After having eaten and rested, the group of young dragons, now with their new member, left the ancient grove and headed upriver, towards the part that was the silver river. Fortunately, Arborik seemed to have gone back to sleep. Sam, for his part, seemed to have something strange because, although he wanted to help, he also had some fear and nostalgia for having left the safe place where his mother had left him.
"Are you okay?" Aurora asked him as they flew.
"I don't know..." Sam replied, "I don't want my mother's effort to keep me safe to be in vain... I mean, I'm going straight into danger"
"The first time I fought a real enemy I was scared, but it was my friends and family who gave me courage. I even managed to wipe out several of the enemies at the same time"
"Wow, I don't think I can do something like that... I think it would be better if they found someone else..."
"Well, we all agree that you are the one to help us. That's why we haven't decided to look for someone else."
"Thank you," he said, quite grateful, "And, by the way, on a personal level... what had you decided?"
"I, well… I'm thankful you saved me, so…"
"Pair of lovebirds" Drago interrupted them, "We're about to get to the temple, so don't get distracted"
Both Aurora and Sam blushed.
"Drago!" his sister blamed him.
"Do you see that it is not good to get into other people's conversations?" Drago reminded him, "Now, who's the smart one?"
Aurora was going to apologize, since she herself had done that with him and Nina. However, seeing the dragon temple made him leave clarifications and personal things for after her.
The old temple was clearly very different from the new one. First, it wasn't built on a floating island, but on land, more specifically near the swampy terrain that Spyro used to live on (although it was clear that he hadn't been born yet). Also, mushrooms and vines were beginning to cover the walls, making it older than previously thought. The entrance was a large wooden door with two dragon-headed statues on the sides. The young dragons moved towards the door, but it did not move.
"Hey, now what? Shall we knock on the door?" Ash asked when he saw that it didn't open.
"It's not like the dragon temple we know," Rayla reasoned, "Maybe we need a password, or wait for someone to come."
"I don't remember any password in the temple" tried Aurora.
"If Aurora doesn't know, I don't know much less" said Drago.
"Hey! I remember!" Nina said in a moment of resolve, "My grandfather Ignitus told me something about when he first met my father. Let me try…"
Nina went to the door and spoke:
"The past is a prelude; tomorrow, a dim promise. Allow us entrance, do not reject us..."
As if by magic, the doors trembled in a moment and opened giving rise to another room.
"Woah…" they all said shocked.
They continued through the room that seemed empty: the place looked like the rooms as they led to different others in which straw and leaf beds could be seen. Then, they came to another door, the one that should lead to what they knew as the meeting room. However, they would soon realize their mistake: it was a circular room, where a greenish circle in the center glowed. But that was not the important thing, but who was watching him and saw the young dragons enter: Ignitus.
But, obviously, it was different from how they knew him: Ignitus was, at the time, a red dragon with dark red spots and light orange horns. He also had dark red wings with light orange membranes. Seeing them, Ignitus exclaimed in a slightly angry voice:
"By the ancestors!" he said them, "What are you doing and how did you get in here? The temple is no place for young dragons now."
Nina and Ash seemed to hesitate because, although they knew Ignitus, they were afraid that something bad could be said and affect him in the future.
"I'll take care of talking, so that... you know" Drago murmured to them.
Ignitus approached the young dragons to inspect them, as Ignitus was from the past, it was normal for him not to recognize them, however, that didn't stop him from asking questions:
"Who are you?" he asked them.
"Please, Mr. Cro… I mean, Ignitus," Drago corrected himself, "You see, we are… young dragons who were sent by the Grand Council to scout the temple. But one of our members… Sam, he needs a teacher to teach him how to control his light element "
Ignitus listened carefully to those words; however, he seemed very convinced.
"I don't recall the Council mentioning anything about sending a group of young dragons to the temple to help us," he said, "However, as I said before, we can't train young dragons right now: we are a few days into the year of the dragon and my companions have gone to gather the eggs to keep them safe from the dark apes"
"The year of the dragon?" the young people asked in astonishment: they did not believe that they had gone back so far in time,
"That's right, aren't you aware? We are gathering the eggs of the next generation. That's why there is no teacher now."
"Well... we're looking for someone..." Nina tried to say, "Her name is Sybilla"
Ignitus seemed to get rid of his doubts when they mentioned Sybilla. However, he was wary of strangers, as very few dragons knew the password to open the temple entrance.
"I can't tell you anything until you've answered something first: how did you know the password to enter the temple? only a guardian knows it"
"This... well..."
All the young people panicked because none of them should have mentioned anything about it. That was until a voice said:
"Calm down Ignitus, they are just young dragons"
There she was: an adult female dragon with pure white scales, yellow horns, a yellow leaf-like tail, and yellow cartilage on the wings. Her eyes were quite a different color: purple. Without a doubt, she was...
"Forgive me, Sybilla," Ignitus told her, "I know they are young looking for guidance in the elemental domain, but the fact that you know the password to enter makes me doubt your intentions."
"If they were enemies, they would have simply attacked the gate," Sybilla reassured him, "But let me ask you young ones… did any of you have a relative who was a guardian?"
"Yes…" Nina, Ash, Drago, Aurora and Rayla responded nervously.
"See, Ignitus?" she asked her husband, "It was just a coincidence"
Ignitus breathed easily as he said:
"If you say so, I know it's true. You always detect a sense of purity in everyone"
"It's the way I am…" and she turned to the young dragons, "I'm sorry, as my partner told you, we can't teach right now: we are on a mission to protect the eggs from the clutches of the dark army"
"Can we help with something?" Rayla asked.
Ignitus didn't seem very convinced yet. However, he noticed something strange about them: as if they had a great hidden power. Thinking about it a bit, he said to Sybilla:
"Honey, since we will gather two groups for all the eggs; Terrador, Volteer, Cyril and I will take care to keep the first group safe. However, I think that Cynthia, Eira and you will need some more help to get them to a place as far away as LunaVillage, how about they help you protect the eggs? That way, you can teach young Sam control of light."
"Are you sure you don't want them to help you?" she asked, "I think you would be the ones who would need help."
There was a moment of doubt on Nina's part, for if there was a way to help her guardians, she could prevent her mother from being induced by the darkness. However, Drago stopped him.
"Never mind…" Drago said, "I think… the guardians are enough to protect them. Mr. Ignitus is right, we will help you"
Seeing the decision of the young dragons, Ignitus supported them and Sybilla accepted. Then, the guardian returned with a glimpse of him in the pool of visions as Sybilla led the young dragons outside.
"Thank you very much for supporting us" she told them as they left the temple, "But I still don't know if I should leave Ignitus in charge of everything…"
"I'm sure he can handle it" Rayla told her, because she knew that everything should be as it was, "He is a guardian and there is no problem for them"
"Well…I guess so. By the way, what are their names?"
"My name is Drago" he replied, "She is my sister, Aurora and my friends: Rayla, Flint, Ash, Sam and..."
Nina was a bit distracted, looking at the ancient temple as they left it. When names were mentioned, she hadn't listened until Sybilla approached her.
"You know?" she asked her, "You remind me of a friend, what is your name?"
"Nina..." she answered somewhat surprised: she was with her grandmother, but she shouldn't show signs of family affection so as not to ruin the mission.
Once everyone was introduced, they left the temple and prepared to take flight. But Ignitus just came out to say goodbye to them.
"Good luck young strangers" he told them. Then, he turned to Sybilla, "Take good care of yourself, I'll think of you every minute until we meet again."
"You also take good care of yourself… and take good care of him too"
As the young dragons wondered why Sybilla mentioned a "he", Sybilla and Ignitus kissed each other goodbye, hoping it would be a short separation. However, several of those present already knew the cruel reality. Then, with Sybilla leading the young dragons, they took flight north.
But while they were flying, Nina had an internal conflict: she knew the story of her mother and if her mother was going to be there on the night of the assault, she did not want her to suffer the fate of being known as "The Terror of skies". As if she read his mind, Drago stopped her. So, moving closer to her so that no one would hear them, she asked him:
"Why did you stop me?"
"Hey? What are you talking about?" asked him.
"You already know… of staying to help my grandfather Ignitus. I know it was to change history, but wouldn't it have been changed for the better? So my mother would not have been known as the Terror of the Skies."
"Maybe it would have changed that, but the Guardians told us that things happen because they should. Besides, if it hadn't happened, you might not have existed. And for me, it is very important that you are with us."
Nina felt great relief and smiled, knowing that Drago hadn't changed a bit after passing her test and undergoing such a difficult mission.