Author's note:

I'm going to say it right now: this starting chapter is really REALLY shaky, and has some significant characterization problems. Please give me a chance, and at least read through chapter 2 (which is MUCH better than chapter 1) before deciding whether or not this story is another mediocre Post-DotD fic clogging up the section.

Uncharted:

Beyond the foothills of the lush mountain lands

Lies a river across the lakes

And not even fate or destiny's hands

Have seen the final turn this river takes

All of its bends and mysteries

Can only discovered by the open-hearted

And even to this day in the river's histories

Its end remains uncharted

Chapter One: Uncharted

Massive chunks of earth rivaling the size of tiny asteroids collapsed in on the cavern that made up the center of the world, roaring and shaking the very air of the subterranean chamber. Amidst this falling rubble and chaos, a black dragoness was desperately flying to escape the cavern, which would be completely caved in within the next ten minutes. Clutched in this dragoness's claws was the one reason that she had fought so valiantly against the forces of the Dark Master with every ounce of her being: her travelling companion and over time, best friend, Spyro.

Cynder exhaustedly soared on through the subterranean cavern with only her will to live and her passion for those she held dear powering her wings. Just as Spyro had carried her out of Convexity when he first rescued her from her master's direct influence, their roles were now reversed, and she was now carrying the purple dragon through their last endeavor of the war.

It was hard to believe that it was finally all over, that Malefor was finally gone. To Cynder, it seemed almost surreal; she had finally faced her greatest fear, the malevolent inner demon that haunted every waking moment of her life, and at long last she had finally defeated it, but the black dragoness could never have done it alone…

In all of her exhaustion, Cynder smiled warmly at the thought of the purple dragon clutched gently in her claws. As their time together went on, the young dragoness couldn't explain it, but being with Spyro started to make her feel… happy somehow. It was a somewhat awkward feeling to Cynder, and the black dragoness felt almost embarrassed by it, but she didn't care. Her future was just a few wing flaps away, and it was the thought of a possible future with Spyro that gave the black dragoness the surge of energy she needed to propel herself and the unconscious purple dragon she carried out of the main cluster of falling rocks, and out into the starry Avalarian night sky.

The earth was still mending itself, and rifts in the surface of the valley could be seen, but its natural beauty still shone through the damage as the celestial moons and thousands of stars cast their faint glow over the mystical enchanted forests and vibrant rolling hills of the land, as well as the snow-covered mountain peaks and softly illuminated cheetah settlement off in the distance. Cynder glided over to the river, and gently set Spyro down. Her final endeavor of the war was complete. They had truly done it. Their battle was won at last! …Or was it? Suddenly remembering the purple dragon's condition, Cynder worriedly rushed back over to her companion, ignoring the searing pain in her wings and limbs from her fatigue.

"Spyro?" asked Cynder as she gently nuzzled the purple dragon, beckoning for him to wake up. There was no response. "Spyro… come on, get up." The black dragoness gently poked Spyro repeatedly with her tail scythe. A tiny shadow of fear crossed Cynder's mind.

'No!' The black dragoness refused to accept it. He couldn't be. Not after all that they had gone through. Fate couldn't be this cruel. "Spyro… please get up!" she pleaded, a little louder than before. By now, the black dragoness was jostling her companion with no response, the seed of fear growing ever larger in her conscience. "Spyro… don't put me through this, get up now please" The black dragoness begged. She brought one of her paws to his neck, and brought the side of her head to his chest. Her fears came to manifestation: there was no pulse: only cold listless scales.

"No…" Cynder backed away from the purple dragon. "No…" Her eyes watered. "Nooooooo!" she cried. Her legs gave out from under her, and she fell, broken in heart and mind, on top of the one dragon who had truly accepted her, her only true companion and friend her age. All of those moments Cynder had fought with nothing but hope for the future and the ones she loved to keep her standing strong died at once. She had fought for everything she believed in, only to have it lost at the end of the battle. The black dragoness felt lightheaded as the night scene spun around her and went fuzzy. It didn't matter anymore. Not the new world, not the end of Malefor, not the-

A loud and obnoxious snore from the purple dragon in question startled Cynder out of her catharsis, and she quickly jumped off of Spyro in surprise. The purple dragon rolled over mumbled something incomprehensible as he shifted slightly, and then settled, breathing lightly in a peaceful slumber. It seemed those purple scales weren't as cold and listless as she initially thought. Cynder had never in her life felt such a strong urge to both slap someone and nuzzle them at the same time as she did then.

"Guess I might've misread your vital signs there... heh," said the black dragoness awkwardly to Spyro's unconscious form as she fought back an elated goofy grin that was uncontrollably breaking out across her muzzle. She considered waking him, but for whatever reason, that didn't seem like a good idea, and plus, it would be a crying shame: Cynder found Spyro's sleeping form, well, captivating to say in the least.

The black dragoness then realized that she had been "taking him in" for unintentionally long period of time, and looked away, blushing slightly. Choosing to not make the situation anymore awkward than it already was, Cynder wordlessly lay down next to him, relaxing, finally giving in to the fatigue in her muscles.

The black dragoness felt an incredible sense of relief and pure happiness wash over her. They had survived, he had survived, but most importantly, it was over... it was finally over. 'But what happens next?' thought Cynder to herself as she watched the stars through her eyelids. Up until this exact point in her life, the black dragoness had always been in the process of accomplishing some kind of mission, but now… there was no one telling her to directly do something. Of course, the logical thing to do would be to find the guardians and maybe rebuild… but then what? Life? What was "life" exactly? How did one simply… live? Head swimming with thoughts, Cynder drifted off to sleep. It was the most peaceful slumber she had in years

The cool morning wind blew across Cynder's face, gently rousing her from sleep as it always did. The black dragoness was a natural early riser, and the morning always felt good to her. The blue light of the time before dawn was very soothing, and she could always depend on it to calm her nerves in times of high anxiety, or even if she just wanted to relax. Cynder took in the breeze that blew across her muzzle. The cool wind signaled that the Season of Ice would be setting in across the valley soon, and that would be something to look forward to. Cynder found that she tolerated the colder months of the year better than the warmer ones, probably due to her dark scales.

A strange noise coming from next to her got the black dragoness's attention, and she turned to face the sleeping purple dragon that lay beside her who was snoring away. Cynder smirked. 'Does he know how loud he is when he sleeps?' she thought to herself with a giggle. 'It's honestly kind of cute...'

It was then that the black dragoness remembered the events of the day before, and caught her breath as the memories rushed back to her. One in particular kept coming back to bother her: the time just before Spyro unleashed his fury, fixing the planet.

'How does he feel about me?' she thought to herself, her emotions a maelstrom over the possibilities. Cynder considered waking the purple dragon up to ask him, but that would seem a bit rude. Plus, Cynder had no guarantee that he was even… the black dragoness bought the side of her head to his chest just to be sure. A steady pulse resonated. Worries put to rest, Cynder stood up and stretched out her wings and back. When she was done stretching, the black dragoness started thinking about what she should do now. A growling from her belly gave her the answer she was looking for. Grateful that Spyro wasn't awake to hear the noise, Cynder set out to the nearby woods to see if she could find anything for breakfast.

Hunting was an essential skill and art for the ancestors to master if they wanted to survive, and through the years, one's ability to hunt had become an important cultural skill among dragons. Cynder herself had studied the ancient ways of hunting with Terrador in her few weeks back at the temple. The dragoness had found the art relatively interesting, but what she found even more fascinating in her studies was how the art of hunting influenced dragon social behavior. Traditionally, the males were competitive in their hunting ability, and showed it off, trying to outdo each other. Females on the other paw traditionally stayed in their dens taking care of hatchlings, and occasionally gathered food. However, in her social studies, Cynder had also discovered that dragons often see skills that they themselves possess as highly attractive characteristics in others, and if she could prove herself to be a good huntress…

The black dragoness arrived at the misty forest across the river stealthily, crouching low to the ground so any potential prey would not see her. Despite looking like a normal forest from a distance, one could see the damage done if they looked closely: odd jagged rifts ran across the ground. Trees that had the misfortune of growing on top of such rifts were utterly split in half, sometimes at odd angles. Despite the wrecked state of the woods, Cynder was able to hunt moderately successfully, and before long, she had caught a pair of woodland rabbits in less than two hours.

By now, the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, and even though she wanted to hunt for longer, the black dragoness decided that she should be back before Spyro woke up. As she flew back to the river, game in her claws, Cynder noticed that the cheetah village was fortunate enough to be spared most of the damage from the world being temporarily blasted apart. The black dragoness wondered if the village was abandoned at the moment: most of the mature males from the settlement had gone along with her, Spyro and the guardians to the dam, but that left the females, children and elders back at home. Had they made it to safety beneath the surface before The Destroyer completed its march around the world? Cynder could only hope. She would be sure to check later. Cynder spotted Spyro laying by the river where she had left him, and glided in, landing lightly beside him.

Spyro saw incoherent shapes dancing around in his field of vision as his awareness slowly returned to him. The purple dragon tried to remember where he was: they had left just Warfang through the underground city… the dam… the destroyer… the destroyer! Spyro's eyes bolted open, expecting to see chunks of earth floating out into the abyss, the world completely torn asunder. Instead, he saw two rabbits lying in front of him along with a familiar face smiling down at him warmly.

"You're awake," said Cynder cheerfully as she pulled away from Spyro, and sat down on her haunches in front of him.

"Cynder?" asked the purple dragon, almost in a confused manner, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "What happened… where are we? Oh, my head…" Spyro brought one of his forepaws to his pounding skull. The black she-dragon in front of him smiled.

"Spyro, you saved the world! You did it!" she exclaimed.

"We did… somehow we did," replied the purple distantly. Spyro eventually composed himself and smiled warmly up to his companion. "I couldn't have done it without you, Cynder," he said compassionately. The black dragoness smiled back as Spyro's expression grew hazy again.

"So how are you feeling?" asked Cynder in a concerned manner, noting her companion's change in demeanor.

"My head is pounding… almost tired I guess?" The purple dragon then turned to face Cynder. "Do you have anything to eat?" he asked. "I'm starving."

Cynder gestured to the two rabbits lying in front of him. "I hunted both of these for you a little while ago," she said, offering both of her catches to the purple dragon. Spyro looked hungrily at the rabbits, but restrained himself.

"Have you eaten yet?" he asked. Cynder nodded.

"Yeah, just a little while ago I-" the black dragoness was suddenly cut off by a loud rumbling in her belly. She looked up to Spyro, grinning sheepishly. "eheh..." Her plan had failed.

"I take that as a no," replied Spyro with an amused smile as he nudged one of the rabbits in Cynder's direction. "You take it," he offered. Cynder looked longingly at the plump morsel. She herself hadn't eaten in nearly sixteen hours.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Spyro nodded. Cynder pulled the hare closer to her as Spyro did the same for his. Out of politeness, both dragons waited for the other to start eating before they did, but since neither went first, all that came of it was an awkward silence. Cynder eventually smirked

"So, uh… bon appetite!" she said as she began to dig into her rabbit. The ice having been broken, Spyro descended upon his as well. While they ate, Cynder occasionally stole glances over to Spyro, who seemed to be indulging in his meat peacefully. Was now a good time to ask him? The black dragoness was dying to know how he felt. She decided to wait until they were done eating before she brought it up.

"So… where do we go from here?" asked Spyro between bites. Cynder looked up in thought.

"We should really find the guardians and everyone else first," she replied. "But after that, it's anyone's guess." The black dragoness turned to face Spyro. "Maybe we should head back to the temple," she added.

"That fell into the Well of Souls, remember?" reminded Spyro.

"Oh right… duh," said Cynder as she comically knocked herself in the side of her head with her right forepaw. "Well, how about we head back to Warfang instead? Word should be able to reach the guardians pretty quickly from there," she suggested as an alternative.

"Sounds like a plan," replied Spyro as the purple dragon gulped down the last edible part of his rabbit.

"But can you fly though?" asked Cynder before she stripped the last piece of meat off of her own rabbit with her fangs. Spyro stretched his broad golden wings out, testing them experimentally.

"Feels like it," he responded as he gave a few quick test-flaps.

"Well that's a good sign. Do you want to lead the way?" offered Cynder. The purple dragon looked down in embarrassment.

"I don't actually know the way to Warfang from here," he admitted. Spyro found Cynder's offer an unusual change of character for her. The black dragoness was usually adamant about being the one who led, and would sometimes complain whenever Spyro assumed the position, yet now she was offering it freely to him. 'How nice of her,' thought the purple dragon to himself.

"Okay then, I guess I'll lead," replied the black dragoness as she unfurled and flexed her own lithe magenta wings. Spyro was standing now, and about to take a running start to get airborne.

"Spyro wait!" called Cynder, stopping the dragon in his tracks. Spyro turned to face the black dragoness.

"What is it?" he asked. Cynder flushed slightly, part from embarrassment, but part from nervousness.

"Sorry, one more thing." The black dragoness turned to look Spyro square in his lavender eyes.

"Do you remember… just before you unleashed your fury… what I said to you?" she asked. The purple dragon looked up in thought. His memory from the day before was extremely hazy and fragmented, especially the parts leading up to and during the fight with Malefor. He was able to remember pieces of his conversation with Cynder, leading up to just before he unleashed his soul fury, but then… what? Spyro felt like he did have some recollection of the general idea of what happened deep within his subconscious, somewhat like a dream, but other than that, there was nothing. Although… the purple dragon did remember that memory to be a particularly happy one… but he couldn't remember exactly why.

"I'm really sorry Cynder… but I'm having trouble. Was there something you wanted to tell me?" he asked compassionately. It looked like Cynder was about to say something very important, but the second before she did, she hesitated momentarily and then sighed.

"Don't worry about it… it's nothing," she responded. Spyro couldn't be sure, but he thought picked up the slightest somber tone in his companion's voice when she said that.

"…Well, alright. If you want to talk about something, just let me know, okay?" the purple dragon asked. Cynder nodded in response. Their hunger and need for sustenance satisfied, the two young drakes took a running start and hopped into the air, opening their wings as they did so, catching wind and taking to the sky. Cynder soared ahead of Spyro, and occasionally glanced back to make sure that he was flying okay. The purple dragon seemed relatively steady on his wings and together, the two dragons rose higher and higher into the air, Cynder scanning the Autumn-colored mountain scenery for any landmarks that would point her in the direction of Warfang.

Eventually, she spotted the foot-hills laden with evergreens and Spruce trees giving the telltale direction of the Dragon City. Cynder knew the way to Warfang from her many travels as the Dark Master's general. Although they weren't the most pleasant memories, they could be useful knowledge at times. Signaling to Spyro that she had found the way, both dragons took off in the direction that would lead them to their future, their destination in mind but their destinies uncharted.

Please review this. You are a kind and wonderful individual if you do so. I take every single review I get to heart. They really mean a lot to me, and make me really happy when I get them. It makes me feel like I've done a good job, like I've made someone else happy with my writing, which is my ultimate goal in the end.

Whoop whoop, I am SO happy to be writing in a free spirit again like this! =D It feels so good, and I feel so alive! What I love about this chapter in my life is that this story is (almost) completely unplanned, and as the title suggests, uncharted. I want to see how it feels to "discover" a story as I go along. I hope you enjoy the ride… and I hope I do too, for neither of us know where it will lead! It's all Uncharted from here, for you, for me, and for the story, but we've got nothing to lose! Let's charge on past the mountains beyond the valley, and into the unknown lands that await us beyond!