Naruto x Eragon Xover/story challenge
Disclaimer I don't own Naruto or Eragon as they have their respective owner
Summary: Long after the Fourth Great Ninja War, and peace between the Elemental Nations had come a new era arose. One man has remained alive to see it all, and now he has to step up and fight once again with his companion to stop a conflict that could plunge the world into darkness. Once known as the most powerful warrior of his time, he now steps forward once more to stop a mad king who lusts to control the ever faithful Dragon Species and the riders that are bound by blood to them. Naruto Uzumaki and Belgabad(1) oldest, largest, and most powerful of all the dragons to have ever lived step out of their hidden sanctuary to help a farm boy, a mischievous teen, a lone elf, a raging blonde sorceress, and a black smith who uses illusions to fight. With a young farm boy, his young dragon, a older dragon rider with no dragon, a eight century old elf and his own dragon watch as they strike back against Galbatorix and his dragon along with his army of darkness.
Immortal Naruto, Op Naruto, Naruto x Belgabad team, Magic using Naruto, Wise Naruto, Naruto x OC Pairing (Maybe I will use a character we know, but it won't be the original character. I will say this now my story will be completely different from both the movie, and the series as some characters that were meant to die don't and there are different circumstances for certain scenes.)
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Spell"
"Dragon Speech"
'Dragon Thought'
He felt the earth grow darker by the minute. How could this have happened when everything was once so peaceful oh so long ago. Well then again that was nearly fifteen thousand years ago so... yeah things had changed a lot since his era. He had wished he wasn't granted his immortality when he had been blessed by his ancestor. At the time he was fighting a man that wanted to destroy everything, so having the power he had was welcome, although he had not known of his immortality at the time, that came nearly a century after when he had yet age past twenty-six. His old ally, all nine of them actually if one thought about it right, had long since dispersed into nothingness as the world forgot about the power that was once called Chakra.
All that remained was the memory of his people, friends and everything else that he once knew, was him and his ancestors weapons he used to seal away his old enemy. Standing up he gave a stretch where he felt his ancient muscles finally relaxed. Looking at the tree he once laid under he spotted his oldest weapon, a black staff with a circular top that held ten rings with a small set of rings inside that were slowly rotating with a crescent moon-like bottom. Beside it was some of his more recent weapons, having had them a few centuries now, two black swords with silver spot-like apparitions across the smooth metal of his twin swords.
He sighed and gathered the three weapons, strapping his swords in a "X" formation across his back while he held his staff in his right hand. With that done he begun walking down a hill, he could feel his old friend slumbering away, as the day slowly passed by. Then again that old reptile he called friend was nearly as old as he was, but he certainly had the attitude to remind him of a certain emo friend that had long since died. Entering the once lovely village that resided on his ancestral home he spotted a large cavern near the entrance of the town that once presided the land he now called home. Sigh, looks like it was going to be one of those days... wasn't it?
Walking over to the he gave a loud whistle and then slammed his staff against the ground while calling out "Reisa Belgabad (Rise Belgabad)" causing the ground to suddenly shift and rise into the air getting a surprised roar from the once empty cave in front of him as he roused his old companion from his slumber causing the dragon before him to try and clutch the ground as he tried to stay planted to the earth. Once more The man slammed his staff to the earth and called out calmly "Letta (Stop) and the ancient reptile stopped moving. The reptile that had once been sleeping peacefully looked at him and leveled a glare towards him.
The man gave a laugh at his friend "Oh come now Belgabad don't give me that look. Besides did you forget we had to leave this place before we were found by that brat and forced to fight?" he questioned the reptile.
A snort was his response "Well I don't wanna move, I was perfectly fine sleeping where I was thank you very much Naruto." Belgabad responded to his old friend now revealed as Naruto, savior of the ninja world, who laughed in response.
Naruto shook his head and calmed himself "Sorry Belgabad my friend, but we have no choice. Galbatorix is on the move as well as his army. Yes the forsworn are dead, but he still has his followers who would willingly kill you and take your Heart of Hearts to him so he could force you to fight for him. You know as well as I do that you are the most powerful of all your race, that's why we leave now." he said sadly to the dragon while stopping the Forsworn commentary.
Belgabad sighed as Naruto lowered him to the ground "I know, but can't you just go and kill him and end all of this like you did with us and the elves long ago?" the dragon questioned him.
Naruto shook his head "I'm sorry, but unlike the time I went by Eragon and traveled with my first Dragon Bid'Daum I don't have the heart like I used to. I just can't stand the idea of losing another ally such as you like I did with him the year you were born." he told Belgabad.
Belgabad sighed and nodded to his rider "I understand. You know I stand by you no matter the situation right?" he asked getting a nod from the man.
Naruto cleared his throat "I know my friend. Well I guess since we're both up and all, we should get ready to leave." he said and Belgabad nodded his head. With that Naruto went and retrieved all his gear, Belgabad's saddle, which was always having to be replaced with a new and larger saddle, and of course the large amount of food they always consumed. With everything now secured to the mighty dragon's side Belgabad walked out from underneath his large shaded cave, which was well hidden by the tree's, revealing his body to the world showing just how large he really was compared to that of the rest of his race that was now nearly extinct due to Galbatorix and his stupidity.
Belgabad was absolutely enormous, nearly the size of a mountain back on the mainland. Belgabad has a forked, black tongue with black scales with silver-purple underbelly scales with silver teardrop scales by the corners of his eyes. The sun picked up glints of purple and deep blue on his body. He has dark obsidian colored eyes. The underside of his wings are black and speckled with silver scales , giving it the appearance of a night sky filled with twinkling stars, allowing him and his rider to fly at night without detection. However they were being forced to leave the comfort of their home in the light of day, allowing for the two to be spotted easily by people.
Quickly reaching a height they soon found themselves flying towards the mainland at speeds all other dragon's would be hard pressed to keep up with, unless of course they were as old as Belgabad himself, with the speed they traveled across the seas. Naruto leaned back in his saddle and felt himself smile as the wind blew through his hair. It was times like this he loved being a dragon rider. Nothing could compare to the pure freedom that flying on the back of a dragon could offer. Naruto soon laid his eyes on the once known land of the Elemental Nations as he and Belgabad neared the mainland.
Leaning forward he whispered "Skulblakas ven (Become One, See as One)" and then suddenly his eyes took on a obsidian colored appearance as he saw through his partners eyesight. With his vision enhanced he could see all of Alagaesia. Galbatorix still resided in his castle, most likely to stay untouched by his enemies not that he needed to hide as he had several hundred Eldunari, or Heart of Hearts, from all his victimized dragons he slaughtered in his youth. He looked around and saw all the chaos, darkness, and hell the land was suffering at the hands of Galbatorix. However he sensed a particular feeling he hadn't felt in several decades... a dragon's presence, and a old one at that.
Looking a bit to the left he saw the great Elf forest of Du Weldenvarden and smiled at what he saw, a extremely large golden dragon that was missing a leg sitting next to a ancient elf who was coughing. Hmm seemed that they were weakened due to some sort of spell. Meh, nothing he probably couldn't fix if he met them in person, but he would rather keep the dragon safe and alive than risk Galbatorix getting them. Looking around a bit more he saw a group of people being chased on horseback, a elf holding a oddly shaped item, really easy for him to guess what she held, and then looked to her pursuer... a Shade, or Black Sorcerer.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze back to the castle that Galbatorix resided in. Looking at the three items in the mot guarded room he couldn't help but chuckle at what he saw. One of the precious items had been taken, skirted away by the elf and her allies to be taken to the Varden. It was time he returned and lent a helping hand. Belgabad could practically feel his partner getting a bit excited and snorted "Whatever you are thinking about, stop. We cannot afford to fight against Galbatorix and his army as you said." the dragon stated.
Naruto snorted "Oh please, we ain't fighting. We're going to help the people fight against Galbatorix. Besides with what I just saw, you'll wanna help too." he told Belgabad honestly with a smile on his face.
"Oh yeah, and what might that be Naruto?" the dragon questioned his rider seriously.
Naruto grinned "It seems that the Varden have managed to steal one of the dragon eggs that Galbatorix stole during The Fall and are currently making their way across the land to the Varden's hideout." he told his partner.
Belgabad felt a bit surprised at this small revelation. Usually Galbatorix kept those dragon eggs he stole locked up tightly, with no possible way to reach them. The dragon felt itself give a toothy smile "Well then, I guess we should... lend a hand then, yes?" he questioned his rider.
Naruto rose to his feet on his saddle and smirked, "Well we are about to pass right over them, might as well do something, right?" he questioned. Belgabad said nothing and gave a earth shattering roar that sounded like it would split the skies apart, causing everyone to look up, and animals to flee in terror as the skies filled with birds of all kinds. Durza felt his heart stop... why was his... wait a second, that wasn't his master, although the dragon resembled his master's it certainly wasn't his dragon, and he scowled... so he finally returned to the fight did he? Aria felt her heart sink at the size of the apex predator above her, Shruikan had followed them on his master's order's.. she was doomed.
The Varden would fall now that the stone was going to be collected from her corpse. Back over in a small town, a young farm boy who just watched his cousin walk away to enlist in the military felt his hair stand on end when he heard the ungodly roar, what on earth could make one feel so uneasy? In a small house in the town a man in his early forties stood up in shock, fear, and hope. He hadn't heard such a sound in nearly eighteen years, the roar of a dragon had startled him awake. A dragon's roar, that filled him with hope as he listened to it echo across the land. Belgabad suddenly went into a dive, his shadow covering most of the forest now as he did so.
Spreading his wings he slowed his descent and landed 'softly' while causing the earth to shake as he did so, he couldn't help as he was already so large. The horses and their mounts were struggling to stay put, lest they get eaten by the monstrous dragon ahead of them. Drawing his tail up he slammed it down on the ground behind the elf who held the dragon egg, causing a small fissure to be created in the process as he did so, making the horse jump in fright. Arya felt hopeless, more than ever before, until she heard laughing. What was this, was it Galbatorix?
A second later a man with blonde hair jumped off the gigantic dragon's back. The man has blonde hair that was really spiky and his bangs were a bit longer than usual. Two locks of which were wrapped in bandages framing either side of his face in a similar manner to his ancestor. He wore what seemed to be a blank forehead protector around his forehead. He wore a light-colored kimono with magatama adorned around the collar. The kimono was held closed by a dark-colored sash. Underneath, he wore a black full-body suit. Turning his head they noticed that his hair was actually placed in a long ponytail that reached the middle of his back as it was tied with a small rubber band.
He brushed a bang behind his ear to reveal three whisker-like markings on the side of his face making them wonder if the other side had them as well. In his hand was a two meter long staff made from a pitch black metal that looked like a abyssal portal. The staff had two heads; the one at the top was in the shape of a circle, a sun with ten black chain links attached. The head at the end was shaped like a crescent moon with two interlocked ovals in the middle that constantly rotated around one another. While on his back were two black swords with spots of what appeared to be silver specks in a cross formation.
Durza appeared next to the elf and attempted to snatch the egg away and make a run for it, only to be stopped a second later by a unspoken spell from the blonde man. Suddenly he felt himself getting flung away by yet another unspoken spell and he crashed into the dragon's tail with a grunt. Arya was confused. W-who was this man and dragon. It certainly wasn't the king and his dragon, although it certainly resembled the large beast. Durza felt a bit of fear in his chest as he watched the man walk forward towards the woman. Stopping in front of her he placed a hand on her shoulder, getting a flich from her, and smiled "It's about time a new hope arrived in this world." he said softly getting a gasp from Arya.
She looked at him with shaky eyes "W-what do you mean?" she questioned him.
Naruto smiled "You have risen up and done what most would turn away from. I must commend you for doing so, therefore I will save you but this once. Know that once you reach your destination, trouble will arise and we riders will have to ban together to free the land from Galbatorix. Farewell young Arya." he said before he sent her away with a simple spell that made her vanish to her nearest ally, which should be the man in his forties. Looking to Durza he narrowed his eyes "Tell your master I am coming for him. Tell Galbatorix to prep his army for the day when I come after him." he told the Shade who nodded his head shakily before vanishing into thin air..
When he no longer sensed Durza near him he looked to Belgabad and smirked "Let's get ready Belgabad, a war is soon to rise up and we need to be ready. You have to ready yourself for a fight against Shruikan." he told his dragon.
Belgabad gave a snort "Oh please, that brat won't be able to stand against me let alone another dragon." he gloated to the immortal blonde man.
Naruto shook his head "It doesn't matter, we have to ready ourselves for battle later on. And you know what I think I have a plan for those last three dragon eggs inside the castle. Hold I will be right back." he said before he disappeared into thin air. Reappearing he found himself standing in front of four different colored dragon eggs. The first egg was a extremely bright white, almost the color of freshly fallen snow on a cold winter morning. The second was a blood red egg that almost seemed to bleed the color across its smooth shell, technically it was scarlet but in the end the color was still red so what was the point of thinking about the scheme of its true color.
The third egg was a lovely shade of green, almost like the color of fresh leaves that had grown on a branch in the springtime after the end of a harsh winter experience. The last and final egg was purple, a extremely deep magenta color covering the entirety of the smooth shell that held the unhatched dragonet within its hard, almost metallic shell. He couldn't help but smile when he listened to their thoughts of peace, and their sweet dreams of wanting to fly with their rider's upon their backs as they stopped the pain that had encompassed the world together as a team, as brothers and sister's would do when one of their friends were in dire trouble.
With a wave of his hand each egg was gently lifted up from their spot and Naruto mutters a spell and all four eggs and he vanished into thin air. Upon reappearing he looks to Belgabad and smiles "Let us depart from where we are. I have a feeling that we will be having a interesting meeting with a particular person very soon." he said with a smile as he placed the eggs into protective pouches on Belgabad's side. Without a word the dragon watches his rider of nearly nine thousand years mounts the saddle and nods his head showing he was ready. With a nod Belgabad spread his wings and took to the sky once more and soon heads for the hidden valley that only a rider could access.
Three weeks passed and Naruto was sitting against Belgabad's arm, which was extremely large, while he waited for the group to arrive. He could sense that the older Dragon Rider was extremely wounded and the young dragon was struggling to keep in the air, but the weight of her passengers was dragging her down fast. Standing up Naruto walked forward and watched as the dragon landed on a hill close by. With a jump, using his ancient ninja skills, he landed at the base drawing their attention where he raised his hands into the air showing off a extremely familiar mark on his palm.. the gedwëy ignasia, or shining palm in the ancient language.
The young blue dragon seemed shocked, as did the unharmed duo who watched as he approached Brom. With a wave of his hands at the young dragon they watched shocked as she suddenly fainted and they drew their weapons. Naruto flicked a finger and sent the weapons flying, "Oh calm down I only put her to sleep so my magic wouldn't blind her and make her injured." he informed them as he kneeled in front of Brom. This time it was his turned to feel surprised "Brom? H-how did this happen to you?" he asked as he slowed the bleeding on the mans chest.
Brom smiled weakly "Y-you m-m-made it... M-Master N-N-N-Naruto..." he said weakly.
Naruto shushed the man and turned to the kids "Might wanna close your eyes." he told them as his palm glowed a bright gold "Tentai Omoiyari (Celestial Compassion)" he heard Naruto's voice, and the light of the magic consumed everything as it fused with his student's slowly diminishing body. When the light faded it seemed to have changed the entire landscape as before the valley was nearly bare, but now trees had suddenly sprouted up out of nowhere. Brom himself looked to be half of his current age, as not even a scar remained on his body. By now Sapphira was stirring form her forced slumber where she looked to find her surroundings completely different then what she had seen before.
Naruto smiled at his wayward student "Glad you survived my pupil. It's been what nearly twenty years since we last met right?" he asked with a laugh.
Brom joined him in his joy as the two gave each other a embrace similar to that of brothers. When Naruto drew back, he suddenly felt a sword to his neck. Naruto looked down at the sword and snorted at it and looked to his student, "Really? You really had to give the kid Morzan's blade huh? To be honest I'm surprised that you managed to get it and kill him, much less Ënurfala. Wait I forgot his name was banished from the book." he said with a laugh. With that he simply flicked his finger and the young lad felt the sword ripped from his hands as he exclaimed his surprise, and he was holding it tighter than before.
Naruto watched as the red blade embedded itself into the ground in front of Brom who stepped back as he watched his teacher walk forward and raw his own blade, well one of the actually, from behind his back. Grasping Zar'roc he then pulled it out and tossed it to the boys feet, "Lesson one kid, Kenjutsu. I tell you this now, but you won't beat me even with the help of your elven friend beside you." he said as he motioned for them to attack. And attack they did.
Naruto kicked the boy in the chest and then punched the elf across the jaw as he followed up with a roundhouse kick that sent her to the ground where she rolled away. The boy swung his weapon at him in a attempt to cleave his head off his shoulder's, but he skillfully ducked under it and gave a mighty reverse heel kick that sent him skidding across the dirt. Naruto then turned and leaned back as the elf swung a spear at him before he gave a powerful right cross and then jumped on the elf's developed chest and leapt off to go to another part of the valley where they followed him.
Ducking under yet another strike he grabbed the woman by her wrists and spun her around and let her go where she crashed into a tree with a grunt. Like a dance of death he spun in circles while disabling his opponents with ease, not noticing that Brom and the two dragon's watched from a nearby hill in silent awe. Strike after strike was dealt and Naruto looked at both of his opponents with a calculating eye before he charged through their defenses once more like a unstoppable force of nature.
He spun and cut a the boy on the chest. The elf had thought it would be a great idea to throw a dagger at him. How wrong she was when with precise skill Naruto turned and caught the blade between his middle and pointer fingers. Smirking he held up his hand and calmly caught the red sword wielded by the boy, "Is this all you are capable of? I must say I am quite disappointed." he said to them before he kicked Eragon away from him where he landed on his butt by Aria. With roars of battle they charged once more at the blonde. However Naruto held up his hands, and with a unspoken spell stopped them "Enough, the class is over." he told them as they struggled to move.
Walking over to Brom he nodded his head "Not bad Brom. You know with a bit of work they could easily be a very capable tag team in a fight." he told the man.
Brom snorted "Says the man who took on a entire legion that held nearly twelve thousand warriors and won in two days time." he sighed out. Hearing this caused Eragon and Aria to gape in shock. They never stood a chance in hell against the man. It was simply impossible to understand they had fought a literal one man army... and they had lost terribly. Naruto looked to the two "We will talk more tomorrow. For now we need to get some sleep." he said before he walked away and releasing them from his spell. Of course they tried to stop them, but a look from Brom halted them.
The next day the trio of travelers were woken by the smell of food being cooked. Eragon sat up groggily and smacked his chops as he slowly woke up. It was daylight, the sun was rising over the mountains steadily giving off a peaceful feel at the same time. After rousing the rest of them they all ate and sat in silence as Naruto sighed in comfort. Eragon looked at the strange man, while Aria looked like she seen a ghost. She cleared her throat "E-excuse me, but where is- she started to ask only for Naruto to wave a hand at her before he stood up and stretched.
When he finished he cleared his throat "He's over there. Right now we need to worry about some other things before we move on." he stated.
Eragon cocked his head "Like what?" he asked.
Naruto held up a finger and suddenly vanished out of the air, and appeared several seconds later with a familiar teen beside him looking a bit shaken "Calm yourself kid I ain't gonna hurt ya." he said as he sat down.
Murtagh looked around cautiously, and then his eyes landed on the young blue dragon in front of him, "Finally... all my life I have dreamt of dragons... and here it is right in front of me... finally there is hope..." he said quietly, although they all heard him clearly. Murtagh looked to Naruto "W-Why did you bring me here?" he asked the ancient blonde.
Naruto shrugged "Well I figured that since we were all going the same way we could go as a group." he said as he walked past him to a hill. He then gained a flat expression "Really... of all times for you to be lazy it is when we're about to go to fucking war against a man that holds all of your kin hostage?" he yelled out to the hill. This of course made the younger group, besides Brom, to gain confused expressions.
Earagon looked to Brom "He does know he's talking to a hill right?" he asked getting a chuckle from the elder man.
Naruto gave a growl and raised a hand and grasped his staff in hand, and then slammed his staff against the ground while calling out "Reisa Belgabad (Rise Belgabad)" causing the ground to suddenly shift and rise into the air getting a surprised roar from the once empty clearing in front of him and the others, besides Brom, as he roused his old companion from his slumber causing the dragon before him to try and clutch the ground as he tried to stay planted to the earth. Once more Naruto slammed his staff to the earth and called out calmly "Letta (Stop) and the ancient reptile stopped moving. The reptile that had once been sleeping peacefully looked at him and leveled a glare towards him.
Eragon, Murtagh, Aria, and even Brom who had seen the dragon before, all looked at him in awe. He was absolutely humongous, easily dwarfing Saphira by a large margin. His head alone was longer and taller than the main part of Saphira's body giving a testament to not only his age, but his power. Saphira felt herself wanting to bow in the presence of the far more ancient dragon that hovered overhead. Murtagh took a step back as he looked at Belgabad's seeminly giant form. Naruto lowered his dragon to the ground where the dragon muttered some silent curses.
It was at this time a couple of the bags fell off the saddle, albeit unintentionally. Naruto cursed and went to stop them from rolling away, but it was to late as they had reached the bottom of the hill and stopped at both Aria's and Murtagh's feet releasing their hold on their cargo showing the eggs to the both of them. Murtagh gently picked the egg up and looked at it while Aria gasped before kneeling down beside the green egg before her. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, she knew these eggs... she had tried stealing them after all and she knew their magical signature from when she tried to take them.
She looked up to Naruto who slowly walked back downhill to get the eggs... until he felt something shift in the air. He smiled at himself "To be honest I didn't expect for you of all people to be bonded to these eggs. In fact I would almost call it coincidence that they fell off the saddle where they were on Belgabad." he said as he walked forward with a smile on his face, "Now all we have to do is wait." he said happily.
Aria looked confused. Don't get the wrong idea she heard him correctly, but she didn't understand what he had meant, "W-what do you mean 'wait' why do we have to wait?" she asked him.
Naruto sat down "Exactly as I said, we wait." he told her.
Aria gave a huff "For what exactly?" she questioned.
Naruto leaned back with a smile "You'll see in a couple hours, give them some time." he responded to the two before retrieving the other two. He didn't want to be left out on a hunch so he might as well check the other two eggs.
Bringing them down he slowly removed them from their pouches and laid them down beside the red and green eggs. Once more Aria felt herself gasp in shock, "H-how did you get them..." she whispered in shock as tears finally fell from her eyes.
Naruto smiled gently as he handed the purple egg to Brom allowing him to hold the sleeping dragon within it closely, "Easy, I took them with my magic. To be specific after I sent you away I used my magic to get into the room they were held in and took them where I then placed them on Belgabad's saddle and they have been there ever since then. Now that they have met with you they will only obey their riders. I'm not sure who these two are bonded to, but I know that it isn't me or Brom since his dragon is dead from its battle against Morzan a few years ago. I would try to bond him to one, but it would more than likely kill him." he said silently.
Brom gave a shrug "It wouldn't matter. As long as I can stop Galbatorix then I am pleased." he stated honestly.
Naruto nodded his head "That is true. However Shriukan would simply have to bite down on the young dragon as she is in order to defeat her. Galbatorix has hastened his growth immensely with magic. However I don't wanna do that to these dragon's unless they want to. Belgabad could easily fight against him, but he is old and tires easily in combat these days. I have been using my magic to restore his power, but its taking to long, I fear I have no choice but to hasten their growth." he stated to them.
Eragon looked to Belgabad, "So quick question for you. How old is Belgabad exactly?" he asked the old Dragon Rider.
Rather than Naruto answering, the dragon answered for him "Hmph. A fleshling like you desires the knowledge, but you do not require it. However since we are at war and my rider will no doubt train the three of you to properly fight I will indulge you. I am well into my eighth millennia of age. To be precise I am 8, 895 years old, and my rider is older than even I by several decades." he informed Eragon. He of course kept Naruto's secret of being immortal to himself, not wanting or needing to reveal it to the human. It wasn't his right to know, nor would it ever be his right to know exactly how old Naruto really was.
Eragon was shocked at the fact. However before he could voice it Naruto gave a huff and stood up. It had been nearly five hours since the eggs had found their riders and they had yet to hatch. It was already late and the sun was just about to start setting beyond the horizon. Suddenly a scratching sound as well as a cracking sound was heard drawing the groups attention. Naruto couldn't help but smirk as he watched the two eggs shake before they seemingly burst open to reveal two male dragon's. One red, and the other green as fresh grass in springtime.
Arya and Murtagh both gasped at the young dragon's between their legs. When they reached down to pet the dragonet's, murtagh had the red one while Arya had the green one, and then they let out shouts of pain when they felt something being burnt into their palms. Naruto simply stated a minor painless spell on them and they suddenly passed out from exhaustion. Naruto smiled and looked to Belgabad, "I think that it went well, don't you agree?" he asked the dragon. However he was simply given a snort before the great Dragon King of the Apocalypse snorted at him.
Naruto paid him no attention and looked to Eragon and Brom, "Sleep I will take care of things here." he told them and waved his hands and forced them into the world of unconsciousness. He then looked to the young dragon's and sighed "Great, now I have to age them enough where I can teach them to fly." he grumbled out. Ignoring the fact that it was what was needed, he ended up laying against his dragon's side. Over the course of the next couple weeks Naruto helped Arya and Murtagh raise their dragon's up to a point where they could experience their first flight. Upon going on their first flight the two dragon hathlings suddenly transformed into mighty adults equal in size to Saphira.
As they, Murtagh-Eragon-Arya, taught themselves about magic as well as their dragons they were clueless to what the blonde was doing. Naruto watched them as they raised their dragon's to greater power. He even watched as Saphira managed to release her first flames much to everyone's surprise. Now the time had come for them to depart for the Varden... well it was almost time. He now stood in front of the three new dragon riders with a smile on his face, "While only Saphira is old enough to breath her fire, besides Belgabad of course, I have decided to give all of you a gift. Eragon you may return Zar'Roc back to Brom, for you will no longer have a need for it when we reach the Varden." he told the boy. Eragon was going to question why he was going to do it, but a look from the man made him rethink it and he did as he was told.
Naruto then waved his hand and suddenly three lumps of raw ore that was silver in color appeared in front of their feet. Seeing their confused looks he then explained "This is what is known as Star Metal. It was actually a metallic ore that came from a extremely large Meteorite that crashed to earth when I was nearly one hundred years old making it some of the oldest raw materials to exist to date. The meteorite itself was so large it nearly wiped out half of the life on the continent. Now since I can tell you are wondering what you are going to do with this metal, I will simply say that this is the metal that every Rider uses when they forge their sword so that he or she can fight alongside their dragon's in battle to the best of their ability." he said brandishing his own swords.
He cleared his throat "Now I will only say that for this to work the rider that is bonded to their dragon's must have them breath fire in order for this process to work. So since we cannot use either Belgabad, since he is to large, or Saphira for Murtagh and Arya's swords there will need to be an improvising plan. However I already have a solution to this. I know a spell that can naturally age your dragon's by a couple months to a point they can breath fire like Saphira is able to do. However I will do that at a later time when we reach the Varden." he said as he tied the metal ore's to the blue dragon. With another wave of his hand another set of saddles appeared in front of Murtagh and Arya, "This'll allow for you to ride your dragon's without any type of trouble." he said.
With nods of thanks the group quickly set out to strap the saddles onto the dragons where Naruto removed a couple of the ore lumps from Saphira and tied one to Murtagh's dragon named Umaroth where the other ore went to Fírnen. With that Naruto had Brom climb on Belgabad with his teacher standing on the ground. Naruto was looking at the new dragon roder's of the current era, "Now I will also provide some armor of the Star Metal that will have runes engraved into the metal that will allow for it to grow naturally with your dragons as well as undergo self repair if damaged in battle." he said to the three dragon riders honestly.
He of course had Belgabad's own armor that grew along with him as he aged so he wasn't worried about armor for his dragon. The thing he was curious about though, was how was he going to get the swords for the new riders forged since he needed specific materials to make them. Murtagh looked at the lump of ore saddled to Umaroth's side "So what else does this stuff go by. I mean Star Metal is nice and all, but I'm sure that somebody gave it a different name than Star Metal." he said.
Naruto chuckled "Brightsteel. People named it Brightsteel due to how strong the metal could become if tempered properly." he told Murtagh honestly. He then cleared his throat "Mount up we need to get to the Varden now. When we reach them I will speed up Umaroth's and Fírnen's growth a bit just enough that they can breath ifre, then we will commence to forging your swords with that ore I gave each of you." he told them. With that each of the Rider's climbed onto their saddles, with Naruto standing on Belgabad's head, and took to the sky. Naruto had Belgabad fly higher than the three younger dragon's and helped guide them to the mountain stronghold the Varden was located at.
Naruto suddenly jumped of of Belgabad, shocking Brom, and dove down towards the three younger dragons. Saphira heard a whisling noise above her and looked towards Belgabad, and gasped when she saw Naruto's falling form. She gave a roar and rose higher into the sky and caught him just before he managed to pass by, not that he would die from the fall like a normal human would, and berated him for doing such a thing. Naruto however pointed to a mountain and ordered them to land. They had about two and a half weeks head start on the Urgal's, and Naruto wasn't about to waste it.
Landing just outside a large waterfall the three rider's jumped off the dragon's with Brom jumping off of Umaroth, having been retrieved by Murtagh on Naruto's order. Naruto then explained that they arrived and jumped in the water and swam underneath the falls. Without any other words the four jumped in after him and followed him. However when they surfaced they saw a group of people standing on the rocks pointing their spears at them. Naruto had his hands raised in a calm manner showing no ill intent. Following his example they all raised their hands in the air showing they wouldn't fight. When they climbed out of the water Naruto told them they needed to speak with the leader of the Varden.
They soon found themselves surrounded and pulled away from the water, more than likely to prevent a escape if they wanted to kill them. Several minutes later a large man with dark skin walked forward in a rush of movement and looked at the group "Which one of you is the rider?" he questioned.
Naruto cleared his throat "I think you may want to correct yourself my friend." he stated.
The man gains a confused look "What do you mean "correct myself" I asked the proper question of who the rider is" he stated.
Naruto shook his head "Nope. The question you should have asked is which of us wasn't a rider... well besides Brom his dragon has been dead for a while now." he stated.
The man gained a shocked look "A-Are you saying that each of you has a dragon accompanying you right now?" he asked.
Naruto nodded his head "Yes. Besides Brom each of us has brought a dragon to help fight this battle coming up. However my dragon is simply far to large to fit inside this area so he will have to wait outside until you inform your people about him." he told the man.
The leader of the Varden crossed his arms "How big are we talking here?" he asked cautiously.
Naruto waved his hand flatly "Ehh, I would say roughly almost the size of the Mountain. I mean I am well into my eighth millennium here so yea if proper age does matter then he is almost the size of the mountain in terms of size. He can fit into the small opening from above, but he won't be able to maneuver properly to fight, hell he won't even be able to spread his wings if at all." he told the man.
The man nodded his heads "If that is true then it would be best if he was kept outside and hidden a bit of a distance... What about the other three?" he asked him.
Naruto nodded his head "Each are small enough to fit into this place with ease." he told the man.
The mn nodded his head "I am Ajihad, leader of the Varden. If what you say is in fact true, call the beasts inside." he ordered them. Naruto looked to them and nodded his head telling them to do it.
However the dwarf cleared his throat, "If they attack you all die." he told them honestly. Several seconds later the sound of flapping wings was heard. Entering first was Saphira who walked forward ignoring the warriors before her. Next was Umaroth who followed her example, and then Fírnen followed them. The resistence warriors were gaping in awe at the sight of the three dragons before them.
Naruto cleared his throat "While we are standing here I have to inform you, I have two more dragon eggs attached to Belgabad, my dragon. I need you or one of your men to fly with me to the peek of the mountain where Belgabad can pass by and I can grab them from the saddle. After that the possibility of having five dragons fight for the Varden are extremely high. However as you know a rider a dragon will only hatch in their presence. Which means we have to hold off on seeing who the rider for them is until we fight the kings army. If they can wait for 1000 years, another day will not hurt them to stay inside their eggs." he said.
Ajihad nodded his head in agreement, "I understand, but wouldn't leaving them with your dragon be more ideal?" he asked.
Naruto shook his head "As much as it would seem, it's not. Belgabad's sheer size makes him a unmissable target in battle. I mean for the sake of the gods he is nearing his ninth millennia of age, he the size of a mountain." Naruto told him, "Which means the sacs the ggs are in could be shot off and returned to the king so he could force them into submission and have them hatch for his own loyal men." he aid.
Ajihad nodded in agreement and snapped his fingers at a man and looked to Naruto, "We have to act fast. We don't have much time until the enemy arrives. Let's make sure that these eggs are safe." he said. Naruto nodded his head and went to follow the man.
However before he walked far he stopped, "Oh Ajihad, can I request something of you?" he asked.
Ajihad nodded his head, "If it is within my power then yes." he told Naruto.
Naruto nodded his head "I need to use a forge to make some weapons for about a week, can I use some of the supplies you have on hand so I can make them?" he asked the man.
Ajihad shrugged his shoulder's "I don't see why not." he responded.
After safely retrieving the two eggs on Belgabad's saddle Naruto had stored them away in a extremely secure spot wher eonly he could access and now he stood in front of a forge that Ajihad had lent to him for the week. Currently the immortal was standing with Saphira and Eragon who were getting ready to forge his Rider sword throughout the night. "Is there enough ore for a sword?" Saphira asked.
"Oh each lump of ore I gave them has more than enough to forge several swords, if past experience is anything to judge by," said Naruto, rising to his full height. The man then glanced at the forge he had requested in the center of the atrium, then clapped his hands together, eyes lighting up with a combination of eagerness and determination. "Let us to it, then! You need a sword, and I know you have no skills in blacksmithing am I right? Very well, I shall give you a sword the likes of which has never been seen before in Alagaësia... Well other then the two I forged when my first wife taught me to forge long ago." he stated. And then he remembered his panda-like wife., Tenten Konoha's weapon's mistress.
"But how are we going to forge a sword in one night?" Eragon asked.
"Think not of it for the time being. We will reach that point when we get to it, now do you want my help or not?" he asked the boy.
"Yes, very much so." said Eragon.
Naruto paused, his expression introspective. "Then I shall have to hurry that which I do not normally hurry and use magic to craft that which would otherwise require weeks of work by hand. You and your dragon will help me." It was not a question, but Eragon nodded in agreement. "We shall not rest tonight, but I promise you, you shall have your sword by tomorrow morning." he said. Bending at the knees, Naruto lifted the ore from the ground without any form of effort and carried it to the bench with the intent to have the carving in progress.
Eragon removed his tunic and shirt, so he would not ruin them during the work to come, and in their place Naruto gave him a tight-fitting jerkin and a fabric apron treated so that it was impervious to fire. Naruto also wore the same. When Eragon asked him about gloves, he laughed and shook his head. "Only a clumsy smith uses gloves." he told the kid honestly. Which was true since Tenten taught him what a true blacksmith worked like. Then Naruto led him to a low, grotto-like chamber set within the forge storage room. Inside the chamber were bags of charcoal and loose piles of whitish clay bricks. By means of a spell, Eragon and Naruto lifted several hundred bricks and carried them outside, next to the open-walled forge, then did the same with the bags of charcoal, each of which was as large as a man.
Once the supplies were arranged to Naruto's satisfaction,she and Eragon built a smelter for the ore. The smelter was a complex structure, and Naruto refused to use much magic to construct it, so the project took them most of the afternoon. First they dug a rectangular pit five feet deep, which they filled with layers of sand, gravel, clay, charcoal, and ash, and in which they embedded a number of chambers and channels to wick away moisture that would otherwise dampen the heat of the smelting fire. When the contents of the pit were level with the ground, they assembled a trough of bricks on top of the layers below, using water and unfired clay as their mortar. Ducking inside the storage house, Naruto returned with a pair of bellows, which they attached to holes at the base of the trough.
They broke then to drink and to eat a few bites of bread and cheese. After the brief repast, Naruto placed a handful of small branches in the trough, lit them on fire with a murmured word, and, when the flames were well set, laid medium-sized pieces of seasoned oak along the bottom. For nearly an hour, he tended the fire, cultivating it with the care of a gardener growing roses, until the wood had burned down to an even bed of coals. Then Naruto nodded to Eragon and said, "Now." Eragon lifted the lump of ore and gently lowered it into the trough. When the heat on his fingers became unbearable, he released the ore and jumped back as a fountain of sparks swirled upward like a swarm of fireflies.
On top of the ore and the coals, he shoveled a thick blanket of charcoal as fuel for the fire. Eragon brushed the charcoal dust from his palms, then grasped the handles of one set of bellows and began to pump it, as did Naruto the bellows on the other side of the smelter. Between them, they supplied the fire with a steady stream of fresh air so that it burned ever hotter. The scales on Saphira's chest, as well as on the underside of her head and neck, sparkled with dazzling flashes of light as the flames in the smelter danced. She crouched several yards away, her eyes fixed upon the molten heart of the fire. "I could help with this, you know", she said. It would take me but a minute to melt the ore.
"Yes," said Naruto, "but if we melt it too quickly, the metal will not combine with the charcoal and become hard and flexible enough for a sword. Save your fire, Saphira. We shall need it later." he told her honestly. The heat from the smelter and the effort of pumping the bellows soon had Eragon covered in a sheen of sweat; his bare arms shone in the light from the fire. Every now and then, he or Naruto would abandon their bellows to shovel a new layer of charcoal over the fire. The work was monotonous, and as a result, Eragon soon lost track of the time. The constant roar of the fire, the feel of the bellows' handle in his hands, the whoosh of rushing air, and Saphira's vigilant presence were the only things he was aware of.
It came as a surprise to him, then, when Naruto said, "That should be sufficient. Leave the bellows." and cracked his neck.
Wiping his brow, Eragon helped as he, Naruto, shoveled the incandescent coals out of the smelter and into a barrel filled with water. The coals sizzled and emitted an acrid smell as they struck the liquid. When they finally exposed the glowing pool of white-hot metal at the bottom of the trough—the slag and other impurities having run off during the process—Naruto then covered the metal with an inch of fine white ash, then leaned his shovel against the side of the smelter and went to sit on the bench by the forge. "What now?" Eragon asked as he joined him.
"Now we wait." Naruto told him with a smile.
"For what?" Eragon asked.
Naruto then gestured toward the sky, where the light from the setting sun painted a tattered array of clouds red and purple and gold. "It must be dark when we work the metal if we are to correctly judge its color. Also, the Brightsteel needs time to cool so that it will be soft and easy to shape." eh told Eragon. Reaching around behind his head, Naruto then undid the cord that held back his long blonde hair, then gathered up his hair again and retied the cord. "In the meantime, let us talk about your sword. How do you fight, with one hand or two?" he asked.
Eragon thought for a minute, then said, "It varies. If I have a choice, I'd prefer to wield a sword with one hand and carry a shield with my other. However, circumstances will not always be favorable to me, and so with that in mind I know that I will have to fight without a shield. Then I like being able to grip the hilt with both hands, so I can deliver a more powerful stroke. The pommel on Zar'roc was large enough to grasp with my left hand if I had to, but the ridges around the ruby were uncomfortable and they did not afford me a secure hold. It would be nice to have a slightly longer hilt." he told the much more ancient blonde honestly.
"I take it you do not want a true two-handed sword?" said Naruto.
Eragon shook his head. "No, it would be too big for fighting indoors." he said.
"That depends upon the size of the hilt and the blade combined, but in general, you are correct. Would you be amenable to a hand-and-a-half sword instead?" he asked Eragon.
An image flashed in Eragon's mind of Morzan's original sword, and he smiled. Why not? thought Eragon. "Yes, a hand-and-a-half sword would be perfect, I think." he said.
"And how long would you like the blade?" he asked Eragon.
"No longer than Zar'roc's." he told Naruto.
Naruto gave a hum of thought "Mmh. Do you want a straight blade or a curved blade?" he asked.
"Straight."
"Have you any preferences as to the guard?"
"Not especially." he informed Naruto.
Crossing his arms, Naruto sat with his chin touching his palm which rested on his knee, his eyes heavy-lidded. His lips twitched. "What of the width of the blade? Remember, no matter how narrow it is, the sword shall not break." he informed the teenager.
"Perhaps it could be a little wider at the guard than Zar'roc was."
"Why?" Naruto questioned.
"I think it might look better."
A harsh, cracked laugh broke from Naruto's throat. "But how would that improve the use of the sword?"
Embarrassed, Eragon shifted on the bench, at a loss for words.
"Never ask a blacksmith to alter a weapon merely in order to improve its appearance," admonished Naruto. "A weapon is a tool, and if it is beautiful, then it is beautiful because it is useful. A sword that could not fulfill its function would be ugly to my eyes no matter how fair its shape, not even if it were adorned with the finest jewels and the most intricate engraving." The man pursed his lips, pushing them out as he thought. "So, a sword equally suited for the unrestrained bloodshed of a battlefield as it is for defending yourself in the narrow tunnels under Farthen Dûr. A sword for all occasions, of middling length, but for the hilt, which shall be longer than average." Naruto thought aloud.
"A sword for killing Galbatorix," said Eragon.
Naruto nodded his head, "And as such, it must be well protected against magic. . . ." his chin sank to his chest again. "Armor has improved a great deal in the past eight thousand years, so the tip will need to be narrower than I used to make them, the better to pierce plate and mail and to slip into the gaps between the various pieces. Mmh." From a pouch by his side, Naruto withdrew a knotted piece of twine, with which he took numerous measurements of Eragon's hands and arms. Afterward, he retrieved a wrought-iron poker from the forge and tossed it toward Eragon. He caught it with one hand and raised an eyebrow at the ancient rider. Naruto motioned toward him with a finger and said, "Go on now. Up on your feet and let me see how you move with a sword, like when we first met."
Walking out from under the roof of the open-walled forge, Eragon obliged him by demonstrating several of the forms Brom had taught him. After a minute, he heard the clink of metal on stone, then Naruto coughed and said, "Oh, this is hopeless." he stepped in front of Eragon, holding another poker. His brow furrowed with a fierce scowl as he raised the poker before him in a salute and shouted, "Have at you, dragon rider!" in mock fury.
Naruto's heavy poker whistled through the air as he swung at him with a strong slashing blow. Dancing to the side, Eragon parried the attack. The poker jumped in his hand as the two rods of metal collided. For a brief while, he and Naruto mildly sparred. Although it was obvious he had not practiced his swordsmanship for some time, Eragon still found him to be a formidable opponent. At last they were forced to stop because the soft iron of the pokers had bent until the rods were as crooked as the branches of a yew tree. Naruto then collected Eragon's poker, then carried the two mangled pieces of metal over to a pile of broken tools. When he returned, the man lifted his chin and said, "Now I know exactly what shape your sword should have."
"But how will you make it?"
A twinkle of amusement appeared in Naruto's eyes. "I won't. You shall make the sword instead of me, Eragon." he told the boy.
Eragon gaped at him for a moment, then sputtered and said, "Me? But I was never apprenticed to a blacksmith or a bladesmith. I have not the skill to forge even a common brush knife."
The twinkle in Naruto's eyes brightened. "Nevertheless, you shall be the one to make this sword." he informed the boy.
"But how? Will you stand beside me and give me orders as I hammer the metal?" he questioned.
"Hardly," said Naruto, "No, I shall guide your actions from within your mind so that your hands may do what mine cannot. It is not a perfect solution, but I can think of no other means of giving a rider a perfect blade. Besides I have always usually given any rider that wielded a blade a good dose of knowledge on forgery before I had them make their own blades. However we have only two weeks before the Urgal's and Durza arrive thus we have to do it like this. I will also do this with Arya and Murtagh so don't worry, it will be a walk in the park." he informe the dragon rider as he crossed his arms across his chest and took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
Eragon frowned. "If you move my hands for me, how is that any different from making the sword yourself?"
Naruto's expression darkened and, in a brusque voice, he said, "Do you want this sword or not?" while he crossed his arms in annoyance.
"I do."
"Then refrain from pestering me with such questions. Making the sword through you is different because I think it is different. If I believed otherwise, then my ability to train you would prevent me from participating in the process. So, unless you wish to return to the king dead, you would be wise to remain silent on the subject."
"Yes, Master Naruto." Eragon responded to the man.
They went to the smelter then, and Naruto had Saphira pry the still-warm mass of congealed brightsteel from the bottom of the brick trough. "Break it into fist-sized pieces," Naruto directed, and withdrew to a safe distance. Lifting her front leg, Saphira stamped upon the rippled beam of brightsteel with all her strength. The earth shook, and the brightsteel cracked in several places. Three more times Saphira stamped upon the metal before Naruto was satisfied with the results.
The immortal blonde then gathered up the sharp lumps of metal in his apron and carried them to a low table next to the forge. There he sorted the metal according to its hardness, which, or so he told Eragon, he was able to determine by the color and texture of the fractured metal. "Some is too hard and some is too soft," he said, "and while I could remedy that if I wanted to, it would require another heating. So we will only use the pieces that are already suitable for a sword. On the edges of the sword will go a slightly harder steel" he said as he touched a cluster of pieces that had a brilliant, sparkling grain "the better to take a keen edge. The middle of the sword shall be made of a slightly softer steel" he touched a cluster of pieces that were grayer and not so bright "the better to bend and to absorb the shock of a blow. Before the metal can be forged into shape, though, it must be worked to rid it of the remaining impurities." he said.
"How is that done?" asked Saphira.
"That you shall see momentarily." Naruto said and then went to one of the poles that supported the roof of the forge, sat with his back against it, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes, face still and composed. "Are you ready, Eragon?" he asked.
"I am," said Eragon, despite the tension gathered in his belly.
The first thing Eragon noticed about Naruto as their minds met was the low chords that echoed through the dark and tangled landscape of his thoughts. The music was slow and deliberate and cast in a strange and unsettling key that scraped on his nerves. What it implied about Naruto's character, Eragon was not sure, but the eerie melody caused him to reconsider the wisdom of allowing him to control his flesh. But then he thought of Saphira sitting next to the forge, watching over him, and his trepidation receded, and he lowered the last of the defenses around his consciousness.
It felt to Eragon like a piece of raw wool sliding over his skin as Naruto enveloped his mind with his own, insinuating himself into the most private areas of his being. He shivered at the contact and almost withdrew from it, but then Naruto's rough voice sounded within his skull "Relax, and all shall be well." Naruto told him in his mind.
"Yes, Naruto." Eragon stated.
Then Naruto began to lift his arms, shift his legs, roll his head, and otherwise experiment with the abilities of his body. Strange as it was for Eragon to feel his head and limbs move without his direction, it was stranger still when his eyes began to flick from place to place, seemingly of their own accord. The sensation of helplessness kindled a burst of sudden panic within Eragon. When Naruto walked him forward and his foot struck the corner of the forge and it seemed as if he were going to fall, Eragon immediately reasserted command over his faculties and grabbed the horn of the anvil to steady himself.
"Do not interfere" snapped Naruto, "If your nerve fails you at the wrong moment during the forging, you could cause yourself harm." he said.
"So could you if you're not careful", Eragon retorted.
"Be patient, boy. I shall have mastered this by the time it is dark."
While they waited for the last of the light to fade from the velvet sky, Naruto prepared the forge and practiced wielding various tools. His initial clumsiness with Eragon's body soon disappeared, although once he reached for a hammer and rammed the tips of his fingers into the top of a table. The pain made Eragon's eyes water. Naruto apologized and said, "Your arms are longer than mine." A few minutes later, when they were about to begin, he commented, "It is fortunate you have the speed and strength like that of an elf would, else we would have no hope of finishing this tonight." Naruto told him.
Taking the pieces of hard and soft brightsteel he had decided to use, Naruto placed them into the forge. At the blonde's request, Saphira heated the steel, opening her jaws only a fraction of an inch so that the blue and white flames that poured from her mouth remained focused in a narrow stream and did not spill over into the rest of the workshop. The roaring pillar of fire illuminated the entire atrium with a fierce blue light and made Saphira's scales sparkle and flash with blinding brilliance. Naruto then had Eragon remove the brightsteel from the torrent of flames with a pair of tongs once the metal began to glow cherry red.
He laid it on the anvil and, with a series of quick blows from a sledgehammer, flattened the lumps of metal into plates that were no more than a quarter of an inch thick. The surface of the red-hot steel glittered with incandescent motes. As he finished with each plate, Naruto dropped it into a nearby trough of brine. Having flattened all of the brightsteel, Naruto pulled the plates out of the trough, the brine warm against Eragon's arm, and scoured each plate with a piece of sandstone to remove the black scales that had formed on the surface of the metal. The scouring exposed the crystalline structure of the metal, which Naruto examined with great attentiveness.
He further sorted the metal by relative hardness and purity according to the qualities the crystals displayed. Eragon was privy to Naruto's every thought and feeling, by reason of their closeness. The depth of his knowledge amazed him; he knew and saw things within the metal he had not suspected existed, and the calculations he made concerning its treatment were beyond his understanding. He also sensed he was dissatisfied with how he had handled the sledgehammer while flattening the steel. Naruto's dis-satisfaction continued to grow until he said, "Bah! Look at these dents in the metal! I cannot forge a blade like this. My control over your arms and hands is not fine enough to craft a sword worthy of note." in a annoyed tone.
Before Eragon could attempt to reason with her, Saphira said, "The tools do not the artist make, Master Naruto. Surely you can find a way to compensate for this inconvenience."
"Inconvenience?" snorted Naruto, "I have no more coordination than a child baking cookies. I am a stranger in a stranger's house." Still grumbling, he subsided into mental deliberations that were incomprehensible to Eragon, then said, "Well, I may have a solution, but I warn you, I shall not continue if I am unable to maintain my usual level of craftsmanship." he told the boy. He did not explain the solution to either Eragon or Saphira but, one by one, placed the plates of steel on the anvil and cracked them into flakes no wider than rose petals. Gathering up half the flakes of the harder brightsteel, Naruto stacked them into a brick, which he then coated with clay and birch bark to hold them together.
The brick went on a thick steel paddle with a seven-foot-long handle, similar to those used by bakers to insert and remove loaves of bread from a hot oven. Naruto then laid the end of the paddle in the center of the forge and then backed Eragon as far away as he could and still have him hold on to the handle. Then he asked Saphira to resume breathing fire, and again the atrium glowed with a flickering blue radiance. The heat was so intense, Eragon felt as if his exposed skin were crisping, and he saw that the granite stones of which the forge was made had acquired a bright yellow glow.
The brightsteel could easily have taken over half an hour to reach the appropriate temperature in a charcoal fire, but it required only a few minutes in the withering inferno of Saphira's flames before it turned white. The moment it did, Naruto ordered Saphira to cease breathing fire. Darkness engulfed the forge as Saphira closed her jaws. Rushing Eragon forward, Naruto had him transport the glowing brick of clay-covered steel to the anvil, where he seized a hammer and welded the disparate flakes of brightsteel into a cohesive whole. he continued to pound on the metal, elongating it out into a bar, then made a cut in the middle, folded the metal back on itself, and welded the two pieces together.
The bell-like peals of ringing metal echoed off the ancient trees that surrounded the atrium. Naruto then had Eragon return the brightsteel to the forge once its color had faded from white to yellow, and again Saphira bathed the metal with the fire from her belly. Six times they heated and folded the brightsteel, and each time the metal became smoother and more flexible, until it could bend without tearing. As Eragon hammered the steel, his every action dictated by Naruto, the ancient rider then began to sing, both with the ancient language and his own. Together, their voices formed a not-unpleasant harmony that rose and fell with the beats of the hammer.
A tingle crawled down Eragon's spine as he felt Naruto channel a steady flow of energy into the words they were mouthing, and he realized that the song contained spells of making, shaping, and binding. With their voices two, Naruto sang of the metal that lay on the anvil, describing its properties, altering them in ways that exceeded Eragon's understanding, and imbuing the brightsteel with a complex web of enchantments designed to give it strength and resilience beyond that of any ordinary metal. Of Eragon's hammer arm Naruto also sang, and under the gentle influence of her crooning, every blow he struck with his arm landed upon its intended target.
Naruto then quenched the bar of brightsteel after the sixth and final fold was complete. Naruto repeated the entire process with the other half of the hard brightsteel, forging an identical bar to the first. Then he had Eragon gather up the fragments of the softer steel, which were then folded and welded ten times before forming it into a short, heavy wedge. Next, Naruto had Saphira reheat the two bars of harder steel. Naruto then lay the shining rods side by side on the anvil, grasped both of them at either end with a pair of tongs, and then twisted the rods around each other seven times. Sparks shot into the air as he hammered upon the twists to weld them into a single piece of metal.
The resulting mass of brightsteel Naruto folded, welded, and pounded back out to length another six times. When Naruto was pleased with the quality of the metal, he flattened the brightsteel into a thick rectangular sheet, cut the sheet in half lengthwise with a sharp chisel, and bent each of the two halves down their middle, so they were in the shape of long, shallow V's. And all that, Eragon estimated, Naruto was able to accomplish within the course of an hour and a half. He marveled at his sheer working speed, even though it was his own body that carried out the tasks.
Never before had he seen a smith shape metal with such ease; what would have taken any other blacksmith untold hours took Naruto only minutes. And yet no matter how demanding the forging was, Naruto continued to sing, weaving a fabric of spells within the brightsteel and guiding Eragon's arm with infallible accuracy. Amid the frenzy of noise, fire, sparks, and exertion, Eragon thought he glimpsed, as Naruto raked his eyes across the forge, a trio of slender figures standing by the edge of the atrium. Saphira confirmed his suspicion a moment later when she said,"Eragon, we are not alone."
"Who is it?" he asked. Saphira sent him an image of the two other rider's, Brom and Ajihad. Naruto gave a shrug and continued his work while ignoring the audience he had gained. With that Naruto wasted no more time talking. He then had Eragon place the wedge of brightsteel between the two V-shaped strips and hammer on them until the strips nearly enveloped the wedge and friction held the three pieces together. Then Naruto welded the pieces into a whole, and while the metal was still hot, he began to draw it out and form a rough blank of the sword. The soft wedge became the spine of the blade, while the two harder strips became the sides, edges, and point.
Once the blank was nearly as long as the finished sword, the work slowed as Naruto returned to the tang and carefully hammered his way up the blade, establishing the final angles and proportions. Naruto then had Saphira heat the blade in segments of no more than six or seven inches at a time, which he then arranged by holding the blade over one of Saphira's nostrils, through which Saphira would release a single jet of fire. A host of writhing shadows fled toward the perimeter of the atrium every time the fire sprang into existence. Eragon watched with amazement as his hands transformed the crude lump of metal into an elegant instrument of war.
With every blow, the outline of the blade became clearer, as if the brightsteel wanted to be a sword and was eager to assume the shape Rhunön desired. At last the forging came to a close, and there on the anvil lay a long black blade, which, although it was still rough and incomplete, already radiated a sense of deadly purpose. Naruto then allowed Eragon's tired arms to rest while the blade cooled by air, then he had Eragon take the blade to another corner of the loaned workshop, where she had arranged six different grinding wheels and, on a small bench, a wide assortment of files, scrapers, and abrasive stones.
He then fixed the blade between two blocks of wood and spent the next hour planing the sides of the sword with a drawknife, as well as refining the contours of the blade with files. As with the hammering, every stroke of the drawknife and every scrape of a file seemed to have twice the effect it normally would; it was as if the tools knew exactly how much steel to remove and would remove no more. When he was done filing, Naruto built a charcoal fire in the forge, and while he waited for the fire to mature, he mixed a slurry of dark, fine-grained clay, ash, powdered pumice, and crystallized juniper sap. He painted the blade with the concoction, slathering twice as much on the spine as he did along the edges and by the point.
The thicker the solution of clay, the slower the underlying metal would cool when it was quenched and, as a result, the softer that area of the sword would become. The clay lightened as Naruto dried it with a quick incantation. At the direction of the Ancient Rider, Eragon went to the forge. He lay the sword flat upon the bed of scintillating coals and, pumping the bellows with his free hand, slowly pulled it toward his hip. Once the tip of the blade came free of the fire, Naruto turned it over and repeated the sequence. Naruto continued to draw the blade through the coals until both edges had acquired an even orange tone and the spine of the sword was bright red in color.
Then, with a single smooth motion, Naruto then lifted the sword from the coals, swept the glowing bar of steel through the air, and plunged it into the trough of water next to the forge. An explosive cloud of steam erupted from the surface of the water, which hissed and sizzled and bubbled around the blade. After a minute, the roiling water subsided, and Naruto then withdrew the now pearl-gray sword. Returning it to the fire, she brought the whole sword to the same low heat, so as to reduce the brittleness of the edges, and then quenched it once more. Eragon had expected Naruto to relinquish the hold on his body after they had forged, hardened, and tempered the blade, but to his surprise, Naruto remained in his mind and continued to control his limbs.
Naruto then had him douse the forge, then he walked Eragon back to the bench with the files and scrapers and abrasive stones. There Naruto sat him, and making use of ever finer stones, he polished the blade. From Naruto's memories, Eragon learned that he would normally spend a week or more polishing a blade, but because of the song they sang, Naruto, through him, was able to complete the task in a mere four hours, in addition to carving a narrow groove down the middle of each side of the blade. As the brightsteel grew smoother, the true beauty of the metal was revealed; within it, Eragon could see a shimmering, cable-like pattern, every line of which marked the transition between two layers of the velvety steel.
And along each edge of the sword was a rippling, silvery white band as wide as his thumb, which made it appear as if the edges burned with tongues of frozen fire. The muscles in Eragon's right arm gave way as Naruto was covering the tang with decorative cross-hatching, and the file he was holding slipped off the tang and fell from his fingers. The extent of his exhaustion surprised him, for he had been concentrating upon the sword to the exclusion of all else. "Enough" said Naruto, and suddenly he removed himself from Eragon's mind without further ado.
Shocked by the sudden absence, Eragon swayed on his seat and nearly lost his balance before he regained control over his rebellious limbs. "But we're not finished!" he protested, turning toward Naruto. The night sounded unnaturally quiet to him without the strains of their extended duet.
Naruto snorted and rose from where he had been sitting cross-legged against the pole and shook his head. "I have no more need of you Eragon. Go and sleep until dawn. I'll have Saphira come and get you when I deem my work satisfactory enough." He told Eragon.
"But—" Eragon begun to argue.
Naruto however wouldn't have it "You are tired, and even with my magic, you are liable to ruin the sword if you continue to work on it. Now that the blade is done, I can attend to the rest without interference of ruining the blade and its bond to you as a Rider, so go and get some rest boy." he told Eragon. With a sigh Eragon nodded his head and begun to walk away, only to stop and turn around.
He cleared his throat as he watched Naruto reached the newly forged sword, "How long did it take to do all that?" he asked.
Naruto snorted, "Around six and a half hours, now go get your rest. I'll finish this and then give it to you. After that I will get some rest for myself and then do Murtagh's and Arya's swords in the next three days. After that swordsmanship training begins until the day before the Urgal's arrive." he told Eragon. With no other option, the young boy did as he was told and left the blonde immortal to his work. He was pleased with how he did with the sword, and soon he would have to make two more the same way the next few days.
And that is my new story Savior of Alegasia. Leave a comment and I will see you later.