Chapter 31: The End of an Empire
Roran turned around and led the elves to the battlefield, watching Saphira and Vanilor battle their evil counterparts on the way in awe. They were truly magnificent creatures, and it was quite a sight to watch them battle.
Roran kicked Epona's sides and roared, leading the elves right into the Empire ranks. He trampled his way through the frontlines and began smashing skulls and sternums with his blacksmith's hammer. The elves rushed past him, flattening a good portion of the Empire's army.
Roran turned his head in the direction of the dragons' battle just in time to see something awe-inspiring. Seemingly for no reason, Shruikan suddenly spread his wings and writhed in agony in the air. He then uttered a great roar that shook the foundations of Urû'baen's walls. Several soldiers lost their balance and fell to the ground.
Then, Shruikan's eyes rolled back into his head and he began to plummet toward the ground. He gained speed until he crashed into the ground, creating a decent-sized crater.
"Galbatorix is dead!" cried Hilduin, Arya's replacement. "The battle is won!"
The entire army roared as the remnant of the Empire's troops retreated from the scene, far away from Urû'baen. Some of the elves went to chase them down. The rest of the Varden, dwarves, and elves flooded into Urû'baen with no one to stop them.
They piled into the city and began to search for any Imperial guards, ignoring the civilians who were running around in a panic.
Roran was sure there were guards inside the castle, but Epona was too big to fit in the tight hallways. He dismounted Link's horse and assigned a lower-ranked soldier to keep her out of harm's way. He then motioned for the Varden to follow. The elves, having also brought a battering ram, followed. A group of seven elves carried the battering ram with great ease.
They brought the massive battering ram up to the castle drawbridge, which was surprisingly small for a castle of its magnitude. The elves approached the drawbridge and touched the tip of the ram to it lightly, lining up where they would hit. Then they drew it back and heaved it forward. It smacked into the drawbridge with a great thud.
Luckily, the battlements were too high up for any archers to shoot them. Roran pointed out this particular architectural flaw and observed that it would have been smart to have two rows of battlements instead of only one at the very top.
The elves continued to smash the wooden drawbridge, each hit weakening it more and more. It was the sixth hit when Roran heard a slight crack. This was obviously a very powerful battering ram and got the job done very quickly.
Roran heard people grunting on the other side of the drawbridge with the next hit. Several of the guards had begun to brace the gateway into the castle, a worthless attempt; this ram was big enough to break through any drawbridge, even if it's braced by forty men.
With each hit, there was a great roar of exertion on the other side. Finally, at approximately the twelfth hit, the massive wood door broke open, sending several Imperial soldiers flying. Roran rushed into the fray as soon as the door opened, not giving his opponents any time to respond before he smashed their faces in.
Ganondorf rose into the air and began to cackle as dark energy swirled around him. The room began to quiver; the Riders were losing their footing.
Ganondorf opened his palm and faced it toward the ceiling. The air rippled from his hand, and the ceiling was blasted away, revealing the evening sky. Ganondorf then shot out of the hole in the ceiling.
Rubble fell from the ceiling, and the Riders had to dodge around it.
Vanilor! Ganondorf has taken Galbatorix's powers! Get up here now! Link cried.
It was seconds after he had said so when a black mass flew past the hole in the ceiling. Link instantly knew it was Shruikan. Shruikan must have been revived after Galbatorix's powers entered Ganondorf's body; Link could see Ganondorf on Shruikan's back.
Seconds after that, Vanilor, Saphira, and Thorn all appeared in front of them. Link ran up to Galbatorix's throne and bounded off the walls to gain the momentum to land on Vanilor's saddle above him. Eragon and Murtagh did the same.
Once they were all on their dragons, they soared in the direction of Ganondorf astride the massive black dragon Shruikan. Ganondorf didn't take any time to speak; he just charged right after them. Shruikan emitted a huge blast of flame, and all three Riders were forced to fly in opposite directions. They dodged around the flame, and when it stopped, they found themselves right next to Shruikan. Link hacked to his right, and Ganondorf parried the attack.
"Brisingr!" cried Eragon. A ball of flame erupted from his palm, but Ganondorf just shot it right back at him. Saphira expertly spiraled out of the way.
Murtagh slashed through Shruikan's side with Zar'roc, creating a deep gash that bled profusely. Shruikan howled in pain, and Ganondorf was enraged.
"Thrysta vindr!" Ganondorf countered. The blow caught Murtagh right in the back; he was thrown forward over Thorn's head and through the air. Link wasn't worried; Thorn would catch him.
Link advanced forward, Eragon right behind him. Ganondorf charged straight at them, bellowing a great war cry and hefting his massive sword over his head. Link and Eragon both leaped off their dragons' saddles and positioned themselves in midair over Ganondorf's head. Link swung his blade at Ganondorf's head, and Eragon followed. Ganondorf parried both blows.
Link landed on Saphira's saddle, and Eragon on Vanilor's. They swung around and maneuvered into the same formation so they could do it again, hopefully to catch Ganondorf off guard this time.
When they moved in to perform it again, Thorn had returned with Murtagh on his back, but too late to catch on to what was going on. Link and Eragon performed their aerial attack again, this time landing on their own dragons.
Murtagh took advantage of Ganondorf's temporary unawareness. "Thrysta deloi!" he cried. He took a huge chunk of Galbatorix's castle and hurled it at Ganondorf. It was too large to dodge, and Ganondorf wasn't quick enough. It collided into Shruikan, taking Ganondorf with him. They both hurtled toward the ground underneath a hulking chunk of ebony.
The energy it took to cast the spell would have quickly drained Murtagh of almost all his strength, but he used Thorn's help and was able to accomplish the task with ease.
The Riders thought for sure that they had defeated Ganondorf. They were about to leave when an enormous explosion shook the earth and sent shockwaves through the air in their direction. They looked down to where they had fallen and saw Shruikan headed straight for them, gaining speed rapidly. The chunk of the castle that Murtagh had hurled at them was blown to smithereens, and Ganondorf's face was arrogantly confident.
"You did not think that I would be defeated by something like that, did you?" Ganondorf cried maliciously. "You'll have to do much better than that."
Link recalled Eragon saying that Durza had spoken those very words before Murtagh shot him right in between the eyes.
As if this had triggered some sort of nostalgia in Murtagh, he drew his bow and strung three arrows on it. He took careful aim and fired, all in a matter of seconds. The arrows sliced through the air and headed straight for Ganondorf's face. To all their surprise, he caught all three of them and broke them at once with two fingers. Seemingly enraged, he and his dragon both roared loudly. Shruikan breathed a massive eruption of flame at them, and they barely had time to dodge away.
This was not working out well. They needed to formulate a plan. If they just took turns attacking him, they would never kill him.
Link had an idea. It would never have worked with just Link and Eragon, but with Murtagh back with them, they could possibly pull it off.
Link relayed his idea to Vanilor as he spiraled away from one of Shruikan's fireballs. Vanilor liked it immediately. Link told Vanilor to pass it down to Saphira and Thorn so their Riders would know what to do.
It was only five minutes later that they were in formation. Link flew around behind Shruikan. Eragon and Murtagh positioned themselves on either side of him and began the aerial maneuver that Link and Eragon had performed while Murtagh was hurtling toward the ground.
Go, Vanilor! Link cried. Vanilor swept his wings behind him, flying forth with more speed than he ever had before. They timed it perfectly.
Murtagh and Eragon were airborne at the precise moment Link needed them to be. Time seemed to slow to an agonizing creep. Ganondorf's sword was above his head, ready to parry both Eragon's and Murtagh's attacks. He was unaware that Link was right behind him, the Master Sword stretched out behind his neck.
Swords clanged together. The Master Sword was inches from the back of Ganondorf's neck. Murtagh and Eragon were about to land on each other's saddles. The Master Sword made contact with Ganondorf's skin. Ganondorf's black eyes widened with horror. The Blade of Evil's Bane cut through muscle, then blood vessels, then bone, and then Ganondorf's esophagus and windpipe, and over again. Dark blood sprayed profusely, covering the holy sword and Shruikan.
Time returned to normal, and Ganondorf's head was lopped off. It tumbled toward the ground.
Shruikan gave an agonizing cry and started to follow Ganondorf's head. He fell forward, straight into what was once Galbatorix's castle. The entire west wall completely collapsed under the great lizard's weight.
Roran felt a great rumble. He looked around and saw that the castle's entire foundations were shaking. He didn't need to know why, but the castle was collapsing.
"Move!" Roran cried. "Out of the castle, now!" The elves with him obeyed immediately. They were much faster than him, but he tried his best to keep up. They were on the second floor. They headed for the spiral staircase that they had just barely ascended.
It wasn't long before they were out of the castle, but they timed it perfectly. The entire castle started to fall on top of itself as soon as they exited. They would have to keep moving; it would likely topple forward and crush them all if they stopped now.
They had to get out of the entire city in order to stay away from the collapsing castle. It took down a large chunk of the city with it.
Roran looked up in the sky and saw three dragons of different size and color, flapping their wings triumphantly. He beamed brightly, knowing that they had defeated Galbatorix without having to sacrifice Murtagh.
A/N: Real sorry for the long update! I have been out of town for a while and I only just got back a few days ago. I'm leaving again on Wednesday, so it'll be a while before the next update. Sorry!
This one was a little shorter than the past few, but it'll do I'm sure. R&R please!