The Legend of Spyro: Revival of the Warrior by Arrowsight

The Legend of Spyro: Revival of the Warrior

Arrowsight, Action, Dragon, Dragoness, Human, No-Yiff, Violence (Not In Yiff)

Author's note- Alright, time to give the rundown of what you are about to read. This is my first story I ever posted, I first put it on Fanfiction.net. Search for it there if you want to. I am going to put all of the chapters into one big huge section to make things easier.

3 years after Dawn of the Dragon- New Year of the Dragon (Kinda like our New Year's Day)

Spyro and Cynder are about to celebrate the 32nd Year of the Dragon. Spyro has been made Fire Guardian due to Ignitus's death. Terrador is the leader of the guardians, due to age restrictions. Spyro and Cynder have been together ever since Malefor's death. The other Guardians know of Ignitus's demise, but no one knows he is the Chronicler. Sparx now has a job in the Dragon City of Warfang, he seeks out the other Guardians when meetings are called. Cynder still feels like its her fault over what happened while Malefor controlled her. Spyro is having very strange dreams about the past that aren't even recorded. Things get even worse on the Eve of the Year of the Dragon. To top things off, remnant Apes controlled by Drome, Gaul's son, are hell-bent on destroying the dragons, but seems to have a 2nd motive in mind.

2 days before the 32nd Year of the Dragon.

Sparx is flying through the streets of Warfang with a panicked look on his face early in the morning.

"Come on where is that house?" Sparx whispers to himself. A mole that overhears him points up saying "You know if you want to find it, why don't you just look at the city from the sky, that should help you find it." Sparx, with a stupid look on his face, follows his advice and flys up.

"Ahhh.....HA there you are!" He says as he points at a high class building. Charging to the building's window, he looks inside. He sees Spyro and Cynder curled up together sound asleep in their bowl-shaped bed. "Oh figures, looks as if I wake them I'm gonna get burned, but if I don't, I'm gonna get smashed by Terrador." Sparx said, "Well, better 3rd degree burns than to be a red and gold smear on the ground"

Reluctantly, he opens the window and flys inside. The room is very wide, with a few different assortments of ornaments on the walls, as in paintings, and a few scrolls lying on the ground due to Spyro's studying. The walls are a base of tan colored sandstone, in the middle, a large stone bowl about 8 feet in diameter, about 2 feet deep and filled with cushions. In the bowl, two dragons slept peacefully, one black, the other purple. Sparx flys up to the bowl with a reluctant look on his face. "Well, here goes" he said.

Meanwhile in Spyro's dream: All that can be seen is a dark room, with wall-mounted torches on the walls. The room itself seems to have an atmosphere of fear and hate in it. In the middle, you see a creature standing in the middle, the creature stands on two legs, and wears a silver-based armor with black stripes down the side; the creature has no scales, or fur, but skin of a light tan color. He is looking at a particularly shadowed portion of the room with a look of defeat on his face. In the area he is looking you can see a shape of a dragon looking at him, its eyes glowing blood red.

"It seems you are taking more time to create the 'weapons' you have promised me, tell me, does everything you promise take longer than expected." The shadow said, his voice cold, unloved, as if his very soul was constructed by the demons of the dammed. "If so tell me this, is the reason why is because you are ignorant and cant carry out what he has promised to fulfill, or do you intend to delay what you do only to succeed your own goals, ANSWER ME!" The shadow demands.

The creature in the center flinches at his powerful speech, it is clear he serves this being. "Forgive me my lord, I did not intend to delay, its just the resources I need to create these two creatures are very scarce, and there is also giving them life so they can function correctly..." The creature said "Yes, that was one thing I decided to look into for you, and I think I may have found the solution to that problem." said the shadowy figure.

The shadowed figure suddenly starts to move his hand, and plants it in the ground. As he raises it back up, a dark crystal rises up from the ground, he breaks a piece of and throws it at the creature in the center.

As the creature caught it, he flinched as a huge wave of power surged over him. "Yes this is exactly what I will need, thank you my lord, I shall repay you, and never fail you again." He said as he examined the crystal closely.

"Yes, you better not fail me again Rayde, or you will be standing in your afterlife after you finish this task." The shadowy figure declared.

"Yes, lord Kaze, you shall not be disappointed" said the creature referred to as Rayde. Rayde turns around and leaves the room with a determined look on his face.

"Spyro, wake up........SPYRO!!!!!" Sparx screams in Spyro's face. Spyro wakes up screaming, causing Sparx to scream, causing Cynder to wake up.

"Mmmmh.... whats all the yelling about?" Cydner asked while yawning. "My god Sparx you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Spyro said while trying his best to wake up.

"I could say the same buddy." Sparx says "But we don't have time, you two have to get to the Elder Chamber, Terrador says its urgent."

Spyro and Cynder's sleepyness seemed to go away instantly as they heard this news. "Do you know what its for Sparx?" Cynder asked him. "No idea." Sparx replied. "Some help you are." Replied Cynder jokingly. "No time for jokes Cynder, we gotta go now." Spyro explained.

With that, they took off towards the center of the city, where a tall tower stood.

What was with that dream? Spyro thought, I may need to talk to Volteer about he, he seems to be the smart one.

Ch.2 Meeting :

Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx are flying towards the large tower in the middle of Warfang. Spyro is still thinking about that dream he had. Was it just a dream, or is there more too it? Wouldn't be the first time. I have been having the same dream for a few days now. Spyro said in his head.

"Spyro, whats on your mind, you look troubled by something. You didn't have that dream again did you?" Cynder asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

Spyro looked at Cynder and smiled, she could read him like a book. "Yeah, I did." Spyro said. Cynder immediately replied, "You need to talk to someone about it, I just hope it doesn't affect us right now, I have had enough of fighting."

Spyro looked at Cynder with a sympathetic look in his eyes, "I know Cynder, I am sick of it too, I just want to settle down with you and have a good life of no more fighting." Spyro told her. Cynder flew up close to Spyro while flying so they were within a few inches of each other.

Ever since the fight with Malefor, Spyro swore never to fight unless it dangered the worlds very existence.

"You know," Cynder said to Spyro, "you should talk to Volteer about your dreams, you know how he is, he is pretty much an expert on those things, then again, he's almost an expert on everything." Cynder explained.

Spyro looks over at Cynder and smiled again. She really can read me like a book. He thought. "The only thing that Volteer cant figure out, is why Cyril thinks the Ice dragons were the best of the Dragon race." Everyone laughed at this. Teasing the Guardians was one of their favorite pass times. If they said that in front of Cyril, they would get a two hour lecture on the history of the 'Ice Dragons of Yore', a topic thats more boring than watching grass grow.

"I am going to talk to Volteer about it, but not till after all the fuss is about." Spyro said as they neared the tower. When they landed near the front door, there is a feline guard at the door.

"Ah, there you are, the Guardians are expecting you." the feline said. Spyro looked at him and said "Thank you, Oak." the feline referred to as Oak, bowed his head, as they entered the tower.

The inside of the tower consisted of a large spiral staircase running up the side with platforms running around the sides per level. Spyro, Cynder and Sparx all flew too the center level, (there are 3 levels total) where Terrador was waiting for them in front of two large wooden doors. "Good morning Spyro, Cynder, sleep well?" Terrador asked.

"We would have, if we didn't get a portable alarm clock that scares dragons out of their heads." Cynder said mockingly. Sparx replied, "Yeah, Yeah, just the thanks I get for doing my job." Spyro shakes his head and says to Sparx, "You know we are just messing with you right? Besides, at least you do your job well." Terrador seemed to find this amusing and chuckled.

Terrador looked at the group and said, "Alright enough of the morning talk, we need to get down to business, the Elders, and governors are waiting." Spyro, and Cynder nodded. The Elders are basically profits, and psychics intertwined in the legal system, they also control all Military branches. The governors are the leaders of small settlements and towns outside of Warfang, in this group, Chief Prowless is present, along with other Avalarnian leaders, Mole leaders, and a few others.

Spyro, Cynder, Sparx, and Terrador all enter the Elder Chamber. The inside was massive, a circular room about 40 feet in diameter with a large stone table in the center about 30 feet in diameter. A large Chandelier hanging in the center was the only source of light in the room, windows are not permitted in the Elder chamber due to eavesdroppers. Around the large table, 15 chairs were placed and 5 other cushions to seat the Dragon Guardians.

The other governors, consisted of Prowless of Avalar, Hunter his right hand, along with 2 other subordinates. There was also Devon, of the mole settlement of Fireground, and his 2 subordinates, and finally, to Spyro's surprise, Kane of the Atlawa, and his 2 subordinates. Apparently, the Atlawa tribes flourished over the years due to trade routes going through the Tall Plains.

Terrador looked around the room and said, "Sorry for the delay, now we can get on with this." as everyone sat down, Spyro looked at the 5 figures in the back. They are the Elders, 2 are moles, 3 are feline. They all wear white cloaks shrouding their faces.

Terrador began, "Guardians, and Governors, we have been called here by the Elders, they will explain why." Everyone looked in the direction of the Elders.

The Elder in the center, assumed to be the leader, is a feline. "Normally, we wouldn't call a meeting on account of the current situation, but we have encountered something that is very troubling." The Elder explained

One of the Governors, Devon, apparently angered by this exclaimed, "Well then, what was the point of dragging us here at this dastardly hour, my cities markets aren't even open yet, I could be-" Cyril interrupting him said "Devon, it would be better if you still your tongue, the have not finished explaining yet." Devon sat back down and waited for an explanation.

One of the Elders said to Cyril, "Thank you Guardian, now as I was saying." He cleared his throat before continuing. "One of our scout teams haven't reported back to us, but thats not why you are called here, we sent a messenger to see why they haven't given us a report. The messenger is here now, he will explain the rest." He said as he pointed to a very badly injured mole that no one noticed till now.

The mole had torn clothes, along with may scratches, and his arm in a sling. It is clear he went through a fight that he couldn't win. The mole said, "Well....as I got to the last known area where Scout 17 was at, I arrived to find the whole team brutally killed, as if a decisive war took place." Everyone in the room, except the Elders, were confused, and shocked by this. Hunter stood anger in his eyes and asked to mole, "Do you know who did this, or did the enemies leave no trace." Prowless looked at him and asked, "You seem to have a particular interest in the political meeting suddenly, what is it Hunter?"

Hunter looked down, "My younger brother, Archer, is in Scout 17." He sat back down and said nothing else. Prowless looked at him, put a hand on his shoulder, and said "I'm sorry Hunter."

The mole answered Hunter, "Yes actually, I did see the ones responsible, because they were waiting for me to arrive." Everyone was now listening intently, especially Hunter. "The group that attacked Scout 17, was a group of rebel apes." Kane stood and declared, "How, didn't Malefor curse them all to remain as only spirits?"

One of the Elders, a mole told Kane, "Yes indeed, but since Spyro and Cynder...." gesturing over to the two of them, "defeated Malefor, his spell over them lifted, it seems they want revenge."

The injured mole continued, "All they told me was this, 'Drome sends his greetings' and then they..." He shivered as he couldn't continue, clutching his injured arm. The lead Elder said to the mole, "thank you, go to the medical wing and receive whatever treatment is necessary, you have earned it." Everyone waited for the mole to leave before continuing.

The lead Elder said, "It is clear, we need to learn more about this 'Drome' before he can cause any more damage..." Cynder suddenly interrupted him, "I can provide most of your answers on Drome, he is Gaul's son." Everyone looked at Cynder surprised, "Drome is as skilled as his father in terms of combat, and spellweaving, maybe more powerful, I'm not sure."

The lead Elder said to Cynder, "Cynder, if you don't mind I would like to talk to you about this personally, we are all tired, and we will call another meeting when more comes up, do you accept?" Cynder looked directly at him, then Spyro as if asking what she should do. Spyro whispered to her, "you should probably answer his questions, not saying I want you away, but the last thing we need is another Gaul running around." Cynder nodded and said to the Elder, "Yes."

As the meeting was dismissed, Spyro and Cynder were talking before she had to leave to be questioned.

"I'll meet you back at the house when this is over, OK Cynder." Spyro said to her passionately. Cynder said to him, "Don't forget, you still need to talk to Volteer about the dream." Spyro looked at her and said, "Ya, I was just gonna do that." He kissed her and held her in his arms for a moment. Cynder broke the embrace and said, "well, I should get to the chamber, best not to keep the Elders waiting." She gave him one last kiss before leaving.

"What would I do without her." Spyro said under his breath. Spyro then headed off to Volteer's room.

_ Chapter 3- Questions to Realization _

Spyro turned away from the Elder Chamber, and headed to Volteer's room. As he was going there, he spotted Hunter, looking out a window. Spyro decided to try to talk to him, to see if he can make him feel better about his brother's death.

As Spyro flew next to him, Hunter looked at him and said in a depressed tone, "Spyro, how have you been, you want to talk about something?"

Spyro replied, "Actually, I came here to see how you are doing, Hunter."

Hunter looked back out the window saying, "I would rather not talk about that right now, I still need time to take it in." Hunter looked back at Spyro with a false smile. "But enough of that, tell me, how are you and Cynder doing?" Hunter asked.

Spyro gave Hunter a grin and replied, "We are doing great, the only thing really new, is that she is wanting to start a family, and I just don't know if I'm ready for that yet. I also don't want our child to be born in a world of war, or pain."

Hunter kept on looking at Spyro, and finally said, "You speak like a real father, I understand how you feel about this Spyro, but its not my place to tell you what to do in this situation," Hunter places his hand on Spyro's shoulder, "that decision is yours and Cynder's alone."

Spyro smiled at his good friend, "Thank you Hunter, I.." Spyro started to say as Prowless walked in the room,

"Hunter, it is time for us to go, we have politics back at Avalar we must attend to." chief Prowless said before noticing Spyro. "Ah, good to see you old friend." he said as he bowed his head. Spyro bowed back. Hunter looked at Spyro and said, "Well I must be going, goodbye Spryo."

As they said their farewells, Spyro continued to Volteer's room. After a few minutes, he arrived at a large set of wooden doors, with a lightning blot across the center. "Well, here goes." Spyro said as he knocked on the door. After a moment, Spyro heard Volteer say, "Come in." Spyro opened the door.

The inside of Volteer's room suited his personality, a large bookshelf on the side, packed with books Spyro couldn't even begin to understand. The walls were an Electric yellow, with a small Chandelier that seemed to glow with electric energy. (Which to Spyro's knowledge, it did). In the center, sat Volteer, looking right at Spyro. Volteer smiled and said, "Ah Spyro, how magnificent to see you again, that was a very interesting meeting this morning, I would like to study the Drome fellow myself, but there is no recorded knowledge of him, but enough of my sensuous babbling, what has brought you here?" Volteer asked in his usual jittery voice.

Spyro replied, "Well, I have a question, and you are the most likely person too answer it." Volteer, pleased by the news, replied, "Yes of course young dragon, any questions you may have, I will answer to my best knowledge."

Spyro then replied, "Thank you, Volteer. For the past few days, I have been having a strange dream over and over again." Volteer looked at his quizzically and asked, "Interesting, why don't you elaborate on what your dream was about?"

Spyro then told him everything about the dream, from beginning to end. After he was done, Volteer had his eyes closed, deep in thought. After a long silence, Volteer finally said, "This is troubling indeed, what you may have seen is a possible premonition. Of the past, or future I cannot be certain. The Purple Dragon has always had some 'unique' abilities, most of which I haven't figured out yet. As for if these beings actually exist," Volteer looked at his bookshelf, "I have never come across those names, or of the history of the Black Gems. You may look in the library if you wish, but I doubt you will find anything." Volteer looked at Spyro. "For now, we don't know enough to make any accurate assumptions. If you have any more of these dreams, different then what they are now, you need to let me know. Other than that, I cant really help you." Volteer finished.

Spyro looked at the yellow dragon and replied, "Thank you Volteer, any help to figure this out would be great." Volteer nodded and said, "You should get some rest, you look very tired, did you have a rough morning?" Spyro smiled and said, "Kind of, I had an annoying, flying, yellow alarm clock wake me up." before Volteer could say more, Spyro said, "Your right, I'm gonna go back to my house and see if I can get some sleep in before more trouble starts up." With that, he left.

_______________________________

Meanwhile in the Elder Chamber

Cynder sat facing the lead Elder in the same room the meeting took place in. The Elder has asked Cynder to state any important facts about Drome before he should ask questions.

Cynder started by saying, "I don't really know much about Drome myself, when I last saw him, he was only in his early 20's, and was already as skilled as Gaul. Drome didn't use two large swords like Gaul, Drome uses a particular longsword with two blades on one hilt, he mainly called it a 'fang sword'."

The Elder asked, "Is Drome as good of a spellcaster as his father?"

Cynder replied, "He was equally as powerful, he may have gotten stronger over the years, he always wanted power."

The Elder asked another question, "Did Drome ever serve the Dark Master?"

Cynder had to think for a minute before saying, "I don't think he was as loyal to him as Gaul was, but I think he used to follow him."

The Elder nodded and said, "Thank you Cynder, you have given me enough information today. You can leave now." Cynder bowed her head to the Elder and left the room.

Back at Spyro's and Cynder's place, Spyro is sound asleep, but he is tossing and turning a bit in his sleep.

In Spyro's dream:

Rayde is walking down a long and narrow hallway. '_why have the elders summoned me?' he thought as he entered a large circular room._

One of the Elders, a silver dragon, stood and said, "Rayde, it is good you came, we need to talk to you. You may not believe us but please, at least listen.". Rayde only stared at them, and asked, "Why should I listen to you?" The Elder replied, "because of you don't you will be blinded by a false cause." Rayde took this to effect and sat down. "You better not be wasting my time Jex, I have much to do."

The other elders started whispering as they heard their leaders name, Jex however didn't seem affected by this. "We know what you have been doing these past few months for Kaze, and we know of his intentions." Jex said.

Rayde immediately stood, and yelled "I know what he is doing, he is using my weapons to ensure peace over my race, the Humans, he promised me that if I created them for him, he could protect my people."

Jex looked at him with disappointment and said, "No Rayde, you have been fooled." Rayde looked startled by this statement. "The creation of the Golem, and the Destroyer by your hands, has another cause, but not the one you think. We had a spy in your area, and he has learned that Kaze has altered the Destroyer to do the unthinkable, to destroy this planet." Rayde stared at him wide-eyed, and said, "Your lying, you have no proof."

Jex only said, "Kaze has mislead you Rayde, he fooled you into not making weapons of peace, but weapons of destruction, and if we do not stop him, he will destroy everything."

At that moment, one of the Elders collapsed to the ground holding his head. "Morris, what is wrong?" Jex asked the Elder. Morris only replied, "Golem....active......destroying......city..of.......Narris..."

Rayde immediately jumped off the table and said, "NARRIS!!! Thats where the last of my kind lives......I....I cant believe..." Rayde fell to his knees, Jex said to him, "You see what has happened, we need to get to Narris before it is too late, we have to stop Kaze."

Rayde stood up, intense rage in his eyes, and said, "That bastard Kaze will pay for this with his life.

With that, Rayde raced out the door, and outside. Rayde suddenly closed his eyes and breathed in deep. He then raised his arms parallel to the ground. As he did, His silver armor sprouted two large wing-shaped crystals from his back. He smiled and took flight.

_ Chapter 4- Plans _

Cynder is flying her way back to her and Spyro's house. I wonder what he found out from Volteer, I just hope these dreams don't become reality. Cynder thought as she entered the front door. Their house was basic, there is a living room, which only consisted of two cushions, and a small table. Then there is a staircase that leads up to their bedroom. "Spyro?" Cynder called out to him. No response came. He is probably asleep again. She thought shaking her head.

Cynder walked up the stairs, and entered the door; she looked at Spyro in the bowl and noticed he was sweating, and turning in his sleep. Oh great, he is probably having that dream again. She thought as she went over to wake him up.

She touched him on the shoulder, shaking him roughly as she called, "Spyro, wake up, open your eyes." Spyro eventually shot his eyes open and looked around to see Cynder standing over him. "Bad dream again, huh?" Cynder asked him. Spyro nodded and replied, "Yeah, but this time, it was different." Cynder looked at him with alarm, and curiosity. "What do you mean Spyro?" She asked him quizzically.

Over the next half an hour, Spyro explained every detail of his dream (as shown in Chapter 3). When he finished, Cynder sat wide-eyed staring at him.

Just then, they heard a knock on the window. They looked over and saw Sparx, with an equal look of confusion on his face as Cynder's. Spyro looked at his old friend and opened the window. Sparx immediately stated, "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhearing, I just thought that I could come visit you, since the job I've been given, I hardly have any free time."

"Its OK Sparx, I intended to visit you too sooner or later, we haven't been spending much time together as usual." Spyro said to Sparx. Cynder added, "I planned on going with Spyro. I haven't got a chance to thank you." Sparx stared at her puzzled, "For what?" Sparx asked. "For waking us up, we would have been late if it wasn't for you." Cynder replied smiling. Sparx smiled back and said, "What are friends for."

Cynder turned her attention back to Spyro and asked, "So, you think this 'Rayde' guy created to Golem and the Destroyer, but that was probably hundreds of years ago." Spyro nodded and said, "I know, I am going to ask Volteer about it and see what we could find. Sparx added in, "What do you think of this 'Kaze' guy, he definitely isn't the nicest guy, you think he could be Malefor's...like 32nd great grandfather?" Spyro replied, "I don't know, I intend to find out all I can."

Cynder said eagerly, "Lets go see Volteer then, and Spyro, I want to talk to you when we are done." Sparx gave Spyro a 'your so screwed now' look, Spyro just shrugged. They took off to the Central Tower again.

"Do you think this will have anything to do with us?" Cynder asked Spyro, concern in her eyes. Spyro looked back at her and sighed, "I don't know, but why would I be having these visions?" Spyro noticed Cynder looking depressed about his answer, "don't worry," he added, "I wont let anything come in between us." Cynder gave him a very happy grin, Spyro could only grin back.

They started to near the tower, when they noticed Volteer was already outside, walking on the outside balcony alone. Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx landed in front of him.

Volteer said, "Oh....you startled me young dragon, you know you shouldn't sneak up on people like that unless of course your in combat. What do you need?" he asked them.

Spyro started, "I know its only been about 2 hours since we last talked, but I had that dream again, but this time, it was different. Volteer, now fully alert asked Spyro, "Different you say....how?" out by the door everyone heard Cyril's voice saying, "Yes Spyro, I would like an explanation myself." he said as he walk out onto the balcony. Terrador was following Cyril and said, "Yes, you need to explain yourself young dragon."

Spyro looked down at realizing he never told the other Guardians. "I'm sorry," Spyro apologized, "I thought I would tell you later." Terrador raised a hand and said, "No need for apologies Spyro, but in the future, don't be so reluctant with us, now tell us about the dream." Spyro nodded and told them everything about the dream, about Rayde, Kaze, the Golem, and the Destroyer.

After he finished, the Guardians sat in silence for a minute thinking. Volteer finally said, "This is certainly and interesting turn of events, learning who created those two vile creatures, and about this race, the Humans you called them Spyro?" Spyro nodded, Volteer continued, "I have never came across them in my studies, or in the library." Cyril added, "Neither have I, how about you Terrador?" Terrador only stated, "I know nothing of the Humans, and this Rayde being the creator of the Golem and the Destroyer, and this Kaze, it is strange that there are no records of them in any library, this is fascinating."

Cynder interrupted by saying, "Terrador, what does this mean?" Terrador looked at her and said, "I am not sure, we won't be able to find out what this means until we can find more details about these two." Cyril followed by saying, "I agree Terrador, we must find more knowledge of these two figures before we can do anything. I will look in the library to see if there is anything we missed." Volteer added, "I will join you, looking through all those books by yourself would take a long period of time." Cyril nodded in response, and they both left the balcony to the library.

Terrador said to Sparx, "Sparx, I want you to go to the Valley of Avalar, and see of you can find any details there, I will look in my own collection of books to see if I can find something." Sparx replied, "Alright, but fair warning, I was never good with books, just ask my reading teacher." Spyro smiled as he remembered his reading teacher yelling at Sparx for forgetting his books in his room. "But I will do the best I can, when do I need to leave?" Sparx asked.

Terrador replied, "Let me get a paper saying that you have my permission to check in their restricted books, they won't let you in without one." Sparx nodded in response, and said, "I'll just wait in you room then, see ya Spyro, Cynder." he said as he took off.

Terrador shook his head and said, "At least he knows what he needs to do." Terrador said as he started to leave. Cynder stopped him saying, "Hey Terrador, can I ask you something?" Terrador turned back around and said, "Yes what is it Cynder?"

Cynder looked up at him and asked, "Would you mind if me and Spyro took a small vacation?" Terrador looked surprised by this request. Cynder continued, "Ever since we got back from beating Malefor, we haven't had any time to relax, I'm not saying for a week, more like a few hours to a day." Spyro was appalled by Cynder's request. She must have been planning this since this morning. Terrador smiled and said, "Under the circumstances, I would normally say 'no', but, since you two have been working hard since Malefor's defeat, I see no harm in a day off." Both Spyro and Cynder smiled, Spyro said to Terrador, "Thank you, sir." Terrador only shook his head and said, "Don't mention it, but don't be gone for a long time, one day would be enough, have fun you two." Spyro and Cynder nodded, and Terrador went back inside.

Spyro looked at Cynder with a questioning look on his face and said, "Is that what you wanted to talk about?" Cynder only smiled, and replied, "No, I only wanted to know if you thought the Dragon Shores would be a good place to go." Spyro laughed and said, "You have been planning this since this morning haven't you?" Cynder got a mischievous look and replied, "Maybe, politics really wears you out, you know?" Spyro nodded and kissed Cynder on the lips, after a long 2 minutes, Spyro said, "The Dragon Shores sounds like a great place to relax, when do you want to leave?" Cynder thought for a minute, and then said smiling, "How about today, it's not even noon yet, and Terrador said we have one day." Cynder then kissed him again. Cynder, talking through his lips said, "Besides, I want to be here on New Year of the Dragon Eve."

Spyro smiled and said to Cynder lovingly, "Of course we can leave today Cyn, this is going to be great. Finally we get some alone time." Cynder smiled and hugged him saying, "Then we better get ready, we're burning daylight." Cynder suddenly took off towards the south, where the Dragon Shores are at. Cynder looked back at him saying, "Come on Spyro, your wings suddenly break, lets go!" She called. Spyro laughed and took off, staying close behind Cynder as the flew toward the Dragon Shores.

_ Chapter 5- Sunset and Findings. _

Spyro and Cynder were flying for about 2 hours before the Dragon Shores Continent became visible. Spyro noticed along the way, that large stone bridges were built to connect the large chunks of the planet. Thats probably how they get from place to place now. Spyro thought.

As they neared the Dragon Shores, Spyro and Cynder could smell the salty sea air, the scent relaxed them. Cynder said to Spyro, "Dont you find it strange that even though the planet is in large chunks, the water of the area remains there, rather then pouring out?" Spyro thought about this and replied, "Maybe it's like that because of the method I used to hold the planet together, or maybe the earth's magnetic field is holding it in place?" Cynder only shrugged and said, "Well, it doesn't matter to me, what would the Dragon Shores be without the sea?" she said. Spyro smiled and replied, "Probably the Dragon Desert." Cynder laughed at this.

Spyro and Cynder got close enough to the Shores so that they could see the sea. The beach is considerably long, with sand as perfectly colored as it should be. The sea was a perfect shade of sea blue, and stretched as far as it could go, The Dragon Shores is the larges continent at this time. It seemed like the Dragon Shores was made as a vacation spot. The weather was perfect, not a single cloud, and as warm as a campfire on a warm summer evening (a relative 80-85 degrees).

As Spyro and Cynder landed, they saw someone they didn't expect to see, Kane of the Atlawa. He was with his troops and his two subordinates that they saw at the court meeting. Kane noticed the two of them and waved.

Spyro and Cynder both walked up to him. Kane greeted, "Hello Spyro, Cynder, what brings you here?" Cynder replied, "We are actually on a break, Terrador let us come here." Kane nodded and said in a more darker tone to Cynder, "Yes, ever since what you and Malefor have done, most people would find a vacation relaxing." Spyro, angered by the mentioning of Cynder working for Malefor replied, "You cant really blame her for that, she was controlled against her own will. Besides, without Cynder, I would have never defeated Malefor and-" Cynder interrupted him, "Spyro stop there is no need to argue." Cynder turned to Kane and said, "Look, I'm not asking everyone to forgive what I have done, rather I am asking everyone to trust me as I am now, Malefor is dead and he has no control over me anymore."

Kane looked back and said, "I suppose your right, forgive me, my mind is not always clear, sometimes I get ahead of myself." Kane continued, "But enough of that, so you to are here on vacation huh? Lucky you, I have to pass through here to get back to Tall Plains, these continents are very annoying and take a while to travel through. Gah! Who am I to complain? Ever since the breakup of the planet trade routes have to go through Tall Plains, and because of that, our tribe has flourished enough to become the 3rd largest establishment in the world!" Spyro smiled and replied, "I guess some good came out of this war huh?" Kane laughed and said, "That it has, young dragon. By the way, where is that annoying mosquito friend of yours?"

Spyro replied, "Terrador sent him to Avalar to look for information on something." Spyro didn't reveal all the details, due to that he didn't want his strange dreams to become common knowledge. Kane looked at him questionably and said, "We have some old records in our library also, if you need those, you can go there too. What is it your specifically looking for?" Spyro only shook his head and said, "Sorry Kane, I can't really tell you that."

Kane only shook his head and said, "Well, I guess I have no part in it, but you can still look at our records if you would like." Cynder replied, "You may need to talk to Terrador about that, he can set up a date for when someone can go look." Kane replied, "Bah! I'm not going all the way back to Warfang for that, I may send a messenger though, we will see. Until then, I have to go, cant hang around chatting, duty calls. Goodbye for now." Kane said as he took his leave. "See ya Kane." Spyro replied, as well as Cynder.

As Spyro and Cynder walked toward the beach, Spyro growled, "He shouldn't have talked about your past, every time I-" Cynder clamped a paw over his mouth and said to him, "Spyro, don't worry about it, I know what I did was wrong and everyone has a right to hate me for it." Spyro looked towards the ground and said, "Still, they shouldn't even be mad at you, you helped me defeat Malefor." Cynder only smiled and said, "But thats in the past, lets think about now, like getting to that beach."

Spyro nodded in reply. "Bet I could be you to the water?" Spyro asked Cynder playfully. Cynder replied cockily and said, "Oh, I don't know, you seem to be slower that usual." Spyro was about to reply when Cynder took off running towards the beach.

Spyro started chasing her and shouted, "Hey thats not fair, you got a head start!" Cynder looked back and replied, "Whats wrong Spyro? Cant outrun a lady?" Spyro only laughed and ran harder, starting to catch up to her. Cynder started to run much faster too, but couldn't outrun him. Right as Spyro got close enough behind her, Cynder used her wind breath to knock up a bunch of sand in Spyro's path. Spyro ran straight through it, getting sand all over his face and nose. Spyro coughed and sputtered, when he got the sand out of his face, he saw Cynder sitting at the edge of the water. She said, "Looks like I win."

Spyro laughed and said, "That you have." and walked up to her. Spyro and Cynder sat on the edge of the water, staring out to the ocean. Cynder places her head on Spyro's shoulder. Spyro leans his head on hers. After a few minutes of gazing out to the ocean, Cynder whispered, "I love you Spyro." Spyro smiled and replied, "I love you too Cynder."

Cynder lifted her head and kissed Spyro. The kiss was long and passionate. After a while, Cynder pulled away and said, "What do I get for winning our little race?" she asked playfully. Spyro pondered on this for a minute then finally said, "That depends, what do you want?"

Cynder blushed and lowered her head, Spyro just looked at her. When she looked back up she said, "How about a child?" Spyro looked away with a resentful look on his face. Spyro looked back at Cynder and said, "Cynder, you know I don't want to bring a child into this world, it's not safe. I promise you, some day we will have our own child. I don't want him or her to have to be born in a world of fighting and war." Spyro continued, "When this whole incident with Drome is over, and when I figure out what these dreams mean, and if they are dangerous, then we can start thinking about starting a family."

Cynder looked away with a contempt look on her face. "Somehow I knew you would say that. You're right, I don't want our baby to be born in a world of war, not the lives we were born into." Spyro held her close, holding her not only as a friend, but a mate and a lover.

The sun was getting close to setting, the sparkles on the oceans surface glittered like a thousand diamonds in a bright room full if mirrors. Cynder said to Spyro, "How about we watch the sunset together?" Spyro replied, "That sounds good to me" Together they lied down on the beach, curled up close to each other. As they watched the sun set, Spyro said to Cynder, "You know, this would be a good spot for us to sleep tonight." Cynder replied, "I agree, this is very comfortable."

Together they watched the sun set, as the luminous orange orb lowered over the sea of sparkling water, Spyro and Cynder never felt more at peace with the world then they are now. Then the sun set. Spyro yawned and said to Cynder, "Good night, Cyn, sleep well." Cynder kissed him on the cheek and said, "You too, see ya in the morning." And together they fell asleep under the night sky, the sound of the sea rushing up against the shore. The sound of the crickets chirping away. This is a peaceful night.

Meanwhile at Avalar's library

Sparx is looking at a book with a look of concentration on his face. On the table he is at, several large piles of books litter the table. Sparx eventually shuts the book, which is a bit bigger than him, and says, "No good, at this rate I wont find anything in here until the Year of the Dragon after this one. Assuming there is anything in here at all about Humans, or Narris."

Sparx heard something walking towards him, he assumed it was the assistant that helped him find the books he could. As the figure came into Sparx's view, he realized it was Hunter. Hunter greeted Sparx by saying, "Good evening, Sparx. Looks like you found some reading material." Sparx only sighed and said, "Yea hi Hunter. As for these books, they haven't helped me at all."

Hunter said to Sparx, "Terrador told me about what your looking for, and I think I can help you." Sparx looked up at Hunter and let him continue. "There is a room in this library that only government officials of Avalar can enter, under the circumstances, I convinced Prowless to allow me access to that room." Sparx with a determined look on his face, said, "Alright lets check this place out, I feel like getting home for the New Year festival." Hunter nodded and showed him the way.

When Hunter and Sparx got to the room's door, Hunter pulled out a small key from his pocket and opened the door. Sparx entered first, the room was fairly small, with only one desk in the center. There were only 3 bookshelves, each about 15 feet tall lined with books. Sparx said, "Great, now we have several hundred more to look through." Hunter only shook his head and replied, "With me here, it shouldn't take as long, if there is anything on the Humans in this library, it would be here."

As they looked through the books for the next hour, Sparx notices one book in top of the shelf. Sparx said to Hunter, "I'll get that one." As Sparx dropped the book down to Hunter, Sparx noticed a strange indentation in the crack behind the shelf. He looked down in it and noticed there was a button. Sparx looked at it and said to himself, "I know I shouldn't press this, but what the heck." Sparx pushed the button.

As soon as he did, one small portion of an empty wall moved aside, revealing a small staircase leading down. Hunter looked up at Sparx and said, "What did you do?" Sparx looked back at him and said, "I found a weird button back here and pressed it." Hunter looked back at the staircase and said, "Might as well take a look, we may find hidden records." and he walked down the stairs, soon followed by Sparx.

Sparx complained on the way down, "Honestly does it have to be so dark down here, and whats with this tunnel anyway? People are weird in the older days." Hunter, seemingly oblivious to Sparx complaining said, "This is fascinating, they may have built this as a bunker against attacks."

Eventually they entered a large, pitch-black room with a lit torch next to the doorway. Hunter picked up the torch, and noticed the walls had a trail of black powder on it, Hunter placed the torch on the powder, and it lit up the entire room. The room was medium sized, it looked as if though someone lived there before. A bed, and a desk was present. On the desk sat two things, a scroll and a small book.

Sparx walked over to the book, the cover read, 'History of Narris, the Last Human City.' Sparx exclaimed, "Well thats convenient." He then looked over at the scroll, he tried to read it, but didn't understand the glyphs, Hunter couldn't read them either.

Hunter said to Sparx, "We may need to take this to Terrador, he could probably translate it." Sparx agreed. Hunter then picked up the book and the scroll, and together, they headed out of the library and started towards Warfang, with the sun setting in the wake. Sparx thought to himself, I hope Spyro and Cynder are having a good time.

_ Chapter 6- Crystal _

On the beach of the Dragon Shores, still late in the night, the only thing that can be seen on the beach is two dragons curled up asleep together. They appear to be sleeping peacefully, but on closer inspection Spyro seems to be having a nightmare.

Continuing where we left of:

Rayde is flying over a large lake close to the waters surface. He looks at himself in the water. Rayde is a white male, looks around 26 years old. Medium length brown hair, and brown eyes. He is about 6 ft. 2 in, athletic built. His armor is a bright sliver color, with a black strip running down each side. He also has two wings that look as though they are made of crystal, with a light shade of green. He also had a sword on his side with an unusually wide sheath.

Rayde smiled at his reflection, "_still look the same after 3 years of working under Kaze." _He thought. His thoughts also trailed back to his wife, whom he lost a few years back. Pain filled his heart as the memories flooded through him, I will not let something like that happen again. Rayde thought to himself.

Rayde looked back up with a serious look on his face, "I hope I'm not to late" he said out loud. Narris, his home city and the last stronghold of the Human race, was under attack by Kaze, an dragon that Rayde has never seen in light, only in a shaded room.

Soon, Narris came into view. The city was on a large island, tall buildings with a taller tower in the center. The buildings were made of what looked like marble. Rayde's heart sank, he could see pillars of smoke, and most of the buildings were destroyed. A red glare could be seen symbolizing fire. And the large tower had a large piece missing from the side. As Rayde got closer, the large tower collapsed, falling to the ground.

"NO!" Rayde shouted. Seeing the building where his family lived enraged him. "It's obvious he used my Golem to do this, but where is it?" Rayde asked himself. His wings disappeared as Rayde landed in a large, ruined square. The town square was a horrible sight to witness, bodies of humans lay scattered. Rayde recognized some of them.

Suddenly a strange, weak voice called from a corner, ".....Rayde....is that....you?" Rayde looked toward the voice, and found the one thing he didn't, his father Kale. Kale was badly injured, it looked as though he had been crushed, he had a broken arm, as well as a broken leg; other injuries were not visible.

"DAD!" Rayde shouted as he ran over to him. Rayde held him and asked, "Who did this, who did this to our people?!" Kale looked at him and said, "A large beast made of rock and magma...... there was another....a....dragon, he slew everyone....I couldn't stop him-" He stopped as he coughed up blood and then continued, "Son...you must stop him......'cough'... for the sake of every living being on this planet, you have to stop him..." Rayde, tears in his eyes replied, "I will dad, don't worry our race will be avenged." Kale said with his last few breaths, "Good......I....love....you....." then he died.

Rayde gently placed his father's body down and stood up, "The time for mourning will be later, now I have to kill Kaze." He said with overwhelming anger in his voice.

A cold voice seemed to come out of nowhere, "Awww, how heartbreaking, a father's last moment with his son. How.....amusing." A cold laugh followed after that.

Rayde recognized this voice, "KAZE!" Rayde shouted, "Show yourself so I can finish you!"

A large, sharp rock flew out of one of the nearby buildings, Rayde noticed it and dodged it by doing a back flip. Rayde said towards the building the rock flew out of saying "You will have to do better than that to beat me."

Kaze rounded the corner of the building saying, "Yes I believed so." Rayde had seen Kaze before, Kaze had black horns, a dark read underbelly, and purple scales on his body. Kaze was a purple dragon.

Rayde pulled his sword out of the sheath. Rayde's sword was strange, it had two blades coming out of one side of the hilt, a fang sword about 4 feet in length. Rayde held the sword over his head pointed towards Kaze, with his other hand out in front of him.

Kaze only laughed, "Do you truly think you can beat me, I am the first purple dragon in existence, I have mastered 9 out of the eleven elements, Fire, Ice, Electricity, Earth, Shadow, Poison, Fear, Wind, and Darkness. The only two I haven't mastered is light, and your element..."

Rayde smiled and said, "You not getting that secret out of me." Rayde held his arm out in front of him, a large crystal in the shape of a shield pulled out of the ground and attached itself to Rayde's arm. Rayde then said, "Crystal element belongs to me, not you."

Kaze smiled and replied, "Oh well, guess I will have to find out another way." Kaze suddenly drew in his breath and unleashed a large ice stream from his mouth. Rayde planted one hand into the ground and rose it back up, a large crystal wall forming in front of him to protect him.

When Kaze stopped his icy onslaught, Rayde inhaled deeply curling his hands into fists, and rapidly punched the crystal wall. Small, sharp crystals procured out from the wall, heading straight for Kaze. Kaze inhaled again and used his wind breath to move the shards out of his path. Kaze missed one of them and it grazed his shoulder, leaving a deep gash.

Kaze only looked at it and said, "Hmmmm, this should be interesting." Kaze lunged at Rayde, claws extended and mouth open. Rayde readied his sword, right as Kaze was upon him, Rayde hacked at Kaze's head. Kaze swerved out of the way, and swiped a claw at Rayde. Rayde blocked with his shield.

The fight continued of for a while like this, neither of them landing a blow on the other. Rayde finally saw a hole in Kaze's defense and slashed at his chest, leaving a large gash, Kaze grunted as Rayde bashed him with his shield sending him flying across the courtyard. Both warriors were sweating and panting heavily.

Kaze chuckled and said, "it seems we are on even footing, I guess I won't have to hold back anymore."

Rayde shook his head and said, "I hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but you leave me no choice." Kaze looked puzzled and asked, "What do you mean?" Rayde chuckled and said, "There are a total of 12 elements, not 11." Kaze looked shocked as Rayde continued, "The last element that only humans can control, is plasma."

Kaze stared at him and said, "Plasma, how do I know your not lying?" Rayde sheathed his sword, and pulled a two handed sword hilt out from his armor. Rayde said, "Let me show you." Rayde slammed the hilt into the ground so that it was perpendicular to the ground. After a few seconds, Rayde pulled up the hilt, revealing a large two-handed sword, the blade was ominous. Kaze noticed the blade had a strange pattern moving on it, the blade was a lighter black with water-like movements of red moving through it.

Kaze said with confidence in his voice, "Impressive." Kaze started to glow with a black aura around him, Rayde knew what he was doing, Kaze was going into fury mode. Rayde jumped at Kaze, when he brought the sword down on him, Kaze used the aura to push him away, sending Rayde rolling on the ground. As he got to his feet, Rayde noticed that Kaze had changed, his scales were all black now, including his eyes.

_Kaze looked at Rayde and said, "Behold the power of the darkest soul." Rayde replied, "So this is your true power, doesn't look that scary to me." Kaze bellowed, "SILENCE YOU FOOL! NOW YOU WILL DIE!" Kaze shot a stream of black energy out of his mouth. Rayde lunged his sword in front of him, a gray liquid shooting out of the blade's tip. The beams met in midair, staying still as neither could best the other. Kaze suddenly started to glow more and more, the black beam slowly edging towards him. Rayde said in his head, "_Gods, hear me now, I need you to lend me your strength or this whole planet will fall to this madman."

Rayde suddenly heard a voice in his head, his father's voice, "Hold steady and use the strength in your heart, that is all you will need." Rayde couldn't figure out what he meant, the black beam slowly edging toward him made him think. "I failed" He said. He thought of his family, his friends, his father.

Rayde then suddenly felt a huge energy rush from his chest, he unleashed all of it at once pushing the black beam back towards Kaze. Kaze felt something he had never felt before, fear, as the plasma beam was rapidly approaching. Kaze couldn't stop it as the plasma struck him in the chest.

Kaze howled in pain, and was thrown through the buildings behind him till he landed on a beach. Kaze looked up to see Rayde standing over him. Kaze used all of his energy and was now back to normal color. Kaze in agony said, "How? How could you have beaten me?!? I am superior to you, your no more than a Human!"

Rayde replied, "You surrendered your entire being to power, power alone is strong, but not as strong as the bond of a family and ones heart." Kaze only stared at him. Rayde said to him, "I built the Golem and the Destroyer to use only when necessary to keep peace, not as a tool of conquer. I plan to keep it that way, and now you die Kaze." Rayde lunged his sword and stabbed Kaze in the heart.

Kaze opened his eyes in shock and pain. Rayde pulled the sword out, and Kaze fell over onto his side.

Kaze was dead.

Rayde cried out in agony over his family, and his race. Rayde is the last human alive.

As Rayde was walking away, he heard a strange sound back from Kaze's body, he turned around to see what looked like a spirit in the shape of Kaze's head enter his body.

Rayde suddenly felt a burning pressure all over his body, and he could hear Kaze laughing. "He must be trying to control me..." Rayde said. Rayde heard in his mind, "Thats right, and as soon as I take over your body, I will control every element."

Rayde only had one option, an ancient crystal technic used in this situation, Sealing of the Heart. Rayde started to say the Incantation.

Gods of the gems that shine

hear the call of my design

Still this beast within my heart

by sealing that from which it should start

awaken me on journeys end

so that I can destroy this creature of bend.

SEALING OF THE HEARTS!

Rayde started to glow a golden-yellow color. As he looked down, he could see that a yellow crystal was slowly encasing his body.

Rayde heard Kaze ask, "What are you doing, What is this?!?" Rayde smiled and replied, "I am sealing us both, when we wake up, you will be dormant and I won't remember any of this. That is the way it will be." The crystal was now up to Rayde's neck.

Rayde said one last time, "Goodbye Kaze, never again will you hurt anyone."

The crystal went over his head, sealing him completely. Rayde had a peaceful look, only as if he was sleeping.

_ Chapter 7- Preparation _

Eve of the 32nd Year of the Dragon.

Spyro woke with a sudden jolt. He looks around and notices he is still at Dragon Shores with Cynder, who has woken up due to Spyro. Cynder, concerned, asked, "Whats wrong Spyro? You didn't have another dream again did you?"

Spyro looked at her and nodded, "I think it would be better if the Elders hear about this when you hear about it." Spyro said. Cynder looked at him puzzled. Not burrowing further she said, "Ok, I understand. We may need to get going then, Terrador will be expecting us back soon." Spyro nodded and prepared to take off.

On the way back to Warfang, Spyro was lost in though. So Kaze is the very first purple dragon, and what was with those abilities Rayde used, plasma and crystal. Now, Rayde has sealed himself in able to keep Kaze dormant. This may involve me after all... Spyro thought.

Cynder looked over at him, knowing he is thinking about the dream. Cynder thought to herself, Lets just hope this isn't serious, not this close to the Year of the Dragon.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile with Sparx and Hunter

Sparx and Hunter just got into Warfang. Sparx appeared exhausted, while Hunter was holding the book and the scroll they found in Avalar. Hunter looked at the book and asked Sparx, "Do you think there may be a secret study in all the ancient libraries throughout our world?" Sparx only shrugged in response.

Hunter shook his head, Guess he isn't the one to ask. He thought. Hunter told Sparx, "I am going to take this to the Guardians, you go rest for now." Sparx nodded in agreement and headed off towards the tower, almost falling asleep on the way there.

Hunter took off running full speed towards the tower. As he was running, he noticed that many people were putting up decorations. Banners with dragons on them, traveling merchants setting up shops, stores with holiday discounts, all the works.

Hunter smiled, he knew the town would be bustling for the event. It is the same thing every year. Starting at 10 o'clock p.m., a firework is launched every half hour until midnight, then a huge fireworks display is shown.

Hunter thought about Archer, his brother killed in an ambush. Hunter smiled, a new year was always Archer's favorite holiday. He would spend hours on end making food trays, decorations, and party favors at Avalar every year. Hunter shrugged it off, "Now is not the time to be thinking about him." He said as he neared the tower entrance.

The tower itself has some decorations prior to the event, banners, and signs, basic stuff. Hunter entered the tower to already find Terrador in the main lobby reading a book. Hunter approached him and said, "Good morning, Terrador, are you looking for information on Narris as well?" Terrador looked up at Hunter and replied, "Good morning also Hunter, and yes, I am. So far, I could only find out that it did exist, but was destroyed hundreds of years ago. By what it does not say."

Hunter held the book of Narris up and said, "This may be useful, me and Sparx found it in a secret study in Avalar's Library." He handed to book to Terrador. Terrador opened the first page, after a few minutes, he looked at Hunter and said, "This is incredible! This book will tell us how it was made, where, who lived in it, all the governors of it, and how it was destroyed. Did you find this, or did Sparx?"

Hunter smiled and said, "It was by Sparx's folly we managed to find this book. I believe there may be similar studies across all the ancient libraries in this world, do you think so?" Terrador pondered on this for a minute, finally replying, "It is possible, but it would be difficult to get the other governors permission to ransack their libraries for something that might not even be there."

Hunter nodded in agreement and replied, "Yes, but if we explain our cause they may let us investigate." Terrador pondered this for a moment, then said, "Maybe....but lets not do anything until after the event tonight. We all need to take a break now and then."

Hunter looked around for a minute, then asked Terrador, "Where are Spyro and Cynder?" Terrador smiled and said, "They went on a small vacation, they should be back any-" Terrador was interrupted as Spyro and Cynder walked to him.

Terrador smiled and said, "Speaking of which, here they are now." Spyro nodded and looked up at Hunter saying, "Nice to see you again Hunter, why are you here?" Hunter crossed his arms and replied, "Terrador sent me to help Sparx in Avalar's library. You may be interested to know that we found this book." He said pointing at the book Terrador was holding. Hunter continued, "That book will give us much information on Narris, we found it in a secret part of the library."

Spyro and Cynder looked surprised. Cynder said to Hunter, "We, you said. So Sparx actually helped you find it?" Hunter laughed and replied, "It is actually because of him we even found the study the book was in. All of us have some stroke of brilliance now and then." Cynder nodded and said, "I suppose so."

Spyro looked at Terrador and said, "You may want to know that I had another dream last night about Rayde, this may actually involve us more than we think." Terrador looked back and said, "I will gather the other Guardians. You, Cynder, and Hunter, wait for us in my study where we wont be disturbed." All three of them nodded and headed off to the study.

Terrador's study was more of a sitting room. Stone walls, a desk in the center, and a single bookshelf, along with quills and ink. There the trio waited for the Guardians to enter. The room was dead silent, no sound came from anywhere. After a few long minutes, the Guardians all entered the study.

Cyril was first to ask, "What happened this time? Is this a different dream, or a new one?" Spyro replied to the ice-blue dragon, "Yes, I know much more about what has happened." Spyro then began to explain every small detail about the dream. Kaze being the first purple dragon, Rayde able to wield the element of Crystal and Plasma, about the Fang Sword and Plasma Sword Rayde used, and about how he froze himself in able to seal Kaze.

After he finished there was a long silence. After a few minutes Cynder finally said, "Wait....The sword that Rayde used, it sounds exactly like Drome's sword." Everyone agreed with this fact. Hunter spoke next, "So Drome has some connection to Rayde? Or is it the other way around?" Volteer spoke next, "either way, we will not know until we confront him, the only other matter pressing is that if Drome has Rayde's sword can he be able to acquire the ability to use crystal?" Terrador followed, "I did not even know that crystal, or plasma for that matter were even elements." Spyro finished, "We may be dealing with a power no one has seen in hundreds of years."

Meanwhile in a desolate wasteland, the remnants of the Mountain of Malefor could still be seen. Near the top, a light could be seen. Looking out into the wasteland, there are hundreds of small camps set up, each one residing apes.

In a small meeting room within the mountain, a heated discussion can be heard. In this room, there are 4 apes. Each one fairly large in size wearing battle armor. In one corner, an ape is shaded and his face cannot be seen. All that can be seen is a glowing red gem in place of a left eye.

The discussion goes on, "We have to attack now if we are to gain the upper hand!" One of the apes said, "They are not expecting an attack on this cursed holiday, and when they see us attacking Warfang, their morale will diminish into nothing." Two of the apes bellowed in agreement, but the one in the shade remained silent. The ape that made the speech looked at him and said, "What say you, are you in?"

The figure spoke in a low, but smooth voice, "Think about this, it is true they won't be expecting us on this day; although they are not fools. They will most likely have defenses set for the event. Not to mention that purple whelp and the traitor, Cynder." The other ape was unconvinced, "No! We should attack now! We have the upper hand here, we would have a better chance if you didn't give them a heads up about us coming with that Scout 17 you gave our isolation to them on a silver platter!" the ape bellowed

The shaded ape spoke again, "That was my intention. You do not know what I have in store for these infinitesimal creatures. You suggest we kill the Purple Dragon, I have plans for him that will win us total power. You are far to hasty for your stature." The other ape looked at him and said, "Then what do you suggest? That we let them prepare for us to come!? You of all people should be more than happy to kill that purple fool, he slew your father after all! What are your plans anyway? Why wont you tell us!"

The shaded ape leaned forward into the light, his face resembled Gaul, but this ape didn't have a claw scar on his face, rather a sword scar across his eye. He looked directly at the bellowing ape and said, "I cant have my plans floating around like common knowledge now can I? You would do well to still your tongue. My plans are to attack the day after. I plan to face the purple dragon head on, but not kill him. Rather to test his power."

The other ape looked at him quizzically, "Your methods will kill us all. I say you are unfit to lead this army. I challenge you for your throne, and I will-" He was interrupted as a red beam shot out of the lead ape's eye. The beam went through his neck, severing his head from his body. The corpse fell flat on the floor. The other apes looked in astonishment at the body.

The lead ape then said, "This is what happens to anyone who challenges me. That fool did not know who he was dealing with, as for you two. I promise that I will bring our race power over the dragons. I know how to do so." he said with an evil grin. The other two apes bowed their heads and said, "Yes, lord Drome."

Drome headed to the balcony where he could see his army. All of the apes looked up at him and began chanting, "HAIL LORD DROME! HAIL LORD DROME!"

Drome looked down at his army smiling, he then said to himself, "I will not be the fool my father was. I know how to bring power to the apes, and it all starts with this." He reached down his side and unsheathed his sword. The blade was about 4 feet in length, with two blades on one side of the hilt. The Fang Sword.

Drome then began laughing, a laugh of confidence. But moreover, a laugh of power.

_ Chapter 8- Awakening _

In the Elder Chamber

One of the elders is sitting in a chair, by his shape, he is a feline. He seemed to be in a trance-like state. After a few minutes, he inhales deeply under his white hood. "It seems that the time has come." He said to himself.

As he stood up, the other four elders walked into the room. The feline elder said to the four, "Absolutely perfect timing, I think it is time to reveal to Spyro and Cynder about the whole situation." One of the Elders, a mole also under a white hood said to him, "That is actually why we are here, I'm afraid we don't have much time to waste. Drome is assembling his armies and we may not have enough time if we wait any longer." The feline elder nodded in agreement.

The feline elder then said, "Send a message for Spyro, Cynder, and Hunter as well." Another feline elder nodded and headed out. The main feline elder started to rub the base of his head, his fur a sleek white on his hand. "This is going to be an aggravating day." he said.

Back in the main lobby of the tower

Spyro, Cynder, and Hunter were starting to leave the tower when the elder chamber door opened. They all looked at the door, and noticed one of the elders staring straight at them. The Elder gestured them to enter the chamber. Cynder looked at Spyro, he looked back at her. Spyro eventually nodded and started to walk towards the door; Hunter was already there. What could they want with us now Spyro thought to himself. They entered the Elder Chamber.

The room was same as ever, a large circular stone table in the center with a few torches on the wall for light. They all looked around, only to notice the main feline elder looking at them. Hunter started, "Why have you called us here? Can it wait, or is it urgent?" The Elder looked at him and said, "Haste will get you nowhere. If you wish to know why we have called you here, we must explain much to you. This involves you too, Hunter, more than you know." Hunter crossed his arms and said no more.

Spyro started next, "By calling us here, it seems as if this is a matter of huge importance, correct?" The elder nodded, then Cynder continued, "You said you need to explain something. Have you been hiding something from us?" The Elder sighed and answered, "As I said, we do need to explain ourselves, I would ask that you hold you questions due to the length of this explanation." Cynder nodded and let them continue.

The elder started to speak, "We know the whole situation about Rayde." Cynder, and Spyro gasped as he continued. "We know much more about Rayde than you do. In fact, the only reason you have been having these dreams, is because I sent them to you." Spyro stood wide-eyed and confused. "We also know where Rayde is," he continued, "You don't know what happened to Narris afterward, do you? The city was leveled. Rayde, sealed in his crystal tomb was buried deep underground beneath the remains of Narris. A few years later, the Moles built a city on top of the remains in honor of the dragons."

Hunter stood wide-eyed and said, "You mean to tell us that Warfang was built on top of Narris?!?" The main elder nodded, and said, "Yes, Rayde is about 200 ft. beneath us."

There was a moment of silence, as if everyone couldn't really understand what was just said. After a moment Spyro asked, "Why didn't you tell us before? We could have-" The Elder interrupted by saying, "As I said before, let me finish before you ask your questions." Spyro nodded and let him continue.

The elder continued, "We intended to tell you a few days from now, but as circumstances are we can't wait any longer. I intended to give you one more dream Spyro, but it wasn't necessary. Now, as for you, Hunter.." He gestured towards Hunter. "Your parents, knew of this. It was your families job to protect this secret. Your parents were killed during the first war with Malefor, correct?" Hunter nodded. "That was not my Gaul's troops though. That was by Drome's command your parents were slain. As well as your brother; although we do not know why." The elder paused for a minute before saying, "As you know, Drome is in possession of Rayde's sword, we believe he snuck into Warfang while it was being built and extracted the blade from Rayde in the crystal. More than that, we do not know. You may now ask your questions."

Spyro asked first, "Why didn't you tell us before?" The elder answered, "We didn't think it was necessary, and we didn't want Rayde to be awakened just yet for a few other reasons."

Cynder asked next, "How did you know of this? Did you find Rayde while you were building Warfang?" The elder answered, "No, we elders have known this for hundreds of years. We refused to let anyone know."

Hunter asked last, "Why wasn't I ever informed of Rayde's existence; and how did my parents know of him?" The elder answered, "Because they wanted Rayde to fade from existence so no one could find him. Your ancestors was the ones that discovered him before Warfang was built. I doubt your brother knew of him either. The apes killed you parents, and your brother because Drome wants no one to know of him, except for himself."

After a moment of silence, Spyro asked, "Well, what do you want us to do?" The elder replied, "We want you to wake Rayde from his slumber, he is needed now. We elders can catch glimpses of the future, and what we have seen, you can't stop alone or with Cynder."

Spyro nodded as Cynder said, "Well come on then. How do we get to him?" The elder chuckled and said, "We will open the path for you."

All five of the elders suddenly drew their swords, each one identical. A curved longsword, similar to a katana. "Stand on the table, but not the center." the elder said. Hunter, Spyro, and Cynder jumped on the large stone table.

All of the elders jumped to the center of the table, and impaled their swords into the center. The table started to shake, then it started to lower. An elevator! Spyro thought.

After about five minutes of lowering themselves deep under Warfang, they stopped. Nothing could be seen, it was pitch black. Spyro heard the elder whisper something, then torches on the walls lit up, exposing a long hallway. The elder told the three, "You go on ahead, we will wait here for you." They all nodded and started to walk down the hallway.

Nothing was said during that time. After a while, they ended up in a large, circular stone cavern with a large crystal in the center. "This must be it." Hunter said. They walked toward the crystal. The gem was a deep golden yellow color, a dark shape in the center.

Spyro walked up to the gem, and he could barely make out the silhouette of Rayde. Cynder asked, "Maybe we should break it?" Spyro nodded in agreement. He and Cynder drew back their fists and punched the gem as hard as they could.

A large crack shot up the gem. The cavern then started to shake lightly. Spyro actually could make out a few voices during the breaking, all of them recognizable as Rayde. The gem suddenly shattered, sending out a blinding flash of light.

When everyone could see again, Spyro saw a figure lying on the ground. Cynder asked Spyro, "So this is Rayde, right?" Spyro walked toward Rayde on the ground, he looked almost the same as when Spyro saw him in his dreams. There are only two differences, Rayde's armor didn't have the black strip down the side, and Rayde's hair was a darker brown than Spyro remembered. "Ya, thats him." Spyro replied.

Hunter knelled down next to Rayde and said, "He is still breathing, but he is unconscious. We should take him back to the elders, they will know what to do." Spyro and Cynder agreed as Hunter threw Rayde over his shoulder saying, "Then lets be off." Then all of them headed down the hallway, wondering what could be coming to make the elders so worried, and about what significance Rayde has in it.

Meanwhile at the Mountain of Malefor:

Drome is staring out to his armies as they prepared for the battle ahead of them. Suddenly, Drome felt the sword start to vibrate. He looked down on it, staring at it with confusion as he grabbed the hilt.

Drome felt his hand burn as he touched the hilt, but he couldn't let go. Drome saw what had transpired back underneath Warfang, he now knows Rayde has been awakened. "It seems a change in plans is called for." He said as he started to find a paper and something to write with. When Drome finished writing, he called for a messenger. A short, stoutly ape walked in and bowed to Drome.

Drome handed him the paper and said, "Put this on the bulletin and have every commander fill their troops in on the situation." The ape bowed again and left the room.

Drome walked to a mirror in the corner of the room. He gazed at his reflection for a while. He eventually said, "It seems this is going to get a bit more complicated then originally planned."

_ Chapter 9- Rayde _

Spyro, Cynder and Hunter have just returned to the elders deep underground after finding Rayde. The elder looked at them saying, "Well done, it seems you found him. We could feel the tremors all the way back here. Well, lets get back to the surface, time is wasting and we have much to plan for." The three of them nodded, and Hunter put Rayde down while the 'table' started to rise.

Rayde's face was no different than what Spyro remembered, he looked only about 17-18 judging by the felines rate of growth. Rayde was about 6 feet tall, athletic build, dark brown hair. He wore a silver armor, and a light green pair of combat pants.

As they reached the surface, the elder spoke to everyone, "Everyone, no one is allowed to tell Rayde of his past, he must find it out himself. If told before his memories return, he will likely be confused, and grow dangerous. We cannot let that happen."

Hunter replied, "Understood. Spyro, you may need to inform the Guardians on this matter, as well as Sparx." As soon as Hunter finished, Spyro heard Terrador's voice say, "No need, we already overheard."

All of them looked up too see that the Guardians, and Sparx was already waiting for them at the surface. Sparx suddenly said, "Why does it always seem that when something cool happens, I'm not there to see it. Seriously, I missed the fight with Gaul, and Malefor---" Terrador immediately interupted, "Be quite, Sparx! You know that you had no control over those two events, and I bet you were glad you weren't in the middle of the danger." Sparx seemed to ignore him.

Cyril then looked at them and said, "Elders, you have a lot of explaining to do, you need to inform us ahead of time before you pull a move like this." Volteer added next, seemingly excited by the situation, "To think that we were pondering on where the location was of the settlement, Narris was exactly located. Only to find it has been beneath our feet for all these years! The whole thing borders on surprise and oblivious."

Once the table reached the surface, they all jumped off the table, gathering around Rayde. Sparx flew up close to him and asked, "When do you think he will wake up? He looks totally out to me."

His question was soon answered as Rayde started to stir. Sparx backed off behind the group as Rayde slowly started to open his eyes. Rayde's eyes were the same color brown as seen before.

Once Rayde fully opened his eyes, he looked at the group. He groaned then said, "Where am I? How did I get here, and who are you? More importantly, who the heck am I?" The main elder walked up close to him and said, "Hello Rayde. As for you questions," he started to point to each person, except the elders while saying there names, "This is Spyro, Cynder, Hunter, Sparx, Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer."

Rayde only sat up and said in response, "So my name is Rayde...I...can't remember anything at all. Do you know who I am?" The elder only shook his head and said, "We only know your name, nothing else." Rayde snorted and said, "Well, thats perfect. What do I do now?"

The elder looked at him, and said, "You are very important in the events to come. I have a gift for you." The elder reached deep into his robes and pulled out a sword. The hilt was a dark blue color, about a foot long, the sheath was also a dark blue. He handed the blade to Rayde, who seemingly on instinct, pulled out the sword. The blade was a basic silver color, about 4 feet long. A basic longsword.

The elder then spoke, "That sword is very special. It is made of a rare metal that will never dull. That sword will always stay sharp. There are only a handful of these swords throughout the world." Rayde sheathed the sword and said, "Uhhh, thanks...I guess. Only one problem. I don't remember the first thing about combat, or anything else for that matter." The elder replied, "You must regain you memories on your own, then everything will be clear to you."

Rayde, seeming annoyed asked, "Then where do I begin? I have no idea where to start." The elder only shook his head and said, "I have no idea where to begin, none at all." Rayde only sighed and shook his head, and looked at everyone else in the room. Rayde finally said, "I have no idea who I am, where I am, I need to regain my memories somehow, and I have no idea where to begin." Rayde chuckled before continuing, "Perfectly brilliant. Is it possible to be in a worse position than where I am now?"

Sparx said to Rayde, "At least you have people here to talk to ya, you could of woken up alone. That would suck." Rayde laughed in reply and said, "Your right on that, ehhh....Sparx, right?" Sparx nodded.

The elder spoke again, "Rayde, I want you to go to the training arena tomorrow morning, it is too late to go now. Don't worry, you path isn't as bleak as it seems. You have friends." Rayde looked back around to everyone and mumbled "friends...."

Terrador spoke next, "Perhaps it would right now be best if you got some rest, Rayde. Would you like to be woken up later tonight? We have a big holiday coming later tonight. You should enjoy yourself." Rayde looked up at him and said, "Ya, that sound good. It will also give me a chance to figure out where I am. Where are we again?"

Spyro replied to him, "Your in Warfang, the dragon city. We will explain more later tonight, for now you should get some rest." Rayde nodded. They all started to leave the chamber.

Rayde entered the room that was given to him, it was in the middle section of the large tower. The room was basic, a twin bed, a table, bathroom, and a few books. Rayde sat down on his bed with his hands on his forehead. "Why can't I remember anything, I am a stranger in a strangers house right now. Guess I will just have to figure it out later, sleep sounds very good right now." He layed down on his bed, and passed into his waking dreams.

Spyro was back at his house on his balcony with Cynder. Both very tense from the days events. Cynder asked Spyro, "What did the elders mean, "You can't defeat the coming evil even with Cynder...or something like that?" Spyro only replied, "No idea, but I hope it doesn't happen." Cynder placed her head on Spyro's shoulder as they watched the city prepare for the evening.

So it begins, but how will this end? Spyro thought.

Meanwhile at the Mountain of Malefor:

Drome was preparing his armor, in the morning, they would march to the gates of Warfang. That is where everything will begin, but I hoped Rayde wouldn't awaken until after we attacked. But this also puts me in a better upper hand, he has no idea who he is. Drome thought.

No one questioned the order Drome established about an hour ago. No one dared to question Drome.

"Tomorrow is the beginning of the rise of the Apes, and no one can stop it." Drome said smiling.

_ Chapter 10, Celebration _

It is nearing dark, the sun just on the horizon casting an ominous orange-red glow across the sky. Warfang is bustling. Shops are set up for the occasion, bright colored banners on every building. Each with an imprint of a dragon on it. Many shops held all kinds of rich, beautiful objects. Jewelry, rings, colorful rocks and crystals, the works.

Rayde started to stir in his bed, due to a knocking on the door. Rayde woke as he heard a familiar voice, "Hey Rayde, Terrador sent me to wake you up. Come on! You missing out on the celebration!" Rayde slowly got up and walked to the door, he opened it to find Sparx buzzing in the doorway.

"It's about time you got up," Sparx said, "You've been out for hours, someone brought up some clothes for you to change into." He said as he pointed at a small pile of clothes on the floor.

Rayde, still drowsy replied, "Ya...just let me wake up a bit, and I'll be out in a minute, kay?" Sparx nodded as Rayde picked up his clothes and returned to his room. I still can't remember anything. Rayde thought. Who can help me? Who will help me? Rayde started to change, putting his armor on the bed. His new clothes were fairly festive, but normal. The shirt was a medium sleeve, bright red color. His pants were a faded blue type of jeans. He also got some new shoes, which were good running shoes.

As soon as Rayde was finished, he looked out the window. He noticed everything going on, all the people celebrating, children playing in the streets, feline and mole alike. Bright, festive colors lining the buildings, merchants bartering with customers. So peaceful, do I even want to know who I am? Maybe it would be better if I didn't know. Although, living under a dark mystery is hardly what I could call a peaceful existence. Rayde thought.

A sudden banging on the door caught Rayde's attention. "Come on lets get going, it shouldn't take you that long to get some freaking clothes on!" Sparx complained at the door. As Rayde opened the door saying, "Impatient huh? Are you always like this?" Rayde said.

Sparx replied, "What? Just wondering why it takes you so long to get dressed." Rayde said after him, "Sorry, I was just.....thinking." Sparx's noticed a hint of sorrow in his voice and thought, Uh-oh, did I say something wrong? Sparx then said, "Gahh! It's OK, didn't really mean to bug ya, I just wanted to get to the celebration before everything good to eat is gone." Rayde laughed at this and said, "Then go on ahead, I can take it from here." Sparx smiled and thanked him as he buzzed off out a window.

Rayde started to walk down the staircase, passing people as he did, each one giving him a strange stare. Rayde started to notice this and thought, What, have they never seen someone that looks like me before? Rayde got down to the front door.

As Rayde opened the main door to get out, he noticed Spyro and Cynder waiting outside for him. Cynder looked up at him smiling and said, "We thought that we should go with you. You know, show you around town so you don't get lost, at least until you get used to the place." Rayde smiled and nodded saying, "Ya, the last thing I want right now is to get lost here, judging by what I saw from my window, it would take me hours to get back to my room." Spyro chuckled and said, "Then lets get going, we have a lot to show you before the fireworks in about 3 hours." The other two nodded and set off.

Spyro and Cynder haven't seen so many colors and activity going on so much in their lives. So many people, so much activity, so many happy faces, it made Spyro glad to know that things were normal for the time being.

For about two hours Spyro and Cynder explained to Rayde what was what. Rayde, most of the time, just listened. He also didn't seem too bothered by the awkward stares he would get by the felines and moles.

Eventually, Rayde noticed a strange stand that had a few different colored crystals. He walked towards it and was greeted by the merchant, "Ah, good evening. It seems you have an eye for gems I see, take a look and see what you like." Rayde couldn't put his finger on it, but one particular gem seemed very familiar; a light green gem about the size of a golf ball.

Rayde asked the merchant, "Do you mind if I take a look at that one.." pointing to the light green gem. The merchant eyed him and said, "Sure, just don't walk off with it, it took me 7 years to get that one."

Rayde reached for it. As soon as his hand touched it, he felt a sudden jolt of pain shoot through his head. Rayde gripped his head and groaned. Rayde saw a brief flash of a sword, a sword with two blades on one side of the hilt.

When the pain stopped, Rayde was gripping the side of the stand. The merchant, alarmed by his reaction asked, "Hey, you okay?" Rayde only shook his head and said, "Yeah, just...a headache." The merchant stared at him for a long time, as if not believing his excuse, "You sure? You just gripped you head all of a sudden as soon as you touched it." the merchant said. Rayde only replied, "I told you, I'll be fine." and he left there.

Spyro and Cynder caught up with him. Spyro started to ask, "What was that all about?" Rayde stopped and said, "I don't really know, I touched the gem and I saw a sword flash through my mind. Lets worry about it later, we still have much to see." Spyro and Cynder stared at him with concern, "I told you, I will be fine, lets just continue." Rayde repeated.

After a few minutes of walking, Rayde noticed there was a sparing match with wooden swords. "Lets check this out." Rayde said as he started to walk over to it, Spyro and Cynder close behind him. As they got closer, they noticed that two felines were sparing with each other. One of them was a deep orange color, wearing festive clothes. The other was a dark gray color, he wore a type of cloth battle armor.

The gray feline was obviously the more experienced, he only seemed to be playing with the other, sidestepping every lunge, leaning back every slash. After a while, the orange feline tried to feign by first doing a horizontal slash, then a vertical slash. The gray feline only blocked, and using a turning move, knocked the sword right out of the others hand. He held the sword to his neck, the orange feline sighed and said, "I yield."

There was a cheer through the crowd, as well as clapping. The gray feline raised his arms challengingly and declared, "Is there no one else who would like to challenge me? I am the greatest traveling swordsman in the land! Would anyone like another go? I have a large bag of cash here for the one who beats me, 1000 gold coins! That could buy you a very nice house with that kind of money, and still have much left over to pay your kids through school!" The gray feline brandished his sword and declared, "If you can beat me, the great Mist, you can have these coins! Someone, Anyone?"

Rayde got a wild idea, "I will!" he shouted. Everyone looked at him with surprise. Mist looked at him and said, "And we have a challenger, whats your name my good sir?" Rayde replied over the whole crowd, "My name is Rayde, and I would like to challenge you to a sparing match!"

Mist laughed and said, "I like your spirit, come on up here!" Rayde turned back to Spyro and Cynder and said, "If I am to learn swordplay, this would be a good chance to practice what I know." Before Spyro could stop him, Rayde bounded up onto the stage.

Mist pointed over towards a counter that had many types of wooden swords on it, "Choose you weapon." he said to Rayde. Rayde looked over the swords for a while, and decided on a sword about 4-5 feet long, and a 1 foot long hilt, a longsword. Mist started to explain the rules, "Whoever can disarm his opponent first will be the winner, no head strikes, or below the belt." Rayde nodded in agreement.

They shook hands and prepared to start. Mist held his sword straight out in front of him, his other hand holding his opposite shoulder. Rayde held his sword down my his side, ready for what was to come. "Begin!" Mist shouted.

Mist struck fast and quick, first trying to catch Rayde in the shoulder. Rayde blocked it with a simple sidestep. Mist then retaliated with a lunge, which Rayde blocked with a simple flick of his sword. Swordplay seemed to come second nature to Rayde, it seemed so easy, but challenging. Rayde slashed towards Mist's side, which he stopped with his sword. For a moment, they were held at that position, neither gaining ground for the moment.

Rayde then turned his sword so it was facing the other direction, then pushed as hard as he could. This sent Mist turning to the right. Rayde then used the hilt of the sword to bash Mist directly in the chest, stunning him for a moment, enough time for Rayde to finish it. Rayde then struck at Mist's wrist, not breaking it, but making him drop it. Rayde grabbed it out of the air, and put one of then to Mist's neck.

Mist had a stunned look on his face, the crowd was dead silent. After a long moment, Mist groaned, "Grrrr....I yield, you have bested me, take your prize and be proud, Rayde." The crowd erupted into cheers, and claps, Spyro and Cynder joining in the frenzy. Mist grabbed Rayde on the shoulder and said, "In all my days no one has beaten me. I accept defeat but I have to ask, what are you? You are not Feline, Dragon, and definitely not Mole."

Rayde only chuckled and said, "I wish I knew that myself. I have yet to find who I am, but I will find the answer." Mist nodded respectfully saying, "Then I wish you luck on your quest. A man may wish to hide his past, but then he erases who he really is. Even if your past is dark, you can change yourself by actions before you remember your past."

Rayde pondered this for a moment, Mist's words echoing in his mind. After a moment Rayde said, "You have given me a good reason to keep searching, and I will, be sure of that." And with the large bag of coins in hand, Rayde left.

As they continued to walk, Rayde started to think to himself, two odd things about me tonight. First with the weird gem, then me being good at swordplay. There is obviously much more to me than most people think. Rayde's trail of thought was interrupted by his stomach growling. Rayde turned back to Spyro and Cynder laughing, "I need to get some food, I am bloody starving." Spyro and Cynder only smiled, and Cynder said, "Well, you should of gotten some food before you got out here."

Rayde replied back humorously, "I would have, but if I didn't have a buzzing alarm clock I would be stuffed now." Spyro laughed and said, "You're talking about Sparx aren't you?" Rayde only nodded as he walked up to a food counter. Using the money he won, he bought a mutton. Rayde stopped and sat on a bench to enjoy his meal, watching a group of kids playing catch with a ball. When he finished, he threw the bone into the trash and looked for Spyro and Cynder.

Rayde found them at a jewelry counter, Cynder looking at a set of rings. Once they noticed him, Spyro said, "Well, the fireworks are going to start here soon, and we aren't very far from our house. Would you like to join us Rayde?" Rayde replied, "Of course, only if I won't be any trouble..." Cynder interrupted him by saying, "It's no trouble at all, we have a great view of where the fireworks are going to be set off." Rayde nodded and said, "If you say so."

When they arrived at Spyro and Cynder's house, the fireworks were just starting. "Hurry, lets get to the balcony." Spyro said with anticipation. When they reached the balcony, the first set of fireworks just went off. Covering the sky with a red light as they burst revealing their patterns. "Now that is cool." Rayde said.

Over the next hour, fireworks lit up the sky; covering the sky with red, blue, yellow, green, white, and many other colors. Rayde managed to find his way onto the roof, while Spyro and Cynder sat on the balcony, enjoying each others affection. Rayde was lying flat on his back on the slanted roof, drifting in and out of sleep, until finally passing into his deep slumber.

Spyro looked up at Rayde and noticed him asleep. "He's out." He said. Cynder rested her head on his and said, "Well, a lot has happened tonight, I can understand totally. Remember how long we slept after we beat Malefor? Some people thought we were dead." Spyro and Cynder chuckled humorously and watched the remainder of the fireworks.

When it was over, Spyro and Cynder went back into their house, falling asleep almost as quickly as Rayde did.

Meanwhile at the Mountain of Malefor:

Drome was watching his army from his balcony outside his door. They were preparing to leave tomorrow morning, arriving at Warfang at sunset.

"The pieces are moving into place, tomorrow will determine who will have the upper hand." Drome said to himself. He continued to watch his army prepare for the coming conflict.

"Although they may not even need to fight at all." Drome said laughing to himself.

_ Ch. 11- Training _

Rayde stirred slightly as he awoke on top of Spyro and Cynder's roof. He sat up and looked around after rubbing his eyes, Must of passed out on the roof last night He thought.

Rayde looked around, and noticed. On closer inspection, he noticed it was Sparx winging towards him. As Sparx flew up to him, Sparx said, "Ah good, your already awake. The elders told me to get you to the training grounds, you trainer is getting impatient."

Rayde smiled and replied, "Greeeat...now I have a teacher who cant wait for his pupil to show up. I may not get along with this guy too well." Sparx laughed and said, "No one does, hope your ready for him he has never been beaten. If anyone can get you good at swordplay, its him."

Rayde nodded and asked out of curiosity, "What is it you do Sparx? Do you have any type of combat skills, or do you serve another purpose?" Sparx looked down and said, "Well, since I'm so....small.... If we were to be attacked, I would carry orders or messages to the commanders. I'm the only one for the job." Rayde noticed a hint of sorrow in his voice thinking, Did I hit a nerve....maybe I can cheer him up.

"Thats pretty vital, Sparx. If a commander cant get his orders from his superiors, his army will be disorganized; rendering it a nusence rather than an asset." Sparx looked up surprised and said, "Wow, for someone who lost his memories you sure know a lot about military tactics."

Rayde pondered on this for a moment, then finally said, "I don't remember anything about myself, but I remember other things, like strategies, and how to fight. Anyway, where is this training arena?"

Sparx looked around for a moment and pointed to a circular building, "There, just a straight shot from here, you sword is already there." Rayde nodded and thanked him while taking off. Sparx hovered there for a second thinking aloud, "How is he gonna help us? He cant remember anything.... I'll ask the elders later, right now I need some breakfast." With that, he took off.

Rayde was in full sprint toward the training grounds. The city still had some festivity to it, most of the people haven't taken down the decorations yet. As Rayde was running, he noticed a feline in a dark cloak running towards him, sword in hand with a bag in the other. Behind him, the merchant that was selling the strange gems Rayde saw the previous night chasing him, telling him to stop and that he stole his merchandise.

The thief shouted to Rayde as he got close to him , "Get outta the way boy, or your gonna regret it in steel." The thief started to raise his sword. Thats when Rayde noticed something about the way he was holding it, he had his hand at the bottom of the hilt leaving a 4-5 inch gap. Thats when Rayde saw his chance.

When the thief was nearly upon him, Rayde grabbed the upper part of the hilt, and yanked it out of the thief's grip, breaking the thief's wrist in the process. The Rayde tripped the thief when he was next to him, sending him tumbling to the ground. The thief lied on the ground clutching his hand, then said, "Who...who are you???" apparent fear in his voice.

"Do you think you will get anywhere being a thief? Is that a simple life to live, or are you really that stupid?" Rayde said. The thief quickly replied, "I have no other way, no one will accept me. I lost everything during the war."

Rayde shook his head and said, "So you reduced yourself to a life of crime? I am sure the elder council would have given you shelter, perhaps you still can. You can still redeem yourself." The thief stared blankly in his face, thinking deep. Rayde started to walk away, when the turned back and said, "Sorry for breaking your wrist, it should recover nicely though, come see me when it is healed and I will give back your sword. You have no need of it right now." The thief still stared at him, eventually he nodded and got up and left, leaving the bag behind.

The merchant ran past Rayde and grabbed the bag. Once he checked to see that everything was there, he turned to Rayde and said, "Thank you very much for getting this back, Rayde. You just saved my business." He reached into the bag, and pulled out the strange gem that Rayde touched the previous night and said, "I want you to have this, judging by your reaction to it last night, you have greater need of it than I." He placed the gem in Rayde's hand, not giving him a choice. This time, Rayde didn't have a weird vision. Rayde placed the gem in his pocket and said, "Uhhhhh....thanks. I'll look after it. Listen I gotta go to the training grounds..."

The merchant interrupted him, "Say no more, I have held you back long enough, I guess I will see you next year Rayde. Goodbye for now." Rayde nodded in reply and took off to the training grounds.

As Rayde entered the training grounds, he overheard a loud voice saying, "Where is that little punk....ehhhh what did the elders call him...Rain, no uh Rage...uhhhhh." Rayde walked up behind him and said, "Rayde" The feline suddenly replied, "Ah yes thats right," He turned around to look at him and stopped, this feline was about as tall as Rayde, with a blue coat.

The feline spoke up, "Ah, about time you got here! I've been waiting for you, I am Tracks. We will start immediately with your training." Rayde nodded walking with Tracks to the designated area. "You know," Tracks said, "It usually takes my students 3 years to work up to this level of training, don't think your better than them only because the elders recommended I boost you up. Let's first start with your style, do you use a blade?"

Over the next hour, Tracks asked him a series of questions, how he holds a sword, his style, his stance, every small detail. When he finished, Tracks said, "Alright, now lets put you to the test. You are going to face three different challengers to simulate different types of enemies you may fight. You will fight an archer, a spear man, and myself, a blade." Rayde nodded and stepped into a large open arena. He has been given a wooden sword for training.

A mole stepped into the arena, carrying a bow about as big as he was, along with a full quiver of arrows strung to his back. The mole was about 3 feet high. Tracks stood to the side and said, "Begin." The mole wasted no time in attacking, he fired a wooden arrow directly at Rayde's chest. Rayde leaned sharply to the side, once he dodged the arrow, he noticed another flying directly at him, Rayde dodged this one by a hairsbreadth by moving back up. He attacks when his opponent evades his attacks, I have to attack him head on to win this. Rayde started to run up to the mole. The mole panicked and started firing arrows at him as fast as he could.

Rayde sidestepped to dodge each arrow, eventually getting right up to the mole, Rayde grabbed his bow, and threw it across the arena, then pressed the wooden sword to his neck.

Rayde heard clapping, he turned over to see Tracks clapping, "Bravo, you saw just what I did, his attacks came when you dodged, by using a direct approach, you were able to disorient him, well done indeed. Thank you Lem, your assistance is no longer required."

The mole bowed to Tracks and left the arena, retrieving his bow along the way. Tracks looked back at Rayde and said, "You show good promise, your reading of an enemies movements is impressive, but can you win against the next fighter?" Just as he said that, a large, muscular feline with a red fur coat stepped into the arena, carrying a 7 foot long polearm (A spear with a long blade on the end).

"Begin." Tracks said. The feline raised his polearm into a fighter stance and started circling Rayde. Rayde stood still and watched him, keeping his sword at the ready. He is going to look for a weak point, then strike, hoping I will strike first, If he cannot find a weakness, he will likely attack to find one.

As Rayde predicted, the feline circled him a second time, suddenly lunging at Rayde's feet when he was behind him. Rayde jumped to avoid his attack, and used his sword to keep the polearm in place. He underestimated the felines strength though, he lifted the polearm, sending Rayde flipping across the arena. He landed flat on his back, and barely dodged the end of the polearm, right where his head was.

Rayde ran back to the other side of the arena, ready for what was next. He aims for the feet, and using his strength, stuns his enemy to deliver the final blow, I just barely missed that last one, I think I know how to beat this guy. Rayde waited as the massive feline attacked again at Rayde's feet, this time Rayde jumped onto the shaft of the polearm, before the feline know what happened Rayde jumped behind him and placed his sword to the felines neck; in a blow that would have killed him instantly.

Rayde again heard clapping, this time from multiple people. He turned to see that Spyro, Cynder and Hunter clapping with Tracks.

Tracks spoke out with a booming voice, "I can tell you and me are going to get along, you think just like I do, when you cant find any way to injure the enemy by normal means, use his weapon against him. You have the tactical mind of a true warrior, but now you will face me, can you best the top warrior in this city. I heard about your fight with that Mist fellow, and I can tell you I am much more skilled than him."

Tracks walked into the middle of the arena, brandishing a wooden longsword of 6 feet including the hilt. He held the sword above his head, and his other hand straight out in front of him, as if to jab Rayde if he came close. Rayde prepared for the fight, brandishing his sword to his side, ready to act and react.

After a long moment of silence, Tracks said "Begin." Tracks started to walk towards him. Once he was close enough, he jumped to Rayde's side and slashed at his legs. Rayde stepped away from Tracks to avoid the attack, countering with a lunge to the chest. Tracks knocked the sword away with relative ease, retaliating with swipe near Rayde's rib cage. Rayde countered this maneuver with an upward slash to stop the blade in its tracks. When the blades were stopped, Rayde noticed that he was holding his sword the opposite way.

Tracks noticed this and said, "Ahh, ambidextrous with a sword eh? A good tactic indeed." Tracks then leaps back, when his feet firmly planted in the ground, he jumped straight at Rayde, holding his sword in front of him. I gotta move or he is gonna take me out with momentum, perhaps I can use that against him. Rayde thought. When Tracks was within 4 feet of him, Rayde jumped and using his weight, stomped on Tracks's back in midair, sending him rolling across the arena.

Once Tracks stopped, Rayde tried to jump on him, and end this with a pierce to the heart, Tracks saw this coming however, and rolled out of the way. When Tracks got to his feet, he said, "You are definitely one of the most challenging enemies I have ever faced, no one has ever tried to pull a move off like that before. I guess I underestimated you a bit."

Rayde smiled and replied, "The first rule of combat to me, is never to show your enemy mercy, or you may end up dead yourself." Tracks laughed and said, "Then you will never fall in battle, unless you are facing one who follows the same rule, in other words, you may win this one; we will just have to see."

Rayde then ran at Tracks intending to trip him with his sword and retaliate. Tracks jumped to avoid this attack, bringing down his sword on Rayde's head, which Rayde had to stop with a horizontal block. Rayde then smile, he had him right where he wanted him.

Rayde used one of his feet, one he wasn't balancing on, to swipe Tracks's feet out from under him, making him fall to the ground, and losing his grip due to reflexes, tossing it into the air. Rayde caught the sword with his other hand, and placed both blades to Tracks's neck, in what would have been a decapitating blow. The fight was over, Rayde won.

Spyro, Cynder and Hunter erupted into applause, congratulating him. Rayde held out a hand to Tracks, which he took to help him stand up. Tracks looked directly at Rayde and said, "Well done, you have beaten me. It's been a long time since I have tasted defeat. Kudos to you, Rayde."

Rayde smiled and replied, "You put up one hell of a fight though, you wore me out at some points. I'm gonna sleep very hard tonight." Tracks laughed and said, "And I feel the same." Rayde then thought of something and asked, "You said you followed a different rule then mine, what is you tactic in fighting?" Tracks smiled and said, "To read your enemies movements, and counteract them with similar moves. You did the same to me, while predicting what I would do next. You have a very strategic mind Rayde, don't waste it." Rayde nodded and said, "That I won't, you have my word."

Tracks then said to him, "Well, I have nothing to teach you, but if you would like to spar at any time, come see me. I think your friends are waiting for you, you should go now and rest. You've earned it." Rayde nodded again and said, "Thank you, take care of yourself, until next time, goodbye." Rayde left in the company of Spyro, Cynder and Hunter.

"A fine display of swordsmanship Rayde, I think even Prowless may envy you if he saw you fight." Hunter said. Everyone laughed at this comment. Spyro started next, "That was incredible, I bet you could've beaten Gaul easier than I could have." Rayde replied, "Who is Gaul?" Spyro was about to answer when Cynder said, "We will tell you later, but really, you did a great job!"

Rayde then started to say "Alright, alright I get it, I am a good swordsman. Do you think I need to go to the elders to explain about the----." Rayde was interrupted as they all heard a loud horn sound off, once, twice, then three times. Spyro, Cynder and Hunter all looked towards the ramparts with fear, "Oh no..." Cynder whispered.

Rayde looked at the group confused and said, "Why, what going on?" Spyro looked at Rayde and said, "We are about to be attacked, and I think I know who it is... We have to get to the Elders...NOW!!"

Drome looked at the walls of Warfang, they were within visual of the city. Drome had a massive army behind him. Drome pulled out a horn and sounded it off, a loud booming note filling the air. The army stopped immediately.

Drome turned around and shouted, "We will stop here for now, remember my orders and DO NOT defy them, for no reason what so ever!" The troops saluted and stopped.

Drome turned back to the city, and signaled for an ape to come up, he handed the ape a piece of paper and said, "When they talk to you, read this aloud word-for-word, got it?" the ape gulped and nodded, "Y-yes sir!" And summoned a Dreadwing to ride up to the city gates.

Drome smiled and thought to himself. This is where we find out who is more powerful, Rayde. This conflict will mark the beginning of a new age for the apes, better than what my father envisioned.

_ Chapter 12-Duel _

Spyro, Rayde, Cynder, and Hunter are sprinting towards the main structure of Warfang. An unknown group of enemies has started to advance on Warfang, sending the city into a state of panic. Mothers clutching their confused and frightened children, running into their houses for cover. Warriors of both Feline and Mole rushing towards the Ramparts in preparation for their orders.

During all the confusion, Rayde heard a voice calling to them from behind, he turned to notice Tracks carrying a long bundle of cloth. "You forgot this!" Tracks said as he threw the cloth at Rayde. Once Rayde caught it he knew what it was, he unwrapped it revealing his sword. Rayde raised a hand in thanks, and continued to the tower. Rayde could hear Tracks yelling after him, "The next time you forget that, I'll have you tied up and flogged till your back has more cuts than a dragon has scales on his back!" With this, Tracks ran back to prepare.

Rayde only grinned at Tracks's threat, Better not forget it then, He thought.

After a few more minutes of running (or in Spyro and Cynder's case, flying), they reached the tower. They burst through the front door, only to find the Terrador, Volteer, Cyril, and the main elder already there. The main elder was holding Rayde's armor, the silver breastplate, along with his light-green combat pants. The Elder held out the armor to Rayde, "Thought you might need this, put it on quick. I will meet you at the Ramparts." Rayde nodded and took the armor, then ran upstairs to change.

When Rayde was out of earshot, Spyro asked, "What's going on, is it Drome?" Terrador replied to him, "We believe so, he has a massive army. We may need a miracle to stop it." Spyro's heart sank with fear, as well as Cynder's. The Elder spoke next, "It's strange," He said "I didn't expect Drome to attack so soon, this is a very erratic move for him to make."

Hunter spoke next, "We don't need to worry about that, we need to make sure that we are ready for this onslaught. He can't be much worse then Malefor's army, can he?" Cynder replied, "No, probably not. Drome doesn't have a Golem as backup in this fight. If we do what we did last time, we can stop them before they breach the walls."

Cyril nodded in agreement and said, "Well then, lets get going. We have an army to prep." With that, they all left for the Ramparts.

Meanwhile, with Rayde.

Rayde just finished fitting on his armor, he then picked up his sword and started running towards the front door. OK, time to figure out if I can really fight in battle. He thought.

After a while, Rayde finally arrived at the Ramparts, where the whole group was there waiting for him, including Sparx. The elder was first to talk, "Sparx, I want you to inform the commanders that they are not to attack, unless attacked." Sparx nodded and flew off.

The elder then turned to look out to Drome's army, as did Rayde. Drome had a colossal amount of troops, by the look of it, over10,000 strong, covering the entire battlefield about a short mile away from Warfang. They had siege engines similar to what Malefor had when he attacked, including the battering ram that was very hard for Spyro and Cynder to destroy.

While the Warfang army only stood at the entrance, by the look of it 1,000-2,000 strong. A single, large cannon stood at the top of the Ramparts, operated by a mole.

Rayde was appalled by the sheer size of the army, eventually saying, "They probably outnumber us 10 to 1, do you think we can win?" He asked. The elder only stood there, watching Drome's army, before he said, "I think there is more to this appearance than meets the eye. Look, there is a messenger heading this way." Sure enough, there was a single ape on the back of a Dreadwing heading closer to the city gates.

The elder looked at Rayde and said, "I want you to come with me to see what he wants. Spyro, Cynder, you should come too." They all nodded in agreement and headed down to the city gates. Once the guards opened the door, they started to walk to the open field where the messenger sat waiting.

Once they got to him, the ape opened a piece of paper and said, "The following is a message from our lord, Drome." He cleared his throat and continued, "Greetings, Rayde-" Rayde immediately became alert, He knows who I am? He thought before the ape continued.

"By now, you must realize that you cant hope to stop my army from obliterating your walls. But such a conflict can wait, I have a proposition for you. Meet me in the middle of this field, I want to talk to you in person, Spyro and Cynder may come as well. You have my word that I will not attack unless attacked, I will be waiting." The ape finished and used his Dreadwing to fly back to the army. Drome was already waiting in the middle of the field.

Rayde looked at the elder and asked, "You think I should meet him? This could be a trap." The elder pondered this for a moment, thinking about the opportunity that was breathing down their neck. "Perhaps," the elder said, "We should see what he wants to talk to you about. But I don't like it."

Cynder spoke next, "For as long as I have known him, he never has gone back on his word. He may be evil, but he is an honorable warrior." Spyro looked at her surprised and said, "You think we should talk to him, if he is like his father-" Spyro was then interrupted by Cynder, "He isn't like Gaul, that I am sure of." Cynder said.

The elder then said, "I will leave it for you to decide, Rayde." The elder then turned to the city gates, leaving them there.

Rayde stood there for a moment, contemplating what he should do. After a moment, he said, "I'm going to talk to him, You guys can come if you want. I want to ask him a few questions myself." Cynder understood, while Spyro just sighed and nodded.

Rayde, Spyro, and Cynder started to walk towards Drome. Drome was dressed in a dark red breastplate, and a shield similar to Gaul's on his left arm. His red gem-eye glowing slightly. He also had a sword sheathed to his belt, the sheath was particularly large for a simple hand-and-half sword. Rayde couldn't help but feel he saw that sword from somewhere before.

As they all got within 6 feet of each other, Drome greeted the group, "Good afternoon, Rayde. And of course, the meddling purple rat Spyro, and the old general Cynder. Its been a long time since I have had such an audience." A smile was visible on Drome's face.

Spyro growled and replied, "Cut the formal act Drome, we know why your here, so lets get this over---" Drome immediately interrupted him by saying, "Quiet dragon, I only wish to speak with Rayde. I will deal with you later."

Spyro was about to continue when Rayde held up his hand in front of him, saying "Spyro, let me handle this." Spyro then stood back and let them talk.

Rayde looked at Drome and said, "You have a proposition you say, and I suppose that you want something. Money, land, power? Why have you called us out here?" Drome quickly replied, "What I want today is not a tangible object, I only seek to witness first hand how a crystal warrior fights."

Rayde stared at him in confusion, "Crystal warrior? You cant be referring to me, I don't even fully know who I am yet." Drome chuckled and said, "I know more about you than these whelps. But to make the game more interesting, I won't tell you anything. Now back to my request." Drome stopped for a moment before continuing, "I want to test your swordsmanship, that is all. It will be a non-lethal duel. If you win, we will leave and return in 5 months. If I win, you must come with me."

Rayde looked at him and asked, "And if it is a draw?" Drome thought on this for a moment before saying, "Then we will leave and return in 1 month. We can avoid much unneeded bloodshed today, Are you in Rayde?" Drome asked as he held out his hand.

Rayde thought on this for a moment, Should I accept? If I win, it will give us more time to prepare. But if I lose, I have to leave with him....Did he plan this out? What does he want with me, am I really that important? No doubt if I refuse he will attack and overrun Warfang. He seems to know more about me than most others, but how does he know, I must win this fight. No matter the cost.

Rayde replied to Drome, "Alright, you have a deal." He then shook Drome's hand. Drome then said, "Spyro and Cynder will not interfere with this duel. Also, I understand you cant use magic, so I will not in this fight." Rayde nodded and said to Spyro and Cynder, "You heard him, back off and let me try my skills with him."

Cynder looked at him concernedly, "Rayde, be careful, he is an expert swordsman." she said. Spyro then said, "Rayde, think about this. If you lose, Drome wins. All may be lost because of this." Rayde replied, "I know, but would you rather have him flatten the city now, or when we can prepare later?" Spyro nodded and stood back.

Rayde and Drome prepared to fight, "Remember," Drome said, "This is nothing more than a disarming fight, either disarm your opponent or force the other to surrender." Rayde nodded in agreement, unsheathing his sword. And waited for Drome to make a move.

Drome unsheathed his sword, the sword had two blades on one side of the hilt, The Fang Sword! Spyro thought.

After a long moment of no movement, Drome started to slowly walk towards Rayde. Rayde stood his ground and waited for Drome to attack first. Drome only kept walking, soon he eventually just walked past Rayde, which puzzled him. Drome took advantage of his confusion and slashed at his back. Rayde ducked under the blade and slashed upward, intending to hit Drome's wrist. Drome blocked with his shield, and bashed Rayde with the hilt of the sword, sending him rolling 7 feet across the ground.

Rayde barely got up in time to avoid the tip of the sword, where his head was. He uses his enemy's confusion and attacks while he blocks. Rayde thought. Rayde then jumped at Drome with his sword held above his head. Drome tried to kick Rayde out of the way, but was blocked by one of Rayde's kicks. Rayde then used his free hand to punch Drome on the top of his head, sending him face-first into the ground.

Drome rolled out of the way to avoid Rayde's sword point. "Impressive," Drome said. Drome then ran at Rayde and tried to slash at his right side, where his free hand was. Rayde spun to knock the sword away, then roundhouse kicked Drome across the face, sending him flying a few feet back. Drome only got back up and smiled.

Rayde's eyes widened as he realized, He's just toying with me! Drome then leaped high into the air, brandishing the fang sword, Rayde had to roll to dodge him. Drome quickly started hacking and slashing at Rayde furiously. Rayde had a hard time keeping up with him. Rayde couldn't even fight back, he could only defend.

Rayde then faltered as his foot hit a small rock, tripping him up. Drome took advantage of this and grabbed Rayde by the neck, also grabbing his sword hand. Rayde gasped and choked for air, he could see Drome smiling deeply. Drome then whispered to Rayde, "Now that I am close enough, I can use my magic to force you to work for me without being detected."

Rayde then realized Drome's reason for doing this, He wants me to join him, he tricked me. Rayde couldn't talk due to the fact that Drome was cutting off his air supply. Rayde then felt a burning pressure in his skull, it felt as if though something was clawing through his brain, determined to explore it all.

Rayde couldn't think, he couldn't breath, he couldn't move. Damn, he got me, I can't get away. I failed

Rayde was about to give up, he had no escape. Suddenly, a light appeared from Rayde's pocket. Drome kept on trying to gain control of Rayde, but felt as if his powers were being suppressed.

Drome then felt a burning pain in his hand, he couldn't hold onto Rayde anymore. He let go of him, clutching his hand that was around his neck. Drome looked up at Rayde, startled by what he saw.

Rayde was floating in midair, a pale green light surrounding him. A small green gem flew out of Rayde's pocket, and hovered a few inches in front of Rayde. After a moment, the gem flew into Rayde's head, absorbing it through his skin.

Rayde then started to glow a dark blue color, his sword was completely covered in this light. The sword started to change, part of it was running down the length of Rayde's arm, while the front remained as it was. The hilt moved to, the hilt went straight up, the sword took the shape of a very long 'T' shape, the horizontal part being the blade.

A bright flash of light blinded everyone in visual range, when the light died down, Rayde was visible again, but he was different.

His clothes changed, he was now wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt, with a strange insignia on the front, his pants also changed, they were a jet black color. Rayde's eye color also changed, they were a rich blue color, they looked almost like sapphires.

Rayde's sword also changed, the blade ran down the length of his arm, about to his elbow. The blade also stuck out in the front about 4 feet. The hilt was perpendicular to the blade. Rayde was holding an Arm Blade.

Drome stood in amazement, as well as Spyro and Cynder. Drome started to think to himself, What has happened to him? I didn't know he had other abilities. This may get more difficult than I thought.

Rayde wasted no time, he ran very quickly at Drome, he lunged at him. Drome raised his shield to block, but Rayde's sword went straight through the shield, impaling him in the arm. Drome grunted in pain as he pulled off Rayde's sword, and threw his shield. Drome then realized something, He couldn't move his arm, the one that Rayde stabbed.

Rayde spoke to Drome, a much deeper tone in his voice, "How do you like the effect of my Craitiku (cry-tick-oo)?" Gesturing towards his sword, "It paralyzes the limb it cuts, rendering it useless" Drome gritted his teeth in annoyance.

So, he wants to play like that eh? Drome thought. Drome fired a laser from his eye at Rayde. Rayde only smiled, and backhanded the laser as it got close to him, sending it flying to the left. Drome then quickly ran at him, intending to slash him across the neck, Rayde was already swinging his sword, also aimed at Drome's neck. They stopped when the blades were less than an inch before their skin.

The both were startled by what position they were in. They both had their blades to each other's necks. The fight was over, it was a draw!

"It seems this is a draw." Rayde said, still smiling. Drome was not very happy, but said, "I am a man of my word, well in this case I am. We shook hands on it. Me and My army will leave, you have one month before we attack again."

Drome turned around and started to leave, his army stared at Rayde with amazement, and fear. Drome gave the order for his army to pull back, which they followed without question.

Rayde, still in his new state, walked towards Spyro and Cynder. They were staring at him with their mouths agape. After a moment, Rayde said laughing, "You know, you guys look totally ridiculous right now."

Spyro then replied, "Uhhh, Rayde, have you even looked at yourself! Your clothes and sword has changed entirely!" Rayde looked over himself, noticing the changes. He looked back up as Cynder said, "What happened? Drome had you by the neck, I thought he had you beat. Then you just started glowing. Then that gem flew out of your pocket into your head.!"

Rayde thought on this for a moment before saying, "I wish I could answer what just happened, I still can't remember anything from my past. I only remembered Craitiku and how to use it, thats----"

Rayde started to feel very dizzy, after a moment of swaying, all Rayde saw was the sky. Then he fainted.

_ Chapter 13-Shadow _

Rayde found himself in a completely dark area, nothing was visible, it is too dark to see. Rayde is suspended in Midair. "How did I get here?" He thought. "Last I remember, I just fainted out of nowhere after I changed during my fight with Drome.."

A dark, low voice replied him, "That was my doing, young Rayde." the voice said. Rayde looked around, but saw nothing. He called out, "Who are you, and how do you know my name!?!"

The voice laughed coldly and replied, "Poor Rayde, he cant remember who he is. It is the only explanation. If you remembered anything, you would know who I am."

Rayde was getting very annoyed now, "Look, I am sick of people hiding my past from me. Tell me! Who am I!" The voice was silent for a moment, then said, "I will tell you three things. One, that character Drome is in control of your sword. Two, when you changed during your fight, you unleashed a small amount of my Shadow Power."

Rayde thought for a second, "Shadow Power?"

The voice continued, "And third, You left an item behind to help find you memories, a book. You wrote it a long time ago for when a situation like this would arise."

Rayde was even more confused, "A book? Where is it?" The voice replied, "I have no idea, believe me I would tell you if I did know."

Rayde then said, "Ok, now I have two questions, What do you mean by Shadow Power?"

The voice was silent for a second before saying, "That gem you had was able to tap into the powers that I gave you a long time ago, you were able to exploit it in a time of need. Let me tell you, it is no coincidence that Craitiku appeared during the fight with Drome."

Rayde then said, "OK, now for my next question. Who are you?"

The voice replied quickly, "That I will not tell you. But I will give you this. 'The one who hides behind a mask has no identity to refer to himself by'." the voice said.

Rayde thought to himself, "Great, a logistics man." Rayde then said, "But the one who is behind a mask has an identity only he knows, am I not correct?"

The voice laughed and said, "That is true, know me as Blank, that should suffice for now. And now, I must leave you, the pests outside are impatient."

Rayde shouted, "No! Wait a second----"

Rayde then woke up.

Rayde's vision was blurry, he was in a white room lying on a bed. Two shadows were next to him, one purple and one black. When Rayde's vision returned, he noticed Spyro and Cynder next to his bed.

Spyro was talking to Cynder, "So you think that he changed because he awakened shadow element in him? He has been unconscious over the night." Cynder nodded and said, "Yeah, thats what happened to me, only my appearance didn't change. Gaul was able to control me after, as well as the other dark elements. If Drome is more powerful then Gaul, Rayde's shadow element must be incredibly powerful."

Spyro then looked down at Rayde and said, "Then his arm....Oh! Rayde!"

At this time, they noticed Rayde awake, listening to their conversation. Cynder then said, "Oh thank the gods, we were afraid that Drome injured you badly." Rayde quickly spoke after, "What do you mean by shadow element, and what about my arm.....What the!?!" Rayde looked at his arm left arm (not his sword arm) to notice it completely bandaged up, and in a cast.

Rayde moved his arm around, and even hit it, "My arm isn't broken, why am I in a cast?" Rayde asked. Spyro replied, "Your arm sorta, changed. Then elder said to make sure it isn't seen." Rayde eyed him suspiciously and asked, "What do you mean, changed?" Cynder walked up and asked, "Rayde, did Drome try to use any spell of some sort on you while you were fighting him? At a point when we couldn't notice?"

Rayde thought about this. Drome did try that one spell. "Yeah," He said, "when he had me by the neck, he tried to make me turn to his side, by means of a certain spell." Cynder looked at Spyro, who also looked at her, Spyro said, "We need to go see the elder. He can tell us about what happened."

Rayde tried to get up, only to he stopped by Cynder, "Hey, you need to take it easy." She said. "After a fight like that, I'm amazed you can even move." Rayde pushed himself up into a sitting position and said, "I'm fine, just a little sore." He tried to stand, only to be caught by Spyro and Cynder as he fell forward when he put pressure on his leg.

Rayde looked at the two of them and said, "OK, maybe I will need at least a cane." Spyro chuckled, and Cynder shook her head.

Rayde looked under his bed, to notice a wooden cane. Rayde laughed and said, "Well thats ironic isn't it, I guess its natural for an infirmary." He grabbed the cane, and stood up. He held himself up on the cane. "It seems Drome bumped up my left leg a bit. I told you all I needed was a cane Cynder." He said smiling. Cynder shook her head in response.

After a few minutes of walking (or in Rayde's case, limping) they reached the elder chamber. They entered to find 4 felines and 4 moles in a heated discussion with the elders. "We should banish him from the city, it is clear that he is after this new character!'" one of the felines declared. "Oh come now, we dont even know it was him he was after, we have no need to jump to conclusions, after all, he did beat him. Which means we still have a month to prepare." One of the moles said.

At this time, they all noticed Rayde, Spyro and Cynder standing at the doorway. The elder said immediately, "Uhhh, good to see you awake Rayde, these are the generals of Warfang, but you may need to come back later." One of the felines held up his hand to the elder and said, "No. This is perfect timing. Come here boy, we need to talk to you." The elder only sighed and said, "As you wish, Rayde come here."

Rayde paused for a moment, not sure what to do. I guess they want some answers. Rayde thought. He walked over to a chair next to the elder, and sat down, Spyro and Cynder sat down next to him.

Rayde started, "I would guess that you all have questions? Well, I will answer then to the best of my knowledge." He then sat patiently, waiting for then to ask.

One of the Moles started, "Do you know why Drome decided not to attack us yesterday? He could of overrun is with ease, yet he turned back, why?" Rayde answered, "to tell you that, I have to tell you why he came here in the first place."

One of the felines spoke, "Good, that will answer my question."

Rayde nodded and continued, "I am not too sure of his full intentions, but Drome arrived here yesterday for two things. One, to test my abilities in combat. Two, to try and get me to come to his side." There was a murmur among the group as he said this, "He tried this when he had me by the neck. He was close enough so no one would notice." Rayde finished.

The feline that demanded him to be questioned spoke next, "Now for my question, as for most of us here are itching to know. What happened to you after Drome had you by the neck? You changed entirely, and the elders started to worry because of a sudden surge of power."

Rayde sighed and thought, guess that was unavoidable. He looked at the feline and answered, "I wish I knew the answer to that. All I can tell you, is that something awakened in me and I am not sure what it is. I cant tell you if it has evil, or good intentions, for I don't know myself. One thing I do know, is that I turned into a state where I could control the element of Shadow, but I didn't use it to its full extent."

There was another moment where these generals were talking amongst themselves. One of the moles spoke up and asked, "Did you know what you were doing while you were in this state?" he asked

Rayde answered, "Yes, I was conscious of what I was doing, and I could control myself."

After a long while of silence. The feline said to Rayde, "I thought we should banish you from the city. It is clear Drome is after you."

Rayde grew slightly angry at this, He isn't thinking of the consequences. "What then general?" Rayde questioned, "Live in peace without fear of Drome bothering you again because I am not around? Drome has clearly stated that he wants power, and he will do a lot to get it. He sees me as an important piece in this game in his mind. If I am to leave, and Drome manages to get me to his side, Warfang will not stand a chance. Drome is likely to teach me arcane arts, then all will be lost."

The feline opened his mouth to speak, then stopped himself. He stood there with his mouth open stupidly. He then looked down, apparently thinking and said, "Your right. Our best chance would be to stop Drome head-on, just like we did with Malefor."

Rayde was confused for a second, No one has told me who this Malefor guy is, I'll ask Spyro about it later. He thought.

After a moment, the elder said to the generals, "I think that is enough for today. We all need a break from what has occurred yesterday." The generals didn't seem to like the idea, but they obeyed and left.

A moment of awkward silence followed, eventually being broken by Rayde saying, "Now I have a few questions." The elder looked surprised and said, "Well, ask away. We have time."

Rayde nodded and asked, "First thing I want to know, who is this Malefor character?" The elder pointed at Spyro and Cynder and said, "They can answer that one for you."

Rayde looked at them and said, "Would you please fill me in, it would clear a lot of haze." Spyro and Cynder nodded. They then took turns explaining the legend behind Malefor. Spyro started, "Malefor was the first purple dragon throughout our history. He was trained by the first Guardians in the mastery of the elements. Although, Malefor's power was limitless, it had no boundary. When he was too strong, he was exiled from the land." Cynder continued next, "He fled to the Shattered Veil where he started to build his army. Not of Dragons, but of Apes. He taught them to use the power of the gems to make weapons, the gems are our life force so to speak. The guardians were able to stop Malefor, but they sealed his spirit into Convexity, an air-lock between the dragon realms, and the dark realms."

Rayde was listening intently as Spyro continued, "The sheer weight of his malice he had towards the dragons cracked the earth, creating a mountain known as the Mountain of Malefor, or to the beings who inhabit it, The Well of Souls." Cynder continued next, "Every few years, the celestial moons align above the mountain, allowing deceased spirits of evil nature to roam the halls for a short time. If there ever was a spirit powerful enough, he could be reborn. That is how Malefor came back. The Well of Souls was destroyed when Spyro killed Gaul at the bottom of the mountain, and saved me, but that didn't stop his resurrection."

Rayde then asked them, "What happened to you two while the mountain collapsed?" Spyro answered him, "I was able to freeze Cynder, Sparx, and myself in a crystal-like tomb. We were there for three years when we broke free. Thats when we met Hunter, he told us what has happened while we were away." Cynder followed up and concluded, "We worked to kill Malefor, and save our world, and we succeeded."

Rayde then thought of another question, "I noticed that portions of this planet are in large chunks, why is that?" Spyro answered, "Malefor revived this ancient being known as The Destroyer."

The Destroyer...... Rayde thought. Spyro continued, "If the Destroyer manages to walk a full cycle around the planet, it is destroyed. The Destroyer managed to complete this cycle. I managed to hold the pieces in place using some kind of magic I could never use before."

Rayde sat in silence for a long time, thinking about what was said, "By what I just heard, Cynder, were you under Malefor's influence at any point in time?" Rayde asked. Cynder nodded, then Rayde said, "Then that explains how you two met."

"Now for my next question." Rayde said, "While I was unconscious, a voice told me that I can find out how to obtain my memories, he said that I left behind a journal, one that would tell me how to get my memories back. Do you know anyone who might have said journal?"

They sat in silence for a while. Spyro started thinking, The only person who could have a book that old is......Oh! Spyro then said to Rayde, "I think I might know who has it." Rayde looked at him, waiting to hear what Spyro had to say, "The Chronicler might have it."

Rayde asked Spyro, "Who is the Chronicler?" The elder replied, "An ancient dragon with immense wisdom. That is the best place for you too look. Although I have no idea how you will find him." Spyro immediately said, "I know where he is, I have been to him before."

Rayde was very relieved by this information. Finally, someone who can possibly help me out. He thought. Rayde then said, "Well, I'll need you to lead the way. I may need to pack for the trip, since I can't fly like you."

Spyro nodded and said, "We have time. Elder, I have an idea on how we can better protect ourselves when Drome shows up again." The elder looked at him and said, "Do tell, I am open to advice right now." Spyro continued, "Two things could help. One, you know that cannon that we have on the top of the Ramparts? Make more of them, we have the recourses. We also have the time."

The elder thought on this and said, "I will have to talk to Mason, he designed the machine. I bet he could make more of them." Spyro nodded and then said, "And also, inform the other leaders about what has happened. Kane of Tall Plains, Prowless of Avalar, and Devon of Fireground. Tell them that we may need their support and it would be greatly appreciated."

The elder laughed and said, "I am way ahead of you on that one, I have already sent a messenger to each capital." Spyro smiled and said, "Well thats good. Rayde, go get supplies and I will meet you at the gates. Cynder, your going with us, right?" Cynder nodded and said, "Of course. You know I hate to leave you alone." Spyro nodded and kissed her on the cheek, then hugged her saying, "And that is one reason why I love you."

Cynder laughed and said, "And the other reasons?" Spyro smiled and said sarcastically, "I would probably finish that list by the end of this week." Cynder smiled and hugged him again.

The elder looked at Rayde and said, "Well, you don't need to worry about supplies. I can get them for you in a flash, come back after you pack some cloths, that you will need." Rayde nodded and started running out of to his room. The Chronicler, huh? He thought, Guess I do have an ally that can tell me of my past.

____________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile at the Mountain of Malefor

Drome was furious, he wasn't very happy about the result of yesterdays duel with Rayde. "That impudent worm!" he shouted, "I shouldn't of underestimated him. But, what was with that power? He managed to reflect my eye laser as if it was only a fly. And since I used arcane magic on him, he may discover what my plan is if he gets his memories back."

Drome then started fuming. He punched his table, splitting it straight down the middle, and sending the pieces flying into the walls.

Drome then said to himself, 'Well, at least I still have time to carry out my plan, it just would have been easier if Rayde fell to my side."

Drome then smiled saying, "Those dragons have a month, but it will take me about two weeks to finish, then I will use the rest of the time to prep our army. Those dragons won't know what hit them."

_ Chapter 14- Departure _

Rayde was in his room, packing for the trip to the Chronicler, so he can possibly find his book, and get his memories back. All he was packing was clothes, since the elder said he would provide supplies. As he was packing he heard a knock on his door.

Rayde looked up curiously, "Who is it?" he shouted. A familiar voice replied, "You wouldn't remember unless you see my face." Rayde was now even more curious, he went to the door and opened it, surprised to see the thief he encountered on the day that Drome attacked, the one who broke his wrist.

The thief was a dark red color, with a single white strip across the side of his face, his right hand in a cast. The thief looked troubled, as if he had a revelation. "I know this is kinda sudden," The thief spoke, "But I took your advice, I went to the elders. They asked me a lot of questions, and I mean a lot of questions," Rayde smiled at this as the feline continued, "And they gave me a job in their military, I am now a strategist, I make battle plans for armies to follow in combat."

Rayde looked at the feline and said, "Then you deserve this." He walked over to his bed, reached underneath it, and pulled out a sword wrapped in cloth. It was the sword Rayde took from him. Rayde walked back over to him, and handed him the sword. Rayde then said, "And I suppose you have come to thank me haven't you?"

The feline took the sword, and said, "Yes, indeed I owe much to you. I hope you have no hard feelings over how I acted that day." Then the feline held out his hand, which Rayde shook instantly. "Of course I don't have any hard feelings," Rayde said, "To me, all it takes is a little motivation to change a man's fate."

The feline replied, "Is that what you intend to do with Drome?" Rayde shook his head and said, "He had his chance when his father died, and when Malefor cursed his race. That man will not change, and what he has become is a crime." The feline smiled and said, "You speak like a wise man, I guess you may take after the main elder. He is an odd character."

Then the feline started to walk away, before he looked back and said, "If your wondering what my name is, it's Coal." With that, Coal walked away. Rayde smiled and thought, Coal huh? Do all of the felines names relate to nature?

Rayde noticed something else, his leg wasn't bothering him anymore. Why do my wounds seem to heal faster than others? Guess it is something that I will have to find out when my memories return. He also noticed his cast on his arm. Maybe I should talk to the elder about this. He thought

Rayde finished packing his cloths and ran out his door, only to bump into Terrador with Sparx on his shoulder on the way out. Terrador started first, "Watch where your walking....Oh Rayde!" Rayde looked up at the green dragon and said, "Uhhhhh, Terrador right?" Rayde asked. Terrador nodded in response, "I see your in a hurry, what's going on?" Terrador asked.

Rayde started to explain what happened, the meeting with the generals, and where he, Spyro, and Cynder were going. Sparx spoke up at the end, "The Chronicler, that old gray dragon that loves to tell stories?" Sparx then said, "Hey, how come I wasn't told about this? Me and Spyro have been almost everywhere and now when he is about to leave he doesn't tell me?" Rayde started chuckling and said, "I bet Spyro wouldn't argue with you coming along, if it is OK with you Terrador."

Terrador thought for a minute before saying, "I have no other things I need you for Sparx. You may go if you wish," Sparx jumped off his shoulder immediately saying, "Of course I'm going, I've been bored out of my mind lately, and this sounds like fun."

Rayde smiled as he waved to Terrador saying, "I guess we will see you later, maybe in a week or so." Terrador nodded and said, "Be careful, I wouldn't be surprised if Drome has sent assassins after you." Rayde laughed and said, "He doesn't want me dead, if he did, he would've overrun the city before challenging me."

Terrador eyed him suspiciously before saying, "How can you be sure of that? Did he tell you his intentions." Rayde replied, "It would take me too long to explain it to you, go consult the elders they should be able to tell you the whole story." Terrador now looked really confused. After a long moment he said, "So be it, I suppose you need to get going anyway, right?" Rayde nodded in response before waving again and leaving, Sparx close behind him.

After a minute or two of walking Sparx asked, "Sooo, whats the deal with your arm?" Rayde looked down at his bandaged arm and said, "I wish I knew myself, whats weird is that I feel no pain. It does feel a little different though, as if something inside me has released itself.....Bah! Probably just a superstition."

Sparx then said, "I wouldn't just throw it aside. When I was adventuring with Spyro we saw some really freaky things. On one case, Spyro turned a jet black color, and his eyes were blank. It happened right after he killed Gaul, he almost tried to kill me and Cynder."

Some thing surprised Rayde, he then asked, "You said he turned black, do you know what caused it?" Sparx shook his head before saying, "No, I didn't see him change, I only saw him after he fought Gaul."

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, they found Spyro, Cynder, the elder, and to both of their surprises Hunter. Sparx said to Hunter, "I suppose your coming along too?" Hunter nodded before saying, "I would guess you are coming along as well. Yes, I have important business I need to attend to in Fireground, of which I cannot explain."

Rayde then said to Hunter, "Government business?" Hunter looked at him and said, "As I said, I cannot tell you, I cannot even tell the elders." Rayde noticed he said this with anxiousness. He obviously isn't going on official terms, I guess we will have to see later. Rayde thought.

Cynder looked at Sparx before saying, "Your coming along too? Don't you have work to do here?" Sparx replied, "What, you don't want me to come along?"

Rayde opened the supply bag, only to find it halfway full. "How far is it to Fireground?" He asked. Sparx answered this, "About 4 days of travel on foot." Everyone looked at Sparx surprised, "What? I fly about as fast as someone walking, and I have had to fly to Fireground before. I'm not as clueless as before."

Cynder shrugged and said, "I was only saying that you might have work. You didn't need to take it as an insult. I don't mind you coming along, we need someone that makes a funny moment." Sparx just shook his head at this.

The elder then said, "Well, as you may have noticed I didn't pack as many supplies as it would take for a trip halfway across the planet. That is because you will eventually end up at Fireground halfway there. Give this letter to Devon, he is the leader of Fireground. He will give you the rest of your supplies and give you inventions to make your trip faster."

Rayde then said, "What do you mean by 'faster', what kind of inventions does Fireground produce?" The elder only chuckled and said, "Oh You'll see. But I know you will have fun with it." Rayde shook his head and said, "I guess you aren't going to tell me huh?"

The elder chuckled and said, "Now what fun would that be?" Everyone laughed at this.

Spyro then looked at everyone and said, "Well then, should we get going while its still daylight?" Rayde then realized that since he passed out after his fight with Drome, he woke up the next morning (forgot to throw that out there last chapter XD).

Spyro, Cynder, Sparx, Hunter, and Rayde then left the elder, to set out to Fireground wondering what was ahead of them, and what future struggles await then along the way.

(Yes now it's time for a Drome scene)

Meanwhile at the Mountain of Malefor

Drome was sitting in a chair waiting impatiently, tapping his fingers on the table next to him. We don't have all day, where is he? He thought.

Just then, a cloaked figure walked into the room, this ape was covered in a dark black cloak concealing his face. He had two daggers in his belt, and a bow and quiver strapped across his back. "You called Drome?" the figure asked.

Drome was annoyed, He is the only one that calls me Drome, not Lord Drome. He thought. In a way, he admired his bravery.

Drome then said to the ape, "It is good you came. One of my spies in Warfang has informed me that Rayde has left to Fireground. His intentions are not yet known. I want you to follow him without being seen. We may be able to find out what he is up to during his travels. You should also know that Spyro, Cynder, a feline, and that annoying bug is with them."

The figure looked up so that his mouth was visible, which was smiling, "Sounds like fun, so I need to tail this Rayde and find out what they are doing, should I engage them if I am spotted?"

Drome replied, "No, we need him alive. Along with the others except the bug, but killing him would be a waste of time, not to mention that Spyro would hunt you down and kill you." The ape laughed and said, "Well I wouldn't want that now would I? And my guess is that when I find out their intentions, you want me to report back to you right?"

Drome nodded and said, "You are correct, I have another idea in mind that will make my plans go much smoother than originally anticipated. I am trusting you to this task, tell no one of it. Do this, and you will bring honor to your name, Assassin."

The Assassin looked at Drome and asked, "What are your plans Drome, I'm not the only one who would give a shinny coin to know what your plans are."

Drome glared at him and said, "You will know when it happens." The Assassin stared back and said, "And if it doesn't happen, what then?"

Drome laughed and said, "Oh it will happen, there is already no way to stop it. Now it is only a matter of time."

The Assassin only sighed and said, "Well, I guess I will be on my way." Then the Assassin walked out of the room, leaving Drome alone.

Very soon, you will be standing by my side. And then we will both have our revenge. Drome though smiling deeply.

_ Chapter 15- Secrets _

Spyro, Cynder, Sparx, Hunter, and Rayde were on their 2nd day of traveling to Fireground. So far the trip has been uneventful. The only events were running into travelers and carrying on conversations.

They were all in a small patch of forest when the sun started to set. When they could only see about 10 feet of the trail in front of them, Hunter said, "We should set up camp for tonight. It will soon be to dark to see the trail." The group agreed with him as the moved a little off the trail to an open patch of grass about 10 feet wide.

When they set up a small circle of medium-sized stones, Spyro spoke, "We may need to find some wood to get a fire started." Hunter nodded and said, "Rayde and I will go look for firewood, we need small twigs for kindling, I'll get logs about a foot wide for firewood." Rayde nodded as he and Hunter started walking through the woods.

A little while later, Hunter and Rayde came back with more than enough wood for the night. When they set up the kindling and some logs up on the fire, Hunter said, "Spyro, could you do the honors?" Spyro nodded and set the fire ablaze with his fire breath.

Rayde jumped in surprise, this was the first time he ever seen Spyro use his abilities, "I didn't know you could do that." Rayde said. Spyro looked at him like he was stupid for a second before realizing the situation, "Yeah, I never told you. Normal dragons can only breath one element. I am a purple dragon who can control almost all of them. It's the power of the purple dragon." Spyro said.

Rayde looked at him questioningly, "Almost?" Rayde asked. Spyro answered, "There are four other elements I cant control, but Cynder can. She gained those powers due to Malefor's manipulation." he said grudgingly.

Cynder finished up, "The elements I can control is Poison, Wind, Fear, and Shadow. Spyro can control Fire, Electricity, Ice, and Earth." Cynder said. Rayde remember something, She mentioned something about Shadow element while I was unconscious. He then said, "I heard you say something to Spyro about me using Shadow element during my fight with Drome. You think I can wield Shadow?"

Cynder replied, "That is what I think, but I'm not sure. You will have to practice that power before we can be sure what it is." Rayde nodded in agreement and said, "Hey if we get lucky, we might run into Drome's troops on the way to Fireground." Everyone smiled but Sparx who replied, "Well, while you guys would be dishing it out, I will have to hide as usual." Cynder then said, "It's about all your good for in combat." Everyone laughed at this, even Sparx smiled in agreement.

After the sun has long set Cynder and Sparx has fallen asleep. Hunter noticed Rayde's bandaged arm and asked, "What happened to your arm?" Rayde looked down on it before saying, "I don't really know myself. After my fight with Drome I woke up to find this on my arm. The strange part is it doesn't hurt at all."

Spyro tried to avoid getting in this conversation, His arm is like that because of Kaze. Drome must have triggered something in him during his fight with Rayde. Spyro thought to himself. Hunter stared at Rayde's arm before saying, "Why don't you just take it off?"

Rayde thought for a second before reaching for the strap. As his fingers got under the linen cloth, an electric shock hit his hand, forcing him to take his hand away. "Ok, now that elder is starting to piss me off with his secrets." Rayde said.

After a few hours, even Hunter passed out for the night. Spyro and Rayde sat next to each other staring at the fire. A question occurred to Rayde, "Hey Spyro," he said, "How exactly did Malefor die, and how did you manage to hold the planet together?"

Spyro sat still for a moment, then replying, "Cynder and I fought Malefor at the core of the planet, a large black crystal. During the fight, spirits of what looked like other purple dragons appeared and pulled him into the core."

After a moment of silence, Spyro continued, "I can't really explain how I managed to save the planet, I just did. I realized what I needed to do, and I did it. I used my magic to try and hold the planet together. When it seemed like I couldn't, I heard Cynder say 'I love you', I suddenly felt a huge power rush through me. I wasn't able to hold the planet together, but I managed to hold it in place."

Rayde sat in silence when Spyro finished. After a while he said, "You really love her don't you?" When Spyro looked at him confused Rayde said, "Cynder." Spyro realized what he was asking. Spyro looked over at his mate and said, "More than anything. She is the only one who really understood me. I would die for her if it meant saving her life."

Rayde smiled and said, "I wish I had someone like that, either that or I can't remember who she is." Spyro nodded and said, "Hey anythings possible when you put your mind to it right?" Rayde replied, "I suppose."

After a few more minutes of talking, Spyro said, "Well its getting late and we are over halfway through with traveling. If we are lucky, we might hit Fireground tomorrow, and then get to the Chronicler the day after." Rayde smiled and said, "Well, goodnight then."Spyro also said goodnight as he walked over to Cynder and lied down next to her.

They do seem meant for each other. Rayde thought as he lied down for the night.

Later into the night, when Rayde, Spyro, Cynder, Hunter, and Sparx had fallen asleep a figure can be seen in a tree nearby. The figure wore a dark cloak, had 2 daggers in his belt, and a bow hung on his back. The Assassin.

So, they are paying a visit to the Chronicler eh? But why....? the Assassin thought. Perhaps I should investigate myself.

Assassin jumped down from his tree into their campground, he landed silently so he wouldn't wake the others. He walked over to Rayde's bag and started searching through it. He found a letter inside, he opened it and started reading it.

After a long moment, he placed the letter back into the envelope and back into the bag. Looking pleased with himself, he jumped back into the tree he was in earlier. He got out a pen and paper and started writing something quickly. When he finished, he made some kind of bird call. A small falcon flew towards him.

The falcon had a small metal case on its foot. Assassin rolled up the note and placed it into the case. "Go back to Drome, give this letter to him." He whispered to the bird. The bird looked at him for a moment before taking off into the night. Assassin then jumped to another tree farther away and started to fall asleep.

Hours Later, what would be 8:00 am

Hunter woke up first. He looked around to notice everyone still asleep. He reached into his bag and pulled out a note. The note read 'To find the one you hold dear, go to Fireground for the next clue. It will be found where time speaks longest.'

Hunter looked at the note for a long time before he heard a voice, "It sounds like a riddle to me." Hunter looked around to find Rayde sitting up staring at him. Hunter hid the note and said, "How did you know what this said?"

Rayde replied, "You kinda read it aloud, a habit that you may want to break." Hunter looked at him seemingly angry and said, "You have a bad habit of eavesdropping." Rayde replied quickly, "You read it aloud in a quiet area, pretty hard not to listen. But enough of that, What is this about Hunter?"

Hunter looked at him for a long moment before whispering, "What I tell you, you do not tell anyone else unless lives are at stake, Understand?" Rayde replied, "That depends on what is told, but yes, I get the point."

Hunter started to explain, "I found this note in my bedroom a few days ago. I think it may lead me to a family member I thought to be dead. I don't know who gave it to me, but if he knows my brothers whereabouts, I will try to find him. He is the only family I have left."

Rayde sat in silence for a moment thinking, His brother? "I understand why you kept this a secret from us as a personal quest," Rayde said, "But you could have at least informed us of the situation and stated you wanted to do this alone."

Hunter shook his head and replied, "No, I was a fool for hiding this. I kept this hidden because if the person that sent this to me is watching me, he wouldn't harm who he has." Rayde nodded and said, "Also understandable, but I doubt it. If that was the case, he probably would've stated that in the clue you have there."

Hunter paused for a moment, and then said, "I suppose your right, maybe I should also tell Spyro and Cynder about this?" he asked. "No need now." They heard Spyro say. They looked over to see Spyro and Cynder already awake.

Cynder looked at Hunter and said, "Rayde is right, if you would've told us that you wanted to do this alone we would've let you go." Spyro then said, "Strange coincidence that both of our trips lead us to Fireground."

Rayde thought about this and said, "Maybe he knows we're coming?" Spyro shrugged and replied, "It wouldn't surprise me, he knew I was coming last time."

Hunter then looked back at the piece of paper and said, "Perhaps you can help me, 'it will be found where time speaks longest', any idea what that means?" After a long moment of silence Spyro thought of something and said, "Maybe it means something about a clock. 'when time speaks longest, clock chimes at noon maybe?"

"That makes sense, but there are bound to be thousands of clocks in Fireground." Rayde said. Cynder replied quickly, "Then we just have to look around for the one that sticks out the most." Hunter looked up at the sky and said, "How long until we reach Fireground, Sparx?"

When no reply came Hunter yelled, "Sparx?" Hunter then looked over to find Sparx still asleep on the ground. Spyro got a mischievous look and whispered, "Watch this, I'll get him up."

Spyro walked over to where Sparx was, got close to his head and shouted, "APES ARE ATTACKING! WE"RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!"

Sparx immediately jumped up screaming and hid in Rayde's bag. He poked his head out to find Spyro, Cynder, Rayde, and even Hunter laughing. Rayde was on the ground holding his stomach, practically crying from laughing. Sparx flew out of the bag and said, "Oh ha ha ha, very funny."

Rayde replied to him, still laughing, "I found it hysterical! The look on your face was priceless!" Once everyone calmed down, Hunter said, "Ok, now to the original point. Sparx, how much longer do we have till we reach Fireground?" Sparx looked annoyed and replied, "Oh thats what this was all about? Uhhh, by my guess we should reach Fireground by this evening."

Hunter answered back to Sparx, "Hey, it wasn't my idea to wake you up like that, blame Spyro." Sparx only shook his head and said, "That figures. But I have to admit, it was funny." Rayde smiled and replied, "Good to see your a good sport."

Spyro laughed and said, "Think of that as payback for waking me up like you did a few days ago." Sparx shook his head in response.

A short while later, everyone packed up their stuff and started back on the trail to Fireground. Curious of what lay ahead of them, and who they will meet.

At the Mountain of Malefor

Drome walked out of a large chamber rubbing his head, General meetings are a pain to get through. He thought. When he got back to his room, he was surprised to see a falcon with a case on his foot. "He found out what they were doing that quickly?" He said as he grabbed the paper off the birds foot.

He started to read the note. Hello Drome, I am writing this letter because I know what Rayde is doing, and I gotta say I don't really like it. Right now, they are heading to Fireground where they will meet with Devon, the leader of Fireground. After they leave, they will be heading for the White Isle, where the Chronicler resides. The note explained to Devon that Rayde was an important asset and is heading to the Chronicler to get his memories back. More than that I do not know. I know this information will prove invaluable to you right now. Assassin

Drome read the note three more time, he definitely didn't appear happy from the news. He burst out of his room, and walked over to where his special guard resided. His special guard is an elite group of warriors who are assigned under the direct command of Drome. The Assassin is one of these guys too.

There are 6 warriors in all, including the Assassin. One had a large two-handed sword strung across his back. One had a regular sword on his hip. One had a bow hung on his back. One had a shuriken on his back. And one had a staff on his back.

Drome said to the group, "Rally your Dreadwings and make room to carry a prisoner, We're going to the White Isle tonight."

_ Chapter 16- Fireground _

Once again, the current trip was uneventful. As Sparx predicted, Fireground was visible on the horizon by late afternoon, they sky already had an amber glow. Fireground was built on the edge of a mountain, built up the side of it. The lower section appeared to be where all the stores were located. The center seemed to be the residential houses. And the upper section looked to be where all Military structures were, along with the Main building where all meetings are held, all according to Sparx.

One thing that stood out about Fireground, was a large tower in the center. It was made of brick and had a pointed top. Sparx started explaining about Fireground, how it was built on an extinct volcano, and how its buildings were made from the condensed stone found deep underground. "The clocktower in the center is used as a symbol of freedom." Sparx explained.

Hunter looked up at the tower, "Clocktower?" Hunter asked. Sparx replied, "Ya its been there since the city was built." Hunter kept on staring at the tower thinking That may be where I will find the next clue to his whereabouts. Everyone else was thinking the same thing.

Later, they reached the front gates of the city, a large steel door with two guards on each side. One of the guards came up and said, "State your business." Sparx flew up and said, "Sparx, Rayde, Spyro, Cynder, and Hunter from Warfang. Here on official business with Devon of Fireground. We need to speak with him immediately."

The guard nodded and said, "Fine, don't cause any trouble or we're gonna have problems." indicating to the rest of the group. They all promised they wouldn't cause trouble.

Once they were inside the city, the noticed all the different kinds of merchants in the area, selling almost everything that could be sold. Weapons, jewelery, gadgets, inventions that don't work, everything that wasn't illegal.

Hunter looked at the group and said, "You guys go ahead to Devon, I will catch up after I investigate the clocktower." Spyro replied, "OK, we will meet you there." Hunter nodded as he ran off towards the clocktower.

Rayde watched Hunter run off and said, "He is determined, isn't he?" Cynder looked up at him and said, "Well, he has information that says that his closest relative may still be alive. How would you feel?" Rayde smiled and said, "Real damn determined."

Hunter was running as fast as he could towards the tower, trying to dodge everyone in the streets along the way. He eventually got tired of dodging people and jumped on top of one of the buildings, where he started jumping rooftop to rooftop towards the tower.

When Hunter finally got to the tower, he walked inside. The tower appeared ancient. Brick walls, cobwebs in the corners, dust everywhere. He started to walk up a flight of stairs to the top. Once he reached a point where he could see the bells he ran into a mole.

Hunter accidentally knocked down the mole. He reached out his hand and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was here." The mole took his hand and said, "Bah! Its no problem, but tell me, why are you here?" Hunter thought for a moment before saying, "I think one of my relatives is alive. And I am told that a clue to his whereabouts are in this tower. Do you mind if I search the bells?"

The mole looked up at him and said, "Ah, a personal quest. Well, I don't really care. Just don't harm any of the bells." Hunter bowed and said, "Thank you good sir." Hunter then jumped up onto one of the many rafters in the tower.

There were many different sizes of bells, some only about 3 feet long, to 10 feet long. Where time speaks longest...The biggest bell maybe? Hunter thought. He looked down and yelled, "Where is your biggest bell at?" His voice vibrated the bells nearby filling the room with a low humming sound.

A reply came soon, "At the top of the tower, there should be a ladder nearby." Hunter didn't need a ladder, he started jumping from rafter to rafter eventually reaching the top. The biggest bell was about 15 feet across and 12 feet high. On the stone ledges around it, numbers were placed 1 to 12 going clockwise.

Where time speaks longest Hunter thought. He went to the number 12. He couldn't see any clue or anything like that. Then he noticed a brick with the number 12 on it was slightly out of place. He reached for the brick to find it loose. He pulled out the brick and saw a small piece of paper in it. He put the brick down and unfolded the paper.

You can find him where books and time meet. Although you must pass the readers test before you find him.

"What does that mean? Books and time meet, reader's test? Maybe the others will know something about it." Hunter said as he placed the brick back in it's spot and jumped down rafter by rafter to the bottom.

The mole jumped in surprise when Hunter landed. After a moment the mole asked, "Did you find what your looking for?" Hunter nodded and said, "Yes, although I have no idea what it means. But I will figure it out, I have to." The mole stared at Hunter before saying, "Then I wish you luck."

Hunter thanked him before taking off towards the City Hall.

Meanwhile with Rayde and the others

Spyro, Rayde, Cynder, and Sparx finally reached the main entrance to the City Hall. The City Hall was a two story building bade of a dark brown rock. Although it is short compared to other buildings, it makes up for it in length. The building is about several miles long on either side.

A guard stopped them and said, "Welcome back Sparx, why are you here? Devon wasn't informed you were coming, or that you had visitors."

Sparx replied to the guard, "Heya Marshal. We came here under the direct order of the main elder himself, and I can prove it. Rayde can I see the envelope the Elder gave you?" Rayde reached in his bag and pulled out the envelope, which he gave to Sparx.

"Here is the Elder's seal, that should be good enough." Sparx said as he showed the back of the envelope to Marshal. Marshal studied it for a moment before saying "And so it is, right this way please."

Just before they entered, a voice was heard, "WAIT!" They all turned to see Hunter running towards them, winded from running. Spyro looked at Hunter and said, "Right on time, we were just going inside."

Hunter looked at his old friend, still breathing heavily and said, "Good....huff.... I found another...huff... clue but we'll talk about that later." Sparx looked back at Marshal and said, "Don't worry, he is with us." Marshal shrugged as he guided them inside.

Inside City Hall was almost the same as Warfang, made of stone, and a few chairs and couches in the center.

Marshal pointed down a hallway to their left. "7 doors down and to your right. You can't miss it, its the only door with a guard down that hallway." Marshal directed. Sparx looked down the hallway and said, "OK, thanks, lets go guys."

As they started walking down the hallway that Marshal indicated, Cynder whispered to Spyro, "Have you noticed that Sparx has matured a lot since the he was assigned to his job?" Spyro whispered back, "Well, he takes it very seriously. I wouldn't doubt it if he hasn't changed much, best example was my little trick this morning." Cynder smiled in response.

As Marshal indicated, there was a guard standing outside the door, the guard looked at them and said, "Do you have any business? If not I suggest you leave." Sparx replied, "We do have business. We have to talk to Devon, it is very urgent. Tell him Sparx is waiting here with Spyro, Cynder, Hunter, and someone he doesn't know."

The guard shrugged as he walked into Devon's room. A few minutes later, he walked back out and said, "You may enter." and he stood away from the door.

They entered the door into a large room, suitable for a governor. A mole sat in a chair looking at them. The mole was wearing basic house cloths. A red shirt, white house pants. He also wore glasses. This is Devon.

Devon looked up at them and said, "Hello again Sparx, Spyro, Hunter, and of course Cynder." Devon looked at Rayde and said, "I haven't met, or even seen one of your kind, what is your name?" Rayde replied, "I don't even know who I really am, I know two things. My name is Rayde, and I am a Human. Thats all I know."

Devon looked at him curiously and said, "A Human? Never heard of it. But enough of Introductions, Why are you here?" Rayde replied, "The elder told me to give this to you" He reached in his bag and pulled out the letter, which he handed it to Devon. Devon opened the letter and read it carefully.

After a long moment of silence, Devon folded the letter and to everyones surprise, started laughing.

After Devon finished he said, "He expects me to provide said equipment under a false hope that this boy will be the primary cause of stopping Drome in his tracks?"

Sparx replied to Devon, "Yeah that pretty much sums it all up." Devon shook his head and said, "Your lucky it was the elder that gave you this letter, I have to accept it." Everyone was pleased by this.

Devon also added, "You may want to rest for the night though, using these contraptions in the dark could be dangerous, and the fact you wouldn't be able to see the White Isle in the dark. I can have a room prepared for you, you can leave in the morning."

Spyro looked at Devon and said, "Your hospitality is greatly appreciated." Devon replied, "Oh, its no trouble at all. Especially since the elder put me in this position."

A few hours later, Devon had a room set up for each of them, Spyro and Cynder got their own room, Sparx already had his own room due to the fact he has been here before, Hunter and Rayde also got their own room.

Spyro and Cynder were in their room, later in the evening. Cynder had a concerned look on her face. Spyro noticed this and asked, "Whats wrong Cynder?" Cynder looked up at him and said, "I don't really know. I just have a bad feeling about all of this." Spyro sat down next to her and said, "I know, all of us are not too sure what this venture will bring. Lets just hope nothing happens along the way. Besides, even if trouble comes our way, I bet that we can handle it. With Rayde and Hunter with us, it would take a lot to bring us down."

Cynder rested her head on Spyro's shoulder and said, "I suppose your right. I just cant help but worry." Spyro replied, "I know. We'll get through this, don't worry." After a long moment of relaxing silence, Spyro said, "We should get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow." Cynder nodded and said, "Yeah, I bet your excited to see the Chronicler again." Spyro shrugged and said, "A little."

Cynder laughed as the fell asleep. Deep into each others embrace.

Meanwhile in Rayde and Hunter's room

Rayde was preparing his bed for the night, as was Hunter. Hunter looked over at Rayde and said, "I found the other clue, but I cant make any sense of it. Maybe you can tell me what it means." Rayde looked over at Hunter and said, "I'll give it a try, what did it say?"

Hunter repeated the lines he read. Rayde sat in silence for a moment thinking, Where books and time meet.... Where can you find a lot of books. A library of course! Books and time, books about the past, books in the past, books from the past? Rayde told Hunter what he thought of it. Hunter replied, "So you think that my brother Archer is in a library of some sort?"

Rayde shrugged and said, "I'm not too sure, but thats what I can make of it. Maybe you should ask Spyro tomorrow." Hunter nodded and said, "Yeah, I suppose." They said their good nights and went to sleep. (Yeah I know, very subtle.)

At the Mountain of Malefor

Drome looks as though he is suiting up for battle. He is putting on his red armor, buckling the Fang sword, and other things. Once he finished, he walked out of his room and down to a small armory designed for his special guard. Five of his guard members are inside suited for battle.

One of the apes, dressed in a dark orange armor and a two-handed sword strung on his back asked, "How long will it take us to get to the White Ilse, Lord Drome?" Drome looked at the ape and said, "We should reach the Isles around mid day tomorrow, so we are going to be flying through the night."

Another one of the apes, one dressed in a gray robe and a staff in his hand also asked, "Are your plans close to realization?" Drome smiled and said, "With any good luck, they may be finished tomorrow, with Spyro, Cynder, and Rayde dead, and with a new ally. My father only sat and watched for results. I am different, nothing starts until action is taken, and for that he will be pleased with me."

"Who will be?" the spellcaster asked, Drome smiled wider and said, "All in good time."

"Enough talking, lets get to our Dreadwings and get to the White Isle. I'm bored outta my mind!" an ape with a sword across his belt said. Drome shook his head and said, "Aren't you anxious. Right, time for waiting is past, lets go." All of the apes walked out of the armory, heading down a hall.

Drome had a vicious smile on his face.

_ Chapter 17- Chronicler _

Spyro woke to a strange sound in his room, he looked around to see what it was. He then started hearing a knock on his door and a faint voice saying, "Come on you two, we don't have all day!" Spyro shook his head and thought, Sparx. He nudged Cynder gently to wake her up.

She stirred slightly before opening her eyes saying, "Good morning, love." Spyro smiled and said, "We should get ready, Sparx is hammering at the door." Cynder rolled her eyes in response.

Once Spyro and Cynder were fully awake, the walked over to the door and opened it, to find Sparx, Hunter and Rayde standing behind the door, ready to leave. Rayde smiled and said, "Yeah, I know its early, but Devon insisted that we get ready now." It was only then that Spyro and Cynder looked out the nearest window, only to notice it wasn't even dawn yet.

Spyro looked at Sparx and said, "Are you serious? Why do we have to get up so early again?" Sparx opened his mouth to answer when a voice spoke, "Because of that letter you gave me." They all looked over to see Devon dressed in a nightgown. He continued, "The letter also said to wake you up early. It said and I quote 'In case their enemies know'. Does that make sense to you?"

Hunter replied quickly, "I suppose we don't want them to get their first in case they know, what do you think Rayde?" Rayde nodded and said, "Better safe than sorry." The rest of them nodded. Devon then said, "Well then, follow me. I will show you your new gear Hunter and Rayde." Hunter looked over at Rayde in confusion, Rayde just shrugged.

They followed Devon to what looked like the cities Ramparts. "Here is my gift to you." Devon said pointing at what looked like two flat triangles, hard to tell what it was due to that it is still dark.

"Uhh, what exactly is it Devon?" Rayde asked. Devon laughed and shouted, "OK guys, turn on the lights!" out of nowhere, torches where lit up around them, revealing two gliders. Each was about 9 feet wide and about 7 feet long.

Devon smiled and said, "These gliders are the best we have, made of a special medal and fabric for continued flight. As long as you don't angle yourself downward you should remain in the air. Air currents have little to no effect on the material. I hope these will suffice."

Hunter inspected the gliders and said, "Indeed they will, but there is one problem. Neither Rayde or myself know how to fly one of these." Devon only laughed and said, "Oh its very easy. To get started just jump and angle yourself parallel to the ground, when you want to ascend, just angle up. When you want to descend, just angle down. When you want to land, pull the lever that will be above your head. And thats about all there is to it."

Rayde then asked, "Ok, now how do we strap ourselves in, how can I strap in with my arm bandaged up?" Devon smiled and gave them instructions on how to use, sit in, turn, and everything else about the glider. When he finished, it was dawn and the ground was visible.

About an hour later, Rayde and Hunter were in their gliders standing on the edge of the Ramparts. About a 200 foot drop. Rayde shouted over his shoulder to Devon, "Thanks for your help and your hospitality. I will repay you someday."

Devon replied back to him, "You can repay me by stopping Drome. Now go! The White Isle awaits you!" Rayde nodded and looked at Hunter, he looked a little afraid to be standing over the edge of such a tall wall. Rayde said to Hunter, "Your not afraid of heights are you?" Hunter looked over at him and said, "No, just worried. I am about to jump off a wall that would kill anyone else, hoping to be saved by a contraption that I might not be able to control."

Rayde laughed and said, "Your telling me that after that insanely long lecture, you don't know how to fly this thing?" Hunter smiled and said, "I suppose your right, but still..." Rayde rolled his eyes and said, "Just don't worry about it, lets get going." Hunter nodded in response.

Hunter finally got the courage to jump off, he angled himself down, so that the wind could catch the wings. Before he hit the ground, he pulled up sending him high into the air. He eventually leveled out so that he was flying. Now it's my turn. Rayde thought.

Rayde jumped off of the Ramparts, repeating the process Hunter did. Soon enough, Rayde was hundreds of feet in the air, overlooking what was below him. He could make out small towns, fields, forests, water. Rayde had never seen anything like it.

A voice called to him, "Hey daydreamer, focus and lets get going." Rayde looked over to see Cynder watching him, "The White Isle is that way," She said pointing towards the west. Rayde nodded and turned the direction she indicated. They were soon flying in a formation, Spyro in the front, Cynder behind him, Hunter to the right, and on the left.

A few hours later, they reached the ocean, a vast area of a dark blue, white waves visible on the surface. Spyro looked back and shouted to the group, "We will be at the White Isle in about half an hour."

Fifteen minutes later, The White Isle was visible on the horizon. The island was a snow-white color, with the northern lights shining above it. Once they got close enough to land, Hunter and Rayde pulled the small lever indicated by Devon.

When they pulled it, flaps in the front opened slowing their speed and descending them slowly to the ground. When they landed, Hunter and Rayde exited their gliders and looked around.

They landed in front of what looked like a temple, four statues stood over what looked like pedestals. A large stone door was locked shut in the entrance to the temple. Sparx suddenly said, "Hopefully we won't get caught up in psychotic riddles this time." Spyro laughed at this.

The ground suddenly started rumbling as the large door slowly opened, revealing a hallway. "Looks like he knows we're here. Maybe we should go in?" Rayde said. Spyro nodded and said, "Yeah, I passed his test last time, no need to do it again."

They all entered and walked down the hallway. They ended up in a large circular room, one door stood ahead of them closed, while four other doors were stationed in the corners of the room. There was also a small pedestal filled with liquid in the very center.

A female voice rang in their heads, This goes to the one with the personal quest, enter the circle to try the readers test. Everyone looked at Hunter, who stood staring at the circular pool in the center, which suddenly lit up. Hunter started to walk towards the pool.

When he walked onto the pool, a strange feeling overtook him as he was teleported to a strange arena-like area. The arena looked as though it was in the sky during a storm. Dark clouds surrounded it, lightning passed overhead, and gusts of wind passed through time to time.

The same female voice rang in his head, Expose your heart to summon ghost, and face alone what you fear most. Show no emotion to beat your fear, and you will find who you hold dear.

"Show no emotion to beat my fear. Sounds easy enough." Hunter calmed his nerves and put on a blank face. When he did, a shadow of what looked like Gaul appeared in front of him. Hunter showed no emotion.

The shadow drew his sword and swung it at him, the sword only passed through him as if it was made of air. Hunter showed no emotion.

The shadow then fired a laser out of his eye towards Hunter's head. It passed through the same as the sword. Hunter showed no emotion.

Next the shadow raised his arms to shoulder level. Dark black balls fell from the sky, landing all around Hunter. They made a large explosion when they hit the ground, sending smaller orbs flying, which just passed through Hunter. Hunter still showed no emotion.

The shadow screamed as he faded into oblivion, leaving a dark-orange feline lying on the ground, his clothes were torn, and had a lot of scars around his wrists and back.

Hunter walked over to Archer, still showing no emotion in fear of that his test wasn't over. When he picked Archer up, he felt that familiar sensation of being teleported. He landed back into the same circular room as before.

Hunter knelt down and looked at his brother. Archer was unconscious at the moment. Spyro walked over to Hunter, looked down on Archer and said, "So, this is Archer?" Hunter nodded and said, "I still can't believe it, he is alive. Thank the gods, he is still alive!" Hunter held his brother close.

One of the doors opened instantly, revealing a large room with an hourglass in the center. A dark gray dragon walked out of the room, he wore a blue scholars robe, and had a gem tied around his neck. This dragon appeared familiar to Spyro. "It's been a while, young dragon." The dragon said.

Spyro gasped as he realized who this was, as did Cynder. "I-Ignitus?" Spyro said. Ignitus nodded in response. "IGNITUS!" Spyro shouted as he embraced his old master. Ignitus hugged back as he noticed Cynder who was staring speechless at him.

Ignitus smiled and said, "My, you've grown much since I saw you last. I see that you two are together now." Cynder smiled as she hugged him too, tears in her eyes. "Yeah, it's been about three years now." Cynder said.

Ignitus smiled and said, "Yes I know, once I found yours and Spyro's book, I learned all about what has happened after I became the Chronicler." Spyro let go of Ignitus, as did Cynder and said, "Wait, you became the Chronicler? How?" Ignitus replied, "After the day I died, my spirit was called here to the Chronicler. He told me his time was done and it was my job to take his place."

Ignitus looked over at Hunter, who was equally amazed to see him and said, "Good to see you too, Hunter. I'm glad you found your brother." Hunter stared at him for a moment before asking, "Did you set up all of those riddles?" Ignitus shook his head and said, "No, I didn't. I don't know who did either."

Ignitus then looked over at Sparx and said, "Now, how can I forget you. Enjoying your job at Warfang?" Sparx stared wide-eyed for a moment. He slapped himself before saying, "Ok, I'm not dreaming. And Yeah, I kinda like my job there. Just gets annoying from time to time." Ignitus chucked.

He then looked over at Rayde and said, "And you, Rayde. I am Ignitus. I was a fire guardian, and head of the Dragon council, but now I am the Chronicler keeper of events and secrets. I know why you are here, and I think I can help you. Come" Ignitus then started to walk into the room he came out of.

Rayde, Spyro, Sparx, Hunter with Archer walked into the library. The library had a large glowing hourglass in the center, and thousands of books on shelves surrounding the room. Cynder then asked Ignitus, "Wait, you said me and Spyro's book what did you mean by that?"

Ignitus turned and said, "When a dragon finds a mate and they get together, their books merge into one, intertwining their destinies."

Ignitus stopped and said, "I have learned of a secret area just above the hourglass, I cannot fit in there. Perhaps you can Rayde?" Rayde nodded and said, "I'll give it a shot." Rayde looked up to notice a small hole about 3 feet wide just above the hourglass. Rayde looked at Ignitus and said, "Uhhh, could I have a boost?"

Ignitus chucked and sat next to the hourglass and said, "Hop up." Rayde jumped onto his back, then grabbed the rim of the hourglass and pulled himself up. He then crawled through the hole.

The room he was in was dark, inly lit by a small light in the corner. He walked over to the corner to realize that the light came from a small gem, similar to the one that he got from the merchant. Only this one was white.

A small book sat next to the gem, Rayde picked it up and opened it, using the gem as a source of light, he read the first page.

Dear Rayde:

If you have found this book, you are in the White Isle and you don't remember who you are. If you are not this person the next pages will appear unreadable to you and you should put the book down.

pg.2

There is a reason that you are here, of which I cannot tell you. I know more about you than anyone ever will. Why you may ask? Because I am you. I wrote this journal for this very situation, no one knows about it, not even your enemies. The next pages will tell you how to get your memories back, I will not explain them in case someone is able to read what I am writing.

If at any point in time a voice talked to you in your dreams with some absurd alias, DO NOT trust this person. He is your greatest enemy and you will remember him in due time.

pg. 3

How you will get your memories back.

There is one way to get your memories back. I placed a spell inside my blade that will bring them back to you. It will only respond to you. Grab hold of the sword with only your hands on it, and all will be remembered. But know this, you may not like what you are. In this case don't turn you back on yourself, embrace who you are and you can try to change it.

I wish you luck on your quest, Rayde.

Sincerely, Rayde- Crystal Warrior

P.S. The gem with this journal is more powerful than you know.

Rayde closed the book and inspected the gem, It looks the same as the one before. Rayde thought. Rayde placed the gem in his pocket and headed down to the library.

Everyone was staring at him, silent. Sparx eventually broke the silence by asking, "Well, what did you find?" Rayde looked at him and said, "I found the journal, and another one of those gems. I know how to get my memories back. I have to get my sword back from Drome."

A long silence followed thereafter. Hunter eventually spoke out, "Not to be selfish, but how are we supposed to get Archer back to safety?" Ignitus turned to him and said, "I can help you with that. There is a portal I can set up in the courtyard for you that will take you back to Warfang." Hunter bowed and said, "Thank you, Ignitus. I would appreciate that greatly."

Ignitus nodded and started glowing. After a few seconds he stopped and said, "The portal is ready when you are." Hunter bowed again as he said, "Then I must go, I will see you all when you get back, or are you coming with me?" Rayde shook his head and said, "No, I need to talk to Ignitus about something, as I am sure Spyro and Cynder do." Spyro and Cynder nodded in response.

Sparx then said, "Hey, I'm gonna stay here as well. Still not done with this adventure yet right?" Spyro laughed and said, "Yeah, where is the villain that I get to fight?" He said sarcastically. Cynder shook her head and smiled

Hunter bade everyone goodbye as he left for the portal. When Hunter, and Archer were gone, Ignitus asked, "What is it you wanted to ask me Rayde?" Rayde looked at him and said, "I want you to tell me everything about Drome, more specifically his weaknesses."

Ignitus looked at Rayde with disappointment on his face and said, "Unfortunately, I know nothing about him, only what he has done so far." Rayde sighed and said, "You don't even know where he is?" Ignitus shook his head and replied, "I only know he is on the move, to where I do not know." Rayde nodded and said, "Thank you for your time. Perhaps we should get going?" Spyro and Cynder nodded. Cynder then said, "You asked the question I had, as well as Spyro's."

Spyro looked at Ignitus and said, "Then we need to get going. I wish we could stay longer but we have much to discuss with the elder. I will try to visit as much as I can" Ignitus shook his head and said, "No need to worry about an old dragon like me, only visit when you need to."

Spyro hugged Ignitus, as did Cynder. Then Spyro, Cynder, Rayde and Sparx started to leave, heading for the portal that Ignitus opened up for Hunter. The portal was in the same courtyard they entered.

There was a circular pool similar to the one that Hunter entered earlier in the center of the courtyard. As they walked towards it, a red stream of light struck the portal, destroying it instantly.

They looked up to see Drome, and five other apes on Dreadwings. Sparx screamed as he hid in the nearest hole in the wall. "It appears I was a little too late, I assume you know how to get your memories back?" Drome said. Rayde nodded and said, "We both know who can win in a fight Drome, just hand over the sword and make this easier."

Drome laughed and said, "You only beat me because I wasn't prepared for your sword to change. Now I am, and you will come with me." Rayde laughed in response and said, "Is that why you brought your lackeys with you? Are you afraid to fight me yourself?"

Drome shook his head and said, "Why should I fight you here? If I were to die now everything I worked for would be worthless. No, you opponents are my men you see here. You guys know the plan, go and teach these fools a lesson!"

Four of the five apes jumped off of their Dreadwings, to only one that stayed behind was the ape with a the staff across his back.

(Just a heads up, I am gonna put this into 3 different sections. One for Rayde, one for Spyro, and one for Cynder. All of these events are happening at the same time.)

Cynder

The ape with a shuriken charged at Cynder, throwing this weapon at her. She jumped left to avoid it, but was punched by the ape right after she landed. The force of the blow sent her rolling a long way across the ground. She stopped rolling only to be thrown again by the ape into the wall.

She hit the wall hard, leaving a crack along the surface. Cynder was expecting to fall to the ground, but she didn't. The ape threw his weapon at the last second which pinned her to the wall. The blades were not piercing her, only holding her against the wall.

The ape walked up to her smirking. He eventually said, "You are much weaker than Lord Drome spoke. Have you lost your touch after the war?" He said smugly. Cynder smiled when he got close enough and shot a poison bomb at his face. The bomb made contact.

The ape fell back screaming and clutching his face. Rolling on the ground. He got back up with severe burns on his face and looked around. He couldn't find Cynder anywhere. A small black cloud of smoke appeared under the ape.

Cynder used her shadow power while the ape was in agony. She popped out of the ground underneath him, and head butted him on his chin, sending him skyward. Cynder then jumped up and caught the ape's neck in her teeth. Cynder could taste the apes blood as he squirmed in a futile effort to free himself. Cynder had his arms and legs in a firm hold and his weapon still was stuck to the wall.

Cynder quickly turned her head to the right, snapping the apes neck instantly. Cynder let go of him as he fell to the ground, dead.

Cynder looked around for Spyro and Rayde.

Rayde

Two apes jumped off of their Dreadwings, one had a longsword, and one had a two-handed sword. The ape with the longsword charged at him first. Rayde barely had time to pull out his sword to block an overhead strike.

The ape smiled and said, "Ohhhhhh, someone who knows how to fight, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jeremiah (Jer-em-I-uh) master of the longsword, and today I am you executioner. The fellow behind me is Vartrek, (Var-Trek) He is good with the greatswords and doesn't talk much. Can you beat us both Rayde?"

Rayde smiled and replied, "I dont know, but hell I'm gonna try." He said as he pushed Jeremiah off and kicked him in the chest (these apes are about elbow height to Rayde.), sending him flying towards Vartrek. Jeremiah smiled as he let Vartrek grab his feet.

Using the momentum, Vartrek pushed Jeremiah back towards Rayde very fast. Rayde thought quickly of an old trick, he jumped just before Jeremiah struck him and used his weight to stomp on Jeremiahs back, the same trick he pulled with Tracks.

Jeremiah was sent rolling across the ground. He quickly got up and dodged Rayde's blade as it came towards him. Jeremiah struck back with a backhanded blow with the hilt. Jeremiah was too slow however, Rayde caught him by the scruff of his shirt and threw him straight up.

Before Rayde could attack, Vartrek struck at Rayde with an underhanded punch. The punch connected as Rayde fell to the ground, Vartrek was standing on the hilt if Rayde's sword. He was totally exposed to Jeremiah, who had his sword ready and was on the way down.

Before Jeremiah struck him, a shortsword landed next to Rayde. He acted quickly and pulled the random sword out of the ground and blocked Jeremiahs blade. Now it was Jeremiah that was totally exposed. Rayde parried Jeremiahs blade, knocking it to the side. Rayde then thrust the sword and stabbed Jeremiah through the heart.

Jeremiah screamed for a moment before falling to the ground dead. Vartrek growled in anger as he jumped back and prepared for another attack. Before Vartrek could attack again, Rayde heard Drome shout to Vartrek, "We have what we need, lets get going Vartrek!" Vartrek looked back at Rayde and said, "You will regret this." Vartrek then jumped back on his Dreadwing.

Rayde looked at Drome and realized the horror of the situation.

Spyro

An ape with a bow jumped down and fired an arrow at Spyro. He jumped to the left to dodge it as the ape fired another, which he dodged also. For a few minutes the ape fire arrows, which Spyro avoided every one of them.

The ape decided to try another tactic, putting his bow back on his back, he drew two short-swords from his belt. He charged at Spyro and swung his right blade down. Spyro dodged to the left and noticed the ape smiling. He swung the left blade down and caught Spyro's right shoulder in the blade.

Spyro screamed in pain as the blade cut through his flesh and struck the bone. The ape smiled and said, "It's amazing what one error can do for a battle." Spyro tried to get free, but couldn't get the sword out of his shoulder. Spyro watched in horror as he saw the other blade swing towards his head.

Spyro fired an Earth Shot at the sword, sending it flying across the courtyard. Spyro then prepared to fire another shot when the ape punched him in the gut, sending Spyro falling to the ground. He lay on the ground coughing up blood, and energy exhausted. The ape walked towards him and pulled out the sword from Spyro's shoulder.

Spyro watched on as the ape brandished the sword overhead, before he struck Spyro could hear Drome saying, "Change of plans Glamet, (Gle-meant) take him instead of Rayde." Glament smiled as he said to Spyro, "Your a lucky fella, I like this idea better." The ape then punched Spyro in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Back with Cynder and Rayde

Cynder looked around for Spyro and Rayde. She only noticed Rayde staring up at Drome in horror. She looked up and realized why.

Drome was holding Spyro unconscious with the Fang sword to his neck. Drome smiled and said, "I am afraid this is where we stop for now."

Cynder yelled at Drome, "LET HIM GO!!!" Drome only smiled and said, "Tut Tut Cynder. I wouldn't make any wrong moves if I were you, unless you want your boyfriend to never wake up." Drome started laughing manically.

Cynder growled as she jumped towards Drome. Cynder felt someone tackle her before she got to Drome. When they hit the ground, she noticed it was Rayde who stopped her. Rayde said to her, "Don't try that again, he nearly had you and Spyro in his grasp. When you jumped he turned the edge of the blade towards you, he would've killed you!"

Drome laughed some more and said, "You should listen to him Cynder. If either of you want to get Spyro here back, come to my fortress at the Well of Souls, or as you call it, The Mountain of Malefor. Cynder should be able to tell you where it is, she is familiar with the place." Cynder gasped in horror, "How could you have made a base out of that place? Spyro destroyed it!"

Drome replied, "It is amazing what you can do with some simple spells and builders." Drome paused for a moment before saying, "My minions at the mountain will not attack you, of that you have my word. I will see you in a few hours." Drome started laughing again.

Rayde watched on before he heard something drop beside him, he looked over to see Cynder lying on the ground with a dart in her neck. Before he could react, he felt a sharp pain in his neck.

Rayde instantly started to lose consciousness, he fell to the ground. Rayde's vision was blurry, but he could make out an ape walking towards Drome. Drome said to the ape, "Absolutely perfect timing Assassin." Assassin replied, "These tranquilizer darts work for about 8 hours, that should give us time to get back home."

Drome replied, "Indeed it will, hop on and we will take our leave." The Assassin looked around and said, "It seems that Jeremiah, and Orgunt (Orj-unt) have fallen." Drome replied, "A small sacrifice for what is to come, lets go, we need to prepare for Rayde and Cynder. The Assassin jumped up on Drome's Dreadwing. Drome laughed as they all started to leave.

Rayde couldn't stay conscious any longer, he fainted into the awaiting darkness.

_ Chapter 18- Revival of the Warrior _

Drome was standing in a large, circular room. This room was surrounded by a strange green liquid. Several large statues of a dragon lined the walls. Spyro was held in the center of the room, chained into a kneeling position, his mouth tied shut. He was bound in position by chains nailed into the floor.

Spyro started to stir as he woke from his unconscious state. His head was pounding due to the fact that Glament knocked Spyro out with a blow to the head. He looked around and noticed where he was, and Drome was standing in front of him.

Spyro tried to move, but couldn't due to the chains. Drome smiled and said, "Hello Spyro, I trust your restraints are to your liking?" Spyro tried to talk, but his voice was muffled due to the fact that his mouth was tied shut. Drome continued to talk, "Do you know where we are? You should. This is the very arena that you killed my father. But that is not why I have captured you. I realized that you would be a better key to my puzzle than Rayde, since you are the purple dragon, and so is he."

Spyro couldn't make out what he was saying, something popped into his mind. He tried to say it aloud, but it came out as, "Molofer?" Drome smiled and said, "If you meant, 'Malefor', then yes indeed. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you of my plan now, since you will be dead when he comes back."

Spyro's eyes widened in realization as he caught his meaning. Drome laughed and said, "Thats right, he is coming back. And now there is no way to stop it. This time, it wont be Cynder that will concede to his temptation, it will be you."

Drome started to walk backward, his hands glowing a dark green color. He thrust his hands outward, sending streams of green into Spyro's head. Spyro started to feel as if his very conscious was being altered, everything he thought changed. When he tried to fight it Drome would suppress those thoughts with his power.

Spyro couldn't defend himself, he had never been taught how to fight in his mind. At last, Spyro's very will began to alter, Spyro began to believe what Drome was doing was for the best, and Drome was his master.

Spyro screamed as loud as possible when his final force of will was eliminated, breaking the rope around his mouth, and shattering the chains around his body. Spyro lay on the ground breathing heavily. Drome walked over to him and asked, "Can you hear me, Spyro?"

Spyro looked up, his eyes were a pure white color, as if his eyes rolled into his head. Spyro replied, "Yes Master."

Meanwhile at the White Isle

Cynder jolted awake to a strange smell. Rubbed her neck, which was still numb. She then realized what happened, "Spyro? Spyro!" She called out. She noticed Ignitus standing next to her, holding a cup that was steaming. "Good to see your awake." Ignitus said. Cynder looked up at Ignitus, fear in her eyes and said, "They have Spyro, at the Well of Souls! We have to get there as fast as we can." Cynder tried to stand, her legs were weak due to the effects of the tranquilizer.

Ignitus pushed her back down and said, "You are in no condition to go anywhere right now, drink some of this, it will give back your strength faster." Ignitus handed her the cup he was holding earlier, which she took.

Cynder noticed they were back in the library. Ignitus found them lying on the ground and took them inside.

Ignitus then walked over to Rayde who was lying on the ground unconscious. Ignitus pulled out a small plant, which he singed with his fire breath. He brought the plant down in front of Rayde's nose. Rayde stirred and jolted awake, his reaction was much like Cynder's.

Ignitus walked over to a boiling pot and filled a cup up with the same liquid he gave Cynder. Ignitus then walked over and said, "Drink this, it will give your strength back." Rayde slowly took the cup, he stared at the liquid for a second before drinking it. He frowned deeply and swallowed hard. "Bah! What is this stuff?" Rayde said.

Ignitus replied, "A mixture of herbs that increase stamina, and caffeine." Rayde shook his head and said, "That explains why it's so bitter." Rayde took another drink, and swallowed hard again. Cynder looked down at the liquid and also took a drink. As he said, the medicine was very bitter. No forms of sweet, tangy, salty, sour, or any of that existed, Just bitter. But Cynder noticed a sudden change in her exhaustion, she felt more awake and less sore.

Cynder looked around to notice that Sparx was nowhere to be seen, "Where is Sparx?" Ignitus chuckled and said, "He saw everything, he thought it was necessary to get back to Warfang and inform the Elders of what has happened." Cynder rolled her eyes as Rayde said, "That sounds like him, at least he didn't run solely out of fear." Ignitus shrugged and said, "He said he expects every detail of what happened, and his apologies to Spyro for not being there."

After they finished their bitter beverages, and felt much more rejuvenated, Rayde got down to business. "Ignitus, they got Spyro, they are at the Mountain of Malefor. We need to get there as fast as we can."

he said. Ignitus held his hand up and said, "I know of the situation. Still, I can't figure out what Drome intends to do. You must get there as fast as you can, and I can help you.

Ignitus walked over to another side of the room and said, "I took the liberty of getting your glider inside, you will need it." Ignitus walked behind the hourglass and pulled out Rayde's glider. "Strap yourself in." Ignitus said to Rayde.

When Rayde put on the glider correctly he said, "Ok what now?" Ignitus smiled as he started glowing again. The Hourglass in the center started to move, revealing a large hole underneath it. When the Hourglass stopped, Ignitus told Rayde and Cynder, "This tunnel will guide you to that cursed mountain. It will take you there much faster than the long way around."

"Thank you, Ignitus." Rayde said. Rayde looked over at Cynder, who was very worried, she had tears in her eyes, and was very quiet. Rayde placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "We'll get him back, I promise you. This war ends tonight." Cynder nodded and offered him a wan smile.

Rayde gave his last thanks to Ignitus before he jumped into the hole. Ignitus stopped him and said, "Can you give this letter to my son, Flame, please Cynder?" She nodded in response. Ignitus sighed and said, "Thank you very much, if anyone should know of my situation, it would be him. Rayde said his final goodbyes as he jumped into the hole. The tunnel was long and had a log of stalagmites hanging from the ceiling. Cynder followed close behind him. "Lets get going, Cynder. We have a friend to save."

About an hour later, Rayde and Cynder saw the end of the tunnel, at first it was only a hole of black and stars of the night, but later exposed the broad side of the mountain. As Rayde stared in awe of the mountain, he forgot to watch one of the stalagmites and scraped a portion of the fabric. Rayde couldn't hold the glider in the air for long, it was already starting to descend. Rayde guided the glider out of the tunnel and onto the ledge at the end.

Rayde hit the ledge hard, shattering the glider and sending him rolling. Once he stopped, he noticed Cynder hurrying towards him saying, "Oh my god! Are you alright?" Rayde stood up and brushed the dust off of his pants and said, "I've had softer landings, but that was kinda fun!"

Rayde turned to look at the Mountain. It was night at the time, but the mountain was perfectly visible due to the glowing green water that surrounded it. The mountain was huge, stones and ledges jutted out from the sides. The top is what caught Rayde's attention. It was a face of stone, the head of a dragon mouth open towards the sky. Rayde pointed at the face of stone and said, "Now that is freaky, do these guys always have a bad sense of decoration?" Cynder shook her head and said, "No time for sightseeing, we have to find Spyro."

A voice spoke from behind them, "Then follow me." They turned to see the Assassin staring at them. Rayde reached for his sword when Assassin said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to fight you, only to escort you to Drome." Rayde stopped reaching for his sword and said, "Well then, lets get this over with." The Assassin smiled and said, "Yes, lets." Cynder growled and demanded, "Where is Spyro!" The Assassin responded coolly, "All in due time, at the moment he is with Drome. That is all I will say." Cynder growled again when Rayde whispered to her, "Patience Cynder, he will take us to him."

The Assassin led them through Drome's very army. Each ape was staring at Rayde and Cynder, some were snickering as they passed by. One ape even spat in the path of Rayde. Rayde whispered to the ape, "Your lucky I cant kill you here, or you would already be in pieces." The ape gulped in response to his threat.

The Assassin eventually led them inside the mountain. The inside was no more appealing than the outside. A statue of a dragon was visible every 20 feet, and the halls had a strange green glow to them. The Assassin led them to the lower levels, and from there to a large wooden door. "In there." The Assassin said as he left Rayde and Cynder standing at the door.

Rayde looked over at Cynder and asked, "You ready for this?' Cynder looked up at him and said, "Just a little scared to see whats behind this door. What if we're too late? What if Spyro is..." She choked on the end of the sentence. She shuddered and said, "No, I have to do this. Lets go." Rayde nodded as he kicked open the door, sending it wide open.

Rayde and Cynder jumped the same room that Spyro and Drome were in earlier. Drome was standing near the edge of the arena, hands behind his back, facing the wall. Cynder looked around and said, "This is where Spyro killed Gaul. Why here?" Drome turned and said, "It is the only spot suitable to use as an elevator." Rayde drew his sword and said, "Well then, lets but to the chase, where is Spyro?" Drome laughed and said, "He has seen it my way." Rayde cocked his head in confusion, as he saw Spyro walk out of a shadow in the corner of the room and stand next to Drome. Spyro had blank eyes, the only color in his eyes was white. Spyro's wound he got against Glament healed up as well, all that remained was a white scar..

Cynder watched Spyro, eventually asking, "What have you done to him?" Drome laughed as he pushed a button on the wall. The floor began to shake and slowly descend. Drome made his fathers grave an elevator. "My father used his magic to beat you into submission, Cynder. I took it a step further. I changed his very will, his every thought into following me as my servant." Cynder stared in fear at Spyro and whispered, "No! It can't be! He managed to change his will."

"SPYRO!" Cynder shouted. Spyro didn't respond. "SPYRO!" She shouted again. He didn't respond. "Spyro..." She said to him. Spyro shook his head and said, "That Spyro is long gone. That fool was too soft, afraid of his power. That is why he lost against Glament, he feared fighting. His will was weak which allowed my master to change him into me."

Cynder gasped in horror, tears streaking down her cheeks. At this time, the elevator passed the planets crust and was past the molten rock. They seemed to be free falling in open space. Rayde looked around to see the bottom of the other continents around them. Rayde looked over at Drome and asked, "Where does this thing lead?" Drome laughed and said, "Where? To the core of course! The source of all dark magic, a black crystal miles long, thousands of feet thick, power no one man can posses, or try to. That is where everything will begin."

They eventually reached the bottom of the elevator. They landed on a large, dark purple crystal, miles long on either side. Above them the sky was visible in the gaps of the continents. Rayde looked around and noticed that a large block of this crystal was pulled out of it. The gem was about 17 feet tall, and about 6 feet wide. A dark outline of a dragon was inside of the gem. Cynder gasped and said, "Malefor!" Rayde's eyes widened as he realized the situation. "You plan to bring Malefor back don't you!?! Use him to obtain power for yourself."

Drome held up a hand and said, "Not for myself, for my people. For too long we have been the most hated, least powerful race in the world. I plan to change that. My father waited for this to happen, I will MAKE it happen." An ape with a staff walked out from behind the gem, walked up to Drome and said, "Everything is ready. Just strike the gem, and he will be freed."

Rayde got really angry at this, "Craitiku!" He shouted. His sword and clothes began to glow a dark blue color. A quick flash revealed Rayde in his shadow form. Only his clothes were a bit different. Instead of a hooded shirt, he had a muscle shirt, with a blue cape draped over his shoulders. His sword was the same though, an arm-blade that stuck a few feet in front and in back. Rayde charged at the Sorcerer so fast, no one had time to react. Rayde decapitated the ape and said, "Not if I have to say anything."

Drome jumped back and drew his sword saying, "Spyro, deal with Cynder. I'll take care of Rayde" Spyro nodded and lunged after Cynder, she jumped out of the way and said, "I'm not gonna fight you Spyro!" Spyro replied, "Good, then stand still and this will be much easier." Spyro then fired a fire bomb at Cynder, which she jumped to avoid, "You cant dodge forever girl!" Spyro shouted. Cynder smiled and said, "Watch me!"

Drome charged at Rayde and lunged to Rayde's right, his bandaged arm. Rayde turned to the right to avoid the blade, and swiped at Drome. Drome parried his blow with his arm, which was covered in metal. Drome then swiped at Rayde's side, slicing his skin slightly. Rayde grunted in pain as the blade slightly cut his flesh. He jumped back and thought, He is faster than before. Drome then shouted to Rayde, "Did that fool feline find his brother?" Rayde replied quickly, "You set up those riddles for Hunter didn't you?" Drome laughed and said, "Indeed, I thought I should have a little fun with the las prisoner we captured. And thanks to him, we got all the information we need to wipe Avalar off the map."

Rayde was now angry, he lunged at Drome's sword hand. Drome parried this move with a flick of his wrist, sending the sword into the ground (or gem). Drome then uppercutted Rayde right under the chin, then roundhouse kicked him in midair. Rayde was sent flying across the crystal, his back hit something hard as he fell to the ground.

Drome quickly picked Rayde up by the neck and placed him against the gem that Malefor was inside of. "Give it up, Rayde. You've lost." Drome said. Rayde smiled and replied, "You think I'm finished here?" Rayde then disappeared out of nowhere. Drome released his grip and looked around for Rayde. "Another useful ability of Craitiku, I can vanish into the ground below you." Rayde said. Drome looked down to see Rayde punch him directly in the face when he popped out of the ground.

Drome was sent flying straight up. Rayde jumped on top of the stone and lunged at Drome. Drome held up the Fang sword in defense. But, the force of the impact sent Drome flying into the gem, cracking it slightly and leaving a small crater. When the dust cleared, Drome was laying in the center of the crater. He grunted and slowly stood up.

What does it take to kill this guy? Rayde thought. Drome smiled and started firing lasers out of his eye. Rayde easily sidestepped to dodge them. Drome decided to use a different tactic, His hands started glowing a black color. He clapped his hands together, sending a black shockwave towards Rayde. Rayde jumped the blast, but Drome was expecting this.

Drome fired a laser again at Rayde, which hit its mark. The laser cut the sling off of his bandaged arm. His eye laser can cut through the fabric? Rayde thought. Rayde realized, that he was exposed to Drome when he landed. Drome quickly struck the flat of the blade against Rayde's wrist, making him drop the Craitiku. Drome then kicked the sword away.

Drome smiled as he went to stab Rayde in the chest. Time seemed to go in slow motion as Rayde held up his bandaged arm in defense. The Fang Sword pierced the fabric of the bandaged, but didn't go forward.

Rayde stared in amazement as his arm started to glow a purple color. Drome tried to pull out the sword, but to no avail. A bright flash and a rush of wind pushed Drome away from Rayde. When the light dimmed, Drome looked at Rayde and couldn't believe what he saw.

Rayde changed back to his normal form, but there was one thing different about him. His bandaged arm was revealed. His arm had mutated, it looked like a Dragon's arm. It was purple, the arm of a purple dragon. Rayde was holding his sword, not the Fang sword, but the one the elder gave him.

Drome picked up the Fang sword which was thrown towards him by the rush of air. Drome stared at his arm and said, "Thats a strange sort of mutation. How did that happen." Rayde looked at his arm and said, "I don't really know myself. It happened right after I fought you at Warfang."

Drome looked surprised and replied, "Is that so? Well, lets see if it increases your fighting ability."

Drome charged at Rayde and fired a laser. Rayde sidestepped to dodge, and Drome swung his sword towards Rayde's head. Rayde used his sword to block Drome's, and punched him in the gut with his mutated arm. Drome was sent flying across the field, eventually hitting the ground hard.

He slowly stood up and started shouting. "No! You will not ruin everything I worked so hard for!" Drome paused for a second and smiled. He grabbed the hilt of the Fang sword backwards and said, "Lets see you dodge this." Drome threw the sword as hard as he could at Rayde, like a spear.

Rayde smiled and leaned down to avoid the sword. Rayde looked behind him and realized that Drome wasn't aiming for him, he was aiming for Cynder, who was dodging Spyro a short way behind him. Rayde panicked and shouted, "CYNDER MOVE!" but there was no way for her to dodge it.

Back with Cynder.

Cynder heard Rayde shout her name, she looked towards him, to see the Fang sword flying straight towards her. Cynder couldn't move out of the way in time, she would be killed. Just before the blade struck, she felt herself being pushed out of the way. She looked over to see Spyro push her away. His eyes were back to normal.

Cynder watched in horror as Spyro pushed her away. The Fang sword pierced his flesh, ebbing itself in his stomach, and the front of the blade piercing out of his back. "SPYRO!!" Cynder shouted as Spyro fell to the floor. Cynder ran up to Spyro, tears streaming down her face. She knelt down next to Spyro and said, "Spyro! Spyro! Look at me!" Spyro looked up at her weakly and said, "I'm sorry.....I couldn't control....myself."

Cynder shook her head and said, "It's not your fault. Drome forced you to serve him. Just stay with me, don't close your eyes! You can't leave me here!" Spyro coughed and said, "I...know, I'll try."

Rayde

Rayde saw the whole scene unfold before him, Spyro pushing Cynder out of the way, and Spyro taking the fall for her. He looked at Drome, infuriated and said, "You will pay for that Drome."

Rayde started to glow a white color, The same as when Rayde fought Drome at Warfang. Rayde started to hover in the air slightly as the gem he found with the journal floated above his head. Drome realized what was about to happen and charged at Rayde.

Drome was nearly upon him, when the gem merged into Rayde's head. He started to flow brighter, pushing Drome away. Drome covered his eyes due to the light.

When the light dimmed, Drome looked over his arms and beheld what he had unleashed.

Rayde was wearing a white A-shirt, and dark gray pants, same combat boots. His hair had turned a silvery-white color. His weapon is what commanded Drome's attention. Instead of a sword, Rayde held a long Scythe, about 5 feet long. The blade was about 4 feet long. The blade and shaft of the Scythe was a pure white color. Rayde smiled and said, "Behold! You have unleashed my Lumanex! (Loo-muh-nex)

Rayde charged at Drome, who couldn't defend himself well due to he threw the sword away. Rayde slashed at Drome's chest, leaving a long gash. Drome grunted in pain, and tried to punch Rayde in the face. Rayde simply caught his fist in his palm. Rayde smiled and threw Drome skyward. Rayde jumped and kicked Drome in the back, sending him higher.

Drome looked above him after he was hit, to see Rayde hovering about 10 feet above him. Rayde held the Lumanex out in front of him, it started spinning very fast, leaving a low humming sound in the air. Lumanex started to glow as it was spinning. Rayde eventually punched the spinning scythe, sending a large beam of white energy at Drome, who was still in midair.

The beam was as wide as the Lumanex. The beam covered all of Drome's body. He screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. He hit the ground so hard, it left a 10 foot crater when he landed. Drome lay in the crater, motionless.

Rayde reverted back to his normal form and ran towards Spyro and Cynder. Spyro was still alive and breathing. Cynder had already pulled out the sword, and had her hand pressed on the wound. Blood lay on the ground, and quite a lot of it. "How long has it been since he was injured.?" Rayde asked Cynder. Cynder looked up at him, eyes red due to crying, "Its been about 10 minutes. I managed to slow the bleeding, but I don't know if we can get back in time." Cynder started to cry as Rayde knelt down next to Spyro, "How are you feeling?" Spyro looked at him and replied, "I've been better....Listen, take Cynder and get out of here. Malefor....He is coming back. Nothing can stop it."

Rayde shook his head and said, "Drome is dead, he can't bring him back." Spyro shook his head and said, "I don't know how he intended to do it, but he nearly succeeded. But it's good you killed him." Rayde looked at his Fang sword on the ground and said, "Maybe if I get my memories back, I can save you." Cynder nodded and handed the sword to Rayde.

Rayde slowly reached for the sword's hilt. Stopping just inches before it. His heart was pounding. This is it, all of my questions are about to be answered. Here goes everything. Rayde thought as he grasped the hilt of the sword.

Rayde felt a splitting line of pain through his skull, he grasped his head, and threw his head up. His memories were indeed returning, every last bit of them. His childhood, when he first held a blade, when Kaze first took hi as an apprentice, the downfall of the Humans, and sealing himself in the crystal prison.

When it stopped Rayde lay on the ground panting heavily, his head was still slightly throbbing. Cynder looked at him and asked, "Now Rayde, who are you?" Rayde looked up and said, "I am Rayde of the Gems. I am the Crystal warrior, I served under Kaze in a false dream. And I am the last Human alive."

Spyro smiled and said, "Welcome back." very weakly. Cynder then asked, "Can you get him back to Warfang in time?" Rayde thought for a moment before saying, "Yeah, I can. Give me a second." Rayde then his arms out parallel to the ground, he breathed in deep. The crystal started to move, some of it attacked itself to Rayde's back, forming two light green wings.

Rayde looked back down on Spyro and Cynder and said, "I will carry Spyro. Cynder, I'll need you to hang onto my arm, very tightly. Rayde picked up Spyro bridle-style (closest thing I could think of). Rayde heard a something moving a ways behind him. He turned to see Drome crawling out of the crater, buried and cut up.

Rayde stared in amazement, "How are you still alive!?!" Rayde shouted. Drome only laughed, and laughed. Rayde grunted and said, "I don't have time for your, I'll deal with you later. Cynder!" Cynder nodded and grabbed onto Rayde's arm. Rayde started to glow a green color, he bent down to jump. When he did, there was a loud bang when he instantly broke the sound barrier.

Cynder couldn't really see much, only a blurr of colors as Rayde flew through the air. "We'll be at Warfang in about 5 minutes, just hang on!" Rayde shouted to Cynder.

As Rayde predicted, When Warfang was in sight, Rayde slowed down so they could fly at a regular speed. Cynder looked at Spyro who appeared unconscious, Rayde placed a hand to his neck and said, "He still has a pulse, but barely. Where is the hospital?"

Cynder looked around and pointed at a four-story building with a red cross on it, "There, lets go! We don't have much time." Rayde nodded and started flying towards the hospital. Once they neared it, Cynder noticed that Rayde was becoming very tired. "Are you ok, are you gonna be able to make it?" Rayde nodded and said, "Yeah, just using that speed ability wears me out, I'm gonna need to rest when we land." Cynder nodded and kept on going.

(this happened as Rayde, Spryo, and Cynder left)

Drome

Drome watched as they flew off. "We will see who wins this war." Drome said. Drome smiled and continued, "Time to free my master, once and for all."

Drome limped over to the large chunk of Crystal that Malefor was sealed inside of. Drome smiled and held his hand in the air. His hand started to glow a yellow color. He pulled his fist back and said, "My Father did nothing to help your arrival. Because of me, you will return. I only ask one thing. GIVE POWER TO MY PEOPLE! AND I WILL SERVE YOU TILL THE END OF TIME!! Its time for the Revival of the Warrior!"

Drome punched the crystal as hard as he could, putting a scratch in it. After a moment, the gem started to glow a yellow-gold color, tracing the cracks that Drome put in. After Drome stepped back and knelt down, the gem shattered. In its place, a purple dragon stood. This dragon was a full adult dragon, red horns that curled around the back of his head.

Drome smiled and said, "Welcome back, Lord Malefor." Malefor looked down on his subordinate and started laughing. Drome smiled as his plan finished with a bang.

Back at Warfang Hospital

Cynder and Rayde are sitting in a waiting room. It has been about a few hours since they brought Spyro in, but it felt like an eternity. Cynder was in bad shape, she was usually crying, or thinking of the worst outcomes.

Rayde was sitting in a chair, recovering from his battle, and using that speed ability. One of the doors opened. Cynder and Rayde looked up to see Sparx, and the Elder walk in. The elder walked over to Rayde and sat down next to him. After a moment of silence, Rayde asked, "Have you heard anything? About Spyro?" The elder shook his head and said, "They are still trying to heal his wounds."

The elder looked at Rayde and said, "I see you have your sword, is Drome dead?" Rayde shook his head and said, "No, he was somehow still alive after I used my Lumanex. I don't see how he could have." The elder replied, "Drome has probably enforced his body with magic barriers that lessen the effects of other magic abilities." Rayde snorted and said, "That wouldn't surprise me. I also got my memories back."

The elder looked startled and said, "Well, thats good news. I bet you feel relieved." Rayde shook his head and said, "My past sins still weigh on my shoulders. And I don't know how to cleanse them." The elder smiled and said, "It takes time, I'm sure the answer will appear to you soon enough."

Rayde sighed and said, "There is something else also, it is likely that Malefor has returned. That was Drome's plan all along." The elder now looked fearful and said, "Now that is bad news. Still, we beat him once we can beat him again."

At that moment, a female feline wearing nurse clothes walked into the room. Cynder was the first one to ask, "How is Spyro? Will he be alright." The nurse replied calmly, "We have our best healer working on him now. The puncture wound cut through his stomach, and cut some muscular tissue in his back. When we are done, it will really be up to him."

Cynder looked down, tears in her eyes. The nurse saw this and said, "Don't worry, he is tough. I'll bet he will pull through this. We will let you know when you can go see him." Cynder looked up and smiled saying, "Thank you nurse." The nurse bowed and left them in the lounge.

A few hours later, the same nurse came in and told them they could go and see him. She guided them to his room. Spyro lay on a hospital bed with blankets over his body, except his head and shoulders. Spyro was conscious and fully awake. He noticed everyone walk in and said, "Hey Cynder." Cynder walked up and hugged Spyro. Spyro grunted and said, "Ow, be careful Cynder, I need to breath." Cynder smiled and let go of him. She then kissed him.

When they parted Cynder said, "I'm sorry." Spyro smiled and said, "For what? You didn't put me in this bed. You don't need to apologize." Cynder smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes. Sparx flew up and said, "Good to see your still in one piece buddy!" Spyro smiled and said, "You as well Sparx. Where did you go after we were attacked, did you run off?"

Sparx coughed and said, "Uhh, no of course not. I just went back to Warfang to inform the elders and the guardians about your capture." Spyro looked at Sparx like a mother trying to get answers out of her child and said, "You ran off didn't you?" Sparx sighed and said, "Yeah I did." Everyone laughed at this.

Spyro then looked at Rayde and said, "What about Malefor?" Rayde held up his hand and said, "No need to talk about that now, you need to focus on recovering." Spyro smiled and said, "Yeah, some rest sounds good right now."

Spyro then addressed the Elder, "Why are you here?" The elder shrugged and said, "Do I need a reason to check on a friend?" Spyro smiled and said, "No, I suppose not."

After another few minutes of talking, Sparx, Rayde, and the elder thought it best to leave Spyro and Cynder alone for a while. Since she insisted on remaining by his side.

As they were leaving the Hospital, the elder grabbed Rayde's shoulder and said, "We are going to need to prepare for war. If he is indeed back, we should be ready for anything." Rayde sighed and said, "Yeah I know."

Sparx, Rayde and the Elder eventually got back to the main tower. Rayde went up to his room, he needed a moment alone to relax.

Rayde got to his room and sat down in a chair. He pulled out the Fang Sword and set it on the table. He cleaned the blade of dried blood and rust. After his attentions to his sword, he started to recollect the past events.

Kaze is sealed inside of him, his arm has mutated as a mimic to Kaze's arm. Malefor has returned, and Drome is still alive.

These next few months are gonna be fun. I hope this doesn't end as bad as todays event. Rayde thought as he went to his bed and lied down. Eventually passing into his dreams to quell his exhausted mind.

There we go, there is the first part of this trilogy for you. I have the other two parts ready, but I wont post them until I get some reviews. Sorry if there was any spelling or grammar issues, this is my first after all.

Copyright: All characters owned by Spyro do not belong to me. All unaffiliated characters are owned by me.

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