what? did you all think I was dead? nope! sorry about the long wait, but I've been busy with life. ya know, that thing you do when you're not reading awesome stories. anyway, don't get too excited. I've gone back, fixed all of my horrible typos, added some detail, and other little things. you may notice that CH3 is down. i will be revising that chapter and I will make it make sense. hate to have to redo stuff, but gotta make it make sense...somewhat.
This method of travel was…different. Eragon had never traveled by warping, but he had heard and read the legends about the Grey folk appearing where needed, and then disappearing into thin air. It was fast, and he could almost feel the leagues pass in seconds, but it wasn't comfortable.
The Dimension Hole had split Eragon into pieces, and Rhys' mind was forcing him to stay together. It was a strange feeling of openness, like when he had first touched minds with Saphira. But Rhys was different. He was full of energy, and a regret or sorrow that he seemed to be holding back with all the will In the world. It was interesting to be in contact with his chaotic mind, as it was always doing three things at once. He was keeping track of the distance and planning on exiting, and thinking of what he could do to help with the Dark elf, Holding back his sorrow, and was wondering if the elves still remembered him. He seemed really concerned about the last one.
And then he was shoved back together and was falling…
Saphira awoke with a start. Something was moving towered them. And it was big.
Eragon had been gone for three days, and Thorn and His rider had attacked them each day. And they brought that flame-cursed, shade possessed human with them the last day. The strange dragon it summoned had seemed real enough, but Saphira passed through it every time she attacked. What made it worse was that the lightning attack that it shot really hurt. And if Saphira didn't distract it somehow, it would attack the Varden as they tried to attack it with their sharp arrows and ran around like a lost chick. The only effective way to distract it was to attack the mage that summoned it, and even then the mage had odd spells that Saphira had never felt or seen. One practically nasty one sent he attack back at her with double the force. And if she did get through, thorn and his bloody rider intervened.
So the Varden took heavy losses, and Saphira took a pretty good beating in body and pride.
She looked up as this new terror approached them, and as soon as she was sure that this force was heading towered them, she let out a roar, and then the sky was torn wide open.
Rhys had to admit, traveling by portal of rift was much faster than walking, running, or flying. In nearly two minutes, they had traversed a three day elf run or flight on dragon back.
But the complications were a little scary, and the worst ones kept popping in his head as they traveled. If they didn't rip themselves out, they could become lost in the dimension stream, or worse, appear in a different dimension with no way of getting back. If Rhys pulled Eragon out and forgot to pull some of his pieces, Eragon would lose and arm, a leg, or something like that. One time, Rhys lost half a brain and couldn't remember a thing until someone rammed the missing pieces back into his head. He still couldn't remember that clearly…
But his favorite one was that if he let his mind and Eragon's mix too much, he and Eragon would become one mind, and then either Rhys or Eragon would have to fight over one body, while the other body would be an empty husk, alive, but with no mind or reason. That was one of the reasons he was trying to keep himself from delving into Eragon's mind to find out what had been going on.
Rhys sensed that the opening was coming up, let Eragon have a ten second warning, and then pulled both of them out while forcing the portal open. Not easy, and Rhys was out of practice, so he had misjudged the position and the force needed.
He had meant to create a small little portal that he and Eragon could tumble out of (all the legends about portal drifters walking out of a portal gracefully and all calm like were reallyexaggerated. There was no way one could be cal after traveling that fast, and forget walking), but instead, he ripped open half the sky in a spectacular flash of light and ripples of dark energy, along with a rather satisfying sonic boom that flattened trees, tents, and broke glass. And then they started to fall from a high off, oh, a mountain top as high as the one Rhys had teleported them from. As they tumbled, Rhys made a mental note to remember to move the portal down next time…
And then he landed on something big, heavy, moving, metallic, and dragonish.
The large sapphire dragon turned at Rhys and glared, not recognizing him at all, and then rolled him off.
And then he was tumbling again, although more shocked at the dragon's rude behavior than he was to falling.
And then he remembered he was falling.
He ran a quick mental scan of his inventory of forms, trying to find one that was simple, and could survive a fall of about three hundred feet.
"Aha! Revival Jam."
The shadow magic hit him; much like the portal had, and created a strange want in him. It was the same want and temptation he always ad when he transformed. It was the desire for power, control, and absolute rule. He brushed it aside and focused on transforming in to the Revival Jam, A creature that was made out of a jelly like substance and could reform at will. All Rhys had to do was remember what he looked like.
He felt his body become a little runny, like he was sweating after a run around a country, and then the 'sweat' solidified around him in a solid shell, and he felt the rest of his body lose shape, and his organs and mind became more like a blob of mush than a rigid skeleton.
Oddly enough, the Dragon had carried him just above the camp and dumped him. This was a blessing and a curse, as water expands and flattens when it hit the ground. So Rhys, now nothing more than a blob of jelly hit the ground, he exploded like a giant tear drop, covering everything.
Rhys didn't feel a thing, but the people who Saphira had alerted with her roar were not too pleased.
After falling for a few moments, Saphira dashed under Eragon and caught him.
"Little one, are you hurt? What happened? Why couldn't I feel you?" Saphira asked, her mind full of worry and concern.
"Fine. Where's Rhys?" Eragon said after he made sure nothing was broken. He had both his legs, arms, and head, and he wasn't in too much pain. His mind was still clouded and everything seemed to be in the wrong place, but he was in one piece.
"Who's Rhys?" Saphira asked, but Eragon felt a small tremor in her mind as he mentioned another person.
"The grey folk I was sent to find. He has a weapon that can help us defeat Galbatorix." Eragon said, and waited for her response.
Instead, Aria's mind rang loud in his ears, "Eragon! What is the idea of dropping this…muck… on us!"
"What muck?" Eragon asked, trying to sound like he had no idea what it meant. He assumed that it was Rhys' doing.
Furious, she sent him a mental picture. The center clearing had been covered by a strange blue glob, and it had covered everything. Eragon could see Roran, Katrina, Jörmundur, Nasuada, and various soldiers standing in the cleared spot, swords and hammer drawn, all covered in dripping in slime.
Eragon tried not to laugh.
"We will be right down" Saphira sent when she realized Eragon wouldn't be able to send anything back without offending Aria. As they drifted down, Eragon quickly explained as much as he could about Rhys.
Saphira landed right in the center of the muck. It was the only place that she could land. Th gunk was very sticky and refused to let go of anything it touched.
"Eragon, you better have a good reason for this. This was a very clean shirt." Roran said a frown on his face but humor in his eye.
"Actually…I have no idea what happened. Did any of you see a boy, white hair and purple eyes?" Eragon asked.
The glop they were standing in moved vigorously. Several people started to shake or scrap off the moving goo, and a few people started to discard clothing.
The blue slop gathered in the center of the clearing, and took the form of a blob with a face. Then it started to squeeze together, taking on more shape and detail, until Rhys was standing before them. Then, color was added, and his clothes were formed and solidified. There was a crunching noise, a sigh, and Rhys was standing, full flesh and bone.
"Well, That was fun, "he said, popping his neck and rotating his joints, "now, miss Dragon, would you be so kind as to tell me why you decided to drop me after you caught me?"
Saphira looked at him for a moment, and had an answer, "you weren't familiar to me, and I've had to deal with human magic for the past three days. You weren't human magic, so I could safely assume you were that stupid mage and her dragon."
"Well, sorry I didn't call ahead; I'll remember to do that next time." Rhys said, flicking small bits of blue slime off his clothes, "now then, let's see what I have to work with…"
Rhys turned around and took a long look at the Varden camp. He looked at the tents, counted the number of drawn swords, and then looked back at Saphira. "Well," He said, "you should be happy to know that if I wanted you all dead, you would be disappointed. Eragon hear told me that I might not receive a warm welcome, and being tossed off Dragon back is not as bad as you would think. However, If Elva, Rion, or Sespa were here, you would be dead. Now then, what can I do to help stop this 'mystery mage' that has caused so much greif?"
"You are just a boy! What can you do? We need a warrior!" a voice in the small and growing assembly said
"Excuse me! Who said that? I dema…want to know who said that!" Rhys said, looking insulted, but then he put on a mask that was calm and calculating. It scared Eragon more than the spirit of Durza.
A soldier walked out of the ring of people, fully arrayed for battle and sword drawn. He was a new recruit, and was a young one. A hot head by the looks of it, and he was challenging Rhys. probably a young man from Surda with a hot temper.
"You are nothing more than a child. Go home." The soldier said, leveling his blade at Rhys.
"oh, so now the youngest 'man' here gives the orders? Well, fine, I'll just be going."
He turned, and started to walk away, and treated Eragon to a sinister form of grin, "but…there are a few reasons I can't leave. One of the reasons being that a few of the soldiers here need to have a few lessons in swordplay."
"Yhea? Like who? You are nothing more than a coward! You have a rapier, and talk of having skill with it. I'm the best swordsman here, so let's see this almighty power of yours." The youth said. From the way that he was standing, he had had a few to drinks. Not enough to send him over, but enough to make him hot tempered and irrational.
"Is that so?" Rhys said quietly, but he seemed amused.
Eragon reached out with his mind. To better anticipate what was about to happen. The youth was angry, mostly because his girlfriend had refused to go to bed with him. Something about short time. His thoughts were also a little muddled, several drinks worth. Eragon could feel absolutely no emotion from Rhys. In fact, he couldn't feel anything at all. To his mind, Rhys was dead.
"Are you making fun of me?" The youth challenged, holding a halberd aloft and making like he was going to throw it.
"Not really. Only agreeing." Rhys said.
"Yhea, I know I'm better than you." The youth said, lowering the halberd and grinning with a smirk that made Eragon want to punch him. It was the same look that everyone had given him before he became a rider. It was a look an adult gave a child that was pushing the boundaries, and needed to be reminded who was bigger.
"Then why did you lower your weapon?" Rhys asked, and then all chaos broke loose. Rhys dashed forward, slapped the youth with the back of his hand. Astounded, the drunk backed away for a step, and then flung the halberd at Rhys, who jumped into the air. It missed, and was flying at Lady Nasuada. Nasuada had no time to move.
"Dark impact!" Rhys shouted, realizing his error. He thrust his hand forward like a fighter hitting a rock, and the Halberd shattered into small slivers of shadow.
Before them youth could even register what he had done wrong, Rhys landed on the ground, dashed forward, and then kicked the youth with his foot, sending him crashing into the tent he was in front of. Several people moved away from the tent
"Not better than me. I would have never thrown a halberd. I prefer close combat."
Rhys turned and looked at Eragon. "You know, this is the most fun I've had in a long time. I think I'll stick around a little while."
"Mage! What are your affiliations?" Jörmundur said. He had approached Rhys from behind, and was now holding a blade behind him, ready to impale his heart.
"Well," Rhys said, taking a seat next to Nasuada, almost three feet away and behind Jörmundur, "I have my own reasons for helping. And no, I don't want to share. Although, if I wanted to cause harm to the Varden, why would I be here? Anyway Jörmundur, I would think very carefully about what you are talking about."
Jörmundur spun around, and Rhys was holding out a card. It was the same one that he had 'taken' from the strange mage. "Not everyone can take a shadow caster spell. It takes a ton of magic, or a willing trade."
Jörmundur took the card without a word.
Rhys stretched and let out a long yawn, "Anyway, anybody know where I can sleep? I feel like I'm about to pass out."
"What! Are you sure?"
The dark waters bubbled, and a hissing noise filed the hollow darkness of the cavern. A single shape was leaning over the pool of black water. A skeletal hand reached out, pale and ghost like in the light. A small rectangular object appeared in the hand, rotating. A horrible hissing noise filled the cavern, and the water shook to the deepest depths. The card burned with dark magic, and then a woman's reflection appeared on the water surface.
She was a young woman with slightly pointed ears and soulless eyes. At one time, the face might have had unsurpassed beauty, but all beauty had been taken away, and replaced with a love for torture and cruelty.
She gazed at the hooded figure, and bowed her head slightly, "Master, He has awakened. This is all according to plan."
The hooded figure glared at the Woman, "Elvia! You fool! He has no recollection of the past. He blotted it out to not remember. You gave the messenger the wrong spell. Instead of the spell of remembrance, you gave him the emblem of awakening! Do you not remember the power he possesses?"
"I remember perfectly master. But the emblem of awakening has a side effect. It loosens the walls of any barriers on the mind. He remembers what we did, and he made the connection with the present, but as time goes by, he will remember what he had done. When he remembers, we shall all rise as we did before, and crush them all." Elvia said, her voice ringing with confidence, and he mouth twitched, almost a smile, but not one that was friendly at all.
"Hmmmmm…" The hooded figure thought. As time passed, he wondered of any possible consequences. Then he grinned, "yes…I see you wicked plan. We shall raise the Legion, and then, we will see if he can summon the immortals. That will be the time to strike, as he will be battling himself. Well done."
"Yes Master. We shall Rise, and with us, the Truth will be reborn." Elvia said, and then the water became calm again and the woman disappeared.
"Yes…truth will rise… I only hope, dear Elvia, that you can face your own."
"So…You can talk to a dead dragon…With this?" Rhys said, poking Glader's Eldunarí, "doesn't look like much…more like an egg than a soul tomb."
"And Eragon isn't the only that can speak to me."Glader said, his voice echoing in the boy's head.
Rhys looked surprised for a moment, and then he grinned, "Telekinesis. That explains a lot. Eragon the first refused to tell me any of his secrets. He considered his dragon to be something of a king's daughter, and was very protective. Corse, I couldn't blame him, being hated by both dragons and elves at first, but it would have been nice to have a few ideas of how things worked. You know no surprises and all that. So, where can I sleep?"
Eragon looked around. Every room in the keep had two people in it, except his. Even Arya had an Elvin mage in her room with her. But he also had the smallest room, another reason he had his own room. All he had was a small closet that he could stuff Saphira's saddle into if he really tried. The rest of his floor was littered with scrolls and histories that had words of the ancient language on them. It looked like a tornado had torn threw his room, and then spit out a fine layer of dust.
"I have a closet, but I'll need to move Saphira's saddle first." Eragon said, moving to the closet, trying hard not to step on any scrolls.
Rhys jumped, and landed on a clear spot a few feet from the closet. He opened the closet, hefted the heavy saddle, and tossed it onto Eragon's bed. "Not bad. I could use this. Although, you will have to knock before you come in. enchantments and all. That and relearning old powers are worse than learning them the first time. Learning them, you learn the hard way. Relearning, you remember the shortcuts, but not the way they work. Now, if you will excuse me, time to set up shop."
He jumped into the closet, and then shut the door.
Eragon shook his head. "Saphira. If I didn't know any better, I'd say we picked up a loon."
Saphira snorted, "I don't know better. I think you did pick up a loon."
Eragon thought about that. He was the only person that had seen what had happened on the top of the mountain. Rhys hadn't deflected any energy, but he had channeled it into ways that he could use it. And then, he had become a warrior. The amount of energy that the warrior had released, and the feeling of terror and fear that he griped Eragon had been…amazing. He didn't scare to easily any more, thanks to Thorn and Murtagh attacking them constantly. And the deathless soldiers did things to a person's nerves. They were intimidating at first, because they felt no pain, but as they became more common, they were…less intimidating. Rhys was different. That warrior had been strong, and Eragon had a feeling that the blade that the warrior had was stronger even that his rider blade. That wasn't the scary part. What was scary was the feeling of raw power that was sleeping in Rhys. The warrior had been a default. What was Rhys's choice? Was it stronger? Or was the warrior an accident and nothing should be thought of it? And would he boost moral like they wanted? Saphira said that he seemed like a loon, and he did act a little loony. The Varden probably thought that he was a loon as well.
Footsteps rushed down the hall, and Eragon's door was thrown wide open. A breathless scout came in, fear in his eyes. "Eragon! We need you in the front lines, the strange Mage has returned, but she has more than one dragon!"
"What!" Rhys yelled, slamming open the closet door, his anger and volume scaring the scout.
"She has come…with two dragons…one is the blue-eyed, white terror, and the other is a Large black on two legs and with arms. It has spikes and blades all over it." The scout said meekly, withering under Rhys's Glare.
"Dark Armed and Blue Eyes…Well, it seems that I'm going to be needed sooner than I thought…" Rhys said, and swept out of the room with a pace that was like a horses trot.
Elvia. It had to be. She was the only one that used Dark Armed dragon. And she was good. That wasn't good. Rhys had remembered some of his basic tactics, but nothing to what he used to know. He had to remember more, and even at full strength, Elvia was a pain. He wasn't even half strength, and she was already making a house call? Lame. Well, if anything else, he would have some fun. As he walked down the hall towered the ramparts of the fort, he mentally checked the monsters he would use, the spells he had, and the traps that he had set.
The ramparts were chaos. Everyone wanted to see the two dragons, weather for good or ill, and most ran away panicking. Rhys reached the middle of the chaotic Rampart, and looked for Elvia. She had to be there, as a shadow monster is almost impossible to control at a great distance.
There! She was on top of Dark Armed Dragon. She looked thinner than he remembered, and her face had lost all beauty it might have had. She looked right at Rhys, and even at the distance of the field, he could feel her grin and malcontent. He saw a flash, and Blue Eyes lifted off the ground, a light gathering at his open mouth, and All people on the rampart took off with all speed. A smaller red dragon moved farther away from Elvia, but Rhys didn't recognize the beast, so he ignored it, focusing only on Elvia's Dragon.
He didn't have to wait long.
The burst stream attack flew across the open field like a falling star, the dreadful roar hitting the wall before the blast. The land was ripped to pieces, and the wind was beaten, making the Blast attack come even faster. Rhys vaguely wondered how much she practiced.
But, now wasn't the time for thought, it was the time for instinct! Well, and a little thought. If he activated the wrong trap too early, it wouldn't do him any good. So, his mind worked at light speed. Dark Burst Breath Stream was a spell card that had been made specifically for Elvia. It allowed her to select Her Dark Armed Dragon, give that attack to another monster, and then that monster immediately attacked. It was a very powerful attack, but it counted as effect damage in the game, making it really hard to stop. Stopping it would be…complicated. However, redirecting it wouldn't be.
"Nature's Reflection!" Rhys yelled as soon as the comet cleared the middle of the battle field, and a Card appeared in front of his outstretched hand, and flashed.
A large stone slab rose from the earth, green light glowing around it.
"What? A Wall? Is that the best that you can do?" A soldier said despairingly.
Rhys didn't say anything.
"You are mad!" The soldier said, running for his life.
"Am I mad?" Rhys said to himself, "or am I the only sane one."
The blast slammed into the rock wall with the force of a falling star, but the formation held. Rhys almost didn't. In the game, the cards worked, and that was that. The cards themselves were not important. Rhys could be very weak and summon a strong monster, and the monster would be much weaker. The same applied in reverse. The game also didn't kill people. In reality, the cards worked and gave the tools or weapons, but the user had to be strong enough to use them. Elvia had practice, and her attack probably took little out of her.
Rhys on the other hand was completely out of practice. His counter should have been nothing more than a flick of his wrist, but as soon as all the energy and force slammed into the stone monolith, what would have been a simple blast back before became a mountain to lift with two twigs. Rhys was slammed with the energy, and he was even shoved back a few feet.
But he wasn't done. He shoved back. He didn't shove hard, but he shoved a little, and then he was shoving a lot. He remembered the power that he had, and now he was angry that he couldn't do what he should be able to. That he promised Eragon that he would help, and it would do no one any good if he decided to let himself get blown up.
"No…You…Don't!" He roared, and shoved all the energy he had at his disposal at the shove back.
The energy was absorbed into the stone, and with a few quick motions, Rhys sent the energy blasting back.
The Light, now a distinctly bluer shade, slammed into Blue eyes like the world itself. A Crack of thunder ripped the sky open, and a flash of light so bright that it burned the eyes of the stars was accompanied with a Scream of pain, from both Dragon and human.
Rhys gazed on as the light cleared. Blue-eyes was frozen in time, and then it became translucent, and burst into small fragments of shadow.
The Death of a shadow monster.
Shadow monsters were made of shadow, but the attacks were, curiously, made of light. That was why a Shadow Monster could only be beaten by a Shadow Monster or Shadow Caster.
People were coming up to congratulate him, or look dumbfounded as the stone slab sank into the ground. A sound traveled across the battle field, and Rhys realized that the noise was someone clapping.
"Bravo. You managed to get rid of one." The voice said, echoing in Rhys head, and from the look on the other faces, they could hear the voice as well. It was feminine, but the comment had a sneer in it. From the tone in her voice, she was not happy about him reflecting the attack, and not at all happy that he had managed to hit her dragon.
"Elvia." Rhys said. Two people looked at him, Eragon and Nasuada. Eragon had heard him mention Elvia, but Nasuada had no clue that he knew the Dark elf. For all she knew, he was there because he wanted to fight for the Varden. Boy was she wrong.
"Now, can you handle Dark Armed? Attack!" Elvia's thoughts said.
The large black dragon roared his assent, and charged down the field. He didn't need to blast any energy yet. All he needed to do was run into the wall, and he would cause massive damage. Elvia was grinning.
"A Hero Emerges." Rhys said, and raised his hands wide above his head.
A ring of cards appeared above his head, and began to circle. Rhys reached up, took one, and looked at it.
"Perfect." He said, "Decoy Dragon!"
A ring of light Appeared in a small space in front of the fortress, and a small blue dragon, halve the size of Eragon, appeared. He flapped his tiny wings, and hovered in front of the castle gates. It looked like a pet more than a dragon, but it would be a mistake to call it anything other. Dragon hatchling. maybe.
By itself, the small blue dragon was doomed.
"Now! Mountain!"
A Second card flashed, but this one was different. Instead of flashing, this one sent out a wave of light, and the ground behind the fortress rose up, creating an unnatural, but real, mountain.
"Soul Exchange!"Rhys yelled
A third card flashed, and Dark armed tried to skid to a stop, a look of horror on his face. The look of assured Triumph on Elvia's face vanished, and she screamed "No!" and tried to stop him with a spell, but Rhys was already in motion.
Decoy Dragon glowed a brilliant white, and shot up into the air, its body nothing more than an orb of strange energy, part light and part shadow. Then the body of Dark Armed Dragon became transparent, and Elvia jumped off, her face still a mixture of rage, anger, and…Fear?
Eragon wondered that if this powerful mage was scared of whatever Rhys was summoning, should he be too?
A physical change passed over Rhys. His hair became longer, and armor grew from his shoulders down, and covered all but his head and left arm. His vibrant eyes became a deep dark shade of Purple that no light escaped from. A wicked crescent blade appeared in his clenched fist, and dark energy flowed from him to the blade, make the shadows look bright. His grinning face became a twisted mirror image, and all youth was gone. Rhys now looked as mad as Elvia.
"You are mad!" Elvia screamed, "They can't be controlled!"
Dark armed dragon disappeared, replaced by the same energy that Decoy Dragon had become, and then shot up to join the circling orb that had been decoy dragon.
"Funny thing is, they can't be controlled to be used for good. Only anger. Guess what I've carried around with me for the past 500 years or so?" Rhys laughed, his face becoming something more sinister. This was nothing like the magnificent warrior he had become the first time, this was something undesirable, something that would scare a shade out of his wits.
"I summon…"
"Please…don't do this!" Elvia pleaded. She looked truly terrified now, "I…I…I had no choice! The others made me! That was why I gave Jörmundur the Key!"
"…A monster of unimaginable power…"
"You are mad!" Elvia screamed, tears in her eyes, and then she turned and ran.
"…a creature born of hatred, one that lived in the shadows of the soul…"
Blue flames leaped up from the ground, and encircled the entire fortress, making a design. From Eragon's view on Saphira, the flames connected, and made the form of a strange looking dragon.
"I Summon…"
Elvia had no place to go, and she looked to the sky with pure horror. Eragon followed her gaze, and realized that a large stone object was floating in the air. It looked like a large heart. The energy from the two monsters came together, and was absorbed into the stone heart. Energy coursed in shallow lines that crisscrossed the heart.
WHUMP-BUMP
The air vibrated with sound, and the heart beat once, then again WHUMP-BUMP. Eragon could feel his own heart start to beat faster, and the stone heart made him feel a terror that he hadn't felt since he was a small child. Saphira felt it, and even Thorn, who had been snaking up behind them and let out a rather un-dragonish squawk of terror.
As long as that heart was beating, Eragon felt a new terror, one that made him fear for the lives of everyone he knew. It was fear of the night.
"The earthbound immortal…"
WHUMP-BUMP...WHUMB-BUMP…WHUMP-BUMP
"…Rasca Raiscu!" Rhys screamed, a look of pure hatred on his face, and his blade was thrust towered the sky. All the Varden around him had backed away.
The stone Heart…exploded. Sort of. The heart was blown into chunks, and a beam of powerful energy blasted down like a beam from the sun, shattering the night for worlds around. The force of the energy passing would have been enough to knock a man down on his face, and it shoved Saphira and Eragon a good twenty feet down.
On the ground, all was chaos. The energy hit the ground, and entered without a single ripple. Then Rhys laughed, "Know that you fate is in my hands. Gaze upon the form of terror, the Earthbound…Dragon!"
The ground surged up in a massive explosion, sending rocks the size of men flying in all directions. And a shape rose out of the gaping hole of blue flames, a form of complete and total darkness. The head was larger than a castle, and the body was made out of smooth turns. It was a dragon, but none that had ever been seen.
Not a scale could be seen instead, lines were inscribed along the creature, glowing a purple color, the same as Rhys eyes, and two horns stuck out of the dragon's head in the same shadow form as the rest of its body. The tail was a full twenty people long, and the feet were large enough to pick up a large house easily. No claws. No for legs either, instead it had large wings. Large was an understatement, as they seemed to go on forever; the entire span could have been a league by itself! There was no color on this beast, and it was darker than the night around it. The energy that it radiated was pure. Powerful. Hatred.
Then the creature let out a cry from the elongated snout, a cry that was one of greif, sadness, and fury combined. Several of the Varden screamed, and Eragon found himself shaking. Even Saphira was having trouble flying near the creature.
Rhys was laughing, "Well…Any last words? Because Rasca and I are about to obliterate the piece of earth that you stand on."
"You are no better than the others! I thought you would at least remember your own sister!" Elvia screamed, tears streaming down her face
"Some sister I had." Rhys said coldly, but Eragon had felt something in Rhys mind. Regret? Unwillingness?
Regardless, it was something. Rhys didn't want to kill Elvia; that much Eragon could get from Rhys's thoughts, but something seemed to be controlling him. Something stronger and bigger than any of them. Hatred.
"Now…Die!" Rhys screamed, and thrust his blade at Elvia.
Rasca screamed again, and energy began to gather around Rasca, and several lights appeared around its mouth. One of them would have been enough to take out a dragon. Rhys was having Rasca attack with six Blasts.
And there was nothing He could do. Well, almost nothing.
Reading his mind, Saphira agreed, and they dived.