Dark Wings (An Inheritance Fanfiction)

Chapter 3

The Riders had flown to the coast and camped there. They were now flying over the ocean, the seas rolling beneath them.

Obsidian was already as long as Silvanna's arm. She hadn't realized how fast dragons grew. She held on to him tight. Soon, she would be flying on Obsidian. The island of Vroengard was in view, and an hour later they arrived at Doru Araeba.

Silvanna stared at the city in awe. She knew it would be huge, but it exceeded her expectations. Glittering gem-like dragons flew in the sky and trotted on the ground. Riders and their dragons were everywhere. There were even some wild dragons.

Silvanna jumped off Fio'len, and Obsidian glided from her arms onto the rough ground. Hírador and Ainell stood next to her. They both gaped at the buildings.

Gi'meke and Lilane guided them to a hall.

"This is the Great Hall. You will eat here, gather here, and now you are going to meet the Dragon Rider Leader, Erenuk here. He will tell you what you need to know to begin training," Gi'meke said. 

Silvanna followed the Riders into the Great Hall. "This is massive enough to fit a ten thousand year old dragon!" she whispered to Ainell.

"More like a million year old dragon!" he whispered back.

They both stood restlessly while Gi'meke went to get Erenuk, and his dragon, Wioleber. When he came back, a human and a huge gray dragon followed him. 

"I am Erenuk, leader of the Dragon Riders," he boomed, commanding, but gentle. 

And I am Wioleber, said the dragon. Welcome to Doru Araeba, where you will be spending most of your first few years as a Rider.

"Yes, you will report back here tomorrow afternoon, where the Council of Elders will decide your Ebrithil, or master. Now, to begin, we are the Dragon Riders, an ancient society committed to the safety of Algaësia. 

"Our order began with an elf, Eragon, who found an abandoned white dragon egg during the Dragon War, or Du Fryn Skulblaka. He saw the advantages of raising a dragon who was close to elves, so he kept the dragon safe as he grew up. 

He named the young dragon Bid'Daum and they bonded. They traveled across Algaësia and acted as peacemakers between the two races. Because of them, peace treaties were signed, and the order of Dragon Riders was initiated to keep the peace, not just between elves and dragons, but all races. When humans came, they were also added to the spell that bonded the dragons and elves. But dwarves and Urgals were not added, and so there has never been a dwarf or Urgal Rider."

If you go astray from the rules of the Riders, you will be exiled or executed, Wioleber stated. To have a powerful force loose in Algaësia would mean chaos. And as for information about your dragon, there are a few things to know. 

"They will have growth spurts, but even though those will stop as they get older, your dragons will always keep growing. At six months of age, they will be able to mate and breathe fire. They will speak within a cycle of the moon, and they will also choose their names soon," Erenuk ended. "That is all the information you currently need. Lilane and Gi'meke will guide you to your rooms."

"Erenuk, our dragons already chose their names. Mine is Hírador, and Silvanna's is Obsidian," Ainell said. 

"You have?" Erenuk laughed. "You have been moving quickly."

Silvanna turned to leave, Obsidian gliding off her shoulder. 

"Wait, Silvanna, right?" Erenuk asked in a dark tone as Ainell left the room with Gi'meke. The Dragon Rider leader gestured for Lilane to wait outside. "Turn Obsidian over."

"Okay." Silvanna didn't understand, but she sent reassuring thoughts to her dragon as she flipped him over. 

"There," he pointed at the pad of Obsidian's right forefoot. On it, there was a silvery-white swirl, exactly like a gedwëy ignasia. "Show me where you gedwëy ignasia is," he commanded Silvanna. It was on her right hand.

You two are connected, growled Wioleber. I do not know what your dragon's "gedwëy ignasia" means, but there is something powerful about this youngster.

"I can agree with that," Erenuk said. "Now go meet Lilane outside, and you may go to your room."

Silvanna followed Lilane to a building that held the Rider's quarters. Thankfully, she didn't ask about Silvanna's meeting, because Silvanna did not want to talk about what Erenuk had said.

"You are lucky, you know that?" asked Lilane.

"For being a Rider?" Silvanna was jerked out of her thoughts.

"Yes, that, and for being able to meet Erenuk. He doesn't usually greet the newcomers. He is almost always busy. But today he was free, and you got to see him," Lilane laughed. Like all elves, her laugh was singsongy and it seemed to ring. "I had to meet the greeter. He said all the same things and was a pleasant Rider, but he definitely did not have that aura of power and intimidation yet still be gentle and kind. But anyway, here is your room. Fio'len and I might see you around, but not much, since I deliver eggs around the country."

Silvanna found a pit in the room that she thought was the dragon bed, but Obsidian made no move towards it, instead deciding to sleep on Silvanna's own bed with her. 

As she stroked her dragon's warm scales, she pondered the meaning of Erenuk's words through the night, finally finding sleep in the light of dawn.