Epilogue

The room was lit by the feeble light of candles around the walls, settled on shelves between dusty tomes and old books. But they weren't the only light. In the centre of the room, emitting an eerie blue light that spread across the rock floor, was a giant hourglass. It was very quiet here, where the silence was broken only by the rustling of paper as another page was turned.

A dragon sat beside the hourglass, his scales the colour of dusky blue-grey and a rich blue coat settled over his shoulders. His gaze was fixed solely on the book that floated before him, suspended by some unseen force, its pages the pale beige colour of parchment. With a wave of his paw, the blue-grey dragon turned the page without even touching the book. He had made it to the last page and, with a sigh, he closed the book on the picture that had been depicted on that final page.

The cover of the book was silvery grey, its spine as white as ivory. With another wave of his paw, the old dragon sent the book back to its place on the shelf and called forth another. The book that floated towards him was even larger, and would have been classed as a tome. Its cover was dull lustreless black and it looked older than time itself. The book opened in response to the old dragon.

He quickly found what he was looking for, his eyes searching the page that it had opened to. A new name had appeared in this book, written in curling silvery writing.

Alta – Of the Oracle Tribe.

The old dragon, known by most as the Chronicler, heaved another sigh and closed the book once more. This was the Book of the Dead, a tome where the names of all dragons were recorded when they died. The Chronicler sent the book back to its shelf with another wave of his paw.

"So it is true," he sighed. "Young Alta has passed on, killed by his own despair. He died believing he was the last of his tribe, however…"

He paused, remembering the picture he had seen on the last page of Alta's book, "That is not the case. One remains—the last living member of your tribe. It is a shame you did not live to see him again."

"A shame," the Chronicler repeated softly, before beckoning a different book from another shelf.

This book was purple, edged with magnificent gold, and its pages were not yet complete. The Chronicler, formerly the Guardian of Fire known as Ignitus, opened the book to the most recent page. His gaze found a picture, that of two young dragons sitting together on a balcony, gazing at the moons. These two dragons he knew personally, but had not seen in the flesh for a while.

"Well, Spyro," Ignitus, the Chronicler, smiled. "You have done well to come this far. You have defeated Malefor, pulled the world back together, defeated yet another threat, and filled the streets of Warfang once more. You have surpassed my expectations, young dragon, and I could not be prouder."

"But know this," the Chronicler continued, gazing at the picture, "Your efforts have brought about a new age, ending the age that had started with the birth of the first purple dragon. And with each new age, young dragon, comes new trials and hardships. Trust in your friends and yourself, and you shall never fail."

With a vague smile, Ignitus closed the book and returned it back to its shelf, knowing it was far from complete. Spyro's life was only just beginning. There were many more journeys, adventures and trials awaiting him. But as long as Cynder and his friends remained at his side, Ignitus knew the purple dragon would not stray from the right path.

"A new age has only just begun."

Fin

Note

Hey everyone,

There are two things I need to say. The first is, to those of you who don't already know, the sequel to Tears of an Oracle is already out. It's called Residual Darkness and you can find it on my profile. If you enjoyed this story and think you might be interested in the sequel, go check it out.

The second is that I'm going to be editing and resubmitting a few of the earlier chapters of Tears of an Oracle. They're only going to be small edits, nothing that will change the overall story, but these little things have just been bugging me! And when something bugs me, I have to change it! That will happen within the next few days, most likely.

One more thing, I want to thank all my reviewers (again). Thanks to you I reached over 200 reviews, something that I never expected. So thank you so much everyone!

Sorry for this boring little note. I hope you'll all grace me with your presence for the sequel, and I'm glad you all enjoyed reading this story!

~Riverstyxx

Over a year later: Yes, I finally got around to editing and resubmitting these chapters. 'Within the next few days' indeed… Procrastination is my immortal enemy. Thanks everyone for reading Tears of an Oracle and I hope you enjoyed it!