Disclaimer: All canon character, concepts and locations belong to Christopher Paolini. All OC's belong to me and nothing else.
I first posted this story months ago but stopped updating it because I didn't like the way it was going. I took some time and rewrote my previous chapters. I am slowly updating them and hope everyone likes the new twist to it. Thank you to everyone who has given this story a shot and it would be great if people could review and tell me what they think and ask any questions they have!
Chapter 1
Looking around him, Kierin couldn't see anything off about the forest that surrounded him and his stead. They were racing through the trees to get to their next destination safe and sound. Not knowing what was spooking his horse, but not doubting that it was something troubling, he urged him even further into the trees.
All of the sudden, arrows started to fly at him from several directions, spurring him on pushing his horse even faster. Looking for a way to lose his attackers, he turned to the left and into a clearing. Stopping abruptly, watching the edges of the trees burst into flames, Kierin tried to find a way out but instead watched as someone walked through the flames. A tall male with flowing scarlet hair and blood red eyes comes toward him with a smirk dancing on his face.
As he realizes who he is, Kierin feels his heart start to pump faster and anger mixed with fear run through his veins, "Durza," Kierin snarls at him.
Durza just continues to smirk at him ad says, "I have been looking for you for a very long time elf."
Slowly walking toward him, Durza outstretches his hand. "Give it to me and I won't hurt you as much."
"Never," Kierin says, quickly reaching into the bag on his back, he grabs a big sapphire blue stone and holds it over his head, "Premjestiti odavde," Kierin says as he looks straight at Durza. As the stone vanishes in a bright light, Kierin falls of his horse and starts to gasp for air.
He watches as Durza strides towards him with fury clearly on his face and demands, "Where is it?"
Panting for breath, Kierin glances at Durza and says, "You'll never find it."
"Bol!" Durza says.
Kierin feels as if liquid fire had been poured into his veins for a few seconds before vanishing. Over the rushing of blood in his ears, he hears Durza say, "Get used to that feeling elf. You will be feeling it for some time now."
In another part of this land, a girl walks through a forest just before the sun was to set, silently watching everything move around her. Her name is Haven and she lives in a land named Altaria. Altaria is located at the border of the Spine, a forest that even the mad King Galbatorix dares not even cross. The Spine is told to have made men lose their minds and even their lives.
Haven glances around as she walks through the foggy ground always cautious of the forest. She has her bow drawn just waiting for the perfect moment to get a kill shot of the eight point she is hunting down. Just as she takes her shot and shots the deer through the eye, a bright light flares feet from her and momentarily blinds her. When her vision starts to clear and she can see the scene around her, she notices a big blue stone sitting not five feet in front of her.
Gathering stock of her situation, she first goes to the deer and ties it up, getting it ready to move back to her camp. After that is done, she slowly walks over to the stone studying its surface knowing it looks familiar and wondering why it would appear out of thin air. Reaching down, she wraps it in her jacket and places it in her bag vowing to have a closer look once in a safer place.
Once back at the cave she had procured for the last week, she sends out a mental call and takes the time to cut up the deer and make a stew for the night and start to preserve whatever meat that was left over. While the stew started to cook, she took the stone out of the bag and slowly unwraps it from her jacket. Taking the time to study it, she gently slides her finger down the smooth surface admiring the beautiful color.
Hearing a sound outside, she looks up in time to see her dragon of two years landing at the mouth of the cave.
"Ryszard," she greets him, "Look what I found."
The bright silver dragon is tall in stature and barely fits through the mouth of the cave. The light from the fire illuminates his scales and makes them appear a burnt orange color. His purple eyes lock onto the object in her lap and starts to slowly walk forward, studying the small egg in confusion.
After a moment, Ryszard asks, "You just found it lying in the middle of the forest?"
"No," she exasperatedly says, "It appeared in a bright flash of light. I think someone sent it with magic."
He sharply looks up at her, "Someone sent it?" he asks, "Why do you think that?"
"That's what it seems like. It certainly looked as if it appeared by magic," she told him. After a moment she wondered aloud, "But why would they?"
After imagining all the scenarios that could have sent it their way, Ryszard finally says, "It does us no good to ponder on something we may never know."
Slightly slumping down and realizing the truth in his words, Haven answers, "I suppose. We might as well get some sleep for the journey back."
When she wakes up in the morning it is to a slightly brisk breeze coming through the mouth of the cave. Stretching and then getting up, she takes out her two swords and starts to sharpen them. While her hands methodically run down the blade of her sword, her mind starts to wonder about the egg that is safely packed away in her bag. Someone must have been desperate to get rid of it for them to just send it to the middle of a dangerous forest. Pursing her lips, she moves on to her other sword. 'Maybe they didn't mean for it to end up here though,' she thought, 'Maybe their spell went wrong.' That thought stopped her hands in their tracks. For if that was true, the person would most likely be in grave danger from either someone else or themselves, and seeing as it appeared in a deserted haunted forest, it probably wasn't good news for the person that sent it away. Remembering Ryszard's words from last night she puts all theories to the back of her mind and goes back to the task of sharpening her weapons. Finishing with her swords, she moves on to her daggers and arrows. When all her weapons are sharpened and cleaned, she sets them aside and starts to do stretches and exercises to help strengthen and loosen up her muscles.
When she finally starts to feel relaxed, she hears Ryszard say in her mind, "So what shall we do about the egg?"
Sighing, she starts to slow down her breathing while pondering on the question, "For now we will have to take it with us back to my home. I don't like it but I can't think on another course at this moment. We are to far away from the palace and people are expecting me back in town soon. "
Shifting onto his feet, Ryszard shakes out his stiffness and walks towards her, "Yes that seems to be the only course for us now. But do you think it wise?"
A bubble of laughter breaks through her lips as she sarcastically asks, "When do I think anything wise?"
With an exasperated yet amused lilt to his voice, Ryszard replied, "Never."
On the journey back to Haven's hometown they discuss what they think would be the best course of action for them for the on coming months. Knowing spring was just around the corner, they made plans to go to an old palace in the mountains Haven had found Ryszard's egg years ago to hide away the egg so that it would be out of the clutches of anyone looking for power over those they had no claim.
When they were a day's walk from Sindaul, the town Haven lived in, they stopped at the small hut she had built to hold things she didn't want the people of her town to question. It consisted of one room which held a small fire stove,a small table with two chairs and a cot pushed against the wall with a large bare wall opposite it. Concealed behind the wall was a closet that held whatever she wanted to be kept hidden. Leaving the egg in a corner of the closet under a chair that held a couple bags she used to pack things to put on Ryszard's saddle, she turned towards Ryszard and says, "I will try to come back sometime tomorrow, though that might not be possible," Walking over to him, she reaches out and scratches the scales on his neck, "You can talk to me anytime you like. I most likely won't be able to answer but I do love to hear your voice when you allow me."
Sinking down more so that she could reach more scales, he opens an eye and looks back at her, "We may be far in distance, but never far in heart little one. Never forget that."
The words bring a smile to her face, "Never," she replied, "I'll be back soon. Don't have too much fun without me now."
"Always, little one. Safe travels," he says as Haven starts walking in the direction to town.
Throwing a smirk over her shoulder, she says, "Now don't get too lonely, I might just have to come back early."
When she had just reached the edge of the town after about twenty minutes of walking she could see two small figures racing towards her.
"Haven! You're back. We've been waiting for you for days now," racing towards her they stop just in front of her.
Seeing as it was just one of her neighbors kids, she bends down to hug them, and asks, "Does your mother know where you are?" knowing that they are notorious for skipping out on their chores.
They both look at each other and innocently shake their heads. I let out an exasperated sigh and cross my arms as I ask them, "Know that isn't nice, is it? You should go back home and see if she needs your help."
Nodding their heads rapidly, they exclaim, "Okay, bye," as they run away.
Starting the walk along the streets towards my house, my mind wonders to the egg in our possession and all the mysteries surrounding it. As I am walking up to my front door I hear, "Haven, come over here!"
Looking over, I see Brom, an old story teller that lives a house down from mine. Walking towards his house, I think over all the years that I have known Brom and I couldn't find a thing about him that had changed in all of the 18 years we have known each other. He still had that salt and pepper hair and the bright blue eyes that feel like they see right through you. All and all he still looks like a forty year old man.
"Will you have a cup of tea with me?" he asked me. Walking into his house all you could see where books and knick-knacks littering every nook and crany. "How was your latest journey?" he asks as he gets everything together for the tea.
"Not bad. I got some game and found some interesting things. I've certainly had worse trips." I say, thinking for a second about the egg hidden in my hut, I ask, "Anything amiss while I was gone?"
Handing me a cup of tea, he takes a seat and stirs around his drink, "Unless you count some strange people lurking around and looking out of place, not really," he says while looking at me over the top of his cup.
"Strange you say," I perk up and my head tilts to the side, "Any idea what they are looking for?"
"When did I say they were looking for anything?" he asks me while standing and starts to pack a bag of clothes and a couple scrolls and books.
Watching him and wondering about his weird behavior I tell him, "You really didn't have to say anything, the way you are acting is proof enough." Standing up, I start to follow him throughout his house, watching as he picks up a sword and straps a belt around his waist. Feeling weary now, I contact Ryszard with my mind and ask, "What are you not telling me?"
He abruptly turns around and fixes me with a stare and says, "It's about time you call out to your dragon. We need to leave immediately but not cause a stir. We don't want to attract attention."
Lifting an eyebrow, I let a grin cross my face, "I always wondered when you would notice. How long have you known?"
He starts to move around again, grabbing my bag and handing it to me and says, "About a year now. I have no idea how you kept something like that a secret for so long," he says in fond exasperation.
We move over to my house and I grab a couple bags that I always have packed just for emergencies. I look around my little house once in more, trying to memorize every little nook and cranny there was for I knew that I wouldn't be seeing this place for a long time if ever.
As we were walking along the dark and quiet street now, heading towards the forest of the Spine, Brom mutters, "Though knowing you, if you really wanted something to stay a secret, no living soul would know the truth but you."
Pursing my lips, I think back to all the times my voice alone had made people do whatever I please. Back when I was young, I had thought people had wanted what I wanted. As I grew up, I noticed people saying one thing and then when I would speak up they would all of the sudden believe whatever I had said. At first I would go along with everyone and try to influence the people around me. After a while, I had come to realise that what I was doing wasn't right, but I had no idea how to stop them from following me blindly as if they had no choice. I had resorted to not talking when I didn't have to and when I did I would be very short with everyone. That all changed when Brom had moved into town. My uncle Garrow, my cousin Roran and I had walked over to his house to introduce ourselves. When we had arrived and it was my turn, I had looked at Brom and said, "Hello, my name is Haven. It's nice to meet you." He blinked at me for a couple seconds and frowned a little and then said, "Hello, it's nice to meet you as well."
When we were leaving, he had given me a book to read, I told him that I couldn't read. He immediately asked Garrow if he could teach Roran and I. Garrow had said that he needed Roran to work in the fields with him, but that I could come during the day to learn. When I had come back the next day, to my surprise, we were not learning to read, but learning something else. He took a long look at me when we had sat down and said, "Why do you make people believe you with your voice?"
I gasped and froze up, for this man knew what I could do. I told him, "I don't want to but they just do it. I've never been able to talk to somebody without making them believe me."
He sat there for awhile, I guess studying how truthful I was being and finally said, "I could help you so that they wouldn't blindly follow you."
Immediately accepting the offer, he had taught me many things from that day forward. He taught me how to read and speak different languages, such as english spoken by the people on the other side of The Spine and the ancient language spoken by the elves, he taught me how to expand and open my mind to control the magic in my voice so that I would not have absolute control over this strange power of mine.
For all that he had taught me, for someone as young as I had been at the time, I could not help but lose control one fateful evening when I was young and Garrow thought I didn't need to go over to Brom's anymore and had to start working around the farm. I had gotten upset and let all my lessons on control go out the window. I had yelled at him, "I won't stop, you can't make me! I hate you, I wish you were dead!" Just like any 8 year old would. I had run over to Brom's and not looked I had come back that evening after my lesson with Brom, I had walked into our house waiting for a lecture with Garrow, dreading it. As I walked in, I noticed how calm and quiet it was. Walking into the back kitchen, I lit the candle we had on the table and noticed a note. It had read, "I am sorry that you hate me so. All I wanted was more time with you while you grew up. I will love you forever," it was written in Garrow's hand. Turning around I came to a stand still and let out a scream for there was Garrow, with a nose around his neck hanging from a beam, looking at me with dead eyes.
From that day onward Roran and I had lived with Brom. About 2 years later I had woken one morning and learned that Roran had left during the night without telling either of use and would never return back to the town. A couple of months of waiting for him to come back had passed when I had decided I would travel the land for some time. I had been gone for four months the first time when I had returned. I would follow this routine for years to come, I would stay with Brom and teach the children in the town how to read and write our language and english, but I would never teach them the Ancient Language for Brom had asked me not to. When I was 15 years old, I had decided that I had enough money for a house of my own and had moved to a home beside Brom's so that we would not be too far from each other. It was not for another year that I would discover Ryszard's egg and he would hatch for me. It was in that journey that I would discover a long abandoned palace carved into the mountains that which held hundreds of dragon eggs and old dragon's eldunari, it also held many weapons and clothes from those long forgotten. One day when I had first discovered it, I had gone to take a bath in a big lake the palace surrounded I had thought of how nice it would feel like to be able to swim like the fish that surrounded me. All of the sudden I had grown a big fish tail in place of my legs. The dragons had explained to me that that was why my voice could control others, I was someone known as a siren. It was something very rare for these lands and they had not heard of one in hundreds of years. Learning this had helped me come to terms that I was not some freak and was very special indeed. When I had come back from that trip with all of my new weapons, Brom had decided to teach me his method of fighting. He had taught me how to use the two swords I had chosen for I only knew how to use one at a time. The throwing knives I had been taught how to use many years before and the chakram I had learned from the memory of a dragon in the palace and the bow I had known how to use for many years before switching to the one I had found in the palace. In the years since Ryszard had hatched for me, nothing had really changed except that I could use magic now. Every once in awhile I would go back to the palace I had learned actually has a name that was Palace of Mystery. The eldunari would teach us what it means to be a dragon and a rider. We never thought it was a good idea to bring the eldunari out of the palace because of the huge amount of power each and every one possessed.
I knew that Brom would one day discover Ryszard, I had always thought that he would take one look at me and know. When he didn't say anything for months I just kept it hidden and waited for the day he would. Now that it had I wish it could have been different I would like to sit down and talk to him about Ryszard and all of the places we had been to and the things we had done together.
As we reached the trees I looked back for once thankful I had nothing of value left in my house that I would miss. For I knew that I would most likely never see this place again.