darkSpyro

This is the tale of the Dark Horizons, a land of darkness and evil. The first four chapters were written by GoldenDragon, who originally came up with the idea for the story. However, she gave up the story in favor of her art several months ago, and she has given me permission to continue it.

Chapter 1: The Dark Queens

Cascades of rock tumbled from the Temple's disintegrating walls. Dragons fled in all directions as Gaul's armies poured in through charred holes in the roof and through the crumbling doorways of the Temple. Gaul growled and lifted his lip in a malignant smile, exposing his long, yellowing fangs. He loved to see the "all powerful dragons" scatter like a flock of startled ducks. He laughed and charged onward to the room full of dragon eggs. He shouted to his troops "Destroy them all!!!!....Except two! Our master has something special in mind for them." Gaul scooped up a deep black egg and a dark indigo egg, and placed them into a rough burlap bag. He ran through the chaos and flames, and jumped onto a skeletal black Dreadwing, which bore him off into the dark, moonless night.

A few days later, after the rest of the troops arrived with Gaul at the apes' lair, the eggs began to hatch.

A still hush lay over the Mountain Fortress. It was as if the entire world held its breath as the milky shells of the dragon eggs split and crunched. The black egg opened first, and the head of a tiny black dragon, wet and bedraggled, poked its head into the still air. "Cynder," said Gaul. The second egg rocked violently, rolling over and over, and finally, it too broke open to reveal a dragon, but this time, it was a deep indigo baby dragon (also a female) that tumbled out. "Kuna," stated Gaul.

"Cynder and Kuna. Our future warriors. Our ultimate weapons. Our dark queens......."
GD

keep going please

Okay, I'm going to post the next three chapters. I'll have to make three posts, though- they're too big for just one.

Chapter 2: Blood and Power

Kuna lifted her head and disgruntledly gazed at this new world which she found herself in. A huge furry creature (Gaul, although she didn't know it yet) loomed over her head, jabbering in some strange language. Next to her sat another dragon, with eyes just as wide and uncertain as her own. Gaul leaned over and plucked her and the other dragon up by the scruffs of their necks, and carried them into a dark tunnel. An acrid smell met her nostrils, and Kuna saw a glowing green room. As they entered it, she saw that the source of light was a huge bubbling pit of glowing slime, with two black iron cages suspended just above it.

Suddenly, a surge of apes poured in through the doorway and seized Kuna's and Cynder’s legs. Kuna cried out as they brought a white-hot chain towards her, dripping with molten metal. She struggled and lashed out with her tail, only to be struck with a heavy club. She reeled and collapsed, and was helpless to defend herself as they wrapped the burning metal around her neck, tail, and limbs. Kuna screamed as Cynder did the same. The enchanted metal ate at her very soul, and coalesced into gem-studded "collars" and “gauntlets”.

The two dragons were thrust into the cages above the slime pits, and the doors locked. Gaul spoke to one of his minions, "Enchanted dragon blood--the most poisonous and powerful stuff in the world. One little touch would kill you or me. But it's..... excellent .....for dragons," and smiled evilly. Then, he pulled a lever.

The two cages jerked and shuddered slowly down.... down towards the glowing lake. The two dragons screamed as the vapors burned at their eyes and choked them. The bottoms of their cages flooded as the cages were submerged. The green ooze writhed and frothed, Kuna howled, and then all was quiet except for the quiet hiss and pop of the slime.
GD

Chapter 3: Dark Awakening

The cages creaked and groaned. Hot steam bubbled from the lake. Then, the cages exploded back out of the goo, spraying steaming liquid. Two huge forms rose from the slime, with luminescent rivulets cascading down to the cavern floor. Two sets of enormous wings unfurled into spans of eighty feet or more, filling the cave. Kuna's smooth indigo body was now interspersed with jagged lightning bolt patterns, and Cynder's cool black with curling, smooth ones.

Black vapor poured off of them, and their eyes flashed momentarily huge and white. Gaul smiled as the two beasts landed in front of him, Cynder with a red gem in her collar and Kuna with green.

"Master, here we come to serve you."

The Ape King chuckled and looked on. "My first order to you," said he, "is to destroy the valley of Avalar and show the weak life there that the Dark Armies have come."
GD

Chapter 4: A Heart of Gold

Kuna lay her body flat and beat her wings in a slow steady rhythm. Far below her lay a river-crossed expanse of grass and wildflowers surrounded by enormous mountains. She curled the edges of her wings to her body and dipped gracefully into a wide downward spiral towards the valley. Joined by Cynder, she curved towards a wooded corner of the valley from which smoke rose from cooking fires and small, roughly built huts were scattered. The village was on a high cliff, overlooking a churning, angry river.

Beside her, Cynder folded her wings and dropped like a bullet. Kuna did the same. She plummeted straight down and snapped open her wings at the last second to break her descent. The resulting gust of wind blasted two huts off of their foundations and shook the very roots of the trees. Kuna and Cynder were bombarded by a rain of spears. Kuna roared, and Cynder spun her tail in a circle, leveling several huts and flinging cheetah villagers everywhere. Kuna reared and batted away the spears. She dropped to the ground in fury, and shot a thunderbolt wreathed in crackling black lightning which turned a village shack into an orange fire blossom. The chief charged Cynder, who calmly grasped him in her teeth and flung his form into the trees.

A tiny cub stumbled across into a clearing free of burning houses where Kuna stood. Cynder whirled around ...... and spotted him. The cub tripped and tumbled onto Kuna's paws. Cynder said in cool, venomous tones, "Why...don't you finish him.....?" Kuna froze. The cub's huge, blue eyes stared at her in terror. His dusky reddish fur was streaked with blood and ash. Kuna's snarl of hate died in her chest, and her eyes softened. The spell cast upon her by Gaul was broken by her pure heart. She was free.

"No," she said.

"What...did...you...say?" asked Cynder in a voice that made it more of a statement.

"I said no. I won't kill him. Why, Cynder? WHY SHOULD I?!?" These last words were roared. Cynder growled in hatred.

"Fine," Cynder said, and sliced Kuna on her chin with her tail blade. "If you won't kill him, I will."

"Never," said Kuna. "You'll have to kill me first."

"If you stand in the way, I will...with pleasure. I was instructed to leave none alive..." said Cynder

Kuna scooped the cub up and shielded him under one of her wings as Cynder landed another blow. Kuna was on the defensive. She used her other wing in a futile effort to cover her body, but was driven closer and closer to the precipice overlooking the raging river far below. Kuna knew that she couldn't fly for risk of dropping the cub to his death, but she was badly wounded.

"Release him!" screeched Cynder.

"I will not!" gasped Kuna, as blood streamed from a wound on her chin.

She kept retreating until her back legs scrabbled on the very edge of the cliff.

Her wing that she was using as a shield was in tatters and dripped with blood. Cynder cleverly faked a rush in for a tail slice, but instead snaked her head to the side, and bit Kuna's leg. Kuna cried out, and stepped backward into thin air. She slid off of the edge, but caught herself and dangled, with cub still folded inside one of her wings, by her only useful front leg.

Cynder stalked slowly to the edge of the precipice. "I wish there was another way. You would have been a formidable ally."

Then, she grasped Kuna's paw in her claws, and pushed it off the ledge.

Kuna gave one last sad look at Cynder as she fell away from view and towards the roaring river .... down .... down ..... down.
GN

The next chapter should be up sometime this week. I don't know how much time I'll have to work on it today, but I'll try.
EDIT: I have finished Chapter Five and I'm working on Chapter Six.
EDIT OF THE EDIT: Darn it. I have to rewrite chapter five because my computer ate it.
EDIT OF THE EDIT OF THE EDIT: No, wait! I accidentally saved the new chapters to Documents instead of my external hard drive. *facepalm*

Okay, I have chapters six and seven. And Bolt, I hope you like my chapters too! Be warned though, these two don't contain much dialog, but Chapter Eight will make up for it.
Chapter Five: Descent
Kuna and the cub tumbled through the air, down towards the rushing river below. She desperately clawed at the rock, trying to slow their fall. Her claws scraped along the rock, and she finally caught them in a crevice. Knowing she couldn’t hang here for very long, Kuna was able to slowly climb down the rest of the cliff, hoping with all her heart that Cynder hadn’t checked to make sure she was dead. Finally, she reached the bank of the river. Kuna looked at the cub still wrapped safely in her wing. His blue eyes stared up at her, scared and confused. She set him gently on the ground and looked around for a place to recuperate. Spying a shallow cave in the cliff face, she took the cub and nestled into a spot in the cave. Goodnight, little one. Kuna thought, looking at the cub. She then drifted off to sleep, to dreams of darkness and doom…

Chapter Six: Return to the Camp
Kuna awoke from her nightmare, shivering. She had dreamt of her time as a servant of Gaul, and the destruction that she and Cynder had caused above. She shivered again and examined her wings. One wing was full of claw marks and seared like fire when she moved it. Kuna looked to her other wing. It was stiff, but in much better shape than the first. She emerged from the cave, allowing the sun to shine on her indigo-black scales. She padded over to the rushing river and dipped her wings in it. The cool water soothed her injuries, and Kuna felt rejuvenated. Now she felt ready to face the task ahead: returning the cub to the village. She picked him up in her claws and felt him shift in his sleep. She then began the arduous task of climbing back up the cliff face. Several times she nearly slipped and fell, and it was only her strong will that kept Kuna going. Relief flooded her as she reached the top of the cliff, and was able to place the cub safely under a tree. I did it! thought Kuna, feeling very proud of herself. But she had to keep moving-she was sure that she wouldn’t be welcome in the ruins of the cheetahs’ camp. So Kuna continued her journey, going beyond the Valley of Avalar. When night began to fall, Kuna stopped to sleep under a large and ancient tree.

Hello.

Excellent work, here!

I am honored to have helped you.

Thanks, GD! I'm glad you like my continuation of the story. I'm going to work on Chapter Seven in a few minutes.

Thanks, Bolt! Here's Chapter Seven.

Chapter Seven: The Test (Part 1)
As Kuna slept beneath the ancient tree, she began to dream. She stood in a room with walls of gray stone. There was a circle of glowing blue runes on the floor, and Kuna was in the very center of the circle. Suddenly, Gaul appeared in a flash of light! He growled at her and began slowly walking towards her.
“Kuna, you have betrayed us!” he snarled. “Cynder was right about you!”
Kuna reared up in surprise. How did Gaul get here? And where am I? she thought.
Looking at Gaul, she said, “Cynder is evil, and so are you. Why should I have to serve you?!”
Gaul kept walking towards her, blades at the ready. Then, he lunged at her, aiming for her throat. Kuna sidestepped just in time and his blade sliced empty air. Gaul attacked again, slicing at her with his blades. They didn’t cut deep, but Kuna was still hurt. She backed away, out of reach of the whizzing blades. Growling, Gaul slammed his blades into the ground. A ring of green energy blasted outwards into Kuna, bringing searing pain. The world spun around her, but as he slammed the blades into the ground again Kuna desperately flapped her wings (which were, oddly enough, healed) and rose into the air. Now that she didn’t have to worry about the green rings, Kuna took deep breath and blasted indigo fire at Gaul. He crossed his swords and deflected the fire back at Kuna. She yelped and flew out of the way, vowing to be more careful. Flying around Gaul, she created a ring of fire on the floor, tightening her circle until Gaul writhed in the flames. As he fell to his knees in agony, there was another flash of blue light, and Cynder stood in his place. Glaring at Kuna, she flew into the air and blew black-red fire at her. Kuna dodged, but not far enough-Cynder’s fire scorched her and she cried out in pain. Cynder grinned malevolently and blasted the fire at her again.

Yeah, I would freak out if I had a dream like that. I was going to make it one huge chapter, but before I finished it I realized that it would probably be too big for one chapter. BTW, do you know how to get the Draconic Translator offline?
EDIT: Here's the next chapter, which is dedicated to GoldenDragon.

Chapter Eight: The Test (Part 2)
Kuna met Cynder’s fire with a blast of her own, creating a spectacular explosion. Both dragonesses were knocked back, each reeling from the shock. But they recovered quickly and began circling each other on the ground. Kuna knew she had to act, pouncing upon Cynder. The two rolled, biting and scratching. Neither could use their fire at this range for fear of hitting themselves, and when they came to a halt, Cynder had Kuna pinned down. As she raised her tail to deal the death blow, Kuna blasted fire into Cynder’s face with all her might. Screaming in utter pain, she staggered off of Kuna and sank to the floor. Kuna stood, but before she even had time to think, Cynder was gone in a flash of blue light and replaced by a new, unfamiliar dragoness. The dragon’s eyes were completely white, and her pitted, scratched scales were black and indigo. She looked familiar somehow, but Kuna couldn’t put her claw on it. “Ah, Kuna, the pure-hearted villain, the dark hero.” it hissed in a voice eerily similar to her own. “W-who are you?” Kuna stammered, trembling in fear. The dragoness said, “Isssss the great Kuna really sssssso blind? I am- you!” Kuna stared, unable to speak. “I am the darknessss within you, the sssshadow of yourself. Come, Kuna, give in to your dark inssssstinctsssssss. Sssssssstrike me down and make the world tremble before you.” it said softly. Kuna felt the urge to kill, to rule everything with an iron claw. “Yesssssssssssssss. Give in, Kuna. Give in!” Kuna trembled, waging a battle within herself. She thought, No, I can’t do it, I can’t stop it! Summoning all her willpower, Kuna spoke. “I…will…NOT!” Kuna roared. “I will not give in! YOU CANNOT CONTROL ME!” Kuna concentrated on the light within her, the good inside her heart, drawing on it to defeat the darkness. She began to glow brighter and brighter, golden-white light surrounding her. The whole chamber was flooded with the light, and the dark dragoness began to fade away, her final scream resounding in the chamber as she dematerialized. Kuna floated to the ground, exhausted by the fight. A doorway melted out of the wall, and she slowly walked over to it, leaving the chamber, which was now filled with faint, drifting spots of golden light.

Yes, she does. I might get Chapter Nine done tonight, or at least part of it. But I have to go eat dinner now, so I'll be back in a bit!

Chapter Nine: The Chronicler
Kuna emerged into a huge room. The walls were lined with bookcases and in the middle, there was a large hourglass filled with blue sand. As she touched the hourglass, a blue dragon emerged from behind it. He seemed ancient, but his movements were graceful and his eyes were a bright, piercing blue.
Looking at her, the dragon spoke. “Welcome, Kuna. You have passed the test and conquered your fear, and for this you will be rewarded. You shall be restored to as you should be.”
He gently touched his tail to Kuna’s and a blue light enveloped her. Her form rose into the air and slowly shrank, and as it shrank, Kuna felt the last of the evil Gaul had placed within her drain away until she was left with calm in its place. As she floated to the floor, she examined herself. She had become smaller, but now her scales were completely indigo with no black.
The dragon nodded to her and spoke again. “I am the Chronicler, the Guardian of Time.”
Kuna said, “H-how do you know my name?”
The Chronicler took an indigo book from one of the countless shelves. Kuna opened it and saw illustrations of herself as well as written accounts of her deeds. However, there were an unlimited number of blank pages, and Kuna vowed to fill them.
As she closed the book, the Chronicler said, “Kuna, you have great potential. You have powers hidden within yourself, powers that can help you to achieve your destiny. Would you like me to help you unlock these powers?”
Kuna considered the offer. He had been very kind to her, and besides, what did she have to lose? So Kuna nodded and the Chronicler led her to another room.
The Chronicler said, “I have seen you can wield fire, but let’s see if you can master it. First, chase down the states with your fire breath.”
With that said, four statues appeared and ran away from Kuna. She chased them down and burnt the stone statues to ashes. As the training went on, Kuna learned how to use Fire Whelps, Comet Dash, and Fire Bombs. Finally, she unleashed an explosive indigo Fire Fury.
The Chronicler said, “Well done, young dragon. But we’re just getting started. Concentrate upon water, on how a smooth, calm lake can turn into a destructive force of nature in mere moments.” Kuna did as she was asked, and a torrent of water blew from her mouth. She found that she could control the water, learning to use Liquid Geysers, Water Blasts, and Fluid Whips to her advantage. As she unleashed her Water Fury, geysers of water blew from the ground with deadly force.
The Chronicler nodded again and said, “Now, the next element can be difficult to use, and takes much patience to master. But with your unusual past, it should come easier than for most.” Kuna knew what he spoke of, and the shadows in the room grew and twirled in an erratic dance, wrapping around the statues and disintegrating them. To her surprise, the shadows could also form into Dark Chains, Shadow Blasts, and even Night Cloaks, which made her invisible. Drawing upon the shadows, Kuna let loose a Darkness Fury, which made the area around her pitch-black as she uttered an eerie wail and the shadows slammed downwards with devastating power.
The Chronicler was impressed. “You have come a long way, Kuna, but there is one more element to learn. It is one that I have not seen for many years, and it was quite a surprise when I learned that you could possibly use the element. It is called Psonics. I have seen that you have a strong will, body, spirit, and mind-it shall serve you well.”
Kuna focused her mind on making a wall. As the enchanted statues charged towards her, they slammed into the invisible wall, breaking on impact. Focusing even harder, she learned to use Mental Blasts, Psy Toss, and Telekinesis. Her Psonic Fury was amazing to behold, with both enemies and chunks of stone ripped from the walls were caught up in a furious mental tornado. When it was over, the Chronicler grinned at Kuna.
“See what you can do? “ he said brightly. Suddenly, Kuna felt very weak. It was excruciatingly hard to learn four new elements in one day. The Chronicler scooped her up and carried her to a chamber that contained a comfortable nest and food. He laid Kuna in the nest and returned to the main chamber to continue his studies.

Thanks! I probably could have made the training part better, but I was afraid it would get too repetitive and bore the readers. Chapter Ten should be done in the next few days; school dramatically slows down my writing speed. But today I have no homework-hooray! So I'll at least get started on that next chapter today.

Chapter Ten: The Journey Begins
Kuna slowly awoke from her sleep. She was very stiff, but as she stretched she felt her muscles loosen. She padded into the main chamber, blinking sleepily. The Chronicler was waiting for her. He looked weary, like he was carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders. Concerned, Kuna went over to him.
Peering up at him with large, wondering green eyes, Kuna asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
The Chronicler said, “Kuna, there is a shadow land known as the Dark Horizons. It is a cursed, forsaken place, filled with monsters and demons of all sorts. Recently, they have been preparing to capture dragons. Young dragons.”
Kuna gasped and said urgently, “Who is doing this? Gaul?”
The Chronicler looked at her and said, “Kuna, because you discovered your powers, were tested, and restored all in one day, you were asleep for a long time. Three years, to be exact.”
Kuna was shocked. Three years? I’ve been asleep for three years?! The Chronicler, seeing her distress, took a purple book from a shelf and opened it to a certain page. Within it, Kuna saw the defeat of Cynder, the death of Gaul, and the rise and fall of the Dark Master, Malefor.
When she finished reading, the Chronicler spoke again. “Kuna, you must travel to the Dark Horizons. Spyro and Cynder will be there as well. Once you have met each other, you must travel through the land, freeing dragons and ultimately defeating the High Shadow. He is the worst of the creatures within the Dark Horizons, and plans to corrupt all the dragons to make his own Dark Army. It is your task to stop him.”
“But how?” asked Kuna. “I’m not even awake-how am I supposed to get there?”
Turning to her, the Chronicler said, “Kuna, you are not dreaming, nor are you asleep. After you fell asleep under the tree, I brought you here to face your fears and realize your destiny. Now, as for getting there, I have a special method of travel.” As the he spoke, the large hourglass began to slide away, revealing a tunnel.
As Kuna gaped in awe, the Chronicler said, “Go through the tunnel until you reach the other side. Once you have reached the Dark Horizons, find Spyro and Cynder. They will help you on your quest.”
She cried, “Thank you!” and flew down into the tunnel.
As the hourglass began to move back into place, he called, “May the ancestors look after you!” Then, he said quietly, “May they look after us all.”

Yeah, I did. It just seemed like something he would say. BTW, in this story there's more than one Chronicler, so Ignitus might make an appearance somewhere, but that's not for sure. For clarification, the Chronicler seen in the story thus far is the Chronicler that Spyro met in TEN. In Chapter 11, we're going to see several different dragons (victims of the monsters of the Dark Horizons, mostly).

Chapter Eleven: The Land of Darkness
Elsewhere…
Thrae swooped through the sky, laughing. The young Wind dragoness was in the air almost constantly, and was a born acrobatic. She loved twirling and zipping through the air-it made her feel so free. But, just as Thrae began a spiral maneuver, a strange black portal opened above her head. She was concentrating so hard on completing the spiral, the little green dragoness never noticed the twisted, bat-like creatures emerge from the portal. The nightmare creatures swooped down, seizing Thrae roughly. She let out a shriek and writhed in her captor’s claws, struggling in vain to attack. Laughing, the creatures pulled Thrae through the portal. It then closed, leaving no trace of the young dragoness that had flew there only moments before.

Kuna flew through the tunnel, which appeared to be made of crystal. As she flew, she could see and hear glimpses of other places and other worlds. She watched a strange female biomechanical creature as it yelled, “I LIKE FLOWERS!” Then it was gone, replaced by other images. But something drew Kuna’s attention to the end of the tunnel: she saw a rapidly growing circle. What was at the other side, she couldn’t tell. She flew through the circle and emerged at the beginning of the Dark Horizons. All around her there was shadow, and she shivered. Bracing herself, Kuna summoned a Night Cloak and began exploring the strange new land.

Spyro yawned and stretched. Since the defeat of Malefor, he, Sparx, and Cynder had been putting down the remnants of the Dark Armies. Now that that task was finally done, they could return to the Temple at last. The trio took to the air and left the island. Each was still rather sleepy, so there wasn’t much conversation. But, as they flew over a small island, Sparx noticed a strange, swirling thing that resembled a portal.
He zipped over to Spyro and said, “Hey, Spyro, do you see that thing down there? The swirly thing on the island?”
Spyro stifled a yawn and looked down. Seeing the portal, he called Cynder over to see. As the three flew downwards for a closer look, Sparx was suddenly pulled into the portal.
“SPARX!” Spyro cried, and dove into the portal after his friend. Cynder came as well, and the three tumbled through the portal. They fell out onto the cold, black ground of the Dark Horizons. Knocked unconscious, they didn’t even have time to take in their surroundings…

I got the "I LIKE FLOWERS!" part from my friend's story (she's an even better writer than I am). I'm trying to write Chapter Twelve, but I need to go look some of GD's information up (ex. which dragon Spyro and Cynder freed first).
Edit: Guys, I am so sorry. I've been really busy this week and I just need to write an ending for the next chapter ( which I'll probably post tomorrow).

I finished Chapter Twelve! YAY!

Chapter Twelve: Discovery
As the trio lay on the ground, just waking up after being knocked unconscious, a shadow passed over them. A dragon flew in the sky, its scales pitted and decaying. The creature had no pupils, and its harsh face twisted into a evil grin. Targeting Cynder, the dark dragon dove towards the ground, claws ready to tear into her body. But feeling the rush of wind, Cynder moved just before the dragon could hit her. Seeing her attacker, Cynder prepared to defend Spyro and Sparx, who were still very groggy. She blasted the foul dragoness with wind, attempting to blow her out of the sky. Knocked back, the dragoness spit blackened ice shards at Cynder. Cynder flew out of the way and made a bubble of poison around the dark creature’s head. Choking, the monstrous dragon struggled for a moment and blew the poison away with a wind blast of her own.
On the ground, Spyro began to stir. “Cynder…?” he murmured sleepily. “What are you doing?” he said, not noticing the fight in the air.
Hearing Spyro stir, the dark dragoness lined up to grab him. “Oh no you don’t.” muttered Cynder and hit the dragoness with a burst of Fear. The dragoness staggered in middive, dropping to the ground. Spyro and Cynder brushed together as they went over to their fallen foe. As they touched, a beam of golden light arced from between them and hit the dragoness head-on! She gasped and suddenly, her black scales became blue, white and purple- their normal colors. Spyro and Cynder stared in awe as the dragoness slowly climbed to her feet.
Looking at Cynder, she said softly, “You saved me from the darkness. Who are you?”
Cynder replied, “My name is Cynder, and this is Spyro. The dragonfly over there is Sparx. But what do you mean by “saved from the darkness”?”
The dragoness replied, “There were these monsters that took me prisoner. What they did…” she shuddered. “It was horrible.” Then, she suddenly looked up. “Wait- you’re those dragons that destroyed the Dark Master!” The little dragoness looked starstruck.
Cynder, feeling rather awkward, said, “Um…what’s your name?”
The dragoness said, “I’m Kelnya.”
Looking around, Spyro said, “We need to get to someplace safe. Then we can share our stories. Kelnya, do you know where we could stay?”
She nodded. “There’s a fairly large cave where I sleep. The other dragons don’t know that I’m not dark anymore, so they don’t have any reason to bother us.”
So the three dragons (and one dragonfly) set off for the cave. When they finally reached it, each was weary and soon fell to sleep, grateful for the small respite in their journey through the strange and dark land.

Thanks! Thrae is modeled on one of my friends in real life. I'll probably have the next chapter up sometime this week, but I'm not sure. I'm working on a couple projects, have school, and I'm writing a few other stories as well.

Okay, here's the deal: I've gotten really busy lately, so there's not going to be chapters posted as often. I go from story to story, writing some of each and then going to another story. Well, now I have ideas for two more stories. So I'll probably get out a chapter each month for Dark Horizons, and after a while I'll have a spurt of new ideas and there'll be a bunch of new chapters. Despite the fact that I'm not abandoning the story, I still feel like I'm letting you all down...

I was going to start typing the next chapter, but I have some homework that I should finish first. I got a little bit of an idea (not a fully developed one, but something I've been planning for a little while). Also, GD's art topic contains old character profiles and descriptions, so I'll go look at it once I finish that pesky homework. BTW, thanks for not being mad at me. I think I'll post my other two stories (plus a friend's story that she wanted me to post for her). Sound good to you?

Chapter Thirteen: Exploration
As Kuna wandered through the Dark Horizons, she saw a large cave in the distance. Tired of walking, she took to the air, being careful not to be seen. Before Kuna entered the cave, she paused, wondering if there were more horrible creatures within. I’ll just have to find out. thought the young dragoness. She took a few tentative steps into the cave mouth, ready to run if she saw danger. Hearing a strange noise, Kuna froze. It sounded like…snoring? Warily advancing, she saw four shapes on the floor. Three appeared to be dragons and the fourth looked like a dragonfly, but all of them were asleep. After examining their minds with Psonics, Kuna concluded that they weren’t tainted with evil. She tapped one of the dragons.
It whipped upwards, crying, “Cynder, Kelnya, there’s another one!” The two dragons rose, preparing to fight.
Kuna rocked back in shock. “Cynder!?” she cried.
Cynder stiffened. Where did she remember that voice from? As Spyro was about to attack, she said, “Spyro, wait!” Spyro stopped and made a small fire so that he could see what had joined them in the cave.
As the firelight gleamed on Kuna’s indigo scales, Cynder said, “K-Kuna? Is that you?”
Kuna nodded.
Cynder said, “What happened? How did you survive the fall?” At this, her voice cracked and she began to tremble, remembering that she had nearly killed Kuna when they were both evil.
Spyro and Kelnya just stood there, not understanding what was going on.
Cynder said, “Kuna…I’m sorry…”
Stepping into the area where the other dragons were, Kuna whispered to Cynder, “It’s fine. We weren’t in our right minds.”
Cynder felt relief wash over her as Kuna forgave her.
Spyro said, “Cynder, Kuna, could you tell us what’s going on? How do you know each other?”
So the two dragonesses told their tales of what had happened and why. Kuna also explained how she had survived and made her way to the Dark Horizons. Oddly enough, Sparx woke up just in time to hear their explanations. When they were done, Sparx said, “Oh great, now there are two females of fright.” But Cynder just shook her head and the five went back to sleep.

Thanks! Did you see my friend's story I posted? Edit: I'll start writing the next chapter today.