OFF: At long last... my new major Spyro fanfiction is completed!

This is Distant Dawn, the prequel to the Legend of Spyro trilogy, taking place ten generations earlier. I have worked very carefully on this fanfiction and it will be, when completed, much longer than Prophecy, my last major Spyro fanfic, proved to be.

This will also be my first M-rated fanfic posted on ; some chapters later on will feature levels of violence and detailed romance that wouldn't be possible to properly describe with a T rating (my previous self-imposed limit). Since censorship would hurt the plot and some of the symbolism that is to appear later on, the rating has been cranked to 's limit.

Enjoy!

Distant Dawn

Chapter 1: Purple Hatchling

Pleasant warmth washed all over as the gentle light of the sun caressed the body. Eyes closed, mind wandering, there was nothing but peace, the soul as still as the unmoving eternity, dreams of happiness wandering within the sleeping spirit.

A soft sigh escaped the young reptile's jaws, the frame twitching slightly as it lay lazily on its side on the hot stone panel, letting the sun and the stone warm its blood, instilling serenity into its soul.

The reptile barely noticed it as the sound of claws brushing against the floor filled the air, an imposing, heavy presence making its way toward the small sleeping soul.

Its wise yellow eyes gazing down upon the youngster, the large elder dragon did not move. It watched the creature sleep for a few more seconds before it felt that it was time to fulfill his duty.

"Malefor!"

Startled, although not pulled out of its dreamy state, the dragon hatchling let out a whimper before rolling on its other side, letting out a second, more pitiful whimper.

"Just... one more... minute..." he grumbled in his sleep, not wishing to return among the conscious so soon.

"Wake up, young dragon!" demanded the elder dragon once more.

A twitch in its wings and a shiver running through its entire body brought the dragon hatchling back to reality. Opening his eyes, Malefor padded into the air, getting a feel of his surroundings and current position before finally gripping the stone floor, lifting his body upward as he got up.

The small dragon blinked a few times before turning to face the Fire Guardian and one of the four elder dragons, the large and proud Infernus. Although his face didn't say much, the hatchling had learnt to read his adoptive parents' blank expressions and well, he knew what was coming.

"How many times did I tell you not to sleep in the middle of the day, young dragon?"

The dragon looked down shamefully. Why was he here? All he wanted was to take a short nap and besides, he made sure to double-check that this area would not be used by anyone today. Why would Infernus go out of his way to find him, wake him up, and then give him a speech about it?

"How many?" repeated the elder dragon.

The younger dragon looked up into the eyes of the red dragon, a begging, pathetic expression on his face. How many times? Well, there was that time when he took a nap on top of that roof, then that other time when he slept for a short while in that Spirit Gem kart...

His expression grew progressively panicked as he began to realize that he had broken that rule quite a few times. In fact, too many times for him to count them. He struggled to come up with an answer yet, he knew that lying was not an option. Okay, so he sleep anywhere anytime... but he's not a liar! He doesn't want to lie to Infernus... and it's not like it would help his case anyway.

Finding no solution and guessing that the elder dragon was running out of patience, the hatchling looked down once more, an expression of resignation on his face.

"I... I lost count."

The red dragon slowly nodded as a response. "Indeed, many times."

He looked up to face the older dragon, dread rising in his mind. He knew what was coming next...

"You do realize that laziness is not tolerated, young dragon?"

"Aaaw! But I have nothing to do!" protested the young dragon. In a way, it was more of a sudden reaction than a real attempt at protesting. As much as he hated it, he knew it wouldn't change his fate.

"This is no excuse, dragon! Maybe that if you were putting as much effort into training as you put into finding places to sleep in the middle of the day, you would have gained use of an element, by now."

His pitiful expression began to change, frustration rising. He clenched his fangs, trying to keep himself from hissing in anger. As if he hadn't tried! It wasn't his fault if no one could figure what kind of dragon he was and what element he was meant to master in the first place! Twelve years old already, two to three years from puberty and becoming a juvenile... and yet, still nothing. All other dragons were at least novices when it came to the elements by now...

But well, it wasn't as if getting angry at Infernus would bring him anywhere. Not only will it only make his case worse but he can't really blame him. He never knew his parents and Infernus had accepted to take care of him, giving him food, shelter, and care. All he could do is stay silent, calm down, and back down. And so, he did, calm returning to his face.

"No matter. As your punishment, you shall clean the street by the Dragon Temple."

Malefor's eyes shot open as he looked into Infernus' eyes once again. His entire body tensed and a feeling of horror gripped him.

"What? No! Please! Not that!" he begged.

But the elder dragon shook his head. "No, young dragon. You obviously have nothing to do. This will be a lesson to you. You have until sundown," said the elder dragon as he began to walk away, glancing back at him one last time.

Normally, wandering the streets of the dragon city, Warfang, would be an exciting activity. The golden towers, the large structures, the magnificent statues, the gardens, and the various infrastructures... Warfang was truly a city worthy of its owners.

The dragons were the dominant specie of this world and their capital, the great city of Warfang, was the greatest symbol of their power. There was not a corner of the world that the dragons did not own, not a single people that did not show them respect. The Ancestors had lavished their chosen people with glory and grace and it was shown.

All those who submitted now serve them, most notably the moles, who built this city in their honor. All the others had been mercilessly incinerated as the rituals dictated, their bones exposed in the various bone yards as a warning to all those who would oppose the might of the dragons.

The dragons had built a mighty empire and it was more than obvious that it would last for the centuries to come if not forever. What could possibly bring down such a graceful specie from their peak of power, their rule absolute?

Those matters were however the farthest from Malefor's mind. Large leather straps linked his chest to the strange, rectangular-shaped mop that he dragged about by the street, carrying out the humiliating task of cleaning up the street. Playing janitor wasn't exactly his idea of fun and without ice or water powers, his task was only more frustrating as he walked by, the various adults glaring at him.

He could hear the whispers...

"It's him, again!"

"That miscolored freak?"

"Bah! Figures..."

"That miscreant! What did he break again?"

"Hmph! Tasting his just desserts for his latest stunt!"

They all acted as if he couldn't hear them... but he sure could. He didn't care if he was smaller than average, purple, and lacked powers! This didn't mean he was blind or deaf, far from it! He could see and hear them very clearly...

Approaching one of the fountains that littered the city, Malefor looked at the pure water. He saw his reflection, showing a youthful purple dragon. His amethyst eyes already revealed a runt to him. Slightly scrawny, under-developed wings, a belly that was a bit too big to be graceful... he wasn't exactly the best-looking dragon ever. He was definitely decent, that he knew... but he knew he was a runt and that no amount of chores or attempts at training would change this.

Bam!

SPLASH!

Malefor gasped for air as he felt intense pain to his left shoulder followed by his entire body being soaked wet, the cleaning equipment falling with him and coloring the clear water grey.

"Oh! Sorry Maleworm!"

His entire body was soaking wet, the fountain was now dirty, and his left shoulder hurt like the Dark Realm. He also recognized the voice he had heard and turned to face the polar opposite of himself.

His scales were a bright yellow almost golden, his intense, focused bright orange eyes contrasting with Malefor's amethyst. His body was larger than average, nicely muscled for a hatchling, and its owner knew it. He had everything, even his horns oozing perfection, claws just the perfect size and shape. An arrogant smirk was on the face of Voltron, top student of the dragon elders. To everyone, he was the epitome of dragon hatchlings, the most promising of them all; but to Malefor, he was nothing but a bully.

"What was that for?" growled the purple dragon.

The electrical dragon's eyes suddenly widened as he was taken aback. He then turned to a nearby adult.

"Look! LOOK! The purple orphan has dumped his mop's content into the fountain! LOOK!"

Malefor's eyes widened in horror as suddenly, all of the dragons everywhere were gazing at him. Disapproving glares pierced through him from every angle as Voltron turned back to him, his fake expression of shock replaced momentarily by a cruel smile.

"VOLTRON!"

A green dragon the same age as Voltron and Malefor stepped on the scene. His rough frame and spike ball tail tip betraying the fact that it was an earth dragon. The other hatchling walked up to Voltron and sat by his side, glaring angrily at him, not allowing the electric dragon to impress him.

"Don't you ever get sick of bullying everyone? I saw everything! The second Infernus get here..."

Voltron interrupted the green dragon's speech with a chuckle before he spoke up. "The second he get here what, Galewuss? You think he's gonna take your side? Get real! You're the shameful offspring of the Earth Guardian, you were never supposed to be born! And then there's that purple wyvern posing as a dragon! ...and to make it worse, you're friends and everyone knows it! Who would believe you? I, on another hand-"

"Shut up!" the earth dragon had enough of this guy, stepping forward.

Sensing the situation souring by the second, Malefor dragged himself out of the water.

"Look, Galedorm... I... it's my fault."

"B-but he pushed you into the water! I saw him!" replied the green reptile, pointing at the electric one, who seemed quite satisfied with how it was going.

"I should have seen him coming... and it doesn't matter. You didn't do anything. If you try to defend me, they'll punish you too. Remember last time..."

Galedorm looked to both other hatchlings before sighing loudly in defeat, stepping back. As he began to walk away, Voltron turned to Malefor, a fake comforting expression on his face.

"It's okay, Maleworm. It's good that you realize your place as an inferior, half-blooded wyvern. You have no powers and will never do anything important. You're just a loser. It's good you realize this, stupid," he said in a soft tone.

The purple dragon glared daggers at the arrogant yellow one. But rather than being intimidated, the glare only made Voltron happier, for he knew he had hurt him. Anything that hurt Malefor emotionally pleased him. After all, he was so funny when he's crying, protesting, and trashing... especially when the harsher punishments were dealt.

Speaking of which, the yellow dragon caught a glimpse of the red dragon walking toward the scene, attracted by the commotion.

The purple dragon looked down as the red dragon stopped in front of Malefor, staring down at him.

Uneasy silence...

"Infernus, I-"

"Not a word," cut the elder. "Come with me."

It was tradition that young dragons that committed offenses repeatedly would get increasingly humiliating punishments in order to discourage stubbornness. After all, the Guardians had precious little time to waste with hatchlings who couldn't be bothered with respecting authority and education. Still, it was also tradition that every hatchling would be given an opportunity at being useful to the community and this, even without any skills. Thus, hatchlings that lacked talent or discipline, sometimes both, were used to carry out manual tasks such as cleaning, repairing objects, and other such tasks.

Malefor was used to this. That was not what was bothering him. What was bothering him was the price of failure and disobedience after being given that... err... "second chance" by the elders.

A price that he was often paying, now being one of those times.

CLAC!

The last of the chains was installed, the young purple dragon now firmly bound to the center of the training arena. All around him, hatchlings of all colors and sizes stood by the elder dragons, staring at the differently colored one that was now bound to the center of the arena.

His gaze turned to Infernus as he finished binding him, silently begging for mercy with a pathetic, teary stare that was actually not fake at all. The dragon silently stared back, his expression stern and unmoving. Then, as if guessing what the purple hatchling was doing, the great red dragon shook his head weakly once and turned his back upon him, walking away.

Malefor lowered his head, gritting his teeth as fear began to grip him. He didn't know what was coming exactly but he knew that it would be painful. Being chained in front of everyone during a training session was a guarantee of pain, that he knew.

"Now young dragons, it is time for the next lesson to begin," said one of the elders, approaching him.

"As you all know, should you face someone in battle, it is important to try and force your opponent into the air. In the air, your wings give you the advantage," explained the Earth Guardian, now standing by Malefor's side. He then turned his gaze upon the purple dragon.

"However, sometimes, it might not be possible to do this. In such cases, you must make use of your tail to trip your opponent before pinning it down. A pinned down foe is just as vulnerable to aerial assaults as an airborne one."

The elder dragon turned to stare at him, his serious expression making Malefor step back. The chains prevented him from backing away though, much to the hatchling's displeasure and discomfort. The Earth Guardian was, as one might have guessed, an earth dragon and as one might have also guessed, had a stereotypical appearance of one. A rougher frame, larger muscles and overall strength, a ridiculous-looking beard, horns curved backward sharply, and a tail that ended with a spiky ball. The fact that the elder was especially large, strong, had a spiky tail and had spoken of using your tail in battle was especially worrying to the young dragon. He had guessed by now that his punishment was to serve as a guinea pig for battle techniques, but there was a noticeable difference between the playful swipes of other hatchlings and the brutal, crippling examples that the elder dragons shown to them.

"Now for an example."

Darn it. Malefor closed his eyes and dived to the floor, spreading his wings and trying to cover his head for protection.

...but nothing happened.

He blinked a few times, standing up and opening his eyes, not seeing the Earth Guardian anymore.

But suddenly, Malefor let out a sharp yelp as a sharp pain racked through his limbs, the purple dragon losing his footing. The world spun out of control as his claws no longer touched the ground but before he could even react...

BAAAM!

"OOOooOOooOOW!" Malefor screamed at the top of his lungs as the spiky end of the Earth Guardian's tail smashed into his back at full speed, effectively pinning him down against the floor. He felt as his entire frame had been reshaped by the impact, his belly crushed to a pulp by the impact.

Malefor lied down in front of everyone, wings spread, tears streaming down his cheeks as a mix of humiliation and pain coursed his body. He couldn't even move a muscle and he felt so... so tiny, so pathetic. Everyone stared at him, not moving an inch. It was as if they didn't even care...

Slowly, the Earth Guardian withdrew his tail, finally removing the weight from his back but the physical and mental pain would linger through the entire training session, preventing him from listening. Not that he cared or felt concerned. All he wanted was to hide somewhere, anywhere away from there.

It was unknown how long the lesson lasted and quite frankly, Malefor couldn't care less. All he cared about was the incredible pain he had felt and just how humiliated he had been.

That was how it went, always. That was all he was good for. What sort of dragon is purple anyway? Punching bag-elemental dragon? It sure seemed like it to the hatchling. Twelve years-old already and not a single hint of elemental power had been shown. He had tried everything, he had spent so much effort and he knew the elders had tried everything too.

Maybe Voltron was right. Maybe he was just a wyvern with an uncanny similarity to a dragon. Might explain why he can't use any kind of powers and why he's purple of all colors...

As the lesson ended, all of the hatchlings left, one by one, until only Malefor was left, still chained to the center. As the last one left, Infernus approached the purple hatchling and slowly, unlocked his chains and discarded them, freeing him. Then, after nodding to the others, the Guardians left, one by one, leaving Malefor alone with himself.

Infernus walked away satisfied, convinced that the purple hatchling had learnt his lesson. But as all of the others left, he couldn't help but notice that Malefor had not moved, still lying down, continuing to sob loudly.

The elder dragon slowly walked back into the arena and placed himself in front of the young dragon, staring down at him. He had thought that the crying was from the Earth Guardian. Gaiadorm had gone too hard on the dragon, unleashing his full strength when he shouldn't have. They had planned for him to act as the training dummy for the whole session but after what the earth dragon had done, doing so would have been cruelty. But now, after all this time, the pain should have begun to dissipate and yet, Malefor's crying had not ceased. A hint of discomfort grew within the red dragon. He knew he should be impartial... but then, he knew. All of those other hatchlings had a place to come back to once the training was over. At those places, there would be dragons willing to take care of them, willing to comfort them. Malefor, him, had nowhere to go. The Dragon Temple was his home and the Guardians, his only family. He knew he had to do something...

"Young dragon," he called.

Malefor's sobbing stopped as he looked up into the eyes of the Fire Guardian. Although the curtain of tears blurred his view, Infernus stood out clearly.

"You are no longer bound. Why are you still here?"

The young dragon slowly lowered his head, head dropping down shamefully.

"That's all I'm good for, Infernus. Sleeping, dreaming, and taking hits. Maybe... maybe Voltron is right. Maybe I'm just... a wyvern that looks like a dragon."

He looked up to see the elder dragon once more. He expected him to walk away or maybe scold him for speaking ill of Voltron, whom everyone seemed to like so much. He wasn't like him. Voltron had learnt his first elemental attack one year earlier than the norm and was a natural prodigy in nearly everything. Much unlike him, the purple freak, the wyvern who believes he's a dragon.

But Infernus did none of that. In fact, the dragon slowly sat down and brought one of his paws forward, making him stand up.

"You are wrong, Malefor. It's not all you are good for."

Infernus paused, allowing the words to sink in before he continued.

"Although it is true that it is not normal for a dragon to still not know an elemental technique at your age, there is more to a dragon than just elemental magic. In all of the manual tasks that were given to you, you have excelled at them, taking greater care than other hatchlings did. And although it is true that you do not know elemental techniques and thus, could not follow the lessons properly... I have seen you, when you tried to train by yourself."

At this moment, the purple hatchling's eyes widened. He saw him use the machine and call upon training dummies? He thought the Guardians had not seen him!

"I-I'm sorry, I-I..."

But he was interrupted both by words and by something that took him totally by surprise. On the dragon's face, there was a smile. A weak one, true... but a genuine smile.

"Although you lack formal training, you have natural talent. Those techniques that you used against those training dummies... many dragons take many years to learn them, young dragon."

Wait a minute! Was Infernus trying to tell him that...?

"Young dragon, if you were devoid of talents, we would not bother punishing you. There is no waste in having a hatchling who can never learn sleeping all day, young dragon. The reason why we become angry at you when you sleep during the day is because that you could use this time to better yourself rather than just sleep away your days, wasting your youth."

"You mean that..." Malefor left the question hanging yet Infernus understood very well. He slowly nodded as an answer before continuing.

"You are a dragon of many talents. I am sure that you could learn to use the elements if you would put as much effort in your elemental training as you put creativity into finding new spots to sleep."

The elder dragon stood up, stepping away.

"There is no shame to be had, no reason to cry, young dragon. Stand proudly and make use of your time. This is all we ask of you."

Malefor slowly got back on his four and brought one of his claws to his eyes, wiping the tears off before turning to the larger dragon, a smile forming. Although the tears had yet to fully vanish, the hatchling now had a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Infernus..."

"It was only my duty. I will see you later, young dragon." And with this said, the elder dragon began to walk away.

Yet, as he did, he couldn't help but to look back. To be a Guardian required one to be impartial and to throw away all passion, treating the hatchlings as dictated by the tradition so that they would grow up into the best dragons possible. Seeing the purple hatchling's sadness and shame fade away brought peace to the old dragon's mind, making him forget about his own worries. In a way, this was the real reason he had accepted the duty of being a Guardian...

As Malefor left the Dragon Temple, his step had a new spring to it, a new energy. A smile was visible on his face, the young dragon feeling motivation within his mind anew. He passed the large gate and back into the city, feeling ready to face the world anew.

"H-hey! Malefor!"

A high-pitched, feminine voice caused the purple dragon to stop in his tracks. Judging from its desperate, begging tone, the hatchling could already guess to whom it belonged and why it had such a tone.

The dragon looked to the right then to the left. However, as he looked high and low, he didn't see anyone or anything. How strange... he's convinced he heard her!

"Above you, Malefor!"

The hatchling slowly turned around, facing the gate anew and slowly, looked up. And it was then that he finally saw her.

A black dragoness, her scales shiny and smooth, her sleeker, thinner frame hanging upside-down as she flapped her tiny velvet wings, a magical chain linking her tail, near the can opener-shaped bladed tip, to the top of the gate. The female dragoness kept flapping her wings in vain attempts to change her position but only succeeded into making herself sway back and forth like an angry black bell.

"Cynder!"

The dragoness frowned deeply as she stared down at the purple dragon, hanging helplessly from her position. A smirk slowly came to Malefor as he suppressed a laugh.

"I know that you got a sleeker frame and cute 'lil wings but geez! You're not a bat, Cynder!"

"Ha ha ha, very funny. Give me a hand, will you?"

The purple dragon shook his head. Truly, what was she thinking?

"What did you do this time, Cyn'?"

The female dragon finally stopped flapping her wings madly, her frame coming to a stop. He took note about the hook-shaped blades that were placed at the tip of her wings' articulations. He knew that as funny as it was to mock Cynder in her moments of weakness, she usually remembered the offense and well, receiving those hook-shaped blades in the eye was pretty painful.

"Nothing, I swear!"

The purple dragon's eyes narrowed as he padded his way just underneath the dragoness and looked up directly into her eyes, his expression showing that he was obviously not believing her. Frustration growing, the female began to flail her limbs, trying to get into a better position so she could stare back but gravity did not agree, the female staying definitely stuck like this.

Her struggle continued for a few seconds before she tired anew. Sighing loudly, Cynder rolled her eyes and decided to tell him the truth.

"I replaced the Mana Spirit Gem in the training area with a used Spirit Gem I painted green and then I hid the Spirit Gem in one of the fountains." she admitted.

Malefor's stern expression swiftly turned into one of disbelief as he stood there, blinking.

"You did WHAT?"

"Yeah, I know..." she said sadly... but quickly enough, a sly smile came to her as she winked at the male. "It was totally worth it, though! All of the hatchlings and even the Guardians just kept trying to use elemental breath attacks without ever figuring why it wasn't working, trying to replenish their powers from a Spirit Gem that contained none. It was hilarious!"

Malefor couldn't believe it. He stepped back, shaking his head in dismay while the dragoness couldn't help but giggle.

Really... what a crazy female! How did he ever come to call that girl his friend?

But then, she was quite the trouble-maker. Cynder had no intention of submitting to anyone and would most probably continue to cause havoc as much as possible for quite a while.

...not that Malefor whined about it. Cynder's tricks never failed to make him laugh internally and well... he was glad for the company.

When you always got grounded and punished next to someone else, especially someone as free-spirited as Cynder, it helped keeping the loneliness at bay.

"Say, Malefor... what's this mark on your back? Physical punishment again?" His thoughts were interrupted when Cynder stopped her fits of giggling, discovering the truth about what had happened to him. A bit of the shame returning, the purple dragon nodded.

"Geez! That was nasty! They shouldn't have-"

The female didn't finish her sentence, as if surprised. At first, Malefor wondered if a beetle or some other insect had landed on his face and he reached for his snout but his claws reaching nothing, he turned to the side slightly.

A loud, high-pitched yelp escaped the purple dragon and he had to keep himself from scampering away in panic as he began to shake violently, badly startled by Voltron. What was that yellow bully doing here? Why was he standing there, gazing at Cynder? Was he going to bully her too?

"Oh. Voltron," said Cynder in a cold, flat tone.

Malefor watched carefully as the larger hatchling just stood there silently for a moment, waiting a few more seconds before finally speaking up.

"Why, Cynder?"

"Why what, Voltron?" replied Cynder, her tone not even one bit nicer.

"Why do you continue to do this, Cynder? You are a beautiful, graceful female... and talented, too! Why does a wind dragoness like you waste her time playing tricks and hanging with losers like that purple freak?" the yellow hatchling pointed at Malefor as he said the last two words, emphasizing very much on the word "freak".

Cynder's eyes narrowed as a long, bored sigh escaped her.

"Oh, and I should act any different?"

The yellow dragon quickly turned back to the black dragoness, nodding energetically. "Yes! You could become one of the most respected students in the entire city!"

"You say I should act like you?" asked the young dragoness, causing the larger male hatchling to make another quick, energetic nod as a reply. "You think I should do just as you do? Defile Spirit Gems to boost my power artificially, bully other hatchlings into giving up, suck up to the Guardians and other adults like some kind of parasite, lie to everyone else and make up stories to cover my tracks, pull off nasty tricks and blame them on others to eliminate competition, and act like A COMPLETE MONSTER?"

Voltron's smile became a bit nervous but his confident expression didn't leave him. It never left him. Never ever.

"You're exaggerating! I only do what is necessary to be a good student. The best dragons get to shape up the future, that's what the Guardians say after all!"

"And I guess it involve making everyone's lives miserable? Get lost, Voltron! I hate you!"

"Geez! Such a strong word!" he turned to Malefor for a moment, his ever-confident smirk widening a bit. "Such a waste. She could be one of the top students and instead, she hangs with the likes of you. Bah. Pity can't last forever, wyvern. She'll eventually realize that the place of a dragoness like her is with true dragons, such as me, and leave you there, all alone. I'll be seeing you later, loser."

The yellow hatchling turned around and finally walked away.

As Voltron finally left, Malefor's fear finally vanished as he watched him waltz away, acting as if he owned the city and everything in it.

Head hanging low, Malefor slowly walked back into the Dragon Temple, emptiness gnawing at his mind. He didn't feel like exploring the city anymore.

TO BE CONTINUED...