AN: Alright folks. Some background info:

Factions:

Kingdom of Carvahall: the northern kingdom is a federation of sorts, with High King Garrow as the current ruler. Covers most of the northern spine, with Narda, Ceunon and Carvahall as its main cities. Several dozen of smaller towns and castles are also present. Chief military strength are its magicians, which are stronger and more numerous than average human kingdoms and its legendary heavy cavalry corps. Borders the Brodding Kingdom to the south and Du Weldervarden to the east. Has very good relations with the elves.

Kingdom of Surda: the southernmost kingdom, bordering the sea to the south and the Hadarac desert to the east and the Brodding Kingdom to the north. A prosperous sea-faring kingdom, with a powerful navy and famed light cavalry. Currently ruled by King Orrin of House Langfeld. Is allied to the Brodding Kingdom. Chief cities are Aberon, Dauth, Aroughs and Cithri.

Brodding Kingdom: the central kingdom, ruled by King Ulric, now Emperor of the Empire which comprises of all three human kingdoms. Prosperous and rich on trade with elves and dwarves. Famed for its infantry.

Wood-Elves: control all of Du-Weldervarden, ruled by Evandar Konungr and Islanzadi Drotting, the elves are immortal and extremely powerful in magic and physical strength, fight primarily as archers and swordsmen, though some cavalry regiments from Carvahall fight for them while some squadrons of elven archers fight with the former. Dislike the dwarfs

Dwarven Nation: a conglomerate of several clans, the dwarven nation often appears weak and divided to the outsider, but are extremely united when it comes to matters of security and honor. Have good relations with the Empire but greatly distrust the elves.

Urgals: witha culture based on honor and valor in combat, the Urgals are violent and war-mongering, but are at the sametime trustworthy and dignified. No single ruler, rather a clanmoot governs their foreign policy. Live in the wildlands of the Spine.

Order of Shrutugal: the dragon rider order, keeper of the peace and without doubt the most powerful of warriors in the whole land. Based in the islands of Vroengard, their capital city is Doru Araeba. But they have watchtowers and outposts all throughout the lands. Present grandmasters are Vrael and Umaroth.

Order of Guardians: an order of human mages and warriors, allied to the Riders, they help keep the peace and are keepers of secrets millennia old. They have two branches:

Greybeards: scholars and mages, the greybeards are the only ones who know the dragon tongue(apart from the dragons themselves), they are the record keepers of the order and guide the knights of the order. Present grandmaster is Paarthunax.

Blades: these are the military wing of the Order, led by Delphine.

The Nightingales: warriors of the goddess Nocturnal, the Nightingales are expert assassins and infiltrators, they fight from the shadows leave behind no trace. They are allied to the riders and the guardians. Led by Karliah.

Aedra: the divines of Alagaesia. The gods live in another plane of the universe known as Nirn, while the mortal plane is called Mundus. Most Aedra don't interfere with the lives of the mortals.

Daedra: also god-like beings who live in the planes of Oblivion. Unlike the Aedra, they love to interfere in the lives of mortals and most are considered evil, except for Nocturnal, Azura and Meridia, while others are definitely mad like Sheogorath and Sanguine.

That's about it. Now onto the chapter:


Chapter 2:Destiny

The seeds that had been planted in the minds of the twins on that fateful night sprouted quickly but manifested in very different ways. Eragon became obsessed with the legacy of the Dovahkiin and the riders. He knew that as the son of a rider, he had greater chances than normal at becoming a rider when he reached the age of twenty and thus became old enough to touch an egg, and thus devoted himself fully to become stronger in both magic and physical strength and skill with weapons. His entire day would be spent in either the Lists, training or in Tenga's library, learning all he could about the world and its workings; as a result he became sort of a recluse and lonely; others considered his behavior as strange and monastic. In the years that followed his knighting, from the age of sixteen until he was twenty, Eragon learned a great deal about life, while making rapid progress through the Levels of Learning of the Order of Guardians, but he appeared to take little overt interest in any of the great changes that were occurring in the world around him. He was the kind of young man that people think of as being driven, impelled by a force that sets him apart and spurs him constantly to succeed in everything he attempts. Thus, when it came to his knightly responsibilities he fought like a lion, mastering sword, axe, dagger, mace, and spear, and even the composite bow, and was unbeatable either in the lists or in the butts, where his accuracy with the bow quickly became a matter for awe. At the same time, he maintained a constant and focused attention to his studies within the Order, spending far more time with his tutors and elders than he did with people his own age.

Commitment on such a scale carries a certain penalty in that it leaves little time for things that are considered unimportant. Had anyone thought to ask for Eragon's opinion, they might have been perplexed to discover that, at such an early age, he considered relaxation or leisurely behavior of any kind unimportant and frivolous. He had no interest in carousing with his fellow knights, and he made no secret of the fact that he found the drinking of ale, for the mere sake of drinking until one grew drunk, to be a useless, feckless pursuit. That earned him little liking among his peers. But Eragon felt that he had enough friends: his brother Murtagh and his cousin Roran Stronghammer were his dearest friend and he trio liked to call themselves the Carvahall triumvirate.

Murtagh on the other hand, had all that which Eragon didn't. He was popular among all knights and among the ladies of the court because of his amiable nature and affinity for mead. He was just as skilled as Eragon with the sword but he couldn't bother himself with reading the old tomes that his twin found so interesting. But where Eragon tended to be serious and single-minded to the point of sometimes appearing rigid and aloof, Murtagh was mercurial, with a sparkling wit; an irreverent, endearing, and never-failing sense of humor; and an in-exhaustible willingness to see another person's point of view. He could cut through a conversational impasse or an awkward moment with a single barbed comment that usually brought laughter and averted unpleasantness.

The third and eldest member of their triumvirate, as they liked to call themselves, was Roran Stronhammer, son of their mother's brother, King Garrow.

Eragon and Murtagh were almost identical, both were broad chested, tall and lanky and narrow waisted even as boys and had grown into adults without losing any of their boyish charm. The only difference between the twins was that Eragon had dark brown hair and warm brown eyes while Murtagh had black hair and gray eyes.

Roran, on the other hand, was an inch or two shorter and had thick musculature which was the envy of the twins, he had caramel hair and light brown eyes and was blunt and to the point, but honest and open in his thoughts and actions.

The one thing that the twins had to keep from Roran was their skill with magic, for the both of them had become extremely proficient and strong in manipulating magic, their strength rivaling that of full-fledged riders and this was something that was a source of great pride and perplexity for their parents and their teacher, Tenga. Roran, however wasn't gifted with magic and so tended to be critical of its use, so the brothers had no choice but to avoid raising the issue in his presence.

Thus, by the time the brothers entered their eighteenth year, having spent two years studying under the Greybeards, they had become formidable warriors, skilled with both the blade and the mind and had formed a unique bond on which they would rely heavily in the years to come to survive the starkest of odds.

On one fine summer morning the twins received a letter summoning them to Castle High Hrothgar, the headquarters of the Order of Guardians. Confused, the brothers left the very next day, travelling lightly and well armed for the week long journey to the very heart of the Spine was a dangerous one and not to be undertaken lightly.

When they arrived exhausted and weary, having had to fight off numerous packs of wolves and a couple of bears, the brothers took some time observing the stark beauty of the snow clad mountains and the massive castle which sat at its peak. As he approached the big bronze doors, Eragon felt a shiver of anticipation run up his spine. Not for the first time, he wondered why the Greybeards had summoned him and Murtagh all the way to High Hrothgar instead of any of the other Watchtowers and Castles that belonged to the Order and were closer and more convenient. Shrugging, he followed his brother into the castle. Little did he know that his life was about to change forever.

"Greetings Eragon and Murtagh, we have awaited your arrival for a long time," spoke one of several monks who emerged from the chambers inside the castle as the twins arrived in the central courtyard. The Greybeards wore long flowing grey robes and walked with a grace and pace that bespoke their wisdom. One of the men stepped forth and removing his hood, said, "I am Master Arngeir, and I am pleased to welcome the both of you, Dovahkiin."


From the point where the previous chapter left off:

Tenga rushed to Throne room, his hands clutching the still glowing book. As he dashed through the central hallway, he paused long enough to order a guard to bear a message for the King, the Rider Brom and the King's sister, Selena. The guard rushed off and he continued on his way to the throne room. Once he arrived there, he weaved complex spells of warding around the room, making sure that the conversation that was about to take place couldn't be eavesdropped on. Then he scryed Master Arngeir, the head of his Order, and incidentally the author of the very book he held.

Just as the spell was completed, the doors behind him opened behind him and the King, his sister and Brom came in.

"What is happening Tenga? What has happened that you have labeled these letters 'Of Grave Importance'?", King Garrow asked as he and his relatives sat down on the several chairs that were scattered around the room. At the same time Master Arngeir appeared in the scrying mirror.

Tenga spoke, "what I am about to say cannot leave the confines of this room, I beg of you to swear oaths of secrecy." He paused long enough for all of them to comply before resuming, "Master Arngeir had given me and several others, this book," he showed them the book, "each of these books have been carefully enchanted by Paarthunax to be able to detect a Dovahkiin, a DragonBorn. It is with great pleasure that I tell you that I have, after centuries of search, discovered a dragonborn."

The resulting chaos was predictable and after much effort, Tenga was finally able to tell the others of what had happened that evening and that he was convinced that both the brothers were Dovahkiin.

"Two Dovahkiin? Two? Are you sure of this Tenga?" Master Arngeir asked of Tenga, suspicion and skepticism clearly visible in his features.

"Absolutely, the glow was far too strong for one and even for two. Besides, I checked by casting a trace spell, the Shout recognizes both the brothers as Dovahkiin."

"Then….for the first time in seven thousand years, two Dovahkiin live at the same time," Arngeir turned to Selena, "you named them appropriately, Lady Selena. May I ask what made you name them such?"

The mother and father shared looks of pride, "it was your apprentice, Angela who read me my fortune from dragon bones and told me that I will bear twins and that both of my sons will be Dovahkiin. Since Eragon and Murtagh were the first pair of Dovahkiin, I thought it was only fitting that I name my children after them."

Arngeir nodded, "fitting indeed."

Garrow spoke for the first time after hearing the news, "this is a matter of grave import and brings me great joy to know that my nephews have the souls of dragons inside; but I must ask, now what?"

"A pertinent question, King Garrow, and one that I fear will not be easily answered. The training of a dragonborn is a matter that needs to be approached with a lot of caution for they wield great power and if their upbringing is deficient, they could end up causing a lot of damage to Alagaesia," Arngeir said.

"I will keep watch on them until they are of the age of eighteen, I will train them and guide them as well as I can, then they must travel to High Hrothgar to be learn of their destiny and to know what it means to be Dovahkiin. Till then, this secret must be kept from them and from all others, even from Vrael and the Riders," Tenga said slowly.

Brom nodded, "I see reason behind your proposal Tenga. I agree to it, but with mixed heart, for I had hoped that my sons will become riders one day, but that cannot be, for I will not allow them to become powerful enough to threaten everything that I and my brethren in the order stand for."

"An honorable choice, Lord Brom, but no one knows the whims of fate, if the brothers are destined to be riders, then they will be riders, no one, not me, not Vrael himself can prevent it from happening; the night grows late, today's tidings require a lot of attention from me and my fellow greybeards. I must go and consult with them, by your leave." Arngeir said as the mirror went black.


"How do you feel?" Murtagh asked, concerned for his brother. They were sitting in a Spartan bedroom that had been given to them after master Arngeir had explained how the Greybeards had come to know of them being Dragonborn. Eragon had adamantly refused to believe that he was so and protested vehemently until master Arngeir pulled out a sheet of paper on which was written, fus rod ah (force balance and push). The twins had immediately understood what was written and had gone on to demonstrate their first shout, creating an energy wave that literally pushed things out of the way.

"Angry, betrayed, hurt and yet jubilated and excited' came the curt reply. Murtagh flashed a wry grin, "I can surely understand that, but have you tried to think it from their point of view?"

Eragon hadn't thought of that, and he realized that the secrecy for the last six years had been justified, the knowledge that they were Dovahkiin would have been a terrible burden to shoulder at the age of twelve and their childhood would have been darkened. Instead they had spent the last few years preparing for their destiny, only they didn't know what it was. He sighed before replying, "you're right, they were justified in keeping this secret."

Murtagh smiled in reply, "well then lets go and meet master Arngeir and see what he has in store for us."

He nodded and followed his brother out of the room.


So what do you folks think? I hope I managed to shed some light on the various forces that will play a role in this fanfic.