Obliterator1519: If you thought that one was bad wait till you read this one.
Hamza: :) Really? Because I didn't think the first five were all that great. I would like to go to fast updates, but I trying to focus more on the plot and the reader enjoying it rather than the speed of updating.
FlexManSteel: :) You'll just have to keep reading and see.
mmd8280: :) It's weird because that's exactly the way my brother talks. Now how do you know Aesire never spent time with the Elves? As for his rather out of character poetic-ness you have to look at it from his point of view. He just got reunited with the love of his life. I'd feel rather poetic if that happened to me, especially if the guy had a tail and ears.
Alice Prince: :) Well I'm very glad you are reviewing.
Eragon sat beside a long board with hundreds of small pieces set in clumps; each piece was set with a different symbol adorning its face. Aesire and Hola were seated opposite each other. Aesire sat gripping his knees with a pale fingered grip. A line of sweat ran down the side of his face. His eyes darted from one piece to the next. Hola, in contrast, seemed relaxed and calm. Her wolf ears remained perfectly level and her tail did not flick or wave. The complexity of the game they were playing was far beyond Eragon's comprehension.
"See what I meant when I said her intellect eclipses mine, Eragon?" Aesire remarked with dry humor.
"Not really," Eragon replied. "I can't even begin to understand the idea behind this game."
"It is quite simple," Hola said. Her voice, despite her calm features, had hints of anger and suspicion. With an almost detached air, she placed an octagon-shaped piece with a red mark in a tiny space in between a mass of other pieces. "You lose," she said and fell back into a laying position. Her gold eyes stared up at the roof of the tent, thoughtful.
"Is something wrong?" Aesire asked.
Hola looked up at him as he stood. "What nature is Nasuada?"
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"Is she vindictive, conniving, or an egomaniac or anything else of that nature?"
"I don't think so. Why the sudden interest in her character?"
Hola was about to respond when the sound of increasingly loud arguing came from outside. A moment later Katrina and Roran burst into the tent. They both stopped when they saw Aesire and Hola. Katrina only remained flustered for a moment. She dipped into a curtsy and said, "Please, may we speak to Eragon in private?" Aesire stood, reached down, took Hola's hand and pulled her up.
"Of course," Hola said, and they both left.
"I've tried talking to her," Roran said when they were out of ear shot, "but she will simply not listen to me."
"I've made up my mind," Katrina said.
"Made up your mind on what?" Eragon asked.
"Eragon," Katrina said with a pleading expression on her face. "You said you could finish my child's creation. Please, will you do that now?"
"Why?" Eragon asked, surprised.
"Because the soldiers' attack has proven to me that regardless of how much the Varden defends us, Galbatorix will always be able to break past our fortifications like they aren't there. It isn't safe here, for the child or any of us. I cannot travel alone, not with the baby due so soon. So please Eragon, can you help me?"
Eragon cast a glance at his cousin. "Roran?"
Roran shook his head. "I don't want her to leave."
Katrina turned to look at him. "Do you think I want to go? I'm making this choice for the baby, not me."
"And what about me? Should I have to stay awake every night, sweating about whether you're safe or not?"
"Katrina," Eragon interjected. "Is this what you truly wish to do, knowing the possible ramifications?"
"Yes. I've thought long about this."
"Roran, I think she has a right."
"As do I. Do you want the child to be born blind or lame or-"
"No," Katrina interrupted him. "But I do want her to be born!"
Roran's face registered sudden surprise. "Her?"
"Yes," Katrina said, gently. "We're going to have a daughter, Roran. I went to Arya and she used magic to discover this." She went up and rapped her arms around him. Roran's face continued to show surprise.
Then he nodded and said to Katrina, "If this is what you truly want then I shall support it with all my strength." He looked up at Eragon and said, "Alright. We'll do it."
Eragon squinted through the heavy fog at the city down below. What'd you think? He asked Saphira.
It looks empty. In the half hour we've watched it there hasn't been a flicker of movement.
What about the force Nasuada sent here?
Didn't she order them to spread out into the surrounding areas and take them by force?
Aye. It could be a trap.
Or it could be that the Ancient Language has decided to asset us for once.
I'm still not sure.
And there is no better way to put that insecurity to the test than by entering the city.
Alright then, let's go back and report to Nasuada.
Saphira tipped to the side and fell straight down for a moment before she corrected herself and headed to the Varden's camp. When they landed Eragon unstrapped himself and jumped down.
"Well?" Nasuada said, standing impatiently beside the entrance to the camp.
"It looks empty. For the half hour we watched; not a single thing moved in Dras'Leona."
"We move forward then." She raised her hand to Jormundur who turned his back and signaled with a red lantern to one of the sentries. A loud horn echoed four times through the dry air.
It took the Varden nearly and hour to pack their belongings and head out. Once they did, Eragon set out with the twelve elves sent to protect him running in formation around him and Saphira flying overhead to Dras'Leona. The main gates had been left open. With fast jabs of his mind Eragon assured himself there was no one waiting to ambush them.
"Go search for ambushing soldiers. Galbatorix said we could have Dras'Leona without a siege, but he said nothing about leaving a force inside the city to pick off as many of us as possible. Check every street. Almost every house. If you find anyone bring them straight to me." Like shrouds of darkness they ran into the city, scattering out to search for any soldiers the Empire had left to attack the Varden. Eragon looked up at the sky and said, "Brisingr," and lit a signal to the rest of the Varden. It took nearly a half hour for the army to reach them, but when they did Eragon said to Nasuada, "So far the elves and Saphira have found nothing. It's like Dras'Leona has been abandoned for years."
"Good."
The Varden began funneling into Dras'Leona, moving into houses and shops. "Now we will wait and gather our forces," Nasuada said. "We will wait until we hear word that the Elves are ready for attack on our final goal and then we will take Uru'baen. In that moment Eragon realized how very close they were to the King. If all goes well, Galbatorix could be dead inside the month. He shook the thought off. The sound of yelling and struggling came from around a building. Two of the elves made there way around the building dragging a man as they went.
"Shadeslayer," one said, "we found this man near the center of Dras'Leona. As per our instructions, we brought him immediately to you."
"He put up quite a struggle," the other said. Eragon looked down at the man as he looked up at him.
"Alcore!" Eragon said with surprise.
"Eragon?" A wide grin came across his face. "Well it's good to see you. Not the best circumstances, but all the same. Where's Aesire?"
"Release him," Eragon said to the elves. They let Alcore go and backed away, uttering apologies in the Ancient Language. "He's somewhere around here," he said to Alcore as he helped him up.
"Did Hola get to him alright?"
"Yes. They are somewhere in the city."
"Alcore," Aesire's surprised voice said from behind them. Eragon turned and saw him standing on a roof looking out at the city. He jumped to the ground and walked up to them, where he patted Alcore on the back. "It is very good to see you." Hola stepped around a corner of the street, saw Alcore, and stepped up beside Aesire, a guarded, indifferent expression adorning her face. For the first time Eragon dared to reach out to her mind. He found it completely defenseless, as if feeling the world around her was more important to her than protecting herself. Do you dislike Alcore?
He smells of fish a better portion of the time and I am not fond of fish. Her mind felt like nothing he had ever felt before. Like an elf's it sang with music, but her music was not high or low, deep or soft, shrill or subtle. It was like a symphony of a thousand beings, each with their own voice and style all pressed into one individual. The power of it sent tingles down his spin.
Eragon dipped his head and said, "I would like to stay longer but I have something that must be attended to." He took off at a brisk walk. Roran and Katrina had decided to wait until they entered the city before Eragon cast his spell to complete their child's creation. He found them waiting together in Aesire's mansion; he had agreed to let them do it there, in a room on the top floor. Katrina lay on a bed pilled high with pillows, propped up by Roran. "Sorry I took so long," he said as he entered the room.
"You're fine," Roran said. He looked down at Katrina with an air of concern. "Are you ready?"
Katrina placed a hand on his. "As long as you're here, I will always be ready." Roran dipped his head towards Eragon.
Eragon rolled his shoulders in preparation. Casting magic on that which could not be seen was a danger to even the most experienced and even mispronouncing a single noun could send his spell into a curse. I've cursed one helpless baby and I don't intend on doing it again. "To summarize," Eragon said to the both of them, "what I will attempt to do is complete the child's making inside of you. After that is done, it will take your body roughly an hour to catch up and you should, at that time, begin delivering it."
"Her," Roran corrected him. "Not it. Her."
"You should begin delivering her," Eragon said.
"I must admit that your use of the word attempt is concerning me," Katrina said. Her voice sounded burdened by poorly concealed fear.
"You have nothing to fear," Roran said. "I will be here every second."
"Yes," Eragon. "And I would as well if my presence was required for more than the next ten minutes."
"Is that how long it will take?"
"Creating something out of next to nothing is a difficult task at best. You should be truly concerned if this spell doesn't take awhile. Are you ready?" Katrina took in a deep breath of air and nodded. Eragon reached through his mind to the place where the magic dwelled and reached into, letting its powers infuse him. Then he began to chant in the Ancient Language. Many of the words he intoned he did not know the meaning of. He had memorized this long spell, which had originally been intended to be a song, from one of the many scrolls Oromis had had him read. For fifteen minutes he chanted. Then, when he had come to the conclusion of the spell and it had cast itself into the world, he crumpled over as the loss of his energy swept over him like an ocean driven storm. He placed his hand over Aren and sucked the energy from it as the spell began to drain away every facet of his life force. When the spell stopped draining his energy he staggered up and swallowed heavily. That was more energy than it took to carry Sloan down from Helgrind.
He staggered up and examined his handiwork. Katrina's stomach now bulged out as if she had been pregnant for several months. "I'm done here, I think," Eragon said.
Roran patted his shoulder. "Are you alright?"
Eragon shook his head. "No, I'm not." He forced himself to walk out of the room, close the door behind him, and crash into a bed down the hall.
It took Katrina thirteen hours but she finally gave birth to her daughter. Eragon examined the baby and found that she was in no way damaged by the forced completion of her creation. Katrina had decided to name her Katelyn, the name of her mother's sister who died of grief after Ismira had fallen to her doom. Eragon stood now by the window of Katrina and Roran's room in Aesire's house. Saphira stood outside looking in at the couple. They sat together on the bed, looking down at their new born daughter with expression emptied of all other thoughts. The door to the room opened and Aesire stepped in. He seemed a bit surprised to see them but after a moment went to stand by Eragon.
"Where's Hola?" Eragon asked him.
"Asleep in her room. It's been so long she was able to sleep on her very definite opinions on what a proper bed is. I spent three thousand gold coins making the perfect living conditions for her."
"That sounds a bit extreme."
A long while passed until Aesire said, "Eragon, what did you do with that silver dragon egg that you were given when we came back to the Varden? I haven't seen it since then."
"I put it in Saphira's saddlebags. If there's anyone that can defend it it's her." Saphira puffed into the room. "Why?"
Aesire pushed himself off the wall and stepped up to the bed, his arms crossed. He motioned with two fingers for Eragon to follow. They looked down at Katelyn together. Slow comprehension began to crawl its way up Eragon's side. "Because its Rider now lays before you."
You know what I just cannot stop loving no matter how hard I try? Cliffhangers mixed in with major events. It helps that this cliffhanger/major event I forced the question of who the Rider was some chapter ago. And this major event is even more awesome because I used it for like an interactive quiz back in chapter something something or something very similar to it.
But how does Aesire know who the Rider will be? Keep reading and all shall be revealed in due time. Plus it helps make you want to continue reading with the suspense and what not.