Chapter 28 – Nuanen Andlát
"Great love is capable of great hatred, great hatred capable of great love. From the greatest darkness can come the greatest light, from the greatest of enemies can come the greatest of lovers. Anything is possible, pupil mine, anything can happen."
~Oromis, Togira Ikonoka, Osthato Chetowä, the Cripple Who is Whole, the Mourning Sage, last of the first order of Dragon Riders
Roran smashed his hammer into the helmet of an Imperial soldier, throwing him off the siege ladder, the man's dying screams ended abruptly by the impact, impaled on the spear of an Imperial beneath them.
"Stronghammer, there are too many!" Captain Linden called out. Surprisingly, despite his loyalty to his former commanding officer, he had chosen to faithfully follow Roran, saying a man willing to take fifty lashes for the Varden was a man worth following to the death.
"Fall back!" he roared back, kicking a ladder, toppling it over. "Draw back to the towers, use the archers and spears!"
Linden began drawing his men back, the few elven spellweavers they had at Belatona providing cover in the form of dozens of different spells that battered at the enemies as they tried to take advantage of the tactical retreat.
A silver-fletched arrow whizzed past his ear, striking solidly behind him, causing him to spin around, seeing an opposing soldier with a barbed shaft stuck straight through the slit of the visor. He nodded gratefully as the elf who had shot the arrow ran over to him, pushing him towards the nearest rampart tower.
"Stronghammer, lose focus not!" the elf shouted, whispering a few words after, a burst of flame from his hands searing a pathway for them.
"Many thanks, elf-friend!" he yelled over the screams of pain from the fire, the two running side by side, the elf throwing his bow around his back, drawing his twin scimitar-like swords, slashing through the enemies who lived, Roran using his hammer to bash through all who got in his way.
They charged through the open door, the soldiers already inside pouring a volley of arrows through the entrance to discourage any followers.
"To the roof!" Roran ordered, running up the stairs as the soldiers automatically followed, a good half of them staying down to guard the entrance.
The elf drew his bow once more, starting to arch at the most seemingly dangerous foes, taking them down with practiced ease.
"There are no more of our men around us!" Roran called down. "Bar the doors! Put anything we can't use in front of it, no one gets in, no one gets in!"
A loud series of clangs and grunts followed as the soldiers overturned the few tables there were, taking broken spears and axes and using them to bar the door, setting the tables in the most supporting position.
The elf grabbed Roran, jerking him out of the way as another arrow shot past, nearly impaling his ear.
"There are many of them, Stronghammer," the elf said, pointing out. "Five battle groups, just on the east wall. The smoke obscures even my vision to the other walls."
They ducked as another series of arrows thudded into the wooden door beside them.
"Get down, get downstairs!" Roran snapped at the soldiers as he and the elf snuck to the other side of the tower.
"Night falls soon," the elf whispered. "Should the towers have ropes we may hope to surprise them in the darkness of dusk. I know of the caves beneath the wall, we shall go hide there soon when the sun sets, we cannot stay here for long."
"Our little amount men cannot defeat five battle groups," Roran muttered, trying to think of a battle plan.
"I can get a message across to the other survivors, sir, I have magic, do I not?" the elf smirked.
"If you could, then tell them at dusk we shall strike. We cannot wait for Feinstar or Surda to come to our aid."
"What of the women and children? The inner defenses will not be strong enough to hold for long," the elf said in all honesty.
His heart sank at the thought of Katrina in danger.
"They will be strong. They will have to be."
Lieutenant Elric leapt up as did all the soldiers with him as a wind rustled through the tower.
There were no windows.
Something was stirring.
The dust on the floor swirled, a ghost-like figure soon appearing.
The soldiers warily backed away.
It raised a hand.
Peace, soldiers. I am Lifaen, the elven spellweaver who sits besides Commander Stronghammer hidden in the caves under the east wall. All soldiers will receive the same order from the commander. At dusk, we will strike back at the Empire. We shall rally in the darkness under the ramparts. Use no lights. This attack lies upon the element of surprise. Until then, brothers, mor'ranr waíse ono.
The mirage vanished, the dust settling to the ground once more.
All the soldiers looked to him.
He grimly grabbed a spear, tossing one to a soldier.
"Arm up," he ordered.
Eragon rode Snowfire across the dark fields, the late sun setting swiftly as he and his small group of spellweavers and warriors galloped towards Belatona. Already he could see smoke, probably from the city.
Or what was left of it.
The city's walls stands, as does the gates. The strength of the spells seems not dampened. The defenses must have held, I see none of the Varden though, save those on the inner defenses.
What of the Empire?
They have besieged the inner walls, I can see dozens of ladders… They have not gotten through the inner defenses though.
Fly high, stay in the clouds until I call.
Of course, little one.
She tilted her wings slightly, shooting up, gaining altitude rapidly.
"Ride!" he shouted. "Ride hard, ride swiftly!"
Roran waited in the shadows under the ramparts, his armor covered with ash and soot, his men the same as he was. Already, another two groups had come, hiding as the Imperial soldiers walked around freely in the setting sun, laughing and talking.
Just a few more hours.
Eragon whispered some quiet words into Snowfire's ear, patting the horse's neck as he slipped off the great stallion.
Arya came up beside him, eyeing the eerily silent city, smoke still coming out in thin wisps from some houses and towers.
"What is your plan?" she asked softly, a hand gently brushing his in reassurance.
"We need to learn of what the situation is," he murmured. "Saphira says the inner defenses have not fallen yet. If the soldiers are still alive, then we may be able to take back the city."
"We will take back the city, iet fricai," she promised.
He nodded, breaking into a swift run towards the city.
Dusk, we will slip into the city.
Dinus sat against a wall, his companions lazily drinking some beer from the storage and laughing at some vulgar joke Lionel made.
He blinked as he felt a strange chill run down his spine.
He straightened as his friends stopped, looking over at him with confusion.
"Brother, what is amiss?" Aiden asked.
"The hairs on the back of my neck stand," he muttered. "I know not what is amiss."
Then he felt a painless slicing sensation and felt nothing more.
Eragon snapped the neck of the last guard, putting out the campfire with a quick spell. Arya cleaned her blade on the grass, sheathing it before dragging the soldiers out of sight.
"Move swiftly," she whispered.
"Brother!" a voice hissed.
Eragon spun, seeing a man in familiar armor and with a very familiar face motioning from under the darkness of the ramparts.
"Roran!"
The two cousins quickly embraced, Eragon dragging them back into the darkness as his small group of warriors followed them, finding the small army waiting there.
"You got through the battle with this many survivors? Quite a feat, cousin," Eragon smiled. "I am glad to see you alive."
"As I am to see you, Shur'tugal, Dröttningu," a vaguely familiar voice said.
Eragon stared at the elf, finally matching the voice and face with a name.
"Lifaen, I am very grateful to see you," the Rider said softly, bowing slightly.
"Atra esterní ono thelduin," Lifaen replied, bowing with regal elegance.
"Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr," Eragon said.
"Un du evarínya ono varda. We are most glad for your arrival, Shur'tugal, I doubt we would have gotten far in our retaliation even with Stronghammer in the lead."
"I have brought my spellweavers, Arya, Aelwyn, a number of dreamwraiths, and Saphira flies in the air above us," Eragon whispered. "We shall take back the city. Have you been able to find the central point of their army?"
Lifaen nodded as Roran got on his knee, drawing with an iron-clad finger in the ground. He swiftly traced a square outline, with a circle inside.
"We're about here," he said, making a dot near one of the sides of the square. "They're centered around here, about five-hundred paces from the keep's ramparts."
"If we can land Saphira and the dreamwraiths there, we can easily distract them and our spellweavers will be able to back your soldiers as they attack," Eragon said. "Blödhgarm, I want you and all the other elves to throw your efforts into protecting the soldiers, we can deal with the enemy when it comes to hacking and killing."
"As you will, milord," Blödhgarm said, a fist touching his chest as he bowed quickly.
Eragon nodded grimly, tapping a finger at the spot where Roran had said the soldiers were centered.
"One fatal, swift blow. We will cut the head from the shoulders and the body shall fall," he said softly.
Saphira and the dreamwraiths streaked out of the moonless night, Arya's quick use of her magic mastery conjuring a good number of storm clouds to cloak the night in utter darkness. And the great beasts used this to their great advantage.
The dreamwraiths snapped open their wings, tilting them slightly, the grooves in their wings' skeletal frame making an eerie shrieking noise.
The night was then filled with the screams of dying men.
Eragon started drawing circles in the air, letting his Cadian magic flow through his body.
"Rosaní."
Light flared from a hundred tiny glowing orbs as they spread through the city, lighting the darkness for the Varden survivors to attack.
"Slaughter them all, should they surrender, do not harm a hair on their head," Eragon ordered.
With a fierce cry of vengeance, the Varden fell on the chaos-ridden camp.
It wasn't much of a fight. The soldiers hadn't been expecting such a sudden retaliation, and not half as many people. The Varden survivors had hidden well, scattered, yet waiting for a moment to band together again. And in a city as large as Belatona, it was easy to find places to hide and avoid detection.
The prisoners were herded in the center of camp, the victorious Varden guarding them.
Calayn padded over, still in the kill, her claws bloodied, her frighteningly dangerous looking head, elegant, beautiful, yet hellish and death-marked, gazing at the prisoners with disdain.
Let me kill them all.
Eragon shook his head.
"Lord Rider!" Blödhgarm roared.
He spun around to see a lone rider charging at them, a strange spear in the armored man's hand.
The shaft was gold, but both ends had blades made of an amethyst-colored crystal, graceful, clearly the work of elven crafters. Both blades were identical, around three hands long, a vine-like trail of silver encrusting the staff, a leather grip set in three different places. Strangest of all, a violet aura shimmered around the spear, pulsating and glowing and dimming.
Smoke trailed out from the kinks in the armor and visor.
"Shur'tugallll," it whispered. "We meet at lastttt…"
Eragon drew Brisingr, approaching the figure.
"So we have. Who are you, stranger? And are you for me or against me."
"Not against youuu…" it drawled. "Against your dragonessssss… And that creature that stands beside youuuu…"
Calayn growled, her hind legs crouching as she prepared to pounce.
I shall rip his nonexistent head from his shoulders, she said, snapping her jaws at the newcomer.
Do not… There is dark magic I feel around it… It is no he… I know not what it is, Eragon replied.
It matters not, all fall to my claws, she roared, leaping at the stranger.
The spear flickered, and Calayn shrieked in pain, the unearthly sound shattering the air as the powerful dreamwraith fell to the ground, a huge gash running from her left shoulder to her belly, blood pouring from the wound, her wing nearly severed from her body.
"Die, abominationnn," the thing said in its eerie voice the shadowy horse taking ominous steps towards the downed dreamwraith who vainly tried to rake her talons at the creature.
"Waíse sköliro!" Eragon snapped, the spear reflecting off the barrier he had created as he charged at the shadow warrior.
It turned just to see Eragon crash into its midsection, driving it off the horse.
An iron grip went around his neck, lifting him up by his collar as the being stood up.
"You are a foollll, Shur'tugallll…"
"Layalas," the Dragon Rider managed out.
The thing instantly dropped him.
"Impossible… No…"
Flames burst from inside the armor, swiftly consuming the thing. The horse neighed and whinnied, also turning aflame with its rider.
It swung the spear, Eragon deftly dodging most the blow, wincing as it cut his cheek, leaving a line of blood across his face.
It was a strange style of fighting, somewhat comparable to Angela's style with her double-sided staff, but much more deadly. Eragon leapt out of the way of the next swipe from the spin of the staff, using Brisingr to block the following blow. The strength of the slash threw him off balance, but just as he saw the spear flashing down at him, he saw it bounce off an invisible shield. Arya charged in, chanting in Elvish the whole time.
The flames went out, much to both their surprise, for she had been conjuring a burst of oxygen and more flame to destroy the being.
Eragon, use Cadian magic! Saphira roared, warily circling the being as it eyed its combatants with a face of smoke.
"You are all foolsssss… The dragons… the dreamwraiths… the Ra'zac, lethrblaka… they all must die…" it hissed.
"Layalas, mara lia."
The shell of smelted armor blew apart with flames, the horse vanishing in a cloud of smoke and fire.
The spear was all that was left.
"Blödhgarm, heal Calayn!" Eragon ordered, the elf immediately running to the dreamwraith, already in the process of conjuring healing spells.
Eragon gingerly picked up the spear, nearly dropping it as it sent a strange tingle through his body. Feeling no ill effects, he picked it up again, ignoring the strange sensation that coursed through his body.
Arya bit her lip in a way he knew meant she was thinking.
"Stars and spirits above," she whispered as her eyes widened with recognition.
Eragon looked up at her.
"What is it?" he asked quietly.
"That is no ordinary spear you hold, Eragon," she said hoarsely.
She gently put a hand on it.
"'Tis a Dauthdaert, one of the twelve… This one is Niernen. I recognize its description… The Orchid Spear, named after one of the twelve most beautiful flowers that bloom in Ellesmera. It was made eons before my birth… During the war between the elves and the dragons…"
Eragon felt a lot less safe touching the ancient spear.
"It had a purpose… I can feel it… Its whisperings…"
She nodded slowly.
"To kill all dragons and anything of their kin."
Translation: Nuanen Andlát (title) – Beautiful Death
Mor'ranr waíse ono – Peace with you
Shur'tugal – Dragon Rider
Dröttningu – Princess
Atra esterní ono thelduin. Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr. Un du evarínya ono varda - May good fortune rule over you. Peace live in your heart. And the stars watch over you
Rosaní – Alight, illuminate
Layalas – Flame/be aflame
Layalas, mara lia – Flame, kill it
Niernen (name of Dauthdaert) – Orchid
TN: Everything after the greeting is mine~ except Niernen…
AN: YES, the Dauthdaert will be in my story~ except all twelve will be because I just love the idea of the dragons having a weakness… they need a weakness… And the Dauthdaertya are an amazing idea… loll I'll give Paolini credit for this idea, it's actually quite smart… You'll see the other Dauthdaertya appearing soon, but I have changed them… it makes no sense for an orchid spear to be green.. it should be violet like the orchid flower =.=;; lol so yeah… the spears will be colored and have the aura of the color of the flower they're designed after :3 because it makes more sense like that. -.-;;
This is the second part of the chapter xD I didn't feel like writing but then I got so much inspiration I just had to write it all down… Dx lol but I hope you guys liked it? keep reviewing pleasee~
and thank you to Dessert Maniac for correcting my mistakes xD
