A Father's Love
Verbal Speech: 'word'
Mental Speech: 'word'
Ancient language or other languages: 'word'
Outside the twisted ruin of Gil'ead, two figures faced one another. One, a lone, helmed, long-haired elf, with a pale sword facing his enemy. The other, a massive orange dragon, bristled a short distance away, his claws digging into the dirt. The dragon's teeth glinted in the sun, and fiery orange eyes seemed to attempt to pierce the elf before him. Solustenr, bristling, took one step forward before Oromis stepped in front of him. "Wait!" The elf called out, his arms outstretched, but his face pointed back at the armored elf. "If this is to happen, it must be done properly. While you know the way this shall proceed, Lord Aeron, Solustenr does not." The grey-haired elf irritated, twitched his face in annoyance, but lowered his sword gesturing with his free black-gloved hand.
"Fine! Fine! I have waited over a hundred years for this moment. I suppose I can wait a short while longer to put him down. Explain then, and explain with haste" he said. Turning his head back to Solustenr, Oromis drew close to him.
"Why would you do this, Solus?" the elf's voice sounded in his mind. "This will bring you no joy."
The dragon inclined his head, bringing it down to Oromis' height. "That fool has forgotten his place. He sows misery with every breath he takes. He spat upon me with his words, and he dishonors Aerin's memory. It is not for myself that I fight. I fight to preserve her name." The dragon halted his words, and guilt swam through him. "And his words ring with a semblance of truth. I am responsible for her death. If my ego and pride had not gotten the better of me, she might still live today."
The elf started at this, before he carefully replied. "Very well. If there can be no way of averting this fight, then you must be prepared for it. You may know of some of our traditions, but the Dauthí Verrunsmal has long been a secret, even amongst the elves. Besides the Rádr abr Traevamar, it is the eldest rule we have. Before our bond with the dragons was created, our passions ran amok, both in love and war. In order to prevent our squabbles from consuming our race, a system was devised. Far from the more ordered nature of Rádr abr Traevamar, the Dauthí Verrunsmal was established to halt blood feuds before they began. If one elf had offended another to the point of no resolve, they would fight with every resource at their disposal, until one of the parties had either killed or defeated the other. After this, the matter was considered resolved, and could not be contested or brought up once more." Oromis sighed. "Lord Aeron is strong, quite strong indeed. He will insist upon death. Fight with everything you have. Hold nothing back."
"I understand" Solustenr replied. "Thank you, Ebrithil."
"Focus, hatchling. Harden yourself" Glaedr rumbled. "Remember your claws, tail, spikes, and fangs, and remember further still that the mind must be sharper."
Stepping away, Oromis and Glaedr backed up to several dozen yards away from Lord Aeron and Solustenr, before Oromis called out "He is ready, Lord Aeron. This may proceed."
Smirking, Lord Aeron twirled his sword in his hand, before holding the blade pointed down. "Has your little stalk of wheat been sufficiently prepared for the harvest, Oromis? May we begin at last?"
His face now an emotionless mask, Oromis ignored the lord's words. "The Dauthí Verrunsmal has been called and answered. Atra du Dauthí Verrunsmal vekja!" At his words, the elf lord raised his sword once more, and steeled himself.
"Are you prepared for death, beast?!" he roared. "I am happy to bestow upon you such a gift!"
"Enough talk." the dragon snarled. "Time to die." Bracing himself on his hindlegs, the dragon felt the hot liquid fire within his belly rush through him, and opened his mouth to unleash the flame. To his surprise, Solustenr found nothing emit from his maw but hot air, and shook his head in confusion.
"Ha! Surprised, are we?" Lord Aeron shouted. "Do you not forget you swore an oath, dragon? Your flames cannot harm me." His knees and arms bent, the elf drew closer to the stunned dragon. The dragon charged at the elven lord, only for Lord Aeron to thrust his right hand forward and utter a simple "Aptr" causing the orange dragon to be thrown back several dozen yards. Lord Aeron seemed to slump momentarily, but merely tapped the pale brown gem bound to the hilt of his blade and stood tall once more. Chagrined, Solustenr began backing up from the approaching elf lord, his head spinning and trying to come up with a plan. At once, the solution hit him. Instead of backing up further, the dragon drew himself on his haunches, and began stalking toward the elf, before beginning to amble forward. Just before he drew within range of the elf's sword, he abruptly stopped mid-pace, turned to a side, and whipped his tail violently toward the elf. Lord Aeron's eyes widened, and he twisted, barely managing to avoid being impaled on the spiked appendage. The tail's force still knocked into him and sent the elf flying. Just before he hit the ground, Lord Aeron tucked into a roll as he hit the earth. Without skipping a beat, the elf leaped to his feet, and began running back at the dragon. His eyes pinpoints, Solustenr snarled, before charging at the elf. He swiped a massive paw at the approaching elf lord. Lord Aeron jumped, vaulting over the leg, before catching the limb in a hand. Gripping the leg, he used the momentum to spring himself atop the appendage and using it to run up the dragon. As he ran, the elf dragged his blade, the sharpened edge cutting deeply in Solus's back. Solustenr desperately tried to shake the elf off, but to no avail. The elven lord ran along the dragon's foreleg, quickly reaching the dragon's neck. Smirking, he drew back his blade and stabbed downward.
Acting fast, Solustenr rolled, tucking in his legs and wings, causing the slightly curved sword to hit Solustenr's armored spine at an angle, glancing off of his scales. Lord Aeron merely ran along the turning dragon's side, reaching his largely unprotected belly. Once more, the elven lord drew back his blade, before sharply thrusting the slim sword into Solustenr's abdomen. Unlike his protected back and tail, the dragon's belly was largely bare, with only patches of light purple and orange scales dotting his flesh here and there. The sword sank up to the hilt, just missing his heart of hearts, before rivulets of blood began issuing forth. Solustenr felt pain, greater than he had perhaps ever felt before. He howled in agony, and quick as a snake, grasped the elf in his jaws, and threw him into the ground, pinning him with a foreleg, much like Shruikan had done to him.
Lord Aeron scrabbled around, attempting to free himself, but like Solus before him, his efforts proved unfruitful. He clutched at his sword, but the blade remained firmly embedded in the amber dragon's belly. Sensing victory, Solustenr opened his mouth wide before snapping at the elven lord's head. Just an inch from his goal, his teeth rebounded on the lord's wards. Snarling, the dragon redoubled his efforts, viciously striking at the elf's face with his forelegs. Over and over again, his claws came close to ripping Lord Aeron's head off, and each time they were rebuffed. Over time, however, the elf's wards began to weaken. At last, his talons struck downwards, and instead of being stopped, continued through, striking the hard earth. His claws, once merely pinning the elf, suddenly ripped into his shoulder and left arm. Solustenr drew his head backwards and prepared to end his foe. Just as he opened his maw once more, he paused. Thoughts of Aerin drifted through his mind, and the dragon stared at the pinned elf below him. "Do it!" the elf cried. "End me! Finish this and be done!"
Looking at Lord Aeron, he saw rage evident on his face. But as he gazed further upon the elf, searching beyond the anger that twisted the elf's features, the dragon saw pain, grief, and loss roiling across the lord's mind that mirrored his own torrent of pain. Bending his head down low, Solustenr almost brushed the elf's face with his snout. "Yield," the dragon whispered, a strained undercurrent underlying his words. "And I will consider this matter resolved."
"Yield? To you? Why would I ever do such a thing? After everything that the Riders took from me, after what you took from ME!?" the elven lord roared, his eyes suddenly glistening with tears.
Solustenr bowed his head low. "In that you are right. I did take her from you. I chose your daughter for selfish reasons. I chose her because I believed myself too great for a partner, and instead deserved a servant. I viewed her as nothing more than something that I could use. In my arrogance, I ignored who she truly was. It has been, and shall remain, my deepest mistake, that I only came to realize how much I cared for her moments before she died. If I had not been so arrogant, so vain, so foolish, she would have lived today. I agree with you; I am responsible for your daughter's death. I failed her." Tears began to form at the corners of his left eye, then his right, before dripping on either side of the entrapped elf. "For that," the dragon bowed his head, and continued. "I can only beg your forgiveness. Yield to me. I failed Aerin and caused her death. I cannot cause the death of her kin as well." As he said those last few words, the dragon released his foreleg, allowing the elf to breathe.
Lord Aeron, still lying on the ground, trembled. Several times he opened his mouth to speak but said nothing. Oromis and Glaedr attempted to approach the pair, thinking the fight over, but Solustenr quickly snapped his head to face them and snarled to back off. Finally, the elven lord spoke, his words barely more than a murmur, halting and stilted. "I…I…I forgive you... and I yield." He swallowed, the action painful for him. "But while I will quarrel with you no more, I cannot ever forgive the Riders. They took everything from me, made me into a shell of what I once was." Struggling once more, the elf attempted to free himself. Confused, Solustenr backed up allowed him to stand, the dragon watching the lord carefully. His bloody left arm hanging limp by his side, Lord Aeron used his teeth to tug at the glove that covered his right hand. Finally ripping the article of clothing off, Lord Aeron thrust his hand at the dragon. Barely visible on the palm, gleaming silver against the smooth pale skin, lay a gedwëy ignasia.
The dragon reared back in surprise, stunned by what he saw. "What? You? You were a- "
"No! Never! Never call me that! I am not one of your kind! I never wanted this! I was pushed toward an egg, as all elven children are, and encouraged to place my hand upon it. The Riders told me my unusual might in magic was needed for their order, that it would be an honor to join them. I pleaded with the dragon inside that shell with everything that I had, begged for it not to hatch. I was happy as I was and did not desire to be torn from my family. When it hatched, despite my pleas, I felt my heart shatter. So, I rejected the dragon, refused to acknowledge it. The thing drew to me still, pushed itself into my hand, and formed the bond. In my rage, I turned in on the fragile cord that formed us, and shattered it. The dragon died in an instant, but I remained in the world. I was referred to as Eld Neita, Denier, for my sin. I was outcast from Ellesméra and chose to reside instead in Nädindel. In an effort to repair myself, I used magic to reshape my features and body, and gave myself a new name. Despite what I had done, the absence of the bond still gnawed at me like a gaping wound. I felt incomplete, as if something had been torn from me. When Aerin was born, though, I felt myself begin to heal. I began to hope that one day, my wound would finally close, and I would be whole once more."
The elven lord paced back and forth, before stabbing a finger at the orange dragon. "But when I saw YOU had hatched for Aerin, the gap tore open once more. When she returned to me, the daughter that I had known was gone. The sweet, gentle child had been replaced by someone I did not recognize. You had taken her from me, and I knew that eventually, given time, she would come to experience what I had lost, willingly or unwillingly. I could not bear to see that, and cast her out, though my heart near ripped itself apart." He clutched at his chest. "When she died, I lost any hope of reconciliation. Once more, I am but one ragged part of a whole, a lock without a key." He gazed into the dragon's eyes, his voice trembling. "How did she pass? Was it-?"
"She died bravely, against overwhelming odds. I held her as she passed, with a smile on her face. She never felt the bond break. Only I did." Solustenr softly replied.
"I thank you…Solustenr." Lord Aeron whispered.
The amber dragon dipped his head down once more. "I am truly sorry for the way the Riders treated you. I had no knowledge of this happening. While I know of nothing that can help you, I can at least apologize on their behalf." As he bent down, a twinge of pain ripped through of him, and he was once again reminded of the sword still stuck in his abdomen. Striding carefully forwards, the elven lord slowly removed the blade lodged within Solustenr, the orange dragon groaning as the sword was taken out. As he extricated the sword, Lord Aeron placed a hand on the stone on his sword, and chanted spells of healing. Magic sewed up the grievous wound, smooth soft skin and scale covering the once gaping hole, as if nothing had ever pierced it. Once he had sheathed his blade, the lord turned to himself, and tore up a swathe of cloth from his tunic, and began binding his wounds. "Will you not heal yourself as well? Those wounds must be quite painful" Solustenr questioned. Letting a pained smile break through, the elf replied "I will let these wounds heal in their own time. The scars will serve as a reminder of my defeat, and what I gained today. I wish you luck in your fight. Thank you, Solustenr."
Painfully, the elf bent a knee upon the ground, and twisted his hand over his chest. He magically amplified his voice, so that even Oromis and Glaedr, some distance away could hear. "I yield to you. The Dauthí Verrunsmal has concluded" he cried. With that, the gray haired elf slightly inclined his head in the direction of the great golden dragon and his Rider, before slowly walking off back to Gil'ead. Solustenr watched the elf walk off into the distance, before turning back to his masters.
When the copper dragon finally reached his teachers, Oromis was staring at the slowly disappearing figure of Lord Aeron. "What did he show you, Solus?" Oromis asked, a puzzled look on his face.
"What do you mean, Master?" Solustenr replied.
"While I was unable to hear your conversation, I saw him show you something, and I am inclined to believe it to be of some importance. I would not have imagined that he would have yielded so easily."
"That is not my secret to share. Suffice it to say that we came to an understanding" Solus replied cryptically. Glaedr snorted, a great plume of smoke drifting upwards into the sky.
"Whatever the conversation contained, you did well, hatchling. Not many would have spared his life, especially after the blow he inflicted upon you." he rumbled.
"Why would you give him mercy?" Oromis questioned.
"Vengeance consumed him, as it currently consumes me" the orange dragon replied, stretching his limbs experimentally, and then in delight as his chest did not pain him. "But now, I see peace within him. Someday, when this war has ended, perhaps I shall find my solace as well." Oromis climbed astride Glaedr, and the two dragons took to the sky. Gently gliding above Gil'ead, the fires from the siege having now finally ended, Solustenr pondered what would happen next. As the dragon beat his wings, he thought of the battles that lay ahead, the many lives he would have to end. He even dared dream of a free Alagaesia and the Riders restored once more. Opening his maw, he belched a great orange flame and bared his teeth, fiercely grinning in anticipation.
Dauthí Verrunsmal-Death Fight
Rádr abr Traevamar-Council of Trees
Ebrithil-Teacher/Master
Atra du Dauthí Verrunsmal vekja!-Let the Death Fight begin!
Aptr-Backward
Gedwëy ignasia-Shining palm
Another one down! I had wanted originally wanted this to be added onto the last chapter, but felt the fight deserved its own separate place. If anyone wonders how Lord Aeron was brought down, I essentially mirrored how Oromis was brought down in Brisingr. While I think Oromis should have planned for the possibility of being separated from Naegling, I'd be more willing to wager Lord Aeron would not have planned for something quite like that happening. If you wish, this can be considered the end of the first 'part' of this book, entitled "Mourning" whereas the next chapters will be in the second, entitled "Oathkeeper". Where events that took place within Brisingr are contained in this and the previous chapters, all the following chapters will be directly involved with Inheritance.