Lynde was not with the Riders loyal to Eragon who charged Alaric's Riders and the Elves. She stood back with Ivuldr and Volyeth, ready to defend themselves. They didn't yet know if Alaric's Riders knew that they had switched sides, so it seemed unwise to attack Eragon's just yet. For now they waited for something to confirm the misplaced Arlen had passed on the message to Alaric and he passed it on to his Riders.
One of the Riders on Eragon's side took notice and went over to them. He was a Dwarf and one of those whose Dragon burned Jörmundur's army at Gil'ead. His brown beard could not hide his look of anger as he marched towards them with his sword drawn. "Why do you not attack?" he asked angrily. "We need every Rider to survive this battle."
Lynde shook her head. She then said as sternly as she could, making it clear to him that they would not fight, "No."
The Dwarf sneered at them and said, "Fool! Do you wish Nasuada or the Corrupted One to continue?"
"I couldn't care less as to the first," Ivuldr said as he left the others and began to circle the Dwarf. His eyes switched between keeping track of him to Lynde and Volyeth and back again. "Even if Nasuada were to continue her reign as queen, she would eventually die. It could be ten or twenty or even thirty years, but Humans tend to die quickly. It is of no consequence to me if she continues her reign.
"But as to the second," Ivuldr continued, now with him on the opposite side of the Dwarf as Lynde and Volyeth. He kept the Dwarf's complete attention as he said, "I feel as if we're not on the right side. After all, who was it who burned every last soldier of an Imperial company alive?"
"Traitor!" the Dwarf said as he swung his sword at Ivuldr. Ivuldr parried and Volyeth kicked the Dwarf in the small of his back. She then stomped on his back right where his lungs should have been and he released a gasp. Lynde found Volyeth's treatment of the Dwarf downright brutal, if effective.
He was wheezing on the ground, grasping his chest, when Volyeth knelt down and said to him, "Slytha, Knurlan, and trouble us no more."
The Dwarf closed his eyes and was nearly motionless. As Lynde got the sinking feeling he was dead, but then a loud snore came from his mouth. Relief washed over her; after all, corpses didn't snore.
Three figures came out of the crowd of battling Riders and Elf warriors. Two she recognized as Arlen and Alaric. The third she didn't know, but she was a dark haired Elf woman who wore a black leather outfit and a gold circlet on her head, and carried a deep green sword. The three came up to Lynde and the others, to which both of her Elven companions both knelt down and said in reverence, "Arya Drӧttning."
The dark haired Elf looked exasperated, and with a motion of her hand she said, "Rise! We have no time for formalities today."
Lynde had no time to wonder who she was or think hard on her name because as Ivuldr and Volyeth rose, Alaric pointed to the gateway with Saphira guarding it. The sapphire Dragon looked at them with great hostility, as did the blueish-green Allr'eld'burthr. Baeguirn however looked passive and apart from the other two. Alaric said with fatigue in his voice, "How do we get through them?"
Arya shook her head as she said, "Unfortunately, Fírnen has told me that he will not do battle with Saphira. He might fight the other, but I would want to know why she has a coloration such as that first."
Alaric didn't answer her question, instead saying curtly, "Magnora will do it."
Lynde cocked an eyebrow at the confident Rider. "Both of them?" she asked
"Well, maybe for today just Saphira." Alaric shrugged. "She feels charitable today. She'll let the other Dragons battle Allr'eld'burthr." Lynde found Alaric's use of the word "charitable" strange, but she let it go. The bigger the Dragon, the better the chances they might win against the oldest living Dragon in Alagaësia—other than the Eldunarí anyway.
"Very well," Arya said. "You may ask her if she wants to."
Alaric grinned as he turned around. He shouted over the crowd of battling Riders a sentence that was a strange as it was simple. "Hey, Magnora, do you want to fight Saphira?"
The red-gold Dragon raised her head and peered over the fighting masses with a dangerous look in her eyes. She had seen the look before in Artsanna's eyes, but only when she was hunting and about to pounce on her prey. Judging by the fact there were no deer around, that could only mean Magnora accepted the challenge.
Magnora leapt over the Riders and onto the steps of the citadel, flicking her tail back and forth. Saphira and Magnora snarled at each other as if they were a bear and a wolf fighting over a meaty carcass. They began to circle each other with eyes focused on only each other.
As Magnora stopped, looking as if she were about to pounce, Allr'eld'burthr tackled her. While Magnora tried to fight the Dragon, she did not have time as Haldthin swept in and pulled her off of the red-gold Dragon. These battles would be fought separately, she just knew.
Saphira took Magnora's disoriented state as an opportunity and pounced on the red-gold Dragon. Magnora threw the sapphire Dragon off of her instantly and jumped on the older Dragon to press her advantage. While Saphira fought it, Magnora with her stockier build was better suited to fighting on the ground than Saphira was. Saphira took to the sky and Magnora followed after her.
Now that the guardian Dragons were distracted, Lynde and the other Riders—and Arlen—could get to the gateway. Arya sped past them all, using her Elven legs to run faster than anyone else. Lynde's own Elven companions were not so rude and kept pace with their Human comrades. Once they had gotten to the gateway, Alaric stopped and said to them, "Lynde, you, Ivuldr, and Volyeth hold the gate. We need someone to ensure no one follows us."
Alaric wasn't about to lose her so easily. Lynde said resolutely, "I'm coming with you no matter what you say. The Dragons can guard the gate."
Alaric's gaze snapped to the sky, shock in his eyes, and said, "I believe they'll be busy. Look!"
Lynde followed Alaric's gloved hand as it pointed to the sky. While there were not as many as before, some of the Dragons loyal to Eragon had awakened and now flew to the citadel. Lynde didn't need to be told that they would need their Dragons to fight the battle in the sky as she fought the battle on the ground. Lynde frowned at Alaric and said, "This one time, I'll do it."
"Good," Alaric replied. "Now let's not waste any more time. We need to get to Eragon before he gets to Queen Nasuada. Queen Arya may not be enough to defeat him."
As Alaric ran through the gateway into the citadel, Arlen followed him. While Lynde would have liked to talk to him and find out why he hadn't gone back to Cathalorn, she did not have to time for it. She would have to stay and hold the steps to the citadel, leaving Arlen to help fight Eragon. She didn't want him to go without words though, so called after him, "Good luck!"
He glanced back and called, "If we had good luck, we wouldn't need to be here."
Lynde smiled at the truth. If they had the good luck that Eragon was never corrupted, they wouldn't be in this situation. If they had the good luck to defeat him after he left Edoc'sil, there would have been no battle at Gil'ead or their current battle. If they had good luck, there wouldn't be a battle ever fought in Alagaësia for their entire lifetime. But if there was such a thing as good luck, then she wanted it now more than ever because the fate of Alagaësia rested on what they did on this day.
As Lynde turned around and saw the battle before her. Artsanna took to the sky, following Fírnen to battle the Dragons above. Saphira tangled Magnora in the air, smashing the red-gold Dragon into one of the towers that held up the massive overhang. Three of the Riders who were vehemently loyal to Eragon marched towards the gate. This was their lot to deal with.
Lynde raised her sword and shouted a battle cry. It was not "for Alagaësia" as she had heard so many cry. They cried for a place, but she shouted for people. She spoke for the people who she knew would be affected by such upheaval as Eragon wanted to cause. Her battle cry was for her friends and family she had left behind, but it just so happened that most of them were in the same place. So what she shouted as she prepared to fight the Human and Urgal Riders before her was, "For Cathalorn!"