Eragon Story
A young girl no older than the age of nine gasped as she was flung out of her home. "And don't come back here!" yelled an older man with slightly graying hair before spitting next to the child's foot and slamming the door.
The child stumbled to her feet as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Her long dark blue hair hung in wispy strands around her face and her light purple eyes glittered with unshed tears.
She sniffled as she walked down the street, unnoticed by all until she came into the town square of Knuckle on the island of Illium. The girl jumped when she felt a hand on her head and a gentle voice above her "Are you okay, Adira?"
The said girl, Adira smiled when she saw who was talking to her. It was Gaillard. He was the blacksmith and storyteller of Knuckle and had always loved to tell story's of dragons and their riders. It was what attracted young Adira to him in the first place. Also he was Adira's only true friend in all of Knuckle other than the animals that roamed around.
"Daddy just got drunk again and threw me out but I'll be fine. Don't worry about me!" Adira tried to be cheerful but the storyteller knew her too well. "Adira you can spend the night at my home until you're…ready to go back."
The girl smiled toothily at Gaillard which he happily returned before the two headed off toward his house.
Gaillard pushed open the wooden door as she skipped in and plopped herself down on the low couch that was pushed against the wall. Gaillard walked over to the fireplace and filled two bowls with a chicken soup and sat next to Adira who settled on his lap as soon as he sat down.
"Can you tell me the story about the Dragon Riders again? Oh pretty please, Gaillard?" begged little Adira, giving him her puppy dog eyes. He immediately broke as he looked at her innocent face. "It all started when-" suddenly heavy knocking was heard from the door and an urgent voice sounded from the other side. "Gaillard hurry! There are the King's soldiers arriving in ships at the harbor and they will be on us in an hour at most!"
Gaillard's eyes widened as he placed Adira on the ground before marching over to the door and yanking it open. "Tell everyone to meet in the square this instant so we can figure out what we are going to do. Now!" The man nodded before tearing off down the street telling all he met to go to the square.
Gaillard closed the door and quickly ran around his house, throwing things around as if looking for something. He quickly put wrapped a few pounds of dried meat, a loaf of bread and a few apples into a knapsack along with a small hunting dagger before giving it all to Adira.
He began talking in quick, rushed tones. "Adira I want you to stay silent and flee into the forest to the north. Let no one see you. This should hold you over for a good two months. Don't come back here unless I come to get you." He placed a fatherly kiss onto the crown of her head as he whispered "You are like the daughter I've never had. I love you, my strong little girl."
Adira had tears running down her cheeks now. "And you're the daddy I've never had and I don't want to lose you! Come with me!"
Gaillard just shook his head with tears in the corner of his eyes knowing this would be the last time he would see his little girl. "You and I both know I can't."
Adira clung onto his leg as she said "I love you, daddy!" Gaillard let her hold on a few moments longer before her nudged her away gently. "Be safe, my darling daughter. Take this." Adira felt something cool pressed into her palms as Gaillard looked down at her. "It's my favorite sword. I want you to take care of it for me. I've already taught you how to use it but I want you to be able to protect yourself and your loved ones." With that, he left.
Adira clutched the sword in her hands before she slipped out of the back door and sprinted into the darkness and headed into the forest, with a feeling of sadness because she too knew that would be the last she saw of her father.
Adira never stopped running even when she felt her legs go numb and her lungs felt they would burst she still pushed on. Finally she stopped. She looked around and noticed she was standing on a small cliff like structure that allowed her to see both the harbor and the village.
Tears burned her eyes when she saw houses on fire and hear the faint screams of mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers dying. She couldn't stand it; not knowing if in that second Gaillard had took his last breath of had already died or where he was.
Adira turned away from the horrific sight as she kept running; hoping to flee the images of blood and slaughter that seemed to cling to her like a shadow.
Out of nowhere, Adira tripped on something smooth and hard. She tucked herself into a roll and landed in a pile next to a tree. Adira brushed herself off cursing whatever had tripped her when a strange color appeared in the mass of leaves and grass and dirt.
She quickly fell to her knees in front of the rounded, oval shaped stone and placed it in her lap brushing off stray grass and twigs. The color of the rock, no gem; it was too pretty to be a simple rock was a bright, almost reflective blood red with blackish looking veins running across it.
Adira felt it pulse in her hands and she nearly dropped it but quickly clutched it to her chest. The gemstone seemed to give off a feeling of restlessness. Adira did the only thing that she could think of doing at a time like this. She sang. Her voice floated across the clearing in beautiful, cheerful tones as she thought of her time with her loving father, Gaillard.
The gem now seemed to relax as Adira sang and after a few minutes it stopped pulsing allowing her to stop her song. She quickly looked for a place to sleep for the night out of harm's way so she herself could get some rest.
Her answer appeared in the form of a tree whose roots were above ground and grew close together so only small creatures and such were able to fit through.
After settling herself under the tree's roots she placed the gem in her arms and nestled her head on it knowing it would be safe there. Adira kissed the red stone before slipping off into sleep feeling safe.
Adira felt a shake from beneath her head startling her from her dreams. She quickly jumped back and was surprised when the ruby, red gem violently started to shake. Suddenly a red muzzle burst through the shell of it. Then in one amazing second the whole gem burst apart in a shower of red and a burst of fire erupted from the center and there was…a dragon.
Adira stood transfixed at the small red dragon that was in front of her. It was as big as a small dog. It was ruby red with small black spines on its back and small black horns on its head. Its eyes turned toward Adira and she blinked back into its golden eyes.
The baby dragon started walking toward her but stumbled and fell clumsily. Adira giggled shyly at the dragon as it looked at her innocently causing her to bend over and cradle it in her arms. The dragon snuggled her neck, gave it a little lick and pulled out of her arms and started to float there in front of her.
She smiled at the dragon as it flew in small circles around her but it suddenly fell toward the ground. Adira gasped before she caught it in her arms. "Are you okay?! You're probably tired. You shouldn't overexert yourself." The dragon blinked back at her when a slightly masculine voice entered her head."I'm sorry for worrying you, Adira." Adira looked around, clutching the dragon close to herself she demanded. "Who's there?" "I'm right here in your arms."
She looked at the dragon now. "Wow. I didn't know you could talk!" The dragon seemed to smile at her. Adira felt her stomach growl along with the baby dragon's so she plopped down on the ground, grabbed her bag and pulled out some meat for both of them. The dragon quickly fell upon the meat and Adira took savage bites because she hadn't eaten in a while since she hadn't eaten Gaillard's chicken soup and her father had decided to punish her by not feeding her for the past three days.
A sudden growl pulled her out of her revere. "Who is this man who treated you so harshly? He didn't feed you and he beat you! Who is he?!" demanded the dragon mentally with an angry tone of voice.
"My father…"whispered Adira sadly. The dragon's temper only seemed to rise. "I never met my parents but I know they are not supposed to treat their children like this." Adira looked away as she said "He was never a father to me but Gaillard was and now…he might...he might be...Dead. The only person who…cared about me might be dead!"
The dragon's anger fell when he felt Adira's pain but it didn't disappear. He sat in Adira's lap and snuggled close to her as he sent feelings of happiness through their link. "I care for you Adira. Remember that. Now get some sleep."
Adira nodded at the dragon but she quickly asked "What is your name?" The dragon looked at her. "It is your choice since you are my rider." Adira looked surprised. "Me? I'm a Dragon Rider!" She smiled at the dragon. "What about the name…Arius or Anubis?" The dragon shook his head. "Emrys?" The dragon shook his head again."Okay how about Lorcan? It means little fierce one!"
The dragon nodded its head. "Will it not be ironic when I become my natural size?" questioned the dragon to Adira. Adira just smiled at Lorcan before falling asleep with Lorcan tucked in her arms.
Two weeks later, Adira stood on the cliff as she looked down at her old village sadly. Her father, Gaillard still hadn't come to get her and she didn't know what happened in the village. The ships had left a day before but Gaillard never came.
A large red muzzle caressed the side of Adira's face lovingly. "Are you okay, Adira?" growled a deep, masculine voice of Lorcan. He had grown exponentially over the last two weeks as he now towered over Adira at nearly twelve feet tall and a good eight feet wide.
Adira herself had grown out her hair so it now reached her mid-back and she was now four and half feet tall. "I'm worried about Gaillard. I know I need to stop but I can't…I'm sorry Lorcan." Lorcan replied in his deep voice again "Do not be sorry, love. You have a right to be worried. Do you want to go check out the village? I will stay close if you need me." Adira nodded her head as she snuggled into Lorcan's long neck before pulling away.
Adira picked up her knapsack and with Lorcan promising to stay close she headed toward her village.
A gasp escaped her lips when she saw the state of the village. Houses were burnt down to the ground, bodies were scattered around and blood was pooled all over.
Adira searched the bodies, gave them all respectful prayers and moved on to continue searching through the bloody town. She jumped when a bang was heard nearby and hid behind a pile of burnt wood.
A strange hooded figure appeared in Adira's line of sight and emitted a hideous hissing noise. Out of nowhere, another appeared by it and shook its ugly dark head as it looked around. Adira held her breath as she looked at the two monsters.
Suddenly one of them disappeared. Adira nearly cried out when she realized she didn't know where it was. Then a human cry sounded as the dark shape reappeared and threw the bloody human to the ground.
Adira nearly gasped at the look of the human male. He was torn and bloody; his face cut up so much he was nearly unrecognizable and much to her shock, he was missing an arm and both his legs, which were gruesome stubs.
Tears burned her eyes when she realized who it was. It was Gaillard. Her father figure ever since she could walk; The man who loved her when no one else did, the man who called her beautiful when others said different and the man who kissed her as a true father would.
Gaillard coughed out blood as he raised his mutilated face to his attackers. "I will tell you nothing!" The taller of the dark figures hissed out "You will tell ussss where the girl isss and the egg. Otherwisssse we ssssshall torture you until you are begging for death." Gaillard smiled spitefully with a mouthful of blood as he said "Go to hell!" The dark figure slapped him hard leaving bloody gorges in Gaillard's face which Adira winced violently at. "I'm telling you anything so you might as well kill me." growled out Gaillard in pain. The short dark figure hissed at his taller companion and after what seemed a brief series of hisses they stopped. The short figure looked at the man on the ground. "You are lucky human that we Ra' zac are so forgiving." Without another word the Ra' zac slit Gaillard's throat.
Adira let out a cry of fear, anger and pain causing the Ra' zac to turn toward her quickly but Adira was already sprinting towards them with her sword out. Adira swung her sword at the closest Ra' zac who was taken by surprise by the human girl and was cut deeply across the chest and it fell back in pain.
Adira quickly turned on the other Ra' zac that had come to its senses and tried to kill the girl with her back turned. She blocked the attack and stabbed it in the stomach. Disgusting bugs dripped from its cloak like dark blood but Adira was back on the next Ra' zac who had gotten up. As she went in to stab the beast the other took a cheap jab at her and managed to cut her across the side. 'LORCAN! Hurry I need you!' screamed Adira mentally.
In less than three seconds, Loran burst out of the trees in a burst of black flames. He quickly fell upon the unsuspecting Ra' zac and tore one of them apart in his claws while he set it on fire with cruel black flames. Adira took her chance as she sliced the other Ra' zac across the throat like it had done to her father and before it even hit the ground she sliced its head clean off.
Adira stumbled over to the body of her father as Lorcan set the beast she had killed aflame. Adira felt as if a dam had broken within her as her tears streamed down her face as she looked upon her late father's dead body.
Lorcan stayed back for a good few minutes but when Adira's sobs had not subsided he walked over to her silently and nuzzled her lovingly. "It's okay, love. I'm here for you. I will always be here for you." Adira flung herself onto Lorcan as she let out great heartbreaking sobs. "I just watched him die, Lorcan! I didn't save him! I should have helped him!" Lorcan felt her guilt and her pain but he quickly silenced her. "No, hatchling, you would have been killed if you had tried to save him earlier. We were lucky enough to kill the monsters before they hurt you even more but we would have died if we tried to attack earlier. Your father wouldn't want you to blame yourself for this. So don't. It hurts me, love, to see you like this."
Adira had calmed during Lorcan's explanation. "I'm sorry for all of this Lorcan." "Think nothing of it, love." Adira nodded her head as she pulled away from Lorcan but she left her hand on his strong, sturdy side. "We should bury them…" Adira said gently to the strong red dragon beside her. "We should worry about your wound first." Adira nodded but when they went to look at her wound they realized it was gone. "What happened?" asked Adira in shock. "Maybe because you are a Dragon Rider you heal as fast as we dragons do." Adira smiled at Lorcan brightly as she said "My father wouldn't want me sad, would he Lorcan?" Lorcan shook his head. Then they got to digging.
Adira wiped her forehead from the sweat as she put the pile of dirt on the last grave. Lorcan was sitting in the glade that they had selected to bury the dead. He brought the bodies and helped dig the grave and then Adira filled it up while he went to get another body. That was how they worked for the better part of the afternoon.
"We need a bath!" stated Adira when she smelled the sweat that covered her and Lorcan. Said dragon merely snatched the back of Adira's shirt and flew off towards where only he knew.
"AHHHH!" screamed Adira when she felt Lorcan take an immediate swoop into a huge lake. She took a deep breath of air right before she and Lorcan were splashed into the water. Lorcan immediately resurfaced with a soaking wet, annoyed Adira on his back. Adira smacked Lorcan on his crimson hide as she said "I'm going to get you back for that Lorcan!" The dragon just snorted, a puff of black smoke emitting from his nostrils, as he replied "I'd like to see you try, Little One." The young girl just huffed and swatted her hair out of her face. Lorcan swam for a little while before swimming to the lake's edge, letting Adira get off.
"I'm going to catch some dinner. I shall be back soon, hatchling." Adira waited until Lorcan dove back down into the lake before she set out to build a small fire to cook the fish. An hour later a dripping Lorcan emerged from the lake with…nothing.
Adira sat, warming, by the makeshift fire she had started and turned to watch as Lorcan appeared. "Where is the fish, Lorcan?" Lorcan showed a row full of sharp teeth as he smiled, full of pride and lifted his tail. Speared there were massive sized fish about eight in total.
"Wow! Good job, Lorcan!" Adira rubbed his shoulder in praise then grabbed the smallest fish from his tail to cook for herself. "You can eat the others Lorcan, I only need this one. I'm not used to eating a lot of food."
An image of her father flashed in her mind. He had always limited her supply of food, giving her just enough to get by but never enough to be content and full. Lorcan's growl broke into her flashback making her look up at her protector. "That man…he does not deserve to be called a father! If he was here I would tear him limb from li-." His rant was cut short as Adira broke in. "Lorcan! Don't! I'm okay now. Don't worry about it!" Lorcan snaked his head around Adira's body as he pulled her into his warm chest. "Hatchling, you deserved so much better. I wish you never had to go through that. If I could take it away I would."
Adira softly pulled Lorcan's head so his golden eyes met hers. "Lorcan, my past doesn't matter to me. It's the present that is important. I have you here with me and that's all I need. We will always be together, no matter what. That I promise, my big loving protector." With that said, Adira hugged Lorcan around his scaly neck.
After a few long moments, Adira pulled away. Lorcan licked Adira with his rough tongue lovingly and Adira giggled joyously, her laughter ringing through the clearing.
After they ate to their fill, Adira eating almost all of her fish and Lorcan eating the remaining seven, they settled down in a sheltered area near the lake. Thick, tall trees surrounded them providing good cover from both the air and ground.
Adira nestled closer to Lorcan who licked her once more before the two fell into a peaceful slumber, dreaming about their future.