A Clouded Sky.
A Hazy Sun.
A Landscape Stained With Blood.
An Earth Covered By Evil.
Hearts Filled With Fear And Despair.
Minds and Souls Overpowered By a Great Darkness.
Yet Still,
Somewhere In the Dark,
A Flame Still Burned…
He could wait no longer. As the hours slipped by and there was as yet no sign of Taya Corsallen, and no order for the reinforcements, General Gi' Vare knew he had to take the initiative into his own hands. And he did.
"Lieutenant," He said sharply, wheeling his horse about. "Send the order to begin marching. I know there has been no command, but they will need us sooner than later! No arguments; just do!"
Saluting with precision, the lieutenant snapped orders to the magician and the other leaders, and Gi' Vare rode to the front of his cavalry.
"Mount!" He barked, sending soldiers flying off the ground and into the saddles of suddenly excited horses.
"Did the order come, sir?" One of his men questioned, reining his frisky horse in beside Gi' Vare.
"No." Gi' Vare said truthfully, "But they will need us. Better to be there when the command, or plea, comes than to be here and get there as they are all gone and the battle already over."
The man nearly smiled, and then he saluted. "I agree sir. Thank you."
It was the 'thank you' that strengthened the General's decision. He knew how hard it was for these men to sit back and wait, not knowing which of their friends might die out on the field, and wondering if they had been there if they could have saved him. Such was the thank you from that soldier.
Raya clutched the saddle tightly when Sasha conveyed the order from Gi' Vare. Here it was… She looked over at Sacar, who stared back. In that moment she knew she was not the only one who was afraid.
And then the shout for moving forward came, sending chills up and down her back. As ordered, they began moving towards the battle, the whole reinforcement army.
Surprisingly, everyone was silent as they moved. There was no cheering, or singing; only the sound of clanking metal and the sounds of horses.
There was something missing, and they all knew it.
Where were Taya and Kabarak?
Out of the desert came a mournful howl which caused every soldier to draw in a breath and look ahead. At first they thought it was their eyes deceiving them, but still the sand swirled upwards in a whirl wind, directly in the path of the reinforcements.
Whispers made an eerie sound among the ranks, but they kept on. What was this devilry? Some type of dark magic spell created to deter them from reaching the battle? What had Galbatorix come up with now? Fear took hold of nearly every soldier, but no one turned back.
As they approached slowly and cautiously, the whirlwind of sand towered above them, great in height and width and reaching to the heavens. They heard the mournful cry again, except this time it was much, much different. To some, it sounded like a massive dragon beating its wings and roaring in defiance to the world.
Galbatorix? It was in every man's mind, at the forefront of their thoughts. With fear kindled in their hearts, they hesitated, but still no one wished to turn back from the unknown, even if it was the evil king and his dragon come to slaughter them. Their friends were before them, beyond this terrifying monument…
And then the sand began to fade away, to slow in its fury, and all of them wondered if they were imagining the green form materializing from the sand as if through a waterfall. At the ground emerged a small black form, and it was obviously a horse and rider. Distinctly, the rider lifted his arm above his head as if in challenge or greeting, and suddenly Raya began to understand.
"Sacar," She whispered, almost shaking in disbelief, "it's…" Her voice faded out in amazement and indescribable joy as the sand seemed to melt away and a mighty, iron clad, battle ready emerald dragon heralded its return and their approach with a ferocious roar that echoed across the plain. On its back sat a regal figure, holding a sword above her head in greeting.
"Taya… Kabarak." Raya breathed, her heart missing a beat out of utter relief… but…
"Kabarak… he's massive!" Sasha exclaimed before anyone else could, and she was correct. The small dragon who could hardly fly with his rider two weeks before was now as large or larger than Saphira, who was at least twice his age.
His wings, which were partly unfurled, glinted in the sunlight, and for a moment Raya thought she was dreaming. But then she felt Taya's familiar presence rub against her consciousness, and a thrill ran through her.
With Siranus, Gi' Vare, Captain Behl, and Sasha, Sacar and Raya rode forward quickly ahead of the reinforcements to meet the rider and dragon.
Soon it was realized that the horseback rider was Vanira Dacoryn riding Chester, and there was no mistaking Taya on Kabarak's back because of her shining copper hair. Only, from her earlier attire she was differently clad. Instead of armor scavenged for her, she was clad in a leather jerkin dress fitted over chain mail. Leather vambraces were fitted to her arms also over the mail. Ivy designs covered a shoulder of the leather jerkin, and the collar of the jerkin was high, stitched with gold ivy patterns.
Her long hair was loose, blowing in the wind as she watched them from her perch atop Kabarak. The pair was finally complete. They were together as Rider and Dragon should be. It was obvious that the last piece of the puzzle fit snugly into place with Taya finally riding her dragon.
As the little group rode up to them, they felt the power flowing from the three newcomers, and it caused them to sit up straighter. When they stopped in front of the rider, dragon and the elf, no one spoke for a moment until Taya said what they all were hoping to hear.
"We are here; and we are here to stay." Those simple words sent a shiver up their spines, sealing their worries away for the last time… and then Vanira spoke, and her tone was as cheery as ever.
"Now, we have a battle to win."
Nodding, Gi' Vare motioned the closely following reinforcements forward, and the 'onward' cry went up amongst the ranks for the first time. With their cry Kabarak added his own, and the noise nearly deafened them all, but their spirits flew as Taya lifted her sword and joined them.
With their rider and dragon fit for battle beside them, they rode into the fight with pride, and a certainty that not one of the imperial soldiers possessed… and at the sight of the high striding, ferociously large emerald dragon and the regal rider on its back, the opposing side seemed to have no certainty at all.
This was not an occurrence any of them had imagined… were they really doomed?
With a burst of green tinted flames, Kabarak Authamir and Taya Corsallen led the Varden's reinforcements into battle as Nasuada was issuing the command to bring in the sorely needed reinforcements. When she heard the challenging roar and the furious battle cry echo over the battle field, she forgot about her order and turned to stare at the last Dragon and Rider. After that look, that instant of surprise, both the Varden and the Empire fell on one another with more ferocity than they had that whole battle, as the green dragon and his rider entered the fight on the side of the Varden.
Larel Katzia's blood seemed to freeze when someone yelled. "It's the last Dragon Rider! And… and… Varden reinforcements!"
Varden cheered, while the opposing army's hopes died. Their rider had yet to appear… and the Varden had two riders and dragons in a battle where one dragon and rider on each side was two dragons and riders too many.
Even though Larel didn't really care about his side as much as he could have outside of his fellow Hljodhr's and a few other friends, he started fighting the Varden with a passion.
The last rider had appeared, and on the side of the Varden, with no warning to the fact until now. How had that happened?
Only one conclusion came to mind:
The escape of Taya Corsallen. This meant, somehow, Taya had come in contact with someone from the Varden, or she had gone to the Varden and was somewhere here…
In his peripheral vision he noticed that the green rider had dismounted. This meant he was charging through the fray somewhere, and Larel hoped he wouldn't run into him during the fight, because he didn't like that idea at all.
"Larel!" Someone behind him yelled, causing him to whirl around and unceremoniously strike down an attacker. He looked around for the person who'd warned him, but the sea of soldiers swallowed whoever it had been.
Beyond Larel, closer to the edge of the fight, Weston Kliviyan was doing his best to keep his eyes on his fellow Hljodhr's… mostly Zen, and keeping himself alive. Because of all the years he and Zen had been friends and had fought beside one another, Weston could not justify being anywhere else.
His blood ran cold when he saw the reinforcements, led proudly by a massive green dragon. All odds were against them now, and even if Murtagh did come, he would be challenged by two riders, and one whose power was completely unknown.
Weston's eyes strayed to the madly slashing figure of Zen Drayson for a brief second, making sure he was alive… and he winced as he glimpsed the expression on his old friends face.
There was no sanity in his eyes.
Although he was fighting for his life, Weston was able to observe much of the battle around him. This way he stayed away from Eragon Shadeslayer and any elves, could watch out for his friends, and look for their 'leader'. This was how he saw the Varden reinforcements before most everyone else.
Weston! Melcar Di' Acor's voice reverberated through his mind very suddenly, causing him to involuntarily jump; out of the way of a sword.
What? He said back, laboring to multitask more than he already was.
Sorry, I needed your attention. Stay away, and I mean far away, from the new dragon rider! The power coming off of him rivals Murtagh's.
Weston's eyes widened in surprise. Thanks, Melcar. If I wasn't going to go near him before, I certainly am not going to now! You stay out of his way too, Mel.
I shall do my very best. I'm telling everyone else too. There's no use in us getting slaughtered too soon after the last dragon and rider enter the battle.
Right. Thanks for the warning.
Their exchange hardly took more than a couple second, in which time Weston had a clear line of vision on the last rider. He admired the man's fighting style quickly, and then had to dodge and opponent, losing track of the rider for a few minutes.
And then death could wait no longer.
Battling a large group of soldiers not far from Weston was Sade Feist, one of the two oldest Hljodhr Evarinya. He did not know it, but one of the men he was fighting was a young man from the village Carvahall, and he was no match for Sade.
As Sade struck, someone close by yelled out, and before Weston's eyes Eragon Shadeslayer blocked the death blow and his own sword drove itself through Sade's chest.
"Eragon!" Someone else screamed in protest, and Weston saw the sudden realization and anguish run across the riders face for a split second as Sade choked, and fell backwards onto the ground.
"Sade!" Weston yelled, attempting to fight his way over to his friend and comrade, but he was lost to sight in the sea of moving men,
When Weston broke free of the mob that had engulfed him, he glimpsed the green rider kneeling beside Sade's body. Stunned, Weston watched as the rider touched the bodyguard's brow and jumped to his feet and dove back into the fray.
Weston knew his fellow bodyguard was dead. He didn't have the heart to tell anyone else through their connected link. But he puzzled about the green rider and Sade… what really had just happened?
Blazing, white hot anger coursed through every fiber of her body, fueling her muscles, fueling her movements with deadly speed. Her sight was blurred by anger and agony, yet somehow she recognized friend from foe, but she offered no acknowledgement to any. She just plowed through the masses with the fury of a storm.
Beneath her helm, angry tears were streaming down her face, mixing with sweat and dust. She lost all sense of self-preservation, and that made her even more deadly.
With a chilling yell the green rider threw herself onto an opponent, breaking his sword like a twig before he could kill a Varden Archer. His petrified expression as he saw his weapon snapped and the person who had done it ordinarily might have stopped her in her tracks…
But Taya Corsallen did not slow.
More than once a soldier would see her and run in the opposite direction. Those who stood before her to fight her had not a wish to rely on.
Beyond Taya was Kabarak. The massive green dragon was pouncing on groups of enemy soldiers, using his fire to incinerate those enemy's around him. He was as aggressive as his rider, and only because they knew they wouldn't live long anyways did the soldiers fight against the pair as bravely as they did.
Weston Kliviyan witnessed the sudden, animal-like change that came over the green rider, and he felt something nudging against his mind, like an answer to a question that was on the tip of his tongue. But the answer would not come, and he was left with that nagging feeling.
His attention was suddenly drawn to the fact that he was right in the middle of the two Varden dragons. Fear washed over him as he tried to spot the two riders, the two people he did not want to face, but he saw neither.
"HiYAH!" A yell resounded from behind him that drew his attention away from his surroundings and he whirled around in time to see the all too recognizable form of the green rider hurling himself at him from a jump. On instinct, Weston blocked, and dropped to the ground, rolling over in time to see the green rider spring nimbly to his feet, sword in a ready stance. Weston also sprang up, ready to fight until death, but the rider did not move towards him.
Weston could not see the eyes behind the helm, could not see the expression behind the mask. The rider circled, and he sidestepped, watching the rider like a hawk.
"RAHH!" A knife whizzed past his head, and he ducked. He looked up to see that the rider had disappeared, and as he quickly looked behind him, he saw the rider swiftly remove the knife from a soldier's neck and parry a blow from another enraged soldier with the knife. Then the rider was gone, and the encounter left Weston shaken, which was not a good thing in battle.
Sudden pain in his arm caused him to yell, and he turned sharply onto his attacker. His whole left arm was a bloody mess, the man's sword having torn right through his chain mail.
Driven by the fact that the green rider had not killed him, he won the fight and moved as quickly as he could through the mass of moving bodies towards where he thought the green rider had gone but again, he was nowhere in sight.
Fighting on, hoping to find Zen again, Weston instead ran into Larel Katzia. The young man didn't look too bad, and Weston was relieved to see him. Only, the look of despair on Larel's face sent his heart pounding with dread.
"Marthl's gone. He was overpowered by at least five soldiers. He was plowed over like he was nothing more than a weed. That means we've already lost two Hljodhr's… do you know about Sade?" Larel had moved close to him so he could hear, and Weston also heard the mixture of anger and sorrow in the young man's voice.
Weston's gut clenched. "Yes. It happened almost right in front of me."
Sade and Marthl… two brilliant men killed both by the empire and the Varden. It was cruel.
Marthl, although they had not known him that well, had still been a loyal companion and a good fighter. Weston was sad to know he would never be seen again.
What would the green rider have done if he had been around Marthl when he'd been overrun and overpowered? The thought was uncalled for, but it was justified in his mind. The green rider was too mysterious, too unknown. His unanswered question still nudged at his mind.
"Have you seen Melcar?" He asked Larel, and the other man shook his head.
"No, I haven't. He and Ayda I think have been on the northern end of the battle, but I have not seen either. I hope they are alright. That green rider has been flitting all over the place since he got here, and it's really making me ancy."
"I know. I've seen him up close twice now." Weston replied grimly.
They were separated for a minute then, and when they made it back to one another, Larel was nursing a gash on his arm.
"I'll be alright." He said in reply to Weston's worried glance. "I've had worse." He continued cynically, switching his sword to his other hand. "I am going to find Larton. You keep yourself alive, Weston."
"You do that too, Larel. Be careful."
They moved away in separate directions, fighting towards two different yet the same destinations.
Larel found himself swept into a fight between a couple Varden archers and a number of Imperial soldiers. It was not where he wanted to be, and his attempts not to kill the archers were valiant ones, but the other side noticed the bodyguard's reluctance, and turned on him.
Oh, dang it! He cursed as he found himself fighting both sides, both unwillingly.
"Hey! Blondie!" A female voice yelled, and Larel jerked around in time to see a blond archeress release an arrow from the string and her aim was true; the deadly arrow caught a soldier who was aiming a blow at Larel in the throat.
Larel's surprise was fantastic, as was the surprise of everyone else. The archers eradicated their opponents around Larel, fighting with skill and precision. The blond who'd saved his life fought her way close to him, but she was still cautious and did not come too close.
"Thanks!" He called, avoiding everyone he could.
She shrugged, and then called back. "Are you a Silent Star?"
Larel stumbled, staring at her in utter astonishment.
"I'll take that as a yes!" She cried, eliminating an opponent. "I'm glad I wasn't mistaken. I owe you for not killing us all."
"How do you know that? How did you know I was a Silent Star?" He asked, but she didn't seem to hear, and Larel watched as she saluted him with her bow and dashed off, two other archers following her closely.
Shaken, Larel tried to follow, but lost sight of her, which was the only thing not surprising.
Moving off, he again started searching for Larton, which was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Instead he found Xackzan, and the big Nomadi was clearing a path for a few still mounted soldiers. Only, the path was quite small, and the soldiers did not stay mounted much longer.
"Are you doing alright, Xack?" Larel asked, dodging a rider-less horse.
"Quite alright. Just helping wherever I can. You look in pretty bad shape yourself."
Well, Larel thought ruefully, he surely was helping… everyone but the imperials.
"Have you gotten a look at the green rider yet?" Larel questioned, ignoring Xackzan's comment about his own condition.
Xackzan made a strange noise from the back of his throat. "Of course. He has been near me many times. He is a very powerful warrior." Xackzan then noticed the wound on Larel's arm, and he frowned.
Larel mentally cringed. Xackzan would guess how badly it hurt him.
"Be careful, Larel." The big man said softly when he could. "The end of this battle in not yet here. Our fates will be decided when the Red and Green riders face each other. I can tell: Murtagh is close."
Larel froze, casting a quick glance into the sky. A wave of fear hit him at the thought of those two riders meeting. Why? He didn't rightly know. Murtagh would be ruthless. Could the Varden's last hope win against Murtagh's insane power? It was hard to even imagine.
Somewhere near, a great roar shook the earth, and the two Hljodhr Evarinya whirled to see the massive green dragon challenging the sky with its roar and beating its wings. It reared on its hind legs and rained fire on the soldiers attempting to wound it.
Larel's heart was pounding wildly. Maybe they did have a chance against Murtagh after all. It had only been months since the green egg had been stolen, and yet the dragon nearly rivaled Thorn and Saphira Brightscales in size.
Magic.
Larel swiftly turned back to the fighting beside his comrade, only to dive to the side in surprise. The man he suddenly found himself fighting was his brother.
Sharac Katzia twirled his sword in his hand, every inch of his body as taught as a bow. He had seen the two partnered soldiers fighting against his section, and all his anger at the Empire welled up inside him. With force, he launched himself at the smaller of the two, and as if driven by instinct the soldier turned and dove to the side, missing Sharac's sword by an inch.
Sharac drove the man back, trying to find an opening. He was totally focused on the soldier's movements and his weapon that he never noticed the soldier's dirty, blood caked face.
Larel wanted so much to throw aside his sword, to show his brother who he was; but caution stayed his hand. If Sharac knew he was alive now… What if Larel was killed before the battle was over?
Sharac drove forward again, and was about to strike a mortal blow when something solid collided with his head and he dropped to the ground like a stone, out cold. Larel looked into the almost amused eyes of Xackzan.
"He won't look very alive for a while." The bodyguard said matter-of-factly, and Larel shook his head. Guarded by Xackzan, he sheathed Sharac's sword and dragged two other bodies over to him, staging it to look like there were three dead men instead of two.
Just as Larel was straightening and the two were moving on, someone cried out in despair, and the two men froze as someone screamed a warning. Driving down from the now semi-cloudy heavens, fire seemed to fall towards them. The clouds seemed to turn black, and a dark phantom-like object melted from the darkness, glinting red in the sun light.
Larel stared at Xackzan, whose eyes were narrowed up towards the Red Rider.
"This is it; the time has come."
Through the sky at breakneck speed the red dragon flew, coming close to the battle before swooping up and around. Thorn looked larger than when Taya had last seen him, and she was slightly worried for her partner. She was also worried about everyone else as Thorn opened his maw and spewed flames down at the Varden, who attempted to flee. Taya's stomach tightened as the pair came around for another pass, and in her hand fire sparked to life.
In her mind's eye she didn't see the frightening red phantom dragon as Thorn or the almost wispy outline of the sword wielding rider as Murtagh. Taya saw the pair as heartless black beings, killing or attempting to kill all those dear to her. She growled deep in her throat as pictures of Sade and Marthl flashed across her vision.
It was time to show them the consequences of killing Hljodhr Evarinya.
As Taya swiftly turned and sped towards Kabarak, an answering challenge to Thorn shook the soldiers to their feet as Eragon and Saphira shot upwards to meet Murtagh and Thorn.
It seemed to those on the ground that the two opposing riders hovered close to one another for a long moment, and then they dove at one another and locked in mortal combat.
From the battle field, Weston Kliviyan watched the two riders in the sky, forgetting about the third for a brief moment. He didn't know if Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Brightscales were strong enough to defeat Murtagh… and there was always the possibility of Galbatorix taking over Murtagh. Eragon and Saphira would have no chance at escape if that happened.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a shadow passed overhead, and a cheer rose from the ranks. Weston Kliviyan watched in awe and surprise as the green dragon and rider sped as fast as the wind to the aid of their fellow rider and dragon.
No chance? The tables had been turned, and no one Weston knew could know just how powerful this new rider was. This aerial fight was the climax of the fight- the breaking of the suspension that had grown two-fold at the coming of the Green Rider and Dragon.