Stenr
Eragon walked up beside Arya, and phrasing his words carefully, asked "Arya, about what you said earlier, I've been thinking, and it seems too much of a coincidence that my dream should occur the same night as the attack. If we could figure out what that being was, then perhaps I can decipher my dream." Arya looked at him, her face were twisted with concern as she said "Please Eragon, do not pursue this quest, those dreams never lead to something good, promise me you will not continue looking into it, wiol pömnuria ilian." Eragon were dumbfounded, those were the exact same words he had told her before the battle of Farthen Dûr, and it caught him off guard. As such, he only managed to say "Nen ono weohnata, Arya Dröttningu." As you will, Princess Arya.
They walked on, discussing the magic that had assaulted them. "Why were you so afraid of it, I know it held a terrible power, but my gut tells me it will not harm us, and nothing has happened so far, do you not think it would have used our true names to bind us if it meant us harm?" Arya took her time before she answered, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, "I have been using magic for almost a hundred years, Eragon, and as such I can feel more than just who it is I am being touched by, my instincts tell me to trust this being, while my reason tells me to shy away. What was so strange about this is that it felt like an eldunari. I cannot be sure, since I have only touched one other, namely Glaedr's, but if I am right… how many places does eldunari's exist? Two places that we know of, Galbatorix' has his share, and you have Glaedr's, so my reason tells me to be careful."
As they reached the forest, Arya stopped and leaned on a tree, Eragon placed himself opposite her. As he looked into her eyes, and saw the pain and troubles in them, his old feelings for her attacked him with full vigor, and he longed to hold her and ease her discomfort, his heart ached as he knew it was never to be, his heart was broken even before it could have a chance at love. He moved a little closer, smelling her aroma, suddenly Saphira was in his mind Little one, remember the last time, do not put yourself in more agony. Of course, Saphira was always privy to his every feeling and thought, it was like they were two halves of the same brain, she was reason and courage, he was impulsive and rash, and together they completed each other. As Eragon reluctantly moved back and leaned on a birch about five feet from Arya, he thought he glimpsed something in her eyes, disappointment, but then it was gone, and he wondered if it had ever been there. They kept on discussing matters concerning the Varden and the elves, and whether the Urgals would ever be able to change their culture, and came in on the matter of Oromis and Glaedr, Saphira had also joined the conversation.
"I wish they were here" Eragon said, "I wish this war could be over, and we could start rebuilding Alagaesia from the ground, giving people hope, a home and the promise of a life without fear." Arya gave him a slight smile, "We want many things, but few of them will ever come to pass, it will probably take a while to get Alagaesia back on its feet after this war ends, and first we have to win" Oh we will win Saphira said Of that I have no doubt.
Eragon woke with a scream in the dim light right before sunset, his entire body was covered with sweat and his sheets were drenched. Once again he had dreamt of dying men and bloody battles, When will this end? he thought, shivering as a gust of wind brushed against his moist skin. Using the meditation techniques Oromis had taught him, he calmed his racing heart before getting out of bed to perform his morning ritual.
As he got dressed, he contacted Saphira and told her to meet him by the wall, she sensed his uneasiness and eased him with calming mental pictures, saying You have endured a lot, little one, do not let the monsters of the night haunt your day. As she could feel his pain, so could he feel her sorrow, she had endured the same pain he had as their teachers passed away, they sought to rid themselves of the pain by sharing in it, consoling each other in the others mind.
Eragon quickly got dressed in one of his elven tunics, and with a swift motion he swept the tent open and set into a sprint towards Feinster's outer wall, telling Bloodgahrm that he would go flying with Saphira as he ran. The Varden were stirring to life after the night, and all the way though the encampment he could see men and women rubbing the sleep from their eyes and starting their daily routines, some were casually talking to their wives or husbands, yet other were making fires or eating their breakfast. Similar for most of them were the companionship they shared, and it triggered a sudden pang of loneliness within Eragon, and an ache formed in his chest as he thought of Arya. Get yourself together he told himself harshly, Feeling sorry for yourself never made anyone achieve anything, let alone happiness.
He reached Saphira as the sun peeked over the horizon, bathing her magnificent figure in the dim light of dawn. She truly looked like a jewel as her scales reflected the sun's rays like a sparkling firework of light. In that exact moment, Eragon ignored everything else, and a feeling of joy actually spread in his body and mind, enveloping his being in the present. He climbed straight up her front leg, not stopping to catch his breath, and even as he settled into the saddle and strapped the leather bands to hold his feet, Saphira stretched her wings and kicked off.
As they circled over Feinster, their troubles seemed a little more distant, everything could be viewed from a different perspective when the air were all that surrounded them, up here the trivialities of civilization did not matter. Reaching out to Glaedr's eldunari, Eragon sent him a few mental pictures that he hoped would make the old dragon understand that they understood and accepted his sorrow and grief, together with his condolences to his teacher. I wonder what I would have been like if you had passed away He said to Saphira, I would probably have been in a worse condition than Glaedr, he and Oromis had decades to make peace with the fact that one of them would eventually die. Saphira took her time talking to Glaedr before she answered, the golden orb pulsed a little in response. I do not think that you can ever protect yourself from such a shock, it would be like trying to stop an avalanche with your bare hands, no matter how long they knew, losing half of your being could drive most any person mad She said with a sorrowful tone. Yes, I know, but I hope none of us will ever have to go through that experience; it is too depriving to think about.
They circled a little longer before they started their descent, talking about everything from Arya, the mysterious light that had appeared the other night, and of course their late teachers, it gave them both a sense of relief to have someone to share everything with, no boundaries or polite gestures, just the simple act of sharing and listening. But all too soon they had to return, and descending in large circles, they were soon right above the city. Men from both the Varden and Feinster were busy repairing the damaged houses; those who had lost their homes had been accommodated with friends or family, or had been given a tent so that they would not have to live on the street while their homes were reconstructed.
As they landed, Eragon all of a sudden felt a strange presence in his mind, like a rock sliding over his skin, rough and groping. He was caught off guard, the walls he had around his mind did nothing, he was not thinking of anything, yet there were something, or someone inside his head. He panicked, he could not fight it, because he could not get a grasp of where this touch came from, nor what was happening. Then all of a sudden he felt it slip out, and again he heard the deep rumbling voice he heard the night the strange being under the camp assaulted them, Inòya. A shiver went down Eragon's spine as his fear subsided, under him he felt Saphira shift, and a feeling of uneasiness ran through their mental link I do not like this she nearly hissed, as she was used to being on top, she were a lot more unnerved by these mental attacks then Eragon.
As Eragon untied the leather straps, he saw that Glaedr's eldunari were shimmering, not with the glowing intensity it had before Oromis died, but significantly stronger then the faint glimmer it had just five minutes ago. Suddenly nervous again, Eragon carefully touched the dragon with his mind, and to his astonishment saw pictures of the Hadarac desert flowing through the connection. It was Oromis and Glaedr gliding over the vast lands, exploring or travelling Eragon could not tell, but there were something about it that triggered a piece within him he could not recognize, and he found himself crying, tears running from his eyes for no apparent reason. He quickly dried his cheeks with a hand, and noticed that Saphira too had been watching the scenario, and he could feel a longing for the desert in her. He patted her lightly on the side, then got off and walked to his tent.
Eragon and Saphira had been contacted twice b a rough unexplainable presence, and both times it had left with one word, Inòya. It seems like it is trying to tell us something, but I have never heard the word before, yet it rings in my ear like I know what it means Saphira said, they had been discussing the matter all day, but had come to the same conclusion all the time, they needed to find out what the word meant. As such, Eragon had decided he would ask Arya, he had anyway wanted to visit her, and now he had a reason.
When Eragon arrived at Arya's tent, he hesitated a little before ringing the small bell that hung on a pole. Almost instantly Arya arrived in the opening, she was obviously on her way out already, because she made no move for Eragon to enter. They exchanged the usual greetings, and he followed her towards Nasuada's tent, on the way he explained the situation "Are you sure you did not just hear that word from one of the others that were present?" Arya asked, sounding a bit suspicious. "Yes, because I heard it earlier today as well, and it is not like I were confused, my mind was clear all the time" Eragon told her calmly, "Well, the word you asked about means "diamond" in the ancient language, so there is nothing special about it" Diamond, Eragon thought, and all of a sudden the pieces fell into place, an outlandish concept formed in his head, it could not be so simple, yet it all fitted. His eyes glowed, he almost kissed Arya there and then, "Thank you, I have to run, I will see you later" he said, bowing before he turned around and ran back through the camp.