It did not take long for the rider and his dragon to reach their home, the old village by the hidden oasis. Years ago it may have taken them hours, but Darad had not only grown larger in that time, but stronger and faster, his constant activity strengthened his muscles. When they reached the empty village, Darad landed gently in the center, careful to set aside the cargo he had been carrying so as not to stand on it.
When he was firmly on the ground Exire slid of his back, landing by the pack and began removing the rope. As he did so, Darad folded his wings and looked about at the surrounding buildings. Exire had told him how he had grown up here, coming from the coastal city of Tierm. He had started out with no family or food, but had ended up being adopted by a wealthy man and his family, growing up with them from the age of ten for seven years. In that time h had found Darad's eggs in the secret tunnels he and his dear friend Cassandra had found.
The two of them raised him there in secret, but that had ended when the urgals struck. The village was used tot eh occasional light raid, but this had been an all out massacre, and Exire had only survived it because Darad had forced him to stay in the caves, not wanting to lose him to the blood shed overhead. The next day, the two emerged from the tunnels and found themselves alone in a blood-soaked village. No one had survived the attack, and Exire thought his heart would break when he had found the lifeless body of his childhood friend, Cassandra among the wreckage.
But those days had passed. Now they were the avengers of the fallen, the enemies of the unjust. Darad glanced about once more at the sun scorched lands before falling Exire to the secret tunnel. It had been expanded as Darad grew, mostly by his talons, and now the dragon could easily clamber in and out of the tunnel where he slept along with his rider.
Exire hauled after him as many of the packs he could, while Darad brought along the rest, carefully carrying them in his powerful jaws.
"If you tear any of them, your cleaning up the mess." Exire threatened. Darad snorted around the bulk he carried, but continued in silence. He was not one of many words. When they entered the cave, Exire set the packs all to one side, and Darad did the same. HE then began open the bags and sorting through their contents while Darad watched from over his shoulder.
Anything useful? He asked. Exire looked up at him, amused to see the dragon trying to hide his eagerness in the hope of his favorite treat being concealed in the burlap sacks.
"Yes, a lot actually." Replied Exire enthusiastically, pulling out two more coils of rope and holding them up for the dragon to see. Then he pulled out an assortment of clothes, spices, fruits, water, and, to Darad's interest, meats.
"Oh, did you want this?" Darad looked intently at the object Exire held in his outstretched hand. It was a piece of meat, not a very large one, wrapped in a sheet of leather. Darad sniffed at it, it was lamb, his favorite. He opened his jaws, ready to snap up the treat, but when he closed his jaws with a snap, it was gone!
"I'm not gonna give it to you that easily!" Laughed Exire, Dodging another attempt to devour the parcel. Darad growled playfully as he struck out again. This time, Exire rolled to avoid the jaws, clutching the meat to his chest. He then turned and ran, leaping out of the cave and bounding like a dear to the oasis.
Running eh? Smirked the dragon, spreading his wings, When has that ever worked? He took off and shot after the racing figure of Exire. Just as the dragon was about to reach low and pick Exire up with his talons, the nimble rider dodged to the left, racing for the water and diving into it, staying low. Darad contemplated waiting for the man to surface, but decided against it. Why wait?
With a bugle that startled the hawks near by, Darad shot upwards, then turned sharply, slicing the water surface like an arrow from a bow. Exire yelled as the dragon struck the water, sending a fountain upwards and showering the shower with not only waves of water, but also a few startled fish. Exire tried to swim back to the shore, but a tail wrapped about his waist, pulling him towards Darad who floated on his back contentedly, his wings outspread to help him float.
Ill take that. The dragon said smugly, prying the meat from Exire's loosened grip and dropping it into his open maw, humming contentedly at the rare meat. He never got lamb. Laughing, Exire climbed up onto the dragon's belly, stretching out and letting the sun dry his clothes. Sighing, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back, listening to the humming of Darad. He soon fell asleep, allowing the exhaustion of the fight in the canyon and from the run to overcome him. Darad watched over him as he slept, thinking of the fast approaching future, and what it would hold for them.
They knew of the war between the Varden and the Empire. They knew of the other dragons, the red one called Thorn, Galbatorix's beast Shruiken, the Varden's dragon Saphira, and the strange golden one that had died over Gil'Lead. But they did not wish to take part in the war. They lived a simple life in the Hadarac dessert. Most of the time was spent out in the dunes hunting down the slavers, urgals, and soldiers. But they didn't do that for the Varden, or for the riders, they did it because it was the right thing to do.
Later on, Exire had once more busied himself with organizing their recently acquired goods. he took stoke of what they had a surplus in, and what they needed more of before standing and turning to Darad, who had just returned from his hunting and lay near by, licking his ivory talons clean.
"I don't think we're going to need to go to the villages today." Exire sighed happily, referring to the more well known villages of the Hadrac to where he would sometimes go to trade for the things he needed, but didn't have.
Good. Rumbled Darad. Today is a good day to rest. We have been on the hunt for three days now, and this respite is a good one. Exire flopped down beside his dragon in agreement, pulling off his hood and pulling out his spear, reconnecting the two halves and polishing the spear heads. He worked in silence for a few minutes, before setting down the spear and looking up at his companion.
"Darad, do you think what we are doing is wise?"
Many things done in life can be proven to be unwise. Replied Darad dryly, now resting his chin on his talons and looking at Exire with one large silvery orb. Which are you referring to?
"Just, the way we live, the way we act. We say that we want no part in this bloody war, yet we go ahead and kill Galbatorix's men and hunt urgals."
That does not make us soldiers though.
"No, but it makes me wonder why we keeping refusing the fact that we are fighting. We spill blood for the same reason the Varden do, because, in short, Galbatorix is wrong for this kingdom. But why do we do it secretly when we could be out there fighting side by side with Eragon and Saphira? We could have been at the battle of the Burning Planes, but instead we were south of here, hunting yet another pack of slavers."
And if we hadn't killed them, they would have ruined the lives of many.
"I know." Sighed Exire, running his fingers through his dark hair. "But sometimes, you just cant deal with everyone's problems. We need to choose weather we want to continue the endless battle against slavery and extortion here, or if we want to go out onto the field and fight for the freedom these lands deserve."
He fell into silence, as did Darad. It should have seemed like an easy choice to make, but neither of the two had ever been outside of the Hadarac, and they had no experience in open war. Truth be told, the prospect of going into open war head on against Galbatorix unnerved them abit. After a few more moments of silence, Darad raised his head and turned to face his rider, touching his nose to Exire's forehead.
You are a Rider Exire. He began. It is your duty as is mine to fight for what is right. We have done that by fighting here among the ever shifting sands. But now, maybe it is time for us to take the fight to those who wrong the world. Maybe, it is time to leave behind what we know as our home, and go out into the world.
He saw Exire hesitate, and added softly. Walls of sand cannot protect us from what is out there. Sooner or later, we will be sucked into the war, and it will be better for us if we choose when to join.
"I know." Murmured Exire. "But, I cant just leave everything I've known behind, its, my home. More so then Tierm ever was."
I know. Rumbled Darad with sympathy. It is my home to. But we will goo together, we will have one another.
Exire got to his feet and wrapped his arms about Darad's neck, pressing his face against the dark scales.
"If I leave, it means ill have to leave her to." He said in a soft voice.
She left long ago Exire, but she still lives in our memories. Comforted Darad, feeling a twinge of sorrow as he recalled the laughing face of a bright eyed young girl with streaming auburn hair.
"Fine." Said Exire after a moment of silence. He took a step back from Darad. "We will join the Varden." Darad dipped his head in agreement. "Shall we leave tomorrow? "
Yes. It will give us a chance to rest and prepare.
"Right them." Exire clapped his hands together, trying to dispel the grave feeling that had fallen over the two of them. "Ill start getting things together. You all packed?"
Darad sensed his friend's need for a change in the mood and he took a moment to sweep his gaze across the room, then to look his body up and down.
I think I have everything. He said in his serious tone. Exire grinned. He loved his dragon. The rest of the day's sunlight was spent preparing for the departure the following day.