Hey guys
Sorry I have been gone so long BUT
I am back for chapter 44
I will be honest I never expected this story to be as long as it has become but I am glad it has. More time to flesh out characters is never a bad thing.
As always review and let me know your thoughts/opinions. Don't hold back,Let me know what I can improve on or what you liked ect.
Here we go!
Eragon's POV
The moment their blades clashed Eragon felt a slight ache in his head. He didn't have time to ponder the source of this pain as the shade was already starting his next attack.
Eragon was barely able to get his sword up fast enough to block the shades' weapon. The force of the collision against his blade made his entire arm shudder and he barely held onto Brisingr.
"How is he so fast?"
Eragon wondered as he stumbled backward and watched the shades blade graze his armor. Eragon had not been at such a physical disadvantage since before the Blood Oath Ceremony over a decade ago.
Eragon took a deep breath to center himself. He couldn't dwell on what he couldn't control. Several more times their blades met and each time Eragon was forced to take a step backwards towards the remnants of the throne.
Suddenly there was movement behind the shade. A figure Eragon did not recognize stumbled out of the dust and fell to their knees. Eragon was able to see she was an elf and was badly injured. An arrow was sunk into the figures left shoulder and a trail of blood followed her but despite this she began slowly crawled towards Arya's prone figure who lay several yards away. Her brown eyes flicked toward Eragon and she held a finger to her lips. Eragon refocused on the blade that was arcing toward him and hoped desperately that the shade had not noticed his change of focus.
For a few moments Eragon lost sight of the elf as the shade forced him to lose more and more ground. Eragon was growing frustrated. The shade was controlling the fight, forcing Eragon to remain on the defensive.
Eragon caught another brief glimpse of the elf as the shade started to strike again. She was now kneeling at Arya's side, her hands rested on Arya's midsection and her mouth moved in rapid succession as she muttered spell after spell.
Eragon's blade parried another harsh blow and he winced as his arm shook and his headache worsened. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up; Even with elven strength, blocking the shades' attacks was taxing. He was growing tired and Brisingr shook slightly in his hands.
Partly due to his growing exhaustion and because he wanted Dathedr as far from Arya as possible, Eragon stopped resisting the inevitable and allowed Dathedr to gradually push him backwards away from where Arya and the elf were positioned.
Eragon risked a glance behind him as the shade continued to push him farther from the rest of the fighting. The shade seemed to be pushing him towards what was left of the wall behind the throne that stood only a short distance away. The wall was badly damaged; Massive slabs of marble remained embedded in the thick wooden wall and much of the wall was splintered or broken completely.
A desperate idea shot through Eragon's mind as the shade pushed him closer to the wall. Arya certainly would never approve of such recklessness and yet it was the thought of Arya laying motionless that fueled each backward step toward the battered wall behind him.
Finally, Eragon took a step backward and felt his back brush the rough wall behind him. There was nowhere else to run.
"I expected more from you shadeslayer"
The shade moved slowly, his sword hung at his side and a grim smile lit his face.
Eragon gritted his teeth and leapt forward desperately as he aimed Brisingr at the shade's heart but with a flick of his wrist the shade's blade swept up at impossible speeds and Eragon felt Brisingr leave his hand and land several feet away.
"Pathetic" The shade spat
Eragon stumbled back into the wall, barely registering the gash that had appeared and ran down his left arm and was spilling copious amounts of blood. His head pounded painfully and his was breathing heavily as he glared at the shade.
"Perhaps you are not suitable after all"
Eragon wasn't sure what that shade meant but he didn't really care. The voice of one of the three Eldunari echoed in his mind
"We are ready"
His only focus was the rush of energy that was beginning to build in his gut. He gasped slightly and his limbs began to shake as the dragon's energy rushed through his body.
The shade laughed softly as he noticed his shaking limbs
"Eragon Kingkiller, leader of the Dragon Riders….is…..afraid?"
Eragon fell to one knee as the energy coursed through him. His breath was coming in deep breaths. Eragon wasn't sure why the energy was affecting him so badly but he did his best to ignore the shaking of his limbs as he began to focus. The moment was close.
The shade shook his head
"Do not worry Shadeslayer, I do not wish to ki-"
The shade never finished his sentence. Eragon felt the energy that had steadily built within him suddenly burst. Eragon focused the energy into one word.
"Thrysta"
Eragon heard the results instantly. A terrible cracking noise echoed throughout the surrounding forest. Eragon didn't look behind him, He didn't even move. The world seemed to move in slow focused on the shade in front of him. Eragon watched Dathedr as his eyes locked onto something behind Eragon. He saw his maroon eyes widen as thousands of pounds of marble and wood fell toward them.
The shade looked at Eragon just as the collapsing wall reached them. Eragon felt himself smile in satisfaction as he lost consciousness. Upon the shades face was something Eragon had never seen from the erratic being in front of him
Fear
"Eragon"
"Eragon"
"Eragon"
The echoing voices in his head seemed so distant, so unimportant.
"Eragon"
All Eragon wanted to do was rest. He felt his heavy eyes begin to close again as a sense of peacefulness began to wash over him.
"Eragon!"
He was looking forward to the darkness that would follow.
"ERAGON!"
Eragon regained consciousness suddenly. He groaned as feeling slowly returned to his body and the many cuts and bruises revealed themselves to him. His eyes flicked open and for a moment thought he had gone blind. Darkness surrounded him so completely that he could distinguish nothing in the darkness around him.
Saphira's voice suddenly exploded in his mind
"Eragon, you need to get out of there now!"
Saphira sounded strained and tired and there was clear desperation in her voice.
"Out of where?"
Eragon wondered to himself as he reached his hand out. To his surprise he felt an abundance of debris only inches from his face. It was then that he remembered the wall collapsing upon both him and Dathedr.
"Why have I not been crushed?"
He wondered to Saphira even as he began to search for a way out of the rubble. His fingers moved over the uneven rock as he tried to find an opening.
"The Eldunari and I are holding a small part of the rubble aloft, but we cannot hold it much longer!"
Saphira's voice was growing quieter and Eragon could sense the spell was taking a large toll on her.
Eragon was now struggling to move around the small space. The rubble above him seemed to have lowered several inches and Eragon could feel the rubble scraping his body as he struggled to crawl through the narrowing space.
"Eragon!"
Eragon continued exploring the small space frantically, trying to find any opening in the mountain of debris above him. As he searched Eragon felt an increasing pressure on his back as the debris pushed down upon him. It was light at first but as more time passed Eragon struggled to move with the weight pressing down on him.
Finally, the weight became too much and Eragon found himself pinned against the ground with such a force he could no longer move in any direction. He moved his arms desperately as he tried to free himself, but it was no use.
Eragon lay flat on his stomach, his breaths coming in short gasps as the debris above him slowly crushed him. Eragon was starting to feel lightheaded as his oxygen was beginning to be cut off. The pain was growing as well and Eragon couldn't hold back several groans of pain as he felt his bones shifting and cracking under the pressure.
"Surely there are worse ways to die but I cannot think of one at the moment"
His oxygen deprived brain found this thought incredibly humorous and he couldn't help but laugh silently as his vison began to flicker.
Distantly he could hear Saphira calling for him but her voice was no more than a whisper to him now.
Eragon felt more pressure on his body and let out a silent scream his airless lungs didn't allow him to produce. His vison was dimming now and the small part of Eragon that was still lucid understood the end was very near.
Surprisingly this did not bother Eragon very much. He had done everything he had wanted. The shade was dead and the knowledge that there were now other riders to continue their legacy helped ease his concerns about the future.
Eragon's pain was fading, and a drowsiness was taking its place. He felt his eyes began to flutter. Open or closed, darkness was all he could see. But as his eyes continued to blink, a shape began to emerge from the darkness.
A face emerged inches from Eragon's, a face Eragon recognized instantly even as his vison faded.
Oromis's face stared back at Eragon's. His maroon eyes bored into Eragon's and a kind smile had donned his face.
"Sleep now"
The elf said softly
Eragon's eyes shut
The darkness was calling him
And he didn't have the strength to resist.
I am officially back, and I guarantee nobody saw this ending coming!
I don't want to give anything away, but I will give you this…. "The eyes show you the soul"…. That is all
As always if you enjoyed then leave a review and let me know what you think
Hopefully there are still people who read this after I have been gone so long!
I will hopefully see you soon
Stay safe as always!
Lawld01