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Spyro and Cynder woke up to Michael lightly tapping on the door.

"Hey, it's the big day, time to get ready." He whispered

The two dragons got up and stretched, then kissed.

"You excited?" Spyro asked

"Very" Cynder smiled

They quietly walked through the house, trying not to wake anybody else up. Then they walked out into the square where a couple of stylists were waiting. One of them grabbed Cynder and led her to Flame and Ember's house. A couple of seconds after entering, Flame was shoved out the front door. The three of them walked into Michael's house with the other stylist, meeting another one inside. Michael walked into his bedroom while the two stylists led Flame and Spyro into spare rooms. Spyro's stylist started shining his scales, making much more of an effort than when he was a witness. Satisfied the stylist picked up a file and began sanding his claws into nice sharp points. Then he shined those too. Finally, the stylist buffed and applied Spyro's armor, adding his sword and knife to his side. The stylist stepped back and nodded

"You're done" she said

"Thank you so much" Spyro replied

"Yo're very welcome" she smiled "Enjoy your special day"

Spyro stepped out into the living room to see Michael, fully armored, waiting on the couch. He looked at him and nodded in approval.

"Flame's still taking a minute" he said, and Spyro nodded

They sat in silence for a while before Flame and a very exhausted looking stylist walked out. The ceremony was in the afternoon, the plan was to wait for the sun to be setting right in the background as the ceremony was completed. Spyro paced nervously for a while, then ate only a few bites of his lunch. Finally, three dragons flew over to the fortress as the sun started to get low. When they got there a crowd had already formed, and Flame immediately went to find his mate. The square had been decorated with purple and black roses. Somehow, Michael had managed to cast a spell that made purple and black petals slowly rain down from the sky. Ribbons of the same colors were strung across the whole square.

"I arranged for your family to stay here for the night" Michael told Spyro

He blushed "Thank you"

Another dragon approached them.

"We loaded the cannons, sir" He informed

Michael nodded and the dragon walked back. He looked over and saw Ember walk into the square, she nodded at him. Michael walks over and bangs a gong with his tail. The crowd settles down and everybody takes their places. Spyro stood at the front, Ember and Flame smiling at him. Three wolves started playing a violin as Cynder walked around the corner. Spyro could tell that she was a little shy under the attention of everybody. But she was beaming anyway. Spyro could feel his cheeks get sore from how wide his smile was, and when Cynder saw this, she blushed even more. Finally, Cynder took her place next to Ember and looked at Spyro. Michael took a step forward and stood straight up, the music stopped.

"Hello everyone, thank you all for coming" He bellowed "We have gathered here today to unite two souls into one. These two dragons have chosen each other as their mind, body, and soul mates, and have chosen today to make it official. He looked over "Flame, have you witnessed their love?"

"Yes" he answered

"Ember, have you witnessed their love?"

"Yes" she answered

"Spyro, do you accept Cynder as your mate, for better or for worse, until the end of time?"

"I do" He looked straight at Cynder, tears of joy

"Cynder, do you accept Spyro as your mate, for better or for worse, until the end of time?"

"Yes" nearly choking up

"Then I declare, with the power of the multiverse and of the ethereal plane, and my blessing, I declare you mated for life"

With a loud boom, the newly mated couple kissed, a rain of confetti scattered down around them. The crowd cheered. The happy couple looked out at them and waved, beaming. They stepped down and two dozen tables were rolled out, along with huge trays of food. While everybody ate their food, serene violin music played in the background. Then, when everybody had finished, the tables were rolled away and some dancing music played. The party raged on for hours before Spyro and Cynder slipped away. Over by the entrance to the square, Michael stood watching the party.

"How many times have you been an officiator" Flame asked, walking up to him

"Thousands, I did Spyro and Cynder's parents, and their parents. I have been officiating ceremonies for the dragon king's royal line for hundreds of generations, and during those times, I found that people don't like watching me talk for a good hour. So, I mastered the technique of being quick." He answered

"Ember appreciated that, it looked like she was going to pass out." Flame added

The party lasted late into the night, but eventually the music stopped playing, and the crowd went to their rooms. Michael, Flame, and Ember flew back to the square and went to bed.

The next morning, Spyro woke up to Cynder laying on his chest. He sighed, ignoring the rest of the world to enjoy his time with his mate. 'My mate' He thought 'My beautiful mate'. Suddenly, a loud thump announced the arrival of a fortress over the city. Spyro looked out the window and saw it, a larger fortress, but this one had blue and black flags waving from its cannons. Spyro watched as a few hundred dragons flew into it, then it started floating away. Cynder woke up and yawned, then looked up at Spyro.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked

"About two hours" He answered

"You could have woken me up"

He gave her a look, and she laughed. They both got up and stretched, Spyro was still watching the fortress float away. Then, with another thump, it vanished.

"What was that?" Cynder asked looking out the window

"A fortress" Spyro told her

Cynder looked confused, then shrugged. They walked out into the quiet house and ate their breakfast. Soon after they had finished, Michael knocked on their door. Spyro answered and let him in.

"What was that fortress about" He asked Michael

"An attack was reported on an outpost in the outermost part of the ML defended territories. The city that was right next to it is now under siege." He told Spyro "Reinforcements are being deployed, I'm going to help move some elemental cannons into their places here, if you want to help"

"Sure" Spyro answered

"I'll come too" Cynder said

They walked out the house, and met up with Flame and Cynder. Then Michael led them to a portal near the main entrance to the city. Element cannons were being brought through, one by one. The dragons were each given a map and told to bring their cannons there.

After a few hours of leading the floating element cannons to their positions, the dragons went home. Michael left immediately after, saying he would be right back. Spyro and Cynder made their food and sat down at the table.

"So, it seems that things are going crazy" Cynder started

"Yeah"

"What are we going to do?" She asked "If they attack here"

"They can't reach here, but that isn't the problem." Spyro looked up at her "They could hit Genrir, or a countless number of planets with weak defenses."

"So we need to stop them" not a question, a statement.

"Yes"

They both looked at each other for a moment, then finished their meal. Suddenly Michael landed outside, and rushed into his house. Spyro walked out of his house and watched as he came back out into the square, now fully armored.

"What's going on?" He asked "Did something happen?

"No, we received word that there is going to be an attack on the capital city of Sundance" He explained, "I'm going to marshall some troops to head out tomorrow morning."

"Were coming with you" Spyro told them 'When you leave, so wait for us"

"Okay, I can't say anything to change your minds anyways" Michael said, then summoned a portal, and walked through.

Over the next few hours, Spyro's family returned to the square and relaxed. Most of the adults had stayed up well past midnight, and were very tired.

"You missed Flame's breakdancing skills" Ember told Spyro, and Flame rolled his eyes

"That must have been funny" He replied

"It was" Ember answered, Flame snorted "But it was also really cool."

Jake laughed as Storm grabbed his tail and held on. Cynder was playing with Sammy, showing off her wind powers to the giggling dragon. Suddenly Spyro noticed a handful of dark blue petals falling to the ground. The others took notice to this and watched.

"What does this mean?" Spyro asked

"I don't know" Flame answered

Mary walked out of the house with a plate of snacks, and gasped "Not again"

"Do you know what this means" Spyro asked her

"It means that another war has started, you had your ceremony just in the nick of time" She replied

"Another war?" Flame looked up

"The Dark Authority has started another all-out attack on all things good" She answered "And Michael's forces are retaliating. I couldn't imagine what would be happening right now if Michael hadn't returned, I suspect we would lose."

A sadness fell over the city, and everybody felt it. Bells started ringing, slowly, signaling the arrival of war. The normal sounds of the hustling city began to grow quiet, and the flags of war were raised to their full positions. Watching the petals fall, Spyro shared a look with Cynder, who looked very pale.

"Kids, I think it's time to come inside" Mary called

Suddenly, a portal opened and Michael stepped out of it. He looked strained and worried. He motioned for Spyro and Cynder to follow him, and they entered his house.

"The Dark Authority has struck six different planets in the last two hours. The war has begun." He told them.

"What do we do?" Spyro asked him

"My forces are taking up offensive and defensive positions around all defended space. We are prepared, as much as we can be at least" Michael looked down at them "We are going to Sundance to fight and destroy whatever forces attack it, then we move from planet to planet. We will move into their territory, and strike them at their core. The only way this war will end is if all the central members of the Authority are killed."

"When do we leave?" Cynder asked, determined

"Tomorrow, most likely right before noon" He answered "For now go home, enjoy some family time, but be ready for tomorrow."

They did as they were told and went home.

"What's happening?" Mary asked

"There were six attacks today, on different planets" Spyro told her

"So, the war really has begun" She sighed, then turned to Jake "We should leave for the capital tomorrow, we may be needed"

"I think Michael will be happy to send all of you home, with portals" Spyro told them

"We aren't leaving" Sparx said, then turned to his parents, who looked at each other in worry "Are we?"

"We need to move the village to Warfang, where they will be better protected if an attack happens" Flash told his son "And we need your help"

"Okay, but I'm coming back as soon as we finish" Sparx told the

"We might not be here when you return, we're going to join the front lines" Spyro interrupted

"What! Without me?" Sparx turned to his dragon brother

"It's too dangerous" He said "We have our armor to protect us"

"But we always have been together" Sparx replied

"He's right honey, the threat is greatly increased now" Nina told Sparx

"I think we should all go to bed early and get a good night's rest for the days to come" Jake said

"I agree" Mary replied

The group all said their tearful goodbyes, because they may not have time in the morning, and went to bed. Cynder sighed, and crawled into bed with Spyro.

"I worry that Warfang will be attacked, and that we won't be there too defend it" Cynder told him

"Michael has made sure that there is plenty of defenses spread out on Genrir" Spyro told her

"I know, but what if they aren't enough" she looked up

"They are" Spyro nuzzled her "Go to sleep"

Trying to forget about the upcoming events, the two dragons nuzzled against each other and fell asleep.

Thump, Thump... Thump... Thump thump. Spyro woke up to the sounds of fortresses teleporting over the city. Cynder looked at him, worried. A letter appeared over their heads, Spyro grabbed it.

'The attack is happening now, get armored up and head to the main fortress that should be above you right now'

They rushed to get their armor on and ran out of their house. Spyro quickly said goodbye to his aunt and parents before taking off. They landed at the fortress, it's bells ringing and flags flying in the wind. Immediately after landing, Michael approached them.

"You ready?" he asked

"Yes" Spyro answered and shared a feeble smile to Cynder

They entered the control room, and Michael charged the fortress's core. Then he stepped into the indents and focused. With the usual flash of light, they were on a new planet. Michael stepped back and let a pilot navigate them to their destination. Spyro walked outside and looked out at the city, hearing the thumps of dozens of other fortresses. Cynder joined him, and so did Michael.

"This is Sundance?" Spyro asked, looking at the ominous clouds over the city

"Yes, usually it's known for its beautiful sunny weather year-round, but dark magic has caused this storm to appear" Michael told him "Hopefully when this is over..."

Michael didn't finish his sentence, he was drowned out as a huge explosion burst from the city, the blast vaporizing most of it. A massive shockwave hit the fortress, sending Cynder into Spyro, both of them flying hard into the wall behind them. Michael gripped the ground and took most of the impact of the shockwave. The fortressed rocked back, hard, causing some of the wolves and dragons around them to slide back. Then, the fortressed righted itself, all of its bells ringing loudly. Another fortress that was closer to the explosion was falling and burning, its levitation cores shattered. Spyro groaned as he got up, then helped Cynder onto her feet.

"What was that?" Spyro asked Michael

"That was... war" He answered, watching as the city of Sundance burned.

TO BE CONTIUNUED

END OF BOOK 1