The hardship of war has never been easy to deal with. Not for a young rider and his dragoness. One could think after 2 years of fighting, sacrificing things they cared about the most and defeating the ultimate enemy of all races in Alagaesia, they would have been able to find peace and happiness finally. However, fate usually has other plans for them. On the board of Talita, Eragon and Saphira do their best to deal with loneliness, longing for loved ones and the world they may never come back to. The journey would turn out to be the biggest challenge they have ever faced.
Chapter 1Rays of light slipped through Talita's windows, waking Eragon from his meditation.. He resisted the urge to wake from his slumber, considering there is no mortal threat lurking in the background, his mind trying to convince him otherwise.
"Eh… I shan't spend the entire day in bed…"
With that thought, he gently probed Saphira's mind, finding her still."No one would bother sleeping dragon," He said smirking. "I'll give her a few minutes; she deserves it."
Today was a good time to prepare the plans and daily schedules for the coming journey into the unknown. 'The sooner this matter is dealt with, the better', as the Eldunarii and the Elves said. Eragon knew that it would take weeks or months of traveling before reaching their destination, so he thought it would be best to prepare for challenges this wild land may have.
Eragon changed his clothes, attached his sword to his belt, grabbed an apple to eat, and headed for the deck of Talita. While he was getting closer to the staircase his hand moved over plant themed decorations covering each wall showing trees and flowers that grow in Du Weldenvarden. The wood texture felt like the cloth made of luxurious fabric inviting you to touch it. Dim light made interior feel like he was back in Ellesmera relaxing in his house after tough training with Master Oromis. The gantle sways of the ship and smell the wood reminding of ancient trees. If he closed his eyes, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
After a moment he reached his destination. He breathed in a deep lungful of the clean salty air and felt the fresh breeze on his face as he stepped outside on the deck of Talita. The weather was perfect, not too warm, not too cold, with a few clouds here and there in the sky. The aura filled him with optimism. He noticed elves already on their feet taking care of duties around the ship. Each of them greeted him in an elvish fashion which he responded to in a similar way. Then, his eyes quickly found his partner-of-mind-and-heart at the quarterdeck sleeping peacefully.
Her sapphire scales shined like diamonds under the sun; it always was a breath-taking view for him. Her sharp claws, long tail, and neck, muscular and slim body made her the most beautiful member of her kind in his eyes.
"Even though I've seen this so many times, it always amazes me..."
He stood there admiring his dragoness for a few moments before his mind returned to more problematic matters. It's been a few days since they departed from Alagaesia and since then neither of them had brought up the subject about Arya or Firnen. He assumed she would not have taken the separation from the green dragon lightly, but so far she seemed to be doing well.
"She was really fond of him. They were inseparable before departure…" His train of thought was stopped by the arrival of Blodhgarm.
When he saw Eragon he greeted, touching his lips with 2 fingers. ""Shadeslayer, are you ready to discuss our course of action for the near future?
Even after the death of Galbatorix, these lands are still dangerous. Eragon still remembered the encounter with the Fanghurs during the trip to Az Ragni. If he had been separated from Saphira during that attack, he wasn't sure if he could have escaped without a scratch. After all, the place they're going to may have even more powerful creatures.
"Certainly Blodhgarm, give me a moment. I need to wake up Saphira from her beauty sleep…" The elf only grinned in a response showing off his fangs. Eragon walked to her head and looked down at her. She looked so peaceful. He almost regretted waking her up, but duties cannot be neglected. He kneeled in front of her and start rubbing the brow above her eyes gently while his other hand explored her head. Her triangular head was almost as big as his torso and head put together. Soon his palm moved over a slightly inwardly curved horn stuck out from the back of her skull then and went down her neck. He reached the nape of the dragoness that was covered by spikes making it look like a hedgehog's back. It provided protection that had been tested every time she fought with Thorn. "All in all, nature is the best designer." He thought. On the sides of her head was the part of her body that Eragon was only able to describe as very pointy ears coming out from right below her horns. After a moment he noticed her eyes twitching in sleep.
"Perhaps she is having a dream. Well, too bad I have to interrupt it."
With that thought, he started calling her name out loud but gently. "Saphira…" He tried, not getting any response from the sleeping dragon.
"Saphira, it's time to get up. Our friends would like to talk about our plans," he spoke in her mind, trying to wake her up that way. Saphira only grunted and moved her head away from him. "Alright, what was her ticklish spot around the head… Aha!" He started gently rubbing his fingers over the scales around her ears, his fingertips gliding in the grooves between the scales. She stirred a bit, and after a brief moment, her mind reconnected with his own. Eragon wrapped his mind around her in a hug, allowing her warmth to envelop his mind. "Good morning, sleepy head." He grinned playfully. She turned her head sluggishly towards Eragon and looked at him with her sapphire eyes.
"Good morning, Little One," she replied while nuzzling his cheek, allowing silence to provide a small pause, savouring the small moment. "I'm not that sleepy." She added quietly.
"I beg to differ, it's almost midday and it took me a while to wake you up." Eragon noticed her moving a bit sluggishly considering they went to bed at proper time. Perhaps, she didn't fall asleep as soon as he left after all. Her tired voice in his mind seemed to confirm that. However, he felt there is no point bringing that up.
"Hmph, perhaps I was just tired."
"Good morning, both of you." Their conversation was interrupted by the leader of dragons from the past, Umaroth and their former teacher Glaedr.
"Good morning, Elbrithil" Eragon and Saphira greeted the elder dragons.
"It's time to discuss our plans for the near future. After all, it's unknown land and we have no idea what to expect." Umaroth said.
"Elbrithil, may I have breakfast first? I am quite hungry."
"Unfortunately not. Firstly, we need to deal with this matter, then you may hunt Bjartskular." Gleadr replied.
"Of course."
"I'll come with you," Eragon said privately. Saphira hummed in response.
"I really feel like hunting a deer…" She murmured back to him.
"Haha, you'll catch one soon. Come on, let's get going." With that said, Eragon stepped back giving Saphira some space.
He watched his dragoness rising from her spot and start stretching her body like a cat. She arched her spine into a bow, pushing her weight onto her muscular hind legs, the long tail swinging in each direction and wings spread to each side surpassing the width of the ship. Eragon could feel Saphira's satisfaction in their bond. It was her morning ritual, it's a similar situation to people who have to wash their face in the morning, otherwise, they wouldn't be fully awake. She turned around carefully. The memory of pushing crates over the railing with her tail was still fresh, thus the dragoness paid attention while turning her long body around. By the time Saphira finished her morning stretching she caught her rider's eyes still attached to her blue scales, transfixed on her.
"Eragon? You're starting at me" she said in a neutral voice.
"Oh, sorry," he replied abashedly. "Let's go"
Eragon and Saphira settled down next to the table where the elves had already gathered, while dragoness and rider were talking. Eragon noticed a map of Alagaesia laying on the table with a marked position of Talita. However, soon enough it would be useless because lands in the east are just white spots. There are also a few books, a sheet of paper and cartography tools. "It seems finding a new home for the dragon riders is not the only goal," Eragon thought and Saphira shared his view. Nearby stood Blodgharm ready to begin.
"Umaroth-elda, Saphira and Eragon" he began addressing everyone.
"Our main goal is to find new settlements for the new generation of dragon riders. However, there is not a lot of information about the place we're going to. We are explorers of this new land."
"What do we know?" Eragon asked looking at the eastern side of Alagaesia map.
"The dragon riders' and elves' records told about a land way bigger than Alageasia itself. Many believed the Edda river reaches an ocean coast in the far east. We can assume plants and animals would be the same as the fauna and flora here, but the further we go, the less recognisable the environment may be." Umaroth chimed in.
Saphira could sense the question that was forming in Eragon's mind before he asked it.
"Why do we know so little about it? Someone has to live in that region, it's hard to believe there are no humans, nor elves, nor dwarves."
"Before the Fall, the council was planning to send an expedition to that region trying to answer the same question. However, the rise of Galbatorix and his Forsworn came before the plan could be executed…" the elder dragon finished with a tone of grief in his voice.
Blodgharm decided to add his thoughts about the matter. "Our records from Ellesmera tell neither Elven Kingdom, Broddring Empire, or Dwarves have established any contact with people who may have lived there for the last several hundreds of years. It is not quite reassuring"
Eragon sensed conclusions forming in the dragoness' mind. "So… The place we're going to could be a wasteland after all… If the plants and prey are similar there, and with proper climate… there should have been someone living there in large groups. Sooner or later they would have started exploring their neighbourhood..." The rider focused on Saphira's feelings during her internal speech and everything else became quiet, pushed into the background. While she was speaking Eragon could feel her tiredness emitting from their bond. Meanwhile, she continued "… so we may travel for a long time, sailing further and further away from Alagaesia looking for a suitable place to settle down… and find nothing good enough..." Saphira's voice gradually became quieter as she continued. Then Eragon reached towards her with his mind in private. "Saphira, my dear, are you alright?" he said softly, then touched her arm and added, "You're tired."
She looked back at him like she was dazed. "Yes… I.. I am alright. I might have slept too little, but I will be fine…" She muttered back to him absentmindedly. Eragon felt sympathetic for the poor dragoness, she would never usually admit that she was tired, certainly not openly.
"We'll go to bed earlier today and make sure you have a nice buck to eat." he finished, hugging her mind warmly.
It seemed the dragons and Blodgharm didn't pay attention to Saphira's behaviour. However, one golden Eldunari who knew her very well noticed that her state was quite unusual. She had never been like this in all the time he had been training her. He decided to keep an eye on her from now. Then he returned his focus to the discussion and sensed her rider's frustration, that was reflected in a simple question; getting straight to the point of the meeting.
"What should we do then?"
Glaedr had been contemplating this very question ever since he decided to leave Alagaesia, so he chose to suggest his ideas.
"My idea is you and Saphira will patrol the nearby area around Talita and report anything you find interesting or that may be important to our mission. During those flights you will try to memorise the landscape, so the elves can start on the cartography for the new land. Talita will continue sailing down the river and you'll come back on board for the night after patrols. Your daily schedule will include magic training and mind shielding training. Blodgharm and I will lead these lessons." The elf bowed slightly in response. "All in all, we do not know if magic users live there and you both can't be caught by surprise like you were during an encounter with Fanghurs. Creatures with similar abilities may live there. Are there any questions?"
"What should we do if we encounter the natives?" Eragon said. He knew breaking the ice with locals won't be easy with a big dragon behind his back.
Umaroth found Glaedr's plan to be reasonable enough, so he sent a thought of approval to his friend and then replied to the young rider "If you sensed humans, dwarves or any sentient creatures, we should observe them from distance before we decide whether or not we should reveal ourselves. However, we should avoid making any contact before we find a place to secure the dragon eggs".
"Is there anything Saphira should be worried about?" Eragon added in a slightly concerned voice.
"There are very few things that could threaten a dragon, Little one. However, I shall be cautious as always." He could feel Saphira would protect him whatever the fates would throw at them.
"Excuse me, I believe there is one other thing to consider as well." Blodgharm interrupted. "The real problem that may arise when we find the place for the new dragon riders order is the distance." Eragon never thought about that particular issue, because Saphira was able to fly for a long time and cover great distances relatively quickly. On the other hand, they are not in Alagaesia anymore and who knows where they would find the perfect place to settle down. The elf continued "The issue is to find a place isolated and far enough away from Alagesia so the dragons could flourish peacefully, but close enough, so the dragon riders wouldn't have to spend a month or longer traveling back and forth between the new sanctuary and Alagaesia."
"That's a good point. I am afraid I couldn't give an ideal solution to this matter." Umaroth said deep in thought. "… perhaps the answear would be clear once we reach our goal."
"Of course." Both the dragoness and the rider replied.
"Alright, as soon as Saphira had breakfast you'll start your first patrol." Umaroth addressed the pair and with that statement, the meeting was finished.
Eragon watched Blodgharm going back to his duties leaving him, Saphira and the Eldunari alone. The rider observed him walking away and after a moment he turned to his dragoness "Alright, give me a moment, I'll grab your saddle and we can go". He noticed that she didn't listen and was looking in a general direction towards the horizon. He glanced that way, but there was nothing in the sky. A bit confused he reached for her in his mind.
"Saphira, did you hear me?" She jerked her head like she was startled by something. Her voice was like in a fog.
"I am sorry, Little One. What did you say?" witheyes looking at him, but not into his eyes avoiding his gaze.
"I said I was going to bring your saddle, so we can go on the patrol that Glaedr mentioned".
"Oh… I'll wait here then" Eragoncould feel embarrassment coming from his partner. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable; a proper breakfast will do well for her.
After a moment he added in a gentle voice.
"After we are done here, a full breakfast will put you on your feet." the rider smiled. In response, Saphira sent him feelings of gratitude.
"I'll be right back."
Eragon headed to a nearby storage box were Saphira's saddle was being kept. They decided to bring both types of saddles, but for this expedition, the best-suited one was designed for combat and maneuverability. It was pretty simple to build, but it fulfils its role entirely. From oursiders' perspective the saddle looked like the pile of straps that had no purpouse but they made sure the rider wouldn't have fallen off during extreme manuvers. Eragon grabbed it with firm grip as his muscles compensated additional weight. The rider felt rough texture of lather under his hand reminding him the saddle saw fair share of his and dragoness adventure; so far it had never failed them. However, Saphira mentioned to him a few times that they should get prettier one in the future. Time would tell he thought.
Turning back, he saw Saphira already laying down waiting for him. He carried the saddle and harness to the base of her neck, reaching up to put it on her. Thankfully, his task wasn't too troublesome, because Saphira's nape was at the height of his chest whilst she was lying down. Eragon adjusted the saddle on the back of her neck, carefully attaching the straps into the right positions around the spikes that adorned her back.
"Saphira, stand up, please." He asked. With a mental sigh, the dragoness stood up, the rest of the unattached straps dangling around the sides of her body. Saphira extended her wings subconsciously to allow him to attach the harness straps, but in his hurry, the arm of the wing collided with his head, bumping it forward into the crook above her shoulder. Saphira felt the spark of pain in their bond, her worried eyes turning to look down at Eragon.
"Don't worry, I'm just clumsy." He reassured, answering her unspoken question. Eragon attached the rest of the straps around her chest, the harness tightening with each strap. he could feel her gaze as she watched him working attentively. Once again, he went around every strap, checking the tightness whilst he lightly caressed her neck with his free hand, hoping to soothe his partner's nerves from the events of the morning. After some time, he heard the pleased rumble from the chest of Saphira, forcing a smile to his face.
" Ok, we can fly," He announced, turning to face her dazzling eyes once more.
"Go ahead I'm ready," she replied in a more cheerful voice and bump her nose at his shoulder urging him to climb into the saddle. She lowered her chest to let him climb on. Eragon attached Brisingr to the saddle and then with a learned move he climbed her and sat in the saddle. Quickly, he tightened the straps on his leg. "Let's go!" he said cheerfully. He felt the dragoness's muscles tensed and in the blink of an eye she pushed herself into the air using her hind legs and wings started to swing powerfully fighting against gravity. After a moment she reached her cruising altitude and headed further to the plains.
The landscape below them was indistinguishable and lacked any orientation points except for the nearby Edda river. Further, in the north, a forest could be seen, Eragon wasn't sure if it belongs to Du Weldenvarden or if it's a completely different place. The lack of any natural barriers also means it can be quite windy in this region. He looked around before he spoke to Saphira.
"What do you think about this place?"
"Wherever I look I can see only grassland mixed with small areas with trees. There is the forest up north too." The dragoness replied with a dry voice.
"We can go there. There must be plenty of animals you could hunt."
"Unfortunately, it's too far to go there in a reasonable time. We can't fly too far from Talita, Little One." Her words were truthful considering the forest was barely visible on the horizon.
With slight resignation in his voice Eragon replied "Well, we can try to find big prey further down the river. Every animal needs to drink."
With that said, Saphira changed her course to follow the general direction of the river, while Eragon was checking the nearby vicinity with his magic. He also didn't forget about the other task they were given, gathering information about the land, so maps could be drawn. What he could see, only confirmed Saphira's observation. Most animals he spotted were small ones like hares. It'd have been big enough for a human, but not for his dragoness. "Perhaps, this is the reason why no people live here," Eragon thought. They had been flying in silence for 1 hour, then the rider shouted in their bond "There!". The herd of fallow deer was at a bank of the river in front of them. Saphira suddenly drop a few feet as she heard sudden scream in their bond, quickly followed the mental image of the place Eragon sent to her. Humming in thanks she quickened her pace. Saphira spotted 7 animals within the herd lead by a large buck. Eragon felt the hunger coming from his dragoness, thus he knew she would approach her prey as fast as possible. She flew around the area to have the sun behind her and began her hunt. She dived sharply gaining outstanding speed. Eragon holds the spike in front of him and the landscape below him started to blur and flowing air became painfully loud. Saphira folded her wings to increase her velocity even more. They quickly approached the herd and the rider noticed his dragoness didn't start slowing down. "Saphira! Slow down! You'll miss." He felt hesitation in their bond, but he could only watch; he believed nothing could be done at that point. Saphira extended her hind feet to catch the deer like a bird of prey, but with such sheer speed it was not easy. Eragon felt the air current swayed Saphira sharply. "Watch out!" He was about to use a spell to save them when the dragoness surprised him and managed to grab the largest buck in her talons. The rest of the herd turned their head towards the cries of their caught leader. At that instant, they started running away.
He felt the adrenaline pumping in his veins, as the dragoness stabilised her flight and turned to follow the herd.
"Since when have you been an expert of flying Eragon?!" Her jaws clasped loudly. "I did that hundreds of times in the past." He could feel he had hurt her pride quite a lot.
"I was just worried due to your speed that I'd have seen you shattered on the ground split seconds before I'd have shared the same fate!"
Saphira regained her self-awareness and flooded their bond with her unreadable feelings. The dragoness started to fly slower and slower without a general direction, lost in thoughts.
"Perhaps you are right, Little One. I'll listen to you next time…" with her voice becoming more and quieter.
"Alright, let's take a break."
The dragoness came back to the river bank where she dropped her prize and then landed. Eragon dismounted and felt good to stretched his legs finally, meanwhile, Saphira turned around without giving him a glance and walked up to her food. She stood in front of the carcass for a moment. Her tail was hanging low above the ground and her usually, tightly folded wings were loosened on the sides of her body. With a grunt, she laid down and started devouring the deer trying to sate her hunger that became unbearable after the adrenaline wore off. Eragon found a root to sit on and was watching his dragoness from a distance trying to read the emotions of his partner. "She is not herself today. She really needs to get some sleep later". He felt nothing in their bond and he wasn't sure if it was a good sign. Minutes were passing and he noticed Saphira finished her meal. He was about to ask if she is ready to take off, but he was interrupted by Glaedr.
"Younglings, since you are done with breakfast, let's talk about your patrol's schedules."
"Yes, Elbrithil" both dragoness and rider replied in unison taking them out of their trance.
"Everyday, after you ate your breakfast in the morning, you fly around the area where Talita is at that moment. You won't fly further than within 2 or 3-hour flight range, so you won't get lost in this land."
"I see," the dragoness replied
"What's my task then?"
"As I said earlier, you Eragon will search the area with your magic and try to memorise everything you can find. After, the patrol you will share that knowledge with our cartographer."
"Understood".
"When you are ready, you shall start the patrol." Then Eldunari withdraw from their bond. Saphira and Eragon looked at each other for a brief moment, but Saphira's shifted her gaze away from him quickly. An uncomfortable silence had set in between them. Eragon decided to break it first.
"Saphira, are you still hungry?" He said in a warm voice.
"No, I think I ate enough." He knew she could have eaten more than an entire large buck if she had been really hungry, thus this was something new for him. "Let's not torment her more. We had enough "thrills" for today."
"Ok, let's get going" He came up to his partner and quickly climbed on her. He gave her a reassuring pat and they took off heading northeast. On the ground, the carcass of the large deer was left half finished.
…
The patrol went without any accident thankfully letting the pair relax a bit. Eragon was sitting focused on Saphira's back reaching his consciousness as far as possible around them, meanwhile, the dragoness was observing the land in front of them with her sharp eyes. The land below them hasn't changed a lot since they left Talita except for larger areas of trees here and there and thicker vegetation. They weren't talking a lot, only shared their observations if they noticed something unusual. After some time Glaedr decided to assist them in searching, though his help didn't change the result of the patrol. After 2 hours Eragon brought up his remarks about this land.
"I am not able to sense any signs of human, elven, dwarven presence, only animals and plants. What does it mean, Gleadr-elda?" The rider looked around nervously and his dragoness shared the same concern.
"This land seems to have enough resources for bipedal races to live. Prey, water, wood. Everything they may have needed." Eragon's and Saphira's observations seem to confirm that. Small critters they originally found nearby the river were replaced by bigger and more desirable animals for hunters. There were more trees and that meant easier access to building material for small settlements. Not to mention small lakes they spotted from the air. After a moment golden dragon continued.
"There may be someone or something that drove the people from this land a long time ago and the people who lived here never returned." The revelation sends cold shivers down his students' backs. "We shall be even more cautious from now."
Soon after the decision was made to come back to Talita. No one felt comfortable in that place anymore. It took some time to find the ship, which had covered a significant distance during their absence, but after another 2 hours, it was found. Saphira approached the landing pad upwind lazily and landed carefully. The elves on board observed her with politely concealed admiration. Eragon unbuckled the strips that held his legs and dropped to the ground. The time spent in the saddle didn't do well to his strained muscles considering his shaky step. Suddenly he heard Blodgharm calling him. "Shadeslayer, Bjartskular, we were worried you got lost."
"Don't worry, it just took us longer than we thought to find something to eat for Saphira." The rider replied followed by a grunt from his dragoness.
"I hope the patrol went without any problems at least?"
"That's true, but there is one matter that made us concerned" Before he managed to explain what it was, a large muzzle bumped his arm reminding him that Saphira wants the saddle off her finally. "Apologies, Glaedr or Umaroth can explain in detail what we discovered," he said after asking the old dragons for assistance.
"Of course, talk to me later. There is still one task left from your schedule."
"Oh right," Eragon thought.
"Eragon..?" large sapphire eyes looked at him with a subtle gleam of impatience and tiredness.
"Yes, yes. I'm taking the saddle of now my dear". He received a blink in return.
The process was opposite to what he did this morning and wasn't anything unusual to him. Saphira, on the other hand, moved noticeably sluggish and he had to pat her wing's arm to make her lift them up, so he could unbuckle and remove the strips from her chest. Finally, she laid down and allowed Eragon to take the saddle off and carry it to the storage box. After securing the locker he turned around and found Saphira in the same position with wings unfolded on her sides and her head swaying. He walked up to her silently and grasp her muzzle with his hands. He could feel her warm scales under his touch. Then he started rubbing her nose gently and said "Saphira, you don't look too well" voicing his concern. "Maybe we should tell Glaedr to call the mental defense lesson off till you get some sleep."
She refocused her gaze on him and he could tell in their bond she was considering his offer. However, to his surprise, she declined. "It sounds tempting, Little One, but I can't neglect our duties…" He didn't think it's a good decision and he wanted to convince her anyway. Unfortunately, dragon pride came to the surface, that left no place for discussion. With a deep sigh, Eragon gave up and ask her to follow him.
He approached the furry elf to begin their training. It was decided Eragon and Saphira would fight against Glaedr and Blodgharm during this lesson. The rules were simple, try to break through one's mind with all tricks allowed. Without wasting time they began the fight. At once Saphira and Eragon were pushed by experienced foes onto the defense, due to their swift and brutal attack. Their opponents had years of practice, thus it'd take a lot of effort to push them back. They both felt extreme pressure around their minds. Eragon repeated the same old poem that Master Oromis taught him and it has never failed him so far. Saphira was holding under assault pretty well, focusing on her first successful hunt in the Spine. The key to defending against this attack on the mind, was to stay focused on one thing the entire time. The attacker would see only what the defender imagines and wouldn't find any holes to slip through the mental barriers. With their combined strength, they started to push back at Glaedr and Blodgharm by joining their consciousness. The tides of battle turned in their favour, breaking their attackers' mental walls slowly. "Come on Saphira, we can do it!" Eragon cheered his partner. It seemed the victory was in their grasp. Suddenly, the silence of the battle was interrupted by a loud bang. Blodgharm had hit the metal frame of a storage box. "Oh!" was the last thing the rider heard from the startled dragoness, before Glaedr struck back and broke through Saphira's defenses like butter. Eragon wasn't able to shield her against their master's assault and soon Glaedr had her in his grasp. After a moment he withdrew from her mind leaving Saphira shocked to the core.
"Saphira Brightscales. You cannot afford being distracted during mental battles by background noise." Glaedr began with an authoritarian tone. "You, Eragon, did well and I appreciate your attempt to shield Saphira at that moment, though it's unlikely you'd react fast enough to save her. What's more…" The blue dragoness knew her teacher was right. She failed her duty as a dragon to protect her rider. If she lost in a real mental battle, Eragon would fall with her as well. This is how Thorn and Murtagh were forced to serve Galbatorix. The boy couldn't stand watching his dragon being tortured and swore loyalty to the tyrant. After he got access to Murtagh mind, nothing was left to protect Thorn's mind. Saphira was certain she was able to protect her partner of mind and heart every time. Today's training session made her question her confidence in that regard… Saphira was deep in thoughts while Eragon was listening to his teacher trying to memorise all tips that were said. Suddenly, Glaedr addressed blue dragoness
"Saphira, what should you do to improve your focus?" he asked suspecting his student stopped paying attention. Saphira yelped mentally and Eragon came to assist her, sending her his memories from Glaedr's lecture.
"I should spend more time focusing on one thing in loud environment…"
"And…?" Her teacher pressed.
"And… Get more sleep…" she added with an embarrassed voice.
"Good. Eragon, Saphira. You're free for rest of the day. Be ready to depart at 9 am tomorrow." With the last word, he withdrew from their minds.
Blodgharm still stood next to them and after a moment he said: "I could help you with your training Bjartskular if you wished."
"Thank You, I'll let you know if I need it.
"Certainly. Have a good evening my friends" he addressed both of them before walking away leaving Saphira and Eragon alone.
They observed furry elf for a moment then Eragon turned back to his partner. She didn't look great her beautiful eyes were unfocused, head swayed from side to side like she was drunk. There was still some time before night fell. The sun was low in the sky painting it yellow and red. "It would be the best for her to go to sleep". He touched her chick to get her attention.
"What would you like to do?"
"I don't know… We could do something together."
"What would you say about laying down and relax for a bit?
"It sounds pretty good, Little One."
They turned around and walked towards Saphira's sleeping spot. There were some waterproofed mattresses and pillows that fulfill the role of the dragoness' bedding. It wasn't much, but it was better than sleeping on a wooden board only. Saphira extended her paw to move them around and prepare her bedding, then she walked above them and settled down making a noticeable, content hum. Eragon came to her and sat next to her, leaning on her shoulder. The rider was also tired after this eventful day and welcomed this moment of peace with open arms. His eyes started to close when Saphira's head appeared in his view and landed on his tights. She looked at him with tired eyes with an obvious question and he was happy to answear. He reached out his hand and started to caress her gently above her eyes. The smooth texture of scales felt great under his fingers and soon he start enjoying the little massage as much as the dragoness did. Her eyes kept looking at him. Then he moved one palm to pet her on the top of the long muzzle with long and slow strokes, and his other reached to rub her ear carefully. Soon he felt great pleasure coming from Saphira followed by her draconic purr, as her sapphire eyes were closing. It made Eragon smile widely. After a moment she fell asleep in his arms. The rider leaned forward and pecked her above her eyes and spent with her some more time continuing his caress. When the sun was really low in the sky, Eragon decided to go to bed as well. He used his magic to lift and hold Saphira's head and laid it down on the pillow. He made sure she was comfortable before heading towards his cabin. "Eragon…" He felt the faint voice of the dragoness, but she was still asleep. "Good night." He replied softly, even though she couldn't hear him. Then he walked towards his cabin to sleep.
The author's note:
Dear Readers,
It is the first story I have ever written and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you find grammar or spelling mistakes. I am not a native speaker so help will be appreciated. I am open for feedback so please let me know what you think about the story so far. I can't guarantee regular updates of the story due to the fact University's tasks occupy my free time mostly. However, I'll do my best to finish what I started. I have other 2 chapters written and I'll upload 2nd one when 4th one is ready.
You may notice the different size of Saphira. The change was intentional because there was one thing I dislike about dragon sizes in many fantasy stories a lot is the fact dragons usually are gigantic there. It makes really difficult to imagine how dragon moves around and the world reacts to it actually, not to mention such big creatures would not be able to sustain themselves. Therefore Saphira is big enough to carry Eragon and small enough to imagine how she interacts with Eragon and the world around her.
Big thanks to my friends, Blue Dragon's Rider www. fanfiction u/10496088/ Nikoladies www. fanfiction u/7469362/Nikolaides (I recommend checking their stories out!) and Mark for beta reading and support :)
Have a nice day :)
EDIT: The edited version of this chapter was uploaded.
