Disclaimer: I own neither The Inheritance Cycle nor Christopher Paolini! Lucky for him...
Author's Note: First off, I apologise for the rather long delay. It's just that I kind of ran into a Writer's Block myself and got hit mercilessly by an extreme bout of lethargy (at least, in matters of writing since it still is the holidays for a couple weeks or so). Ironic, huh? Anyhow, the chapter is here and I thank each and every one of you for commenting. You really made my day and I hope this chapter makes it up to you.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2:
"What the hell?" Christopher Paolini squeaked, suddenly overcome by an unnerving fear. "You-your dead!"
"Not in the mind of my fans, I'm not!" Brom retorted with a smug grin, folding his arms across his chest.
"What do you mean?" Chris asked, feeling very confused and disoriented.
His own creation was telling him that he still existed even though he killed him off two and a half books ago? What was all that drama for anyway? Brom's eyes twinkled with amusement.
"In the eyes of my fans on your world of Planet Earth," The aged Dragon Rider explained. "Your fans still adore me and worship my memory, to some extent anyways. It is that memory that preservers my spirit in this place, in this void that you are now a part of. It is what has kept me alive all these years so that I might watch over my son wayward step-brother. Did you know that some fans write stories about me in which I had never ever died and still live with both Eragon and Murtagh forcing me to tell him the truth about my legacy?"
Christopher gulped, suddenly feeling very inadequate. That would have certainly been a cool twist and made things a heck of a lot easier, but he simply had to have the 'old man' character (aka the aged mentor) die to save the life of his student.
Otherwise there would be no sacrifice and all would be for nothing. It would totally take away every single bit of emotion that ever existed in his books, not that there was much anyways. Christopher heaved a sigh, finally coming to terms with himself and his state. He was stuck here in this place and, whether or not it was all just a bad dream, he had to make the best of it.
"Why am I here?" He asked in defeat.
Brom smiled warmly.
"Finally decided to man up, eh?" He asked although it did not sound like a question. "Well, I do not know myself but I have several ideas."
"Yes?" Christopher prompted eagerly, while Brom stroked his beard deep in thought.
At last he came out of his trance-like state and grinned, simply brimming over with mischief. Christopher shuddered.
"How much progress have you made with the long-awaited Book IV to your Inheritance Cycle?" Brom inquired.
Christopher's shoulders sagged and he let out a deep sigh.
"Nothing," He muttered.
"I beg your pardon?" Brom asked, tilting his head to the side as if to hear better.
"Nothing," Christopher said through clenched teeth, a little louder this time.
"Excuse me?" Brom asked. "Did you say something? I thought I heard a noise. Perhaps it was a cat."
Christopher growled. "I have not written a single blasted word, Book IV be damned!"
Brom smirked. "That's more like it. You need to speak louder boy if anyone is going to take you at face value."
"Don't call me, boy!" Christopher bristled. "That's what you called Eragon, not me. Don't let your 'old man' habits rub off here, okay? I don't know why I'm here nor do I care. I just want to go home and forget that this ever happened."
"Why?" Brom asked, looking genuinely surprised and confused.
Christopher balled his fists in aggravation.
"People will think I'm insane if they find out," Christopher said exasperatedly.
"Ah!" Brom said, nodding sagely. "Just like Eragon thought people would think he was mad to raise a dragon."
"Don't compare me to him!" Christopher all but shouted.
This was too much! His own creations were comparing him to other creations who didn't even exist in the real world? He had no idea how this was happening, but it was and that bothered him to no end. Technically speaking, he should be in control since he invented every character in the whole blasted book.
Well, not every character. Things like elves, dwarves, and dragons were around for a long time and even Dragon Riders existed before the Inheritance. Still, this was the work of his own hands and he deserved a little credit. Why didn't Brom just understand that already? But Brom was talking again so Christopher reigned in his frustration and listened.
"I do believe that your being here has something to do with Book IV," Brom mused. "I don't know why but methinks you will be translated to where Brisingr left off. Then, you will have to help Eragon and Saphira defeat the Mad King Galbatorix. Should be fairly easy with your Author Powers."
Author Powers? Chris thought in disbelief. Man, this guy was nuts! What happened to the good old Brom he invented anyway?
"What are you talking about?" Christopher drawled, trying to sound as uninterested as possible.
He did not enjoy conversing with a raving lunatic.
"Look at your apparel," Brom said, gesturing to the clothes he wore. "And see your staff and sword. How could those just appear without a cause?"
Christopher wrinkled his nose in confusion. "But you did that. You made them appear by a flick of your fingers and said I'll have to pay for them."
Brom frowned. "I did not make them appear. I simply cast the spell for lack of a better term. The magic was always within you. How else do you think you could write three Best-Selling books? That's because you are an Author and Authors generally have what's called Author Powers over their own worlds. They visit them from time to time and that usually helps them overcome dastardly Writer's Blocks and other fiends of the deep. It also helps them to become more mature as a person, having to deal with things like honour and bravery, friendship and betrayal, or whatever it is that they write about. Make sense so far?"
"Somewhat," Christopher admitted reluctantly.
As much as he hated to admit it, the idea of having Author Powers did sound kind of cool. He didn't know what they were but the magic staff meant that his powers were much stronger than magic. His magic couldn't just appear by a few muttered words in some ancient language. They had to be brought forth from his being by a conduit or, in this case, his staff. Coming to think of it, that sounded real awesome.
"So..." Christopher said hesitantly, trying not to sound too intrigued. "If what you say is true, why am I still here in this place?"
"That's what puzzles me," Brom answered. "Realistically speaking, you should be at the Varden right now or wherever Eragon and Saphira are."
"But I thought you knew!" Christopher interjected.
"Pardon?" Brom asked.
"You seem to know all about Eragon and his friends," Chris explained. "Why, you even know about me and my Writer's Block. I mean, I know Dragon Riders are powerful people but wouldn't you say that is a little too powerful? Are you even dead?"
Brom grinned. "That's the paradox, isn't it? You see, due to the memory of me being so strong I am able to survive for quite a while longer than is my time. I have many more fans than Eragon does so, perhaps, that is why I am here. It could also be since I am his father and that I am able to watch over him. Moreover, you made me as his mentor thus my continuation of guarding him from afar. In addition, I believe that once he defeats the Mad King both I and you will go back to our rightful places."
"You mean you will die and I'll go home?" Christopher asked hopefully.
"Don't sound too pleased," Brom chuckled. "You will still have a book or more to write and I have even heard of fans who want a book written of my life or of the Golden Age of the Riders."
Christopher sighed and shook his head. "They wish!"
Then he took a deep breath.
"Look," He said. "I don't know what is going on but at the same time, I don't want to. I think that if I do, all of this will go away and maybe even destroy your world. I just want to go home and if they only way to do that is to save Alagaësia from a tyrant then I will."
"So be it," Brom said with a sigh. "Then there are a few things you should know."
"Yes?" Christopher prompted.
"One is that you will have to show up as a Dragon Rider and for that you will need to borrow my dragon," Brom said in a grouchy voice.
"You would let me do that?" Christopher whispered.
He did not know half of what transpired between a Rider and Dragon. It had always been his dream to know, but he knew the Bond was very sacred. Hells, he had made that up and stressed it hundreds of times.
"For the sake of Alagaësia I would," Brom said stiffly. "But so that Eragon and Saphira do not guess anything, my Saphira will have to get a colour change. I thought of temporarily changing her gender to male but then Eragon's Saphira would get excited."
Christopher chuckled at the mental image and Brom permitted the ghost of a smile.
"Also, you will not tell them that you met me," Brom said firmly.
"Why?" Christopher asked, disappointedly.
"That will lead to all kinds of questions," Brom said. "Questions that you are not meant to answer. All they need to know is that you are a Dragon Rider from the Old World who has been watching over Alagaësia as your duty of being a Guardian of Time dictates. And now you decided that the time is ripe to reveal yourself and your powers for the good of Alagaësia to defeat the Dark King."
"Guardian of Time," Chris repeated with a grin tugging at his lips. "I like that! There's only one problem..."
"Pray tell, what's that?" Brom asked worriedly.
"I don't know how to sword-fight let alone use magic," Chris said, feeling troubled.
"Oh," Brom chuckled. "No need to worry about that, that's why I'm here?"
"Meaning?" Christopher prompted.
"I believe that my presence here is for your benefit," Brom explained. "Keep in mind that this void is timeless. Should you return to your world you will find that not more than five minutes has passed."
"And?" Christopher asked in impatience.
"That means," Brom said sharply. "That not much time will have transpired in Alagaësia also. Therefore, I will be able to train you as a Dragon Rider and in the ways of my world. For as you people say, 'when in Rome'!"
Christopher grinned. "And all roads lead to Rome."
"Indeed," Brom smiled back. "So unless you have any further questions, shall we get started?"
"Let's!" Christopher agreed eagerly.
"Good," Brom said, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Let the training begin!"
To Be Continued...
A/N: Well there you have it! Chapter 2 is ready at last. Now, I have a question for you all – do you want me to write one more chapter in the void while Christopher is being trained? Or should I just do a time skip until when he goes to the Varden? I have some really cool ideas for this, so if all goes well it should be awesome either way. Still, I want to know as the training chapter is not really necessary. It's your choice though, so do leave a review on your thoughts especially on this chapter.
Many thanks in advance!
~ Elf Knight ~