CHAPTER 8: Change

The peaceful darkness I was in didn't last long. The dark abyss started to change until I was standing in the very same clearing I had dreamt of before. Everything was the same, except the dragon standing in front of me. Every scale of it was a different color and it was huge. I couldn't understand how it was able to fit into the clearing.

The dragon lowered his giant angular head and sniffed my necklace which was gleaming like it had before, changing from the color to color. Then I heard the voices again, but this time they were not in whispers.

"Every change has a price,"

The dragon's eye closed with a click before reopening again.

"And everything have a place where they belong."

I broke the eye contact as I shook my head.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"You will. In the near future." saidthe dragon, craning his head towards the sky and roared. Then the scenery changed.

I was in the woods. The time was late and it was storming. The wind was vigorous and it was very hard to see because of the rain. But I wasn't getting wet, the rain was going through me like I was transparent; a ghost.

I heard footsteps, so I looked towards the sound. A girl was running towards me, a leather bag in her hand. It was very dark for me to see her appearance, but I could tell she was running from something, for she was constantly looking over her should and to the sky.

She passed without noticing me and I followed her. I knew this was a dream, but it felt so real, even if I couldn't feel the rain on my skin. The girl stopped in front of a highly familiar tree. After looking at the sky one more time, she crouched and pulled out an oval shaped thing out of the bag, putting it into the hole of the tree delicately. She moved to took her hands out but stopped, her whole body tensing for a minute. Then she hovered her hands over the object, opening her mouth to say something but was cut of by a voice.

The voice was deep and rumbling. It felt like the rolling of the rocks, echoing in my mind; but at the same time it was plush and light, carrying intelligent and wisdom.

"What do you think you're doing, child? It's not a good idea to make him grow artificially. You can get punishment for this. "

The girl looked at her bag. I still couldn't see her appearance and my werewolf sight didn't help either. "I know Shyamal-elda, but it is for the hatchling's safety. We don't know which environment he will hatch into, it could be war or peace. And in war, he would be defenseless."

"But he wouldn't be able to control his body, for he will have the body of an adult, but the mind of newly hatch dragon."

The girl's eyes narrowed, her hands on the object slightly shaking. "He will learn. It is better than being a easy target. And we mustn't forget whose child he is."

"Just because your father or mother is powerful wouldn't mean you would too. Parentage doesn't have a control over who you would become... But you have a point. We can't risk the hatchling being killed just because he can't defense himself; his rider can just defend him to a point. I will lend you my strength."

"Thank you, Shyamal-elda."

The girl started to talk. She was talking so fast for me to understood her, but I figured she was talking in Ancient Language, for the tree's branches grew until they were covering the hole, along with the brushes sprouted from the ground.

The girl kept talked for a few more minutes, than stopped. "This should be enough." I once more realized how her voice was similar to mine, just more melodic and beautiful; like any minute she would start to sing. The girl stand up, then froze, slowly turning towards the direction I was watching her from. I held my breath as she looked at the direction I was standing like she knew someone was watching her, but that was impossible.

Suddenly, a lightning flashed over our head, causing me to see the girl's appearance for the first time - no, not the girl's; the elf's.

The elf's long light black hair framed her feline-like-angular-face, two pointed ears poking through it. Her eyes and brows were slanted like an elves. But, this was where the similarities ended. Her skin was paler than elves, but not pale enough to look creepy. Her ears were more and her face was less angular. A glow seemed emit from her skin. And her pupils were slightly slitted like a cats and she had a slight human appearance to her features. In all, she was very beautiful.

But, my eyes widened and when I saw her eye color. I had lived in supernatural world all my life, and it was normal for strange things to happen. That was the reason I accepted the fact my dad was a member of Grey Folk without much problem, along with that I was in Alagaësia. This was no more different then them, but was still enough to make me shocked.

For staring my way was a pair of eyes; my eyes. With the same brilliance and shade.

Grayish blue...


I rose up in the bed I was laying with a start. My breathing was uneven. I placed a hand on my chest and took a deep breath. It was just a dream.

"Oh, your finally awake." a voice said in my head. Then a big cat leapt on my lap, his red eyes staring at me with amusement. His fur was shaggy, and two white fangs were curved down his jaw.

"Solembum," I acknowledged.

"Yes. And you are the new Shur'tugal who has the shape shifting abilty like my kin."

I nodded my head. "Yes..." Then I remembered what Solembum had called me; Shur'tugal. "Where is my dragon?" I asked, my eyes frantically searching the tent I was in while I showed my legs to the bed's side to got up.

"Calm down, grey." Solembum hissed after he had to jump down from my lap. "He is with Eragon and Saphira," His left ear twitched. "And now they are coming to your tent while we speak, along with that raven haired elf."

I nodded. "Before I go, I'm going to tell you something. Listen carefully because I'm not going to repeat again." His red eyes locked on mine. "Took the item under the roots of the tree which had been cut down. And follow the Blue Rider as he seek the rock of Kuthian and open the Vault of Souls."

Then the werecat exited the tent like he had never talked with me, swaying his tail side to side. That was when I saw the glistening mark on my right palm; gedwëy ignasia...

I was tracing the mark with my finger when the flap of the tent opened. A midnight blue scaled dragon walked; or more specifically my dragon. But, he was bigger. His legs were more muscular and his teeth were big as my finger. My breath caught in my throat as I gazed at my dragon. How long was I out?

He lay near my bed and put his head on my lap. He was nearly taking the whole space in the tent.

Images flood into my mind from him; images of him waiting next to my bed for me to wake up, his experience as he grew because of a spell placed on his egg, Saphira teaching him how to control his body. I felt his love for me and relief that I was finally awake from our bond, and I let my love and happiness streamed to him through it. It was the second time I saw him, but I was already thinking how I had lived without him.

The flap of my tent opened again and I didn't have to turn my head to knew who had entered. "How long?" I asked, stroking my dragon's scales.

"Two days." replied Eragon and sat down on a stool. I looked at him and Arya, then asked even though I knew the answer. "What happened to him?"

Arya narrowed her eyes. "There was a spell on his egg which became active when he hatched. But, Saphira helped him to grow accustomed to his body." She smiled a little. "He is a fast learner."

No body talked afterwards. I continued stroking my dragon's scales and talking to him through our link. He couldn't talk back yet, but was replying to me by using thoughts and feelings. I saw Eragon and Arya glance at each other, but didn't say anything.

Finally, Arya sighed. "Alearya... There was something I didn't tell you." I stopped stroking which caused my dragon to growl slightly, annoyed. "Yes?"

"I have felt fragments of a spell on you before you faint."

I turned, directing all of my attention to her. "What?" Eragon sighed. "Your father must have put a spell on you. And when you bonded with your dragon, the spell vanished."

My eyebrows furrowed, still looking at Eragon. "Why would he do that?" The rider averted his eyes from mine, and instead of him the elf replied. "To hide your true appearance."

My eyebrows rose from their furrow in surprise. "What?..." I stood up from the bed to look at a mirror, but my legs buckled for I was still too weak to walk. An arm wrapped around my waist the same time my dragon placed his head to my chest to stop me from falling. I let him felt my gratitude through our bond which he replied by humming happily, then followed the arm to see Eragon holding me. I nodded to him gratefully and he smiled, helping me to walk to the front of the mirror in my tent. The second I saw my reflection, I wished I didn't.

For staring back at me in the mirror was the girl in my dream.