Legend of Spyro, Four Pillars of Aether, Chapter 14 Pt.3 (Full Chapter available to download)

(Image does not belong to me. Sourced from Spyro wiki)

That evening in Warfang…


The torches along the viaduct were all ablaze and the lamplighter dragon and his mole partner were entering the western tunnel beneath Castle Hill just as another two figures emerged from the eastern end as the last rays of the sun vanished over the sea. Flights of dragon warriors continued to patrol the perimeter of the city and the outlying countryside as the garrison remained on high alert. The two emerging figures were Spyro right and Ignitus to the left, walking alongside each other as they ventured out onto the viaduct that spanned the city. From their vantage point it was possible to see the numerous orange glows of torches now flickering through the windows of the many towers and along the streets of Warfang. Though it was early evening, both dragons observed the unnatural quiet in the streets below. Normally such was the time the citizens of Warfang would be celebrating the end of the day by visiting the taverns and ale houses or taking in some evening entertainment.


But there was barely a soul that they could seen in the streets and the taverns were unusually short of patrons. This was the effect that the Dreadwing rider’s message had bought on, coupled with the news that had been issued later on about the details of that message and how the Council had reacted to it. The other Guardians had indeed voiced their frustrations and concerns to the cities leadership with great fervour but it had resulted in no change to their decision. That afternoon a dragon courier had been dispatched with a mole messenger to fly to the Mountain of Malefor to give their permission for Gaul to visit the city for a conference. They had returned just before sundown and delivered the Ape’s reply that Gaul and his entourage would be arriving sometime tomorrow morning.


This news had left Spyro and his friends almost enraged, but none more so than Cyril, Volteer and Terrador who had practically screamed for the Council to see sense, but in the end, they could not argue with the law. Ignitus had steered clear of any further interaction with the Council, perhaps knowing it would only lead to him following his colleagues’ example and entering into a tirade. They had all been assured that every precaution would be taken and the alert status would remain until further notice, however the conference turned out. This did little to assure the four young dragons who had barely escaped with their lives from the Ape King, even if literally hundreds of soldiers would be watching him at any time. In any case, the Guardians had decided that they should all stay in the castle that night for the simple reason it was the most heavily protected building in the city, just in case. Yet even knowing that, Spyro suddenly felt that no part of the city was safe. He wondered if that was why the Fire Guardian had asked him to accompany him out onto the viaduct.


“Everyone seems to be on edge, Ignitus,” Spyro remarked worriedly as his eyes turned to the crimson dragon. Ignitus turned his head just enough for his eyes to meet his and gave two rocking nods with his head.


“It has already spread like a plague. Everyone down there feels just as we do,” he said as he beckoned to the streets below.


“Should we though?” asked Spyro cautiously, “Should we be so afraid?”


“It is only natural to feel fear when there is danger in the air,” Ignitus replied bluntly, “But when you’ve not felt fear for over decade, when it comes back to you like a nightmare you thought was over… well it takes some getting used to it again.”


“You mean like when the war was on?”


Ignitus nodded the same way again, “Some of us thought the peace would last forever. I envy those who could have such beliefs. But I fear that it has also bred complacency. Complacency is what gives us the kind of problem that we have now; our enemies seem poised to strike at us and some of us are trying to convince themselves it is not so.”


“But it’s like you said,” added Spyro pointedly, “It’s the law. They couldn’t refuse Gaul’s entry to the city even if they wanted to.”


“They cannot refuse the request, no. But they should not have accepted it on his terms. We should have been consulted to draft a counter proposal. If he refused it, then it is we who would have the casus belli.”


Spyro frowned hesitantly, “But don’t we already have that?”


Ignitus shrugged, “Without Meadow himself being here to give testimony, the Council does not believe so.”


“So Cynder was right,” Spyro mused crossly, “They don’t believe us.”


“I tried my best, Spyro, I really did. But they don’t know you like I do. I trust in everything you and Ember and Cynder and Flame have told me about what you saw. I know you don’t keep secrets from me.”


“Thanks,” the purple dragon replied slowly, his heart throbbing with guilty adrenaline at the knowledge that the Fire Guardian was in fact wrong. Spyro had thus far kept his word to the mysterious voice calling itself the Chronicler that had warned him about the days ahead. The unusual silence of Warfang took him back to the mystical place in his mind that he had apparently been. His insides squirmed with the guilt of keeping all this a secret from those he cared for most, especially when he wondered why he was willing to trust the mystery voice from a dream that he had no way of knowing wasn’t some curse giving to him by Gaul without his knowledge.


The questions kept coming in Spyro’s mind the more they walked on silently, the young dragon entering a sleep walking like state as his legs moved forward but his mind was distracted from the task altogether. Only when Ignitus suddenly walked in front of him did he come back to the present and bring himself to a halt to avoid bumping into the Fire Guardian.


“What’s…?” he began to ask, but paused as Ignitus strode over and hoisted his massive front paws onto the edge of the viaduct and stood tall. Spyro curiously walked up beside him to see what it was that had his attention. It was only then that he noticed how far they had walked from the castle, now standing about halfway along the viaduct between Castle Hill and the Observatory. Spyro pulled himself up onto one of the large turret blocks on the side of the viaduct, keeping his feet close together and wrapping his tail around himself as he stared out across the city with Ignitus. The light of the twin moons was gleaming over the ocean covering the horizon as a lone freight airship slowly pulled into the airdock far over to his left. But he knew it was none of these things that Ignitus was seeing as he watched the way he stood poised on the edge of the viaduct like a gargoyle, moving his head methodically across the expanse of Warfang. Spyro’s brow rose as he watched the Fire Guardian expectantly but patiently. Ignitus closed his eyes as he leaned his head back, drawing the night air deep into his lungs before he became still in the moment, nearly causing Spyro alarm.


“What is it?” the young dragon asked carefully. Ignitus lowered his chin as his eyelids slowly lifted and his orange orbs stared reflectively over the city.


“Exactly what I feared,” he replied softly, yet heavily. Spyro felt his body almost shudder as a swift breeze drifted over them, which he knew wasn’t from the cold. He watched anxiously as Ignitus cast a quick glance to him and sighed thoughtfully.


“When my father…” he began hesitantly, “When he and his fellow Guardians pursued Malefor from the city during the Night of Burning Tears, I was standing right here on this causeway, ushering a caravan of civilians across as fast as I could. They had been sheltering inside the castle, but Malefor had so engulfed the plateau in so much flame that the heat alone was enough force an evacuation. Many did not escape the castle and I felt sure that once we were in the open, we would be at his mercy.”


Spyro could not help but gasp as Ignitus turned his head to the right and looked back towards Castle Hill, his eyes aimed above and to the left of the castle spires at a patch of empty sky. Spyro turned his head to follow his gaze, the Fire Guardian’s expression grim.


“I can still see him now, hovering above the billowing smoke of the castle and looking down at us, looking down at me,” Ignitus recalled morbidly, his voice hushed, “Even from down here, I could see the look in his eyes as if we were face to face. They glowed an unnatural yellow and brimmed with delight at the destruction he had caused. The sky was not as it is now; it was awash in an orange glow from the fires throughout the city and the air thick with ash. It was as if Boyzitbig had erupted within Warfang. I looked up at him as the refugees ran in panic and I knew I was going to die.”


Spyro was slow to ask, watching the Fire Guardian cautiously as he continued staring up at the spot in the sky where Malefor had once been.

“What happened?” he asked quietly.


“As if by sheer miracle, that was when my father, Dragsooth, of Fire, Bissthlan of Ice, Hargen of Earth and Zygoren of Electricty returned from their raid against Malefor’s fortress. A moment later and we all would have been doomed. But once they drew his attention, I resumed my duties and helped to guide the survivors along the viaduct as we made to escape the flames. As the battle went on I wanted to watch but I knew I had to help to save as many as I could for as long as I could. Eventually, all those who had made it out of the castle were with me and I shepherded them out to the east of the city,” he said as he turned his head and beckoned towards the eastern side of Warfang and the hills beyond.


“A lot their descendants must owe you their lives then, Ignitus,” Spyro said hoping it would boost the Guardian’s spirits.


“Not as many as there should be,” he replied dryly, instantly making the purple dragon regret his remark, though he said nothing. “I was outside the city when there a sound like a lightning strike that shook the whole world. We all looked back and saw a great hole had been ripped in the sky just outside the city. It swirled like a whirlpool made of all the stars of the universe. It was then I saw the figure of Malefor fleeing towards it, my father leading the Guardians in pursuit.”


“You mean the portal of Convexity?” asked Spyro crisply. Ignitus nodded with a heavy dose of sorrow.


“I wanted more than anything to follow him and help him and the others. I wanted to be there to watch them destroy Malefor. But I knew where my duties lay and continued to lead the refugees far from the city even as the portal flashed and disappeared in the distance. Eventually I and some others came back to look for more survivors. It was when we were searching the burning ruins the next morning that the portal reappeared and my father tumbled from the sky and fell to the ground outside the city walls. I have never flown so fast in all my life than I did that morning as I rushed to him.”


“He was the only one who made it,” said Spyro mournfully.


“I was there when he awoke the next day. He lived only long enough to tell what had happened, but that story you know. There is another one that you do not know. It happened in this same spot, just one day before the Night of Burning Tears.”


Spyro mentally prepared for what he was sure to be another grim tale, but hid his efforts behind a resolute face, not wanting his mentor to see how affected he was by his story. Ignitus pulled his front paws back from the edge and sat down quietly beside the purple dragon, rolling his tongue in his mouth as he prepared to speak again.


“Father asked me to accompany him out here, saying he wanted to speak with me. I thought I knew what he was going to say; I already knew of the raid he was to take part in. I expected he would tell me of the dangers and to be sure I obeyed his every word. You see, I was sure I would be there with him, taking the fight directly to Malefor and the Apes. I was much younger and full of vigour. I had fought by his side in many battles and I wanted to be part of such a great undertaking.”


Ignitus paused as a group of Mole at arms on patrol passed behind them, their armour and weapons clanking as they marched past. Spyro looked over his shoulder at them, noticing how stern they all looked compared to what he saw the last time he was in Warfang and he knew it wasn’t just because it had been during the holidays. After they were a fair distance away, Ignitus continued.


“But,” he said lowly, “He told me that I would not be accompanying him. He told me I was to remain in Warfang while the attack was underway. I was proud and arrogant in my younger years and I felt betrayed. I felt that my father was robbing me of a chance for glory to bring down the Dark Master. But I could not refuse him, even if I wanted more than anything to do just that.”


“He must have been afraid of what might happen to you,” Spyro suggested civilly.


The Fire Guardian chuckled tersely, “He was, but I couldn’t see it in that moment. I was ready to fight for my right to go. I said things that I regretted and he and I clashed fiercely with our words. It was only after he threatened to expel me from the battalion that I finally held my tongue long enough for him to finish explaining himself. It was not just that it would be dangerous for me to go with them. It was because of… something else…” his voice trailed off uncertainly.


“And what was that?” the purple dragon asked hesitantly.


He saw Ignitus’s face twist uncomfortably as he seemed to be thinking twice about going forward. This pause lasted for several moments as Spyro began to fidget on the stone block of the viaduct. Ignitus then breathed deeply and Spyro knew he was committed to telling him the rest of the tale.


“He told me he had a… feeling or perhaps some kind of sixth sense or instinct or whatever you want to call it. Father said he had this terrible notion that something truly awful was going to happen. For years I dismissed it as simple parental fear or coincidence or the frayed nerves one gets before battle. That was until today,” he said dourly, turning himself to face the young purple dragon. Spyro felt a great flush if unease as the Fire Guardian suddenly loomed over him like bird staring down into its nest. His orange eyes burned with desperation for the young dragon to heed every syllable.


“I know what he was feeling because I am sensing it now,” he told Spyro gravely, “My father wanted me to stay in Warfang because he believed that whatever he thought would happen would happen to him and the others when they confronted Malefor. But instead, it happened here and the whole city burned. He knew something was going to happen, he just didn’t know where.”


“You think something is going to happen tomorrow, Ignitus? I mean, we’re all nervous about Gaul being in the city…” Spyro remarked sincerely.


Ignitus sighed heavily, “I wish I could say you may be right, but no. No, this is what my father was talking about, I know this now.”


“Okay,” Spyro nodded cautiously, the Fire Guradian’s erratic behaviour unsettling him.


“I hope I am proven wrong, Spyro. But that is why I have made arrangements for you and the others for tomorrow.”


“What do you mean?” he asked. “Tomorrow there is an airship that is delivering goods to Dante’s Freezer. I have quietly organised that the four of you will be taken on board and flown over to Freezer while the conference is taking place.”


“Dante’s Freezer?” asked Spyro in surprise, “But why there of all places?”


“Because it is the furthest away from the city and I gather the one place the Ape’s are most unfamiliar with,” Ignitus replied, “I have already asked Cyril to make arrangements with some of his relatives who will take care of you while you are there.”


“How long will we be staying?”


“For as long as the conference lasts or at least until we know Gaul’s true intentions. I’ve been assured you will be in good hands,” Ignitus told him firmly. Spyro’s expression was one of worry as he noted the faint shimmer of anxiousness on the Fire Guardian’s eye.


“Can you come with us?” asked Spyro hopefully.


Ignitus let out a low sigh, “I’m afraid not. All the Guardians will need to be in attendance here, and Gaul would suspect as much if I was not present. I’m sorry for putting this all to you right now, Spyro, but I have one more thing I must ask of you. You must make a promise to me now. Do you understand?”


“Of course,” he replied readily, “What do you need?”


“If anything happens between then and now, if anything goes wrong; you must take the others and get away. If you cannot make it to Freezer, you must find somewhere to go. If Warfang is not safe, try and make it back to the temple with all due haste. Don’t stop or wait for anyone, not even me. Go there and wait until help arrives. Am I clear, young dragon?”


Spyro looked confused as he looked into the Guardian’s eyes. Although he had the answer ready in his mind, for some reason his mouth struggled to articulate it. The stark contrast between his concerned but confident demeanour the previous night and his almost frantic behaviour this evening was as different as sugar and salt.


“I promise,” Spyro finally answered, almost forcing the words out. A calming wave seemed to sweep over Ignitus as he closed his eyes and nodded with relief. Spyro kept his eyes on him as the young dragon slowly stepped off the edge of the viaduct and back onto the walkway. Even as his claws tapped down onto the pavement, Ignitus still held his head down almost like he was dozing. Spyro leaned in closer to him, frowning with confusion.


Feeling the need to get his attention he simply asked, “Ignitus?”


His voice caused him to react, the Fire Guardian lifting his head up and back in a tired stretch.


“Forgive me, I’m feeling a little tired,” he explained glumly.


“Your father, Dragsooth,” Spyro began inquisitively, “Was he a good father? Did you love him even when you argued with him?”


Ignitus looked down with his eyes widened in surprise. But seeing the well-intentioned curiosity in the purple dragon’s face, he replied, “He was as good a father as anyone could have had, something I perhaps didn’t always see. And even when we had our bitter moments, I still loved him. Why do you ask, Spyro?”


“Because I wish I knew what that was like, even the bitter parts,” he answered solemnly. Spyro sat on his haunches and wrapped his tail around himself again.

“You see,” he continued with a sigh, looking away from the Guardian’s eyes, “Back at the mountain, just before you showed up, I was sure I was doomed. Absolutely no doubt. When I realised that was the case, it was like everything I had ever seen or thought about went through my mind all at once. My friends, everything I liked to do and everything I was going to miss. But that was when I realised something else… something that I don’t think I’d have thought of any other time.”


“Yes?” inquired Ignitus oddly. Spyro looked back up to meet his gaze, his head shaking with bewilderment at what he was about to say.


“There was a part of me… that was glad I was going to die.”


This revelation summoned a troubled frown upon Ignitus, “Glad? Why on earth would you have such thoughts?”


“It’s not like that,” Spyro assured him calmly but with a degree of unease, “It was some thought that just came from the farthest reaches of my mind. But I can’t deny that it kind of soothed some of the fear that I had of dying.”


“What was it?”


“In death, I would finally get to meet my parents. I’d finally know who they were and if they were proud of me,” Spyro answered lowly but frankly. Ignitus drew a deep, thoughtful breath through his nostrils as he digested the purple dragons rather macabre remarks. Spyro’s face sank as a look of embarrassment came over him, crossing his front paws over each other nervously. Ignitus exhaled slowly as he sat down before the young dragon.


“I can see how it might do that,” he said softly, “But someone so young should never have to wonder about such things.”


“I never did much,” Spyro admitted sadly, “I mean, you can’t miss someone you never knew, right? But I never realised how big a hole it left in my heart until right when I thought I was done.”


Ignitus nodded steadily, “When my father passed, I felt like a part of me had gone with him. There are many regrets I have for him, things I should have done or should have said. You are perhaps fortunate to not know a loss like that.”


Spyro looked up at him ruefully, “Is it bad I almost wish I did? Then at least I might feel some connection to them. Flame and Ember at least know what their parent’s names were. But without even that, it’s like they didn’t even exist, same as Cynder. She doesn’t know anything about her parents either.”


“Does she feel the same about it as you?” asked Ignitus.


“I don’t know, I never asked her about it…” Spyro replied greyly with a shake of his head. He felt another pang of guilt as he thought back to what she had told him about her fears and the fact he knew Cynder had still not come forward to the Guardians about them. Coupled with his own knowledge of the Chronicler, Spyro found himself unable to look Ignitus in the eyes, which he hoped the Fire Guardian would not press him on or else he knew he may tell the truth.


Ignitus looked away reflectively for a moment, staring out towards the sea as Spyro seemed to close himself up. His eyes locked onto another patrol flying across the battlements of the southern wall while the tiny figures of Mole at arms moved across the ramparts. When Spyro looked back up at him, he noticed that Ignitus seemed to emulating him in some way, as if he too had something he was afraid of revealing. Just then he swung his head back, almost startling the young dragon.


“If it helps you at all, young dragon,” he said warmly, “I believe they would have been proud of you. Any dragon would be proud to call the purple dragon their offspring.”


Spyro shrugged, “I just hope that they would care about more than just that.”


“Of course, they would!” Ignitus exclaimed with a chuckle, “Your virtues go far beyond your colour, Spyro. I would have been proud to have a son like you.”


Spyro’s eye’s widened in surprise, feeling a touch of redness glowing on his cheeks. But his words as ever bought more questions to Spyro’s mind.


“I’m flattered, Ignitus. But why did you never have a mate? I think you would have made a great father.”


“Thank you, but my duties as a Guardian never allowed for it,” he replied sharply, almost harshly. Spyro lifted his brow curiously as the Fire Guardian seemed to try and look preoccupied. He sensed he had struck a nerve, but he pressed on, albeit cautiously.


"Was there never anyone you were close to? Anyone you thought you might have a future with?”


When Ignitus looked back at him, there was a glow in his eyes that Spyro had never seen before, but his face wore an expression that gave him a look of pain.


“I think we should retire now,” he said hastily as he stood up, “Tomorrow I imagine will be an eventful day.”


“Oh, right, okay,” Spyro said as he felt the proverbial door being slammed in his face. Without any delay Ignitus walked around him and headed back towards the castle, the young dragon nearly calling out that he was sorry as he watched the Fire Guardian march off. He followed after him sheepishly, walking just behind his tail and not alongside him as they had done so before. Spyro took a final glance across both sides of the viaduct, lamenting that the citizens below were probably not sleeping as soundly as they were used to. As they drew closer to the tunnel, he looked back up at the sky where Ignitus had described seeing Malefor. He felt a tremble in his body at the thought and wondered if he would have been a dedicated as Ignitus had he been in his place all those years ago.


Suddenly a silhouette swooped into view above the castle and Spyro stopped dead in his tracks. It was black like a shadow and sported a crown of frightening horns and glared at him with a pair of yellow reptilian eyes; the same image he had seen in the fiery display put by Roaraya the storyteller. Spyro felt his heart stop as he closed his eyes in disbelief. When he opened them again, he saw the finely trimmed shape of a hawk as it let out a shrill cry and took off over the city. Spyro sighed heavily as he took the time to catch his breath.


“I’m losing my mind already,” he remarked anxiously before he resumed walking back towards the castle. Although he kept his head level, his eyes kept shifting up to that same corner of the sky, just to be sure.



From high above, a pair of emerald eyes watched the tiny purple speck wander behind the large red dragon towards the tunnel beneath Castle Hill. The eyes looked down at the viaduct from the outside balcony that encircled one of the four tall, narrow towers that stood outside the main castle, each one connected to it by four long stone bridges. The tower in question stood on the south-eastern corner of Castle Hill, virtually overtop of the viaduct below.


The eyes were those of Cynder as she stood with her head poking between the stone railings of the balcony as she gazed down at the specks as they passed through the tunnel and out of view. Her expression was thoughtful and grim, her claws clenching hard into stone edge of the tower’s balcony. With a dejected sigh, she pulled her head back and turned to her left, walking slowly around the tower with her head down, half in thought and half in dread. As she walked around the tower the bridge to the castle came into view and straight across from it was the tall doorway into the tower itself. The doors were open and the light of orange torches flickered inside as Cynder slowly walked around into the doorway.


Inside were the circular quarters of one of the royal guest rooms of Castle Hill, usually reserved for visiting dignitaries or other important persons. The furnishings were all new and had in fact been installed that day just for the four young dragons who would be staying there, namely Cynder, Spyro and Flame and Ember. The four flags of the main elements were hung around each corner of the room Four large golden bowls filled with purple velvet cushions formed a semi-circle in the centre of the floor around a large firepit that burned brightly. The smoke from the flames twirled upwards into a thin stream like a tornado towards a misty grey crystal hanging from a chandelier that absorbed the smoke to prevent it filling the room.


Sitting to its left side was Flame, spitting small puffs of fire into the twirling smoke and marvelling at how it twisted and turned into the smokey vortex that drifted to the ceiling. Ember was lying in her bowl, the third one of the second half of the semi circle, holding a book open with both front paws laid out across its pages. Cynder stood silently in the doorway as they were too distracted to notice her, sighing mildly before she finally wandered inside.


“A lot of fuss just for the four of us,” she thought as her gaze drifted about the furnishings of the room. As these rooms could become the dwelling to a wide variety of creatures great and small, they were usually empty and would be tailor suited to whomever was expected to stay in them, be it Dragon, Cheetah, Mole or other. The inside wall of the room had been fitted with low tables and cupboards usually intended for moles but suited the statue of the young dragons just as well, even if they were utterly superfluous as they had bought nothing with them on their trip, not having expected to stay in the city longer than the day. Nonetheless, the servants and caretakers had fulfilled their duties to the letter to accommodate their guests, though Cynder suspected it was done mainly due to Spyro’s presence.


She wandered past the four sleeping bowls as she walked slowly around the left side of the room. Behind the bowls was a long and low dinning table which they had eaten at that evening but thanks to the servants it now shined like ivory. Cynder just sat on her haunches at the end of the table and placed her chin on the edge, her eyes sullenly half lidded while Flame and Ember still took no notice of her.


The reason why the black dragoness was in such a pensive mood was due to her own actions or rather her inaction that day. Despite the comfort that Spyro had given her, she had still not mustered the courage to tell either the Guardians or her other companions of what she had told Spyro about, despite his insistence. Coupled with the news earlier that day that Gaul would be allowed to visit the city for a supposed peace conference tomorrow, she had buried her concerns deeper still. The result had been her noticeably flat demeanour that day that no one except Spyro seemed to take notice off, perhaps because he knew what the cause of it was. Like her, he had not said anything about what she had told him the garden, at least not when they had been with each other nearly all day.


She suspected that he was waiting for her to take that step on her own, though any thought to that had quickly been snuffed out before she had done so, fearing what they might say and think of her. Cynder wondered if, now that he was alone with Ignitus, he had told him about her fears during whatever conversations they’d had down on the viaduct. But she was certain that she would know when they finally made their up to them and if Ignitus suddenly asked to speak with her alone like he had with Spyro.


“Wow! Did you see that one?” Flame asked excitedly as he marvelled the way one particular burst of fire swirled around the crystal. He turned his head to Ember in hope of impressing her, but she barely lifted her head to see before she looked back at her book. The young fire dragon sighed in disappointment and at the same moment spied the dejected looking Cynder by the table behind Ember. Tilting his head curiously, Flame watched her for a moment as she stared blankly across the table. Standing up, he trotted lightly around Ember over towards Cynder, his feet paddling across the floor making Ember look up and take notice of him.


“What the matter, Cynder?” the red dragon asked inquisitively. Cynder leaned her head slightly to the left as he turned her eyes to him, looking at his adorably worried face blankly, though secretly part of her felt glad to be noticed.


“It’s nothing,” she replied dismissively. Watching this, Ember rolled her eyes irritably as she flicked her book closed and hopped down onto the floor.


“It must be a really important ‘nothing’ for you to be moping around all night!” Ember remarked irksomely. Flame spun around and eyed her disapprovingly as Cynder lifted her head and scowled.


“I can do without your pity, thanks,” she replied coldly. Ember’s eyes widened as Flame switched his disapproving gaze back to the black dragoness. To the surprise of the latter two, Ember did not offer a mean retort but instead held her tongue as she let out a patient sigh.


“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped like that,” she replied apologetically, “Guess I just hate when people are really negative, I guess.”


The two guesses in her sentence lightened Cynder enough for her to hold back on any mean spiritedness herself. She eyed the pair of them, though she focused on Ember the most.


“Thanks. Sorry for leaving my negativity around,” she said as she lifted her head from the table. Flame looked between them a few times; sure things were going to flare up between them. When they didn’t he cautiously asked,


“So what’s the matter then?”


“Nothing, I just...”


“Hi guys!” said a cheerful voice from the doorway, drawing all eyes to it. Cynder eyed Spyro with Ignitus standing behind him just outside the room. Flame and Ember at once turned around and walked towards them while the black dragoness slowly hopped down from her place to follow. Spyro stepped in through the doorway while Ignitus stayed outside.


“Well, I must be getting along,” he promptly announced, “I will bid you all goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”


His suddenness was jarring to the three young dragons as they wandered up, but they returned the gesture as they normally did.


“Ah, okay, goodnight, Ignitus,” said Flame curiously.


“Goodnight, Ignitus!” Ember wished brightly.


“See you in the morning, Ignitus,” Cynder bided softly with a warm smile. Lastly, Spyro turned his head and looked up to the Guardian and said,


“Thanks, Igniuts. Sleep well.”


“I’ll try,” the crimson dragon replied grimly, nodding to the group a final time before he turned his heavy body around and began walking back across the walkway. As he left, Spyro turned his head around and sighed as the others all looked to him expectantly.


“So, what was that all about? What’d he want?” asked Flame quickly. Ember plonked herself on her haunches as Cynder eased herself down slowly.


“Well, I guess I should give you the long and short of it,” Spyro sighed.


He briefly recounted to his friends the subject of his discussion with Ignitus and the sudden news that they would be leaving for Dante’s Freezer in the morning. This news had mixed effect upon the three other dragons; Flame was characteristically nervous about the whole idea while Ember was at least excited that they would be spending time in her ‘ancestral home’ as Cyril had called it, even though she was not a pure bred Ice dragon. The news didn’t seem to affect Cynder in any particular way, Spyro noting that she seemed distracted except for when he spoke of how Ignitus had a close encounter with Malefor during the Night of Burning Tears. Only when he had finished did she finally speak up,


“Why didn’t he tell us this himself?” she asked irritably. The others looked at her oddly as the purple dragon gave a casual shrug,


“He said he thought you would like hearing it from me rather than him.”


“Why?” she asked impatiently.


“Something about me being a leader, he said,” Spyro replied simply.


“Man,” Flame exclaimed with a grin, “You must’ve really impressed him with blowing up the mountain and all that.”


Spyro blushed, “Well, I don’t deserve all the credit,” he said turning his eyes away from them, “Besides I don’t think it really did all that much.”


“It pointed to you like a beacon, for one thing,” Ember added diligently, “And they found us on the way.”


“Yeah, I guess they did,” Spyro chuckled, smiling widely. However, his eyes kept going back to Cynder and her prominently down demeanour. There was a brief moment in which none of them spoke before the black dragoness suddenly asked,


“Does Ignitus really think Gaul is going to try something tomorrow?”


“I sure hope not!” Flame remarked frightfully.


Ember scoffed, “No way! It’d be suicide for him to try anything. Every warrior in the city will be watching him the whole time. He might be an Ape, but you really think he’d be that stupid?”


“Maybe that’s not the question we should be asking,” Cynder replied darkly.


Spyro tilted his head in confusion, “What do you mean, Cynder?”


“What I mean is; he might not be stupid enough, but is he cunning enough to try something?” she asked pointedly. Spyro looked at Flame and Ember as they both looked at each other as the weight of Cynder’s words weighed down on their minds.


“Maybe...” the purple dragon mused softly.


“After all,” she continued, “Twelve years ago, Ignitus assumed Gaul would never guess that he would keep the egg of the future purple dragon anywhere but Dragon City. They thought they could bluff him, but they were wrong.”


“Yeah, but,” Flame interrupted nervously, “That doesn’t mean it’ll work, right? In the end he didn’t manage to kill Spyro before he was born, did he?”


“No,” Ember replied gloomily, “But he caused a lot of death, regardless.”


The grim silence that followed the next few moments signalled their unspoken agreement. Cynder’s next remarks only served to dampen the mood further still.


“And tomorrow he’s going to walk through those gates like a guest of honour...” she said with disgust.


“Not quite,” Spyro objected flatly, “But you heard what they said; it’s the law. If we refused, we’d be seen as aggressors.”


“Aggressors!?” Ember exclaimed, “Did everyone else forget they kidnapped Meadow and invaded Avalar?”


“Let’s not go over that again,” Spyro said wearily as he waved his paw at her, “The Guardians already made the arguments they could. But I guess tomorrow we’ll be dealing with the cold while they are dealing with all the political stuff.”


“Think I’d rather risk freezing than sit through all that talking,” Flame remarked lightly.


“Every time,” added Cynder dully. Spyro nodded surely with agreement before he rose drowsily to his feet.


“We should probably turn in now. We don’t know what tomorrow will have for us.”


“Okay then,” they all responded more or less the same. But it was impossible for Spyro not to notice the unease which plagued his three friends, none more so than the black dragoness of the group. As Flame and Ember turned away, she remained sitting and watching them go by as he remained before the doorway opposite her. Her emerald eyes shot back at him as he stared at her, but she only sighed lowly before she turned away to follow the others. Spyro stepped forward like he was about to speak to her, but he stopped just as his mouth began to open. He swallowed hard as his sullen eyes watched Cynder turn her back and wander towards the sleeping bowls.


‘She didn’t tell them,’ he thought disappointedly, though he realised one of the group would have mentioned it if she had confessed about her fears. For a moment he considered revealing it himself, but then of course he had his own secrets to keep. He had assured the Chronicler he would not speak of him even though he hated lying to Ignitus. He had trusted that Cynder would come forward about her feelings when she was ready, but they way she had turned away told him she was too afraid to share it even with her two other friends. But he was keeping secrets from them too, so he knew it was wrong of him to judge.


“You okay, Spyro?” asked Flame as he settled down in his bed while the purple dragon was standing like a statue near the door.


“Yeah, yeah,” he replied hastily, “Just... thinking...” he said thoughtfully before he shook his head resignedly and walked slowly towards his bed.


He lifted his head and cast his eyes warmly over his three companions as they all settled down in the golden bowls, the one furthest to the left being his own with Cynder being in the second. He saw that they all wore expressions of reflection as they considered the possibilities of what tomorrow might bring She stared straight past him as he slowly approached the bowl to her right and pulled himself up into it. Spyro curled himself into a ball, his tail brushing up to his chin. He stared towards the open doorway as he clenched his paws into tight fists against his chest.


His mind was still racing from the conversation with Ignitus, particularly the details of seeing Malefor’s cruelty firsthand. As much as it filled him with dread, he wondered what all who had been on the bridge that day, all of whom survived the burning of Warfang, what they had felt to watch the one whom they had once looked to for hope deliver instead the destruction of their home and most of the population. Only the intervention of the Guardians, led by Ignitus’s father, had finally stopped the wicked dragon and ultimately saved the young Ignitus from death. What was it like, he morbidly wondered, to watch hope itself burn?


‘They all thought so much of him,’ Spyro said mentally, tucking his nose down as he tightened the ball he had made of himself, ‘And looked what he became. Did they ever think that would happen? Could anyone have guessed that?’ As he closed his eyes, another question cropped up that did not let him sleep the rest of the night,


‘Could that ever happen to me?



End of Chapter 14.


Next Chapter: The Last Day of Peace.


Note from the author:


This chapter for me is probably my least favorite thus far, mainly because it feels more functional than creative. It took a lot longer than I wanted because there was a lot of chopping and changing as I originally had planned to have the chapter revolve around Ignitus and his meeting with the Warfang Council, but the more I thought about it the less enthusiastic I became. The meeting alone would have been a chapter in itself and I felt that it would have just been dragging the pace down, especially since things will be heating up in the next few chapters. So I have been kind of cheap and cut out something that was supposed to be an important part.


I've decided that the next chapter will be delayed so it will not be posted around the same time as usual to give myself more time to get ahead as ongoing issues and delays mean I have almost run out of chapters to keep up steady monthly posts. Thank you for reading and I hope this will not disappoint you too much.