Hello !

Here comes the fourth chapter of the story! Thank you for those who left a review, it's appreciated and pushes me to create this story.

Obviously, I own a computer, some books and even a cat. However, I own nothing in the Inheritance Cycle and Game of Thrones franchise. They do belong to Christopher Paolini and G.R.R Martin.

Without further ado, here comes the chapter !

They fell asleep fairly quickly. Before he fell into his dreams, he heard one last thought. One full of mystery and interrogation. A question which came from the oldest dragon of the group:

"Du fyrn svell?"

Eragon and the elves woke up only a few hours later, with the sun still high in the sky. They hadn't needed much less rest thanks to their condition. The young rider quickly prepared himself and freshened his face. However, he didn't want to get out directly. Before resting, they had decided the comment the recent events in their rooms, under the pretence that they were sleeping. Afterall, they had only slept four hours!

When Eragon extended his mind, he felt that two of the elves were already ready while the two others were almost done. He took the occasion the make sure Saphira was alright and didn't need anything. She wasn't used to sleep in such cold but that only a minor issue.

Quickly, everyone was ready and the dragons started invading their mind. Eragon quickly greeted Glaedr and Umaroth of whom he had become close to.

Umaroth, who still acted as the voice for all the dragons started to tell "We've had some time to think about everything that has been said. Moreover, we took the liberty to inform the elves on the boat of the current situation. They are roughly on point and are currently on their way to meet us now that the place is deemed safe. Now, we need to discuss what we're going to do here, in Alagaësia. There is a war in building but you also have a duty to perform regarding dragons Eragon.".

Eragon was shocked that they had considered leaving the place without helping the people here. People expected this kind of reaction from elves. Orik had warned him at the start of their friendship. But he had never expected to see the day where a dragon would consider leaving a fight. But their future was in danger and their survival instinct were high.

However, he didn't have the time to explain his thoughts as suddenly, one of the oldest dragons whispered a few words "Du Fyrn svell is back.". He remembered the few words he had heard before sleeping and this only increased his curiosity.

Eragon felt the confusion this statement had declared. The dragon who had spoken was a wild one, who had been held captive under Galbatorix's reign. Many more dragons, like Saphira, Glaedr or Umaroth shared his confusion, like the other elves. However, Eragon was able to feel the fear and worry from a few dragons. With some surprise, Eragon discovered all of them were wild dragons.

The dragon who had spoken, called Vysia, started talking, in a low and deep voice "As you know dragons have a common memory, something that cannot be completely explained but which makes us part of the world's magic and history. This statement is especially true for wild dragons. Our hatchlings rely solely on us and couldn't depend on Riders or scrolls elves-with-pointed-ears use. We teach and share our story to all the members of our pack. The same is done with Dragons riders, I've seen it. But our history runs deeper, is directly connected to the nature. And so, the memory of the wild dragons is stronger, directly connected to the history of magic and nature."

He felt the confusion and anger of some dragons, rising, unlike anything Eragon had ever felt. Dogs started to bark and the horses seemed frightened outside.

"You dare to hide stories and memories while we were threatened by the Mad King! You dare to endanger us and to hide information that could have saved us!" started Glaedr. Many other dragons were sharing this feeling. Eragon could only watch and listen as the usually calm and wise dragons expressed their anger and indignation in a forceful way.

"Quiet child"

The whole room seemed to freeze and everyone stopped dead in tracks.

At this moment, Eragon felt the true distinction between wild dragons and dragons chosen to be with a Rider. He felt their anger, their indignation and their pride, rolling in powerful waves, crashing onto their minds. The usually calm Glaedr was corrected like a bratty child by Vysia. Words would probably be exchanged later, in a more private setting. Eragon didn't really know how dragons dealt with personal issues.

He had seen a few examples with Saphira but this was the first time he was facing a true argument between factions of dragons. But it looked like Glaedr understood the threat and stopped to let Vysia share his information.

After some help from Saphira, they managed to calm the dragons. The tension in the room was still high but the dragons had calmed a bit. Some understood the reasons but were waiting for an explanation.

"This knowledge that we share is a dangerous one. Even Galbatorix never learnt our whole story and I know he broke several of my fellows in his quest to discover this. This knowledge is dangerous for it allows the mind to imagine and give birth to legends and horrors from the past. With the right ideas, Galbatorix could have done much more damages with his knowledge of the Word. For a hundred years, we have feared he would completely break us. So, don't presume that we acted for selfish reasons. You are the one who hid for a hundred years but you won't hear us complaining. Don't talk about things you don't know Glaedr, son of Nithring."

Finally, Vysia resumed his story. He spoke slowly, as if to make sure he used the right words in a foreign language. "As I was saying, us, wild dragons are the holders of history which has been long lost to time for all the other races. The majority of this history is related to Alagaësia but a small minority goes beyond this. Part of our story comes from further. Wild dragons are the holders of stories which come from the land habited by the elves before, known today as Alalëa. More importantly, we have kept the story which pushed them to leave Alalëa. I'll share it with you in the light of the recent events but you should know that few, if any, living beings know this story."

The curiosity of the elves and Eragon perked up. He had never been able to discover the reasons which pushed the elves to leave the land they inhabited before Alagaësia and it seemed his friends were as clueless as he was.

"Now, Elves are a proud race and have been called the Fair Fold. They are immensely proud and this is not something new. They thought, and in some measure still think, that nothing could stop them with their wild magic."

The disdain of the dragon was plain to see. While elves were indeed proud, it was nothing compared to dragons.

"The lands grew more fertile; the fruits were sweet as honey and the trees taller than some hills. They grew complacent not unlike your Cast. And just like your Cast, this brought their end. They thought nothing could stop them. Their skills with magic, metal or leather was unmatched. They always wanted more; they weren't able to stop themselves. Until one day, they made their final mistake. They had wanted to personify nature. They thought they could give life to nature. Rubbish, for nature is life, and nothing could improve or enhance that life. Even humans have understood this. Why do you think families plant trees when they have a child? Elves also use their bodies to grow trees after they die."

He spoke slowly as if the words felt unfamiliar with some scorn in his voice. Images started to flash into their minds as he took some time to find the right words and continue his story. At this point, all the dragons had stopped bickering -if bickering could be applied to creatures like dragons- and were listening with rapt attention.

"But the elves of old thought they could do it. And for a while, they thought they had done it for they had created something they called Children of the Forest. These creatures ran free in Alalëa and for a while, elves truly thought they has mastered life and nature. It cost them dearly. Now, for some reason now lost forever, the Children of the Forest wanted to create a warrior. They ended up creating a weapon. They ended up creating something that would freeze the whole land and push the elves to leave this place. This weapon, I believe, is the Night the human talked about. I discussed with others last night about our suspicion. And so, we believe this land we are currently on is the land of Alalëa, deserted nearly 5 000 years ago by the elves because of their failure and their hubris, for they were the once who gave life to these monsters."

A long silence followed his declaration. The only sounds that broke it were the wind against their windows. The last images floated into their mind, showing a green landscape getting covered by snow; They also saw the remains of a battle. humans, elves and creatures laid in their blood, mixed with scattered swords and armor. The elves looked different. More human like. Their features seemed less graceful. These pictures were mixed with a feeling of despair and shame.

Eragon understood that Vysia, helped by other wild dragons, was sharing the last moments of the elves in Alalëa. It was a humbling and scary experience for him, who had such a high esteem of elves. He heard the surprise and shock from across the corridor where they were seated and meditating.

"The fight against this evil was difficult and tiring. They lost many and their weapons were quite useless. Years later, with the help of humans, they managed to push the foe and flee without completely destroying it. We believe this last humiliation made them leave this place;".

Eragon felt overwhelmed by what he had just learnt. Elves had somehow pushed the nature's limits to create this endless night. It gave a whole new light to their current behaviour. Generations upon generations of elves had tried to make amends with nature, in an unconscious way, by living as close as possible to nature in the most respectful way.

The elves on the other hand, felt lost. They felt betrayed by what they had learnt. While they never knew the reason behind the elves' departures from Alalëa, it now felt like a cursed knowledge. Somehow, the actions of their ancestors were the cause to this conflict. No modern elf had ever faced the consequences of their old mistakes. Afterall, Galbatorix and the twelve Forsworn were human and it was an unspoken idea that no elf would have dared to do what they did.

It was Saphira who broke the silence because for the first time, all the Eldunaris were unable or not willing to communicate what they had just seen.

"The other elves have arrived, the men-in-black are starting to move and preparing to welcome them."

Eragon stopped his musings and extended his mind and indeed, the remaining elves had safely reached the shores and left the boat, bringing with them the last Eldunaris and eggs. Eragon had discussed this point with Commander Pyke yesterday, who had no issues into welcoming them. He estimated he had fifteen minutes before his friends reached the door.

He grabbed a warm and thick coat loaned and put it on. It wasn't very comfortable but it kept him warm enough.

Quickly, he made sure nothing was amiss before leaving his room and joining the men of the Night's Watch for a late lunch. His friends were doing the same and moments after, they were all in the courtyard and Eragon was petting Saphira. The men around were still uneasy but Saphira's calm and soft purring was doing the trick and quickly loosening the tension. No one had asked to pet her yet. Eragon knew from experience that a child would probably be the first one to dare.

Commander Pyke was one of the first to greet them "Hope you slept well. The men on the Wall have spotted your boat and your friends should be here soon."

Eragon thanked him and joined him near the gates which were slowly opening to grant access to the dozen elves incoming. The gates were many inches thick and appeared to be made of steel;

Moments later, they were complete once again and after greeting their friends, they went together to the dining room to discuss and have a quick meal and prepare the future.

This is the end of the chapter! I hope you've enjoyed it! I'll try to add more links between the two lores, this connection with Alalëa is only the start! I know that the timlines don't match. The first Long Night was 8000 years before Jon & Daenerys while the elves arrived in Alagaësia roughly 5000 years before the "Eragon era" but it has no real importance in the story.

As always, reviews and critics are appreciated!

Thank you all and stay safe!