The next day, Alex awoke to find a fresh layer of snow covering the forest floor.
"It should be freezing in here" he thought, carefully depositing the sleeping Thanatos on the shelf above him.
"I guess Thanatos must be counteracting the cold somehow" thought Alex, equipping his sheath and swords.
"Now to get some training done" he said softly, not wanting to wake his dragon, whose stomach was still bulging from last nights engorgement.
He carefully climbed down the tree, and drew the golden sword from the left sheath, raising it high. Alex brought the sword down quickly, then kicked high in the air, and followed up by spinning the sword wildly around in the circle. He then drew the silver blade, and performed a flurry of flashy combos.
Then one of the swords slipped, and almost split his skull if it had not mysteriously stopped in midair. Surprised, Alex looked up and saw Thanatos, with a slight draconic grin, perched on a tree branch. The sword fell in the snow, and Alex picked it up, saying to his dragon
"It seems I need to be more careful. Perhaps we should be training together, to learn each others strengths and weaknesses."
Thanatos flew down and landed in the snow beside his rider. Yes, that would be good he said. Now pick up that sword, and let's get started!
Dragon and rider continued training with each other through night and day. They did for many weeks, conquering their weaknesses and sharpening their strengths. Alex's skill with his blades grew, though he was still not a master of the sword.
Young Thanatos grew both in size, looks, and strength. His horns increased in size, was now almost twice as tall as his rider, and as long as the trees in the forest in which they resided.
The dragon spent many hours in the nearby mountains, hunting for both himself and his rider. The two trained and bonded in such a way that no normal human could comprehend. They knew each others faults, and how to correct them. Alex and Thanatos continued with this way of life until one fateful evening in which their lives changed forever.
They were asleep on a mountain ledge, Alex leaning against his dragon's warm side. A strange feeling washed over Alex, waking him immediately. He got up, and looked around, wondering what's going on.
"Do you sense that, Thanatos?" he asked his waking dragon.
Thanatos stood up, raised his head and sniffed the air.
Yes I do. Something is happening. Something... is coming! he said urgently, expanding his mind to try and find out what's happening. As he searched around mentally, he encountered a force so strong that it nearly stunned him.
Such power he said, breathing heavily.
"Are you okay?" asked Alex.
Thanatos nodded, then said Strong emotions...Anger, despair, worry...coming toward us rapidly...There!
Both Thanatos and his rider looked at the night sky, seeing nothing for a moment, but then their eyes widened in surprise as they watched a young sapphire-scaled dragon rapidly flying toward them. Atop the dragons neck was a young lad clinging on to the beast's neck, blood soaking through his pants.
"Eragon" Alex said aloud." So his egg must've hatched as well. Fine looking dragon he's bonded with."
He climbed on his dragon's neck, and said Thanatos, take me to that village I went to a while ago, but not too close. Don't want people making false suspicions about you."
Good idea, dear rider replied Thanatos, taking flight in the dark night.
Something must have happened there to make Eragon and his dragon fly away with such fright.
They continued toward Carvahall, and landed a fair distance from the village.
"Go now, dear heart, and make sure Eragon is okay. Tell him I'm your rider, and he should trust you, but if all else fails, convince his dragon that you mean them no harm. I will go and see what happened around here." said Alex, dismounting his dragon.
Thanatos lowered his head until his eyes were level with his riders.
Good plan, Alex, but I want you to promise me you'll be careful. Something seems amiss around these parts.
"I promise, dear Thanatos" said Alex softly, laying his hand on his dragons muzzle. Thanatos closed his eyes and sighed lovingly, then turned and flied back toward the mountains in which Eragon and his dragon were hiding.
After watching his dragon depart, Alex turned and began walking toward the village, when he caught the scent of evil on the wind.
"Of all the times to forget my swords" he cursed silently, looking around.
He continued walking along, picking up a snow-covered branch off of the ground. As Alex headed out of the forest, he came upon a horrific sight. A farm house was being set ablaze by two cloaked creatures, almost resembling men.
"STOP!" cried out Alex, raising the branch and charging toward the cloaked beings. Seeing Alex, they turned around and walked toward the rider. Alex stopped in his tracks, for he was frightened by the faces of the cloaked ones. They resembled humans, with bird-like features and beaks on their faces.
"This house must've been Eragon's, destroyed by these evil beings" thought Alex.
"And for that, you will pay" he said aloud, raising his branch and swinging at the cloaked ones, who dodged with inhuman speed. Alex tried to recover, but was quickly kicked down. One of the cloaked beings picked him up, and threw him against a nearby tree, knocking him out.
Stay away, Thanatos… he feebly told his dragon before slipping unconsciousness. The cloaked ones kicked Alex once more, then retreated into the dark night.
------------------
"I promise, dear Thanatos" said Alex, patting his dragon on the muzzle.
Thanatos watched his rider walk stealthily into the woods, and then took off into the starry night, to look for Eragon and his dragon. He decided to start his search at the place where Alex found his egg, so he flew in that direction using Alex's memories as a guide.
As Thanatos came close to the clearing, he felt a strange yet familiar presence. Not wanting to cause unneeded antagonism, he slowly pushed out his mind, seeking peace with the other force, which awakened with surprise.
The other force cautiously brushed Thanatos' mind, seeing if the black dragon was friend or foe. Thanatos knew at once that this force is Eragon's dragon, and a female one at that.
She seems familiar, though I can't remember who or what she's like he thought to himself.
Thanatos then sent out a mental message to Eragon's dragon, saying "I apologize for disturbing your sleep, dear lady. I was awakened a while ago by you and your rider flying by, emanating much distress. My rider wanted to make sure you were all right. My name is Thanatos. What might yours be?"
The other force tensed up for a moment, then relaxed and replied I am called Saphira. The reason for my distress earlier is because my rider, Eragon, mentioned inhuman beings in the area. I then… went berserk, if you will, and took off with him. During our flight, his legs got shredded on my scales, and we are resting here until morning."
"Ouch" said Thanatos, shifting." I hope he's all right" The black dragon tensed for a moment, sensing something amiss, then shrugged it off.
"Well, it's good that you're okay. I should check back on my…ALEX!" Thanatos took off in a fit of horror and rage, solely intent on finding out what happened to his rider. Saphira got up to follow him, but then thought better of herself and laid back down to protect her rider.
What is going on? she thought, lying down to sleep. I do hope Thanatos and his rider are all right.
Authors Notes:
This is fun to write. I hope you're all enjoying this so far. If you have any constructive criticism to offer, please do. Oh by the way, the next chapter coming up is a bit long. Just letting you know ahead of time.