Líf fra Andlát
Disclaimer: I do not now, have never, and probably never will own Eragon unless I get some huge dirt CP and he sells me the rights. Of course, I wouldn't do that. whistles innocently
Galbatorix stared into his scrying bowl. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. Everything had gone wrong. Everything. Murtagh was captured; Luce had escaped his oath; and Ardis was free. Why had this happened? Even the death of the Tábors and the seizure of Dras Leona had not made this better. It was made worse by the fact that Claudius and Solaera had escaped. He had heard from Belinda that Tábor's second son had been training street people to fight and giving them jobs If Claudius retook Dras Leona, Galbatorix did not doubt that it would go to the Varden.
Shruikan! the mad king shouted.
Yes, master? the dragon inquired.
The time has come, the king replied.
Who dies first? Shruikan inquired, though he already knew the answer.
First to die, last to rise; last to die, first to rise. The blood of Morzan dies first. The blood of Adoro dies last, Galbatorix replied. The little dragon-keeper dies second.
Shruikan stared into the distance. Ligan had let Morzan kill his sister Cora the first time. He would care even less if his daughter died to bring him back.
Stop ignoring me! Galbatorix yelled. Shruikan's eyes went blank again.
We take the thirteen to Vroengard now, the king continued.
Yes, master, Shruikan agreed.
Arlena looked as Shruikan entered the dragon hold. She could see right away that he was being controlled. His eyes had that blank look.
Come with me, he ordered.
Arlena obeyed. Her instincts told her all was not well, but she could do nothing else but obey. It wasn't as though this was new to her. It was the life of slave.
She followed Shruikan down a winding path, deep into the reaches of Urû'baen. She recognized the place as a dungeon. A tall young man with light brown hair stood next to the king. A group of people were chained to the wall. Arlena counted eleven. She recognized one as Delia, a gossipy maid.
"Ah, so you have brought the last one. Very good, Shruikan," Galbatorix praised gleefully.
"To where do we go?" one of the chained people questioned. The speaker was a young, frail-looking blond man.
"Vroengard," the king answered happily. This sheer joy was unnerving to Arlena. She had learned that happiness for the king usually meant something bad for another. This time, she was "another".
They all were chained to the enormous black dragon. The journey took an entire day, and Arlena discovered a fear of great heights. (Elra Andrickai's house had not been very high up.)
When they landed near the center of Vroengard, she felt a terrible feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. This place felt older than anything she'd experienced. Some strange sort of power radiated from it. It was a dead-looking, haunted place.
Shruikan had landed in front of a massive, white rock. The rock appeared almost ghostly and insubstantial, as though she could pass right through it.
Galbatorix dismounted from Shruikan, whose eyes still had that blank, haunted look.
"Unchain the blond boy, Talson," Galbatorix ordered the tall young man. He obeyed the king without a word.
"Step forward, Mort, from Faedra of the house of Morzan, through Marcus Tábor of Dras Leona," Galbatorix continued. Mort obeyed reluctantly.
"Kneel," the king commanded. Mort continued to obey.
The monarch drew a long dagger from his robes and raised it, saying, "Blood of Morzan, given at the rock of ghosts. Bring one dead to life from the death of one living. First to join, last to die, return." Galbatorix slit Mort's throat. The boy gurgled as blood poured out his neck. He fell over dead. Galbatorix splattered the blood on the rock. It passed through it. Galbatorix waited. Suddenly, the air chilled, and the ghost of a man and his ruby dragon passed through the rock. He stood over Mort's body, dove down, and vanished. Mort rose.
His blue eyes had turned to a dark gray. The cut on his throat had healed. That wasn't the most unnerving part. Ruby red wings had sprouted from his back. This thing bowed before the king and spoke, "Master, I have returned to serve you. Tell me only what you wish for me to do."
Arlena shuddered at the voice, or rather, voices. They both blended together as one, producing the sound of a man and a dragon.
Galbatorix smiled, "So you have returned, Morzan and Baen. I expect you to serve me as well as you did in the past and certainly much better than your son has."
Morzan/Baen looked straight into the king's black eyes. "What has he done?" it demanded.
"He has been turned against me by the daughter of Siloa, and he is currently an unconscious prisoner of the Varden," Galbatorix explained, his eyes beginning to show terrible rage.
Morzan/Baen's eyes flashed. "If my son has betrayed you, he is not my son. I will serve you and bring you his head," the man/dragon vowed.
Galbatorix smiled and turned to Arlena.
"Step forward, Arlena from Arlena the slave through Ligan, rider of Ulrich," Alagaësia's ruler commanded.
Arlena followed the steps of the ritual almost robotically. When Galbatorix raised the knife to her throat, she only felt it for a second before blackness overtook her. The last thing she saw were Shruikan's eyes losing that blank stare. The last thing she heard was the black beast's shout of. Cora! Arlena!
Shruikan charged at the king, who shouted his true name with such power that the black dragon fell over in a faint. He convulsed and twisted. A cruel smile played across Galbatorix's mouth.
Ligan/Ulrich stared at the creature.
"You could have found me a better body, but I must say, I prefer it to no body at all," it remarked.
"Indeed you should," Galbatorix agreed.
"I cannot believe that the foolish dragon still mourns the loss of my foolish sister," Ligan scowled. Only the man voice spoke this time.
"No more than I can," Morzan/Baen remarked. "She was worthless, a whore and a fool," Morzan alone continued.
The next to die was Delia, great niece of Den-ner. The maid whimpered as her throat was cut, but her expression changed moments later into that of the cruel, impudent female Foresworn and her equally audacious dragon, Lïornien.
The next eight were sacrificed. Some died frightened, some defiantly, and still others with acceptance.
"Master," Talson spoke for the first time, "I am ready."
Galbatorix turned to him and nodded. The man took the king's spelled dagger and cut his hand. He splattered the blood and called his own ancestor through the Rock of Kuthian from the Vault of Souls.
"Blood of Adoro, given at the rock of ghosts. Bring one dead to life to share the life of one living. First to die, last to rise, return!" Talson shouted. The ghosts of man and dragon came through the rock as well. Talson had already entered his meditative state. He would remain thus for a year. That was as long as these newly resurrected Foresworn could last.
Adoro/Kyrinik rose as Talson, and all the Foresworn cheered.
"For the first time in eighty years we are one again!" Galbatorix shouted. The cheers grew louder. Shruikan regained consciousness and roared in unison with the rest. His eyes looked blanker than ever.
Sanchez leapt off his horse quickly. He strode up to the inn as nonchalantly as he could. He needed to send out the muster. Claudius and Siloa were also raising the alarm. He opened the door and walked in.
"Sanchez," the bartender shouted, "I've not seen you around here in months."
Sanchez ran three fingers through his hair and then whistled three, short quick notes as he looked around the place.
"It's changed," he remarked. "Made some improvements?"
The bartender looked up and beckoned for him to come closer. "You'd be wanting to talk?" the man whispered as Sanchez approached.
"You've surely heard about my master's brother's assassination," Sanchez muttered.
"Who hasn't?" the bartender shrugged.
"His father is met the same fate. He and Solaera didn't. We're going to the Warders," Sanchez explained.
"Don't we need some horses?" the bartender inquired.
"I've heard it called borrowing without permission and little or no intention of returning," Sanchez replied.
"Aye, we can do that. Mercedes, you go with Master Sanchez to get some transportation," he called to a thin and pale young girl with light brown hair and hazel eyes.
The girl hurried over, pulling on her cloak. She and Sanchez rushed out the door.
"Who are we raiding?" he inquired. They'd all done this before.
"Breeder Calmin's herd," Mercedes replied. "He's transporting a whole one for sale, and he's too cheap to buy a trailer or place for them to sleep."
"Ah," Sanchez exclaimed. That particular man was known for having good horses, a bad temper, and a just plain awful lack of conscience. He cheated people, overcharged them, and bought slaves dirt cheap to work in his stables. He himself never touched his horses. He didn't like the man; he knew Shaheen wouldn't have; and he was pretty sure the horse-loving Mercedes didn't either.
"That stallion's the lead one," Mercedes whispered, pointing to a huge, black war horse. "See if you can get him, and the whole herd will follow."
Sanchez nodded and rode up quietly. Several horses turned to face the intruder. He quickly leapt from his own horse's back to this stallion's.
The horse reared the moment he mounted it. Sanchez dug his heals into the horse's sides. Mercedes leapt onto his own horse and tried to make the others follow her. Sanchez continued to struggle with the stallion until he at last backed down. All the horse stared in expectation at their leader. Sanchez guided him to the place where all Claudius' fighters would be.
"Triumph feels good, eh girl?" he asked Mercedes.
"You have no idea," she responded.
I hope you liked this chapter. I'd like another seven reviews for this chapter. Let's make it 130 for all chapters. I think I have enough reviewable material in the first part.
Here's another poll. Who should kill Galbatorix? Everyone will have a part (possibly even people not on the ballot), but I want to know who deals the final blow.
Shruikan
Luce/Iormungr
Ardis/Kazul
Murtagh/Thorn
Eragon/Saphira
Siloa/Vrael
Oromis/Glaedr
Arya
Here are the review responses. I got the exact number I wanted. Thanks for that.
Samalamadingdong: You're welcome.
Silvershadowkittie: Thanks.
Cocoapuffaddict: LOL. Not a chance. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the battle scenes. I had heard Oromis the Lethrblaka compared to dragons before, so I thought they would both be about the same size.
DragonRider2000: I thought Luce did what she needed to do even if it wasn't the most moral or kind thing to do. Murtagh's my favorite character too. I hope I can make his being a prisoner again interesting.
Amantine: Thanks. I hope this update came soon enough.
Frosted-Pink: Thanks. I'm interested to see how your battle scene turns out. The one that really worries me is the final one. I hope it turns out well.
Vixen Hood: Thanks. Murtagh will be alright.