Riley watched the hills roll by from the back of the wagon. It was the last day of the journey. Keiran had said that Illrea would be visible by noon, in about an hour. She had been restless ever since, unable to calm her wandering mind.
She wondered about her training. Keiran knew nothing about it, only that it would be overtaken by another Rider. It's not as if there were many candidates. Riley moved to the front of the wagon to interrogate Keiran once more when her question was answered for her.
Illrea had come into sight, and Riley marveled at it. The most prominent feature was the large rock that hung over the city, casting a perpetual shadow. The rock must have been suspended there by magic. The city center was underneath the rock, marked by eight jade-green towers that towered above everything around them. The rest of the city sprawled out from under the rock onto the surrounding countryside. Manors and plantations dotted the hills farther out, and farms ringed the outside of the city.
But none of those things were what drew Riley's eye. Atop the rock formation that hung above the city sat a dragon. This creature was truly of giant proportions, its torso alone the size of a large house. The behemoth's scales were blood red, and the light glinted off of them like rubies. The dragon basked in the sun, black smoke drifting out of its nostrils each time it breathed out.
"That's Thorn, isn't it?" Riley pointed to the dragon.
"A good eye," Keiran replied, somewhat sarcastically, "Yes it is, and I think that confirms who your mentor will be."
"I never considered Murtagh. I though no one had seen him since the end of the Rider War."
"He returned for more training with the elves and Eragon. Not to mention he was originally trained by Galbatorix. He's certainly one of the best fighters I've ever met."
"So he'll be training me. Will he be teaching me to fight as well?"
"I'm sure he will," Keiran said with a chuckle.
The ride closer to Illrea seemed to take the length of the entire trip, so excited was Riley to begin her apprenticeship. It wasn't until they were within two leagues of the city that Thorn moved on the rock. His head, larger than the wagon that they rode in, lifted from the ground and looked around. Thröviel let out a roar from up above, explaining to Riley that he was greeting the other dragon.
Thorn responded with a roar. The sound that came from his mouth was loud, easily heard from this distance. A jet of ruby flame accompanied the roar, spreading out over the city's skyline. The dragon lowered his head back to the rock, this time staring down at the road. He must have known they were on their way.
A voice boomed out in Riley's head. It was deep and rumbling, but had a strange, almost song-like quality to it, "And who are you, young one, to be traveling with a dragon?"
"My name is Riley. I was chosen as a Rider by the dragon Thröviel, who greeted you earlier."
"Yes, I spoke to the hatchling before I began searching for you. It is an honor to train the newest Rider and her dragon. Murtagh will be waiting for you in front of the citadel."
Thorn's presence retreated from Riley's mind, leaving her to converse with Keiran and Thröviel in peace. Riley relayed her conversation with Thorn to both of her travelling partners.
"Then set off to the citadel we shall. Murtagh should have another egg for me as well." Keiran sounded more excited than anything else.
"Will you not continue to tutor me in Illrea? Will it come down to Murtagh to teach me everything?"
"No, you will have other tutors. I need to set out and begin searching for the next Rider. When there are so few Riders, we can't afford to wait around."
"Oh. Well I hope you find someone soon. I'd be happy to have a partner to train with." There was melancholy in Riley's voice; she had grown to like Keiran.
"I'll be here for a few days with the new egg, so I won't be leaving just yet; though I doubt you'll see much of me with your training retinue."
The rest of the ride was fairly quiet, aside from Riley's remarks about the city. They reached the gates of the citadel fairly quickly. Outside the gates, a man leaned against the wall. He wasn't exceptionally tall, maybe a meter and two thirds. He wore clothes similar to Riley's; well-fit leather trousers and shirt, colored gray. He had jet-black hair that went down past his shoulders; this framed a hard face, an evident broken nose which had never healed right, and steel-gray eyes.
Quite the opposite of his appearance, Murtagh spoke with a loud and friendly voice, "Keiran, Riley! It is good to finally meet you. I trust the journey went well?"
"Indeed, nothing troubled us on the road. I take it Thorn has already told you of us?"
"Yes I was aware of you as soon as Thröviel introduced himself to Thorn. Well met, young dragon." Murtagh slightly bowed his head to Thröviel.
"Well met, Rider," the dragon spoke directly to Murtagh, foregoing relaying through Riley.
Murtagh extended a hand towards Riley, "Keiran has told me as much about you as he has learned. I am glad to finally meet you, Riley."
Riley shook the hand enthusiastically, "It is an honor to meet you, Murtagh. I have heard much about you, as well."
"Well I'd be glad to separate fact from myth later, but for now, I think we will show you to your room," Murtagh gestured for them to follow him inside. The gates opened as he approached and closed behind them.
The front hall of the palace was overly lavish, Riley thought. Its ceilings were taller that Thorn was long, and the hall was wide enough for something twice Thorn's size to walk comfortably. It was obviously lit magically, as no discernable light source was present in the room. The hallway must have been a league long; the doors at the end of the corridor seemed to not even be able to fit a mouse. Various paintings decorated the walls where intricately carved doors were not present.
"Why is this so long? It can't be practical in any way," Riley questioned Murtagh.
"Galbatorix rebuilt the old palace that was once under this hill. He wanted to fit his dragon, Shruikan; he had been enlarged by magic, and could not stay by his master's side if the place had not been expanded," Murtagh paused a moment and then added, "And Galbatorix…well he had something of a taste for the dramatic."
"How large was Shruikan? Keiran has said that he was as large as a hill."
"He wasn't mistaken. Shruikan was five or six times the size of Thorn, who has received his fair share of magical augmentation; both to my and his regret."
They continued further into the tunnel, making light conversation. Keiran diverged from the group when Murtagh entered one of the doors on the left side of the hallway. He waved goodbye and set off further down the main corridor. The rest of the palace was a maze of interconnected tunnels and passages, but Murtagh moved down them as if he had lived in the palace all his life.
Riley's room, when they arrived at it, was much like her room from Dras-Leona, only missing the windowed view. The bookshelves here were empty, and a large portrait of a man in his late 40s standing in front of a white dragon adorned most of one wall. A full-body mirror stood in the corner of the room. The final wall was mostly an opening into a larger area, one that Thröviel could fit into with ease. This area was open to the sky, allowing the dragon to fly out and in.
Riley was more interested in the painting than anything else. It seemed almost like it was real; like there was a tiny man sitting in her room. Every detail was so intricate she could hardly believe had someone had actually had the skill to paint it.
"That portrait is one of the last remaining images of Vrael, leader of the Riders before their downfall. His dragon was Umaroth, and was one of the largest among the dragons of the Riders," Murtagh said, noticing Riley's interest in the painting.
"Galbatorix killed him, then?"
"Aye; he was one of the last to hold out, but the others were not strong enough to fight back."
"Which other Riders survived? Are they still alive?"
"No. Oromis and Glaedr, the last Rider and Dragon pair, were killed as the elves entered the war; at Gil'ead. Brom, Eragon's father, was a Rider, and he was killed before the war started by creatures known as the Ra'zac."
"Oh. So no one from the old order survived?"
"Well not exactly," Murtagh hesitated to say any more, "I'll tell you about that when you're ready to hear it. It's a complicated concept, and you need to understand dragons very well before you can fully grasp it."
"I understand. So when will we begin training? I'm ready to begin learning all I can," Riley said, enthused.
"Keiran did say you were an inquisitive one. We'll begin tomorrow morning. Focus on learning your way around this place; you'll need to know how. I need to go and contact Eragon to introduce you. I'll return in about an hour, until then, explore the room and relax; whatever you like. Just be ready in an hour."