Legend of Spyro: Stormfront
Chapter 29
Hi everyone. Sorry for the ridiculously long time to update.
The multicolored group of village dragons landed in a large grassy plain just a short distance from the Warfangian side of the camp. Cynder turned and looked at the crowd of dragons behind her. Some were staring nervously at the camp, while others milled aimlessly about, shocked by the sudden loss of their homes.
A pair of guards approached from the edge of the camp, which was being rapidly broken down to be moved out. Tents were being taken down, and the wagons were being packed by the moles, filled with barrels and boxes of all shape and size. The rest of the camp was abuzz with activity as troopers that had already finished packing began to form into their take-off formations.
They had arrived just in time.
A lone trooper, who Cynder identified as a corporal, reached their position, bowed and then spoke.
"Lady Cynder, you have returned. I have sent my comrade to notify the Guardians."
"Thank you," Cynder replied curtly.
Then the corporal went over to the village elder and did the same.
The group of younger dragons—Flame, Flare, Glacia, Electria, Levina, and Domino, who was somewhat following and chasing after a butterfly at the same time—found a quieter spot a small distance away and rested their tired wings. Cynder arrived a few moments later, and began pacing.
"So what will you guys do now? Will you take us to Warfang?" Levina asked.
"We're needed at the battle. They'll find someone else to do that," Cynder responded, taking only a moment to look up from the grassy earth before returning to her pacing.
"You mean you'll fight? I understand you, Cynder…but what about you four?" She motioned to Flame, Flare, Glacia and Electria with her wing.
"We're the only ones to have ever fought and trained with Spyro on a regular basis. We have a better chance against him than anyone else, other than maybe the Guardians," Flame answered her.
"And we won't quit until our friend is free," Glacia and Electria answered in unison.
"We would have a better chance if we had Quake…" Flare said despondently.
"Who's that? Is he powerful? And what friend?"
"Rey and us have been friends since we were hatchlings." Glacia answered, and tilted her horn to point at Electria
"Quake is an earth dragon classmate of ours, and…"
Cynder finished for him. "The dark green dragon who was with Spyro was Quake, and the orange one is Rey."
"Why are they helping him?!" Levina shouted.
"It's not their fault!" Cynder snapped back. "They've been corrupted. They know nothing of themselves. Only their master's voice and orders. They are slaves to his will."
"Oh…" Levina looked down shamefully.
Cynder returned to her pacing. By now, however, the Guardians had reached the village dragons and were meeting with the village elder off to the side, away from the main group. Within a few minutes, they left. The elder returned to the group and began speaking to the crowd, but his voice was muffled at this distance.
The Guardians turned to Cynder and the group and made their way over, smiling at the still-playing Domino before they reached them.
"We heard you ran into trouble," Terrador began.
"Spyro nearly killed us all," Cynder spat in anger.
"Oh dear…" Volteer murmured.
"I'm afraid that was our fault," Cyril stated shamefully. "We found a dark crystal inside the command tent… He must have been listening in on us the whole time. This lapse in security is our responsibility." His voice got deeper and livider. "I assure you it will not happen again."
Cynder slashed at the ground with her paws. "He's always one step ahead of us."
"I suggest you get some rest while you can. We will be moving out towards the volcano shortly."
Levina spoke up for the first time. "Is that where he was going to take us? He said we were all his prisoners."
The Guardians seemed to notice Levina for the first time. "What's your name?"
Levina lowered her head, "Levina, sirs."
"Tell us everything that happened, please, we only received a quick account from your Elder," Cyril said, moving his head down to her level.
Levina seemed to regain some of her confidence.
"Well, I was walking back with Domino from a walk in the forest. We came back into the field surrounding the village. The purple dragon and two others were at the gate of the village. The gate watcher let them in without question… I ran with Domino…"
She motioned towards the playful speckled dragon a distance away, and then continued.
"…towards the village. I wanted to meet the famous purple dragon. By the time I got there, I could hear shouts and screams. I reached the main street with the well. There were grublins everywhere; they had their swords against the throats of several dragons… The Elder surrendered. They led everyone out of the village, and as we left the dark orange dragon set several dwellings on fire, and the dark green had a few swallowed or crushed by earth. We were all grouped up in front of the village. No one seemed hurt badly, though. Then he came before everyone and told us we were being taken. Then, when everyone refused to go with him…"
"They pulled her from the crowd," Flame finished for her. "We were there for this part, hiding in the forest."
Levina nodded. "Then he told us we would become his followers…and that we were the chosen few to survive… I don't know what he was talking about, but they refused again and he put his tail-spike to my neck…"
"That's enough… You don't need to remember any more," Cyril told her softly. "I think it's clear we need to assault his position as soon as possible, Terrador."
"I agree. Get some rest, you five. Levina, I ask you to return to your villagers. You will be departing shortly for Warfang. You will find shelter there until we can find a more suitable place for your village."
"Th-Thank you, Guardians." She bowed, and then turned to her newfound friends. "Thank you again for rescuing us. I wish there was something I could do to help…but I'm not a fighter. May the ancestors be with you."
"Thank you, I hope you find a new home," Flare said.
Levina nodded in return, and the rest of the group beckoned her goodbye. The yellow dragoness collected Domino and left the group.
"If we fly all night, we could be at Spyro's location by morning," Cyril put forth.
"I would not deem it prudent to enervate the troops before engaging in conflict," Volteer countered his rival.
"I don't think we have a choice at this moment," Terrador grunted. "At any moment now, Spyro could summon the Destroyer. We cannot delay our advance on the mountain any longer, and I'm sure Erwing will agree."
Terrador looked over his shoulder at the camp and observed for a moment. "Rest quickly, young ones. We will be departing soon, and we'll need your strength."
*.*.*
Flare walked over to the sleeping fire drake, who was snoring obnoxiously. "Wake up, Flame," Flare said, poking his muzzle right around his nostrils. After several attempts, the red dragon snorted loudly and awoke.
"Huh-whuh?" he drawled out as he lifted his head from the ground.
"The column is forming up. We need to fall in," Flare answered the groggy drake.
"Aw, come on, that couldn't have even been an hour…" Flame protested, rolling over and covering his face with a transparent wing.
Flare gave a swift kick to his exposed underbelly.
Flame gasped as the air in his lungs escaped, and immediately rose to his paws. "Oww! What'd you do that for!?"
"Cynder is already over there. I think the whole army is waiting on us, so get your tail moving!"
Flame looked over Flare's shoulder at the congregation of thousands of dragons. He quickly ducked his head back behind her shoulder, feeling the piercing gazes bearing down on him.
The chastised Flame quickly sauntered over to the vast array of dragons in front him. The Guardians, General Erwing, and Cynder were at the head of the column. Terrador's huge eyes scrutinized him the whole way as he sauntered over. Flame hung his head low, avoiding his gaze until he took his place behind the Guardians, Erwing, and Cynder.
The coordinated group of dragons began their take off down the grassy field that was flanked by a grove of trees, forming a natural runway. Flame pondered how so many dragons could take off at once without coming into contact and causing a massive crash. But they were all trained to be here… Unlike him and his companions. They'd been given a crash course before they left Warfang on the formations and patterns.
Just follow the dragon in front of you.
Terrador dipped one of his large brown wings. Flame did the same, following the old Earth Guardian. The distant volcano could be seen, disgorging smoke from its peak, covering the land in foul ash-grey smog.
The red dragon settled his wings into a steady rhythm that would keep him where he was supposed to be in his column. Normally he'd be getting quite bored by now—the fire drake had never been one for long flights—but the feeling in his stomach kept his mind uneasy. Flame felt like a pit was opening up inside, making him slightly queasy.
How many more will have to die because of purple dragons?The thought struck like a slap to the face. Spyro was once his friend…but no longer.
A corner of his mind whispered as if into his ear. He's threatening to destroy the world... He destroyed Quake's mind… He took Flare from you.
The drake's eyes locked onto Flare a few places further up and to the right, flying steadily. He snarled, bearing his fangs at the air and the sinking sun. He felt a wave of determination overflow his senses, like a tidal wave upon a beach.
Twice my life has been interrupted by a crazed purple dragon… I swear to the ancestors, there will not be a third.
*.*.*
Flame looked back at the red and green orbs above him, praying they had moved a decent amount. To his dismay, he couldn't tell that either of the moons had moved from their last position. The stars twinkled as if to poke fun at him.
How the world must envy you, to watch the joys and triumphs of the world, but not have to deal with its problems and sins.
Smog and rust-grey clouds belched from the volcano began to cover up his view of the gems of the sky. He focused his attention forwards once more, through the throng of flapping wings and clinking armor. The Burned Lands were now looming in front of them, oppressive and foul—the land scarred and blasted by heat, blackened and greyed into ash. Jagged edges and deep caverns filled the landscape. Flame couldn't imagine having to go through all of it without wings.
The moles and their cannons would have taken months to get through here.
He remembered the conversation with Terrador, who had sent them back to Warfang to control and protect the populace. The cannons were defunct without the powder supplies that Spyro had destroyed. It would have taken far too much time to send a new powder caravan up.
Another hour passed, with Flame barely keeping his drooping eyes open.
"Flame!" He heard his name called over the wind, and noticed Flare flying next to him.
"Aren't you supposed to be up there?" he asked her sleepily.
"Cynder is missing," she said, ignoring his statement. "She was in front of me one moment, and then gone the next."
Flame instantly shook himself clear of grogginess. "What?! Why would she leave? It doesn't make any sense."
A sudden, gravelly shout from behind made Flame flinch. "Oi, get back in formation!"
"I think I know…" She paused, thinking for a moment, and whispered to him. "I'm going to go warn Electria and Glacia. Drop to ground level in one minute. Make sure the perimeter scouts don't see you."
She winged away beneath the rows and columns of dragons.
Flame nodded an affirmative and began to count out the seconds. When he reached forty-five, he looked around him to see if anyone was scrutinizing him. He prayed the bulky earth dragon behind him wasn't paying much attention.
At sixty, he pulled in his wings and let himself plummet. The wind speed picked up quickly, and the free falling sensation unnerved his stomach. He heard no shouts or calls from above him, thankfully. When he passed behind the sentry that was flying underneath the main force, he began to slowly open his wings, easing his descent. When he felt he was somewhat slowed, he snapped his wings open.
An intense pain filled his joints as his wings took the full brunt of being opened. He fought back the tears for a moment, but to his relief, he was soon flying normally again. The red dragon put himself in a steady, but much slower, descent towards the blackened ground.
Flame was surprised to see Glacia already waiting for him. He vectored towards her and began a steady hover, waiting on the others.
Glacia let out a great sigh when she saw Flare and Electria appear from the clouds above. Flare pointed with her forepaw towards the east, towards the volcano. Flame and Glacia understood the message and began flying in that direction. Flare and Electria soon joined them from above, slowing a bit to match their speed.
"So what's the deal?" Flame prodded. "What's Cynder up to?"
Flare called over the wind. "I think she's going to confront Spyro…by herself. We'll have to press ourselves to catch up to her."
The unsure voice of Electria broke the wind next. "How do you suppose we find her…?"
Flame added in, "Yeah she's going to be hard to find at night."
Glacia answered them, sounding disgruntled. "We know where she's going. We just have to beat her there."
Flare nodded mid-flight. "Exactly, now pick up the pace!"
*.*.*
Flapping wings soon followed by the patter of paw-falls awakened the resting purple dragon. His eyelids lifted to reveal the dark amethyst irises beneath. Quake stood before him, looking back over his shoulder over the grublin encampment, towards the jagged natural cliffs and walls that offered protection from the outside world.
"Anything?" Spyro asked anxiously.
Quake faced the purple dragon. "The forward positions report that they have entered the Burned Lands and are heading directly here. They'll be here by
He didn't mention that he had received the message in very broken draconian from a grublin commander, and had to have the grublin repeat himself many times
Spyro snorted loudly. "Finally, I was beginning to think we'd have to go get them.
The clacking of rocks alerted them to another presence further down the mountain. Spyro peered over the cliff to see two grublins climbing towards them, one with a headdress of feathers adorning his head, another carrying a sharp metal spear. Spyro sat and awaited the newcomers: the grublin chieftain and his guard. He took a moment to gather himself, and did his best to put on an aura of dominance and arrogance. As the grublins climbed over the edge, Quake took up a position behind and subordinate to Spyro.
"What is it, Raz'tack? Make it quick." Spyro always felt disgusted with himself when speaking in such a tone, but it was what the grublins wished for.
A series of audible clicks and squeaks came from the leader of the grublins.
"Thank you. See that your warriors carry out my instructions to the letter."
The grublin answered with a few more clicks and squeaks, and then a deep gurgling noise. He then bowed, and his subordinate did likewise, sinking even lower than the chief. They left without looking back at the purple dragon.
Quake stepped forward next to Spyro once they were out of sight.
"How did you learn their language again?" he asked, cocking his head.
Spyro shrugged, "I'd like the answer to that, myself… I don't remember anything of the week when I, uh…'lost it'. Since then, I've known what they say."
"Well, that's terribly convenient. What'd he say?" Quake asked while staring at Spyro sceptically.
"That all the preparations were complete, and that his subordinates were ready to lay down their lives in my defence if I should command it, but they know the plan and will do as I have instructed." "How'd they take the orders? I think you mentioned something about how grublins felt about retreating?"
Spyro shook his head. "Raz'tackdidn't take it very well at first. He felt he was being ordered to be a coward."
"Who knew grublins had any sense of honor…" Spyro simply shrugged. "Go get Ray and prepare yourselves. We'll go over everything one last time before morning."
Ancestors be willing; this must work.
Quake sighed deeply, silently pleading the same, and took off.
*.*.*
Cynder landed on a tall, blackened outcropping, and crept to its edge. Peering over, she saw the sprawling grublin encampment based around the volcano's foothills. Camp and cooking fires lit its insides, and patrols bearing torches paraded around the outside of the camp in an interleaving fashion. Here and there, a patrol bearing its lights to break through the night's darkness could be seen making their way up and down the crater and rugged cliffs that surrounded the area.
The sun's very tip could now be seen creeping over the horizon in the east.
Cynder began to scan the encampment, looking for anything that wasn't grublin, orc or the rare troll. After looking over the entire camp several times, she concluded that her prey wasn't among them.
'Where are they?!'her inner self yelled. Snorting, she refocused on the larger patrols, hoping that they could be possibly leading them.
But to her dismay, as she grinded her talons on the black rocks, she couldn't see Quake, Rey, or Spyro among any of them. But the sun's light had not yet lit the entire basin. The black dragoness felt somewhat open without her darkness around her, but it wouldn't help her find what she was looking for.
Next, she scanned as much of the volcano's crevices and slopes as she could, but again found no trace of the two possessed dragons or their possessor.
Cynder's brain went into overdrive wondering where they could be. After eliminating all the options that were tactically ludicrous, she came to two possible conclusions.
They are either in the volcano…or not here at all.
The second option felt like a lance penetrating her chest. What if this is all a distraction?! What if they are razing Warfang to the ground as we speak?
Images of a burning city filled her mind. The fields outside of Warfang trampled by boots; the gates of Warfang lying broken on the ground inside the courtyard she had once defended; the city's great white walls and buildings torn down into heaps of smoking rubble; and the charred bodies of dragons and moles feasted on by carrion crows.
Then, she saw movement emerge from a passage about halfway up the volcano. She couldn't make out any of the forms of the figures, but she could tell that there were multiple creatures. As their forms drew closer, Cynder recognized the wings of dragons unfurling. A well of animosity bubbled up inside Cynder, her talons digging further into the ground.
At least I know where he is.
The figures then took flight in formation and became recognizable. A purple dragon took up the middle position, a dark orange and dark green dragon at each of his sides, flying in unison. They began to fly a patrol route, occasionally landing. Cynder could only guess the three dragons were conversing with some of the grublin patrols, and then resuming their patrol route high in the sky below the yellow and orange clouds, which looked caustic.
The black dragoness surveyed the situation for a moment, taking careful note of all the patrols, their distance, and if they were approaching or leaving her current position. Then she waited, analyzing every movement of the patrols, watching their patterns crisscrossing the blasted landscape. The patrols gradually thinned out closer to the volcano, and were almost nonexistent by the time one would have reached the area where the three dragons had emerged upon the plateau.
Cynder prepared herself to move in towards the cavern, carefully picking her path. Unfurling her wings, she lifted a paw to drop to a sheltered bluff below her.
"So you thought you could do this by yourself, eh?" a voice called out.
The dark dragoness whipped around, teeth bared and tail high, poised like a scorpion, setting herself to a battle stance.
I hope you liked it. The next chapter will be the last chapter. I don't know if the epilogue will be with it or have its own upload yet. I guess you'll have to find out then :P
Thank you to everyone who reads this story and especially to all who still review. Also tomorrow is my birthday :D
