Chapter Eight
Masters, Mistresses and Apprentices
Disclaimer: See chapter two.
The elf regarded the three initiates for a while, studying them with a steady gaze.
The rider cocked his head, as though listening to something.
'You've set me a very pretty problem, Aragon the Grey, discovering magic right from before your training has even officially begun.' Said the rider after a moment.
'Is it good, or bad?…Master.' Added Aragon remembering after a brief moment.
The rider chuckled quietly. 'Normally, it would be a serious problem, but in your case, it is rather fortunate.' Answered the rider, 'but before we get into your training, or at least, the subject of it, I believe introductions are in order.' Said the rider, 'So, I'll start, I am Eragon the Scion, first amongst the riders.' Said Eragon calmly.
Jarren and Sarah looked at Eragon sharply.
'It is an honour.' Said Aragon in an awed voice, averting his gaze. 'I am Aragon the Grey, of Tierm.' He said in a forced level voice.
'I'm Jarren Miles.' Said Jarren simply.
'And where do you herald from?' Asked Eragon.
Jarren shrugged. 'I was born at sea.' He said casually, 'so you could say I'm from everywhere.'
Eragon nodded, 'an interesting philosophy,' he said, before turning his attention to Sarah.
'And who might you be, young lady?' Eragon asked again.
'Sarah Coburg, my lord, also of Tierm.' Said Sarah respectfully.
'No need to be so formal, all riders defer only to Vrael, and you need only use 'master' or 'mistress', for your teachers.' Admonished Eragon.
You should know master, that my name is Thelduin Evar-Skulblaka, or Thelduin Star-Dragon. Said Thelduin to Eragon.
'You're telepathy has strengthened with the joining, Thelduin, I am impressed.' Said Eragon calmly,-the two had obviously spoken before.
Eragon pulled a rune-etched wand from a hidden pocket in his left sleeve.
He gave the wand a small flick, and four mugs, and a pot of blueberry tea materialised in mid air, and hung there.
Elmïra looked slightly unnerved by the strange magic, but didn't say anything.
Eragon poured himself, and the three initiates a mug of the brew, and passed them out, then with another flick of his wand, lowered the pot to the ground.
'How did you do that?' Asked Jarren curiously.
Eragon looked at the wand fondly. 'I acquired this during my travels.' He said calmly.
Elmïra snorted. 'Eragon made that wand himself, during his wanderings through space and time.' She said shortly.
'What?' Said Aragon in shock, 'if it's impossible to bring others back from the dead, how is it possible to go to the afterlife, and return without dying?' He asked.
Eragon laughed in genuine amusement. 'Afterlife? Dear me, no, I've never been to the afterlife, it was a parallel world, to ours.' He explained.
'Parallel-?'
'World, yes.' Answered Eragon before Jarren could finish.
'How is that possible?' Whispered Sarah.
'Well, after many years study, Bid'Daum and myself managed to devise a spell, that by which we could transport ourselves anywhere in Alagaësia instantly without killing ourselves, but there was a drawback: the spell had to be contained, otherwise there was no telling where you might end up, Bid'Daum and myself found that out the hard way, we got dragged through several, distinctly different dimensions, and in one of them, we got dragged into several very different stages of it's history, until in the most terrible one of them, which was that world's distant future, I managed to barter my way back home, in return for teaching a seer, who's name I can't reveal, how to use our brand of magic.' Said Eragon, 'It was him who deduced that if I wanted the spell to work properly, it had to be contained, so, when Bid'Daum and myself returned here, after a stint of rest, we fashioned great arches of stone, and spelled them to send us to where ever we wanted to go.' Finished Eragon, taking a sip of his tea.
Aragon sat back, numb, it was just too outlandish to be true.
'Enough on that, it's time I introduced your new teachers.' Said Eragon.
Aragon swallowed nervously.
After his encounter with Dorian Staves back in Tierm, he was wary of any other riders who bore the status of master.
'Aragon,' said Eragon casually, 'you are to study under Elmïra.' He said.
Aragon let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.
Then glanced up. Elmïra was giving him a level look.
'This isn't going to be pleasant.' She informed him.
Aragon shrugged. 'It never crossed my mind that it'd be anything but, ebrithä.' He said.
Eragon cleared his throat.
Aragon faced towards the elf again.
'Sarah, Jarren, I think it best if you two study under me.' Said Eragon quietly.
Jarren's mouth fell open in shock.
'What?' Said Sarah in shocked awe.
Aragon couldn't help but feel envious of his two friends:
They got to train under perhaps the most well known, powerful and famous rider ever: Eragon the Scion, a living legend from the time before humans had come across the sea.
Elmïra sighed, and drank the last of her wine, paused for a second, then walked past Aragon.
'Come on, Aragon the Grey,' she said wearily, 'I don't know about you, but I'd like to sleep in an actual bed tonight, and tomorrow is going to be eventful for you to say the least.' She said.
Eragon nodded. 'You two best be off to sleep as well, it'll be an eventful day for you tomorrow,' the old elf advised.
Aragon nodded goodnight to Sarah and Jarren as Teclian stalked out of the left-hand giant passage, and joined Elmïra.
Elmïra jumped nimbly onto Teclian's back,-a good three metres off the ground, then motioned for Aragon to follow.
Aragon hesitated, and glanced at Teclian.
Come on hatchling, I wish to get at least some rest this night. Said the old dragon, grumpily and Aragon immediately clambered up Teclian's massive left foreleg, and behind Elmïra, who quickly showed him how to buckle his legs to Teclian's saddle.
No sooner than Aragon had finished, and Thelduin had nestled herself into Aragon's shirt, than Aragon felt Teclian coil for a split second, then his stomach was left in the cave mouth, as Teclian jumped into the air, and dropped sickeningly for several seconds before he beat his massive wings, and gained altitude.
Thelduin whooped inside Aragon's mind, and he could feel her enthusiasm for flying, and her resentment that she was not yet big enough to fly alongside the colossal Teclian without being swept aside by the gusts of wind his wings created, or left behind.
Cheer up Thelduin, we start our training tomorrow. Said Aragon happily to his dragon.
Thelduin chuckled, and Aragon only heard it because she did it mentally.
You might, all I do is-
Whatever Elmïra and myself say. Said Teclian firmly.
Thelduin lapsed into a sulky silence, as Teclian descended beside a massively thick willow tree, and landed with deceptive grace.
Aragon quickly disengaged his legs from Teclian's saddle and followed his new teacher up into a house grown from the tree.
Elmïra quietly showed him where he could sleep, and no sooner than she had left than Aragon laid down on the bed, fully clothed, and went to sleep, with Thelduin coiled up beside his head.
Again, nothing much changed here, except for a few minor details towards the end that implied that Teclian possessed a power I gave Thelduin a few chapters further ahead, and also that Elmïra's house was large enough to comfortably house Teclian without collapsing.
No One-liners!