Disclaimer:

The world is Paolini's, part of the puppets are from J.K., and one old guy is from my imagination… that is a threesome! A free one even… it sounded better in my head.

Previous:

The new king started to get things organized, when Galiana puppy-eyed us, we provided two-way journals to the Nobles, so the king had direct contact with the regions, eliminating the middlemen, namely the local magicians.

This way some months passed, and we became restless, we need to find that bloody portal!

14 The way home.

We are six months into this world already. Saphira is flying with Eragon, Aria, and Murthagh are almost there. The new king had with the two-way journals the country back in order. He granted big parts of the land to the Varden, mostly from cruel nobles that abused their position under Galbatorix's rule.

Ajihad got a position in Dras Leonas, if he can handle those lunatics that worship those Ra'zac, then he can redeem himself.

Jormundur and his part of the Varden were settling on the banks of the river. We called that part of Land Varda and made Jormundur Duke rule over it. The river got named Var. Not very original, but effective. Jormundur too got the Core Laws he could not change, breaking one will void his nobility. He swore the vow and started to build his city.

We even have selected our own future land to settle down, the center is a big closed-off valley with a river flowing through, that ends a hundred miles further into the Var. it is easy to defend, and big enough to house and feed a couple of hundred thousand. The girls already planted saplings from Ellesmera, the quality of those trees is too good to ignore, after a few centuries these trees will do nicely to live in. sooner when we boost their growth.

Now that the Urgals are preparing to move, Luna, Belladonna, and Ginny went to Ellesmera to help search for the portal.

Daphne said to me: "Harry, take Fleur, and Galiana to Ellesmera, we can handle the rest here. Leave the Manor trunk, we have to use them to relocate the Urgals if you are not back on time. Go and find the way back home."

I nodded: "You feel the urgency too? We will leave tomorrow, that way Galiana can say goodbye."

The poor little princess got one culture shock after another. To visit the elves, a race she only knew from tales and legends, on a quest to search for another world, became overwhelming. It was a good thing that Fleur came along to guide her.

/ \

The next day, we took a portkey close to Imira's outpost. Galiana rode on my back with Fleur flying next to me, a bit later we arrived at the outpost where Imira welcomed us.

She smiled and gave me a big hug: "My love, it is so good to see you again. Fleur, Galiana, come so I can show you how our husband's Magic is benefiting our nation. This part of the forest is much more alive now, it is singing a song of joy and happiness to us."

Proudly, she showed the new style of tree houses, with the newly developed showers and integrated kitchen. Galiana had her mouth wide open, this was a completely different world and way of living, and yet, the Magic from it was calling to her.

She said: "Imira, I can feel the Magic, it is calling to me, is that normal?"

Imira nodded softly: "Yes it is Galiana. The Magic you feel originated from our husband, these trees are filling these woods with his Magic, you, as one of his wives are tuned in to his Core Magic and feel it ten-fold."

Imira looked at me and said: "We are limiting these Runed tree houses to our settlements, so the excess Magic can bleed into the surrounding woods, where it can safely be absorbed by the trees and land. This outpost is an exception as a testing area."

I hugged her: "That is a good decision Imira, that will keep the forest healthy, and prevent corruption of the trees by overloading the Magic. Galiana, this kind of Magic will be in your grasp too very soon, after some study of course."

Fleur gave Galiana a one-arm hug and said: "Not very soon Husband, we will take our time, there is too much to learn for Galiana, let her enjoy the wonders of Du Weldenvarden first."

Imira agreed: "I approve that Fleur! Come Galiana, I will show you our magic orchards, the fruit is tasting so much better from it."

We spent the rest of the day showing Galiana the Elf outpost, although it can not exactly be called an outpost anymore. It became a small settlement inhabited by elf scientists that studied the new Magic and its effects. That night, Galiana received her first kiss, followed by a lot of other firsts. In my mindscape, I pulled her into my dragon mind to let her feel what a dragon is like.

When we left the mindscape, Galiana cuddled me and sighed: "Thank you for having me Husband, you made my life wonderful."

I smiled at her: "You are very welcome my love, our journey is just started, there are a lot of wonders that have yet to be discovered."

/ \

Imira kissed us goodbye, promising to come to Ellsmera tonight. I activated the portkey to Oromis cabin, there we saw the three Dragon Riders practice, Glaedr was away with the three young dragons.

Oromis welcomed us: "Dragon Lord Harry and Ladies, be welcome in my home. Lady Fleur, and Lady Galiana, your sister wives will be thrilled with your visit. They often come here to fly with the young ones."

Fleur bowed her head and said: "We are honored by your kind words, wise one, may I introduce our final sister, Galiana, the daughter of the current king in Alagaesia. Galiana, you have the rare honor to greet Oromis, the last of the original Dragon Riders, you will meet his partner Glaedr this afternoon."

Galiana took a deep bow: "It is my honor to meet one of the legendary Dragon Riders, sir. I could never dream of such a thing happening to me. I only hope I can live up to the expectations."

Oromis's face softened: "Have no doubt about that Lady Galiana, being part of the Dragon Lord's Household will see to that. Every one of his wives are bright stars that shine into this world, you will become one of these stars."

I interrupted the ass-kissing and said: "We did not mean to disrupt your teaching, we will return with the wives this afternoon. There is a lot of news to tell you."

Oromis returned the bow: "We will await your return Dragon Lord."

I nodded to the three Riders: "We will talk after your lessons."

A Weyr of dragons came flying in, eight dragons descended roaring with joy, they all landed around us and rubbed their heads against us, before changing into humans.

Katie said: "Good that you are here Harry, we are so close we can almost taste it, there is just a small veil that prevents us to discover the portal. Oh, hi Oromis, Eragon, Aria, and Murtagh. We sensed our husband and could not wait for him to come to us."

Oromis answered: "It is alright Lady Katie, students must be able to adjust to unexpected events like these and learn from them."

I commented: "But we already took too much of your time, so we will be leaving. See you later wise one."

I changed, Fleur put the saddle back on, strapped Galiana in and we flew away. Watched by four people with mixed feelings.

Oromis commented: "When your partners are a bit older, they can pull your mind into theirs and let you see through their eyes, and feel their bodies as if it were your own. It is an unforgettable experience when you do it for the first time. And yet I doubt it will compare to being a real dragon."

/ \

We arrived in Ellesmera and landed before the palace. We all changed back to humans and greeted the Queen: "Good day Queen Islanzadi, now that the lands are back at peace, we feel the urge to find the portal back home. I hope we can enjoy your wonderful hospitality a bit longer."

Islanzadi neighed her head: "Our hospitality is yours to keep Dragon Lord, Returning the Dragon Riders and removing the scourge from Illirea, bringing peace to the lands, you even gifted us new Magic, we can't thank you enough. We will have a feast tonight to celebrate your return."

Damn! Those elves grab any excuse to have a party… I don't like the looks in my wives eyes… should I run?

I focused back to Islanzadi: "We are honored Queen Islanzadi, we did promise the wise one a visit this afternoon to report our progress, we can take you and your council along if you like. We can easily create portkeys for it."

Yeah, Hell is freezing over the day I let those old elves ride me and my wives. A portkey will do nicely. Now that our Manor trunk is in Illirea, we are housed in the guest quarters. At lunch, we filled each other's curiosity, it was mainly Galiana that fired questions at a speed Hermione would approve of. She was almost hyperventilating from meeting the Queen of the elves.

Fleur hugged her to calm down: "Easy Galiana, it is a lot to take in, but you will get used to it. Remember, you are a princess too. It is such an honor to be in your presence, my Princess! Understand? You too are now becoming one of the legends. Galiana, the last wife the Dragon Lord married… hmm, that does not sound impressive enough. Anyone can do better?"

Flora raised her hand: "Galiana the Dragon Princess!"

Fauna changed it into; "The Princess Dragon!"

Padma commented: "Maybe we better wait what color she becomes as a dragon."

Galiana's brain froze: "I am going to be a dragon soon? I thought it will take years."

Fleur nodded: "Yes Galiana, you will be one soon, once we trained your Magic power up, I bet you will be a green one, you have pretty green eyes."

Padma inspected her: "Nah, a silver one like you Fleur, she has almost the same hair color as you."

Ginny joked: "I vote for a silver one, so we can easily spot our husband in our group."

I spotted the mother of Lineria and motioned her to come over: "Mother-in-law, here is a two-way journal, this way you can communicate with Lineria whenever you want, ah Mother-in-law, here is the journal to communicate with Fiona. Use these pencils, the words will vanish when you close the journal to make room for the next conversation, a drop of your and her father's blood will bind it to your family."

Both thanked me for the books, kids under a hundred years need supervision. I bet Lineria and Fiona will be grateful when mommy is checking up on her daughter… I am dead.

/ \

That afternoon we took a portkey to Oromis with the complete council, Queen and Maud the Werecat included.

A temporary meeting room was erected with a large table and comfy chairs, with one side of the room open for the dragons to take part in the meeting. There we reported on our activities.

Belladonna started: "We have half of the Urgal nation convinced to move to the new lands, they prefer mountain areas, so if humans stay on the plains and hills there will be not much friction. We also almost convinced them of our way to find a suitable mate, by introducing competitions, instead of going after dragons, elves, or humans. I doubt there will be complete peace, but it will be solitary actions that will be punished by their leaders."

Luna continued: "We settled half of the Varden in the new Lands, thirty miles from where the Edda river joins the Az-Ragni and flows east we made Jormundur Duke of that region and call it Varda, the river we call Var."

She looked at the council: "We claimed the lands in the east for our own and granted parts to the Varden and Urgals. We also started planting seedlings from the trees in Du Weldenvarden. We reckon in a few centuries they will be big enough to sustain a house. We welcome any race that wants to live in peace with us."

I took over: "We found a nice valley to found our first settlement in the center of our land, in a few years it will be our main capital."

Oromis was satisfied with our report: "That you are welcoming other races into your land is a good sign, are you going to welcome wild dragons too?"

I chuckled: "Of course! Why ever not? We can speak with them, but I doubt they will leave the Haradac desert behind, I fear they will be only some random visitors."

I looked at the three Riders: "The Dragon Riders are welcome to build a base, or go back and restore Vroengard to its former glory, although that will take centuries. The radiation of that place is deadly to most creatures. If you are interested, there is an old volcano that is a hundred miles east of Du Weldenvarden and a hundred fifty from the Beor mountains. Far enough to be safe, and close enough to fly to Alegeasia. It is easy to defend and the surrounding can sustain a lot of dragons."

Aria, as the eldest and more experienced, answered: "The decision to make is for the wise one, although it sounds appealing to me."

Oromis shook his head: "No, young Aria, our time has passed, our wounds are healed, but our minds remain broken. We will stay here to guide the young in the first months, to train them in the Dragon Lord's way. The era of the Dragon Riders is gone. The Era of the Dragon Lords has started."

Luna commented: "Not exactly true, Wise One, we seek not to dominate our kind or others, we want to live in peace with our neighbors, be them dragon, elf, dwarf, Urgal or human."

I nodded: "Keep in mind we are new at this, not one year ago I could only dream to see a real dragon, let alone be one myself, now I am one and have thirty wives twenty-six of them dragon animagi like me. In our world, we are secluded from normal humans in small enclaves or hidden homes. Our world is overpopulated, with seven billion people. A thousand times thousand, and seven thousand times that number. Globally, our magic population numbers between two and four million. To be honest, I do not know how many would be prepared to move here, or how many people I want to move here. It is complicated at home."

Fleur added: "Our main concern is to find the portal so that we can travel between our worlds, our pregnant sisters expect us to be there during childbirth. We want to be there."

I turned to Glaedr and asked: "Old One, have you thought about our offer about the Eldunari? It would stop the madness, although I understand no dragon wants someone messing with their minds."

Glaedr projected his thoughts: "I haven't decided Dragon Lord. But my feelings are leaning more toward keeping their memories. I will wait until you bring the other Eldunari here."

I decided to reveal the last secret: "Not only Eldunari, Old One but there are also eggs too, about three hundred…"

The rest of my words were lost in the roaring of four dragons, very deafening in a room.

Glaedr asked me: "Why did you keep it a secret for so long? Why not tell us directly?"

I shrugged: "I wanted you to focus on the three current riders, instead of traveling the country for suitable candidates. Also, the country was not stable enough, and last but not least, at the Agaeti Blodhren ritual, I want you to include the dwarves and Urgals in the pact. That is the only way to keep the peace."

I looked at the people at the table: "That was the conclusion of the story. The riders moved to the land of the east, although they don't need to anymore. The rider in the story had to depend on the armies of the coalition to win the war. This is not the case anymore."

Aria commented: "Instead we have to depend on you and your wives."

I tilted my head and mulled over that comment: "You know? That is actually true. And to be honest, I can't wait for it to end. The king is almost settled in, your dragons can carry you longer than an hour, and frankly, you don't need to depend on us anymore. The only thing we do is to speed things up. There is a reason that Umaroth did not reveal the presence of the eggs, you can ask him the reason himself when you meet him."

Yes, they depend on us, and they could do without us too, it would take years instead of months.

Luna calmed me down a bit: "We can show you the place we thought was ideal for the riders. Hubby, can you provide the memory? I will take my Pensieve out. For the dragons, link with your partners and you will see it too. It is not that hard to do, feel each other's mind and merge. Now follow it to the one that will lead. Everyone put a finger in the silvery substance and your mind will go into the memory."

It was actually a surprise that the ones that entered the memory changed into a dragon too and flew next to me. I bet those ancient elves shit their pants when they found themselves circling that old volcano.

I almost shit myself from laughter when those old elves tried to talk and started to roar.

Projecting my thought to them I said: "Keep quiet, and observe the lands, don't try to talk the same as me, it is not meant to be used this way."

Padma said: §If you understand me, you can talk this way.§

Glaedr spoke through Oromis: §This is interesting Magic, it could be an excellent teaching tool.§

Fauna commented sadly: §Or a horrible torturing device.§

Twenty minutes later, everyone left the Pensieve. Islanzadi said: "Thank you Dragon Lord. This was an unforgettable experience. I actually felt that I was a dragon, I flew through the sky, saw every detail… thank you very much."

Oromis nodded: "This magic device is priceless. To let you feel what a dragon is like, to be a dragon, even I after all these years have never felt it like this. Riding along in Glaedr's mind comes close but is not the same."

Great, now I have given those old elves a braingasm. I fulfilled some childhood dreams.

Islanzadi asked: "Such a Pensieve, can it be bought?"

I sighed: "I was planning to create one for the Agaeti Blodhren ritual as a gift with a permanent memory in it."

I looked around and commented: "I know magic objects are not a perfect gift during the Agaeti Blodhren ritual, but my gift was supposed to be a flight like the one you just experienced."

Oromis nodded: "That would be a perfect offering."

Aria, Eragon, and Murthagh were dazed, they had their dragon tagging along for the first time and experienced being a dragon for real, even their dragons were impressed.

Finally, Eragon said: "That old volcano looked perfect to me, two streams close by, fertile lands surrounding it and the crater is big enough to house a small city."

Aria came to her senses: "I agree, but before moving there we have to be organized better. I suggest waiting until after the Agaeti Blodhren ritual, it is in a year and a half."

The meeting lasted until dinner time, Islanzadi announced: "We better end this meeting, and start the celebration. Dragon Lord, can you bring us back?"

I grinned: "No problem at all Queen Islanzadi, my companions will remove this room first while I create the portkeys."

Eragon said: "I think I'll pass for this celebration."

I put my arm around his shoulder: "Eragon, there is nothing wrong with acting on your feelings and instincts. Even the elves with their high civilization and education know the importance of letting loose. They take pleasure in song and dance, good food and drinks, and most of all, celebrate life! There is bound an elf maiden or two that want to talk, sing, or have fun with you. Saphira, I think I have a barrel of a beverage that I am certain you would like."

Saphira answered: § I saw the memories Dragon Lord… We will be there.§

/ \

I woke up with a splitting headache, I groaned: "What the fuck? I thought I got sober again when I turn into a dragon?"

Parvati grinned: "Not when you drink a barrel of whiskey you don't."

I looked around, I spotted Saphira in an undignified position, Thoorn was out too, and Aria's Firnen was clearly drunk too and snoring.

I softly asked Parvati: "Is there a chance to get a memory of this party?"

Parvati shook her head: "Better not husband, but I can tell you that Aria is not going to be happy. You got all three kids drunk, Saphira even tried to sing. The riders got drunk too because they share their senses. Eragon left with two girls, Aria shagged Faolin on the table, Murthagh was declaring his eternal love to a bunch of… well-aged elf women, I don't know what happened with him after a few of those women took him away. You... you were your wonderful self."

I sighed: "That is what I am afraid of Parvati, I don't know my wonderful self. I forget it every time."

Padma giggled: "Maybe it is better that way Harry. And thank you, it has been a long time since we made love, last night made up for it."

Katie woke up too and looked around, she spotted the three sleeping dragons and said: "Why don't we take a shower and… not be here when those three wake up?"

Luna heard it and agreed: "Yeah when they wake up, their riders will too. I am in need of a long hot shower, who wants to join me?"

We went outside, in a secluded spot I took my apartment trunk out and we entered after warding it with notice me not spells. We pretended not to hear the roars and Aria's angry yelling when she was searching for us. I always found her a bit uptight. I hope Murthagh is alright though. If those elves are a bit like Imira, then he was in for one hell of a ride.

/ \

We came out, freshly showered, clean as a whistle, spic and span, sparkling like… ah, good, they are gone.

At breakfast, we discussed ways to locate the portal. When I mentioned that in the death chamber, you could hear voices from a distance, but you could not understand them.

Luna said: "So it is in a populated area, and most importantly, the portal is open. We have to spread out and send a message Patronus to one of the girls' home. With a bit of luck, it will travel to the portal."

I smiled: "I reckon a few casts and we are there, make certain not to spook the girls, tell them we are close to finding the portal."