Blasted lightning storm made me lose my story that I was working on and I only recovered part of it and had to rewrite the rest. Well, enjoy it anyway.

Chapter 13: Journey to the center of the earth
Cynder clawed at Spyro and caused scratch marks on the purple dragon’s body. It stung and he gritted his teeth in pain. Spyro fought back and hit Cynder multiple times.

“How dare you hurt someone you love?!” Cynder asked angrily.

“That someone I love doesn’t hurt me or my friends,” Spyro answered back.

Cynder raised her front paws and tried to stomp down on Spyro but Morpheus spun kick at the black dragoness. His leg connected with her jaw and sent her sprawling onto the ground.

“For a small fry like you…you sure pack a painful punch,” Cynder said as she got up from the ground.

Morpheus leapt at Cynder but she was quicker and she grabbed his neck. Ember and Flame leapt at her in unison but the two were whipped by Cynder using her tail. They rebounded and split up to attack Cynder from two sides but again, they got whipped from a spin attack. Morpheus tried to free himself but Cynder slammed him to the ground and landed a hard punch on Morpheus that it made a crater in the ground.

“Cynder, please stop. We don’t want to fight you,” Valcor said.

“Too bad for you because I don’t feel like stopping,” Cynder grinned evilly.

She tried to claw Valcor but Valcor stopped her by swinging his tail at her legs and tripped her. Cynder let out a breath of poison at Valcor but he just stood there.

“I’m resistant to poison if you don’t mind,” he muttered.

Cinder grabbed his legs and pulled him down to the ground and choked Valcor. He gasped and gagged as Cynder’s grip tightened around his neck. Suddenly, she felt a hard knock on her head and it was hard enough to make black stars explode in her vision. She swung her claw around and hit something. She heard a grunt of pain coming from Morpheus.

“Cynder, get a hold of yourself, you’re not born to serve darkness! You have a future, a bright one! Why do you let Kharnak control your mind?!” Spyro asked.

“I told you that it is my will and destiny to serve darkness! Don’t try and persuade me anymore!” Cynder snarled angrily.

She used her tail to grip Spyro’s neck and pinned him to the ground. Her eyes were glowing white and her body emitted a dark aura.

“You’ve been getting on my nerves and now I’ll put an end to your misery,” Cynder growled softly.

Before she could bring down her claw on Spyro, she saw Spyro’s eyes swelling up with tears. Somehow, she felt pity and she didn’t attack.

“Why won’t you fight back?” she asked.

“Because you have left me nothing to fight for,” Spyro answered sadly.

Flashbacks entered her mind and reminded her of the same thing he said when they were threatened by Malefor. She meant much to Spyro…and to see him like this makes her feel guilty. Her eyes drooped and a black teardrop fell onto Spyro’s face.

“I’m sorry…” she muttered apologetically.

She let go of Spyro but unknown to her, Morpheus had charged at her with his sword pointed at her back. Before Cynder could react, Morpheus drove his sword into her back and pierced through her stomach. Spyro watched in horror as he saw the tip of the sword was stained with blood and it dripped onto his belly. Cynder opened her mouth in pain but didn’t emit any noise. Her pupils dilated and her eyes were wide. Morpheus realized his mistake and quickly let go of the sword and backed off. Cynder began returning to her original self but the sword was still lodged there. She fell onto the ground and coughed out blood.

“Cynder!” Spyro yelled out, his tears flowing freely from his eyes.

Cynder’s breathing was shallow and her eyelids were slowly closing. She managed to muster her strength and look at Spyro, giving him a weak smile.

“There is always something to fight for,” she said weakly and her eyes closed as she slipped into a coma.

“Cynder, don’t die!” Spyro wailed.

Valcor held him back and inspected Cynder. His face was grim but calm nonetheless.

“She’s barely alive. I can try my best to save her but you all must go on without me,” Valcor said.

“I’m not leaving without Cynder!” Spyro growled angrily through his teeth.

“Spyro, please reason with yourself. The world is at stake and you are the only one who can stop that. Leave Cynder to me and I promise you she’ll be alive once you return from your journey into the Epicenter,” Valcor said with a tone of authority.

Spyro was reluctant but Valcor’s glare was able to convince Spyro that he shouldn’t mess around with Valcor.

“Alright, I’ll leave you to that but keep your word,” Spyro said.

“May lightning strike me if I fail to uphold my promise,” Valcor said.

With that vow, Spyro left along with his injured teammates. They went pass the archway and now they were nearing the Epicenter. The darkness dissipated slightly as the glow from the Epicenter lit things up a bit.

“Spyro, I’m sorry to what I did to Cynder,” Morpheus said regretfully.

“It’s okay, it’s not entirely your fault anyway,” Spyro said softly.

“Well, I hope I can make it up to you,” the human continued.

“You can do that by keeping that pothole of yours shut,” Spyro said a little louder this time.

Morpheus said nothing else after that. As they closed in on the Epicenter, all of them felt something disturbing their minds but they toughed it out. They came across a spiral steps and at the end of it were two skeleton guards. They were unaware that someone was behind them.

“You know, our attack on Warfang really hurt the dragons badly. I think we eradicated most of them,” the one on the left said.

“I doubt it. With us dead for so long, I don’t think those dragons won’t flourish. In fact, I estimate that there are more out there,” the one on the right replied.

“Is that why we’re ordered to prepare a fleet?” the former said while scratching his skull.

“Most likely but Baron Salvador didn’t give any of us much details. They think we’re too stupid to fathom his so-called devious plan,” the latter joked.

“Oh really? I wonder how much more devious than it can get?” the first one asked.

As they chatted among themselves, Spyro and the others sneaked past them. Flame let out a burp so stinky that the smell wafted towards the two guards.

“Whoa, what did you eat this morning?” the second one asked while waving his bony arm.

“It wasn’t me for Lysenthia’s sake,” the first one replied in a tone of irritation.

They looked at each other and turned around but they saw no one. The second guard then turned to face the first guard.

“It has got to be you,” he said.

The team slipped past a few more guards and they reached to the top of the fortress. The entire place was a big, flat piece of land but in the middle, they saw a volcano-like thing that spewed lava and dark aura. Thousands of fireballs were shot up into the sky before falling back down.

“There it is,” Hunter said with awe.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing this and I pray that I won’t see the Epicenter again once we’re done,” Flame said as he watched a fireball drop from the sky.

“It’s a miracle we got here unseen but let’s not push our luck,” Ember muttered.

“How do we get there unseen? If we walk out in the open, we’ll be spotted and I’m expecting thousands of arrows and cannon fire,” Flame said.

Suddenly, a large leg stomped in front of them and made them fall. It was the Hell Golem and it was patrolling the Epicenter. It let out a low growl and stopped to look around. The others stayed still until it gave a snort of satisfaction and went on.

“We can’t engage that thing directly so we’ll avoid it. We have no choice but to sprint across the open distance,” Spyro said.

“You’re gonna get us killed,” Hunter warned.

“What other choice do we have?” Spyro asked Hunter.

He looked around him and spotted a tall tower not far away. He smiled and gave a satisfied nod that his plan will work, hopefully.

“Follow me to that tower and keep near to the wall to avoid detection,” Hunter whispered.

They followed Hunter’s lead and slipped into the indicated tower. As they reached the entrance, the Hell Golem made another pass.

“That thing is a lumbering monstrosity,” Morpheus said.

“And we can use its slow speed to our advantage. Quick, enter the tower,” Hunter said.

At the base of the tower, they spotted plenty of explosives and gunpowder piled together. Spyro immediately caught on to Hunter’s plan.

“You knew there were explosives all along?” Spyro asked.

“My keen sense of smell tells me so. Besides, it is near to a turret and if someone were to assault this fortress, they can come retrieve the gunpowder and explosives in a short time,” Hunter said.

“Very observant but lets assume that our plan succeeds but the Golem comes along. What do we do?” Ember asked.

“If the tower is destroyed, we’re dead meat so we only have one shot at this. Once the tower falls and leans onto the mouth of the Epicenter, we sprint as fast as we can. The body of the tower should provide us protection from ranged attacks and some cannon fire but the Golem might destroy the whole thing if it returns. We’ll time this nicely,” Hunter said.

They waited for the Golem to make another pass and Spyro lit the explosives. Their timing was good and as soon as the Golem rounded a corner. The whole thing blew up and the tower toppled and leaned against the mouth of the Epicenter. It attracted attention but the team had already went into the tower and sprinted to the top. Cannon fire pounded the tower’s body and cracks began to form.

“We have two minutes before the Golem returns!” Hunter shouted.

A cannon shot blasted a hole above him and blurred his vision but he pushed on. They ran fast and the angle was getting steeper. They were close to the top though. Spyro noticed the roof was weak and with a mighty charge, he burst open and the next thing he knew, he was over the mouth of the Epicenter. The others leapt out and fell into the great mouth. At the same time, the tower crumbled into pieces as the Golem broke it apart with its spear.

“Aiiiii!” Flame let out a scream as they fell into the mouth of the place they dreaded. There is no turning back until they have finish their quest and they better hurry because this time, the undeads are rallying to destroy the dragons once and for all.

“Hurry Spyro, you’re close but your enemies are getting closer to the weak than you can imagine,” Ignitus said.

He saw a vision of dragons slaughtered by the undead and many were screaming and pleading for mercy.

Chapter 12: Return to the Epicenter
Spyro was up early the next day and he was busy packing supplies for his journey back to the Epicenter, a place where the undead originated. While everyone still rested, Spyro snuck out of bed and headed for the ramparts, ready to spread his wings and ride with the wind that blew towards the Epicenter. However, he was caught by Morpheus who was waiting at the steps of the ruined temple.

“Where do you think you’re going, Spyro the Dragon?” the human asked.

“This is none of your concern. I’m going to the Epicenter to rescue Cynder and destroy that fool Kharnak,” Spyro said angrily.

“On the contrary Spyro, it is of my concern as well. I am cursed not to die and the only way to free myself from this accursed world is to destroy both the Netherlord and Kharnak. I don’t care who is in control but I prefer if both of them die,” Morpheus said.

“You said so yourself that none of us can defeat him,” Spyro muttered.

“That doesn’t give me a reason not to try. Besides, I’m sure you’ll need all the help you can get,” Morpheus smiled.

Spyro remained silent and looked at the ground while using his left paw to draw a circle on the ground. It was true that he can’t fight alone but this matter seems rather personal and Spyro didn’t feel like having someone accompanying him on his journey. It was unwise though as he had a limit to his power before the God of Destruction overpower him. Like it or not, Spyro’s heart couldn’t deny Morpheus coming with him.

“You’re right Morpheus, I do need all the help I can get but I prefer if we travel in a small group,” Spyro said.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him and turned around. He saw Hunter, Flame, Ember and Valcor standing together.

“We heard what you wanted and we’re here to journey with you. Spyro, we shall help you in your journey to the Epicenter,” Hunter said.

“Yo buddy, no matter what, I’ll still be by your side. We’ve been friends for years already,” winked Flame.

“Spyro, even if I detest Cynder and disagree with you saving her, I’ll fight alongside you for your sake,” Ember said.

“Spyro, as the leader of the Western Lands, I pledge my sword and life to you and fight beside you,” Valcor said gallantly.

Spyro felt his sense of loneliness dissipate. Even if Cynder wasn’t by his side, his friends still cared about him, no matter the race. Morpheus maybe human and his race was an enemy to the dragons but he is different and he fought for what is right. Spyro liked him and trusted him.

Hunter was always a helping hand to him and Cynder and he can also be trusted. He made friends with him when they were rescued from the Earth Golem 5 years ago and now he is about to help him one more time.

Flame was a long time buddy and they always played together when they were younger. He maybe rough at times and liked picking fights but Spyro knew that he was a gallant warrior at best and he never betrayed Spyro.

Ember maybe annoying and sometimes, Spyro found her to be a little stuck-up sometimes but she has a heart of gold and she really cares for her friends, even Cynder even when she said she hated her. She used to be weak in combat but Spyro was somehow glad that she learnt to fight.

He heard of Valcor’s name and achievements but he never met him in person. Valcor was somewhat a legend among the warriors and his achievements, real or not, was rather astounding. During the siege on Warfang, Valcor was a strong fighter and it proved some of the rumors of his combat prowess and peerless courage. Spyro was glad to have a master warrior by his side.

“T-thank you for trying to help me out guys, I really appreciate your gesture of friendship,” Spyro said while a teardrop formed and fell.

“Hey, we’re all buddies, right? All for one and one for us!” Flame said with a grin.

“Actually, it’s all for one and one for all,” Morpheus corrected.

Flame gave an embarrass laugh and scratched the back of his head.

“It doesn’t matter what the saying is, all we shall do is fight as a team. What say you?” Valcor asked everyone.

“Yeah!” they all shouted in unison.

Then, they became serious again.

“How can Hunter and I get there quickly? We can’t fly,” Morpheus said with narrow eyes.

The dragons muttered and nodded their heads in agreement. At that moment, Raveshaw, the mole master engineer came out from his hut near the temple and smiled at them.

“I was expecting you guys to encounter flight problems so I’ve came up with an invention to help those who can’t fly to ride the winds as skillfully as a dragon,” he said with a warm smile.

He took out to backpacks and handed one each to Hunter and Morpheus.

“What is this?” Hunter asked curiously.

“This is what I call a flight pack. You use it as if using a backpack and stand at the edge of a cliff or anywhere similar and pull that string,” Raveshaw said while stroking his beard.

The two strapped on the backpacks and pulled the strings. Immediately wings made of leaves and wood deployed from slits on both sides of the backpack. The wingspan was as long as an albatross’ wingspan.

“Can this thing really work,” Hunter asked with uncertainty.

“Why don’t you step off the ramparts and tell me?” Raveshaw joked.

“Because I’d be dead if this thing fails,” Hunter grinned.

The two wingless ones stepped off the ramparts and closed their eyes. Suddenly, they felt like they were being lifted up by a pair of hands. They opened their eyes and found themselves gliding.

“We’re flying!” Morpheus laughed happily.

“Don’t lose focus and use the steering bar to steer to the path desired,” Raveshaw said out aloud to the two.

“C’mon, we have no time to waste,” Valcor said to Spyro and the others.

They nodded and took flight, following the two gliders. The wind was unusually strong and it felt like a vacuum that is sucking them towards the Epicenter. In just 3 hours, they flew past the Moray Mines and within 5 hours, they reached the outskirts of the black fortress. They landed on a mesa and surveyed the area. The dark purple crystals have spread very far and wide and some even reached the foot of the mesa. They could hear moaning and cries of pain coming from the crystals.

“What are in these crystals?” Spyro asked.

“Spirits of dead that have no body when the curse has been said. They are crystallized, waiting to be released to the world so they could wreak havoc. They can possess multitude of things such as dead bodies, bones and even machinery. I’m sure you notice that every time you kill things like undead animals or even a machine guardian, you’ll see blue spirits, right?” Morpheus explained and asked.

“Yeah,” Spyro said.

“When the body they possess is destroyed, they will be free of the curse. It also applies to those skeleton warriors that you destroy. They might have been cursed and they have a body when they die but when you destroy their physical body, their spirits will be free. I’m sure you’ve released many of them during your journey,” Morpheus smiled.

“Hmm, come to think of it, I released at least 1000 over of them,” Spyro said.

“It’s a good start but what I desire is a mass curse break and that can only be achieved by killing the one who sets the curse or having the entire dragon race destroyed. There are billions of cursed humans and many are buried under your feet or in spirit form. It is impossible to break their curse one by one so we’ll aim for the king,” Morpheus said.

Valcor used his sharp eyes to spot enemies that guarded the gate of the dark fortress that surrounded the Epicenter. It was like a large super castle but it was all twisted and black. A bright orange glow came from the center of the fortress and Valcor assumed that it came from the Epicenter.

“We’re just a stone’s throw away from that hellhole but there are many guards and turrets guarding the place. Added to that, I think there is a Golem,” Valcor said calmly.

“A-a Golem?” Ember asked fearfully.

“It’s not any Golem I know of. This Golem is not of any known element,” Valcor said grimly.

“If it’s not a Golem of any known element, then it surely can’t be a Golem,” Flame said thoughtfully.

“It has traits of a Golem but it’s all black and red and it wields a fiery spear of lava rock and has onyx for armor,” Valcor said as he squinted his eyes to see more details of that Golem.

Spyro’s pupils diluted in fear and his jaw dropped slightly. That resembled the creature he encountered back at the Moray Mines.

“By Lysenthia’s bosom, that is a Hell Golem that exist in the Moray Mines. Many miners were killed and it took 5 High Mages to seal that thing at the pits of the mines. That thing is rather strong so it’s best we avoid it,” Morpheus muttered.

“I encountered that thing in the mines when I and Cynder were heading for the Epicenter for the first time,” Spyro said.

“You did? That’s odd…no one could release the Golem unless the spell that keeps it sealed is disturbed by a foreign object,” Morpheus said.

“I-I accidentally kicked a helmet into a deep hole and moments later, it came for us,” Spyro related.

“Then you must have freed it from its prison. Now I’m wondering how they manage to tame that Golem. It wasn’t a creature you really want as a pet,” Morpheus winced.

“I don’t care how they acquire it but it is best that we head on into the Epicenter and kill whoever is responsible of the curse. From the looks of what they are doing, it seems like they are preparing for another assault,” Hunter said.

They slowly followed a road down the mesa and walked among the dead trees as they reached ground level. It didn’t provide much place to hide and they doubt they’ll stay hidden for long so they moved fast. Occasionally, they encountered skeleton warriors and had to stop to dispatch them before moving on. The time of day was slowly slipping into night and the already dark area has become darker, so dark that they can’t see each other.

“This darkness is unnatural…it is as if a beast has devoured us,” Hunter whispered.

“Don’t scare me, Hunter,” Spyro growled.

Ember gave a whimper of fear but Flame held her tight and comforted her. Valcor made a torch but it did little to light the road in front of them. The darkness seemed to have an effect on Spyro because he felt dark powers coursing through his body, he felt hatred, anger and lust for domination and his dark side surfaced a few times but he managed to keep it under control. Valcor was rather worried for Spyro but he dare not say anything because if one wrong word slipped out from his or his friend’s mouth, Spyro will surely turn evil.

“I…sense great darkness…we’re close to the Epicenter,” Spyro said darkly.

Valcor nodded and beckoned his friends to move forth. The darkness was giving even Valcor the creeps and it felt like they were being watched. Morpheus was quiet the entire time and he refused to say anything for he knew the spirits were watching. They couldn’t see what was in front of them and many times they have run into a tree or nearly fell off a crevasse. They knew the road was going to be treacherous but this was just plain wrong. Just as they passed two statues of Kharnak, Spyro heard a voice in his head.

“Welcome to my domain, Spyro the dragon,” the voice said with a dark, feminine, tone.

Spyro recognized that voice and he halted. The rest of his team also halted as he did.

“Spyro, what’s the matter?” Flame asked.

“She’s here,” was what Spyro said.

Morpheus suddenly opened his eyes wide when he sensed something wrong. Looking up, he saw an adult black dragon perched on an archway, smiling at them darkly.

“By Lysenthia’s bosom, is that Cynder?” Morpheus asked in surprise.

The black dragoness gave out an evil laugh that seemed to echo throughout the place. Her white eyes glared at them maliciously and finally, she had her sights locked on to Spyro. Spyro felt something evil about her and she never looked this scary before. It was as if a ghost was staring at him.

“C-Cynder-” Spyro started but Cynder cut him off.

“I know what you’re trying to ask and yes, I am Cynder, the one who loved you…or so you think,” Cynder growled.

She leapt off the archway and landed in front of them with a thud. Valcor had his sword ready but he dared not strike at Spyro’s lover.

“My master had already expected your arrival so he put me here to guard the place,” Cynder said in a rather hollow voice.

“Cynder, snap out of it. You’re not evil, you’re under the control of Kharnak,” Spyro said.

“Yes and from birth, my destiny is to serve and preserve darkness. It is the force that governs the world and it is present in everyone’s heart, even the seemingly holy ones. You know this yet you deny it,” Cynder said.

“Cynder please stop, now you’re talking like Kharnak,” Spyro pleaded.

“He is my master after all. Why resist him when you can join him? I’m sure he has a special place for you in his throne. You have experienced darkness and you know your desires come from it. You like it, don’t you?” Cynder grinned evilly.

It was true that Spyro had some forbidden desires but he always kept it in check but now it seems like it was too much for him to handle.

“Cynder, that is enough,” Ember growled.

Cynder looked at Ember maliciously and backhanded her, sending her flying into a tree.

“I don’t take orders from pink whelps the likes of you,” Cynder growled back.

She turned her attention back to Spyro. She noticed her words seem to be affecting the purple dragon so she pushed on.

“Why ponder? You have only one path and that is the path of darkness and power. You were given the will to end the Third Age and start a new one. Peace was never an option and only weaklings desire peace because they know they can’t fight. Those whelps following you know nothing of power and ambition and all they desire is peace. What is the use of that?” Cynder asked more kindly but her voice contained darkness nonetheless.

Spyro let out a grunt as he struggled with his thoughts. His thoughts contradicted with what he believed and he was at war with his own dark side that was waiting to take over.

“Spyro, give in to your desires and join me. Together we will rule the world as King and Queen of Darkness and *bleep*. You’ll do that for me if you love me,” Cynder said.

Morpheus was really cheesed off and he threw an axe at her. Spyro gasped and thought it was going to hit her but Cynder just grabbed it and crushed it into pieces.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” she said softly.

“Morpheus, what are you doing?!” Spyro asked angrily.

“If this is really the Cynder you love, she won’t attempt to turn you into one of Kharnak’s pawns. If it is not Cynder, I’ll beat her up and make her go dirt-tasting,” Morpheus said as he shook his fist at Cynder.

“Know your place, human. You don’t belong to the dragon clan and your life should be in the hands of Kharnak,” Cynder said sternly.

“I take no orders from a sadistic centaur and his pawns. I believe solely in peace and freedom but that does not make me weak,” he shot back.

“You see Spyro, he denies the fact but you believe him. He hates you in reality,” Cynder said.

Spyro said nothing but his paws glowed electric blue. Cynder was slightly shocked when Spyro looked at her and grinned with determination.

“Nice try Cynder but apparently another one more powerful than you has told me to tell you to SOD OFF!” Spyro roared.

Cynder thought she saw Ignitus frowning at her but she dismissed it as a hallucination. She closed her eyes and smiled.

“Then I guess you’re asking for a fight,” Cynder said.

“I’m not alone. I have my friends by my side,” Spyro said.

His friends rallied to his side and readied themselves. Cynder just smiled and laughed.

“Very well, this shall be your funeral and this ground shall be your tomb. Prepare yourself, Spyro the dragon,” Cynder roared and at the same time, lightning flashed and she gave a loud and evil laugh that matched with the lighting. She spread her wings wide and a dark aura surrounded her. The lightning flash and spread wings made her look rather intimidating.

“Don’t let her scare you! We can beat her!” Spyro said to his teammates and charged.

Chapter 11: The Beginning
Just as Ember shouted the warning, twin cannon shots hit a building behind her. The cannon turrets on the wall responded by firing back at the enemy. Now, the war has begun. The cannons on Warfang’s ramparts opened up at the enemy and rained down a hail of cannon fire, which the opposition army did likewise. The warriors were ordered not to attack unless the enemies try to scale the walls.

“Compared to the first siege, this one really started off with a bang,” Cyril joked as a bullet shot flew past his head.

The turret beside him exploded into steaming bits and the controller of the turret was flung out and landed in front of Cyril.

“They’re *bleep* good shooters,” the mole said weakly.

“Crap, this isn’t good,” a rebel soldier said as he fired a rifle shot towards the enemy ranks.

Cyril saw exactly why he said that. Ladders were being pushed up the wall and the undead began climbing it. Morpheus went to the closest ladder and knocked it down with a kick. The entire ladder fell along with the undead on it to the ground with a loud crunch, crushing them to death permanently.

Cyril pushed two ladders and cut one grappling hook rope to prevent the ramparts from being overrun.

“Don’t let them overrun the ramparts or all will be lost!” Cyril commanded.

One dragon soldier got impaled in the chest by a grappling hook, killing it instantly. The hook retracted and pulled the dead dragon soldier off the ramparts and into the sea of undead warriors. Flame blew a stream of fire down the ramparts and burned the undead soldiers as they advanced towards Warfang’s gates. The other dragons followed and soon, the grounds below became a massive fire field. From far, the enemy tanks and artilleries continued their barrage of cannon fire from long range. The rampart turrets can’t reach them and the artilleries they have were decimated.

“Spyro, halt their armored units and put them out of action!” Terrador yelled out to Spyro.

Spyro nodded and he beckoned Cynder to follow. *bleep* they flew in the skies, rifle shots filled the air and threatened to hit them. The two dragons were engaged by undead riders but they easily repelled them and bashed them to the ground with flurries of combos and power attacks. The enemy tanks and artilleries were situated on a hill and their cannon barrels flashed and belched smoke and fire. Rifle soldiers shot at Spyro and Cynder but the two evaded the shots deftly. When they touched down, they started whacking the tanks. Their claw attacks can’t hurt the tanks so they resorted to breath attacks. Spyro’s fire breaths worked well in melting the tank armor while Cynder’s powerful wind breath blew away the light artilleries.

“Get those two! They’re attacking our tanks!” someone yelled.

Spyro turned and saw a group of undead warriors heading for them, this time they wore full armor and carried stave weapons. Spyro didn’t manage to dodge the first pierce that came at him and a spear head hit his chest.

“Spyro!” Cynder called out!

Spyro only smiled back and burned the warrior to crisp.

“Morpheus is right. Mithril armor is stronger than I could’ve imagined,” he said gleefully.

The handsome-looking dragon in armor then turned his attention to several other warriors. They hit Spyro with all they got but the mithril armor he wore protected him from the blows. Cynder came up and helped Spyro in fending off the enemy warriors. After dealing with the last tank and artillery piece, the two braved another storm of gunfire and returned back to Warfang.

“Thank the ancestors you’re okay, Spyro. Now with their cannon attacks impeded, we should have one less problem to worry about,” Terrador said.

“That doesn’t mean we’re out of trouble yet! The enemies are still trying to scale our walls!” Cyril said.

Suddenly, undead warriors in red armor appeared on the ramparts and glared at the defenders with menacing looks. Before Terrador could give the command to attack, the warriors in red armor leapt at the closest dragon warrior and slit their throats so quickly that they didn’t even see it coming. The victims clutched their throats and fell to the ground before dying from blood loss.

“They’re fast,” Terrador thought.

One leapt at Terrador and attempted to slit his throat but Terrador blocked with his wing and the blade came in contact with his wing. He let out a growl of pain and blood spattered across his face. Before the undead assassin touched the ground, Terrador grabbed it by the neck and slammed him to the ground with a force equivalent to a juggernaut (large lorry) slamming into a wall. The undead became a pile of bones.

“Attack them!” Terrador ordered.

The undead warriors fought back and they were agile. Many fell dead before the undead warriors were eliminated. Suddenly, Terrador caught sight of multiple undead soldiers coming up the ramparts.

“Oh no, this was just a diversion,” he said angrily to himself.

The ramparts were in danger of being overrun by the undead and they had to fall back to the streets. Many dragons were dispatched to guard the temple and incubation chamber for they fear that the new brood of dragon eggs might be destroyed if they’re not careful.

“Spyro, leave the holding back to us. You dragons guard whatever the hell is precious to you!” Morpheus said to Spyro.

Spyro nodded and fell back to the temple. Cyril helped out Morpheus and the human rebels to fight off the undead. Cyril was badly hurt when a ballista shot punctured his stomach and it was still lodged there. Blood flowed from it but Cyril didn’t seem to care. He kept on fighting.

“Go…defend the temple…I’ll hold them off!” Cyril said to Spyro and the others.

“Cyril, don’t! You’ll get yourself killed!” Spyro yelled.

“I’m not going down without a fight! Go now!” Cyril roared.

His ice breath was tainted with blood and he felt his body weakening. Cyril did not stop though, he kept on fighting alongside the human rebels. Spyro took one last look at Cyril before heading for the temple. One the way to the temple, they were bombarded by another wave of cannon fire. Some hit the temple and threatened to destroy it but thanks to the mole’s sturdy construction of the temple walls, they held nicely even after being pounded multiple times. A cannon shell exploded behind Spyro and Cynder and threw them off their feet, making them hit into a wall.

“Are you two alright?” Terrador asked.

“We’re a little beaten up but still fine nonetheless,” Cynder said and stood up groggily.

“Good, we’re almost there to the temple. Come on, don’t slack!” Terrador said aloud.

Just when they reached the temple entrance after going up a flight of steps, they couldn’t believe their sights. Most of the dragon warriors have been massacred and their dead bodies littered the grounds outside the temple. Some sported burn marks while others had deep wounds and pieces of them sliced off. In the middle of the temple courtyard stood a demon centaur and he was smiling evilly at the three.

“I was expecting you sooner or later…Spyro,” Kharnak said with malice.

“Not you again,” Spyro said in dismay.

“Yes, dragon, it’s me. You think I didn’t know that you’ve been talking with Titan before the invasion now, did you?” he asked.

“What about it? He gave me a power that will destroy you forever,” Spyro threatened but Kharnak only laughed.

“How can you hurt me when my vassal is protecting me from such harms? That power of yours only work a few times so don’t push it,” Kharnak said.

Spyro tried the first attack but something repelled him and sent him flying backwards. Spyro skidded on the ground for a few meters before coming to a grinding halt.

“Ouch…my head hurts,” Spyro mumbled.

“See what I mean? My vassal has the power over my defenses but not over me. It is because of him that I was able to fight in the mortal world. I guess Titan hadn’t told you that,” Kharnak smiled darkly.

“Spyro, let me deal with him,” Cynder said.

“No, you can’t! He’s mine to deal with!” Spyro said angrily.

Terrador thought he saw Spyro’s eyes turn demonic red for a while. Somehow the darkness that coursed through him must have changed to an even more powerful one. Something doesn’t feel right and Terrador didn’t like it.

“Cynder, let him fight,” Terrador said.

The black dragoness let out a small sigh and nodded.

Kharnak stomped on the ground and sent a shockwave hurtling towards Spyro. Spyro dodged aside and charged at Kharnak. Before he could reach the centaur, he was hit by a sword and his armor shattered into millions of fragments.

“Your mithril armor maybe strong but not to the power of gods and immortals,” Kharnak said while pointing his sword at Spyro.

Spyro gave a roar of anger and charged at Kharnak again, strafing left and right to throw off Kharnak’s aim. He got close enough to land a slash on Kharnak but the centaur spun his sword around and hit Spyro. Spyro quickly rebounded and attacked relentlessly. He tried another Death Bringer attack but again he was repelled. He felt more dark powers surging through him and his mind burned with hatred. Titan warned him against using too much and now something was bothering his mind, as if someone had inserted evil thoughts into him.

“Spyro, you’re strong. Why fight the undefeatable when you can join them and be ruler? You were a dragon destined to change the world and you have the power to do so. Titan knew that because he did the same thing,” a voice said.

Suddenly, a vision of the past appeared and Spyro saw Titan fighting the then more primitive humans. Many were slaughtered but some survived. Titan laughed evilly and burned them into charred bodies. Spyro noticed the dragon staring at him and before he attacked, the vision was gone.

“No, it’s a lie…Titan would never do such things!” Spyro said loudly.

“From the First Age of Dragons to the present age, all purple dragons were destined to change the world and even the celestial god dragon has such a past. He wouldn’t tell you that because he is ashamed of his actions. But still, you can see that the desire is still there. Why resist?” the voice continued.

Spyro covered his ears and shook his head. It was too much for him. Suddenly, he felt someone shaking him out of the trance and pulling him back to reality. It was Cynder and she had a sympathetic look on her face.

“Spyro, whatever goes on in your head, don’t listen. Don’t leave me alone,” Cynder said softly and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Spyro’s heart warmed and he felt like crying.

“No, I won’t leave you,” he said while tears began swelling up at the corner of his eyes.

They heard Kharnak laughing and he set his sword into the ground.

“How sweet. Two young dragons in love in the midst of battle. I’ve never seen anything so touching in my entire life,” mocked the centaur and he laughed again.

“You shut up,” Spyro growled.

Oh well, I guess I have nothing to say at this point because my forces seem to be retreating. Well, it has been fun fighting you guys but I really must go now,” Kharnak said.

He took his sword and with one mighty slash, he cut down the dragon temple and it crumbled into pieces. The dragons opened their eyes wide in horror as the dragon temple came crashing down.

“No, the dragon eggs!” Terrador yelled in horror.

“Oops, my bad,” Kharnak mocked.

He suddenly grabbed Cynder by the neck and tied her up with magic chains.

“I’ll need her and don’t mind if I ‘borrow’ your girlfriend for a while. Try experiencing some loneliness for once,” the centaur said and he laughed evilly before disappearing into a cloud of black smoke.

Before they disappeared, Spyro though he heard Cynder’s plea for help.

“Spyro, don’t leave me alone!” she cried out and her voice faded.

Spyro wanted to cry but somehow, he felt anger in him. He let out a loud roar to the heavens and called by Cynder’s name so loudly that he felt even the heavens could hear him. Finally, he broke down. The battle was over within 3 hours but the loss was great. Cyril was mortally wounded and the dragon temple was destroyed. Terrador felt great loss.

“Terrador…we lost the temple,” Cyril said weakly.

“Cyril, the younger generations are dead…the dragon race is in danger of going extinct,” Terrador said to his dying friend.

“No, they’re not dead. I…replaced them with fake eggs and the real ones are safe in my study,” Cyril smiled.

He coughed out some blood and his breathing became shallow.

“Terrador, the call to the heavens has arrived. Take…care of Spyro,” were his last words before Cyril closed his eyes and slipped into death’s embrace. The humans bowed their heads in respect while Terrador did so as well. Spyro felt great loss at the same time as he lost yet another elder he knew for years.

That evening, Spyro looked at the sunset and recalled the events that happened earlier. Valcor came to his side and sat down beside him.

“We all lost a good friend. I understand how you feel but it won’t bring him back,” Valcor said sympathetically.

Spyro felt an urge to use the book of necromancy but he decided against it. It would be dangerous.

“No you don’t. Not only have I lost Cyril, I’ve lost my loved one as well. That feeling is worse than losing Cyril,” Spyro said sadly.

“Ah, the black dragoness yes? I know how much she meant to you…and I’m willing to fight alongside you to get her back. I can’t stand to see our purple hero looking so moody all the time,” Valcor smiled.

“You think?” Spyro snorted.

“Cross my heart Spyro, I’ll fight alongside you,” Valcor said.

All Spyro could think off now is the Epicenter. He wanted to go there and give the undead a piece of his mind.

“Cyril had not died in vain. He succeeded in keeping the enemy away from your duel with Kharnak. Should he have died earlier, you might have been harassed,” Valcor said.

Valcor stood up and patted Spyro’s back.

“Take it easy, kid,” he said before leaving.

Spyro was deep in thought and his heart burned with anger. He wanted to avenge Cyril and get back Cynder. He wanted to destroy the Netherlord and Kharnak. Spyro wanted them dead and he wanted to start tomorrow.

Chapter 10: Siege on Warfang
On the 5th day after Morpheus created havoc in the enemy ranks, the dark aura emitting from the Epicenter finally shrouded Warfang. The sun was blocked out and everything felt eerie. Spyro felt intense darkness and felt something in him but he quickly squelched that feeling for he was afraid that his dark side was being tempted.

“They’ll reach Warfang in 4 hours. Make final preparations for the battle,” Terrador told the warriors.

Tank production has ceased and they have an army of tanks to fend off the enemy but the dragon elders were not sure if it’ll be enough. Even if Morpheus and the rebels pledged their allegiance to the dragons, Terrador wasn’t sure if he could trust them or not. His heart told him they were good but his mind recalled the war between the dragons and humans. They were once enemies and the dragons find it hard to trust them. Terrador wondered how Spyro and Cynder came to trust Morpheus so quickly.

Morpheus looked at the distance and sighed. He kept his sword and sat cross-legged on the ground.

“So, judgment day arrives,” Morpheus said.

“Are you implying that we’ll be defeated?” Cyril asked Morpheus.

“I never said anything about being defeated,” Morpheus said softly.

“Well, with you people here, I doubt we’ll even win,” Cyril said.

“You underestimate us, dragon. You haven’t seen us in battle yet,” Morpheus said lamely, not trying to start an argument.

“Now wait just a minute,” Cyril started but Terrador cut him off.

“That is enough Cyril, we have let them join us in battle so let’s not change our minds,” Terrador hissed.

Cyril mumbled something and went back to his defensive position.

“I’m sorry that Cyril doesn’t trust you,” Terrador apologized but Morpheus waved his hand dismissively.

“I don’t blame him after what we’ve been through 500 years ago,” Morpheus said with a wry smile. “There is nothing to apologize about,” he continued.

Spyro moved beside Cynder and they stared at the distance. There was a moving orange glow but none of them knew what it was. It reminded Spyro of the glow of the Earth Golem. It scared him a little but he dismissed the thoughts of the golem that nearly destroyed Warfang.

“So Spyro, are you ready to be a hero one more time?” Cynder asked.

“I’ll be when they need me. How I wish I can just be Spyro the Dragon, not the Hero Dragon,” Spyro said.

“They will always need a hero and who better than the wielder of great powers,” Cynder said leaned against Spyro lovingly.

Spyro didn’t smile because he had enough of evil. Gaul, Malefor and now the undead. Spyro wished all evil in the world will end and only peace reigned. Suddenly, he felt drowsy and fainted, much to Cynder’s dismay.

“Spyro, you already got 8 hours of sleep and now you’re sleeping again? Wake up, the undead will be here any minute,” Cynder said pleadingly as she shook Spyro’s body.

Spyro found himself in front of Ignitus along with an unknown dragon that was 2 times larger than Ignitus. The dragon was marine blue and he had a sword symbol tied around his neck. The dragon let out a puff of smoke and smiled.

“So, this is the second purple dragon,” the unknown dragon said warmly.

“Who are you,” Spyro asked, feeling a bit scared.

“I am the Creator, the Bringer of Life, the Beginner of the World,” the marine blue dragon said with power.

“Spyro, this dragon is a celestial god dragon. He is the one responsible of what goes on in the world,” Ignitus explained.

“Yes young dragon, I am what the Chronicler has said. I govern everything that happens in the world. Wars, feuds, peace, life and death are all under my jurisdiction. My name is Titan and I am a purple dragon of the First Age of Dragonkind. You, Spyro, are a purple dragon of the Third Age,” Titan boomed.

“W-what difference does it make?” Spyro asked.

“It makes no difference but it is our powers that make us all the same. I ascended into the celestial world after my death and I have reigned there for many eons. I have seen my kind use their power for both good and evil and the worst one of all is Malefor. You however, have something that even I don’t have but that power of yours can end the Third Age and bring forth the Fourth Age,” Titan said.

“So…what does all this mean?” Spyro asked.

“I overheard you complaining to yourself about how evil always prevail. Spyro, you have the power of darkness at your disposal and you are still in control of it. I solemnly tell you this: No purple dragon can resist the power of darkness like you can and we all know its potential to change the world according to the one who wields it. You can attempt to end this age and move on to the next and be leader of peace or vice versa but there is always a price for something eternal. Eternal peace brings about too much happiness and this renders a race to unable to survive in a world that is ever expanding. Weak you are in combat means the more easily you’ll be defeated by a foreign force for you know nothing but peace and happiness. Eternal darkness means chaos throughout the world. Death and destruction is a daily part of life and you are always miserable,” the marine blue dragon explained.

“There is a price for something, even peace. What Titan is trying to tell you is that it is impossible to have something eternal. Both light and darkness must be balanced and too much of one side is not a good thing. As long as there is good, there will always be evil. Spyro, Titan has given you an option to choose between a world of happiness and a world of chaos. You are the dragon who can decide the fate of this world,” Ignitus further explained.

“So you purposely came here to tell me this?” Spyro asked the gigantic dragon.

“Yes, Spyro, and no other purple dragons throughout the ages have such an honor. While you have learned Dragon Time from the previous Chronicler, I shall teach you something only the celestial dragons can perform. I call this Death Bringer,” Titan said.

“What does it do?” Spyro asked.

“It rips the soul out of one’s body and frees them into the mortal world, the heavens or the Realm of the Dead, depending on where you want them to be. Just channel some darkness through your paws and grab onto your victim. Once you clutch on to their souls, rip them out and tell them where they will go. But be warned, you can only use this 5 times before your own soul gets consumed by darkness. I can’t stop you after that,” Titan said.

“I thought you can’t master dark powers,” Spyro said quizzically.

“I can’t so I use my position as the celestial god dragon to determine the lives of the mortals. For a living mortal like you to use such a power require a source of power that is far beyond one can imagine and that is the power of darkness,” Titan said.

“One question sir: You said wars and feuds are under your jurisdiction. How come you can’t stop the humans from attacking our race?” asked a confused Spyro.

“Alas, my powers do not extend to the human race as they have their Pantheon of Gods to govern them. I am friend of the Leader of the Gods, Hyperion, but that doesn’t mean he’ll give me the power to carry out his duties. Whatever wars that goes on is all governed by the God of Destruction, Kharnak. He is the most powerful among all the gods except Hyperion. He has the power to instill evil thoughts and incite wars. Malefor’s mind was twisted by the thoughts that Kharnak put into him and the apes were worshipping Kharnak. He not only controls the humans, he controls others as well,” Titan said sadly.

“Why doesn’t Hyperion stop him?” Spyro asked.

“Kharnak…he usurped Hyperion’s throne and killed him. Now the entire Pantheon of Gods is in chaos and the celestial world is at war just like you all are at war with the forces of darkness sent by Malefor and the undead. That has happened 500 years ago…when Malefor began having evil thoughts and the Pantheon of Gods was warring,” Titan said his expression neutral as he recalled the events of the past.

“Whatever happens at the celestial world will affect the mortal world, Spyro. The celestial world was never peaceful but the forces of good and evil are balancing. Now it has tipped to one side. Kharnak himself has joined the war against the dragons and only you and your Death Bringer power can stop him forever. He is in the mortal world so use this chance to restore the balance to both the celestial and the mortal world,” Ignitus said.

Spyro felt power coursing through him, so immense that he nearly blacked out. Titan closed his eyes for a while and opened it again.

“Kharnak is powerful but you can match him in power. Remember, he can put tempting thoughts into your mind and turn you into his pawn and you’ll make it worse if you use Death Bringer for more than 5 times. Spyro, if you win this war, you will decide the fate of the mortal world and what you decide will change the heavens as well. Make the right decision,” Titan said before disappearing into a white mist.

Spyro looked at Ignitus and Ignitus smiled warmly.

“It’s your time to be a hero, Spyro. Show the world what you’re made of,” Ignitus said.

Spyro returned to the mortal world and found Cynder staring at him. He got up from the ground and sat up.

“Your nap was pretty fast,” Cynder said.

“I wasn’t napping…I was called by Ignitus and Titan,” Spyro said.

“Ignitus? Titan? Spyro, are you hallucinating?” Volteer asked quickly.

“Spyro, Ignitus is dead and Titan is a celestial god dragon. How could you possibly meet those two?” Cyril asked.

“I’m not lying. I saw them,” Spyro said.

Cyril, Volteer and Terrador looked at each other with disbelief. It sounded too incredible for them too believe but yet, Spyro never lied to them and they’ve always trusted him. Could it really be true?

“It sounds too incredible,” Cyril said.

“But we all thought so as well when Spyro said he saw the Chronicler years ago. He wasn’t lying and I have a feeling he’s not lying now as well,” Terrador said.

“The dragon gods do not interact directly with mortals and the only medium between them and the mortals is the Chronicler,” Volteer said.

Suddenly, they stopped and looked at each other with wide eyes.

“Could it be that Ignitus is the Chronicler?” Cyril asked.

He turned to Spyro for the answer.

“Am I right, Spyro?” he asked.

Spyro nodded.

“What were you told?” Cyril asked eagerly.

“Well…I was only told that I can defeat Kharnak,” Spyro said.

Morpheus heard it and stood up.

“Spyro, Kharnak is a powerful god and how can you possibly defeat him when none of us can?” he asked.

“I was given a power to fight him and I was guaranteed it will hurt him,” Spyro said.

He noticed his paw glowing electric blue but the others didn’t seem to notice it.

“Sounds rather incredible. Spyro, are you sure of what you’ve said?” Morpheus asked in a concerned way.

“Yes, I am positive of it. I will destroy Kharnak with this new power of mine,” Spyro said with a determined smile on his face.

Suddenly, Von Katz called down from below the city after returning back from a scouting mission. That ended abruptly after he spotted the undead.

“Terrador, millions of undead heading to Warfang! They have an army 4 times larger than Malefor’s forces!” Von Katz panicked.

Terrador felt his heart stop for a while. Millions of undead could spell doom to Warfang in 5 seconds. Now there is really no point for a tank army or all those new technology…he must find a way to win of prepare to face annihilation since the majority of the dragon race has come to defend Warfang. If they lose, the dragon race is as good as dead.

“We have to win or face annihilation. Von Katz, get up the ramparts. The rest of you get ready for the attack. Give no mercy to them and strike them down with all your might! We may not have an army of their size but our courage will be seen by all!” Terrador yelled.

He looked at the sky and closed his eyes in a silent prayer. Cyril did so along with Volteer.

“Spyro, no matter what happens, I will always be with you. We live together; we die together,” Cynder said.

“Thank you Cynder, that assures me of your presence and love,” Spyro said.

“If we die, I want to say only one thing to you, buddy: It was nice knowing you,” Flame said and pretended to cry.

Ember looked at the distance and her eyes widened with fear. A few sweat drips rolled down her cheeks. She saw the undead army like a swarm of ants, each of them holding a torch and the combined glow created a great orange glow they saw earlier. Tanks and artilleries rumbled out of the forest and waited at a distance, their cannons raised and ready to fire.

“This is a suicide mission,” she said fearfully.

I do not own any of the Spyro characters but I do own Raveshaw, Valcor, the undead and the entire human race. Constructive criticism is welcome and you are free to give ideas. Also, a word of thanks to those who read my fic.

Chapter 9: Some peace
The purple dragon decided to see how the moles worked on the projects the next day. He was keen on seeing the process. From what he heard from the chief engineer Raveshaw, the tank production was a go and the moles were busy constructing steam tanks. As for the mithril armor…he said he can’t find any metal called mithril because it doesn’t exist in nature and it was hard for them to construct such an alloy. They were tougher than dragon scales and were light in comparison to normal armor but quite expensive. Only rich warriors can afford mithril armor. Raveshaw said multiple sheets of metal, including titanium, were pressed together to form a hard and light alloy. With steam engines at their disposal, the moles now had better chances of constructing things.

“Spyro, I must thank you for bringing back such useful things. With steam engines in our disposal, we can create far better things than any coal engines can do. Just imagine the potential,” Raveshaw said excitedly.

“Actually, my human friend Morpheus gave me those blueprints. If you want to thank someone, thank him,” Spyro said.

“A human friend? Hmm…I was never told of a friendship between humans and dragons,” Raveshaw muttered while stroking his beard.

“Yeah well, I have a friend who doesn’t hate dragons. If it weren’t for Morpheus, the undead would have invaded our city already,” Spyro said.

The mole looked at the sky and nodded.

“That is true according to what Terrador said. Perhaps this friend of yours just bought us some time to construct a sizable tank force. I can’t guarantee mithril armor for everyone so I’ll make some for you, Cynder and Valcor,” Raveshaw said while trying to push up the hair that had drooped over his eyes.

“Gee, thanks for that,” Spyro said smilingly.

“Nah, don’t mention it,” Raveshaw said dismissively.

He got back to the drawing board and showed Spyro his latest machine.

“Human steam tanks have one barrel for attacking but I’m going one step further. Not only am I going to increase the armor and size of the tank, I want to add another cannon barrel to the turret to make it capable of firing two shots. That is, of course, the engine allows it. It must be within the engine’s operational perimeter or it’ll blow,” Raveshaw explained.

Spyro looked at the diagram and shook his head.

“It looks rather cumbersome,” Spyro said with a raised eyebrow.

“It is and that is why it is powered by two steam engines. This tank is technologically advanced and we are certain we can win our enemy’s tanks,” Raveshaw said confidently.

Then, a large tank stopped beside Spyro and the moles exited the tank, letting Raveshaw to his inspection job.

“How do you guys catch on so fast?” Spyro asked as Raveshaw inspected the tank.

“We are not only builders, we are master engineers. We may not know how the humans do it but we can imitate and improve upon certain things that we have not built before. It may seem like I’m lying but it’s the truth. My grandfather Arthur the IV was a master builder and he never built walls made of steel but when he was shown a blueprint and method of doing it right, I tell you, not only did he improve upon it, he and his men made the walls like pros,” Raveshaw said while inspecting the inside of the tank.

“Must be a natural talent for moles,” Spyro said lamely.

“You bet it is,” one mole said.

After a while, Raveshaw came out from the tank, sweating profusely. He wiped his glasses and put it on again, peering at Spyro.

“Want to give it a try?” Raveshaw asked.

Spyro’s eyes suddenly sparkled from the offer. He grinned and nodded.

“You really let me do that?” Spyro asked happily.

“Hold there Eager Beaver, you’re not going alone. One tank takes 5 moles to operate and don’t expect to operate alone. Take it for a spin around Warfang if you like,” Raveshaw said.

At a tavern, Flame was flipping a coin while waiting for Valcor to make his next move in the game of Black Jack. Valcor’s face might as well been chiseled from stone for all the emotions he showed. His expression was so neutral that Flame wasn’t sure if he is winning or not.

“Well, it has been 30 seconds,” Flame said.

“Are you sure you want me to go ahead with my answer,” Valcor asked with a neutral expression.

“Yeah and the others are all waiting for you,” Flame said impatiently.

Valcor smiled and laid down his cards. It was a Jack of Spades and an Ace of Spades.

“I win. Now pay up,” Valcor said.

“Hey, no fair! You had the Eyesight of Vision and you must have used it!” Kai accused.

“How can you accuse me of something I’m not doing?” the dragon asked with a sly smile.

“Yeah well, remember the time when you played poker? You were on a winning streak and not even a loss at the end of the day!” the cyan dragon complained.

“What about it? It only proved you have no talent,” Valcor mocked.

“Why I outta!” Kai started but Valcor pushed him down to his seat.

“Relax Kei, I was just joking. But really, I didn’t use my vision. When I was a young dragon, my peers used to call me Lucky V and for good reason. Many things I’ve done, no matter how hard or impossible, seem to have a positive outcome. I was convinced I was blessed by the Dragon of Luck,” Valcor said.

“Lucky you,” Flame muttered.

The girls just rolled their eyes and set down their cards. Just then, they heard a rumble outside and saw a massive vehicle before them.

“Wow, is it me or am I seeing something with wheels?” Jeanne said.

Spyro came out of it and grinned.

“What do you think of the mole’s latest toy?” he asked.

“I think that is the most weird-looking thing in Warfang,” Kei said.

“What does it do?” Valcor asked.

“Watch this,” Spyro said.

He entered the tank and turned the turret somewhere and fired two shots. There were two massive sonic booms as the cannons fired and two booms from the exploding shells moments later. The shells had hit a building and made two holes in it.

“Now that is what I call firepower,” Valcor smiled.

Suddenly, Cyril peered out of the hole.

“Hey, what have you done to my study room?! You kids better explain yourselves!” Cyril yelled out.

“Uh oh, your shots just blew holes in Cyril’s study,” Valcor muttered.

As a punishment, Spyro was made to do some toilet cleaning and helping out Cyril in his office. Lol.

Cynder was at the pool, soaking herself and basking under the hot sun. Just then, she felt something cold beside a cheek and let out a yelp. Turning around, she saw Spyro with a bucket of ice. He grinned at her.

“Spyro, what did you do that for?!” she asked angrily.

“You looked hot so I decided to cool you down a bit,” he said.

Cynder looked at the bucket of ice and scowled.

“What are these for?” she asked.

“Cyril is testing on something top secret, so secret that he can’t remember why he wanted the ice for,” Spyro quipped.

Cynder chuckled and kissed Spyro. Her kisses seem so natural and she does not only kiss under romantic circumstances.

“He needs to chill,” Cynder said.

“He already has the license to chill,” Spyro corrected.

Terrador watched them from far and smiled. Even in these dark times, the dragons were still laid back and relaxed, though he felt that they should be practicing their combat skills. To Terrador, to win a battle was to fight with pure strength and he would usually make rookies spar each other but Spyro and Cynder seemed strong enough.

“They look so care free,” he said to himself.

Suddenly, from the top of his tower, Terrador saw a signal flare flying into the sky and lighting up. The flare was a human flare and it usually meant trouble. Not wanting to drag Spyro out of his rest, he flew towards the launch point of the flare to investigate things.

Morpheus hid behind a tree while trying to avoid Kharnak. The demonic centaur nearly wiped out his entire battalion and now he was after Morpheus after he threw a spear at Kharnak. While the survivors escaped to Warfang, Morpheus played hide-and-seek with the God of Destruction.

“Come out Morpheus, you can’t hide forever,” Kharnak growled.

“I can’t but I’m gonna play a game with you,” Morpheus taunted.

The two had been doing this since Kharnak attacked them yesterday evening. Morpheus was leading him deeper and deeper into the forest until he wasn’t sure where he was. He couldn’t hear the sound of the Great River and it usually meant trouble. Added to his woe was his hunger.

“Oh, what game are you trying to play,” Kharnak said while playing along, apparently enjoying the game of cat and mouse.

“I call this game seek-and-kill,” Morpheus said.

He peeked over the corner of a tree he was hiding behind and fired a rifle shot at Kharnak. The centaur was hit in the head but the wound regenerated and healed instantly.

“That was a potshot,” Kharnak said.

He stabbed his sword into the ground and fell all the trees within a 100 meter radius. Morpheus dodged aside as a tree was about to fall on him. Kharnak saw him and ran towards him with his shield raised, attempting to bash Morpheus. Morpheus fired a flare into the air and continued running but he can’t outrun Kharnak because he has the speed of a mustang. Morpheus suddenly turned around and slid below Kharnak, cutting his belly. Kharnak fell and rebounded again.

“That was unexpected and foolhardy. You shall regret doing that,” Kharnak said while his eyes glowed red.

“No one tells me what I regret,” Morpheus said and raised his sword.

Before Kharnak charged at him, Terrador suddenly fell from the sky and sat on the centaur. Even if he was the God of Destruction, he couldn’t beat the weight of an adult dragon. His arms flexed and struggled as Terrador set his entire weight on him.

“Thank the gods some dragon has arrived,” Morpheus said thankfully.

“So, I reckon you’re the ‘friend’ Spyro has been talking about,” Terrador said.

“So the purple dragon has returned safely. My name is Morpheus,” the man introduced himself.

“I’m Terrador, Spyro’s combat mentor. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the green dragon replied.

“Likewise. Listen; have my battalion reach Warfang yet?” Morpheus asked.

“I’ve instructed them to take the Avalar Pass so they can reach Warfang faster. I can assure that they are safe,” Terrador said.

“Thank you but let’s get out of here,” Morpheus said while looking at the flexing arms of Kharnak under Terrador.

Terrador looked down and nodded.

“Come, let me help you with that,” he said.

Terrador grabbed Morpheus by the shoulders and took to the skies. After some distance, Kharnak got up and adjusted his head back into place.

“So that dragon wants to play rough eh. This is going to be fun,” Kharnak grinned evilly.

The centaur disappeared into a cloud of dark mist and dissipated. Back at Warfang, the humans were greeted by the moles and dragons. Though they were still suspicious of them, they decided to give them the benefit of doubt. Moments later, Morpheus arrived into the city.

“Morpheus, you’re alive!” Spyro said happily.

“Aye, I am and I caused the enemy a great deal of damage. I hope I’ve bought you enough time,” Morpheus said while wiping a sweat drip off his face.

“More than enough and you even brought in extra help. We really must thank you for that,” Cynder said.

“It was nothing. Now we should really concentrate on building more defense cannons and guard towers to further defend Warfang. I need all your help,” Morpheus said.

“You can count on us. We’re the fastest builders there is,” Raveshaw said.

“Good, that will do. With our combined efforts, no one can stop us,” Morpheus smiled.

Chapter 8: Ruins of Trilith
One day later, Spyro was told by Ignitus to visit to ruins of Trilith, the human race’s holy city. He obliged and went there with Cynder, Flame and Ember. It was not far from Warfang and a two hour flight was enough. The group of four landed at the ruined gates, a symbol of superb engineering of a once mighty race. Flame gave a low whistle and looked up and down the gate, admiring it.

“Compared to the gates of Warfang, this one is a monstrosity. It has to be 2 times bigger,” the red dragon said.

“It is their holy city after all. If the gates are so big, I wonder how Malefor managed to crush it down,” Cynder wondered.

“Malefor doesn’t necessarily need to break down a gate to invade the city. He can fly over walls and attack the city from the inside,” Flame said coolly.

“Oh yeah,” Cynder said muttered.

She caught Ember looking at Spyro with a flirty expression. She emitted a low growl in her throat and caught Ember’s attention. The pink dragoness slowly backed off and the black dragoness let out a breath of black shadow and gave an angry nod at Ember before turning around to walk beside Spyro.

“I’ll get that lizard later,” Ember growled.

The four walked past the gates and into the grassy ruins of a once mighty city. They looked around and talked among themselves. Somehow Flame knew much about the city than any of them do. He talked like as if he was some history teacher and Spyro hated history.

“Flame, cut down on the details of Trilith. I have enough of history lessons from you,” Spyro said.

“Okay but you’re gonna miss out on the parts where I tell you about the hidden treasure troves and most importantly, the golden skull of Lord Bristoph,” Flame said in faked secrecy.

“Yeah, nice try Flame but I’m not going to fall for it. If there were a treasure trove and this so-called golden skull of Lord Bristoph, they would’ve been found by the moles,” Spyro said with a smirk.

“Okay but if you don’t believe me, it’s your loss. If I get hold on those things, I’ll be rich enough to buy Ember and me a new pair of shoes and maybe even a large villa,” Flame said while dreaming about the things he said.

“Boy, are you pathetic or what,” Cynder joked.

Ember head butted Cynder and growled at her.

“Don’t you talk about Flame like that you black lizard!” she growled.

“Lizard?! You’re the one to talk!” Cynder said angrily as she turned around to face Ember.

“Whoa there ladies, keep it cool,” Flame said.

“Shut up!” the two dragonesses said in unison.

They growled at each other and were about to fight when the two dragons retrained them. Cynder writhed about in Spyro’s grasp while Ember did likewise in Flame’s.

“Let me go, I’ll tear that talking strawberry apart!” Cynder roared.

“I’ll turn her into lizard paste!” Ember yelled back.

Flame covered Ember’s mouth and hushed her up.

“What is with you? I never knew you were that aggressive,” Flame said with a stern expression.

“Cynder my love, why are you so aggressive all of a sudden?” Spyro asked softly.

“It’s that Ember. She has bad intentions and she wants to take you away from me,” Cynder hissed.

“Now Cynder, we’ve talked about this. You and I are one, we belong to each other. I promised to you that I wouldn’t leave you for any dragoness,” Spyro said.

Cynder struggled a bit before giving up. She nodded her head and Spyro let her go. Flame did so and they went on their way. The four dragons reached the ruins of the High Court as instructed by the Chronicler, Ignitus, to Spyro. The purple dragon did not tell them the reason on why they were here but he only said that his instincts told him so.

“Spyro, now that we’re here, perhaps you would like to tell me the reason on why we’re here,” Flame said.

“Okay, listen closely. We need to find the remains of the human emperor, Dresdner. I was told that when the entire human race died, their bodies were left where they were, especially in Trilith. Nobody bothered to move them,” Spyro said.

“But we’re talking about a 500 year time span here. I’m not sure we’ll find any remains,” Ember said thoughtfully.

“Okay, then could you explain why there are so many skeleton soldiers out there?” Spyro asked.

Ember said nothing else and kept quiet.

“The curse prevents their bones from decaying so we should be able to find bones that are not resurrected,” Spyro said.

“We’re doing this because?” Cynder asked quizzically.

“Because if we find Emperor Dresdner’s skeleton, we can confirm if he resurrected or not. Some say that he is the Netherlord while others say that he is a skeleton warrior at best and some even say he never resurrected at all. We’re gonna make sure of a few things so we can come up with something to defeat the Emperor if he is really the Netherlord,” Spyro clarified.

“So, we’re looking for bones so we can come up with a plan? Doesn’t sound relevant,” Cynder joked.

Flame pushed on the High Court doors but it wouldn’t budge. He head butted the door and kicked it over and over again but it refused to budge.

“I can’t open it. It must be locked from the inside. Spyro, Cynder, you two go in and unlock the door while me and Ember will wait out here for your signal,” Flame said.

There was another way to enter the High Court but it was an underground sewer and the complex labyrinths of the sewer ways were rather confusing. Many times they had walked in circles and some were dead ends. Add to that, plenty of hostile creatures, including some of Gaul’s surviving apes, inhabit the sewers. To their surprise, some of the apes were rather helpful and they helped the two dragons find their way out of the sewer and into the High Court.

“Why are you so nice?” Spyro asked an ape.

“We have no reason to fight alongside our brethren during their quest for power. We only wanted peace and nothing more. Some of our brethren still hunger for power and no doubt they’ll hurt you and offer you to the Dark Master. What those fools don’t know is that Malefor is already dead,” a large ape said.

“We’re glad to help you but beware of the Sleeping King that resides in the court,” another smaller-sized ape said.

“The Sleeping King?” Cynder asked.

“Some scary undead living within the ruined halls. While we come out to look for food, we sometimes encounter him. I wouldn’t cross his path if I were you,” the large ape said.

“He must be strong,” Cynder said.

“Aye, he is young missy. If you do see him, don’t move. He’ll attack only when he sees something move. If you are in his way, move slowly,” the large ape warned.

Just as the apes were about to leave, Spyro called out to them.

“Wait, what are your names?” he asked out aloud.

The apes stopped and the lead large ape turned to face Spyro.

“I’m Venomtooth, Gaul’s former general,” he said.

“Wouldn’t you help us in the war with the undead?” Spyro asked again.

Venomtooth shook his head and set his sword on the ground.

“This is your war, not ours. We wish not to participate and besides, I don’t think your elders will be happy to see me,” the ape replied before leaving. “I was the one who destroyed the brood of dragon eggs that you were from,” he muttered to himself.

The two dragons explored the halls and peeked around corners to spot for the so-called Sleeping King. When they reached the main door, they opened it. Flame and Ember entered before closing the door again; a big mistake. When they walked down a corridor, they heard sounds of metal clanking together and a low screech. They quickly hid behind a pillar and waited.

The noise got louder and louder until they saw a skeleton limp past them; its body was covered in rusted armor. The skeleton had a yellow glow about it, illuminating the dark halls. Besides the light it emitted, the other light source came from the sun which shone through holes in the roof, creating some kind of creepy effect.

“Is that the Sleeping King you’re talking about?” Ember asked.

“I think so,” was the answer from Spyro.

“I doubt it. He doesn’t look like he’s sleeping,” Flame mumbled.

The skeleton rounded a corner and disappeared. The four took the chance and headed for the next hall and again they saw the same skeleton with a yellow glow.

“Hey, how can a limping skeleton move so fast?” asked a confused Cynder.

The skeleton stopped, inspecting the area round it for any movement. Ember moved a bit to adjust herself but to the skeleton, her movements were negligible so it ignored her and moved on, rounding a corner. Flame noticed the emblem on its armor was different even though the skeleton looked the same.

“Different guy from just now. Come on, we’re close to the main hall,” he whispered.

They slipped past a few more skeletons and reached the main court, closing the doors slowly. The court was well lit, sunlight flooding through large windows. The air was musty over the centuries and the furniture was dusty. There was a throne and a skeleton lay there, as if asleep.

“Maybe that’s the Sleeping King,” Ember said while inspecting the skeleton.

“It couldn’t be. The Chronicler told me that he was thrown into a wall and not left on his throne to die. No one could’ve possibly moved the emperor’s body onto the throne again,” Spyro said.

“Dude, I said nothing about Dresdner,” Flame scowled.

“Who else can be king except Dresdner?” Spyro asked back, challenging Flame.

Suddenly, the skeleton stirred and got up, shaking its head and adjusting its lower jaw.

“Whoa, I needed that,” the skeleton said.

He saw the dragons but instead of attacking them, he gave them a grin and waved his hand at them.

“Well, it seems like we have visitors,” he said.

“Wait, aren’t you gonna attack us or something?” Flame asked while pointing his sword at the skeleton.

“Heavens no, why would I do that?” the skeleton asked.

“I dunno…maybe it’s because you’re a human and you hate dragons,” Flame said.

The skeleton laughed and slapped his hand on his face. He plucked his head, to Ember’s disgust, and held it in his right hand.

“I don’t hate dragons and I have no reason to fight them. Hell, I’m only a court jester and what do I know?” he said goofily.

Flame looked at the head and the headless body. He gave an amused snicker.

“Maybe that explains your goofy attitude,” Flame said.

“I am a jester after all,” said the skull while he commanded his body to dig the nasal holes.

“Are you the Sleeping King?” Spyro asked suddenly.

“Sleeping King? If I were king, I wouldn’t be in this dead end job, my inability to die is making it worse,” the skull said while grinning.

He juggled his own head and deftly slid it back into place with a sleight of hand.

“The apes must have told you that, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, how do you know?” Cynder asked.

“Bah, I’ve caught them messing around with me when I was having my Zs. Those jokers couldn’t resist toying around with my entertainment equipments,” he said while pointing at a pile of them at a corner.

He took a Jack-in-the –box and spun the handle, creating some sort of funny music. A Rotting clown doll popped out at the end, giving the four dragons a scare.

“I don’t find this funny,” Spyro said.

“Neither do I,” the skeleton muttered.

He put down the box and sat on the throne again.

“You must have something in mind to come to Trilith. What is it that you want to know?” he asked while leaning his head on his right hand.

“Um…we were just wondering if you know where Emperor Dresdner’s body is,” Spyro said.

“What about his body? If you’re looking for that old geezer’s bones, I’m afraid you’re too late. The day he died, his body went missing instantly. However, I do recall seeing a bright light engulfing his body after that dreaded Malefor left the room. I thought I saw Kharnak but I told myself that my eyes must be playing tricks on me so I didn’t give it another thought,” the skeleton said lamely.

“Wait, did you say Kharnak?” Spyro asked.

“Yes, I did. I must be delusional,” the jester said while shaking his head.

“I’m not sure about you but I don’t think we should take it lightly,” Cynder said.

“Well kids, it is not of my concern and I really feel that it is better when the world is destroyed. This curse is getting on my nerves,” the skeleton complained.

He got up and looked out the window.

“I can tell you this: Dresdner never liked dragons. He was a ruthless ruler like the rest of the previous emperors. He hated dragons and his speech about ‘preserving dragons’ were all *bleep*. This bloke isn’t any different from Malefor and equally as evil-hearted as that *bleep* purple dragon. Now that he doesn’t own Trilith anymore, I can rule this little utopia he left behind. Now head on home before the guards catch you in here. Just fly out the window and the winds will bring you back home safely,” the jester said.

“Well, at least that confirms that Dresdner has something to do with the Netherlord,” Spyro said to his comrades.

The dragons leapt out the window and rode with winds back to Warfang within an hour. When they returned Warfang, they saw Volteer driving a tank and it gave them an impression of an adult dragon driving a baby’s cart. Flame can’t help but laugh.

“Are you sure this thing can last long?” Volteer asked a mole.

Suddenly, it broke into pieces under his sheer weight. The steam engine released a single puff of steam before dying out.

“Never mind my question,” he said with embarrassment.

Volteer saw the four dragons and quickly got up and headed towards them.

“So, what have you to tell?” Volteer asked.

“Well, Dresdner has something to do with either Kharnak or he is the Netherlord,” Flame said while trying to resist laughing out loud.

“Hmm, this is most disturbing. I’ll go tell Cyril and Terrador about it,” Volteer said.

Cynder went up to the mole that was inspecting the pieces of the broken tank. He shook his head and sighed.

“I guess dragons weren’t meant to drive tanks. At least we know it works,” the mole said while adjusting his glasses.

“So you guys can get it working?” Cynder asked.

“So far this prototype had no problems and we managed to improve the steam engines for higher power output. I must say the humans can create really complex things,” the mole said.

He picked up the important pieces and headed back to the workshop. Cynder issued a smile to Spyro, who smiled back in return.

“At least this gift is the best Morpheus can give me. Speaking of Morpheus, I hope he’s okay,” Spyro said while looking at the sky.

Morpheus and his rebels were slowed down by the rain that poured in the forest. He was hoping to reach Warfang quickly but the tanks and artilleries were slowing him down.

“C’mon, Warfang is not far from here!” he yelled.

Suddenly, someone stood in his way…a centaur with a shield and sword. He glared at Morpheus and smiled evilly.

“Kharnak…how could this be?!” Morpheus asked himself in fear.

Chapter 7: Present for the Dragons
Terrador fired an Earth shot towards the lead rider, Darius. Darius directed his skeleton phoenix to the left and avoided the incoming shot while firing 6 magic missiles back at Terrador. Terrador moved aside and the missiles exploded at a building behind him. The other magic-casting riders burned the city with fire spells and destroyed buildings with explosive spells.

“They’re really annoying,” Flame growled.

“Flame, Ember, leave the rampart defenses to us and go call Valcor here!” Terrador called out.

The two nodded and left without hesitation. One rider tried to hit Terrador with his sword but before he could close in on the Earth Dragon, Cyril leapt at the rider and brought him to the ground, his 2 ton body crushing the rider and his ride together.

“Ha, our weight sure comes in handy,” Cyril smiled.

Two fire bolts flew at him and he nullified them with his ice breath before taking to the skies to fight. The other dragons also took to the skies and fought a in a large sky battle. The cheetahs that arrived couldn’t do much as the enemies were too high up to shoot at. With the help of the moles though, they used the ballistae to shoot the enemies down.

“Darius, I thought you’d return someday,” Terrador growled as he confronted his nemesis.

“Terrador old buddy, I can’t believe you look so old,” the rider mocked and fired a fireball at Terrador.

“At least I’m not a bag of bones like you,” said Terrador as he evaded the shot.

“That is what makes me move a bit quicker. You need to lose some weight there,” Darius hissed mockingly at Terrador and laughed manically.

Terrador was peeved by his mocking and he always was when he fought Darius 500 years ago. He was like a hyena and he always laughed like a maniac. However, Terrador knew that his laughter is usually accompanied by the death of a few friends. Darius was dangerous.

“C’mon Terry boy, come give Uncle Darius some power of soil!” Darius said in a maniacal way.

Terrador fired an Earth breath at close range, knocking Darius off his ride but Darius had learned levitation and he could stand in midair. He coolly walked back to his phoenix and got onto it again.

“You certainly are annoying you know that?” Terrador asked.

“Heh heh heh, but I’m having fun! Won’t you too?” Darius asked back.

Suddenly, Spyro head butted the phoenix and threw it down to the ground, killing it. Darius turned to see who it was.

“So this is the purple savior everyone, even my kin, has been talking about. Heh heh heh, you wanna know something kid?” Darius asked with a grin.

“What?” Spyro asked cautiously.

“Like a famous saying of Confucius say: Die!” Darius said and he dashed at Spyro with his sword pointed straight at him.

Spyro rolled aside and avoided the stab, stabbing Darius with his tail at the same time. Darius turned around and blew at the orb head of his staff, releasing a jet of flames like a dragon’s breath. Spyro shot back and the two jets of flames clashed together. Darius’ flame overcame Spyro’s flame but Spyro managed to dodge aside.

“Terrador, he’s tough,” Spyro said while panting from too much energy exertion.

“I know but there is a way to defeat him. He is only powerful when he has his staff. Without it, he can’t cast magic. However, beware of his sword. It is designed to deal maximum damage to dragons and might kill you instantly if you’re not careful,” Terrador said while pointing at Darius.

“Hey, it’s not nice pointing fingers at people!” Darius yelled out.

Spyro nodded and charged at Darius. Before Darius could cast a spell, Spyro knocked the staff out of his hands. Darius tried grabbing it but Spyro caught it first and snapped the staff into two with his powerful bite.

“You little wretch! That staff took me 5 years to construct!” Darius howled angrily.

“Too bad, I guess you won’t need it anymore when I’m done with you!” Spyro mocked.

Darius swung his sword at Spyro and took a slice of him at his back, scraping off some sensitive scales. Spyro let out a roar of pain as the sword hit him. Spyro nearly fell out of the sky but Terrador helped him up.

“You can do it Spyro,” Terrador said as he patted Spyro.

Spyro took another shot at Darius, ignoring the pain of his wound. He can’t block Darius’ sword attacks but he can evade them easily as Darius was slow with the sword.

“Stand still purple boy, I want a piece of you!” Darius yelled.

Spyro saw an opening in his attack and charged forth. He gave Darius and uppercut before hitting him down on the stomach with a vertical spin kick. Darius rolled and recovered before he touched the ground and launched at Spyro. He threw his sword at Spyro, which the purple dragon easily evaded but it came around like a boomerang and hit Spyro. Luckily for him, the hilt of the sword, not the blade, hit his head.

“Spyro, finish him off and free him from his misery!” Terrador yelled out.

Spyro used his lighting breath to direct the sword away, making it fall to the ground with a loud clang. Darius wanted to go after it but Terrador grabbed Darius by the neck and sat on him as they landed on the ground. Terrador’s heavy weight reduced the skeleton mage knight into a pile of bones. Terrador noted that his spirit has left and disappeared and he thought he saw Darius’ spirit wave at him before ascending above. Terrador smiled and took Darius’ skull with the lower jaw missing and tossed it far away.

“At least that is the last of him,” Terrador said.

Spyro didn’t stay around to rest. He turned and headed for the skies, joining the battle with others. Without the leader, it didn’t take them long to finish off the rest of the riders.

“Damage report,” Cyril said to Volteer.

“So far the damage has been minor. Nothing seriously damaged besides a few burnt walls and broken rafters,” Volteer said quickly.

“Well, at least you made it short rather than trying to tell me which part of the building has how many holes,” Cyril said thankfully.

Cynder landed beside Spyro and embraced him, nuzzling his neck.

“I saw you get hurt but thank the ancestors you’re not dead,” Cynder said happily.

“It’s gonna take more than that to take me down,” Spyro said with a warm smile.

“Spyro, Cynder, let’s all get busy now. Those riders were here to test our defenses and no doubt the enemy might have gotten a glimpse of our place. Let’s hope we can surprise them during their next attack,” Terrador said.

At the Epicenter, Morpheus had caused great damage to the enemy but alas, he was subdued. They stripped him of his armor and weapons, leaving him in a cloth shirt and leather pants. Salvador shook his head and punched Morpheus’ face with his spiked gauntlet, causing him to bleed.

“You certainly are strong, Morpheus, but foolish nonetheless,” Salvador said.

He crouched down on one knee and looked at Morpheus’ face, smiling mockingly under his helmet.

“But then again, you’re nothing without your mithril armor and weapons,” Salvador continued.

Morpheus spat a mouthful of blood at Salvador and used his head to butt Salvador’s stomach. Salvador fell to the ground but got up again and kicked Morpheus so hard he somersaulted.

“You dragon lover, I’ll make sure the Netherlord punishes you for your betrayal. You’ll regret it so much that you’ll scream his name for mercy,” Salvador said angrily before turning his back on Morpheus and headed for the armory.

“Come back here coward!” Morpheus yelled out but Salvador ignored him.

Morpheus cursed quietly under his breath and stared at the other skeleton warriors. They stared back at him; some of them had compassionate looks while the others scowled at him.

“Listen my kin; you don’t have to kill the entire dragon race to free yourself from the curse. You can kill the Netherlord. Look, it’s Malefor that incited our hatred towards the dragons and we’ve lived alongside them very well. You can’t blame the entire race just because of one dragon’s actions. Think about it,” Morpheus said.

The skeleton warriors mumbled something to each other but they did not say if they approve of what Morpheus said or not.

“Not all of you hate dragons and I know that. Don’t lie to me; I know some of you even acted as spies for the dragons. I understand that. We have such compassion towards our suffering companions that we can’t help but take pity on them as our race encroach upon their lands. Is it not our faults that the dragons decided to wage war on us? We are in the wrong but yet we hate them. I ask you solemnly, do we even have the right to hate them? As for Malefor, he’s a different story. He is evil and that is his wrong, not the entire dragon race,” Morpheus continued, hoping to change the minds of the skeleton warriors.

Some nodded in approval but others just spat at him and hit him. Morpheus was unfazed though.

“Those who hit me dare not admit they are friends with the dragons. To those who listened to me, listen to what more I have to say. Join me and we will save the dragon race from destruction. We will save them from the Wrath of the Netherlord!” Morpheus yelled out.

“Shut up, dumb*bleep*!” one warrior yelled angrily. He was hit by his comrades who decided to side with Morpheus.

The entire army went into a confused melee, not knowing who sided with Morpheus or who remained loyal to the Netherlord. However, those who wanted to help save the dragons and side with Morpheus slowly regained their flesh and muscles. They slowly looked more human and were more distinguishable. Even the blacksmiths and armorers rioted and took sides. The entire undead army was thrown into disarray that even Salvador can’t do much about it. He glared at Morpheus who in turn glared back with a triumphant smile.

“You’ll pay for that, Morpheus Stormcrow!” Baron Salvador yelled and he charged at him with his sword unsheathed.

Morpheus waited for Salvador to get close. Then, he kicked at Salvador with his two legs and rolled up from the ground again, standing on his feet. He ran to a wall and ran up the wall a bit before doing a somersault over a crowd of brawling warriors. One sword snagged the ropes that bound his hands, cutting it and releasing Morpheus. He fought using only using his bare fists while looking for his equipment.

“Stop this rebellion at once!” Salvador yelled out aloud but no one heeded him. The sounds became louder as artilleries and steam-powered tanks fired shots at each other.

Salvador saw Morpheus waiting for him with a serrate sword in his right arm. They were surrounded by fighting warriors and they somehow created a circle for the two men to have a showdown.

“I clearly underestimated you. However, you are still outnumbered and if you break any crystals, you’ll be releasing vengeful spirits and that would spawn more soldiers for me,” Salvador said.

“Even spirits can stop to hear what I have to say,” Morpheus smiled.

The two clashed swords and threw magic attacks at each other in a spectacular display of skill and speed. Each clash with the sword sent sparks everywhere and each magic bolts that clashed created light so bright it was like a flashbang flash.

Just then, the entire ground split open and sharp rocks shot out like missiles. Lava flowed out and engulfed both rebels and loyal warriors alike.

“Great, now you’ve incited the anger of the Netherlord,” Salvador hissed.

“Then we’ll just run away. Dear followers of the freedom cause, follow me to Warfang! We will meet our dragon friends there!” Morpheus yelled out.

The rebels followed Morpheus out of the place, ignoring the attacks that were thrown at them. Many were killed but a considerable number of them escaped unharmed and took flight, taking with them a number of tanks and artilleries. It would be some luck for the dragons because Morpheus’ persuasion led to the disarray of the undead army, buying at least 5 days worth of time to prepare.

At Warfang, Spyro was surprised to see the dark aura receding. Terrador wandered what happened at the Epicenter.

“It must be Morpheus causing that much of a trouble to the undead army. If it is, it must mean he has succeeded in distracting them,” Cynder said happily.

“Let’s hope he dealt enough damage to them,” Spyro said.

“Let’s not get too happy, Spyro. Your friend only delayed the inevitable so you still have chores to do,” Cyril said.

“Can’t we…” Cynder started but Cyril cut her off.

“BACK TO WORK NOW!” he yelled.

Chapter 6: Preparation for the siege
Morpheus reached the outskirts of the Epicenter during sunrise. Dark purple crystals have spread so far and wide that it looked like a giant field of them. Morpheus knew each one of them holds a spirit. When the cursed was unleashed, those who have no intact body had their spirits crystallized. Long have these spirits laid dormant, waiting for their kin to unleash them into the world so they can wreak havoc and take revenge on their ancient foes: the dragons.

The only way to release he spirits from their curse is to destroy the bodies they possess. However, doing such a thing would be irrelevant because the number of spirits there is are uncountable. The only way to free them all is to destroy the Netherlord or having the entire dragon race wiped out. Looking into the sky, Morpheus noted that the dark aura has reached quite far and he realized there isn’t much time. In order to buy some time for Spyro and Cynder to return to their city, he decided to wreak havoc in the middle of the enemy ranks. Morpheus raised his sword and ran towards the closest warrior, cutting it into pieces. While the enemies were still confused, he went on killing the others.

He fought his way to the nearly completed dark fortress which surrounded the Epicenter. The gates were larger than the gates of Warfang and twice as wide. They were so huge that even battering rams can’t deal even a tiny dent as they were made of obsidian. Morpheus found a ladder that led up to the ramparts of the fortress and so he climbed it before any of the other undead warriors could get to him. On top of the ramparts, he continued to create destruction.

“My lord, there is an intruder wreaking havoc among our ranks!” a skeleton warrior reported to his master. The man in black spiky armor merely gave a dry laugh and got off his horse.

“Really now? I guess it has been a while since he and I met. Ask all the others to stop attacking him. Morpheus is mine to deal with,” the man said darkly.

Morpheus was surprised when the skeleton warriors backed away from him. Suddenly, he heard someone clapping behind him. Turning around, he saw the man in black spiky armor. His entire body was covered in armor and the only things visible were his red eyes.

“Very good, Morpheus, I always knew an elite Imperial Warrior like you could deal extreme damages alone,” the man said with a laugh.

“Baron Salvador, what a pleasant surprise to see you. It seems like your ambition to destroy the dragons is about to be fulfilled eh,” Morpheus said.

“Close. When the dark aura covers their city of Warfang, my riders will ride out to battle and assault the city. My crow spies tell me that they have reinforcements and this means we have more dragons to kill. Am I right, boys?!” he asked his warriors.

The skeleton warriors cheered and there were so many of them.

“Morpheus my friend, have you come here to join us in our ambition of eliminating the dragons forever?” Salvador asked.

“Salvador that was 500 years ago. How can you hold a grudge against them for so long? Besides, it was Malefor who destroyed us,” Morpheus said.

“If we do not destroy them, we couldn’t rest in peace. You’re not the only one who is sick of being unable to die peacefully. Besides, that is the only way,” Salvador said with a slight hint of sadness.

His warriors also mumbled to each other, some of them seemed to have morose looks on their faces.

“You see Morpheus, even my men are waiting to be released form this curse of ours. If we don’t destroy the dragons, we’ll be forced to stay like this forever,” Salvador said.

“Why not kill the Netherlord?” Morpheus asked dumbly.

Salvador stared at Morpheus with his malicious red eyes.

“So you knew the Emperor is actually the Netherlord?” Salvador asked with surprise.

“No but now that you’ve told me, I’ll just waltz right in and take him out,” Morpheus said.

“Morpheus you traitor, you can’t kill him. He’s too powerful and he is our master. If you dare enter the Netherworld and kill him, I’ll make sure you stay dead,” Salvador said angrily.

Morpheus stared at Salvador with angry eyes and held up his sword, preparing to fight.

“Don’t stop me, Salvador. He is not our Emperor anymore and he deserves to die. I have no grudge against the dragons so I helped them, especially Spyro and Cynder. We are all dead and why bring another race with us to the depths of the Netherworld? They deserve to live and that is final,” Morpheus said indignantly.

“Fine, maybe we should throw you into the Epicenter and let the Nether creatures consume you. Besides, you have no chance of winning. Get him,” Salvador said darkly and pointed his sword at Morpheus. Instantly, the other skeleton warriors charged at him.

Back at Warfang, Valcor was polishing his sword when Terrador came into his room.

“Valcor, are you free to talk right now?” Terrador asked.

“I’m free anytime Terrador, just come in and we’ll have a chat,” Valcor said with a smile.

Terrador entered the room and sat down.

“Valcor, you’re gifted with the Eye of Vision. Do you see anything about the outcome of our defense?” Terrador asked.

“You have the Pool of Vision. Why ask me?” Valcor asked back.

“Just for convenience since you’re close by. Are you okay with that?” Terrador asked.

“Well, I suppose I could help,” Valcor said and he closed his eyes to concentrate.

He saw something but what? It looked like a centaur yet it’s so demonic. Something about that centaur that made him worried. Suddenly, he noticed the necklace of skulls and quickly opened his eyes, gasping for air.

“Valcor, what do you see?” Terrador asked quickly.

“I see a demonic centaur with a necklace of skulls. I saw him smiling at me and baring his fangs. Terrador, reinforcements of not, this battle is close to impossible,” Valcor said, his pupils dilated due to fear.

Terrador felt his heart beat skip a few beats. Could it really be him? If it is, there is nothing the dragons could do to match that kind of power.

“Valcor, whatever it is, we should do our beast to defend Warfang. If not, we better hope he doesn’t join in the siege on our city,” Terrador said softly.

“My vision doesn’t tell which battle he will participate in but it will tell that he will be in any battle we fight in. If it’s not the siege on Warfang, then it might be any battles that occur in the future,” Valcor said.

“*bleep*, I guess we don’t have many options. Thank you for your help Valcor,” Terrador said and he left the room.

As Terrador walked down an empty street, he met Volteer. He seemed excited.

“Terrador, Spyro and Cynder have returned!” Volteer said excitedly.

“Really? Thank the ancestors for that!” Terrador said happily.

At the ramparts, the two dragons were greeted by the elders and the Western Land dragons. They were quite happy to see him.

“Spyro my buddy, how goes your mission?” Flame asked while patting Spyro’s purple back.

“I couldn’t finish it because I have something more important to protect,” Spyro said.

“You mean the dragon eggs? Someone had already got that covered,” Ember said.

“I still need to protect the eggs and the city. Even if I do reach the Epicenter, it would be *bleep* near impossible to defeat the Netherlord by any means,” Spyro said.

He was hiding the fact that he needed to control his dark side in order to combat the Netherlord.

“Then I guess you’ve returned to help defend Warfang. We could use the extra help,” Volteer said.

“I’m not much of a help but these blueprints are,” Spyro said with a grin and handed Volteer some blueprints.

Volteer looked at it and had a surprised look on his face.

“My goodness, these are blueprints for human weaponry and armoring! Where did you get these?!” Volteer asked.

“We have our sources,” Cynder said and winked to Spyro, who winked back at her.

“Maybe these could help turn the tide of battle for us. If the moles could engineer these things, we might have a chance to win with new weapons and armor. I’ll go get them right away,” Volteer said and he ran off.

As Volteer went away, Terrador shook his head.

“Even if the moles are capable of engineering these things, we won’t have much time. The undead will be here even before they start,” Terrador said.

“No, I doubt so. We have someone to buy us time while we get those things built,” Cynder corrected.

Terrador opened his eyes wide with surprise.

“Who is that’ someone’” Terrador asked.

“A human called Morpheus. He agreed to help us,” Spyro said.

“How can a human be alive? I thought they have all become undead,” Flame said.

“He is an undead but he has no grudge against us and he isn’t under the control of the Netherlord…I think,” Spyro said.

“You really didn’t squeeze many answers out of him eh. If what you is true, then we may have some time, provided he lasts long enough for us to further prepare ourselves. Even so, I still don’t trust this ‘friend’ of yours. Humans have been in war with us and even after their extinction, their restless souls still seek revenge,” Cyril said sternly.

“They were cursed and they have no choice. The other alternative of freeing them from their curse is to destroy the Netherlord. I’m not saying that the Netherlord is actually Emperor Dresdner but that is what Morpheus suggested,” Cynder said.

Morpheus didn’t know and he only made this suggestion because it seemed right. Lol.

“Well, maybe we should all go into the Epicenter and kill the Netherlord…any volunteers?” Flame asked sarcastically.

“I’ll go if you go,” Spyro joked.

“Something doesn’t add up…how is it that Morpheus isn’t under the control of the desire to wipe out dragons?” Terrador asked Spyro.

“I’m not sure…maybe it’s because he holds no grudge against us even though he was cursed. The book of necromancy that Igni…the Chronicler gave me must have woke him up,” Spyro said while handing the book to Terrador.

Cyril raised an eyebrow as he looked at it.

“Now why would the Chronicler keep such a hideous- looking book? Spyro are you sure you’re not lying to us?” Cyril asked suspiciously.

“I have no reason to lie. I didn’t manage to ask how the Chronicler got the book but all I know is that he said this book is both good and evil,” Spyro said patiently.

Terrador looked into the book and quickly covered it up.

“We better put this somewhere safe. Spyro, Cynder, now that you two are here, I need you to help bolster the city defenses. There are chores to do and it must be done before the invasion,” Terrador said with authority.

“Chores?” Cynder asked as she cocked her head quizzically.

“The moles are adding additional fortifications to the city walls so I need you to help out. Let’s hope it’s enough to hold them off,” Terrador explained to Cynder.

Then, Chief Prowlus came by, panting heavily. By the looks in his eyes, something spelt trouble.

“Terrador, you wouldn’t believe this but I see undead riders heading for Warfang. You must not let them soften you up,” Prowlus said while panting hard.

“How can this be? I thought the undead can’t ride out in sunlight,” said a dumbfounded Cyril.

“They chased after us even in broad daylight. I guess they are the more elite of warriors,” Spyro said.

Suddenly, they heard loud screeches and when they turned around to where the sound came from, they saw a whole army of riders. The lead one was rather familiar and Terrador recognized him. 500 years ago, young Terrador and the lead rider fought each other during the Northern Plains Campaign.

“Darius,” Terrador hissed darkly.

He recognized the way he held his staff and sword even though his face was completely decayed.

“Sound the alarms and prepare to ward them off!” Terrador yelled out.

Chapter 5: Return to Warfang
“Here we are,” Morpheus said as the trio stood in front of the valley entrance after a long day of walking and fighting.

Midnight had arrived and the only thing in the dark sky was the celestial moons. It illuminated the valley entrance and made it look like a dormant demon with its mouth open. Spyro and Cynder felt chills just by looking at it. Wind blew from it and it made some kind of moaning sound. It felt cold and scary.

“We have two choices: one is that we climb the mountain, two is which we enter the Valley of Kharnak. Both are equally dangerous but the route to the Epicenter is faster if we use the valley. That is only my personal opinion,” Spyro said.

“The mountain road is much safer. However given the amount of time we have, time isn’t by our side. We should take the risk and enter the valley. It’s wide enough for a caravan to enter so we won’t have a problem walking side-by-side,” Morpheus corrected Spyro.

“What say you all?” Spyro asked the two.

“The valley,” Cynder said.

“Same here,” Morpheus said.

“Well…alright, w-we’ll take the valley,” Spyro stuttered a bit.

The walk through the valley was rather an ordeal for them. The roads seem to wind and many ice crevasses were present. Some were impossible to cross as the bridges are broken and the wind was too strong for the dragons to fly. At the middle of the valley, they found a cave and decided to take some rest. In the caves, Spyro started a fire and kept them warm.

“How long have we been walking?” Morpheus asked.

“About 2 hours or so. We should continue tomorrow,” Cynder replied.

Spyro nodded and tried to lean against the cave wall to sleep but he leaned on a statue. Turning around, he saw a statue of a fanged centaur with folded wings. Its left hand held a skull shield while its right hand held a sword. It wore a necklace of skulls and rings of crossbones.

“Who is this terrible-looking fellow?” Spyro joked.

“That is Kharnak, the God of Destruction,” Morpheus said without even looking up and examining the statue.

“So this is the Kharnak you speak of,” Cynder said while examining the statue. “Is he even real?”

“Many thinks he is but I say he’s only a statue at best. I mean who would believe in the God of Destruction? There are no gods…if there were any, that particular god might just save us from being a cursed race,” Morpheus said angrily.

The man stabbed his sword into the ground and leaned against the cave wall opposite of the statue.

“Heck, I even wonder if I’m really dead,” he continued.

Cynder felt pity for the man and gave a piece of meat to him. Morpheus declined and went to sleep, even though he doesn’t need one.

“I don’t blame him for his ire. I don’t think one can stand long dormancy while watching the world in danger,” Cynder said to Spyro.

The purple dragon merely nodded. Suddenly, he felt drowsy and went unconscious. Cynder thought Spyro went to sleep so she went to sleep as well.

“Ignitus, what is it you want with me?” Spyro asked.

Ignitus came out from the darkness and smiled at Spyro, which the purple dragon did in return.

“I was just checking on you. I wanted to tell you something important. As of now, young dragon, the undead are preparing for a major invasion of Warfang in an attempt to crush the forces there. What’s worse is that a new brood of dragon eggs have arrived two days ago and are not ready for hatching. They are the next generation of dragons and if we lose them, we might not have a chance anymore,” Ignitus said.

“What can we do?” Spyro asked in panic.

“There is nothing much that can be done and the only option is to return to Warfang and aid in the defense of the city,” Ignitus replied.

“But we’ve come this far and we’re close to the Epicenter. If we pull back now, we won’t have much time. By the time we reach the city, everything will be over. Isn’t it better if we head into the Epicenter while their forces are on the way to Warfang?” Spyro asked.

“No, you’re not prepared to fight the Netherlord. Malefor is one thing but the Netherlord is another. They maybe evil but the Netherlord hold more malice than Malefor by two folds. He is extremely strong and cannot be defeated by any means except the power of darkness. You have to fight fire with fire,” Ignitus said.

“You mean…” Spyro started with wide eyes.

“Yes, you must use your dark side to defeat the Netherlord but I only fear that your dark side has more control over you and you will walk Malefor’s path of evil. Besides, it’s not easy to summon your dark side. I won’t tell you how because I’m sure you know the technique of hate and wickedness. Listen closely Spyro, defend Warfang and if you succeed in protecting all the dragon eggs, then you’re deemed ready to face the Netherlord,” Ignitus said.

“How is that going to help?” Spyro asked.

“You will find that your control over your dark side much easier because you use it to protect the ones you care for. With that in mind, your temptation to go evil will be less…though I can’t guarantee a 100 percent. The unborn dragons are your new brothers and sisters and I’m sure you don’t want them dead, do you?” Ignitus asked.

Spyro looked down on the floor for a while and looked up again, this time he was full of determination.

“No, I won’t let them enter the Realm of the Dead. I must protect them,” Spyro said.

“Good, if that is what you think, so be it. But now, you should convince your friends to return to Warfang. Once that is done, take the Moray Mine route and follow the Great River. It bypasses Avalar and you should return to Warfang within two days. Move now and get going, time is not on your side,” Ignitus said.

Spyro woke up from his unconsciousness and looked around. Morpheus was awake but Cynder was still asleep.

“Having a nightmare?” Morpheus asked.

“No, I met the Chronicler,” Spyro said.

Morpheus seemed confused for a while but snapped out of it.

“The Chronicler you say? It must be important. What is it that you were told?” Morpheus asked.

“Um…we must turn around and return to the dragon city of Warfang. We can return to the Epicenter once we’re done defending the city,” Spyro said.

“We’ve come so far. Why turn back now?” Morpheus asked.

“A new brood of dragon eggs is in danger and if we lose them, our future is in danger. The escape route in the Dragon Temple has been blocked and there is no other way out. Priority goes to defending the eggs now,” Spyro said.

“Warfang…wow, it’s far if we are to walk back from here. We might not have the time…unless we have a glider. Spyro, the winds from the mountains blow towards the plains and beyond. If we can ride the winds, we maybe able to reach to Moray Mines within 2 hours,” Morpheus said.

“We can glide but what about you?” Spyro asked.

“I can’t but you two are the important ones here not me. Make haste and return to your city as quickly possible. Take my blueprints on creating tanks, mithril armors and magic weaponry. They might help change the tide of battle for you,” Morpheus said while handing Spyro some blueprints.

“What about you?” Spyro asked.

“I’ll go to the Epicenter and distract the undead as long as I can. Don’t worry; I’ll buy you enough time for you to make those weapons and armors. Go, may your ancestors watch over you, whoever they are,” Morpheus said.

He took his sword and went on his way. Spyro was reluctant to let him go but Morpheus had no choice. Besides, Warfang might need all the time they can get to prepare for an inevitable attack. Spyro woke up the black dragoness and told her of the change of plan. Without much hesitation, the two dragons spread open their wings and rode along with the wind. It brought them across the open sky and the two need not flap their wings as the wind was strong enough to let them glide a long distance.

By the time they reached the entrance of the Moray Mines, the sky was still dark. They didn’t give the mines much thought and entered it straight away. They backtrack their earlier paths and entered the chamber that was blocked by rubble earlier.

“Now what? The entrance has been blocked and there is no other way,” Cynder said angrily.

“Look harder, maybe there is a hidden way or something. There should be,” Spyro said and he looked around.

They searched everywhere but found nothing. Just as the two were about to give up, Cynder pushed on a loose brick and a door opened not far from them. They heard the sound of rushing waters and one river came in mind.

“The Great River!” the two said happily in unison.

They entered the room and followed the stairs down to an underground port. There was a boat at a small dock. It had a ballista at its back for defense. The two dragons made sure it wasn’t broken before entering it. The water wasn’t moving and it was impossible to row a heavy boat like this.

“Well, what now?” Spyro asked Cynder. The black dragoness shrugged and shook her head.

They looked around and saw that a dam was slowing the water flow. Spyro got off the boat and opened the dam doors by turning a wheel nearby. The water flow slowly increased in rapidity and Spyro quickly got on the boat before a large surge came and pushed the boat forth. They were flushed out of the opening of the underground entrance and into the opening. The water was getting more and more rapid and now it became a roller coaster ride to hell. With so many rocks in the way, Cynder steered the boat to avoid hitting the rocks. Their ride was not unnoticed though. As soon as they reached a river bend of the tropical forest, undead riders went after them.

“It’s them again! Spyro, get rid of them!” Cynder yelled.

“They won’t get past me!” Spyro said with a smile.

He got onto the ballista and fired rapid shots at the riders. His shots were dead on and he score 10 kills before the next river bend. A bump over an underwater rock threw Spyro’s aim and the shot missed. The 3-meter long iron arrow flew past a rider and impaled into a tree.

“Cynder, if you do that again, you’ll scrape a hole in our boat!” Spyro cautioned.

The rapid river flow made it hard for Cynder to steer and the steering wheel was heavy. However, she somehow managed it quite nicely and her reflexes were fast, avoiding deadly rocks that got in their way. One rider got beside the boat and leapt boarded it. Spyro turned his head around and shot and Earth Blast at the rider, knocking it into the water. He then shot another blast at the undead bird, knocking it into a tree.

One sorcerer fired a bolt of explosive magic at the stern of the boat, causing it to rock violently. Spyro was thrown off the ballista but he got back on again and continued firing. After a long while, he ran out of arrows to shoot. He resorted to using his elemental breaths to ward off the riders.

“Spyro, the waters are moving too fast!” Cynder yelled at the top of her lungs.

Spyro turned to look at the front of the boat and found a plunging waterfall right in front of them. His pupils dilated in fear and didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, he heard Ignitus’ voice.

“Spyro, abandon the boat and fly your way to Avalar. May the winds guide you well,” the voice said.

The boat plunged over the waterfall but the two dragons did not leap out of it. The riders abandoned their chase after seeing that, thinking they would be dead anyway. But unknown to them, halfway down the falls, the two dragons spread open their wings and glided with the wind to the Valley of Avalar. The sun was rising and it created a beautiful scenery.

“Spyro, you’re really a daredevil,” Cynder said smilingly. She kissed his lips and held his paw.

“Maybe purple dragons are natural born daredevils. I should really join the ranks of the Great River Riders,” Spyro quipped.

Cynder chuckled and said nothing else. The sunlight reflected off Spyro’s eyes, creating a nice sparkle. She can’t help but blush.

Back at Warfang, a group of young dragon warriors arrived with weapons and armor. They were from the Western Lands that Volteer went to.

“Thank you all for arriving in such short notice. We don’t have much time as the undead are preparing for an attack on our city,” Terrador said.

“Not much of a problem. It has been quite a while since we have some action,” the lead dragon with silver horns said.

He was a battle veteran named Valcor and he was a golden dragon and he used to play a part in battling Malefor’s forces. His tri-horns were indications of a natural born leader and he bore multiple scars on his body.

“Ah, you’re Valcor, yes?” Terrador asked.

“Aye, the one and only. So, where is our purple hero?” Valcor asked while looking around.

“He has went to the Epicenter to stop the undead,” Terrador said.

“Whoa, that is rather foolhardy of him. Can he really take on an entire army?” Valcor asked in surprise.

“No and I do hope he is smart enough to return. It seems like Warfang needs him more. By the ancestors I hope he returns,” Terrador said with a sigh.

“I’m sure he’ll return. Anyway, we better get ready. Flame, Ember, onto the ramparts. You two are on watch duty,” Valcor pointed at a red and pink dragon respectively.

“Why do we always get the watch duty?” Flame asked in annoyance.

“Because you two have better eyesight than any of us. If you have a problem with that, blame yourself for having good eyesight. Chloe, Dagonet, you two guard the incubation chamber. Vesper, Kane, Priscilla, Kei, you four are responsible for guarding the streets. Jeanne, you’re with me. We’re guarding the dragon temple,” Valcor assigned tasks to his teammates.

Everyone went to their respective positions except for a forest-green dragoness named Jeanne. She was Valcor’s assistant and girlfriend.

“Terrador, how many other dragons are coming to aid in the defense of Warfang?” Valcor asked.

“I’m not sure but we haven’t finish mustering all yet. Let’s hope there is more,” Terrador said.

He looked at the dark aura. It was closing in on Warfang fast. When it does, the undead will attack them. Valcor said nothing more and he and Jeanne went on their way. Suddenly, he saw a red star streak across the sky even though it was daylight. It was a very bad omen and even for a dragon as tough as him, he can’t help but feel fear.

“*bleep*, could it be that Kharnak is in this as well?” he asked himself softly.