in the world of dragons, the dragon kingdom consists of five homeworlds – the artisans, the peace keepers, the magic crafters, the beast makers, and the dream weavers- which have lived in harmony for many years. one day, a tv interview with a pair of dragons from the artisan realm catches the attention of gnasty gnorc, a gnorc (half gnome and half orc) who was banished from the kingdom due to his abrasive demeanor and sent to an abandoned junkyard, which he renames to "gnasty's world." after hearing one of the dragons in the broadcast openly dismiss him as simple-minded, harmless and ugly, gnasty loses his temper and unleashes a full-fledged attack on the kingdom. using his magical powers, he casts a spell across the land that encases every dragon in a crystal shell; he also steals the dragons' prized collection of treasure, turning the gemstones into devious gnorc soldiers to help him take over the dragon worlds. spyro, a young purple dragon, is the only dragon that manages to avoid getting crystallized by the attack. aided by his dragonfly companion, sparx, spyro eagerly sets out to locate and defeat gnasty.