Chapter 14

Chapter 16

The funeral had been brief. Or maybe my mind was occupied. Törg funerals were much like the inhabitants of the land: simple, rustic and very reserved. Faranthia’s beam or whatever it was had…. It went right through Penelope, vaporized her heart, she was dead before she hit the ground. Ubuntu was right, it was a message- a threat. Faranthia wants us to know we are in her backyard now and gone are the days of her being my little runt assassin. But that was not Faranthia now was it. The real Faranthia was dead and at the bottom of the Avernus Abyss like Ubuntu had told me. The thing that murdered Penelope was simply the twisted phantasm of Faranthia’s lingering fear and anger. That was the story for all the Seven. There was no redemption for these phantoms. There was nothing to redeem. For the Seven, absolution lay only in release. And I would be their deliverance.

That grim type of resolve fell over me like a heavy blanket as I watched the rain pour down over the field. I sat in a relatively dry barn on a bed of hay. Thunder would boom in the distance and if I looked out into the ocean I could see the split second flash of lightning. It was always raining in Törg it seemed or perhaps gloomy weather followed the Seven wherever they went. Or maybe it was just the rainy season.

My thoughts were interrupted when Ubuntu turned the corner and entered the barn. His dark green cloak was soaked in rainwater.

“I have made de arrangements Cyndah. Come, it is time to train. If you are to stand against the wrath of the Seven then you will need to regain your former skills.”

“But it’s raining Ubuntu.” I nonchalantly noted looking back out into the farm field.

Ubuntu was silent for a moment. “Very well. Let’s keep it a secret den dat the mighty Cyndah is defeated by a little rain.”

I raised a brow at the cheeky old ape wizard. “Hold on that’s not what I meant. It’s just rain makes it more difficult.”

“All de better for training.”

- - -

“Again!” Rawhide barked at me as the hay golem lumbered towards me. A dummy creature made of bales of hay animated by Ubuntu’s magic. The hay golem swung its club fists in my direction. This was an exercise in agility! I rolled out of the way by bringing my wings close to my body. I rolled only to be stopped mid roll- I looked and saw the golem had stepped on my tail! That mistake was rewarded with a hay-scented wallop to my face!

“Ooof!” I spat as I hit the mud. Even though the golem was made of vegetation it was more than capable of making me regret my mistakes.

- - -

“YOU CALL THOSE PUSH UPS! I WANT TO SEE YOUR CHEST TOUCH MUD CYNDER. I’M NOT STUPID. ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR-FIVE-SIX-SEVEN-.” Rawhide sneered taking his octaves to levels I did not know existed. He was making my heart race with his sheer commanding roar. I could only imagine the right terror he was to new recruits! It was compounded when he dropped to the dirt and began doing push ups like a machine- easily outpacing my in seconds and barely breaking a sweat.

- - -

“Those barrel rolls gotta be faster! Faranthia will cut you in half at that speed!” Commander Harrier barked at me as she flapped her wings. Now was the acrobatic training. I had reservations about having a stranger train me and I was more than incredulous at being trained by Harrier no less. But that only got me chewed out by Rawhide. He said pride kills soldiers more than any weapon. I had to swallow my stubborn pride and accept tutelage from others. It really bespoke how out of practice I was when I realized I had indeed become vain enough to scorn training from others. I imagined Ignitus and the other masters would be disappointed.

“Cynder stop daydreaming!” Harrier shouted again. Her barks lacked the earth-shaking tremor that Rawhide’s did but she still commanded an air of authority. Rawhide must have just won the genetic lottery for those pipes of him.

I dove out of the sky and closed my wings tight and spun my body weight in a complete circle while using my tail to change my trajectory. Three revolutions later I unfurled my red wings and regained altitude to meet the commander who hovered above.

“Not good enough! Do you want Faranthia to win?!” She yelled.

- - -

“Hmph!” I growled as I lifted the log, brought it down and raised it again. Rep after rep after rep of lifting this infernal log- cut down and brought specifically for my weight training.

“C’MON CYNDER I WANNA SEE YOU SWEAT!” Rawhide barked as he counted my reps.

“My muscles burn Rawhide-”

“Take a salt tablet.” Rawhide commented callously.

- - -

“Pull!” Harrier shouted as she kicked a catapult that sent three wooden disks springing into the air. I rapidly shot three burst of poison energy. All three missed and the wood hit the mud with an unceremonious plop.

“Un-friggin-believeable! How did you stop Malefor? Drop and give me fifty!” Harrier ordered with an accusatory jab of her finger.
- - -

“Calm yourself. Clear your mind. Inhale, exhale.” Ubuntu spoke evenly. I had never been one to meditate but he said it would help rebuild my magic reserves. I sat on my haunches and closed my eyes. I pushed every thought from my forefront- not without difficulty though. The Seven, Spyro, Sparx, Faranthia. I pushed them all to the back of my mind and focused on the sound of the waves crashing at the bottom of the cliffs at the shears below. First my thoughts, then my feelings. The burn of my muscles soon ceased to be felt as I focused on the energy of the planet around me. Everything would fall away. No strife, chaos or disharmony- just the universe.

Ignitus once told Spyro that dragons have the ability to attain the knowledge of their ancestors. Memories stored not in the brain but in the blood and our very bones. Dragons were magic by nature. In times of dire need dragons can retrieve that knowledge of the ages. When all was still and my mind was balanced- as though looking into a pool of water that had finally come to rest I looked and saw myself. It is a strange thing, to see yourself in your mind’s eye. All the battles had left their scars, mentally and physically but I lived still. It was then I felt a growing warmth in my chest like finding a hearth in the dead of winter. I almost choked when I saw the water again- behind me was…. Was my ancestors! They were silhouettes but something told me it was my ancestors and they meant me no harm. Dragons, male and female stood behind me- pushing me to the future. That warmth- it was some kind of nameless energy I felt revitalizing my very soul! Hope? Determination? Perseverance? Maybe it was a word that had long since disappeared from our vernacular but whatever it was I felt it- it was as though someone were breathing life back into me. My power reserves felt full to bursting! It was then as I felt I would explode I began to hear something- not something as pedestrian as a voice but it was a though these words had always been there- in my heart of hearts and were just waiting to be found.

Beware...the one….who waits….at the….edge of the world…..

- - -

“Run!” Rawhide shouted as he grabbed Ubuntu. Cynder had fallen into a deep meditative trance and no one could awaken her. When the black dragoness began to glow with a fierce purple light, Commander Rawhide deemed to cut this meditation session short. The burly bulldog grabbed the old man and the three of them began to flee the glowing dragon as the light around her intensified and gale winds began to whip the farm field. Wooden fences began to shake loose out of the ground and were soon swept up into the winds that made their epicenter at Cynder by the cliff. The sky darkened as clouds billowed and swirled.

“What’s going on?!” Harrier shouted as the trio took shelter inside the barn.

“...It’s a dragon fury…. But one the likes I’ve never seen before.” Ubuntu whispered in awe more than an answer.

“The heck does that mean!” Rawhide said as the very barn began to rattle with the merciless winds.

“It means she has her powers back.” Was all Ubuntu would say. With a hint of pride.

Arcane power electrified every muscle Cynder had and she practically rippled with overwhelming ancient dragon power. So much power- her physical form could contain it all or she would be destroyed. The ancestors knew what their descendant could take however- she would not die here.

Open your eyes, Cynder.

With the faintest flutter of her eyelids, Cynder unconsciously released an arcane fury! The storm was obliterated as the entire world flashed in a violet light. Everything was muted as the power of the ancestors was unfurled in a single instant! Rawhide, Harrier and Ubuntu shrieked helplessly as the barn was torn off its foundation and sent rolling back in a heap of wood and shingles. The cliff Cynder levitated over crumbled and sent a cascade of rocks towards the black waters of the ocean. When it seemed the three of them would be swept away the winds ceased for a heartbeat… then another…. Then another. Then they were assaulted by a tidal wave of force! They held on to a piece of the barn foundation and prayed it would hold. The force exploded into the heavens and utterly dispelled the gray rain clouds leaving nothing but the sun to shine down on the wind battered farm.

Finally the fury relented and the atmosphere became calm once more. Only the sound of the waves crashing below was the only thing to hear now. Cynder slowly descended as the purple aura dissipated leaving her in a heap but conscious now.

“Is…… is it over?” Harrier asked more than a little frazzled. Her uniform was torn and ripped. Rawhide deftly put his helmet back on while no one noticed him. Ubuntu ran over to his dragon companion.

- - -

“Cyndah!” I hear Ubuntu shout though it felt like I had pillows over my ears. The sunshine was a nice change of pace however. In his weakened state Ubuntu was not more limping than running but he soon made it to where I laid. He knelt down and breathed heavily.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

I picked my head up off the ground and rubbed my temples. “I think so. What happened? I remember…. Something, a warmth and suddenly… kaboom!” I said weakly.

“What happened? You nearly killed us all Cynder!” Harrier griped, feathers ruffled, as she pointed towards the barn….. or at least where it used to be.

“Calm down Harrier. I don’t think she did it on purpose.” Rawhide said as he joined us. His uniform too was scuffed but he at least seemed to carry himself better.

“Why am I not surprised! Everything with dragons always ends up burning, zapped exploded or cut to pieces. I swear you giant lizards are walking natural disasters.” Harrier ranted before Rawhide interrupted her.

“That’s enough Harrier!”

The one-eyed falcon scoffed at Rawhide. She turned to glower at me and Ubuntu. “…. Whatever. I’m going back into town. Back to the land of the normal.” Commander Harrier sprinted and with a few flaps of her wings, she flew away towards Will’s Mill.

“What if she is right. Maybe dragons are right to be hated.” I said as I observed the abject devastation around me. The cobblestone walls were pulverized rubble, the wooden fencing was all but uprooted, the farm lay in a state of ruin and the tip of the cliff had fallen to the endless blue of the ocean.

Ubuntu touched my muzzle and shook his head. “No. Dey fear what dey do not understand and dey hate what dey fear.”

“Yeah and Harrier can be a real-”

I rose from my heap to my feet. “-Thanks guys.”

“I tink your training is finished for now.”

I huffed and smiled weakly. “I don’t think I could lift an apple right now.”

“Play through the pain Cynder. You’re gonna be just fine.” Rawhide said and lit a new cigar.