The day had passed after that conversation with Aquarius, and after that, a lot happened.
First, Spyro had a long time of sleep, and he only woke up when Cynder woke and started to nudge him awake. All of his worries seemed to vanish when he was able to see Cynder’s face again, but that was soon replaced by a dreadful feeling as Cynder asked where they were and how they ended in there.
Spyro took a while to decide what to say to her. Shee noticed that, and started to press him for answers. Spyro didn’t wanted her to go through the same that they did, but he also didn’t want to lie to her.
He eventually decided to explain to her what had happened to him since he woke up, only the essential, and he omitted a few parts, like the condition that she was in, and how close she had been of dying back there. He decided that this part was best left unsaid for now.
Still, he told her the same thing that Aquarius had explained to him, how he accidentally trapped both of them in then crystal, and how years had passed outside, and he also explained to her about the fake room they were in.
“Wait, you mean none of this is real?” Cynder asked after a stunned silence after Spyro explained everything to her. Spyro nodded, and it took a while for Cynder to come to terms with what Spyro had explained to her. She even brought forth the possibility that this was all a trick devised by Malefor to deceive them. Spyro himself had not ruled out the possibility completely, but he had already convinced himself that this was not entirely truth, and he believed in it less and less with time. This was just too complex and to elaborate to be a trick, also, Spyro had a feeling in his chest that Aquarius was not lying to him.
Soon after that, Aquarius came in, and he was bringing some food for them. Cynder looked at him with mistrust, and she hesitated before eating what he offered, but she eventually accepted the food, and she ate it.
She also came to trust Aquarius, as he seemed to have a way with words and to be the kind of person who gave out a good feeling to others. He also helped Cynder to come to terms with what she had been told, and while Cynder was still hesitant to accept it, she also felt less inclined to believe that this was a lie.
Aquarius promised to start the explaining in the following day, and said to them that they should get some sleep…
“Sleep? But it is in the middle of the day.” Cynder said, looking outside, where the sun was shining brightly. Aquarius sighed, and looked up.
“Guys, please! It’s late already! Don’t confuse them!” He said, and after a few moments, the lighting of the environment started to change, from a yellow to orange, and finally to a dark and shadowy environment.
The day had just shifted to night.
“W-what the…” Cynder mumbled, flabbergasted, and Spyro himself was not much better.
“This room is a simulation created by our professionals who are in another place of this same building.” He explained to them. “From there, they can control nearly everything in this room. Since the room is not real, they can make things in here that could not happen in the outside world, like what just happened.”
“So… they just flipped night and day?” Cynder asked, still stunned.
“It is nighttime outside, they merely kept the room in the ‘day’ setting, and they just switched it now to fit the time of day.” Aquarius explained. “Sorry about that, they sometimes make mistakes and you have to remember them.”
Cynder and Spyro looked around, and the purple dragon said suddenly:
“Wait, they can see us now?”
“Yeah, they can watch and hear what happens in this room from their own room.” Aquarius explained. “They use this to help keep track of the trainings that happen in here, so they can control the room to change according to the needs.” He said, and he looked at the two dragons in the dim illumination of the room. “Well, I guess now you two really should go to rest, tomorrow you two will start to receive some explanations about what happened after you two vanished. It will be… something.”
The two dragons shared a look, and Spyro nodded at the bigger dragon, before Cynder herself did the same. Aquarius nodded back at them, and he soon exited the room, leaving the two dragons alone.
([b][i]soundtrack:[/i][/b] [b]Snowflakes at Night - Calm Fantasy Music, by Emily - RollForFantasy, from YouTube[/b] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M4uHwvPxQA)
There was a silence, before both dragons decided that they needed to do what Aquarius had told them, and go to sleep. They both made it to the bed and they laid on it.
“Hard to believe this bed is not real.” Cynder said, “I mean, this bed feels real… and comfortable.”
“Yeah, it does.” Spyro said, and he got a bit comfier in the bed, and after a few more moments without saying nothing, Cynder spoke again:
“So… they are all gone?” She regretted having asked that almost immediately, because of the grief that spread in Spyro’s face when she did.
“I guess so…” He said, in a pained voice, and he looked at her, and she avoided his gaze.
“What about the other purple dragons?” Cynder asked. “How there are so many?” She asked him, and Spyro didn’t answered.
“Could it have something to do with Malefor?” Cynder asked him, “I mean, I do remember him mentioning that there were other purple dragons before himself…”
“They looked too young…” Spyro said, “Cynder, I really don’t think Malefor has anything to do with any of this…”
They went silent again, and after a few moments, Spyro looked at her, and he asked: “Cynder?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you remember the core of the earth? When I was ready to fix the world…” Spyro looked in her eyes.
“Yes…” Cynder said, starting to get lost in these amethyst-colored eyes.
“You said something…” Spyro said, and he felt his pulse quickening. “You whispered… You whispered a few words to me…”
Cynder looked at him for a few moments, without really getting it. However, soon the memories came back to her.
She knew that one or maybe both of them could not make it in the end. That was a critical moment. It was the definitive moment. It was then or never. So, she whispered these three words…
“S-Spyro…” Cynder said, and she continued to look in his eyes. “I-I…”
“I heard what you said back there, Cynder.” Spyro said to her, and then, he gently reached out a clawed paw to touch her face. The touch caused chills to go down to both of their spines. They just looked on each other’s eyes for a while, neither of them saying a word.
“Spyro,” Cynder finally said, breaking the silence, and the purple dragon only looked at her with loving eyes. Cynder felt her heart getting warmer by receiving a look like that from him the purple dragon. However, she also knew that…
“Spyro… I really meant what I said back there.” She spoke to him. “But… we should focus on what is going on now.”
Spyro looked at her. “Oh…” he said, and she could see a small spark of sadness forming in his eyes.
She leaned forward, and she gently nuzzled him. This surprised Spyro, but he was actually able to purr slightly in the touch.
“Later.” Cynder said simply to him. “Let’s focus on what is happening now. We cannot think on too many of these things at the same time. Let’s focus on this now. After this is done, we can focus on… well, us.”
Spyro felt his heart fluttering as she spoke that, and after another look in her eyes, he just nodded. She smiled at him.
“Goodnight, Spyro.”
“Goodnight, Cynder.”
And with that, the dragons went to sleep, but now, they were closer to each other, and they were actually cuddling…
[center] ********** [/center]
“D’awwww, that’s so sweet!” A male voice said as its owner looked at the two dragons who were in the bed that appeared in the screen, as they went to sleep
“I told you that there was love going on between those two!” Another voice said, it was another male voice. “You don’t go through the things that they gone through together without falling in love!”
“Yeah, maybe.” A third, female voice said, “Still, these two sound as if they just started something.”
“What is this, a soap opera?” A fourth voice, also female, made all of them owners of the three other voices jump slightly, as the female continued: “Look, we already screwed up with the city in Spyro’s case, and I’m pretty sure it was because some of you were too busy ogling over him and wondering about his past! The last thing we need is to repeat this mistake, and this time with both of them! So, save your own musings about any possible relationship between them for later and focus on your job!”
“Yes, ma’am!” All the three other voices said, as they went back to check the consoles that they had in front of them. Meanwhile, the female continued to look into the screen, looking at the two dragons that were now sleeping in bed. She had to admit, they did made kind of a cute couple, this only made her wish that they could have a chance to enjoy their youth and this young love better, because she knew that pretty soon this was going to be denied to them…
[center] ********** [/center]
In the following morning, Spyro and Cynder soon were with Aquarius in front of them again. After a light breakfast, the indigo dragon in armor was still standing in front of them, and they both looked at him as he stood in front of the two younger dragons.
“So, I assume that it is time to start explaining to you most of what has happened in the time you two were in the crystal.” Aquarius said to them, and he looked at the young dragons. “So, it will basically be the most basic of the basic and general notions because if I were to explain everything… well, it would be too long.”
Spyro and Cynder shared a look, and they nodded to each other, before nodding back to the older dragon.
Aquarius nodded at them, and he turned to the balcony. “Come with me.” He said to the two younger dragons, and these two soon were following him to the balcony. Standing in there, they could take a look on the outside, where they could see the city of Warfang. It was perfect and glorious, as they both had been told about it, and it was mostly the way that they remembered, save for the damages that it had suffered due to the actions of Malefor’s armies.
“Wow…” Cynder said, it was very hard to believe that the whole city that they were seeing was actually fake. How much power was necessary to recreate a whole city like that? How could something like that be recreated as a mere illusion? She could feel the wind in her face, the sun in her scales. It was hard to believe that all of that was a lie. Of course, that cause her to have her own suspicions about this whole thing.
“This, is the Warfang of the time that you two were young, right?” He asked, and while none of the dragons could actually affirm that they saw it with their eyes, they both could agree that it was correct, so they nodded.
“Well, with the war, it surely suffered some serious damage, and it probably looked something like this.” He said, and as if on cue, the buildings of the city started to change, losing their shape and becoming blue-colored constructs, which reshaped themselves in order to match what Aquarius had said. The buildings were destroyed, there was a part of the wall down, and some streets were full of rumble from the battles.
This change surprised both Spyro and Cynder, who looked down in the fake city that had transformed in front of their very eyes. They looked up at the older dragon, and he looked back at them.
“Like I said, anything in this room can be changed by the ones who are in control.” He said and looked back at the city. “So, after you two made your noble sacrifice, the survivors were ready to start to rebuild.”
([b][i]soundtrack:[/i][/b] [b]Passage of Time - Calm Fantasy Music, by Emily - RollForFantasy, from YouTube[/b] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhh5muf3xNE)
As he spoke, the image of the city once more started to change, and now, it was showing the damage being rebuild. It was possible to see the constructions being worked on by dragons and other creatures, but all of those were constructs of blue color and a ghostly appearance. They were working on rebuilding the city, and they also noticed some of them working in what seemed to be statues of the two young dragons.
“Needless to say, everyone was extremely thankful to both of you.” He explained, and after a while, the city was with a new appearance. Nearly completely reconstructed, and now it seemed to be ready for some kind of festival. “So much that they created a great festival to celebrate what you did. A festival where all of the dragons and their allies would gather to be able to celebrate the fact that they were alive, and to pay tribute to the dragons who gave their lives in order to ensure that they would have a future.”
Spyro and Cynder looked down.
Spyro was not sure if he liked to know that people would pay tributes to him like that. He was never a dragon who enjoyed being in the center of attention like that. Cynder, on her end, looked as the people in there seemed not only to be paying tributes to Spyro, but also to her.
“It was the kind of thing that was fated to become a tradition.” Aquarius said it with a smile, but soon, his face became serious, and he continued.
“However, as a result of the war, damages were made, both to the world and to the ones who lived in it.” He continued, and the environment changed again. This time the decoration of the festival was gone, and now there were some creatures down there, of varied species.
“Some of those came to make agreements with the dragons, and others came to demand them to help them, since it was one of their own the responsible for that.” He explained, and Spyro and Cynder looked down there. “During this, the dragons made alliances with certain races, while others had not received what they thought was due, and gained a strong enmity with the dragons, the kind that would take a long time to disappear. The tensions were high for the eighty years that followed.”
Eighty years…
“Of course, during this time, the alliance with the other races has led the dragons to interact more with them.” Aquarius spoke. “The result was a level of closeness with others that the dragons didn’t had before.” As he spoke, the city seemed to change, and now the buildings actually looked somewhat different. “The result was that some of the allied races came to live in the city of Warfang, and they helped to change and affect the city with their own traditions and styles of living.” He explained, and they could see many different species down there, not only the dragons or moles.
“Of course, this change was gradual. What we are seeing in here is a fast-forward version, because if we were to see the process in its real speed, we would stay here for nearly four hundred years.”
Four hundred…
“Of course, this meant that many things changed as well, like the politic, arts, economy, architecture.” As you can clearly see in here. As he spoke, the buildings around changed once more, and this time the city looked different as a whole. The wall was still in place, but the style of the buildings seemed to have changed, as if the one responsible decided to change the style for something that he considered to be better. It was possible to see how much the city had changed.
“This is Warfang, six hundred years after the day you two saved the world.” Aquarius said, and he looked down at the two young dragons.
Six hundred…
“Of course, during this time, the previous guardians had long joined the ancestors, and they left behind a legacy that is still remembered. For in that time, there was only one dragon temple, but Malefor’s attack on it left clear that this left the eggs too vulnerable. So, more temples were created, and today, there eight temples spread across the whole world, each one dedicated to a population of dragons, and each one with their own Guardians.”
Spyro and Cynder paid some attention to what Aquarius was telling them, but they were too focused on the fact that they had lost six hundred years already. However, what worried them was that Aquarius still talked about it in the past. As if there was more to it than what he was saying.
Aquarius looked at the two young dragons, and he said: “Well, I think this is enough for now.” The two young dragons looked back at him. “This is a lot of information, and I guess you two need your time to take it in.” He said, and asked, “So, would you like some food? Maybe water?”
“Y-yes…” Spyro said, and soon they walked inside, and something was immediately noticed by the two dragons.
“Does this room looks different?” Cynder asked, and in fact, the room had changed, just like the rest of the city.”
“This room is a reflection of the city outside, as it changed with time.” Aquarius spoke. “Now, I’m going to get you two something. Please, wait for me in here.” He spoke as he left, leaving the two young dragons to their own thoughts…
After that, the day had passed rather quickly in the two young dragons’ eyes. Aquarius seemed to have decided that it was enough for one day, and he promised to continue the story on the following day.[center] ********** [/center]
As he promised, on the following day, Aquarius was with them in the balcony, and they were looking down at the town below, and the older dragon continued to explain.
“So, as I said yesterday, some of the species were not happy with the dragons.” He said, “And some of these species had actually decided to unite against us.” He spoke that, and the two young dragons looked at him. “They were convinced that dragons only thought about themselves, and that they could turn on someone on the blink of an eye. So, these species came to avoid dragons and to compete with them for territory and for all kinds of resources, and this was the kind of situation that would lead the world to the brink of a new war.”
As he spoke, the city down there looked as if it was getting ready for combat. The two young dragons looked at him, and he looked back at them.
“It was during this dark time, that a small glimmer of hope appeared, and this was a purple egg.”
Both dragons knew what that meant.
“Of course, there were mixed feelings in relation to the egg, for while some hoped it would be a noble dragon like you, Spyro, some feared that it could turn out like your predecessor.” He spoke that, and he continued to explain. “However, the hatchling that came out of the egg turned out to be purple dragoness of many skills, and owner of a great and kind heart.”
As he spoke that, the two young dragons noticed a shape flying in the air. It was a dragon, a female one, and unlike the others, it had a purple coloration. “She was a source of inspiration to the ones around her, and she grew up as a wise dragoness who was able to avoid the war.” The other species looked up at her, and they all seemed to look at her with admiration and a sense of wonder. “She never had to fight, and yet, she was able to stop the war from happening, and creating a time of peace. A peace that lasted for nearly four hundred years.”
Spyro and Cynder looked at each other, as they were hearing about more and more time passing.
“Of, course, by the time that the peace she created was threatened, she was already gone.” He spoke, and the image of the purple dragoness, now an adult, vanished in the air. “Eventually, the peace would be threatened by a great of time of low food and starvation, which led many to a brink of desperation, which only rose the tensions not only among species, but also among the ones of their own species, as it was not uncommon for the dragons to start to turn on each other.”
“It was during that time of need, that another purple egg was laid.” Aquarius spoke, and the two dragons looked up at him. “Only two hundred years after the death of the previous purple dragoness, and breaking the traditional notion that purple dragons were born only once in each ten generations.”
He looked at the young dragons as he spoke. “Today, we have a much better notion about the births of purple dragons. Most of it is still a mystery, but what we know is that a purple dragon is born in moments of great need, or so most of us believe. Anyways, that purple dragon, was born as a member of a humble family, and he grew up feeling the hardships of the time.” He explained, and the two purple dragons looked attentively to the older dragon as he explained that, as if his words were of a priceless value.
“That dragon also learned to control elements, and he used his skills with a different purpose.” He spoke, and as if on cue, the two young dragons could see a dragon walking in the streets, and this dragon seemed to be causing plants to grow behind him as he walked. “He had rare abilities that were related to what we know as the [i]Nature[/i] element. An element that is closely related to the Earth element, but it is also fundamentally different, for while Earth deals with minerals, the nature elements deal with what we mostly recognize as vegetal life. This is a special element, one that the purple dragon used to revitalize the land, and to solve the problem hunger that plagued the lands.”
“He was able to bring hope and prosperity to the land with his skills, until the day that he passed away.” He spoke, and the image of the dragon walking on the streets disappeared and so did the plants that he made grow. “After this, five more purple dragons were born in the span of two thousand years. Each one being born during a time of great need and tension, and each one playing an important role in defending the balance and the peace of the world.
Two thousand years…
“Well, I guess this is enough for today…”
[center] ********** [/center]
On the next day, Aquarius was once more with the young dragons on the top of the balcony, and he looked at the two young ones once more. They both seemed as if they had steeled themselves, and Aquarius only nodded to them, as he once more started to give them explanations:
“So, after the birth of the last purple dragon in the span of two thousand years, there was a period of peace. It was far from being perfect, but it also was not a dire need. During this time, no purple dragon was born. It all lasted for a little more of twelve hundred years.”
Spyro and Cynder just nodded, and Aquarius continued. “That was when war broke between the dragons and the unicorns.” He explained. “There were few species that could rival the dragons in sheer power, and the unicorns were one of these species, with their magical capacity that was said to surpass even the dragons themselves. So, during the time of the war there were high casualties on both sides, and this seemed as if it was going to be the end for many. That was when another purple dragon appeared.”
As he spoke, a new purple silhouette, appeared, and this one shone as it flew, and Spyro and Cynder took a good look at it in the distance.
Did this one had… two heads?”
“That occasion’s purple dragon was one that stopped the war, and with this, dragons and unicorns finally started to some to terms, but it would still be a long road before they would be able to coexist and to call each other ‘friend’.” Aquarius explained, and soon, the purple dragon that was flying vanished, just like the others. “Of course, after this, life continued, and the times were in waves of turbulence and peace, and in the times of turbulence, a purple dragon was frequently born.”
He explained, and the city continued to change around them, sometimes showing prosperity and happiness, and in others the mood was of tension. “During this time, the dragon species itself divided in sub-species.” The dragon spoke, “Some attribute this to a regular thing that happened that led some different dragons to appear and to reproduce, generating descendants that were different from the traditional dragons who walked in two legs and had wings. One of these, were the ones known as ‘faun dragons’.” He said, and he gestured to a figure that was walking in the streets, that looked like a dragon, but was smaller, and walked on two legs, with two arms and wings on its back. “Named like this after the faun species and, like the other sub-species of the time, they faced a lot of problems to have a place in society, being considered something unnatural and that should not exist.”
Spyro and Cynder both shared a look. Aquarius continued: “During this time, there was a great war happening, as a family of dragons wanted to take down the royal family and assume the power through a coup. During this time, another purple dragon was born, as it was usual during the turbulent times. However, this purple dragon was in an unusual condition for two reasons. First, he was the first purple faun dragon...” He said as he gestured to the faun dragon that was walking in the street that Spyro and Cynder both had noticed, and only then they noticed that the two-legged dragon was purple. “The second was that he was born on the same family that wanted to siege power.”
Spyro and Cynder both looked up at him. “He was trained to one day become their soldier. Their weapon. And for a time, it seemed that they would succeed into making him this. However, they would not be able to predict that this dragon would eventually side with the royal family, and help suffocate the attempt at a coupe.” The dragon explained, “And this dragon would be able to work for the royal family as an important advisor, until the day that he faded from the world.” With that, the purple fawn dragon disappeared, along with the others.
“Of course, the world would continue to move on, and five thousand more years would pass, as the world evolved and changed, and this all changing the way that the world was and the way our society behaved.” As he explained that, the world started to change once more, and this time, the design would change into something that we would, nowadays, recognize as something of the Renascence period.
Spyro and Cynder could already make the count in around ten thousand years that they had passed in that crystal, and it sounded as if the explanations were not already done, if the way that Aquarius was speaking was of any indication.
“Well, I guess that you two have already heard a lot for one day.” He explained, and looked at both, who looked up at him with that look again, the look that made him be sure that he made the right thing in stopping now…
On that night, Spyro and Cynder both had a very heavy sleep, but it was not tranquil by any means…
[center] ********** [/center]
On the following day, Spyro and Cynder had some difficulty to get up of the bed, and they ate the food that was brought to them in the renascence-style table and room, and they both soon were on the balcony once more with Aquarius, and it took a while before the adult dragon finally put himself to talk.
“Well, with the advancement of our society, the way that we behaved changed a lot, and some of that was due to the purple dragons.” He explained, making the two young dragons look up at him.
([b][i]soundtrack:[/i][/b] [b]Passage of Time - Calm Fantasy Music, by Emily - RollForFantasy, from YouTube[/b])
“Yes, other purple dragons were born with time, and each time they were born, they had an important part in the history of our world.” He explained, and as he spoke, images appeared in the air of ethereal purple dragons. “However, not all purple dragons are warriors or saviors, some of them were individuals that brought forth improvements to the world and good news. Some of them were artists, scholars, inventors, explorers…” He explained, and the images of purple dragons appeared and disappeared in the air, and along with them, the world continued to change.
“Some of them were key individuals of our history, that brought forth knowledge that changed the world, or played fundamental roles for the advancement of our society and of the way that we live. One of them was the one who developed a new way to make machines to work through their own volition. Other was a scientist who spend his life researching the working of crystals, and ways to apply this knowledge to the everyday life, and opened the door to a great deal of developments. Another one was a studious that became physician and a medic, and this way, he was able to open doors that were priceless to the advents of our modern medicine.”
As Aquarius spoke, the images continued to appear and disappear, showing different purple dragons who exercised the functions that he was describing. One of them was an inventor that was working in what seemed to be small portable machines that moved with their own devise, almost like the golems, but much smaller, another was a purple dragon who was using some equipment to examine crystals that he had on his paws, and the last one was a doctor that was treating another dragon, who they could assume that was a patient. Each one of these images lasted while Aquarius explained, and soon they vanished to give place to others.
“All of these purple dragons played a priceless role in our development, and they helped us grow as a culture and to become closer to what we are now.” Aquarius continued. “For the next few thousand years, we evolved, with the help of both the dragons who gave us advancements, and the ones who fought in battles to ensure our future each time that a war would come our way.”
As he spoke, the environment continued to change, and the style of the houses once more changed, and now, it was closer to what we could recognize as houses in the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th. All the while, the purple dragons continued to look.
“Our ways of dealing with the world changed as we evolved, and soon, we were in a level that the dragons of our past could not even conceive.” He explained, and the purple dragons looked down. They could see the streets of Warfang, but they looked different, not only the houses were different, but the ones walking in the street also were dressed differently, and there were some kind of machines moving in the street, that looked like chariots that were not pulled by anything. Not only that, but other machines moved into the street with the use of special rails.
The two dragons looked with a lot of interest into the world beneath them, and Aquarius looked at the two of them, wondering if it was enough for now. Spyro looked up at him, and he asked:
“There is more to it, there isn’t?”
Aquarius looked at him, and he sighed. “Yes, there is.” He said, and he started to explain. “Overtime, there was a great conflict happening in between nations of our world, and this conflict would eventually blow into a great war.” He explained, and this time, it took a while for the change to happen, but it did happen.
The world changed to show a Warfang that seemed to be getting ready for war. The dragons wore armors that were of a different style than the ones that Spyro already knew and that he already saw Aquarius using. These armors seemed lighter and more aerodynamic, and they seemed as if they were made for battle.
“This war would be a difficult one to fight. As it was to be expected, a purple dragon was born during that time.” He said, and another purple image appeared, this one wearing armor like the others. “This dragon would be one to fight in the war, and his actions of bravery and strength would be an inspiration to all of the others who fought in that war, and they would have a priceless value.”
Soon the images were changing, and the purple dragon vanished, along with the signs of war.
“The war would eventually end with our victory, but the scars of the war would manifest in a dissatisfaction and resentment that would last for many centuries, and at some point, someone would try to take advantage of it.”
The images soon changed, and the city showed signs of war, with destruction and barricades on the streets. “This war would be much more serious than the previous, because this new leader of the enemy forces was someone who wanted to keep the world under his claws, and so, he would use every force that he had to oppress the ones in his ruling. He was a tyrant who was willing to go to the very last consequences to be able to achieve his goal of putting the world under his command.”
The images once more showed the dragons, moles, cheetahs, and many other species mobilizing for the war and, among them, it was possible to sight another purple figure.
“As you probably guessed, another purple dragon had been born around that time, and he too was listed to take part on the war.” Aquarius explained, “This dragon was one of bravery and great intelligence, and he would become a tactician general that would device strategies that caused a great revolution in our military strategies ever since. It was thanks to his ruling and to his great intelligence that we were able to change the tides of that war, and grant us to once more have a victory that ensured the future of the world.”
Soon, the images of the war ended, and these ones were replaced by the images of a great celebration going on, and among the celebration, some were being target of the cheers of the crowds, among them, that purple dragon, who was dressed into fancy garments that reflected what the young dragons assumed was the attire of a general in the time.
“After that, we came to a time of relative tranquility.” Aquarius said, and now, the environment around them was much closer to what we would recognize as something that belonged to the appearance of a city during the time of the end of the 20th century and start of the 21st, including architecture, appearance of the streets, and the presence of technology and fashion.
The two young dragons continued to look down, and Aquarius sighed as he looked at the young dragons. “So, which one of you is hungry?” He asked, and soon, the two dragons walked inside to have some needed and deserved food.
The room they were in now resembled a presidential room of a very expensive building, and it looked fancy and modern at the same time, very different from the traditional room that they would recognize from their own time. Still, the young dragons were realizing that the appearance of the room was actually mattering little to them, in comparison to all that they were learning in the past days.
They ate some food, and this time, they were also offered what seemed to be some kind of desert with their meal, and it was something really sweet and that they both liked.
After the food, they were allowed to roam in that room, that was now filled with some of the “inventions” of the time that Aquarius talked about, and these included “showers” that released water on them for bathing, and also some cold food cabinets called “freezers”. These were things that both Spyro and Cynder thought interesting, as well as one square thing that they had in the room and that Aquarius said that was a “television”, still, they both had to struggle to use it…
The rest of the day was somewhat boring after the fillings that the dragon had gave them, and soon, they were ready to sleep
[center] ********** [/center]
“Hadn’t we agreed that you would only tell them that part tomorrow?” A female voice asked in the control room, and Aquarius only looked back at her, as he spoke:
“It seemed like they could take it. These kids are stronger than they look, that much I can tell you.”
“Of course they are!” A male voice chimed in, “They are [i]the[/i] Spyro and Cynder!”
The female gave the male a glare, making him lower his head back to the consoles that he was tapping, and the female sighed as she looked back at the indigo dragon. “Still, I’m not sure if this was the best to give them so much information at once, especially with the inventions. I mean, they spent a whole lot of time looking at the television.”
“What, are you their mother?” Aquarius asked, and she scoffed at this, and she said once more:
“So, since you dropped that part of the story already, I guess it means that tomorrow you will finish it, right?”
“Yeah, I was thinking about that.” Aquarius said to her, “I think they can take it. They have been taking it considerably well.”
She nodded, and it seemed to be enough to settle the discussion…
[center] ********** [/center]
On the following day, Spyro was the one who woke up first, and he spent part of the early morning looking at Cynder as she slept, and he was able to smile to himself.
[i]I never noticed how beautiful she is while sleeping[/i]. Spyro thought to himself, and he gently raised his paw and used it to gently caress the face of the black dragoness. Cynder groaned a bit at the touch, and Spyro was about to retract his paw, when the black dragoness moved in her sleep, closing the distance between them. Before he knew it, Cynder was nearly rubbing her body into his’.
Spyro blushed furiously at this contact, and he remained immobile as his mind tried to register what was going on, as well as to how his body was reacting to it.
They remained like that for a few moments, until Cynder started to wake up, and she realized what was going on.
She quickly removed herself from that contact, and looked at Spyro, her black scales doing a great job in hiding her blush. “I-I-I’m sorry…” Cynder stuttered, and Spyro only looked at her saying an absent-minded “it’s okay”, as he actually felt a little disappointed that the contact had ended.
From that point on, the day was like the others, with them waiting for Aquarius to arrive with their breakfast, and after a good meal and a little more of that sweet deserts, the two dragons were walking with the adult in direction to the balcony, and they stood in it, looking down.
([b][i]soundtrack:[/i][/b] [b]Passage of Time - Calm Fantasy Music, by Emily - RollForFantasy, from YouTube[/b])
“So, as I explained, we faced a time of relative peace.” He explained “But this time was still punctuated with wars and advents of extremist groups, like the ‘New Era Martyrs’, and the ‘Order of the Golden Prophet’, which were convinced that they possessed the truth, and wanted to bring forth what was their opinion of a great age for the world in which we all live.” He said, and continued, “Of course, during the course of the time, more purple dragons were born in moments of great need, and each one of them played an important role. We are talking about seven purple dragons, each one born into a different time period.”
He said, and the world continued to change as he explained that, and more silhouettes of purple dragons appeared and disappeared, some were males, other females. Some were four legged, others were faun dragons of two legs. However, they all were dragons of importance.
“The most significant of them was a purple dragon who was born during the time when our society was under the government of an oppressive council that was trying to banish any truth and belief that did not conformed with their own version of truth.” He said, and the image of a purple dragon stood among the crowd beneath them, and this one was actually speaking to the masses, as if he was making a great speech, and the crowd seemed to be roaring with approval. It was hard to avoid noticing that this dragon lacked wings on his back…
“This purple dragon was a wingless dragon.” Aquarius explained. “One of the subspecies I told you about. He became the leader of the resistance, and he would lead a revolution that would depose the members of the council and reestablish the order of our kingdom, returning all of our previous freedoms and helping us grow and become better as people.” He said, and the images showed what he was saying, with the purple dragon leading the crowds marching in the street, and with him being cheered by the people as he stood among them as a great hero.
“from the dragons of the recent history, he is said to have been the most significant, and considered by some as one of our greatest heroes.” Aquarius explained, “So, he is remembered today, just like many other purple dragons who came before him.”
Spyro looked at the dragon, and Aquarius said to him. “Yourself in particular, Spyro.”
The young purple dragon looked up at him, and he looked down, and the city had already changed again, and now it looked different from before.
Before, the buildings that existed in the place had square designs, and were made of equal parts of rock and glass. These buildings had a much more modern look, with rounder designs and they actually seemed to be made of a combination of metal and glass. Not only that, but they had glowing symbols floating over them, some were with letters, others were with symbols that the young dragons could not recognize.
Not only that, the young dragons could also see in the air, besides the dragons and other species flying around, creatures flying in some kind of devices, as well as other flying machines moving across the air as if they were gliding.
This was really something very interesting, and also unsettling.
“This,” Aquarius said, “is the world as we know today… On the 7th century of the current era.” He looked at the two young dragons. “Around fifty thousand years after you two saved the world.”
…
… fifty… thousand…
The two dragons shared a look, none of them saying a word as they took in the full impact of the information that was given to them. Aquarius looked at both of them, and for a long time, no one said a word.
“So, you two doing okay?” He asked, and the two dragons looked up at him, and Cynder was the first one to speak:
“We… we will be…” Cynder told him. “I think…”
Aquarius looked at the two young dragons, and he could not avoid feeling bad for them. Still, he was surprised on how well they were taking it.
The silence lasted for a while, and soon, they returned to the room. This room was now technological and futuristic, and it looked a lot like the rest of the place that Spyro had seem when he broke out of that room. The walls were of a soft shade of gray, with blue circuit-like veins running over it, and furniture of purple coloration and a big oval table made out of metal, and which also had glowing veins running back and forth on it.
Soon, Aquarius had brought to them some food, which the two young dragons eat calmly.
It would be a while before anyone said anything.
“So…” Cynder said, “Fifty thousand years, huh…?”
Aquarius looked at her, and he just nodded. “I think that it must be a shock.” He said to them, “And it is hard to even imagine what you two must be going through on finding out something like that.” He looked at the two dragons, who looked back at him. “However, you two must understand that this is reality, and it must be accepted. There is really nothing we can do about it, so the only way is to keep looking forward and go on.”
The two young dragons shared a look, and they knew that the older dragon was right.
They were still in shock for knowing that so long had passed. Even more for being absolutely sure that everyone that they once knew was long gone. The world had changed a lot, just like Aquarius had told them, and there were many things that they saw that they could not understand.
Still, they knew that there was no way of running from it. They knew that they had to keep moving forward, for it was the only thing that they could do now.
They looked back at Aquarius, and it was clear by the look in their faces that they were willing to keep moving forward, this was something that tranquilized the indigo dragon. However, at the same time, it was something that made this last detail of this particular work all the more anguishing.
“I’m glad that you two are so determined.” He said, and he looked at the two dragons. “You two have been through a lot for someone so young… that is why I feel horrible to have to ask for you to take yet another risk.”
The two dragons looked a bit surprised at him, and Aquarius took a deep breath as he looked at the two young dragons. However, he had his look particularly focused on Spyro.
“A new threat has recently appeared in our world.” Aquarius said to them both. “A threat that could destroy all of our world and everything that we have built up until now.”
The young dragons remained in silence as the dragon talked, his expression deadly serious.
“So, as an answer to this threat, a new purple dragon was born in our time.” He said, “However, there is also a prophecy, one that says that our purple dragon alone would not be able to defeat this great threat.”
He looked at the two dragons, who perked their heads at him, and this brought back someone to Spyro’s memory.
“These purple dragons!” Spyro said, making the older dragon look at him. “But… you said you had [i]one[/i] purple dragon. I saw three in there!”
Aquarius looked at him. “That is because of the prophecy.”
There was a silence, as the two young dragons looked at the older dragon, who took a breath, and started to recite something:
[center]
[i]“The shade of the end rises and grows[/i]
[i]Sun and moons disappear swallowed by the shadows[/i]
[i]This shadow shall plunge the world in eternal darkness[/i]
[i]However, the light of a star shines defiant in the stillness[/i]
[i]But in face of such darkness, even this single light is fated to fade[/i]
[i]But its light shall burn brighter when twelve more come to its aid[/i]
[i]Twelve stars, one on each of the twelve houses of the sky[/i]
[i]Twelve stars which remained all the same while the world spun by[/i]
[i]Twelve stars which’s light shall aid the brightest star of this darkest night[/i]
[i]Their combined light shall allow a new dawn to rise and shine bright…”[/i] [/center]
He finished, and looked at the two dragons in front of him. “This is the prophecy that was left for us. Of course, as you probably imagine, we had no idea what it could possibly means. We developed many theories about what it could possibly mean, but we had not actual idea of what it could truly be about… until seven months ago.”
The two dragons shared a look, and the indigo dragon continued: “Yes, seven months ago, we accidentally found another purple dragon who had gotten stuck in a condition in which his age had been preserved while the world changed.”
This made the two dragons perk their heads.
“As we found this dragon, suddenly everything made sense.” He said, “The twelve stars that are mentioned in the prophecy, are actually twelve purple dragons. All of which had somehow been left in a condition in which they were able to resist the passage of time, and they slept while the world moved on.”
“Twelve…” Spyro said, and Aquarius continued:
“Yes, twelve. And you are one of them.” He looked at the young purple dragon dead in the eye as he spoke that. “The purple dragon Spyro, the star of the Savior.”