YAY! Chapter 30!
EndlessReign: i have plans for that part of the fic. hehehe. also, galbatorix doesn't find the name of the ancient language until way later in the series.
Thanks everyone for your reviews.
Disclaimer: I only own the OC's and Florina's and Kuldra's tales.
reminder: bold italic font belong to Florina and Kuldra as their individual thoughts and conversations. regular bold font belong to Eragon and Saphira as their individual thoughts and conversations.
Enjoy!
Florina chuckled as the dragons and Orik played a game of riddles. It was more unfair to the dwarf as the dragons knew the answers to each other's riddles. Though, Kuldra was able to out riddle Saphira as she shared many of Florina's memories and Florina had riddles of her own that she shared with her partner. The dragons and dwarf continued their game well into the day. Florina took energy from every passing bird and stored it in the topazes on the belt. She didn't have a gem set in her sword's pommel as Eragon has in Zar'roc and so needed to store as much as she could in the gems on her belt.
That night, they camped in the fields that separated the forest and the Hadarac Desert. No one said a word as they sat around their small fire. Florina debated teaching Eragon how to fight with a staff. His sword was more valuable than hers and could easily be stolen. She decided against it when she saw him transferring energy into the ruby and his belt. She looked at her necklace and the three gems on it. It was not large and easily hidden in her shirt. She transferred energy from the largest animals she could find and divided it between the fifteen gems. After she was done, she lied down and slept. Eragon and Orik and the dragons followed her lead. They would be moving on again in the morning.
She looked around the battlefield. The Twins were dead, but Eragon and the Red Rider had disappeared. She looked to where they had landed. She couldn't see Saphira. She jumped onto Kuldra's back, determined to find the young man she saw as her brother. "ERAGON!" She cried out as Kuldra rose into the air. She saw them. She urged Kuldra to speed towards them. Saphira was held in place in midair and Eragon was kneeling on the ground. She saw the enemy Rider look at her a moment before retrieving something from the ground and mounting the red dragon. She reached the plateau by the time Rider and dragon had disappeared over the horizon. Kuldra landed and Florina ran to Eragon who was struggling to stand. She noticed his sword was missing and remembered the tell-tale flash of Zar'roc gleaming in the sunlight while the Rider rode away.
Florina jumped into a sitting position. It was still a few hours before dawn and they departure from their campsite. Kuldra opened and eye and looked at her. "What is wrong, Brave One?"
"Another vision. This time about Eragon. He loses his weapon at the end of the battle to the enemy Rider. I do not know how to make a Rider's blade and so will not be able to forge him another like Zar'roc. I doubt I will have the time to forge him even a normal sword. When we arrive, I will be telling Nasuada that I am not just the speaker of the Riders, but their leader and so Eragon's commander. She will want me in all of her councils."
"There is another option."
"I must teach him with the staff now and after the battle until Rhunön can teach me what I need to know to make a Rider's blade. He will not be happy with it."
"Do not tell him your reasons for the sudden lessons. The less he knows about your visions the better. What if he is captured? From your memories of these visions, the Mad King wants him and Saphira more than us. The less he knows about your ability, the safer everyone is."
"I know." Florina watched the sunrise and took a deep breath, wondering when she would be seeing her last. "Wake Saphira. I will wake the dwarves." Kuldra chuckled and turned to the sleeping dragon beside her. Florina walked over to Eragon. "Hey, wake up Rider." She said, giving him a sharp jab in the leg. His eyes popped open and he glared at her. "It's time to go." She walked over to the dwarf and noticed his axe right next to him. She frowned. She couldn't wake him as she had Eragon with the axe within arm's reach. She shrugged and moved the axe before jabbing him sharply as well. A string of curses flew from his mouth when he couldn't find his axe. She handed it to him and they were off again.
To amuse them this time, the dragons sparred in the sky. It was usually Kuldra who initiated the fights with only a second's warning to Florina and none to Saphira. Eragon had had barely enough time to tighten the straps around Orik's legs the first time. It didn't take long for them to enter the desert and Florina watched the endless sands pass them by.
They camped that night east of the Du Fells Nángoröth, where the wild dragons had once lived. While their food cooked, Florina took two staves from Kuldra's saddle. She had fashioned them before Oromis had given her the chair to do. She had imbued them with spells so they would not break. She tossed one to Eragon who looked at her. "What are these for?"
"Get up and I will show you." She commanded. He obeyed and she attacked. He was barely able to dodge in time and her stave whistled through the air. She turned to him. "Don't hold it like you are holding a sword. Hold it from the ends to better defend yourself." She attacked again and Eragon moved his stave to block hers. She smiled at the sharp thwack of wood hitting wood. She moved quickly and attacked with the other end, smacking Eragon on his thigh. "A staff is a two handed weapon. You can block with one end and attack with the other. She repeated her move, giving Eragon a similar bruise on his other leg. She didn't let up her attack and Eragon was forced to the defensive position. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get the upper hand. He knew they should be evenly matched, even though he had never used a staff before. He began to wonder if she had been changed more than he had. They sparred until dinner was ready. Eragon tried to count his bruises and couldn't without losing track.
"Why?" He asked as they sat around the small fire.
"A precaution. Your blade is valuable, Eragon. What if it gets stolen? What if you are disarmed and the closest weapon to you is a broken spear?" He didn't question further and she was glad. She scryed the Varden and Nasuada. What she saw troubled her, but Eragon was relieved to see they had not been attacked yet.
The next morning, a wind rose from behind them and carried them farther than the dragons could have done on their own. They camped that night in the Silverwood Forest. They left early the next day and reached Aberon by the late afternoon. Florina ignored the look of the city and the ballistae made for shooting down dragons, knowing that it wouldn't do much good against Galbatorix if he ever flew out to fight. She blanketed the voices that clamored for her attention as the dragons descended into the castle, Saphira letting Kuldra land first. Florina narrowed her eyes as the soldiers aimed the ballistae at them. She did not want a fight with men who were supposed to be their allies.
She dismounted at the same time Orik and Eragon did. She walked to the heads of the dragons as a group of twelve men hurried out of the keep and towards them. Their leader had the same dark skin as Nasuada and stepped ten paces away. He and his followers bowed. "Welcome, Riders. I am Dahwar, son of Kedar. I am King Orrin's seneschal." He announced. Florina and Eragon inclined their heads.
"I am Florina Golden Rider, daughter of Selena and Emily and Leader of the Riders."
"And I, Kuldra, daughter of Valdra."
"And I, Eragon Shadeslayer, son of none."
"And I, Saphira, daughter of Vervada."
"And I, Orik, Thifk's son."
Dahwar bowed again. "I apologize that no one of higher rank than myself are here to greet you, but King Orrin, Lady Nasuada, and all the Varden have left to confront Galbatorix's army. They left orders that if you came here seeking them, you should join them directly, for your prowess is needed if we are to prevail."
"I understand. Do you have a map to show us where they are?" Florina asked.
"Of course, my Lady. Would the three of you like to come out of the heat for refreshments while it is brought?"
"We do not have the time. Besides, the map is not for us, it is for the dragons who would not fit in your halls."
"Quite right." Dahwar said. "Is there anything else you need?"
"We need a week's worth of provisions. Fruits, vegetables, and some dried meat for me. And then whatever else my companions would like." Eragon ordered fruit, vegetables, flour, cheese, and bread while Orik requested meats such as bacon and jerky. Florina leaned against Kuldra's leg while waiting for the supplies to be brought. Dahwar questioned Eragon's appearance as he looked more elven than she did even though she had been changed as well. "Present and future are about to converge." She thought to herself, keeping it from Kuldra who was now looking at a map with Saphira and Eragon. She trusted the gold dragon with her life and so did not look at the map. She knew where they were going. She had known since she had had visions of the battle to come. She recognized it from the numerous scrolls she had read on The Fall. "Have you seen enough?" She asked her dragon.
"We have." The three of them quickly packed their provisions and mounted the dragons. She thanked Dahwar and they were about to take off when Eragon warned Dahwar of a murder to happen and then they were off. Orik had both of them try to attack his mind as they flew. Florina was the only one to find a crack in the armor. When Orik had fixed his mistake, she was glad to see that she could not enter his mind.
They flew through the night and only stopped near dawn to stretch, relieve themselves, and eat. Then they were off again. By midmorning, they had arrived at the Burning Plains. The dragons descended from through the layers of smoke and angled toward the river. Once the air had cleared, the five of them had a clear view of their destination.
She did not look at the ground as her attention was caught by the two armies on the eastern bank of the Jiet River. Florina bit her lip. "And Time converges." Kuldra said nothing.
"You will wait until you are needed. We need you rested so you can capture the dragon and her Rider."
"Which dragon and Rider pair?" He sneered. He did not like that he had to be here and have to follow their orders. But Galbatorix had put them in charge of the battle. It was supposed to be a distraction so he could capture a weary dragon and Rider pair.
"The boy, Eragon, and his dragon."
"I will try." He swore in the ancient language and went to rest next to his dragon. He was only months old, but the king had sped up his growing so that he could hold his own against the older dragons. He watched as two dragons descended onto the Varden's camp and were shot at. He smirked and then frowned when they did not have to dodge the arrows. "They have grown stronger." He thought dryly.
"We are strong as well. We will prevail." His dragon said from the deep recesses of his mind. He smiled grimly as he looked at the golden dragon and her Rider, wishing he could remember their names.
Thoughts, everyone? If you couldn't guess. the bold underline font is murtagh and his dragon. Thanks for reading and please review.