Chapter 16: A Whole Lotta Talking.

A gentle wind brushed at his face, the trees rustled faintly while the birds sang their beautiful songs and Eragon sat, sipping at a flagon of clear water, opposite his elder by many centuries, on a stool, by a small hut partially merged with the four trees that flanked it, one of which straddled a tinkering stream that emerged from the depths of the deep forest.

With a clear mind, a silent and serene heart, Eragon waited patiently for his senior to speak, in no hurry whatsoever, completely and utterly at peace with the world...

Yeah, right.

"I'm bored" Eragon moaned, lobbing his flagon at a nearby tree, the water spilling forth and cascading down the bark to the earth below "Saphira, I'm bored" his dragon rolled her eyes. Couldn't he ever be serious about anything? "Let's do something" he decided "Lets find something and kill it, that's always fun."

Oromis watched silently but inquisitively.

Saphira sighed, accidentally releasing a stream of flames 'And what, exactly, shall we be killing?' she asked, sounding much like a parent indulging an annoying child.

"I don't know. What do you expect me to think of everything?" he folded his arms and pouted at her, he was also thinking but that was less important "Let's kill..." he bit his tongue while he thought "A giant lizard!"

Saphira blinked 'You mean... a dragon?'

"I might do" Eragon said with a grin "Are there are other giant lizards?"

'There might be.'

"And do we know of or how to locate any of those potential creatures?" he asked.

'No.'

"Dragon it is then! So..." he frowned "Err..." Eragon scratched at his head. He hadn't planned this far ahead to be honest, it was just a spur of the moment type thing.

'There are three dragons we know to exist' Saphira told him, signing again, setting fire to a small bush this time. Why did he never think things through? He just said whatever he wanted and did exactly the same. It was tiresome at the best of times 'Myself, Glaedr...' a glance was shot here at the massive golden dragon lazing near his rider, but she quickly looked away '...and Shruikan.'

"Okay!" Eragon got up and started bouncing on his feet, making no attempt to cover up his excitement "SO which one of those should we kill..." he clicked his fingers and pointed "I vote for you."

Saphira snarled 'Well I vote for Shruikan.'

"Well I guess that means we're at a stalemate..." Eragon concluded, rubbing at his chin "No actually, we'll kill Shruikan."

'Why?' the blue dragon wasn't sure why she asked, why she continued this conversation at all, why she didn't just ignore him as one might a fly and sleep. She was practically inviting a headache upon herself. But ask she did and now she would have to live with the consequences, or else just stop paying attention at some point and let him ramble on aimlessly only to return to the conversation at a later date and find out that he had decided to exterminate all the badgers in the world or something similar.

"Because I value your opinion far more than my own."

That made her do the dragon equivalent of raising her eyebrow, which involved widening one eye and raising on her lips to reveal some teeth on side side of her toothy maw 'Really? And how often is my opinion disregarded in favour of your own?' almost always was the answer she knew to be true.

"I said valued" Eragon informed her "Not listened to."

She huffed 'Eragon, I believe the correct phrase for this moment is 'Fucking you'.'

Eragon considered it a moment "Yeah, that sounds about right" he nodded.

'Thank you.'

Oromis's quiet laughter brought the both of them back to the here and now "The two of you get along well I see" he told with a kind, sagely smile.

Eragon and Saphira shared a glance "Do we?" Saphira gave him the mental equivalent of a shrug, as shrugging in the physical world was too bothersome "I guess we kinda balance each other out. I'm an arrogant, crude, violent bastard, and you're a proud, noble, violent mother" he nodded, satisfied with that description, until he realised that it wasn't quite right "Proud, noble, violent sister maybe? Or lover perhaps? Or friend... or pet" Saphira growled "... or master" Eragon was unaffected however. Despite how it might seem he did not say master to placate her, it was a simple genuine truth. One of many "... or the sensible part of me... or the sane part of me... or..."

'Enough Eragon' Saphira interrupted, tiring of the conversation 'This will go on forever if you continue, so please stop.'

"Okay" Eragon agreed. He had been running out of things to say anyway.

Oromis's smile didn't fade "Very well indeed" he murmured softly "Now then" he clapped his hands together, the sharp sudden sound drawing the two of them's attention back to him "Eragon" Oromis continued to smile kindly, there was no judgement there "it would seem you lack patience, no?" despite his words.

For a moment a flicker of a drawn passed the Riders face, then "No, that's fair" he agreed "I like to have things the moment I want them."

"And yet..." Oromis placed his own flagon on the ground, folding his fingers in his lap "And yet you are patient enough to come here, instead of staying with the Varden. You did not simply charge straight for Galbatorix with your new found power. You even stopped to rescue Arya. You can be as patient as any being can, should you so desire."

"Is that patience?" Eragon retorted with a challenging grin "Is not heading straight to me death or enslavement at the hands of my beloved black King truly patience? Is stopping to help a beautiful princess patience? Is not sticking around for a long moving out, boring political battles, and a lot of walking patience?

"Perhaps..." their eyes met and a moment passed between then, the world standing still for a moment for the two Dragon Riders "...perhaps not" Oromis broke the moment, shifting on his stool and turning his gaze to the landscape spread out before them over the cliff edge "It is tricky to know whether something is what it appear to be. Is it bravery or stupidity, prudence or cowardice" their eye met again "... love... or hatred? A difficult subject for us all, I was merely making an observation, whether..."

"Whether or not my observation was correct matter not, it is merely what I observed" Eragon finished for him. His face was twisted into a scowl, his bloody red eyes pulsed "You old bastards always spout the same shit."

There was a throaty 'roar' from Glaedr, or perhaps he was choking? No, after a moment Eragon realised that he was laughing.

'Then allow me to make an observation, Eragon' the golden dragon spoke directly to the Shade sat before him, his gold eyes brimming with mirth, and something else as well, a certain... 'sadness'? 'You are crude, violent and arrogant, not because you want to be, not because that is who you are, but because if you weren't these things then the truth of Eragon the Shade Rider would be revealed to all... yourself included.'

Eragon's nightmarish gaze was turned upon the golden dragon, something dark in the depths, then he looked away, forcing a grin "As I said, the same shit every time."

Glaedr chuckled again.

"Anyway, my lack of patience is fully justified" Eragon said, moving the conversation onto more pleasant topics. Not that he found the previous topic uncomfortable or anything, no, not at all, he just wanted them to have made some headway today instead of just sitting around, also... "We don't exactly have a lot of time now do we?"

After a moment Oromis nodded in agreement "True" and then paused again "Yes, very true..." and paused once again "Very well, then we shall progress. Let me see you hands, I find they tell me much about a person."

"I find you can learn more through simple conversation, brutally torturing them, and fighting to the death, but to each his own" Eragon said, prying off his gloves, wiping the sweat from his palm off on his breeches and presenting his hands to the sagely elf.

Oromis gripped his hands with thin, dry fingers. He took his time, patiently examining every callous, every patch of skin, every line, every scar, every single bit of his palm, and 'took his time' in this meant 'took a fucking age' and Eragon got the feeling he'd have to put up with this shit a lot from elves. They seemed like the type who were utterly unhurried.

The woe of being an immortal he guessed, there was no reason to hurry because there was all the time in the world.

Literally.

'Saphira, kill me before I become immortal will you?'

'You already are immortal Eragon, you were the day you were bound to me' Saphira reminded him, lounging in the sun and casting occasional glances at the golden hill that was Glaedr.

'Well, if I ever become like these damned, twice damned, and thrice damned elves, please put me out of my misery.'

'He who hurries through life hurries to death' Saphira told him sagely.

'And he who takes too much time will find death is on his door before he's even gotten out of bed' Eragon shot back.

'My dear Rider, are you using me as a form of entertainment while this 'examination' continues?' Saphira asked, already knowing the answer.

'Yes.'

Saphira sighed.

"Correct me if I am wrong" Oromis spoke, finally breaking his silence "But you have wielded a scythe and plough more often and a sword, though you are well accustomed to a bow" Eragon nodded "And you have done little writing or drawing, maybe none at all."

"Brom taught me letters, but there wasn't much time to pursue the pursuit. Too busy trying not to die."

"Hmm..." whether Oromis was considering his statement, consider his palms some more, or considering some ethereal question that Eragon was not privy too, the Shade Rider didn't know, so he just waited, bored "Well, beyond your choice of tool it seems obvious that you tend to be reckless and disregard your own safety."

Eragon frowned and began to repudiate the statement, then stopped before the words could leave his mouth "Yeah, that's entirely correct" he said cheerily.

Oromis shook his head at the youths cheer, it was not a good statement after all, though it was not necessarily a bad one either "Do you deliberately pursue danger, Eragon?" he asked calmly, letting go of Eragon's hands and sitting back.

"Hardly" Eragon grinned "Danger pursues me."

"Haha" the old elf laughed "Yes, I can see that" soon though his humour faded, leaving a sombre countenance, though not a sad one "So you are reckless, and circumstances have pitted you against dangerous enemies. Is that correct?" the other Rider nodded "And do you enjoy it?" the elf asked "The danger or the challenge that those enemies present?"

"Hell yeah" Eragon grinned.

"Which."

"Both."

Oromis nodded again, giving little to nothing away on his face "Do you like to be challenged, Eragon?"

"I don't know" Eragon responded after a moment, taking his time to answer. He got the feeling that these questions were important for some reason "I've had quite a few challenges, but they've all either been resolved for me or I've killed them before they could... 'truly' challenge me. I can remember stuff pretty well, and figure out puzzles and riddles fairly easily. So I don't know if I like to be challenged or not, because I don't know if I've ever faced something truly challenging."

Oromis raised a delicate eyebrow at the rather detailed and, dare he say, wise response "So you enjoy challenges because you can pass them? Because... they do not challenge you?" Eragon frowned a bit, and half nodded "And you believe that something truly challenging would be something that... tested you to our limits and beyond? Something that perhaps you did not believe you could do? Something you felt was... impossible maybe?"

"But if it's impossible then its not a challenge, and if I feel its impossible then, to me, it 'is' impossible."

Oromis smiled "We could go back and forth on that matter all day."

"I know."

The elf shook his head and continued "What of your abilities? Do you feel the need to pit yourself against an adversary to test them, or are you content in your personal knowledge of you capabilities?"

Eragon frowned, then touched his fingers to the hilt of Durza's sword "I guess I like facing down people to test myself, to try out a new weapon or test a spell or whatever. I know what I can do but it... it doesn't... it..."

Oromis waited patiently for Eragon to find the worlds he sought.

"It... it feel more 'real if I use it. Most of my spells are thought up on the fly though..." he glanced at Saphira and chuckled "Sometimes literally... So, I don't know."

"it is fine not to know" Oromis told him "And believe me I do understand what you mean by more 'real'. It is all well and good to face off against an opponent in the sparring ring, but until you face an enemy on the field of battle you cannot truly know how you will react, whether you training will be worth anything, whether you will have the will to do what is required. It is a feeling many, including myself, have faced."

Eragon wasn't sure how to respond, or even if he was supposed to, so didn't.

"Do you have a tendency of making things more difficult for yourself?" Oromis asked, continuing on their present theme.

Eragon had to consider that question for a while "I... I guess, yeah... and no, if that makes sense. I mean, I like messing around with stuff, people in particular, and that probably makes things more difficult for me, but I don't think I'd try to make things more difficult if it was something that truly matter to me. A person, or a goal... but I could be wrong."

"You could be?"

"Yeah, I mean... I don't really... know... No, its more... more that I don't think I can correctly and impassively judge myself and my... antics? Actions? Whatever you wanna call them."

"Ah... understandable of course" and interesting as well, or it was to Oromis at least "Another question, if I may. Why did you choose to Follow the Ra'zac? Would it not have been safer to remain in Palancar Valley?"

"Would it not have been safer to run to the King and join him when my dragon was first born? Would it not have been simpler to just kill her when she was small enough for my boot to crush her skull?" Saphira winced "Would it have been better to just myself and avoid all the problems of life? You" he pointed at the elf "ask stupid questions. I chose to follow the Ra'zac because I was angry and I wanted to kill them, and I still do. There was no one around to dissuade me from that task, Brom only sought to aid me and make sure I didn't do anything foolish..." he chuckled humourlessly "He failed in the latter though."

Oromis's face was empty and mask-like for a time, as he absorbed and pondered Eragon's response. Then, finally, as Eragon started tapping his feet to some tune audible only in his own head, the elf blinked and returned to present world "I suppose he did. And you are right, I do ask stupid questions. But whether or not a question is stupid depends on your knowledge of the subject, and on the subject of you I know little, though more than I did before."

Eragon shrugged, stupid old wise guys always had an intelligent response, even when they were being dumb.

Seeing that he would get little else, on this subject and perhaps other, and knowing that when asked too many question that they found... difficult, lets say, to answer, people became far less forthcoming with their answers, Oromis decided to move on to different matter "Were you given a trinket of some kind in Tarnag, Eragon? A piece of jewellery, armour, or even just a coin?"

"I was, this hammer" Eragon said, fishing the necklace out from beneath his tunic "A scry warder, or something like that."

"Ah, yes, I thought it was something like that" Oromis held out his open palm "May I?" the hammer landed in his grasp, tossed casually by his fellow Rider "I did wonder though if they had told you, or kept you in the dark. Trust is tricky to understand, easily given by some, nigh on impossible to earn in other, and all depending on the person seeking the trust as well, and indeed dependant on whether or not they seek trust or not."

"Are you just philosophising out loud?" Eragona asked him, seeing as Oromis's eyes were examining the hammer pedant intently, too intent for him to be paying too much attention to anything else.

"Indeed trust is truly fickle, one man might gain it easily but be false, and another who is genuine might never obtain it. It is a gamble more often than not, but when dealing with one greater than yourself trust is often necessary, on a certain level. And the dwarves it would seem do trust you, perhaps not surprising given your relationship with them, but also surprising... given your relationship with them" the fact that the old elf ignored his question and merely continued to ramble on about rust proved Eragon's theory, and pissed him off as well.

Also... "That makes no sense. It's not surprising because of my relationship with them, and it is surprising for the same reason. Seriously, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

'If it truly bothers you then just ignore it' Glaedr bid him, yawning loudly 'All the gods above and below know that I've had to blot out some tedious and ridiculous bullshit that spouts forth from his mouth like an inane river over the years.'

Eragon blinked at the large golden dragon, then grinned with his red eyes gleaming "You two really do get along, don't you?" he said, reflecting Oromis's word from earlier.

The old dragon offered him a lazy grin in return.

"Someone tried to scry me in... one of those places with a silly elvish name, Sillyframe or something, was that you?" Eragon asked as Oromis returned the back to him, and returned to the land of the people not rambling inanely while barely being conscious of what they said.

Terrible place that.

"No. After I first scryed you with Arya I had no need to use such crude methods to find you. I could simply reach out and touch your mind with mine, as I did when you were in Farthen Dur..." he left that hanging, his and Eragon's eyes locked.

Eragon looked away first.

"The hammer contains no other spells that I can detect. It is a valuable gift, keep it close" Oromis leaned back, his eyes taking scope of Eragon from a slightly greater distance than previously, before he finally and suddenly spoke "Why are you here Eragon?"

"Why?" Eragon chuckled "Because where else do I go?"

"What do you hope to gain by coming here?" Oromis tried a different question, seeking the same answer.

"Power."

And Eragon's response made him wince "I see" Oromis said quietly, picking up and gazing into his flagon and his own reflection in the water "Power... Understandable. Your desire for it I mean. Whether their reasons are fair or fowl all beings desire power. But..." he pursed his lips, as he thought carefully about his next words "Strength, whether it be in mind, magic, blade, or even power over other people around you, is useless without the ability to knew when and how to apply it. It is my aim to teach you that."

Eragon grinned and mouthed 'Good luck'.

"But that is not all" Oromis continued undeterred "My main task, Eragon, is to help you, and Saphira" he nodded at the dragon who sat close to her Rider, to show that he had not forgotten about her "to understand what principles guide you in all things, so that you do not make the right choices for the wrong reasons. You must learn more about yourself, who you are, what drives you, and what you seek from life itself. And that is not something I can just teach you. I can guide you to the path, but you must walk it."

"What about making the wrong choices for the right reasons?" Eragon asked with a grin.

Oromis smiled back "Elves have debated for years as to which is better. To make the right choice for the wrong reasons, or the wrong choice for the right one. I too have pondered that question, and even know I, nor my people, have an answer, and I suspect we never will."

Eragon was about to speak, some remarkable witty remark no doubt, but he stopped as Oromis suddenly stiffened.

The flagon fell from his fingers, his face turned red, his fingers tightened into hooks and pulled at his robe so hard it was a surprise it did not rip. The change was instant, and just as quickly gone, leaving the elf with only a weariness that he had not before possessed.

Oromis took his time to recover, first breathing deeply, then picking up his flagon and setting it upright before straightening his robe and stretching his fingers, and then finally he faced Eragon again.

Eragon raised an eyebrow.

"I am not very well, I'm afraid" Oromis explained "I am the unfortunate bearer of an illness. It is not contagious so you need not worry, but while not contagious nor can I rid myself of it. It saps me of my strength and my grasps on magic fades. Over many decades I have bound myself with numerous small that, together, replicate the effects of greater enchantments that are no beyond my reach. I did this so that the knowledge I possess will not die with me, but be passed on to the future of the Riders, that we might return from the ruin of our mistakes, wiser and stronger than before."

"Ha..." Oromis blinked "Hahaha" he looked at the young man sat across from his, no more than a child even by human terms, and found himself laughing "HahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHHAHAHA!" so hard he was crying "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHAAA! AH, that was a good laugh."

"And what, pray tell, do you find so amusing Eragon?" Oromis asked, confused, and like most elves he did not enjoy being confused.

"Just that..." Eragon chuckled again "Oromis" he sat upright, having bent double while he laughed, and looked the elf right in the eye, his crimson gaze burning "I'm not here to resurrect your pathetic order" it was little more than a whisper, a hiss, but Oromis heard it and stiffened, and Glaedr heard it and sighed.

"What do you mean?" the elf asked calmly, hiding the racing thoughts in his head behind an impassive mask.

"I don't care about the Riders, they can all rot in hell. I don't care about their legacy, let it all go to ruin. I don't give a single shit Oromis. I am not the resurrection of the Dragon Riders, I am the Rider who became a Shade, that is all of me, and I do not care about your order. I am here to obtain the strength to kill Galbatorix, to free myself from the hatred that burns inside, that I might live as I please, unbound by anything save my dragon. That is all I want."

Oromis's face was cold, but Eragon didn't care. The old elf signing morosely did earn some surprise from him though "I see... I cannot say I don't understand you, Eragon. We brought our fate upon ourself, grew arrogant and foolish, but more that that we became lazy, fat upon the fruits of our 'justice'. We were not prepared to make hard choices, hard foul choices. Choices that would earn condemnation, even from our own. Choices that... that many would feel could not be justified. Such as the slaying of one of our own... for no greater crime than madness..." Oromis looked up into Eragon's blood red eyes, and forced himself not to look away "If you had been there... you've would've ended him, wouldn't you."

It wasn't a question, but he answered all the same "Yes" Eragon said, nodding "And I reckon he would've thanked me for it."

Oromis nodded "You may be right" the elf looked up to the sky, and Eragon got the feeling that his next words were not for him, but directed at Oromis himself "But those mistakes have been made, there is no use dwelling on them... no use..." he closed his eyes tight, and lowered his head, opening them again when he facing Eragon "Understand that I will do my utmost to convince you, to change your mind, to show you that the world is better off with the Dragon Riders than without, but I will not mince my teachings. I will teach you as if you were a student of the order, all the secrets of the Dragon Riders are no longer mine to keep, for whether you wish to accept it or not, you are the last of us, and over time I will tell you them all, each and every one" Oromis took a deep breath "All that are mine to tell, at least. I will teach you all I can, because, while you could be a thousand times worse than Galbatorix ever could be, I believe you are a far better man than he ever was."

Eragon laughed "I'm not a man, remember?" he poked the side of his face, next to his eyes, reminding Oromis of his bloody red gaze "Now are we done philosophising and having staring contests? Can we actually get somewhere with this today, or are we just going to sit here?"

It was Oromis's turn to laugh "Fair enough. Take off your tunic Eragon, I wish to see what you are made off."

"Flesh, blood and bone, funnily enough, but I'll humour you?" Eragon told him, standing and stripping off his tunic.

'Wait...' Saphira interrupted before they could get started 'Did Brom know you were here, Oromis?"

"Oh right, that old bastard was a Dragon Rider too, wasn't he" Eragon scratched his chin "Forgot that part."

Saphira glared at him 'Could you please stop forgetting important information, or at least shut up about forgetting it so that my Rider is not a total laughing stock.'

"Eh, but it's fun being the laughing stock. Cause everyone laughs at you... until you brutally murder them, and their screams stay with you in your head, lulling you to sleep and quieting out the laughter that so tormented you" Eragon giggled happily.

'Eragon...' Saphira twitched '...just shut up now.'

"Brom was my student" Oromis spoke after it became clear that Eragon had shut up "In Ilirea... Uru'baen, in case you have forgotten."

"You mean Galby's place?"

"Yes" Oromis spoke mournfully "He has claimed it as his capital. A very beautiful city, I only hope it has not fallen to ruin under his rule."

Eragon tilted his head "I thought the Rider's had that island thingy?"

"Vroengard, and indeed many Riders were trained there, but others were trained elsewhere throughout the lands under the watch of the Dragon Riders."

"Huh..."

Oromis began circling him slowly, examining his half naked body, only when he had paused behind his back, t examine the great scarred that marred his back, did Eragon speak again.

"What about Galbatorix? Did you know him?"

Oromis nodded sadly "Yes, I knew him, though not well. He made it a point to hunt down and kill all the Riders who had trained him, personally."

"Haha, my type of guy."

"But I was one of the Elders who denied him a dragon, after the death of his first" Oromis sighed, and rubbed at his forehead. That was not a memory he remembered fondly, for if only back then he had...

"Should've killed him then."

Oromis smiled grimly "Eragon, if I could go back in time there are so many mistakes I would seek to correct that I would likely be dead before completing even half of them. But that is most certainly one of them, the most important in fact. But I can't, no one can."

"That's true" Eragon agreed "But I figure if I remind you of your failure enough it might sink, and the next time you're stood before a mad rider you'll do the right thing, that is, stick a sword in them..." he grinned dangerously "I'm waiting."

Oromis shook his head at the Shade's antic "This mark" he touched the scar with a cool finger "Did not Arya, or one of the Varden's healers, offer to remove it? You should not be forced to carry such a mark."

"Why not?" Eragon asked curiously "It reminds me of who I fought, of the fact that I won, of the price of that victory. Besides..." his voice quieted "...that mark... is nothing than a scratch compared to..." he shook his head "...compared to something else."

"Compared... to the mark left on your mind?" he offered quietly.

The stiffening of Eragon's shoulders was all the answer he needed, even if it only lasted a single second before the boy shrugged carelessly "Think what you want."

Oromis continued on journey, soon arriving in front of Eragon from his full circle journey "You are thin" he noted "but strong" the distinct lines of muscles on his pale flesh stood out clearly "You are bulkier than an elf, but thinner than a human... and likely stronger than both."

"Stronger, faster and outright better is, I think you'll find, the correct term" Eragon said with an arrogant smile.

"No doubt" Oromis humoured his humour, presuming it was humour and it was quite the presumption, but one Oromis was making confidently "You are not as lopsided as most swordsmen either. Are you ambidextrous?"

"Ambi-what now?" Eragon asked, confusion written all over his face "Seriously, I'm farm boy from the out in the sticks, why do you people expect me to know these longs as hell words that clearly aren't used out the nobility, or you elven fuckers?"

'It means' Saphira said, butting in 'that you can use both hands as effectively as each other to write and fight and even farm, instead of having one hands that you're good with and one hand that you're not. It's the opposite of ambisinistrous which means you're crap with both hands. And you aren't either by the way, you're right hand dominant but can use your left hand with only minor losses in coordination and delicacy.'

"Oh!" Eragon exclaimed out loud, before nodding and pointing at his dragon "What she said."

Saphira huffed at him, blowing smoke his way, and repeated the last line, with minor changes to make it appropriate for a non-Eragon perspective, while speaking to both Oromis and Glaedr.

"Good, that will save us some time. Clasp your hands behind you back for me and lift them as high as possible" he requested.

"Sure" Eragon did so to the best of his abilities, though keep his hands together was rather difficult, and his elbows and shoulders starting aching pretty quickly.

"Hmm... bend forwards, keep your knees straight, and try to touch the ground" were Oromis's next instructions, and Eragon did this too, as best he could. While keeping his hands touching and his arms raised, lacking both arms to help balance him felt really unstable and twice he had to force himself to keep them together and not try to cushion a fall his body felt was coming.

"Not bad, room for improvement, but not bad at all."

"Especially for a human, I'm guessing belongs somewhere in that statement" Eragon grunted trying to force himself lower without falling.

Oromis nodded a silent apology for his unspoken words. Elves were rather flexible and indeed valued and prided themselves on flexibility, so to him humans seemed greatly limited, or rather they were limited through no fault of their own. Nature, nurture and other factors had contributed to their limitation, but not necessarily the person themselves.

One could not be blamed for not knowing about things they had no knowledge of.

"I would know your capabilities as well, Saphira" he had Saphira started on a number of on the ground poses that contorted her muscles in incredible manners, followed by aerial acrobatics that were sure to make him sick if here to be airborne upon her while she performed them.

And while she did that, Eragon touched the small of his back, his fingers coming away bloody.

"Fuck" he cursed quietly, murmuring a word to bring fire to his hand and searing the scar shut.

'A rather violent solution, could you not simply heal it?' Glaedr commented, though his eyes watched Saphira in the sky.

"I'm a violent person" Eragon responded, pulling on his tunic and sitting down to watch the last of Saphira's test.

Few things were beyond his dragons ability, one such thing was executing a backwards loop while corkscrewing through the air, and he felt her shame at her failures, and had to hold back his mocking of her shame. He wondered if she even registered the smile that Oromis watched her with, or the near constant shuffling of Glaedr, the spectacle she was putting on making him want to fly.

No, of course she didn't.

She was as arrogant as he was, and a thousand times more insecure.

It was an amusing contraction of character, but then most people were contradictory, himself included of course, if only because Saphira would get pissed off if he included her but left himself out.

When she finally landed Glaedr rumbled in approval 'I fear that we coddled the Riders. If our hatchling had been forced to care themselves in the wild, as you were', and so our ancestors were, then perhaps they would have possessed a far greater measure of your skill.'

If dragon's could blush, Saphira would be a healthy purple by now.

And Eragon interrupted her embarrassing moment 'Hey! It's not like I left her to starve all on her own you know!'

"No" Oromis ignored Eragon's comments, and the fact that he had spoken directly to Glaedr which was for some reason considered rude by the elves, Eragon wasn't sure what Riders thought about it "even if Saphira had been raised on Vroengard, using the established methods, she would still be an extraordinary flier. I've rarely seen a dragon so naturally suited to the sky, and for a race with wings that is saying something."

Saphira busied herself with cleaning a claw, in such a manner that hid most of her face from view.

"You have room to improve, as do we all, but little. Very little" the elf reseated himself, though he moved his stool to be in front of where Eragon sat on the dirt.

"Now then, let us continue..."

If Eragon knew what tedium would follow those words he'd have strongly considered jumping off of the cliff to his right. In fact it was still an appealing idea now, five hours later, though less for the fatalistic reasons and more for the fun of it.

Oromis had questioned them on every aspect of their knowledge. From asphyxiation to zoology, the former being far more entertaining than the latter, to Eragon, botany to yachting, both boring as hell, cunts to xenophobia, both moderately interesting. Their entire store of knowledge was plundered, or examined at least, by the elderly elf.

Though the main focus was history and the ancient language, two things Eragon hated with a passion.

Despite this it was a... oddly comforting experience, tedious as hell, but... familiar.

It reminded of those days spent with Brom, being quizzed around the camp fire, and on horseback, and before bed, and during their swordplay, and while he was trying to cook, and hunt, and wash, and basically any moment they had.

By all the gods but Eragon had hated those quizzes.

The break for lunch provided him with some respite and the incredibly bored Eragon followed Oromis blindly into the man's hut, leaving the two dragons alone. Eragon swore to hell and damnation hat if he was quizzed further he would start killing, to Saphira, who merely shooed him along.

Eragon sat at the table, not bothering to look around, and let his head slam into the wood.

Oromis chuckled quietly.

After several moments Eragon was bored of staring at either the inside of his eyelids or the wood of the table and lifted his head, only two things caught his eye in the whole room. The beautiful sword with a blade of iridescent bronze and a sheathe of gold, Brom did tell him that Riders swords matched their dragons, and that blade was a pretty perfect match for Glaedr.

It held none of the fierce brutal beauty of that mass of steely scales and muscle, but it was a nice looking sword.

The other thing was a painting on the back of the door, depicting a city of high towers and fair buildings, built against a towering overhang and lit by bloody light of a harvest moon. So clear and distinct, so detailed and precise, it was almost hard to accept that it was merely an image and not some kind of magical window into an alternate world or time or space.

But that would be stupid.

"Where's that?" he asked offhandedly, leaning his chin on his palm.

Oromis's features tightened almost escaping his notice with how quickly it appeared and faded "That..." he said wearily "Is a landscape you should commit to memory, Eragon, for therein lies your prize."

Eragon blinked "That's Uru'baen?"

"Yes, or Ilirea as it was once called. It was burned and abandoned during our war with the Dragon's, and then became the capital of the Broddring Kingdom, and now it is the black city or Uru'baen" he sighed sombrely, his eyes clouding over as he stared at the image "I escaped that city before Galbatorix arrived, but I could not leave without making this fairth of my home. I'm almost glad I never saw it again, I don't know if I could stand seeing what has become of that wondrous city under 'his' rule."

"I'm sure he's done wonders with the place" Eragon said cheerily "Just not wonders you elves could appreciate. Still... pretty good picture. I thought you were a Dragon Rider, not a painter?"

Oromis chuckled "I have experience wielding a brush, I must confess, but such artistry is beyond me. No, I did not paint it. As I said it is a fairth, a fairth is an image that is placed by magic upon a slate, that is prepared before hand with layers of pigments, and shows the image exactly how the person creating it pictures it. That is Ilirea, exactly as I saw her the moment I uttered the spell."

"Huh..." Eragon yawned loudly "So what's this Broddring Kingdom? Some previous human monarchy?"

Oromis blinked at him "You... you don't know?"

Eragon shook his head.

"How can you not? Considering your circumstances and the fear that Galbatorix wields among your people, I might understand that you were raised in darkness, ignorant of the heritage of your kind. But did Brom never tell you? Teach you of the history of your race? The very events that proceeded your arrival here in Alagaesia? Was he truly so lax in your tutelage that knowledge even the youngest of dwarves or elves know by heart was neglected? Even the children of your Varden could tell me more about the past? I though he at least made an effort to teach yo..."

Eragon's fist slammed into the table, silencing the elf. Eragon himself merely cracked his neck "I hold Brom in high regard, elf" the spite in those words made Oromis flinched "He saved me more times than I care to count, and probably saved me more times than I know. Think well before you insult him, and try to remember that he was trying to teach me in the middle of the Empire, while hunting the Ra'zac, while trying to keep me out of trouble, while trying to teach me the things I needed to stay alive."

The older Rider closed his eyes and sought the words to make an apology, an apology he needed to make. It was not his intent to insult his former pupil, but, immortal and patient as he might be, he was also impatient to a fault, and every new thing Eragon needed to learn cut into what Oromis could help him master.

There was a low growl from outside, Glaedr's large golden eye peered in the hut, but he shuffled away moments later, a thought or two from Oromis showing him the events and calming the dragon.

"I apologise" Oromis said "I did not mean to offend, you or Brom. I will not offer you excuses for my words, I am sorry."

Eragon shrugged "I'm over it."

"The Broddring Kingdom" Oromis returned to the task he had been attending too before Eragon asked him about the fairth, that is setting out lunch "was the humans country before the fall of the Riders" he laid them out in rows, fruit and bread and water, and sat down opposite Eragon "After Galbatorix killed Vrael, our leader, he flew on Ilirea with his Forsworn an deposed the then King Angrenost, claiming the throne and titles as his own. The Broddring Kingdom is Galbatorix's kingdom, it formed the core of his conquests. He added Vroengard and others lands to the east and south to his 'Empire'. I supposed by now the 'Broddring Kingdom' is little more than a stamp on royal decrees."

Eragon folded his arms on the table and stared at the elf long and hard, the elf to his credit showed little signs of noticing or even caring about the observation. There was so much and so little he could read from the elf's movements, graceful, unhurried, calm, effectual.

But who was he really? Where did he come from? How had he lived? What had he lost? What had he learned?

Eragon wanted to know so much about this man, elf, in front of him. But he was scared to ask, for fear that he would be required to do the same, to share his own secrets with Oromis in return for Oromis's secrets.

Maybe he had no secrets from this man, or maybe he had so many they couldn't even be counted, it was hard to tell.

"Ask and I will try to answer" Oromis said, smiling at the Rider "To the best of my ability."

Eragon sighed "Who are you?"

"Me? I am Oromis... Ah, but I suppose you wanted more than that" he chuckled at the disgruntled look on Eragon's face "I was born in Luthivira, a city that sat in the wood by Lake Tudosten. At the age of twenty I was presented to the eggs that had been gifted to the Riders and Glaedr chose me. We were trained as Rider and Dragon and, for near a century after, we travelled the continent, doing Vrael's will. Eventually the day came that it was deemed appropriate for us to retire and pass on our knowledge to the next generation, so we took a position in Ilirea and and taught new Dragons and Rider, one or two pairs at a time, until Galbatorix destroyed us. It is a brief overview, but it should be sufficient. Now, what other questions do you have for me?"

"Who was Brom?"

And so lunch passed, on the matter of Brom, of Morzan, of the Forsworn, of Galbatorix, of Glaedr and Oromis, of Dragons and Riders. Some of the things he learned made him revise his opinions of certain people, some of the things he learned confused him, some of the stories told made him chuckle, others made him sad, and a few left him wondering who was in the right and who was not.

And then there was silence as Oromis tidied away their meal and Eragon gazed out of the window.

Saphira was 'playing' with Glaedr, who remained impassive to her antics, but he didn't care about that right now, there was too much going on in his head for him to even think about his damnable dragon, gods protect her, or else he'd kill them all.

"Eragon" Oromis called to him and Eragon was dragged from somewhere off in the distance, not thinking, merely being "Did you bathe this morning?" he asked.

Eragon shook his head, forgetting how to use his tongue for a moment.

"Then please do so tomorrow, and ever day following?"

"Err... okay... got it..." he looked away distractedly.

"Eragon" Oromis clicked his fingers in front of Eragon's face, once again snapping the Rider from his daze "Before you go jumping into the river of a morning, in your lodgings you should have found a small room with a depression... a large bowl, in the floor. Yes?"

Eragon nodded, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs "Yeah, I found that."

"Two nozzles are concealed I the side of the wall above the hollow... the bowl, and by opening them you can add hot or cold water, allowing you to bathe at whatever temperature you so desire. Also" he gestured to the humans chin "I expect you to keep yourself clean shaven until you can grown a full beard, should you choose to do so."

"You elves really don't like hair do you? Clean shaven forearms, chins, chests, don't you guys get cold?"

"I will have a razor and mirror sent to you" Oromis said, deciding that simply ignoring him was the best decision let they get lost in continual mutual ramblings.

"Fine, I'll shave, but if I end up skinning my face off I'm blaming you."

Oromis nodded in acceptance, confident that Eragon would do no such thing, skin himself that is, he'd almost certainly blame Oromis for it "Now then let us..." he gestured to the door and the younger Rider pulled himself up on heavy, aching legs and stumbled to the door.

Eragon wandered over to Saphira, who was much closer to Glaedr than she had been when they left, and leaned against her side 'Had fun?'

She merely snorted at him, knowing what he was getting at.

Oromis and Glaedr stared at each other for a moment, then they both turned in tandem to face their younger companions 'We have decided upon a schedule for the two of you' the great gold dragon said to the two of them directly.

"You will start and hour after sunrise tomorrow, in the time of the Red Lily" Oromis continued.

'Return here to us then.'

"And bring the saddle that Brom made for you, Saphira, I wish to examine it" Oromis concluded the little dual speaking thing that was starting to piss Eragon off. Couldn't they just talk normally? "In the meantime do whatever you wish. Ellesmera is full of wonders if you care to see them, especially for one foreign to its charms."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. I'll probably just sleep though, maybe masturbate, not too sure yet."

Oromis said nothing, keeping his expression neutral and calm "Then, I shall see the two of you on the morrow."

"Sure you will" Eragon mumbled, he paused before climbing up onto Saphira's back and glanced back at the two of them "Oromis... Glaedr..." he struggled for the words, not sure of what to say or what he wanted to say or how he wanted to say it.

Oromis smiled "You are most welcome" he said kindly.

'Any time' was Glaedr's rumbling response.

Eragon chuckled "I don't get you two" he clambered up onto Saphira "Let's fly baby."


Well, it's been about a year and a month since my last update, but here it is. I've written a good portion of this today, and rewritten the rest today, and have spent nearly all of my Sunday on it. Finally your cries have reached me, or rather JaYDN78's cries reached me, and I set to and worked.

Kilf's saggy tits knows when I'll update again, probably not this month... there's three days left in the month, probably not next month either. I'm gonna try focus on the next Torched Heaven chapter, then on that other one I started, then maybe on my Naruto's, then maybe on the TLR, and then I'll try to come back to this.

Or maybe I'll just write this and damn the rest, you never know.

Enjoy.

Toodles.