A/N- Well, a lot of previous reviews mentioned that this story was too close to Eragon. So I decided to do something to Kairin to make her unlike Eragon, but... In the second book, Eldest, Mr. Paolini happened to write pretty much exactly what I had in mind. I can't continue on the story very well without it now, so please just overlook it's extreme similarity to the actual Inheritance books.
Chapter Seventeen
Her words brought a smile to Kairin's lips. A surge of reassurance rushed though her.
"Introductions then, shall we?" Nasuada said with a smile. She gestured to the stately man with the helmet.
"This is Jormunder. He is my right-hand man." He bowed his head to Kairin. Next was the woman with the curls.
"This is Angela. She is an herbalist, but also a witch. She is very valuable to the Varden." Angela smiled at her and reached across the table to shake her hand. Nasuada inclined her head to the young man.
"This is Roran, Eragon's cousin. He was threatened by the Empire in his hometown, and traveled here from Caravahall with the entire city in tow. He is a skilled warrior." Roran made no inclination to whether he had heard her or not, and continued to stare at his clenched fists. The elf lady introduced herself.
"My name is Arya." She spoke with a beautiful, graceful voice. As she inclined her head to Kairin as a greeting, she got a snatch of the scent of pine. "I am a long elf-friend of the Varden. I was the protector of Saphira's egg for seventy years." Kairin contained her surprise. Seventy years! Elves surely were immortal.
Nasuada also introduced various people of power in The Varden, and King Orrin, the ruler of Surda. He had shoulder-length brown hair and an angular face with a jovial expression. He gave Kairin a firm handshake when introduced. Another interesting character was a dwarf wearing a beautifully crafted helm with a carving of a hammer. Nasuada introduced him as Orik, representative of the dwarves.
"Now to the issue, my friends. Eragon informs us that Galbatorix has hatched and egg; a male dragon, red in color. We have no idea what powers he possesses, but we have witnesses some of the fearsome magic he can produce." As she said this, Orik clapped his right first to his chest and bowed his head.
"Eragon's tutelage is not yet complete. He could not compete with this Rider. We suspect that Galbatorix has taught him dark magic."
Kairin cast a sidelong glance at Eragon. He bowed his head and clenched his eyes shut, an image of defeat.
"Eragon did not discover the identity of this Rider. Is that correct, Eragon?" Eragon was silent. Kairin felt him tense up beside her.
"I-I don't... I don't know..."
Nasuada nodded and continued to inform the rest of the Rider, but Kairin was distracted. She turned her head fully to stare at him. We wrung his hands in his lap, and his eyes darted around. Sensing her gaze, he met Kairin's eyes and quickly looked down.
"...Largest threat to us. It is a grim situation." Nasuada finished. There was a moment of silence, and Roran stood.
"Lady, it has been a week since we arrived. I appreciate your welcoming attitude towards Caravahall, but the purpose I came here was to enlist Eragon's aid. If you will please let him accompany me..."
"Roran, we have discussed this. Eragon's presence here is crucial. We cannot let you take him on a potentially life-risking mission at this, the time war! Please, be patient with me." Before she had finished, Roran slammed his fist on the table.
"That's not good enough!" he roared. Silence fell in the tent. Nasuada calmly met Roran's furious stare.
"Control yourself, Roran Stronghammer. You will get your time." Roran sat back down, fuming. Suddenly, the violet-eyed girl spoke.
"You are worried for her? Be at ease, Roran. She is unharmed. She knows you are doing everything in your power to save her, Roran. Please, be patient. She will survive for you. You will be together once more." As she spoke, Kairin gasped. Her voice, like her eyes, was the horrible, intelligent voice of an adult. It made the hair on her arms prickle. Roran too, seemed to be effected. He closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. He buried his face in his hands.
Kairin met the girl's stare once again, and held it. Something about this girl was unnatural.
"Trianna, if you would," Nasuada said, sitting back down with a nod to a woman in a long, flowing robe. A golden snake circlet glittered from her hair.
"Thank you, my Lady. Profits from our bobbin lace are blossoming. Soon we will have enough to forge new armor and weapons for the infantry, as you wished, Lady. If you could spare more magicians who do not belong to Du Vrangr Gata, we could more easily fill the growing demand for our cheap lace."
"I will see what I can do, Trianna. Be seated." With a bow of her head, the woman retook her seat.
"Now, Kairin," Nasuada began. Kairin pulled her gaze away from the girl's purplish eyes. "What would you like to do for us now? We have training grounds set up if you would like to practice your skills. We need you as strong as Eragon." Kairin involuntarily clenched her fist. "...'As strong as'?"
"I am out of practice. I will retrieve my sword from my tent and join your men on the training ground."
"Good. Eragon?" Eragon looked up. "Accompany Kairin to the grounds. Spar with her if you will. Dismissed."
Holding back a sigh, Kairin rose from her seat.
"I will meet you at the grounds," Eragon said briskly and swept from the tent. Kairin rolled her eyes and started to leave herself, but was met at the tent flap by the girl.
"My name is Elva," she said in her horrible voice. "You feel the magic in me?"
"...I... Do. I do, yes." Kairin stuttered.
"I can feel strong power in you as well, Kairin. You will succeed here in the Varden. Everyone will know you to be as skilled as any Rider." Her words struck exactly what had been troubling her. Somehow, they soothed all her worried nerves.
"What are you?" Kairin breathed, forgetting all manners.
"I am, as I have said before, what Eragon made me." She removed her hood so that the shining mark on her brow was more prominent. "He and Saphira marked me with his magic as an infant. That is why I am as I am." Kairin was confused. She wanted to know more, but the girl had already put her hood up and walked from the tent, following Nasuada.
Faeria was outside, waiting for her.
"They want you to be nothing but a figurehead, Kairin! They want to create a warrior out of you and use you to rally troops to the Varden."
"Enough! The only thing I can do for them right now is be as strong as their enemies. If I die in battle, future generations of your kin are lost. Will you accompany me?"
The dragon snorted, engulfing Kairin in a puff of smoke. It took Kairin a few minutes to locate her tent in the mass of linen that was the camp. By the time she had buckled her sword to her belt and hurried to the training grounds, darkness was beginning to fall. Eragon was stretching on the ground, in such strenuous poses that Kairin was impressed by his flexibility. She hurried up beside him.
"Pardon, Shadeslayer, I got lost." He straightened, stretched his arms above his head in a last pose, and took a deep breath.
"Not a problem. If you are ready, protect your sword with magic and we will begin."
Kairin, eager to start, drew and spelled her sword before she had caught her breath. This turned out to be a mistake, for he disarmed her within three minutes.
"Good, very good." he said. Kairin had a suspicion he was patronizing her.
The second spar was slightly better, but within five minutes Eragon had the point of his sword resting on her collarbone. Annoyed, she beat the sword away with her own and took a beginning stance again.
The circled each other, both waiting for the other to strike. Eragon feinted to her left and spun over to the right, slashing diagonally towards her. Kairin bent her body to the side and took a step with her left foot, beating his sword away. They resumed circling, sizing each other up again. Kairin struck suddenly with a butterfly stroke, which Eragon blocked on both sides with some difficulty. Kairin tried to take advantage of his moment of weakness with a slice to his sword arm, but Eragon locked blades with her, twisted the sword and threw the sword into the air, so that she was exposed. Eragon quickly thrust his sword towards her stomach, and Kairin had just enough time to beat the sword off with an upwards sweep. They backed off again, circled twice, and leapt towards each other, swords flashing.
Kairin couldn't have known who was attacking who if she tried. Neither of them noticed how the other fighters had ceased their own battles to watch the two Riders compete. Suddenly, Kairin lost concentration and she was quickly turned to the defense, backing away from Eragon, whose ordinary steel sword was a blur of metal in front of her. Trying desperately to get back on the offensive, she sped up her movements, so that her upper arm began to ache. Eragon took a step back, and Kairin moved forward. With a complicated maneuver, the other Rider took several steps forward and Kairin began to struggle to protect herself. She pushed forwards again and they met blades in the air, pushing against each other, competing with brute strength alone. Eragon began to push the locked blades towards her, weakening her. Kairin pushed with all her might, her face screwed up in concentration. Harder and harder she pushed, and began to gain on him. Her arms ached with weariness, and her head began to pound, but she wouldn't give up. She gave one last burst of strength, and something inside her burst.
The blades slid off each other, and Eragon stumbled towards Kairin. But Kairin was no longer paying attention to the battle. She sunk to her knees. Something inside of her was not the same. The magic that had once been locked away in a corner of her mind now flooded through her, growing in power and quantity. She shook as if with a fever. She collapsed on the ground, vaguely aware of Eragon bending over her, cradling her in his arms, shouting at the people around them; scarcely noticing the rhythmic bursts of air, or the clattering of claws beside her that announced Faeria's arrival. Her entire body felt the magic coursing through her, tingling with its power. She broke out in a cold sweat, shivering. She looked up at the sky, seeing Eragon's face, contorted with fear, speaking in a hurried that Kairin could not understand, and Faeria leaning over her with concern. Her eyes closed slowly, and her mind went blank.
A/N – Whoo! I finished a chapter real quick, right! Yesss. R&R?