okay, really long chapter. sorry about the last one, I couldn't resist.
Disclamer? see first chapter.
"And that's why I'm interested in your quest" Echo said. Eragon and the dwarf blinked at her.
"You, um, didn't say anything" Eragon said finally.
Echo smiled and laughed, her black shoulder length hair flowing in the light breeze.
"I know, but I always wanted to say that," she took a breath, "Over the last century, my. . . people have been stabilizing, are numbers increased, our food stock was fine and people were happy.then it all stopped about two years ago." Echo paused. Her natural instinct, the one that had keep her alive with out her pack, told her to trust these people. They themselves have done nothing to harm her, aside from the elf, but the wound was healed, and it wasn't major to begin with. So she continued.
Flashback
"Echo! Come on, where going to be late for dinner" her friend, Sol, called. His platinum blond hair shined brightly in the sunlight he had been named after.
"Hold on!" She called back, her green eyes focused on the stone in her hand, "I just want to do it again" the stone glowed a dull green, which began to grow stronger then it rose into the air, and began to make a circle. Faster and faster the stone flew until it was just a green circle. Inside the circle the air rippled and turned a milky white, then an image appeared. A red dragon flew at a blue one, in a full out attack. The anger and fatigue the blue dragon felt resinated around echo. Suddenly something fell off the blue dragon onto the red one-
the image disappeared when the rock shattered, bits flying every where. Echo sighed and trudged back to her house.
After dinner, Sol and Swift-As-The-River were wrestling in there lupin form, when Faster-Than-Death, the Elder of the small village, ran in.
"Humans!" he shouted, "hundreds of them, coming this way" They all jumped to there feet and ran to the door.
"Echo" Faster called, she looked at him, "I need you to warn the others."
"But I can help, I can fight!" she insisted.
"It is a far better thing you do, by running, pup, than you have ever done before. The other villages need to be warned"
Echo sighed, but nodded, shifted into lupin form, and ran for her life. She dodged swords and arrows. She was nearing the edge of the forest when the feeling of being pierced by hot iron radiated through her shoulder. She let out a mournful howl and twisted around to see her attacker. He was a young human, confusion filtered through his face as he looked at his sword. Echo's blood stained the blade, but the blood bubbled and hissed, as if being boiled.
/He doesn't know/ Echo thought, as she took off running again /They gave them silver swords, but they have no idea why/
When Echo reached the forest she looked back. Even with the silver swords, the humans were failing. But suddenly the air seemed to pop, and the stench of fear and death rose through the air. Echo's eyes widened before she took off through the woods, she was no Silent Strider, the clan known for their tireless runners, but echo was exceptionally fast. The stench that had filled the air could belong to only one thing, Black Spiral Dancers. The White Howlers, now the Dancers, were once one of the greatest clans, but they tempted fate, and lost. Echo ran as fast as she could, she had to warn the others. There was no way her pack could face off against all those Dancers.
She got to the other village late in the evening, her shoulder had slowed her down greatly; the wound still bleed sluggishly. She ran into the village, and stopped, her howl for help frozen in her throat. The place was a grave yard. So much blood, the place reeked of it. She walked through the village, looking for survivors, looking for bodies. She came to the middle of the town and the stench of rotting flesh assaulted her enhanced senses, she coughed and sputtered, but finally she was forced to shift to her homed form.
Bodies had been piled up in a large mound at the center. They had all been stripped of there weapons and valuables. Scattered around the pile were what looked like bodies, torn apart and crushed. Echo paused, the intestines of the bodies, whether they had been male or female she did not know, where scattered around.
It took two seconds to remember why they had been torn apart, and then shifted into her Glabro(1) form and jumped high into the sky. She twisted and when she landed she was in Crinos(2) form. There in front of her were two Dancers. They were bloodies and breathing hard, but Echo was still a young wolf, her first change had only been about a year ago. One rushed her fast, Echo barely had time to dodge the attacks, her shoulder no help. She ducked under his attacks, with lightning speed, and brought her fist up and smashed her opponent in the throat, her fist going through it. She brought fist back through, but was unable to avoid they kick in the ribs from the other wolf.
She went flying into the chard skeleton of a house. She cursed herself and jumped up. The Dancer came at her with a furry she had never known before. She dodged attack after attack, and then finally kicked her opponents legs out, she turned and ran. The Dancer was hot on her heals, her ran a couple more yards mutter painful curses. She stopped suddenly and spun on her attacker, her large claws flashed silver in fading sunlight. She racked them across the Dancers chest, and nearly severed his throat entirely. The Dancer fell, convulsing, never to regain his footing.
Echo panted heavily, turned into her lupin form, and started her race towards her own village.
She arrived to late. Everyone was dead. Or so she thought. As she crept through the decimated town. She heard something.
"Echo" the call came, soft, but she could her it, and went running. There lying at the bade of the largest tree, was, Faster-Than-Death. She crept closer to him, her tail low to the ground.
"Echo, come here" He rasped out. She shifted to Human form, and rushed to his side, her hand lost in his paw.
"I guess I didn't live up to my name" he said, laughing a little, then started coughing, "I have seen the future, Echo, and I need you to me something"
"anything" she replied quickly, bitting back tears, she refused to seem weak infrount of her mentor. He smiled at her quick response.
"Promise me, that you will keep your ways alive"
"I promise"
"promise me that you will fight the Wyrm with every breath in your body"
"I Promise"
"And Promise me," he paused to take a breath, the air rattling in his lungs, "promise me that when the time comes, you will help the rider"
Echo stayed silent for a minute. They had been taught that, though there was no proof, the Dragon Riders had something to do with the wax and wane of their people, wether by not protecting them, or hunting them.
"Promise me!" he nearly yelled at her, then began coughing.
"I promise, I promise" She told him hurredly(sp?)
"vestri vox redimio vos(3)" he said, and closed his eyes. He struggled to take a breath, and then let go. Echo let out a mournful howl, the Dirge For The Fallen(4). She sang for all the wolves that had fallen that day, for her friends, Sol, Swift, and Faster, and for those she didn't know.
"meus vox est meus vinculum(5)"
end flashback
Sometime during her story, the Elf and The Dwarf had stood up. Echo looked around her eyes focusing on Eragon, who was teary eyes, he placed a hand on her knee in some kind of confort. Echo let it rest there, but she didn't look away from it.
"You saw me" Eragon said softly, "and Saphira, fighting Murtagh and his dragon Thorn"
Echo nodded, "After that I took the last name Winterdirge"
"So you are Garou, a werewolf" The elf said. Eragon jerked his hand back as if Echo had bitten him, and the Saphira crouched in a protective position.
"Yes, I am," Echo said, letting out a hollow laugh, "Take a good look Princess, I may be the last one you ever see"
1. "The Glabro Form is Bipedal, and does not posses obvious fangs and claws, but the rsenbmence to human beings end there. A carou thats shifts to Galbro form gains 100-200 body weight, all muscle, and six inches in hight. body hair becomes much more profuse, and the teeth and nails elongate, the brows slope and the charicter looks huge and menacing(sp?)"
2. "Affectionately known as the nine-foot snarling death-beast form, a werewolf in Crinos form wants to do only one thing-kill. This is not a sicial form. going from Glabro to Crinos, the Garou grouws in hight intill there nine feet tall gain another 100-200 in weight. the head changes to a wolfs maw, and the fangs and claws are fully grown. The arms become long and apelike, and tge werewolf can move either on two legs or all four. The Garou also grows a tail, which helps with balance." nine feet-one foot taller then a kull. . . go figure.
3. Latin "Your word is your bond"
4. Dirge For the Fallen-"this dirge is a somber, low-pitched howl used as a requiem for the honored dead. Its lenght depends on the status of the fallen. An attentive listener can learn which participants are hurt the most by this tragedy, and he may gather brief images of the hero's deeds, rather like the memories after a great euloge"
5. Latin "My word is my bond"
kk. Sorry about spelling- I have trouble with that. Thanks for the comments, keep them comming. Love you!