Dear Readers,

The beginning of this story is under reconstruction. When you read a chapter that has nothing at all to do with what you have just read, please keep in mind that is the previous version of the story and I am redoing it as quickly as I can. I apologize for the inconvenience. I am not trying to confuse you! Later on, after chapter 40, things mostly fit together with the revised chapters of the story.

This is Chapter 37, revised.

Thank you and enjoy!

DragonRider2000

Eragon kept his eyes on the young man he had never seen before. He was tall and strongly built, and he looked like he could use the sword he held ready in his hand. How had he managed to end up travelling with Tanyel, Sasha and Raya?

Was that even her name? The thought came unbidden, and a chill ran down his spine. He was beginning to doubt Tanyel's whole story. He had puzzled over Murtagh travelling to Dras'leona to poison Tanyel, and it didn't make sense. She wasn't supposed to be anyone of importance, yet the energy and underlying something about her told him otherwise.

"Perhaps." Sasha said in reply to Vanira, watching her with narrowed eyes. As if understanding what Sasha was thinking, Vanira said quietly,

"I am the last person of this company you should worry about, Sasha Tatanya. I care that your cousin lives more than you know."

Arya dropped lightly to the ground and moved towards Raya, who was kneeling beside Tanyel's motionless form. Her skin prickled, and her elfin senses told her that something else was afoot, but she could not find whatever it was with her mind or her senses.
If Murtagh had poisoned Tanyel, that ultimately meant that Galbatorix wanted her dead and she was more than likely not their enemy. But Arya had not forgotten what she had felt around Tanyel when they first met her. Yet now it was clear to her that even with their combined effort, Tanyel's chances of survival were slim.

"May I approach?" Arya asked Raya quietly from a few steps away.

Raya nodded and took her hand off of the bow and arrows.

"You may. Thank you… but be careful with her."

"I will do all that I can." Arya replied, taking the warning seriously. She knelt beside Tanyel and closed her eyes, putting her hand over the prone woman's head.

There were a few tense moments, and then Eragon and Roran dismounted and tied their horses with Arya's to the trees. Vanira stayed mounted for the time being. She was staring at the treetops, her expression calculating.
The young man whom Eragon did not know was watching her carefully.

Sasha had not moved from where she stood, and her hand still rested on her sword hilt. Roran stayed by the horses, fingering his hammer.

Ask her what you want to know, Eragon. The suspense is irritating! Saphira growled in his mind, and Eragon complied.

"Sasha, why did Murtagh poison Tanyel? Why would Galbatorix want her dead?"

Sasha's expression was blank as she looked at him. He wondered if he was going to get an answer.

"Because, Eragon," She said softly and slowly, "her name is not Tanyel Cavrona. She is Taya Corsallen."

There was silence again. That name was known to him, but not well. Eragon had only heard it twice before, once from Murtagh himself and the other time had not been long ago, head in passing among the Varden.

Arya interrupted his thoughts.

"Do you know what poison was used on her?"

"She said it was Corsent Solenta."Raya replied, and Eragon's eyes widened in astonishment.

Arya's expression was grave.

"I was afraid you would say that. I know of this poison and so do Eragon and Vanira. It is far too late for the antidote. But," She said sternly before Raya could cry out, "it might not be too late for magic." Arya looked down at Taya's face thoughtfully. "She should be dead already."

Eragon stepped up beside Arya and looked down at Taya. His shock ran deep. Her face was gaunt and lined, and there was no color to her skin. Her copper hair was dull and plastered to her head as fever ravaged her. And along the side of her face and down her neck was a black line with webbed veins branching out. Along her neck, where Murtagh's hand must have choked her, the line was thick and webbed. She hardly looked like the woman he knew from Dras'leona. He could only imagine was she was going through in her mind…

The Riders, long before they had been wiped out had created Corsent Solenta as a drug to trap a person in their mind and so to gain information. The realized though that it acted as a poison and consumed the victim's body while the person was trapped in their memory and unable to fight. The Rider had tried to destroy everything that had to do with the poison… but naturally Galbatorix had found out about it, to use it for his own purposes.

"Before we go any further, I think introductions are in order. Some of us are not known to each other." Sasha said, glancing pointedly at the chestnut haired elf still mounted on her horse.

"Quickly then." Arya said rather impatiently, tracing the black line on Taya's face.

"Your curiosity is aimed at me, I know." Vanira said, and she finally dismounted her horse and tied it beside the others as she spoke. "My name is Vanira Dacoryn, and I am an elf and an old friend of Lady Arya, here. You know Eragon, and of course Roran Stronghammer."

Arya had already let go of the magic that changed her appearance, and Vanira now let go of hers. She didn't look much different either way.

"This is Sacar Liastrin. He joined us when we passed Feinster." Sasha nodded towards the young man.

"I saw you there, Raya." Eragon said softly, remembering the wards he'd placed around her and the feeling of danger in the air when he'd left the town.

Raya stared at him in surprise. "You did?" She asked incredulously. "Why were you there? And why didn't you help fight Murtagh?"

"The same reason you were there; gathering provision. And would it have helped if I had showed myself?" He replied to her, and she frowned.

"Such things can be discussed later." Arya said. "If we are to save Taya Corsallen, it must be now. I cannot do this alone if I am to drain the poison from her body. I believe that is it nearly to her heart, which will be her death. Everyone must help."

As she spoke, Eragon caught a glimpse of slight movement in the trees above them. His keen eyes narrowed, but he could see nothing.

Eragon, do… do you feel that? Saphira asked, and her voice was quivering.

Eragon stretched out his mind carefully, and then a mind like icy fire rammed against his mental barriers and there was a deep growl. Arya sprang back from Taya, and Roran drew his hammer. Like a dream, a mass of emerald and wings dropped from the trees, smoke curling from its nostrils.

It is the last dragon. Saphira said in awe, and Eragon felt her tuck her wings together and dive. The rush made him light headed, on top of his surprise at the last dragon appearing out of the trees, with this particular group no less.

It was the size of a large horse, with huge wings and powerful, angular body. It seemed to stare right through Eragon with its deep green eyes.

"Hail, dragon!" Vanira cried, her tone of ecstasy filling the clearing. "Your arrival has been long awaited in this land."

The dragon eyed her.

Well met, Vanira Dacoryn. His voice was deep and clear, strong and vibrant in their minds. But it was also sad. I am Kabarak, bonded to Taya Corsallen, daughter of Lenya Corsan who was a strong supporter of the Varden. I hatched for Taya not long after she arrived in Dras'leona. Yes, I was in the building the entire time you were lodged there. Taya concealed me from you with magic.

Arya twitched in surprise. "She must be powerful, then."

Kabarak dipped his head. Yes, she is. I will help you, Lady Arya, in whatever way I can to save my rider.

"You may be the reason she has lived this long." Arya mused, stepping forward to Taya again, unworried by the dragon so close to her. She looked into his eyes, wondering.

There was a whistle from above them, and a whoosh and a thud as Saphira landed by the clearing, and she snaked her head through the trees in order to get a good look at Kabarak.
Sasha, Raya and Sacar had never seen a full sized dragon before, except for one that was chasing them, and Saphira's head made Kabarak look rather small.

Saphira seemed to purr. I am Saphira Brightscales.

Kabarak dipped his head in greeting. Well met, Saphira Brightscales.

"How have you grown so quickly, I wonder?" Arya said.

"Saphira was not as big as Kabarak when she was only to months old." Eragon added. "And Thorn was only so large because of black magic speeding his development.

Kabarak growled deep in his chest, and a plume of smoke escaped his nostrils as he snorted.

No black magic has tainted me, Lady Arya. I have grown slowly in my opinion, but if you say that I am larger than I should be, I am very glad of it. As should you be.

Vanira Dacoryn laughed. "Well spoken, Kabarak Authamir. For one so young you have an elegant tongue."

Kabarak glanced over at her.

Authamir? He asked as a question, liking the sound of it.

"It means 'silver-tongue'. Do you approve?"

I do. Thank you, Vanira Dacoryn.

My pleasure. She responded with her mind.

Kabarak snorted again, only this time there was a brilliant flame and the newcomers stared in surprise. Kabarak looked very proud and smug at this.

He knows that he is very young to be breathing fire, and he is very proud of his ability. Saphira told Eragon.

That makes sense. He replied.

"This will perhaps give us an added advantage to defeat the poison." Arya said, breaking the silence. "I will need energy from all of you, and the process will be slow. Corsent Solenta drains the energy from the victim's body, and this we must restore for her to survive. Kabarak and Saphira, I will need you to channel the others' energy to me. You will know when one of them cannot spare anymore. I warn you all, this will fell very strange, and perhaps uncomfortable." Arya looked at each in turn, but she saw only steely resolve in their expressions. So she sat down beside Taya and laid her hands over her heart, bowing her head and closing her eyes.

The air in the clearing seemed to hum, and Vanira walked over to Sacar and Raya, and put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"You should sit. Get comfortable."

The teenagers obeyed and sat close to the coals of the fire, watching Arya. The elf's mouth was moving but they could not hear her words.
Eragon helped Roran untack and feed their horses. They weren't going anywhere that night. It would take a while before Eragon and Vanira at least felt a drain in their energy.

Saphira began to hum in tune with the energy in the air. Kabarak followed her tone, only lower, and the cadence itself was energizing and mesmerizing.

Vanira leaned up against a tree and watched Arya and Taya closely.

Would they win that night? The elf did not know.

Never before had Melcar felt so lost. Not even when his parents had been killed, or his home had been raised to the ground. Not even when he had almost died.
But everything about his dreams spoke 'lost'. It was like he was hanging by a string over the edge of a cliff, swinging perilously.
On top of that it was as if a gong was ringing in his mind, and there was no one to stop it.

Fear clouded his mind, and there was complete darkness… no, there was a light shining from somewhere ahead of him, but he couldn't seem to walk towards it. What did it mean?

The hallway he found himself in seemed never ending… but the light… it was there at the other end!

Determined to escape the darkness of the hallway he started running, and he was suddenly bathed in the gold glow of torchlight. He took an involuntary step back.

There was nothing. The glow of the torchlight faded, and a strange silver light seemed to emanate from ahead. It was like a mist, but it was light.

He took a couple steps forward, and suddenly he saw clearly a figure clad in white lying motionless on the ground. His heart started beating loudly, and he walked slowly up to her. He recognized her immediately.

Taya.

She didn't look dead, but she felt dead. He knelt and checked her pulse. There was nothing. She was cool to the touch, but her face was flushed as if she yet had life in her.
Even though the sign pointed to her being dead, something deep inside him, like the light at the end of the hallway, told him that she was alive.

"Taya?" He whispered questioningly, almost thinking that she would wake.

She did not stir, but he became aware of the sound of birds singing, and his hair blew about his face as a sudden gust of wind swept past him. He stood and slowly turned around.

Melcar found himself looking into a picture, except that he was in the picture. The silver light had disappeared. Taya still lay on the ground behind him, and he felt his need to protect her.
What he found himself looking at was a field of waving wheat, a blue sky with puffy clouds, and he could see pine trees and mountains in the distance.

He looked behind him again and to his confusion Taya was gone, but he caught sight of a figure far ahead of him, walking away. A melodious voice floated to him on the wind, and he started running after her.

"Taya!" He cried into the wind, and the woman stopped and turned towards him. He slowed to a walk when he was close to her, and she stood waiting for him. But when he was close enough to discern her features he saw that it was not Taya… or it wasn't the Taya he knew.

"…Taya?" He asked, confused and disconcerted. She was older, with a more angular face than Taya, and her hair was long and flaming red, while Taya's was more of a copper color.

She smiled and stepped up close to him, reaching out and touching his face. It reminded him of his mother's touch.

"Do not worry, young Di'Acor. Do not let fear hold you, but wait and watch for her. She will find you again."

"Who are you?" He asked softly. He was mesmerized by her green eyes, which were Taya's. The lady's smile widened and she laughed lightly.

"You have never seen me before, I can assure you, but you know my own well. I have been watching you, young Di'Acor, and hope is not lost. Trust in your family and your friends, Melcar, and you will not go astray. And have faith in those who are lost."

Zen.

The woman motioned to his right with her elegant hand, and as he looked he saw a figure clad in white and green stood a ways off, facing away from them towards the mountains he had seen. The wind played with her long dress and sash, and her copper hair flowed and twisted in the wind.

Relief flooded him. Somehow he knew that everything was alright.

"You'll you, Melcar. You'll see." The lady before him laughed again, and to his surprise she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Follow the flame." She said in a soft voice, and as if commanded to her turned calmly and walked away, hearing once again the beautiful voice lifted in song.

Beyond the mountains tall and fair,

I hear you call my name.
No matter the distance,
no matter the peril,
I'll come back to you my love.

There was no flame for him to follow, but he felt that if he kept walking through the field of wheat, he would find his way home.

Melcar jerked away, sitting up. He stared in amazement at the side of his tent, hearing clearly the woman's voice, her command.

'Follow the flame.'

After long hours with no rest and continuous chanting, Arya removed her hands from where they rested on Taya's body and she leaned back wearily.
She looked around her with heavy eyelids at the group, and she caught Sasha's eye.

The blond stood from where she'd been sitting by the fire and she walked over to Arya, and everyone else looked up and over at Arya.

"Did you… will she live?" Sasha asked timidly. She was exhausted, and somewhat swaying on her feet.

Raya strained her ears, waiting anxiously for Arya's answer, yet dreading what she'd say. The look on the elf's face told her that nothing more could be done.

Arya took a deep breath, avoiding Sasha and Raya's eyes, and she replied softly,

"I have lost the battle. For a long time I thought that by our combined efforts we could succeed, but Galbatorix has perfected his poison. I was not able to make up for the last day and she is, was, too far gone to bring back. Even with so much combined energy. I wish I did not have to say this, but I do not believe that she will last through the hour." Arya watched Raya especially as she spoke, and so she saw the shadow pass across the young teenager's face.

Raya stared at her sister for a long minute and the she looked up at Arya, who inclined her head sadly. She closed her eyes, and then she nodded as if to herself and she stood. She took Sasha by her arm and the blond stared at her for a minute and then allowed her to steer her to her bedroll. Sasha lay down, but stared at the stars above them. She did not close her eyes for a long time.

Sacar, oddly enough had fallen asleep on Shacour's back, his head resting on his hands. The horse didn't care, and never moved. With a slight smile Raya tapped Sacar on the head. He awoke slowly and blinked a few times before his eyes focused on Raya. He raised an eyebrow in question, and Raya slowly shook her head. His expression darkened.
He slid off the horse and wrapped his arms around her in a long, comforting hug, and she buried her head in his shoulder and clung to him.

The sight touched Arya deeply, and she cast a glance over at Vanira and saw that her eyes were closed; yet there was the slightest hint of a smile on her face. Arya saw that she had been whittling something. Whatever could amuse Vanira at that time was beyond Arya. The smile certainly did not fit the circumstances.
Roran and Eragon, once Arya had told them the verdict, had finally allowed themselves to sleep.

The two teens let go of each other and Sacar went to his bedroll and Raya went to sit beside Taya and Kabarak, and then she leaned over against the dragon. He nudged her head and sighed deeply. It was a sad sight of two companions who have lost a loved one.

Arya sighed. She had tried as hard as she could to save the life of Taya Corsallen. It really was incredible that she had held on for so long…

Now with his rider dying, what would happen to Kabarak Authamir?

A chill swept over her.

She could not, would not let the last dragon die. To save his life, and Alagaesia's last hope, she would have to sever the connection between rider and dragon before it was too late. The only way to do that would be to break into Kabarak or Taya's mind. And if she managed that, then perhaps she would be chosen in Taya's place.

Yet the decision to cut Kabarak off from Taya nagged at her. She had a strong urge to ask Vanira what was going to happen. What if, by separating Kabarak from his rider without his consent and bonding him to her made her like Galbatorix?

She shrank away from the horrid thought. No, she would be doing it for the good of everyone else, not for her own gain. Galbatorix had done what he had for his own benefit and greed.

The thought still nagged at her.

Vanira watched Arya stare thoughtfully at Kabarak and Raya. She had a pretty good idea of what was going on in her kin's mind, but Vanira had no cause to worry.
Her eyes turned to Taya slowly just as the prone woman drew in a deep, shaky breath. Arya whipped her head around, seeing the ears in Raya's eyes before her eyes were riveted on Taya's face.

Vanira quickly stood and set aside her project as Taya let out the breath. An eerie silence seemed suspended over the camp. Vanira stepped to Taya's side and felt for a pulse, but she knew that all sign would show that Taya was dead.

"She has gone." Vanira looked directly into Raya's teary eyes with her own clear, steady ones.

A sob choked Raya, and Vanira's voice carried soothingly through the camp.

"But she will always be here, I can promise you. She has not gone far, for there is too much at stake and too much still to be done."

None of them understood, but Raya was slightly consoled by the elf's calm spoken words. She stood and pointed a shaky finger in the direction of a little trail that led into the trees.

"There's a little… cave that's only a few minute walk from here. We can lay her there and tomorrow…" She couldn't finish her sentence, but Vanira knew what she meant.

Eragon, who had startled awake when Taya'd drawn her last breath, stood silently and gathered the dead woman in his arms while Raya picked up a long satchel that carried Taya's sword and other belongings.
Sacar and Sasha stood by Raya, and Vanira picked up a long, thick stick from the fire to use as a torch, and she walked beside Raya as the girl led them down the path to a small outcropping of rocks, and they came to a small cave. It looked to be man-made, and it reminded Eragon strongly of the place where Brom had died.

Why does death seem to follow us wherever we go? He asked Saphira sadly. She did not answer.

As Vanira stepped up to the cave and extended the torch inside, the flame blazed up high, catching them all by surprise. It stayed ablaze, and Vanira stared at it oddly.
Sacar almost thought he heard someone whisper 'follow the flame', but he figured that he was imagining it.

There was a small ledge carved in the rock, and Eragon set his light burden there. Raya opened the satchel and drew out a long, black leather bound sword. She laid the sword beside Taya and then put the satchel under her head.

They stood arrayed by the wall, and then Vanira stepped forward and laid a hand on Taya's forehead and mumbled so only she knew what she was saying.

"Hurry back, Daughtrona Sileno Saturas. We still need you."

Before she turned away Vanira saw the green pendant on Taya's neck, and she gently touched it with a finger. Its color shifted slightly when the light from the torch barely illuminated it, and Vanira withdrew, knowing that the stone had an important meaning behind it. She would find out someday.

Sacar stared at the motionless form, the flame from the torch casting flickering shadows across the body.

I'm sorry I couldn't do more, Taya. He thought sadly, and he glanced at Raya. I will watch out for her as best I can.

Raya was the last to leave the cave. She turned and stared back at the dark entrance for a long time, her eyes shining with tears. Vanira waited for her, and then she wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders and they walked like that back to camp. Vanira sat Raya down on her bedroll and stroked her forehead, whispering something to her.

Raya nodded sleepily and lay down, pulling her blanket over her. Vanira watched as her heavy, red-rimmed eyelids closed, and after a minute she was asleep.

On entering the clearing Vanira had seen that Kabarak was gone. A picture flashed across her vision as she stood, and she relaxed. She sat back down by her project, picked it up and went back to whittling, humming softly a tune that her adopted father had taught her over 5 years before.

She saw Arya watching her with narrowed eyes but paid her no mind. Silence reigned in the clearing, except for the sounds of slow breathing and Vanira's whittling.

Late on in the night Arya stood and walked over to Vanira, who was still humming and whittling away.

"Vanira, what is going on?" She asked quietly, and the other else paused and looked up.

"Can you not see? You know what it is like to lose a loved one." Her expression tightened and she looked back at her project. "As do I. Without us all to support her, Raya will fall."

"That is hardly what I meant, and I do agree with you about Raya. Vanira, please tell me what you have seen. In all of this I know you have had a vis-"

"What makes you think I have seen anything?" Vanira cut her off sharply.

"Come now Vanira, do not toy with me. You behavior is too relaxed for the last dragon rider to have died and the last dragon to soon follow his rider. You are too relaxed." She repeated.

To Arya's surprise, Vanira actually smiled.

"Ahh, yes I see what you mean. Well, I have just had this feeling, you know, that this will turn out well in the end. Nothing more."

"Vanira, you are trying my patience."

"When have I not, Lady Arya? I will continue to try your patience because that is all I have to say concerning the matter. I would suggest that you get some rest, as you have exhausted yourself by doing a very good deed. I will remain awake to tend the fire and watch. Goodnight, Arya."

That effectively ended the conversation. Arya knew that the other elf was frustrated with her, as she had never spoken to her in such a way before. But Arya was not fool enough to believe that Vanira had not seen something important. She was probably unwilling to speak of it because of the others, who might wake and her of her secret.

Actually she was wrong. Vanira was unwilling to speak of it to Arya. The less the elf knew about the future, the better, and Arya was mainly worried about Kabarak and not so much Taya's death.

The dragon could look after himself for a little while.

Kabarak huddled in the dark cave by Taya, staring gloomily at the far wall. He was waiting for the pain. He was waiting to die. He was waiting to join his rider.

He could guess Arya's thoughts. He was the last dragon after all, and he was priceless to the elves and the Varden. All three factions wanted him desperately. But Kabarak was not planning on living long enough to feel the utter and complete emptiness where his true rider's link had been.
Even now something of her still remained, and he savored the touch. He could not bear to let Arya cut him off from what he had hatched for… if she even could.

In fact, he wondered why he had not yet felt any excruciation pain and absolute darkness yet. Taya had died hours ago it seemed… what did it mean?

He nosed his rider's face, and an unnatural whimper escaped him.
He was out of time; his reason for being was gone. He would not suffer and unworthy stranger to somehow take her place.
He would become a wild dragon before that happened.

Kabarak shivered from nose to tail as a strange tingling sensation rushed through him. It crept through his limbs and the feeling disrupted his inter-mind argument he was having.
He laid his head on the ground. Maybe he would not wake up in the morning. That would be a blessing.

His heart seemed to catch on fire, and he shut his eyes, seeing flames dance under his eyelids.

He did not know what was happening. He did not know that he was changing. He just wanted it to end.

It was only the beginning.