Hi, Dragon Realms! My name's Mayflower, and in my failing promise to make this the summer of fanfiction, I've finally finished the first chapter of my newest story - a Spyro piece! Now, in case the story's summary didn't give you the introduction I was hoping (curse you, character-limit!), allow me to elaborate slightly. This is an off-shoot piece of my Kousei series, a line of fanfictions where I take some of my favorite stories and series and...re-write them to grow them up and round them out more than they were when I was a kid. Now, say what you want about the Spyro series as a whole, but I think I speak for the majority when I say the continuity fell apart after Year of the Dragon. So here I am - I want to take the stories of our little purple dragon, even the ones after his adventures in the Forgotten Realms, and see if I can put them together a little bit better, as well as add some flavor that might've been left out of the gaming adventure.

Alright, I'll quit blathering - on with the story! Hope you guys enjoy! :)

LAWYERBOT SAYS: "Dragons rule!"
Spyro the Dragon, both the game and the character (c) Universal Studios and Insomniac. I don't know who currently owns the Spyro legacy, as I don't believe it's rightfully theirs, seeing what's happened, but whoever it is, they're lucky people, and it's not me.

CHAPTER 1 - IN THE WORLD OF DRAGONS

There are five worlds in the realms of the Dragons, each one harboring its own secrets, powers, and special types of dragon folk. There are the Artisans, which may not be as skillful as their brothers, but make up for their lack of power with a grace, spirit, and heart unfound anywhere else in the Dragon Realms. The Peacekeepers, ironically enough, are the soldiers and generals of the Dragon Realms, raised with strict rules, even heads, short tongues, and old-fashioned dragon brawn. The Magic Crafters, quite the opposite, were the calm and quiet of the bunch, always entranced in the magical world around them, quite content to dream the day away in their secluded mountain paradise. The Beast Makers are...well, to put it politely, known for being a bit less refined than the others, their character usually defined as warm, loving, and a bit rough around the edges - the salt of the Realms. The Dream Weavers...well, what on earth could be said about the Dream Weavers? Their imaginations are constantly running wild, and they live each day with silliness and mirth...and their runaway dreams certainly leave their mark in the world of the Dream Weavers.

These are the five worlds in the realms of the Dragons...though the older, wiser dragons will tell you otherwise.

"Yes, there's a sixth world out there, most certainly," Astor rambled, brandishing a paw in the air. "But no dragon around is going to tell you about it, no-HO, sir!"

One of the young Artisans, a small purple dragon with fiery horns and matching wings, boredly pawed at the ground (good God, did he HATE spending time with the elder dragons), but the other dragonlets seemed completely fascinated by the elder dragon's tale.

"What's the sixth world like?" one of the young girls in the front asked. "Is it pretty like the Magic Crafters world? O-Or colorful like the Dream Weavers world?"

"Oh, no, little missy - there isn't a dragon for MILES around there," Astor laughed. "The sixth world belongs to Gnasty Gnorc 'n his...eh, gnorcs - the Dragon Junk Yard, that's where he's at."

"What's a gnorc?" another of the dragonlets asked.

"What's a gnorc? You mean to tell me you youngin's don't know what gnorcs are?" Astor paused for a moment, stroking his beard. "Hmm, now what's a gnorc?..."

"Why's he in the Dragon Junk Yard?" a third dragonlet asked.

"Oh, Gnasty's one nasty little fella!" Astor jumped, getting back into his fervent story. "He used to live around here - moved out to the Magic Crafters after he got tired of digging through the swamps in Terrace Village! Oh, but they weren't having that - Cosmos started throwin'a fit, what with him breaking the rules, drooling on our dragon treasure, usin' his magic for no-good mis-deeds and whatnot. Yep, Gnasty was one nasty fella! So the five dragon leaders said 'enough is enough, Mister Gnorc!', and they shipped him out to the Junk Yards."

Astor slowly knelt down to be more on-level with the young dragonlets, lowering his voice to a dramatic whisper. "No one's seen him since, but they say he's plottin' to take over the Dragon Realms REAL soon. He could be anywhere, come up at any time...LIKE RIGHT NOW!"

All of the baby Artisans (with the exception of the purple one, who remained as poker-faced as ever), shrieked in panic as Astor let out a massive roar, all of them skittering away to find various hiding places in the Elder's Cave. The elder dragon had a good laugh, slowly pulling himself up to return to his plushy chair. "Oh, you kids are so easy to scare - does my heart good sometimes."

"I ain't scared of no gnorcs," the purple Artisan scoffed, hopping up on all fours (as younger dragons were unable to walk on their hind legs until they were much older and bigger) and trotting out of the cave. "Let Gnasty come, I'll take him on." He jumped and charged through the air, landing with a light 'thud'. "Ain' nothing these horns can't handle."

"Spyro, is that you I hear being arrogant in here?" one of the Dragon Leaders of the Artisan Lands, a large red dragon named Delbin, asked as he peeked his head into the cave.

"No, I just ain't scared of monsters or anything like the rest of the dragons," Spyro answered with a flick of his tail, strutting out of the cave.

"Astor, were you telling the dragonlets scary stories again?" Delbin scolded, going into a long lecture about how he shouldn't be tarnishing the minds of the young dragons that Spyro was lucky enough to completely miss.

"Oh, yeah, that's not you being arrogant at all," buzzed a little golden dragonfly, who quickly flew to Spyro's side as he exited the Elder's Cave.

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm better than everyone else," Spyro smirked. "Come on, Sparx, you're the dragonfly of one of the most kick-butt dragons in the Artisan Lands - I thought you'd be more excited."

"I'd be more excited if there was actually stuff for us to do," Sparx buzzed unenthusiastically.

Spyro paused - unfortunately, his dragonfly-brother had a point. It was quite difficult to prove yourself as the greatest dragon warrior ever during times of peace, even if you went to the war-torn Peacekeepers worlds (and they certainly tried that, much to Delbin's upset). "Yeah, I guess," he sighed.

"Spyro, hold on a second!" The purple Artisan and his trusty golden sidekick stopped with matching sighs as the thudding footsteps of Delbin ran up behind them and knelt down in front of them. "Astor doesn't have you worried about Gnasty Gnorc, does it?"

"Pfft - please," Spyro laughed. "I told you, Gnasty can bring it on - I'm sure he's nothing a little horn-charging and butt-torching can't handle."

Delbin rolled his eyes. "I should've expected an answer like that out of you, Spyro."

"Come on, you're my dad - you of all people should know me better than that," Spyro continued to tease.

Delbin smiled, playfully pawing at the young purple dragon (a challenge he knew Spyro enjoyed, as it gave him the chance to show off his strafes, jumps, and barrel rolls). "I know, I know. I just want to make sure you know that you won't have to worry about anything like that for a long time, okay?"

"Alright, alright, I get it already," Spyro finally conceded with a laugh, finding himself trapped on his back under Delbin's paw, which easy covered his entire underbelly. "No Gnorc-hunting 'til I'm older."

"That's my boy," Delbin continued to smile, releasing his hold and allowing Spyro to roll to his feet. "Come on - now that Astor's done scaring the rest of the dragonlets, how about you and I head to Stone Hill to practice your gliding?"

Spyro unfurled his golden-orange wings with a frown. His gliding was getting better by the day, but it still seemed to sour him that he couldn't fly like the full-grown dragons - his skill was even lacking compared to the other dragonlets, but the full-growns (including Delbin, who never dared to say it to the purple Artisan's face) simply pinned it to Spyro's unnaturally-small size for his age.

But as the purple Artisan learned through long sessions of ramming metal boxes and setting scarecrows on fire, practice makes perfect - he would figure flying out before too long. "Okay, yeah, let's go!"

oo00oo00oo

Meanwhile, tucked away in the Dragon Junk Yards - Gnorc Gnexus, as it was renamed, Gnasty's World - a certain Gnasty Gnorc found himself tuning into the DNN, watching interviews from the various elder dragons in celebration of another anniversary of peace.

"Ugh, these dragons disgust me," Gnasty spit, polishing the magic gemstone on his Crafter Staff. "Look at them, frolicking through their fields of sheep, celebrating their anniversary of peace. If they had any real guts, there wouldn't BE an anniversary of peace."

"Oh, yes, it's been peaceful here in the five worlds...or is it six?...f-for a dragon's age now!" Astor rambled to the cameras. "We're up to twelve-thousand treasure...or is it fourteen?" (The Gnorc smirked - it WAS twenty-thousand, but he made sure to fix that before leaving the world of the Beast Makers.)

"Now what about this, uh...Guh-nasty Guh-norc character?" the interviewer asked. (Gnasty scowled - silent G's, was it really that hard?) "I understand he's found a magic spell to turn gems into warriors for his cause."

Gnasty sneered at the mention of his magic. "Good, they haven't forgotten that those Magic Crafters aren't the only ones who know how to work a spell or two." His obsession with the Dragon Treasure and desperation for someone to lead led him to discover the spell after his banishment - with a wave of his Crafter Spell, any Dragon Treasure before him would transform into little mindless Gnorcs that did anything and everything he commanded. Quite a handy spell to have around.

"I'll take that question," a blue dragon named Lindor stepped in, brushing Astor away from the camera. "You see, Gnasty Gnorc is a simple fellow..."

"Simple?"

"He's being contained in a remote world, and is NO threat to the Dragon Kingdom..."

"No threat?"

"And besides," Lindor added with a laugh, hushing his voice, "he is UGLY."

"UGLY?" the Gnorc shrieked, jumping to his feet. "OH, THAT DOES IT!"

He waved his massive Crafter Staff, sending shockwaves and light-beams of green energy throughout the Dragon Kingdom. "I'll show THEM who's no threat to the Dragon Kingdom!"

oo00oo00oo

Spyro was extremely proud of his jumping abilities. Despite his smaller size (or perhaps even due to it), Spyro was extremely fast, and his super-powerful legs could handle any jumping or running challenge you threw at him.

Put said jumping challenge over water, though...

"Augh, I'm drowning!" Spyro spluttered, desperately trying to claw his way out of the Artisan's Waterfall Pond. "Delbin, help me out!"

"Come now, Spyro," Delbin laughed, "you can't expect to be the greatest dragon warrior ever if you can't handle a little pool of water."

Spyro eventually clawed his way out of the water, dropping onto the grass like a wet dog and panting exhaustedly, a grassy-green Sparx landing right beside him. "I can't swim," the purple Artisan reminded his guardian. "I don't think that's something they care about in dragon warrior school."

"You'll learn," Delbin chuckled, herding a pair of sheep towards the dragon-in-training. Spyro shook himself dry, then spit a blast of fire towards the bouncing fodder - as all fodder did in the Dragon Realms, they exploded into twin puffs of smoke, releasing a pair of small, pink-and-yellow butterflies. Sparx quickly flitted into the air, chasing down the delectable treats, returning to his natural golden glimmer.

"I don't think I'll ever understand how this dragonfly-butterfly thing works," Spyro couldn't help but muse as he watched his partner chase down his meal. Despite having Sparx since the day he was hatched, the purple dragon still never quite figured out how Sparx getting a full meal made him feel better, just as how his getting hurt would cause Sparx to change color.

"The Dragon Realms are filled with all sorts of magical mysteries," Delbin answered. "Perhaps later, you'll come to understand them, but for now, it isn't your concern. Your concern right now should be mastering this jumping challenge."

"Yeah, yeah," Spyro scoffed, turning to face the pond once again. At first glance, it wasn't difficult - the Waterfall Pond was a small pool filled with five stone pads, and all Delbin had asked him to do was to hop from stone to stone, making sure to land on each one before hopping off. Were this challenge up in the air or out on the grass, Spyro would've finished it ages ago. The challenge, of course, was the water.

With a deep breath of preparation, Spyro tried again. He kicked off of the grass and, with a slight panic flap of his wings, landed on the first of the stone pads. He hopped to the second, then the third, then the fourth. As he began his hop to the final pad, though...

Pew! Pew-pew! Pew! Blasts of green energy began to rain down from the skies, sending every sheep and dragonlet in the area running for their lives, shrieks of little dragons filling the Artisan air. Spyro, thrown off by the sudden harsh sounds, veered off-course, just barely landing on a previous stone-pad before barrel-rolling back to shore.

"Whoa - Delbin, what was-?" Spyro began to ask, freezing with a gasp when he looked up at his guardian. Where Delbin was just sitting, a green dragon statue now stood, frozen in place. As Spyro looked around, other dragon statues littered the Artisan world - and where the Dragon Gems once decorated the lands, now tiny green monsters began marching around, chasing sheep and trying to sniff out the dragonlets that had gone into hiding.

"Hey, Spyro?" Sparx buzzed.

"Yeah, Sparx?" Spyro answered with a gulp, examining the dragon statue, seeing his own shocked reflection in its cool, green shine - no sign of Delbin.

"Y'know how we're constantly wishing something kind of bad would happen, just so we'd have something to do?"

"Yeah..."

"I think this counts as our something kind of bad happening."

Drama! And Easter Eggs abound for anyone super-familiar with the original Spyro classic - spot them? Next time, our Artisan heroes begin on their quest to free the crystallized dragons and rescue the Dragon Realms from the rampage of Gnasty Gnorc! Hope I'll see you here, guys! Remember, reviews make writers happy! :)

§ Tucker's Mayflower, signing off! §