Chapter 3: Plans for the Future
Once everyone was healed again, Eragon looked towards Arya, and she to him. Both had expressions of contentment and had slight smiles upon their faces. No words were needed, both of them understood what the other felt. To Eragon, every second to him felt like an hour as he looked upon the most beautiful woman he had ever met. Aside from Saphira, she was the one he had trusted the most, for together they had fought in countless dangers. Of all the women in the world, she was the one he had loved most dearly. For a few collected moments, they stayed fixed that way, appreciating each other for who they were. Then Arya loosened her grip on Eragon's hand, after which he did likewise, allowing her to break away. The two of them and Murtagh stood up.
Addressing Murtagh, Arya, Thorn and Firnen, Eragon said "When was the last you all ate?"
Murtagh answered him "A while ago, I would say around mid-morning."
"And you haven't said anything this whole time! You all must be starving!" Eragon said.
"After seeing you, Saphira and everything else, we all forgot about our hunger" said Murtagh.
Eragon then said "We will provide you both with the best meal we can make." Eragon then motioned to Blodgarm, then Blodgarm motioned to the other elves. After this, all twelve elves sprinted off towards the castle, becoming blurs at their great speed.
Eragon then said to the two dragons, "Firnen, Thorn, have you both the strength left to hunt?"
Whom do you think you are speaking to? Thorn said, We are two of the three mightiest dragons of the world. Hunting will be no problem tonight.
"Don't be so overconfident," Murtagh said. "As mighty as you indeed are my brother, you are exhausted."
He's right Thorn, said Firnen. Turning his head again towards Saphira, he said to her Are there any simple flocks of creatures nearby? Something effortless to kill?
There is a flock of wild sheep at the bottom of Zenith, Saphira said. If you can make it there and back, the others and I will lead you.
That can be managedFirnen said.
Saphira then said to Eragon alone, Do you need us to fly you to the castle first?
No, we will be fine, you take them Eragon said. Thorn and Firnen are the ones who flew all day, Arya and Murtagh only rode on them. They need food more than their riders now. Let us grab our weapons first though Saphira.Eragon then came up to her and took his blade Brisingr from Saphira's saddle, strapping it to his side.
Turning to Arya and Murtagh, he said "Just in case it's needed, your dragons will be gone from us till morning." Taking his advice, Murtagh and Arya went to their dragons and grabbed their swords as well. Once everyone was ready, Saphira turned to the other dragons, then launched herself from the ground. The six others soon did the same and followed her, all seven flying north.
As the riders watched them fly away, in his mind Murtagh said to Eragon I will do what I can to keep your apprentices occupied on the way back.
That's not exactly fair now is it?Eragon said.
You do know we're only going to be here for three more days right? I want you to make the most of itMurtagh said.
Three days is all? Why?Sadness began to gnaw at Eragon.
Ask her yourself,Murtagh said to him, ending the exchange of thoughts. Murtagh then sparked up a conversation with Lyra, Luxor, Grifka and Mathias and they began to walk towards the castle. Eragon stayed where he was, still watching Saphira and the other dragons fly across the darkening sky; Arya likewise did the same. Far off in the west, the sun was nearly done setting and in the sky above the first stars began to appear.
After a few more moments had passed Arya looked at Eragon, saying "Come, we shouldn't keep them waiting." She and Eragon then began walking towards the castle, a gentle breeze brushing their sides.
After a few silent moments, while still walking, he turned his head towards her. "Arya, Murtagh has told me that you all plan to leave in three days. Saphira and I thought you would be here for a couple of weeks or more. Why is it that you need to hurry back home so soon?"
Choosing her words carefully her gaze still forward, Arya spoke "In a month there will be a great performance in Ilirea. A grand reenactment of you and Saphira's adventures against the Empire. One in which you will be portrayed by an actor, as well as I and many others. Everyone from around the land will be coming to see this, and I wish it of you and Saphira also. If we leave in three days, that would give us enough time to make it. Maybe even enough time for your apprentices and their dragons to see it if they came."
A look of interest fell upon Eragon as he thought of the idea. Though a question still plagued his mind, and he asked Arya "But why then did you not come to us sooner? If you came here a month earlier, would you not have stayed longer?"
Arya then stopped walking, then faced Eragon in a serious expression. "We tried our very best to come when we could Eragon. Murtagh and Thorn were occupied helping the humans, and I was occupied ruling the elves. It took years for us to plan this, and we waited for the perfect time to leave. It was only a month ago when that perfect time presented itself. Only until then were the elves and the humans willing to see us go."
"I see," Eragon said to her. "Most likely we will only be in Ilirea for a week also, Saphira and I have things to do ourselves."
"So you will come?" asked Arya joyfully.
"Of course we will come!" Eragon replied, then gave her a guilty look, saying "I am sorry for what I had said earlier Arya, I should have realized how hard it was for you to get here."
Waving her left hand to the side she said "Pay it no mind."
They then resumed their walk in silence, a few more stars had appeared in the aging sky. From where they had started walking, they were halfway to the castle itself. Walls reaching hundreds of feet into the air also stretched hundreds of feet both to their left and their right. Three small towers stood at three corners of the roof, with Shurtugal Tower standing at the northwest corner. Some statues on the roof were still visible from where Eragon and Arya were, though they soon would not be when they got close enough to the castle. Murtagh and the others were almost to the great stone doors, which were around a hundred feet tall and eighty feet wide. Many carvings of riders fighting with their dragons lay on the mighty stone doors, both which lay within a grand archway.
For a minute or so, Arya had been looking towards the ever darkening sky. She said to Eragon "It's interesting isn't it? The stars are in different places here than they are in Alagaesia."
Joining her observations, Eragon said "Aye! Although, I never would have guessed you to be a stargazer."
A few quiet moments, then she said "In the early days before the war, when Faolin, the others and I ferried Saphira. We used to lie back on the great planes, or on top of the highest mountains of the spine, or other places. Then as we admired the night sky, we talked of many things."
Thinking of what she had said, an idea came to Eragon. He said to her "Before we leave for Alagaesia, would you like to stargaze with me on top of Shurtugal Tower? Aside from dragonback, it's the best place in the world for watching the night sky."
Turning her gaze towards Eragon she said in the ancient language simply, "For you."
Smiling, Eragon said "It's a plan then! I must warn you though Arya, the only way to get to the top of Shurtugal Tower is by dragon. So do not anger Firnen before having him drop you off there. One time I had angered Saphira, and while riding her, she dropped me onto Shurtugal Tower and left me there for days. I had no choice then, so I spoke to a wild dragon and convinced him to fly me back to the ground."
Arya laughed at his tale, then said to him "But wild dragons do not speak the way we do, they communicate with images and emotions. How did this dragon understand you?"
"Ha! After living with wild dragons for so long, you pick up on a few things. Saphira is much better at speaking with them than I, though I can engage in simple talk with them."
A few more minutes they said nothing more, and before long the great doors lay before them. Smells of goat, sheep and a variety of vegetables and fruits filled their nostrils. Sounds of talk, laughter and merriment also reached their ears.
Eragon quickened his pace, then leaned against the door to his right. Heaving with all his strength, he pushed against the colossal structure. For two moments, it stood in place, but after repositioning his footing, the great door began to give way. Slowly he pushed it forward until it hit the wall on their right. Heaving and panting, he stretched out his right arm, palm facing upwards, towards the interior of the castle. Struggling to find the words between his heavy breathing he said "fter….youu….airest, Arya." She gave him a small smile, then entered the castle. As soon as she stepped over the threshold, Eragon let go of the stone door. Much faster than he had opened it, the door pulled itself back into its normal place. He came up to Arya, bent over and still breathing heavily. He heard her say something in the ancient language, and immediately his strength came back to him. Upon realizing this, he stood again at his full height, breathing like he usually would.
"You have my thanks Arya."
"It's no trouble, but honestly, why did you design the doors like that?"
"They're meant to only be opened by many elves or dragons. In case someone we don't trust wanted in."
Arya gave him a silly look, "Only dragons can reach Zenith's top Eragon, who would be able to get in besides a rider or the elves here?"
"A magician might be able to climb Zenith, given enough time. Saphira and I didn't want to take chances."
"Fair enough," she said to him.
The foyer of the castle was massive and hollow, made of white marble for the ceiling and black marble for the floors. Huge empty hallways, spreading out seemingly forever caved to their left and right, the ceilings a few hundred feet high. There were a few huge doors on the sides of these hallways leading to other rooms.
Not too far away in front of them was the main entrance to the castle. Two great doors identical to the ones they had passed through stood there. At the center of the foyer lay a large red carpet, which formed a path to two symmetrical staircases near the entrance. These two staircases climbed at an angle perpendicular to the direction one would face after entering. When the staircases reached the walls, they perpendicularly switched direction again, becoming walkways. These walkways then stretched all along the walls, combining above Eragon and Arya's position in a square shape. Other staircases also sprouted from the walkways, which formed into more identical square walkways above them. The pattern continued until the large structure reached the very top of the castle.
Eragon then continued onward with Arya, heading for the staircase to their right. "You built all of this?" she asked him amazed.
While climbing the stairs he said "Saphira, Blodgarm, the eldunarya and the others made it possible. It was something we all did together."
A few more quiet moments, then as they continued on the walkway she asked him "Does this castle have a name? Or is it nameless?"
He answered saying "Because of the statues we created at the top of it, Blodgarm suggested we call it Castle Eragon. I denied the name, because people would think it referred to me. Saphira then said after that 'Why not call it Castle Saphira after Brom's dragon?' She was jesting of course, but afterwards we sort of forgot about naming the place." They soon reached the end of the walkway above the area from which they entered. There were two other hallways here, identical to the ones directly below them and Eragon led them down the one to their left.
"Actually, I like to think of this place as an inn" Eragon said. "In a way that is what it is. Centuries from now, with all that has been built in this city we will have room for thousands of dragons and riders alike. Some of which will stay in the castle."
"It seems you are becoming more and more like an elf," she said to him. "Planning for the centuries is something we do daily."
"Hm, never thought of it like that."
Every step they took they sensed the smells of food and sounds of conversation more and more. Till finally, Eragon stopped next to one door to their right saying "here it is." Though a good sized dragon could fit through the door, it was not nearly as heavy as the entrance doors. Eragon had no trouble pushing this one open and keeping it open for Arya, after which he went in himself.
The room they now stood in wasn't as large as the previous rooms, but a few dragons could squeeze in if they wished. Red were the floors, walls and ceiling, and a large round stone table lay in the center. On the table lay a huge goat and lamb with many kinds of fruits and vegetables surrounding them. Though most of the two animals were missing, having been eaten by Murtagh, Luxor, Grifka and Mathias. Lyra had eaten none of the meat, she had eaten many greens instead.
"About time you two showed up!" said Murtagh. "Come on now, the food is cooling!" They then sat down next to each other, Eragon filling his plate with both meat and greens, while Arya went for greens exclusively.
The others had already finished eating, but in between bites, Eragon asked them "So what did we miss?"
Luxor answered him saying "Kingsbane and I spoke of the Urgralga games. Tribe Yeragna won Jardonsh fighting Tribe Igledenx," Luxor grinned broadly. "Yeragna Tribe is where I grew, this win gives glory to them."
Arya, curiously asked him "What is Jardonsh? I have heard of other games you play, Jardonsh is however, unfamiliar."
Instead of Luxor answering, Lyra did instead saying "It is based off of the dwarvish game Krishnarnthum, though with one big difference. One team defends a large boulder in the middle of a field, the other team tries their best to destroy it. You may use any weapons or spells in this game, as long as the weapons are dulled beforehand and everyone has wards. If you are hit three times, you are out of the game for three minutes. Typically the team destroying the boulder have an hour and a half to do so. And if they fail to in the time given, the defending team wins. The difference between Krishnarnthum and Jardonsh, is that in Jardonsh, games take less time, say twenty or thirty minutes. After the time is up both teams switch positions and begin a new game. Whoever wins the most games, by defense or offense is the true victor."
"Well said Lyra," Mathias said. "As part of our training, Eragon and Saphira have us play some of the Urgal games with our dragons. It's exhilarating!"
"You did not tell me this!" Murtagh said happily. "We've got to do this once before we all leave."
"As long as you don't cheat like last time Mathias," Grifka said.
Mathias's expression turned sour as he said "Come now Grifka. That last hit Lyra had on Kes'thara was really on me, not her. So collectively we were both still in."
"No Mathias, Lyra hit Kes'thara and you, I saw it myself. You both were out. And because of your cheating, you and Luxor won dishonorably."
"You exaggerate Grifka! You know yourself that is not the case!" Back and forth they argued over this, their voices raising in volume. Crescendoing to shouts, it was clear neither would back down as they stood up and argued.
"BRISINGR!" Eragon had shouted, now standing at his full height over the table. The sword at his side became embroiled with blue flames, so intense they pushed Brisingr out of its scabbard by an inch. Nothing caught fire, Eragon controlled the flames to spread nowhere else but his blade. Grifka and Mathias still argued, but more quietly. Determined to stop them, Eragon gave more energy into the spell, the fires becoming more intense and Brisingr slid a few more inches out of the scabbard. Mathias and Grifka looked at him, then looked back at each other again.
"Don't test me riders, stop this now," said Eragon. A bit of fear appeared in Mathias's and Grifka's eyes, then they muttered "yes master," and sat down in silence. Once they did this, Eragon ended the spell, the flames disappeared and Brisingr fell back down the scabbard, resting once more. After which, Eragon sat down and resumed eating, acting as if nothing had happened. Murtagh and Arya stared at him wide eyed, they had least expected Eragon to pull something like that. Luxor and Lyra however, weren't shaken at all, meaning they had seen him do this before.
For several minutes, not a word was spoken as Eragon and Arya ate. When they were both finally finished, Eragon said to them all while smiling "I'm sure Murtagh has already told you, there will be a great performance in Ilirea of the war. This is something I want you all to see, it will do us some good to be reminded of those times. We will leave with them three days from now, so I suggest you begin packing for the long journey." He paused, sighed then said "It's been an eventful day, we should all get our rest." He then pointed to Mathias and Grifka, "Grifka, escort Arya to her room and Mathias, you take Murtagh to his." Eragon had chosen them to take their guests to their rooms as punishment for their uproar. While taking them, Mathias's and Grifka's embarrassment were sure to increase tenfold.
And so everyone quietly dispersed, Eragon headed out the room, through the hall and up many flights of staircases. He then reached another hallway on his right, which lay parallel above the others and walked along it. By many doors he passed, until he reached his room on the left, in which he entered.
A large bed with white coverings and pillows waited for him at the room's center. On the other side of the room was a landing balcony leading outside for dragons, currently closed off by a huge window. Brown dressers were against the walls containing his excess clothing. Red carpet covered the floors, the rest of the room being black. Eragon unbuckled his belt and boots, placing them both on the floor. Jumping onto his bed, he thought of the many things that had occurred that day, and the many things that would occur next. All kinds of other thoughts buzzed in his head, though when he closed his eyes two people were on his mind. Saphira, his dragon, partner of his heart and of Arya, whose heart he was determined to conquer for good.