Disclaimer: If you've seen it somewhere else, I don't own it.
A/N: Hey everybody! just wanted to extend a quick round of thanks to all of you readers and reviewers out there, your support has really helped keep me going. That aside, I've decided that I'm going to start shortening my chapters a bit because I've found that with how my college schedule is, I simply can't write the long chapters I've been doing in a reasonable time frame. This chapter was originally the first half of a big chapter but I've decided to split the halves up since the other half isn't finished (but it's close). I'll post it as soon as I'm done. I hope you enjoy this half!
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OPERATION RISING SUN…STATUS?
/STATUS…COMPLETE. OBJECTIVES ROUTED TO OUTPOST STENR FELL. REQUESTING STATUS UPDATE ON SENTINEL./
STATUS: ALIVE, BORDERLINE SEVERE STAGE EXHAUSTION, AVIODING ENEMY CONTACT, MOVING DUE WEST FROM OPERATIONS AREA.
/ENEMY PRESENCE?/
CONSIDERABLE.
/PERMISSION TO ENGAGE?/
NEGATIVE. OBSERVE AND REPORT. PRESENCE OF STEEL LEAD STILL CONFIRMED. CONTACT NOT AUTHORIZED. CONFIRM?
/ROGER. WILL CONTINUE OBSERVATION. SIERRA ACTUAL OUT./
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This had to have been the worst plan I've ever had. Ryan thought as he stared down at yet another Imperial cavalry patrol from behind a few of the abundant green shrubs and small trees that lined the road in the early evening sun. It had been among the dozens that Ryan had encountered during his flight west. He truly had to give Shade credit, at least that was who he assumed was leading the search effort, the man certainly knew how to run an operation and, as much as Ryan loathed to admit it, it was doing its job.
Ryan was exhausted. He hadn't had anything to eat since he had infiltrated Urû'Baen three days before. He had managed to find some water during his travels, but such opportunities were few and far between. Sleep was an even rarer luxury, between the roving patrols in the countryside and the nearly constant civilian and military traffic on the roads nowhere was safe from the Empire's prying eyes. To make matters worse, Ryan found that nearly one in three of the patrols had a member of Andlat Datia in their ranks and all had at least two magicians as well, in addition to the dozen or so regular soldiers already present.
In short, his life was currently a complete and total nightmare.
But the scale of the hunt made part of Ryan puff up with pride. He had pulled it off…and stolen some of Galbatorix's most precious artifacts without receiving a scratch. So even as his belly growled in hunger, his throat croaked in dryness, and his eyes drooped in exhaustion, he wore a smile.
Ryan watched the patrol for a few more seconds before creeping away, his armor's woodland camouflage pattern helping to distort his image as he moved away. Ryan silently blessed the few advantages that he possessed as he faded away into the forest without incident. His first advantage was the coloration of his armor, which could be changed at will and helped immensely with avoiding detection. The second advantage was the terrain itself, which had changed from the sparsely covered landscape around Urû'Baen to a much more forested area, which both provided concealment and, if he had the time, food and water. His last two advantages were his training and the Eldunarí. The benefits of his training were obvious: concealment, silent killing, senses that could indicate an enemy's approach long before they could see him, all of these saved Ryan's life on more than one occasion.
Vasir and the Eldunarí Ryan had retrieved provided immense help as well, with their words and energy keeping him alert and alive even as exhaustion tugged at him. It helped him even more that he had happened to grab Umaroth's Eldunarí by pure chance during his escape from Urû'Baen. He hadn't been able to really speak with the elder dragon, only taking enough time to learn each Eldunarí's name and tell them that they were safe before stuffing them back in the bag. He would have spoken longer, however…if a mind could speak…then it could be found and with all the Imperials around, it most certainly would be. The other three Eldunarí also proved to be rather interesting. There was Palikya, the oldest of the four and the dragoness of the Rider's head Librarian, Lumini. Then there was Kalvitex, third oldest and former wild dragon "ambassador" to the Riders during the Fall. Ryan had snickered at giving any wild dragon the title of "ambassador", considering that wild dragons had never been known for their diplomatic abilities and the entire idea caused even Vasir a rare fit of laughter. Lastly, there was Truis, the youngest of those assembled, a matter of fact he and his Rider hadn't even been bonded for a decade before they had died in the Fall and he was placed inside the Vault.
Unfortunately, magical energy could never replace the food that his body so desperately needed, a fact so loudly emphasized each time his stomach grumbled. I've got to find something to eat and soon. Ryan's nose quickly scanned the area for what felt like the upteenth time, with the same result as the times before it. Nothing. A low sigh accompanied a loud grumble as Ryan pressed on, staying close enough to the road to monitor the traffic yet still far enough away to not be found. So he kept moving, step after step, mile after mile, hour after hour, he walked on.
Finally as the sun began to set Ryan discovered a scent that could make his day so much better. The succulent aroma of meat…smoked beef to be precise. The smell magnetically dragged him towards it. His mind clouded over with want of food and his legs blindly followed its lead. His head swayed from side to side as his nose eagerly sampled the air around him. It wasn't until he came within the last few yards of the main road that Ryan realized what he was doing and snapped out of it. Berating himself as he tried to fight against his very vocal stomach, Ryan slowly began to retreat back to where he came. Four steps were all Ryan needed to realize how much weaker he had become. He felt his hands shake, his feet quake, and his head pound in protest. Ryan mused over his dilemma before one final whiff of meat made his decision for him. It couldn't hurt just to see if taking some would be possible. Ryan mused as he crept up to the source of the smell.
The source turned out to be two small covered wagons guarded by a dozen Imperial soldiers, who marched in nice six man rectangles in front and behind the wagons. A quick glance over the small convoy revealed no major areas of concern. It appeared to be what Ryan initially assumed, just a small provisions convoy bound for one of the many small Imperial outposts and garrisons in the area. With a small huff of decision Ryan began to creep closer to the wagons. Even with his hunger, he moved slowly, cautiously, ears and eyes scanning for any signs of danger…or a trap.
"Youngling, something isn't right here.", Vasir suddenly said with a tinge of worry. A soft snarl answered him. It wasn't Ryan's mind that was directing his body, his stomach was doing the talking. So Vasir let him be as Ryan drew closer and closer to the Imperials, slowly drawing his hunting knife as he stalked forward. Ryan's raging hunger didn't make Ryan stupid…he had a plan.
First, Ryan concentrated on the lead wagon and then gave two magical commands. The first command started a fire inside the back of the wagon, which quickly grew out of control from the wood and supplies that fed it. The second command caused the wagon's horses to panic, the fire only adding to their fear as they darted forward into the nearby treeline, throwing off their driver and running over two of their escorting soldiers, who fell unconscious with numerous broken bones. The resulting chaos was music to Ryan's ears. The soldiers at the front were quick to get up from where they had thrown themselves in their efforts to avoid the raging horses, they then split themselves between their injured comrades and trying to calm and unharness the animals before the fire consumed them as well. The reactions of the back end of the group were slightly slower but no less helpful. One of them, who appeared to be the sergeant, started barking out orders, two others and the second carriage driver ran to assist the first driver, two more ran back down the road towards Ryan, perhaps running back for help or looking for some sort of water supply to help fight the fire, and the last, apparently a spellcaster, ran to the injured soldiers, both of whom had regained consciousness and were screaming from the pain.
The fate of the two running down the road was quick and silent. They never knew what happened as they were dragged into the forest and dispatched before they could react. Ryan's next two targets were the soldiers dealing with the horses…they also died without a fuss. Then, as Ryan gazed over the remaining ten men, seeing the groups of two and three and the lone sergeant, who was standing by the final carriage, which stood in the middle of the road, absorbing all the chaos that had consumed his small group in the space of two minutes. Finally Ryan made his move, doubling back so that he was behind the entire group before creeping towards the sergeant, keeping his knife in one hand and drawing Garzjla with the other. So quiet was his movements that the sergeant could only blink in astonishment as his throat was sliced open with a knife and his body silently lowered to the ground. The next closest soldiers were the fallen carriage driver and his three attendants, two fell with blades through their throats, the last and the fallen driver had just enough time to shout in surprise before they too were silenced. The damage was done. The remaining soldiers quickly took stock of the situation, four charged him, one drew his bow, while the spellcaster started mumbling under his breath.
Ryan fluidly holstered his knife and drew his crossbow, quickly coating the bolt with a spell and firing at the mage. A breathed a mental sigh of relief marked the shot as it punctured the man's wards before moving on to skewer his heart. Ryan barely had enough time to holster his crossbow before the other soldiers were on him. The first came in with sword raised and battle cry ringing. The man's downward thrust was easily stopped and his stomach slashed open. He died with a scream. The second man tried a stab, but found his efforts no more successful as it was deflected to the side and his body pulled around to intercept an arrow from the archer. Ryan tossed the body aside before taking on the last two simultaneously. The quick exchange of strikes and parries ended with one man's spine severed at the base of his neck by Garzjla and the other with a sword through one lung and one of his friend's arrows through the other. He fell with a bloody gurgle. The archer's demise followed soon after with Ryan's knife planted in his chest.
Ryan met the aftermath with a satisfied smile, fourteen men and a wagon all down in just a single minute without a scratch being inflicted upon him…I'm getting better at this. Ryan casually strolled over to the final wagon, his nose eagerly sampling the tantalizing scent of meat with the piercing smell of burning wood in the background. He started to cross the last few yards to his desire…
…before said desire suddenly burst into flames. Ryan could only stare in horror as his precious food burned right before his eyes. His empty stare only lasted a few more moments before a haunting chuckle brought him back him back to reality. A quick glance to the side found a man stepping out of the treeline, leather armor and dragon symbol marking him as a member of Andlát Datia.
"You should have listened.", Vasir said, hinting at a tinge of satifaction.
"I should have listened.", Ryan sighed while turning to face the agent. The man started clapping and shaking his head as Ryan drew his sword and took a step towards him, an amused smirk plastered on his face.
"My, my, my, that was quite an impressive performance," the lone man was joined four others, whose armament varied from dual knives, to a shortsword, to a crossbow, "and you came so close too, oh well…", the man's smile grew wider as he drew his own sword, "…better luck next time." A crossbow bolt punctuated the sentence.
Adrenaline flew through his veins, his heart raced in response, his eyes narrowed and focused on the bolt's metal tip…time seemed to slow. Ryan could only watch in horrid fascination as the magically enhanced bolt arced towards him, broke through his wards, and punched through his armor…
The pain was excruciating.
The force of the bolt spun him to the ground with a yell. Even with the pain and force of the blow trying to keep him down, Ryan quickly rolled to his feet and drew his sword, sparing a momentary glance at the bolt lodged in his right shoulder. Ripping out the bolt with a deadly snarl, he turned to be met with a sword strike to the head, this, however, he was prepared for. His left forearm came up to block the blow, his hardened armor easily deflecting the Imperial steel. A quick counterstrike caused the man to jump clear, buying a precious few seconds of breathing room before the next agent came in, knives flashing in the sun. This enemy was more successful in his efforts, as his blades found purchase between his chest plates, cutting a thin line across the right side of his abdomen. The man did not escape retaliation however, as his life ended with Ryan plunging one of his own daggers into his chest. The death of the agent gave his enemies pause as they reanalyzed their opponent. Ryan answered their eyes with a deadly hiss, the murky poison oozing from his fangs plain to see.
The reprieve ended soon after it began, starting again with a crossbow bolt, which Ryan easily flicked away with his magic. Then they were on him, this time with all the melee fighters at once. He barely avoided one slash to the head, before deflecting another blow from a shortsword, before countering with a strike of his own, which, although the strength of it did surprise the agent on the other end, only managed to add a small scratch to the excellent quality armor. Another crossbow bolt came soon after. Ryan smirked slightly as he altered the bolt's course slightly with magic and allowed it to find a home in an agent's arm. The man grunted in pain as his body locked up from shock for a fraction of a second. That fraction was all Ryan needed to coat one of his claws in poison and rake it across the man's lightly armored shoulder before twisting away to confront the other two agents. The man wondered for a moment why the Neomorph hadn't finished him in his moment of weakness before attempting to rejoin his comrades. Then, he felt something wrong. His legs wouldn't move, his arms tingled, his body felt infinitely heavier than it had before…he collapsed, small white bubbles foaming from his mouth as the neurotoxin did its work.
The three remaining agents barely noticed the passing of their friend, their only response being found in the increased ferocity of their attacks, which quickly began to find their marks. Ryan grew to sport a multitude of cuts and bruises, with one particularly nasty blow even cutting through his left bicep, rendering his arm useless and forcing him to drop his knife. He gave as good as he got however; managing to hamstring one agent, effectively knocking him out of the fight; destroying another's crossbow with magic, forcing the man to fight up close; and even the captain sported multiple bleeding gashes from where Ryan's strikes had gotten through. So, even as he began to tire, Ryan didn't believe he would lose…until he began to notice his stamina and reflexes diminish faster than they should. Alarm slowly began to surface behind his battle-focused façade, enough so that the Imperial captain noticed it.
"Have you heard of the Creeper?", the man questioned with a small smirk as he pressed his attack with Ryan barely keeping pace. "Amazing plant, really. It's oil has so many uses: deadening pain, preventing infection…" Ryan barely held off a powerful blow to his head before twisting away from the crossbowman's simultaneous strike. "…and, in concentrated doses, it's a powerful sedative.", the captain's smirk grew wider, "You're fighting on borrowed time Sundavar." Ryan roared in response, his answer fully realized when the crossbowman's head suddenly found itself removed from its body. The captain's smile vanished quickly, especially as Ryan twisted away and finished off the hamstrung agent with a stab to the neck. The Neomorphed then turned back to the captain, a vicious smile plastered on his face.
"My time is not as short as yours.", Ryan stated, his icy voice belying the rage boiling underneath. Anger flickered over the captain for a moment before calm returned to his features.
"Then let's up the ante, shall we?", he answered before muttering Brisingr! and flicking a fireball at the Neomorph. The fire never touched its intended target, as Ryan effortlessly altered the spell that controled the raging fire, causing it to split into two halves and arching around his back before ultimately collecting into a small orange sphere in front of his chest.
"How much did they tell you about me?", Ryan chuckled, "About my capabilities?...Not much apparently.", the ball of fire vanished, extinguished at his command. "You think you can use magic against me?...", a deadly smile grew on his face as confusion grew on the captain's, "Well, the sad news is," blue arcs of electricity began to jump between his fingers, "magic likes me better than you." Ryan tossed the bolt of lighting at the man, who quickly rolled out of the way. The man retaliated by sending his ally's remaining reserve of crossbow bolts sailing towards Ryan. Ryan responded much as he had before, altering the man's spell, sending the bolts harmlessly sailing around him before sending them back. The captain grunted in frustration as he did much the same, deflecting the bolts off in whatever direction he could…all except one, which flew true, and lodged itself in his right shoulder, forcing him to switch his sword to his left. He grimaced in pain as he mulled over his situation. I can't take much more of this. he thought.
Unknown to him, his opponent was entertaining much the same thought. Simply put, Ryan was spent, the poison was rapidly draining away his physical strength and his magical energy was becoming harder to reach as his mind began to drift in response to the cursed fluid. He had to end this, and quickly, as the captain had likely informed other nearby Imperials of his position and he did not wish to be around when hundreds of soldiers began to comb the area looking for him.
With this in mind, he darted forward, sword raised high in preparation to strike. The captain barely had time to register the move before Ryan was on him, moving with such speed and power that it was all the man could do to defend against the flurry of strikes. Ryan poured all the energy that remained into his effort, praying that it would bear fruit. Finally, just as he began to lose hope, it did. The chance came as the captain attempted to recover from a particularly brutal blow. The man's recovery took just a second too long, leaving open his wounded right side, with the bolt still lodged in his shoulder. It was an opportunity Ryan seized with relish as his hand grabbed the imbedded object and pulled across the man's body, spinning him around before running Garzjla through his back, piercing the man's heart.
The captain's face morphed into a silent scream as the action began to register with his mind. "Better luck next time.", Ryan whispered he threw the body to the ground and clumsily holstered Garzjla. He barely spared enough time to snatch his knife before staggering away from the scene, aiming to get as far away as possible before the poison's effects got worse…and they certainly did get worse. His vision began swim and tilt as he moved on, causing him to stumble and fall more often than not. Ryan found it harder and harder to get up, his arms and legs shaking from the effort it took to rise. He felt lightheaded, his stomach seemed to be flipping in his chest. Ryan barely made it half-a-league before falling for the last time. He tried to get up, once, twice, three times, all with no success. He finally bowed to the inevitable before crawling into a ditch beside the road, praying that no one would find him before he awoke. Ryan felt his magic flare for a moment as he lied still in his impromptu sleeping place. He spared a final, groggy glance at his hand, which appeared to glow a soft white, before he collapsed into a dreamless sleep…
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REPORT?
/SENTINEL INCAPACITATED. HE HAS CONCEALED HIMSELF IN ORDER TO AVOID DETECTION. PERMISSION TO ASSIST?/
NEGATIVE, SIERRA ACTUAL. WE ARE NOT TO DEVIATE FROM CURRENT OPERATIONS UNLESS A PRIMARCH OVERRIDES OUR ORDERS.
/SENTINEL IS COMPLETELY VULNERABLE. THE PRIMARCHS HAVE BEEN SILENT FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLENIA, WE MUST PROGRESS WITHOUT THEIR GUIDANCE. ENEMY FORCES ARE CLOSING IN BY THE HUNDREDS. THEY WILL FIND HIM AND PATRIARCH KNOWS WHERE THEY WILL TAKE HIM. SENTINEL IS VITAL TO SUCCESS OF ONGOING OPERATIONS, ACTION MUST BE TAKEN TO ENSURE HIS TASK IS NOT IMPEDED./
THE MISSION PARAMETERS DO NOT ALLOW…
/YOU HAVE REPORTED THAT HIS MAGICAL SIGNATURE IS SIMILAR TO PRIMARCH BLADERUNNER'S, CORRECT?/
THE ANALYSIS CANNOT BE CORRECT, THE PROBABILY OF SUCH SIMILARITIES ARE ASTRONOMICAL. BLADERUNNER'S LINE IS DEAD, THE LINE OF SUCCESSION IS BROKEN, NONE REMAIN WHO CAN ASSUME OUR MANTLE. FOR ONE OF SENITNEL'S ORIGINS TO POSSESS SUCH A SIGNATURE IS IMPOSSIBLE, TO SAY THAT THE ANALYSIS IS CORRECT IS TO SAY THAT…
/PERHAPS THE LINE IS NOT AS DEAD AS WE ONCE ASSUMED./
BUT THAT CANNOT BE. XYTAN AND SYTMA DIED WITHOUT AN HIER, THEIR BLOOD RELATIVES ARE ALL CONFIRMED KIA. SENTINEL SHOULD NOT EXIST.
/MAGICAL SIGNATURES DO NOT LIE./
SENSORS CAN BE BROKEN.
/PATRIARCH AND MATRIARCH HAVE ACCOMPLISHED GREATER FEATS BEFORE. IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE THAT THEY ARE SOMEHOW INVOLVED. REGARDLESS OF PROTOCOL AND MISSION PLANS, WE ARE THE PRIMARCH'S SWORD AND SHIELD, THEIR FIRST AND LAST LINE OF DEFENCE, HE IS OURS AND WE ARE HIS, IF THERE IS BUT A CHANCE THAT THIS YOUNGLING IS WHAT WE BELIEVE THEN WE ARE DUTY BOUND TO ASSIST IN WHATEVER CAPACITY NECESSARY./
BUT…
/OVERIDE CODE: CHARLIE HOTEL INDIA MIKE ECHO ROMEO ALPHA. COMFIRM?/
…CONFIRMED…TASKING?
/CONTINUE TO MONITOR, WE SHALL MOVE HIM OUTSIDE THE IMPERIAL'S INITIAL SEARCH RANGE AND PLACE HIM NEAR A ROUTE WITH HEAVY TRAFFIC. HIS CURRENT APPEARANCE SHALL GREATLY ASSIST IN FINDING ONE ABLE TO ASSIST HIM. WE SHALL OBSERVE AND PROTECT UNTIL WE ARE SATISFIED IN HIS SAFETY WITH THE ONE WHO STOPS TO ASSIST. OPERATIONAL SECRECY SHALL BE MAINTAINED. ALSO, WE REQUIRE AN UPDATE ON CURRENT FORCE LOCATIONS AND PROJECTIONS, BOTH VARDEN AND EMPIRE, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE./
YES SIR…UPDATE SENT AND ORDERS ACKNOWLEDGED. GOOD LUCK SIERRA.
/WE MAKE OUR OWN LUCK, SIERRA ACTUAL OUT./
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R&R!