Disclaimer: I don't own any of CP's characters, only mine.
When I woke up, I heard a screaming inside my head.
GARU!
I am here. I am unable to move and am in pain. I need help.
I will be there shortly. I was unable to reach you earlier. Your mind was closed.
I passed out from the pain. I think that I have a couple of broken ribs.
Shortly, Red-Eye got to where I was at and pulled the Urgal off the top of me.
Are the others ok? I haven't seen them since we came in.
Brom is injured. Eragon is ok, even though he does not seem himself. They are preparing to leave. Can you stand?
I don't know. I may need your help.
Red-Eye moved his head around and laid it next to me. I grabbed onto him and attempted to pull myself up. Through the pain, I managed to stand up. I looked around and saw Nightmane. Red-Eye helped me get on Nightmane and we went looking for Eragon and Brom.
Eragon and Brom were back where we had come in Yazuac. Eragon was tending to Brom, who was on Saphira. His arm was wrapped in cloth. It looked to be cut. Brom was awake and talking to Eragon. He looked to me.
"Good. You're ok. Are you injured?"
"Yes, though I know not how bad."
Will you fly with me?
I will stay with Eragon. He seems to need help. You can fly by me though.
Will you be able to ride your horse until we get to a place to stop?
I must. I will ride through the pain. It is nothing that I have not done before.
Fine.
You are not satisfied?
No. Every time I am away from you, you get hurt. I do not wish to stay away from you any longer.
We must if we are to do what we have to.
Fine.
We slowly made our way out of Yazuac after Brom and Eragon were finally ready to leave. The only time that we stopped was to fill our waterskins and to let the horses drink. The whole time we were traveling, the dragons flew above us. Eragon told me that we were still going in the right direction, yet he still seemed to be thinking. I tried to ask him what he was thinking, but he just pushed me off.
Just before it got dark, Eragon swerved off the trail. He led us to a clearing that the dragons and Brom were already in. Eragon asked to see how Brom was doing and then we sat down to eat. I felt better after eating and was already beginning to heal. My knee had healed as we had traversed the plains, much to the surprise of Brom, and my ribs were already starting to heal.
Before Eragon had started to go through what had happened with him in Yazuac, Brom surprised me by addressing me and saying, "Come here."
I went over to him and he felt my ribs to see if there was anything broken.
"Again it is just bruised. It does not seem to be as bad as your knee was though. It should heal much faster. You may be healed in a matter of a couple days. You seem to heal much faster than most. Your leg healed in the time that it took for us to get across the plains when it should have taken weeks."
"That's good. I have missed much of the training that I need. Once we both get healed, we can again begin training."
"You will heal before I will, but I will be able to instruct you with my left hand."
Eragon then began explaining what happened with him in Yazuac. He started from the time that Brom had been knocked out. I already knew what happened before that, but I had no idea what had happened after that. He told of attacking the Urgal that had attacked Brom, running from the Urgals, and using magic. When he mentioned this, Brom lightly perked up, but made it to where it was hardly noticeable. After he finished, Brom sat for a moment.
Brom then broke the silence by saying: "Have you used this power before?"
"No. Do you know anything about it?"
With a thoughtful expression, Brom continued by saying, "A little. It seems I owe you a debt for saving my life. I hope I can return the favor someday. You should be proud; few escape unscathed from the slaying of their first Urgal. But the manner in which you did it was very dangerous. You could have destroyed yourself and the whole town."
They argued about whether it was right for Eragon to use magic or not and if Brom should teach us or not. We also figured out that Brom was a magician. We also found out that magic had several limits. One of the rules was that if you passed these limits, you die. No pleading. No way to get around it. You die.
Brom impressed this on Eragon and me. Not only did he do this, but he also cautioned both of us to not try anything tonight.
The next day, we began to learn about magic. We learned how it worked, how the original Riders were trained, and the differences between wizards, sorcerers, witches, and shades. We also learned about the Ancient Language, how you cannot lie in the Ancient Language, and a few words in the Ancient Language. We also learned about true names and how people found them out. We also found out that there were projects, like raising the dead, that would kill you. Then the fun began.
Brom reached down and picked a couple of pebbles off the ground. He handed one to Eragon and one to me. He then taught us the words to lift the pebble off our palms and hold it in the air. The words were stenr reisa.
He told us to try raising the pebble. When I started, I looked at the pebble, said the words, and watched as nothing happened. I went to Brom and asked him about the magic.
"I have never before used magic. How is it that I access this power?"
"Magic is a fickle thing. It may not be easy, but you will have to find this power within yourself."
"How?"
"Search for it. It is there, you just have to find it."
We were then interrupted by Eragon. He snapped at Brom saying; "This is impossible."
"No," countered Brom, "I'll say when it's impossible or not. Fight for it! Don't give in this easily. Try again."
Eragon stopped arguing and closed his eyes. I let myself fall back, focusing on the pebble and trying to search within myself at the same time. As I searched, all things around me seemed to disappear. Soon, the only thing that I saw, heard, or felt was the pebble. It filled my mind, going through all feelings, thoughts, and sights until it came on something different. The pebble continued on the path that it had been following, but I stopped and searched this disturbance.
I felt anger, hatred, and fear coming from it. I also felt happiness, love, and strength. I began to circle this spot, looking for a way in the whole time. Eventually, I got back to where I had started. I had still found no way into this spot. I decided to see just how durable this barrier around it was. I hit it with my hand, then kicked it, and then slammed up against it. It finally broke.
"Stenr reisa."
The pebble rose off my palm and floated in the air. I was panting and sweating, but the pebble didn't even wobble. I looked at Brom and Eragon. Brom was surprised, but not as much as I thought he would be. Brom looked at Eragon and said, "Yes! And this time be quicker about it." He then rode up to me. The pebble was still floating above my hand.
"You can release it now."
I looked down and was surprised to see the pebble still floating there. I released the magic, feeling it flow from my mind to the barrier. The barrier re-closed, but it didn't feel like it was as strong. I also knew where it was.
"I want you to try again. This time be faster about it. It took you almost ten minutes to lift that pebble. It should take you no time at all."
I then began to try to enter the barrier. I found it without any problem and knew what I had to do. I tested it to see just how strong this barrier was. This time, it didn't have the strength that it had before, and shattered when I kicked it.
"Stenr reisa."
Again, the stone rose off my hand. This time it rose to eye level and stopped. I wasn't panting, even though I was still sweating. Brom had me do it repeatedly. Eventually I got to where it would only take me a few moments to get the stone to eye level. Later in the afternoon, Brom stopped us and told us to hold on to the pebbles. He then began to teach us about the Ancient Language. That evening, Eragon and Brom sparred. I watched the whole time, trying to memorize moves and learning some of the tactics that they both used.
You are unusually quiet.
Many things have been put on our plate. We are now very powerful, but we also have a long way to go before we get to where we need. Not a day goes by in which we do not learn something new. I do not know if I can learn everything that I need to as fast as I need to.
There is no need to learn everything all at once. We need to have time and patience. Nothing happens without a little strife. If life were easy, there would be no need to learn any of the things that we are. Life is not easy though. Many times, there will be things that, even with our increased power, we will not be able to overtake by ourselves.
Yet, we will be the ones that everyone looks up to. We will be the ones that everyone relies on, the ones that everyone wants to have help them.
Yet, they will also be willing to help us if we are ever in need. It will not all be put on us. There will be many people to look up to, whether it be Brom or others. Just know that I will always be there for you if you need me. You are my hope, my life, and my love. I love you and want nothing to happen to you.
Thank you. I love you too.
"Catch!"
I looked up just in time to see the sword coming at me.
"I thought that we were going to wait until I was healed. I am not yet in good enough condition to fight."
"I think you are. We will see. It may help to stretch the muscles that have been bruised, allowing your body to heal even faster. I have not had a chance to see you fight either. Not for a while."
I picked up the sword and prepared myself. I waited on Brom to make the first move, trying to think of something to do to keep from hurting myself yet beating Brom. Brom swung and I parried. When the swords connected, he knocked mine back and hit me with his. It hit me in the ribs, at the place where the Urgal had hit me. It doubled me over, causing me to almost get sick. I stood up and got back in my stance. Brom looked at me with concern.
"Do you want to continue?"
"Yes. Even if it hurts me, I must continue. A staff will not help me as much as I would like it to. I must learn how to use a sword. You can teach me how. I have to learn how and get stronger and better."
At this, he got in his stance. This time, I attacked him. I slashed at his ribs. As the swords connected, I allowed my elbow to bend and I elbowed him in the face. I immediately pulled the sword out and swung at his ribs again. This time it was on the other side. He blocked and attacked, swinging at my ribs. I parried, as before, and, as before, doubled over when the sword hit my side.
We continued on our sparring for a little longer. The forth time he hit my ribs, I fell on the ground from the pain and threw up. He decided that it was time to quit. We then relaxed and went to bed. I held my side through the night to try to decrease the pain.
We continued doing this the whole trip. The next day, Eragon and I sparred as well as Brom and I. I was surprised that my ribs had healed the way they had. I was almost to the point that I could freely move. Pressure on it still hurt, but not as much as it had before.
When Eragon and I sparred, we were extremely careful. We didn't know each other's strengths or weaknesses, nor did we know each other's style. Eragon eventually got the upper hand and beat me. I was downtrodden, but knew that he had had more practice than I had.
We were all changing on this trip. I noticed it on Eragon and myself. We were becoming stronger and faster. Our power with magic increased. We became closer to the same level with swordsmanship, even though it was rare for me to win. Eragon always seemed to hit harder and more accurately. I was more tactical and precise.
Red-Eye and Saphira were changing as well. They were both taller than the horses. The scales on Saphira sparkled brilliantly, making her incredibly easy to see. Red-Eye's scales became even darker, holding the light. They also sparkled, but they were not as bright as Saphira's. Red-Eye and Saphira now showed a difference in body build as well as looks. Red-Eye was more muscular and powerful than Saphira. Saphira was more graceful and beautiful. It showed the difference between male and female.
We all continued to change as we traveled to Daret, the next town.
Ok. Longer, but there is more in it. I didn't want to have anything left out that went together. It all goes together.
Until next time, adios
Please R&R
