"I can't believe Rhünon-elda acknowledged us!" Fadrau said in awe as he steered Danny away from the forge. If Fadrau hadn't had the firm emotional control that seemed typical of most elves, he probably would've been gushing.

"Does she usually ignore visitors?" Danny asked.

"She dislikes being disturbed," Fadrau agreed tactfully. "Were she not the greatest of our smiths, she would not be respected so highly."

"So, where are we going now?" Danny asked, noting that Fadrau's guidance was more purposeful than earlier, when they were just wandering and sightseeing.

"Tialdarí Hall," Fadrau answered briskly. "Your tutor is ready to meet you there."

"Who is he? She?"

"I have not been informed."

Instead of earlier, when Fadrau had been at least a bit talkative as he showed off his city and culture, Fadrau fell silent as he led Danny through Ellesméra. He seemed preoccupied with his thoughts, judging by the slight furrow in his brow. Danny reached out with his senses, just enough to read Fadrau without drowning in the ambient magic of Ellesméra. Danny blinked at the impressions he was receiving – disbelief, awe, incredulity, and some feeling flavored like, "holy shit holy shit this is impossible" that he translated to, "freaking out." It was really impressive how little of that was showing on Fadrau's face. Danny would have brushed it off as massive hero-worship of Rhünon, except for the negative spin he was picking up. Either Rhünon was less popular or important than he'd been led to believe (which seemed unlikely, given that Fadrau's reactions to her before she'd greeted them seemed genuine), or Danny's promise was problematic in some way, either taboo or thought impossible.

Or maybe Danny was overthinking things, and the reason for the negativity was completely different. He didn't know these people or their culture too well, after all.

Danny entertained the hope for a moment before sighing and discarding it. His luck was never that good.

Fadrau stopped when they arrived at a garden Danny hadn't seen before, one more spectacular than all the others he'd seen earlier, filled with arrangements of flowers of all shapes and colors. Danny sneezed as the magic keeping the flowers healthy tickled his nose. It was rather irritating, but it seemed to be doing the flowers a world of good: the blossoms were larger than anything similar Danny had seen, and he spotted flowers he knew only grew in tropical regions happily growing alongside plants that would undoubtedly wilt and die in tropical heat.

"I guess we've made it?" Danny sniffed, eyes watering. He hoped that the library was at a different location than Tialdarí Hall, because constant allergy attacks while trying to research no doubt difficult and esoteric subjects would be a giant pain in the ass. At least there wasn't anything similar in function to blood blossoms in the beds, from what he could tell.

"Tialdarí Hall," Fadrau announced, beckoning for Danny to join him in walking through the gardens. "This is where we store much of our art and history, and it is the building that is most beautifully integrated with the forest. Elves have been expanding and improving it for centuries. In addition, many elves call this place home, including our royalty."

Danny had to agree with the assessment of Tialdarí Hall's splendor; many of the places they'd seen outside had paled in scope and beauty to the rooms inside. Each room had a different natural theme. Elves were scattered through the hall, appreciating the many distinct designs. Many were writing or drawing. They noted Danny's presence, watching with shrewd eyes, but they made no other move to acknowledge him.

Fadrau gave no indication that the next room they just entered was different from any of the others until he twitched in surprise. Danny glanced around – there was a pond in the center of the room with water so clear he honestly couldn't tell how deep it was – until he spotted an elf standing with his back turned to them, examining some leafy bush by the wall. He wore a sleeveless tunic embroidered with vines and his black hair was bound in a loose, low ponytail, but it was his skin that was most interesting, patterned in splotches of dark and light that reminded Danny of the dappled shadows beneath an oak tree in summer.

"Greetings," the elf said in a melodious tenor without turning. "Danny, correct?"

"Danny, uh, that's me, yep. Um, hi?" Danny said, wincing at how inelegant he sounded compared to the other. He was caught a bit off-guard by the elf directly addressing him instead of just watching him.

The elf turned, his head tilted to one side as he studied Danny, who felt eerily like he was being watched by a bird of prey. Then he faintly smirked, and the impression disappeared. "Well met."

"You too," Danny said, scratching a no doubt red cheek in embarrassment. "How's it going?"

"If by 'it' you mean 'my life,' it has been a long journey filled with trials, tribulations, and occasional good fortune. Or, if you meant 'my latest academic pursuit,' the grafted trees are doing splendidly and I have begun attempting to graft plants with softer stems. Or perhaps you meant 'my day,' in which case it has been quite interesting, for Queen Islanzadí has requested that I teach you our language and accompany you regularly to our library," the elf finished, eyes twinkling.

"You're my tutor," Danny translated, feeling slow and off-balance.

"Indeed I am. I am Elduin, Sage of Ellesméra. Shall we adjourn to the library? We would not wish to disturb the meditations of others." Elduin gestured for Danny and Fadrau to follow, crow's feet around his eyes crinkling (the only indication of advanced age he'd seen on an elf besides Rhünon), and glided out of the room with long strides.

Danny hesitated for a split second, befuddled, before hurrying after. He'd met his fair share of eccentric individuals, between all the ghosts and ghost hunters and just plain weirdos he'd run into, but something about Elduin's mannerisms managed to leave him off-balance, anyway. Danny would need to stay on his toes to keep up, kind of like with Clockwork, except Clockwork was more annoyingly cryptic and Elduin seemed more whimsical.

"Know anything about this guy?" Danny huffed to Fadrau as they jogged after Elduin.

"Elduin-elda tends to many of the hidden rooms in this hall. In addition, he is the primary caretaker of our library. He is near impossible to find unless he approaches you first, and he is capricious in deciding who he comes to. I don't know much about him because I have seen him only a handful of times, and never up close," Fadrau said, sounding a little dazzled. "Some of the most flighty of our masters have taken an interest in you. I never dreamed I would ever be so close to even one."

Fadrau had to be the most composed dorky fanboy Danny had ever met (and he'd met quite a few of them drooling over Phantom).

Elduin stopped in front of a circular door squirrelled away deep in the hall, where fewer paths and more large-scale forest art made it difficult to find one's way. (Thankfully, this area didn't seem as saturated with magic as the entrance to the hall, and it was much easier to breathe. It wasn't completely comfortable, but Danny could tolerate it much more easily.) The door looked like it was made of twined tree roots, and there was no visible doorknob. Elduin tapped three unremarkable places on the door and murmured something. The seams between the roots glowed green, and then the door soundlessly opened on invisible hinges.

Unlike many of the rooms in Tialdarí Hall, which had windows open to the sunlight, this one had a cozy, grotto-like feel to it. There was a thick, leafy canopy overhead, and light was provided by soft floating globes of light and artfully arranged bioluminescent moss. There were three other doors, each made from a different smooth wood. Patches of a soft, springy moss covered the floor between furniture made from some kind of fuzzy, water-bloated succulent that squished pleasantly when Danny pressed a hand on one. There were a few hardwood chairs and tables, each differently shaped to cater to different individuals' senses of comfort. It kind of looked like a college study room.

(Danny had crashed into a few of those in ghost fights. College students were weird; they either reacted like giddy/scared high school students, stared and shrugged and got back to work, or cursed him and his current adversary for interrupting their zombie-eyed cram session at three in the morning.)

"Welcome to one of the innermost chambers in Tialdarí Hall – Hjall Abr Chetuwä, the Hall of Wisdom," Elduin said grandly, sweeping his arms wide. "This is the outer chamber, the dedicated study area for our library. Of course, many elves find that they can concentrate better in different environments and are allowed to take our ancestors' wisdom, save for a few select works, beyond these chambers, so long as they do not leave Tialdarí Hall.

"Each of these doors leads to a different area of the library," Elduin continued, pointing to each in turn. "This central one, made of mahogany – it leads to the library proper, where the majority of the works rest. The door to the left, of sturdy oak – that leads to the chambers for the guardian of the library – my chambers, in other words. As for the blackwood door to the left… it is where the most dangerous of our wisdom is stored. Do not try to enter, for you will be forever lost. Even I do not know the entirety of what lies beyond that door."

That sounded ominous, Danny thought. No doubt he'd have to go inside sooner or later, because that was just how his life worked. Sometimes he thought the universe hated him.

"For the time being, I'll be cramming as much proficiency in the ancient language as I can into your head before I allow you through the mahogany door," Elduin said, his speech patterns shifting to be less formal. "You may call me by my name, but in proper company you should refer to me as Ebrithil or Elduin-ebrithil. Lastly…" Elduin fished around in a pouch he wore at his side for a moment before withdrawing a smooth, curved block of wood and tossing it to Danny. "This is a key to open the outside door. Just tap it to the center of the pattern and you'll be admitted. It won't work on any of the inner doors. Normally, I'd key the door to your magic or blood, but I've heard about your incompatibility with our magic, so I made this as a workaround. Do try not to burn off the enchantments, because making a new one would be a hassle. And if you lose it, I will make your life quite unpleasant," Elduin said, grinning in an unfriendly manner that promised potential retribution. "I expect to see you in here every day. Any questions?"

Danny's head spun as he parsed through the information. He was more than just a bit apprehensive about learning from a perceptive individual such as Elduin. "I'm not going to be stuck in here all the time, am I?" he asked, because no matter how comfy the study room looked, if he was going to be trapped in here aside from meals and sleep, he was going to go bonkers.

Elduin huffed. "I should hope not. It's my job to spend all my time tending to our ancient wisdom, not yours. I am willing to spend a full quarter of my day – that's six hours – working with you, but no more. And should you knock on my door after sundown or before sunup, I will not answer."

Six hours a day just on a foreign language, cooped up in this room? Danny could already feel his soul wilting. It was for a good cause, he reminded himself, and it wasn't like he had much else to do with his time. "Is there a specific time I should show up?" he asked feebly. Best to get on (and stay on) Elduin's good side.

"Come when you can, as long as it is daily, between dawn and dusk. I'm not terribly picky, and my schedule is quite flexible. I have a feeling that attempting to confine you to a strict schedule would end in disaster, simply because of all the unexpected things that would interfere," Elduin said wryly.

Danny blinked; he had no idea how Elduin had come to that conclusion when Danny had hardly spoken since their meeting.

Something must have shown on his face, because Elduin smirked and continued, "You're here, aren't you? Not only that, but you retrieved Fírnen for us. Your luck is either abominable when it comes to blundering into delicate situations, or your curiosity lands you in more trouble than most."

Danny sighed. He really couldn't refute that logic. "Both, really…"

"I can't really say I'm surprised," Elduin said, amused. "Any other questions?"

"I think I'm good," Danny said. He had the gist of things, and he was better at thinking on his feet and resolving problems as they cropped up instead of trying to plan for potential problems. He'd leave that to Jazz.

"Excellent. As for you…" Elduin said, shifting his gaze to Fadrau. "Our illustrious queen informed me that you're to stay by Danny's side as much as you are able, should there be none other with him. Ask before trying to enter the library proper, but otherwise do as you wish."

"Yes, sir," Fadrau said a bit uncomfortably, though whether from discomfort of Elduin's importance or his informality, Danny couldn't be sure.

Elduin nodded in acceptance before turning to Danny again. "Shall we begin?"

Danny groaned and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms, trying to will the tension headache away as he flopped onto his bed. Elduin was an engaged and demanding teacher, Danny had learned over the past few hours. They spent most of the time verbally drilling pronunciation and basic sentences, interspersed with etiquette rules. While not as completely integrated as Japanese etiquette rules (verb conjugation didn't change based on who you were addressing, for one – Japanese had been a pain to learn, even with his shortcut), elvish etiquette was still stricter than the majority of Western etiquette Danny was most familiar with. At least he could get through the traditional elvish greeting – including the hand motions and kind of accurately judging who would start the exchange (the lower-ranked of the two conversationalists, and that when in doubt, he should go first).

Even without use of his shortcut, Danny knew he was able to pick up new languages faster than most people – something about how his brain processed communication a bit differently following his accident/half-death. (He tried not to think too hard about it, or the other subtle changes to his brain (mostly non-human reflexes and instincts).) That didn't mean it wasn't hard, though.

He was even going to bed far, far earlier than he normally did. Anyone who said that mental workouts couldn't be as strenuous and exhausting as physical workouts was a horrible liar.

Unfortunately, that meant that he hadn't tracked down Arya yet, and that needed to happen soon. He needed to clear the air between them regarding Fírnen's behavior, even though they hadn't yet chatted one on one yet. The last thing he needed was a resentful Rider breathing down his neck alongside the suspicious one. He had no doubt that Eragon would be trying to keep close tabs on him, beyond what Fadrau was no doubt reporting to the queen.

This was why Danny hated politics – all the careful tiptoeing and masks were so aggravating and inconvenient. Ghosts were so much simpler to deal with, even if they didn't know the meaning of the word "no."

As Danny drifted off, the pain in his head easing, he resolved to try to find Arya first thing tomorrow, because it needed doing, and he refused to submit himself to Elduin's tender mercies until he'd been awake for a few hours.

Danny blearily stumbled out the door the next morning, well after the sun had risen. He'd slept for nearly twelve hours. It seemed his body was taking full advantage of the lack of ghostly interruptions during the night to catch up on much-needed sleep. There was a tray of food left on his doorstep – fresh cut fruits, seed cakes, and a honey pastry – along with a note from Fadrau:

:I have been called to settle a nearby dispute, just beyond the borders of the city. I will return shortly.:

No one had specifically forbidden Danny from wandering through Ellesméra by himself, even though Fadrau had heavily hinted that he shouldn't do so. Thanks, but no thanks; Danny didn't need a babysitter to go find Arya, and he especially didn't want another person breathing down his neck while he spoke with her. So he used the quill and ink his guesthouse had been provided with and messily scribbled that he had something personal to do and would meet with Fadrau later.

Danny didn't know where Arya was, but Fadrau had mentioned something about the royal family living in Tialdarí Hall. Even if she wasn't there, someone could probably point him in the direction she'd gone.

Except… crap, which way was Tialdarí Hall from here? He hadn't been paying as much attention as he should have last night as Fadrau led him to his guesthouse, and the landmarks were unfamiliar.

Maybe this way…? Danny thought as he picked one of the paths in the grass. The currently unlit lantern along the way looked a little familiar…

Except, Danny found about ten minutes later, nearly all of Ellesméra's lanterns were crafted in the same design, and he was thoroughly lost. There was no one around to ask for directions, either. Grimacing, Danny picked another path and forged onward, because paths had to lead somewhere, and he'd eventually find someone to direct him. He had to brush aside some cobwebs of magic to keep moving; there were a lot of ambient spells in Ellesméra that would cling to him, even along the paths.

Except that this path seemed to head away from the center of the city, if the increasing thickness of the underbrush was anything to go by. The air was slightly clearer, too – less concentrated magic to choke on the farther from the center.

Danny was just about to turn around – because Tialdarí Hall definitely was not on the outskirts of Ellesméra – when the forest opened into a large clearing near a cliff. A small hut was nestled among a copse of trees away from the cliff's edge, but most of Danny's attention was occupied by the huge golden dragon standing at the edge, wings unfurled as though about to take flight. He barely noticed Saphira beside the gold dragon, because she was dwarfed in comparison. Which was incredibly disconcerting, because Danny had thought that she was plenty large and intimidating when he'd met her.

My luck is the worst, he thought miserably as he heard Eragon exclaim something in his surprise. He barely caught a glimpse of another figure by Eragon (an elf, probably) before Saphira whirled and lunged and he was deafened by a deep, earsplitting roar.

A/N:

I'm alive, I'm back, and it hasn't quite been a full year since I updated this story...? Hi?

So I was going to tell you guys to run over to my writing blog (hollowmashiro on tumblr) for a full explanation of why I've been gone, but my computer died on me just before posting this, meaning delays and posting this on my friend's laptop and not being able to write a full post about why until I have more time to finagle with technology. It boils down to "very very bad mental health issues." That post will get out eventually, but not yet. The only reason I could post was because I back up all my important stuff online and I didn't lose all that much when my computer died.

Anyway, welcome back, and I hope you guys are still interested in finding out what will happen.

-HM