Cynder felt her heart stop at the sight of the purple dragon. There was no doubting who he was. Forzen was the only other purple dragon in existence, and he definitely appeared to be the right age for someone who was born twelve years ago. She felt Muras' gaze on her, but she didn't acknowledge him, her gaze locked onto the young purple dragon in front of her.
Forzen thrashed underneath the two dark dragons, fighting as hard as he could against them. The sight of her son fighting against those monstrous creatures should have put relief into Cynder, but instead she felt nothing. She just stood and watched as the shadowclaw began raking its claws down Forzen's left flank, spraying blood. Forzen let out a loud growl, before he finally spoke, "Get off me, please! I don't want to go back!"
The fearbringer's response was a heavy blow to the purple dragon's cheek. The force from the hit could be felt from where Cynder and Muras were sitting in hiding. Cynder saw Muras flinch in her peripheral vision, but she wasn't fazed at the sight of the blow.
Forzen let out an agonised cry, before his claw-tips began to crackle with what looked like electricity. With another growl, he released the electricity as he thrust his paws forward, electrocuting the fearbringer on top of him, sending it down to the ground as it convulsed and writhed on the ground.
Surprisingly, the shadowclaw stepped back, shock and fear filling its expression. That piqued Cynder's interest; she'd never seen a shadowclaw appear shocked or even scared before. It turned and flew off into the sky, obviously flying back to Dark Peak. Once the fearbringer recovered, it also turned and followed the shadowclaw, but not before bearing its fangs in a threatening snarl at Forzen.
Cynder was surprised at how quickly the dragons left Forzen, and the way they reacted. That electric pulse had some power behind it but it was still very weak; she had seen many electric pulses before, and it was far from being a strong one. She assumed that Forzen was confused about that too as she watched his face scrunch up with confusion yet also surprise.
However, she was proven wrong when he held out his paw in front of him, looking at the pads. He flexed his claws, a small smile pulling at his lips, before he spoke again. "Electricity, huh? That wasn't one Jaarsol was expecting when I started off with wind and sound," he muttered to himself, before the smile disappeared with a sigh. "That's number three… I'm glad I got away when I did. All my elements are beginning to show up now."
With a frustrated huff, Forzen clenched his paw into a fist and slammed it down on the ground. A small electric pulse rushed through his fist and across the plantation lying in a small radius around it. The grass and small plants stood on end for a few moments, before settling again.
Forzen shook his head, before he stood. "I'd better keep going then. If they could find me here after being gone for five days, I need to continue moving," he groaned, flexing his wings. "At least I'm free… Thanks Jaarsol for helping me get this, even though you never got to return to this freedom with me."
Suddenly, Muras sneezed beside Cynder. She had to hold in her curse; she didn't want to be seen by Forzen.
But why? He was her son, wasn't he? Why didn't she go help him when he was in need a few moments ago? He was wounded and bleeding. Surely a mother's first instinct would have been to come to her son's side and help him out, wouldn't it? Why didn't she feel that?
She returned to the real world and saw Forzen stiffen. He looked around cautiously, his breath hard. He adapted a defensive stance, trying to look as intimidating as he could. "Who's there? Who is it this time?" he asked, his heavy breathing and shaky voice betraying his attempt to appear firm and strong. "Come out, please."
Cynder felt Muras jab her in the shoulder. She turned to him with a stern frown, trying to hold in her groan. Muras, with newfound optimism, gestured out towards Forzen. "I'm not going out there," Cynder mouthed to him.
"Go, now," Muras mouthed back, his gaze firm.
Great, now Muras was angry at her again. All she wanted was to get on good terms with him again. She rolled her eyes, whispering a curse to Muras, making sure he could hear her, before she begrudgingly stepped into the open.
Forzen whirled around with fear at the sound of the pawsteps, before he froze as he laid eyes on the large, intimidating dragoness in front of him. They stared at each other for a long time, Forzen's gaze shocked and fearful, and Cynder's gaze stern and emotionless. Forzen took a shaky step back as he inhaled, speaking with a small voice. "Who… who are you? You're not like any dark dragon I've seen," Forzen whimpered.
"Because I'm not one of those monsters," Cynder growled, failing to keep her sudden anger in.
Forzen leapt backwards in fear, cowering behind his vibrant violet wings. "Well, who… who are you then?" he replied, straightening slightly once he'd gotten over the initial scare.
"I am General Cynder, supervisor of the Warfang Army and the victor over Armageddon," she said, trying to use her title and victory during Armageddon to intimidate him even more.
"Wait, Cynder? I've heard that name before. Spyro mentioned you many times, but I don't know what's so…" Forzen started, but paused as his eyes widened. He glanced down at his paws, before looking up at Cynder again. "He… he said you were my mother at one point."
As soon as the word was said, Cynder's paw was thrown forward, balled into a strong fist, as she sent Forzen sprawling to the ground. "Don't you dare call me 'mother'," she snapped.
"Well that pretty much proves why you left us," Forzen spat, climbing off the ground.
"What? I left you? That's absurd, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Spyro told me that you left him shortly after I hatched," Forzen replied with a shrug. "He never told me why, but only that you left, and that you're the reason he's the way he is now. He mentioned your name once, before he just referred to you as 'her' or 'your mother'."
"I didn't leave you and I sure as hell am not responsible for what Spyro is doing right now. He left me, and took you with him! He is responsible for what he is. That wretched lizard has done nothing but feed you lies, you worm!" she snapped, before she paused and replayed Forzen's last response in her head. "Wait… just 'Spyro'? I thought you would've been calling him 'father' considering you're clearly loyal enough to him to believe all his stories."
"Oh hell no; I just didn't know any better and never knew the other side of the story! No way in hell would I want to be affiliated with that monster."
Cynder blinked; she was so confused. Was he with Spyro or not? He believed Spyro's lies about her, but Forzen clearly seemed to hate Spyro's guts with a passion, much like her. "Whose side are you on, kid?" she growled.
"I don't know, but it's not Spyro's, that's for sure," Forzen muttered. "For all my life, I had been sheltered. I knew very little about what happened in Dark Peak. I stayed in a room full of younglings that would eventually be corrupted into the Dark Assassin Corps, but because everyone was close to that area, it was deemed unsafe for me to be there, so Spyro decided to have me moved to another room, and one of the slaves was assigned to be my caretaker. That was about… seven, maybe eight years ago.
"It's only until recently I truly realised how bad everything in Dark Peak was. Spyro killed my caretaker's mate a few weeks ago, and I've been planning our escape for weeks on end with her. Unfortunately, she was caught. Probably ended up being killed. I'd always been afraid of Spyro for some reason, but now I know why, and I know this fear is real. I saw him murder Kyoren, and it's the worst thing I have ever seen."
Cynder stared at the child without expression. She opened her mouth to let out another scornful reply, until Muras stepped out of the foliage behind her. Forzen stepped back in fear at the sight of yet another purple dragon stepping out of the foliage. "You don't have to be afraid of Spyro anymore, young one," Muras said. "We can help you."
"Uhhh… I didn't know there was another purple dragon around," Forzen whimpered, his voice now very shaky.
Cynder didn't acknowledge Forzen's response, instead turning around to scold Muras. "What are you doing, Muras?! I don't want anything to do with this kid!" she growled threateningly.
"He's your son, Cynder!" Muras exclaimed.
"No. Not after Spyro took him. He haunted my dreams for months. I knew if he was with Spyro that he would become a monster, so I thought him dead. Whatever monster Spyro would turn him into would never be anyone I would call my son."
"But he's not a monster! Look at him!" Muras replied. "He's pure of heart, and alive!"
"SPYRO USED TO BE PURE OF HEART!" Cynder screamed, tears filling her eyes as her snarl wavered, but she tried her best to keep the snarl on her face. "Spyro used to be pure of heart, at the exact age that Forzen is now. But look where he is now. I do not trust any decent of Spyro's, especially a purple dragon, to be forever and completely pure of heart."
Cynder turned back to Forzen, taking in the fearful, devastated expression on his face. She studied his face, realising how similar it was to his father's face when he was twelve. The only difference was the crown of silver horns around his head that resembled her own. She couldn't bear to look at him. He reminded her of Spyro in ways that in any normal circumstances should have been happy, but now she looked upon those memories with disgust. Forzen's very existence was a disgusting reminder of her relationship with Spyro, her intimacy with Spyro.
Looking at Forzen made her sick.
"Go. I don't want to see your face again," Cynder spat, to which Forzen recoiled strongly.
"No, Cynder. We're taking him back to Warfang," Muras replied.
"Oh come on, what is your problem?!" Cynder growled as she whirled back around to the larger purple dragon. "You don't get to make my choices for me. Plus, I want to know what happened to the Muras I saw this morning. Why the sudden shift? Why the sudden urge to stand up for Spyro's son of all people, and to argue with me about my own decisions?"
"BECAUSE HE IS MY PURPOSE!" Muras roared, everyone stepping back in surprise at the ferocity behind his roar. Himself included. He cleared his throat, before he spoke again, raw emotion still edging his voice. "All those years ago, when Aloelle purified me, she told me that my job was to mentor the next purple dragon. And here he is, in the flesh. We have to take him back, Cynder. I need him, just like he needs me. In a world like this, a purple dragon like himself cannot do life alone, where he can be tempted and tried countless times. He needs guidance from someone who can provide it… guidance from someone on the right side of the fight."
Cynder's eyes narrowed. There was an incredibly uncomfortable silence between the three of them, as Muras looked at her with pleading eyes, and Forzen looked between the both of them with fear and uncertainty. She heard all that Muras was saying, and unfortunately, she was starting to think that maybe she agreed with him. It would be much better if Forzen was getting his guidance from Muras and from Warfang, rather than from Spyro and Dark Peak, or any other sketchy place that he might have ended up stumbling into. It was the best option.
Plus, he could be a good asset.
With a long sigh that sounded more like a growl, Cynder replied, "Fine, but you can spend time with him. I don't want any part of it."
"Cynder, he's your son," Muras groaned.
"I've already told you. He's not. He hasn't been my son for twelve years. He's Spyro's son."
"I refuse to be that monster's son," Forzen piped up. "I renounced Spyro as my father years ago."
"Then he's no one's son, happy?" Cynder said with a smirk.
Muras glared disapprovingly at Cynder, but she just shrugged back. "Anyway, are we going now?" Cynder questioned.
"I… still haven't finished eating yet," Muras said, gesturing towards the bushes where they had been sitting behind, eating.
Cynder suppressed her scream. "You know what, Muras? You and the purple whelp can stay here and eat. I'm going back home," she spat, before turning and flying off towards Warfang.
There was another awkward moment of silence. Muras tried to hold in his anger, breathing heavily. It was so unlike Cynder to act like this, and it maddened him so much that she would treat her own child so poorly. He tried to slow his breathing down, taking deep, calm inhales and exhales, before he turned back to Forzen.
The younger purple dragon sighed sadly, sitting on his haunches. "Y'know, for a moment there I was glad to have a mother again. Now I'm not so sure," he murmured.
"Hmmm… according to her, you still don't have one," Muras replied sadly, to which Forzen nodded with a small shrug, looking down at his paws. "Now come on, let's eat; I haven't finished my rabbit yet and I still have another half left if you want some."
"It's alright. I'm not hungry… I ate earlier.
Muras raised an eyebrow. There was something about the way Forzen said it that made it sound like he was lying and trying to hide something, as if he hadn't been eating recently, which he picked up on because he had been doing the same thing himself just this morning. However, he let it slide, knowing Forzen was still very nervous and uncomfortable around him.
He walked back to where he and Cynder had been eating, and was at least happy to see that Forzen had followed him. He sat down and continued eating. He noticed Forzen stifle a gag at the sight of the fresh kills, fresh blood spilling from where Muras was biting. He paused, lowering the rabbit carcass as he looked down at the younger purple dragon, who pawed at the ground anxiously. Forzen's gaze slowly rose back to the adult purple dragon, before returning back to his paws.
Muras swallowed, before putting the rabbit carcass down. "Are you alright?" Muras asked, concern rising inside him.
"No, I'm not. These past few weeks have been… really, really hard," Forzen murmured, his voice quiet and shaky. "Finding out who Spyro really was… I don't know, it frightened me. I always knew something was off about him. I always knew he was bad. I had that gut feeling, you know? But I never knew the full truth about him. And he had hid that from me, for twelve years. I'm not surprised he did, but it doesn't make it any less painful to see who he really was.
"But I especially became terrified because I knew if Spyro could hide something like that from me, who knew what things other dragons were hiding from me? Who knew what they may have against me? I became wary of everyone else around Dark Peak. For a short time, even Jaarsol, my caretaker.
"I know people hate me because the other kids that Spyro kept me with for the first few years of my life hated me. They blamed me for them being captured and used, knowing that I was Spyro's son. I refused to call him 'Father'. I called him 'Master' instead, wanting to fit in with the other kids, but that only made it worse. One of them, D'varin, an earth dragon three years older than me, had started to beat me. Several times.
"Then, one by one, they were taken from the room we all shared and were corrupted, turned into monsters that would become a part of the Dark Assassin Corps, an intense training program where Spyro would turn all the kids into killers… bloodthirsty, murder-loving beasts… it's gone on for years now; about five years into the program he started sending them out into smaller civilisations, out of Warfang's radar and attention, for in-field practice. Three years later, they were sent into bigger civilisations, killing off their political and military leaders."
"Really? That's the first time I've heard of them," Muras said.
"I don't know how the bigger ones missed Warfang's radar, but it seems they have," Forzen replied. "All I know is that the members of the Corps all return without even being seen; they are very good at what they do. This is all talk I've heard from the slaves around the place, as well as Jaarsol and Kyoren; I've never seen or talked to any of them in person. I have no idea what he's actually done to them."
Muras' eyes widened. This was exactly what he had done to Cynder. His heart broke, knowing so many children were experiencing the same hell that Cynder went through. He knew that if any of them made it out of this alive, they would all be subject to the same trauma and societal rejection that Cynder had. No one deserved that. And unlike what he did to Cynder, it wasn't just one child. It was many. He had no idea just how many, but the sheer number of childhoods laid to waste in the name of murder made him feel sick.
"The only member I've seen post-corruption was D'varin, who was taken the same day as my best friend, Gur'ath. He returned the day after he was taken, fully adult sized, dark markings all over his body, eyes wild with rage as he attacked me. Drachen had to intervene to pull him off me. This scar on my neck is a remnant of D'varin's attack," Forzen continued, lifting his head to show Muras the scar which he had only until now seen; it was a long, thick scar that ran down the left side of his neck from the underside of his jawline, all the way down to his collarbone. "That attack caused me to lose all trust between the other kids that I was around. They were all afraid of me, they all hated me. I stopped looking to them for friendship, because I was scared of them, and I knew I could never trust them to keep their word that they would never hurt me.
"Hell, I don't even know if I can trust you. I mean, you're a purple dragon too. Everybody says that purple dragons can't be trusted. I know that because of my father. Sometimes… I don't even know if I can trust myself. I just… wish I could find someone I could trust… with everything. Jaarsol was somewhat close, but… when she mourned… when she mourned, it scared me. It put doubt in me. She would get angry, and blame me for a lot of things, including her mate's death when that happened.
"She mourned for her sister, brother, father, and son too. She told me of her son. She said he's still alive, but she mourned because he's all alone in Warfang and without a caring family. I was maybe… six… when she told me about him. His name's Du'ryal, and he's a null, about four years older than me.
"For years, I wanted nothing more than to meet him. I wanted nothing more than to escape with Jaarsol and Kyoren, so they could see their son again, and so I could meet him. He was a great young dragon from the stories Jaarsol told me. But of course now Kyoren's dead. I know Jaarsol's dead. I never saw her die, but there's no way Spyro would have kept her alive after helping me escape.
"But now that I think about it, I don't know if that's a good idea. Everyone around my age has hated me, for all my life. I know he would hate me too, especially since I'm the reason his mother will never come home for him. I don't even know if returning to Warfang full stop is the best idea anymore. I know with Spyro being around and causing so much death and destruction on Warfang that I would never be welcome. I would be hated… by not just the kids, but the adults too.
"Since leaving Dark Peak, my goals of finding a home in Warfang and meeting Du'ryal have all since vanished. Now, I don't know what to do. Especially since, by the looks of it, I really am going to Warfang…" Forzen concluded with a sigh, shaking his head. "I'm just… so terrified…"
Muras just looked at Forzen, tears edging his eyes. Forzen had been through a lot in his short life. Even Spyro had seen a lot in his early years too, but unlike Forzen, Spyro had been raised in a dragonfly household and kept away from the horrors of war. Forzen was raised in it. He was raised in a place where everyone was frightened of him, a mere child. His father scared him, and now he had just found out that his mother didn't want him anymore.
"I… I don't know what to say," Muras stammered, his voice shaking as he tried to hold back his tears. "I'm so sorry to hear of everything that has happened to you. No one deserves to go through what you have."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Forzen mumbled as he pawed at the ground, playing with the dirt.
"I want to help you. The prophecy of the purple dragon has many important parts that all must be played out. One of which says that a purple dragon must help mentor the purple dragon of the next generation. I know Spyro should technically be mentoring you, but that's not ideal, given the circumstances. I should have mentored Spyro, but… the circumstances weren't ideal either, for… many reasons…" Muras said, unwilling to admit to the child that he had been much like Spyro just twenty years ago. "But, I want to mentor you, and I want to help you. I am someone you can trust, Forzen. I know I won't get it right all the time; I'm not perfect. But I can try my best."
"I just… don't know about going to Warfang," Forzen replied. "If the… discrimination, if you want to call it that, was as bad as it was in Dark Peak, I know it's going to be much worse in a place like Warfang, where everyone is free and can do and say whatever they want."
"There are still consequences, even in Warfang, Forzen. Not everyone can just do and say whatever they want."
"I still don't want to go to Warfang."
Muras sighed, shaking his head. "I know, but I genuinely think it would be safer for you to go to Warfang than to stay out here in the wilderness, trying to fend for yourself. You can't defend yourself; Cynder and I saw your fight against the fearbringer and shadowclaw. You only just got out of it by managing to conjure up a new element; it was pure luck. You need someone to help you learn how to fight and defend yourself, to learn how to harness your elements properly to a point where you can stand and fight."
"Are you sure you're not doing it to make me fight for you? To make me your weapon? Because that's what Spyro is doing to hundreds of other children in Dark Peak."
"I wouldn't dream of it. All I want is for you to be safe and to be able to defend yourself. If you want to fight in the war, it's entirely your choice."
Forzen just nodded, turning away from Muras as he raised the rabbit carcass again and took another bite. There was a tiny snapping sound from the small body as a bit of bone in the rabbit's spine broke under the force of Muras' bite. Forzen visibly flinched at the sound of the spine cracking.
"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat, Forzen?" Muras questioned after he swallowed, wanting to make sure Forzen got some food.
"No, I'm fine," Forzen mumbled, almost as if he was holding his stomach contents down. He was obviously sickened by the sound of the snapping bones, Muras chewing the flesh, and the sight and smell of the rabbit's blood.
"Well, you let me know if you want some food; there's another half a rabbit here that we should finish before we return to Warfang."
"You finish it."
With that, Forzen turned and stumbled off towards a nearby tree. Muras looked towards the younger purple dragon's flank and noticed it was still bleeding, remembering that Forzen had been hurt pretty badly from the fight earlier.
He then pushed the thought away as he watched Forzen grasp the trunk of the tree and began to climb it, climbing up to the top of the tree, becoming lost in the foliage. A few moments later, a few berries began to drop to the ground from the tree. Forzen then lowered himself back to the ground, clawing carefully at the tree to stop himself from falling, before he let go a few metres above the ground, landing on his paws safely. He sat down with his back to Muras, picking up the berries and beginning to eat them.
Muras gave a small humoured snort as he took another bite of the rabbit, tasting the metallic tang of blood and the fresh rawness of the meat against his tongue. He looked down at the carcass in his paws, and only just seemed to register how sickening it must look. Raw, fresh meat was just normal food for most dragons, and he supposed that for Forzen, who only associated blood as an inherently evil thing rather than just a natural thing, it would be a barbaric thing to even think about. Muras wasn't even sure if Forzen had even eaten meat. Filled with curiosity, Muras asked the question.
"Once, when I was seven," Forzen replied. "I wasn't a big fan of it then… I said it tasted weird. To be fair, it was a few days old and beginning to go off. We didn't have the best food in Dark Peak, and I was given some of the best stuff there; I shudder to think of what the slaves got. Of course Spyro and the army got the absolute best quality stuff."
"We have good meat to eat at Warfang if you ever wanted to try some proper meat," Muras suggested.
"I know meat is a natural diet for us dragons, but after seeing Kyoren be killed, as well as the hundreds or thousands of bloodied slaves I saw throughout Dark Peak while escaping, I'm not sure if I really want to eat meat, to taste blood against my tongue. It sickens me… and it almost seems disrespectful to those who have died."
That confirmed Muras' suspicion. He blinked hearing such a mature response from Forzen. He was super mature for a mere twelve-year-old, however, he knew it was due to to witnessing so many horrors a twelve-year-old should never have experienced.
Muras knew that he was meant to mentor Cynder's son, but he had never stopped once to think about everything that he would be experiencing living at Dark Peak. No dragon should ever have to go through everything that Forzen had to. Forzen was broken, and Muras knew that everything that he had told him just now was just the tip of the iceberg. Muras knew that there was so much more that Forzen was keeping from him, so much more that went way deeper than he could ever imagine. Muras knew there was so much more hurt and trauma from all of this lying inside Forzen.
Despite all of the brokenness and trauma, Muras could see an innocence and purity inside Forzen that, in comparison, snuffed out what was in Spyro's heart all those years ago during the Dark War. Forzen was truly pure, and Muras knew that Forzen would grow to be an amazing young dragon, with a great destiny. After his failure as a purple dragon, protector of the world, and the current failure of Spyro, Muras believed Forzen would break the losing streak.
Third time's the charm. Hopefully, Muras thought.
And now Chapter 1 is out! Forzen's finally back into the picture, so we got some interesting situations ahead now! Chapter 2 is well underway being written as well; I should have it finished soon, as well as Chapter 15 of GEM which is partially done, and a new oneshot that I did that my brain literally thought up out of nowhere, but I liked it so I wrote it, so keep your eyes out for that too. Been doing quite a lot of writing recently which has been really fun!
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Dragon of Mystery:Yup, you guessed right, it's Forzen! He's back and our main characters so far have very mixed opinions on him so far lol. And yeah Muras isn't doing so good, especially considering what Armageddon put him through, coupled with the fact that even as Malefor, he was scared of Naar'voth. Meeting Forzen gave him a reason to keep going though, so he's definitely gonna stick around.
Agwa: Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed it and glad to still see you around :) Really happy that it was a great way to start the year; I almost waited longer to post it but thought it'd be a good thing to start the year with in beginning Part 2 so I'm glad I did.
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Thanks everyone for reading and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Stay safe and have a great day/night!