Chapter 2

Ereglad hall

"we can't just stay here and do nothing!" a deep, angry voice growled his voice resonating throughout the hall.

The hall itself was large with incredibly tall ceiling, and various wooden chandeliers that lit the room with candles. Upon the wall there hung various paintings depicting battles long past, as well as various flags of many different nationalities. The largest of said flag was one with a white tree on it; the flag of Alagaësia which was almost as tall as the hall itself. Every little piece of decoration and the architecture itself made the hall appear grand and impressive, but what really caught the eyes were statues.

Standing from the stone floor were ten statues of men and elves all of them holding a real sword, with its point touching the floor and their hands lazily atop the hilt, with a different colour diamond on top of it. Said statues wore a full set of armour, and on their chest there stood an engraving of a mighty dragon, all of them different than the other. Above said mighty statues, there stood their proud names: Vrael, Anurin, Naeridana, Galzra and a few others. Whoever looked upon the mighty statues would be awed by them, but also terrified of their cold eyes that seemed to look down at all who entered the hall, as if judging, and protecting it from all who seek to do harm to it.

The statues were indeed mighty, but the mightiest of all was a large one that stood under the flag of Alagaësia, and behind said statue stood a large carving of a dragon with its head held high, looking down at all those who walked by it. The statue of the elf was at the same position as all others, with his hands laid on top of each other as if holding a sword, but unlike the other, this one didn't have a sword.

A top of the statues, and linning the walls there were many concave holes that were empty, all of them the size of a statue, all of them ready to house a statue. On the stone floor, there was a large square stone table that took up most of the space with its sheer size. Upon its surface their stood various golden goblets, and wine bottles. In the centre of said table, there laid carved into the stone a large, silver diffused spiral the Gedwëy ignasia; the mark of a rider.

Seating by the large stone table were ten riders all of them of different species, all of them wearing a similar set of tunics, and all of them had their swords laid on the table in front of them. Behind all the riders, sat their dragons all of them of different sizes and colours, their scales shining from the candles up ahead, casting the room in different colours.

The person who had spoken before was an Urgal who had massive twisted horns protruding from above his ears. His eyes were yellow and small, as most Urgals did. His hair was black and long, tied neatly in a small golden binding. As for height, the Urgal was tall even when seating and behind him sat an equally large black dragon with similar yellow eyes that were looking down at the other rider.

"And what do you propose, that we go and kill all those that dare oppose our allies? The perpetrators were dealt with under the full law of the empire, there is no need for rider intervention," said Jaida a tall human woman who had long red hair, and blue eyes. Whoever laid eyes on her would be awed by her beauty, which was greater than most human and even some elves. Behind her stood a large light purple dragon with dark eyes, its size was larger than the black one.

The Urgal -whos name was Ulvoshz- huffed, and opened his mouth but before he could speak, the doors to the hall opened, prompting everyone to turn and look at it.

From the door in walked Dûrion, his eyes ahead as everyone's eyes were glued on him, following him from the door to his chair. Behind him followed the large golden dragon Vikelfr, his large form barely missing the many decorations and statues as he walked, its wings folded tightly on his body.

Once Dûrion was sitting on his chair, the meeting continued.

"Dûrion, glad you could make it," Jaida said almost sarcastically.

Unamused, Dûrion kept his expression stoic as always as he folded his hands in front of him and looked at Jaida, the second in command among the council and of the riders. Her rank despite being human was earned through hard work, and determination but again Dûrion always thought that being one of his father's first rider it was bound to happen. This is why a few of the riders didn't look on her so highly, despite her skills and merit.

"I do apologize for my tardiness, I was training with my brother," he explained, unsheathing his sword and placing it in front of him.

At the mention of his brother, his father, Eragon looked at him with narrowed, distrustful eyes. However, his expression didn't last long as he quickly changed it to his normal one.

"So Ilirea was attacked, who attacked it?" Dûrion asked, going straight to the point, his eyes looking at all of them.

"A group of well-trained mages. We have reasons to believe they're in league with the Vanyalí" Manda a human woman answered, much like Jaida she had long hair but her's was black and her eyes were dark brown. Behind her stood a brown dragon, one of the most horrible colour a dragon could have for scales.

Upon hearing the name Vanyalí, Dûrion curved a brow as he looked at the human. He knew of the Vanyalí of course, every rider knew. They are a rogue group consisting of mages, elven and human alike all of them working to free themselves from the empire's strong grasp on magic, through its many laws and regulations. When he was young he remembered how on his first visit to Alagaësia he had been shocked to find how magic was practically banned by the empire. Even the smallest and most innocent of magic were frowned upon, and this was due to queen Nasuada's many laws to prevent magic users from abusing it. At first, her many laws were meant to protect all those that didn't use magic but when her son, King Valfask, ascended the throne the laws became more and more absurd, to the point that anyone who could do the smallest amount of magic was ostracized by their communities. Even elves, the strongest of all the races in magic were treated terribly outside of Ellesméra. Truthfully he didn't blame the Vanyalí -or its full name, the Melehtë abr vanyalí, power of magic- from standing up to the empire, but he also agreed that there were better ways to do it. Attacking cities and killing innocents was never the way. That was a code all riders lived by.

"Why is that?" asked Dûrion, genuinely curious to know what happened.

The one to answer was of course Jaida.

"Because while the attack was underway, the city of Teirm was attacked by known members of Vanyalí. Athelstan and Alaasta."

Dûrion nodded, knowing full well who those names belonged to. Athelstan is a human male, twenty-four years of age, quite young even among his kind, but just as skilled in magic as most elves. As for Alaasta, she's a female elf who he had met before she went rogue and joined the Vanyalí. She's quite skilled and formidable in the use of magic, more so than most elven elders and far more than he. Both she and Athelstan have created chaos in Alagaësia by hitting various empire targets and recruiting new members for their cause. Both of them made a name for themselves among the empire, and so they are two of the most wanted criminals in the land but they have never been caught. Even when the riders were involved a few years ago, they couldn't catch them, it was almost as if they knew ahead of time where they were going to be, and so they slipped out of their grasp every single time.

"I see… did you manage to capture them?" he asked, already knowing the answer. If they had indeed been captured he was sure his fellow council members would be busy talking about their upcoming execution. The riders are a peaceful people, who watch over the land of dragons and of Alagaësia but if provoked they can be quite vengeful, especially when they're made fools of.

The one to answer Dûrion had a somewhat deep, slightly musical voice that commanded all to attention as everyone looked at him.

"Teirm Isn't known for its defences against magic, nor does it have counteractive measures against mages so whoever attacked easily escaped their grasp. However, before they escaped a soldier manage to see the Vanyalí symbol engraved on one of the attacker's armour." Eragon the head of the riders said and Dûrion looked at his father.

His father is the head of the dragon riders, lord of Arngor Mountain, and saviour of Alagaësia, which is why the statue directly behind him -which was the largest of them all- was his. His father was never one to search or demand reverence or glory so the statue was commissioned by the other members of the council, as well as Saphira's. Of course, this wasn't the only statue of them, they had an even larger one by the entrance of the school, both of them life-size even Saphira's which had her old scales attached to it making the statue shine when the sun shun upon it.

"What's interesting is that both attacks at either city didn't target any strategic building, nor did they target important political members. They simply attacked the hall of the riders recently built in Teirm, as well as the one in Ilirea even though there aren't any riders stationed there at the moment. They also attacked a few specific houses that don't really have anything of importance as far as we know. The people that live there were simple commoners, yet they choose to kill them all, but for what we do not know." Jida told him, and Dûrion's brows furrowed confused.

Now that was weird. Usually, the Vanyalí only target empire buildings and members not once were the riders targeted due to their affiliation with magic, but it seems that is no longer the case, and that was far worse news than the attacks themselves.

"I don't think that targeting the rider's hall was a coincidence. It's obvious they're targeting us, and we should act in kind." Ulvoshz growled, banging his hand on the table that despite being stone rumbled in protest.

No one in the hall was affected, or shocked by the Urgal's reaction, as they merely looked at him some in agreement while a few others shook their heads in disagreement.

"But for what reason? If it's true they're targeting us then why attack when there are no riders? The group was strong enough to stand their ground against cities forces, they probably could have managed to kill a young rider. So why go when it's empty?" asked Fnenra a dwarf, with a long brown beard and bald head asked confused. Among all the riders Fnenra was one of the few dwarfs among them, and for his great skills in combat and even magic, he gained the respect of all the riders. Oddly enough, however, instead of a sword as all riders bore he had a large axe. Behind Fnenra was his dragon companion, a red dragon.

"Because they want to get our attention," Dûrion said.

Instantly everyone eyes shifted to him, waiting for him to explain himself, while most of them nodded in agreement not needing an explanation. He, of course, knew of his -for a lack of a better word- popularity among the riders. Having rescued a fellow rider at the age of nineteen, and stopping a rogue group in league with the old mad king, he had risen to practical legend among the riders. Not to mention that he was one of the very few who actually got to see some combat apart from his father of course. Because of this, many of the council members always looked highly on him, and that was something he could use to his advantage.

"We still don't quite understand what the Vanyalí want, but in recent years they've become a dangerous group. Not only that but they've begun targeting larger cities, getting more and more daring, and now it seems that they not only want Alagäesia's attention but ours as well," he said, and Ulvoshz nodded in agreement.

"I do not know why they would do something so foolish, but I agree with Ulvoshz. If they want our attention then we should give it to them, show them that we're not to be trifled with."

Once again, a few people nodded in agreement, while a few people shook their heads or look disapprovingly as if they couldn't believe what he was proposing, one of which was Jaida, but she wasn't the one to speak next.

'That is a dangerous proposition. We know next to nothing about this group. For all, we know they're counting on us to send riders, and I don't think they're doing it for no reason. We could very well be walking into a trap.' Saphira declared, and as they did with his father everyone quieted as they looked at the massive sapphire dragon.

The large green dragon Amrum who was seated behind his rider, Vridhgonal, an elf with long brown hair, and light blue eyes, craned his neck so that he could look straight at Saphira who was more than several heads taller than him.

'Trap or not Saphira elda, we cannot just stand by and do nothing. The king of the Broddring Empire has already requested our aid. We may not reside on Alagaësia but we can't just ignore our allies.' the deep voice of the dragon said in their minds.

Saphira didn't voice her disagreement with the young dragon's words as she nodded in return, accepting his explanation, but not seeming to agree with him either.

"Amrum is right. We simply can't stand back and do nothing, even if we like it or not the Vanyalí Have put us under the light and it's in us to act or look weak in the eyes of the people of Alagäesia." Dûrion said, backing the dragon's words before they could be refuted.

"But if we do act then the people will know we've given in to the demands of a terrorist group." Jaida hissed.

Before Dûrion could refute her, Vikelfr -who had been quiet throughout the whole meeting- stirred in his mind, and Dûrion could feel anger flow through the bond. Much like him, Vikelfr disliked Jaida so much so that his usually stoic, and silent companion always took to anger whenever he so much as looked at her, and he didn't really know why. Unlike most dragons and riders their relationship is not as open in communication as most other dragons and riders. This was because Vikelfr has a solitary personality, he liked to be on his own and he didn't often share things with Dûrion, and he likewise didn't share much with his companion. Most riders thought it odd, and his father once scolded him for it, seeing as his bond with Saphira was among the strongest and he wouldn't understand. Just because they weren't always with each other, or speaking to each other didn't mean their bond wasn't as strong. In fact, their bond was stronger than most as it was formed by unwavering trust, a trust that was built in battle and throughout their everyday life, rather than the bond that forced a rider and dragon together. However, despite this he didn't know quite why Vikelfr disliked Jaida so much, he guessed it had to do with her dragon Nymryt rejecting his mating fight, something that he knew wounded his companion's ego greatly. Vikelfr -as most dragons- saw himself as mighty, and practically above all other dragons, and having flown and spent his time among wild dragons he thought himself above most of his fellow dragons, so when Nymryt rejected him that really broke something in him. However, he doubted that was it seeing as that had happened years ago, and he should have gotten over it by now, especially since he has had a few mates since then.

'Is the way the world of men perceive us really more important than fulfilling our duty to our allies?' asked Vikelfr to all of them, his voice deeper than any other dragon present, calling most to attention because of it.

As if spurred by Vikelfr words, everyone began to discuss quietly among each other, while Nymryt bared her fangs partially at Vikelfr who didn't even look at her but he could tell that his companion was about ready to snap at the other dragon. Before he could, however, he sent soothing emotions to him which he accepted.

Their discussion continued until Eragon stood on his feet and everyone quickly quieted.

"It appears we stand divided, so I will hold a vote." he declared, and Dûrion raised a brow. It wasn't often that his father would hold a vote. He usually decided everything.

"Those in favour of Jaida raise your hand."

As he had expected a few council members raised their hands, while the dragons nodded. Interestingly enough some dragons didn't agree with their companions.

"Those in favour of Dûrion raise your hand"

At the mention of his name, almost everyone raised their hand, and so Eragon nodded, to which Jaida pretended not to care.

His father nodded but didn't look too happy either. Despite having spent most of his young life in battle his father hated conflict, but he abhorred needless death more than anything, which is why he accepted Dûrion's choice of action.

"Very well, we shall go with Dûrion's plan. How soon can you depart?" asked his father, his eyes landing on his for the second time since he came in the room. As he looked at him, not once did he show any fatherly love, in fact, he regarded him colder than any council member, and he wasn't shocked or affected by it. He and his father never saw eye to eye, especially not at the moment. It was actually funny how most people thought he was his father's favourite when they couldn't be further from the truth.

"This very evening, I already have a handful of riders that would be willing to part with me right now," he said, looking straight at Lánvue, a blond-haired elf who had been his first pupil, and through her actions in Alagaësia alongside him she had earned everyone's respect despite her lack of years among the riders. Much like all other riders, her dark blue dragon sat behind her looking straight at Dûrion.

His father nodded curtly and stood from his seat, and everyone followed suit.

"You're all dismissed, tend to your riders," he told them, and with that everyone made their way out of the hall, while a few stayed behind to talk among each other.

"I'll ride with you Dûrion elda." said a deep voice from behind him.

Turning on the spot, he came eye to eye with Ulvoshz who had his fist pressed against his chest, with a wide grin upon his lips, happy of the prosper of battle to come. Out of all the council members, Ulvoshz is like a loose arrow, he's unpredictable and thirsty for battle which is why he's one of the greatest swordsmen among the riders, having trained every moment of every day for the day he'll finally get to draw his sword against an opponent. Because of that, he would make a great ally, but also one he'll need to keep an eye on.

"Of course," he told the Urgal, who's smile widened and bowed slightly and walked to the entrance of the hall with his dragon Jynirruss following closely behind him.

"I'll be preparing," Ulvoshz said, and with that, he left the hall.

'We have to keep an eye on him, he's a strong asset, but even the mightiest warriors can cut themselves with the sharpest swords.' Vikelfr said, his large golden eyes on him as he remained seated behind him.

He and Vikelfr -unlike the others- didn't make a move to leave the hall, he simply remained seated on his chair watching everyone leave, all except his father and Saphira who remained seated.

Once everyone had left, and after Jaida had left after looking at him skeptically, and leaving alongside Nymryt, his father gave out a long tired sigh and slumped back in his chair, his eyes giving away how tired he was. Lately, his father has been inundated with work. From accepting a larger than usual group of new riders, the usual duties that came with being the head of the rider, and now with the attack his father seldom had the time to so much as sleep. He did feel a little sorry for his father, but in the end, it's his duty.

"What do you think of this attack?" asked his father, crossing his arms and looking at him curiously.

Dûrion leaned back on his chair and adopted a more relaxed posture. He knew his father wasn't asking for him to give him the same answer he'd given the council, he wanted his honest opinion, something he'd often asked him for.

Giving out a deep breath, he closed his eyes as if in thought.

"I don't necessarily think that what they want is wrong," he said, opening his eyes.

"It's been seventy-four years since you left Alagaësia, much has changed since then. There may not be any wars, but the people are still as divided. Elves still can't travel freely outside Elven cities, Dwarfs are a rare sight to see, and Urgals… well, the same prejudice is just as strong as it was back then. And wild dragons, which we have done our best to reintroduce to the land aren't as accepted as one would hope."

At the mention of people not accepting the wild dragons in Alagaësia, Saphira growled. She's the one who raised the first wild dragons, and despite their arrogance wild dragons looked on to Saphira in reverence.

His father sighed, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"And those who wield magic are treated the worse." his father sighed and shook his head in disbelief.

He knew his father also, doesn't agree with the many laws created by the king, but there wasn't much he could do about it. If he were to go to Alagaësia it would be a different matter, but his father refused to leave the mountain. And besides, the lands of men don't look as highly on his father as they used to. Men are mortal, and those that fought in the war against Galbatorix are either dead or too old to remember. Of course, it was a different matter with the elves, and dwarfs who still very much remember.

His father hummed thoughtfully, looking ahead into emptiness.

"This used to be a lot easier." his father huffed.

He didn't explain further what he had meant.

For a little while, they all remained quiet, as they looked ahead until Dûrion chose to ask what he had wanted to ask since everyone left.

`'you already know the answer, why even ask?' huffed Vikelfr.

Dûrion didn't answer as he looked from the centre of the table to look at his father, who's eyelids were fluttering to sleep ever so slightly.

Going straight to the point, Dûrion spoke.

"I want Evandar to come with me."

Instantly, and as fast as a thrust of a sword, his father's eyes quickly snapped open, and he jerked his head to look at him as if he'd gone insane.

Dûrion kept his expression cold as always, as he met his father's eyes, he had expected his reaction. This was the main cause for their current falling out. Due to his brother's complicated birth, his father has always been incredibly overprotective of him, to the point that he barely let him out of his sight. Evandar wasn't allowed to venture into the forest, he wasn't allowed to partake in dangerous training, and after he almost fell from Saphira's saddle one day his father prohibited him from flying, something Saphira thankfully disagreed with and didn't listen too. He knew his father wasn't completely wrong to be overprotective of Evandar, he did almost die as a newborn, and he spent most of his childhood sick and bedridden. In Vikelfr's harsh words, his brother is a runt. He's slower and weaker than a regular elf, and he's practically at the level of a human when it comes to magic, but despite that, he still has hope in his brother, a hope his father didn't share. Don't get him wrong, his father isn't a bad person, but sometimes his parenting skills can be quite lacking.

His father opened his mouth, but before he could refuse, Dûrion spoke.

"I won't bring him with us to Teirm. I plan to travel to Carvahall castle for provisions, I'll leave him there where he'll be safe."

Instantly his father furrowed his brows in mistrust.

"Why even bring him if you're not planning to bring him with you?" he asked like he had some ulterior motive.

"He's never been to Alagaësia," he responded simply.

Once more his father opened his mouth to say something, but he spoke before he could.

"I've been training him, he still has much to learn in the ways of the sword, and magic but I believe he's ready to leave the mountain."

For a little while, both of them remained quiet, both of them looking at each other. Meanwhile, both dragons looked on at their riders, not interrupting or saying anything. He knew without asking that Saphira agrees with him, and Vikelfr… well, he disliked carrying burdens, but he didn't voice his dislike.

Finally, after what felt like hours his father responded.

"You want to send Evandar to Alagaësia when the Vanyalí are at the most dangerous?" He asked as if he had gone mad.

A pang of anger hit him, but he kept his composure as he straightened up, ready to respond but just as he'd done to him, his father didn't let him answer.

"Evandar will remain in Arngor." was all he said with finality, leaving him with no room to argue.

Dûrion looked at his father coldly, his expression unreadable. He wanted very much to snap, and argue but he knew that wouldn't help him so he bit his tongue. Even when his father stood from his chair, and made his way to the door he didn't say anything he simply looked at him.

If anyone wants to check it out, I drew the statue of Eragon.

tumblr / blog / ms - faker

as always don't forget to add the rest of the website cited, seeing as I can't post it here but if you like you can look at my profile, the entire address is posted there.