TLoS: Darkness Falls Chapter One
Things are a tad slow to start--it'll get better, don't you worry.
The Legend of Spyro (and Company)
Darkness Falls
Chapter One: Uninvited
Spyro shook his head uncomprehendingly. "What do you mean, Gaul wanted this?" he said, his paw climbing to the purple jewel dangling from his neck. He teetered on three paws for a second, going over the finely-cut amethyst, then staggered and put his fourth paw down. Drake shook his head. "Told you he'd never understand," he muttered. Cynder cupped the necklace in both hands. "Whatever it is," she said, "Gaul wants it. It's got some kind of power. It has to. Gaul wouldn't send us to take a useless piece of jewelry." Spyro shook his head again. "Who's Gaul? What're you talking about?" "How much do you know about the Prophecy, Spyro?" Drake asked. Spyro hesitated. "Only what the Guardians have told me...That a storm is coming, that...A purple dragon who has mastered the four Elements...I don't know. That I have to stop some kind of dark force from the past." Drake nodded. "Right. The rest of it would scare you. This Prophecy was set in motion thousands of years ago, Spyro." "The original Guardians, Spyro...They were masters of all four Elements, and great heroes. There were actually six Guardians back then--One for Light and one for Dark. At that time, Light and Dark were...," Cynder trailed off, looking for the right words. "Counters of each other. Foils," Drake put in. "Right," Cynder nodded. "Just because you trained in Dark Magic didn't mean you were evil. And just because you trained in Light didn't mean you were good." Spyro cocked his head to the side, confused. "The Dark Guardian--Malefor," Cynder said with a shudder. "He was...Evil beyond recognition. He started a reign of terror, Spyro. He used Dark Magic to such an extent that it became sort of...taboo." "Malefor, evil, and Dark Magic all became synonymous," Drake explained. "Dragons, Fairies, even Gnorcs, anyone who practiced Magic simply abandoned Darkness. They feared it. Malefor's terror was that strong. He only sought to destroy. Malefor's fury burned for years until the Guardians managed to banish him deep in a volcano. No one knows exactly where. They sealed him in a tomb of stone and magma, thinking and hoping it would last forever. The Guardian of Light at the time abandoned the trade. He felt that with no proper foil, Light Magic would become unbalanced. That left the four Elemental Guardians. But before he disappeared, the Guardian of Light wrote a prophecy. The Prophecy, that is." "The Prophecy says what you heard, Spyro," Cynder went on, "but...it also says that there are followers everywhere--Malefor's followers. Apes, Gnorcs, even Dragons, that still practice Dark Magic. They've been trying for years to resurrect him. A certain Ape King, Gaul, came to power three hundred years ago--by force." Drake growled upon the mention of the Ape King. "Gaul is the embodiment of Malefor's goals. He wants nothing more than to destroy. He wants this necklace--and so do you. That's not good. This necklace means something, either to Malefor or to Gaul's goal of resurrecting Malefor." "So this thing could be thousands of years old?" Spyro asked, nervously shifting so the gemstone wasn't touching his scales. Drake nodded. "And full of power we don't understand." "That could well be the key to freeing Malefor," Cynder said ominously. "Or to something else," Sparx chimed in. He'd said nothing the whole time, simply listening as Drake and Cynder had emerged from the shadows. "Why should you trust them, anyway, Spyro?" Spyro looked up in shock at his buzzing partner. "What do you mean?" "They said they work for Gaul. Then they make him sound like some despicable, evil person. That kind of thing tends to rub off, y'know?" Sparx pointed out. "Gaul tortured me," Drake countered quietly. Cynder whimpered. "We need to get away from him. That's why we're telling you all this. We can't go back to him. This necklace means something, and...we can't let him have it." "Why the sudden rebellion?" Spyro pressed. "Last time," Drake growled. "Last time he sent us to get a spellbook. We failed." "I failed," Cynder cried. Drake shook his head. "I was sighted. It was me. My fault. We had to run away," Cynder whimpered. "He tortured me," Drake said plainly. His eyes were cold. He didn't say this in a whine; he didn't want attention. He didn't want to be reminded of the whips and boiling water and flames. The group fell silent. "And that was the last straw?" Sparx asked. "The last straw was kidnapping us years ago," Cynder said. "We just had nowhere else to go. Everywhere we went, we were made out to be thieves. Marauders." "He'd send in Apes ahead of us and spread rumors. We're pretty well-known down south, along the coast, as master thieves and murderers," Drake muttered. "Life is hell. We can't show our faces in half the cities in this Region." Spyro and Sparx exchanged glances. "So you've got nowhere else to go?" Sparx asked. Cynder and Drake shook their heads. Spyro sighed. "We'd better tell Ignitus ahead of time." Sparx buzzed delightedly and flew off in a roughly southern direction, through the blackness of the desert night. "Is he going to be all right?" Drake asked skeptically, gazing up through the inky darkness. The moon was waning and there was meager light from the stars. "Yeah, he knows his way. Somehow," Spyro shook his head uncomprehendingly. Drake eyed the shrinking golden dot that was Sparx with uncertainty. "You two should get some rest. I'll keep watch," Spyro offered. Drake slunk off, just out of reach of the worst of the heat from the flames, but still in its light. Cynder lied down next to him. "I don't think you'll need to worry tonight," Cynder said. "Hm?" Drake said tiredly. "You normally wrap your wing around me. To protect me," Cynder pointed out. Drake chuckled. "Right, right. But you've got someone new to do that." Cynder blushed, but it was far too dark to see. "Go on, then," Drake urged, nudging Cynder with his tail. She smiled sheepishly and wandered over next to Spyro. Drake sighed as she went. 'Great,' he thought miserably. He closed his eyes and thought about what Gaul would do to him if he were caught. He remembered his "room" back in Gaul's castle. It was a cell he shared with Cynder that consisted of nothing more than a small pile of old, damp hay and a barred window. The heavy wooden door had no inside handle and was hinged on the inside: they were trapped in the cold, unforgiving gray stone tomb. To stay warm, and to protect Cynder from the cruelty of the guards, Drake often slept wrapped around her, with his back to the door. The guards would often throw open the door and beat them or throw ice-cold water on them in the dead of the cold northern nights, leaving them to freeze. Drake managed to protect Cynder from the brunt of the torment. He opened his eyes and glared into the fire. He glanced over at Cynder and Spyro, who were murmuring lowly to each other. He didn't know what he was feeling. It wasn't exactly jealousy, but he certainly wasn't pleased that Cynder was off with Spyro. He'd done everything he could to protect her, and she dropped him the first chance. 'I guess I can understand,' he thought. 'I remind her of...' He shuddered. Their life under Gaul was pure misery. Food was always "in short supply," sleep was fitful and interrupted, and their sole purpose was to infiltrate towns, villages, guilds, and the like to steal magical or legendary objects. They knew that one day, Gaul would have no more reason to keep them around. They would be killed, quickly and mercilessly. There would be no hope for them. Their existence was only necessary to Gaul; others outside his castle thought of them as thieves, didn't know of them, or thought they were dead. Cynder had never known her family. She had been taken as an egg and raised under Gaul. Drake had hatched but was far too young to remember his family. He doubted they were even alive. "Stop thinking about it," he moaned. "You've got a chance now..." He glanced back over at Spyro. "A slim chance...But a chance. I hope this purple guy knows what he's doing." Sleep took him rather quickly in its dark, all-enveloping warmth. Spyro looked over at the amber-colored pile. "I think he's asleep," he remarked. "Already? That's not like him," Cynder said, the worry slipping into her voice. "What do you mean?" Spyro asked. He was exceptionally tired; he had walked and flew all day to get to this remote desert village. "He normally stays up...I don't know. I guess he's usually worried about some of Gaul's goons hurting us," Cynder explained, pity and regret seeping into her voice. She didn't mean to sound that way, but she couldn't help but feel horrible. Drake took as much punishment from Gaul and his minions as he could. "Do they bother you that much?" Spyro asked, a little perplexed. "They beat us. Him, I mean. They'll come in after we've both fallen asleep and just...kick and hit him and...," she trailed off. She, too, was tired; her voice was wavering, as were her thoughts. "They're not here," Spyro comforted, nuzzling Cynder's neck. Cynder smiled, enjoying the heat from the flames on her scales. She looked up at Spyro and smiled wider; the flames' reflections were dancing in his eyes and glinting off his royal purple scales. "What is it?" Spyro asked, smiling back at her without really meaning to. She was infectious, it seemed--but he liked it. He liked the way she made him feel. The first time he saw her, he lost all control. He found himself smiling at her without even realizing. "Nothing," she said sweetly, and nestled against his underbelly. Spyro chuckled. "We should try and get some sleep." "Yeah," she said, smiling. Her eyelids fell. The last thing she saw before sleep engulfed her was Spyro's vivid purple eyes, looking back into hers. Spyro's smile slowly faded as he fell asleep, enjoying the warmth of the black dragon curled up against him.
Spyro was the first one up the next morning. He yawned widely and looked into the coals. The fire had burnt down and the sun was just cresting the dunes of the desert. "Cynder," he said. "Cynder." Cynder opened her eyes and looked up at him. "How late is it?" "Early. Barely dawn," Spyro said, unfurling himself from around the black dragoness. Cynder roused herself and looked over to where Drake had been. "Where is he?" she said, the concern rising in her voice. "I dunno," Spyro said sleepily, rubbing an eye with the back of his paw. The two wandered around the small village, peering in through the windows of the huts. They circled the whole area twice and found absolutely no trace of the amber thief. Cynder's worry exploded in her; she was terrified for her companion. Spyro, albeit less concerned, saw how frantic she was becoming and redoubled his efforts. "Where'd he get off to?" Cynder cried, chancing a look into the sky. She caught a glimpse of movement on the peak of one of the nearby dunes and scrambled up it. Before she got halfway there, Drake came half-sliding, half-running down the hill and crashed into her. They rolled down the hill and landed in a heap at Spyro's feet. The purple dragon couldn't help but break out laughing. "What's so funny?" Drake shot, stretching his reddish-brown wings painfully. "Nothing," Spyro chuckled, barely managing to stifle another fit of laughter. "Where were you?" Cynder shouted in Drake's face. Drake recoiled but smiled mischievously. "Getting some breakfast," he said innocently, unrolling a small roll of cloth from his back. Inside were small pieces of a green fleshy plant. "What is it?" Spyro asked, eyeing the "food" suspiciously. "The inner part of a cactus. It's mostly just water, but it tastes sort of sweet," he explained, grabbing one in his mouth. Cynder ruffled her wings in a shrug and took one for herself. "How did you know to do this?" Spyro asked. Drake chewed carefully and swallowed. "You learn things under Gaul's roof. Between the guards talking and the missions Gaul sends us on...You pick things up. You have to. Gaul's minions can't let us just die on him, now, can they?" Spyro shook his head. "No, I guess not. But they give you survival training?" "Not directly, no," Cynder elaborated. "They give us little hints. They point us in the right direction, sort of." Drake nodded. "They don't help us. They maintain their...overlordship. Their cruelty. But they give us enough to get by on. This cactus trick was something I picked up the last time we were here, ages ago." Cynder cocked her head. "How many times has he sent you on these trips alone?" Drake grimaced. "Don't worry about that. It's better that way. The fewer people that know your face, the better. Now can we get out of here? We were supposed to be back last night. Gaul's definitely got someone on the way already." "I completely forgot about that!" Cynder howled. "We have to go!" Spyro nodded. "Just...try and keep up." He bolted off, dashing over the sandy dunes, headed south. Cynder laughed excitedly and flew after Spyro. Drake shook his head, then turned and scanned the surrounding dunes. He swore he saw a faint flicker of movement. He glared against the light of the rising sun and growled. He turned around and bound after the other two in a frenzy of movement. The trio ran, glided, and scrambled south, over miles of barren, monotonous sand. The village disappeared quickly. They passed the plateau Drake had been spying from the day earlier. They ignored several oases, not letting their thirst deter their rush. Finally they stopped, exhausted and hot. The heat was literally a killer; they passed several bare skeletons and freshly-dead creatures being picked apart by vulture-like creatures. The oasis they stopped at was small and little more than a small pond with a group of palm trees, but it was drinkable and shaded and heaven compared to the wasteland surrounding them. The heat weighed on their backs like a thousand-ton fireball. There was no hint of an end to the desert for miles, but the sun made the horizon waver--it was hard to tell exactly what lay there. "I think," Drake panted, "that we're being tailed." "I forgot the desert was this big," Spyro groaned, dunking his snout in the water. Cynder lapped the water, greedily gulping down as much as she could. "I don't think we've got far to go," she managed in between mouthfuls of water. "Easy," Drake said. "Not so much." Cynder nodded. "Right. Right. Just gonna weigh us down." Spyro shook his head. "You guys gotta teach me some of these survival tricks." Cynder giggled. "Maybe when we get to wherever we're going. Come on," she said. She kissed Spyro on the cheek and darted off. Drake and Spyro stood, wide-eyed, staring at each other for what seemed like hours. "Did she just--" "Yes," Drake cut Spyro off. "I--" "Don't." "But--" "Go. Hurry." "You--" Spyro stammered. "I don't care. Go. Go!" Drake commanded, following Cynder's pawprints in the sand. The two ran off, heading south.
Ignitus, the Guardian of Fire, stood in a pale gray stone room trying desperately to calm the frenzied yellow blur buzzing around his head. "Thieves? Slow down, Sparx," Ignitus said, waving at the dragonfly and almost knocking a stack of books off the heavy wooden table in the center of the room. He walked across the uneven, marked floor, staring into the runes carved all over the walls and ceiling. "A gold-ish dragon, and a black dragoness. They work for someone named Gaul," Sparx rushed breathlessly. "Gaul? The Ape King, Gaul?!" Ignitus boomed. He gazed out a window of the Dragon Temple, deep in the Endless Jungle. Creepers and vines hung in the way; he pushed them out of the way in time to see three small dots on the horizon, drifting down from one of the nearby peaks. "Is that them?" Sparx asked, trying to look around Ignitus to get a better view. "How did they get here so fast? You said you left at night!" Ignitus demanded, his voice deep and thundering. "I, uh..." "Out with it, Sparx!" "I fell asleep," Sparx admitted. He took a place on the table and bowed his little head in shame. "You fell asleep?" Ignitus asked quietly, in utter disbelief. Sparx buzzed a wordless affirmative. Ignitus sighed, then chuckled. "Leave it to you. Go get them and bring them in here. It looks like we're having some uninvited guests for lunch." ~~~~~~~