Price of Darkness Ch. 13

Ch. 13 Recovery

It took longer for the two dragons to return to Warfang than it normally would have, from both the injuries and adjusting to the agitating chain that kept them mere feet apart. They arrived at the wall in a couple hours, the sun well above the horizon and dragons already out and about on their daily routines. They landed on the nearest street, both of their wings worn out.
“Ember should be at the hospital now.” Cynder told her mate. “Unless she is taking the day off to cope with losing Blazelight.”
“Even if she isn’t we need to get there to treat our wounds.” He replied as they walked through the streets. “We will send a messenger to fetch her and Flame if she isn’t.”
Cynder nodded in agreement and kept limping through the city. The two walked mostly in silence, ignoring the many dragons they passed whom gave them curious looks. Whether it was for the magic chain or their obvious wounds, they did not care. They only wanted to get to their destination. They couldn’t tell from the amount of pain spread across, but they guessed that there were some broken bones on their bodies. Nothing that Ember or Messick couldn’t handle, but too much for Spyro to heal with his light powers.
“Spyro… what about Shadow?” Cynder asked after a long silence. “We can’t leave him with those monsters, especially with his child on the way.”
“We will free him.” Spyro reassured her. “Once we are fully recovered we will come up with a rescue plan. But for now we need to make sure Blazelight and their child is safe, we owe him that much.”
Without anything else being said, the two walked up the steps into the hospital. They were both grateful to see that Ember was indeed there, though she had a gloomy expression on her face. Upon seeing them walk in though, her expression changed to a hopeful one, remembering what Cynder said.
“Did you find her?” She asked, rushing up to them. “Is my baby safe?”
“She’s fine Ember.” Cynder replied with as much of a smile as she could muster. “I have her inside my shadow, I can bring her out as soon as I get enough energy back.”
With a wide smile Ember explained “thank you! Thank you so much Cynder! We just got a fresh supply of green crystals!”
The pink dragoness rushed down the hall to the storage room while Spyro and Cynder limped into an empty room. It didn’t take long for Ember to run in with a large amount of green crystals, dropping them all in front of the two which caused them to shatter and absorb into them. They both sighed in relief as they felt some of their energy return to them. Once she had absorbed enough, Cynder stood up and pushed her claw into her shadow. When she pulled it out she was holding a still unconscious Blazelight.
“My baby!” Ember exclaimed as she grabbed onto her daughter tightly, the embrace making the other two smile.
Ember gently laid her daughter on the ground and examined her, checking the status of her egg first. After confirming that it was still safe, she looked over the rest of her body, not finding anything broken or any other injuries, but found something wrong with her mind.
“I sense something wrong with her mind, but I can’t tell what it is.” She stated.
Think he may be of help, Spyro stepped forward and placed a paw on Blazelight’s head, and after just a few seconds he removed it, saying “her mind has been locked by dark magic.”
Ember gasped and asked “can you unlock it?”
“I’m afraid I cannot. This kind of magic can only be safely undone by either the one whom cast it, or if that dragon is killed. If I try to break the curse myself, the magic will either kill her, or do something else to harm her or the egg.”
“Did Demetrius do this? Or Phoenus?”
“I doubt it was Phoenus.” Cynder told her. “I saw him, and he may have been corrupted, but I doubt he would do anything to harm his cousin. Demetrius would have kept her conscious while he did… Terrible things to her, and she doesn’t have a scratch. I think this is the work of Shadow’s father, Nimrod. He was the one standing guard over her when I arrived with Shadow.”
“Then what are we going to do?” Ember asked, clearly worried. “Her egg is due in a week! It’d be dangerous for her to be in this condition when it happens!”
“Spyro and I were going to attempt to go back, because unfortunately Shadow was left behind. He helped me escape… And he was used to help free Malefor.”
Ember’s heart sank at this news. She knew that Flame strictly told him not to accompany Cynder for that reason alone, even though if he hadn’t she might not have gotten her daughter back.
“He’s back? He’s truly back?” she asked in disbelief.
Cynder nodded and said “though he is not at full strength yet, which gives us an opportunity to go back and defeat him before he has a chance to recover. The only problem is that he has nine other dragons serving him.”
“Make that eight.” A voice said from the door.
The three of them looked up to see Shadow standing there, panting heavily and covered in blood. Wasting no time Ember rushed out to get red crystals while he collapsed on the floor next to Blazelight, holding her paw in his.
“How did you escape?” Spyro asked in surprise.
Once Ember had returned with the red crystals he said “they left me in a cell, guarded by one of the nine, Leonidus I think his name was. I managed to provoke him enough to challenge me to a fight. I managed to kill him, though he did do a number on me. After that I snuck out of the castle and used the last bits of my powers to get back here.”
“I’m sorry to hear that it wasn’t your father you killed, but I am glad you made it back safely.” Ember said as she helped heal his wounds.
“I know, my father did tell me about the curse he put on Blazelight. It gave me more of a reason to break free, but after fighting Leonidus I knew that I couldn’t take him on alone.”
“Cynder and I were planning on going back once we recovered enough to get our son back and defeat Malefor while he’s still weak, before he can accomplish his ultimate plan.” Spyro told him.
“It shouldn’t be too long before we can go, we will do what we can to save Blazelight, we promise.” Cynder added.
“What if you don’t get him?” Shadow asked. “My father has been known to make his escape when he knows he can’t win, and if he were to face you two I’m sure he’d waste no time fleeing.”
“If, ancestors forbid, he does escape, Blazelight is going to be safe.” Spyro assured them. “I plan to seal her inside a time crystal, the same one I used to save Cynder, Sparx and myself many years ago, that way she will remain safe until we can hunt him down.”
There was a pause before Ember asked “Are you certain she will be safe in this crystal?”
“I guarantee it. This crystal kept us alive and safe for three years, and can easily be broken.”
“Alright Spyro, I am putting my trust in you. Please don’t let that monster escape.”
“We will do our best Ember, we promise.” Cynder told her.
Shadow sighed and said “Very well then, do it. The sooner we take down my father the sooner I can be with her again.”
Spyro nodded and stood over Blazelight, holding his paw over her. A bright yellow glow started forming and slowly made its way down to the unconscious dragoness. It wasn’t long before the glow began to crystalize around Blazelight, encasing her inside of a time crystal. Once she was completely covered, Spyro moved his paw away and examined the crystal.
“Is she alright Spyro?” Ember asked anxiously.
“She is perfectly fine Ember.” He replied. “You will have to seal off this room though, she cannot be disturbed as the crystal is very fragile.”
“I’ll make sure no one comes close to her.” Shadow stated, looking down at his wife.
“Very well then. For now Cynder and I will go home and rest, and make sure Luna is alright.”
“Please hurry you two.” Ember pleaded. “I don’t know how Flame is going to take the news about Blazelight and Malefor.”
“He is going to have to prepare the army again, and get a message to the three allying kingdoms.” Cynder told her. “Even if we can take down Malefor, Demetrius must be planning another attack soon.”
Ember nodded in reply and escorted them out of the room. The legendary couple walked out of the hospital, leaving Shadow standing guard over the door and Ember finding the nearest mole to get a message to her mate.
“I’m glad we were able to reunite them.” Cynder said as they walked through the city.
“As am I, though next time you plan on confronting Demetrius let me know.”
“I don’t think we really have a choice now.” She replied with a giggle.
Spyro couldn’t help but chuckle at his mate’s attempt to cheer him up. “Just like old times.”
The couple shared another small laugh before continuing their walk home in silence. They were stopped though upon seeing Murghus and Glacia land near them with the ice queen and Adrian right behind.
“Hey you two.” Cynder greeted when they approached.
“Hello Spyro, Cynder.” Glacia replied. “Have you seen Statica and my brother? I just heard the news.”
“We haven’t lately, but I would guess they’re either both home or Statica is at the council chamber.” Spyro answered.
“Alright, I’ll see if they’re home then.” Glacia stated before turning to her mate. “Can you take the kids home? They’re probably really tired from the early flight.”
“Of course. Give my best wishes to them both.” Murghus replied.
Glacia nodded and nuzzled him real quick before leading Krystal and Adrian down the road, leaving Spyro and Cynder alone with Murghus, Eira and a new black dragon on his back.
After an awkward moment of silence Spyro finally asked “Murghus, who is that black dragon you’re carrying?”
The ice captain looked back at the young dragon for a moment before looking back at Spyro, saying “I will tell you, but I need you to promise me that you will not do anything.”
Upon hearing this and seeing Murghus slightly move into a defensive position Spyro felt his heart sink, making him ask “Murghus, who is that?”
After another pause Murghus sighed and said “this is Zoidius, the son of Demetrius.”
The second Murghus announced the child’s father Spyro felt a burst of rage flow through his body. Cynder could only watch in fear as her mate started growling deeply and glaring at Zoidius, whom was cowering behind Eira.
“Spyro, listen to me! He is nothing like his father!” Murghus exclaimed, backing away from Spyro slowly. “His heart his clean, he does not have an evil bone in his body!”
“How do you know?” Spyro asked with a growl. “Demetrius is a master at deception, his son could be too!”
“He’s not though, Spyro! Demetrius actually almost had him killed because he couldn’t fight like his father!”
“And he told you all of this? You believe anything that a child of that monster tells you?”
“I do Spyro. He deserves a chance, and I feel that he is sincere.”
“Nothing that has anything to do with that monster deserves a chance! They are all just like him! Evil, nothing else!”
Murghus was about to reply, but froze and looked past Spyro. Seeing him act this way, Spyro was curious and looked behind him to Cynder glaring at him, her eyes slightly watering.
“I once served that monster, does that make me a monster?” She said to him.
“No, of course not Cynder.” He replied, turning to his mate. “You were different, you didn’t have a choice…”
“And Zoidius does?” Cynder interrupted. “He is no older than we were when we first met, yet you still thought that I wasn’t truly evil. What happened to that Spyro? That Spyro is the one that I fell in love with.”
Now seeing the love of his life crying in front of him, Spyro felt his heart sink. He hung his down in shame in front of her, feeling bad for what he had said. Spyro then looked back at Zoidius, whom was still cowering by a confused Eira, his eyes fixed on Cynder though. It was then that Spyro could see that Murghus was right. Zoidius was truly terrified at Cynder, which made Spyro assume that Cynder’s corrupted half was his mother. If Zoidius really was evil, why would he fear his mother?
With a sad sigh Spyro said “Cynder, I’m sorry. You are right, I should give the child a chance but more importantly I’m sorry about what I said about you.”
In reply, cinder lowered her head down to his and softly nuzzled him, saying “I forgive you my love, I know you only had the best interests at heart, but you need to be more trusting like when we were kids. Give Zoidius a chance, I can feel the kindness in his heart through his eyes, and I know you can too.”
Spyro returned the nuzzle and said “I will Cynder. I will give Zoidius a chance, no matter who his father is.”
With a loving smile Cynder said “thank you, I know you won’t regret it.”
He nodded in reply and looked back to Murghus. “You have my word I won’t harm Zoidius, but I will be keeping my eye on him.”
Murghus nodded in reply before walking away from them, taking the kids home to rest. As he rode on his back, Zoidius kept watching Cynder until they were out of sight, slightly shaking in fear.
“Zoidius? What’s wrong?” Eira asked, feeling his shaking.
“That dragon… looked like my mother…” he stated.
“What do you mean? Is there two aunt Cynder’s?”
“Technically there is, Eira.” Murghus replied to his daughter’s question. “A long time ago, the Cynder you know was corrupted by the evil dragon called Malefor, but was saved by Spyro. Eventually though Malefor’s son, Zoidius’ father, freed the spirit inside of Cynder and gave it a new body that was exactly identical to her. That is why the two look alike, Zoidius, but this Cynder is nothing like your mother. She is one of the most caring dragons I know, and you have nothing to fear from her.”
Zoidius took a deep breath before saying “alright, if you say so. It’s still weird just seeing her here though.”
“You will get used to it, and I’m sure you will like meeting their daughter Luna.”
“Oh yeah!” Eira exclaimed. “We have to go see her!”
With a chuckle Murghus said “after your nap young one. You were both up really early, and growing dragons need their sleep.”
“Aww.” The dragoness pouted, making her father chuckle again.
Murghus continued walking the two kids back to their home, ready to take a nap himself.

Glacia landed in front of the door to the council chamber where she was met by the normal two guards on duty.
“Master Glacia.” The electric dragon said with a bow. “The other three Guardians are currently awaiting your return, there is a defector from the earth kingdom wishing to seek amnesty.”
“Alright, thank you Current, I will head there right away.” She replied before walking in.
Knowing that Stica would have to be there she went straight into the council room where she saw the other three guardians in their usual seats with an earth dragon in the center of the room.
“Ah, welcome back Glacia.” Flame said as she walked in. “We were just about to vote with master Cyril, but now that you’re here you can take your seat.”
She looked to her chair and saw her master sitting in her place. “Thank you master Cyril, if you still wish to vote for this defector you may.”
“Normally I would, but for this case I believe that you should take this vote.” The elder ice dragon replied.
Curiously Glacia asked “why? Who is this dragon?”
Once she had taken her seat after Cyril gave it up Gravel stated “The dragon wishing to defect is not an ordinary earth dragon. It is my son, Stone.”
Glacia gasped and looked at the dragon closer. Surely enough he looked just like Stone used to, only bigger now.
“Stone wishes to come back to Warfang?” She asked. “But he was banished all those years ago, surely he must have known.”
“He does, and understands the consequences of returning here.” Flame replied. “He knows that by returning here with his banishment still in effect that he must be arrested, but since he came willingly it is being put to a vote whether we arrest him or let him go on parole, keeping a close eye on him everywhere he goes until this war is over.”
“That monster deserves far worse.” Statica quietly growled.
“Master Statica you are out of line!” Gravel exclaimed.
“Let her speak Gravel.” Flame told him. “Glacia needs to hear everything she has missed.”
Gravel sighed but allowed Statica to continue. “Not only was this dragon the cause of my daughter going missing for seven years, but he attacked a fellow guardian and he helped the enemy get into our city in the first battle of the war! The last time we let someone as high ranking as him in she killed an elder dragon and attempted to kill a current guardian! He has no right to walk freely among us! He has no right to even be in this city!”
As the guardian spoke her words, Glacia watched Stone and saw him hang his head in what looked like shame. Statica’s words clearly affected him, but she could not tell if it was sincere or not.
“No one is saying that what he did wasn’t wrong, Statica.” Gravel replied. “But Stone came to his mother and I in the middle of the night with his young son and surrendered himself, giving Fissure to Granite to watch over. I feel that he is sincere and wishes to create a better life for him and his son.”
“Of course you would say that! He is your son. But he is also the grandchild of the current king of the earth kingdom, whom wants to see all of us dead!” Statica paused and glared at Gravel before saying “or at least most of us.”
With a growl Gravel asked “are you implying that because I want my son back that I want to help my father win the war? How dare you…”
“That is enough from the both of you!” Flame interrupted. “It is arguments like these that divided the kingdoms in the first place, we cannot let that happen in this city! Stone will now give his statement again for Glacia to hear, then we shall see what she has to say.”
The two bickering dragons just glared at each other for a moment before looking away. Glacia was afraid of how this meeting was going to affect the friendship between those two guardians. Statica was clearly set for giving Stone the worst punishment possible as any grieving mother would, and Gravel wanted the best for his son. She hoped that somehow the two could move on from this.
“I no longer wish to serve the Earth Kingdom.” Stone stated quietly, keeping his head hung low. “I know what I did over the years was wrong, but now that my son is older I have seen the error of my ways, and only want to give him the best life I can. I now see that the life I want for him is not in Volos, where a corrupt king fights a pointless war, but here in Warfang where the leaders fight to defend the peace instead of preying on the innocent. Do with me as you wish, just let Fissure stay with Granite, please.”
Upon hearing this Glacia had a lot to think over in such a short amount of time. The way he spoke made it seem like he was sincere, but Statica was right in that his past actions were not on his side. She could feel her sister-in-law watching her closely. Glacia could only guess that she wanted her to take her side on this, but even now she didn’t know which side to take.
“My fellow guardian is correct on your dark past.” She finally stated. “However, I do hear sincerity in your voice, and you willingly turned yourself in when you had the chance to do something evil. You also clearly want your son to experience a better life here regardless of what happens to you. This is something the Stone we once knew never would have done. You have clearly changed since we last saw you, but how can we be sure you can be trusted to roam our city?”
“He can’t be! It’s as simple as that!” Statica exclaimed. “I don’t even trust him in our dungeons! Who knows what else he has hidden from us!”
“But what if he isn’t hiding anything?” Glacia asked. “I feel that he may be telling us the truth…”
“You must be joking Glacia!” The Electric Guardian interrupted. “You really think that the dragon that caused Phoenus to make the school explode and almost killed Gravel changed his ways?”
“I think that dragons can change for the better when they see the light.” She answered. “That light may have been his son. I know that when I first saw my daughter that my life changed. I knew that I would do anything in my power to protect her, no matter the cost. And I know you all have felt the same towards your children, so maybe Stone has realized this too. By turning himself in he is giving his son a chance to live a normal life, that is the sacrifice he is making.”
Statica growled and was about to reply before Flame said “we have heard arguments for both cases. Now is the time to vote. Since Gravel is his father he cannot vote, so the decision will be made by the three of us. Statica, yay or nay on Stone getting Parole?”
Without hesitation Statica said “nay” and glared at Glacia.
Flame turned to the Ice Guardian and asked “Glacia, yay or nay on Stone’s parole?”
This was no easy decision for Glacia to make. She could feel all of the eyes on her, none as powerful as Statica’s glare. She knew that if she said ‘yay’ Statica would never forgive her, especially after just losing Eirlys for the second time. However, she did truly feel that Stone had changed for the better and deserved a chance to prove himself.
With a deep sigh she hung her head, closed her eyes and said “yay.”
She didn’t have to look to know that Statica was furious with her right now, but she didn’t care. Glacia knew that she voted the right way, regardless of what her friend thought.
Statica huffed and turned to Flame, asking “and what of you master Flame, yay or nay?”
With not nearly as long of a pause as Glacia took, Flame said “nay. Forgive me Gravel, but I can’t trust him on the streets just yet.”
Gravel nodded and said “I understand Flame.”
“So it is decided then.” Flame stated. “Stone, you are hereby sentenced to life in the dungeons with chance of parole after the conclusion of the war. This meeting is now adjourned.”
Glacia still kept her head down, but she could hear Statica storm out of the chamber, clearly upset with her. Shortly after she could hear the other two guardians leave as well, and then heard some chains rattling. She lifted her head up to see two guards leading Stone out of the room. Once they were all out she turned to her predecessor, who had been standing by her the whole meeting.
“That was a very brave thing you did, Glacia.” He told her.
“But was it the right thing to do master Cyril?” she asked.
“That is for your heart to decide young one.” He replied. “Volteer and I would get into similar scuffles like this, but through it all we remained friend through our career, no matter how annoying he got.”
“But this is different. She is married to my brother, and has been my best friend since we were young, and I betrayed her.”
“Just because you had a disagreement doesn’t mean you betrayed her.”
“She just lost her daughter. She is still grieving and I hadn’t even had a chance to give her my condolences. I don’t know if she can ever forgive me.”
The former guardian sat next to her and said “I am no expert on friendship; you can ask any of the other former guardians about that. However, I do know what it is like to be in this situation. You see, the night of the raid that led to Cynder’s capture was more of a loss than just the eggs we failed to protect. In that group of eggs that was destroyed were my own, three to be exact.”
“You never told me you had eggs before.”
“It’s not a story I enjoy telling, however I feel that now is an appropriate time to tell it. After we had recovered from the attack and taken care of the smashed eggs Ignitus told us what he did with Spyro’s egg. Hearing that he only saved his egg made me furious! I had never felt as angry as I did that day. I felt that my colleague betrayed me, for instead of standing to fight with the rest of us he cowardly ran and saved his own child over mine. I thought I could never forgive him, and even thought of leaving the guardianship altogether.”
“What made you stay?”
“It took me some time, but I eventually forgave Ignitus because I knew that in the heat of the moment he did what was best for the world. He did indeed save his own son, but his son was also the legendary purple dragon that was destined to save our world. While it seemed like a selfish act, it was actually for the benefit of dragon kind. I may have taken longer to move on from losing my children, but I still forgave my friend, because he too also lost his child that day, even if it was only temporary.”
“But I’ve never lost anything.” Glacia stated. “My patents are both alive as is my brother and my daughter, whereas she has lost all of those.”
“Forgiving someone during dark times is difficult, but not impossible. In time she will calm herself down and remember the friendship you two have. Just give her the space she needs and let her come to you.”
Glacia took a deep breath and said “thank you master, I feel a bit better now.”
“Always a pleasure to help my pupil.” He replied.
The current guardian stood up and walked towards the door, but stopped and asked “just wondering, what were you going to vote if I hadn’t shown up?”
“Me? Oh I’d easily have voted nay. He may say he’s sorry, but I don’t see how it would be enough to let him wander off after the trouble he caused.”
“Guess I’m a little too forgiving then.”
“Which is precisely why I chose you as my successor. You have a kindness rarely seen in a Guardian, yet would do anything that was necessary. You were without a doubt the best replacement I could have ever asked for.”
With a smile Glacia thanked her master again and walked out of the chamber. As she walked out she saw Stone hugging a small earth dragon she assumed was his son with Granite close by. Just before she walked out the main entryway Flame rushed past her, clearly in a hurry.
“Two days ago Blazelight was kidnapped by Phoenus.” Gravel told her as he approached. “A mole just told him that Cynder brought her home safely.”
“Wow, I missed so much…”
“There’s more that the mole had to say, though.” Gravel interrupted. “Flame left before he could say it… We need to prepare the troops, Malefor has returned.”