ERAGON raised his shield as a shadow-colored wolf ran at him, slightly slipping on blood that was splattered on the stone streets of Tronjheim. The wolf's tongue bounced and dangled from a panting mouth, and Eragon lifted his sword as the beast leapt, closing the distance between them. Eragon roared, slashing his sword down, closing his eyes as he heard the deep and heavy crunch that rose from the wolf's skull, shattered by Eragon's sharp blade.
Around him, The Varden died.
Eragon! Saphira screamed within his mind as Eragon heard the heavy steps of an Urgal behind him. The creature uttered a guttural call, a massive club in its hands. Horns glistened with gore and blood, and Saphira walked up on Eragon's flank, her wings flared. Behind the massive Urgal, the battle raged throughout the streets. Wolves, Lions, and Urgals massed on Varden forces, the newly allied Dwarves attacked with gusto, but even they seemed to be gaining the upper hand. However, with every Urgal dead, it seemed the beasts took ten soldiers with them. Eragon focused back on the Urgal charging him, his sword held high. The Urgal swung its club carelessly, Eragon ducking and rolling under it while Saphira took to the air. She flew into the Urgal's eyes, biting and clawing while the behemoth howled, dropping its weapon as it attempted to swat Saphira to the ground. Eragon took the chance and plunged his sword deep into the Urgal's bowels, His blade vanishing into the layers of fat and muscle of the Urgal. Eragon spun as he pulled the blade free, lifting his shield just in time as a small wolf smashed against it. He pushed the yelping animal to the ground, and then impaled it through the eye with the point of his sword.
Where is Arya? And Brom? Eragon asked as he saw a squad of elves descend deeper into the fray, brushing past him.
She was with Orrin at the spire. As for Brom . . .I have not seen him since we arrived here. Saphira answered. Eragon knitted his brows as the battle in the street he stood in died down. Here, at least, the monstrous army had been held back. In the other alleyways and crosswalks, it was a different story. Most of the fighting was being done in the main courtyards of Tronjheim, located near the now-broken gate. Eragon made his way now, Saphira running beside him. Her scaled head nearly reached his shoulder, and the softness of her wings rubbed against Eragon's boiled leather trousers.
The street fell sharply at a descending incline, and from this high vantage point, Eragon could see most of the lower portions ofTronjheim. Snaking roads, littered with bodies, ran down into large stone flats, graced by gargantuan statues stylized so it seemed that they held the stone ceiling of the mountain's bowels above them. It was in those courtyards that Varden flags wavered while roars and bellows and screams tickled Eragon's ears.
Let's go. Eragon said to Saphira as he put his heels into the granite streets. He ran down, Varden reinforcements following him. Several elves easily outran him, and Eragon heard a growl behind his head as hot breath licked at his long hair.
"You're slow, Rider. And your Dragon is small."
Eragon turned to see a massive bear facing him, one of its eyes missing. Without warning, a wood-elf girl with bronze skin emerged from behind the bear, and pulled Eragon ontop of the beast. Saphira flapped her wings and rose into the air, flying with them as the bear quite literally galloped down the steep stone roads.
"Who are you?" Eragon asked as air rushed past his face. The Elf girl turned her head halfways.
"Elonubum! If we survive this battle, you can have my last name as well. Now wrap your arms around my waist." She ordered, and Eragon did as he was bid, sheathing his sword as he watched the battle grow closer and closer from behind her sculpted shoulders. They gradually came closer, the sounds of death becoming more apparent and the stench of the Urgals filling his nostrils. The bear squeezed through ranks and ranks of soldiers, quickly coming up on the front lines.
"Wait-" Eragon said as the enemy army entered his vision.
Elonubum turned her head and winked at him. She pulled the bear's ears and leaned back into Eragon's lap slightly.
"Faster, Brother!"
The bear roared and scraped claws against hard road. Sparks flew from the bear's paws as they came up on the enemy force. Thousands of Urgals intermixed with Varden warriors, while those evil wolves pounced and circled and nipped, running between legs of Urgal and man alike. Ebony-colored lions roared as they struck men with heavy paws, pushing them to the ground and cracking necks with powerful jaws.
The bear ran straight into the fray. Elonubum leapt from the bear's back as an Urgal charged directly at them. She wore a slim andbrown colored skirt, sculpted legs leading to curved hips, while her small chest was slimly garbed by a mauve-colored tunic. At her belt she pulled a dagger free and spun in the air as she pushed it down into the Urgal's eyes. The beast fell, but as it did so, a shadow-lion took its place, pouncing at Elonubum. Eragon's eyes widened, and he instinctively threw out his hand, words leaving his mouth without his authority.
"Brisingr!" He cried, and Elonubum flattened herself against the corpse of the Urgal as blue flame spouted over her. The lion howled as it was consumed, and Eragon slid off from the bear's back, drawing his sword as wolves circled. One of them jumped, only to be thrown to the ground by a diving Saphira, her teeth tearing at the wolf's throat. Varden forces surged around him, holding the tide of monsters back for the time being. Saphira flapped her wings at the face of another wolf as it growled at her, while Elonubum twirled on the stomach of the Urgal, a shadow lion harmlessly jumping past her, paws opened wide as if it were searching for a hug. It landed before human men armed with spears, and they made short work of the beast while Eragon turned his attention forward. The smell of blood, feces, and urine mixed in a disgraceful aroma of violence, Eragon stepping over the dead and dying. His sword moved of its own accord, felling Urgal and wolf and lion alike. When his sword wasn't fast enough, Saphira was, flying into his enemies and then retreating, her strong wings powering her. As he moved mechanically through the battle, past the massive statues that watched impassively above, Elonubum would cross paths with him. Sometimes he would save her, sometimes she would assist him in felling an enemy. She would then melt back in the bland faces of his allies, unremarkable.
"Boy!" Brom said gruffly behind Eragon, grabbing his shoulder. Eragon spun, his sword raised. Brom didn't flinch as Eragon's blade stopped short of his face.
"I am relieved you live." He said, smiling. Eragon nodded, and he fell back as Brom lead the way. Brom's brilliant rider's blade swung left to right, killing Urgals and wolves. A shadow lion leapt before Brom, and the man swatted it aside with his broadsword, splitting the creature's torso in half. They fought for hours, never tiring as their allies fell around them. Eragon could feel Rider's magic coursing through him, powering him, keeping him strong and alert. His shield became a second weapon, using it bludgeon wolves and harry Urgals, while Saphira dug out their eyes with teeth and claw.
Eragon then saw Orrin, resplendent in gilded armor. His eyes searched for Arya, and he found her, fighting by Orrin while elves circled her. Orrin's sword flashed before him, and then an Urgal howled as it was freed of its arm. Orrin's hand sped to his belt, and then flung a dagger at the Urgal's head. The Urgal gibbered, and then fell as Orrin turned to behead a wolf that had planned to catch him by surprise. The corpse fell to the ground and slid across the stone, black blood trailing from a headless torso. Brom joined Orrin, and Eragon followed, Saphira above. They all fought valiantly, each one wordlessly supporting each other.
"I see I have found my prizes." A cold voice spoke. Eragon lowered his shield as a massive creature prowled closer, shoulder blades shifting below puffy fur. It had a mottled color of a tiger's cloak, while a furry tail swung behind it. But the creature at the nose of a pig, with curving black horns and yellow eyes. Atop the creature, a man sat, as pale as moldy milk, with red hair tied in a ponytail. It looked like Durza had, but the man had different features. Still, the same eyes haunted with violent mirth and dim recognition.
"Durza?" Brom said above the clamor of battle. "I saw you die." He raised his sword defensively.
"You know of Shades. I am not Durza, but one descended from him. All the same, I will kill you, as Durza would have done."
The tiger-boar rushed at them, seemingly growing larger as its snout opened, revealing rows of sharp teeth jutting from purple gums. Brom struck his hand to the ground, muttering magical spells. Spikes formed from the stone, impaling the tiger-boar as it ran. The Shade leapt from his dying mount, and landed behind Orrin. The young king turned as a massive blade coughed into existence. It slashed at Orrin, but the king staved off a few attacks, falling backward, his cape billowing behind him. Arya rounded on the Shade, but the attacker rose his hand and caught her by the arm, flinging her across the stone ground. She slid harmlessly away, dazed. Brom ran at the Shade, sword swinging. They exchanged blows as Eragon ran to assist him, only to be blocked by an Urgal that seemed to emerge from nowhere. Eragon saw as Brom lost ground fighting the Shade, his movements slowing.
"Move!" Eragon cried as he struck at the Urgal. The beast laughed as it blocked the blow with its massive palm, allowing Eragon's sword to slice it open as his steel slapped against the ground. He lifted his blade and swung it at the Urgal's leg, and the beast faltered, leaving it open for Saphira to come flying down, her jaws closing around the creature's neck. As she dragged the Urgal down, Eragon saw Brom.
The Shade's blade cut into Brom's shoulder, and dug past skin and bone. As the sword freed itself from Brom's body, the man's sword arm fell to the ground in a splash of blood.
"BROM!" Eragon bellowed, dropping his shield as he rushed at the Shade. The Shade turned at Eragon, face covered over with humor. Eragon jumped in the air, Saphira and he attacking the Shade simultaneously. The Shade shrugged off Saphira's bite and moved his blade across his face, the black steel sparking against Eragon's. The Shade pushed Eragon backwards, and the tip of his sword sliced across Eragon's leg. Eragon limped as he continued the fight, Saphira releasing herself from the Shade and taking to the skies, looking for an opening. The Shade circled with Eragon, mouth curled back in a smile. It ran at him, and Eragon lifted his blade to attack. The Shade sidestepped, and Eragon's sword crashed harmlessly against the ground. Pain flared from the corner of his left shoulder to the bottom right of his hip, and Saphira roaring in anger.
ERAGON! She shrieked as he fell. The Shade loomed over him, and threw Saphira to the ground with invisible fingers. The Shade then lifted Eragon into the air, and impaled him on the tip of his sword. Blood dribbled from Eragon's mouth as the Shade held its hilt high, Eragon's body slowly being dragged down the long shaft of the sword.
"Eragon!" Arya thundered as Orrin rushed to Brom. Monsters circled Arya and she cursed, fighting them with her elven guard as Orrin had men take Brom away from the battle. Eragon focused his blackened vision on the shade, his stomach touching the cold hilt of the Shade's long sword, his bright red blood painting the blade that jutted from his back.
"How does death feel, Rider?" The Shade asked, inches away from Eragon's face. Eragon looked at the creature through a veil of wet hair, and lifted his arm.
"Brisingr." He said, swallowing heavily. The Shade smiled, but then its eyes widened in surprise as Eragon's own arm erupted in flame. The Shade grunted as Eragon thrust his flaming arm into the body of the Shade, the abomination screaming as it let go of the hilt. Eragon's feet touched the ground as the weight of the sword that still impaled him left him off balance, but he dug his free hand into the collar of the Shade, while he forced his flaming limb deeper into the beast. The Shade bellowed in pain as its eyes exploded in small bubbling pools of white pus, while skin dried and cracked. Hair lost sheen as lights flashed from an open mouth, while the body of the Shade collapsed in ash. Eragon dropped to his knees, looking at the red and bubbling skin of his arm and hand. With his good fingers, he touched the long hilt of the sword, digits falling through it as the blade vanished in a gust of harsh smoke. Eragon's eyes rolled backward as he fell over on his back, sounds around him muting until there was nothing left but silence.
(Line Break)
He was supposed to be dead. Murtagh listened keenly at the noise of battle above, so keenly that he did not hear Zidda approach behind him. Murtagh heard Zidda's voice as the beyonder inched closer.
"My god . . . what did they do to you?" Zidda asked. Murtagh shook his head.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"They are being attacked."
"Imperial?" Murtagh questioned.
"No, something else." Zidda said as Murtagh felt his chains fall away. He was caught by Zidda, and groaned as his wounds were spread open again.
"Easy, Easy." Zidda whispered. Murtagh's eyes settled on two men. They were both bald, but one was much older than the other. However, their smiles made them look related.
The Twins.
"We're bringing you back home." The younger one said.
"You defected?" Murtagh asked. The old one tsk'd.
"I wouldn't call it defection. I would term it . . ." He trailed off, thinking.
"Selective faction reassignment!" The younger one declared with a pointed finger.
Home. After all these years . . .
The group shrank into the darkness of the numerous tunnels of the mountains, unbothered by the battle raging above.