A dark aura surrounded the black stone on the shelf above Alex. The stone shuddered slightly as a crack appeared, and a small squeal emanated from within. Many more cracks appeared on the stone as the squeals were getting stronger and more desperate.
Then a piece of the stone fell off, and a small, moist head poked out of the hole. It looked around, and then retreated back into the stone. With a great effort of strength, the stone split neatly in two as a small winged creature sprawled out. A dragon.
The creature opened its mouth, revealing rows of small, sharp teeth, and yawned. Two small horns protruded out of his head, and thin wings as soft as leather were attached to its back. A set of large deep-red plated scales covered the underside of his body, from neck to tail. The dragon looked around, stretching his wings and flexing his arms.
He walked forward, and squawked in surprise as he fell over the edge of the shelf. He flipped over and landed neatly on his feet right next to Alex's face. The dragon looked at the sleeping Alex, and prodded his cheek with his head. A smile crossed Alex's face as the dragon curled up next to him in a blissful sleep.
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Images of pain and torment raved through Alex's dreams. A being of pure evil and darkness stood above Alex, grinning maliciously. Even though he knew he would lose, Alex resisted the dark being to the best of his abilities, but was soon overcame.
The dark being was about to destroy Alex completely, but a new presence entered Alex's mind and rejuvenated him. The dark being looked on in horror at the new arrival, and quickly retreated out of Alex's mind.
Alex, confused, looked at the new presence, wondering what or who it is. He gasped as the presence enveloped his mind, entwining it with itself, and emanating thoughts of love and compassion that were the core essence of the bonding between dragon and rider.
The dragons mind, tired from this ordeal, guided Alex into a deep sleep. Now comforted, Alex instinctively moved his hand to rest on the dragon next to him, for added comfort and relief.
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"Ahhh, what a night. First the nightmare, then that strange presence cleansing it from my mind" thought Alex, trying to wake up. "It seems so familiar and comforting, yet so foreign at the same time."
He shifted, and was surprised to hear a squeal of protest. He opened his eyes, and gasped as the little dragon looked at him lovingly.
"So it wasn't a stone, but an egg" thought Alex, stroking the dragon who was rumbling in pleasure.
"Hmmm, you're going to need a name and some food" said Alex, sitting up. He looked outside, and saw a fresh blanket of snow covering the forest. "But how to pay for it…" he pondered, looking through his backpack.
He came upon a small pouch filled with many coins, which he took out and tied to his belt. "This should be enough" said Alex joyfully. He clambered to the edge of the tree hole as the dragon ran toward him pulling at his mind with a concerned feeling.
He turned around to see the dragon pulling at his shirt with a worried color in its eyes. "Do not worry, little one" said Alex lovingly, laying his hand on the dragon's head. "I'll be just fine. You're probably just as hungry as I am, and when I get back, I'll have enough meat to feed the both of us for a while. Then we can have a nice, hearty meal, followed by a session of bonding before bedtime."
He grinned at the dragon, and ushered it to the far corner of the tree hole. "You'd better wait here for today. We don't know how the people of this land will react to you, so I think it would be best if you stayed here. Again, don't worry. I'll be back safe and sound later today." He sent the dragon a caressing thought, then began climbing down the snowy tree and onto the forest floor.
As he ran among the snowy trees, thoughts of excitement and anticipation flowed through Alex's mind. "A dragon of my very own" thought Alex, ducking under a low branch. "Bright and early tomorrow morning, we will train both our mind and body. I can't wait to mess around with my swords."
Alex stopped running at the edge of a large cliff. He listened closely, and heard the sound of rushing water. Alex looked around at the valley below him, and noticed a small farmhouse not too far from the waterfall.
A fair distance from the small house was a small, quaint village. Within the village center was a group of wagons and tents. A faint yet potent smell wafted into Alex's nose, and he looked excitedly at the village.
"Merchants" he said aloud, carefully climbing down the cliff. "I better get there fast, or the bread will be cold. I'm so hungry that I could eat a cow" he mused, dropping to the cliff base.
"They're bound to have meat to sell as well. I just hope there's enough to feed my dragon." Alex walked at a leisurely pace toward the village, as to not attract any unwanted attention.
Entering the village, Alex came upon a fairly large crowd of people wandering around the wagons. He melded with the crowd, visiting various merchants and checking out their wares. Alex stopped at a stall on the counter of which were various freshly baked pies.
"Wow, these smell good. I'm definitely going to get one" he thought, picking out some coins from his pocket. "I'll take that one" he said to the lady at the stall, who got a small napkin from under the stall and wrapped the pie up in it. She gave it to Alex, who promptly thanked her and gave her the small handful of coins.
Alex walked off, and sat down on the steps of a nearby house, greedily eating the delicious pie. Wiping off his hands, he stood up and caught the scent of fresh meat. "Must be a butchers shop" he thought, entering the door.
As he walked in, a squat ugly man looked up from behind a counter, and said "You from around here?" in a gruff voice. "You could say that" replied Alex. "Hmph" said the man. "Well, what do you want?" he said sharply, watching Alex look around. "I don't have all day here" the butcher said, eyeing Alex suspiciously.
"I'd like enough meat to feed two people for a couple of days" requested Alex, looking up at the butcher with a hard look on his face. The butcher went into a back room, and came out with 2 wrapped medium slabs of meat. "Will this be enough?" asked Alex, handing a pile of coins to the butcher.
"Yeah" said the butcher. "Now get out of here. I've business to attend to." Alex was all too glad to comply, and quickly exited the butchery. "Man, that guy has problems" he thought, looking around.
He noticed Eragon, holding the blue stone, and an older man walk out of a merchant's tent. "If only he knew…" thought an amused Alex, walking out of the village. "I should get back to my dragon. He's probably gray with worry by now" thought Alex, laughing to himself.
He started walking out of the village, thinking about his dragon and not paying attention to the path in front of him. Alex gave a sharp gasp of surprise when he bumped into the arm of an old man. "Sorry" he said to the man, brushing himself off, and walking around him.
The old man looked at Alex with a curious look in his eyes, and then continued on his way. Meanwhile, Alex ran out of the village, swiftly climbed up the valley wall, with the sun disappearing beneath the horizon, and jogged through the snowy trees to where his dragon resided.
As he climbed into his tree hole, Alex was horrified to find his dragon not there. His fears were quickly swept away when the little black dragon flew in the tree from the sky. "And where have you been, little one? Looking around the forest?" he said, relieved.
The dragon walked over, and climbed onto Alex's lap. He hummed with comfort, and leaned against his rider's belly. "Guess so" sighed Alex, grabbing his silver sword from his bag and taking out a hunk of meat.
"You're looking hungry" said Alex, cutting off a slice of meat and handing it to his dragon, who greedily began to eat it. The little creature glanced at his rider with a wistful look in his eyes. "You want more?" exclaimed Alex.
"Wow. Be sure to save enough for me, you black hole" he said, smiling and continuing to feed his hungry dragon. "Now how am I going to cook the rest of this?" wondered Alex, his hand settling on his dragon's neck. The dragon, upon hearing this, looked at the leftover meat.
A sudden burst of heat enveloped the steak, cooking it fully. "That came from you?" asked a slightly perplexed Alex, munching on the juicy steak. The black dragon nodded, and then settled his head on Alex's leg.
"That was great. I hope we have enough to last a while. Don't know how long until we have to move" said Alex, putting the meat aside. "Now for your name. I always had trouble with names, but I think I've come up with a good one. How about Thanatos?"
The dragon lifted his head, and looked his rider square in the eyes. A soft yet strong voice sounded through Alex's mind, saying Excellent. "So you can speak within minds" said Alex to his dragon, who nodded lightly.
"Great, though it seems you don't know many words, but I'll help you with that. Now, let us sleep. It's been a long day for me." Thanatos curled up against his rider, who leaned back against the inner tree with his hand on his dragon's neck.