Disclaimer: the world of the Inheritance Triology would be the property of Cristopher Paolini, as would be the characters from the books. The rest are mine.
A while later, Galbatorix was enjoying a glass of chilled wine brought by a servant, when the sound of claws against the stone floor alerted him of the arrival of the person he had been waiting for. And setting down the glass at the table beside him, he turned around-- inclining his head slightly in greeting.
"Your apprentice's punishment has been dealt with of-course, and he has been left in the hands of your personal healers. However, I recently received news that may require our immediate attention".
Wearing a shape resembling a smaller, bipedal version of his true form, Thelyr quietly returned the greeting as he entered the room. For a moment, his lumniscent eyes dulled as the third eye-lids slid over them-- then he indicated a door opposite to the one he had entered through.
"One agent I sent out recently has returned. And while he had something I believe that you may very much want to see, he also brings more unfortunate news. He is waiting for us in the throne room, so my suggestion would be that we go there to see what he has for us".
Galbatorix took a last sip of the wine, and stood up, allowing Thelyr to lead the way as they walked out of his quarters and down the wide set of stairs leading through the large hall he had taken for his throne room so many years ago. Like in the rest of the palace, everything appeared plain and lacking in decorations unless one looked closely for the subtle ornaments created by patterns and colors. The longer one looked or even meditated over it, the more impressive the palace would appear for those who took the time to do so. Certainly it had not always been like that, but his own work, and that of Thelyr with the quite unique way of magic he was capable of-- had made such alterations possible.
Waiting for them, standing close by the throne often used by Galbatorix during audiences, was a creature that superficially resembled the form currently used by Thelyr. But this creature was clearly made for bipedal locomotion, and while fairly lean-- its wiry muscles and alert gaze as it watched them approach, clearly spoke of someone born and raised to fight. Except for the sleek red, black and white scales covering its body, that were as tough as any dragon's scales, it wore little-- only a pair of elaborate and fingerless leather gloves. It wore no visible weapons, but with the teeth and claws it was equiped with-- not to mention the magical energy humming around it, no other weapons were likely needed.
"As promised, I brought you the human that you deemed so troublesome. Unfortunately it also seems like the weaving of magic we worked to gain access to him had some unexpected results, others were pulled across the boundaries and deposited in Aberon. I counted less than five, but more may have appeared further out, the feedback was quite extensive" it said, the voice coming from it sounding surprisingly human.
Turning around, it then indicated someone on the floor behind it. And upon taking a closer look, Galbatorix felt something like shock surging through him as he recognized the upstart dragonrider who had sided with the Varden. Then surprise was replaced by triumph as his own magic told him that what he was seeing was real.
Noticeably changed from when he had still been able to scry the boy, before something had blocked his attempts, Eragon-- more of a young man, was now more like one of the cowardly elves. A sneer appeared at Galbatorix's face as he looked down at the human that he had wanted to capture for quite some time-- unconscious at the present, but he would probably wake soon enough.
There was one thing that he would like to be done before that however...
"Well done, the both of you, with the rider in our hands-- I should think that the dragon would be far less of a threat. Knowing dragons, I suspect that her reaction will be quite predictable. However, his current form is quite..offensive, I would say. Might you be able to do something about it?" he asked, turning his dark eyes towards Thelyr.
Remaining still, the changed dragon looked down at Eragon for several moments, then he nodded slowly.
"It is a complex piece of magic, but within my abilities even here. I will need both of you to move back to the stairs, since undoing the changes to the human will require that I return to my true form".
A large, luminous eye followed Galbatorix and the dragon-creature until they reached the stairs, then a mist appeared around Thelyr-- hissing as it obscured his form nearly completely. Then, the blink of an eye later-- the huge, orange-yellow dragon was sitting in the hall, head held low as not to damage the ceiling. Wings rustling as it moved slightly, the dragon arched its neck and spoke in its own language-- the strong and music-like song being echoed by the air around it as it hummed with energy.
For a moment or two, the glittering form of a ghostly dragon seemed to rise above the prone body of Eragon, jaws opening as if to engulf Thelyr's head. But then the thing writhed, seeming to scream in soundless pain before it suddenly dissolved without a trace. Uttering a tired sigh, Thelyr returned to his previous form, his legs seeming to be about to fail him for a moment or two. Then the dragon straightened himself abruptly and turned back to Galbatorix.
"As of now, he should give you far less trouble," Thelyr said, "I will need to rest now however, so I will leave you to dealing with the human as you see it fit".
Galbatorix gave a nod, giving both leave to depart the room. With Eragon as his captive, and now much less capable of fighting him, it should not be long before he was in complete control of the rider, and with him-- the last known female dragon.