Ten years has passed - in Lynerius' absence, Hayze sneaks out in the midst of night to train his element in secret. He arrives later in time for class, and is met by Vitreus announcing his presence. Hayze teases him, and their escalating spat is interrupted by Quarris, who teases them for looking like they were kissing. Master Therris arrives and takes the flight to the dojo, something not on their schedule.

As it turns out, the flight has been selected to spar with the purple dragon himself, Malefor. While they look in awe, Vitreus tells Hayze that Malefor's destiny is to kill all the dark dragons, something that finally gets to Hayze. Hayze then tells Master Therris that Vitreus volunteered to go first.

When the rest of his flight has had a turn against the purple dragon, Malefor wants to face Hayze next. Hayze is called into the ring despite his reluctance, and faces Malefor with the permitted use of his Shadow element. Hayze struggles despite his element advantage, and starts becoming afraid, thinking Malefor wants to do more than hurt him. He mistakes the cheering of his flightmates to be cheering for Malefor, and Hayze panics. In a frenzied state of fear, Hayze unleashes a powerful Shadow attack against Malefor, crashing into him and throwing them both out of the ring.

When Hayze comes to, Malefor's body is inert, and Hayze is horrified - only for Malefor to spring up and demand round two. This is interrupted by Master Therris, who isn't willing to put Hayze at such risk again. As the event ends, Hayze ponders if he's finally become strong enough.

Later in the day, when classes are over, Hayze witnesses an interaction between Vitreus and his mother, Flykra. Vitreus tries to initiate a tender moment with his mother, who doesn't even recognize him. She is apalled and sends him away. Hurt, Vitreus notices Hayze was watching and becomes angry. Hayze is sorry for how Vitreus was treated, but Vitreus thinks he's being mocked. When Hayze insists he's not making fun of him, Vitreus leaves in a hurry.

Hayze returns home to find Commander Lynerius has returned from war, having won the battle to retake the Wetland Abyss and is now being dragged to a celebration.

(...)

Abilities

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Element

Hayze discovered his element as early as 6 years old, an achievement among other dragons. He demonstrates the basic shadow ability to de-materialize fully into shadows on the ground, and blast upwards, launching his target into the air. He also demonstrates some ability to partially de-materialize into shadows.

As a teen he is able to blend quietly into shadows to reach otherwise inaccessible areas, and appears to be quite talented.

Magic

Hayze was not taught non-elemental magic at the Temple.

Physical

While tall, Hayze has a build more lithe than physically strong. He is quick, but relies mostly on his element.

Family

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Lineage unknown.

Commander Lynerius (former caretaker)

Relationships

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Commander Lynerius

Little is yet known about Hayze's relationship to Lynerius. Though Lynerius is strict and has a record of corporeal punishment (as is common), he appears to do so out of a desire to protect Hayze. He clearly demonstrates this when Commander Frossar tries to take Hayze away - even going so far as to lie on his behalf. Though Lynerius forbids it, Hayze has attempted to call his caretaker 'dad'.

Vitreus

Vitreus is Hayze's self-proclaimed rival, taking it upon himself to 'keep an eye' on Hayze. Indoctrinated by his father, Vitreus has hounded Hayze since their first meeting with the belief that dark dragons are inherently evil. As children, Vitreus caught Hayze practicing his element, something that resulted in a physical altercation when Hayze tried to stop him from telling a guard about it.

The fight resulted in a panic retaliation from Hayze, where he slashed Vitreus across his right eye. As teenagers, Vitreus still uses this against Hayze - bearing the scars as a reminder to everyone (albeit not by his own choice).

Though Hayze teases Vitreus about his 'obsession', Vitreus still manages to get an occasional rise out of him, especially when his vitriol concerns dark dragons as a whole rather than Hayze himself.

Terin

Terin was the one in Therris' Flight that made an effort to interact with Hayze, despite clearly being afraid of him. After Hayze wounded Vitreus in front of her eyes however, she became too frighten to continue reaching out to him.

Kindlo

Kindlo was Hayze's closest childhood friend, and they remained friends into their teenage years. As far as onlookers are concerned, they became suddenly distant.

Hydris and Rayne

Hayze learned to tell Hydris and Rayne apart within the few first days at the temple. He noticed that Rayne was quieter, and Hydris often loud. The former was also wary of him, but the latter somewhat curious.

Incendis and Kindra

Hayze retains a rather neutral relationship with the fire siblings, with Incendis choosing not to bother Hayze as a teen, and with Kindra displaying a distasteful feeling whenever Hayze is near her.

Trivia

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• His blue highlights were a late addition to make his otherwise entirely black design interesting.

• In the early ideas of Destiny Intertwined, Hayze was the second main character, not the primary, who was Malefor.

• 'Hayze' is a name based on the word 'haze', a word suitable for the element of Shadow.