The Legend of Spyro: Age of Heroes Book III

The Legend of Spyro: Age of Heroes Book III is the third book in the Age of Heroes series.

Plot Summary
After the destruction of their fortress at Concurrent Skies, Liun and Malefor travel with their forces - the black dragons and the Southern Wolf Pack - to Warfang, where the Guardians have become concerned about the absence of the guardian candidates. On his orders, Scraunch - the Southern Pack Alpha - injures Liun, and leaves him outside the city, where he is discovered by sentries. They bring him inside the city, where he quickly overwhelms the Guardians.

Meanwhile, the guardian candidates continue their search for the dragoness in Spyro's vision. While sitting watch outside their cave shelter, Candice spots a shadow, and follows it to find the dragoness in question; Static. After convincing her she isn't a threat, Static offers to lead her and the others to her home in the mountains; Certrona. Since the wind currents prevent them from flying directly up to it, they are forced to climb the mountain - still carrying the unconcious Spyro - until they reach a stairwell hewn from the rock. In time, they reach the top of the stairs and discover that Certrona is a hidden dragon city; built from the ruins of an academy destroyed nearly a thousand years prior. Spyro is taken to be treated by Singe, a healer, while the other dragons meet with the Elders of Certrona - along with Exile, who escaped the wolf city when they moved to Munitions Forge - who give them a pavilion to live in for as long as they stay.

As Spyro slowly recovers, two young dragons in Certrona attempt to court the newcomers; Infernus tries to attract the attention of Stella by secretly giving her roses, and eventually gets it when she uses her electrical powers to locate him via his pulse, and Max - a dragon mutated by Malefor's forces - approaches Cynder, but quickly realises she's in a relationship with Spyro, and they become friends instead. Spyro eventually wakes, and warns them of danger at Warfang, but the healer puts him back to sleep as he is still too weak. When he does recover, the others request that the Elders let Spyro train in Certrona until he can regain his powers. They agree, and appoint Exile his tutor.

As Spyro goes off to train in the "Tower of Enlightenment", the others decide to spar. Max faces off against Tremor, but Tremor gets felled almost immediately and ends up spitting blood. Noting that he'd been coughing ever since their escape from Concurrent Skies, the others take him to the healer, where they realise that Tremor's lungs are clogged with swallowed ash from Munitions Forge. To save him, the healer gets the guardians to drown Tremor to flood his lungs with water, so that they can then pull the ash out with their elemental powers. While doing this, the ash gets clogged in Tremor's throat, but Candice saves him by leaping on his stomach; forcing him to cough it up.

Within the Tower of Enlightenment, Spyro learns various powers from Exile within the tower over the course of several days, including astral travelling and using the magic energy around him to charge his elemental powers. In Certrona, Infernus and Stella almost take their relationship to the next level, but Stella becomes overcome with memories of Liun and flees. Ember finds out and explains Stella's history to Infernus, and notes she just needs time. Infernus then reveals he's skilled with metal, and is in the process of creating a set of trinkets for Stella as a gift.

At the same time, a healed Tremor confesses to Candice that he's been thinking of giving up his position as Guardian candidate, as he's nearly died twice in recent battles. He notes that the two of them could settle down in Certrona, but Candice becomes angry at him and sends him away. Not long afterwards, Candice encounters a dragoness; Shard, who talks with her about relationships. Shard notes that if Tremor truly loves her, he'll realise his mistake and come back.

Not long afterwards, Hunter arrives in Certrona, and reveals that Warfang has fallen to Malefor. The Elders and the guardians go to discuss their next move with Hunter, but Candice prevents Tremor from entering; noting it's "guardian business", and he doesn't want to be a guardian. Tremor leaves, thinking about his choice, and ends up changing his mind after encountering a young earth dragoness who he helps master a new power. Shortly afterwards, Tremor discovers from Static - scouting the area - that wolves - led by Tuerto, an underling of Scraunch - have followed Hunter to Certrona, and he goes to raise the alarm. He rushes to join the Guardians and begin making plans, but when he approaches Candice, she tells him she's done with him. In reality, she's lying so that she can be sure that Tremor's coming back for the right reasons, and not just because he loves her.

As the inhabitants of Certrona go to repel the wolves, Spyro and Exile ascend to the final level of the Tower of Enlightenment, where he will obtain a new power. On the final level, Spyro finds himself in a world of stars, and a female voice - the same voice who spoke to him at Concurrent Skies - speaks to him; telling him it is her duty to watch over the inhabitants of his world along with the ancestors. The voice offers Spyro the power to protect his loved ones, but Spyro says he's not interested in being powerful, he only wants to be able to protect them. The voice reveals this was his final test, and he passed it; as a result, the voice manifests in the form of a dragoness, and bestows the power she guards upon Spyro. The force of the power destroys the top floor of the tower, and Spyro - turned silver - uses his new power to knock the remaining wolves off the mountain. Liun senses this, and is alarmed.

The next day, the guardians decide to make for Warfang, only to be joined by Max and two other young dragons; Zephyr and Plax. Infernus attempts to join them, but due to injuries gained fighting the wolves, he is forced to stay. At Warfang, Liun wakes - having dreamt about how he initially met Malefor in the woods after another dragon insulted his lack of skill and power - and talks with Malefor about their new plan; since they are unable to get energy from Spyro to resurrect Malefor, they will use the energy from the Guardians and Elders.

Not long afterwards, the guardians reach Warfang, and launch an attack on the city. As they make their way for the Temple at the top of Warfang, Max gets severely injured defending Cynder, and prepares to die. However, Candice freezes him solid, and gets Zephyr and Plax to take him back to Certrona. The guardians then reach the Temple, where they discover the Guardians - and Elder Infernus; Flame's grandfather - imprisoned in energy crystals. The Guardians perish when the crystals drain their life force, and Liun absorbs the energy, allowing Malefor to properly restore himself within his body.

The force of this destroys the Temple, and scatters the guardians across the surrounding area; Flame and Ember end up with Mason and the remnants of the Warfang army, Candice and Tremor end up alone in the forest - where they reconcile; Tremor stating he'll never consider leaving again if it means losing Candice - Hunter rescues Stella and takes her to his village, and Spyro and Cynder - and Sparx - wind up in the mountains near Warfang. Before they can regroup, Scraunch knocks out Tremor and captures Candice - originally having planned to kill him to avenge the wolves he killed - and Ember and Flame get captured when the ghosts of the Apes that served Malefor assault the Warfang army. They get brought to Liun, and, on Scraunch's advice, corrupted by Malefor's magic.

In the mountains, Spyro manages to use his new powers to find their scattered forces, and manages to get them to regroup outside Warfang for a final assault. As they prepare to attack the black dragons - to capture them rather than kill them, as they'll be released from Malefor's power once he's defeated - reinforcements arrive from Certrona and the other dragon cities; Spyro reveals he also managed to contact them with his new powers. While they take care of the forces in Warfang, Spyro, Cynder and the guardians go after Liun, only to find themselves stopped by Dark versions of Candice, Ember and Flame. Tremor, Stella and Cynder decide to battle them, leaving Spyro to face Liun and Malefor alone.

As Spyro fights Liun with his new power, the others manage to release their friends from Malefor's hold; Tremor snaps Candice out of it with words of love, but not before becoming fatally injured, Stella defeats Ember when she breaks her pendant, and Flame is eventually overcome when Cynder reminds him of Ember, and she arrives with Stella, Candice and Tremor. They go to join Spyro, who ends up being stabbed through the chest by Liun - who inadvertently kills Scraunch when he leaps in to help. The others battle Liun - save for Tremor, who dies of his injuries despite the ghostly Gaia's attempts to help him - and eventually defeat him when Spyro stabs him in the back with a fragment of one of Cynder's shattered collars - replicating the way Malefor initially overpowered him in Warfang - allowing the others to defeat him with their elemental attacks.

In the aftermath, Spyro collapses from his injuries, and dies after the others are unable to heal him. His spirit finds itself before the dragoness from the Tower of Enlightenment, who reveals he has been chosen to become a Celestial Dragon, like her, and thus he will watch over the inhabitants of his world. Spyro is ready to accept, but realises he's not ready to do so when he remembers Cynder. The dragoness understands and takes him - and Tremor, at Spyro's request - back to Warfang. Before she leaves, she tells Spyro that she's proud of him, and his "father would have been too".

Ten years pass, and the guardians - along with their families - formally unveil the reconstructed Dragon Temple at Warfang, while Tremor and Candice's twin daughters sneakily kiss Infernus and Stella's son before he can get away from them.

Appearances

 * List of characters in Age of Heroes Book III