A.N. This chapter has the first actual fighting scene I've ever done in it… so let's hope it comes out all right.
Thank you all who reviewed, but especially Elvendiath, and elven friend. Gay as this may sound, it really means a lot to an aspiring author to read a review. Now… should Eragon have a kid? Please answer in a review or private message.
"He's gone," Eragon told Arya. "Gone forever." He managed to suppress the tears that began to form around the rim of his eyes, not wanting to appear weak in front of Arya. He stood their motionless, silently mourning the loss of his master. When he finally turned around, he noticed the sadness etched onto her face. In the back of his mind, Eragon could feel Saphira's sadness crash across their mental link like a waterfall.
"What happened? Why is Glaedr gone?" As she asked this, Eragon was reminded that she didn't know what had just happened. Slowly, he recounted what had just happened between Glaedr, himself, and Saphira. He watched as her face turned from sorrow, to amazement, and back to sorrow as he finished the tale. Afterwards, she gracefully dismissed herself, saying that Eragon and Saphira needed time alone, but before she left, she told him to meet her at her tent in two hours time. This made him smile despite himself, and he looked foreword to the time they would spend together.
He went up to his dragon then, and sat down near where her great head lay. She looked at him, and he noticed something profoundly different. "Saphira, your eyes… they're different!" he spoke aloud, as she hadn't yet opened her mind up to him again. What he said grabbed her attention, though, and she opened up her mind enough to send her puzzlement at his statement through their link. He then sent her two images to prove his point: a brilliant blue orb the size of a round shield, only many times more magnificent, which is what it used to look like, and then what it looked like now; a brilliant blue orb the size of a round shield with gold emanating from the pupil.
When they were finished mourning, about an hour later, they discussed Glaedr's gift for the rest of the time remaining before they were to meet back with Arya. Eragon's physical appearance hadn't changed, except for his gedwey ignasia, which now had beautiful streaks of gold interlacing with the silver. When he left the tent to sit leaning against Saphira's side, Eragon noticed that his eyesight was far better than even his elven sight was previously. He reveled in the fact that he could now see objects miles away as clearly as if they were right in front of him. He could see individual markings on feathers of a hawk that traveled far overhead.
His sense of smell had also drastically increased. So advanced was it now that he could smell the individual animals being kept, slaughtered, and cooked throughout the entire camp. In short, all of his senses had been greatly improved thanks to Glaedr's sacrifice. Although he couldn't prove it yet, he had a feeling he was now much stronger physically, magically, and mentally than even an elf.
When it was time to meet with Arya, they were both in a much better mood than they were when Arya had left, on account of the fact that they now both realized that their odds in this war had increased drastically. Eragon skipped Saphira's offered foreleg, and simply jumped straight from the ground to the hollow on her back that was his seat. He landed lightly, feeling amazed by his apparent control over gravity, without even using magic.
It only took a couple of minutes to arrive in front of Arya's tent. Instead of climbing off of Saphira, he just dropped to the ground, before she had even landed. Again he landed lightly, and with no apparent injuries or pain. He walked straight up to Arya, not even waiting for Saphira to land, and initiated the traditional elven greeting. With his enhanced senses even more enhanced, he was extremely aware of her presence, of the raven hair billowing slightly in the wind, of the brightness in her deep emerald eyes, and the scent of crushed pine needles washed over him extremely powerfully. The scent was so strong, it almost intoxicated him. He savored every moment of it.
When she finished the greeting, she inquired, "How are you feeling, Eragon-finiarel?"
"Better than ever, Arya Svit-kona, and how are you?"
"I fare well, and I trust that you are packed and ready to go tomorrow at dawn?"
Nodding slightly, he replied, "Aye, we are ready. Now, what is it you wished to see me about?"
Their was a faint twinkle in her eye now, "After hearing what Glaedr did to you, I have decided that it would be in everyone's best interest for me to test your new abilities." A faint grin graced her beautiful face as she continued, "Of course, I won't be alone, as Blodhgarm and his spellcasters have agreed to aide me in testing you." They then continued on to the sparring field, talking all the while, with Saphira following behind. When they arrived they went up to the group of elves that had been given a wide birth by the rest of the training men. After greetings were exchanged, Arya stated that they would be testing his mental strength first.
Eragon took a moment to prepare, during which Saphira, upon a command from Arya, withdrew from his mind. He found himself wondering how he could hold off the might of the elves without her help. Suddenly, he felt the entire strength of Arya's mind bearing down upon him. Her mind was mighty and powerful, even compared to elves, and she used all of her strength in that initial assault. She didn't stand a chance. In less than five seconds, he had his defenses up, Arya pushed out of his mind, and then continued on to brush aside her own defenses as he captured her mind. Surprise emanated from her very being; not even Durza was able to win control over her mind. "Very well done", she said to him through her mind before he backed out of it. Suddenly embarrassed, he apologized for entering and controlling her mind, blushing all the while. "No apology is necessary. Get prepared, however, as all thirteen of us are about to attack your mind."
He nodded his assent, and prepared his mind for assault once again. When it came, it was with all of the strength the elves could muster. They were more effective than Arya alone was, but it was all for naught. After five minutes of battling Eragon's defenses, the elves realized that they would never be able to force their way into his mind. After another three minutes, he had control over all thirteen of their minds. Surprise radiated again from every mind he controlled, including his own, except for Arya's as she had apparently anticipated the extent of his strength.
After he released them, Saphira reentered his mind. Congratulations, little one. It appears indeed that now we stand a decent chance of defeating Galbatorix, and ridding Alagaesea of his dark plague.
"Thank you, Saphira. I agree, he allowed a mighty chuckle to bounce across their link, who now has the might to stop us?" He then returned his attention to the elves, who were staring at him, still astonished that he had defeated them. They don't know about Glaedr, he reminded himself. He realized that they knew not where his newfound strength had come from. Wishing to dismiss all theories, but not wanting to divulge too much of the truth, he informed them, "My new strength has come as a last gift from my late teacher, the great golden dragon Glaedr." Murmurs of surprise ran throughout the elves. In order to avoid any difficult questions, Arya stepped forward,
"The next stage of testing shall be with magic." Grateful that she had helped, he mouthed "thank you" to her, and she graced him with a quick smile in return. The smile made Eragon's stomach do a flip. "We shall not be testing your knowledge, but your strength and energy." He nodded for her to continue, for she was speaking to him instead of the elves, "I am going to cast a spell over you that will bind you. It is your job to try and break it. We shall all be working against you, is that agreeable?" He murmured his acquiescence.
Arya then yelled, "Hold him still," in the ancient language. He felt his body, except for his head, freeze. He relished this challenge to prove his strength, and whispered, "Lessen the pressure holding me in place," in the ancient language. He felt a curious feeling as the pressure began to lessen. He felt his energy drain from the effort. A minute went by, and the elves screwed their faces into expressions that told of an extreme pressure. Two minutes went by, and Eragon began to feel tired. Another half a minute and he felt exhausted as if he had sparred for hours on end with an equal opponent. Four minutes in, just as he began to feel like his legs would give out under him, the pressure completely disappeared. The elves all fell backwards, and slowly got back up to their feet.
He connected his mind back with Saphira's, and drew upon her vast reserves to steady himself and then passed the energy on to the elves, whom accepted thankfully his gift of strength. The look in their faces then, except for Arya whose remained expressionless, showed new admiration and respect for him. "What's next," he asked Arya. She gazed intently into his eyes for a while without answering, but when she finally did, she replied with, "Sword fighting." He dipped his head, and then went about guarding Brisingr's edges. When he was done, he noticed Arya and Blodhgarm advancing on him, swords drawn.
Everyone else on the field stopped what they were doing in order to watch the duel. Eragon let the duo attack first. He did not have to wait long, as they came swiftly in to confront him. He fought slowly at first, gradually picking up his pace as he discovered what he was capable of. He fought with a flurry of parries, jabs, and slashes, but never put more in the fight than the opposing elves could handle. At one point, however, he leaped backwards ten feet, deciding to finally really start the duel.
He watched their speed, accuracy, and teamwork with a sense of awe. They must be connected in their minds. When they came at him, Blodhgarm spun around, spinning his sword, and swung so closely to Arya that Eragon dreaded it would connect. It did not, and it flew onwards towards Eragon. Meanwhile, Arya swung her blade over her head, and down towards his own head. They were perfectly timed, and would both land at the exact same time, if Eragon didn't stop them. Moving Brisingr so that it was perpendicular to the ground, he struck out and deflected Blodhgarm's blade ever so slightly, and allowing Eragon to take a step to his right, out of range for the newly plotted course of Blodhgarm's blade by an inch. He was there, perfectly positioned, in time to adjust his gleaming blue sword so that it was parallel to the ground, and raised it over his head. As soon as the two blades contacted each other, Eragon jumped high into the air. The result was Arya's blade flying from her grip, following him into the air.
He flew thirty feet up, did a front flip, and during the flip, head pointed to the ground, he reached out and caught Arya's blade by the handle. He finished the jump, landing on the ground five feet behind the two elves, in a crouch, with his arms stretched wide holding the blades pointing outwards. There were gasps of astonishment from the gathered crowd, but Eragon didn't hear them; he was completely focused on the elves. The other eleven spell casters had drawn their own swords now, and someone had tossed Arya another.
This time he charged them, rolling his two blades over in his hands at a speed that made them a blur to the human eye. His opponents, however, were not human. They dashed around, dancing their blades with his, until it became a blur of motion that entirely consumed his concentration. Parry up, swing left, block right, and pivot 180 degrees, thrust with one blade parry with the other. Thusly the battle raged on for half an hour, every time Eragon would gain an advantage on a pair, another would draw his attention, forcing him to bounce away without taking his advantage.
His blows were cold and calculated, each and everyone hitting its mark, and in the end he would not be denied victory. He knocked one elf's blade out of his hands with Brisingr, spun around the elf kicked Blodhgarm in the back of his knees, and proceeded to twist his wrists at a profound angle so that he could block Arya's new blade, catching it in between his two. With another twist of his wrists, the blade flew free, and lodged itself into the ground some feet away.
The remaining two elves converged upon him, one from behind, and one in front of him. The one in front swung diagonally from up over his head coming down, aimed at Eragon's neck. The elf behind him swung his sword as a mirror image of the other, except he swung from low aiming up. Eragon quickly glanced over his shoulder, and saw his advantage. He waited until the blades were nigh upon there targets, before bending his stomach backwards, allowing the two blades two fly harmlessly, connecting with each other in the space of where his neck had been less than a second previously. The blades hung still where they had connected for a second too long, and Eragon, with his two blades crossed over his head, snapped straight up and spun in a quick circle on the balls of his feet, separating his blades to their respective sides during the maneuver. The blades wielded by the two elves, flew ten feet in opposite directions before landing handle up in the grass.
Eragon looked around, and for the first time since the duel began, he saw beyond the reach of his blades. A circle of over two hundred Varden were watching, all with eyes glazed over in awe. In the circle were the twelve spell casters of the elves and their princess, all kneeling on the ground, weaponless, catching their breaths. He sensed Saphira was standing alone on a hilltop near the sparring fields, watching and protecting him. He alone was standing on his feet inside the circle, which made him shuffle with unease. Then, a roar of cheering went up among the onlookers, praising Eragon's prowess on the sparring field. He ignored them, however, and looked for Arya. He spotted her on the inner edge of the circle, kneeling to catch her breath. He bowed his head, and humbly walked up to her, his arm outstretched offering her back her sword, which he had used during the sparring match. She glanced up at him, an expression of sheer joy on her face, which only served to confuse Eragon. She accepted the blade, stood up, and a great cheer went up among the assembled as she proclaimed,
"We now have the means to win this war! Not ever Galbatorix himself can defeat our rider Eragon and his dragon Saphira!" Her statements made Eragon blush, but they filled him with pride nonetheless. His mood was soured, though, as he thought, I am strong, but Galbatorix is still stronger.
Enjoy yourself now, Eragon, for later we shall worry about Galbatorix. Rejoice and be happy, you have been blessed! Obeying Saphira, Eragon laughed and joked with his friends for an hour, upon the completion of which he tactfully dismissed himself, and went to his tent.
It was nearly dark when he arrived there, Saphira already waiting for him outside the tent, so he walked over, lay by her side, and entered his state of waking dreams. During which, he pondered all of the events of that day: he had gotten up, got an assignment to steal the last dragon egg, been gifted with incredible powers from Glaedr, proved stronger than thirteen of the most powerful elves in all aspects of combat, given hope to thousands, and gone to bed. All in all, it was a fairly uneventful day.
******
Eragon woke an hour before dawn. When he completed his morning abulitions, he set off with Saphira towards the designated spot outside of camp. There they found Arya and Nasuada awaiting them. A few quick, short words were said, then, not wanting to tarry any longer, Arya climbed onto Saphira. She wrapped an arm around Eragon to hold herself in place, which made Eragon blush, and they took off in secret. They flew now towards the third egg, and the glorious number of victories that lay beyond!