Five hundred years ago
"Their line is breaking! Jacyn, take your riders left and keep them on this side of the river!" Eragon shouted.
Jacyn waved his sword as Vikaria took off, followed by five other dragons and riders.
"What do you hope to gain by sending him away from the fighting?" Saphira asked.
Before Eragon could reply, there was a thunderclap followed by the shriek of a dying dragon. Eragon looked up to see an orange dragon with a burning hole in its throat fall through the clouds into the soldiers below.
"Hopefully it will keep him from getting killed." Eragon replied out loud. "We've got to put an end to that witch before…"
He was cut off by a rumbling sound as the orange dragon began to shake, then it stood, eyes glowing red. It roared and sent a burst of white hot flame from its mouth, incinerating thirty or more soldiers where they stood.
"No!" Saphira roared. "I'm tired of these magic tricks."
It was no trick, however. With the arrival of the Rivos Impirium had come a terrible new form of spellcaster, one that could resurrect the dead as a mindless minion. They could raise armies that feared nothing and had unlimited strength and resolve. Their only weakness was the spellcaster that resurrected them. If you could kill them, all the undead under their command would fall, leaving only the living soldiers. The problem was getting close enough to kill the spellcaster. In some ways they were more dangerous than a shade. Through the smoke, Eragon could see the enemy leader, who called himself The Magister, and his generals standing on a rock overlooking the battle.
"It's time to end this." He told Saphira.
She roared in agreement and took off, staying just above the ground, flying full speed at the enemy leaders.
Across the battlefield, Jacyn heard the unmistakable roar of Saphira. He looked and saw her flying full speed toward the enemy leaders position.
"They've gone mad" Vikaria cried. She turned and sped toward the larger blue dragon, but by that time it was already to late.
Eragon saw the lighting bolt coming before Saphira did, which, he figured, was why it hit him. The magic that The Magister and his spellcasters used was somewhat different than what he had seen before. This magic was more physical, not just instantaneous or in the mind. It was also an offense based magic, meant for attack and battle. Eragon felt the thunderclap as the bolt exploded against him, ripping him from his saddle and throwing him to the ground. He was glad Saphira had been flying low, any higher and he would've died on impact. As he rolled on the ground, he saw Saphira still flying toward the spellcasters. As she started to shoot flame at them, the orange dragon that had been turned came out of the clouds and attacked her, driving her away.
As Eragon stood to his feet, he felt blood running down his side. He looked down and saw his right side was soaked in bright red blood. He didn't have the time or energy to heal a wound like that, so he cast a quick spell to stop the blood flow and looked toward the Magister, who was slowly approaching.
"Kingslayer!" The Magister shouted "At last we meet face to face. Your reputation precedes you, though I expected someone taller."
Eragon coughed and spit blood. The injury was more severe than he had thought. "On behalf of all the people of Alagaësia, I would like to say farewell. Your lines are broken, your soldiers are running scared, and you have no chance of beating the Riders. So get back on your boats and go back to whatever gutter you crawled out of."
Eragon smirked as The Magister sneered. He drew his sword as crystal-like blades appeared in The Magisters hands, and with that, they charged each other, ready to end the war once and for all.
Jacyn watched as Eragon and The Magister hacked and slashed at each other.
"Come on, we can't help him." Jacyn said "We need to help Saphira first."
Vikaria roared in agreement and they flew up into the clouds, chasing Saphira and the orange dragon. Being the larger of the two, Saphira had the advantage over the orange dragon. She clamped her jaws down on its neck and spread her wings, twisting her body as she did to sling the smaller dragon around. Vikaria roared and joined the fight, hitting the orange dragon and breaking its wing. The orange dragon roared, then suddenly went limp. Jacyn looked and saw its eyes had gone dark.
"Someone must have killed the spellcaster controlling it." Vikaria said. "Maybe it will be the last one."
Suddenly, Saphira roared in pain, but Jacyn couldn't see any injuries on her. She dove straight toward the ground, and Vikaria followed. As they dove out of the clouds, Jacyn saw what was wrong with Saphira. Below them, on fire and lying in a pool of blood with a bright blue flaming sword through his chest, The Magister. And a few feet away, with a splinter of black crystal in his gut, Eragon.
"Eragon!" Jacyn cried as he jumped from Vikarias back and ran to his dying teacher. Eragon was surprisingly calm. He knew he was about to die, and had already accepted it.
"Hey kid." Eragon said, coughing on his blood. "Guess this is it, huh?"
"No no no, I'm going to get you back to the healers." Jacyn said, panicking.
"No use." Eragon said "Whatever this thing is made of, it's blocking healing magic, and if you try to pull it out, I'll go into shock and die from blood loss before you can finish a spell. I've already worked this out. It's over for me."
"Not if I have a say in it." Jacyn said. He grabbed Eragon by his armor straps and pulled him across the ground to Saphira.
"Jacyn stop." Eragon said.
"No, I'm getting you home!" Jacyn cried "I promised her I would!"
"Stop and listen to me kid." Eragon snapped. Jacyn propped him up against Saphira, who was going crazy.
"Listen, I'm not going to make it back to camp, even on Saphira. You're in charge of the Riders now. It's up to you and Leaana to help Alagaësia rebuild, and it's up to you to rebuild the Riders. I also want you to promise me you'll take care of Saphira for me."
Jacyn nodded, fighting back tears. "What am I going to tell Arya?" He asked.
"The truth." Eragon replied. "That you did your best, but I died protecting her and our children. Now go get my sword and help me onto my dragon."
Jacyn did as he was told, and Saphira, who was already nearly incomprehensible, took off for camp as fast as she could. Jacyn ran to Vikaria, and the two of them followed the larger dragon. Jacyn looked down on the battlefield as they flew. The living troops of the Revos Impirium had fled onto the large ships they had arrived on. The remaining undead troops were broken under a Surdan cavalry charge, and the battle was won. Suddenly, the air around them was shattered by the loudest roar Jacyn had ever heard. He already knew where it had come from.
"He's gone." Vikaria said mournfully.
