Beta-reader: Dragonblooded

There is something encoded within all of us. An ancient instinct that allows us to recognize when death is near. It was the reason why winter was always associated with death. Food was scarce, diseases spread, and the cold cared for the lone souls who had nowhere to hide for heat.

Everything and everyone felt it approaching. Annual plants slowly withered. Animals stored food. The winter was cruel, but tried to warn of its arrival through its doorman threshold guardian – the autumn. Autumn was here, at least for most of Alagaësia. In the south, autumn was just a milder summer. In the North, it was just a weaker Winter. The nights were getting longer, days shorter. There was one person who was not at all bothered by the Winter:

Marzanna.

Her chambers were completely engulfed in darkness; no fire or torch burnt. The window shutters were closed and released very little of the dull moonlight. Marzanna looked through one of the broken shutters out to the city and observed it for a while, careful to not show her face much. Over the course of the few days she was there, she got used to the sight.

She slowly withdrew her gaze from the outside and turned to her room. It was cold outside, but the weather was no match for how cold her bedroom was. The stones emanated cold fog that looked like steam, but it did not bother her. She once looked forward to winter, back when she suffered in the summer heat. It wasn't until now that she had really suffered. She did not realize how much she appreciated the company she used to have until she lost it.

She walked towards the chairs in front of her fireplace, ignoring the rugs and furs placed there. She took her place in the seat and reached toward the table, where a wall mirror lay. It used to hang next to the door, but for a while now she had been contemplating using it.

The metallic ornaments decorating the mirror were unyielding in her hands. She turned it so her face appeared in the surface, but it was not her face. She had associated this face with Boreas.

Marzanna was a monster, ashamed of what she had become. But it was a life she was stuck with; nothing in the world could convince her to go through death again. If she had any heart, she could have felt it clutch in fear.

Her thoughts turned again towards Boreas. It was time to stop excluding him from her life. She could feel that the reserves of energy inside her ice body were running low. She gently lowered the barriers protecting her from Boreas and searched for their link.

But it was just as cold as she was.

Marzanna panicked, almost dropping the mirror from her own dead hands. She called out to him multiple times, but no answer came. Deep inside her, she felt the link still alive, which calmed her somewhat.

She waited for him. The entire night and part of the day. Ever since her death, time had flown differently for her. She no longer felt the rush of life. She had all the time in the world. So it was not boredom which eventually defeated her patience. It was, in fact, loneliness.

Her days used to be filled with people, with company. Now, she was left with a tasteless memory of their presence. Her mind tapped into the last drops of her energy and she whispered, "Draumr kopá!"

Nothing happened for a while, and Marzanna started to wonder whether in her death she had lost some magical capabilities. But then, the surface became foggy, and as it cleared, it revealed the infamous Blue Rider.

His entire surroundings were white, but he was as bright as if she was seeing him with her own eyes. He looked concerned, but he always had in the last few weeks, before the battle. He suddenly started talking to someone, but Marzanna did not care. She was happy to finally see a familiar face. She clutched the mirror harder and brought it closer, wanting to touch her past.

Eragon turned sharply as if he was about to leave when someone familiar appeared in the mirror and grabbed his hand in order to stop him.

Just as Marzanna had brought the mirror to herself, she quickly pushed it away from her. A familiar uneasiness set inside her. Flashes of the whirlwinds of nothingness blinked through her mind.

It was Arya.

Suddenly, Eragon's frown deepened. He looked directly to Marzanna.

"Eragon!" she wanted to shout, but nothing came out. The spell ended itself as it drained even her last drop of energy. Since she did not know how much force to use, the mirror broke in her hard grasp. The shards fell on her lap and on the ground. The metallic structure stayed stuck inside her hands. And since her energy was gone, she could no longer move. She was just a statue now.

If she had had any tearducts, they would produce tears. Despite her efforts to help them, she had ended up alone.

As long as you are with me, you are not alone, said the now-familiar dark presence in her mind. She had almost forgotten about it. She no longer fought with it, accepting its company inside her head for the last couple days.

She wished she could answer, but that required energy as well.

They abandoned you. Even that sweet Eragon. You were just an instrument for them to win the war. As soon as that was done, they got rid of you, the crown whispered.

There was silence for a moment as Marzanna's thoughts turned back to Eragon. The dark presence followed the flow.

Why would he keep her around? He was right next to her when she killed you. Yet, she does not seem like a captive at all. You were always too far away from the Order, so your death went unpunished. You did not belong to the integrity of the Order. You belong here. The crown wickedly brought up a memory of how close Eragon had been to Arya as Marzanna died. It did not show anything else.

Then, it brought up what she had just witnessed. He is quite close to her, isn't he? He did not mourn you for long. You did not want to distract him or destroy your futures by pushing him away. But you drove him into her arms. Can you imagine how strong the Others, the elves, will be once they unite with the Order?

This lasted hours before Qybern found Marzanna in her state. He told her Boreas had gone hunting, since the kingdom had not been prepared to feed the huge dragon. It was another couple of hours before Boreas himself returned.

Another couple of hours of solitude, spent in the embrace of the crown.

+BREAK+

Since the early hours of the morning, the camp of dwarves, elves, Surdans and the Varden was filled with various rustling, pounding and cluttering. The tents were taken down, folded and stored for another possible war everyone hoped would never come.

Many boxes were nailed close and loaded on one of the many carriages traveling to various parts of Alagaësia. The cooks were busy preparing food for the travel and storing it for later. Some animals, too difficult to transport, had to be killed and their meat used, too.

Generally, the camp was filled with anxiety, but also the joy of finally returning home, despite the fact that some friendships forged under the most dangerous conditions would be broken forever, as their owners would never meet again.

There was just one room where no one was packing.

"Gilderien-elda," Eragon called out as he paced around the room, suffering from impatience and nervousness. There was a tremor to his voice, a hidden fear of the elves turning against him for what he had done.

The three Riders were in the same dining room they had been just a couple of days prior, deciding the fate of the whole of Alagaësia. Their things were packed already, prepared to leave. They just did not know where they would go. Dras-Leona had been the obvious choice, until the issue with the egg had arisen.

"Does that trash actually work?" asked Murtagh, after they had been staring at a mirror for what felt like ages.

To Eragon, at least, it was a very familiar mirror. It had belonged to Nasuada and Eragon had to dig it out of Nasuada's inheritance. It was a difficult task to do, but many soldiers and families had had to do the same with the things left behind by their fallen ones. And Eragon was the closest Nasuada had to family. It left him feeling numb. Otherwise, the guilt would probably have consumed him.

Oromis scowled at Murtagh for his lack of respect, but did not comment any further. There were more important matters. The Red Rider just shrugged in his defence, not at all sorry.

Nasuada's mirror was a special one. She had used it many times before to communicate with the elves and on a few occasions with Eragon as well. Now, it was of the utmost importance to communicate with Ellesméra. So far, unlucky. It had showed only some old trees of Du Weldenvarden.

Eragon called out a few more times, but nothing happened. The more time passed, the more anxious he felt.

Suddenly, there was some rustling close to the view in the mirror. "Atra esterni ono thelduin," started Gilderien the Wise with his soothing voice, finally appearing in the picture while motioning the typical elven greeting.

The Blue Rider blinked in confusion. He had been prepared to start the greeting in order to show his respect. "Mor'rana li'fa unin hjarta onr. Thank you for answering my call," started Eragon politely. "Pardon me for calling you this way. There is a very important matter on which we need Raefiler-elda's advice. May I ask you to get him for us?"

Gilderien listened to his wish, but looked suspicious. "Of course. I am sure our Queen, Arya-Dröttning, agrees, correct?" he asked, looking around the room of the small castle searching for the elf.

Oromis moved closer to the mirror. "Gilderien, iet fricai. I may tell you no more than this addresses the well-being of dragons. Please, not even my knowledges extend to this issue."

Gilderien gave in upon seeing Oromis. He nodded in his typical manner. "As you wish, Togiro Ikonoka." And with that, he disappeared from the picture. Eragon looked towards Oromis with appreciation.

What Gilderien unfortunately did not mention was how much time it would take.

Minutes dragged on and eventually turned into hours. Noone dared to leave the room, for that would be the moment Gilderien would show up. Murtagh pulled some dried meat out of his pocket and started chewing on it. The Blue Rider felt his stomach churn with hunger, especially when the smell hit his nose. Yes, he did not eat meat as much as before, but he had not given it up completely.

Eragon was close to asking Murtagh for some food when Raefiler appeared in the mirror. Despite having no information about the situation, there was some concern marring his face. "I heard there was a need for me," said Raefiler, skipping any introduction. Eragon noted how un-elflike it was. Raefiler reminded him in a way of Rhünon.

The Blue Rider was just about to speak when Raefiler interrupted him. "First of all, Oromis," he started, turning with sad look towards his friend. "My condolences. I am so deeply sorry for what has happened." The news was spreading quickly.

Oromis was silent for a while. He was still mourning, and knew he would be mourning for a long time for his lost time with his daughter. "Yes, thank you. Your support means a lot to me. However, there are more important matters." With that, he brought forward the egg.

Raefiler seemed confused. "I am not sure what you mean?" asked the elf in confusion. There was a spark of worry in Eragon that maybe Raefiler would not help them, that they had lost the last dragon egg.

"The egg stopped working. It's broken. So do some weird elf magic and fix it," said Murtagh as he consumed the last piece of meat and was finally paying attention to them. Oromis just closed his eyes slightly in embarrassment.

"Ah," exhaled Raefiler, his jaw clenched. "Oromis, could you please rotate the egg, so the light hits the cracks?" The other elf complied. Raefiler started rubbing his chin vigorously, clearly debating in his head what could be wrong. "How long has it been this way?"

"It has been maybe two or three days since we discovered this. But it is very likely that it appeared earlier. We hoped it was hatching, but there has been no progress whatsoever," Eragon said. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to it?"

"I might have a theory or two, yes," said Raefiler with an absent voice. "But I need to see the egg in person to confirm it." The concern from his face disappeared, instead replaced with some sort of a mischievous spark.

Eragon was worried he would hear that. He did not feel comfortable going to Du Weldenvarden, and the journey would take some time, which he had hoped he could spend in Dras-Leona establishing his rule. "Alright, we will manage it. It might take a week's time aboard dragons. Will that be sufficient?"

"Oh, if the egg is indeed broken, no time in the world would save it now. Take your time." Raefiler waved at it. "Also, I need to see every person who has touched the egg," he mentioned casually. He turned to leave but stopped himself before turning completely to look at his old friend. "But I believe, my dear Oromis, you are no longer obligated." And with that, he disappeared from view, and the mirror cleared itself of his surroundings.

There was a dense silence as all three Riders looked at each other in worry. "Well, that sounds troublesome," noted Murtagh. "Galbatorix let a lot of people touch the egg, but I don't remember it being broken when I got away from him."

Eragon dully nodded. "The only one we know of is Arya. So…," Eragon looked with hope towards Oromis, who just shook his head.

"I believe this is your task, Eragon-finiarel. Murtagh and I have a session planned now," said Oromis. The Red Rider's situation was quickly improving. His paralysis was luckily only inside his head. All he had to do was overcome the barrier.

The Blue Rider gulped but nodded, ignoring his clenched stomach, this time not from hunger. He got up and left the room with two pairs of eyes watching him like hawks.

+BREAK+

Eragon was packing the last of his things when he heard a commotion outside. He groaned loudly and rubbed his eyes. He had known it was coming but hoped for the best. Too bad.

Wish me luck, he murmured to Saphira, who was napping in the last weak rays of sun. He felt her yawn through their bond and teasingly, she sent him the thought of just how calm and relaxing an afternoon she was having. He rolled his eyes.

He opened the door and called to the guards Jörmundur had set him. "You can let her in." Without waiting for his guest to come up, he disappeared back into his chambers and continued packing his tunics.

He heard her soft steps with his elvish senses. "What is the meaning of this?!" said Arya. Eragon turned just in time for a crumpled piece of parchment hit his forehead. The Blue Rider could hardly remember when Arya had last been this mad. "You… you dare to go behind my back to call Raefiler! You schedule a meeting with him in MY kingdom, without even consulting me? How do you think I look to my own people!" She was not shouting, but her voice was unyielding.

"I don't know, Arya. And frankly, I do not care much. We needed him to consult us on the egg, as you know. I thought you cared for it as much as we do." Eragon shrugged. "But maybe not anymore. Maybe being a queen really got to your head," he added spitefully. He knew he should have known better than to say that, so he was not surprised when a slap landed on his cheek as he turned to face her.

He winced, but gave no other reaction. The slap did not hurt, but the intention behind it was clear.

There was regret in Arya's eyes, but her expression betrayed nothing. She took a step away from him and smoothed her clothes. "I apologize. That was out of line," she said, even though she did not look apologetic at all. "I do care for the egg. I just wish you had consulted me before. I have no intentions of denying you the meeting of Raefiler. But news travels quickly, and I do not think it is in your best interests to be visiting Ellesméra nor Du Weldenvarden anytime soon."

"I forgive you in this matter, but don't think of doing it again." Eragon's jaw clenched. Only a year ago he would have not dreamed of talking to Arya this way. "I understand. I apologize for going behind your back. I shall consult you next time. But it is necessary for us to see Raefiler. And, as you know from my note, he demanded to see you, too."

"Yes, I read that. I just do not think you will be accepted well in Ellesméra." Arya thought for a second. "I can schedule a meeting of Raefiler, the Order and I in Gil'ead. Would that work for you?"

Eragon poked Saphira in his mind to consult with her.

That does not sound too bad. Ceunon and Gil'ead were not hit by the Varden and your own soldiers might meet a resistance there from Galbatorix's supporters. Your presence might make it easier to defeat them. Eragon had to smile, pleased that she had still listened in on their conversation in case he needed her.

"That would work for us as well. Now, if you excuse me, I need to inform Murtagh and Oromis," Eragon said, turning to leave. He was concerned about their reaction, hoping it would be positive.

"Eragon, please wait," said Arya, somewhat gentler than before. As he passed her, she reached out to him and caught his hand.

The Blue Rider turned to face her, but felt a strange shiver pass his spine. It made the hair on his nape stand up. He looked up with a frown on his face. And then, just as the feeling appeared, it just as quickly disappeared.

His focus turned again to Arya and he gently but firmly freed his hand. "What is it, Arya?"

"Must things be like this in between us? This situation is putting a strain between the alliance of human and elves," Arya said almost pleadingly.

It surprised Eragon, but even he had to admit he felt the strain. "We can be civil to each other. I admit it was spiteful to go behind your back and inform you through a note. But our friendship is gone. My affections for you are gone with it. You murdered her," Eragon said with a voice void of emotions.

"Is it again about her? Does she have to make everything difficult even from her grave?" said Arya, frowning.

"From her grave." Eragon smirked bitterly, but it only showed how much the loss had affected him. "That is rich. The shards were difficult to retrieve in order to bury them. Arya, how would you feel if you had at your disposal the murderer of your mother?"

Arya's face turned blank. "Are you comparing my mother to Marzanna? My mother was fighting alongside her people with a common enemy. She fell for what she thought was good."

"That does not answer my question. I saw Marzanna save multiple Varden members just before you killed her. One of them was my cousin Roran. Unfortunately, her murderer is out of my reach. I can be civil to you, but never your friend."

With those words, he left.