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When Sahkur-rah flew into the tree house with Eressmiss close behind she saw Oromis leave. Something had clearly startled the elf beyond what he was capable of dealing with. She looked around and saw that Glaedr was holding a container that contained an unborn elf fetus. As she strode forwards she could feel the dark twisted magic rolling off it in waves. She sent a questioning thought to Glaedr.

Whose is this?

I believe it to be Oromis'. His mate died before she could give birth to it, and he had been so distraught by her death and what he saw as his child's death that he did not examine her body closely. It was around then that he was captured by Galbatorix and was injured.

Will he accept the child and raise it?

I believe that if he is given enough time to assimilate this knowledge he will. It is a great shock to him, for he believed the child to be dead for almost a century.

She turned to the others in the room. They all looked to be worried for Oromis, but unnerved by the child that Glaedr held. Only Eragon looked like he would be able to talk to the elf without risking life and limb. Sahkur-rah had noticed that Oromis had a great deal of affection for the young rider, possibly emotionally adopting him as a substitute for his child.

"Eragon go and talk to Oromis, see how he is. Tell him that the child can be rescued be he needs to be here for it."

Eragon didn't need to be told twice. He was down the stairs and running after Oromis before Sahkur-rah could blink. She had to tell Vanir twice to attend to the patients before he moved and Roran sat mutely by Katrinas' bed. Sahkur-rah set about determining how exactly the king had managed to trap this fetus and how the magic was sustaining it.

When Eragon found Oromis he had climbed high into the uppermost branches of a tree. He was sitting there staring at the sky. Eragon climbed up towards him but stopped a few branches down from where his mentor sat. He waited for him to speak; as he waited he pondered to himself how this was much like approaching a wounded dragon. Only it was not a dragon it was an elf, and while wounded it was not of the physical nature. It would take more than a spell of healing to close this wound. Eventually the elf acknowledged him, even if all he did was nod and move over slightly so that Eragon could sit beside him. Eragon took the invitation and climbed the rest of the way up to sit beside him. He had never really seen an elf this emotionallydistraught before. He had seen many emotions from elves before but not this soul shaken apprehension that Oromis was currently displaying. Eragon did the only thing he could think of for the elf. He put an arm across his shoulders and sat quietly without insisting that he talk. He had seen how worried parents got when their children went missing and their relief when they were found. He had never witnessed how a person would react if they had believed that their child was dead only to find out that they had been used as a power source. Eragon knew that this would be very hard for Oromis to come to terms with, He only hoped he could help him.

Eragon sat with Oromis in the tree fora long whilebefore he began speaking. He was quiet at first, almost like he was speaking to himself.

"How could this have happened? How is this even possible? My child died with her. But he didn't, Galbatorix took him from inside her. That must be how she died, having the child ripped from her. That would explain why they dropped her from so high up, it would obliterate any evidence that the child had been taken and would insure that I would not be able to notice the fetus' absence because the body would be too much of a wreck to tell. A fetus alone is not distinguishable from the parent in death except by visually looking and the body was so destroyed that there was no way to tell. It would explain why he sent her to me, so that I would be too angry to think before I acted. I went after him and he was laying in wait. It would explain why he had my magic damaged, so that I would not notice that the fetus was still alive. It would explain why he took my blood; he needed it to ensure the magic worked." His voice had been growing steadily louder as he spoke until it was a yell "That bastard took my son and used him to make himself stronger so that he could continue his misbegotten existence, I will take pleasure in ripping his intestines out and shoving them up his ass!"

Oromis leaped up quickly and moved down the tree faster than Eragon had seen him move. He rushed to keep up with him. He became winded as he made his way back to the tree house and ran up the stairs in Oromis' wake. When he got inside he found Oromis trying to get close to Glaedr but the dragon kept backing away. He saw that Sahkur-rah had the fetus on the table but was watching the elf warily. Even Vanir was giving him a wide birth. Roran looked on dumbfounded. The dragons were keeping themselves between Oromis and Glaedr. Saphira was the closest to the elf and she kept trying to make him back away. Oromis was not putting up with that though. He tried to use magic to push her away but he was too angry to concentrate enough to call on the elementals and too worked up to call on his own. He finally howled in frustration and brought his sword out. Saphira was startled but would not back away. He began swinging it at her, with his first swipe he would have cut her deeply had she not gotten out of the way in time but that was more than enough to shake Eragon out of his stunned trance and rush up behind Oromis and try to disarm him. He had just gotten his hand around the elf's sword handle when Oromis threw him away from him. When Eragon looked at his face he became truly frightened. There was nothing left there of the man that he had known and had learned from. He was no longer peaceful and he no longer looked like someone who could be patient. He had been replaced by a blood thirsty lunatic with nothing to give but hate and anger. Eragon was thankful that he had not taken off his sword as Oromis charged him with a yell. Eragon brought his sword up but left the sheath on. He did not want the elf to die. It was a shame that Oromis did not feel the same way at the moment. Somehow he managed to block Oromis' attacks without having to give ground or seriously damage him. It took almost two hours of barely surviving the enraged elf's attacks before he managed to yank his sword from him and send it flying into the wall on the other side of the room. Eragon lowered his sword and tried to calm him down. That was a mistake as Oromis took advantage of his temporarily lowered sword to charge him and begin beating him with his fists. Eventually Eragon managed to subdue him with his arms snaking under Oromis' and his hands holding onto the back of the elf's head. He tried to kick him so Eragon positioned his feet between his legs in such a way that he was incapable of moving them. The elf released a primal incomprehensible scream that began to dissolve into angry curses and eventually sobs as everything that happened and the implications began to set in. Vanir began to look after Katrina and Murtagh again and Roran helped him quietly. Sahkur-rah resumed her study of the fetus and the dragons slowly began to move about again. Saphira tentatively stepped forwards and when the elf made no indication that he noticed her she settled down behind Eragon. She began humming as Glaedr settled down in front of Oromis and nudged one of the elf's feet with his nose. Oromis still did not give any indication that he noticed anything that was happening. Eventually the sobs that had been shaking the elf's body subsided into heavy breathing eventually the elf relaxed as he fell asleep. Eragon was not interested in leaving the elf incase he were to wake up in a rage again so he took Oromis to his room and laid him in a comfortable position on his bed. He then sat beside him on the stool beside his bed. Before he let himself fall asleep he put a spell on the elf that would wake him before the elf woke up. Finally exhausted Eragon fell into a deep sleep until morning.

After the confrontation Roran felt as if he had been lucky that Vanir had not lost his mind the way that Oromis had. He could see why the elves home had been safe from Galbatorix's attacks so far. They were far stronger and faster than any human or dwarf could be and certainly capable of more damage than an urgal. It was as if he had been watching a nightmare when Eragon began fighting the elf. He knew that Eragon was a very capable fighter and had no need to be protected but when he saw the look on the elf's face when he turned to fight Eragon he felt his heart stop. He knew that the elf was going to kill Eragon if he had a chance. He had breathed easier when Eragon had gotten him into that hold but he had been scared shitless for his cousin. He only hoped that when the elf woke up that he had regained some semblance of sanity. He heard a noise from the direction of Katrina's bed. He turned to see his Katrina sit up slowly and blink her eyes.

"So it wasn't a dream. You came and rescued me after all."

"Did you doubt that I would?" he asked gently as he sat beside her on the bed. He stroked her cheek as if it was the most beautiful thing in existence at that moment, and to him it was. She held his hand to her face and smiled at him. He felt his heart speed up with that smile. He had always felt like he was soaring when she smiled at him like that.

"No I never did, but those ghastly things were enough to make me think that no one could rescue me. I am glad to be wrong." They sat and stared at each other for the longest time. Eventually they both stopped and turned blushing when Vanir began laughing at them.

"I would say to the two of you to get a room but the last thing the world needs is the offspring of an especially immature rider."

"Rider, but he's not the rider, the Ra'zac told me that Eragon was the rider."

"There is more than one rider now. Roran happens to be one, and I hope he is better than I think he is going to be." Katrina drew back from him slightly as she looked at him with an emotion that he had never seen on her face before. She was afraid. She pulled away from him. When he tried to hold one of her hands she pulled it out of his.

"Get away from me!"

"What's wrong Katrina?"

"Just get away from me!"

"But"

"Get away!"

He pulled back as she shakily got to her feet despite Vanir's many attempts to get her to lie back down. Eventually he got her to agree to let him carry her to the varden encampment where they could care for her. Roran watched helplessly as the elf picked her up and carried her away. All he could do was watch her and the elf's retreating forms as he took her away.

Sahkur-rah watched as the elf took the young human female away and she felt her heart ach at the pain she knew Roran to be in. The affection of some humans was as fickle as the wind, changing direction should anything sway them slightly. Others were as constant as the earth. There was always heart break when someone with fickle affections became involved with someone with constant affections. She definitely did not want to be in a relationship with someone as fickle as that girl was. She continued her study of the fetus and concluded that it could be brought to life but that she could not call on the elementals to do so. It was a dark and twisted magic that could not be dispelled except with equally as dark magic. She would need more energy than she herself had, possibly more than that which they all had. She shuddered to think how many lives Galbatorix had sacrificed so that he could have an everlasting supply of power. She was certain though that the ones she needed to draw energy from could get their energy from the elementals and she could use the energy that they gave her. Of course she would have to wait for the elf to return to sanity before she broached the subject again. She had not thought that he would lose it to the point of being in a killing frenzy like he had but then he had just found out that his unborn son had been used as a means to keep a hideously evil being alive. She had thought that Eragon would be able to keep him relatively sane but apparently she had misread the depth of his affection for him. Perhaps it was just limited to the affection a mentor would have for a favorite pupil. She placed the Fetus gently on the table and stood up to stretch. Roran was sitting by the table on the opposite side of the room rolling the white egg between his hands with a lost look on his face. She contemplated him for a moment. She went and sat down across from him. He looked up at her startled that she would sit in front of him.

"Don't give up; I've seen the same thing happen countless times before. The love of the riders' life abandons them in fear and then regrets this mistake and returns a couple of days later. Odds are she was just startled by this unexpected news and the fact that she had been used as rider bait. She will come around eventually."

"I hope so, but what if she doesn't?"

"Then she doesn't. It's not like you can make a person change their mind, even if they made their decisions for foolish reasons."

The trap door opened and Vanir came in. He looked at Roran for a moment before he plucked the egg out of his hand and set it on the table.

"Don't play with the eggs, and go and get some sleep. Things will most likely look better in the morning." Roran grumbled but stood up and walked to his room. Vanir sat in the chair that Roran had abandoned and looked at her in contemplative silence for a few moments.

"So what have you found out about the fetus, is it worth the display that we were witness to today or will it not survive?"

"It will take a great deal of energy but it will survive. I will have to use some extremely dark magic to wake it up but I will be able to if all of the riders and the dragons get energy from the elementals and give that energy to me. I do not want to know how many died for the kings' venture into aberrant magic but I can guess. I will need to sleep tonight. I hope that Oromis will be back to himself again when he wakes up."

"What was he trying to do to Glaedr?"

"He was trying to convince him to take him to Galbatorix so that he could torture him to death."

"Of all the elves that I know I had never thought it would be possible for him to go into a killing frenzy like that. I suppose what he learned would make anyone capable of it."

"Aye it would. Goodnight Vanir, you might want to get some sleep as well. The other rider is fine but I fear that Eragon may be in need of medical attention in the morning."

"Aye how he could manage to fight Oromis off without getting severely hurt I don not know. I will see you in the morning."

Sahkur-Rah waited until she saw Vanir collapse into the cot on the floor before she too fell asleep on the chair she was occupying. She did not notice the egg rocking.

Morning came too fast for Eragon. The first thing he noticed when he woke up was how much his muscles ached. His right leg was swollen at the ankle and his left shoulder was too painful to move. Eragon tried to stand but when he put any weight on the swollen ankle he cried out in pain as he collapsed nerveless on the floor. He waited for the pain to pass, when it had he was panting and breathing heavy, only then did he notice the increased pain in hisleft arm as he had landed on it. He tried to get up but he was too sore to do so. His voice had gone hoarse from the yelling so he couldn't call for help. He struggled to move to the door but he couldn't move without causing himself more pain. He stifled a sob of frustration as he found himself unable to move. That was when he noticed that Oromis was waking up. Eragon did not want to be seen as helpless incase the elf was still enraged but he could not move as well as he should have been able to. He managed to prop himself against the door and use the doorknob as a means to propel himself upwards. He was too exhausted to heal himself with magic and he could not concentrate well enough to summon an elemental. He bit his tongue until he tasted blood to keep himself from crying out with pain. When he was finally standing on his feet he saw Oromis waking up looking confused and disoriented. He looked up and saw Eragon standing by the door in obvious pain. He got up and walked over to him only to notice that he was backing away in fear.

"Eragon, what happened?"

"Don't you remember?"

"I remember that we had just come back from the raid on Uru'baen and that Glaedr had brought something with him. I had asked him what it was…Oh god-"

"Don't lose it again; I can not survive another bout of you trying to kill me."

"Oh god, I am so sorry Eragon, lay down." Oromis crossed the rest of the way to him and placed his uninjured arm over his shoulders. He led Eragon back to his bed where he laid him down and removed his tunic and boots to get a better look at his injuries. He began to heal him with magic. He began by healing his shoulder, apparently his fall had dislocated the shoulder, the muscles themselves were torn because of the exertion of fending off the elf's attack yesterday and the bone had become cracked. Oromis relocated his shoulder in one move that had been so painful that Eragon had screamed bloody murder. Oromis held him as his body shook from the pain of his shoulder being thrust back into place. Soon enough the pain began to subside enough for Oromis to begin healing the swelling and the torn muscles, strained tendons and broken bone. Eragon found the way that he moved his hand over the injured spot to be very soothing, he soon found himself nodding off to sleep as Oromis healed him.

Soon Oromis was done with Eragons shoulder and he passed his hand over the rest of his upper body looking for more injuries. He was thankful to find none. So he laid Eragon down on the bed in order to examine him for more injuries. He examined his right leg first and found that his upper thigh bone was cracked so he healed it quickly. The rest of his right leg, save for his ankle, was healthy. His right ankle was a mess. The tendons had been strained and one or two had snapped, the ankle bone itself was shattered, but not beyond repair, and his Achilles tendon was swollen. He repaired the damaged ankle and finished by examining his left leg. He only found a few bruises there. He was thankful that he had not caused more damage than that. He placed a sheet over top of Eragon and turned to go get some food for him when he woke up. He would be very hungry from the amount of energy that the exertion and pain had taken from him. When he turned around he found Vanir standing in the door way.

"I had heard screaming and I thought that you were not quite yourself yet. I came and saw that you were healing him. Is he all right now?"

"Yes he will be sleeping for a while yet, I was just about to get some food for when he wakes up."

"All right but only if you do not loose your mind when you go out there again."

"I won't, I have gotten over the worst of it now and I will be able to retain my sanity."

"Good. I would hate to have be the one to try and subdue you."

"Was I that horrible?"

"You scared Glaedr; I should think that should answer the question."

Vanir turned and left. Glaedr, was he all right, what about the other dragons? He remembered taking his sword out and swinging it at Saphira. Was she hurt? Oromis quickened his pace and looked for the dragons. He found them outside of the tree house basking in the sunshine. He looked at Saphira; he had not physically injured her at least. He would not have been able to forgive himself if he had maimed her. The other dragons were whole and unharmed, even Glaedr. He wanted to go to him and ask for forgiveness for his loss of sanity but he did not know how he would be received. He decided that it would be best to wait until the dragons had had some time to feel safe again before he approached them. He went and prepared a tray for Eragon and himself. He would take his outside of the tree house to eat if Eragon did not want his company. With how he had acted he would not blame him if Eragon did want him as far away from him as possible.

Vanir woke up the next morning to the sound of Eragon screaming in pain. He jumped out of bed and hurried towards the room that the sound originated from. He opened the door and saw Oromis setting Eragon on the bed before he removed his tunic and boots. He watched as Oromis healed him and as the young man fell asleep. He waited for Oromis to be done. When he had confirmed for himself that the other elf was indeed sane again he went back out into the dining area. He noticed that the egg had fallen on the floor. He retrieved it and set it back on the table. He walked out to get some breakfast for himself and his patient. He knew that the one called Murtagh would be awake later that day. He did not see the egg as it began rocking back and forth.

Murtagh slowly began to wake up. He was in unfamiliar surroundings. Perhaps the king had gotten tired of him and had killed him. He heard someone move and sit nearby him. He opened his eyes just a slit and saw what appeared to be a very attractively proportioned woman with wings sitting on a chair at the end of his bed. Of course it could just have been the fact that the king insisted that all of the attractive women that came to the castle were to go to his harem, which meant that they all went to his harem, while he hired the most grotesque looking women imaginable to 'service' his rider that made her seem attractive. Not that Murtagh took the women up on their offer. He found them to be good conversationalists and very intelligent but the idea of the diseases they might carry made it impossible for him to feel any desire. Murtagh opened his eyes and saw that the woman was indeed attractive and had large scaly dragon-like wings. Perhaps the king took one look at the wings and decided that she was not worth his attention, which struck him as odd since he raved on about dragons so much that Murtagh was half convinced that he'd try to impregnate Saphira himself. He shifted around on the bed a little then it struck him. He had thought a horrible thing about the king and he did not feel any need to hurt himself for it. The king must have killed him. He looked at the woman sitting at the end of the bed and decided something.

"You are an angel aren't you?"

The woman looked at him with startled large black eyes.

"I beg your pardon"

"That's the only thing that explains this. I am laying in a comfortable bed with a beautiful woman sitting at the end of it, this woman has wings and I think that the king must want to impregnate the dragon Saphira himself with the way he raves about them and I don't feel any need to hurt myself. The king would never willingly release me from my oaths so I must be dead and this must be heaven, but I don't know how I got here, and you must be an angel."

"Sorry to tell you but this is Ellesmera, you are in the riders' tree house, I am ¼ dragon and the king most probably believes that you are dead."

"Why would he believe that?"

"Because I created a superstorm that destroyed the city and one of the other riders made sure you were unconscious before you were moved. So he probably released you so that he would not wind up dead along with you." The woman looked at him and smiled brightly "I have never been called an angel before. I have been called many things, most of them unflattering, but I have never been called an angel before."

They sat talking for a while but Murtagh noticed that there was a steady clicking sound. He looked up, there was the white dragon egg sitting on the table rocking back and forth.

As he looked on in amazement the trap door opened and a tall white haired elf came in closely followed by a black haired elf. Both of the elves looked at the table to see the rocking egg. The white haired elf put down his tray of food onto a nearby table and took the other elf's tray and the instructed him to sit by the table with the rocking egg. The black haired elf looked too dumbstruck to do anything but obey. Eventually the egg hatched and a small white dragon tumbled out of the egg and onto the table. When the elf hesitantly brushed his hand over the hatchlings head the other elf took the trays of food and gave one to Murtagh. Murtagh asked the lady how he knew that the egg was hatching for the black haired elf, she answered by saying that he was the only one that was not a rider who had access to the egg.