Disclaimer: not mine, no money, yadda yadda yadda

The next several days were uneventful. They would wake up, go to learn and then be allowed to leave well before sundown. Oromis was subdued and did not go out at night with the other two, preferring to stay in the study until he went to bed. As the days passed his hair began to grow back. Eragon was surprised at how fast elf hair grew. It would be some time before it would be as long as it was before but it was longer than it would have been had it grown at the same rate as human hair. It was already just below his ears and it had been charred off only a couple of weeks ago. It was after Eressmiss had dismissed them that Eragon had found Oromis rummaging through one of the two crates of his belongings that he had yet to unpack.

"What are you looking for? Can I help?"

Oromis looked at him as if surprised that someone was there.

"Of course, I'm just looking for a fairth that I seem to have misplaced. It should be in one of these boxes. It's of a valley that I made sometime ago."

Eragon went to the other box and began to look. He had found a couple of fairths, one of a large golden dragon (he had no doubt that it was Glaedr), and one of a pretty elf female with black hair and large compassionate brown eyes. He had a feeling that this was of La'iddina. He put it to the side closest to Oromis then continued looking through the crate. Oromis picked up the fairth, Eragon looked at him discreetly. Oromis held it gently and smiled before he placed it on the floor next to him. Eragon returned to his task when he came across a fairth of a little elf boy with a petulant expression, and white hair that had been cropped short in an almost brush cut. Eragon looked at it more closely. The little boy had gray eyes.

"Oromis, is this you?"

Oromis looked up and peered at the fairth that Eragon handed to him. Eragon watched him blush slightly.

"I see that you have found the fairth that my father so lovingly made of me shortly after my fifth birthday. I had been so proud because I had managed to be good long enough for my hair to reach past my shoulders when I came across the scroll that my mother had been illustrating. I had only wanted to help but apparently they did not approve of my placing a rather elaborate mustache on one of the great historical kings that was being mentioned in the text."

"I thought that elves didn't have facial hair?"

"No but I had seen humans with mustaches like the one that I had drawn on the scroll and I was fascinated by them, I had thought that a mustache would improve the illustration that my mother was making."

Eragon tried not to laugh at the thought of Oromis doing anything as childlike as drawing a mustache on a portrait.

"Oh I see that this amuses you, please do not hold back for my sake. My pride has been wounded far worse beforethan by simply you laughing about past misdeeds. Just let it out so that we can continue on with our search." Eragon managed to get himself under control long enough to continue with his search for the fairth of the valley that they were looking for. Eventually Eragon could not resist any longer.

"To think that you were a mischief maker of a child when you were younger"

"I was not a mischief maker. I was merely helpful. It is hardly my fault that my helpfulness was not appreciated."

Eventually they found the fairth that Oromis had been looking for. It was a rather spectacular aerial view that must have been taken from the top of a large hill just at sunset. You could see the small town below in quite good detail. Eragon thought that it was a rather spectacular fairth. He was surprised that it was of Palancar valley about one hundred years ago. Before he left for the evening Oromis gave him the fairth of himself as a young child.

"Thank you Oromis elda."

"No thanks are required, but I will chop off your hair if you tell anyone the story behind it."

"Of course I won't tell. But it is a rather endearing story."

"Eragon" Oromis said with a warning tone in his voice "Please don't tell"

"I promise I won't tell"

"Good, now be off with you."

Eragon placed the fairth in his room before he left. He would find someplace to put it tomorrow.

The next day they went to the clearing just outside of Oromis' old hut when Eressmiss told them that they would be taught by Sahkur-Rah that day. She apparently had decided that it was time to teach them elemental magic. When she landed in front of them she took one look at Oromis and shook her head slightly but that was the only commentary that she made about the state of his hair. She instructed them to sit on the ground and then followed suit.

"I know that Eressmiss has told you the names of the elementals and the basics of how they function but not how to summon them. Before we start it is important for you to know that everyone has an elemental that they have an instinctual affinity for. For most people it is hard to determine what it is. For Riders it is simply a matter of deciding what elemental the color of the dragon is most closely associated with. For example I am bonded with Eressmiss, and his color is one that is associated most closely with elemental earth. Dark and medium greens, browns, and blacks are all earth elemental colors. Silvers, grays, and other gray heavy colors are associated with lightening. All medium and dark blues as well as blue heavy colors are associated with water. Whites' creams and beige are light. Reds, oranges, purples, and pinks are fire. Light blues, light greens and yellows are air. Saphiras color marks her as most closely tied to water, Silvress is lightening, and Glaedr is unusual in that his color appears to be a combination of orange and yellow giving him the color gold so he could be either fire or air or both."

"So because the dragons choose us then they felt an affinity for a certain elemental with us as well as our personality and that's why they hatched."

"That would be it, although I don't know what hatching has to do with it."

"Well the eggs are charmed so that the dragons will not hatch unless the one who is to be their rider holds them"

"Ahh, ok then. Where I am from the eggs hatch when they are supposed to and the dragons often do not choose who they will bond with until after hatching. Eressmiss was ten years oldwhen he chose to bond with me."

"Hmm"

"So to begin you must contact the elemental that you have an affinity for before you can contact any of the others. To do so you have to meditate and say the elementals name in your mind over and over with no intent or purpose behind it. Perhaps you should try air first Oromis. If that doesn't work then try fire. Please if you would start now."

Eragon closed his eyes and concentrated on the name undine, the water elemental. For the first long while nothing happened. Then Eragon felt something tug at his mind. He was startled and slipped out of the meditative trance slightly. He returned to the meditation and it took only a few more minutes for him to feel the same tugging on his mind. He did not pull away this time but went to the tugging. He felt himself immersed in a cool wet cocoon and felt a soft soothing gentleness on his skin. He felt himself immersed in something great and powerful. Something that was gentle and yet fiercely protective. He felt himself move forward and suddenly he was swimming. He was swimming fast, faster than any human had ever swam before. He was heading to a waterfall and yet felt no dread at going over. He picked up speed and then he was airborne, but he could not breathe. He felt himself falling fast to the cool waters some hundred feet below and felt no dread at landing. He sliced through the water with little resistance and little more than a ripple to mark his reentry. He swam to a place that was familiar to him where others of his kind were gathering. He swam and found a female of his kind. He felt himself being pulled up out of the river and into his own body.

When Eragon emerged from the trance he was panting slightly and felt exhausted, as if he had just traveled hundreds of miles. He noticed that it was dark out. He looked over at Roran and Oromis. Roran looked as if he had just returned from his trance but Oromis was still deep in his trance yet. Sahkur-rah signaled him to be quiet.

He has just found his elemental. It Turns out Glaedr is a combination of air and fire. It is a little trickier to contact an elemental at first if there is more than one elemental that can be contacted.

It took Oromis a couple of hours to return to them from wherever it was that his elemental took him. He was shaking slightly and looked somewhat dazed by it but he was never the less pleased with his accomplishment. Sahkur-Rah dismissed them and told them to return at the same time tomorrow.

The next several weeks passed and soon Silvress was large enough to fly. Roran had tried flying him without a saddle before either he or Oromis could tell him not to and he spent a couple of days walking bow-legged before Oromis took pity on him and healed him. Apparently most riders would make the same mistake the first time they tried to ride their Dragon. Most of their days were spent contacting the other elementals. Eragon did not share his experiences with the others and they did not share their experiences with him or each other. Roran seemed rejuvenated after he returned from his trances and Oromisoften seemed awed by whatever it was that he had witnessed. Eragon would sometimes reach out to feel his elemental flowing all around him. There were times he could make out snatches of conversation even though it was distorted by water. He often found himself wondering if it was the fish talking when he heard discussions but decided that that was not it. He had once seen an elf that he was certain was Arya bathing in the river. He had been both fascinated by her body and appalled that he would willingly invade another's privacy like that. Once he had been the powerful form of an otter as it played by a ship and had heard someone talking about a large attack happening somewhere. Another time he had been in a river running through Surdas capital when he heard someone talking about evacuating everyone to Ellesmera. He could not quite understand it but he was certain that he was hearing and seeing things as they happened while he was connected to his elemental. They eventually learned how to contact anyone anywhere by using the elementals. It was a simple enough logic behind it. The elements existed everywhere. There was no place where the elementals could not gain access to because of this. So long as they knew what they were looking for they could sense it no matter where they were. That was how Sahkur-rah had known about Oromis, after she had seen Eragon she looked for anyone else who was a rider that was not the king or his brother. To contact someone through an elemental they had to know who the person was that they were contacting. She could not sense just how many Ra'zacs there were though as they were all too much alike. Apparently they had a hive mind.

It was not much longer before she taught them to summon their elementals. Eragon had been very eager to learn this. When Oromis had summoned his for the first time he had tried to summon fire but it had very nearly burned his hair off; he then summoned air and was knocked off his feet by the gust of wind. Roran and Eragon had not laughed. Well Eragon had not. Roran did laugh long and loud and earned a glare for it. He did stop chuckling when he was almost fried by a bolt of elemental lightening though. They learned that Elementals were different in their difficulty. Fire was the most unpredictable and uncontrollable, air was only slightly less so both were difficult to summon, earth was a steady constant but difficult to summon, water was both steady and readily summoned, lightening was unpredictable but readily summoned, and light was a constant but difficult to summon. They eventually were able to summon their elementals with no mishap, even though Oromis 'accidentally' burned most of Rorans hair off one day while they were practicing.

Eressmiss is a bad influence on you Oromis. Eragon had said to him as he shaved off the rest of Rorans hair, it had been crisped to his skull.

Yes I suppose he has been but if you tell anyone I will deny it.

Eragon finished shaving his cousins' head and rinsed the blade off. Roran was still sulking about having lost his hair when Sahkur-rah came in through the opening in the side of the tree. She looked at Roran and began laughing.

"I see that you have learned your lesson well Oromis, although burning the hair off of a human does not have quite the same effect as burning it off of an elf."

"I don't know what you are talking about; we were merely practicing summoning the elementals when I accidentally set Rorans hair on fire. Fortunately Eragon was able to put it out in time."

"Oh I see you 'accidentally' set Roran on fire."

"Yes, now what were you wishing to discuss?"

"I have decided to that now would be a good time to get your ideas for the plan of attack when we go after the Ra'zac and then attack the capital."

"Well let's hear the plan that you have so far"

"I had at first wondered how we were going to do this; that is until Roran found Silvress. Before if we were to attack the Ra'zac first how could we look after the girl and protect her and Roran from any armies that might have followed should news leak of their fall and also successfully free the rider his dragon and the egg. If we were to do the latter first where would Roran fit in and would we even be able to get the girl before the news reached the Ra'zac to kill her. However the problem has been solved rather well, now that Silvress is large enough to carry Roran and the young lady it will be simple enough to have them fly back here. We will attack the Ra'zac first and then we will continue on to the capital and free the rider and dragon and egg while Roran and the girl fly back here as fast as they can. You will have to summon the air elemental to make your flight faster. Now when we attack the Ra'zac I will lure as many out as I can and deal with them out in the daylight with the dragons while You, Oromis, Eragon and Roran, sneak in and free the girl. After you have gotten her outside the lair let me know and I will begin herding them back into the den. After you, Oromis and Eragon, have gotten Roran, Silvress and the girl to safety I want you to help make sure that there are no stragglers. Once they are in the lair we will all summon elemental fire and destroy them all. Once the adults and pupae are gone we will have to go in and manually destroy the eggs before they can hatch. Roran, once you have gotten the girl out of there I want no heroics from you. I want you to get on Silvress and summon the air elemental and fly back here with all possible haste. You will have to stay and look after her, and possibly get an elf to help heal her. You will not come after us at Uru'baen. Is that understood?"

"Yes but"

"No there will be no buts until I am finished speaking. Now then Eragon, Oromis, when we are just outside of the outskirts of the city we will set down and I will summon the elementals to transport the innocent away from the city, I would say that it would be best if they were taken here to Ellesmera as the majority will be children and I know that elves do enjoy children but I am talking from my own experiences. What do you think would the best place for them to be taken Oromis?"

"I think I agree with you but I will have to ask Islanzadi before we flood the forest with human children. There have been rumors recently of the Varden, the dwarves and all of Surda relocating to the forest and I just want to give them some notice that there will be children that need to be looked after."

"Very well, Now then after the innocent have been transported from the city I will release all of the elementals at once. I will take to the sky after to keep the king busy while the rest of you make haste to the dungeons where the rider and dragon are kept. You will have to explain to the dragon what is happening so that he will not panic when you knock the rider unconscious. This will be a necessity as I have been able to glean that the many oaths that this king has made him swear will prevent him from going with you and will make him actively try to stop you should he know. After that one of you and the dragons, not you Saphira as it is you that the king is after, will proceed to the vaults to get the egg. I think that all things considered it should be Oromis who accompanies Eressmiss the other dragon and Glaedr there. You will find the vault with the Dragons co-operation if he knows if he does not then it is simply a matter of using elemental magic to find the egg. While this is happening Eragon and Saphira will exit the building and leave the city with the other rider. As soon as they are clear they will begin their flight back to Ellesmera as well. When you have the egg Oromis tell me and I will cover all of your exits and wait for you to take to the air before I follow you. The elementals will be raging for several days before they begin to wane but I intend to cripple the king and his dragon very badly at least before I go. I will catch up with you here if not sooner. Once again, Oromis, Eragon, use the air elemental to aid you in your flight."

I will not leave my rider alone

Fine then Eressmiss help cover the others escape but if I tell you to fly you will fly.

Very well but I won't leave you unless it is a necessity.

"Now is there anything anyone would like to add to this plan."

"No I'm good with this."

"As am I"

"But why must I not go back to Uru'baen? I can fight"

"It is not a question of whether or not you can fight, it is a question of whether or not you should stay and look after the girl you have been pining away for. I think that you should because by the time that you return here and find someone to help tend her injuries we will be in the middle of the attack on Uru'baen and by the time you reach the capital we will already be here. Is this a sound enough reason?"

"Aye, I suppose"

"Very well then, I think we should get ready to do this in perhaps two weeks. We will have to decide on what provisions will be needed for this. We will have to eat on the fly as we will not be able to afford to land at any time save for a few hours at night to give the dragons rest. We will be able to rest on the dragons as they fly."

The next fortnight was spent getting ready for their mission; Oromis had talked to the queen about the children that would be occupying the forest soon. Surprisingly enough she seemed delighted by the thought of numerous children running around the forest. Eragon spent a great deal of time looking for foodstuffs that would not spoil and would require no preparation for their journey. Sahkur-rah had managed to procure him a sword so that he would not have to rely on just magic and unarmed fighting when they began fighting the Ra'zac. He was awed by the craftsmanship of the sword. It had a long square blade with various runes etched into the steel. It was brilliantly bright and caught and reflected the light like a prism. The hilt was bound in leather and had only one jewel, a large pearl, in the center on either side. It had cutting edges on either side of the blade and was as light as a feather. At first Eragon assumed that it would be broken easily but when he mentioned it to Sahkur-rah she took the sword from him and brought it down with force onto a nearby stone. The Stone split cleanly in two and the blade was not even slightly dulled by its encounter.

"Even where I am from the elves are very clever with steel and smith work. I was given this in case I found a fellow rider without a sword. I shall have to see about getting a sword for your cousin as he also needs one. If you want I can make the blade the same color as your dragon."

"I would like that a great deal."

"I thought so. She really is a lovely color." Sahkur-rah concentrated on the blade for a few moments before it changed to the color of Saphiras' scales. She then handed it back to him.

Almost two weeks later Roran was still grumbling about having to return to Ellesmera and not help them with their quest in the capital so Eragon also had to find an elf to help Roran heal Katrina as well as make sure that Roran didn't try to return to the capital. He eventually found Vanir who had become rather adept at healing spells. When Eragon explained his plight to the elf he gave him a rather mischievous smile.

"Aye, I'd be happy to help look after this Katrina and heal her wounds. I'll also look forward to keeping your cousin out of trouble."

"Thank you Vanir finiarel. Please don't permanently injure him though."

"Do not worry, Eragon vor, if I have to I'll lock him in the wash closet until you arrive."

"So you consider me a friend?"

"I was an ass to you and you put up with it and didn't give up when we sparred even though it would have been easier, and then you broke my arm because I was careless and didn't watch carefully what you were doing. I'd say that I'd consider you a friend."

"So I am a friend because I broke your arm? Sometimes I think that elves tend to be just as insane as humans."

"It is very possible. Of course we are better at being insane than humans and dwarves."

After the Fortnight was up they made sure that they had their supplies packed and ready to go. They had a long trip ahead of them.