The Vault of Souls
It felt as though they had been in that most sacred cavern for hours. Despite the warm molten rocks flowing beneath their feet, none of them had ever felt such existential cold dread. They had arrived with high spirits, but now it all seemed for nothing.
What could they do with but a handful of Eldunarya at their disposal? Galbatorix had outnumbered them when they confronted him the first time, now all of it just seemed insurmountable. Not to mention that the king was more magically advanced than Eragon in almost every aspect of Gramarye. It seemed as though they had failed already.
Perhaps it was time to consider whether leaving the shores of Alagaësia was a reliable option. They could take the eggs with them, and rebuild both the order of riders and dragon kind at the same time. One day they would return, stronger and wiser than ever before, with an army of riders and dragons at their back. His determination to see Galbatorix's downfall would keep them going.
Still though, he found it unlikely that he and Saphira could force themselves to leave Alagaësia. Both of them had fond memories and attachments to their homeland, not to mention that Eragon had living family members to worry about. To see such things corrupted by the dark king was not something either of them could likely stand idly by and watch. Leaving Thorn and the unnamed dragon under Galbatorix's control in perpetual bondage was also out of the question. As Saphira had once told him, a dragon does not forsake their own kind.
The thoughts of what was to come if they didn't stand against Galbatorix obviously weighed heavily on his mind.
He saw Ellesméra burn within his mind's eye, the lush green city reduced to nothing but cinders. The fairest race would never rise from such destruction, their splendor but a faint memory to those that had laid eyes on the forestry cities. He saw the Knurlan's pride brought low as their ancient halls and cities were torn apart. Never again would their people flock to Tronjheim for salvation, never again would they spit oblivion in the face and avert destruction for another day. He even saw the Urgralgra, all of them hunted to extinction by a vengeful Galbatorix and his armies. The straightforward yet honest way of the Urgals would be remembered by few and cherished by even fewer. Perhaps the Werecats would find some way of averting destruction, they were undoubtedly a crafty lot.
And what of the dragons?
He doubted that wild dragons would ever fill the skies again. What use did Galbatorix have of such magnificent free-willed beings?
None
Not even Galbatorix could control a dragons subconscious tendency for magic.
Meanwhile the dragon riders would be rebuild in time, he did not doubt the king's tenacity and patience, but such a dragon order would be twisted in Galbatorix's image. Violent enforcers instead of peacekeepers. Executioners and not scholars.
Something warm filled his entire being. When he fought the Ra'zac his veins had filled with fire, but now it felt as though an entire inferno was raging within him.
He would not stand for such profound blasphemy against all that he fought for.
The fiery warmth continued to spread, dispelling the icy existential dread that had taken a hold of him earlier.
A mighty roar filled the cavern. The earth heaved with Saphira's torment as she bellowed her frustrations, hopes and desires out for all to hear.
"NEVER" She loudly projected for all to hear. The meaning was not lost on anyone. The very roar felt as though it had been enhanced by the strange draconic magic, that her race subconsciously commanded.
"Enough of this" she snarled within all their minds "Enough whimpering like newborn hatchlings" None dared speak against her "I for one will not sit and watch quietly as that accursed egg breaker does as he pleases with our kind". Eragon of course knew the defiance within his partner, he had been thinking the exact same thing, but Saphira would give words to their thoughts.
He idly realized that Saphira's rage had been what dispelled the cold.
It had at least seemed to have gotten Umaroth out of his shell of misery "Your words are not without worth Bjartskular". The great Eldunarí paused as if in deep thought. "I must apologize for my seemingly hopeless attitude. You can imagine how sitting in the same spot for a century might help deteriorate ones mental state. Eragon couldn't help but agree with that sentiment. Most Eldunarya went mad without their riders and would rather commit suicide than live on. The fact that Umaroth and his fellow brethren had been sane by the time Eragon and Saphira found them was truly a testament to their iron will.
Gaining momentum Umaroth continued. "It is relieving to see that you have not lost your vigor young Brightscales. There is still great knowledge and even greater power for both you and your rider to achieve. Seemingly emboldened by his own words Vrael's partner vehemence only got greater. "My rider stood before Galbatorix and defeated him with not a single Eldunarí at his disposal. You were unprepared and not even fully trained when you faced Galbatorix". That stung, yet neither Eragon nor Saphira could deny the truth. "But I swear by all of our brothers and sisters who fell defending Doru Araeba, that I will make certain your might will be beyond even your wildest imagination".
Even Saphira's earlier rage and indignation cooled off a little at the image that Umaroth was painting. His father had also been deeply captivated by the rousing speech, that the senior dragon was sprouting. Even Eragon couldn't help but feel invested. Time had been of the essence the last time around, their armies were already at the gates of Uru'Baen, and a confrontation between him and the king inevitable.
But now they had time.
Time to sharpen their powers as a warrior sharpens his steel.
"You young Saphira will in time grow to rival even the greatest of our race. The likes of Belgabad, Eridor and Vanilor would surely have been honored to fly by your side once this is over. You might not achieve their great size, but with strength and cunning you will find that you can achieve anything you set your mind to. Not much is understood about draconic magicks, but it can at times be directed and even harnessed. We few remaining dragons will pass on our knowledge of this lethal power." He turned his mental attention to focus on Eragon "And you young rider, I saw your training with Oromis in your mind, and though you are skilled there is still much for you to learn. Given time I will make sure that you'll become a worthy successor of not only Vrael, but even Anurin and your namesake as well".
He felt it once again. That determination which made him push through no matter what. He felt the same fiery conviction within Saphira. They would not go quietly into that long dark night. Together they would give it their all, and show this world what they were truly capable of.
Together they would topple an empire.
"Will you accept this burden Saphira and Eragon? Do you hereby accept the responsibility of seeing the tyrant plaguing our homeland dethroned, his minions destroyed and his plans dismantled?"
Saphira's bellowing roar and Eragon's subsequent yell of "we do" was all that Umaroth needed to hear.
"Then steel yourselves for what lies ahead young ones".
A little while later
"Are you certain in your wish to follow us Cuaroc, and you too Conug, Shendra, Kirvoss and Virdra?"
Umaroth's question was of course pointed at the remaining five Eldunarya that did not accompany Eragon and Saphira in the first timeline. Of the five Eldunarya only one of them, the female Virdra had been bonded to a rider and of the remaining four wild dragons only Cuaroc knew an actual language.
"It pains us to leave the future of our race in this dark place, but we swore to protect them at all cost. We will do so by taking the fight straight to the egg breaker himself. We will fly with you." Was Cuaroc's steadfast response.
Umaroth probably did the mental equivalent of a sigh. "If that is your decision then so be it".
Eragon had been casting doubtful looks at the metallic body that the wild Eldunarí inhabited. Was the dragon expecting them to carry him everywhere? And would the artificial body even survive the harsh struggles ahead?
"Your thoughts betray you young rider" Came Cuaroc's deep baritone voice within his mind. "This body was made to stand against the great betrayer himself. It will serve in whatever capacity is needed, though I admit it is puny compared to my original body".
Eragon didn't doubt that if even half the stories about the famed "hunter of the Nïdhwal" were true.
The great metallic Kull like man had already loaded the few remaining Eldunarya within the small silk pouches like last time. With Umaroth's guidance Eragon created the invisible pocket of space, where the Heart of Hearts would be stored safely. They were ready to leave this sorrowful place, but still the thought of leaving the eggs behind didn't sit well with Eragon.
It seemed as though he wasn't the only one.
"Is there truly nothing to be done with the eggs Ebrithil? With more riders our chances would be greatly improved". He didn't blame his father for trying, he was thinking along the same lines. For a century his father had thought that nothing but three eggs remained. The emotional turmoil of seeing so many eggs in one place, coupled together with the pragmatic forsworn killer within him wouldn't make it easy for him to let go.
"Your frustration is understandable Brom, but you know as well as I that bonded dragons do not hatch easily. It could take decades or perhaps centuries to realistically find riders for even a dozen dragons with our circumstances. We do not have the luxury of being official dragon couriers anymore."
"Even if we somehow found more riders than thought possible, then their simple existence might prove a bane to the rest of our race, Imagine just for one second if we failed to defeat Galbatorix once again. Loathed as I am to admit it, the man isn't stupid, he would scour the entirety of Alagaësia until he finds the Vault of Souls. That is if he doesn't simply end up being satisfied with enslaving the riders and dragons that we bring forth to fight him".
The man's grumblings were hard to ignore, but it seemed as though he couldn't help agree with what the ancient dragon was saying. It was interesting to see his father so off his center. If it wasn't for the fact that the situation had gotten the man so off balance, then he would have no doubt been able to see the conundrum
Eragon for certain did not feel like supplying Galbatorix with more eggs than necessary.
Umaroth continued undeterred "The wild eggs would still hatch in time, even if all of us leave this cave and Galbatorix defeats us. Every contingency has been thought of. The enchantments hiding this cave also serve as energy reserves that the young hatchlings will be able to feed off. Memories of our race will come to them in their dreams and guide them, so that with a little luck they might be able to evade the king's notice, until they are fit to leave this island and find a new home beyond Alagaësian shores".
Eragon didn't miss how the great white Eldunarí only mentioned the wild eggs.
"And what of the ones destined to bond with a rider?" Surely they were not meant to wither away, forever waiting for a rider that would never appear.
"The magic bidding them to wait for a rider cannot be undone. The spells binding them are permanent, quite unpractical yes, but none have yet to find another way. It is a great sacrifice to be sure. If we fail to defeat Galbatorix, then the 26 eggs waiting for riders of their own will eventually fade and die."
It might not seem like a giant toll, considering that there were more than two hundred eggs resting within this very chamber, but it was nonetheless greatly saddening. Out there, somewhere in the world, 26 individuals would never experience the joy of being bonded with a dragon, and in here 26 dragons would never even experience the joy of flying with their rightful partner in life.
Saphira's voice interjected his thoughts. "Can't we take these eggs with us then Ebrithil? If anything we might be able to revert the spell and let these hatchlings live fulfilling lives away from the war currently ravaging the land".
Umaroth seemed to stew on their words before answering. For a long time nothing but their collective breathing could be heard throughout the Eldunarya's final refuge.
"It is risky beyond words young Brightscales, but perhaps seeing as you and Eragon will one day lead our order, it might be proper that you should decide the fate of these hatchlings. The time of the riders of old have truly passed."
Eragon and Saphira of course knew the risks. Carrying a bunch of dragon eggs with them wherever they went where beyond the heights of stupidity. A short journey to Du Weldenvarden was suddenly on their immediate to-do-list. The elven kingdom would surely remain a safe haven for many years to come, even with Galbatorix's aggressive offensive.
Despite the risks it wasn't even a hard decision to make by any stretch of the imagination
"We'll take them with us" Eragon answered without doubt "We'll protect them by any means necessary".
"Pray that you are able to protect them young ones, pray that you are able"
After that they began loading up the eggs within the remaining silk pouches located under the now dead Eldunarya. It didn't take them long, and together with Cuaroc they began their ascent to the surface once again. With every step the memories of the remaining eggs became more and more blurry until nothing remained but a distant echo of the past.
The Western Sea
A day had passed since they entered the Vault of Souls for a second time, and finally they were on their way back towards mainland Alagaësia.
Flying with Cuaroc had not proved as difficult as he had first assumed. The giant metallic being was rather flexible and easily found a comfortable place on Saphira's back. It was truly a marvelous creation.
Brom, Eragon and Saphira spent the greater part of their time conversing with Umaroth on a number of different topics, ranging from their eventual reveal, the war and what their next move should be. The elder dragon had agreed that their loose plan with the Urgalgra held merit, but finding the shade Durza to break the spells binding them was the hard part.
At the moment though, neither shades nor war was on their minds. Instead they had been drilling the white dragon for knowledge on how in all the hells they had been thrown into this world after Eragon's death.
"The moment we saw Eragon being struck down we knew our quest was doomed. Desperation overrode everything. All we wanted was one more chance, and together we tried to create a feat of magic not seen since Du Namar Aurboda. We wanted to turn back time". The dragon paused for a minute, confusion emanating from the white Eldunarí. "The spell went awry, we didn't have the needed strength to complete it, and instead we managed to do something entirely different than turning back time". Eragon couldn't help but nod in agreement with that sentiment, this was a wholly different reality.
"From what I have gathered we somehow changed the location in which Saphira's egg arrived. It was us who first engineered Arya's spell so that the egg would come to you Eragon, but somehow this was changed so that Brom was the recipient instead. How this came to be I know not. Perhaps time travel in itself simply isn't possible. Umaroth paused, seemingly in deep thought as he reflected on days long in the past. One rider more than a millennia ago hypothesized, that there are actually multiple universes mirroring our own". The dragon mentally chuckled. "He might not have been as crazy as everyone thought at the time".
The dragon continued. "I suppose it was our own hubris that was our downfall. Trying to accomplish something that should have taken years in minutes was insanity. Still, the result are not unacceptable. We are an unknown variable that Galbatorix cannot predict".
And wasn't that the truth? They just had to remain one step ahead in the cat and mouse game that would no doubt ensue once they showed themselves to the world.
"How come you survived with your knowledge intact whilst the others perished?" Eragon had been subtly wondering about this for a while now.
"We all knew that this last act would drain us of everything we had. In those last moment my fellow brothers and sisters decided that some of us should be sent back to guide and mentor you, so we made sure that some only participated in the spell partially".
Some of us? Eragon was confused. None but Umaroth seemed to have survived within the Vault Of Souls, of course except for those that didn't join them against Galbatorix the first time around.
An image came unbidden to the forefront of Eragon's mind, and Suddenly he couldn't help but think of gold, golden scales and a mighty roar.
"Glaedr returned aswell?" Eragon's relief was noticeable to all of his companions.
"He might have. We were unsure whether I would survive this trip through time… or dimensions I suppose, but Glaedr would be sent back to a time where his physical body actually lived. Our hope was that the transportation of him would prove gentler and more stable because of this. I haven't been able to confirm whether or not it was successful. The wards guarding Du Weldenvarden are as you know, quite formidable".
He could hear his father behind him snort at that last statement.
"Nevertheless, we should focus on how we are going to catch this shade off-guard. Death and despair follows such beings wherever they go, so it should be relatively easy for us to locate it, but it will be a lot harder to make sure that this Durza won't be able to escape us once we engage him".
As any self-respecting rider would do, Eragon had been listening intently to the land ever since they had left Carvahall. He didn't know Durza's exact location, but somewhere around Gil'ead and the eastern parts of Du Weldenvarden wouldn't be a bad place to start their search.
It felt good that they finally had some sort of clear purpose. He had waited anxiously for the moment that they could begin striking back at Galbatorix. Soon they would take their pound of flesh, as was their due.
A/N
This was a little on the shorter side, but I honestly just wanted them out of Vroengard asap so that they could influence the world at large. I do hope that you still enjoyed the chapter.
So now I've brought a bunch of eggs in to the mix, its gonna be interesting to see what effects that has on the world. I also brought the few remaining Eldunarya out from hiding, I honestly think that the dragons would come to the conclusion that Eragon and Saphira needs all the help they can get. In this case the best defense is truly a good offense. I for one am gonna enjoy seeing Cuaroc's artificial body join the fray.
Thanks to anyone reading this and to all of you still interested in my story:D