Chapter 1: The Return

It was a cold winter dawn and all the soldiers posted as sentries look out into the ground surrounding the fortress known as Illismera with bleary eyes and sleepy yawns. Nothing much has changed in the past few days with the rebellion on the outskirts of Aroughs and little did the Queen know or care what really is happening with the other small rebellions taking place outside the city. The reign of Queen Nasuada has proved to be peaceful for another decade after the defeat of Galbatorix the Egg-breaker but after the Empire has taken drastic steps to improve much of their situations, small little rebellions begin to erupt like tiny little volcanoes underlying the mound of soil which is taking a toll on the old Queen. Without much the help of her advisors, dwarves, Urgals and elves alike, the kingdom is bound to collapse. But with the combination of her quick demeanor and the bold decisions that Nasuada is willing to take, peace becomes the only option for most spirits who still cannot extinguish the fire building in their hearts, much as Surda has started to move to take Nasuada’s territory.

“Care another cup of coffee Cerlain?”

“Nah, in an hour, Will’s gonna be here to change shifts with me. And I’m going home then, better take my coffee with my wife eh?” said Cerlain with another yawn.

“Fine, I’m off to make another cup for myself then. I’m really sleepy right now and if a dragon were to fly abov-“

Without finishing what he was about to say, the horns blared and the soldiers with the sleepy eyes began to take action and alarm. The unique sounds of the Rider horn, as sentries are familiar with, was heard throughout the whole city and the citadel to announce that Riders will soon reach the city and every known lord and nobles should prepare to welcome them. Rider Arya Shadeslayer, a known friend and ally to the Queen has insisted that Riders would not bother if the citadel itself is sleeping while they take root in it but the Queen announced it become a law and enforced it with such vigorous trepidation to do her bidding and pointed out that Riders are the only peace makers in all of Alagaesia that enforce justice and decisions that are not sided to any race, including her, Arya, who is a Queen herself of the elves. Without much of a fight, Arya submitted to the Queen and thanked all her efforts.

The watchmen above the tower highest at the wall were making a scene running and with full speed towards the citadel, whenever a Rider is arriving in the city, the castle sitting atop all else is sure to bustle with excitement and action for preparing a measly dine for both the dragon and the Rider. The weird action of the watchmen has spiked the interest and fear of the soldiers and a dread feeling born from seeing the unknown has sprung up again. It is a different thing to wage war against men that they can surely outwit and outnumber but fighting a dragon and a Rider will be like fighting a lion with a twin unicorn against a colony of ant.

Slowly and surely, the dragons, a large sapphire and a ferocious red one descended and with unfamiliarity, landed in front of the city gates. Usually,  Riders just fly towards the citadel and the landing platform, the weird form of announcing an unfriendly or neutral disposition such as waiting in the castle gates frightened the soldiers above all else. If both dragons attack the walls and roared flame from their mouths, the gates will surely fall and will be turned to splinters in less than a minute. But since both dragons look somewhat alert and intimidating, they both posed a sitting stance which ensured the soldiers that no harm will be upon them in the hours to pass.

Jumping from the height of the dragon, a man wearing trousers and a cape made from pitch black scaly material advanced towards the gate. He looks more like an elf than human compared to the dark skinned companion walking beside him. If not for the confident gait and the constant swirl of dust that envelops him, the soldiers can gaze and fully comprehend his face. There is aura surrounding both Riders with confined bloodlust and an opposite peaceful air in them that spiked curiosity among them. After a minute or so, the two Riders stopped and a voice, enhanced with magic, sounded in front of them.

“Peace! We are lone Riders from the far land of Burning Cliff-‘ that spiked the interest of each soldier, Burning Cliff? Surely there wouldn’t be a land named like that in Alagesia.

“My companion here is Murtagh, son of Morzan, Rider of Thorn-“ What? Morzan?! The soldiers tensed as the songs and epics that were heard from bards ring a bell of the name.

“And I, Eragon Kingkiller, son of Brom, Rider of Saphira, wish to see Queen Nasuada of whom I am pledged.”

Upon hearing the name, breaths and bodies become frozen alike. Surely, THE Eragon Kingkiller is a name both heard and forgotten in their wakeful hours, but seeing the prestigious name who ended the long and cruel end of Galbatorix in person is a shock to all soldiers and commoners, if they are likely to hear it, will flood their memories of imagination of how the Varden has succeeded their rebellions against the former King with the help of the ferocious Eragon and Saphira. Not only that the magic, which has been made to be individually heard will take an amount of energy from the Rider but also proves that the two Riders, unyieldingly standing in front of the gates, can out win a thousand soldiers in a single cast of a spell. Even if the (Name of magician group) will start to chant and confront them with all their members, their minds guessed that a single killing spell will destroy the group in seconds. The dragons also posed a threat to the men, the large sapphire who is supposed to be Saphira carries a dignified air in her and a battle born gaze. Although Thorn is a much larger and certainly male, the femininity and ferocious gaze of a dragon born and tested in the wild emits an aura of intimidation both from the dragons but specifically in Saphira. No one moved in the silence that followed the Rider, for whom the soldiers do not believe to be Eragon, and even the insects or animals in the city seemingly froze in their activities. After a few seconds, the gatekeepers slowly moved towards Eragon, obviously to come nearer and shout queries on them. But after a whole while of slowly advancing with their spears in assumed battle stance, the war horns blared on unending cacophony of sound. What the soldiers saw of the two gatekeepers was a slight hesitation and their running forms towards the city gates.

And as they gaze upon their companions, slowly shifting their gaze towards the Riders, each soldier clasping their shields and spears stood stone-fixed and other wetting their armors for the short amount of time that took between the horns and the gatekeepers to run for their lives towards the city gate, the two Riders can now be seen aloft their dragons, both spewing flame in their mouths with matching Rider swords, assuming a deathly charge.