Prologue

Ten long years had passed since Malefor's Imprisonment. Ten years of peace.

Over that time period, new dragons were beginning to walk the earth, all of them bearing new physical traits, as well as brand new elements, the likes of which had never been seen before.

But alas, the supposed prosperity brought about by the Dark Master's defeat only laid way to new threats. First came destruction in the form of Zevron, the son of Malefor. Next came madness in the form of the spirit of the Ice King, Dante. And then, a new threat arose to cast the Dragon race into doom and chaos: the dragon race itself. All the different types of dragons were bickering and arguing over what parts of the land belonged to who. If something wasn't done, the dragon race would be left splintered in a chaotic, bloody mess.

And in the ancient dragon city of Warfang, two heroes were about resolve everything.

...

The sun had just set.

A Purple dragon, halfway through his twenties, approached the balcony that was just outside his and his mate's chamber. The balcony overlooked the Temple Gardens, as well as a small section of the city beyond.

The dragon was tall and thickly built, but not quite as large or burly as most other dragons. He had two Golden horns upon his head, which bent backwards like thick Lightning bolts. A long line of Golden backspikes ran down his back, and a large, round blade adorned the end of his tail. His back was covered in a thick, Golden cloak, which was held together by a small chain. all four of his legs were covered in thick, Golden stockings, which had slits for his talon tips to slip through. Various pieces of Jewlery adorned his horns, and a Golden medallion was hung over around his neck.

This dragon was none other than Spyro

The Hero looked his outfit over with his Purple eyes. His groaned with chagrin: Even after all this time, he still wasn't used to such clothing.

"Why am I supposed to wear this stuff, Cyn?" He asked. "It's not like it's going make any difference at the council tonight. Plus, I don't feel all that comfortable, and I look like a fool."

"Well, I happen to think you look rather dashing, Spy."

A Black dragoness approached from within the chamber.

The dragoness was the same age as Purple one. She had a slender, yet somewhat muscular build. Six Silver horns stood outwards upon her head, all of which were decorated in Silver rings. A pattern of strange runes adorned her face, just above her Emerald eyes and beaklike snout. Silver backspikes grew outwards from her back, and a curved blade grew out of her tail. Several large, Silver bangles covered her ankles, and a large "choker" adorned her neck. A thick, Magenta coat was placed across her torso, which nearly matched the tone of her underbelly and wing membranes. A Silver medallion was worn about her, which had an Amber stone emblazoned in the center.

This dragoness was Cynder.

The Purple dragon turned towards his mate, and smiled at her comment.

"You look rather lovely as well." He stated.

"Thanks, Spyro." Cynder replied.

The two dragons briefly kissed each other, and then turned to look at the city limits.

"The Council's going to begin within the hour." Spyro said. "We better get going. Terrador and the others will be waiting for us."

"Yes," Cynder agreed, "But not just yet."

The Black dragoness turned back towards their stone-and-metal chamber and walked towards a pair of small, silver cushions that sat just before the dragons' large silk mattress. One one cushion was a small, Black-shelled egg. And on the other, was a small, sleeping, Purple dragon cub.

The cub, a girl, was roughly three years old. She had a small, chubby body, with a Magenta underbelly and wing membranes. She had large, Emerald eyes, though they were closed tightly in her slumber. six Amethyst hornstubs grew from her head: four upon her lower jaw, and two just behind her eyes. A short stubble of Black hair grew allover her scalp, and four tiny digits were upon each of her paws: signs that she was born after the start of the New Age. A small swordblade, only a few inches long, grew out of her tailend.

Cynder reached over to the cub with a forepaw and lightly shook her daughter awake.

"Time to get up, Chrisala." The Black dragoness said sweetly. "We need to go to the Council soon."

The Purple cub groaned as she awoke, and looked up unhappily at her mother.

"I'm stiww sweepy, Mommy." Chrisala complained. "Can't you and Daddy go without me?"

"You know that we can't leave you alone, Chrisala." Cynder said sternly. "And we haven't been able to find anyone to look after you while your father and I go, since everyone we know's already left for the Council."

"But I want to sweep some mowe." The cub protested.

"You can go back to sleep later, dear."

"Pwomise?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Okay..." Chrisala slowly sat up on her haunches to look directly at Cynder.

"Can I wide on youw back, Mommy?" She asked with pleading eyes.

The Black dragoness chuckled at this. She turned around and sat down on her hauches as well.

"Clime on up, dear." She stated. "And be careful."

Chrisala slowly crawled up her mother's back, watching out for the adult dragoness's backspikes. As the Purple cub reached Cynder's neck, she carefully wrapped her wings around the Black dragoness's hide and locked her wingblades together.

As this happened, Cynder turned back around and carefully picked up the small Black egg with her forepaws.

"Spyro, could you please bring me my satchel?"

"Sure thing, Cyn."

The Purple dragon walked over to a wooden dresser on the opposite side of the room, and grabbed a large, Silver cloth satchel off the top of it. He then approached his mate, and slung the satchel over her neck, careful to avoid Chrisala.

"Are you sure you're comfortable with bringing the egg with us too, Cyn?" Spyro asked.

"As I said before, there's no one here trustworthy enough to look after it in our absence." The Black dragoness answered.

"Why not those Wind dragonesses?" The Purple male suggested. "They seemed pretty eager to do everything you tell them."

Cynder gave Spyro a look, which made him falter.

"No." She stated. "I wouldn't trust anyone besides the Guardians, William or Blizzard with our egg."

"If you say so..."

Cynder slipped the Black egg gently into the satchel, and then shut it tight. She adjusted ithe strap so that the egg wouldn't bounce around to much while she was in flight.

Spyro turned back towards the balcony, as did the adult dragoness.

"Uh, Daddy...?" Chrisala asked.

"Yes, Chrissy?" Spyro replied.

"Will we see Uncwe Wiwwy and Aunt Bwee-zy at the Counciw?"

"Of course, Chrisala." The Purple dragon answered.

"Yay!" The cub cheered happily. Cynder laughed at this.

"Ready to go see them, dear?" She asked her daughter.

"Uh-huh!"

"Then let's go." Spyro declared.

The Purple dragon took to flight, followed shortly by Cynder. The two dragones headed off for their destination.

The Warfang Coliseum.

...

The Coliseum was a massive, circular building, that had just recently seen completion. It was designed with two main chambers in the center: A larger one, which lacked a roof so that dragons could fly within, and a smaller one, built directly underneath the first, so that landlocked beings, like Moles and Cats, could enter inside.

There was a large ring of bleachers placed around a large, flat section on the floor. Countless numbers of beings, Dragon and Nondragon alike, filled these stands, and looked downwards at the large arena below.

The most obvious part of the furniture placed about the center of the arena was the massive, circular stone table smackdab in the middle of the chamber. a Total of seventeen large, well-manufactured cushions were placed around the table. Five of the cushions were Golden, while all the other ones were Silver.

In three of the Gold cushions sat three powerful, thickly built dragons. They were the three Guardians of Warfang: Volteer, of Lighting, Terrador, of Earth, and Cyril, of Ice. Terrador sat in the middle Cushion, while the two directly beside him were barren, and the next two were occupied by Cyril and Volteer. A tall, Lightning dragoness in her early thirties stood beside Volteer, while an Earth dragoness roughly the same age stood beside Terrador. They were Lectra and Topaz: the respective daughters of the two Guardians.

In most of the Silver cushions sat various dragons, all of which had their own hide color, and element. They were also all dragons created during the New Age, given aged bodies right from the beginning, since they had died at matching ages before the Age started. To Cyril's side, sat a bizarrely-hided dragon.

The dragon, a male, was roughly in his mide-to-late twenties, and had a somewhat thick build. He had a hindsection and tail that was Black as Midnight, while the rest of his torso from the midsection on was White as snow. The rightside of the dragon's face was Midnight black as well, covering an exact half of the dragon's head before fading to white at the start of the neck. The dragon's Silver horns curled like those or a ram, and he had Deep, Emerald eyes.

This dragon was William, the King of the Ice dragon colonies.

Just to William's right, sat the Ice dragoness Blizzard, William's mate.

The dragoness was slightly younger than William, and had a thin, slender build, with a rather curvy rear. She had an Light Blue hide, and a bright yellow underbelly and wing membranes. Her two silver horns grew outwards behind her Ocean blue eyes diagonally, and a large, Crystal-like cluster was encrusted onto her scalp. An elegant necklace was hung around her neck.

"Where are Spyro and Cynder?" Blizzard asked.

"Beats me." William answered. "I would've expected them to be here by now, though."

Not a moment too soon, Spyro and Cynder flew downwards from the opening in the Coliseum Roof, and came to a landing near William, Blizzard, and the three Guardians. All the other dragons and Nondragons in the room fell silent at the sight of the two heroes.

"Greetings, everyone." Cynder. stated, approaching one of the empty Golden cushions besides Terrador.

"What kept you?" Terrador demanded. "We've been awaiting your arrival."

"My apologies, Terrador." Spyro replied. "We still haven't grown accustomed to dressing ourselves in these outfits."

As this happened, Chrisala looked over at where William and Blizzard were, and smiled at them, her tail wagging happily. The Black-and-White dragon and Ice dragoness chuckled at this.

"Nice to see you, Chrisala." Blizzard said, grinning.

"Hewwo, Uncwe Wiwwy!" The cub shouted.

"Hush, Chrisala." Cynder scolded, putting a talon before her daughter's snout. "Don't speak so loud here."

"Sowwy, Mommy." The cub stated ashamedly.

As William and Blizzard chuckled quietly at Chrisala's silliness, Cynder took her seat beside Terrador, Spyro began speaking.

"On behalf of myself, my mate, and all of the Guardians," He said, "I'd like to thank the twelve of you, who sit upon the Silver Cushions, for taking the time to come to this Council."

"As you all know," Cynder stated, "It has been a total of ten years since Malefor's defeat. In that time, many new dragons have appeared all across the newly-reshaped land. And what wonderous creatures they are: Twelve types of dragons, with twelve different elements at each type's beck and call."

"Unfortunately, problems have arisen because of this." Spyro began again. "With so many different breeds of dragons, they have all begun fighting amongst themselves over who had sovereignity over where. The Guardians, as well as Cynder and I, believe that order needs to be established among the dragon breeds, or chaos will spead like a virus."

"What do you suppose should be done?" One of the dragons in the cushions, a Brown-hided male, asked.

"We have recently come across the most perfect solution we could find." Terrador responded.

The Earth dragon reached underneath the stone table for a moment, and then pulled out a large, folded-up tapestry, and placed it on the table. He then spread it out, so that all around it could see its contents.

"This tapestry holds a map of the Dragon Realms, as they currently are." Terrador declared. "It is the first map to be created of our land in the New Age."

The many dragons about the table took a moment to analyze the map. Two massive continents, a larger Northern one and a smaller Southern one, took up most of it, while three strings of Islands could be seen on either side of the Northern continent, and in the center of the large Ocean in the center of the world. Large chunks of each part of the map were colored with different hues of Green, Red, Blue and Yellow. Four small stars, two on each continent, could be seen as well.

"Amazing work..." A Fire dragon stated, "But what good is it to us?"

"Wetookthelibertyof dividinglargepartsofthe mapintoatotal oftwelvesections." Volteer declared, speaking almost too fast for anyone to understand. "Wealsodecided tocalleachandevery oneofyoutocometoWarfang becauseyouareallthe mostpowerfulwielders , asfarasweknow."

"Uh... What for?" William asked.

"Well," Cyril replied, "We have all decided that, in order for civility and peace to be established, all of the dragons throughout the world should be divided up into a total of twelve subgroups."

"Subgroups?" Blizzard queried.

"Clans." Cynder stated. "Twelve Clans of dragons, one for each of the elements, shall inherit a small part of the Dragon realms."

The crowd began to murmur at this, while Cynder continued talking.

"You twelve have all been selected to become the new rulers of each of these clans, since dragons of matching elements will respect your great power."

"Sounds like a decent enough plan to me." A Silver dragoness declared.

"Aye," Another Silver dragon agreed. "But how will we be established as rulers?"

Cynder turned her head towards the back of the Arena.

"Enter." She commanded.

Not a moment later, a large group of Cheetahs and Lions, all of whom were dressed in Mystic's robes and carrying a wooden staff, entered the area and surrounded the dragons.

"With the aid of these Cat magicians and sorcerers," Spyro stated, "Each of you shall be imprinted with a magic Glyph: A Royal birthmark that shall be embedded into your very blood, and shine brightly on a spot on your body. You will also be given complete authority over every dragon that has the same element as yourself."

"Do you all agree to this?" Terrador asked.

Most of the dragons around the table nodded or voiced their approval.

"I have a question." The Dark Red dragon stated. "Why aren't either Spyro or yourself being given authority over a Clan, milady?"

Cynder chuckled at being called this.

"Well," She responded, "Spyro has been asked to take up the mantle of Guardian here in Warfang, while I have been asked to take up control of the city of Aeroshard."

"Enough dawdle." Terrador stated. "All of you: Stand up on your haunches."

Each of the twelve dragons did as they were told, and the Magicians and Sorcerers all began chanting a spell in ancient draconian language.

"Tenebra ecce Lux, Lux ecce Tenebrus. Tenebra ecce Lux, Lux ecee Tenebrus..."

A great number of magical masses of energy, each of various colors, flowed out of the Cats' staffs, and surrounded one of each of the twelve dragons. As this happened, Spyro and Cynder began reading off a list of names.

"The dragon known as Inferdus shall be King of Clan Aries, the clan of Pain, and take rule over the string of Mountains on the northern coast of the Northern continent." Cynder stated.

The Dark Red dragon's sides were emblazoned with a Red pair of crossed Infinity signs.

"The dragon known as Raunn shall be King of Clan Taurus, the clan of Fauna, and take rule over the massive Jungle on the northern continent's Western side." The Black dragoness declared.

A Silver dragon's forehead was emblazoned with a Yellow roaring Lionhead.

"The dragoness known as Watina shall be Queen of Clan Gemini, the clan of Lightning, and take rule over the string of Hills and Valleys along the northern edge of the Southern continent." Spyro stated.

A Bright yellow dragoness's left forepaw was emblazoned with a Yellow lightning bolt.

"The dragoness known as Veros shall be Queen of Clan Cancer, the clan of Memory, and take rule over the city of Warfang, as well as part of the eastern side of the plainsaround it." The Purple dragon declared.

A Pink dragoness's hindlegs were emblazoned with Purple crabs, one on each side.

"The dragoness known as Aechos shall be Queen of Clan Leo, the clan of Sound, and take rule over the massive valley on the Western side of the Southern continent." Cynder declared.

The silver dragoness's throat was emblazoned with a Purple rippling Echo pattern.

"The dragon known as Kilon shall be King of Clan Virgo, the clan of Earth, and take rule over the mountain range on the Eastern side of the Southern Continent." Spyro declared.

The Green dragon's back was emblazoned with a Yellow Inverted Circle.

"The dragoness known as Amalia shall be Queen of Clan Libra, the clan of Time, and take rule over the city of Glenhaven, and part of the surrounding desert." The Purple dragon stated.

A Golden-hided dragoness was emblazoned with a Red set of scales on her right forepaw.

"The dragoness known as Tarune shall be Queen of Clan Scorpion, the clan of Flora, and take rule over the city of Faeshrine, and the surrounding Forest." The Black dragoness stated.

A Dark Grey dragoness was emblazoned with a Purple Lily Flower on her chest.

"The dragon known as Pyrus shall be King of Clan Sagittarius, the clan of Fire, and take rule over the string of Volcanic islands to the West of the Northern continent." Spyro declared.

The bright Red dragon's wing membranes were emblazoned with a pair of Red, Flaming arrowheads.

"The dragon known as Zenith shall be King of Clan Capricorn, the clan of Space, and take rule over the floating islans to the East of the Northern contintent." Cynder declared.

The Dark-Red dragon's shoulders were emblazoned with Blue hourglasses.

"The dragoness known as Arcus shall be Queen of Clan Aquarius, the clan of Wind, and take rule over the city of Aeroshard, as well as the eastern portion of the surrounding desert." The Black dragoness stated.

A Dark Green dragoness was emblazoned with a Green, swirling Cyclone on the base of her tail.

"And lastly, the dragon known as William shall be King of Clan Pisces, the clan of Water, and take rule over the string of Islands of the central ocean." The Purple dragon declared.

The Black-and-White dragon was emblazoned with a small, Blue tear drop, on the top-left side of his head.

All twelve of the dragons marveled at their new Royal Glyphs, while Terrador stood up and faced the crowd.

"Look on, one and all: The twelve Monarchs of the New Age of dragons stand before you."

All of the beings, Dragon and Nondragon alike, bowed their heads in servitude towards the Kings and Queens.

"All hail the Monarchs!" Someone shouted.

Everyone gave out cheers towards the dragons around the table.

"And all hail Spyro and Cynder!" Another dragon exclaimed. "None of this would've been possible without their efforts!"

Everyone else in the arena besides the Purple and Black dragons shouted out thunderous cheer and applause.

"Long live Lord Spyro! Long live Lady Cynder!"

The two dragons blushed in embarassment.

"That's... that's not really necessary." Spyro stated.

"We only did what was needed." Cynder added.

"Does evwybody like you two, Daddy?" Chrisala asked, astonished.

"I guess so, Chrisala." The Purple dragon replied, still feeling sheepish.

William and Blizzard laughed.

"Well, what did you two expect?" The newly-appointed Water dragon asked, grinning. "You're heroes, after all."

"We know that." Cynder replied. "But still, it's kind of embarrassing having everyone cheer our names like this."

"Well then, you're going to get all the more embarrased as you get older." Blizzard stated.

"What makes you say that?" Spyro wondered.

"Well, if you keep doing good deeds for the dragon race, then there'll be more reasons to sing your praises."

"So, the only way to get everyone to leave you alone is start being evil." William declared smugly."

"Oh, ha ha." Spyro stated, sticking his tongue out.

Cynder, however, glared at the Black-and-White dragon, who was taken aback.

"What?" He asked.

"Don't joke about that, William." She said coldly. "You should know by now how I feel about..."

"Oh." The Water King stated, feeling sheepish. "Sorry, Cyn. I didn't mean to strike a nerve."

"It's alright." The Black dragoness responded. "Just please, watch your tongue around me wtih that subject."

"What'we you talking about, Mommy?" Chrisala asked, confused.

"Never mind, dear."

Around this time, the arena had become silent again. Terrador cleared his throat to speak.

"Now then, it will take some time, but I and the rest of the Guardians believe that new settlements for the dragon race can be constructed all across the realms over a course of-"

Suddenly, a low cracking sound interrupted the Earth Guardian.

"Hmm?" He asked, looking around. Several of the other dragons did too.

"What was that?" Cyril asked.

"Idon'tseeanythingoutoftheordinary." Volteer stated.

"Odd." Terrador muttered. "As I was saying, the settlements shall be constructed during-."

Another cracking sound filled the air.

"What in blazes is that racket?" The Earth dragon demanded.

A third cracking noise filled the air, and Cynder realized it was coming from directly next to her. She looked down at her satchel, and saw that something was moving around slightly inside it in short jerks to the side.

"The egg!" She exclaimed, eyes wide. "It's hatching!"

The other dragons around the table muttered amongst themselves in astonishment as the Black dragoness immediately reached into her satchel and produced the Black-shelled egg and gently sat it down on the table, away from the edge. The egg had slight cracks near the top and bottom sides, and part of it suddenly broke even further as the creature within it shoved against the shell.

"What's happening, Mommy?" Chrisala asked.

"You're baby brother or sister is waking up." Cynder answered, smiling happily at the shifting egg.

"No way!" William exclaimed. "You brought your other child here too?"

"We didn't have anyone to entrust with its safety!" Spyro responded.

Part of the eggshell broke, and a tiny hindleg kicked out of the side. The egg wobbled, and flopped over as the leg unbalanced it. A short moment later, another chubby hindleg broke free, followed by a wing. Finally, the top part of the egg broke away, and a small head burst out.

Spyro and Cynder were filled with joy as their new hatchling broke free of its egg, and flopped onto it's side, mewling softly. All of the other adult dragons smiled at the sight of the baby dragon.

"He's adorable!" Blizzard declared, smiling.

"Yes, quite." Terrador remarked.

The hatchling's scales were completely Black, but it's underbelly and wing membranes were a Golden color, similar to Spyro. It also had two tiny stubs for horns just above and behind its big round eyes, and tiny bits of hair were growing on its scalp. The hatchling had a short array of spikes on its back, and a tiny little stub of a tailblade.

Cynder reached down and lifted her tiny hatchling up, so that she could lick the shell fragments and gooey slime off it's body. The hatchling writhed around a little, squeaking in displeasure.

"Hold still, my little one." The dragoness said softly.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" William asked.

After the hatchling was cleaned of its filth, Spyro gently took it from Cynder's grip, and looked it over for a moment. A joyful grin spread across his muzzle.

"It's a boy." The Purple dragon declared, handing the hatchling back to his mate. Chrisala gasped in delight.

"I have a baby bwother!" She said happily, her tail wagging again.

The other dragons at the table cheered at Spyro's declaration, as did the beings in the bleachers. In the meantime, Cynder held her son up in the air before her, looking into his large, Purple eyes. The hatchling wailed a little, tiny fangs visible in his miniscule muzzle. A moment later, he quieted down, and looked back into his mother's eyes, focusing on them curiously. The Black dragoness teared up a little from her joy.

"What should I name you, little one?" She wondered out loud.

"Can I make a suggestion?" William asked.

"What would that be?" Spyro queried.

"Maybe you could name him after your fallen mentor." The Black-and-White dragon.

"Hmm..."

"Ihaveabetteridea, if you don't mind me interrupting." Volteer's daughter Lectra chipped in. "Maybeyoucouldnamehim afteroneoftheancient dragonphilosophersofold."

"That's too overdone." Terrador's daughter Topaz interjected. "Perhaps a majestic name, like that of a King or a Lord."

"Why would Cynder want to do that?" Blizzard demanded. "She should name it after one of the constellations. Isn't that right, William?"

"Uh..." The Black-and-White dragon stammered.

"Istillthinkaphilosopher's namewouldbebest forthehatchling." Lectra declared.

"Thatseemslike agoodidea tomeaswell." Volteer agreed.

"Oh, stop that." Terrador demanded. "It's Spyro and Cynder's decision, not yours."

"However, a King's name would fit the boy perfectly." Cyril responded. "It's not every day that a hatchling enters the world under these circumstances."

"Who asked you to step in, Sir Cyril?" Topaz exclaimed.

Pretty soon, the guardians and their daughters, daughter-in-law in Cyril's case, started getting into an arguement, much to the Monarchs' amusement.

During this, Cynder sat in thought, while her child cooed softly, looking around at the bickering dragons in confusion.

Hmm, this IS a rare occasion. He was born on the night of the founding of the new clans. Perhaps something that reflects this gathering, and the fact that the monarchs all share a special connection, like a nexus, or a..

As the Black dragoness thought of the word "nexus", a large beam of moonlight suddenly entered through the whole in the roof. The soft blue moonlight illuminated the area in the air in which the hatchling was held in, which caught the attention of all the dragons in the arena.

"Look at that!" William shouted.

"Wheredidthat moonlightcomefrom?" Volteer queeried.

Spyro and Cynder were startled.

"What's wong, Mommy?" Chrisala asked.

"When I thought of the word 'nexus'," The Black dragoness stated, "This light appeared. But why?"

"Hmmm..." Cyril mumbled. "Perhaps it's a sign from the Ancestors. Maybe they want the child to be named after the idea of the nexus the Monarchs all share here."

"Do you really think that's the case?" Spyro asked.

"I think so, but I can't say that I KNOW so, Spyro." The Ice Guardian replied. "You two will have to decide for yourselves."

The Purple dragon looked into his mate's eyes.

"What do you think, Cyn?" He asked.

The Black dragoness thought for a moment.

"...I've decided." She declared.

"I will name my son... Nexius."

Just after Cynder said this, the moonlight grew even wider, engulfing the entirety of the table and all of the dragons sitting before it. The beings in the bleachers were awestruck.

"By the ancestors!" William exclaimed.

"This is weird!" Blizzard added. "Interesting, but weird."

While most of the other dragons were confused by what had just happened, Spyro and Cynder looked up their son, smiling.

"Nexius." Spyro repeated. "You sure, Cyn?"

"Of course." The Black dragoness answered. "This is our son: Nexius."

"As you wish, Cynder."

That was the night when the first Black dragon of the New Age was born. The night when everything changed.

For better, and worse.