Many miles north, across the two seas… the Well of Souls stirred with life.
High up in the pale cold sky… a sphere of shadowy energy appeared. The shadows broke apart and melted into clouds, leaving an airship just behind. The airship floated weightlessly above the Well of Souls, some five hundred feet up and two hundred feet away. Lantel and Albanion looked on in silent awe of the spectacle before them.
At Albanion's direction, one of the soldiers took the helm. The Deep Shadow then made his way down to the deck as Lantel walked up to him.
"It's quite a sight, isn't it, boy?" Albanion nudged him on the shoulder.
"It's… it's beautiful." Lantel said, still gazing down at the distant crater. He could spot a purple light somewhere in the distant darkness down below.
"Try not to get too distracted." Albanion patted him on the shoulder. "Come; we need to get the others ready for the trip down."
"Right."
Albanion and Lantel made their way down below deck. They kept going until they found the seven other dragons gathered around. Upon seeing them, Lantel gasped, while Albanion simply rolled his eyes.
Every single one of them had poured most of their energy into the Conduit… which had left them rather drained. Rune and Tyrrany could barely keep their eyes open as they nearly passed out. Elenar and Wraith yawned as they fought to remain standing. And Urobos, poor Urobos… he'd passed out completely and was snoring away. The only two who had kept standing fine were, naturally, Spyro and Cynder.
"Oh dear." Cynder glanced all-around at the others. "Perhaps we should have seen this coming."
"I had a feeling…" Wraith said between yawns. He smacked his lips before reaching into his satchel to pull out a few green gems. He got to work munching on them, and he gradually woke up. "I packed as many as I could find. But I don't quite have enough to wake up Lord Urobos."
"Let the poor dear sleep…" Cynder patted the snoring old drake on the chest. "He's overworked himself quite a bit lately."
Spyro stepped around the others to approach Albanion. "Have we arrived?"
"Aye." Albanion nodded. "We're floating above the Well as we speak. But I'm not sure for how long we can stay afloat before we have to land."
"We can spend a few hours getting our bearings," Wraith said as he passed some gems to Elenar. "In the meantime… help me detach the Conduit."
Albanion and Spyro looked at him incredulously. "Excuse you?"
"Alright, just hear me out…" Wraith held a talon up. "I've been inspecting this thing quite a lot, and I've got a hypothesis; it's detachable."
"And why would we want to detach it?" Spyro demanded.
"Because, then we can carry it out of here." Wraith continued. "And then we can take it with us down to the Well of Souls."
Spyro's eyes turned manic. "Why?"
"If we can detach this thing," Wraith tapped the Conduit, "Then we can bring it down into the Well of Souls. If it's unstable down there, like Bergan said, then maybe there will be some wild energy floating around that we can fuel up the Conduit with. And then, presto!" He clasped his forepaws together. "We'll have a fully-charged Conduit that won't require us to nearly knock ourselves out trying to travel vast distances! Do you follow?"
"And you just… assume that this will work?"
"Well, we won't know fully until we try, right?" Wraith grimaced.
"I say it's worth a shot," Elenar said as she stood up tall. "Even if it doesn't work, then we can say we know for sure afterward."
"Fine…" Spyro sighed, before turning around and gesturing at Rune and Tyrrany. "But in the meantime, let's get these ones to bed."
"What?!" Tyrrany exclaimed… before yawning and nearly falling over. Cynder rushed over and stood in place to break the white dragoness's fall.
"Easy there, darling." Cynder scolded. "I know you want to help on the mission. But you can't do much of anything if you're passing out. And life gems are no replacement for rest."
"But…" Rune struggled to remain standing. "But time is of the essence. Any moment, and Bulb could… could…"
"Rune, stop." Spyro scolded as he put a forepaw on the teenager's shoulder. "Answer me this: Are you in any condition to fight Bulb right now?"
Rune fought against his weariness to rise up to his full height and reach for his sword… only to nearly collapse against the purple hero. Spyro sighed in pity before helping the prince onto his paws.
"Come; let's get you to a bed." Spyro looked over at Lantel. "Would you mind helping?"
"N-Not at all." The golden prince awkwardly stepped forward to help carry Rune across the floor. As he did so, Elenar helped guide Tyrrany along the way, while Wraith and Cynder worked together to lift Urobos up with a bit of shadow magic.
"Alright, new plan…" Spyro said as the others were carried off. "While those three are resting, we'll study the Conduit closer to see how to detach it. Then we'll bring it down to the Well, deal with Bergan, stop whatever danger is threatening the realms… and if we're lucky, we'll all be back in Glenhaven by morning."
"Understood." Albanion and Wraith said aloud.
The eight dragons made their way out of the chamber, all while the Conduit hummed quietly behind them.
~~…~~
Rune couldn't believe his luck.
He'd gone through all of that effort to prepare for the big battle against Bulb, only to wind up half-asleep on a straw mattress. And he didn't even have the luxury of his own room; he had to share it with Tyrrany, who was slumped over in the cot opposite him. Both cots were hung on either side of a porthole, beyond which they could see the distant Well of Souls.
Low snoring drifted into the little quarters; across the hall, Urobos was fast asleep in the parallel quarters, in a big pile of straw all to himself. An hour had gone by, with the prince and his half-sister listening to the low snores.
Rune's eyes were half-lidded for a time; he wasn't sure if he'd fallen asleep or not. Every now and then he heard various other dragons making their way up and down the corridor. Sometimes it was either his mother or uncle checking up on him and Tyrrany. Other times it was a soldier parading up and down. But all in all, it was relatively just the same; dull.
Eventually Rune felt his eyes open up wide. He'd finally slept off that irritating weariness. He looked beneath the porthole and spotted his sword lying against it, with his helmet resting atop the hilt. He quickly gathered up his items and put them in place about himself.
"Oh, you're up?" Tyrrany asked. Rune looked over to see her yawning and stretching her wings. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Rune tapped a talon on the floor. "I'm getting ready for battle… again."
"Ah… right." The dragoness sighed as she slid her paws onto the floor across from him.
Rune and Tyrrany faced toward the door and listened to Urobos as he continued to snore. Tyrrany raised an eye ridge as she looked over at him. Rune just shook his head and sighed in pity.
"I guess grandfather really knocked himself out with that spell," Rune said.
"He was the High King of Warfang once, right?" Tyrrany asked. "My father used to tell me stories about him."
"Really?" Rune raised an eye ridge. "And what did Bergan say about my grandfather?"
"Well, mostly stories about how he was a proud warrior in his youth," Tyrrany said. "He played a part in defeating an evil warlord named… Runileon."
Rune tensed up. "He did?"
"Yes. Father said that Urobos charged off with his brothers to fight against Runileon.. despite Spyro warning them not to go."
"What?" The prince's eyes widened. He looked at his sleeping grandfather incredulously. "Him… and his brothers?"
"Yes." Tyrrany nodded. "Why do you ask?"
Rune felt a pit form in his stomach. "Grandpa has never talked about having brothers before."
"He hasn't?"
"No." Rune looked back at Tyrrany with concern. "Hey, regarding the story about Runileon; how… how did it end?"
"My memory's a little fuzzy." Tyrrany sighed. "There was a battle, obviously. And Runileon was slain before he could wage war against the realms… but Urobos was the only one among the brothers to return to Warfang."
Rune froze as he was filled with dread. He looked back once again at Urobos as the old drake turned over in his sleep. Rune gulped, and he looked at his sister once more.
"What… What happened to his brothers?"
"Father never told me the details." Tyrrany frowned. "It's just that… Urobos changed after that battle. He tried his best to become a wiser dragon, and to always choose pacifism over violence when he could."
"Right… of course." Rune sighed with pity as he looked over his grandfather.
So much made sense now, in a way. Urobos had always tried to urge Rune to think carefully; to find a peaceful route through things if violence could be avoided. Or at the very least; to never START conflict. But now he wondered about the fate of his grandfather's brothers. Perhaps they charged headfirst into a fight that didn't guarantee victory… and they paid the price. Did that color all of Urobos's decisions from that point on? And… what was going through Urobos's mind? How was he processing all of Bergan's deeds? Bergan seemed to want to avoid conflict as well if he could.
Rune's mind was racing to all sorts of conundrums; he shook his head and forced himself to focus on the now. He was here to rescue Helianne. She'd been taken by Bulb, seemingly on Bergan's behalf. But… why? What did Bergan want from her?
As Rune pondered all of these thoughts… something passed by the corner of his vision.
He glanced up just in time to see a tail vanishing out of view. Feeling uneasy, Rune hopped out of his cot, to Tyrrany's surprise. She watched as Rune poked his head out of the quarters and looked around.
Rune saw someone stepping just around the corner and toward a flight of stairs; he just barely caught a glimpse of a leaf-like shape on a green tail.
He gasped. "H-Helianne?!"
Tyrrany watched in confusion as Rune bolted down the corridor. She hopped out onto her feet and followed after her brother as he dashed up the stairs. A moment late, Rune burst up onto the deck and spun around. He tried to spot the dragoness, but he didn't see anyone… other than Lantel, who was gazing out into the distance.
"Hey!" Rune called to Lantel; he adjusted his helmet and charged up to the golden prince. "Did you see her?!"
"Wha-?" Lantel's eyes opened wide as he looked at Rune. "See who?"
"Helianne!" Rune exclaimed. "She was just in the corridor!
"What?!" The golden prince balked.
"She was just here!" Rune spun all around, trying to spot her. But all he saw was Tyrrany emerging from below deck. They all looked around for signs of the princess… when someone laughed.
"Ha ha ha…"
The laughter put all three dragons on edge; they sprang out into fighting stances and looked around. They tried to find the source, but it seemed to come from everywhere. But even though they couldn't see him, all three of the teenagers recognized the voice right away.
"Bulb!"
"Where could she be?" Bulb's voice mocked, still from seemingly nowhere. "Is she on deck? If she at the stern?"
"Get out here, you bastard!" Lantel growled and angrily.
"Or maybe… she's gone for a quick flight!"
Just as Bulb said that, something passed by in the darkness. The three teenagers looked around at the sky… until they all spotted something. The silhouette of a dragoness was gliding out of the darkness and down toward the distant light. It kept going and going… straight down toward the center of the Well of Souls.
Rune and Lantel gasped at the same time. "HELIANNE!"
At once the princes spread their wings and leaped over the banister. Tyrrany watched in surprise before she spread her own wings and gazed out nervously at the distance. She'd never done something like this before; it made her feel all the more exposed. But this wasn't the time to dawdle. She needed to help someone precious to Rune… and not for her own gain this time. So, she took a breath, leaped over the deck, and glided downward to follow the two princes toward the Well of Souls…
~~…~~
Bergan slammed down onto the cold stone floor. At least, it started off as cold; he could feel the temperature rising by the moment. With a cough, the purple dragon forced himself back up to a full stand, before adjusting the cloth around his muzzle.
All around him, the Well of Souls was rumbling with sinister life. There was a deep, purple glow far down in the pit, and geysers of mist rose up into the air. Bergan struggled not to breathe the warm air too much; he could sense that it was becoming gradually thicker from run-off from the great crevice.
And it wasn't just the air that was becoming charged with magic: Across the way, clusters of various gems were slowly forcing their way through the floor. Red, blue, green… and even the occasional purple. They all dazzled his eyes with their enticing glow.
But NO; he mustn't go near them. He could tell what was fuelling the gems as plain as day. And besides, he needed to keep his attention on his crystals; they were more important at the moment. So, Bergan reached inside his cloak, grabbed one of the crystals, and squeezed it in his forepaw to channel its energy… all while keeping his eyes peeled for tears.
The ground was suddenly torn apart across the way, and a miniature earthquake nearly knocked Bergan down again. But he stood his ground and pointed his free forepaw at the ever-widening gap of deep purple.
"Oh no you don't!" He snarled as he blasted the crevice with a beam of convexity.
Several blasts of white assaulted Bergan's eyes, forcing him to squint. He snarled and groaned as he kept his beam going, forcing the energy into the tear more and more. Until, finally, the tear shrank in size. The tear grew smaller and smaller, while Bergan stomped closer toward it to make sure he didn't miss. And then, that was that; the tear sealed itself back up and vanished. Bergan sighed in relief… before nearly collapsing once again.
"Blast…" Bergan grunted as he forced himself back up yet again. He looked down at his crystal, and frowned; it had turned pale and was already crumbling to dust between his talons. Bergan shook his head and tossed the dust to the floor.
Bergan had all but lost track of time since he'd returned to the Well of Souls. So much must have happened without him to guide the realms back onto a steady course. But how could he stay away from here, after what he saw… after what is coming SO CLOSE? And just looking around, and thinking about all of those tears… he didn't dare try to imagine how far things might have gone had he not dropped everything to intervene.
So much must be going wrong out there… Bergan thought with a sour expression. He turned around and gazed nervously down into the glowing crevice. But I have to stay vigilant. I can't let anything break free… for the good of the realms!
Bergan reached into his cloak to grasp another crystal. He could tell just from feeling around that he was starting to run low. The drake would need to find some means of fetching more crystals or making new ones. Oh, if only he'd moved faster; he might have saved some before Cyrus ran off with them.
Bergan made to pull his crystal out of his cloak… when his ear frills picked up the faint sounds of dragons growling. Bergan spun around on instinct and gazed skyward; he hoped that the cavalry had finally arrived. His eyes widened as he prepared to greet the dragons he'd requested for help. But instead, to his shock, he watched as three teenage dragons glided down from the darkness.
It was Prince Lantel, Prince Rune, and his daughter Tyrrany!
"Wh…" He stammered.
The teenagers had spent most of their descent surveying the area, for what Bergan couldn't guess. But the moment each of them spotted Bergan and his crystals, they all scowled and came to a hard landing. The two princes quickly got into fighting stances and growled. Tyrrany, meanwhile, stayed standing and looked upon her father with a mix of anger and sadness. There was a lot on her mind, Bergan could tell. But there was MORE on the purple dragon's mind, and he needed to pick the first of his many questions.
"What are you all doing here?!" Bergan demanded as he put his forepaw down. "This place isn't safe!"
"That's rich, coming from YOU!" Lantel hissed.
"You've caused nothing but trouble for the realms," Rune said angrily.
"Dad…" Tyrrany said as she took a cautious step forward. She anxiously clattered her fangs as she looked Bergan in the eyes. "Wh-What have you done?"
The dragoness coughed as she took another step closer. Bergan's heart was wracked with grief upon looking into Tyrrany's eyes. He made to step forward, but she backed up. Bergan's expression weakened; she was afraid of him. So, after taking a breath, Bergan stepped back and looked between the three young dragons.
"You've picked the worst possible time to confront me about anything," Bergan said as he gestured around at the Well of Souls. "None of you should be here. This place is… well… falling apart."
Rune and Lantel looked around. They gasped upon seeing the rising gem clusters. Tyrrany did her best to keep a level head as she looked around as well.
"Get out of here! Now!" Bergan insisted. "Who in their right mind allowed you three to travel so far north in the first place?!"
"That would be us."
Bergan flinched, while the three teenagers turned around to look at the source of the voice. A large pillar of shadowy magic opened up, and out of it stepped the familiar forms of Spyro and Cynder. Rune and Lantel calmly stepped out of the way, while Bergan looked on at the two heroes. The bearded drake had mixed emotions as he watched them approach.
"What are you doing here?" Rune asked of Spyro.
"I could ask the same of YOU." Spyro raised an eye ridge. "Weren't you supposed to be resting instead of flying STRAIGHT into the heart of the Well?"
"We couldn't stay!" Rune said as he irritably tapped a talon. "We needed to fly down to find-"
"Calm down, Rune." Spyro shook his head. "We'll find the princess. Just keep a level head, and let us handle things for now."
Rune sighed as he stepped out of the way. Spyro and Cynder marched forward to better appraise Bergan as he did the same.
"You came…" Bergan said: He looked around for any signs of other dragons. "Did anyone else travel with you?"
"They've been delayed," Cynder said with a shrug. "Things have been a bit of a mess up there, to say the least."
"Right…" Spyro narrowed his eye ridges, and he snorted at Bergan. "You have a lot to answer for, Bergan."
"Now's not the time for that." Bergan snapped. "If you're here, then surely you read my scroll about-"
"AAAAGH!"
Lantel screamed, causing everyone to jolt. A tear had suddenly opened beneath the golden prince's paw. He yelped and leaped away as a spectral hand reached out and grabbed at him.
"LOOK OUT!" Bergan shouted. He raised his crystal up and unleashed a burst of convexity at the tear. Lantel was nearly knocked down as the ground shook again. As Lantel looked back in confusion, the tear was sealed up, and Bergan's crystal crumbled into more dust.
"Another one gone…" Bergan grimaced as he wiped off his talons on his sleeve. "But at least the tears are slowing down."
"What in the realms was that?" Spyro shouted.
Cynder looked around with a grimace at the damage spread throughout the Well of Souls. "I don't remember spirits of the dead poking free the last time we were here."
"THAT, was precisely why I asked for your help," Bergan said as he faced the heroes. "With your latent power, we can work to seal away the tears faster than they can form. With any luck, we can bring stability back and save the greater realms!"
"Hmm…." Spyro looked all around and sighed. He glanced at Cynder, who just nodded and tapped her talons on the stone floor. The purple hero looked back at Bergan. "Very well. We'll work to undo the damage with you."
"Thank you…" Bergan bowed his head. "Finally, some common sense. Just make sure not to inhale too much of the corrupted air."
"Don't think that this means we've made peace." Spyro snapped. He extended his wings and turned toward one of the tears. He parted his jaws and unleashed a blast of convexity to strike the tear to seal it up.
Across the way, Cynder walked up to the three teenagers; specifically, she focused on Lantel. "You'd best sit this one out for a while, Sunshine."
"But what about my sister?" Lantel demanded. "Bergan's little minion kidnapped her!"
"Minion?" Bergan repeated with a perplexed expression. "Kidnapped? What are you talking about?"
"Princess Helianne was abducted in Glenhaven…" Spyro glared at the bearded drake. "And the perpetrator mentioned you by name."
Bergan's eye twitched, and he glowered. "You don't honestly think for a second that I had anything to do with that, do you?" He stamped a paw. "And dare I ask… was it BULB?"
"Yes!" Everyone said collectively.
"Well, I warned you all SPECIFICALLY to be cautious of that one in my scroll," Bergan yelled louder, before hearing a tear form nearby. He turned and held up a crystal to blast the tear to seal it back up. And once his crystal crumbled, he snorted and wiped off his paw. "Now, please stop falling for Bulb's trickery, and help me SAVE OUR WORLD."
Spyro didn't quite look like he believed Bergan fully… but he obliged by turning toward a tear. Cynder did the same; soon, all three of the powerful dragons were hard at work sealing away the tears.
"Rune, Hope…" Cynder glanced back at them. "Do you think you could concentrate on creating some clean air so we can all think rationally while we work?"
Rune looked at his sister. "Do you have wind magic?"
"I have some training." Tyrrany extended her wings and channeled her power. "Let's get this over with."
And so it went.
Rune and Tyrrany used their collective wind magics to blow away and corrupted air, allowing fresh air to linger and keep everyone relatively sane. In the meantime, Spyro and Cynder used their powers to assist Bergan in sealing up the tears. Unfortunately, this left Lantel on his own, feeling relatively useless. All he could think to do was to keep an eye and an ear frill out, on the off chance that he spotted signs of either Bulb or Helianne.
"So…" Spyro said as he sealed up a tear. "How did all of this damage happen in the first place?"
"You're not going to like the answer," Bergan said as he did his work on the other side of the platform.
"Tell us anyway." Cynder grimaced. "Though I've got a… sneaking suspicion."
"Well, I did some testing of the soil between rounds of sealing tears…" Bergan reached for another crystal. "And it seems that the instability started when a certain pair of heroes did something… forbidden."
Spyro flinched. "We… used the Revival Ritual. On each other."
"Yes, exactly," Bergan said, sounding partially smug, though mostly displeased. "From what I can tell… you two broke a rule. I don't know what that rule was, but the stability of the magic in this place deteriorated as a result." Bergan gestured around with a forepaw. "And now, the connection between the Well of Souls and the realm of Convexity is getting wider."
Cynder looked at one of the specters poking free, and she balked. "I hate to say it, love, but Bergan might have a point."
Spyro held a dour expression; it briefly seemed like he wanted to say "I told you so" to his wife. And yet, at the same time, he didn't want to believe a word that Bergan said. All that the hero could do was silently work to seal up a few more holes and tears.
"Is that it, then?" Bergan demanded.
"There's nothing else to say about it." Spyro rolled his eyes. "We made a mess… and we're working to fix it. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
"Hmph…" Bergan raised an eye ridge. "It is."
The three powerful dragons continued to seal up the tears, while Rune and Tyrrany did their part to keep the air clear. This wasn't what they'd hoped for when they went on this mission… but at least there wasn't any immediate danger anymore… right?
"I must admit that I'm a little curious…" Bergan glanced at Cynder. "What do you two plan to do once all of this is over and done with?"
"What do you mean, Sunshine?"
"Well… you're both alive and well again." Bergan declared. "Are you going to go out of your way to hide that fact? Or… are you going to resume your old lives, and return to Warfang?"
"Hmm..." Cynder pursed her lips.
"Perhaps you'll look after Prince Rune." The bearded drake gestured to Rune, who grimaced and stepped back a little. "And Cyrus, too. Perhaps you'll even stick around long enough to see their children and their grandchildren."
"Err…" Rune rubbed his head with a wing-thumb. "I… I've never thought THAT far ahead."
"I guess we'll just have to see what comes, won't we?" Bergan gave a little laugh. "But I can make an educated guess that it'll be just like old times. Your lineage will be cared for. You'll be a star pupil of our purple hero… and your talents certainly won't cause him any disgust. Or shame."
"Bergan, stop," Spyro said, before sealing up a tear.
"Ah, now doesn't THAT take me back…" Bergan said as he sealed up a different tear. "Stop, Bergan. Quit using your time magic, Bergan. It's not your PLACE, Bergan."
"You kept sticking your muzzle where it didn't belong." Spyro's eye ridges narrowed, though he still refused to look at the bearded drake. "You had talent and potential… but you kept refusing to accept that you were just a STUDENT."
"Sure, I was a student… but a lot's happened between then and now," Bergan said. "How about I tell you what I've been up to for the last few decades?" He spun about and narrowed his own eyes. "See, it all started way back when, shortly after your first deaths… and the start of the Twilight War."
Spyro and Cynder stopped what they were doing, and they looked over at the bearded drake with unease.
"Ah, that was such an exciting time." Bergan wriggled his talons in a sarcastic motion. "Light dragons versus Dark dragons. Villains on either side. And Warfang had closed itself off from the greater realms." He blew purple smoke from his nostrils. "The people of the realms didn't have their beloved sages to look to for guidance and hope… so they cast their eyes on ME."
"Save me your drivel," Spyro grunted in disgust. "I don't have time to listen to your gloating."
"Gloating?" Bergan's eye twitched as he turned toward Spyro. "You think I'm gloating? I was a teenager; a BOY. And yet they expected ME to rescue them."
The bearded drake glared at Spyro, while Cynder sealed up a tear on her side of the platform.
"Night after night since the war began, I was cursed with many visions of horrible fates for dragonkind." Bergan continued. "I found that I had no choice but to sneak out of Warfang and wander the realms." He walked around in a circle as he spoke. "I traveled from kingdom to kingdom. Weeks became months… months became years. I did everything in my power to save as many lives as I could…" He glared at Spyro. "And through it all, I prayed for help. Night after night, I'd clasp my paws together and try and reach out for guidance from the Ancestors… from YOU."
Spyro paused in his tracks, and he looked at Bergan with genuine shock. "Bergan…"
"But I never got any guidance." Bergan sneered. "All I had, was what was available right before me. I mastered my Time magic. I took up a trade as a merchant. And by putting the two together, I taught myself how to amass recourses. Then, one day, I made myself a little home in Faeshrine." He wracked his talons on the floor. "One thing led to another, and I had myself a sailing vessel with a little company to call my own. I sailed the seas, making allies and enemies alike, until I'd gained quite the reputation. And by the end of the war, I wasn't merely some wandering vagabond: I was a hero by my own ranking!"
The bearded drake stamped his paw…. And a tear opened up a short distance away. Bergan quickly pulled out another crystal and promptly sealed it up.
"And yet despite it all… I could never escape your shadow." Bergan scowled at Spyro. "They called me your protégé. Your successor. Dragons of all shades looked upon me, thinking I was just as wise and respectable as you. And yet none of them could ever know… I was just a nuisance to you."
Spyro paused once again; he'd nearly lost track of a tear that was opening up to his side. But a quick blast from Bergan snapped Spyro back to attention.
"For years, I wondered what I'd done to receive such a cold reception." Bergan scoffed. "I remember it all as plain as day: I was a toddler, clinging to my dead mother's body when the Guardians found me. They had me transported to Warfang and plopped down in front of you and Cynder. I lived among you for most of my childhood, learning about your heroic deeds in the past, and how you saved the whole world."
"Bergan…"
"You weren't just a hero to me; you were like a vision of my future." Bergan's expression softened. "I wanted to be great, like you. I wanted you to be proud of me. So, why…" Bergan scowled. "Why did you always despise me?"
Spyro glowered; he took a deep breath and focused much of his energy on yet another tear.
"I didn't despise you," Spyro said. "You were only a boy; a boy I felt responsible for. But you were also a troublemaker." He furrowed his brow. "You broke the rules. You used your powers irresponsibly. And whenever I gave you advice… you ignored it."
"Ignored it?" Bergan repeated angrily.
"YES." Spyro snapped. "I kept trying to teach you the right and wrong ways to use your oracle powers… but you didn't listen. I kept trying to impress upon you the importance of humility, but it didn't stick." He spun around and faced Bergan once again. "In the end… I failed as a mentor. I died before I could succeed in teaching you how to be a wiser dragon."
A silence fell about the air as Bergan scowled at Spyro. He took a step forward as he growled lowly.
"The realms would have fallen to RUIN long ago if it wasn't for me!"
"And how do you figure that?" Spyro asked.
"Don't you even realize what disasters have lurked in the realms, even up to the modern day?!" Bergan exclaimed. "Warfang, your HOME, was infested with the Order of Culmubrae, and you never even realized it!" He slammed his paw down again. "Then there was their tributary, the Sons of Culmubrae! And they weren't even the only criminals!" The bearded drake stamped his paw a third time. "There were also dark dragon extremists, who've tried again and again to slaughter innocent hatchlings for the color of their scales!"
Spyro and Cynder winced at the exclamation.
"And then there's none other than SAUL," Bergan said in exasperation. "That infernal narcissist wanted to wage another war! You can't begin to IMAGINE the amount of recourses I've had to pour into keeping him on a tight leash for nearly four years!"
"Was I a recourse?"
Bergan flinched. He looked over in shock at Tyrrany, who'd stepped forward and glared up at her father.
"You arranged for me to marry Saul's son." She said bitterly. "I never even got a say in the matter; it was just thrust upon me."
"Tyrrany, sweetie…" Bergan frowned down at her. "It was only ever a temporary thing. I never-"
"You never told me about anything you were planning." Tyrrany snapped. "I could only just go along with what you wanted; I was just another pawn in your game."
Bergan looked down at his daughter uneasily. "Tyrrany… I'm sorry. I never wanted to string you along. I just had to do what I needed to, to keep up appearances."
"That doesn't change the fact that you manipulated me."
"Tyrrany, I knew from the beginning that you wouldn't marry Prince Jonathan." Bergan insisted. "And I also knew that, deep down, you wanted closure with your mother. And that's why I worked behind the scenes to ensure that everything went as smoothly as I could…"
Bergan turned his eyes up toward the sky, and he searched around in the darkness for any signs of the airship.
"Your mother… she's running late." He sneered and then sighed before facing his daughter again. "I'm not proud that events went so horribly wrong. But I want things to be better." He held out a forepaw to the dragoness. "The machinations are over and done with. You're not some pawn; you're free to make your own choices in life. I promise you."
"If that's true…" Tyrrany glared up at her father. "Then I want to live in Warfang with my mother."
Bergan's jaw fell open, and his eyes widened. He then closed his jaws and looked down at her sadly. "Tyrrany…"
"My name is HOPE." She snapped.
Bergan was stunned into silence. The name seemed to echo in his mind… his head felt fuzzy. The purple drake gazed into the anger in his daughter's eyes… and felt his heart aching as worse as it ever had.
"You…" He said, barely able to process her declaration. "But… You…"
"My mother named me Hope." The dragoness fanned out her wings. "That's what she picked for me when I was still an egg…" She glared at her father. "…before you changed it."
"I… I changed your name because your mother left you out of her life!" Bergan said. "I named you after your grandmother. You KNOW all of this."
"But Hope is still the name she wanted me to have!" Tyrrany yelled. She coughed a bit before scowling. "You couldn't have at least told me any of that?!"
"What would it have changed?" Bergan asked. "She still never bothered to come see you."
"It changes everything for me." She said forcefully. "I was finally able to get that closure like you said. And I intend to spend some time with my mother in Warfang. I'm sick of wearing makeup. I'm tired of being weighed down by those stupid clothes. And I never want to be forced into anyone's machinations ever again!"
Bergan was stunned into silence for a moment. With a sigh and a heavy heart, he looked his daughter in the eyes.
"As you wish." He said sadly. "Whatever name you choose, you're my daughter, and I only want you to be happy."
The dragoness snorted… and then frowned back at her father. She coughed again, before turning around to get back to spreading wind magic through the space above their heads.
"There…" Spyro said as he looked at Bergan. "Do you see what you've done? All of this pushing people toward certain paths to try and make things play out YOUR way?"
"I only did what I did because I love her," Bergan said in frustration. "I've seen so many visions of people trying to hurt her, or worse… am I really supposed to let the free will of enemies play out?"
"But you always see EVERYONE as a potential enemy." Spyro snapped. "And in the end… that's what you make out of them. And if you keep this up, then even your own daughter will-"
"Don't you DARE imply that!" Bergan growled. "What would YOU know about the will of daughters?!"
Spyro's eyes widened, and his pupils shrank. He gnashed his fangs furiously… but turned his head away. Bergan took a few paces back and took a deep breath. Both purple dragons kept their backs turned to one another; they fought with all of their willpower not to give in to anger… to focus on the bigger picture…
CRAKA-BOOM!
A burst of purple light filled everyone's eyes, and lightning blasted from an unknown source. The bolts rained down on specific arcs, and they struck the backs of Spyro and Bergan. Both dragons howled in pain, and they collapsed to the ground as the purple lightning danced across their scales. The shockwave from their collapse sprang out to the other four dragons. Rune, Tyrrany, Lantel, and Cynder all collapsed to their feet. And while Rune and Tyrrany were knocked down… their wind magic faded, and the purple mist slowly descended.
"What happened?!" Lantel shouted. "Where did that come from?!"
Smoke burst from Spyro's nostrils as a growl filled his throat. He sprang up to his paws and turned around with a furious gaze.
"BERGAN…"
Across the way, Bergan was fighting to shake off the lightning. He panted heavily as he too stood up. He faced away from Spyro for a moment as a growl filled his own throat.
"You hate me THAT MUCH?" Bergan asked. He slowly turned around to face Spyro, eyes burning with anger. Bergan spread his limbs out as black smoke emerged from his nostrils. "Then SO BE IT!"
The two purple dragons extended their talons. They snarled at one another as they marched forward; their bodies began to shine with purple energy as they prepared their respective magics.
"Wait, stop!" Cynder yelled.
Spyro and Bergan roared in unison as blasts of convexity erupted from their maws. The two blasts collided and exploded together, sending sparks of convexity flying everywhere. The two purple drakes barreled toward each other and readied their talons to slash each other's muzzles.
As Spyro and Bergan clashed, the teenagers struggled to stand back up. But as they did so, they could feel the ground growing warmer… and so did the air. They all coughed as they tried to hold their breaths. Lantel and Rune were beginning to feel dizzy, and Tyrrany…
Tyrrany panted heavily. Her back twitched as the convexity was deeply inhaled. Her face flushed with warmth, and her eyes teared up. She could swear that she heard something growling a short distance away. She turned around… and saw half a dozen piercing red eyes.
A tear had opened up nearby… and crepsculi were beginning to emerge.
Rune and Lantel were shocked, but not so shocked that they couldn't draw their swords. They lunged forward into battle, while Tyrrany fought to concentrate long enough to do the same.
~~…~~
Urobos was in for quite a start.
The last thing he remembered was channeling all of his magical energy into the Conduit. And a moment later, he found himself on a pile of straw, quite confounded. He sprang up and made to march his way up onto the deck. But when he got there, he only found more confusion.
Elenar had come to a stop on the deck, and she was gnashing her fangs and wracking her talons on the floorboards.
"Where are they?" She wondered irritably.
"Elenar?" Urobos called. "Where are who?"
She gasped and looked in his direction. "Oh, Urobos. You're awake."
"Elenar, what's happened?" He asked as he stepped up to her. "Who are you looking for?"
Elenar to explain what had happened after Urobos passed out. And after that, she talked about the disappearances of Rune, Lantel, and Tyrrany. She'd searched all throughout the airship but found no signs of the three teenagers. Albanion and Wraith had directed the soldiers to search all about, but little luck had come. But no matter how much everyone tried, they just couldn't find any trace of the teenagers
"Oh dear…" Urobos grimaced. He looked out at the sky, and his mind began to race.
As Elenar was pondering what to do next, she heard two dragons approach: Albanion and Wraith. The latter had finally detached the Conduit and had brought it along with him. Despite being many pounds heavier than the crimson drake, he'd whipped up some of his shadow magic to have it hang virtually weightlessly at his side.
"Sorry, I couldn't spot any of the kids," Wraith said. "But I took a moment to make this thing portable. That way we can drift down to set it up for-"
Elenar slapped Wraith across the face, making him gasp. He nearly dropped the Conduit onto the deck, but his magic came back at the last moment and lifted it back up.
"Will you focus on the priorities, for one moment!" Elenar exclaimed.
"Sorry, Sorry…" Wraith rubbed his face and grimaced. "But I just had a thought; Spyro and Cynder aren't anywhere on the airship either, right?"
"They aren't?" Urobos grimaced.
"Correct," Albanion said. "They vanished a little while ago."
"So… what if the three kids went WITH Spyro and Cynder?" Wraith asked. "What if they're down in the Well of Souls right now, ahead of schedule?"
Elenar and Albanion exchanged glances; it was such a simple possibility that it slipped right by them. So, they made their way up to the deck and gazed down at the Well of Souls…
Just in time to see purple lightning blasting down from seemingly nowhere.
Wraith spotted it as well. With no time to waste, he reached over to grasp Albanion, and the two of them (and the Conduit) teleported away in a cloud of smoke. Elenar blinked, while Urobos took a nervous breath. They gazed down at the distant Well of Souls, unsure of what was to come next.
~~…~~
"Stop this at once!" Cynder demanded.
She fanned her wings out, and the two purple drakes were forcibly dragged away from each other by her magic. But Spyro and Bergan fought through the energy with their own; they never looked away from each other as they slashed and hissed.
As Spyro and Bergan continued their battle, a pillar of black mist formed on the other side of the platform. Out of it stepped two dragons: Wraith and Albanion, along with the Conduit.
"Sorry, we're late." Wraith began saying. "We hit a snag when…"
Wraith took a look around at the chaos; Rune, Lantel, and Tyrrany were still struggling to compose themselves whilst fighting crepsculi. More craters were forming on the edges of the area. And right in the middle of everything, he beheld Spyro blasting Bergan's wings with arcs of lightning, only for Bergan to retaliate with magical bombs. Wraith might have stood puzzled, had Albanion not charged forwards.
"Get him!" Albanion yelled as he filled his maw with magic. "Take him down!"
Wraith nodded and immediately snapped his talons to disappear. He reappeared just behind Bergan, and he immediately slashed at the bearded drake with his talons. Bergan howled in pain and whirled around to get his bearings.
"What?!" Bergan exclaimed. "You're here, too?!"
Wraith responded by delivering a head-butt to Bergan's muzzle. "Shut up!"
Spyro took this opportunity to strike Bergan with more lightning. At the same time, Albanion quickly gained ground and blasted Bergan square in the chest with a burst of poison. The residue quickly spread its way across Bergan's body, making him twitch and groan as it ate away at his stamina.
"Blast it all, NO!" Cynder shouted. She appeared in a burst of mist and tried to pull Albanion back before he attacked again. "This is a misunderstanding!"
"A Misunderstanding?" Albanion repeated incredulously. "He's clearly on the offensive!"
"Are all of you going mad?!" Bergan roared. He created a sphere of water to wash over his chest to clear away the poison. He was about to turn about when Wraith suddenly struck Bergan from behind. Bergan scowled as he spun about to face Wraith, but the crimson drake continued to teleport around to stay just out of the bearded drake's sight.
"You have a lot to answer for, Bergan!" Wraith shouted. He prepared to go in for a slash, only for Cynder to drag him away by the tail. "Hey, what are you doing?!"
"Stop it, you fools!" Cynder dragged Wraith further back with tendrils of darkness. "You're losing sight of what's important!"
"The time for diplomacy is PAST, Cynder!" Spyro said angrily. He charged up his magic and focused a glare at Bergan. "We'll deal with the tears AFTER he's detained!"
The commotion continued amongst the five adults… leaving the teenagers to fend for themselves against the crepsculi.
Tyrrany's breathing grew erratic, and her vision blurred. She struggled to keep her composure as she slashed through crepsculi after crepsculi. But for every blast of magic, or every swipe of her tail, the demonic eyes just seemed to continue glaring at her.
Meanwhile, Rune fought hard against a horde of monsters on his own. He swung his tail left and right, cutting through beast after beast efficiently. The prince leaped over the back of one and slammed down to create an earth shockwave. Most of the creatures were pushed back… but one of them withstood the attack. It reached back with a fearsome club arm and swung to strike Rune across the face. The prince was struck mid-leap. The sword was knocked out of Rune's jaws as he was sent flying across the way.
"Rune!" Lantel shouted as he dashed over. He leaped forward and slashed his sword through the head of the beast that bore down on him. Once the beast was done, Lantel reached over to grab Rune's back to roll him onto his feet. The black-scaled prince grunted as he picked himself up
"I'm fine…" Rune looked around through his teared-up eyes. "Where's the Sol Blade?"
The sword had gone flying several feet across the way, just to the side of Tyrrany. She heard metal clattering on stone and looked down. She couldn't make out the details, but she recognized the general shape of the golden sword. She also spotted several more crepsculi emerging from a tear across the way, shrieking and hissing. Without even a thought, Tyrrany reached down and snatched the sword up in her jaws. It tasted foul, but she was in too much of a panic to care.
Tyrrany swung the sword madly about in her jaws as she darted around at high speed. She sliced through monster after monster, banishing them to the abyss they crawled from.
"Tyrrany!" Someone called; it sounded like it echoed from somewhere far away. She gave it no thought and continued on her rampage.
The more the dragoness fought the monsters, the angrier she got. Her cheeks flushed bright red as the convexity in the air filled her lungs and tingled her throat. She continued leaping about, unleashing blasts of magic through the Sol Blade to strike down anything that got too close…
~~…~~
Elenar's eyes widened as the chaos grew even worse down in the Well of Souls. She fidgeted with her talons as she shook in place. She could hardly make out any distinct figures from a distance so great… but it almost seemed like a free-for-all was going on. Everyone was fighting each other in a mad blast of dark magic, while swarms of crepsculi ran amok.
"Try to stay calm, Elenar," Urobos said soothingly; he put a forepaw on hers and urged her to stay in place. "Don't go rushing into things; let the commotion calm down, and then we'll go down to try and make sense of it."
"I… I know we shouldn't." Elenar said aloud. "And yet I… I…"
The queen's eyes roamed around the distant discord, and she tried to make out what was going on. There was a haze of violet mist… with figures of black and purple rushing around. Swarms of hideous creatures flowed like sinister waves to crash against the dragons. And through it all… a lone figure of white dashed around to attack the monster.
Elenar gasped… and she surrounded herself in shadows.
"Elenar, stop!" Urobos pleaded. He clutched her paw… only for it to phase right between his talons as she opened her shadow. "NO!"
But she was gone, right before his very eyes.
~~…~~
A shadow appeared, and crepsculi emerged. Tyrrany sliced through them.
"Tyrrany!" Someone called again, sounding further away. She ignored it and kept going.
A shadow appeared, and crepsculi emerged. Tyrrany blasted them with flames and lightning. And when that didn't work, she swung the Sol Blade and sliced them apart.
A shadow appeared monsters emerged, and Tyrrany cut them down.
Another shadow appeared monsters emerged, and Tyrrany cut them down again.
Yet another shadow appeared… an enormous monster emerged. It stood much taller than Tyrrany and glared down at her with hideous red eyes. Tyrrany snarled and sprang forward as fast as she'd ever run. She turned her head to the side and rammed the sword straight into the monster's heart…
SHINK.
The monster stood in place as its jaws fell open…. And screams came from all sides. It was as if the whole world was crying out in horror. Tyrrany was stunned; she parted her jaws and tumbled backward from the blade to fall onto her flank. A great burst of cold wind blew against her body, sending shivers through her from head to foot. Tyrrany curled up in a ball and panted as the convexity was flushed out of her system.
Bit by bit, her vision cleared, her breathing returned to normal, and she looked up at the monster she'd impaled. Except it wasn't a monster.
It was Elenar... with the Sol Blade sticking through her chest.
The air was as silent as the grave. All eyes were on the queen as she stumbled in place. She looked right down at her daughter, with a face of horror and despair. Blood flowed from the wound and soaked the surrounding fabric. Her pupils had shrunk, and blood dripped down from her maw as she struggled to stand. Tyrrany could only look up at her mother in complete shock; she couldn't process what had happened… what she'd done.
Elenar's breathing was raspy as she held a forepaw out at her daughter.
"H-Hope…"
Elenar fell to the floor, and the life left her eyes.
~~…~~
Greetings, friends and loved ones.
I was worried that I wasn't going to get this one posted in time; my schedule got flipped around again and I had to work on December 12th. But I just barely had time to finish editing this and get it up. Yay!
Fans of the original version from way back in 2011 might have seen this moment coming. Amongst the sea of regrets I had about the old rushed version… this moment was always a silver lining. Something I felt was a cruel dramatic twist. It's the first domino to fall in a series of things going wrong. And how many will fall? Well… come back on Christmas to see where things go from here. Cheers!
Tenebra ecce Veritas