Tyrrany kept her cloak on tight as she stepped forward down the bustling city street. Flame and Arthur were just behind her, keeping enough of a distance so that she had some modicum of privacy. Jonathan had split off to venture off on his own a while back; presumably, he went to pick up a few of his gang members to trail behind Tyrrany's group. It didn't matter; she was just glad that his ugly mug was hidden behind a mask and far out of her view.
As the hours went by, Tyrrany had to admit that she was a bit enraptured by the sights and sounds of Warfang. It was so different from what she was used to. Sure, it was massively populated like Faeshrine, and some towers rose high over her head… but instead of mushroom stalks and bulbs that blocked out the sky, she could see everything as clear as crystal beside the brick and mortar towers.
Tyrrany did her best to memorize the various buildings, city blocks, and back alleys of the area surrounding the caravan. There was a lot to do during her mission, and she needed to be sure that hiding spots and safe points could be marked on a map. She also did her best to keep herself scarce; she didn't want any of the goons working for the High Queen to warn her of the white dragoness's presence. Flame and Arthur didn't have nearly as much cause to be careful; they were just a fire dragon and a dragonfly. Who would be suspicious of teenagers so mundane?
After several hours of scouting around, Tyrrany came to a stop on a hill that overlooked her primary target: The Dragon Spire. It was the biggest building that Tyrrany had ever seen in her life; it pierced the sky, with the Palace of Kings seated atop it like a cruel crown.
Elenar's seat of power, where she looms over all of the dragon realms… Tyrrany dug her talons into the deep. Getting in there isn't going to be easy.
After she'd had her fill of gazing at that ominous spire, Tyrrany made her way into an adjacent alleyway. She then hid behind a stack of boxes and got down onto her back. But she didn't have much time to relax; the black fortress known as The Nexus was starting to float into view. From what Tyrrany could tell, The Nexus moved about in a circle around the Dragon Spire, and never strayed too far. Tyrrany grimaced; there was something she didn't like about that fortress. The whole thing floated atop what looked like a tiny, upside-down mountain, whose peak was threatening to stab right through Tyrrany and the surrounding area at any moment. How could something so terrifying to behold be used as a safe haven for dark dragon children?
When it became the start of the afternoon, Tyrrany came to rest in one of the city's many back allies. She lay on her back and gazed up at the fortress. She imagined herself reaching out and pushing it out of the way so she could bask in the sunlight.
"I wonder how much longer we're supposed to do this." Flame's voice wondered. Tyrrany sat up in time to see him and the dragonfly make their way into the alleyway.
"Beats me," Arthur replied with a shrug. Tyrrany rolled her eyes. She shifted to get back up onto her feet and cover herself.
"We're supposed to be getting used to the city's layout," Tyrrany announced. "Perhaps father believed I needed one last training exercise before I got my revenge on Elenar."
"Right…" Flame said.
He stepped over to the dragoness and sat down on his haunches beside her. Tyrrany just ignored him and pulled her violin out of its case; she wanted to entertain herself with some low notes until she felt ready to get a move on again. But as she filled the air with tunes, Flame took a deep breath and tapped her shoulder.
"Say, Annie…."
She eyed him curiously. "What?"
"Why don't you and I….Oh, I don't know…" He nervously ran his talons through his mane. "...Why don't we just go have some fun somewhere?"
She stopped playing and raised an eye ridge. "Excuse me."
"When are we ever going to be alone in Warfang again?" Flame asked. "We should find a park or a museum to explore around in… Just you and me."
Arthur scoffed. "What, you want to just ditch me?"
"I didn't mean it like that, Arthur." Flame grimaced.
Tyrrany scrunched up her face; it did sound a little tempting. There were so many amazing places she'd seen during her scouting, but she never really explored inside. And Flame's smile looked so warm, so inviting… but then Tyrrany sighed, and she pointed her nose upward.
"It's not a good idea, Flame." She said. "I don't think my future husband would like it if you put the moves on me."
Flame balked. "Since when did you consider his feelings?"
"I didn't say I considered them: I said Jonathan wouldn't like it." Tyrrany snorted. She picked up her bow to play again. "Anyway, I'm only taking a few minutes to relax, Flame. I don't have time to go to a museum."
"But Annie…"
"No means no, Flame." Tyrrany narrowed her eyes. "Quit while you're ahead."
Flame struggled to think of a response… but ultimately just sighed and stepped away from the dragoness. Arthur came to a landing on Flame's head and uttered a few whispered words to cheer him up. Tyrrany looked away from the pair… and frowned. She put down her bow and curled up to get some rest. Suddenly, she felt too uneasy to play any music. Maybe, just maybe, she'd been too hard on her friend.
Eventually, Tyrrany picked herself up and packed up her violin. She hefted it over her back and made her way forward. She turned her head up one last time to look at that ominous fortress…
And that's when she spotted something in the sky. Two dragonesses spun around each other as they flew down toward the city from the fortress. The first dragoness was dark yellow; nothing important. But the second one… the second one was midnight-black.
Tyrrany gasped; she nearly dropped her violin case.
"A black dragon!" She cried. "I saw a black dragon!"
Flame and Arthur looked at the dragoness in surprise. They then followed her gaze.
"Where is it?" Flame asked.
"There!" Tyrrany shouted. She pointed in the direction of the two dragons as they chased each other through the sky. They seemed to be heading toward a nearby park across the city. Tyrrany's wings writhed in her cloak as she took off down the street; she wanted so badly to just take off and chase them in the air.
"Where are you going?" Arthur shouted as he beat his wings to keep up.
"After them, of course!" Tyrrany snapped. "When are we going to get a chance like this again?!" She moved even faster as she dashed around several boxes and garbage bins. "Hurry up!"
Flame and Arthur exchanged glances. The red dragon just sighed and picked up the pace.
"I guess we're going to the park after all…" He said with a slight chuckle. "Let's go."
"Hey, wait up!" Arthur shouted. He sighed as he struggled to keep up with the two dragons…
~~…~~
The marketplace erupted into chaos as the Sons of Culmubrae dashed throughout the area.
Pots were smashed and plants were burned as they chased furiously after the prince. Many moles and cheetahs scrambled to get their wares out of harm's way as Rune and the apprentices ran past. The furious dragons were hot on their heels, unleashing every attack they could to throw them off.
Brisa took the lead and created a barrier of wind to try and diffuse the multiple blasts of fire from the lead drake. Rune stood in the middle of the group, using his own cyclones to protect the rear flank. And Holly and Ricin did their best to make it difficult for the dragons to keep up the chase.
"Bugger off!" Ricin yelled as he spat globs of poisonous muck over his shoulder. The poison flew through the air and splashed against the drake's armor. It ate away some, but it was hardly enough to deter the Sons of Culmubrae.
Holly unleashed an icy mist from her paws, coating the ground in slippery patches. But the dragons simply flew over the ice or stomped so hard that it shattered underfoot.
Rune cursed himself for his poor thinking; how could he have forgotten about the Sons of Culmubrae? How could he just walk around all willy-nilly while those thugs were still lurking around the city? Even traveling with guards and a Deep Shadow wasn't enough to deter them from an ambush! If Rune got out of this alive, he just knew that he'd never hear the end of it from his mother.
Fight back, you idiot! Runefor hissed. They're trying to kill you!
I need to protect my friends! Rune snapped as he ducked under a bolt of lightning. I can't let them get hurt on my watch!
Rune and the apprentices kept going until they got to the end of the market. There was no more city block to dash down; instead, there was an open pavilion adjacent to the carriages. The pavilion was surrounded by a ring of various buildings. And judging by how various earth spikes were smashing into the rooftops and scattering shingles, there'd be no taking off into the sky to flee.
The prince whirled around and spread out his limbs to get into a battle stance. Holly, Brisa, and Ricin scrambled to remember their training to take a defensive formation around the prince.
"Guys, run!" He yelled as he psyched himself up.
"We can't just leave you!" Brisa yelled.
Holly and Ricin nodded in agreement; they turned to growl at the Sons of Culmubrae as they spread their wings wide and channeled their magics. Brisa was soon just behind him, calling forth as much wind magic as she could. Rune didn't even have time to scold them as the enemy loomed overhead; he just took a breath and called upon every element he could think of.
When bursts of flame came his way, Rune and Brisa countered with gusts of wind. Ricin made more pools of acid, which ate away at the ground before the apprentices as an attempt at area denial. Holly sent a volley of icy spears flying at the fire dragons; they melted her magic but served to distract them long enough for Brisa to slap them across the face with her cyclones. Earth bombs were sent flying through the air at the apprentices, but Rune used his own earth magic to forcibly spin them around and send them crashing toward the lightning dragon. It wasn't much of an offensive, but Rune and his friends put their training to good use.
Unfortunately, this only resulted in the assailants growing angrier. And they weren't alone; another earth dragon in matching armor appeared in the sky off to the side. Rune winced and scrambled to try and protect his friends, while the new attacked summoned up an aura of earth to attack…
And then, up in the air above the dragon, something appeared in a pool of shadows. Rune watched in confusion as a hammer appeared out of nowhere… and promptly clonked the earth drake on the head. The dragon was not only knocked off-balance, but he lost control of his magic, and it promptly exploded in his maw, sending him hurtling toward the ground. The hammer plummeted swiftly toward the ground, only for another pool of shadows to open and catch it.
Rune didn't have to guess what had happened; already he could sense a pool of shadows opening up. Ozul appeared from the pool, and he shakily stood up to join the others.
"Ozul?!" Rune asked incredulously. "But I sent you to-"
"RUNE!"
Rune and the apprentices gasped; Albanion was shouting from across the way. Rune glanced past the thugs and spotted the Deep Shadow scrambling to fly to the students' aid, with more guards in tow. Rune sighed in relief and looked at Ozul.
"Good work."
Ozul nodded in response; he was too jittery to speak. But he still spread his wings and stood beside his friends as they fought to hold off the assailants.
The leader of the assailants turned around and snarled at Albanion. He signaled for the earth and lightning dragons to look at him as he reached into his pocket on his armor.
"You two deal with the Deep Shadow!" The fire dragon declared. His eyes gleamed as he produced something that glowed with a deep, frightening shade of purple. "I'll deal with the black prince myself!"
C-Convexity?! Rune's heart plummeted into his stomach as he beheld the wicked magic in the dragon's grasp. Where did he get that?!
The fire dragon stomped forward, while his allies turned around to do battle with Albanion. The red drake smashed the convexity crystal and immediately consumed the aether that spilled forth. The drake spread his limbs out and howled as the magic took hold. A purple aura formed around the drake's scales, and the air around him began to grow hotter and hotter. The heat quickly washed over the young dragons in waves; Holly immediately collapsed and panted as she struggled to keep cool. Brisa blew out blasts of wind to try and blow the hot air back at the drake, but it did little. Rune spread his wings out and released an icy mist to try and keep his friends calm.
"Holly, get up!" Ozul nudged the blue dragoness and tried to get her to rise.
"I… I'm trying…" She coughed. "It's too much…"
Rune had seconds to act; he inhaled deeply and unleashed even more cool mist… as purple flames erupted from the assailant's nostrils. The drake reeled his head back and unleashed a powerful burst of purple flames.
Holly just barely managed to get up in time to unleash her icy mist. It combined with Rune's, and their magics formed a barrier of ice around the young dragons. Unfortunately, the drake's convexity-infused flames were still far hotter. Rune and Holly struggled to keep the ice going as the dragon stomped forward to overpower them. The fiery breath wore out just before the ice magic did, leaving the two panting as steam fell over them.
"We need to fall back!" Ozul yelled as he tugged on Holly and Ricin to follow him. "Come on!"
"Oh no, you don't!" Screamed a voice from above.
Ozul looked up and immediately screamed as an earth spike flew toward him. He scrambled out of the way just before he was impaled, and Ricin and Brisa scrambled in arcs to avoid more spikes.
Rune looked back quickly to see who it was. The earth dragon who'd tried attacking before had recovered, and he gazed furiously down at Ozul as the shadow dragon shivered. The earth drake's body now had a similar aura as the fire dragon; he must have had a convexity crystal of his own.
The earth dragon zoomed throughout the air, spitting out earth spike after earth spike. They impaled the ground with frightening speed, sending shockwaves out to knock the young dragons off their paws. While that happened, the fire dragon dashed wildly around the area, spitting more and more convexity-infused flames. Rune and the apprentices looked around in horror as they were soon surrounded by burning earth pillars. And the skies were certainly no way out; the earth dragon flew about in the air, eager to attack any who dared try to fly away.
Rune's eyes constricted as he looked around at the purple fire. Thick smoke rose that threatened to burn his throat. He tried blasting them away with wind, with Brisa doing the same… but it was all quickly replaced by more smoke.
"No, no, no…" Ozul shivered from head to toe-talon as he beheld the flames. He tried to hide in his shadow… only for a fierce red forepaw to reach in after him. The red drake leaped through the flames and slammed the ground to grab Ozul and pull him out. The dragon then squeezed Ozul's neck, making him gag.
"Let him go!" Holly yelled; she stood up despite the intense heat. She tried to unleash a burst of mist, but it quickly evaporated. The red dragon hissed in anger and smacked her away with a tail swipe.
"You asshole!" Ricin roared; a torrent of green poison splashed all over the dragon's flank. The drake hissed as his scales were infected, but he charged through it to slam Ozul down into him. The two howled in pain as they rolled around on the ground.
Brisa dashed forward to push them out of the way; she beat her wings as hard and fast as her wind magic would allow her. The drake reeled back and tried to attack her with purple flames, but Rune flew through the air and slashed at the dragon's muzzle with his talons. The dragon stumbled back and nearly fell against the earth spikes, while Rune landed and whirled around to face him.
"Leave them alone!" Rune snarled as he spread out his wings. "I'm the one you want!"
The assailant snarled in rage; He stood up and glared down at Rune despite his bleeding face. The dragon unleashed another torrent of purple flames, to which Rune countered with the biggest cyclone he could create. The flames were dissipated, but the dragon charged forward regardless. He swiped at Rune, who tried to dodge… but was hit in the flank. Rune winced as he crashed to the ground; the pain had flared up in his left hind leg. He tried to get up and reel around, but the attack bore down on him, slashing at the prince with purple-tinted talons.
Rune howled as the dragon clawed at his sides. He immediately called upon his water magic to heal his wounds. But it was a struggle to focus on healing himself and scramble away from the assailant at the same time, let alone keep him distracted from attacking his friends again.
"Your days are numbered, heathen!" The fire dragon howled.
Fight back with convexity! Runefor screamed in Rune's mind. We can take this blowhard!
I won't risk letting YOU get out! Rune growled internally. He healed his sides and spread out his limbs to face the assailant. As the fire drake reeled back to unleash another burst of flames, Rune inhaled deeply and prepared to unleash the biggest burst of ice that he could…
Only for the pain to spring up in the back of his head. It started feint and mild at first… but over time it grew worse and worse. Rune clutched his head and collapsed onto the ground. He snarled and twitched in pain, struggling in vain to rise back onto his feet.
"RUNE!" The apprentices screamed.
What are you doing, Runefor?! He demanded.
This isn't my doing! I feel it too! Runefor hissed. Gah! This is unbearable!
As the prince writhed in agony, he watched as the leader took in the sight with a peculiar expression. The assailant quickly grinned with horrible glee as he inhaled even deeper. As the fire drake got closer, Rune. Rune tried to call upon his magic to save himself in any way he could; ice spires, earth shield, shadow-jumping… but they all failed him. All the prince could do was look on in horror as a burst of purple flames erupted from the dragon's maw…
…and went completely around the prince.
Both Rune and the attacker watched in confusion as the flames went in a perfect ring around the prince and died away in seconds; they didn't even come close to the apprentices. With a snarl, the attacker tried again, but his flames died out halfway to Rune's muzzle.
"Wh-what happened?" Brisa asked in confusion.
"What's going on?!" The attacked demanded. He glared down at the prince. "What have you done to my convexity?!"
Rune wanted to spit some kind of insult at the assailant, but the pain in his head was too great; all he could do was snarl and wince. The attacker snorted in derision and just raised his forepaw to slice at Rune's face… only for lightning bolts to fly in from out of nowhere and strike the assailant. The red dragon howled in pain as the lightning danced across his scales; he collapsed to the ground in a heap, where he struggled to get back up.
This was the moment when the flying earth dragon decided he'd had enough of just watching, and tried to zoom down to smash Rune beneath his glowing purplish-green body… But then there was a flash; almost too quick for Rune to notice, he felt something change.
The earth dragon suddenly screamed as he veered off-course. "MY EYES!"
BOOM!
The earth dragon crashed into the ground, creating a shockwave so great that it knocked over the entire ring of earth spikes. Rune and the apprentices looked all around, scarcely believing it as the ring of purple flames died down.
"Alright, I think that's enough of that." A voice said nearby and up above. "You and your friends have disrupted my caravan for long enough."
Confused, Rune turned his head to see who it was. Rune could hardly believe his eyes when he spotted someone standing on one of the nearby rooftops. It was a purple dragon, dressed in a fancy cloak and adorned with a golden mane and beard. The sun's rays seemed to cast the dragon in a heavenly glow as he gracefully glided down to the ground. He loomed over the apprentices with a mysterious glint in his eyes. He simply smiled down and offered Rune a forepaw.
"Care for some help, my prince?"
"Y…You…" Rune stammered in disbelief. He took the dragon's paw with trepidation and rose to his paws. As Bergan helped the other young dragons rise, Rook took a step back. He couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"Who is this guy?" Ricin asked as he helped Brisa get up. Ozul and Holly took a step back, while the purple dragon simply snickered.
"Who am I?" He asked with a cheeky smile. "Why, I'm…"
"Bergan!" Someone roared from across the way.
"Hmm…" The purple dragon clicked his tongue as he and the young dragons looked across the way. Albanion had finally cleared a path, and he stomped furiously toward the group. The guards behind him were in the middle of restraining and hauling away the other Sons of Culmubrae. The Deep Shadow's eye twitched as he made to stand before the students.
"I should have known you'd be here." Albanion snapped. "Who else but the founder of the FTC would spearhead a caravan of traders bearing the trading company's logo?!"
"Well, it's nice to see you too." Bergan cocked his eye ridge at Albanion... "Long time no see, my most esteemed Deep Shadow."
The students exchanged uneasy glances, while Rune looked up at Albanion curiously. "You know him, Uncle?"
"We've met a few times before." Albanion rumbled. "Mostly when we were children, training under Lord Spyro's watch."
"And my how times change!" Bergan declared, looking at the young dragons. "My dear, cheeky friend has finally gained his dream, and he's even training the next generation to take up the mantle." He snickered as he stood up tall. "You've done well for yourself, Albanion."
Albanion silently glowered, while Rune took a breath of relief and looked around. The various merchants were hard at work cleaning up after the battle. They worked with alarming efficiency, using the exact methods needed to repair any damage done to their goods or vehicles. A short distance away Albanion's guards were hauling away the other Sons of Culmubrae toward the opposite end of the street.
"Don't forget about the earth drake across the way or his friend over here!" Bergan gestured to the two fallen assailants as he called out to the soldiers. "These gruesome fellows tried to assassinate your prince and his friends! I'm sure Queen Elenar would be interested in hearing that."
Rune sucked in a breath; there was no way his mother would allow him to travel out and about if more assailants tried this kind of thing… especially not if they had access to Convexity. He flapped his wings in worry and fidgeted with his talons.
Suddenly, there came a shifting from across the way. "YOU!"
Ozul and Holly yelped as the red dragon suddenly twitched. They moved to back away, while Brisa and Ricin growled and spread out their wings. Albanion grasped Rune's shoulder and pushed him back toward the apprentices as he snarled at the assailant. But the drake ignored all of them and focused his gaze squarely on Bergan.
"You…" The dragon wearily took a step; his magic had been exhausted. "You… You TRAITOR!"
"Traitor?" Bergan repeated with a scoff. "Whatever are you talking about?"
The red dragon struggled to lunge at Bergan, but the purple drake simply side-stepped out of the way. The assailant's attacks were slow and inaccurate, but he tried several times to land a hit on Bergan. All the while, Bergan simply moved out of the way with a spiritless expression.
"We almost had him!" The drake snarled. "Richteriel could have been avenged! But you've gone and turned against the Order of Culmubrae!"
Albanion shot Bergan a scowl, but the purple drake simply snorted and rolled his eyes.
"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Bergan said. "I was never a member of the Order. And besides, I have no love for Richteriel." He sidestepped another blow. "You're barking up the wrong tree, my friend."
It was about this time when the guards finally charged over and struck the red drake down. They forcibly restrained the assailant and dragged him backward. But for the entire time, the assailant continued to curse the purple drake and swipe furiously at the air before him.
"You're a traitor, Bergan!" He screamed. "A TRAITOR!"
"Yes, yes, we all get the point…" Bergan just snorted and wiped off his foreleg. He then smirked at Albanion and scratched his beard. "Is this the kind of dragon who's been causing so much trouble for Warfang lately? I can't begin to imagine the headaches they cause for your fellow Deep Shadows."
Albanion didn't comment on the rogues; he just scowled in Bergan's face. "You're in a world of trouble."
"Am I?" Bergan tilted his head. "Is that line of speech any way to thank me for helping to save the life of your apprentices?"
Albanion glanced down at the young dragons, who sheepishly fell back on their haunches. Albanion sighed, and then glared back at Bergan.
"I'm grateful that they aren't seriously hurt… but protecting them doesn't make up for years of neglect."
"Oh?"
"Bergan, you've refused an audience with the High Queen for nearly four years." Albanion pointed a talon at Bergan's snout. If you're in Warfang uninvited, then you best believe that the queen will hear about this."
"Uninvited?" Bergan snorted. "That's funny: last I recall, merchant businesses only need to show their permits to the city guards to gain access to the local market. And everyone in the FTC has one of those, me included." He fluttered his wings as he opened his cloak and gestured to a scroll. "It's right there if you want a look."
Albanion glowered. "You can't just argue your way out of the consequences, Bergan."
"Oh, I'm not trying to start any arguments." Bergan rolled his eyes. "Let me make a proposal; after you've sent off your apprentices to their families, why not follow me back to my shop? Let's see if there are some choice items that you'd like to buy for some very particular dragonesses." He pointed his muzzle down the street and grinned. "Maybe I'll even set you up with a spot of tea, or any other delightful delicacy I've got sitting around…" Bergan looked right at Prince Rune, and his eyes beamed. "I'm sure YOU would like a moment of quiet."
Rune balked. "M-Me?"
"You've had quite a spot of bother lately, I presume." The purple drake snickered. "You require keeping some pesky voices silent. I've got more than my fair share of magical wares, and any one of them could be the answer you need." Bergan raised his eye ridges and flourished his paw. "If there's something you need, I'm the dragon who can-"
"No." Albanion snapped.
Rune balked, and he turned toward the Deep Shadow. "Uncle, wait. I wouldn't mind taking him up on the offer."
Albanion sneered down at him. "Don't you think you've gotten into enough trouble today, prince?"
"At the very least… he saved my life." Rune stood up taller and gestured to the apprentices. "He saved ALL of our lives. Paying a visit to his shop is the least I could do to thank him, Uncle."
"He's right," Holly said as she stepped up and bowed his head to the purple dragon. "Thank you for saving us, Mr. Bergan."
One by one, the other apprentices bowed and offered thanks. Bergan's eyes lit up, and he gave a hearty laugh.
"You're most welcome." He flourished his cloak again.
Albanion simply rolled his eyes and groaned, before sneering at the prince.
"Fine; we'll go to Bergan's carriage." He then cast a suspicious glare toward the purple dragon. "And… I also thank you, for saving my students AND my nephew."
"Oh, you're most welcome, old friend," Bergan said with a feint aura of satisfaction. Albanion scowled at that, but said nothing else, leaving Rune to curiously look between the two.
Albanion called over his guards, and they gestured for the four apprentices to follow them back to safety.
"I want all of you to go straight home." He ordered. "No detours, and no going to the Dragon Spire for the rest of the day. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master." The apprentices said together. One by one, they stood up to turn around.
"We'll see you later, Rune," Ozul said as he rubbed his neck; he had a few bruises from where the assailant had choked him. Holly stepped up to apply a small layer of ice to soothe the wounds, before frowning at Rune.
"Goodbye, Rune." She frowned. "I hope you're okay."
"I'm fine…" He gave a reassuring gesture. "Don't worry about me."
"Mom's not going to believe this when I tell her…" Brisa looked around with a grimace at the carnage throughout the marketplace. "Well… see ya later, Rune."
"Yeah." Ricin nodded toward the prince as he trotted past the wind dragoness. "I'll see you later, at the-"
"Hold on a minute, lad…" Bergan said. He stepped up to Ricin, who looked up in confusion. "I have something for you."
Bergan reached into his cloak and very casually pulled out a box. It contained an elegant set of paints… exactly the same make and model as the one Ricin got before. The indigo dubiously took it in his hands and grimaced.
"Uh… thanks?" He said dubiously. "But why would I need another one, when-?"
Squish.
Ricin shuddered as a cold liquid spilled out of the bottom of his satchel. He and the other apprentices looked down… and reeled back at the horrible mess. During the whole battle, Ricin's paints had been knocked loose, and now they all bled like a malformed rainbow through the fabric.
"Oh, no, no, no!" Ricin held up his satchel in horror. "My stuff! My bag!"
"I'm… terribly sorry." Bergan grimaced. "Some things can't be helped."
Ricin couldn't look back up; he just passed the art set to Holly as he cradled his satchel as if a pet had died. Ozul and Brisa wound up checking on their own satchels, just in case their items had been ruined.
"Oh, shoot!" Brisa looked around. "I dropped my weird bag instrument!"
"I'm sure the guards can help you find it," Holly said reassuringly as the two dragoness walked off.
"It can't be hard to find…" Ozul said with a frown. He walked slowly with Ricin, who muttered something sadly as he held the item close. "Come on, Ricin. It's not the end of the world. You can still paint with the new set"
"But Rune bought it for me…" He sniffed. "It's just not the same."
Rune frowned as he watched his friends leave. He'd hoped to have said goodbyes in a more pleasant circumstance. It pained him to see Holly, Brisa, Ozul, and Ricin have to head home early, and it was all the worse that they'd nearly gotten killed trying to defend him. All because he was a target of such a vile, disgusting group.
I hope you guys can take care of yourself, Rune thought sadly. He then sighed and turned to look up at Bergan. "Alright… so where's your carriage?"
"Not too far." He gestured with a wing and smiled. "Follow me, gentlemen."
Bergan cleared a way through the rubble, and Albanion and Rune walked after him. The assailants were hauled away, and soon the area was left vacant.
There was just one other dragon still in the area. He stepped around the side of a carriage and peered suspiciously through his plain white mask. The golden drake idly sipped from a frozen drink that he'd acquired down the street. He winced at the taste as he surveyed the carnage.
This is some serious wreckage, Bulb scowled. And that black dragon… he's more capable than I figured. Still, those big guys might have actually done him in, if Bergan hadn't…
Bulb growled. What was Bergan playing at, SAVING the black dragon? Wasn't the whole to KILL the bloody princes? Isn't that what Saul…?
Ugh, why do I care what Saul wants, anyway? Bulb gnashed his fangs beneath his mask. He tossed his drink on the street and dashed off. This whole thing sucks.
But as the golden drake made himself scarce, he sighed in relief knowing he didn't try going after that prince while he was surrounded by his friends. He couldn't imagine how things might have turned out differently.
~~…~~
Bergan led Rune and Albanion down the street as the streets were cleaned up of earth and rubble.
Along the way, Rune cast curious glances upon Bergan. Ever since the prince started living in Warfang, he'd become vaguely aware of the existence of the merchant. It was so strange to him: All this time, during all of this conflict in the world, there was a purple dragon living and breathing through it all. And not only that but this Bergan was said to have trained under the tutelage of Spyro and Cynder at some point. But neither of them had ever mentioned Bergan to Rune during any of his meditation sessions.
Hold on… Rune started to rumble with worry and slight frustration. If this Bergan was around during the Twilight War, why didn't he do anything to stop it? And… where was he during the Malefor Ordeal? Rune cast a suspicious glance at the back of Bergan's neck. Couldn't he have helped?
"Not if people don't listen to me," Bergan said abruptly.
Rune balked and came to a sudden stop. He looked up at Bergan incredulously as the purple drake turned to cast a smirk down at him. Albanion stopped in surprise and then glared at Bergan as he fluttered his wings.
"Y-You can read minds?" Rune asked incredulously.
"No. But I could tell you were about to ask me some rather choice questions." Bergan laughed. "I'm not all-powerful, my dear prince. Sad to say, but I pale in comparison to the magic that was at Lord Spyro's disposal. That, coupled with only being a boy when that war started, was reason enough for plenty of dragons to ignore anything I said."
"Not ALL of them." Albanion chimed in with an air of frustration. "You've had your influences in the past, Bergan. Don't sell yourself short."
"Hmph. I'd say that's open to interpretation…" Bergan rolled his eyes. "But that was the past, and this is the present, where I've promised to deliver unto you some decent food and beverage. Let's press on, shall we?"
Rune wasn't fully convinced. He had a feeling there was more to this dragon than he was letting on.
Eventually, Bergan led Rune and Albanion to a large carriage at the end of the caravan. It was a behemoth compared to the rest of the caravan, and its exterior was much more extravagant. Patterns of purple and gold were adorned across every side, and a few tables were arranged out front with various items on display. No less than six cheetahs were standing guard on either side of the front door. When they saw the purple dragon approach, they bowed their heads and stepped out of the way.
"Follow me inside, gentlemen," Bergan said as he unlocked the door. "Oh, but before we do…" He turned toward Rune and held his forepaw out. Rune got defensive, while Albanion growled. With a flick of his wrist, Bergan produced a gold coin from between his talons. "I believe you dropped this, my prince."
"Oh…" Rune blinked as he took the coin and held it up. He'd almost forgotten that he'd even held a coin out before the scuffle. "Uh, thanks, Mr. Bergan."
"You wouldn't have missed the coin, Your Highness." Albanion snorted as he relaxed.
"Ah, but it was still his, so I returned it to him." Bergan chuckled. He then pushed his front door open and stepped inside. "Come in, come! Make yourselves at home!"
The interior of the carriage wasn't what Rune expected to see. As he stepped through the doorway, the first thing he saw was a large table in the center of the carriage, with a few small cushions scattered around it. Massive shelves lined the walls on all sides, save for the spots for the windows. Various trinkets, vials, tomes, and other odd objects were ornately piled up in every nook and cranny. An odd box sat on a shelf on the far side of the room and was marked with a glyph shaped like a set of scales. Everything looked like it was neatly swept and polished to give the room a marvelous sheen.
"What kind of shop is this?" Rune asked. Bergan walked around the table and sat down at the far end of it.
"Why, it's a magic shop!" Bergan answered with a smile. "I don't go around declaring it, but I've spent some time practicing as a magician. Non-draconic methods of magic and incantations have fascinated me ever since I was a boy." Bergan opened a little container off to the side and produced the ingredients for a teapot and some cups. "Have a look around; the tea will be ready in just a moment."
"Hmm…" Albanion looked all around suspiciously. "You'd better not be carrying anything that's considered forbidden magic, Bergan. Otherwise, the queen will-"
"Come now, you don't think I'd have forbidden magical ingredients just sitting around, do you?" Bergan pursed his lips as he set up his teapot over a magical fire on the table. "Do you take me for a fool? I'd never be caught violating the laws of any city!"
"Hmph." Albanion just harrumphed and got to looking around at the various items. "Very well, Bergan."
Rune took a steady breath as he got to looking around at what was on display. There had to be items from the furthest corners of the dragon realms all gathered on one shelf. One book that caught the prince's interest was a tome called The Fundamentals of Darkness and Light, which looked to be written in ancient draconic. As Rune ran his talons along the rough bindings of the tome, Bergan chuckled.
"I don't think you'd be able to read that." He said. "That book is older than your grandfather's grandfather."
Still, it might make for an interesting addition to my collection. Rune thought with a smile.
Ugh, you bore me.
Albanion looked over the jewelry that Bergan had for sale. He mildly acknowledged the various rings while the purple drake leaned in to watch.
"Spotted something appealing, have we?" Bergan raised an eye ridge. "Now what would a Deep Shadow want to do with jewels?"
"I'm looking for a gift for my wife." Albanion snorted. "It should match her in beauty and elegance."
"My, aren't we the romantic sort?" Bergan laughed. "I remember a time when you had a keen eye for all the lovely young dragonesses in the Dragon Spire. Though you didn't use words like elegance or beauty…" He put on a smirk. "It was more along the lines of fu-"
"That's enough of that." Albanion sneered. "I've changed quite a bit in the decades since we were boys, Bergan."
"Hmm, I suppose plenty of dragons change over time…" Bergan turned to face Rune. "What about you, your highness? Is there a special female in your life as well?"
"Well…" Rune scratched his head with a wing-thumb. "There was one, but she's mad at me now. I was wondering if I could find something to make her ease up a bit."
"Hmm, that might be tricky." Bergan pursed his lips. "The underworld hath no fury like a young dragoness scorned. If you did something to anger her, then she may hold a grudge for some time."
"Then what else am I supposed to do?" Rune demanded. "If I try to court some other dragoness, that'll only make Helianne even angrier with me."
"Ah, yes. Courtship among royals can make for quite a complicated game." Bergan laughed. "But if there's anything most princesses have in common, it's that they melt like butter in the sun when presented with fine jewelry."
Rune scratched his chin at that. "Well, do you have anything that was finely made?"
The purple drake ran a paw through his beard. "Hmm, I believe I have just the thing! For both of you, in fact!"
Bergan turned and picked up the box off the shelf behind him and started rifling through it. Rune and Albanion stepped just a bit closer to get a better look.
"I keep my most valuable, one-of-a-kind items in this box right here!" Bergan declared. "Normally I have an assistant hold onto the key, but she's off on an extended break today, so I'm all by myself."
After a minute, Bergan pulled out two pieces of jewelry. The first one was a large white gem that was hung on a golden chain. The other bit of jewelry was a finely crafted jade necklace. The purple drake handed the former to Albanion and the latter to Rune.
Albanion inspected the white gem curiously. "What is this?"
"What you have there, old friend, is a rare Serenity Gem." Bergan clasped his forepaws together. "By presenting this to your significant other, you are telling her that she is akin to a shining beacon of grace and elegance that will illuminate your life for the rest of time." The drake couldn't help but flourish his paws. "I'll sell it to you for thirty pieces of gold, a fraction of the cost you'd pay elsewhere."
Albanion held the gem close and inspected the surface with increasing suspicion. "You didn't do anything magical to this gem, did you?"
"Not yet, but I could." Bergan grinned. "Perhaps a ward to stave off harmful poisons?"
"Very funny…" Albanion snorted.
"Perhaps instead, I could make a blessing that brings good luck." Bergan flapped his wings playfully. "There's always a classic enchantment; defense against dark arts. Is any of that sounding appealing, Albanion?"
Albanion just rolled his eyes and put the gem down. Rune tilted his head and studied his uncle's face; the prince had a feeling that Albanion was inspecting the gem for any kind of corruption or curses. But when he found nothing, Albanion just sighed and reached into his coin purse.
"Alright, Bergan: I'll take it." He produced the specified amount of gold, and then placed the gem in a pocket.
"Thank you for your patronage." Bergan bowed his head and smiled. He then eyed Rune warmly. "And what about you, my prince? What do you think of the jade necklace?"
"Uh…" Rune held it up and looked it over; something about the necklace looked oddly familiar. "Where is this from?"
"From the finest forge to be found in Glenhaven, of course." Bergan smiled. "It was handcrafted by masterful earth dragon artisans."
"Glenhaven?" Rune raised an eye ridge. "That's funny; all of the best earth dragon artisans teach at the Glenhaven Palace, and I've never met anyone who made necklaces."
"Well, perhaps it was before your time," Bergan smirked. "Ever wonder what Telus did with his free time back in his Guardian days? Perhaps you could ask him when you see him next."
"Maybe…" Rune put the necklace down. "How much is it?"
"Well, since you are the prince, and I saved you from a gruesome death at the hands of insurgents, I'll sell it for…" He stroked his beard again. "…Ten pieces of gold!"
"It's a deal!" The prince exclaimed. He produced ten pieces and pocketed the necklace. "Whoever I give this to, I'm sure they're going to love it."
"I'm sure they will." Bergan's eyes sparkled. Albanion clasped his talons together as he studied the merchant with suspicion. Bergan frowned and looked him over. "What is it now, my friend?"
"You may have helped the prince this day, and your sales were rather generous to be sure…" Albanion leaned forward and glared harder. "But that doesn't excuse you for your continued absence."
"Oh?" Bergan tilted his head and smiled curiously.
"Elenar will be learning of your presence as soon as I return to the Dragon Spire." Albanion declared. "She'll no doubt want to speak to you before nightfall. You'd better not up and disappear again before then, Bergan, or you'll be in for a world of hurt."
Bergan's smile faded. He rose to his full height and flapped his wings.
"Let me just remind you that I'm not merely a merchant boy anymore." He said coldly. "Not only am I in charge of the Faeshrine Trading Company… I am in charge of Faeshrine." He lightly placed a paw on his chest. "Some would say that I'm the closest thing the city has had to a monarch in many years. So…" He scowled just a bit more. "If Elenar wants my audience, then it will only be by my consent."
The purple drake wracked his talons on the table, as the air felt just a bit colder around Rune and Albanion.
"I don't take kindly to threats, Albanion," Bergan said; it was the most serious tone that Rune had heard from the drake all day. "So choose your actions very carefully."
Albanion and Bergan glared at each other silently for a long time. Rune looked back and forth between them, a chill going up his spine. Something had happened between the two years ago; the prince could see it in their eyes. Rune suddenly wanted more than ever to get out of that carriage and be on his way.
"Uh, Uncle…" Rune tugged on the Deep Shadow's sleeve. "It's getting late. We need to warn my mother about the fact that the Sons of Culmubrae have access to Convexity."
Albanion's eye twitched. He cursed himself under his breath as if the images of the purple flames from before had completely slipped his mind. With a grumble, he stood up tall and flapped his wings.
"Well… we'd best get going, then." Albanion turned toward the door to push it open. He then glanced back at Bergan one last time. "We WILL be speaking again, Merchant."
"Of course…" Bergan picked up his tea glass and took a sip. He then held the cup up as if to toast the Deep Shadow. "Until then, have a safe day, Deep Shadow."
Albanion held a scowl as he stepped into the light of day. Rune glanced uneasily between the two before following his uncle outside. As he gripped the door to close it behind himself, he looked Bergan in the eyes and lightly bit his lower lip.
"Th-Thanks again for saving my friends today," Rune said. "Goodbye."
And with that, Rune closed the door. Bergan was left alone to drink his tea. He finished off his glass and looked outside to see Rune following Albanion into the air to head back toward the Dragon Spire. Bergan wracked his talons on the table once more as he waited until they were finally gone.
"Two more pawns have joined the game," Bergan said as he stood up and grinned. "And now… the game carries on."
~~…~~
Cyrus and Tina flew through the skies as they made their way to the northern part of Warfang. Cyrus did a somersault in the air and laughed: it always felt good to take to the air whenever he was done dealing with training and responsibilities back at the Spire. The prince sighed in satisfaction as he gazed down at the many houses and towers from way up high. As he tilted his head, he took in the sight of the northern walls and battlements at the edge of the city, as well as the expansive plains beyond.
It had been a long time since Cyrus went on his great adventure across the dragon realms. He wished he had more time to stop and take in the sights back then, without having to worry so much about doing his part to save the world. He also wished he had more chances to venture out past the walls of Warfang to take in those same sights once again. But no, he always had to play the role of a prince. He didn't even get to visit any specific places like Rune did every year. Cyrus was stuck at home, listening to his mother…
But not here. Not in the sky. Up amongst the clouds, Cyrus was free; he could fly to whatever corner of the city he pleased. He beat his wings and spun in a circle. The prince flew around in a loop in the air, using his wind magic to boost his speed. Here in the clouds, no one could tell him where he could or couldn't go…
Nor could anyone stop him from looking upon Tina with wide eyes. The dark-yellow dragoness held the same playful grin she always had as she flew beside the prince. Sometimes she'd follow him, and other times he'd follow her. And to be honest, he didn't mind having her lead him around. Not when it meant he could look upon her wonderful form. Cyrus swelled with joy, and felt warmth run up and down his body; Tina was so beautiful. There was no one else he'd rather have to join him up in the clouds.
On a whim, Cyrus flew around in a wide arc around Tina. She slowed down and looked around incredulously as the prince flew this way and that. After sucking in a breath, the prince proceeded to go through his usual array of stunts: aerial spins, back flips, exaggerated twirls, and the like. All for her.
"Pretty cool, huh, Tina?" He asked with a grin as he flew beside her.
Tina just rolled her eyes at the sight. She beat her wings and focused her gaze on him. Her eyes began to glow a bright white… and suddenly, Cyrus came to a stop in the air. He wriggled and struggled as invisible binds held him in place.
"Hey, what the-?" Cyrus looked at Tina incredulously. "What are you…? How are you…?"
"Dad's been teaching me some new tricks…" Tina smirked as she flew around him. "…starting with telekinesis."
Cyrus struggled even harder to get free of the magic, to no avail. "Tina, let me go!"
"Say Uncle, Shorty." She declared.
"What?! No way!" He snapped.
"Say it…" Tina said with glee. The more the prince struggled, the more he felt like a fool. He couldn't even use his shadow magic to slip away; there were no shadows to jump into.
"Alright, alright! UNCLE!" He screamed.
Immediately the binds vanished and Cyrus fell a short distance. After a moment, he beat his wings and forced himself to regain control of his wings. The prince then brought himself back up to level with Tina, who was struggling to not erupt into a giggling fit.
"I am so getting back at you for that!" Cyrus yelled.
"You'll have to catch me first!" Tina stuck her tongue out at him. She then turned toward the northwest and took off at high speed, laughing all the way.
Cyrus glared as he chased after her… but after a moment, he couldn't help but give his own little chuckles. No matter what Tina did, Cyrus just couldn't stay mad at her. He just wished she'd take him a bit more seriously…
~~…~~
Down in the city streets, Tyrrany chased after the two dragons in hot pursuit. Flame and Arthur struggled to keep up with her. Whether or not Jonathan was following in turn, Tyrrany didn't care. She just couldn't take her eyes off the black dragoness; of all the places in all of Warfang they could have searched, and there one was, just like that.
At one point, the two dragonesses stopped in the air and proceeded to behave oddly. There was a lot of twirling around one another. At one point, one dragon was frozen in place in the air, while the other dashed about them. But eventually, it wore off, and the two chased each other through the sky. Tyrrany couldn't fathom what would make the two behave in such a way. But that wasn't important. She continued following the two dragonesses, seeing where they might lead her.
But who is this dragoness? Tyrrany wondered. The only ones anybody's mentioned are an elder and Elenar's two sons. Nothing about any black dragonesses.
"Annie, wait up!" Flame shouted, breathing heavily.
"You need to slow down, girl!" Arthur added, flying near the red dragon.
"I can't let the black dragoness get away!" Tyrrany called back to them. "Pick up the pace if you don't want to be left behind!"
Flame and Arthur sighed. The trio continued their chase, following the two airborne dragonesses across the city.
Eventually, the two flew down to the ground, landing in an unpopulated park in the northwestern part of Warfang. Tyrrany, Flame and Arthur entered the park, hiding behind a patch of trees to spy on the two dragonesses. The dark yellow dragoness had their back to the trio, while the black one was hidden from view. Tyrrany crouched down and took several breaths; she never realized just how heavy her violin case was until now. Perhaps she should have left it behind…
"Hey, you doing alright?" asked a muffled voice.
Tyrrany flinched; she looked up and saw Jonathan entering the park. He was flanked on either side by two more dragons: a water dragon and a brown earth dragoness. The two of them wore similar masks to Jonathan, bore tattered rags and old pouches as opposed to Jonathan's fancy cloak. All three dragons looked around to make sure that nobody else saw them. With the coast clear, they lifted their masks; the other two were Kass and Mora. They all studied Tyrrany curiously as they formed a small circle.
"Hmph, about time you showed up," Arthur said with crossed arms.
"Oh hush up, gnat." Jonathan snapped. "We would've been right behind if you didn't run out of view so fast."
"Shhh…" Tyrrany held a talon to her lips. "Don't blow our cover."
"What are you talking about?" Mora asked.
"We've run into a black dragon and her friend." Flame answered; he gestured with a forepaw around the side of the bush. "Annie felt like tailing them."
"A black dragon?" Jonathan said; he flinched in place and instinctively reached for his switchblade. "Right around the bend, huh?"
"BE QUIET," Tyrrany said through gritted fangs. "You'll alert them to our presence."
"Alright, alright…" Jonathan brought his voice to a low whisper. "Don't have a cow, Annie."
Tyrrany just rolled her eyes and turned around to peer through the bushes to spy on the two dragonesses…
~~…~~
Cyrus and Tina stood together in the middle of the park to catch their breath.
The pair had visited this park at least once every two weeks for the last four years; whenever they had time to be alone together, they came right here. There was so much to enjoy: the grass was green and freshly cut every morning. So many trees rose to form a natural barrier around the perimeter. Cyrus could just barely see various tall towers peeking up over the trees just outside. There was a river way off to the side, with a stone bridge crossing over it. And best of all… it was quiet. No pesky citizens were meandering around to interfere with the prince's date. The only consistent sounds were of nature itself.
"You need to pick up the pace more, Cyrus." Tina chuckled as she stepped up to him. "You're not quite as lanky as you used to be."
"Heh, that's because I've been packing on the pounds…" Cyrus smirked. He did a dramatic pose and winked. "I've been building up my muscle to look more masculine."
"So, in other words, you've been making yourself chunky?" Tina giggled.
Cyrus flinched and snorted. "Not what I meant at all."
"Sure, sure." Tina nodded. "But either way, you might want to cut back on that; you've been getting awfully slow in our races."
"You only won because I ran out of wind magic," Cyrus said indignantly. "When I'm fully charged, I can run laps around the entirety of Warfang's outer walls in mere moments!"
"Hmm, I'd love to see that for sure." Tina winked. "It'll probably happen on the same day that pigs fly."
"Gee, nice to know you have such confidence in me," Cyrus said with a flat face. But eventually, Tina laughed, and Cyrus laughed as well. Cyrus draped a wing over Tina's back, and the two sighed as they sat together in the afternoon light.
As the two dragons continued their playful banter, Tyrrany listened intently. Off to her side, Flame struggled to not erupt into a fit of laughter.
"What's wrong?" Arthur asked the red dragon.
"I just realized…" Flame snickered. "The black dragon's a GUY."
"Say what?" Jonathan asked incredulously.
"Didn't you hear him speak?" Flame whispered to the earth drake. "That's a guy!"
Eventually, Flame gave in to his baser instincts and erupted into a giggling fit. Arthur soon joined in. Jonathan's two thugs exchanged glances and gave a few chuckles. Tyrrany, meanwhile, growled at the four of them. She was about to snap at them, but Jonathan beat her to it.
"Keep it down, you morons." Jonathan hissed. "It's one of THEM."
Immediately the two thugs stopped laughing, while Flame and Arthur just glared at Jonathan. Jonathan turned around, and he lightly grasped his switchblade to squeeze it.
"The voice is a little off, but I definitely recognize it," Jonathan growled as he fidgeted with his blade. "It's Rune's brother."
Tyrrany bit her lower lip and looked back through the foliage for any signs of the black dragon. Eventually, the pair stood up and walked across the clearing in such a way that the black dragon came into view. Tyrrany could make out his masculine face, his grey mane, his magenta underbelly… and the glowing red möbius signs on his sides.
There was something that Tyrrany had heard several times before. It should have been easy to put two and two together. Several times, she'd heard that Elenar had two sons. Several times, they were referred to as black dragons. Several times, Tyrrany expected that she would come into conflict with the black dragons that were Elenar's sons.
And yet, only now, at this moment, when she was able to see the same magical birth-marks on this black dragon that she had on her sides… did it truly sink in. Shortly after tossing Tyrrany into the garbage, Elenar had run off to marry a black dragon. The one that Tyrrany was looking at couldn't have been much more than a year younger than her. She wasn't just abandoned; she was replaced.
Tyrrany took several long, hearty breaths. She fell back onto her haunches and took her violin case off her neck. Her breathing became more erratic as she reached into the case for her instrument. Her breath only hastened more and more as she fumbled with her bow to play a few notes.
"What's she doing?" Kass asked curiously.
Flame stepped up to the cloaked dragoness and tapped her shoulder. "Annie, are you okay?"
"She replaced us," Tyrrany said as she strummed a few notes. She played her music in time with her heartbeat.
"What?" Arthur asked in confusion.
"A purple dragon wasn't good enough for her…" Tyrrany said as her eye twitched. Her body shook, and a purple aura surrounded her cloak. "She didn't like how a purple dragon gave her ME, so my mother tossed us in the trash and replaced us with BLACK DRAGONS."
She played more of her music as she peered through the foliage at the black dragon… her half-brother. She blew small bursts of purple smoke from her nostrils and turned to glare at Jonathan.
"You're supposed to take Elenar's sons captive, right?" Tyrrany demanded.
"Of course!" Jonathan declared.
"Well, you'd better get out there and capture him!" Tyrrany exclaimed. She stopped playing her music and picked up her violin to carry it forward. "Do it, before I do it myself!"
With that said, Tyrrany turned and leaped out of her hiding spot with a growl.
"Annie, wait!" Flame shouted.
But it was too late.
~~…~~
Cyrus and Tina were walking down a stone pathway when suddenly strange music started playing. They came to a stop and looked around, and then the music itself stopped as well. At first, Cyrus figured that some local musician was taking a walk in the park to practice playing… but the sudden angry growl made him flinch.
"Who's that?" Cyrus wondered aloud.
He quizzically turned around… and got his answer when a strange dragoness emerged from behind some bushes. She was dressed in a black cloak, not dissimilar to what the Deep Shadows wore. She wore a hood over her face and fell back onto her haunches as she held a violin against her chin. From what little Cyrus could see, the dragoness's hide was purple.
"Who are you?" Cyrus asked in puzzlement.
"Oh, don't mind ME." The dragoness snapped. She twirled her bow around with her free forepaw and pressed it against the strings. She then began playing some erratic tune on the instrument, much to Cyrus and Tina's confusion.
"Uh… are we supposed to toss a coin into her case or something?" Tina asked.
"How about we toss you one of THESE?!" Someone shouted.
That's when a bright green earth bomb went flying over the top of the bushes and hurtled toward Cyrus and Tina. The two yelped in surprise and dashed in either direction to get out of the way. There was an explosion as the earth bomb tore the ground to pieces. As the dust settled, Cyrus spotted several dragons emerging from behind the bushes. Three of them wore plain white masks and formed a horizontal formation in front of the purple dragoness; the center and left dragons were green, while the dragon on the right was blue. They all growled, all while the dragoness played her music.
Cyrus didn't like the looks of this; these dragons looked ready for a fight. Still, as he glanced at Tina, the two nodded at each other and sprang out into fighting stances. Cyrus put on the scariest face he could muster and glared at the leader of the mask-wearing dragons.
"Who the fuck are all of you?" Cyrus demanded.
"It doesn't matter who we are!" The dragon growled. "What matters is that YOU are going to give up and come along…" The dragon fanned out his talons. "If you don't want a big, fancy smile carved from ear frill to ear frill!"
Cyrus wasn't taking that kind of threat lightly. He blew smoke from his nostrils and let magical lightning dance across his back.
"You'll need to get a lot closer than THAT to get carving, blowhard!" Cyrus snapped.
"Gladly!" The lead dragon growled. He looked back at the cloaked dragoness. "Care to lend a paw?"
The dragoness just snorted and started playing again. That's when Cyrus noticed the strange, purple aura covering the dragoness's cloak. He also saw that yet another dragon, a fire dragon, had emerged to stand beside the dragoness. Strangely he was the only one not to cover his face; he just stood tall and watched Cyrus and Tina with trepidation. He was soon joined by a dragonfly, which floated around and awkwardly watched as the dragoness played.
Well, that's weird. Cyrus thought.
As the dragoness played her music, the aura around her body glowed ever brighter. She then pointed her bow at the dragon directly in front of her. In a fraction of a second, the aura disappeared from around her body and instead erupted into existence upon the earth dragon. He then beat the ground and cackled as his body shook.
"Oh, YEAH!" He howled eagerly. "So that's what it feels like!"
The dragoness played a few more notes and pointed at the other two dragons in turn. The earth dragoness and water drake shook vigorously as similar auras erupted into existence upon them. They then cackled and scratched the ground as they moved to surround Cyrus and Tina.
"Oh, great…" Cyrus crouched down low and glowered. "Convexity."
"You sure?" Tina asked as she stood beside him.
"I'd know that purple glow anywhere…" Cyrus snorted. "Figures that a purple dragon would use convexity to power up her friends."
The dragoness gave a quiet snort and resumed playing her music. The fire dragon just sat on his haunches and grimaced while the other three drakes roared and sprang into action.
Cyrus dashed out of the way as a multitude of earth bombs and spikes were sent hurtling his way. Soon after came a torrent of pressurized water. The three dragons also dashed wildly about in a circle, their convexity-augmented bodies giving them a slight boost in speed.
Cyrus and Tina held their ground. The dragoness let bursts of dark lightning arc through the air and land right in the path of the earth dragons as they ran into their attacks; it wasn't long before they howled and wailed as they jittered in place. As for the water dragon, Cyrus countered all of his attacks by melting the water into steam with fireballs. To Cyrus's surprise, the water dragon gasped as if he never saw such a thing coming. Cyrus then charged right for the blue drake and surrounded himself with another fiery aura. With one powerful tackle, the water dragon was sent flying backward into the grass, where he lay on his back and howled in pain.
These aren't students from any magical school, that's for sure. Cyrus scoffed. He looked around again; while the male earth dragon was able to shake off the lightning, his female ally collapsed onto her belly. She groaned as the male rolled her over to help her up. But this dragon was no dummy; when Tina thought that the drake wasn't looking, she opened up another arc of electricity.
However, the drake summoned up an earthy wall between the two of them and quickly helped the earth dragoness onto her feet. And when Tina tried to dash around the other side, the earth drake shielded his body with earth magic and charged right for her. Even as lightning danced across the drake's scales, he still endured it enough to ram his head into Tina's chest. Tina was knocked off of her feet, but she quickly tuck and rolled to get back into the fight.
Hmm, this guy's more experienced than his friends. Cyrus thought.
"Stand up and fight, moron!" The purple dragoness shouted at the water drake. With a faster tempo in her song, she refueled the convexity aura surrounding her comrade. As his body shook fiercely, the water dragon sprang up and howled delightedly as he turned to charge at Cyrus. This time, the drake surrounded himself in his own aura of blue and purple, in the hopes of countering any more flames. But all the prince had to do to counter this was to shadow-jump out of the way, letting him fly right past and charge across to the other side of the clearing…
…and right into the path of the two earth dragons. Tina saw the ice dragon coming ahead of time and scrambled out of the way just before-
KA-BOOM!
Water magic exploded from the dragon, knocking all three of the thugs to the grass. The area was completely drenched, turning the dirt beneath the dragons into the mud. All three dragons lay in a crumpled heap as their clothes were completely soaked.
Cyrus re-emerged from his shadow and watched as the trio struggled to get up as they shivered and groaned.
"You moron…" The earth drake scowled as he shook himself about to get dry.
"Sorry…" The water dragon whimpered. "I was… aiming for blackie…"
Cyrus just rolled his eyes. He then gave a few chuckles and spun around in a circle; he barely had to put up a fight to deal with the thugs.
"Yeah…" Cyrus grinned. "How do you like THAT?" He beat his chest. "That's what happens when you mess with the likes of ME!"
"Us." Tina insisted as she stepped up beside him. "The likes of US."
"Sorry, sorry…" He chuckled awkwardly and ran his talons through his mane. "Heat of the moment and all that."
As Cyrus was gloating, the violin music suddenly stopped. He looked back at the dragoness, who was snarling and growling in his direction. Perhaps his show-boating had interrupted her concentration or something.
"You must think you're soooo important, don't you?" She asked bitterly. Cyrus cocked an eye ridge.
"Well, I am a black dragon!" He said with a smirk. "You idiots should have chosen someone in your ballpark to pick a fight with instead!"
The dragoness's eye twitched. Her limbs shook as she struggled to focus on playing her music again. The red dragon by her side just frowned at her.
"Annie, calm down…" He whispered.
"Yeah, Annie, or whatever your name is…" Cyrus grinned. "You'd better calm down, pack it up, and head on home." He fanned out his wings and struck the ground with his talons. "You don't want any of THIS, sweetheart!"
The dragoness gripped her bow so hard that she nearly cut one of the strings. Purple smoke billowed from her nostrils as she looked around at the downed thugs.
"Alright… THAT'S IT!" The dragoness screamed. "If these morons can't do the job…" She tossed her violin and bow down on the grass. "I'll just DO IT MYSELF!"
In the blink of an eye, the dragoness vanished in a cloud of purple smoke. Cyrus's jaw fell open. "What the-?"
Magic exploded overhead as the dragoness reappeared again; her talons were drawn and ready to strike. Instinctively, Cyrus called upon his Time element. The world changed to a bluish tint as the dragoness came gracefully downward. Cyrus casually stepped out of the way as the attacker gently crashed onto the grass.
When time returned to normal, the ground shook. Tina laughed at the sight as the cloaked dragoness struggled to get back onto her feet.
"You missed," Cyrus smirked.
That only served to make the dragoness even angrier. She blew flames from her maw as she snapped at him. "FUCK YOU!"
The dragoness summoned forth a pool of shadows quite rapidly from all four paws. She then sank into the grass, only to re-emerge in Cyrus's own shadow to slash at him. Cyrus once again used his time magic to freeze the world and dart out of the way. Time returned to normal, and the dragoness slashed at nothing.
This wouldn't be the only time the dragoness tried this; again and again, Cyrus used time magic to dodge out of the way of the vicious attacks the dragoness dealt him.
"FIGHT ME LIKE A REAL DRAGON!" She bellowed.
"My mom says I'm not supposed to fight dragonesses," Cyrus said with a shrug. "This is the best I can do."
"Even though you look like a girl," Tina smirked nearby.
Cyrus groaned. "You're not helping, Tina!"
~~…~~
The dragoness grew progressively angrier as time went on. Across the way, Flame and Arthur watched as the dragoness frantically chased after Cyrus. They exchanged uneasy glances as Tina cast them nasty looks.
"Should we help her?" Flame asked the dragonfly.
"Well, our job is to prevent her from getting hurt," Arthur stated. "However, the prince isn't fighting back, for some reason. And the other girl is still tired from fighting Johnny's goons."
"I suppose we could just stay here on the sidelines until those two actually try to hurt her." Flame grimaced.
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking…" Arthur nodded.
"Oh, you two are such COWARDS." Jonathan snapped. The earth drake had finally regained enough stamina to force himself onto his feet. He panted through his mask. "Man, that purple stuff really left me worn out…"
Jonathan reached into the confines of his jacket and pulled out a rather sizeable red gem. He immediately smashed it into dust, and he absorbed the aether into his scales. The green dragon howled in delight as power flowed through his body. After standing up, Kass and Mora pulled out gems of their own, albeit theirs were smaller.
"Alright, let's try a different approach…" Jonathan whispered. He nodded toward the two thugs and pointed off to the left. The trio then crouched low and moved along the perimeter of the clearing to avoid being seen. Flame just grimaced and returned his gaze to Tyrrany, who was chasing after the black dragon while spewing several curses his way.
Flame sighed sadly. "I can't stand seeing her like this."
Eventually, Cyrus's magical energy started running out. His time-freezing bursts gradually shortened in length, until he could only stop time for a fraction of a second. Tina grimaced upon realizing this and dashed in to help.
"Cyrus, you need to stop!" She yelled at him. "Before you-"
While Cyrus was in the middle of trying to dodge yet another attack from the dragoness, he suddenly collapsed onto the grass; he was spent. He scrambled to get out of the way as the cloaked dragoness lunged at him, talons extended. Cyrus ducked his head as she came at him from the front. As Cyrus ducked his head, his upper horns scraped along the front of the dragoness's chest. At the same time, her talons slashed down the length of his back. Both of them cried out in pain and collapsed onto the grass several feet from each other.
"Annie!" Flame cried out.
"Damnit…" Cyrus winced as he forced himself up onto his paws. He reached within himself for healing magic but found his reserves were running low. He scowled in the direction of the dragoness, who clutched her wounded chest with a scowl.
The dragoness's body glowed a purplish-blue for a moment, and the wounds on her chest sealed themselves up. But that didn't stop her from wincing and panting as she re-oriented herself to face the black dragon.
"What do you want from me, anyway?!" Cyrus snarled at her.
"I want you out of my life!" The dragoness hissed.
"Then LEAVE!" Tina snarled at her. She charged forward to tackle the dragoness, but Cyrus extended a wing to block her path. "Hey!"
"I don't even know who you are!" Cyrus continued. "What could I have POSSIBLY done to you?!"
The dragoness merely snarled at him yet again. She sucked in a deep breath and unleashed a burst of lightning magic his way. But before it could reach the black dragon, Tina shoved him out of the way and opened her maw. A burst of dark-tinted lightning erupted from Tina's maw and collided with the cloaked dragoness's lightning. The two arcs of magic rocked back and forth a few paces as both dragonesses stomped toward each other. After a moment, Tina's lightning was pushed back bit by bit toward her maw. The cloaked dragoness's eyes beamed as she prepared to strike her down…
Only for chunks of dirt to hit her in the face; Cyrus had grabbed a pawful and thrown it at her while she wasn't looking. She lost control of her own lightning, and Tina's bolts flew forward and struck her in the chest.
"ANNIE!" Flame screamed.
The dragoness collapsed onto the grass and shook violently from the bolts. While she was down, Cyrus and Tina nodded at each other before charging forward to strike again.
But Flame wasn't having that. With fire bursting from his maw, the red dragon pulled down his goggles and leaped angrily into the fray to defend the cloaked dragoness.
Tina quickly reached into her satchel and tossed Cyrus a red gem. He immediately smashed it into dust and absorbed it, letting the magic flow through him with gusto. He nodded to Tina in thanks and then turned to glare at the new opponent. And he had to use the newfound magic almost immediately to dispel a burst of fire from Flame. The red dragon stood over Tyrrany's body as she finally pushed away the lightning.
"You okay, Annie?" He whispered to her.
"I'm fine…" She snorted. She rolled over onto her paws and glowered at Cyrus and Tina.
Cyrus and Tina growled at the two, who of course growled back. And Arthur just floated around over his friends' heads, putting on the bravest face he could. Tina prepared to attack... only for her ear frills to wriggle at the sound of footsteps from behind. She immediately whirled around and flinched as the three thugs from before came up from behind. They surrounded their bodies with rock and water respectively. They moved to help Flame and the dragoness form a ring around Cyrus and Tina.
"You ready for round TWO, bastards?!" The earth drake growled and wiped grass from his mask.
"Oh great; Now it's five against two." Tina hissed.
"And just what am I then? Chopped liver?" Arthur asked in exasperation. He came to a landing on the cloaked dragoness's head. "Let's see what you can do, Tyrrany!"
"Get off me." She snorted.
"Tyranny?" Cyrus asked incredulously. "You mean we're fighting someone who's literally named after a cruel and oppressive rule?"
The dragoness's eyes narrowed, and she blew purple smoke from her nostrils again.
"It's TYRRANY!" She declared. "Tur-On-Eee! Get it right!"
"I don't care what your name is!" Tina declared. "Nobody messes with Cyrus but ME!"
She made to lunge at Tyrrany, only for Flame to block her with his body. He then forced her back and spat magical fire at the dirt by Tina's feet.
"Don't touch her!" Flame hissed.
"Our boss would kill us!" Arthur added.
"What a shame!" Cyrus spat. He made to attack the pair, only for a torrent of water to strike him on his hind leg. The prince was knocked off-balance, and looked back to snarl at the water dragon… only for a few earth bombs to come flying his way. Cyrus scrambled to avoid the attacks, but the last one of them struck him on the flank. The black dragon howled as he was sent flying through the air. He crashed on the dirt and writhed in pain; he could feel his flanks bleeding.
Cyrus forced himself to roll over to stand up. As he looked back, he heard Tina hissing and thrashing as she unleashed bursts of dark lightning at any of the dragons who tried to go after Cyrus.
"What do we do about this chick?" The earth dragoness asked.
"Just knock her ass out." The male earth dragon said. "Get her out of the way so we can capture Blackie over there."
"I'll deal with this dragoness myself." Tyrrany declared. "Go after the prince. Now!"
"Don't have to tell ME twice…" The earth dragon turned and snickered at the wounded Cyrus. He surrounded his talons with earth magic and stomped forward, with his two thugs in tow. "Rune's not here, so I'll take my aggression out on you myself, PRINCESS!"
Cyrus's eye twitched. At first, he was having some fun messing with some common thugs. Then he dodged around as some crazy dragoness unleashed purple magic on him… and now, he lay bleeding on the ground as his best friend was surrounded. And as if that wasn't bad enough, this one dragon had the NERVE to call him THAT WORD?!
"Alright… that's it…" Cyrus scowled as he forced himself up onto all fours. He glared at the approaching thugs, and then down at the crystal that hung around his neck. "I've had it with all of you!"
Cyrus grasped the convexity crystal in a forepaw and reached into it with his mind. It had lain dormant for so long… but he could feel it deep within. The power that sat untouched for four years… a fragment of his father's power.
~~…~~
Greetings, friends and loved ones.
Lots more stuff was written for this part of the story. Expanded chase and fight scenes, because I'm just a sucker for writing about young dragons using their elemental powers to fight each other. At the end of the day… I love magic.
Tenebra ecce Veritas