Eragon sat quietly as K'eray and Brom starred at him and Arya. K'eray was slowly tapping the ground at her feet. She raised a hand to her head

and shook her head. "I-I just don't get how this works." Brom laid a hand on her shoulder and kissed her forehead. "It'll be alright." She nodded

and said, "I'm not worried that it won't. I'm more worried, and slightly interested, about how Arya won't let us be together due to the chance of

my pregnancy and then go and do something like this." She shook her head again, and to Eragon it looked like she was doing it strictly out of

astonishment. He knew she looked up to Arya not only as a mentor, as she should, but almost as a mother. Arya had been the only one that

had cared about K'eray's feelings, excluding Brom, since her birth. Arya becoming K'eray's mentor must have been a banner of hope to K'eray.

She had about as much reason to want to leave the forest as Arya herself had seventy years ago. Now there was news that Arya was pregnant

again and her attention would be divided. Plus she would need at least a month or two until the child could survive on its own. Which meant that

K'eray would have to go without her for that long. K'eray, by the standards of elf and human and maybe even dwarf, was a beautiful girl, and

certainly didn't have any issues with self esteem, yet without the help of Arya, Eragon knew that she would fell alone, no matter to Brom. Eragon

caught a flick of his son's hand towards the entrance of the tent they were in. Standing he walked out, Brom following. He stood with a straight

back, his head lowered in anger. "How? How can you deny K'eray and I this, and then take it for yourself like a self centered lout?" Eragon

raised a hand but before he could talk Brom stepped forward and punched Eragon in his gut. The force of the blow, even though Brom wasn't

fully elven, made Eragon stagger back. He looked up to see Brom standing a little more calmly. "Okay, now that I've got that out of my system,

answer the question." Eragon rubbed his stomach, trying to get rid of the pain it sent him, and then said, "She was naked, she came in, it just

happened." Brom's upper lip curled up slightly, in what looked like a perfect imitation of a dragon's snarl. "If K'eray and I did that and I gave you

that excuses, what would have been your reaction?" Eragon thought about it then, "I would have most likely been a bit upset that you broke

the rules. However, you can not fault us for that, for we had no rules to break." Brom looked up at the sky and his eyes turned from their usual

brown to a shinning silver in the full moon's light. "I need to go." He turned around and walked off. "It's almost time." Eragon jerked as an

unexpected voice spook from behind him. He spun around, hand flying to Brisingr, and saw Olam the Wise, sitting with amazing balance on the

rounded side of an barrel. "Time for what?" The old cat sniffed and then said, "Two have joined with two, two have broken away from two, and

the burning and freezing has occurred. The bridge lowered, the Carrier entered, he burned, he froze, he left. He'll return, but you won't see him

for a while. The events of the world are coming to a climax, and soon peace will come forth. But before, before all is fine in the world, a great

tragedy will reap it's sorrow upon the fighters of that black king. And you, he with the twelve stars floating around your waist and a another on

your hand, will arise to gently rule over the races and....." The cat fell silent as Eragon lifted his head to the sky, troubled. "What is it?"

Eragon looked down at the old cat and said, "I-I don't think I can do all that." A low chuckle came from the werecat, a low humorless laugh that

told of centuries of experience. "You once said that you would take the crown if no one else was competent or willing, am I right?" Eragon

nodded. "I have seen into the future through the powers of the trees, and the birds, and the living things of this land. They know what is coming

and it is to them alone that I give credit to my works. Now I must be going."

The werecat turned and hoped off the barrel and walked off. Eragon followed. The werecat was faster then him, being on four legs, and so he it

took Eragon some time to find him. When he did he saw the old cat sitting on a sand made hill looking over the vast land. A long sigh came from

the old cat. A breeze ruffled the fur on his left ear. Eragon walked up and said, "Why? Why must I lead this time of change?" Olam looked at

three birds flying off into the distant horizon then said, "Do you know why birds sing after a rain storm?" Eragon blinked. "No." Olam stood up

and let the wind fly through his long mane. "They are singing with joy. If they get wet with rain they can't fly, if they can't fly with perish. They

are singing the songs of jubilee that what was once a dark and evil place is now good and light. They celebrate the light, the absence of rain.

The absence of evil. Oh, seeing those birds fly off, singing and chirping with delight that they free again. Makes me what to go with them. But

alas, for I am old. The longer I live the more I wish that I had taken the chance to fly. But I was to worried it would start raining again right after

I left my tree. And now, it's too late." He turned to Eragon and said, "We are all birds in one way or another. We have the choice to fly out of our

tree after the rain stops. But we take the gamble at the risking of our own lives. Whatever you do, don't stay in the tree. You'll regret it for the

rest of your days.

*******

Eragon walked back to the camp filling a little light-headed. As he walked he tried to wrestle out the details of the old cat's advice. If I'm a bird

and I just went through the terror of a rain storm, and it ended, then of course I would leave. Eragon stopped as he heard a small rubling sound. He

looked from side to side and then spotted the tip of a brown tail flicking back and forth, just before it stopped. He walked around a wagon to see

Kecra and L'ura both in cat form. L'ura had been purring and that was the noice that had sounded like rumbling. Kecra was gently running his

tounge over the brown and white speckled cat when he noticed Eragon. He stopped and scowled at him. "What do you want, Eragon?" He

sounded abnormally cranky. Of course being the youngest of his siblings he most often got looked down on. To make that worse he was blind.

L'ura looked at Kecra with her bright green eyes and then looked up at Eragon. In a kinder tone she said, "Yes, Eragon?" Eragon sat down

beside her and thought over what he was going to saay. He had not meant to seek her out, but she was so smart that she may be of use. "I

wanted to know a few things. First of all, do you have some knowledge of the future? Can you see into it." L'ura's green eyes closed slightly and

she began to lick the white spots on her chest. Eragon saw Kecra flick his tail. "I've been around Olam long enough to have a far idea of future

events, for he knows them but rarely talks of them, but I haven't been around him long recently enough to know of any events worth telling."

Eragon rubbed his left temple. "Arya's pregnent again. How long will it take for her to give birth to the infent?" Her green eyes flashed for a

moment then she said, "In about a month, third day of the second week, approcamently three hours after the sun begins to desend." Eragon's

eyes widend and Kecra purred, his black neck fur fibrating. "You know that for a true fact?" L'ura dipped her head. "I do." Eragon looked at Kecra

for a moment as he shifted his left paw, then asked, "Do you know what Olam said to me, and what it means?" The cat yawned and looked

down at on of her claws. "Well....." She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "No, I'm afraid I don't. Olam has a powerful love for the

winged animals of this land. That's why he spends most of his time out of cat form as a hawk or egale." Kecra shifted his paws again then said,

"Eragon are you done yet?" Eragon looked down at him and reached out with his mind to Kecra's mind. He almost chocked on a laugh when he

found why he wanted Eragon gone so much. He stood and dusted his leggings off and said, "Alright then I think I'll be going then." He stopped

and looked back at L'ura. "Wait. What should we name our new son?" The werecat smiled and said, "Daughter."