16 Days till Alageasia's Downfall:
Ghana reared back and sneered at an oncoming enemy. Nithrem cast a quick spell that forced the monster to stop in it's tracks as ice crawled up its legs until it was a frozen statue. With a lash of the green dragon's tail, the statue shattered into millions of shards, littering the ground with a galaxy of sparkling dots.
They had faired well during the opening of the battle, easily fighting their way through tough obstacles and unrelenting foes. This was, after all, one of many battles Nithrem had been mixed up in. He was over a hundred years of age, and knew more about battle, whether gain or losses, than much of his peers. He had even fought along side the Varden when they sieged Urû'baen and had even helped clear the contents within Galbatorix's catidel.
Ghana roared in pain as a black, sleek arrow pierced her left wing, drawing blood that dripped down the shaft and onto the ground. She leaned back, putting her body in front of her injured wing, and shot a dazzling turrent of green flame at the surrounding monsters. The heat didn't cause any injury to them, but the intense light blinded their eyes and gave Ghana a chance to jump into the air. In several heavy, and struggled beats of her appendages they rose high over the forest canopy.
Nithrem, grasping one of Ghana's neck spikes, sheathed his sword and rubbed his hand over her scales. *What happened? Your wards should have prevented that arrow from inflicting damage.* He looked towards the wound, severed flesh hung limply and blood was splashing to the ground with every movement her wings created. The arrow itself had burrowed completely through the thin membrane and was a startling two feet long with thick, goose feathers along the butt of the shaft and a grotesque, serrated tip.
*My wards... ugh, my wards are gone.* Ghana said, pain pulsing through her wings and across her back, causing her tendons to constrict. She knew she would have to abide solitude if her rider were to heal her, so she looked around and happened to find a large, sturdy branch reaching out of a consolidated clump of leaves.
Nithrem held on tightly to the spike in front of him as Ghana moved towards the limb, flapping faster to keep her body above the earth, and grasped the bough with her hind claws, rubbing the bark off, and pulled her body down until she could cease flying and drop onto the branch. It held, but bobbed up and down slightly under her wieght. The disturbance caused leaves to fall from the surrounding foilage and flitter to the ground.
*First I'll need to remove the arrow.* He instructed her. He felt her affirmination, so he unstrapped himself from the saddle, and lowered down prior to stepping upon the branch. It was then that he realized his mistake; Ghana was perched on the limb so that her left wing covered any optional space to walk on. He wouldn't have the ability to reach the arrow and safely pull it out without her reaquiring a new position, and their support may not have enough strength to hold their wieght if she started moving around.
He backed up and mounted Ghana once more. *I will have to handle this with magic. I can't reach the arrow physically.* He strapped himself back in and adjusted his belt. He felt his dragon's impatience flood in, and a low rumble erupted from her throat.
*Just hurry, this wound pains me, and my attempts at blocking the pain from you are growing my need to rest.* She said, her large emerald eye turning to meet his, her pupil expanded as the canopy above blocked out the moonlight.
Nithrem nodded, searching for the correct spell that would help him complete his task. With the command of a quick enchanting word, the arrow slid out of the wing, painfully. Ghana growled and her left shoulder flinched as the last four inches passed through the hole, blood continuing to drip from the shaft. He disconnected the flow of magic and allowed the arrow to plummet to the battle field. *Everything went fine, the worst is over.* His reassuring words were spoken in the ancient language.
Then he held his right palm towards the injury, the Gedwëy insignia facing her wing. "Waíse heill." He said, grasping the energy within him by the force of his will. He poured in his emotions, this was Ghana's first wound at the hands of war, sure she had aquired injuries when hunting and training, but to have some living creature hurt her with the intent to kill her made Nithrem boil to the brim with anger.
The membrane sealed together and strengthened until it resembeled the image of how her wing had been before the battle. *It is finished. Are you in good health?* He asked, rubbing her neck.
Ghana nodded. *Much better.*
*Good. Now we have to return and help the others.* He reached for his sword, but stopped as Ghana spoke back up.
*Nithrem?* Her voice had a tinge of fear and worriness in it. *Will all battles be like this?*
He shifted through his memories within a second and replied. *Not all. Why?*
Ghana turned to look at him, and he could see sorrow in her eyes. Such fear made Nithrem angered, his partner of heart and mind was now tainted with the taste of war for the first time, and he couldn't do anything to soothe the complicated feelings she was feeling. And if he could, he would travel miles to find the answer, the solution to help his dragon.
*I don't want to feel the pain that I just felt agian.*
Her words struck him like the blast of a cannon with exaggerated force. The anger he had before didn't have a chance to go agianst the acrimony he was experiancing now. There wasn't even a possible state of measurement that could contain his anger with numbers. It flooded his mind like the black, rolling clouds of a devestating storm, and his magic was the lightning, his sword was the thunderous whirl of a tornado, his flexibility was the crack of thunder, and his mind was the constant battering of a relentless down pour of rain.
He wouldn't allow something so corrupted and evil, to inspire fear in Ghana's heart. She was a dragon, a beast so magnificant that she could riegn down terror just by flying past a legion of soldiers. He would protect her, yes, but he would also give her the oppertunity to riegn terror upon the very creatures that had corrupted her with fear. He would destroy the Ravtelr, every last one of them, if it meant the freedom of Ghana's innocence.
He would be their downfall if given the chance, he would be their end. Nithrem; the one who conqured Alagesia's greatest threat, the one who set free the captured peace of the land, the bane of the Ravtelr. And all this would be done for Ghana's sake, for her lose of fear.
(POV Change):
Thorn came to a stop along the edge of the battle field, his rider was making quick glances over the fight being fought, surveying the locations of friends and foes. The elves seemed to be running straigth through the enemies ranks like a spear wedging it's way through a person's body. Their forwarding attack pushed the monsters along the sides of their forces to blout outward.
But those were even held at bay by large dragons, no where near the size of Thorn, but reasonable enough to make you think twice before approaching them. Upon their backs were the actively moving forms of their riders, two humans and one Urgal. So where was the other one?
*Murtagh?* Came the wavering voice of a mental probe. *Murtagh! We could use some help along the front-lines.* It sounded like Ayra. Murtagh unsheathed Zar'oc and instruted Thorn where to land.
They passed over the flowing pattern of soldiers below until they found an opening between the elven army and the Ravtelr. Thorn closed his wings, leaned back, and landed with a thud. He lifted his head and stared at the monsters before him, they appeared shocked and backed away.
*Give them a good scare*
Thorn unleashed a fury-filled roar that echoed throughout the forest, more for show, but it aroused the elves and caused the Ravtelr to receade a distance away from the red dragon. Then Murtagh raised his hand and shouted a spell he had learned while under the control of Glabatorix. A red jolt of electricity shot from his hand towards the monsters below. It struck three, and, feeding off the energy left in the dying Ravtelr, grew and amplified as it spread from creature to creature, killing a little over fifty until the powerful lightning strike dispersed. The elven soldiers shouted and charged forward around Murtagh and his mount.
*A bit show-offish don't you think.* Remarked Ayra's voice. Thorn laughed, the sound of thunder erupting from his chest, and Murtagh snikered.
The red rider looked over the scene before him. The pines roared in the rough wind that flushed from the night sky, the fire was red, glistening and heated the ground in the distance, smoke rose from the flames as they spread from charred land to lush green meadows. The trees were capped in whirling wraiths of flame.
Murtagh jumped from Thorn's saddle and ran forward, Zar'oc drawn. The grass under his boots crunched beneath his wieght as each step took him closer to his foes. His first encounter was with a brute twice his size and weilding a large mace, the strike was heavy and carried him several feet into the air.
The Ravtelr stepped forward and punched Murtagh in the gut before his feet returned to the ground. This attack knocked the breathe from his lungs and sent him rolling across the ground, mud and blood dirtying his armor and exposed skin. Murtagh reached up and touched his lip and looked at what came off; blood. He smirked and twisted Zar'oc in his hand, preparing to reattack.
His opponent spun his mace in a circle, attempting to appear more dangerous, and walked forward with heavy steps. The next attack was slower than the first, and Murtagh, anticipating this, ducked, feeling the air whizz passed as the mace flew overhead. The Ravtelr's arm continued to the side as the force of it's swipe unpermitted him the access to stop.
The red rider took the opening and surged off the ground, keeping Zar'oc in front of him. The monster saw this and quickly side stepped, letting Murtagh continue past instead of the blade piercing it's chest like the rider had planned. Now his back-side was exposed to an attack, and it seemed that the monster wasn't taking the opportunity.
Murtagh turned around and regained a stance. "Come at me you begulged maggot!" He insulted, tightening his grip around Zar'oc's handle.
The creature growled and lept at him, mace raised high. The rider reached for his stores of energy and shouted, "Jierda!"
A clear, but visible force escaped from Murtagh's mouth and pulsed outward, hitting the Ravtelr as it reached the peak of it's jump. The magic collided with the monster and sent it flying across the field where it was snapped up by several roots, curtisy of the Meona tree he figured.
An elf charged past him and intercepted a monster right before it could have attacked the rider. With a swift and graceful parrie and thrust, the Ravtelr was disarmed and stabbed. "Get to Thorn, Argetlam! The abominations are retreating, we are to leave none alive. Orders from Eragon Kingslayer." The elf bowed and ran towards the slowly retreating force of Ravtelr.
They had won, and the sun was coming up. Had they really fought throughout the night? First things first, they had to hunt down any remaining monsters and kill them before any greetings could be established between him and his half-brother. He sheathed his sword as he thought about the lead rider. How has he changed? Does he have different views towards me? Is our relationship still as it was eight years ago? Only time would tell.
(A/N:)
Welcome back agian! Sorry that I keep saying that I'll wait until I get my laptop to post a chapter, and then I update the story the next day basically. I just can't stay away from this site, writing has always found a way to fill up my free time, and I've had a lot of free time lately, so I've been writing alot. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, though it is kinda shorter than the last one. I actually wanted to post this chapter cause I wanted to get the Elf and Riders vs the Ravtelr battle out of the way so that when I do get my laptop I'll be able to focus of getting the riders up to date on their friends and family, mostly some (EXA) and Eragon getting to see Murtagh after several years, and also Roran.
Reply to reviews:
Niet Boeiend- Hello. I hope you enjoyed chapter 13, and this chapter as well. The villians are Urgal like cause they come from a more, evolved form, of an Urgal species. Not ancient like you suggested. Well I hope you've enjoyed, and please lend me any ideas if you have any on this story, could always use help.
Restrained Freedom- Yea, I hoped that I didn't over do it with disgusting description on the last chapter. But I was wanting to let the readers know just how horribly sickening these creatures are and how evil they are. I hope it worked. This chapter wasn't as Nauseous as the last chapter, but still fun to write, and hopfully read. I'm glad you like the idea of the Shrrgs giving allegience to Orik, I want to make it clear that all of Alageasia is fighting back at the Ravtelr. Hope you've enjoyed.
Luckyponygirl- I hope your finger or cursor was hovering over the 'Next' button cause here is the next chapter. Lol. I'm really glad that your enjoying this story and giving support where it is needed. And yes, the Orik/Shrrg part was inspired partly by the Narnia. And you are right about Alageasia fighting back. It's like when someone gets sick, the body fights agianst the infection. More scenes with Roran and Murtagh will come later on, so hopfully their relationship can strengthen. Hope you've enjoyed. Happy reading and writing to you too.