Inheritance fan fiction
Rise of the Riders
Six months laterEragon looked out over the stark blue sea to the west, beginning to worry. Arya had sent word to Saphira and he that a dragon had hatched shortly after their departure and she was sending the rider and dragon to him now. The purple dragon was a young female and Saphira was bursting with excitement to meet one of her own kin that was female for until now she had been the last female of her kind.
That was three days ago that the hatchlings had departed Alaegasia and Fírnen and Arya were set to accompany them. There was still not a sign of any of them. Eragon was pacing nervously along the coastline when Saphira alighted first on her back legs and then fell to her front. Eragon, as he always did, marvelled at the beauty of the mid-day sun on her scales.
Relax youngling, Saphira's ancient voice reverberated in Eragon's skull and he took comfort in the fact they she was there to comfort him. Neither Arya nor Fírnen will let harm to come to the hatchlings. As she spoke Eragon's sharp, elf-enhanced senses caught a glimpse of light in the sky that wasn't there before. A green flare, about six miles off the coast and there, bobbing just above the water's surface were two objects, glittering like diamonds. Glaedr's consciousness chimed in worried as he caught glimpse of the flare through Eragon's eyes. The other Eldunarí fired into Eragon's mind, ready to defend the new home of the riders if they had to.
Eragon closed his mind, the chorus of whispering consciousness too loud for his liking and the eleven elves who stayed with Eragon to help train the new riders came running down the dark golden brown foothills towards Eragon. They're response needs to be faster! Eragon cursed if we are under attack, we need them quicker than that! I must scold them later.
"Argetlam" Blodhgarm bowed gently as one of the three wild dragons so far to have hatched on the land touched down beside him. He had hatched only two months ago but was already as tall as Blodhgarm. Saphira still towered over him however and he lived in fear and reverence of her. At one point he had asked Eragon and Saphira, was she his mother.
"We have no need to engage them. That flare says who they are." Eragon's heart leapt as his suspicions were confirmed. The magical flare was an ancient technique used by the riders to show which of them who were due to arrive were returning. Eragon had read of it from one of the many books he had obtained from Galbatorix's library; most of which were stolen from Vroengard and Doru Araeba.
Eragon was about to train the first new rider and he would see Arya again. The rider and dragon with her were much smaller; the dragon was only about a third of the size of Fírnen although he too had grown a great deal since Eragon had left Alaegasia.
Shall we? Saphira asked. Eragon had no need to ask what she meant so he clambered onto her back quickly, forsaking the job of saddling her up and she rose to the sky with one flap of her wings to go and greet their guests. Soaring low over the water, Eragon watched the waves whip past underneath. Of all the gifts of being a rider, immortality, magic and a dragon as your partner, Eragon loved this the most. The rush of energy he got when Saphira flew like this. Her sharp knife-like talons raked the top of the water. Then she arced sharply upward and raced to the sky almost with her body perpendicular to the ground. Eragon clung to the spike at the back of her neck for he knew both that if he fell now, he would die and also he knew what she would do next.
She hovered for a second and Eragon cast a short spell to compress around him so he could breathe. Just before Saphira began he sharp drop Eragon produced from his tiny satchel a small object of his own invention; a harness and allowed it to join his belt to Saphira's spike.
It was an enchanted object he had invented and it was to allow the wild dragons to carry Blodhgarm and the elves safely when it was deemed necessary but they refused to be saddled, wishing to travel freely. The slim strap of leather was laced with spells similar to Rhunon's swords. It would not break, would be impervious to all magic and such with one exception; the spell that allowed it to work.
When it came in contact with the spike on a dragon's back and a belt, it fused magically with them, allowing the rider to stay firmly on the dragon. The only way to remove it was to say the spell Eragon had constructed; but only the rider it was attached to could detach it.
Ready? Asked Saphira as she turned and then dived head first down to the water, aiming straight for Fírnen. Now Eragon had never used a harness without a saddle and was pulled back, streaming behind Saphira in mid air, only connected by the harness. It was only seconds before Saphira stopped from her nose dive and pulled her wings out to stabilise herself, a metre above Arya's head. Her mind and Fírnen's roared out as one.
Saphira! Their fake anger was hidden by their excitement to see them as Saphira dropped down level with them and soared alongside Fírnen. In this silent ecstasy the three dragons soared abreast the remaining mile to the land of the dragon riders. Saphira, the oldest, largest and most experienced dragon, could easily have flown it in thrice the speed as they did but the purple dragon would not have been able to keep up.
They soon alighted and Eragon detached the harness and dropped from Saphira's back. Arya unhooked her legs and slid to the ground. The eleven elves twisted the wrists over their wrists in a gesture of fealty. "Arya Drotting" Blodhgarm whispered.
Arya's sweet voice was like music to Eragon's ears. He had not realised just how much he had missed her. "Blodhgarm, you are no longer subjects of the elves, you are of the elvish species, but Eragon is you leader now. I am beneath Eragon for the fact is, he is the rider's Ebrithil, I am but shur'tugal. The old order stated that no matter what other allegiances the riders had, even to their monarchs, the riders must be loyal to the order first. Of course you may choose to accompany me back to Du Weldenvarden, in which case you will become a subject of the Alfakyn again. But while you remain in this land with Eragon and Saphira you follow the law of the order and you will listen to Eragon over me if necessary and that is final Blodhgarm-elda." Arya concluded her speech with a bow to Eragon and Eragon felt privileged that the queen of elves, most powerful of the four races had just shown that he had authority over her.
Blodhgarm looked shocked but followed Arya's orders. Eragon spoke to the elves in the ancient tongue as he always did and said "leave us, I wish to speak with Arya and the new rider; alone." The elves quickly ran off and so did the three hatchling dragons, scared in the presence of both Saphira and Fírnen. But Fírnen, having met only Saphira, the purple dragon and Thorn, was curious about the other dragons and took to the air in one enormous flap of the membranes of his wings and rose silently. His flight seemed laboured more than before but Eragon put this down to tiredness for flying from Du Weldenvarden to this land. Saphira lunged after him, determined to ensure no harm came to her mate.
Eragon smiled at Arya and the new rider, who still remained mounted on their dragon. Eragon did not ask permission but communicated directly with the rider and dragon's minds. I am Eragon Bromsson, the last Ebrithil of the riders of old and the first Ebrithil of the riders of the New Age. And that with this he pointed to the glittering blue mass that was Saphira soaring toward the golden foothills of the mountains is Saphira, the last embodied Ebrithil of the dragons and the oldest living of a dragon in flesh. We are the last students of the great ones Oromis and Glaedr. The dragon's voice reverberated within his mind and as always Eragon was shocked at the ancient power in the voice of a hatchling.
Atra esterní ono thelduin Eragon Bromsson, Argetlam, king killer shadeslayer and Ebrithil. There are many names for you Eragon-Ebrithil. The dragon's voice was definitely male and Eragon sensed him struggling to reach his mind far enough to greet Saphira so Eragon relayed the message. And to you, Saphira bjartskular, great skulblaka, well met. you are well spoken of in Alaegasia and may you long be spoken of, may your scales stay shining and your teeth and claws sharp.
Saphira's reply was quite short but kind with none of the sarcasm Eragon had expected you are well met as well hatchling. Good to see the people at home still revere me. With that she invited him to join them and Eragon retreated from his mind. The rider slid off the dragon and landed softly and gracefully, with a grace only the elves and Eragon could have achieved and tore the helm from their face. Eragon was met first with sharp yellow eyes, one trait only elves acquired through years of tampering with their appearance and the new rider reached out and twisted his torso to bow sideways.
The gesture was obvious, but Eragon had only read about it. This was the old gesture of fealty among the riders and the last time it had been used was before Galbatorix's rise to power. Eragon did not recognise the elf. The elf raised his two fingers to his lips and touched them then offered the traditional greeting "Atra esterní ono thelduin Eragon-Ebrithil' Eragon responded in kind with the traditional response.
"Atra evarinya ono varda fricai" Eragon then proceeded to ask the elf his name and details about himself and his dragon. The elf was called Emora and was 70years old, still young for the elves and his dragon was called Glaedr, a tribute to the great sacrifice the last free dragon to die had made. Eragon felt Glaedr's consciousness "smile" that little change of emotion in his mind that showed he was happy. The rider bowed to Eragon and did something else that Eragon had all but read about. He and Oromis had little time to carry the formalities. The rider knelt before him and spoke softly in the ancient language swearing himself to his training and Eragon's guidance.
The three riders sat to talk for a while and were soon interrupted but a roar of blue and green fire over their heads as Saphira and Fírnen swooped low over them and Glaedr followed slower behind them, his much smaller wings unable to keep up quite so well. Eragon felt sorry for the little dragon, unable to breathe fire as well. The three dragons alighted a mile away and the three wild dragons joined them and Saphira and Fírnen began to teach them of their race and themselves even, for they knew very little of the great power they had at their disposal.
"Eragon-Ebrithil?" Arya spoke quietly and then drew herself up to her full height and then knelt before him, swearing herself also to her studies in the ancient language. Eragon was horrified. The queen of the elves could not be away from Du Weldenvarden for so long and he was about to speak the name of all names and release the binding oath, when Arya whispered his true name in his ear. He shivered as he always did when he heard his true name and she whispered softly in the ancient tongue.
"Do not release me. I am useless as a rider unless trained properly and therefore I need to be here. Like you and the Varden though, if my people need me seriously I will return without a moment's haste. With your permission of course Ebrithil."
Eragon knew that even if he released her from her oath, Arya would stay as would Fírnen for he had just made the same pledge to Saphira. Eragon was pleased although he dared not show it but he had thought he might never see Arya again except for short sporadic bursts of time.
Eragon led them to a cluster of buildings, all large enough to hold a dragon twice Saphira's size on the ground floor and Arya took one with Fírnen as did Emora and Glaedr. Eragon and Saphira returned to the largest of the 18 houses, at the top of the hill and settled to sleep as the elvish spell casters made their way back to where they spent most of their time; in the buildings made for the Eldunarí, ten miles from the village of the riders, (which Eragon had named Doru Araeba after the riders' ancestral home)one building for the sane ones, found in the vault of souls along with any who were repaired after the battle of Uru'Baen and the one for the insane who were currently being struggled with to return their normality to them.
The last thing Eragon did was mentally warn Arya and Emora that they would begin in the morning and they would not rest until he was satisfied enough had been accomplished that day. Eragon felt Saphira's great body slide into the hut and her mind reached out and touched his, as her wings folded around him, shielding him from the world. Good night young one. Saphira's thoughts resounded within Eragon's skull. And with that, Eragon drifted slowly into the waking dreams he had ever since the Agaeti Bhlodren.