Chapter 30: Transfer
A/N: Hey guys, before I start, I'd like to apologize for a little oops I made a few chapters back. I originally intended to have Roran, Eragon, and Link have a sweet little reunion, and also that Roran wished to join the battle against the Empire. Link was supposed to have consented to let Roran borrow Epona for the battle. Now, in a real book, it wouldn't be acceptable to do what I am now doing, but this isn't a real book. Now that you have a little background knowledge, I'm going to continue as if this really did happen.
"Ganondorf?" Link asked incredulously.
Ganondorf was seething. He stared at Link, eyes narrowed and his whole body quivering with anger. Link was not afraid, but rather in shock.
"Is this the same Ganondorf you've told me about?" Eragon asked.
"He is," Link replied.
It was silent, as everyone exchanged stares for a long time. Finally, Link spoke.
"Mind telling me how you managed to escape the Sacred Realm?" Link asked.
"It's really quite interesting—" Ganondorf began, but Galbatorix interrupted.
"You see, when Morzan and I fled from what was then Ilirea, we stumbled upon Helgrind and Dras-Leona. We learned the origins of Helgrind from its worshippers."
Link looked at Ganondorf. He was staring at Galbatorix with pure hatred. Link understood what was going on. Ganondorf was Galbatorix's servant. This would be an excellent way to harness Ganondorf's anger.
"We discovered the abyss that was the Vault of Souls, though then it was in the state that it is now, thanks to you," Galbatorix sneered. Link and Eragon smirked.
"With the Vault of Souls, we discovered that we could not only harness the energy from perished souls in it, but we could also withdraw the living and the dead from other realms."
"What kind of realms?" Eragon asked.
"Realms similar to your Sacred Realm," Galbatorix addressed Link. "We found others as well.
"Recently, Murtagh and I went to the Vault of Souls before you emptied it and decided to explore these Realms. We found many perished and living souls wandering around, but the one that caught our eye the most was an imprisoned sorcerer, who I'm sure you know is Ganondorf.
"He charged us to release him from his prison and allow him into the realm of the living once more. We pondered on this, and thought he could make for a good asset. We decided that we would allow him back only if he swore allegiance to me."
Link thought for a moment. Did Ganondorf swear in the ancient language? He hoped not, otherwise his plan would never work.
"You're looking pretty angry there, Ganondorf," said Link. Eragon looked at Link, then Ganondorf. True, Ganondorf was shaking in his anger again, only this time toward Galbatorix. "What's the matter? You don't like being interrupted?"
Galbatorix looked at Ganondorf, who quickly calmed down, or pretended to.
"You will control yourself, Ganondorf!" Galbatorix spat.
"You don't like being bossed around, do you Ganondorf?" Link asked.
"Hold your tongue, Rider!" screamed Galbatorix.
"You don't like not having absolute power anymore," said Link, ignoring Galbatorix. "I see what it's like. You sacrificed your freedom for… freedom? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me."
"Enough!" Galbatorix cried, drawing his black sword. Link drew both his swords, and Eragon drew Wyrda. Murtagh drew Zar'roc and Ganondorf reached behind his back, drawing a massive two-handed sword. Things were elevating quickly.
"You will hold your tongue or I'll cut it out!" Galbatorix shrieked.
"You sacrificed your title as King of Evil, one you held all by yourself, to a man who needs two accomplices to keep his subjects under his thumb?"
Galbatorix leaped through the air like lightning and landed in front of Link, striking out in seconds. Link barely had time to parry before Galbatorix let loose another strike. Although he had been weakened, he was still insanely powerful.
Ganondorf bounded through the air and thudded to the ground, causing the rock to crack. Murtagh went for his brother, Eragon. This did not look good for either of them.
Meanwhile, things were not looking good on the battlefield either. One of the catapults had been destroyed by Galbatorix's trebuchets, and the other one was severely crippled and could not reach the walls. They were doomed. They would not breach the wall.
Orik fought like a madman. Empire soldiers, though they towered over him, were falling to his left and his right, along with several of their limbs. His ax was stained red and his armor was flecked with the blood of countless enemies.
An Empire soldier advanced on Orik, a halberd raised overhead. Orik raised his ax up and parried the soldier's attack with the shaft of his ax. He then pushed the halberd away and heaved with his ax, cleaving through armor and flesh and going straight through the soldier's waist, cutting him completely in half.
Roran was still on Epona's back, crashing in the skulls of Empire soldiers left and right, living up to his name of Roran Stronghammer. An enemy approached him with a hand axe, but Roran expertly blocked with his hammer and smashed him in the face. He collapsed, covering his bloody mangled face. Epona then reared back, smashing another soldier in the face.
Both Nasuada and Jörmundur's horses had been killed, and now they were forced to fight on foot. Jörmundur removed the arm of an Empire soldier near him and then disemboweled him. Another soldier came brandishing his sword but was cut down before he had the chance to attack.
Suddenly, Nasuada heard a great, gargantuan roar. She looked to the sky, as did the Empire army. There, two dragons emerged from a large gap in Galbatorix's castle. At first, Nasuada feared it was Thorn and Shruikan. But then she realized it was Vanilor and Saphira! They had come to aid them!
The Varden cheered and returned to their battle, strengthened with renewed vigor. Vanilor and Saphira flew overhead, both carrying on an extended breath of flame. Vanilor cut off sooner than Saphira did, but lowered his talons and crushed several more soldiers. Saphira did the same once she ran out of breath.
The sudden boost of morale was short-lived. Everyone was fighting with overconfidence when another roar was heard overhead, very similar to the previous one. This time, Nasuada's fears were realized. Out of Galbatorix's castle burst two dragons, a red and a black. Thorn and Shruikan.
Shruikan was enormous. He easily surpassed the size of Saphira and Vanilor combined, perhaps double. When he roared, the ground shook. The air around his mouth rippled with heat.
Instantly, both dragons descended into a spiral dive toward the Varden. Saphira and Vanilor abandoned what they were doing and hurtled forward to stop them. They were too late; Shruikan and Thorn both snatched up two talonfuls of Varden soldiers each and threw them into the air. They died upon landing.
Saphira and Vanilor arrived before the evil dragons to do any more damage. Vanilor went for Thorn, and Saphira went for Shruikan. They were both outmatched, but were able to hold their own.
Vanilor dug his claws into Thorn's hide, whipping him with his tail while flapping his wings to stay in the air. Thorn shrieked and dug his teeth into Vanilor's neck. Vanilor hastily smashed his tail into Thorn's skull, causing him to break his jaws' grip and allowing Vanilor freedom.
Shruikan bore down on Saphira and opened his mouth to bite Saphira's head; his mouth would have totally encompassed Saphira's if she weren't agile enough to dodge around it, answering with a slash of her claws.
Seeing as how the dragons were currently of no help to either side, the battle resumed. But the battle had been going not five minutes when another horn sounded in the air. Puzzled, the armies turned their heads to see what was going on, the battle paused again.
The sound came from the north. It was a while before they saw anything. Then, they saw a massive army of elves come over the hill, just how Orik and his dwarves had done. Arya was in the lead, looking confident. There were at least seven thousand elves, or more. Roran didn't have any idea how they had managed to muster such an army, but it would greatly outnumber the Empire.
The best part of the elves' army was that they brought heavy siege weapons, including catapults, trebuchets, and ballistae. Urû'baen wouldn't stand a chance!
The Varden's morale was so high that nothing could stop them now. The Empire was the exact opposite. They knew they were going to lose. Several of them turned and fled. Others held their ground, but were cut down shortly. The battle was theirs!
The elves quickly set up their siege weapons and instantly began firing upon the walls of the city. The castle's trebuchets couldn't even react. The wall was hammered so hard and so quickly that a huge portion of it entirely collapsed, bringing several buildings with it.
The Varden cheered again. Roran wasted no time. He kicked Epona's sides and hurried up to the elves' frontlines, knowing whom Arya was.
"Arya!" Roran cried. Arya looked puzzled; she didn't recognize this boy. "Eragon is in Galbatorix's throne room! He'll surely need your help!"
Arya's face looked distraught. She had to leave the elves, but she loved Eragon. She couldn't let him die. Not only would Eragon die, but Saphira as well.
Arya turned to an elf man on her right. "Hilduin, you're in charge now." She didn't speak another word. She dismounted her horse and ran to the edge of the hill. Roran didn't understand what she was doing. Suddenly, she leaped through the air. Since she was an elf, she covered a great distance.
A great blue blur flew through the air, right into Arya. Roran was shocked to see Saphira flying through the air at tremendous speed, with Arya on her back. She was taking her to the throne room.
In the throne room, Link was still not doing well at all. There was no way he could take both Galbatorix and Ganondorf at the same time, so he had to dance around and take them one at a time. It was getting extremely tiring, and it wore on his strength. He realized that he would not be able to carry on like this forever. He needed a new strategy.
"Why are you taking orders from this guy?" Link asked Ganondorf. "He's old, and he's a horrible king. I mean, he needs two people to help him!"
Galbatorix snarled and lashed out with his sword. Link parried with Edoc'sil and dodged around Ganondorf's attack.
Meanwhile, Eragon and Murtagh were having their own conflict as well. Their swords' colors rivaled each other as they continuously clanged against each other.
"Murtagh, please! You know the vault's empty now; you and Galbatorix don't stand a chance!" said Eragon.
"Shut up!" Murtagh cried. "We don't need the vault to destroy the Varden! The Empire will still reign over Alagaësia, and you won't be able to do anything about it!"
Link continued his battle with Ganondorf and Galbatorix, which was getting steadily worse.
"You should just take him out and make yourself king of Alagaësia. It's a lot bigger than Hyrule!"
Galbatorix was losing control of his anger, and so was Ganondorf, only not toward Link.
"And then, once you've taken Alagaësia, you can mobilize on Hyrule! They won't stand a chance, the Empire's so big!"
Ganondorf actually stopped. He apparently hadn't realized this.
Galbatorix screamed and smashed the hilt of his sword into Link's face. Link fell to the floor at the edge of a lava pit, dazed. Galbatorix stepped on Link's throat. Link lashed out with the Master Sword, trying to cut Galbatorix's leg. Galbatorix dodged and smashed his foot down on Link's face. He felt blood eject from his nose.
Galbatorix was about to drive his sword into Link's chest when suddenly, Ganondorf lifted him off the ground. Before he could even move, Ganondorf snapped his spine in half, killing him instantly. His body hung limply in Ganondorf's hands over his head. Ganondorf then walked to the edge of a nearby lava pit and dumped Galbatorix's limp form into it. His body slapped the surface of the magma and floated briefly, before slowly sinking under, never to come up again.
Instantly, Murtagh and Eragon stopped fighting. Murtagh didn't seem to have the desire he had before. It was an awkward silence, until finally Murtagh broke it by wrapping his brother in a warm embrace. It seemed that, if they survived this, there would be cause for celebration after all.
Link sheathed his swords and walked over and stood next to Eragon and Murtagh, wary of Ganondorf as he passed him. Ganondorf seemed to pay them no mind. He simply stared at the spot that Galbatorix melted into, his eyes wide.
It was a while before anyone spoke. Suddenly, beams of darkness broke out of the lava pit like beams of light. It was an odd sight to behold. They swirled about, almost like snakes. Ganondorf's gaze did not falter.
The darkness suddenly shifted form and shot straight into Ganondorf's body all at once, lifting him into the air. Ganondorf began to cackle, a sound Link had gotten to be all too familiar with.
When Ganondorf touched back down to the ground, however, Link was definitely not familiar with what he saw. Apparently, Galbatorix's power had been transferred into Ganondorf's body when he killed him. Now, as if Ganondorf wasn't already powerful enough before, he held both his own powers and Galbatorix's.
A dark mist swirled around Ganondorf's eyes, which had darkened to a deep shade of purple. He had gotten considerably bigger, and now spikes jutted out from his pauldrons and forearm bracers. His flaming red hair extended past his neck, and darkened black as ebony. Link did not know why Galbatorix's powers had done such a transformation to him, but it definitely did not bode well for the Riders before him.
Ganondorf threw his head back and laughed again, his voice no different than before. He then faced his opponents with a cocky grin.
"Fool!" said Ganondorf, addressing Link. "You elevated my anger toward that filthy traitor king, thinking that it would aid you in defeating us! Now, you will see what my true capabilities are as Ganondorf, King of Evil over Alagaësia and Hyrule!"
A/N: Oh snap. That's not good. Mmkay guys, R&R please.