LoS: Breaching the Darkness: Ch 32

The Guardians Plan


Hazeri looked around at the four Guardians as well as Spyro and Cynder, all watching him as he entered the circular room. He felt so tiny among them, especially knowing what Spyro could do.

Spyro and Cynder however only smiled gently as they watched him. “Are you all right Hazeri?” asked Cynder gently.

“Quite fine, thanks,” said Hazeri slowly.

“Glad to hear it,” said Spyro as he walked forward, bowing his head slightly, “and I should thank you for helping with protecting my family and friends.”

“I think they were protecting me as much as I protected them,” stammered Hazeri, not quite sure what to say.

Spyro only smiled though as he walked back to Cynder.

“Nonetheless you helped protect this city in a way few dragons have by directly fighting Malefor, you should not consider this a light accomplishment,” said Burnia.
Hazeri said nothing, simply bowing his head as he turned to her.

Burnia merely smiled and gestured to Volteer and Cyril. “I do not believe you have met the two last members of the Guardians, Volteer and Cyril.”

Hazeri turned slowly to each of them, bowing his head in turn, barely meeting their gaze as they watched him.

“No need to be so incredibly formal, young one,” said Volteer with a grin, “we are all friends here, at least those who are here at the moment, you can relax.”

“Thank you,” said Hazeri slowly, “but with the urgency there seemed to have been in calling me, certainly you must have something important you wish to discuss with me?”
“That cannot be denied,” said Cyril calmly.

“But we are not here to interrogate you, we merely hope you can help us,” said Ghronur gently.

“I hope I can,” said Hazeri slowly, though feeling increasingly calm with the gentle reception they had given him.

“Hazeri,” said Spyro slowly as he took the word, “when Cynder and I visited Shale we noticed among his murals were some depicting a black tower. You may not be aware, but this building stands some distance from this very city.”

“The dark tower, the point of reversal and the source of a power equal to that of the Purple Dragon,” said Hazeri quickly, almost mechanically, before he looked at Spyro again, “yes I know of it, it is an important part of our story from long ago. Off course who would become my kin had hidden themselves below the world when it was built so we heard of it mostly from the Observer and those who later sought refuge with us, but…”

“Can you tell us what it does, what its purpose was?” asked Cynder firmly as she interrupted Hazeri’s stream of words. She then smiled gently as she continued, “please, we need to know as Malefor may be using it against us.”

Hazeri stiffened up for a moment looking around the room before he slowly spoke.

“The tower, if history is to be believed, was building created by four dragons, one paragon of each element in the time not long after the Purple Dragons appearance. If they truly built it or merely were the minds behind it the stories don’t mention, but supposedly many died to keep the Purple Dragon from reaching the construction or finding out what it was…because it was a weapon, a weapon that could according to the stories gather the strength of hundreds, turning it all lose at once."

“Exactly how the weapon works the stories don’t remember, only that as long as the tree planted nearby bloomed the tower could match the power of a Purple Dragon…if this is true we don’t know for certain. All that is know is that the Purple Dragon left our lands to fight those who opposed it and that the battle tore the fragile connection between our lands asunder, leaving only an impassable ocean between us and there.”

The room was deadly silent as Hazeri spoke, no one saying anything, merely listening.

Spyro in particular felt a chill run through his body at the mention of the past of his kin. Cynder noticing this, moved closer to him, draping his back with her wing to comfort him.

“After that the Purple Dragon seemed to have vanished though as no new was seen for thousands of years,” told Hazeri smiling a bit as his eyes went to Spyro, “not until a very different purple dragon appeared from beyond the sea, saving my life as well as the lives of two near me.”

"Thank you," said Spyro warmly as he watched Hazeri.

"I hope it is of some use," said Hazeri his head slightly bowed.

There was a short moment of silence as all the guardians as well as Spyro and Cynder stood with thoughtful expressions.

"It might be," said Ghronur as he looked towards Cynder. "This talk of gathering strength and the towers vast field of crystals, does that remind you of anything?"

"It does," said Cynder grimly, "the crystals Demetrius gathered other dragons powers in."

"The field could be a vast network of such crystals?" asked Burnia slightly concerned.

"I highly doubt that is exactly how they work," said Volteer quickly, "after all history mentions no dragons stripped of their elemental power the way we saw it with Demetrius…but it might be lost to history as well, obviously."

"True, but I don’t like this one bit," said Cyril firmly, "a power supposedly able to match a purple dragons…and Malefor, a Purple Dragon, knows how to use it!"

"It is a terrifying prospect," added Volteer.

"But Malefor has not made a move despite having this power, what could he be waiting for?" asked Cynder quickly but was surprised as Spyro quickly walked towards the door.
"I don’t know, but if he controls the tower I have no time to waste…I need to finish my own weapon against Malefor quickly, before he can do whatever he plans with that tower," said Spyro firmly as he walked forward.

Cynder quickly looked around towards the Guardians. "Are you in need of being hidden from the Observers gaze for longer?" asked Cynder quickly.

Volteer gently shook his head and Cynder bowed her head gently before she quickly headed after Spyro. Hazeri likewise bowed his head, slowly exiting the room.

"Come back later Hazeri, I would love to hear more about the history of the world and what happened across the ocean," said Volteer with a gentle smile just before Hazeri exited.

Hazeri seemed surprised, but then smiled a bit. "I guess I can do that…" he said slowly before heading out the door.

As Cynder, Spyro and Hazeri had left the room Volteer’s smile slowly waned, his expression hardening as he looked towards the other guardians in the room.

They in turn turned their attention to him, regarding him with a serious expression seeing his usually smile disappearing.

“My fellow guardians, my friends,” started Volteer slowly trying to smile, but slowly sighing unable to hold up any kind of façade, “I asked you to stay because I wanted to make a proposal, one that I fear, but also feel is an absolute necessity, on what we four must do once the battle is taken to Malefor’s doorstep.”

He fell silent for a moment regarding them each in turn before he slowly spoke again.
"Should we not have had Cynder stay for this discussion to keep information from the Observer? Even in light of recent knowledge regarding the him would it not be better to be on the safe side?" asked Burnia quickly before Volteer could continue.

"It is quite deliberate of me what I am doing right now," said Volteer reassuringly, "in fact my plan might be able to uncover at least partially where the Observers allegiances lie…though I won't deny a certain overwhelming danger to us should our theories prove mistaken."

“But before I go on, let me ask you, what do you consider the duty of the Guardians?” asked Volteer as he watched them.

“Our duty is to protect and guide those less fortunate than ourselves, creating a safe world of peace for those who seek it,” answered Ghronur immediately.

“Indeed we guide those who seek our guidance, but never with absolute claw. Anyone is free to oppose our will and seek their own life, just as each race must be heard in matters regarding their safety,” continued Burnia.

“And should that safety be threatened it is our duty to do everything in our power to restore safety, as a proper Guardian should,” finished Cyril as he looked at Volteer, “but why this question, old friend?”

“Part of it is something I only just thought about after hearing the interesting things this Hazeri had to say, about four dragons raising the black tower,” said Volteer slowly with a thoughtful expression, “I wonder if perhaps they were the very first Guardians, even if known by a different name.”

“Possibly, the origin of the Guardians is after all one thing lost to time,” said Ghronur slowly, “but what are you thinking regarding it?”

“Is that not obvious?” said Cyril firmly. “Back then the guardians would have formed to fight the Purple Dragon, one paragon of each element to oppose each of the Purple Dragons standard elements, which is what you are thinking is it not Volteer?”

“Exactly, though it is only a theory,” said Volteer, “I can only imagine that afterwards it became a long tradition for four dragons to keep their skills exceptionally sharp in case another Purple Dragon showed up. Over time this tradition changed to the Guardians we see today, but again that is only a theory.”

His expression grew dark as he looked at each of them, “my suggestion in light of recent events is that we return to these theoretical roots, that we challenge Malefor directly as the four Guardians.”

There was a small moment of silence, before Burnia snorted a bit, a few flames leaving her nostrils as she broke into a fierce grin. “I don’t see why not, I have a few things to pay him back myself,” she said firmly, “but do you think we can take him?”

“No,” said Ghronur firmly before Volteer could answer, “there is little chance we could win against Malefor. I know Spyro’s power, as I assume you all do and I am quite certain we would not be able to take him. And Spyro considers Malefor if not stronger, at least more dangerous than himself…and considering what happened to the Guardians of the war…” he added solemnly.

“But what we can do is buy Spyro time or rather energy,” said Cyril with a small smile as he looked at Volteer, “am I right old friend? A suicidal fight with the purpose of weakening Malefor before Spyro takes him on.”

“I certainly hope not to die, even if I am getting older,” said Volteer, “but I won’t lie and say I expect us to survive a full on confrontation with Malefor. I would not look down on any of you if you wanted to back out of this.”

Cyril chuckled in response. “You are quite mean having us recite what it means to be a Guardian before such an offer, my old friend. Not that I think any of us will back out of this. After all if Malefor lives, we are most likely dead anyway and any advantage should be taken.”

“Agreed,” added Burnia and they then all looked towards Ghronur who stood silent as if contemplating what Volteer had said.

He soon smiled though as he looked at them. “How could I back out? I doubt Spyro and Cynder will like this cause of action, but if it increases their chances I will do it.”
Volteer also smiled at this reaction. “It makes me very happy to hear that response though I only make such a proposition with heavy heart.”

“But it is necessary,” said Cyril firmly.

“Perhaps not,” said Ghronur with a slight chuckle, “I am confident in Spyro and Cynder.”
His expression soon hardened though as he continued, “but confidence is no certainty, we need to give them any advantage we can!”

"And Malefor's reaction when we go to challenge him might very well reveal if the Observer has told him of our plan or not," said Volteer, "the biggest danger will in such a scenario be if he circumvents us and goes for Spyro…but in that case it will come down to Spyro and Cynder as was the original plan."

Burnia nodded in agreement, though she soon became thoughtful. "Should we inform Spyro and Cynder of our plan?" she asked slowly.

"They won't like it, that is for certain," said Ghronur with a slight smile, "you know Spyro, he would rather throw himself into the maw of the dragon than see anyone else put themselves in danger."

"Which is exactly why I would suggest we don’t tell them, though I hope they will at least understand why we are doing it," said Volteer.

Cyril slowly nodded in agreement even. "I guess it is settled then," he said slowly, but also with a  confident smile, "let us show him what we can do."

The other guardians all nodded, smiling confidently.