Many years ago…
Urobos would remember this day for the rest of his life.
It was midday when the prince stood tall atop a freezing mountain plateau. He couldn't call himself a young dragon anymore; not that he was officially eighteen. The dragon took deep breaths as he tried to steel himself for the coming battle.
You can do this, Urobos. He told himself. You can be the leader they all need.
His midnight-black scales shimmered brilliantly as they contrasted his white armor. His mane was swept back and contained within a visor. His back bore his family crest: The Hourglass of Warfang. And most importantly, a sword with a blade as black as the night was affixed to Urobos's scabbard. He'd been entrusted with the blade by his father, King Hyperion, in hopes that he would lead his scouting party to victory.
And what a scouting party it was.
Urobos turned around to appraise each of his companions as they sat around a campfire.
Two of the most easily recognizable members of his party were his younger brothers, Valchen and Umbra. They bore similar features (and expressions) as they helped one another into their armor. Their birthmarks glowed through the snow, illuminating the area in a bright blue. They sat on their upper forelegs, in the same spot as the ones on Urobos.
"Hold still…" Valchen, the taller one, said as he adjusted Umbra's shoulder guard.
"Hey, watch it." Umbra snapped as he was nearly knocked over. "You're going to dislocate it."
"Oh, don't be such a hatching." Valchen snapped. "You're always overreacting."
Urobos grimaced; he'd really hoped that those two would have gotten ready at the same time as him.
Of the brothers, Urobos was the tallest. He had bluish-green eyes, a neatly groomed mane, and two grey horns that pointed backward. Valchen was shorter than Urobos, but more muscular in stature. He rolled his golden eyes as he helped his brother stand upright in the armor. After that, he adjusted a few of the rings on his horns; he had three, all of which crowned his head like lightning bolts.
"Ugh, finally…" Umbra said with disdain as he looked himself over. "I almost wish we could just wear some of the Deep Shadows' robes; at least those always fit your figure."
"I don't know about that, Brother," Valchen smirked. "Keep gobbling up those chickens back home, and NOTHING will fit you."
"Shut it." Umbra snapped.
Umbra was the shortest of the black dragons, but certainly the widest (not that Urobos liked to bring it up often). Umbra had six dull horns; two larger ones sat atop his head and pointed backward, while four smaller ones grew out of his lower jaw. Like Valchen, he had golden eyes… which he currently used to glare at his brother.
"I'm getting wearing of those jokes, Valchen." Umbra hissed. Fiery magic danced along his horns. "Don't tempt me."
"No need for that, Brother." Valchen laughed. "You know that I'm only playing around."
Before Umbra could say another word, a frustrated voice cut through the air.
"Knock it off, you two." The voice hissed. "We don't have time for your spats."
Valchen and Umbra turned toward the south, where a large pillar of shadowy mist appeared. Out of that mist stepped two more dragons; A slender dragoness, and a shorter drake.
Urobos sighed at the familiar sight; it was Alexander and Catherine, otherwise known as the prince and princess of the Shadow Dragons.
Being siblings, Alexander and Catherine shared many features. They had dark grey hides with silver underbellies. Upon their sides were crossed mobius signs, which radiated red light. Their eyes were the same color of red. But that was where the similarities stopped. Alexander held a warrior's glare as he marched forward, while Catherine had a worried expression. Alexander had a crown of five silver horns, whereas his sister had four smaller ones.
"You need to FOCUS," Alexander said as he prodded Umbra on the shoulder. "So save your arguments for when you're back in Warfang."
"Well sheesh, there's no need for THAT, Your Grace." Umbra snorted. "I have enough sense to save my energy for the real fight."
"Okay, two armies are making a march as we speak," Urobos said. "The Army of Warfang is making its way north from the port town. As for… HIS army…"
The elder prince glanced at the shadow dragons, who both shivered at just the slight mention of their adversary.
"Well…" Urobos continued. "It will be arriving from Erebus soon." He stood up tall and fanned out his wings. "Are you all ready for this?"
"I'm about as ready as I'll ever be," Valchen replied with a grin.
"Same," Umbra added. "We didn't come this far just to chicken out now."
"Right…" Alexander flapped his wings and snorted. "It's time to bring some honor back to the House of Erebus." He glanced at his sister. "Right?"
"Well…" Catherine said quietly. She tried to put on a brave face, but her spirit was clearly uneasy. "We can't just… let him march south to hurt the people of the Realms. Not anymore."
Urobos frowned. "Catherine, are you SURE you want to join in the fighting?"
"I… I can't just sit back and do nothing." She said. "It's up to me to… I mean, I'm next in line for the…" She shivered again and scrunched up her body. "I… I don't know if I can handle it."
Alexander's glare weakened for a moment as he appraised his sister. He draped a wing over her back to hug her close.
"You're not alone." He said softly. "I'm here. And our friends will be right beside us the whole way."
Urobos nodded in agreement, while Valchen and Umbra simply smiled.
As the group waited for the northern army to get close, Urobos took a moment to reflect on everything that had led to this moment.
A few months prior, Alexander and Catherine had fled Erebus in secret. They arrived at the doorstep of High King Hyperion, where they begged him to help put a stop to… well, the King of Erebus. There was much deliberation for a time; Hyperion considered one method of putting a stop to the growing threat, whereas the Twin Sages had their own ideas.
Eventually, an agreement was made, and Warfang's army was sent across the northern ocean to block the army of Erebus before it ventured south. The Twin Sages instructed Urobos and his brothers to escort the prince and princess as far away from the ensuing battle as possible. However, Hyperion had a different idea. So, late at night, he passed his blade to Urobos, and instructed his son to "take the prince and princess exactly where the winds guided their souls."
This, naturally, led them back home, to put a terrible tyrant to justice before he conquered the Dragon Realms.
Urobos took another breath. He looked down at the sword, the Umbral Blade, and contemplated whether now was the time to draw it. Ultimately he figured it would only weigh his jaws down; he needed to concentrate on keeping watch from the plateau.
"Remember the plan," Alexander said to the others as they marched to the edge. "My… I mean, HE had a powerful mind-control hold on the minds of the soldiers of Erebus. But once HE is taken down, the hold will be broken, and all of the shadow dragons will be freed."
"Are you sure," Umbra began, "That you don't want to refer to him as your-?"
"I'm SURE," Alexander said flatly.
"But I mean… he's still-"
"Don't SAY IT." Alexander hissed. "He's NOTHING to me, or to Catherine. Do I make myself clear?"
"Alright, as you wish…" Umbra sighed.
"I just hope we're all powerful enough to defeat him." Catherine frowned.
"Hey, don't lose heart so soon." Valchen grinned. "You've got THREE black dragons fighting for your cause, and one of them is skilled with a blade." He patted Urobos on the shoulder. "Victory is all but guaranteed."
"The bridge isn't crossed until we cross it." Urobos scolded. "Don't assume anything."
The five dragons kept their eyes peeled as they watched the valleys spread across the frozen lands. They waited for the first sign that the army of Erebus was near. And so they waited… and waited...
And then it came.
Off in the distance, a chorus of horrible shrieks and growls could be heard. And as time went on, it got louder and louder. A horrible black cloud accompanied the shrieks as it drifted over the valley. The cloud's form was difficult to make out from a distance, but Urobos deduced that it was actually made of countless smaller forms moving independently. And their beady red eyes only added to the unnerving form.
"What are those things?" Umbra asked, bewildered.
"They're horrible abominations," Catherine answered with a wing over her muzzle.
"Yes, they're not exactly natural-looking." Valchen stuck his tongue. "But do you know what they ARE, specifically?"
"They're entities created from forbidden magic," Alexander said with a scowl. "My… HE was experimenting with the spirits of the dead before we fled home. And HE called these things… Crepsculi."
"Crep… Sculi." Valchen repeated uneasily. "Brothers, do you think the Army of Warfang will be able to handle them?"
"We'll have to put faith in our soldiers," Urobos said. "Still… this doesn't bode well."
Urobos and the others watched as the cloud of Crepsculi drew ever closer. Down below, an army began to peak out from one of the valleys. The army was composed of shadow dragons, all marching in lock-step as the cloud hovered overhead. As the army became more detailed in its approach, it didn't take long to spot a certain dragon moving amongst the armor-clad drakes.
Although this wasn't an ordinary dragon. The moment Urobos laid eyes on him, he felt his blood turn to ice.
Compared to the size of the regular shadow dragons, their master was a BEAST. His muscular girth was extraordinary, and his height made the soldiers seem like hatchlings. His eyes were as red as blood, as were his horns and glowing birthmarks. His mane was wild, long, and a deeper shade of black than even Urobos's scales. But as black as his mane was, his scales were a conflicting WHITE. Whiter even than the surrounding snow; he was like a giant ghost drifting across the lands.
Urobos had never laid his eyes on such a drake. He'd rarely seen any with such a pale complexion, and especially not with such a threatening face. Urobos crouched down as the great white drake surveyed the area during his army's march. They were going to go around the plateau and make their way clockwise to get on the main road that led to the port town. It might have been the perfect time to launch a surprise attack… but that time window was rapidly shrinking, thanks to the beady red eyes of the Crepsculi in the cloud.
"There's no time to plan," Urobos said as he stood up. "Everyone, get ready to-"
There was a flash of yellow light, followed by a bolt of lightning darting away from the plateau. Urobos watched, stunned, as a bolt of energy shot down almost too fast to watch. After a moment, it struck one of the white drake's horns.
Urobos blinked, and he looked to his side. Valchen stood at the ready, with his jaws parted and smoking from having just launched the magical attack. Urobos could only look on in surprise, while Alexander, Catherine, and Umbra were incredulous.
"What were you THINKING?": Alexander demanded.
"I… Thought we could go with a warning shot?" Valchen said dubiously.
The drake growled as the lightning danced down his horn and along his back. As the drake stopped, so too did the army and the cloud of beasts. The drake took a deep, furious breath, and turned to look up at the plateau.
There was a great rumble from down in the valley, followed by an aura of rage. In one moment, the white drake stood among his soldiers, surrounded by an aura of black mist. And then, faster than Urobos could process… the white drake was atop the plateau.
The beast's shadow fell over the five dragons as he snarled. Purple smoke billowed from his nostrils as he lowered his head to take in the smaller drakes' features. And the moment the beast's eyes were upon Alexander and Catherine… the prince growled back.
When the drake finally spoke, his voice was dripping with evil magic.
"Well, well, well…" He said coldly. "Look who finally returned from their self-appointed exile."
"Bastard!" Alexander roared. He fanned out his limbs and called his magic to his maw. "I'll kill you. You hear me?! I'll kill you!"
"Hmph." The drake snorted. "You sound like I did, at YOUR age."
"I'm nothing like you!" Alexander hissed.
"I beg to differ." The drake gave a wicked grin. "I'd say you're my splitting image. You make me PROUD."
Alexander was moments from charging forward to attack the pale drake, but Valchen and Umbra held him back. They locked glares with the white dragon, while Urobos marched forward and cleared his throat.
"Your days of conquest are over before they've begun," Urobos called out. "Give up now while you still can… Runileon."
Everyone winced at just the mention of the name, none more so than Catherine. She struggled to keep from shivering as Runileon… her father… appraised her features. The white drake snorted upon looking at her, before then glaring at Urobos.
"You have no sense about you, spawn of Spyro." Runileon hissed. "Turn and leave, before I SKIN YOU and deliver your pelts to your great-grandparents."
"I'd like to see you TRY!" Umbra bellowed. He spread his wings out and let all sorts of magic dance about his scales and armor.
"You want our hides?" Valchen asked, getting into a similar stance as his brother. "Come CLAIM THEM!"
Urobos didn't quite have the same gusto as his brothers. Instead, he simply drew his sword in his maw and got into a warrior's stance.
"This is your last chance to surrender!" Urobos declared around his hilt.
Runileon had only one response to the three black dragons; he opened his maw and unleashed a wave of Convexity.
The five young dragons quickly dodged out of the way, either with shadow magic or simply flying really fast. No matter the case, they took to the skies and flew around to encircle the hulking beast.
Runileon looked all around angrily as they came in to attack. Valchen unleashed more lightning, while Umbra spat torrents of ice spears. Alexander turned into a cloud of dark smoke and made to stay out of his father's direct line of sight so he could slash at his ankles. Catherine took a similar tactic, but she had much more trepidation in the approach. As for Urobos… he charged head-on toward Runileon, ready to hack away at him with the Umbral Blade.
All the while, Runileon roared as loudly as he could. He snapped at the young dragons with his jaws, while his talons ripped through the air with fierce purple energy at the tips. Every blow was intended to kill, even the ones directed at Alexander and Catherine.
"Fiend!" Urobos yelled. "You would seriously harm your own children!"
"It matters not." Runileon snapped.
"We are NOT his children!" Alexander roared, flying in to try and stab at the white drake's underbelly. "You never loved us! Not ONE DAY!"
"Do you see, spawn of Spyro?" Runileon sneered as his talons just barely missed Urobos. "I matter as much to them as they do to me: NAUGHT."
"Well, that was YOUR mistake!" Umbra shouted as he pelted Runileon with earth bombs.
Runileon hissed and slammed the ground. He surrounded his body with a purple aura, before unleashing it in all directions. Everyone just barely flew out of the way… except for Catherine, who was just a bit too close. She opened her own shadow and tried to teleport away, but the tip of her tail was partially burned by purple flames. She appeared on the other side of the plateau, crying out as she tried to douse the flames in the snow. She shrieked in pain as she clutched her tail.
"CAT!" Urobos screamed. He and Valchen flew quickly across the plateau to aid her. Urobos called upon healing magic, while Valchen stood at the ready. He created a barrier of stone from the ground, just as a burst of flames erupted from Runileon's maw. The flames were forced to go in arcs around the three young dragons, melting the surrounding snow into steam. Runileon was about to smash through Valchen's wall, only to be struck across the back of his great head. Alexander had appeared in the sky via his own shadow magic, while Umbra flew in close behind.
"You foul-mouthed monster!" Umbra hissed as he took in a deep breath. "Let's see you deal with THIS!"
Umbra parted his jaws, and a geyser of bubbling green liquid erupted forth. The liquid splashed along Runileon's back, burning it away with a nasty poison. Runileon cried out in pain, swinging his tail around to try and swat Umbra out of the sky. Alexander joined in with slashes along Runileon's sides, causing him even MORE agony.
"Damn you, boy!" Runileon roared.
"Damn YOU!" Alexander fired back. "You pale-hided… RAT!"
That only earned the prince even more rage and colorful insults. But Alexander continued his assault, all while Umbra and Valchen flew around in the air to rain down more elemental attacks. This provided Urobos all the time he needed to finish casting his healing magic on Catherine's tail.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly
"I'm okay," Catherine said as she swung her tail around. "It's… It's as good as new."
"In that case, back on your feet." Urobos nudged her with a wing as he grasped his sword hilt in his jaws again. "We're far from finished."
As Urobos and Catherine were in the midst of taking flight again, Runileon swatted Umbra and Valchen out of the way. The pale drake flew through the air and inhaled as deeply as he could. There were two shouts of pain as Umbra and Alexander were sent hurtling overhead and crashing into the ground. Both of them were covered in nasty claw marks all over their wings. The others turned to see Runileon hovering close by in the air. He took in deep breaths through his nostrils, while purple flames erupted from his maw. His entire body glowed purple once again as he locked eyes with Urobos.
"Oh no…" Urobos's pupils shrank. "He's… He's going to use A FURY!"
The standing dragons grabbed their weakened allies and tried to sink into their shadows as Runileon charged after them. The great drake's body glowed brought and brighter as he came hurtling down. Once he was close to the ground… Runileon unleashed his FURY.
Purple light engulfed the lands as the Fury burst through the plateau. Rock and dirt were scattering in all directions. With the landscape rapidly being obliterated, the young dragons found it increasingly more difficult to stay hidden in their shadow magic. But by some miracle, they stayed out of the direct line of fire just long enough to ride it out. Nonetheless, with nowhere to land, Urobos and his friends found themselves emerging from their shadows in OPEN AIR… which soon led to them plummeting.
They fell too fast for their wings to adjust to save themselves; the best they could do was to slow their descent. Massive chunks of the destroyed plateau fell alongside them. And all the while, Runileon's voice roared down from the sky at his two children.
"YOU HAD A CHANCE TO SURRENDER, TRAITORS!" He roared. "IT'S TOO LATE FOR YOU NOW! SOON I'LL HAVE A HUNDRED SPAWN TO REPLACE YOU!"
Urobos, Valchen, and Catherine managed to get back in control of themselves after some hard work. Alexander and Umbra, however, were still weakened from their cuts and continued to fall.
"ALEXANDER!" Catherine screamed in alarm.
"UMBRA!" Valchen yelled at the same time.
Catherine and Valchen picked up their pace to catch up to their weakened siblings. When Runileon saw this, he charged down from the sky to chase after them. He moved so fast that he pushed right past Urobos… who soon realized that he had an advantage. Urobos did his best to stay hidden behind the white beast as he descended down after the others.
Catherine grabbed Alexander just as Valchen grabbed Umbra. The two of them swerved out of the way of falling chunks of rock and toward a distant patch of grass. Runileon was in hot pursuit, while Urobos was just behind him.
Runileon roared as he unleashed a barrage of convexity blasts at the four smaller dragons. Behind him, Urobos quietly charged up his own magic, studying the white drake's movements to find just the right moment to strike.
Catherine, Alexander, Valchen, and Umbra came to a quick landing in the center of a patch of grass, finally safely on the ground. But just as she touched down, Catherine felt her tail being struck by a stray bolt of convexity. She cried out as the tip of her tail was blown clean off. Catherine screamed in pain, dropping Alexander in the process. Alexander struggled to stand up to comfort his sister, but he was still fighting through the pain of his own wounds.
"Sister…" He moaned as he reached out to her. "Come on… don't give in..."
The moment Valchen got Umbra down on the grass, he spun around to hurry over to heal his friends as fast as he could. But before he could get close, Runileon suddenly crashed onto the ground, sending powerful vibrations out in all directions. Everyone was knocked off their feet, but Runileon swatted Valchen away with his tail for good measure. The two black dragons struggled to get back up, while their brother hung in the air, still waiting for just the right moment.
Runileon wasted no time placing his forepaws down on the backs of both of his children. He pressed them into the ground with a cold expression, all while his son and daughter cried out in pain.
"F-Father…" Catherine squeaked. "P-Please… Don't do this this…"
"Save your breath." Runileon hissed, squeezing her a bit more. "Do you honestly expect me to spare the lives of two TRAITORS?"
"I…" Catherine's eyes teared up. "I'm S-Sorry!"
"Oh, yes you ARE." Runileon's eyes lit up with a horrific flare. He squeezed even more, making them cried out even louder.
Urobos growled, but he did his best to keep quiet. This was the moment. With a bit of shadow magic, he had his body float weightlessly down toward the square of Runileon's back. This would give him a point-blank shot at unleashing his very own Fury to cripple their opponent.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't get his opening in time. By sheer chance, Catherine looked up at just the right moment to lock eyes with Urobos. Runileon noticed his daughter's gaze, and though she tried to quickly shut her eyes to hide it… it was too late.
Runeileon swung his tail and swatted Urobos out of the air, sending him crashing into the snow nearby. The pale drake then unleashed a black of convexity at Urobos, forcing him to retreat to safety.
While Urobos was distracted, Runileon had a rather fiendish idea. He grasped both of his children in his great paws, fell back into a sitting stance… and THREW THEM. They were sent screaming through the air at Urobos. The elder prince had the wind knocked out of him, and all three of them collapsed onto the ground.
As the three young dragons writhed in pain, Runileon approached from behind. All the while, Catherine couldn't stop crying as he knelt her head in supplication toward him.
"Father… P-Please…" She said miserably.
"Enough, foolish girl." Runileon snapped. He stamped the ground, making all three of them jolt. As Runileon loomed over the trio, he lifted a forepaw up and extended his talons. "This is where you ALL die for your insolence."
Urobos and Alexander struggled to call upon their shadows, but they were too weakened from the pain. There seemed to be no escaping this fate…
And that's when Umbra latched onto Runileon's muzzle, catching him off guard. He clawed and slashed at every bit of scale he could reach, sending the great drake bowling backward. Umra got up close to Runileon's eye and struck it with a lightning bolt, filling the air with more screams of pain.
As this went on, Valchen appeared over the others. He immediately used his magic to heal Urobos, and then the both of them got to work healing Alexander and Catherine.
"How are we going to stop him?!" Alexander exclaimed, slowly getting onto his feet. "He's too strong!"
"We'll have to use Convexity," Valchen said. "It's the only way!"
"Father warned us not to use it outside of emergencies," Urobos said.
"Well, what do you call THIS?!" Valchen gestured with a wing toward Ruineileon. "A tea party?!"
Urobos and Valchen stood up to face Umbra and Runileon. The third black dragon had detached from the white drake's face and was now circling around him. Runileon's face was bloody and smoking, but he was too angry to tend to his wounds; he desperately blasted at the air with convexity bolts to try and strike Umbra down. But Umbra was undeterred; he kept looking for the right moment to blast Runileon's other eye with lightning.
"Let's go!" Urobos shouted.
Immediately, the two black dragons took flight, charging their magic as they waited for the right moment. They joined Umbra in the air, and the three brothers circled around the pale drake.
As this went on, Alexander glared furiously at his father. He crept down low to the ground and snuck through the grass; even if he couldn't use his shadows, the prince wasn't going to pass up the chance to strike unnoticed. He thought he heard Catherine following along with him at first, but looking back he found that she was retreating from the battle.
"What are you doing?" He demanded.
"He's just too powerful," Catherine said sadly. "We aren't going to win, Alexander."
"Of course we are!" Her brother snapped. "Don't give up so easily. We can do this."
Catherine looked down at the ground, shivering and sniffling. Alex did his best to control his emotions. He took a breath and locked eyes with her.
"We'll beat him, Cat," Alexander said. "We'll put an end to him and his beasts, and set Erebus free. But we can't give up when we're so close to winning."
"But-"
"Just stand aside." Said a third voice. "And step out of the way, while you can."
The prince and princess flinched. They looked over to see someone new approaching. Catherine was shocked… while Alexander was furious.
"Ugh." He scowled. "Not YOU."
~~...~~
Urobos, Valchen, and Umbra continued to encircle around the enraged Runileon. Umbra had caught on to his brothers' plan and was soon charging up his own magic to aid in the attack. Urobos swooped down and made to grab at Runileon's largest horn…
Only to be swatted out of the air by the pale drake's forepaw.
Urobos crashed onto the grass, groaning all the while. All of his pent-up magic broke down and fizzled away, leaving him dazed. As Urobos tried to get back up, he felt Runileon's shadow pass over him. The great beast extended a talon as he growled; his intent was to split the prince open. Urobos struggled to move away, but his body was too weak from all the fighting. He watched as the talon swooped down to impale him…
When, suddenly, another barrier of stone emerged from the ground. This was followed by a flash of golden light, blinding Runileon and sending him off-course. Enraged, Runileon stomped off to the side to try to regain his sight, while Valchen and Umbra flew after him to keep up the offensive.
Urobos had to rub his eyes to get used to the sudden lights and the barrier of stone. His vision was blurry as he saw some strange mass of shadows make its way over to him. At first, Urobos thought it was either Alexander or Catherine coming to rescue him… until the figure spoke.
"Your Highness…" The said, sounding odd at first before stepping closer. The golden light faded away, and finally, Urobos beheld the form of a tall earth dragon.
"Ri…" Urobos muttered in confusion. "Richteriel?"
Richteriel was an earth dragon, dressed in Guardians' garb. He was a few years older than the prince and had twice the experience on the battlefield. His verdant scales shimmered in the midday light, and he appraised the prince with his golden eyes.
"On your paws, Prince," Richteriel said as he forcibly grasped Urobos to pull him upward.
"Wh-What are you doing here?" Urobos demanded.
"I could ask you the same thing." Richteriel snapped. He suddenly pulled a sword from his scabbard; the Umbral Blade, to Urobos's shock. The Guardian passed the sword into the prince's jaws and pointed him toward the ongoing battle.
"Hurry!" Richteriel bellowed. "Your brothers need you! Go!"
Across the way, Valchen and Umbra were almost ready to unleash their Furies. They flew close down toward Runileon, who still struggled to regain his sight in his single good eye. This was it; they were about to win. Urobos grinned as he held his sword at the ready. He charged forward in eager anticipation as he waited for his brothers to finish off the monster with their combined might.
Unfortunately, though his eyes were damaged, Runileon's ear frills were in perfect condition. Just before the Furies could be unleashed, the pale drake spun around, swatting both princes down into the snow. Their magic burst forth from their bodies prematurely, engulfing the area in a swath of purple hues. Urobos had to shut his eyes, but he could still sense the brightness regardless.
"Nice try…" Runileon said as he leaned backward onto his hind legs. "...But you are still PATHERIC!"
The pale drake slammed his forepaws down atop Valchen and Umbra. The two princes screamed as their bodies were crushed, all while Urobos looked on in horror. When Runileon moved his paws away, Valchen and Umbra were surrounded by pools of their own blood.
Urobos froze in place. His mind raced with a million thoughts as he beheld the sight of them weak on the ground.
"I'll leave you to die of your wounds." Runileon spat his own blood down at the two dying princes. "I have smaller fish to fry."
The ground shook as Runileon marched his way across the valley, leaving Valchen and Umbra behind. Urobos struggled to snap out of his stunned gaze to approach his brothers; the Umbral Blade fell from his jaws as he stammered. His brothers were barely breathing; he could barely move.
But Richteriel COULD move. The Guardian pushed past Urobos and rushed to the other two princes. He looked back and forth between them; his pupils dilated in horror.
"Damnit! Damn it all!" Richteriel screamed as he collapsed down beside Valchen. He grasped the prince and surrounded his body with a green glow. "Don't you die on me!"
"Rich… teriel?" Valchen asked weakly. "Why… are you here?" How…?"
"Shut up! Don't ask how or why!" Richteriel snapped. He spun around to glare at Urobos. "Get over here! What are you doing?!"
Urobos flinched, and he picked up the pace. He collapsed down beside Umbra, held him in his foreleg, and did his best to call upon his healing magic. Some of the superficial wounds along Umbra's body were mended, but his breathing was still very weak.
"No…" Urobos said as his breathing got worse. "Umbra… you… you can't…"
"Urobos?" Umbra managed to ask. The short black dragon turned to look his brother in the eyes.
"Umbra!" Urobos cried out, trying his healing magic again. "Please, stay with me! Umbra!"
"Damn it…" Richteriel said again. He embraced Valchen as hard as he could and poured all of his strength-enhancing power into the weak prince. "You can't die here. You're my charge! All of you!"
"S-Sorry, Rich… teriel…" Valchen muttered.
"I traveled across an OCEAN for you fools!" Richteriel screamed. He turned and hissed at Urobos. "What were you all THINKING?!"
"I…" Urobos stammered. "I… We… We had to help Alexander and-"
"Shut it!" Richteriel snarled; his eyes were pooling with tears as he let go of Valchen. He struck Urobos across the face and then turned him around to face Runileon. "I'll.. I'll do what I can for them. Just go and face Runileon!"
"But…" Urobos stammered, shivering in place. "I… I don't have the str-"
Valchen and Umbra interrupted their brother by weakly placing their forepaws on him. Richteriel joined in, though seemingly begrudgingly. All three of them filled Urobos's body with a great, green aura of power. Urobos's eyes widened, and he felt his heartbeat quicken. Bit by bit, Urobos could feel his Fury returning to him.
"Now… enough dawdling!" Richteriel roared. "Face Runileon! Fight, for WARFANG!"
"Right…" Urobos stood up tall, and he willed the Umbral Blade into his jaws. He spun the blade around and prepared to march after Runileon… but not before giving one last sorrowful look at his felled brothers. The prince fought back tears; this wasn't the time to lose his vision again.
"Good Luck…" Valchen said.
"...Brother," Umbra whispered.
Urobos forced himself to march forward; he could mourn them later. For now… he had to finish this.
It didn't take long to relocate Runileon. The great white drake was looming over Alexander and Catherine. The two of them were bloodied again. Alexander fanned his wings out to shield Catherine, who was all but ready to start begging for a third time. Urobos scowled up at Runileon; he filled his body from horns to tail-tip with the combined energies as he marched forward. His sadness gave way to rage, and he moved faster and faster with every step.
"Damn you…" Urobos said around his hilt. "RUNILEON!"
Urobos pushed himself off the ground and into the air at high speed. He snarled as he flew forward, his body glowing with bright purple power.
Runileon's ear frills flinched, and he looked over just in time for Umbra to crash into him at high speed. The pale drake roared in pain as he was knocked over onto his back.
"WHAT?!" Runileon bellowed in shock.
Finally, it was time for the Umbral Blade to taste flesh.
Urobos flew through the air, still empowered, and swung his sword to slash at Runileon's wing membrane, rendering it useless. As Runileon howled, Urobos drew his sword free and dashed over to the other membrane to do much of the same. Purple flames erupted from the wounds, eating away at them until there was nothing left. Runileon tried to roll over, but Urobos brought a stop to that with a quick stomp onto the underbelly.
Urobos dug the talons of all four of his paws into Runileon's flesh and unleashed torrents of elemental magic to stun him into place. The pale drake writhed in torment, but Urobos was far from done.
Urobos panted furiously as his eyes watered; He grasped the hilt and kicked off of Runileon. And repositioned the blade to make a powerful strike….
SHUNK!
Runileon gave the fiercest roar of his life as the Umbra Blade was buried into his chest. Blood spilled from the pale drake's maw, and it sizzled on the ground where it landed.
Urobos aggressively pulled the blade free, allowing blood to spill from Runileon's chest. The pale drake coughed and gagged, all while Urobos glared down at him furiously.
"It's over," Urobos said with as much hatred as he'd ever said in his life. He marched over to Runileon's head to scowl into his remaining eye. "The Ancestors will have their fill of you next."
"Damn… you…" Runileon sneered, struggling to stay alive.
As Urobos held his glare, Alexander and Catherine came to a landing nearby. They approached their friend, and all three of them watched as Runileon's energy faded. Catherine tried to tend to Urobos's wounds, while Alexander stepped forward to spit on his father's face.
"The world will finally be rid of you, RAT!" Alexander snarled. "Your legacy ends HERE!"
Runileon's single eye beamed, and he flashed his son a rather bloody grin.
"That's what YOU think."
With as much strength as he could muster, Runileon lifted up one of his forepaws and extended a talon. The trio backed away, but the pale drake wasn't aiming for them; rather, he buried the talon deep into his own birthmark. The mark changed from a red light to a green one… and so did the birthmarks on Alexander and Catherine.
Urobos looked between his friends in surprise while the siblings collapsed onto the ground as though they were being tortured. Runileon cackled between wheezes as the light grew deeper.
"What's happening?" Urobos cried out. "What are you doing now, Runileon?!"
"Bear witness to my curse, spawn of Spyro." Runileon locked his eye on the prince.
"C-Curse?" Catherine repeated fearfully.
The red in Runileon's eye turned to a deep purple even as he coughed up more blood. He looked between Alexander and Catherine. All three of their sets of birthmarks changed to the same purple glow, while Runileon spoke aloud.
"You call me Runileon the Wicked," He said fervently, "But there will be one even WORSE. For hate's sake, I sacrifice myself." The pale drake glared between his children. "One day, be it one of your children or your children's children… there will be a descendant who bears my likeness. They will inherit my power, and be an even WORSE plague unto the Dragon Realms! This… I swear, on my DYING BREATH!"
With that final bellow, Runileon drew his talon free and let his birthmark bleed onto the ground. His eye rolled back into his head, which collapsed in a heap on the ground. Bit by bit the rest of his strength faded…
And soon, all that remained of Runileon the Wicked was a great, white corpse.
With the last of Runileon's magic gone, the birthmarks on his children returned to their usual red glow. They panted heavily before they picked themselves up to stand tall. They looked themselves over, before coming forth to hug each other.
"It's over…" Catherine said as she cried into Alexander's shoulder. "It's finally over. He's gone for good."
"Yeah…" Alexander nodded. "Gone for good."
"Do…" Catherine sniffled. "Do you think what he said about the curse was true?"
"I… I don't know." Alexander muttered. "But… you know what they say; better safe than sorry."
"What do you mean?" His sister blinked.
"We'll have to… discuss a few things." He gradually let go of her. "Once we've settled in back home, of course."
Alexander looked at his father's body. He kicked Runileon in the face and spat in his eye.
"May the ancestors torture you for all eternity, you… you…" Alexander snarled furiously. "You white-hided FREAK!"
Alexander viciously slashed at Runileon's face, rendering it into a hideous mess as he spat out a few curses of his own. After a moment Urobos felt the need to step in and pull him away.
"Alexander, enough!" Urobos shouted. "He's already dead; don't devolve into a violent animal."
"By the Ancestors, listen to him!" Called a familiar voice. "You don't want to wind up becoming like him, do you?"
Alexander flinched, and then he snarled. He spun around to face the speaker. It was none other than Richteriel, who had been assessing the situation the whole time. Alexander was about to hurl some insults in the Guardian's face… before he looked down and saw the two bodies. Catherine was next to look, followed by Urobos.
Suddenly, all of the prince's anguish returned to him. He darted across the way to look at his brothers in a vein hope that they were okay. But one frown from Richteriel was all it took for the horrible truth to settle in.
"I… I'm sorry." Richteriel held his head low in shame. "There was nothing else I could do."
"No…" Catherine's eyes widened. "No no no…"
Urobos collapsed onto the ground as the truth strangled his heart. He bent his head back and cried in agony. Even Alexander was in pain; he knelt down before the fallen princes and spoke softly.
"Princes… For what it's worth, I'm grateful that you decided to help us." Alexander said softly. "I would have sworn my fealty for life to all three of you as thanks."
"That's…" Urobos spoke up with a broken voice. "That's not necessary. All three of us wanted to help you; there was no need for… fealty."
Alexander took a deep breath, while Catherine cried beside him. The prince did his best to compose himself as he patted his sister on the shoulder.
"First, we bring them to the nearest town." He said. "We'll need to ensure that the cloud of monsters isn't still a threat and that the soldiers are finally freed from HIS mind-control."
"Right." Richteriel nodded as he walked around Valchen. He sighed sadly once again as he got to work moving the body. Urobos stepped in to help, followed by Alexander and Catherine.
Many dragons would remember that day; the day when Prince Valchen and Prince Umbra gave their lives to help defeat a great evil. There would be ripples of consequences for everyone's choice that day for years to come.
Richteriel would find himself tied to Urobos for many years; be it as friends… or adversaries.
And as for the curse… it would haunt the surviving dragons all their lives. Urobos, Catherine, and Alexander would all cope with it in different ways. None would ever truly know how it would manifest.
Who could have foreseen that it would manifest as a young prince named Rune?
Who could have foreseen… the End of the World?
~~...~~
Greetings, friends and loved ones.
Now you might have noticed the date that this was published, and thought. "Is this a prank? Is this post just some elaborate April Fools joke?"
Well, yes… but not in the traditional sense. For you see, I decided that I would prank MYSELF by working on this. It has been so long since I tried working on something from this story. So long that maybe people have given up on ever seeing this sage given a proper send-off. Perhaps, in some way, I am the biggest April Fool of all.
Will something come of this saga? Will there be more? Well, that remains to be seen. I still want this saga to be done properly, but I guess I'm tired of taking so long. So… I'm giving it a shot. I'm finally working on the Third Grand Arc of The Legend of Rune, after fourteen or so years of leaving it to rot.
And lastly, unlike the 2011 versions of Rising Fears and Forsaken Blood, I won't be wiping the old BNDD off the slate. And that's for a simple reason; this time around, I want to prove to myself and others that I have IMPROVED. That my writing style has been honed, my storytelling has gotten better, and… well, that I'm just not as much of a hack as I was back in 2011.
The story will be ready when it's ready. For now, I hope you enjoyed the Prologue, and have fun comparing it to the old one.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Writers and fellow Spyro fans, I present to you:
The Legend of Rune: Brightest Night, Darkest Day. 2025 Edition!
Tenebra ecce Veritas