three sets."
"Good. Go and get a set; whichever one you wish. Have the moles load it into one of their wagons and meet us at the same spot."
"Yes Terrador."
*.*.*
Rey stood staring at the two dragons that were flying out of the sun. Their scales were unmistakable, one green and the other purple with golden horns.
He could be coming to annihilate us all. Rey felt a surge of panic and wanted to run for his life.
Rey imagined the entire camp burning the air filled with smoke and the entire army slaughtered by one dragon. Many soldiers gathered around were also staring with fear at the oncoming dragons, undoubtedly imaging the same thing as himself.
We should have never come. We should have turned around the moment we heard a purple dragon was alive.
Rey sighted his father emerging from the crowd of dragons. He was shouting asking for reports, but he too saw what everyone was looking at and immediately halted.
Rey noticed his father's eyes, and for one brief second he saw a glint of fear, the first time his father had ever shown the slightest hint.
One of the captains called to him for orders. The response surprised Rey but he realized the wisdom soon enough.
"No, do not make any move to prepare for battle under any circumstances. Clear a spot to land immediately." The mass of dragons created a circle large enough for the dragons to land and then some.
Rey realized the tactic in his father's orders immediately. By not appearing hostile he could perhaps avoid a confrontation. If a battle were to begin it would only end in their own slaughter.
The purple dragon known as Spyro was now close and Rey could see his dark purple scales. It astonished Rey how young he was. In fact they were the same age.
He doesn't look like a hero to me, but then who am I to judge a creature of such power.
At this point Rey took note of his companion, a dark green earth dragon with muddy brown horns.
I wonder why he is here?
The two dragons touched down in the circle of trampled grass, alighting perfectly. They looked around seeing if any would dare speak to them. None came forward.
The dark green dragon then seemed to notice Rey in particular, and he leaned close to the purple dragon and spoke in a hushed whisper so that none could hear. The purple dragon then looked directly at him, his purple eyes seeming to bore into Rey's mind, and he felt the urge to hide.
Rey felt the intensity of his gaze. He could tell, no, feel that this dragon was far beyond his power. Rey's knees nearly buckled before he saw the dragon lift his gaze and return to scanning the crowd, no one noticing what had happened. The incessant whispers of the crowd of soldiers were the only sounds to be heard in the vestiges of the twilight. Many stood simply gawking, others seemed ready to run or fight for their lives, while some remained calm however guarded. You could feel the tension in the air, like a stifling blanket
We aren't dead yet. That's a start.
Rey's father stepped out of the crowd his orange scales twinkling in the last rays of the sun. The crowd fell silent all fearing what could happen next.
"Hello I am General Erwing, I presume you to be Spyro the one who defeated that lizard Malefor."
"You could say that, I suppose." The purple dragon's voice was calm and collected, yet Rey sensed something amiss, Rey could tell his father had sensed it too. Rey tightened his muscles in response, his nerves getting the better of him.
"I would hear the tale if you were willing to tell it. The earth dragon recounted it to us, but that was second hand. I'm sure you could tell it much better."
Rey once again understood his father's tactics, basically he was trying to liven the mood and prevent anyone from snapping, yet it also had the second benefit of stalling but for what Rey knew not.
The purple dragon seemed to grow happier at the words, as if he was remembering old times. His companion however still unnamed remained stoic and unresponsive seemingly bored with the situation.
Spyro then began telling of his birth and the defeat of Malefor. He tactfully left out the parts about his corruption and Cynder's confession, unknown to those before him.
Raised by bugs? Who'd of thought? Rey chuckled inwardly to himself when he learned how the legendary purple dragon had been raised.
Many of the soldiers became enthralled quickly with the tale, and all of them were eager to hear its climax. The many dragons were not disappointed with the defeat of Malefor and many were astonished that they owed their lives to an adolescent.
His father spoke at the end of story once more. "We saw the large beast made of rock and fire but hid before it, and it left us alone. No one knew of the danger it presented. I also remember when the earth broke and shook and a purple light enveloped everything around us. That was you then?"
"Yes. The effort nearly cost me my life."
Rey felt a new sense of awe directed at the purple dragon. He too remembered the day the earth shook and then stopped with the purple light. In fact the government of the colonies had declared it a holiday and a sign from the Ancestors, of what no one knew, until now of course.
The soldiers around them had calmed considerably, most now whispering to each other and discussing in awe the purple dragon.
"One last question. Who is your companion? This is not the Cynder of your tale obviously," his father asked just to satisfy his curiosity probably but Rey could not be sure.
The green dragon spoke finally his tone warm and friendly, which didn't seem to fit him. "My name is Quake."
Erwing nodded an affirmative and continued. "Undoubtedly an earth dragon, but what is your purpose here? I doubt you two have come for idle talk and to reminisce."
Spyro's face became serious and his warm mood left him. "My companion and I would speak with you alone."
The general eyed them for a moment before answering. "Certainly, come with me."
An isle cleared for the dragons as they departed for the general's tent, the colonial dragons giving the legendary one a wide berth. Through the crowd along the isle Rey spotted Glacia and Electria. Rey waved to them. Glacia elbowed Electria none too kindly and they moved towards him.
"I wonder what he is here for." Electria asked when she reached him.
Rey shrugged his shoulders in response, knowing his father would tell him later.
"It's probably best we don't worry about it anyways."
"Yeah you're probably right." Electria responded.
A hopeful smile appeared upon Glacia. "I wonder if he has a dragoness."
"Like he would pick you!" Electria laughed.
Glacia glared at her a snarl forming on her lips before she retorted. "I'd have a better chance than you goldy!"
Rey shook his head in disgust. Ughhh! Here we go again…
Rey walked a small distance away from the arguing dragonesses and lay down on the green grass. Here the shouts of Glacia and Electria were quieter, yet he still had a view of his father's tent.
He could occasionally hear Glacia insulting Electria
"Goldy!"
Soon followed by Electria insulting her in turn.
"Snob!"
But the wind was carrying most of the shouting away. The flaps of his father's tent rustled in the breeze and Rey raised his head thinking they were coming out. However no one emerged and Rey dismissed it as the wind.
Rey put his head back down onto the cool grass as he watched the clouds zip by. In fact it was surprising how fast they were moving. Large grey and white wisps blowing by, Rey shifted to look towards the east, where many of the towers of the sky were to be seen, their lofty peaks reaching places unknown and their bottoms reaching towards the earth with large grey claws.
Rey felt the wind pick up again and felt the slightest of taps upon his muzzle. Focusing his vision he saw a droplet of water resting upon his snout.
His eyes refocused towards the tent to see the purple dragon followed closely by the earth dragon emerging.
Rey stood about to leave his spot when he noticed both Spyro and Quake had noticed him as well. They locked gazes for a moment, and Rey had the sudden feeling that he was being judged or graded like when he was in school. Then the pair turned and took flight, towards the west leaving the camp unharmed.
Rey sighed in relief. The purple dragon named Spyro was gone. They would live just one more day at least. Rey took flight towards the grassy knoll his father's tent sat staked upon. His father then emerged from the tent. He watched the dragons fly away until they could no longer be seen.
His father saw him approaching and sat upon his haunches patiently waiting and watching the oncoming storm.
Rey arrived and asked curiously. "What did you talk about?"
His father sighed deeply taking a deep breath of rain scented air. "They asked us to go home, without a fight and leave. However I now have a more important question for you my son. What did you notice was odd about their departure?"
Rey instantly recognized this as one of his father's tests. Undoubtedly his father had noticed something of extreme importance and now he was seeing if his Rey had noticed it as well. In his early childhood it had been like a game, but now it almost a strict competition.
Rey searched his brain for every detail of their departure. The way they took off, when they took off, but nothing seemed to stick out in his head.
Rey continued to rack his mind for any sort of answer. His father seeing his loss gave him a hint.
"Don't get locked up in the small details my son. Think of your favorite subject."
Rey continued to think of anything that could be of importance. Where were we?
The voice inside his head answered for him. "Just west of Warfang."
Then it clicked.
He turned back towards his father confident he knew what his father had and smiled smugly.
"We are currently west of Warfang, yet they flew west."
"Correct. Now why would they fly that way?" His father began to ponder. "Warfang lies in the opposite direction. Our cities lie that way too but they are weeks and months away. A strike there is out of the question."
"Could they have doubled back so we would think they aren't in Warfang?" Rey suggested hopeful he might help answer their quandary.
"What would be the point?" His father replied. "We would have been expecting them to go that way. They have nothing to gain by doing so." The General and his father paused for a moment. "That direction is mostly empty country with few inhabitants if any and has no strategic importance."
Rey could only think of one other feature. He turned and looked to see the distant top of the volcano a thin halo glow reaching forth from its maw. "The Burned Lands lie that way."
His father grunted an affirmative. "This leads me to believe that they are no longer working under Warfang's control or direction. I believe they came here of their own volition in a hope for peace."
"How do you know that?" Rey asked skeptically, not following his father's logic.
"Think about it," his father started. "They did not come here without any sort of escort nor did they ask for our total surrender but only for us to return home. Secondly, they did not return to Warfang. Finally, they simply did not come and destroy us. These facts summed up together suggest to me something ill fell between this purple dragon and his home."
Rey felt a sudden swell of pride fill his chest. This is why his father was unbeatable on the field, nothing escaped his scrutiny.
"But what does that mean for us?" Rey asked.
"That Rey, I do not know."
A cry then came from somewhere in the camp. Rey jumped around looking for the source. He saw a yellow electric dragon running towards their position. Several higher ranking soldiers were following him, all sprinting towards the hill at a full gallop. They came to a screeching stop in front of the father and son duo all panting after their exertion.
"What is it lads?" His father asked.
The electric dragon spoke first.
"Sir, an enemy force has been spotted."
Rey's father lost all signs of his softer side immediately, and began barking orders, some to warn the rest of the camp, others to tell the commanders to prepare.
Finally, speaking to the yellow electric dragon his voice was stern and commanding. "Take me to your observation point."
The dragon nodded an affirmative, turned and took flight. Rey and his father close on his heels. They flew only for what couldn't have been fifteen minutes through the night air until they reached a small hill with a grove of trees upon its top, carefully landing on the reverse slope as to avoid detection. They crawled through a few thickets of brush and before standing just in the edge of the tree line.
Rey was greeted by thousands of torches held by little brown beings. All of them were marching in an orderly formation towards the direction of their encampment, their lights flickering as they marched in the night. The artificial light glinted off their metal tipped pikes that were raised above them like and endless pincushion. Behind the tide was a wagon train several dozen cars long pulled by dragons their wheels creaking and groaning adding to the immeasurable din.
Above them dragons flew, hundreds upon hundreds all with covered in armor. At the head of them there were six dragons without armor. Three of them were smaller and younger while the others were adults.
He was only able to make them out due to the parade of fire beneath them. The older dragons were a green, yellow, and a white-blue, while the younger were a scarlet red, an orange-red, and finally the last one was black with a magenta underbelly.
The bush seemed to rustle behind Rey. Rey turned his head. He peered into blackness that was the trees and scrub brush. Nothing stirred. Rey dismissed it as the wind.
His blood ran cold when he felt the cold tip of metal press against the back of his neck and heard the tightening of a bow string.
A few things here.
-First off, thanks to Dragonmaster000 for beta reading this chapter.
-Secondly, I wish I could say I have some well done artwork to give you guys... but I'm sucktacluar when it comes to drawing so sorry :(
And lastly since I'm about to hit 80 reviews I believe a little reward has been called for so...
Legend of Spyro: Degradation (2/3)
There ya go :3
