Chapter 9: Funeral . . . . and Surprises

The entire Elvin army was gathered in front of Eragon. The time for the funeral had come, but the funeral was only for Oromis. Glaedr was not going to be laid to rest with Oromis. The morning of the previous day Eragon had spent educating himself about the funerals of elves. He had learned that their funerals were a lot different than that of men. Since elves rarely died, and were immortal, the death of an elf, especially that of someone as important as Oromis was a very serious matter, they did not have any lamentations, they only had one song, a song sung the Queen and the Lords, a song which told the story of Oromis's life.

The elf was placed in a pure white marble tomb, with enchantments on it so that it could never be destroyed, or harmed by anyone in anyway. The marble itself was of an enchanted kind which preserved the body, not allowing it to decay. Usually, the tomb was kept in a place specified by the elf in his or her will, but since Oromis had only written 'Next to the partner-of-my-heart." in his will it composed a slight problem: Dragons did not bury their dead, instead their bodies were burned to ashes, which were then kept in a container in Du Fells Nangoroth. The dead dragon was burned by his or her offsprings. Since Glaedr's offsprings were no more, if he had offsprings, it was Saphira who would burn him.

Master Glaedr, it is vital for me to speak to you. Will you please talk to me? Eragon spoke to Glaedr's eldunari. There was no reply for a couple of minutes, but then:

What is it Eragon? Came a reply in a deep, ancient voice filled with sorrow and grief.

Ebrithil, I am sorry for your loss, we all are quite lost without Master Oromis.

Is that why you have disturbed me, Eragon? Glaedr asked angrily.

No master, I wanted to ask you something regarding Master Oromis's tomb. He said in his will that he wants to be laid to rest next to you, but Saphira told me that dragons burn their dead to ashes. I am lost and I do not have a solution to this problem, how can I lay Master Oromis to rest if your body is burned? Master this is very important, the funeral is just a couple of hours away, I really must know, I didn't want to disturb you but I didn't have a choice. Eragon said.

The reply came in a few minutes, He means that he either wants to have a statue of me erected next to his tomb or wants my eldunari to be placed next to his tomb. Since you cannot do the latter, I suggest you do the former. Now leave me be for at least two days! With that Eragon was pushed out of the old dragons consciousness.

The hours slipped by and Eragon was extremely nervous, not because of the funeral alone but also because of the fact that he was required to make a speech in front of the entire army, a frightening prospect for him and something extremely amusing for Saphira and Arya. Eragon had been stupid enough to mention it to both of them. He had prepared a speech last night, he just hoped it would suffice. His speech was in the Ancient Language, thus it was the truth, so no one could question his honesty.

"Today we are all gathered here to pay our last respects to the Oromis, the last scion of the House of Tharandurin, Rider of Glaedr Goldscales, the last Rider and Dragon of the old Order of the Riders. They were one of our greatest symbols of hope, even now he helps us by presenting us with their final apprentices, Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Brightscales. May you rest in peace!" Izlanzadi finished her speech, which was followed by a moment of silence, " Now I call upon Eragon Finiarel to tell us of his loss."

Eragon was gripped by fear as he walked from his seat to where the Queen was standing, each second an eternity in his grief and fear. He could remember Nasuada telling him long ago that even Galbatorix feared the crowd. He gave himself a small smile which soon turned to a look of uttermost sadness as he saw Oromis lying inside his tomb. His body had been healed by the elves nut they could not find his sword. Eragon decided to try and find it in the time he had. His tomb was a simple rectangular shape, but even in it's simplicity it had a beauty no tomb of humans or dwarves could compete.

"Today is indeed a day of great grief for us all. Master Oromis was a very great elf, he was extremely patient with me, he taught me all he could in short span, he did everything he could to help me and the rest of Alagaesia.

His death will not be in vain, no, but before he is buried you must all know by whom he was killed! He was not killed by Murtagh, no, he was killed by Galbatorix, this I have seen, this I know. The last time I left master Glaedr created an unimaginable bond of great power, with me and Saphira... It allowed us to see and hear through him when he fought against Murtagh and Thorn, who were trying to flee from him, for they knew they would be defeated by my Masters. But then, due to some evil magic unknown to us, Galbatorix seized control of Murtagh's body against his will and Murtagh was forced to kill when he had opted to flee. Thorn was likewise affected, forcing him to kill Master Glaedr. But I ask you, would they have come to war believing that they would survive?

No, they knew their end was near and they knew their lives would end at this war! But they fought, they fought for freedom and I promise all of you today, even I shall follow their footsteps and fight for freedom and peace. I promise you that I will avenge his death upon Galbatorix and free Alagaesia from the evil tyrant ONCE AND FOR ALL! Eragon finished, tears in his eyes. Almost everyone was in tears. Arya was crying openly along with her mother.

"GOOD SPEECH BROTHER, BUT IT WON'T COME TRUE EVEN IN YOUR DARKEST NIGHTMARES!" A booming magnified voice shouted, startling all the elves.