Prologue: Vengeance
There are a lot of lessons I have learnt in my lifetime, but none of them come even close to the one I learnt today.
"The Varden has entered the city, get into position!" Captain Bark shouted as all of us soldiers as we ran to our positions in and around the street, knowing that the rebels would be coming our way any time soon. The spearmen stood ready ahead of the rest of us, most of whom were swordsman. Behind these swordsman, I stood with an arrow nocked in my bow, one of the only few archers on the ground while the rest of my fellows took to the rooftops, watching the armies clash. The battle had been raging outside the city for quite a while, but they had a dragon and Rider who actually flew around and set people on fire, while the two we had on our side just sat in the castle, while we were slaughtered in droves.
It seemed to have taken forever for the war to come to Uru'baen, to the very capital of King Galbatorix's empire which was crumbling to pieces the way I saw it, but then again why would a king care about the way I saw it? Now here I stood with the rest of my unit, protecting this street because those were our orders. But unlike most of the time, I knew that these orders made sense, to all of us, we all knew what was at stake and it definitely wasn't the mad King's head. They were our own people we were protecting in the buildings and homes behind us, one of which was my own.
The waiting was growing old as all of us stood still and tensed, every man sweating under his armor of metal plates or chainmail, but I had it just as bad as the rest of them, my leather jerkin making it extremely hot and puffy on the inside. When I had been younger I always thought that war was pure instinct, a fight after another, after another. Nobody expects the waiting, the calm before the storm where nerves rise on edge and it's all you can do not to puke. The sounds of clashing swords and spears against steel and bone was coming ever closer, and I knew that it wasn't going to be long now. Little did I know that it was going to be so soon.
"Take cover!" Somebody yelled, I didn't care who, I just dived through the nearest window as a large barrage of arrows soared down upon my unit, the screams of soldiers renting the air as blood splattered the ground with arrowheads piercing limbs, chests and necks, but most of us had survived that attack thanks to the warning, though a few of them lay dead and were being dragged away by the others. Warriors lowered their shields as I clambered back out from the window, when suddenly…
"Helfire!" I cursed and jumped back in horror as a dead archer tumbled down from above, his eyes losing the light of life right before me. I gulped then and just left him there to lie, not knowing what to do, while others who had been wounded were being tended to. Captain Bark, which wasn't his real name but just what we all called him, threw me a disgusted look. I wondered what I had done to gain his disapproval now, but it would seem that it was going to be the last of my worries. Another thing I had not anticipated about war was the sheer amount of unexpectedness, anything could happen to anyone at any time which required us to stay on our toes even when there actually wasn't anything happening.
A sudden crash nearby jolted us all into attention as everyone suddenly raised their weapons. "Steady now." Bark said, holding his own sword at the ready. "I wonder what is to happen of us if you lot are going to remain so jumpy, now we are going to hold this position, no matter what-" He never finished his sentence and the rest of us first got looks of horror on our faces, then jumped to take cover. A single arrow, shot by an experienced marksman, had sailed through the air silently and embedded itself in my Captain's neck, the bloody arrow head poking out of the back on his head.
Little did I know that all it takes is one day for your world to fall apart. In one day, the war that seemed so far away is right in your home.
As Bark's body fell to the ground, everyone grew tensed as the one man who might've known what to do next was gone. I had no love for the man, he was ruthless and a little wild, but that did not mean I didn't feel a pang of grief for that brief moment, after which I didn't have time to think as the fight was coming to us. "Get ready, they are coming!" Someone shouted, and I hurriedly nocked another arrow in my bow. "Those people are depending on us, we have to hold this line." I looked over my shoulder then, down the street, where a lot of buildings had been locked off to the people outside, the doors and windows boarded up from the inside to stop people from coming in, just in case the soldiers failed. And then I turned back and I saw it, a group of rebels heading right our way. The spearmen, swordsmen all charged at our enemy, while I just pulled back at the string, taking a deep breath as my eyes found the target, and I relaxed just as my fingers left the bolt. I didn't need to see the arrow hit that man's head to know that it was going to meet its mark, so I moved on to the next, nocking the arrow in even before the last one hit, took aim with bated breath and fired again, and again, and again after which I stopped as both the forces met.
The soldiers were hacking and slicing at each other now, and it was a lot harder to tell them apart, but that wasn't a problem for long, because a minute later the archer on the roof to the left of the street was being attacked by a rebel who had also climbed up to the rooftops, which now took my attention. Arrow at the ready, breath held in my lungs, I was ready to take the shot to end that Varden fanatic's life, but something quite surprising happened.
"Die, servants of evil!" A bellow came from the side and a rebel soldier who had managed to get through all of my other comrades was coming right for me. Before I could take aim, he swung his sword and knocked my bow aside, but I kicked his shin and whacked his forehead with the wooden bow, splintering it to pieces as the man fell to the ground. I cursed then, looking at the broken bow, and tossed it to the ground, next to my unconscious victim, drawing two daggers from my belt and stood ready right in the middle of that road, I was going to kill whoever tried to get past me.
It was then that I noticed that the archer I had meant to save had fallen to the ground with blood soaking his clothes, which could only mean one thing. Not looking up, I dived to the side just as an arrow embedded the ground where I had been a moment before. I landed to the side of the road, and kicked in the door of the house that I knew was empty, and ran up the stairs to the roof, which I kicked open and found my would-be killer taking aim at another one of my comrades, while his friends slew mine on the other rooftops. I was going to have to take care of them. I was glad that these buildings were all of the same two storied level, unlike Tierm, otherwise my job would have become a lot harder.
The enemy archer saw me and immediately tried to shoot an arrow, but I got to him before he could let loose, slicing his throat apart in a swift move I kicked him off the roof and ran towards the next archer, who didn't see me coming and got a stab through back for it. I grabbed his bow and took two shots at the two archers on the opposite side of the street, taking them out as well. Down below, many of ours had been killed but that didn't mean that we were losing. In fact, most of theirs were already done, but my friends were going to need my help if they were to finish this. They might think of me as a mere archer, but only if they knew . . .
I was overconfident, thinking that what I could do would help me keep my family safe, but I was so used to being victorious that I did not realize that something things in this world are more powerful.
I leapt off the roof right into the fray, landing on a rebel and plunging my knife into his neck just as we fell to the ground. I jumped to me feet then and blocked a sword coming for my neck, sliced off the hand that held it with the other dagger, and swerved around, stabbing another in the neck, then piercing the handless man's heart, looked around to parry a spear with one knife and breaking its shaft with the other, kicking its wielder in the groin and severing his head as he doubled over in pain. I didn't stop moving and swung at another rebel, knocking his sword aside and embedding my blade in his skull, pulling it free just in time to parry another and stabbing the attacker in the gut. As he fell in a crumbling dead heap, I felt something else hit the ground, something a lot heavier because the earth trembled for that one moment of warning that I had, but the others didn't.
A huge axe swung my way, but I ducked, knowing it was coming even before it did because something that heavy could only be one thing and only someone as fast as I could have dodged it, but that wasn't quite enough. I looked up to see a nine foot tall Kull standing in front of me, hacking off the head of soldier who had been right behind me. But it wasn't that the urgal hadn't noticed me because in the next second he grabbed me by the neck and flung me across the street. As I flew, I was quite aware of another skull cracking in the very next second, but before I knew it I smashed through the wooden walls and landed in the living room of an empty house. Something like that would have been enough to kill any normal man, but I never said I was normal, something the Kull would soon realize.
My back ached with immeasurable pain, but that didn't stop me from getting to my feet and taking a few breaths as the pain slowly reduced and ebbed away. Outside, the remaining men of my unit were being slaughtered by the Kull, who seemed to be last of the rebel battalion that had come this way or had ended up here from some other fight, I didn't care anymore because I was going to go out there kill the horned beast. I made a promise to keep those people safe, my family was there, my sister and her children that I lived with were praying to be kept safe from the rebels and that was exactly what I was going to ensure. This kull was not going to get past me.
There he stood before me, an enormous axe in his hands as he bashed my friends around, tossed them to the air or cleaved them in half. Only two of my unit remained, but even before I could think of doing anything the kull jumped forward with his head bent, piercing the man right in the chest with his horns and hurled him around. The man smashed into the second story of a shop, from where he fell to the ground but didn't move. Meanwhile, the Kull had knocked the other's weapon off his arms and was watching man tried to run away from him, towards me.
In the next instant the very same axe came flying at him, skewering him right before my eyes. The soldier stared at me, his eyes betraying his despair as he felt the cold rush of death grasp at him. I did not know the man, but I knew he believed me to be doomed, and if he were to watch me from the Void then he would soon realize that he had thought wrong, though I understood why he felt so. I was the only one that remained, to guard the people in those homes and I was going to keep fighting till somebody claimed my life. Flashes of my family come before my eyes, knowing that my sister and her children were among the ones who had taken refuge there, believing that we would keep them safe no matter the cost, and I didn't intend on letting any one of them down. It didn't matter that I was alone because I was certain that I would be enough. The kull watched as I walked towards him, and he drew a sword from the scabbard on his belt. He probably thought I was just a mere man that he could crush the way he had crushed so many others today. He was going to learn just how wrong he was because today will be the day he heads for the Void.
The kull charged at me just as I ran towards him, the daggers glistening scarlet in my hands, thirsty for blood the way that they always were. As the adrenaline rushed through my veins and my heartbeat quickened, the very bloodlust that I had kept under control all these years returned. That good old feeling . . . how I missed it.
The kull jumped forward and sliced his sword at me, to no avail as I slid under it and slashed his shin, then jumped to my feet to block the huge blade with both of my own. The kull tried to force me down, but he underestimated my strength, believing it to be as much as any other man's, but I did not falter under the weight; instead deflected it to the left and bashed him in the face with my elbow, swinging a dagger his neck with the other hand. He moved his head at the last second and my dagger embedded itself in his horn, making him yell in pain and yank the hilt out of my hand as he moved away hurriedly. I wasn't done though and I went after him, tossing the only dagger I had from my left hand to the right and leapt at him, but he deflected the thrust that was going for his neck and I landed in front of him. Before he could do more, I ducked and swung around, leg outstretched, knocking him off his feet.
As he fell to the ground with a loud thud I jumped on top and swung my dagger down. He was too slow to stop it, I knew it; there was no way that he was going to get out of this alive. His life was mine and I was claiming it for my unit, my family and the others that I had sworn to protect. But unbeknownst to me, a whisper in the air foretold the coming of a silver arrow as it sailed right for its mark as my blade descended towards the urgal's neck. Just a moment before the blade drew blood, the arrow came flying at me and struck the blade right off my hand, much to the urgal's surprise as mine. A moment later I grabbed the blade stuck in his horn and yanked it out while the kull grabbed me by the folds of my now torn jacket.
Painful screams rent the air then as one swift strike later the kull's arm wasn't a part of his body anymore. Another strike later the screams were replaced by gurgling and choking as I sliced his throat apart and hurriedly ran to cover as more arrows came for me, one grazing my shoulder and tearing off the leather. I hid behind a barrel under a house and carefully peeked out to see something that I had not expected. An elf in glistening armor stood on one of the rooftops, aiming right at me. I knew that chances of survival had just dropped for me, but a realization slowly dawned on me. Elves would not prey on my family and friends, they would keep them safe from harm.
That thought didn't stick for long as I hurriedly hid again as an arrow sailed past, exactly where my head had been a moment before. I knew that this barrel wasn't going to do much and that I would have to defeat this elf, which was going to be tremendously harder than the kull I just killed. If there was anything I knew about elves, it's that they are prideful but earning their respect takes nothing more than a fluency in the Ancient Language, which they assume with astute rightness that most humans do not know. Then again, as I have said so many times, I am no mere human.
I should've seen it coming, but I did not. I should've thought things through and got my family out when I had the chance, but I did not, and I will regret that for the rest of my life, however short lived it is.
"Will you not fight me fairly?" I shouted out in the language-of-no-lies. "Will you not come down here and fight me, or is it cowardice that keeps you from doing so?"
It was all that I needed to say, because the next moment I peeked out, the elf had come down, his bow thrown aside and his quiver dropped to the ground. I came out of cover then and picked up my other dagger, twirling them both in both my arms. I was ready for this fight, but whether I would be victorious or not, I did not know. Suddenly, I wasn't so sure of being able to defend this neighborhood for too long. Defeating one elf was going to be a next to impossible task, but if more were on their way then I was as sure as dead. But that didn't matter when my eyes met the elf's, who took off the helmet on his head and tossed it aside, then held his sword in both his hands and moved slowly to the right, as did I, focusing my attention on my opponent and wondering if I should wait or make a move.
A sliver of light as his sword swung at me even faster than I had anticipated, grazing my shoulder as I barely managed to move away. My heightened speed didn't make me faster than him, but I dearly hoped it made me as fast as him. He charged after me then, swinging his sword at me with ease as if it were as light as a feather and it was all I could do to keep myself from getting killed as I dodged and parried and blocked all his attacks at lightning speed, each and every blow bruising my arm more and more as his strikes knocked me from side to side. By the end of it he had me down on one knee, barely able to block a blow with both my daggers, all three blades coming to a standstill between us as the elf glared at me. He was surprised that I was able to keep up with him, must have hurt his pride that I, a mere mortal, could stand up to him for so long. It was time to hurt it a little more.
Pushing his sword to the side I quickly rolled away, getting to my feet and keeping a little distance between us as he flourished his sword from side to side. He was waiting for me to attack, his earlier confidence lost knowing that he wasn't going to win this by just hammering his sword away at me like he must have done countless other men. "Do you honestly think that you can last a lot longer? What happens when the rest of the Varden and my comrades arrive here?"
"I guess I will figure it out then, won't I?" I replied, but he had voiced the very concerns that had been floating in my mind just moments ago.
"No, you won't." The elf replied as we circled each other. "My sword is going to-"
He never had the chance to finish his sentence as I ran towards him and leapt, bring my dagger down with all my strength. He deflected the attack with one hand, but my other blade sliced at him, scratching his plated armor. He swung his sword at me and while I ducked and jabbed back, his blade sailing just an inch above my head. My dagger dented his chest plate a heartbeat after which I swerved around and stabbed at his exposed armpit, but he knocked my blow aside, punching my face and sending me flying down the road. Lights popped up before me as I landed several yards away, and then things just got brighter and wilder.
Some things you cannot predict.
A barrage of fiery boulders was let loose by the siege engines while I flew through the air. I saw them descending upon the city as I landed on the ground, and the elf looked up to see the rain of fire coming for us. His face went from the look of confidence that he earlier had to a lack thereof as he hurriedly ran to take cover from the incoming assault while I struggled to get to my feet and ran to cut him off. Before he could get inside a house I bashed my fist into his chin, making him stumble to the side as I whacked him again, pushing him back. As I did, I pulled a small knife from my belt and stabbed his thigh with it, drawing blood as the elf screamed in pain. "Foolish human!" He shouted as he blocked my next blow then grabbed my hand and whirled me away from him.
Landing painfully again, I stayed there and watched in glorious triumph as a boulder smashed into the house behind the elf, the fiery rocks spreading everywhere. The elf tried to move away, but the knife sticking out from his leg slowed him down, just as I had intended. The smoldering rocks set him ablaze, burning his hair and face as he fell to the ground, writhing with burns all over his body.
Some things you cannot stop.
As the rain of fire continued, a feeling of dread came over me as I suddenly realized that the houses down the street were filled with my friends and family were going to be dead if I didn't get up and hurry. There was still time, I was fast and perhaps I could make it and get them out. There was still a chance, I knew it, there had to be a chance. Boulders continued to smash around me, the barely lit street now ablaze with fiery light as the buildings caught fire or were smashed apart.
"No…" I whispered in horror as I reached the end of the street and saw the devastation that the Varden had wrought. I fell to my knees as tears formed in my eyes, watching the homes that my family and friends had taken refuge in were either torn down or were being burned to ashes. The sound of people I knew screaming for their lives, children crying loudly as everything crumpled around them, burying them in the very same homes they were led to believe would keep them safe. There was nothing I could do to help any of them, nothing but lament as one by one, the fire and stone claimed everything that I had held near and dear to me. "No!" I cried in agony as my house crumbled to the ground, the entire neighbourhood engulfed in flames and there was nothing I could do to stop it, nothing I could do to save the ones I loved.
Nothing I could do anymore.
As I fell forward on my hands and knees, something else exploded to the side, the fire from the blast singing my hair and throwing me into the air, flinging me into something hard and strong, knocking the wind out of my chest. I slowly crumpled to the ground, beaten and lost as my sight darkened slowly. Even as the darkness drew closer and closer I could see, with every waking moment, more boulders falling from the sky and overlooking it all was the castle of Uru'baen, watching over the city that was being taken over by rebels, urgals and elves. But yet some hope remained for its people as long as that castle stood.
A moment later a huge explosion rocked the entire city, and what hope I had left was blown away with it as I beheld the castle exploding in a bright blaze while dragons roared from within as the earth tremoring blast took away all my will to fight. It was the last thing I saw or heard before the darkness took over and I knew no more.
I don't know how long I was unconscious, but it was several hours because when I came to, the fighting had stopped. Rubble and wood was piled everywhere, and I was stuck under quite a lot of it. I lay there for some more time, still quite unable to believe what had happened. My home was before me, utterly destroyed. There was no way anyone had survived that and for a long time after I just lay there, crying and mourning, grief taking over me, not letting me move, not letting me do anything except weep.
But eventually it was time, and a lot of struggle later I crawled my way out of the debris and looked around. In the distance, the buffeting of wings could be heard, drawing ever closer as I ran to my home, looking for a chance, searching for anything that could point to my sister and her children being alive, but there was nothing. The beating of wings had come ever closer when I finally roared in rage, standing in the ruined living room of my house, which was when I saw it, right there above me, the very reason for my torment.
There they were, the dragon and Rider that had brought about this whole revolution. The ones who fueled the hopes and aspirations of these rebels and had brought them to my home. Had they not existed I would have continued my own meager existence for years and years to come, without having to worry about having to fight in a war, losing loved ones and having nothing more to lose, which brought me back right to the very same place that I had been in before I had come to live with my sister.
"It is your fault, Rider . . ." I muttered to myself, knowing that the man flying high above me couldn't hear a word. "A day will come when I will make you regret the destruction that you have wrought upon me." I looked up to see the fated heroes flying away and I knew that this won't be the last time that I saw them.
Vengeance will be mine, Eragon.