In his mind echoed a voice of fire: 'Our gift so you may do what you must.'

The dragon bent his neck and, with his snout, touched the heart of Eragon's gedwey ignasia. A spark jumped between them, and Eragon went rigid as incandescent heat poured through his body, consuming his insides. His vision flashed red and black, and the scar on his back burned as if branded. Fleeing to safety, he fell deep within himself, where darkness grasped him and he had not the strength to resist it.

Last, he again heard the voice of fire say, 'Our gift to you'(Eldest).

As he lost consciousness, Eragon failed to hear both Oromis and Gleadr cry out, and also fade into the world of shadows. All around them elves fell into a panic, and Sapphira roared at the sky.

And hundreds of miles away, in a place with no name, two beings long thought lost to legend, opened their eyes.

Chp.1

After residing in darkness for so long, one might think that it would take time for one's eyes to adjust after being reopened. However, for Vidarr it was not so. When his eyes parted he immediately took in his surroundings.

The first thing Vidarr noticed was that he was laying beside Freyr, his dragon, who was also taking in his surroundings. He did a quick check to make sure both he and the partner of his heart were both physically fine. Even now he was awed by the magnificence of Freyr, something he did not think would ever change, but once he was completely sure that both he and Freyr were alright, Vidarr stood and stretched. Having been many years since he last was on his feet, it took just a bit longer than normal to loosen up.

Now taking the time to examine his immediate surroundings, Vidarr looked upon the cave which had been their tomb for these many years. It was a good cave, as far as caves go. The ceiling, while not very tall, was high enough for even Freyr to crawl inside. It was also quite a long cave, all the better for making shelter during storms, which was precisely why it was chosen. However, it was also time to leave this cave, as neither of its inhabitants had meant to have been here for this long.

Voice nearly inaudible from disuse, Vidarr turned to his long time friend with a look of determination upon his face. "Freyr my dear friend. It is time to find those that imprisoned us here and make them pay for daring to cross us."

Freyr simply growled in agreement, not needing to put to words his feelings. While Freyr started to crawl out of the cave, Vidarr gathered up what few things were in the cave with him, and checked one last time to ensure that they were not missing anything, and followed his dragon into the night.

Once they were both free from the cave and standing beneath the stars, Freyr was finally able to stretch out to his full size, and ready himself for the flight ahead.

"Climb on brother-of-my-heart, and hold tight, for long has it been since I have had need to fly so swiftly. To Ellesmera we will go; it is much closer to us than Vroengard, but either way, I believe we need to speak with the Elf-King. Much treachery is afoot."

"Yes Freyr, I believe you are right" Vidarr responded, bounding up the side of the massive dragon with apparent ease. "We have many questions that need answering, my friend, and it is with the elves that we will start."

With a tremendous leap, Freyr launched himself into the sky, heading south. Unbeknownst to either the rider or dragon, it had been many years since anyone had flown in this region of Alagaesia. Had there been anyone living nearby, and if they had happened to look skyward, they would have been witness to something that had not been seen in over a thousand years. For on that night, an ancient had taken to the skies, and it was a sight that would bring both fear and hope to the hearts of every living creature that saw it. With a speed unheard of, and grace befitting something a hundred times smaller, Freyr and Vidarr flew towards the heart of the elven kingdom.

Eragon awoke slowly that morning, although which morning it was he could not say for certain. Slowly sitting up he noticed that something did not seem right. There was a distinct absence of pain, something that had been with him ever since Durza had delivered his final blow. Taking a moment to do a quick check of himself, he came to the conclusion that he had, as a matter of fact, never felt this good. Stretching his arms above his head, he looked around the room, noticing that everything seemed to move a bit slower. He also seemed to be processing information quicker than he was used to. Starting to feel a little wary about what he was feeling he reached out his consciousness towards Sapphira, startled to feel that she was already nervously flitting about his mind.

"About time little one. Are you alright? We have all been worried about you!"

"I am fine Sapphira, better than fine if truth be told. Do you know why I feel like this?"

"No one has been able to explain it yet Eragon. At nearly the same time that you lost consciousness, so did Oromis and Glaedr. The elves have worked themselves into quite a panic with the three of you seemingly attacked at the same time."

"What?! Are they ok? I had no idea that something had happened to them as well. Let me get dressed and we will go see them."

"Hurry little one, but do not fear, even now I can feel both of our teachers waking."

Leaping to his feet, Eragon raced towards his discarded clothes and put them on at a record pace. "Sapphira, where are you? I am ready."

"Outside little one. Jump from the window and I will catch you."

In his hurry to check on his teachers, Eragon only vaguely recognized how effortless it was to move across the room and leap from the window. Landing upon Sapphira's back, she immediately turned and flew, at least as far as he recognized, towards the Menoa Tree. Neither spoke while they flew, simply sharing their memories of the time apart since the ceremony.

Within moments they were landing at the base of the Menoa tree in the same spot as the ceremony, which Eragon had discovered from Sapphira, the night before. A large crowd of elves had gathered about, and in the center of the group lay their teachers. Oromis and Glaedr were slowly rousing themselves from what appeared to have been a deep slumber, although everyone present knew that it was anything but. Leaping from Sapphira before she had even fully touched down, he rushed towards Oromis seeing as he was the first to rise. Embracing his teacher, Eragon could not help but notice that the old elf seemed to have frozen. Leaning back and studying his teacher, Eragon asked if everything was alright.

"I am whole again…" was whispered back.

"What do you mean master?"

Looking up and smiling the brightest, most childlike smile that Eragon had ever seen upon his teacher's face, Oromis practically shouted, "I am whole again Eragon! I am free!"

And with a burst of unbridled laughter, Oromis quite literally ran up the side of the tree and reverse flipped off of a branch twenty feet off the ground. Shocked, the large gathering surrounding the riders merely stared in wonder at what appeared to be a whole and healthy dragon rider. No longer did it appear that he was the Cripple who is Whole. Now, only the Morning Sage remained.

As the silence was beginning to be broken by joyous words, Glaedr chose this moment to pick himself up off the ground. Exclamations of shock and joy swept through the clearing, for while the large dragon was just as magnificent and beautiful as before, he now stood upon not three, but all four legs.

Glaedr himself seemed shocked at his newly returned limb, sniffing it and stomping it a few times each. Raising his gilded head, Glaedr locked eyes with Oromis, and before his longtime companion had the time to utter a sound, he raised his head towards the heavens and let out a deafening roar. This roar was not one of anger or even joy. It was a roar meant as a challenge to the world from one who was once again ready to wage war upon those who had killed his kin.

Cheers erupted all around, even Eragon and Sapphira joining in. However, before everyone descended into a celebration, a ripple moved throughout the crowd as everyone froze once again. Gilderian the Wise was calling them all to attention.

In his slow, musical cadence, Gilderian said but three words. Three words that put fear into the hearts of everyone present.

"They are coming."

And many miles in the distance, an answering roar was heard.