Chapter 8: Unrest

In the whole of the Alagaesian continent, the number of barracks and towns that held troops and weapons depots was vastly distributed and innumerous, so much to the point that to guesstimate an exact figure would be beyond ludicrous. However, in the ancient forest-province of Duweldenvarden, under jurisdiction of the outer sectors of the empire there were said to be some four hundred fifty various troop stations that held a number exceeding ten soldiers and having an average maximum of around seventy-five of the infantry level. Soldiers of a status Calvary and higher were known to patrol from one region to another, rarely ever staying in one place for long save for situations of emergency. Of these it was said that there were at least fifty squadrons of uncertain units that made rounds of the area.

Or at least that's how it was...

...Now there are less.

Though no figures were completely known as yet, it was estimated by rumor that at least five squadrons of Calvary rank had been brought to utter ruin, left as bloodied and rotten corpses at the roadside. Farmers and merchants reported the bodies from the central region in a progressing line east. Always east... always the same; bodies without clear distinction of cause of death, men and horses alike... as though beasts of old had returned to plague human-kind, leaving gaping chest cavities and the stench of carrion wafting upon the breeze like mementos of death.

Calvary were not the only targets.

Since the unseen uprising, if such a thing existed, twenty-three of said barracks and troop centers fell to ruin... most burning to the ground and leaving no trace so as to follow. No force was ever mentioned in the reports of fall due to the fact that no witness was ever left alive... if even one piece.

Twenty-three... until today.


Unnatural fires helped to keep the light within as the heavy darkness of obscurity fell upon the blackened land. Like that of a living creature, the flame stripped what sustenance it could from that in reached and left its excrement in the form of a pungent and acrid smoke that dulled the senses and stung the eyes. But given the alternative of the dark... it was all the more preferable... while the room itself was deplorable.

Nothing seemed left standing of the proud furnishings of this comfortable station away from the normalcy of town. A modest living of boring days was behind all who enjoyed times of rest within, as behind as the living aspect itself... since there were none left alive.

Like that of perverse decoration, those of the departed had now become as much as a part of their abode as the material objects of before. Where instead of tapestry and pictures, crimson stains and gut-juice saturated entrails hung about the walls... severed limbs burned in place of logs, yet in places outside the fire wells... and instead of forest fragrances, the smell of death hung thick in the air.

To any who should have the horrible misfortune to view it, it was like that of hell on Earth. And such was the exact case of the young soldier upon the floor... as he just opened his eyes... to the unsightly existence before him.

That soldier, born and raised as a loyal subject of Galbatorix and the empire, had basked in nothing but rewarded luxury his short fifteen years. To think that he'd be lying here... amidst his dismembered and horribly mutilated comrades was too much. To think he'd be here remaining alive when all others had abandoned him was just as terrifying. But all of that and the fears resulting paled in comparison to that which stood before him:

A demon.

Surely it was nothing else—could be nothing else. For what manner of beast could exist within the world of humans? What manner of creature existed elsewhere—he knew not... just couldn't know.

Illuminated in the doorframe by the fires of its making stood the beast itself... drenched in the blood of its victims, its green scaly skin gleaming bright from beneath, its unsightly weapon of a hand, and its wild haired gray-shining-eyes brighter than the flames that licked its body... it was this, who was the devil himself.

A devil that asked him a question of well-being before kneeling before him with a smile of utter madness and soulless abandon.


"Are you up? That is good. You have use before your death. Should it not be as painful as the hell you fall to, tell me that which I wish to know."

The boy upon the ground looked up at the beast before him with an almost passive acceptance of the death he expected, sideways and out of the corners of his eyes, as the rest of his body could not will itself into movement.

"Who are you?" he asked in earnest, at least wishing for the title of his soon-to-be killer.

"There is no meaning in name that can only be used to describe a single being." The beast—no rather—the man said before him... for it was a man... a man of uncanny violence. "That's why... my kind doesn't come with such things. However..." he held his free hand up to sight level. "This... mark on my palm is the classification of my kind. That of... the Jrrha."

"Cr-crimson... palm...?" The teen looked as though he could feint at any moment. "The rumored slayer of the dragon? Heh..." A smile crossed his lips as he stared at the unsightly gash that spewed a dark liquid he could only assume to be blood, down the side of the Jrrha's face.

"N-not... immortal... 'h?

The Jrrha's face relaxed slightly as he undid he dragon's cloak and displayed the numerous wounds that bubbled across his body.

"No?" he said with a venom laced tone. He picked up the severed head of another soldier and held it firmly by the top of the hair covered skull, fore-fingers imbedded in the gooey eyes sockets for better hold. Bits of dripping liquid from the ragged neck opening filled the air with such a stench that it made those near it wish to retch. "Why not?"

'Y-you can... hurt... injured..."

"Oh?"

At that, his eyes shown brighter and a chill enveloped the air about the head as the lower parts of the neck began to freeze in a fashion that crept from base up, freezing all exposed portions until those parts that could be frozen no more turned to powered ice. A progression that continued until the entire bloodied mass disappeared altogether, leaving the hand that held it completely untouched... while the wounds upon his body stopped bleeding and healed to the point of flawless perfection. All in a time span of a moment.

"Tell me again... how I'm not of the immortals?"

There was a pause momentarily before one word formed upon the teen's quivering lips. "Demon."

"Probably... that's as accurate as a description can get." He moved towards the boy with the same hand outstretched, a familiar glowing of the eyes and a chilling sensation present in the air above. "Knowing that... are you still wishing to go the long way?"

"K-k-k... w-what d-do you wish to know?"

"Galbatorix... disperses troops throughout the empire based on holdings and need, correct? Nod if yes." He got a nod in response. "Troop dispersal usually is a time consuming process... the central empire rarely chooses to disperse recklessly—especially to the outer provinces. Twenty-four troop holdings are little to nothing in the face of the empire as a whole?" Another nod. "Then dispersion is not a problem at this time... though quantities have seemed to have replenished previously destroyed factions. An outer lying establishment?" There was no reply. "Useful answers equal a potential useful existence and life."

His informant seemed to mull the thought over for a moment before he nodded slightly.

"So that's where." The Jrrha seemed to take a moment to ponder the thought before speaking again. "If not dispersion... then there is another reason... besides Calvary."

"R-riders..."

"I see... the Black Mounts of Obscurity... they would come. Riders could be here within the day... then dispersion is pointless? Damn!"

He punched the ground just beside the soldier's head and splintered the wood floor beneath in his moment of rage.

"Then it is the riders I'll have to quell...? Very well."

He grabbed his weapon and proceeded to stand as his thoughts filled with the murmurings of his daily inner exchange. It was an exchange yet absent of the second party, but busy all the same with that of his own voice. Then suddenly, just prior to a potential conclusion, a low groan escaped the lips of the soldier at his feet.

"Ah..." he said distractedly to the air. "I almost forgot. Almost useful enough information... equals only an almost useful life. But in your case..."

He smiled as he began to siphon the heat off the air as the glow upon his palm glowed bright with crimson delight. A delight he himself reveled in as he closed his palm, and the entire outside of the boy-teen at his feet froze solid, and fractured in an instant—leaving the unmoving but very much alive body to suffer its fate... as the still warm blood from beneath flowed through the cracks with ease.

Giving himself one last look upon his work, he burned with the energies siphoned, and the bloodlust that dominated his senses... as the almost-useful frozen-faced soldier looked the part of a statue that shed tears of crimson.


With the slow disappearance of just one more of the innumerous troop depots in the whole of Alagaesia, it could only offer the Jrrha a hollowed sense of satisfaction... especially when the still fight to come left a bad taste in his mouth. Even with his hold of the Gift growing with every kill... even then.

Even with that... was it enough? Only the light of the 'morrow would tell... but for now, he would content himself with the darkness of the night.

Always of the dark.

He smiled.


A/C (2/19/07) - I don't know what the title has to do with how the chapter eneded up... but it was the title I started with and I like it anyways... so I kept it. Because of the review I got last time I decided it would be better to rant less event though I enjoyed the last chapter. Also because of that, I'm going to try to move forward on the plot a little faster now... but probably not exceedingly fast... I just don't have enough time in my daily life for such devotion (even though I want to get to the exciting chapters as fast as I can).