Hi everyone! Chapter after this one, part of one of the twins' true nature will be revealed…
"Welcome!" Eragon greeted them on Saphira, her sapphire scales sparkling in the sunlight. She was much bigger than Fírnen or Shiün, but also older. "We have been expecting you!" He touched two fingers to his lips. "Atra esterní ono thelduin," he greeted Kyra.
"Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr," Kyra answered, touching her lips also.
"Un du evarínya ono varda," he finished the greeting, then repeated it with Veyna, Nuaen, and Istalri.
"Shadeslayer—" Kyra began.
"I need not be known by that here, at Gedwëy Evarínya. We are all family here. You all may call me Eragon."
"Um, Eragon, it's a pleasure to meet you," Kyra stammered.
Istalri's flaps became less frequent and they began to sink lower.
"I imagine your dragons will need a nice long rest after a flight like that," said Eragon kindly. "Saphira and I will show you to some temporary rooms. Tomorrow we can take the tour."
"Great!" Veyna replied excitedly, feeding Istalri a small stream of energy. She could feel her dragon's exhaustion and burning muscles. Gratitude emanated from Istalri as she joined Saphira in a downward dive, an equally tired Nuaen beside her.
The circle of stone looked nearer, a large grassy area with a lake in the center. Small figures and larger dragons ran around on the field, banging swords together. The elves' melodious laughter joined with the Urgal's guttural amusement in this wondrous place. As they got closer, Veyna could see that some large pieces of stone jutted out on the outside, while only small ones did on the inside. At last Saphira pulled out of the dive with wings spread out to their full extension, slowing her fall. Istalri and Nuaen, however, did nothing and plummeted into the soft dirt, where they lay, breathing heavily. Veyna pulled the saddle off and placed her hand on the side of Istalri's forest green neck. Thank you, she murmured, soothing her dragon's aches as best she could.
She hugged her dragon's side as Istalri stood up, shaking dirt off her scales. Her eyes blinked bright, but her tail still dragged against the ground.
Saphira set the pace: an easy, loping one that they all could match. Finally they reached the edge of the clearing that ran right up against the stone wall. Off to the right, there were several marble caves filled with fresh grass. Only one of them was occupied, its inhabitant a red dragon whose tail kept swishing from side to side as he slept. They crept past him and Istalri and Nuaen shared a nest while Kyra and Veyna crawled under their wings. After days of sleeping in the saddle, it felt so good to lie down again. The day turned into night, and night drifted on into morning.
0==]=======
When Eragon met them the next day, Tamos was still with him. "Good morning!" he greeted them. Kyra, Veyna, I would like to properly introduce you to Saphira."
Well met, O beautiful huntress, they murmured.
Well met, Kyra. Well met, Veyna. I sense great power in you two.
Thank you, Bjartskular, Veyna spoke for them both.
"Aren't you going to introduce us to your dragons?" Eragon asked, smiling slightly.
"Oh!" Kyra jumped. "Eragon, Saphira, this is Nuaen. Nuaen, Eragon and Saphira."
"And this is Istalri," Veyna said quietly, "She Who Is the Light of My Life." Eragon's eyes twinkled as he gazed at Istalri.
You both will become mighty hunters, my daughters of the sky, Saphira told them. From the spike of joy that emanated from Istalri, Veyna guessed "daughter of the sky" was a greater compliment to dragons than it seemed to elves. It was obvious from Saphira's gaze of affection that she considered all young dragons her offspring, although only two were known about, and they were not Nuaen or Istalri.
Pleasantries over, Eragon got to business. "Kyra, you will go with Tamos," he directed, "Veyna, you'll get the tour from Saphira and me." Despite the fact that it was probably just random, Veyna couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride that Eragon had selected her over her twin to take on the tour. He was the legendary Kingkiller, after all.
"We will go on foot for this first part," he instructed her. Together, the party headed for the big wooden doors nearest to them. "We tried to make it all out of stone," Eragon began, "since it's not flammable. But the doors have always been wood for some reason."
"How often do you have to replace them?" Veyna asked.
Eragon grinned. "About every couple weeks." He stepped inside the huge room. "This is the dining hall, open all hours of the day for a bite to eat, but meals are served at 7:00, 12:00, and 6:30. When you start night training, however, it'll be 8:00, 1:00 at night, and 7:00 in the morning for supper. We serve food for all the races here."
He caught Veyna's eye. "Yes, even meat. Faelnirv and mead are served on special occasions and at dinner only. You don't have to eat with your mentor, all the Riders mix to eat. As you can see, there's enough room for the dragons as well. You'll soon find that all of Gedwëy Evarínya is constructed with dragons in mind."
Only a few people were seated at the tables, tearing at hunks of bread or sipping cups of tea. They moved onward, going into the large hallway to their right.
"This," Eragon gestured, "is the first set of rooms. Past here..." He paused as they kept moving forward, "Here is the Scrying Mirror. There's always an adult Rider stationed here. We have one mirror and several of pools of water to use."
"Do you need permission to use the pools?" Veyna asked.
"No, everything is open here. We trust you young Riders not to abuse it," Eragon told her. "The next set of rooms is in between here and the Healing Center." After another five minute walk, they reached an open doorway. Inside, bottles of various brews and different herbs lined the shelves. A few beds—some made for humans, some made for dragons—lay in a corner of the room.
"Why do we need a healing center?" Veyna asked, "Almost everyone can heal each other with magic, can't they?"
"Yes, but the Healing Center is for large wounds, ones that a single person couldn't heal by themselves. We have stores of energy here which will help us with the grievous injuries."
Veyna looked alarmed. "Are they common?"
"More often than you might think," Eragon answered, "Mostly young Riders falling off their dragons at great heights or getting drastically burned accidentally."
The next large room they went to was the most peculiar. Statues of misshapen and beautiful dwarves, Urgals, and humans guarded the entrance and lined the walls inside.
"The temple," Eragon whispered, "for all those who want to pray to their various gods. As an elf, I would assume you would not visit here much except when your learning requires it."
Veyna shook her head in agreement, watching a stoutly dwarf kowtow to one of the largest statues of all.
Another set of rooms lay beyond the temple, and further than that was, Eragon said, the most precious room.
As soon as they entered, Istalri stiffened. There are many dragons here, Istalri said to Veyna, but I cannot see them.
"This is the Hall of the Eldunarí," Eragon began, "It is the most revered place in Gedwëy Evarínya. Here, you may converse with dragons of all ages, but you cannot see them."
"What are Eldunarí?" Veyna asked.
"That is a lesson for another time," Eragon told her, "For their protection and Istalri's."
Istalri's? Veyna thought, but did not ask again.
What does Eldunarí mean? Istalri projected her thoughts directly to Saphira.
Alas, little one, I cannot tell you, Saphira replied gently, When you are ready, you will know.
With that mysterious answer, Eragon said, "Come. There is more to show you from the sky."
The group went outside and Veyna hopped up on Istalri's back. Through their mental link, she could feel the after-flying soreness in Istalri's muscles and hoped the flight would be short.
They took off up into the air, rising above the field. "That's the training field," Eragon explained, "Your mentor will assign partners and during your free time you can spar with anyone there."
"What kind of weapons are we allowed to use?" asked Veyna.
"Anything blunted with magic," Eragon grinned, "We've just got standard training ones down there right now, but when your mentor deems you ready in fighting one or two will be forged for you."
"Who does the forging?"
"Rhunön," he answered, "I released her from her oath some time ago. The dwarf Rider Curf used to help her, before he left for Vroengard."
"I met him there!" Veyna realized.
Eragon looked puzzled. "What were you doing on Vroengard?"
"We had to go there, after the fire on the Crags of Tel'naeir…" Veyna trailed off, realizing the news hadn't reached Gedwëy Evarínya yet. There was no one to take it.
"What? The Crags are on fire?"
"Were. Were on fire," Veyna told him, "They put it out."
"Is Arya okay?" he asked worriedly.
Istalri smirked slightly.
"No one was hurt," Veyna answered.
"Okay," Eragon shook his mind as if to clear it. "I'll have Blödgarm send a Rider or two to Ellesméra after we finish here." Saphira banked to the right, Istalri swooping in to follow her.
"Do you see those balconies jutting out from the building?" Eragon asked, "Those are for the dragons to sleep on. They connect directly to the Riders' rooms. The bigger the dragon, the bigger the balcony has to be. As Istalri grows, she'll need different balconies. The smallest ones are on the inside of the compound, as it's safer for the young dragons. The largest ones are higher up on the outside."
"What are the rules for Gedwëy Evarínya?" Veyna asked.
"Don't set anybody on fire," Eragon joked. "No, it's all honor system here. Do what your mentor tells you. Also, the library to the right of the temple is off-limits to Riders-in-training, as is leaving the island without permission."
"What kind of things are in the rooms?" Veyna asked.
"There's a large bed, a writing desk, a chest for personal belongings, and a small scroll shelf. Note that doors have no locks in Gedwëy Evarínya. We have no need of them. In the next room is a bathroom with a mirror, wash basin, bath, and place to relieve yourself. Also, each room is shared with another Rider."
"I get a roommate?"
"Yes, when we find you one. Girls and boys can request to be roomed together, but it has to be approved by their masters. The only other restriction is that the two cannot be family by blood."
"What? Why?"
"I'm sorry you will have to split with Kyra. But you need to learn to work alone."
"I guess that means we'll have different mentors as well?"
"Yes."
"Okay." Veyna thought a minute. "What happens if you need to contact us, like in an emergency?"
"If you ever feel your gedwëy ignasia burn, that means we all need to meet in the middle of the training field. Hopefully that will never happen. Any more questions? Istalri?"
Veyna shook her head. "It all seems fairly straight forward."
Who're our mentors going to be? Istalri projected her thoughts to both Eragon and Saphira.
"I have selected your mentors myself, and a letter from them awaits you in your new room. Come, let us go down." Saphira folded her wings into her sides and began to fall straight down like a rock, unfurling them at the last moment, rising about ten feet above the ground, level with one of the balconies. Istalri followed, but, still sore, went for a less fun but easier and more elegant dive and hovered there a few seconds later.
Istalri, please pick a balcony nest, Saphira told her, After you get settled in, we can consider roommate options.
Thank you, Saphira, Istalri said respectfully.
Train well, daughter of the wind, Saphira replied, withdrawing from her mind.
"We only cater to dragons," Eragon grinned apologetically, "You can't roast us to a crisp with your breath." Veyna smiled, checked with Istalri, and pointed to the balcony they were hovering next to.
"She says that one will do," Veyna replied, "Thank you, Eragon."
0==]=======
Veyna dismounted Istalri, stepping onto the sun-heated stone floor of the balcony. Her hand slid off the dragon's neck as she stepped forward into the room, lit by two Erisdar in opposite corners. On each side of the room was matching furniture, all ready and waiting for her roommate. Veyna sat down on one of the beds, looking around at her new living space.
Kyra! she realized. Where are you? She reached out with her mind to find her twin, who immediately sensed her presence. Her door was pushed open with a bang and Kyra grinned at her.
"Who's your mentor?" she asked excited. She spotted the scroll lying untouched on the desk. "I got Tamos and Shiün!" she almost sang.
"Nice," Veyna said with a smile. She slid over to the desk and picked up the scroll, untying the red ribbon around it. She unfurled it carefully, beginning to scan the letter for names.
"Taeri and Mort." She frowned. "I've never heard of them."
"Maybe they're not elves," Kyra suggested.
Veyna looked down at her letter again.
"Dear Veyna and Istalri," she began, "It was a great pleasure to us to be chosen by Eragon as your mentors. My name is Taeri of the House Haldthin. I was born in Ellesméra but raised in Sílthrim. I was twenty when my dragon egg hatched and have been a full-fledged Rider for seven years. My dragon's name is Mort, a name given to him by his sire. He is maple-colored brown dragon of small but powerful stature. We look forward to meeting you tomorrow, and ask that you meet us in the dining hall after breakfast. Your training will start with flying exercises for Istalri and magic for you. I have placed a special variety of soap in the bathroom for your use. It has been enchanted with certain wards that will prove invaluable in your training here.
Atra du evarínya ono varda,
Taeri and Mort
"So she is an elf," Kyra mused, "She sounds nice."
"She also sounds like she knows what she's doing, which is always a good thing," Veyna said flatly.
"Guess you'll get to meet her tomorrow," Kyra called as she left the room.
Yes, Veyna agreed, Tomorrow everything shall be revealed to us.
Now they have to separate! *evil laugh* Review please!
Preview:
"Stenr reisa," Veyna commanded. All of a sudden, the pebble shot up into the air, then changed direction and headed straight for Istalri. The first drop of dragon blood seared her palm.