He….understood. The almighty king of Alagaesia felt what he had done was wrong. Galbatorix….felt regret. For the harm he was causing the rebels in front of him, and for the thousands of people he had wronged. His heart ached with sorrow and guilt and he looked down onto Eragon, the boy that gave him this understanding, and he….he hated as he never had before. How DARE this young upstart make him feel this way! This youth had the audacity to storm into his home; take his servant Murtagh; and STEAL HIS CROWN? As Galbatorix felt the biting cold of a blade enter his stomach and knew that he wouldn't be leaving this battle alive. Even with the knowledge of that, the King never faltered from enacting his contingency. Although he had ruled for a near century he never grew comfortable on his throne. He reached that position through cunning and extreme paranoia. Neither of those traits left him during his rule. He had found a creature of immense power, during his youth around the time he was gathering the Forsworn. He had freed it from its binds, and had hid it away in the depths of the Du Fells Nangoroth, true it was easily accessible, but it was widely known to be a very desolate and evil place, and so far that had worked in the King's favor. Galbatorix had hidden away his greatest achievement, and also his strongest follower, in case something was ever to happen to his own dominance over the land. It seems that the time had come. Shruikan had just been slain and he felt the cold hands of death grip him. He was going to signal his weapon. But, he needed to hide his signal.

"WAISE NEIAT!" And what better way to hide a small amount of magic, than with a large explosion of it?

Galbatorix's world was consumed with light, and he died, a victorious smile on his face. Even he would shudder to face the monstrosity he had just unleashed. It felt good to get the last laugh…

It had been months since their master's magic had awoken them. They knew just by that, that their master had died. They had followed their orders perfectly though. They had travelled across the land to enforce their old master's will. First, they had grown stronger in the desert, preying on the flesh of foolish humans that went to far into the Hadarac. They also prepared for the Diskvaker; their NEW master's; awakening by gathering all of his possessions from their old master's hidey-holes. They had "persuaded" the head of Teirm to become a city-state, and had gathered all the supplies their new master would need to amass a new army. Those foolish humans were stupid to kill the old master. Their new one was much more ancient…AND dangerous. He was a killing machine, he was a Diskvaker. This automatically made the Ra'zac admire him.

The two Ra'zac both remembered the stories their parents told them when they were hatchlings, of the Wild Dragon's folly. They were losing their war with the Elves and so, in their arrogance, summoned a demon, a Diskvaker, to eliminate the Elven race. Though the demon was reluctant to commit such an act of genocide, but the dragons assimilated their entire mental prowess and bent the beast's will to theirs. They had imprisoned his will with the Grey Folk's Language, and made him a mindless killing machine. Although unwillingly, he did his job better than even the dragons themselves! Any battlefield he went to, total destruction was left in its place. Eventually, even the dragons grew wary of his presence in Alagaesia.

When the war ended with the unification of the two powers, the dragons told their new allies, that the Diskvaker was no more than a mindless beast bent on destruction. The noble Dragons lied to preserve their image of superiority. Not knowing any better, the Elves did what they thought was a great service, and banished the demon beneath stone and Earth. Their magic was corrupt in the intention, and so when they made a physical barrier above his prison, it morphed and changed. Immediately sensing the evil nature of the mountain, the Elves named it Helgrind, the Gates of Death.

Centuries later, the old master used this mountain as a refuge, hiding from the Dragon Riders. He sensed the great power, and using his magic, traveled deep into the pits of the earth. He eventually reached what he sought, and was instantly amazed at the figure he found. Sending a mental probe, he was immediately brought to his knees, but wasn't killed. The Diskvaker sensed an opportunity for freedom and so made a deal with the Dragon less rider. Freedom for servitude, and the knowledge of a great secret. Galbatorix jumped at the offer, and when the demon was freed learned of the Dragon's greatest weakness. Their Eldunari. Their life after death.

Galbatorix grew strong in the coming months and decided to hide his most valuable vassal, and hid him deep in the Blasted Mountains of the Hadarac, where he could hibernate and store power, until Galbatorix had need of him.

And now, the two Ra'zac stood anticipating their new master's awakening. He sat stone still on a chair, with a peaceful expression on his face. He was of a human appearance, with golden blonde hair in spikes, held back with a headband inscribed by Galbatorix's insignia. He wore a formfitting red shirt with knee-length pants. He wore sandals, and had a belt with two scabbards attached to them. On the back of his chair were two large lances. These were some of the Elves Dauthdaert. One was a brilliant red color and ended with a jagged tip, its name was Rienor or Rose. The other was a dark indigo, with streaks of midnight black. Its name was Delui or Tulip. Galbatorix had saved these two for him, and had destroyed all the rest. Except for Orchid, but that was lost to the sands of time.

They grinned as they sensed a very large build up of power within their master. They had a brought a foolish, glory seeker here with promises of power, and had him send a mental probe in to the Diskvaker's mind. This, they were told, would initiate the process. The no-name magician soon died, but the Ra'zac had no time for food. Their master's power slowly built up inside of his form. As it reached its peak, his cerulean eyes flew open. And then the pent up power was released.

And all of Alagaesia felt it.

For several minutes, Eragon stood next to Arya, and neither spoke as they watched the first curve in the river approach. At last, Eragon turned to her, and he pushed the cowl away from her face, so that he could see her eyes.

"Arya," he said. And he whispered her true name. A tremor of recognition ran through her.

She whispered his true name in response, and he too shivered at hearing the fullness of his being.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but Arya forestalled him by placing three of her fingers upon his lips. And as she stepped back a large surge of malevolent energy crashed into the ship. Firnen and Saphira roared in agitation and everyone on the boat braced themselves as the boat lurched to the side, as if struck by a giant fist. Eragon held onto the railing as the boat righted itself. Looking down he realized that Arya had fallen over the side of the ship, and had barely been able to grab onto the railing.

'Saphira are you okay? What was that?' Eragon nearly yelled out loud as the two dragons fiercely roared their defiance. Valdr spoke up, his voice clearly agitated but also with a subtle hint of fear which made Eragon worry. What exactly could instill fear into such a powerful being, such as Valdr?

'I'm afraid now is not quite the right time to leave this land Eragon Kingkiller. You may be needed to face this threat. I fear the Du Sundavar Reona has risen once more…' Eragon helped Arya back onto the ship's deck and bade the helmsmen to turn it around. As the ship once more made port, Roran and Orik hastily made their way to it.

"What is wrong brother? What was that blast of magic?" Roran asked as Eragon readied Saphira's saddle. "I don't know what caused it, but I know our plans have changed. The Elves have agreed to take the eggs and some of the Eldunari back to the safety of Ellesmera, in the Du Weldenvarden. Me and Arya are going back to see Nasuada. We can take both you and Orik as well, if you two want to come. Umaroth and Valdr say we need to go as fast as possible, so we can't pick-up Katrina as well. I'm sorry brother."

Roran dismissed the apology with a wave of is hand, "What are we waiting for? She will be half-way to Palancar Valley by now! I can contact her from Ilirea. Let's go!" He hopped up to Saphira's saddle as Orik clambered up to Firnen's.

"Let us be off! Eragon, Saphira lead the way!" And with that command from Arya, the two dragons leapt up into the sky, and on towards Ilirea. They went quickly but they instinctually dreaded this….. Du Sundavar Reona…

The Shadow Reaper…

The Ra'zac bowed before their master. He beckoned for them to rise with his hands and gestured to a cup. They quickly grabbed it and filled it with water, and gave it to the Diskvaker, their heads bowed,

"Du Sundavar Reona…..Diskvaker….Master…" They quietly chanted as he drank from the goblet. As the last refreshing drop of water made its way down his throat, he closed his eyes and sighed in content. He set the glass down on an armrest, and rose on shaky legs. He rested his hands on the Ra'zac's heads and smiled down on them. He tilted their heads to look at him and spoke caringly, "Thank you my loyal servants, that is enough… Just call me by my name, not my titles. Those are for my enemies to call me by…"

The Ra'zac both flinched at their error and hurried to correct their mistake, "Yes, Naruto…" Naruto just laughed, good naturedly, at the apparent strive to please in his subordinates.

"Now, now, you did nothing wrong! In fact, I am proud of you two! You both are very prompt with completing your assignments. Let us be off! As you know, that blast could have alerted our enemies of my awakening. Let us go!" With that Naruto ran out of the cave and when he exited it, he jumped off the cliff face, with superhuman strength. The Ra'zac followed immediately afterwards, but were hard-pressed to keep up.

"Come you two! We must check Dras-Leona, and my accursed prison!"

Naruto jumped from dune to dune the impact of his landing causing the dunes to collapse. The Ra'zac found themselves exhausted from the insane pace their master had set. They tried to push through it, in order to not disappoint their master, but he quickly saw through their façade and slowed down to a light jog. His smile never left his face and he waited until his two subordinates regained their breath, before he increased the speed to where the Ra'zac were pushing just a little bit past their limits.

He knew of his late master's will, and would seek the fastest way to bring his last mission to fruition.

Thanks to Glaedr, Valdr, and Umaroth, Eragon and the others had no need for rest during their journey. What would have taken at least a week took only a measly two days. The great city of Ilirea was soon visible to them, and the welcome sight of the city shined warmly in the noon-time sun. As they flew above the city there was a great cheering in the streets. The people recognized the two dragons as their heroes returning from some far-off place. The two dragons circled above the city before coming down, landing in a large courtyard. There was a small cell of soldiers, spears at the ready, but it appeared that they were expected as both Nasuada and Elva stood regally in the clearing, watching the dragons' descent. As soon as Firnen landed, Orik leapt from his back onto the hard ground and cried out in joy. Nasuada smiled at the childish display, but went to Eragon and embraced him as he touched ground.

Roran jumped off Saphira, and Arya slowly dismounted her partner, coolly eyeing Nasuada's and Eragon's embrace. Sensing something in her peripherals Arya turned to face Elva smirking predatorily in her direction. She slightly narrowed her eyes at the child and turned back to see Eragon looking at her, puzzled. She ignored him and walked past him and shook hands with the Queen. Orik trailed behind her grumbling about the wrongness of flight with Roran beside him laughing at the dwarf's discomfort.

"Though I am very pleased to see you again Eragon; I must ask why you have not gone into your self-imposed exile, and have instead returned?" Eragon looked her in the eye and spoke quietly,

"Maybe somewhere more…private, your majesty?" Nasuada looked around, and noticed the small crowd that had formed at their arrival and subtly nodded in agreement.

They made their way from the courtyard and into the castle, the halls large enough for the dragons to follow behind. Instead of her office, Nasuada led them to the throne room in order to give the dragons space to maneuver. Nasuada sat on the throne as Eragon made all forms of eavesdropping impossible with his magic.

As soon as the magic took affect Umaroth broke through their mental shields and initiated a mental conversation,

'We must prepare for war! No lone race is safe now that the dragons are at such a weak time, and the elves have lost a large portion of their army! All the races must band together and face the Diskvaker!' Eragon got a slight headache from the dragons urgency.

'Master…What IS a "Diskvaker"?' Umaroth was silent for a time and Glaedr spoke up in his silence,

'In your tongue, it is best described as a…. Demon.'