The Chronicler

## Gallery

   *Full image gallery of the Chronicler can be viewed here.*

*“You shall know me as the Chronicler. Seek me out.”*
    —The Chronicler
**The Chronicler** is an ancient dragon of immeasurable wisdom. His existence is considered a myth, but stories of the Chronicler are often tangled with tales of doom. He first appeared in *The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night*, guiding Spyro through his trials as the Night of Eternal Darkness draws near.

## Appearance

### Original Design (2007)

In his original design by Krome Studios, the Chronicler is a gray dragon with pale blue eyes, darker colored wings with pale battered membranes, dark gray back spines and tail spike. He has a long goatee with a yellow bracelet and two smaller goatees under his cheeks. He also wears two yellow jewelry on his tail. His horns are tipped in a bronze color; the tip of his right horn is chipped. The Chronicler wears a dark blue cloth adorned with light blue symbols and a brown solid collar around his neck that is linked with a blue glowing crystal known in concept art as "the Heart of the Chronicler". Strapped to the side of his hindquarters is the Chronicler's Tome of Knowledge that contains scrolls.

Original design by Rod Wong
### *Dawn of the Dragon* Design (2008)

In his redesign for *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon* by Étranges Libellules, the Chronicler's overall appearance is largely the same, but he gained a different change in color. His gray scales were changed to bright blue with his underbelly now being in a pale blue color; the tip of his horns were changed from bronze to gold. He gained blue spines that weren't present in his previous Krome Studios design, and his dark blue attire is now in a brighter shade. The Chronicler's wings are no longer battered, and despite showing a different design in his *Dawn of the Dragon* concept art, his wings (and body structure) are the same as Ignitus's in the final version of the game due to its rushed production.

## Personality

Living in isolation for over 1000 years, the Chronicler is a well-learned dragon with a flare for the dramatic when it comes to speech. He serves as a background character more so than anyone else, watching the events that unfold rather than taking any real direct action. The nature of his role as the Chronicler makes him a firm believer in destiny and he often reminds Spyro that sometimes their "paths are chosen for [them] and that it is [their] destiny to follow them, where ever they may lead." In addition, he believes that what is written in the Books of Time, such as the return of the Dark Master, cannot be changed or stopped. Despite that, the Chronicler isn't that narrow-minded as to stick to one path and can be persuaded to take another, as shown when Spyro refused to do as the Chronicler asked and wait with him in safety while Cynder fell to Malefor's control once again.

## Abilities

The powers that come with the role of the Chronicler include telepathy, telekinesis, dream manipulation and Dragon Time. With access to the Books of Time, he can see glimpses of the future, watch and listen for events to come in order to add them to said books.

## Story

### History

    The Chronicler is a legend known only to few, with tales of this mysterious figure is often associated with tales of doom. The dragon who would become the current Chronicler was present when the Dragon City of Warfang was being built. He was also present with the other Dragon Elders when the first purple dragon, Malefor, underwent training before his corruption, presumably documenting the training sessions that unfolded before him.

### *The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night*

Over a thousand years later, the Chronicler began contacting Spyro in his dreams immediately after Cynder left the Dragon Temple, sending the young dragon on a series of quests and reawakening Spyro's elemental abilities along the way. When Spyro told Ignitus of his dreams and the Chronicler himself, he and the other Guardians were shocked to know that the Chronicler was real, having believed him to be just a myth due to the ancient dragon's preference for isolation. Ignitus reluctantly sent Spyro on his journey to the Chronicler, believing that Spyro now had a separate path than the rest of them.

Throughout his journey, the Chronicler revealed much to Spyro about the events unraveling around him, and urging him on to find him before the Night of Eternal Darkness. Along the way, the Chronicler caused Spyro to collapse into slumber so he could speak with him, often at dangerous times, such as when Spyro was flying over an ocean. However, by either accident or design, Spyro survived the fall into the water by coming to rest upon a Leviathan's back, which took Spyro to the White Isle.

    It was in these Celestial Caves that Spyro was forced to partake in a number of trials to reach the Chronicler, even fighting an entity that took on the form of his worst fear. After his trials were completed, Spyro came face-to-face with the Chronicler, who had been waiting for the young dragon. The old scribe began to explain what really happened on the night of the raid at the Dragon Temple and what had happened to Cynder that made her become what she was. He also told Spyro the story of Malefor, how he was the first of his kind and that his raw power enabled him to master many kinds of powers, which the dragon elders willingly taught to him until his exile and his eventual transformation into the Dark Master. The Chronicler then revealed to Spyro why he brought him to the caves: to hide in safety until a later time. But Spyro, fearing for Cynder's safety more than his own, insisted to know what would happen to her. When the Chronicler said that she would not be able to resist Malefor and would rejoin him, Spyro demanded that he leave to save her. Reluctantly, The Chronicler showed Spyro the way to the Well of Souls and allowed him to leave.

Spyro used the Chronicler's words to come up with the idea to freeze himself, Cynder, and Sparx in a crystal to protect them from the collapsing Mountain of Malefor. The Chronicler wasn't heard again until the very last scene of the game when Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx are frozen inside the crystal, talking to the sleeping Spyro and telling him that when he awakens, the world will be different, but he will not be alone and will have allies.

### *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon*

Three years later, the Chronicler appeared to Spyro and Cynder within the Catacombs as an illusion generated by a green gem cluster, the gems that soon energized Spyro and Cynder's elements. He told them that it was time to awaken their powers: Spyro with his Fire, Electricity, Ice, and Earth, and Cynder with her unusual powers granted to her by her exposure to the darkness: Poison, Fear, Wind, and Shadow.

    After Malefor's defeat, the Chronicler was reading from one of the Books of Time that detailed the events that took place. He began speaking to a hidden figure, whom the Chronicler had been expecting for a long time. The ancient dragon explained that a new age was dawning, and with each new age, a worthy dragon is chosen to chronicle the many triumphs and failures of that age. This was the Chronicler's duty for many millenia, and now the honor is passed down to Ignitus. When Ignitus asked what became of Spyro, the Chronicler revealed that when a dragon dies, a new page is written in one of the books. He goes on to say that he had tried his best, but he couldn't find any trace of Spyro in that book. With that said, the Chronicler began to glow and bestowed his powers to Ignitus, changing the red dragon's scales to the shade of color the Chronicler had along with his various items. The old dragon vanished in the process in a display of light, presumably passing on.

## Role

The dragon chosen to become the Chronicler is tasked with watching over and adding the triumphs and failures of the current age to the Books of Time, which have recorded nearly every part of dragon history and every dragon has a book dedicated to their lives. Whoever takes over as Chronicler is bound to the Celestial Temple on the White Isle, never to leave until a new age has dawned and another dragon is chosen to be the next Chronicler of that new age.

It should be noted that "the Chronicler" is more of a title than it is a name, and that the scale color is actually a symbol of status. Evidence of this is shown when Ignitus's scale color turned to match the Chronicler's and he gains the clothing he was wearing after the former Chronicler passed his duties on to the former Fire Guardian.

## Trivia

* In *Dawn of the Dragon*, a green dragon shown in a flashback in the Dragon City introduction cutscene greatly resembles the Chronicler.
	+ In the same flashback image and the image of Warfang being rebuilt in the epilogue, the *Dawn of the Dragon* character model of the Chronicler was used for the background dragons but with different color palletes. This was likely done to save time and resources for the game.
* His design was inspired by Sean Connery.
* As the Chronicler begins telling Spyro the Dark Master’s backstory, the first image shows the young Malefor being surrounded by his elders, including a dragon on the bottom left corner before the camera pans over to focus on a young Malefor. The dragon shown briefly on the bottom left is the one who would become the Chronicler.
* In *Dawn of the Dragon*, both the Chronicler and Ignitus share nearly the same character models due to the game's rushed development time.
* Early story drafts and storyboards show that the Chronicler was going to appear to Spyro in person in his elemental dreams. Although the Chronicler posed as a disembodied voice in the elemental dreamscapes in the console versions of *The Eternal Night*, the Nintendo Gameboy Advance and DS versions has the Chronicler speaking with Spyro face-to-face.
* In *The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night*, the Chronicler has gray scales. In *Dawn of the Dragon*, he has blue scales due to the change in art style and game developers.
* It is possible that the Chronicler's previous life was recorded into the Book of Death after passed his mantle to Ignitus.
* Despite his immense wisdom, the Chronicler was occasionally depicted as becoming decrepit seen in *The Eternal Night* where he walks slowly and struggles to sit down.
* Many players have noted that the Chronicler has a light blue, crystalline pendant. Though its purpose is never stated, it is called the "Heart of the Chronicler" in concept art, and it glows brightly when he uses his powers. It has a distinct glow when his room's hourglass is lifted in an illustrated cutscene, so it could possibly be one of its abilities.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Spyro 2007 The Chronicler. (Date Posted - May 12, 2018). *ArtStation*.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *Q/A with Jared Pullen, lead concept artist of TLoS*. (Date Posted - Aug 27, 2015). *DeviantArt*.
3. ↑ *The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night* Prima Official Game Guide, page 31

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