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Disclaimer: I do not own Inheritance Cycle or the Lord of the Rings.
First Few Steps in a New World
Eragon squinted his eyes against the harsh light that was streaming through the grey clouds, a groan escaping his lips. He shifted slightly, hissing in pain when his ribs gave a painful throb. He turned his head slowly, opening his eyes a little more and noticing that he was lying among rocks and snow.
Eragon…was the soft call from his dragon, causing Eragon to shift slightly and hiss in pain once more but he was able to see his faithful blue dragon slowly moving closer to him.
"Saphira…" he called out hoarsely, clearing his throat slightly before he tried once more. "Where-"
But he dissolved into coughs which earned him a worried look from the large dragon. She curled her body around him, nuzzling his face lovingly and extending her sore wing to shield him from the elements.
I do not know…The air feels differently here, she whispered into their shared minds as she raised her head and seemed to taste the very air around them. It feels almost as if it is vibrating with magic…
Eragon raised a dark eyebrow at the large winged lizard, resisting the urge to smile adoringly at her. He shifted once more, feeling his head swim and his back ache which caused a groan to escape him and earning him another worried look.
His mind struggled for a few moments trying to recall all that has happened to them when his mind was flooded with the memory with light and soft, gentle voices.
"Damn those Gods!" Eragon cursed under his breath, feeling another small wave of irritation flow over him. "Couldn't they heal us before sending us to this 'Arda'!"
What do you mean? Saphira questioned, giving her rider a quizzical look before her mind was also filled with the memories of the bright light and the voices. A low growl issued from between her teeth once the memories were through.
Eragon sighed before raising his right arm cautiously before patting her scaly arm gently in an attempt to pacify her.
"I guess it makes no difference…" he spoke quietly, noticing for the first time in just what kind of shape Saphira was really in. "Come a little closer and I will heal those gashes for you."
He tried to push himself up in order to get a better look and better reach, only to topple over in pain and dizziness.
I would rather you heal yourself. Saphira replied pushing her nose against his chest gently suggesting that she was going to pin him down if necessary. Mine are all shallow enough, yours on the other hand…
Eragon trailed a stiff arm over his chest, his eyes widening when he felt all the wounds and burns that littered his frame. He prodded his ribs experimentally, hissing in pain and coming to the conclusion that he must have a few broken ribs that were going to have to wait to be healed fully.
"Fine," he conceded, channeling his magic to his fingertips before shooting Saphira with a mock irritated look. "Besides, there is no use arguing with you when you are like this."
He received a disgruntled growl and another prod from her nose, this time a little harder to show her displeasure.
"Waíse heill." He murmured, letting the magic flow out of his fingertips and into the numerous wounds. He knew his bones would not be healed with this simple spell, it was only intended to heal burns, cuts, and other skin deep injuries.
A sigh escaped his lips, his shoulders relaxing when the pain lessened to just the few ribs that were still broken, leaving his skin perfectly healed. He sat up slowly, his face grimacing slightly, but no longer in the crippling pain that had been covering him.
"Now, your turn." He sing-songed reaching for the blue dragons gashed flanks and charging his magic to flow out in its healing touch. He pushed himself up onto his feet and circled Saphira, healing any wound he could spot over her larger frame.
Thank you. Saphira whispered in a satisfied voice, watching with concerned eyes as Eragon sat heavily under her protective wing once more. You should rest now, I will keep us safe.
Eragon opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it when he felt the weight on his limbs and the fog-like feeling filling his mind.
"Alright." He conceded, laying down carefully onto the ground and allowing Saphira to move a little closer to her rider to add her warmth to his meager body heat. She nuzzled his cheek gently, careful not to disturb the already sleeping man.
Sleep well, Eragon.
"What is going on?" Eragon asked a little hazily, his eyes spying Saphira's large head with a moth sitting at the tip of her nose, fluttering its wings every now and then.
Saphira's large eye turned to him, curiosity and that look that says that adventure will be just around the corner sparkled in those blue orbs.
This moth carries a message, She informed her rider, lowering her head down so that it rested just in front of his now sitting form. He says that he has traveled far in search of the eagles in order to save someone named… Gandalf the Grey.
"Gandalf the Grey?" Eragon repeated, his eyebrows furrowing for a moment as a old man with a long grey beard filled his mind for a moment, before disappearing once more."What sort of name is that I wonder…"
He says that he is an Istar… Saphira supplied, a confused note ringing out between their shared minds and giving her rider that clearly asked for an explanation.
Eragon felt like he should know what this term meant, his mind flashing to faces of more old men that he did not recognize before the memory of the bright space where the Valar had resided clouded his mind.
"Istar?" Eragon murmured under his breath, testing out the foreign word on his tongue before shrugging off this information and pushing himself up onto his feet.
He made his way out of the protective heat that was being contained by the large wing and into the crisp cool air of the early evening. He stretched carefully, his mind already set on at least finding civilization to find a healer along with food. He slowly made his way to his saddle that was still strapped onto Saphira's back, his hand drifting to the few bags that were tied there.
"Well, we should not stop the little moth on his journey." Eragon stated off-handedly, not turning to face Saphira as he started to pull out what meager supplies were still in the bags before the final battle had broken out.
You can't mean that. Saphira huffed back, blowing a puff of hot air onto her rider and causing the moth to flutter its fragile wings a little more frantically.
Eragon turned his head slightly, glaring at Saphira for a moment before turning back to the task at hand.
"Sure I can," Eragon brushed off, ignoring the small ping of guilt at ignoring someone who was in trouble, but not truly wanting to get involved with anything else. "I was informed that we did not have to get involved-"
Saphira's growl cut off what he was going to say next, her words firm as she spoke the truths of the current situation.
There is someone who is hurt and needs aid. Can you really just sit here and do nothing? Saphira snarled aggressively, sensing his feelings beneath his neutral words. Also this little one has no strength left; he had been searching for the eagles for days with no success. He can fly no more in search for them.
Eragon turned away from his bags, throwing his hands up in an agitated manner.
"What would you have me do?" He demanded, gesturing towards the large mountains looming just behind them. "Go searching over these mountains for some eagles?"
No, Saphira drawled out, a haughty tone entering her voice. But we could go and save this Gandalf the Grey.
Eragon just stared at her for a moment, feeling a small rush of excitement before he squashed it down with the reasoning that he did not have to do any more. That he was finally free to live away from violence, even if his heart was not fully ready to give up such a life style.
"We don't even know where he is." Eragon tried to reason, feeling his few excuses slipping through his fingers. "How can we go and save someone when we don't even know where we are?"
This little one says that we are in the "Misty Mountains". And the Istar is on the top of a tower known as Orthanc in a place called Isengard. Saphira provided, knowing that victory was close on the horizon. But for good measure she added in an almost innocent voice, which is west of us.
Eragon sighed before giving Saphira a defeated look.
"You're not going to let this go are you?" He questioned, knowing the answer before seeing the glint in the dragon's eye and the confirmation through their connection.
"Alright, we will go."
Eragon allowed his mind to slip out of the shared sight, looking down to his cupped hands to his little passenger who was holding shielded from most of the harsh wind. He glanced up and looked at the rushing dark landscape beneath them, the sun having set a few hours ago. He turned his attention back towards the endless horizon, noticing the trees were thick and there was a glowing orange in the distance.
"Fly higher, Saphira." He commanded, allowing their visions to mingle along with their minds. "I see fires on the horizon, so let us hide in the clouds."
Saphira tilted her wings ever so slightly, catching a draft of wind that took them higher into the sky and just below the misty clouds. They flew closer to the blazing fire, a distinct black tower emerging from the flames and deforested area. Eragon extracted himself once more from their shared sight, looking down once more towards the little moth and smiling gently.
"Thank you for leading the way, little one." Eragon praised, extending his arm out. "Go and find peace."
Eragon opened his fingers and watched the moth flutter off his digits. He watched it glide away from them, going lower towards the large ancient trees that were able to survive the destruction the army was causing. Eragon slipped back into the shared sights taking in the large black tower that was quite intimidating in the light of the fires.
The moth said that he would be at the top.Saphira explained raising a little more so that they were now flying in the cloud cover. What should we do now?
Eragon recalled the landscape beneath them, trying to come up with a strategy that will allow them to get in and get out without being detected.
"Circle once around the tower to be sure that he is still there." Eragon planned out loud, knowing that Saphira would not like the second half of the plan. "If so, go in close and I will check it out on foot. If he is everything we think he is, come back and pick us up. Okay?"
Eragon could sense the displeasure radiating from the large form beneath him, feeling the growl work its way up her body.
I do not approve of this plan… She confirmed her anger and unease to the situation, I do not want to leave you there alone.
Eragon allowed a small chuckle to escape his lips before patting Saphira's neck affectionately.
"Well, we do not have much of a choice." Eragon reasoned, knowing that he already won for they were already descending to get a look below at the tower. But just to be sure he added, "If those people down there notice a large blue lizard sitting on top of their tower, they might raise the alarm and do something drastic."
Saphira dipped her head lower, peering through the clouds as they circled the tall tower, her keen eyes spotting a collapsed figure on the flat platform roof.
"There he is." Eragon murmured more to himself as he caught sight of the man through the shared vision. He tightened his hold onto the saddle after he loosened his leg straps, knowing that they would only have one shot . "Let's go."
They began to descend below the clouds, going in a dive to move quickly with as little noise as possible. Just before reaching the top of the tower, Saphira opened her large wings, catching the updraft that leveled her out before rising up slightly. Eragon released his hold on the saddle, sliding down the length of her body and down her long tail before landing in a soft roll across the stone roof. A grunt escaped his throat as he rolled and his ribs gave a painful gab. He ended in a low crouch, his hand on his sword while his eyes quickly scanned the area for life.
Eragon looked up just in time to see Saphira reenter the cloud cover, waiting for another moment to be sure that no one had begun to raise the alarm before making his way to the prone form. He gently rolled the figure onto their back, noticing the icy feel to the older man's skin. Quickly he pressed his fingers to the man's neck, searching for a pulse and sighing in relief when he felt it pumping, though it was a little weak.
When satisfied that their new charge was in fact still alive, he began to run his fingers over his form to check for injuries. Another sigh escaped Eragon when he mostly felt bruises beneath the grey robes, the only real injury being a gash on underneath the man's long thick grey hair.
:He is injured: He spoke mentally through to Saphira's mind :I am going to heal him first.:
When he got the acceptance from his dragon, he charged his magic to his fingertips and gently placed them over the still slightly bleeding gash.
"Waíse heill." He whispered under his breath, still a little hesitant to raise his voice and be discovered.
He watched as the bleeding came to a halt and slowly stitched itself back up. Once done, he noticed the old man begin to stir just before grey eyes opened and looked at him with a puzzled look overtaking the aged face.
"Who –" the old man rasped, before coughs raked his frame.
"Hush, now." Eragon soothed, patting the man gently and cursing himself for not grabbing his water skin from his bags. "Are you Gandalf the Grey?"
He was still getting a confused look, but at his question he received a short nod. Eragon couldn't help the small secretive smile that came to his lips as he did not return to favor by giving his own name. Instead, he decided to tell the man why he was here.
"I happened across a moth with a plea for help from you." Eragon supplied, seeing the surprise in the Gandalf's eyes and smiling a little kinder at the old man. "I am here to get you to safety."
But before more could be said or done, an old man clad in white who was carrying two staffs in his hands. A cruel smile came to this new man's face as Eragon placed his hand on his sword and stayed crouched in front of Gandalf's still weak form. His memory seemed to stir at the face of this man before fading away and leaving Eragon once more in the present.
"I do not think I can allow that." The new man's voice was calm, a darker under tone caused the hairs on the back of Eragon's neck to stand on end. "I do not know how you managed to get to the top of my tower, but I suppose I will find my answers soon enough."
Eragon could hear the growl in Saphira's mind and sensed her intention to come back to the tower and retrieve her rider and maybe maul this new man.
:Stay away a little longer, Saphira!: Eragon quickly commanded, trying to convince his angered companion from coming just yet.
"Saruman!"
The word brought Eragon back from his mental conversation, watching in shock as the man in white twirled a staff and an invisible force sent Gandalf sliding across the roof and just before the edge. Suddenly, another force came crashing into Eragon's own body, pushing him to one of the few pillars that were present on the roof top and pinned him there. Another grunt issued from his throat as his ribs were pressed painfully by the invisible force the older man was commanding.
The man in white slowly walked towards Eragon, pointing a staff at both Gandalf and Eragon as another slow cruel smile crossed the man's face.
"How did you get on this tower?" the man asked slowly, curiosity burning in his eyes as he locked eyes with Eragon. "Who are you?"
Eragon stood struggled for a moment, charging the magic into his body before casting his mind towards Saphira.
:Now!:
He knew he only had moments before Saphira would be seen so he sent his own smile towards the old man, it growing slightly when the man gain confusion into his eyes.
"Well, I would love to show you how I got here but..." Eragon mentioned conversationally, struggling as he moved his hand enough to face his right hand towards the aged man and bellowing out "Garjzla letta!"
A bright light shot out and struck the surprised man, pushing him enough that it caused the staffs to fall from his hands and release his hold over Eragon. Eragon looked up at the sky and saw Saphira coming close to the tower; he quickly made his way over to Gandalf helping the man to his feet.
"My staff-" Gandalf wheezed out, gesturing towards the brown and more gnarled looking of the two fallen staffs.
Eragon sighed in a small amount of frustration before racing over to the stumbling white clad man and snatching the staff off the ground and running back to wrap one arm around the older man's waste. He watched as Saphira dived lower than the tower before leveling off. He jumped, pulling Gandalf with him, just before Saphira was below them and landing onto her rough back. He ignored Gandalf's surprised gasp along with his own pain from his ribs, as he held tight to the older man and to Saphira as she winged back up to the clouds.
*~*~*(END CHAPTER)*~*~*
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