Chapter 1: The Academy
The mountain path gradually unraveled as they traveled up the stone-dragon's arm. It was very warm due to the open fire-spouts along the road; little red fireflies hovered around the heat sources, drifting lazily and aimlessly. Mt Modon's dragonhead profile loomed up over them from the northeast.
"Okay, folks. We're almost there," Flame announced, trotting a little faster. "Sorry my Dad couldn't make it."
"No worries. Your father is a remarkably busy dragon." Nestor replied.
"So you went to school here, Mr. Nestor?"
"I did. Titan did as well," Nestor answered, as the Peace Keeper raised a hand in acknowledgement. "There's a handful of our clan that has attended this academy."
"Whoa! No wonder you guys are like, the biggest and most famous clan of dragons in the west! It makes sense now," Flame exclaimed, flagging his wings. "It's cool to meet fire dragon alumni."
"Houses still holding up the same?" asked Titan.
"Yep! Oh, right, let me explain that for you both," Flame said to Spyro and Cynder. "So, the houses. There's four, right?"
They crossed a stone bridge. Spyro looked over and got a little freaked out; the moat was nothing more than a dark and bottomless void.
"There's Blayzrn, the House of Fire. It's the house my dad is in charge of," Flame said proudly. "Then there's the Zapadour House of Electricity, overseen by Professor Els."
"Is Cyril still here?" asked Nestor.
"Oh, yeah. He's the head of the Ice House, Fregis."
"Ah ha ha, watch it, you two," Titan said to the younger dragons. "Professor Cyril is not the easiest dragon to get along with. At least give him a good first impression."
"What's with him?" Spyro asked.
They came over the last slope; now they were on the stone-dragon's shoulder, coming up on a contraption-door riddled with knobs, grooves, and other strangely shaped objects. "I don't know," Flame admitted. "He's just…really serious."
"Prideful!" Titan coughed the word out.
Nestor added, "Here at this school, the fire and ice dragons have built up a rivalry towards each another. Cyril is very unashamed at encouraging his house to stand over the rest."
"I always thought he was jealous because he wasn't a fire dragon," Titan said, grinning. "When you think of this Academy, you think of the Blayzrn House! We get more public attention and recognition than the other houses and in fact, you could say we're the face of Dramodon."
"Naturally," Gunnar spoke up. "Most dragons in the west are fire dragons."
"I never even knew there were different…elemental dragons?" Spyro said slowly. "It kinda makes sense when I think about it."
Flame sucked in a deep breath and released a surprisingly large torrent of fire towards a basin over the entrance. The empty torch billowed to life and the door grinded open sideways.
"Very healthy line of fire you've got there!" Gunnar remarked, impressed.
Flame bashfully scratched the back of his head. "Thanks. Um, so lastly, we have Magna Burow, the…Earth House."
Spyro heard a negative change in his tone. "What's up?"
"Ah, nothing. Y'know, this Academy was created by a powerful earth dragon. They say he erected Dramodon from the ground using only his will and claws!"
Once they stepped inside the castle, Spyro felt an immense sense of belonging. The old-fashioned stone halls and mysterious ambience reminded him of the old castles back in Stone Hill. The ceiling was stories high and the hallways were wide enough for a dozen dragons to fly wing-to-wing in. Stone scaffoldings hung high above their heads, forming a network of paths that led to different floors and rooms.
There were abstract busts in the main hall depicting dozens of previous headmasters. Spyro looked over every one of them in awe, twitching his wings in excitement. Flame was eyeing him over his shoulder.
"Yep, the castle is old but gold. See the walkways?" the red dragon pointed up in a vague direction. "Some professors teach on the ground floor, but most of them are on the upper floors. And basically, at the beginning of each school year, the professors can decide where they want to teach."
Cynder finally spoke up, "Moving around doesn't bother them?"
"Well, they're not required to move. Sometimes a dragon's gotta find a different place to crash. Not literally."
Flame led them through the maze of black-stone halls, passing classrooms and the like. Spyro and Cynder couldn't see how he remembered where to go, really.
"I wish I could show you some of the classrooms, but the Headmaster blocked them off for some reason. Hey! You guys hungry like me?" Flame cried suddenly. "The dining hall's this way!"
Spyro and Cynder eagerly hurried after him, but when the three dragons rounded the corner they found a set of great round doors shut tight.
"What!? Dang it!" Flame exclaimed, "I swear it was open earlier!"
"Do these open outward or inward?" asked Spyro, standing up and propping both paws on the doors.
"In! I guess the Headmaster decided to block this off, too! He's been doing that a lot lately even when school hasn't started yet and no students are walking around." Flame braced a shoulder on the doors. "Is this seriously locked!? Unnnngh!"
He pushed too hard and wound up slipping against the doors while Spyro enthusiastically butted at them. Cynder sighed inaudibly and shook her head; Titan barked with laughter.
"So...where are the other dragons?" asked Cynder.
"In the mountain dormitories right outside the castle grounds." Flame said, picking himself off the ground. "Blazing Peak is where we fire dragons bed. Then below us are the ice dragons, then the electric dragons, then the earth ones…"
Regardless of how limited their tour was, Flame continued to show them around and explained that some professors held classes off the main school grounds.
"This place is so big," Spyro remarked. "Anyone got a map or something?"
"Don't worry! Plenty of dragons have maps and I think Dad put one in you guys' bags. His classroom has to be unlocked."
They came across a spiraling stone ramp that went down several floors. A couple of winding halls down and located in a comfortable nook was Ignitus' classroom. The professor showed reverence for his element: the hanging lamps were crystal-like spheres filled with twitching, endlessly burning flames, and the walls were decorated with banners of ancient fire dragons, medals, and certificates.
"Memories," said Nestor, looking around. "You think Ignitus is still your favorite professor, Titan?"
"I don't have to think twice about it!" Titan laughed.
There were six-by-nine rows of bowl-shaped divots on the floor, presumably where students sat during class. "So…he's nice?" Cynder asked, timidly sitting in one of the hollows.
"Dad? Oh, heck yeah," Flame said, now rummaging underneath the desk for something. "Most professors are, but…heh, I think my Dad is the nicest of them all."
"Okay. I'm…glad I'm in his house."
"Me too!" Spyro exclaimed. "I like the idea of there being different houses! It's like we're in a secret club. Or, nah, wait, just a normal club."
"Well, we do have a Hoarder's Club for dragons who like extracurricular activities," Flame called. "Meetings and events are held on weekends since we don't have classes then. There's a ton of activities to chose from."
He came out from under the table with a pair of saddlebags. "Here're you guys' things! You just have to drape them over your back and cinch them tight."
"Thanks, dude," Spyro said eagerly. Ignitus even had the kindness to sew their names on their bags. Inside the bags were a myriad of things including a compass, a few sheets of parchment, ink, several quills, and…
"A map!" Spyro cried, opening it. "But…shoot, it's so big I can't even see where we are!"
"Dad's classroom is in Room 710, up to the bottom left," Flame said, pointing it out. "He's used this room for a long time, so his class'll always be the easiest to find and remember."
"The dining hall is huge…" Cynder said, looking down at her own map. "How many dragons go to school here?"
"Several hundred," Flame looked at the floor, scuffing a paw. "But…I don't know if you've heard about this, Mr. Nestor…this semester is the last one before the school goes on hiatus and suspends its teaching…"
"Wait, WHAT?" Titan blurted, shocked when Nestor nodded. "Why's that, then?"
"I don't know. The Headmaster made the announcement at the end of the last semester. It isn't fair," Flame said. "I mean at least I've been here for a year, but you guys are only going to have the summer semester until things go back to normal."
"That's kinda lame," Spyro complained.
Nestor smiled at him. "I told you that you'd like it. How about you, Cynder?"
Her mouth wasn't smiling, but her eyes were. "I'm surrounded by mountains. That already made me happy from the beginning."
"So, you guys already like being in Blayzrn, huh?" Flame asked eagerly. "I think you both would be a good fit, too! But…since you guys are first-years, then we won't have classes together."
"The Headmaster granted them a first-year pardon, so they're in your year, Flame. They're both very capable and smart," Nestor said. "So yes, you all will be having classes together."
Flame dropped his jaw, shocked. He looked between Spyro and Cynder, maybe realizing that they were much more unusual than he'd initially thought.
"That's so cool," he said. "I've never heard of any dragon skipping a year. If the Headmaster did something like that, then you guys must have some wicked abilities!"
Spyro hesitated. All he said was, "Yeah."
"Do...we have to meet the Headmaster?" Cynder asked anxiously. "What's his name?"
"Malefor," Nestor answered.
"Ugh! Even his name is creepy," Spyro said. "Let's hope he doesn't—"
A voice spoke up behind them: "Let's hope I don't what?"