::Important! Read at least first part of Afterword at the bottom!::

===== Part III: Onwards! =====

The rest of the day was rather uneventful, except for the fact that Percy might have found something that would help the Varden. He had been reading Domia abr Wryda when he had come across something interesting. Well, it was Eragon who had noticed it. Percy had been (trying) to read the book to get some background on Alagaësia (Annabeth's nerdy side was rubbing off on him), when Eragon had noticed four words that would change the course of the war. "The Rock of Kuthian!" He yelled, and Percy, startled, nearly dropped the book.

"Whoa, don't sneak up on a guy like that!" Percy said.

Eragon ignored him. He snatched the book and read it as quickly as he could. The library was located on the northwestern edge of the city, near the gardens that surrounded Moraeta's Spire, also known as the Rock of Kuthian (see chapter twelve), and not far from the high seat, where the leaders of the Riders held court when various kings and queens came to petition them. "Aha!" Eragon said. "There it is! It's on Vroengard!"

Percy was just perplexed. "Huh?"

"Can you leave for a little while?" Eragon asked. "Um… Ok..." He exited the tent as an elf hurried her way in.

Later, Percy was sparring with Jason when someone ran up to them. "Shadeslayer has requested your presence," the runner said, panting. "Both of you."

"Thanks," Percy told him. "Go tell him we'll be there momentarily." Nodding once, the runner headed off. Shrugging, Percy put away his sword. "I guess we'd better see what's up."

Jason opened the tent flap, and saw that Frank and Leo were already there. "...Help us there. Jason could-" then Eragon noticed their presence. "Oh good, you're here. As I was saying, we're going to need your powers to help us get across the ocean."

"The entire ocean?" Percy exclaimed.

"No, just to an island offshore," Eragon clarified.

"Oh." Percy frowned. "Don't you have a dragon? A dragon with wings? That can fly?"

"We're short on time, and we may need to fight. With your abilities, a fight would be a lot easier to win," Eragon said.

"Why exactly are we going to some island in the middle of the ocean?" Percy asked.

"Because," replied Eragon, "that island might hold something that is the key to defeating Galbatorix!"

Percy couldn't argue, that was a good reason. "So what is the plan?"

"Jason can control the air, so I was hoping he could use his powers to help push us ahead. We'd need you since we'll be in the middle of an island."

"Also, it would be nice to have three dragons instead of just two." Frank interjected. Then he cringed. "I wasn't supposed to say that."

"It's fine, I was going to tell them anyway. First, though," Eragon continued, "I'm going to need an oath of secrecy from you."

"I swear—"

"No, an oath in the ancient language."

"The ancient language?" Jason asked, confused.

"The language of magic. It is impossible to lie while speaking it."

Percy laughed. "Hear that Leo? It's the end of placing prank blames on someone else!"

"Meh," Leo said. "I'd hoped you wouldn't think of that!"

"Anyway, you just have to say—" Eragon spoke the words. Percy and Jason repeated it back to him. "Ok, good," Eragon said. "Anyway, three dragons. We have three dragons, because we have an Eldunarí,which is a dragon's heart of hearts. It carries the dragon's consciousness, and can live separately from the body. Thus, if the dragon's body is destroyed, the Eragon's consciousness can continue living."

"And we have one with us?" Percy asked.

'Yes,' said a voice in Percy's head. "Who is this?" Jason wondered.

'I am Glaedr Eldunarí, son of Nithring, she of the long tail.'

"Or just Glaedr," Eragon interjected.

"Hi, Glaedr," Percy said.

The group made plans for their departure. Eragon sent someone to collect the necessary supplies, and the group of elves that guarded Eragon and Saphira all stood around Saphira, singing a song which was supposed to gather visual information necessary to create an accurate wraith of Saphira, as Blödhgarm told Eragon. As the next morning arrived, the group was ready to go. The Varden was ready to move out, but the small gang would not be joining them.

Even as Eragon and Saphira took off, looking as if they were ready to scout ahead of the Varden, Percy shouldered his pack. "Ready to go, guys?"

Everyone nodded, and the group all whispered, "Freytha." The demigods turned invisible.

"Ok, let's go." Percy and the others crept out the back of the crowd and, escaping the sentries' notice, exited the camp.

"We're out of sight," Jason said after they (or at least he) hid behind a small hill. He heard the faint flapping of wings as four dragon-paw-shaped dents appeared in the grass ahead of him. Shortly after, Jason heard Eragon in his mind.

'Get on,' Eragon said.

Jason shuddered. 'I'll never get used to this!'

'At least I have some practice with the horses,' Percy replied.

Leo and Eragon rode on Saphira, while Frank in his dragon form carried Percy and Jason. "Well, on the bright side, Zeus can't hit me with lightning here in Alagësia!" He called over to Jason.

Just then, a lightning bolt struck the ground, passing so close to the three of them that Percy's hair stood on end. "Never mind!" Jason let out a laugh.

"Jason! Was that you?" Percy called out.

"Nope!"

However, as time went on, the conversation died down, to the point where Eragon asked them all a question.

'Do you know how to defend your mind?' He asked them.

'Defend from what?' Percy asked.

'Evidently not…' Eragon muttered (mentally of course).

Eragon coaxed Glaedr out of his self-imposed isolation.

'Will you help train these four how to defend their mind?'

'Very well.'

Eragon felt Glaedr extend his mind to the four demigods. 'You must be prepared to defend your mind from hostile magicians, who could attempt to invade your mind and kill you,' said the once-golden dragon.

'You, sir, are a ray of sunshine.' Percy said.

Eragon couldn't help but to grin. Glaedr, on the other hand, wasn't very amused. 'This is not a joke,' Glaedr said, annoyed. 'This is serious! If anyone can access your mind, they can glean secrets from it!' Percy raised an eyebrow. 'Good luck with that!'

Giving a mental growl, Glaedr drove his mind at Percy's. Percy felt the intrusion, and instantly spun his mind through as many random thoughts as he could. The barrage of feelings, images, and sounds that he saw, on the other hand, threw Glaedr back. Percy smirked. 'You were saying?' He asked.

Glaedr gave the mental equivalent of a confused blink. 'That was… rather unexpected.' The dragon said. 'While that is a good tactic, it will only work once, and once your enemy recovers—'

'I'll have escaped!' Percy said. 'I tend to do that a lot.'

'And what if you are thousands of meters above the ground? Or if you're strapped down by spells or physical bonds?'

'Simple! With my control over water, I can easily break a fall from thousands of feet, or cut through any bonds that hold me!'

"Even a giant's grip?" Jason called over.

"Ok, fine, but they were blocking my powers! They had the same brand of magic that we do. According to Eragon, these guys don't have it."

'Aha! So you can be held down!' Glaedr said.

'Like I said, different brand of magic.'

Eragon sighed. 'Let's just get to work!'

'To defend your mind, you must concentrate on one thing and one thing only, to form a barrier.'

'Like thinking of a wall around my mind?' Jason asked.

'Yes,' replied Eragon.

Instantly, Percy and Jason thought of the towering, stone, walls that surrounded the banners back on the Field of Mars. Leo just thought of a super-tough taco. Eragon drove his mind at the three of them, and found thick, stone-like mental walls (and a curiously stiff piece of food) around their minds. Frank and Saphira didn't participate, as they were busy flying. Glaedr accompanied Eragon in the mental attack. 'Good, good,' he said.

The two stopped their attack and the demigods opened their minds to them again.

The group practiced mental battles, and Glaedr were pleased at the progress both Eragon and the demigods made. Soon, they were able to see a faint light from the direction of Teirm, albeit a light that flickered regularly. Eragon noticed. 'The lighthouse is lit,' he commented.

'Then a storm is brewing,' replied Glaedr.

Saphira tilted forwards and began a slow descent to the ground. Frank the dragon followed. Soon, they landed upon the beach. Frank morphed back into a demigod and stretched. "Whew, that was a workout," he said.

Leo started to gather pieces of wood to start a fire. "I'll just be swimming for a little bit," Percy said.

He then proceeded to dive into the waters. Eragon contented himself with running up and down the beach. Jason sat by the fire Leo had made, and wondered how everyone back at the camps were coping. No doubt everyone was worried sick, but he doubted that they would find a way to get him back from Alagësia, at least until they killed Galbatorix. After a while, though, Eragon called out to everyone. "Are you ready to go?"

"We're not waiting for the storm to pass?" Percy asked, popping up from the waves.

"No, that would take too long. We little time before the Varden reaches Urû'baen," Eragon said.

"Across the sea it is, then!" Leo called out. He held up an umbrella he had created out of wood, metal, and cloth, which he had pulled from his toolbelt."Let's go!"

========End of Part III========

Afterword:

::IMPORTANT::

From now own, I'll be releasing Friday instead of Wednesday (Speaking of which, sorry. I forgot it was due today/yesterday/1-13-16)

::End of Important Part::

One word: Convenience

Its something that you gotta love. From the lightweight tank in Antman to Chewie's lack of headshot skills in The Force Awakens, its what keeps a story going!

Also, yes, that WAS Zeus who went after Percy :P

And one last thing... to James19: *wink*

—Dragoncraftertex