A Young Rider's Story(Eragon FanFic)(Under Editing)

A Young Rider's Story(Eragon FanFic)

Prologue

Time Period: Approximately seventeen years and two months after the Great War in which Eragon Shadeslayer defeated Galbatorix.

As Thorn tore at the flesh of the buck locked beneath his claws in the Dragonhold, I stifled a chuckle. For some reason the sight was amusing to me. Crimson blood stained his white claws and his teeth and dripped from his jaws onto the white marble floor. His snout was completely submerged in it, and his forelegs were slick with its stains. The white marble beneath the corpse of the buck had become a puddle of dark pink and crimson. The metallic scent of the blood hung in the air, and when I filled my lungs its scent made my stomach tighten and churn.

Shadows of the cave gave Thorn an ominous appearance as his eyes gleamed with hunger.

Further back in the marble cave, torches lined the back arch where the dragon and Riders' beds were. A cozy, straw stuffed nest for Thorn, and a cotton and straw bed for me, Murtagh.

'Go easy on the buck, I don't want you all bloody for when we see Nasuada,' I told my dragon through our mind link, as our sentry guard outside of the cave shifted his weight noisily in his chain mail. Thorn swiveled his ruby head up and fixed one blood red eye on me, 'Murtagh, you've only reminded me a thousand times we have to look nice for the Queen, don't push it.'

This time I did laugh. 'Alright my scaly fellow I won't keep nagging. Just clean yourself up alright?' Thorn just continued to gorge himself, and I stalked outside of the cave where I could get some fresh air away from the scent of blood.

After being in hiding for so long, it had felt good to come back out of hiding, back to Alagaësia. When I walked out of the cave I saluted to the sentry guard and continued to walk until I reached the edge of the Hold. The Hold had been built into the inside of the outer wall of Ileria, making it all the easier for Riders to stay.

Ileria had been made almost completely different since the time when it had been called Urû'baen, the Dragonhold being one of the many new additions. The floor of the caves and the overhang that reached out over the outer wall of the city was completely made of white marble. The special granite had been found when mining had begun outside of the city after Galbatorix's downfall. The placement, the carving, and the melting of the granite stone had become, with no doubt, a work of art for the capitol.

Along with many other additions, housing, rebuilding, and a greater security unit had been added. Any reminders of Galbatorix had been stripped from the castle in the process.

On the watch ledge of the Dragonhold, it was a nice, warm and clear day, and my long brown-black hair fell into my eyes, making them sting with sweat. Then, the wind picked up, blowing my forehead clear and my crimson cape behind me. I sighed as contentment lifted my spirits, and I sat down of the edge of the Hold's ledge, and swished my feet through the air beneath. To any normal man this height would have been breathtaking, but the view from the back of a dragon could easily surpass this feat.

My hands were grimy with dirt from the day's work, and they were becoming increasingly uncomfortable until I balled them into fists and planted them on the marble beside my hips.

The Queen had no idea I had come yet, I was to surprise her. I had told the guards at the gates of Ileria to tell no one of my presence and take me straight to the Dragonhold, and my dragon be fed at the snap of my fingers. Though a man as great as Eragon or I might have accomplished great feats, it had been difficult to hide a dragon in the height of the day.

I laughed and smiled, tonight would be great, a feast in my honor and a Queen on my arm. But, this could not be so for longer than a night. A Rider could no longer be king after Galbatorix, even I didn't want it to come to that. But even if this couldn't happen, my heart yearned for a life with the Queen.