sheA/N: Herro peoples, Quil here again, and I bring you an introduction to a requested character (and maybe a crucial part of the story) this may not be a long story for a return, but I promise you, the next chapter will be much longer and may include some sexy time with Eragon and Arya ;) wish me luck~
Murtagh
The wingbeats helped steady Murtagh's mind, he always loved being in the air with Thorn. The only downside is that he still wasn't ready to return to the non-outlaw life in Alagaësia. He was near Kuasta because he heard about the recent attacks there.
"Land right there Thorn" he said pointing out to a small patch of grass with his mind.
"You really think I can fit there Murtagh?" Thorn replied with a little hint of worry in his voice.
"You will be all right my companion" Murtagh replied, "I will make sure you fit there", Murtagh then uttered a spell that made the small patch of grass into quite a sizable plain. "Now, drop into that plain, we must go investigate the recent attacks here in Kuasta" Just within seconds of closing his wings Thorn landed in the plain and Murtagh dismounted. What he saw quite soon after exploring the surroundings was not what he expected. All buildings of Kuasta were reduced to nothing, but rubble, the buildings that survived were inhabited by robed figures. Murtagh and Thorn approached the men with great caution, knowing that they were probably the ones that destroyed Kuasta. He chanted the spell that made his voice louder, "I'm giving you all a warning to get out of Kuasta immediately!" he proclaimed in his booming voice, "Those who will not cooperate will be killed!"
"And who says that we will be killed?" said one of the men turning around to face Murtagh, "It's almost impossible to even kill one of us!" he laughed. All the other men joined in his laughter and turned around, Murtagh then turned a deathly pale:
"Oh no!" he thought "Shades!" he ran and mounted Thorn as fast as he could so they can take off. The odd thing however was that the Shades did not attack, they just stood there laughing as if they knew that Murtagh would run into them again...and it wouldn't be a happy ending for him.
Eragon
There was a knock on Eragon's door. "Come in!" he said. It was one of the elven messengers,
"My mistress wishes to speak with you master Eragon". she said.
"Thank you, I'll make sure to visit her" he replied with a smile on his face, he leaned back on Saphira "This feels like a dream Saphira" he stated, "the love of my life loves me back and we finally shared our kiss, I may be 116 years old, but I feel like I've been taken to the past and given my old spirit of youth again" Saphira smiled,
"It looks so, little one, you've finally found a mate, and it was the first one you've laid eyes on too!" she joked.
"Saphira!" he nudged her with his fist "You know I couldn't look for one, especially since I am the master Dragon Rider".
"I was only joking little one" she stated
"Of course you were" he retorted "now, let us go meet with Arya".
Arya
Arya had just finished talking with Murtagh about the situation he was just in, she slumped back onto her throne with a massive headache.
"Shades in the land!?" she thought "This is getting outrageous now, all reports were wrong, these "magicians" turned out to be Shades and did not support Galbatorix! I really hope Eragon comes soon, I must speak with him about this, he may know what to do." she turned to Fírnen, "What do you make of this, companion-of-my-heart?"
"I'm hoping the same as you little one" the dragon said in his musical voice "We know that Shades are almost impossible to kill without teamwork and cooperation, we just can't train our armies to get along and bond enough to sacrifice each other at the hand of a Shade knowing that it was for the greater good" Arya raised an eyebrow:
"How do you know these things Fírnen?" she stupidly asked.
"I hope you're joking..." he stated. She looked away, then had that face of recognition of the answer.
"Forgive me Fírnen, I have a lot on my mind, I just can't seem to get past the simplicities of a bond" she said
"Apology accepted little one" Fírnen replied.
Murtagh
The wind was not a simple thing anymore, it was now against them. Murtagh and Thorn had run into a storm on their retreat to Ellésmera and it seemed that the storm would rage on for quite a while. Murtagh was now very close to Thorn's neck, trying to keep warm and get the rain out of his eyes while Thorn was going against the wind with all his might, curving into it so that it wouldn't repel him as much. Then a bolt of lightning struck Thorn's wing, his roar of pain matching the thunder's low note. Murtagh hastily muttered the healing spell, hoping that it would be quick enough just before Thorn hit the ground. Sadly, he couldn't console him in the vicinity of hundreds of Shades, so he had to wait until they reached Ellésmera. Luckily, Thorn was just high enough and Murtagh was able to avoid losing his dragon to a storm. He petted Thorn and they continued on.
A COUPLE HOURS LATER
Eragon
Eragon and Saphira had just reached Tialdarí Hall. Eragon sensed a sort of uncomfortable presence in the hall, he entered. There was no one in the throne room, so he checked the conference room. What he saw was what he least expected, Murtagh and Arya were talking as if there was something very important going on. Then again, he was ignorant to many events ever since the night before.
"Ahem" he was trying to get himself noticed, "what is the meaning of this?" Murtagh and Arya looked at him with a face that he knew quite well. Deathly pale with a hint of worrisome. "I'm guessing there's something that went wrong..." they nodded.
"Remember those magicians I told you about Eragon?" Arya finally said, he nodded, "well, those magicians happen to be Shades, Murtagh is here because he encountered them." Eragon was taken aback "Magicians? Saphira, what do you make of this?" he asked.
"You very well heard Arya little one, we may be in some trouble, we can't contact the Riders in training because they're not ready for this kind of situation, plus we can't contact any of the elders because they need to help train our students" she answered quite flawlessly.
"I know what we must do" he stated, "but I think it may cost the lives of many...
A/N: I know this may not have the longevity of a return chapter that you were expecting, but I wanted to unveil Murtagh as soon as possible. The Shades on the other hand were a thought up thing while I was planning for what to do with Murtagh. I already have the ending planned and done. All I need to do is worry about the in between. Thank you for reading~ -Quil