Chapter 1

That's the way it should be. We found it.

That's what Eragon thought, floating between the clouds on the back of his magnificent dragon lady. Silent contentment spread inside his chest as the land unfolds beneath him. Behind them only a few leagues of fertile plains separated them from the shores of the river where the Talítha currently anchored, ahead a landscape sprawled which was dominated by the peaks of various chains of mountains. The mountains there were mostly higher than those of the Spine, but by far not as gigantic as the Beors. A dragon could easily fly over or around the snow-covered peaks.

"And look at these valleys", whispered Eragon though the connection of their minds.

Saphira knew what he meant. Between the mountain chains lay valleys of every size and shape, more multifaceted as the flowers in a summer's lawn: Narrow and broad, some timbered, some completely filled by massive lakes, others made out of canyons of slate and sandstone.

"There is enough space here for flocks of dragons – for thunders of dragons!", she added amused, "Enough caves for breeding and enough game to hunt."

"It's easy to defend against every enemy, unless he travels high above the skies on dragon wings. It's a tad as I felt long ago in Ellesméra. At the same time inside and outside. Who needs a fortress or protective charms when you are surrounded by mountains higher than every wall in this world?"

"How very right you are, my little one. These peaks keep us our enemies at bay and our protégées within our grasp. At least in a curtain way."

Eragon nodded. It would be important in the beginning to have the young and wild dragons bound to an area; and they wouldn't leave their valleys for the time being when they were surrounded merely by plain… plains.

"Let's head back to the ship, Saphira. I want to talk to Blödhgarm and the others and hear their opinions. But I don't think we could find something that would better fit our demands than this."

With these words the dragon lady turned her tail on the impressing landscape, all shimmering and sparkling in the light of the morning sun, and made her way back to the congregation of dragons and elves which were now their family – or would soon be.

With Saphira's support Eragon and the elves were able to build up a provisory encampment as well as ferrying all of their belongings and other equipment into the valley within the next two weeks. For now the camp merely counted a few tents and a rapidly build up wooden hut which, reinforced with several protective spells, was used as a temporary storage room for the Eldunarí and dragon eggs.

See here, Eragon thought wryly, the glorious beginning of the home of the next generation of Dragon Riders.

The strains of the last weeks had sobered him increasingly. It had been clear to him from the very beginning that the erection of an actual city would take the better part of a decade – if not longer – but only for a few days now he was aware of the difficulty of his quest. Every day he was exposed to a myriad of obstacles he had to wring out of his way, to a thousand questions and parameters to consider.

How large shall the new city get in the end? Is there enough space for that in the chosen valley? Should they begin with the works in a central spot so that the city would be allowed to spread in every direction or at the end of the valley, close to the mountains? What was best to begin with and how to order the different establishment he imagined?

This and other questions forced him to look farther into the future as he felt at ease with. And he wanted to make the right decisions – it would be… uncomfortable if they had to rebuild their home again and again because this and that wasn't fitting at all.

I wish Arya was here, a thought passed through his mind, Or Nasuada, or even Murtagh. I wish anybody was here. They would know what to do.

But deep inside he knew that he was just as able to cope with the situation as they were and that this wishes were just an expression of his longing and the desire to escape the loneliness that threatened to build up inside him more and more.

Driven by this feelings he decided to contact Nasuada this very evening, the only one of his closest friend he was able to reach for the moment.

Again his duties absorbed him far longer than he anticipated; it was late in the evening when he was able to give in to his wishes. Now he knelt on his cot eyeing the small round mirror he had placed on the cushion in front of him in a way which allowed Saphira, who had stuck her head through the flap of the tent, to see into it, too.

Eragon took a last deep breath, then he cast the spell to connect him with the mirror in Nasuada's study. The surface waved for a moment, as being rather fluid than glass, before the picture of a large desk appeared. On this desk there was a vase with lilac flowers, behind it a chair made of a cedar's wood; the rest of the room was filled by a gigantic book shelf. He examined the familiar perspective for a while, then he heard fast footsteps quickly coming closer. Only fractions of a second later Nasuada appeared, coming to a stop in front of her desk, her eyes shining.

"Eragon."

"Nasuada", replied Eragon and felt a smile graze his features, "Be greeted." He touched his lips with the tips of two fingers.

"I have already been waiting for news from you and your companions. Where are you? As I see you have steady ground underneath your feet again."

"In deed. We followed the river's course for close to three weeks until we found suitable lands. The river flows more or less straight east and most of the time we have been sailing through flat and empty plains which don't have the preconditions we require, nor did they attract me in any way. But two weeks ago we discovered…"

And so he told her of the mountains and valleys, the forests and lakes they found and of their hitherto progress in building a camp. After asking some quite impersonal questions about his other plans and intentions, Nasuada began to report him of her own kingdom and the countless decisions she had to make every waking hour, of her negotiations with Orik and Orrin, the last who still hadn't turned into a more likeable company yet.

A deep melancholy gripped Eragon while he listened to her. Now that he hadn't seen his friends and confidantes as well as the land itself for a while, he felt more than ever what he left behind. A thousand memories and feelings flashed behind his and Saphira's eyes; he had to bite back the tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

And then, after a long moment of hesitation, Nasuada said:

"I spoke to Arya yesterday evening by the way. She and Fírnen agreed to your plans considering the games which all people are allowed to attend. "

Eragon jerked in his sitting position, his gaze suddenly becoming very clear, his heart picking up a faster beat. Even Saphira, who had mostly abstained their conversation, straightened her neck.

"Are they there?", he tried to control the longing in his voice as good as possible, "I would like to speak to her. I cannot reach her in Du Weldenvarden because of the spells of protection the elves still defend themselves and their forest with."

"I know", Nasuada's eyes turned very soft now, "I regret to say that you missed her. She left for Ellesméra yesterday in the early morning."

Disappointment stabbed him like an icy dagger into his chest. He lowered his eyes for a second.

"I see. When you see her again, or correspond with her in any way, could you deliver her my invitation to speak with her here? Only if you would lend us your mirror for some time, of course…", he added, smiling.

"I will", Nasuada answered, smiling too, "But I don't know when I will see her again, I hope you are aware of that. It could by days, it could be months till I hear of her again."

"Yes, I am aware of that. I will contact you again when my and your time can afford it – or you will contact me. We will talk again someday, I hope sooner rather than later, and I will just hope that you will bring me some good news then. I don't know, I – "

He hesitated and looked for a very long moment very deeply into her eyes; a mirthless smile appeared on his face.

"Nasuada, I am afraid we are all a bunch of lovesick fools."

She froze for a second, surprised of his words and the hint about his brother, too. Eragon's smile broadened in a wry way, yet his eyes remained sad.

Then she answered him by laughing just as joylessly.

So, here I am again… It took me a while longer to post this than I thought, I will try to do better the next time ;)

Bear with me if this story still is quite sad and not really going anywhere yet, but I am still in the process of building up. I wanted already to have Eragon's and Arya's talk in the mirror in this chapter, too, but after writing and ending his dialog with Nasuada I found it a fitting end, writing on and adding now his talk with Arya would have made the chapter somehow… un-round, you know. So, we will have this the next time.

Just for an outlook, it will take me some more chapter's to write about Eragon's and Arya's position after the separation, and then I will try as smoothly as possible to lead their way back to their reunion. I am already excited about writing it ;)

So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, (I hope to get them longer in the process,too), leave some reviews please, and a merry Christmas to you and your families!

AryaNuanen