Chapter 11 - Training

As the sun began to peep of the distant, rolling hills of lush, green grass, the birds began to twitter their little songs proudly and a young, purple dragon, snoring loudly beside the waterfall, began to stir.

“Morning.” Spyro yawned, “Hey Cyra are you…” Spyro then cut himself short. Spyro looked around and found him by himself next to the waterfall, which was spraying cool water as it collided with the rocks below. He then remembered. Spyro’s heart sank as the memories of how Cyra was corrupted by evil by Raku flooded into Spyro’s mind. The way she looked at him, with those eyes… they were just so…empty… and the fact that she tried to kill him last night more or less concluded that she was corrupt.

Spyro just sat on his own, lost in thought about the events of the previous night when a shadow befell onto Spyro. Spyro half-heartedly looked around to se who it was and found that it belonged to Nestor.

“Good. I see that you’re awake Spyro.” Nestor started, Nestor then noticed that Spyro was quite his normal, happy-go-luck self, “You still miss her, don’t you” Nestor added

“Yeah…” Spyro started, “I just wish… I could’ve helped her…” Spyro added

“Spyro…there’s nothing you could have done to help her…” Nestor replied
“Raku is a powerful foe that has many powers that very few creatures can overpower…”

“But what about the prophecy…”Spyro asked

“I’m afraid, Raku has more or less broken the prophecy…right now all we should be focussing on is surviving through this war that’s to come…”

“But…isn’t there anyway that Cyra can break out of that spell she’s under?” Spyro asked with a hint of desperation

“Well…the only way I can think off is the mind shift, when a dragon reaches a certain age, its mind strengthens so much that it’s almost completely blocked off to any form of mental attack. If Cyra achieves the mind shift before Raku’s spell is complete…” Nestor started

“Then she can break the spell!” Spyro butted in as his heart began to fill with a feeling of hope

“Yes…but I’m afraid there is an extremely slim chance of that happening and I wouldn’t put my hopes on it if I were you, Spyro…” Nestor added, “Anyway… Time is pressing.” Nestor continued, “ So I want you to go and find Gavin in Stone Hill. He has agreed to help you train for the battle that’s to come.”

“Right. I’ll do what I can.” Spyro replied. Spyro ran down the stony path and disappeared through a portal to the right of the path.


Meanwhile, in a large, gloomy room, lit by a rusty, candle-chandelier hanging from the roof. Cyra was seen standing before a tall, cloaked figure, sitting in a termite-bitten throne.

“Well, Cyra.” Started Raku, “Now that you’re here amongst us, I want you to follow Grimtooth here and begin you’re training amongst the elite force of our Army of Shadow Dragons” Raku continued

“Yes, My Lord” Cyra replied

“But first” Raku replied, “I want to see just how powerful you are” Raku continued, “Fight Gnarlshaw here and show us those O mighty powers of your heritage that the prophecy foretold” Raku added

“Gladly, my Lord” Cyra replied with a smirk. As Cyra spoke, a large, well-built, Grey/blue Shadow Dragon then stepped forwards, he had cold, grey eyes, with a scar on his left eye.

“You wanna fight me, do ya?” Laughed Gnarlshaw, “Well, excuse me if I break yer scrawny little neck” Gnarlshaw added

“Hah! Just try it.” Cyra dared.

The two dragons then began circling each other, then without warning; Gnarlshaw then swiped at Cyra with one of his paws and caught the corner of Cyra’s mouth. As Cyra wiped the blood away with the back of her paw, a smirk the appeared on her face

“Not bad…” Cyra started,

“Hah! I’m only just getting started,” laughed Gnarlshaw

“So am I” Cyra replied

The two then begin circling each other again. Gnarlshaw then launched his paw forwards again, but this time Cyra dodged it by jumping to the side and when Gnarlshaw’s body was at a good distance, Cyra then let a powerful punch right his solar plexus. Gnarlshaw then crippled away as the wind was taken right out of him.

“C’mon! Is that the best you got?” Cyra teased

“Grr…I’ll get you for that, you little brat!” Growled Gnarlshaw. Gnarlshaw the redeemed himself, got back up and the two got into their fighting positions again. Cyra then leapt back a few yards and then started charging forwards. Gnarlshaw then swung his tail to hit her, but his tail went right through her imaged as it faded away.

“Huh?” Gnarlshaw said as he looked around for Cyra

“Up here!” Called a voice from above him. As Gnarlshaw looked up to the source of the voice, he saw Cyra in the air and as soon as he found her, she then somersaulted in the mid air and struck him with her tail on the back of his head. The impact of the tail strike then sent Gnarlshaw flying across the room right into the wall, which knocked him out cold.

Cyra stood looking at the large Dragon’s body lying on the floor, unconscious when Raku spoke up.

“Excellent!” Raku boomed, “You would do very well indeed in our army and once you have surpassed your training, you should be almost invincible and become even more powerful than your present state! Now follow Grimtooth as I instructed to start your training for the battle!” Raku ordered

“Yes, my Lord” Cyra replied. Cyra then follow another large Shadow Dragon through the large, double door…

Meanwhile, Spyro was seen training with the dummies but this time they were alive and came after Spyro until they were destroyed. Gavin; a large, quadruped, blue Dragon, standing at the side, was watching his every move. Spyro swiped his horns at one of the dummies ran towards him and knocked it into another, but another one behind smack the back of Spyro’s head.

“C’mon Spyro! Focus!” Gavin yelled from the side, “You would never survive the war with these kinda tactics!” Gavin continued. Spyro then growled slightly as he was beginning to get annoyed with him, but he understood what he was saying. Spyro’s head was just a mess at the moment. With everything that happened recently…he just couldn’t focus on anything… When Gavin saw Spyro half-heartedly swing his tail at a dummy and miss, he then held up his paw and all the dummies then froze on the spot.

“Look…Spyro…” Gavin started, “I know it’s hard for you to forget and cope with everything that’s happened but you’re one of the strongest fighters we have and we need you to focus and fight in this war.” Gavin continued

“But…you don’t know what it feels like to lose someone like that…” Spyro replied, “I still feel like I should’ve done something to help her…” Spyro continued

“Spyro…what happened wasn’t your fault.” Gavin replied, “The only person you can really blame is the one who caused this to happen in the first place.” Gavin added

‘He’s right’ Spyro thought to himself. ‘Raku’s the real culprit, he’s the one who put the spell on Cyra and the one that killed her’s and my parents.’ Spyro continued to think. As he continued to think about what Gavin said, he began to fill with rage.

“Raku!” Spyro breathed

“Yes, Raku…” Gavin stared

“I hate him for what he did to her and what he did to my parents!” Spyro growled

“Then used that hatred in the battle and in your training.” Gavin started, “Focus on the thing you hate most and imagine that you’re fighting Raku and his army because I know you. When you’re focussed enough, you have the potential to become more powerful than the strongest fighters in the Dragon Kingdom…now try again” Gavin added.

As Gavin raised his paw again, the dummies came out of their suspended animation and started to run towards Spyro again. Spyro was now full of burning rage as he remembered what Raku did to Cyra and his parents and was soon releasing a flurry of tail strikes, horn swipes and breath attacks. At one time a dummy was running up from behind Spyro, but Spyro then used the tip of his tail like a spear and rammed it right through the dummy. He then leapt up into the air and did a somersault, which caused the dummy to get thrown off Spyro’s tail and he sent it careering right into a group of three dummies and pretty soon all the dummies were bush ash and limbs.

“Excellent, Spyro!” Called Gavin from the side, “I think that was the most focus state I’ve ever seen you in! Yes, with that kind of attitude, we should hold a fair chance!”

“Thanks” Spyro said whilst catching his breath

“Now, we’re going to call it a day there and tomorrow we’ll begin some weaponry training and next week. We’ll get some armour made for you.” Gavin said. Spyro nodded and ran off through a portal to the home world. As Spyro settled himself next to inactive portal next to the waterfall for the night, he then thought with determination

‘Don’t worry, Mum, Dad and you too, Cyra; I’ll get him back for what he’s done to you. I promise’

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