Hi, here we have a new and longer chapter. I hope it isn't too heavy to read in one shot. Thank you to all the great review and feedback I with this one we begin the action course of the story. I also hope to complete next chapter within this week and publish it by next Sunday.
-Azotac
The five youngster found themselves together in front of the three Guardians and Ashen.
The temple main hall had changed significantly in preparation for their training: the white marble floor had left space for a big ring containing a mixture of dried earth and sand and delimited by a golden metal border. The windows were wide open, leaving a fresh breeze flowing trough the place.
"Good afternoon young ones, today it begins your training here at the Temple."Said Terrador.
"But before commencing the lessons, we need to asses your skills both with elements and close combat."Continued Volteer.
"So first of all we will begin to test your elemental affinity, with some good old mannequin mock battle."Concluded Cyril.
As soon as he fished talking, five grublin dummies generated on the centre of the arena, all armoured and bearing their crude weapons.
Nix almost yelled by their sudden appearance.
"Where the heck do they come from?"She asked.
"They're powered by magic under our control. Don't worry, that things can do you no harm."Reassured the Earth Guardian.
"If you say so…"Murmured the Ice dragoness.
"Now, young ones, who wants to go first?"Asked eagerly Cyril.
The five youngsters watched each other quizzically. Finally Cynder stepped in.
"I'll go first!"She said confident.
"Perfect, all the others exit the arena ring."Said Terrador.
"The rules are simple: you must destroy all the targets with your range elemental attacks. Melee engaging is forbidden, so it's advised to keep you distance from the enemy."He continued, moving to the border.
When only Cynder was the one in the ring, the Guardian shouted:"Begin!"
Immediately the five dummies flung themselves towards the black dragoness. Cynder promptly dashed backwards with a flap of her wings, then shot a violent gust of wind to the targets, unbalancing them and giving her the perfect occasion to unleash a torrent of black fire that engulfed the five dummies. When the smoke dissipated, all the remained was a smoking pile of ashes and some swords laid on the ground.
"A truly astounding, marvellous display, young Cynder!"Shouted Volteer thrilled.
"Yes, indeed. Now let's try with a greater number."Said Terrador.
The black dragoness nodded and instantly twenty dummies generated all around her.
Without hesitation they attacked. Cynder darted up in the air, releasing a series of globules of venom that melted away some enemies, while others dispersed around.
A hiss came from her right, as she barely dodged an arrow pointing to her flank.
She scanned the dummies and finally individuated the archer. The black dragoness flung herself to her target, sending it crashing to the wall with a jet of wind. She then unleashed another wave of dark fire, finishing off the rest of the dummies.
Cynder gently landed at the border of the arena, sitting next to Spyro.
"Very well done Cynder. I expected nothing less to be honest."Commented Terrador.
The two new dragonesses gazed her with a mixture of admiration and almost fear. They never seen such a display of mastery and power from a dragoness so young.
"Who wants to go next?"He then asked.
"I'd like to."Said Auros.
"Very well, step in. We will begin with five like before"
"Ok…"
The white dragon sat on the arena floor, while the five dummies materialised at the other end.
He stood up, assuming a battle stance. The enemies began to run towards him.
The combat finished few moments later, as it was just a mere target practice. He shot five ice shards that neatly impaled their heads with a decent precision.
"Really good use of your element, Auros."Complimented Cyril.
The white dragon bowed his head to the guardian, then prepared to face the new swarm of enemies.
This time they were all around him, just few meters away. As soon as he could, he jumped up in the air, fire condensing on the membranes of his wings. He finally beaten them, releasing a wave of fire energy that charred half of the enemies in front of him. He then turned around, sending a series of ice spike towards the remaining dummies piercing them from side to side.
Auros landed on all four, slightly panting.
"This was…unexpected…"Said Cyril, clearly confused.
The white dragon walked towards his friends, but Volteer stopped him in his tracks, watching him with a mixture of excitement reflected in his eyes.
"Young Auros, why haven't you told us about your dual element?"He asked.
"Because I thought it wasn't important, Master Volteer…" Answered the white dragon.
"Not important? This is a marvellous ability of yours, I've personally read only on the books of dragons that can wield more than one element, not having purple scales."Continued the Guardian.
"I agree with Volteer. Your affinity with ice and fire could be very resourceful. You should have told us sooner. Anyway good job."Continued Terrador.
Auros nodded and moved aside, leaving clear the arena.
Gaia stepped in the ring, ready to face the test. She had no problem beating the first wave of enemies, as she used few earth missiles to wipe out the dummies. During the second wave, being surrounded, she jumped in the air and slammed back to the ground with an earth boulder, shedding razor sharp rock shards all around her, killing all the enemies.
"Nice use of the various techniques, young Gaia."Complimented Terrador.
"Thank you Master Terrador."She bowed her head.
"Nix, would you want to go next?"Said the earth dragoness, nudging her friend.
"O..Ok"She stammered, walking to the arena ring.
She exhaled heavily, mentally bracing for the fight and assuming her battle stance.
"Begin!"Shouted Terrador.
The usual five dummies materialised at the opposite side, and begun to run towards her.
Nix tried to shot some ice shards to the enemies, but they all almost missed.
The grublins were now getting threateningly closer. She flapped her wings to gain some space, then shot again a series of almost point-blank ice projectiles that this time impaled her targets.
"Good job Nix. Ready for the next one?"Asked Terrador.
"Yes sir."She answered, even if she wasn't clearly convinced about her response.
The following wave of enemies arrived before she could even notice. She tried to evade the group by jumping in the air, but one grumbling caught her tail and began to drag her down. She retaliated with another ice shard that pierced the dummy, liberating her tail. Nix moved to the side of the group, sending an ice shot directed to the mass of enemies, freezing them in place.
She stopped once the icy statues crumbled in pieces, signalling the end of the battle.
"Very good, young dragoness, but you should be more focused on your surroundings during the battle. Anyway well done."Said Cyril.
The azure dragoness bowed her head and directed towards her friends, sitting next to Gaia.
"So, Spyro, it seems it is you turn now."Said Terrador."I must say that I'm really curious to see how your abilities have progressed since your training at the temple in the swamp."He continued.
"Me too! By the Ancestors, we have again the honour to witness and contribute to the training of a legendary purple dragon! I assure that it will be written in a book and-"
"Would you stop talking, you old windbag?"Snorted Cyril.
"Oh sorry…"Replied the electricity dragon.
"Please Spyro, would you step in?"Asked Terrador. The purple dragon nodded and moved inside the ring of the arena.
"We decided, if it's ok for you, to give you a more difficult challenge than the others."Continued the guardian.
"Which consist in?"Asked confused Spyro. He didn't have the time to turn around that a massive earth troll generated in front of him.
"Holy Ancestors!"He said before barely ducking a fist of his enemy.
Spyro didn't lose time and flung himself into the air, hoping to gain some time to plan an attack strategy. He had a lot of experience in dealing with those creatures, but he couldn't deny that they've always been a thorn in the flank, given their massive size and incredible durability.
He learned during his journey that electricity was the best way to deal with those monsters(1),so he began circling around the massive dummy, hitting its top side with a shower of lightnings.
His attacks struck the enemy with an impressive strength, eroding part of his upper armour and burning some of the arboreal formation on his back. Spyro kept going for few minutes, hoping to have worn his objective out, meanwhile the troll tried to retaliate in vain.
The purple dragon used some ice shots aimed at the joints and feet to slow it down and prevent to attack again, then he dropped from above, charging an electricity ball in his jaws. Once near his target he released his attack striking directly the underside of the troll. A tremendous explosion occurred, sending the enemy flying in the air. Spyro finally condensed an earth missile in his mouth and slammed the dummy back to the impact raised a dense cloud of dust, that obscured for few seconds the afternoon light filtering trough the windows. After few moments the debris posed on the floor, revealing a completely disjointed troll and a dust covered and panting purple dragon.
"Simply marvellous, Spyro."Said Volteer, barely containing his excitement.
"Yes, a really impressive display of your abilities, young one. Congratulations! "Said Terrador.
"Thank you…"Panted Spyro clearing the dust from his violet scales before directing towards his friends and sitting near Cynder.
Auros, Gaia and Nix were simply astonished by the combat they just witnessed, but sincerely they expected nonetheless form the great Saviour. The ice dragoness, most of all, remained stunned by the "easiness" with which the troll was defeated, as she recalled that, during the attack at her village, many dragons needed to be involved in killing a single one of those monstrosities.
The four adult dragons moved away from the youngsters for few minutes, before addressing them again."Well young ones, today's training is concluded. We have pretty much assessed that all of you have a good elemental affinity. Someone just need more training, but nothing that can't be achieved."Stated Terrador smiling.
"Tomorrow we will focus instead on the melee combat and the various related techniques. So until then, have a good rest and enjoy your time."Concluded the Earth Elder.
The five youngster bowed their heads and directed towards the exit.
They walked outside the main door, descended the long staircase and finally arrived to the courtyard. It was now late afternoon, as the sun was slowly beginning to sink behind the western mountains.
Spyro was about to say something when he found Gaia planted in front of his face with an expression of pure awe in her eyes.
"You were so amazing during the training! I've never seen a dragon taking out a monster like that all alone!"She said with a flattering tone.
Spyro, clearly embarrassed by the vicinity of the earth dragoness, couldn't answer immediately.
"…Thank you?…"He managed to say. Beside him Cynder was beginning to get angry, but she tried to keep her composure.
"I'd love to learn more about the earth techniques that you know."Continued Gaia.
"By any chances, could you give me some private lessons?"She finally asked, getting even closer to the purple dragon.
Nix and Auros where casually near each other, gazing weirdly at the scene, while Cynder almost failed to subdue her inner rage.
"Ancestors I swear I'm gonna kill her!"She screamed in her mind. With an extreme sense of self-control she managed to maintain her calm and before Spyro could answer, she interjected the talk.
"I'm sorry but Spyro is very busy. In addition the doctor said that he shouldn't yet exercise outside the scheduled training, 'cause it could lead to permanent damages to his limbs."Said Cynder, shooting a killing glare to the purple hero, which eyes were filled with a mixture of gratitude and fear.
"Yeah, she's right. I'm sorry Gaia…"He finally answered.
The green dragoness frowned, but finally nodded.
"What a pity, but I understand. Thank you anyway, see you later."She said brushing her flank over his, directing towards the main street.
Nix watched her getting away.
"Hey! Wait for me!"She said, standing up.
"Bye guys, see you later."She added before running away behind her friend.
Auros watched the azure dragoness until she faded from his view, he then turned to his two friends.
"So, you guys wanna be left alone?"He asked, understanding the situation.
Spyro was about to answer, but Cynder did it first.
"Yes, if it's not a problem for you…"She said.
"No problem at all. If you need me, I'll be talking with Master Volteer here at the Temple."Said the white dragon.
"Ok, see you later."Said Cynder, while Auros directed towards the door. Once he disappeared behind the gate, Spyro exhaled heavily.
"Thank you for your…Intervention, before. I didn't know how to react…"He said a bit embarrassed.
"Don't worry, it's not your fault, but we need to clarify the situation with that one before it slips out of our paws."She said, now with a concerned tone.
"Yeah, definitely…"Said Spyro.
"Anyway"He continued."What do you want to do until it's dark?"He asked eagerly.
"Well, since you can fly again, why don't we explore a bit the city? I'm sure there's a lot that we didn't see yet."She suggested.
"I'd really love to." He answered smiling.
The two you heroes darted up in the sky, as the city began to shrink slowly under their eyes.
Just after re-entering the Temple, Auros moved to the main hall where there were still the three Guardians. Soon the elders noticed him and Terrador asked:"Young Auros, what are you doing here?"
The youngster recoiled a bit but finally answered.
"Well, I'd like, if it's possible, to talk with Master Volteer of a…Hum…personal problem…"Said the white dragon.
The two guardians watched Volteer with an inquisitive gaze, the electricity elder was also clearly intrigued.
"Well, of course it's possible young one. Please follow me, let's get to a place where we can talk in private. See you later, my dear colleagues."
Volteer directed towards the opposite side of the main hall, with Auros following suit.
He crossed an archway and directed towards another part of the great temple which the white dragon never visited. They walked for few minutes, only the noise of their talons on the marble floor echoing in the enormous place. Volteer finally stopped in font of a wooden door, embellished with a golden plaque which had the electricity symbol carved on it.
He opened the door and entered the room, while Auros stood still at the entrance.
"Please, young one, come in and close the door."Said the elder, untying the curtains.
The white youngster entered the dark room, that suddenly exploded with the bright sunset light that flooded the place. Auros began to study Volteer's quarters with discretion.
The room was at least three times the size of his one. The entrance was adorned with some beautiful paintings hanged on the walls. Auros moved on and noticed two arches: the one on his left led to what seemed like a bedroom, the one on his right, where Volteer was in, led to a much larger hall, filled with bookshelves.
The white dragon entered the right room, and remained astonished by the quantity of books that there were packed in it. The shelves covered every centimetre of the walls, and every one of them was filled with tomes that seemed to be hundreds years older than the young dragon. In the middle there was a lectern illuminated by a column of light filtering form a circular window on the ceiling. On the right side a big window gave access to the wide balcony of the room.
Auros was staring in awe at the whole place, when his admiration was interrupted by Volteer calling for him.
"Young Auros, is all ok?"He asked, almost worried.
"I'm fine, sir. I'm just admiring your collection of books…I never seen so many in my whole life."Answered the white dragon.
"I must admit that it is indeed a big hoard, many of them are even ten times older than me. Written by the first dragons of the first age ever documented. Quite precious and unique pieces I should say."Said Volteer.
"Anyway, what it is this personal problem you needed to talk about with me. I confess that you really stimulated my curiosity when you asked me before."Continued the elder.
"Well today I was talking with Spyro in the infirmary during our check up and I mentioned my…problem with red gems. He told me that if I asked, you may be able to find a solution for it."Said Auros.
"And which exact problem do you have with red gems, young one? It seemed that they worked on you during your permanence at the infirmary."Said quizzically Volteer.
"Actually yes, the trouble is that they give me the same amount of pain as if the wound was freshly made."Sighed the white dragon.
Volteer got closer to the youngster.
"Could you describe better what exactly do you feel when you use the crystals?"He asked eagerly.
"Well, for example, when they cured the puncture wounds, I felt like if the arrows were being slowly pulled out one by one from my flesh, even if in reality it was just the injury that was mending under the power of the gems."Said Auros, watching his back.
"Plus the scars don't go away completely, even after weeks."He added.
Volteer moved a bit away from the youngster, in his eyes a spark had ignited as he directed towards the bookshelf on his right.
He fumbled few seconds with the various tomes over the wooden ledges, when finally he grabbed one and posed it over the lectern, as began to browse it at incredible speed.
"Come here young one, let's see if we can find something in here."Called Volteer,
Auros moved aside him trying to glimpse something.
The elder finally stopped on a page in the middle of the book, a smile tinted his face as he faced the youngster beside him.
"A similar case to yours had already been studied a hundred years ago. A fire dragon had your same 'intolerance' to the red gems, but there are no mentions about the remaining scars."He said.
"Unfortunately, the book doesn't tell about a remedy or a cure, it just says that they used a banal pain-killer herb to alleviate the suffering."He continued."This is intriguing if nonetheless challenging!"He then exclaimed.
"What do you mean, sir?"Asked confused Auros.
"I mean that your case has yet to be studied in depth. Unfortunately my highest experience with medicine is the one you apply in the battlefield, so I'm not a real doctor, but this doesn't mean I can't help you!"Continued the elder.
"I'm going to take down few notes about your experience and confront it with some other books I got in here and the ones in the library. Maybe I could actually ask to Aramis if she ever heard of something like this before. Ancestors! What a thrilling challenge you gave me, young one!"Declared Volteer.
Auros remained confused by the reaction of the elder. He never expected that a guardian would really take in consideration his case. Auros bowed his head to the electricity dragon.
"Thank you for your interest in my case, Master Volteer. I'm really honoured by-"He was stopped by Volteer.
"Nonsense, Auros, thanks to you for giving me something to study on. It has been since the war that I haven't pursued my academic interests. Now I finally have a chance to begin again."Said the elder with a spark in his eyes.
"You're free to go now, it's getting late. Thank you again for bringing me such an interesting quest!"Concluded Volteer.
"Thank you too for you help, Master."Said the white dragon leaving for the door.
He crossed back the hallway and directed to his room. Once arrived, he entered and sat on the balcony gazing at the majestic sunset before him, feeling the residual tension melting away.
His eyes explored the landscapes, following the squared lines of the city's streets and walls and finally arriving to the rolling hills and impervious mountains just beyond those stone barriers.
He left his gaze wander, when a glimpse of azure caught his attention. He saw Nix walking alone in one of the side roads.
"What is she doing all alone?"Thought the white dragon. He was undecided wether following her or not. Finally he took a decision and leapt down his balcony, gliding towards her direction.
He landed few meters behind her without making any noise. He then speeded trough the streets and called for her.
"Nix?"
The azure dragoness turned around, just then he noticed that she had a bag clenched in her mouth. The dragoness watched him with a surprised glance, before posing the sack.
"Auros?…What are you doing here?"She asked shyly.
"I saw you down here all alone…So I thought you'd like some kind of…company?"Said stammering the white dragon. He then watched the bag she had dropped.
"Do you want a paw with that one? It seems kinda heavy…"He offered smiling.
"Well, it is kinda heavy… So I gladly accept your help, since you're here."She answered with a shy grin. Auros took the handles of the bag in his mouth and followed the dragons to her destination.
She stood silent for the first minutes and he did pretty much the same thing, because he had his mouth already occupied.
Finally she spoke.
"We're almost there, just few minutes."She said.
"Yesh, noh 'roblemsh."Managed to say the white dragon, even if the weight was starting to take its toll on his neck.
After ten minutes or so they arrived in front of a tall, circular tower. Nix stopped in front of the wooden door.
"There we are."She said, turning around to face Auros, which gently posed the bag in front of him.
"Thank you for your help, I can take it from now"She continued with a smile.
"No problem, it's been a pleasure."He replied with a sincere smile.
An awkward silence fell between the two, when finally spoke again.
"Soo, see you tomorrow I guess?"She asked, grabbing the bag with his jaws.
"Yes, of course"He answered before she disappeared behind the door.
"Well, it didn't go so bad."He thought, directing back to the Temple.
After few minutes of flight, the two young heroes landed in the main street and began walking along, as their gaze was attracted by a series of closed shops and barricaded houses. Sometime they crossed a dragon or a mole going in the opposite direction, but nothing more.
A sense of sadness began to raise in Spyro, as seeing such a big city so empty and dull, even after the new arrivals.
"I hope that the other refugees are safe and sound..."He thought.
Suddenly, their attention was caught by a loud shout:"You! Stop!"Said a familiar voice.
The noise was coming from a side alley of the main street. Spyro and Cynder watched each other, before running to the direction of the sound.
When they arrived, they found Baldur standing in front to a familiar grey dragon. It was Basalt.
The captain shouted again:" You're under arrest, with the accusation of voluntary aggression."The fugitive tried to run back, but another guard landed before him, stopping him in his tracks.
"Where do you think you're going?"Said the fire soldier.
A sense of familiarity coursed trough Cynder, but instead of feeling satisfied by the capture of the one who hurt her Spyro, she almost proved pity for that dragon.
"You're coming with us to the Temple and answer of your crime directly to the Guardians."Spoke again Baldur.
The grey dragon, understanding that he had no way of escape, finally bowed his head, defeated, and began to go behind the Earth captain, followed by the other Fire soldier.
Upon exiting the alley, Baldur noticed the presence of the two young dragons.
"Master Spyro, Miss Cynder? What are you doing here?"He asked.
"We were walking along the street when we heard you shout from the alley, so we decided to see what was happening…"Answered Spyro.
"I see… Well, since you're here, would you like to follow us to the Temple and witness the judging of this criminal?"He then asked.
Cynder watched briefly Basalt before gazing again the captain and Spyro who smiled at her.
"Yes…"She answered.
"Very good, stay behind with Dareon. We'll reach the Temple in few minutes."He finally said, gazing his fire comrade.
The two young dragons nodded and reached the fire soldier. Shortly after, the small group darted in the air, in the direction of the Temple.
"Young heroes, it's really an honour to meet you."Spoke the guard.
The couple turned to watch him, Spyro inspecting him briefly.
He had crimson scales with a single pair of bronze straight horns sprouting out of his head.
His chest was also bronze, covered with the silver and white Warfang armour. His azure eyes were gently scrutinising the two young ones.
A smile tinted on Spyro face as he addressed the soldier.
"Nice to meet you."
The flew in silence for few minutes before the fire guard spoke again.
"I've to admit that when I first glimpsed you here in Warfang, I didn't have much faith in you two…You seemed to young and inexperienced for being the warriors the Guardians claimed you to be."
Paused Dareon.
"But after witnessing your battle with the golem, I totally changed my mind. So thank you for saving us all from Malefor."He concluded, a smile never leaving his face.
Spyro was about to respond when Baldur called:" We're arrived."
The group landed in the courtyard, entered the Temple and after crossing the corridor finally arrived in the main hall, in the presence of the two guardians present at the moment.
Terrador and Cyril watched the small convoy coming into view and at least sitting in front of them.
"My Guardians, we found the dragon who assaulted our young heroes this morning."Said Baldur, pushing on the grey one.
"Very well, thank you for your excellent service, captain."Said Cyril.
"So, Basalt is the name, right?What do you have to say in your defence?"Asked Terrador with a cold voice.
The defendant stood silent for few moments, before answering.
"Nothing, sir…"He said.
"So do you define yourself guilty?"
"Yes sir"
"Very well. I think that few weeks of forced labour will help you remember the laws of our city. Do you concord, Cyril?"Asked the Earth Guardian
"Absolutely, Terrador."
"Wait, Terrador, Cyril, I think this isn't the right way to deal with this."Interjected Spyro.
Immediately all eyes darted towards him, most of them bearing a stunned look.
"What do you mean, Spyro? Isn't this the dragon that injured you few hours ago?"Asked Terrador, confused.
"Yes he is, but what I was trying to say is that…Is this the best option regarding Cynder?"He paused."I mean, it's useless to punish a dragon if he doesn't show remorse, because it's probable that he will try to act again in the future."He said moving towards Basalt, gazing directly in his eyes.
"Have you repented?"Asked the purple dragon.
The grey adult waited a few second, his answer came clear.
"No, I've not."He said.
"I see… I would like you to give Cynder the opportunity to demonstrate you that she isn't anymore the Terror of the Sky, but just a simple dragoness, who's life has been torn away by Malefor."Concluded Spyro, gazing gently to his black dragoness.
All those present were speechless. A mixture of pride and awe filled the guardians' eyes as they nodded to the purple dragon.
"So young and yet so wise…"Thought Terrador.
"Very well Spyro, but do you intend to do this?"Asked Cyril.
"I think we should let them talk, alone…"Answered the young dragon, still watching the black dragoness.
Cynder nodded back to him and inched closer to Basalt, while the others moved away from the duo. The purple dragon kept watch on them for the entire duration of their talk, he noticed a gradual change in the behaviour and in the expression of the grey adult.
"Maybe he isn't so bad as we thought…"He said in his mind.
Some time later they returned, finding the two dragons smiling at each other.
Terrador finally spoke:"It seems that all went well between you two."
"Yes sir. Now that I know the pain the she endured to defend us, I don't really see any difference between us anymore. I'm sorry for what I've done today."Said Basalt, bowing his head to two young dragons.
"You're forgiven, Basalt."Said Spyro.
"Ahem… All of this is really touching, but still remains that we need to find a punishment for him."Said Cyril.
"I think that a night of work under Sparx will be more than sufficient."Said Spyro grinning.
"Well, it's decided then. Thank you for your cooperation, young ones. You can go now."Said Terrador, bowing his head. The couple returned the regards and left for their rooms.
The following day, the youngsters returned to the temple arena, ready to face their close combat test.
"Hello again young ones, today we'll asses your ability in melee fight. We decided to test you by organising mock duels between you all."Said Terrador watching confidently his students.
"Of course, no one is going to get serious injuries out of this test, we Guardians will watch over you, during your duels."Continued the Earth Guardian.
The youngster all nodded.
"Perfect. So, let's begin. The first ones will be Spyro and Auros."Announced Terrador.
The white dragon watched a bit astounded his purple friend, which nodded smiling. The two dragons entered the ring and stood one in front of another, just few metres away.
"The rules are really simple. A participant wins if he's able to virtually delivery a potential deadly hit to its opponent. Examples are: having the tail blade pointed at the chest or neck, having talons aimed to the base of the neck or throat or finally having the other's neck in your own jaws. "Began Cyril.
"Light injuries are tolerated, since we have a good amount of red gems to heal you just in case. Elemental attacks are forbidden in this test. If someone breaks these rules, it will automatically lose the duel. Have I been clear?"Asked finally the Ice Guardian.
The two young dragon nodded in agreement.
"Excellent. Now begin."Said Cyril.
Spyro immediately assumed his battle stance, while Auros limited himself to stand up, his eyes never leaving his opponent.
The purple dragon began circling around the white one, trying to study him, but Auros stood still, only his neck moving, following Spyro.
He finally took the bait, and began to get closer, but it got still no reaction from the white youngster.
"What is he trying to do?"Thought Spyro a bit confused . He then noticed that Auros had his left flank completely exposed, as his wings were draped on his back.
"Maybe that's my chance to end this quickly..."
Without a second thought, the purple dragon charged his friend at an incredible speed. The white dragon flinched for an instant, but reacted rather quickly, jumping in the air and barely dodging the attack. Spyro raised his head, trying to cut Auros's underbelly with his sharp horns, but his opponent caught them in his paws and twisted them, trying to flip the young hero upside down. It took a moment to the purple dragon to figure out how to retort. He used the momentum gained with the spin to slam his wings against Auros, which lost the grip on his horns and tumbled down to the ground. Both the contestant stood immediately on their paws and began to exchange a series of hits. Spyro managed to deflect a direct blow and answered with a strike that left three gashes on Auros's right shoulder, a bit of blood spilled from the injury. The white dragon snorted but didn't lose his balance and retorted immediately with a powerful tail hit that slashed Spyro across his chest, leaving a light gash. The purple dragon snarled and backed up a bit, covering his chest with his wing.
"Damn. He's strong, I've to admit it."Thought Spyro, before retaliating against Auros.
He slammed his head into the white dragon's chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him back for few metres. Spyro charged again his opponent that was still stunned by his attack. A moment before the collision, Auros regained his composure and with a surprising speed, he placed his horns right under the purple dragon's chest and using his charging speed, he lifted him easily and sent the young hero up in the air. Spyro hit the ground with his back and his instinct told him to raise his tail over his belly, in order gave him some kind of protection. He did as fast as he could, before Auros could attack again, but his tail blade met something during its movement, as around him fell a deadly silence. Spyro tried to open his eyes, but faltered when something warm dropped on his snout. He finally watched above him and what he saw sent a chill down his spine.
His tail blade had pierced Auros's chest enough to drawn blood and remain stuck in his flesh.
The white dragon was unmoving over him, his face contracted in pain.
"Please, Spyro, don't move."He managed to say with a broken voice.
Meanwhile Cyril and Volteer already reached the injured dragon, the ice elder was holding in his paws a bunch of red gems. Volteer grabbed Spyro's tail firmly, before addressing the white youngster.
"You're ready, Auros?"He asked gently.
"Yes, but quickly."Said, almost whispering the white dragon.
Cyril nodded to Volteer, which pulled out the tail blade from Auros's chest, whit it, a spurt of blood fell over the arena ground and over the purple dragon. Auros snarled from the pain, which only duplicated when Cyril applied the red gems to the injury. After some endless seconds, the gash sealed, leaving a jagged scar in the young dragon's golden chest. The cuts on his shoulder received the same treatment.
Spyro stood up, cleaning away some blood from his face. He then watched apprehensively his friend, who was still panting heavily from the surge of pain. Ignoring his injury, he moved closer Auros, sitting next to him.
"I'm so sorry Auros, I shouldn't have reacted by instinct, I got completely caught off guard…"Said Spyro with a sad tone.
"No need to be sorry, I should have been more careful too."He paused
"I suppose that these accidents can happen during the training. It's pity that we ended so early. I was really enjoying it."Concluded Auros smiling weakly at his purple friend.
"Me too". Answered Spyro.
Terrador cleared his throat to gain the attention of the two youngster.
"So, apart for the little accident, you two displayed an excellent ability in melee combat. I'm impressed. Auros, you should just be more careful about your surroundings and try not to be too impulsive."Commented Terrador smiling.
"Yes, Master Terrador."Answered the white dragon.
Spyro and Auros moved to the border of the ring where the three dragoness were sit.
"The next one will be Cynder against Gaia."Announced the Earth Guardian. The two dragonesses entered the arena and prepared for battle. Spyro was really curios to see how much could Gaia endure against Cynder, because even himself never managed to win a fight with her. She was just too fast and agile for him to compete.
As he expected, the duel lasted a couple minutes, as the earth dragoness found Cynder's tail-blade aimed straight at her chest, signalling the end of the fight.
"Cynder wins."Declared Terrador.
"Excellent display Cynder. I'm really impressed by your strength and agility."Complimented the Guardian.
"Since your fight was short, would you like to confront also Nix?"Asked the earth elder to the black dragoness.
"Yeah, why not?"Answered Cynder.
Nix stepped in and their duel begun and ended soon after, as it took Cynder only three moves to place a potentially deadly blow. The young dragoness left the ring and faced the Guardians once again, ready to hear their conclusions.
"You all did a good job today. We assessed that all of you posses the basic skills for fighting in close range, someone is clearly advantaged by their experience and talent, some others need a bit of work to consolidate their ability."Said Terrador.
"So, that's all for today. See you tomorrow at the same hour for the beginning of the real training lessons. Until then enjoy your time, young dragons." He concluded.
The youngsters bowed their head to the guardians and left the temple together, before saluting for the evening.
Thank you for reading