Welcome everyone to chapter 2!
I will tell you all now that some chapters will vary in length. Also, I am rewriting a couple of chapters so there will be things added or missing. I also removed the fourth-wall-breaks and the unnecessarily long Author's Notes. Unfortunately, Dragoncraftertex is no longer around and I have been unable to contact him for a little more than a year now so he will sadly no longer be with us.
I hope you enjoy and let's get right into this!
Notes:
The Ancient Language will be used as magic will be used. I cannot promise I got all the words or phrasing right as I use an online translator so if you do happen to see any mistakes, please let me know in either review or private messages.
Eragon and Saphira flew quickly to where Amira was waiting.
When the two landed, Amira rushed over to them and Eragon reached a hand out to her to pull her up. She moved to sit behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as Saphira launched herself back into the air.
The roaring wind made it hard for the dragon and her riders to stay stable as it blew the three of them around as though they were a leaf but despite the wind's effort, Saphira kept them in the air.
Amira suddenly felt sharp needles of pain on her hand and looked down at her Gedwëy Ignasia on her left palm; it was glowing and flashing its silver light, something that hadn't happened before. She put her hand in front of Eragon so he could see.
'You have been a rider much longer than I. What is causing this to happen?' Amira asked him mentally, allowing Saphira to hear as well.
'I don't know. I haven't seen this before.' Eragon answered as he shook his head.
'This has not happened to you?' She frowned.
'Not to my remembrance.'
'But… What do you think -'
Amira was cut off as Saphira was suddenly blown to the side. The dragon spun through the air, trying to catch hold of the wind and straighten, but Amira's arms were slipping. Despite her efforts, she lost her grip.
"AMIRA!"
Eragon's arm shot out to grab her wrist and Amira's fingers quickly wrapped around his in return. His face was showing the strain from holding Amira and staying on Saphira, who was still spinning in the intense wind. He glanced behind Amira and his eyes widened. She felt his grip tighten and he pulled harder to bring her back onto the saddle.
Amira looked behind her and her own purple eyes widened; a huge tornado was the cause of the sudden wind, spinning and sucking in everything that neared but anything that it pulled in disappeared to nothing as soon as it touched the funnel. Amira felt Eragon's grip on Saphira weakening as his hand and legs began to slip; she knew that he too would fall if he tried to hold her much longer.
"Eragon!" Amira cried. He saw the look in her eyes and immediately shook his head.
"No! I will not let you go!" He shouted desperately. Amira held back tears.
'Amira you can't!' Saphira's voice cut into her mind and Amira knew that the dragon knew what she was thinking.
"Eragon, you cannot hold me for much longer!" She yelled over the wind, her body being blown around like a doll. "You soon will fall as well and we both will be lost!"
"I will not let go of you!" Eragon argued, desperation in his eyes as he tightened his grip on her wrist. Amira saw tears coming to his eyes and she knew he wouldn't let go. She looked at him sadly, holding back a sob.
"Find Belinda! Tell her I am sorry!"
She let go of Eragon's wrist and her hand slipped from his grasp.
Amira could hear Eragon and Saphira screaming her name as she shot through the wind, flying towards the wind tornado, but they could no longer do anything. She saw how close she was and shut her eyes tight, ready to accept what the funnel of wind had for her.
But once she touched the tornado, Amira felt like she smashed through a wall. Having done so before, she sadly recognized the feeling.
Then the wind suddenly stopped and time froze. She was still, suspended in the air. Then time started again and she began to fall. She looked down and saw herself nearing the ground. In desperation, she called out in the Ancient Language,
"Vëoht iet jierda!"
(Stop my hit!)
Her palm glowed silver as her spell was cast and Amira felt her descent slow but despite her efforts, she still broke through tree branches and hit the ground with a crash.
Feeling like hours later, Amira's eyes fluttered open.
She groaned as she sat up. Her arm moved to her head and she gasped when she felt a sharp pain. Looking down she saw a gash across her lower arm bleeding lightly. She winced and placed her hand over her newfound wound.
"Waíse heill." She chanted.
(Be healed)
Her palm glowed again and Amira's arm began to heal but the Alagaesian Rider frowned as her healing was slower than normal. Her magic felt significantly weaker so she tried again, pouring more of her strength into her spell. Her gash closed completely and she was able to move her arm again, though she felt weaker after her spell.
Amira frowned, confused as she only got as tired as she was when she used an intense amount of magic, not healing a cut. Looking around, the young Rider then realized that she wasn't sure where she was. Where was Eragon? And Belinda? The last thing she remembered was their small meeting then…nothing.
"Eragon? Saphira?" She called out.
Receiving no answer, she began to worry. She stood up before promptly falling back down, head spinning. She crawled over to a nearby tree and leaned against it while trying to calm her head.
Thanks to her Rider status, Amira's headache cleared quickly and she found herself able to stand. Looking around she saw she was surrounded by trees and tried to think of what forest she would be in. She frowned when she noticed that everything looked different, nothing was familiar to her: the trees, plants, and even the clouds all looked different than she was used to.
She also felt something was… off, as though she was a place had not traveled to previously. It was odd as Eragon always brought her with him when he traveled, except when he had a solo mission. Then Amira would just stay in the Varden camp with Belinda until he returned.
Belinda.
Amira looked around quickly, searching for her dragon.
'Belinda? Where are you?!' She called out with her mind. She recieved noanswer.
There was a sudden rustling sound in the trees around her and Amira narrowed her eyes. She silently slid her sword from its sheath.
The blade of her sword, Arvindr, was the same color as her dragon and the hilt looked as though it were created by weaving several golden strands to shape. At the base of the hilt rested an amethyst gem that stored a very large amount of energy.
Amira heard the sound of a twig snapping and she spun to the direction of the sound, sword raised as she prepared to attack.
Several minutes passed in silence and she knew that the source of the sound had left, realizing it may have been a mere forest creature. She stepped back and leaned against the tree once more, stabbing Arvindr into the ground beside her. Her eyes began to droop as the day's events took effect on her.
A loud horn's blast then suddenly rang through the forest like a knife.
Amira launched to her feet, yanking her sword from the ground and spinning around. She waited carefully but heard no other sound. She soon got tired of standing and doing nothing so she left to look around the forest to try to find a village or farmer to help her.
She looked around, trying to decide which way to go but thinking of nothing, she shrugged and started forward. Amira wandered around the strange forest for several minutes before arriving at a small creek. Placing her sword next to her, she kneeled down next to the creek and wet her hands, splashing her face. She gasped and shook her head when the freezing water touched her skin. She wiped the water from her face with her sleeve and stood. She wished Belinda was here; traveling would be much faster and she would have some company.
Then it hit her
Eragon, the meeting with Arya and Murtagh, Belinda's disappearance, the wind storm, the tornado, appearing here …wherever "here" was. The Rider felt her heart-rate quicken and her hands tangled themselves in her wind-blown purple hair. She collapsed to her knees as the reality of her situation settled in.
Tears threatened to fall but she resisted. She could almost see that shocked look of horror on Eragon's face when she let go of his hand. She could hear his and Saphira's screaming her name, their voices filled with pain as she flew through the air. She hadn't felt so lost since her aunt and uncle had died.
Alone in the woods in a foreign place, Amira let her tears fall
=In Alagaesia=
"AMIRA!"
Eragon stared in horror, his hand still stretched out as Amira slipped from his grasp and fell through the air toward the giant funnel of wind. He watched helplessly as the tornado pulled her in. But as soon as she touched the funnel, she suddenly disappeared. Eragon's eyes widened in shock.
What happened to her?!
'Eragon! We cannot remain here!' Saphira told him through their mental link. The blue dragon was having difficulty fighting the wind to maintain her position.
Suddenly there was a flash of light and immediately the wind began to die down, the twister dissipating. What had moments before been a harsh and roaring wind had in seconds became nothing more than a gentle breeze.
Without hesitation, Saphira took off to where they had seen Amira fall but when they got there was nothing, not even the smallest pile of dirt on the ground.
"What? How-?" Eragon stuttered. He quickly dug out a small hole in the ground then poured water from his waterskin into the hole and chanted his spell, "Draumr kópa."
(Dream stare)
The image in the water changed and he saw Amira. She was awake and the only visible injury was a cut on her arm, which she was currently healing. The terrain around her, however, was white which meant Eragon hadn't been there before. He released the spell before saying,
"Finna Amira!"
(Find Amira)
But instead of the spell being cast, there was a slight flash of light in front of him and a piece of parchment floated down. Extremely confused, he picked it up.
""I regret to inform you that Amira Moraow is currently out of reach. She has been brought to another realm to help in a very important quest and will hereby be out of service for the next few weeks. Don't bother to worry, she will eventually be returned to your world when seen fit."" He read aloud with a frown.
'Another realm? What trickery is this?' Saphira growled, looking over his shoulder at the parchment.
"Perhaps someone or something took Amira and Belinda to another realm, like the ones the spirits reside in?" Her rider suggested as he rolled the parchment back up and slipped it into the pocket of his tunic.
'The same spirit that creates Shades?'
"I am not sure. We don't know enough about the spirit realm to assume. Perhaps Galbatorix told something to Murtagh or wrote something in his library?" Eragon suggested.
So he quickly remounted Saphira and the two flew to Ellesméra, hoping to tell Arya and Fírnen the news about Amira and where she could possibly be. They arrived and Eragon cast out his mind to find Arya. She came immediately.
'What news in your search for Belinda- wait, where is Amira?' She asked worriedly.
'We could not find her. Amira is alive but… I do not know where she is.' Eragon answered, knowing how close the elf-queen and his apprentice were.
He and Saphira landed and Arya quickly found her way to the two. The Blue Rider explained all that had happened and showed her the parchment. Eragon sighed as Arya looked over the paper; Amira had been apprenticed to him for a little less than a year and in that time they had become very close. Amira had become like a little sister to him and, like Roran, she had become part of his family. Knowing that she was somewhere out of his reach…
"What are we going to do?" Arya asked after reading the paper.
"I'm hoping that Murtagh will be able to help us." Eragon explained. "Perhaps Galbatorix had told him things about the spirit realm or where he kept some of his writings on the subject."
Arya led him to a basin where he could connect with Murtagh. The Rider and his dragon had left after the meeting earlier that day. Arya cast her spell and a second later an image of the Red Rider appeared.
"Eragon? What is it?" Murtagh asked when the connection became clear.
"I need your help. Amira has gone missing in some other realm after being pulled into a wind-portal, perhaps the spirit realm." Eragon told him. Murtagh raised a single eyebrow.
"That gives me two questions. One: how do you know where she ended up?" He began. Eragon held up the note.
"This note appeared when I tried to use my magic to find her."
"What does it say?" He asked. Eragon read the note for his brother. "Alright. That leads me to my second question: you know that Amira hates me in every way. Why would you contact me?"
"I contacted you to ask if Galbatorix told you anything about the spirit realm or if he kept any writings on the subject. If so then perhaps we could find some way to get her back." Eragon explained with a sigh.
As if on cue, a second piece of parchment appeared. Eragon shook his head with another frown of confusion as he read the words.
"It is the ingredients needed to summon a portal of some kind." He reported. "It is written that to do so we would need… the footfall of a cat, the spittle of a bird, the breath of a fish, and the beard of a woman."
'Those are paradoxes. How are we supposed to get those?' Saphira wondered. Eragon looked puzzled but determined.
"I have no idea but we must try. We need to get Amira back." He stated firmly.
"Perhaps we could ask Solembum to stomp on a piece of wood with the rest of the ingredients nearby?" Murtagh joked. Eragon gave him a 'knock it off' expression. "Well I do owe you, brother, so I will help. So which do we go after first?"
"I would suggest the first listed," Arya commented. Eragon nodded.
"Don't worry, Amira." He muttered to himself. "I will get you back."
And that concludes the second chapter of A Strange and Different Land!
Thank you all for reading and I hope you chose to continue the story. Please feel free to leave a review. Criticism, advice, complements or corrections are welcome.
Have a good one and I'll see you later!
