Chapter Twenty Two: The Vault of Souls
The Agaeti Blodhren celebrations were about to begin, after four months in Elesmera, - the day of the treaty that began the Order of Dragon Riders had come. In those four months Eorr had kept his word although it had taken him almost the entire four months to produce the amount of Brightsteel that Harry had asked of him, after he had finished they had a small mountain of the metal. Also during these four months Eorr had broken his three students down and had reformed them into three of the best swordsmen and woman in the whole of Alagaesia, with the best of them being Eragon, having surpassed the skill that Brom had had in his prime and had even come close to Harry's own level, which in turn propmpted Harry to train his swordsmanship even further.
In their magic studies, all the thre of them had made great steps. In the beginning Aria held the advantage as she had more knowledge of the Ancient Language and experience in using magic than any of them but they had finally caught up to hear and in some areas they had surpassed even Aria's skill and power.
The three new Dragon Riders had grown closer during the tort… err training that Eorr had putt them through, their teamwork was impressive though even combined they couldn't evencome close to even sctratching Eorr but they could force Harry into a stalemate and that was something in and on itself. Aria and Eragon had become close friends, the same thing had happened with Murtagh, but she was more comfortable with opening up to Eragon and the two of them had often assaulted the different pubs of Elesmera after days of especially hard training. Their two Dragons, Saphira and Firnen, had also mirrored the blooming relationship between their two Riders.
With the arrival of the celebrations all the three young riders and their dragons had meet less and less outside their training to prepare their gifts for the Agaeti Blodhren. The Dragons had started a competiton on whom would present the greates gift of them all, well except for Glaedr, he was above such petty competitons among hatchlings. Oromis himself was thrilled at the possibility to finally use his full magical capacities in order to make a gift for the Agaeti Blodhren, his mental and celebral damge healed though it was way harder than Harry himself had foreseen, taking a full three weeks to heal, his other disease interfering in the healing process, so Harry eliminated it too.
Harry himself had a batch of surprises in store for the whole of Elesmera and was giddy in anticipation of the apex of the celebrations for the time to reveal his gifts. The night when the celebrations started Harry felt the magic concentration in Elesmera go up, a hundred fold but what surprised him was the activity of the Eldunari's hidden in Vroengard. Oromis and Harry had discovered about them after almost four months of research, while Harry knew the approximate location the exact location was discovered after Harry found the book entitled Domia abr Wyrda, - in the elven library but they came to a dead end as everybody he told the secret to always forgot it a second later, which was really frustrating for Harry until it developed a counter to it which took him a full two months and that spoke volumes for the complexity of the enchantment. After the celebrations were over Eragon would travel to Vroengard and enter the vault, - as the next Head of the Dragon Rider Order the current head being Oromis due to both power and seniority.
The powerful magic that dulled the senses was something that even himself would have been incapable of escaping unscathed, eighty years ago but now it was merely a bother, - but for everyone else it would be impossible to escape and even Oromis whose mental control was admirable to say the least, - would have to cast protection spell again and again to ensure he wouldn't fall to the magic-iduced folly. That was what made Harry even giddier at the prospect of the emotional release that would happen tonight, especially if his prophetic senses were right, which they were in almost every case, - then Aria and Eragon would finally move out of the friend's zone, or they would become distant once again, there always existed that possibility.
He saw Brom appear in the middle of the clearing with a small crack, the elves already used to portkeys being used by different members of their society for quick transportation to Surda in preparation for the final push against the Empire, - didn't pay much attention and only upon the light of the lanterns on his face the elves reckonized Brom and whispers and murmurs broke among the normally clollected elves as Brom meet the queen and Oromis. Upon finishing his talk with both the queen and Oromis, Brom joined Harry under the tree where he was currently sitting and sat alongside him.
"How is everyone doing?" asked Brom.
"Well, they're on the same level as a fully-fledged Rider, their Dragons have grown stronger and faster, especially Saphira, I've healed Oromis and replaced Glaedr's missing arm with a prosthesis" said Harry emotionlessly "but is that all you want to know, Brom?"
"No, I want to know how Eragon has been" replied Brom.
"That's more like it" said Harry with a smile "He is the most human of us all though that is not saying much with the screw ups we all are"
"That isn't much indeed" said Brom with a chuckle.
"I will deny I've ever said this but Eragon has what is needed to be the greatest leader of them all" said Harry with a mischevious smirk "moving from boring topics, he has become quite a heartbreaker among the elves"
"Really" asked Brom with a raised eyebrow "has he found someone he likes?"
"Yep, he is but like his father he is to blind to see the looks the female elves give him or he is just to infatuated with Aria to really care about other females" said Harry, the last part accompanied by a shrug.
"Oh boy, Aria?" asked Brom.
"Yep" replied Harry.
"She is going to break his heart" said Brom.
"Perhaps, perhaps not, I've got this feeling she won't do such a thing" replied Harry.
"This time your little feelings are wrong, I know her, I have for seventy years, she will reject him" stated Brom.
"We'll see" said Harry with a knowing smirk "so did you bring Za'rock"
"Yes, its here, why?" asked Brom showing the sword.
"Good, give it to me" said Harry.
"Why?" asked Brom.
"Because it belongs to Murtagh" stated Harry calmly.
"Say who" challenged Brom.
"Me" replied Harry "you'll have your own sword back by the end of the celebrations, I swear"
"Really?" asked Brom.
"Yes, hand it over" said Harry.
"If you don't deiver on your promise…' Brom started to threaten but he didn't get to finish it as Harry disappeared in the shadows of he trees, even faster than any elf.
As soon as he took the sword Harry vanished in to the forest and with his magic augmented speed he entered Rhuon's workshop, the wards welcoming him in,- and uncovered a stash of weapons, singing with pure unbridled power as the Za'rock joined them. Afterwards he returned to a piece of metal waiting for him, waiting for him on an anvil, red from the heat. For almost two days Harry was lost to his work as he shaped the piece of metal into a work of art, his true gift for the Agaeti Blodhren. When he was finished, he looked one last time at his handiwork before packing them into his personal pocket dimesion and dissaperared in a burst of speed toward the clearing where the celebrations were still going on.
He got there just in time to see Oromis present his gift, a picture of Ilirea before Galbatorix invaded it. The picture showed the city in the middle of the day, with people walking in their daily businesses, children playing, Dragon flying overhead and Dragon Riders walking among the crowds of people with smll smiles adorning their features but the most important thing was that in the right upper corner stood Vrael and his white Dragon. The gift was really welcomed especially as it was a piece of magic that was though as nigh-impossible before this.
Thorn brought a piece of rock, as tall as a fully grown man,- covered in a type of musk, that grew only in the highest mountains of Du Weldenvarden and whose color changed every moment, not once being the same, shapd to look as a small Dragon. However the most impressive thing was the quantity of the musk, as it was incredibly rare for one to see more than a handful at a time. Firnern came next and he presented to them a black pearl the same size as Eragons head, this particular pearl could only be found in the depths of the Lake Eldor, which was so deep that most elfs couldn't even make it half way to the bottom,- and even then it was very hard to find one so large and the fact that Firnen found it within such a short notice, was a testament to his speed, resilience, to make it to Lake Ealdor and back every day,- and to his skill as a hunter and a diver, to find such a rare pearl in such a difficult place to find something.
Sapira came last, she brought a rock that was as tall as three fully grown men and in its center it had a hole the same size as a mans head and in that hole stood another rock, this one perfectly smoth, unlike the larger rock, that was filled with curving lines that formed such intricate patterns that following one line form the top of therock to its bottom was impossible and this could only be achieved through licking an almost molten rock with a Dragon tongue. As people finished admiring the rock she touched the rock in the middle of the larger one, - with her nose and with a sound like breaking glass, the smaller rock was transformed into diamond. Ignoring the surprised shouts of the elves, Sapira that blew a large column of fire toward the larger rock, making it became red with heat and what was more important the light from the rock reflected on the ball of diamond and the clearing was filled with a mesmerizing light show. Once it was over the elves clapped as one at the great show that Saphira gave them, totally ignorin the burning grass or its stench in favor of admiring Saphira's work.
Then it was Harry's turn and as he walked to the podium the entire clearing fell silent, waiting to see what the human had brought to this celebration.
"Now before I present my gift to this celebration, have a few gifts for the Dragon Riders claimed Harry, producing a bundle of cloth from seemingly nowhere. "To you Murtagh, I return he sword that was of your father before you, with the wish that you can reddem its name and use it to bring an end to Galbatorix's reign"
"Thank you for this gift" said Murtagh, eyeing the blad as the elves cheered at Harry's proclamation.
"For you Aria, I have forged a new sword whose name is up to you to decide" said Harry as he produced a sword the same length as Za'rock but with a thinner blade and with the same shade of green as the trees of Du Welddenvarden.
"Sverd abr Welden, that its name, thank you Harry-Elda" said Aria after staring at the sword for a minute, while the elves were murmuring about the fact that a human made a Rider's sword and at the same time the symbol symbolizing the name of the sword was etched in tis pomel.
"For you Brom, I have reforged your old blade to its former glory but as it will never be the same so I leave it to you to choose if it needs to be given a new name or not" said Harry as he produced a sword identical to Za'rock except that its blades color was a shade lighter than Saphira's scales.
"Thank you, Unbidtr was its name and Undbitr will be the name it will keep" said Brom deciding not to rename his sword.
"Eragon, my friend I tried to make a sword for you but it seems that the Deep Magic wants you to forge it yourself" said Harry eliciting more murmurs at the mentioning of the Deep Magic "however for you I tried to recreate something I have seen during my travels, not a weapons but a tool of peace, this staff or scepter whichever name you decide to use." said Harry as he produced a metalic staff, 150 cm long, the same shade of color as Saphira herself, a gem encrusted in the top of it.
"This staff has the power to heal and rebuild, it can heal any wounds for as long as it has enough energy, which its provided from the very magic surrounding us and your willpower to reign it, it also can rebuild boken towers, houses, castels etc. the rule of its previous power also serves" explained Harry "knowing that you will also have to fight I enchanted it to change its shape to fit your needs in battle for as long as the chosen shape doesn't require more material that the staff already has,unfortunately I'm not very good at giving names so I leave that part to you"
"Du Blothr abr Andlat, for its power will serve to save many lives from Death in the forthcoming war" said Eragon earning cheers from the elves and as with the Aria's sword, the glyph symbolizing tis new name was etched upon it.
"Now for this celebration I have brought a gift that I hope elves wil appreciate" said Harry producing a brown wooden flute that didn't look like anything special "I know it doesn't look like much but if you play it, plants will sprout all around you and whatever plantlife exists already will grow stronger and healthier, I would give you a demonstration myself but flutes aren't really my strong suit, though I have heard that her majesty plays it very well"
"Thank you, Harry-finiarel" said Islazadi as she took the flute and began playing.
As soon as the music started, plants began to sprout from the queen's feet and the music of the flute seemed to posses a hypnotic effect that had nothing to do with the queen's skill with it. The music continued for about half an hour before she stopped to see the clearing heled from the scorching that Saphira had given earlier, the posium covered in flowers with some trees coming growing in it and the plantlife around them looking healthier than ever. The quen proceeded to thank him and so did the entire members of the elf council and for an entire hour Harry had to deal with diplomacy, which nearly drove him, mad. Afterwards all the elves moved near the Tree of Menoa, where to identical elves, except for the different hair colors, - began to strip and dance.
As the dance began he felt the massive amount of magic that the elves gave to the painting of the dragon on the two elves, the three young Dragons bega to give their own magic instinctively and after making sure nothing bad would happen if he gave some of its own, he allowed his core to finally give energy to the tattoo and the clearing was filled with oppressive amounts of magic as he channelized magic at fifty percent of his total magic capacity and then the Dragon rose, looking solid and alive and headed toward Murtagh and Eragon. Acting on instinct the two raised their palms showing the Gedwya Ignasia, which the Dragon touched and upon touching the two Riders collapsed and before their eyes they were transformed to look like elves and he knew that it wasn't just the appearance that was changed. The Dragon apparition then turned toward Harry and locked eys with him.
"Thank you young one for the help you have given to our race in its darkest hour" said the Dragon apparition "an egg awaits you after the war is over"
"You know I will not stay here for long?" asked Harry.
"We glimpsed it, yes, however an egg has already chosen you and once the war finishes it will hatch for you" replied the Dragon apparition.
"Oh, okay I don't know what to say" replied Harry.
"Unfortunately there is no gift we can give you" said the apparition.
"Bah, don't worry I'm doing this to help my friends not to get some gifts" said Harry "after all a companion that will stay with me for all eternity is no small thing"
"Hahaha, we didn't give it to you he choose you himself" replied the Dragon apparition laughing.
"Still, I consider it the greatest gift this world could ever give me" answered Harry.
"I suppose you're right" said the Dragon "good luck on the trials ahead of you"
And with those words the Dragon returned to being a tattoo on the two elf twins and the rest of the elves resumed their dancing and singing while Thorn and Saphira took their respective Riders to a saf place to recover while Aria and Firnen followed them, to make sure their friends were okay. Harry stayed there for a few hours before heading toward the tree house where the three Riders and their Dragons were. When he got there he saw Eragon kissing Aria and when the kiss was over Aria slapped or punched in depends on the popint of view,- Eragon with enough force to hurl him across the room and left in a hurry, her eyes clouded from doubt.
Deciding that Aria was the one who needed him the most, Harry followed her. Upon noticing him Aria tried to get away from him but eventually Harry cornered her in an empty clearing.
"Harry, leave me alone" said Aria in a tone that promised pain if he didn't obey.
"Foolish girl" was all that Harry said as he sat cross legged in the middle of the clearing.
"What did you say?" asked Aria.
"You're foolish, to deny yourself love for fear of losing it" said Harry calmly while Aria shot a glare toward him.
"You know nothing" replied Aria.
"I too have lost a person that I loved and went through the same situations you're in right the only difference was that I didn't have somebody who loved me and whose feeling I returned" said Harry his mood considerably darker.
"I don't return Eragon's feelings" said Aria.
"Of course you do, Empathy remember" said Harry tapping at his forehead " I know that you feel like you're betraying Faolin's memory but if he really loved you he would want you to move on"
"You can't know that" replied Aria even angrier than before.
"Fair enough, ask him yourself" said Harry as he tossed her a small black stone
"What is this supposed to do?" asked Aria perplexed by the innocuous looking stone.
"Find out for yourselve, think of Faolin and turn it thrice" said Harry getting up "I'm leaving now, I suppose I must pay my respect to the old Aria"
With those words Harry left the clearing and a few minutes latter he felt the same cold sensation at the base of his neck that he felt when the resurrection stone was activated, - and with a smile he hastened his pace toward the tree house where Eragon was staying currently, his smile getting wider when he felt an explosion of emotions from the clearing where he left Aria. Hopefully this celebration's power to lower the inhibitions, would allow Aria to change better and faster than she would have normally done.
As soon as he arrived there he saw a downcast-looking Eragon and Murtagh and Saphira trying to comfort him.
"Cheer up, Eragon, its time to go and build you a new sword" said Harry.
"Let's go" said Eragon, after a few second of silence, - getting up.
"Come on, then let's see how fast you are now" said Harry breaking into a run, Eragon following suit.
"You know what happened between Aria and me, you must have felt it"said Eragon.
"What makes you think that, I might have been overflowing with the emotions of countless elves celebrating in Ellesmera?" asked Harry.
"As if, you seem to know everything at times and while I know that isn't true, you do know almost everything happening around you" reasoned Eragon.
"Good, I see that training with Oromis has done you good and yes I know, I already talked to Aria" replied Harry.
"She hates me, doesn't she?" asked Eragon.
"Hate you, no, confused about her own feelings, yes" answered Harry "I think you should give her some time and I know a perfect way to kill some time"
"What?" asked Eragon.
"You remember Solembum's message?" asked Harry.
"Yes but te tree holds no weapon" replied Eragon.
"I wasn't talking about the tree and while it didn't hold any weapon it held the ore needed to make Rider's swords" said Harry.
"The Vault of Souls, I suppose you know what it is and where it is" said Eragon.
"I do, though what it is I knew from my empathy" said Harry.
"So it holds living beings?" asked Eragon perplexed.
"Yes and no, it holds Eldunari" said Harry.
"Hearts of hearts, what are they?" asked Eragon, though he already had an inkling of a doubt on what an Eldunari was.
"I see that you already have some doubt on what their true nature is" said Harry "Dragons are truly the only immortals being in Alagaesia because of them because when their body dies their concsiouness is transferred in this gem-like organ of theirs"
"But there is something more isn't ti?" asked Eragon.
"Yes, you see the Eldunari keeps the extra energy that the Dragon had at the moment of its disgorgement and in a few years that energy grows to unparalleled heights" explained Harry "this energy can be accessed by anyone in possession of the Eldunari and with it you can also gain extra mental power"
"So that's how Galbatorix grow stronger and stronger with each passing year?" asked Eragon rhetorically.
"Yep but even if we were to get all the Eldunari in the Vault there will still be not enough to counter the thousands of Eldunari Galbatorix's has but it will be a damn good start" explained Harry.
"Is there a way to take those Eldunari from Galbatorix?" asked Eragon.
"Perhaps but you would have to be near him as he keeps his Eldunari in a pocket of space, I'll teach you the spell to make one during the trip" replied Harry "oh, before I forget, start figuring your true name, you'll need it"
"More work for me" said Eragon as they arrived in front of Rhunon's workshop where she was waiting for them
"She will forge it but you'll have to let her posses your body" said Harry "she means no harm to you, I vouch for her"
It's good enough for me" replied Eragon as he entered the workshop.
In a few minutes the workshop was ready and a Rhunon-possesed Eragon began to work on his sword, the process accelerated by the use of magic. After a few hours the environment became thick with magic, so much that most creatures would find oppressive, unless they were Dragons in that case they would find it welcoming,- and Harry got out, so that his magic didn't interfere with the forging process and sat on a nearby tree's branches and entered his trance-like sleep state.
He was woken the next morning by Aria standing above him with the resurrection stone clutched in her right hand. Her eyes were red from crying and her hairs looked disheveled but in her eyes she could see gratitude directed to him. She stood there, silent,- as he got in a sitting position, the sound of Eragon working echoing around them.
"Thank you, Harry-Elda for the opportunity you gave to me" said the elf with a slight bow.
"It wasn't done entirely done for you" said Harry.
"You want me and Eragon to be in a relationship" stated the elf.
"No, I want you to make decisions not based on guilt or fear" said Harry "you know, if you would have continued down this path, you would have realized your feelings for him only when he was about to leave Alagaesia"
"He will?" asked Aria.
"Yes, but hopefully this time, you'll leave with him" replied Harry.
"Why?" asked Aria.
"You already know the answer Aria, the true question is whether you will join him or not" said Harry.
"I need to talk with him" said Aria.
"Not now, when he returns, so you'll have the time to reflect upon your feelings and find your new true name" said Harry "you did notice it has changed?"
"Yes but I didn't have the time to find out my new name, yet" said Aria.
"That would explain the insecurity that I feelt in you" said Harry laughing.
"Why are you laughing?" asked Aria.
"Because, you are now essentially a human, just a bit better in the physical department" said Harry causing Aria to chuckle a bit.
"I suppose" said Aria" when will you return?"
I suppose we will meet you in Feinster, in three weeks, if Eragons is delayed n finding his true name, two or three days earlier if he doesn't" answered Harry.
"You have so much faith in him" said Aria.
"So do you" replied Harry with a small smile.
"That is different, I'm his comrade its normal I would have a lot of faith in him, if I didn't I wouldn't let him guard my back" said Aria.
"I have fought alongside him too, I have personally trained him, I have seen his potential and many of his potential futures so I know he is destined for greatness" explained Harry.
"You can see the future?" asked Aria surprised.
"Of course, you can, Eragon can, your mother can, mine is a bit stronger than yours" said Harry and then he turned to see the workshop in which there was no more noise "I suppose you must leave now but remember my words, for his and your sake you must have reached a conclusion by the time we return"
With those words Aria left, just as Eragon was coming out of Rhunon's workshop, smiling brightly as he spun a blue sword in his hands, Opening his mind to Harry's contact, Eragon let him know everything about Brisingr, his new sword and its special ability. Saphira landed next to them a minute later wearing the saddle Brom had given him, on her sides stood provisions, Harry hoped on her back and getting his message, Eragon did so to. With that Saphira gave a mighty push of her wings and deatached from the ground. Once they were nearby the clouds, Harry let himsell fall from the saddle and began flying nearby Saphira, never being more than a hundred meters away.
After a week they finaly made it to Mount Erolas where the entrance of the Vault was found, there they stopped for Eragon and Saphira to continue their quest to find their True Names as Harry already knew his own. Two dasy later Saphira found her own name but Eragon still couldn't, it wasn't his fault Dragons had always been more adapt at finding their own True Names even more so than Elves. It took Eragon another five days to finally find his True Name and then the three of them converged on the Rock of Kuithan where the three of them spoke their names and the door opened for them. Following the tunnel that the rock revealed they found themselves in the doorway to a room from which Harry could feel the emotions of the Eldunari come from.
In front of the door stood a metallic man with the head of a Dragon, from within he sensed the presence of an Eldunari, which confirmed his position as guardian of the Vault of Souls. Upon nearing the door, the Guardian touched their minds, perhaps a bit more forcefully than needed and when he was finished, he spoke.
"Welcome, Last of the Free Riders, Saphira and Wandering Sage" said the metallic Guardian in a voice resembling the mental voice of the male Dragons.
"Thank you Guardian of the Vault, we seek to enter it" said Eragon with a slight bow of his head.
"Of course all of you are welcome to enter the Vault but remember when you go out you'll forget everything about the Vault and what you will see inside" warned the Guardian before stepping aside.
"Thanks but you never told what to call you" said Eragon having learned to never ask for a name as it would get him a lecture about the importance of True Names.
"When I was still a Dragon, I was called Cuaroc" answered the ex-Dragon.
"It was an honor meeting you Cuaroc" said Eragon as the three of them moved to enter the Vault itself.
"As well" replied the Guardian returning to his post the door of the Vault closing in his back.
The sight that greeted them when they entered the Vault was one that surprised even Harry, he definitively wasn't expecting a few hundreds eggs besides the Eldunari. Eragon and Saphira were at the brink of tears seeing that the Dragon race was far from extinct. Harry on the other hand was to busy admiring a five feet tall black Dragon egg, that his Aura Sight, told him had bound itself to him and he was wondering why a Black Dragon of all things, he would have figured a blue or a white Dragon based on his Aura's color (bluish white) and then it clicked to him "Death, I swear if you keep messing up with my Aura I'll find a way to permanently destroy you, Creator's first creations be damned" was the though that Harry send through the barriers that separated the worlds of all Existence and into the Void that housed them.
"Welcome, we've been waiting for you, you can call me Umaroth" a voice said, this voice emanating from a white Eldunari.
"Umaroth, you're Vrael's Dragon?" asked Harry turning toward the Eldunari.
"It's Eldunari, technically" replied the Eldunari.
"You are Vrael's Dragon because you're his consciousness thus making you essentially your past self but without a body" said Harry.
"Technicalities aside, I suggest that you sit because its going to be a long story" said the Eldunari
"Well, I always was for a good story" said Harry conjuring two chairs with a wave of his hands.
And so both of them sat down in their chairs and heard the story of how the Eldunari's and eggs came to be in the Vault, of how the enchantment worked and how it was created etc.