Unpleasant news.

[Trinn]

Her gauntleted hands clenched into fists, while the riders face turned into a fierce display of anger. So, the varden had another rider. "Give me all the details of this new rider. Spare the pleasentries." Vana's voice traveled to the man before her, one of the new dragon slayers the king had been training. Seated on a tall chair in one of the castle's large halls, her dragon, Viel, lay curled around the seat, a large, garnett eye trained on the soldier. Periodically, tendrills of thin smoke trailed from the large dragons nostrils. Although a dragon slayer, it was clear the man giving the report was terrified of Viel. In a weak voice, the man began his description.

"As you wish, rider Vana. The varden's new rider is a woman. Her dragon is already quite large, a fair size bigger than mighty Viel." Viel blinked at the man. His compliment meant nothing to her. "This dragon's scales are a stormy gray. He slayed many of our troops in the haddarac." Vana held up a hand to stop the man.
"You said he? The dragon is male, then?" She watched the man shrug.
"It is uncertain what gender the dragon is. Forgive me for the misslead. However, to me, he did appear male. Not that there is any real way of telling." Vana sighed.
"Thank you for the report. I assume the king will be eager to learn of the news. Go ahead and report it to him yourself." She watched the man's face pale. "Don't worry. This is an important enough message for you to relay to him yourself. Now get moving." Bowing low, the Dragon slayer took his leave.

"Well, Viel. What do you think of this... unpleasant news?" The garnett red dragon uncoiled herself from around the chair and got to her feet. From there she stretched as a cat, yawning and revealing her dangerously sharp teeth. I think this dragon should be easy to exterminate. Vana nodded. "You could be right. But I wonder... What if the varden are hiding more riders? We have twentyone eggs here. What if, somehow, twenty were given to the varden?" Viel snarled.
Then we would have quite a problem. Closing her eyes, Vana rubbed her forehead. "I suppose we should go and scout. Who knows, maybe this rider is going to take another trip into the empire."

A few minutes later, Vana was perched onto Viel's back, her red cape fluttering behind her. Viel flew in slow circles above the haddarac dessert. The sun hit the dragons sparkling scales, sending out dark red chips of color in all directions. Nothing, Vana muttered. Yet the day is still early. We will wait until dusk before heading back.

[thefirsteragon]

A snore came from the young rider's nose as his great dragon Góùréd beat his wings in harmony. The rider was Equinox, and he was asleep upon his dragon. They were traveling near the Empire to scout out for any new trouble.

'Asleep already. That's basically all he does is sleep.' Góùréd thought to himself as he peered behind his wings to see his Rider asleep. He then felt a strong mind behind many barriers, so he quickly woke up his Rider with a strong jolt from his mind.

"What Góùréd? What is it?" Equinox asked as he pushed a strand of sleep tousled hair from his face.

'I feel a presence as I have not felt before. It seems familiar, but evil sort of. The giant golden dragon slowly his speed, as to quiet his movements.

"You mean another Rider?" Equinox was suddenly awake, his hand wrapped tightly around Du'turr's wire-wrapped hilt.

[Trinn]

Viel's slow, easy circles suddenly halted, and for a moment the dragon hovered in the air, head erect. Vana sat up straighter. What? Viel twisted her neck around to stare with one large eye at Vana. Her scaly lips curled back in a snarl.
Another presence. Another rider. Vana's eyebrows drew down in a glower. "Follow that presence. This must be one dull rider, to go back out to the range of the Empire." She should have learned the first time out that this was no place for enemies of the empire. Breaking out of her silent hover, Viel twisted left, heading towards the Surda border.

There! Vana exclaimed moments later as a golden gleam became apparent in the sky. Vana felt an intense emotion surge through her, one of rage. So, there was not only the grey dragon to consider, but this one as well. Do you see it, Viel? Nothing in the sky can gleam like that except a dragon. Viel released a low snarl.
Shall I kill it? Or should we try to take this one back to King Galbatorix. Vana mused for a moment.
Capture them. I hate unneccesary slaughter. Besides, maybe this one seeks to join Galbatorix. After all, the soldier only reported a grey dragon. As Viel flew faster towards their opponents, Vana cast out her mind. Her psychic searching came up suddenly against a strong barrier. So, this rider new how to protect his mind, and the dragon as well. We must be careful, Viel. They are well trained. A silent consent flowed between the link they shared, and soon Viel drew close enough to the other dragon so that the rider could be seen upon its back. At that point, Viel began a slow circling around the golden dragon, bringing herself closer and closer to it with each lap.

[thefirsteragon]

A smile twitched at the corner of the elf rider's lips as he sensed the Rider and Dragon come closer. 'I believe that they've fallen into our trap Góùréd. How about we show them how a true Rider and his Dragon fight? Prepare for battle O Great One. But act like that we haven't noticed them until they're close enough to strike.' He gripped his sword tighter and patted Góùréd's back with his free hand.

'As you wish Rider. I will hold off until I can not any more.' Góùréd flew slower in the opposite direction the Rider was coming from, his back to the other dragon. Equinox cleared his mind of everything as his Ebilthril had taught him, and leaned foward to create a lower center of gravity.

[Trinn]

When Viel drew within shouting distance of the golden rider, Vana asked the dragon to halt. Cupping her wings, Viel slowly stopped and began hovering. Vana raised her voice and spoke out clearly. "Hail, rider! I, Vana, rider of King Galbatorix, command you to halt. As an unknown rider, you must report to the king and swear your allegiance. Your name. Please." Vana watched with narrowed eyes carefully the golden dragon and the man upon his back, waiting for any sign that they would take to the offense. One of her hands rested lightly on the hilt of her sword, while the other held onto one of Viels neck spikes. A soft thrum filled the air, the sound of air hitting Viel's vibrating wings.

Viel observed the other dragon curiously. It was large, yet Viel was just as big as he was. She curled her lips over her teeth, mocking a smile. Besides Thorn and Shruikan, who were both odd dragons, to say the least, this was Viel's first glimpse of another dragon who was not commanded by twisted magic. Of course, she did not blame Galbatorix's use of the black magic. He was only doing what was neccessary. She released a low growl to the other dragon. It was a greeting of respect, as dragon to dragon. For, although Viel was proud, she knew when to stow the emotion and be humble. And this golden beast, if an enemy, would be one hard to bring down.

[thefirsteragon]

"Rider of King Galbatorix you say? Góùréd what do you think of that? I don't like that one bit." The elf's eyes glinted as his mouth formed a grim smile. "Tell me O Rider. Is your dragon twisted through black magic, such as your Master's, your Ebithril's, and your fellow Rider Murtagh?" He asked mockingly his eyes locked onto hers.

'Traitor! I can hardly bear my eyes on you! Oath breaker.'Góùréd snarled his lips curving over his teeth. He suddenly roared the sound echoing tens of seconds after he was done.

'Calm Góùréd. Anger leads to disruption, and we don't want that, especially this close to a battle.' He calmly blinked, his eyes still locked onto the female Rider's. "Forgive my dragon. You asked of my name. I am Equinox, of the house of Thandil and this is my Soul Partner, Góùréd." He gave a slight movement that resembled something of a bow.

"May I inquire of yours O Fair Maiden?" His lips twitched a bit as he watched for any sign of offensive movement from Rider or Dragon.

[Trinn]

Vana's narrowed eyes narrowed further. She did not like the way he spoke of Viel. As for Viel, all respect the garnett dragon once held for the gold quickly diminished. Calling me an oath breaker! At Góùréd's roar, Veil reared her head back and released a nerve twisting one of her own. Vana smiled. "No, Viel is not twisted by any magic. Her heart is pure, and her mind is clear. As for your dragon..." she raised her eyebrows as she looked over the dragon with her eyes, "well, let's just say he needs to learn some control." Vana frowned as Equinox bowed to her. The motion was clearly not sincere. "My name is of no concern to you, you who are now obviously part of that renegade group, the varden." She sneered at the last word. Viel, we have work to do.

Excellent. replied Viel, eager to begin the fight. There was a moment of tense silent as both pairs of dragon riders hovered in silence, waiting for the other to make a move. The wind seemed to cease its flow, the clouds hardly shifted in the sky, and the heat of the sun seemed eternal. Then, with a motion so quick it was hard to follow, Viel's head shot forward, and from between her jaws a blistering inferno raged forth, crakling towards Equinox and Góùréd.

[thefirsteragon]

Equinox's forehead creased into tiny wrinkles as he frowned. "I apologize for my dragon's and my reactions to you." Góùréd still snarled his body tensed, ready to strike. He seemed taken back at the female dragon's roar, but quickly put himself together litte bursts of smoke trailing out from his nostrils.

"But I still want your name! I gave you mine, so you should the same." Equinox looked her in the eye his eyes scanning her face for any emotion. He jerked back in his saddle as the flames from her dragons maw came speeding towards them. "Skolir nosu fra brisingr!" He yelled one hand on Góùréd's spikes, and the other on the hilt of his sword. After uttering the spell he calmed himself down, then whispered "Letta du brisingr. Stop the fire." He then watched as he hoped his spell would work on the enormous dragon.

[Trinn]

Vana scowled as Viels fire forked off and sped past the dragon, harmless. "Not fast enough," she muttered. Allright, Viel, time for a more direct attack! With a quick, strong thought, Jierda!, Vana sent out a jet of dark red light from her gedwey ignasia. It shot forwards, towards Góùréd's wing. Right after the first jet of magic came another of the same spell. Let him try to dodge those! Viel's muscles tensed. If the spells hit, both of Góùréd's wings would break, and it would be up to Viel to catch the dragon in his freefall to earth. That would be quite the task, as the dragon probably weighed more than Viel herself did. Not to mention the added weight of the rider. Still, she watched eagerly and hoped the magic would hit its target. Don't worry, Viel. I have faith you can carry them safely down to earth.. Viel twitched her tail.

Yes, I would be able to float them down. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. First your spells must hit! Admonished, Vana cleared her head of what might happen, and conentrated on the moment at hand.

[thefirsteragon]

His eyes widened at the sight of the strange magic, but he quickly regained himself and muttered a counterspell. His gedwey ignasia flared up briefly as the spell rushed out to meet the other. He watched sadly as Vana's spell overpowered his own and broke both of Góùréd's wings, and they fell from the sky like a stone. 'Góùréd! I stop you but I don't know if I have the strength to do it for long!' Equinox's teeth clenched as held close to his dragon waiting for the right moment.

Do not kill them little one. They were not aiming for a fatal wound, any of the times. Show mercy, that's what a Rider does. Góùréd turned around and peered at Equinox with a great golden eye. Equinox smiled at him, then his face turned grave, from a look at the rapidly approaching ground. As they were about one hundred feet from it, he yelled out, "Letta!" The dragon stopped, suspended in midair from the magic. Equinox's face grew hard, and sweat poured down from his brow, as the spell's actions took it's toll on the elf. He continued the spell for more than a minute, the released it, on the brink of death. 'Góùréd, I'm sorry. I swear to you in the Ancient Language and in this one, I'll repair your wings. Equinox said in his mind softly. 'No need, one hundred feet is a mere jump for me. Equinox smiled grimly, then undid his straps to Góùréd's saddle and jumped off his back. "You are good with magic, and skilled in the way of fighting. How about swordfighting? You've never told me your name, by the way." The elf strode to where Góùréd's head was and unsheathed his sword, Du'turr. "You crippled my dragon's wings. I suppose I have to do something of the same to you." He pointed his sword to them and waited to see what the female Rider, and female dragon hovering in the air would do.

[Trinn]

Viel bugled in triumph as Vana's magic struck Góùréd's wings. Vana allowed herself a small smile, but she was too focused on the plummeting gold dragon. After them Viel! Snapping her wings shut, the garnett dragon entered into a steep dive. Her scaly eyebrows were drawn down in a frown. Góùréd was falling much faster than either Vana or Viel had expected. The gold dragon drew closer, and Viel unfurled her wings a bit, slowing the dive. Her talons reached out, ready to grab Góùréd. However, the gold dragon's falling mass suddenly stopped in midair. Viel quickly barrel rolled to the left of the dragon, to avoid colliding with it.

Vana was amazed that the rider risked such magical energy as to stop his dragons fall. Her eyes flicked to the back of Viels head. I would do the same, she thought without doubt. Fortunately, by that time Góùréd wasn't too far from the earth, so Viel's assitance was never needed. She watched the gold dragon land. Allright, Viel, Equinox clearly want's a fight. I suppose I shall humor him. Viel circled quickly down to earth, landing lightly on her feet in the hot sand of the haddarac. Vana quickly undid the leg straps of her saddle and slipped down to earth. From the corner of her eye, she watched Viel raise her wings high. Viel, it isn't nice to brag. That dragon is probably in a lot of pain. Viel gave a draconic shrug.

He deserved it. Vana turned her attention to Equinox. "Rider Equinox, I do not wish to fight you. Please, surrender now." A sudden gust of wind blew across the dune the riders were standing upon. Vana's hair blew annoyingly about her face. Her eyes widened as she caught a glance of Equinox's ear. An elf! I should have known. No human man has silver hair! Or such defined features. Although Vana was quite exceptional in the art of swordsmanship, her quickness and strength were not yet that of an elfs. The changes of the bond between dragon and rider worked slowly. Viel had noticed as well, as the dragon was staring darkly at the elf.

Vana, I can take the elf down now! Do not fight him. Vana kept her face smooth, free of emotions. It would be terrible if her opponent knew her doubt.

No, lets see if he surrenders. If he doesn't... I will fight. If I need your assitance, I will let you know. Viel bowed her head, acknowledging her riders command.

[thefirsteragon]

"You wish for me to surrender? After you crippled my dragon's wings like you would for an ordinary robin or cardinal?" The young elf's face slipped, and rage showed through it. 'Be careful Equinox, you're not at your full strength, and don't underestimate her.' Góùréd kept his eyes on Viel's as his wings hung limply from his sides. He looked the dragon over for the first time, and noted that she was the same size as him.

"Góùréd, I'll need your energy to fix your wings." The elf walked around to Góùréd's other side and placed a hand on one of his broken wings. "Waise heill." He whispered it softly watching his gedwey ignasia brighten. The broken membranes of Góùréd's wings started to fix themself, and after a minute they were put back together. Góùréd flapped them a couple of times, wincing while he did it. 'Little one, they are healed, but I cannot fly on these yet. We need time. Equinox stood next to Góùréd his right hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword. "That's one thing we don't have Góùréd. But I will not pressure you into flying." He then stared at Vana and Viel, thinking of an alternate solution. He found none. 'Góùréd, I am going to fight. You stay back, so you don't get hurt. The elf walked to a clearing between the dunes and stared up at Viel, trying to ignore the vicious dragon's snarl. He mustered up his courage, then let loose a war yell of his own, similar to Góùréd's and Viel's, but not nearly as loud.

"I never surrender. I am asking you this time. Are you going to surrender, or do you want to face the wrath of an Elf Rider of Alagaesia?" His face a blank mask as he stared into the eyes of Vana.

[Trinn]

Pompous idiot, Vana snarled the thought. She watched with crossed arms as the elf mended his dragons wing. I could have stopped him, but even healed, that dragon won't be in the air any time soon. Watching Equinox and his dragon confer to each other, Vana took the time to strengthen the barriers in her mind. She pictured one of Viel's talons, hard, sharp, indestructible. It was a comforting picture of defense. Her eyes snapped onto Equinox as he walked down the dune's side. Once he was postioned in the center of two dunes, he faced her.

Vana was taken aback by his war cry. She hadn't expected such a thing from him. It left a foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach. He's been weakend by the use of such magic as he as performed. I think we will be more even matched because of such. Don't worry Veil, I think this will go well. Viel released a low snarl. It rippled from her throat menacingly. Vana nodded, then drew her own sword, Andlat, and walked down the dune.

Standing before Equinox, she held her sword aloft, taking a fighting stance. "I broke your dragon's wings as an example of what happens when you don't cooperate. Now, I'm going to have to break something else. And, I never surrender." Falling silent, she began a slow circle around Equinox, waiting for an opening to attack.

Atop the dune, Viel stood across from Góùréd, her dark eyes locked onto his golden mass. Her mind was closed, as she suspected his was too. As such, speech was impossible. Still, there were other ways to communicate. Veil growled and snapped her teeth together, her way of showing her distaste for him.

[thefirsteragon]

He blinked suddenly, then let loose a pearl of clear laughter. "You will break no more Shur'tugal. You will never harm my dragon again. I swear that. Vel einradhin iet ai Shur'tugal. Upon my word as a Rider." He closed the distance between them, but they were both still out of striking range. He studied the terrain for any advantages, but he found none that he could use in combat. Góùréd watched Viel calmly, little jets of flame shooting out of his nostrils at odd intervals. 'Be careful youngling. She is skilled in the way of swordplay. And you are weakened. Do not get overconfident, for I fear that you both are an equal match. The golden dragon folded his wings to his side laying on the sand dune.

"I suppose that you realized my dragon can't fly even though I healed his wings? That gives you truly an unfair advantage." He glanced at the ground beneath his feet, then looked into her face, searching for any emotion. His eyebrow's crossed into a dark V shape when he found none.

"Swear in the Ancient Language that your dragon will not seek to change the playing grounds in this battle. Not unless nesscesary. For we would surely perish, if she were to." He looked at the dragon, noting her look of distaste, and noting that the dragon did not control her emotions, such as her Rider did.

[Trinn]

He laughs!? He is that confident, eh? We shall see at the end of this battle. Vana watched Equinox carefully as he moved closer, yet still out of range. Was he testing her? Vana remained emotinless. She was taught that to show any emotion in a battle was to give your enemy the advantage. Vana wanted to smile as she watched the elf's eyebrows draw together. No, he would find nothing in her face. She listened to his request, the nodded.

"As you wish. Viel will not come to my aid unless it is clear I am outmatched. If such happens, she will merely take me away from here." She held her right hand out, showing him her gedwey ignasia. It glowed as she spoke the words, "Vel einradhin iet ai shur'tugal." Finished binding her oath, she let her hand drop. "Now, lets get to the point." Closing the last space of distance between them, Vana thrust Andlat low, towards Equinox's thigh.