When the Clock Strikes Thirteen

A story by Lord Lithos Maitreya, Commentaholic and SimplySupreme

Authors Note:

Commentaholic: Well *Cracks knuckles* I did this one... well... most of it. I was really the only one that could, considering the main subjects are linked so heavily to my stories. What say you, compatriots? WAIT! I have to say something... This chapter... implies stuff about the future of A.N.D. I have to tell you readers that these events may or may not come to pass as I write them here.


Chapter One: Brainstorm


Glaurung and Saphira both breathed a sigh of contentment as they sunned themselves on the ledge overlooking a the ocean. The weather was pleasant and the sun was warm. It was a beautiful day in the mountains located on an uncharted island west of the port city of Kuasta.

It had been a few weeks since the bloody battle of Tronjheim, during which Glaurung had proclaimed his love for Saphira shortly after using his own body to block one of the devastating spells destined to hit Saphira, cast by Durza the Shade, and in doing so, nearly dying. As he lay on the ground, a gaping wound in his side, he had uttered his adoration for the sapphire-scaled dragoness just before lapsing into unconsciousness.

After Glaurung fell, Saphira had lapsed into incredible rage the fury of which had not been seen for nigh on one hundred years. She became a whirlwind of razor-sharp claws, spiked tail and flashing fangs. None stood before her and lived, and there had been many who stood between her and Durza. Laughing at her efforts, Durza had raised his palm once more, to cast slytha, but gasped in agony as he was pierced through the heart from behind by a gleaming red blade. Eragon had used the distraction to sneak up on Durza. As the Shade dissipated into nothingness, letting loose an unholy shriek as he did so, the army of Kull watched the loosed spirits go. Then they turned on each other. With Saphira on the warpath, it didn't take long to rout the vicious brutes. The Varden let out a cheer as they stood, fewer in number than at the start of the battle, but victorious.

Glaurung's large, gold-scaled form had been immediately tended to by the Varden's healers at Saphira's rather violent urgings. It was a near thing, Glaurung being so close to Death's Door when they reached him, but he survived. During the long recovery, Saphira hardly left Glaurung's side. When Glaurung awoke, it wasn't long before Saphira told him of her love for her golden-scaled savior, just in case it wasn't already obvious to Glaurung.

As soon as the wounded male was able to leave the healers' chamber, the two dragons had taken to roaming the dwarven city, enjoying the magnificent stonework that they hadn't had the chance to appreciate before the battle. The grand arches and cobblestone avenues were battle-scarred and bloodstained, but the remnants of the fight for the survival of the Varden did little to diminish the grand city's beauty.

Eventually, Glaurung was deemed well enough to fly again, and Saphira took charge and, after notifying Eragon of her intentions, dragging Glaurung off on a well-deserved vacation. The Varden, had they had the chance, would have granted this anyway, knowing that after this setback, Galbatorix would be hard-pressed to recover and gather his forces for another attempt. They doubted that he would do so, though.

And so they now lay relaxing on the cliff, wasting the day away, merely enjoying each others' company. Saphira ran a claw over the scar that ran down Glaurung's chest, marring the shining scales, the only indication of the life-changing event that had brought them together... not just together, but together.

Glaurung... Saphira pondered, I don't know what I'd have done if I'd lost you...

A rumble in the distance disrupted her thoughts.

Glaurung's eyes shot open, roused from his slumber by a strange feeling creeping its way up his spine, settling in the small of his back, right between his wings. Inhaling deeply, the golden dragon tried to identify the scent that had arisen on the wind. It was the smell of ozone: the smell in the air before a thunderstorm, but... it was different somehow... charged with an unidentifiable energy... an ominous aura drifted in the atmosphere...

Saphira, Glaurung urged, Saphira, get up. We have to get inside.

Saphira's eyes cracked open and she yawned, Why?

A storm is coming. A bad one, by the smell of it, Glaurung explained.

Saphira raised her angular head and inhaled deeply, as Glaurung had. Her eyes widened as well, You're right.

The air crackled and a bolt of lightning struck the mountain above them, the discharge of energy marring the cliff face and sending a shower of charred stones down upon the retreating dragons as they darted towards the entrance of the cave.

The two dragons retreated into the cave behind them, into the rear of the cave to avoid the rain that would no doubt accompany the thunder and lightning, which Saphira severely disliked. Outside, the air rumbled and resounded with the storm's energy. Thunder and lightning of an unnatural magnitude disrupted the calm that had permeated the world around them mere minutes ago.

The dragons stood together at the rear of the cave, Saphira yelping at each flash of light. Glaurung did his best to calm her, but it was difficult to counteract centuries of genetic memory. Dragons had always feared the lightning, for many dragons had met their end in lightning storms, struck in mid-flight. Glaurung found it difficult to resist the urge to tremble, despite his human side's love for storms.

He would never understand the changes wrought in him since he'd tumbled into Alagaësia some months previously. Too much had happened.

He had once been a human teenager living on Earth, a huge fan of the Inheritance Cycle. One day, his iTouch had started piping some strange words, and soon he found himself spiralling into the world of Eragon... as a dragon. The abrupt physical change had thrown him off at first, but he had eventually grown to accept it.

With his knowledge of the books, he had been able to predict and prevent a few undesirable occurrences, protecting Eragon and Brom from the wrath of Paolini's muse. Brom, though, had perished en route to the Varden, sending Glaurung, Saphira, Jaredin and Eragon ahead to the massive Dwarf city of Tronjheim, the hidden Varden base. There had been nothing that Glaurung could do, it happened so suddenly that he hadn't had the chance to save Eragon's mentor.

Despite the setback of Brom's death, they had pushed on towards Tronjheim, Glaurung's relationship with Saphira growing on the way. They'd become rather attached early on, Saphira even saving Glaurung during a life-threatening situation involving an energy imbalance following the golden dragon's incursion into Eragon's mind following the Yazuac Incident. Since that day, they'd shared a sort of mental connection on par with a rider's connection with a dragon, yet not as strong as Saphira's connection with Eragon was. This connection had first reared its head during the battle of Tronjheim, when Glaurung somehow sensed Saphira's danger and had blocked that fateful spell that had sparked the final phase of their love.

Glaurung winced again, pulled out of his memories as another flash of lightning plunged past the cave's entrance. It was getting closer, that unnatural storm that had come upon them so suddenly.

Glaurung roared in surprise as a flash of light plunged through the cave ceiling, right past him. Electrical energy tingled in the air, making Glaurung feel on edge.

What the heck...? Glaurung wondered. Lightning didn't make a habit of striking into a mountain... At least... he hoped it didn't. Or else Saphira would be constantly paranoid.

A bolt struck Glaurung's tail, making him thrash in agony as the lightning coursed up his tail and made his heart skip a beat. It's after me... He guessed.

As ridiculous as it sounded, that was an idea that randomly popped into his mind. It could have been a complete coincidence, but somehow... Glaurung just knew.

He had to protect Saphira. He let go of her, much to her chagrin. Glaurung, don't go! she said, her voice quivering. It broke Glaurung's heart to leave her in her moment of terror, but he had to protect her beyond his own life. He lunged across the cave, more strikes chasing behind him, smiting the stones and leaving them charred. A bolt of light hit the ground before Glaurung, causing him to come up short in surprise. He reversed his direction, fleeing from this shaft of light that didn't fade like the others. It remained and chased behind him. The rain-slicked ground slowed Glaurung, his claws scrabbling to get a grip for faster movement.

The light overtook him, starting with his tail. His scales burned as the light touched him, creeping up his length, immobilizing his legs as the pain grew to be too much. He collapsed to the ground, neck flailing in an attempt to avoid the harmful ray of illumination. It moved along his body, up his neck.


Glaurung, no! Saphira cried out as the light reached his head and Glaurung went limp. Then everything was calm. The noise outside was gone. The lightning had ceased. The clouds outside retreated as though their mission was now complete. Saphira darted forward to Glaurung's side. Glaurung! Glaurung, answer me!

The golden dragon at her feet did not respond, increasing her panic. She lowered her head onto his chest, but where his heart normally beat in his chest, there was only silence. Saphira's own heart ached at the knowledge that she was losing him for a third time, the first being at Yazuac, where only a burst of dragon magic had saved him; the second: in the battle for Tronjheim. And now... this.

Saphira's head lowered onto the pale golden scales of Glaurung's chest, tears gathering in pools where the surface diveted between the individual scales.

Thump thump

Saphira's eyes widened. Could there be hope? She listened intently, but there was nothing. Saphira's sadness returned twofold, increased all the more by the hope that had risen her up from the dark depression before crashing her into the depths of oblivion.

The sapphire shut her eyes, blocking herself off from the outside world that had given her such joy... only to tear it away from her as if it were a cruel game. Behind her bony eyelids, she was safe.

"I envy you." Arya said, resting a hand against Saphira's foreleg. The dragoness and the elf stood on a cliff outside of Tronjheim. A few hours earlier, the news had arrived that Glaurung would live. The golden dragon was resting, and Saphira had talked over her plans to escape to the coast with Arya, who would arrange a distraction and explain afterwards. "But such a thing is not meant to last." The elf shut her eyes, the pained look on her face saying worlds about what she had experienced with the loss of Fäolin a few months earlier, back when Saphira was still in her egg...

The truth of the elf's words had not registered at the time, Saphira being too happy about Glaurung's recovery. But now they struck home, each word stabbing a nail of ice into her heart.

Saphira opened her eyes again. Of course Arya had been right. Being a dragon had made Saphira wise, but her species' wisdom had robbed her of the ability to see what knowledge age could bring; and Arya was far older than she.

Saphira stood for a little longer there, beside Glaurung's still body - crying whenever she had the energy. Then, at long last, she turned away and, with her claws, began to dig into the ground within a small glade that lay a short distance from the cave. It took hours - hours of pain and hurt - but at long last the hole was large enough to comfortably fit Glaurung's large body in.

Still weeping, the distraught dragoness nuzzled the golden shape, pressing her face to the scaled chest. Once again, she thought she heard a faint heartbeat, but it was not repeated, and she knew she must have imagined it. Slowly, ever so slowly she began to roll the body towards the hole she'd dug. When it was just at the edge she stopped, unable to finish. How could she?

Just as she collected herself and was about to push the body into the grave (the word alone made her shudder with fresh sobs) there was a flash of the brightest light imaginable right in front of her. She covered her eyes with her wing until it faded, and when it had, a male human and a violet dragoness of approximately her age and size stood before her. She was too sad to spare much thought on the fact that she was supposed to be the only female of her species left.

All she could do was growl and place herself between these newcomers and Glaurung's body. Who are you? she demanded. How are you here? Why have you come here, and now, of all places and times?

They completely ignored her words. The man was looking at the violet dragoness, his face set in a mixture of anger, amusement, and dissappointment. "Alacalia..." he said, his tone set with the promise of impending puishment. "Why are you a dragon?"

The dragoness, Alacalia, looked ashamed and rather confused. Erm... Sorry, Master. This was a bit of an accident.

"An accident? Oh, good. I thought you'd done it deliberately," The man didn't really look angry, exactly, but rather like Brom had whenever he was lecturing Eragon - like a teacher chewing out a pupil. The man shook his head and turned to Saphira, seeming to notice her and Glaurung for the first time. "Great," he said dully. "Just fantastic. We had to Hop right in front of a dead dragon and his mate. I know this wasn't my luck."

Alacalia studied Glaurung for a moment, and then said, Master, I don't think that's a dragon.

The man looked at her for a moment, and then turned back to Glaurung. His eyes widened. "Nayru, Farore, and Din!" he cried. "This is bad." He tried to walk around Saphira toward Glaurung, but she snapped at him and growled.

No one touches him! she said in their minds, growling to get her point across.

The man stared at her for a moment. The other dragoness growled. After a time the man said, "These are not the droids you're looking for," waving his hand slightly as he said it, and Saphira noticed that that arm - his right arm - seemed to be made of a strange hybridization of steel and flesh. The violet dragoness beside him broke down in a fit of laughter as he continued, "Look, I don't intend to do anything to him. I just need to examine him."

Saphira didn't move from her position. She didn't intend to let these strangers touch her Glaurung, dead though he might be. No. Go away.

The one called Alacalia seemed to be thinking. After a moment she turned to Saphira. Look, she said, and Saphira noticed that she seemed somewhat ill-at-ease about speaking with her mind, as though she were unused to it - rather like Glaurung had once been. Something really odd just happened here - we sensed it from... where we come from. Don't ask. Master Lithos thinks it was centered around him, here she nodded her scaled head at the golden shape, And we need to find out if he's right. Please, let him look. We promise we won't do anything.

Saphira stared at her for a moment, battling with herself. Swear it in the ancient language, she demanded.

Lithos nodded. "Skulblaka, eka celöbra ono un malabra ono un onr fricai né haina," he said calmly and clearly. "Cali, stay away. I only swore on my behalf."

Saphira studied him. He had not in fact sworn not to harm Glaurung, only stated that he meant neither of them harm, but all the same...

Fine, she said, letting him pass. He came towards Glaurung's still body and pressed his ear to the dragon's chest. He stayed that way for a time, and then nodded slowly, with wide eyes.

"Yes," he said. "You were right, Cali. It's him."


Lithos: I wrote the first draft of that end bit. The rest was Comment's.

Commentaholic: Yeah... I couldn't really write any more after a depressed Saphira sapped my joy... It's so hard to write sadness for such a dragoness... But I admit. I wanted to make it slightly comedic... Imagine...

Saphira's eyes widened as the phantom heartbeat echoed in her ears. She listened again, but no more sound came. Where is the thump thump? she asked.

*snorts* Jack Sparrow anyone? You can thank Soup for halting my conversion into a funny moment. Any thoughts, Soup?

SimplySupreme: Ok, that was a really funny moment I had to control there, but I'm fairly certain it wouldn't have fit the moment. XD
Poor Cali... accidentally programming herself into a dragon... *laughs* ¡Qué lástima! But hey, I'm sure Lithos won't hurt her too bad. :D I'll be thrilled to see you all for next chapter!

(Oh, and if you review, I, SimplySupreme, will send you imaginary cookies of winning! They are completely delicious! I betcha if I gave one to Comment Right now he'd fall over because he just couldn't stand the powerful waves of awesome rolling off them! So review! It will make you fantastic)