This was a fun, powerful, interesting, experimental chapter... I wove something interesting I think.
"He's gone..." Yomir grinned, dried blood cracking on his face from the effort. "He's gone..."
It was time... time to become free.
Focusing on his memories, the torture he had endured, the Seithr Oil dripped onto his stomach. The cold knife crawling up his thighs. The horrible presence of Durza's mind slamming into and squeezing his own... the cold chains searing into his flesh, a constant spelled reminder of his position now that he was no longer considered worth the effort of being an assistant. How he had become an experiment...
The spells, thousands of them, cold and unyielding, ripping and tearing into his very soul, day in and out. The whisper of spirits washing but never staying within him. The new craving for blood, the soul searing ache to feed and feed and feed...
All of it, all of it flooded his mind, permeating his mind until the barrier blocking his magic shattered on impact. Power washed through him, shattering the chains and sending Yomir forward, only to collapse against the freezing ground of his prison cell. He lay there for only a moment, before panic and fear overtook him. With all he had, the boy stood and ran out of the cell, realizing and feeling grateful for the fact that the damn thing had been blasted open by his magic, shattering the spells woven around it to contain him.
The alarm sounded then, the moment he stepped foot out of the cell, a horrible screeching sound that sent him almost to his knees. He barely could stand, he was too weak, desperate for blood...
"No... I cannot... be captured again."
And he so he ran, following the paths, ignoring the countless other experiments he had at one time assisted Durza in abusing in return for his own survival. He almost got lost as he ran, at least until he found the scent of Durza's office and the stench of his old master. He slammed into the door, shattering it, rolling with the force he threw himself at the servant cleaning the office, wrapping a hand around it's throat, snapping it easily.
He fed on it's limp form, draining the magic and lifeforce until he could stand without swaying. Throwing it aside, he looked at the walls around him, catching view of a map... one open. One sight became clear, that of the Spine.
"There, he would never find me... there... Please work, please... gods above, if you, any of you are real... guide me to the Spine... let my guess work. Let my magic carry me, as that Elf's spell carried away the dragon egg...send me to safety. Let me be free or let me die... "
And so he closed his eyes once more, reaching out with his mind, touching all of the experiments with... and he pulled, on their pain, their loss, their fear, their desire to be free even if that meant death... He channeled all they were, feeling the barrier that separated him and magic shatter on impact. A surge of strength over came him, as the fabric of the world unraveled, unleashing a flood of power.
And he cast one last spell, one that moved him and drained his power, landing him hundreds of miles away, in the snow covered land of the Spine.
A scream followed him as he moved through space, as a final spell, woven and implanted by the vile Durza into his very soul, ripping out his true name and all the experiences that wove it into existence. Memories, identity, a sense of self, his actual name... all of it torn away as he landed in a pile of snow, blood leaking from his lips, his energy drained... leaving him with utterly...
Nothing.
A voice, feminine but still deep, radiated through the darkness, the empty nothing... and Yomir opened his eyes, the well of memories shattering before him. He saw the pained, horrified eyes of Saphira looking down upon him, concern and panic emanating from her mind.
'Are you alright? You have been out for more then an hour?'
He smiled at her, unable to mask his own tears. "I a...I am free... Saphira, I cannot tell you what happened just yet, I am still figuring it out... but... I need to do something. We need to contact Brom... reach out to Eragon, and ask him to ask Brom how to say these words in the ancient language... I swear, to forever be loyal, to Eragon and Saphira, so long as they remain loyal to me. I swear to keep their secrets, to defend them, to honor them, to work for and with them...in their best interest and my own."
The dragon almost frowned, but nodded. "And then you will tell me why your magic surged so massively, it nearly knocked me off of the cliff side. As it is three trees have fallen..."
"I will... I swear it."
And so the Dragon nodded, closing her mind, reaching out with all she had...he felt her mind cross his own, reaching out towards her beloved rider. What she said was unclear, but he could tell it was important.
After several painful minutes, in which Yomir stretched out and started to pace the ground, taking in the cracked ground and fallen trees, Saphira opened her eyes. Her mind reached towards him, the song of fire and storms clear as was her slight fear. "It is done... here is what you must say." And so he did, repeating her words, infused with magic and loyalty. "Now, what happened... what changed that you must swear such an oath to Eragon and I?"
Yomir sat down and sighed. "I beg of you, do not hate me... I cannot take it, to lose my only friends for something I had no control over... What do you know of the Great Banishing of Names?"
"Nothing... why do you ask that?"
"The Great Banishing of names was a spell, cast by the Dragons outside of the Forsworn. So moved by the betrayal of their comrades, they used their powers to strip all but Shurikan, the dragon Galbatorix stole, of all of their names. Everything they were, nicknames, true names, even the words I or me... stripped from them. They degraded into less then animals, and so many of the Forsworn took their own lives due to the loss. No one could even remember the names, or look at them on a scroll...
Durza studied this, on the orders of Galbatorix... and discovered a way to replicate it on some level, with his slaves. They would lose their memories, identity, sense of self... becoming perfect slaves. He did this to me, after I escaped him. My power is like a dragons... so I managed to unleash a raw burst of power that sent me to the Spine, where I later found and was forced to work with the Urgals."
Saphira snorted, her face snarling in rage. "You worked for them, why?"
"Durza ordered it... just as he ordered me to join you and Eragon."
She charged him, missing when he threw himself over her, landing softly and reaching out with his mind to connect to her. It was hard, her rage blocked out all things, but somehow his desperation managed to overpower her just long enough to push his memories into her. That stalled her movements entirely, her eyes blurry and wide for several moments.
Eventually she looked up at him, her eyes fixating on him. "That is why you swore your loyalty, it was your love of us that granted you the strength to shatter what little control he had over your true name. You are free."
"Yes... I am sorry for my deceit, it was never a choice though. I could not, literally, defy him. Now I can, and I will. I will protect you and Eragon, as I swore to you that I would. I have purpose, a good purpose, for the first time in my life. Serving and protecting people and beings I care for... I do not ask you to understand, but that is the truth."
Saphira turned from him. "You will tell Eragon and Brom, or I will."
"When they return... I... I am not blind to this. I apologize for the lies, the danger I put you in, but I had no choice. My oath is binding, to you and to Eragon. That should mean something."
"It means everything. It is why I trust you, even despite everything... you are a friend. I am sorry you were forced to go through such travesty. You were a hatchling when he took you, a boy of nine. I am sorry for that."
"As am I..."
"""
Days passed, Yomir and Saphira spending them sparing mentally and discussing his past. The Longer he considered it, the more he remembered. He knew of an Elf captured that had been ferrying Saphira's egg. He knew of the Varden, though not of their location, and the pesturing they were to the King. He had met Galbatorix twice, though before he became an experiment. He knew hundreds of words in the ancient language, warped and twisted spells he couldn't cast but knew from Durza. He could read the Elvish Poetic Script to some degree. He was a powerful mind breaker, having been forced to practice by torturing he fellow prisoners. His combat skills, his willingness to kill was not a biproduct of his transformation but being forced into direct combat with his fellow prisoners even at the age of nine. It was where his scars came from... other then the torture, of course.
The more he told to Saphira, the more she seemed to like him, and so they began to sleep with him cuddled up against her belly as Eragon often did. She allowed him to use her as a touch stone when the memories became so much of a burden that he could not focus. When his very breathe and heart lost control, leaving him panting and dizzy, his mind stuck in a web of miserable memories.
They spent a great deal of time hunting together, and bonding, playing games of riddles and physically sparing to test the limits of his strength and powers. He learned quickly that while he had a skill for mind breaking, Saphira was a powerful force and could resist his attacks easily. He learned that while Saphira was physically dominant, though he could hold his own due to her young age, he was much faster and could hit her a dozen times before she got him once. It was a glorious time...
But it had to come to and end... as Brom and Eragon accomplished their task and finally were set to leave Teirm.
Saphira gracelessly and happily greeted her ride, collecting him to spend the day flying while Yomir rode on Cadoc, Eragon's horse. Eventually they reached a place to camp, when it was almost dark.
When a fire had been made and Eragon was ready to start sparring, Brom turned to Yomir with cold eyes. "We are on our way to Dras Leona,... can you handle it? Returning to your old home?"
" I cannot enter the city, I am too well known due to the work I was forced to do with Durza... but yes."
"Good... now... why did you want to know how to swear such an Oath to Eragon and Saphira? Hmm, what could you have possibly wanted that swearing such an oath, a binding that powerful, became necessary?"
Yomir was silent, saying nothing to the man who he had come to respect so deeply. His mind swam with the agony of indecision, but eventually he remembered his oath to Saphira and so he opened his mind up, enveloping Eragon and Brom with it at blinding speeds. Before they could resist him, he flooded them with his memories, as many as he could manage.
He waited as their minds slowly integrated the horrors of his memories... waiting for their acceptance or hatred.
He wasn't counting on Brom to charge him, blade at the ready. Yomir blocked easily with his axe, using his newly refound power to send the man back. He held him in place, only for a spike of sheer wrath to shoot into his mind, shattering his control over his power. He fought back, barely, resisting the profoundly powerful mental attacks of Brom, using every trick, secret and ability he had remembered to barely survive the assult of controlled power. His mind ached as he struggled to resist the man's powers... and then it didn't.
A second and third power entered his mind, shoving Brom away, ringing with their own powerful presences. He knew them, Eragon and Saphira, and knew they were protecting him.
Saphira let out a roar, shattering the emptiness between them before throwing herself between them. Her mind screamed her command. "Enough!" Her wrath was so great even Brom ceased his assault, looking pained and hateful.
" He cannot be trusted, Saphira, he is working for Durza. Even if he is free, he joined us in a lie, in deceit."
Anger filled Yomir. "I didn't choose it, I was sold to him. He stole my true name, my identity. I had no power over him, over myself. It was my love of Eragon and Saphira and even you that shattered his control over me." The rage would not abate, in his own soul nor in Brom's eyes... and so he lashed out with the one thing he knew that would hurt the man. "I chose it as much as you chose to lose your dragon, oh Rider."
Brom actually recoiled, his eyes filled with unbridled pain. "How...?"
"I can see your palm, the magic that gathers there as it does with Eragon... I know what you are and yet it was only when you were a threat to me that I unleashed it."
Eragon, stunned and quiet, stood. " You are a rider?!"
Brom sighed. "Once upon a time that was true … but no more. When I was young … younger than you are now, I was chosen … chosen by the Riders to join their ranks. While they trained me, I became friends with another apprentice … Morzan, before he was a Forsworn." Eragon gasped. "But then he betrayed us to Galbatorix … and in the fighting at Doru Araeba—Vroengard's city—my young dragon was killed. Her name … was Saphira."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" asked Eragon softly.
Brom laughed. "Because … there was no need to." He stopped. "I am old, Eragon … so old. Though my dragon was killed, my life has been longer than most. You don't know what it is to reach my age, look back, and realize that you don't remember much of it; then to look forward and know that many years still lie ahead of you.… After all this time I still grieve for my Saphira … and hate Galbatorix for what he tore from me." His feverish eyes drilled into Eragon as he said fiercely, "Don't let that happen to you. Don't! Guard Saphira with your life, for without her it's hardly worth living."
"You shouldn't talk like this. Nothing's going to happen to her," said Eragon, worried.
Brom turned his head to the side. "Perhaps I am rambling." He turned back to Yomir, a cold fury in his eyes mixed with something... otherworldly. "I cannot fault you, you are right. You are a child with you very soul stolen from you. Your words, your oath, is binding. If you ever become a threat, I will kill you. No more chances, no more kindness. Death. Do I make myself entirely clear?"
Yomir felt none of the fear he ought to have felt, only a deep seated annoyance and irritation with this man before him. His hypocrisy and arrogance was beyond repute. "Only if you swear to do the same. I kept secrets by force and you are full of them for the sake of it. How can we trust you to be reliable and safe for any of us, especially Eragon? He trusted you for little reason other then he had no choice. You may have proven yourself on some level but it is clear you have your own motives."
The two powerful beings glared at each other, rage and discontent in their eyes. Yomir didn't care for Brom's attitude and hypocrisy and Brom just plain didn't trust him. It was a battle of wills and Yomir swore to win.
After a few minutes of pained silence, Brom turned away. "You are right... I do have my own motives. It ... it is hypocritical of me to ask you to be entirely forth coming when I have refused to do that. I will reveal what I can in time, when I feel comfortable... but I will swear my loyalty as you have. My secrets are merely personal, not... a danger to anyone here. Still... my oath is yours, Eragon..."
And so he did and so a pact to protect Eragon and Saphira was born between the two of them. A pact that would only end in their deaths.
Eragon nodded to them both, looking moved by their actions. "Thank you, both of you... for getting along. Yomir, I am sorry you were... forced into such a position. No one should ever be forced into that. I do trust you though, you have proven yourself and risked yourself and sworn an oath. You have revealed everything to me... you are my friend."
"Yes, I am... always and forever, Eragon..."
"Then we shall speak of it no more, and we shall practice our swordplay and journey to Dras Leona as planned and work as one. We cannot afford to be fighting among ourselves like hens after a rooster."
Both Brom and Yomir laughed at that, sharing a rare look of understanding. This... this is what they would protect. This was their common ground...
And they would do anything for it.
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was beyond fun to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.