The feather began to tickle his ear as he pulled the string back, arrow notched. He took a deep breath to steady himself before he let it fly. TWANG, the arrow whistled through the air embedding itself halfway through the target.
"That was an incredible shot, Argetlam."
He had heard the spectator approaching. Ever since the Blodhren Agaeti he was able to hear those who would attempt to sneak up on him, everyone except…NO he must not think of her. The pain of leaving still had not subsided after 15 years. He talked with her as frequently as the other leaders of Alagaesia but tried to avoid thinking more of her. You always think about those memories that are painful, little one. Think about those moments you too shared together in peace and happiness. "I know Saphira, I try but my mind always wanders to those that caused me the most grief." He could sense pity and sadness welling up inside of her. She missed her mate just as much as he missed Arya. He sighed and turned to his friend who had travelled all over the world with him looking for the new home of the riders.
"Blodhgarm, I was unaware that I was putting on a show for anyone. What may I do for you my old friend?"
"The riders are ready for their lesson and I know all too well that you let your mind wander after speaking to the Queen. I have come to help keep you out of darkness."
"Your company, as always, is much appreciated my friend. Shall we return to the castle then?"
With a slight nod from Blodhgarm, Eragon began to unstring his bow and place it back in its case. It had been a gift from the Queen that had arrived with the first rider. She had sung it for him from a yew tree. It was immensely powerful, only if one had the strength to draw it. It had been difficult for him to practice with the bow when it first arrived, but he had grown stronger in the time spent on the island.
As they excited the forest his eyes fell onto the awe inspiring sight of the home he had built for the riders. They had found the island one year after setting off from Alagaesia. It was built on a plateau that was surrounded by mountains, larger than the spine but smaller than the Beors, on three sides. The lower portions of the mountains were covered in dense forests were wild game ran aplenty and wild roots and mushrooms could be found with ease. The fourth side was open to the ocean which had a long walk way stretching from the harbor to the gates of the city. Three large watch towers where built on the mountains in which one could keep watch on each direct. The mountains were also gouged with caves, large enough for three dragons the size of Glaedr to walk abreast. There were also smaller caves so that the dragons would be able to nest in one their size. His eyes left the surrounding mountains and focused on the walls of the city. He all too well remembered the hardship they had building the surrounding wall and the keep. Even with the help of the Eldunari, it had taken two years to finish just the wall. The stone was taken from the numerous caves that had been created. He was sure to put a few secrets into the caves for the new riders and dragons to discover.
The wall was large but the castle dwarfed it by comparison. It had taken another three years to complete the castle but it was one of the accomplishments he was most proud of. There were banquet rooms large enough to fit a score of dragons and twice that number of riders at the same time. His chambers were not lavish but were more intricate than those of the lower level riders. This was his home. Here he could live his life to its end, but it felt empty without her.
The island was incredibly defensible. The mountains surrounding the city were cute to have vertical drops on the opposite side. The only way to get over the mountains and into the city from behind was by dragon. If that was not enough, there was also the spell he cast on the island and that an Eldunari maintained constantly. With the help of Umaroth, he had devised a spell that would alert the riders if any being with malice in its heart were to step onto the island. This spell did not require a lot of energy to maintain as it merely involved opening one's mind to all that entered and being able to sense their intentions.
A blue streak shot through the sky cutting off his thoughts. A smile started to creep along his face as Saphira circled to the ground. He was glad that she was there through all of his adventures.
The hatchlings are waiting for you in the training area.
"Thank you Saphira. Will you be watching us?"
I will little one. The hatchlings deserve their rest after the hard flight yesterday.
The three of them continued on to the training fields where he was met with five different versions of "Ebrithil". The first of the new riders to reach the island was an elf named Gwondir. He was a quick thinking elf that was skilled in the ways of the sword and magic. Rainil was the dragon who choose him. She was a deep shade of blue, deeper than Saphira. She had a quick wit but was calm and calculating and thought each action out before she made a move. The next to arrive were two dwarves named Ortak and Vrendan on their dragons Aglarel and Iaron. Ortak was a strong young man who wielded a double bladed ax in each hand, but was not as cunning or mischievous as Vrendan. She preferred to out think her opponent and slip past their guard with her short sword as opposed to besting them with brute strength. Ortak was chosen by Aglarel, a female dragon whose scales shown like the morning sun. She was a bright shade of yellow and wonderful to look upon, but not so much as Saphira he had to admit. Vrendan rode upon Iaron who has a deep shade of red. He was large and strong but had yet to grown into wisdom. The first Urgal to arrive was Gorogon he was a large kull and was linked with Coruon. They were a good pair Eragon had to admit Coruon was as cunning as a fox and Coruon had the might to care out his dragons plans with his massive claymore that he wielded with one hand. The last to arrive and dearest to his heart was Ismira. She was linked with a light green dragon named Menil. They were both rather shy when it came to the other riders but had their own qualities that made them unique, the most noticeably was that Ismira did not fight with a blade but with a bow.
"What will be the lesson today Firesword? Will you finally cross blades with us?"
"I will withhold our sparring for another time Gorogon. No, today you will face Blodhgarm, five on one."
Eragon's students face lit up. They had all faced Blodhgarm before individually an even though none of them had been able to touch him, they were fairly confident that they could take him as a team. Blodhgarm unsheathed two daggers and blocked the edges with magic as did the students, Ismira blocked the tips of her arrows. A snarl began its way across Blodhgarm's face as he readied himself, and in a blink of an eye Gwondir attacked.