Chapter 2: Varden
A/N: Well, I got some pretty good feedback on this so I decided to continue on. I've got about half of the story planned out, so I guess I'll just keep writing until I get writer's block or not got enough feedback. Anyway, on with the story!
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Link woke up to the feeling of something damp being pressed against his forehead. The first thing he noticed was his voracious hunger. The second thing he noticed was the woman that was helping him. She had dark hair, staggering blue eyes, and a cynical mouth. There was a golden bracelet wrapped around her wrist that was shaped like a hissing snake.
"Who are you?" Link asked.
"I am Trianna," she said. "I am a sorceress of Du Vrangr Gata."
"What's Du Vrangr Gata?" Link asked.
"In the common tongue, it means The Wandering Path. It is a guild of magic users who also do everything else the Varden deem necessary to get done. We're spies, battle mages, warriors, the works."
"I'm sorry, the Varden?" Link asked. His head began to ache.
"The Varden is the rebellious force that fights against the Empire, ruled by the evil Galbatorix."
"Where am I?" Link asked, sitting up. None of this was making sense; he had no idea who or what any of these things she was talking about were.
"Look, I'm going to have to talk to you later. Right now, you need food," said Trianna. "I have a proposal I must make to you, however."
She took his arm and helped him to stand. Link's stomach burned with hunger; he lacked the strength to walk for himself.
"Why am I able to speak? When I was last conscious, I couldn't see and I think I passed out. I lacked the strength to speak then," Link said.
"I helped you with magic," she said impatiently. "I'm taking you to the dining hall. There's someone you should meet there."
They went down a hallway to a large room with rows of tables. There was another table that was raised above the others, and there were six people eating at it. There were three men and three women; the one that stood out the most, though, was the dark-skinned woman in the center. She reminded Link of a Gerudo. They were all eating, and so were several soldiers.
"That," said Trianna, pointing to the dark-skinned woman, "is Nasuada. She is the leader of the Varden."
"I don't care. Just give me some food," said Link. Trianna motioned to a man wearing an apron that was just entering the dining hall. He caught her glance, and then looked at Link. Seeming to understand, he rushed back to where he had come from. Trianna then helped Link to sit down at one of the long tables. Link saw Nasuada speak to the man next to her. He nodded and came down from the high table and rushed over to them.
"Hello. You must be our visitor," he said. Link nodded.
"When am I getting my food?" he asked pleasantly.
The man chuckled.
"I am Jörmundur, second-in-command to Nasuada, leader of the Varden," he said with a bow. He was a big man.
"I'm Link, the Hero of Time," Link threw back.
"Where do you come from, visitor, and how did you come into our midst?" Jörmundur asked.
"I come from the land of Hyrule. Princess Zelda sent me into the Lost Woods and I got lost. I passed out from hunger, and the next thing I knew, I was here," Link explained. Jörmundur raised an eyebrow at Trianna.
"Lost Woods?" said Trianna. Link nodded.
"Where would that happen to be?" Jörmundur asked.
"It's an area in the southeast corner of Hyrule."
Jörmundur reached into his pocket and drew out a roll of parchment. He spread it out in front of Link, and pointed to a huge forested area that took up almost the entire northern part of whatever land this was.
"This is called Du Weldenvarden," said Jörmundur. "Nobody has ever entered and come out that we know of, besides the Shadeslayer, Eragon."
"Shadeslayer?" Link asked.
"It is his title, for he is one of the only three in the history of Alagaësia to ever defeat a Shade," Trianna explained.
"I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with this land, so I have no idea what you're talking about," Link apologized.
"We'll get to that in a minute," said Jörmundur, "this Du Weldenvarden is where you were when you passed out; the elven capital, Ellesméra, to be exact. Du Weldenvarden is where the elves are hidden as refugees from the Empire."
"I'm sorry, what is this Empire?" Link asked, irritated. Just as he said this, a huge platter full of food was brought out of the kitchen and placed in front of him. Link held up a finger, as if to say, "Excuse me," and proceeded to gorge himself with some of the most delicious food that had ever been his pleasure to consume.
Without another word, Jörmundur returned to the high table at his spot next to Nasuada, where he began to whisper in her ear. Link had no doubt that he was retelling their conversation.
Trianna sat in front of him. Link shot her a quick look before continuing to stuff himself.
"Now, Link," said Trianna. "I must speak with you."
Link looked at her briefly again before resuming his feast.
"At the Du Vrangr Gata, we are lacking a leader. You see, we were led by two figures known only as the Twins, but they betrayed us to King Galbatorix only just recently. I came to the Shadeslayer to propose this very thing to him."
"Noo don' wan' me, do noo?" Link said through a mouthful of turkey.
"We believe you are the next and final Dragon Rider of this generation," said Trianna. Link choked. His mouth was so full that when he gasped at her statement, almost an entire turkey wing was lodged in his throat. He pounded on his chest repeatedly to dislodge the meat, and only found success in doing so after almost a minute, during which Trianna was ready to dislodge it for him with magic.
"You had that green egg in your travel bag, did you not?" asked Trianna.
Link, whose face was now a brilliant red from lack of oxygen, turned to Trianna. "Dragon Rider? I've only heard of dragons in Hyrule, and I've never known of Riders for them. Plus, that was a valuable stone, not an egg."
Ignoring his final statement, Trianna explained, "There are only three known Riders at this time. There is King Galbatorix himself, and his wicked black dragon Shruikan, whom he stole from a Rider before his reign. Then, there is Eragon Shadeslayer, also known as Argetlam, whom we mentioned before."
"And the third?" Link asked.
"A traitor to the Varden. His name is Murtagh. He is the only known son of Morzan, one of the Thirteen Forsworn and Galbatorix's right-hand man before he was killed by Brom."
"Slow down!" said Link. "I still don't know who any of these people are! Who is Brom?"
"He was one of us, and also taught Shadeslayer most of what he knows," said Trianna.
"What is the Thirteen Forsworn?"
"They were the traitorous thirteen Riders who hunted down and destroyed the last of the Riders, including their leader, Vrael."
"Okay, I think I've got it. Galbatorix, who is your king, and the Thirteen Forsworn killed all the Riders. But wait, how did Shadeslayer get a dragon then? Or Galbatorix, or Murtagh?" Link asked.
Trianna sighed. "It seems as though I must tell you from the beginning. It all started when Galbatorix became a Rider at age ten. He was very good from the beginning, but he advanced too quickly. The Riders paid it no heed, however, which was one of the main causes of their demise. After Galbatorix's training was finished, he took a trip with two friends. They traveled far north and into what was unbeknownst to them, Urgal territory."
"What is an Urgal?" Link asked.
"Foul, menacing savage beasts. They are well past the size of an average man. They have horns that protrude from their foreheads and disgusting gray skin. Anyway, Galbatorix and his friends were ambushed in their sleep on a thick sheet of ice. Galbatorix was the sole survivor. Not even his dragon lived. Galbatorix was lost in this land for who knows how long, but it is believed that he went mad. Every creature near him feared his presence. When the thought came to him that a new dragon might be granted him, he traveled back on foot to the headquarters of the Riders; at least, he tried. He collapsed at the foot of the Spine—"
"I'm sorry, what is the Spine?" Link asked. He was getting flustered.
"It is a large mountain range that spans the entire western coast of Alagaësia," said Trianna impatiently. "But back to the story, a farmer found Galbatorix unconscious and summoned the Riders, who took them to their headquarters, Vroengard. As soon as he was conscious, Galbatorix demanded a new dragon. The Riders then saw him as insane as he was, and he was denied. His madness led him to believe it was the Riders' fault that his dragon was killed. He formulated a plan to exact his revenge, and found a sympathetic Rider. Together they learned magical secrets from a Shade and used them to hunt down and kill an elder. As soon as the deed was done, Galbatorix wordlessly turned on and killed his ally. He then hid in the wilderness for a long time. Fate decided to meet him with Morzan, a Rider strong of body but weak of mind. Morzan assisted Galbatorix in sneaking into the citadel Ilirea, which is now Urû'baen, where he stole a black dragon hatchling. He and Morzan then hid in an evil place that no Dragon Rider dared set foot in. Morzan became Galbatorix's apprentice, and together they learned magic that never should have been learned. They began to kill every Rider they met with ease. Twelve other Riders recognized Galbatorix and Morzan's strength and joined them, and thus was formed the Thirteen Forsworn. Only Vrael, leader of the Riders, stood a chance against him. Galbatorix and Vrael fought in a duel, in which Vrael easily won; he made a mistake, however, in hesitating on the final blow. Galbatorix quickly struck, and mortally wounded Vrael. Vrael fled and hid at Utgard Mountain, where he hoped to recuperate. His hopes were dashed when Galbatorix and his Thirteen Forsworn found and decapitated him. It was then that Galbatorix became King of Alagaësia, and to this day he remains so.
"But hope endured. One of the Riders, whose dragon was killed in the battle at Doru Araeba, had a contact with the Varden. He was supposed to steal the only three remaining dragon eggs from Galbatorix, but only managed to take one. This Rider, Brom, the same Brom that taught Eragon Shadeslayer how to be a Rider, set out to Gil'ead with his friend Jeod. They were informed that the egg was in Gil'ead. Somehow, Jeod and Brom were separated, but Brom managed to find the egg in a storage room. Just as he exited the building with it, Morzan, who was also looking for the egg, confronted him. The two ancient Riders dueled, and Brom succeeded in killing Morzan, the last of the Forsworn. Brom thought himself to be victorious and sent the egg to the Varden, who then sent it to Ellesméra by way of their emissary, Arya Svit-kona.
"Years later, Arya and her two companions were on their way to return this egg to Brom, for there had been a misunderstanding with the transportation of the egg. Unexpectedly, the Shade Durza, from whom Eragon gets the name Shadeslayer, and a company of Urgals attacked her. Her two companions were instantly killed, but she managed to get away, so she thought. She slew many Urgals, but the Shade Durza managed to get to her. Thinking quickly, she meant to send the egg to Carvahall, a small village in Palancar Valley where Brom was believed to be in hiding. In her haste, the egg was taken farther west, to a remote location in the Spine. Durza then captured Arya and took her to Gil'ead.
"Eragon, the Argetlam, witnessed this egg's transportation while hunting in the Spine. I do not know the entire story, but I believe the Ra'zac, Galbatorix's minions who were hunting for the egg, killed Eragon's uncle Garrow. Frightened and angry, Shadeslayer fled Palancar Valley with Brom and his newly hatched blue dragon, Saphira to hunt down and kill the Ra'zac. He ended up not being able to kill them, however, but they killed Brom. Eragon found a new companion, Murtagh, the very same one who betrayed us to Galbatorix. Eragon did not conceive that he could be a traitor. They made to come to us, the Varden, and on their way saved Arya from Durza in Gil'ead and took her here, where she was recuperated. Galbatorix, in his fury, sent a large army of Kull, a much larger and stronger tribe of Urgals, to Tronjheim, our previous headquarters before we came here to Aberon. Durza led the Urgals into battle with us. We managed to defeat them. Eragon dueled with Durza, who easily defeated him, and gave him an enormous scar on his back that still pains him to this day. Arya and Saphira managed to distract Durza, however, to allow Eragon just enough time to earn himself the title Shadeslayer."
Trianna looked as though she was about to continue, but something distracted her. Link looked over to where she was looking and saw Jörmundur motioning for her to come over.
"You should rest," said Trianna. "That food needs time to digest." She pointed at his bulging stomach. Link had finished his food. Link nodded in agreement and slowly exited the dining hall to his quarters, which took him a moment to find. Satisfied with his now painfully full stomach, Link lie down on his bed and instantly fell asleep.
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A/N: Wow! I definitely did not expect that chapter to turn out so long. The only reason I had Galbatorix's story and the synopsis of Eragon was because I felt that the readers of this story who have not read Eragon or Eldest deserve to know what's going on. I'll have a quick synopsis of Eldest in the next chapter, and then a fun addition to the plot. Read and review, please!