Vertigo

Someone clapped and then everyone in the garden was cheering or growling. Tristan smiled wider and exchanged glances with the other two young riders.

"Mighty Gods, this is by far one of the best things I have seen in my life!" Rikon bellowed excitedly.

"And there are more to come…" promised Laer and smiled as well.

Just as the cheering came to an end the human rider stood up from her chair and whistled loudly.

"I am sure you must all be tired from the long trip and the even longer night you have just had, but as riders, we need to discuss a few matters before we head to bed. Sleeping arrangements have already been made and you can sleep close to your dragons near the garden. The servants will lead you to your rooms but for now join me" she said and she walked inside a big room.

Tristan followed closely behind and watched Purple fly to the wooden structure, no doubt to check upon his sister. His steps took him to a marble room and in the middle stood a long heavy oak table. He took a sit on one of the chairs and Laer and Rikon joined him. The elder riders were already there.

The human rider took a long deep breath and then started.

"For those of you who do not know me" she started and paused looking pointedly at Tristan who rose his hands in the air apologetically and smiled "I am Ingrid. As elder riders we believe that including the young riders in the assembly is very important so that they can appreciate the situation and do not repeat previous mistakes. I do not wish to ruin your good mood but there are things I need to warn you about. There have been various attacks all over the land of Alagaesia. We did not want to believe it at first but there's no denying it. There is something out there that is threatening both us and the inhabitants of Alagaesia. Young Shades appear out of nowhere, shadow wyrms keep catching us unawares…" she was saying but Rikon cut her mid-sentence.

"What are shadow wyrms?" he said out loud, interrupting her and she shot him an almost annoyed expression. He looked on the floor and his cheeks flushed, turning into an even deeper red colour.

Ingrid sighed.

"We are not entirely sure. You might remember them being mentioned as Sundavrblaka. We think they are dark spirits of some sort. Durza the Shade was using one in his fight against Eragon-Saphira and they appear quite often in Vroengarg. They seem to be attracted to magic and they prefer the dark. They are strong, very strong and hard to kill. If they are spirits indeed, then a blow that would be fatal to a dragon, might only temporarily disembody them" she said and paused once again.

Tristan took all this new information in and realised with horror that the two shadow wyrms he had thought dead in the forest, could soon reappear. He shivered at the thought and dreaded the black liquid that burned everything to ashes.

"The plan is to rest here for a few days, regain our strength and then set of. We cannot guarantee that the trip will be safe and you are expected to be careful at all times. Do not use magic or any other fighting means just yet, since you have seen what happened to the young girl who did. If a threat does indeed appear you are expected to stay inside and wait for us to deal with it. Once we reach the island your training will commence and you should at least be safe there" Ingrid finished.

Rikon and Laer looked worried, Stoic looked angry and the elf kept pressing his lips together.

The hairs on Tristan's arms rose and he thought of his mother and friends in Arhan all alone and helpless…

"But we are doing something to fight against it, right? We can't leave the people in Alagaesia unprotected!" Tristan said and he felt adrenaline pumping in his body once again, demanding him to move, to do something…

"Measures have already been taken and the races will soon be informed. Do not worry, Alagaesia is not without hope" Melor said gently and stroked his beard, which had started to grow again to a rather normal length.

Tristan let out a sigh of relief. The riders stood up and servants were waiting for them to take them back to their rooms.

His servant was a cute girl with light brown hair and freckles and Tristan was glad for the distraction. This would certainly let him forget his worries even for a little while. He smiled at her and she blushed.

"Do you enjoy working in the castle?" he asked her.

"Very much, young rider. Dras Leona used to be a horrible place just a few years back but with the return of the riders it is much better now"

"I better hope the people here are being kind to you… What is your name?"

"People here have been most kind. I am called Natalie. What should I call you?" the girl asked and blushed one more time. Tristan smiled.

"A lovely name you have. I am Tristan" he said and bowed, extending his arm in a dance-like movement. As they reached the door to his room he paused.

He had always been okay with girls - confident around them- and flirted with the ones he liked. If they turned him down that was that and he respected their decision. If not, he would try to be as pleasant and kind as possible, never leading them on.

As he looked down at Natalie however he was conflicted. He did not want to take advantage of the situation. Tristan knew that being a dragoon rider gave him a certain air of authority and maybe the girl did not want to insult him.

The decision was made for him because as soon as he opened the door he saw smoke rising from somewhere in Dras Leona and then disappearing. He run to the window, which overlooked the garden and let out a breath of amazement.

"What is this?" he asked and Natalie followed close behind. She smiled knowingly.

"Storytelling. But far more exciting!" the girl said pointing at another whiff of fire and smoke that took the shape of the dragon. Tristan let out a loud whistle of appreciation just as the smoke changed shape and became a large black shadow creature.

"Razak?" he asked and the girl nodded. The smoke took various shapes and moved all the time, appearing as mountains and trees one time and then changing into dragons, skies and then big cities and war. At the same time Natalie was telling him the story of what he was seeing and he watched, with his breath held. It felt like he was reliving the moments that had shaped the lands of Alagaesia twenty years ago.

As the smoke disappeared into the horizon his blue dragon flew inside his room and licked his face. The girl giggled.

"Oh, come on you, we have talked about boundaries before, haven't we?" he asked his dragon but the creature only looked at him with an amused expression. Tristan exhaled noisily and rubbed the dragon under its chin until it purred.

Natalie smiled, gazing at his dragon and then sighed.

"I think that's my queue to leave. Goodnight young dragon rider" she said gently as she left Tristan's room. He stared after her, a smile playing at the edges of his lips, as smugness and curiosity emitted from his dragon. That night he slept well.

…..

He woke up late the next day, fully revitalised as the summer heat clung to his skin and made him sweat.

Tristan didn't do much that day or the next few days that followed but then again none of the riders seemed in the mood to do much either. They were instead, trying to rest and regain their lost power. Sometimes he would spar with Laer or Rikon depending on who was available and other times he would aimlessly walk around the palace and the garden with his blue dragon, trying to teach him new words. His sparring ability was almost equal to Laer's and he could easily beat the young dwarf, unless Rikon used a hammer. They started spending more time together and got to know each other better, which filled Tristan's empty hours but he still missed his sister. The elves and magicians present, had tried various means of waking her up but nothing seemed to work and she was still in that comatose state. Tristan had to wonder if he would ever talk to Kayla again. He had also searched to find Natalie but to his disappointment, he hadfailed.

By the time they left Dras Leona, his blue dragon had almost tripled in size and was of a similar height and build to a wolf. They crossed the lands of Alagaesia on dragon-back, following a southern path from the city. It was harder for the dragons to travel these distances with twice the weight, but they had all agreed that it was safer and quicker than being on foot. Before long they had passed the lands of Surda and had reached the seashores. The elder dragons took few resting trips when flying above land, but even then, they would not be able to cross the ocean and reach the island without any stops with that amount of weight.

There was a ship waiting for them in Reavatone in Surda and until he actually set foot on it, he had not realised he was leaving Alagaesia. The ship was large, aristocratic and looked to be of elven built. There were more than enough cabins for all the riders and there was even space for the young dragons and two elder dragons on the deck. Tristan guessed that the elder dragons would take turns in flying, patrolling the seas and then resting. He was still quite surprised by the fact that there had not been any attacks against them, but still, it did not stop him from being weary.

He gazed at the ropes that tied the ship to the port, the only thing that kept him close to Alagaesia and watched the sailors in the port untie them. Tristan's heart twisted realising it would be a long time before he came back and felt his dragon's consciousness comfort him. The blue dragon landed on the deck next to him, almost as big as a donkey now and licked his face with its rough tongue.

"And those were clean clothes before you got to them" Tristan said slightly annoyed and satisfaction coursed through the bond.

I do try my best.

Tristan rose his eyebrow as he heard a voice in his mind and he stared at the grey-blue creature, his mouth forming an O.

So you can talk now?

Sometimes, was the dragon's only reply as he flew upwards into the sky just as the ship set sail.

They moved slowly at first but they gained speed once they moved away from the port and the wind started blowing favourably in their direction. Tristan had been right about the elder dragons, as they took turns in flying and patrolling the seas, looking for potential threats and then resting on the deck with the younger dragons.

Sometimes, the young dragons would fly as well, testing their abilities to their limit and hunting for food. Their trip was pleasurable and even though it was the end of the summer and the sun was falling on their face all day, the wind blew and water droplets fell on their skin cooling them.

Tristan closed his eyes, smelling the fresh sea water and smiled in satisfaction.

This is amazing!, he thought.

I am amazing, the dragon corrected, the second time he had spoken thus far, as he did intricate swirls between the clouds. It looked as if a mini tornado was happening.

Tristan didn't have time to comment on the dragon's remark, because vertigo coursed through him while he watched blue fly fast. He held a hand in front of his mouth, trying not to throw up at the side of the deck. This raised the concerned glances of Laer and Rikon but he put a hand in the air to show them that he was all right. He watched his dragon fly in the wind while Fiord was trying to catch up to him and Onyx and Purple were near the sea waters trying to catch fish and seagulls. Tristan sighed, realising something.

You need a name, he said in the dragon's mind.

Probably.

Would you like some suggestions?

Maybe, his dragon's answer was and Tristan groaned in exasperation.

Sometimes it's hard to communicate with you.

Thank you.

Tristan couldn't help but laugh at the dragon's smugness and mischievous manners and he started repeating various names of dragons, riders, humans, dwarves and elves he had heard over the years but his dragon turned down every single one of them.

He was starting to give up, thinking he would never find a suitable name, until he gazed at the dragon's scales which glittered a beautiful silver-blue in the sun…

Indigo?, he suggested but he did not like naming his dragon after a colour.

Hmph.

Something is missing?, he asked and the dragon agreed, flying high once again, spiralling and diving.

Vertigo coursed through Tristan once again and he run to the ship's deck just as the dragon dived to where he was, a set of black eyes looking at him intently, an amused expression playing on its lips.

That's it, the dragon said.

That's what?

My name.

Tristan raised his eyebrows, perplexed, trying to figure out what the creature meant until…

Vertigo?

Yes, the dragon said, pleasure coursing through the bond and he jumped from the ship's deck to fly into the skies again.

Tristan smiled, satisfied and relieved, as he watched his dragon, Vertigo, getting lost between the clouds in a spiralling motion, his silver wings glowing in the bright sun.

Don't forget to leave reviews, follow/fav :)!