Sorry this took so long to write but I've had a bunch of stuff going on lately. I might be more inclined to write more often if people reviewed…*hint hint* I'm getting lots of hits but most people won't take the time to review.

I now present Nexus: Part 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"How did you get into a situation where only you could escape? You told me how it ended, I want to hear the whole story," stated Asural, determined to get an answer.

"Well, I guess it's time you know what is going on." Jae paused a second to collect her thoughts, then continued, "We had been sent by the Varden to discover the whereabouts of Doruin and weaken them if possible. Since our magic was the only kind that worked against them, Tial and I were sent to find them.

We set out and traveled for nearly a month without finding a trace. But then we heard a rumor in Furnost of some cloaked figures who moved about like ghosts across the lake the night before. We had finally found them. We knew they were in the area so we up a search grid ten miles wide in hopes of finding them. We hoped that if they detected the use of the Nexus, they would show themselves quickly.

We waited for two days but they did not show up. Dismayed, we started to travel northwest and four days later, we found them. There were only two, but they were still fierce opponents. We prevailed and were about to deliver the final blow when they vanished and no trace of them was left.

We searched the area but they eluded us. We continued northwest, expecting them to appear at any moment. They found us at night a week later. All five of them were there and none of our attacks seemed to work. When we attacked one, another blocked the attack. When we tried to attack all five at once, they created a wide-range shield that deflected the attack.

We were quickly overwhelmed but we managed to escape by masking our presence and momentarily blinding them. Yet despite our best efforts, they managed to find us a few hours later in an old house where we were hiding.

You already know the rest," finished Jae. "We did learn one thing from our encounter with them; you don't find Doruin, Doruin finds you."

They sat in silence for a while until Asural finally asked, "Who are the Varden?"

"They are a secret resistance force against Galbatorix. Unless you decide to join them, that is all I can tell you."

"I know that what happened to me has probably turned the entire empire against me, but I don't want to join the Varden just because the Empire is after me."

"Tial was part of the Varden; he joined two years ago after he encountered Doruin. I don't know the details, but he left the military the day after they came to see him. He was nearly dead when I found him. I took him back to the Varden and they healed him. Out of gratitude for saving his life, he joined the Varden. I saw the potential in him so I taught him about the Nexus."

"I see, so that's why I never saw him..."

"You don't have to decide right away, there are still ten more days until we can get out of here. But the Varden could use another Nexus user."

"I'll think about it," said Asural. He sat there for several minutes before asking, "What happens if the empire captures me and, like they do to all magic users, drug me. I've heard of the effects the drug has, but how could I escape from that?"

"I knew I was forgetting something," laughed Jae. "To help with concentrating on several spells at once, you can set the spells to activate on a command, like a word or phrase."

"How did something that important slip your mind?" Asked Asural, slightly annoyed. "It could have helped a lot during the training."

"Don't get me wrong, it's a good thing to have; but in a battle your opponent would know what attack is coming. Anyways you shouldn't allow yourself to be captured."

"What if Doruin finds me, or a company with magicians and skilled warriors notice who I am?"

"If Doruin finds you, you'll have more trouble to deal with than worrying about being captured. As for the company, at your level of skill it would take about ten powerful magicians to take you down and even then they'll have their hands full. Anyways there is no single company with enough people and magic to defeat either of us."

"So are you telling me that I can take on an entire company single-handed and win?"

"Yes, but do not become arrogant with your new powers," Jae warned, "You must be careful, there are those within the Empire who can still fight you on even footing. If run into one of them it would be best if it was one on one."

They talked the rest of the night and the next ten days were spent preparing themselves for their journey.

At the end of their time in the forest, Asural finally decided to join the Varden.

When he had made his decision Jae said, "Good. Now we have a few weeks of traveling ahead of us. Before we go, you might want to change clothes, it could be troublesome if someone sees you in the Empire's army attire."

Asural looked down and closed his eyes for a second.

When he opened them, he was wearing a dark grey traveler's cloak.

A minute later the gap between two trees darkened and a field could be seen beyond it. They walked through it and into the field.

They arrived at Farthen Dur with nothing exciting happening and Asural was still in awe of the size of the mountains when they arrived at the entrance.

Asural noticed the dead end and asked, "Are sure this is the right way?"

Jae just shrugged and walked behind the waterfall, Asural following.

There was a small cave there and not much else.

Jae called loudly, "Open the door! It's Jae!"

Nothing happened as they stood there for several seconds.

Jae yelled, "You've got three seconds to open the door before I open it!"

Nothing happened and Jae placed her hand on the wall which was instantly blown apart the moment her hand touched it.

Jae muttered about something to do with the guards and not protecting the area as she stepped through the newly made hole.

They had entered a large tunnel that was perfectly carved into the mountain and looked like it went all the way to the mountain's core.

They were alone for approximately five seconds when several unseen doors quickly opened and thirty dwarves rushed out, weapons drawn.

Asural tensed, ready for any move against them; while Jae stood and didn't seem to care all that much, as if this happened regularly.

One of the dwarves spoke up, "It's only you. Why is it that you always have to destroy our doors instead of an ordinary hello?"

Jae laughed and said, "I wouldn't have to destroy the door if it had been opened in the first place. I do fix it afterwards, don't I?"

With that Jae snapped her fingers and the chunks rock refitted themselves into the hole. The noise of the waterfall was shut out and silence surrounded the group.

Another dwarf spoke up, "Who is he?" Pointing at Asural, who still had yet to be noticed.

All of the dwarves turned and pointed their weapons at him. Asural stood there silently, all the while watching the dwarves.

"He's with me," said Jae. "He is Tial's brother."

The dwarves quickly sheathed their weapons and bowed. The first dwarf, who appeared to be the groups leader said, "We are honored."

Jae cleared her throat, "Could we move along? I don't like being surrounded by this much rock."

The dwarves stood back up and prepared to escort them inside.

To clarify the time when this is taking place, Brom formed the Varden about five years before and it is still a small, mostly unknown resistance group. Yet because Brom is the leader, it is one of the more powerful resistances.

Please Review