AN: Sorry for the delay….And Diwali greetings to everybody! HAPPY DIWALI!
Any way, this chapter brings out the major plotline of the story, the story of Eragon's rise to greatness… and his eventual bond with Saphira….who hasn't even made an appearance so far, I know…. Arya also makes an appearance in this chapter.
Notes:
Akatosh: chiefest and greatest of the Pantheon of Gods who created the mortal plane.. Nirn
Greybeards: an order of monks who follow the Way of the Voice to strive balance and peace in Nirn… Allies of the riders, but fiercely independent as well.
Alduin: Firstborn of Akatosh, greatest dragon to ever live, famed God of Destruction….Often considered as an avatar of Akatosh
Paarthunax: Also Firstborn of Akatosh and twin to Alduin….
Now read on and enjoy the chapter…. The various factions involved in the story will be explained as the chapters continue.
Chapter 5: Develpments
Crags of Tel'Naier, 17 years ago
"Now I see why you had so stubbornly insisted on my presence," the elderly man said to his elven friend as they watched the latter's young protégé.
The elf smiled, stretching his left hand to pat the side of the massive gold dragon against whose expansive chest they both sat, observing the knot of warriors below in the training field.
"Aye, she's amazing, isn't she? I wish I had four more like her."
"You still haven't told me who she is and why only four? Why not a score more?" the man asked.
"Ha! I would give away my left hand for a score like her! But that is an impossibility, the lass is a one in a million phenomenon and I won't find another like her even if I spend a lifetime searching," the elf said, chuckling in delight. His blue eyes shone in mischief as his friend's grey ones widened in comical stupefaction as the girl they were watching performed an aerobatic maneuver that should have been impossible for anyone who didn't wings.
She had been surrounded by all four of her sparring partners, all of whom were experienced warriors of the elven nation. One of them stepped forward and in a flash of glittering steel slashed at her from high and left; the girl shifted her body to the left, stepping into the attack and kicked the poor elf away. She smashed the flat of her blade against the knee of a second opponent, driving him to his knees before punching him in the jaw sending him sprawled to the dusty floor, out cold.
In the meanwhile, a third elf, this one a blond giant had maneuvered behind her and came up quickly, catching her in a head lock, the edge of his blade taut against her throat. It seemed the fight was over as yet another she-elf approached the girl, her sword casually dangling at her side. The raven haired girl's emerald eyes narrowed and as soon as the other she-elf got close enough, she lashed out, kicking her viciously in the chest, using the momentum to flip herself and pirouette over the man holding her, kicking him in the back as she descended behind him…. All of this while wearing a full suit of mail armor…
The elf, Oromis turned to his friend, "Close that mouth of yours, Tenga. It's unbecoming of you," he rebuked. "For the love of Auriel, you're a Greybeard, damn it!" That got the old man's attention and he complied.
"By the way," Oromis added in a low voice, "that girl is Arya Drottningu" and Tenga resumed his early befuddled expression.
Raven's Perch, the Frontier, 23rd May, 1901 T.E
A sharp whistle pierced through the din of clashing steel and moaning and screaming men as Roran swung his axe down on the man in front of him, cleaving through his armor and flesh; he wrenched his battle-axe free, moving ahead, towards the seemingly endless stream of enemy soldiers rushing out of the keep, screaming at them in their guttural foreign tongues.
He looked around as his men rushed forward to meet them- heavy, choking black smoke hung all around the ancient castle, whose walls the dragons had brought down early on in the assault. That had been a sight to see- Dragon fire! As bright as the sun and hotter than the hottest furnace! The shrutu'ugalar had proven to be invaluable assets in all of the battles thus far…. The castles ringing the frontier were the last enemy territories and were proving to be the toughest to take back…. They had taken three castles so far, starting from the one on the border of Du Weldervarden and proceeding westwards….he knew very well that as they got closer to the Spine. It would become increasingly difficult to successfully besiege the castles… He shuddered to think of taking back the Spire, built as it was at the top of a mountain, the second highest mountain citadel…after High Hrothgar! He only hoped that his men lived to see peace…
He thanked Eragon a thousandth time as his axe cleaved through the wooden door blocking door their way into the keep… that axe had saved his life and those of his men several times over already. That led to him to wonder how his cousin-brother was and where he was… The last he had heard, Eragon outranked him- the lad was already senior tribune! He had a full cavalry cohort under his command- fully three hundred heavy cavalry- the first of its kind! He had served admirably- with the senior officers extremely pleased- destroying the army the Outlanders had sent through the forest to encircle and enter their kingdom from the South and had proceeded to secure the entirety of the Southern Frontier. What had Roran worried was the recent news that the Urgals had suddenly invaded from the west, enveloping their territory…they were being attacked on two fronts simultaneously- only the forests were open to convoy routes and thankfully the elves allowed all supplies to pass through. High Command was up in arms about the Urgal invasion- they were worried that the Urgals and the Outlanders were in an alliance….
The inner curtain wall- the one which had been blocking their progress- suddenly collapsed as the Rider smashed a golden spell into it- cracking its foundations and causing the entirety of the wall to cave inwards- this castle was as good as won- seven more to go..
High Hrothgar, the Spine, 25th May, 1901 T.E Sunrise
The world certainly looked much more vast and beautiful from the watchtower, the old sage thought as he observed the sun rise over the eastern plains….. Here, at the roof of the world, very little disturbed the peace and quiet of their meditative contemplation. But recent events in the north had him worried, shadows were gathering over the northern wastelands, an ancient force was rising again, one that had been long forgotten by most. Arngeir was greatly concerned but hesitated to raise any alarms…. He had only suspicions, nothing concrete at all….
Then the calm of his roost was shattered by the unmistakable percussive beats of an approaching dragon….and a massive dragon too! Arngeir rose from where he had been kneeling and headed down the long winding stairs to the courtyard outside…. There he saw his master, the Wise One descend from his home at the peak of the very mountain.
"Lok thu'um, Paarthunax thuri," Arngeir bowed in greeting.
"Su'um arkh morah, Arngeir," the grey dragon intoned, his deep voice rumbling as his Voice caused a minor swirl to form in the snow…. A mere hint of the power in the Voice of the ancient being.
"My brother has returned from his self-imposed fustiroz, his exile."
Arngeir paled as his worst fears were confirmed.
"We must warn the Shrutu'ugalar….they have no idea of the terror about to descend on all of Nirn!"
"NID!" the dragon all but roared…. He brought down his humongous head to look at Arngeir in the eye…."the Shrutu'ugalar have traitors in their midst… we must prepare on our own…. Do not worry overmuch….this time I feel that we can defeat my brother once and for all…Dovahkiin lost daal… the Dragonborn has also returned!"
A Dark Cave, somewhere in the Spine…
Eragon knew not how long he had spent in the captivity of the foul creatures who had kidnapped him and his men…. He had observed, helpless, in growing horror and revulsion as the two dark beings had slowly devoured his men, alive, one after the other….by some great misfortune, he was the last…. He would have preferred to have been the first to go…. Instead of having to watch his men get killed in the most undeserving fashion…
Even now, one of the two black-feathered creatures in the cave's entrance pecked out the eyes of one of his men, he knew not which, preferring not to know, chuckling and gurgling with delight as another pecked at his thigh which lay sliced open, bare to the bone.
"Succulent, succulent marrow!" the second one clicked, it's voice a sharp high pitched cackle…. Eragon watched on in abject horror as it reached out with cruel talons and tore apart the man's leg, parting the flesh to reveal the bone.
He knew very well what these creatures were… Ra'zac- vile monsters who preyed upon men. What he couldn't understand was how did he and his men end up in this precarious mortal danger in the first place…
That he would deal with later, Eragon decided. He needed to get out of this hellish place and return to his camp, he only hoped that he could do so before it was too late….
Two days later….
I don't know why, but the Ra'zac haven't so much as scratched me….they haven't fed me either…but they have given me water rather rugularyly…. It seems as if they are working on someone's orders and are waiting for their employer to come and collect me…. I don't know what to think about it…..
Another thing that I have noticed is that on the rare infrequient occasions that I manage to let sleep consume me… I dream, the dreams are slowly gaining shape and surprisingly sound….it is as if someone is trying to reach me…. To tell me something… I know in my soul that these dreams? Visions? Are of vital importance… I just hope that the meaning becomes clear before it is too late…
A day later….
The Ra'zac were far too chattery and excited when Eragon woke up for his liking…. It seemed that they were expecting something or someone with great eagerness and expectation…. The thought that is could be whomever they were working for was a disconcerting one for sure… If Eragon was to escape, today would be the last chance to do so….
With that thought in mind, Eragon decided to make use of the lessons that his dreams had imparted upon him… ever since he joined the Legions, Eragon had been visited by strange of dreams, initially he could recall nothing on returning to the land of the living; but relatively recently, that is, since his posting to Ivarstead, the dreams had sharpened, their mystical contents revealed, only for Eragon to reel back in shock and disbelief… So vastly preposterous were the dreams, in fact, that while he was completely mesmerized in them while asleep, he refused to so much as acknowledge them while awake, burying them deep in his consciousness.
But now, kidnapped and imprisoned with death the most likely fate, Eragon was willing to clutch at any and all floating straws, no matter how preposterous they had once seemed to him…..
Eragon recalled the first time the hazy and distorted dreams had crystallized into the hard truth that would come to change the course of his life forever.
14th March, 1901 T.E
Eragon had always known it in his heart that Garrow and Mariam, while loving and affectionate, ewre not his birth-parents…but still to a ten year old, a mother's passing to be coupled with the news that your mother isn't actually your mother is an event of unimagined heartbreak and grief.
He always wondered why his dreams would always start off with that particular night more than a decade ago when Aunt Mariam had died and he had learned his real mother's name… Selena.
She had been a powerful mage- in service with the Shrutu'ugalar…. While her brother was a senior officer in the Legions.
Garrow didn't have the faintest clue who Eragon's father had been…. Selena was far above him in the Social and Military hierarchy of the Riders, despite his own high rank of Legate. She, on the other hand, had risen to be a famed mage, her prowess was legendary even among the Elven battlemages.
Eragon's question of who his father was would be answered in that first dream…..
His dreamscape flowed and shifted in a swirl of colors and landscapes until quite suddenly, it stopped and Eragon found himself beside a large lake…it was night time and the calm silvery surface of the lake reflected the beautiful sky…lit up by a thousand myriad colors as aurorae danced across the constellations, a soft gentle breeze blew, the waist high grass on the lake-banks swaying gently, the scent of night-blooming flowers wafted through the air. Eragon was sure it was paradise….
He barely had time to study his surroundings when a soft bluish-white light engulfed the shore of the lake… blinding him, but not causing any pain… the light soon faded revealing a majestic figure, clad in what appeared to be liquid silver armor….the person was very tall, easily a head taller than Eragon's six-foot tall frame. As Eragon approached the shoreline, the latter removed his helm and turned to look Eragon in the eye. He was struck by the strange being's face….it was not human, or elven or any other race that he knew of…rather seemed….predatorial. The moonlight had painted his skin a soft silvery white…making Eragon conclude that he was fair skinned, the being's loose black locks gently wafted in the breeze, and as Eragon approached, he could feel the extremely strong aura that he was emanating, it was extremely powerful….hundreds, if not thousands of times more powerful than any dragon-rider pair he had ever met. Yet, he didn't feel threatened, quite the opposite infact, he felt protected and warm as if nothing could ever touch him while he was in the presence of the being.
Realization dawned upon him, he was in the presence of one of the Divines, of the Aedra….No Daedra could give him this feeling of being protected… He was in the presence of Akatosh himself!
Eragon immediately kneeled, bowing his head in reverence to the Chiefest and greatest of the Pantheon… only for strong hands to grasp him by the shoulders and gently guide him up.
"My children do not bow to me, Eragon," Akatosh spoke, His voice washing over him like a wave, calming his restive heart and bringing him peace.
"My Lord, I have no words to describe how honored I am to be able to gaze upon you… I am not certainly worthy….," Eragon stammered out.
Akatosh smiled. A brilliant dazzling expression that had Eragon smiling as well.
"It was high time I visited you, my child…you were born of my blood and soul, you are doomed, Eragon, doomed to face the greatest threat to Nirn in this era…. Doomed to fight your eldest brother, doomed to die by his hand or to kill him."
Eragon was mightily confused, what was the Lord Akatosh talking of….he was doomed? To fight the greatest threat to all of Nirn? What was this threat and why would he have to fight Roran of all people?
"You misunderstand me, Eragon….you are my child, quite literally… You are Dovahkiin… born of my blood and blessed by all Pantheon… you will have to fight your eldest brother, Alduin."
"Alduin?" Eragon asked, shocked. "The world eater, himself?"
"Do not worry, overmuch, Eragon…your path will become clear in time. Return to your sleep now, child and rest."
SO… What do you think? Like the chapter, hate it? Review and tell me…..