Hello to everyone, my response to the remarks left on these things are right here, so go no further.
EragonandHPFanfictionWriter: I am glad that you enjoyed the story, despite the spelling mistakes, I did go back and see them after you brought it up. I apologize in fullness for them, I am using Google Docs so I can write things up anywhere, I know it is less useful for correcting mistakes, but it serves its purpose. I did try and check this chapter for such mistakes. Let me know if I miss them. On the Topic of Research, if you refer to the name Varda-Gramarye, I am aware, I believe I mention in that chapter, that it is wrong as a name. In the ancient language Varda-Gramarye would mean 'To Watch Magic' The other option however was Varden-Gramarye, which to me was too similar to the name of the Varden from the actual story.
Chapter 2: A Thief's Code
Veor had hidden the body far off in the forest, he had cleaned up the blood on his way back, covering it with snow and shifting the snow around to make it, at the least less obvious. He had now begun to drink, the Tavern's ale was bitter, and was even colder than the air, still Veor had stopped caring. He travelled, he stole, and he murdered, the life he lived wasn't of the greatest quality, but still it was a life.
Veor looked down at his blade, a blade he had won through combat, a reminder of his first kill. He had been young then, no older than fifty at most. The day was bright and sunny, a noble and him were fighting the noble hadn't stood a chance, Veor's blade then was bland, short, cheap, it still worked of course, the man who he fought was bearded, his eyes were blue, his hair was a light brown with a hint of red, he was holding the blade that now belonged to Veor. The blade's clashed once, Veor had ducked out of the way the second time, the third swing and once again the blade's clashed, this time Veor shoved back, the noble stumbled backwards, the grass was trodden underfoot. Veor rushed forwards swinging the blade at the man's neck. No metal stopped him, a strange noise sounded, and the noble breathed no more.
Veor had changed since then, at that time he had almost collapsed, now death was just an element of his life. That day had changed him, but not as much as the following years, now here he sat centuries later with no more remorse. Five hundred years old, or almost he had reckoned, perhaps older, perhaps younger, winters and springs no longer concerned him, events did.
A man in a cloak appeared in Veor's line of sight. His face was hidden by his cowl. As he saw Veor a look of surprise crossed the little of his face that could be seen, then a slow movement towards Veor began. Veor's hand fell instinctively to his sword, his thought rushed to words in the ancient language. The man sat next to Veor, and began to speak, his voice was ragged and deep, "An elf. I wouldn't expect to find one in such a place."
"Yes, well I'm here. Now what do you want."
"I have a business proposition."
Veor smiled, a smirk crossing his face, "What do you need me to do?"
Myrker's white dragon had been fed well, it had been growing for the past month, and now stood, it's head at the height of his shoulder. It had spoken little to him through their link until then.
Myker.
Myrker smiled, having known such an event would occur eventually. Many told stories of how Eragon the first rider of the new order had spoken to his Dragon Saphira since their bonding.
"Yes dragon?" Myrker said with some regret, He'll need a name at some time, I know a few that fit, but still. His thoughts snapped back into focus, the dragon had turned it's head to the side.
I want a name.
The subject had not been approached until then, except for Myrker's brief thoughts on it a moment before, perhaps that was the dragon's bond influencing him. Myker looked down at the small silvery-white creature, his brain was going through every name he knew of every dragon he knew, "Ohen?"
No.
"Eridor?" He said, another valiant name.
No.
A brief sigh from Myrker, and then he continued, listing every name he knew, from HÃrador to Glaedr. One name however came loose it had been hiding in the back of his mind, the name worked as well.
"What about Umaroth." Myrker said, the last name he knew, it works, Umaroth was a white dragon, just like mine, he was a noble dragon as well, a great and valiant creature that fought Galbatorix.
I am Umaroth then.
Myrker smiled, Umaroth too appeared to be grinning. It would not be long before he headed to Illirea to meet with the Varda-Gramarye, and then he would leave to the new dragon home Du Fell Edoc'sil, TheUnconquerable Mountain. He smiled at these thoughts, first of course he needed to train his dragon a little on his own. "You've been cooped up in the castle for far too long, I think you need some exercise."
Soha smiled as she appeared from her room, she wore a dress of a crimson red, once again the sleeves had golden embroidery, her hair was now flowing free, it naturally curled often, on her head was a thin golden circlet with a clear diamond at the center. Torr had waited at her door in his usual black clothing, he had changed garments of course, but the image was the same, dark clothing embroidered with silver his own red hair however had been groomed better than before, he smiled as she appeared.
"So, how annoyed are the nobles going to be that they don't get to flirt with the heir to the throne?" Soha said with a grin, twirling in her crimson dress.
"Taking into account your current appearance I'm sure half of them will be in tears by the end of the night." Torr responded with a grin.
"Good, I'm glad you're coming, despite the wards I have up I don't think there's any spell that could protect me from the nobles' attempts to flirt." She said, putting her arm through Torr's.
"I'm just hoping your mother appreciates it." Torr said in response, the current Queen of the Broddring Empire, Soha's mother, Kalia disapproved of the young Torr, despite his rank as a noble, he was a considerably low ranking one, of course Soha didn't care, she and Torr became close friends, perhaps in part because of Soha's mother disapproving. Soha's mother had married in from a noble family, and argued for 'keeping the image of royalty' her father Ildin didn't care much for that idea of course, partially because he had never known his grandfather, and partially because the belief wasn't very similar to what Nasuada or his own parents had thought of the royal image.
"She won't, you know how she is, looking for approval from her is ridiculous." Soha responded with a little boredom in her voice, "Now how about we go to the party? I'm sure you'll feel better, actually well not sure, honestly you'll feel worse, but it will be fun for me."
Torr sighed, he then looked up at her, gave a lopsided grin, and bowed.
"Whatever you wish my lady." He said his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Veor almost choked on his drink, he then burst out laughing, after inhaling deeply he rearranged his features to be once again calm and serious, "No, really what do you want me to do?"
The man with the hood seemed to be almost offended by Veor's laughter, he paused briefly and then began speaking again, "I want you to steal a dragon egg."
"You see, I heard you say it the first time, and the second and it still sounds like a joke." Veor said, his voice was filled with confidence, he hadn't tripped over a word yet.
"I assure you I am not joking, I want you to steal a dragon egg. I know many nobles who would pay a large quantity of money to get an egg." The hooded man said, as he looked at Veor then a portion of his face became visible, a long scar cut across his right eye. His eyes themselves were an inhuman color of reddish-brown. His hair color was hard to tell with the shadow's but Veor thought the man's hair was black, or dark brown.
"Let me explain this to you, there are four places the eggs are kept, Illirea, Ellesmera, somewhere in the land of the Urgals, and lastly in Tronjheim. When they are not in those places they are guarded by either hundreds of soldiers, or at least a dozen Varda-Gramarye. The Varda-Gramarye keep at least a dozen guards at each entrance of the egg chambers in each city. There is no way past those spell casters, not unless you have a way to get rid of at least half a dozen of those Varda-Gramarye." Veor finished his sentence and sipped at the ale in front of him.
"I have a way that you might deem acceptable to deal with the Varda-Gramarye. In about a Months time there will be a great Celebration in Illirea, a celebration based around the accepting of the Varda-Gramarye recruits into the order, including their oaths to uphold peace, and fight the misuse of magics." The strange paused, briefly seemingly waiting for Veor to respond.
"I know of it yes, but that will just increase the number of Varda-Gramarye that are there." Veor responded, intrigued by the man's seemingly insane plot.
"At the palace yes, or more accurately right outside the palace, the eggs are kept far enough from the palace that you should have time to sneak in and steal at least one egg before you are discovered." The stranger replied with a surprising amount of logic.
"Even if I get there I need a distraction to draw away some of the guards." Veor responded, his voice was not as harsh though, a minor way to show he considering the man's suggestion.
"I can arrange a distraction, say a small fire and an assassination attempt on the Queen, maybe the Princess. That should draw at least three of the guards who would have been left behind to the palace, that leaves at most four."
"How did you determine the number four?"
"A captain over the six remaining guards, as the guards will be minimized, so that they can appear in more force at the ceremony. So losing three that is four."
"I have an extra distraction to deal with those inside, drawing the guards out should allow me to deal with them, at least most of them. I can get at least one egg if you can keep the Varda-Gramarye busy." Veor said, his usually icy tone was less harsh than normal, while still withdrawn it was not attacking as it usually did.
The man smiled, his mouth visible in the cold light that struck his lower face, he spoke again, "Very well, I suppose we should speak oaths in the ancient language to prevent betrayal?"
"I think it wise, I have no reasons to trust you, is there any clear reason you should trust me?" Veor responded, the ice had returned to his voice once again, his eyes flashed with cold light, and his hand moved to his chin.
A passing smile crossed the stranger's lips, "very well"
He began carefully considering his words before he finished, Veor too spoke an oath in the ancient language, he found himself considering the words though, instead of saying 'I will not harm or betray you', he said 'I will not harm or betray you, as long as our deal stands'.
Torr moved by Soha's shoulder, brushing back a loose strand of his red hair he tried to look as formal as he could, Soha seemed much more relaxed than him. Of course she was a royal, her ability to maneuver the political flooring was almost natural. She also had the advantage of being much more confident than Torr.
"You can smile Torr, no one is stopping you." Soha said her face turning towards him briefly, she still had a smug look on her face.
"If I smile I'll end up becoming the newest suitor of Princess Soha daughter of Ildin, heir to the Broddring Empire." He said his eyes shining despite the fact that there was no smile on his face.
"The newest suitor hmm? So how many do the nobles think I've had." She said jokingly.
"Don't worry I'm sure it's less than fifty, and if it isn't they've probably counted everyone you've met since you were born."
"How kind of them, I'll be sure to ask next time I run into one who doesn't hate, love or annoy me."
"Small list then, I'm not sure any of the nobles actually make it on."
"There's the young blond one, he got a dragon egg didn't he, Myrker, he has yet to fall into any of those categories, of course I'm sure if I spent more than an hour talking to him I would despise him, or he would despise me, but he seems nice enough."
"I'm so glad that I don't make the list. I was sure you knew that deep down I hate you, but it always gnawed away at me at night."
"You are my friend, I don't consider my friends to be nobles, anyway you annoy me enough as it is, I think that's reason enough to keep you off the list isn't it?"
"Good enough for now, I will miss you when I'm training under the elves or where-ever else they send me. I hope you know that."
"I know everything Torr, nothing escapes my all seeing eyes." Soha said jokingly, waving her hands for effect, "Anyways you can always use Scrying. I'm sure I'll find you in uncomfortable circumstances whenever I use Scrying to check on you."
A brief smile crossed Torr's face, "Of course I can, except I can't contact you from Du Weldenvarden."
"Then you'll just have to send letters, now let's go enjoy the party, or in your case stand stiffly in the corner."
Myrker watched amazed as Umaroth flew through the air, he moved faster than any arrow or stone, spinning and diving, eventually he landed a deer pinned beneath his legs, he ended the beast's life quickly, and then began to feast tearing into the animal's flesh with his sharp white dagger-like teeth.
"Well done, you're quite good at catching food for yourself aren't you." Myrker said watching from nearby.
Compared to you fleshy-ones yes. My scales are thick, my wings are light, and my teeth are only put to shame by my senses.
It was the second time Umaroth had gone hunting, the dragon had shown a great sense of self importance after its first prey had been caught, it's eyes shone like stars, and it's white scaled looked like they were made from silver, or pearls.
Another thing that had been learned from the hunts was that Umaroth had a habit of turning the hunt into a game, much like a cat it toyed with its food, making it think it had escaped only to appear again, creating panic and frenzy amongst small herds of sheep or cattle, often it would injure an animal before allowing it to escape, marking it for a future hunt.
While some might have thought of these actions as a sign of insanity or a desire to inflict pain, Myrker saw it as little more than an adaption of its battlefield instincts, much like any tactician it would create panic, and maneuver its quarry into traps or ambushes, like any great warrior it marked the beings it bested with a scar, a sign of failure. All of these things made sense to Myrker, other being argued differently though, claiming that it was sadistic or evil. Umaroth wasn't their dragon though, and little could persuade Myrker from his beliefs.
The cold wind of winter were falling slowly upon the lands where Myrker dwelled. Frost had formed at night on the windows of elaborate stained glass, and on the leaves of some tree's still, the forest was filled with pine trees, and such trees did not fade with the winter's wind or wither at the touch of frost. These were the trees that built the forest, that created a vast world of insects and lizards, of wolves and deer, a place of danger, and of beauty despite the cold air, the first snows has begun to fall, and an icy white-brown sludge covered the ground, treeswere covered in a thin layer of snow, more beautiful and clean a white than that upon the ground.
Myrker smiled as he watched over the landscape, he had travelled with Umaroth further from his own home than he had expected, he could hunt of course, as could Myrker, and Myrker could set up a small camp in which they would stay for the night, then they would once again return to the fortress on the sloping hill. "Umaroth, night will fall soon, perhaps we should prepare for it. Frost will form and snow will fall. You may be able to survive that unsheltered but I cannot. I will need to make something to keep the snow off me, and the cold away."
Then make your fire, I shall rest near you so that my heat will keep you warm in the cold of the night, my wings will make your tent, and we shall rest beneath the sky of cloud and stars.
"Then I will cook myself some food before the night is upon us. You go find us somewhere to camp for the night."
I am a dragon, I hunt, and fight. I do not 'find places to camp for the night'.
"You are also my partner. We work together, I let you hunt earlier, and I'll be there when we fight in future, but for now I need to find food, and one of us needs to find a campsite. You can fly you get an aerial view, I am bound to the earth, so please just do what I ask." Myrker replied slightly irritated.
Fine, but next time you shall find our campsite while I hunt.
With that final comment Umaroth launched into the fading evening sky above circling far above Myrker.
I am going to be entirely honest, I enjoyed writing this story, so unless I get a large number of negative reviews, or deeply angry comments about it I'm going to keep posting the story.
By the way I'm going to include character names here.
Sohaila 'Soha' Princess of the Broddring Empire, Heir to the Throne.
Torrthan 'Torr' Lord of Nroas (Not really his sister runs Nroas).
Veor's actual name is mentioned later so I'll leave that out. So are Soha and Torr's, but theirs are brought in with no context of that being their actual name, and them calling each other by different names. Not for a while please not, but it is a thing.
Another really early warning, there is a woman who appears later called Katrina, she is not the Katrina who married Roran, she is a descendant of them however.
Also I tried to make it very clear when we changed perspective, or which character we were following this time. It is usually clear by the first sentence, but I was just making it very clear so people did not read it and ask 'When did "INSERTCHARACTERNAMEHERE" show up?'