Hey, so chapter number two. Whoo. I plan on updating at least once a week, maybe twice depends on how busy I am. But there will be a time when there aren't any updates for a while cause I'm moving soon ! Just a heads up.
WORD COUNT: 1451 (before a/n)
They had been traveling for another two days before Saphira spotted their current destination, an island Eragon hopped would prove inhabitable enough and a suitable place to raise the new generation of wild dragons and riders. It took a couple more hours for Eragon and the elves to see the island, and when it did, its size became apparent, because it took another whole day before thy were at the coast of the island.
"Eragon," Blödhgarm approached him from behind where he had been standing on the left side of the ship, looking out onto the island. "There doesn't seem to be a port here, so some of the elves and I are going to take some smaller row boats to the island, do you wish to accompany us?"
"Thank you for the offer, Blödhgarm, but I shall fly over on Saphira. She wishes to see the island herself, and it will give me a quick, basic idea of the island quicker than it would on the ground."
"Of course, though if I might ask you something Shadeslayer." Eragon nodded his head for him to continue. "I would ask that you and Saphira always keep in contact with on of the elves, whether it be myself or another. We don't know what is on this island and would not know if you had been attacked or if anything had happened to you."
"Of course Blödhgarm, I shall do that. Now," he said mounting Saphira. "I shall see you soon." The blue-furred elf raised a hand in farewell and Saphira slowly spread her wing, and with careful movements, pushed off the ship and climbed into the sky.
Saphira soon closed the distance between the ship and the island and gained altitude until she was cruising about 500 feet above the tree line, from what Eragon could see, a forest of what looked like pine, stretched across much of the island, extending to the east as far as the eye could see and beyond.
I wonder how far this forest stretches; the trees look old, so it must've been growing for a couple hundred years or so. Eragon commented to Saphira. Eragon felt her agreement through her link.
I know little one, it reminds me of du wellenvarden. See those mountains to the north, cutting down the middle of the island? Those would be nice to roost in.
Then it looks to extend into a rocky plateau to the north, and coming down south, it turns into grass lands. This is sounding better and better Saphira.
Yes, look to the west, the soil starts to dry out, perhaps it turns into desert out that way. Eragon felt her joy at the thought, she loved the desert. He remembered when they were crossing the Hadarac desert she had said she could have stayed there for years and not notice the time going by, the warmth flowing through her.
Do you wish to fly out that way and have a look. He questioned.
No, I fear we would go to far trying to find out, and this island is huge. I also believe we would soon fly to far away for us to keep on contact with Blödhgarm.
Shall we head down then? And have a look on land? Her answer was to tuck in one wing so she rolled and started to descend rapidly towards the ground. She then tucked in her other wing and Eragon pressed himself against her neck, making her as streamline as possible. Pure joy ran through there link as there minds melded as one. When she was no more than a couple hundred feet about the grass plain, Saphira spread her wings so the joints were facing down and the evened them out so they were horizontal to the ground before they landed with a loud thump on the ground next to where the elves had docked on the shore of the island.
You've gotten better at pulling out of dives like that, Eragon commented. He felt her pleasure at his comment.
Yes, it no longer hurts my wings for a whole day afterwards.
Eragon loosened the buckles on the straps holding his legs in place and dismounted off Saphira and walked over to Blödhgarm.
"The island looks good from the sky, forest to the east fast as the eye can see, mountains, then a grassy plain and it looks like it'll turn into desert after that but we aren't sure, we didn't want to venture too far." Eragon explained what they had seen in the skies and then they split into 3 groups to check the grounds.
Eragon was in a group with Blödhgarm and another two elves, one a female with hair of midnight named, Hegæm, and another male also with dark hair named, Listul. They had decided to check the area to the east, in the pine forest. As they ran no one talked, it took roughly two hours of non stop running to reach the forest and in that time, they hadn't see any animals.
Another hour they ran, into the shadowy depths of the forest. Most of the trees were as large, of even larger than those in du weldenvarden. When the sun started to set, the four of them stopped and set about making a camp to stay at for the night. Saphira, who had been following overhead circled in the sky looking for an opening between the trees to land. When she descended through the biggest place she could find, she still managed to rip the leaves and bark off many of the trees. She shock herself and folded her wings and curled up at the edge of the small clearing they had decided to stay in.
You couldn't have found a smaller clearing in this entire forest. She sniffed, making me land through that is going to make me lose even more of my scales! The one on my snout still hasn't regrown yet, and it has been months! Do you want me to looked like a dead fish with half its dull scales missing? Eragon chuckled.
Dragons and their vanity. The clearing soon filled with smoke as Saphira snorted.
Is it so wrong that I care about what I look like? Dragons are the most spectacular looking of the species in this land, so what if I've come to terms with that. Eragon walked over and touched the spot of her missing scale.
Scales grow back, its almost healed see. He sent her an image of her half there, half gone scale.
So do trees. She sent him an image of the path she made through the foliage over head.
Then why are we having this conversation, again, when we know everything grows back eventually? She shook her massive head.
No, not everything grows back.
Like what?
Teeth, at least for you humans, once you loose your first set, the next are your last.
But that doesn't apply to scales or trees, they both grow back. And we also know that there exceptions to every rule.
Not every rule, she rebutted.
Ah, I give up. Must we talk of this? Its making my head hurt. She made a sound as close to laughing as dragons can make and she curled her neck so she could look at Eragon who was now seated against her belly.
How wise of you little one, no one can outsmart a dragon.
Then I feel you should know I wasn't trying to out smart you. He smiled as he saw Saphira snort again.
Again, how wise of you. You wouldn't have succeeded.
I know. Saphira was about to reply when Blödhgarm approached.
"Eragon, if you wish to rest now would be the time, I and Listul are taking the first watch. We may not have seen any animals on the way here, but that does not mean there aren't any lurking around out there." Eragon nodded.
"Thank you, would you wake me at midnight, I will then take watch." Blödhgarm's purred his response before walking to the edge of the camp, opposite of where Listul sat.
Eragon took a deep breath and rolled onto his back and Saphira's wing soon covered him. It smells so much like her, was his last thought before he sunk into his waking dreams.
Saphira stayed awake as her rider slipped into unconsciousness. It had been less than a week away from her and already his mind was breeding sorrow. After an hour she felt her eye lids drooping and finally allowed herself to fall into an uneasy slumber, only to be woken by an ear piercing scream and claws being dug into her back side only minute later.