Luminescent (Inheritance Cycle and Beyond)

Chapter Twenty: Iridescent

"Yes, Master." Eragon headed off in the direction of the stream while I pulled out my sword and guarded its edge.

"We will be incorporating a dagger, so your right arm isn't just hanging there." Oromis said, handing me a curved dagger. I gingerly wrapped my fingers around the hilt and held it in my right hand. So far, so good.

"You might not be able to wield a sword in your right hand, but you should be able to wield a dagger." I guarded the edge of the dagger before facing Oromis to finally spar. I may have an extra weapon, but I could barely hold him off. My left arm was straining from underuse, and my right arm was starting to get twitchy.

With one block with my dagger, my hand and fingers started to twitch and hurt, causing me to drop the dagger.

"Your hand lasted longer than I thought, that is good news. We will conclude your training now." When my hand stopped twitching, I picked the dagger up again and held it out to Oromis.

"Keep it. It will serve you better than if it stays with me. Let me get you its sheath." Oromis went into his hut and soon reappeared with a leather sheath that was decorated with intricate stitching. "This blade has passed many hands, all of which, have been Riders. It is time to pass it on."

I accepted the leather sheath and examined the blade. It had to be hundreds of years old. Oromis gestured to his hut, and we went in and sat down and drank tea in silence. Eragon walked into the hut.

"How went it?"

"Master, I could listen night and day for the next twenty years and still not know everything that goes on in the forest." Oromis raised an eyebrow.

"You have made progress. But still, not enough, I fear. You must work harder, Eragon. I know you can. You are intelligent and persistent, and you have the potential to be a great Rider. As difficult as it is, you have to learn to put aside your troubles and concentrate entirely on the task at hand. Find peace within yourself and let your actions flow from there."

"I'm doing my best."

"No, this isn't your best. We shall recognize your best when it appears. Perhaps it would help if you had a fellow student to compete with. Then we might see your best... I will think on the matter."

From his cupboards, Oromis produced a loaf of freshly baked bread, a wood jar of hazelnut butter and a pair of bowls that he ladled full of a vegetable stew that had been simmering in a pot hung over a bed of coals in the corner fireplace.

"Master, why do you have me meditate? Is it so that I will understand the doings of the animals and insects, or is there more to it than that?"

"Can you think of no other motive?" Oromis sighed when Eragon shook his head.

"Always it is thus with my new students, and especially with the human ones; the mind is the last muscle they train or use, and the one that they regard the least. Ask them about swordplay, and they can list every blow from a duel a month old, but ask them to solve a problem or make a coherent statement and... well, I would be lucky to get more than a blank stare in return. You are still new to the world of gramarye—as magic is properly called—but you must begin to consider its full implications."

"How so?"

"Imagine for a moment that you are Galbatorix, with all of his vast resources at your command. The Varden have destroyed your Urgal army with the help of a rival Dragon Rider, who you know was educated—at least in part—by one of your most dangerous and implacable foes, Brom. You are also aware that your enemies are massing in Surda for a possible invasion. Given that, what would be the easiest way to deal with these various threats, short of flying into battle yourself?"