The Uru'baen Days

Disclaimer – Paolini owns inheritance, this story is filling in the gaps from a different perspective

This is a new way of writing for me so any feedback is welcome

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Chapter 1 – Welcome Home

It had been weeks maybe months. There was no way of telling what time is was or how much time had passed. Every day, he laid there believing; he is coming, he is coming. It had been weeks, he hadn't come. He is coming, he is coming. Everything I have done for him; he must be coming. The number of times I have saved his live; he must be coming, he owes me that much. We were friends; he must be coming. We are brothers; he must be coming. Why hasn't he come, why? The only time anything happened was when a small silent man came in to feed him and give him water. Then silence. This for weeks was driving him insane. His mind was no longer the safe haven he always thought it was. Did anyone notice him missing? Did anyone even care; brother would even though he doesn't know we are brothers. He would still care. The silence and nothingness was unbearable but what was to come was defiantly worse.

One day while he was contemplating life (yes, it was getting that bad!) and man with a tall confident air walked in through the door escorted by two guards. "Hello Murtagh," the man said politely. Murtagh grunted in response. "That's not very polite, say hello," Murtagh turned his head away. With lightning fast reactions, the man pulled his head back around and whispered to him, "If you want your life to be any better and you to be in less pain, you will do what I say!" he growled.

"Hello bastard, how are you?" Murtagh laughed. The man punched him hard in the face.

"And you will not talk to me like that either," he growled again. Murtagh did nothing in response. He felt his cheek begin to swell up. "Now I have been sent to get your allegiance to Galbatorix, will you swear now and make my job easy or suffer intense torture and pain?" the man asked.

"Umm let me think about it," Murtagh said pulling a sarcastic thinking expression "I'll go with option two," he laughed. The tall man pulled out a poker with the outline of a dragon in flight on the end. He murmured and the end with the dragon on glowed red hot. Murtagh guessed what was coming and tensed his muscles and gritted his teeth. "Now you will be forever marked as his slave whether you like it or not," the man laughed and pushed the poker on to Murtagh's arm. The pain soared through Murtagh's body. It felt like his blood was on fire. He tried not to yell out but the pain was too intense for him to keep it in. He yelled and the man laughed. That manic laugh was the last thing he heard before it all went black.

He woke up and his cell was empty again. He looked over at his arm and the brand clearly showed. The dragon looked majestic but the way it showed on his skin made it look twisted and evil. That would be there forever, a constant reminder of his parentage and his father's crimes. All the memories he tried to forget flared back into life. He remembered the day he got his back wound as vividly as the day it happened. It replayed in his mind despite Murtagh's best efforts to stop it. Murtagh was watching a bystander, unable to stop what was coming next. He saw his younger sister, Madeline running out of the bushes closely followed by his younger self. Selena and Morzan walked out of the castle doors into the garden. Murtagh's younger self carried on chasing his little sister. "Murtagh! Come here!" Morzan shouted he began to slow down to turn around when Madeline slipped and fell on the floor. She began crying and Murtagh turned to help her up. "Murtagh! Come now," Morzan shouted louder. He had just helped Madeline to her feet and was bending down to check her knee. He heard Selena scream but couldn't turn around before Zar'roc slashed him down the back. The older Murtagh screamed as the blade was flying through the air but obviously no one heard him. His younger self fell to the floor and blood soaked through his shirt. Murtagh screwed his eyes shut as Selena ran towards her wounded son. The sounds and smells died down and when he opened his eyes, he was back in his cell. For once he was glad to be there.

The next day, the tall man returned to his cell. "Hello again, Murtagh" the man smiled. "Today, I am going to give you a present. Pass me the band," he ordered holding out his hand to one of the guards.

"Yes Lord Alexus," the guard responded passing him a gold metal band. He checked the inscriptions on the band briefly before showing it to Murtagh.

"This is for you," Alexus laughed, "This will stop any magic because the boss doesn't believe you have no magic. Also it means you cannot say anything about this place or anything that goes on here if you escape, which in itself is very unlikely" He slide the band onto Murtagh's wrist and it tightened around his wrist sending a burning sensation up his arm. Once the burning had ended he looked at his wrist. The band was tight around his wrist and the symbols from it had spread wider than the band. He tried to talk to Alexus but no sound came out. Alexus laughed again. "Did I forget to mention, it makes you mute as well, unless either Galbatorix or I tell you to speak," he laughed again and left the room. Murtagh laid there contemplating how his live had got to this. Just as he was beginning to enjoy his life, when he was with Eragon, even being held captive by the Varden was better than this. He just lay on the cold hard slab and waited for something to happen.

Later on that day, Alexus returned and stood near Murtagh. "Will you swear the oath?" Alexus asked again. Murtagh shook his head. "Well then you are coming with me," Alexus sighed. The two guards untied the chains from the table and pulled Murtagh off the table. They tied him up in a strait jacket as Alexus maintained a spell so Murtagh couldn't move once they had tied him up the two guards grabbed onto the chains at the back of the straightjacket and the loose chained on his feet and nudged him forwards. Alexus released the spell and they all walked out of the room. It was a long walk to what Murtagh remembered as being the throne room. Alexus knocked on the door and entered. Galbatorix was sat back on the throne but sat up when Alexus and Murtagh entered. "Hello Murtagh, welcome home," Galbatorix said glaring at Murtagh. The two guards tied the chains on his feet to the wall and attached the chains on his strait jacket to rings on the wall. "Will you follow me like your father did," Galbatorix asked. Murtagh just stood there, hand held up high. He refused to look weak in front of Galbatorix. "You may speak," Galbatorix said calmly. Murtagh hurled a torrent of abuse at him. He clicked his fingers and Murtagh's voice stopped. He sighed. "Why do you hate me?" Galbatorix asked. Murtagh shrugged and glared back at him. "I don't want to torture you, Murtagh. I still think of you as my son, after Morzan was murdered I took you in as my own. This is how you repay me, conspiring with my enemies. Why?" Galbatorix asked. Murtagh shook his head and spat at the floor in front of the throne. "That's it!" Galbatorix sighed "I tried my best to give you the chance to come join me without any pain but if that is how you treat my offer then I will leave you in the hands of Lord Alexus.2 He stood up and left the throne room.

"I am going to enjoy this," Alexus laughed.