Flames were dancing in front of his eyes, changing into many forms. Then the fires cleared and he again saw the vision that he dreaded.
A red, elegant sword, held by a man with flaming hair and a pale face…the crimson sword flashing in the rain swept battlefield, on a broken tower high above the battling armies…night all around the two fighters, a duel of dark and shadow, the blades whistling through the air …a hoarse scream full of agony, emanating from the man with maroon hair …cold, maniacal laughter, chilling to the bone, loud and cruel…
Eragon woke up gasping for air. Where am I? He suddenly realized that he was tied in chains, and he was drugged. A number of people stood over him silently.
"Roran?" Eragon whispered, recognizing the familiar face among the group.
Roran wordlessly put a mirror before his eyes.
Eragon was shocked. He knew that his meeting with Xanzarath had changed him much, but he didn't know how. The face in front of him was pale and white, and though marked in many places with blood, it was even more angled than before, causing him to look fairer than the elves. His eyes were a fierce crimson, and a line of black markings ran along the right side of his neck.
"What has happened to you?" a voice whispered.
Eragon looked up and saw Arya watching with sadness in her eyes. It was like a stab to the heart.
"Eragon…do you know what you've just done?" A voice sounded from his right. He turned his head and found Nasuada staring at him with fury in her eyes. "You and Saphira just killed more than a thousand good men of the Varden, and almost burned all our supplies. Do you remember?"
Eragon touched his face slowly. To his horror, none of the blood was his.
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Damn woman. Thought Murtagh. He was on Thorn again, flying to Uru' baen.
She let me live. And don't start cursing her again. It won't work.
Murtagh sat back in the saddle with a sigh. I hope it would, Thorn. I hope it would.
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"What happened?" The words came out hard. Eragon remembered nothing. Nothing.
"What happened? You just destroyed our hope of winning this war. What will the men think when they see you? What will anyone think when they see you?" Nasuada looked hard into his eyes. "A shade. A shade that deserves to be killed by a thrust through the heart. Tell me Eragon, what happened to you?"
Through a shaky voice, he told the story of his encounter with Xanzarath. The faces of those around him grew more sorrowful by each word he said. Only Arya remained expressionless, but her emerald eyes betrayed her grief.
"I don't know what happened on my way to Surda. 'I'm almost to Aberon', I remember thinking. Then suddenly, as I was tiring from the travel, a great pain struck me in the head, exactly like the time in the cavern." Eragon stopped for a moment. "Then all I knew was stumbling through the sand… then blacking out."
Vanir looked stricken. "You traveled from Helgrind to here in only half a day?"
Eragon nodded. "I don't know how…it was like my body was bursting with power, and I was running faster and faster."
"Yes…you must have passed us on the way." Arya said quietly. "We assumed that you were captured or killed, for Vanir-vor found no sign of you except your blood, and none could contact you. Saphira was filled with grief. We convinced her to fly us back to Surda to plan our next move. She agreed." Arya shook her head. "We did not know what happened to Saphira on our trip back. She suddenly started shaking with pain…then she flew as fast as she could to Aberon, blocking us out. It was as if she forgot that we were there. Once we reached the walls of the city, she threw us off."
Roran spoke up suddenly. "We got through what remained of the gates. The gates were blasted open, and beyond it, we could see you and Saphira killing the soldiers of the Varden. Then you turned back and saw us. I don't know what happened. You started trembling…then you screamed, and Saphira fell down."
Eragon looked down. "I suppose that my connection with Saphira passed on my…madness… to her as well."
"No one recognized you, Eragon. The ones close enough to see your face were quickly slain by you. But Saphira was recognized at once. The men assume that the shade they saw bewitched Saphira, causing her to lose her mind." Nasuada closed her eyes. "I am currently spreading rumors that the great Shadeslayer killed the shade, and was slain in the process."
Eragon laughed bitterly. He knew it would come to this sooner or later. "Then you want to kill me?"
Nasuada hesitated, and said, "Yes. But most of your friends won't allow it. I agreed with them, but you will have to leave the Varden forever. And there is one last thing you must do."
Eragon sighed. "What?"
"Sever your connection with Saphira."
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Okay, Eragon's having more than just a hard day. And I'm suspicious if he'll ever "get over it."Thanks for all the reviews! It's reaching 100!