Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon or Twilight Princess.
To say that Rusl's luck that night was bad was like calling the tyrannic rule of Gannondorf "mildly unpleasant." First Rusl had been caught in one of the worst storms he had ever encountered; one that seemed to come out of nowhere. And just to make things better, he had been practicing his swordplay down near Faron Spring when the storm had rolled in. Currently the man was hurrying down the path that led back to Ordon Village, pursued by stinging rain and a strong wind.
Rusl had been running past Ordon Spring he suddenly stopped, frowning slightly. He could have sworn he had just heard something heavy land into the spring with a loud splash. Rusl began to continue on his way, the logical part of him dismissing the sound as nothing but a branch that had been blown into the water by the wind. The villager would have walked right on by Ordon Spring without a second glance, forgetting the experience entirely, if it were not for the low groan that came from the object in the spring.
Rusl paused, the hair on the back of his neck going up with the groan.
What in the names of the Goddesses? he thought. Surely that can't be a.... He trailed off, unable to believe his wild theory.
Another groan came from the shapeless lump in Ordon Spring, answering Rusl's question. The man quickly altered his direction and headed for the spring. Upon closer inspection Rusl's earlier predictions proved true; the object was indeed a person. A person in urgent need of medical attention by the look of it.
Despite the the poor condition of the mysterious stranger, Rusl did not move. Something inside of him was wary of this man; afraid, even. The stranger had shown up out of nowhere, appearing as if he had fallen from the sky. Then there was the fact, that if even if this person had not fallen from the sky, how was he still alive? Rusl was positive that this man must have taken a terrible fall, one that would have killed an ordinary human.
If this thing was human......
The man stirred slightly, red blood from his wounds beginning to drip into the water and turn it scarlet. Rusl immediately abandoned his caution and proceeded toward the man. Human or not, this stranger still needed help.
In the strange glowing light of the spring, Rusl could make out this stranger better than he could have at a distance. He was not a day over eighteen, if he even was that old, and he wore clothes that only the wealthy could afford. Rusl frowned, noticing the man's strange pointed ears.
A Hylian? It would fit, Rusl supposed. This man, hardly more than a boy, could be a son of one of the rich Hylian families that lived in Castle Town. But that wouldn't explain why how this strange fell from the sky.
Deciding it was best to ponder at a more convenient time, Rusl stopped wondering around the young man's origins and focused on his injuries. One arm appeared badly burnt, as if it had been struck by lightning, and it also appeared broken from the fall. There were also a large variety of cuts and bruises, ranging from small scratches to several large marks, but nothing that seemed potentially lethal.
Rusl glanced up at the sky, suddenly aware that the rain and wind were becoming stronger than ever and thunder was beginning to erupt in the distance. It was best to get the(Hylian?) into a warm bed and out of those wet clothes as soon as possible.
He bent down, preparing to scoop the young man (who didn't appear to be that heavy) into his arms when he felt something glaring daggers into his back. Rusl felt his stomach churn uneasily, afraid about what he would see once he turned around.
The man slowly turned around, one hand reflexively reaching for the sword strapped his belt as he did so. A hulking shape that took up the entire spring with cold eyes the color of ice stared back.
Rusl backed away, unsheathing his blade and standing protectively between the stranger and this monstrous beast as he did so. The creature gave a low rumbling growl, moving its head dangerously close to where Rusl stood. It opened its mouth, revealing sharp white fangs that glowed in the soft light of Ordon Spring.
Rusl shivered as he felt something alien brush against his mind, probing his thoughts. He could feel the creature shifting through his memories and through the shared mental link he could feel some of (her?) emotions.
Anger. Extreme pain. Caution. And, most surprising of all, a maternal urge to protect the strange man that lay unconscious and wounded in the spring.
A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the entire area with a bright light. In the span of a few seconds the creature became fully visible. It was a sapphire blue lizard-like creature, and Rusl jumped to the conclusion that he was looking at a dragon. One of the dragon's wings was a charred-looking blackish color and it drooped uselessly. On her back was a leather saddle.
Well, Rusl thought with a humourless smile, that certainly explains a few things.
He eyed the dragon with a new light, sheathing his sword as he did so. The dragon stopped growling and looked back at the human with eerily intelligent blue eyes. Rusl felt the creature's mind touch his again. This time the dragon's aggression had subsided; mostly she was feeling almost overwhelming pain and concern for the stranger.
"It's okay, dragon," Rusl said quietly. "I am going to take your master to safety and make sure he has a healer look at his wounds." He motioned to her burnt wing. "And if you want me to, I'll get some one to tend to your wing as well."
The dragon remained motionless, examining his mind for any trace of a lie. Finally she seemed satisfied and gave her consent by nodding her massive head once in silent approval.
Rusl bent down again, and giving the dragon one last cautious look, scooped the young man into his arms. He was heavier than he had first appeared, but Rusl could bear the weight for the short walk back to Ordon Village. Making sure he had a firm hold on the stranger, Rusl set off to the village the dragon following close behind.
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The day after the storm was a hectic one for all the residents of Ordon Village. The young man that Rusl had brought in had been in urgent need of medical care, but the closest trained doctor was all the way in Castle Town. Fortunately all the adults combined had enough knowledge to treat the strangers burns and broken bones. Though he remained unconscious, they were confident he would awaken soon.
Ilia and the children also had their share of work cut out for them. Since they were mainly responsible for the resident horse, Epona, Mayor Bo figured they had enough experience with riding animals to take care of the dragon and tend to her burnt wing.
Their charge was currently in Ordon Spring, getting her blue scales scrubbed clean until they glittered brilliantly in the sunlight. The dragon had not objected to the poking and prying hands of the children; she seemed rather content to have all the attention and encouraged them to scratch places she could not reach by nudging them gently with her snout.
The trip to the spring was more than just a bath, however. Ilia had guessed the healing properties of Ordon Spring would help the dragon's wing heal faster and more efficently than it would have on its own. Even after only a couple of hours, the wing didn't appear as badly burnt as before and now the dragon had the strength to flutter it weakly.
Malo and Talo were cleaning the dragon's massive tail, taking great effort to make sure every little particle of dirt had been removed. The oldest of the two brothers had been weary of the dragon since it had arrived last night and had steadily became more unnerved as the day wore on and Talo was now eying the dragon every few seconds.
"Hey," he said quietly. "Does anyone know what this dragon will eat when it gets hungry?"
Colin got the scared tone in the boy's voice. "You mean she," he corrected. "And the dragon is tame, right Ilia?"
Ilia glanced down at the younger children, who had followed Talo's lead and were now slowly inching away from the dragon. The young woman caught the dragon's eye and smiled at the bored look she saw in her eye. "The dragon had a saddle on her, didn't she? If that man can ride her without getting his head bitten off then I'm pretty sure we're safe."
"But what about the burn marks on the man's arm?" Malo whispered in a low voice. "What if the dragon got hungry last night and tried to burn her rider into a nice crispy snack?"
The dragon snorted indignantly, almost as if she had understood what they were talking about and had taken serious offence. Ilia thought she heard a feminine voice say, You have to be kidding me.
Ilia shook her head. "All of you heard Rusl's theory," she answered patiently. "He thinks that the dragon was caught in the storm and lightning hit both her and the young man, causing her to accidentally drop him from the shock of it. That would explain the burn marks and the man's broken bones."
The children accepted Ilia's answer and got back to work without complaint, although Talo continued to eye the dragon every once and a while. Ilia got back to work to gently pouring water over the dragon's burnt wing and let her mind wander.
Where does such a strange man who rides a dragon come from? she wondered.Father, Rusl and Jaggle think he's a Hylian from Castle Town that happened to have enough money to afford such a strange and exotic pet such as a dragon, but he doesn't look like a Hylian to me.
To Ilia, the strange young man happened to look like a human, albeit a human with strange pointed ears. And Ilia had a hunch that by the man's calloused hands he wasn't some pampered little rich Hylian that had been unfortunate to get caught in the worst storm Hyrule had seen in over ten years.
Maybe he's from another land, she thought. One that hasn't been seen by Hylians before, and all people from that land are humans with pointed ears. Even inside her head, the idea sounded stupid.
Oh well, Ilia always supposed she could ask the young stranger about where he and his dragon came from later when he woke up. Until then she would enjoy the rare opportunity of being able to handle a creature that had once thought to have been nothing more than a myth.
A low rumbling sound caused the children to yell in surprise and jump backwards, expecting the noise to be the growls of a hungry dragon who had just found her lunch. But the dragon didn't move; she just lie there watching the terrified youths with a bemused expression.
The children reluctantly decided to continue on with their cleaning, although even Ilia kept a cautious eye on the dragon. The young girl still thought the dragon was harmless to humans, but all the same, the dragon could not hunt for her food with that broken wing. Ilia thought she should ask Fado to shut the goats into the barn for the remainder of the dragon's stay and keep a close eye on Epona until then.
Almost as if the dragon had heard Ilia's thoughts, she began to make a low rasping sound that sounded suspicously like laughter. Ilia shuddered as an image of a roasted horse upon a huge plate drifted into her mind and for a second she felt the dragon's ravenous hunger.
Correction, Ilia thought, make sure to keep Epona by your side at all times.
The blue dragon snorted in surprise, her blue eyes widening. Ilia thought she heard the feminine voice again, although this time it sounded offended and dismayed. It was just a joke!
Next chapter: Eragon wakes up in Ordon Village and Arya begins to worry over our dear Rider's mysterious absence.