Alagaësia's New Dragon
By Commentaholic
A/N: Well, I didn't get any reviews shouting at me, telling me to abandon ship while I still could. Then again, despite my requests, I only got one so far… Of course, it's been less than 12 hours since I submitted the last chapter. I'll probably be writing a lot more of this because of the quick inspirations that come. I wrote a 2,300 word chapter in about 10 minutes last night, a speed I've never managed before.
Arty Thrip noticed that the prologue was in the first person narrative. The story in its entirety will not be so. I plan to have the perspective flit freely among the characters of the story, often being third person, actually. In order to keep it more interesting, I have to shake things up by giving the opinions and observations of various characters.
Well, I've managed to make my Author's Note wordy again, so I'll make this last part quick.
Brand, whose name will be changed to be more draconian later, has been dumped into the middle of Eragon's camp roughly a week after fleeing Carvahall. There were parts that the book didn't cover, and that the movie did an even worse job of covering. I will try to insert my character into that gap. The following plot line, in relation to the book, will obviously be changed by this, but I will try not to change too much. Brand, as the Inheritance nerd that I am, still has knowledge of the three books in his mind, but I have plans to not make him so powerful as to be able to control everything. Trust me, it'll work out.
Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon, Eldest, or Brisingr. Christopher Paolini owns the Inheritance Cycle. Any references that I made to any copyrighted work, I do not own. The only thing I own is the OC, which is me in dragon form.
Chapter One: Awkward Introductions
What do you mean?
Saphira asked, cocking her head quizzically, That's what WE should be asking. We were just sitting here waiting for the old one to return from hunting when you appeared in a flash of light and a pillar of flames!
Brand, after rolling back onto his stomach, took a closer look at his surroundings. Now that the throbbing pain had dulled to a faint ache, he could focus on finding out where he was. The ground around him, apart from the grass he lay on, had been laid waste by the burning wind caused by his arrival. Piles of smoldering ashes were heaped about the clearing, having been swept away from the forest to prevent the spread of the flames. A nearby log burned until Eragon threw a bucket of water on it. The leaf-filled branches above him had a hole burned through it, which glowed red at the edges, caused by the supposed pillar of flame that Saphira had referred to. Through the void left by the fire, he could see a dimly-lit sky, tinged with the last remnants of sunset. Stars began to twinkle into existence as the evening began.
A pillar of fire, you say? Brand asked, looking up at the hole burned through the branches, Why aren't there any burning trees, then?
"It vanished as quickly as it had come," Eragon said, having returned from extinguishing any rogue patches of wildfire. Saphira nodded in agreement.
Now that you're done looking around, perhaps you can tell us who you are, and what you are doing here, Saphira said, laying down beside Eragon, looking intently at Brand. Brand looked back at the bonded pair, fear dancing behind his eyes at what was happening. Yet, despite the fear, a strange emotion filled him, a mix of curiosity, awe, and excitement. First of all, he was sitting here next to his two favorite fictional characters of all time. Secondly, he was a dragon, which had always been a fantasy of his since he'd been young. For years, he had dreamed of flying, free, above the clouds, without a care or worry. Also, fantasizing about obliterating your enemies using razor-sharp claws helped deal with the bullies.
Sure, this could all be some sort of concussion-induced hallucination, but I'm going to make the most out of it, thought Brand, not projecting the thought to the rider and his dragon, in case they thought he was insane.
I don't quite know how I got here, Brand began, but as for who I am...
Wait, if this was a dream, he could be anything he wanted to be. He didn't have to stick with his boring old name!
I'm... Dang, Brand thought, what's an awesome dragon name...? Glaurung. My name is Glaurung.
Brand inwardly smiled, only hardcore nerds read The Silmarillion, and so he was one of the few who knew of the Dragon race's father, as created by Tolkien. Sure he was known as "The Deceiver" and "The Worm of Greed", but he was the only gold dragon Brand could think of. And he was powerful, said to be the most powerful. Brand, now Glaurung, didn't intend to be arrogant, but sometimes he just came across that way.
Glaurung... Saphira said, It's an odd name, but then again, our own knowledge of dragon lore is limited. Perhaps Brom will be able to tell which dragon clan it's from.
The dragon now known as Glaurung looked at Saphira, taking in the details for the first time. Her angled head came up to Glaurung's scaly shoulder. Although Saphira was smaller than him, Glaurung already knew how skilled she was, simply by her instincts. By the light of the fire, her scales gleamed brilliantly. Her wings, their membranes a pale blue, were held gracefully at her side. Glaurung gulped, he'd never imagined her to be so...
No. What am I thinking? Sure, I may be a dragon for as long as this dream lasts, but once I wake up, it'll definitely be an awkward memory. Saphira may look beautiful in my eyes, but I'm sure that she sees me as a threat. Having an unknown origin and appearing in a fiery explosion will definitely cause some suspicion.
Glaurung also took a moment to examine himself more closely. Glaurung's wings were larger and broader than Saphira's were, their membranes a pale gold. His strong forearms ended in wickedly curved white talons. His scales were the same color as Glaedr's. At least, how Paolini had described them... GLAEDR! It came to him in a moment of revelation. If, by some rare chance, this was real, surely Glaedr and Oromis would know how to get him back to normal. He was about to mentally project his thought to the others when he inwardly kicked himself. He couldn't tell them about Oromis and Glaedr. Not yet. If he did anything too drastic, Glaurung would end up changing the plot line into a twisted mess that even he couldn't unravel, even with his extensive Inheritance Cycle knowledge. He would have to wait until he either woke up or got to Ellesmera in this mad adventure.
Brom chose this moment to enter the clearing, hefting a deer carcass across his back. Upon seeing Glaurung, and the devastated campsite around the golden dragon, his eyes went wide and he stood slack-jawed, mouth gaping in surprise. Upon seeing the deer's body hit the ground, something in his mind clicked, a rumble shook the ground beneath him. He was starving. After all, he hadn't eaten lunch at school. He usually depended on the snacks at home to sate his hunger until dinner. As the deer's body flopped onto the ground, Glaurung pounced, talons extended forward.
Leaping towards the antlered sack of meat, Glaurung shouldered Brom aside, knocking Brom out of his surprised-as-heck comatose state. As Glaurung tore into the deer with his sharp teeth, feeling the warm blood fill his mouth, he felt a twinge of pain in his head. Glaurong gave a startled roar as his body fell to the ground in a heap. He couldn't move a muscle. A glittering red blade appeared at his neck and hovered there as Brom took a closer look at the helpless form of Glaurung.
"And who might you be?" the old man asked.
"Brom, no!" shouted Eragon, running up to Brom and Glaurung. He grabbed Brom's arm and pulled it away to remove the old man's ruby-colored blade from Glaurung's neck. The golden dragon gave a sigh of relief. His adventure had almost come to a very sudden and unfortunate end.
"Eragon, what happened here, why didn't you tell me something had happened, and WHO in the gods names is THAT!" Brom ranted, shoving Eragon's chest angrily, prompting a low growl from Saphira.
Calm down, old one, and let Eragon explain, her calm voice said into the minds of all present. Brom relaxed a little, but didn't let down his guard.
"Tell me everything that happened while I was gone, and spare no details!" Brom demanded as he sat down on a nearby tree stump.
After Eragon had related the tale, beginning with Brom leaving to hunt, the sudden explosion of activity, Glaurung's appearance, culminating in Brom's return.
Brom looked over at Glaurung, who still laid limply on the ground, unable to move. "I guess I should let you up, Glaurung." He muttered something under his breath, and the twinge of pain in his mind vanished. Glaurung quickly, yet awkwardly to his feet. He still wasn't used to moving in this body yet. How he'd managed to lunge across the clearing was beyond him, and he chalked it up to dragon instinct. His legs wobbled, and Glaurung could barely stand.
Saphira moved up beside Glaurung and helped him get his feet under control by demonstrating how to stand.
This is most odd, thought Saphira, He's the size of a eight month-old dragon, yet doesn't even know how to stand up!
Brom nodded, watching Glaurung start to wobble again before he managed to steady his legs and keep on his feet. The golden dragon looked at them, a toothy grin on his scaly face, obviously proud of his achievement.
"Where did you come from?" Brom asked, accompanied by a nod from Eragon.
"I think we'd all like to know that," Eragon said. The trio of two humans and a blue dragon all turned and looked at Glaurung.
Glaurung blinked stupidly at them. Despite knowing that they wouldn't accept his sudden appearance in Alagaësia, he hadn't really prepared any sort of cover story. He knew that they wouldn't believe that he was in hiding since The Fall, he was too young. He couldn't say that he was in a lost egg, which had hatched, and he had survived ever since due to his lack of even the basics of walking. He was at an utter loss as what to say. He couldn't tell them the truth, and tried to think of a story, drawing from any relevant Inheritance Cycle fanfiction story he had read on the site recently.
Nothing worked.
Glaurung sighed. He would have to go with the classic excuse for situations like this: Amnesia.
I- I don't know how I got here. The only thing I can remember is waking up here and hearing that I appeared in a column of fire. Glaurung said, trying to inject as much sincerity into the mental message as was humanly, no... dragon-ly possible.
He looked at them expectantly. They looked back at him. Was it possible that they were buying it?
"What a load of dung" exclaimed Brom.
Nope, they didn't buy it.
"You seriously expect us to believe that someone, a DRAGON no less, has no memories WHATSOEVER of the last eight months of his life? That can only be said of dying old people." Brom continued, "You must think that we're idiots. If you won't tell us willingly, I'll have to force it out of you." He rolled up his sleeves, reaching out with one hand to the red sword that was standing upright, point embedded in the soil. Glaurung closed his eyes at what was sure to be a painful session. Brom may be old, but if his training with Eragon was any sign, he could still deal out a lot of punishment.
It was then that Saphira interceded, rising and striding between Brom and Glaurung. She glared at Brom, advancing on the storyteller until Brom was leaning backwards from his seat, pushed there by Saphira's snout. Smoke curled from her nostrils as she fixed him with a cold stare.
No, you will not drag this from him. If he chooses to keep his past a secret, it is his right as a dragon to do so, as you are well aware, old one. Brom turned his eyes downward, hiding from her piercing glare, Let him keep his secret, or I won't keep yours. You wouldn't want that, would you? Drop the matter. Now. She finished with a short growl, flashing her fangs for a brief moment. And in that brief moment, Saphira looked that much more beautiful and wonderful to Glaurung.
"Fine, fine..." Brom mumbled, "I will pursue this no further. But I want this understood: I will not trust him until he has earned it." He looked past Saphira at Glaurung, who nodded, glad that he was receiving such leniency from the ex-rider, even if Saphira had to threaten him to get it.
Saphira gazed at Glaurung, who had chosen to settle down for the night under the branches of an old oak tree on the opposite side of the clearing. Eragon looked at Glaurung, then at Saphira, noticing how her eyes never left the gold dragon's sleeping form.
"Saphira," Eragon said to the blue dragoness, "Why were you so defensive of Glaurung back there? I mean, you only just met him."
I know not, little one. My instincts told me to protect him no matter what. Perhaps it is because he is one of the last dragons, as I am. Saphira replied, Ever since he showed up, I've been feeling strange, more content. It feels like something that was missing from my essence has been returned. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.
"Saphira, if you need someone to talk to, know that you always have my ear." Eragon said, rubbing her scaly side. She hummed at the tingly feeling that Eragon's marked palm caused when it touched her.
I know, little one. I just need some time to think.
The moon was high in the sky when Saphira finally fell asleep last, even falling asleep after the wary Brom, whose eyes never left Glaurung's sleeping form. Saphira sighed and drifted into the realm of dreams, her rider having long since entered a comfortable slumber against her warm body.
A/N: Well, there's a hint of a connection between the two dragons, as well as a foreboding scene indicating future conflict. Did I do good on the characters, keeping them somewhat true to Paolini's version of them (well, as true as one can be when introducing a major game-changer)?
I enjoy opinions. I would like to thank Arty Thrip, Mordris, and Jaredin Snow for reviewing my story, as well as Selena Moonlighty for adding me to her story alert. I hope that this is just one of many good chapters to come.
Accepting character suggestions for humans, elves, dwarves, dragons, and even a were-cat.
For my regular readers, there is still a poll on my profile as to which story I should write more. One more options have been added, and now the list consists of (in no particular order): Omicron, Alagaësia's New Dragon, and The Fall of Lord Kelvyn. Please vote for the one you wish to see more of!
Read and Review! That's right, see that little button right down here? \/ that's the one you want to hit in order to tell me if you liked this.