The Darksield Chronicles, Book 1: Legend of Spyro

Chapter 18: Elementary

Darksield was shocked. He couldn't believe it. "How is this possible?" he asked.

Aurora stepped forward. "I've heard about this in legends. Occasionally a dragon is born with the ability to use three elements. It isn't as rare as a purple dragon, but it is rare. I must admit, I'll be curious to see what else you can do." She pointed toward the arena. "Go in there and I'll summon a dummy for you to practice on. The rest of you will wait until he is done. Then we will swap out until everyone has had a turn."

Darksield raised a claw. "By a dummy, do you mean Sparx?"

Everyone laughed.

Aurora smiled. "No, I mean an actual dummy."

"So, you mean Sparx."

Everyone hollered. Streak was on the ground laughing. Ivy and March were leaning on each other for support. Flare was leaning against a wall, and Cynder was pounding the ground with her fist, laughing hysterically. Flame and Spyro were both doubled over. Even Aurora was trying to resist a laugh.

"I'm serious," Darksield deadpanned.

Aurora pointed at the arena. "Get going."

Darksield saluted her with a wing, then marched into the arena. Almost immediately, an enormous wooden dummy appeared holding a large sword. It resembled an ape. It held up its sword in fighting position. Darksield assumed his own position as well. He studied the dummy as it stalked toward him, blade poised to strike.

It swung, and he dodged. It swung again, and he dodged as well. It swung four more times, and each time Darksield dodged the attack. He could hear muttering from the others about why he wasn't attacking. He kept on dodging. He waited until the dummy raised its sword for an overhead cleave. He struck, encasing his claws in lightning and using the wind to shoot himself forward.

He slammed his fist into the dummy's gut, sending it flying backward. And if that weren't enough, lightning shot out from his fist after the initial hit and slammed into the dummy, finishing it off.

He could hear cheering from the sidelines, but he paid it no mind. He knew that if he got cocky, it would all be over. Aurora summoned more. This time, it was a whole squad of regular-sized apes and a dozen Dreadwings. He shot into the air and prepared to release a shadow comet at the lead Dreadwing, but something strange happened.

When Darksield released the attack, the shadow comet split into a dozen other comets that shot toward the whole group of Dreadwings. Each comet hit its Dreadwing and completely annihilated it. Darksield shot toward the ground and encased his fist in shadowy flames.

When he was near enough, he slammed his fist into the ground and unleashed the attack in a wave of black fire that incinerated the entire group of apes. Two golems appeared, and he encased his tail in lightning. The two golems advanced on him, but he dodged their attacks and lashed out with his tail, slicing them both in half.

He turned, ready for the next creature that Aurora would summon. What he saw made his blood run cold. A scorpion-like creature that looked like it was made of lava and rock. Darksield couldn't stop what came next; the memory was too strong.

Wraith POV

Wraith ran through the woods at top speed. Behind him, he could hear trees snapping as whatever was pursuing him crashed through them. He ran into a clearing and turned. He was six years old and wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt with the symbol of Spyro on it. Behind him, an enormous creature came out of the woods. It was a massive scorpion that looked like it was made completely of lava and molten rock. Blood covered its claws. He backed away in terror. The creature advanced on him. Wraith glanced up at the sky above, remembering what had led him to this moment.

The solar flare had hit two hours ago and had left tons of smoke in the air, obscuring the night sky. It had hit just outside his house in the cornfield. His father had gone to check on it. And then the scorpion had emerged, claws already scissoring open and closed. Wraith had been watching from the window but had looked away when the creature had charged his father.

When he had glanced back outside, the creature had been approaching the house. He had run downstairs. He had had to warn his mother. Before he could, a massive explosion had blown apart the house and had knocked him unconscious.

When he had woken up, Wraith had seen the creature tearing through the remnants of the house. He had had no choice. He had had to run. The creature had apparently sensed him because it had turned and started chasing him into the woods. Wraith had run for quite some time, but he had run out of breath and had slowed down.

Now he was going to die. He backed away from the creature as it advanced on him. He remembered the explosion and the screams. He yelled as the creature raised its tail, ready to kill him.

He remembered a wave of darkness, and when he woke up the next morning, he saw that he was in the center of a massive crater. Most of the surrounding trees were incinerated, and those that weren't were blown down. Three hours later, the police came to investigate the source of the explosion. They were not expecting to see a six-year-old boy lying on the ground, crying. They thought he was insane when he told them about the fire scorpion.