Chapter II: Arrival

The morning dawned as it always did; this one calm as the sun's brilliant rays bathed the waiting land in light and warmth. Those in the land of Alagaesia were beginning to rise and begin an honest day's work, but things in Ellesmera were already abuzz with excitement. The ship to take them across had been readied; it was a fair size, however it would not fit five dragons. Three was the maximum, and even then it would be a tight squeeze, so two of them would have to fly. The journey was too long for the young dragons to fly the whole way, which was why they were taking the ship. The only way back from Arkenea was to fly, which in itself was an indication that the dragons were ready for tasks other than training.

A gentle breeze stirred the leaves around them, rusting the Queen Arya's dark brown hair. Beside her stood Firnen, and the two of them gazed silently for a moment out over the vast expanse of water below them. The Queen had a hand resting on the green dragon's great leg, and though the action was small and insignificant she stroked a scale with her thumb.

"I take it that he's not one of yours," she said gently. Overnight Firnen's thoughts were clouded; she knew he needed privacy.

A soft rumble escaped the dragon's throat, and for the first time since coming to rest there he shifted. 'No, he is not.'

It had been a long time, over a hundred years, since he had seen Saphira. Their brief time together had resulted in the beginning of the next line of dragons, and as time wore on and more eggs were laid and sent over, it was only inevitable that Saphira would become attached to another. Dragons were not monogamous creatures, however it was widely accepted that while a mated pair was alive and together that no one else would get in the way. Dragons did not love in the same way as humans did, but this feeling of disappointment that coursed through him was hard to ignore. Luan was the first of Saphira's in half a century, the first batch of dragons sired by another.

There was another lapse of silence before Arya spoke once more. "I have an odd feeling about those two. I don't quite know what it means, but they are unlike any other pair in quite some time. I feel…apprehensive about them going." The Queen was voicing these things for the first time. It was merely an inkling; a small voice of doubt that said if those two went over something was going to change. The scale of this change was something that she had no idea about, and this feeling certainly wasn't enough to prohibit them from going.

'It isn't something we can stop,' Firnen was stating the obvious.

"I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens," she finished absently. It was time to move; from their vantage point she could see the riders gathering at the small port, dragons both on the ground and circling overhead. With complete synchronisation this particular rider stepped forward as her dragon slid off the ledge, and seamlessly she stepped onto his back and they were in the air.

From below, the five riders watched as the Queen and her dragon drifted down towards them. It was a magnificent sight; the sun glinted majestically off the green scales, throwing rainbows of colour in all directions. For a few short moments Firnen's great form blotted out the sun completely, until that final flare of his wings that had him settling on the ground. There was silence among the group; even the elves seemed nervous about this journey they were about to undertake. The passage had been known for being treacherous, turning the journey itself into a test. As of yet no riders had been lost, but a few had come close. At the very least, they came out of it as stronger people. Needless to say, Ilia hadn't got much sleep the night before.

"Greetings, Riders. I trust that you slept well?" The glint in her eyes told them that she understood this was not the case. The lack of response from her audience told her to continue on. "There is now nothing left for me to say, you are all aware of the journey that lies ahead of you. As is custom, I will fly with you until the boundaries of our nation, and then you are on your own. Atra esterni ono thelduin, Shur'tugal, un se onr sverdar sitja hvass," she repeated her farewell from the night before, though it was almost lost as Firnen gave a farewell of his own. Lifting his head the dragon sent a hot flame into the air, finishing it off with a roar that rumbled the very ground they stood on.

Ilia didn't bother getting on the ship; she had volunteered Luan to be one of the first to take flight. Narqa and her dragon Elen would take to the air with them, and Ilia found herself glad. Despite everything the urgal was the one she'd bonded with the most; which meant that she'd actually had a conversation with them. The elves were rather intimidating, the dwarf seemed content to keep to herself, and the man she just found difficult to be around. His name was Sorren, she had gathered, and his dragon was a black thing called Arin. Both were a little cocky for her taste, though it seemed that being among the elves put them in their place. Arin was the youngest of the dragons, having only been hatched a few months ago, and his youth was evident. Sorren himself was the same age as Ilia, though he lacked a certain maturity that he'd undoubtedly gain over a very short amount of time.

True to her words, Queen Arya and Firnen rode with the others until an invisible landmark. The excitement in the air was tangible; even Firnen seemed thrilled with the opportunity to spread his wings like this with those of his own kin. The two males jostled each other a little in the air; Firnen had size and speed on his side, but Luan seemed more adept at acrobatics than his elder. The silver dragon's agility in the air seemed a bit of a surprise, as was picked up by the general tenor of the thoughts emanating from all parties moving through the sky. Ilia felt that he was showing off a little and it was all she could do to sit there and hang on, though there was a reason he was so good at it. As it stood, he seemed to have caught the brown female's attention, and Ilia couldn't help but think that had been his intention the whole time.

When it came time for the Queen and her partner to remain behind there was an impression on all of their minds; no words, but the combined consciousness of them both to leave the new riders with a final farewell. There was a final roar from Firnen, the sound of it resounding across the open sea; any creature for miles would be able to hear it, and would no doubt cower. And so it was, that the five riders and their dragon partners truly began the first leg of their journey.

Travel was difficult. Things had started off rather nicely, with the sun bearing down on them and the wind pushing them forward. It was not until the middle of the second day that things began to change for the worse.

During the night and through the morning clouds had rolled in, and though there was a storm in the distance the winds had remained favourable. However at midday there was a sudden change in both wind speed and direction, ensuring that this storm would now cross their path directly. Ilia was not of sea-faring folk, and while the ship was in fact enchanted surely a storm would surely force them to help out. Not that Ilia was against helping; she was quite willing, if it meant she wasn't going to die, it was just that her lack of knowledge didn't help. The sea was unforgiving and any mistake on her part could be costly. She did learn quickly though, if only out of necessity. Thankfully the crew of the ship was skilled and knowledgeable, and they seemed to know these waters well.

By the end of the fourth day, Ilia was certain that none of them were going to survive this. If they didn't perish in the storm or die of starvation, they were all going to kill each other. The elves were haughty and didn't bother to associate with the rest of them unless necessary, though circumstance had forced them all together which they had not been overly impressed with. Sorren was doing his best to get on everyone's nerves, and only that morning Narqa and Althea, the dwarf, had actually come to blows. Even with Althea's stunted height the two females were bigger than everyone else, and stronger than anyone who would have cared to step in. Strangely enough it had been Arin to break them up; the young dragon was nursing a few wounds and had gotten fed up with the two of them bickering and fighting where he was trying to rest. Even the dragons themselves were getting to each other; it was rather clear that Luan had decided he fancied Elen, and with four males who had never seen another dragon before, let alone a female, this had not gone over all that well. He was standing his ground though, considering that they all still had to take shifts being in the air which both subdued and inciting the fighting between them. The blasted female seemed to be enjoying this, and had largely pretended she was oblivious to it all. The only thing Luan really had going for him was the fact that she really did seem to take notice of him more, though it could perhaps be due to the fact that this often riled the others up. The obvious tension between the riders and dragons seemed to have an effect on the overall morale of the crew; everyone was grumpy now.

It was almost a shock, then, when the storm let up. The constant motion of the ship had been going on for so long that those in it barely noticed, so when it stopped it roused everyone from their sleep. Ilia rose to find that morning had dawned, and while the sky was still overcast it brought with it the promise of a better day.

"Land! There's land over there!"

At the cry the rest of them hustled out to the deck, coming to find that Sorren was indeed right. The young man was practically hanging from the crow's nest; he hadn't been able to really get up there until the storm had let up.

With renewed energy they started moving, forsaking the ship completely and each climbing onto the backs of their respective dragons.

The group of five raced towards the land, palpable excitement swirling with the beat of every wing. Still it was a competition, with each dragon straining for the lead. To be the first to touch ground would give no one special honour, save for the satisfaction that they had done it.

Once they got closer it seemed that they had a welcoming party. There stood a row of massive dragons, obviously among the first ever born in the new age. They shone various colours; the sun had since come out and now glinted off their scales. This was not the entire population of the island; only a select seven.

It was the dragon in the middle, however, that commanded the most attention. Larger than the rest, it was obviously the oldest. The lines of its muscle and the lithe build strong indicated a female, and her brilliant blue scales may as well have been gemstones themselves. She was resting, but it was clear that she was of great importance, and knew it, simply by the way that she carried herself.

''That is my mother,' came Luan's thoughts, and for a moment Ilia was surprised. Oh. So this was the great Saphira. That meant that the man sitting astride this great dragon was none other than their master and teacher, Eragon himself.

The five dragons pressed for the final burst of speed, obviously holding no reverence for the fact that they were all about to meet this legend they heard about in story and song. Ilia spared a glance towards the elves; she could practically see the conflict on their faces. No doubt they would have been brought up to revere this figure; to meet him would be an honour. Really, Ilia didn't care; perhaps if she annoyed him enough he would send her away. A dragon and rider with no training would have no option to fight for the Empire.

It was because of this lack of propriety that Luan barreled down towards the ground first. The others had pulled back at the last second, allowing for softer and more graceful landings. Even Arin managed to get his feet under him in time, though it was clear that the young dragon had wanted to win this race at any costs. Having suffered the most wounds during the trip, inflicted by his brethren, he was out to prove something.

'Now there is an entrance we have not seen before.' It was an unconventional greeting, to be sure, but Ilia supposed that this was an unconventional arrival. However the sapphire dragon did not look offended; in fact she looked rather amused. As Luan picked himself up off the ground there was no shame in his countenance; in fact he almost seemed proud of himself. Ilia was proud of him too; he'd picked up a thing or two from her.

Neither Luan nor Ilia said anything, however, and with a quiet rumble the silver dragon took his place beside the others, managing to isolate Elen in the process of doing so.

It was at this point that the rider on the blue dragon dismounted. The others in his company did the same, and so the new arrivals thought it prudent to follow suit. While Ilia would have preferred to remain where she was, a gentle prodding from Luan had her sliding from the saddle and on the ground with the others.

"Eka aí fricai un Shur'tugal," Eragon spoke then, and the other riders and dragons with him nodded in agreement. "Atra esterní ono thelduin"

'I am a Rider and a friend, and may good fortune rule over you', Luan translated; he knew his rider's skill with the ancient language was horrible at best.

'Well that's a bit obvious,' Ilia thought back; Eragon was obviously a rider, and if he wasn't a friend than they were all in trouble.

Luan quite obviously had to hold back his laughter, 'Formalities, Dove. You know how the Ancient Language works.' Well, she didn't, but she would have to.

Ilia rolled her eyes at the pet name; he thought it quite funny because she was nothing like a dove at all.

Despite the quick exchange her eyes were fixed on the figure in front of them. For all the stories and legends about him, Ilia was expecting something…well, much different than this. He looked much younger than she'd imagined; he didn't even have facial hair. His build was nothing impressive, and though it was clear that he was an excellent fighter his bulk was nothing to think twice about. He wasn't overly tall either; average, really, though he did at least seem to be at an appropriate weight. What caught her off guard the most was how incredibly handsome this man was. There was an ethereal quality to him, like the elves, but his was more of an earthly kind. He had the same grace and general distinction of an elf, his ears even came to a point, however there was also something distinctly human about his features. The hard lines of his jaw and the weathered look in his eyes, despite his youthful appearance, told her that this man was at least partly human, even if he looked much too young to be well over a hundred years old.

"Come, I'm sure you're all very tired. We've got proper meals and beds prepared for all of you." He'd gotten straight to the point, though this wasn't the first batch of new riders he'd dealt with. He knew that they would all be tired for the journey was long and difficult, and they likely needed some time and space from one another. Well, they would be able to get all of their frustrations out on the training fields within the next few days; there would be little rest for them until he had properly assessed where these young riders were.

Calmer of the Storm: I know it's been a while; things have gotten rather busy. Hint: Reviews make me update faster! Haha.