Chapter 4: With All Due Haste

Anri made camp alongside a great lake, looking like a great pane of glass in the setting sun. It was smooth, and there were no sounds of moving waves or even fish breaking the surface of the water. It reflected the sun perfectly, so unfortunately, as beautiful as it was to look at, she couldn't look at it for too long before her eyes began to burn. She took her brief respite to take inventory of her supplies and also to clean and maintain her gear. Titanite was a very durable and reliable material, but without proper care it would fall to ruin like any other metal. It didn't matter if it was one year or a thousand; time would claim all.

For now she would settle for washing and sharpening her weapons, because while she did have repair powder, it was extremely limited. Repair powder was a substance most undead took for granted, as in the Age of Fire all gear seemed to mend itself in the warmth of a bonfire. However, when far away or isolated it could save many pieces of gear that would otherwise have to be abandoned or repaired at a later date. Anri herself had made use of it frequently in the Catacombs of Carthus. In this new age however, it was a very finite resource. A lot of what she had was a finite resource.

The magic of her age was diminished, all but gone. Much of what she was used to having was gone forever; gems, titanite, Estus, repair powder, and the many types of resin and moss she had acquired. All she had on her was all she would have for the rest of her time here. However long that would be? Anri didn't think about it.

She didn't like being introspective, but at times like this that tended to be very difficult. Doubt was a constant companion, always lurking in the back of her mind, making her question her actions, her purpose, her very being… It led to one absolute truth that Anri had figured out some time ago.

She did not belong here…

Anri was a relic, a knight of an age that nobody remembered, in service for a kingdom that nobody knew about, for a purpose that nobody here cared for. The Fire was meaningless. Everything that she knew was gone, everything she thought she knew no longer applied. In all of her travels, not even a ruin remained of anything familiar. It all made her wonder…

What age was she in?

The Age of Dark was to be an endless sea, dark, without light, and embraced in nothingness. It was the everlasting Deep, and the end of all things. The pilgrim of Londor, Yuria, had told her as much. The Age of Dark, and those of Londor, would see the Linking of the Fire subverted so that the natural state of the world could continue. Anri wasn't sure if she trusted that woman though, Yuria had always been too friendly to Anri, and it made her hackles rise. Nobody in the Age of Fire was nice unless they had something specific they wanted, or unless they were just trying to use her for an end goal. That was besides the point though. If Yuria and those of Londor were to be believed, then the Age of Dark was an endless Deep Dark. As Anri looked around her, that didn't seem to be the case. So she had to wonder; was this…

Did Anri find herself in the Age of Life?

Almost nothing was known or even speculated about it, only that each of the Four Lord Souls would get their own ages. The world seemed vibrant enough, life of many kinds was plentiful. Humanity flourished from what she understood, even if this world seemed to be plagued with its own problems. From what she understood there were no gods, no incredibly powerful beings that she knew about.

The Age of Life… What use was Unkindled Ash to the Age of Life? There was no Fire to link, no Lords to return to their thrones. Her only purpose was to protect a dragon rider, and she wasn't even put close to them! She was given no knowledge of the world, no point of reference, only an order from some being. Yes, Anri thought angrily, this Age is still similar to the Age of FIre. Powers above were still all too willing to use her own miserable life for their own gains. Not only hers, but the Rider's as well. From what she understood he had his entire life ripped from him. In that regard, they were very much alike.

It wasn't very useful being introspective… All I did was shoulder more questions, and it made her doubt her own future.

Anri reached into her bottomless box and pulled out the coiled sword. It still held its flame, and it seemed to be gaining its power back; ever so slowly. She wouldn't use it to place a bonfire yet; it didn't have the power necessary, but maybe she would soon. For now, she would take the night to rest, and in the morning she would continue on her way. She was spending significantly less time making camps, preferring to ride through the nights. She didn't know how much time she would have, how many close calls were left, before she failed her mission. She was Unkindled, rest was a secondary concern for her. Mira would need rest, but her steadfast new friend was proving an excellent companion, and faced every challenge Anri had pressed upon her.

As she continued, she noticed that the road became much more used. There were depressions from wagons and hoofprints, tearing into the dirt path that functioned as a road. Despite her wanting to go faster, Mira was forced to slow if they wanted to make it through safely. There was also another problem, as Anri entered and passed through the small village of Fasaloft, she noticed that the gazes she was receiving were much less friendly, there were looks in peoples' eyes that spoke of ill wants. Imperials may have been welcome here, but knights it seemed, were not. She would have to be very careful from here on out

It was some time later when the city of Dras Leona finally came into view. For the first time since her arrival here, Anri felt like she was in the Age of Fire. The city was a dark one; totally unplanned with jagged and haphazard buildings. From what she could see there were obvious slums, and a very large cathedral stretched into the sky. Forming the backdrop was a very jagged rock formation, like a mountain in and of itself. None of that was important though, what was important, were two shadowy beings running from the gates with a speed no human should be able to manage. She wanted to investigate Dras Leona, but something deep within her told her that she should follow the shadows. It was that part of her that she always listened to, the part that every friendly person she ever met referred to as her source of 'Luck.' It had never led her astray, even if it had led her into harm. She made up her mind after a few moments and sped after the retreating shadows. It would be difficult to track them, and as time went on Anri felt an ugly feeling well up inside of her. Something was wrong. She urged Mira into a full gallop.

Anri was too late. She was too late.

When dawn broke she had noticed something glimmering in the sun's light. It had taken time, but eventually she happened upon a tomb.

HERE LIES BROM

Who was a Dragon Rider

and like a father

to me

May his name live in glory

SHE WAS TOO GODS-DAMNED LATE

She had raged, yelling in anger, grief, and frustration. She cursed the heavens, the being that had brought her here, and any other being above that may have been listening to her. What was the point of bringing her here if she wasn't told anything!? How was she expected to fulfill her duty if she didn't even know where to go?! It infuriated her!

She knew it wasn't the rider she was tasked to protect. She was tasked to protect a young man. The man buried here was described as a father, so it was the companion who was traveling with her Rider. Her mission wasn't a failure, but she considered it to be when she found the tomb! She vowed to punch the being who brought her here. As hard as she possibly could. After she had calmed down, she began following the tracks. The ground was torn again, deep claw-like imprints in the dirt and stone as well as boot-prints. She didn't know how far behind she was now, but from the depressions and how soft the ground was, she was closer than she ever had been before.

She turned and looked at the diamond tomb one last time.

"By what power is left from the Age of Fire, what power I carry in my being, I will protect the Rider. May the Flames guide your way, Brom…"

She mounted Mira as soon as she reached her, following the two sets of hoofprints in the ground.

She did not expect, however, that "as close as she had ever been" meant nearly an entire month of travel. She was exceptionally good at tracking, and rigorously followed the tracks left by the people that she believed were her targets. She passed through towns, across bridges, through villages, and over plains. She noticed that the people in these villages were happy to see her, they smiled and waved at her passing. The soldiers were the same, but more respectful. Sometimes they asked her for news or where her travels had taken her, to which she had half-truths and lies for answers. So far it had gotten her through, and outside of that she wasn't questioned at all. There was one boon though; wanted posters.

It may have been a bit presumptuous of her to assume, but there were posters of a young man named "Eragon." It had a rough picture and a description, proclaiming a reward for his capture or for information about his whereabouts. She didn't hesitate to tear them down whenever it was safe to do so. The less people on the lookout for Eragon, the better.

Days turned into weeks, and she advanced steadily each time. She rode through the night, only stopping every few days to briefly sleep, but she knew she couldn't keep doing this forever. Even Mira, the indomitable beast that she was, was beginning to tire. Anri fed her some green blossoms, even though she only had a few left. It worked, however, because Mira was able to travel much further than she had any right to be able to. Anri wanted to attribute some of that to loyalty, but she wasn't vain.

And soon she would realize that those green blossoms would pay off.

Looking at her map, it was clear that Gil'ead was in front of her. And once again Anri was reminded of the Age of Fire. It looked like a cross between Lothric and the Undead Settlement. The city was decrepit with a semblance of a stone fortress in its center. She would search the city soon, but for now Mira finally earned some rest. At least, that was the plan.

Then a dragon shot into the air from over a small hill!

Anri could only gape before her senses returned to her. A dragon; a bright and glittering blue dragon! She would take that as a sign if ever there was one!

Anri remounted Mira and rode as fast as she could in that direction, but very quickly she realized that something was wrong. She heard the clashing of steel, and she heard grunts and roars of exertion. She urged Mira faster and reached for her doll-talisman, whispering the spell for a lightning spear.

She found herself pulling Mira's reins, causing her to rear onto her hind legs as soon as they crested the ridge. For a moment the fighting stopped, and Anri surveyed the battle she had literally run into. There were about a dozen Urgals from what she could see, as well as about nine or ten laying dead on the ground. The rest had been rushing another young man who had been masterfully wielding a hand-and-a-half sword to fight them off. He, like all of the Urgals, had stopped to appraise the new fighter. There was a moment of sadistic glee on the Urgals' faces as they saw her, thinking she was one of theirs. Unfortunately for them, that glee would turn to fear and anger very quickly.

As Mira began to come back down onto all four legs, Anri looked at a small cluster of Urgals, and threw her lightning spear.

Things were not looking amazing for Murtagh, son of Morzan. He and Eragon had been ambushed by nearly twenty Urgals and in the chaos of the fighting they had knocked the rider unconscious and were carrying him into Gil'ead as he was having these very thoughts. The last thing Eragon had managed to do was tell Saphira to flee before he was gone. Ever since then he had been fighting a very defensive battle, and ever so slowly he felt himself beginning to tire. It only seemed to get worse when the damn knight appeared!

He had crested the ridge, rearing on a horse and clutching something golden and shining. If Murtagh's chances were bleak before, now they were almost nonexistent. The Urgals had a similar train of thought, it had seemed. He would have to call Saphira back if he was to deal with all of them! But it seemed that fate had other plans.

The knight looked like he was throwing something, and then the very air itself came apart. A golden and crackling lance leapt from the knight's hand with a resounding crack! But instead of flying towards Murtagh, it instead flew into a small cluster of Urgals, exploding on impact and sending their smoking corpses flying from the epicenter! Not even seconds later the knight charged into the battle, drawing his sword. And all at once the chaos resumed, but this time it seemed that he had an unexpected ally!

He had always heard tales of knights during his time in Urû'baen, and he'd even been to their training keep, but seeing one in battle was something else entirely. Every strike was precise and the knight found himself parrying at least four Urgals on his own, and from horseback even! He had methodically dispatched them as Murtagh fought his own couple when the knight looked at him.

"Behind you!" came a woman's voice. But it wasn't Saphira's, was it the knight?! He almost forgot about the warning until he stepped to the side and began fighting off another crude looking Urgal. He would process the knight, apparently a she, later. Right now he had to fight for his life!

For a moment it looked like her warning had come too late, but then the man had expertly sidestepped the incoming attack and started his fight anew. Unfortunately her own lapse of judgment let an Urgal strike Mira, deflecting off of the saddle, but causing enough of a fright to both of them that Anri was unprepared for the sudden jolt, and fell from her horse. She dodged a stab towards her and lopped off the leg of the offending brute before standing again. Mira had run a respectable distance away but remained close to the fight in case Anri had need of her.

Anri deflected a sudden slash from her left and took her sword into both hands, leaning into and past the guard of the Urgal and sinking her blade into his neck before ripping it to the side. She didn't watch as the dead brute fell and quickly freed her shield from her back, getting into her preferred stance as she faced down three more of the monsters. The man she had found fighting was finishing up his last few, they were in the home stretch. They all charged her at once and she was forced to block a flurry of blows with her shield while deflecting and parrying with her sword. She waited for an opening, and as one of her opponents overextended his swing she ducked underneath it and slashed at his stomach, her sword cleaving through flesh and leather like it wasn't there. The Urgal clutched his stomach as he tried to keep his organs inside of his body, falling and dying from shock and blood loss. The other two became enraged, and Anri paid for her overconfidence as a rusty axe sparked off of her helmet, doing more damage to the axe if anything. He came in for a heavy right-handed swing as she kicked the other away. Timing it perfectly she swung her shield out, staggering the Urgal with a loud clang, before sinking her sword into his chest until the crossguard met his body. Putting her foot on his abdomen, she kicked him off of her blade, causing him to fall dead on the spot. She readied her stance again when the last Urgal snapped his head forwards, an arrow protruding from between the horns.

And just as it was when she arrived; silence returned.

She kept her guard up for a few seconds more, making sure there weren't any more of the beasts, before lowering her arms and cleaning her blade on the tunic of one of the bodies. She gave a sigh of relief, turning back to the man. She froze, however, when she noticed an arrow notched and aimed straight at her. Ah… he thought she was an imperial. She would have to handle this carefully, but it was then that she noticed something critical. While the man in front of her looked similar to Eragon, he was not in fact Eragon.

The Rider wasn't here!

"Where is Eragon?!" Anri shouted, suddenly very alarmed. She almost missed the way that the man tensed up at her using that name.

"How do you know that name?!" He shouted.

"I've been looking for him!" She paused. The dragon! A glimmer of hope sprouted deep within her. "Did he fly away with the dragon?" She was slowly approaching the man now, disregarding the bow aimed at her.

"No!" He flinched, as if worried that their shouting would attract more unwelcome attention. He continued more quietly, "no. He was taken by the Urgals into the keep. Why do you care so much, why are you looking for him?!" He yelled more quietly, worry and anger in his eyes.

"Because I've been playing catch-up with him across half the gods-damned continent! And now that I finally got here–"

She stopped talking when she heard something akin to wingbeats. Ah! She had forgotten about the dragon again! Before she could even turn halfway around something large and heavy struck her in the side and sent her flying through the air. She couldn't tell how far she was flung, but she wasn't in the air for long because she hit the ground again after a few seconds, rolling until she stopped on her side.

It took a lot of effort to push herself onto her back, gasping to replace the air that had been forced from her lungs. "G-gods above," she croaked. It felt like she had been struck by a great-arrow, something she was very familiar with thanks to Anor Londo. She managed to toss her helmet away after a few tries, relishing the crisp air that had been blocked by the faceplate. Unfortunately, as soon as she was about to sit up she found herself pinned by something else heavy. Her reflex was to try to push the offending item off, but it wouldn't budge, and that's when she heard a growl.

Oh… Oh…

Blinking away the spots and tears she looked at the bright blue and taloned forearm that was not-so-gently pinning her to the ground. Suddenly it was hard to breathe again, but this time she didn't know if it was from fear, or the paw that was pressing her into the dirt. She looked up, and found herself face to face with the furious, snarling, face of a dragon. Footsteps alerted her to the presence of the man from earlier. He had put his bow away and had crouched down next to her.

"I'm going to ask a few questions, and you're going to answer them, truthfully. We don't like the answers we get, you become a snack for the dragon." He sounded like he was trying to be intimidating, as if he needed to!

Anri nodded once. Prying her eyes away from the dragon. "Ask away…" she managed with what air she had.

"How long have you been following them?" He asked.

"Carvahall," she took as deep a breath as she could. "I've been following since; Therinsford, Yazuac, Terim, D-Dras Leona." Another breath, which was getting harder. The dragon didn't like that apparently, pressing harder. She felt her armor pressing into her ribs, constricting her lungs. "F-few days behind. Each time…"

There was silence for a few moments, "are you with the empire?"

"N-No." a snarl echoed above her at her response.

"I don't believe you. It's a well-known fact that the king employs knights, no one else does. Surda doesn't, the Varden certainly don't."

"I-I'm not imperial. My name is Anri." She took a precious breath of air, spots were dotting her vision. "I-I am a knight of A-Astora. Not of the empire."

"Astora? I've never heard of– what?" Anri was suddenly able to breathe again, the paw lessening the pressure on her chest. "Her shield? Why?" She wasn't focusing too much on the conversation. She was focusing more on sucking as much air into her lungs as possible. Forcing her heart to slow down, and evening out her breathing, she noticed that the dragon wasn't quite as angry as before. She was still pissed, but right now she was looking at her with curiosity instead of anger. She heard movement again and turned her head, the man was holding her shield, the blue and gold crest shining proudly in the dawn's light. The dragon was looking at it as well. There was a terrifying intelligence in those serpentine eyes. After a few moments the dragon completely released her hold on Anri, allowing her to roll over onto her hands and knees and finally even out her breathing.

When she pushed herself up, she noticed a hand offered to her. The man was looking at her with a mix of distrust and of curiosity but she didn't turn him down, grabbing his hand and standing up fully. She regretted it as soon as she did, holding her side as a lance of pain shot through her side. That was definitely a cracked rib, maybe more. It took her another minute until she stood up, albeit with a hunch and holding an arm to her side. The man walked back over to the dragon, crossing his arms as both of them stared at her.

"She wants you to tell us everything. Who you are. Astora. Where you came from. Why are you following them? Leave nothing out." He spoke with a hard tone, obviously trying to show that if they needed to, they wouldn't hesitate to strike her down where she stood. Anri closed her eyes, sighing in resignation. If she really did have to tell them everything…

"May I know your name before I start?"

"… Murtagh. My name is Murtagh." He finally said.

"We'll then, Murtagh, how much do you know about the natural order? About ages, and the passage of time?" She asked slowly, weighing her own words.

"What? What natural order? What does time have to do with anything?" Murtagh looked confused and irate, which would only make things harder. The dragon's expression didn't change.

"Has that much time truly passed? That the ages have fallen from memory?" She mumbled to herself. All it got was another look from Murtagh. She sighed again, and noted that she was doing that a lot lately.

"To truly understand the answers you seek, I first need to tell you a story. It may seem fanciful to you, but to me it's history…" Anri took a deep breath, "In the Age of Ancient; the world was unformed, shrouded by fog. A land of gray crags, archtrees, and everlasting dragons. But then, there was Fire, and with fire came disparity…"

And so she told them. She told them all of it. The Lord Souls. The war with the dragons. The Age of Fire. Astora. Undead. The linking of the Flame; causing the distortion of the natural order. Everything. She left out unimportant aspects, but she did tell them about her belief; that this was a new age. An age long after the Age of Fire. And then she told them of her hollowing, which she called her 'death' instead. She answered the questions they had to the best of her ability, and the confused and angry looks turned to curiosity and unfortunately more confusion. Then she told them about the being that brought her here. The word it spoke.

"Seek the Rider; young and with terrible purpose. Seek the Dragon; colored as the sky or jewels beneath the earth. You will be their Sentinel." She paused, catching her breath before continuing, summing it all up. "I am a relic of an age that nobody remembers, brought back solely to safeguard the Rider and his dragon, which would be you," she nodded to the dragon, who she had learned was named Saphira. The first time she spoke to Anri's mind had been a fright, and she still hadn't quite gotten used to it. "Unfortunately though, the being told me nothing about the world, and placed me near Carvahall days after you had already left. I've been trying to catch up with you since then, but unfortunately I wasn't fast enough."

There was silence between them for a while. They were sitting now, and the sun had risen well into the sky since she had started her tale. "Look," she began. "I know it's difficult to believe, and I know you don't entirely trust me, but I can't keep fumbling in the dark like this. I'm from the Age of Fire. This Age is alien to me. I've told you my tale, can you return the favor? What world have I found myself in? What is the empire? I beg of you." And for once in her time here, the fates smiled upon her.

It took a moment, but Murtagh told her the history of this land, at least what he knew. The Dragon Riders, the betrayal and the forsworn. King Galbatorix, the empire, the Varden. He told her what it meant to be a Dragon Rider from his understanding, and he told her about his recent travels with Eragon. He told her about Brom's death, and what they had done until the ambush that morning and Anri's timely arrival. Most of all, he told her about the danger Eragon was in, and just how imperative it was that they freed him and continued their journey.

Finally… Finally…

There were many emotions going through Anri's head, but one overarching feeling was relief. She finally had information, and she could finally make a plan around it. She also realized just how fortuitous and how unfortunate her timing had been. If she had been earlier this could've been avoided, but she was here now.

"I know that it's still hard to trust me, but I promise that I'm here to help you." She turned to Saphira, looking hard into her serpentine eyes. "Saphira… I wish I could make this pledge to Eragon himself, but I'll settle with this for now." Anri pulled her sword from its sheath and took a knee. "By my station as the head of the Blue Sentinels and a knight of Astora; I pledge my support to your cause, and my life to your, and your rider's safety and well-being. By my life or death, if I can protect you I will. I will be your sword and your shield." After a moment she stood up again, sheathing her blade.

Saphira was looking at her with amusement, "I find it amusing that you think I need protection. Still, I understand the weight of your words, and I appreciate and accept them, little knight." The dragoness bowed her head to Anri.

Anri herself turned to Murtagh, "you know more about imperial settlements and keeps than I do. If we're going to rescue Eragon, we're going to need a plan, and I'll follow your lead. Let me prove that I can be trusted."

Another chapter! And the meeting finally happened! But like the tease that I am, you still have to wait for Anri to meet Eragon! The introduction and setup arc is officially over. The real story can now begin!

I had a lot of fun writing this, and I like that I got to use a bit of the story from Dark Souls 1. We're getting closer and closer to the real good stuff. Anri's finally met up with some familiar characters, and soon they'll have to make their flight into the desert and to the Beor mountains. But before even that, they need to spring Eragon, and deal with a confrontation~

I'm glad I was able to get this out relatively quickly again. I don't want to jinx anything, but I've been feeling good lately. I feel like writing, but I still can't promise that I'll keep a regular upload schedule. I'd rather deliver quality chapters that I feel good about than give you whatever I have when the time comes around to post. I'm also gonna start making these a bit longer and longer as we go along. Hopefully I'll end up with 10k chapters, but more than likely I'll have the lower end be 5k+ when I finally settle into my groove. So far the story has been setup, so there hasn't been a lot of substance. This chapter is a taste of what they'll start turning into lengthwise, and now I can get to the actual story, as the introduction arc is over! I cannot wait for you to see what I have in store!

Love you all, see you soon!~