Cynder was relieved to be out of the schoolgrounds. She couldn't believe the way Muras had yelled at her like that. Why did he have to keep pushing her to believe things she didn't believe in? No matter how possible it may be, unless it was certain, she just couldn't bring herself to believe in it. She'd been through so much pain and heartbreak putting her trust in things that were flawed and uncertain. She'd given up on hope. And she'd explained this to Muras, countless times now.
It wasn't the first time she'd had this argument with him, and unfortunately, she knew it wouldn't be the last. It would get more heated as well; each time this fight happened, the fights only got more intense. Today was especially showing of that fact. Muras had never slapped her before. He'd never gotten violent towards her.
She didn't know why he didn't understand her side of things, particularly with how clear she'd made herself. Especially today. She'd gone deeper, more vulnerable than she ever had, and it hurt. She felt like she had ripped a hole open inside her and bled out all over Muras, shoving all her emotional trauma into his face.
Getting angry wasn't something she enjoyed doing. It hurt her every time she blew up at those she called friends: Muras, Pyron, Freeze, Apata, Vetar… even her brother, Aerus. But she didn't know how not to be angry. She'd forgotten. After all these years, her joy had been stripped from her. Even her sadness had been stripped from her. Anger controlled her emotional state almost all the time now, and she hated that about her.
At least learning what Muras had told the class earlier had helped her understand why she felt so angry all the time. It was natural for her, because anger, hatred and bloodlust were the first emotions she ever developed. They were the only emotions she ever felt for the first twelve years of her life. She never developed happiness, or sadness. In her mind, she developed fear, but her body and heart had no knowledge of the word outside of the fear that the Terror put onto others, particularly with her fear element.
It made her understand why she struggled so much in her teenage years, since she had to develop new emotions that everyone else had already become so accustomed to. Even Spyro, who was just as foreign to dragon society as her, had those emotions mastered. Everyone else knew how to be happy, how to smile and laugh, how to have fun. Everyone else knew how to love and care for their friends. Everyone else knew how to cry and be sad.
Even back in her first few moments as herself once she had been freed, she didn't know how to cry or be sad. She still felt anger initially. Her body was still coming to terms that Spyro had essentially ripped a piece of her out of her body after the death of the Terror of the Skies. She had lashed out on that first day and tried to attack everyone, and had been detained and locked away while the guardians decided what to do with her. That moment was what caused everything to change.
That feeling of being trapped… it wasn't unfamiliar to her. But it was the first time her body ever felt it. Her body was confused at what was happening, and when it looked towards her spirit, the part of her that had been trapped in the darkest corners of her mind for twelve years, her body was met with overwhelming fear. Fear was the next emotion she developed. Everything caught up to her, and she was afraid of everything: the guardians, Spyro, Malefor… and herself.
When Ignitus came to check on her a few hours later, she was far from what she had been when she first awoke in the Dragon Temple to the sight of Spyro and the guardians all looking down at her. Where rage had once been was now fear, and only fear. She was terrified of Ignitus, and he realised with that look in her eyes that she had truly changed.
He let her out of her chains and convinced the rest of the guardians to let her stay, but throughout her entire stay at the Dragon Temple, she was shy and afraid of everything. She was still so terrified of herself that it consumed her. For a while, it even got in the way of her anger towards herself. It got so much for her that she ran.
She hoped that running away would fix the problem, but it only made things worse. She had no idea where she was, and then she was captured by the Skavengers. She was then recaptured by Gaul, and then was met by Dark Spyro after the fight had ended and Gaul killed.
Upon reawakening three years later, she did her very best to keep her fear in check. She woke up, trapped once again, this time to Spyro. In trying to swallow her fear, sick of feeling it, her anger showed again, this time also forming sarcasm and frustration. She was not a pleasant person to be around at all, but it was really just her trying to work with what she had. She didn't know how to be likeable. She didn't have hope. But it was the first time she let her fear work for her instead of control her. She used her fear of everything around her to fight.
In the core, when she uttered those fateful words to Spyro… she had no idea what she was doing. She didn't understand what she was even saying. The concept of love was foreign to her. She didn't even believe it existed. Yet she felt compelled to say it. She had no idea why, but… maybe it was because in that moment, she felt safe near Spyro. She felt safe, for the first time, even as the world was crumbling around her. Because he was there, and he could protect her.
Amazing how fate works, now that she was Spyro's biggest target now, and he was hers. It was ironic.
But even as she continued to look at her past, it took ages to get better from there. Returning to Warfang had gifted her with a new feeling that she'd never felt before: shame. Anger was nothing new to her, and she knew everyone hated her, but the Terror didn't care because she was so full of her own anger and hatred that she killed anyone who hated her and got in her way. But now she didn't have that blockade anymore, so she felt everyone's anger hit her hard… and it hurt. With it came shame.
It took her many, many months before she felt happy for the first time. It was her sixteenth hatchday, and everyone was so nice to her. A few more dragons had decided to take a step out and try and befriend her, and while Cynder had no idea what was going on, she tried to be receptive to it. And that day was where she met Pyron and Freeze. They were her first friends outside of Spyro.
Fun was also such a new idea to her. Before she settled in Warfang, she was only used to the Terror's idea of fun: killing and painting the walls red. But she knew that was wrong. The concept of running around and playing games was so unfamiliar to her that it took her even longer to get comfortable with it. But eventually she did. By the time she was eighteen, she had developed her emotions enough where she was positive most of the time, and by her early twenties, she was finally starting to understand how her emotions worked, even though she still had a hard time expressing herself and explaining how she felt. By that point, she had finally started to understand the true concept of love; she had made the step to ask Spyro to marry her just a few days before her twenty-second hatchday.
She was twenty-three when she had just started to get a hang of how these strange, complex emotions felt. Love, happiness, joy, hope…
And then it was all taken away from her.
She was very aware that she had regressed back to her primitive state as the Terror, only being able to feel anger and hatred—thank the ancestors she didn't reclaim the Terror's bloodlust. She'd cried, felt sad, and had meltdowns in this state as well, but that was only when everything inside her was getting way too extreme and overwhelming, and usually her tears and meltdowns came with extreme anger as well.
Cynder came to a stop as she arrived back at the barracks, the sight of it pulling her out of her brooding about her past and her lack of emotions. She looked up at the building, taking a deep breath. Taking on the rest of the day in there was not something she was looking forward to, particularly after today's meltdown.
Alright, let's do this. Just a normal afternoon for you. Just some training sessions, a bit of paperwork, and making sure everyone is up to scratch on everything, Cynder thought, before stepping forward and entering.
It didn't take too long before Vetar found her. A look of relief washed over the fire dragon as he saw her walk in. "Thank the ancestors, glad to have you back, General!" Vetar exclaimed.
I had to think that this afternoon would be normal, didn't I? Cynder thought inwardly, holding in her frustrated groan.
"What's wrong? Did something happen during a training session? Is everyone okay?" Cynder asked.
"No, the training sessions have been going fine. We had an urgent letter delivered to you while you were gone. Like… extremely urgent," Vetar explained. "I don't think it's anything good, either. The messenger who delivered it came from Dryovell, and he was in quite a horrible condition. He wanted to stay and wait for you, but Apata insisted that he get treated at an infirmary immediately."
"From Dryovell? Have… have they been overrun?" Cynder gulped, fear washing over her as she began to make her way towards her office, Vetar following her.
"I think it's a possibility. The messenger didn't say much. He just kept blabbing on about how you needed to see this letter NOW. He quickly devolved into unintelligible blubbering and whimpering."
"How long ago was this?"
"Literally a few minutes ago. I was about to send someone out to fetch you from the school just now actually. I know you were helping give some content for a class at the school but I figured this was much more important."
"Oh, absolutely it is. Particularly if Dryovell being overrun by Spyro's forces is a possibility. The entire city is pretty much dedicated to their military practices and being good soldiers, knights, guards, whatever. It's even the primary thing they do in schools these days. The entire city pretty much runs on that system, and they are a very strong, tight-knit unit, and anyone fortunate enough to have them as an ally truly honours that position."
"Why would Spyro send out an attack to Dryovell? Surely it'd be too risky."
"He's been working on something, I'm sure of it. You never know with Spyro; every few years he brings out something new and big, and considering we've called on Dryovell a few times over the past twelve years, particularly with one of the major sieges four years ago, I think Spyro wants to rid himself of not only a large threat, but also one of Warfang's biggest allies. The thing is, what is he planning? What has he been working on?"
"Hopefully it's in the letter that the messenger dropped off."
"Yeah. Hopefully. It would be good to have some information outside of just a summons."
They eventually arrived back at her office, and Cynder saw the letter on her desk. It was inside an envelope, which was stained with many blood splatters. Cynder gulped nervously as she approached the desk with the bloodied envelope lying on top of it, before she picked it up and opened it, pulling out the letter inside and reading over King Ryo'vlon's uncharacteristically messy paw-writing.
General Cynder,
This time it is our turn to call for your help, unfortunately. Dryovell has been captured by the Dark Overlord's forces, and I am being held captive by his second-in-command. About seventy percent of Dryovell has been slaughtered, and the rest of us are being treated like prisoners; we weren't able to stop them.
I am being held under very strict conditions. Spyro's second-in-command is reading this as I write it. I am under strict orders to give you the conditions for my release, and by extension, the release of Dryovell.
You must come here with Spyro's son. Alone. There will be punishments if you bring anyone else. We will not survive if you bring anyone else with you. I know it's a big ask, but you MUST bring Forzen with you. I fear what will happen if you bring extra backup.
I can't tell you much about what forces they have with Drachen hovering over me, but I will say that
The next word became a large smear of ink mixed with blood. Just below the big smear, there was more writing, however the paw-writing was different. And it was written in blood.
You don't need to know what forces we have here. You're familiar enough with us to know how we work, my dear. You know enough about our forces to know how to survive, but we shouldn't need to fall to senseless fighting now, do we?
Bring Forzen and come alone. You must be here within the next two days. Meet me in the King's quarters.
Follow the Dark Overlord's orders, arrive on time, and Dryovell and her King will be free, and you will be safe.
Be wise about this, Terror of Warfang.
My regards, Drachen
Cynder looked up at the date, seeing that the letter was written three days ago.
A shiver went down Cynder's spine, and she felt chills fill her entire form. She placed the parchment down on the desk and just stared at it, jaw slack and eyes wide. Horror gripped her as she realised that one of the strongest dragon armies in the world had been absolutely destroyed by Spyro's forces, and it didn't even sound like Spyro himself was there. Seventy percent of the city had been wiped out, meaning that Drachen's threat to kill the rest of them was entirely possible. It was not a bluff, he would do it.
Dryovell was a very large city, not as big as Warfang's nine million, but still over three million. To think that over two million were already dead, and the remaining few hundred thousand could be slaughtered with ease. It was a sickening thought. There hadn't been a slaughter this big for years, not since the city of Burnhaven was turned into a graveyard five years ago, reaching up to five and a half million deaths in the span of two weeks. That loss had destroyed Cynder. She had felt responsible; she couldn't do enough to help Burnhaven. Those who survived the Burnhaven Massacre scattered, but there were about five thousand who had come back to Warfang with her and the Warfang Army. She didn't know how many other survivors were out there.
What forces did they have there to be able to kill two-point-one million dragons so quickly? What types of devils did they have with them? Did all of Dark Peak come, or was there something else at play? Some new, big monster? Some magically enhanced form of the dark dragons? Cynder didn't know what to expect, but obviously it had been serious enough to not only kill two million dragons, but to kill two million Dryovellians.
It terrified her, knowing another two million dragons had been killed in such a short time, but it terrified her more knowing that she could be responsible for almost another million deaths if she didn't comply.
And to do that, she had to go, with Forzen, alone.
They were practically asking her to deliver Forzen to them.
As much as she despised Forzen, that was something she was not prepared to do. She didn't trust Forzen, but she didn't trust Spyro with Forzen either. She didn't want anything to do with him but she at least knew that keeping him here was the smarter decision as opposed to letting Spyro have full reign over him.
But if she didn't bring Forzen, then Dryovell would be lost. Over two million had died; she didn't want to be the one responsible for about a million more.
"Ancestors help us," Vetar murmured; Cynder looked up as he spoke, watching as he read the letter as well. "What… what do we do?"
"I don't know… I don't… I…" Cynder stammered, before she let out a loud, gut-wrenching howl, breaking down into a complete mess, hurling curse after curse, screaming and swearing at Spyro as if he was here right now.
"Cynder. We need to think this one through. Just… calm down," Vetar said.
"CALM?! YOU'RE TELLING ME TO BE CALM?!" Cynder screamed. "IT'S EITHER DELIVER FORZEN TO SPYRO, OR A MILLION LIVES ARE SILENCED! HE'S BACKED US INTO A CORNER, WITH NO GOOD OPTION!"
"Cynder, we've made rescues from Dark Peak before. We can just take him back."
"What about this don't you get, Vetar? They won't just be keeping Forzen! The moment we hand him over and they get back to Dark Peak, Spyro will immediately corrupt him, like the Dark Assassin Corps were! I don't know why Spyro hasn't, but now that Forzen managed to escape, I think Spyro will do whatever it takes to get him back! We won't be able to get him back because we WILL NOT STAND A CHANCE! Forzen will KILL us if we let Spyro have his way with him!"
"Forzen may unfortunately have to fight again. But we both know how strong he is. Everyone knows how he slayed that venomfang a few weeks ago. Everyone knows he went up against a venomfang and a fearbringer a few days ago and also survived. He can hold his own, and so can you."
"Vetar, Dryovell's forces of three million couldn't stand up against whatever forces they have there. What chance to we have? I may be strong, and Forzen may be… well, Forzen, but we are just two. I don't even know what forces they have there! It's a death wish!"
"Okay, but you can't just not… do anything. You read what Drachen demanded. You guys need to be there in the next two days, which pretty much means you need to be leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. You don't have a lot of time to make a decision."
"A million lives are on the line… I don't… I don't know what to do. It's either lose a million in Dryovell, or lose millions more than that by letting them have Forzen. I don't see a way where saving everyone is possible."
"Cynder, you defeated the Demon of the Well—"
"That was with the ancestors' help, Vetar. I was powerless on my own."
"The ancestors are on your side, Cynder."
"Where are they then? WHERE ARE THEY? Where have they been for the last TWELVE YEARS?!" Cynder shouted. "Those bastards could have ended all of this but they just choose to sit back and watch! Who knows what they're doing? Are they laughing at us, watching us die and fail to take back our peace?"
"Cynder…"
"ENOUGH! Leave me! Please…"
Her voice broke on the last word, and Cynder watched as Vetar's heart broke for her. He just nodded silently, before he turned and left, leaving Cynder alone. Cynder sat down on the floor, her head in her paws. She wiped her eyes, feeling the tears brimming at her eyes. She reached out with her wind element to push the door shut and lock it, and feeling confident that she was truly alone, she finally cried.
She had to believe this afternoon would be smooth, didn't she? She brought this karma upon herself. And now today was proving to be one of the worst days of her life.
Spyro had trapped her. No matter what she did, people were going to die.
This war had been going on for twelve long, gruelling years. The longer it went on, the further victory seemed. It felt like they were on the path to losing the war. They had been in a moment of silence for the last two and a half years, and while most people welcomed the brief moments of peace they had, Cynder hated it. It meant something bad was coming.
The silence had been broken with Forzen's arrival. Attacks had started again, unrest was at an all time high, and most importantly, Spyro wanted Forzen back. She knew what he was going to do with Forzen once he had him again. It would mark the end of the war. It would mark the beginning of an age of true darkness, an age where evil finally won.
She would never admit it to Vetar, or anyone else, but she almost wanted to give Forzen over to Spyro. She just wanted the war to end, even if it meant that she lost. She knew a world living under Spyro would be hell, but what could be worse than this awful warfare? Maybe Spyro might become a bit more lenient if he had full control over the world. She didn't even know what a life under the Dark Overlord would even look like.
Spyro's victory was getting closer and closer, she could feel it. She'd had to make some hard decisions in the past, she had felt trapped by him in the past, but she had never felt as trapped as this. No decision she could make would benefit anyone.
But the lives of millions were riding on her decision. She couldn't be selfish with this. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't just let millions of people die because of her. She'd already been through this with the Terror. She couldn't put the fate of millions more lives on her shoulders like this. It was an awful thought that she could just kill so many dragons with one decision.
Just one was all it took.
However, Cynder also knew that she was very, very stubborn. Her stubbornness often clashed with her inner want to give it all up to Spyro and let him win. And right now, she found that stubbornness rising up inside her again.
She would follow Spyro's orders, but she was going to fight. She was going to make it hard for them to get what they want. Cynder would make sure that they lose as many troops as she could.
Even if she lost the fight, she was going to make them regret crossing her.
She didn't hesitate to knock on the front door to Muras' house when she arrived. Her knock was aggressive and urgent. She stepped back a bit once she had done so, tapping her paw impatiently on the ground. The door opened to reveal a very unimpressed Muras.
The purple dragon let out a loud, frustrated groan at the sight of her. "Ancestors, what now, Cynder?" Muras huffed. "I've kind of had enough of you for one day after what happened earlier."
"I didn't want to drop in either, but due to some recent advancements I have no choice to," Cynder growled.
"Ugh, what do you want?"
"I need Forzen."
Muras raised an eyebrow sceptically. His purple eyes bore deep into her, trying to study her composure. "Cynder, you know I don't trust you with him," Muras said with a threatening growl, spreading out his wings.
"I don't care. I need him."
"Whatever for?"
"Dryovell's been overrun, with two million dead and just under another million at risk, and Drachen is demanding that we bring Forzen to him in the next two days, otherwise the rest of Dryovell will be slaughtered."
Muras blinked. "What the f… are you actually contemplating handing Forzen over to them?!" Muras exclaimed angrily.
"I'm not that stupid; have some faith in me!"
"Been hard to recently with the way you've been acting recently."
"Can we focus on the matter at hand, Muras?"
"I am. I don't trust you with Forzen for a second. Why the hell would you be bringing Forzen straight to Spyro's forces?!"
Suddenly aware that there were eyes in the streets turning their direction as Muras yelled the last few words, Cynder let out a low snarl and pushed Muras back into his house, forcing herself inside and slamming the door shut behind her. She advanced on him quickly, cornering him against the wall as she stared down at him
"Because if I don't bring Forzen, then a million will die. If I'm not there with Forzen in two days, then a million will die. If I bring anyone else with me, then a million will die," Cynder explained, her patience starting to run thin. "I don't know what I'm going to do when I get there, but I have to at least follow the orders I've been given somewhat. I can't let almost a million more lives get snuffed out, Muras. Besides, I know Forzen is strong, as am I. We can hold our own."
"Cynder, are you NUTS?" Muras cried. "You must be absolutely worm-brained! He's not trained for war! He's not a weapon to be used whenever things get tough! I thought we'd agreed not to weaponise him; I promised Forzen he wouldn't be weaponised!"
"Unless he wants to not be taken back to Dark Peak, which I would prefer him not too, he will have to fight."
"Cynder, you're being so unfair right now!"
"UNFAIR?! WAR IS NOT FAIR, MURAS! IT NEVER HAS, AND IT NEVER WILL BE!" Cynder screamed.
"It doesn't mean we have to be unfair, particularly to people we know are good people."
"You seem to forget I don't believe the same thing you do about him," Cynder murmured.
Muras grit his teeth and a loud growl began to rumble in his throat. Cynder spoke again before he could lash out at her; she wasn't sure whether he'd do it with words or with his claws like he had done earlier today, but she didn't feel like putting up with anymore conflict with him right now.
"If it makes you feel better, I will be looking out for him on the battlefield," she clarified. "I don't trust him in the slightest, but him falling back into the clutches of Dark Peak is the last thing I want. I will make sure he doesn't fall back into their evil claws. I'm smart enough to not let my personal hatred towards him get in the way of what really matters: the fate of the world."
"It's because of your hatred and distrust of him that I don't trust you near him," Muras scowled. "If we're going to do this, I'm going too."
"NO!"
Cynder clawed Muras across the face, drawing blood. Tears brimmed at her eyes and her lip trembled with emotion. "I spent all afternoon trying to figure out any loophole I could get through to either not bring Forzen, or bring reinforcements, but Drachen has me trapped!" Cynder shouted. "I can't bring you along! Because if I do, then Dryovell will perish! I WILL NOT let a city disappear from existence because you can't follow the instructions that we are being forced to abide by!"
"Then I'll go with you on the journey there, and I'll break off from you once you're getting close to Dryovell," Muras said. "As long as they only see you and Forzen enter, they won't think anything else."
"Muras…"
"I don't care whether you'll look out for him on the battlefield; I'll be honest it's the one thing I actually believe you about on this. It's before and after that I'm worried about. You won't be on the battlefield and you have no obligation to hold back against him, particularly when—or if—you win the battle."
"You're not going with me, Muras."
"I am. You can't stop me, worm-brain."
"Don't you dare call me that."
"I just… Cynder, I hate this. I don't want to do this. I don't want Forzen to get weaponised, I don't want to leave him with you, I don't… I don't want to put this all on a chance that you guys might win or get out alive. Forzen's killed some dark dragons, yes, but the most he's done against an actual dark dragon was surviving a one-against-two fight. In a fight like this, particularly one that's threatening Dryovell as much as it is, he will be beyond outnumbered."
"And?"
"HE'S TWELVE, CYNDER!" Muras screamed. "YOU CANNOT EXPECT HIM TO BE THROWN INTO THIS WITH NO EXPERIENCE OR TRAINING!"
"If Spyro could, then so can he."
"What the hell, Cynder?"
"You heard me. If Spyro could, at twelve-years-old, single-handedly save all four of the guardians from my clutches on his own, and then take me down when even many grown soldiers and knights struggled to even land a hit on me, then Forzen definitely can handle something like this!"
"Spyro's forces aren't mere apes, Cynder. They're actual full-grown dragons. They don't come up to our upper legs like the apes did; they're our size entirely. Forzen struggles against half a dozen of them approximately. I don't trust him to survive a large squadron of them. We don't even know what types of dark dragons they have over there."
"Muras, I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Have you even brought this up to the guardians?"
Cynder went silent. She hadn't. She tried to hold in her growl as she knew that even the guardians would have concerns about this. But she needed to act without emotion or concern. She didn't care about Forzen. As long as he didn't end up in Dark Peak, that was all that she cared about. At least her goal would be to bring him back alive and safe. Why couldn't Muras appreciate that much of her? Going out of her way to protect him was something that Cynder would never normally even think of, but for this mission, she would absolutely have to.
"Cynder. You haven't told the guardians, have you?" Muras asked, his voice going soft as disappointment washed over his features.
"No. I haven't. It doesn't matter. By the time I would talk to them and they take their time to come up with an answer, we'd be running out of time to get to Dryovell in time. We're already running out of time," Cynder said.
"Cynder…"
"No. Do not even attempt to persuade me otherwise. This is the only way we can at least try to save Dryovell. I will not have this many more lives be lost on my watch."
"Cynder, you can't seriously be wanting to risk Forzen falling into Dark Peak just to save a city."
"Am I seriously hearing this right? You would let almost a million people die in one night just to protect your… your moras'tov mentee?"
"Yes."
Cynder faltered. Muras responded with no hesitation. How? How could he seriously be willing to let so many people die just so he could keep his little purple student safe at home? She studied his face, and he showed no emotion. Just determination, a sure mind, and a very, very serious expression on his face.
"Muras, it's… it's one million people," Cynder whimpered, her voice breaking as she realised that Muras was actually willing to let that many lives be lost. "How… how can you say that?"
Muras shrunk back, knowing a huge outburst of anger would explode out of her uncharacteristic shocked whimpering. "Cynder, just… just listen to me—"
"How can you fucking say that?!" Cynder roared, reaching forward and slicing open fresh wounds on Muras' face once more.
"Because I know that if Forzen gets taken, it will be several million that will die!" Muras snapped, shoving his horns forward in a headbutt to try and get Cynder away from him.
Cynder staggered backwards, trying to keep her emotions in check as she felt tears spilling down her cheeks. She shook her head, still in complete disbelief over Muras' theoretical decision if he was the one making this choice.
"I know it's horrible. I know this is bartering and playing with millions of lives, but I would much rather prefer we only lost one million lives from Spyro's forces rather than losing several million at once by Forzen," Muras continued. "I don't know what type of person corruption would make Forzen become, but if it's anything like you as the Terror of the Skies, that terrifies me. And if I know anything about how this works, his power will just increase after corruption. He's already ridiculously strong as it is now! I genuinely believe that if he becomes corrupted, he would become stronger than even Spyro. Absolutely no one would be able to stop him. Millions, maybe billions would die. Significantly more than the remaining population of Dryovell. It's not a decision I would make lightly, and I know many would hate me for such a decision, but I would feel more at ease not going to Dryovell, Cynder. I'm just… I'm just trying to see the bigger picture."
"But… it's one million people," Cynder whimpered again. "I… I can't let that many dragons die. Not again. I already have millions of bodies tied to me. I can't add another million to that."
"Cynder, it won't be you killing them."
"It will be my decision that causes their deaths. If I don't show up, Dryovell's citizens will perish. All of them. I can't have that weighing down on me. If there's anything I can do to save everyone, I will. I need to save them! I NEED TO!"
"I'm not letting you do this if I can't at least accompany you on the way there and back. I still do not trust you with Forzen."
"I… I… Fine," Cynder growled. "But don't you DARE let yourself get seen near Dryovell. Otherwise the death of a million will be on your paws."
"I understand."
"Great. Now go and tell that purple whelp. I don't have the energy or patience to do it myself."
"I wouldn't be letting you do it yourself, particularly if you've been acting like this towards me."
Cynder just huffed as she tried to get back into her tough appearance. "Whatever," she growled. "I will be here at dawn. Be ready to leave by then."
With that, Cynder turned and left. This is going to go awfully, Cynder thought. Ancestors, if you're even out there, please help us…
"Forzen?" Muras asked from behind the door after knocking. "Can I come in?"
"Sure…" the younger purple dragon murmured with a sigh.
Forzen heard the door open behind him, followed by the soft pawsteps of Muras walking in. The larger purple dragon cleared his throat, before he spoke, slowly and carefully. "Hey, Forzen. I, uhhh… I hate to bear more bad news to you, but… I—"
"Don't. I heard everything."
"I… what?"
"Sound element. Even downstairs in the other side of the house, I could hear you two loud and clear. I know what she wants of me and I know I have absolutely no choice."
"Look, I didn't want to say this to Cynder because I knew she would blow up again, but… if you don't want to go, you don't have to. With this decision solely focusing around you being there, it is ultimately your decision."
"It isn't about what Cynder wants that is forcing me to go. She's right. We can't let that many lives go to waste."
"Forzen…"
"Muras, I can see your point of view, I really do. I understand. Over the fight, and while you were cleaning up your claw wounds, I've spent this whole time figuring out the best decision for me to make. As much as I don't want to, I have to. I need to. Everyone here trusts that Cynder has the best for Warfang, for the world, so if Dryovell is lost… I will be the one to blame. I will be the one who has a million names put underneath me. I have the luxury of having no bodies to my name right now, and I can't let that start now."
"This is so unfair. You shouldn't have to be forced to make these decisions! No one should at your age! Even at Cynder's age!"
"You can scream about how unfair it is all you want. This is just normal for me. Most of my life has been unfair. The last four weeks has been almost entirely unfair. This is just another unfair thing that I have to deal with, and I'm used to it now."
"You shouldn't have to be used to it."
"It doesn't change that I am. I hate that this is my life but I've come to expect it now. I can't see it ever changing. No one outside of you, half of the guardians, and a small percentage of the school's teachers trust me. I have no friends. I'm alone and haunted by what my father is doing. My reputation was already destroyed before I even had a chance to create one. All because I'm that… I'm that devil's son… and because my scales are this awful colour."
"They are not an awful colour."
"EVERYONE HATES US!" Forzen snapped. "Everyone in this city despises us! I caught the students calling you 'moras'tov' to your face in class today! In reality that happens all the time! You get called it just as much as I do!"
Muras blinked. He looked very hurt. "Really? They really say that? Today wasn't the first time?"
"The amount of things I hear with my advanced hearing every day sickens me. Everyone wants the both of us dead. They want me gone because I'm Spyro's son, I was raised in Dark Peak, I bear his sinister elements, and I even have the capability to learn Cynder's dark elements. They want you gone because even though you seem fine now, you were still the Dark Master that ravaged the land twenty years ago. They tolerate you, a lot more than they do with me, but they still don't trust you. They still hate you. They just tolerate you, and hide their hatred.
"You saw today even Cynder still gets hate. The hate doesn't stop just because we're good, Muras. The hate doesn't stop because we hate evil. As long as anyone thinks that we could turn evil in the future, or knows that we have done evil, we will continue to be hated. Us purple dragons are so capable of evil and destruction. I don't even have to be corrupted to kill anyone if I really wanted to, particularly with my plasma element the way it is. I could easily wipe out the entire school.
"This is why we are so feared, so hated, every single day. You're just so caught up in your bubble of spending so many years here, finally having a home, and having 'made up' for your actions, that you are blind to the way people still see you. You may have it better than me; you may have friends and a lot more people who trust in you, but you are still very hated. I hear it at school, on the streets as we walk by people, dragon and non-dragon. I hear it everywhere."
"You… you can't be serious," Muras stammered.
"Why would I lie to you? What could I possibly gain from that?"
Muras stammered more, but he couldn't form a complete word as he realised he had no answer. Forzen was right. Come to think of it, Muras had been aware of the hate he still received. It was masked a lot better than what he received from Forzen, but he still saw it. He just… chose to be oblivious to it. It got to the point where he was oblivious to it. It probably also didn't help that his own hatred for himself for the events of Armageddon grew stronger than the hatred he received from others, so once Forzen came into the picture and he put his self-hatred past him, he had stopped seeing it entirely.
Now he was aware of it once more, and it was actually worse than it had been previously. He tried to think back on the last few weeks, months, years, to see the hatred he received, and Forzen was right. Even after all this time, he was still receiving it. He tried to pinpoint where it had actually gotten worse and more vocal, and it didn't take long to realise it had increased four weeks ago.
The week Forzen was found.
"Do… do you think that… everyone also hates me for taking you in? For looking after you and training you?" Muras asked, his voice fragile.
"Yes. I think they hate you more for that. They think you're training up the next 'Great Hero' who would then betray the world that he fought so hard to save. They think that in you training me to get stronger, you're just training up a stronger Dark Master or Dark Overlord. Because… you're right. When you put everything together about me, I could be a worse threat than my father. That terrifies me, and that terrifies them. In their eyes, all they see is the dragon who was once the Dark Master train another dragon who could grow up to be the next one… who would be even worse than the current one.
"I'm grateful for all you're doing for me, Muras, but that doesn't change the fact that this is how the world sees us right now. It's… it's how I see myself. We still don't know how our conversion to the dark side works. What if I do become like you and Spyro? Someone who was good, but somehow flipped and fell to darkness…"
"You don't know that'll happen."
"I don't know that it won't."
There was an uncomfortable silence as the two purple dragons stared at each other. Muras found it hard to look into Forzen's eyes. There was a horrible intensity in them that Muras was scared of them. The fear, the self-hatred, the confusion… and yet the acceptance… it was all too strong for Muras to bear.
Finally, Forzen's eyes left his own as Forzen turned away. "Please, just… just go. I want sleep. Wake me up in the morning ready for when we go," he murmured.
"I… okay. Sleep well, Forzen," Muras replied.
"I'll try…"
With that, Muras turned and left the whelp alone, closing the door behind him. Muras trudged slowly to his own room. As soon as he sat down on the bed, he felt the tears start to flow. For the first time in a very long time, he felt the hatred of Warfang hit him again. He felt the heartbreak hit him once more from watching poor Forzen go through all of this fear and confusion and hatred.
How could the world be so… so cruel? Muras thought. Why do we… why does he have to suffer like this? He's only twelve; why did the ancestors have to give him these awful challenges? Not even Spyro went through this during the Dark War. Aloelle… why are you doing this to Forzen?
Dear one, there are things in this world that even us ancestors have no control over, a warm, feminine voice spoke in his head, and he flinched as he realised it was Aloelle. But take heart, this will not last forever.
How long will it last then? How can I believe that all of this will blow over?
I do not know. But our world runs in cycles. There is a push and pull to the balance of this world. Always. It might be months. It might be years, or decades, or even centuries. But the world will always right itself and put itself back into balance, and furthermore, into a time of peace and goodness.
But what if this dark pull lasts for centuries? What if the world stays like this for my… for Forzen's entire lifetime? I can't bear it to know that he'll live his whole life like this.
Again, I do not have the answer to this. But the current pull has already lasted for centuries. A millennium to be exact, since the moment you fell into the Well of Souls. It's wavered throughout the millennium, but the world has still been under a shroud of darkness for this whole time. I do not anticipate that the cycle of darkness will last much longer. Soon, the time of good will prevail.
I hope you're right, Aloelle. I hope you're right…
She didn't answer. She was gone.
Muras wiped his eyes. He stood and made his way to his desk in the corner of the room, doing one last thing before he himself went to sleep. He knew that not only would Forzen be taking several days away from school, but he also couldn't make it to the class he was supposed to assist in tomorrow as well. He sat and wrote a long letter to Master Hyrath explaining the entire situation, and to also take it easy on Forzen when they returned… if they returned.
He finished writing the letter and briefly left home to go to the Temple so he could drop the letter off ready to be sent in the morning. Then he returned home, collapsing in bed, trying hard not to cry again, unable to shake the bad feeling that tonight had left in his gut.
Ancestors be with us… Please…
So this chapter got intense quickly XD It's not a good situation that Spyro/Drachen have them cornered in, there's not a lot of room for them to win this fight. We'll pick up on the journey to Dryovell next chapter! Next chapter's also one of the ones I have been so excited to write, very excited to get Chapter 25 to you guys soon!
...
MysticFire824: Yeah it was interesting to write a school scene where Forzen wasn't the POV character. It's been fun just writing more chapters outside of Forzen's POV recently. Like Demonised's frequent focus on Cynder, Forzen is Outcast's main POV character, but there are chapters that will switch the focus around to others, whether it's Muras, Cynder, or even Spyro, or a rare perspective change like Torialis in Chapter 16.
I was expecting you to be very happy with Muras slapping Cynder lol. It is a bit of a long time coming after the way Cynder's been acting all story lol; Cynder's going to get challenged a lot with these types of things for the rest of this story. Interesting take to say she's worse than the Terror of the Skies though; I'd probably put her around about the same level if I were to make a comparison. Yes she's purely herself, but she still does have a heart to keep people alive and to protect Warfang etc., but her trauma has hardened her up very significantly and out of that has come this very broken logic regarding Forzen. A lot of her fears about him are also fears Forzen has about himself.
Dragon of Mystery: Yup, particularly when the kids are the ones considering the idea and not any of the adults in charge of Warfang's war efforts. At least it's implanted the idea in their brains now. And yeah, a very awkward lecture indeed, in amongst Muras and Cynder's squabbling with both each other and the kids, and Master Hyrath having to get involved several times. I couldn't imagine sitting through that lesson myself lol
...
Hope you all have been enjoying this story! We're getting close to the halfway point; there's 51 chapters planned and next one's 25. It feels weird to be almost halfway through this fic after a little over a year where it took me seven years to complete Demonised (at this point in time as well, Outcast is already 2/3 of the size of Demonised as well, so that's a lot of extra words in comparison). Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, looking forward to hearing what you guys thought of it!
I'll see you all in the next chapter!