From previous: Eragon's brain struggled to comprehend what his eyes were telling him. How, in the gods' names, was it possible for him to be looking upon Saphira's egg?
The Dragons' Gift
Chapter 1: Rediscovery
The hoot of an owl piercing the stillness of the night wrenched Eragon back to reality.
Yet, the sheer impossibility of the moment halted any attempts to move his body. To go from Ellesméra, in the heart of Du Weldenvarden in mid-summer back to this clearing deep in the Spine, and the year before? In all the scrolls he had perused in his time with Master Oromis, he had never come accross something like this.
And all too suddenly, another fact forced its way into the front of his mind. Rather, the lack of another prescence.
'Saphira!' he yelled through his thoughts, to no reply.
The comforting consciousness of his partner of mind-and-soul was faint, but still there. Never since his days in Gil'ead had the connection been so faint, as though trying to penetrate an impermeable fog. Calming himself, as taught on the Crags of Tel'Naéir, Eragon reached out once more, trying to pinpoint his partner.
A faint humming could be felt, from the stone... egg.
'Of course!' he berated himself. 'Saphira's in there. But this shouldn't be possible...' again Eragon found himself in conflict. The last thing he could recall was the voice of fire, and mention of a gift. 'This can't be a trick of Galbatorix's, could it?' but no answer was forthcoming. The lack of her ever-present mind was still hard to wrap his head around at this point.
Feeling strangely nostalgic, Eragon nocked an arrow and slowly entered the clearing. Even as he concentrated on the possibility of danger, another part of his mind acknowledged that there was a slight strain that hadn't been present before his... appearance... back in time. 'I have my memories, but not my physical changes.' he thought. However, he quashed this train of thought as he got closer to the blue stone.
Her prescence was stronger now, and Eragon felt a rush of relief. Less than a foot away now, he discarded his bow and reached for the object that had unimaginably changed his life 9 months previously.
As soon as his fingers came into contact with its surface, an excited squeak pierced the night, and the previously smooth surface disrupted into a web of cracks. In his surprise, Eragon reared back for an instant.
Furiously rocking now, with one last cracking noise the top piece fell off, and out came a small, dark blue head followed by a weirdly angled body. His joy at being reunited with his other half evaporated as the baby dragon leaped forth and touched her head to his right palm, prompting a mental explosion as the bond was recreated.
'Eragon! Eragon! Eragon!' he now found his arms full of an ecstatic dragon, as she bounced around and nuzzled him. Content to abandon serious thought for the moment, the young Rider allowed himself to bask in the pure joy of the situation. Her entire consciousness now melded with his own, he felt complete.
Minutes later, Eragon got to his feet, Saphira still in his arms. 'I can't remember the last time you were this small.' he remarked to the little creature, who became irate at his comment.
'Enjoy it while you can, I'll be big again soon!' she snapped back. Breathing deeply, she continued 'I was... frightened. I remember the apparition, and then the next thing was darkness and being confined. I did not like it.' Shuddering slightly, the dragon ensconced herself fully in her Rider's arms, enjoying the feeling of safety.
Absently running his fingers over her scales, sparkling in the muted light of the harvest moon, he posed the question that was currently overpowering all other thoughts 'How is this possible Saphira? No magic I have ever heard of could ever do something like this.'
'You forget that we dragons are not bound by your limits. As I did with Brom's tomb, there are many things unknown about our true powers.' Despite the severity oft he situation, Eragon could detect an inkling of superiority in the proud dragon's mind. Grinning to himself, he scratched her just on her nose, where she likes it, and was rewarded with pleased humming.
'At least I'm not as small as a rabbit,' he noted lightly. 'Then again, you weren't the only one affected. I noticed that simply drawing my bow was slightly harder, it's as if all that changed was our memories...' the dragon suddenly paused in her grooming.
'Eragon! What about your back?' Realising what she was referring to, he carefully lowered her to the ground and then hesitantly reached around to the nape of his neck. Feeling naught but smooth skin, he hurriedly lifted his rough, homespun shirt over his head. Turning his back to her, he waited with bated breath for his partner to give him her verdict.
'Look.' she intoned, before he found his mind moving until it melded fully with hers, and looked through her eyes.
There, upon his back, was absolutely smooth and unblemished skin.
Feeling his consciousness returning to his own body, the young Shur'tugal sank to his knees in relief and simply wept. Gone was the debilitating injury from his encounter with the Shade. No longer would he be afflicted by his fits. The last words of the dragons came to him: Our gift to you. The specter of their race had truly given him a gift beyond all equal.
Saphira hummed in response once again, her human's sheer happiness suffusing her entire being as well.
Eventually, Eragon composed himself and returned to his feet. Replacing his clothes, he unstrung his box and put his wooen-frame pack on. Newly invigorated by his happiness, he was ready to set off once more.
Saphira interrupted his thoughts now 'What are we to do now? Is this the gift they spoke of?' And at that he paused.
Incredibly, they now had close to 9 months of future knowledge, as well as training in the Ancient language and swordsmanship. 'Though that will take some work, as those muscles don't seem to have come back with me.' he mused to himself.
And then even more facts become aware to him. Uncle Garrow was still alive! Brom! Murtagh! Yet, in contrast, since Saphira's egg was here it meant that Arya had been captured by Durza, who was also still alive at this juncture.
'How are we supposed to deal with this Saphira? I think the trader's are coming in about 3 weeks, and that is when the Ra'zac come. Are we strong enough to defeat them?' and he entertained himself with thoughts of how to dispose of the evil servants of the King.
'Do not think we are all powerful now Eragon. Whilst we may have vast knowledge, your current body has no training. Additionally, I am still too small, and this was said with great reluctance from the dragon, 'to aid you in a fight. it is better that we leave straight away.'
Whilst his rational mind acknowledged the wisdom in her words, his heart tugged at the thought of seeing his Uncle again. Roran as well, whom he hadn't seen since his cousin had left to go to Therinsford.
'What about Brom? We can take him with us.' he argued. Eragon had come to love his first mentor like the father he never had during their travels, before he had been so cruelly ripped from their lives.
'Then perhaps not leave immediately. Perhaps head back to Carvahall, and then leave as soon as possible. Draw the Ra'zac away from the town completely. And rescue Arya!'
Eragon again found himself berating his priorities. Whilst all might be well for them, his most trusted companion was most likely at this moment being tortured in Gil'ead.
'We have to save her! And make sure Murtagh doesn't die with Ajihad. And Brom at Dras-Leona. And Uncle Garrow and...' he started to become slightly hysterical with the numerous possible paths available to him at this moment.
'Calm down.' Saphira stated flatly, ever the voice of reason. 'There are many things we can change, but we must focus on the task at hand. Most importantly, I am starving.' she stated it so matter of factly that he could not help himself but to laugh.
'Quiet. I can't hunt properly at this time, so you need to catch me something. And you also need to get something so that we can avoid that despicable man when we get back, that Sloan.' Though Eragon was reluctant to kill with his newfound sanctity for life, as a consequence of his meditations outside Oromis' hut, he also recognised the need for it. Having meat meant that he could avoid showing her egg to Sloan, though that was now a moot point, but also that he wouldn't have to owe Horst. And hopefully it would make it a bit easier for his uncle when he inevitably left.
Reaching out with his awareness, Eragon found the mind of the young deer he had been tracking prior to the appearance of Saphira's egg, and using one of the twelve words of death taught by his Master instantly killed it. Whilst he felt remorse for his actions, it was a necessary act. The deer's foreleg was so badly damaged that it would anyway have perished soon, so he was able to reconcile that fact with his conscience.
Picking up the baby dragon and draping her on his shoulders, he set off in the direction of the body. His path ahead may not be the clearest, but he was certain that he could improve the outlook of the coming months.
Well, the first Chapter here we go! Apologies for the brevity of the prologue, it was simply intended as a short hook. Also, this chapter wasn't quite ready, so I wanted to get that bit out there.
SannB: haha, when I learnt to touch type I unfortunately got into the bad habit of typing 'teh' instead of 'the'. Hopefully with a beta-reader it should be caught, it seems no matter how hard I try when I really get into the writing of something it just comes back.
falling towards nothing: I'm super excited to have a beta, to catch those sorts of aforementioned mistakes, but I don't really know how the whole thing works. Message me and we'll figure the rest of it out.
To the rest of you: keep reading, and enjoy! If there are enough reviews, I might even post a few Omakes as to what could have happened - humorous things I came up with when planning this out. So keep on reviewing, and message me if you have your own idea you wan included.
Expect the next update with the week, until then,
Ratty
Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass!
