Hazelcloud: Hey everybody! Yes, I know that I have a ton of fan-fictions started…but I'm writing this one with my sister, and I think it's one of our best ideas yet!
Dark Magic
The castle at Uru'baen loomed like a dark nightmare over the surrounding area. It could cause even the hardest battle-scarred warrior to shudder. It casts a shadow over the city when the sun shines bright. The warming rays of the sun never seem to affect the black stone exterior; instead of softening the castle they cause it to seem even sharper. It stands there as if challenging those who hope to face its mighty wrath.
Still, it wasn't so much the castle that frightened people but rather the man that lived inside. With a reputation blacker than the sky at night even the dark king's name could cause men to shudder, women to flinch, and send small children crying to their parents. Cold, cruel, and ruthless, the king waged a relentless war on the Varden, elves, and any others that dared to resist.
A word from him could have you killed. Not only that but your family, neighbors, and even the most distant of your relatives would soon join you in the grave. Your home would be burned to the ground, your animals slaughtered, and your fields sowed with salt.
That is if you were lucky. Some traitors were burned at the stake, others, still living, were entombed where no one would ever find them. The dungeons at Uru'baen were filled with hopeless prisoners, prisoners who by now thought death would be a gift. Torture was the king's specialty. Torture to him was what knitting would be to a grandmother. Relaxing, and wonderful way to relieve stress.
Murtagh was long since past being one of those prisoners. He was the king's new right hand man, albeit an unwilling one. Stoically, he bore all of the pain he was put through constantly looking for a way out of his troubles. The king often summoned him, sometimes to brag about the empire, other times in fits of rage that he would take out on Murtagh.
The king currently sat on the throne impatiently drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. Contrary to popular belief, the king was not ghastly looking. He was not bald, and he did not have blood red eyes or pointed teeth. His eyes were a deep brown color, and his teeth looked as good as anyone else's in those times. If he had been standing, one would have noticed that he was about six feet tall, not a giant but no where near being called short. He wore a red and black vest with jewels shone into it. On his head rested a small gold crown, and the top of his head had a coating of graying hair; it was the only sign of his age.
A knock resounded through the throne room, and the king called out in a practiced orator's voice.
"Come in, Murtagh," The doors swung open, and in stepped Murtagh. Murtagh hurried to bow, wondering why the king had summoned him.
"You summoned me, Galbatorix?" He said questioningly. He fervently hoped that it had somehow been a mistake.
"Of course!" Galbatorix managed to sound shocked. "I have come up with a brilliant idea!" Murtagh risked glancing up, and saw that Galbatorix looked slightly excited, his eyes were shining brightly.
"Idea, my lord?" He said. He tried to blend the right amount of curiosity, and humble-ness but failed. To his utter relief Galbatorix did not seem to notice.
"How many creatures do you need to restart a species, Murtagh?" Galbatorix asked. Murtagh frowned at the floor confused by the king's sudden change in interest.
"My lord?" He mumbled lamely.
"Stand up!" Galbatorix snapped, and Murtagh hurried to follow his commands. Galbatorix rose out of his chair, and began to pace across the throne room heading for the door. Murtagh followed quickly behind him. "Now, let's start over again. How many creatures do you need to resurrect a species?"
"Two," Murtagh answered quickly. Galbatorix smiled contentedly, and nodded.
"Yes, a male and a female. Now, Murtagh, how many dragons do we have?" Galbatorix's tone was calm and patient, the voice that parents use when addressing a small child.
"Two males," Murtagh said, thinking of Thorn, and Shruiken. Galbatorix shook his head, and Murtagh flinched but the king did not yet lash out.
"Three, two males and one female. More than enough to resurrect the dragon rider's. Murtagh, what gender is the green egg?" The king asked. They were proceeding quickly through the castle. The stone hallways of the castle all looked identical, and more than one servant had gotten lost during their first week of work.
"Male," Murtagh said. He still had no idea where this thread of conversation was going.
"Exactly…male. We really don't need another male dragon," Galbatorix paused waiting for objections. Murtagh did not disappoint.
"We do need more dragons because they would make it easier to defeat the Varden,"
"No, we could defeat the Varden now, with the help of the eldunari. We do not need it but if we could get more from the egg then we would not complain," Galbatorix said. Murtagh frowning, mulling it over in his head. It was like a puzzle, but none of the pieces seemed to fit together.
"So…you want to destroy the egg?" He said finally. Galbatorix chuckled, but pretended to look horrified.
"Of course not. I want to try to split the egg," The king said triumphantly. He had finally unveiled his idea, and Murtagh was stunned.
"Split the egg?" He gasped.
"Yes, if it works right then we will have two dragon eggs. If not then we lost nothing," Galbatorix said shrugging indifferently.
"That would require a huge amount of energy. I don't think that I could do it," Murtagh said. Galbatorix gave him a look that suggested that he was daft.
"Are you forgetting the eldunari? We have the energy needed. I will perform the spell, I would not want you to mess it up," The king said. Murtagh started to protest but Galbatorix cut him off. "All I need from you is energy,"
"When are you going to do that?" Murtagh asked. He looked up, and his mouth became dry. The wall in front of them was moving. The king had swiftly touched a procession of stones of the wall in order to unlock a room that Murtagh had never seen before. He followed the king inside and looked around.
It was small, and lavishly decorated. The room was a circular shape, and had a high vaulted ceiling. Marble columns appeared to be part of the walls of the room, spaced out in even intervals. Mosaics of Galbatorix's battles against the riders glittered covering the walls. The ceiling was made of a white stone that reflected the light from the candles that sat on the floor along the walls. The floor was a deep black stone much like the exterior of the castle.
In the very center of the room, there was a black marble pedestal. On the top of the pedestal wrapped partially in red velvet lay the last dragon egg. It was a stunning green color. The color was closest to the pine needles on a pine tree.
Galbatorix walked swiftly to the egg, and picked it up discarding the velvet covering. He linked minds with Murtagh, Shruiken, and Thorn.
Now, I command you to give me your strength, and the strength of the eldunari that you possess. Galbatorix's mind commanded Thorn, and Murtagh. They had no choice but to obey.
Galbatorix smiled as energy began to flow into him. He held the dragon egg in one hand and spread his arms apart. Closing his eyes to help his concentration, he summoned his dark magic, relishing its slimy powerful feel. Then he spoke the words of the spell.
Jierda! Malthinae unin twegen.
Energy rushed out of him at an alarmingly fast rate. Luckily with so many eldunari, Shruiken, Thorn, and Murtagh; he had more than enough energy to complete the spell. After a few minutes, the drain of energy stopped. Opening his eyes, he saw that the spell had been a success. Both of his hands contained a dragon egg. The two eggs were smaller than a normal dragon egg, about half the size.
The egg in his right hand was a pale sea green, as though the dragon was a mere shadow of the original. The egg in his right hand was slightly less dark as though the dragon had slightly faded upon being split.
Galbatorix smiled, and turned to face Murtagh, who was staring at the eggs in amazement.
"Now for some riders!" The king said cheerfully.
Hazelcloud: I hope you like it. We would love feedback in the form of reviews.
Nobody: The spell is Break! Bind into two. Doesn't that rock or what?!!!
Hazelcloud: Oh, and 'Nobody' would be my sister...