At the Gates of Death
As they ascended the spire that was helgrind, careful to keep out of sight of any who might be waiting for them at the top, eragon mentally explained about the ra'zak's parentage, and how it would probably be smartest to attack the ra'zak first, then the lethrblaka, if they got such a chance. However, an alternate plan was developed should things not go according to plan. Eragon cast incredibly strong wards over roran to protect him from the ra'zak's paralyzing breath. The secondary plan was for eragon and saphira to fight the lethrblaka, while roran defeated the ra'zak. They arrived at the empty top of the highest spire, to realize that the top of helgrind was an enormous crag, leading downward, through the rock itself. Knowing that saphira would be unable to follow, eragon lowered them down with magic. They were walking into a death trap, willingly. The bottom was probably 50 feet or so below ground level, and it appeared to be riddled with small holes, bored into the rock. Roran, for the sake of the element of surprise, had to suppress the urge to cry out for Katrina. Eragon silently drew his sword, and roran his hammer. They walked slowly and quietly down the corridor, until they came to the dark entrance to a large chamber. As they planned, they ran in, and made as much noise as possible.
The ra'zac were on them in seconds. Eragon had sensed them in the room as soon as they landed, and knew exactly where to cast the spell. "cloudde fonr un garzjla!" blind them with light! there was an awful shriek as the ra'zac, naturally afraid of bright light, were blinded. The two brother's charged forward, and attacked the beasts. It was truly terrifying to see them unrobed, for what they truly were: beaked lizards with skin that festered with oozing sores. Nonetheless, they tore into them, and destroyed their opponents. When the ra'zac lay dead on the ground, the two great masses of shadow on the other side of the cave stirred. "Impressssive, ridersss. We would not have exxxxpected you to kill our young ssso easily. Rest assured, killing us will be far more difficult." The two lethrblaka reared their hideous heads, and were on eragon and roran in an instant. If the ra'zac were smart, fast and cunning, the lethrblaka were a hundred times so. They overpowered eragon, but roran managed to slip out of their attention while eragon was captured. He quietly picked up eragon's fallen blade, and snuck up behind the beast that held his brother. He leapt upon the creature's back, and drove the sword into it. It was too far from the head to kill the beast, but he used the sword as leverage to pull himself up, and steady himself as the creature reared in pain. Eragon managed to free his right hand, and cried out "Arushiin!" he called the lightning, and it tore through the lethrblaka's shoulder. Roran dislodged the sword, ran up, and decapitated the beast, before being thrown against the wall by it's last death throws. This left only one to kill. Eragon rolled out of the way as the first lethrblaka fell where he had been, roran tossed him his sword, and he faced the last lethrblaka. "now you pay… for all you've done, to me, and those I love." He rushed forward, spinning the sword left and right through the air, and leapt into the air, bringing the blade down in a downward arc that sliced the beast's head in two.
When it was over, they went and found Katrina, who was unconscious, and badly malnourished. Eragon healed her wounds, and then turned to his last assailant. "you'll… you'll not take her from me!" sloan charged forward, empty handed, and eragon went for his sword. He was a traitor, an enemy. Eragon would not hesitate. Roran dashed in front of him, and planted the head of his hammer in sloan's stomach, knocking him out. The man crashed to the ground with a resounding thud. He then turned to Katrina, who was coming to, and a smile like nothing eragon had seen on roran's face since their days together in carvahall, alighted his features. Katrina opened her eyes slowly, almost fearfully. When she saw roran, she was not entirely sure what she was seeing. She felt better than she had in days, since her wounds had been healed. Eragon used magic to free her of her bonds, and she looked at roran quizzically. "roran?…RORAN!" she leapt up on unsteady legs, and fell into his arms. They cried together for almost an hour, and eragon left them to their reunion, and spoke to saphira.
Saphira?
Yes, little one?
I love arya, but we will never be so close as these two, will we?
No, I doubt that. You are linked to me, as well as to arya, and it makes it difficult to exist this way, I know, but we do what we must.
What do you think of Katrina?
She is a worthy mate for your brother. I have seen your memories of her in carvahall, and those of roran speaking of her, and I approve.
…and what of Beroan, and thorn?
Saphira laughed. I do not know, little one. I feel drawn to thorn, but as a sister, and Beroan seems far wiser than any being I have met, besides Glaedr, so I do not think he would accept me. I suppose only time will tell.
After roran and Katrina had been reunited, they returned to camp, carrying sloan. They then made plans to go to the varden, and in doing so, provide sanctuary for Katrina during her recovery. They reached the varden less than a day later. There, when they arrived, they were met by nasuada and Elva, and Angela and solembum, who led Katrina off to fix her lack of nourishment, all the while explaining that toads are actually frogs. Once again, the tides of prophecy washed over them. They the three riders, and roran, this time, saw a great platinum-grey dragon. Brom's last words echoed through the vision. "follow the light of Ezspiin, and find the last gift of the dragon god. Good luck to you." Roran was the first to speak. "this prophecy clearly has to do with me, as the last one had to do with arya. Though I fear what is ahead, none can mock fate and go unscathed. I will go inform Katrina the wedding will have to await my return." And he left them. Nasuada asked what had just occurred, and eragon explained about their prophecies. he then turned to elva. "do you know if the time has yet come to reverse the blessing? I am willing at any time." Elva nodded, but said "you may be ready, but there are still things to be done. I will wait." Eragon consented to her judgment, and went on to inquire as to Du Vrangr Gata. Nasuada quickly explained that what was left of them was well, and then urgently asked what murtagh was doing here, and why there was a third dragon. "it is fate, or destiny, converging upon this spot. Murtagh has been saved, and arya is now the third rider. Besides that, we now must quest for the last gift of the dragon god. Apparently, it is part of the destiny we have chosen as riders to find this "gift" and use it to aid us in defeating galbatorix. But how goes the war?" nasuada smiled grimly. "well. Something happened a few days ago, and all of galbatorix's forces were left with damaged weaponry, and were unable to defend themselves. We cut their ranks in half, before they managed to get new weaponry from uru'baen, and then, yesterday, the elves came, and wiped out their sorcerors and magicians. So far, we fair well against our overwhelming odds." She smiled. As she did so, eragon felt a malice so deep that it could make a shade run in fear, enter his range of thought.
He rushed out of the tent, in time to see the eye of a tremendous hurricane open it's gaping maw, and release a black dragon of colossal size from within. Eragon leapt onto saphira's back, and was followed by murtagh and arya as he took to the sky. They drew their weapons, and surged forward with their most powerful spells, but the black and gold robed rider did not flinch, or sway in the least. A harsh and malicious laughter cut the air. Galbatorix held out his hand to the clouds, and spoke several words in the ancient language that no-one present recognized, and a bolt of black lightning flew from his hand, into the clouds. Then, hundreds of black lightning bolts poured down, some striking his own army, some the heaps of burned, burning, or waiting to be burned dead on both sides, and some on the side of the varden. Eragon looked on as the living struck screamed in terror and pain, and as all struck had the flesh torn from their mortal forms. As the bodies crumpled to the ground; scorched piles of blackened bones, their weapons floated into the air, and the bones reformed into skeletal wraiths. Each one's eyes glowed malevolently, and their bones shone obsidian in the daylight. Eragon and the others flew onward, but galbatorix pushed them back with the sheer force of his will. Realizing that he could easily drain the varden of their life to replenish his own strength, eragon cast an enormous ward over them, allowing any attempts to break into their minds to transfer to him, thereby allowing him to guard his own mind, something he was quite adept at, and prevent the dark king from getting to the minds of his allies. He immediately felt the intrusion of a powerful mind upon his own. Impressive, eragon. I would not have thought even the mightiest of the new riders would have the power to defy my mind. However, you have not the power to defeat me.
He charged at galbatorix and exerted nearly half his energy into one great bolt of lightning. The dark king countered with his own bolt of black lightning, that seemed to absorb the energy of the blue one eragon was casting. Your assumption is quite correct. What you were taught of magic and its limits is folly. I have mastered the strength of the elements!
An immense battle of wills followed. Finally, after some minutes passed, and eragon felt his strength waning, he felt a tiny gap open in galbatorix's defense. It was paper thin, but wide enough for eragon to enter it. He suddenly felt himself in a far darker void than that of the vault of souls, but he managed to find his way through to the power that fueled the skeletal soldiers. He shut off flow to that power, and was booted from the king's mind at the same time. When he came into himself again, he looked about at the skeletons, all turning to dust on the battle field below them. Then the dark king spoke out loud, and his voice was a terrible thing to behold. "intriguing… very intriguing. I have not seen one with such power or talent, since mine own days of youth!" he laughed maniacally. "you have impressed me beyond measure, eragon, and though I could kill you now, and revive my skeletons at any time, I will spare you, and your army, for three days. That is the time you are given to further impress me. Three days, then, you surrender and join the forsworn, or you die. Until then, shur'tugal." With that, galbatorix rose up into the clouds, and disappeared.
"three days!" eragon pounded his fist into his hand, as they reached the ground. "that's all we've got, to find the last gift of the dragon god, and get stronger. We don't have enough time!" arya put a hand on his shoulder as they dismounted. "there is time. We still live, we are still free. There is time." She kissed him softly, and he returned the kiss. Eragon felt empowered once more. He knew, as long as she was with him, he could do anything. "murtagh. Get roran. We fly for the light of ezspiin."