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// Peace: Taking Flight 
// Story: Spyro: The Dragon Trio of Avalar 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Once Nestor, Nils, Thor, and the other artistic experts called an end to the test they had set up, allowing the trio to see what sort of art they were interested in and what they had some talent in, Spyro, Spike, and Ember followed them to where Alvar had prepared lunch for them, allowing them to relax at long last and focus on something else that wasn't their art pieces. Spike and Ember were still a little confused as to why they had made what they had in the stones they had worked on, but at the same time Nils told them that they had done a decent job for their first attempt and was interested in seeing if they came to him in the future, to learn more about his profession. They all knew that Spike would only return to learn whatever the books and scrolls of Dark Hollow didn't tell him, since he was bound to study this once they had some free time, but Nils didn't mind that something like that could happen, because it had been some time since he had anyone to talk to about his profession and he was interested in seeing if what the library had was correct. Spyro, on the other hand, was more confused about the dragon that he had created on the plate he had worked on, mostly because he didn't recall seeing any black dragons around the five homeworlds, but Nestor told them that it was likely the spur of the moment and that he was expressing himself in some manner, just like the experts did when they made their art.

In the end the trio decided to drop the discussion of what they had made and focused their minds on something else, like what they were going to do in the future, since they were curious as to what Nestor and the other Leaders had in store for them, and that included the fact that none of them knew which of the homeworlds they would be heading to next, even if each of them were hoping for a specific homeworld to visit next.

The moment they were done eating, Nestor, Nils, and Thor helped the trio back to Stone Hill, mostly by carrying the art pieces they had made during their test, and when they arrived at their destination they set the pieces down where the trio could see them and look at them whenever they wanted, even if they would rather put this test behind them. Once that was done the trio went back to what they normally did, as in Spyro wrapped his scarf around his neck and picked up his book of pranks so he could see if there was anything he could do to someone, Ember pulled her bracers back on and headed to the area where she practiced her combat skills, and Spike, as expected, picked up his writing supplies before leaving Stone Hill, so he could return to the Dark Hollow library and continue his studies. Nestor had to chuckle as he and the others saw that, because he was used to the trio usually going their separate ways so they could do whatever they wanted, and since most of Spyro's antics weren't harmful he was willing to let them slide, especially since he had to help clean up every now and then, even though he and the others were hoping he would grow out of this at some point. One thing he knew was that the other Artisans dragons were also hopeful that Spyro would grow out of his antics, for more reasons than just because they were getting tired of his pranks, but they knew that time would tell what happened and they were eager to show him their own professions, only to get him to stop his pranks. He was pleased with how Spike and Ember were growing into their own talents, be it being a scholar or having some talent in combat, and he was interested in seeing what the trio did when they were much older and finally picked out what sort of profession they would spend the rest of their lives working on.

Of course there were other things for the trio to learn, from the other homeworlds and the other Leaders, and they would get to that in time, but there was something specific that Nestor wanted the three of them to learn and knew that, based on how the trio had taken to their gliding lessons and the other lessons they had been given, they would be excited for what he had in store for them.

As the weeks went by Nestor found that his earlier thoughts about the trio were correct, as Spyro spent a good deal of his time looking at his prank book and trying out the last couple of pranks he hadn't tried yet on the various dragons of the Artisans homeworld, along with Toasty from time to time. Spike spent his time with the scholars of Dark Hollow, reading the various books and scrolls that were available to him on every subject that Argus and the older scholars had spent their lives had researched, while at the same time making his own notes whenever he found something interesting, so he could expand the number of studies he had planned. Ember, despite spending her time practicing her combat skills, managed to drag her brothers away from what they were doing every now and then, something that impressed some of the other dragons of their land, before having the two of them join her in her practice sessions, so they could have a decent grasp of the basic combat skills as well, just in case they needed to fight something. Nestor was happy that Ember was able to talk Spyro and Spike into joining her, because it would have annoyed Titan that two of the young dragons he had taught were ignoring their training sessions and not practicing their skills, but now it seemed that all three of them were on their way to being prepared for whatever the world threw at them.

While the trio was busy with their various individual activities, be it Spike researching subjects and reading the contents of Dark Hollow's library, Spyro pranking whoever he wanted to prank, and Ember practicing her combat skills, Nestor made sure to contact a specific dragon from the Magic Crafters land, as he had something interesting in store for the trio and he was sure that they would like his next lesson, when he was ready to show it to them.





Spyro, Spike, and Ember found that another couple of months went by since they had tried out some of the various arts that Nils and some of the other Artisans dragons spent their lives working on, where the three of them continued with what they normally did as they waited for something else to happen. Of course, in addition to what they spent a great deal of their time doing, there were also the days where Nestor insisted that they practice their gliding and their speed, by running the maze a few times, especially since he and Lindar had improved it once more, revealing another challenge for them and their dragonflies to overcome. As they grew older, and taller every now and then, they could tell that the ability to glide was necessary in all of the homewords, be it the main area or one of the realms, hence the reason all three of them were eager to master the technique, so they would be able to jump over the gaps with ease and then glide to their destination, without falling and hurting themselves in the process. The maze was a great place for them to run around and attempt to increase their speed, which actually helped them in their charging practices as well, but for the most part the trio tried to see what changes had been made to the maze, since there were a few changes every now and then, Nestor's way of keeping them prepared for anything, and if they could overcome them, which was possible since their dragonflies had been given the paths to follow.

Other than their usual activities, and the various training exercises that Nestor wanted them to do so they could be ready for the future, there weren't any new activities that forced them to move in a different way, like they had when Titan was showing them the basics of how a young dragon fought, but that didn't mean that something wasn't planned for them and they kept their eyes open as they went about their lives.

The announcement came at the end of their fifth birthday, where Nestor informed them that a week from then they would be doing something new and that it would be here, in the Artisans homeworld once more, before leaving them to their own devices for the rest of the night. Normally the fact that whatever they would be learning would be here, in the land they called home, would be a downer, since they were sure that they had learned everything that Nestor and the others could offer them, but Spike informed his siblings of the fact that there was more to being a dragon than what they had experienced, meaning that they were going to see something new and exciting in the near future. Spyro and Ember had to admit that they were curious as to what Nestor had in mind for them, especially since the Leader didn't tell them what he had planned for them until they reached their destination, so in the end they had to agree with Spike, that they couldn't judge their next lesson based on where it would be taking place, which lead them to looking forward to what Nestor had in store for them. Of course their focus returned to the party they were having, since it was their birthday, and pushed the thought of another lesson to the back of their minds for now, as all three of them knew that they would have to think about it again in the future and would pour their attention into the lesson when it arrived.

Not seven days later the trio was standing outside the portal to Stone Hill, waiting for Nestor to arrive, as they were curious as to what he had planned for them, especially since it had to involve another Artisans dragon, but, like always, they had no idea what to expect and just stood there.

"So, what do you guys think Nestor will teach us today?" Spyro asked, because he honestly had no idea what sort of lesson they would be having today, since he was still sure that they had been taught everything that could be taught to an Artisans dragon, but even then they had to wait and see what Nestor had to tell them.

"I'm hoping he's pulling a fast one on us and will tell us that we're actually heading to another homeworld," Ember replied, as she wanted to head back to the land of the Peace Keepers and show Titan the progress she had made on the techniques he had shown them, hopefully getting him to reveal a few more attacks and tricks for the future, something new to train with for the foreseeable future.

"That's a possibility we can't ignore," Spike admitted, where he tilted his head for a moment, because while he knew that Nestor intended to teach them something that was connected to the Artisans, hence why they were standing here and not heading towards the dock, he did want to visit Cosmos' land once more, to see what sort of magic he and his siblings could learn, especially after everything they had been shown, "personally, I'm eager for our trip back to the land of the Magic Crafters, because I'm curious as to what we can learn from Cosmos and the other masters."

Spyro and Ember remembered the various types of magic that they had been introduced to some time ago, during their second visit to the homeworld of the Magic Crafters, and had seen how interested Spike was in learning about the types of magic they had seen, so they knew why he was excited about that and so were they, just to see if Cosmos' sphere test was as accurate as he thought it was.

"Don't worry, you'll be able to learn about magic soon enough," a voice said, where the trio turned their heads and found Nestor walking towards them, though he was accompanied by an orange scaled dragon that wore a blue robe that was fitted for his chest area, which was open at the moment, and he had some cloth covering the area below his waist, but what really interested Spike was the bronze globe that rested between his curved horns and, if his eyes weren't deceiving him, there was a map embedded in the dragon's right wing, or at least he thought there was one there, "Spyro, Spike, Ember, allow me to introduce Lucas, one of the Magic Crafters dragons, though in addition to the magic he wields he's also a mapmaker, along with being a Keeper of Secrets, sworn to keep them hidden at all costs."

"A Keeper... of Secrets?" Spike asked, because that was news to him, as he hadn't seen any mention of a dragon like that in all of the studies he had done since he first started pouring over the books and scrolls that Argus had access to, and he knew he was far from finished with his studies, but this information was news to him.

"Only a select few know that I'm a Keeper of Secrets, as it's not written down in any books or scrolls," Lucas told them, though he sounded happy about finally letting someone else know what else he did for a living, meaning that whatever secrets he was guarding had to be incredibly important for almost no one to know about his other professions, where Spike decided to commit this information to his memory, instead of writing it down like he usually did, "and those are the Leaders of the homeworlds, along with whoever they trust the information to, but there are only seven or eight dragons that know of my second profession at any given time, so don't tell anyone."

"That's interesting, but it opens another question," Spyro commented, because while he had no idea that a Keeper of Secrets even existed, which meant that Lucas was doing a good job of not revealing his other profession to others, he was confused about something and wanted to ask it before they did anything else, since he knew that Ember was thinking about asking her own question, "Nestor, you said that what we're doing today wasn't learning about magic, but then you bring a Magic Crafters dragon here, to the Artisans homeworld. So what in the world are we doing today?"

"We're going to show you how to fly," Nestor replied, though he smiled for a moment as that got the attention of the three young dragons, as they had seen him and a few of the other adult dragons fly through the air on several occasions, be it when he followed them to a homeworld or when someone was coming to greet them, and he knew that they were interested in seeing what he had in store for them this time around, "though the reason I asked Lucas to join us is because we'll be using one of the Flight Realms today, to demonstrate how a dragon flies through the air and some of the various tricks that they can pull off, and he needs to open the way for us to reach our new destination."

"A... Flight Realm?" Ember asked, as she knew that Spike would have a number of questions based on the information that they had been given so far, both on Lucas being a Keeper of Secrets and on the realm that Nestor was talking about, so she figured that she might as well ask about something that the pair could answer.

"They are small islands that are enchanted to allow continuous flying," Lucas explained, though at the same time he started to walk over to the waterfall that the trio occasionally saw Delbin stand in front of when he was painting, as the rushing water seemed to be his source of inspiration, where the trio and Nestor followed after him, before coming to a stop near the basin the water gathered in, which no doubt moved the water elsewhere, "that is why we call them 'Flight Realms', as they are essentially realms of a homeworld that no one really lives on, much like the area that Nestor's maze resides on, but they allow dragons that visit them, be they young dragons or adults, to fly through the air. The reason I am here is because the way to the Artisans Flight Realm is hidden and only a select few know how to access this realm, so what I'm going to do is open the way for us, and to do this I'm going to have to ask the three of you to close your eyes while I open the way."

"Oh, it's one of the secrets you're supposed to keep hidden." Spike guessed, though even then he had to wonder why a realm like a Flight Realm would even be hidden in the first place and that the only one who knew how to open the way was someone from the Magic Crafters homeworld, but he guessed that they would figure out why that was the case when they finally learned magic from Cosmos and the other masters.

Spyro and Ember watched as Spike closed his eyes for a moment, meaning that he was going to let Lucas do his thing, causing them to sigh as they followed his lead, because they were more interested in the lessons that Nestor had for them and weren't all that excited about whatever Lucas had to do to open the way. Lucas waited for a few seconds, just to be sure that the trio had their eyes closed and wouldn't peak at what he was doing, before nodding his head as he climbed up to where the five stepping stones were located and jumped on each of them once, causing them to glow before he returned to the area in front of the trio. Once all five of the stone were glowing the stone wall that was between the two waterfalls shifted for a few seconds as it lowered into the ground, revealing a small hidden area that contained one of the Artisans portals, the one he and Nestor had told the trio about. He waited for a moment or two, to make sure that the wall was open and there wasn't anything that could reveal what he had done, which was why he weaved a quick illusion spell on the stones, to make it look like they were normal in the eyes of the three young dragons, before determining that it was time for them to get going.

"Okay, you can open your eyes." Lucas said, where he glanced back to the trio and watched as they opened their eyes, only to find that there was an opening between the two waterfalls, one that they had never seen before, before he turned their attention to the portal that was resting in the opening, "That portal will take us to the Flight Realm, where the three of you can practice flying for real, though you might want to leave your stuff behind, so they don't get wet while we're flying around the Flight Realm, since there is the chance that you might crash into the water while we're there."

Spyro, Spike, and Ember glanced at each other for a few seconds, as they wondered why Lucas would suggest such a thing, but out of the three of them only Spike removed his satchel and set it aside, since he didn't want to ruin all of his writing materials by falling into the water, while Spyro and Ember kept their personal items on. With that done it was clear that they were ready to get moving, to which Nestor and Lucas helped them over to the landing in front of the portal, as none of them touched the large stones that rested in the water, before all five of them walked through the portal so they could enter the Flight Realm at long last. The trio was expecting to find themselves on a platform or walkway of some kind when they appeared on the other side, just like they did when they headed to one of the other realms, but this time around all of them were in for a surprise, as the moment they were allowed to see what was in front of them again they discovered that they were up in the air and their wings were already spread out for them. The shock of discovering that they were flying, thanks to the enchantment on the portal, was enough to shock the trio and cause their wings to wobble for a few seconds, which, despite their gliding training, caused them to shift their course and head straight towards the water that was below them, only to be stopped as Lucas caught all of them with his magic and moved them over to a hill that rested on the island.

It was in that moment that the trio discovered that the island was set in a mid-summer setting and had sunlight that filled the area, not to mention the hill that they were resting on, one of a few they quickly discovered, and the fact that there were some large blue crystals resting above ground.

"I guess we should have warned you that the first time using a portal to access a Flight Realm would be a tad bit shocking and that you might fall out of the air due to the shock." Nestor said, where the trio watched as he gracefully moved through the air, just like he did when they were heading to one of the other homeworlds, and landed near the hill they were sitting on, though he was quickly followed by Lucas, who made sure to dispel the magic that had saved them from falling into the water, "What we're going to do is start small, by practicing how to take off and how to land, so watch what I do, because in a few minutes it will be your turn to do the same thing."

The trio knew that Nestor wasn't expecting them to get this right the first time, as just noticing they were flying had caused them to break the enchantment for a short period of time, but they nodded their heads and watched as Nestor moved near the edge of the land they were sitting on. When Nestor came to a stop he shifted his stance, once more taking on the quadrupedal stance that he and Titan used when they were showing the trio how a young dragon did something, before he rushed towards the edge of the cliff and jumped into the air, spreading his wings and taking flight before their very eyes. Once that was done Nestor shifted his stance again and flew around the island like an adult dragon would, but at the same time he knew that this would give the trio an idea of what they were supposed to do right now, especially since they had a few seconds to see the enchantment on their bodies before they nearly crashed, so he was eager to see what all three of them did when it was time to fly. After a few moments of flying around in the air, and allowing the trio to see what they should be striving for, Nestor turned around and landed near the edge that he had jumped off of, because he knew that there would be some failed attempts, even with the enchantments this island possessed, and that he and Lucas would be helping the trio out of the water for some time, before one of them got it right.

As Nestor expected Spyro was the first one to attempt what he had shown them, because he was usually the first one to attempt any of the lessons that he and the other Leaders had them do, and as he jumped into the air, to start his first attempt at flying, Nestor noticed that he failed to open his wings, showing that he had put his trust in the enchantments that the island possessed. Fortunately his jump ensured that he would fall straight down into the water, which was perfectly fine since failure lead to them overcoming whatever challenges were in their way, though once Spyro hit the water it wasn't long before he resurfaced, where Nestor noticed that the young dragon realized that he should have listened to Lucas, since his scarf was drenched now. Spike was the next one to attempt what Nestor had shown them, as he approached the edge for a moment and looked out at the area that they were in, while at the same time Lucas pulled Spyro out of the water and brought him back up to the area his siblings were in, before nodding his head and indicating that he was ready for this. A few seconds later Spike rushed at the edge of the cliff and jumped into the air, just like Nestor had done when he was showing them what they needed to do, where he spread his wings and prepared himself for what was about, which, instead of flying through the air like he thought he'd do, was actually him heading straight into the water, just like what happened with Spyro.

Lucas took a moment to help Spike out of the water and bring him up to where the others were sitting, though once he was dropped off Ember got up and walked forward, indicating that she was ready to give this a try, though Nestor had to smile as she did what her brothers did, but instead of falling into the water she actually caught the wind and took off, without hitting the water.

Nestor had been expecting this from the moment they started the lesson, that Ember would have watched what her brothers had done and would have come up with the solution to whatever problem they were having, just like she had done during their gliding lessons so long ago. Spike was smart and could have figured out the problem in time, but he seemed to overthink some of the aspects of what they were doing, leading him to fail ever now and then in some manner, but as he got older it seemed like he might be learning from his mistakes, though time would tell on that one. Spyro, didn't seem to have that much patience for some of the things they were shown and often failed as well, but he did learn from his failures, thanks to Ember helping him out, but Nestor was sure that he wouldn't have to worry about this sort of thing when he was older and more mature. Not even a few moments later Ember returned to them and landed, though it wasn't long before she explained where Spyro and Spike went wrong in their attempts, leading to the three of them taking to the skies as they slowly replicated what Nestor had shown them earlier, even though Lucas had to pull one of them out of the water every now and then, showing that there was more for them to learn about flying. He even found that failing this time around only served to cause the trio to laugh as they waited for the downed sibling to rejoin them, before taking to the skies once more as they continued their attempts to replicate what they had been shown earlier.

Still, despite the fact that the trio had a long way to go before they could master the art of flying, something that most dragons did when they were adults, Nestor could tell that all three of them had potential to be great fliers when they were older, especially Spyro and Ember from the looks of things, so he spread his wings and took to the skies as well. To the surprise of the trio Nestor showed off a few of the tricks that he knew, like pulling himself backwards to perform a loop, though he smiled as he watched Spyro, Spike, and Ember take turns as they attempted to replicate what he showed them, often leading to all three of them crashing into the water and having Lucas pull them out. None of them were unhappy with this situation, rather they accepted their failures and continued to strive towards replicating what Nestor showed them, just like they did with the lessons that the other Leaders gave them, and before long he added in a few more tricks, so they didn't focus on one thing and could pick from the number of tricks that he had to offer. It was nice to see them embracing something new and trying to master it, or at least learn the movements that one needed to know to pull it off, and he could tell that all three of them were happy with what he was showing them, even if they didn't have the skill that he had in this sort of thing, which took years of practice and effort to pull off.

After a few hours of flying around the island and practicing all the moves that Nestor showed them, allowing them to work on their flying skills as much as possible, Lucas informed them that it was time for them to head back to the Artisans homeworld so they could eat lunch and do something else with the rest of their time. The problem the trio discovered was that there was no exit whirlwind like the other realms that they had been to, though the solution was rather quite simple, as all they had to do was fly away from the small island for a few moments and the magic that had gone into making the place seemed to sense that they wanted to go home, teleporting them from where they were flying and set them down right in front of the portal to the realm they had been in. As they walked away from the portal Lucas explained that all of the Flight Realms were enchanted that way, by the dragons that first settled in the lands they called home, and told the trio that the only dragon who really understood the complex combination of spells was Nora, the master of Teleportation Magic that Cosmos had mentioned. As the trio headed towards the portal for Town Square, to see what was for lunch this time around, they mentioned that it would be nice to finally meet Nora and see just how strong her magic was for themselves, causing Nestor to chuckle as Lucas carefully sealed the way to the Flight Realm without the trio knowing.

Nestor was sure that one day the trio would get their wish, to meet Nora and see what sort of power she really had, but for now he knew they were content to living out their lives and overcoming whatever challenges he and the other Leaders threw at them, though he suspected that they would enjoy what happened next.