The Dragon Temple is an ancient structure within the Swamp where the Dragon elders train and take care of young dragons in The Legend of Spyro series. During the two first games, it serves as a refuge to the main characters, and its dojo is often used as a training ground for young heroes. Inside there is a room near the dojo where there is a pool of water known as the Pool of Visions, in which certain dragons, such as Ignitus, can see visions: the dreams, thoughts, and memories of others and to see what is happening in places far away.
In the prologue of the game, the dragon eggs were kept in the temple's Grotto. After the war between The Dark Master's forces and the Dragons, the Dragon Temple was overtaken by Cynder's Ape forces. It was reclaimed when Spyro eventually drove the Apes out, accompanied by Ignitus and Sparx. The Temple served as a shelter and home to the Guardians, and eventually Spyro and Sparx.
The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night
The Dragon Temple appeared again as the current home for the Guardians, Spyro, and Sparx, and also a temporary shelter for Cynder before she left, blaming herself for what happened when she was under the Dark Master's control. The temple then came under attack by the Apes, and Spyro battled his way through the temple grounds to get back to the Guardians. After driving off the forces of the Ape King Gaul, the Dragon Temple was damaged during the surprise assault and wasn't seen again in the game after Ignitus sent Spyro off to the Ancient Grove where the Chronicler was supposedly hiding.
The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
During the three years before the events of Dawn of the Dragon, the Guardians lost their hold on the Dragon Temple while fending against The Dark Master, Malefor. The evil dragon raised the temple above a volcano as a symbol of his dominance; the main section of the temple would be named Malefor's Lair. Fragments of the temple were littered throughout the Floating Islands above the volcano. It was later destroyed when the Destroyer broke the world apart in a torrent of fire during the final battle between Spyro, Cynder and Malefor.
In the Dragon Dojo, a statue of a great dragon stands proudly in the center of the room, which was later revealed to be Malefor before his corruption. The statue can sink into the floor to allow the dojo to be more expansive for young dragons to train.
According to the art lead, Jared Pullen, the image of the Dragon Statue was a homage to general Dragon culture but more specifically a stately and regal representation of the last Purple Dragon before Spyro's time, who was an ancient hero. It was Jared's intention to have the statue foreshadow Spyro's future, and set down a clue as to what he may even look like in the coming decades. From the very outset he wanted to portray what a fully grown adult Purple Dragon would look like, how it might stand and carry itself, and Jared pitched the idea that the statue itself was actually a representation of the Dark Master before he renounced the path of good. This shows that the players had already caught a glimpse of the Dark Master right from the beginning, which Jared thought it was a very fitting and 'full circle' type thing to do.[1]
The statue of Malefor was intended to be crafted from gold, but the final look fell short due to technical constraints and the statue instead became stone. "The idea was to create the notion that the statue's 'stone' had somehow been bonded with precious metals, and wasn't merely stone at all, but rather something that could be forged and tempered using the elemental gifts of all four Dragon Guardians."[2]
Somehow, the Dragon Temple is where Spyro starts and ends his adventure (after it was transformed into Malefor's Lair) in The Legend of Spyro series.
In Dawn of the Dragon, the Dragon Temple was given a major design overhaul due to the change in art direction by Étranges Libellules.
