By the time Brom could be found and brought to the tavern, Rand was already shit faced. He had been hesitant to accept Horst's offer for food and drink at first, but the blacksmith had insisted, and Rand had obliged.

Obliged too much.

God, what the fuck do these people put in there drinks, Rand thought miserably. Pulling his blanket over his head, he curled up even more. His head hurt too much to even care about the fact that his surroundings were totally unfamiliar.

"You made quite the fool of yourself." His dragon snickered in his head.

"Did I?"

"You taught half the village how to dougie."

"Wh–" Broken memories of the previous night filled his head. "These guys have some hard fucking beer… holy shit. Did I really try to kiss Gertrude?"

"If you mean the old, stout women, yes."

Schadenfreude practically poured through their link.

"Don't act so smug just yet. We'll see what happens when you drink, buddy."

"I would never act so undignified."

"Wait until we get a couple barrels into you, and then we'll see."

For a brief moment, a sense of longing perpetrated through their link, before the dragon hastily masked it.

Feeling guilty for not being able to bring his dragon into the village, Rand sighed. "It won't be long. You know as well as I do, that this village is just the beginning. Even if I wanted to, and I don't, we won't be able to stay here for too long.

Events are already in motion. Galbatorix is what, under two years away, from finding the Name of Names. If we're to stand any chance at all of living freely, we'll have to kill him before then. That means rescuing Arya so that the elves resume communication with the Varden. Stopping the army of Urgals that are marching to the Varden from destroying it. Then get strong enough that we can actually face the king and his minions in battle."

"That does not seem simple."

"It won't be. Convincing Brom though, should be easy enough. He's even more motivated to topple the King than we are. It's Eragon that I'm worried about. By telling him to keep the egg secret, he won't have reason to depart this village.

It was one thing, when the Empire tortured his uncle to death, and he set himself against them to seek revenge. It's another to convince a kid, content with his life, that he should leave everything behind to kill a man that has inconvenienced his life by raising taxes."

"You underestimate his dragon. She will not be content to sit in this village while an Egg Breaker rules this land. Nor will she be content to hide in the forest for long." The 'neither am I, remained unsaid, but very much implicit."

"Speaking of, any signs of her yet? The Trader's haven't come around, and if I remember right, she only hatched after that in the story. But, she might feel more assured about hatching now that Eragon knows not to sell her."

"I've not seen any signs of her near their farm."

"How close did you get?"

"Not very, but I would have recognized the signs of her presence. I've become too familiar with the surroundings not to recognize the presence of another dragon."

"Hmm. It should be soon then."

"Are you even certain that she will hatch for him?"

"No, not entirely. I would be surprised if she changes her mind though."

"You touched her egg. What if she's decided to choose you over him?"

Rand frowned. "Is that even possible?"

"It is." The dragon stated simply.

Rand shook his head, and climbed out of his bed. "It would be better if she chose him. Two riders against Galbatorix would be better than one, and I'm not keen on usurping Eragon's destiny."

"Why not? With your knowledge, you have the potential. You also know better than anyone what needs to be done, and how?"

"Your confidence warms my heart, but it's not that easy. In the story, it was Eragon who called on wild magic, and destroyed him. This was after the King had discovered the Name of Names, and been stripped of all his wards by Murtagh. The amount of power that man has accumulated with the Eldunari in his possession alone… Just thinking about it makes me shudder. Hundreds of dragons empty their energy day after day, for hundreds of years into a gem… He might well be strong enough to 'Shinra Tensei' an entire city if he wants to. Not to mention the hundred years he had to ward himself against every threat he could possibly imagine. The elves couldn't even defeat him a hundred years ago, and he would have gotten considerably stronger by now."

"You make it seem as if we are doomed."

"Sorry. I'm not trying to say it can't be done. Just that, even with all that I know, it won't be easy– You know, when I first read the tale, and thought it was just that, I was disappointed in how it ended. Eragon's victory felt… cheap. Galbatorix, even after everything Eragon had endured, was just too strong to be defeated, so it seemed like the storyteller had just pulled something out of his ass."

Deep in the Spine, his dragon raised rolled his eyes at the strange expression.

"It's an idiom. Anyway, now that I'm here, and I can't rely on that same asspull– I'm not sure how to actually defeat him either."

"That's not true."

"What?"

"I think your memory is being altered."

"What are you talking about?"

"There are holes in what you remember. You know that Eragon went somewhere and retrieved something before the final battle. You know that there was something else that brought Saphira's egg to him. Something that gave him the tools he needed to defeat the king, but you do not know what it is, or how to get it. Or what it is even for... A weapon exists, except, even its mere memory guarded by magic. Perhaps that is the answer you seek."

"Possibly." Rand scoured his mind for any clues, and there were some, now that his dragon had pointed it out, that had gone over his head. Solumbum's cryptic advice, the biggest. The first half pointed Eragon to the roots of the Menoa tree, where Rand knew brightsteel was buried. The second half, referred to the Rock of Kuthian. However that was resolved, or if it was resolved at all though, he could not remember.

"I'll keep thinking, but something tells me that even that weapon, whatever it is, isn't enough. Regardless, it doesn't change what we have to do for the time being. Anyway, what do you think about Iroh for a name?" Rand asked, projecting whatever details he could conjure of the man.

"He was a good man, but his name is not powerful." The dragon projected back after a minute.

"..."

"You will think of something eventually."

"I don't know. As much as you say you want me to name you, you haven't let me name you. I'm starting to think I should have just picked one while you were too young to know better."

"Do not cry over missed opportunities Rand, no good will come of it."

"Yeah, yeah." Rand, head still throbbing rolled off the bed. "I'm going to find Brom, and figure out what the next few months are going to look like. You?"

"I saw another mountain cat. I will hunt it."

"Good luck."

Rand found Brom sitting on a chair, staring blankly into a fire. Pulling up his own chair beside the older man, Rand joined him.

"Morning."

Brom inclined his head, and poured another cup of tea, not saying anything.

"So, time to get my training started. What's first! Sword play, the ancient language, protecting my mind, dragon saddle making–"

"None of the above for now. We will leave for the Varden as soon as we have the supplies. I'll teach you what I can along the way, but the bulk of your training will be done there, and later in Ellesmera. Be patient though. It will take you a few years yet to learn enough to even challenge the King. Decades perhaps."

"Yeah, hate to break it to you, but we don't have that long. Galbatorix will discover the Name of Names soon. If we are to stand any chance of victory, we either need to discover it first, or kill him before he has the opportunity."

"What!" Brom's eyes bulged from his head. "No one's discovered the Name for thousands of years. How does he find it?"

Rand shrugged. "Not a clue, I just know he does."

"How soon? Ten years, twenty?"

"Two if we're lucky. Likely less. So, better to get started. Now, I know a few words and phrases: Brisingr, Stenr Risa, Waise Heill, etcetera, but I think we should really shore that up. You'll also need to teach me how to actually use my magic. I know I should have the ability now that I'm a rider, but I haven't been able to call on my magic, so I was wondering if you know a trick–"

Brom abruptly stood up, and started aggressively filling a pack with his belongings, a crazed expression on his face.

Maybe I should have dropped that bomb a little more gently. Rand thought, watching the former rider do his best to stave off panic.

Swords were pulled from the floor board before Rand decided to stop the old man.

"Listen, I hate to burst your bubble here, but we can't actually go to the Varden yet. Maybe soon, if you're really pressed to leave, but not yet. There's stuff that needs to be done before then, and it needs to be done in a way that makes it so that none of us lose our lives in the process."

That pulled Brom out of his panic. "What things?"

"For one, we gotta stay in this village for at least another month."

"Why?"

Rand looked away. "You're going to have to give me your word that you won't do anything hasty."

"In the ancient language?"

"No, I won't demand an oath, I trust you that much. But, you're word."

Brom frowned. "Fine, you have it. Why can't we leave?"

"I have it on good authority that the blue egg you stole from the king is about to hatch for Eragon."

"How would he even have it? It should be– What did you do to Arya?"

"Me, nothing. She was attacked by a Shade while ferrying the egg, though. Her companions died, but they bought her enough time to teleport the egg away– to you. Except, it went to Eragon instead. Before you ask, no, I don't know why that happened."

"You're saying Eragon will become a Rider."

"I'm saying he should become a Rider. As far as I know, the egg hasn't hatched yet. Which is why we should give it some time."

"What else do you know?"

"A fair bit."

"Well, what are you waiting for lad! Let me hear it!"

And Rand did.