Chapter 9: Treason

Eragon felt his chest pound with each heartbeat, his limbs pulsing with adrenalin. There was something sinister at work- he could feel it. His mind worked rapidly as he tried to make sense of it. The foremost question in his mind was: who had done this? But also: what was the extent of this magic? Did it envelop the entire land of Oris-Vel? The city of Erondel alone was mind-shattering, but to enslave the whole land was another thing. And why were Eragon and Ciseron spared?

All these questions and dozens more crossed his mind as he strode through corridor after corridor. Finally, they reached the stone doors of the meeting room. The guards on either side were standing as still as the material of the door itself. At a distance it would seem as if they were exceptionally good at their job, but Eragon knew better. With a sigh, he pushed open the doors.

What came next, he could not have prepared for.

Dark tendrils of magic wrapped themselves around his torso and arms.

He was paralyzed.

After recovering from the shock, Eragon cast a complex spell to release the bonds… to no avail. This was one that he had no knowledge of- a self-created reconstruction of the original. Unless he knew the mind of the bearer, Eragon could not undo it. To do so would require him to know every word, every order and accentuation. There was nothing for it; he had to use the Word. Eragon opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"Not so fast, Shadeslayer."

To his displeasure, Kedvar was standing at the front… and the tip of his sword was held against Arya's pale throat. Eragon's heart crashed down on a pool of icy water as he witnessed his worst nightmare unfold.

When he cast his eyes around for help, he saw that some of the members of the Council were present. But Blödhgarm was not to be seen, and all refused to meet his eyes.

Is the Council behind this?

Eragon's heart stuttered when Arya shook her head at him, drawing blood.

"Until we know for certain that you were not the one behind all this, I cannot release you."

What?

Together, with the rest of the elves, Kedvar poked and prodded his mind, extracting memories and examining them. They also cast several spells to reveal his identity- which, of course, proved that he truly was Eragon. For the duration of this examination, Kedvar's blade never left Arya's neck and Eragon's hand itched to drive a fist into the elf's face. A long while passed before the Council was satisfied that it was safe. Kedvar finally released the bonds and Eragon felt the pressure leave his body. He rubbed his arms, noticing that the bonds had left bruises on his arms and legs.

Eragon glared at the elf. "Eitha alfrinns leianen!"

Kedvar's blade spun away from his hand as well as Arya's neck. It clattered to the ground.

"What is the meaning of this?" Eragon demanded furiously.

"We held Queen Arya hostage to see how you would respond..."

The elf turned and apologized to the Queen. She did not reply, but healed the gash on her throat.

"This better be good, Kedvar," she said, her voice low and threatening.

The said elf bowed stiffly and turned to Eragon.

"We are now convinced of your identity-"

You just realized, you twisted-

"And we shall not probe your memories further. But this does not clear you, as one can easily erase certain parts from the mind."

Eragon shook his head in disbelief. "I do not know what has prompted you all to suspect me, but I assure you that I am not the one." He turned to Pyrmos-Elda. "On what grounds do you charge me for this crime?"

The elder looked uncomfortable.

"They are basing this on unproven evidence against you," Arya replied for him in disgust.

"We had to take precautions," said Pyrmos firmly. "There was no other choice."

Uwlyn stood up, her face sympathetic. "Ebrithil, four things have been laid out against you- all of which, I admit, have caused my faith in you to waver."

"Then let me hear them."

"Of course, Ebrithil," answered Kedvar, his eyes glinting. His lips twitched, as if he had been waiting for a long time to speak. He dug into his cloak and removed a very familiar looking object from it. His pale hand raised it up in the air. Kedvar's ice blue eyes bore through Eragon.

"Ebrithil. Do you deny that you know of this envelope?"

Time stood still for Eragon as he thought of countless ways to bring the accursed elf down to the dust. All eyes were on him.

"What is the meaning of this Kedvar?" he demanded. "You cannot just enter my chamber without permission!"

Kedvar raised an eyebrow. "I did not need to. But you have not answered my question."

"What are you saying?"

A cold smile stretched the elf's thin lips. "We found this open in the grip of a starling attempting to fly it away."

What?

He stepped forward and tore the letter from Kedvar's grip:

Kilvari,

The dawn of Ristgareth approaches as I write this to you. It is as you said- the land is ours, and its inhabitants in a dreamless sleep. They will not suspect me, as I am their leader. The Council will be easy to persuade- they will agree to a new quest. I need you to prepare for the return, and we shall reclaim the land of our fathers.

Shadeslayer.

The handwriting was his.

I've been framed.

"There must be a mistake, Kedvar," Eragon said firmly, struggling to keep the anger out of his voice. "Someone must have forged my writing."

Ciseron frowned. "Master Eragon was on his way to open the letter with Blödhgarm. He wanted to know the content himself."

"That is what he told you," said Kedvar, dismissing it. "But it does not explain… this."

He held up a seal that had definitely not been in his drawer. "I have never seen that seal before," said Eragon, in the ancient language.

"You could say that if you believed it to be true. How do we know if you had been under the control of another?"

"This is madness. I will say it again- I did not write that letter."

"We have a witness who says he saw you send it… Daeris-Elda?"

Daeris nodded. "Yes… I saw Master Eragon attach it to the bird. Of course, I thought nothing of it initially. But, as you know, all birds are checked before leaving. This one was not, and I alerted Kedvar of this. The bird was tracked and the letter fetched."

Arya stepped forward, her eyes flashing. "Kedvar-vor, this is preposterous. You know as well as I that Eragon could not have done it."

Kedvar faced her glare with equal force. "Do I? The only one in all of Alagaesia, all of Oris-Vel," he said, gesturing with his hand lazily. "With such an ability… is Eragon."

"I did not do it," said Eragon through gritted teeth.

"Then you can prove it upon further questioning: Are you familiar with The Word?"

Eragon hesitated. He knew where Kedvar was leading this. "Yes."

"And are you aware of the magnitude of power it allows you to wield?"

"Do you deny that you know this Word?"

"… No."

The rest of the Council let out exclamations of surprise.

"But I assure you, I have never used it in my life," Eragon said in the ancient language.

"Can you prove it?"

"He does not need to," said Arya, shaking her head. "And he cannot either way, for there is no method to track it."

"Then he stands guilty until proven otherwise."

"What would he have to gain from immobilizing the very land he leads?"

Kedvar traced the envelope's edge with his long finger. "What indeed?"

There was a deathly silence.

"He would have overpowered us if he truly was behind it all," Ciseron spoke up.

"Actually, I cast a spell when he was bound to disallow him from speaking The Word. But even if he did speak it, why spare the Council? Why not just control everyone? It is simple: he needs the Council's influence. Without us, there is no link to Ellesmera. There is no power over the land."

Arya's eyes narrowed. "The Council has indeed degraded if this is the only explanation you can come up with!" She turned to Uwlyn. "Uwlyn-Elda, has Eragon expressed or shown any interest in sovereignty all these years?"

She bit her lip reluctantly. "Well… no, not overtly."

"And Daeris, where was he when you needed support to maintain position?"

"… It is true he provided the help I required."

"And Pyrmos, did he not personally train your son in Ridership?"

"That he did."

Eragon's heart swelled with warmth at her defence of him.

Uwlyn nodded her head in understanding. "Yes, Your Highness, you speak true. However, we cannot ignore what Daeris has seen. Whether it was Eragon or an imposter, we must take certain measures to ensure the safety of Oris-Vel."

"Moreover, you have been quite against us of late, Ebrithil," said Kedvar. "Allowing the dwarves to build their forges on elvish land, cutting the taxes of the humans, disapproving of our contract with King Orrin… well, let us just say you seem to favour the elves… less."

"That's absurd. The humans have been having more monetary issues, for which they work more hours to compensate. You know I value all races."

"Very well," said Pyrmos suddenly, raising a hand. His deep voice filled the room. "Personally, I do not believe you would have. But then, worse things have happened in the history of the Riders… and we cannot take risks. Four points we must consider: Daeris-Elda witnessed you sending the letter- which was in your handwriting, the seal in your drawer and your knowledge of The Word."

"Moreover," started Lothvar, his eyes grave. "It is true that you have been moving up the stream rather than with the stream, in terms of the Council's goals. Forgive us if we… waver. But the main problem at present is unfreezing everyone in Oris-Vel."

Eragon nodded reluctantly. "Yes… I can see now how this has caused you to question me." He took a deep breath and sighed. "I suppose there is no way for me to prove anything to you."

"You will understand then," said Pyrmos. "That we have no choice but to send you away, to find the culprit behind this inappropriate manipulation of The Word… if, that is, you are innocent. For the whole of the journey, you will be supervised."

"That was my intention also… who will be watching me?"

"I will be, Ebrithil," said Kedvar, his face expertly emotionless.

Eragon felt his stomach writhing in rebellion. "Very well. But one question: has this spell covered Erondel or the whole of Oris-Vel?"

Uwyln exchanged glances with Lothvar. "I am afraid it is the whole of Oris-Vel."

Eragon felt as if someone had thrust a bucket of icy water into his face.

"This is grave indeed," murmured Ciseron.

"Has anyone tried to scry Nasuada or the others in Alagaesia?" Eragon asked.

"Yes," said Pyrmos-Elda. "They are well and mobile."

"Then it is just Oris-Vel."

Everyone nodded.

"Then I shall find this Kilvari, uncover who is behind all this and bring the evidence to you."

"But not alone," added Arya, her eyes shone with the strength of a lioness. "I shall accompany you."

"No! Your Majesty," cut in her Advisor Wyldra. "You cannot leave your throne empty for so long a time. Your place is with your people."

"And my duty is also to provide aid to the Riders. Do not worry, I shall return."

The Advisor looked unconvinced but said no more, shaking his head.

"Thank you," said Eragon softly to Arya, bowing.

As he faced the worried gazes of the Council, the dimensions of the world seemed to shift once again since the reign of Galbatorix.

I know you guys were eager to know Arya's secret so sorry I haven't revealed it yet. I promise, it will be explained later. I am waiting for the right time. There's one good thing at least: Arya isn't going back to Alagaesia any time soon :p. Hope you enjoyed this chapter again, and thanks for the reviews!