Chapter 5
Author's Note: Greetings once again. Yet again sorry about the wait I got busy with school and work yet again however I should be able to get another chapter out this week but once again no promises… anyway here is Chapter 5 right after the disclaimer and for the first time a quote.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Inheritance Cycle that Mr. Paolini created.
"Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate."
Sun Tzu from the Art of War
*Aberon*
Craven…. CRAVEN get your sorry arse I here immediately before I have you killed on the spot, King Thassius Stated
Poor…poor misguided King Thassius, do I really need to remind you that the only person preventing from killing you where you stand is our Master, Craven said smiling in a threatening manner.
Thassius could feel his blood run cold at the threat just made to him by the Shade standing only a few feet from him stuttering nervously he states, I…in any case the Master has instructed me to give you a mission, you are to go North into the Empire to the Villages of Furnost the Bullridge with a detachment of eighty-five men, you are to decimate the towns and kill any who live, Thassius instructs.
So I take it that the plan is almost ready to be put into fruition? Craven asked already savoring the blood that is about to be spilled on his lips.
Now leave my sight you filthy Shade, Thassius States.
One of these days Master will no longer require your services and when that day comes you will die by these hands, Craven states as he casually walks out.
Craven needs blood, he craves blood, but not just any blood he wants the blood of an Elf, for he hasn't tasted Elvish blood since he was created almost four hundred years ago. Craven thinks to himself, Lieutenant, tell your men to form up we ride up within the hour,
Yes Lord Craven it will be done, replied Lieutenant William Jon Williamsson IV
Oh and Lieutenant be sure to personally saddle my horse as well or else….. Craven said
Yes my Lord….. Men form up and prepare to head out, we are going to be riding under the command of Lord Craven, Ordered Lieutenant Jon
Sir you cannot possibly be serious, we are going to be taking orders from the Kings pet Shade? Asked Corporal Jack Jackson, I do not feel like we should be doing this Lieutenant, I mean have you heard the rumors about how he is responsible for the massacre of the town at Reavstone?
Yes corporal and again yes I heard the same rumor you did and I do not like this any more than you but orders are orders, oh and do I really need to remind you about what happened to the last soldier who mocked Lord Craven?
No sir, after all the man who did was only my best friend, Corporal Jack stated
Private Roark Barstsson who is the newest member of Lieutenant Jon's Platoon asked, why what happened to him sir?
Well he ate him my boy, replied the grizzled veteran Sergeant Ben Robertsson.
H…he what? Exclaimed the private.
He ate him private. Replied Drake who is the Platoon Mage
You guys are just scaring me right? Private Roark asked
No private I am afraid they are not messing with you, Lieutenant Jon replied, now the lot of you quiet down here he comes.
Alright let's move out you sorry excuses for soldiers, Ordered Craven, oh and if I hear any of you talking about me behind my back again I will gut you where you stand and feed your entrails to the wolves.
Yes sir, you heard him men mount up and move out double time, ordered Lieutenant William Jon.
*Du Riki Skulblaka*
Lillian the Rider of Galzra is a Elvin Lady of 102 years, she is 5'8 102lbs, though she is an elf and a Dragon Rider her skill with the blade is subpar to her fellow Rider Apprentices and instead she opts to use her high Intellect to out maneuver foes and attack from afar using her superior magic and archery skills, she is also the best healer among the Riders.
Her partner Galzra is a purple colored female dragon; though she is smaller than the other Apprentice Dragons she is far more maneuverable and faster than the others.
Lillian's POV
It is a beautiful warm sunny spring morning at the Rider Academy, I take a deep breath as I observe the ant colony that is busying itself by repairing the damage done to it by a rival ant colony, the owl as it is sleeping peacefully in its den, the tree as it sways in the late spring breeze, the fish as they swim in a panic from the otter as it hunts for its next meal, I can feel the bees as the hurry around from flower to flower, the lazy lizard that is sunning itself on a large rock, then I hear…..
Lil, do you think that we are going to be able to pass these trials? Galzra asked worriedly
I take a very deep breathe as I finish my meditation, of course Galzra but we have to be persistent after all how will Uncle Vanir feel if he knew that his only living niece couldn't even pass her Rider exams?
He will be proud of you no matter what small one, however your final trial will be you facing Yaela-Elda in a duel of skill, Galzra replied
Yes but I believe, no I know that my skill will allow me to pass my final trials, now I must go meditate to prepare my mind for what is to come, Lillian said with confidence.
Ok if you insist. Galzra consented.
Ok now back to my meditation, Lillian replied.
*The Village of Furnost*
It is a beautiful late spring morning, the lazy sun has just peaked over the eastern horizon, and all is calm as Captain John, a man of 30 years, who commands the small 25 man platoon assigned to guard Furnost is walking with his young son to the traders market which has just come into town.
Daddy… daddy wait for me please, the young boy of 7 named Hunter said.
Ok son I will wait for you, replied John.
Daddy when I grow up I want to be a soldier just like you, Hunter exclaims out of nowhere.
Oh do you now, John said winking, now why would you like to be just like me?
Because I do! Exclaims the small boy.
Ok then you big scary soldier let's see what you are made of, John said as he picks Hunter up and slung himself over his shoulder.
Daaad, put me down, Hunter whined.
Ok then, John said as he started to tickle Hunter instead.
Giggling Hunter gets free from his father's grasp and ran ahead, Can't catch me daddy.
Hunter…..Hunter do not get too far ahead of me son, John yelled to his son.
Suddenly he seen one of the men that he had scouting about a mile outside of town came Riding up, gushing blood and with several arrows stuck inside him, struggling for breath, the man whose name is Victor, croaked out C..a..p..t..a..i..n the a..alarm w..we are u..nder attack.
Flipping into Captain Mode John exclaims, Who is attacking? Bandits? Urgals? Dwarves? Elves?
N..no s..ir t..hey a..re w. S..surdan uniforms, and with that Corporal Victor succumbed to his wounds, as he bled out.
HUNTER COME HERE NOW, Screams the distraught Captain John.
Hunter hearing his father comes running back to his father and seeing the body that his dad has in his arms, D..Daddy what is wrong with mister Victor? He asks in a small voice.
He was killed, now son please listen I need you to be my little soldier, go home and tell your mother to pack enough supplies for a week's journey and also to once that is done to head North to Illeria, and tell her that I will meet the both of you there.
Yes sir bye bye daddy, Hunter said as the boy runs toward his home.
Bye son, As John says this he sprints towards the town square, running up to the Alarm bell he rings it three times to signal the townsfolk of the attack, within minutes the entire squad forms up minus one member, John then stated in a loud clear voice, To all citizens we are going to be assaulted at any time I need you all to go to your homes and pack everything you can carry and head towards Illeria, All able-bodied single men I must ask you to stay behind to form the town militia in order to defend the town, I must stress to you all, these aggressors are not untrained Bandits but trained Surdan Soldiers, now who is willing to stay behind and fight alongside my men.
Sir, My twenty traders will be able to assist you, stated the Elderly Trade Caravan Leader a man by the name of Alder, we are all battle hardened from Bandit attacks as well as former members of the Imperial Army and myself and one other are former members of the NightHawks.
Thank you Alder, now who else will stand and fight, the Captain asks as he tallies his numbers, including the traders with his men as well as the villagers who volunteered to stay behind he now had a force of seventy men, OK men they will be here soon, let's show them why they shouldn't mess with our home, now I need Archers on the roof tops, you will be under the command of Sergeant Jake, Alder gather your men, you will be taking position on the Eastern side of the Market Square, everyone else Follow me.
*15 minutes later*
My Lord the men are in position and ready to attack the town, Lieutenant Jon informs Craven, Err Lord Craven is this a justified attack sir?
Are you questioning my command Lieutenant? Because if you are you are also questioning the command of your King and you know what the punishment of such treasonous thoughts is correct? Asks Craven
Lieutenant Jon takes a deep breath then answers through gritted teeth, of course not sir why would I question any orders by you or my King, and the penalty for questioning commands is either Death, 500 lashes as well as being stripped of all family titles, wealth, property ,and all military rank or the lashes plus your family being stripped of everything and you going to jail for the rest of your life.
Oh look Lieutenant the Leader of the Village Guard is preparing his men for the attack, tell our archers to prepare to attack, oh and Lieutenant inform your men that there will be no quarter granted, I am taking five men with me and we are going to massacre the cowards who fled the Village, Craven said with bloodlust evident on his face.
Yes my Lord, Lieutenant Jon said snapping a quick salute
*two minutes later*
I want fifteen men to string their bows we are going to attack soon, oh and Lord Craven has ordered that no quarter shall be given, Orders Lieutenant Jon
Aye sir, Replies Sergeant Ben then he hesitantly adds, Lieutenant, with all due respect I have to say this attack does not feel right.
I agree that it doesn't feel right however we must still go through with it because the orders are from the King himself. Lieutenant Jon said back to him
What Sir? You cannot be serious, Corporal Jack Jackson exclaims, this attack is morally wrong and every man here knows it.
Well..well what do we have here? It seems as though we have a Corporal questioning a direct order from not only his Commanding Officer but also his King, Craven said as he suddenly appeared, tsk tsk now Corporal do you value your life?
Sir yes sir, Corporal Jackson replied shifting in his boots.
Good now Obey this command or you will be executed immediately, Threatened Craven
Yes my Lord Craven, the Corporal replied
Good any other objections? No well okay then we attack in five minutes
Captain John's POV Five Minutes later
It is quiet almost too quiet, suddenly I can hear hooves pounding in the distance. Men hold strong here they come, I order, I then hear the slight twang of a bowstring, and then a couple seconds later I hear a thud as the arrow finds its mark burying itself deep inside one of the villagers right shoulder
Private Jeoffry, take your brother and retreat, I order the only man in my platoon who is actually from the Village originally.
Aye aye sir, he responds as he takes his brother away from the battle.
I then hear five more thuds as the Surdan arrows take out more of my men, the next thing I know I can see a large group of riders closing in on our position, I hear Sergeant Jake order his men to fire and it seems that several arrows found their mark. Steady men here they come, Alder are your men up to this?
The old Trader looked at me and flashed a grim looking grin, Aye sir we are ready.
CAPTAIN…. There is another group approaching from out of the west, Sergeant Jake yells down to me.
Are the Friendly or Foe? I yell back to him.
They are definitely En…. Ugh he suddenly grunts as a arrow hits him in his throat.
They are no on top of us, I manage to kill on as the sounds of men killing men fill the air, the clanging of metal on metal, the metallic smell of blood, I look over to see how Alder and his traders are doing I can see that it is down to only him and one other man who happens to be wielding the blade of one of the nighthawks, my own group is down to 15, all of our archers have been killed, suddenly a man wearing the uniform of a Surdan Army Lieutenant appears in front of me.
Greetings Captain, he says as the men around us are still fighting.
Feeling a rush of anger I snarl at him, You Surdan scum the Empire will hear about this treachery and then you and your tiny kingdom will be crushed.
He looks at me oddly, Now…now let us at least be somewhat civilized, my name is Lieutenant William Jon Williamsson the fourth and yours?
Well Lieutenant I am Captain John of Furnost, I respond, now shall we dance?
We shall indeed, as he said this he thrusts his sword towards my gut. With a quick stroke I parries the thrust and the I counterstrike with a thrust of my own which he then blocks and retaliates with a downward blow that I block, as I am fighting him I can easily tell that he is a talented swordsman, we then separate and start circling each other slowly.
Very good Captain you are quite talented, then adding in a voice that is almost a whisper, I am going to knock you unconscious, when you awaken you will find a horse waiting for you, you need to warn King Ajihad of this attack.
Looking at him I can see the sincerity written on his face as well as a hint of guilt for what I am not sure, How can I trust anything that you say?
Look just trust me, I swear on the name of my Father you will survive this battle Captain, Lieutenant Jon stated, oh and you fought well…
Very w… suddenly everything went black….
*46 minutes later*
My head is throbbing it feels as though someone is playing a drum inside of it, Wait am I dead? Did my Family survive or are they dead…. Suddenly I hear a voice…
Captain…Captain wake up, Private Jeoffry said slapping my cheeks, come on wake up…
Wh…what happened, who survived, I ask still confused.
Sir, we are the only survivors of the attack, no one else survived, the cowards even attacked the fleeing townspeople, sir the massacred them all. Jeoffry stated.
Private what about my wife and son did they escape? I ask
Well they were not with the rest of the villagers so I do not know, he responded
Looking at him curiously, Oh yes and how exactly did you escape being killed if you were with the townspeople?
I dropped my brother off and started to ride back here to assist you, but no sooner than I was too far away to render aid did I see a man who appeared to be a shade and about five other men sweep in and start butchering the Villagers, Men, Women, Children, Babies, and elderly people all murdered… t…they didn't have a chance, Private Jeoffry said with a sob and hanging his head.
Shade did you say a shade…. But there hasn't been a shade sighting since that one Queen Arya of the Elves killed during the Great War.
Yes Captain I realize this but I know what I seen, Jeoffry replies
*One day Later in Illeria*
My king we have a report from Captain John of Furnost, there has been an attack and the Captain and only one of his men are all that remains, General Thomas Traven states, he claims they were soldiers from Surda…
How could this have happened, this Attack is an outrage, have all the town guards be put on high alert. Contact every ruler and make them aware of a meeting that will occur this afternoon, King Ajihad States, Also inform Lord Pent, General Syrrie, Prince Eric, Count Roarn, Nasuada, and Admiral Frederick that their presence is required at the meeting.
Yes my Lord I will do so immediately, General Traven states, Oh and Sire should I contact Lord Eragon, afterall the Riders should be aware of this tragic attack.
Yes… Contact the Master Rider and inform him of the meeting as well, King Ajihad Stated
*Tenga's Tower*
Christius's POV
Chris how is this even possible, I could almost swear that we were just fighting in Illeria, there is no way 252 years have passed us by! Frakn Exclaims
Frakn old friend, it is true I have talked to the Eldurani of both Ebrithil Glaedr and Umaroth and they have confirmed this story, now we are being offered the opportunity to be part of the New Rider Order led by Eragon Shadeslayer Rider of Saphira.
Frakn sighs in submission, I guess I believe you and yes I do agree to become one with this order for you.
Eragon, Frakn has agreed that we should join the Order, I announce, I can see that my words have fallen on deaf ears for both Eragon and Arya are staring at each other flirting back and forth and Mutagh is watching them trying not to laugh, clearing my throat I say, Eragon, did you hear what I said?
Blushing at being caught both look at me with sheepish smiles on their faces, they look so much like two misbeahivng kids its almost unbearable to keep from laughing, Eragon the states, Errr.. no I wasn't paying attention, could you repeat that.
Yes, he was giving his undivided attention to a certain raven haired, green eyed Elvin Rider Queen, as usual, Saphira quipped projecting her thoughts to Eragon, Murtagh, Thorn, Arya, Fiernen, Frakn, and myself.
Before Eragon could respond I say, what I said was that Frakn approves of joining the order.
Oh very good, Eragon states, Welcome the both of you.
Master, Called the Elf named Vanir, Lord Pent and General Traven are scrying you.
Very well, everyone come with me, Eragon then orders, Vanir tell Ismira and Drazov to prepare to take flight at any moment.
Eragon's POV
Ok if I remember correctly, Lord Pent is the Leader of the Imperial Mage Corps and General Traven is the High General of the Imperial Army. I think to myself as I walk into the room with the mirror. Greetings General Traven and Lord Pent how can I be of service to you?
Yees Lord Eragon, we are contacting you to inform you of a meeting with the King this afternoon, we have an extremely important matter to discuss. General Traven states.
Actually if it is as urgent as you say, myself and six other Riders can be in Illeria withen three hours hard flight.
Oh can you now, the last report I read stated that Du Riki Skulblaka is three days Dragonflight east of Hedarth, General Traven states.
Yes while that statement is true, I am not currently at Du Riki Skulblaka I am actually just north of Dras'Leona
Wait what when did you return to Alagaesia? Lord Pent asks speaking for the first time.
I arrived in Ellesmira a few days ago, but certain circumstances have led me to meet with an old acquaintance, in any case in three or less hours you will have Arya, Murtagh, Myself, Vanir, Ismira, Drazov and our newest Rider Christius in Illeria.
Very well and since Queen Arya has been told of the meeting I guess there is no need to contact the Elves, General Traven stated.
Yes but still contact the Elves so that the council can take part in this meeting, Arya states.
Yes your Highness now we must go for we have others to contact, Lord Pent says, Good bye for now.
With that the conversation broke off, well that was interesting wasn't it, shall we prepare to head out, I state looking at the carvings in the walls of Tenga's Tower.
Hmm that was definitely interesting, I guess I am about to get a crash course in Modern Alagaesian Politics eh? Christius asks
It does appear so… Murtagh states as we walking out of the tower.
WAIT…. You cannot leave yet we haven't had our afternoon tea just yet. Tenga yells.
Sorry Tenga but we have urgent business we must deal with, I say walking over to wear the other Riders and the Dragons have already gathered, Come let us fly to Illeria, I say jumping on her back.
*Somewhere between Bullridge and Furnost*
Lieutenant William Jon Williamsson's POV
I am sitting in my command Tent reading the newest set of orders that Craven has received from Surda finally I call one of my young privates into the Tent, Private Trent, come here Immediately I have a mission for you.
Yes sir, he replies as he walks over to the tent.
I want you to ride back towards Furnost, there you will meet up with Major Paulson who is bringing up 200 additional men.
200 more men just to attack Bullridge? Trent asks
It is none of your business what higher up wants to do now go or Craven will force me to punish you, I order
Yes sir, as he says this he snaps a salute and mounts his horse and rides off.
You sorry swine prepare to move out, we are heading for Bullridge, Oh and don't even think about deserting or I will kill you myself, Craven orders.
As we pull out I think to myself, What are we doing this is just wrong, I am putting my men's lives in the hands of a psychotic Shade who treats us like dirt and is forcing us to murder innocents.
*Aberon*
Ahh my King I heard from a certain little bird that you are going to be attending a meeting today concerning a certain attack of ours, Nefilios states with a smirk.
Yes Nefilios you would be correct we will both be attending, oh and how goes the Master's weapon? Thassius asks.
Oh it is the Final stages of being completed, lets just say any rider who crosses paths with it will be in big trouble, after all he does want to completely eradicate the Rider order, Nefilios said with an evil grin.
Thassius goes white at this, The Riders? Does he really think he take out Eragon, Murtagh, and Arya, I mean the others will be difficult but those three will be near impossible to defeat, they did kill Galbatorix all those years ago.
I know but apparently he believes that it will be extremely easy, Nefilios states
Quiet here he comes, Thassius warns
Ahh yes if it isn't my favorite King and his pet magician, says a man wearing blood red armour with a black hooded cowl covering his face, now remember to play the fool, something you are quite good at doing, and deny Surda's involvement for now…
Yes Master it will be done, Thassius says as he bows. Master,… King Thassius it is time for the meeting to start, Nefilios states.
A/N: So what you guys think of chapter 5 it had plenty of action in it, Oh and what do you think of my Surdan Characters?