Chapter 14: Following the Ninor River
The next morning, they set off at a steady pace, all of them still feeling bruised and weakened from Yazuac. Riley couldn't stop thinking about magic and wished she could learn more about it. She reminisced about her past interactions with her mother. How could she not have figured that out sooner? Jocelyn had always been proficient in her passion for plants and medicine, and often set out besides Gertrude's side whenever an injury or sickness happened. Gertrude's methods of healing had worked nearly instantly when she used Jocelyn's herbs. But other than that, Riley had no memory of her mother using magic. After moving to Carvahall all those years ago, they had barely spoken the Ancient Language around each other. That's why it was such a struggle for Riley now with the journal.
Absently, she wondered why her mother decided to give it to her now? Had Jocelyn planned on teaching Riley more of the Ancient Language? She sighed inwardly. She missed her mother and wished there was a way that she could communicate with her, and to that extent, to Cori. After all, this is why she left in the first place. Her mindset had been to find Cori. She just didn't know where to start with that. Currently, they were following the Ra'zac's tracks south. She knew there were bigger cities spread along the coast. Maybe once they were near one of those, she'd be able to ask around and find a lead on what her brother was doing. He had mentioned Teirm and Gil'ead during some of his past breaks in Carvahall.
They stopped shortly at a bend in the Ninor River, and Riley replenished their waterskins. She quickly rinsed out her bandages and rung the excess water out and tied them around her bag strap to dry. Riley's cuts were nearly healed, just shallow pink lines along her palms. She didn't worry about her slight injuries at all. What she worried about was making sure Devron's leg was healing properly. She washed it out as regularly as she could and wrapped strips of medicine-soaked cloths around it. He didn't like it when she did, and every time she had to calm him with her mind. Riley also wanted to take a look at Brom's cut on his arm, but he waved her off, saying it was healing nicely and not to waste anymore of her medicine on it.
As they resumed their travels, Brom decided to quench some of his companions' intrigue about magic. He described the different people who could possess magic. There were sorcerers, who used spirits; magicians, whose powers just come from within them, similar to elves; and witches and wizards, where they use potions and spells to obtain powers. And in Eragon's instance, Riders who are connected to a magical being: their dragons.
After explaining the rigorous training young Riders would have received, he looked over to both of them and said he'd agree to give them some instruction in magic use.
He began by outlining the steps for first summoning power and how it should be used. In this, he mentioned that the Ancient Language is a means of a solidified promise; when spoken one cannot lie.
Brom said "Fethrblaka, eka weohnara neiat haina ono. Baka eom iet lam." And suddenly a small brown bird flew from a branch and perched onto his raised arm. Riley clapped silently on the worn leather saddle, not wanting to scare it away. Brom spoke one word, "Eitha," and it hovered up for a moment and then flitted away, chirping.
"Elves speak mostly in the Ancient Language, I think?" Riley stated, watching the bird disappear.
"That's correct. And they have perfected the notion of double meanings and half truths. It can be very difficult to discern their intentions."
Eragon brought Cadoc to level with Brom. "If the Language itself has power, and everything has a name, what about personal names? Do they give power over people?"
"Yes, they do. Everyone has a true name, and anyone who knows it holds great power over you. However, few know what they are."
"I'd like to know mine," Eragon said.
"It is a hard path to endure. To know oneself without any barriers is an insight that no one escapes untouched. Some go mad, and many try to forget it; but knowing your name will give power over yourself as well."
Eragon glanced over to Riley, and she shrugged her shoulders. "I admit, it does sound intriguing. But I have no ambition to venture there...yet. I feel I need to learn more of the world before I try that."
He said decisively, "Yes, I will search for mine."
While the two where talking, Brom had bent down and scooped up a couple stones, and tossed one to each of them. "This will be the start of your training. I'd like you to lift the rock off your palms and hold it in the air for as long as you can. Say stenr reisa to perform the task."
Riley repeated the words a few times and after Brom nodded his aproval, she looked down at the stone. It had a jagged side that must have cracked away from some pressure. There was a white streak wrapped around it, ingrained in the structure. She looked over to Eragon. He had the same confused look as her. Brom encouraged them to keep at it. Eragon closed his eyes, and Riley copied him. She didn't know what she was searching for. She just kept imagining the rock, its every detail memorized into her brain, and whispered the words. She felt its weight in her hand. There! She could have sworn, she felt it jiggle in her palm. She squinted, but the stone was motionless, and began to doubt that anything had actually happened. She huffed, and decided to see Eragon's progress.
She gasped. His stone was floating erratically above his glowing hand for a few seconds and then it fell back down. If she hadn't looked over, she would have missed it. Eragon grinned, examining his hand.
"Why does my hand light up?"
"It's not known why the gedwey ignasia glows, but magic flows easier through it. We will have to get you a pair of gloves. Now try again, both of you."
Riley tried, but only got her stone to wobble once after several frustrating tries. She began to worry that maybe she doesn't have magic. The experience at the fireplace, burning up what little she had. Or that her magic is feeble and will come and go as it pleases.
"I fear I don't have any magical abilities anymore," she sighed disheartened. She was about to toss her stone when Eragon reached out for the stone. He looked at it closely and managed to lift it in seconds. He handed it back to her. "Showing off?" she scoffed.
He chuckled lightly. " Maybe a little." He handed it back to her. He put a finger to his head. "Take a deep breath. Don't only imagine the stone. You have to imagine yourself inside your mind. Kind of like when reaching out for Devron's mind. But this is a bit trickier to find. When I search for the magic within me, its like seeing another world, but at the same time in real life. This world is mine. It doesn't have any physical elements. More like my thoughts have became solid images that I can maneuver through, and in turn control. That is where I can tap into an area that is a part of me, but isn't a part of my memories. It was hard at first to reach into it. But with enough will-and anger- I broke it open, and I could feel the power then."
Riley nodded, his strategy giving her renewed confidence. She dug into herself, blocking out the movement around her, staring intently on the stone laying against her hand. Her vision blurred with the concentration and soon the stone became just a part of the background. She was seeing something else in front of her. She knew she was accessing her mind now. Riley skirted against the memories that flashed past to search for something that felt different. She frowned. There. An oval form appeared. It pulsed with life. But it was succumbed in a thin membrane. She could see the magical world through it. When she tried to poke through, it immediately sealed back up. It was like trying to pry open a fresh clam with newly trimmed fingernails; anytime her grip slipped, it shut tight. She kept pushing at it, and with mostly luck, a small tendril of light escaped. She scooped that up and felt it envelope her with a magical glow. Riley whispered the words fervently, "Stenr reisa."
The stone wobbled up and floated above her hand for a few seconds. She let out a breath and it fell, tumbling down her fingers before she clamped it in a fist.
Eragon whooped in encouragement. Brom had be watching silently the whole time.
Riley felt tired after that seemingly easy task and rubbed her eyes. "That was one of the most difficult things in my life. It takes great effort to make the source budge. What made it happen without thought the first time at your hut?" She asked Brom, hoping he had any ideas.
He shook his head, looking just as confused as her. "It is something I'll have to ponder."
Brom had Eragon keep trying, and every time he was able to hold it up longer and higher. Riley watched glumly. Every once in a while she would creep into her mind and marvel at the magical form, wishing it would break open and splash her with the abilities. But the seal never wavered.
After that practice was over, Brom moved on with another lesson. He would point to random objects that they traveled past or carried with them and have them memorize their names in the Ancient Language. This was something Riley relished in. She was happy that there was a lesson she could excel at. And it would be useful to learn to speak the language fluently. She vowed to put every effort into this lesson to make up for her lack of magic. There was plenty of reasons she would need to improve on what she already knew of the Ancient Language, the greatest being the journal.
When they made camp for the evenings that followed, Riley would take out the journal and study it. She wished she had scrap paper or a blank book for her to translate as she went a long. It was slow going and she often felt that the sentences didn't make sense. She knew she was mistaking words. Every once in a while, she'd spell a word out in the dirt and have Brom tell her what it meant. She was tempted to just give Brom the journal and have him read it to her, but it didn't feel right. For some reason, Riley wanted to keep the journal to herself. Let any wisdom it may hold be for her eyes only.
The nights were ended with quick duels, Riley and Eragon switching off days against Brom. Riley gave pointers and criticisms after watching Eragon. He would rebuke, saying she needed to work on the power behind her blows. "Your hits wouldn't even cut through butter."
They continued following the Ninor River south and every once in awhile would see the Ra'zac's footprints, but they were undisturbed by any other travelers. They stopped for a night and Brom informed them that they would reach the town, Daret, by mid day tomorrow.
The fire glowed peacefully as they finished up the scraps of seasoned dried meat. Riley had been thinking about her time as a child. Whenever she thought back on it, she remembered peace and happiness. They had lived in a small, but cozy home, her mother and brother all slept in one room. They had always been near her. Her father wasn't in many of her memories, but she did remember him singing to her and Cori every night. Sometimes, their parents would switch off telling them bedtime stories. During the day she had spent her time playing in the woods that surrounded their house. They would play soldiers, pretending to search for escaped prisoners. Or she would gather sticks and foliage and play house, trying to shove her made up stew into Cori's mouth. She smiled at her memories. She hadn't thought about her early years in a very long time. She had been content growing up in Carvahall.
At Carvahall, she learned how to embrace society and test her outgoing personality. Where as in her childhood home, they had lived in a remote area, and had only seen a few wanderers passing by her cottage. Jocelyn often invited them in for supper and rest. But forbade her children to interact with them. Riley now knew for sure that many of them were elves. Back then, no one had taught her that there were differences in beings. But she had always sensed that they were special. Her mother was more polite to them then the human guests she received.
A pang of sadness burst through her as she reminisced. Maybe it was because they were surrounded by more dust than trees here, but she greatly missed the greenery and bliss of her childhood. She wondered what her life would be like if her family had stayed in the little cottage in the woods. If her father had still been alive. His life was taken from him by a wound he got from his travel into the nearest town. Riley remembered that he was never able to return home. He had died before word reached her mother. She guessed the heartbreak was why they had moved so soon after his funeral.
Riley sighed. After she reunited with Cori, she would suggest to him if they could travel back to those woods and pay respect to their father. Maybe the cottage was still there, occupied by a happy family like hers had been.
She pulled out the letters for Cori as a distraction. These would lead her to Cori quicker, she knew it. She just had to make sense of them first. Most of the letters were in alagaesian. But the ones that were whiter, ones that must have been more recently sent out, were in a language she had never seen before.
She looked them up and down, flipped them sideways, hoping that some sort of decipher to the weird words would become clear. But to no avail. So she focused on the ones she could read. One of the letters stated:
C.
Your time in Narda has been reviewed and the apprenticeship is approved. Please wait near the pine that flourishes in salt for your next route.
And other one:
C.
The air grows tight along the main routes. All those who can, and are willing, have gathered along the boarder to await resources. Sea town is desperate for allies. It is time to respond to the call.
Riley flipped them over in her hands, worried that Cori had bitten off more than he could chew. Whatever apprenticeship he had joined seemed dangerous. Maybe he had linked himself with some sort of sailor crew. He had been tanned the last time she had seen him.
Riley got up and went to sit next to Brom. He was dozing with his hands held near the fire for warmth.
"Brom?"
"Yes?" he said, opening one eye.
"Umm, so you know those letters I mentioned a while ago? I was wondering if you'd take a look and see if you have an idea of what they mean?"
He cleared his throat and sat up straighter. Brom glanced at her and held out his hand. "I'm not sure I'll be able to help, but let me see them."
He scanned them over, grunting at a few of the words. He only had them a minute and passed them back to Riley.
"Like I said, they don't reveal much. One would have to be in his shoes. Seen the things he's seen to know of what is being asked to do. I can only assume that his corespondent is someone that works in the trades business. Maybe Cori has become a soldier or private guard for a shipping company. Has he not revealed his profession to your family?"
"He didn't discuss any of his adventures with me, just described the people he had seen and helped along his way. Jocelyn didn't approve of what he was doing, and after he had first returned, they had a huge argument. They didn't speak of it when he returned furthermore." Riley frowned. "But what of these letters?" She held out the ones in a different language. "Have you seen this type of writing before? Is it some made up code? What would Cori be transporting that he'd need to make up a new language for?"
Brom shook his head. "It is not a made up language. I've seen it only a few times. I apologize but I cannot translate it. I can only tell you that it looks greatly like Dwarven." His eyes lingered on the held out pages, and he mumbled a few of the sentences. It sounded guttural and robust. He shook his head again, and shrugged.
Riley folded the letters neatly together and tucked them back in her inner pocket. That wasn't much help. Though she had a feeling Brom, in all his knowledge she knew he had, always kept much of it to himself and only would reveal information when the time was right.