Only 2 reviews? And 530 views? That's pretty sad, I must say, and I am a bit disappointed. Commentaholic seems to be my only loyal reader for now, which is good, great, in fact. Prove me wrong, show to me that you actually exist through a review :)
The chill of the howling wind and low screams of terrible agony roused Murtagh from his sleep as he snapped his eyes open. A strange, darkened market square unveiled before him as he blinked a few times in confusion. The place was strangely similar to the one in Gil'ead, where he crashed alongside with Thorn and forced to kill so he could have a chance at escaping.
However, the appearances were vague for most of the buildings lay in ruins, destroyed by an unrecognizable force. Even the stone that paved the ground was damaged as chunks of rock rose from the ground, revealing the brown earth.
Murtagh slowly rose to his feet, crossing his arms near his chest to alleviate the feeling of shivering that claimed his body. And it was not only the coldness, but the strange, gloomy atmosphere that emphasized it. His eyes, widened with surprise, thoroughly inspected his surroundings. There were many questions he sought an answer to, but the fear he felt was enough to dwarf even the most insignificant one.
Suddenly, a spark of red could be visible among the ruins of a destroyed building. Murtagh frowned, walking cautiously towards it. Careful not to make any noise, he stepped silently through the fragments of wood and the debris that littered the ground. The only entrance in the large house was a small hole, but curiosity got the best of Murtagh. Bending his slim body carefully, Murtagh pushed himself through the crack. He gritted his teeth in pain as a sharp spike of wood raked his arm in the process, but he did not cease his attempts.
After he finally stuck his body through the small, jagged edged crack, Murtagh cast a quick look at his surroundings. Everything was barren and dull, the only exception being the ragged body of Thorn who lay in the middle of the room. His wings were punctured in various places, leaving large gashes and holes into the soft membrane. Multiple ruby scales were also missing where the bloody cuts and scrapes pierced past them, giving way to the soft flesh underneath. A long sword was impaled on the back of his skull, like someone planted it there with great expertise. Only a part of the blade and the handle were visible, for the other part was concealed by the layers of flesh and bone.
Murtagh screamed in agony at the disturbing sight and rushed towards the lifeless form of his partner of mind and soul.
"THORN!" he screamed, but not even the slightest noise could be heard. Murtagh cursed and shouted as loud as he could, yet nothing seemed to come out of his mouth, not even the faintest whisper. It was like he was not even opening his mouth to voice out his raging feelings.
Sparkling, wet tears started to flow from his eyes at the sight of the deceased dragon. How could Thorn perish without a sign? How could he not feel Thorn's pain when the one responsible for his demise attacked him?
Murtagh immediately found the answer to these agonizing questions when his eyes set themselves on the sword which was planted in Thorn's skull. The sword was no other than Zar'roc, the same sword he used to kill Glaedr. Strangely, it pierced Thorn's skull in the same place where Murtagh pierced Glaedr when he ended his life.
"Do you like what you see, son of Morzan?"
Murtagh suddenly turned around as a cold, feminine voice came from behind. It was not surprising after everything he recently witnessed that the one who spoke was the same female that he killed when his spell smashed her body against the tough stone of a building.
Murtagh opened his mouth to speak, to scream, to do anything that would unleash the rage and the hurt that was destroying him from the inside, but the result was the same: complete silence. Clenching his fists, Murtagh broke into a run, aiming towards the elf that was no farther than a couple of feet from him. He quickly reached her but before he could do anything else a powerful force slammed into him, sending his body tumbling across the ground.
"Pitiful. Your anger and your lust for blood are all traits that define you, son of Morzan, for you would kill without hesitation to save your own skin," said the female in the same cold tone.
Murtagh clenched his teeth and used his arms to push his body off the ground, fixing his eyes on Thorn.
"Do not look at him like that, Murtagh, for it was you who took his life. Galbatorix did not tell you, but this is one of the great consequences of the dark magic. It was you who raised your blade against him, it was you who slashed his body and it was you who brought the misery of death upon him."
A wave of burning anger like he never felt before washed over Murtagh as he stared in the cold, merciless eyes of the elf. Feeling new powers surge through him, Murtagh bolted on his legs and ran towards the elf with the intention to end her pitiful life.
"Letta," whispered the female, causing Murtagh's body to go limp in an instant. No matter how hard he forced to free himself, the strength of the spell kept him in place. Murtagh's hate filled eyes never left the elf that slowly walked towards him, a small, evil smile present on her face.
When she was only a feet away from him, she lowered her body into a crouch and pulled out a small, red glowing orb from a pouch she carried at her hip.
"It is strange, isn't it? That you wanted to be reunited with your dragon… Now I shall be the one that will offer you this chance!" said the female on a cold, hasty voice as her lips formed an evil smile, while her eyes stared maliciously at Murtagh.
Murtagh gasped in shock, but, before he could do something, anything that would free him from this accursed spell, the elf uttered a single word: "Merge!"
Murtagh woke up with a start, screaming as he did so. His intense fear traveled across the Rider's bond, waking Thorn as well as the dragon opened one vermilion eye, growling softly.
What insect was that that pinched you, little one? I was about to catch one of the juiciest bucks I have met in the realm of dreams.
Murtagh tried to smile at seeing his dragon in a brighter mood, but all he could sketch was a small movement of his lips, it was not that, Thorn. I don't think I even closed my eyes properly before I found myself again in the same place we were after you crashed into that building. There were many differences between my dream and what happened, but I can still see it before my eyes. Your…your lifeless corpse, with my own sword being impaled into your head… said Murtagh on a frail, fearful voice. He slowly unsheathed his sword, glaring at the red, glittering metal that sparkled into the sunlight.
You should not dwell onto it too much, little one, for these nightmares are mere conjurations of your mind. Let them trouble you no further, for I will not perish that easily, said Thorn soothingly.
Murtagh switched his gaze towards Thorn, eyeing the dragon with his dark brown eyes, you don't understand, Thorn. In my dream, the elf… she said that it was-… it was me who killed you. That this was a consequence of the dark magic I used to… rip the souls of the elves and merge them with the eldunari.
Sensing the concern and the fear in Murtagh's voice, Thorn arched his neck and brushed his snout against Murtagh's shoulder, No magic could have such effects on a person and alter its choices to such extent, little one. While you could use someone's true name to force it to take the life of another one that it close to said person, this is not possible with normal or dark magic.
Murtagh sketched a small smile, feeling a bit more relieved, since when have you become so knowledgeable?
Thorn growled in protest, I think you forget the fact that I am a dragon, little one.
Murtagh laughed and stroke the smooth scales on Thorn's snout with his hand. No further words were exchanged between them as they both enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere and the light breeze that blew gently across the plains.
Thorn's nostrils twitched and flared as the dragon sniffed the air with interest. Murtagh paid no attention to it as he looked in the distance at the blades of dry grass which danced continuously on the breath of the wind. How he wished his life would be so peaceful, so free, so simple...
A faint flapping sound reached Murtagh's ears, but Thorn's growl was the reason for disturbing him. Turning his head around in puzzlement, Murtagh eyed his dragon that looked towards a specific point in the sky. He was about to ask him what was happening until he looked towards the same spot, noticing a small black dot approaching them.
Is that Shruikan? What is he doing here? Asked Murtagh calmly, although he couldn't contain the small bit of regret at the presence of the black dragon.
I cannot give you the answer for that, little one, but I am glad that he somehow found us, said Thorn with excitement as he rose up from his position. Murtagh almost fell on his back as the comfortable surface he was leaning against suddenly moved, causing him to lose his balance.
With a loud roar, Thorn leaped into the air, flapping his mighty wings as hard as he could, raising a cloud of dust and dead grass behind him.
Murtagh shut his eyes in annoyance, I don't know why he always does that. It's not like Shruikan will bite him or something if he waits a couple of moments,, thought Murtagh with a bit of bitterness for his partner's departure. Then, he dropped on the ground, running his hand along the frail blades of dried grass as his eyes looked at the clear blue sky.
Thorn struggled with his flying path as soon as he ascended to the sky by flapping his wings a few times. The takeoff, which was the hardest and most energy consuming part of the flying process was the most difficult to overcome. Due to his short tail length, Thorn was unable to keep his trajectory straight while he gained altitude, wobbling in random directions as his tail failed to provide the proper balance.
Despite the early problems he experienced, Thorn successfully managed to gain the necessary altitude where the air currents would provide a much needed advantage. Fixing his eyes on Shruikan's form, which was getting clearer with each wing beat, Thorn let out a load roar and rushed to meet his master.
Shruikan released his own roar, which was slightly deeper and more powerful than Thorn's. Then, he quickly angled downwards, pulling his body into a steep dive as he descended at a frightening speed. Thorn flapped his wings against the air currents, reducing a part of his speed while he eyed the black dragon with interest. Shruikan beat his powerful wings a few times, performing a large loop that exponentially decreased his speed before he touched the ground with his paws. It was not one of his best landings as he skidded for a bit on the grassy ground due to the momentum of the landing.
Thorn growled, slightly impressed by the unusual landing performed by his master, but his positive feelings were partially dwarfed by the injuries inflicted by the golden dragon, both physically and mentally. With a shook of his head, Thorn dismissed his inner struggling and descended from the sky. Beating his wings furiously to decrease his speed when he neared the golden-grassy-ground, Thorn growled in frustration as the fragile balance was broken. Feeling unusually unsteady, Thorn desperately tried to keep his body straight, but to no avail. With a loud roar, the red dragon met the soft grassy soil, sending particles of dirt and grass into the air as he landed on his side.
His crimson-red-wing stung with pain due to the friction of the ground as his body was dragged across the grassy field for a short distance before stopping. A curtain of dust and torn grass blanketed the air around him, the particles of earth irritating his eyes. Blinking rapidly to alleviate the unpleasant sensation, Thorn growled softly and sluggishly craned his neck to inspect his body.
He barely had the chance to spot the stump of his once long tail as a large, black figure neared his position. After he reached the ruby dragon, Shruikan growled softly and lowered his head to inspect Thorn's tail.
Thorn could feel Shruikan's warm breath upon the end of his tail as the black dragon sniffed at the bothersome wound.
What happened, little Thorn? Who did this to your tail? Asked Shruikan, gently poking the wound with his snout.
It was… a golden dragon, along with his Rider. They appeared out of nowhere and we had no choice but…to fight, snarled Thorn as something touched the exposed stump of his tail, sending sharp pain across his spine.
Shruikan growled softly, retracting his snout from the wound. Thorn was about to turn his head and check on his position when Shruikan quickly moved besides Thorn, laying his large, black wing upon his body. Thorn growled softly at the comfortable warmness provided by the large bulk of the black dragon. Thorn was surprised when a warm shiver snaked its way across his body as something moist and warm brushed against the lower parts of his neck.
There is no doubt that the pair you encountered was Oromis and Glaedr, the elders of the order of the Riders. They somehow escaped from the vile tortures of Kialandi and Formora, but not without paying a price…trailed the voice of Shruikan before stopping for a short while. Thorn growled softly at the interruption of the comfortable licking sensation and prepared to raise his head, but Shruikan quickly pressed him down with his own snout.
It is unnecessary to dwell onto these matters after all you have been through, young one. There are but a few who could live a life like yours and go through so much pain as you did, added Shruikan soothingly as he resumed his treatment. Thorn hummed in pleasure at the warm, relaxing sensation which seemed to alleviate all of his troubled thoughts. Few where the moments were he felt so good, so cared for. While Murtagh deeply cared about Thorn and did everything in his power to be there for him, helping him in his time of need, the bond he shared with Shruikan was different than the one formed with Murtagh the moment when the Rider touched Thorn's egg. Finding himself enticed by the soft grip of the dream world, Thorn slowly closed his eyelids.
I have no idea when the next update is coming, and I'm kind of busy until Christmas.