After riding with Alaric all of yesterday and into today, Arlen finally saw Ilirea. It looked strange not only for its massive walls but also for the roof it had suspended over the city. He couldn't speculate as to why it existed as they came across a group of Dragons flying near Ilirea. There wasn't any doubt in Arlen's mind that they were aligned with Eragon, but he did wonder what they were going to do about them. As the wind whipped past his face he heard Haldthin's voice say, We charge the city and hope that the Empire knows the difference between us and Eragon's.

Arlen didn't know if Haldthin's plan was the best. After all, if they didn't care about the difference, then they could be shot at while fighting Dragons. It was not the best situation, but he didn't think anyone wanted to waste time.

As far as he could tell, Saphira wasn't among the Dragons outside Ilirea. This meant that Saphira—and Eragon for that matter—could be anywhere else, including inside the city. If they were inside, then it was likely that Eragon was that much closer to his goals of dethroning Queen Nasuada. While he never did like Queen Nasuada, he at least knew that a violent dethronement would not cause anything good within the Empire. They had to find and stop Eragon before he could do anything to the Empire, even if that meant flying into unwelcome skies.

Just as they started for the city, a massive forest green Dragon appeared out of the clouds. As it flew in front of Magnora and Haldthin, Arlen could see it was bigger than either of them. It carried warriors whose long hair blew in the wind and swords gleamed with a powerful light. It flew past them and towards the city, faster than any Dragon in their group dared go for risk of leaving someone behind.

Arlen found himself shaking and fear in his stomach. He looked to Rose and asked as he tried and failed to keep his voice from trembling, "What was that?"

Rose seemed as shocked as he was, and said without looking to him, "That was Fírnen, he who is bonded to Queen Arya of the Elves."

Arlen barely believed what was going on around him. Eragon and Queen Arya in the same place? As far as he knew, such a meeting had not happened for over ten years. In the legends they spoke of some romance between them, but that did not say why Arya was here with so many warriors—who he assumed were Elves because of their long hair. He could only speculate who Arya and Fírnen were here to support and hope that she was there for their cause rather than Eragon's.

Fírnen's appearance did not stop Haldthin or Magnora though, even if it did slow them a bit at first. They were not far from the city's walls when the Dragons on Eragon's side took notice of them and attacked. Claws slashed at both Dragon and Rider, and fire surrounded the battle. It was too much for Arlen to see and comprehend all at once so instead he looked toward the ground to see if the soldiers had started firing at them. He was surprised to see not one bow on that wall was pointed up.

Fírnen was perched on the wall and it looked as if Queen Arya was talking to someone. Perhaps she had convinced them that they were there to help Queen Nasuada, not hinder her like Eragon's Riders were. Arlen was so glad that they didn't need to worry about soldiers anymore, but that didn't help against the Dragons.

Suddenly Dragons began to fall. They did not fly any longer except towards the ground. They landed limply upon the ground, barely moving. It was only the Dragons aligned with Eragon who seemed to be affected. Arlen felt a sinking feeling as he did not know what had done this to the Dragons.

Alaric seemed to know. "Arlen, Rose, there are only three people in the world that know the name of the Ancient Language. Only three who have that the knowledge and power to wield it and do something like that through any wards the Dragons might have. All three of are in this city. They are Eragon, Murtagh the Traitor, and Queen Arya. If I am right, Arya used her power to cause the Dragons to go into a deep sleep. They should be fine, but let this be a lesson; there is only one absolute power when it comes to the Ancient Language and that is its name."

Arlen was now presented with truths that he found terrifying and comforting. He was terrified that someone had such power and comforted that he was at least of as well protected against it as anyone. He also hadn't known Murtagh was in Ilirea, but that seemed minor—today anything fit with what went on here.

The only Dragons without Riders—who he assumed were aligned with Eragon—other than Haldthin that were still flying, strangely enough, were three whitish Dragons. One was white, one was white gold, and another was silver. Silver!? As he looked closer he saw that the silver one had all the features of Artsanna from her triangle head plate and red eyes to her mace-like tail. Arlen tried contacting the Dragon, hoping she was Artsanna and not a look-alike. It was then that he heard her voice after so long, Arlen, what are you doing here?

Grateful that this was Artsanna he replied, I'm here to fight Eragon. What are you doing? How are you still flying?

I do not know, Artsanna replied. A presence tried to enter my mind, but could only read my surface thoughts. I believe it saw my thoughts of rebelling against Eragon, and while I was afraid at first for the discovery, it might have actually saved me from that. My allies Glideith and Almei were also spared and they tell of something similar happening to them.

Arlen now knew how Arya's spell only affected the Dragons aligned with Eragon. Their thoughts were of loyalty to their Riders and their loyalty to Eragon while Artsanna and her allies were rebellious. It must have been so or else how would the Dragons on their side been safe as well? Then again, he didn't entirely know how magic worked so couldn't even guess as to why the spell turned out how it did, so he moved on from such thoughts.

Artsanna said rather urgently, Lynde wishes to tell Alaric that once you land at the citadel, you will have three Riders as allies. She is one of them along with two Elves, Ivuldr and Volyeth.

After he relayed the information, Alaric said, "Good. Three less to worry about."

Fírnen took off with his Elven passengers and joined alongside Alaric and Magnora. A beautiful, melodic voice that he could only assume was Queen Arya's carried through the wind to Alaric and by proximity Arlen and probably Rose. The voice had iron in it, but also a certain sadness. "We of the Elven kingdom of Du Weldenvarden wish to join you in battling Eragon."

After a pause, Alaric said back, "Then you are most welcome."

As the Dragons flew towards the giant tower in the middle of the city, Arlen believed that they had a chance. Not only would the Dragons not hinder them anymore but they had a company of Elves who were probably faster and stronger than most of the Riders they would face. And Queen Arya was there to help battle Eragon, who might have been at least his equal. Arlen felt better about this than he ever had been before, though good feelings didn't always mean good results. A lot of things could go wrong, but for now he focused on what was going right.

The Dragons landed at the steps of the citadel and the Riders began to dismount. Among the Elves to dismount from Fírnen was one Arlen recognized as Kaesdir. He wasn't surprised at this, as Alaric had told him that he was there to convince the Elves to join them. Really he wondered where the Dwarves were, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

As Arlen dismounted after Rose, Alaric turned to him and said, "If all goes well, stay out here with the Dragons. If there is a fight, follow me into the citadel. We'll stop Eragon even if his Riders try to stop us."

Arlen nodded. As much as he didn't want to fight an opponent as strong as Eragon, someone had to, and if no else could, he'd do it. He just hoped all went well, as Alaric said.

The scarred Alaric, the beautiful Arya, and the silver haired Kaesdir marched towards the steps of the citadel. Among the Riders, one Elf stood in front as if to represent them. He could not know his name, but there was something menacing about him. The three Riders on their side didn't flinch and Arya said, "Step aside. We come for Eragon and no one else."

"We will not let you pass," the Elf replied sternly, rust colored sword pointed towards them.

"Then you shall regret your decision," Arya declared. "Attack!"