Chapter 12 – Battle of Farthen Dûr
The Varden had spent what little time they had before the attack preparing for it. Michael being the strategist proposed that the Varden collapse some of the tunnels so as to guide the urgals to where they wanted them to be. They would then flood the tunnel entrances with oil and as soon as the first urged made it through Saphira would set it on fire. Luckily that would manage to substantially reduce their numbers. Ajihad had managed troop locations with Saphira and Eragon fighting separately, Saphira in the skies and Eragon in the ground. The only qualms he had with the plan was the fact that he would be separated from the rest of his pack and from Arya. His pack would be covering other tunnels and Arya would be closer to Tronjheim in order to protect the civilians in case some enemies managed to break through.
Right at that moment Eragon was in position in from of his tunnel with a battalion of soldiers behind him. Saphira was circling the skies above Tronjheim. Both he and Saphira had been gifted armor by the dwarves, something he was extremely grateful for, as he didn't want his queen-of-the-skies to be unprotected and even though he knew that almost nothing save the Dark King could harm her he still worried. He was brought out of his reverie as he started to hear the sound of footsteps coming from the tunnel entrance, and by the sound of it these urgals were well armed and high in numbers.
"Sound the drums!" he yelled, a few seconds later the war drums started banging, letting everyone know that their enemy was almost upon them. Everything got quiet; the only thing he could hear was the heavy breathing of the soldier behind him as the prepared to fight and the banging of the war drums. From the darkness of the tunnel he saw them and signaled Saphira, she swooped down and sent torrents of flames down upon the unsuspected urgals that just now were making their entrance. The effect was immediate; the fire acted as a sort of bottleneck were few, if any of the urgals managed to escape. Suddenly the fire stopped and he knew something was wrong with Saphira. He looked up and for the first time in his life he felt fear for Saphira. Out of the shadows a black dragon seemingly made of smoke appeared, he instantly knew that it was black magic, he saw Saphira engage the shadow-dragon in battle but barely had time to watch as urgals came running out of the tunnel.
From there he had to trust that Saphira knew what she was doing and fully concentrate on not getting killed. He led the soldiers as they clashed against the urgals that threatened to run them over. Slash, cut, parry and thrust. Everything became a blur for him as he killed urgal after urgal in a twisted dance of death. He was seeing red, weather because of bloodlust of because of the literal mist of blood spraying from his victims' veins he did not know. Even though he was having no trouble killing them he was getting tired, the small injuries he had gained since the start of the battle, along with Saphira's injuries which he could feel as if they were they own, were taking their toll. And no matter how many he killed they kept pouring out of the tunnel and there seemed to be no end to them.
Eragon! Arya's voice sounded on his head, Durza is here, he managed to bypass the main army, he is here with a group of urgals, I'll engage him but I don't think— the connection was lost and he was afraid, truly afraid. He looked overhead trying to find Saphira, but no luck, she was still fighting with the shadow-dragon. He looked around desperately trying to find a way to make it to her side and help her without having to phase. But he didn't. She was too far away and the speed in his human form wouldn't let him reach her on time and he would be damned if he let the shade get its hands on her again.
Without thinking about it he started running towards Tronjheim at full speed, he jumped and in the air and phased. Pieces of armor and clothing exploded from him as his body changed form, people barely had time to dive out of the way of the impromptu projectiles. He paid them no mind. He landed and barely had the time to register the looks of awe and fear etched in the faces of humans, dwarves, and urgals alike as they registered that there was an eight-foot tall wolf in the place of the Dragon Rider. He landed and kept running at top speed towards Arya's last known position. Making an ear splitting howl, he signaled the rest of his pack to phase and to follow him. They heeded his call and soon four other wolves were running behind him in an arrowhead position with him in the lead. As he ran everyone got out of the way of the five massive wolves running at incredible speeds, all this factors contributed to them making it to the city of dwarves in record time.
They burst through the gate to the great hall in which the Star Sapphire resided. He spotted Arya across the sea of fighting Varden and urgal soldiers. She was fighting against the shade, their blades locked each trying to push the other back, but it was evident that the strength of a shade surpassed that of an elf. Durza managed to push Arya out of the way, she landed twenty feet back, and given the fact that she was not getting up she must have hit her head. The shade was slowly walking forward with a triumphant smirk on his face.
Wasting no more time he ordered the rest of his pack to disperse and help the Varden take care of the urgals, he was going to take care of the shade himself and he would make sure he suffered. He started running and jumped over Arya's limp body and landed in front of the shade. Durza was shocked at seeing a werewolf but not for long as the smug look returned to his face.
"Well, well, what do we have here" he said with a smile on his face "I believe you are the wolf who managed to break the elf out of prison. But no matter give me but a few moments to dispose of her and I'll be right with you."
Eragon was filed with rage, this monster thought he could hurt his beloved and get away with it. No while he was standing. His rage hit peak when the shade made to walk towards Arya. He let all of his rage and anger go as he gave an earth-shattering roar that was heard all across Farthen Dûr, it caused everyone inside the great hall where he was to stop and look at him. The shade's look of superiority vanished and what replaced it was a look of absolute terror. While everyone was looking at him his pack took the opportunity to dispose of the remaining urgals, all the time the shade looked as his army was easily taken down. Durza was trying to find a way to escape but he couldn't, and Eragon wouldn't let him escape. Slowly and with a menacing look on his face, he pounced on the shade.
I'll make you suffer! he mind-spoke to the shade as he snarled, slowly and one by one he ripped its limbs, when the screams coming out of the shade threatened to stop he ripped the next one. When there was nothing else to take he finally ripped out its heart with his fangs. Ignoring the awed looks from his pack and the horror stricken faces of both the humans and the dwarves he walked towards Arya. He examined her with magic and was happy to see that she was all right, just minor flesh wounds and bruises, which he quickly healed. He turned around at the sound of swords being unsheathed; he saw that some of the soldiers were, once again pointing weapons at him. At the same time the rest of his pack jumped in between him and the Varden as Saphira landed and roared making the soldiers back up in fright.
"What is going on here!?" Sounded the voice of Ajihad from among the crowd as he walked forward. He ordered his pack to cover him while he phased back to a human and taking a robe from a pack he had ordered Michael to bring in case he had to turn. When he was done he walked in front of the Varden leaving Saphira and the rest of his pack to keep an eye on Arya.
"I'm sorry Ajihad" he said "I didn't want to tell you this way, but the truth is I am a werewolf, I've been one since I was eight years old."
Several people gasped and from the crowd came a voice that was undoubtedly dwarven. "What are we waiting for!? Lets kill the monster" as one the whole crowd burst into angry yells and snarls, some demanding his blood, and some defending him. Out of nowhere Jonathan stepped beside of him and roared in order to get anyone's attention.
If you attack him then you'll incur the wrath of the whole of the werewolves, he said, because in front of you stands the King of Werewolves. Everyone was shocked, no one would've thought that a sixteen year old boy would have been a werewolf, not to say their king. He decided it was time to speak.
"I came to the Varden in order to fight against the Dark King" he said magically projecting his voice so that everyone could hear him "my people and I are ready to fight alongside you until the king is dead, but make no mistake, I will not tolerate any action that puts my people in danger. So what say you, will you fight alongside us? Or will you let your prejudice drive away one of the strongest forces in Alagaesia and your only Dragon Rider?" he finished, letting everyone soak in his words. If he was going to be honest with himself, he was impressed, he had never been one for speeches but he had to admit that this one had been his best to date and he was happy that his voice was tinted with the authority of the king and Alpha he was.
"Eragon" Ajihad spoke "As of right now the werewolves are recognized as allies of the Varden, anyone who threatens of attacks one of them will be punished as if he was hurting another human. We'll have to talk about it more in depth but for now I suggest we all retire and rest, for this battle was a long one."
Eragon nodded, turned around towards the unconscious Arya and scooped her into his arms. He walked towards Saphira and jumped onto her with a display of his strength. Saphira flew him towards his room in the dragon hold while his pack moved to their respective rooms. He went inside and gingerly put Arya in the bed, making sure she was comfortable he climbed onto the bed beside her. Without having to wait a long time he let sleep envelope him.