A/N : Hey guys, before you start reading this new chapter of 'A God in Alagaësia', I have some things to tell you.
-First of all, thank you for the people who recently commented on my story and I also want to thank you for following and/or favoring it. It warm my heart to see that you are liking it.
-Secondly, I'm still wondering if I should pair Erik/Valhir/Volibear with Saphira… Tell me your opinion through reviews or private messages.
-Thirdly, don't be surprised if I take time between chapters : work is a pain in the backside… that and personal problems.
-Fourthly, I said it before, I will say it again : I gave up on writing the second part of 'Vampire, Shifters and Teddy Bears' so if some people want to write one… then they have my blessing.
Now that everything was said, I will leave you alone so you can read this story in peace. GOOD EVERYONE AND ENJOY THE STORY !
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A yawn escaped Erik's mouth as he laid on the grassy ground, his blue eyes watching Eragon and Brom sparring with long sticks (which were shaped like swords). At his side, stood the blue scaly form of Saphira who was also watching the spar with attention.
Many hours had passed since they left the forest near Carvahall and so far, the journey went mostly smooth : Brom had been leading the group, following the trails left by the Ra'zacs or chatting with Eragon about many subjects (mostly about Dragons, their habits and the likes), Saphira had been flying above them, acting like a scout while Erik was the protector of the group.
All of them were heading toward a place called Therinsford, a city southwest of Carvahall, situated in the Palancar Valley.
Erik had growled at that: he was NOT looking forward to approaching a town ! Besides, even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to access it because of his appearance. After all, humans were not tolerant creatures… They would without a doubt try to kill him if they caught sight of him. But deep down, Erik also didn't wanted to enter a city because it reminded him of what he hated the most : civilization.
Being surrounded by walls of stone or bricks and countless of humans was not for him, thank you very much !
Apart of that, Erik had been annoyed about something else : Brom.
Since the moment Erik lashed out at him, the old storyteller hadn't stopped sending him distrustful and wary glances… which internally pissed him a lot. But thankfully, the massive White Bear managed to keep his cool… no matter how much he wanted to punch the guy.
But fortunately, nothing else bothered him on this trip: Eragon was friendly with him and showed a lot of curiosity towards him... which flattered our hero a little. Saphira, too, had been a good companion : she would talk with him telepathically and she even taught him how to respond back to her this way.
It was very useful as he looked like an idiot by talking out loud around everyone when others couldn't hear Saphira's voice.
Apart of his companion, the scenery had also calmed him a lot : the trees around him reminded him of his home and the white coat of snow was beautiful to look out. Unlike his human companions, he wasn't bothered by the temperature, all thanks to his fur.
The group of four had walked (minus Saphira who flew instead of walk) until the sun started to decline in the sky. The humans made the camp and Eragon cooked meals before Saphira decided to settle next to her Rider, giving her her heat… all the while sitting next to the Massive White Bear.
Once the food was ready, Eragon and Brom ate in silence while Saphira and Erik mostly laid there, doing or saying nothing. The only sound you could hear was the crackling fire.
Erik, him, had been deep in thought, his eyes turned toward where they came from, as a look of longing could be seen shining in them. He missed his home dearly and internally, he wished he hadn't left his cave. But then he remembered why he left : to help Eragon and Saphira in their quest.
He had promised to come… and he will be damned if he breaks it !
His thoughts had been quickly interrupted by a cry of surprise from Eragon and he had turned his head to see the farmer with a stick in his hand. The stick had been tossed to the young man by Brom who also had a stick in his hand.
Erik quickly realized what was about to happen (thanks to him having read the book when he was still human) and couldn't help the smirk to appear on his muzzle.
"Defend yourself !" Brom had shouted to the younger man after going back on his feet.
Erik watched as Eragon stared at the stick in his hand before putting a determined face as he went back on his feet.
As the two humans faced one another, Erik glanced at Saphira before whispering loud enough to be heard by her
"This is gonna be fun~"
Saphira glanced back at him with what looked like a raised eyebrow before a toothy smirk grew on her scaly face. The two of them smirked at one another before looking back at the two humans, eager to see what will happen next.
After a few seconds, Brom made the first move by charging Eragon, swinging his stick. The young farmer tried to block the coming attack but sadly was too slow and yelped in pain as Brom struck him on the ribs before stumbling backward.
"Brom : 1… Eragon : 0..." Erik said with a smirk while crossing his muscular arms over his chest, smirking while Saphira snorted in amusement. Brom, himself couldn't help but looking smug for a moment.
Eragon shot him an unamused glare, having clearly heard him but then
he lunged at the storyteller, but Brom easily blocked his blow. Then, Eragon whipped the stick toward the Old Man's head before twisting it at the last second, trying to hit his side.
But it was futile as Brom once again blocked his blow… but this time with a proud expression on his aged face.
"Improvisation… good !" exclaimed Brom with gleaming eyes.
He wasn't the only one to be proud as Erik and Saphira looked as such.
But suddenly, Brom moved and Eragon fell unconscious.
"Brom : 2… Eragon : 0..." Erik commented with a chuckle.
Saphira shot him an amused look before looking back at her rider… who was now completely wet, all thanks to a grinning storyteller with a pan in his hands.
"You didn't have to do that !" Eragon growled angrily at the older man while pushing himself up.
At those words, Brom arched an eyebrow "Oh ? A real enemy wouldn't soften his blows, and neither will I ! Should I pander to your... incompetence so you'll feel better ? I don't think so..."
When he finished speaking, the Old Man picked up the stick that
Eragon had dropped before holding it out "Now, defend yourself !"
"Here we go again..." Erik whispered with a smirk while, at his side, Saphira looked as eager as him.
However, Eragon only stared blankly at the piece of wood before shaking his head, saying "Forget it; I've had enough !"
Once those words left his lips, the young man turned around to leave…only to stumble when he was whacked across the back. With a cry of slight pain, Eragon spun around, growling in anger, as he glared at the one responsible.
"Never turn your back to the enemy !" Brom admonished him with gleaming eyes before tossing the stick at him and attacking.
For the next minutes, the two non-humans watched the two fighters, listening as Brom was giving his student some advices while humiliating him. But one thing was sure : while Eragon was a quick-learner, he could not hold Brom off for more than a few blows.
He was not strong enough for that… at least not yet.
Thankfully (for Eragon), it wasn't long until Brom said it was enough for today and the young Rider flopped on his blankets, groaning in pain. Erik shot him a sympathetic look, knowing that it must have hurt a lot.
"You okay, cub ?" the Massive White Bear asked the young Rider in a kind tone.
"I feel like I have been trampled on by a hundreds of cows… How do you think I am ?" Eragon answered dryly while shooting him a blank look.
Ignoring the way Brom snorted at that, Erik nodded his head in understanding "Fair point..."
Suddenly, their attention was caught by Saphira when the blue Dragoness let out a long, coughing-like growl while curling her lip until we could see a row of teeth. Eragon shot her a glare but it did nothing to wipe out the grin on her face.
It didn't take genius to understand what was going on after Erik saw the young Rider blushing madly in embarrassment.
"Saphira… Stop teasing the boy, he will be strong… eventually..." Erik said to the two in a calm but stern tone.
At the last part, however, Eragon's blushed even more while Saphira snorted louder in amusement. From the corner of his eyes, he could see that Brom looked just as amused.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it off !" Eragon grumbled to the Dragoness before looking back at the White Bear.
"And thank you for trying to cheer me up… maybe a certain someone can learn a thing or two about sympathy..." At the last part, the young Rider shot a glance toward Saphira… who growled at him.
Erik snorted at this and, ignoring the glare sent his way by Saphira, he looked at Eragon before opening his mouth to say calmly
"I wasn't trying to cheer you up… I was just stating a fact… You will get stronger…" Erik's answer caught the young Rider off guard and for a moment, he merely blinked at the white being, unable to say a word.
"How ?" he managed to ask after a few seconds of silence.
"By training to exhaustion and determination… Where I come from, there's a saying : 'Where there is a will, there is always a way' !"
"What does this mean ?" Eragon asked him with curiosity. Saphira looked as curious as her rider and, from the corner of his eyes, Erik could see that Brom was listening with equal curiosity and interest.
"It means that if someone has the desire and determination to do something, then he or she can find a method for accomplishing it !" Erik answered calmly and with a neutral tone.
"As much as I hate to admit it, this is a wise saying..." Brom commented from his place with a nod.
Erik politely nodded at the storyteller before looking at the sky "We should rest now… it's getting late… and we need to gather our strength..."
And they all did just that. Eragon and Saphira went to sleep while Erik remained awake for a while longer. What about Brom ? He looked asleep but the old storyteller was keeping an eye on our hero. In his eyes, there was determination shining in them. The old man watched as Erik went to sleep a hour or two later and once the massive Beast was asleep, Brom followed.
The old man had many questions… and he will have his answers !
00/(Time Skip)/00
The sun was not yet up in the sky when Erik woke up from his slumber.
With a slight yawn, the enormous White Bear slowly stood up, trying his best to not make any sound while blinking several times to adjust to the dawn light before taking a look at his surroundings : Saphira and Eragon were still asleep and Brom… he looked to be asleep as well.
Satisfied that everyone was okay, Erik then focused on something else: stretching his limbs numb from a night of sleep. After a moment however, he stopped and took a stern look to his face as he opened his mouth to say in a deep but quiet enough voice to not wake anyone.
"I know you are awake, Brom… So stop your act already..."
For a second, the old man's body didn't moved but then, the storyteller slowly rose off the ground, looking at him with a glare.
"We need to talk… now..." it was not a request… but an order.
"Or else what ?" Erik asked him with barred teeth.
"Or else, we are going no further !" Brom quickly shot a look toward the sleeping forms of Eragon and Saphira as he had accidentally spoke louder than he was supposed to.
Thankfully, none of the two woke from their slumbers which caused both Erik and Brom to sigh in relief before one another.
"Fine ! Lead the way… " Erik grumbled to the storyteller with annoyance.
Brom nodded in acceptance before he lead the massive Bear-like Creature away from camp toward a secluded part of the area. One he was sure he wouldn't be heard by Eragon and Saphira, Brom quickly faced Erik again with a fierce look on his bearded face.
"I want answers !"
"Of course you do..." Erik grumbled in annoyance while rolling his eyes, his arms crossed over his furry chest.
Brom glared harder at him for the comment didn't say anything about it.
"As I said before, I have never seen a being such as you ! You might not work for the King but I don't trust you !"
"By the amount of time you glared at me for the previous day, I think it was pretty obvious!" Erik retorted with a growl and narrowed eyes.
Brom completely ignored the angry glare he was receiving from the Being before him to speak again in a harsh tone filled with distrust and suspicion.
"There are too many coincidence around you : first, you coincidentally resided near Carhavall, then you coincidentally came across the farm and save save and as if it wasn't enough, you coincidentally become friend with Saphira !"
"It's hardly my fault : yes I lived in the forest near Carhavall, but not ONCE did I tried to approach the village ! As for me coming across Garrow, it WAS a coincidence : I was patrolling my home and I saw smoke coming from somewhere… Of course I went to see what happened and I helped Garrow because I am not a Heartless Beast !" Erik roared at Brom's face, his eyes shining like embers.
Above them, the sky was slowly darkening with clouds but it was completely ignored by the two.
"As for my friendship with Saphira… that was also pure chance ! She had come into my cave the night after finding Garrow and we had a brief fight before she choose to stay at my house for TWO days !"
Brom staid silent for a moment, his eyes showing no emotions but if you looked closely, you could see a hint of surprise in his cold eyes. However, it disappeared quickly and Erik briefly thought that it had imagined it until his attention was focused back on the storyteller as he spoke again in a grave tone.
"What you say may be true... but how can we be sure that you won't betray us ? Or that you don't have a hidden motive behind this kindness of heart ?!"
Erik growled but he couldn't blame Brom for asking such a question. After all, no one survive by trusting people. For a few second, the massive White Bear went deep in thought, wondering what to do until a flash passed in his mind. Somehow, his brain was filled with words he had never heard before but he knew what it was… and thanked whatever deity out there to sent it to him.
With a sigh, Erik looked back at Brom, who was waiting for an answer, before speaking in a calm tone.
"I gave my words to Saphira that I will help in her quest… but if it is not enough for you… then maybe this will convince you..."
The White Beast lowered his head down so it was closer to the Old Man (who didn't even flinch at the sudden action) before opening his jaws to say
"Eka eddyr aí fricai un eka mulabra né haina ! (I am a friend and I mean no harm !)"
Brom's eyes comically widened as he stared at Erik with shock and surprise. Why ? Because our hero just spoke in the Ancient Language ! The storyteller knew that was 100% IMPOSSIBLE to lie in the Ancient Language all because words used were unquestionably true-although.
For a moment, nothing was heard between the two as they stared into each other's eyes, unmoving. But then, Brom released a deep sigh before looking up at the massive White Bear in front of him.
"Very well, I will trust you for now… but I will still keep an eye on you..."
"I expected nothing less from you… " Erik retorted in an emotionless tone while nodded his large head in acceptance.
Brom and him shared a nod before the two of them made their way toward the camp where, hopefully, Eragon and Saphira were still sleeping and instead, not wondering where they were.
(To be continue…)
Note : if you are wondering where I find the words for the Ancient Language then here is the link for the interested people
( /EragonAncientLanguage)