Thirteen Tales

-By Harliq and Amsterdam-


Prologue

Though the great journeys and triumphs of the Dragon Riders are remembered to this day, inextricably woven into the fabric of history by bards, historians and scribes; there is a cluster of us whose stories remain unwritten. We are the men and elves who turned our backs on our fellows. We are the traitors whose horrific crimes are whispered about at length and yet little is known about our intimate lives: our petty childhood thrills and secrets, our first glimpses of desire and forbidden things, the impossible sacrifices we made, the darker, powerful secrets we harbored in our adulthood.

We are the Forsworn, the Thirteen Servants.

We now stand before the Underworld's twisted black gates, not knowing what dwells within, death having long since claimed our bodies. Our souls, however, still await judgment. The years have eroded what was once stark clear: our names no longer install fear in the hearts of our enemies; even our crimes seem to have lost their allure. We have become naught but the stuff of legends. Still, he who will be our Judge has not forgotten. He does not forget or forgive, he only sees. His watching eyes have witnessed our glory and our downfall— now we must face the consequences.

We stand in silent vigil. We are but shades of our former selves, without eyes or lips or faces or hands. Though for some reason, we still have been given the ability to speak. We cannot repent our sins… But perhaps we can tell our tales.

Slowly, over the clamor of screaming, hissing and keening that emanates from behind those black gates in a wretched dirge, we will each raise our voices in turn. We will recount three separate memories: our first will be of our youths; our second will be of our greatest, or most terrible, deeds committed in Galbatorix's name; and our third will be of how we met our grim demises. Hopefully these memories will shed some light on the aspects of our lives that have been always cast in shadow.

The people we were, the people we grew to be, and the people we suddenly became as we stood on the brink of death: these are the three things we wish to be remembered by.

True, we are beyond your saving as we stand here before Hell's black gates, but perhaps, armed with these brief new insights, you may help reveal to Alageasia the men and woman behind history's greatest traitors…

And maybe breathe life into some of those dusty old legends.