The Elemental Blade: Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Spyro stirred as he began to gain consciousness. His head felt like a golem smacked him beside the head with a rock. 'Ugh, my head'. Spyro opened his eyes and closed them immediately for the light burned his eyes. He opened his eyes again, but more slowly this time as to let his eyes adjust to the light. As he opened his eyes, he saw a green blur. He blinked a couple of times and now saw two green blurs. 'I must have hit my head harder than I thought. Now I'm seeing double'. He blinked a couple times more and the images started getting clearer. The two green blurs turned out to be Link and Terrador. "Good to see you're up, young dragon."
"What happened?" Spyro asked groggily.
"Well, you and Cynder were-"
"Cynder!" Spyro bolted up, which he might have regretted if he wasn't focused on his friend. "Where's Cynder?" He franticly tried to get up.
But Link held him down, "Spyro calm down! Cynder's fine! You two are in the infirmary. She's right next to you over there," pointing behind himself. Spyro saw Cynder lying on a couple pillows facing him. He could see her chest rise and fall as well as the gash on her shoulder. Link pushed him down again, "You need to lie down and rest." Spyro complied and fell asleep after a few minutes.
Link looked back at Terrador and sighed, "Can I speak to you in private?"
The green dragon nodded, "This way," he gestured.
As they walked, Link saw moles running back and forth from cheetah to cheetah that rested on pillows. Many were the ones that helped defend the East Gate. Link couldn't help but feel pain in his heart for them. When they came out of the infirmary and out into the hall, they stopped. "Link, I too, need to talk to you." Terrador said.
"Okay, you go first," Link gestured.
"Link those lizards, Lizalfos you call them, have been increasing in numbers. Our warriors are crumbling at their feet in their attempt to defeat them. I know that there must be more powerful enemies out there, I ask if you have a solution to this problem."
Link nodded, "that was what I was going to say. I propose that I train the warriors with the sword to become excellent swordsmen."
Terradors' eyes brightened, "That's an excellent idea. I'll send a message to the warriors. We'll start in a weeks' time."
Link shook his head, "No, a week is too long to wait. I fear that Ganondorf will be sending more forces soon. I say two days tops."
"That soon? Are you sure? You haven't even recovered yet."
"Don't be concerned for me. I have been through worse. Get the message around as soon as possible. Tell them to meet at the plaza at the base of the tower."
Terrador nodded, "Okay, if you say so. I'll get some moles to help."
"Thank you. I'll see you around Terrador," link patted Terrador's leg as he passed by.
Terrador turned around, "link." Link turned his head. "Get some rest. And this time, I'm not asking." Link stood there for a few seconds then nodded, "Will do, thanks." He turned back his head and headed down the hall, while Terrador took the other way.
Two days went by fairly quickly. Spyro had recovered the other day and went to check on Cynder every hour or so. Crysteena let Crystal see them to see how they were doing, but mostly had to stay home. Cynder has managed to heal rather quickly as well. There's slight scaring, but no one would notice unless someone had detailed eyes. Link, on the other hand, had been preparing for the training lesson. He felt a little nervous, for he never trained anyone before. But the day had finally come.
The Guardians and Link waited at the plaza for the warriors to show. Terrador had sent the message for all warriors to report, with gear, to the plaza at noon. Spyro and Cynder stood beside the Guardians to watch the training, with their permission. They agreed since they would just be resting. When the warriors started to come, Link told them to find a seat till everyone came. Link just stood in front of the Guardians and the young dragons looking over the cheetah warriors. Some gave eyes contact back, some talking to each other, or other things. As he scanned the crowd, he spotted Hunter near the front.
When the noon bell rang, all talk ceased. "Now then, is everyone here?" boomed Terradors' voice. When no one spoke up, he nodded to Link.
"Warriors!" his voice carried along the buildings, echoing so everyone could hear. "None of you may know me. My name is Link. I came from a different world or realm." Murmurs flooded the crowd. "But! I was sent here to help the two heroes know as Spyro and Cynder," pointing at them. Link continued, "Many of you may know of these new creatures, enemies that lurk around. I have fought them before and killed their leader. But, it seems that he has managed to survive and found a new world, your world." More murmurs rose through the crowd. Link waited till they calmed down, "I know how to defeat them. I posses the skills needed to crush them. I'm willing to pass on these skills down to you. But it will be hard, and I'll push you till you get them right. Anyone who doesn't think they can take this, leave now!" Know one moved. Link nodded, "Form rows of ten. Give each other ten feet of room from all sides. Now move!" Everyone began moving around to their spots while Link turned to the Guardians to grab his sword. He left his sword and shield resting next to the wall.
"Well spoken, young chap," said Cyril.
"Yes well done, couldn't have said it better myself," Volteer said.
"Spoken like a real warrior," complimented Terrador.
"Thanks, I didn't think I would do so well," said while picking up his sword. "How many are there, I can't see all of them."
"I'd say about a hundred," said Cyril in surprise.
Link sighed, "That might not be enough."
"What!?!" they all said, including Spyro and Cynder. "What do you mean!? You said yourself that you alone took those creatures down and killed Ganondorf. So what do you mean a hundred warriors with your skills won't be enough?" boomed Terrador. He kept his voice down as low as he could.
"I was because I was gifted with the Triforce of Courage, one of the goddesses own power. But these are normal warriors. Even with my skills, many won't survive. All we can do is hope and pray. We can talk about this later."
The Guardians and the young dragons were stunned at what they just heard. Link turned back to the warriors, seeing that Hunter is now in front. Each on had his own sword and stood at attention, waiting for Link. "Today we're going to do basic training. Horizontal, vertical slices and stabs. Now-"
"But we already know how to do those. Let's get on with the skills." The speaker was in the third row from the front, fourth from the right.
Link glared at his direction, "Come forth whoever interrupted me." The cheetah warrior walked between the two rows and in front of Link. He was heavily built and slightly taller than Link. "So, you think you know all the basics. But do you have the power to back it up?" Link looking directly into his eyes.
"Yes, I believe I do," the cheetah warrior nodded.
"What's your name warrior?"
"Razor."
"Okay Razor, let's have a little spring match."
The Guardians and the young dragons gasped. Razor's eyes grew big. "What, here, now?"
"Yes, I want to see if you got what it takes."
Link and Razor each stood 20 ft. away from each other. Link nodded to Terrador to start it off. Terrador nodded back. "Ready?" they both got into their fighting stance. "Go!"
They both ran to each other. Razor swung his sword; Link met it in the middle. They both parried each others blow. They seemed equal. Suddenly, Link took it up a notch. He began hammering down on Razor's sword. Razor began to step back; finally Razor jumped back and started the assault again, but swung his sword with two hands on the hilt. Link met his sword with a single hand on the hilt. Razor pushed as hard as he could, with all his might. Link stood his ground and started to push Razor back. With one final push, Link sent Razor to the floor stunned. He went to get back up, but felt cold metal at his throat. He stopped and looked up to see Links' sword and Link himself.
Link pulled his sword away and lent out a hand. Razor looked at his hand and hesitantly took his hand and stood up. He was breathing hard while Link didn't break a sweat. "Your basic skills were good, but you lack the power behind it. You may know how, but don't have the strength. Now go back to your spot and then we may begin." Razor walked back with his tail dragging along.
Spyro and Cynder were stunned at what they just saw. Spyro looked at the Guardians and saw the amazed, surprised look they had on their faces.
"Okay now, we will start will the horizontal slice. A dummy will pop up in front of you so don't be alarmed. Each dummy will only defeated with the horizontal slice. No other attack will destroy it. You will defeat all dummies till I say stop. Begin!" Then one hundred dummies popped up. Link stood there for a while watching, then started walking up the rows watching each one to see how they were doing. He caught a couple who were doing it wrong and some that needed help. He helped them by showing them what they were doing wrong and showed them the correct way.
At this time, Spyro and Cynder got bored and went to walk around the city. Cyril and Volteer followed the young dragons, but went back to their duties. Terrador on the other hand, stayed to watch the training. Since he was a war veteran, watching Link push and train the cheetah warriors had a calming effect on him. He could see Hunter performing quite well. He got many compliments from Link and needed less help than the others.
Meanwhile...
Spyro and Cynder went looking at the shops Warfang had to offer. Most of the shopkeepers would give them a trinket or two for free. They insisted for it was the least they could do. But they would deny them kindly, for most of the trinkets they would never use. Spyro stopped at a jewelry stand while Cynder went to look at some fabrics. He eyed the jewels looking at their beauty. The shopkeeper noticed this, "Go ahead, pick anyone you want, it's free of charge."
Spyro shook his head, "No, I can't do that. I'll just buy one."
But the shopkeeper shook his head, "No, I insist. It's the least I can do for what you did for all of us all."
Spyro finally gave in, "Okay, if you insist." He looked further. He found one that caught his eye. A silver ring with a green diamond imbedded in the silver band. The same color of Cynder's eyes. "I'll take this one," he pointed to it.
"Good chose," the shopkeeper handed the ring to Spyro. Before he could walk away, the shopkeeper said in a whisper, "Make sure you give it to her at the right moment," winking at him. Spyro nodded his thanks and walked off.
As he walked, he saw Cynder walking towards him. Panicking, not knowing where to put the ring, he happened to see Sprax flying in no particular direction. "Sparx!" he yelled to get his brothers' attention.
Sparx saw Spyro and flew towards him, "Hey, what's up buddy? Whatcha got there?"
"It's a ring for Cynder. Can you hide it for me so Cynder doesn't find it? Please?" Spyro said it just like Volteer would.
"Okay, okay. Don't get your tail into a knot. Geez. Give me the ring and I'll put it in your room," he said holding out his hand.
"Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said flying off. "Things I do for love," he mumbled.
Just then, Cynder came up behind Spyro, "Hey Spyro, what were you doing?"
"Oh! Cynder, uh, n-nothing, uh, j-just looking around. Hey, do you want to get something to eat 'cause I'm hungry," trying to change the subject.
Cynder raised an eyebrow for the reaction she got, but she pretended not to notice. "Okay, let's go. I'm getting hungry myself."
As they walked, Spyro tried not to look at Cynder for fear that she would know something's up. Cynder already knew something was up, but kept quiet.
"That'll do for today," shouted Link. He has taught and seen them learn the basics in the first day of training. He was pretty impressed by the way they performed. "Be back here by noon tomorrow. We'll start the main skills. Dismissed." And with that, the cheetah warriors took their leave and returned home. Link looked up to see that dusk has settled in. He turned around to grab his stuff to see Terrador still there.
"That was most impressive young warrior," complimented Terrador.
"Thanks. If you think that was impressive, just wait till tomorrow," said Link.
"I would like to see that, but let us get something to eat. I bet you're hungry."
"Sure am. Let's go."
As they walked, they talked about the training and how it went. When they got to the cafeteria, they saw Spyro, Cynder and Hunter eating at a table. Link told Terrador that he would see him later and went to his friends table.
"Hey Link!" Spyro said as Link came closer. "How was training?"
"Oh, it was fine. Never thought it would be that hard though," he said as he sat down.
"I think you did fine," said Hunter.
"Thanks, you did okay yourself. You're learning quicker than most others."
"Well, I've learned to use the sword, but mostly by the bow and arrow."
"Yeah well. You best be ready for tomorrow."
"What's tomorrow?" asked Cynder.
"Some skills I've leaned during my adventures. Their called the Shield Attack and Helm Splitter," answered Link.
"And I don't suppose you'll tell me what they are?" questioned Hunter.
"Nope, you'll have to find out. Now I'm going to eat, I'm starved," he grabbed some food that was on the table and munched down.
After they had their fill, they went to bed. When Spyro walked into his room, he saw the ring he gave Sparx on his pillows. *Sigh* "How am I going to tell Cynder my feelings? Does she feel the same? Would she accept or turn me down?" Talking to himself. And with all this questions swarming in his head, he soon grew tired and fell asleep.