FSE

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Michael got up and roared, the dragons below quieted, and grouped up in front of them. Spyro spotted Josh with a mix of electric dragons and smiled, then looked over to find Grace watching from the stands. To his surprise she was talking with Aura.

“Hello" Michael boomed “You are here to spend the next six days training, three of which will be as a whole group, and three will be by your element. Today we will be watching your basic fighting skills, you will spar, using your element and your fighting moves. Make your way to one of the rings, at some point some of our best fighters will be available to spar."

They did as they were told, Spyro watched as two fire dragons entered a ring and started sparring. He looked over to Cynder, who raised his eyebrows at him.

“Got to pick a fire guardian huh?" She said to him

“I guess." Spyro replied.

Trice walked through the entrance and to one of the rings, smiling evilly.

“That was fast." Michael smirked “She got over that curse quickly."

“It was a curse?" Cynder asked

“Yes, as creatures that can use all forms of magic, the immense amounts of dark magic just changed our forms. The sudden and unwilful change knocked them out. It made Spyro dark and confused him, but you were immunized to it." Michael told her “Bea's fine by the way."

Cynder smiled “Good, she looked drained after she healed me."

Michael nodded, then watched as Trice dodged a strike from her sparring partner and slapped him with the side of her tailblade. The slap was so audible it made the guardians flinch.

“I always hated how she did that" Cyril mumbled

Spyro gave them a confused look “She did that to you?"

They shuddered.

“Michael trained us because the guardians before us were lost in a war. Trice… helped, she taught us most of the martial arts that Ignitus then taught you." Volteer explained

“Speaking of which, did he have a mate?" Michael asked “Before Malefor, while I was gone?"

They gasped, Michael nodded and laughed. “You know nothing stops you, it isn't a rule that guardians can't have children, so you can't hide them from me. Cyril, Volteer, I know of your daugters."

Spyro gasped “You two have daughters?"

“Volteer has three, Cyril has two, and is still mad about it." Michael laughed “Both of you only having daughters was strange, but the temple was emanating magical radiation that would explain it. It was the year of the wolf, and the type of radiation made you only have girls, year of the dragon, and the only two surviving eggs that were there were more powerful then expected, it makes sense."

Volteer avoided Michael and Spyro's gaze “He had a mate, but she was.. lost, and their egg with it."

“I found it" Michael replied “Or more accurately, I'm close to finding it."

“It survived? How?" Cyril gasped

“Who knows, all I know is that I'm going to raise it." Michael told them “Just as I raised him."

Spyro's jaw dropped, he turned his head in disbelief and stared out at the training dragons. Another loud slap made the guardians flinch again and chuckle.

“Good, I was sad to think his bloodline might have ended." Terrador sighed

“What about you?" Cynder asked

“My mate was unable to lay eggs, an injury in her childhood caused it. She never went into heat, and was very depressed about it." Terrador answered

“I'm sorry." Cynder replied

“Don't be, my brothers and sisters had a total of sixty children, and my family is a strong one, though we lost many in the eternal night." He smiled at her

Cynder paled

Terrador's smile faltered “It's not your fault, I don't hold it against you, don't blame yourself."

She nodded and gripped Spyro's tail with hers. Spyro returned the affection but wasn't paying attention, he watched as a fiery young dragoness leaped forward and clawed at her sparring partner. She was very skilled with her moves, and was moving fluidly and swiftly. She quickly defeated her opponent, slamming an ice dragon into the ground. Another slapping noise drew Spyro's attention towards Trice, she was smirking as an electric dragon ran out of the ring, and noticed that there was no longer a line waiting to challenge her. She smiled up at her father, who smiled back. Suddenly, Josh walked into the ring, Trice raised her eyebrows and said something to him, he only growled and charged. Josh was a formidable opponent to any normal dragon; he easily used his electric moves to flash back and forth. He slammed down with his paws, sending an electric shockwave against Trice, who jumped and dodged the wave. Trice smiled and slammed her body down on the ground, sending a shockwave that blasted Josh out of the ring. He groaned and got up, then he smiled and nodded, then walked away. Spyro noticed Volteer watching Josh closely, studying his moves and his abilities.

“He has a boosted element." He mumbled to himself

“He does" Spyro replied

Volteer shook his head, waking from his trance, and looked over to Spyro.

“He was trained."

“By his parents, a little to hard though, because he ran away." Spyro replied

Volteer nodded “He was pushed beyond his abilities."

“That's not the only reason" Spyro motioned to Grace “He left with her, I don't think he would have otherwise."

Volteer's eyes flashed, understanding crossed his gaze.

“I need to speak with him in person." He mumbled

Spyro nodded “He would definitely fit, but he needs some education and leadership training, he learns fast though."

“Nobody's perfect" Volteer replied “Has anybody stuck out to you?"

Spyro scanned the crowd, then spotted the fire dragoness defeating another opponent.

“Her, over there, and him, and her, and her over there, and him as well" Spyro pointed to them

“Well, your halfway there." Volteer smiled “Over the next few days you should learn their names, and meet each one individually and test their skills."

Spyro nodded, watching as Josh picked up a sword and looked at it with a confused expression. A bell rang and the sparring stopped, everybody took a breath before walking out of the grounds. Spyro watched as they returned to their talking and laughing. Suddenly, a group of dragons and wolves entered the grounds, the guardians busied themselves with chatting while the dragons paired up with the wolves and began training.

“The Dragon-Wolf partnership program, they are a perfect fit for each other, and are able to defend and help each other against any enemy. The bond between the pair should be one of trust, honor, friendship, and care." Michael explained to them.

“They fight together?" Spyro asked

“They do everything together, watch as the more experienced pairs can move as one, they block and deal blows together, and when their training is complete, they are unstoppable." Michael answered

A new set of instructors appeared, walking and talking. The group left and walked off of the platform as they climbed onto it. The guardians retreated to the instructor's mess while the rest walked home. They walked into a bustling square filled with black dragons, there was some light music playing in the background as they talked and children played. Cynder smiled at the sight, and the others greeted her. They walked back into the house and Spyro made her sit at the table. He walked out for a moment, and returned with Flame and Ember. Cynder talked with them while Spyro cooked, she told them about their time on the beach, and the fight at the veil. Ember gasped when she told them about Dark Spyro and the tendril that stabbed her. Then sighed when she finished her story.

“I'm glad your okay, that seemed like one strange fight." Ember spoke

“It was" Cynder nodded

Spyro walked in with the food, and they settled into their meals. They dug in to the delicious meats paired with specially seasoned fruits and freshly baked bread. They quickly devoured their meal, and sat back satisfied.

“You both are unbelievably good at cooking." Ember groaned

Flame mumbled in agreement. They talked for a bit after, before Flame and Ember went home. Cynder cleaned the table and walked into their bedroom. Spyro removed her bandages and inspected her wound. He carefully rubbed some healing ointment on the wound, then he slowly put a fresh bandage on. She nuzzled him in gratitude and laid down on the bed, Spyro wordlessly curled around her, making sure not to put any pressure on her sides. Cynder closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Cynder woke shivering; Spyro had gotten up at some point. She looked around and made a small cooing noise, her pain medication had worn off and waves of pain pulsed through her body. Spyro rushed into the room at her noise, and nuzzled her. He pulled out a red gem and set it on her, she sighed as she absorbed its healing energy. Spyro lowered his head and kissed her, allowing his element to warm her shivering body. Cynder smiled at him when he broke the kiss.

“I'm going to go to the academy, I need to keep watching the trainees." He told her

“Give me a minute, and I will come with you." Cynder tried to get up.

“No, you stay and rest, one day was enough." Spyro told her.

She laid back and sighed “I don't know why I'm so tired now."

“The shock of your wound has passed; your body is now rebuilding your nerves." Spyro explained

He kissed her again, and nuzzled her neck.

“You heal up, when the training session is over, I'll bring you some of those fruits you like." He told her

She smiled “I don't deserve you."

He gave her an annoyed look. “You need to stop with that, you stayed by me while I was healing from that cursed blade. I will stay by you forever, you deserve me, nothing will ever change that."

“I know, but sometimes I feel like…"

“You should never doubt it, we are one." He nuzzled her, then walked out the door.

Spyro excited the house and flew to the academy, he landed in the training grounds and decided that today he would step into a ring and spar. He chose a ring and walked into it. He stretched and looked over at the instructor's platform. Michael smirked back at him; the guardians shot him grateful looks. After a few minutes, the trainees walked into the grounds and picked up where they left off yesterday. They noticed Spyro waiting and a line started to form. His first opponent approached him, and nodded to him, Spyro nodded back and the fight began. Spyro evaded the first attack from the earth dragon and casually slapped him with an open paw, causing the green dragon to fall flat on his face. He got up and grumbled out of the ring. The next opponent was the red dragoness from earlier, and Spyro smiled at her confidence. She charged him and he dodged, slashing back with his claws. She ducked and charged him, making him spin to move out of the way. He charged an ice ball and threw it at her, but she countered it by puffing out a burst of fire. She charged her element into her claws and slashed. Spyro jumped back and fired a boulder at her. She ducked back but couldn't move back fast enough, the boulder slammed into her side, causing her to gasp out. Spyro took advantage of the situation and fired an ice blast at the ground, causing a sheen of ice to form on the ground below them. Spryo kept his balance, but the same couldn't be said for his opponent, who fell down with a thump and a groan. Spyro reached over and helped her up.

“You're a good fighter." He said “I'm Spyro, nice to meet you."

She huffed at him “If I was so good, I would be able to fight you longer."

“There is only one normal dragon that could possibly beat me, and she's my mate, so don't hold yourself so low. You were able to hold yourself longer than most." Spyro replied

“You beat me in like thirty seconds." She huffed again “Oh, sorry, my name is Jennifer"

“You will get better; all you need to do is train more" Spyro replied

Jennifer nodded and stepped out of the ring. Spyro sparred the rest of the trainees, he beat them far easier than Jennifer. When he was finished, he joined the rest of the instructors. Volteer was back at his usual mumbling, and Cyril was focused on one specific ice dragon, and Terrador was watching a group of earth dragons practice their rocky forms.

“That boy, Josh, expresses great power." Volteer mumbled

“You should have seen him when he brought the four of us with us when he flashed." Spyro replied

“He brought more than one other person with him? I've never heard such thing before."

Spyro shrugged “He's from another dimension, his skills could be useful as a guardian. I do have bias because he has a friend, but there is some logic there as well."

They kept chatting for a while, before the session ended and the various dragons left. Spyro flew over to the market and started searching for some fruits. He selected a bag of the sweet, red, pomegranates that Cynder loves. He also picked up some essential oils so that she could feel better. He flew back home and walked into the house. He peeked his head through the door to their bedroom, and noticed that Cynder was asleep. He went into the kitchen and prepared the pomegranates, then walked into the room and opened a bottle of the oils he bought. Soon a nice smell of lavender flowed through the room. He laid down next to her and fell asleep.

Cynder woke to a strange smell of lavender, she opened her eyes and sighed when she realized that Spyro was with her. She looked in front of her and noticed a bowl in front of her, she grabbed it and started eating the delicious fruit. She quickly cleaned the bowl and settled back against her mate. He sighed in his sleep, curling his tail around hers. She fell asleep again, cuddling against him.

Flame yawned, sitting next to Ember on the throne of Warfang, listening half-heartedly while some moles ramble on about Warfang's economy and prosperity. He looked over at Ember, who's eyelids were starting to droop. When the moles finished, bowed, and left, Ember sighed and looked over at Flame.

“I've spent months glued to my mother's side when I was younger, there was never anything as boring as this." She told him

Flame looked over at the guard and raised his eyebrows.

“Anybody else?"

“There are some of your people who wish to speak with you two, my king." The guard replied

“How many?" Flame asked

“A couple dozen." The guard answered

Flame laid back on the throne, and nodded to the guard, who then pulled on the rope next to him. A handful of green dragons entered the room and bowed. Flame still wasn't used to the bowing, and still found it weird.

“Your majesties, we come from a new, distant territory of dragons. We heard of this place and wished to establish a connection between our two territories." The lead dragon spoke

Ember raised an eyebrow. “What kind of connection?"

“An economic one, we wish to bring our goods here, so that they can be sold, in return, you get a tax, and we get an expanded market" He replied

“You come from beyond the great ocean, if you have any connection with the Cantho territory…"

“No no no! We have no connection with them, they were weakened by the shattering and now lay licking their wounds in the old mountains."

“Let is be known, we are not the newly formed territory we once were, we will not be forced to do anything, and we will not serve anybody else." Ember snarled “Our forces are much stronger than Cantho's ever were."

“Once again, we do not relate to those barbarians." The green leader replied

“They have used similar tricks before."

“I understand your doubt, and we have brought a show of good faith."

The lead dragon turned and made a sharp call, a few more dragons walked into the room and set down four large boxes.

“These serve as both tributes and examples; these four products will be our main trade."

The green dragon walked up to the first box and opened it, it was filled to the brim with soft furs, of all kinds and colors. Ember's instincts told her that they would be good nesting material. The second box was filled with pearls, there were many sizes and shapes. Flame gasped as the third box opened to reveal bars of glass, a material that is hard to find these days. The leader hesitated at the final box, as if deciding whether or not he should open it, then he nodded to himself and opened it, it was filled with vials of a thick, yellow liquid.

“Tree sap, our most important medicine, it can be used to seal wounds, cure some infections, soothe burns, and many other purposes." He told them.

Ember nodded, and stared at the four boxes in front of them.

“In return for this, I will give you the first act of trust, you may set up one stall in the marketplace for now, and if the trade is reliable, I will let you open more." She told them

They bowed again and left; a few workers rushed to move the boxes.

“Take the pearls to the vault, the sap to the hospital to be tested, and the glass to the markets. Take the furs to Faun and give half to Cynder, put the rest in my house." Ember ordered them.

They nodded and rushed the boxes away.

“That's nice of you" Flame nuzzled her neck

“When the time comes, she will need them." Ember replied “And besides, I owe them, without them I wouldn't have been allowed to be with you."