Author's Note: All right, hello potential readers. I've been wanting to write a fan fiction based on this character for a loooong time. Although he belongs to Paolini, Chris hasn't said much about him so I can basically create his story. If you like it, please add to favorites and review! If you don't like it, please do so anyway. :) Thanks!

"Anurin, wake up! Wake up, Anurin!"

In a moment, the twelve year old was fully conscious, his mind sharp and his awareness complete. He didn't know whether it was the rough shaking that had so effectively woke him, or the fear in the voice that had intruded upon his dreams.

He looked up at his father, a handsome man with black hair, neatly trimmed stubble on his jaw and chin, and brilliant blue eyes that he had passed on to his son.

"What is it?" Anurin whispered, not knowing why he did so, but subdued by the intensity of his father's gaze.

"I'll tell you soon," he said, sweeping away the question, "We have to go somewhere first."

"Where?" Anurin asked, rolling off his bed and getting to his feet.

"Somewhere else!" Hissed his father. Anurin looked at him for a few moments, taking in all the details of his face. He was desperate and terrified, and Anurin knew that now was not the time to ask questions. They ran through their small house and out the back door, Anurin still barefoot. Once outside, screams could be heard all around, and Anurin was looking all around for their source as they ran, his father's directing hand squeezing his shoulder.

After they had been running straight south for a few minutes, Anurin realized they were leaving Morduve, the town he and all his people had been raised to love and care for.

Anurin's curiosity overcame his hesitation to ask questions. "Where are we going?" he asked as they ran. When he asked the question, he could tell that his father didn't want to answer it, but he must have realized that answering one question was easier than ignoring several.

"We're going to the old well, between the mountains. You'll be safe there." Things were taking a very menacing turn, what with the still audible screams coming from the city they were nearly clear of. However, Anurin still didn't know what was going on, so he decided to ask another question. "Safe from what? What's going on?" Two questions. Oh well. His father hesitated again.

"Tell me, father, or else I might not act appropriately to the occasion." Anurin said. His reason appealed to his father, who said, "Morduve is under attack by a very large army. I don't think-" He sounded completely calm—no-emotionless, but there was something about his stiffness that told Anurin the calm exterior was a façade. Anurin squeezed his hand comfortingly while they walked, and looked up at him. A crystal tear squeezed from his father's eye and dripped onto Anurin's hand.

When they had almost left the city through the small West Gate, three armed and armored men appeared in front of them from behind a house. The pair tensed at the sight of them, but then they recognized the men as Morduvian soldiers. One took off his helmet. It was Jalian, a Morduvian council member, and captain in the army. He commanded two thousand men.

"Kodev! It's you!" He looked relieved, along with the two men with him. Then his expression became confused. "Where are you going?"

Anurin knew that his father Kodev and Captain Jalian had fought side by side for several years. The captain often came to their house to eat with them, and he and Kodev would often go to the Flowing Fountain, the local pub, and swap stories with other soldiers. They were very good friends, and Anurin had heard enough war stories to know they fought well together.

"I'm taking my son out of the city, to a safe place." Kodev said, with his hand on Anurin's shoulder. Jalian looked at Anurin then back at Kodev and there was an understanding there that Anurin couldn't begin to understand.

"Yes. He should be safe." Jalian said, now fixing Anurin with an intense gaze. Anurin returned it with a strong look that couldn't hide his confusion. He knew there were unspoken words that were mutually understood by both his father and the captain.

"Do you have any news, Jalian?" Kodev asked.

"They've broken through the North Gate. The first line of buildings is in ruin from their fire bombs, and there are five thousand Secrum are already in Morduve, maybe more." His expression turned to one of fear. "Kodev, Lord Caliber is here."

Anurin saw his father frown. His grip had tightened painfully on Anurin's shoulder, but Anurin wasn't going to complain. "Gods help us." Kodev whispered. There was a pause.

"I must get my son to safety. There is a nearby place no one will look. He will be hidden even from Caliber. But I'll come back to fight before it is too late."

"I hope you do." Jalian responded sincerely.

"Just keep an eye out, brother." Kodev said with a nostalgic smile. They clasped hands. "If I don't see you again, peace guard your soul."

Jalian nodded and seemed to be taking in Kodev's appearance, as if saving the details of his friend in his memory forever. After a few long moments, during which the screams and sounds of destruction were strangely muted, Jalian sighed. "Peace guard your soul as well, brother."

Without prolonging their goodbyes, the two friends parted: Jalian with his two subordinates, and Kodev with Anurin.

The journey to the West Gate was a tense one, considering that both Kodev and Anurin fully expected no less than a troop of soldiers to jump out at them at every turn. The sounds of war were so faint that they were nearly inaudible. It was silent except for the occasional far-off roar of a falling building. Aside from that, and the trail of smoke that rose to the sky behind them, it was the same as any other night.

The West Gate couldn't constitute a gate, really. It was more like a door, and it was impossible to get to from outside the city, because it led into the maze-like mountains, which cradled the west and south sides of the city. Anurin could remember going to the well once before with his father, when he was only four. It was a strange place, so secluded and apart from the world. For some reason, being there made him sleepy. It must have been the silence.

When they had reached the Gate father and son increased their pace until they were jogging. The 'Gate' opened with a creaking from its rusty hinges, and they shut it behind them. Now all sound of war had been left behind them, and Anurin felt extremely secluded. It was a weird feeling, and definitely not a peaceful one. There was a narrow path, wide enough for one normal sized man to walk through, or two small children. On either side were perfectly vertical walls of mountain, as if the path to the well was cut through the mountain.

Anurin had a vague memory of terror upon his first and only trip through the path, when he had been young. The feeling of claustrophobia was so intense that, at first, he had thrown up. It had taken a strong will to keep walking, and it would again take Anurin's prematurely iron determination to walk unscathed to the well.

"Are you ready?" Kodev asked Anurin, who clenched his teeth. He didn't know if he was ready, but he would not show the smallest sign of weakness. "Yes." he replied in a steady voice, eying the gray, bleak mountain face with as much courage as he could muster. The wind was blowing from the north, gently tugging at his clothes. He fully realized for the first time that he wasn't even wearing shoes. With all the information he was taking in, whether or not he was wearing shoes seemed like such a trivial matter than he had pushed it back to his subconscious.

Kodev grabbed onto Anurin's hand, for which Anurin was thankful, and started toward the frighteningly small crevice, and Anurin led the way since they couldn't walk abreast. Every step seemed to Anurin like a slow walk to his execution, or like the wait a prisoner would have to endure until the torturer came to make his life pain. When his father stopped, Anurin thought for half a second that Kodev had lost his nerve as well and couldn't bear to enter the crevice, but then he saw Kodev touch his hand to the mountain, as if revisiting an old memory. Then he looked into the pitch-black crevice of the mountain and stepped into it.

After the first step, it felt like he had been swallowed by the earth, and was being strained down its cold, restricting throat. He wanted to go back, but he knew he would never allow himself to shrink from this challenge. He would overcome it. The second step only further entrenched him in the horrible feeling. The mountain seemed like it was squeezing all of the breath out of him, and his breath came in short gasps.

He had to go back. This was killing him. There was no way he would survive this...

No. Anurin stopped and squared his shoulders, mentally forcing back the feeling of claustrophobia. The mountains no longer pressed in on him so tightly. He took a few more steps.

His resolve threatened to crumble, and he redoubled his efforts, his expression a snarl of determination. Now he could face the challenge. He could not see, but he imagined the well only a few dozen steps away. He started walking faster; letting go of the grip he had on his father's hand, ignoring the looming mountainsides, which no longer existed in his mind. He was only in complete darkness, in a wide-open space, walking to a nearby destination.

When the feeling of openness came, he recognized it. He had left the razor thin path and was now in the small circular clearing where the well stood. The moonlight filtered into the clearing and he was able to see with semi-clarity. The well was there, in the exact center of the grassy space. The mountains rose thousands of feet above him on all sides, but the feeling was no longer unpleasant. He had conquered it. He swore he would never let fear control him. Ever. He was a human and the human will was the strongest force on the earth, stronger than the raging winds and the crashing seas he had heard of in tales told by the traveling men of Morduve.

Morduve...

He turned around when he realized his father was not with him. In fact, upon inspecting the entire clearing, he found that his father was nowhere to be seen. A prick of worry touched him for a moment, but he smothered it and walked back toward the path. When he arrived at the small opening, he peered into the pitch-blackness. "Father?" he called.

"I am here." the strong voice was followed quickly by the image of his father materializing out of the darkness. Anurin stepped back to let him in and once again drank in the features of his father's face.

His father was a strong man, he had known that even when he was too young to know anything. He had been a commanding officer in the Morduvian army, and he had heard vague stories told of his father's incredible victories against overwhelming odds, when their beautiful city had been threatened.

He was tall and built with lean muscles, and he was more courageous than any man Anurin had ever met. Kodev had taught Anurin as much as he could about sword fighting in the last three years, and Anurin had built up some muscle, although it was young muscle and wouldn't be well developed for a year or two more.

"Why are we here, father?" Anurin asked. Kodev looked at him, and Anurin could see in his eyes that his father was deep in thought. His father walked to the well in silence. Anurin followed him and watched as his father bent over the well to stare into its depths.

"Morduve will be overrun." Were his first words. His voice was calm, but there was a slight weariness in it, the weariness of a man who has seen far too much in his life. "One hundred thousand men sweep through Morduve as we speak. They will search the entire village for men, women, and children of any age. None will be enslaved," his father said, and added as an afterthough, as if speaking to himself, "Caliber doesn't take prisoners."

Anurin felt his hands tremble and he clenched them to make them stop. He didn't think he wanted to hear anything else his father had to say.

"In a year, this city will be nothing more than a few ruined buildings overcome with vines and inhabited by animals. The splendor of Morduve will be utterly forgotten." Kodev turned to his son, and now Anurin could see the sadness in his eyes. A sadness beyond tears. Kodev knelt until he was eyelevel with his son.

"You are the exception. You will survive this destruction and live with the memory of the Morduvians in your heart. You will be the last, and you will show the world the strength of our people. That is why we are here. This is the only safe place for you now."

His eyes went very far away, and his mouth twitched into a half-smile, though there was no happiness in it. After a moment, his vision focused once more on his only son. "A very powerful man is looking for you. He wants to find and capture the son of Kodev, Scourge of the Secrum Armies. He cannot find you here. You will carry on the pride of your race, and I have no doubt you will grow into a great and powerful warrior. You should know, I'm very proud of you." His father smiled, and the gesture seemed to make his sadness disappear.

Anurin could see the sincerity in his father's eyes, and suddenly a tear squeezed out of each of his. A tear of strong love for his father, and a tear of misery for the knowledge that they would never meet again. The strength went out of his legs then and he sat on the edge of the well, tears now rolling freely down his face. His father stood, and placed a hand on his head. Anurin felt a comforting warmth from the gesture, and a deep feeling of hope within him, although it was too deep to combat the darkness on the surface of his heart. He couldn't meet his father's eyes but instead looked down, his vision blurry from tears, and felt his father kiss him gently on the head.

With that, his father turned and walked toward the path. Just before he was swallowed by the darkness, he stepped and turned halfway around. Anurin looked up at him, his eyes moist.

"Goodbye, Anurin." He said. Anurin felt the large lump in his throat tighten.

"Goodbye, father." He managed to choke out. Then his father was gone.

With a strangled sigh, Anurin laid himself on the ground and closed his eyes against the world, which was full of pain, misery, and violence, none of which Anurin wanted to be a part of, but all of which seemed to want to be a part of him. He wished he could just block out the world for thousands of years, and wake up afterward to see his father standing next to him smiling.

In no time, Anurin fell asleep…