Sorry for the delay in submitting this chapter, all those who are following this story. I had a major case of writers block and a little thing called life. Anyway, here's a Christmas gift for you all!
Chapter 9, Son of Smith
The young male dwarf watched helplessly from his hiding place as a giant bear attacked and killed his parents.
... Three minutes after ...
The boy opened his eyes. The bear had left. Quickly, he squeezed out of the hole and ran away on his short, five year old legs.
... Three hours after ...
After a few hours of wandering in the brush and snow, the child knew he was lost. He was unable to find his way home. But he kept walking. He was bound to encounter some village sometime, he figured.
... Three days after ...
The young girl dwarf ran into her village. "Mother! Father!" The ten year old cried out. "Draenei is here, but his parents are missing!" Following slowly behind her was the child who saw his parents devoured. He collapsed in the middle of the street, and the girl came back with a lady dwarf.
"What happened to him?" The lady muttered, "He's frozen, ragged, dirty, and half starved!" she took a small cloth from a pocket and dabbed at the boy's forehead. "He has a fever too," she told the girl. "Go, get Angie" The girl nodded and ran to find the human herbalist, who apparently had a distant ancestor by the same name and profession who actually saved Eragon a few times. Or so she said. The girl found Angela and brought her to the boy.
"He's been starved, and may have frostbite and hypothermia" Angie said worriedly. She picked him up. "I will take care of him"
... Three weeks after ...
The dwarf boy sat on a chair and waited patiently while Angie checked his breathing and heart beat. "You're getting much better, Draenei" She said with a smile, then patted his back.
The boy, Draenei, smiled, and jumped down from the stool. "Nana?" He asked the human lady.
"She's with your Uncle Slate," The herbalist replied.
"Go now?" He asked.
"Yes, you can go find your sister"
... Three months after ...
"I don't wanna stay!" He cried. His uncle sent him away - to a place where humans lived. After Draenei had recovered enough, he had told them about the Bear. And now, Uncle Slate had sent him and Nana far far away, so the bears could never touch them. But Draenei didn't want to go live somewhere else. He wanted to stay in the mountains. But alas, he had been able to say nothing to dissuade the adult. So here he was, in the home of a human, a blacksmith, absolutely terrified. And Uncle Slate, the only person left of his childhood, was leaving! He didn't want to stay here alone, but he had to.
"It's okay, Draenei, I will take care of you and your sister" A human woman said with a soft smile.
"No! I wanna go home!" He said angrily, pushing her away.
"It's okay, Draenei, you are safe here."
"Don't wanna stay!" he cried.
"Draenei Stoneface! You suck up and be quiet, now!" The human spoke sternly, and in a no-nonsense way. She meant what she said.
Draenei glared at her, but he was quiet.
"Good. Now, about the rules of this house..."
... Three years after ...
Draenei opened the door to the dwelling excitedly. "Auntie Alice, I'm home!" he said with a smile, then paused. He had called the dwelling home. The first time, it was the first time he had done so. Home was in the mountains, not here. Wasn't it? He shook his head, confused. It was too much for his eight year old brain.
Auntie Alice came into the hallway from the kitchen and found Draenei standing there, with his snow covered boots. "Draenei! What have I said about boots?" She said sternly.
Draenei looked up at her, as if from a trance. "What?" He asked slowly.
"Boots. Off. Now." Alice said, turning and going back into the kitchen and throwing a thick cloth back at him. "And clean the floor"
Draenei nodded and took off his boots, putting them by the side of the door. "Sorry" He called. "I was daydreaming" Kneeling down, he wiped the sludge off the wood floor, careful to keep it from spreading. He didn't want the wood to stain any more than it already was. When he was finished, he brought the cloth back to Auntie Alice. "Auntie, it's been three years"
"Nonsense, you came here in the spring" She replied, kneading a lump of dough.
"Since my parents were killed, Auntie" He said with a frown.
She looked over to him. "Are you going to do this again? Last year, and the year before, you moped around for nearly a week"
"No. I'm eight now. Not a baby. I won't cry" He stood straight.
Alice looked at him with eyes that could pierce souls. "Honey, I know how hard it is for you to relive it every year. You can cry, everyone cries now and then. I just don't want you to get depressed. It's bad for you."
Draenei nodded. "Okay, Auntie" he said, and went to his room.
... Six years after ...
Draenei laughed heartily at his own joke. "And then," He continued, "The lady saw a frog, saying, "Read-it, read-it!""
The group laughed. Eleven years old, Draenei was always the happiest kid in school, ready with a kind word for anyone who needed one. All the kids knew it. Son of the blacksmith, Draenei was so caring and considerate, just like his Aunt Alice. He had learned from her, and learned well.
Draenei found that he enjoyed being well mannered and charismatic, speaking eloquently was still out of his grasp, but he was sure he could master the talent soon.
... Ten years after ...
"Good afternoon, Sir," the now fifteen year old Draenei said to the man. "Do you posses the fee required for entry?" He asked. He was helping his aunt, who was working in the kitchen of a lord. The lord was having a feast, and had invited anyone who was able to pay a certain fee to join the party. He was the fee collector, and all the guests were impressed by his ability to speak so professionally. In the past few centuries, the Dwarfs had become less and less sociable. Something about the increasing rarity of gemstones and the increasing demand by humans for the precious stones. Whatever it was, Draenei didn't know, and frankly, he didn't care.
... Fourteen Years after ...
Draenei Stoneface walked with the rest of the giant group. He figured there must have been more than a thousand people there, all young. Well, young in the case of the Dwarves, Urgals, and Humans. The Elves... Well, he didn't know what counted as young for them. For the rest of them, there was no-one over the age of twenty in that huge group, that he could tell. Stepping onto the ground of the stadium, Draenei looked for the table where the green eggs were. As it was his favorite colour, he could not resist trying to get a green egg to hatch for him. But that table was empty. He looked around. There was a blue egg over there! He walked over to that table, but it was gone by the time he reached it. Draenei sighed and looked around. He looked around. Where...? Ah! Another egg over there! He finally managed to grab an egg. A purple one. He held it for a minute, but nothing happened. He sighed and put it back. It was then that he saw the dark orange egg. Laying discarded on the ground, it was sitting there, just waiting for him to grab it. And so he did. He took the egg in his hands, and felt it tremble. "I cannot express my emotions at this moment" He said quietly, then walked to the human who was presiding over the events. "You are the eighth rider," The man said with a smile. "She and you will make a good team"
Draenei could barely believe it. He sat in the main part of the tent with the other riders-to-be until the human decided it was time to talk to them. Then, the human uncovered a giant sapphire-blue gemstone, more magnificent than any Draenei had ever seen before. The gem seemed to contain the mind of a dragon from the ancient times, and Draenei listened patiently as she talked. When they were allowed to go into the small sections of the tent, Draenei chose one and stepped in with the egg in his arms. He waited for maybe ten minutes, then the egg began to crack. Soon afterwards, it hatched, revealing a stunning hatchling with scales of burnt orange, with amber scale tips and edges.
Draenei smiled and finally accepted the challenge of the role of dragon rider by placing his hand on the dragon's head.
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
A/N: I would also like to ask you to, if you want, help me complete my dragon and rider sheet on chapter 2. It would be much appreciated!
