Chapter 14

Isline then interrupted Brom, "Okay, okay. We get it. Eragon has a cool name. Now moving on, where were we when the Riders were created?"
Brom looked a little amused by my commentary and let out a chuckle before replying. "We?"
Eragon then took over knowing what I was going to say. "You know, all of us." Eragon then waved his hands randomly. "Humans in general."
Brom then let out a full laugh. "We are no more native to this land than the elves. It took our ancestors another three centuries to arrive here and join the Riders."
"That can't be," protested Eragon, "We've always lived in Palancar Valley."
"That might be true for a few generations, but beyond that, no. It isn't even true for you, Eragon or Isline." Brom said rather gently. Even though it hurt a little to think about, Isline knew he was right. Their mother was not from here. Sometimes Isline would wonder if she was even her daughter, because none of her family looked like her. They all had the same build and bronze like skin, but Isline had light skin with freckles, and bright red hair. Brom then continued. "Though you consider youselves part of Garrow's family, and rightly so, your sire was not from here. Ask around and you'll find many people who haven't been here long. This valley is old and hasn't always belonged to us."
Isline saw Eragon scowl and gulp down the tea. She was surprised because hers was still hot, so she was pretty sure his would be too. But she could understand why he was a little peeved because this was their home, no matter how long their family had lived there. He then spoke, "What happened to the dwarves after the Riders were destroyed?"
"No one really knows. They fought with the Riders through the first few battles, but when it became clear Galbatorix was going to win, they sealed all the known entrances to their tunnels and disappeared underground. As far as I know, not one has been seen since."
This is where Isline popped in again. "And the dragons? Surely they weren't all killed." She knew they hadn't because otherwise there wouldn't be Clover and whoever Eragon's dragon is, but she was hoping there was more so that Clover might one day have a mate.
Brom then answered sorrowfully. "That is the greatest mystery in Alagaesia nowadays: How many dragons survived Galbatorix's murderous slaughter? He spared those who agreed to serve him, but only the twisted dragons of the Forsworn would assist his madness. If any dragons aside from Shruikan are still alive, they have hidden themselves so they will never be found by the Empire."
Then where did Clover and Eragon's dragon come from? Isline wondered. "Were the Urgals here when the elves came to Alagaesia?" She asked.
"No they followed the elves across the sea, like ticks seeking blood. They were one of the reasons the Riders became valued for their battle prowess and ability to keep the peace . . . Much can be learned from this history. It's a pity the king makes it a delicate subject." Reflected Brom. Isline supposed he was right. If everyone knew this knowledge they would be more careful with what they did or what happened, and might be able to not make the same mistakes in the future.
Isline then spoke up. "Yes. I heard your story the last time I was in town. It was very beautiful, and the way you described it made it seem like you were really there. You are a very excellent storyteller and I wish I would get to hear more of your stories."
"Story?!" Brom yelled. He looked very angry and Isline flinched back. "If it is a story, then the rumors of my death are true and you are speaking with a ghost! Respect the past; you never know how it may affect you."
Isline waited until he looked like he calmed down then spoke up again, a little more hesitant. "I was meaning no disrespect. I am so sorry that it seemed that way." She waiting in silence for a moment then asked another question to get off the touchy topic. "How big were the dragons?"
Brom puffed his pipe once, and a cloud of smoke was released. "Larger than a house. Even the small ones had wingspans over a hundred feet; they never stopped growing. Some of the ancient ones, before the empire killed them, could have passed for large hills."
Isline was a little worried. She didn't know where Clover would live once she got big enough to outgrow the meadow. She was just glad that that seemed a little ways away.
Eragon then asked the next question, looking calm, but Isline could see the panic in his eyes. "When do they mature?"
"Well," Brom said, scratching his chin a little, "They couldn't breathe fire until they were around five to six months old, which was about when they could mate. The older a dragon was, the longer it could breathe fire. Some of them could keep it for minutes." He then blew a smoke ring.
Eragon continued to press with questions. "I heard that their scales shone like gems."
Brom then leaned forward and growled. "You heard right. They come in every color and shade. It was said that a group of them looked like a living rainbow, constantly shifting and shimmering. But who told you that?"
Isline then looked over to Eragon who froze stiff. She had to keep herself form giggling. She personally trusted Brom to keep the secret of the dragons, because really, who would he tell? But Eragon seemed wary, and then he lied. "A trader."
"What was his name?" Brom asked. His eyebrows raised high, and looked very interested on this person who knew about dragons.
Isline decided to throw Eragon a bone since he was coming up blank. "We don't know. He was talking in Morn's, but we didn't think about getting his name, since the stories seemed so interesting."
Brom then sat back down in his seat. "I wish you had." He then muttered.
"He also said a Rider could hear his dragon's thoughts," Eragon said quickly. Isline mentally slapped him. She made a mental note to do that when they left. How obvious could he be?
Brom's eyes narrowed at this claim. In a flat voice he said, "He was wrong. It isn't in any of the stories, and I know them all. Did he say anything else?" Isline could tell he was lying at the part of him being wrong. Not just because she knew for a fact that Clover could speak in her mind, but at the fact that Brom's eye just barely twitched. It wouldn't have been noticeable unless you were really looking for it, or perceptive like Isline was. She was wondering why he was lying about something he knew, and decided to talk to him later about it.
Eragon then replied with a short "No." Isline hoped he wouldn't ask anymore painstakenly obvious questions. He didn't but he did ask another question. "Did dragons life very long?"
Brom didn't respond at once. He looked deep in thought for awhile before finally answering. "Sorry, my mind was elsewhere. Yes, a dragon will live for quite a while, forever, in fact, as long as it isn't killed and its Rider doesn't die."
Isline was curious at this part. "How does anyone know that?" She interjected. "If dragons die when their Riders do, they could only live to be sixty or seventy. You said during your . . . narration that Riders lived for hundreds of years, but that's impossible." It deeply troubled Isline that she would live longer than her family. It was supposed to be that the parent or parent figures died before the child did, but eventually the child had to die too.
A small smile graced Brom's lips. "What is possible is subjective. Some would say that you cannot travel through the Spine and live, yet you both do. It's a matter of perspective. You must be very wise to know so much at such a young age." Isline bristled at this. "Don't be angry; you can't be expected to know such things. You forget that the dragons were magical – they affected everything around them in stange ways. The Riders were closest to them and experienced this the most. The most common side effect was an extended life. Our king has lived long enough to make that apparent, but most people attribute it to his own magical abilities. There were also other, less noticeable changes. All the Riders were stronger of body, keener of mind, and truer of sight than normal men. Along with this, a human Rider would slowly acquire pointed ears, though they were never as prominent as an elf's."
Isline had to stop herself from reaching up to her ears. One of her only reliefs was that she wouldn't be going through this alone, and Eragon was with her. Along with Clover. It would be awful to live forever and have no one through it to go with her. And even though Clover might be a different species, she was now one of the most important thing in Isline's life, and she couldn't imagine a life without her in it anymore. She got quiet when Eragon asked another question. "Were dragons very smart?"
Isline whipped her head to him and gave him a piece of her mind. "Didn't you pay attention to Brom? How could dumb brutes make peace treaties? Seriously sometimes I question your intelligence, and how you could be related to someone as smart, and beautiful, and amazing as me." She might have joked around, but really hoped that he hadn't been treating his dragon like a common animal.
"But they were animals! Also I think you might hold yourself in a little too high of esteem. . ." Eragon dared to protest. Isline then proceeded to smack him upon his head.
Brom then snorted holding back a laugh from Isline. "Thank you for that Isline." He then turned to Eragon. "They were no more animals than we are. For some reason people praise everything the Riders did, yet ignore the dragons, assuming that they were nothing more than an exotic means to get from one town to another. They weren't. The Riders' great deeds were only possible because of the dragons. How many men would draw their swords if they knew a giant fire-breathing lizard – one with more cunning and wisdom than even a king could hope for – would soon be there to stop the violence? Hmm?" He blew another smoke ring and watched it blow away.
Then Isline asked a question. "Did you ever see one?"
"Nay," Brom said, "it was long before my time." Isline didn't know why, but the statement had rung a little false to her ears. She looked over to him surprised, wondering how he could be lying about something like this.
Eragon then spoke up. "I've been trying to recall the name of a certain dragon, but it keeps eluding me. I think I heard it when the traders were in Carvahall, but I'm not sure. Could you help me?"
Brom shrugged his shoulders then started listing names. "There was Jura, Hirador, and Fundor – who fought the giant sea snake. Galzra, Briam, Ohen the Strong, Gretiem, Beroan, Roslarb . . ." He added many other that didn't have any meaning to Isline, but Eragon seemed to take to heart. At the very end he muttered a name so soft Isline could barely hear it. " . . . and Saphira." Brom then quietly emptied his pipe. "Was it one of those?"
"I;m afraid not," Eragon said. He waited a second then spoke again. "Well, Roran's probably finished with Horst. I should get back, though I'd rather not."
Brom then raised an eyebrow. "What, is that it? I expected to be answering your questions until he came looking for you. No queries about dragon battle tactics or requests for descriptions of breathtaking aerial combat? Are we don't?"
Eragon laughed and stood up. "For now. I learned what I wanted to and more." He then stood and headed for the door with Brom following.
"Very well, then." He ushered them both to the door. "Goodbye. Take care. And don't forget, if you remember who that trader was, tell me."
"I will. Thank you." Eragon stepped outside. "Isline you coming?"
"One moment, I will catch up to you. I need to ask Brom a couple more questions." Isline needed to confirm something, and wanted to show him her mark. Her gut told her she could trust him, and her gut was never wrong.
"Okay! See you in a minute, I will be at Horst's with Roran until you finish up." Eragon then left.
"So what is that about?" Brom questioned. He looked curious on why she stayed.
She didn't answer right away, but just looked at him for awhile before saying, "Can I trust you?"
Brom looked a little taken back by her question, but answered honestly. "I would say yes, but then again, everyone really would, even if they weren't trustworthy." With that sentence she made up her mind, and walked over to where his waterskin was, and started rubbing her hand on it furiously, to get the dirt off of the mark that she had been concelling for awhile.
"What are you doing with my watersk-" He stopped when he saw the mark appearing on her hand, looking very taken aback. "Where did you get that? I was suspicious of your brother but not you."
"I was hunting a deer when I was blasted a couple feet back and an emerald stone appeared. Turns out it was a dragon and after a couple months here we are. Now I won't ask how you know what you do, or how you have seen a dragon, because I know you have lied about that. I just want someone who is wise about all of this, to know and be able to give me advice. Also I truly consider you one of my only friends." She told him, trying to make a long story short. She would trust Brom with her life, and now she trusted him with Clovers.
"I don't know what to say. . . I promise I won't tell anyone. What did you name him or her?" Brom seemed deeply confused but really hopeful, and she had never seen him like that. It seemed to brighten his face and take a couple years off of it.
"Well since she is a beautiful mirage of different shades of green, and she is my lucky friend and came to me in a time where I needed someone, I named her Clover. Not as impressive as Ohen the Strong, but it is unique and my name for her. And by the way, I never thought of her as only an animal. I know she is much more, and always has been."
"That is a truly beautiful name. I think that you need to catch up to Eragon now, but if you need any help with Clover or just want to talk, you know where to find me." He then proceeded to hand Isline a pair of gloves to cover her hand up, since all the dirt covering the bright mark on her hand was washed up.
When she was about to walk out the door, she turned back and caught Brom's eyes. "Thank you." She said softly. She swore she could see a familiarity in his eyes, when he relaxed and smiled softly back. The familiarity wasn't just because she knew his eyes, it was almost like she had seen them on someone else. She then shook her head, of the thoughts going through, and walked out the door to Horst's, so she could catch up to her brother and cousin, and go home. She felt oddly happy at everything she had learned, and couldn't wait to tell Clover in the morning.