Triumphant Return

[Deleted]

Eragon hardly noticed the cold air that whipped through his hair as he and his bondmate soared above the clouds. He was dressed appropriately for flying, in thick clothes that insulated him against the chill. That, and, he was used to it. After more than sixteen years of flying with Saphira, how could he not be? The pair still flew together at every chance, when the duties of teaching or, now, war did not call them away. At that thought, he frowned, dark brows drawing together in an expression of distaste.

He and Saphira had fought so very hard against the Empire and Galbatorix, risked so much. And he hadn’t been alone. The others, the Riders and Varden and dwarves and elves and Urgals who had fought alongside him, had risked much as well. And, sometimes, they had lost. He felt a pang in his chest as he remembered the bloody battles that had led to the peace Alagasia had experienced for sixteen years. All the lives they had taken…

Do not follow that path, little one. It leads only to darkness.

Saphira’s voice pulled him from that train of thought before it could carry him too far. His lips quirked just slightly. Some things would never change.

I know. Thank you, my friend.

Saphira rumbled in response, beginning to coast on the wind, steadily losing altitude as she prepared to come in to New Doru Arabea. Eragon pushed his thoughts of the past away, instead choosing to focus on the present. He had been away for a short while, seeing for himself what the Shade army had done in Bromsland alone. They had not stopped at the border, that much was clear. He had left the school in the capable hands of his Elders, knowing that those like Lucian and Tismri would keep things going in his short absence. Reports from the battlefield were simply not the same as seeing things with ones’ own eyes, and he wanted to know what his Riders were facing. He had been gone a week or so at most. At least, he thought so. In all honesty, he was having difficulty keeping track of time. It seemed that not aging was taking its toll already. When he looked in the mirror, he saw a face that was no different than the one from sixteen years prior. Saphira laughed, a grinding sound emitting from within her.

You are far too young to be feeling old, Eragon. What shall you do when you are as old as the Ancients?

Eragon winced just slightly. The Ancients were all extremely pleasant and he enjoyed their company, but, he couldn’t even imagine being that old.

I’ll tell you when I get to be that old.

This seemed to amuse his bondmate further.

The pair broke through the clouds. Suddenly, her thoughts tinted with that hint of thrill that told Eragon she was about to do something acrobatic. He gripped the saddle horn before him tightly. Her spikes had become far too big to be proper handholds as she continued to grow. Without any further warning, the blue dragon tucked her wings and dove, corkscrewing in a freefall. Her thoughts were jubilant as they careened towards the ground. Grand Masters or not, she still felt entitled to have her fun. And Eragon would never be the one to stop her. Her joy was contagious, and he found himself grinning as she suddenly arched, pulling up and timing the snap of her wings so as not to dislocate them.

The dragons around New Doru Arabea trumpeted their greetings as the pair came in for a landing at one of the many platforms that dotted the Academy. Saphira dropped down in a clattering of talons and rustling of scales. After a moment, Eragon unhooked the fastenings that held his legs to the saddle and slipped down from her back, landing with a dull thump as his boots struck the stone. Briefly pausing to stroke a hand along the scales of Saphira’s neck, he then entered the Academy, knowing that it was likely that he had already been sensed and would soon be engaged by someone who had a matter to bring to his attention.

[Melantha]

occ: since no one else seems to be game enough to RP with Eragon and Saphira here's something that may be a little unexpected.

Dubhan eagerly ran though the halls of New Doru Arabea, his long black cloak with purple trim flowing behind him as he moved. In his arms he carried a wooden box inside several rectangular cards, a quill and Inkpot. As he jogged the hilt of his wooden practice sword knocked the side of the wooden box with a dull rhythmic thud as it dangled from his belt. Dubhan was determined to get to the training grounds as fast as he could to commence his mission knowing that the grounds would be filled with riders and dragons getting ready to do their morning stretches.

Hearing a trumpet of roars echo around the castle Dubhan skidded to a halt to look out the window. Having been around dragons all his life he was somewhat attune to the types of roars and noises dragons made and what they might mean. These roars he could easily tell that they were meant as a greeting for a new arrival.
Dubhan looked up in the sky just in time to see a blue streak spiral downward before shooting upwards then slowing as it approached. It was a humungous Sapphire blue dragon! Dubhan’s eyes widened, he had seen many dragons around New Doru Arabea but none with this particular hue of blue. It remained Dubhan of the Dragon from the Story his parents told of the fearsome Saphire dragon Saphira and her Rider Eragon and how they had defeated the Evil King Galbatorix.

The boy watched in awe as the Saphire dragon glided over and landed gracefully on the landing platform. Could it really be them? He thought to himself, what if he could meet them? Even better what if he could get Eragon himself to add to his collection?

Without thinking another thought he found his feet taking him to the location that he had seen the dragon land and before he knew it he was standing few feet away from the dragon and rider. Dubhan stood wide eyed and lost for words as to what to say to the Great Eragon and the Mighty Saphira.

[Deleted]

OOC- Alrighty, here we go!

Hearing another trumpeting call from overhead, Eragon paused and glanced up briefly to see a dazzling white dragon, one nearly as large as Saphira, fly by. He smiled, recognizing it as Blizzard, one of the dragons who had fought with them in the war against Galbatorix. Seeing such a familiar figure made him truly feel like he was home again. He was sure that the feeling would grow as he fell back into routine, one set by sixteen years of doing. Now, Doru Arabea had been his home as long as Carvahall had. The thought gave him pause. For sixteen years, he had been a Rider, Saphira's bondmate. He knew that there had been a time before, but, in all honesty, he couldn't remember it well. He had memories, yes, of Roran and Garrow. But, they seemed gray and distant. It wad odd what time could do to a person.

He watched with a pensive expression as Blizzard came in for a landing on one of the platforms down from them, his great white bulk settling with a groan. He was so caught up in his own mind that he barely picked up the sound of a new arrival.

Eragon, Saphira broke into his thoughts, You have a visitor.

He nearly winced. Of course he did. Not even five minutes back in New Doru Arabea and he was confronted by duty. He turned, expression neutral. He expected to find Lucian or Tismri there, smiling politely and in need of his ear. What he did not expect to find was the boy who was staring up at him. He was so caught off guard by this that, for a moment, he simply stared at the boy uncomprehendingly. That was not one of the elders. Or one of his students. In fact, he didn't think he was a student at all. Eragon could sense nothing about him that hinted at a link to a dragon. The wooden sword at the boy's side didn't seem to be made for training. Not to mention, he was very young. Younger than Eragon remembered any of their students being. There was also that wide-eyed expression on the child's face that told him that they were meeting for the first time.

In sixteen years of being a celebrity, Eragon had gotten used to all sorts of reactions from people. Women had thrown marriage proposals at him, nobles had tried to be coy and use him as an advantage, enemies had fled in terror, allies had met him with eagerness, and students had stared at him with the same expression this boy was wearing. It got...tiring to be honest, being a hero. It had stopped being fun only shortly after he'd joined the Varden. But, there was something in the innocence of this particular look of wide-eyed wonder that kept the usual feeling of weariness from rising up inside him.

He smiled, a kind expression that fit easily on his oddly elfin face. His brown eyes softened.

"Well met, young one," he said in greeting.

[Melantha]

Dubhan grinned back excitedly as the rider acknowledged his presents his nerves easing at the sight of Eragon's light expression.

“Hello Elda Eragon, Hello Elda Saphira, My name is Dubhan and I’m eight and a half!” he blurted out eagerly, hardly stopping to take a breath between sentences.

Taking a quick moment to catch his breath he turned his head side to side to make sure that they were alone. When he was satisfied that they were the only three on the landing platform Dubhan took a step forward placing an index finger against his lips before continuing in a whisper. “I’m on an important mission you see.”

In-between words he shifted his arms and shoulders awkwardly as carrying the weight of the wooden box had over time started to make his arms hurt. “I’m making dragon cards.“ He said a little louder almost forgetting to whisper in his excitement. “Do you want to see the ones I have so far?” he asked eagerly hoping that the answer would be yes.

[Deleted]

This, Eragon decided, was most definitely new. Never before had he been so enthusiastically approached by a child so young. The boy offered up information so quickly that the Rider's brain had to take a moment to put it away. Dubhan. The name was vaguely familiar to him, though, he was not sure why. The boy's age gave him some clues. A child of one of the Riders at the Academy, perhaps?

His train of thought was derailed when Dubhan continued on from his introduction. Eragon turned his attention to the boy, listening with a mixture of surprise, amusement, and confusion. He leaned forward just slightly as the boy eagerly told him of his 'mission'. It was endearing, his excitement over what seemed to be a self-appointed task. Briefly, the Rider wondered if he had ever been that way. He tried to imagine it, being a child growing up in a world where dragons and Riders were seen every day, rather than remaining legends in a murky and forbidden past. Even when he was Dubhan's age, he had been intrigued by Brom's storytelling. He wished, as he had many times before, that he had taken the time to know his father sooner.

Dubhan's question pulled him from that darker path. He let his eyes drop to the box in the boy's hands. He had no idea what 'dragon cards' were, but, he was certainly interested in finding out. He gave a nod, still smiling a bit quizzically.

"I am most interested in seeing them," he crouched down, "Saphira is too," he glanced at his dragon, smile widening.

The sapphire dragon gave a puff of smoke from her nostrils. She didn't quite understand what the importance of these 'cards' were, but, they had the hatchling excited, and she decided it would be best to humor him. In a show of interest, she swung her head closer, blinking one huge blue eye with a 'snick'.

[Melantha]

His smile faded slightly as the butterflies fluttering around in is stomach began to pick up their pace. While He had the high hopes that the great Eragon would agree to see his project he had almost expected some one as important and busy as the head of the Academy to say no.

When Saphira expressed her interest in his dragon cards Dubhan’s butterflys truly began to race each other around inside his stomach but out the same time he was ecstatic, as most dragons didn’t pay him much attention save for Andromeda and Abaddon who he had been around all his life.

He bowed his head in thanks to the both of them remembering his parent advice to always be careful and respectful around Dragon and their Riders especially ones that he didn't know.

Dubhan crouched down placing the wooden box he was carrying on the stone floor. He removed the lid and carefully pulled out the first two cards out so as not to bend them.

The first card he showed to Eragon and Saphira had a Fairth of a large bulky purple dragon roaring into the sky on one side. On the other side written in a fancy script read ‘Abbadon.’
“This is Abbadon” Dubhan said as he handed the card to Eragon as he continued to describe all of Abbadon’s good attributes.
“He has really big muscles so he is really strong! He is really good at fighting and breaking stuff!”


“This is Andromeda!” he said as he showed the second card with a Fairth of a slender black dragon with curved dark horns protruding from her head and from her cheeks. “She’s small and thin but she can move really fast in the air and because her scales are black at night she is k…. kamy -flag -ed…? “ Dubhan stumbled over the word he for got how to say ”she is just really hard to see when its dark!” he said finishing his description.