-Skoilr
Serrated mountains loomed in the distance. The heaven-touching apex of the mountains were drenched in brilliant light. Spikes of sun rays impaled the snow in a bristling, moving line. A chute of snow detached itself and went trudling down one of the mountains, it slid over the knotted edge and then went crashing into the chasm below. The snow burst against the ground and sent a thick, misty wall through the pine forest surrounding the base of the alps. The silence thereafter was spine-chilling, it seemed as if nothing had just happened.
But there was something out there; a pale dragon swung out of the clouds and landed slopily, casting up bursts of snow where it's feet touched down. The pines around the dragon shifted and their limbs shook free the snow settled upon them.
The dragon's color was startling pale, an ugly color if not for it's sparkling brilliance. Large leathery wings folded to it's side as the creature found it's footing on the frozen blanket upon the ground. It took several steps before falling flat on it's stomach.
On it's back something shifted, almost human-like if not for a large cloak that resembled a bear. But it was a man, he slid from a saddle and collided with a clump of snow pushed up by the dragon's front right leg. He rolled onto his back and shivered in his heavy cape.
"Never thought I'd die like this." His voice held a slight accent as if he had once belonged to royalty.
The dragon tiredly tilted it's head so that it could see him. It sat there for a moment before heavy eyelids closed. A low rumble erupted from it's torso and a firey glow lit from within, expanding a ring of heat aound them.
The man managed to sit up, resting against the warm stomach of the white dragon. He shrugged as he saw blood stains on his cloak, most of which was already frozen.
"Hopefully it'll wash out, this was my father's coat." He said 'father's coat' as if it caused him great trouble. Maybe it was that he had a distaste for his father, but admired the coat. Or maybe the coat was all that remained of his father and he wished to hold onto it.
The dragon hummed a reply.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Just a few cuts and bruises." He appeared to be having a conversation with the dragon.
"I most definitely agree. When we return we will take those survival training courses. Of course, what is the purpose of a planned hope when we are stuck in the very situaition that said hope would deprive us from." He chuckled, clearly in a state of premature panic.
The dragon growled.
The man pushed at her and smiled. "It was your idea to skip those classes and play pranks on our dorm director. So don't put the blame on me."
The dragon attempted a weak smile.
"Besides, we are both stuck out here so... I blame you." He adjusted his cloak.
Fire burst from the dragon's nostrils.
The man flinched. "Well of course you are, how else would I have gotten out here." He gestured towards the surrounding landscape. "I sure didn't walk here."
There was silence, but words were obviously being said between them.
"Of course we'll be fine. It's only a trip." He stopped. "Those... creatures won't bother us again, they're far away."
The dragon looked to a deep gash on it's leg and whinned, softly. Then it snarled into the distance as if awaiting an attack. The look in it's eyes was of pure confusion.
"Yeah, they were unlike anything I've ever encountered before..." He froze, unrelated to the atmospheric temperature.
The two sat in silence under the cover of a setting sun, watching as, ever slowly, the sky vanished and filled with an open abyss within floated billions of bright lights, each with their own unique intensity and color. The landscape around them all but disappeared, all they could see...all they knew was the tendrils of stars arcing across the sky.
Overwhelmed by the most extreme peace in existence the man and dragon were awestruck by the flashes of asteroids burning up in the atmosphere and the twinkle of burning suns. The cold eventually pulled them from their trance and into a world full of strange things.
Almost instantly the sounds of the night blasted them in a frenzy. Owls screeched their cry of attack as they swooped down, snatching small rodents from the ground in their claws. Wolves howled their call until a chorus replied, signaling the hunt. Deer and moose took off in a stampede as the wolves approached.
The peace and beauty above was too far to obtain from the chaos bellow.
"I vow that one day I will destroy that which makes chaos and pursue a new world order of peace... too many wars have been fought... too many lives taken." He pulled the coat around him and stared back into the sky. "My father's life... taken."
The dragon looked up as if this was news to her.
"Yes, he was killed long ago... I... I did my best to save him but I couldn't." The man tightened his fists until his knuckles blended with the snow.
Morning came quite suddenly, as if it were only minutes away. With the rising sun came a gentle, but harsh breeze and a burst of light that reflected off every snow covered surface.
The man opened his eyes, instantly overwhelmed by a crisp blue sky. He noticed that several birds were gracefully landing in the trees around him, watching with darting heads as he stood to his feet. He stretched, feeling sore from sleeping on the ground.
"Blasted weather, extreme compared to the tropical islands back home. Am I right?" He didn't recieve a reply.
There was something wrong. Normally he would wake to the presence of his dragon, however, he could not make contact. He turned around and stared fearfully at the depression in the snow where his dragon had slept, except she wasn't there.
Instead was a thin, splattered trail of blood that followed heavy claw prints to a point free of trees where the ground was ripped up, black soil appeared as an empty space among all the snow.
This told the man that she had taken off, but what would cause her to bleed? And if something attacked her, then why was he unharmed?
He expanded his mind, beyond trees and slopes of snow, passed deer and canines. But he could not sense her. The fear inside grew too heavy, to the point where the man started pacing their "campground".
"Where are you?" He asked, hoping to get a reply.
A sudden, clichéd snap of a twig locked his legs from moving any further. He heard no other movement so he turned around to catch a glimpse of whatever made the disturbance.
There, standing thirty feet from him, was a hulking, black figure with horns like the Devil and a muscular build of a Shrrg. This creature resembled an Urgal, but even a Kull would pale in comparison. In it's hands were four foot long, curved blades dripping with the blood of some creature.
"You humans are so predictably easy to track," The creature said. "And once I dispose of you, your dragon will then join you soon after."
The man slowly placed his hand on the pommel of his sword, ready to rip it free and hack this creature apart.
"What are you?" He asked, frozen stiff.
The creature released a growl. "Something your race will soon come to fear, but I am afraid that you'll never have the honor of seeing the destruction we will bring."
The man frowned. "That's a pity, I would love to see this land in peace once again."
The creature's shoulders slumped, he was obviously confused. "I have a job to do, and there were never supposed to be witnesses."
It jumped forward and entered a sprint, which only consisted of six giant steps. The man reacted fast enough to block the attack and roll on his heels to get behind the opponent.
He stumbled over the snow where his dragon had slept, her weight had compressed the snow until it flattened and became smooth and slippery. The twin blades were on him in seconds and he had to move faster than he ever had to before in order to defend against both weapons.
The monster appeared tireless and never seemed to falter, almost as if it knew the man's every movement. But his injuries from the previous day slowed the man down, he had obtained a slice on the leg and several jabs at his stomach, which he was able to close up with a spell but too weak to completely repair.
Plus the cramps in his muscles, due to sleeping on hard snow all night, only worsened his speed and endurance. Despite the hinderences he pushed on, for his survival and his dragon's life depended on it.
Within seconds of this decision the man broke free from the chain of attacks and rolled to the right quickly enough to catch a break. The monster, however, stopped and started walking towards him.
The man doubled over as his stomach finally realized the roll had began retearing the skin. Pain seemed to arrive seconds too late for him in the cold temperatures of this northern place.
"Pain is just the beginning. Next I will move onto your dragon and you shall feel her pain, then I will kill her..." The creature's words were cut short as a spell was sent into the world around them.
The man laughed.
A spear of snow launched out of the ground and attached itself to the monster's left arm, then it quickly froze hard as rock. Another tendril shot out, then another, and another. Within seconds the creature's limbs were chained to the ground as snow began holding it down.
"No my friend, it will be you who shall experience pain." The man stood up straight, and flashed his sword side to side, forcing the sun's glare to shine in it's face.
As he approached the monster a tremendous explosion of noise erupted from behind, echoing from the distant mountains. Soon after came a blast of wind that shook the pines free of their blankets of snow. The man turned around and watched as the snow-capped mountains crumbled down the sides in massive walls of white. An avalanche, or rather multiple avelanches all combining into one as they met in large blasts of snow, forming a hulking tsunami of frozen water.
The monster roared. "Haha, look what awaits you human!"
The man slowly looked into the face of the bound monster. "Your not afraid?"
The creature jerked his arm and the ice binding it shattered, catching the man off gaurd. As he broke more ice the spell weakened and the monster was able to move again.
"Why should I be?" It smiled a terrible smile of needle sharp teeth.
The snow must have finally hit the ground level because the earth shook under their feet and another strong gust blew passed them, steadily growing stronger as the avalanche crawled closer.
The monster wasted no time, it launched forward and punched the man in the gut, throwing him onto his back. The man lost the ability to breathe for a few seconds.
The swords moved too fast to track with the human eye, luckily it must have meant the same for the monster. The left blade pierced the ground next to his abdomen, however the right sliced straight through the man's left leg.
The man was instantly stalled, no longer was he able to comprehend anything other than his leg. Never before had he sustained such an injury. He couldn't even shout.
"The look on your face tells me that you have never felt this kind of pain before, human." The monster grunted a laugh.
The man finally caught his breath, but maybe it would have been better to not have. With the flow of air came a pulsing pain emitting throughout his body. And it didn't feel too good.
The monster slowly pulled his other sword from the ground and aimed it at the man's chest. Then he gradually lifted it. The wind became more forceful, blasting into the man's ears like howling wolves.
"Do you fear death?" It asked, holding the sword just two feet away from its target.
The man wasn't going to answer, but when he felt a tug on his mind he smiled and mustered all his strength. "Do you?"
At that moment a roar erupted from the sky, full of anger and rage. The speed at which it was traveling created a steady whistle, but it was short lived as the sound of thunder pounded down upon them.
The monster quickly jumped to his feet, leaving the sword implanted in the man's leg, but with the other he raised to the sky and roared back.
*You are an unholy creature of darkness, and I am a Queen of the sky and sun! By my doing, you shall die!* She landed just feet from the monster.
Without hesitation she lashed out with her claws and lopped off it's legs from beneath him. As it growled in defiance the pale dragon reared its head and snapped forward like a deadly cobra, scooping what was left in her jaws. A torrent of snow white flames burst from between her teeth, cooking the creature to ash as it's screams died with it.
The man smiled as this was the first time he ever saw his dragon in such a state of amazing instinct.
The wind inturrepted his sight as it burst passed stronger than before, pushing over several trees in the process. The avalanche was getting too close.
*Let's go now!* Came the dragon's voice, soothing and gentle amidst all the carnage.
He struggled to his feet as a large neck flowed passed him. He climbed on and strapped in his feet, feeling pain the entire time as blood continued to ooze from the sword in his leg.
She was off in an instant, running as fast as she could. Dodging trees and boulders and slopes of snow. But flight wasn't an option, the gale was pushing them down and anytime she would unfurl her wings and leap into the sky, the wind pulled her back to the earth.
"Hurry!" The man shouted, glancing behind him.
The snow was closer than he would like it to be. Anytime it would crash into an obstacle, particles of ice would shoot forward and rain upon them.
The man scanned the landscape, about fifty feet away was a large hill. He couldn't see what was on the other side, but it looked as if it would make a decent barrier for the avalanche. On either side stood thick pine trees, taller than his dragon could jump, and the open window they provided to the other side was small.
"Get passed that clump of pines up there, it will be a tight fit, but the hill will slow down the avelanche!" He shouted over the barrage of rushing wind.
She roared back, confirming his plan.
Snow was quickly splashing up against her hind section, it was now or never.
As if on cue, three of those monsters stepped into view atop the hill. They stood ready to attack as the dragon reached the base of the slope, but it was too late to turn around, they had to keep moving.
Another stupid idea entered his mind, but stupid ideas were what brought them two here. Could he really listen to the voice in his head anymore? Could he really risk their lives over this simple, yet dangerous act?
Apparently he could.
"Throw me at them with your tail, but keep running, don't stop no matter what!" He commanded.
Before she could reply he drew a dagger from his belt and sliced the saddle straps holding his feet in place. Then he slipped off, barely managing to grasp a hold onto her tail. The sword in his leg didn't help at all either, but maybe it would.
He didn't have time to think about it, within seconds he was launched forward, directly at the three giants. He managed to glimpse the blurry image of his dragon as he shot by, was it sadness in her eyes? Or hopelessness?
He couldn't tell, but he did decide to remove that emotion from her mind at that instant. As he twisted through the air, getting closer to his targets, he aimed the dagger and cast it out. Without waiting to see where it landed he twisted to the right and pulled the sword from his leg, drawing more blood. He outstretched his arm and felt it make contact with metal, maybe another blade.
As his back rotated evenly with the ground he threw the sword towards another monster, easily impaling it through the abdomen. Without much more to do he watched as two giants fell, one with a dagger plunged deep in it's chest and the other with a sword sticking out it's back.
The remaining monster slowly turned as if he were trying to hit the man, but missed. As the avelanche's crest rose above the hill, a pale dragon burst from the snow and, knocking the creature to the side, darted through the air. The avelanche exploded against the hill and sent clouds of snow arcing outward in all directions.
The dragon reached out and caught the man, pulled him close, and wrapped into a ball as the ground raced towards them. In a jarring scramble for control they tumbled helplessly across the snow, finally rolling to a stop by crunching through multiple trees.
Only silence followed, and neither of them moved.
A flash of light suddenly burst into existence, along with a monochromatic blend of whites and greys. The cold was more prominent than anything else and seemed to be alive as it crawled into the man's coat.
He tried to sit up, but a sting of pain coursed through his limbs and spine, rendering his movement to a bare minimum. He fell back into the snow after realizing that it would be far more difficult to move. Trying to summon energy to heal himself also seemed to be unresponsive.
He looked left and noticed an uneven circle of blood expanding from his legs, it was frozen but he instantly knew that he lost too much. What caught his attention, however, was a two foot long stick protruding from his left side, directly under his rib cage. A trail of blood ran down and collected in the snow.
"How much more can I take in one day?" He asked himself, hoping he wouldn't get an answer.
Directing his attention elsewhere, he saw his dragon lying propped up against a heavy mound of snow that her crash landing had pushed up. Beyond that were what was left over from the pine trees they went through.
He noticed that she appeared unresponsive to him. A ping of fear ran through his heart.
"Hey!" He shouted. "Hey, wake up!"
He entered her mind and began pushing at her thoughts, trying to rouse her.
*Are you okay?*
Her thoughts were fading, he was forced/to follow her mind into the deep, dark abyss. He kept pulling at her, yelling promises he was fearing he wouldn't be able to keep.
With a push of pure fear, he lept forward and began crawling towards her, ignoring the jabs of pain erupting from his leg and the piece of wood grinding against his ribs. He was determined to get to her.
The last few feet were closed up as he grabbed a neck spike and dragged his body closer to her head. He looked into her dimming eyes.
"Don't leave me!" He shouted as tears streamed down his face. "You're not going to leave me!"
The wind picked up speed, carrying his words with it. All around it seemed as if he were shouting back to himself.
His dragon shifted her head and her eyelids began to gradually slide together, it was apparent that she was struggling to hold onto reality.
"No!"
He shook her head, trying to keep her awake.
"Say something!"
A soft growl climbed her throat. "I... I love you, Galbatorix..."
Her voice faded and the bond connecting them snapped like a rope under extreme tension. His breath escaped his body as her mind tore from his, hundreds of shared memories and thoughts ripped apart all at once. An internal cold flushed through his body, and he slide onto his back, unable to move.
"Jornunvösk, you can't."
He remained in that position for what seemed like hours. Gently falling snowflakes had alread began covering his body when he broke from his trance.
He sat up. The grey clouds hung depressingly low, as if threatening to collide with the earth. There was no more breeze, any sign of life and movement had fled this place. There was nothing left for him, he was alone.
How could he return home and explain this to his superiors? He would surely be hated and maybe banished. There was no way to reverse this, no way for things to return back to the way they had been before. There was only forward... and that path would lead to nothing.
"It only leads to nothing if you allow it to." Came a voice from among the pines to Galbatorix's right.
He stood to his feet, nearly falling over.
"Whose there?" He asked, hand already gripping his sword.
A laugh replied. "It always takes an event like this to make someone realize just who they are. Who are you?"
The man browsed the tree line, unable to see anything. "I am Galbatorix, Rider of..."
"You've accustomed yourself with that title to the point where it's automatically spoken. It's best time you let go, because clearly you are a rider no more." A shadow flickered between two pines.
"Are you one of those monsters?" Galbatorix asked.
"People have been calling me a monster for years. However, that time has yet to come for you. So if you are asking if I am a monster, then yes, but I am a man not the creatures that did this to you."
The shape of a man melded out of the trees, but his features were still invisible from view.
"Then what do you want?"
"I only want to warn you. One day you shall be killed by he who wields a flaming sword, this will usher in an era of weakness. All you've worked to achieve will dissolve. But there is hope, one day far in the future the Ravtelr will return, your chance for revenge will reignite. You will have a second turn at destroying their race once and for all, and return to the throne of Alageasia. Only this time, no one will oppose you."
The man was walking closer, but he wasn't solid. He was as a misty cloud swirling with light that appeared in different intensities to form an image of what he may have looked like.
"So... why bother... I mean, it's not possible that you would know this." He stepped back each time the apparition hovered closer.
"Of course I would know this... for I am you."