Disclaimer: Only own the OC's and their fates.
As promised, action!
Enjoy!
reminder: Kuldra/Florina thoughts and conversation in bold italics; Eragnon/Saphira thoughts and conversation in reuglar bold text; and general mind conversation in regular italics.
She looked over towards Eragon and Saphira and saw them separated and Saphira surrounded by spear wielding Urgals. Without being told, Kuldra jumped into the air flew low towards Saphira, landing on whatever Urgals didn't get out of her way. Florina jumped off Kuldra and drove her sword through the nearest Urgal. She slew three more before they noticed that she was there. Kuldra used her tail as a mace to keep Florina from being surrounded as well. Two dozen Urgals were dead by the time they heard Eragon's wild cry. With that distraction, Kuldra grabbed Florina and pulled her from the fighting and into the air at the same time Eragon and Saphira took flight.
"Is she alright?" Florina asked Eragon.
"She'll live." Florina nodded and Kuldra glided away from them. Eragon watched with worry as they disappeared around Tronjheim. Saphira rested a moment more and then they attacked again. On the other side of Tronjheim, Florina and Kuldra looked at the battlefield.
"What is your plan, Brave One?"
"We attack from the back. Use dragon fire on their archers." Kuldra flew low, skimming the ground and came up behind the Urgal archers. She let loose a stream of fire into their archers. The ones that managed to avoid the fire met Florina's bloody blade. They passed Eragon and Saphira doing the same thing, only with just fang and sword and claw as Saphira didn't breath fire yet even though she was six months old. They met in the air as the fires burned. A Twin reached out to both of them.
"Ajihad commends the both of you on your attacks. The apparent lack of leader is troubling but nothing can be done about it. Eragon, you are ordered to assist Hrothgar; the fight goes badly for him. Florina, we need you here."
"Understood." They said together and the Twin left. "Stay safe, Eragon." Florina said before taking off towards the column Ajihad commanded. Kuldra skimmed the ground and attacked with fire from behind. She landed and Florina jumped off and attacked the nearest Urgal. She picked up a sword from a dead soldier and attacked with both of them, having left her shield on Kuldra. It wasn't long before the Urgals threatened to separate them and Kuldra took flight, grabbing Florina in her claw and took her towards their commander. Florina dropped to the ground while Kuldra flew over the Urgals and breathed fire on them again. Ajihad gave her a shield as hers was still on Kuldra and she surged forward with them, fire shooting from her sword every so often. She cut a path to Kuldra who was slowly being surrounded. The Urgals had realized that they needed to kill her to break the spirits of the defenders. Kuldra glided over them, spewing fire. Suddenly, an arrow pierced the gold dragon's wings and she landed. "Kuldra!" Florina yelled. Her yell sent the dragon into a frenzy. Every since Florina had been captured near Dras-Leona, Kuldra hardly let Florina out of her sight. Now that she was injured, Florina could only see red.
"Get on!" Florina looked up and saw Murtagh on his horse next to her. She grabbed his arm and he pulled her up and they cut a path to Kuldra. Florina jumped off the horse and killed the Urgals surrounding the injured wing. Murtagh and Kuldra fought with sword and tail while Florina healed the wing. Once she was healed, Florina pulled herself onto her dragon and they took to the air again. Murtagh cut a bloody swath back to the defenders and she guarded him, killing Urgals behind him. Once he was safely with the defenders again, Kuldra flew around the dwarf city and attacked the Urgals from behind, making an effort to send fire into the tunnels.
"Florina, assist Jörmundur."
"Aye," Kuldra took off into the air flew to where they had started the battle. In the distance, they heard a dragon roar in pain. "Saphira!"
"She is hurt, Brave One, but she will live."
"How do you know?" Florina chopped off the head of an Urgal.
"We linked our minds for the battle. It is not like you and me, but we have been keeping in contact in case you and I were separated or she and Eragon were. Eragon and Arya have been ordered to collapse whatever tunnels the Urgals are excavating. When she made to take to the air, an Urgal struck her chest and crushed the armor there. They are going to the dragon hold where Arya will take off the armor and then join Eragon."
"I see. So it is up to us to keep the Urgals from swarming into the city while he keeps them from digging into it. Let's go then."
They didn't have time to talk more as Florina had been pulled from Kuldra's back at that same moment. She kicked it in the jaw with strength she didn't know she had possessed. The Urgal dropped her and she ran her sword through its neck. Another Urgal took its place. She dueled with it a few moments before she was able to kill it. Behind her, Kuldra was fighting groups at a time. Every few moments, Florina would see a burst of golden fire from the corner of her eye. She could finally feel the effects of the drawn out battle. She was tired and it was taking her longer and longer to kill her opponents. She knew that if she used magic, she wouldn't be able to recover enough before she was killed.
She was so focused on fighting and staying alive that she didn't notice Kuldra had taken flight until she was picked up by the gold dragon and taken to Jörmundur. Florina pulled herself into the saddle as Kuldra landed. "Thank you, Florina. Help the rest of the army. The Twins have just informed me what Eragon and Arya have gone to do. You need to make up for his absence."
"Alright." Kuldra took the air. "How is Saphira?"
"Worried. It's been ten minutes since Eragon left her to start collapsing the tunnels."
"He'll be fine. Come on, let's attack from behind again." Kuldra bobbed her head in agreement and they attack in a circle around the tunnels. But the Urgals were ready this time and so they had to attack from above which was still effective with dragon fire. Five minutes later, Florina found herself standing beside Kuldra at the head of Hrothgar's battalion next to the dwarf king. Ten minutes after that, everyone heard a great crash. The dwarves, Florina, and Kuldra turned towards Tronjheim in time to see dark spirits flying across Farthen Dûr. The Urgals stopped fighting the defenders to watch them go. Florina watched in stupefied wonder as the Urgals began fighting themselves. Horns rallied the defenders and they surged forward. Florina pulled herself onto Kuldra. "Come on, we have to make sure Eragon is alright." Kuldra jumped into the air at the moment Florina lost consciousness.
Her memories flashed through her mind. She smiled when she saw her lessons with her parents. Then she saw herself finding Kuldra's egg in the back of her wagon and Kuldra hatching for her that same night. Then the loss of her mother to Galbatorix and finding her father nearly dead. It jumped to her meeting with Brom and Eragon and showed the events with them. She shuddered as she saw her capture and noticed things she had not before. Then her rescue at Eragon's hands and her finding the Varden and discovering her father had died and she knew Ajihad. Then a figure caught her eye. She turned away from her memories as she realized it had been there the whole time, watching her.
"Who are you?" She called. It didn't answer her. She prepared to use magic against it should it prove hostile. Still, it did nothing. "Get out!" She commanded. It laughed. The laugh sent chills down her spine and she knew she never wanted to meet the source. She summoned an image of Kuldra and sent fire towards it. It continued to laugh. "Get out!" Then, another presence flicked the figure away and the laughing stopped. She prepared for a new onslaught.
"Peace," a new voice said.
"Who are you and what do you want? Are you friend or foe?"
"Friend," she heard music, like Arya's mind, but different. "Come to me, Florina Selenasdaughter." She didn't bother to correct him.
"Why?"
"I can help you with what you want to do. I can help you free your foster mother."
"Who are you? Give me a name."
"I am Osthato Chetowä, the Mourning Sage. Will you come?"
"I will come."
She opened her eyes and saw that she was in the Healer's Hall on a long bed. She groaned and held her head as it started to pound. "Good, you're awake." She heard Angela saw and then felt the witch's hand on her back, helping her sit. She kept her eyes closed. "Drink." She obeyed and had to keep herself from spitting the broth back out. The headache eased. She handed the cup back to Angela and opened her eyes. She was in flanged armor and a red cape. She looked around the room and saw Eragon on a long bed near her.
"What happened?"
"To you or in general?"
"To me. All I remember is being on Kuldra before everything went black."
"After the crash, Kuldra and you rose into the air intending to make sure that Eragon was alright. An Urgal saw and threw his club at you. It hit you square in the back of the head and knocked you unconscious. You have been out cold for about a day."
"Is Kuldra alright?"
"She is fine. She would be waiting out in the hall, but there is only room for one dragon out there."
"Kuldra?"
"Brave One, you're awake. How do you feel?"
"Better now that I've taken something for my head. I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I put us in danger. I know they started fighting each other, but that could have been worse than a club."
"Brave One, it is not your fault. You care, in some fashion, about the young Rider. I was worried about Saphira. I see her as a sister and wish no harm to her. Sleep now. I will see you when you wake again."
"Saphira!" She jumped awake and nearly fell out of the bed. She sat up and looked across the room. Eragon was awake. She pulled herself out of the bed and walked over as Angela opened the door. She sat in Angela's vacated chair as Murtagh and Arya walked in followed by Saphira's head. Arya placed a gentle hand on her shoulder then quickly removed it. "What happened?" Eragon asked.
"That's what I want to know." Florina added. "Last I remember is Kuldra taking to the air."
"What happened to you?" She waved off his question.
"We won!" Murtagh crowed. "It was incredible. When the Shade's spirits flew across Farthen Dûr, the Urgals stopped fighting to watch them go. It was as if they were released from a spell then because the clans turned and attacked each other. Their entire army disintegrated within minutes. We routed them after that!"
"They're all dead?"
"No," Murtagh answered. "Many escaped into the tunnels. The Varden and dwarves are busy ferreting them out right now,"
"What was the crash?" Florina interrupted. "That's why Kuldra was in the air. We heard a crash come from the dragon hold and wanted to make sure the three of you were alright."
Arya looked at her and then at Eragon. "When Eragon warned Saphira about the Shade, Durza, I was still trying to get off the damaged armor. By the time it was off, it was too late to slide down Vol Turin. Durza would have killed you instead of letting me rescue you." She said to Eragon. "So I did the one thing I could to distract him, I broke the star sapphire."
"And I carried her down." Saphira added. Florina hung her head and lost herself in her own thoughts as Eragon asked more questions. She looked up as Eragon felt his back. She moved so she could see. Stretching from his right shoulder to his left hip was a ropy scar about half an inch wide. She looked up at Angela who shook her head sadly. Arya murmured something.
"Now you're just like me." Murtagh laughed harshly. Florina silenced him with a glare.
"Florina," Eragon asked, "is there anything you can do?"
"No, Eragon. My knowledge of wounds would cover this. But I cannot do anything to help it heal for it was inflicted by an evil magic with evil intent. I'm sorry." Eragon was silent a moment and closed his eyes. Distantly she heard him, "I will come."
No this is not the end of the fic. My plan is for this fic to cover all four books. But this is the end of the Eragon section of Selena's Daughter. Thanks for reading and please, please, please review