Update 7/23/12: Added dividers that didnt load when I uploaded the chapter. Now each character's point of view is divided.
Big Chapter incoming! I hope you enjoy it and please remember to leave a review!
Chapter 15:
Elesmera Burns
Fenrir awoke groggily. There was so much noise around him. An explosion rocked him from his sleep. He sat up. He could hear the whistle of arrows and the roar of flames outside.
This couldn't be real.
He got up and blindly wandered towards the staircase.
Evalette ran through the panic-stricken streets of Elesmera.
What is going on?
All around her were Elves screaming, yelling orders, and scrambling for cover.
She sprinted for a nearby building that remained intact.
Arya ran out of her emergency armory. It was a small room attached to her bedroom at the palace. It held no more than some light sections of armor and a shortsword, but it was enough for a desperate situation like this.
"How did they manage to break through our defenses?" She yelled at one of her guards.
"I-I don't know, my Queen."
"Well, find out, identify the enemy and deal with them!"
"Yes, my Queen."
"And someone find the other Riders! I want them under my personal watch NOW!" She screamed at a group of idle guards. They scurried around and ran out the gates.
Please, by the ancestors, let them be alright…
Fenrir ran down the steps to the forest floor. He could only imagine the chaos surrounding him as the sounds of the burning city assaulted his enhanced hearing. He heard the billow of a cloak and dived forward as a throwing knife sank into the tree behind him.
A furious battle cry ran towards him. He kicked his legs out and sent his attacker to the ground. He concentrated as hard as he could. This was a much noisier environment than the peaceful clearing of yesterday, and his hearing was having trouble picking out the little sounds that would normally give him an advantage.
He thought he heard a sword being drawn and prepared for the attacker's slash. But then there was a thwip as an arrow embedded itself in his foe's body.
"Fenrir!"
He felt Valeria help him to his feet and hand him a small sword.
"What's going on Valeria?"
"The city is under attack obviously! They look like White Fire soldiers, but I can't imagine how they could be so confident as to attack the Elves directly, and in our homeland no less."
"How many are there?"
"We don't know. They have lit fires to cause mass panic as a distraction; it could be a small unit or hundreds lying in wait."
"Where are the other Riders?"
"I don't know, I've been looking for them, you are the first one I've found."
Fenrir grew concerned for his sister.
"Enough questions, we need to move now" Valeria interrupted his thoughts.
They began running towards Evalette's quarters, Valeria guiding him with occasional directions as he attempted to focus on the sound of her footsteps.
Evalette grabbed a dagger out of the hand of a fallen Elf as she ran towards Fenrir's quarters. Despite his prowess in combat the day before, he wouldn't survive long by himself.
Soon she came across Aerin holding off a pair of White Fire soldiers, their bright white cloaks stained with ash and blood. Evalette leapt at one at latched onto his back. Before he could react, she reached around and stabbed her small blade into his exposed neck. There was a quick spray of blood as he fell to the ground. She turned to see Aerin slide between the other soldier's legs and pop up behind him, yanking him to the ground and snapping his neck with a sickening crack.
"Are you alright, Aerin?"
Her response was interrupted as she knocked Evalette to the ground and out of the way of an incoming crossbow bolt. Aerin grabbed the bolt from where it had sunk into the dirt, a few feet from where they had just been, and threw it with every ounce of her Elven speed, skewering the man while he reloaded.
"Thank you" Evalette murmured, amazed at the young girl's accuracy.
Aerin nodded in acknowledgement and followed Evalette as she resumed on her marathon run towards Fenrir's hut.
Arya paced the palace halls. Her guards would not allow her to go out and look for the Riders herself, claiming it was too dangerous for the Queen to leave the palace. They had all forgotten her war experience. She had been brought down from a proud Elven warrior to a helpless monarchy.
And she hated it.
As time pressed on and still her homeland burned, she resorted to a desperate plea. She retrieved a small hand mirror from her room and attempted to contact the one who only brought her tears now. The one who had allowed some lost sense of duty to separate them.
"What is it, Arya-Drottning?"
Arya looked into the eyes of her lost mate.
"Arya? Is Everything alright?"
Arya broke out of her longing gaze and cleared her throat.
"Eragon, Elesmera is under attack."
Eragon's eyes widened.
"By who? How did they get through?"
"From what my men have gathered so far, it seems to be Du Hvitr Istalri Dominia. Nasuada's mages have not been true to their purpose, Eragon."
His face went pale with guilt.
"I don't know what you expect of me Arya. I cannot send any Riders, they are still inexperienced. Besides, they would never make it in time."
"Eragon, your son and daughter are here and have yet to be found! I have sent my best men out and they've yet to find them. I begin to fear the worst…"
"Arya, I…"
"Do not allow your sense of duty to blind you, Eragon. I care not what that witch Angela foretold, your place was here! Do not abandon us again!"
Arya was on the verge of tears. Eragon looked down shamefully and hesitated.
"I will consult with Saphira, as well as the other Riders, but I promise nothing, Arya. I am truly sorry…"
Arya smashed the small mirror against the wall. The shards of glass sprayed out over the floor in a loud crash. She leaned her head against the wall.
Why must you be so noble, Eragon…
A guard entered the room with a concerned look on his face.
"Are you alright my Queen? I heard a commotion."
"I am fine. Has there been any sight of my- … of the other Riders?"
"I am afraid not. Our men are continuing their search. Four of the five Rider's quarters have been searched with no sign of them. The-"
"Which ones?" Arya demanded, interrupting the rest of the guard's report.
"The quarters of Riders Aerin, Valeria, Evalette, and Fenrir have been searched and none have been found. We have men en route to Rider Icerara's quarters as we speak."
Arya's heart sank.
Not now, not so soon, I can't lose them so soon…
"Carry on the search, notify me immediately if any of them are found."
"Yes, my Queen."
The guard exited the room, leaving Arya sitting on the edge of her bed, her eyes red with grief.
Fenrir heard Valeria's footsteps come to a stop.
"Wait, Fenrir, I think-"
She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him with her as she ran towards whatever it was she had seen. He heard metal clashing against metal in a small skirmish directly in front of them.
"Yes, Fenrir, it's the other Riders!"
A great weight was relieved from him at the confirmation of his sister's safety.
"Fenrir, they are surrounded by White Fire soldiers, we have to help. Do not attack unless you are attacked first, we don't want you blindly attacking friendlies."
Fenrir nodded and gripped his shortsword but felt helpless as he acknowledged that what she said was true, he had no way of telling who was who.
He listened as Valeria let loose three well-aimed arrows before dropping her empty quiver and drawing a small knife. The seconds ticked by as he anxiously waited for the combat to stop. After a minute, the clash of swords went silent, punctuated by a decent spray of blood hitting the ground. His heart hammered in his chest as he waited for a friendly voice.
"Fenrir!"
He felt the all-too-frequent embrace of his sister and nearly fell backwards.
"Evalette, thank the gods you're alright."
"Come on you two, we need to report to the palace" called Valeria, interrupting their reunion.
"What about Icerara?" Aerin's small voice replied.
"We will return to search for him afterwards, but as long as the majority of us are present, we need to report to the Queen as soon as possible" Valeria called back, already starting towards the palace.
Evalette led him towards the others and the four of them made their way toward the Queen's palace. Fenrir heard the Elves chanting spells, trying to get the fires under control. The roar of the fires was becoming less, but was long from being under control.
Arya's worry grew as the minutes passed and still no word of the Riders returned. Her mages had advised her to not attempt to contact them mentally, lest any White Fire mages be in the area, but her distress grew more and more desperate with each passing moment.
She could not even contact Firnen to find out if the dragons were unharmed.
Finally, one of the guards entered her room after a quick knock.
"My Queen, four of the Riders have returned."
Arya was up before he had finished, almost running towards the entranceway, but restraining herself so as not to attract the attention of the guards. She rounded the hallway and saw Fenrir, Evalette, Valeria, and Aerin just coming through the gate. She embraced her son and daughter tightly, no longer worried about the attention she was attracting. She would explain her actions later, for now she was relieved to have them with her once again.
Valeria made a slight bow.
"Ebrithil, we came as soon as we could, though I'm afraid we did not find Icerara. What is the situation of the attack? Where are the dragons?"
"Calm yourself, Valeria, you all need to rest for just a moment. We too have been unable to locate Rider Icerara, but I have my men searching for him. The situation is unknown, we have varied reports coming in. We have found out that it is indeed the Dominion, but we are unsure how many there are and what the intention of the attack is. As for the dragons, we have been unable to attempt to contact them for fear of enemy mages listening in, but the last we heard, Firnen had them in the hatchery still. We believe the clearing has been untouched as of yet."
Arya tried to reassure them, but wasn't sure of the situation herself.
She convinced them to take a moment to rest before even considering going back out for Icerara, and led them to an empty area of the guardhouse.
Fenrir tried to resist the lure of a moment's rest while Elesmera burned, but finally admitted that they would not make it long without a few minutes' recovery. Evalette led him to a guard cot and they sat on the side, catching their breath after their sprint here. He could hear Valeria and Aerin doing the same.
Thank you, Valeria, for finding me…" he said, embarrassed to be thanking her once again, but truly thankful.
"No need to thank me yet, Fenrir. We may be dead before the day's end, but you're welcome" she replied with dark humor.
But they all knew it was true. Against a surprise attack by an enemy of an unknown number, there was no telling what would become of them.