Chapter 2: Strength or Speed?
With Roran's distraction Eragon was able to devise a spell that circumvented the wards as he was able to see how they worked when they deflected his arrow. They were powerful but he was able to craft a spell that instead of redirecting the projectile it would use that power from the wards to increase the speed of the arrow. And best of all about it was that it used the wards own energy and cost him next to nothing. He muttered the incantation and then the next round of crossbow and ballistae arrows went through. The lethrblaka was able to dodge all but one of the arrows, which tore its left wing. The giant man either dodged them with elflike reflexes or cut them with his dragon rider's sword.
Then the man pulled out a bow the size of Eragon and began to heave on the thick rope. His muscles bulged and rippled with the effort but then it was loaded. The arrow itself was six feet long with an eight inch arrowhead on the end. He released the arrow and then healed his lethrblaka. Eragon's suspicions were confirmed, he was able to use magic. He was only able to dodge the arrow because of his elfin speed.
As soon as Eragon ran Blödhgarm arrived with Arya and the rest of the elves. They saw the Eragon's expression and knew that they were in trouble. However, they were skilled and had been able to fend off Murtagh with Eragon's help. Roran shouted to the elves to sustain the crossbows and ballistae's arrows with magic, so they could reach the lethrblaka. The elves increased the draw strength of the cords and so they were able to shoot farther.
A swarm of arrows raced through the sky and Eragon used his spell to circumvent their wards. While the lethrblaka was dodging the arrows Saphira arrived. She let loose a torrent of fire and landed beside Eragon. Her scales were sparkling in the sunrise, and the ground trembled beneath her feet. Eragon mounted her and told the elves he was going to engage it in the air.
An idea struck Eragon and then Saphira let loose a stream of fire. Eragon then used his skill with wielding fire to make spears and arrows of fire and hurled them at the giant magician. Then the giant in turn created a mini tornado that tore through the flames and knocked Saphira off balance. Before he could gain an advantage over him Eragon dove forward and said, "Fram".
With the magical boost he was able to get close enough to injure the lethrblaka. He cut off the membrane and then Saphira was beneath him to catch him. The lethrblaka was falling quickly and Saphira took her chance to breathe fire upon the giant and lethrblaka with impunity. His wards held for a minute and then Saphira was forced to pull up.
The fight had moved to the ground. Before the giant could dismount Eragon attacked him with Brisingr. However he was wielding a Rider's sword as well and had superior strength. They clashed in midair and Eragon was knocked five feet backwards. Then Arya attacked him while he was on the ground. The giant's Rider blade sliced through her sword in one swing and Arya was defenseless.
Then something broke within Eragon, charging forward he yelled, "Brisingr", and his sword was on fire. The lethrblaka tried to stop him, but was too slow and he decapitated it before it could get out of the way. Now it was Eragon versus the giant, strength or speed would decide the battle.
Weaving between his swings Eragon was able to get close to his body. With all his strength he swung his sword and the flames blazed even hotter. Within seconds of Arya's life being in danger, he had killed her assailant. It scared him how much power he had when his love was in harm's way. He knew that no matter how many people were in between him and Arya. They would all have been slaughtered.
Next time Arya was in danger, he would have to calm his temper or he would kill hundreds or thousands of people. He would take precautions, Oromis was right. He needed to put his Rider duties ahead of his love for Arya. This was one of the reasons he couldn't have a normal life. Eragon would have to learn to calm himself.
His tempter had already been short, and Arya had lit the fuse to the stick of dynamite that was his anger. However, he had learned something about himself that he hadn't known before. When he lost his temper he was very much like fire. Curious, he said, "Brisingr", but nothing happened. Though he did feel a slight pull, he guessed that Brisingr was part of his true name, but not in and of itself his true name.
He would have to learn to calm the monster inside him that was let loose when Arya was in danger. If not he knew that he could kill himself and thousands of others. The implications of what could happen if it had taken place in a full scale battle were staggering. Eragon knew he would have killed at least hundreds and most likely thousands. Also, the Varden were keeping their distance as they hadn't done sine his first time to Farthen Dür. They were scared of him, he realized with a shock. The people would never trust him as much as they had before. What they saw had scared them, as it should have.