Chapter 26. Jaerden
Saphira had been flying for the past three days following Draco in the air, she didn't get tired because Jaerden was keeping both Dragons fresh with his vast reserves of power. Like Galbatorix and Murtagh he was unnaturally powerful.
("I can't believe it… another dragon rider…")
("Neither can I…") Saphira said.
("You don't trust him?") Eragon asked sensing her feelings.
("No and neither should you…")
("He saved our lives Saphira and if he was working for Galbatorix he would have shown himself long before now… I mean Galbatorix would have sent him to hunt us instead of the Razac…")
("You have a point…")
("We will land here and camp…") Draco shouted with his mind.
They were several miles north of Lake Tudosten just inside the desert. When they landed Jaerden immediately began unpacking Draco's saddle. Eragon looked around, there wasn't any water for miles.
"If Draco helps Saphira to dig a hole you and I can pull water up from the ground…"
"Digging won't be necessary…" Jaerden walked pass them both and pointed a clawed hand at the sand; "Deloi Soterra Runsed Mieo…"
The spell he used was almost similar to the one Eragon used when he tried to turn sand into water. Eragon and Saphira watched in wonder as a twenty foot area of sand was transmutted into water. Draco walked past them and started drinking while Jaerden filled his pot and started a fire.
"Draco is hungry… and I guess Saphira needs to eat as well…"
("Yes I do, but I am not leaving Eragon here alone with you…") She said with smoke streaming from her nose.
"The obvious choice is for me to go with her…" Eragon said before Jaerden could speak.
Jaerden shook his head; "No that would not be wise… I may have been able to wound Galbatorix, but Murtagh and Thorn are still a threat… and knowing Galbatorix the way I do he will send them to their deaths to stop us…"
"Where are you taking us anyway…" Eragon asked.
"You will learn that soon enough… Anyway Draco will hunt for himself and when he has had his fill of meat he will hunt for Saphira…"
Without saying a word, Draco leapt into the air and flew south. Jaerden started cutting up potatoes, mushrooms, and a hunk of meet that resembled Nagra. He threw the bone to Saphira who caught it out of the air. "You must have many questions for me…" Jaerden said putting seasoning into the water. "…Ask them while there is time."
"Who are you where do you come from… did anyone else know about you… who what when where and why…"
Jaerden smiled to himself and sighed; "My father was a soldier who fought for King Abernost in the wryd fell… when he died my mother, brother and I moved to a small village near Lake Tudenston… As you may have guessed by now my master was one of the foresworn…" Saphira let out a growl and Eragon patted her on the side. "…Saphira's response is justified. The foresworn were known for their cruelty, evil and my master was no different. His name was Orwin and his Dragon was Gaerravar…"
When Jaerden said Gaerravar's name Eragon and Saphira looked at each other; ("How can you say his name when the wild dragons cursed the names of the foresworn dragons…") Saphira asked.
Jaerden grunted as he placed the meat in the boiling water. "Shruiken wasn't the only Dragon forced to serve Galbatorix's madness… Before the riders fell… Orwin and Gaerravar were powerful and they did the bidding of the high council… On one mission they went on the two argued and Orwin grew so angry that he struck Gaerraver as he would a dumb animal…" Eragon's face twisted in horror. "Gaerravar bought Orwin before the council and they judge Orwin unfit to be a rider… so they used their magic to break the bond between the two…"
"That was harsh…" Eragon said.
"Yes, but the punishment fit the crime… Gaerravar went to live with the wild dragons and Orwin was forced to walk the land in exile. When Galbatorix came to power Orwin was the second rider; even though he wasn't a rider at the time… to join Galbatorix… A deal was struck… in exchange for his allegiance Galbatorix would use his power to restore what the elders broke… So Morzan and Orwin traveled to the edge of duweldenvarden where Gaerravar lived with the wild dragons… They captured Gaerravar and killed that group of dragons. It took Galbatorix, Morzan, Orwin, and Durza to restore what the elders had broken. When the connection was restored Orwin used Gaerravar's true name to ensure that he would never leave or betray him.
"Orwin was one of the most powerful members of the foresworn second only to Morzan. When the wild dragons cast their spell they not only spared Shruiken and Jornunvosk they spared Gaerravar as well… After the riders fell Orwin became disillusioned with Galbatorix's rule. Galbatorix saw this, so he had Orwin map the Beor Mountains because Orwin was greatly familiar with Dwarvin culture and society."
"What about the clan Az Swell Rak Ahunin… Oromis told us that many of the foresworn would fly through the mountains burning their above ground cities…"
"This was long after… two years after the clan fell… Anyway during one of his trips into the Beor Mountains he came across an alcove that had once served as a Dragon's nest… He found a brown dragon's egg buried in the back of the alcove under some leaves…." Jaerden paused to put the potatoes and mushrooms into the pot, then he stirred the pot and put a brown powder in it. "When he found the egg his desire for justice came into conflict with his oath of loyalty to Galbatorix… He decided to let Gaerravar choose his fate… He released the dragon from the oaths he placed on him and told Gaerravar he had changed…"
("The dragon should have killed him…") Saphira said.
Jaerden hunched his shoulders, ("Yes he should have, but Gaerravar saw the change in Orwin and his desire to make things right. They decided to find a rider for whom their egg would hatch and train this person…")
"Wait a minute…" Eragon said. "Two riders against twelve and Galbatorix…"
Jaerden scooped a bowl of stew and gave it to Eragon, then he took some for himself. "You forget Eragon that thirteen traitors and Galbatorix took down the entire rider's order…"
("When he began his search for an apprentice wouldn't Galbatorix get suspicious…")
"Not realy… Galbatorix wanted extensive maps of the Beor Mountains… It would take years… decades to map the entire range of Mountains. As long as Orwin made timely reports on his progress… Galbatorix never suspected a thing…"
"Murtagh told me that Galbatorix knew everything they did…"
"To a degree he did, but the foresworn knew and understood how he thought and there were some things they got away with and Galbatorix never had a clue…" Jaerden closed his eyes for a few seconds, then he opened them; "Draco is hunting meat for you now Saphira, he will return soon…"
("Good that stew is driving me crazy…")
"I remember the day my master approached me… By this time my mother worked as a tavern cook…"
"She taught you well this stew is the best I ever had…" Eragon said getting more…"
"Aye she did…" He wiped a tear from his eye; "Anyway my brother had fallen sick and I worked as a stable boy in his fortress which use too stand in the forest near Lake Tudeston… I remember the day as if it happened yesterday… I was brushing a white stallion and when I looked up Orwin was standing in the doorway… He told me that I was coming with him to explore the Beor Mountains and that I should pack some supplies… You have ridden Saphira Eragon so you know what I mean when I say there was a shout of joy riding on Gaerravar's back with the wind blowing in my face…"
Eragon nodded in agreement; "Aye there is nothing like it in the world…"
"Yes we mapped a few mountains and ranges, then on the fourth day we came to the alcove… I fixed our dinner and I tried to make conversation, but he would not say a word. When we finished our meal Orwin looked at me with Gaerravar lying behind him and asked me…" He cleared his voice, "If I had great power what would I do with it… I responded that I would heal my brother and better the lives of my family… he stared at me and I could tell he was disappointed… then in a sturn voice he asked… Galbatorix… what would you do about Galbatorix if you had the power… I became afraid, because I thought he knew of my father, but he reassured me that I could speak without fear… So I squared my shoulders and boldly said that if I had the power I would destroy Galbatorix and the foresworn…. Pleased with my answer he revealed the brown egg to me and two days later it hatched and I named the dragon Draco…"
As Jaerden paused to get more stew Draco glided twelve feet above them and dropped four dead deer next to Saphira.
("Thank you…") she said gourging on the first deer as he landed to lay down next to Jaerden.
"Our training began immediately and Orwin placed powerful spells over the alcove for our protection… He stayed with us for the next three days… We were never alone because Gaerravar left his eldunari in the alcove so that we would always know where they were and to power the wards in the alcove."
"What about your family?" Eragon asked.
"Orwin healed my brother and bestowed great riches on them both… My mother and brother moved to Teirm… My brother's children still live there today…"
("Didn't your mother try to seek you out…") Saphira asked working on the second deer.
"No Orwin erased me from their minds for my safety… Whenever Orwin and Gaerravar would map the Beor Mountains they would come to train us… we learned spells, magic and sword play…" Jaerden removed the brown sword from its sheath. "This sword onced belonged to a rider Orwin had killed his dragon was brown too… I renamed it Beor… after the mountains." Jaerden lowered his head; "…After a while we were betrayed by Orwin's own Chief Steward who with the help of a dark wizard followed Orwin to the mountains… Draco and I would sometimes fly out to meet them… When the steward saw me he realized that Orwin had betrayed Galbatorix… He killed the wizard and traveled to Urubaen… When Galbatorix found out he sent Morzan to deal with Orwin… When Orwin and Gaerravar returned to the fortress Morzan and his dragon were waiting… a terrible duel broke out between them… Gaerravar was able to out fight Morzan's dragon, but it was Morzan who killed Gaerravar with a thrust to the head… He took Orwin back to Urubaen, but before Galbatorix could get any information from him Orwin killed himself with magic…
"Galbatorix had been studying the spell the wild dragons used on the foresworn dragons, he created a similar spell and cast it on Gaerravar he also had the word spread that Orwin died from over use of magic… When our masters died Draco and I felt it and Gaerravar spoke to us from his eldunari… he told us to seek out the varden and fight for them, but Draco and I wanted our vengeance and we had been trained to kill the foresworn… Galbatorix foolishly sent two of the forsworn into the Beor Mountains to hunt us… Draco and I ambushed them and killed them both. Then I took their eldunari…"
"Why… Did all the foresworn know of their significance?" Eragon asked.
"No… Orwin was a clever spellcaster and he figured it out not long after Galbatorix did… Orwin had been collecting his own stash of eldunari for the day we would face the forsworn… Eventually Gaerravar from his eldunari told us where they were hidden… We traveled to our master's fortress and cursed the steward who had betrayed us… By this time… Brom had killed two members of the foresworn already and Morzan was hunting him… Draco and I destroyed our master's fortress then we traveled the land killing Galbatorix's servants… another member of the foresworn died by our hand… and that is when Galbatorix decided to face us… We lead Shruiken and Galbatorix into a trap, but I underestimated him… Galbaotrix broke free of the spell and cursed me with the burning curse…"
Eragon looked at Jaerden confused; "What is the burning curse…"
"It is not something Oromis would have taught you… It was a piece of magic invented by Vrael's predessor…" Jaerden untied the top of his robe and showed Eragon his chest. "Behold the burning curse…" Eragon gasped and Saphira hissed, because Jaerden's skin was cracked and it looked as if the skin was bleeding like the crust of a volcanoe. "The burning curse involves taking your dragon's fire and using a spell to turn into a weapon that kills slowly… the victum's body is slowly cooked alive… you suffer every day in pain… It is a terrible thing to do… That is why when Vrael became leader of the council it was forbidden… The foresworn used this technique on many of their foes during the rider's war…"
("That is aweful is there no cure…") Saphira asked.
"No there isn't… There is no counter to the spell either… Galbatorix caught me off gard… I have survived because of these robes I enchanted… They slow the effects of the curse, but I will die… Draco also helps me when he can… and then there are the eldunari I am bonded with that also helps… Before I fled the empire I recovered my master's sword and belt… Draco and I fled across the desert with Galbtorix and five of the eight remaining members of the foresworn on our tails… when we reached the mountains they gave up searching for us because we know the Beor Mountains better than even the dwarves… They gave up because Galbatorix figured I wouldn't survive and neither would Draco, but like we underestimated him. He underestimated us…
"Oromis and Glaedr discovered our existence twenty years after our fight with Galbatorix… Draco and I confirmed his suspiscions about the Eldunari… Other than them the only other people who knew of our existence was the witch Angela and the werecat Solembum…"
Eragon started laughing; "I cry your pardon… but Angela and Solembum seem to know more about what is going on than anyone…"
"True enough… they stumbled across our alcove and I would have killed her if it wasn't for the werecat and Draco here… Well that is my story… Tell it to whom ever you wish…"
("You have some story…") Saphira said.
"Wait were you watching us as we traveled through the Beor Mountains the first time…"
Jaerden smiled; "I had been watching you ever since you entered the Hadarac desert…"
"You could have helped us…" Eragon said sarcastically.
"No… I knew you would survive and when Brom stole Saphira's egg Oromis and I made a pact that if he died before he had the chance to train the new rider then Draco and I would reveal ourselves to the world…"
("Why didn't you after Oromis died…") Saphira asked.
"Well for two reasons… I will tell you the first, the second reason will be told by Draco… I was waiting to see if the two of you would be captured… Two days after Oromis died Glaedr contacted us from within his Edlunari, but I had been watching and screeing the land when you went to visit the Dwarves the second time… anyway as I said earlier I had planned to free you and Saphira, but Elva beat me to the task… The night all of you flew out of Urubaen I snuck into the city and sealed Galbatorix's well of souls… so you Saphira and the varden don't have to worry about Galbatorix using more Eldunari…"
When Jarden fell silent Draco raised his enormous head off the sand and projected his thoughts; ("The second reason is because our ancestors told us not too…")
"You mean…" Eragon said.
("Yes Saphira and mine… The power of the dragons is greater than you think our rage burns throughout the ages and it has been awakened… If you haven't guessed by now then Jaerden and I are taking you to the Rock of Kuthian…")
("The Vault of Souls…") Saphira and Eragon said at the same time.
Jaerden remained silent, but he did respond by raising an eyebrow. ("So you know of the Vault of Souls this is good…")
("We were told by the werecat Solembum that when we needed a weapon to look under the roots of the menoa tree… he also said that when our power was insuffient and all seemed lost to go to the rock of kuthian and speak our names to the vault of souls…"
This time Jaerden spoke; "And the two of you didn't seek it out…"
("How could we…") Saphira asked, ("If we weren't running for our lives… we were engaged in some epic battle or another…")
"What is the Vault of Souls…" Eragon asked.
("It is an ancient place… A cave protected by magic and a guardian… It is the place, our ancestors use to hide their Eldunari before our pact with the Elves… There are hundreds of thousands of the most powerful dragons there…")
A terrible thought came to Eragons' mind; "Then Galbatorix knows about the vault of Souls…"
("Yes he does…")
("How?") Saphira asked.
Draco looked at Jaerden; "I don't know how he learned about it… But one day I was screeing the desert as I often do and spotted Galbatorix leaving his castle… about fifty years had passed since I last fought him… Morzan was hunting Brom again because Brom had killed another member of the foresworn… I found it strange that he had left his fortress because during the past years he was hold up in his fortress mastering his Eldunari… Draco and I decided to follow him… We followed him from a great distance to the heart of the desert where a great mountain lay… I witnessed a terrible battle between Galbatorix and the guardian of the Rock… The most powerful werecat in the world… The lord of all werecats… His name is Paneer Half Paw… Galbatorix fought bravely with Shruiken, but in the end Paneer was too powerful for him and he only survived because of Shruiken… As they fled the mountain I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to kill them both… Draco and I were about to strike when Paneer and the ancient dragons called out to us… They foretold of a rider who was destinded to kill Galbatorix and when the time came we would show them the way to Kuthian…"
("To open the vault the two of you have to…")
"Speak our true names…" Saphira and Eragon said at the same time.
"We don't know our true names…" Eragon said.
Jaerden grunted, "To discover ones true name you must know yourself… You have the abilities of an elf now discovering your true names will be easy…"
("Do you know your true names…") Saphira asked.
"Yes we do and I will teach you a spell to protect your names…"
They had been talking for hours it was four hours after sunset, Eragon and Saphira turned their thoughts inward for introspection. ("Part of my true name is Brisinger…") Eragon said to Saphira, ("And thanks to Galbatorix I know two more parts of it, but what is the rest…")
("Avala Sinor Brisinger…") Saphira spoke part of his name in his head.
("Shatara Mien Brisinar Ru Skulbulba…") Eragon said five words of Saphira's name in the ancient language. They had been thinking on it so long that they failed to notice Draco fall asleep. "I discovered a man's name in the ancient language…" Eragon said addressing Jaerden, "…and when I invoked his name he went mad with grief. Does that happen with everyone?"
"No… a person's true name is inherent in their character… Some people just can't stand the truth… I laughed in joy when I discovered my true name… It depends on the person…"
Eragon returned to his introspection and in a few seconds several words came to his mind, but it wasn't his name he found it was Saphira's. ("Shatara Mien Brisinar Ru Skulbulba Velen Tuvar…") when he said her name to Saphira she stood up and roared blowing a flame of fire into the air. Draco opened one eye then he closed it.
("That was amazing…") She paused looking at Eragon; ("Avala Sinor Brisinger Shendi Mekron Gell…")
Eragon smiled and started laughing with tears flowing down his cheeks. He was about to speak, but Jaerden stopped him; "Keep your names to yourselves and gaurd them well… Now here is a spell that will protect you from anyone who would try to use your true names against you… Galbatorix invented the spell and it was used by many of the foresworn…" It took a few minutes for Eragon to learn the spell and when he cast it on him and Saphira, the toll was heavy, but Jaerden restored their energy. "Now the two of you get some rest… I will keep watch…"
An hour before sunrise Jaerden and Eragon were eating a breakfast of bread, cheese, and dried bacon. They packed their saddles and off they took. They flew for the next four days and stopped at sunrise the fourth day.