Ignitus

Ignitus is a Fire Guardian dragon, who appears in The Legend of Spyro series. He is the leader of the four dragon Guardians, and serves as the father-figure to Spyro, providing him with words of wisdom and leads him onto the right path, as well as teaching him about the element of fire training. He is also a former member of the legendary High Council of Heroes.

## Personality

As the leader of the Guardians, Ignitus has unquestionable ability within range of attack power, second only to Terrador in military strategy. He is often calm and collected but has been known to break out into fits of fury, using his fire ability to great effect. He blames himself for everything that has happened to Spyro and Cynder and carries that guilt throughout the series. His faith in Spyro is utterly unwavering and he is a devout believer in the Ancestors, truly believing that Spyro is nature's way of balancing itself against evil. He is the leader and most dedicated of the four Guardians, he is still haunted by failures of his past and seeks to redeem himself. Equally capable of warmth, rage, and long smoldering bouts of shame, resentment, and regret, he keeps his distance from the other three Guardians, Volteer, Cyril, and Terrador. However, when the time comes, he is only too glad to enlighten others and stoke the embers of hope and stand in the face of fire that others might burn even brighter. Ignitus is also seen as a father figure to Spyro.

## Abilities

As a Master of Fire, Ignitus is competent in all fire techniques and can quickly dispatch his enemies with little effort. His ability to explode in rage makes him a perfect berserker for the blazing heat of burning battles. He is known to be one of a few dragons who can see visions in the Pool of Visions and can also provide protection from fire and other sources of heat by generating a blue barrier around himself and any others in the near vicinity of him.

## Story

### A New Beginning

Ignitus was one of the Guardians in charge of protecting the eggs in the Dragon Temple when the temple was attacked. Fearing for the purple dragon's safety and the ancient prophecy that foretells the coming of a new age, he takes the purple dragon's egg and sends it down a stream, hoping for the best. When Ignitus returns to the temple, he finds that the other Guardians have been overwhelmed and all the other eggs had been smashed.

Many years later, Ignitus was the last free Guardian when he and Spyro crossed paths in the Swamp. The Guardian is amazed to see Spyro alive and well, but it takes the persistent questions from Spyro to lift Ignitus out of his despair. He informs Spyro of what has happened to their race and about the dark dragon, Cynder. When he told Spyro about their home, Spyro expressed an interest to see it which Ignitus at first refused. But Spyro would not take no for an answer and together they reclaimed the Temple.

Once there, Ignitus showed Spyro what Cynder had done to the nearby islands, and after teaching him how to fly and use his fire abilities more effectively, he sent Spyro to rescue the other guardians that were being kept on the other islands in the clutches of Cynder's forces.

When Spyro rescued the last guardian, Terrador, in Munitions Forge, Cynder attacked Spyro and it was only by Ignitus' intervention did Spyro escape. However, Cynder overcame Ignitus and took the last Guardian to her fortress in Concurrent Skies to drain his element into the last crystal needed to free her master, the Dark Master.

When Spyro arrived to rescue him, Cynder fought the purple dragon to give time for the powering of the crystal to be completed. When it was finally infused with Ignitus' power, Cynder took the crystal and fled to Convexity to carry out her plan. A weakened Ignitus explains to Spyro that Cynder was stolen from the Temple on the night of the raid and was in fact a dragon just like Spyro, but was twisted by the Dark Master's influence. It was these words that led to Spyro rescuing Cynder after her transformation back to her true self upon her defeat and he brought her to the Temple with him. Ignitus was overjoyed at the outcome and expressed a sincere apology to Cynder, blaming himself for everything that happened on the night of the raid, but was reassured by the other Guardians.

### The Eternal Night

Ignitus and the other Guardians were asleep when Cynder left the temple out of guilt. As such, they were all present when the Apes attacked the temple again and were able to repel the attack. Spyro, who had left the temple momentarily to stop Cynder from leaving, made his way back to the main body of the temple and witnessed Ignitus battling Apes alone. The Fire Guardian asked for Spyro's help, and when the apes began to focus their attention on Spyro, Ignitus used his fire fury to destroy most of the Apes before entering the temple. When Spyro defeated the last of them on the balcony, (including the Assassin, who led the attack on the Temple) Ignitus returned and asked where Cynder was.

When Spyro told him she'd left, Igntius gathered everyone around the Pool of Visions to search for her but to no avail. Ignitus then forsaw a vision of Spyro standing before a great tree, and Spyro told the Fire Guardian about his dreams and the Chronicler. Ignitus then fears that the Dark Master may return and sends Spyro on his journey to the Chronicler whilst he stays behind to search for Cynder.

### Dawn of the Dragon

During the three years that Spyro and Cynder went missing, Ignitus led the Guardians and the other dragons in the war against Malefor. Despite his best efforts, he could not hold the Dragon Temple and it fell into Malefor's control, who tore it from the ground and raised it above the volcano that formed as a symbol of his power. Ignitus moved to the dragon city of Warfang and waited for Hunter, whom he sent to find Spyro and Cynder after they disappeared.

He defended the city when it was sieged by Malefor's army and led the attack on the Golem when it appeared. Despite his best efforts, however, he was knocked out of the sky by the Golem and collided with a building, rendering him unconscious until after the battle. Ignitus was relieved to see Spyro when he finally had the chance to talk to him and was present when Malefor declared his plan to destroy the world. Ignitus ordered everyone to venture underneath Warfang to reach the Destroyer before it completes its circle around the globe and then comforts Spyro when the young dragon worries about what was going to happen. When Cynder thought of a plan to stop the Destroyer, Ignitus ordered everyone else to buy her and Spyro some time by any means necessary.

When the plan failed, Ignitus took Spyro and Cynder through the belt of fire, but the dark power of its flames was beginning to overpower him. As he struggled to keep the barrier around them up, Ignitus apologized to both Spyro and Cynder for everything that had happened to them by his failures. Sacrificing himself, he threw Spyro and Cynder through the ring of fire, his death having a deep, almost devastating, impact on Spyro. Ignitus' spirit appears briefly after Spyro and Cynder's battle with Malefor, lending Spyro his final words of wisdom and giving the young dragon the realization of his destiny as the purple dragon before the Fire Guardian disappears.

After the world was restored by Spyro's power, Ignitus had been chosen by the Chronicler to become the new Chronicler of the new age. He then asks the Chronicler what became of Spyro. The old dragon explained to Ignitus that each time a dragon dies, a new page is written in the Book of Death, but he can't seem to find any trace of Spyro among the pages, revealing to Ignitus that the two dragons are alive. The Chronicler then disappears, with Ignitus donning the Chronicler's appearance, his scales turning a shade of blue and wielding the Chronicler's various objects. He then looks into the book, wondering where Spyro and Cynder might be, keeping his eye on their futures.

## Role in the Series

As with Spyro and Cynder, his role in the Legend of Spyro series remained largely unchanged. But unlike Spyro and Cynder, instead of dying near the end of the Dawn of the Dragon portion, he was rescued by the scarlet dragon Quidilin from the Belt of Fire, which she did out of trust, both in him and because he trusted her daughter despite her corruption. As his last act in the High Council, he assisted in cutting off the Video Game universe from the rest of the United Universes in order to avoid a similar catastrophe to what Malefor had done.