Author's Note:
Thank you for everyone reading! There was a question over when new chapters will be published. There will be one every week on Sunday (USA Mountain Time, sorry NZ residents) and any extra chapters I write before then will be published as soon as they are written. Once again, any comments, questions, or observations are welcomed and appreciated!

Italic is a character thinking to themselves, or talking to another mentally.

Regular text is regular text

Bold is an author's note

Chapter 2

Wake up, little one. Eragon shifted. Eragon! His head jerked up, the momentary confusion that comes with awaking on the back of a dragon falling away quickly. He unlaced the bindings on Saphira's saddle and slid down to land on her back. He looked down, past Saphira's sail-like leathery wings, to the city of Illvindr.

You flew fast last night. Eragon praised her.

You slept long the last two nights. Saphira responded, her rumbling laugh sounding deep in her chest. All that meditation made you sleepy.

But are you not glad It did?

I am.

Eragon, on a sudden whim, sprinted full speed across Saphira's back and leapt off. He streamlined his body to fall faster, air rushing past. Why not? He thought, and cast a spell to ignite the air around his body, becoming a falling star hurtling towards the golden city below. Saphira followed suit, folding her wings and diving full speed towards the ground. She breathed a plume of flame, her speed making the blue inferno stream behind her, mimicking the appearance of Eragon's spell. Twin meteors, they plunged towards the massive city of marble and gold. Seconds before they hit the ground, Eragon cast a spell to send himself rocketing horizontally towards the palace in the city center. Saphira flared her wings, her tendons popping with the strain of overcoming the inertia of her massive frame, and followed Eragon. The few inhabitants of Illvindr looked up from the streets. All had seen Eragon and Saphira before, and they were accustomed to their explosive entrances, but they still looked up in wonder and waved, cheering.

Eragon cut the energy to his spells above the courtyard, and landed with a crunch on the flagstones. Seconds later, Saphira landed behind him, the ground cracking under her thousand-weight paws. Eragon looked about the courtyard. The cherry trees were in full bloom and the area buzzed with activity. Insects hovered over the flowers, birds darted about above, trying to attract a mate. Squirrels chased each other up and down the trees, their chattering voices ringing through the garden. He reached up to remove his mask, pushing it into his pack. As he extended his mental probe to check the city for any signs of enemies, he found himself besieged by a dark, glittering intelligence. Saphira growled, telling Eragon that she, too, was being attacked. The attacker held him for a moment, then spoke into his mind. Eragon! Elva's steely grip loosened, then disappeared. Moments later, the doors in front of the palace across the courtyard opened. Eragon watched as a young woman, dressed in black, stepped out, then closed the door softly behind her. Her raven hair rippled over her extraordinarily pale shoulders and flared out behind her, following the contours of her cloak as she stepped carefully down the stairs. Eragon waited until she had reached the bottom before stepping forward to embrace her.

"It has been a while, Eragon. I thought you'd forgotten about me." A corner of her mouth twitched playfully as she drew back and faced Saphira. "Fare thee well, Saphira? Still growing, I see."

Very well, Elva. Saphira dipped her head, touching the tip of her nose to the Gëdwey Ingasia on her forehead. Elva shivered, then smiled, her eyes sparkling. Has Arya arrived yet? Elva tilted her head in confusion.

"Arya told me not of her intentions to visit. Has she contacted you?"

"I found her, two days past, while probing Algaësia. She told me she was traveling to Illvindr to speak to you." Eragon gestured. "I assumed she had alerted you to her plans."

"No, she has not, but it is no matter. Let us go inside. The sun does not treat me well." She turned to walk up the stairs, and Eragon stepped to follow her.

I will meet you inside. Said Saphira, and with an ear-shattering flap took off, looping above the palace to land in the center, the only place large enough for Saphira to stand.

"Saphira has grown still since I last saw her." Elva commented. "Do you think she will ever stop growing? Soon enough she will be too large to fit in the hold."

Eragon shrugged. "She is as tall as fifty men, we have seen beasts in the wild far larger. I would not expect her to stop growing any time soon." He chuckled. "Her hunting trips take many weeks now, though. She has to roam far to find enough food to fill her stomach." They reached the top of the stairs and Eragon opened the door for his daughter. She bowed her head and entered, and Eragon followed her. After passing a short hallway they came out into a great hall, hundreds of feet tall and ornamented with banners bearing Elva's mark; a cherry tree with a white dragon wrapped around it.

The gate at the opposite side of the hall opened, and Saphira lumbered through. Her steps shook the pillars, and Eragon and Elva waited until she had reached them to resume the conversation.

Elva spoke, "Would you like something to drink, something to eat, Eragon? You have traveled a long way."

"Some cold water would be excellent." Said Eragon.

And for me as well. Interjected Saphira. At this, Elva laughed, a tinkling, musical sound, and pointed to a pool at the rear of the hall. Eragon braced himself just as Saphira bent down and jumped, a single bound clearing the room. She landed beside the pool and bent her front legs, then dipped her head and began to drink, her massive tongue pulling gallons of water into her gaping maw.

Eragon turned, taking a glass of water Elva had produced seemingly from nothing. "Thank you." He said, then drank. Elva waited patiently until they had both had their fill, then sat down. Eragon followed suit, taking a cross-legged pose on the wooden floor, and Saphira, after jumping back over to them, curled herself in a protective ring around Eragon and Elva.

"Did Arya give any hint to the reason for her visit?" Elva asked.

"No, although I have my suspicions. She has been searching for something the last century, sometimes more fervent than others, but I believe whatever it is, she has found it." Eragon had no idea what she had been looking for. He could only assume it was something precious to her, something-or someone- that had been lost, but he could not fathom why she would devote so much time to her search. "From what she told me, she should arrive here tomorrow at dawn, so I can assume we will find out then."

Did you tell Elva of what we saw, before you put yourself into a coma? Elva looked at Eragon, her almond-shaped violet eyes boring into his, expecting a story. Despite Elva's age, power, and experience, she still loved hearing Eragon's stories.

"We saw-" Eragon gave up, the creature was indescribable, and instead spoke with his mind, showing Elva images of the beast they had seen, far off in the distance, incomprehensibly large. He showed her how its red flame had leveled a mountain, how its head pierced the clouds. Elva gasped audibly and showed Eragon something in return. The beast Eragon and Saphira had seen was silver, metallic. The one Elva was showing them now was jet-black. Its other features were identical, they looked like two sides of a coin. I was on my way to consult with the Nïdwhalar, I was in the deepest part of the ocean, between here and Algaësia. I saw that monster digging in the sea. I was much closer than you were to the second one, but I was afraid. I did not go closer. At my guess it was a league or more high. She showed them more images, the monster breathing a gout of magma, melting through the rock. Its tusks eviscerating the masts of sunken ships.

"Wait! What was that?" Eragon shouted out loud.

"What was what?" Elva looked perplexed.

Something was floating near the beast. It appeared to be a man or an elf. Saphira interjected. Is it possible someone, or something, is controlling them?

Elva's eyes widened. "That would mean an extremely powerful magician is out there-one neither of us knows about." Eragon frowned.

"I have not been keeping watch as I should. If I had searched more completely we would have know of this long ago."

"Don't trouble yourself, Eragon. We had no indication anything was going on, and if we had it's not likely we could have found this sorcerer anyway. If they are powerful enough to control one of those monsters it's also likely they are skilled at hiding themselves."

"That's true but I still feel like I've failed." Elva scooted closer to him,
leaning her head on his shoulder.

"There was no way you could have known. Don't worry about it. Just wait until Arya arrives and we'll discuss what to do." She closed her eyes, the flash of purple disappearing behind her smoky eyelids. She curled up against her adoptive father's strong frame and slept. Eragon stared at the ceiling, thinking.

If I had just been more vigilant, I could have stopped this earlier.

Eragon, if you would be so kind, I am trying to sleep. The chime of Elva's voice cut through his thought.

My apologies, my lady. Elva's lips twitched ever so slightly, and Eragon settled down into a comfortable position against the sleeping Saphira, making sure not to disturb the frail, beautiful girl in his arms, and drifted off into sleep.

The roar of a dragon woke the three of them, Eragon and Saphira jumping up with a start, Elva yawning blearily and rubbing her eyes. The pounding of wingbeats caused pressure spikes to stab into their ears. Elva groaned and angrily screamed a spell. the pressure on their ears ceasing immediately. Eragon vaulted onto Saphira's back, pulling his mask over his face, and she leapt immediately into the sky, winging towards the noise, the other dragon a shape on the horizon. As they drew closer, the glimmer of green scales came into focus. Saphira snorted, redoubling her speed. She waited until they were close enough to the green dragon to see the two people on his back before bellowing and pulling in a loop around him, spraying flames into the sky. Fírnen responded with a roar, deeper than Saphira's, although he refrained from performing any acrobatics.

The two dragons flew together, their minds closed off from Eragon, although he could tell they were having an avid conversation. Eragon, too, closed his mind to intrusions, waiting until they had landed, with the scraping and thudding that comes of a duo of dragons. Eragon dismounted, as did the two masked and cloaked figures on Fírnen's back. They both removed their masks, as did Eragon, revealed their faces. Arya and Angela stood before him, both appeared the same as when he had last seen them, so long ago. Arya turned towards Fírnen and whispered something. A moment later he and Saphira jumped into the air, flying towards the mountain on the south of the city.

"Eragon-" Arya managed before he had closed the distance between them and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"It has been far too long. I cannot apologize enough for leaving you." Eragon whispered into her shoulder. Arya pulled away and held him by the hands, arms outstretched.

"I shall love you, Eragon, until the stars are snuffed out, the land we walk has vanished, until I cease to draw breath. I forgive you." A single tear rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away, then turned to Elva. "Fare thee well, my child?"

"I do, as does Ytirrivard." She responded, breaking into a smile. "It appears we have much to talk about. Let us go inside." Arya took Eragon's hand and followed Elva inside, Angela trailing somewhat uncomfortably behind.

They entered the door to the crashing sound of Fírnen and Saphira sparring in the great hall.

Stop that! Elva chided them. The two behemoths calmed down immediately and joined the party as they sat at the long table at the front of the hall. Elva conjured small pastries, setting them down magically in front of her guests.

"So." Said Angela.

"So." Replied Eragon, in the same somewhat testy tone.

"You absolute pigheaded, overconfident, uncaring-" Eragon bowed his head as Angela continued her tirade, which lasted for several minutes and included her usual colorful vocabulary, several suggestions that his ancestors had been farm animals, and a verbal beating over the way he had left.

"I quite agree. My behavior has been inexcusable." He said. Angela's eyebrows furrowed.

"You're damned right it was." She continued to glare at him until Arya spoke.

"Before I tell you of my travels and discoveries, of which I have had many, tell me, Eragon: what is it that you have been trying to do? After the second fall I lost track of you. I would like to hear what has since transpired." She said.

What you ask is a very long story. Saphira interjected. I would assist Eragon in telling his tale. Saphira included all present in her thoughts.

I would expect nothing else. Angela cut in. Now tell us, Eragon. Why did you abandon Algaësia, even when it needed you most?

Let me start at the beginning. When we left on the Talíta with Blödhgarm and the other elves. Much of this story you may know, but some you may not, and all is important.

The ship sailed onward, gliding serenely down the moonlit river toward the dark lands beyond. We sailed for several weeks until we reached the land we named Fíerdauth. It was wild, full of creatures we had not seen. Imps inhabited the forests, and they were friendly and highly intelligent. There, we built the city of Yggdrasil.

It was similar, in many ways, to Ellesméra. Saphira interjected.

Eragon continued. After we built the city, we kept exploring the immediate area and found it to be an island. It was suitable, we thought, for raising the next riders and, as you recall, I contacted you to tell you so. For the next years, we waited for the next riders to come across the sea. We did not wait idly, however. The elves and I continued to practice our magic, we explored the land around us, and most importantly, we searched. Many things we still lacked, Brightsteel among them. We needed the ability to forge more swords for the riders. Finding none on land, we were close to giving up the search in favor of a different weapon. Four years after we landed at Fíerdauth, four years of exploring the land and the sky as is our custom, Saphira and I found the Nascents.

Nascents? Asked Angela. I have heard tell of them from the deepest, darkest beasts of the earth. What manner of creature are they?

They are ethereal forms, ancient and wise. Far above us, in the realm of the stars, a thousand leagues in the air, they live. Their knowledge is immense, and their power greater. If they wished it, they could wipe out our world in the blink of an eye. They prefer, however, to sleep in their eternal rest. We met with these beings and they shared with us many secrets, hidden from us for millennia.

Secrets such as? Asked Arya.

The nature of them I will not say, the danger is too great. Suffice to say that there are now very few things I do not know about magic. After we met with the Nascents, Saphira and I noticed many meteors floating, in the space around our world. We took several of these and brought them to Yggdrasil with us, in hopes that they would yield us Brightsteel. They did, and we were able to forge swords for the riders that would come. Several years passed, and the first of the new riders came to Fíerdauth, a dwarf woman, as I am sure you recall. For the next two hundred years we trained her and those who came after. During that time, we rebuilt the leadership of the Riders, keeping always the most skilled of each race in Algaësia to ensure the safety of the land. Eventually, though, we grew tired of training more and more riders, with no enemy in sight to necessitate their training. I used one of the spells I had worked on for the years since our exodus to teleport all the remaining dragon eggs to Yggdrasil. There, I placed them in an underground chamber, protected by vast magical defenses, where they remain still today. Arya nodded. Eragon had worked with her to ensure the success of this plan. That was around the time one of our riders went rogue. A human, as it always seems to be.

Rivend. Elva shuddered. He had been one of her close friends, and though she had never told Eragon the full story of their relationship he suspected that she had cared for him more than she let on.

He began eliminating the less experienced riders, keeping his identity secret. I assumed the Ra'zac were behind the attacks at first. I had grown soft, less watchful, in the long peace. It was not until I heard tales of a black-and-white dragon terrorizing villages that I realized what was happening, and then I was powerless to stop it. I watched from afar as he tore down all that we had worked to achieve. I was furious, and in my anger I lashed out. My mind was powerful, and I attacked him ruthlessly across the massive space between us. My age and practice allowed me to subdue him, and just as I had overcome his wards he cast a spell. Waíse néiat. The most simple and most dangerous of spells. He consumed the full energy of himself, his dragon, and the seven Eldunarí entrusted to him. I was powerless to stop him.

Fírnen twitched his tail. The oath-breaker ravaged Algaësia and turned it into a wasteland. Saphira growled and nuzzled his neck.

Aye. Thought Eragon. That he did. Thankfully most of the elves and many of the dwarves were able to withstand the blast, despite the deaths of almost all of the human race. In any case, Saphira and I retreated into hiding, resolving never to train a new rider. Twice the riders had fallen and twice they had been brought down from within, each time with disastrous consequences for all. From that point there were five riders still alive: myself, Arya, Murtagh, Crívae, and Yensa. Elva fidgeted and Eragon paused for a moment. Yensa and Crívae flew to the north. They told me they wished to establish a stronghold. I have not heard from them since that time, and I can only assume they are lost to us. For centuries, Saphira and I endured, living in the forest, devising new ways to use magic. But mostly we meditated, and we searched for a way to rebuild the world to what it had once been. And we realized that Algaësia had never been a land of happiness. There had always been some strife or evil that plagued it. It was then that we decided never to return, regardless of the circumstance. We began to seek out other lands, leaving Fíerdauth for months, years, at a time to search for another land that would sustain the races of Algaësia, for they fared badly. We found this, Ytirrivard, and I contacted Elva, the only one I had maintained communication with during my exile. She agreed to come, and in a few months she had arrived and we began to discuss what to do. While we were here, I adopted Elva as my daughter and began to train her in the art of spell-casting.

That explains quite a bit, actually. Angela huffed.

Elva, may I tell them the story of how Illvindr was built? Eragon inquired.

You may.

During Elva's training, quite early on, we realized she was extremely adept, but also prone to fits of magical rage. During these fits she had, it seemed to Saphira and I, limitless energy, but no control over it. Several years into her training, one of these fits occurred. Saphira sensed the signs that I missed, and as I watched she snatched me into the air as Elva's body burst into golden flame. She floated, several feet off the ground, flames that would make any dragon's breath look like a tiny candle forming a huge halo around her body. For several minutes, this ball of fire grew, leveling plants, hills, all in sight. I tried to suppress her, but I could not touch her mind. Her madness grew, and the fires turned to a shimmering purple and black, then the ground began to break apart. Cracks formed, and out of the cracks flew hundreds of tons of rock and magma. Saphira and I watched, helpless, as the rock formed a ring around Elva, then she seemed to awaken from her rage and it all crashed to the ground. As it did, Elva harnessed the heat energy from the magma and used it to turn the minerals to gold and marble. Finally, she shaped the mixture into the shape of buildings as it solidified.

And that is the story of how I built a city in my sleep. Said Elva, smiling meekly.

Most interesting. Angela put in. I'd like to know where that power came from, though.

After Elva built Illvindr, I was notified by Blödhgarm that they had found a cave deep inside a mountain containing several spirits. I left Elva with the promise that I would return soon. When Saphira and I arrived we found many angry spirits on Fíerdauth. Blödhgarm was dead, as were most of the other elves who had been my companions for the last centuries. I was angry beyond reason, and I went to what appeared to be the leader of these spirits with the intent of destroying it. It spoke to me, and it seemed sad. It talked of a world where evil had been eradicated. A world where all is just and fair and all are kind. It finished showing me its vision and flew into me-it seemed to disappear but I sometimes still feel it with me. In any case, I searched for other spirits after that day but I have never found another. They seem to have vanished completely. Many years later, I realized what the spirits were.

The gray folk. Arya's thoughts were a mere whisper.

The gray folk, yes. The messengers of the Nascents that brought magic to the world. What they wanted, what they did, is still a mystery to me, but they are no more, and I believe they passed on their wishes to us-to me. This was a fairly short time ago, barely over a century. Since then I have led a simple life, devoting myself to searching as far as my mind can reach for anyone and anything. I have visited Elva, cataloged every animal in ten thousand leagues, searched the bottoms of the oceans for any clues that would allow me to dispel the poison from Algaësia, but to no avail. And now we are here, reunited at last.

Eragon finished, yawning. Saphira and Fírnen stood, blinking. They had been curled up together on the stones. Angela looked up, her green eyes met Eragon's with a piercing intensity. Arya sniffed, drawing her cloak about herself. Elva simply sat, unmoving. For the first time since his arrival, Eragon allowed his mind to wander, a brief scan of the surrounding area. Something caught his attention, a stormy presence, intangible, and he narrowed his eyes, looking at the back of Elva's raven head, then at the perfectly draped curtains behind her. They were a glittering purple, flecked with black and white spots. Without warning, Eragon cried, "Rísa!", and the curtains lifted. Elva whirled into action as a gout of roaring purple flames sprayed into the daytime sky, her sad, almost apologetic gaze meeting Eragon's as her form shimmered, then disappeared.

This has been an insanely long chapter. I've only just started to scratch the surface of the newly developing plot as well as starting to catch you all up on what's been going on since Galbatorix went down. Is Elva evil? Is Algaësia doomed? Who knows? (I do, of course, but you know what I mean). There will be a regular chapter released on Sunday, but I'm going camping this weekend and It'll probably be fairly short and sweet. Hence wanting to get this one out before Ieave so all you lovlies have something to read until then. Once again, any commentary, questions (I'll try not to answer any questions if the answer would spoil the plot), or corrections to any mistakes I've made are much appreciated. Thank you for reading!

-Wyrda