Chapter 14: Wolfos in Du Weldenvarden
Link and Eragon resumed their journey through Du Weldenvarden. The trip was exciting for Link at first, but quickly grew tedious. Being constantly surrounded by the same thing was enough to drive him mad. He realized that he was glad that he no longer had to live in Kokiri Forest.
He relied on Eragon, who seemed to know where he was going. It was quiet between them, and the only sound was the rumbling of Vanilor and Saphira and the occasional ruffle of Eragon's parchment map.
Their first night in Du Weldenvarden was a peaceful one. The forest was unusually quiet during the night, and Link got some good hours of sleep.
They continued their trek in the morning, and it got steadily duller. The only excitement he found during the whole voyage was hunting in the afternoon. They found an enormous buck and, after killing it, had enough meat to last them well past the rest of the journey to Ellesméra.
On the third night, however, something very peculiar occurred. Link and Eragon were sound asleep, though Vanilor and Saphira were still awake.
Link! Vanilor cried. Link bolted awake.
What is it, Vanilor? Link asked. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and was very startled by what he saw. It was impossible. There was no way.
They were surrounded by a pack of Wolfos. Link had to rub his eyes many times to make sure he was actually seeing what he was seeing.
"Werewolves!" Eragon cried.
"No," said Link. "They're Wolfos. But I don't get it… I thought they were native to Hyrule." They were both on their feet now, swords drawn.
"You know these things?" Eragon asked.
"I've fought and killed many of them on my adventures," said Link. Before he could speak, one of them pounced. Link was caught off guard and it knocked him to his feet.
"Brisingr!" Link cried, extending his right arm in front of him. Green flame shot out of Link's palm and the Wolfos instantly ignited and recoiled, writhing on the grass.
Another Wolfos attacked Eragon, who expertly dodged it and dismembered its arm. Blood spurted from the stump that was its arm, and Eragon then drove his blade through its heart.
Vanilor whipped a Wolfos into the air with his tail, and Saphira mercilessly caught it in her mouth. Too lazy to chew it, she breathed fire and instantly cooked it, also burning two other Wolfos.
A Wolfos lunged toward Link, who rolled around it and struck it in the back, killing it instantly. Another Wolfos attacked, but Link beheaded it before it could even touch him. The Master Sword was instantly coated crimson.
Link noticed that Eragon was incorporating magic into his sword fighting a lot more than he was. Link tried to use more magic, but it wore him out more quickly than it did Eragon. Link relied more on his sword fighting skills for now until he was competent enough with magic to use it more often.
After about ten minutes, the Wolfos that attacked them were all dead. Link then sat down on his bedroll, not even breathing through his mouth. Eragon was in the same condition as Link.
"I am amazed, Link," said Eragon over the sound of Vanilor chewing on a Wolfos. "You should be gasping for breath after the amount of magic you used."
"I'm Hylian, remember?" said Link. "I think Hylians and elves have the same capacity for magic. Arya herself mistook me for an elf when she first saw me."
"You're right," said Eragon. "I thought you were an elf as well. I imagine if an elf like Arya thought you were an elf, so will the rest of Ellesméra. I'm sure you'll fit right in, better than I did when I first went there."
"Why do you say that?" Link asked.
"Well, when I first got there, the elves were kind of indifferent toward me. They seemed to resent my presence, as if they were jealous that I, a human, became the next Rider and not one of them. There was an elf named Vanir who stood out above them all. Then, when I changed into what I am now, they all respected me. You, however, already look and act like an elf. Actually I take that back. You don't act like an elf. You're not snooty and high-and-mighty like they are."
Link laughed. "How did you change to an elf-like appearance?" Link asked.
"It was very strange," said Eragon. "I don't even know exactly how it worked. It was during the Agaetí Blödhren, which translated directly means Blood-oath Celebration. There were these two identical elves that were wearing nothing and were covered in tattoos. One of them was a dragon, and it somehow came to life as they were doing a mesmerizing dance. The dragon lunged forward and collided into me, and I was instantly knocked unconscious. I woke up looking like this."
"And that was in the middle of your training?" Link asked. Eragon nodded. "And no one could explain how that happened?"
"Not even Oromis knew how it was possible," said Eragon. "But it did nothing but good for me. I was more in tune with nature, my scar that I got from Durza disappeared, and I was more skilled at fighting than I ever had been. I was able to defeat Vanir in a duel very quickly."
After their conversation died, Link fell asleep, surrounded by Wolfos corpses.
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A/N: The shortest chapter yet, which is kind of contradictory to the requests I've gotten, but hey, more suspense and keeps you reading, right? ;) Don't worry, they'll get to Ellesméra soon enough. I know most of you are dying to see them get to Oromis.