Disclaimer : I own nothing but this fanfic.
P.S: The drawing on the cover of this book is not mine so no credit for me. I saw it on deviantart.
A/N: Posted this here thinking it would get a lot more attention.
Chapter 1 - The Other Lands
Two weeks.
It had been two weeks of endless blue sea. Their ears hearing nothing but roaring waves, hissing wind, and the large flapping of giant wings. They had made long conversations, just to pass the time and give them something to do besides to watch over their precious cargo and walk around the ship. The sky was as clear of clouds today, allowing the heat of the sun to beat on them with force but they paid their discomfort no mind but continued to either talk, or wait in silence.
Eragon had to admit, he was tired of just travelling on the seas. Watching the same dark depths and feeling the salty water spray on his face was getting old. He would ride on Saphira a couple of times a day when they could stop but otherwise, he was left to lean by the railings and talk to his dragon telepathically or interact with his travelling companions, which were the group of elves who were chosen to watch over and care for the last remaining dragon eggs, a few more of his elven bodygaurds.
He had missed just riding on Saphira high up in the sky, over the clouds and where the air was strong and thin. They had packed enough food to last as long as their journey would proceed, and Saphira would get a rest atleast three times a day from pulling their gifted ship he had baught for a hefty price and eat one of the flocks in the base of the ship.
Looking to where the eggs were, they were in the soft bed made of the finest sheets and softest silk. There were five of them in total, all looking more like weird colored stones. Seeing them braught back naustalgic memories from when he first found Saphira. It felt like ages ago, no a millenia or two...
Hopefuly this would be one of the last quests he would be doing.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the elf-maidens get up from where she sat crossed legged and leaned forward, squinting her keen eyes over the horizon and whatever lay ahead of the ship.
"What do you see Nüdeth?" Blödgharm inquired looking up from the where he sat which was not that far from where Eragon stood.
"Land..." it was a light whisper, they would not have heard it if it wasn't for their sharp elf ears "Land!" she claimed more loudly, pointing her finger over towards the horizon "I can see land!"
Everyone instantly got to their feet. They went to the edge of the ship where Nüdeth stood still pointing. They looked carefuly, searching for any sign of dry land. Far off, a few leagues away, there was a small bump of a dark silhouette poking out of the flat surface of the ocean. It was still very far but they had finaly found it!
"The Other Lands" Gleadr said.
Before this mission had embarked, they had been warned by Solembum of how different the Other Lands are. Alagësia dwellers haven't stepped a foot in those lands since...well never. The Other Lands was known to be just a myth but when they were told of it's existence by their herbalist, it was the prime place for the dragon eggs to hatch. They were suspicious and wary of this new land, but also equally curious.
Saphira roared with positive delight in not having to fly much longer. Eragon -sharing in the gladness of his partner- yelled happily "Land ho!"
Questions danced around his mind. He was eager to know of what the lands where like, what was the difference between their's, what where the inhabitants, were their elves? dwarves? urgals? man? Maybe even more dragons? He didn't know, and he wanted to get the answers. There was that undeniable overwhelming feeling of excitment in him. It was all so new, and a mystery to him. One he couldn't wait to solve.
Hang in there, little one, he heard Saphira say as their minds touched. He wanted to smirk when he looked down to see they were going faster than before, their ship cutting through the big waves like a knife through cake.
You too Saphira, he retorted, we still have some leagues to cross until then.
Smoke blew out of the blue dragon's nose, clearly showing signs of annoyance and frustration. Eragon chuckled and placed his hands on the wooden railings and stared at their soon-to-be home.
"Shadeslayer." Aríther, an elf he had come to befriend called him "Best not to lean over the railings too much, we don't want you falling off overboard again." his face was passive, like the rest, but his eyes were filled with mirth and the tone he used betrayed his expression.
"Will you let it go?!" Eragon said exhasperated "It wasn't my fault, that arrow came out of nowhere!"
"It was you who had angerd Lady Arya." now he was clearly smirking with amusement. Eragon gave him a glare that shooted daggers but it barely had effect.
"This is my decision, that is final." he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest "And in my observation, who was the one that needed to call on Blödgharm to help me because they 'didn't trust water'"
"Shadeslayer, Aríther." Nüdeth, the one who had spotted the land interrupted them "No more of your arguements, I would not dare cross on your bonding moments but it is time to pack."
"Bonding moments? He started it by merely snickering while I was assaulted!" Eragon gritted his teeth but no real ire was seen in his eyes.
"What could we do? It was Lady Arya that held the bow, she was saying her farewells" Aríther drawled out.
"Hand me a shield?"
"I will do better in thinking faster from now on, Shadeslayer" Aríther promised bowing but Eragon was not fooled, not by a hair. He could sense the sarcasm.
With one glance, he looked away from the slowly growing land ahead of them.
A new home was ahead of them, and so was a quest.
He had never been so glad to see sand in his entire life,
Jumping off the flanks, his feet splashed into the shore and getting wet in the sea water but he had immediately ran to the dry white sand. The others boarded off the ship as well and joined him in staring at the large encompass of trees. There was a giant wall of a forest, over above them.
Saphira had went to check the land from the sky. She was drowsy and exhausted thanks to the long travel they had endured, she landed on her belly on a small grassy hill. Eragon caught up to her on foot and found her wings out and draping over the green hill like curtains and the gruff panting and huffing was audiable from where he stood.
"Are you alright?" Eragon asked the bright scaled dragon who looked exhausted enough to sink into sleep in any moment now "That was the longest journey we have ever travelled in, I'll give you some of the energy from the Eldunari."
Saphira didn't object so the rider took that as a signal for him to let one of the orbs that contained energy on his bracelet to replenish his soul sharer's strength. Once it was done, she looked to be in better condition but he left her to get some rest so she would be fully rested when she wanted to hunt.
The others had made camp in the forest that hailed nearby the shore they decked their ship on. When Eragon had daringly reached his mind out over the forest in search of any inhabitants it may contain. To his relief, he found out there were an adequate amount of forest life.
"Is there any difference of the animals here?" Blödgharm asked.
"No, none, maybe a bit slimmer but that's it"
When he gave that information, the rest had decided to hunt for food. The elves went looking for any wild berries or fruit. He wanted to follow but unlike his travelling companions, his body needed more nutrition than just fruits. Feeling guilty, he hunted his food with the bow and arrows he had recieved as a farewell gift from Queen Izlandi and the elves from Ellésmera. It was beautiful work, thick and heavy but it weighed close to nothing with his elf strength. It was silver with a tint of blue, polished and gleamed with a mysterious glow of light like a star. There were exquisite vine-like designs that wrapped around the bow and interwinded the handle. It was made from special metal rarely sold because of its high quality beauty and endurance. It was also said if crafted well and turned to a weapon or a simple tool, the weilder would gain luck in its use.
He felt a bit uneasy with the silent disgusted expressions from the elves when they came back to see him dragging a dead deer back to their spot. Making sure to sit in a comfortable distance from where the others sat, he proceeded to gut the deer and started a fire. Sick in the stomache, he gulped as he watched the soup bubble and the meat fry.
The aroma met his nose and he gagged. The scent was savory in another's nose but ever since he became a hybrid, meat disgusted him being half-elf.
Silence ruled the group for the entire meal. Eragon not making any eye contact with anyone as he bit into the meat. He heard the tear of the flesh and started to chew. He was crossed with either hurl the food out of his mouth or taking more bites. His human blood always did give him mixed emotions when it came to meat. Which was why Arìther and Nüdeth gave him such dirty looks when they saw the faint emotion of satisfaction in his eyes as he both loathed and relished in the meal.
Saphira had awoken from her sleep when they had finished their meal. She took to the sky, gliding above the trees in search for any live kill. Eragon waited patiently for her. Knowing it had been weeks since her last hunting spree, she would be in an excited mood. Who knows, she might just come back with a ripped corpse that none of them could identify because it was torn to shreds. He hoped she wouldn't, he really didn't want to endure another minute with the intense stares from the elves.
He went for a little exploring in the forest. Straying not far from camp, Eragon had wanderd through what looked like a path, examining every detail of his surroundings. This place wasn't anything special, but the trees felt different.
His light feet didn't even make the slightest sound as feet walked over the rocky paths coverd with dry leaves that fell. Rays of sunshine peeked through the trees, casting small waterfalls of light pooling down to the ground where he walked. Birds chirped and flapped their wings from branch to branch. It was mid- afternoon by now, he could vaugley feel one or two of the elves following his trail, keeping a watchful eyes out if anything came to assault the rider.
This place certainly had the foreign atmosphere. It almost looked like Alagësia yet it was clearly different at the same time. He wonderd again if anything else lived here beside animals. How many races were here? Did they know about Alagësia like they did their land? He shook his head. Those aren't the right questions. The questions he should be pondering right now were about the dragon eggs. Like a place they could stay and hatch in.
Saphira?
Yes Eragon? , she responded after a few moments. He imagined her ripping flesh off a poor prey of hers.
We should start exploring as soon as your done, once we find an ideal place for the eggs, we'll search further and gather information about this land.
Alright.
He returned to camp and explained the plan to everyone. They had agreed on it. They started to pack everything up, rap all the food in bundles, and kicked dirt over the fire, trying to hide any signs of a camp previously here. They acknowledged the fact that no one probably knew they were her and weren't from this land they stood on so they would try to stay low and hidden until the time was right.
Saphira had came back and thankfuly, she ate her meal outside of camp and far from the elves' sight. The rider was exhillerated enough to finaly be able to ride his loyal partner that was the other half of him. He slipped on the anklestraps that kept him from falling of the saddle as he mounted on Saphira.
The others would follow them closely, Saphira and Eragon would stay clost to the ground so they could keep up. When they took into the air, Eragon felt more at home then. The familiar feel of flying his dragon, it had been too long.
He was able to get a proper view now of the land. Green lands expanded further almost reaching out of his sight but he saw they ended near the line and rows of mountains that were leagues away but he had to consider the mountains might be a good place for the eggs. Surely they could find secluded areas where they could raise the eggs and still full of provisions.
Though it was still far ahead. It would take a few days to get there even with their speed. Once it was getting dark, the sun touching the horizon, clouds turning pink and fainst twinkles of stars appeared on the sky, they set up camp again.
It happened as he expected. Hunt for food seperatley (though leaving him and two others to watch camp), eat and endured the looks of distaste. They discussed on their next actions around the doused fire. It didn't bother anyone, their nightvision made it easy to hide in the camouflage of night and see where their allies were at the same time.
"It is going to take days to get to the mountains, and a lot more to explore it and make sure there are no inhabitants" Blodgharm said "I wearily propose that Shadeslayer and Brightscales go ahead and see the land"
Eragon immediately objected "What about the eggs? I must not leave-"
"We know Shadeslayer, but the longer we go on clueless on the races and life forms in this land, the more at risk the eggs are" Blodgharm explained "I would send someone else but being you are the most qualified -stronger, faster, and have a better chance at surviving alone-, it is up to you and Brightscales"
The dragon laid down on the ground, her body curling around him like a protective sheild. She raised her head up from resting on the ground.
As much as I don't like leaving the unborn hatchlings, it is only sensible, she said
When she saw Eragon looking very much against this she said I know you are focused on completeing this mission little one but it is for the best, we must take risks sometimes.
His frowned faded as he sighed. With his luck, he might get wrapped up in something big in this land. Something he might not just get out of this time.
With everyone in agreement, they set down who took watch duty first and so on. Shortly, the camp fell quiet as they slumberd, gathering the energy they would need for tomorrow. Though besides the one on watch duty, another kindled soul lay sleepless in spite of the weariness he felt.
First chapter up. Tell me if I made any errors or grammar mistakes. Lotr and Inheritence are worthy of good grammars and perfect spelling.