Poll has been closed. Another one will be put up as we transfer to the Eldest era. Thank you.

The door was thrown open. Tania looked up in surprise, but stood with Murtagh and Arya. Murtagh offered a hand to help her stand up, but she waved it away with a glare. He snorted.

Tania hid her relief at the sight of Eragon sitting, mostly upright, on a long bed, swathed in blankets. He smiled as Saphira snaked her head into the room after them, her body too big to fit through the doorway. After a moment, he looked in slight confusion at Arya, Tania and Murtagh as his older brother grinned widely. "About time you were up. We've been sitting in the hall for hours."

"And if you worry me like that again, you will not appreciate the results," Tania told him with a dark look.

Eragon smiled a bit, then asked hoarsely, "What… what happened?"

Tania glanced at her companions. Arya looked sad. But Murtagh crowed, "We won! It was incredible! When the Shade's spirits—if that's what they were—flew across Farthen Dûr, the Urgals ceased fighting to watch them go. It was as though they were released from a spell then, because their clans suddenly turned and attacked each other. Their entire army disintegrated within minutes. We routed them after that!"

"They're all dead?" asked Eragon.

Murtagh shook his head. "No, many of them escaped into the tunnels. The Varden and dwarves are busy ferreting them out right now, but it's going to take a while. I was helping them until an Urgal banged me on the head and I was sent back here."

"They aren't going to lock you up again?"

"They'd better not," Tania muttered under her breath.

Murtagh's face grew sober. "No one really cares about that right now. A lot of Varden and dwarves were killed; the survivors are busy trying to recover from the battle. But at least you have cause to be happy, little brother. You're a hero! Everyone's talking about how you killed Durza. If it hadn't been for you, we would have lost."

Tania raised an eyebrow at the briefly troubled look on Eragon's face. "Where were the Twins? They weren't where they were supposed to be—I couldn't contact them. I needed their help."

Murtagh shrugged. "I was told they bravely fought off a group of Urgals that broke into Tronjheim somewhere else. They were probably too busy to talk with you."

Tania scowled and muttered a few choice words under her breath, and Murtagh glanced at her amusedly.

Eragon turned to Arya. "How come you didn't crash? You and Saphira were…" His voice trailed off as he added to Tania mentally, I saw you and Ophelia diving down, but not what happened after.

Arya said slowly, "When you warned Saphira of Durza, I was still trying to remove her damaged armor. By the time it was off, it was too late to slide down Vol Turin—you would have been captured before I reached the bottom. Besides, Durza would have killed you before letting me rescue you." Regret entered her voice. "So I did the one thing I could to distract him: I broke the star sapphire."

And I carried her down, added Saphira.

Tania added her part: When Saphira told Ophelia and I about Durza, we rushed to Tronjheim and dove into the central chamber—I don't think Durza was even aware of us until Arya broke the sapphire. When we landed, Ophelia mauled the Urgals.

Eragon closed his eyes, asking, "But why didn't any of the pieces hit you or me?"

"I didn't allow them too. When we were almost to the floor, I held them motionless in the air, then slowly lowered them to the floor—else they would have shattered into a thousand pieces and killed you," stated Arya simply. Her words betrayed the power within her.

Angela added sourly, "Yes, and it almost killed you as well. It's taken all of my skill to keep the two of you alive."

An uneasy look crossed Eragon's face. "How long have I been here?" he asked with trepidation.

"Only a day and a half," answered Angela. "You're lucky I was around, otherwise it would've taken you weeks to heal—if you had even lived." Alarmed, Eragon pushed the blankets off his torso and twisted around to feel his back. Angela caught his wrist in her small hand, worry reflected in her eyes. "Eragon… you have to understand, my power is not like yours or Arya's. It depends on the use of herbs and potions. There are limits to what I can do, especially with such a large—"

The Rider yanked his hand out of her grip and reached back. Horror showed on his face as his fingers found the long, ropy scar that stretched from his right shoulder to the opposite hip—just like Murtagh's.

Pity showed on Arya's face as she murmured, "You have paid a terrible price for your deed, Eragon Shadeslayer."

Murtagh laughed harshly. "Yes. Now you're just like me."

Sighing, Tania said, "Fitting, that two brothers have twin scars."

Eragon closed his eyes, and Tania watched him sadly. And then a measure of peace stole over her, for she and Ophelia had achieved the goal they had unconsciously decided on: to help fellow Dragon and Rider in the following war that was sure to come on Death's black wing.

*sighs* Let us all give a moment to mourn the ending of Eragon, the greatest book I have ever read—and the one that gave me a longing to fly without airplanes or jets.

Sé mor'ranr ono finna unin the hjarta abr Skulblaka, pömnuria fricaya.

The continuation of this story will be added soon… so please, review your support :) And don't worry, it'll be posted here on The Shifting Dragon.

FF