Don't think. Don't decide. Just walk the path life sets before you.
...It's a lot harder than it sounds.
If you can succeed. If you aren't distracted. It can be a journey of self discovery and revelation as your subconscious takes over.
Eragon found himself in the strangest of places. Sometimes Saphira was with him, sometimes not. She had her own path to walk.
The hardest part of it all, was to not walk away, when fate told him to stay.
He waited, leaning against a tree. And waited. And waited. Finally, fate released him from its bonds and he walked away, seeking respite from that place.
The place of his worst memories... But he couldn't shake the feeling, the inevitable, crushing sensation, that this stream-lined glade was not finished with him yet.
In later hours, he saw many of the hidden wonders of Ellesmera. Things he had missed, on his earlier passings. There was so much to see. This forest was ever changing, growing, becoming more.
At one point he watched an elf spinning a vase. Slowly but masterfully crafting it to her will. When she noticed him looking she offered him a try.
He failed miserably. It was, in short, a lot harder than it looked. She just laughed with mirth and spun it, quickly restoring it to an excellent state.
In another moment he joined some in painting. Yet again he was outclassed, but he did not give up. No, his path had not bidden him to... not yet.
"Rhunon. Atra esterni ono thelduin"
She ignored him. Eragon watched in silence as she hammered a plate of steel. With his eyes, trained by practice with the sword, he could see that her blows were not measured, and the piece soon split in two.
It was painful to watch. More that it would have been, because he knew it was his fault.
"You lost it."
Eragon flinched at the sound of her voice.
She turned, her wiry muscles shaking. "You lost it, another blade to go to him. To be used to kill and forge destruction, until it outlives its use and then... then... he will destroy it."
As she trembled, Eragon realised just how much her works meant to her. She would have robbed herself of the greatest pleasures when she made her oath. In his mind, the swords she had wrought were her greatest works of all.
She sobbed silently, hiding it against the glow of the forge. "How did it happen?"
"Murtagh... the son of Morzan... he took it. The sword should match the dragon, as you once said. Zar'roc does match his."
When she was silent, he spoke on. "I know nothing I can say deserves it. But please accept my apology. Fate may have willed this so, but I do not intend to let it be forever."
Rhunon returned her gaze to the forge. "I will accept it when you recover it from him."
Just like before, Eragon could think of no way to change the subject. So... he left. But he swore to himself that he would, one day, return her children back to her.
---
---
Eventually, like the last time he had taken this path, he ended up at the menoa tree. Saphira had waited for him there, hanging her body over one of the great branches.
Eragon climbed to join her, using the ridges in the bark as handholds, then finally leaping from branch to branch till he reached his destination.
To all that walked by, it was an interesting sight. Rider and dragon, both resting, waiting, as the sun fled and the moon rose.
"My favourite sight."
Eragon and Saphira turned their heads to see Maud, sitting on a branch just above. She was in her human-like form, as a nude girl covered in matted hair. Her mouth was curved into a dangerous grin, and her eyes shone with twilight.
"For many I think."
"Aye." She replied.
I prefer the moon. Said Saphira.
The werecat cocked her head. "Do you now? Do you know why?
Not really.
Maud chuckled. It was a strange sound. I do...
"... ..."
She turned her shaggy head to Eragon. "Hmm? You have a question?"
"You already know it, that was all I wanted to know."
"And therefore, I have answered it."
It was a strange feeling Eragon felt then, as he looked back at the moon. He remembered feeling it before, a change in the wind, a tremor in the ground. The all powerful feeling of fate collapsing in on itself, all over again.
Perhaps Saphira felt it too, because at that moment she spoke again. ...Why are you here?
Maud grinned. It gave the impression she had been waiting for those words all along.
"Fate." Said the werecat.
Then why are we here?
"The same reason as I. So I could speak and you would listen."
Eragon raised an eyebrow. "Why? Because you want to, or because fate dictates that you should?"
The werecat ruffled her mane. "When you must find the lost cavern, begin your search with your first great treasure."
Maud waited while the words sunk in, then she leapt from the tree and out of sight. By the time she was visible again, all Eragon could see was the slim figure of a cat, walking away with its tail held high.
Because, Shadeslayer, I will enjoy seeing her reaction.
---
---
For the life of me, I cannot figure out what she meant by that.
Saphira landed in the treehouse moments before thunder struck, and rain began pouring down.
You, we... are not meant to. At least not yet.
Eragon grunted and went to seal up the rest of their home. And then, as if realising what he had just done, Eragon sighed in boredom. What do we do now?
Saphira grinned and nudged him.
He turned, then followed her gaze.
What are y... oh, definatly.
She happily padded after him as he entered their kitchen.
Eragon stood in front of the barrels and cleared his throat, as if making a speech.
I enchanted each of these differently. He presented the first barrel. This is the one you tasted last night, and has some of the heaviest enchantments on it. Its purpose, as you might have figured, is to be strong enough to make even a dragon drunk.
Also, I made it taste nicer than usual and did my best to null any effects it would have... He gulped. ...the next morning.
Saphira shuddered with the memory.
Livening up, he moved to the next barrel. These two I actually enchanted the same. Sweeter, slightly stronger, and much less on the negative effects, its almost like regular faelnirv.
Eragon opened one, and let her take a sip before closing it again.
Do you like it?
His reward was a pleased smile and a lick on the cheek.
This last one is the most special. Unlike the other ones, this will not get anyone drunk. Regular faelnirv has a few special properties. It gives energy, sharpens the senses and focuses the mind.
Eragon tapped the barrel with his knuckles. This version is much more potent.
Saphira looked at him expectantly, but he just laughed.
I would give you some, but you wouldn't sleep tonight.
She still pouted.
Reaching underneath a bench, he retrieved a massive wooden jug. We're still going to have fun yet!
She roared in appreciation.
---
---
A while later, Eragon rested on Saphira's side while sipping faelnirv. The strong stuff.
He took another gulp, then put the jug back on the floor. Saphira dipped her tongue into the liquid and lapped up a mouthful.
...Eragon sighed. Maybe it was the fact that he was relaxed, listening to the rain. Maybe it was the liquor, pulling the chords in his head. But either way, he felt an unimaginable calm rush through him. Right now, this room had an ultimate sense of peace.
...And this time, he didn't have to ruin it.
Saphira seemed to feel as he did, and she began humming.
To her, it was merely a tune she had known for as long as she could remember. She had sung it for her first time when Eragon guessed her name. But now, in this moment, he knew it as well as she did.
He was no great singer, but he joined in anyway. As the words grew steadily stronger in his mind, he sung, letting her sing the tune in her own beautiful way. Her voice was alone in that way, but they were in tune together as no amount of practice would bring.
Past the trees
Over the grass
Enter the cave
Of dragons' past
Little one, why won't you hatch for me?
Your brothers are waiting
Waiting for you to shake
Waiting for you to rattle
Waiting for your egg to break
Little one, I'm waiting for you to hatch for me.
For those who weren't free
Those that I did lay
My child, your time is almost up
It's the chosen day
Little one, I beg you to hatch for me...
I can smell them coming
I can see his scales against the sky
You didn't hatch, so they'll take you
My daughter... I don't understand why.
Little one, your last chance to hatch for me.
Eragon paused, waiting for the words to come again. But when they did, he wasn't the one to speak them. Both he and Saphira slipped into a trance, dipping into the fey strains of ancient magic. The voice that rose in his throat wasn't his nor Saphira's, but melodic tones born of the dragon tongue. As the trance deepened, power took him, and a dark haze slipped over his eyes.
But when the haze cleared, he saw a sight through eyes different to his own.
Past the trees
Over the grass
The world shifted around him. It fell, giving him a bird's eye view beside flapping wings. A cave approached in the distance.
Enter the cave
Of dragons' past
He entered the darkness. Within it was a great nest. A dragon rested in the middle. As he entered the dragon, a female, looked up at him. She cradled a sapphire egg within her paws.
Little one, why won't you hatch for me?
Eragon's vision clouded over again.
Your brothers are waiting
Waiting for you to shake
As his sight cleared he looked down to his amethyst paws, where the egg was cradled between. Two baby dragons sat by his side, prodding it occasionally, as if trying to free their sister from her prison. A third snuggled against Eragon's side.
Waiting for you to rattle
Waiting for your egg to break
Eragon looked up. In front of him was a huge diamond scaled dragon. He was surveying the nest and smiling. Taking in every image of his family.
Little one, I'm waiting for you to hatch for me.
For those who weren't free
Those that I did lay
Eragon watched from the side this time, looking on as she turned the egg over and over in her paws.
My child, your time is almost up
It's the chosen day
She breathed a gush of flame on the egg, warming it, alighting its aquamarine depths, trying to push it along.
Little one, I beg you to hatch for me...
I can smell them coming
I can see his scales against the sky
Eragon looked out of the cave, and into the sky where a diamond dragon floated on the wind.
You didn't hatch, so they'll take you
My daughter... I don't understand why.
As the dragon landed before him, and an elf dismounted from its back, Eragon pulled the egg closer to himself, desperately whispering, begging it to come to life...
Little one, your last chance to hatch for me.
Your father tries to comfort me
But I won't look him in the eye
All he could look at was the elf. Just watch in silent agony as he took the egg away. My child... no...
His rider took away your egg
And I broke down to cry
Eragon looked away, to the depths of the dark cave. Tears began to well in his eyes.
Little one, why wouldn't you hatch for me?
...Days have passed
Your brothers have grown
But I still look to the sky
Hoping to see again the daughter of my own
Eragon looked at the dragonlings scampering around the nest, and felt a hidden pride. But every now and again he gazed into the sky, secretly hoping to see a flash of sapphiric blue.
Little one, I still don't know, why wouldn't you hatch for me?
Years gone past, the world grows dark
Now we fight to live
So many have fallen, we dragons are dieing
We don't have much left to give.
Eragon watched in horror as a brown dragon and its rider cut down dragon after dragon that entered their path. As he watched, three fell from the sky in a burst of blade, talon and blood.
Their screams ripped through the sky.
The brown dragon flapped closer, closer to the cave, closer to the dragon's nest, where new eggs lay.
As long as she had breath, Vervada would never let that happen. The clouds tore as she plunged through them, slamming her amethyst hide into the betraying shur'tugal.
Little one, was this why you didn't hatch for me?
My blood drains, for I am spent
Broken shells lie all around
My last breath comes, I'll die too
Blood is mixing across the ground
As the vision returned one last time he was greeted with a shocking sight.
The traitor dragon and his rider, both impaled against the sharp spars of the cliff wall. Though, they had been killed by their attacker long before their bodies were dragged onto the stony daggers.
Flies were already attacking the corpses. Swarming around the giant globes of blood that fell to the ground far below.
Eragon turned away, unable to watch the gruesome sight. As he went to enter the cave, he heard a ragged gasp. Within, Vervada lay in a pool of her own blood. Beside her head, the multicoloured fragments of broken shells. Even as he looked on, tears still leaked into the mix.
He could do nothing but watch as she continued to bleed, her beautiful features obscured by the great rents where her flesh had been torn.
As her breaths became less and less, he felt himself being swept away. In the darkness, her melodic voice spoke one last time.
My Saphira... I'm glad you didn't hatch for me.
And the storm cleaver died.
---
---
Even as his mind woke, the dragon's song still echoed in his mind.
Saphira shifted behind him. In his minds eye, he saw her look into the distance, as if trying to understand what had just happened.
Seeking respite, he got up and removed the covering on the exit. Cold wind rushed in, and he sighed in satisfaction as the water struck his skin.
Saphira broke from her trance, and joined him at the door.
...Lets go out.
She turned to look at him, droplets of rain dripping from her muzzle. What?
Lets go out, lets go for a walk.
In the rain?
Because of the rain.
She leant her head to the side, considering it. Ok, lets go then.
Eragon began walking outward, then stopped. Just a second. He quickly got changed, getting dressed in nothing but light clothing and strapping Kroxis to his side. No gloves, belt or anything else. Not tonight, tonight he could handle some mud between his toes.
Next, he picked up the half empty jug of faelnirv to take a sip of it, and gave a shudder of excitement as he felt its effects engulf his veins.
Last, with Saphira's consent, he poured the rest down her throat. Her limbs twitched with energy, and a bubbly personality seemed to fight its way to the surface.
Can we go now! It wasn't really a question.
Eragon chuckled. Yep.
He grabbed the bony spine of her cheekbone and pulled her through the precipice, entering the cool embrace of water.
Saphira jumped of the edge while he sealed the door, and then leapt after her.
It was a marvellous sight, to watch rain fall around. Eragon fell only slightly slower than it, so he saw it in a different light as millions of droplets slowly worked their way past. Large raindrops, small raindrops, all rippling, at every conceivable height, falling just beside him. Each and every one capturing their own light, leaving Eragon in a maelstrom of colour.
As the ground drew ever closer, he called upon magic to slow his decent, and he touched down lightly beside Saphira.
For the second time today, they walked.
They were in a maze, for they could not see in the oppressive rain when it was coupled with darkness so, even with Saphira's night vision. A few times they nearly walked into a trees as they seemed to appear before them.
But nevertheless, he had a destination in mind, one outside the darkness of tree cover, to allow the light of the moon. A reward for having left the warmth of the city, as he slowly led her out of Ellesmera.
Eragon wasn't entirely sure why or when it happened, but at some point they began singing again. Even though these words had no power in them, something still felt strange. In later days, he would still remember the songs they sung.
The song of Ravana, the black dragon. He was born in death, into a prejudiced world. He suffered for his whole life, until, finally, he found a mate who was like him, and who would take him as he was. They found solace for a time, until those who still wore the prejudice came and destroyed all he cared for. Both mate and eggs.
The song of the dark-eyed swordsman. He had fought to win and lose, had loved and lost, whose fate was as twisted as Eragon's own. But the song stopped half way through, as if unfinished.
When they found they could not continue it, they sang of the storyteller. He had walked a cursed existence, destined to give everything away in sacrifice for others, even his own life. But even after death he was not finished his story and, like its brother, the words would not come... yet.
Eragon paused in his stride, taking a moment to wipe wet hair from his eyes. He looked to Saphira, whose body caught both the rain and far off moon. Her figure was bathed in ethereal light. And from what he could tell, Saphira could see the same from him.
After a few more moments they began again, venturing into the darkness with a song in their hearts.
The next was of the rider Acuio. Both he and his dragon were scorned by the point of their affections, but in the end, they found more love within each other than they could ever have hoped for.
Moments after those lyrics finished they began to sing of the silver dragon Skade. She had found family, and lost it. Found a home, and had it destroyed. She found a friend, and was betrayed. She had even found love, but she had to give it away. In the end, she sook out respite and something that may have been no more than a dream.
Both sung in perfect timing, perfect accuracy. The words never slipped away. After that of Skade, they sung of a man possessed by spirits. Not a shade, not quite. But completely obsessed by an ideal, enough to will himself to ruin the life of a family, by trying to take their only child away.
We're here.
Saphira blinked and looked up. In front of her was a lake, one of the few around Ellesmera. It stretched wide, creating a great gap between the trees. The surface constantly rippled, moving to the beat of the weeping sky.
But the truly magnificent feature was the light of the moon, caught at random moments by the lake, making it look like thousands of jewels shining with rainbow light.
Its... beautiful.
Eragon smiled. I hoped you'd like it.
She slowly entered the water, creating only thin lines on its surface. I don't like it... I love it.
He took off his shirt as well as removing Kroxis and slipped into the water. He was already soaked, so he didn't feel a rush of cold on his flesh. No, he felt heated as the warmer water of the lake touched him.
It gave him an idea.
Saphira?
Yes? She asked cheerfully.
Can you heat this place up a bit?
As she reached deeper parts of the lake, she swam a few strokes before opening her maw to the water. A great cloud of steam rose as she breathed, and the water quickly became warm, bordering on hot.
Eragon grinned and disappeared underwater.
Saphira finished breathing and closed her mouth, then turned to where he had been. Eragon?
She suddenly lurched as she felt familiar fingers attack her stomach. She dived deep under, and when his presence still didn't go away, she leapt out into the air. Eragon held on until she rose twenty feet, then leapt and dived back into the water.
Eragon! That wasn't fair!
He resurfaced and stuck his tongue out at her.
In reply she dived back in as well, showering him in the splash. She shot through the water, grabbing Eragon and pulling him under.
As she held him underneath, they stared at each-other, meeting the challenge. Saphira was looking him with an expression of 'lets see you get out of this.'
Eragon smirked widely, and reached out with his arm, touching her in what had been clearly defined in Oromis's scrolls as... a sexual point.
Out of shock she released him, and he kicked to the surface.
ERAGON!
He laughed out loud as she poked her head out of the water, a rosy blush spreading across her cheeks.
You... YOU...
Are blushing up a storm. Said Eragon, trying not to laugh. I didn't know you had that much blood.
She yelped and immediately pulled her head under until only her eyes were visible. Ooooh you're gonna pay.
Eragon only laughed more. Not yet, there's something I want to show you.
He swam out to her and lifted her head up out of the water, enough to balance himself on her. As he did, the rain moved on, giving them a few moments of peace. Above, the moon shone brighter than ever.
Saphira gave him a questioning look as momentarily scrubbed his scarred palm.
What are you...
Shh. I'll show you. He raised the his arm to the sky. As the light flickered on his palm, the dragon mark became dark, as if absorbing the light.
It was doing just that. Eragon held it high for several moments before bringing it down. He held it before them both, and whispered a single word. "Saphira..."
Eragon felt a strange feeling as his body reacted to the magic he had imprinted on himself. A rush of heat ran through him, and the scar lit up in a sapphire glow.
It was true that the dragon was merely a scar, but it held a greater meaning to them both. The colour matched Saphira's scales perfectly, but shone with the light of the heavens.
Eragon... what... why...
He smiled happily. This was something he'd wanted to explain for a while now. This is the symbol of my devotion to you. I have the gedwey ignasia, but that only means I am a rider. This... this means I am your rider.
Saphira stared at it, entranced by its gentle glow. It will only shine strongly in moonlight, and then, only when I think of you. He took a short breath. ...Do you remember when I was scarred all over? You said you thought it was artistic. You enjoyed the fact that I was a bit more like yourself. Well... now I am even more so. Forever.
She seemed awestruck, she looked at him, then back to his palm. Leaning in, she pushed her nose into it, nuzzling the symbol embeddened in his skin.
A shock ran down Eragon's arm, like a bolt of lightning had struck him. Saphira felt something also. The all to familiar feeling she always felt when she touched that palm, but magnified tenfold. And yet she still could not understand what it was.
Above, a bolt of real lightning struck, and both let themselves sink into the water before the cold hit them. Underneath, they both opened their eyes, both illuminated by the fey symbol, which was suddenly glowing brighter than ever.
Saphira's eyes went wide. It was more than what she saw, it was also what she felt at that moment. What had grazed her flesh. Their eyes locked on each-other, and she swore that at that moment, his held something different entirely. They were not as they had always been, but she knew those eyes.
Moments later, Eragon swam up for breath, and the image faded. But Saphira stayed under, not really breathing at all right now. She tried to comprehend it all.
Had it really happened? Was it all just a trick of the light? Had she not seen what she thought she had?
But what about what she had felt? Was that real?
Had she really felt claws softly graze her muzzle? Had she really seen his eyes go thin as they morphed into a dragon's piercing stare?
Had she really seen wings burst from his back, in just that moment?
Well guys, (and girls) you get got an extra long chapter. What do you think of it?
I've got another good one coming, and it'll have a BIG fight scene. And not just that.
As some might have noticed, the songs they sung, (except the first, the one in which they fell into a trance), were references from other stories. In order of appearance they are:
1. Lost dragon - Eragon
2. These black eyes - Teen titans
3. Titans' Song - Teen titans
4. Eragon and Saphira - Eragon
5. Skade - Eragon (sequel to lost dragon)
6. Angela's gift - Eragon
All of the above are an excellent read, and if you're a teen titans fan, the two up there are the best there is.