Hello, Kindra here. I've never written a fic for Eragon before - and I certainly never planned to be writing one as epic as this is going to be.
The original idea for this came from me being a bit freaked out by the idea of Saphira being the mother of an entire species. Paolini had some good ideas, but frankly, that freaked me out. You need more genetic diversity than that for a species to thrive (Yes, I know it's fantasy, but it still bothered me). How that idea became this enormous fic, I still do not know.
Enjoy the ride, guys, and please give me feedback!
When Gion Hanorssen awoke his wife was already gone, and there was wilted grass stuck to his cheek, creeping into his mouth. The former was hardly unusual – his wife was the earliest riser he had ever met (and as Gion was one hundred and fourteen years old, this was saying a lot). The latter was the less than pleasant result of falling asleep while watching the stars.
He stretched lazily, his hand brushing against warm scales.
"Morning, Helnt," he greeted the dragon.
A contented rumble answered him, the dragon's purr, Lin left with Quenna two hours ago. And I'll be heading out to hunt today.
"Again?" he asked, "You went hunting two days ago. And you got at least four wild boars, so you can't say that you're still hungry."
Gabel and I are going to fight an elephant, when he gets up.
Gion shook his head at the dragons' antics, "All right, just be more careful this time. I don't want to have to patch you up again."
I don't want you to patch me up either. Jace is much better at it.
"You wound my pride, Helnt," he replied wryly, "Try not to wound your body to match. I'll check in with Sridhar and then go make sure Quenna hasn't corrupted my wife."
You're seventy years too late to prevent that, my friend.
"Yes, I know," Gion sighed, "Go on! I'll see you later."
The dragon left with a rumbling chuckle, and Gion got up. His back popped, and he winced. He was really too old to not be sleeping in a bed, but seeing the falling stars last night had been worth it. And it had been the first time in a long while that he'd finally been able to spend some time alone with Lin, just being her husband, and not worrying about his duties to anyone but her.
He smiled warmly at the thought of his wife, and then shook his head. He was getting sentimental in his old age. He dusted some dead grass off of his clothing, getting to his feet. One of the rajah's numerous pet monkeys, which had apparently been using his feet as a stool, cursed at him as he got up. He sent a vague, soothing thought in its direction, and it scampered off.
He checked his reflection in a fountain, deemed himself presentable for the time being, and went inside to rescue his wife from the clutches of his friend.
He found Lin inside the palace, not with Quenna or Sridhar, but in the secondary throne room with the rajah and a wide-eyed young messenger he'd seen a few times before.
The rajah looked up at him as he entered. He gestured for Gion to approach, and on his father it would have been a grand gesture indeed, but the rajah was only fifteen, and rather small. The silks and gold he wore to show his place as first in line for the throne made him look awkward, they were too heavy and large for him.
Gion approached, and bowed in the style favored in Lin's homeland, his hands folded at the level of his breastbone. The king didn't like that he refused to prostrate himself before the royal family, but the rajah didn't care. He found the odd bowing funny, and when he was little Gion had made him shriek with laughter by doing it.
Now, the boy was trying desperately to become a man, and never permitted himself a smile, but Gion saw the corner of his mouth twitch as he straightened up.
"We were looking for you," said the rajah in his best attempt at his father's grand manner of speaking, "We received news that we believe is relevant to you. Your wife was just about to go and find you."
"Thank you," Gion said. He bowed once more to the rajah and hurried to his wife.
"Lin, what's the news?" he spoke quickly in Alagaesian. Lin didn't speak it very well, but she understood that she shouldn't answer in Burhari.
Lin handed him a scroll, and spoke quickly in her native language, "I still can't read their funny writing, but it's from the spymaster. The lord prince says it's to do with us. Yangling says Khapurah and Sridhar aren't up yet. Do you understand enough to make sense of this?"
"You know I can't read Burhari any better than you can," he sighed, "You would have been better off asking Quenna."
"You can read more than me," Lin said stubbornly, "And you outrank Quenna."
Gion grimaced, "Just ask Yangling to find her. Helnt's going hunting," he added, as an explanation.
A silence that meant she was conferring with her dragon, and then she said, eyebrows raised, "Heading out to the market. I'll call her back, then?"
"Please," he said, slipping back into Burhari.
He made a show of unrolling the scroll and looking at it carefully. He could only read a few words, but they made his heart leap into his throat.
Rumor... west... coastline... great beast... fire... sky... so the word between was probably "and"... west... the World's Spine... that meant the Beors.
Rumors of a great beast of fire and sky had come from west of the Beors? Could that mean... a dragon in Alagaesia? He needed to get Quenna up here to read this.
He turned to the rajah, who was watching with a youthful eagerness not even being on a throne could erase, "Thank you, great prince, for giving us this important news."
He did not know how important it was, but he'd eat Helnt before he let anyone other than the riders know that he was anything less than completely aware of all information that came to him. Though the young prince was not the kind who played political games, Gion had been fighting the bureaucrats for power since the day they'd arrived in Burhar.
Speaking of which ... Yes, there was the telltale sign of someone hiding behind one of the curtains. His bluff had been worth the effort.
Helnt! He called to his dragon, I think you and Gabel had better not go too far, this could be very important.
He took Lin gently but firmly by the elbow, and led her away. She followed docilely, always the perfect wife – until no one was watching her.
His heart still pounded. Could it be? Could it be?
By the time Quenna returned, Gion was wearing a rut in the floor of their unofficial meeting room, and Sridhar had arrived.
"Why did you call me?" Quenna asked, "You've already got him to read it."
"This is important. The other Alagaesians are coming. Sridhar, read it again, please."
"Hail to the great –"
"Skip the formalities, please."
Sridhar grinned, "Of course, O Rider of the great Dragon whose scales—"
"Stop being a bastard and just read us the message."
Sridhar smirked, and read, "'Many rumors have recently come around the shoreline from the west. They speak of a great beast made of sky and fire, which has appeared west of the world's spine. Such rumors have appeared before, but there is a puzzling change which I felt important to mention. While it can be easily guessed that this so-called 'great beast' is a dragon, previous rumors always paint it as a fearful creature, a demon, but lately there is respect, even reverence. Also, 'made of sky' is unusual. Typically we hear 'made of night,' if there is any description of it. The leader of the Riders may be able to make sense of it.'"
He finished reading, but didn't bother to roll up the scroll this time, since he would most likely be reading it at least once more. He stared out the window, looking pensive. Gion wondered if it could possibly mean to him what him meant to the Alagaesians.
Quenna was staring at the paper in amazement, "Can that be true?"
"It sounds real enough!" Gion said excitedly, "There's a new dragon!"
The moment he said it, the door opened and a young-looking man caused a pile up behind him as he stared.
"What?"
"There's a new dragon," Gion repeated, "In Alagaesia!"
The proclamation brought forth a clamor of noise as the riders spoke. Outside, Gion could hear another clamor as the dragons were apparently relayed the message by their riders.
"A new dragon?"
"-more Forsworn-"
"-new or not, we outnumber them-"
"-could be unaffiliated-"
"How do you know?" asked Jace, the oldest among them, and the only one who seemed to be capable of being heard despite whatever noise was around.
Sridhar produced the scroll and read the relevant part for the third time.
"I see," Jace said quietly when he had finished.
Lazily, casually, like a tiger watching a boar, he removed his sword and belt, the dagger from his sleeve, and two more from his boots and tossed them onto the table. He then sat down at his accustomed place. Gion breathed a sigh of relief as the other Riders mimicked his actions. A room full of excited, curious Riders was impossible to handle, but now that Jace had begun the ceremony of opening a meeting, things would be much more manageable.
Once the last of the weapons were on the table, Gion opened the window to the balcony, so that the dragons could hear directly, and took his seat, ignoring the customary scuffle as they all tried to fit in the space below. There was barely enough room for five dragons, let alone seventeen.
It was a typical struggle for dominance. Helnt always achieved the choice position on the roof, Yangling was usually the last one to fit into the courtyard, and the others were forced to fly above, or have the news relayed to them via their riders.
"Friends," Gion said, but his voice was drowned out by two dragons jostling for the place nearest the balcony.
He waited until peace was regained, and started again. Remembering Sridhar's presence, he spoke in Burhari, "You've heard the message. This is very important news. We have to decide what to do."
"Well, I, for one, would like to know more before we do anything," said Trist, a redheaded man of no particular ranking among the humans (but his mount was high-ranking among the dragons, which afforded him some respect – Rider politics were anything but simple), "Information is skewed at best by the time it gets around the Beors. We know nothing but a few indistinct rumors."
His dragon, the mahogany-colored Imannel, snorted an agreement. He had won the scuffle against Jace's Gabel, and his great head was resting on the balcony. The wind from the sigh ruffled Gion's hair.
"And how," Quenna said, annoyed at having been beaten in the race to speak first, "Do you propose we find out more? You said yourself that our information isn't reliable."
Trist bristled, but Lin's quiet voice cut him off, "Well, what are the possibilities? If we assume that there is a new Rider, what does that mean for us?"
"If he's allied with the king, it's a serious threat," Hellani, a male Rider who was known for his caution, offered.
"And if not?" Gion offered, "If he fights against Galbatorix?"
"If he fights against that madman, I will pledge my sword and dragon to him!" Quenna declared boldly, and her dragon Elaina trumpeted in accord.
There was a murmur of agreement around the table, but nothing definite. Quenna was brave and bold, but also rather foolhardy, and everyone knew it. A bold declaration from her was to be expected at every meeting, just as the sunrise or monsoon season was to be expected.
"And why should we pledge ourselves to him?" Hellani asked scornfully, "Even if he fights against Galbatorix, he can't be a dragonrider of more than a few years, at the most. Even if it's an elf, he has much to learn about being a rider. How do we know that he could be a good leader? And how could anyone lead us better than Gion Hanorssen has?"
"Such high praise," Gion quipped, "I blush."
He was flattered by it, despite his flippant dismissal. The riders had such great respect for him, when all he really even did was follow common sense. He hadn't planned on leading anyone, but they followed him all the same. Almost blindly, actually, and sometimes it worried him.
"If anything," Hellani continued, unperturbed, "he should pledge his sword and dragon to us. Gion will lead us fittingly."
This received a much more definite approval from the assembled riders, but the dragons had no real response.
Our riders make the pledges, Helnt said, we act in your best interest. If the new dragon is any right-thinking kind of dragon, it will do the same. A rider's pledge means nothing to us if it's harmful to them.
"Thank you, Helnt, for your perspective," said Jace, "But how could a pledge to Gion be hurtful to him?"
What Gion wants is dangerous. Very dangerous. If I had not been there, I would not want him to go and fight. Should the egg have been laid after the crimes were committed, the new dragon would have no memory of them. Why, then, risk your rider for a war that is not yours?
"Whether or not he would pledge himself to Gion, or even if we would pledge ourselves to him, is not important," Sridhar said, in his flowing and elegant way of speaking Burhari that Gion knew he would never be able to achieve, "To fight alongside him is a good ideal, but... why do we need to? We number forty three – sixty if we count the seventeen who will join us when the eggs hatch for them. The mad king and his Forsworn number fourteen. Perhaps more, but only one female dragon was among them, and she could not have laid many clutches.
"We are strong, and our dragons keep us young and healthy, even though most of us should be old and feeble by now. Surely we could fight without the aid of the new rider? Gion's original plan was to wait until we were a strength of fifty – a nice round number. The only reason this news excites us so is because we are impatient. We Burhari were not there, but through our dragons we remember the crimes committed, and we wish to right the injustices now. It can only be more so for you, who watched friends and family slaughtered.
"We are taking this new rider as a sign – a divine symbol, perhaps, that it is time to move now. We do not even know for certain whether this new rider even exists, let alone whether or not he is our ally. So, even though I suffer from the same impatience to have justice done, I say that we should not be hasty, and we shall follow our original plan."
"You're speaking sense," Lin said so quietly that the people at the other end of the table had to lean forward to hear her, "But I still want to know for sure. If Galbatorix's ranks have increased even by one, I wish to know it. Even if the new rider does not exist, it would be prudent to know what the situation is – should we stick to the original plan, we will probably leave within the decade. Yangling singled out three possible candidates just last week, so our ranks will grow again soon. We will leave Burhar, and then we will have to fight, but we must know what we are fighting. Battles are rarely lost by poor planning, but rather, by poor scouting. If we do not know what we're fighting, we may as well bind our dragons' wings before going into battle. Ignorance cripples us just as much."
"I don't deny this," said Sridhar, "But I know in my heart that when we leave Burhar for Alagaesia, we won't be going there to scout. We will be going to stay, and to fight."
"You're right," Gion said, "We are being hasty, because the news is exciting. We want to fight. We wanted to fight when we left," he made a sweeping gesture at the Alagaesians, "but we were just children then, and knew that we had to sacrifice the battle if we wanted to win the war. But what you said about us being strong enough to fight is also true. If we wanted to, right now we could take on Galbatorix - and win."
"That's right!" Quenna agreed. Elaina trumpeted again.
"But Lin is also right that we need to know what's happening over there, because we still don't know anything for sure. Every possibility we discussed is still just guessing," said Gion, "And that's why I'm planning to go to Alagaesia and investigate."
Indignant responses followed this, but Jace quieted them with a calm, "Alright. Who are you taking with you?"
"No one," Gion answered, "It's a scouting mission, that's all. Helnt and I can reach Alagaesia, investigate, and return inside of two months. We'll be fine."
"Unless you have a fit, or are discovered by the mad king," Lin pointed out, "You aren't going to go alone."
"Yes, I will."
"I'm coming with you," Lin said.
"As your leader, I'm ordering you to stay behind."
"And as your wife," Lin said, her dark eyes flashing, "I'm telling you that I'm coming with you."
"You mean to tell me," Quenna cut in, "That you're going home and you'renot taking us? You just said that we're strong enough to fight Galbatorix and win!"
"I didn't say I'm not taking you. I just said I'm not taking you right now. I want to know what's happening before I bring in our full force."
"She does have a point, Gion," said Trist, "It does seem unfair."
"I still believe it would be wise to wait," said Sridhar, "But it seems to me that anyone sent to your homeland wouldn't be able to help themselves. Terrible crimes were committed there, and we all want to put them right, with all of our souls. Can you honestly tell us that you wouldn't join in the fight? If you go, we can make no choice but to go with you."
Gion gritted his teeth,Helnt, help me out. I don't want to put them at risk before we know anything.
I will not go alone into a land where my kin were slain, Gion, Helnt said, decisively, twisting from the leader's perch on the roof so that he could get his head onto the balcony next to Imannel, At the very least, bring Elaina. I would feel better for Yangling and Gabel's company as well. And I may not like Imannel, but he's a good ally. If the new dragon is a twisted Forsworn, I want fighters with me, not my one little rider with some sharp sticks, and a foolish belief that he can keep everyone in the world safe if only he makes enough personal effort.
Gion's mouth twisted a bit, but his partner's general disdain for swords, spears and the weapons that humans made wasn't entirely unfounded. Against another human, he was formidable, but against a dragon, he was just about the right size to be called supper.
Gion looked around the table, feeling uncomfortable with the looks from his wife, best friend, and the people he'd guided to safety more than a hundred years ago. He wanted to protest, but he hadn't gotten to be the leader by going against what everyone wanted, and no rider had ever come out on top by directly denying their dragon's desires. He sighed.
"There's no way I can convince you otherwise?" he asked Lin, unable to keep the resignation out of his voice.
"None," Lin smiled gently, like the proper lady she'd been raised to be.
Gion sighed again, "Fine. Tell every Burhari, and all the people from the north. We'll leave before monsoon season starts. They may come if they wish, but make sure they all know – this is a scouting mission. Those of us who are going will not be staying to fight. When we know the situation, we will return, and bring everybody with us."
His words of caution seemed to have no effect on the riders. They were looking at each other excitedly.
"Riders of Burhar," Quenna cried, getting to her feet, "We are going home!"
The riders cheered, a great cacophony echoed by the dragons roaring outside. Quenna leaned across the table to hug Trist, who seemed annoyed that she had already forgotten their earlier irritation at each other.
There was a rush as everyone went to gather their weapons from the table. Lin took her two small daggers from the pile and slipped them back up into her sleeves, and then handed Gion his sword and belt, and his boot knife. He put them on slowly, but felt better when they were in their proper places. Even in a peaceful place, he didn't feel completely secure without swords and daggers at hand.
He watched them leave the room, some through the door, some by the balcony to meet their dragons, and felt thoroughly morose. The hope that had bloomed up in him at the news was gone. The meeting had gone nothing like what he had planned or hoped for.
Gion hung his head in his hands. He understood how they felt, he truly did. It had been a hundred years since they'd seen Alagaesia, and everyone wanted to go home, but at the same time, they knew almost nothing about what was happening over there. He hadn't ushered his friends to safety, spent thirty years on the run, and then spent seventy years here in Burhar building up their forces so that they could lose it all on a mad, unplanned rush back into dangerous territory.
Lin put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, and she smiled softly at him.
"Remember, my love, that you do not have to do everything by yourself."
She kissed him softly on the cheek, and Gion felt marginally better.