Chapter 3: Breakfast with Nasuada

A/N: Spoiler warning! If anyone does not like spoilers and has not read Eragon or Eldest and wants to see the Eragon movie, I highly suggest you do not read this. Unless you like spoilers, of course.

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Link awoke with a start. What a crazy dream, Link thought. He had a dream that some crazy sorceress lady told him about a strange land and dragons, and that he was very hungry. He vaguely remembered exploring a castle-type place, but that was all he remembered after that. He got up and sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. As soon as his eyes opened, he found himself in the same room he was in his dream. With a sigh, he collapsed back down on his bed. He wasn't lying there long before someone knocked.

"Who is it?" Link asked grumpily.

"Jörmundur," he said. Link walked to the door and opened it to see Jörmundur standing there with a small smile on his face. "Lady Nasuada has proposed that you break fast with her this morning."

"I'll be there in a minute. I've got a question, though," said Link. Jörmundur raised his eyebrows. "Where is my stuff from my travel bag? And where's my horse?"

"Queen Islanzadí sent your horse and your travel bag to us safely. We emptied your travel bag's contents into that wardrobe," said Jörmundur, pointing to a wardrobe next to his bed, "and your horse is in our stable. Magnificent horse, by the way."

"When may I see her?" Link asked.

"Why, I can take you to her as soon as you've finished breakfast with Nasuada."

"Thank you," said Link gruffly. He didn't wait for Jörmundur's reply before he shut the door. He then went over to the wardrobe Jörmundur had gestured to and opened it. All his tunics of each color were hanging there, and his sheathed Master Sword and Hylian Shield were placed neatly on a shelf. He was also pleased to see all his other items: his bow and quiver, his bombs, several Deku Nuts, and his boomerang. Link then took his blue tunic from the wardrobe and took it off the hanger, then dressed into it. Once he was sure he was presentable, he exited his room and realized that he had no idea where Nasuada wished to eat with him.

Link saw a servant walk nearby and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to him.

"Yes, sir?" she asked.

"I was wondering if you could point me to where Lady Nasuada eats her breakfast privately?" Link asked.

"Go straight down this hall, take a right, and it'll be the first door on your left," she explained. Link thanked her and followed her directions. He didn't know whether to knock or not, but he did. He heard footsteps coming to the door and it opened.

Link stood before a very broad but short man. He had to be at least six inches shorter than Link, who was about 6'3".

"Um… hello," said Link. "I was invited to break fast with Nasuada."

"Come in, Link," said a voice. The broad man turned to allow Link to see who had spoken. It was Nasuada herself, who was beckoning for him to come in. They were seated at a round table, each with food in front of them. Link recognized everyone there; they were the same people who were eating breakfast at the high table the previous day, including Jörmundur.

There was one empty seat, which Link assumed was his. He was cautious before sitting down, but after no one objected, he sat. Link then took a look around the table. There was the short and broad man, and there was also another man who was taller than Link. There were also two women besides Nasuada. One had tense lips and close-set eyes, and the other had a large heap of gray hair and a matronly face, contradicted by the hilt of a dagger poking from the top of her bulging shirt.

"I am sure you do not know anyone in this room aside from Jörmundur," said Nasuada. "This," she said, pointing to the tall man, "is Umérth, Falberd,"—the broad one—"Sabrae, and Elessari,"—the two women. "They are the Council of Elders. And I am Nasuada."

"Pleased to meet you," said Link weakly. Sabrae stuck up her nose. Elessari smiled giddily and caused the dagger hilt to bounce slightly. Umérth and Falberd gave small smiles.

"Your food should be here soon," said Nasuada. "Until it does, I do recall Trianna telling you a story?" Link nodded. "Where did she leave off?"

Link thought for a moment. Then he remembered: "Right after Eragon, or Shadeslayer, or Argetlam or whatever his name is killed that Shade man," he said.

"His name was Durza," Sabrae corrected.

"Yes, Eragon did kill Durza the Shade. That was an occasion that will not be easily forgotten," said Nasuada. "It came with a price, however. Before Eragon administered the killing stroke, Durza sliced through Eragon's back from his right shoulder blade to the opposite hip. We were able to heal it on the surface quickly and well enough, but it troubled him for a while. He spoke with the Council after…."

There was a small silence as Nasuada seemed to be controlling her emotions. "After my father was killed." This came as a surprise to Link. He had assumed she had always been leader of the Varden.

"Trianna did not tell me this," Link said.

"After Eragon killed Durza, all the Urgals retreated. It was three days later that Ajihad, my father, was killed," said Nasuada. Her voice cracked on her father's name. "Some Urgals stayed behind after the battle and ambushed my father, the Twins, and Murtagh. My father was killed, and it was believed for a time that both the Twins and Murtagh were killed as well."

"But they weren't?" Link guessed.

"Correct, but I will get to that later," said Nasuada. "After the Council spoke with him, I was anointed leader over the Varden, and Eragon swore fealty to me as leader. He then vanished. Nobody knows for sure where he went, but he took several dwarves from Tronjheim with him, as well as Arya Svit-kona, whose name I'm sure you've heard."

Link nodded. He knew whom she was talking about. It was then that his food arrived; a butler came in holding an average-sized plate full of eggs, bacon, and sausage. Link ate while Nasuada spoke.

"It is rumored that Eragon went to Du Weldenvarden to complete his training as a Rider, but nobody knows how that's possible. In the meantime, we, the Varden, had to relocate. The Empire knew where we were, and we couldn't let it stay that way. I sent a message to King Orrin, who is king of this country, Surda, asking for his assistance. He politely agreed to let us make our headquarters here and coexist with him. We lived here for a time, but the Empire found us again. We didn't even send a message to Eragon; he just came. He said something about a vision.

"Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, came with us to Du Völlar Eldrvarya, which in the common tongue means, 'The Burning Plains.' It was there, at the Burning Plains, that a company of a hundred or so Urgals bearing a white flag met us. Eragon proposed that we destroy them anyway; I suspected that he had a slight lust for blood after his transformation."

"Transformation?" Link asked.

"Yes. While Eragon was away in Du Weldenvarden, he underwent some kind of change. If you were to see him now, he would look much like you do: an elf."

"An elf?" Link said. "I'm not an elf."

"You're not an elf?" Nasuada asked, surprised. The Council exchanged glances.

"No. I'm a Hylian. It is the native race of my homeland, Hyrule," Link explained. Nasuada shrugged.

"Back to the story, we do not know exactly how this happened. But I feel that with his new powers, he is too eager to destroy things. He wants to try his new powers out. So when the Urgals got to us bearing a white flag, it was difficult to convince him out of it. Once we did, we went and met with their leader, whose name was Nar Garzhvog. The Urgals wanted to get back at the Empire for using them as battle tools at Farthen Dûr."

"I've never heard that name before," Link said.

"Farthen Dûr is the mountain in which Tronjheim is located," Nasuada explained. Link nodded.

"So we debated on it and decided it would be wise to allow the Urgals to join us. Nar Garzhvog and his Urgals were a great asset to the battle against Galbatorix's men and helped us a lot. But the beginning and the end of the battle were very… unsettling, to say the least."

"Why is that?" Link asked.

"I'm getting to it," Nasuada said impatiently. "Right after the battle started, King Hrothgar of the dwarves, with whom we coexisted in Tronjheim, brought an army of dwarves to aid us in the battle.

"But the Empire had a few secret weapons up their sleeves. First, Murtagh and his red dragon, Thorn, showed up. Galbatorix had corrupted them. He forced them to swear fealty to him in the ancient language. When one makes a promise in the ancient language, it cannot be broken. Anyway, when Murtagh first showed up, he cast a bolt of lightning that struck Hrothgar right in the chest. He was killed instantly.

"At first, Eragon did not know that it was Murtagh. He and Saphira fought bravely, and everyone suspected they would win due to Saphira's size compared to Thorn's. Thorn is younger than Saphira, and therefore smaller, but for some reason, he was stronger. It got to the point that both of them were unable to fight and crashed down. Eragon hurriedly dismounted Saphira and stood to face the Rider, and that's when he knew it was Murtagh.

"Then, the Twins showed up in front of the ranks of the Empire, casting fireballs and balls of energy into ours and the dwarves' ranks. It wasn't looking good.

"In the meantime, a ship came in through the Jiet River, which is very near the Burning Plains. It bore the citizens of Carvahall, Eragon's hometown. Eragon's cousin, Roran, was on board as well. It was Roran who killed the Twins with his hammer; he snuck up behind them and smashed in both their skulls.

"I do not know exactly what else happened between Murtagh and Eragon besides that they fought, but Eragon was very perturbed afterwards. All I know is that Murtagh took Eragon's sword, Zar'roc, because the color of the blade matched that of Thorn."

"I'm sorry, did you say the color of his blade?" Link asked.

"Yes. Riders usually wield a sword whose blade matches the color of his or her dragon. Zar'roc, which happened to have been Morzan's sword before Brom slew him, was Eragon's for a time, until Murtagh took it. The word 'Zar'roc' translates to the common tongue as 'misery.'

"Eragon and Roran were reunited after the battle, in which we emerged victorious once again. We haven't seen Eragon since, but we do know where he went, which is the whole reason I asked you to break fast with me," said Nasuada.

"What do you mean?" Link asked, nervous.

"Eragon went with Roran to Helgrind, a lone mountain near Dras-Leona. Helgrind is the object of worship with the citizens of Dras-Leona. It is a demonic religion that focuses on human sacrifice and the dismemberment of 'unnecessary' limbs," said Nasuada with disgust. "Helgrind is said to be the hideout of the Ra'zac, Galbatorix's hideous minions. We do not know why exactly they went there, but they've been there too long. We want you to go and get them," said Nasuada. She seemed nervous, as if he would decline.

"What!" Link cried. He didn't want to fight demons from another country, he wanted to be home in Hyrule.

"Now listen, we don't want you to leave right away, but it needs to be soon. We know of your exploits in Hyrule—"

"How?" Link asked.

"I'll get to that later. We know what a great fighter you are, so we want you to go after Eragon and Roran and bring them back here. You are Alagaësia's only hope. Please, Link."

It was silent. Link had a really tough decision on his hands. But if he didn't have to leave right away, he supposed it might be okay.

"Okay," Link submitted. "I'll go. But not yet."

"Of course," said Nasuada. He could tell she didn't want to do anything that would make him change his mind. "You can go explore the castle now." Link stood to his feet and bowed before Nasuada. He gestured to his plate, and was about to speak. "Don't worry about it," said Nasuada. "The butler will get it."

"Where can I find the stables?" Link asked.

"Straight down this hall is the exit of the castle," said Umérth. It was the first time Link heard him speak. "Exit the castle and the stables will be right outside to your right. Your horse is there, and what a beautiful horse it is."

"Thank you, sir," said Link. He exited the room and followed Umérth's directions. It took him about five minutes to reach the stables and locate Epona.

"Hey girl," said Link, patting her neck. She turned to him and sniffed his face.

"I missed you. Sorry I abandoned you," he apologized. Epona grunted her forgiveness.

"What do you say we go for a ride?" Link asked. Epona whinnied. Link took it as a yes and opened the stall she was in and let her out. He climbed upon her saddle and realized he did not know his way around Aberon. Link then told himself to pay attention to where he was going and he'd be fine.

"Hyaa!" he cried, kicking her sides. Epona whinnied and rose up on her hind legs before galloping off down the road into Aberon.

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A/N: Another long chapter! I usually don't write chapters this long, but I wanted to contain the whole Eldest summary in one chapter. The next one will be a lot better and more exciting! Stay tuned!