Hello !
Here comes the fifth chapter of the story! Thank you for those who left a review, it's appreciated and pushes me to create this story.
feriyen: Indeed, Eragon will face some negative reactions. Afterall, everyone believes that dragons are THE symbol of Targaryen, just like Direwolves are the Stark's sigil. The confrontation with the Starks come on the next chapter! I hope you'll enjoy it
eragon95159 I'll try to update every week! The story starts after the season 6 so Shireen is unfortunately long dead.
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 !
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.
The next three days passed in a blur. They would discuss with the Eldunaris or with Pyke about the situation in Westeros and in exchange, he would ask them questions about Alagaësia. They learnt a lot about the troubled years, the war of the Five Kings and the currently divided Kingdom
Two events had disrupted these busy days. On the first day, just after eating with his companions, Eragon had asked to get his sword and his bow back. He didn't feel comfortable without them and the feeling was shared by the others who had also surrendered their weapons.
The master of arms of Eastwatch had given them back but he had asked questions about the craftmanship of these weapons. While they could and did answer most of his questions, they didn't offer him a lot help. The few answers they gave him only left him more puzzled. Eragon felt bad for the man, remembering his own incomprehension when he had heard "we sang it" all those years ago. The sapphires on Brisingr had drawn the attention of many. But the events which would follow would dissuade all of them to try anything to steal it, if Saphira's presence hadn't already been enough of a deterrent.
Indeed, the master of arms hadn't seemed to be discouraged after his questions and asked them a little presentation of their skills.
He quickly protected his sword and made a few reels with his arms, Needless to say, the presentation turned into a show match, with Eragon swording against several brothers. They ended the presentation with Eragon against Wyndravein. Happy to spend some of their energy after their long trip, they gave everything and fought for almost twenty minutes. During that time, their swords clashed in a deadly ballet, where no one got any advantage. Sparks flew every time their swords crossed in a loud gong until Eragon found an opening on Wyndravein's left side and ended the match.
A long silence followed, until all the brothers started screaming and clapping after this demonstration; But while many were happy and impressed, Eragon also saw some worried and scrutinising faces. No one said anything but the match was over, as abruptly as It started. Eragon offered his hand to raise his friend on the ground who graciously accepted it.
Following this, they had been roped into teaching the members to improve their sword skills. From that moment, a few elves could always be found in the courtyard, teaching those who wanted, under the eyes of Saphira who remained lying for the majority of their time. He knew it wasn't a pleasant task, given the skill of the brothers, but it was the least they could do. And they knew their stay here would be short.
The second event which created lots of thinking were Eragon's calls to Alagaësia. The discussions with the Eldunaris had raised a lot of questions and they needed answers. After long discussions and a final push from Saphira, Eragon had dared to go in front of the bowl and to fill it with water.
Moments later, Arya's face greeted him.
"Eragon!" whispered Arya, clearly surprised to see him. Eragon hadn't dared to call her since he had left two months ago.
She hadn't changed in the past months. She had a small smile which made Eragon's stomach twist. The pain and sadness created by her absence, which had slowly dulled with time, were back. A few seconds had passed with neither making any progress.
"Eragon, say something" came Saphira's voice, startling him.
"Atra esterni ono thelduin, Arya Dröttning" he answered in a daze, the words coming out of his mount automatically.
"Atra du evarinya ono varda Eragon." she replied, a smile on her face. "Is everything alright? Have you found a place for the dragons?" she looked very curious and happy to see him, something which brought a smile on his face. This was quite unusual of Arya to be forward but he didn't mind it one bit.
"We have recently come across some land indeed. And we are in need of some advice"
"Really? I would be glad to advise you but can't the Eldunaris help you with your concerns? Well, what's the matter?"
At her words, Eragon started to blush. He seemed at a loss. Slowly, he answered his friend "The Eldunaris can't help me with my concern. However, I was wondering if you would allow me to speak with Rhunön-elda. She doesn't have a mirror in her house. I'm sorry to call like this but we don't have a lot of time"
Arya looked as flustered as Eragon. "Of course, Eragon, I'll do this. I'll try to set up meeting tonight, would that be okay?"
"Yes, thank you Arya. I'm sorry, I can't stay much longer, there's so much to deal with! We could perhaps have another chat when everything will have settled down a bit" he added excitedly.
"That would be lovely yes Eragon" said Arya's as her smile slowly came back.
A few moments later, the discussion was over.
When the mirror turned back to normal, Eragon leaned against the wall. This had been difficult, more difficult than what he had thought. He took deep breaths and tried to ease his mind. As always, Saphira's comforting presence was here to help him. She didn't say anything, she just sent him waves of comfort. Speaking to Arya had opened fresh wounds but had also helped him to heal others.
The day passed quickly and quickly, he was back in his room, waiting for Rhunön's call.
After waiting for a few minutes, he heard the deep and rough voice coming from the mirror.
"You asked to see me Eragon Shadeslayer?"
It seems she hadn't bothered with a mirror and had simply filled a bowl with water close to her forge. He recognised the place where Brisingr had been forged not so long ago.
"Yes, Rhunön Elda, thank you for seeing us. We wanted some advice and we believe you are the only one who can help us" said Eragon
"Please hurry then, I've got an armor on the forge waiting. What can I do for you Shadeslayer? "
Eragon took a few deep breaths before "We were wondering if you could tell us about du fyrn svell"
Rhunön's eyes widened and she took a step back as if she had been hit. Hoarsely, she asked him "Where and how have you heard about this?"
"It seems that we have landed in Alalëa and we found a land covered by snow and ice. We managed to find locals who explained the current situation. It seems they are facing something they call the army of the dead. Legends say this foe appeared for the first time roughly 5000 years ago and they are rising again." Explained Eragon
"I don't know what you are talking about Era-" started Rhunön
"I spoke to the dragons Rhunön-Elda"
"Glaedr didn't know anything about this and Saphira will probably know even less about this" argued the old smith.
"The dragons of old Rhunön. The wild dragons found a way to protect their memory in Vroengard ..."
"You can talk about the Eldunaris child. If you think -and rightly so- that I'm the only elf alive to know about du fyrn svell then you should have imagined that I knew about Eldunaris. I'm glad to know they weren't all destroyed by Galbatorix" She replied with a smile. But her eyes weren't smiling. Her eyes seemed lost in a past long forgotten.
Eragon felt the dragons getting agitated at this revelation but there was nothing they could so. She had managed to hide both secrets for so long and was far away to do anything about it. Instead, he merely shrugged at the elf and gave her a half smile.
"So, we were wondering what you could tell us about this period. About the Night King of something else. If this is something we can beat of if we need to leave this place."
"The Night King is unlike anything you've ever faced. As powerful if not more than Galbatorix but also drastically different. The Night King … He's dangerous Eragon. The ones who tried to fight him never came back. He has one aim: to destroy humanity and everything within, starting with elves and humans. He won't stop by the seas Eragon. If what you say is true Eragon, he gained a lot of power and seas won't stop him. Soon the waters will freeze and humanity will be lost, covered in an eternal layer of snow and darkness. I fear that if you don't stop him now, Alagaësia will face this threat in a few years or decades" she answered with a sad smile
"So, we're locked with this new threat aren't we" asked Eragon furiously
He was furious. Once more, he felt forced to face another dangerous foe. When would he finally find some peace? When would he be able to find solace and rest? Not yet it seems. He was angry, angry at the world, angry to be correcting mistakes done thousands of years ago.
"The task might be difficult Eragon, but it's doable. When we left, all these centuries ago, the leader of that time, Brandon Stark, planned to create a wall between them and the Night King. See if you can find it"
"Oh, they did Rhunön-elda, they build the greatest wall ever made" he added with a smirk. "800 feet high and a hundred leagues long"
Rhunön's eyes grew wide as saucers "How did they manage this?"
"I don't know, but let me say this Wall is basically magic made ice. The power behind these walls is absolutely maddening".
Rhunön looked lost in thoughts, the armor laying in her forge long forgotten. She looked more tired that Eragon had ever seen her.
"Is there anything that you could tell us that may help us fight these monsters?"
"Well, steel doesn't work. Regular steel breaks like glass against them. Fire and obsidian are the key. Maybe your sword could work, I'm not completely sure, I would tread with caution there."
"They have something called Valyrian steel which also works"
"I don't know what it is Eragon, I'm sorry" and she truly looked sorry.
"We understand Rhunön and I do not blame you." He told her in Ancient language to convey his feelings.
He wasn't angry at her for her lack of knowledge, that much was true. However, he wasn't sure he could repeat this sentence while thinking that she had been part of the people who had created these monsters. And such was the power of Ancient Language.
"Thank you Eragon. I'll leave now if that's alright, this discussion took more than I expected of me".
"Of course, Rhunön, have a good night".
And with that, Rhunön's worried and tired face faded from the bowl he was using until Eragon was once again able to see his own reflection. This discussion had left him just as exhausted as the one he had been after talking with Arya, although for different reasons. The Eldunaris were silent, pondering what they had just learnt.
Later that day, when Eragon and his companions went to their bedroom for the night, they decided, with the help of the Eldunaris and Saphira, to go further with their mental observations. Pushing, the places they were scrying only seemed to become darker and colder even if they shouldn't feel the cold. Finally, after a last common effort, they reached a disturbance. A darkness, which attracted everything around it and sucked it. A darkness so cold that it seemed no life would ever come back from this point. And as Eragon focused on this darkness, he was able to find thousands of links, splitting everywhere around it, creating a giant web spider with the Night King in the mind. With Rhunön's story in mind, Eragon understood that the black mess they were feelings were the thousand creatures, linked to their master.
It was, in a unique way, the most amazing mental web he had ever seen. The complexity of it was maddening, with hundreds of tendrils and dots and a complexity beyond comprehension.
However, what triggered Eragon was the thread coming from the centre and going to the ground, into the earth. Their assumption that the Night King impacted the weather seemed to be true, on a deeper scale than what they had expected. He felt the outrage and shock from his elven friends, who -now- firmly believed that no one controlled nature.
Their thoughts were still dark and troubled when they slipped into sleep.
Two days later, the small group decided it was time to leave Eastwatch. They had learnt a lot in the past days and felt that it was the right time to move. After hearing Rhunön, they had decided to stay in Westeros and stop the curse taking hold on nature. Eragon had known he couldn't leave and let the people he loved face this in a few years while he had a chance to stop it now.
This had been a difficult decision to take. They had left Alagaësia to raise dragons and build a cast and this would be delayed for a few years at least. The safety of the eggs had to be preserved too. Two had remained in Alagaësia, meant to hatch for riders but the others had been brought here, in Westeros, and were in danger. If the situation was to become too dangerous, a group of elves would go back to Alagaësia to protect them. Otherwise, they would be protected for the coming months and hatched later, when hopefully everything will have settled down.
After talking to Cotter Pyke, they had decided to reach Winterfell. All their leads seem to converge there: The Starks had built the wall, Jon Snow, the lord Commander who had faced the dead had recently fought to regain this castle and it was the stronghold of the North. They also needed to learn as much as possible about Daenerys Targaryen. While the Wall certainly offered them help, their imposed isolation meant that the news they received was probably outdated or incomplete.
Finally, they were ready to leave on the fourth day. Once more they had decided to split into two teams. Four people would fly off to Winterfell while the remaining would use horses to bring all their belongings at Winterfell. They had traded some of their gold to get the horses, saddles and food. The trip would take less than a week for Saphira but almost three for the others. They trusted their magic to keep them warm during this long trip and according to the people here, they shouldn't encounter wildling or bandits. Those were scarce in the harsh North and winter had forced them to retreat. Should they encounter them, they would simply deal with it.
Now, it was time for Eragon to leave Eastwatch and the Wall. Saphira had been saddled and was waiting for them in the courtyard. She had hunted the day before and found some deer south of the Wall. After the stories they had heard, she had preferred to avoid going beyond the Wall.
Mounting Saphira, Eragon turned one last time towards the men of the Night's Watch and their commander, Cotter Pyke. Amplifying his voice through magic, he faced the crowd which had gathered to see them depart.
"We have come from far to discover new places. We have found a harsh place, where snow rules in true king. Coming with a dragon breathing fire, we've found a frozen kingdom. But more importantly, we've found Westeros's shield. We've found the place where people dedicate their life to protect others. We may have found the coldest place but truly, we've found the place where the warmth comes from mankind and ale! And for this, we couldn't have been luckier. My friend and I would like to thank you for your welcome, your acceptance, your help. Thank you and may the New and Old Gods protect you now"
It wasn't perfect but he hadn't really known what to say. None of his friends, dragons or elves, had wanted to help him, telling him that it was his duty, with sometimes a smirk or a teasing tone.
"You've improved little one," said Saphira before adding "I remember the farmer who was afraid to talk to a few dozen soldiers. Who knows, maybe you'll become decent one day"
"Hush you" replied Eragon with a smile
And she was off, spreading her wings under the roar of the people present, in the direction of the South and Winterfell.
This is the end of the chapter! I hope you've enjoyed it! The chapters where everyone discovers Alagaësia are coming to an end! More actions coming in the coming chapters!
As always, reviews and critics are appreciated! A good incentive to publish faster!
Thank you all and stay safe!