…Look closely at this bone. You can see how its end rests on that of the sailing ship. That is impossible to misunderstand. Your fate will be to leave this land forever. Where you will end up I know not but you will never again stand in Alagaësia. This is inescapable. It will come to pass even if you try to avoid it…

INEXORABLE TIDINGS.

Prologue

It was as Eragon had said he had once seen in his dreams. It was utterly calm, with a bright moon and the sluggish river, glittering in the pale blue light of a waxing gibbous. The fair elven ship which floated gently against a slow current seemed delicate from afar, like some ornate jewel being carried far down the Edda river towards the unknown horizon. What Eragon had not given any hint to was the storm of emotions that arose within her own heart. Despite the nearly silent night, for even Firnen could be silent when he wished, it was as if a storm was in her ears, years of voices swirling through her head, his voice, both in times of wisdom and in times of foolishness.

I see you

She sighed wearily.

"Is that a tear I see Ayra?" Firnen's rich voice entered her head, although there was a tinge of humor in it.

"Just the wind in my eyes, that's all. Don't mistake me for succumbing to pure sentimentality; after all, I am here and he is aboard that vessel, and that's the way things are right now, so it is mere vanity on my part to feel depressed. And yet, in all my vanity, I can't help but miss him, because he takes with him the end of an age and I don't think we shall again set eyes on such a noble person, however young he is, for a very long time."

"But he leaves us with many memories, and a land at peace. If that is the purpose of our existence, than Eragon and Saphira have done in but a decade more than many a legend did in a millennium. They shall not be forgotten. Perhaps you are not as vain, or as wise as you might suppose"

"And what would such a young, foolish drake such as yourself know about wisdom?" Ayra raised an eyebrow, a slight smile emerging on her face. Firnen only raised his head high and let out a puff of smoke.

"Only forwards shall destiny carry us. And unlike you, I shall keep growing until you seem insignificant. I need no other wisdom other than the legacy that weighs upon my wings"

"Dragon pride" Ayra thought "Now that is a fate that I am doomed to, however ridiculous it is"

"And Dragon wisdom, knows no age" Firnen turned his eyes to meet hers. "We are losing something here, something which we cannot have back."

Across the bond she shared with the emerald dragon, she felt the sentiment then shared, suppressed disappointment. For Ayra personally, it was the end of a lifelong journey over a century. Faolin, Islanzadi, Evandar, Oromis, and countless friends had vanished, and Eragon was no different. Good men with a tragic end, slipping away like time itself. But Ayra also was silently somewhat relieved; she now had the centuries ahead to settle down, and forsake her violent youth and first century. Eragon's departure was as much bittersweet as it was relieving, for she was confident that with his departure, the feelings of yearning, of despair, of confusion, and of restlessness would leave.

And yet as she heard the cry of Roran, down near the shore, the soft keen of Firnen, and that silent voice that had somehow developed in the back of her mind, passionate and angry that she was losing Eragon, there was nothing but emptiness in her heart. She felt more alone than she had in a long time, despite the modest crown which was carefully woven into some temporary hair braids upon her head reminding her that she had the mighty race of the elves to be held responsible to. She felt more unsure, less certain about her next steps she had to take than she should have been. It wasn't like her to feel these strong emotions of regret and disappointment. Before the last years, she would have never have even harbored the slightest of thoughts. Now she seemed to be wallowing in them.

"I blame this on you" Ayra mumbled mentally, but very quietly.

"What was that?" Firnen's eyes opened a bit further. "Blame what? If you want to blame my feelings of loss for Saphira on your feelings of loss for Eragon, than you're ignoring your own heart. You were attached to him. It's as clear as the moon is tonight"

"Did I love him?"

Firnen was surprised, leaning down to look Ayra in the eyes as closely as she was comfortable with. He was such a youthful dragon, his head being but the size of a small chest, belying his deep thoughts, giving him more of a boyish appearance.

"What have you done to my Ayra? She would never ask such a ambivalent question."

"I am not the same as I was even a few months ago" Ayra's eyebrows furrowed. "There's too much room for doubt nowadays, too many choices of grey. Before there was Galbatorix and all the evil that he never deviated from, with almost perfect uniformity, and now there is the ruins of his realm, where those that participated in his atrocities and those that were but bystanders are almost indistinguishable. So many elder elves now dead, and so many of the young dwarves, men and urgals in power. I was raised on duty, commitment and obedience to the directions of those above me, even Faolin was a part of the way things were established to be as, and now...it's finished. I am the master of my destiny and I don't know what to do with it, nor whether I have done, or am doing the right thing"

"It cannot be healthy for your state of mind"

"But introspection was never something I was very good at, and yet it's inevitable as any emotion; pride, love, and sorrow...no I will get over this. And I can say that I did not love Eragon, despite his attempts at convincing me otherwise, right up to the last second"

"Then what was he?"

"A friend. Perhaps not my best friend, but my only friend that knew me well, and now that he has departed I am alone in confidence. But if that is to be the way things are, I shouldn't delay my resignation to that fact"

"Very talkative tonight aren't we?"

"Yes, and very...cold"

Ayra turned to the side came to sit against Firnen's belly, sitting there a few minutes before slowly beginning to sing.

"World silent and elves asleep"

"In the darkness do the mysterious beings meet"

"they say their greetings, and give way to dream"

"in the darkness, not evil, yet only things unseen"

"darkness of our hearts is where our vulnerabilities dwell"

"darkness of our hearts, where our pride is dispelled"

It was at that moment that both Ayra and Firnen became aware of soft, yet quick footsteps towards them, nearly a half a mile away. Straining her eyes, for even elvish eyes have limits, Ayra made our a dark cloak and dirty leather soles, but exotically braided hair and a smirking face. Something was held within her arms.

Ayra frowned. What was she doing here?

Several minutes later, Angela emerged from the dark.

"I'm sorry to intrude upon your 'let's leave without looking back' feelings and sentiments, but I have a word to say to the Princess". Angela smiled, but a kind smile. There was however, something sad in her expression.

"Shall the odd one be shooed?" Firnen didn't shield his thoughts.

"Hush now dragon, I shall leave you alone when I am done, and waste no more of your precious time of which you seem to never have for the important things. And anyhow, if you two are going to be so melancholy, I would suggest finding a barrel of mead to share"

"Leave us to our thoughts Angela, for we are merely reflecting upon the end of many things and how to continue on afterwards"

"So honest? Seems unlike you Ayra, perhaps that tough exterior was taken by Eragon now, hmmm?"

Ayra didn't bother responding.

"If you have come to merely confuse us, or irritate us, than I might start searching for a pony-dinner. Your pony" Firnen gruffly stated.

"But then you would be stuck with me" Angela laughed.

"You would suffer the elves. No human can stand it for too long" Firnen answered gravely.

"Arrogant dragon, and elves alike" Angela chided "I would conjure up a new pony, and a lean one with many bones in it. But enough meaningless banter, for I have come bearing a gift Ayra, one that may aid you in the path forward"

Ayra was still silent, her usually bright eyes dulled and aimless, her hair carelessly splayed across Firnen's scales and her arms dangling limp by her sides. Angela waited patiently.

"What?" Ayra asked at length. "It better not be a destined sword of any sort."

Angela threw back her head and laughed heartily. "You do have some wit Ayra, yes I think you shall be an excellent queen for the elves indeed. So here is my gift to you"

From her robe, Angela produced a cloth bound, square item with some strings holding down the covers. Ayra raised an eyebrow, before receiving the object into her small hands.

"A book?..." She undid the covers, wafting a slight sent of fresh leather bindings, fresh ink and a bit of cheap plaster mixed with an old wood, a smell she had smelled not long ago. "It's from Uru'baen. Handwritten, judging by my memory of your handwriting."

She turned to the first page. "A recounting of Eragon and the years of the War?...Scarcely a quarter of the book has writing, the rest of the pages are blank"

"This is not the end Ayra, but merely the end of the beginning. Time is not your friend nor your enemy, but don't expect time to wait for you or the elves. I have seen it before, many a time, and I do believe we shall see it again. Don't speak now, but merely consider that at present, there are many things yet asleep in Alagaësia that you would do well to watch for, and old friends that you may realize were more important to you than you ever thought." Angela said.

"That hardly seems encouraging"

Angela shrugged. "I needed to say it. I'm always at the center of significant events, and sometimes I'm near to those near to the center of significant events, and you..." Angela stepped closer and wagged her finger. "Are both a significant event and close to the center of significant events. I'll be on the look out for you, now that Eragon is gone, but unlike him, there's something tragic about you, something dark. Fascinating really."

"I, dark?" Ayra gave a snort of derision "you are getting delusional. I am destined to be queen of the most stable, non-meddlesome, dull, and sedentary races in Alagaësia. I don't think I have even the choice to be dark, whatever that might mean...Angela?"

But Angela had vanished. Ayra and Firnen stared at the twin footprints where Angela had been standing a scarce moment before, bewildered. A moment later, they realized that she had wandered back into the cover of darkness, her swaying figure beginning to aready dwindle as she quickly walked away.

"We didn't detect her departure. How did she get here anyway.?"

Firnen craned his neck and began to get up, stretching his back in a feline fashion. "I suspect that she's been watching the procession of events for a while now. No, I don't think that Angela acted without careful premeditation. She's been following us ever since Hedarth I suspect."

Ayra turned to the last written page in the plain book that she had been given, noting the last lines.

In time, however, Eragon's heart slowed, and his tears dried, and a measure of peace stole over him as

he gazed out at the empty plain. He wondered what strange things they might encounter within its wild

reaches, and he pondered the life he and Saphira were to have—a life with the dragons and Riders.

We are not alone, little one, said Saphira.

A smile crept across his face.

And the ship sailed onward, gliding serenely down the moonlit river toward the dark lands beyond.

Written in the year 8001 AC.

"She's been watching very closely indeed." Ayra's eyes narrowed. "Let's not stay here any longer"

Angela watched Ayra and Firnen take flight, slowly beginning to fly back to the small camp that the Elves had established a few miles away near the river's edge. She too smiled and finished the walk back to the sleepy pony that was swaying under the weight of a saddle and several bags of her items a little less than a mile to the west. Solembum lifted his head and yawned, his sharp teeth showing.

"About time you decided to get back to being lazy again. I'm tired of adventure"

"Well rest easy lazy bones. But the sun never ceases to rise and night never fails to fall. Nothing ever stays the same for too long."

"Why did I ever decide that you were the best companion to be with for the rest of my life?"

Angela let out a hearty laugh and mounted the saddle. "You and I have a shared interest, that's why. We're spectators to the insanity of this world and the next. Hwatum il skilfz gerdumn! Let us be off!"