Arya looked at the sun; it was still high in the sky. That way, she thought, they might actually finish it before it gets dark. There was the small matter of choosing who to elect the guardian, then entwining them into the forest before finishing up the rest of the spells. Originally they were going to do this sooner rather than later, but having discovered that a few essential pieces of spell incantations were missing, they had decided to postpone it. Now, with all the investigative work done and dusted - to use a human phrase – they were ready to begin.
"Let the work begin" she cried out, in a manner which would echo throughout the Forrest to the furthest reaches.
Soon enough, the elves started singing, some in rough, deep guttural tones, others in light, tranquil voices that carried through the trees. The forest around her started swaying – keeping in time with the beats of the other elves. After immersing herself in the deep, illustrious melodies for a few moments, where all time stopped and all she could do was think, she strode over to the hut positioned at the edge of the forest.
"I hope you have a candidate, Dathedr, and it better be a willing one" she said.
"No need to fear, Drottning," replied Dathedr, "I have found one that is quite suitable, although it might not be to your tastes."
"Can I come in" she asked, standing outside the doorway of the hut woven from grass.
"I think so" said Dathedr.
"Yes, do come in" said a voice, in a tone that was familiar but difficult to place.
Weary of any hostility that might be directed at her for not knowing the source of the voice, she chose not to voice her thoughts, instead she lightly grasped the door and pulled it open. Revealing Dathedr and Uthinare – the source of the second voice – bathed in white robes, and smiling.
"Greetings Uthinare" she said, doing away with the ancient language, for a more pressing concern was upon her.
"So where's this guardian of yours" she snapped, "if this is supposed to be a manifestation of non-existent elvish humour then it isn't funny."
"You'll find that you're looking at him" said Uthinare.
"Do not be ridiculous. Wait, no, I take that back. One question, why" she asked, after a slight pause.
"My mate died" lamented Uthinare. "That would not be so terrible, if it were not for the fact that we had a little talk during the war. She and I agreed that we were ready to take things a step further, and once the war was over, when we were fully reunited, we would take the steps necessary to have a child."
She let out a little gasp here, hardly able to grasp the full implications, but Uthinare didn't notice and ploughed on uninterrupted.
"As you can imagine, it was absolutely devastating when I learnt of her death. After hearing the news of this role and her death, the only way, I thought, to occupy myself, was to apply for this role. None else were willing enough, so here I am. I hope I meet my queens' high expectations."
"My greatest condolences towards you, and your late mate, however insignificant the words may seem. Despite this grievous state of affairs, I must attend to my doubts. Do you feel that you will be able to guard the forest to best of your ability, with the troubles of your conscience weighing down upon you?"
"Yes" he replied.
"As to say that the death of your mate at the hands of humans will not sway your judgement in anyway, cause you to be less than lenient? Provided they did not know what they were doing.
"Yes, I am sure of it. In anycase, I think Dathedr saw too it previously that Nasuada was informed about the current situation."
"As a matter of curiosity, why did you not leave with Eragon?"
"To simply cut all links to my mate, even for a short time, would have rendered me unable to move. In short, I would have been more of a hindrance than a help. Anyway, I was not needed. There were plenty of stronger, more wise elves among them than me, and I could be of great use here."
"As long as it does not affect your judgement."
"It won't Drottning" he replied quickly, "I will see to it personally."
After motioning for him to go, which he did after bowing, she turned to Dathedr.
"What are your thoughts" she asked.
"I think it will work out" replied Dathedr cryptically.
"Anything else" she asked exasperatedly.
"No, I have reserved my true judgement for only myself. So if all else fails, I have a means of explanation that few can manipulate."
"What is the next stage of the process for the spells" she asked curiously.
"Well the most exciting part will be in a few hours where they sing him into the forrest?"
"And where would that happen?"
"A league away, we could have built the pedestal anywhere, but built it close for sake of convenience?"
"So, tell me about this pedestal" she asked interestedly, a small bit of mirth in her voice.
(Time change)
"Is that all there is, that is nothing" she said.
"Look closer, things are not always as they seem" said Dathedr, in an almost disinterested voice, and when she did, what she saw took her breath away. There were circles inside circles inside circles of gems, laid out concisely in a black stone pedestal.
"Be careful though, not to take metallic items anywhere near it. It has a certain propensity to attract them with a significant force."
"Interesting, where did you find it, or was it here all along? What is it, for that matter anyway?'
"It is something I believe humans – or at least King Orrin – call a lode stone. It might be magic, or it might be something else entirely, who knows? The rules of nature are rarely ever called into question by the races that roam Alagaesia, and as such, we do not know much about them. However, tap a lode stone with a significant enough amount of force, and it will lose its properties. Before you try this, I advise you that we do not yet know how to restore the properties, or even if it is possible, and they are uncommon in the extreme. The closest one would be further north than the furthest north elven city."
"Advice taken. Is there any use for them?"
"Well fragments of other lode stones taken near a lodestone, seem to point in one direction only. One side pointing towards the lode stone, and the other away. In addition, if you hang them so they can sway in the breeze, they seem to align themselves with something and always point north- or south depending on which way you are looking at the lode stone."
"How long till they start to sing him into the forest" she asked Blodhgarm, who was eyeing something behind her.
"Look behind you" he answered mysteriously.
Turning around, she saw Uthinare, in his beautiful, pearly white robes, walking towards the stone pedestal, surrounded by a plethora of elves, and paying no attention to the mildly curious onlookers gathered around clearing. After a multitude of the elves had dispersed, their curiosity sated, the elves originally accompanying him, surrounded him. Forming a circle, where he was in the middle, on the stone pedestal, and they were on the outside.
Then, as one, the elves started to sing. The trees started leaning towards the circle, as if wanting to contribute, but unable to reach them, try as they might. Then slowly, as the hours waxed and waned, and the sun crept lower into the shy, she became aware of a green rush. At first it started off as a trickle, barely noticeable, but as the hours went by, it became more and more noticeable and urgent. What was once a little stream, had turned into a mighty river. Then, all of a sudden, the green energy emanating from the trees stopped, and all stood still for a moment.
She could see the trees, the elves, the birds and the bees, but no Uthinare. In place, was a large green dot of pulsating energy, contained by the pedestal. At that moment, when she registered this glowing unforeseen impossibility, it broke the magical restraints of the pedestal. In an instant, it expanded to a hundredth of its size, bathing the forest in green glow, and sending all the elves, wards or not, flying.
After what seemed like ages, but was probably only a few minutes she got up, and the first thing that she registered was Uthinare, standing on the pedestal with robes of white, emitting a soft, nimbus green glow. Not the sick one of the Dauthdaert's, she thought, a pretty one, one that reminded her of the forest around her.
Looking around, she saw the other elves picking themselves up, similarly, but unusually, unharmed. Frowning, she crossed over to Dathedr, who was already seated near a pine tree, holding and starring at a fallen pine cone. Uthinare was standing over him, having magically made his way over. In a sense he seemed taller than before, and conveyed an even stronger sense of power.
"What was that" she asked, a little surprised at the apparent lack of damage that had been done to them by the explosion of the green light, and Uthinare's reappearance.
"Sorry" said Dathedr solemnly, "I should have told you about that part before, it is a relief that there was no lasting harm done. Take a seat, we have much to discuss with Uthinare."
"Don't they need him" she asked, with a little bit of confusion slipping out.
"No, the only spells left are the spells of binding the forest together magically. Do not ask me the details, for I do not know. I have appointed Laufin to direct the spells as he is on a more familiar note with them. The most important task ahead, though, is to verse Uthinare in the art of diplomacy and dealing with problems presented by the other race. Which is the sole reason why you and me are still here talking to him, and not enjoying ourselves fully. So, in the interests of getting this over as quickly as possible, so that all of us may relax, and Uthinare-vodhr may get used to his new found powers, let us start."
(Time change)
Arya breathed a sigh of relief, after countless days, they had finally completed the task they had set ahead of them months ago, if it was even that. It was a wonderful sensation knowing that next day, she did not have to do anything more tiring than listen to a couple of Elders speak in a couple of meetings. It was this thought that made her want to be with Firnen more than ever, flying in the sky together like they should. Unfortunately, Firnen was nowhere to be found. She suspected that he was beyond the forest borders, where the spells barred her from communicating with him through her mind, but she couldn't be sure.
It was made even worse by the fact that it was raining; she loved flying in the rain. Her favourite thing was flying high up in the sky with Firnen, and then diving down while trying to maintain their speed so they remained in level with the rain drops around them. Most of the time they got completely drenched and failed utterly, but every so often they succeeded. One memorable time was when they were diving down, and for one perfect moment, everything stopped around them. She had made a fairth of that moment – indeed one of her favourite fairths - but ultimately the scene was flagged in her memory forever.
In fact, now would be a prime opportunity to fulfil some of her riders responsibility. Take charge of the Dragon Rider's mantle, and help the other races out, she thought. It would also provide an opportunity to converse in person with the other leaders, something which she hadn't done since the fall of Galbatorix, or thereabout. Her mind made up, she ran over to a nearby pool of water and uttered the words for scrying.
After a moment, the puddle swirled into focus, and resolved into an image of Dathedr talking to someone off-screen. She waited patiently for a few minutes as Dathedr finished up his conversation and tidied up his place, before she made her presence known.
"Greetings Dathedr, again"
"Has it not only been a day" said Dathedr smiling, giving a short bow to acknowledge her importance. "So, why is my presence so vaunted?"
"I think it is time to resume my rider duties for a time. I would like to appoint you as my step-in-ruler while I go gallivanting around the countryside according to my whims."
"I think there might be a few formalities that need to be addressed, but I think we can get it done" replied Dathedr, still smiling.
"Aaah. Well see to it that is addressed, meanwhile I think I will fly with Firnen."
"You will be required" said Dathedr, finally letting go of the smile, "but think of it as a time to reflect on what productive things you might accomplish."
"I will. Despite our differences with our dwarves, I think our political systems have many common points, despite thinking that many elves would beg to differ, and I am sure many dwarves would as well, on second thoughts."
"I see" said Dathedr mysteriously, giving the impression that he did not necessarily agree.
"Well the way I see it – actually let us not get into this debate, we have things to do. We can discuss it when I get back. So, what are these formalities that I need to deal with?"
(PoV Change)
Murtagh looked at the forest around him; it was identical in every direction. He knew that the elves loved their forest, but he was sure that they wouldn't miss a few trees. If they did, then they probably remain unhappy, as messing with his red companion curled up beside him would probably be a bad idea. Signalling Thorn that he had found a good tree, he stood back and watched as Thorn lazily grasped the trunk of the tree and with an impressive display of strength, ripped it up cleanly, roots and all. Not in the least helped by the fact that it looked as if he was doing it with no effort.
Pointing to other trees, he watched in quick succession as Thorn ripped them out with relative ease. After the seventh or so tree, he signalled for Thorn to stop and inspected their collection of uprooted trees.
"That should do it" he said, in response Thorn just gave a slow batted wink of his eyelid.
"Do you think you will be able to carry all this" he asked.
"Yes" grumbled Thorn slowly in his mind, "but I will need something to bundle them together."
"No problems, just cut off that branch for me" he replied, pointing to a large branch on the closest tree to Thorn, "and assemble the trees into a pile.
With a quick swipe of Thorn's claws, the branch soon lay on the ground. At first the action was accompanied by a swishing sound, which was then closely followed by a large thump. After ripping of all leaves and twigs, by which time the pile was ready, he twisted the springy branch around the logs altering and strengthening it as he did so. Eventually, with a portion of his energy reserves down the drain, a mildly sore tongue, and an interested-looking Thorn onlooking, the branch was wrapped around the tree trunks, binding them together.
"Did you learn that from Galbatorix" asked Thorn interestedly.
"Part of it" he admitted, "the other part I made up. I expect it to hold up, but I am going to make some more bands just in case.
(Time change)
"So, you're ready to fly" he asked, patting Thorn on the bridge of his nose, as he leapt up onto his saddle.
Thorn growled in affirmation, and with a gargantuan effort rose from the ground in a single fluid movement. After steadying himself by grabbing hold of his saddle, Thorn grabbed the bundled logs, and with his hide legs launched himself into the air, shaking the ground he launched off. After a sudden unaccounted-for lurch, he steadied himself once again and then patted Thorn on the back.
"You can do it."
After that, the flying had been considerably smoother, although still not at Thorn's usual standard. After the sun had inched a few notches closer to the horizon, and Thorn was starting to feel the fatigue, they reached the edge of the forest. The trees were thinner and more spread out, and he could see the forest floor fully for the first time. It was then, that he got the sudden urge to turn around, and what he saw amazed him.
Behind him, was a rapidly expanding wall of green light, heading outwards in every direction. Urging Thorn on urgently, he watched with visible tension as the light came closer and closer, outpacing Thorn by leagues. Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the wall vanished, leaving only lurid afterimages. Looking around, and then below him, he noticed that they had passed beyond the border of the forest. Somehow, the energy was constrained by edge of the forest
"What in the world was that" he said, dumbfounded.
(PoV change)
Nasuada sighed, it had been a long day, and one that had brought little fruit. The rulers of Gil'ead had not been happy, and she didn't see the people of Ceunon having any better reactions. Thankfully, she thought she might get to meet Arya to discuss some crucial issues her advisors had brought up. Her foul mood was further exacerbated by the deaths of two of her most powerful magicians, something which she hoped Arya might be able to investigate.
All of this meant that the breathtaking views she was afforded by the tower did little to settle her mood. Then, out of nowhere, while she was watching the forest, a green light streaked outwards from the apparent heart of the forest. It took a few minutes to reach them, but two things quickly became apparent, one, the green, ominous wall of light was expanding rapidly, and two, it looked like it was going to engulf the town.
What was once a mildly interesting spectacle to watch, quickly turned into the source of a mass panic. The townspeople who had gathered below her to watch the light a few minutes before, were now fleeing as fast as possible away from it, screams of terror accompanying them. She herself was rooted to the spot, transfixed by her impending doom and her jaw dropped in awe. Vaguely, she was aware of her Night Hawks coming to defend her, their clamours were audible even above the massed panic, but she knew if the light did not abate, it would be too little too late.
It was unstoppable, like a dragon on a rampage. Then, in the blink of an eye, the light disappeared, seemingly dispersing at the edge of the forest, vanishing into thin air. At first she wondered what it was, then the ideas started coming to her. Maybe it was an elfish experiment gone wrong, but after an initial moment of thinking clearly, she grasped the obvious answer, one that had been staring at her in the face the whole time. The elves had finished securing their reign over the Du Weldenvarden.
A/N: Good day to all readers,
I hope you are glad to see me back. I returned from my holiday about a week ago, but was unable to find the inspiration to write this chapter, but eventually discovered it, in what I assume is your delight. I hope I did it well, I personally think that it had a little change in the writing style, and thought that that was better than my previous style. Please leave your thoughts though.
My next chapter will be up in a week and a half or so. A word of warning though: I will no longer be able to update as frequently or as regularly, as I have a very busy coming year. Updates will be 3000-4000 words probably, and every 2 weeks or so.
I will fix the mistakes that one reviewer found, and will edit the previous chapters to bring them up to scratch.
Please review, and hope you enjoyed
Yours Sincerely,
WiseBeyondYears
P.S. Disclaimer: I do not own the Inheritance Cycle