Black.
That was the primary color that dominated her vision as she opened her eyes. As more details of her surroundings became clear, she could tell that the world was shrouded in the pale gloom of a cloudy night sky. She was lying on her back, her forelimbs folded over her body in an unusual manner. She was staring upward at a shadowy canopy made up of palm trees and other tropical foliage.
Suddenly, a glaring light flashed into her eyes. It was incredibly bright and luminescent, much brighter than the fire-lit torches and magical gemstones with which she was familiar. She hissed in irritation and screwed her eyes shut, quickly rolling over and coming to stand on her four paws. She heard the sound of paw steps walking across the forest floor, but she couldn't make out what was walking towards her with the light shining in her face. She growled dangerously and stepped back, nearly slipping on the wet mud that covered the ground.
Her movements felt strange and sluggish, like she had just awoken from an incredibly deep sleep. She didn't feel as coordinated as she remembered, nearly tripping over her own paws and tail as she backed further away from the approaching footfalls. She tensed up even more as she heard a pair of voices in front of her. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but she could tell than one voice was masculine and the other feminine. The feminine voice was speaking quickly and excitedly, her tone full of shock and disbelief. The masculine voice was calm and collected, though she could make out a tinge of excitement behind his apparent aloofness.
She flinched as their silhouettes finally manifested in the light. They were clearly a pair of dragons, though she couldn't make out too many details of their forms as they appeared as shadowy figures in the harsh glare. She dropped low in her stance and flared her wings out dangerously, growling and lashing her tail. Both dragons stopped in their tracks, the larger of the two raising its wing to block the other from getting any closer. It was the one with the masculine voice, and he said something quietly to the other dragon who nodded in response. He lowered his wing and stepped towards her carefully.
"Lady Cynder?" The dragon asked.
The way he had asked that question gave her the impression that it wasn't much of a question at all. Rather, it was a statement of fact. His voice was even, smooth, and sounded like that of an aged dragon. There was a certain inflection in his voice that reminded her of Cyril and other dragons who came from upper class backgrounds. He was tall and lean, and carried himself forward with grace. She couldn't make out anymore details of his appearance though. She was a bit unnerved that he knew her name. She had met many dragons in her life, and she considered herself to have a great memory, but his voice was one she didn't recognize.
Cynder. That was her name. That was who she was. The infamous Terror of the Skies turned savior of the world alongside her mate, Spyro. Her head began to ache as memories started flooding her mind. Memories of a lifetime. Memories of a childhood filled with strife, turmoil, and despair, and an adulthood of peace and happiness. But it all felt wrong. Her memories were jumbled and incoherent, and she was met with a wave of conflicting feelings that staggered her mind. She couldn't process it all as her legs wobbled and she fell into a sitting position on the muddy ground.
"It's alright, my dear," the dragon said as he finally stepped into view. "No one is here to harm you."
He had bronze scales that were polished to a sheen and ivory horns and an underbelly that were equally immaculate. He wore an expensive-looking coat that was made of blue-gray fabric with white fur trim. It matched his blue-gray eyes quite well, which stared at her through a pair of spectacles that rested upon his snout. He smiled at her and took another step towards her.
"Stay back!" She demanded, and he obeyed. "Who are you?"
She was quite surprised by the sound of her own voice. It came out shrill and crackling, as though she hadn't spoken with it in a long time. Her throat felt raw and rough, especially after her loud declaration. She placed a wing over her throat as she swallowed painfully.
"My name is Gaius, and it is an honor to finally meet you," he stated and bowed to her respectfully. "I'm sure that you are quite overwhelmed by everything that is going on at the moment, but I promise that I will explain everything shortly. Now, why don't we get you out of this cold? Come along with us and we'll find a comfortable place for you to rest for the night."
He took a rather bold step closer to her and she noticed the silhouette of the other dragon tensing up and stepping forward as well. She didn't trust these dragons at all. Sure, this "Gaius" seemed friendly and all, but she was not a trusting dragon. She felt her magic begin to rise within herself, making its way up to her jaws. It felt weaker than it should have been, but she still maintained enough power to do some damage. Waves of crimson energy began to emanate from her jaws as she readied herself to blast the both of them with her fear element and make her escape. Gaius clearly noticed that she was ready to strike, but he simply quirked a brow and stepped closer, his eyes never leaving her own. She had to respect his boldness in the face of a dangerous dragoness, but she was about to repay him for his foolish decision to mess with her. She heard his partner cry out as she opened her mouth wide and prepared to strike him down.
Her eyes went wide as her fear magic faltered and died in her mouth. Her breath caught in her throat from a mixture of confusion and panic. Her mana levels felt lower than normal, but she was certainly far from being depleted. No, whatever was going on here was something different. She was no stranger to magic-nullifying spells, especially during her service to the Dark Master, but this didn't feel anything like that. He stood right in front of her now, and she wanted desperately to strike out at his aged face. But there was another part of her that didn't desire to attack him at all. A part of her that felt strangely familiar… comfortable. That part was clearly winning out.
He sat down gingerly in front of her, careful not to soil his coat on the muddy ground. He reached his front paws upward and cupped them around her slender face, caressing her cheeks gently. His paws were cold and gritty against her face from walking upon the forest floor. He handled her as if he were handling a precious gem, looking into her jade eyes with curiosity and excitement as a wide grinned formed on his muzzle. She managed to jostle her tail out of the trance she found herself in and lashed it forward. It fell limp about halfway to its target, her wickedly sharp tail blade falling harmlessly into the mud. She glared viciously into his blue-gray eyes.
"What have you done to me?" She demanded, unable to look away from his captivating gaze.
"Well, I've succeeded in bringing you back from the dead, as a start," he replied, looking her over intently. "Oh yes, you're very real. The legendary Cynder in the flesh! You and I are going to make a great team."
His voice became quiet and reverent. "I just need you to trust me for a little while. Everything will make sense in due time. Please, come along w-."
She stopped him mid-sentence when she finally conjured up the willpower to spit right in his face. She was a bit surprised when he barely flinched at that. Rather, he blinked a few times and began to chuckle. That chuckle turned into a wild laugh that began to grate at her nerves. He simply reached within the coat he wore and pulled out a white silky handkerchief that he used to wipe her saliva off his face.
"Well, I must say that I'm honored to be the first dragon in nearly a millennia to be spit upon by an ancient hero," he said jovially as his laughter died down and he return the handkerchief to a coat pocket. "I'm sure that I could make a small profit off of people who'd love to have been in my position just a moment ago. But alas, I have far more important things to do than to fulfill the odd desires of a minority of the world's populace. No, we have much more important duties to attend to."
The other dragon cantered up to them and slid to a stop in the mud beside Gaius. When her form finally manifested in the light, it became clear that she was an adult dragoness with a rather short stature. Cynder quickly noticed that her short stature wasn't to be taken as frailty, as she could see toned muscles rippling beneath her bright yellow scales. She was dressed in garments as well, but they were quite different than Gaius's. They were dark and tight-fitting, contrasting starkly against her bright scales and were clearly designed to not get in the way of a fighting dragon. Across her back lay a huge, sheathed dagger that looked comically large for her small size. It still appeared to be wickedly sharp and would likely cause a great amount of damage to any dragon it was used against. She looked up at Cynder with wide electric blue eyes.
"Woah…" she breathed. Her voice had a little bit of a rasp to it. "You were right. It's Cynder!"
"Did you truly doubt me?" He asked with a huff, tossing his head in feigned offense. "You should know that I'm a dragon of my word, my dear Fulmena."
"W-well, I never doubted you," she interjected quickly, tapping her chin with a wing claw. "I just thought you were being, ah, uh… metaphoric?"
"It's metaphorical, and no, I was quite literal when telling you what we would be doing here," he admonished her.
As the two began to lightly quibble, one particular word stuck out in Cynder's mind: dead. She was dead. Or at least she should have been. It was all coming back to her now. Her time as the Dark Master's servant, fighting alongside Spyro to defeat Malefor and save the world, and her life afterwards. Spyro taking her to be his mate, raising their children, and living out the last years of her life in peace and comfort. There were so many memories in her lifetime; some good, some bad, some terrible, but all of it had been worth it in the end. Given the circumstances, her life had been a good one; a life better than she had ever deserved. But her life was over. She remembered it vividly, dying from natural causes at a good old age, surrounded by her loved ones. She hadn't remembered anything after that. One moment she was there, and now she was here, surrounded by strange dragons in a dark forest. Those memories nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure from the flood of emotions. She would not show weakness in front of these dragons.
"Fine," she answered sharply, startling the two of them and drawing their attention back to her. "I'll come with you. Not like I have a choice anyway."
Gaius nodded contently, motioning for both her and Fulmena to follow him back towards the blaring light. As they approached, Cynder noticed that it was an odd looking crystalline light fixture set up on three legs. Fulmena quickly got to work on taking it down and gathering up some other equipment that lay strewn about the small clearing. The light faded as the yellow dragoness shut the fixture off, plunging the three of them into the dark twilight of the forest. The twin moons above them were beginning to peak out from behind the thick clouds, casting the world in a soft red and green glow. She could still see the wide grin on Gaius's face as she stepped up beside him.
"Let me be the first to the say this, Lady Cynder," he said in a low voice that nearly tremored with excitement. He leaned his head closer to hers and spoke directly into her ear frill.
"Welcome to the future."
A/N: Hello, and welcome to The Summoning! I've always wanted to write my own Spyro fanfic, and I finally came up with an idea that was interesting enough for me to sit down and write. If you enjoyed the chapter (or not), let me know by leaving a review!
This story will be split up into a three-act structure, and this the first chapter of Act 1. Not sure if I'll give the acts names or not, but I'll likely edit this chapter in the near future to add that in.
Until next time!