The Southern Expedition was established in the fifteenth year past the New Order's founding, along with the other three expeditionary forces. The leader of the Expedition is a dwarf Rider named Garik, who is one of Eragon Lightbringer's earliest apprentices. When the Expedition was first created, just one junior Rider was placed under his charge, and today he commands four…

… In the first year of the Expedition's travels, they chanced upon a thriving human civilization far south of the Beor Mountains, confirming the tales of travelers who stumbled into the dwarven kingdom from the Deadlands. It was thought that no life could exist beyond those ash-filled wastes, but it turns out that the Deadlands are not as expansive as the dwarves once thought they were, and a Rider on a swift dragon can easily traverse its entirety within a single day.

When they tried to make contact with the leaders of that civilization, however, the Expedition faced some difficulty, for the inhabitants do not speak the same language as their counterparts in the north. Instead, they speak a strange mix of dwarvish and the Ancient Language (see Appendix), with the latter they refer to as the High Tongue. By communicating with their priests, who are fluent in the High Tongue, the Expedition learnt the name of that civilization, which in our language means the "Spice Settlements". They also met the the first of the Dukes of the Spice Settlements, who is known as the "Duke of Basil".

Unfortunately, the meeting with the Duke of Basil revealed to the Settlements the presence of a wealthy kingdom to the north of their borders, and their greediness for dwarven riches is thought to be a factor in the beginning of the Ashen War.

- From Quests of the Expeditions, as recorded by First Archivist Idre Haldthin

81XX AC

Second Week of Spring

Rin, Daughter of None, Rider to Telamon

The two of them had been the earliest to arrive for assembly, and Rin sat alone with Telamon as she watched the rest of the Order file into take their seats around the glade. Her short brown hair whipped around hair as a strong gust of wind blew past. While the Riders were sitting within the amphitheatre, the dragons were lining the rim and the hills that ringed the area, wings folded by their side to make room. Telamon, being only the size of a large dog, had sat down beside her. Just a few months from now, he too would have to move out of her room in the castle and sleep outside like the other dragons.

Why not hold assembly in the dining hall? We could all fit there… Rin wondered.

But most of the dragons aren't my size, answered Telamon.

A golden-haired elf sat himself beside her, blue dragonling in tow. "Early today?" asked Ayduin. She nodded. Oh, hopefully he wouldn't talk too much.

"I do wonder what will be spoken of at this assembly. Island matters, perhaps? Or of happenings further afield?" He leaned forward. "This entire amphitheatre was carved out the side of a knoll. Over there in the centre is placed the Speaker's Rock. The design of this area seems to allow the speaker to easily project his voice..."

He continued to rattle on, but Rin had already tuned out the elf and his dull remarks, concentrating on searching the Riders below for anyone she could recognize. Would Eragon Lightbringer be around today? That was one of the few names she knew amongst the Riders, and the figure Col had always wanted to meet. Truth be told, she was dying to meet him too - but she wouldn't tell anyone that. All she saw was that older apprentice Lyra, who went to sit with some human boy, and the Mistress of Apprentices, Ismira, who was talking to some man with a bandaged arm.

And there, approaching from her left, was Obec and Jekthu, the Urgal towering over most of the other Riders. He came to sit beside Ayduin. "Good morning," said he. He was always polite, more than she thought an Urgal would be. Not that she had met one before. "Will the assembly be starting soon?"

"I think it will be," said Ayduin. "Have you seen Melik?"

"Aye. He's there, sitting with his ebrithil," said Obec.

True enough, there was the dwarf and the dragon Uldr, sitting beside Keori. Melik had a scowl on his face, and though Rin wasn't a good reader of dragon emotions, she was sure that Uldr was feeling the exact same way as his Rider.

Ayduin chuckled. "He certainly is being kept on a short leash."

"His master must agree with Arya-elda's complaints, then," said Obec, grinning.

Rin didn't care much for the rude dwarf herself, who was raucous and made trouble wherever he went. He was one of the few who could actually break Arya's stern expression.

At the bottom of the amphitheatre, the man with the bandaged arm stepped onto the Speaker's Rock and clapped his hands. The sound really was amplified in this amphitheatre. "Alright, alright! Settle down, everyone. Assembly has begun." The Riders began quieting down. "We've some important announcements, as always."

Rin tried her best to pay attention as the man started talking about the "stability of the aether field" and "unidentifiable sources of energy surges", but his words made little sense to her. Ayduin had helpfully informed them that the man was an Elder, of the name Elric Steelhand, and he was Chief Artificer, which gave his words a bit more context. The aether field, she knew, was some recent discovery that was made only two decades ago, by a group of scientists and spellcasters from Surda. From that discovery they invented something called an "Arcane Generator", or more commonly known as the Huyget Generator after their lead scientist. Purportedly the generator allowed a non-magician to use magic.

Two more Elders came up to speak after Elric Steelhand. The first was speaking on behalf of the Warden of Eoam, reporting on the status of the piracy scourge in the southwestern seas. The self-proclaimed Pirate Lord has been captured, said the Elder, and the rest of the pirates would soon follow their leader into the Surdan gaol.

The second Elder had graver news. "There has been tidings from the Southern Expedition," said the Elder. "Some unexpected changes have occurred in the negotiations with the Spice Settlements."

There were murmurs throughout the gathered Riders. "The what?" asked Obec.

"They're human settlements south of the Beor Mountains. They trade in spices and other exotic goods," Ayduin whispered back.

The Elder held up a hand. "Silence, please. Most of you should know that the Southern Expedition and the dwarves had been making some headway into the negotiations with the Dukes. However, for some reason, the Dukes have suddenly abandoned the negotiations, and refuse to parley with us. Even the Grand Master is unable to ascertain their true intentions. Furthermore, we have heard rumours of some sort of 'secret weapon' under development in the Settlements. Naturally, this aroused our suspicions, and so we have sent two Riders to assist the Expedition."

Beside her, Ayduin let out a pent-up breath. "Terrin Eragonsson."

"Huh?" said Obec. He was always saying things like that, which made him sound a little stupid.

"When I met him yesterday, my master said he was expecting him to prepare for an expedition. It must be this one."

Terrin Eragonsson. The name evoked contempt in her. The sons of powerful men always had some slimy characteristic to them. They always either sought special favours from their fathers or brandished their fathers' names as a weapon against those who would oppose them. "My father is Lord Risthart's seneschal! I would never shame him this way!" was how the excuses went. Someone I should avoid, I think.

A dragon is more than his scales, said Telamon. Is it not so for two-legs?

"In any case," continued the Elder, "Do take caution in the southern regions. No Rider is to enter the territory of the Spice Settlements without advance permission from Leader Garik. If there abides anymore concerns, seek me out as soon as possible. That is all. Assembly, dismissed."

As the Riders were getting up from their seats, stretching and limbering up, Ayduin spoke up once again. "Have you ever been to the south, friends?"

"No," said Obec. "No further south than Leona Lake."

"I admit to some curiosity. Why abandon negotiations? Do the Dukes plan a greater attack on the dwarves? I have heard that the Settlements have experienced greater technological advancement than even Surda-"

"You're an apprentice!" exclaimed Obec. "How can we know of such things?"

"I was training to be a scholar before I became a Rider, you see. And so I question. What say you, Rin?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"Rin!" a voice called out to her. She spun around to find her master Eleone beckoning her over, and so she and Telamon descended the steps of the amphitheatre to come before the senior Rider.

"Come with me, " said Eleone. "There is much we must accomplish with your training..."

The next two hours was spent on physical exercise, to Rin's disappointment. Telamon wasn't even around to encourage her. Eleone's dragon, Hljöhdr, had arrived to meet with the three of them at the training fields, and had soon left with Telamon flying in his wake. Riders and dragons were supposed to train apart, it seemed. The elder dragon made no sound when he flew, which probably was the source of his name, and was as large as a cottage. He had greeted her and Telamon with a large puff of smoke, leaving her coughing and sputtering.

When she was still training in Du Weldenvarden, Arya had instructed them in the Rimgar, which was some elven exercise in flexibility and required the practitioner to contort themselves into a variety of unnatural shapes and poses. The first stage of the Rimgar was easy enough, but the next four stages were all horrendous. She could barely complete the second stage, the one Eleone was making her do now. The tendons in her back were screaming as she bent over into the last pose. Her master prodded Rin and adjusted her positioning, and then she had to hold the position for several more excruciating seconds before her master was satisfied.

She fell to the floor in exhaustion as her master shook her head. "Remember, Rin, you must relax your muscles when you perform the Rimgar. Being stiff as bark is only going to impede your mobility."

Rin kept silent. "What is it?" asked Eleone.

"How will this help me with Tempering?" asked Rin. Really, how is this going to help me be a good Rider? We're not acrobats, are we?

Eleone crossed her arms. "You need to improve your physical condition so that you can learn more advanced skills in the future. Of course, I don't expect you to be as fit as some of the other apprentices, who are older and have a different build. But there is a basic level of fitness that we want from every Rider.

To answer your question, there is no direct link between this and Tuatha du Orothrim. However, a healthy body is key to a healthy mind, and so you need to exercise to maintain the strength of both."

Dragons soared in the sky above her, and she watched them for a while as she lay on the grass. Tuatha du Orothrim - Tempering the Fool's Wisdom, an important stage in a Rider's apprenticeship, and at the end of it there would be some test. Eleone had been annoyingly cryptic about it when she had told her about it the previous day, and Rin could glean no more from her than the fact that the Tempering would test her mental capabilities, somehow. Not her physical capabilities, or even the depth of her scholarly knowledge. Just her mind, and perhaps how she thought. How was she going to train that in the space of one month?

"Rin, did you hear me?" said Eleone. "From now on, you and I shall meet here every morning to exercise. I can tell from your expression that you don't like it, and so all the more we need to train."

She sighed inwardly, then slowly got up, her muscles aching in every possibly place. When she thought of becoming a Rider, she had imagined that there would be more spellcasting and flying and adventuring - not doing exercise like this."Yes."

"Good. You are still young, so there is a lot of room for you to improve. But you will improve so long as you are consistent. Have a short break, then join me in the clearing there when you're done."

Her master left, heading into the woods encircling the training fields. Rin took in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, trying to return her heart rate back to normal. In the distance there came the sound of clashing metal. Two small figures were running around and battering each other with swords at the other end of the field. Another figure was standing nearby, shouting something that was indiscernible to her ears. She wasn't close enough to tell whether they were Riders or apprentices.

How is your training? she asked Telamon.

Hljöhdr has made me fly circuits around a hill. My wings are sore.

It seems we are both in need of exercise. But now, Eleone wants me to join her in the forest.

You best go, then.

His mind left hers, ending the conversation. She could spy her master standing by a tree near the clearing, and so hurried over to resume the lesson. Eleone had her sit in the centre of the clearing, which was littered with petals.

"Now, this exercise does have relation to your upcoming test," said Eleone. "Tell me, have you ever practiced meditation before?" Rin nodded in answer to that.

"Excellent. So you should be familiar with what I want you to accomplish. Close your eyes, and quest out with your mind. Forget any personal thoughts or concerns, and instead focus on what is around you. See the forest as it is."

Yes, she had done this before. That did not mean she was proficient in doing what was expected of her. Arya-elda said that her mind wandered too much, that she wasn't able to see what she looked at. On the other hand, she had chided Obec and Ayduin for focusing too much on only one thing that caught their attention. Only Melik had been successful enough to earn praise from their master. So what was it that they wanted?

It is easier to be extreme than to be moderate. And in that way, moderation is perhaps its own form of extreme.

She quested out with her mind, detecting the surrounding trees, as well as the myriad of critters that were scattered all over the forest floor. Going upwards, there was life climbing amongst the treetops, and even above those were the birds, flying over the canopy. She couldn't reach the dragons who flew even higher than the birds, but she knew they were there. What about below her? She hadn't thought to explore that region before. Rin probed the earth beneath her, and surprisingly it was teeming with life as well. An ant here, a beetle there, even a small beast which she couldn't recognize.

There was just so much to see. How could she even begin to focus on anything? What was the point to all this?

"Rin, try focusing on just one thing you see," said Eleone, apparently aware of her struggle. "But keep the rest within your periphery."

"How?"

"Just pick one thing, and keep your mind on it. Think on it, but not to the exclusion of everything else."

What? Rin didn't fully understand, but she tried to comply. Well, how about that squirrel over there… Next to one of the oak trees, she saw the small mammal holding onto an acorn that it had plucked from the tree. She suddenly felt a pang of worry from the squirrel. Was something happening? Oh… A fox. Its hunger was palpable as it stalked the ground behind the oak tree. It thought of sneaking up from behind the squirrel and catching it unguarded.

Unfortunately for the fox, the squirrel had detected its presence. Rin saw its mind at work. There had been an escape route planned. When the fox pounced, the squirrel would leap onto the tree trunk and scamper its way back to its home in the trees. There was tension in that few seconds before the pounce, then the fox sprang from its hiding place, and the squirrel slipped away, climbing up the tree. The fox clawed at the squirrel the best it could, but it was too late, for its prey had reached the reprieve of the leaves above.

Rin found herself sweating again, even though she was only sitting on the ground. At least the squirrel was safe, and she could feel the relief emanating from the rodent. Maybe now it can - wait! A screech of terror. Then a hawk swooped down from the sky, grabbing the squirrel within its talons. Its life force slowly dimmed as the hawk flew further away.

She opened her eyes. Eleone had been watching her. "Did you discover something of note?" asked her master.

Rin could no longer detect the squirrel's consciousness. "If you don't get caught by the foxes below, you get killed by those above you," she mumbled.

"Actually, if only you had not been concentrating so much on the squirrel, you would have noticed that hawk flying above, and realized its intent. It is good that you are focusing now, but remember, watch the periphery."

They stayed there for a while longer, with Eleone giving occasional instruction on how she should be watching the world around her. Mostly her master left her to her own observations. Her mind had gone back to wandering around the woods, jumping from life to non-life. Eleone hadn't shown her any sign of frustration, and she wondered what the elf thought about this tendency of hers.

Oh well. She was already trying her best. Eleone would just have to contend with that.

Following that exercise in meditation, Eleone had let her off for noon break, and she trudged all the way back to the dining hall to get her lunch. The climb up to the top tier of the city was agonizing, and she barely made it in time before the lunch bell rang. When she finally reached the dining hall, Obec waved her over to his table, where Melik had already begun scarfing down meat and bread as fast as he could. Thankfully, it seemed Obec had been the one to get the food for them this time, and so there weren't any altercations she would be bothered by. Melik had informed all of them, through a mouthful of food, that Ayduin had suspiciously gone to sit with "that elf girl", Lyra.

After that, she met Eleone in the library, as her master instructed, and they begun lessons in the Ancient Language. Rin wasn't fluent yet, and only simple sentences and words were within her ability. Her master wanted her to be conversational within the next three months, nearly fluent within the next eight, and then able to write even poetry by her second year of apprenticeship, so Eleone had dictated that they would speak to each other in the Ancient Language at all possible times. Rin sighed yet again, but she dutifully followed her master's instructions as Eleone tutored her on more complex grammar and sentence structures. That was one thing Eleone and Rin's previous master had in common: overtly high expectations of her linguistic ability.

Finally, at the end of the day, with the sun nearly below the horizon, Eleone and Rin had waited for the return of Telamon and Hljöhdr in the large square at one of the entrances into Doru Aiedail, and watched as the two dragons spiralled their way down to the ground. Did Telamon seem bigger, or was that just her imagination?

Welcome back, she said to Telamon, who gave her a toothy grin.

Suddenly, the elder dragon turned one giant eye on her. What is the most important rule in navigating wind currents? asked Hljöhdr.

"What?" said Rin, startled by the question.

"And Telamon, can you name two predators that prey on squirrels, as well as their manner of hunting?" asked Eleone.

I do not know, ebrithil.

Eleone shook her head. "The two of you have been together for at least a month, yes? And yet neither thought of talking to each other throughout training today?"

Apprentice and dragon looked at each other. We did, but…

Not enough, young ones. As Rider and dragon, one of the most important things you must do is to share everything with your partner. Any new knowledge you learn, any new discovery you find, you must tell your partner all. There are no secrets between a Rider and dragon. The bonds that link you are powerful, and it is foolish to ignore them.

Telamon dipped his head. Yes, I understand.

Rin sighed. "I understand."

"I hope the both of you do. We will test you both again on what the other has learnt. Now, before you leave..." Eleone removed a device from her pocket. "This is a new clock developed by the Artificery, and it is tuned to the movement of the celestial bodies. It will tell you the time accurately, wherever you may be. Elder Elric has been wanting to give these out to all the Riders."

She accepted the device from her master. The clock was glowing in the waning daylight, allowing her to see the hands move around its face. She had never owned one before. "Thank you," said Rin.

"Remember, meet us here at the same time tomorrow for training," said Eleone. "You may have the rest of the day to yourselves. Do explore the city and familiarize yourselves with it."

Exploring the city had been their original plan anyway, so Rin and Telamon took their master's advice and went for a walk around Doru Aiedail. Eleone and Hljöhdr had spared them a full bell before dinner started, so there was some time left.

They randomly went down one street in the lower tier of the city, passing by houses large enough to fit an older dragon. Riders with swords sheathed at their waists were entering and exiting these houses, which each had a sign on the door identifying the inhabitants. So this was the residential quarter, then. All the Riders who had graduated from apprenticeship and were old enough to run their own household were allowed to choose a house to live in, to give them some privacy and space should they ever have their own families one day. Who was going to marry a Rider, though? Another Rider? The older Riders all seemed too busy to care about such things.

Rin and Telamon turned round one corner and found themselves in one of the entrance squares. A solitary Erisdar lamp illuminated the square, fending off the oncoming night. At one corner of the square, there was a relatively small building where light had suddenly flashed in the windows. Shall we go in there? Rin suggested.

It seems strange, but why not.

The small building was actually a post office. Rin found that a little odd, knowing that spellcasters were capable of speaking to each other face-to-face via magic. She had seen Arya speaking to some bearded man in the cottage's only mirror. Well, she supposed writing letters was a meaningful thing to do. Rin pushed open the door, letting Telamon through first, then stepping over the threshold herself.

There was another Rider there, the boy Lyra had sat next to during assembly that morning. His hair was brown, like hers, and he had thick forearms. A light scar ran across his forehead. "Hello," said the boy. "You're one of the new apprentices, right?"

We are, said Telamon. Who are you?

"I'm Darys. I'm an apprentice, too, but I've been here for five years. You're, uh, Rin, right? And you're..." said Darys, struggling to remember her dragon's name.

Telamon, said the dragonling. Rin felt slight offense coming from her dragon. What is this place?

"It's a post office," answered Darys. "But you have to mail your own letters. You take the thing you want to send, write the address, and then you drop it into the appropriate box-" he gestured towards a row of slots in the front counter - "which will transport it directly to the central office of whatever region you're sending the letter to. They keep paper and quill here, so you can write a letter if you feel like it."

"I see," said Rin. She went over to the front counter, and there was one slot labelled "Western Coast: Narda, Teirm, Kuasta, Sharktooth, Toark."

"Well, uh, I need to go off now, so I'm gonna assume you're fine on your own," said Darys. He exited the post office, leaving her alone at the counter.

Will you write to anyone? asked Telamon.

Col. He always wanted to know more about the Riders.

And so Rin retrieved a few pieces of paper from the shelf and a quill, describing for her best friend all she had seen and done in the past month, writing even as the evening bell chimed to summon the Riders for dinner. She threw in a few drawings too, though they had mostly turned out to be stick figures. By the time she was finished, the sky outside the post office window had turned completely dark, and she had written a full eight pages of her thoughts.

"… I won't forget you and the rest of the orphans. I'll do my best, like you told me to.

Your friend,

Rin"

With that, she rolled up the paper and secured it with one of the leather bands they had placed in a nearby box, then wrote the address of the street they had last camped at. Hopefully the courier would deliver it, and not think the letter a joke when he found that it was addressed to some back alley. Finally, she dropped the letter into the slot for the Western Coast, and in a bright flash of light, the letter had disappeared.

Exhaustion was seeping back into her bones. Are you still hungry? asked Rin.

No, said Telamon. Let's go back.