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Someone requested more dragons? Here you go! :D

Chapter 15: A Brand New Journey

Despite the exhaustion of the previous day, Eragon found himself waking up before dawn. Fully dressed for the day, he left his tent and stretched luxuriously. Wrapping his cloak around him, he strolled to the river. Their campsite was blissfully empty and quiet, and the river area was the same. He washed his face and was surprised by the coldness. He swiftly wiped it off with the edge of his cloak and rose to his feet.

With a flick of his mind, he contacted Saphira, who responded with her location. Pleased, Eragon belted on Kylskada and headed for a cluster of beech trees that lined Az Ragni. The dew of the chokeberry bushes clung to his hands and face obstinately, but he couldn't do anything about those obstructions – he dare not risk burning them with magic, and besides, it felt wrong to do that.

He clambered up a round hill and found the dragons on its crest. Arya sat perched on Firnen's back. None of them moved, and simply faced the east. A hazy brilliance smudged the horizon, slowly filling the prairie with its pale amber glow. Eragon took his place beside his dragon, and stayed as still a he could.

Eragon remembered the morning after he and his brothers became Riders – of how their dragons watched the rising sun from the bedposts. As dawn's first rays hit them, the light reflected off the dragons' scales and caused a burst of colors around them. Illuminated by the sunlight, the dragons looked every bit like fearsome, graceful and savagely beautiful hunters that the legends described them as.

Awe and joy filled the young Rider. He knew, right then and there, that he did belong in that world – the one populated by dragons and magic, where Riders and their partners dominated the sky. He knew that he truly was lucky to be a part of it.

He shared a look with Arya, who was smiling brilliantly. The green halo of light coming from Firnen illuminated her face. A quiet but vivid emotion settled inside Eragon, warming him and feeling him with an intense sense of euphoria. At the same time, he felt confusion too, for never before did such a feeling come upon him simply because of a person.

Is your head in the clouds once more, little one? Saphira's voice nudged him back to reality.

Eragon smiled. No. He turned to Arya, who still looked beautiful and ethereal.

The elf nodded to him. "We must return now and awaken the others. We've got a long day ahead, and I'm not sure that we could afford to waste more time." She paused thoughtfully. "Wasting time with you is so tempting, though." She chuckled as Firnen spread his wings and flew to the campsite.

"What was that all about?" Eragon asked, baffled.

My Rider's cousin is extremely dense, Askanir said with a dragon laugh, before launching himself to the sky, followed by Thorn.

When they returned to the campsite, Roran and Katrina were tending to the fire while cooking their breakfast. Faolin was talking to them with a smile on his face. Orik stood by the river with Murtagh, discussing the wildlife in the area. Arya was making an inventory of the supplies they had left.

"Breakfast will be ready soon," Roran said as Eragon joined him. He gave his cousin a long look. "What happened to you?"

Eragon raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He hoped that his cheeks didn't flush. "I just went to join Saphira and watched the sunrise with her and the other dragons."

"Arya arrived here with Firnen," Faolin said with a knowing look. "If you spent time watching the sunrise with the other dragons, and Firnen was with them, then my sister was there too." He chuckled gently and looked away.

Low-winds-over-the-mountains helped the dragons glide, still unwilling to fly high even though they were far from the territory of the Fanghur. Solaris was quietly contented – with her belly full and a day full of hope, she felt unstoppable, a true huntress-of-the-sky-and-land. On her back, her partner-of-mind-and-heart, Nasuada, was talking to short-two-legs Orik.

Ahead of her was Saphira-with-blue-scales, talking quietly to her partner, Eragon. The young-scarred-troubled-Rider was busy trying to figure out Orik's puzzle-rings, which didn't interest the dragons that much.

It was a beautiful, lazy morning, and the dragons passed through a yawning-mouth-valley, where a slithering river joined the one which the dwarves called Az Ragni, doubling its size and speed. The way these rivers worked interested Solaris, and she hoped that she could one day have time to understand just how they free-flowed.

Thorn-blood-scales soared beside her, and the golden dragon's eyes roamed to his vivid form. His impressive-vicious-power-visage was nothing compared to the unsatiable curiosity that he caused within the golden-huntress-of-the-sky-and-land.

Is there something that your Rider wishes to tell mine? She pretended to ask, aware that she was looking ridiculous before him.

I wished to talk to you. Murtagh has nothing to do with this, gold-sun-scales. Thorn looked away, his ruby-glittering-hard-eyes fixed upon the sky-path ahead of them. I am worried.

Worried. Solaris wondered about what could worry a mighty hunter such as he. Why?

This… this Ellesmera. Thorn made it sound like he disliked the name of the place itself. Forgive me for bothering you, gold-sun-scales, but Saphira-sky-bright would merely laugh at me. Askanir-phantom-hunter and Firnen-forest-hunter would simply bother me with questions. And Luneria-moon-silver is not exactly…

One you could simply talk to. Solaris would have smiled if she was one of the two-legs. I what is it about Ellesmera that worries you.

It is not simply about me. By what we have learned, elves respect dragons. It's about the partners-of-our-minds-and-hearts. Thorn paused, giving Murtagh a glanc. Luckily, the little-two-legs-round-ears was busy with his own thoughts. The elves might not be pleased that there are more human Riders – or that there are any human Riders at all.

Fear settled within Solaris – not for herself, for who would fear a mighty dragon-of-fire-and-skies? – and she did her best not to brush her thoughts against Nasuada's. She feared for her beautiful Rider with shadow-dark-skin. She heard so much about the two-legs-pointy-ears and knew that together, they could overwhelm the young two-legs-round-ears. She knew that the partner-of-her-mind-and-heart could be easily harmed by them.

I believe that you understand. Thorn let out a small burst of fire in his worry.

Yes, I do. We must talk to the other dragons,Solaris said. We must do what we can to protect the little ones.

Thorn was about to fly off, but paused. And Solaris?

Yes?

Thank you. For listening to me. Did I ever tell you that you are glowing like the sun?

Solaris felt a burst of affection for the red dragon and she flew still, watching him glide away.

Nasuada gave her dragon a curious look as Thorn soared away with an equally confused Murtagh. It seemed like Thorn and Solaris had a quiet conversation, leaving their Riders baffled, still wrapped up in their own trail of thoughts. She merely exchanged a quick glance with Murtagh before he resumed reading a small book that Faolin lent him, and before she struck up a conversation with Orik, who was riding with her. Even that short contact sent flutters down her stomach which she didn't exactly understand.

They have now travelled for a mile since the rivers joined, and the Az Ragni began to flow north, passing by a lone mountain wreathed in hazy clouds. It stood alone, separated from the rest of the mountain range that made up the Beors. It looked like a tower of rock, watching over the plains ahead. Orik bowed his head upon seeing it, and faced Nasuada. "I take it you know Moldun the Proud?"

"Sadly, I have only ever heard it in passing," Nasuada replied, eyes fixed upon the lonely mountain standing tall and proud.

"It is the last true mountain that we shall see on our journey."

Simply seeing the mountain made Nasuada feel lonely. Being one of the last Riders, a heavy burden was placed upon her and her friends – and Alagaesia's fate was resting in the hands of six Riders who were barely old enough to join an army. She wondered just how much of a burden it would be if only one egg hatched. If the weight they carried would be melded into one, won't a person carrying it simply break from it?

When they camped for the night, Nasuada was, once again, in charge of maintaining the fire. With her were Orik and Murtagh. The dwarf showed them a long black box that was adorned with mother-of-pearl, rubies and threads of silver. Even the clasp that Orik flicked was made of silver. Inside the box was an unstrung bow nestled in luxurious red velvet. Nasuada never saw Orik use such a bow before, simply using the standard ones that the warriors of the Varden prefered. It was made of ebony, acting as a background for golden patterns of vines, animals, flowers and runes.

"I've never seen anything like that," Murtagh said quietly.

"I've seen some dwarves in positions of power use intricate, expensive weapons," Nasuada said. "But never Orik."

Orik grinned. "'Tis a gift from King Hrothgar before we left," he explained. He hefted his bow – which was around as tall as he was, but still no bigger than a child's first bow. "I'll look for some fresh meat, fruits and herds. Will be back in an hour." He strung his bow and vanished in the brush.

"I wonder what kind of wood is used in bows like those…" Murtagh mused, looking tense and a little nervous.

"To be honest, I'm not so sure either." Nasuada paused, then peered at him. "Is something wrong?"

Murtagh gazed at her with a small grin. He glanced at the moon, which was shining full and bright that night. "The night is beautiful. It feels… relaxing." His grin widened, but it held none of the restraint that the red Rider often had.

Nasuada reciprocated his smile. "Sitting by the fire on a beautiful night with an amazing person isn't bad either."

"Especially if the person is as amazing as you."

Nasuada felt a blush creep to her cheeks. She thanked the darkness of the night for veiling it. "You're too nice, Shadeslayer. I haven't accomplished anything that great yet. I don't even have the dubious honor of being involved in the shattering of Isidar Mithrim – which is good, I believe, as the dwarves of Farthen Dur know me a lot and it would cause more ire from them."

"It's not about the feats, Nasuada. It's about the person." Murtagh laughed and gave her a strange, unreadable look. "You know, you're even more beautiful when you're flustered."

"Did you just call me beautiful, Shadeslayer?"

"Yes I did. You simply worry too much and think too lowly of yourself simply because you are overshadowed by your father – and your brother. Come to think of it, you quickly assume that you are also overshadowed by your fellow Riders. Don't think of it that way. We will rise together, all six of us, or not at all."

Murtagh gave him such a brilliant, hopeful look that aside from his appearance, Nasuada wouldn't have believed that he was the same uneducated, simple farm boy that she met back in Carvahall. He seemed more mature, more sure of himself and what he believed him – and it wasn't a bad change. The Riders all were fire-forged friends, and they didn't survive their adventures without changes, both good and bad.

They will rise together, or not at all. That didn't seem impossible.

A loud roar announced the return of the dragons, fresh from a successful hunt. As if in celebration, they breathed fire in the sky. The halo of light around each of them made them sparkle like jewel statues with a burning inner fire – and it was magnificent. Simply seeing it with Murtagh made Nasuada's heart soar.

"They are spectacular. I'm glad to be seeing them while spending… time… with you," the red Rider mused quietly.

"I could say the same to you," Nasuada replied softly.

A brilliant smile crept up her face as the fire faded, and the dragons landed. Solaris gave her Rider a knowing look before padding to the river for a drink. The red and golden Riders exchanged glances and a smile, but did not speak once more, which was fine by Nasuada. Simply being around him was always enough for her.

A while later, Orik returned with a brace of long-necked geese. "With those dragons lighting up like a beacon, getting lost would be difficult." He handed the birds to Eragon and Roran, who began to clean them. "Found a flock of them perched in a tree. A good hunt, yes?"

"Oh, definitely," Murtagh said. "Trying to shoot birds have always been a challenge to us."

Orik nodded and retrieved the bow case. "Aye, they are nasty prey when in flight. I believe only dragons could easily catch them then."

Of course, Solaris sniffed. Dragons can catch just about anything but those annoying Shades.

"What kind of wood did you use for your bow?" Murtagh asked, curiosity alight in his eyes. It made him look younger, more like the farmboy he once was – and it wasn't a bad thing either.

Orik shook his head with a chuckle. "It's not wood! You can't make a bow of this size out of wood. It can't cover long distanes and it breaks or follows the strings after a few shots. This is an Urgal horn bow!"

"What? But horns aren't flexible or springy enough to make bows."

"You just have to learn how to treat it right." Orik began a long explanation on how it started with Feldunost horns, and the entire process from cutting, trimming to the proper treatment itself. "All of it could take a decade," he said.

"I've seen a couple of bows like those before," Nasuada agreed, "but I've never learned of how they were made – or that they're actually Urgal horns. How far does it shoot?"

Orik handed her the bow with a smile, along with an arrow from his quiver. "See for yourself, but you'll owe me an arrow."

Nasuada held the bow gingerly, afraid that she might damage the bow. She nocked an arrow, aimed over the Az Ragni and pulled back. She was barely strong enough to hold the string. She released the arrow and it sailed swiftly, landing halfway across the river. She summoned her magic and murmured, "Gath sem oro un lam iet." The arrow darted through the air, landing on her outstretched palm. "Here, Orik."

Orik chuckled and embraced both bow and arrow in delight. "Wonderful, young lady! Now I still have an even two dozen, else I would have had to wait until Hedarth to replenish them."

The next few days were spent flying low over grass fields as the Beors faded slowly behind them. They passed through herds of gazelles and deer that watched them with curiousity and fear. Nasuada looked forward to facing her next adventures with the other Riders and their dragons.

And so, the dragons begin reflecting the romantic tension of their Riders. I changed their "mating ritual thingies" a bit from the book, where it happens all at once. I kind of wanted to build up their pairings more realistically too - after all, they're also people who just happened to be, uh, dragons.

To be honest, I didn't like Paolini's portrayal of young elves as solemn creatures who are pretty aloof too. They were simply hard to imagine and write about, which is why... we have Arya as she is right now in this fic. xD

We'll be having more and more fun with the dragons in the coming chapters, so let me know about any suggestions you've got!

Read and review, as always! :D