Alright! My first non-one-shot story! This is mainly just a prologue to set up the story. I haven't really started writing out the story yet, I just wanted to put it up to see if people are interested enough to read it.
Summary: Many years after King Galbatorix's defeat, the search for the next Dragon Rider has so far come up empty. A confusing message from Blagden gives them the idea to send it into another dimension and where better than the world of the Dragon Reborn?
Warnings: Uh…it says damn in it?
Disclaimer: I don't own Inherence Cycle or the Wheel of Time. They belong to the brilliant minds of Christopher Paolini and Robert Jordan respectively.
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In the elven city of Ellesmera, an important meeting was underway. All of the most prominent figures in the elven city were present; of course this included the famous Dragon Rider, Eragon Shadeslayer, who was currently bored nearly out of his mind.
It wasn't so much the meeting itself that was boring him, on the contrary anyone else would have thought it quite fascinating; it was the fact that they had been meeting in this room nearly everyday for the past few weeks. The topic had yet to change after all this time and the people around him refused to admit they were just trying to bring up comments that would somehow stall their inedible decision.
Eragon let his mind wander to the reason this never-ending meeting started in the first place.
*Flashback*
Eragon and Arya sat in a small room with very little furnishings in it. There was nothing, but the two chairs they sat in, the small circular table in front of them, and a pedestal, on top of which sat a velvet cushion with what looked like a large oval stone. As you may have guessed this wasn't an ordinary stone, or a stone at all. It was a dragon egg. The single remaining egg that was taken back from King Galbatorix after his downfall, and perhaps the last egg in existence.
It had been many years since the evil king's defeat. Exactly how long Eragon didn't like to think about. It meant he was getting old, which wasn't something that appealed to him very much. Even though it had been many years, and many elves and humans had tried to get a response from the egg, it had yet to hatch. People were starting to wonder just when, or even if, it was.
Eragon was just about to suggest going to get something to eat when Blagden, the white raven enchanted by Arya's father after saving his life, swooped in through one of the small windows near the top of the room and landed on the edge of the pedestal. He eyed the egg for a moment, then, turning to the other occupants of the room, uttered a hoarse cough before he croaked out:
"One stone left,
From the evil king's theft.
There you sit; thinking, thinking,
All the while your stomach sinking.
Pondering that question in your head,
While your chest; it fills with dread.
'Who is destined? Who is right?
To be a hero in his own plight?'
Who will it be?
Who will it be?
We shall see.
We shall see.
Fruitless shall your struggles be.
In another pattern lies the key."
He stood there just a moment longer, then took off back out the window.
Eragon and Arya shared a questioning glance before quickly leaving to share this new discovery with the others.
*End Flashback*
Eragon made a silent pledge to himself that one day he would take that damn bird and stuff it with its own confusing riddles. They never did anything, but cause him trouble and give him headaches.
He sighed as he continued his study outside the window, enjoying the comfortable breeze that blew through.
It was the spring season. Plants were in new bloom, the various birds chirping merrily in the vast trees, and the elves of the city going about their daily routines.
That reminded him that Dagshelgr was to be soon. He would have to find someplace to go at that time. He had learned to tolerate the elven songs, but they still made his mind fuzzy and decidedly uncomfortable. Maybe Saphira could take him on a short trip…
"Are you certain that this is the best opinion, Eragon? …Eragon!"
He was startled from his wondering by Arya's voice. Realizing he had missed what was being talked about, he asked her to repeat it.
"Honestly Eragon, you need to be paying attention! This decision could decide the fate of the dragons. I asked you if sending the egg into…how did you put it? Another dimension? Yes. If sending the last dragon egg into another dimension, and hoping that by some stroke of luck the person destined to be the next Dragon Rider finds it, and us more than likely never to return it back here, is the best option."
Eragon internally sighed. They had been over this before; many times in fact, "Yes, I do believe it to be our best option. We have been trying to find the next Dragon Rider here in Alagaesia for over a hundred years. According to Blagden's message our struggles will be fruitless, which they have been, and the key lies in another pattern. By pattern I think he means another time line or dimension."
"If we were to send it," another of the present elves spoke up, " and if this theory turned out wrong, then we will not be able to get it back. It shall be the end of the dragons."
"I never said it would be impossible to bring it back." Eragon countered, "I said it would take even more effort to bring it back then to send it."
"But there is nothing to say the dragon will be able to survive there. The egg could be destroyed on the way, or by something that decides to attack it when it arrives." This particular elf was especially against sending the egg and had been arguing against it from the beginning.
"You know as well as I that it is physically impossible for anything short of another dragon or magic to destroy an egg and I doubt anyone would find a stone threat enough to try to destroy it with magic."(1)
"Even if the egg did hatch we would have no way of knowing. What if we tried to bring it back and brought a fully grown dragon instead, parting it from its Rider? Which brings up the point of how the Rider is to be trained when the only other live Rider is in a separate dimension?" The elf looked annoyingly confidant that Eragon wouldn't be able to think of an answer to his latest complaint.
'Brings up the point? This point was brought up two weeks ago and I gave a perfectly good answer then!!' Eragon thought, starting to get frustrated. "I shall know exactly when the egg hatches, just as Brom and Oromis were able to know exactly when Saphira hatched for me. As for training the new Rider I have found a way that will send me to the same dimension in order for me to instruct him in that training."
The elf looked rather put out.
Arya stood and spoke to the group, "Now that Eragon has made his points does anyone else disagree in the sending?" Pausing a moment and hearing no objections she continued, "Alright. Let's begin planning for the sending of the egg."
'Finally!' was Eragon's relieved thought.
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Deep in the thick forest of Du Weldenvarden, a small gathering of elves and one Dragon Rider stood in a clearing around a stone pillar. The pillar was pure white with multiple carvings all around the sides, which, though faded with age, were still legible.(2)
Multiple experiments had been done on this stone pillar when the elves first came to the forest. Through them it was found out that the carvings reacted to their magic, and if you were to focus on a certain symbol your mind would then travel to another world. It would only last a moment because it used up too much magic. It was guessed that if enough magic were put into it not only your mind, but also your physical body would be able to travel to another world. However it was never tested because nobody wanted to take the chances of it being wrong.
This is what Eragon and the elves had come up with in order to send the egg to another dimension. Not knowing which symbol might be the right one, it had been decided that they would allow Eragon to pick a symbol, leave the egg in that dimension for one year, then bring it back if it hadn't hatched and try a different one.
For Eragon's part, he was just relieved to be finally sending the egg away. 'I get the elves are pretty much immortal, but do they have to have four-week-long meetings for every decisions they make?' Indeed, after they decided to send the egg it had taken almost four and a half weeks to have everyone agree on how and where to send it. Then, the preparations had to be made and a group chosen to take part in the sending.
At a signal from Arya everyone gathered close together in a circle surrounding the stone pillar with Eragon holding the egg. As each person allowed their magic to flow within them and then into Eragon, he placed a hand on a circle with a sinuous line running through the middle and one half carved out so a shadow made it seem darker than the other half.(3)
Focusing on the symbol, he let the magic flow into it and surround the egg. Realizing the magic of the group wouldn't be enough without someone dying, he took energy from the surrounding forest. The egg and symbol seemed to pulse together for a few moments. Then, with a blinding flash of light and a loud crack the egg disappeared.
The group fell to their knees, panting hard, form the sudden loss of energy.
They stayed like that for a while contemplating what they just did, before standing and making their way back to Ellesmera, hoping against hope that they did the right thing.
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In the lands of the Dragon Reborn, a young man with reddish hair and blue eyes woke from his light slumber with a start.
There had been a loud crack and a blinding flash of light that could been seen through the slit in the entrance to his tent. Going outside he saw a glow from a small fire and smoke rising out of the small thicket near where he and his companions were staying. Getting a few of them together he went over to see what had caused it.
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TBC…(1) I'm not quite sure about this, but from what I've read I believe its true. Nothing Eragon did broke Saphira's shell, but in Eldest Saphira shows Eragon a cave with many bits of broken shell in it and calls it the Stone of Broken Eggs and tells how the elves shattered them with magic.
(2) If you think about it, it makes since for a pillar to be there, too. They are supposed to connect all versions of the pattern and the world of Dragon Riders could have been a possibility of the pattern.
(3) Yes, the symbol of Aes Sedai. How convenient.
Wow. I can't believe I wrote this up so fast and that its as long as it is!
I more than likely won't be having regular updates, but when I write something out I'll put it up.
Can anyone guess who is going to be the next Dragon Rider? A main character? A random aiel? Or maybe just some red-haired guy from a small village in the middle of nowhere? Who knows? I do!! Duh.
Anyway, I'm going to put up a poll for the color and name of the dragon. If no one votes I'm going to make it hot pink and name it Sprinkles. Seriously.
Ok. Please review! Since its my first story please don't be too harsh, but constructive criticism and praise, if you think its good enough, is greatly appreciated!
PS. Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey and more than one slice of pie, then laze around and watch football!