Next chapter, hope you like it. I would like to give a shout out to IndigoDragonRider for helping me correct some spelling errors and rewording and adding in some sentences to make this chapter a lot better. Go check him out and his story A New World, an Inheritance and Harry Potter crossover, very well done.
Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Credit-IndigoDragonRider
Lorgon's P.O.V
It had been a few days since Lorgon had that nightmare involving Hilron. Ominously, since then Hilron had been acting extremely oddly. Most of the village, including Lorgon, were wary of him now. Lorgon remembered when he had arrived in town in the morning.
He saw Hilron approaching the town and ran towards him as fast as his legs would allow. He was concerned for Hilron's wellbeing- he had been ever since the nightmare. As he got closer he noticed that Hilron wore a torn black cloak and hood. He was hunched over a little, walking in complete silence towards the town. Lorgon knew at a glance that something wasn't right. These were the exact clothes worn by the man in his dream and, to his knowledge, Hilron had never owned this piece of clothing. He decided it would be best not to mention it but try to strike up some casual conversation.
"Hilron, you're back, how did the hunting trip go?"
Hilron stopped walking and looked at him. His head was tilted slightly to the right as he stared intensely, unblinking. Lorgon was extremely unnerved. After a while he then looked at the hunting bow that was on his back, Lorgon found it strange the way Hilron looked at his own bow. Hilron then looked back at Lorgon, all in complete silence. Is seemed like hours before he finally replied.
"It…went just fine…" Hilron mumbled. He stared at Lorgon for a moment longer, then continued to walk into the town, towards his house.
Lorgon watched the villagers greet Hilron one by one, asking him how he was doing. Hilron only stared at them in response, not stopping his slow and silent walk.
He approached his house, opened the door silently, entered, and closed it in exactly the same way he had opened it, villagers looked at each other and shrugged and shook their heads. Obviously confused with his behaviour, they walked away scratching their heads.
That memory was still fresh in his head. Over the next few days he watched Hilron from a distance. Hilron seemed to do nothing but walk around and examine the town as though he'd never seen it before. He would stop at every building or person and stare at them, intensely. This freaked Lorgon- and probably everyone else- out. What was Hilron doing? He did not know but he decided he would find out one way or another.
Lorgon mustered his courage and approached Hilron. As he walked closer Hilron turned to face him and began to stare at him. The stare sent a shiver down Lorgon's back and stopped him in his tracks.
"Uhh… h-hey Hilron. What are you d-doing?" Lorgon stuttered.
"Just looking… So much potential here, he will be pleased" Hilron said to no one in particular.
This really didn't sit well with Lorgon. What did he mean, there was so much potential? And who would be pleased by this? Lorgon had a nasty feeling that his nightmare had actually taken place in real life. It was the only explanation he could think of as to why Hilron was acting weird and different. He thought again about what Hilron had said, 'he will be pleased'. Who was 'he'? He thought he might as well try and ask Hilron to see if he would get an answer.
"Who will be pleased?" he asked curiously. Hilron narrowed his eyes. He seemed to be wondering whether to say anything or not.
"Soon people shall know, and he will reveal his proper name in due time. He goes by many titles and names. For now you may know him as Black Fang, The Listener or The Follower." Hilron muttered.
Whoever this person was, Lorgon didn't like the sound of him. He slowly turned and walked away. He wouldn't get a straight forward, honest answer from Hilron as to what he was doing and this Black Fang person had given him enough to think about.
He wondered if this 'Black Fang' was the hooded man from his nightmare. If so then he was sure the town was in some form of danger. He decided to send word of this to Earl Roran. After all, the cousin of the great Dragon Rider Eragon would know what to do.
Arya's P.O.V
(One week later)
She couldn't believe it, neither one of the two eggs hatched for the Urgals or Dwarfs. She had hoped that one would hatch but it didn't happen. She now had both eggs with her and was planning on visiting human and elven cities to see if the eggs would hatch.
She decided to spend the night in Ceunon, the city was the only one shared by both humans and elves after the war. Elves were still yet to be fully accepted into society but the humans there didn't mind it too much after the war.
Fírnen was about to land near the city when they spotted a red dragon a short way away. Both Arya and Fírnen were curious and went to land near the red dragon. They were cautious as they approached.
'Greetings Arya, I did not know an egg hatched for you' Thorn said as he eyed them, looking mainly at Fírnen.
'Greetings to you as well Thorn, this is Fírnen. He hatched for me a while after you and Murtagh went north' Arya replied. Thorn gave a mental nod and she could feel the happiness Thorn felt at seeing another one of his kind. She too felt happy that the dragons were returning.
Firnen too was over joyed to see another one of his kind alive and well.
'What brings you here Thorn?' Fírnen asked the red dragon. Arya felt Thorn's mood turn a little angry.
'We ran into a… problem in the north. Go seek Murtagh out and he will tell you everything. I am tired and need rest. You will find him in the tavern' Thorn said and the red dragon slumped to the ground and proceeded to fall asleep.
'He must be very tired from flying, go find Murtagh, Arya, I shall stay by Thorn' Firnen said, Arya nodded and headed for the city.
The city was still lively at night, with humans and elves having their annual celebration about the defeat of Galbatorix. Tables filled the streets and all sorts of different food was placed on them, throughout the city elves and men laughed and talked together as they feasted. This made Arya smile, truly a new age had begun. She made her way to the tavern.
She walked into the tavern and found Murtagh sitting in a corner by himself. He appeared to be listening to all of the conversations that were going on. She started to walk over to him and caught a few men's attention as she walked. Glancing at them, she noticed that they were drooling as they looked at her and then at other women in the tavern. Drunken fools, Arya thought and continued to walk over to Murtagh. As she approached, Murtagh looked up. He appeared surprised to see her and wary.
"What are you doing here?" He asked eyeing her.
"I came to ask you the same thing. I talked to Thorn outside and he told me you ran into a 'problem' while in the north. Fírnen is keeping him company" Arya replied. Murtagh's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Who is Fírnen?" he asked.
Arya explained to him that the emerald egg had hatched for her after he left. Murtagh nodded and told her to follow him. He got up and headed over to the bar keeper and asked for a room. He was given a key and headed upstairs to his new room. As Arya entered he closed the door and warded the room with spells to prevent people from listening.
"While in the north, Thorn and I stumbled upon a strange rock formation. It was actually an entrance to a tunnel. We could sense a strange presence there. We went inside and we saw carvings of the history of Alagaesia and something else. Carvings of a wolf like creature killing elves"
She frowned, she had never heard of such a creature, and she didn't like what Murtagh said about the carvings. But she didn't say anything and continued to listen.
"We came into a room with a bunch of books here and there, some of which I grabbed afterwards to get some information but they didn't hold much information. But in the centre of the room Thorn and I saw a hooded man, with chains on his arms, legs and neck. The chains were enchanted and we were about to leave when he spoke to me. He asked me to free him but I knew better than that, he must have chained up for a reason. His voice was full of hate and when he looked at me, I felt something enter my mind, I threw up barriers but it was too late, the man had gotten inside my head, same happened to Thorn. I refused to free him and he got angry, and suddenly my body moved against my will and I started to speak against my will. He used my body to free him, then said he shall have the revenge promised to him and that he was the first and last of his kind. I am not sure what he meant by that. He then transformed into the wolf creature that was on the carvings and dealt me an incredible blow and then everything went dark."
After finishing his story he asked if he could share this memory with her so she could understand everything he saw. She agreed and opened her mind to him. She watched as everything Murtagh said happened and was true, she saw this wolf creature. After showing her the memory, Murtagh's expression turned dangerous.
"I intend to find this 'man' and kill him, he is powerful and dangerous. He must be stopped from exacting his 'revenge', although I'm not sure what that could be" Murtagh said, Arya nodded. This man couldn't be left to roam around, he would endanger a lot of innocent people.
"I want to help you" Arya said. Murtagh looked a little surprised but smiled a little.
"Thank you, I came here in hopes of rumours and stories that might be connected to this man." Murtagh said. She nodded. She would be doing the same thing, gathering information.
They both left the tavern when they heard a few men who were drinking talk about people disappearing in Therinsford and how Roran Stronghammer was investigating the issue. They left and made their way through the city streets which teemed with people partying and having a good time. When they made it to the gate a human guard stopped them.
"You two leaving? Why don't you stay and enjoy the festivities" the guard said, Arya shook her head.
"We would love to be a part of the celebrations but we have business to attend too" She replied and the guard nodded sadly.
"Ahh such a shame, but I suppose that can't be helped. You can go through, have a good trip" the guard said to them and he to open the gate.
They made their way back to their dragons who were sleeping, they woke them up and told them they needed to go to Therinsford right away. The dragons grumbled, especially Thorn but they eventually let up and left immediately.
They flew together until Therinsford came into view. Descending, they landed outside of the town. Arya grabbed both of the dragon eggs. It seemed as good a chance as any to try to find suitable partners for the dragons and placed them in a pack and put it on her shoulders. As they jumped off of their dragons they saw a man running towards them. It was Roran.
"Greetings Arya, Murtagh" Roran said. The two Riders nodded in response.
"What brings you here?" Roran asked.
"We heard rumours of people disappearing and we came here to help with the situation" Arya replied, Roran nodded and beckoned them to follow him as he turned around.
"That's great to hear, we have a suspect… well, the whole town suspects him. His name is Hilron, went out hunting and came back a completely different person. I received word to come investigate him and his strange behaviour and before I arrived, some people went missing, maybe you could get some information from him." Roran said. Arya had a question on her mind.
"Who sent word to you of him?" Arya asked. Roran was about to answer but then a boy about the age of seventeen came towards them. Arya was stunned for a moment for the boy looked a little like Eragon, his brown hair and eyes were similar and the way he carried himself resembled Eragon. He was handsome as well, in a similar way to the Rider who had long since left for parts felt a pain in her heart at the thought of Eragon, realising she missed him. She pushed her emotions away as the boy approached.
"Well you sure picked a good time to show up, right on cue in fact. Murtagh, Arya, this is Lorgon, he informed me of the unusual behaviour of Hilron. Now Lorgon, what brings you to us?" Roran asked, Lorgon stared at Arya and Murtagh for a minute before replying.
"I had a dream last night that the Riders would come, I was right, I have information for them and I want to help them." Lorgon said, surprising everyone. Could this boy see into the future? But how was the possible?
Roran shook away his shock and led them to a house they could stay in. It was nothing special, a table and chairs and the regular furnishings. Roran left them alone as he attended to other duties. Arya placed her pack down on a bed before they all walked to the table.
Arya stared at Lorgon and gestured for him to sit down. He did so, the others following suit.
"You said you had information for us?" Murtagh asked. Lorgon nodded, his face paling slightly. Something was clearly troubling him.
"Yes, I do. I also want some help from you" Lorgon replied, Arya was intrigued with him. Why would he want their help?
"Very well, we shall try our best to help you" Murtagh said. Lorgon nodded and let out a small sigh of relief.
"Ever since I was a small boy, I have been plagued by nightmares. They were not as frequent as they are now but it was the same dream over and over, now and then things would change up and then another dream would plague me again and again." Lorgon said, a little more colour leaving his face as he remembered. The information interested both her and Murtagh.
"I had two dreams a few days ago, the first has plagued me for nearly a year and the second happened only once. In the first I am floating above Ilirea and the city is under attack, these creatures breach the city wall, the men lose ground and flee to the citadel. At that point the Dwarfs come from the east and the elves from the north and attack the creatures, forcing them to pull back and defend their rear. Three Dragon Riders come down from the sky, I can't remember if they were there at the beginning of the battle or not. Anyway they fought as best they could, after a while a fourth Rider comes down from above and starts to fight the creature's leader. Every time it looks like the Rider will be struck down, I wake up"
Arya was incredibly interested. Could an attack on Ilirea happen soon? She didn't know of any army that consisted entirely of beasts but she still felt uneasy with this dream.
"The second involves a hooded man and my friend, the suspect, Hilron" Lorgon said and Murtagh immediately leaned forward to hear this.
"The hooded man stares at Therinsford, then he turns and grabs Hilron from nearby bushes. Hilron wants to know why this man was looking at Therinsford but the hooded man says 'Feel honoured, welcome brother' and his teeth turn black and he bites Hilron" Lorgon said, he was shaking and lost even more colour in his face. Hilron must be a good friend of his, she thought. He had given her and Murtagh the information they needed and she knew he would ask if they could help get rid of his nightmares. She didn't think it would be possible at all.
"I want to help you with whatever it is you are going to do here, I want to help Hilron. I was also hoping you could help rid me of these nightmares" Lorgon said hopefully. Arya looked at Murtagh and he looked at her, a silent understanding passed between them. She knew that he didn't know if they could help him with it.
"Lorgon, I am not sure we can help you with your problem, but we will gladly accept your help" Arya said, she watched as Lorgon's face fell, she felt sorry for him, to be plagued by nightmares since you can remember would be a horrible experience and enough to drive some people to the edge of insanity. She could, however, think of one thing that might comfort him, though there was only a slim chance it would work.
Arya stood and walked over to her pack where the eggs were and pulled one of them out. It was a beautiful brown colour, while the other was deep orange, resembling the colour of a setting sun. She glanced at Lorgon who stood up and she beckoned him over to the eggs.
"Incredible, I never thought I would ever see a dragon egg, and yet here it is, right in front of me" Lorgon said smiling as he reached out and touched the brown egg.
Her eyes widened as the egg started to shake under Lorgon's touch. Hatching so soon? Arya thought as she watched the egg crack open, revealing a paw. Arya looked at Lorgon who stared back in disbelief. She heard the dragon squeak and the egg exploded; everyone looked and saw a beautiful brown dragon on its back trying to flip over. It managed to after a minute and stared at Lorgon intently.
Lorgon without hesitation reached out to the dragon and touched its head. Arya watched as a flash of light appeared and a silvery mark appeared on Lorgon's hand. Lorgon smiled and picked up his dragon. Murtagh stared at the dragon.
"The egg has hatched, a new Rider now graces us. What shall you call your dragon?" Arya asked. Lorgon, without looking up, answered her instantly.
"I shall call him Aver" Lorgon said. The dragon let out a happy squeak at its name and came up to rest on Lorgon's shoulder. Aver nuzzled his head into Lorgon's neck before jumping off his shoulder, curling up on the floor and going to sleep.
