Key:

Italics= Thought/Spoken through the thoughts

Bold= Authors Note

"Italics"= Thought and Spoken Simultaneously

This Chapter was last edited on: January 7th, 2013

(RW= Rewrite / ED= Edit, Addition of Material, etc. / FD= Final Draft / fD= First Draft)

Have a nice time reading.

Inheritance Cycle Book 4

End

Chapter 14: Stories of Others

Saphira tensed up as she felt her already tenuous connection to Eragon weaken. He was flying in the city now, and she could not stop worrying as the connection weakened. Still, she needed to focus on the task at hand, and she did so. The friendly two-leg's siege weapons were being reloaded now, and she chose this moment to take off with a roar unleashing a spear of fire into the sky.

She swooped low over the walls letting loose jets of fire at the enemy archers as she passed. While she did this, she was careful to avoid the prickly arrows before they could hit her. She had experienced that pain before, and she was not keen to experience it again. After every swoop, she quickly rolled off and dived for the ground before swooping upwards again and attacking another wall.

She was swift, and her flying was an art. She took no hits in all of her attempts at the wall.

I'm getting pretty good at this… She said to herself. Many fell below her hot fire as she swooped by again and again, and nothing interrupted her. What felt like hours passed as she made repeated, and successful, attempts on the walls. Every now and again, she would glance back towards the hill and see large flaming rocks flying over the summit of the hill and colliding with the wall.

They were not losing integrity under fire, but it would still be a while yet before the wall collapsed and allowed the infantry access to the inside of the city. But she was patient, and kept up her work, and hoped that Eragon was okay with all of her might.

Arya sighed as she tucked the mirror into her pocket and went outside. The night was soft, and she relished in the sounds of the creatures of the night. She extended her senses, and she felt them. All of their small exertions and successes. This distracted her from Eragon for a few seconds, but eventually knowing that her lover was in danger came back to her, and she couldn't think of it anymore.

"Is there something wrong milady?" Another female Elf asked in the Ancient Language walking up to her.

"No Milya, I am fine." Arya replied in the language of the Humans. Milya was Arya's advisor now, and even in the short time they had known each other more closely than acquaintances, Milya had acquired a disturbing ability to read her, and Arya knew that she could tell she was lying. Thankfully to Arya, she did not act on that. She continued in the Ancient Language. "Was there something you needed Milya?"

"Everyone is here, and they are all ready to know what our next move is." She replied.

"Gather them in the center of the camp." Arya said. "I will tell them there."

Milya nodded and took off. Arya turned her thoughts off of Eragon and she went back inside of her tent, she strapped on her sword, hung her bow and quiver across her back, and donned her armor. This was war she was going to after all, and she would need to look threatening and official for this. While she managed to compose herself on the outside, inside was a different story.

Even now, the burden of command was weighing heavily upon her. She had always maintained that she did not want this, but now she was forced into it. She didn't really consider herself a leader, let alone the leader of her entire race. But without her, they were doomed and she knew it.

Even with all of this though, she knew she was intelligent. She knew that leadership was in her blood, and she was a strong leader no matter how much she denied it. Even if they won the war, she knew her people would still need her. They needed to rebuild, to expand and once again become a part of Alagaesia outside of their forest. She knew she was the only one with enough experience with Human's to let this happen.

She took a deep breath and stepped outside of her tent. This was it, she was committed whether she liked it or not. This was her job, her responsibility, and she would accept it. This was her burden, and she would hold it high. She quickly went to the center of the camp, and there she found the entire gathering of the military of their race. Twelve-hundred elves had come here to fight.

There were not many elves, maybe two-thousand at most. So this was plenty. With their superior strength, intelligence, and diligence… they could take any nearly any town with ease. They were not immortal though, and this wasn't anywhere near enough forces to take a city. This was why the elves had fallen so long ago, they were not many, and could be easily outnumbered.

Even with all of the advantages they had, they fell because they were too unwilling to expand and spread. They were too unwilling for a lot of things, and this was why they needed Arya. She understood what was necessary, she understood that even if their lives were long, they needed more than they had. Maybe this had worked before when there were already a lot of them, but now, there were so few that they were starting to stagnate.

She stepped up before her small army and she called to them. They looked at their ruler, and she stood tall in the face of that. She spoke in the Ancient Language.

"Sisters… Brothers… Today you have come." She said to them. "You've come because you know that the Elves have been weak in the face of danger. We've been cowards. While the humans have fought for their lands, we have hid in our forest. While the humans have shown bravery and courage, we have shown cowardice and weakness.

"We are more than that! Now we have the chance to prove it, and I will lead you to it. We are strong, even at our weakest. We do belong here in Alagaesia, and we will take that place and hold it with everything we have.

"So now, we run for Therinsford. We run for Gil'ead." She drew her sword and rose it high. "We run for Alagaesia!"

The rest of the Elves drew their swords and raised them like she raised hers. They cheered for their new Queen. She accepted the role and their praise without hesitation. She knew that there was no going back now, she was Queen of the Elves, and nothing was going to change that besides death itself.

Roran and his men and Urgals looked down on the Village of Melian from the trees. It was weak, not even three-hundred Imperial Soldiers seemed to be defending it, and so he anticipated that this attack would be an easy victory. Still, he didn't want to lose a single man in this attack, so he had arrayed them in strategic hidden places around the city. Roran hadn't even anticipated this many men here, it was a minor village. Still, he guessed that the Empire knew that this would be one of their next targets so had rebuffed the guard.

Still, without knowing it, all of the Imperial Soldiers in the entire village were boxed in with nowhere to go. The second Roran ordered the attack, the soldiers would be massacred. Even with all of the men he had killed, he could not help but feel remorse. Urgals were allayed along the front lines of every group, so it was unlikely that a single one of his men would fall. Still, he wanted himself to feel remorse. He didn't even want himself to feel like the bloodshed was anything beyond necessary.

If that happened, he knew he would've lost quite a bit of character. He raised his Hammer, and with that remorse still heavy on his heart for what he was about to do, he yelled the order.

"Charge!"

The Urgals tore down the hill around him first, others quickly burst from trees arrayed around the village. His men quickly followed the Urgals down in their charge in the village. Roran stayed still, he would not be needed in this battle. It would be foolish to get injured in a battle that would be won without him, he was needed for the true battle in Aroughs.

He walked down the hill as his men charged down the hill. The soldiers were not prepared for the attack, and nearly a hundred were already dead before they even managed to draw their weapons. Families and such roaming the streets went into their houses to avoid the bloodshed, the Urgal's were ordered to avoid civilian causalities at all costs, so he didn't anticipate any dying. Still, he knew some would jump to defend their homes, and they would have no choice. Accidents could also happen, and he fully expected them to.

As he approached the village, screams echoed through the night even louder. Yet, by the time he reached the bottom of the incline, there were no more screams. The battle was already over. There were groans as he walked the streets, his men were roaming the streets finding enemies who were still alive and stripping them of their weapons. He would leave fifty-men here to tend to the casualties of the enemy, hold the prisoners, and to govern the village.

He would be relieved if that job could fall on him, but of course it could not, he was in charge. He didn't particularly relish fighting, but he knew that there were others this bloodshed would protect, and he would do anything to assist in that. He headed towards the village square to wait as his men gathered the villagers. Criers of his were also roaming the streets, yelling that they should come quietly and any who resisted would be either captured with force or killed.

Roran gazed upon the bodies with sadness as he passed them. He saw not only men clad in armor, but men who appeared to be farmers with pitchforks. He saw one thing to stop him though, and it was a child of maybe twelve with a dagger. He walked over and looked down at the body. He had been nearly cleaved in half with a sword before bleeding out. Behind him were a young girl and older woman sitting in a corner crying. He had obviously been trying to protect them misguidedly, and been killed for it.

"Mamn…" Roran said reaching out.

"Don't you touch me or my daughter you rotten bastard!" She replied. He withdrew his hand and frowned.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"Then prove it by shoving a dagger through your own heart!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He said. "I know you've just experienced a loss, but your son would not have been killed if he had not resisted. Go to the square with everyone else or one of my men will come here and drag you there, and I don't want that."

She glared at him before standing up carrying her maybe eight-year old daughter and left towards the square. Roran knelt down and took the dagger from the child's hand before putting it in his own pocket. He used his fingers and closed the child's eyes before standing and keeping up his trek towards the village square. It was not long before he reached it. Few men were there, but several women and children were.

The square was in chaos, and it was tough to push his way through the crowd towards where a wooden platform had been set up. He stepped up onto it and turned towards the crowd solemnly.

"I would ask that you quiet down." He said. They ignored him. He raised his voice this time. "Quiet!"

This time they quieted down and looked at him.

"We will wait until everyone has gathered, and then I will tell you how this is going to work. I hope that is clear. Any who resist may be killed, and I want to avoid further bloodshed."

They stayed quiet as the rest of the villagers gathered. Roran stood stock still the entire time, he blinked as little as possible. When everyone was finally there, Carn came up to him and confirmed it.

"I am sorry for all of the loss everyone has experienced this day." Roran said. "Death is not my way, but it is necessary..."

Suddenly and completely unexpectedly, a tall woman wearing men's clothing and holding a short sword charged from the crowd and jumped onto the platform. His men quickly moved to apprehend her, grabbing her arms and flattening her on the ground as she dropped the sword. He walked over to her.

"That was an ill-advised attack." He said. She spat at him.

"You killed my husband you bastard!" She yelled.

"Was he a soldier or not?"

"He was, but only because of Galbatorix and his stupid conscription laws. He did not deserve to die! He wasn't a fighter, I am!"

"I am sorry for your loss."

This seemed to just anger her further, she managed to get her hand around one of the soldier's necks and bashed his face into the other one holding her. She then proceeded to roll them off the stage and grab her sword. More soldiers moved to take her, but he shook his head at them and drew his hammer. She went for a descending vertical slash that he blocked. He did not like hitting a woman, but he quickly went to punch her around her sword. She grabbed his arm though and tossed him to the left and throwing his hammer off of the platform. Again his soldiers tried to come to his aid.

"Stay where you are, this is my fight." He said. He knew that this was probably stupid, and he could get killed, but he had ordered this attack. Her husband's death was his fault no matter who had swung the weapon that committed the deed. He was no coward, and if she wanted to fight him, he would let her.

Now though, he was weaponless and she had a sword. She went to slice him again, but he grabbed her wrist and twisted it making her drop the sword before he kicked it away. As he made to twist her around and press her wrist against her back, she shoved her foot forward into his groin and rolled forward out of his range before turning back to him with her fists raised.

"At least you are no coward, I respect that." She said.

"I owe one other woman the same debt I owe to you." Roran said. "In fact, I am sure I owe that same debt to a lot of women. If you wish to fight me, then I will not be a coward and refuse it. You're good though, we could use you."

"Why would I do that!?" She yelled running at him and doing a rolling kick to his face knocking him backward a bit holding onto his cheek. He may have superior strength, but even he realized she was just too fast for him to keep up with. She went for a flurry of punches next, most of which he didn't manage to block in time. She then punched him across the face knocking him to the ground.

"Fight me!" She yelled. "Surely you are not this weak!"

He swung out at her with his feet in an attempt to trip her. She fell over backwards, but she fell onto her hands and flipped over back onto her feet. Luckily, this gave him enough time to stand back off. He stripped himself of his armor, realizing it was slowing him down while she was wearing leather clothing that allowed her flexibility and speed.

He felt a bit faster as she charged at him now, but he was still not able to block her attacks with much ability. He managed to finally get a punch in her gut in though, causing her to back up coughing. He went for another strike, but she lifted him over her shoulder and threw him down into the crowd. They quickly moved out of the way and he hit the ground rolling before standing back up looking at her. She jumped down to meet him.

"Ask yourself, who is really responsible for your husband's death? The man who gave the order to attack the army he belonged to, or the man who put him in that army in the first place?"

She seemed to hesitate at this remark. But she quickly shook it off and ran at Roran with a scream. This time, he took a deep breath and just watched her movements. He spotted a weakness in her movements, and he quickly exploited it. He punched her in the shoulder hard, causing her to recoil a bit to the right, and then he tackled her to the ground. She tried to resist, but he was still too strong for her.

"You know whose fault it really is! It's Galbatorix's fault! He put him in that army, he got him killed. He's gotten many killed, many who do not fight for him, but have been forced to swear oaths of allegiance. Yes, it isn't fair, so why don't you take your fight to your true enemy instead of fighting your true ally?"

She didn't seem to have a response for this. Tears erupted from her eyes.

"Damn it!" She yelled.

"I know what you're feeling." Roran said. "If I lost my wife, I would just want to kill the person responsible. But place your hatred with the one really responsible."

"Let… let go of me." She said simply. He nodded and did as she instructed before standing up. She just looked at him for a few seconds, and she nodded. "I will join you then. But first…"

She punched him across the face once more. He accepted the punch without complaint and without resisting.

"That's for ordering the attack that killed my husband."

"Meet with the rest of the army at dawn. We leave for Surda and then Aroughs tomorrow."

"Yes sir." She replied and walked away. He went back towards the platform and retrieved his hammer from the ground. Carn walked up.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Roran replied as he stepped back up onto the platform.

"That's going to bruise badly if I don't heal it." Carn replied. "It will impair your vision."

"Fine, just do it then." Roran replied. Carn cast a spell on his cheek and soon it was good as new. He looked exhausted to Roran though. "Go get something to eat."

"Yea…" Carn replied. Roran again took his place on the platform.

"Now, where were we? Death is not my way? Right. Anyways, I am Roran Stronghammer. I am sure you have heard of me by now." Roran said continuing as if nothing had happened. "I want you to know that nothing should have to change for you here if you did not lose your Husband or Wife or Child… Life here will continue as normally as possible, and the men I leave behind to govern this town will help you respectfully bury your dead…"

He continued with his speech. When it had ended, everyone was allowed to return home. Roran in the meantime wondered over the woman who had attacked him before seemingly joining the Varden. It had been a weird day, but he knew that his hardship had not even begun.

Horst waited patiently with the other infantry out of sight. He was a bit worried about being on the front lines. He had been in battle before, but this was quite different. He was also representing Eragon, and he had to bring honor to the one he was pledged to. Horst was sure Eragon would rather he just make it out alive, but he would like to do more than that. Eragon had saved his wife and daughter after all. It was his job to repay that debt, and he would do that with all of his might.

It had been hours since they had taken this position, but suddenly, the call came. The wall had fallen, and Horst grasped his sword even harder as the call to charge came and he ran with a war cry alongside that of his brethren. As the crossed the apex of the hill, a rain of arrows fell towards them. They blocked these with their shields. A few seemed to get around his armor before weirdly changing course and hitting the ground. He ignored it and kept his shield up as they charged.

When the rain of arrows seemed to be over, he lowered his shield so he could see. The wall had collapsed quite well. There was a huge hole in the wall, and while it was filled with debris and stone, it wouldn't be that hard to clamber over. He could see that Saphira was already ready to blanket anyone near the hole with fire if they tried to shoot any who charged through it. He was glad she was on their side.

Several minutes passed as they charged down the hill, and the heavy breathing started to come. Finally though, they made it to the hole and started to clamber over the debris. As they did this, Horst saw a line of enemy spearmen ahead. Fearless, he charged with another war cry as the men around him charged with him. Men died around him on the edge of spears as they charged, but Horse managed to dodge around one and drive his sword right through a man's chest.

He grabbed the man's spear in his sword hand along with his sword and reversed it to put it through the holes of another's helmet. He then retained grip on his sword and killed more of the enemy. He broke spears, sliced men who were wide open, and killed as many enemies as possible. The battle seemed to go on forever, and the amount of the enemy seemed limitless.

An hour passed, and Horst was exhausted, but still there were more and they were barely now exiting the hole into the city. Just as he started to lose hope though, the enemy started thinning out. They broke through the line and slaughtered the few remaining in the way. The commander who had led the attack raised his spear and yelled a victory cry. The battle was nowhere near over, but at least they now had an opportunity to rest, and Horst relished it.