Lost in Ellesmera
She heard the sound of rustling leaves and she turned her head to the direction the sound had come from.
Only the wind, she told herself and put down the scrying mirror, exhaling loudly.
Somewhere at the back of her mind she could feel Firnen's presence. Her dragon was hunting at the outskirts of Ellesmira, but not too far away and still in the proximity of Du Weldenvarden, as a precaution.
They came too close. How did they manage this?, she asked both herself and the dragon.
For a moment the creature remained silent and then his deep, melodic voice echoed in her mind.
Arya, it was not your fault, he assured her, sensing her emotions and replying to them rather than her words.
Elves have been in Du Weldenvarden for a millennia and more. No one has ever dared to cross the boundaries of our region. No one has had the ability to. Is it because our defences are growing weak or is it because our enemy is stronger?
Once again she run her finger over the scrying mirror and tried to concentrate on the image of a certain person. She felt the energy flowing through her, taking the shape she willed it to, but no shapes appeared.
Annoyed she placed the mirror on her desk and walked out of her chambers. Some elves were present in locations around the building and she greeted each and every one of them by name and with the usual elven greeting. Walking amongst her people in the dark green city relaxed her and made her feel calm and powerful again.
Her footsteps took her to the Menoa tree, even though she wasn't sure if it was intentional. She kneeled on the grass and touched her palm on the tree's bark.
The ancient wisdom and calmness of the entity enthralled her and she let herself get lost in the steady flow of sceneries and images. The entity did not speak to her directly, nor did it give her much acknowledgement. For all she knew it might simply be seeing these images, living it's peaceful, undisturbed life.
She did not know for how long she stayed with her head laid atop the tree's ancient roots, but Arya felt the wind blowing on her face and she opened her eyes to see her giant, forest-green dragon landing.
The elves have had contact with Nasuada. It's been almost a month since the shadow wyrms left Ilirea. They have not attacked any place new, Firnen said.
All her thoughts of calmness and peacefulness vanished, remembering the impeding threat. She got up, brushed the dirt from her long dress and hurried to meet the rest of the elven leaders.
On her way to the Hall, some elven children stopped to greet her and they danced around her, mouths wide with happiness and hope.
"Arya-Dröttning! Arya!" they said and clasped their hands together. There were five of them and they had circled her. Another elven child went to Firnen's side and started admiring his scales.
In all the years the elves have been around, this is the most children Ellesmira has had, the forest-green dragon commented.
Arya turned her head smiling both to him and them and then gently pushed her way through.
Let us hope nothing ill befalls them then, she replied.
It was true, that elven children were hard to conceive. Elves led long lives and they tended to have more than one mate. For a female elf to conceive, conditions had to be ideal. The female would need to be surrounded by love both from her elven mate and nature. If the environment she was in was not a safe, peaceful one, chances were that she would not conceive. Gestation period also lasted longer for elves, usually two years, but the females had the ability to prolong their pregnancy if they so wished. It was considered that the longer an elven child was in its mother's womb, the stronger it would become. If something ill befell the elven mother, she could also pause her pregnancy until conditions returned to their previous state.
Compared to the way humans, urgals and dwarves conceive, elven pregnancies are quite complicated, Arya said in Firnern's mind when the dragon shot her a questioning look.
It reminds me much, of the way dragons are born. Of course, it's a lot easier for them to conceive, conditions don't necessarily need to be ideal, but dragon eggs can stay in a dormant stage for centuries, Firnen commented as her thoughts reached him.
Arya nodded and walked towards the elven headquarters, perplexed by her trail of thoughts. She shook her head to clear it and nodded in acknowledgment when she saw the elven chief advisor.
"Lord Dathedr" she said and the other elf kneeled slightly.
"Arya-Dröttning" he replied in turn and they entered the headquarters room. It was a beautiful, wooden structure, sung to life by an elf who had long since perished. The room pulsed with an energy that signified it was alive and not simply another structure made out of stones with no stories or thoughts of its own.
Familiar faces surrounded her, including Lifaen's and Nari's, Eragon's escorts when he had first arrived to Ellesmira.
It feels such a long time ago, she thought to herself.
And yet it has also been twenty years, her dragon commented. He was present as well as he held both great power and wisdom and elves cherished dragons, wanting to include him in their meetings as often as possible.
"Have you had any contact with the Dragon Rider Leader?" Dathedr asked and she shook her head.
"Nay. I and many other elves have tried scrying him repeatedly, but with no success. I do not know whether this is because something ill has befallen him and the riders, whether something is clouding our connection or whether he simply does not want to be contacted" she replied and held the gazes of all the elves around her.
Elves learnt how to conceal their emotions from the rest of the races as easily as they learnt how to wield magic, but when facing each other it was easy to notice the slightest of tremors, or the quick flicker of eye movement that betrayed their worry and fear.
And Arya could tell that they were afraid.
"What news of the riders in Alagaesia? Has the situation of the dwarven rider, Melor improved?" Lifaen asked and this time another elf replied, one of the many healers.
"The magic that seeps from his wounds is so dark and twisted that none of our remedies, potions and magical spells can help him. He has gotten worse in the last three weeks and we fear that his situation will not improve" he said in a solemn manner.
Arya noticed that his palms were covered in something that very much looked like black dust. It was probably a side effect from all the energy usage and his attempt to save the rider.
"What of his dragon?" another elf asked.
He has been placed near Oromis's and Glaedr's old quarters. He has food and water aplenty but with his rider injured it is only natural for him to be aggressive and distant. It is best if you do not approach him much, unless you have only good news to share, Firnen advised in his deep and melodic voice.
"The Queen of the Varden informed me that the wyrms' previous attack stopped all too soon. It has been two weeks already since they were last sighted. What we do not know, however, was whether their attack was an intimidation or whether they were after something"
"How are we going to stop them from venturing further into Du Weldenvarden? How are we going to stop them from killing more of our elven kin and the people in Alagaesia?" one of the elves asked, in an almost aggressive manner.
Arya gave him a solemn look. He was a young elf, no older than fifty years of age, so she decided to excuse his outburst. What troubled her the most was not that he had acted in this way, but that she held no answer to his questions. Instead she stared at the ground.
"It is said that in order to destroy one's enemy you must fully understand them. And we, I am afraid, know nothing of them. Until we know who they are and what they want our best course of action is to prepare for battle, raise our defences and be patient" Lord Dathedr answered for her and she appreciated his interference.
They continued talking about many more matters and then all too quickly Arya was back into her chambers. She picked up the scrying mirror once again and played with its edges, wondering if she could injure herself with them.
Suddenly the Dragon Rider Leader's face appeared on it.
"Eragon?" she asked unsure and pressed her thumbs on the glass, hard.
His eyebrows pulled together for just a second, and then he nodded at her.
"I spoke with Murtagh and the riders. I tried contacting them before but have not been able to do so. What of Melor? Have the elves found a cure?" he quickly asked.
Arya shook her head.
"Nay" she replied and for a moment they were silent, each staring into the other's eyes.
The Leader looked older than when she had last seen him. No wrinkles were visible, only smooth skin but something in his expression had changed.
"A few weeks ago we visited Ramirblaka… The Eldunari had not been notified and the wild dragons attacked us. Saphira and I stopped one of the male leaders but they appeared aggressive, more so than usual" he said in a low tone and Arya bit her upper lip.
She remembered the time when Eragon had first contacted her after he had found a place to settle and train the next generation of riders and asked for her advice on his plan.
No, advice was too weak a word. Rather, he had informed her of his plan, because she had warned him and he had not listened. She remembered how she had tried making him see reason but all too soon she had realised that no matter all the battles they had been through, no matter the fact that he had defeated Alagaesia's monarch and restored peace upon the land, he was but a young boy.
A young boy she should not have harboured any feelings for, other than friendly. A foolish, young boy who had cast a spell to change the fate of the dragons' eggs without thinking of the possible consequences first.
Do not blame him, Arya-Dröttning! The wild dragons' behaviour and the girl's unwillingness to forge a proper bond with her dragon is not his fault!, Firnen growled unexpectedly in her mind.
She turned away from her mirror to face her dragon.
Why are you protecting him? How do you know he is not to blame?, she asked and the dragon let out a small puff of smoke.
I am not denying that all of this is but a simple coincidence, but stop placing blames and trying to find excuses in order to deny what you already know, he said harshly and she turned away from him to look at the Dragon Rider Leader once again.
His brown hair was shorter than usual and his face appeared more angled, which only intensified the perplexed look he wore. His eyes shone, waiting for her answer.
"I believe something is interfering with our scrying magic at the moment. I have been trying to contact you for more than a month and as it appears even though you are near the wild dragon island you were not able to communicate with the Eldunari there either. We have been making preparations, trying to increase surveillance, raising our boundaries…" she started and he studied her without replying.
Eragon had this unusual way of looking at her, making her feel certain that she knew what he was thinking about and then surprising her the very next moment when he spoke.
"Arya… What should I do?" he simply asked her.
She had spent many days and many nights with the rider and she could understand his behaviour and mood, better than most. Eragon regretted altering the spell, that much was true but he was also feeling guilty because he did not know how to aid the riders in Alagaesia.
Arya was silent for a while, mulling over the best courses of action. Firnen often offered his advice and soon they came to a conclusion.
"I am the Queen of the Elves and I have duties here but I am also a dragon rider and as experienced as you and Murtagh, carrying my own set of Eldunari. It is time for me to leave this place and join the riders. Your duty is to protect the young riders and the dragons, as it has always been" she ended and at the end of the sentence her voice sounded hoarse.
The Dragon Rider Leader's face clouded in an instant.
"Arya, I did not mean for you to go in my place. I meant for you to give me your honest opinion on the course I should take…" he started but she stopped him before he continued.
"And so I have. When I speak to you Eragon, I speak the truth" she said swapping to the Ancient Language. "If neither I nor Murtagh, the most experienced of the riders, are able to extinguish the threat then it is only reasonable to assume that you and less experienced riders will fail"
He momentarily looked taken aback and then he pressed his hands on his temples.
"Are you telling me that this threat could be greater than Galbatorix?" he asked her and she let out a breath of exasperation.
"I am telling you, Eragon that I … I simply do not know" she replied and mimicked his position.
They stayed silent for a bit until they both realised that there was nothing more to be said.
"Atra esterní ono thelduin Eragon. May good fortune rule over you Eragon" Arya whispered and held his gaze a moment longer.
"Atra du evarínya ono varda, Arya, Svit-kona" he said in return. May the stars watch over you, Arya, wise-woman.
He did not break the spell however and he extended his hand towards her, his eyes growing big and his eyebrows pulling together.
She shivered in return and she raised her hand, momentarily holding his gaze.
He is but a young, foolish boy.
Arya let her hand drop to her side and Eragon mimicked her reaction. He nodded in return and all too soon the rider's face was lost from her vision.
The Elven Queen jumped from the window of her chambers and landed on soft grass. She heard Firnen's growl.
Why do you deny your feelings for him? I do not understand it, he said.
Now is not the time, nor will it ever be. We both have duties that hold us prisoners, she replied in his mind and the dragon growled once more.
This might be true indeed, but you care for him much and it pains you and me both when you treat him in that manner, her wise dragon said and she did not have an answer.
She walked to the Headquarters and was not surprised to find Lord Dathedr there, still conversing with some elves about the boundaries they should place another Ellesmira. She informed him of her conversation with Eragon and her decision to face the threat alongside the riders, when it next appeared. He did not seem surprised by that and he simply nodded in acknowledgement.
On her way out she noticed the elven healer with the almost burnt hand and she paused ready to utter a question but then she shook her head, perplexed.
Her thoughts took her back to the rest of the conversation in the meeting. They had talked about increasing their patrols, placing archers in the outskirts of Ellesmira and examining the minds of even the closest of friends for an impending threat.
And so it has begun. Maybe our enemys' plan was not to intimidate us, or seek something after all but spread mistrust and suspicion, Firnen said in her mind, a voice of reason and wisdom.
If so, then they may have already succeeded.
A/N: Thanks for your reviews on the previous chapter! I will continue writing, don't worry, its just that I have had a lot of assignments to submit lately. After the 17th December expect more chapters coming up!