Chapter 7

I know I said there would be an extra chapter, but I couldn't keep to it. My asthma has been playing up recently so I found it kind of hard to concentrate. This chapter has actually been written over a course of three days, explaining why it is so long. I am kind of sorry if the part with the lightning is cheesy. I was sleepy at that time, so I couldn't care less about repetition, or I didn't care to try and fix it. It was just too long.

Who cares about my life story, right? Here's the seventh chapter!

A wave of anguish rolled over his mind, overtaking his senses and driving him to madness. The level of distress was unbelievable, but he didn't know why. The only distress he should be feeling was that this woman would either kill him, or ask him more questions. It seemed as though many other people in the vicinity could feel the pain, as they were clutching their heads in an agonising way. His vision suddenly blurred and he felt nauseated. What was happening to him? Eragon tried to fight back the waves of sorrow, but the emotion was powerful enough to engulf him and rip his mind apart. A roar filled every crevice in his mind as he exhausted himself to keep his sanity. Even Du Ebrithil was struggling to keep the pain at bay. The only person who didn't seem to be harmed in any way by this sudden calamity was the woman who had him immobilised.

Is she doing this? He thought to himself. If she was, he had all the more reason to fear her. A voice suddenly began resonating in his mind.

Eragon… the tone was cracked and sounded like it had suffered the worst torments of hell. A slab of recognition hit him on the head.

Saphira! Are you ok? Queasiness erupted within him as he thought about what could have happened to her.

I am but… Du Weldenvarden is gone. F-

Gone!? Shock and dizziness took over his senses. What did she mean?

The entire forest is on fire… and Fírnen is dead. The last words came out as more of a whisper in his conscience.

Fírnen was dead. Did that mean that Arya had died too? Brom had once told him that a dragon would give their life to save its rider. Either Fírnen had died, giving time for Arya to run away, or Arya had died after her dragon. Brom had also told him that riders would often go insane at seeing his or her dragon die, and would eventually kill themselves. That could have been a possibility with Arya, but Eragon knew her better than to judge her out to be someone so weak minded. Arya was three hundred years old and had enough experience to know how her death could be a factor to other things going wrong.

Regardless of these things, Eragon needed to get back. The melancholic emotions of his dragon was still present, so Eragon had no choice than to stop the pain by suppressing the Eldunarí inside something made of shadowstone. During his time with Du Ebrithil, he had learned that shadowsteel was the only solid material that could totally keep out mental rays. His necromancer leggings were made of shadowsteel but he wouldn't be able to reach it while still immobilised. He would have to distract the woman to get a chance at putting the Eldunarí inside his pocket.

Without warning Eragon cast a spell. 'Kverkva!'

A bolt of lightning from his hand hit the woman straight in the chest. She recoiled, but only a little. The distraction was enough for him. He fell to ground, able to move his limbs, and grabbed the Eldunarí from his chest plate. His head throbbed from the amount of mental pressure it was going through, but he had to put it away quickly. The woman would soon immobilise him again. He shoved the Eldunarí into the pocket of his leggings before he looked back up at the scenery around him. The sun had completely set, but his eyes beheld a beautiful sight. From behind the gates of the city, a large gem the size of Saphira levitated in the sky, giving off a brilliant white light, illuminating the darkness around them. It seemed this was the diamond Du Ebrithil had spoken about.

Some people claim that diamonds hang from the sky…

He was awe struck by the prospect of a diamond hanging from the sky on its own accord. As he stared at the light, he noticed clouds starting to swirl around in the sky. He focused on them more and saw that they were a kind of dark blue colour. The only other time he had seen clouds like this had been when he was fighting Oathbreaker. Alarm shot through him as he jumped to the left, where nobody was standing. A bolt of lightning much bigger than his struck the ground where he had just been standing.

'That is what a bolt of thunder looks like,' the woman snarled art him. She had an expression that spelt anger. 'You dare use magic against me?'

She waved her hand at him and another bolt of lightning came crashing down from the sky. Eragon dodged, but the bolt caught the edge of his wards and cut them apart like a hot knife through butter.

'I am magic,' she whispered menacingly before waving at him again.

Eragon was panting heavily. The dodging itself wasn't a problem, but the shock of knowing how close he was to death certainly was.

Du Ebrithil ran to her and started saying something which was inaudible, due to another strike landing next to him. Du Ebrithil was on his knees as the woman kicked him in the leg, making his legs buckle. She walked past him without a second note and continued towards Eragon. Out of breath, Eragon waited for another moment for the next discharge of electricity to come down. How long would he carry on like this? He needed to get to Du Weldenvarden. He had initially struck her forehead because he needed to remove Saphira's Eldunarí. Now, she seemed to want his blood.

He watched her wave her hand at him again, and braced himself. The next fulmination cracked all the drums in his ears for the fourth time. He kept his ground. He felt an excruciating pain crack his skull open, and felt a white hot explosion go off in front of him. His body had been sent flying backwards, near the river. He felt a prickling sensation fill up within him, and felt his body re-grow.

He heard footsteps approach him from the gates. He tried to move, but his limbs were still not fully intact. Eragon waited for his body to take Oromis's form. He opened his eyes, lifted his head and then shook it. He slowly sat up and looked around. This was the first time he was totally seeing the world through his old master's eyes. He looked at the woman and saw a horrified expression on her face. She had her palms covering her mouth, and her eyes were wide in shock.

He heard Oromis say something under his breath and Eragon suddenly left his body.

He was in Du Weldenvarden. A small elf child stood weeping in front of him. From Ellesméra came the sounds of the forsworn and the other riders. He was hiding in a cave with his great golden dragon.

'Please don't send me away faðir (father)' the girl bawled.

'Sh, sh, it's ok, it's ok. I only want you to be safe. You saw what happened to your mother with your own eyes. How can I let that happen to you as well? Hmm? Please tell me. I have already lost the dearest thing to my soul, and I regret it greatly. I do not want to lose everything else worth living for. If I know you are alive, then I will always have reason to end this war, and make things right, knowing that you will benefit from it. Now if you die… what is left for me?'

The girl burst into tears again, and violently started shaking her father's neck.

'Why must people die? Why can we not live in peace? Why must you and I be separated?' the girl asked through her passionate voice.

He put his arms around her comfortingly.

'Please Dröttningu. Do not cry. I will cast a spell on you, which will allow you to, over time, become stronger than any being in Alagaësia. You will be untouchable in your strength. Along with this one, I will make it so that you will not be able to go near any men. From experience I know that they are the most evil of creatures in Alagaësia. Never allow one to go near you. Especially one associated with Galbatorix, or anyone like him. I will also cast a spell on you which will not allow you to be anywhere within Alagaësia. This will mean that you will be far away from the war. Unless you can find your true name, you will not be able to see me until the war is ov-'

He was stopped by a hard punch on his jaw.

'Don not send me away faðir! Please! I am begging you! Please!'

Oromis began casting the spells under his breath, as his daughter continuously sobbed and pleaded him not to do so.

Upon completion, Du Dröttningu stood up and started walking away. She was sobbing with every step.

Oromis felt a tear trace a line down his cheek, and allowed it to trek across his face.

'I love you Dautr (daughter). I could never have kept you safe if you stayed,' he called to her before turning back to his dragon. He would hide out until either the rider's won, or a rider came to him to train in the arts of gramarye and combat. Both his mate, and his sister, Dellanir Drottning, had died. Apart from Du Dröttningu, the only two elves he would give his life to save. He didn't want her to die along with them.

Eragon's vision flashed and his eyesight returned to him. He looked at the woman who he now knew to be called Du Dröttningu. The princess. She knelt down next to him. Eragon hadn't noticed, but a tear was on his face after seeing the sacrifice Oromis had made to keep his daughter safe.

Du Dröttningu spoke first. 'Faðir?'

Eragon looked at her in the eyes. 'No. Not father. I am Eragon, his student. I can communicate with him, but he is dead. The gem from his sword is inside me, which means he lives on as long as I do.'

'How did you receive it?' she asked. A hint of suspicion lingered in her voice.

Eragon then explained how he met Oathbreaker, and how he had managed to wound him with a lightning bolt similar to the one she had used on him, and all the incidents up to what had taken place before they left. He also explained why he had attacked her, and how he needed to get back to Du Weldenvarden.

'No. You will not go back to the forest,' Du Ebrithil suddenly spoke up. 'You need to learn how to defeat him before you try to return. What if you go back, and you see that he is there waiting to kill you?'

Eragon growled. 'I couldn't care less! My mate may be injured, and all you care about is how you will get him killed!'

'Yes well you won't be of much use to her dead will you? You need to stay alive for you to be of much use to anyone. In fact, Du Dröttningu can probably go there and kill him herself,' he retorted.

Eragon was about to respond rudely but was stopped by her.

'What did you say his name was?' she asked Eragon.

'Oathbreaker,' he replied.

'No, his other name,' she said, correcting her request.

'Eragon.'

'Then there will be a problem. You said that you saw the time when I had to leave my father, right? You did hear that he said I would continue to grow in strength until I am the most powerful being Alagaësia. The problem is, I still haven't reached my peak of growing. I still have several millennia left until I am the most powerful being in Alagaësia and its neighbouring lands to the north and across the seas. Unfortunately, Oathbreaker is one of the few beings whose power still encompasses mine. I… I have a confession to make.'

'What is it?' Du Ebrithil asked.

'I… I taught him,' she admitted.

'You what!?' Eragon screamed. 'This is perfect! Absolutely perfect! He had the two best teachers in or around Alagaësia, and now he's wreaking havoc across the world! How much better could my life have got? I was up against him? When I am only Eragon Shadeslayer? I am not named Lordslayer! If I was, his head would have been a certificate for that title.'

'How did you find him?' Du Ebrithil inquired.

'He was bleeding outside a tavern. I found him on the ground, near his last breath, when I decided to save him. I ignored the spell my father had put on me which made me stay away from a man, and healed him. I knew my true name, so I removed that particular spell from my soul, and trained him like a student. Along with him, I trained an elf who goes by the name of Gilderien. He was the protector of Ellesméra, and I enhanced his skill as much as I could. Eragon… I will help you, but know this. War is brewing, and there will be a lot of death. The last war you participated in, was between the empire and the Varden. This will include other lands into the skirmish. Remember this, a lot of blood will be on your hands if you survive through this. Not only those of your enemies, but those of your allies as well. You will not kill them, but you will be the one responsible for their demise. You will have a lot of enemies, but you will also make a lot of friends. Your opponent's enemies are your friends, which makes me your loyal ally. And if I am the enemy of someone, then he certainly has a lot more. I have an army at my command, and it is at your disposal, even as I teach you. Whether you want them to send a message, or raid a fort, they are yours.'

Du Ebrithil spoke next. 'I also give you my hand. I do not have soldiers of my own, but I am friends with many races who will aid you in great numbers. I will leave for them tomorrow to see if we can make a pact.'

Eragon felt heartened at hearing that, not only would he be receiving lessons from Du Dröttningu and Du Ebrithil, but they would supply him with armies. 'I thank you both.'

Du Dröttningu then stood up and entered the gates of the city. Eragon and Du Ebrithil stayed where they were for a few more minutes. The sun rose, and Du Ebrithil stood up.

'The day has begun, and I intend to keep to my word. I will leave for the water elves today, to win their allegiance. After them, I will visit many other old friends who may be willing to help you out. You were a good student Eragon. I bid you farewell.'

He embraced his teacher before watching him sprint off towards the river and swim through it.