AN:
Well, I'm back!
It took me a while to start this because I was kinda busy working and reading. You can blame wildskysong and his amazing stories Eldunari and Edoc'sil…
I won't say too much about when and where this is, it will be explained in the beginning so there's no need.
I do not own the inheritance cycle...
Return of the blue rider:
It's been almost a year since the Varden defeated the Empire. Almost a year since Roran got his home back. Almost a year since Eragon killed the black king. And almost a year since Roran last saw his brother. He missed him dearly everyday even though they spoke about every week. It wasn't the same.
He knew that he wasn't the only one to miss the blue rider, Arya for one he knew to miss him, maybe even more than him if his suspicions about what happened when he left were true, but it didn't matter and he still missed the boy he grew up with, now all grown up and turned into a man.
A bark snatched him away from his thoughts and he became aware that he was now in the courtyard. He breathed in the warm summer air and took a look around at his surroundings.
After Eragon has left on his ship and Arya carried him and Katrina, with Ismira in her hands, back to Carvahall, Roran was shocked. He could barely recognize his home through all the coals, ash and debris. His knees were weak and he held Katrina close to him for support.
"Don't worry, we'll rebuild it" she promised him.
And indeed they did.
Arya offered her help but Roran refused it, he wanted it to be rebuilt with hard work, not a few spoken words. She did, however, help him and Katrina build a temporary home until theirs would be built, neither wanting them to be left to the elements - especially with a young daughter - and stayed for a couple more days to make sure they would be alright and that they will manage until the other villagers arrived, which was two weeks later, but not before giving them two mirrors, one to speak to her if they ever need help or simply want to talk and the other was to speak with Eragon. Roran didn't know how to thank her for the gift.
Roran had a strong suspicion that her help was not offered only out of kindness. He had a feeling that it had something to do with Eragon but he wasn't completely sure what.
When the villagers arrived they were just as shocked as Roran to find their town razed to the ground, but they quickly regained themselves and started on rebuilding it. Of course they first had to build temporary housing for all and had to constantly hunt for food and collect barriers, but with their vigor the work was done rather quickly. The town was rebuilt exactly as it was before the Raz'zac came with the exception of the new wall that surrounded it and the small fortress at the far end. Roran, being the new Earl of Carvahall, lived in the fortress and the southern gate to the wall was generally open and unguarded, both because they didn't have the manpower and because the war was over and they didn't expect an attack, but it was good to know that if anyone ever tried to attack them they could protect themselves a lot easier. They still practiced with a blade and a hammer once a week, a tradition Roran was keen on keeping for the years to come, and also decided to teach the women saying that it was good for them to learn some self-defense.
So, Roran was standing in the middle of the small courtyard before the fortress with their dog happily barking, waking his tail and running around him. Behind him the fortress stood, two floors high and quite wide. It was mostly used to store provisions and supplies that the villagers saved, just in case. Oh how the war changed us Roran thought sadly. In the fortress were also a few rooms, bathrooms and a kitchen for Roran and his family. There were more rooms than residents at the moment but Roran was planning for when his family would be bigger. The thought always brought a smile to his face.
Behind the main body of the fortress was a great dome-like structure that Roran insisted on building. The structure was a promise he'd made long ago to his brother, to build a hall for him to stay in when he's visiting. It was a constant reminder of Eragon but Roran still had the small grain of hope that his brother would come and visit him someday.
The hall was very big. It was composed of a small room for a rider that was not fancy but neither was it missing in furniture. The room connected to the "Dragon's Keep" as Roran liked to call it. The keep was very large, large enough to house two dragons Saphira's size comfortably. It was round and was without any furniture, knowing that a dragon was likely to destroy any furniture lying around and that a dragon had no need of furniture. There was a large opening in the back through which the dragon could enter and that was warded with magic against the elements. The keep was about as wide as the main body of the fortress and just as long. It was its height that was the most impressive. It towered over all of Carvahall and was a bit more than twice as tall as the main body.
Roran remembered the day he laid the last brick into place two months ago. He was standing at the other side of the fortress, in front of the opening, and was very pleased with himself. But just as he thought he'd done a great job, a memory of a giant blue dragon tearing apart the Cathedral in Dras Leona popped into his head and he realized that a dragon could easily destroy this. It was a week later that Arya talked to him, simply interested to hear from him, and decided to come and have a look at his handiwork after he'd told her about it.
She arrived about a week later and the village rejoiced and feasted all night at her arrival. In the morning she complimented him on his great work. When he told her that he feared a dragon would simply crush it down, she offered to reinforce it with magic. Roran was very grateful at that. It took about a week for her to finish the job, for it needed a lot of energy, and in that time Roran Katrina, and especially Ismira, grew closer to Arya. It was the first time they had really talked and Roran found her intriguing and a good company. They became friends of sorts and occasionally talked through the mirror. Arya was particularly fond of Ismira, a smile always touching her lips as she held the babe. Just like Eragon Roran reflected at some point.
When she was done with her work Roran proposed that she stayed in it for another short while but the queen refused on two accounts. One was that she was the queen of the elves and therefore was needed back with her people. The other one was that she said that the hall was originally made for Eragon and Saphira and that it would feel wrong to her to be staying in it. Roran agreed with it but still thought that if a rider was to come to their village some time he would not hesitate before offering him to stay in it. Before they left, just as they were saying their goodbyes, Arya's dragon, who he found out was named Firnen, started making a weird humming sound and touched his snout to the hall. It started to shimmer and glow a bit and Roran drew away, weary that maybe it will collapse. It didn't however and when it stopped to glow Roran's jaw dropped. Above the entrance to the hall the stones were no longer white like the others but a combination of all sorts of shades of blue that together formed a beautiful image of a man astride a marvelous blue dragoness. There was no mistaking who that dragon and rider where for even from the ground Roran could see the features of his brother and recognized the sword strapped to his hip. It was only a week later that Roran saw there was an identical image at the other side of the hall as well.
The dog at his feet, tired of being ignored, decided to jump up at him and brought him back to the present. Roran laughed and started to pet the dog and ruffle his fur. The dog barked in happiness and went back down to stand on all four. Roran followed him and the dog started whacking his tail in pleasure.
"Da!" came the call from behind him and Roran turned around with a smile on his face. Ismira was stumbling towards him with her mother following her to make sure she didn't fall.
"There's the birthday girl!" Roran said and got up from where he was kneeling and walked to his daughter, the dog at his heels.
Ismira lifted her arms at him in anticipation of what she knew was coming, and when Roran reached her he did not disappoint her, lifted her up in his arms, threw her in the air and caught her as she came down bringing her closer to his chest in an embrace.
"And how are we feeling today?" Roran asked.
"Wonderful. Preparations for the party are going well." Katrina answered.
It was two days to Ismira's birthday and a week to her birthday party. A lot of people were supposed to come to the birthday party of the war hero's daughter and so they chose to have another party, a smaller party, just for the village and close friends, on the day of her birthday. It was a bit annoying for Roran that people they barely knew would come as friends to his daughter's birthday just because they wanted to get on his good side, but he learned to accept it. Most people wouldn't come this up north anyway.
"Da!" Ismira said again and pointed to the house excitedly.
"What is it?" he asked her. She only started to talk two weeks ago and so far she has mastered "ma" and "da" although she did confuse between the two every now and then.
"She trying to tell you that someone wants to talk to you inside" Katrina answered for her daughter.
"And who might that be?"
"Why don't you go in and find out?" she answered with a smile and he did.
"Maybe it's one of the nobles wanting to say he won't be able to come" he called to her as he was at the door.
"You're not that lucky" she called back at him and he smiled.
He walked the halls of his home to the small room where two mirrors stood. Each one had a twin; one was Arya's and the other Eragon's.
Roran was expecting to see Arya staring through the left mirror, she was supposed to arrive the next day for Ismira's birthday, and was surprised to see his brother's smiling face and happy brown eyes staring at him from the right one.
"Eragon!" he said and walked quickly to sit by the mirror.
"Roran! How are you brother?"
"I'm great! How are you?"
"I'm good. It's been too long since we've last talked."
"It indeed has. Two weeks is much too long. I was told you were kept constantly busy by one of the elves."
"I have. There was a lot of work to be done in the last few weeks. But enough about me, how is my niece?"
"She's good. I think she knows there's something big coming" Roran said with a chuckle.
"She's got great instincts, just like her father"
"I guess she does."
"How goes the building Carvahall?" Eragon said with a little envy in his eyes.
"It's officially built! The dragon keep is done and ready for you for when you choose to come."
"It's good to know" Eragon said and ended the spell.
That's weird Roran thought to himself. He was expecting a long conversation with his brother after all this time they hadn't talked and was disappointed and also a bit hurt that Eragon ended the conversation like that.
He was slowly making his way back out, thinking of all sorts of reasons why Eragon would do that, when a great roar broke his train of thought and made him jump. He ran outside, thinking that it was probably Arya that arrived a day too early, and looked to the sky in search of the dragon, for no other animal was capable of making such a sound. He looked to the east for the green shape of a dragon but couldn't see it. He didn't even see a dot. That was weird. The roar was so loud that Roran was sure she was very close by. He looked around and saw that all over the village people were walking outside, looking to the sky in search of the mighty beast.
"Can you see her?" Katrina walked to his side with Ismira in her hands.
"No." He said and strained his eyes to see anything, searching to the north and south as well as the east. He didn't see anything but a few low white clouds.
There was another roar and this time Roran could hear that it was above him. He looked up just as a great gush of air came down on them and he was forced to close his eyes. There was a big thud in the earth and Roran slowly opened his eyes. He looked around and saw nothing. He turned around and his jaw dropped to the floor.
Ten feet away from him, astride a magnificent blue dragoness, sat Eragon looking around at his hometown. He quickly undid his leg straps and jumped off Saphira's back. Roran was slowly walking to his brother, still not believing his eyes, with Katrina at his side.
"How?" Roran called to him when he was halfway there.
"Well, did you really think I'd miss my niece's first birthday?" he said with a laugh and then they were embracing each other like the brothers they were.
Roran let go of him and Eragon next embraced Katrina who kissed him on the cheek. Ismira, that was laughing and screaming all the while, was the next in line as Eragon took her and lifted her up in his arms, laughing and kissing her.
"I thought you were busy building your city!" Roran said, still amazed that his brother was there.
"Dras Garjzla, I found a name" he said with a smile. "And if it's too much I can go" he added.
"Well you came all this way, it'd be rude not to invite you to stay at least one night."
"If you insist" Eragon said and they both laughed.
"How was your flight Saphira?" Katrina asked.
'Good. There was a little head wind yesterday but nothing too bad.'
"I'm glad to hear."
They all greeted Saphira next and Ismira, who was still smaller than her snout, climbed on the dragon's head. Saphira would have been angry if it was anyone else, but the little girl had a talent to getting on everyone's good side.
"I think you've got company" Katrina said and pointed in the direction of the village. Roran and Eragon looked at the same time to see the entire village walking their way to greet Eragon who smiled laughed and greeted all of his childhood friends.
After a few good hours of talking and exchanging stories, in which the villagers were very keen on hearing about the rider's land, all the villagers returned to their homes and chores to give Eragon time to rest and talk to his family.
"It looks like nothing's changed, well, except for the wall and castle" Eragon said to Roran. They were walking on the outskirts of the spine.
"And almost nothing has" Roran replied. "The people are a bit more weary what with all they've seen, and we have lost some good men, but we're still a small village filled with hard working, good, honest, men and women."
The sky was getting darker and the two started heading back to the village.
"So how goes the building of you city?" Roran asked.
"Well" Eragon's face lit up, "we already finished some of the buildings, we have lodgings and kitchens and all the basic things needed to survive. Now we're working on training areas, libraries, anything really."
"I heard you've got some help."
"Yeah, about two months ago a ship came with about fifty or so humans and two weeks after that about as many dwarves. They're really helpful when it comes to building and it's really nice to have more people and life on the island. They brought new trade too."
"And the Urgals?" Roran asked intrigued.
"I've sent an invitation to them saying they're welcome to come. I think it will take them some more time but that they'll come, eventually."
"You seem really happy" Roran said after some thought.
"Mostly I am. It's still hard to be away from everyone but I know that I'll see them again so that makes it easier. I'm also kept constantly busy which is good, I'd hate to get all fat and sloppy." Roran laughed at that.
They made the rest of the way in silence.
"Would you like to see the Dragon Keep?" Roran asked when they arrived at his home.
"I would love to" Eragon said and they made their way around the house picking up the saddle on the way.
"How did you make the image of the dragon?" Eragon asked.
"We didn't, it was Arya and her dragon, Firnen I think."
"They were here?" Eragon asked amazed.
"Yes. When she heard about it she came to have a look. I thought it was too weak to house a dragon and she offered to strengthen it with magic. After she was done her dragon made a weird humming sound, touched his snout to the bricks, and when they stopped shinning we saw this image."
"I see. It's a really great work you've done!" Eragon said genuinely.
"Thank you. Come in, I'll show it to you."
When they entered they saw Saphira was already inside curled up at the back.
"I see you've made yourself at home" Eragon said with a smile.
'I was tired from the flight and Katrina said I could stay here' Saphira said and opened one giant blue eye.
"Well, it was built for you so you can obviously stay here whenever you like" Roran told her and with that she withdrew from the conversation and back to sleep.
Eragon looked up and around with his eyes wide.
"It really is marvelous" he said.
"Well, there's not much furniture or anything…"
"We don't need it" Eragon cut him off.
Roran smiled. His brother hadn't changed one bit.
He led him past Saphira to his room and Eragon decided to retire for the night.
"Just so you know, the party tomorrow will start at sundown" Roran said and made to leave the room.
"Wait! What party? Isn't it in a week's time?" Eragon asked looking confused.
"We're having a smaller party just for our close friends in two days" Roran explained.
"Oh. Who's coming?"
"The villagers, mostly, but Arya also." At that Eragon was at a loss of words and a small, mischievous, smile started to spread on his face. After a few moment of Eragon simply staring at an empty space Roran decided to just leave.
"Good night!" he said as he opened the door and got a grunt in response from his dazed brother. Roran smiled to himself as he walked back to his wife and daughter suspecting, more than ever, that he was right. Something did happen on that ship, and he would find out what tomorrow.
AN:
What did you think? It was harder to write than the last story… I don't know why but it was. Hopefully it will be easier with time.
If it's not clear from the ending then yes, there will be more chapters. It's mostly done but I'm still not completely happy about some parts… it's hard! I think part of the problem is that there's not major plotline so things get a little… ehh. But the next story will have more action (whenever it will be out)
Next chapter will be in Arya's POV.
Expect daily updates!