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// Interlude: Developments 
// Story: Spyro: The Dragon Trio of Avalar 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Spyro, Cynder, Spike, and Ember found that the months that followed their practice session were pretty much the same thing as what they experienced since they returned from Doxantha and returned to their normal lives, meaning that they spent one day a week training with Malefor, so they could continue to build upon the lessons that he started teaching them, while they spent the other six days doing whatever each of them wanted, even if most of them chose to relax while Ember practiced some of the movements she started to learn during their training sessions. From what the four of them could tell it seemed like their mentor was happy with their progress and that he was already coming up with additional lessons to give each of them, though that didn't stop Spike from heading out to Warfang's library to see what sort of knowledge was inside it and the various tomes and scrolls that had been gathered by Malefor and the Guardians that protected the city, and that included his rare visits to the White Isle to see what was in the Chronicler's collection. Spyro and Ember weren't surprised by such a thing, as they had gotten used to Spike's desire for knowledge, and Cynder was getting used to it, just like she was getting used to everything else that was in the Dragon Realms, though the Leaders did chuckle when they heard that, due to the fact that they knew Spike would do something like that and didn't even attempt to stop him, especially since there were a few of their own scholars that went to Warfang for the library as well. Not only did that happen, but Cynder was correct in her earlier guess as to who might be coming to the new lands she called home, as Volteer and a few of the dragons from Doxantha came to study the airship and the various machines that the Machinists were working on, showing that they were eager to expand their knowledge and see if there was anything they might be able to add to the city.

Spike noticed that the residents of the Dragon Realms, Avalar, Avilion, and Doxantha, while taking some time to get used to the idea that there were portals leading to the newest lands he and his siblings had visited, had formed good bonds with the other lands and it looked like friendships were blooming between the various residents of the various realms and lands, which was good to see and made everything he and the others did even more worthwhile when they saw what was going on. Another thing they noted was the fact that there was another addition to the training that Titan gave to the rest of the Peace Keepers and those that wanted to join them, as Hunter and Elora were joined by Amelia, who wanted to see what sort of lessons Titan had to give those that came to him, though it wasn't long before Hunter's parents and a number of the Cheetahs joined them, to learn more tactics so they could protect their clan from the dangers they faced, and that included helping the dragons of Doxantha whenever Malefor or the Guardians called for aid. Ember was a little surprised to see so many of Prowlus' clan join Hunter and the others in their training, and the others were caught off guard when they found the Cheetah in question training with the rest of his clan, but in the end all of them smiled as they watched everyone train, since it appeared Titan was making sure all of them knew how to defend themselves and use the weapons that they chose to wield when they were on the battlefield. Of course the Cheetahs weren't the only ones from Doxantha who joined the training sessions, due to the fact that there were a few Moles and a number of dragons who wanted to see what Titan had to offer them, where it appeared all of them were taking to the lessons, just like how Hunter and Elora had done when they first started their training, after the siblings had saved Avalar from Ripto's schemes, and it was clear that Hunter had been put in charge of making sure his parents and sister knew what was going on, or at least that seemed to be what was going on at the moment.

The other important thing that happened since their training with Malefor started was Nestor informing the siblings and Cynder that their house was finally finished, as he and the others had completed their work on it and they could now move into it whenever they wanted, and none of them had to worry about moving things to where the house rested, as he had made sure to put some things inside the structure and moved their personal items away from where they had been sleeping for the last couple of years, like the art pieces and everything else... though while it wasn't a surprise that their house rested in Stone Hill, since it had been their home for their entire lives, Cynder's jaw dropped when she found the structure she and the siblings would be calling home for the foreseeable future.

"You guys call this a house? Its a castle!" Cynder remarked, where she stared at the marble walls of the building that was in front of them and found that it seemed to be square shaped, or at least the base of it seemed to be that way, and it looked like there were three wings to the structure, one for each of the siblings since she would be joining Spyro, though the reason she said it was a castle was due to the shape of the windows that were near the entrance and the shape of the walkway that seemed to be on the roof of the structure, "Are all of the Artisans houses like this, or is there a reason that would explain why this house looks more like a castle... besides the fact that you guys are the heroes of four lands and I'm the daughter of Malefor."

"Its the style of the Artisans dragons," Spike replied, though he knew that Cynder would have been shocked by what they were seeing at the moment, despite the fact that this was the first time he had seen this structure, before he glanced out at the area they were in and noticed that their house rested on a cliff that just so happened to have a walkway down to a beach, meaning some of them would have a view of the water and he had the feeling that it would be Spyro's room that had such a thing, which he was totally fine with, before he took a step towards the circular opening that served as the entrance of their home, where he noticed some magical runes that rested around it, "and it looks like Cosmos and some of the other Magic Crafters added some runes to our front entrance, and likely all of the other entrances as well, no doubt to make sure intruders are unable to get inside the building, even though its unlikely that we'll have to worry about intruders after everything that's happened."

Spyro, Cynder, and Ember said nothing to that, as Spike had a vast amount of magical knowledge that dwarfed what all three of them knew and that meant he likely knew what he was sensing or seeing at the moment, which was why they followed him towards the entrance and walked into the house that Nestor and the others had made for them, where it was easy for them to tell that there were two stories and that meant their rooms were likely up on the second floor, hence why they were interested in what was down on the first floor right now. What they discovered was a grand atrium that was the first thing someone found when they walked into the house, as they could see the upper floor from where they were currently standing and noticed that there happened to be three openings around them, one to the left of the center of the room, one to the right, and one to the north of the center, though it was easy for Spike to notice that the one to the right lead to a rather large library, one that might rival what was inside Dark Hollow, to a degree anyway. To the north rested what appeared to be a kitchen and dining area, just in the off chance that Alvar and the others were busy elsewhere and didn't have time to make something for the rest of the Artisans homeworld, revealing that cooking was a skill they would have to learn at some point, just to be prepared, and that was when they noticed that the chamber on their left seemed to be a cleaning area that they could fly into from the outside, meaning if one of them came home, and had gotten dirty while they were away, it would be rather easy to clean themselves off before heading into the rest of the building. They also noticed the marble pillars that connected the floor to the walkway that was above them, meaning they didn't have to worry about the second floor collapsing, not that they were worried about such a thing since Nestor and the others built this for them, and they also spotted curved ramps that lead from where they were standing and reached the upper floor, with what appeared to be steps.

Spike found that there was some magic on the two sets of stairs, one on the left side of the central room and one on the right side, where he tapped into it and found that the steps actually sunk into the rest of the stone and formed a ramp that one could slide down or walk up, depending on what their preference was, though as he returned them to normal he knew that they could always fly up to the second floor and suspected the stairs were more for their guests, Hunter, Elora, and Bianca to be exact, before they headed upstairs to see what else had been left for them.

"Why am I not surprised by what they built for Spike's room?" Cynder commented, because the first room they looked at, as soon as they reached the top of the stairs and looked at what the second floor had to offer them, just so happened to be the one that was above where the library rested, where they found a bed that had a desk near it and had a number of bookshelves resting around it, where Spike noticed that some of his favorite titles were on them and that there were a decent amount of spell tomes that had to be from Malefor, for maybe the Chronicler, along with the books he wrote in the past, about their last four adventures, though at the same time Spike smiled.

"I've got a place to sleep, an area to work and study in, a place to keep my staff," Spike said, as he was looking around the room and found a spot where Akilesh could rest, something that was definitely a gift from Malefor, hence the reason he summoned the staff and set it above the small circular post, allowing it to float in a magical field that was like what they had seen when they found the Arcanaeum and he stopped the others from touching the staff, before noticing a note that rested on one of the books, which he read immediately, "and, according to this, the room that we can clean ourselves in has an enchantment on the opening, courtesy of the Chronicler, as it will open a portal that will allow us to get from here to the Training Grounds, so we don't have to go the long way around... and that I might be able to attune it to other areas as well, provided I learn what the Chronicler did to make this happen in the first place."

"They even put that bust you made in your room as well," Spyro added, because sitting on the desk, in the upper left corner of it to be exact, rested the odd bust that resembled a mare's head and had a hairstyle that screamed 'scholar', as his opinions on the item didn't change since the last time he had seen the object in question, before he noticed Cynder was staring at the bust with a level of interest, just like the Artisans had when Spike first made it, "Cynder, Spike was trying to make a horse's head when he made this bust, no doubt recalling something he read about in one of the books he had read before that point, yet everyone is sure that he simply got the characteristics of the head wrong when he made it, but the experts said it was a good first attempt and let him keep it."

"You sure about that? It sure looks like he was going for a unicorn whose a bookworm." Cynder replied, though she did take a few moments to stare at the bust and realized what Spike was going for, even though the mare didn't match the records of the horse-like races that her father and the banished had encountered in the past, before they settled on the continent Warfang was built on, but even as she considered all of that she turned towards the others for a moment, due to that being the moment she remembered something that had been said in the past, "You guys made something too, right? I know Spyro made a dish or something with my image on it, based on what you guys said when I mentioned the art item I made all those years ago, and now I know what Spike made... what did you make, Ember?"

"A crystalline scepter, one that's unlike anything that has been recorded over the years," Spike stated, recalling what his sister had made all those years ago with ease, though at the same time they left the room they were in and walked over to the room that was above where the kitchen happened to be resting, since that was the next one they would be checking out and it had to be Ember's room, which meant it was an odd coincidence that they were talking about her art piece while they were headed towards her new room, "trust me, I've checked all of the records in Dark Hollow's library, the archives of Avalar, both Avilion's library and the Archives in the Arcanaeum, and now everything that's inside Warfang's own library, and I still can't pinpoint what sort of scepter that is, which is rather interesting and is just as infuriating when I think about it."

"Hey, maybe Ember has a memory of a past life and that's what she made into her art piece." Spyro said, because if his brother was unable to figure out anything about the mysterious scepter that Ember had made, even if he still felt it was just something she made in the heat of the moment, the only other explanation was what he just said, maybe it was a lone memory or something, though as he opened his mouth to say something else, however, they stopped at the entrance of the next room and glanced at what was inside it, "Oh yeah, this is definitely Ember's room."

What they found was a room that had a bed, something they were expecting to find in all three of them, though there were a number of weapon racks on the walls, which had a variety of weapons from swords to spears, halberds to axes, maces to spiked shields, and a few others, where the design of the room looked like a warrior would be sleeping here, and that was the truth when they considered Ember's habits, as there was even a suit of armor that looked like it would fit her current frame, which would change when they hit their fifteenth birthday, and there was a rack that was empty, despite the fact that Ember realized she had an area to put the Fangs of Felinia in, so she could have her normal bracers back, if she wanted to go without the daggers for a time.

"And they even provided a space for the scepter," Ember commented, where she glanced to the right for a moment and found that the scepter was leaning against one of the walls, giving Cynder a chance to look at it while she, Spyro, and Spike looked at the rest of the room that would be hers for the foreseeable future, at least until two of them moved out and built their own residences, which just so happened to be something that all dragons usually did, or at least that was true for the Artisans dragons, which might not be necessary since all of them were different from each other, before she pulled the daggers out of her bracers and put them on the stand that had been added to the room, "You know, I could get used to a room like this, especially since it looks like Nestor and the others did a good job making it match my interests and the dragon clan that I follow the teachings of... and it looks like I have enough room to practice with some of the new weapons that Titan and the others must have gifted to me, which is nice."

"You were right, this is unlike any of the scepters that I've heard about," Cynder remarked, though that was when she rubbed the back of her head for a moment as she glanced at the item in question, before setting her claws on the floor as she considered why Ember would have used the time of her art lesson to make an item like this in the first place, despite the fact that she came up with no reason behind why such a thing would happen, especially since it didn't seem like Ember had any memories of a previous life, as she was sure that they would have done something more than this, "but, other than that, you have a nice looking room as well."

"Yeah, though it makes me interested in what the last room looks like," Spyro said, referring to his room, since it was the one they hadn't seen yet, though even as he thought about that he had to amend his thoughts, due to the fact that it was going to be the room he shared with Cynder, something he was perfectly fine with given their shared past, before he moved away from the opening that lead to Ember's room, which was when they found wooden doors that they could close to make sure no one could look at them from the other rooms, giving them some privacy.

They found that the final room was the same size as the last couple they had looked at, with a bed that was the same size as the ones Spike and Ember had, and the first thing Spyro noticed was the couple of aviator items, like the goggles, a vest, and a few other items that went with his scarf, that rested near one of the walls, a stand that had both his art piece and Cynder's art piece, a stand for Windshear to rest on, and a number of gemstones that were accompanied by what he had to assume was a device or something that they could be used with, hence the reason that the siblings glanced over to Cynder for a moment, since she was the only one that would tell them what was going on right now.

"So, dad sent some of my stuff here, just like I thought he would," Cynder commented, where she stepped forward for a moment and picked up one of the gemstones that happened to be resting near the grinder and the other tools, as she was checking it out to make sure none of the items had been damaged during the journey from her room in Warfang to the room that she was now sharing with Spyro, before she glanced back to the others for a moment, "its a hobby, I like to take raw stones and turn them into gemstones, like the ones that you guys have in these lands, even if they're somewhat smaller than what you're used to seeing, and they usually go into all sorts of items, like jewelry, armor, sometimes even weapons that are just for show... really, I make them into whatever someone wants me to make and they get added to the item in question."

"You two are so Artisans dragons, there's no denying that," Ember remarked, because while she wasn't expecting to discover what sort of hobbies Cynder liked, or the fact that Malefor's daughter liked to take raw stones and turn them into beautiful gemstones that were likely used throughout Warfang, it was the discovery of the fact that Cynder liked to take something in its raw form and produce something extraordinary after working with it that surprised her, because it made her sound more like one of the Artisans dragons that called this land home, "one likes to make art by flying through the air and performing stunts, while the other turns raw stones into beautiful gems that others use... it will be interesting to see what the two of you do in the future, or at least that's what Nestor and the others will think."

Spyro and Cynder glanced at each other for a few seconds, as while Spyro wasn't expecting this either he was more than fine with whatever hobbies Cynder might have, especially since he was sure that watching her work her magic on the raw stones would be interesting, before the two of them chuckled for a few seconds as Spyro took the sheath that was on his back off and placed Windshear on the provided stand that was in front of them, before they left the room and flew out through the balcony that was attached to this room, which made sense given that Spyro liked to fly and do tricks, which allowed them to fly through the air and explore the rest of the area the house was in. It was interesting to see that there was even a beach near their house, which was a surprise since they were sure Nestor and the others wouldn't place the house near one, but they weren't about to complain about the situation that they were in, which was why they focused on flying through the air and explored the part of Stone Hill that they were in, mostly since Spyro and his siblings hadn't been to this part of the realm before. Spike knew that at some point he would have to explore the rest of the island and the rest of the homeworlds, to expand what he and the others knew about the rest of the Dragon Realms, even if his siblings might not have the same desire that he had, but it was nice to see the area that they were going to be calling home was just like the rest of Stone Hill, meaning that they would quickly adapt to this part of the realm in no time, even if Cynder would take longer to get used to it than the rest of them. Of course Cynder was flying around with Spyro, at the head of their group to be exact, though Spike and Ember were just fine with that as they considered everything, as their house was more than enough for the four of them and it appeared that each of them had something that allowed them to pursue their interests or hobbies, so they turned their attention towards what the future held for them and what might happen as the next few weeks and months went by.

Other than checking out their house, and being pleased with what they had seen, the group found that the weeks and months that passed them by were the same as what they were expecting, most days were filled with them doing whatever they wanted to do and one of the days was set aside for Malefor's lessons, where he built on the first lessons he had given them and tested them to see if any of them could awaken new abilities during their sessions, like how he was trying to see if Spyro could awaken the other two powers he had created. Spike, Ember, and Cynder knew that it had succeeded, or to a degree anyway, as Ember did notice the familiar sheen of the Warrior's Armor on her brother's front right limb a few times while he listened to Malefor's teachings, even if it didn't last anywhere near as long as what she was capable of, and Spike could have sworn that Spyro might have tapped into Sage's Vision, since he did dodge an attack he couldn't see coming, but that could have been reflexes after training with their mentor for the length of time they had been given. At the same time Ember continued to expand her abilities in regards to the skill that she used almost all the time, using the Emission technique and whatever else their instructor had for them, though for the most part she found that it might not be at all possible for her to tap into the other two skills, meaning Spyro wouldn't have to worry about her stealing his thunder and using the Conqueror's Spirit, and, based on what she had seen, it didn't look like she was going to unlock Sage's Vision either, which she was also fine with. Cynder, on the other claw, started to tap into the Warrior's Armor skill while they were training, something that was rather hard to see thanks to the natural coloration of her scales, but Ember was sure she had tapped into the power and Malefor was seeing how quickly his daughter caught up to what she was doing, while at the same time making sure to continue her individual lessons.

Spike, of course, didn't tap into the other two skills and instead focused his attention on mastering the spells that he found inside the various tomes and scrolls that he studied in his free time, where he continued to impress Malefor with what he was able to do, no doubt due to the fact that he wasn't used to a dragon that was capable of learning new spells in a few days to a week at most, which all depended on the difficulty of the spell in question, and that he could use them in their training sessions, showing that his magical skill was nearly unmatched.

Other than that there wasn't much else for the group to do, save for exploring the Dragon Realms and taking the time to show Cynder what the rest of the lands looked like, more in the up close and personal sense, so they quickly returned to their normal habits in no time, just like what happened after the end of the last couple of adventures, and let time pass them by as each of them considered what the future held and what they were going to do once they matured into adults, as that day was coming fast. Of course, before they reached their fifteenth birthday and became adults, they first had to get through their fourteenth birthday and whatever chaos it might have for them, as it was going to be more about the one hundred and fifty-one hatchlings that the siblings had saved from Morrigan's foul plans and less about the three of them, or rather four since they needed to add Cynder to that thought, which would be rather interesting when the big day came around. When they thought about that, however, they came to a stop in the center of the Artisans homeworld and looked out at some of the adult dragons who happened to be in this area, where it appeared that they were in the middle of preparing for a special event and Spike nodded his head as they saw that, as he understood what was going on and knew he could explain it to the others if they were curious about things, but even then he frowned for a few seconds as he considered what had happened in the past, when their last couple of birthdays had happened.

"Spike, is something wrong?" Spyro asked, because while they were staring out at the area that the adults were in at the moment, moving what seemed to be party supplies into containers so they could be transported to an area that was being prepared for something big, like the Dragonfly Ceremony for example, it was odd to see that Spike had a worried look on his face, hence the reason that he and the others glanced at him and tore their attention away from what was in front of them, "You seem worried about something."

"Oh, you know, just thinking about what happened the last couple of times our birthday came around," Spike replied, as he was referring to Gnasty Gnorc attacking the Dragon Realms, them being called to Avalar to deal with Ripto, Morrigan ordering Bianca to steal the dragon eggs during the Year of the Dragon Festival, and them heading to Doxantha once they found out that they had an airship, thanks to their friends from the lands they had helped out, before he glanced at the others for a moment, "where we ended up in some grand adventure to save a land from a villain and their evil plans for the land in question, and they've only gotten even bigger as the years have gone by, especially when we think about last year's adventure to Doxantha."

"I understand what you mean, especially when we consider last year's adventure," Ember remarked, as she had been thinking that the reason for Spike's worried expression was something that was tied to Malefor and their lessons, or even some of things he had studied over the last couple of months, but now that Spike had voiced his concern, however, it was easy for her and the others to figure out why Spike seemed so worried, even if he didn't show any of the adults the worry that was on his face, "I mean, we fought Gaul's dark alliance to prevent the end of the world, which makes it the biggest and most serious adventure we have ever been on, so I can see why you're thinking about what might happen when our fourteenth birthday comes around, including worrying about it."

"Hey, maybe we'll be lucky and whatever adventure we discover will be smaller than the last one." Spyro said, as while he did know that Spike was right about part of their situation, that an adventure was likely coming their way and would reveal itself when their fourteenth birthday came around, just like how the last couple of adventures had been revealed to them, he was hoping that the next adventure was either smaller than last year's adventure or, even better in his mind, this year just got skipped so they could rest and have a peaceful birthday again, though something told him that they would be tackling some sort of adventure in the near future.

"As they say, time will tell." Spike replied, though while it was interesting to see that Cynder was silent, mostly due to the fact that she was recalling everything that she had learned about them and their last three adventures, he knew that a new adventure was coming their way and suspected that it would strike in the very near future, during their fourteenth birthday and the Dragonfly Ceremony, to give all of the young hatchlings their dragonfly companions, they just had to wait and see what was coming their way.

Spyro, Cynder, and Ember nodded their heads for a moment, as while they had differing opinions on the matter, due to some hoping for a peaceful year and some expecting that an adventure was coming their way, before they glanced at the area that was in front of them and watched the adults continue their work as they prepared for the ceremony that would be held at the same time as their next birthday, where each of them were eager to see what the future held for all of them and their friends.