After their first birthday party, which had been something they weren't expecting and had enjoyed almost as much as their time on Dragon Shores, the first thing that Spyro and his siblings did was carry their gifts back to where they slept, the courtyard of Stone Hill. Of course they encountered a problem immediately, as both he and Spike had books that would make it hard for them to walk, so what happened was that Nestor picked up the items that they couldn't carry at the moment and walked behind them as they returned to the area they called home. Nestor was more than happy to help them out, since he should have expected someone giving Spike his writing materials and the empty tomes, meaning they should have gotten him a satchel to carry all of his stuff in, but for now that was something they could give him in the future, to use until he matured into an adult dragon. He was also sure that Sparx would be able to help Spyro for some time, carrying the book he had gotten until Spyro was ready to sit down and look at what was inside it, but for right now he simply smiled as he followed the three young dragons as they headed back to Stone Hill, where he could put the books down once they reached the area they slept in.
Ember, of course, was the only one that didn't need assistance in carrying her gifts, as Titan had shown her how to wear the bracers that were currently on her legs, and she seemed incredibly happy with what she had been given, while Nestor also noticed one other thing, and that was the fact that Spyro liked the scarf he had been given as well. Spike didn't seem to mind that he was the only one that didn't have something to wear, rather he seemed incredibly happy about the gifts he had received, which Nestor knew would please the dragons of Dark Hollow to no end, as they enjoyed having him around and were happy to pass their knowledge to someone else, especially since Spike was incredibly interested in what they were doing with their library. In fact Nestor knew that Spike was interested in opening one of the empty tomes and start writing whatever was on his mind, whenever he had the inspiration to write something down, and he was interested in seeing what sort of stories the young dragon wrote, even if the dragons of Dark Hollow would be the first ones to see whatever Spike wrote in the future.
It only took them a few minutes to reach their destination, since they went from Town Square, head back to the Artisans homeworld, and then used the Stone Hill portal to reach their destination, where Spyro and his siblings moved out as Nestor set their gifts near the area the three young dragons slept in... and, while they were distracted by what they had been given, he turned around and left them to whatever they were doing as he stepped back through the whirlwind that took him back to the main hub of the land he watched over.
"They seem to like their gifts." a voice commented, to which Nestor turned his head and found Bruno and the other Leaders standing near the portal to Stone Hill, as they knew that he would have left the three young dragons alone to relax and enjoy the rest of the day, after helping them carry their gifts to the area they slept in, without him or someone else bothering them, and he knew that it was Bruno that had spoken.
"Indeed they are," Nestor replied, as they had seen how the three young dragons had taken to the gifts they had received, even though he wasn't entirely sure who had decided to give Spyro the book he had received, before he glanced at his fellow Leaders once more, as there was something they needed to determine before they went their separate ways and returned to their duties, "Friends, I believe that it's time we start showing Spyro, Spike, and Ember the rest of the Dragon Realms, to show them how the other types of dragons live in comparison to my fellow Artisans dragons, what the other types do for a living, and maybe start teaching them all the other skills that they'll need in the future."
"You mean rolling to dodge attacks, charging at their foes, and how to breathe fire?" Titan inquired, because those were some of the common skills that all dragons learn when they're young, even if they were born an Artisans dragon for example, though Nestor and his fellow Artisans were peaceful and usually forgot the basics after a few years as they focused on whatever profession they chose to dedicate their life to.
"Not to mention seeing what sort of magic Spike and Ember have access to," Cosmos added, as that was something he was interested in, because if he taught the pair how to wield their inner magic, or at least taught them like they were Magic Crafters, he might get some insight into how they suddenly appeared in the courtyard that Spyro's egg was resting in and might actually figure out where they came from, "as well as the various things that Bruno and Lateef want to teach the three young dragons about. I daresay that we will have our hands full teaching them for the next few years, to help all three of them grow into the heroes that Argus and the others discovered in the tomes that spoke of the purple dragons... even if those only speak of one purple dragon, instead of two and a blue dragon."
"Agreed." Nestor said, because they all knew what Cosmos was referring to, especially since they had that meeting to talk about the purple dragons shortly before the explosion that signaled the arrival of Spike and Ember, before he came to a decision on what they should do first, "Titan, do you think you can spare some time, say a week from today? I think we should let the trio visit the Peace Keepers homeworld first, since it is the closest of the other four lands we watch over, and then determine when they should see the others, after getting a chance to see you and your friends in action, be that training with each other or whatever else you guys do all day long."
"Sure. I'm positive I can set aside some time for them to visit." Titan replied, though the truth of the matter was that he and the other Peace Keepers dragons spent their days practicing and improving their skills, just like all of the other types of dragons that lived across the Dragon Realms, because the last 'threat' they had faced was Gnasty Gnorc and he hadn't done anything since being banished to the Junk Yard, so he was sure he could find some time for the trio and Nestor when they arrived.
Nestor, on the other hand, knew that it was time for the trio to see the rest of the Dragon Realms, even if it was one land every couple of days or weeks, and he suspected that Spyro, Spike, and Ember would be excited by what they saw and who they encountered, so he was looking forward to showing them the lands the rest of the dragons called home and seeing how they got along with everyone else.
For the next six days Spyro, Spike, and Ember did what they usually did, which was pick a place to practice their gliding, even though they had to be near an older dragon in case they hurt themselves in some manner, and they visited the maze once with Lindar as well. In addition to that Spyro spent an hour or two, spread out over the entire week, looking at the book that he had been given and chuckled at some of the things that the pranksters of the past had come up with, and Sparx, upon looking at a few of them as well, buzzed as well, in a way that sounded like he was chuckling, meaning he might have an accomplice if he ever wanted to try one of these pranks or jokes out. Spike continued to spend a good portion of his free time with the dragons of Dark Hollow, once more proving that he was dedicated to being a great scholar, if not one of the greatest the Dragon Realms had ever seen, and the first thing he did was make a list, a very long list, of all the tomes and scrolls that they had in their library, so he could determine which he had already read and which ones he needed to get to, all while looking out for the tomes on the purple dragons, the ones he was really interested in. Ember, however, started to show her interest in the Peace Keepers, especially after Titan gave her the bracers that she started wearing all the time, so she could get used to their weight and not be slowed down by them, and focused on several books that talked about what Titan and the others of his land did for a living, even if they weren't fighting anyone at the moment.
Once those six days went by, however, Nestor came to them on the morning of the seventh day, before they had time to leave Stone Hill and figure out what they wanted to do with the day, but what surprised him was that Spyro, Spike, and Ember were all eager to see what he had to tell them.
"I know you are eager to get back to your gliding practice and maybe running the maze again, but I have something different in mind for the three of you today." Nestor said, which came as a surprise to Spyro and Spike, since they were so used to what they had been doing so far, while Ember seemed ready to hear whatever news he had to tell them, "Today we're going to visit the homeworld of the Peace Keepers, where Titan will be taking a few hours out of his busy day to show you around the hub area, maybe show you a realm or two, and introduce you to several of the dragons that call his land home... and maybe he'll even spend a few moments teaching you the basics of how young dragons fight."
Ember, upon hearing that they were going to the homeworld that Titan watched over, just like Nestor watched over the Artisans homeworld, got up from where she and her siblings were sitting, made sure that her bracers were on the way Titan had shown her, and immediately headed for the whirlwind exit so she could leave Stone Hill. Spyro and Spike glanced at each other for a few moments before realizing that their sister was already on the move, which allowed Nestor the chance to see Spike using the satchel that Argus had given him a day or two ago, to make carrying his writing materials easier, something that had a belt that was wrapped around his waist, or at least the waist area of a young dragon. Spike made sure that he had everything he might need, no doubt so he could attempt to take notes on what he saw, before he and Spyro headed in the direction that Ember went in, causing Nestor to chuckle as he followed after them, where the three of them walked into the whirlwind and disappeared from Stone Hill, only to reappear in the hub area they were used to seeing all the time. They found Ember standing near the portal, as she realized that she had no idea where she was supposed to go to get to the Peace Keepers homeworld, and had waited for Nestor and her siblings to catch up, since Nestor knew what they were doing, though the moment they emerged from the portal she joined them as Nestor turned to his right and followed the path that would lead him right to the dock, which was where one of the Balloonists would be waiting for him and the three young dragons.
At the dock the trio discovered a short person that was around a third of Nestor's height, who happened to be wearing what appeared to be leather gloves, a white shirt with brown pants, a dark brown belt around the waist area, black shoes, and was wearing an aviator's hat on their head with a red scarf over their face, pretty much preventing them from determining anything about the person from what they were seeing... and behind the person, resting on the dock, was a large wooden basket that was attached to the massive balloon above them.
"Marco, it's good to see you again." Nestor said, though at the same time he came to a stop in from of the person that was in front of them, causing Spyro and his siblings to do that as well, since they had no idea what was going on, even though they were curious as to what Marco did for a living.
"It's good to see you again as well, Nestor." the person, Marco, replied, which gave the trio the chance to realize that the person was male based on the voice that came from under the scarf, before he glanced at them for a second and seemed to smile, as it was impossible to determine whether he was smiling or if his scarf had moved, "These must be the three young dragons you told me about... Spyro, Spike, and Ember, if I remember what you told me."
"Indeed we are." Spyro replied, though he knew that he and his siblings had no idea who Marco was, since Nestor and the other Artisans dragons hadn't mentioned anything about him in the past, before they glanced at their elder, as they were curious as to what they were doing out here and knew that Nestor would be able to tell them whatever they needed to know, "So, um, how are we going to get to the Peace Keepers homeworld?"
"We're going to use Marco's hot air balloon," Nestor answered, where he gestured to the basket that was behind the man in front of them, though he noticed that the trio glanced at the basket and tilted their heads, no doubt seeing that it was large enough for the three of them and Marco and were trying to figure out how all five of them were going to fit into the basket, "Since the three of you can't fly yet, and won't be able to until you mature into being an adult dragon, the only way for you to get from one homeworld to another is to have one of the Balloonists, which Marco is, transport you to your destination, which is slightly slower than flying, but it's the only way the three of you will be able to get to the Peace Keepers homeworld right now. I know all three of you are curious as to how we'll fit in the basket, but you won't have to worry about me taking up so much space, as I'll be flying near the hot air balloon the entire time and answer any questions you have before we reach our destination."
Marco nodded his head and assisted the trio as they climbed into the basket, as he could tell that they were eager to see what Nestor had in store for them, and when all three of them were sitting inside the large basket he climbed in as well and pulled on a chain, which caused the fire above them to ignite and allowed the balloon above them to rise into the air before the basket followed it. Nestor smiled as the hot air balloon took off and Marco directed it to the north, where the Peace Keepers homeworld was located, before he opened his wings and took to the sky, so he could catch up with the balloon and the precious cargo that it was carrying at the moment. Spyro, Spike, and Ember, on the other hand, stared out at the area that surrounded them and watched as the Artisans homeworld slowly disappeared behind them, allowing them to focus on the area they were heading towards, as Nestor knew that they were eager to see the homeworld of the Peace Keepers at long last. Since it would take some time for them to reach their destination, something that the trio realized after a few more minutes, Nestor informed the trio that the Balloonists were friends of the dragons and often assisted them in transporting things between the five homeworlds, including taking things to the Junk Yard when they needed to dispose of something, which wasn't common these days.
He knew that the trio was excited for what they were going to see when they arrived at the homeworld the Peace Keepers called home, since this would be the first time they would be seeing somewhere that wasn't the lands that the Artisans dragons called home, and he was also certain the Peace Keepers were eager to meet them.
It took them around an hour to reach the edge of the Peace Keepers homeworld, which Nestor informed the trio was because of the fact that it was the closest to the island that the Artisans dragons called home, though as they got closer to their destination Spyro, Spike, and Ember discovered that it, like their own home, was located on an island as well, one that looked completely different from what they were used to. The main reason for that was because of the fact that the walls surrounding the center of the Peace Keepers home was a large rock wall that was shaped like a circle, which meant that they had either found it this way or had carved out the center for them to live in, but the only way they would know the answer to that question was by asking Titan or one of the other Peace Keepers. As Marco manipulated the balloon so they could descend, preventing them from seeing if this homeworld was like the Artisans, in terms of it being a larger island with the portals leading to other sections of the island, Spyro, Spike, and Ember glanced at the dock that was below them and spotted an opening that would allow them to enter the land they were visiting. The opening had a pair of wooden doors that reminded the trio of the door in the main area of the Artisans homeworld that separated the main area from where the portal to Dragon Shores was located, and there were two smaller wooden doors that looked like they were covering the window area, or at least an area that someone could look out of.
Standing on the dock below them, in front of the opening, was none other than Titan, the Leader of the Peace Keepers dragons, though he was smiling as the basket finally touched down and Nestor landed beside them, though Titan waited a few moments for Nestor to help the trio out of the basket, along with the items they had brought with them.
"Nestor, Spyro, Spike, Ember, I'm happy the four of you could make it." Titan said, though as he said that he lifted his axe, which he had been holding in his right hand since the moment he stepped out onto the dock earlier, and rested the back of the weapon's head against his shoulder as he turned towards the chamber that was behind him, "Allow me to give you a tour of the Peace Keepers homeworld, along with one of the realms that we have access to, and maybe some of my fellow warriors, who have been waiting to meet all three of you since I first told them about you."
Spike would have been surprised by that statement, but he knew that both he and Spyro were special to the dragons of the Dragon Realms, no doubt because they were purple dragons, and that Titan had told his friends about them and Ember when they were born, just like the other Leaders did, so he wasn't all that surprised by the statement and nodded his head as he and his siblings followed Titan out into the main area of the Peace Keepers homeworld. On the other side of the chamber the group discovered that this homeworld was completely different from the one they called home, as there weren't any trees to speak of, there were rocks and rock formations scattered everywhere, and what they were walking on seemed to be sand instead of solid ground. That wasn't everything the group found, as there was also no water to speak of, like the entire area was devoid of it, but what filled the areas water would have been in was a dark purple substance that Spike knew had to be dangerous, especially since Ember seemed to be thinking the same thing, which only made him wonder what they were seeing at the moment. What interested them was the fact that there were a few tents scattered everywhere, though at the moment there didn't seem to be any dragons in the main area of this homeworld, which wasn't that much of a surprise since the Artisans dragons only came to the hub of their homeworld when they wanted some inspiration, when they wanted to use a portal, or when they were using the dock.
"What is that dark ooze?" Spyro asked, as he knew that he and his siblings had never seen anything like it before and knew that Titan, or one of the other Peace Keepers, likely knew what the substance was, which would be a good time for them to learn about it, before they got hurt.
"Tar. We found several pits of the stuff when we first made this place our home," Titan replied, where he stopped for a second and glanced at the tar that was near them, remembering the first and last time he had touched it, before shaking his head as he resumed walking and heard the others following after him, which was good since he was taking them somewhere else, "I'd recommend not touching the stuff at all, as it's quite painful when you come into contact with it and the area in question will hurt for a good week before the pain starts to die down."
"Right, don't fall into the tar or touch it." Spike commented, though while he was curious as to why the Peace Keepers didn't try to remove the tar with buckets or carts, unless there was a massive spring of it somewhere on the island that they were trying to find so they could stop it at the source, he decided to focus on a more important question, "So, is this entire place a desert, or is there something we aren't seeing?"
"The main area of the Peace Keepers homeworld is a desert canyon," Titan said, as he knew that Spike had a few questions and would speak them, so he could understand what was going on and learn more about this land, before he thought of something else to tell the group, despite the fact that Nestor knew what he was going to say, "normally we don't spend a lot of our time in the main hub area, since there's really nothing here for us, but we do have a few training sessions here from time to time. We mostly spend our time in Dry Canyon, Cliff Town, Ice Cavern, Trondo's training grounds, and a few other realms that are accessible by the other portals that we have, sort of like how the Artisans have that area that their portal to Dragon Shores in located in."
"I assume that Ice Cavern is where you get the water you need?" Ember inquired, as that sounded like a reasonable conclusion to come to, that if they didn't have water up here, due to the conditions that the main area of the homeworld was stuck with, they would be able to harvest the ice from the cavern and convert what they take into the water they drink, before thinking of something else, "Who's this Trondo you mentioned?"
"Indeed, we get the majority of our water from the Ice Cavern, though sometimes we have to trade with the other homeworlds for what we need," Titan replied, though he could tell that Spike was nodding his head at the same time that Ember had spoken, showing that he must have come to the same conclusion that his sister had reached, before his smile widened a little as he considered what he should tell the group, "Trondo, on the other hand, is one of the best warriors that I have had the pleasure of working with... think of him as the Nevin of the Peace Keepers."
Spyro and Spike glanced at their sister for a moment, finding that she was smiling at the thought that they might be meeting Trondo, because Nevin was an Artisans dragon that the others looked up to, regardless if they were a painter or followed one of the other professions, which meant that Trondo was a big shot in this land. As they turned to the right of the rock structure that Titan was walking by, however, that was when the trio noticed that they had been wrong about there being no dragons in the hub area, as they spotted a dragon with a large belly standing on top of a hill, where Titan informed them that the reddish-orange scaled dragon was Magnus and he was a wrestler, hence the rope belt with armor plates that he was wearing around his waist. Off in the distance was a sickly-green scaled dragon, who Titan promised the trio wasn't sick with anything, as that was just the coloration of his scales, though he had a large spikes on his head and his wings were a little tattered, showing that he was one of the older soldiers, and Titan identified him as Gunnar, before he jumped over a small gap that separated them from the portal to Trondo's training grounds, something that he found the trio being able to get over thanks to Nestor's assistance.
When the group stepped through the portal and appeared on the other side, at the start of a path that Titan informed them would take them right to the entrance of the area that Trondo was in, Spyro, Spike, and Ember found that the sky was in a state of twilight and that there appeared to be an eclipse happening here, where Titan explained that it wasn't a natural eclipse, as there was something special about this place that caused the event to happen, which happened to be one of the reasons that Trondo built his training grounds here. What the trio discovered was that the path ended in front of a large stone pillar and the opening to the area that Trondo had to be in, before finding out that the way up to the entrance was by one of the whirlwinds that they used to get on top of the tower they did their gliding practice on, before walking down a few steps. After reaching the bottom step the trio got a good look at Trondo's training grounds, which seemed to be three separate platforms that were on three different levels, leading to the exit whirlwind, and they had wooden bridges, the type that could be rolled up, connecting them. Standing in the center of the first platform was a dark yellow scaled dragon, with an orange colored chest, that had scaly dreadlocks and was wearing a red bandana, a brown feather-rimmed cloth around his waist and upper legs, and had two straps running across his chest like an x, which appeared to hold his style of weapon, daggers from the looks of it.
It was clear that, since he was the only dragon around, that this was Trondo, the greatest warrior that Titan had ever worked with, and it appeared that he had finished up whatever training he was doing by the time they arrived, as the moment they came to a stop he huffed and stepped off the platform, though he picked up a towel and wiped away any sweat and dust that had come from his training.
"Titan, Nestor, it's a honor for you to come to my training grounds," Trondo said, though at the same time he glanced down at the trio that was with the two Leaders, as it was uncommon for him to even see young dragons, before he recalled what he and the other Peace Keepers had learned a little over a year ago, "So, these must be the trio you were telling me about earlier, the two purple dragons and one blue dragon that everyone has been waiting for. So, when are you planning on starting their training?"
"Considering that they are only one year old, I don't think they'll be starting for another year or two," Nestor replied, as he knew that starting too early could have serious consequences for a young dragon, even though that might not be entirely true for a purple dragon and someone like Ember, but he wasn't willing to take the chance, and he could tell that both Ember and Trondo were a little disappointed by what he said, "but maybe you or Titan could show them a thing or two, to show them what they should expect in the future?"
"You mean show them how a young dragon fights?" Trondo inquired, where he seemed to think about the notion of practicing something that he hadn't bothered to use for a long time, since Ember was sure he had switched to a different style when he matured into an adult, before shrugging for a moment as he laid his towel down, "Sure, I'm game. You should watch from the second platform, that way you'll be able to see what we do quite easily."
Ember was quick to move, as she was interested in seeing what happened, and her brothers quickly followed after her as Nestor walked behind them, though as they climbed up onto the top of the platform in question both Trondo and Titan set their weapons aside and dropped down to all fours, just like Nestor had done when he showed them had to glide. The pair remained in that position for a few seconds, no doubt to give them a chance to remember the lessons they had been taught when they were younger, before Trondo charged at Titan with the intent of knocking him off the platform by ramming his head into his target, indicating that this was a charge attack. Titan, on the other hand, responded by rolling out of the way, as in he rolled his body to the right like someone would roll around while they were sleeping, avoiding the charge entirely as Trondo went racing towards the edge of the platform, only to slow himself down rather quickly before turning around so he could focus on his opponent. Titan used that opportunity to take a deep breath and then released a burst of flames from his mouth, the same type of thing Spyro, Spike, and Ember had seen several of the Artisans dragons use from time to time, meaning that this was the ability that Nestor had told them about a week ago, the ability to breathe fire, even though they were impressed when Trondo rolled out of the way and avoided the attack.
While the two dragons tried to hit each other Nestor noticed that Ember was entirely focused on what was happening before her eyes and both of her brothers, while not being as excited as their sister, were interested in seeing what they would be learning in the future, so he smiled and focused on the match, as he knew the trio would impress Titan in the future, once he determined that they were ready for his training.