For Alagaesia: 56. Introductions and promises

Early in the next morning, Eragon and Saphira were flying alone in the wild. Their rapture knew no bound. With Arya around they couldn’t share how much happy they were, that a new dragon and rider had joined them, with each other. Arya seemed to take her ridership with a pinch of salt and hence allowing their ecstasy to show in full in front of her seemed inappropriate.

However Arya took her ridership, Eragon and Saphira were just happy to have her as co-rider. With anyone else, they wouldn’t have been this much happy. She was a dear friend to both of them and they trusted in her completely. What more could they have asked for? Everything seemed beautiful in the land. And they revelled in the feeling. It was so long since they had felt such bliss. Ever since Brom’s death or even Garrow’s death, they hadn’t felt this way.

‘Look Eragon!!! The trees. They seem to understand our feelings. They dance to our flight patterns, don’t they?’, Saphira asked pointing with her mind, the trees that were actually swaying in the wind. But to Eragon and Saphira, it looked as if the whole world watched them and danced with them, joining them in their revelry.

Glaedr was as happy as them although he restrained from contacting or even feeling the mind of the little dragon. He reasoned that the knowledge about Eldunari should not be imparted to the young dragon till he matured. It pained Eragon since he knew how much Glaedr wanted to talk to and train Arya’s dragon. It was only natural. Arya was, after all, Glaedr and Oromis’s student.

Glaedr charged Saphira with the responsibility of training the little dragon. ‘You will impart him with all that I have taught you. And remember, Saphira, that true happiness lies in seeing your ward grow even greater than you.’ Glaedr made her promise. Saphira did so with open heart. Her doubts about her ability to teach a fellow dragon who was just three years younger to her – which was equal to a minute’s passing in dragon-lore – were brushed aside by Glaedr who said, ‘You have obtained everything a dragon would in her lifetime.’; then in a lighter vein added, ‘Except perhaps, a little patience.’

‘Master’, Saphira said with a bow of her head, even though Glaedr wasn’t bodily present to accept her respect.

As Saphira flew higher and higher, Eragon’s body started protesting. It was deathly cold in the upper reaches of the sky in winter. But he cared not. Opening his arms, as if to welcome the cold, Eragon roared in exultation. The world was indeed so beautiful.

‘I love you, Saphira.’, he said to her.

‘Little one!!!’, Saphira exclaimed, joining him in his revelry.

But soon, the cold grew so much that it suffocated Eragon. And so Saphira dived down towards the ground. ‘Don’t speak to me when in the presence of the little one.’, Glaedr warned for one last time and went back to sleeping state.

Saphira dropped Eragon on the ground and went away to hunt. She said that the cold was draining her faster than usual and so she needed more food.

Eragon reached the clearing where they had spent the night and found Arya fondly speaking with her dragon. She was cradling him in her arms and was whispering something to him. Not wanting to disturb the dragon and rider, Eragon silently walked to the farther end of the clearing and seated himself upon a small stone. The cold of the sky had affected him and he was shivering slightly.

Arya speaking so fondly to someone looked so captivating that Eragon forgot everything else in the world and stared at the pair before him in awe. It even raised a slight feeling of jealousy in his mind. He had not wanted Arya to speak so closely with anyone but him. But then, he knew the potential and beauty of the bond between a dragon and rider. Just thinking about the power of that bond melted his jealousy like snow before sunshine. As a dragon rider, he wanted nothing but to see that which he saw before him for eternity. Jealousy had no place in the purity and sacredness of the bond between a dragon and rider.

“Eragon?!”, somebody’s voice alerted him to his surroundings. He realised that Arya was calling him.

“Ow, Arya… sorry I was thinking.”, Eragon managed to say without much emotion in his voice.

Arya nodded and said, “I am going to the lake side. Could you look after him for me till I return?” She sounded uncomfortable; again the blasted ‘thirst for hurt’ pride hampering her ability to ask for help.

Eragon nodded. “As long as he is fine with it.”

“He is Eragon. He likes you.”, Arya said softly.

Eragon thought that Arya was saying that only to make him feel better. From the time he had hatched the little dragon had not even looked interested in Eragon. He simply ignored Eragon, whereas he had reacted to Saphira, atleast with fear.

Arya took the dragon to Eragon and let him down near his feet. Then she started walking away towards the lake. And the dragon promptly started following her. Arya turned and looked at Eragon. He shrugged. He had nothing to do in matters between dragon and rider unless invited by both.

Arya sighed and took the dragon back to Eragon and again tried to walk off. Still, the dragon followed her. Not once in his existence had the little dragon left Arya’s presence except for short detours after little living beings.

Arya huffed. “Eragon!! You are supposed to take care of him.”, she said. Her irritation was quite evident.

“It is for you to make him understand.”, Eragon said. Advising Arya on something that felt like a novice’s job was strange.

Arya seemed to concentrate hard for a while. She shook her head twice for no reason at all. Eragon could only assume that she was disagreeing with whatever feeling the dragon was sending her through the strong rider-dragon link.

He knew that the rider-dragon link would be new to Arya even though she had been practising mind-talk for almost all her life. This link was just different, nay, special. He knew because he and Saphira shared such a link. This link never gets severed. Not even when the two are miles and miles apart. There is always a place reserved for the counterpart when it comes to the rider-dragon bond in one’s mind.

Making Arya comfortable with that fact was the first thing he had to achieve. Others would just follow it. Learning about that special link in books is different from actually experiencing it, Eragon knew for he had met with many elves who had excellent bookish knowledge about the rider-dragon bond yet failed to figure out even the basics of it properly.

And it wasn’t a very difficult thing to achieve. Arya just had to speak to her dragon more and more. That was the key. In a rider-dragon communication, emotions mean more than words unlike in any other mind-touch. The uncontrollable passage of emotions between the dragon and rider would always exist. Arya just had to realise it.

“For Menoa’s sake, he is adamant.”, Arya said at long last. Her face was filled with sorrow. Sorrow wasn’t what her words had conveyed. Eragon knew then that Arya had, at least unknowingly, let her emotions be controlled by her dragon. He was quite sure that the sorrow on Arya’s face didn’t originate from her mind, but rather from the little dragon’s.

He was satisfied for Arya wasn’t resisting the pull. All she had to do was go with it. He didn’t think he had the guts to discipline Arya but he was prepared to do it if it was necessary.

Now, when Arya walked away, the little dragon didn’t try to follow her but rather came to stand beside Eragon. Eragon guessed that Arya might have imparted into the dragon’s mind, an image of him standing beside Eragon while she went away. There was no other reason he could think of for which the dragon would seek his company.

The dragon kept on gazing at Arya’s back, his green eyes filled with sorrow. Eragon could see Saphira in the green dragon when he left her in a tree hole during the night. ‘How cruel have I been to my dear Saphira? Leaving her in a tree hole like she was a bird!’

The deep green scales of the dragon were quite beautiful, Eragon thought. Although not as beautiful as Saphira, he was a cute little dragon, indeed. Of course, Arya would disagree. He imagined a petty fight between him and Arya on this matter. The joy such a thing brought to his mind was so great that he couldn’t control an audible chuckle escaping his lips.

The green dragon looked into his face when he heard Eragon smile.

“Hello, we haven’t been introduced yet.”, Eragon said. The dragon watched his mouth carefully when he talked. “I am Eragon, your rider’s friend.”, he introduced himself.

The dragon smugly looked on at Eragon. It looked stupid to him, speaking to a child who knew nothing about languages. Considering Arya’s ‘taking care’ also included permission to touch minds, Eragon slowly extended a tendril of thought at the dragon.

He slightly brushed against the green dragon’s mind not wanting to startle him. As soon as Eragon’s mind touched the little dragon’s, the dragon jerked his head towards Eragon. Eragon hastily pulled out of the dragon’s mind fearing that he had annoyed him.

But in the contrary, the dragon himself initiated a mental touch, although weakly, considering he was just a day old.

Eragon spoke in the dragon’s mind, “I am Eragon. I am a friend of your rider.” Simultaneously he showed an image of himself and Arya talking to each other over something seriously.

The dragon’s mood lit up at the sight of the image and he for his part showed another image in which Eragon and Arya were walking side-by-side in a tree-lined and flower filled route, somewhere in Du Weldenvarden, smiling and laughing at each other’s words. Eragon was embarrassed slightly at the sight of the image and hastily said, ‘yes that is me.’

Wanting to veer away from that topic, Eragon showed the dragon Arya’s image hunching over his egg when he hatched for her. Eragon was pretty sure that the dragon wouldn’t have any knowledge about how he himself looked when he hatched. And he guessed that he would like to see Arya when he hatched. As he had expected the little one jumped up in joy at the sight of that image.

The happiness in the dragon made Eragon want to store that image forever. And he decided that he would make a fairth of it when they reach Ellesmera.

The dragon next showed an image of Saphira and a questioning feeling seeped through their mental link to him. He was asking for Saphira’s whereabouts!!! That little fellow was afraid of her, wasn’t?

Eragon sent him back an image of him being scared of Saphira and running towards Arya. The dragon returned an irritated feeling and showed Eragon an image in which he stood face-to-face against Saphira.

Eragon couldn’t control his laughter at this. It was just as Saphira said, ‘like rider like dragon’: proud and uncompromising when it came to matters of strength and respect. He laughed heartily and openly stimulating the dragon to send a disapproving feeling to him.

Eragon decided that he would earn the dragon’s ire if he kept pursuing the topic and so sent him an image of Saphira hunting a deer.

The green dragon was so clever that he understood Eragon’s meaning without any explanation. Or perhaps, it was the dragon’s hunting instinct that came to the little dragon’s aid, Eragon guessed.

The dragon then sent an image of himself tearing down a piece of meat. Eragon thought he was implying that he could hunt too. But then, a feeling of intense hunger seeped through their mental link to Eragon.

And he understood. Saphira’s earlier words came back to his mind yet again: ‘he has an endless pit for a stomach.’. The dragon was asking for food again within a day since he last had his food. Dragons could live on one full meal for up to a week and he had eaten a full-size mongoose only the last day.

Trying hard not to laugh, Eragon extended his mind and touched Saphira’s. It was their agreement to not be in intimate contact when Saphira hunted.

‘Saphira?’, he called.

‘Yes, Eragon?”, Saphira sounded irritated. The animal she was just killing sent out a wail that made Eragon wince.

‘Arya’s dragon is hungry.’, he said.

‘So soon?’, Saphira asked and then added, ‘He must be. This cold is sapping at my strength so fast. I shall bring him food’ She severed their connection.

Eragon informed the green dragon, with images, of course, that Saphira would bring him food soon. The dragon nodded his head in understanding.

Eragon walked back to the stone on which he had been sitting before Arya asked him to look after her dragon and seated himself on it. The dragon watched him till he took his seat and then started playing around. Eragon kept his eyes glued on the dragon lest he got into trouble. The dragon, much like himself, seemed to attract trouble. Not that he would confess this observation to anyone; he just noted.

Eragon saw the dragon play with leaves on the ground blowing smoke on them and with little elevations, trying to fly on them. He managed to fly a fair distance and height. It amazed Eragon how such a little creature was capable of such feats. And he was just a day old!!! It just was crazy. Human, Elven, Dwarven and Urgal children take months upon months to even crawl on all fours and here was the other sentient creature of Alagaesia able to fly in just a day’s time.

Saphira’s wing beats alerted him to her arrival. Soon she came in view, holding a full deer in her jaw.

‘Who is that for?’, Eragon asked.

‘We will share it. I and the little one.’, Saphira replied as she landed. She put down the meat lump near Eragon, abruptly. Eragon jumped, surprised. The little dragon who had been watching all this sent out huge curls of smoke from his maw.

Eragon realised only later that the little fellow was mocking him. Feeling embarrassed and wanting to teach the little dragon a lesson in humility (playfully of course), he showed his interaction with the little dragon to Saphira.

Saphira although amused by the little dragon’s antics decided to play along Eragon’s plans. She turned to the green dragon and growled at him. He defiantly stood his ground. ‘An improvement’, Saphira said smugly and roared towards the sky sending out a huge torrent of fire.

The green dragon yelped and looked around. ‘Alas, No Arya to hide behind.’, Saphira said triumphantly.

And then the dragon did something very much unexpected. He ran towards Eragon and hid behind him. Both Saphira and Eragon broke down into a fit of hysterical laughter at the sight, Saphira producing her signature rumbling laugh.

The little dragon came out of his hiding, glared at Eragon and imitated Saphira’s action, just as she had done: throwing his head back and looking the sky; roaring into the sky and sending smoke from his mouth.

‘He really is going to be great.’, Saphira commented. ‘But I can’t believe that he had the patience to wait thousands upon thousands of years to hatch.’, she added in a lighter vein.

Eragon decided to roast the meat before giving it to the little dragon. Saphira had always enjoyed eating cooked meat and he felt the little dragon would too.

So he went around the area looking for plants that would add spice to the meat while Saphira tried to tell the green dragon what Eragon was doing. It proved to be quite a difficult task as the little dragon had no idea what ‘cooking’ meant and how it helped make the food better, even with Saphira’s much better knowledge of Dragon’s instinctive smell, vision and touch language.

In another quarter hour, Eragon prepared a meat roast that tasted neither good nor bad. But Arya’s dragon, when he tasted it, seemed to love it. Saphira, though, said, ‘It is ordinary.’

Arya came back, looking fresh and lively. Her clothes were washed clean and she had let her hair fall freely. The raven tresses, the glowing skin and the lively face raised Eragon’s heartbeat.

‘Control!!!’, he said and bit his teeth hard. Arya seemed not to notice, which was a good thing.

Arya looked at her dragon eating cooked meat with a satisfied expression on his face. She turned to Eragon and asked, if it was his handiwork. Eragon simply nodded unable to do anything more at the sight of Arya in all her glorious beauty.

The little dragon suddenly became aware of Arya’s presence and ignoring his meal, ran to her and went around her in happy circles.

‘You really are lucky to have him.’, Saphira said to Arya.  ‘And see? Five thousand years, he has waited and then chosen our dear friend. You are one of a kind Arya.’, she added.

Arya’s face glazed over and took on a strained look. “Or he got confused due to his hundred years under Galbatorix and chose me.”, she said gritting her teeth.

“Arya!!!”, both Eragon and Saphira said in unison. Eragon’s anger knew no bounds. Just seconds ago he was thinking how beautiful Arya was and now he was left to think how foolish she was.

“What can I offer him? All I can is a hundred years of dreadful, vengeful, spiteful and painful life.”, she said eyeing her dragon sadly.

‘Stop self loathing and accept the fact, Arya. Only this attitude will hurt him.’, Saphira said. A large drop of tear fell from Arya’s eyes.

‘We dragons choose the people we know we will love. We don’t take any chances on that. Do you understand?’, Saphira asked.

The little dragon seemed to understand that something was wrong with his rider. He flew, all the way up to Arya’s shoulder and perched himself atop it. Then he curled his tail around her neck. Arya put her hand above his back and rubbed his spines softly.

‘Do you understand?’, Saphira demanded.

“Yes, I do. But..’, Arya started only to be cut off by Saphira, ‘There are no buts and ifs here Arya. You have to accept it whole-heartedly and let go of any inhibitions. Promise me you will do your best to.’

Arya remained silent.

“Promise her Arya. It is for the best of us all.” By ‘us’, Eragon meant the four of them in particular and Alagaesia in general.

Arya stood still. Her dragon growled at Saphira. He seemed to understand that the blue dragon was causing his rider pain.

‘Answer me princess!!!’, Saphira exclaimed.

“I promise.”, Arya said. Although there wasn’t much determination in Arya’s words, Eragon could sense conviction in them. Arya slumped, the glory of her beauty hidden by the sadness. It looked to Eragon like she rested her head against the dragon on her shoulder and like the little dragon put his head above hers in a protective stance.

Author’s Note:

Hope you like it. Eragon and the little dragon are introduced and in what fashion, wow, isn’t? Or, did I do something so bad and missed noticing it? And Arya has been made to face some hard truths by Saphira. It would do her good, let us hope. What did you all think?


Oh, and did any of you catch the brilliant hint I inserted into the already brilliant discourse between Eragon and Greenie? The one that Eragon miserably missed to catch?