Eran
Farran's POV
The wind grated against my blue scales as we battled against the storm. A lightning bolt wriggled its way through the air in the distance, causing my more colour sensitive eyes to wince.
I fought against the wind with huge wing beats, smiling slightly as I remember what Saphira said.
'There is a storm coming, make sure you stay inside and don't go out in the storm. It's a big one,' she had said.
The thing was, Eran and I had flown through bigger. It was the only way to fly.
I braced against a sudden up draft, which started to draw us up towards the clouds. I knew it was a lot calmer up there, and fort to stay in the storm. My more the able wings carried us through the up draft and into an equally strong downdraft, sending my rider and I down towards the ground.
I smiled and drew my wings closer to my side, just before we crashed I opened them as quickly as possible and drew us to an almost standstill, before climbing back up into the air. My wings felt nicely stretched after that. The first time I had tried this particular trick my left wing almost ripped off.
Eran cried out in excitement.
'That was awesome!' yelled the partner of my heat and mind.
'That was nothing,' I replied, knowing fully well that I was capable of a lot more.
Many dragons wouldn't dear a storm like this, but I wasn't one of them. Roaring out I let loose a bolt of blue fire, my tongue sizzling slightly from the heat.
'The heart of the storm is dead ahead,' said Eran, 'you ready for some epicness.'
'You know that answer,' I replied with a draconic grin.
My wings powered ahead, beating through the storm with little effort. I often thought that I would be the perfect dragon for secret missions, for I would be able to go during stormy weather.
The eye of the storm was surrounded in ferocious wins that could tear an inexperienced dragon's wings off, but I knew how to battle these winds with ease.
Directing my body in the direction of the wind, I entered the torrent. The wind tore at my wings and scales, but instead of fighting it, like most dragons would, I went with the flow. Eran yelled ecstatically from his seat, and I could feel his hands almost frozen around that saddle humans deemed as important.
I went faster and faster around the eye of the storm, starting to get slightly dizzy.
'Okay Farran, time to go into the calmer part,' said Eran.
I agreed silently. There was a funny feeling in my stomach and a dragon hurling during a flight didn't bode well. I angled my body slightly so, after one more round, I broke from the tornado and into the eye.
I made sure to stop and hovered in the eye. The winds were a lot calmer here, almost peaceful. I smiled and closed my eyes, relying on Eran to guide me away from the storm itself.
'Over or back through?' I asked after a few minutes of rest.
'Back through, a lot more fun that way,' replied my rider with a grin.
I sighed, knowing the answer already. I began to make my way towards the edge of the wind currents around the eye, waiting for that right opportunity to get through.
Just as I was about to go for it I felt a sharp pain at the base of my head. It took me two seconds to realise it wasn't my pain, but Eran's I was feeling.
'Eran!' I cried, before the storm caught the tip of my wing and pulled me in.
I roared in pain as I felt my wings explode with pain, and that's the last thing I remembered.
When I woke up the first thing I noticed was the absence of a presence in my mind. The second was the excruciating pain of my left wing. I let loose a groan of pain and rolled to my four feet.
I looked around for Eran, and tried to reach out with my mind for him.
'Eran?' I said hesitantly, 'Eran, this isn't funny, where are you?'
I looked around frantically, and tore up a tree that I must have crashed into, but no matter how much I searched I couldn't find my rider.
'Eran!' I roared with both my maw and mind.
There was an answering roar in the distance, one that sounded familiar.
'Farran,' came the feminine voice in my mind.
'Saphira!' I replied in relief.
I tried to open my wings to fly up and join her, but stopped when I realised I couldn't move my left wing. I looked over to it and winced. There was a pure white bone, starched with red, poking out of my wing. It looked almost like a spear, with a shattered end.
'My wing is broken,' I said to Saphira, 'I need help.'
'Show me where you are,' she said.
I sent her an image of my surroundings, and the direction, as well as a picture of my badly broken wing.
'That looks bad,' she said, 'Stay still. Where is Eran?'
'I...I don't know,' I stuttered.
She was silent after that. It took a few minutes but eventually the large feminine form of Saphira landed in front of me. I smiled a week grin at her. The human-elf Eragon was sitting on her back. He quickly slid down her back and ran up to my wing.
"Keep still," he said, "This is going to hurt."
I nodded and kept my wing taught. Eragon put his hand on the protruding bone and started to gently push it back into the wing. I hissed in pain, snorting out some fire, and had to keep myself from whipping my tail around at the source of the pain.
It took almost a minute for Eragon to reposition the bone and after that another minute of spell enchanting to fix it. This was by far the worst brake I had ever had.
When he had finally finished, I flexed my wing. Satisfied that it was as good as new, I looked towards the two ebrithils and took a deep breath, ready for the question I was sure going to come.
'What were you doing in the storm?' said Saphira.
I gulped slightly, 'Me and Eran were put flying, and the storm suddenly came upon us.'
'In the ancient language,' said Saphira, narrowing her eyes.
I sighed mentally, there was no getting out of it.
In the ancient language I said, 'We were going to fly the storm. We always do when a big storm like this comes around, and this was the first one for almost a month.'
'You disobeyed me,' growled the female dragon, 'And now look at what's happened.'
'I'm sorry ebrithil,' I bowed my head towards her, 'But it wasn't the storm that brought me down. We have flown many storms bigger then this one. I believe we were attacked.'
Saphira frowned slightly and tilted her huge head towards the sky.
'Are you sure about this,' said Saphira.
I nodded my head. Now that I was thinking back, I was almost sure that was what happened.
'Show me,' she said.
I nodded and replayed the memory in her mind. She looked closely at the memory, studying every detail. I made a special emphasis on the emotions we were feeling, the enjoyment and excitement
When I got to the part where Eran was hit in the head and I was caught by the storm I stopped. Saphira was silent for a few seconds; Eragon and her seemed to be conversing.
I waited patiently, this often happened during times when something important was going on the and the two leaders were discussing what was going to happen. Eventually Saphira turned her head towards me.
'It could have been anything, a stray log, a rock,' she said.
I growled slightly, 'Look, my rider had wards against such things. It would have taken something extremely big and strong to take them down.'
She sighed, 'You sure you can't find him.'
'I tried!' I was beginning to get annoyed now, 'He's nowhere to be found. It's either he's been taken, or... or he... is dead. But that couldn't have happened or I would be to.'
She nodded, 'If your so sure. We will send out search parties immediately.'
'I'm going to join,' I said.
'I wouldn't expect anything else,' said Saphira with a grin.
I nodded at her then raised my wings and took off. Eragon and the she dragon came up behind me.
"Do you want help?' asked Eragon.
I shook my head, 'It'll be faster by myself.'
I didn't give them time to reply and flew on into the sky. It was a calm day and I made good speed. For over an hour I flew, stretching out my mind as far as I could in any possible direction. I still couldn't find my rider.
There was a sudden pull at my mind, and I stopped in mid-air. I looked the way the pull had come from, and felt it again. Instantly I set off towards it. That was definitely my rider.
Time seemed to pass in a blur. One second it was day, the next it was night. My wings were burning from exertion, yet I kept flying. One the second day I crossed into the vast forests of Du Weldenvarden.
When I got close to the protective field I landed and passed through, before taking off again. Now I was above these lush green forests the tug of my rider was growing ever stronger.
It took another few hours but eventually I spotted Ellesmera in the distance.
'Ellesmera?' I thought confused, 'Why would he be there?'
I continued to fly towards the elven city, the force getting stronger the closer I got. Just as I reached the border of the elven city a force invaded my mind.
'Welcome Farran StormFligher. What brings you to Ellesmera?' asked the voice.
'Gilderien the wise,' I said slightly surprised.
'Yes, it is I,' replied the elf, 'What brings you to Ellesmera?'
I recovered from the shock, 'I search for my rider. He has been kidnapped and I seek for who did this.'
'I sense anger in you. Will you cause any harm to Ellesmera's inhabitants,' asked Gilderien.
'The one who has my rider will die, if any,' I replied.
'Then I am afraid...,' I interrupted him.
'Are you going to try and stop me,' I snarled.
The elf's mind slightly retreated from mine, as he sensed my anger.
'Go on through,' said Gilderien after a few seconds of considering, 'But if anyone gets attacked by you, I am obliged to stop you.'
'You can try,' was all I said to him before I flew past the boundary.
Looking to the forest floor I noticed many elves up and about. A few looked up at me, gazing in awe. I grinned, it was good to have them looking up at me like a king.
Refocusing on the task at hand, the feeling was now strong, very strong. I spread out my mind again, and felt his.
'Eran!' I yelled.
'Farr... Farran?' came the tired reply, 'What... what are... you doing here?'
There was something definitely wrong with him. His thoughts were usually always crystal clear, even under stress.
'Where are you?' I asked, 'Eran?'
'No... no, you can't be here. They'll kill you... no, no,' mumbled Eran in my mind.
'What are you talking about? Eran!' I was getting more worried by the second.
The link between him and me suddenly disappeared again, and I couldn't reach him. It was as if someone was blocking me. The good thing was the feeling leading me to my rider was still as strong as ever.
I passed over the city, yet a far as I could tell Eran wasn't in there.
'Eran!' I called out as hard as I could.
I spotted master Aloth's cottage just outside Ellesmera. There wasn't any sign of the huge yellow dragon that was once my master, which was weird because he was usually sitting around the cottage, sleeping.
The feeling here felt so strong it was almost as if it was pulling me to the ground. I began to slowly hover down to the ground. I stretched out my mind, looking for any trace of Eran's mind. I felt it for a fleeting second down on the ground, but there was also another mind, above me, and far larger then any human mind.
At that moment a huge wait collapsed onto my back. Growling in surprise, I felt myself hit the ground with a huge thud. Claws pieced my blue scales as they forced me onto the ground. I struggled and tried to pull myself up, but the force was to strong. Eventually I gave up and fell back to the ground.
"There's a good dragon," said an ever so familiar voice.
I growled, but was drowned out from an even deeper growl from above.
There was a thud as a set of feet hit the ground behind me. They padded around my side, and I felt a few pokes at my scales with something sharp. I struggled slightly again.
"You're bigger then when we last met," said the voice again, "More muscular to. I see that training with the great Saphira Brightscales has done you good."
I struggled again, and tried to turn my head to where the voice was coming from. Four sharp talons hit my head, hard, forcing me to groan and move my head the other way.
"Your scales a brighter as well, although there is some dirt trapped beneath a few. What did I say about that? It's unhealthy, could give you an infection," continued the voice, I thought I heard slight humour in it, "And why on earth were you flying through a storm like that? Haven't you ever listened to anything we taught you."
There was a sigh, and something else poked me in the side, just below the wing.
"I never saw your wings close like this before," he said, "They are stronger then I would have thought possible for a dragon. Built from all that dangerous flying I presume. All in all, a rather healthy young dragon."
I growled and struggled again, but the thing above me held fast. Finally the talker revealed himself. I can't say I was surprised, his voice has already given away.
"Good afternoon Farran," said Aloth with a smile, "It's good to see you again."
I opened my maw and let loose a torrent of light blue flames at him. He instantly put up his hand and yelled something in the ancient language, something that was lost in the sound of the fire.
The paw above me slammed my mouth back down again. I growled in slight pain as the last bursts of fire flamed the inside of my mouth. Aloth was frowning at me. His hands gripped around the sharp poker he must have been using against me.
"My, my, we must have really got on your bad side," he smiled.
I struggled against the claw above me again, and whipped my tail, catching the scaly hide trapping me. There was a growl above me. The talons lifted up my head, and then slammed it back against the ground. I groaned in pain. I felt a tail snake around mine, keeping it from moving. To me, it felt slightly awkward.
Aloth's eyes narrowed. The poker suddenly moved and there was a sharp pain suddenly at my snout. I growled as thick red blood dripped from my snout. It was more annoying then anything.
"Now start to behave or it will be more the just your nose I'll bloody," said Aloth darkly.
I glared at him. It didn't seem there would be any way out of this mess, I would have to wait for the right moment.
"Now, your probably wondering why I brought you here, and why your ever so great teachers would do such a thing," he said, twirling the poker around his hand, "The answer is simple. You have disappointed me."
I was confused, and resisted the urge to reach out my hand to contact him. The barriers around my mind were my only defence at the moment.
"You see, when I agreed to teach the rider of Saphira's egg, I didn't realise it would choose a helpless human, one that showed no promise of becoming a great rider," he said.
My eyed widened like sources, did he just say what I think he said.
"So I lived with you two for a little over a year, hoping to get a rider out of that helpless human," he said, "And I can say he had shown a little bit of promise, but it wasn't enough to let him become a fully fledged rider. It would be a danger to everything happening. I want humans that actually show some promise. One's with interesting backgrounds and a history that is even mildly interesting. People with riders blood in the family, or ones that would be willing to fight against any enemy, including there own kin, if there was any left alive."
He looked back at me and sighed.
"I thought you would choose someone special, like one of the street clods that were used to looking after themselves and keeping themselves from getting caught. Not a helpless brat that lived as a fisherman for most his life."
He put the poker to my sensitive snout.
"I was expecting more from a hatchling of Saphira. You and Eran have been a disgrace to me you realise. The elves had heard about all the 'trips' you two kept having, missing out on lessons, always getting yourself hurt. A few, one of them being Queen Arya, were beginning to question my teaching. At one point she got fed up, and decided to put Eran under Eragon's wing. I lost my honour that day, especially since I never had the privilege of seeing the Kingkiller myself."
I tilted my head at the elf's ranting. It seemed like he had lost his mind. Though I was interested to here that Saphira was my sire. I hadn't known that before. I gazed past the elf and into his hut. The strange feeling I had was still directing me there.
"And now, I guess the only way to settle this, is kill Eran," continued Aloth with a sigh, "Don't worry, I'll keep your Eldanuri safe and sound. It will be good to have another one under way. To bad you were caught in that storm, if you hadn't this would have already happened."
My growl of surprise echoed through my throat. He truly was crazy. I started to struggle against my bounds. By now I had figured that it was Aloth's nameless beast holding me down, there was no other dragon around here.
I felt the dragon's grip tighten around me as Aloth went into the hut, presumably to get Eran. I growled and struggled ferociously against my tormenter, but it was no use. Aloth's dragon was both bigger and stronger then me.
After a few minutes Aloth came out with a figure tired from head to toe, and a rag around his head. He forced the figure to kneel, and ripped the rag of his head. It was Eran.
He looked dazed, as if he didn't realise what was going on, but as soon as he set his eyes on me, they widened in horror. He gurgled against the rag strapped around his mouth.
I growled and started to struggle viciously against the dragon atop me. The dragon growled in annoyance and started to stab his claws deeper into my head. I growled loudly in pain, being unable to roar, and arched my neck, trying to get away from the horrible feeling.
Eran was also struggling against his bonds now. It was frustrating that I couldn't reach out to his mind. It was still blocked, and I didn't dare stretch out my mind. I knew as soon as I did one of the two teachers would take the advantage of it.
I felt a release of energy from Eran, probably him trying to use some magic, yet nothing happened. Aloth drew his golden sword lightly and put it to Eran's throat. He looked at me with fear etched into his features. I felt him gulp against the metallic blade.
He was trying to stay calm, but I felt his fear spreading across the field. He didn't want to die, I didn't want to be trapped within my Eldanuri for the rest of my life.
"One," said Aloth, raising his sword for the swing, "Two."
I suddenly felt a huge burst of energy come from within and with nowhere to store it, I sent it all at the elf about to cut my rider's head off.
"Thr..." Aloth was flung into the cottage behind Eran.
A second burst of energy came forth and the dragon above me was flung into the forest. The third and final blast was sent toward Eran, and it broke the ropes trapping him.
My human was instantly on his feet. He ran towards me, before stopping, his eyes wide.
"LOOK OUT!" he yelled.
I spun around and was met head to head with the Aloth's large yellow dragon. I growled as I was thrown against the cottage, crushing it to the ground. I quickly rolled to my feet and snarled at the dragon, before opening my maw and unleashing a blast of extremely hot fire towards him.
It didn't seem like he had wards, which was a bonus. A dragon's screech of agony echoed through the woods like a clang of steel in a silent room. Taking the advantage, I launched myself into the air. He had the advantage on the ground, but once I was up here I was unstoppable.
He saw me and followed angrily. As he charged I suddenly dodged to one side, and clawed at his wing. He managed to evade, but not what came afterwards. Knowing he didn't have any wards against fire, I blasted him with another stream.
He roared again and turned towards me, attempting to shield himself with his wings. As soon as I stopped the dragon unleashed his own fury of fire. Luckily my fire wards were still intact. I flew through the fire and scratched at his face, scoring a hit.
He snarled and stopped, flapping his wings viciously away from me. I followed, and blasted him again with my fire. This dragon had harmed my human and me; I wasn't going to go easy on him.
The dragon suddenly turned around, and whipped his tail at me. This caught me by surprise and his tail connected full force with my snout. The force of it knocked me down a few metres in the air, and my wings lost their rhythm.
The huge dragon took the advantage and tackled me from the top. We both went crashing down into the forest. A tree was about to impale me through the back but I managed to angle myself away from that.
We both crashed into the ground with a huge thud. Something cracked but I wasn't sure what. Nothing seemed to hurt that badly.
The yellow dragon clawed at my neck, and managed to get a few scratches at the neck before I forced him off me. The larger dragon was definitely heavier, but the training I had been going through the past few months had made me strong, very strong.
I launched another inferno of fire at him, causing him to snarl and retreat. The trees around us erupted into light blue fames, like flaming water. The yellow dragon leapt towards me, swinging his paw at the same time.
I ducked down and tackled him from below, the thing was, he had the momentum going. We continued to go the way he was launching himself at, smashing through several burning trees.
I rolled to a stop, instantly ready to fight, but so was he. He opened his mouth and launched his own sea of golden flames towards me. I snarled and rolled out of the way. The fire followed me, so I stopped and retaliated.
My blue fire and his gold clashed in an aweing flare of gold and yellow. To any onlooker it might appear as if a festival was going on in the forest. The yellow dragon, being both older and more experienced then me, had the more powerful fire. It slowly pushed mine back; the trees around us were falling down from the fierce heat of the clash.
Eventually I decided to give up. There was no way I was going to win. I rolled to one side and sprang at him. The bigger dragon didn't even realise it until it was to late.
I landed on top of him and dug my claws through his scale, and held. He thrashed and tried to through me off, but there was nothing he could do. I opened my mouth and set about with another blast of fire.
His scream made the fire shiver and the trees cringe. My ears popped but there was no way I was going to stop, unless... Suddenly he jumped sideways and rolled over, putting me underneath. I growled at the unexpected manoeuvre and let go.
We both managed to get to our feet ready for another bout. He suddenly leapt, faster then I would have thought he was capable. His claws ripped into my face, tearing through the scales as if they were human's armour.
I roared in pain but he continued his attack. He punched me with his wing before grabbing my neck and throwing me to the ground. He grabbed my front leg and forced it to the ground, so I swung my other arm, catching him in the soft underbelly.
Dragon blood squirted from the wound and the dragon's leg fell limp. He snarled and tried to bight at my throat. I dodged my neck out of the way and clawed at him with my free arm
He growled and launched his maw towards it. His teeth suck through the bone and I screamed, thrashing again. He shook his neck viciously and bit as hard as he could. There was a huge crack through my arm as it dislocated and splintered.
I growled and launched fire into his face. He snarled and gabbed my snouth with his maw, closing it shut. I thrashed again, trying to dislodge that terrible force, but the dragon held on. All I could do was groan as I felt my jaw crack.
Suddenly the terrible force was gone, and the dragon let go, before collapsing on top of me. I growled in surprise, and then threw him off with my one good leg. As I looked at what happen I was in for another surprise.
Stuck through the dragon's eye, and coming out the other one, was an elven spear. One of the ones Eran uses. I looked to where it was thrown and saw Eran, covered in blood, his arm stretched out in front of him in a throwing motion.
He smiled at me, before collapsing.
'Eran!' I yelled out in my mind, and tried to make my way towards him, but my injured leg and head didn't let me. I also collapsed into a sea of blackness.
Eran's POV
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the comfort of a soft bed. I sighed in relief and snuggled further into the warmth above me. It seemed so surreal. My whole body felt like it had just been burnt to a crisp then told to run a hundred miles.
The events of the previous day suddenly hit me and I shot out of bed.
"Farran!" I yelled.
Half of the healers in the room jumped in surprise, then started to run over to me as I tried to pull myself out of bed.
"Eran, wait. Your not well enough to get out of bed," she said.
"Where's Farran!" I yelled.
"He's safe," replied a female elf, "He's getting the rest he needs."
As soon as she said that a huge roar echoed through the place I was in. It was all too familiar. My mind opened and I was swarmed with the ocean of feelings that was my dragon.
'Eran! Are you alright?' yelled the traumatized dragon.
I groaned as his yelling caused me a headache, 'Yes, yes, I'm fine, as long as you don't yell at me again.'
I looked at the healer, "Bring me to my dragon."
"But your not ready..." she stopped when she saw my expression.
"Do you want me to try and walk all the way there by myself," I said.
She sighed, "Okay, come on."
She helped me up and almost dragged me out of the room. I felt slightly lightheaded as we walked through the familiar halls of Eragon's fortress. How they even got a dragon all the way from Ellesmera to here I have no idea.
We eventually entered another, larger room. It had enough room to house nearly a hundred dragons all around Saphira's size. In the middle of it all was Farran, snapping at a few of the healers around him, and trying to brake free of the ropes that held him down.
Once he saw me he roared in joy and launched out of the ropes, snapping them easily. As soon as he landed on all four feet he tripped over and toppled onto his side. I frowned, Farran wasn't that clumsy.
'Are you alright?' I asked.
Farran shook his head, 'Something's up with my leg.'
I looked at one of the healers, and he sighed.
"What's up with him?" I asked.
"Most of his injuries were rather easy to heal, like the cracked skull and a few broken ribs, as well as the numerous scratches covering his body," explained the elf.
"But?" I said.
"But his leg was a different matter," continued the elf with another sigh, "Every single bone in it has been shattered, and the actual leg almost ripped off. We healed most of it, but even the best healers could have made it as good as new. I'm sorry to say your dragon will never be able to walk properly again."
My eyes widened in shock and I looked back at my blue dragon. He had been listening. He let out a long sigh, and pulled himself up on four legs. Sure enough, his right arm was mangled, not as straight as the others.
He took a slight step with it, but this was forced into a limp.
'Well at least it wasn't a wing, right?' he said with a slight dragon smile.
I smiled at that, 'Yes, at least it wasn't a wing.'
Belle Liressdaughter
The instant Raugmar woke up, he knew something was wrong.
Belle? he called, searching for the partner-of-his-mind-and-heart. They'd reached the coastline of Alagaësia as the sun had fallen, and Brom-Eragon's-sire-elda had suggested they'd rest for the night. Since the metal-dragon-man was heavy, the black dragon had been grateful for the reprieve. He'd fallen asleep with his Rider curled underneath one wing - but now, she was gone.
Belle! This time, his shout could heard by all those around him. He felt the consciousness of the gem-bound-dragon stir, but Raugmar didn't pause to focus on that. There was a dreadful odor that surrounded their campground, fouling the air with a stench of rot and death. It was a scent he'd only smelled in Belle's memories, and he clawed the ground before loosing a thunderous roar. Egg-breakers! Wing tearers! Murderers!
"Raugmar, calm down!" a raspy voice said, but the dragon could hardly hear him over his pounding heart.
He roared again, flames leaping from his jaws, a warning to those who'd taken his Belle, telling the still breathing corpses that he would paint the ground red with their blood. Leaping as high as he could, Raugmar spread his wings to fly, but a terrible pain suddenly pierced the left one, and he was forced to land.
Young one, you have been injured. Let Brom heal you.
Cuaroc's words were just noise to the dragon, indistinguishable amidst the growing terror. His tail lashed violently as he gathered the will to flap, screaming in rage and helplessness as the large gash in his wing's membrane made itself known. How could he ever find his beloved Belle, his partner-soul-bound-Rider, if he could not even fly?
BELINDA! Raugmar roared as loud as he could, causing the birds to fly from the trees in fear.
"You'll never find her that way!" yelled Brom, and he snarled at the man with slitted violet eyes. The avatar didn't stand down even in the wake of the near feral dragon, his eyes glinted with the gem's fire. "Belle needs you to be rational and save her, blast you! So stop all that twice-cursed roaring and start using that big head of yours! There's a reason you got one, eh?"
His lips uncurled as he finally made grasped the words. The dirt beneath his paws was still clenched beneath his claws, but he stilled his attempts at flight and allowed the dead-living-Rider to heal him, resisting the urge to immediately take off once it was done.
"There we go. Now, there's no room for a horse, so they couldn't have gotten very far on foot - "
The Ra'zac have her, Raugmar interrupted, tail twitching restlessly. We must find her!
Patience, the purple Eldunarí cautioned from within a saddlebag. First, we must find out where they are heading.
North. They'll want to take her back to the oath-breaker for safekeeping.
"What d'you mean by that?" Brom asked, his voice suspicious.
The dragon hesitated in his explanation. Would Belle want him to expose her secret? Would they want to kill her if he did? Shoving the grief aside at the thought of her, he decided that he must - any information would be crucial to finding his partner-of-his-mind-and-heart.
And Raugmar would rip them in half before they touched her.
If Belle dies, then her traitorous sire dies with her.
And you two did not think to share this earlier?
It changes nothing, he replied hotly, his ire igniting the fire within him. She won't be killed to end the black king!
Cuaroc's voice grew sharper as he said, We would never allow that, Raugmar. But if you had informed us of this sooner, then we could have predicted that Galbatorix would try to spirit Belinda away for safekeeping and taken extra precautions to ensure that this never happened in the first place.
Shame struck him at his folly, and his neck bent until his nose was nearly touching the ground. In a hoarse tone uncharacteristic of any dragon, Raugmar whispered, I am to blame for this.
"Feeling sorry for yourself won't get Belle back, either." Brom stamped out the last embers and lifted the cloth-for-riding-that-he-MUST-wear onto his back. "Now, let's do something that will."
But how could they have taken her without our knowledge? the older dragon questioned aloud. And how could they have injured Raugmar without waking him?
"They were most liking breathing down his nose," said the Rider, climbing upon his back as he carefully spread his wings once more. "Their debilitating breath could even keep a dragon unconscious."
Unfortunately for them, I am now very much awake, he snarled before launching himself into the sky and making his way north. The metal-dragon-man was heavy enough to slow him down, but Raugmar was able to remain in the air. And he would remain there until he found his Belle and tore her captors limb from limb.
* * *
It was several hours later when Raugmar felt a consciousness reach out his own.
Belle? he immediately queried, honing in on the faint mental touch.
No, I am not Belinda, though I am with her. The voice was lilting and strange, like the pointed ears but not like them at the same time. Even from this tenuous connection, he could sense the magic in this being, and it unnerved him.
Who are you, then?
Your fairy, Raugmar, the voice replied, and now the dragon could tell it was a male. I have just awoken.
In the events that had unfolded after being inducted as full members of the Order, he'd all but forgotten about the drop of his blood that had been turned into a dragon fairy. They were creatures who could channel the magic of their dragon, who - though a magnificent and extraordinary race - could not harness it themselves. Raugmar remembered what the slumbering creature had looked like: smaller than his smallest claw and black as his lightest scale, with ears like elves and wings like the flying insects inaccurately named after his kind. The flame-haired-Elder had warned him and his Rider that dragon fairies took time after creation to fully awaken, and so Belle had put him in her tunic pocket.
Did they injure her? Is she awake? Can you -
Slow down, the tiny-winged-elf demanded. Belinda is fine from what I can ascertain, though she appears to be unconscious at the moment.
Can you not cast a spell to free her?
You are too far away for me to use your magic, and I am too new.
Hesitating, he continued, Come quickly. From what I can tell, they are traveling to meet the Lethrblaka. It will be much more difficult to safely bring back our Rider if they are airborne.
Halt their progress in whatever way you can, Raugmar ordered. I am on my way.
We await your arrival, Raugmar...
Once the fairy's mind had left his own, he told Brom and Cuaroc what had transpired.
"First naiads and now fairies? What sort of world have I been reborn into?"
A deeply troubled one, the old dragon replied, though Raugmar did not think that the Rider had asked in search of an answer. That is the precise reason why you have been reborn.
"Still don't quite understand how that all worked."
The Vault of Souls was designed to not only hold the hearts of dragons, but the souls of Riders as well. I am not quite sure the mechanics of it all, as some is magic, some is science, and some is supernatural. What do you remember of your time in death's realm?
A hoarse sigh came from above him as steam heated the scales of his neck. "I can't really recall any of it. I remember that it was unbearably hot, hotter than the Hadarac, and there was a sense of...peace. The last thing I can clearly remember is the child's voice shoving me into this hulking piece of magic machinery."
Silvarí's avatar is a highly valuable-
We draw nearer, Raugmar interrupted what would no doubt turn into another long lesson about the metal-dragon-man. He angled them downwards, closer to the canopy as he slowed and reached out for the mind of the fairy, realizing then that he did not know his name. Are you there, dragon fairy?
There is a clearing to the east. Land there and we shall meet you.
He did as directed, growing anxious at the chilling sounds of a screaming Ra'zac. Suddenly, a figure tumbled out from the trees, dark hair unbound and red tunic smeared. The dragon charged forwards as Brom dismounted, a swell of relief surging through him as Belle wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him hard.
Small one, the dragon said, the wealth of his affection and love for her all put together in those two simple words. Snorting once, he added, Belle, I can't quite breath.
Sorry! She loosened her grip but didn't release him, burrowing her face in the column of his throat as he hummed. You found me again.
I shall always find you, partner-of-my-mind-and-heart, he told her as their minds mingled together once more, just as it should be.
A cough came from behind his Rider's head, and Raugmar opened one violet eye to meet the equally purple ones of the fairy who'd lead him here hovering before him. "While this is quite touching, the Ra'zac have no doubt recovered and are right behind me. We must make haste."
"The fairy's right," Brom agreed as Belle reluctantly pulled away.
Drawn to the small creature in a way he could not explain with words in any language, he asked, What is your name?
"I have not been given a name yet," came the tiny-winged-elf's soft reply, tugging at the hem of his coal black tunic in obvious embarrassment.
Then I name you Elrun, fairy of mine blood, for you shall always and forever have my thanks.
Elrun's miniature face split into a wide smile, and he flitted to rest at the base of the dragon's first spine. Belle smiled, her pride in Raugmar clear. Just as she climbed into the saddle, a dreadful screech came from somewhere high above, and he looked upwards to see two Lethrblaka bearing down upon them.
Brom, you must mount me.
"But - "
I will need my claws to fight. Now go!
As soon as he was seated, Raugmar took to the skies, flapping hard to gain altitude. He heard the shriek of the winged monster directly above him, and so he performed a risky aerial maneuver, turning on his back to unleash a curtain of black-tinged flames at his attacker and hoping that his two riders were somehow strapped in.
Once his momentum began to slack, he righted himself once more to continue above the forest, trying to climb higher. The Lethrblaka cried once more, and he realized that it was no doubt warded against his fire.
Grunting, he angled his wings upwards and turned in the air, roaring his challenge to his enemy. Where the second had gone, he could not be concerned with at the moment. This one carried no Ra'zac on its back to the dragon's disappointment.
He met the Lethrblaka head-on, snarling as he tried to rake its belly. Anticipating the move, it brought its hind legs up to meet his own as they latched together, beak and teeth tearing snapping as their wings buffeted the other. Raugmar managed to lay a deep scratch on its forepaw, while the creature latched its beak onto his left shoulder. They were forced to break away before either could cause anymore damage in fear of crashing into the ground below.
Panting, the black dragon ignored the burning sensation in his womb and let it fuel his anger. Breathing fire to blind the Lethrblaka, he managed to flap backwards and gain some distance before he turned to flee once more. The weight of the metal-dragon-man increased gravity's grip on him, and Belle knew this. You're not fast enough to get away, and I see the other Lethrblaka coming back. Landing is our only option!
I won't let them take you again! he snapped, ignoring the growing ache in his wings and struggling to stay ahead of the creature. From the images in the girl's mind, it was falling back to reconvene with its brethren and no doubt retrieve its foul carapaced rider.
She healed his shoulder, and that lessened the pain in his muscles somewhat. Then what's the plan?
If I may interrupt... Elrun cut in, and the two realized to their surprise that he had heard the entire conversation. He directed his next thoughts to the other dragon and Rider as well. I believe that we may be able to lose our pursuers.
"How?" Brom asked above the wind.
We did not head due north; indeed, we skirted around something. If my sense of geography is correct, then less than half a league away should be Isenstar Lake.
"Perfect!" Belle cheered. "You can make it, Raugmar - just a little more ways to go."
Her faith in him bolstered his strength, and the dragon pushed aside his growing weariness and focused all his efforts on maintaining his speed. The Lethrblaka caught up with him before he reached the lake, but the two Riders held them off. How, he did not know, as all his concentration was focused on his task.
We've made it, Raugmar, his fairy said, and he gratefully glided downwards to float on the clear blue waters.
From the distant shore, the one-eyed-Ra'zac threatened, "We shall find you again, Princess, and I shall have my revenge!"
In response, Raugmar roared his own warning as the foul creatures turned tail and fled. He moved his legs to remain above the surface, swimming, while Cuaroc praised him and Elrun lent him strength. Brom just muttered, "Good riddance."
Everything was back as it should be for now. Belle scratched the scales along his jaw, which vibrated beneath her hand as he hummed.
Roslyn
~
Roslyn
~
I could move nothing. I could not move my body even the slightest inch. Pain erupted from the base of my skull, consuming my entire skull. I could not yelp out in my pain, nor could I ease it.
My throat was agonizingly dry. My nose and throat burned with every breath I took, only adding on to the unbearable pain I was experiencing. I could not think. I didn't know where I was, how I arrived there, nor how to escape. All I knew was pain, and that it was endless.
* * *
~
Gereth
~
'Gereth, I advise you to awaken.' The deep voice resonated inside my skull, it was smooth and soft, but in the same instant, urgent. I stirred in my nest, my eyelids still heavy. I let my mind awaken while my body was not disturbed from its slumber.
'And to what do I owe the pleasure, Raugmar skulblaka un Liressdaughter?' I asked the charred obsidian dragon who had awoken me.
'Your Rider, the flame-haired-one has gone missing under your watch. My beloved Belle has not seen her yet this day, has she left your cavern?' Suddenly my eyelids flew open in search of my Rider. To my immediate dismay her bed, adjacent to my nest, was unkempt and messy. I could assume she wasn't kidnapped, for her bed usually looked this way after she woke for the day. It was unsettling however that I hadn't sensed her absence.
I reached out with my mind, trying to search for her, she may be somewhere close to our cave. Sadly, I found no trace of her.
'She is not here, nor anywhere close. If I may trouble you with a question, why is Belle concerned with Roslyn's whereabouts?'
'My Rider may not show it, but she cares deeply for Roslyn Stormbringer. Although I usually don't share my opinion on the subject, I feel that she was unjust with the way she violated Roslyn's privacy. But with that Belle gained some insight into why Roslyn treats her the way she does, Belle was searching for her this morning so she could apologize.'
'Thank you, Raugmar. However much I enjoy hearing that I mustn't let it distract me from finding my Rider. I must seek Eragon's council.' I stood from my nest, shaking loose straw from my scales.
'We wish you the best of luck, Swiftwing.' I acknowledged Raugmar's encouraging closer to our conversation, releasing the grip on his mind. I felt his conscience recede and began to re-construct my mind barriers.
I strode the edge of our cave, exiting the foreshadowed overhang above me to enter the warmth of the sun. The sun's heat radiated against my emerald scales as I attempted to stretch my muscles as thoroughly as possible before my ascent. I did not wish to injure myself, for it would delay Roslyn's return.
Once I was positive I would not strain my ligaments I unfurled my wings, cautiously testing the air currents below the ledge. I bent my hind legs, raising my wings for the take off, pushing off of the ledge and thrusting myself into the air. My tail swung madly as I fought to stay aloft and regain my balance. It almost collided with iron railing bordering the ledge.
I thrust my wings downward, gaining altitude as I began to re-angle myself in the direction of the Main Hall, wind surging in my ears. Suddenly, the sun was blocked by a passing cloud, gray overshadowing the earth below me; finally the sky matched the feeling of guilt that flooded my gut.
'She asked you to protect her, to love her, to fight for her, and to die for her,' I thought, my eyes slanting in disgust with myself. 'How could I have failed her? This disgust with myself, is this her everyday life? Is this the way she feels about herself? I must save my eternal love, I must save her from herself.'
***
~
Roslyn
~
The man came soon after I had awoken. He was tall, I thought, and broad shouldered. He looked familiar, but if he truly had I wouldn't have known. For one he was draped with a white linen body cloak. The cloak revealed nothing about his features, the only thing I could see were his eyes. They were a shimmering sapphire, and his skin surrounding them was tan and kind. I could tell he was a man by the tone of his voice, the way he spoke to me. He told me everything was going to be fine and that I need not trust him, but he was the only person for me at that moment.
Oh how he had smelled so beautiful. A rich fragrant perfume hung around his shoulders and made me dizzy with its scent. My eyes had watered and gone soft then, the scent irritating my eyes. I had almost fallen in love with the man in the short time he had accompanied me, but I had been almost positive this was an effect of the perfume.
The man had been kind, he had released me from most of my restrictions, leaving only ankle cuffs to bind me to the stone floor of a cell. Before he had entered, I had not known where I was, I had been completely paralyzed, but as soon as he had entered, some of the effects of the immobilization had worn off. I still could speak however, although I tried continuously when the man had been talking to me. His voice was deep and kind, and I thought I recognized it, but it was distant that I couldn't tell. I was positive that whatever I had been paralyzed with had also caused me temporary amnesia.
The man had offered me water and food, but I had refused, afraid that they would've been drugged. The man had just shrugged, not questioning my reasoning. He waved his farewell to me, exiting the cell.
The cell I was confided to was solely composed of sandstone, the only exception being the entrance which was barred. In the corner opposite to where I was shackled was a wooden miniature table. The table was laden with nothing except a single candle.
The stone floor was strewn with straw, the straw's origin being where I was shackled, the straw being my only bedding. The stone beneath me was cold, and it didn't help that I wore only a tan, long tunic that covered me like a dress. The only thing I was discomforted by in my apparel was the lacking of under garments.
My throat and nostrils still burned with every breath, I assumed this to be dehydration, but I couldn't be absolutely sure. I was thirsty, dreadfully thirsty. But I dared not take the water that would be given to me, I did not wish to be poisoned again.
'But if you don't drink soon you'll die,' I argued internally. I continued to debate this fact until I decided I would refuse to drink until my captors forced the liquid down my throat.
I stared blankly ahead, I stared into darkness. As far as I could tell I was the only prisoner, for I couldn't hear anyone else, nor could I see anyone else. And if I tried to call out, my voice would not come. Because of this conclusion, I had taken to staring ahead with a steely resolve. I blinked occasionally, but for the most part I could've been dead, I was completely still.
My sorrel hair was matted and unkempt around my shoulders, but I did not care. I did not care for anything except... 'Except Gereth.'
***
~
Gereth
~
"With all do respect Ebrithil, how would we know where Roslyn is?" Eran asked. "I don't think I've ever spoken to the elf. Not that she likes to be spoken to." He snorted. "With that temper of hers I don't think I'll ever speak to her." I turn my silvery emerald eye on the unkempt Rider that stands next to me. A low rumbled resonates from my belly, transforming into a snarl when it reaches my lips. The boy looks at me, his sly smirk transforming into a nervous expression.
'Like Roslyn would ever stoop so low as to be seen with you, you're a vile looking creature aren't you?' I say, almost demolishing his mind barriers as I insert myself into his consciousness.
"Now, now, Gereth. I've never seen you this temperamental," Eragon said, leaning his elbows against the surface of the council desk. "Although I know it's true dragon's are the most distressed when they are separated from their Rider." He glance towards Saphira, the dragoness who was sprawled on the marble floor next the desk. "However, Eran, Lothiriel, I would refrain from insulting Roslyn in Gereth's presence."
'I would refrain from insulting her at all,' I growled, my gaze not wavering from the platinum blonde and brunette.
"Anyway," Eragon hissed in my direction. "I called you two here because Roslyn's first morning lesson is her private swordsmanship lessons. I was lead to believe the two of you are members of her second lesson of the day, Archery, is that correct?" The-violet-sun and the-shaggy-boy nodded, their gazes never leaving Eragon's. "And did she arrive to this lesson? Late or on time?"
"Neither," Lothiriel responded. "We assumed she was kept with her swordsmanship instructor or was not feeling well. Not ever did we think she was...kidnapped." Lothiriel expressed real concern for Roslyn, and I decided that Lothiriel only wished to help, for she and Roslyn were friends. But Eran, I was not certain what he intended to do, besides the fact that he was not being helpful whatsoever.
"That is all I ask of you," Eragon said with a compassionate grin. "You may leave, unless you have any further recommendations or information." The pair shook their heads, Lothiriel looking truly distressed. They were escorted out of the council room; I growled at Eran as he passed me. He didn't acknowledge me.
As they left the corridor I glimpsed a toss of long, dark brown hair.
'Ebrithil, I believe Belle is outside the doors, may she be escorted in?' The Shadeslayer nodded, and the girl entered. She was fretful as she entered, I could tell she had a thousand questions to ask me, as well as Eragon.
"Belle," Eragon addressed her. "I couldn't be more surprised by your arrival, or concern."
"Well, Ebrithil," she began. "I did something to Roslyn, something I should've never done. I couldn't help but feel upset when I learned that you have assumed she's been kidnapped. I was going to apologize to her today. I came because I wanted to know why you've assumed she's been kidnapped."
"We have assumed she's been kidnapped for a multitude of reasons. She did not commit suicide, for we would've found her, and Gereth would be able to sense it. We also believe she did not just pick up and leave because she wouldn't leave without informing Gereth, and we know this because of the strong emotional attachment she has to him. I fear if she didn't have him she would've committed suicide years ago." Belle's face grew cloudy with pain, I felt her presence brushing my mind. I let her through my barriers, and she began to speak.
'I saw her pain, all of it, when I invaded her mind. It was almost...overwhelming, all of the seld-hatred, sadness, and jealousy. I...I didn't know how else to deal with it other than to give her her space for a while.'
'I understand,' I console the girl. 'I'm sure when she is found, she'll be looking for a friend. That is all she has ever needed.' I saw the tears in Belle's eyes slowly fade, I felt as if I had helped, although it was only a small deal.
"So get on with it," she said. "Any idea to where she is? I'm sure Gereth hasn't the faintest idea." Eragon looked taken aback by how blunt the girl was, and that she had the audacity to snap at him. This expression only lasted for a few moments, then Eragon began to grin.
"This is a test, Gereth. Roslyn has been tested, but you have not been evaluated quite as intensely, until today. Where do you think she is."
I growled, rage controlling my whole body, my temper had risen, but never to this intensity.
'You bastard!' I lurched forward, snarling. Saphira jolted forward, no wonder she had been present for this meeting, she knew, he knew. Saphira stood taller than I, but I was lithe where she was leaner. I was not afraid of the dragoness. I lunged at her, purposely aiming to where I would not harm her. Her sapphire face became contorted with a ferocious snarl of her own. 'You knew this whole time!' I said, directing my attention back to Eragon.
"Yes," he said. "She agreed to this. We drugged her so she would lose her memory during the test, but she will regain it once it is over." I roared in Eragon's direction baring my teeth. I lunged forward again, but I was pushed backwards by Saphira.
"Gereth! Gereth! Search for her. With your mind, I think I've touched her mind," Belle shouted towards me. I began to back up, still snarling at the Shadeslayer. I attempted to search for her, my love, but I found nothing.
'They drugged her so she could not contact me,' I privately told Belle.
"Then let me aid you," she said, lunging forward. It wasn't until the girl began to crawl up my front leg that I realized that she was trying to mount me. I bent down so I could ease her ascent. She soon found Roslyn's seat on my spine, she forcefully gripped the neck spike in front of her as I began to push my way through to the main corridor.
***
~
Roslyn
~
I had slipped into a surreal trance. It was almost peaceful. I need not blink or barely breathe, or event think. It was the closest I could get to sleep, for it would not come to me. It refused to take away my pain.
I was hunched against the wall, slumped in an uncomfortable position. The surreal state took away the uncomfortable aspects of the cell as I focused on sleep. Sleep, and only sleep.
'Please Gereth....please.'
***
~
Gereth
~
She guided me to the place I least expected, the place that I should have always expected. Sköliro Istalri, the Shielded Flame. The Shielded Flame was an aerial prison, based inside a mountain peak, the only way to access it was on dragonback. This is where Belle had sensed Roslyn was being imprisoned.
We were close, I could see the cavern mouth. The prison only had two guards, Belle assumed that the guards wouldn't put up a fight.
I roared my challenge to them, making the sentries glance up. I began to backwing as my hind legs gripped the ledge. The sentries just moved out of the way as Belle hurried to dismount. There was a total of four cells inside Sköliro Istalri, all draped with cloaks so the prisoners could see nothing but the interior of their own cell. It was cruel, and resrved for those who were guilty of treason and murder, to drive them crazy. I growled at the sentries as Belle began to frantically search for Roslyn within the cells. She was found in the last cell. Belle had tears streaming down her face when she forced open the cell door, I began to hurry towards her.
When I neared I began to slow down, and I began to peer into the cell. I was afraid of what I would see, how Roslyn would appear, but nonetheless I needed her, I need Roslyn. When I peered inside relief and content filled my chest. Roslyn was cradled in Belle's arms, sobbig. I wasn't sure who was more relieved, but I knew Belle had finally gotten what she most desperately wanted, Roslyn's friendship.
'We have found you, my nuanen solus. And I will never let you go.'
Lothiriel "Thiri"
Slowly, lilac tinted light filtered into the black-night-darkness that had clouded my vision. As the world around me started to return to my sight, a dull-ache-pain started to build up at the very base of my head. Growling in annoyance, I tried to stand, only to find that the more I moved, the more black-night-dark would come back.
With a final defiant snarl, I stabbed my soul-mind out to a nearby feather-flapper-jay. With hardly a thought, I took over its small-soul-mind, forcing it to flap to the spot of the ache-pain. Through its eyes, I could see a small-silver-blade-triangle stuck under one of my neck scales. Dried red-iron-blood surrounded the blade, staining the scales below and beside it.
Cautiously, I maneuvered the feather-flapper-jay towards the wound, positioning its claw-feet onto the handle. In one fluid motion, it flapped back, jerking the blade out from under my scale and dropping it at my feet. I could feel the red-iron-blood flowing again and the wound smarted and stung. However, what hurt the most was the sudden realization that I was alone.
I could not feel my partner-of-mind-and-heart, my other half. Never before had we been separated in such a way. Even when one shut their soul-mind to the other, we could always feel the other there. But now, there was nothing. A deep whimper-growl resonated from the back of my throat, full of red-anger and anguish.
Flicking the tip of my tail in irritation at the situation I had been inadvertently been placed in, I realized that this silver-blade-triangle had been the source of the mind-clouding-dark, through which, made me forget about Lothiriel. Standing hesitantly, I lowered my head towards the evil-magic-blade. I sniffed deeply, copious amounts of blood-stench filled my nose. But underneath, subtle hints of pointy-needle-pine, magic and point-eared-two-leg-elf.
With a look around, I found myself to be on the far east side of the Rider-dragon-island. Large slabs of gray-flat-slate-stone poked up from and covered the ground, green-yellow-grasses grew in the cracks between the sharp shards. Small puddles of iron-red-blood, both mine and others, pooled on the surface of the slate-stone. Many reeked of the elf-pine-magic-scent that had clung to the sharp-thorn-blade. Plenty more were still warm, others only slightly cooled. To one side, shallow-long-furrow-ruts had been planted into the ground, as if an object of substantial weight had been drug along. Or possibly even a single, unconscious, pointy-eared-elf.
After a few frantic moments of snuffling through the sharp-shard-broken-stone-ground, searching for more hints as to where my partner-of-soul-and-mind had been taken to, I came up with nothing. Nothing but that scent.
It led in one direction, towards the cold-moving-lake. The path it took was wandering; first here, then there, then back again. But slowly and surely it led to the sandy-scratchy-shore. There, the scent was strong, yet buried under a new, even more powerful scent. This new aroma was familiar; musky and smoky, reptilian with a hint of days old deer-roast-meat. The smell of a dragon.
*********
Moments later I found myself winging through the thin-air-wind-sky, headed towards the mainland, where I was sure these odd-Rider-dragon-abductors had taken Thiri. As I traveled through the air, my soul-mind traveled faster and farther. It expanded over the break-back-ground, across the wild-sea-lake and through the surrounding pine-tree-woods.
Simultaneously, I combed through the slight memories I had of the event. The two of us had been on a regular scouting-searching-seeing mission. After leaving the boundaries of the training-learning-center, we were ambushed by those-who-were-there-not-there; people who could be felt, but not seen. That is how we knew not of their presence. We could not see them either physically or mentally. As a group, they seemed to have jumped out of nowhere, becoming visible in midair.
Three of them had tackled Thiri off of her leather-seat-saddle, while the rest had tried to pin me down with prickly-vine-ropes which had gotten under my scales. One, cockier, or possibly braver, than the rest, had climbed up onto my back and stabbed the thorn-magic-blade under my neck scales.
The magic took effect slowly; slowly enough that I could fight off those trying to capture me as the had Thiri, although I could not remember why. Three of the seen-but-not-seen-abductors had been turned into piles of ashes, scattered as I lashed out, snapping the prickly-vine-ropes in my anger.
At that point, I had not realized that I could no longer feel my partner-of-mind-and-heart. In fact I did not seem to have one. It was as if I was a rabid-fierce-wild-dragon, rather than a Rider-bonded one. My memories of my hatching-egg-birth, training, and previous life had faded to nothing, leaving only instinct and false impressions of what had happened. As if Lothiriel had been a simple film of grime, wiped away to reveal false, shiny memories.
The others who were yet still alive, had been sliced and scratched within an inch of their puny-evil-lives. Quivering, they ran, not realizing that if they had waited only a moment longer, the dark-night-black which had, only moments ago, been at the far edges of my vision, was now fully clouding my sight. My movements, which had been quick and fluid, had become slow and drowsy. Within a few seconds, my sight-smell-hear-senses had abandoned me completely, and I laid down, sliding swiftly into unconsciousness.
I hadn't the slightest idea of how long I was out. The fluffy-gray-rain-clouds had painted the sky a dreary gray all day long, covering the sun, and leaving no way to tell the passing-changing-time. I could only hope that it was less than an hour, else there would be little to no chance of me catching up to them, even with seven Riders, dragons and a presumably unconscious two-leg-elf.
However, there did seem to be one thing in my favor. Through my mental search of the pointy-pine-forest, I came across the impression of eight bodies, seen-not-seen, as well as my partner-of-mind-and heart. They ran swiftly and carried Thiri on their backs, leaving little trace of themselves.
Their dragons, however, were missing. All that seemed to be left of them were small dull-rock-scales, on a cow-ratty-leather-cord around their Riders' scrawny necks; they all had one on. Odd, but not completely unheard of. Regardless, I paid little attention to it.
Without their dragons, I could both rapidly and easily overtake them, rescue Lothiriel and allow them to join their friends as piles of dust-gray-fire-ash, saturated with their own, vile blood. Grinning at the prospect, I quickened my pace, flapping ever the harder in an attempt to reach them fast as I could.
*******
I landed on the sandy-itchy-grit-shore barely fatigued. It seems sadness and anger do have their benefits. Towards the edge of the pointy-pine-forest, the gritty-itchy-sand faded to a wet, marsh-like peat.
Padding over, I could see the remains of shallow boot prints etched into the muddy-dirt-peat. Drenching the prints, was the same pine-elf-magic smell from earlier, with scents of dragon and Lothiriel layered over. Strange, as there was not a single dragon with them in their group.
Abruptly, I dove into the stark undergrowth, my claws ripping up tree-trunk-saplings and feather-leaf-ferns as I went. The prints followed a narrow path, as if built for a four-leg-river-bounder-deer. The pointy-pine-forest itself showed no sign of any unnatural movements, with the exception of my own. The muddy-peat-dirt-ground, packed firm now, from years of animal use, showed no prints, but other evidence caught my eyes.
A thin silvery hair, long and wavy, stuck to a tree trunk. Tiny flakes of dried red-iron-blood littered the well worn, narrow deer path. They all pointed eastward, towards the heart-center of the pointy-pine-forest.
As I traveled, the scents got stronger, nearer. Fire-spark-tingles appeared at the base of my neck; the signal that magic is near. My quick pace turned to breakneck, as I skimmed over the muddy-peat-dirt-ground, weaving through needle-pine-trees and rocks. At a far corner of my soul-mind, I could feel a small, one-sided connection start to establish.
Though feeble, I reached towards it with all of my consciousness, hoping to get some sort of response. Nothing happened. Not a single whisper. Disappointed, I pulled back, slowing to study my surroundings.
I was at the edge of the pointy-pine-forest. In front of my lay a hilled-flower-grass-meadow. Upon further study, the hills had multiple small, window-holes dug in the sides, as well as a large door-hole, covered by green-yellow-grasses and wildflowers. Surrounding the hilled-flower-grass-meadow, was more pointy-pine-forest, slowly encroaching on the hill-homes.
There was however, no signs of life evident in the hill-homes. They seemed dead; lifeless except for the strong reek of two-leg-point-ear-elves and four-leg-food-animals. Surrounding the hill-homes, there seemed to be a magic barrier. This conclusion was supported by the fire-spark-tingles at the base of my neck, which slowly spread over the rest of my body.
I stepped towards the flower-grass-meadow, anticipation and indignation igniting in my soul. These were the people who took my partner-of-mind-and-soul away. These, the people who broke our connection, for the sake of taking her away from me. These, the people who should die.
********
I waited for the cover of black-dark-night, before seizing the small grass-meadow-village. It was quite easy to be frank. The two guards stood no chance against the anger of a dragon. Sudden and silent, their chicken-throats were cut before they could even so much as glance at one another. I slunk into the grass-meadow-village, the hill-houses providing me with all of the cover I needed.
One thing I had noticed though, was that the dull-scale-necklaces which had been on the assaulters from the Rider-dragon-island, were on the guards as well. They seemed to be everywhere in fact. In every hill-home my soul-mind wandered into, each person had one on. Except one; Thiri.
She was in a hill-home towards the center of town. It was one of the largest. The grass-hill-mound it was built into was as large as Master-Saphira-blue-scales; much larger than me. This large-center-hill-house was also taller than every other hill-house. It towered over what seemed to be a town square, leaving large shadows, even in the dark-black-night.
This would be harder than I thought. I would have to creep my way into the center of the village, without drawing attention to myself, a large, bright purple scale-flapper-dragon.
I huffed in irritation. Settling myself into my best crouch, I crept my way around the edge of the hill-houses, sticking to the forgiving shadow of the pointy-pine-forest. Slowly, I shuffled towards the north edge of the village, stopping only when two-leg-shadows appeared on the sides of the hill-houses.
Finally, I reached the north entrance. The single guard here seemed to be drunk as a two-leg-mountain-dweller-dwarf. Drunk enough to think me friendly, and to try and pat my nose, as one would a stupid-four-legged-hound-dog. His hand did not stay attached to his stick-body for long. Neither did his head.
Placing a mental spear-probe before me, I stepped between two of the hill-houses, checking for any wandering two-leg-necklace-elves. When assured there was none, I crept up to the next hill-house and repeated the mind-sweep-process. This time, I found three, all headed towards the large-center-hill-house; towards my partner-of-mind-and-heart.
Their soul-minds were clouded, yet they knew what was to happen. It was guarded from me to begin with, but they put up no fight, nor did the even acknowledge my presence when I started to probe for information.
What I found shocked me to my core. These...these people were not even people at all! They could change skins; they were the dragons.
The dragons and Riders were not, as I thought, separate life-entities, but one, whole being. The dull-scale-necklaces, were not necklaces at all, but a small strip-graft-section of their own leathery dragon-skin, and a scale of their own. It was, apparently, the only place on them that stays true to their birth-form.
When they are born, they are dragons, hatched from stone-eggs. From the time of birth, they are placed under a spell, through some gruesome ceremony-ritual, which keeps them from changing-skins until deemed ready.
Once decided responsible, their Elders remove the birth-spell and from then on, the skin-changer-dragons can change at their every wish. Only a small skin-strip around their neck, and a sharp-scale at the base of their throat stay true to their birth-form.
I retracted from their soul-minds immediately. Tonight was the birthing-night. The night of the ceremony-ritual. Strangely enough, that was the one thought I could not access in their soul-minds. It was as if they themselves cared not if I saw what was to happen, but could not allow me to see all of their plans.
Hurriedly, I sped towards the large-center-hill-house. As I reached it, I found a processional striding across the village square, towards a large heat-fire in the center. On the backs of two chained up skin-changer-dragons, sat a litter. On top of it, there were seven slick, gray-brown, oblong stone-eggs.
As one, the group-crowd processed towards the fire in the center of the square. Leading the procession, was a large-broad-skin-changer man. Cloaked in red, his eyes gleamed in the firelight. At the foot of the heat-fire, he stopped and faced the group-crowd. At a small jerk of his head, the two carrying the litter came up to him, stopping at his feet. Comparing the three, the large-broad man was much taller than the others.
The two holding the litter trembled under his fiery gaze. Briskly, they placed the stone-eggs at his feet, before backing away like beaten dogs. In a fierce language, the fire-man exclaimed what seemed to be an incantation, as once the harsh words left his lips, the seven stone-eggs started to shake.
Slowly, cracks started to web their way across the surface of the eggs. Within the next few moments, tin, awkward, bent bodies scrambled their way out of the shattered fragment-eggs.
The fire-man barked an order, and a group of shackled old-dragon-skin-changers were brought forth. As one, they seemed to fall under a stupor-trance, swaying in time to their rhythmic chanting. As they sang-chanted, a silvery sheen appeared around the hatchlings. Their eyes glowed with a muted silver fire, their broken-branch-wings quivered before snapping open, as if to catch the warm-south-breeze.
Minutes passed, and I still hadn't yet seen my partner-of-heart-and-mind. I could feel her somewhere, but I was stuck in place, as the fire-man glanced over in my direction. His heat-fire gaze locked onto mine. Slowly, I crawled out from my hiding spot from behind a hill-house.
Just like it started, the chant-singing stops as they all caught sight of me. Their eyes were wide, full of surprise at seeing an intruder present at their ceremony. My own eyes widened, as I see that they all had shackles around their wrists, some around the ankles. These people were servant-slaves to one of their own!
A deep, throaty laugh-chuckle broke me from my reverie. Swiveling around to face the fire-man, I found him laughing at my amazement.
"Quite efficient isn't it? Living with them for years, then turning them into my own personal thralls. Genius!" His heat-fire-eyes glistened with pride for his own plans. "They never suspected a thing!" he crows. His voice was glaringly loud against the backdrop of the fire.
"And now, comes the crowning jewel of my plan for these puny weaklings. They who embrace their elf half, a bit too much." Venom dripped from his words, aimed at those in the crowd.
"It is time!" he screeched, attention once again on the hatchlings. From the back of the crowd came yet another pair of shackled skin-changer-dragons. This time, they carried a body between them. It was bound head to toe, yet I could tell exactly who it was.
Spinning back around to face me yet again, the fire-man allowed the shackled villagers to set the prone form at the feet of the hatchlings.
"Do you recognize her? Do you? You should, Daenyris, dragon of Lothiriel Älfa-kona."
I was suddenly filled with fury. There is no way he would have known who I was, unless he intruded upon her mind. Swiftly, I growled a response.
'That is not how a halfling such as yourself should address a full-blooded dragon. As well, you have no right upon you to even speak my name, much less know it.' A snarl punctuated the last sentence.
"I am no halfling," he spat. "You dare accuse me of sharing blood with the weakest race!" Fury was evident in his face. Slowly the scale at his neck started to replicate, soon covering the entirety of his neck, face and chest.
He started to grow, ripping at his clothes with newly formed claws. From behind, a tail started to appear, coming out of the small of his back. Dull-brown-scales covered his changing form. Quickly, his head elongated to a more reptilian shape, soon mimicking mine in shape and size. From his shoulder blades, sail-wings started form, poking through the scales, forcing him to fall to all fours, knees and elbows inverting as he did.
Within moments, he was a fully formed dragon, bulkier and larger than me in every way. His mouth open in a frozen snarl, he started to erupt human-speech from his maw.
"Now do you think me unworthy? I have served 500 years in this form, much longer than you, youngling."
Stunned, I was silent. I watched with a mixture of fear, awe and horror raging in the pit of my stomach-gut.
This man was crazy; the blood-life of the dragon ran through him stronger than his elf blood-life did. Finishing his spectacle, he commanded the two shackled skin-changers to unbind the seemingly unconscious Lothiriel.
As they pull the cover-hood from her head, I saw that she was completely conscious and in pain. Scratches covered her upper body, small purple bruises speckled her neck. Her eyes were clouded over, but seemed to clear slightly as she caught sight of me.
Hesitantly, I started to pad towards her, but I was stopped by the tree-trunk-tail of the fire-dragon-man.
"No," he stated simply. "Lets see what they do. She is their first meal, they need to test their hunting prowess."
With that, I finally understood. They captured her to feed her to their young, to test them. This was the "gruesome ceremony-ritual" I couldn't access in the minds of the skin-changers. Cannibalism.
Horrified, I put my body into motion. Stabbing my head at the immobile tail still in front of me, I snapped my maw closed around it.
An inhuman scream-screech sounded from the fire-dragon-man. He whipped his head around to look at me, eyes filled with fury.
"You little-" I cut him off by discharging a small ball of indigo-purple fire into his open mouth. His anger changed into a look of surprise. In the corner of my eye, I noticed that all eyes were on the two of us.
Looking back, I notice he had gotten over his initial surprise-shock and has settled into a low hunt-crouch, ready to pounce. Rapidly, I scrambled back, trying to get far enough away from him that he wouldn't crush me like one does to a four-legged-river-bounder-deer while hunting.
I flare my sail-wings, debating whether to take flight, where I have the advantage of a sleeker, faster frame, or continue to battle on the dirt-ground. My decision made, I leap up to take flight, but before I get very high up, I feel teeth-fangs sink into my tail. The weight and pull are too much, and I collapse in a heap onto the break-back-ground.
Roaring, the fire-dragon-man charges, ramming into my side, shattering some scales with the force of the impact. Some shards embedded themselves into the tender leather-skin they were protecting, and caused much more ache-pain that the initial charge did.
Snarling, I heaved myself up, tail starting to go slightly numb. My head throbbed from the fall-crash, I stumbled a few steps before regaining my center of balance.
From the fire-dragon-man, there come haughty laugh-chuckles. "Why do you even try? You have no chance! She's not even much to fight for! They, the inferior race. Even you fullbloods are less developed than any other here, including me. Maybe we should feed you to the hatchlings instead of your puny elven friend. I'm sure that you would be delicious." His voice was full of hatred and contempt for both races that made up his life-blood.
With that last yell-outburst of his, all of the rage and anger that had been building up inside of me burst out in a large explosion of energy. For the first time, I used the magic-energy in my life-blood that Master-Bjartskular has only talked about.
A large purple spear of pure energy blasted forth, encasing the fire-dragon-man and his loose-mouth. Slowly, he started to burn, his feet and legs first. His wide eyes were full of confusion and amazement. A deafening human-scream-shriek ripped through the air as he started to feel the pain.
Within moments, his tail and wings caught the violet fire. Soon his shriek-screams faded into whimper-cries. Seconds later, even those are silenced, as his charred bones fell to the ground, heaped up and smoldering.
At once, a loud cheer-yell came from somewhere deep within the crowd. This was taken up quickly, as they realized what this meant. No longer, did they have to feed their hatchlings those they descended from. No longer did they have to stay chained up, as if they were troublesome-four-leg-dogs. No longer did they have to live under the rule of such an insane skin-changer-man.
As soon as the heat-fire died down, I see Lothiriel, eyes clear from her drug-clouds. 'Small one!' I cried, the mental link finally working as it should. Our consciousnesses crashed into each other, each flooding the other's soul-mind. Memories of our time apart were shared, mine more numerous than hers, as she was drugged for most of her time here.
I finally felt whole. For the first time, I realized how much we were connected and dependant on each other. Never had I felt so alone in my life, but now, that loneliness was gone, hopefully never to come back.
After spending a few moments together, I realized just how reluctant any of these skin-changers were to have Thiri fed to their new younglings. One such example, was their willingness to sneak food-bread into her, after it was strictly forbidden by the fire-dragon-man, whose name I learned to be Ruinë.
Simply put, these were not the blood-thirsty-evil-monsters that Ruinë was. They were a peace-loving people who were oppressed by one of their own, similar to the Riders' own past-history. Therefore, after breaking their shackle-chains and gathering swear-oaths of peace, we left the skin-changers to their own lives, knowing with a certainty that we would not be bothered by them again.
ALRIGHT! HERE ARE THE ENTRIES, RATINGS WILL BE UP AS SOON AS WE GO OVER THEM :)