Chapter seven – Hatchling
Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.
Aris woke to find himself lying down on a bed somewhere he did not recognise; the ceiling was wooden and as natural as the forest itself, as was the rest of the hall, making it rather difficult for the dark haired boy to identify his location. Recalling his memories he thought back to before he had blacked out and when he had touched the thing, the dragon, Aris thought with wonder to himself.
A sharp pain in his left hand alerted him to something so he glanced down to see what was causing it. A diffused white oval, which at first glance seemed to be a scar, was engraved onto his palm; noting that he had never had a scar there he wondered what it could be, Maybe I got it whilst running through the mines? No… I would have noticed it. If only I could get answers from someone.
As if on cue the door opened and a familiar figure walked in – it was Eragon.
"Good afternoon Aris; how are you feeling?"
"I'm okay I think… What happened? Why did I black out?" The youth asked in a dazed tone.
"That is why I came to talk to you Aris. Do you remember the dragon hatchling that you touched?"
"Vaguely yes, why do you ask?" A hopeful look came to the boy's face at the prospect of some answers to his many questions.
"Well you see; it's hard to explain." The elder elf gained a thoughtful look as he contemplated how to explain the situation to Aris – who was quite unaware of what was going on. "Simply you have become a dragon rider."
Aris' mouth formed an oval in shock, "Bu- Wh- how?"
"The dragon hatched for you Aris, it chose you as its rider; therefore, you really have no choice but to become a dragon rider. When you touched the hatchling you gained the mark on your palm, the gedwey ignasia or the shining palm in your own language; it is the symbol of a dragon rider as they have touched a dragon hatchling. In fact, where is your dragon?"
"I-I don't know."
"Hmm. Ah there it is." Eragon picked up a small silver dragon with its wings folded against its side; the dragon looked to be asleep at the moment and was humming as it was placed down on the bed next to its rider. "It seems happy." The elder rider said with a grin, "I suppose I had best leave you two to rest now as I can sense the both of you are tired."
"Okay see you." Eragon started to get up and leave the room, "Wait!" Aris suddenly called out.
Turning around Eragon gave the boy a questioning raise of the eyebrow, "Where is Elena? Can I see her?"
"I'm afraid not, she is currently… engaged with other affairs; at least for the moment. You and your dragon need to have some time alone until it has grown enough; until then I am afraid you shall not be able to see Elena, she also proves a bit distracting when you are trying to concentrate also especially after the other day."
Ignoring the mention of what had happened Aris asked, "How long does a dragon take to grow to a reasonable size?"
"A few weeks."
"What?" The boy let out a resigned sigh, "Oh well then. See you around then." He said in a sullen tone.
"Good bye for now Aris." And with that the elder rider left Aris to contemplate how to raise a dragon.
Looking down at the small animal Aris gave it a curious look, How am I meant to care for it? I didn't know dragons existed until the other day so I'm clueless as to how to look after a one…
Then the dragon woke, opening its jaws wide in a strange yawn, and glanced around as if trying to calculate where it was; since it had not noticed him Aris took the chance to inspect the small being whilst it was conscious. Silver scales coated its entire topside whereas on its belly there were no scales but instead skin, the same colour as the rest of its dazzling hide; a row of small spikes ran the length of its back down to its tail which snaked around its body as it was curled up. Aris sat awestruck at the sight of the being gaping at it, and then it turned its attention to him the deep green eyes staring right into him holding the dark haired boy's gaze.
As soon as the dragon had looked at Aris it returned to its resting position curled up on the bed watching out into the corridor in expectation, though Aris did not know what it would be waiting for.
Feeling slightly awkward sitting there not trying to interact with his dragon Aris said, "Hello, how are you?"
It spun around at the sudden noise and retained its gaze for a few seconds before returning to its original place once more; it doesn't seem to want to do much. I wonder if its hungry… Glancing around Aris spotted some meat that he had been given with lunch, which he had not eaten yet, so he picked it up and proffered it to the small dragon. As fast as lightning it snapped up the meat between its fierce jaws and started humming contently whilst rubbing against Aris' arm, as if asking for more.
"I don't have any more." He said with a chuckle which brought a slightly disappointed appearance to the dragon's eyes making Aris feel guilty. It seems rather cunning, and more intelligent than I thought. I wonder if dragons are actually clever beings? I should go and ask Eragon; he probably knows. However, the dark haired boy dismissed the thought as he did not know where he was nor did he know his way around the hall, if he was in the hall. His curiosity was too great so, to remove his uncertainty, Aris peered out of the window.
Outside the forest was spread beneath him, as it was across the rider's home, yet he seemed lower down than he had been in the hall; also the surrounding area was quieter, more tranquil and there were few, if any, visible people. Returning to his bed Aris found his dragon stood up and watching him, I wonder how long it's been watching me?
Suddenly a strange feeling came into Aris' head, as if a foreign presence were invading his mind; the dark haired boy shook his head attempting to rid himself of the being, his hair swirling around him like a dark tornado. As the youth did so the dragon gave him a curious look and seemed to give up on something as it returned to the bed.
Feeling slightly fatigued Aris decided to go to sleep for now and leave his questions for the next day, as outside dusk was coming over the forest. Lying down on his bed the dark haired boy let sleep overcome him, his dragon curling up next to its rider's prone form.
The next day dawned and Aris was awoken, this time by his dragon which was prodding him in the stomach with its muzzle, "No, please Vordur; I don't want to-" He shot up panting and sweating profusely from his nightmare, "Oh. It's only you." Aris looked at the dragon who returned his glare; again the inclination of hunger came into his mind, however it was not he who was in need of food, it was something else. The dragon. The dark haired boy realised that it was the dragon who had somehow been tugging at his thoughts and mind, sending him its desires. It's almost as if the dragon is linked to me in some way but-
A sudden noise at the door alerted Aris to the presence of somebody entering; both he and his dragon turned their curious gazes to the entryway of the room to see whom it was that was disturbing them.
Eragon had returned.
"Hello again Aris; I brought you some breakfast." The elder rider gained a slightly worried look when he saw the dark haired boy who appeared to be very pale, "Is all well Aris? You seem a bit pale; have you had anything wrong whilst sleeping?"
"I've been fine." The youth said in a definite tone preventing Eragon from enquiring any further on the subject.
"Very well. Here is something for you to eat anyway." He put down a tray of some food and a pile of clothing on the side table before sitting down on the bed, putting the dragon in between him and Aris. "I can see you are buzzing with questions to ask me so I shall not stop you. What do you wish to know?"
"Where am I?" Aris asked in the same tone he had spoken with before.
"In my house." Eragon answered equally as stern.
"How am I meant to care for my dragon?"
Eragon laughed bitterly, "That shall take some time to teach; have you talked to your dragon at all or not?"
Not wanting to tell the elder rider about his foolish attempt to communicate with the small beast Aris said, "Erm… no." Causing Eragon to laugh.
"You have Aris, I can tell; you simply felt foolish doing it as you did not get an answer, is this correct?"
"Yes." He said sullenly, looking at his toes in shame.
"There's no need to be ashamed Aris; the fact of the matter is that your dragon cannot talk yet, it takes time for it to mature enough. However," Eragon raised a finger pointedly, "You and your dragon can still communicate with your minds; considering I will most likely be your tutor for a while I would like you to try it out. Just reach out with your mind towards your dragon."
The dark haired boy looked at Eragon in amazement, "You? Be my tutor?"
"Mm-hm; is there an issue with this?"
"No, not at all! I'm just shocked that you would take your own time to tutor me, someone from my kind of background."
"I think you have promise Aris; also if I were to leave you to the other tutors they would not be in favour of you, Elrohir has distorted their views slightly and brought prejudice against you and your past. At least with me, here, you are safe from that."
"Thank you. Shall I try communicating with my dragon now?"
"If you so wish."
Closing his eyes Aris focused all of his concentration on the task at hand. He relaxed slightly and allowed his mind to lose hold of his body and drift away into the nether; as soon as his conscious self left his body the feeling of openness crushed down on him, stifling his mind like a blanket so he retreated.
I can do this. The dark haired boy reassured himself building up the confidence for another attempt. Once he was ready the youth relaxed and again allowed his mind to stray.
This time he was successful; he felt his consciousness come into contact with another and he reached into it, trying to break through. However, as soon as he came into contact with this presence he heard a growl; this served as a distraction and made Aris lose concentration so he retreated to his own body.
When he looked around he found the dragon growling at him, sharp teeth bore in a fierce snarl. Attempting to calm the beast Aris stroked it on the head lightly, which seemed to work for it stopped growling and gave him what seemed to be a smile, all be it a very dragon-esque one, before returning to its long slumber.
"Well done Aris; you successfully reached into your dragon's mind."
"You knew that would happen?" Aris asked in a slightly angered tone.
"Mm-hm." Eragon replied calmly, "I was simply testing your mental capabilities and they seem to be good; now try sharing an image or a thought with it."
Again Aris relaxed and found a memory to share with the dragon; he searched through many but thought them unsuitable for this. One suddenly came out from the rest – the one of Elena kissing him, It seems to be the only suitable for this, at least I'm not sharing it with Eragon I suppose. Here it goes. Taking the memory he sent it across to the dragon, down a strange link between them that Aris didn't know existed until that point.
Opening his eyes Aris looked across at the dragon to see if it had gotten the memory. He got no physical reaction but instead he received something back, a memory from the dragon. Delving into it the dark haired boy saw that the image was that of the dragon when it had first seen Elena standing over its egg. It worked! I communicated with a dragon; no, my dragon.
In response the dragon started humming again, as if it were satisfied with the result of the exercise.
"You seem to have been successful Aris, this is good. I want you to practice this as much as you can for the bond between dragon and rider is more important than anything else in the entire world; for without cooperation the two of you are almost useless together. I think that is enough for today so you can rest. Tomorrow I believe we shall start with this along with other things; I shall meet you for lunch here before we go down to my dining room, so you are not confined here all day. Is all well with you?"
Aris struggled to get words out in his current state of amazement, "Y-yes. That'd be great."
"Excellent. See you later then." And with that Eragon left Aris and his dragon to think over what had occurred.
Two more weeks passed and Aris' knowledge grew dramatically under Eragon's tutelage. His link with the dragon grew stronger every single day and when the elder rider was not around Aris and the dragon often shared thoughts and feelings; the dark haired boy talking about anything and everything to the small silver being not caring if it did not fully understand him.
The dragon grew dramatically in size after the first few days; its wingspan spread a vast distance already but even that increased by a large amount. After a week and a half it was too large to keep inside so Aris asked Eragon if they could make some kind of shelter outside for the dragon, to which the elder rider agreed. The dragon had just settled into its new home outside and Aris was there resting with it. The human had been talking for a while now, the dragon listening intently to every word, until he was interrupted by something in his mind. It was a simple sentence yet all the more surprising because of it.
That was an interesting memory you showed me Aris. A strange sound emanated from the dragon, it was not a growl but something else almost as if.
It's laughing at me! Aris thought to himself, But that means… Then he realised. It was neither Eragon nor anyone else who had just spoken to him.
It was his dragon.
Author's note: And so ends another chapter. I do apologise for any grammatical or spelling errors but a friend of mine who sometimes edits the chapters is away on holiday; I assume it is still fairly readable though. Again, thank you for reading; don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter shall be out fairly soon.
P.s. See if you can find the minecraft reference =P
