Author's Note:
An update within a few months from the last one‽ XD Well, all I can say is that my passion for writing the story has been reignited. I really feel like I can take the story in multiple directions now, and it's a matter of properly organizing both the chapters and the content within the chapters.
Take note that CH61 and the upcoming CH62 were originally one whole chapter. I decided to split it because there was content I simply didn't want to skip outright or condense it via "tell, not show". As a result, CH61 stands at exactly 10K words.
Messages from my two beta readers below:
AzureDragonZX. Hello, AzureDragonZX here once again. It wasn't too long of a wait this time… Some of us are just really in the mood to write lately. Not that that's a bad thing, and I'm sure nobody's complaining about it!
We're continuing off from the "extra" scene from last time. (You all DID read it, right? Haha...) That means that, in addition to spending more time in Warfang, Serenya is getting properly featured now. She's always been one of my particular favourites, as someone with behind-the-scenes knowledge, so it's great to finally see her in the spotlight more. It's been a long time coming.
Here's to a great 2025!
Strykeruk. (no commentary submitted as of publishing)
My response to them:
Azure — I've been in a better mood to write Aimless ever since Joshua gained his freedom. That's why the update came pretty fast this time. I'm excited to finally be here. :D
I think everyone had read it. Who skips the author's note and replies to reviews‽ Even before I started making post-A/N scenes, people seemed to be reading everything.
I actually feel very accomplished, having properly released Serenya into Aimless. Until CH60, she was only featured in short stories and commissioned art. I still can't believe it took THIS long, you know?
Here's to a great 2025!
Stryker — Stryker hasn't sent in his commentary yet. We were in the middle of writing the full chapter when I decided to split into two, and he's been really busy irl lately, so he probably won't be sending it in until later. I will be adding his commentary and my response to it later, when I receive it.
Timestamp key: "D" for days, "W" for weeks, "M" for months, "Y" for years, "EM" for early morning, "LM" for late morning, "EA" for early afternoon, "LA" for late afternoon, "EE" for early evening, "LN" for late night, and "AD" for all day. Note that the Dragon Realms follow the sexagesimal system for keeping time, just like Earth. (In other words, 60 seconds per minute and 60 minutes per hour.)
Snip category key: There are four categories of snips. "Settling In", "City Life", "Beyond the Wall", and "The Journey Home". All four represent parallel storylines that take place within Aimless, and other than "Settling In", each snip category has at least two subtypes. Those subtypes aren't listed due to potential spoilers.
Enjoy!
City Life — Threads of Gold
Chapter 61: Spreading Wings 1
"A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles."
~ Tim Cahill
[60D/AD]
Whenever The Legend of Spyro gave its players a new ability to play with, a new weapon in their arsenal, there was always some wizened sage to dispense the tutorial, if not the next stage in the questline.
In A New Beginning, this was Ignitus, dragging you to that boring arena with stone golems whenever you gained control over a new Element, then new objectives as soon as you had Spyro declare he was done.
In The Eternal Night, this was the Chronicler, shoving Spyro's consciousness into La La Land and forcing elemental knowledge right back into his head before setting him loose in that linear gauntlet.
In Dawn of the Dragon, the mystical dragon only appeared once—just to tell you what four elements Spyro and Cynder controlled, with no overlap other than the Fury that was Convexity. Everything else was dished out by a bunch of old men telling you what to do.
Joshua Renalia, stranded in this bizarre world of The Legend of Spyro, wished for the same guidance himself. Every protagonist needed something to move them along, to fix their direction on a concrete and tangible goal. Having been brought to the Dragon Realms by magical means, he had only the mystical—the spiritual—the divine to turn to for counsel.
He knew for a fact that Ignitus was the current Chronicler. Surely, he was watching through the magic permeating the City of Warfang and its surrounding lands.
He recalled the last time he sought Ignitus' counsel. He sat before an azure spirit gem, the kind that raised experience points to enhance magic abilities. He had sat there in that one spot for hours, hoping to receive a premonition like his heroes had four years ago at that crypt.
In the two cycles that followed, so much has changed from then and now. Joshua had just been granted status akin to an intermediate apprentice, though more in name than ability. He had studied enough of his unique, one-of-a-kind element to where he could call upon it at will. He had a few friends and allies, and his former notoriety as Dragonbane was largely eclipsed by recent revelations.
Satisfaction and accomplishment coursed through Joshua. He couldn't bring himself to care about the fact he was in full view of countless people, dragons and other species alike.
He looked up at the object before him.
It was a life-sized statue of Ignitus, made no more than a few cycles after the War's end to commemorate his death.
He had previously glimpsed this statue the few times he ventured outside the third floor, mainly during the occasional visit to the viewing balcony accessible from Residential Area 5F. With its large area, it was a VTOL point that wouldn't see much use until apprentices began living in the higher floors.
Up there, he already considered the statue as an artistic marvel.
Up close, he realized how insufficient it was to call it that.
The statue did not simply stand on top of the stone pedestal. It was part of it. The sculptors responsible carved out both the statue and base from solid rock.
The latticework pavilion under which it stood was beset in flowers of myriad colors, as well as vines. Trees of various kinds—evergreen, tropical, temperate, tall, short, flowering, fruit-bearing—were sprawled all over the Gardens, their arrangement within the pavilion more deliberate. Flowers of every conceivable color dotted the landscape, complimenting the clusters of spirit gems that had sprouted here.
The pavilion's columns were plated with golden metal, with vines curling around both them and the lattices that ran above. These vines provided shade but did not completely close off the sky from the few trees whose branches rose past the latticework. A subtle but soul-calming fragrance pervaded the pavilion, enhancing the solemnity of Ignitus' statue.
The blue spirit gem that Joshua could see from the fifth floor's balcony—the one that sprouted from the pedestal's side—grew away from the plaque that had been nailed into the statue's base. It drew attention to the inscription carved upon it.
.
.
.
In memory of Ignitus the Kind
Father to the fatherless
Guide to the lost
May he fly forever under Alona's wings
Soaring the Impossible Sky
.
.
.
Still able to vividly recall the Fire Guardian he knew from the games, Joshua thought the epitaph was perfect. The last line prickled his curiosity—it couldn't be a coincidence, could it? The Impossible Sky was a fanfiction that featured a human trapped in the Dragon Realms, just like him.
It begged a series of questions.
How did Jared Pullen and the rest of the dev team even come up with the Dragon Realms, when it turned out to be real? Did that mean Pokémon and Naruto could exist, too? How much of human imagination actually originated from truth? How exactly did such information spontaneously appear in one's mind? Besides, how much of it was even accurate? The games didn't even get the actual lore right, not when this world was so much more than what he saw on the TV monitor!
Joshua shook the strange and useless thoughts out of the way. The answers were unknowable—and, in the end, meaningless. It wasn't as though he could go world-hopping like a Keyblade Wielder. He was stuck here.
He'd been sitting in front of the statue for several minutes now. Serenya and Kilat had gone to the nearest lavatorium, while his two escorts stood imposingly away from him. Their silence and stony expressions scared off several apprentices who would've otherwise accosted him.
The Ignitus statue was coated in red and orange paint. Strangely enough, his statue resembled his in-game model in A New Beginning so much more than the other Guardians, whose scales and massive forms gave them a heavier, "realer" presence than they ever did in TLoS. Nonetheless, this odd resemblance made it easier for Joshua to envision the Ignitus he knew—the Ignitus every Spyro fan knew.
"I don't know if you can hear me," Joshua started. "You didn't show up when I tried this last time."
Even if he probably looked stupid doing this, he couldn't afford to wait anymore. He didn't care about the curious onlookers glancing his way. Why bother worrying whether they thought he was an ascetic or a dumb egg? No one else knew Ignitus was the Chronicler, not even Spyro.
Joshua just wanted guidance. Why was he here? Why did he have this power? Why weren't there other humans? Everyone was telling him how his constitution was more dragon-like now… so why hadn't he been turned into a dragon? What was even his purpose here‽ The damn f*cking world was at peace!
"A lot has changed since then, Ignitus." Joshua gazed into the statue's painted eyes. He knew he should be looking for a disembodied head in the spirit gem, but he couldn't help it.
"I'm in Warfang now. I'm sure you've seen it all—everything your friends put me through. I overcame everything they threw at me, got to learn more about myself and my power, but… I still have no f*cking idea what I'm doing here."
Saying the words out loud made Joshua feel like he was praying to the old guy! Ignitus wasn't his god. Jesus Christ, he wasn't even a god. Yet here he was, cross-legged before his memorial statue.
"I wish you could talk to me," he intoned. "Nobody knows anything here. My element, my species, my purpose… it's all a complete mystery to them!" Joshua recounted his connection to Spyro, which he only discovered when the Savior suddenly went 'dark' to protect him from Kaos. The fact this relationship seemed to go only one way bothered him.
"And it's all because I met another human," Joshua said. "I feel… I feel he understands what's happening to me. H-he knows I'm from another world, and his eyes light up when he sees my element. But…"
But he couldn't trust him, Joshua left unsaid. Kaos was clearly as unhinged and unpredictable as he was in the Skylanders series. How could he willingly submit to his care?
"C'mon, man," Joshua muttered. He recalled the ways the Chronicler interacted with Spyro. "Answer me. Summon me to the White Isle. Something! Anything! I believe—I know you got all the answers I want. I-I just want to know if you're listening…"
Nothing happened.
The Chronicler remained silent.
His heartfelt pleas accomplished nothing.
The teen shook his head in disappointment. He heard wingbeats, then an obvious thud from someone landing on the ground nearby, but it didn't attract his attention at all. Anyone who dared to make trouble for him would meet swift retribution from his two guards.
"Shit, dude. Can't you just give me one f*cking sign? Have spirit crystals sprout up beside me or something? I need a guide. I, I-I can't figure this out on my own—
A light and fair voice interrupted him. "Talking to yourself, Joshua?"
Joshua flinched. He hadn't expected the new arrival to have reached him unmolested. He dipped into his mental constellation for a second, grimacing when he recognized the sphere of life standing behind him.
He turned around to see an adolescent dragoness with burgundy scales. "Serenya!" he greeted with an awkward chuckle. "That was quick."
"I-it's okay! I do that sometimes, too." She gave him an equally awkward smile whilst lifting her paw until he could see the brown pad. It was the equivalent of a raised hand. "It happens when you have no one to talk to."
Huh, it looks as soft as Kilat's…
"Where's Kilat? Didn't she go to the rest—the lavatorium with you?"
"Oh!" Her expression grew even more awkward somehow. "Uhhhm, I flew ahead. I didn't want to leave you alone for that long." She shifted uncomfortably, scratching her ear with a hindfoot. "Who would poke the scales of 'Master Volteer's prodigy' anyway?"
This dragon… her only friend lived a few minutes' flight away, didn't she? That meant she wasn't used to having friends around. Any slight irritation that Joshua felt towards Serenya tapered off. His eyes softened.
"Thanks?" he offered, accepting the sentiment, though it was unnecessary since the two Talonpoint knights watching over him kept the peace.
Beside him, Serenya sat on her haunches, watching with her lime eyes. Joshua did not notice, his attention having returned to Ignitus' statue. He glanced at the XP gem sprouting at its base.
The crystalline surface seemed to glitter, but it was only just the sunlight playing tricks on him.
Joshua clicked his tongue after another minute. "Tsk!" How ridiculous. The new Chronicler was a stingy bastard, not even bothering with a reply…
One of Serenya's ears twitched. "Were you praying? Aren't you a… Cadolic or something?"
"It's Catholic," Joshua corrected. "And yes, I am."
She tilted her head curiously. "Why pray to him when you don't know Azeroth the Infinite and the Pantheon of Ancestors?" She made another offhand remark before he could respond, "That it's Master Ignitus is already strange enough."
"How is it strange?"
"Lord Spyro's the only other dragon who prays to Master Ignitus," Serenya said. "I heard he comes here two or three times a cycle, just before sunrise."
Joshua didn't know how to answer that. Praying to Ignitus instead of the Heavenly Father was one thing—it was akin to visiting Asakusa Shrine or Sultan Ahmed Mosque and sending up a prayer despite one's non-belief—but giving clarity to her remark might reveal things he'd rather keep unsaid.
"What do you know about my species?" Joshua asked. "You know I was questioned last month."
"Month? Uhh—
"It's humanity's equivalent to 'cycle'."
"Ahh…" Serenya scratched her chin and looked away in thought. "Mother of Knowledge, not much. The windwhispers in the airstreams don't particularly care about your origins, so nothing comes to mind right now. Errr… hmm… I'm trying to remember…"
Joshua said nothing and observed the dragoness some more. Before they officially met that morning, Serenya had been known to him and Kilat as "Red Lady", the only person who'd shown amity on the day of the Incident.
Over the last two months, by Joshua's reckoning at least, he never saw Serenya even though he knew she was living in the lower floors of the Residential Area. The fact he was under close supervision and heavy restrictions greatly deterred his desire to find her. Then even that became less important, with mastering his one-of-a-kind element and winning over the people taking priority above all else.
He later learned that it would've been a fruitless endeavor to seek her out, for she was avoiding him out of an endless spiral of shame and fear.
Shame over her inaction during the Incident and the days and weeks that followed.
Fear that revealing herself would result in insurmountable backlash.
Ultimately, Serenya had settled with simply watching Joshua's rise as an observer despite her friendship with Vara providing an easy connection to him. Even so, she had never been able to dismiss her personal concern for the human she'd met briefly and consequently kept a close eye on him when possible—stalking him from a distance, simply so she could see how he was doing and whether or not he was all right.
It was only a matter of time until she was caught. Serenya knew this, yet she couldn't help but peek at Joshua or push her snout into his business whenever it was within her reach. She simply did not expect his two guardian knights to catch her in the act of stalking him earlier today, two lunar cycles into his arrival in Warfang.
Her timidity aside, Serenya had not changed since the day he and Kilat encountered the monoscale at the eastern gates. Every time Joshua studied her with his eyes—God, why did she always flinch whenever he gazed at her—her general shape and form reminded him of a two-eared Toothless, albeit a redder and smaller (and much cuter) version. The dragoness had trouble maintaining eye contact, and she was constantly fidgeting like she was nervous.
"I, uh, I can't remember what they said about you after your hearing," Serenya said. Her ears wilted slightly. "That was almost two cycles ago. Back then, people were still calling you a Dark Servant or an ape spy. Anything stating differently didn't really gain much lift. I'm sorry."
"That's alright, Serenya, don't beat yourself up over it," Joshua consoled the monoscale. "I only brought it up to explain what I'm doing."
She looked at him expectantly. Joshua could sense Kilat's life signature trotting towards them. He probably had enough time to answer this question before she got here.
Joshua gave her an extremely concise version of what he'd told the Guardians and the Council back then—that humanity had developed a long-distance scryglass that allowed them to observe world-changing events in the Dragon Realms. That's how he knew about Ignitus and why he prayed to him. His faith rested in the Lord God Heavenly Father and His Holy Trinity, but that did not necessarily mean he would reject help from other deities. After all, hadn't he wished for divine intervention multiple times by now?
"Just imagine yourself appearing in human lands one day—all alone, nobody to talk to, cut off from the Ancestors. You befriend a few, but you're still the only dragon and many, many, many strangers hate your guts just because you're different."
"...I'd be desperate, too," Serenya admitted after a short sigh, her airy voice turned somber. The dragoness let the poignant moment pass before perking up.
"So… are you, ready to go?"
Kilat arrived at that very second. Briefly, her gaze lingered on Serenya, her star giving off a yellow flicker. It seemed covetous to Joshua, but he kept his thoughts to himself when his sister did not say anything. Instead, she forced a smile upon her snout and grinned at him. "Sorry! It's a bit of a walk from the lavatorium. Anyway, Brother, are you finished? You made us wait a while…"
Joshua frowned. "Were you bored?"
"Ancestors, yes!"
He grunted. "You agreed to go with us earlier—
"Because I wanna be with you!" Kilat blurted. "Nothing wrong with that, right?"
"Oooookay…"
There was nothing else he could say to that. Joshua turned to Serenya. It felt nice, being able to look her straight in the eye. Other than her and Vara, all the other dragons he'd ever spoken with were either shorter or taller than him, even when they stood on all fours.
Joshua inwardly decided to visit Ignitus more often. The new Chronicler HAD to answer back if he persisted enough. "Anyway, I'm pretty much done here," he said. "Where are we going?"
Serenya was taking the two of them out on a tour of Warfang Temple today. The idea came to her earlier while they were having lunch at the Ironwind Bazaar, a food court located on the second floor of a three-story, open-air building beside the Botanic Gardens. It was separated from the domed buildings rising to the sky, connected via a covered walkway rather than utilidor access.
When Serenya learned Joshua had no plans for the rest of the day, she offered to take him around and guide him through the Temple, reintroducing the place to him now that it was no longer his prison. He took her offer as soon as the words left her maw, flustering the dragon.
"R-really‽ You're okay with me taking you around?"
"No sh—ehem!" Joshua restrained his natural impulse to reaffirm with curses as he was wont to do. Looking back at it, he couldn't figure out why. "I mean, yes. Totally am. You've been here for how many years now? Why wouldn't I take you up on it?"
"But… my scales…"
Joshua shifted around uncomfortably, his elbows aching. There weren't any tables in the bazaar. Apparently, dragonkind ate on steelwood platforms, using their claws and tongues in lieu of utensils. He felt stupid for having expected differently; he should've known, considering the prehensility Kilat demonstrated every time she bathed him.
"I don't care about that. You're the right dragon, as far as I'm concerned."
The response silenced her after that. She broke eye contact with him—she'd actually been struggling to maintain it—but her mood was improving. He could see it in her star.
"Hey!" Kilat protested. "What about me‽ You're not taking me on this tour?"
Her protest came as a shock to the older dragon, since she had assumed the little girl had gone around the Temple already. Serenya was visibly surprised when Kilat confessed otherwise, blinking in understanding when the child clarified how focused and concentrated she'd been on staying beside Joshua to ensure his safety and well-being until her vigilance was no longer needed.
As such, Serenya quickly agreed to include Kilat without a second thought. Joshua felt grateful for that. He had never forgotten that she was friends with Vara, who would have definitely resisted his sister's request.
Evidently, Vara had not rubbed off on Serenya in any way.
As for the tour itself?
The Botanic Gardens was just their first stop. Nonetheless, Joshua had trouble getting over the fact he was practically on the same footing as every other dragon he saw with his eyes.
For nearly two lunar cycles of Adrano the Red—almost two months!—Joshua had been confined on the third floor, the utilidors, and a handful of lecture halls. It had only been a few hours since Sparx and Candidate Talwinne oversaw his relocation to the second floor, and already he was going around with bewildered exhilaration.
His public presence was a novelty. He drew curious eyes wherever he went, for apprentices, lecturers, and knights alike were unused to seeing the city's one and only human walking through the halls. If it weren't for the two armorclad Talonpoint knights flanking him, Kilat, and Serenya, they'd have long been swarmed by people.
Their reactions ranged from the enthusiastic to the indifferent. Joshua sensed hostility only from the spheres belonging to adult dragons, dragons who lived outside and couldn't properly verify rumors heard from the airstreams, and dragons who, like that bully from before, lost loved ones during the Incident.
Even then, the aggressiveness displayed in their stars ran the gamut. Most were merely irritated at his sight. Very few were so livid that they would have attacked him were he alone.
Candidate Talwinne was correct. He was no different from a Temple apprentice now, and while he was technically not allowed to leave the city per se, whoever made that proclamation knew about his ability to hide from the five senses, yet did nothing about the fact that his security was cut in half and that there were no restrictions on if he could visit nearby Hogsmeade, to put it in Harry Potter terms.
In short, Joshua Renalia was well and truly free.
"Have you been to Hookfang Library?" Serenya asked. "It's a nice place to just lay down and think—
"Booooring," Kilat butted in, singsong. "I've been there a few times now! Besides, we've been cooped up inside for so long! We want to get out—really see the place!"
Serenya's wings fluttered. "How about the Virith Gallery? It's close to the Noble Chambers. There's an art show this week."
That reminded Joshua of what Serenya did in her spare time. Since he presently had no interest in the guilds of Warfang, he didn't ask much about hers and what they did. She said, however, that she sometimes went about the cultural districts informing people—"barking"—about guild events, that she also wrote documents for internal use and other work-related discussions, and that she sometimes made paintings…
Another memory from his life on Earth flashed in his mind. Joshua remembered visiting the Louvre in Paris once. He wasn't even a teen at the time, but… their exhibits were marvels in their own right, captivating even someone as artfully obtuse as him.
Joshua felt a bit nostalgic. He shouldn't expect much from this. He really shouldn't, but maybe… maybe it would be nice to see what passed for art in this medieval world…
Then Kilat shut the idea down before Joshua could even assent. "Not interested," she said.
"Kilat!" Joshua scolded. Didn't she realize Serenya was personally invested in this stuff‽
"What‽ It's not like it's some fancy exhibit! It'll just have amateur shit in there."
…Apparently not.
Serenya squirmed. She tried to pretend the child's dismissal didn't bother her; her body language alone betrayed her disappointment.
"T-then, err, Stormfly Pavilion? There's an obstacle course next to it, courtesy of Zephyr Breezebuilders…"
Kilat's eyes lit up. "Obstacle course‽ Ooooooohhh—
"Oh wait, you can't fly…"
She wilted. "Awwww…"
Serenya winced. Her sphere dimmed and shrunk further. "I-I'm sorry… I'm not sure where to take you next."
Kilat's fins twitched. She turned away from the slightly older dragon. "...I didn't mean to make you feel bad, Miss Serenya."
Serenya's tail shot straight up. "A-ancestors, Kilat! You can just call me by name. I'm not that much older than you." After a slow blink from the child, her muzzle flitted between human and dragon. "Honestly… I don't really know you two or your interests. We really only just met this morning."
Joshua nodded, the gesture foreign to the red dragon. "That's understandable. So…?"
"So… what do you want to get out of this tour? I need a little help." Serenya gave them an awkward grin.
Kilat glanced at Joshua questioningly. "Uhhh… Brother?"
Joshua already had an idea when he agreed to this earlier. Serenya had read the scroll containing his work schedule for the week and their venues, and some lectures were taking place in halls he hadn't been to yet. He wanted the apprentice to show him where they were.
"Besides that, I wanted to get to know you a little." Joshua added, startling her. "The way you're living now, monoscales and all, I can… relate to it and I… I was wondering how you got through each day, you know?"
Serenya kneaded the grass. "I, uh, uhm… You're… asking me to, take you to places I like?"
"Right!" Her star shuddered, but remained mostly blue. "I-I know you probably feel a bit self-conscious about that but, I won't judge. If anything, I'm the odd one out here and…"
Serenya looked quite tense.
"...You're okay with this, aren't you?"
The dragoness jolted as if struck by lightning. Her tail slapped the ground. "A-absolutely, Joshua! No problem at all."
She got on all fours and turned to the exit. "I just hope you like it," she muttered, her whisper easily caught by the human's enhanced hearing. Joshua didn't reply, though; Serenya didn't look like she meant to say it and raising the topic might end the tour prematurely.
Before they could proceed, Joshua reached down to the waterskin tied to his belt and took a sip of water… or tried to.
It was empty.
"Serenya!" He raised the flaccid container to eye level and shook it. "Err, sorry to bother you about this, but where can I get water? I'm out."
Her ears perked up. Was she glad for the delay? Her sphere didn't seem that nervous to him, or was he reading her wrong?
"The gazebo's nearby." She turned another way and cocked her muzzle away from Ironwind Annex and the main buildings. She was facing the forests surrounding the peak but not quite towards the wide path that she said led down to the Temple gates. "Follow me. We've got basins there."
Basins?
Did she just say basins? What for…?
Without looking back, Serenya began trotting to another exit. Each stride was short and quick, her body bouncing with every step. Joshua and Kilat joined her, walking virtually side by side. The two knights followed at a distance—neither Emerine nor Springhorn were in a talking mood right now. They were there simply to guard the three of them, after all.
The entire group strolled down a dirt path worn down over generations of dragonkind. The Botanic Gardens were surprisingly well-populated, with scores of live-in apprentices choosing to remain in the Temple over the short break after the Summer Examinations.
Lounges of dragons stared at them from a safe distance, yielding and stepping back only when their group approached. A few fastened their wings and stayed aloft, greeting Joshua with a friendly wave of the paw and the customary "Clear Skies".
"Steady winds," Joshua replied to each greeting. His newfound freedom still felt surreal, but he embraced it completely. He was aware of all the staring, the pointing, and the mumbling, but he neither paid the onlookers any attention nor scrutinized their souls. Kilat didn't mind them either.
Serenya, on the other hand, was troubled by them all. Where Vara often pushed aside her discomfort and exuded strength as best she could, this timid dragon shrunk inward, slowing down and avoiding eye contact. Her wings and ears were constantly twitching, and her tail swayed increasingly less the more they were out in the open.
Nevertheless, Serenya pushed herself and continued leading the way, seeming to have remembered who she was with.
Leaving the Botanic Gardens, they entered a stretch of grassy fields that, while mostly flat, featured a subtle downward incline. The path terminated almost immediately in a circular area. The reason why became clear when Joshua saw a pair of dragons take to the air and, tracking them, join several more higher up.
Serenya crouched as well, only to suddenly stop midway and lean her neck towards them. She said nothing and kept walking, her sphere flickering. Either she forgot she was leading people who couldn't fly, or she was so used to flight that it was second nature to her.
Although the way Kilat's star shuddered suggested it was the latter…
The gazebo in question was close to the tree line. Dragons of various elements and ages were taking off and landing all over the field. There were at least a hundred apprentices sprawled across the field, engaged in equally various activities.
Joshua couldn't help but stare.
The most eye-catching scenes were dragons sparring with each other. Three ganged up on one in the air. Two were a ball of scales, teeth, and claws, engaging in physical, zero-element combat. A few others featured one-on-one fights that reminded Joshua of many Spyro and even Pokémon fanfictions—a series of elemental attacks with barely any physical contact.
Apprentices as young as Kilat suddenly zoomed past them, spiraling dangerously close to the ground. "Boooooop—!"
One crashed on the grass in front of Serenya.
"Haha! Almost got me!"
"Vulcan's Flames! Just you wait!"
Shrugging off the crash, the boy galloped and took to the air, chasing after the four other dragons hovering above him.
Joshua was awed. It resembled a less fierce, less violent, and less painful predecessor to the sparring by the older dragons. Kilat was really restraining herself when she played the same game with him, didn't she?
"You play Boop, Serenya?"
Serenya laughed dryly. "Not at all. Haven't played in years."
"Then do you want to play with us next time?" Joshua invited her. "Looks fun to do it here."
"You'll have to be gentle with Brother, though!" Kilat chimed in, nudging him.
She smiled at them. "Maybe… Buuuut don't expect too much. I've never been as good as my brother."
"It's a start," said Joshua. "I'm not that much better, you know. I've never actually won any of the fights I've been in!"
"...Joshua, that doesn't sound like something you should be bragging about."
"Yeah, but I think you needed the lift."
Serenya looked away, tail wagging behind her. Kilat, however, licked his cheek in response. "Aww, Brother, that's why I love you. You're so kind."
Eyes meandering some more, Joshua realized that not all dragons were engaged in physical games.
Some slept on the grass. Quite a few pairs openly expressed affection to each other.
He spotted a pair of reptiles hunched over what appeared to be a wooden game board. In the opposite direction were two apprentices having an animated discussion over an abacus and a couple of scrolls—their elements and their serious conversation reminded Joshua of Cyril and Volteer.
Beyond those last two stood the gazebo. It was a two-story structure, tall and wide. It rose much higher than Joshua thought, to about one-and-a-half times his height. Its ramps were mostly unused as the dragons preferred to fly in and out of it. Judging from the hushed voices and the relaxed state of their souls, the apprentices here were probably studying, if not simply enjoying the shade.
Serenya explained that it was a large, open space, with the roof being a tall and hollow dome featuring a fresco of Moles building the City of Warfang carved into the stone ceiling. Joshua was surprised to see the outline of an access door on the base of the foundation, hidden behind a tall bush. He didn't expect a utilidor here.
The basins Serenya was referring to were placed around the perimeter, between the ramps. Each filled with water. Joshua looked askance and saw a Gnorc worker pour water from a barrel into the basin to the left until it was nearly full. (Why don't they just melt ice made by an Ice Dragon? Surely, that would save some time and labor…)
Serenya plodded to the basin directly in front of them and peered inside. "Oh, good, still a quarter full!"
Joshua expected his guide for the day to beckon him over. He did not think she would just lower her head and begin lapping at the water.
Hearing Serenya's tongue slap the surface of drinking water made his stomach turn.
"God, you've got to be f*cking kidding me."
As if sensing his discomfort, Serenya lifted her head to gaze at him. Joshua kept staring at the water dripping from her snout.
The water…
All this time…
This ENTIRE, F*CKING TIME…
The water they'd been giving him since Day f*cking 1…
"What's wrong? Come and drink." The confusion in her voice was so evident that he couldn't even think of yelling.
"But you, y-you already drank from it…"
Confused, Serenya blinked twice. "And?" She tilted her head a little. "The water's clean. Temple worker's doing their work." She licked her chops. "I don't taste anything strange."
He was fixated on her tongue, so focused that it could've been moving in slow motion. It was dripping with water—with saliva, and he squirmed with how visible every drop was. Joshua clenched his right fist. It was a struggle to restrain himself from screaming.
"Joshua? Are you breathing hellfire?"
Joshua didn't answer. He couldn't stop staring at Serenya's snout. He didn't even realize he was scowling to the extent it was beginning to scare her.
Pain suddenly flared on his buttocks. Joshua jumped with a yelp and glared at the offender, only to meet Kilat's impatient glare. Did she just poke his ass with her horns‽
"Kilat! What was THAT for‽"
"What's wrong with you‽" His sister hissed. "You wanted to drink water and refill your waterskin. Now you don't want to…‽"
"But Serenya—h-her tongue—!"
"So? I'm getting thirsty now, too. So hurry up so I can join you."
"Why even wait for me—
"Because you're my stupid brother!"
Two more dragons landed on the grass near them—adolescents. Both were males. Their souls quaked at the sight of the Temple's resident human out of shock, but wisely kept their distance and waited behind his adopted sister.
"Hurrrrrrry uuup!" Irritated, Kilat pawed at his legs. "Ancestors, you're holding up the line!"
"But it's dirty—her tongue w-went in there and—it's disgu—
It's disgusting as f*ck, Joshua meant to say, but his voice had trailed off. He'd been looking sideways, searching for something he could defend himself with. What he found instead made him pale. Three dragons of similar ages to his friends had their necks inside the basin to their right.
The communal setup of every goddamned lavatoria was horrible enough—Joshua still couldn't get over the sight of Serenya hunched over taking a piss, listening to Kilat rave about the food they just had in Ironwind Bazaar while also squatting over to unload a huge dump. Hell, he was still processing the outright indifference displayed by a group of four older dragons that entered the lavatoria right after Kilat released a disturbingly loud fart.
None of those four even cared! As soon as they saw him, standing over a third hole and trying (very hard) to urinate despite the utter lack of privacy, they crowded around him, asking him questions about that lecture with Cyril's lounge and what he'd done that day while doing their business as closely as possible.
But this?
This was madness!
Gross!
Unhygienic!
What if he got sick‽ What if those three got sick‽ Didn't anyone here know how diseases worked? Maybe they had something in their drool, but this was different from those damned tongue baths! The dragons knew about the central nervous system, for God's sake!
"You can be so WEIRD sometimes, Brother!" Kilat growled as she stomped around him. He stumbled after she shoved his legs. As soon as she climbed on the basin, she leaned back and lowered her head inside to lap at the water herself.
Joshua cringed at the sight. "What the f*ck! I'M the one who's being weird‽ You're pulling my tail! I…"
Suddenly, he realized that the two dragons behind him were staring.
"…I…"
The three apprentices to the right were also staring. The Gnorc worker to the left? He was drinking from a waterskin of his own, the content drawn from the very water he'd just added to it.
Watching him, just like everyone else.
He couldn't see the expressions of his guards—they were facing away from him—but his sixth sense laid their souls bare, and they spun with frustration. Emerine and Springhorn didn't care about the water quality in the slightest.
How this scene must have appeared to everyone else dawned on Joshua.
"F*ck."
The longer he dawdled and complained like a Becky, the more he looked idiotic and ungrateful. The dragons contributing to Warfang's airstreams would have one hell of a time making fun of him.
"F*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck." Head slacking from defeat, Joshua marched to the basin and stood between Kilat and Serenya.
"There! That wasn't so hard," his sister exclaimed before plunging her snout back into the water and lapping it up with unrestrained gusto.
Serenya whimpered out of worry. Joshua couldn't tell if she was thinking about him or worrying if she had offended him somehow. "Are you okay now?"
He her wing brushing against him. The warmth in her gesture and her casual, if encouraging, voice made him feel worse. She showed no malice or judgment. She couldn't comprehend his revulsion, yet she neither expressed frustration nor blame. How could he pull out—lash out—when her gentle, intrepid disposition was deepening his guilt and shame?
"Christ's cloaca," Joshua blurted. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just let me do this."
"Alright." Serenya blinked slowly and resumed drinking. The tension was gone, and soon her tail began to lazily sway behind her.
"Mmm," she said between licks. "Refreshing."
Joshua crouched down and stared at his reflection in the rippling water. He could hear Serenya and Kilat lapping in his ears. They were uncomfortably loud. He grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut. "Goddammit."
He cupped his good hand and dipped it into the basin. The cool water rushed through his fingers. He raised the water to his lips and gazed at the pooling liquid. Kilat and Serenya had been lapping away at this for a few seconds now. His insides lurched. He… he couldn't—
Joshua stopped the thought and, bracing himself, slapped his hand into his mouth.
It… was still water.
Cool.
Tasteless.
Unremarkable.
His throat felt much better, but he needed more.
Knowing what was in it, Joshua scooped up more water and, with resigned groans, continued to drink. He fought the irrational urge to gag and kept going until his thirst was sated. He then removed the cork on his waterskin and began refilling it.
Kilat rose up and warbled happily. "Ahhh~ I needed that. I feel much better now." She wiped her wet snout on Joshua's shirt, affectionately nuzzling his side. "Hey, Brother. That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. The little girl would never understand.
Serenya also finished a few seconds before the last of the bubbles popped out of the waterskin in his hands. The burgundy scales on the dragoness' muzzle glistened underneath the sunlight. "How'd you find it?"
"Like any other water," he growled as he sealed the vessel shut with its cork. In truth, he wasn't feeling good at all. His disgust was so palpable that he had already felt the urge to vomit.
Her ears tilted back, wings trembling. "...Joshua, you look like you just ate scat."
"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just get out of here." The words came out sharper than intended. Serenya's sphere of life scrunched into a deep and solid blue, slightly scared of the human.
"S-sure."
Serenya led them out. Springhorn stayed back a little longer to speak with the dragons who'd been watching the spectacle, but Joshua was too unsettled to listen in.
After a few minutes of walking beside the tree line, Joshua noticed the shadows were stretching in the same direction as them. Were they headed west? It was still the middle of the day, yet the sun hadn't risen high over the horizon. Bizarre.
Joshua had no idea where Serenya was taking the two of them, yet he didn't raise the matter. Now that he had calmed down and, for the moment, set aside the "shared water" thing, he relived the recent memory in his mind and felt appalled by his own conduct. How could he act this way after having lived in Warfang for two months and counting?
Clearly, he had a long way to go before he truly became like one of the locals.
Serenya's sphere of life remained subdued throughout the entire walk. Kilat was also quiet, but the ripples in her soul also indicated some disturbance. Joshua couldn't tell what was poking their scales. Were they bored? Were they angry? The uncertainty nagged at him.
"Serenya. Kilat."
Until at last, he could no longer endure it.
"I'm sorry. Earlier at the gazebo, I didn't mean to lose my scales. I was just… I never thought all the water I drank came from… from that."
Kilat huffed. She acknowledged the fact he was a foreigner. He was the one being forced to adjust. Having been together with him since arriving in Warfang, she understood where he was flying in from. He didn't need to apologize to her.
Serenya, meanwhile, gave him a quick glance but ultimately stayed quiet. He felt slightly nervous. Would they still be friends after this? He didn't want to scare her off with his outburst.
Maybe it was better to just change the subject for now.
After thanking Kilat—and giving her a tight hug in gratitude—Joshua raised a different matter. "Serenya, where are we going now? What's over to the east?"
"East? We're headed south."
That caught him off-guard. Shadows went west to east depending on the time of day. What gives‽
"I'm taking you two to one of my favorite spots," Serenya went on before Joshua could respond. "Not many dragons go there. It's a bit out of the way."
At first, Kilat was excited to learn it wasn't a place many dragons visited.
However, her enthusiasm deflated when Serenya explained it was just a lookout point and there wasn't much that could be done there.
The child groaned out of disgust. "Yuck! That sounds more boring than the Gardens!" Her tail thwacked on the ground exasperatedly.
"Kilat, we already talked about this—
"I KNOW we flew through this crevice already! But I'm sooooooooo bored! We have to do something else."
Joshua stood his ground. He didn't want to pull Serenya down more than he already had. As far as he was concerned, he even owed her for tolerating what he'd done at the water basins. "Well, I want to do what Serenya wants. You just have to—
"You know what? Fly your flight. I'll look for Blink and do something fun."
"Hey, hey, hold your horses—
"Pbbbbbt!" The little girl blew a raspberry, then turned and ran off before he could say anything more, tail swishing behind her. "See you later, Brotheerrr~! Peace!"
Joshua chuckled out of disbelief.
"I can't believe it. She actually left!"
Emerine stepped up and spoke for once, offering to follow his sister. While thankful, Joshua declined the suggestion. Kilat didn't need the protection. They could catch up later tonight in their room.
As they continued walking, the silence became palpable. It felt awkward again, perturbing Joshua. What Kilat said must have hurt.
Back on Earth, he considered anyone who ridiculed his love for video games, animation, and film as somebody not worth his time and consideration. By the Lord Christ, he could still recall what happened when a classmate of his told him his passion for the Spyro games was juvenile and old-fashioned.
He felt terrible about it at first, then he got angry, and then he got into a fistfight with the bloke.
A fight that he lost, sure, but after that, nobody troubled him for liking an old video game series "meant for kids" ever again!
Joshua asked Serenya how she felt after they breached the tree line. It bothered him that her star was subdued for this long—that she couldn't relax around him.
Her reply—"I'm fine"—felt half-hearted, but after two more attempts to coax a real answer out of Serenya, he stopped. They'd just met, and he didn't want to lose someone who felt like a normal person for once!
As a distraction, Joshua asked Serenya about the dragons who'd been flying in Temple airspace. He noticed they didn't go very high. Few were the apprentices flying around the height of the Noble Chambers. Fewer rose beyond the four spires of the Temple, as only knights and adults flew at that height. Even then, nearly every unarmored dragon would converge into some invisible path in the air and travel along that.
Serenya's sphere shifted at his curiosity. She brightened and, mid-stride, trained a forepaw to a pair of stone posts hidden behind the trees. Another pair rose several wingspans away, then a third. Joshua couldn't see any more beyond that, but he got the gist.
The speedway system regulated dragonflight to maintain peace and order. In Warfang, while all dragons were free to fly no matter where they were, residents and visitors weren't permitted to fly beyond a certain height. Neither were they allowed to gain traveling altitude from anywhere; the city had designated vertical takeoff and landing platforms scattered across the city. Once in the air, dragons all followed routes marked by posts or other signs.
Only a minority of dragons were exempted from this rule.
Time passed as Serenya explained the various rules for the speedway. The one nearby eventually descended down an incredibly steep slope before disappearing. When they could no longer follow its path, they changed direction.
Joshua did not realize they had arrived at their destination until he followed Serenya out into a clearing even smaller than his room in the Temple. The forest abruptly fell away, revealing a sweeping view of Warfang's walls.
His eyes were drawn to the jagged, snow-capped peaks clawing at the horizon. He felt a chill run through his spine when he recognized them from back when he was traveling alone with Kilat. "Those mountains…"
"The Blackstone Mountains," Serenya answered, her voice soft. "Where what's left of the apes went into hiding."
For real? Shit. No wonder they all thought he was an ape two months ago. That he was so alien to them that everyone seemed programmed to think of him as an ape didn't help either.
Serenya eased onto her haunches, tail curling loosely around her side. She gestured to the buildings directly adjacent to the wall. "That's Blackline. If you'd made it through the gates with me back then, I'd have taken you and Kilat around there."
"Really? You didn't even know us."
"You two looked a bit lost," she replied simply, "and I liked talking to you back then. It would've been time well spent."
"Time we could still spend. We're friends now. Neighbors, too."
Serenya replied with a wordless warble, the tone indicating she had forgotten the tension from earlier, at least for now.
"Right," she said, sounding noncommittal, if not hesitant. "But the places near the Temple are much better compared to Blackline and the other three gateway districts."
Joshua let his eyes wander. Between Blackline and their viewpoint stretched rolling hills, flat plains, and clusters of mostly wooden buildings. The architecture was utterly medieval. Some tenements in Blackline resembled what he'd seen in Dawn of the Dragon. The speedway system was impossible to miss—hundreds of dragons were flying in orderly lines at least a hundred feet above the dirt roads used by the other species, their scales shimmering in the afternoon sun.
When he asked Serenya where he could get a clear view of the nearby districts, she chirped enthusiastically and beckoned him to follow. Trotting to the cliff's edge, with a flare of her wing, she gestured to an outcropping that jutted precariously into the open air. The narrow path leading to it was about 30 to 40 paces long, barely wide enough for an adolescent dragon.
"Right there," Serenya said, her lime eyes glinting with excitement. "You'll be able to see Lodestar and Sunreach from there and a bit of Blowout, too!" She made a circular gesture with her forepaw. "That spot is tight for two adults, but it's plenty of space for us!" She grinned. "Want to see it? It's one of my favorites!"
Joshua felt his guts twist as he stared at the land bridge. The uneven path, bordered by steep drops on both sides, looked rough to navigate. The outcropping itself made him more apprehensive. One wrong step—one gust of wind—and he would fall.
Did Serenya forget he was f*cking disabled? He didn't know if he could trust her or even Emerine to catch him if he fell. The former didn't exude that "I'm ready for anything" attitude that Cynder always carried herself with, while the latter was keeping polite distance to give them privacy.
"I-I don't know," he declined. "That looks way too unsteady and dangerous for me, even if I crawl across."
Serenya blinked, her expression shifting. A puzzled chirp left her muzzle. Joshua could sense the confusion in her soul. Not once did she think this could possibly be dangerous.
"...R-really?" She stammered, wings drooping. "But you could always just—oh!" She cut herself off, ears flattening as a loud hiss slipped out. She wrenched her eyes away from him.
"Egeria's Wings," Serenya mumbled to herself, flustered. "I completely forgot."
She probably didn't mean for him to hear that. Her sphere shrank, the color darkening into a subdued blue. "...I'm sorry. I thought this place would make you feel better. Do you want to go somewhere else?"
Her disappointment was so strong it bothered him. "It's alright," Joshua tried to reassure her. It didn't work. "I can stay right here." He carefully lowered himself onto the edge and stretched his legs along the narrow path. "We don't have to go anywhere."
Serenya whined. "Are you sure? I don't want you feeling like tearing someone's horns off again or, o-or thinking this is a waste of time—
"Relaaaax, Serenya." Joshua forced lightness into his voice. "I'm not Kilat, and what happened earlier, that… it's got nothing to do with you."
She plopped down beside him, tail rolling over the edge and forming a barrier between them. "I don't believe that. Something was poking your scales, Joshua, and it was something I did."
She caught him there. But it wasn't so much what she did as it was what her actions represented.
"Well, yes, kind of…?" Joshua admitted. "But not entirely. Look, I'd explain it, but I'm just not feeling it right now." He whipped his good arm at the view. "Let's just enjoy the sights for now."
Serenya studied him for a long moment before blinking her assent. Together, they turned their gazes to the sprawling lands of Warfang and fell into silence.
For several minutes, Joshua scrutinized the sight. He traced the speedways, wondering how fast the dragons were flying. It was impossible not to notice the armored knights patrolling the airspace above them. He couldn't help but compare their glinting figures to the giant wall in the background. The wall was incredibly massive, yet, somehow, beholding the structure wrought inexplicable nostalgia.
After a while, it struck Joshua. It was an animé he'd watched about a year ago before he suddenly woke up in the Spyro world.
"Looks just like Attack on Titan," he muttered to himself. He remembered it being quite epic, with one hell of a soundtrack.
Serenya's ears twitched at his voice, and her soul shifted slightly. Perhaps his murmurs stoked her curiosity, but he ignored her and instead imagined that iconic scene happening in real life—one massive human face appearing above the wall and dwarfing everybody stationed up there…
The memory made Joshua feel wistful. He pulled his knees inward and buried his face in his trousers. He felt tears welling in his eyes as regret and grief filled his heart. Silently, he mourned everything he would most certainly miss out on.
Joshua fought to hold it in—to stop himself from sobbing into his clothing. He had always tried not to weep in front of Kilat, but his self-control was not flawless. The few times he'd slipped, he drew comfort only from her presence, not her understanding. How could she? Kilat had spent her entire life in hiding, always a refugee with no home to yearn for.
Serenya? She was no different, but she was worse—Joshua knew her even less than his adopted sister.
For all his pride, Joshua wavered at the thought this wouldn't be the last time he would grieve over the life he would never return to.
What use was becoming a high-flyer here in this alien world when he'd never see his family again? When he'd never get to feel his girlfriend again? If he ever came back… would things still be the same?
What if he was stuck in the Dragon Realms for so long that, when he finally returned to Earth, everyone had grown older and moved on? What if it was worse—what if they'd turned old and gray by then? What if most of his contemporaries had died by then?
The thought made him shudder. Would there be any meaning in going back?
…Did he have anything to live for if not for his own survival? Kilat would surely leave him once she was old enough. Then…
And then…
Joshua hugged his legs tighter.
Goddammit. This view was so peaceful and tranquil… why was it bringing out all these emotions from him‽ Why? Wasn't it supposed to make him feel at peace or something like that? Why was it shoving all these feelings at him—
"Joshua?" Serenya's voice, as light as it was hesitant, drew him away from his spiraling thoughts. He lifted his head just enough to see her staring at him.
Her tail flicked up and down, betraying her nervousness. "What do you think of the view?" she enunciated slowly, as though unsure of herself.
His first reaction was to brush her off, but on second thought, Joshua decided to indulge her and see where that went. "It's something… I guess." It was the best he could come up with. He verbalized it rougher than he meant, but if it affected her, it didn't show in her body language or her sphere of life.
Serenya kept her gaze trained on Blackline. "I come to places like these a lot," she said. "It makes my worries—the Temple, the Artisans—feel far away."
Joshua frowned. That wasn't what happened to him.
"I-I suppose it's different for you," She went on, her paws curling. "You aren't from here, so maybe…
She fidgeted with her claws. "Maybe…" Her eyes turned away. "Maaaaaybe… this view reminds you of home. And…"
Serenya became quiet, and a really awkward silence settled between them. She squirmed, groaning incoherently, struggling to say something. The dragoness dawdled a few more times before finally giving up. "Haaaa… I'm not good at this. I'm sorry."
Joshua returned his gaze to the view, letting his response speak for itself. Looking at the hustle and bustle of the City of Dragons, his mind wandered to speculations. Would Warfang catch up to Earth someday? How many millennia would it take? Would a modernized Warfang resemble current-day Earth? Or would things like magic and multiple intelligent species result in something different?
He sighed. How he missed the sounds and smells of his home world. Trucks blaring their horns. Cars speeding past his ears. Taylor Swift's latest single echoing in shopping malls. Even the garbage McDonald's was peddling the world all over.
It was strange how he longed for even the things that used to piss him off.
"Hey…"
Joshua didn't expect Serenya to try again. She had been kneading the ground with her paws for several minutes since she became quiet, occasionally stealing glances at him. Someone watching them might say her persistence was commendable, but as far as Joshua was concerned, there was nothing she could do or say.
Serenya audibly swallowed. "I know that whatever I say won't mean much, but when I'm in a place like this, with all this beautiful scenery… I, I just let my mind wander. Focus on small things and, uhmm—" She toyed with her claws and twirled her digits.—"Express myself."
"...express yourself?"
Serenya gave a positive blink, tail flicking upward. She reached into the satchel she had taken from her room, the same one she wore back when they first met. "I usually bring writing materials when I go flower-picking, for moments like that."
The dragoness opened it up, showing a few rolled scrolls, a couple of pencils, and an eraser. "When the mood hits me, I write—draw, something—anything. Whatever I feel like making: doodles, poems, vignettes…
"I didn't realize you're an artist."
"Weren't you listening when I explained my guild to you earlier? The Stone Hill Artisans?"
Honestly? No. He didn't care enough to remember that.
"Uhh…"
Serenya quickly moved on. "Flight plan as a whole, putting things on paper makes me feel better, even if it doesn't solve anything."
She offered her satchel to him. "Would you like to try?"
He knew the point she was trying to convey. He neither possessed the energy nor was in the mood to create something right now—that was more Alaric's thing, anyway—but her effort eased the tightness in his chest somehow.
"Not really," Joshua politely declined. "But I wouldn't mind seeing what you've written."
Her tail began swaying loosely across the cliff edge. "That's okay with me. I, uh, I left them all in my room though."
"We can always do that later, Serenya. Just remind me."
"Okay."
For a few more minutes, they sat together, listening to the sound of the wind, the distant wingbeats, and the faint chatter of Warfang citizenry. Although Serenya's words weren't profound, their earnestness was uplifting, loosening that suffocating feeling he'd been drowning in.
That was enough for him, for now.
Eventually…
"I think it's time we go somewhere else."
Joshua pushed himself to his feet and brushed off the dirt. He exhaled slowly—deeply—feeling his heartache dissipate with it.
"And, Serenya, thank you."
She rose to her paws. "...I didn't really do"—She stretched herself taut, flaring her wings and whipping her rump and tail momentarily towards the sky.—"Hnnnnn… anything."
"You kept trying when you didn't have to," Joshua pointed out. He paused to recall one of the new idioms he'd just learned. "Don't trap yourself on the ground. If you ask me, you're good company."
"I-I am? But, Kilat said I'm boring, w-while you—
"Kilat's a brat! Don't listen to her. And what you do…"
Joshua shut his eyes and quickly went over all the times he'd spent with Alaric and their classmates playing video games and talking about fandoms. Wouldn't those be just as bland and boring to some groups of people as well?
"What you do isn't for everyone, but it is for me. Isn't that good enough? It's impossible to please everyone."
Serenya was silent for a short while. Then, slowly, her ears flicked up and a smile formed on her muzzle. Her sphere of life, too, shone brighter.
"You're right, Joshua. Thank you, too."
Joshua reached over and rubbed the dragoness' head, also pinching the orange dorsal fin on top. He couldn't help himself!
Apparently, neither could she. With a tremble, the apprentice leaned into his good hand and trilled cheerfully.
When the moment passed, both of them instantly pulled away and apologized out of instinct.
"Sorry…"
"Ehehe, same… I couldn't help myself."
"Me too. No wonder Vara always…"
"Hm? Vara always what?"
Serenya tittered, "Nothing, nothing~" She sauntered back to the tree line. "Soooo, anywhere you want to go next?"
Joshua pointed at the speedway below, knowing where the utilidors' central arterial passageway led out. "Down there? I'm curious to see what's at the bottom of the mountain."
"Then let's go!"
Author's Note:
Before any of you Spyro fanfic inhalers point it out, yes, I know that Snickertoodles' The Impossible Sky falls beyond the December 31, 2015 cut-off date for Joshua's pop culture knowledge. I realized it belatedly when I finished writing Ignitus' epitaph and Joshua's reaction to it. I will proceed with it for now, but consider it as a continuity error (which a lot of films make anyway, even popular ones). I will try to rectify this later on in a future edit.
Anyway! As mentioned in the beginning A/N, CH61 and CH62 were originally one whole. I am actually on the very last scene as of the 4K word mark, so I might finally be able to fit in a certain scene I've been wanting to write since CH59. Hopefully I'll have the space when the time comes! Why couldn't I just "tell" a lot of the stuff here? Well, aside from Clothes Make the Man (CH25), this chapter marks the first time we see a more thorough exploration of Temple grounds. We revisit many of the locations last seen in CH25, but in significantly more detail since Joshua is a first-time visitor with a new friend actively touring him around.
Serenya's tour, in fact, was meant to be an actual conversation with most of the descriptions verbalized rather than narrated, but I elected to "tell, not show" most of it since I needed to focus on the more important bits, such as the scene at the overlook. This also included the Ironwind Annex, which would've explored Warfang's food and drink. I had been looking forward to that, but I'll find an opportunity eventually.
It is the same with Part 2 of Spreading Roots. Sections originally imagined as outright conversations or scenes were relegated to prose to tighten the focus on key areas, as you will see once I publish that.
For now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you in the next one!
Now… the replies to reviews!
Axzknapp. Hello! Thanks for reviewing!
More like he's finally MOVED. The past several Warfang chapters were all set up to facilitate that and to tie off some loose ends (i.e., the Unknown Element and the Incident).
It was also about time to give Kilat some screen time, and to hint on the direction she'll take for her personal storyline. We are heading towards the direction where I can have chapters encompassing longer time periods (e..g multiple days or weeks), and I'm glad for that!.
Indeed, she's finally been revealed! You would've known much earlier on that she was the same dragon Joshua and Kilat met back in Stereotypes (Chapter 11) if you've been paying attention to all the times she showed up as an unnamed character before CH60… or if you read Chasing Leads (a 2Y flash-forward) or checked out other Aimless-related content outside FFN.
Looking forward to your next comment!
Kranos459. Thanks for reviewing! It's been a while. I appreciate the praise.
Re: Spyro's reaction. Honestly, I'm curious too… seriously! I won't really find out until I finally write the chapter containing his return (it's set around the 2M or 2.5M timestamp). The outline I currently have is based on the premise that Cynder had not been stripped of her privileges and Joshua was taken off probation though not acquitted of any culpability for the Incident. As you already know, this has since changed.
Additionally, the plans for the Main Story's next arc were enhanced to include Bianca and an arc-only OC that acts as her direct foil. I also strengthened the involvement of Skylands—they were just silent observers in the outline's original form.
It goes without saying that I have NOT yet contemplated the impact of these changes on Spyro's return, and I do not plan to until I finish the December Cliffs arc and send Spyro home.
Looking forward to your next comment
DiabloPProcento. Thanks for your review!
Glad you found the chapter to your liking. :3 And yes, Serenya's finally in the main story! And after so so soooooooo long!
Many possibilities indeed! There's a ton of possible content now. I can cover Joshua's left arm, his elemental training, his excursions with friends, the culture, the arts… anything! The sky's practically the limit. I would seriously write another 15 chapters of pure slice-of-life content if it didn't ruin the progression of the Main Story, you know?
Sad that Cynder and Volteer really got punished for what happened, but it's not surprising. At least they found out what caused the Incident, right? As for Spyro… he'll get a nip on the forepaw—ehem, a slap on the wrist. That's not a spoiler—it's just what you'd expect.
Hope you liked this update too!
Piston24. I just realized, while writing the "replies to reviews" section for the next Aimless update, I never replied to you!
Sorry, sorry. XD
Anyway, thank you so much for following me all this time, and for not forgetting to check it out every once in a while, even after having a fanfic of your own. I am still waiting on the next update of Polaris Project, btw, and eagerly so. (Everyone, Piston24 here runs a very good fanfic about a human in the Splatoon world who woke up from a 12000-year cryogenic sleep with a grand mission to fulfill. I actually don't know ANYTHING about Splatoon lore and it made the story even better to read. XD Give it a shot.)
Moving on. It certainly has been a long time since you left a comment. Aimless itself will be 10 years old in just a few months. I'm amazed that I've kept it going for this long. I attribute that staying power to the story's non-linear structure. It enables me to write whatever the hell I want… to some extent, of course, since I still have to respect certain prerequisites. This freedom keeps the fun alive.
Hope to hear from you again soon!
Bronzeheart92. Thanks for your review!
Honestly, it can't exactly be "everything" since Joshua isn't at the point where he can confidently strut outside the gates and not get himself killed by whatever is out there. But noteworthy locations seen in-game... or even in other fanfics... as long as it's in Warfang, it's fair game as long as I can come up with a reasonable in-universe justification.
The equivalent of "swearing on one's magic" in Aimless will be taken directly from the Chinese, i.e. swearing on one's Ancestors. (A very strong insult in China is "f*ck your ancestors to the 18th generation", for example.)
Hope to see your feedback again in the next chapter!
EarthPatriot117. Hello and thanks for the review!
Glad you really enjoyed the chapter.
One of the reasons I enjoy writing Aimless is that I consider things realistically. I received some feedback a long while ago that the story's just repeating a lot of what other isekai/transmigration fanfics have done, when I just haven't arrived at that point yet. Joshua's motivations is but one of those many points where the story deviates from the well-beaten path. I hope to keep that up as I continue making content for this story.
Cynder... doesn't have that much freedom. She has a lot of atonement to do, though… I suppose Joshua can always make an unannounced visit to her and Spyro's room in the Noble Chambers. It's not like anyone can stop him.
BTW, thank you so much for your feedback about Sparx! I had a LOT of trouble writing him. Not because of his mannerisms and way of talking (he sounds like someone you meet online on Discord lol), but because of what he just DOES in Warfang, you know?
I don't know if Joshua should even tell Spyro that Ignitus has become the Chronicler. A lot of other Post-DotD fanfics do this, and normally for sentimental reasons. While Spyro having knowledge of this won't truly impact the Main Story, I still need to consider the effects of that.
Re: reactions of people towards human technology or human culture? Well, scenes or conversations like that will come eventually now that Joshua has friends. Unfortunately, I still have to find a good context for things like that. It's not like you can talk about "anything and everything" in a single conversation, after all.
See you in the next chapter as well!
Yuvalyly. Hello! Thanks for your review!
Thanks for your comment re: Sparx. I struggled with him, tbh. Glad he turned out well!
The door? The guards had left it open after Kilat went in, so Sparx just flew right in after her. They can also hear him speaking from inside, so of course they would open it when he's close to the door.
Heh, sorry, you'd have better retention if I updated more frequently. IRL killed most of my free time. :(
Those conversations… they tend to be written out in full at first. I just end up deleting them to maintain a maximum word length. The talk Joshua had with Kilat, for example… She had actually pressed him on the answer in the original version and Joshua had to give her a SFW answer, outing himself as a Catholic in the process but without defining it for her.
Joshua actually had a much longer conversation with Cyril, too, and there was actual dialogue for the philosophical part of the discussion. A few lines, really, before I went back into "telling".
If I show those conversations, I'm afraid to say this, but Aimless would be a whole loooooooot longer. Ahaha.. haha...
I'd like to think that all those what if scenarios you're thinking of in your head come from the fact that the Aimless world is very, very, VERY fleshed out. XD I would argue that it's a realistic depiction of a modern person living a medieval life, given how much research I put into it.
Thanks again!
SolidSnakeFTW. Lol you did change your name after all! Haha idk man, I kinda liked how unique that old name was. It always drew my attention, no matter what you wrote for your review. XDDDD
Spyro won't be coming back for a while, but some of the things he does there will be felt directly. Take a look at the timestamps... XD
Guest #1 (Guest). If Joshua was a fighter or even just a mature adult with real-life experience, I admit that he would've had a MUCH better start.
He wouldn't have gotten diarrhea. He might have been more careful and avoided attracting the death hounds in the first place. It is very likely that he wouldn't have figured out his element any better than he did in canon, but he would've been able to help the five dragons over in To Be Human (Chapter 5). I can't say for sure how many of them would have survived, but Joshua wouldn't have been alone, and with multiple dragons vouching for him at Blackline Gate, the Incident wouldn't have happened to begin with.
It would be a very different story, honestly.
Putting most of the TLoS characters to shame, though? Sorry, but I'll have to disagree with you on that. The most limiting factor of Joshua's Element is his humanity. The capacity of the human mind will not change whether it is a high school student or a Navy SEAL in Joshua's place.
Wolfe Itzo'k. Growing "horse", huh? I think you meant another word, hehehehe. XD
I have nothing to add.
Sir Mountcastle. Not total freedom‽ Bruh, he was just told that the higher-ups think he's fully capable of leaving Warfang if he truly desires it! The restriction to never leave Warfang's borders without permission is nothing more than a formality considering that they halved his security detail despite knowing he can hide himself from sensory perception.
And yes, we finally got to know the "Red Lady" at last! Yeah, I knew that some unimportant spoilers will be revealed by writing that extra content, but it's fine. You gotta give a little to get something back. XD
Oh yes, Spyro's in for a shock.
Thanks again for your review!
ThatBombsMine. Luckily for you, CH61 is Warfang-focused too! And so will CH62, since it's just Part 2 of Spreading Roots. I hope you enjoyed this update!
For me... well, I wouldn't work on going back either. Hell, if I didn't already know what I'm planning for the later years in the timeline, I'd embrace being in his place.
Guest #2 (Guest). I wonder what you like about my writing. Is it the way I approach dialogue? The way I do world-building? Is it the narration? …what?
Further elaboration would be much appreciated. :D Thanks again for your review!
MTSionn (multiple). Hello! Glad you decided to pick up Aimless after hearing about it for so long from other readers in the fandom.
I do not know how far you've gotten after your last review for Contagion (Chapter 12), but it's been a blast reading your feedback and, when I had time, replying to them. Your comments had also influenced the way I wrote Spreading Roots (this chapter and the next one), and I hope you will remember that when you finally catch up with the rest of us.
Looking forward to more of your feedback in the weeks or months to come!
Don't forget to update The Summoning, please! I am very interested in your reincarnation fanfic. :D
SKDaGamer. This is the longest review I've EVER gotten for Aimless. I am very, very, very, VERY grateful that you spent so much time and effort on crafting this review. It is extremely thorough, and you were being fair to everyone involved—you, me, as well as your past self.
However, without a doubt there is so, so, soooo much to unpack here that I will have to reply to you directly on Discord and summarize it sometime afterwards in an edit.
Again, thank you so much.