Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time to read the story! This is my first time properly writing fanfiction or even stories in general, so I hope it is enjoyable, or at least somewhat tolerable. Really shooting for the bottom of the barrel here. This work is still in progress, and as such still feels a bit rough, even by my unpracticed eye. Obviously, excepting a few fun people that I named myself, all characters and the world of Alagaesia belongs to Christopher Paolini himself. Enough talking though, let's get to the story!

Verbal Speech: 'word'

Mental Speech: 'word'

Ancient language or other languages: 'word'

For as long as they've been on the continent, Urgals have pillaged and plagued the lands of Alagaesia. During such incursions, the Riders, at the height of their strength, sent forth teams to persuade away, or if this failed, quell bands of Urgals before they were able to sack towns and cities. One such town, Alodell, situated midway between the outskirts of Ceunon and Carvahall, at the mouth of the northern Anora river, was beset by a roving band of Urgals, and sent word to Vroengard for assistance.

In a small clearing, five figures stood, three small, and two far larger. One of the small figures, a female, knelt into the ground, her right hand tracing over large footprints marring the soft earth. The figure then stood, wiping her hand on her tunic.

Aerin stretched out her arm, her left palm emblazoned with the gedwëy ignasia outstretched to a small sparrow resting in its nest. 'Fethrblaka, eka weohnata néiat haina ono. Thorta eka, iknol thverro thornessa gata?' she whispered, infusing magic into her words, and a white light issuing from her hand. The bird paused, before trilling in response. She listened for a moment, then stood, wiping her hands on her tunic, gasping for air. Even that small spell had drained so much from her. Thirty years ago, Aerin had once easily called forth such a spell, but ever since she had partnered with her dragon, she had remained extraordinarily weak in the magical arts. She had spoken many times with various learned scholars and the eldest Riders at Vroengard, but none had seemed to lift the veil as to why her strength had dwindled.

'Some thirty Urgals traveled through this way bound for Alodell! We must hurry, these tracks are fresh' she shouted to the other two riders standing beside their dragons. Gal, a charismatic, black-haired, stripling of a human, laughed then snorted 'Only thirty?! That's barely a fight! I thought my first proper mission after training would involve at least a challenge.' The Rider was about to continue to voice his displeasure, when his dragon, a slender, young, russet-colored female suddenly whipped her tail around, lightly striking his back, causing the Rider to fall face-first into the ground. Ergi, a brown-haired, narrow-faced boy, himself having barely passed his training the day before (with no small help from Gal), squeaked at the sudden movement. He quickly scurried to Hairaz, a squat, compact, dull, grey dragon, who immediately curled in on himself and his Rider. Gal grumbled, but after staring up at the dragon now staring him down, relented, and begrudgingly muttered 'sorry'. His dragon's soft brown eyes seemed to glint, and all five began to hear her soft, tinkling laughter fill their minds, joined shortly by Aerin's audible snickering.

A thunderous roar suddenly ripped across the clearing, startling the five out of their moment. A large, sunset-colored dragon stalked toward the group, his jaws snapping with rage and the flickering of white-hot flames stirring in his maw. This dragon, in sharp contrast to the others, was heavily built and thick-set, as if designed for drawn-out battles. Muscled limbs led to a powerful chest, which in turn drew to a thick neck and a massive triangular head. Over a dozen white, sharp spikes framed his skull, gently curling outwards from his head. The assortment forming a protective barrier around his posterior neck, with a solitary spike resting between his nostrils. The dragon's thick tail tapered gradually, ending as a spiked whip-like appendage. Each scale on the dragon gleamed, giving him the appearance of a miniature sun drawing closer and closer to the group.

'You fools dawdle while our prey escapes? What are you, laggards or Riders?' he growled into the minds of each of the five, his golden eyes glinting as if containing candlelight. Solustenr towered above all five, his larger bulk testifying to multiple decades of growth. 'Aerin, come!' he bellowed, lowering a massive foreleg. Aerin smirked, and slowly strode over before quickly scaling up the great dragon. Ergi and Gal quickly swung onto their dragons, and all three leaped into the sky.

After several minutes aloft, Aerin heard Solustenr's voice, now a low whisper meant only for her, slip into her mind. 'Why must you humor them? We were sent as a mitigating force by the Elders, an example of maturity to corral them, yet all you have accomplished has been to entertain these simpletons' his disapproving voice softly hissed, a single yellow eye glancing back at her before he angled his wings into a thermal, allowing him to swiftly rise into the air, his smaller counterparts beating their wings quickly to keep up with him.

Aerin smiled sadly, then thought back 'After everything we've been through, you think we were sent as a 'mitigating force'? You have one thing right, we ARE an example, idiot. We are an example of failure, what a dragon and Rider should never be. We have been together for over thirty years, Solus, and yet these young ones have a far closer bond than we have ever had'. At this, Solustenr fell silent and pondered her words.

Aerin and he had been together for just over three decades, ever he had hatched for her that fateful day in Nädindel, some fifty years after his egg was laid. He had chosen Aerin not for the typical reasons Riders were chosen, for how well she matched him, a distinctive personality, or strength in spirit, but because he thought she was a meek simpleton drawn in by the grandeur and splendor of dragons, and therefore someone he could mold into a malleable servant. For the first few years, Aerin had proven just that, referring to Solustenr as "Great One" whenever she addressed him and polishing his scales whenever he ordered it. Solustenr enjoyed this treatment, as ever since he hatched for her, he had strangely grown far faster than dragons of his age, reaching the size of a hundred-year-old dragon in just 10 years, and had continued to grow since then at a commensurate rate. This sort of drastic growth only served to inflate his ego, the dragon believing he was somehow innately better than other dragons of his age. The sort of loving care that Aerin bestowed on him only served to tell him what he already knew, that he was better than other dragons, that he was meant for something truly special. Then the Rider training had fully begun, and Aerin swiftly blossomed into a confident elven woman starkly different to the small child she once was, now preferring to address him as the 'idiot', though she still remained magically lacking. By this point, Solustenr had become accustomed to the doting care she supplied him, and while he secretly began enjoying her more outspoken nature and bolder personality, his pride forced him to rage at Aerin every time she rebuffed his orders. This rage boiled over several months ago, with Aerin and he coming to blows in the great courtyard at Doru Araeba in front of several Elders. Solustenr's white-hot flames narrowly missed Aerin, instead nearly melting a 2,000-year-old tree sung into existence by Aneurin himself. As a result, the two were relegated to managing young dragons and their Riders on their first proper missions, a 'great honor' as the Elders claimed. Solustenr had chosen to see this as he usually did, as more indications that he was meant for greatness, while Aerin knew that this was a punishment which was 'better than they deserved' as an Elder had angrily spit before forcing her out of the Council chamber.

Solustenr snorted and jarred himself from reminiscing. 'As if,' he grumbled. 'The Elders would never waste my talent. This must be an opportunity to test my leadership, to help justify that I am meant for a greater role in the Order.' Narrowing his eyes and steeling himself, he broadcast his thoughts, thundering back to Aerin 'Enough talk, elf. I require focus for our journey'. Aerin smiled sadly, before leaning forward in her saddle, eyes closing in exhaustion.

After several hours, the three dragons and their cargo landed on the outskirts of Alodell around midday. Alodell was a small place, just barely big enough to be called a city instead of a town. The town had erected a hastily made palisade, rough-hewn logs still retaining their bark. Portions of the city not completely covered by the barrier were shielded by wagons, carts, barrels, and apparently anything the townsfolk had on hand. A very shoddily made, small, spindly tower barely reached higher than twenty feet into the sky, several archers perched atop immediately ducking down at the site of the dragons landing nearby. Just out of arrow range, over a hundred makeshift tents erected out of fur, hide, and various scraps of leather dotted the field, vaguely arranged in the shape of a circle. Hulking gray figures lumbered between the tents, with even a few Kull spotted ducking into the center tent. At the sight of the dragons touching down, the Urgals hurriedly armed themselves and formed a rough group, with the Kull pushing their way into the forefront. Gal leaped from his dragon, lazily sliding his rust-colored blade from its sheath and twirling it before leveling the sword at the crowd. The Urgals grew agitated at the sight, with several of their number raising their weapons at the young Rider and backing up into the clustered tents. Seeing what was unfolding, Aerin quickly dismounted, and shouted hurriedly 'Gal, sheath your blade! We need to avoid violence if we can!'

At this, Gal smirked. He leisurely looked back at Aerin, his eyes almost glazed over with bloodlust, and softly, as if speaking to a child, said 'Why?' He pointed to Arvindr, the curved blade still sheathed at Aerin's side. 'Why have a blade if you never use it? These fools understand only one rule, force!' He began walking toward the now tremoring group, whispering 'Kveykva', his right hand now beginning to crackle with reddish-brown energy. The few Kull within the group seemed to realize their predicament and snorted before charging at the lone Rider, swinging their roughly made axes, swords, and clubs. Gal's hand lashed out as he screamed 'Eitha', with the copper-colored energy dancing from Kull to Kull, causing each to convulse in agony before dropping dead. The remaining Urgal, seeing their best dispatched like flies, turned, and began fleeing into their tents. Seeing the battle now decidedly lopsided in their favor, Ergi, still astride Hairaz, climbed high into the sky, with Hairaz spewing a thin, weak stream of grey, smoke tinged flame around the tents, trapping the Urgals within. Gal calmly strode through the flames, wards gleaming brightly around him. He meticulously went from tent to tent, slaughtering each Urgal within. Aerin watched on, paralyzed in horror, while Solustenr bared his teeth in disgust, refusing to act.

'This is no fight' he grumbled. Gal finally reached the last Urgal, who managed to barely evade his sword's slice, though not entirely, as the sword edge clipped his calf. The Urgal stumbled at this and collapsed in the middle of the camp, blood streaming from his wound. As the Rider approached him, the Urgal's face flitted between terror and rage. Gal knelt by the Urgal, and smirked.

'You have spirit, I'll give you that. What's your name, filth?'

The Urgal spat at the young Rider, before replying 'Julkhqa'. 'Tell you what, Julkhqa, I think I'm going to honor that pathetic spirit of yours and let you live, how would you like that? The Urgal, almost disbelievingly, nodded his head in agreement. 'However,' Gal continued, 'I want you to do something for me in return'. Julkhqa glared, but begrudgingly growled 'what would you have me do, Drajl?'

Gal wolfishly smiled, before smugly looking down on the Urgal. 'I want you to run back to that little disease-infested heap you call home, and when you get there, tell everyone that you see that the Riders are to be feared'. Julkhqa stared long at the Rider, before finally nodding. He stood, and slowly backed away, not believing his luck when Gal waved his hand at the flames, allowing the lone, limping Urgal to pass out of the now ruined camp. The Urgal gingerly made his way through the still-smoldering ruin of his campsite, before taking off as fast as he could, lumbering into the tree line. The Urgal's form was soon lost within the dark trees. Ergi and Hairaz, seeing the danger finally gone, landed softly next to Gal, whose dragon had quickly joined him.

After some time, Aerin unfroze and looked across the monstrosity her younger counterparts had wrought. Burned and mutilated bodies lay strewn around the husk of a camp, with those faces still visibly twisted in agony. She all but sprinted to Gal and Ergi, shaking them violently. 'Why did you do this? This violence was needless!' she screamed, her normally smooth features twisted in rage and despair. 'We could have solved this without ever needing confrontation!' Gal's eyes seemed to unglaze before he responded 'What? I did what needed to be done. If we never exercise our power, the races will forget, and no longer hold us in esteem! The Riders will continue to slide into oblivion, and our name collapses into the dust!'

Solustenr slowly stalked over to Gal and lowered his massive head, narrowing his orange-yellow eyes to glare at him. 'Do you realize what you have done today?' he questioned, his maw opening in a snarl, the flickering of flames beginning to emerge from deep within.

Gal, in the face of a very angry, and quite ferocious looking dragon, seemed to revert to an entirely different person, his once cocky manner deflating as he cowered beneath the large dragon. 'I...I beat our foes, I accomplished our mission?' he almost whispered.

Solustenr snorted, a great black puff of smoke emerging from both nostrils before dissipating into the air. How many tents did you count?' Solustenr snapped.

Gal's face scrunched up in confusion, before replying 'well over a hundred, what of it?'

'Our objective was to turn the Urgals off of this region, to dissuade them from attacking Alodell, or even Ceunon. There were only several dozen Urgals here, with a few Kull among them. This was an advance party, here to prepare camp whilst the main force marches a day or two behind. The one you just let go will likely inform the others of our presence, and they will vanish once more into the Spine to plague Alagaesia another day. With your recklessness, you have invited further war upon these lands. We could have persuaded them to peace, or better yet, waited for an opportune moment to wipe them out' snarled the orange dragon, his fangs glinting in the midday sun.

Gal's face contorted, and he opened his mouth as if to reply, when his dragon snaked her neck around him, pressing her snout to his face. Gal's face dropped as he wordlessly spoke with his dragon, and he hung his head in shame. He smiled at something she must have said to him, and scratched the underside of his dragon's jaw. Turning to a still horrified Aerin and a furious Solustenr, he noticed their demeanor. 'I apologize for my actions, I acted rashly. However,' he continued, 'I think you would agree that we must still pursue the main force deeper in the Spine! If we can wipe them out, the mission remains accomplished. We number three full-grown dragons, and they are mindless brutes. With odds like that, there's no way we'll lose against them.'

At this, Solustenr snorted, and grumbled 'With that I can at least agree'.

Aerin looked between the two, torn between her hatred of violence and the realization that this had become a problem with only one solution, finally sighed in resignation. 'If there is no possibility of stopping this madness, I may as well plan the trip. Rumors have always been that the main Urgal camp in the Spine is somewhere far north, up past charted territory. We'll need to head up that way to have any hope of catching the main force.'

Resolved, the two humans and the elf quickly climbed astride the three dragons, with Solustenr taking flight first, followed by the younger two dragons. The sextet made good headway, with surprisingly favorable winds allowing them to reach far north up the Spine, reaching some 70 leagues by nightfall. The group alighted upon a midsized clearing in the woods. The clearing was relatively flat except for a U-shaped valley situated close to the middle. The Riders made camp in the valley, near a large, flat stone slab, with Solustenr and Hairaz gathering wood for a fire by felling trees with their tails and fangs. Aerin gathered the fallen logs, using a simple 'Brisingr' to light a large fire, the smoke curling high into the sky. As the others made the campsite ready, Gal lovingly polished every one of his dragon's scales to gleaming perfection. Each dragon and their Rider drew close for the night. Hairaz and Ergi huddled close together. Gal and his she-dragon were almost inseparable, the she-dragon having carefully shielded Gal within her wings. Aerin and Solustenr initially grouped somewhat apart, but Solustenr, seeing the elf begin to shiver despite the fire, eventually lifted a large wing for Aerin to huddle underneath.

Solustenr was suddenly awoken by the tortured scream of a dragon. His eyes snapped awake to find Hairaz stumbling to his feet, a long spear running straight through his right foreleg. Solustenr lumbered to his feet, mouth sparking with pale flame. Huge shapes began swarming out of the treeline, dozens of Kull and hundreds of Urgal thundering towards the campsite, surrounding the party. 'Finally, a proper fight!' Solustenr cheerfully roared. Urgal archers and hurlers shooting arrows and poisonous darts at the party. Gal, atop his dragon and hands glowing with energy, rushed towards the enemy surrounding Hairaz. Solustenr opened his maw, unleashing pure white flame, scorching every enemy in his path, forever scarring the surrounding landscape into blackened death. Aerin drew Arvindr, the almost glowing curved blade a light purple, and began slicing into oncoming Urgals that somehow escaped the large dragon's flame. Even Ergi strung his bow, firing shot after shot into the oncoming horde.

The swarm kept coming. 'How did they find us?!' Gal screamed as he roughly shoved his blade through the skull of a Kull, his lazy style abandoned in favor of hacks and slashes brought about by a desperate desire to survive.

'They must have seen the fire!' Aerin screamed, gasping in pain as she took a blow from a mace to her left hand, forcing her to switch Arvindr to her right hand. 'Jierda' she desperately cried, her meager reserves barely sufficing to snap the mace-wielding Urgal's neck. The pain Solustenr felt through their bond caused him to flinch, with an Urgal seizing the chance to strike the great dragon with his sword, a jagged cut opening just inches below his right eye. Solustenr keened in pain, promptly turning every iota of his fire onto the Urgal, reducing him to charcoal in an instant. One by one, the Urgals fell upon the dragons and their Riders. Hairaz, maimed by the surprise attack, was first to fall, stunned by a particularly quick Urgal who managed cling to his head and slip a dagger into his left eye. The grey dragon, partially blinded, reared onto his back legs, attempting to dislodge the Urgal latched onto his head. The Urgal continued stabbing, striking the dragon multiple times about the head and neck. More Urgals seized their chance, clambering on top the dragon, viciously stabbing wherever they could, eventually causing the dragon to be brought down onto his back, wailing in pain. Ergi, who up until this point had been at the middle of the campsite, screamed for his dragon, dropping his bow and wildly charging at the group of Urgals now swarming atop his dragon. 'Ergi, no!' Aerin screamed. Distracted by his dragon's knell, Ergi failed to notice the Urgals around him. A Kull grabbed the boy by the neck, dangling him aloft, then snapped his vertebrae with one hand. As soon as Ergi died, Hairaz shuddered, uttered a death knell, and followed his rider into the void.

Gal in the meantime had continued into the middle of the Urgals, cleaving bone and tissue with every sword stroke. However, when Hairaz's last scream sounded, he briefly lost concentration, with an Urgal blade slipping through his defense and slicing deeply into his right arm, causing him to drop his blade. His dragon roared and began dousing every Urgal within range in bright red flame, allowing Gal time to find his blade. Urgal archers, seeing Gal down off his dragon, began streaming arrows and darts toward the pair. Most were stopped by the copious wards, however, due to the near-endless deluge, they began to fail. Arrows began slipping through, striking Gal and his dragon. The wails of his dragon enraged Gal, who having picked up his blade began recklessly hacking into the Urgals surrounding his dragon. His rage blinded him to his wards failing under the onslaught, and a poisoned dart slipped through. His russet dragon saw the projectile, and leaped in front of the dart, causing the projectile to pierce her chest and shatter her heart of hearts. 'Jarnunvösk!' Gal screamed in despair, helpless to save her, as his beloved dragon fell dead at his feet. The now dragonless Rider collapsed beside his dragon, sword dropping into the dirt, desperately trying every spell he knew to save her. However, the dragon's soul had passed to the void, and all his efforts proved in vain. The Rider crumbled to the ground, his mind shattered irrevocably by his loss. Urgals swarmed the now-former Rider, battering him with blows, Gal making no effort to stop them.

Aerin, pressed on all sides by the seemingly never-ending stream of enemies, continued fighting, she and Solustenr eventually cornered in the valley together. Without the strength to cast any wards, injuries began to mount: a spear wound across her left thigh, a broken left hand from an Urgal mace, and several shallow cuts across her stomach. Finally, a sword sliced across her right calf, causing her to fall to a knee. Across the clearing, Solustenr felt her agony. Something shattered in his heart, and he remembered why he had come to love her as his rider. Solustenr leaped to her defense, wings encircling Aerin and flames arcing from his jaw, forcing a brief respite from the onslaught.

'Hold on little one!' he thundered, his eyes blazing.

Solustenr began continually dousing the area around the two with flames. Aerin looked up at Solustenr and weakly whispered 'I knew there was a heart underneath those scales after all' she whispered. 'I still love you, you big idiot'. Solustenr slowly leaned down to gaze at Aerin, his snout almost touching her, and golden eyes glistening.

'Aerin, stay with me, I cannot afford to lose you' he almost groaned. Aerin's face broke out in a smile, and managed to stand to her feet. Suddenly her eyes widened in shock, and she let out a choked gasp. During their conversation, the pair had failed to notice Solustenr's protective flames dying down. A massive Kull, grey-black, reaching eight and a half feet tall had snuck through the breach. His features twisted in rage, the Urgal silently wound his arm back before hurling a spear at Aerin, the slender blade lancing through her chest.

Solustenr stared blankly at the mortal wound piercing the partner of his heart. His eyes blazing with rage and anguish, he let out a massive cone of white flame, charring everything within a 200-foot radius around the pair to ash. When Solustenr finally stopped his torrent, he looked around him wildly, his eyes sparkling with rage, to find the ground charred black, with those Urgals that escaped the blaze staring at him in horror. The Urgals, seeing the devastation, turned to flee. Desperately, they attempted to scale the side of the valley, many resorting to clawing at the slope on their hands and knees. Uncaring, Solustenr turned to his Rider. Gasping, Aerin fell to the ground, bloody spittle emerging between her lips. Solustenr gently, almost tenderly held her body up with his forelegs, tears pouring from his eyes.

'Tears, for me?' Aerin softly said, before slumping over, a small smile on her face. Solustenr trembled, his mind gnarled and ravaged from the sudden death of his rider. The great dragon shuddered, his massive body trembling all over. Seeing the dragon preoccupied, many of the Urgals faltered in their haste to depart. Most began to turn back, grasping weapons and returning to assail the dragon. Then, something remarkable happened. Deep within the dragon's heart of hearts, he felt energy surging through him, his mind touching the wellspring of energy clustered within. With a soft, painful growl, Solustenr gently touched his snout to his rider's face, and a brilliant flash of light enveloped the entire clearing. If before the Urgals had been desperate in their attempt to flee, now they were in a frenzy. The light was slow to travel, but all-consuming, petrifying anything that encountered its rays. When the light gradually dissipated, a massive crater had formed, with a giant stone dragon cradling the body of his Rider at its epicenter.

Urgal bodies, petrified as well, with faces frozen in shock and disbelief littered the clearing in various states of action. Ash and dust slowly drifted through the air, lazily landing on cinders and charcoal, with small fires still lit here and there. At the edge of the crater, however, there was slight but definite movement. A grey body, coated with ash and blood, slowly but surely pulled himself to his feet from his shelter beneath the now stone corpse of his dragon. Wild dark hair framed a shell-shocked face. Slowly, the eyes opened, revealing coal-black eyes, maddened with grief, rage, and pain.

Fethrblaka, eka weohnata néiat haina ono. Thorta eka iknol thverro thornessa gata?-Feather-flapper (Bird), I will not harm you. Tell me, who traveled this way?

Kveykva-Lightning

Eitha-Go

Jierda-Break

Writers Note: Whew! That was a wild ride! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, though it was quite hard having to introduce characters just to kill them off. Poor Solus. I had a tough time writing him and Aerin's rocky relationship just to torch it in the end. Certain super sleuths may recognize several characters in this passage. I had to delay naming them in order to keep any sort of suspense going. This, as far as I know, lines up fairly well with the canon history, which was REALLY hard trying to sort out. Just as a heads up, assume any book content in Brisingr and Inheritance that is not contradicted by this fanfiction is considered to have happened here as well. This is not necessarily a rewrite, but more of a gradual divergence, and as such, some things may stay the same, some may be slightly altered, whilst others change dramatically. Well, on to the next chapter!