FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 10

The massive door of the City Hall slammed shut.

Terrador sighed loudly, leaning back, his voluminous draconic body touching the wall behind, despite his advanced age and signs of extensive maturing on his scales and wings that easily qualified him as an Elder in the draconic society he still possessed a formidable frame of an experienced fighter. Muscles were no longer toned so sharply, but the bulk was still visible and it was enough for anyone who gazed upon him to tell that there was still considerable strength hiding within.

That did not help Terrador in the slightest however, the dragon still felt as if he would fight his way across the entire lengths of the Realms and back. Twice.

"That at least concludes one matter" he exhaled a positive breath of consolation, shutting his eyes to give them a short break after the last supplicant left

Letters began to dance before him, forming name after name, in the corners he could spot the flipping pages of the citizens ledgers which kept spitting more and more swirling poetic constructions, forming more nicknames, more titles, more of everything.

The long lists of the deceased.

He lifted himself back up with an annoyed snarl, claws scrunching tightly the spot right between the horns where a sharp bolt of an headache vibrated. To make it even worse, the ache taunted him, spreading his maw wide, into a prolonged yawn as if to make sure to remind him that he didn't get a good night's rest in a while now.

"You could fit two moles in there"

Terrador snorted, amused by the remark he threw his companion a professional, scolding gaze, as stature demanded.

Cyril picked on the scabs that covered his snout during the healing process.

"Will you finally cut it out? The sooner you leave it alone the sooner it will be over" the Earth Guardian remarked his friend

"But it itches" the ice dragon whined, dropping his paw onto the table, slamming another one on top of it to keep it pinned

"Don't be a baby Cyril"

"It's maddening" the Ice Guardian growled, rubbing his cheek into the shoulder, the crystals covering his draconic face played a jingling melody

"What isn't in our profession?" Terrador exhaled tiredly as he once again leaned into the back wall, the elemental banners hanging above put into a delicate, swinging motion, giving much needed, comforting breeze

The mantle of leadership was a difficult burden to bear, one would suspect that serving many years as a Guardian of a capital would harden you enough to make every other incoming trouble a mundane trifle where the solutions comes automatically, easy and without thinking, a routine like a path traveled by ore wagons driving in circles around a mine.

You couldn't be more wrong however.

This function requires all of you, it reserves every bit of flesh and stretches it to the brink, turning the whole experience to a matter of a peculiar trail, not one where you learn the tricks to find an exit because there was none to be found, but a one where with each passing year you grow accustomed to the strain and simply stop screaming one day.

Crises like the recent one were especially difficult, even more so when the damage done is really familiar to the one caused by the Dark Master and his vile army. It puts a heavy tax on a psyche, you should be learning on your mistakes after all, and crises felt as if you would be repeating them over and over again.

No progress.

And no progress when governing a city meant stagnation and stagnation meant recess and recess meant catastrophe.

The years he spent governing however taught him to always find a silver lining in every situation, one such comforting thought was that the efficiency of your commanding mantle doesn't come from times of prosperity, even the most terrible of warriors would withstand an endurance test if he would be the only one showered with Spirit Gems. The efficiency comes into play the moment the bad times hit and judge your prosperity, unfortunately it's the amount of loses that put things into perspective and declare the final judgment.

And all things considered their loses were acceptable considering the otherworldly crisis they knew so little about. A crisis that clearly bordered on genocide in his own opinion.

It was hurtful on your own conscience perhaps, it was a while since he bloodied his claws after all, especially with the blood of species dragons were allied with, but if you would allow yourself to be beaten up by your conscience, it would be impossible to hold the ruler title.

Silver lining Terrador, focus on the silver lining.

And the silver lining was that they finally agreed on the changes to the building's constructions to support them better for the future. Renovations will begin any day now and there was nothing better for sanity to see regeneration happening with your own eyes.

"We will power through it Terrador, as we always did" one of the scabs on the blue snout cracked, sending a sharp pulse of pain "Shit" Cyril snarled, wiping his draconic face, crimson liquid spurting from the opened wound in long lines which the dragon severed fervently by wiping it away with his paw

"You were always too stubborn for your own good" Terrador smirked, noting the trail of blood painting his friend's angered snout

"With enough time every job gets done. Call it how you will, but it works" magic filled the blue paw, freezing mist touching the icy scales, stopping the blood flow by turning it into long, very rough reddish icicles

"Speaking of jobs and time" the Earth Guardian rubbed his tired eyes "Volteer went to collect our wind friend for us, they should be arriving anytime soon, we will have a chance to find out if there is any hope of recreating the wind dragon population in our world in the future. So be prepared to face another headache soon, we need to judge the potential and loyalty of this dragon carefully, we cannot give in to excitement"

"Pah!" Cyril waved his paw dismissively with a snort "It will be easy to gain his loyalty, just don't forget to mention the excitement and repopulation aspect to the kid when trying to convince him, hormones will do the rest"

Terrador chuckled.

"Potential is another matter" eyes of the ice dragon observed the toes he stretched out in front of himself, each claw gleaming with chilly hue "This is a rare gift to find in these shitty times, but in this case we have no choice. We take what we can get and maybe there will be a place for a wind banner and a wind Guardian in the future. Our race needs that, whatever the potential, it's still progress"

"You seem awfully optimistic about this"

"Why wouldn't I be? Our race finally gets the opportunity to reclaim what was lost, it can only reinforce dragons on the pedestal of genetic superiority, something we need so forces like the one invading Warfang recently won't have the opportunity to cause such havoc anymore. Whatever gives dragons more power will always have my support"

"Selflessness speaks through you my friend, you are practically beaming with it"

Cyril snorted, stream of ice wafting from the nostrils.

"It's called being realistic. Our race is meant to rule, to be the strongest specie in the Realms. People can whine and cry all they want, but if they want peace then the only way to maintain it is to keep dragons on the top of the food chain"

He scratched the freshly created icicles, his frozen claws digging deep, drawing cuts like scars made by a blade on a soft flesh.

"And I will make sure that we will reach this destination"

Terrador observed his friend closely, he was used to Cyril's rather antisocial attitude which he personally found a very troublesome trait for someone of his stature, Guardians should lead by example and Cyril, being the callous ice dragon for what he is didn't gather many fans.

They were people out there that adored his blunt approach, seeing some sense in it, there were also those, like him and Volteer for example, that saw in the ice dragon a good heart. Cyril cares about his friends and loved ones, in his own, rather repellant way, but the meaning was there and despite everything he really does have dragons interest in heart.

Throughout the many years he got used to it already, but it didn't stop him from wishing that Cyril could shift a little bit of that determination into charisma.

"Guardians" a deep voice echoed in the hall together with the noise of the tilting main door, powerfully built frame of a draconic guard appeared in the slit "Another supplicant requests an audience"

Terrador sighed, wiping his brow.

"What is it about?" Cyril hissed in irritation

"The supplicant promises to give information about the origins of incoming disaster, claims he knows the one responsible"

"Blame and sorrow" the chilled claws sunk into the icicle on the bluish snout, making cracks in it, lazy drop of blood bulged in the tiny opening "More whiners, that's is what we all need right now"

"The blame game has begun" Terrador announced, his baritone voice grinding like earth under tectonic shift

He straightened up with a soft groan, adopting a straight, siting pose, puffing out the chest confidently. It wasn't the first time he had to deal with blind anger, as a soldier he had experienced this wicked craving way too many times for his liking and practically always it was, if not unjustified, than for sure reckless, always leading to unfairness. In war you had to know your enemies, at some point the people you fought with might be on your side in a different conflict, holding a grudge is a hindrance that doesn't allow you to progress as a warrior.

It does not allow you to progress as a creature of society.

He wasn't however the one to discard stereotypes, fighting together and against different enemies and allies showed him enough that stereotypes are born from truth to some degree. Each race having a habit, a tick, a flaw crucial enough to notice and remember, important lesson to remember both for a general and a governor.

The first key to victory is to know that equality is a myth, there are weaker and stronger individuals, intelligent and less bright, the job of a good leader is to know how to play to those traits to take as much of an advantage from them to help your people in general.

Of course there are exceptions, but sadly exceptions, as valuable as they are, get lost in the crowd of normality.

It was the position of a Guardian that made him realize that besides all these possible exploits, infused with anger blindness can also be simply tiring. Hearing the same blames over and over again while being immune to any counter arguments was taxing on the psyche making his job, which in most days he liked, really problematic and even hated.

However he knew what responsibility meant, life taught him that it usually doesn't walk in pair with your own wishes. It's not pleasant, it's something you need to get used to, this is what duty means.

Green paw waved an unenthusiastic invitation.

"Let's hear it"

The guard nodded, turning his head to the blocked supplicant.

"You may e-"

"Listen guys!" Sparx inside at the first sign of the scaly golem losing his focus, his glowing body too fast and too bright for the dragon to catch him

The drake snarled, ready to pounce after the insolent dragonfly. Risen in the air green paw of the Earth Guardian was the only thing that stopped him.

"Yeah, yeah go play" the dragonfly waved the guard away "Shoo, let the big boys talk"

The powerfully built dragon did not react to the provocation, obeying the silent orders of the Guardian without a hassle, quietly shutting the door behind himself.

"How can we be of assistance Sparx?" Terrador inquired politely

"And make it quick, we're busy" Cyril added quite the oppositely

"You need to do something with that creepy, old mole in the temple" Sparx clapped his forehead "He's completely mad and I mean it! If Malefor's sanity sailed away on a ship then Bill's boat sailed away, crashed and sank to the bottom of the ocean! It's over, the wheel is spinning but the hamster is dead. The elevator no longer goes up to the penthouse. His dynamite is short on a fuse! He-"

"We understand Sparx" the Earth Guardian cut off the rant, making the dragonfly gasp loudly for air

"To hear that Brill is insane is hardly any news, you promised valuable intel in exchange for our attention" Cyril leaned in towards the dragonfly, puffing an intimidating cloud of smoke from the nose "We're waiting, patiently"

"I see that" yellow, glowing hand swiped the chilly mist from the air "You need to chill dude, or don't, dunno if you can chill any further"

Cyril growled.

Sparx clapped his hands.

"Anyhoo. I'm here to ask you to kick the mole out, he's spreading a very bad smell, I won't say what it reminds me of, but some poor sods are falling for it. If you thought that this weird stuff that happened here is the end of the troubles, than you're wrong. That guy lost his mind, he almost took out Coriza's eye out when she visited him, turning feral and to make things more interesting the guys that were with him didn't even bat an eye!"

Cyril slammed his paw into the table, making the wood creak in pain.

"This is going too far, I'm getting tired of listening about that old wreck. He was dead and it's about time he returns from where he came from, I'll happily help in that"

Terrador reached out, touching his friend's tense shoulder to calm him down.

"I ordered daily health reports about Brill's condition, I have them with me here and no one of them say that the Seeker has barely strength to breathe on his own. I also had seen him, he's in a sorry state, I find it very hard to imagine that he would be able to attack anyone"

Sparx folded his arms.

"Then I suggest you take a closer look on the people taking care of the rat"

"We know how to do our jobs Sparx" Terrador noted calmly, yet the rumble in his voice clearly indicated his irritation, subtly projecting a demand to not hear anything similar any time soon

"But he's right Terrador" Cyril scratched the corner of the table, claw sinking perfectly into the already created cut, his favorite place to vent up his anger whenever he calls out Terrador for his bad decisions "You've been sickeningly meek when it comes to the mole when I told you at the very beginning we should get rid of him"

"Do you think I'm not aware of the influence that Brill has on people?"

"If you would, you would not tolerate him for so long"

The spiked ball tip on the end of the green tail made a rumbling rap against the floor, tremors rising in the air and even reaching Sparx who's body flickered when shivers shook his frame.

Sparx hated dealing with earth dragons, they are always so calm about everything, but always sending those creepy signs that you are pissing them off, without you truly knowing when they will snap. The enjoyable part about annoying people is finding the irritation wrinkling their noses, reaching victory level when they began spouting insults and displaying fury.

Earth dragons suck, it always took a lot more effort to get them triggered, if it was even possible to do in the first place.

"It is that knowledge that keeps me from falling under the influence of recklessness. Brill is not ideal, but his zeal was genuine, if misguided, that zeal brought people to his side, people that sought comfort in his embrace and reason to live. He gave them that and no corruption will change that. You must understand that punishing Brill would have more dire consequences than leaving him alone. He's a symbol like Spyro, removing our purple hero would lead to tragedy, people would become lost and depressed, just like after removing Brill. It is not a perfect solution, I'm aware of that, but for now we don't have any other alternative, force is not an option"

"So you just gonna leave him there and let him pluck eyes to his heart's content?"

"I understand that you're angry Sparx because you're friend got hurt, but I personally doubt that Brill has any intention of hurting people, whatever triggered his aggression has probably nothing to do with spite against your friend or anyone else for that matter. I'm not saying that this act of violence, if true, is not concerning, I'm just warning us all against rushed actions. I've heard your concern and I'll make sure to send someone I can trust to check the situation out, or I might even do it myself, but I won't fulfill your reckless wishes about punishment"

Sparx' light dimmed, overpowered by the hue coming out from a nearby brazier even if it was some distance away from him. This was not the response he expected to hear, it made him clench his fists in anger, but he wasn't the one to easily give to emotion, he tried to see logic in Terrador's reasoning, but he had to admit that it was very difficult to do so.

The Earth Guardian noticed his ferocious sadness, after all the dragonfly wasn't the only one who heard his request rejected. He dealt with many supplicant like this before.

"I can assure you that we will put Brill's mental condition under evaluation, if the results will be bad we will isolate him and people will have to understand that. I know he is no saint, but despite all our aversion towards the Seeker we must take into consideration the fact that he was exposed the longest to the Corruption, he fought it without knowing about it, it had to take a toll on him considering his advanced age. Some extremities in reactions can be expected after such trauma and until there won't be any medical result telling us that he is dangerous in his state than we will have to respect his will of remaining in the temple. I believe it's only fair considering his, even if accidental, struggle"

"Your caution can be so motivating friend" Cyril's sarcasm cut like paper

The dragonfly sighed, arms dropping in defeat, there was a tiny hope that perhaps the Ice Guardian will support him, but he was strangely calm about this whole situation, even though he played on his side at the start, not even pretending to hide his distaste towards Brill.

Still, he was the coolest head in the gang where one guy holds the entire world on his shoulders while the only girl faces the horrors of her past on every corner, it was his duty to make rational decisions here.

And despite his deep desire to kick that mole's ass for touching Coriza there was some logic to Terrador's words. While difficult he had to understand that as a ruling head of this city he cannot fall under the influence of wishes and half-truths. If you treat one of your kids with special care, the other will demand the same.

In case of a city as big as Warfang the number of other kids could trample The Destroyer.

"I know my friend that this is not what you wanted to hear" Terrador's low, rumbling voice sounding like a warm purr "But this is what sustains stability"

Cyril snorted.

"Great stability when it leads us to decay. Sparx here presented a big problem to our city and you want to simply ignore it like a festering wound. What happens when it becomes unbearable? You think that people will be all happy and laughing when the time comes to finally amputate the rotten limb?"

"No, but they will grow accustomed with the idea and be more accepting of it. We're similar to feral animals in a way, when wild animals get sick they adjust their lives to the progressing disease, losing eyesight empowers their sense of smell. It's the cycle of nature"

"Bullshit. You can't compare the life of some wild hog to an entire society, one feral life doesn't matter, wasting time by society on mourning hits everything it connects with. Sacrificing progress for the sake of some pathetic notion of sympathy is a waste of time, we cannot afford it, our enemies don't wait for us to get better as the Corruption proved. We saw off the limb, brutally, and let the people deal with it, the sooner it happens the better, the shock of the meek is of no importance"

Terrador shook his head calmly, already used to Cyril's brash approach to difficult situations.

"You would risk a riot, Brill is a father figure to many people here that lost everything during the war. As leaders it is our duty to serve their needs as well"

Cyril looked around the room, eyes burning with blue flames as his sight traveled over the damaged walls, the core of the city struck, after years of warfare they had not learnt anything, it was infuriating.

"Blooming of feelings is far more crucial than progress, of course, better to cater to some weaklings and sacrifice the strong, after all those who are willing to fight live only to die in protection of the incapable"

Sparx fiddled his fingers, body glowing shyly, eyes throwing longing glances at the exit door, he felt really out of place here, sensing that his job is already done. Little touch of guilt poking at his sides, the Guardians weren't his friends, but they were close enough after everything to treat with greater care than a typical coworker, seeing them argue because of him was just weird.

Especially when the dilemma the old dragons were facing was far beyond his reach. He hated situation like those, when really important stuff is happening and he doesn't have any hold on it, if it would be Spyro arguing with Cynder then the situation would be different, they are family and even in dire situations there is no political aspect in play, you just go with your heart.

Here, the playing field is simply stretched out too far for him to embrace it.

Politics suck, he prefers to adjust on the go, long time thinking requires smarts he has no patience for pursuing, besides he had no time to do it anyway, a dragonfly's life is nothing compared to that of a dragon.

"You underestimate what influence Brill has on the people" Terrador countered his cold opposition "Something you would probably understand if you tried to exchange some words with the Seeker"

Cyril chuckled mockingly.

"Listening to what a rat riddled with insanity has to say must be very enlightening"

"I want to remind you that nobody saw any Corruption in Brill's shadow, that alone allows me to suspect that he had some inherited resistance against it, at least outside of the temple when I last spoke with him. We must sustain Brill if we can and if he is too lost to us we must prepare the populace for his passing. It has to happen naturally Cyril, believe me, otherwise we will face terrible wrath"

"WE won't be facing anything"

Terrador gulped at the sound of the confident retort, his friend's determined eyes stared into the distance, he could feel it in his bones that it wasn't without reason. Whenever Cyril sets his mind on something he can be really intimidating.

"What do you mean by that?"

The Ice Guardian blinked, the moment the blue eyelids closed gentle bluish flames pushed out from the corners, when they opened, revealing the blue pupils again the eyes seemed more bright than before, almost as if becoming younger by several years.

If callousness had any physical form then those would be the eyes it would wear.

"I will do my job, find the criminals and give them the justice they deserve"

"I don't like the sound of that" Sparx blurt out unexpectedly

Eyes of both Guardians shifted at him, blinking and dilating as if seeing him for the first time there, deep wrinkles of irritation appearing on both advanced by age draconic faces.

The dragonfly gulped, the glow almost completely extinguished, he began to scratch his sides anxiously, feeling impossibly exposed and vulnerable all of a sudden.

The door to the City Hall creaked open, with the breeze of fresh air that entered the room came relief when the eyes of the pesky dragons turned away from him.

Volteer entered the building, pushing a young dragon covered by a blanket, yet the material wasn't big enough to covered up some of the feathers sticking out.

"We have arrived" the Electric Guardian announced cheerfully

"Havoc's gaping jaws! Finally!" the covered dragon exclaimed, shaking off the blanket

Cloudas uncovered himself from underneath the material, body bandaged in places, stiffening some of the joints but besides that nothing serious was troubling the dragon, maybe except a truly respectful appearance. The covered hiked up his feathery shoulder pads, yanking each feather, stiffening some, making them stand up like blades on an armor, some tips stung his jaw, making him lap at the irritating, itchy ends as if he ate something really delicious and wanted to savor the taste.

"And who the hell are you?" Sparx dashed around the drake, eyeing him from all sides

"A flying, talking bug!" the wind dragon screeched, his head turning around chaotically in a poor attempt to follow the glowing ball circling around him like a fly

"Cloudas! Wind dragon!" Volteer introduced the young dragon cheerfully, his long tail waging in excitement " Naturally!" the Guardian shook his head with a smile lYou overlooked a time or set of phenomenon or certitude that helped to cause the eventuality of several auxiliary alternatives where one led to a fellowship!"

"Cloud-ASS the wind dragon?" Sparx grinned, plucking one of the feathers "So you make quite a breeze huh?"

The drake frowned, swiping with his wing to get the bug away, perfectly understanding his stupid joke "It's Cloud-AS"

"That's what I said, Cloud-ASS"

"Cloud-AS!" the dragon snapped, turning red in embarrassment and anger, feathers flaring in a poor attempt trying to cover the quickly darting eyes that kept throwing the Guardians some nervous glances "Cloud-AS! Without the second S!"

Sparx nodded as if in perfect understanding.

"So Cloudass without the s. Got it"

The wind dragon growled, swiping with his paw to get rid off the annoying creature.

"Leave me alone! Who are you anyway that you start bothering strangers the moment you see them?"

"Me?" Sparx chuckled, puffing out his chest as his hand patted it proudly, body sending strong pulses after every touch "I'm the star here dude, a hero they write songs about, sharp eye and a brave heart, always there where needed, no danger an obstacle"

"His name is Sparx. He's a dragonfly and an jester, don't believe in everything he says, most of it is fake" Cyril snarled impatiently, rubbing his forehead, calming the stirred headache after listening to the flow of worthless blabber

"Hey man!" yellow finger pointed accusingly at the ice dragon "That's really blown over you know?"

Cloudas frowned, readjusting his goggles.

"Not much of an important hero if you didn't know who I was"

The dragonfly snorted, dashing in front of the green snout, drawing a glowing line across the air as he cut the distance to poke the bright nose with his finger.

Cloudas shook his head with a growl, instinctively swatting with his paw, but the dragonfly was already beyond reach.

"Sure I do my man. I heard the rumors"

"Precisely! Your advent is making everyone vastly and ecstatically jubilant!" Volteer cheered in, his enthusiasm only speeding his tail, giving it a more stronger swing to the point that he himself began to shake, the tail being in command, swaying the rest of the body. Each twerk twisting the scales, making the dragon uncover his still rather flesh wounds, just like Cyril he avoided wearing any kind of bandages, but in Volteer's case it was not about pride, but piece of mind.

He always approached life with a smile, being remained constantly of ugly fighting would put a serious dent in this dedication. He didn't want to get distracted by things like that and having to wear bandages would only encourage such a desire. He skipped the treatment, the wounds were in places that weren't visible on first glance, there was no reason to give people any more signals to worry. If they see him they need to feel happiness or irritation, if either of those things is present you still possess the will to act.

The only way to avoid a blind fall into the pit of depression.

"Long lines of legally recognized Realms subjects congregated in front of our renowned structure festooned with walls and a roof. Emotional zest of plenty is wounded with charge that someone has done something illegitimate or erroneous. Sight of Cloudas brought jubilation and interest, some eminently galvanic even, so much attention was given that we had to envelop our friend to progress!"

Volteer's burning with excitement eyes burrowed into the wind dragon, full of fascination and hope for the future.

Cloudas visibly shrunk, scrunching wings and muscles as tightly as possible, as he recoiled from the electric dragon with fear, already tired of the attention. He would never believe if anyone told him that he would miss being treated as invisible or in a worst case as thrash.

He would somehow deal with the people, as interested as they were the attention wasn't as nagging as that of this Guardian. The guy was as old as The Bleeding Soles and yet had enough energy in himself that could be easily compared to that of a child.

"Why do you need to talk so much? I think I prefer the annoying, stupid bug"

"Hey dude, watch it!" Sparx folded his arms, offended "I'm not a bug!"

"You will have to excuse Volteer young one" Terrador chimed in, his calm voice serving as a relaxing breeze "Our electrical friend is true to his element, he's as hectic as current, but I assure you that no one will take better care of you outside the hospital than Volteer. It's a matter of getting used to, but I'm sure that my friend will also put some effort in helping you adapt" he threw the yellow dragon a meaningful look

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Volteer nodded quickly, head bobbing so fast that there was a risk that soon his horns would fall off

"I just hope that you will get accustomed here, you will have to excuse everyone but you will be someone special here and you won't be able to hide from many curious states I'm afraid. You will be a sign of improving times for many"

"Yeah" Cloudas scratched his fins "I heard what happened to the wind dragons here. But nobody will try to gut me right? Excluding the little distraction that happened. Got enough of that from where I come from"

Terrador bowed apologetically.

"I'm sorry that you arrived when you did, putting you into trouble was nobody's intention, I assure you however that you won't be a target of any aggression now or in the future. What you saw was a bad coincidence we will make sure never happens again, allow me to welcome you officially in our midst" he smiled, clearing his throat "Welcome to Warfang, capital of the Dragon Realms, you are safe here and the worries that currently plague our city will be solved soon. No harm will befall you here, quite the contrary in fact as Volteer undoubtedly already proved, you will be quite a frequent topic of every discussion for some time I believe. If this attention becomes troubles tell us and we try to arrange things to be more discreet, giving you and the people the necessary time to adopt to the new situation. We will designate a room here in the City Hall for you I know that you might not look forward to it after what happened here, but I'm afraid that is all that we can offer right now. The beds are really comfortable, Spyro and Cynder can vouch for them"

"To clarify things after the sweet, diplomatic tirade of my friend here" cold eyes of Cyril landed on the young, feathery drake "You won't be spoiled, we won't accept rowdiness, you get something from us, we get something from you. Basic economy"

"Cyril" a tone of scold hissed through Terrador's clenched teeth

Cloudas shrugged.

"Whatever, you really don't have any power after all"

Sparx let out a prolonged whistle, scratching the back of his head while turning around, taking the surroundings into consideration.

Even Volteer cocked his head at the sound of the surprising, rude remark. Cyril is Cyril, but it was simply in very bad nature to give such a remark after Terrador's nice words.

Cyril's body started to burn with chilly flames, a wicked snarl wrinkling his nose, the crunches so fierce that they shattered the bloody icicle he created into pieces.

The blood did not dare to flow.

"Do not test my patience bird"

"Not proffering due restitution for benefits conferred is in very bad taste" Volteer shook his head, adding his own dissatisfaction even though his pride was practically immune to the insults of his capabilities as a Guardian. What bothered him the most was the lack of proper, basic social etiquette

He read many books and still couldn't understand why sentient creatures find reasons to fight with each other.

Terrador reached out to his ice friend once more, the freezing aura radiating from the bluish body stung his palm yet the Earth Dragon showed no signs of discomfort as if it was a routine to him.

"This is not how you exchange greetings boy"

Cloudas raised a paw defensively.

"All I'm saying is that the Shapers hold power whatever you got here, this Guardian stuff, it is no different from the caste system in my society, no matter how high you are, Shapers call the shots in the end"

"A question!" Sparx raised a questioning finger, face adorned with a thoughtful frown while the other hand was busy rubbing the top of his nose "I'm getting a brain damage here between listening to Sizzler over there" he pointed his thumb at Volteer "and your code, so let's take a deep breath here" he followed his own instructions "Who are these Shapers now?"

"Spyro and Cynder!" the Electric Guardian announced cheerfully, his snout lightening up, all the concerns from the immature, uninteresting and aggressive dialogue from just a second ago vanished entirely "Black and purple dragons with their personal echelon of species as having shared idiosyncrasy, an amalgamation of dragons possessing plenteous power. Fascinating!"

"You're not in your timeline anymore young dragon, here there are no Shapers and they hold no governing power" Terrador gestured at each his old friend "We are the ruling body of this city, the position of a Guardian is a responsible one, for everyone's peace of mind I hope that you won't have any troubles understanding that, am I speculating correct?"

The Earth dragon threw the youngling a meaningful look.

Cloudas sighed quietly.

He wasn't stupid, perhaps his tongue flapped around faster than he was thinking, something that got him into more trouble than it was worth, but that didn't mean he had a suicide wish, especially now when he is defenseless like a butterfly. No matter what the old dragons said and just how much they flex to prove their worth in the end it will be proved worthless, no matter what social position Spyro and Cynder have in this world, it will be them who will decide the fate of the creatures living here, all the announced decrees and laws are just a distraction to feel important.

There were great dragons living in this world, like the Shapers and all the rest of the normal ones, that's it. He himself realized on his scales what consequences bring wishes of reaching the stars as a mundane creature, it doesn't go well and ruins everything around you.

He accepted his irrelevant position on the board of Fate, after that everything became calm, boring, became simply life. He regretted nothing, the failures such life throws at you are like tiny bumps compared to the disaster you cause when you throw yourself at something you were never meant to reach out for.

"It's all clear" the wind drake spoke up "Sorry"

"Splendid" Terrador put up a small smile "We are organizing an announcement, our citizens are sick with worry and we plan on lifting it by explaining the situation to them more clearly while also outlining our future actions. To make this a brand new start for everyone I ask you to help us in this endeavor, I would wish for you to accompany us, the sight of your feathers would lift everyone's spirit up. People need a boost to their morale and you would be the perfect dragon who can give them such"

Cloudas shook his head.

"I'm not really a big fan of fame"

"It's unavoidable, you will be popular whether you like it or not, official appearance however will greatly dampen the shock though. Might be just enough to push away most of the attention before it reaches high levels of pestering. This is not a request, but a trade offer"

"I don't knnnnow" Cloudas spun his medallion around, shifting his anxious gaze everywhere but not at the Guardians "I'm not a good speaker"

"No speech will be necessary, your presence will suffice, we will do the rest. Maybe a gentle gust of wind if you'd like to stir up the crowd"

"About that" he chuckled nervously, biting into the star shaped toy "I'm not much of a breather"

"This won't be an issue, I'm sure Volteer will figure out something to make everything a little bit more spectacular"

The Electric Guardian bounced on his paws, clearly eager.

"Naturally!"

"You don't understand" he spat the medallion out, feathers ruffling sadly "I can't use my element, I don't have it in me"

Cyril snorted.

"What nonsense is this? Every dragon has to have an element or you'd die, even a worthless spark, makes you meager, but breathing. There is nothing in between"

Sparx who heard Cyril's argument frowned deeply, his words already pushing his mind towards Coriza and her pitiful fighting skills. She was weak compared to other dragons, carrying the worthless spark Cyril so nicely named, everything matched but then why Spirit Gems poison her and not Cloudas if what he says is true about lack of elemental magic?

All the time he thought that the Hollowborn nickname came from the lack of potential of elemental magic, just enough to turn the scales blue and that's it, a speck of invisible dust in the eyes of otherworldly forces like Darkness.

But it never drooled over Cloudas.

If not elemental magic then to what else can Hollowborn apply to?

"There are ways" Cloudas yanked at his feathery shoulders, pulling out a single, white specimen "I can't use my magic and that's it. I don't care if you believe me or not, I'm empty as a passed out drunkard's mug"

Cyril growled in irritation, nostrils puffing fierce, chilly clouds.

"Volteer, you're the big head here, will you cut this nonsense short? We have enough of a headache already, we don't need more insanity here"

The Electric Guardian surprisingly did not react immediately, in fact he seemed to slow down as if locked in an invisible time stopping sphere. He was examining the wind dragon like a sculptor does his growing work of art, focused and quiet.

While entirely normal, seeing Volteer in such a state was like bending reality, an active dragon that spurts words faster than his eyes can blink now looked completely mundane. Dressed in casualty Volteer was practically alien.

"Prerequisites extensive fastidious vetting"

"You want to study this bullshit?" the ice dragon growled "You don't have anything better to do? Like figuring out how the damn crystal worked for example?"

"I can remit my research, this is marked by momentous merit, elemental energy connotes existence, otherwise death is welcomed, if we won't smidge more magic it is eminently feasible that Cloudas' lifespan is extremely paltry"

"I heard my name!" the wind dragon exclaimed "It was so fast and complicated that I wasn't listening". He shook his head trying to squeeze his brain back into its working area "What did you just say?"

"That there is a high chance you will drop stiff like a log soon dude if you won't breathe in some of your mojo back" Sparx cleared the confusion

Cloudas' eyes widened, shockingly enough he had no will to protest to find absurdity in this statement, one could think that what people from another dimension can know about the rules of a world they were never a part of.

It was logical.

But his condition defiled rules of logic and sense, the thing he done had nothing to do with intelligence, it was youthful stupidity and nothing else, not to mention that his partner in crime was far from trustworthy. He could actually plant some weird bomb in him just for the laughs.

It took him years to understand that such partners pull out all sorts of tricks, seemingly playing by the rules, leading you in a such a way though that it all seems good and fine until you finally get bitten in the ass. Not to mention that with age he grew out of naivety and learned that in truth nobody cares about you and especially those with creepy magic at their disposal, sentient creatures simply enjoy the downfall of their neighbors.

He might be a ticking bomb and the longer he thought about it the more it became probable.

Fucking dick.

"You must get this out of me" his startled eyes looked at Volteer pleadingly

"Seriously? You believe this?" Cyril rolled his eyes, the idiocy already tiring him, making his experienced bones creek

"This is no joke" he threw the other two Guardians a challenging look "If you want my help then you gotta do it, otherwise the deal's off, I mean probably, dunno how talkative my corpse will be but I'm afraid that not too much"

"Of course Spyro would team up with another weirdo" yellow arms of the dragonfly dropped in defeat "Is it really so hard to find someone normal out there? What kind of hobbies you had in the past?"

"Check this out immediately Volteer" green mists of magic stirred up inside Terrador's nose, tail tip making a tap, so stern that the columns around vibrated "Go young dragon with our friend, there is no time to waste"

Both Cyril and Sparx cocked their heads at the Earth Guardian, the dragon's sudden excitement surprising both of them to the point that they haven't even notice when Volteer and Cloudas disappeared into the lower levels of the City Hall.

Terrador sprang away from the table, leaning towards one of the nearby guards.

"Bar the door and escort the people away, we must postpone our announcement, ignore the protests, push them away and leave the Plaza together with them, it is not safe here for the time being"

The female guard nodded and immediately left the hall.

"Will you finally tell us Terrador what made you so nervous or you plan to see our skeletons decay as we will eventually wither from anticipation?" Cyril hissed in annoyance

"I ignored Brill's voice once when he told me about the vile smell of darkness, I won't make the same mistake again. Better safe than sorry, I won't decline another possible hint from the Veils, they rarely bring something good"

"I still don't know what you are talking about"

Terrador's claw scratched the shadow that stretched along the wall of the staircase that led to Volteer's laboratory.

"It was not Spyro's idea to pursue the Veil that led to Cloudas, he was sent there with a mission to find our wind dragon. He was directed there by Danox"

Cyril chuckled.

"I didn't take you for the superstitious type. You're getting senile my old friend, putting blame without evidence is not your style"

"This is not an accusation, but carefulness. Danox might be on our side, he might not even know that Cloudas is a ticking bomb, or if his eventual demise will cause havoc in our ranks. However the recent events led me to believe that our interference into the time flow was not left without notice. We have to be wary because our enemy I elusive and leaves only crumbs behind"

He raised his paw, twirling the claws in the air, his cast on the shadow wall obeyed peacefully, mimicking every move.

"Darkness has the tendency to show only what you want to see" he gazed down the staircase, the movement of his toes ignored by the black splotches below "And obscure the rest"

"We must light up its subtle plans" he blinked, in the brief moment of blackness he remembered Brill limping across the Plaza, weak and old, eaten alive

A warrior nobody believed he was, not even the mole himself.

The green eyes looked upon the wall again, the shadows cast by the braziers stretched out the shadows, his eyes saw nothing else but a predatory grin

"Or we will all be consumed"