"What news of Avalar?" asked the larger of the two.

"The natives grow wary, and our division is at risk of being discovered," replied the smaller, "They have alliances with the dragons, if they are found it could bring devastation to us."

"I understand the situation, Skar," said the larger, "But currently we have larger matters."

"Which are, King Gaul?" asked Skar. Gaul stood up, and walked toward him.

"The Dark Master is conjuring a plan," Gaul said quietly, "A plan that will finally tip the scales in our favour, and when it happens, we can finally reclaim our lost lands."

"Are you quite sure about this?" asked Skar, "The army grows restless, they believe the dark master is losing his touch."

"Then they will make effort to remember who it was who gave them their power," said Gaul, "The Dark Master values loyalty, without it, they might as well be digging their own graves."

He looked out of a window, at the huge, looming silhouette of the mountain beside his fortress.

"After tonight," said Gaul, "We will finally know victory!"

"The dragons know our fighting style by now," said Skar, "They will still be impossible to sway, even if the plan succeeds!"

"If the plan succeeds, the dragons will face the largest threat they have known since the dark master himself," said Gaul, "They will not stand a chance. This isn't about territory any more, it's about wiping out their race forever."

Another person entered the room, and said "My lord Gaul, the Dark Master summons you."

Gaul followed him out of the fortress, and proceeded up toward the mountain. Gaul was, like the rest of his army, an ape. He was the largest of all of them, and their king. He wore steel armour and a horned helmet, and carried by him a large golden staff, with a crystal set in the top, a crystal that matched the one in his eye socket. He had lost his eye long ago in the heat of battle, and the dark master had given him the crystal as a replacement.

He remembered his first meeting with the dark master well. It had been long ago, when he was only the prince of the apes. The dark master had helped Gaul to kill his father and seize the throne, and in repayment, Gaul had offered his army's services.

Their had been a war on the planet of Eclasia for years now. It had started when the Dark Master had invaded the dragons' territory long ago. The war between dragons and apes had only grown from there. For a long time, the armies were evenly matched, and the war remained in stalemate. It only changed when the leader of the dragons, Ignitus Infurnous, duelled the dark master himself, above the very mountain that Gaul approached now. In the end, Ignitus had come out on top, and the dark master was imprisoned within his own fortress. The apes became leaderless, and from then until the present, the dragons had had the upper hand in the war.

It wasn't until recently, however, that the dark master had managed to conjure a magical connection to the world, in the form of a large beacon which flowed from the top of the mountain and straight into the sky. The dark master was able to speak to the apes through the beacon, and none of the dragons currently had any idea that this was going on.

Gaul climbed the many floors of the mountain, passing many apes working, and huge statues of stone. When he reached the top of the mountain, he found himself in a circular room, with the beacon spewing from the centre. Inside of the beacon were a pair of glowing yellow eyes, which watched Gaul's every move.

Gaul bowed on one knee when he entered the room, and spoke.

"You have summoned me, Master?" he said. The eyes narrowed.

"Indeed," said a deep, growling voice from the beacon, "My plan is in place, and it must be performed tonight. However there are some… Drawbacks. I will need you to tend to them."

"Of course, anything," said Gaul.

"The original plan stays in place, but it has come to my attention that a dragon will be born this year, and they alone shall have the power to defeat us," said the dark master, "You will need to eliminate this child before it is born. Invade the egg grotto, and destroy all the dragon eggs, so as to prevent it's birth. If you succeed, our victory is assured."

"Certainly, my lord," said Gaul.

"But remember, Gaul," added the dark master, "The original plan stays in place. Do not fail me."

"Of course," said Gaul, "I shall prepare the army."

Gaul left the room, and descended the mountain again, to prepare his forces.

Meanwhile, far across lands, in a huge temple at the side of a cliff, many dragons were flying in and out, enjoying a celebration. They believed the war to be over, as no ape attacks had happened in a solid two months.

They were all gathered in the main hall, and were chatting and socialising. On one side of the hall, a large red dragon was sitting, looking uncomfortable.

This dragon had the look of someone once powerful having aged a bit. His muscles looked worn, and his body was covered with many scars. His wings were a bright orange colour, his scales scarlet, and his spines crimson. He sat, looking anxiously around, muttering to himself.

"Something's not right," he mumbled, "This is wrong..."

"Enjoying the festivities, Ignitus?" asked a light blue dragon who came over to sit with him.

"They are truly delightful, Cyril," replied Ignitus, "But I have a bad feeling. I don't think the apes are done yet. I know the dark master, he isn't one to give up so easily."

"Oh, stop fretting, old boy," replied Cyril, "The dark master is gone, you yourself saw to that, and two solid months of nothing have confirmed they're lost without their leader!"

"That, or they're planning something big," said Ignitus. Cyril rolled his eyes.

"You worry too much," he said, before walking away. Ignitus watched him go, then stood up and left the hall.

He walked through the ancient temple, past tapestries, tablets and statues of ancestral dragons, and walked into a small room on the far side.

The room was a small grotto, and in neat rows around the sides of it were many dragon eggs, each one one of five colours: red, blue, white, yellow, or green. But their was one, right in the centre, that differed from the others; it was bright purple. This was the one that Ignitus walked over to, and admired.

"If the war is over," said Ignitus, "Where do you come in?"

He stood watching the egg for a while. Without warning, the whole building gave an almighty shake, making dust fall from the ceiling. Ignitus could hear the other dragons yelling in surprise. He raced back to the main hall, and found all the dragons standing dead still, waiting. The building shook again, and the front doors flew open. A yellow dragon practically fell through them, and the dragons caught a glimpse of flaming projectiles flying at the temple from the forest below.

"Volteer," Ignitus shouted, "What's going on?"

The yellow dragon, Volteer, got to his feet, a look of fear in his eyes.

"Apes!" he shouted, "Protect the eggs, we'll hold them back!"

Fear swept through Ignitus, and he ran back as fast as he could to the egg grotto. He burst through the doors, like Volteer had done, and sprinted to the purple egg. He lifted it gently into his arms, opened another door, which led outside, and took flight into the night sky.

He flew over the forest, and caught sight of the attacking ape army, who were fighting the flock of dragons with a vengeance. Still he flew on, until he caught sight of what he was looking for: A long, winding river.

He lowered down to the ground and landed on the bank of the river, still cradling the egg. He placed it down on the ground, and took the top off of a nearby mushroom, which he flipped upside down, and put the egg into. It looked like a small nest.

Ignitus then took a piece of bark from a tree, and wrote a series of runes and symbols onto it, and placed it next to the egg on the mushroom cap.

After that, he carefully placed the cap into the river, and gave it a push. It slowly floated away down the stream.

"May the ancestors look after you," said Ignitus, adding in an undertone, "May they look after us all..."

He flew away, and the egg continued its course down the river. It bobbed up and down in the current, occasionally a little splash of water coming over the side of the cap.

The sky slowly lightened around it as it sailed down the river. Soon, mist was hanging over the environment as the first light of dawn became visible over the horizon. After that, the sun began coming up, and still the egg continued.

Later on in the morning, the egg became caught in a net, which was hanging from the bank of the river next to a forest path. It stopped moving, and floated still. It remained their for about an hour before someone found it.

A small figure came flying down the path. It was a dragonfly, with a humanoid form and arms, but no legs. It was green, and glowing in the same colour. It had come to check its fishing net, but stopped in surprise when it saw the egg.

"What's this?" the dragonfly said to itself. With great effort, he pushed the small raft out of the water and onto the bank, and then hovered above it, looking with interest.

"An egg..." he said quietly, "but what creature?"

He didn't have to wonder for long. The egg began to wobble and crack, and soon, the shell fell away, and in its place was a tiny creature.

It frightened the dragonfly at first, but soon he was astonished and amazed. It was a tiny, purple dragon. It's wings, underbelly, and two stubs on the side of his head were a golden colour, and his eyes were the same colour as his scales. He looked up at the dragonfly and chirped.

"Where did you come from?" asked the dragonfly. The dragon wobbled over to him on weak legs, and chirped again. The dragonfly flew downwards and stroked the top of the dragon's head.

It was then he noticed the piece of bark in the raft. He flipped it over and read what was written on the other side. After reading, he looked at the dragon sympathetically.

"You don't have a home, do you?" he said. The dragon yawned, showing toothless gums.

"Why don't you come and live with us?" asked the dragonfly. The dragon turned his head to one side, and just looked.

"Come on then!" said the dragonfly, flying back up the road. The dragon, soon getting the hang of walking, followed eagerly.

The dragonfly, Flash, led the dragon to a small clearing in a swamp. It was perfectly round, with a large tree in the centre. On one side of the clearing was a small wooden door with two windows either side of it.

"This is our home," Flash told the dragon,"You can stay here for now, if you want."

The dragon chirped again, curled up, and fell asleep.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Flash, smiling. The door opened, and another dragonfly, a female, emerged, carrying an even smaller fly in her hands.

"Say hello to Sparx," said the female dragonfly, Nina. As Flash took the baby, Sparx, Nina noticed the dragon on the ground.

"Who's this?" asked Nina.

"I'm not sure," said Flash, "He doesn't have a name."

"Where does he come from?" asked Nina.

"Again, I'm not certain," replied Flash, "But look at this."

Flash handed over the piece of bark. Nina read what was written on it, and then looked back down at the dragon.

"We'd better take him in," said Nina.

"What should we call him?" asked Flash.

"Well, there was one name I had considered for Sparx," said Nina.

"What's that?" asked Flash.

"Spyro," replied Nina.

"Spyro," said Flash, "Yes I like that."

"Well then," said Nina, "Welcome to the family, Spyro."

The dragon snorted in his sleep.