Muras lay down with a sigh. It was late evening, and he hadn't really done much after Forzen's training session aside from getting some food for dinner, which was considerably small considering he still wasn't up to eating large amounts of food after going several days without eating. Forzen hadn't eaten, as he had cried himself to sleep and hadn't woken up since. Muras had taken the young purple dragon up into a spare room in his house so he could at least sleep comfortably.

Aerus had ended up coming with him for dinner, and Muras had told him everything that had happened so far throughout the day. Unlike his sister, Aerus seemed to be much more open about Forzen, despite still having his doubts and concerns about him. Aerus was actually quite concerned for Forzen, but he wasn't willing to approach Cynder about how she treated him. Despite her being his sister, she had changed over the last few years. She was way more aggressive and emotionless, and her temper had shortened significantly. Aerus would be lying if he said he wasn't scared of her.

It still surprised Muras how quickly his friendship with Aerus had sparked back up. When Aerus had first arrived in Warfang twelve years ago, they had been pretty good friends for the first few days, until Muras' identity as Malefor was revealed to all of Warfang, and Aerus began to hate him. He even began to hate Cynder, as she was the one who brought Muras back to Warfang.

But it seemed like a day of being possessed by a demon together was enough to bring them closer than they ever had been. Really, they were the only ones there for each other. Everyone feared those who were possessed, especially Muras. After all, he had nearly committed rape during his possession. The purple dragon could never forgive himself for that, even though he knew that it was completely out of his control; even Cynder knew this, and she didn't blame him for it, as much as the event and images scarred the both of them.

The other possessed dragons had managed to be accepted back into regular social life, but Muras wasn't so lucky. Even Aerus wasn't. Being the brother of Cynder, it wasn't a surprise that people were cautious around him. It felt just like his childhood again, where everyone thought he was like the Terror of the Skies since they were related.

Muras and Aerus were the last to be properly and fully accepted back into society, and they bonded over that. They were there for each other. Aerus was hesitant at first, but he knew that anything that Muras did under Naar'voth's control was not his fault. There were no ulterior motives or deeply hidden desires underneath his actions; his actions were all completely controlled by Naar'voth. Aerus knew this because he too was controlled by Naar'voth. Sure, his actions were not as extreme, but he did and said so many things that he never in his right mind would have thanks to Naar'voth's control, and that alone made him look past his caution. For that, Muras was thankful.

It had taken about five years for Muras to return to regular society, and even then he had been on and off between shutting himself away or willing to come out and be open. The events of Armageddon weighed down on him so heavily that he had spiralled into a very depressive state, so much so that about a year and a half ago he started toying with thoughts of suicide. He never went through with it, thinking immediately to Jorgustus and Farill and his promise to himself that he would never go out the way his best friend and his foster brother did, so instead he started cutting. However, the thoughts never went away, as he wondered why he was still here, his past weighing down on him so heavily he didn't think the memories would ever go away.

But then Forzen came.

Forzen reminded him of his purpose, of why the ancestors brought him back to the living realm. He had to be there for him, to continue teaching him where Jaarsol left off, to help guide him in the right direction, to be there in times of need.

Muras thought back to Forzen, having just checked up on him before lying down on the carpet in his living room. Even in his sleep, the young purple dragon looked upset. Forzen was so troubled and affected by everything around him that it concerned Muras greatly. He didn't know the specifics of Forzen's childhood, but he knew that growing up in Dark Peak would have subjected him to many, many horrors. Forzen had mentioned a few things that had happened, but Muras knew that was not everything. Getting bullied and beaten by the other kids, the death of Kyoren and eventually the death of Jaarsol… Muras knew there was more to Forzen's story than that. He wanted to know more so he could help the twelve-year-old purple dragon, but Muras knew pushing would be the worst idea. Forzen still barely trusted Muras. He didn't trust anyone.

Aerus had volunteered to try and talk to Forzen during their conversation at dinner, and Muras had shut the idea down, at least for now; Muras doubted the younger purple dragon would open up to anyone any time soon, whether it was him, the guardians, or someone else. Cynder was out of the picture considering what she put him through during the 'training session'. The problem was, Cynder had to supervise some areas of his training, specifically with his wind element, and Muras knew that would be a massive problem for both parties—Cynder absolutely loathed Forzen, and he was terrified of her. He only hoped that they would at least put up with each other while they were in training.

Muras sighed, before reaching up to his bookshelf and grabbing his journal and a quill. He opened up the book and began to write in it. Journaling was something that his therapist had suggested to him seven months ago, to be used as an exercise to let out his thoughts and emotions onto a page to help him process everything better, rather than keeping them in his head and taking it out on himself or someone else.

He wrote down the events of the day, before he closed the book and put it and the quill away. He let out another sigh, feeling a bit lighter now that he had practically vented all his thoughts onto the parchment in the journal.

Muras then stood and made his way back to Forzen's room, wanting to check in on him again. The young purple dragon remained curled up on the floor, his lips curved downwards in a frown as they had been since he had fallen asleep. At the same time however, he looked calm. It was so odd to see Forzen this way, as he was constantly fidgeting and cautious and scared about everything during his waking hours, or at least what Muras had seen of him since meeting him a few hours ago.

It was good to see Forzen calm though. It brought him a sense of peace. It was good to see Forzen not fearing about everyone and everything, and to see him still and in a calm, deep sleep. He looked so deep in sleep that it didn't look like he was going to wake up any time soon.

Trying to figure out something to do, as he walked back into the living room, his bookshelf caught his eye. He hadn't read much in a while, which was surprising since he had been quite a big bookworm ever since he was a kid. His depressive state had often got in the way of wanting to read, and he found himself reading probably half as much as he usually did. The times where he did, he found it was an amazing escape from reality.

He decided maybe he could pass some time by going to the library and borrowing a few books, also hoping to find something to distract himself from the thoughts around Forzen's 'training session' earlier in the day.

As he stepped out of his house, he looked up into the sky, noticing how high Adrano was in the sky; it was getting quite late. Luckily it was Laoday, so the library was open late. Despite that, Muras knew it was getting close to the library's closing time, so he had to be quick.

Muras speed-walked to the library, making his way to the counter. He made his way to the romance section, the section he frequented at the library, and began to browse, trying to find something that interested him. There were several he skipped over, as he had read quite a large amount of romance books over the last twelve years he had spent in Warfang. He grabbed three novels, all of them making up a trilogy, and placing them in his satchel ready to borrow out.

The purple dragon skimmed through a few more romance books, contemplating getting a fourth book to take home, but he paused as an idea came to his mind. He thought back to Forzen; he wouldn't have had too much of a chance to read that much, and especially not fiction. Muras wasn't sure if Jaarsol had taught him how to read or write, but considering Jaarsol had gone out of her way to teach Forzen extra things outside of what Spyro had asked, he assumed that maybe she had, considering how important the ability to read and write is.

Muras was starting to think that maybe getting a few books for Forzen would be a good idea; it could be something to keep him occupied at home, as well as something to help him practice his reading. It could even be something the two of them could bond over.

With that, Muras turned and made his way out of the adult fiction section and into the teen fiction section, knowing these would be much more appropriate for a twelve-year-old. While Forzen probably could grasp and handle some of the concepts tackled in some of the adult fiction due to his upbringing, Muras didn't want to risk accidentally triggering him, or exposing him to other things that he had not yet been exposed to.

Unsure of what books to get for Forzen, he figured he'd get a variety of books, to play around with genres and to hopefully find out what Forzen liked. Trying to find some of the shorter books, Muras made his way through romance, drama, fantasy, coming of age, picking one from each of them. He completely skipped over ones that he thought Forzen might react negatively to, such as thriller, horror, and dystopian fiction. With the fantasy one he picked out he took extra caution in finding something that didn't seem to lean so heavily on the notion of 'dark magic'.

He wanted to find something that gave Forzen as little memories of Spyro and Dark Peak as possible; after all, reading was meant to be an escape into another world, to be able to enjoy yourself as you engage with the story and characters. Muras didn't think that anything too violent or dark would be good for Forzen, even though he was in the teens' section.

Putting the four smaller books in his satchel, he took them to the counter, where an ice dragoness in her sixties stood with a small smile on her face. "Good evening, Muras. What are you lending out today?" she asked; all the librarians knew him by name, mainly due to him being the only purple dragon in Warfang for so long, but also due to his constant appearances in the library.

"Just these ones please," Muras said, pulling the seven books out of his satchel.

The librarian's eyes widened as she took note of some of the books that he had placed down in front of her. "Some different genres I see," she said. "These are from the teen fiction section as well."

"I may have taken on a mentee today, and he's staying at my place due to him not really having anywhere else to live," Muras explained, keeping the details vague since Forzen was still largely unknown throughout most of Warfang. "He hasn't had the hugest amount of education either so I don't know how good his reading or writing is, so I figured getting him some books would help aid him in the reading aspect."

"That's a good idea, and really nice of you, might I add," the librarian said as she started to check out the books, writing them down in a list with Muras' name beside them.

Once the books had been checked out, Muras put them back in his satchel, thanking the librarian with a slight nod, before turning and making his way back home. He was a little nervous, hoping that Forzen would at least be somewhat appreciative of the books he had gotten for him.

Forzen hadn't been the most grateful person in the few hours Muras had known him, but Muras couldn't blame him for that. Forzen wasn't the most trusting of dragons around, especially considering his backstory, of which Muras was sure he probably only knew about fifteen percent of, if even that. The only reason he even knew so much about Forzen was because the guardians made him talk about some things, which Muras just happened to be there for. Even then, Forzen was pretty vague about a lot of things; he knew that the younger purple dragon had left many details out.

It didn't take long before he got home. Straight after walking in, Muras made his way to his bedroom putting the trilogy he had rented out for himself on his table, before he turned and walked over towards Forzen's room to check on him.

Upon opening the door slightly, Muras had noticed Forzen was stirring, waking up slightly with a big yawn. Muras knocked on the door softly to announce his presence, before opening it up a little more. "Hey, Forzen. Are… are you feeling better?" Muras asked softly.

Forzen jumped slightly at the sound of Muras' voice, before he frowned with a sigh, turning his head away. "Not really," he murmured.

"Do you… want to talk about what happened?"

"Not really."

"Is there… anything you want to do at the moment?" Muras asked out of curiosity, trying to hold down his sad yet frustrated sigh.

"It's not about what I want to do, Muras. It's just what I want."

"Well, what do you want?"

"For everything to be normal, whatever that even means. I just want there to be no more killing, no more fighting, no more horror. Just… living a normal life! Like Jaarsol said she used to. Like I know Cynder used to."

Muras felt his heart sink, not expecting that response but knowing full well that he should have expected something along those lines. It was horrible; no child should ever have to wish something like that. A child deserved to live a happy life, with friends and family. Forzen deserved to have that. But he didn't. He never did.

All the other kids he had been raised with had all been corrupted, turned into killing machines, similar to how Cynder had become the Terror of the Skies. Other kids had lost parents due to the war, like the little girl he found during Armageddon, and even more so, like Du'ryal, the son of Jaarsol, whom Forzen had mentioned a few times over the course of today.

Muras couldn't help but think about the children he had orphaned too, under the guise of Malefor. He had always known that adults weren't the only ones affected by war, but every time he saw a child suffer with his own eyes, the realisation hit him harder and harder. It made him realise just how much more damage he caused as Malefor. After what Forzen had said, after meeting him… after thinking about the girl from Armageddon and Du'ryal—even though he had never actually met the null—it hit him harder than it ever had.

Now he was thinking of Cynder. She was thirty-five now, and although she was well into her adult years, he couldn't help but think of the childhood he stole from her. Her stolen childhood was something that haunted her strongly even now; Muras could see it. She never had a chance to be a kid, to grow up, to be loved. Now she wasn't even getting that chance as an adult. Whatever progress she made over the eight years between Malefor's defeat and Spyro's fall into darkness had all been reversed.

His thoughts quickly returned back to Forzen with a sigh, trying to think of anything he could say to Forzen to make him feel better. The poor kid just wanted normalcy in his life. Muras looked down at his satchel, which still held the four books he had borrowed out for Forzen.

Luckily, he was actually able to offer Forzen a sense of normalcy. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would be something.

"So uh… about that, I wanted to ask if you knew how to read and write? Or at least read?" Muras questioned.

"Yeah. I guess so. Jaarsol taught me how to read at least. The writing, not so much, although we did do a bit of it more recently… before our attention was put more towards escaping," Forzen replied. "Why the sudden question?"

"I thought you might want to… perhaps read a book with me?" Muras suggested. "It could help continuing to practice your reading skills, and it could be something to help us bond a bit more, which I think would be good before training and proper mentoring starts up. Even if you wanted to do it by yourself more often that's fine; I borrowed out four books from the library for you to try out. Plus, now that you mention wanting a bit more normalcy in your life, I think this might be a good way to try and introduce a bit of it."

"What genre are they? I don't want anything like horror."

"No, I made sure to avoid those types of books. I got romance, coming of age, fantasy, and drama. I can come over and let you have a look at the books if you want; you can decide which ones we read."

Forzen let the offer hang for a while. He sighed, before answering softly, "Fine."

Having been given permission, Muras finally stepped forward, sitting down beside Forzen, who was sitting up from his lying position. The older purple dragon took the satchel off, before pulling the four books he borrowed out from inside it, placing them out in front of Forzen so he could see them.

The younger purple dragon looked at the books, unsure what to pick. Forzen looked up at Muras, uncertainty in his eyes. Muras just gestured silently towards the books, urging Forzen to pick one. Forzen looked back at the books, before hesitantly reaching out and grabbing the coming of age book, Identification Fountain. Muras just nodded, before he grabbed the other three books and put them back in his satchel.

With that, Forzen opened the book up to the first page, confused at the publication information lying on it. Muras just smiled, knowing that this was the first actual book Forzen had ever opened. Muras reached forward and flicked the pages over past the dedication and the contents page, stopping at page one of chapter one, and urging Forzen to begin reading.

He could read. He was slow and stumbled over a decent amount of words, but Muras was happy he was attempting to learn, and giving each word a try before looking to Muras for help. They got through three chapters, before Forzen had decided he'd had enough.

Muras wasn't surprised; it was getting a bit late, and it was a lot of reading to do at once for someone who was learning. As he listened to Forzen read, he realised he should've looked for something a little easier for him, but at the same time, he didn't want to get a childrens' book. He felt that would be a little inappropriate and maybe a bit of a hit to Forzen's ego, as well as his maturity. But, Forzen was doing well, and Muras was there to help him along the way.

Forzen gave a yawn, feeling tired once more, despite sleeping the early evening away. Muras assumed he just hadn't had much sleep over the last few days. Constantly trekking through the wilderness to get as far from Dark Peak would've probably been like that. Even at night time, Forzen was probably way too paranoid to fall asleep properly, and might have been keeping an eye out in case he got ambushed in the middle of the night. He'd had a massive day today as well; even Muras felt like today had been the length of three days almost.

The older purple dragon put a bookmark in between the pages at the start of the fourth chapter, before closing the book. Forzen gave a wide yawn as Muras did so.

"Are you… enjoying the book so far?" Muras questioned.

"Yes," Forzen said simply, fighting back another yawn.

"That's good to hear. Anyway, I'll leave you be now; it's getting late and you have had a massive few days, I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, I don't think I've slept since I left Dark Peak a few days ago," Forzen replied.

Muras just nodded with a small smile. "Alright, sleep well, Forzen. I'll see you in the morning," he said, before turning and making his way out of Forzen's room, closing the door behind him.

He felt beyond happy. Spending time with Forzen, helping him to read… it was a special moment. There was no tension or arguing between them, and he almost felt like they were actually connecting over this story that neither of them had read, like they were connecting over this time of teaching Forzen to read. It was great, and he felt happy… legitimately happy.

He hadn't felt this way for months, maybe even years.

The purple dragon made his way to his own room, pausing to look up out of the window and into the night sky, where the cool, soft orb of Adrano sat suspended in the sky, shining brightly on the quiet city of Warfang. He closed his eyes, and began to pray.

"Aloelle, every event happens in a certain way, for a certain reason, determined by the holy spirits in the Ancestral Realm. Please let them know that I thank them for Forzen," he prayed. "I don't know if it was a way for them to show me my worth, or for reasons involving Forzen's life that I couldn't possibly know, but I thank you.

"I just pray that I don't mess up with Forzen, and that you help me do all I can to help him. I pray that you'll help Forzen with all he's going through as well, and maybe, even help him open up a bit more." Muras paused, wiping a tear from his eye. "I… I pray for Cynder, too, that she'll warm up to her son eventually. She deserves to have her son in his life, and Forzen deserves his mother in his. So… help her, please."

He sighed, looking out at Adrano for a little longer, before turning back and lying down on the ground. So many thoughts circled through his head, but one lingered. He smiled, thinking about tonight, just sitting down and reading with Forzen. Something as simple as reading, but helping him with his literary skills was a big thing, and his first step as a mentor. It was a special moment for Muras.

With the final, joyful thoughts, he closed his eyes, and fell asleep, eagerly awaiting the next day with Forzen.

Hey all, sorry for the wait! Been really focused on music recently but as of the two weeks just gone I hit a heavy writing mood and I actually got all the way up to Chapter 7 written, as well as the twoshot New Season, the sequel to New Snow, that I posted last week, so expect to see a few more chapters coming soon!

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MysticFire824:Hello, again! Glad you liked the last chapter; I'm really liking the parallel you're pulling with Cynder and Forzen. There are quite a lot of similarities between the two, despite there being also many details being very different between the two.

Regarding the sinister elements, I like the theories, but alas the explanation is really as simple as genetics here lol. Forzen got it from Spyro, and Spyro got it from one of his parents (this is the only detail I'm giving of his parents' identities at this point in the story lol; this will pop up again later though).

But ye I'm liking all your theories and takes on things, really interesting thoughts. Again, glad you've been enjoying this one so far!

Dragon of Mystery: When everyone says Cynder hardened up over the previous twelve years, they weren't kidding. She's definitely become a very scary figure in Warfang now, but everyone realises just how important she is in the whole scheme of things, especially since she's one of the only few dragons who can actually stand a chance against Spyro. She's also completely closed herself off to her emotions; we saw how emotionally broken she was throughout Demonised. Twelve years on she's decided she doesn't want that getting in her way, so completely closed herself off to it. In doing this, she's developed an extremely short fuse, and has also lost most of her sense of empathy.

Yup, Forzen's also a mess. He's been through a lot and everything mentioned in the story so far is only just scratching the surface of what's actually happened in Dark Peak. All will be revealed in due time :D

Agwa: Yup, that's pretty much how the power measuring device works, and I really wanted to take different approaches on how Spyro and Forzen both use their powers. I thought Spyro being stronger in terms of raw power made sense due to his upbringing, as he didn't have lessons during school to learn his element with more time and effort; he had short lessons with the guardians and then went straight into the field with them, so I imagine he would have had to learn how to brute force his way through Malefor's forces with the little he knew from training, as well as the fact that he went through heaps of blue spirit gems throughout all three of the games (I get it's a game mechanic for upgrading but when you think about it, that's a lot of power upgrades lol).

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Alright, I'll leave that off there then; I'll probably aim to post Chapter 6 next week, just to give a bit of time between posts. So I'll see you then, have a great day everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!