Chapter 28
Fiori and I spent several minutes simply basking in each other's presence, it just felt right. Perhaps since I sort of 'hatched' in this world, my dragon half imprinted upon her. Whatever the reason I wasn't one to complain though the feeling ended when I felt her withdraw back into her Eldunarí and noticed Kyra and Saphira approaching. The girl stopped at the entrance while the dragoness passed her and entered then proceeded to tuck herself under my left wing. I instinctively used it to pull her closer to my side, earning me a lick to the neck while I focused on Kyra who was giving one of those salutes of hers.
"Forgive me great one for not being present after your audience with the king but I felt you were in good…claws? When lovely Saphira showed up and dismissed me, I decided to return here to make sure your holds were properly prepared for your return. Although.."
She paused, giving a sly smile as her eyes darted from Saphira who was affectionately nipping up and down my neck and giving a happy hum, to me who was trying to ignore her and the pleasant shudders running over my entire body.
"Perhaps we should instead prepare a small one for Eragon to have for himself if lady Saphira intends to be with you."
I huffed at the mirth hidden in her eyes.
"Thank you Kyra. we should be fine for now and tomorrow I think I'll stay with the others but the day after I would like to visit the forges. The process of turning ores into usable tools, armor and weapons interests me."
I inwardly smiled as she seemed to perk up at that.
"I could get my betrothed to give the tour and answer any questions then, great one. I fear I wouldn't last long amongst the heat down there. For now I wish you both a good evening and Saphira…"
Said dragoness stopped in her nipping to focus on the girl.
"You can always reach out to me if you need any advice."
She smirked as her eyes briefly flicked to me then back to Saph.
"Men are always clueless about anything involving us women."
I huffed and turned my head away with a grumble as the two females laughed at my reaction.
"Thank you Kyra, I do have a few topics I am interested in."
I saw the smiling girl give her salute then turn, striding out of the Dragonhold.
"Told you I liked her Wrath, she's pleasant company, I do not know why you didn't listen to me before."
I just groaned and laid my head down on the floor, not even bothering to correct her and Saphira took that as an invitation to lay her head on top of mine. We spent the rest of the day like that and chatted about how we felt, well, mostly she did. I confessed how confused I still felt about it though I did tell her how much I liked her. One thing that bugged me as we were reminiscing though and I had to voice it.
"So you liked me from the moment we met, wanted to be with me and wanted my attention?"
I asked, pulling my head from under hers and glanced down at her. She shifted her head onto my paws instead with it tilted so one eye was looking up at me.
"I did, yes."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Then why did you get mad when you woke up that morning with my forelegs around you then proceeded to stomp on a paw and smack my face with your tail?"
I felt her whole body stiffen and she pulled her head away. If dragons could blush I'm sure she'd be a match for mother right then with the embarrassment and guilt I felt coming from her.
"I was… mortified that the old one saw that and… I acted out of instinct."
She was saved by Eragon's call and we both stood and stretched before spreading our wings and taking flight. As we made for his location, I saw a small crowd begin to filter out of the city. I frowned, this was looking like the fated scene where Eragon blessed/cursed the baby Elva. I only hoped he remembered my advice. The boy certainly didn't need that on his conscience. Saphira and I alighted on a small hill a few yards from the entrance and by the time Eragon reached us, Murtagh had already returned to his quarters, we were surrounded by the populace. I saw panic begin to creep into the boy's eyes and I wasn't alone. Saphira moved quickly to his side but as he started to climb onto her, the fated scene started to play out. The old woman carrying a bundle approached and grabbed his ankle causing the dragoness to growl as his panic turned to fear.
"What do you want?"
The old lady revealed the babe in her arms to him as the woman pleaded to him.
"Bless her Argetlam, Bless her for luck for she has no parents nor no one to care for her but me and I am old."
Eragon froze at that, and he turned his eyes to me with terrified eyes. I gently minded him the elven greeting would be fine but refrain from magic, he had this.
I watched as he took a shuddering deep breath, dismounted Saphira, and gently took the child from the woman. Pulling the glove off his right hand he lightly placed it on the little one's forehead and spoke out clearly and I paid close attention to stop him should I feel magic flow.
"Atra esterní ono thelduin. Mor'ranr lifa unin hjarta onr. Un atra du evarínya ono varda." 'May good fortune rule over you. Peace live in your heart. And the stars watch over you.'
Eragon gave a relieved sigh and looked at the woman, handing the child back.
"That should let her live a long, happy life."
"Thank you Argetlam, thank you." the woman bowed to him but stopped from covering the child up when Saphira brought her head around and glanced down at the child. I could feel the fear the old woman had as Saphira touched her snout in the same place and I wondered even as gasps rose from the crowd as the dragoness left a mark identical to the star shaped one in the book. How will Elva's life differ now? I let that thought go for the moment as I figured I might as well bless the child too. I lowered my head towards the child and this time the old woman looked to be in awe, even holding little Elva out to me. I could sense the joy and hope from her, no doubt getting blessed by not only a rider but two dragons as well will make the tiny girl well known by all before the day is over. With a deep hum I touched my snout to the very mark Saphira left and broadened my mental voice to all.
"May it be an evening star that shines down upon you."
"May it be when darkness falls, your heart will be true."
"May it be the shadow's call will fly away and never rest upon your ears."
"May it be you journey to light up the day."
"When the night is overcome, may you rise to find the sun."
I felt a faint trickle of my wild magic flow through my body and to her and when I pulled away the gasps and murmurs renewed for in the center of the white star rested a vibrant blue round sapphire. Taking advantage of the stunned crowd, I quickly mentioned to both Eragon and Saph that now would be a good time for us to leave and we hurriedly took to the air and retreated to the hold.
Once back in the safety of the hold, I had Eragon sit and meditate, giving him the same primer I gave Saphira though he surprised me by stating he already began trying it once Saphira mentioned it. I encouraged him to keep doing so and once he was settled, I led Saphira back to the outside of the city for her lesson and after checking that we were alone, I began addressing why we were here.
"First I feel like I need to ask… Are you aware you've made your own golems?"
Saphia's confused expression spoke for her before she did.
"Why are you even asking? you know I cannot. That is something only you can do."
I shook my head as she huffed, annoyed.
"I thought so too, until you made one in the hallway as I turned to leave. It was a small winged lizard and before you ask, I am sure. It responded to your desire to keep me from leaving and I felt its connection to you."
She sat there stunned and I could see her replay that particular memory. I patiently waited, taking time to let the power of the world seep into me. Moments later I was pulled out of my own meditation as Saphira started to speak.
"I-I felt so angry that you dismissed me the way you did and I was frustrated knowing I had no hope of keeping you there to listen."
I watched her hang her head in shame at losing control and I lowered my own head to nudge hers to meet my eyes.
"Dragons… we are beings of emotion, Saph, and our emotions are our strength. When we are angered, we rage. When we are saddened, the world cries with us. When we are happy, everything around us feels it. Something I did not share at the time of explaining my golems, is how they are formed. During the time of my training, I realized emotions were the key. One emotion in particular, desire."
She tilted her head, confused. "Desire?"
I smiled and nodded. "Desire or want to do something or have something happen. In my case, the desire to use my music box, the desire to explore, to fetch our food, to let Eragon know we were coming for him. And for you it was your desire to stop me."
She was silent as she thought over what I said, then…
"Then…. That wasn't the first time… I thought you were checking on me but thinking on it.. I was angry when I entered the bathing pools, I wanted to get clean quickly and get the day started as quickly as possible. I was barely aware it was happening because I was talking to Eragon but a tiny lizard made of stone was scrubbing my scales."
I was floored. Saphira had stumbled upon an ability that I knew for certain was never meant to exist here, much less be usable by the natives. Did my arrival and the immense wild magic used to bring me here create something all new? It was a thought… After all, didn't the Eldunarí desire a guardian for their would-be saviors? I shook my head, I can think about it later, for now I need to help Saph learn how to use her newfound ability.
"Alright well, let's see if you can do it at will. First I want you to do as you normally do when entering your meditation but don't go seeking for any presences. Instead I want you to sink your 'mind mist into the ground then have it 'flow into one point along all the loose dirt and stone surrounding that point. Now for the tricky stages, While creating a mound I want you to picture a shape and repeat a basic command. Can be anything except speaking."
Thus her lessons went on. I was aware that mother, now awake, was listening intently and following the blue 'ness's progress closely nor did I doubt that she too would start trying to create her own once alone. While I watched and offered support to Saphira, I let my earlier thought return and I had to fight back a grimace. The king CANNOT learn of this. If he did, and he was able to force the large amount of Eldunarí he enslaved to create their own, he'd have a small army of soldiers that could keep coming back that didn't tire nor need the vast supplies a normal army would. A shiver that the focused dragoness thankfully missed wracked my body as another thought formed. What if the mad dragon, Shruikan, learned how to do this? He'd be free to attack in places too small for him… no one would be safe.
We returned to the hold three hours later. Saphira's success amazed me though all her constructs were the same small winged lizard. When I asked why she used that, her response made me smile.
"It is the adorable creature you described in the story you called 'Riders of Pern'. I refuse to acknowledge the large beings in it as dragons when all they are, are larger versions of the winged lizards from that world."
I had to admit, fire lizards were cute and funny in that series. After we settled into my hold, or ours as Saphira claims it is, Eragon shared what his meditation revealed and I told him he was doing amazingly well but when he made to leave us, both Saphira and I stopped him with a forepaw each and pulled him back to us, and nestled him between both of our forelegs. Letting the boy know even if his partner and I accepted each other as mates, he was welcomed just as much.
Urû'baen(after return from Gil'ead)
Shruikan watched with hidden amusement as his partner-not-partner raged within his throne room. Spells were flung and chunks of marble and stone were blasted free. Ever since he received word that those man-eaters were slain, the enslaver's temper grew shorter by the day. It only grew worse when he had to give the abominations two more of their eggs to hatch new servants. In the center cowered one of his enslaver's soldiers, one of a few who survived the destruction of the large human nest he was forced to fly to by the mad rider.
"You expect me to believe that a dragon, one that I wasn't aware of, destroyed a city on its own? One that housed more than half of this empire's active soldiers? You are a fool! Where is Durza?! I left him in charge of the city and you miserable, useless lot!"
"T-the shade was bested by the dragon m'lord. And it had a spell cast on it to appear as a large wolf until a sudden burst of bright light stripped it from the dragon. It seemed to trigger something in the dragon and it went…berserk. It was quite frankly terrifying. S-surely you saw the burned pawprints?"
The black dragon could feel the rising anger in the pretender and he took great pleasure in watching the worm squirm as the enslaver forcibly invaded his mind and tore the memories from him. The dragon quite happily snapped the now broken human out of the air as the false one threw it at him then resumed destroying the room and while his not-partner raged and vented his displeasure, he could not hide the fear now growing within him from the dragon. Shruikan curled his lips back and gave a bone rattling growl.
"You are afraid, enslaver of mine."
"SILENCE! I fear nothing! Least of all a whelping!" Galbatorix roared, spinning to face his dragon and firing a blast of magic that made the massive dragon writhe and hiss in pain. The mad king then stalked out of the room, shouting for someone to clean up the mess and calling for his generals. As the throne room doors slammed shut behind him. A single eye stared at them as he listened to the receding voice. He had stolen a glimpse of what scared his false partner the moment he accused him of it. The brief lapse of the enslaver's guard enough to spot a truly worthy challenger. First as a silver drake then as a beast of destruction and chaos. That last image sent a wave of excitement through the large dragon.
'Hm, I'm tempted to listen to my enslaver for once if it'd allow me a chance to meet this strange dragon in battle.. But why bother, he'll come here eventually. Until then…'
Shruikan's thoughts paused and he licked his lips as servants warily entered and he quickly closed his eyes to appear to be slumbering.
"I shall satisfy myself with a few snacks… perhaps I'll let them do their jobs for once..'
A few hours later, screams and a roar could be heard from the direction of the throne room, and several staff positions became available at that moment.
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A/N: And that's Elva addressed! Now, hmm No Saphira again yes another short one BUT! Don't worry, the next chapter will have her since it'll be a 'relaxed' day for the gang with it involving POVs of not only Wrath and Saph, but also Eragon and Murtagh as everyone goes and does their own thing while the fourth day there will be Eragon's test and the return of Arya in the chapter after that.
But Pyramus! The test was supposed to be on the third day!
Aah but you are forgetting, that the original gang was forced to wait in a room after arriving, possibly for a day before entering the city. So in fact/theory it took Arya four days to recover and since my group was never made to wait in that room, everything still lines up.
Met ajihad on their first day(instead the night the OG gang left the room,
Second day was swapped alil bit. In the book Eragon blessed Elva BEFORE meeting the dwarf king whereas I did the whole blessing after.
Yea I changed up alot and I am thinking of changing it to a sort of AU due to everything I'm tossing into the mess, not quite sure yet.
To all of you newcomers, Thank you for all the support!
AND THANK YOU to the Betas of Jordan and Undead for making all of this readable. XD