At long last, another chapter! I'm sorry for the long delay on this update, but exams, travel, and life events delayed the writing of the Dashelgr chapters. I will be posting the chapters once per day instead of all at once to allow me more editing time, but we have finally gotten to the point where the plot will really pick up. As always, I appreciate comments extremely, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
The weeks flew by almost unnoticed as Corrin adjusted to the rhythms of life at the Rider's Court. He was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. He continued to visit the Vault every few days, with and without Kiera, and Agaravel was one of several Eldunari whose memories he had shared. His lessons were hard, but the material was fascinating as well, and every teacher but Yaela was prone to diverting to long rambling conversations on any topic the apprentices seemed to find interesting. Even meditating was becoming enjoyable as he grew used to the presence of other minds.
His only regret was that he lagged so far behind Leah and Varog. Leah already spoke three languages fluently, and Varog was nearly done mastering a fourth, while Corrin was still slow and awkward in the ancient language, and unfortunately lacking in erudite vocabulary in his first tongue. In weapons training, he was even worse off. His meditations… well, suffice to say he had not caught up to the other two trainees yet.
Kiera, on the other hand, was flourishing, and Corrin took an unabashed pleasure in watching as she discovered what Saphira referred to as a particular skill for aerial menuevering. She was still not quite on the level of the other dragons, but she was rapidly closing the distance of skill which separated her from the other two apprentices, and meanwhile she had earned the respect of their teachers and their fellow students alike. While her new skills often put Corrin in danger of losing his lunch, he was incredibly proud of her for accomplishing so much in such a short time.
Kiera had not yet breathed fire, however, so on the day of Dashelgr, Eragon gave her the same wards that the two-legged apprentices were required to wear, which stopped all of them from hearing the song of the elves and prevented the magic from overtly affecting them.
Corrin had taken that to mean that they wouldn't feel any effects at all, but when he mentioned as much to Leah, she had shaken her head. "Not quite," she'd corrected. "The magic won't cause any dramatic changes in us, the way it will for the elves or the dragons, but there's still this energy in the air on the night of Dashelgr. You'll feel it, even if you aren't affected by it, and it's really hard to sleep while the ceremony is going on."
So, as the sun sank to the flat horizon of the plains, Corrin dressed in one of his nice lamaraye shirts and soft boots and made his way out to the southwestern corner of the Court, near the library. Not far from the apprentice quarters, he found Kiera already waiting near where Eragon was speaking to Leah, Varog, and, surprisingly, their dragons. By the time he approached, Leah was already speaking rapidly in the ancient language, and he caught just enough to guess that she was casting her own wards for the night, with Eragon supervising.
"Thuviel, Galzra," he greeted quietly, unwilling to chance distracting Leah. "I thought you two weren't required to have the wards tonight."
Not required, Galzra agreed, but we decided to wear them anyway.
Yes. To go without is to chance embarrassing situations, isn't it? Thuviel added cheerfully.
Shut up, Galzra grumbled.
I don't see why we have to wear wards, Kiera whined. If you two are old enough to go without, then I should be too. She lashed her tail, and Corrin could feel waves of plaintive jealousy and general irritation emanating from her mind. She'd been testy since yesterday, when Saphira had insisted that she had to take the wards, and Thuviel was perfectly happy to take advantage of that.
Well, little sister, Thuviel said gleefully, immediately putting Corrin on his guard, there are two answers I could give you, depending on whether you'll get your widdle feewings hurt or not. Corrin wasn't sure whether he'd learned it from Leah or not, but Thuviel could summon an incredibly condescending baby voice when he so desired. It never presaged good things.
Corrin winced, waiting for the inevitable reaction, and it came swiftly. I don't need your fake pity, Kiera snarled, sitting up on her haunches in outrage.
Well, then, this is easy, Thuviel cheerfully announced. You'll recall that the purpose of Dashelgr is to promote growth in all levels of the food chain-
Your point? Kiera interjected.
I'm getting there, her companion assured her. My point is that the way in which the growth of animal populations is promoted is, well… I don't suppose anyone has explained to you where eggs come from?
Corrin had put his hands to his burning face to cover his eyes halfway through the sentence, but he could still feel the exact moment when Kiera realized what Thuviel was referring to. Oh, she said in a strangled voice. Corrin tried extremely hard not to feel amused, which was easier than usual because of his crushing embarrassment.
If you're still confused perhaps Corrin would be willing to clarify it for you, Thuviel added slyly.
"He would not," Corrin mumbled, dropping his hands despite the heat that he could still feel in his cheeks and forehead.
Oh well. But anyway, you haven't breathed fire yet, so you aren't old enough at all and that's that on that, Thuviel concluded with the most self-satisfied head bob Corrin had ever seen, human or dragon.
"Alright, you, that's enough." Leah, with her usual excellent timing, saved Corrin from melting into the floor from embarrassment by walking directly under Thuviel to where the group was standing. "I don't know what you're tormenting poor Corrin and Kiera with, but I'm sure they don't deserve it… much." She winked at Corrin, who felt himself turning red all over again.
I wasn't tormenting them, Thuviel insisted primly. We were having an academic discussion about, ah, procreation.
Leah looked at Thuviel, looked at Kiera, looked at Corrin, and burst out laughing.
Corrin began to wonder whether it was actually possible for his face to spontaneously catch fire. Leah had doubled in half and was cackling like a madwoman. Kiera had curled up on herself into a little cream-scaled ball and was glaring at Thuviel over the top of her wing. Galzra, still sitting next to her, just looked very amused.
Leah, wheezing, finally straightened and wiped her watering eyes. "Well, I'm sure that was enlightening," she managed, clearly stifling another bout of guffaws.
Indeed, Galzra said mildly, though I think everyone except Thuviel would like to change the subject now.
"Change the subject from what?" inquired Eragon as he walked up, Varog at his shoulder.
Leah lost her composure again.
Eragon squinted at her for a moment, then shook his head. "Forget it, I don't want to know. Corrin, Kiera, I'll do both of your wards myself, but since we're all here I thought I'd remind all of you of the ground rules." He paused significantly to cast a censorious glare towards Leah, who stopped laughing but still practically vibrated with mirth.
"Firstly, don't leave the Court. For any reason, really. Both plant and animal life are going to be unusually lively tonight, and I do not want any of you getting hurt by wandering around after dark. Secondly, don't spar. I realize that one of the side effects of the spellcraft is an excess of energy, but all six of you will have to find some other way to work it off than risking an injury."
"Thirdly…" he trailed off, looking like he was rephrasing in his head.
Don't do anything we wouldn't approve of, Saphira finished for him. Corrin hadn't seen her since earlier in the afternoon, but she was clearly in their general vicinity, and sure enough when he looked around she was draped sinuously across the top of the west colonnade.
Leah tilted her head to the side "So, if I decide that you would approve of-"
Eragon interrupted her with a raised hand. "If you have to ask, the answer is no."
Saphira lifted her head and glanced away from all of them. It's almost sundown, she announced, so I fear we will simply have to trust Leah not to twist the rules like bread dough.
"Who, me?" Leah asked laughingly, meandering back towards Thuviel.
Eragon shook his head despairingly. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," he said, raising his voice as Leah retreated. "You should all understand that my expectation is that no fires, flood, or general disasters are going to happen around here while I'm not supervising."
Thuviel bared his teeth in an approximation of a smile, tiny tongues of flame already dancing in his nostrils. Of course, ebrithil. Nothing to worry about here.
Eragon let out a great sigh as his four eldest apprentices sauntered out of hearing range. Corrin hid a smile by turning to run a hand over Kiera's wing. She acknowledged him with a thread of thought but continued to glare ruminatively at Thuviel as Eragon began the process of casting wards for both of them.
"They probably won't really set the Court on fire, if that helps," Corrin offered when the long enchantment finally concluded, glancing up.
"Oh, almost certainly not," Eragon agreed, shaking out of his contemplation. "If you live around them long enough, though, you sort of get used to their ability to create minor mayhem when bored." Corrin chuckled, but his mirth stuttered when Eragon pointed a finger at him. "You, on the other hand, I expect to at least keep yourself out of trouble, even if I know tempering them is a losing battle."
Corrin smiled nervously and ran a hand through his hair, yanking a few curls. "I, um, I'll try?"
But previous experience suggests you will probably fail, appends Kiera privately, recalling for him several pranks which either Leah or Varog has already drawn him into. Corrin kicked her and hoped very much that Eragon hadn't noticed.
If the Head Rider saw, he forbore to comment, instead saying only, "Fear not; I'm sure you'll do fine," and added over his shoulder as he left, "and just in case I'll send Murtagh up to check on you rapscallions in a few hours."
You assume that he would stop the mayhem rather than aid and abet it, Saphira grumbled, but Eragon only laughed and jumped higher than Corrin had ever seen a human manage to catch the straps of her saddle. Kiera finally unbent enough to place her head next to him on the stone, and the two of them watched as Saphira opened wide azure wings and departed for the northern forest wherein the elves would cast their rituals.
"Let's go, little brother," Leah called back to him from a distance. "It's beginning."
Corrin jumped and jogged after her, with Kiera grumpily following along behind him.
Bonus points to anyone who noticed the tiny reference to The 13th Warrior! I will post the second Dashelgr chapter tomorrow; until then, please feel free to comment with any constructive criticism or consistency errors. I hope everyone reading continues to enjoy this fic!