Chapter 18: Joint Magic

The following day, Link was up for a rude awakening. He told Vanilor to awake him when the time came. He did so by roaring extremely loudly. Link jerked awake instantly and fell out of his bed, crashing to the floor.

Wake up, Rider, said Vanilor. There was a slight humorous tone to his speech.

You probably woke all of Ellesméra! Link cried.

It's possible, he said, but they can just go right back to sleep. You, on the other hand, have to stay awake. You have to be in the gorge very soon. I suggest you get dressed.

Link grumbled and stood up, opening his wardrobe. He picked out his blue tunic and quickly dressed. He descended the stairway and was surprised to find that Eragon was not waiting at the bottom. He went back up and looked in his suite, and he was not there either.

Vanilor, said Link, ask Saphira if they're in the gorge already.

Vanilor rumbled in consent. A few seconds later, he said, They are. They wanted to be there early.

Link cursed. He hoped he wasn't late. He went down the staircase yet again and was about to exit the building when Arya stepped in front of him from around a corner.

"Oh, well hello Link," she said with a friendly smile. Link was taken aback; he did not expect kindness in any form from her.

"Um… hello," said Link.

"I trust you are going to meet Oromis?" Arya asked.

"Yes," Link said briefly.

"Eragon and Saphira have already left," she said.

"I know," said Link.

"Well, you'd better get moving. Oromis does not like it when Riders are late."

"Okay," Link said, then hurried off so he would not have to speak to her any longer.

Why do you detest her so? Vanilor asked.

I don't detest her, said Link. I just strongly dislike her.

Whatever for? Vanilor asked.

She's incredibly rude, said Link. She has no consideration for others' feelings, and she thinks that her way is the right way, and nobody can change her mind.

Eragon seems quite fond of her, said Vanilor.

Love is blinding, Link replied. It clouds one's judgment and they are oblivious to their lover's mistakes and imperfections.

Nobody's perfect, Vanilor replied.

After being in the forest for a while, Link climbed on Vanilor's saddle and they took off into the air, headed for Oromis's gorge.

I know that, but it's entirely different when you are unaware of the fact that one is imperfect. That's what I mean when I say love is blinding.

I do not know much about love, since I have never experienced it, said Vanilor, but from what I understand, everyone agrees that it is the most wonderful emotion you could feel for another person.

Those are people who haven't been hurt by it, Link replied darkly. That effectively ended the conversation, but Vanilor had plenty other things he would've liked to say.

It was not long before they arrived at Oromis's hovel, and Link was pleased to see that neither Oromis nor Glaedr were present, but Eragon and Saphira were.

Vanilor landed with a thud, and Link quickly dismounted.

"We're not late, are we?" Link asked.

Eragon shook his head. "We wanted to be here early."

"Why?" Link asked.

"We were meditating," Eragon said.

"Did I interrupt?" Link asked.

"No," Eragon replied. "We had just finished as you were arriving."

Link nodded. There was a rather awkward silence, but Link could tell Vanilor and Saphira were conversing. They sure did talk a lot.

"Have I ever told you of Angela and her werecat, Solembum?" Eragon asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't think you have," Link said.

"Angela read my fortune," said Eragon. "She said some very disturbing things, and many of the things she said have already come to pass. When she was done, her werecat, Solembum, said something very interesting."

"What's that?" Link asked, interested.

"He said, 'Listen closely and I will tell you two things. When the time comes and you need a weapon, look under the roots of the Menoa tree. Then, when all seems lost and your power is insufficient, go to the rock of Kuthian and speak your name to open the Vault of Souls.'"

Link truly did not know what any of that meant.

"You told me about the Menoa tree," said Link. "Isn't that the tree that the betrayed lover sang herself into?"

"Indeed," Eragon replied. "I was thinking of looking under its roots today after training. After all, Murtagh took my sword, and I've misplaced the other one that I used in place of it. I have a feeling that there will be need of a weapon sometime very soon."

Before Link could reply, Glaedr landed in front of them with a huge thud. Eragon could see Oromis on his saddle. Oromis dismounted gracefully.

"Today," he said, "there will be a rotation of instructors. I will start by teaching Link and Vanilor how to use each other's help to cast magic spells. Glaedr will teach Eragon and Saphira some dragonback riding skills."

After his quick summary, Link and Vanilor wordlessly followed Oromis to the riverbed.

"How go things, Link?" Oromis asked.

"They go well," Link replied. "I am anxious to defeat Galbatorix."

"So you may go home?" Oromis asked.

"Mostly," Link replied.

There was a short silence before Oromis spoke. "I suggest that you do not place your focus on getting home as soon as possible," he said.

"Why is that?" Link asked.

"If you do not have your focus on actually defeating Galbatorix, then I can guarantee it will not happen. You need to concentrate on his defeat, otherwise your motivation will not be as strong."

Link thought for a moment. He realized that his teacher was right.

"Yes, Master, I will," said Link.

"Now, let's begin the exercise," said Oromis. "I want you to cast a simple spell."

Link nodded. He thought of a random spell.

"Deloi moi!" Earth, change!

A small crest was created in the ground directly underneath his feet, raising him higher until he could see over Oromis's head.

"Good," said Oromis. "That wasn't as simple as I wanted, but it showed how skillful you've become. As I said before, you are much more skilled than Eragon was during this period of training.

"Now, I want you to perform a much more difficult task. I want you to crush this rock," he said, gesturing to a large rock behind him, "into powder."

"Are you kidding me?" Link asked. "There's no way I have the energy to do that."

"That's why I'm going to teach you to use Vanilor's help," said Oromis. "Stretch out with your mind, and take a hold of Vanilor's conscience. Once you've got a firm hold, both of you focus on the magic and cast the spell to crush that rock."

Link nodded. He reached out and easily found Vanilor's mind.

Ready, Vanilor? Link asked.

Do it, Vanilor replied.

Link cried the words that would instantly crush the rock in front of them into powder, and he could hear Vanilor saying it in his mind.

A/N: As you are surely well aware, I have no idea what words in the ancient language would cause a giant rock to be crushed into powder, so bear with me.

Instantly after he said it, the rock exploded, and small grains of sand flew everywhere.

"Very good," said Oromis. "I am very impressed."

"What would've happened if I did that wrong?" Link asked.

"You would've most likely died," said Oromis.

Link gulped. "It's a good thing I did it right then," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

Oromis laughed. "I had full confidence that you were up to the task. We are done for now. Go now and see Glaedr."

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Late that night, Eragon snuck out of his bed in his suite and got dressed. Making sure not to wake Saphira, he quietly descended the stairwell into Queen Islanzadí's throne room, which was empty.

Eragon exited the building and made his way north, where his destination was. The buildings of Ellesméra ended, and the forest thickened. There were large willows that draped over the dirt path, and a wooden bridge that led to a large clearing with a hill. On the top of that hill was the most famous tree in Du Weldenvarden: the Menoa tree.

Eragon knew exactly what to do. He crossed the wooden bridge and ascended the hill to the Menoa tree. Once he was there, he looked up at the tree and placed a hand on its trunk. It was a beautiful tree.

Then he looked down at its roots. Look under the roots of the Menoa tree…

"Deloi moi!" he cried. Instantly the ground under the roots began to shift.

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"Link! Link!"

Link awoke to someone crying his name. He sat up in his bed, groggily rubbing his eyes. He could tell someone was in his suite.

"What is it?" Link asked. As soon as he opened his eyes, a lamp was turned on.

Link was shocked at what he saw.

Eragon was standing in front of him, holding a sheathed sword in each hand. But these weren't your average swords. They both had elegant dragons carved into the hilt, and a jewel on the pommel.

"What are they?" Link asked.

"Rider swords," Eragon replied. He threw the one in his right hand to Link, who caught it by the sheath. Curious, he felt the handle. It fit perfectly into his palm. Even more curious, he pulled the sword slightly out of its sheath.

The blade was green.

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A/N: No comment. Don't want to ruin the moment. R&R.