Chapter 1~
Over the cliffs of Aiedail soared five dragons. Four of which twisted and turned in pairs in an attempt to best the other. The fifth, a large, sapphire blue female, hovered slightly above the others, watching.
They are doing well. Observed Eragon, the blue dragon's rider. He was watching a silver dragon and a green dragon, who were busy dueling.
Perhaps. But if any one of them wishes to best me, they will have to do better. Saphira answered with a snort, looking at the other pair. One dragon, a young golden male, roared as his opponent slashed at him with purple claws. The golden male dove downwards to dodge the blow, but his opponent was too quick. The purple's teeth caught him on the tail, off-balancing him. As the gold struggled to regain control, the purple landed another gash.
Shall we stop them before they hurt each other too badly? Eragon asked Saphira. She roared and dove down to the two smaller dragons, who had stopped their duel as Saphira came towards them.
That was well done, Kasari. Said Saphira to the purple female, who radiated a feeling of happiness. She then turned to the gold and looked down at him, disappointment showing in her eyes.
Frethaer, this is the seventh time you have been defeated in these past few weeks. Had it been a true battle, you and your rider would have died long ago. Why is this? The small gold dragon flinched at Saphira's harsh words.
Saphira, you have to remember that he is the youngest one here. He is several years younger than Emeris and Kasari. Eragon reminded her. Emeris was a green male dragon who hatched a few hours after Kasari.
Age is no excuse. He needs to learn. Saphira told Eragon, blocking the others out from their conversation. To this, Eragon had no answer. It was then that they noticed that Emeris and Theris, a silver male dragon, who had been the first to hatch, had stopped dueling to watch.
This session is over. Let us see how your riders fared. Saphira said, descending. The other four soon followed. The four riders sparred against four elves. Theris' rider, an elf girl named Lifae, sparred with Blodhgarm. Emeris' rider, an urgal called Scharvoshk, sparred with a silver haired elf woman, Invidia, a member of Blodhgram's group of spellcasters. Kasari's rider, a dwarf called Fulvosk, sparred with Yaela, a silver haired elf woman who was also part of that group assigned to protect Eragon during the Varden War. Frethaer's rider was a young human boy with blonde hair and blue eyes named Zilon. He sparred with a black haired elf.
As the dragons landed, the elves and riders stopped their competition briefly to greet them. Eragon signaled to them to keep sparring with a wave of his hand. The eight of them paired up once more and began to circle their opponents. Bravely, Scharvoshk charged at Invidia with a wild cry, swinging his gargantuan sword, which the elf swiftly blocked. Their blades met with a ringing clang. Several yards away, Lifae and Blodhgarm sparred ferociously. Both elves were blurs on the field, their swords moving even faster. Each time one would try to strike, the other would block or dodge. Neither, Eragon figured, would hit the other.
Fulvosk and Yaela sparred in a far corner, the elf seeming to be a difficult match for the four foot tall dwarf. Her silver hair waving, the elf darted forward, stabbing at the dwarf. Fulvosk parried the move badly, his sword being knocked out of his grip. It clattered on the ground next to the dwarf. He quickly ducked to get it once more, struggling to parry an upcoming attack as soon as the blade's hilt was back in his hand. The dwarf's movements were too slow, Yaela held the tip of her sword to his neck.
Closest to Eragon sparred Zilon and the black haired elf. The young boy was obviously struggling to hold off the elf. Zilon hardly attacked, mostly defending or dodging the elf's fierce attacks. As he tried to parry another hit, Luthvien, the elf, feinted to the side and wrenched the sword out of the boy's hands, launching it several feet into the air. The golden blade fell some distance away, lodging half of its length in the ground.
"Enough." Eragon said. "All of you, go and take a break. Meet us in the Main Hall within the hour." With that, Eragon climbed up Saphira's scaly leg and into her saddle. With a powerful thrust, Saphira launched into the air just as the others clambered onto their dragons. Blodhgarm and his fellow elves set off on foot to the nearby castle.
Frethaer soared silently to the castle. His partner-of-heart-and-mind, the two-leg-round-ears-Zilon, was equally silent. He could sense anger and frustration from Zilon through their link. He couldn't blame him, he felt the same way too.
How fared your session? Zilon glumly thought to Frethaer.
Not good. Kasari bested me once more. Frethaer replied.
But that's the seventh time these past weeks! Zilon exclaimed, disbelief eminating from him.
You needn't remind me... The dragon sighed. Saphira already warned me. He then repeated her words to Zilon.
Those certainly were...harsh. Zilon said.
They are true. Frethaer said, sadness in his eyes.
Hey! Don't feel too bad. My sessions are as frustrating. Zilon thought. But we'll get better. Surely Master Eragon and Saphira didn't become this good overnight.
I thought I would have at least improved by now. I cannot even land a hit, no matter my opponent. The gold said.
It's the same with me. All I do is defend.
At least you can defend. My defenses are worse than an ant's when put against one of the others.
Don't think like that! Zilon responded
Frethaer didn't answer. He just continued to fly to the castle, speeding up slightly. A loud roar sounded in the distance.
What was that? Zilon thought, holding on as Frethaer turned to confront the dragon.
Its Murtagh and Thorn! Remember, Master Eragon said that they would visit. Frethaer said, seeing a red speck in the horizon.
But he said they would be coming in several weeks, not so soon. Zilon said. Frethaer agreed. He hovered in place, waiting for the two to arrive. The red dragon flew quickly, getting to them in mere minutes. It was clear that they bore some urgent news, else they would not have come so soon.
Where is Eragon? Murtagh asked them.
He should be in the Main Hall. Zilon said. Just follow us and we'll take you to the castle. Murtagh nodded.
Frethaer turned and began to fly back to the castle, Thorn following not too far behind. They arrived at the castle, which was atop a tall mountain, though according to Eragon it was nothing close to the Beors. Frethaer landed on the castle's landing, a long, flat strip of stone that dragons were meant to land on. Thorn landed next to him. The two began to walk to the doors, claws clacking on the stone. Frethaer put his shoulder against the thick stone doors, pushing with all his strength. Slowly, the doors slid open with a scratching noise. The little gold dragon held the door as the others went in, then followed, the door slamming shut behind him with a bang. Sure enough, Eragon and the others were in the main hall.
"Frethaer! Zilon! There you are! Where have you -" Eragon broke off, seeing Thorn and Murtagh. "Brother!"
"It has been a while, Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Brightscales." Murtagh said.
What brings you here so soon? Saphira asked.
"We bring urgent news from the Empire. We could have just scryed you, but this...Is off the records. Not even the elves know how he survived." Murtagh said with a hard voice.
"What happened?" Eragon asked, preparing himself for the worst.
"It seems... That Shruikan survived the blast." Murtagh growled. Everyone in the room gasped and began to ply him with questions.
Silence! Let them speak! Saphira roared. The room went quiet.
"No one knows how, but he's alive alright. Arya, Firnen, Thorn, and I all saw him when we went to investigate. Eragon. The dragon's insane. We can hardly keep him contained. He burns everything. Kills everyone. Several elves have died using magic to contain him. They've tried a cage, he damaged it, broke it, and burnt it down. We need your help! Either to kill him or break him away from his insanity. If not he will burn us all to the ground." Murtagh slammed his fist into the wall. The room was silent.
"When did you find out?" Eragon whispered
"Only a few weeks ago." Murtagh answered. "And another thing. Arya and Firnen were injured when we tried to contain him. Thorn was as well, though not as badly, so we came here."
"WHAT? How bad is it?" Eragon yelled.
"Arya will recover. But Firnen..." Murtagh stopped, shaking his head.
What has happened? Saphira asked. Thorn looked at Murtagh, who nodded. All of them suddenly felt a rush of memories from the red dragon.
Thorn and Firnen flew side by side, wondering if the situation was as bad as some say. Thorn for one knew how powerful Shruikan was, but Firnen knew nothing, except what Thorn shared in his memories. Suddenly, a gigantic black dragon swooped down at them. Shruikan was likely three times larger than Thorn and Firnen put together. The dragon roared, and Thorn spotted a gaping hole where his eye once was. It was the eye Arya had stabbed him in. He turned to look at them with his other eye, which was icy blue and full of pain and hate. The black dragon lunged. Thorn and Firnen frantically flapped out of the way, the black dragon's jaws snapping shut between them. He turned to Thorn, as he was on the side that Shruikan could see. He swerved left and right, up and down, trying to dodge Shruikan's ferocious attacks. The black dragon blasted a line of black flame at him, which parted to the side due to their wards. However, the flame made it difficult to see. Thorn flapped his wings, trying to clear out the fire. Too late, he saw the black dragon coming towards him. Shruikan slammed into Thorn, breaking several of the smaller dragon's ribs. Thorn roared in pain. Just as the black dragon was about to strike again, Firnen slammed into his neck, clawing and biting as Arya struggled to hack at him with Tamerlein. The black dragon whirled around, turning on Firnen. Thorn dove at Shruikan bravely, snapping at his neck. He hoped that they could bring him down as he and Saphira had done before. Murtagh stabbed at the monster with Zar'roc. With a heave of his mighty neck, Shruikan flung them both off, then turned and caught Firnen in his jaws. The smaller green dragon let out a high pitched scream of pain, and Arya fell out of the saddle, unconscious. Thorn dove to catch her, getting her in his right paw. He landed, setting her down gently just as Firnen's broken body landed in Leona Lake with a large splash. Thorn immediately dove after him, leaving Murtagh to help Arya. He swam through the bloodstained water, seeing the green dragon sinking. Thorn grabbed him and began to rise to the surface. He flew out of the water, wings straining at the extra weight. He landed, setting the injured dragon down gently. Above them, Shruikan roared and flew away, burning and destroying. Murtagh had finished healing Arya's injuries by then. He ran over to Thorn and Firnen, who was barely breathing. Using Thorn's strength and the strength of the trees around him, he began to heal the dragon's many life-threatening injuries. Murtagh sat back, breathing heavily with panic and fear when he was done healing the dragon. Arya and Firnen both lay unconscious where they were set down. Murtagh went to his bags on Thorn's saddle and took out his scrying mirror. He quickly whispered the Word to get past the elves' wards. He wouldn't have done so unless it was urgent. An elf, Dathedr, appeared on the mirror. He looked irritated.
"Why have you contacted us in this manner, Murtagh?" He said harshly.
"I would not have done this unless it was urgent. The rumors are true, Shruikan is alive and well. Queen Arya, Firnen, Thorn and I went to investigate, correct?" He said. The elf nodded, a look of concern coming on.
"What happened?" Lord Dathedr asked.
"We met Shruikan and fought him, but Arya and Firnen were baly injured. Arya will be alright, but Firnen is in bad shape. He needs your help. Thorn and I healed Arya and Firnen's most threatening wounds. Also, I believe Shruikan is flying to Du Weldenvarden at this moment. You have to warn the elves! Get them to contain him in some way." Murtagh said. Dathedr was silent for some time.
"I will warn them. As for Arya and Firnen, I will send several healers to help. Where are you?" Dathedr said.
"Good. We are at Lake Leona, near the river entrance. I must also mention that Firnen fell into the lake after Shruikan dropped him and nearly drowned. Thorn had to dive in and fly him to shore. His wings are badly strained." Murtagh said.
"I will send help right away. Stay where you are, though I doubt you would go anywhere." Dathedr said, leaving the room. Murtagh ended the spell.