Disclaimer: Don't own Eragon.
I have no words to express how sorry I am for not updating for so long. And the bad thing is that this chapter isn't even long to make up for it. The truth of the matter is, our dear story is coming to a close. And for the last time, THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL! And this story won't be over until the words THE and END are at the bottom, for those of you who believe that every chapter is my last.
I must warn you, however, that after the end of this story has been reached, it may be quite some time before the sequel is written, up, and running. I'd like to thank you all for sticking with me so far and say sorry that school has begun to thrust test after test at me in these past weeks.
I've got an all-original story going on as well and that is becoming my main interest, but I swear I'll get on the sequel to this right after I finish up Darkest Hour or even sooner if I get the block on that. For now, my goal is to finish this by the end of February, so yeah. Enjoy this short, but violent chapter.
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"It's time."
Alycie stirred as Ferros shook her. She looked at the grave faces around her and shook her head, standing and drawing her sword. She saw Murtagh looking at her, but he looked away. She straightened and looked towards the tunnel, ready.
"How do we know they're coming?" she asked Ferros quietly.
"A scout ran out a minute ago," he replied. Alycie nodded. Her heart began to beat faster as the moments ticked by.
Murtagh mounted his horse next to Saphira, who held Eragon in her saddle. A man not ten feet away from Alycie suddenly jumped, pointing at the tunnel in alarm.
"I hear them!" he shouted. All heads turned to the tunnel, looking on apprehensively. No one breathed.
The roar of an Urgal rent the air, followed by thousands of answering shouts and yells. The big, black figures of the Kull appeared in the mouth of the tunnel. A cry sounded and the boiling cauldrons of pitch were poured down as the Urgals jumped out of the cave. Unearthly screams filled the ears of the waiting soldiers and they looked away as torches were thrown, igniting the black liquid that layered the monsters' skin.
The inferno lasted a fair number of minutes, but the Urgals soon tramped it out and began their charge once more. The line of pikemen lowered their weapons threateningly. The Kull continued to charge, roaring with bloodlust. The two forces met and an explosion of sound erupted from the armies as the battle began.
The Urgals pushed through the soldiers' ranks quickly and soon Alycie found herself fighting off a Kull alongside Ferros. She slit the beast's throat with her blade and he fell to the ground, only to be replaced by another Urgal, angry and roaring. She felled this beast as well and another took his place. So it went on and on in an endless chain.
Soon it became harder and harder for her to deflect the Urgals' blows. She was battling a particularly ugly Kull with his nose bashed and bloodied when she blocked a blow to the side. It had been a feint. He reversed his strike and it hit her head, knocking her to the ground. She lifted her sword just in time to block the next attack, feeling the vibrations move up her arm painfully.
The Urgal drew his hand back to strike again. Again Alycie blocked the blow, but the last of her strength left her arm and it dropped across her body as she lay panting, watching distantly as the Kull lifted his weapon a third time, gripping the handle with both hands, preparing to deal the death strike. Alycie closed her eyes and prepared herself for the pain.
Something hit her stomach and bounced off, but it seemed too light to be a weapon. She opened her eyes and saw the headless Kull standing before her, blade still held above his head, or rather his neck, as his head was missing. Alycie looked down and spotted the Kull's head lying next to her, blood dripping out of the neck wound. Someone pulled her to her feet and she whirled around to see Ferros standing next to her.
"You alright?" he shouted above the clamor. Alycie nodded, gripping her sword. They turned as another surge of Urgals began to run towards them and rejoined the fighting.
After a while Alycie felt the burning in her arms and legs intensify. The mail seemed to grow heavier and heavier, pressuring her until her head could barely remain upright. She let out a cry as her blade slashed through the Urgal's throat, leaving him with his head snapped back, a horrible rasping noise echoing out of his severed windpipe.
The fighting dragged on, and Urgal after Urgal fell to Alycie's blade as her tired muscles labored on. She discovered the horrors of war, seeing several people she had seen happily living their lives in Tronjheim suddenly find their heads missing or other limbs, blood spurting from their injuries as they cried out in pain. The kind guards from Murtagh's cell were cut down before her eyes, stunning her momentarily before the heat of battle caused her to jerk back to reality.
A blow fell to her helmet and she fell back to the ground, a ringing filling her ears, drowning out the sounds of battle. She tried to sit up, but her head spun violently when she tried. The Kull bared its ugly teeth, striking down with its war hammer. Alycie moved her arm to block, but to her horror she found it pinned to the ground by a freshly dead Urgal who had fallen heavily on it. The hammer hit and she felt the air rush out of her lungs. Her ribs must be broken. She coughed and tasted blood.
The Kull lifted his hammer again, but gripped it with both hands widely spread on the handle. With a roar, it brought the pointed end of the handle down into her middle. She felt the metal spike break through the mail and pierce her skin, sinking deeply into her body. She spluttered and coughed, looking at the huge weapon protruding from her center. Before the Kull could do anymore damage, however, an arrow pierced his head armor and shot through his temples, killing him instantly.
Pain enveloped Alycie, coldly choking the air out of her lungs. She tried to speak, but a sharp stab of pain silenced her. She closed her eyes as tears leaked out. Opening them again, she lifted her head, staring at the five foot war hammer embedded in her middle. She tried to lift her arms to pull it out, but the dead Urgal still pinned her to the ground. She took a deep breath, but winced and stopped, coughing as pain erupted in her ribs. Her free arm reached up and pulled her helmet off, exposing her sweaty, brown hair to the muddy ground.
She spat and saw the blood hit the dirt. Her arm strained against the corpse's weight. She was trapped. She stopped moving, her breathing slow and ragged. Darkness began to creep up in the corners of her eyes, clouding her vision. More tears overflowed from her eyes. She was dying.
The pressured ringing in her ears drowned out the sounds of the clashing weapons and yelling men. She could only hear her own breathing. Around her, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She looked on dully, carelessly. It didn't seem to matter. A man was decapitated a few feet away and he fell onto the legs of the Urgal that pinned her. She watched him sadly as her vision blurred.
So this was death. It wasn't so bad. The pain was bad enough that any escape would be welcomed with open arms. But something made Alycie fight against the comfort. Something made her scream against the oncoming darkness. She was shaking now as the cold set into her skin.
Suddenly she felt pain and only pain. Every nerve in her body was screaming. Her every thought was drowned out by the pain, and all she could hear was the high ringing, the endless ringing. Opening her eyes, she saw another dead Kull draped across her legs.
She wasn't dead yet! She couldn't be buried! Someone had to find her!
"H-hel...he...help..." she rasped, wincing. A coughing fit seized her and she felt the blood leak out onto her chin. She felt a stab of pain from the blow to her head, but forced her eyes to remain open. "H-h-help!"
Nobody could hear her. The bloodlust and rage of war was too loud in their ears. A whisper would easily be lost in the roaring. Alycie slowly sighed, turning her head slightly. She looked at the crowd.
There was something strange. Someone was running out of the crowds of battling men, dwarves, and Urgals. He pulled the hammerspike out of her injury and threw it aside, heaving the dead Urgal off of her legs and the other away from her arm. He dropped to his knees and lifted her up, holding her close. She cried out as her ribs screamed with excruciating pain. The soldier tugged off his helmet and Alycie saw that it was Murtagh.
His mouth was moving, but she could hear nothing. His lips met her forehead and his fingers twisted themselves in her hair roughly. Alycie felt something wet hit her face and saw that there were tears falling from Murtagh's eyes onto her. His face was tortured, halfway between fury and intense, unrivaled sadness.
"I thought I could..." whispered Alycie apologetically. Murtagh shook his head, and suddenly it was as if someone had turned the sound back on, but only enough for Murtagh to be heard.
"You did wonderful, Alycie," said Murtagh. "You just...just missed a block..." He stopped speaking as he looked at her wound, bringing a hand to his mouth. Alycie coughed and looked down at her wound as well. There was a loud screech that echoed over the battlefield and all heads turned to the sky.
Dark, wispy shapes, like smoke on the wind, were flying up through the opening at the top of Farthen Dûr, spinning around each other in a slow-moving tornado. Roars suddenly filled their ears and they turned their heads to see the Urgals lower their weapons, blinking. They turned suddenly on each other, shouting and screeching. Then, miraculously, the Kull began to fight each other violently, ignoring the men and dwarves who now stood puzzled amongst them.
"What's happening?" asked Alycie.
"They...they've turned on each other..." said Murtagh. He looked back over his shoulder. "You need to get to Tronjheim. Your injuries will kill you if they go untreated." He stood and picked her up in his arms, whistling. Tornac trotted up and Murtagh placed Alycie in the saddle, swinging up behind her and taking the reins. Alycie's head gave a nauseating spin and her injuries shrieked in pain, and the darkness surged forward.
She knew no more.
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