For Alagaesia: 40. Choice between the eyes

The week after that shameful evening was spent on building fortifications around the city of Dras-Leona. Roran took it upon himself to oversee the rebuilding and strengthening of the defences of the city. As Eragon had expected, the people started following his cousin cheerfully. It always was a matter of people seeing Roran in action before they accepted him as their leader.

The council of elders had gone into seclusion after that evening, neither attending any meetings nor taking part in the rebuilding affairs. The people didn't seem to care for them any more as they did a week ago. Everything in the Varden was as smooth as it could be in a war-ravaged yet well organised community.

Eragon had met and spent time with Orik for which he hadn't had time ever since Orik was crowned king of the dwarves. He also met with and even trained his boyhood friends Alberiech and Baldor - both sons of Horst. They were good with swords to the level that if Eragon reduced his speed to their level, they could hold against him for a minute or so. Both young men were awed by Eragon's enormous strength which they said was an increase of no less than a hundred times his previous strength. Eragon could only smile and say, "Oh!?" for he had used only a bit of his strength against them.

Jeod had come to see him with his wife, Helen. She offered her gratitude for his gift: the golden orb using which she had made a decent living to the extent of purchasing a home in Dras-Leona. Eragon congratulated her success and praised her skills in business for he himself was as poor a business-man as could be seen. He had first-hand experience of the difficulties in business when he had tried to sell his farm produces to the traders in Carvahall. He knew how difficult doing business was and so admired Helen's extraordinary ability to make a fortune out of a little gold orb.

"Brom was your father?", Jeod asked all of a sudden. Eragon, feeling obliged to explain his story to Jeod, narrated the whole tale to him. But when he said of his mother he just said: "My mother was a captive in Morzan's palace" He couldn't bring himself to tell Jeod that he was the son of the black hand of Morzan. He had not made peace with that fact still.

"Your father must have loved you greatly to have stayed in one place for fifteen years, Eragon. He is not sort of a person. He always wanted to act. If the love he had on you kept him glued to you for sixteen years, then you are very lucky.", Jeod said after hearing Brom's story.

Eragon looked at Jeod and smiled. A half amused and half self-pitying smile. 'Lucky?', he asked himself.

'Little one, I think we are forgetting one of your promises', Saphira said when Jeod and Helen were about to leave.

After much thought, when Eragon couldn't remember about what promise was Saphira talking, he asked her. But she said, 'What kind of a rider are you if you forget your own promises?'

At that moment Jeod called out his name and only then did Eragon remember that Saphira was talking of the promise, Eragon had made to Jeod: that the old scholar could ride Saphira alone.

'Are you really willing, Saphira? I made the promise without consulting you.', Eragon asked.

'How ungrateful a creature would I be, if I didn't accept to carry him? He was afterall, the one who helped rescue me from Galbatorix.', Saphira replied.

The pure joy that radiated from Jeod's face when he mounted Saphira's saddle gave Eragon reason to be cheerful in all the gloom surrounding him. Here was one human who knew the greatness of the dragon race. Every human that Eragon had had contact with were apprehensive of Saphira. They kept their distance from her and Eragon knew it was because they feared her for what they thought she was: a giant creature who would kill them if the chance presented itself. The only exceptions were Roran, Katrina and Murtagh, all of whom were part of his family. And Murtagh: an enemy and a dragon rider. Saphira took Jeod up into the skies and circled the city once with him on her back.

When Jeod got off from her back, his expression was that of a man who had fulfilled his life's purpose. He thanked Eragon again and again and bowed before Saphira umpteen times that Eragon was almost glad when Jeod finally bid farewell to them.

'He is a good man, Eragon', Saphira said.

'Yes, Saphira, he is. And a wise one too.'

Saphira accepted him wholeheartedly. After a few more minutes of idle talk Saphira said, 'I have to go hunting, Eragon. The measly food that they give here isn't enough to appease my appetite and we have to leave for Ellesmera tonight.'

'Go ahead, Saphira. I haven't had a good day's training for a long time. I want to freshen up my skills.', Eragon said. Saphira flew away towards the Leona lake and Eragon walked towards the vast field of training that the Varden had created out of a large assembly ground of some sort. Eragon was impressed by the work done in the field in a week's time. The place looked like it had been used for honing up battle skills forever. There were archery targets and physical training materials all around the place. There was even a mid-size armoury at the end of the field where weapons of all kinds were stored.

Eragon took out his sung wood bow and tested its string. It was as good as the day it was handed to him by Islanzadi. He sighed. It had been so long since he used a bow. Eragon picked out a calm place where he would not be disturbed and notched an arrow to his bow. He took aim at a solitary pole erected in the field for some purpose and released the arrow. It flew true to its aim and hit right at the centre of the pole.

'Oh, I am glad that I can do that even after this long.', he thought.

Having succeeded at hitting a easy target, Eragon moved on to hit more challenging targets. Soon, he was immersed in his own archery that he lost track of his surroundings. Not too much later, he was firing arrows at a speed only an elf could fire with perfect aim at the toughest of targets.

"I see that you have a knack with the bow.", Arya's voice reached his ears bringing him out of the captivating world of archery. Feeling slightly embarrassed at being praised thus by Arya he said, "I have practised archery from a very young age." and turned to face her.

"Greetings, Arya Shadeslayer", he said.

"Greetings, Eragon. Where, may I ask, is Saphira?"

"She is off to hunt. She wants to be healthy for our journey to Ellesmera.", Eragon answered as he unstrung his bow.

"Oh! I thought of having a word with her."

Eragon nodded his head not knowing what to say. Whenever, he faced Arya in a casual meeting, he was put into such a situation. An uncomfortable silence ensued then and to take his attention off of Arya, Eragon concentrated on placing his bow into its case.

"Your bow looks very elegant.", Arya said as she stood watching.

"Yes. It is a present from the queen.", Eragon said awkwardly.

"Erm ... Oh? Good.", Arya said, "I didn't realise that she was kind enough towards you to present you with such a bow." She seemed thoroughly surprised at the knowledge. Not wanting to place her in further uncomfort, for Arya seemed uncomfortable to talk of her family to him, he left the subject as such without any further answers. Arya's stiff posture relaxed considerably when she saw that he didn't pursue the topic any more.

Both of them started walking towards the palace of Dras-Leona where they had set up their quarters, by unspoken consent. Eragon watched Arya through a sideways glance. Tiny beads of sweat was gathered on her chin. Her eyes had a brilliant gleam that suggested that she had been practising hard. Eragon envied the person who had the chance to test himself or herself against Arya. It was too long since he had sparred her. In fact, he had not had the chance of sparring with her more than twice in the two and a half of his knowing her. Both times the sparring wasn't for the sake of it: the first time it was intended to be Eragon's trial and the second time, she had used it as a means to suppress his anger. He hoped that he would have the time and courage to invite her for a match-up when they were in travel towards Ellesmera.

"I plan to present the egg to the two elf-children at Ellesmera first. Do you approve?", Arya asked as they left the training ground behind.

Eragon was taken aback at this question. Arya asking for his approval was too much for him to handle although he knew that his position as the leader of the riders warranted it. He took his time to answer forming the words carefully in his mind.

"Yes, I do.", he said and after a small pause, he continued, "There is no need for you to ask for my approval on such matters Arya. The egg is your responsibility. Only Saphira can claim it from you, which I doubt she will. Honestly speaking Arya, you have lot more experience than the two of us in this matter. You should handle it as you see fit. We are accompanying you only to provide you protection and support."

Arya looked at him blankly for a while. Eragon feared that he had used the wrong words while explaining his stance. 'Protecting' Arya wasn't something she had taken lightly in the past. But then she said, "You are too generous, Eragon. As the only rider remaining, you have absolute authority over the egg that rightfully belongs to the order of the riders." Eragon sighed in relief, marvelling at the magical moment when Arya had not taken his 'protecting her' as a offence. In fact, she hadn't even minded him saying that.

Feeling far too happy and comfortable than moments before, Eragon said in a flash, "Then as the leader of riders, I shall place you in the position of rider-seeker and give you authority over the egg."

Arya smiled at him, a slight upward curl of her lips, and said, "I really am fortunate that you have such high opinions about me, Eragon."

Yet again, Eragon was embarrassed at such high praise from Arya. He couldn't think of any reply to her and so said the first words that came to his mind, "Anyone who has seen and known you would hold you to the highest respect, Arya Svitkona."

Again Arya smiled at him and but this time the smile was a little uncertain and she said, "I have not done anything great, Eragon." Her tone cautioned him not to go much further. He took the hint and with a nod said to her, "Maybe. But you can't convince me otherwise." When she tried to say something back he quickly said, "And please don't try to."

By then they were at the palace and Arya turned to him and said, "Be ready by nightfall, Eragon. We shall leave then." Her voice was perfectly neutral not giving anything bout her emotion at the time. Eragon cursed her ability to hide her emotions for he longed to know what she felt after such a talk with him. But on second thoughts, he concluded that it was a good thing because he couldn't have faced her anger. He could stand months and months of torture from Galbatorix but a moments anger from Arya would put him at her mercy and give him pain as no other thing could.

So thinking, Eragon entered his room. He looked around to see if he had anything to pack. There was not much except for a few clothes, his weapons and his armour. He had never had any time to collect any materialistic wealth for he had always been on the move ever since he left Carvahall three years ago. The only place where he had felt at home after that was Ellesmera. In that respect, he was glad to be going back to Ellesmera which was now his only home, now that Carvahall was destroyed. But Ellesmera without Oromis and Glaedr wouldn't be the same. Their loss was too great a pit to be filled by the beauties of the scenic forest-city.

'Little one, now is not the time for brooding.', Saphira said softly from somewhere far away, 'You have your farewells to say. Roran would be broken when we too are gone and that too at such a time in his life. You have to explain to him, most of all.'

'I know Saphira.', Eragon said, 'Its just that imagining Ellesmera without them brings to my mind a waterfalls that has dried up.'

'It isn't that bad, Eragon. Believe me, I have been there very recently and it only helped calm me down. Ellesmera is so much more than we credit it to be, little one. The pine-city has a uniqueness that can bring the best out of anybody.'

'Might be Saphira. It is there afterall that you and I trained and became what we are now.', Eragon said, 'And you are right. Roran needs our support now. Not my brooding.'

Eragon from then on concentrated on his packing never letting anything else to run on his mind. The packing of course took just about a half of an hour after which he went out into the city and helped out in the reconstruction work. He coordinated with the dwarves to build a strong gate to the city's entrance to replace the temporary gate that was made hastily after the Varden captured the city. He imbued the wood with magic-resistant spells, so that the gate would hold even against the strongest of spells. He could see the difference between the gate that was coated with magical resistance and the wood that was imbued with magical resistance: the second kind was noticeably stronger. It helped him appreciate the handiwork of Rhunon in imbuing the rider's sword with magical abilities rather than coating the blade with spells.

Orik was very much impressed at his work and praised him.

"I borrowed the idea from Rhunon, Orik. If you have to appreciate someone for the strength of this gate then it should be her.", Eragon said. Hearing Rhunon being mentioned as Eragon's inspiration gave Orik much pleasure for Rhunon herself had trained under the legendary dwarf smith, Fûthark.

The making of the gate had consumed most of the day and Eragon hadn't even noticed the day pass for he was so immersed in his work. When he realised at last that he had worked well past the time that he had already planned, he asked Saphira, irritatedly, 'Why didn't you alert me?'

'Because, you were working brilliantly that I didn't want to stop you and because there wasn't anything else for you to do. And mainly, I have seen that you are in much better state if you work. So I left you.', she said coolly.

Eragon caught her implied meaning - she was referring to his unstable temper and cold manners - and decided that not speaking further about it was the best idea.

"Orik! I have to leave. We are going to Ellesmera.", Eragon called out to Orik who was deeply involved in his work. Orik looked up at Eragon and leaving the discussion, he was having with a dwarf, came upto him.

"Why Eragon?", Orik asked,when he was close enough to talk privately.

"We are taking the egg to Ellesmera. Remember the elf children there? We will expose it to them and see if it hatches.", Eragon said in a whisper lest anyone should hear him.

"Oh? Why didn't you tell me earlier?", Orik asked in return.

"We weren't sure of the day we would leave and we needed to keep the matter of the dragon egg as secretive as possible."

"Good enough explanation, Eragon. When are you leaving?"

"By nightfall. I have to talk to Roran and Nasuada before that. Roran, particularly is in need of help to tackle his situation. He is already shaken by Katrina's leaving and when I too go away, he will take it quite hard, given that his workload his considerably higher now.", Eragon said of his worries about Roran to Orik.

"You won't have to worry about your cousin, Eragon. He is tough. He can manage even more problems on his own. Further, why do you think I am here? I shall keep an eye on Roran."

"Oh, Thank you Orik. That is a very kind and welcome news. With you around, I am sure Roran will feel better whatwith your experience and friendship with him.", Eragon said for he had seen Orik and Roran talking intimately to each other on various occasions. He was truly happy that the dwarf-king had offered to help Roran during his absence. He trusted Orik as a brother and as his king and as a fine person.

"As I have said, Eragon, thanking me is bringing more trouble on yourself. I will ban you from my clan if you ever try to thank me again. We are family, Eragon. We are meant to help each other.", Orik said.

Eragon tried to smile at Orik's old jest; but he had lost something; some ability that had given a merrier side - he was now a reserved person holding every emotion of his back in his own mind. It didn't escape Orik's attention for he said, "Think about yourself too, Eragon. I don't want to hurt you by telling it again and again to you. You are not the same."

Eragon ignored Orik's words as well as he could and ventured into another topic: his farewell to Orik.

"You can't leave me that easily, Eragon. I will be there to see you off.", Orik replied, not pressing Eragon further on the topic that Eragon wanted to avoid. Eragon smiled and took his leave soon after and went in search of his cousin.

He found Roran at the palace premises overseeing the safety measures being taken around Nasuada's quarters. When Roran saw Eragon, he addressed him calmly, "Hello, Eragon. What brings you here?"

"Roran, I want you to come with me for a minute.", Eragon said venturing carefully. He didn't want to make Roran unhappy.

Roran made arrangements for the work to continue under the guidance of Garzhvog who - to Eragon's surprise - had been working under Roran. The respect that Roran had managed to command in the course of a week was amazing.

"What is it, Eragon?", Roran asked when they were away from the clamour of work.

"Do you remember the egg that Arya, Saphira and I managed to retrieve from the empire?"

"Yes, Eragon. I remember it. What of it?", Roran asked. Eragon almost laughed thinking of the difference between all the power-politics games that the council of elders made out of the egg and Roran's casual non-interference in things he shouldn't.

"We are taking it to Ellesmera."

"Oh?", Roran said. He seemed surprised.

"But...", he started but stopped midway through his sentence and instead said, "When are you going?"

"By nightfall, today", Eragon said shortly for he couldn't bring himself to answer Roran in full. Roran stood as if stunned.

"Today", he said in a whisper and sighed. Eragon waited for his cousin to say something for he didn't know what to.

"Would you meet with Katrina on your way, that is, if it is possible.", Roran said after a long silence.

"I surely would, Roran. In fact, I was planning on doing it. How can I not, when I am so close to her?", Eragon said, a measure of peace settling in him. He didn't want to go without Roran's wishes.

"Would you...", Roran started and stopped immediately when he locked eyes with Eragon. "I am confused, Eragon. How am I supposed to take care of this vast army without any help? You are the only family I have left here at the Varden, Eragon. Who will help me when I need it most?", Roran asked sadly.

"You won't be needing help, Roran. I know you. You are stronger than you realise. You can handle much more than this.", Eragon replied. He was speaking the truth, of course, but Eragon also knew how it feels to be thrown at the head of everything all of a sudden. Eragon had had Saphira when he was thrust to the forefront of things all of a sudden. But Roran had none, now.

Roran sighed and said, "You think too highly of me, Eragon. I am not that talented, you know. The only thing that keeps me going is my love for Katrina. I want her to have a better future."

Eragon's tongue failed him. He wanted to console Roran. He wanted to scream that Roran thought too lowly of himself. But his tongue simply failed him. He was, somehow, afraid to talk.

'You shouldn't talk that way, nest-mate of Eragon. I know you well: you can do things that even I can't. There is nothing wrong about Katrina being behind all your valour. It is as it should be. Courage and power, like you have shouldn't and can't stem from anything else other than love: true, strong love. And that love will guide you and will never let you do any wrong. Have faith in that love.', Saphira replied for Eragon.

'Thank you.', Eragon said to her.

'There is no need to, Eragon. All I did was to give words to your thoughts. Aren't we to complete each other?', Saphira said as she flew towards them. She alighted near them and eyed Roran kindly.

"I understand, O, great one", Roran said with a bow and Eragon could see the understanding in Roran's bearing: he looked almost proud.

"Come, let us walk. I need to visit Nasuada.", Eragon said and they went in search of Nasuada.

"Who will be accompanying you?", Roran asked after a while of silence.

"Speaking rationally, it is we who will be accompanying Arya. She is the egg-courier; the rider-seeker. We are just helping her out.", Eragon replied.

"Arya? Do you mean to say that you, Saphira and Arya are leaving the Varden? With all three of you gone how are we supposed to guard the city?", Roran asked.

"This is not a easy decision Roran. We had to sacrifice one or the other eye of ours and keeping the future in view, we chose the one path that seemed more important to the future of Alagaesia.", Eragon said in a lamenting tone.

He didn't want to leave the Varden at such a crucial juncture. But he also couldn't trust anyone with Arya's and the dragon egg's safety. The events of three years ago - when Arya was ambushed by the shade and he came across Saphira's egg - had eventually settled his mind on travelling with Arya. And of course, Saphira had been adamant to be with Arya on her mission with the dragon egg. Glaedr had supported his decision to travel with Arya exactly for the same reasons that he had wanted to go with her.

Roran didn't counter Eragon's words as he had expected him to, but rather said, "I know that the egg is too important to be ignored. And I know what happened the last time, Arya carried the egg. You wouldn't want to leave her to such a situation again. I wouldn't if I were you." Eragon blushed at the meaning: who would leave the love of their life if they knew that they were going to be in danger?

Eragon didn't reply to Roran. He just nodded his head. Roran too dropped the matter, probably not wanting to make Eragon more uncomfortable.

"Shur'tugal, Nasuada Svit-kona, would be in the cathedral overseeing the reconstruction of the parts of the building broken in Saphira Bjarstkular's anger.", one of his elven guards came upto him and said. Eragon thanked him and set out towards the building, Roran walking beside him. Saphira had decided to fly straight to the tower of the cathedral. Eragon was thankful to his elven guards for their kind gestures. Whenever they sensed that Eragon wanted his privacy, they kept their distance from him. Ever since, they had pledged to Eragon to be full members of the Varden, they had taken turns in groups of three to guard him while the others worked with the Varden.

When Eragon found Nasuada, she was immersed completely in the repairing work being done by Horst, Fisk and others from Carvahall. He couldn't even bring himself to call her lest he would disturb her concentration, but seeing the need to do so and finding that Nasuada wasn't in any mood to leave her observation soon, he called her attention, "My lady"

Startled Nasuada turned to him and asked, "Oh!? What is it, Eragon?"

"It is time. We are leaving for Ellesmera tonight." He didn't care much about privacy because only the villagers of Carvahall were with Nasuada.

"Eragon? So soon? I was hoping that you would stay a little longer. There is work to be done.", Nasuada said as she walked Eragon away from the crowd. Her nighthawk guards followed her, but she dismissed them. Roran stayed on with the villagers not wanting to interfere in his and Nasuada's talk.

"Eragon, I don't think you and Saphira leaving the Varden is a good idea.", Nasuada said.

"But, my lady, the dragon egg cannot be ignored. You know what happened the last time a dragon egg was transported from the Varden to Du WeldenVarden."

"Is it more important than the Varden, Eragon? Even if the egg hatches, do you think the rider will be ready to fight Galbatorix when we face him?", Nasuada asked.

"This is not just about the fight, we are fighting against Galbatorix, Nasuada. This is about the whole race of the dragons. That egg is the only hope for resurrecting their race. This is about the future of Alagaesia."

"What use is the future if the present goes awry?", Nasuada asked.

"Nasuada, please understand me. I had to choose between the two things that will bring Alagaesia hope. But the egg goes beyond Galbatorix. It is the last chance to save a great race from destruction. The future of Alagaesia after Galbatorix depends on that egg. If we die in protecting the future, then so be it. Our ancestors died for us and we shall die for our successors.", Eragon said kindly.

Nasuada sighed and stood silently.

'You have presented the idea rightly, Eragon. Let her think.', Saphira said when Eragon tried to press Nasuada into accepting his choice. So Eragon waited. After a while Nasuada said, "You are right, Eragon. Thinking of the race of dragons makes me shudder. I am merely the leader of the Varden and so I had been thinking only about the welfare of Varden. You, on the other hand, have a much bigger responsibility than me. Who am I to stand in your way, when all you think of is the good of all of Alagaesia?"

"No, my lady, you think of the good of the whole of Alagaesia just as much as anyone ever has. I really am proud to call myself, a vassal of yours. I am glad that I could get your permission to go to Ellesmera."

"But, Eragon, how long will you be gone? What if Murtagh or even Galbatorix attack in your absence?", Nasuada asked rather hurriedly and hardly.

"I can't say for sure, my lady. It may take a week or even a few months depending on our success in finding a rider. But you don't have to worry. The winter will settle in quite harshly in these regions that are closer to the spine. I can say that for sure as I have spent many years at the foothills of these mountains. It would be near impossible for land troops to reach Dras-Leona due to the climate. The only things that can attack you are the two dragons of the empire. If Thorn attacks, the elves here can hold him and his rider from causing irrevocable damage before I come and if Shruikan attacks, you will have to abandon town and run.", Eragon explained the situation as he saw it to Nasuada. He really didn't like running away from Galbatorix, but it was the only way, he could think of to save the Varden from complete routing.

"Oh, Eragon, whatever reason you give me, I won't be able to let you go from the Varden at a time like this and that too for an indeterminable time. Know this: every moment you are away, your father's legacy takes a step closer to danger and doom."

"I know, my lady. But I think my father would have approved my actions."

"Maybe", Nasuada said, a hint of irritation in her voice. She had tried to persuade Eragon against going using Brom as a bait, but Eragon sensing the politics in Nasuada's words and speking true to his heart had turned her words against her. He had the blessings of Glaedr and the backing of Saphira, so he wasn't going to back from his decision to help Arya for a half-unwilling Nasuada.

"Nasuada, believe me, I wouldn't do this if it weren't of utmost importance. The Varden and the dragon egg are like my eyes. Choosing between them is cruel to ask of me. But I had to and I chose the one cause that would have greater impact on the future of Alagaesia.", he said with an air of finality.

Nasuada too seemed to have given up on trying to stop him from going. "You have the blessings of the Varden, Eragon, to succeed in this endeavour of yours for the greater good of Alagaesia.", she said. The reluctance that was present in her earlier approval of his going was gone now. It meant only one thing: Nasuada had made her mind up on letting Eragon and Saphira go with Arya to Ellesmera in order to present the green dragon egg before the elves. Eragon smiled and bowed. "Thank you, my lady."

'I appreciate you, Nasuada, for your wise leadership. You always surprise me by taking the right decision when I expect you to falter. I am proud that I advised Eragon to be your vassal. It really has been a honour to work alongside you.', Saphira said from her perch atop the cathedral, from where she had been listening to the whole conversation.

A few hours later, Eragon stood again bowing before Nasuada getting her blessings for a safe journey. Roran and Orik stood beside Nasuada and Eragon's guards stood protecting Nasuada and Roran: a request Eragon had made of them. Nasuada didn't speak much, but her few words indicated to her coping with the fact that Eragon no longer was just a part of the Varden, but a symbol of hope and independence for each and every being of Alagaesia; the lead rider. For his part, Eragon was really happy that he could still be Nasuada's vassal, even when he had to leave the Varden. He held Nasuada in high esteem: for him, she was the sister he had never had.

Orik was cheerful in his farewell. "I will tell this to none but you Eragon: I really, hope that Ellesmera cures your mind.", his foster-brother said. Eragon for once smiled at a dig at his sombre bearing. A dwarf speaking about elves and elvendom never failed in entertainment. When Eragon was about to leave Orik's side, Orik surprised him by presenting him with a fine ring resembling the symbol of the Durgrimst Ingeitum. The workmanship on the ring was enough to know that the ring was one of its kind. It was made out of some rare metal for Eragon hadn't encountered such a metal anywhere, in all his vast travels. A Sapphire shaped strangely and exotically beautifully as a hammer adorned the ring held to it by twelve star-shaped claws. "It is Ingium. It remains in the possession of the most important member of the Ingeitum besides the Grimstborith. If the grimstborith deems none fit to wear it, it remains in the control of the Grimstborith itself. For centuries, this ring has not been worn by anyone. But you are worth wearing this ring, Eragon. You shall now be a honourary part of the Ingeitum's council of advisors.", Orik said when Eragon looked at him in question.

"You honour me, my Grimstborith.", Eragon said in reply. Orik patted Eragon's shoulder and smiled. Eragon dutifully wore Ingium next to Aren. He was overwhelmed by the kindness, bestowed upon him by the elves and dwarves: the yawe of the elves and the hammer and stars of Ingeitum adorned his fingers.

Roran stood with his head held unnaturally high. Eragon could see shiny drops of tears gathered on his cousin's eyes. Looking at Roran's face was too painful: it reminded him that Roran was to spend his days with no one of his family near him. Roran hugged Eragon closely and whispered in his ears, "Be careful, Eragon. The last time you went away brought too much pain to all of us." Despite the words 'all of us', Eragon could clearly capture Roran's meaning from his tone: what he really meant was: 'me'. Eragon tightened their embrace in thanks for Roran's love. A tiny drop of tear escaped his eyes, despite all his self-control. "I will miss you, brother.", Eragon said and after a minor pause added, "Be safe."

Arya stood calmly looking at Eragon from Saphira's side. She had given her farewell already. Eragon walked away from Roran with a heavy heart. Arya smiled slightly at him when he looked into her face. Eragon turned to get one last look at the Varden and for once he prayed to the gods to keep them safe. Then he mounted Saphira's saddle. Arya climbed onto the saddle and seated herself behind Eragon. The dragon egg and Glaedr's eldunari were safely pouched in Saphira's saddle bags.

As Saphira took off into the darkening sky, Eragon's eyes were fixed on Roran and his sad face. The cousins looked at each other until each became a dot in the distance. And then they kept looking at the empty space which the other had occupied minutes ago. The night wore on thus.

Author's Note:

This is another turn in the tale. A turn from where Eragon belongs not just to the Varden, but to the whole of Alagaesia in a way only riders could belong.