For Alagaesia: 22. The ultimate wisdom

Deprived of all strength and hurting all over Eragon lay unable to do anything else in the 'chamber' with only his mind guarding him. But now he was afraid; afraid that even his mind would let him down. Not because he didn't trust his own mental strength but because of the person standing at the entrance of the chamber. 'No. No. No. Not now. Not at this time. Please not now....'

A booming laughter filled the room; maniacal. Galbatorix was savouring his victory. "I see that you remember her, you insolent fool."

'Don't listen to him. Concentrate. You still have chance', Eragon admonished himself. 'But no. How can you? Its impossible. He can make you do anything now', a part of him replied.

"Elva. Dear. Come here.", Galbatorix's voice held the tone of a caring father. Eragon had eyes only for the little girl walking towards the usurper. She twitched slightly looking at his state. But then turned with a determined look on her face towards Galbatorix.

'It is all my own fault. I sowed and now I shall reap', Eragon said to himself. A second later, 'No. How can I give up. What will Saphira do? What will Arya think of me? What will happen to Roran? Nasuada? Orik?' Tears filled his eyes.

"I made him cry. I made him cry", Galbatorix sung. "Tell me, Elva, dear. What does Eragon fear now?", Galbatorix reverted to the fatherly tone.

"He fears for his friends. For what will happen to them if he isn't there"

"Ah..!! What virtuousness? Fearing for friends when you should fear for you.", Galbatorix said in between maniacal laughter.

'Do something, Eragon. Do something to stop this. You shouldn't be broken.', Eragon spoke to himself.

"So Eragon. Are you ready? Here we go.", Galbatorix spoke as though they were playing some game. "Bring the branding rod", he ordered. A soldier ran around and picked a wooden handled iron rod from the torture-table and handed it over to Galbatorix. In his frenzy though the soldier left the rod before Galbatorix held it firmly and the rod fell on the ground with a loud thud. "Spineless idiot", shouted Galbatorix and raised his hand towards the soldier and said, "Jierda" The soldier cried in pain as his bones broke. "Now you will be fit for doing what you did.", Galbatorix said looking at the eye of the fallen soldiers. Eragon felt bad for the soldier who did no mistake except to be a little afraid at Galbatorix. Who wouldn't be?

"verma", said Galbatorix. The rod shimmered red as it got heated. Galbatorix brought the red-hot rod in front of Eragon's eyes. Then he asked to Elva, "Tell me what does he worry about now?"

"He worries for the soldier you just hurt", Elva said. She sounded a little concerned. There were little gasps of surprise from the soldiers in the room. Even Galbatorix stood as though struck for a second.

The next second though, Galbatorix placed his leg on Eragon's abdomen making him immobile and left the rod on Eragon's chest. The rod burned into his skin. Eragon controlled his hands from pushing the rod away from his body because he knew that was what Galbatorix was waiting for. He gritted his teeth and laid still.

'Never give in, Eragon. Figure out how to stop Elva from knowing your fears', he spoke to himself ignoring the pain. Galbatorix waited without doing anything except increasing the pressure on Eragon's abdomen for sometime. When he saw that Eragon didn't try to throw the rod away, he pulled the rod from Eragon's chest in a swift motion. The rod tore a small chunk of flesh from Eragon's body. He gasped involuntarily because of the sudden pain. "Now what does he worry about?", Galbatorix asked Elva forgoing his fatherly tone for a harsh one.

"He worries about how to stop me from reading his fears", Elva said. Her voice indicated clearly that she was awed by Eragon's mental stamina.

"Stop you? Mmm... stop you. Nothing about the pain I caused him?", Galbatorix asked in a low threatening voice.

"Nothing, my king. Nothing except a second when you tore the rod from his chest", Elva said.

"Look at this, people. Eragon here doesn't worry about the pain he feels.", Galbatorix said as though making an announcement. "Now, Elva. Do me a favour. Will you?", Galbatorix's voice held an edge to it which meant he was frustrated with Elva.

"Yes, my King. I will.", said Elva. Her tone showed that she had realised that something bad was to happen to her. "You have to tell me what he fears when I attack him mentally.", Galbatorix said. Elva nodded her head in acceptance.

Eragon became extremely worried. 'With Elva helping him, it will be too difficult for me to resist him. What shall I do?', he panicked. Galbatorix's mental dagger came at him and instinctively he put up barriers around his mind. 'You just have to drain your mind of all worries and fears', something in him said to him. Even as his mind searched for something that would drain his mind of all worries, he felt something pulling him to it. It was a sensation he had gone through quite recently. The different kind of abyss that he encountered just before Murtagh came to his cell was trying to come over him again. He tried to resist it, but he couldn't. And he was pulled into it.

An elf stood on a densely forest covered hill. The climate was pleasant. But his face exuded shock and sadness. He turned towards a person standing a few feet away. A human woman. She had a beauty that could only be matched by the most gracious of the elves. Her expression mirrored the elf's. Both of them looked at each other for a long time. Tears gathered on their eyes and slowly started flowing down their cheeks. Then as if on cue both of them nodded their heads at each other at the same time and turned to face a huge multicoloured dragon and said as if they had practised to talk it together, "If it will help this land, then so be it"

Galbatorix's loud cursing reverberated through the room. "What did he do? I couldn't feel his mind.", he shouted towards Elva. "I know not, my king. I too couldn't feel anything", she said trembling from foot to head. "You lie", Galbatorix almost ran to Elva and slapped her hard making her fall over. "I will try again. Tell me this time or I shall rip it out of you", Galbatorix said coldly to her.

Something in the last vision gave Eragon hope. Hope? Yes, it was hope. He was feeling hopeful for the first time since his capture. 'Just do what you have done these many days, Eragon. You will be fine.', a voice in his mind encouraged him. And he felt strangely clear in his choice. 'Something is happening to me', he thought.

Galbatorix's mental dagger came again. Eragon put up a barrier made of the last vision he had of Saphira and Arya. The last 'abyss' vision where he was at a strangely beautiful castle awaiting Saphira and Arya to join him. He allowed the happiness he felt at the sight of both of them fill his mind. With a broad smile on his face, Eragon waited for both of them. Saphira closed her wings when she neared the balcony and with a grace rivalled only by the arriving Arya she landed near Eragon. Eragon fondly scratched the underside of her jaw when she extended her neck towards him. At that moment, Arya reached the balcony and Eragon turned to greet her. Saphira blew hot air above them bringing a warm feeling to the surroundings. Eragon stood on the balcony with Saphira and Arya and watched the sunset. A huge weight left his back and something called him away from the sight he was sharing with Saphira and Arya. Although he wished only to stay, a little part of his mind tugged hard asking him to leave. Irritated he left.

"What did he fear, Elva?", Eragon heard Galbatorix's voice. Eragon was confused for a moment before he realised the truth. It was his mind's imagination: watching the sunset with Arya and Saphira by his side. It formed the barrier against Galbatorix's attack. But he wasn't sure if it stopped Elva from reading his mind.

"I felt just his irritation a moment ago, my king. There was nothing that I could read before that. His mind must have been full of happiness then.", Elva said in a very afraid way. Eragon found something strange about the 'abyss'. It was like it had a purpose all along. The continuation of the 'abyss' scene-Saphira and Arya's arrival at the castle where he was waiting for them-was what drained him of all worries and fears. It was his deepest wish. It would never have had any worry or fear in it.

Galbatorix was seething with uncontrollable anger. He glared at Elva. "You useless wench. Tell me the truth. What was he worried about when I tried to break his mind?", he screamed at the top of his voice. Eragon felt pity for Elva. 'Oh. That little girl. She is too small for this abuse. Why did she choose to help this monster?'

"Atleast tell me what he is worried now or I shall have to rip your mind for information.", Galbatorix ordered Elva. 'Poor girl. How can she stand all this? It is my fault that she became like this. How will I ever wash myself of this taint?', Eragon thought. Elva twitched and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"He is worried about me, Galbatorix. He feels bad for having made me endure all this by blessing me", she said a strange boldness colouring her voice.

"You useless little rat. How dare you lie to me. He is worried about you, is he? You are a traitor. You betrayed him and he worries for you. Whom are you trying to cheat?", Galbatorix yelled and thrust his mind into Elva's.

Elva fell on the ground writhing and after a few seconds she became as still as a log. Eragon looked on with rising distaste for Galbatorix. 'How could a man be like this? He is a monster; an abomination that must be removed from this land whatever the cost.', he resolved to himself. At that moment, a strange mind reached out to him with a force equal to that of falling mountains. It took him some time to realise that it was Galbatorix trying to enter his mind. But it wasn't like the other times. It was too different and too frightening. It was like Galbatorix could know his deepest fears even without breaking his mental barriers. Eragon panicked. 'Something is wrong. It is like..like he is Elva except that he is much stronger. Yes!! That is it. He is using Elva's mind. He has taken over the girl.' Eragon was instantly afraid. 'No. What has he conjured? I should block him', he thought.

'Oh!! That wolf's eyes. It is too frightening.' He shuddered. Eragon realised that it was one of his own memories. The memory of the time when he was attacked by wolves during his very first foray into the spine. That was all the time Eragon had before a new vision filled his mind. A small boy was standing by a bed and crying, "Maa... maa....Wake up maa....Maa" Tears filled his eyes. 'No. I shouldn't allow these to be seen by Galbatorix. He could use them against me.', he said to himself, 'Who shall help me? I need to stop this. I need to stop Galbatorix. Maybe that elf and woman....' As soon as he thought of the strange elf and woman, he felt different. 'Dear child, I shall protect you.', the multicoloured dragon said to him and he was driven deep into his mind deeper than ever before and he became unaware of his surroundings.

"Eragon, whatever happens never leave the way of truth and virtue", Garrow said. "Yes, uncle. I will never", Eragon replied in a heartfelt way.

"Where are you going Eragon?", Marian asked. "To help father in the fields", Eragon said.

"You are young son. You can't help him now.", his mother said kindly.

"Why? Roran is helping. Why can't I?"

"Because, dear son, Roran is eight and you are just six"

"You let him pay for it? I told you before, I won’t beg for our food. If we can’t feed ourselves, we might as well move into town. Before you can turn around twice, they’ll be sending us used clothes and asking if we’ll be able to get through the winter." Garrow’s face paled with anger.

"I didn’t accept charity," snapped Eragon. "Horst agreed to let me work off the debt this spring."

Eragon patted Saphira's flanks and asked "Are we one again?"

'We are one', Saphira said to him.

Eragon gestured at the rabbits. 'As Oromis said, why should we cause unnecessary suffering?'

'Would you deny all of your desires, then?', Saphira asked.

'I would deny those that are destructive.', Eragon replied.

"How is it," asked Arya, "you could kill that man, but you could not bring yourself to lay a finger on Sloan?" She stood and faced him, her gaze frank.

Devoid of emotion, Eragon shrugged. "He was a threat. Sloan wasn’t. Isn’t it obvious?"

"The knowledge you ask for is more complex than you understand.", Brom said his countenance kind.

Eragon rose hotly in protest. "I feel as though I’ve been thrust into a world with strange rules that no one will explain."

"But uncle, the boys say that the shortcuts are the easiest way to win the race", Eragon said.

"Remember this, Eragon. Shortcuts may give you victories. But they don't give you peace.", Garrow said. Eragon nodded taking in the advise to heart.

Eragon said, "I know why fighting Galbatorix is worth it, though thousands of people may die."

"Oh?" Oromis seated himself. "Do tell me."

"Because Galbatorix has already caused more suffering over the past hundred years than we ever could in a single generation. And unlike a normal tyrant, we cannot wait for him to die. He could rule for centuries or millennia—persecuting and tormenting people the entire time—unless we stop him. If he became strong enough, he would march on the dwarves and you here in Du Weldenvarden and kill or enslave both races. And because rescuing the two eggs from Galbatorix is the only way to save the dragons."

The creases around Oromis's eyes softened. "Now," he said, "you understand."

"I understand, but I take no pleasure in it.", Eragon said in a faraway voice.

Saphira withdrew from his mind with a gentle touch and a whisper. 'I love you, little one.'

'And I you', he said. She curled into a ball next to him, lending him her warmth.

"Wyrda is strong, Eragon. It does many things to our lives. If you feel, you are responsible for Elva then so is Vrael for the fall of the riders.", Arya said. Eragon looked at Arya with respect and thankfulness for the trust she had in him and silently vowed to himself that he would do everything possible to live upto her trust and expectations.

His visions continued non-stop. Roran, Murtagh, Orik and everybody with whom he shared a defining moment in his life came and went in his vision. Strangely all those conversations and moments filled his mind at the same time giving him a clarity about himself that he hadn't known before. It was a feeling he had never ever come across in his life before. His whole life was running before him making him a silent spectator.

Then as if a lightning had struck him, something awoke in him. Some strange sense of clarity about his life's purpose. He knew what he had to do. He knew why he was born. He knew who he was. And he was happy to be him. A strange joy coursed through him; much like when Saphira and he were one-minded; much like when he sees Arya, the sun's rays illuminating her. But it was different from both those feelings in a way he couldn't explain. This joy was not because of another person-Saphira or Arya-it was because of him. Because of who he was.

'Dear child. With that little girl's mind assisting him, he is too strong. Even I can't stop him for long. You have to wake now. I trust you to hold him.', the multicoloured dragon said to him from just outside the borders of his innermost self where he was hiding and where he had experienced his life and found who he was. Eragon nodded at the dragon. The dragon started fading, 'When will I see you again?', he asked the dragon.

'When the time is right, my child. You will see me again', the dragon said and slowly faded away.

Galbatorix's foul mind came in contact with Eragon's almost instantly when the multicoloured dragon left. Eragon barely had time to raise his barriers. He looked around to see the soldiers looking on with open awe at him. A sharp pain reached his head from his chest. Eragon winced and looked down to see his chest covered with layers of dried and fresh blood; blood that he didn't remember having before he was pushed into himself by the mysterious dragon.

In anguish, Eragon raised his eyes to the heavens, tears streaming down his cheeks. Everything had failed. The Varden and dwarves were destroyed. He was defeated. Saphira would give herself up for his sake—she had done it before—and Arya would be recaptured or killed. Why had it ended like this? What justice could this be? All was for nothing. - This fear; He knew what it was. And he knew Galbatorix was seeing it.

It happened when Durza had cut his back open. Back then, he had found some hidden reserve of energy from somewhere in him and had killed Durza. Why can't he now? There must be something. "That is all I can give you… Use them only in great need.", Brom's last words to him reverberated through his head and he knew Galbatorix couldn't read it. He knew Galbatorix could be stopped with those words.

Brom's instructions were clear. "When you know who you are you can use this spell to hide everything about you from all. You can become undetectable. But it is costly. It saps at your strength alarmingly. Be careful in using it..... That is all I can give you, my son... Use them only in great need." Brom's words including those he had said silently to himself, repeated themselves in Eragon's mind.

When Eragon tried to delve into his mind to break the magical barrier, he found that it was impossible to do. The drugs. 'You have to Eragon. Break the drug's influence on your mind. Let it kill you. Nothing is bad than being Galbatorix's slave. Not even death without any of your loved ones near you.', he said to himself in a determined tone and started delving into his mind again searching for the magical barrier with all his effort. Gradually, the drug's impact left him but he was too weak to do anything else. 'Don't fear death, Eragon.', he encouraged himself and broke the magical barrier. Then he uttered the seven words Brom had given him long ago.

Galbatorix swore and left his mind. 'No. He didn't leave. I hid my mind', Eragon said to himself. His life-energy was leaving him. He would die soon. Galbatorix in his rage at being defied, cast spell after spell on Eragon hurting and breaking him physically. Eragon didn't feel any pain though. He was too concerned about worrying for Saphira and his friends; thinking how they would cope without him if he were to die now. He wanted to give them his final wishes. His parting words. But there was no luxury of such things here in this hell. So he trusted the air to take his wishes to his people. He whispered his wishes softly to the air.

He thought of his brilliant blue dragon. How will I part with her? What can I tell her? Tears filled his eyes. Determinedly, he pushed away the despair and said, "Saphira, forgive me. I can't return to you."

Then he thought of Arya. The one who had inspired him to fight off Galbatorix these many days. The one who filled his mind as much as Saphira. The tears that he had pushed away threatened to return. But he was too determined to let it sway his desire to sent Arya his final words. "Arya. Sorry if I have hurt you. I didn't mean to"

Roran, his cousin. No. His brother. The one whom he had grown with. One who had been always worried about his welfare. It was now time for Eragon to say his final good-bye to the only brother of his life. "Roran, I want you to live a contented life with Katrina"

He thought of his liege lord. Nah. His sister. She was his sister in every way. Companions in war who had both lost their parents to it. And their relation went deeper than that. He was her brother. "It was honourable- being your liege-man, Nasuada"

Orik, his king, his brother, his friend, his travel and war companion. "Orik, I am happy to have had a brother, like you... blood relation or not"

The tears were now uncontrollable. He let them fall. And he cried. He wept until he could only sob. Eragon let the pain from the various wounds wash over him. Galbatorix was shouting maniacally. Eragon knew, he was searching for Eragon's mind. "You can't get me, you miserable excuse for a dragon rider", Eragon said to Galbatorix gathering all the strength he had in him. Galbatorix snarled at Eragon and kicked Eragon's ribs. It pained him. But it was sign of his victory over the foul king. 'I look forward to the day when your heart is ripped out by Saphira, you filth.', Eragon said to himself.

All along he didn't let Brom's spell go. It was his shield. His inheritance from his father. The greatest inheritance anybody can get.  'I thank you father for your gift.',Eragon thanked Brom. Darkness was taking over him. Everything was fading out. 'Saphira.... Please forgive me...'

Author's Note:

Eragon has found his true name. But will he live to reap the benefits?