Arlen was glad to see his sister again. Embry also seemed glad, but upset. He could see her mouth and eyebrows in a less than happy position through the rain. "Why did you leave us?" she asked angrily.

Arlen wasn't expecting this, so had little he could say. He only said what the truth was and perhaps not in the best way. "Lynde had to be trained, and I was the only one who could do it," he said.

That did nothing to ease Lynde's temper. "Don't talk to me about that girl!" she said. "She doesn't have the sense to know that one and one together makes two. No, why did you leave?"

Arlen thought hard on that answer. "It sounded like it was an opportunity to do good in the world, and I took it. And I have done good, Jerrell will say so."

"Don't bring him up!" Embry said. "Tell me… Tell me it wasn't because of her looks."

Arlen shook his head, surprised with his older sister. "No, it wasn't like that."

"Wasn't?" Embry asked. "What do you mean?"

Arlen sighed. "I left them. She was going somewhere that I just couldn't follow. I'm done with them."

Embry seemed very surprised. "How so?"

"She was going to join a rebellion against the Empire," Arlen explained. Embry was quite shocked. "I know rebellions are bad news and should be avoided. They bring no change, just death. Oppressed becoming oppressors. I remember Dad's whole speech."

"Well good, because if she does this, she will definitely become an enemy of the Empire," Embry said. "And so would you if you joined her."

Arlen nodded. After a short pause, he asked, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Looking for you," she said. "Jerrell told me you were going to Surda, so I convinced him and his caravan to bring me here. Good trading you know; Surdans can't forge anything worth a copper, you know, but they're wine is second to none."

"But why come after me?" he asked.

"You left without a word!" she said. "Ehren or I had to find you, and Ehren certainly wouldn't go." Arlen nodded, understanding that Ehren was needed more in Cathalorn than down in Surda. "We even delayed the wedding to find you."

Arlen was surprised. "You and Jarrell put it off on my account?"

"Yes," she said. "I wanted both for my wedding to be in Cathalorn and to not waste any time in finding you. It's a small price to pay for finding my little brother."

Arlen was taken aback by this. "You really did that?"

"Yes," she said. "I care about you; we all do. Mom wants you back and so does Ehren. Come home."

He smiled. "I already was."

"Good. Now let's get out of this rain."

For the next few days, Arlen traveled with Embry in the caravan. It eventually stopped raining, which Arlen was glad for. Their trip to Surda was cancelled, much to the dismay of the traders, so they were headed back to Belatona as a first stop to Cathalorn. At least he didn't have to walk anymore.

As he rode in the back of a wagon next to his sister and a barrel of door hinges, he heard a sound he hoped was thunder. It was too rapid for thunder and too regular, so the only other thing it could be he didn't want to deal with. Sure enough, he looked to the source of it and saw it. It was a Dragon, but not just any Dragon: Haldthin.

It took Emrby a moment to notice his expression. "…and then I said… What is it, Arlen?"

"I know that Dragon," he replied.

Emrby followed his gaze to the sky and the light green Dragon in it. She seemed awfully surprised. "You know a Dragon?"

He nodded. "I've met a few in my travels." He began to count how many he knew, and he came up with a startling result. "I've encountered around nine, but I've only talked with about three of them."

Emrby was impressed. "Nine? You're just making that up."

"No, it's true," he said.

"Alright then, name them."

He managed to name them very easily. "There was Artsanna, of course. I believe another two were named Vrenshrrgn and Datia, though I can't be sure of that or which name went with which." Embry motioned to continue. "Then there's Haldthin, the one up there. And Magnora, though only from a distance. There were also three that I couldn't tell you the names of even if I tried, but one was red, the other purple, and an unrelated one was white."

"That's only eight," Embry said. "What was the last one?"

"Actually, I'm not sure you'd like it if I told you."

"What, was it Saphira?"

He shook his head. "Close, but not quite."

She frowned. "Was it Thorn?"

He looked at her, shocked at her guess. "How did you know?"

"I'm your older sister; of course I know." After a pause she admitted, "Though I was only joking."

He sighed. "And you can guess by the fact I'm still alive that our relationship was amiable."

She nodded. "What exactly happened?"

He took a deep breath and told her exactly what happened. "Lynde and Rose had been captured by the Riders and mistaken for magicians, leaving me and Artsanna behind to fend for ourselves. We went after them, but we got caught in a snowstorm."

Embry nodded in acknowledgement. "We got hit too. Must have been about a little over a week since you left."

"Somewhere around there," he said. He then continued the story. "The snowstorm was bad. I still don't know how it was possible, but Artsanna was freezing to death out there." When he got a questioning glance from Embry he noted, "She couldn't breathe fire yet."

Embry was surprised. "So they don't hatch breathing fire?"

He shook his head. "No they don't. And after a while it looked like we were going to die out there. But then the traitor Murtagh showed up on Thorn and saved us. Even taught me how to fight Elves and the like."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "To this day, I have no clue why he did it. He said it was his good deed for the decade, but anyone can see it was a lie. My only guess is that he went mad out there with only a Dragon to talk to for over a decade."

"Probably did."

As the thunderous sound of Haldthin's flapping grew louder, Arlen looked up. He was coming straight for the caravan. Arlen hoped that it had nothing to do with the blockade on Surda.

As Haldthin landed in front of the caravan, Kaesdir dismounted. He then asked the caravan in a voice that he to be using magic to louden "Is there a man named Arlen here?"

Arlen stood up, Embry trying to stop him but she couldn't. He then said, "I'm here, Kaesdir. What do you want?"

Kaesdir began to walk over as Arlen got out of the wagon. The Elf then said, "So I hear you left the company of Lynde and Artsanna."

He nodded. "If that's of some importance to you, I'm afraid you'd have to drag me back."

"Well, you see, our spies have noted that Lynde may be joining a rebellion against the Empire," Kaesdir said. When Arlen remained silent he continued. "Our spies have also told us that the Empire has also heard of this, and is putting together a group to kill her and all the rebel leaders."

He was somewhat surprised. "Who in the Empire is doing this?"

"We don't know yet," Kaesdir said. "Nor do we know who is behind the rebellion. But I want you to protect Lynde."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Really? You want me to protect a Rider and her Dragon?"

The Elf shook his head. "Just Lynde. Artsanna can take care of herself, but Lynde would not do as well. I want you to make sure she lives, alright?"

Arlen shook his head. "How about you do it?"

"No, I can't do it. Riders aren't allowed to get involved in rebellions without specific orders, and really… it's not even the Riders asking you this, but me. I was given no specific instructions, but as the first lieutenant to Alaric, I do have the authority to ask you to do this."

Arlen didn't let his surprise show that Kaesdir was second in command of the Riders in Alagaësia, nor that he was acting outside the order to do this. He simple said, "And why should I go back? It's a rebellion; I'm not going to have any part of it."

"You don't need to," Kaesdir said. "All you need to do is ask to be Lynde's bodyguard. If she says yes, then all you have to do is stop assassins from harming her."

"But she has Rose and Artsanna watching out for here. I can't offer her any more protection than that."

"It doesn't hurt to have an extra sword around." After a pause, Kaesdir said, "And I would owe you a favor, and a favor from a Rider is something that is not usually allowed, especially to a Human."

He was impressed with Kaesdir's offer. He just couldn't say no at this point. He also felt that perhaps Lynde did need protecting since he didn't entirely trust Rose. "It's a deal as long as you fly me back to Cathalorn when either Lynde's left the rebellion or I fail."

Kaesdir smiled. "It is all that I could ask," the Elf said. He took out of his coat a rectangular small mirror with a silver frame that looked like vines and an emerald that could either be the top or the bottom depending on how one held it. He then handed it to Arlen and gave him a series of instructions. "If you say the word "ethgrí", you will be able talk to me through it. Use it sparingly, as I do tend to be busy a lot. I would recommend only using it when your task is done, but if there is something equally important, use it without hesitation."

He nodded, accepting the mirror. "If I need to, I will."

"Good. I will see you when next we meet. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Before Kaesdir went to Haldthin, Arlen decided to tell him something. "By the way, the rebellion seems to be headed by King Orrin."

He looked very surprised at him. "King Orrin of Surda?"

"Yes."

As Kaesdir went back to his Dragon in silent shock, Arlen turned to see Embry looking very disapprovingly at him. "What?" he asked

"You…!" she started. She began to stammer and then said, "I don't have the words. I just don't have the words for what I'm feeling."

Realizing what he had done, he said, "I'm sorry, but this needs to be done."

"Oh fine!" she said angrily. "I came almost all the way to Surda to get you back and I can't even do that! You're impossible!"

"I'll be back right after I do this," he explained.

"Why even do it? You had a falling out with her. Why would you want to save her?"

He sighed heavily. "If I can save a friend's life, I will. And maybe they've got a point. Maybe, without the Empire, Surda would be better off. I don't know, but I'm going and you can't stop me."

Embry looked down. He thought she was crying. As he went to her she said, "If I can't stop you from going," she looked up at him, her cheeks tearstained, "I'll help you on your way."

It was at this time that he noticed Jerrell had appeared. "We'll give you the fastest horse and the best supplies."

Arlen smiled. "Thank you."

"I'll even go with you if you want," Emrby said.

He shook his head. "No, I wouldn't ask that of you. Go home. Get married. Get on with your lives. Maybe someday I'll come back into it, but for now go do whatever you will. I'll be doing what I will; protecting a friend."