Chapter 26. Orders
Roran arose before sunrise to have breakfast with Katrina then he left their tent to go meet with Trianna the leader of the Du Vrang Gata. As he walked through the massive camp Roran spots Eragon. "You are going to reverse the spell on Elva…"
Eragon sighs, "You mean curse…"
Roran stops him, "Eragon it was accident…"
"I know…I tell myself that all the time, but…"
They start walking again, "But what?"
"But…I wanted to do the right thing…Sometimes I feel like it was arrogance on my part I don't know…"
"It wasn't intentional…" Roran decides to change the conversation, "Where is Saphira?"
Before he can answer they spot Angela with two rough looking women. She asks Eragon to bless them in the ancient language. "May I?" Roran asks, "You need to save your strength for Elva…"
"Go ahead…"
Roran places his hands on both women, but the younger one flinches. Only after the Elder woman reassures her does she allow Roran to place his hand on her head. "Atra gülai un ilian tauthr ono un atra ono waíse sköliro frá rauthr…" Roran blesses both women at the same time. Just then Saphira returns from her hunt.
("Shouldn't you be reporting to Trianna?") Saphira asks touching Roran's mind.
"Yes, but I wanted to see Eragon reverse the spell on Elva…"
"So do I…" Angela says following.
When they arrive at the tent Nausada asks the same question. Roran gives a passable excuse. Elva, Greta, and Solembum are waiting. They all sit in a circle, "Elva…" Nausada feels ashamed for what she is about to ask, "…before Eragon begins I want to ask if you would wait…Your power can mean the difference between victory and defeat…Against Galbatorix you may be the very thing that thwarts him…"
Elva takes a deep breath, "I am not unsympathetic to the Varden and its allies…But I am a child…A babe…whose childhood was stolen…I will never know what it is to play as a child…Eragon's spell, blessing, or whatever you wish to call it has made me this…Before Eragon returned I saw nothing but doom before me as his magic forces me to make others happy and save them from the pains and misfortunes of life…Sleep is a dream that only comes if Angela forces it upon me…Peace is just a word more so brought on by this constant war…You ask me to wait…I say no and no again…"
When Elva falls silent Nausada looks at Eragon, he shakes his head. "I know it is a hard thing to ask, but…"
"But what?" Angela says in a disrespectful tone, "Isn't it enough what Elva has done for you and the Varden…She came to you willing to aid you…She saved your life…And all you can do is ask for more…You shame yourself Nightstalker…"
Eragon sighs, "I am sorry Nausada, but Angela is right…We cannot ask this of Elva no matter how great our need is…If I had been more careful we would not be here now…Let me do what I came to do…"
Nausada shakes her head, "So be it…"
Eragon stands up and places his chair before Elva, "There are two ways I can deal with this spell I put on you…One I can try to remove the spell, but there are too many variables with that course of action…The most paramount being is that you could be torn apart by the removal spell as this magic runs through your blood or you could become a baby again and retain all your knowledge…That being said we should not try that path…The second thing I can do is try to counter the spell…There is risk on that path as well…The energy to fuel the spell must come from you…Because the first spell is integrated into your body a counter spell will cause you to weaken…You will never be able to run as fast as others there is even a chance slim mind you that you may age faster or stop aging all together…"
"Why can't the energy come from you…" Elva asked as if it is the most obvious thing to do.
"Well for one the greater the distance the more energy required to fuel a spell…Basically it would kill me…or leave me magically defenseless as my bond with Saphira may sustain me…Saphira and I have labored on a counter spell night and day from the moment I learned of the horrible mistake I made…It is a long spell, but I believe…We believe…" He looks back at Saphira, "…That we have covered every possible side effect of this endeavor…I even consulted a few knowledgeable Elves on the matter…So if you Elva are ready to begin…Then so am I…"
"Will this hurt Shadeslayer?" Greta asked in concern.
"No I don't believe so…"
"Be brave my little plum…" Greta says patting Elva's hand.
Eragon pulls out a long scroll so that he does not mispronounce one word or forget a crucial phrase of the spell. Then he begins reading the spell of the scroll in the ancient language. Merging his mind with Elva to draw the energy from her. With Saphira's help Eragon pours his passion and regrets into the spell. He speaks forcefully as the words fall from his lips. The minutes become hours as Eragon says the spell without stopping for water or to catch his breath. When he says the last sentence he looks up at Elva.
"I am done…" He watches her for the smallest change, "How do you feel…"
Elva is silent for a long time, "I don't…" Elva pauses as she feels a tingle and starts to laugh with tears falling down her cheeks, "You did it!"
("Can you tell us Silver Brow…") Saphira says speaking for the first time.
"I…I can ignore it…I can control it…I have the power to decide who I want to help…And I feel no pain when I ignore the needs of others…" Elva jumps up, "I am free! Free of idiot little boys dreamy eyed girls…Drunken men…Lonely women…I am free to follow my own path…I need no one but myself…And woe to anyone who gets in my way…"
"Elva no!" Greta said in fear.
Elva's new attitude scared Eragon and he considered stripping Elva of her power completely. Then she kneels down before Eragon and looks into his eyes, her eyes start to glow locking him in place. "If I had heard what I said just now I would be afraid as well Shadeslayer…But take heart I will not abuse my new gifts…I will use them as I see fit…If that does not go line up with your moral code…That is your affair…not mine…But if it does not will you be Galbatorix and bring more harm to me than the good you just tried to do…" As her eyes return to normal she stands up with Eragon watching her the whole time feeling guilty about what he was only thinking. Then Elva turns to Greta, "As for you my beloved keeper…I am grateful for all that you have done for me…But if not for you Eragon would not have…cursed me…So know that I hold you just as responsible as I do him for what befell me…" She takes Greta's hand and looks at Nausada, "For saving your life and all the other things I did for you I ask that Greta always has a place at your table and that she be taken care of…"
"She will…"
Then she looks at Saphira, "Brightscales…You can always count me as a friend and ally…" When Elva tries to leave Eragon jumps up and blocks her path. "Is there something you wish to say Shadeslayer?"
Eragon nods, "Remember who made you…" He says in the ancient language, "I will be watching…" He says and steps to the side.
Elva stares at him for a few minutes and smiles. "So will I…"
When Angela tries to slap Eragon Roran catches her hand, "What do you think yoyu are doing?"
"Release me!" She commands in a threatening tone as Solembum hisses. Roran releases her arm, "You are new to magic so I will let this slide…As for you Eragon...Now I am going to have to teach her some manners…" Angela smacks her teeth and walks out as Greta starts to cry.
"You okay?" Roran asks outside the command tent.
"Yeah…"
"Look I need to report to Trianna catch you later…" Roran runs through the camp until he arrives at the tent of the Du Vrang Gata.
"You are late Stronghammer."
"Apologies…I have no excuse…"
"Just because you are the Shadeslayer's cousin doesn't mean I will take it easy on you…You are a mage and must earn the respect of your comrades and earn your promotion…This tardiness will go against you…"
"I understand…"
Trianna waves a young mage forward, "This is Kylan…He is young but very knowledgeable in magic one of our most powerful mages second only to me…He will assess your magical skills while Martland Redbeard will assess your ability to take orders…Report to Martland at the quartermaster's tent.
"So how old are you?" Roran asks as they walk through camp.
"Fifteen…sir…"
Roran smiles, "You are my commander…"
"I know, but I still feel I need to say sir to those older than I am…"
"Who taught you magic?"
"I actually taught myself…I am very good at stealing information from the minds of others so I would steal spells from Imperial mages…I traveled from city to city honing my skills…"
"Very impressive!" They finally reach the quartermaster's tent where the tall muscular Martland Redbeard is waiting with his unit.