TLoS: A Bright Future Ch. 8

Ch. 8: Stone Hill

Spyro still thought of the enemy they had just fought recently.  'I've never seen a dragon with more than 1 head…can there really be more of those dragons?  How come I've never seen any of them?  What other creatures can there be here in the Forgotten Realms that I don't even know about?'

As the dragons got closer to Stone Hill, the amount of life slowly started to decrease.  Animals became more scarce, trees started to get smaller and farther apart, and the grass started to get thinner until it only grew in small patches.
"Are you sure you want to go back to Stone Hill?  It's looking pretty dead here…literally" asked Cynder to Flame.

"Are you kidding me?  Stone Hill is the only place that I can call home.  I was raised there and grew up there, why wouldn't I want to go back?" asked Flame.

"I don't know…it just seems so barren here.  Why isn't there anything growing here?" asked Cynder.
"Well, in one of the stories that the village leader told me, this place was once filled with magic.  That was until a mighty and powerful ape took the power for his own selfish uses.  Nothing has grown in the Forbidden Realms since then.  But it is pretty easy to find food and supplies nearby and underground."

Spyro started to notice how similar he and Flame looked.  He then started to think why he ventured out from the swamp, leaving behind his dragonfly family.  'Who are my parents?  Where are they?  Are…are they still alive?'  He then thought about Sparx and how he hadn't seen him since he crossed the Belt of Fire.  'Is he okay?  Where could he be now?  How long has it been since I saw him?'  It started to disturb him that he couldn't remember how long it had been.

"Cynder, do you think Sparx is alright?" asked Spyro.
"I'm sure he is fine.  Besides, he was in the ruins of Warfang.  There were plenty of other dragons with him too, so I'm sure he couldn't have caused too much trouble" said Cynder, with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, he always was really cautious anyway" said Spyro.  Even though he said this, he couldn't stop thinking about Sparx on the flight to Stone Hill.

What felt like hours passing by to Ember were only minutes in reality.  She couldn't stop thinking about how Flame helped her from that undead ape and how Spyro's lips felt.  How was she to know what to do?  But she started to realize that there was nothing that could get Spyro to love her.  After all, Spyro and Cynder were getting closer and closer as time passed by.  'Should I really forget about the legendary purple dragon and go out with Flame?  Is there really nothing that can get Spyro to stop loving Cynder?' thought Ember, with evil thoughts flying through her mind.

'Does she ever notice how I feel about her?  I mean, she can be a bit ridiculous and over-the-top sometimes, but she is still the only dragoness that I would ever consider… What do I need to do to get her attention?  Maybe I'll just try to get Spyro away and ask her…' thought Flame.

All 4 dragons were silent for the rest of the flight until Cynder noticed a small hill out on the horizon.  By this time, there were only a few patches of weeds surrounded by hard dusty soil.

"Is that Stone Hill, over there?" asked Cynder.
"Yep.  That's it, alright" said Flame.  As Spyro and Cynder got closer, the ground continued to get harder until stones and rocks appeared.  The number of rocks and stones continued to increase until there was no soil or dirt anywhere.  Spyro and Cynder both looked ahead until they saw that the hill was nothing but…stone.

"What was that thing you said earlier, about supplies being underground?" asked Spyro.
"Oh, the moles don't dig out here; they dig out in the softer ground" replied Flame.
"Then why do you live out here, where it is desolate?" asked Cynder.
"You'll see" replied Flame.
As they continued to get closer to the hill, Spyro noticed how the ground appeared to be moving, almost like it was breathing.

"Is it just me, or is the ground moving?" asked Spyro.  Cynder looked down and noticed it too, her jaw dropping.

"That's what I was talking about when I said 'You'll see'" replied Flame.
"When were you planning on telling us about this…this…thing?" asked Cynder.
"I wasn't.  I thought the legendary purple dragon would've seen better in the Dragon Realms" replied Flame.

"Well that's quite an assumption.  We've seen a lot, including a golem, but I've never seen anything like this before" said Spyro.

"Well, this is what we call an Earth guardian.  Their sole purpose is to protect any life that they deem necessary for the good of the Earth.  If you see the village leader, you can ask him about it" said Flame.
"What is the name of this village leader that you keep talking about?  Is it a secret or something?" asked Cynder.
"Well, no.  But his true name is only spoken by those with a high title or elders" said Flame.
"I'm really not getting into this whole tradition thing that you guys have" said Cynder.
"Well, you don't have to come if you don't want to" said Flame.
"Just don't push it and I'll be fine" said Cynder.
As the 4 dragons approached the hill, a hand of stone a few times bigger than the dragons came up from the ground, blocking their path.

"Don't worry, just put your paw on it" said Flame.
Spyro and Cynder looked at each other with worried looks on their faces and put their paws on the stone hand.  The instant Spyro's hand touched the stone, circles of blue light started to radiate from the stone hand and reached all the way to Stone Hill and beyond.  The hand then transformed to a path and more stone rose up from the ground to create a glowing blue pathway leading straight to the center of Stone Hill.

An old earth dragon in a chair noticed the blue circles.  "He has come."
Spyro, Cynder, Flame and Cynder landed on the pathway, and started to feel stronger despite the long flight to get there.

"Well, this is new" said Flame.
"I've never seen this before" said Ember.
Dragons of multiple colors started to appear on the hill, which was only a few times bigger than the temple.  They were all staring at the 4 dragons on the pathway.  The blue light from the path went up the legs of the dragons, being absorbed by them.  Spyro felt more powerful the more he continued to walk on the pathway.  Spyro looked around and noticed the other 3 dragons experiencing the same thing.

"Wow.  I've never felt this powerful before" said Flame.
"I…feel…so…amazing!" said Ember, with a smile on her face.
Spyro continued up the pathway until he reached what appeared to be the middle of Stone Hill.  He continued walking despite all the dragons looking at him from both his left and right.  Cynder started to get nervous.
"Why are they all staring at us like that?  It's starting to creep me out" said Cynder.
"Just stay calm" said Flame.  The 4 dragons continued to walk down the middle of Stone Hill until they reached what appeared to be a plaza in the center of the town, if it could be called that.  Stone houses surrounded the plaza, reaching a few stories in height.  Dragons continued to stare at the 4, even from their houses.  The 4 dragons kept walking until they came across what appeared to be a very tall stone chair.  The chair was facing the other way, so they could only see the back of it.  On the back of the chair were intricate designs of multiple elements, but mostly Earth.

"Are you ready, Rock?" asked an elderly dragon to an old Earth dragon.  The old Earth dragon was covered in wrinkles and was somewhat thin, with its scales almost hanging from its body.  The dragon had grey hair and wore golden rings on all of its digits (fingers).  The rings were rather large with glowing red, green and blue stones on them.
"Let's start" said Rock.  The chair slowly started to turn.  Any noise that the other dragons were making suddenly ceased at this moment.  Cynder started to feel quite tense and anxious.  Flame tried to keep his cool but couldn't help looking around at all the dragons that were staring at him.  The chair continued to turn until it was facing directly at the 4 dragons.  The blue dragon looked at Spyro, almost inspecting him to see if he was real.  Cynder started to feel sweat falling down her face.