Keep your friends close…
A/N: Finally, I got my laptop back :D! And all the files are here :D! It was a battery problem in the end and thankfully I had insurance! As promised, here is the new chapter and I will post the new one on Sunday. Again, thanks for your supportive comments (even though I didn't reply to any of them) and your patience and enjoy the chapter :).
"Stoic, you cannot treat them in this way. They are students" Eragon advised the master of strength and looked sternly at him. They were inside the library, which was located at the back of the Grand Hall and Eragon was sitting at his wooden desk.
"It is no different to the way I was raised" the Kull replied, his gaze stern.
"What is this about, really?", Eragon inclined and the rider pressed his lips together.
"Send me back to Alagaesia, Eragon"
"I cannot"
"You do not need me to train the students. Someone else can do my part"
"It is not about that", Eragon replied and the Urgal's eyes grew large.
"Do you think I will be unable to stand before the enemy?"
"This is a threat none of us have faced before but it is not about that either. I am afraid you might put your fellow riders at risk by doing something foolish in your attempt to find Jijah"
Stoic sat on the ground, cross-legged and at the mention of the name he put his head between his hands.
"She was – is - the one for me, Eragon. If something – someone – has taken her I owe it to her to find her. Would you not do the same, if you were in my position?" he asked and Eragon already knew the answer to that, remembering the dark dungeon the Shade had kept Arya in.
Jijah had been an Urgal dragon rider, one of the first to have an egg hatch for her. She and Stoic had grown close over the last few years. As soon as news had arrived of an impending danger in Alagaesia, however, she had been sent back together with another four riders. They had not returned.
Should I let him go back to Alagaesia?, he asked Saphira who was resting outside, in a garden with fountains.
More riders would possibly aid in identifying and crushing the threat but the same was said last time and the plan failed. Fewer riders might work better than more.
But now we have a better understanding of the threat.
Do we, though?
Eragon sighed deeply, mulling over his answer.
"I cannot keep you here if you do not wish to be here"
Stoic nodded.
"I shall depart with the rest of the riders then" he said and there was a note of determination in his voice.
"Be careful Stoic. The dangers that lurk out there… The Eldunari and I don't know what to make of them" Eragon said and the rider nodded. Stoic went to exit the room but Eragon held his hand up.
"You are the only one who has ventured into the human girl's mind, is that not true?" he asked, curious, and played with a feather which was at the top of the desk, close to a book he had been reading.
Stoic's brows pulled together.
"Her mind is most curious. I have not encountered anything like it before" he said and Eragon nodded. The other rider walked out of the room and closed the wooden door behind.
Eragon let out another breath and looked at the ceiling. From the window on his left, Saphira's eye poked through. There was a time when they had first arrived on the island that she could fit her whole head through the opening, but those times were long past.
Eragon examined the map he held in his hands. It was a map of Alagaesia and all the lands which extended beyond, which he had discovered in the last twenty years. Atop his desk a thick stack of books lay and he had read each and every one of them.
And yet reading books does not solve the problems. You remind me of Jeod, nowadays, Saphira said in his mind.
I like to think of myself as a scholar as well, he replied and thought of the time when he had fought against the Empire and the dark powers that ranged, defeating Galbatorix. He could no longer do that, but Murtagh was in Alagaesia in his place and had all the resources needed.
Apart from one. The people will never fully trust him. Not like you, Saphira said, finishing his trail of thoughts. The rider nodded just as a knock echoed inside the library.
Eragon looked up and a head poked through the door. The girl was slender with long, blonde hair which fell in front of her face and half concealed her purple-blue eyes. She didn't appear scared, rather cautious and maybe a bit irritated.
"Welcome, young rider" Eragon said and smiled to her but she did not return his smile. She had her hands into fists.
"You will want to examine my mind, I take it" Kayla simply said and he was surprised by her insight.
"Indeed. The elder riders informed me of the circumstances during which Aiedail hatched. Is she here as well?" Eragon asked, even though he already knew the answer. He wanted to see the girl's stance on the matter.
Kayla nodded.
"She is outside but I would prefer if she wasn't too close while you examined my mind"
Hmmm, Saphira said in his mind and Eragon rose an eyebrow.
"And why would that be?"
"My thoughts are my own as are my memories and I try to keep them this way" she said and crossed her hands over her chest.
"The most basic lesson of being a Shur'tugal is to share everything with your partner. Would you cut of your right arm or would Aiedail fly with only one wing? Nay. Why would you ignore the bond that links you? This way you reject your greatest gift" he said but the girl remained solid on her decision.
He sighed.
"Will you at least allow me access to your mind, then?" Eragon inclined.
"To you, yes. To anyone else I would rather not" she replied and took a few steps forward to where he was. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Eragon gently touched his thumbs on her forehead and felt the tall boundaries in her mind dropping.
Can you hear me?, he asked her.
Yes, she replied.
I shall now look at your memories.
Please be quick about it, she replied in an almost stern tone and this time Eragon wasn't surprised.
He examined every memory he could find. Some rose on the surface easier than others. He saw her growing up, step by step and he felt the deep love she harboured for her only two family members. Eragon sensed her heartbreak at her father's death and when he went to dig further he felt her wince and he almost got thrown out of her mind, which was something he had not expected.
Only elder, trained elves and some dragon riders could match his skills in mind duelling and this girl had never even been trained. He took in a deep breath and proceeded once again reaching the point where the dragon had hatched for her and the way she had fought against the Shade.
Even though everything appeared normal there was something unique about the girl's mind that he had never encountered before. He was curious at her display of magic and went to further examine it but suddenly he felt something attacking him, like a dagger being inserted into his mind.
Saphira growled and quickly lent him her power to counteract the attack. It did little to help and suddenly Eragon was thrown back inside his own mind and the boundaries around the girl's mind seemed to be ten times higher than before.
He opened his eyes and saw her breathing heavily, tears at the corners of her eyes.
"Please. Never again" she whispered and held her hand up in the air. Eragon felt drained and heard the purple dragon flapping her wings angrily outside of the library.
What was that?, he asked Saphira who had her lips curled up at the corners, her face visible from the window. Her distaste for the girl was evident.
I do not know but I do not trust her, Eragon.
"I can't, I am sorry" Kayla said and closed her eyes. "It's too painful"
Eragon nodded and waited until five, ten or more minutes passed. As soon as he regained some of his strength he looked at the girl, who now had her eyes open.
I still do not know if this occurred because of what we did to the eggs, he said in his dragon's mind.
I highly doubt it. This appears to be something else entirely.
Eragon agreed but still he couldn't help himself and he asked the question which had been circling at the edges of his mind for weeks now.
"You did not want to become a dragon rider before. Have you, however, changed your mind?" he asked her.
Kayla met his eyes for only a brief second.
"No" she replied and he heard Aiedail's pained growl outside, as the dragon took off.
Eragon swallowed and clutched the object closest to him which was a chair.
It is my fault, Saphira.
You do not know that!
And yet I do, he said and shook his head, the movement causing a sharp pain to run down his neck.
"There is no way to reverse this, then?" Kayla asked and Eragon shook his head.
"No precedent exists to draw upon for wisdom"
"Can I go back to my room? Training will start early tomorrow" she said but she was looking somewhere far away and he couldn't guess her thoughts.
"Yes, you may go" he said and he watched the girl turning the door handle and quickly walking away.
Saphira growled.
There is a human saying, Eragon, which you know already. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
….
Eragon walked quickly to the Central Gathering Building, close to the Grand Hall, feeling his heart beat quicken inside his chest. Saphira followed closely behind. He saw the gigantic golden goblet with the water and then looked at the crypt which was located directly below.
He swallowed and said some words in the ancient language. Eragon felt the fleeting touch of many minds, who quickly examined his thoughts and then the water drained from an opening in the golden goblet only to reveal a hidden passage way and a set of stairs. Saphira was way too big nowadays to fit inside the opening, so he went down below, alone.
What he saw inside, reminded him very much of the Vault of Souls in Vroengard. Many alcoves dotted the walls and within each alcove rested a glittering orb. All had different sizes, like dragon eggs and they pulsed with a soft inner glow. On the tiers below he saw smooth and ovoid objects that appeared to be sculpted from stone of differing colours, the dragon eggs.
Out of all of the Eldunari the ones that spoke most often to him and to the other riders were Umaroth and Glaedr. The Eldunari were kept in the crypt most of the time and even though there was a rock above it, it was not big enough to stop them from extending their consciousness to the rest of the riders.
Sometimes they instructed the masters of training on whether they were doing something wrong or whether there was another spell they could use. Other times they remained silent and dormant, appearing not to be very interested in the events that occurred.
You have come again, Shur'tugal, Glaedr said, speaking in his mind. Eragon nodded and showed the Eldunari, his recent attempt in entering Kayla's mind.
The old dragon Valdr seemed stunned and then projected an image of another dragon, which Eragon had not seen before. He wasn't sure what to make of it.
Eragon had long concluded that Valdr must have been a wild dragon. When he had first arrived on Dis Atilan, he had considered sending the eggs that were not set to join the Riders on another island nearby as soon as they hatched, with Valdr as their leader and teacher. Indeed twenty wild dragon eggs had hatched since then and he had sent them to an island not far away from Dis Atilan, but Valdr had requested to be kept here. Instead, Eragon had sent ten Eldunari to join them that once belonged to wild dragons as Valdr had shown him. It was only fair to have the old wild dragons teach their ways to the new ones.
The existence of the island and of the wild dragons themselves, was only known by a few and Eragon wanted to keep it that way. It was better for the time being - until the wild dragons grew strong enough to defend themselves and also in order to avoid terrorizing the rest of the living creatures - to have them far away from Alagaesia. He visited the island with the wild dragons, Ramirblaka, often and he communicated with the wild dragons' Eldunari to make sure everything was safe.
Two hundred and forty-three eggs he had found in the Vault of Souls. Twenty six had been set to join with Riders and the rest were un-bonded and free to hatch when they so wished. And yet only twenty of them had done so and Eragon worried much, because he remembered Umaroth's warning.
The eggs are bound with magic that slows their bodies, and they can remain as they are for years more, but it is not good for them to stay within their shells for too long. If they do, their minds can grow twisted and strange.
He had not known why the eggs weren't hatching. The conditions seemed ideal for them to do so and yet they remained dormant, something that made the Eldunari worry as well. It was Saphira who had first suggested this.
You changed the blessing to include the Dwarves and the Urgals. Why not bless them again so that they can hatch quicker? Both the riders' eggs and the wild ones? I feel their consciousness at night and it troubles me. They cannot stay in their shells much longer without any consequences.
Glaedr and Umaroth has agreed saying that it was time for the eggs to hatch. Eragon knew he would need to bless the eggs in a way to allow them to hatch quicker. He had also decided to include some wild ones to the eggs that were set to join the riders.
In his latter decision, the Eldunari appeared to be conflicted. Valdr had been strongly opposed while Glaedr agreed but had warned Eragon that he did not know what the exact aftermath of this would be, considering the mother dragon had not freely given her egg to the riders.
Twenty six eggs had been set to join the riders and he had included another twenty four. Out of those fifty, thirty five eggs had hatched. Thirty five riders should have been present but five of them had gone missing under unknown circumstances during their travels in Alagaesia. At the moment twelve eggs set to join the riders stood in the crypt as well as some wild dragon eggs while the rest were in Ramirblaka.
Was my decision wrong?, Eragon asked, his thoughts returning to the present situation.
Valdr showed Eragon another image of a giant dragon, while Glaedr and Umaroth seemed to be mulling over their answer.
The purple dragon – Aiedail – was supposed to be one of the wild dragons, Glaedr simply said.
But wild dragon eggs blessed again have hatched for other riders and we have not had a similar problem, Eragon insisted.
No, we have not. Maybe you should consider the possibility that the dragon is not the problem, Umaroth added.
Then what is?
At that, Umaroth and Glaedr did not reply, but Valdr showed Eragon another image of a dragon and then someone that very much resembled a sorcerer.
After a long time he exited the crypt, but was more bewildered than ever. In the early hours of the morning, during his elf sleep-like state, he saw a creature with black markings covering its arms and giant dragons which had the sizes of mountains hunting him down and demanding him to return the eggs.