"Austin." The voice called out to him, but it was infundibular and reflected itself many times, as if many voices called out to him. He felt as though his eyes were opened, yet all he could see was a transcendental white. It felt as if it was real but wasn't.
He could still see the silhouette of the intellectual hooded man, shrouded in power. He could still feel the energy that filled the air around him. Yet he knew he wasn't there any more.
"Austin." Said the voice, calm and contrite, yet worried for the life of him. What was amiss, has something gone horribly wrong. What ever it was he felt that he would know soon enough as his vision blurred and he could make out shapes. Squares, triangles, circles. Now they became more complex, shapes that seemed to flow effortlessly into place, forming abstract structures of heterogeneous circumscriptions.
Nolan? Was that Trey and Connor. And...and a short man.
"Austin, are you okay?" Asked Nolan, he could feel Nolan's mind begin to probe his, looking for any sort of physical or mental damage. "I don't know, what happened?" Austin replied. He knew what happened yet he felt confused, as if something were trying to make him forget what happened yet letting him remember certain details.
Trey suddenly spoke before anyone else could. "You were sitting perfectly still when suddenly the candles and the torches in the room were blown out. It got real dark and then you started glowing a bright white." He looked over to Nolan then back to Austin. "After that you fell out of your chair and as if you passed out."
Austin looked around and noticed that he wasn't in the study as he had been before he left his body. It was some sort of medical room with beds lining the walls, most held sick dwarves. The walls were made of white polished marble giving the room a cleansed feeling. "Where am I?"
This time Orik spoke. "Tronjheim's sanitarium. You were out for three days and."
Austin shot up. "Three days!" He exclaimed, looking between Nolan and Orik.
Orik nodded. "Several of my best healers examined your mind while you were sleeping and found your mind heavily gaurded by an unbreachable barrier. They said it wasn't your own barriers and also that something or someone was keeping you from waking. Even Nolan had trouble trying to get you to wake."
"Well at least your safe." Said Nolan. "I know we should let you recover first, but this is important. What happened?"
Austin rubbed his head and recounted the events that transpired while he was passed out. When he got to the mysterious ruins in the north he saw Nolan and Orik trade glances. But their expressions where priceless when he spoke about the hooded man. "What does it mean?"
Orik shrugged. "Even the Riders weren't capable of such a feat. You said that the man was covered in energy?" Austin nodded. "And for someone to be able to pull your mind from your body is an impossible performance, even for a skilled magician or dragon. Not even the elves could have done this. I can't comprehend this. Nolan?"
Nolan shook his head. "Nor can I think of any thing that could have done this. Maybe a spirit did this but you said the being was a man, and spirits don't interact directly with living creatures in such a manor. But your mind doesn't have any trace of being tampered with. If something was to do this, then your mind would have evidence."
"But the...man...did say, when ya'll were talking about the dragon egg, to find it. He said that I must find it." Said Austin, pulling off his sheets as he got out of the bed.
Orik looked to Nolan. "I don't know. This could possibly be some sort of a trick in order to steal the egg. You could really be servants of the Salazians, here to take the egg and force it to hatch for you."
Nolan bowed up. "How dare you make such an acquisition. We are trusted soldiers under binding oaths to the city of Xeon. We are here only cause you offered hospitality, otherwise we'd be on the other side of the Beors. And as an added measure our minds were probed and you found that we have nothing to hide. Something more powerful than all us is at work here. If its a god telling Austin to find the egg then we need to get to it quickly. If its a trick then we'll find out when we get there." Orik appeared mad, he looked as though he was about to strick Nolan down right then and there. "Gaurds!"
Suddenly ten dwarven soldiers ran into the room and surrounded the humans, pointing their pikes at them while also keeping them from reaching Orik if they tried to.
Orik glared at Nolan then said. "Keep these three company. If they try to escape...well, use your imagination. I'll take two with me." He looked at Austin. "You. Come with me."
They left the medical room and entered a long corridor lined with columns and doorways. Torches hung from fixtures along the tops of each door frame. They left the corridor and entered a staircase sloping down. It became darker even with torches being carried by the gaurds and hanging along the walls. The hallway eventually decreased in size and they had to resort to a single-file line. Austin even saw other hallways branching off the main one.
"Its a maze." Austin observed, looking down each walkway as they passed it.
"Yes. And if some god is telling you to find the egg, then you'll find it." He stopped in a circular room with other foyers going seperate ways out of the room. Each entrance was marked by an expertly crafted arch in the shape of a dragon as if it gaurded the halls.
Austin looked up to the cieling to see a gigantic chandelier hanging by iron chains. "You want me to lead the way?"
Orik nodded. "We dwarves know the way, we will follow you until it is apperant that you wont find the egg chambers. After that you and your friends will be sent on their way."
Austin shyly nodded, not sure if the strange supernatural being would help. He didn't know how he could contact it, and even if he could, why would he help him. So he did the only thing he could do. He prayed to any god that the being might have been. Nothing.
He tried agian, this time pleading harder.
Nothing.
"I can't. I don't know where to find the chamber." He looked apprehensively to the ground, nudging a small rock with his feet.
Orik acknowledged Austin's statement as if he knew he wouldn't be able to find the egg chamber. He motioned to his gaurds to lead the way out when suddenly a voice echoed throughout the maze.
"Find the egg." It said, each word stricking them with force that was more imaginary than real but had a design. An anatomy. "Find the egg."
Orik and his gaurds fell to their knees and started muttering to themselves.
Austin peered around the annular room as the voice spoke up agian.
"Don't pray to me dwarves. I am no god. I am a messenger from the one and only God, the one who created all, the one who will not tolerate prayer to idols as your race has done, the one who has given me the power to do the tings I have done. But I am not here to tell you of your wrong doing, but i am here to lead one human to his destiny. Go find the egg." The voice disappeared as well as the power that came with it.
The dwarfs appeared shocked beyond belief. And if they looked any more pale, Austin was sure they would appear dead. Orik stood, briefly without the power and authority the king once had before trudging into the maze. "Get him to the egg chamber now!" He commanded.
The guards stood quickly and motioned Austin to follow them. Orik left the maze, leaving Austin and the two other dwarfs to travel the labyrinth by themselves. The air suddenly became stale and the brick walls looked more older than the ones closer to the entrance. They went left then right then right agian. Passing under archways and over bridges that overlapped pools of molten rock. They traveled so far into the maze that only one path was visible.
"We are here." Said one dwarf, placing the butt of his pike on the ground.
Austin looked around at the rocks, jagged shadows forming the rough surface, giving the rocks an evil look with the glow of the lava reflecting off the marble columns that held up the roof of the cavern. They had came to a dead end, the path went straight into the face of one of the surrounding walls. This wall in particular had the design of the hammer surrounded by twelve penticles. "Theres nowhere else to go." Austin said, feeling foolish for stating the obvious.
The dwarves rolled their eyes and the other one said. "Have you ever thought of a hidden entrance." Then he motioned to the wall and said. "Can you see what's wrong.?"
Austin examined the wall, each detail of the insignia. He knew that it was meant to be the symbol of the dwarf clan Dûrgrimst Ingeitum, yet one of the stars was tilted differently than the others. He moved closer to the wall then looked to the dwarfs. "May I?" He asked, holding his hand up to the wall.
The dwarf nodded.
Austin smiled then turned back to the wall and took several seconds to stare at the star. Then he reached up and grabbed the star, he felt it move slightly. Twist it. Said the voice in his head. He complied and twisted the star. He heard gears moving and when the star was completely in its rightful spot a click sounded and the star was pulled deeper into the wall. Dust poured from the cieling as the star moved into position. Then an exteremely thin line appeared as the wall split revealing a small room with about twenty stands which were once used to hold dragon eggs. Currently one was being used. A dark purple dragon egg with almost black veins that webbed the smooth surface sat in the closest pedestal, relfecting the orange light of the lava outside.
The dwarfs moved first, entering the room and standing on either side of the egg. Austin slowly made his way forward, what did the man want him to do with the egg, and why? If it hatched...but thats impossible, Austin couldn't really become a dragon rider. But if the egg hatched there wouldn't be any change of plans, they would still leave for the dragon island.
"Stop!" Came a voice behind him. Austin turned to see the dwarf king running down the hall followed closely by Nolan, Trey and then Connor and a half a dozen gaurds. "Wait. I want to see what will happen." Orik said, looking behind him at his gaurds. "Stand strong men, we may have another Rider in our presence. Go ahead."
Austin nodded then looked to Nolan, the old magician looked worried yet was able to hide most of the emotion, who tilted his head slightly. He turned back to the egg and continued to walk forward, each step feeling like several thousand. He got even closer then hesitated.
JUST TOUCH THE EGG! He shouted to himself. Yet it was hard to simply reach up and touch its smooth surface. But his hand moved up, as if by itself, and he brushed his fingertips agianst it. The egg was smoother than it appeared, and the veins didn't form any inperfections upon the shell. His hand went back for a second time and really touched the egg.
Nothing.
Orik, Nolan, and every other eye in the room stared at the egg intentely.
Nothing.
The atmosphere in the room went from pure excitment to worry. What if the egg didn't hatch? Austin prepared to back up when suddenly the egg shifted under his now retreating hand. "The egg! Its hatching!" Austin shouted, mainly in disbelief and awe. What kind of honor was it for a dragon to hatch for him.
Orik stuttered than ceased to speak, the guards began to mutter to each other and Nolan, good old Nolan, just stared as if something new was about to start, the begginings of a new age. Several cracks appeared on the shell and lifted up, teetering as if balancing on something. Then it fell off the pedestal and hit the ground. And then a small dragon head, of the most amazing dark purple color, peeked out of its egg.
AN: Finally! A dragon. I know its been tough reading a story about dragons without dragons in it. But here is one. A dragon hatchling that has traveled throughout Alageasia for nearly a thousand years. And soon will come the ancient dragon riders like Eragon and Saphira, Ayra and Firnen, and Murtagh and Thorn. Hope ya'll have enjoyed the story so far and will continue to enjoy. Please leave a review, it only takes a few seconds, tell me how you think my story is going, or if you want to give ideas. Thnx for reading.
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