//------------------------------// // Interlude: Malefor's Training // Story: Spyro: The Dragon Trio of Avalar // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// Spyro, Cynder, Spike, and Ember found that they were given a week off from doing anything, meaning that Nestor and the other Leaders and Guardians wanted them to rest and relax after everything that had happened to them, as in their efforts to save the world from Gaul and his dark alliance, so after heading to Dragon Shores the group just spent their time resting in some of the realms of the various homeworlds and showing Cynder around so she could see the lands that they called home, not to mention the fact that they saved them at one point in the past. The tour was more in depth than what had been given during their flight back to the Artisans homeworld, after they returned to the Dragon Realms to be exact, and it gave Cynder a chance to see some of the other realms while they waited to see what sort of training would be coming their way, as all four of them knew it was coming and that either Malefor, the Leaders, or the Guardians had something planned for them, even if they were eager to see what sort of lessons the older dragons had for them. At the same time it was easy to see that some of the dragons, from all six of the clans, were busy with something and didn't want to spoil the surprise for them, meaning they were doing something that wasn't the house that would be going in Stone Hill and that also caught their attention as each of them considered what in the world the dragons in question had to be doing, even though they also found out that several individuals from Warfang were helping them with whatever they were doing. The only thing that Spike could think of was an event for when the next generation of dragons, the hatchlings he and his siblings had saved from Morrigan's terrible plans, receiving their dragonflies, though in the end he decided not to worry about it all too much, as he knew that they would be let in on what was going on at some point in the future, to which he and the others returned to the tour they were giving Cynder. Of course Cynder was impressed by several of the realms that they visited, such as Trondo's training grounds and the ice caves that were in the Peace Keepers' homeworld, the area of the Magic Crafters lands that had been where Spike had done the Archmage Ceremony and claimed Akilesh, a quick visit to the swamp that the Beast Makers called home and a brief visit to Tree Tops, along with a visit to the part of the Dream Weavers homeworld where Spike had found his wizard hat during their first adventure, before ending their tour with a visit to the Machinists homeworld, where they found the dragons in question busy working on the airship and several other vessels that would fly in the air. "I know I said it before, but the lands of the Dragon Realms as so interesting and different from what I was expecting to find when we came here," Cynder said, referring to both herself, her father, and the Guardians that watched over the city of Warfang, even if she was the only one that had stayed in the Dragon Realms, something she was sure had surprised some of the Guardians, even though her decision was more due to finding Spyro at long last and picking up from where they had left off, before she smiled as she glanced out at the area they were in for a moment, "I'm sure that Volteer, at the very least, will be coming back to these lands at some point so he could start learning about everything you guys have, like what your realms look like and how you managed to build an airship, though I think staying here will be the best decision of my life, given what's happened so far." "I'm glad you like the Dragon Realms, Cynder, even though it will take some time to get used to," Spyro stated, though at the same time the four of them shifted their wings for a few seconds, so they could glance down at the area that the airship was resting in at the moment, as he and his siblings knew that there were some residents of Warfang, and the rest of Doxantha, that were incredibly interested in the airship they had used to reach the continent, as it was beyond what the Apes and the other races had used to assault the various islands, "I'm still trying to figure out what the adults are doing, and why Nestor is keeping it a secret from all of us, but it must be something important that he doesn't want us to worry about or something... and I'm sure Spike already has some ideas on what they might be doing." "I do, but right now I don't think any of them are worthwhile enough to share," Spike commented, mostly because he was under the impression that it had something to do with the hatchlings and the dragonflies that would be paired with them at some point in the future, since there were a hundred and fifty-one hatchlings and that meant there was an equal number of dragonflies that would be paired with them, to which he sighed for a moment as they shifted their course and turned back towards the direction that the Artisans homeworld rested in, "Ember, what do you think the adults might be doing at the moment?" "Honestly, I have no idea, but I'm more interested in waiting to see what sort of training we'll be doing when Malefor says its time for us to start training," Ember replied, showing that her attention was more on what the first purple dragon had told them after their battle with him, a rather intense battle when she recalled everything that had happened during that event, especially since she and the others gained an understanding of the true power that Malefor commanded, even though she had no idea how they would be able to overcome the Spirit of Valor, as that was a power that seemed far too powerful for them to take out, unless Spike found a weakness to exploit. The others glanced at each other for a moment, as each of them had taken a few seconds to think about what sort of training Malefor had for them while they were flying through the air, before they nodded their heads in agreement and started to fly back in the direction of the Artisans homeworld, so they could rest, maybe get some lunch, and then maybe show Cynder one of the other realms of the island the siblings called home, to give her an idea of what they did when they were younger, while putting their thoughts on Malefor's training at the back of their minds. When the week was over, and Cynder had gotten a little used to how things worked in the Dragon Realms, they got the visitor that she and the siblings were waiting for, as Malefor showed up about a week after the initial tour of the lands that Spyro, Spike, and Ember called home, meaning he either had come up with some sort of training routine for them to go through or there was something that he wanted to tell them, hence the reason that they stopped what they were doing, or would have done that if they had been in the middle of something, and faced the dragon that was approaching them, as it was time to see what was going on. "I hope all of you are ready, because I have prepared some lessons for all four of you," Malefor stated, confirming the thoughts that the siblings and Cynder had on the matter, while at the same time they noticed that the Chronicler was also present, meaning he might be here to teleport them to the area that Malefor was going to be using for their training or if he was here to watch them, so he could record any new techniques the first purple dragon used to train them, though that was when the gray scaled dragon opened a portal in the air near them, causing them to stand at attention as they waited for Malefor to speak again, "the Chronicler has agreed to help us get to the area that we'll be training in, and that includes taking notes on what we'll be doing, though trust me, you'll be surprised by the location that we'll be spending some time in while I help you master the techniques you showed me during our battle earlier." "Well, I can't speak for the others, but I'm ready for whatever training you have for me," Ember replied, as she recalled that Malefor had been able to punch his way through her Warrior's Armor like it was made of paper or something like that, which made sense when she considered just how strong the first purple dragon had to be thanks to the number of years he had backing him, all without using his version of the technique that he was said to have created, along with the one that Spyro unlocked and the one that Spike used every now and then. "So are we." Cynder said, where Spyro and Spike nodded their heads as well, because they knew Ember was a warrior and that she enjoyed polishing her fighting skills whenever it was possible for her to do so, which was why all four of them were eager to see what in the world her father had in store for them and what they might be able to learn from him, as all of them knew that he wouldn't offer them training if he didn't have a way for each of them to improve their skills, hence why they were standing at attention while they waited for her father to tell them what was going on. Malefor nodded his head and the Chronicler opened a portal to the right of where the group was standing, just like he had done when they visited the White Isle and met him for the first time or when he brought their armies to do battle with the dark alliance that Gaul had gathered, which was when Malefor stepped through the portal and disappeared from the area that they were standing in, which happened to be part of Stone Hill, and it wasn't long before the group approached the portal and followed Malefor through it. On the other side of the portal they found themselves in the treasury that was right outside the Arcanaeum, where the Chronicler joined them a few moments later and followed both them and Malefor into the ancient vault, though as they stepped into the first part of the structure the gray dragon whistled for a moment as he looked at the Archives that were around them, showing the group that even those that called Doxantha home could be shocked by everything the legendary vault had to offer. It only took them a few minutes to walk into the area that was the heart of the vault, which just so happened to be the area that the globe that warned the siblings about Gaul rested, even though Spike was sure that the Aether icon was either pointing to Cynder or Malefor and not the villain in question, before they headed for one of the locked doors that lead into one of the other parts of the Arcanaeum that they hadn't explored yet, one that opened as soon as he approached it. Of course that was when the group paused for a moment as they took a few seconds to look at what was on the other side of the now opened doorway, because they had seen a few of the areas that lined the heart of the Arcanaeum, one of which was the home of the Deepcore Army and another was the armory the first purple dragon used to keep the runeblades and the Fangs of Felinia inside, though this one was far different than what they were expecting to find, as it appeared the chamber they were in wasn't a chamber, it was more like an island that was just liked the one they used for their earlier battle. As they walked out onto the plains that were in front of them, where it was easy to see a mountain range that looked similar to the mountain that was on the island they fought on a week ago, Spike took to the air and found that the island they were on stretched out in every direction, like they were in an area that was an endless landmass that didn't seem like anything they had seen in the past, and he realized how there could have been a training area inside the Arcanaeum, just like the stories claimed, especially when the vault itself wasn't trashed by the power Malefor wielded, before he flew back down to where the others were standing, where he found that there was a structure that seemed like an opening that did match the door they had walked through earlier. "This is the Training Grounds, the area that I used to use so I could study and practice my magic in secret, so that none of my enemies could discover my secrets," Malefor explained, where he took a few steps forward and put some distance between him and the dragons that he would be training, while at the same time the Chronicler moved out of the way and came to a stop near the structure that would allow the group to head back to the Arcanaeum, even though Spike noticed that there were some markings on the metal, no doubt to make sure no destructive magic flowed out into the rest of the vault and wrecked anything, before he turned around and faced the group of four once more, "now, however, we will be using it to improve your skills and work on whatever weaknesses you might have, which I have taken notice of thanks to our earlier battle, so you had best be ready for anything and everything." "We're ready for whatever you have to throw at us," Spyro stated, though at the same time he readied himself as he partly drew Windshear from the sheath he was carrying, while Ember drew the metallic claws of the Fangs of Felinia, Spike readied his magic for a few seconds, and Cynder shifted her stance so she could be ready for whatever her father might have in store for them, where they showed him that all of them were ready to face whatever training he had prepared for this day and that they would do everything in their power to overcome his lessons. "You may think that, and I'm eager to see what over our training sessions," Malefor replied, but even as he said that his body shimmered for a moment before three Mirror Images appeared around him a few seconds later, showing them that it was going to be four against four, which was bad for them since they couldn't even overcome his power during their earlier battle, which was followed by all of them smiling for a few seconds as he resumed what he was telling them, "but, to make sure each of you have a chance to develop your own skills and not be bothered by someone else that's fighting your target at the same time, I will use the Mirror Image spell and three copies, so that way there is a foe for each of you, and I'll be positioning each of you in different parts of the Training Grounds, so you can focus on what you're doing and less on what one of the others is doing at any given instant. Spyro, you and I will be staying right here, near the doorway that will allow us to head back into the Arcanaeum once we're done training, which means that Spike will be pairing up with the copy to my left, Ember will be taking the one to its left, and Cynder will be pairing up with the one that is standing to my right, who will escort all of you to the areas that you'll be training in and get you started on the lessons I have made to help you improve your skills." The group nodded their heads, to show that they understood what Malefor was telling them, before spreading out in accordance to what he had said, where Spyro and the main Malefor remained in the area that was around them while the others were taken to different parts of the endless realm that they were in, though while his siblings and Cynder did that Spyro kept his stance up and braced himself, as there was no telling what sort of lessons the first purple dragon had in store for him, much less what he had for the others. "Now, I'm sure that you're expecting a lesson on how to fight or something, based on your stance, but that will come in the future, as today I have something different planned," Malefor said, though at the same time Spyro had the feeling that he knew what the dragon was talking about, as there was another power the first purple dragon had discovered he had access to and refused to use the first time they had engaged him, meaning he might be focusing on his Conqueror's Spirit and the fact that he didn't use it all that often, before the elder dragon shifted his stance a little, "I know you have access to Conqueror's Spirit, so I want you to awaken that power and use it against me, which will allow our powers to clash with each other for a few seconds and let me understand how much training you have with it, something that will let me determine what sort of training to give you after this session." Spyro paused for a moment, as that wasn't what he was expecting to hear when he and the others followed Malefor to this area, before he sighed and shifted his stance not a few moments later, returning the runeblade to its sheath as he focused his mind for a few seconds, recalling what he had done to draw upon the power he had unlocked during the war between the Breezebuilders and the Land Blubbers, before he readied himself as he turned his full attention towards the dragon that was in front of him, who was simply waiting for him to make the first move. In the following instant Spyro activated his Conqueror's Spirit and sent the power flying through the air towards the dragon that would be training him for the foreseeable future, who stood still as the air around him shifted as he loosed his own power through the air, which was followed by the space between them shuddering as the two instances of the ability clashed with each other, sending out waves of pressure that would have knocked the weak willed out, if what Spyro recalled was correct. Of course that was accompanied by a bunch of black lightning, which had a red outline on each bit of lightning, that flashed around the entire area that they were standing in and did nothing to the ground that was around them, not that such a thing mattered since the pressure was enough to crack the ground that was near them, even though it was pretty clear that Malefor wasn't using his full power, since Spyro wasn't immediately overpowered by his instructor. He had spent enough time with Spike to know that Malefor was measuring his current level of power and would come to a decision on what lessons he would be given in the future, which was confirmed by what the dragon had said earlier, before Spyro found that he was being pushed back a little by the pressure of Malefor's Conqueror's Spirit, something he was expecting to have happen as soon as he learned what his first lesson was going to be. In the end Spyro found himself being knocked backwards by the pressure of their abilities colliding with each other, an action that cancelled out the collision that was going on, but he wasn't at all surprised by what had happened, because Malefor had spent a thousand years mastering this ability and that collision confirmed his thoughts on the matter, as his foe was able to lower and raise the pressure of his Conqueror's Spirit at will, all to test how his reacted to a force of equal power, before raising the amount of power to see how it reacted, eventually leading to him being blown backwards by the sheer force of Malefor's ability, showing them who was the stronger user. "Your skills are impressive, despite only having a few years to tap into this ability," Malefor commented, where Spyro got up from where he was resting and shook himself for a couple of seconds, as he was surprised that being knocked back like that hadn't knocked him out, just like what happened to the weak willed during the war, and the elder dragon made sure he was alright, to make sure nothing bad had happened to him after being blown back by the collision, "however, the lessons that I will be giving you from this point forward will allow you to further develop your ability, which will allow you to get closer and closer to the level of power that I can wield, though this isn't the only power I will teach you, as I want to see if you are capable of tapping into Warrior's Armor and Sage's Vision, the other two abilities I created all those years ago and mastered over the last thousand years." In that moment Spyro had nothing to say to what Malefor was saying, due to the fact that he had no idea if he could even learn the other two powers that his siblings had tapped into over the years and had learned how to wield, though at the same time he sighed as he removed the sheath that was on his back and placed it by the opening that would take him back to the Arcanaeum, which was when he returned to where his instructor was standing and readied himself, as he did know that learning how to wield Warrior's Armor would take some time and effort, and that wasn't counting Sage's Vision and the power to stare into the future, though he focused on what he was doing and less on what the others were doing at the moment... which was around the time that Ember launched herself into a fury of attacks as she attacked the copy of Malefor that was her current instructor. "You have the skills of a seasoned warrior, though you rely on your Warrior's Armor too much and your focus can be broken rather easily," the copy said, though even as it said that it dodged Ember's clawed attack, where she was combining her Warrior's Armor with the Fangs of Felinia, more in the sense that her own claws were protected and the metal was left alone, before it swung a fist at her and struck her in the chest, causing her to fly backwards and cough as her skill faded once more, just like what happened when they fought Malefor on the island a week ago, "Ember, what you need to do is learn how to tap into your inner magic and fully draw it to the surface, instead of what you've been doing lately, so that your skill won't deactivate whenever your concentration is broken. You just have to remember that what you're doing will be different from how Spike taps into his own magical power and uses it for the spells he casts." "Right. I'll take your word for it." Ember remarked, where she stood still for a moment and thought about how Spike used his magic in the past, something that she never really bothered to think about since she was more focused on using her claws and whatnot to fight the enemies that they encountered during their adventures, and wondered if Malefor was trying to get her to tap into a magic that was like what her brother wielded, though as she reached deep inside herself she did feel something resonate inside her, hence the reason she readied herself for what was coming next. It wasn't long before she burst into the air once more and rushed towards the area that her foe was standing in, just like she had done earlier, though this time around Ember focused more on tapping into the power that Malefor had told her about and whatever else she was supposed to do with it, though it wasn't all that long before an idea came to her as she applied the hardening of her Warrior's Armor to the Fangs of Felinia, turning the blades ebony black, something that caught Malefor's eye as the copy dodged the attack again, even though she dug the claws into the ground and used them to stop herself from going to far, allowing her to enter the battle once more. This time around Ember changed things up as she focused her mind and the Fangs shifted form, becoming a pair of arm blades that were attached to her bracelets, to which she flew around the area that Malefor's copy was standing in and decided to try something else as she focused on the power he wanted her to awaken, mostly due to the fact that she was positive that it would be gone in no time and that she had to use it while she had access to it. What she did was swing her front legs through the air, like she was clawing at one of the flying enemies that they had fought back during their quest to save the world from Gaul and his forces, though because she was still some distance from her foe it looked like she was wasting energy, before a ripple rushed towards the area that her foe was standing in, who stood there for a few seconds as he considered what he was seeing, which was when the copy swung its arm and a similar ripple effect rushed out from where he was standing, cancelling out Ember's attack after they clashed for a few seconds. Ember noticed what had happened, the clash was similar to what her brother and Malefor were doing at the moment, only far less violent than the clash of what she assumed was their Conqueror's Spirits striking each other in the middle of the area they were training in, though it was easy for her to figure out why her attack had failed, due to her foe being far stronger than she was, which just so happened to be the reason why she was still flying through the air as she used the new technique a few more times, trying to hit the copy from the other directions, and yet none of them seemed to hit their mark. She knew that she needed practice with this technique, especially since it was so new to her and it wasn't new to the dragon that had created the power in the first place, though eventually she was forced to land and huff for a few seconds, which was when the copy walked over to where she was now standing, no doubt to give her some pointers or some words about what she had done and how she could improve her skills, both new and old, hence the reason she remained silent as the copy came to a stop near her. "It would seem that I was correct, you do learn quickly," the copy stated, showing that Malefor had been expecting her to do something new during their training session, or at least that was what Ember gathered from what the copy said, but she remained quiet for a few moments as she waited for it to tell her something else as she recovered her stamina, as she found that the new technique exhausted her rather quickly and that was why she needed some additional training to be able to wield it without exposing herself in battle, "that was a technique that I call Emission, one that allows the user of the Warrior's Armor to attack a target that isn't in front of them, where the user releases a burst of energy that assumes the shape of a ripple and, if you're skilled enough, nothing at all so it takes the shape of an invisible attack. Its a technique that drains one's stamina rather quickly, when they start to tap into this particular power, but through regular training you will be able to constantly use this power without having to worry about the stamina drain, which is what we'll be working on for the foreseeable future..." In that moment Ember, who was thinking about what she was being told, gathered her power and swung her weapon at her opponent not even a few seconds later, where a ripple rushed out at the area that she was standing in and zeroed in on Malefor's copy, who barely had a chance to use the same attack since it was in the middle of talking at the moment, though it did have a chance to loose a rather low version of the Emission technique to parry the one she sent at it, which caused the area in front of them to shudder for a moment before returning to normal. "Good one, you got in an attack while my guard was lowered," the copy said, showing that it must have misjudged the amount of stamina Ember had access to, even though Ember just regained enough to scrap together another attack, but it chuckled for a moment as it considered what they were going to do next, despite the fact that Ember was sure its guard was up in case she decided to lash out at it again, something that both of them seemed to be thinking about as they stared at each other, almost like they were daring each other to make the next move. While that was going on Cynder flew through the air as she kept her eyes on the copy of her father that she was in the middle of fighting, where she wasn't even annoyed by the fact that she wasn't getting to train against her actual father at the moment, because she understood that Spyro was the one who had a bunch of untapped potential and it was clear that part of this training session was to draw that power to the surface in a controlled environment, though she paid no mind to that as she dived into the shadows again. One thing she had noticed since the start of their training session was that her father was ready for anything and everything that she might have in mind, as the first time she dived into the shadows the copy managed to knock her out of it rather quickly, though this time around she made sure to send out several copies of herself so that they could be distractions and open a way for her to attack her father, hence the reason that four of them burst out into the air not a few seconds later and readied some bursts of Shadow Breath. The copy was more than ready for what she was doing as it swung its arm and the wind turned against them, slicing into the Shadow Copies and breaking them apart in a matter of seconds, but that was perfectly fine with her as she burst out of the copy's shadow and loosed a burst of shadow magic, even though the copy managed to stop the attack in its tracks and knock her backwards, to which she just dived back into the shadows and loosed more copies into the ground so she could come up with an idea as to what sort of plan she could come up with next. During that moment she glanced over at the area that the entrance rested in and spotted the runeblade that Spyro carried into battle all the time, to which an idea came into mind as she rushed over to the area in question and used her power to snatch the weapon that was just resting against the opening, before she tapped into her inner power like she was getting ready to loose a more powerful attack, though this time around, when she burst out of the shadows as her copies did the same thing, she drew Windshear from its sheath. What she did was end up with a surge of magical energy that wrapped around the runeblade that Spyro used, a mass that could easily rival a wave of energy that Spike would use in battle against a magically superior opponent, which was the moment that she swung it at the copy of her father and the wave went rushing through the air, where the magic slammed into a barrier that sprung up and smashed the area around it to pieces, leaving a crater in its place as the copy remained standing in the direct center of it. "Impressive, you managed to tap into the power of the runeblade rather easily, and by that I mean the true power it is contained within the blade," the copy said, where it flew through the air and landed near where Cynder was standing, who huffed for a moment as she considered the amount of magic that she had poured into the attack, though it happened to be smiling at her while it said that and glanced at the blade she was holding onto, "and that was a power known as Wind Scar, a powerful wind style attack, though like what Spyro and Ember are doing it can be rather draining for a first time user of the technique, which is why we'll be seeing how many times you can use it and improve your power over the other elements that you can tap into." Cynder nodded for a moment, though that was followed by Spike and his foe flying through the air as they attacked each other with their magic, as in Spike was going on the offensive as he lashed out with some of the more high ranking spells he knew about while the copy he happened to be paired with went on the defensive, shielding itself from everything that was being sent at it, as the air heated up in their area of the Training Grounds due to the massive Fireballs Spike was hurling at his foe, intending on wielding the heated up atmosphere with his lightning spells. Of course one Lightning Bolt flashed by the copy he was fighting and struck the ground, blowing a small crater into the earth in the process, though he didn't pay that much attention to what was going on as he did a barrel roll and avoided the incoming attack that just so happened to be heading towards him, before the next Ice Shard shattered the incoming spell that was getting close to the area he was flying through. He knew what Malefor had planned for him, he was trying to get him to wield the power of his staff and use it in his spell casting, just like an Archmage was supposed to do after crafting their staff, though for right now he was more interested in making sure his magic was up to par with what his opponent was using against him, which he realized were the adept spells, the middle ground between basic and advanced, and once he was sure that everything was ready he planned on summoning his staff back to him so he could get the show on the road. That was, of course, when his foe loosed a rapidly formed Flame Emperor from its magic and sent it straight at the area that Spike was flying around in, to which he expanded his magic for a few seconds and called Akilesh to his side, where he spun it around and channeled the magic that was inside it into an Aether Barrier that protected him as he was pushed into the ground, blowing a bigger crater into the ground of the Training Grounds. A few moments later Spike burst out of the smoke with his magic wrapped around him and his staff, where he found that he was able to get high in the sky for a few moments as the copy focused on him, which was around the time that he shifted his staff and his magic formed a vortex of glowing yellow energy that seemed to mimic the supposed coloration of the sun, something that caused Malefor, his copies, and the others to pause for a moment as they looked at what was currently going on, before Spike hurled a wave of solar-like energy at his opponent. Not a few seconds later the copy held its right hand up and stopped the attack before it could hit the ground, which would have wrecked part of the area that it just so happened to be standing in at the moment, though as soon as that happened Spike appeared right behind the wave of energy with the tip of his staff pointed right at the copy, like he was empowering the attack with even more magic, before he shifted his stance and forced the copy backwards through the air. That was followed by the copy remaining still for a few seconds, like it was considering something, before it flipped backwards and kicked off the air so it could rush at the area that Spike was currently flying in, only for the observers to realize that, while the copy was doing that, Spike had readied his power again, using the same unnamed spell that he had learned over the last week, as another mass of sun-like energy was gathering around him as they watched what was going on. That was when Spike loosed the wave attack once more, even though this time it coiled around as it rushed through the air, and the copy stopped so it could stall the mass of energy, which it seemed to succeed in based on what everyone was seeing, only for the magic to burst passed it's location, even though Spike could tell that it teleported out of the way to make sure it didn't get wiped out, just in case the attack had more power than what Malefor was expecting. "You learned a new spell in a week's time, and now I'm interested in seeing what else you'll do once all of our training is finished," the copy said, showing that Malefor was pleased with Spike's progress and that he was eager to show him some of the spells that he had learned over the last thousand years, which was perfectly fine with Spike since it meant he would be learning even more than ever before, though at the same time all three of the copies and the real Malefor took a moment to shift their stances once more, indicating that they were ready to continue with their lessons. The Chronicler smiled as he watched the siblings and Cynder resumed facing their opponents, listening to whatever tips or tricks that the first purple dragon had to tell each of them, though from what he could see it appeared that each of them would be able to defend themselves against whatever the future held for them and the lands that they had saved in the past, to which he continued recording what he was seeing and knew that whatever foe happened to engage them after this day was going to be wishing that they hadn't bothered the group, something he was sure that everyone the group had helped would agree with, and suspected that Malefor felt the same way.