Thank you for all the comments so far, I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read and rate this fanfic.
The next few chapters are going to delve into the politics and the state of the land, at least one will be from Geran's POV and his family as another source.
As I set the stage for this story I'll remind everyone that "Winter is coming" or some such as season 3 of Game of Thrones has recently premiered and was awesome!
Enjoy.
Chapter 11 – The Marble City
The group passed the next day with relative ease as they finally came in sight of the capital. For the most part Eragon, Arya and Murtaugh had chosen to remain on the ground as the dragons flew high in the sky with the younger Riders. Four of the horses bore Arya, Eragon, Murtaugh and Heimdaln as the two remaining bore their various possessions as the rest of the honour guard kept pace around them. The horses and elves alike setting an easy canter that could be kept up all day without pushing the horses too hard.
The first sign of Ilirea was as a glint on the horizon, the high reaches of the citadel reflecting what little sunlight there was coming through the clouds that had descended on the last leg of their journey. The cold northerly wind brought plummeting temperatures even as they approached what was the Hadarac desert and the sporadic rain forced the group to use spells to keep their clothes dry. At least they were having an easier time of it on the ground than their counterparts in the sky, Eragon had thought grimly more than once.
"….Blodhgarm and I designed the buildings with as much access to the dragons as possible. The Riders' dwellings are positioned so that the interiors are visible to the dragons, one wall being nothing more than a removable panel as Vrael's room is in Ellesmera." Eragon told them as he regaled his companions of his time spent apart from them.
"You mentioned some of you had homes within the forest surrounding your community as well?" Murtaugh asked, intrigued as he tried to imagine it.
"Aye, the elves in particular spend as much time as possible under its leafy expanse. Every year we encourage the young Riders to aid us in the same planting spells as the Dagshelgr Invocation." Eragon replied, citing the annual effort made by all elves in their guardianship of Du Weldenvarden.
"And the urges brought on by the spells?" Arya chimed in with a smile; no doubt remembering the first time Eragon entered Du Weldenvarden.
"The students are of course warded against its effects with the exception of the elves for obvious reasons," the elves being immune to the desires that gripped others.
"And the wild dragons?"
"Growing fast and hatching quickly. In the last few years, they have again started giving us a few of their eggs for the Riders," Eragon added as a smile swept across his features. The statement affecting the whole group in the same way.
"We must find a way to get more of the spelled eggs back to Alagaesia for hatching then," Arya said as everyone nodded their agreement.
A good problem to have though, seeing as wild dragons tend to hatch quicker as they don't have to wait for their Rider Saphira said to them all as Thorn and Firnen voiced their agreement.
It was true that the wild dragons outnumbered the bonded ones fairly easily. Dyr Aurbodain was large for an island and plentiful when it came to feeding its residents, but the appetites of a hundred wild dragons and the resident bonded took a toll. The current number of Dragon Riders was only at forty-five even when counting the newly bonded in the skies above them.
It was at this moment, as they were barely an hour away from the city gates that the newly-familiar touch of Sylbia told them, the city guard has just spotted us. They are sending out mounted soldiers to meet you before the city.
Stay in the sky for now, but refrain from getting any closer to the city Murtaugh cautioned them, even as the procession on the ground continued on.
"The city guard will insist they land, if only briefly for recognition surely?" Eragon asked, surprised his brother had taken the initiative.
"The guard will include a member of Du Vrangr Gata in their number to root out any deception," Murtaugh explained.
"Our numbers will give them a cause to be cautious I'm sure" said Heimdaln as he drew in closer to Arya.
Half a mile from the city the city guard stopped and awaited their arrival, before which Arya donned a robe of flowing red and gold silk and adorned her head with a simple circlet of pure gold. Likewise, Eragon and Murtaugh twisted and turned in their saddles as they put on fresh tunics of forest green and dug up similar circlets but of gleaming silver, all courtesy of the elven Council. With the exception of Brisingr and Camin'dail, Eragon and Murtaugh had left all but the change of clothes with Thorn and Saphira, including Glaedr and Umaroth.
As they approached the soldiers, Eragon withdrew inside himself slightly so as not to alarm whichever of them was the spellcaster. He soon felt the light touch of a probing mind and honed in on its owner, wondering which of them it was.
It was Vanir!
The once surly elf could only gape as he took in his Queens entourage from the front of the awaiting force. As if disbelieving his eyes, he could only stare at Eragons face before looking at the clothes he now wore. The Riders sigil visible on the green tunic over Eragons heart catching his attention as he alone approached the group at last.
"Your Majesty, Queen Serai sends you greetings and awaits your pleasure upon your arrival," Vanir said as he twisted his hand onto his chest and went into a low bow.
"I am eager to meet with her again, friend Vanir, if only to introduce her to Eragon and Murtaugh," replied Arya.
"The Queen and I have already met in the course of my duties as Rider," a spasm of pain disappearing as quickly as it came crossed Murtaugh's face as he spoke.
Eragon pondered Murtaugh's expression as he came down from his horse and pulled Vanir into a friendly embrace, the elf surprisingly showing no signs of discomfort at the very human show of friendship, no doubt the time amongst mortals well-spent.
It is good to see you again as well Vanir mindspoke to Eragon.
Likewise, I hope we can talk in greater depth later Eragon replied, inwardly delighted to see the elf again.
"In light of present company, I'm sure the Queen would agree to meet you on the steps of the citadel instead of the throne room. She will want to meet Saphira as much as she would you Shadeslayer." Vanir said as he summoned someone from the waiting guards.
As Vanir talked to the man, no doubt telling him to deliver the message, Eragon could not help but feel an eagerness to meet the new Queen. Murtaugh had told him little of her on the journey between Du Weldenvarden and catching up with Arya and her escort. He did find out however that Serai was approaching her middle years and her rule was as peaceful and prosperous as any regent could wish for. The recent unease amongst it's peoples that much more troubling even when their monarch was doing everything in her power to ease their concerns and cast away fears.
As the messenger wheeled his horse and departed in a gallop, Vanir motioned for the guards to join them. A minute later saw the group, as one, set off once more for the capital, Vanir's companions doubling the escort already in place around Arya.
Before Vanir took his customary place on the other side of the Queen, he leaned over in his saddle and said to Eragon, "as we near the outer gates, could you ask Saphira and the others to land? In light of the recent troubles, it would be a bad idea to unsettle people unnecessarily with a group as large as yours appearing in the skies, not to mention the honour the Queen gives you in not awaiting you in the throne room."
Eragon agreed with it immediately, seeing the wisdom of his words. And so when they came within two hundred yards of the city walls and he could clearly see its defenders look with keen interest in their direction, he cast his thoughts in Saphira's direction and told her to bring the others down with her.
The retreating clouds overhead then split as Saphira led the others in a dive to the ground, the sun beginning to shine once more as it played off the brilliance of the dragons' scales. A moment of worry passing through the city's defences easing up as the dragons kept their distance even as they descended from the heights. Their wings spread wide; the dragons all landed with an uncharacteristic lightness of foot, even Saphira who loved to pull out of a dive at the latest moment landed with barely a noise.
We all had a light shower an hour ago; it wouldn't do to get dirty all over again would it? Saphira replied to Eragon's questioning look as she greeted Vanir with fondness.
Vanir says that the Queen is worried and the city also, it would seem the shadow is reaching further than we thought if mortals feel it here. Eragon told her.
Then we must help alleviate them if we can, said Saphira in her usual offhand way.
It was an odd procession that passed through the city walls and on its way to the citadel. Murtaugh forsook his horse and reclaimed his place on Thorns back as they led the way, the main streets wide enough, if not by a large margin, to contain his and Saphira's bulk. Following Thorn were the younger Riders and their dragons, small enough to walk two abreast in comparison and at the rear walked Saphira and then Firnen. Arya was not on Firnen however but remained on her horse accompanied by Vanir and surrounded by her elven guards.
The city inhabitants came out in their droves to cheer and shout at the unusual sight, those lucky enough to own businesses and houses on the main street throwing their windows open and those on higher floors on the same eye-level as the dragons themselves. Once or twice Saphira's gaze met some lucky man or woman as she passed by, astonishment etched across their features. The mental and physical chorus of voices would have overwhelmed Eragon if not for his mental training; he could sense the unease amongst Murtaugh's students as they struggled to reinforce their shielding.
And so that was how they approached the gleaming centre of the city; the central spire of gleaming marble now standing where the rubble of Galbatorix's ruined castle once lay. The dwarven crafted foundations and veins of gold completed the awe-inspiring view; the magic-laden overhanging shelf that had survived Galbatorix's violent death still looming over the citadel as a sombre sentinel.
The spire itself was wide at its base and first few floors before it narrowed slightly in the middle section. It took a while for Eragon to see why the upper reaches of the building had a certain bulge to it before the spire rounded it off. Craning his neck, Eragon could now see that the upper floors had open apertures large enough for dragons to come and go. The design then became clear to him; the upper section accommodated dragons whilst the lower allowed for them also. The middle section would then be for the Queen and other dignitaries, a simple solution Eragon thought as the group finally slowed to a halt at the bottom of the steps.
