Chapter 5

Once again, I sincerely apologise for the long wait. I have no control over how quickly time passes. I also had a crap tonne of homework to deal with, along with my English and maths revision. Also, I please request that if any of you find any grammatical errors with my chapters, PM me, or leave it in a review. From now, I'll try to make up for the whole week of no chapters with a super long one at the end of every week. Although I am making a longer chapter, I feel a bit lazy, so it may not be the best standard I can deliver to you lot, but I'll try my best.

'What!?' Eragon exclaimed in horror.

'Sorry? Did you say "what"?' Du Ebrithil asked him. 'From what I've heard, your mate defies description. In fact, the only time I saw her had caused me to behave unusually. Though I have seen her myself, travellers say that she is, if there is one, god's masterpiece. They say that her frame is enough to buy the mind of any mortal man and can make them go insane with crave and lust. They even suggest that she may be as beautiful as heaven itself. This is the forest elf you have mated. There is absolutely no reason as to why you shouldn't be distracted by her, but I'd rather have you thinking straight during the training sessions I have with you.' And with that, he drew his sword and walked off towards the south.

Fear and anger were creating a strange concoction in his stomach. The anger took over him first, making him charge towards his master with Brisingr raised over his head. Oromis just stood and watched him as he sprinted in the direction of Du Ebrithil. Du Ebrithil turned on his heel and parried the blow with a small knife. Upon parrying Eragon, he shoved him backwards. The rider stumbled and lost his footing, causing him to fall.

'Aha! So there is a reason to why you fight! Without a reason, you would never have come here. I struggled to find it at first, but it seems that now I have it!'

Eragon got to his feet, breathing heavily through his gritted teeth.

'You see, if a person doesn't have a resolve, he will surely fail at what he does, whereas, if he does, he will succeed.' He paused for a moment before signalling for him to head towards the mountains to the east of them.

Eragon, being too angry and relieved to say anything stayed quiet while they walked. Before the sun had set, they managed to arrive at the mountains. There was a tall cliff, with water running off the edge, making a lake at the base trailing off as a stream. There were a few caves, running down the waterfall and Eragon noticed that they were taking a path which was heading towards one of them. They reached it and Du Ebrithil walked inside. He sat on a rock and looked at Eragon. For a brief moment, he thought he had seen his master's face. It looked somewhat familiar. Like a long forgotten nightmare.

Pointing at the mouth of the cave, Du Ebrithil ordered him to stand under it bare chested. Eragon doubted the idea, but did so anyway. He relieved himself of his tunic and chest plate before walking over to the pounding mounds of water ricocheting off the rock. Eragon looked back at Saphira and Oromis, both of whom gave him an encouraging nod. He tensed himself and walked underneath the gravity of the falls. The torrent hit him hard on his head and shoulders. Even his wards weren't able to suppress the downfall for more than a few seconds. After they had faded away, he could feel the full force of it. He felt a conscience press against his mind and he dropped his barriers, trying his utmost hardest to stay upright while he communicated with his master.

Eragon, I want you to do the first stage of the Rimgar.

What!? I can barely stand Ebrithil! He complained.

Aggravation pulsed through his mental contact. This is to test your precision. Within the next few months, I want you to be able to complete the fourth stage of the Rimgar without breaking a sweat, do you understand? Now start, before I think training you is a bad idea since you'll be so rude when I give you an order.

A/N I took a few hours break and now feel much better. I'm sorry about the lack of enthusiasm at the begging. I had just finished studying and my mind was bored and exhausted. From now, I hope things will be a lot livelier.

BTW, this is a time gap because I don't necessarily know the Rimgar poses. You'll see by how long. The next fight was an inspiration I got when I watched the fight between Jackie Chan and Jet Lee in the forbidden kingdom. If any of you want to know how the fist fight section of the coming battle went, look for it on YouTube. You'll find it there.

Emerging from the water, Eragon shuddered. The ice cold water had chilled his very bones. The cave had served as a perfect place to live and the perfect place to use as a training ground. A metallic whoosh awakened him from his freezing plight. His hearing, sight and smell had become sharper, even though the waterfall was gushing behind him. A flash of black metal reflecting sunlight from outside indicated that he should duck or dodge. Eragon leaned back into a sharp limbo. The shuriken harmlessly flew over him, before another, much larger blade hacked at his neck. Eragon used his right hand to balance himself before kicking his intruder on the shoulder with his left foot. Using the momentum, he stood up from his previous position. Eragon turned quickly away to grab his sword from the rock they had been using as a table. Grabbing Brisingr, he ducked as he heard another whoosh of air being sliced by a sword. He used his foot to kick the man behind him, before strafing another hit by rolling to his left. Still bare chested, Eragon put up his guard. The man lunged towards him with a jab. Eragon span and deflected the blow. He volleyed his counter with a strike of his own. The man jumped backwards, barely avoiding the tip of Brisingr. Eragon used the momentum once again to spin in a circle, swinging again in a sideward arc. He felt contact, but it was on his foot. The man had ducked under Brisingr and had stepped on his right foot. He then suddenly jumped up.

Before Eragon noticed what he was trying to do, Brisingr had been head butted by the man and had been sent flying towards the deeper end of the cave. The man was still low enough for Eragon to do some damage, so he kneed his opponent right in the face. The man had been sent flying six feet away, his sword knocked out of his hand in the process. The man lifted his legs, and used his hands to push himself up to standing position. Eragon attacked first. He tried to land a punch, but had been blocked. He then continued with an inhumanely swift volley of blows, both from fist and foot. A few of them made contact, while others had been parried or punched to the side. The man had eventually managed to turn the tables and was now on the offensive. Eragon blocked, parried and countered as many as he could, but he couldn't keep a streak going on for long enough to deal the damage he needed before his opponent was incapacitated. He needed his sword. He tried to look as if he was about to jump backwards, but instead, did a backflip, kicking his rival in the underside of his jaw. His feint had bought him enough time to cast a spell, calling his sword towards him. He readied his guard, hoping that the hooded man didn't have any more weapons. Obviously he was wrong. The man was now holding two katanas. Eragon knew from experience that the only way to disarm a dual wielded weapon was to make them join in an attempt of extra strength, then to knock them right out of person's hands.

Eragon waited for the man to strike first, so he could weave his arm behind one of the katanas. After that, he could pull on the man's arm, which would cause him to use his other hand in an attempt to free the one Eragon had. His plan worked out, and in a few moments, the katanas were sent sprawling over the ground several feet away. Eragon was about to finish the dual with a final fatal blow, but was stopped by an axe, the handle of which was barring his own blade. The man pushed his weapon forward, causing Eragon to stumble backwards. This battle would be longer than he had anticipated. The axe required the man to use both hands. It would allow occasional drops in the man's guard. A battle axe would be too hard for Eragon to block or parry. He decided that rolling and dodging would be his best option. However, he didn't need to. The man swung low, towards his knees, predicting that he would duck. The prediction hadn't worked because Eragon jumped, and punched him in the face. He hacked at one of the hands that were holding the battle axe and heard the resounding clang resonate through the hollow of the cave. Eragon span around and brought his sword up to the neck of the man.

'It seems your training wasn't wasted. I spent four months teaching you. Now you can beat me, even when caught by surprise. I am proud of you Eragon. I wish for you to know that. I also wish for you to know that the only other person I have ever said that to is Oathbreaker. I am honoured to call you my student.'

'Thank you ebrithil. Your words hearten me,' Eragon replied.

Du Ebrithil then took a firm grasp of his shoulder and embraced him.

'I did tell you that today was your final lesson didn't I?' Du Ebrithil asked.

'Yes master.'

'Eragon… you have a good heart. It is full of wisdom and mercy. But you also contain power. You contain power but you are not proud of it. However, your training doesn't end there. We must now hunt down the one forest elf I wished never to see again. But before that, I have a few gifts for you. Winter is here, as you have experienced through the water. I have something for you that will keep you warm through the coldest of blizzards. It will also make fire become a part of you. You will not need to say fire in the ancient language for there to be fire. Instead, it will be there just by willing so.'

Du Ebrithil walked over to a large chest and opened it. He pulled out a dark blue hauberk, the same colour as Saphira's scales. He handed it to Eragon and he marvelled at how brilliant it looked. There was a glowing aura about it and he pulled it on over his neck.

'It is a hauberk made by the fire elves. The reason I always say forest elves is because there are more than one type of elf. There are many, but the forest elves are the greatest of the elf kind.'

'Thank you master,' Eragon said gratefully.

'I also have something which will allow you to walk on water and allow you to summon water just from your will.'

He walked over to the same chest and pulled out a pair of metal boots. These were as clear as glass and looked like running water. However, it was tougher and more flexible than any footwear he had ever seen.

'Made by the water elves. They gifted it to me after I saved them from an all-out war with the dwarves many years ago, after the capture of Ilirea.'

'I thank you again Ebrithil,' he repeated.

Eragon took off his current boots and replaced them with the ones Du Ebrithil had given him. They were cool inside, and his feet felt as if he was standing in a shallow stream. Normally he would have become annoyed, but the boots gave him a comforting feeling and felt relaxing.

'I also have a pair of gauntlets the dwarves gave me, from stopping the war of course. Have you heard of the dwarves' fists of iron?'

'Yes master,' he replied bluntly.

'Well, these gauntlets are specially made for humans and are much like the calluses you once told me you had. Use them for when you are disarmed.'

'Thank you Ebrithil,' he said again.

'I also have a barbute for you. I stole it from the forest elves which was why Gilderien the wise had attacked me. I didn't tell you the real reason why he had assaulted me, but now I have. It will let you see heat upon will, as with your boots and your hauberk, and when you are looking for something, it will be highlighted in gold for you in your vision. It will also allow you to see clearly in the darkest parts of the world.'

He then handed Eragon a leaf green helmet, which had textures on it which reminded him of Fírnen's scales. He put it on, and instantly, his field of view and his vision became enhanced threefold. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the sudden change.

'And now, for the last two gifts. Leggings from the necromancer race which was eliminated by myself, along with hero. We managed to recover this from the wreckage of their homes. And finally, inside the hauberk, the Eldunarí of my dragon Whitestorm.'

'What!? You're a dragon rider?' Eragon blurted out in surprise.

Du Ebrithil didn't say anything, but instead took off the glove from his right hand and held it up so Eragon could see the gedwëy ignasia on his palm.

'Yes, however, that isn't the most surprising thing I am going to tell you today. I am also Brom's younger brother. And Brom wasn't all he seemed either. He and I are both the sons of a person we both hated, along with you.'

Eragon's head was spinning in circles from the new knowledge of his family and his mind became flabbergasted with what happened next.

Du Ebrithil pulled off his hood, giving Eragon a clear view of his face for the first time.

There, in front of him, stood a clear replica of Galbatorix.

Barbute is a type of helmet.

I wanted to carry on, but I thought that this cliff-hanger was too good an opportunity to miss. I for one enjoy writing this story, and I get more and more motivated to continue it when I receive nice PM's and reviews.

I also acknowledged the fact that Saphira's presence wasn't mentioned even once in the whole chapter, but she isn't dead. She is just chilling in the corners of the scenes watching Eragon train.

Anyway, leave a review, whether it's good or bad, anything is appreciated. If any of you particularly want something to happen in the plot, PM me, and I will see what I can do about it. Like for example, the idea of Du Ebrithil and Brom being brothers.

Bye. :)