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MMF EragonPhase part 1

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Alexander walked past the bookshelves, looking for something yet not sure what exactly.

The dusty library had always been a place for relaxation and thought. The worn and old scent that permeated the pages and tomes soothed him greatly. The dim light and almost lack of movement gave the whole place the impression of being separated from his world entirely.

The steps of the young man came to a halt as he reached the far end of the building, being faced with a wall of wood and paper that was all but dull.

Books and more books, each of different size, color, texture, smell and even shape. This part of the library was dedicated to those books who just didn't seem to fit elsewhere. Or that were just waiting to be categorized and sent to someplace else.

Somehow, Alexander felt at home among those books.

His eyes narrowed as he searched for something that caught his eye. Most of the covers he had already seen and most of those read as well. His brain was buzzing with curiosity and wonder, trying to figure out which would be the next adventure his imagination would create, the next case he'd solve or the next myth he'd find.

The prospects were as varied as they were numerous.

But today he felt like reading something a bit different from the usual, he wanted to find that small hidden treasure of knowledge that could be hidden there somewhere. His gaze locked onto a little black book with no words on its spine.

Humming to himself, Alexander picked the conjunction of pages from its shelf. Flipping it over to look at the tittle-less cover.

The only thing that could've served to describe it was something similar to a Celtic knot drawn in golden lines. Separated into seven tips, and strung together by a snake and a branch.

Curiosity struck Alexander, this was the first book he had seen with such odd appearance. No tittle nor apparent author, and a cover slightly larger than the palm of his hand.

Opening it, he flipped through the pages. All blank, not a word written on any of the pages.

Perhaps this had been intended to be someone's diary and was left on the library by accident?

Sighing as he realized that this particular book wouldn't bring him any adventure, he went back to the shelves with the thought of placing it back on its place.

That is, until something fell off the book.

It was an envelope of some sort, made out of an old yellowish paper and sealed with some melted red wax marked with a symbol that somewhat resembled the Celtic knot on the book's cover.

Alexander thought it to be odd. He was certain he had checked through all the black book. Where had this carb been hiding for him to have missed it?

Pausing for thought, he wondered whether it should be wise to open the sealed card. But then again, why would someone leave something important or private in a public library?

Using the set of keys from his pocket, he broke the wax seal and opened it. Only to reveal that, inside, there was a small piece of folded paper.

Unfolding it, Alexander marveled at the perfectly written cursive text with emerald green ink. He hadn't read it yet and it looked very important somehow.


To whoever it may concern:

If you are reading this, it means that you've been invited to the 204th official MMB Tournament. We congratulate you for having qualified for such honor, and we sincerely hope that you make it through.

Transportation has already been prepared. But unfortunately there will be no accommodation or facilities due to the nature of the Tournament.

We wish you best of luck.

Sincerely:
Muriel M. F. Turncoat


Alexander read it a second time just to make sure. He still couldn't quite make it if it was some sort of prank, or compliment to one of the books nearby. Or if it was actually a real card meant for someone else but that had not been opened. After all, the envelope did look real old.

He was about to place it back inside the envelope, and take it to the information desk to warn them about the possibly missing letter. Though lost the chance as the card burst into black flames.

Jumping instinctively, he let go of the piece of paper before it burned him. And watched in awe as both card and envelope vanished into a puff of smoke without even leaving scorch marks on the wooden floor.

How very odd. Had this been caused by the reaction of some component mixed in the paper as it was touched by light? Could it be perhaps the dioxide breathed by the reader that had triggered the flames? And if it did, why had it not left ashes or burn marks in its wake?

The young man's brain racked itself from one side to the other in attempts to figure out the mystery that had just fell onto his lap.

Certainly there should be some sort of explanation to all of this.

What he didn't notice, however, was that the little black book he had been handling pulsated with a very dim light, the golden symbol shinning for just a second as something seemed to change. Reality shimmered just for a split second, not even enough to let him notice the young man notice.

"I'm going to have to research." Alexander muttered to himself as he walked off towards the physics and chemistry sections of the library, hoping to find some chemical that could match the effects he had just experienced.

No sooner had he taken a step forth, the world around him changed completely.

The roof and pillars that sustained the library were replaced by blue skies and fluffy white clouds.

Bookshelves and tomes and paper were replaced by the green and blue horizon, which stretched as far as the eye could see.

Black and white warble tiles were now damp earth and tall grass. The damp dusty scent was now an earthy and clear one.

The scenery that had been composed by the library was now an endless plain covered in tall grass, barely able to reach his hips, but tall nevertheless. Wet, as if it had rained just yesterday.

There were even some trees here and there, especially around the river's edge.

The warm library air was now uncomfortably cold, as if telling him it was early spring or late autumn.

"This only gets curioser and curioser." was all Alexander could mutter as he looked around.

Was there some sort of hallucinogenic in the fumes of the burnt card? Was it, perhaps, a narcotic induced dream?

Or was magic at work?

Alexander shook his head. No, he had to keep things logic. If indeed magic had been the case, he'd first have to discard any normal and reasonable explanation before believing it.

First things first, Alexander began walking around the top of the hill slowly. Making sure to keep his arms stretched in case he was still awake and inside the library. No reason to risk bumping head-first into a shelf.

After two or three minutes of this, it was plain obvious that he was no longer awake and inside the library. Unless, of course, whatever was causing this hallucination was also messing with his sense of touch.

"Make that all the senses." he made a mental note as he could taste the damp earth in the wind.

From the blades of grass against his pants, to the breeze on his face. Alexander could tell that this was either real, or an extremely vivid dream.

The next experiment involved pinching himself. The pain didn't come at first, but after several enthusiastic tries, it came forth as vivid as he could remember it. Which almost entirely discarded the possibility of this being a dream as well.

"So all my senses confirm that I am here and not in the library." he commented to himself. "Pain and lucid thoughts make it tough to consider this a dream." he continued with the facts. "So that either leaves me with complete submersion under the effects of some hallucination, or…" he sighed a bit, trying to reluctantly avoid admitting it. "This place is real and I am actually here."

That left him with one big question and one sub question.

Mainly, Where was here?

And second, What should he do now?

The where became secondary as Alexander's stomach grumbled. Whatever this place was, he'd find out eventually. The first thing he should be doing is find food, water and shelter. Preferably in that order.

Paying more attention to his surroundings now, Alexander tried to see if he could find anything that could eventually lead to him finding food.

His eyes soon found what seemed to be a village away, its shape clearly contrasted against the blue sky. Perhaps a couple of hours away if he hurried.

It had many houses, more than he could count, at least a dozen of them were continuously puffing smoke through their chimney, and their shape, size and construction materials made Alexander remember those of medieval Europe. Mostly out of stone walls and hay roofs, with a couple of them with actual tiles on-top.

Alexander eyed the forest, then the snow covered tips of the mountains, then the river that ran through both sides of the village, and then to the dusty road that snaked its way through the fields and the countryside. The only thing missing there would be an epic hero looking for revenge and the whole place would turn into the perfect fairy tale.

A quick check-up later, and Alexander was on his way towards the village. He knew somewhat well that he didn't have anything with which he could buy food, after all, the only possession he had aside from his clothes and what were in them was the small black book.

But he was sure he'd come up with something once he got there.

Throughout the whole walk, Alexander's thoughts went back and forth from the letter that had burnt itself up, to the place he was in at the moment.

Was this related to the tournament it had mentioned? Were there rules he'd have to follow? Was there some administrator he could speak with and talk about what was going on? Should he ask about it in the village?

Though he didn't get much of a chance to think about it since he reached the gates of the town sooner than what he had been expecting.

And at that very moment, things seemed to feel awry somehow.

He could see black arrows dug into broken doors, unhinged windows and streams of blood.

For a fraction of a second, he could only ask himself what was going on. But he chose it best to hurry deeper inside and figure things out as soon as possible.

That was the original plan, at least, until he saw the pile of corpses in the center of the place. All bodies covered in wounds and arrows, a dead crow impaled in one as well not too far away, and a baby pierced with a spear in its center.

Alexander felt a jolt of fear, followed by nausea as the wind shifted, and the smell of blood hit him fast and strong.

He'd have most likely remained there, puking his brains out and crying himself into sleep if not for the shout he heard soon after.

"Brisingr!"

Somehow, the small explosion of blue flames didn't seem that important, nor the pile of corpses for that matter.

His eyes fixated on the shadow that had appeared around him just a moment latter.

And he turned his head to look up just in time to see the darkness of spread out bat-like wings, and the flash of silver white fangs.

Alexander had moved just in time to miss the deadly side of the attack. Rather than hit his head, the fangs closed in on his right leg, and yanked him off the ground with such ferocious strength and speed, he had more time to wonder if his limb would get torn off.

Right after, being completely immobilized, bleeding and hanging from the creature's mouth. Alexander began screaming for help and trying to get out of the jaws. If not for the intense shots of pain that were running their way all over his body, he would've probably managed to actually do something other than shout.

"Help!" he screamed with all what he had left. "Help!"

So much it hurt, that he didn't even pay attention to the fact that whatever had caught him as no longer moving. Rather, he was too focused on how close he was from completely losing his limb, or how fast his heart was beating against his brain, or even how cold the air was suddenly becoming.

Then, something snapped inside his head. It was like a damn that could not hold its waters for much longer. It collapsed and flooded his mind with sweet numbness.

And everything after that went dark.


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Waking up proved to be a three stage war for Alexander.

The first one was realization he was not dead as he had feared. The fact that he could feel the throbbing pain on his left leg made it easier to believe that theory.

The second one was fear. Whatever that creature had been, it had not killed him for a reason yet unknown. Most likely, it was still around somewhere nearby.

The third was finally reached once he had passed both first phases, and it was mostly concern and curiosity. He wasn't certain of what he should do, or if he should do anything at all. But he eventually began taking notice of his surroundings as he came back to fully functioning awareness.

Which didn't leave him for much time to do much, since the very moment he had opened his eyes, there was something metal cold and pointy in his throat.

"Who are you?" asked an old man with fuzzy brows and worn out appearance. His glare was like a thousand daggers going right into Alexander's head. "Where are you from that you wear such clothes?"

The young man had enough time to take in his surroundings. It was a small clearing with a smokeless fire in the center. There was someone else there, human, most likely, but younger.

Aside from the fact that Alexander could not find the creature from before, he noticed the old man had a wound on his arm.

Also, there was this odd pressure in his mind that he could not seem to find the source off. Like something trying to enter his thoughts or something of the like.

"The dragon is not here." the old man spoke as it became clear Alexander was still rather fearful as he looked around rather than the sword on his throat. "But if you don't answer honestly, it will." some extra pressure was placed on the young man's throat. "Now speak."

"I'm… I'm Alexander." the young man answered, feeling like he didn't have much energy inside him. "I'm from…"

Suddenly, his words came to a halt as the memory about what had transcurred before his passing out were connected to something from far back, several years.

As if his mind were a waterfall, he could see the words in front of his eyes correlating with each other. Images mixing with words and what he had imagined at the time.

"I'm from Melian." it was a lie, and so was the place linked to that name. Though that was only if his theory proved to be wrong. "My father works making clothes, but his business has been poor of late, so he was trying to experiment with something else." he hurriedly pointed at his own shirt, though its state was rather deplorable and dirty at the moment. "I had been sent to look for my uncle since he owed father gold." he continued stammering, seeming as nervous from the very beginning, but his mind racing in a cold precise manner he had never experienced before. "I've been tracking him down for several months now. That was, until I saw the Urgals rampaging through Yazuac. I hid and waited for them to leave." pausing for a second, he tried to take in some air, his heart still not quite at peace yet. "I lost all my things when I fell into the river as I tried to sneak into the village to see if there were any survivors."

"You were dry when we found you." the old man sharply stated. The pressure of his blade against his throat just a bit stronger.

"I didn't fall into the river so close to the village." Alexander retorted without even a moment's hesitation. "By the time I got there, I was already dry." he continued. "After that, I was attacked by the dragon… I figure you know the rest."

"I don't trust him." the young man stated. "He wasn't carrying anything other than this blank book, so I doubt he's a threat."

"Not all threats appear to have daggers or swords." the old man kept glaring at Alexander. "But we don't have a way to prove his words otherwise." he retrieved the sword, though kept the glare. "Though I still don't think anyone could make those clothes easily."

"Would you believe me if I said my father used magic?" Alexander hurried to state. "He had meant to teach me, but thought it best if my uncle paid his debt by showing me instead." a fake tear rolled down his face, easily brought up by the throbbing pain in his leg and stress he had built up over the past minutes. "I didn't see anyone escape the village alive."

"So you're going to go back to Melian?" the old man asked, keeping himself at slashing distance from Alexander's throat. "That's awfully far away for someone with that kind of injury." he sighed while moving away, next to the young man. "I guess we could accompany you if you plan to head there by land."

"I lost everything I had." Alexander managed to sit down somewhat, feeling every movement his leg made like being stabbed several times. "And the only family I know is in Melian." he sighed, though actually felt rather thrilled at the piece of knowledge that was going through his head at the time. "Obviously, my only choice would be to go there by foot."

"I have a better solution." the old man's eyes suddenly glimmered with… something that just didn't seem good. "Eragon, you can go on riding on Saphira, and this young fellow here can ride Cadoc. At least until his leg heals."

"I've never rode a horse before…" Alexander shyly commented, having trouble to hide the smile in his face. "I also doubt my leg is in any condition for even riding…" he stared at Eragon for a second, then at the old man, his eyes reflecting a glimmer of fear. "And I wouldn't like to…"

"Don't worry, the dragon won't kill you." the old man interrupted his words, certain of the reason of the fear behind Alexander's eyes. "That is, unless you do something you shouldn't do." he turned towards Eragon, a wry smile in his face. "How about we show the young lad she means no harm?"

There was a moment of hesitation in the young man's eyes, but eventually he chose to close them for a second and focus.

As soon as he did, there was movement noise behind Alexander, and he was barely able to turn his head and see the glimmer of deep blue scales before the large draconic muzzle came down to grab him with incredible delicacy by the shirt.

The reaction was instantaneous, as Alexander began screaming in (mostly) faked fear, before he began screaming again due to the pain it caused to move his legs.

The creature let go of him before letting go a puff of hot and humid breath upon the young human. Giving him enough time to drag himself against the nearest tree with his hands and good leg in an attempt to put as much distance as he could between them.

"She says you smell weird." Eragon translated. "She doesn't believe your story either." there was a pause as he nodded, as if he was mentally speaking with the beast. "Also, she says you tasted bad."

"I could say she's nothing more than an imaginary being that solely exists in books…" Alexander carefully eyed the dragon. "But I think that's been proven otherwise."

"So you can read…" the old man commented before anyone could say anything else, and eyed him for a second. "What's the black book for?"

"I actually don't know." Alexander spoke with honesty. "My father gave it to me saying not to write anything in it. That I'd eventually figure it out." he thought it best to create his own little riddle for the time being. "It's been two years, still haven't seen anything but blank pages." Alexander kept a watchful eye on the dragon as he spoke.

It was glaring at him with uncertainty and something that seemed dangerous for the time being.

"Perhaps…" the old man stared at the black book, and spoke something with not enough volume for anyone else to hear, then a grin came to his face. "…your father must have been very talented."

"Beg your pardon?" Alexander caught the meaning behind those words. Had he figured something out?

"No, nothing in particular." he added while throwing the book at him. "I guess you'll find out on your own."

Alexander frowned as he grabbed the book for a second, though not thinking much about it at the time. The old man, or rather, Brom, was still obviously doubtful of him. Same went for the dragon, Saphira. Both were staring at him as if he were either a very palatable piece of meat, or someone who had just claimed that would betray them.

Nothing he wasn't actually expecting.

Still, Eragon looked more interested in staring at Brom, it was plain obvious he wanted to say something, though doubted whether it was a good idea to do it in front of Alexander.

Either way, Alexander was more worried over the realization of where he was. It was hard to believe it was actually happening.

"Um… excuse me?" Alexander broke the awkward silence. "I'd like to ask something."

"You also speak very oddly." Borm pointed out. "But go ahead."

"When I was… back there." Alexander made it obvious he meant the village. "Before… she tried to eat me." he added as he pointed at the dragon, who snorted in response, looking as if she had been insulted. "I think I saw a flash of blue flames as someone shouted Brisingr." Alexander was somewhat surprised at how the word seemed to reverberate within him, it felt as if it carried power. This had never occurred to him before. "That was magic, wasn't it?" he then pointed at the dragon. "I'm not sure if I should be asking this, but… are either of you a Rider?" he already knew the answer, of course, but he wanted to look the part. "I had only read about them in books… I had never thought such things were real."

"And real they are." Brom said while tracing his fingers through his bear a bit. "Eragon here is the Rider." he added while pointing at him. "But I believe it's more important that you realize what you've learnt today." his eyes became a straight line. "If you so much as murmur about him to anyone…"

"I understand perfectly." Alexander hurried to reply. "Seeing how you've been acting, I'm guessing the King will want your heads." he then slowly rubbed his hand against his neck. "Though I believe I too would get killed if He found out I was with you."

"Just in case, I'd like you to read this out-loud." Brom stated as he wrote some strange words on the dirt with his stick. "It's written in the ancient language…"

"It's either a phrase I'll only be able to say if it's true. Or a promise I'll be forced to keep once I speak the words." Alexander nodded in agreement with the intent behind this. He tried to mentally speak the words to see what they'd do, but he wasn't capable of figuring it out.

"It's the later." Brom explained. "A promise that you'll never divulge any information you learn about us or from us unless we specifically give you our consent beforehand."

"I understand." Alexander stated before reading the words loud enough for everyone to hear.

The shiver and coldness that swept through him a moment after felt strange and creepy in levels he hadn't thought possible.

Brom suddenly relaxed as he let out a sigh, content of how easily the young man had spoken the binding oath.

"Are you hungry?" he offered, much to Alexander's surprise (and seemingly everyone else's). "You'll need the meat to fully recover from that wound."

"I wouldn't mind some food." he politely accepted, though would have eaten a cow with a spoon if they had given him the chance. "All that fear made it hard to remember I had only eaten some hard bread."

"Good." Brom handed him what looked like a cooked rabbit pierced by a stick. "Now eat and get some sleep. The faster you recover, the easier it'll be for us while we travel."

"Not to be rude or anything…" Alexander was so hungry he mostly ignored the revolting feeling in his gut as he stripped the flesh of the small rodent from its slightly burnt bone. "But I don't think I'll be capable of sleeping with a dragon so close."

"She says that you'll have to deal with it." Eragon stated. He seemed a bit irritated at Alexander, though the reason wasn't that clear.

"How long do you think I'll take me to actually be able to walk?" Alexander asked while staring at his bandaged leg. It still hurt like hell, but at least it wasn't bleeding.

"Luckily for you, most of the damage was in the flesh and skin." Brom pointed out. "It wasn't easy, but I managed to get it all stable." he looked frustrated, tired even. "It should be at least a week before the constant pain stops. Three more before you can take a step without crumbling. Maybe four or five before you get full use of it…" he sighed. "You're lucky you're young, else this could end up never recovering."

"Yeah, lucky me." Alexander mumbled.

As he finished his meal, Alexander lay on his back for a second and closed his eyes, trying to organize his ideas for a bit.

Firstly, he was inside what he had known to be a story. Which was already rather hard to believe.

Second, Brom had sensed something in that little black book, but hadn't told him what. His priority should lay in finding out as much as he could about it.

Thirdly, he'd have to keep his charade for as long as he could. Even if they didn't believe him, he doubted telling them the truth would help him out at this time.

Lastly, he would have to be extra sure to feign ignorance of what was to happen. Which he was quite sure he already knew more or less what it would be.

If anything, he'd need to recover and prepare himself as fast as he could.

He'd definitely need it.


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It had been almost two weeks since his first encounter with Eragon, Brom, and the dragon, Saphira.

Throughout this time, he had seen Eragon start learning how to use magic, and he himself tried every chance he had, though for the time being hadn't found any results. Brom explained it could probably take him until he was thirty before he managed to move a pebble.

Which was rather depressing. Though not enough to stop him from continue trying.

There were other things he had learned throughout this whole time. Most of it was vocabulary of the ancient language, since he didn't have anything better to do than pay attention to Brom and try and learn as much as he could.

Also, after about a week and a half, he had managed to gain the power of not complaining about how much his leg hurt, and had started to shift his focus towards other things to complain about. Such as hunger and thirst.

Eragon had mostly denied and avoided riding Saphira every single time. Which ended up in him sharing Cadoc with Alexander. Neither of them were thrilled about it though.

This, in a way, had managed to earn him some trust from the trio. Not enough to stop the dragon from sleeping in between him and Eragon, but at least enough to avoid them from glancing at him every ten seconds to make sure he wasn't about to stab them with the nearest stick.

The other thing he had gained was a rather interesting bond with them, specially Eragon.

On one hand, the young man tried to ignore most of the questions Alexander made about Saphira. And on the other, he'd tell him of what venereal disease he'd die of when his limit seemed to be breached.

It was mostly amusing for Alexander, who noted that the young man would become more irate easily if being told about his obvious flaws in sword skills.

Well, he did seem frustrated over something else most of the time, though he was *taking it out* on Alexander when he had the chance.

"Mind giving us a demonstration?" Brom was looking as irritated as Eragon. Though there was a gleam of interest in his eyes. "You seem to know what you're talking about, at least."

"Sorry, but I think we should leave that for when I can walk." Alexander pointed out. For the time being, even skipping on his good leg was something that made him flinch. "A friend of my father claimed he had learnt it from someone who came from the other side of the sea." he continued. He had studied most martial arts through books, and had eventually come to practice one of them since it was close to his house. But he wasn't about to tell them about it in that manner. "He taught me most of what he knew about it while I grew up."

"From the other side of the sea?" Eragon's interest suddenly shifted towards him. It was the first time he didn't seem angry about his comments. "There's actually land at the other side?"

"I wouldn't be surprised." Alexander commented with a wry grin. "But I'm guessing it's so far away it takes years by boat alone to get here… if you get here at all." he chuckled a bit, an idea running through his head. "As a matter of fact, my father's friend told me the traveler claimed the world was round like a snowball."

"Then he was crazy." Eragon spoke clearly and without hesitation. "How could the world be round? Things would fall off at the bottom, and the rest would be sliding to that end as well."

"I would like to keep an open mind about that." Alexander sighed as he leaned back against the floor with a grin on his face. "But I guess it should be fairly easy to prove if it's flat or round." he pointed at Saphira. "But the only way would be by flying way up high, perhaps even higher than the clouds."

"Why?" Brom was the one to ask, he looked intrigued.

"If the world is round, then I'm guessing the horizon should be curved ever so slightly." Alexander explained. "Though there's another way to find out." he raised his finger as he aimed at the sky. "Imagine if you will a place that's completely flat from one horizon to the next." he tried to avoid making it obvious he knew the answer already. "If we placed an extremely tall tree, tall enough to reach the sky in its center… what would be the first thing we'd see when we approach it?"

"I don't understand." Eragon was the one to state.

"If the tree were at the very horizon, what would we see? The top or the tree completely?" Alexander made a drawing of a circle on the ground, and then drew a stick figure, and a tree almost at the other side. "If it's the top, then the world is round. If it isn't, then it's flat."

"Surely something that someone will figure out eventually." Brom snapped. "Now continue sparring before I get any older."

"Saphira says she hasn't flied that high yet." Eragon interrupted before Brom came down on him with a rain of hurt.

"Oh, and one simple suggestion." Alexander spoke as they began exchanging blows again. "I have the strong feeling Brom is reading your intentions while you spar." he added with a smirk. "Considering how much you show what you'll do already, it's no wonder you can barely touch him." he saw Eragon's shocked expression as Brom simply shrugged and continued with the pretend-battle. "If anything, I'd suggest you keep your head empty of thoughts… not that it should prove difficult."

For a second, Alexander felt the same invasive presence from the first time he had met them. And blocked it out rather easily as he reminded himself of how much he missed the taste of chocolate.

Which caused a moment of distraction on Brom's side as he turned to look at the young man for just a second. Giving Eragon the chance to land a one blow before his focus returned to the match.

Alexander simply tried to keep his smile from being replaced with a frown as he closed his eyes in an attempt of getting some sleep.

He felt as if someone had taken something very important from him, and had replaced it with something else that also seemed important.

Nevertheless, he somehow felt conned.

----

The next morning they arrived at Daret. They had decided it best that Alexander remained next to Saphira hidden between the trees nearby. Mostly so that the dragon would be close in case there was trouble in the village, and to keep the useless-in-a-fight-Alexander from getting in their way in case there was anything wrong.

"Don't worry, Saphira." Alexander spoke as he sat against a tree, watching as Brom and Eragon rode towards the seemingly empty village. "I'm pretty sure they'll be fine."

The dragoness stared, scratch that, glared at him with those deep blue eyes. A mixture of concern and anger in them.

"You know… I'm really envious of Eragon." Alexander glanced back, holding the stare rather easily. "Just the fact that he has a creature of such beauty and wisdom as his partner…" he gave out a sigh. "It's nearly impossible to find even a human who'd care about you that much…" his gaze turned towards the horizon a bit, he felt himself looking at nothing in particular. "Guess he doesn't really know how lucky he is right now."

There was a moment of silence, and the young human could feel the dragon had kept on glaring, though he paid no heed as his thoughts focused on Brom and Eragon as they finally disappeared into the village.

Even knowing when what was going to happen since he remembered it from the book he had read, he was still caught by surprise as Saphira suddenly tensed up and snarled.

"Seems he's in trouble…" Alexander tried to feign surprise as he kept on staring at the village. "Though it's odd, since the Urgals had headed east, not south." he paused for a moment as he tried to make it seem as if he was thinking of something. "Must be the villagers taking precautions against possible threats."

There was a brief moment as Saphira glanced at him again, before she started trotting back and forth, opening slightly her wings and then folding them again as her tail swished a bit from side to side. As if she was expecting the slightest of indications to leap into the air and take flight.

Eventually, though, she calmed down just enough to stop the trotting. But she kept most of that anger and frustration as her eyes were locked onto the forms of Eragon and Brom as they headed their way rather hastily.

As soon as they got there, Saphira and Eragon exchanged inaudible words. Alexander had gotten used to this by now, it was easy to tell just by Eragon's face that he was mentally speaking with the dragon.

Though as soon as he went off the horse, he was swept to his back and pinned by the dragon.

"What are you doing!?" he complained, and soon after entered a mental conversation with the growling dragon.

"I'm betting she's lecturing him." Alexander told Brom. "My guess is her tone would be similar to that of a mother whose son just came back from barely managing to survive a bear attack."

"Well?" Brom seemed to ignore Alexander as he saw Eragon let out a sigh.

"She wants me to ride her tomorrow." Eragon stated.

"I don't see why not." both Brom and Alexander spoke at the same time. Though the first gave enough of a glare to the second to keep him quiet. "You do have the saddle after all. As long as you remain out of sight, there shouldn't be any problem."

"But what if you're attacked or there's an accident? I won't be able to get there in time and…" Eragon began complaining.

His words were cut short as the dragon put a little extra pressure on his chest and snarled.

"It's worth the risk. You need to learn how to ride her anyway. Think about it this way: with you flying ahead and looking at the ground, you'll be able to spot any traps, ambushes, or other unwelcome surprises." Brom hurried to explain.

There was a brief exchange of thoughts between the dragon and the Rider, and the former was let go as the first one took off into the sky with a contempt expression.

----

By the time they made camp, it was already sundown.

Alexander felt as tired as ever, more since his leg had been acting up a bit throughout the rest of the day. The throbbing pain had left him mostly muted and almost biting his tongue a couple of times. Something Brom and Eragon felt contempt about.

Alexander was somewhat suspicious that the old bearded man had somehow worsened his condition with the use of magic just for this purpose. Though he hadn't found enough evidence to prove it so.

Throughout the spar that night, the both of them eventually broke the wooden swords, and Brom took out the metal ones.

After a brief spell to dull out the blades, they were going at each other with revived strength and seemingly not that much concern for how much harder the impacts on one another were being.

A little while later, they had eaten and were going to sleep.

Alexander took notice that this time the dragon had placed herself on the opposite side of where she would usually put herself.

Maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all.
Ok, so my hiatus came to an end sooner than what I had been expecting.

This story I wrote it about... a year ago, maybe a bit more. Each part of this story would be the equivalent of 3 or 4 of my usual ones in size.

Eragon and all the characters in it do not belong to me (obviously, else I'd be posting this on an actual book or something)

I'll be uploading like... 10 to 15 parts of this particular story throughout the next week or so.

As a warning, the story here goes way faster than what happens in the Eragon books. So if anyone didn't read the book, I suggest you don't read this since it'll reveal plenty of information about what *will happen* in the book.

I'll also upload others stories as I go, this ain't gonna be the one consuming my writing time since it's already mostly done.

part 2 [link]
© 2011 - 2024 TGFWritter
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ArykhDragon777's avatar
Awesomes, I love how you took the orginal story and fused your own element in. jsut wondering through, will there be any TF or TGs?)