Dark clouds gathering.

A/N: Ancient Language Translations are at the end of the chapter.

Octavian had preferences.

Or at least that's how it looked like as he sent of May and Maya first to climb Stenr Abr Andlá. He gave no explanation as to why he had done so and Tristan had to wonder again whether this was an indirect punishment.

Since the rock rose from the sea's surface and was not connected to Dis Atilan, the twins could either use magic to be transported there –something that would require a great deal of energy as the rock wasn't even that close to the land- or they could choose to fly there with their dragon, Cyclops. It was no surprise that they chose to do the latter and soon Tristan could see their forms descending slowly down the mountain.

In the meanwhile Octavian split the young riders into teams and had them spar. Even though Tristan should have been exhausted from not sleeping much the last two days, drinking all night, sparring with Adrian and finally sustaining an injury which would have killed most humans, elves, Urgals or dwarves he was feeling quite energetic. He could feel a slight pressure in his wound whenever he moved and he was careful not to make any sudden moves but still, he was able to fight like he would any other day.

The same could not be said for either Adrian or Kayla though, who appeared to be exhausted. The rest of the riders didn't look too good either and Rikon almost fell asleep while he sparred with Maurine which earned him a loud smack at the back of his head.

Tristan was sparring casually against Grohn, being careful not to overexert either himself or the Urgal, when Octavian stopped him.

"Take of your shirt boy" Octavian commanded and Tristan had to raise an eyebrow as he stared at the Master of Strength.

Still he did as he was told and Octavian's fingers traced the edges of his wound, seeming to concentrate hard on something. Then he turned to the rest of the riders. "Who healed his injury?"

Adrian stepped forward, looking almost happy to have stopped sparring –something which was unlike his character. "It was mostly Kayla although I did participate in certain parts and Laer administered the paste on the wound"

Kayla nodded while she was eating an apple and gulping down water. Octavian kneeled, picking some of the paste that was on Tristan's wound and tasting it. "Why did you use the paste?"

"Kayla and I had exhausted most of our energy reserves to heal the bones and internal organs and the skin above was something the paste could easily heal" Adrian replied.

Octavian rubbed some of the paste against his fingers and smelled it. "Maud instructed you on how to make the paste Laer, no?"

Laer nodded and Tristan looked at the other rider surprised, as this was not something Maud had taught the other riders. Laer must have had some private sessions with Maud from the likes of it.

Octavian rose from the ground and smiled. "Impressive job, riders. I do not know the exact extent of Tristan's injuries, but healing him… There is no trace of damage, meaning that you must have followed the exact same pattern the bones had beforehand and also… The internal organs. Truly impressive"

Tristan smiled, both because he was happy that all his bones were where they were supposed to be and because his sister, Adrian and Laer had done a very good job at healing him.

By midday the two twin girls had finished their descent and were flying back to land.

Adrian stilted his eyes as he took another break from sparring –the forth one so far. "I still do not trust them. They said what we expected, that it would make the fighting more exciting if they didn't dull the blades but still…"

"… there is something off" Kayla added for him as she, as well, looked at the twin girls with mistrust.

Gwen walked to their direction and crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head. "They were most helpful when coming with me to Glieonard to notify Eragon and besides, someone did ask them if they had sided with the enemy during the Truth or Dare Game to which they replied no"

Adrian hmphed and Tristan was once again surprised by the elf's sudden change of manner. From being arrogant, insulting and manipulative the previous night, he had suddenly turned into his fierce protector. Tristan remembered that even during their sparring competition Adrian had been trying not to injure him greatly and only win. If he had wanted to actually injure him, no doubt some of the blows he had landed would have resembled those from one of their previous matches together.

Bewildered, he walked towards the edge of the cliff to see the twin girls landing with grace and handing smiles to the rest of the riders as if nothing was amiss.

As Octavian walked to Tristan's side, the human rider did not fail to notice that whereas there had been bright sun before, now, clouds had started gathering in the horizon.

"Tristan, as you seem to be the only rider energetic enough today, I think you should give the good example to the rest of the riders and climb down Stenr Abr Andlá" the Master of Strength said with a smirk.

Both Adrian and Kayla stepped forward and glared at Octavian who simply waved them off. "Do you disagree that he is the strongest one of you at the moment? The rest of you are weak, no doubt exhausted from the drinking, healing and fooling about"

"But his wounds…"Kayla intersected this time and Octavian raised an eyebrow.

"…are perfectly healed I believe" the Master of Strength added with a mischievous smile.

…..

The rock was steep, there was no doubt about that. At that moment Tristan wished his dragon was with him to help him get down but, no, that would be cheating. And he was going to uphold his end of the deal.

"Don't forget, no magic allowed. Just your human abilities" Octavian shouted behind him – no doubt using magic to make his voice audible in the distance - as his sister and the rest of the young riders watched.

As if I could use magic!, Tristan exclaimed and watched Vertigo's shadow above him.

If you fall I will catch you no matter what Octavian or whoever else's rules are, the dragon warned.

Tristan took in a deep breath and carefully placed his feet inside a very small opening in the rock while grabbing tightly at a slightly extended white-pink spike. The wind was blowing hard against his back which only intensified the difficulty of the task. Then again the wind always blew hard where sea and land met, as if to show them how different one was from the other. The sea was liquid, smooth, fluid and powerful while the land was hard, solid and very breakable.

Once more he was glad his hair was in braids. If it had been loose it would have only fallen in front of his eyes and clouded his vision. Momentarily he looked down, where the waves crushed against the sharp rocks of Stenr Abr Andlá and he wished he hadn't. His mind was lost in vertigo for a second before he quickly regained his balance and composure.

It felt as if hours had passed, but he was steadily approaching flat land. His muscles were straining, each step down, a bet between life and death. Even though sweat was running aplenty from his face and back, no droplets managed to reach his chest or lower back as the wind dried them off quickly.

Almost there!, he said in Vertigo's mind, trying to sound excited but the dragon only flew closer to him.

You are only half way down, Tristan, the dragon said, seriously.

Tristan gasped. Tell me this is another one of your attempts in humour.

Vertigo blew wind from his nostrils loudly. Check for yourself.

And as Tristan did so he realised that the dragon was right. Whereas before it looked like he was approaching flat land, now he knew it was only a slightly bigger opening in the rock. The size of the waves had increased in the last few hours, foam reaching as high as to that opening he had noticed before and that's why he had confused it as the base.

Barzul!, he swore, using the dwarwish language.

Just then a strong gust of wind blew and Tristan felt Vertigo being blown away. He grabbed tightly on the extended spike of rock and looked back to see where his dragon was.

Vertigo was struggling with the wind's force, trying to correct his course but only failing and being blown further away from him. Tristan noticed the dark clouds above him and he thought he saw a lightning strike somewhere near them.

Vertigo!, Tristan shouted in his dragon's mind, anxious.

Another strong gust of wind blew and Tristan had to tighten his grip on the rocks in order not be blown away while Vertigo completely lost course.

Tristan, Vertigo return to land. The weather is changing quickly and there is a storm coming. It would not be wise to get caught in it, Octavian whispered in both their minds and Tristan nodded, maintaining his position and waiting for Vertigo.

But no matter how hard the dragon tried, he could not reach him as the wind was blowing directly towards him. Tristan felt Vertigo's annoyance and he saw the dragon flying higher, trying to gain altitude and bypass the strong gusts of wind. However, what he hadn't anticipated was the lighting which struck again, only nearer, momentarily making his surroundings brighter and then darkening them again.

Tristan felt water droplets on his face washing the salt from the sea's waves and he shouted to Vertigo, warning him not to come any closer, but this seemed to have the opposite effect of what he wanted as the dragon only pushed harder against the bad weather, flying in all possible confirmations in order to avoid the wind's course.

Vertigo was getting closer to his rider, so Tristan decided to jump on the dragon's back. He watched his dragon's form approaching and he let go of one of the rocks, placing his feet closer to the edge of the Rock's opening. Just then another strong gust of wind blew, the strongest of all the previous ones and Vertigo got propelled away from him while Tristan lost his balance, his feet tangling uncontrollably below him and his hands grabbed onto the first thing they found. The sharpness of the rock's spikes sliced his palms open, fresh blood gushing from them, but he ignored the pain and tried to grab tighter.

One more lightning struck, one which was too close to ignore and Tristan felt the thunder's vibrations running down Stenr Abr Andlá and causing a rock avalanche. The spike he had been holding onto only a few moments ago, snapped in half and Tristan knew that there was nothing he could grab onto quickly enough to save himself.

He starting descending into nothingness quickly, moving faster than he ever had. He saw Vertigo's form trying to reach him and felt his dragon's sharp nails slicing through his back, trying to grab him but failing. Was he going to die? Was the sea too far away from him? Would this be the end?

Just before he reached the sea he felt his body pausing in mid-air for a few seconds and then continuing its descent, only his speed was a lot slower than before. Cold sea water came rushing to meet him and Tristan instinctively held his breath as he was swallowed into the abyss.

Silence enveloped him, the sounds of rain, wind and thunder drowning below the water's surface and Tristan blinked. When he opened his eyes, he saw some of the most surreal images curved at the rock's underwater surface coming to life with every thrust of light. He could have stayed there and watch the images dance, telling a story far older than what was written in scripts, but he felt himself being pulled back to the surface.

Hands grabbed him and placed him on rough scales, while he coughed salt water and before he knew it he was back on land. He squinted his eyes and saw Eragon holding his shoulders. Octavian was barking orders to the rest of the riders and the young dragons as the storm seemed to be getting stronger and stronger, tall trees snapping in half and rocks crushing from the edges of tall mountains.

….

Kayla could feel the anger and worry consuming her. Her hands were shaking as energy flashes shot from her fingertips and she swallowed and breathed deeply trying to control her emotions.

"All dragons and riders walk back to your dorms. No one flies tonight, understood?" Octavian barked loudly at them and Kayla saw him shooing the riders away but she run to her brother's side before he could stop her.

Eragon was kneeling next to him with Saphira and Vertigo by his side.

"You almost died twice today. Not once but twice!" Kayla shouted angrily at him and Tristan managed to smile to her.

"The second time wasn't my fault entirely" he replied to her in a low tone and she sighed.

"Lets take your brother back to the human dorms" Eragon advised and Kayla nodded, tightening her hands into fists as a precaution.

For the second time today, Tristan put his hand over her shoulder as she held tightly on him and walked back to the human dorms in silence.

Aiedail was walking next to her, her wings tightly pressed against her sides, throwing concerned glances at her direction.

This has been a very long day, her dragon commented and Kayla nodded, trying not to think of everything that had happened today. It was too much for her to remember every single detail.

What if I told you that you could lie in the Ancient Language?

She remembered the words as if they had been whispered into her mind only a few seconds ago, even though it had been hours.

What if I told you that we are different from everyone else here?

Kayla shook her head, trying not to think of the golden spark. When they reached the human dorms, Tristan thanked Eragon and entered the building with no assistance from her or the Dragon Rider Leader.

"I think the only thing I need now is some food and then my warm bed" Tristan whispered to both of them.

"Despite your wants I am afraid this will be a long night. We need to keep watch and make sure everyone is safe. We don't want any more accidents" Gwen said, walking quickly to them and nodding to Eragon who seemed to be in a rush to return to Glieonard. The Dragon Rider Leader waved them off and within seconds he was out of their sight.

The noise of the thunder made their dorm shake momentarily and even the dragons appeared to be concerned for a few seconds.

"As powerful as dragon riders might be, the weather's elements are something we cannot control or fight against" Laer said, walking into the room, a half-smile fixed upon his face. There was a glint in his eyes when he looked at her and Kayla quickly looked away from him.

"We should take turns in two tonight" Gwen started, keeping her usual composure not betraying in the slightest the horror that had crossed her face at dawn today while Tristan and Adrian were fighting. "Gas is in Glieonard and will be staying there tonight. Tristan and Kayla you should rest as you have used the most energy today. Laer and I can keep watch and maybe wake you near dawn…"

"Gwen you are just as exhausted as everyone else here" Tristan said, looking at her, his eyes in slits and pressed his arms over his chest.

Kayla raised an eyebrow. "You have suffered two deadly experiences today. If you don't go rest at this moment Tristan, I mean it, I will cast a sleeping spell on you"

Tristan looked at her with his mouth open while Laer stiffened a laugh.

"I believe it would only be fair if we tossed a coin to see who will keep watch tonight" the dark-haired rider offered and produced a coin from his pocket.

Gwen and Kayla shook their heads quickly, but Tristan nodded.

"It is only fair" her brother exclaimed and Kayla nodded, realising there was a way to turn the situation into her favour.

They decided to have one male and one female rider keeping watch tonight. First the coin was tossed to determine whether Laer or Tristan would stay up and Kayla watched the coin landing on Laer's palm. She didn't know if Laer noticed it but she made the coin turn its side, once. When Laer opened his hand they saw that it was tails, meaning that Laer would be keeping watch tonight first.

Tristan exclaimed angrily and Kayla tried not to betray any of her emotions. When the coin was tossed again she did not care about the outcome so she did not influence the coin's side. It turned out that it would be her turn first to keep watch tonight, alongside Laer.

Kayla sighed and slumped down on the nearest chair. Her stomach suddenly growled and Laer laughed, tossing her an apple. She accepted the apple, slightly embarrassed, mumbling "Thanks".

Before she was able to bite on its surface, the skin of the apple started pilling of and she looked at the sparks flying from her hands, horrified.

"I am assuming you don't yet have your magic under control?" Laer asked kindly.

Kayla took a deep breath, the sparks in her hands disappearing and shook her head. "Training with Maud is helping"

A thunder shook the dorms once more and Kayla heard Aiedail's worried growl.

I have never faced a storm of this extent, the dragon said in her mind.

Neither have I, Kayla responded and found herself suggesting to Laer to join their dragons to which he accepted.

The structures in which the dragons slept were protected from the rain but the same material that covered Maud's hut had been placed around them, hence allowing them to look outside as if there was absolutely nothing between themselves and the storm. Onyx had his head next to Laer's arms and the other rider was casually stroking his dragon's under chin.

Aiedail had curled into a ball of sorts and was staring at the storm with a threatening look in her eyes.

"Did you enjoy the Games?" Laer asked, obviously trying to make small talk.

Kayla sighed and looked at him, raising an eyebrow, changing the direction of the conversation all together, not able to contain her curiosity any longer. "Will you ever tell the rest of the riders? Or Eragon?"

Laer hmphed and smiled, looking at the ground and pulling his black hair back from his horns. "Will you? I know you lied in the Truth or Dare Game"

She looked at him, shocked. "You cannot lie in the Ancient Language"

Laer laughed. "How wrong you are. Elves bend the truth all the time in the Ancient Language. They have mastered this skill through years of practice. Obviously the same cannot be said for dwarves, Urgals and humans. But you… You did not just bend the truth. You lied and the magic took no effect on you"

He was looking at her again with his half-smile and his eyes were sparkling golden.

Kayla swallowed and spoke in the Ancient Language. "I did not lie"

Laer smiled again and looked at the ground, turning to the Ancient Language. "You might not realise it yet, but you did lie in the Ancient Language. You have a certain ability to manipulate the energy and magic around you in curious ways"

Aideail's ears shot up as a lightning and thunder exploded around them, momentarily causing the night to turn into day.

Kayla bit her lower lip hard. "Eka un ono havr yawe" she said and then added. "I do not lie about this. I will keep your secret. I promised"

Laer shook his head. "Why do you trust me? There are dark forces gathering in the horizon, I know you can feel them as intensely as I can. I could be hiding a secret related to these dark forces" he said and again his eyes sparked golden just as the lightning struck loudly in some trees near them.

Kayla shivered.

Why did she? Only a few months ago he was the one she had trusted the least. She still did not trust him entirely but…

"Just before the end of the Games. At the lake… The spirits…" she started then stopped and shook her head. "They would have warned me against trusting you"

He smirked. "Istalri eldrvarya unin ono. Thornessa weohnata waise anglat"

Kayla shot up as soon as he said this. "Neo trayin!"

"Neo wiol ono" he replied and she sat down staring at him cautiously.

"You know things that I do not. Why will you not share them with me?" Kayla asked him.

"I only guess about some things. If I told you what I guessed then this could cost you, your life" he replied.

Kayla hmphed. "Like when you guessed that I lied in the Ancient Language"

"Oh, this was not a guess" he said, smirking and Kayla shot up once again.

He met her intense stare with a mischievous one which only made her angrier.

"Stop it" she said silently.

Kayla heard Onyx growling and suddenly Laer's expression changed all together, appearing cautious. "If you wish"

She nodded and sat down again in silence, not interested in speaking to Laer any longer, lost in her own thoughts.

A lightning flash shot opposite them just then, making her and Aiedail jump in the air, terror momentarily running through her veins fast. They waited a few more moments imagining the worst, but nothing happened.

Laer then shivered and grabbed on a nearby rock tightly, an expression of pure terror crossing his features. "The storm is already here"

…

The rain was falling loudly outside the shop and Solembum stared at Angela as she run around, panicked.

"And I told them to reinforce the wall but none would listen to me! Blah! What do I care anyway? All I do is warn and warn them and they never listen" the herbalist said as she rearranged the assortment of jars she had around her shop.

"Now all my dry herbs will…" she started, trying to dry some jars with her breath alone and then stopped, realising it would not work "… get wet"

Solembum purred, deciding not to offer any advice. He was still irritated at the herbalist for sending Elva away. Although he enjoyed his time much with the herbalist, having someone else around to taunt had been very entertaining. And then she had to go and tell the girl to go find her own way!

"Oh, no! Not my potion books!" she shouted angrily as the windows opened, causing a gust of wind to enter and throwing all of the books on the self on the ground.

Angela jumped and balanced herself between the fallen bookcases, collecting her items. She threw an angry glare at Solembum who casually licked his paws. Teirm was not the best place to be at the moment but it had been Angela's idea to return here. Although it had been a hard choice to pick between Elva and Angela, Somlembum had known that the herbalist needed him more. She had tried to shoo him away as well, -like a scolded cat!- but he had only followed her more closely which infuriated her.

Angela threw herself on the windows across her, trying to shut them closed and blew a few curls from her forehead, irritated.

Just then another, stronger gust of wind caused all the windows and doors of her shops to fly open. Solembum jumped from the soft chair and landed next to Angela's side, his hair on edge as he stared at the door, growling. Something was coming.

The herbalist next to him took a deep breath and pressed her hands over her chest as if preparing for something.

A dark hooded figure walked into the shop with loud steps. It knocked aside a few fallen items and stared at Angela. Solembum immediately stepped in front of the herbalist and growled at the figure. But the figure only laughed at him and with a few words he was propelled against one of the walls of the shop.

Angela stepped forward just then.

"This is between us. Leave everyone else alone" she whispered to the stranger.

The stranger laughed, loudly again. "As if I could! I no longer control the forces that are gathering. Your friend, Eragon, made sure of that, awakening every single creature deep in slumber…"

Solembum watched Angela shiver and he growled trying to reach her side but then realised he was restrained by magic.

The hooded figure walked amongst the fallen objects, pausing at times to examine them and then laughing. "You poor thing. You still do not use magic, hiding your powers behind potions and herbs. Too afraid to do so is my guess"

"What do you want?" Angela asked the creature who cocked its head on the side as if bewildered.

"Wise one" the creature said, its tone thick with irony. "It took me a long time to find you. You were trying to hide from me but no matter. It was only a matter of time before I found you, sister"

Solembum could feel the dark energy gathering around him and making his hairs rise. He tried to shift back to his human form but there was a barrier. He knew he could do it though, even the most experienced magicians or riders could not hold a werecat prisoner long enough….

Energy exploded across him to where Angela was and the herbalist fell to the side, hiding behind a fallen bookcase.

The creature cocked its head on the side again. "This shall not save you. Use your true powers. That is if you dare"

Angela grabbed a few potions and with force Solembum had not seen her use before she started throwing them at the creature's directions. One of the potions landed on the door and caused it to explode on fire, the other on the bookcase, turning it into dust within seconds, but all failed to hit their intended target.

Another ball of dark energy exploded from the creature, landing on Angela who screamed in pain and Solembum managed to turn into his human form and then back to his feline form, attacking the creature with stealth and speed it did not possess. The creature screamed but quickly regained its composure and kicked him to the side and licked its lips.

"I hear kitties drown in water. Shall we test my theory?" it asked, laughing sadistically and all the water from the rain that was outside entered the house in full force covering the shop.

The creature locked windows and doors and Solembum was soon swimming inside it while Angela was trying to rise from her position.

"Use your powers, my sweet sister. Unless you fear what happened to Gokurara shall happen to you as well?" it asked and noticing that Angela had done nothing to change her previous position, it laughed. "Shame. Tenga would be ashamed of you"

And with that, an energy force the likes of which Solembum had never seen before, exploded inside the small shop, burning his skin and turning his bones into char. Before he died he saw Angela on fire, screaming, in pain, agony and sorrow.

…..

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to leave a review, follow/fav!

Ancient Language Translations

Eka un ono havr yawe = I and you have bond of trust

Se waise = May be

Neo wiol ono = not for you

Istalri eldrvarya unin ono. Thornessa weohnata waise anglat. = Flame burns in you. This will be death

Neo trayin= Not true