Chapter One

"YES! YES, I'VE DONE IT! AHAHAHA!"

Nasuada's head snapped up in surprise, as the echoing shout emanating from the hallway diverted her attention from the papers strewn across her large, circular table. Her advisors were likewise startled, and throughout the room brows furrowed and heads swiveled towards the doorway in confusion.

Taking advantage in the momentary lull in the discussion, the Queen leaned back in her chair and allowed her eyes to roam the ornate meeting hall in which her and her advisors conducted their daily gatherings. As always, the sheer display of wealth put on by the previous owner of the mansion, some noble of Galbatorix's court, both impressed and disgusted her. The room was long and rectangular, with four large marble pillars in each of the four corners. It had dark floorboards of polished oak along with a ceiling holding the weight of a massive crystal chandelier. Yet what grabbed her attention were not the towering pillars or the baroque light fixture, but rather the vast number of overelaborate wall ornaments. Heads of animals, shelves covered with expensive pottery and small sculptures, decorative weapons, and paintings framed in borders of gold and jewels adorned the room without order or structure. The walls themselves could in a way be considered works of art, testaments to rampant human greed and unrestrained desire. It had been years since she first took up residence in the building, and somehow she still managed to find beautifications on the walls of the hall that she had never laid eyes on before. With effort, she drew her eyes away and directed them to her door, just as Thalamir burst into the room, with stacks of papers in his arms and a wide grin plastered across his face.

Thalamir was the head magician of Varda abr Vanyali, the group of magicians Nasuada had assembled to keep order and lawfulness in regards to magic throughout the Empire. A formidably powerful magician, Thalamir's greatest passion, second only to managing and leading Varda abr Vanyali, was exploring and experimenting with various aspects of magic. His long, brown hair hung in unkempt curls down to his shoulders, and often obscured his eyes, one brown and one purple (the result of some magical test gone awry). Standing well over six feet, he would have cut an imposing figure if not for his ever present smile, which he maintained, oddly enough, even in the midst of a duel with an enemy magician. None would deny that Thalamir was a good man and undoubtedly a genius beyond comprehension, but his hours of seclusion dedicated to his research have left him ever so slightly off kilter in the eyes of many.

"Nasuada! Oh Nasuada, I had my doubts, I admit, and at times I even contemplated abandoning the project altogether! But my efforts have, against all odds, finally paid off!" He cried, visibly ecstatic about whatever it was he was speaking of.

Nasuada suppressed the urge to laugh at his boyish enthusiasm, and commanded, "Speak clearly, Thalamir. I am afraid you are making little sense…"

Releasing a mirthful chuckle, he replied, "Ah, of course! I have yet to explain the greatest of all my experiments to you, yes? Please accept my apologies, it slipped my mind. Now, allow me to waste no more time! Here, come close and I will show you what I have—"

He stopped abruptly and, looking around the room, seemed to be just coming to the realization that they were not alone. Nasuada's advisors were staring at Thalamir, clearly not pleased with the interruption.

Nasuada waved her hand at them, "Leave us; we will continue this at a later time."

With some quiet grumbles of discontent, they all bowed and exited the door at the far side of the hall. As soon as the last advisor filed through the doorway, Nasuada smiled at Thalamir, saying, "I am sorry, as you were saying?"

Nodding his thanks, he continued, "Yes, if you would join me over here," as he brushed her papers unceremoniously to the ground, quickly replacing them with his own, "I can show you what I have found!"

Gathering the folds of her dress, Nasuada stood and made her way over to where Thalamir was standing. As she walked, she tried to imagine what he could have possibly come up with this time. It was no secret that Thalamir was incredibly proud of his discoveries, and often times claimed that they were the greatest innovations in the history of Alagaësia.

A few years back, a rouge magician broke into the Lord of Beltona's castle and took him captive. He placed magical traps across all entrances and exits, and demanded a large sum of money and safe passage to wherever he pleased in exchange for the Lord's life. When Thalamir and Varda abr Vanyali arrived and negotiations through scrying mirrors began, Thalamir insisted on questioning the magician about a number of obscure theories and spells that he needed to embark on his latest experiment. He even required that the magician turn over his entire collection of magical texts to Thalamir as part of the bargain. The rebel magic user refused, and as Thalamir persisted, tensions rose to the point where the magician was screaming that he would kill the Lord if he did not get what he called for. Only when Thalamir offered a larger sum of money did the magician finally relent, and wrote the location on a piece of parchment, slipping it into the Lord's pocket. At that, Thalamir thanked the man for his cooperation, and then proceeded to mutter a brief phrase in the Ancient Language, at which point everyone in the room watched through the mirror as the man instantly went rigid as a board and toppled over. Thalamir calmly chose two of his deputies and, smiling while he did it, ordered them to go fetch the man, bind him and gag him, and ensure that the Lord and the other inhabitants of the castle were unharmed. One of the younger members of Varda abr Vanyali managed to stutter, "H-how on earth did you do that?" To which Thalamir laughed and replied, "It was simple, really!" before jumping into a mind-bogglingly complex explanation that not a single person understood, save Thalamir himself. Oblivious to the confusion surrounding him, he instructed his puzzled subordinates to quit their dallying and fetch him the location of the library, so that he may begin his newest investigation at once. It was, as he claimed, "Of the utmost importance!"

"Nasuada, are you listening?"

She blinked as her mind shifted back to the present. Thalamir stared at her with a questioning expression. Nasuada sighed, "Do excuse me, Thalamir; I have not heard a word you have said. Though it is not due to a lack of interest, I assure you! I am simply tired. If you could start again, please?"

Slightly irritated, but still displaying a toothy grin, Thalamir offered, "Perhaps an analogy? Clearly my explanations are not adequate. As I was saying, contrary to popular belief, Alagaësia is not all there is!"

As he picked up a paper covered in illegible scrawl, Nasuada frowned and said, "Well yes, we know there are lands beyond Alagaësia, which is no new discovery…"

His smile widened as he thrust his pointer finger in the air and exclaimed, "Ah, but did you know that there is more than those as well? I speak of lands from another world."

"Another…world? I am afraid I do not understand," Nasuada replied, confused.

Thalamir held up the paper he had selected. "Use your imagination, Nasuada," He urged, "and pretend for a moment that this paper represents all of Alagaësia. But not just that! Imagine that it symbolizes the land with the home of the Riders to the east, the homeland of the elves across the sea to the west, as well as any other lands beyond the Beor Mountains, Du Weldenvarden, and any other place unspoken of. Let us make-believe that this parchment embodies everything that there is. Can you do that?"

The concept was overwhelming. Everything that is? Both known and unknown? Nasuada struggled to wrap her mind around the idea. After a moment of closing her eyes, she nodded to him. Thalamir nodded in response, and then murmured something under his breath. When the paper was released, it hung suspended in the air. Thalamir turned to grab another page, his voice muffling as he turned away from her, "Now, this may seem strange to you, but I guarantee you, this is the truth."

As he turned around, now holding countless papers, he began to suspend them all in the air, one after the other. When he was finished, the papers floated in a straight line, with the front of one page less than an inch from the back of the next.

He pointed to the paper representing all of existence, and asked, "This is Alagaësia, correct?"

She nodded in agreement, and he paused before saying, "What if I were to tell you that this," he pointed at another paper, "and this," as he moved his index finger to another paper in the line, "were each their own…everything? That each one of these papers has lands, peoples, kingdoms, plants and animals, ideas, and knowledge, all totally unique and independent of one another?!"

Thalamir was literally jumping up and down with excitement, his huge, beaming grin nearly splitting his face in two. Not that Nasuada noticed, as her eyes unfocused and her chest felt as though someone had struck it. As she struggled to stay upright, she kept thinking, It's not possible…it can't be possible…could it? Grabbing the table's edge, she steadied herself. "Prove that what you claim to be true is, in fact, the truth. If you cannot, I refuse to believe you, Thalamir."

His smile grew even wider as he laughed, "I would never make such a claim without proof, my Queen! It would be my honor to show you evidence of my discovery."

His eyes searched the walls until he found what he was looking for, and he ran over to retrieve a large silver mirror, edged with an elegant design inlaid with large rubies. Bringing it back to the table, he laid it down, closed his eyes, and cast a long and complex spell. The surface of the mirror shimmered, as an image appeared. At first, Nasuada could not make sense of what she was seeing. Then, slowly, she began to decipher the elements of the picture. There were people, humans, walking around. However, they were not like any humans she had ever seen before. Their cloths were very strange, with shapes and colors unlike anything in all of Alagaësia. The women mostly wore leggings, along with odd-looking shoes on their feet. The tunics of the males were unusual and often ended halfway between the elbow and the shoulder. Many of the people walking held one hand to cover their ear, as though they were injured, but showed no signs of distress. The structures around them stretched far into the sky, taller than the tallest of trees in Du Weldenvarden, and things blurred by the walking people, moving so fast it was hard to discern any sort of form or structure. Overall, the place and its inhabitants struck Nasuada as outlandish and alien, and she had to suppress a shudder as she turned away from the mirror. This should not be, she thought. To Thalamir, she said, "Stop. Get rid of it, now."

He gave her a look, and then complied, and the strange image faded away. She took a deep breath to try and calm her shaking hands. "Thalamir," she started, "as…interesting as this thing you have found may be, how it of any use to anyone? I highly doubt that most people would even begin to understand this concept."

Thalamir's smile swelled to an impossible size as he strode over to the line of papers hanging in the air. "It will be of use, my Lady, because I have finally discovered how to do this…"

As he held her eyes with his, he raised his thumb and index fingers up to two of the pages, and ever so gently, he pinched them together. A single point on each paper was in contact with the other, held there by this hand.

"A bridge, Nasuada. I can make a bridge."

In spite of Thalamir's blatant enthusiasm, Nasuada was already shaking her head. If asked why, she would not be able to explain it in words, but deep down, she knew that those pages were separate for a reason. The idea of them touching, mixing, contaminating one another filled her with dread. If that were to happen…no, she would not allow it. "No."

For the first time in her entire memory, Thalamir's smile faded away. He stared at her, stunned and dumbfounded. "What?" he asked.

She took a deep breath, and repeated herself, "I said—"

At that moment, two people barged into the hall and bent over, panting from exertion. Nasuada recognized them as two of the senior members of Varda abr Vanyali. One of them struggled to compose himself, and gasped, "Master, it is an emergency! Several magicians are attacking the Imperial Army's barracks in western Ilirea! Come quickly!"

Thalamir looked at them, and then back at Nasuada. He smiled faintly, "I will send for you later this week, Queen Nasuada. Perhaps I might change your mind."

He then turned and rushed out the door with the members of Varda abr Vanyali, leaving Nasuada wondering on how she could possibly politely refuse a man the chance to fulfill countless years of work and effort, based on nothing but her instincts.

Disclaimer: Not entirely sure why this is necessary…I would've figured its fairly obvious that I don't own the source material, considering it is fan fiction…But anyways, just to make sure everyone knows, I DO NOT own the Inheritance Cycle, it belongs to Christopher Paolini. There you go.

Author's Note: This is my first time ever writing a story of any kind, so please cut me a tiny bit of slack? I'll do my best, but considering my lack of experience in translating this AWESOME idea I have in my head into readable words for everyone to see, this may turn out good, and it may not…I welcome constructive criticism, though, so don't be afraid to help me improve! Also, if you notice any OOC-ness going on, please let me know. I always hate it when someone really messes up a character that I like, but now that I'm actually writing the story, it's much harder to tell if I got it right or not! Stay tuned for more!