An Ancient Spirit and An Ancient Lesson
The aged Rider leapt off the towering gold Dragon, he flipped in the air and landed with a gentle thud. He bowed and preformed the proper greeting to the Queen then to Elva, returned by both. Once these formalities were complete, the Rider began saying; "Greetings Elva. I am Osthato Chetowä, the morning sage. My name is Ormis, the last of the Old Order."
Elva stood mouth agape with Xïzor by her side. Xïzor stood, unmoving, with his face contorted in a strange way. This was undoubtedly a look of shock, though strange it was to see. The pair was speechless for some time, till Elva shook her head and said; "Greetings Master Orimis. I am honored to meet the last of an age gone by. As I am sure Xïzor is as well."
"I see I have caused quite a shock in you, well that was to be expected. Eragon shall be training you in the art of the sword, being better suited in his youth. And I shall train you in the art of being a Rider. We shall start straight way." With the air of a time gone by he turned to Xïzor "Hail Xïzor, master of the sky, your training begins as well. You will train along side of Saphira in the art of aerial maneuvers and combat, a field Saphira has experience in. Glaedr, my companion, shall be your teacher."
The low sound of Xïzor's voice rumbled in the minds of everyone gathered there as he bellowed, Yes Master, I understand and am glad to train"
"Very good" Orimis replied thoughtfully, "now Elva, have you used any magic, omitting the sixth sense you acquired due to Eragon's curse."
"Nay." Elva replied sheepishly
"No matter, I didn't expect you to have; now mount Xïzor, young Rider, we begin training now."
"And what of me Master?" Eragon inquired before Orimis had mounted Glaedr, "What shall I do today?"
"Eragon, you are excused from training for the day, as Elva has some very important catching up to do before you can train together, but I would ask Saphira to stay. She will be helpful in the training of Xïzor." The aged Rider replied
"Yes, of course Master." Eragon said with a bow.
With the ominous sound of beating wings, the three Dragons bolted into flight, leaving behind a billowing cloud of dust, which engulfed the gathering. When the dust had cleared, Eragon turned to see if the Queen tarried yet. Her Majesty still remained, and the young Rider approached her, performing the required greeting. "Queen, do you know the whereabouts of your daughter, I wish to speak with her." He said resuming his previous stance.
"I posses the knowledge you seek, but I shall not divulge it. You will find out soon enough." The Queen responded with an air of superiority. She then bowed to group and walked off. With the Queen gone, the remaining Elves soon dispersed, returning to a peaceful day in Ellesmera.
She knows but she won't tell! Eragon thought bitterly, as he turned in the direction of his dwelling. The downcast Rider set off with such a pace that he was shocked at the speed of his arrival. He leapt up the stair, and entered his room. Once inside, he sat on his bed, and at once began to meditate. He did so thinking that it would help to ease his troubled mind.
He opened his mind, and felt the familiar feeling as he became a part of the world about him. He could felt the content of Elves going about their peaceful and uneventful lives. He also felt the joy of animals, simply happy to take whatever nature handed to them. He was soon so immersed in meditation, and the worries of his individual life seemed to melt away. His was in this state of bliss for an hour or so, until it was interrupted by an ancient, but as it seemed to Eragon, familiar presence. He pushed forward, focusing on the touch, searching for it again. He wondered who or what it could possibly be. After searching a while, he felt the presence brush by his consciousness again. He immediately pressed forward, trying to find out who it was. He was abruptly stopped when he ran into barriers stronger than he imagined possible. The harder he pushed the more they repelled him. Eventually, using every ounce of his concentration, made one final push. He was pushed back with a force so strong; it jolted him from his trance.
What could that have been? He thought as he laid his bed, sweating coldly. It was if I had known it before, in a time before time, the presence so too ancient and strange. This is yet another thing I must ask Orimis about.
Elva was sitting at a long table in Orimis' house. She was at the head, and opposite her was a pitcher of water and an empty cup. Elva face was contorted with a growing frustration. She had, as of yet, failed to grasp how to perform the exercise Orimis had given her. "Master!" She exclaimed with frustration, "There is no way can do this! It is impossible."
"You will find a way. You must" The Orimis replied, raising his right eyebrow as he looked up from the scroll he was reading.
The exercise given to Elva was to fill cup with water. Seemingly easy, but the true test was that she had to fill it while sitting across the room from both the pitcher and the cup. She was also not allowed to leave her chair. Two hours had already past as she sat there, deep in thought and frustration. She was quite jealous of Xïzor, who was out training Glaedr and Saphira, something she thought would be fun. She knew the task set before her had a purpose, but both the purpose and the solution was beyond her imagination. He frustration had reached a peak, and had turn to anger now. She yelled out, wanting to utter a curse, but instead a word she had never heard before left her lips… "adurna!"
Elva felt like she did after her sparring match with Eragon. She bowed her head with exhaustion. It was if energy had left her body abandoning her to a weaker state. She lifted up her head and gasped in wonder. The water floated out of the pitcher, and as if it was possessed by a spirit, floated down into the cup. She realized then the point of the exercise, and also that using magic was just as fun a flying, though be it more tiring.
Orimis set his scroll down slowly and turned his head to Elva. "Well done, young Rider. You have taken your first step; you have tapped into your inner strength. You used the tongue of old, and bent the water to your will. You have used magic, Elva. Though grand it may seem, it comes with a price of learning much, and practicing more." He continued speaking, with an excitement Elva had not though possible, "You learn very quickly, a time bested only by a few Riders of Old." And then he said as if talking to himself, "A great magic user she shall be…" Then, resuming his previous line of speech; "Now your training will take a much faster pace. Rider, can you read?"
"No master." Elva responded
"Very well, then that is where we shall start. Bring me parchment, two quills, and an ink well. They are in the other room."
Elva got the supplies as fast as she could, and accidentally spilled some ink. To this, Orimis just laughed and then removed it with a single word; rïsa
The things you can do with just a word! Elva thought.
She set the thing down where Orimis indicated. He then continued on to teach her how to read and write. He went over the basics of her native tongue, teaching her runes and how they came together to make a word. She also learned some words in the Tongue of Old which would prove useful at the upcoming banquet.
Elva was a very attentive pupil, and learned faster then Orimis had expected. They continued to study for some time till Orimis said; "The time of the banquet grows near, young Rider. I have told the dragon to finish and come here; when they arrive you are to return to your abode. Once there, you will find Elves waiting for you. They will help you prepare for the event by giving you clothes and..." He was interrupted by the sound of beating wings, "Ah. They return, go now in peace Elva, I shall see you at the banquet."
With that, Elva bowed and left, wondering what an Elfish banquet entailed…
So there you have it. A new chapter, took a little longer than I thought it would to get back and write it... anyway, i am making no promises to update on a regular basis. I will update when i feel like writing more. Well, hope you enjoy it! Review or DIE!