Hello everyone!

It's been a while, I know. It's that period during which literally everyone decides they want something done before summer starts and I have been caught up in a maelstrom of terrible planning. To make it up to you I made this chapter slightly longer than usual. It's a bit of a filler before the action packed chapter that will come next. All the reviewers will find something below, you are awesome. Anyways, enough of my ramblings. Enjoy!


They had moved his elf to another cell. It had taken Eragon at least ten minutes to find it. The moving through walls took some getting used to, but eventually it became second nature. He found the energy drain to be a lot less now. It appeared that as he practiced his new ability, it grew within him, becoming stronger. He hunched down next to her prone form. Gently he reached out and pressed his hand to her forehead where her raven black hair parted.

He patiently waited for her to rouse from slumber, woken by the slight pressure of his cool hand. When she woke it wasn't pretty. Her arms flailed around her, but, restrained as they were, it merely served to deepen the cuts on her wrists. Glistering tears formed in her emerald eyes as she fought the pain.

'It is only me.' Eragon said pulling her attention to him.

'Great. Usually I only have a hallucination a single time. Now they return to me.' She muttered in the ancient language. Her voice was melodic, exotic. Eragon only caught half of it, but understood enough of it to interpret her intentions.

'I am no hallucination.' Eragon replied in the ancient language.

'Then why are you here? Are you the next torturer?'

'No. I will rescue you from this place.' Eragon felt her move under his fingers.

'Must you touch me?' She asked eventually, clearly a little uncomfortable. In reply Eragon removed his hand and watched confusion unfold itself on her face. After a few moments he reached out and took hold of her arm.

'If you wish to see me and speak to me, yes.'

'Who are you?' She asked.

'My name is Eragon, son of none. I grew up in the far north in a small town between the mountains of the spine.' He replied. 'And what is your name?'

'I am Arya of Du Weldenvarden.' She replied after slight hesitation. 'You say you wish to rescue me. How?'

'I will figure something out when the time is right.' Eragon replied cryptically. 'First I need to get to where you are. I currently reside in Teirm.'

'But you are standing right before me.' Arya replied in confusion.

'This is my spirit you are talking to. My physical, living body lies in a bed in Teirm right now.' When her look of confusion held he added 'it's complicated'. His ability may have gotten stronger over the last few days, but it was nowhere near a sustainable level yet. 'I must go now. Tomorrow I will return. Stay strong, Arya.'

Brom stared at his breakfast as if he willed it to break into a thousand small pieces, angrily poking at the semolina sludge that the innkeeper had given to him. Eragon also wasn't feeling the appetite, but that had to do more with the fact his body was demanding dinner instead. Those things happened nowadays.

"Jeod has heard nothing. I have no clue where to go from here." Brom eventually said, not looking up from his plate.

Eragon dropped the bombshell he had been waiting for a couple of days now. "I do."

Immediately Brom looked up. "You do? Why didn't you bother to tell me earlier?"

"Because you spent the last three days from dawn till dusk locked up with your merchant buddy. There really was no opportunity for me to do so." Brom huffed in response. "They captured an elf by the name of 'Arya' and currently have her locked up in Gil'ead. We must go and rescue her."

Brom's look darkened. "If it is truly her, yes we must."

"Do you know her?" Eragon asked, genuinely curious.

"I knew of her, but that is not important now. What is important is that she carries knowledge Galbatorix would really like to get his hands on. This will be your first decision as a free rider, Eragon. If you choose to free this elf, you actively oppose the king." Brom replied. The unsaid question had lingered in the air for weeks. Eragon had already made his decision long ago.

"We must free her." He said, rising from the table. Something akin to pride shone in Brom's eyes.

"I was hoping you would make that decision. Know that I fully support it. Let us be off then, Eragon. If we want to succeed we must make good time. Gil'ead is far." Not much later they had paid the innkeeper for their breakfast and retrieved their horses.

'Saphira, it is time to go.' Eragon said, communicating mind to mind.

'Yes. Let's go save an elf.' She replied. Eragon looked up and saw her soar high above. To anyone who didn't know better she looked like a bird, a mere silhouette against a distant sun. When they had cleared the farmlands around Teirm and were certain they were alone, Eragon rode up next to Brom.

"We need to devise a plan." He said as their horses galloped over the road, grass and trees zipping by on either side.

"It's a prison break-out. How much of a plan do you need?" Brom replied.

"Surely we are not going to run in blades drawn?" Eragon asked.

"No. Not we. You are. I will cover your escape." The rider looked at him in bewilderment.

"You will not be joining me?" He asked, not quite able to hide the apprehensiveness in his voice. Brom smiled a weary smile.

"I am old, Eragon, although I might not look it. I can defend myself if need be, but staging a breakout is far beyond me. Besides, it will be a good opportunity to put Icarus's lessons to the test. If it will put your mind at ease, I shall spar with you every night as well until we reach Gil'ead." The prospect was indeed calming and Eragon accepted gracefully.

By nightfall they had found a secluded spot to set up camp. After Brom had set him down for the mandatory lessons in reading, writing and the ancient language, he walked over to their packs and opened one of his. From it, he pulled a fearsome-looking blade. The sheath was jet black with little in the way of ornamentation, but the guard was hewn from some sort of gold and the handle made from silver wrap. The sword appeared to ooze power, its very appearance intimidating even before drawn from its sheath. The blade was stained a crimson red, the same color as the ruby set in its pommel.

"What sword is that?" Eragon asked.

"Its name is Zar'roc. Or 'Misery' in the common tongue. It belonged to rider who is no more and through a very interesting tale I will tell another time it ended in my possession."

"Why don't you use your own sword?" Eragon inquired.

"Because I fear it will stand no chance against the craftsmanship of your own blades. At least this sword offers me a little reassurance. Besides, I will not be saddened if it does end up being destroyed." He replied. Eragon wondered why that was. Something like that surely must be worth a fortune and then some.

"Hand me your blades please." Brom said, extending both hands. When Eragon looked at him questioningly the old man frowned. "Hurry please. I need to magically dull the blades, lest someone will get hurt." Understanding dawned in Eragon. Having sparred with Icarus over and over, sustaining numerous injuries he had forgotten Brom lacked the luxury if instantaneous healing. Without much ceremony he drew Aurora and Umbra and handed them over. Brom muttered some words under his breath while slowly moving his hands over the cold steel. "That should do it." He remarked, handing the blades back.

They both took positions, swords at the ready. Then, with a quick lunge on Brom's side, the match started. Much unlike the first time they had sparred like this, Eragon caught it with ease, throwing the blade off. He made to follow up with a horizontal cut, one that Icarus had repeatedly told him not to do. Indeed Brom seized the opportunity and lunged for his exposed stomach. It was only by sheer agility Eragon avoided getting skewered.

Silently berating himself he sidestepped another one of Brom's swings and gathered his wits about him again. Something seemed different from when they first sparred. Sure, Brom was a formidable opponent, but today he seemed slower. Almost sluggish. His blows did not land as hard or as fast as he was used to. As their sparring session went on he found himself not tiring as quickly either. After they had traded what felt like a thousand blows Brom finally managed to find a large enough gap in his guard and Eragon found himself at sword-point. "I win." The old man said, breathing hard. "But you have improved by leaps and bounds."

Eragon in comparison found himself only slightly worn and could have easily gone for another bout. "Icarus?" He said, hoping the spirit would answer. It was silent for a moment as Brom stared at him kind of strangely. Brom's breathing seemed to slow down further and further. Eventually it came to a complete standstill.

"Yes?"

"Have you been doing unnatural things to my body?"

"Please clarify."

"Most of the time I spent awake I have either been sitting on chairs or in a saddle. At first I shrugged it off as nothing, but before I couldn't hope to hold against Brom for more than ten minutes of non-stop combat. Why is it that I barely feel tired now?" Icarus smiled. It should have been a comforting gesture, but on him it looked rather unsettling with those unnatural eyes and powerful wings.

"Well, energy spent in here," he said, tapping against his head, "is taken from the body regardless. I took the… liberty… of redirecting it into something useful. What is the point to training after all if your endurance does not increase as you do it? I hope you do not mind."

Eragon shook his head. "I don't. Just… tell me next time, ok?"

"I promise nothing, but your request has been noted. Say your farewells to Brom for now. We must continue your training." With those words Icarus was gone. He looked at the old man opposite him and all was quiet for a few moments.

"Did he answer?" Brom eventually asked.

"Yes. He told me what I wanted to know." Eragon replied, choosing not to elaborate right now. "He also told me it's time for more training and say goodbye for now."

"You know that for me it passes in the blink of an eye right?" Brom said.

"Perhaps, but for me it doesn't and all this time-bending is beginning to worm its way into my head. Goodbye, Brom."

After he said the words the world around him turned black for a few moments until he found himself looking at Icarus's distinctive eyes instead of Brom's simple brown ones. When he looked around himself this time however, he did not see the familiar stone room. Instead he found himself standing on a small stone island in the middle of a sea of clouds. Between the misty shrouds more rocks protruded, breaking the white with hues of grey and green.

"Where are we?" Eragon asked.

"High up." Was Icarus's cryptic reply.

"How high?" The winged man picked up a rock and threw it over the edge. It took a full forty counts until the distinctive clack of rock hitting rock resounded from a place far away.

"High." Icarus drew his own versions of Aurora and Umbra. "Now that you have the rudimentary basics of your weapons down, it's time to get started on your foot-work." Eragon looked around. The small islands that dotted the 'landscape' seemed in no way suitable for fighting.

"What if I fall?" He asked.

"Learning is a painful experience." Icarus replied with a smirk. "Now then, listen close. Until now I have made you use predetermined steps that maximize the potential of every swing. Sometimes, however," he said, gesturing around, "The landscape does not permit such. Nothing is as unpredictable as the battlefield and you must learn to adapt to what happens around you. Unfortunately the only way to master this is experience. Join me, Eragon." Icarus said as he walked towards the edge of their small island.

Between this island and the next a wooden beam perhaps one foot in width lay perched above the deadly abyss below. With confidence Icarus stepped onto it and walked a good distance, remaining perfectly balanced as he went. When he was hallway between the two islands he turned to face Eragon again and nodded.

The young rider walked towards the edge, staring at the wood that was the only thing between him and a thousand foot fall. He did not delude himself. He would fall. Many, many times he would fall. Taking a deep breath he straightened his back and stepped onto the wood. All his senses became hyper-aware. The wind that had at first felt like a sultry gaze now seemed almost gale-force. With the entirety of his being he had to fight the urge to look down.

It took him the better part of a minute, but eventually Eragon stood opposite Icarus. By now he had learned and gracefully he bent to his teacher. If anything it appeared to put the spirit in a better mood that was less likely to leave the pupil in agony for longer than absolutely necessary. Icarus nodded in approval and entered his signature opening stance Eragon had gotten familiar with over the last few weeks.

As such the first swing did not catch Eragon off guard, but it hit hard enough to throw him off balance. With a smile Icarus stepped forward and with the slightest push threw him over the edge. Soon he broke through the cloud layer to see the ground hurdling at him at a terrifying speed. Eragon closed his eyes. This would be a loooooong training session.

By the time he was chowing his dinner down Eragon had lost count of how many times Icarus had 'accidentally' dropped him. Sure, by the end of their eight hours he had gotten a lot better, copying many of the movements he saw Icarus do. There were, however, only so many times bones could be broken before the pain remained. Even in the waking world.

'Come now, surely it doesn't hurt so badly.' Saphira said.

'You should try being flattened against rock eighty times and say that again.' Eragon replied, too grumpy about it to mind his manners.

'Why would I ever be flattened against the rocks? I am a dragon. Dragons don't do falling, much less flattening.' Was her equally grumpy reply.

'Sometimes I wish I could fly just like you.' Eragon woefully said after a while.

'I see no reason why not. I am strong enough now. As my rider my wings belong to you as much as they do to me.' Eragon was heartened at her words. Almost exited. Yet Icarus had beaten him into a pulp so efficiently he couldn't bring himself to voice his feelings. Saphira, however, seemed to have grasped them just fine as she lowered her head into his lap and softly hummed.

Brom, who had taken the time to listen to his laments, looked at him with a mixture of pity and amusement. Rolling his eyes Eragon rubbed his sore arms and fell back on his bedroll. "How many more days until we reach Gil'ead?" He asked.

"Two or so." Was the flat reply as Brom turned away from him and prodded the fire.

"Brom?" Eragon said.

"Hmm." Was the gruff reply.

"Say that Saphira and I wanted to fly. Do you think it would be possible?" He asked.

"I don't see why not. Usually the dragon is a bit older than Saphira is now when they take their rider for their first flight. It appears, however, she is growing at an exceptional rate. I think it would be safe to do so." He said, keeping his eyes trained on the flames in front of him. Shifting his gaze from them to Eragon he added "You will need a saddle, however. Perhaps we can… erm… 'acquire' some leather when we leave Gil'ead. That way some of the empire's resources will actually be put to good use. We will probably be leaving in a rush anyways."

"Would you know how to make such a saddle?" Eragon asked. Slowly Brom nodded. "Brom, how do you know all of this? I want to believe you, I truly do. Yet for some reason I do not see a mere story teller with knowledge of such intimate details. Not with mysterious swords of silver and gold"

The old man sighed. "I knew this moment was inevitable from the moment you told me about her." He said, gesturing to the glittering blue mass resting next to Eragon's bedroll. "Hand me the water skin please." Eragon did as asked and handed it over.

Brom poured a bit of water over his right hand and diligently scrubbed. Curiously Eragon watched as a yellow ochre-like substance began to detach from Brom's skin, forming a clay in his palm. With a bit more water he washed that away as well and held out his hand to Eragon. What he saw shocked him.

There, in the middle of his hand, shone the same silver mark that brandished Eragon's hand as well. "You are a rider." Eragon whispered in astonishment.

"I was a rider." Brom replied sadly. "My dragon died in the carnage ensuing Galbatorix's ascension to power." There it was again, that haunting sadness. Suddenly Eragon knew why he had seen that look so many times before. Each time he saw him interact with Saphira Brom must have been looking at a reflection of himself. He felt the urge to walk over and hug Brom, but decency kept him from doing it.

"What was its name?" He asked instead.

"Her name." Brom said, letting silence reign for a few moments, "was Saphira."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

"Don't blame yourself, Eragon. You had no way of knowing. Besides, Saphira chose her name herself, so I can hardly accuse you of stealing it. Though I must admit the resemblance between her and my dragon is… uncanny at times."

'May I speak with him?' Saphira asked Eragon. Relaying the message Brom nodded in agreement. He watched as Saphira's blue mass rose from the earth and trotted over to Brom. They stared at one another for a few moment, no doubt sharing a conversation silent to everyone but them. Then she lowered her head and affectionately pressed it to Brom's chest.

Deciding to leave them be, Eragon reclined on his bedroll again, mulling over the revelation Brom had shared with him and he knew it must have taken a great deal of trust. He looked at the stars overhead and mumbled the words he had so often the last few days.

"Between subtle shading and the absence of light lies the nuance of illusion."

He found himself in a dimly lit hallway. Next to him he heard a heavy door slam shut. Turning to see who it was he found himself rooted to the ground. There, dressed in royal robes embroidered with gold stood none other than the shade Durza, his long, crimson hair cascading down his shoulders. With quick steps he made his way over. For a moment Eragon panicked, but then he realized the shade could not see him and merely moved to the side to avoid contact.

When Durza moved past him, however, he halted himself. His maroon eyes scanned the hallway until they trained directly on Eragon. Ever so slowly a deathly pale hand reached out to where he stood. Unconsciously Eragon backed off, going straight through the wall behind him in the process. Durza's hand kept going until it met the solid rock of the wall. The shade apparently decided he must have been seeing things and moved on, but not before casting one last look over his shoulder.

Eragon waited until he was certain Durza was gone before moving into the cell he had seen the shade leave. Sure enough there was Arya, chained up as usual. Fresh tear stains marred her pale, beautiful skin as she heaved deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. Reaching out to her he brushed his hand ever so lightly against hers. Immediately her eyes shot up. After a few moments her breathtaking green orbs found his unusual violet and azure ones. "The shade, he is your torturer?" Eragon inquired. She nodded. "You must stay strong, Arya. In three days, that is when I will get you away from this place. Away from him."

"If you keep saying such things I may start to forget you are but an illusion." She said, her words barely more than a whisper.

"I am no illusion, iet ramr, my strong one. I have told you so many times and will continue to do so. Although in three days' time you will have no choice but to believe me." He added with a snicker. Eragon sat down against the opposite wall, his foot lightly touching hers. It was the least invasive to her privacy that way. "What can you tell me of this place, Arya? Anything, no matter how unimportant you think it is, tell me. It might help me rescue you."

"Even if you are not a figment of my imagination, you cannot rescue me. Durza guards these dungeons. Even I cannot hope to defeat him." She replied.

"Do not presume to know what I can and cannot do. I am a dragon rider after all." He said, presenting his right hand to her. Something sparkled in her eyes when she saw the mark on his hand.

"Did the story teller, the elf friend give it to you? After I sent it to him?" She asked.

Eragon was astounded. If the elf was strong enough to teleport an egg through Alagaesia, who knew what other knowledge and power she held. "Actually, you missed. I found it and it was only through sheer luck Brom ended up knowing about it. He is on his way also you know."

Arya chewed her lip. "Two companions of mine are trapped here also. Faolin and Glenwing are their names. You must rescue them also." Eragon nodded. "Durza feeds us a special poison, Skilna Bragh, every morning and the antidote at night. It's his way of ensuring we do not escape alive. We elves can enter a kind of hibernation to slow it, but you will have to gather the antidote or get us to a place that has it fast. You must inquire for Tunivor's nectar. In free Alagaesia I know of only two places. My home, the northern forests or at the heart of the Dwarven kingdom, in Tronjheim,"

"Do you have a preference?" He asked, guessing she would rather wake in her home beneath lush green trees than in a cold cave.

Arya hesitated for a moment. "Take us to Tronjheim." She was silent for a few moments. "It is closer." Eragon could tell it wasn't the whole truth, but nodded anyways. He could feel the substantial drain on his energy beginning to take its toll again.

"I must go now Arya. Stay strong for me. I shall come to you one hour before your breakout."


Maezan - Hmmm, yes... very interesting indeed. Perhaps I will have Eragon become Arya's senior by many years. It would make for a fun change in pace, don't you think? Or should I perhaps not be that cruel. He is, after all, already going to get his heart gouged out by Faolin several times over. I am happy you find the magic to be 'balanced' (for lack of a better word). It takes extraordinary effort to plan that stuff out and take into account all the consequences. Especially considering Eragon needs to not be OP after 27 new abilities. As for that last line, I also don't know if you read too much into that xD. It was not deliberate, but I kinda just write down the things that come to me, so maybe it subconsciously was.

David727- Yay new review! You will learn more about the boy and his mother when Eragon passes the trial by fire the mother is going to give to him. It will be soon, so do not fret, little one. Murtagh will indeed be in this story. In fact, maybe he will even make an appearance next chapter. Maybe so will Roran. More lore on Icarus will indeed be following as soon as the momentum of the story permits it again, most likely during a lull when they arrive in Tronjheim. We will see ;)

Tamerlore85 - Poeh, I will try to go through them in order. Indeed his mind will, in time, grow to be far older than his body. As a result he will indeed be a lot less naive than in the books, especially with someone like Icarus as his guide. When Icarus calls Eragon forth to train, he literally stops time. That means this is happening before Eragon goes to sleep and it is all happening inside his mind. When Icarus releases him he returns to the present - meaning right before he was going to fall asleep anyways. What that does to his body you found out in this chapter ;) (maybe i read this review before writing the chapter)

ThantosOG - Well, here's the next one. I am glad to hear you like the concept of the magic. It took me a whole of seven minutes of brainstorming to come up with it ;p. More cool abilities to hopefully follow in the future.

Ky111 - A lot of those things you 'forget' about tend not to become apparent until its too late, so I am trying to put in the extra effort to avoid that from happening. "Plot-hole detected of the starboard bow!"~ some unfortunate sci-fi writer. (maybe me).

booklover1798 - Well, this chapter was a bit long in the coming, but at least it's here now. The next one will not take so long I hope, so you will not have to wait as long.

Mad hatter - Stop being spot on with pointing out my reasons for having things the way they are! xD. There was no significant reason. I might come up with a name later when the mother does her thing, but I am really bad with names for children so I decided to try and bluff my way around it. Shows how well that went I guess... Indeed their meetings now will significantly impact the way their relation works later on, but you will find out about that when the time comes.

HomoForElmo - I know, it's late. Master, please don't steal Dobby's sock :'( It is our only possession. College students are poor, poor people, not capable of buying new underwear.

Vizual-Era - Wow, what parties have you been going to and why was I not invited xD. Anyways, I hope that is why your brain didn't work rather than stress. It's good to know that despite that, at least the chapter was pleasing enough to read. Cheers!

Elemental Ninja 1608 - Well, I'm guessing you caught up to present by now and found a number of questions answered and found new ones to replace them. That's how I roll after all ;). I hope you are still with us and to see you next chapter!