Chapter XVIII: Wild Magic and the Varden
In the morning, Eragon, Brom and I retrieved our saddlebags from the stable and prepared to depart. Istal's saddle sore had been a thing of the past for a while, but even so I still checked him for any others. Before we departed, Jeod greeted Brom while Helen watched from the doorway. With grave looks, the two men clasped hands. "I'll miss you, old man." Jeod said.
"And you I," Brom said thickly. He bowed his white head and then turned to Helen. "Thank you for your hospitality; it was most gracious." Her face reddened. Brom continued, unperturbed, "You have a good husband; take care of him. There are few men as brave and as determined as he is. But even he cannot weather difficult times without support from those he loves." Brom bowed again and said gently, "Only a suggestion, dear lady."
Indignation and hurt crossed Helen's face, her eyes flashed as she slammed the door shut. Jeod sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Eragon and I both thanked him for his help, Eragon more so then me. With the last farewells said, we mounted the horses and departed.
At Teirm's south gate, the guards let them through without a second glace. As we rode under the giant outer wall, I saw movement in a shadow. As we rode passed, I saw Solembum was crouched on the ground, tail twitching. Eragon and I shared a glance, seeing the same thing and nodded.
As the city receded into the distance, Eragon was the one to ask, "What are werecats?"
"Why the sudden curiosity?" Brom asked, looking surprised.
"We heard someone mentioning them in Teirm. They're not real, are they?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"They are quite real." Brom said in reply, "During the Riders' years of glory, they were as renowned as dragons. Kings and elves kept them as companions – yet the werecats were free to do what they chose. Very little has ever been known about them. I'm afraid that their race has become rather scarce as of recent."
"Could they use magic?" Eragon interrogated.
"No one's sure, but they could certainly do unusual things. They always seem to know what was going on and some way or another get themselves involved." Brom said, pulling up his hood to block a chill wind. I followed his lead and hunched myself over Istal's neck.
"What's Helgrind?" Eragon quizzed, after a moment of thought.
"You'll both see when we get to Dras-Leona," Brom replied.
When Teirm was out of sight, I heard Eragon shout in my mind, Saphira! Istal obviously heard the strong mental shout as he reared and pranced on the spot when he landed back on four legs. Next to me, Cadoc tossed his head, whereas Snowfire simply tossed his head.
We all watched as a dark blur rushed from a cloud, before hearing a dull road as Saphira's wings flared open. The sun shone behind the thin membranes, turning them translucent and silhouetting the dark veins. She landed with a blast of air.
Eragon tossed Cadoc's reins to me with a wide grin. "I'll join you for lunch."
Brom nodded, but seemed preoccupied. "Have a good time," he said, then looked at Saphira and smiled. "It's good to see you again."
"Agreed," I said.
And you too, Saphira said replying to both of us. Eragon quickly hopped onto Saphira's shoulders and the dragon bounded upwards. Saphira quickly gained height and with a wild bugle, soared in a great loop.
Brom and I then moved off, and I tied Cadoc's reins to the back of my saddle. For the first hour no one spoke. "You both, that is you and Istal, need to shield your minds," Brom said suddenly.
I twisted in my saddle and looked at him, "What?"
"Cadoc and you both heard Eragon's mental cry for Saphira. In order to protect yourselves from enemies and from that happening again, you should shield your mind at all times. It'll be hard at the beginning but you'll slowly get used to it." Brom told me, "Adding onto that, how is Istal going?"
"He can speak," I said with a smile.
Brom nodded and went silent once more. I waited for a few minutes thinking he was talking to Istal. "He is a very intelligent animal, he caught on quick."
Saphira helped, Istal said in his mind to both Brom and I. She gave me her memories of learning to speak to Eragon and what not. She doesn't like horses though, does she? Umaroth had to ask her kindly, Istal said with a toss of his head.
"No, she doesn't." Brom said slowly, "But I doubt any dragon does." Brom had an amused grin as he looked at Istal, "I don't think I've ever heard of talking horses, espcially a normal horse such as Istal."
"Normal?" I asked confused. Brom looked at me and laughed but didn't say anything. "Is this even possible?" I wondered aloud.
"Well obviously," Brom said with a roll of his eyes. "Otherwise, how would Istal be speaking to you?"
I rolled my eyes in reply, "That's not quite what I meant." I said, "How is this possible? Surely others would've done this if it was possible."
"What is magic Umaroth?" Brom asked I furrowed my eyebrows in thought and frustration, wondering what this had to do with anything.
"Magic, although the proper name is gramarye, is the manipulation of energy. Gramarye users have an innate power that allows them to use their energy to manipulate the nature of the world." I said, recalling what I knew and summarizing it all.
"That is correct. Now, I haven't taught this to you or Eragon, but there are different types of magic." Brom said. "There's sorcery, potions, dark magic, wild magic and singing. Although those last two aren't branches of magic, they're just commonly mistaken as such."
"What do all of them do?" I asked eagerly, also interrupting Brom.
Brom scowled, "If you shut up I'll answer your first question and maybe your other questions later on."
I nodded with a small smile, "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Brom told me in a gruff tone, "Just listen. I believe it is wild magic that has allowed Istal to become so intelligent and therefore use his mind.Wild magic occurs naturally here. It's mysterious, powerful and has no boundries. All gramarye users can use wild magic, but it can cause dangerous results. Very few are aware they can do this, due to the widespread use of ancient languae. The Floating Crystal of Eoam and the materialization of Mani's Caves are manifestations of wild magic."
"Now, mental communication and by extension mental shielding is what Istal and you can do. Magic users and those trained to do this can do this. However, intelligent lifeforms like humans, elves, and dwarves are the only ones I know that when trained can normally do this. Now in order to learn this you must be able to communicate with someone else who can so they can teach you. This is why I think wild magic has affected your horse. It's increased his intelligence and mental capability. I think it's possibly improved his capability of tapping wild magic, and the manipulation of the energy around him. Which would explain why he seems more in tune with everything around him. Although, the Saphira being around might be another reason why Istal can do what he can. Dragons have a tendency to effect the things around them and in doing so the magic they hold within can be rubbed off onto other creatures, although they constantly maintain this magic and, therefore, aren't really losing any."
"So wild magic could've been a factor or it could've been Saphira?" I asked, checking I got the basis of what Brom had said.
"That is what I said in one line," Brom said in a terse voice, sounding like he was over this conversation.
I debated pushing Brom to reply to my other question when he sighed. "I didn't answer your other question. I suppose old age is getting to me. I'll start with sorcery. Sorcery is the art of summoning and controlling spirits, bidding them to do your will. Some spirits can be too strong for a magic user to control and therefore posess the user's body, evil spirits also have a tendancy to do this. Potions are simply a combination of various herbs and other organic products used by witches, wizards or lesser magicians. Dark magic isn't actually dark magic. The word dark refers to the personality of dark magic users, not the magic itself. Magic is neither evil nor good. It is what the user uses it for that makes the user good or evil. Sining is simply the chanting of the spell in place of the words of a song, it is commonly mistaken as a different branch of magic, but do not be mistaken. It is not."
I nodded, "It's almost noon, and I believe Eragon will join us for lunch." Brom said suddenly, pulling Snowfire to a halt.
Istal stopped without a command. I swear you're soon not going to listen to me. I murmured to my horse.
Istal nickered and rolled his eyes, seeming sarcastic. I am a horse and you are my master, I will listen but I will do what I think is better at times to.
It's as if I'm a Dragon Rider and you're my dragon, I told Istal with a chuckle. I can almost just take of the reins or bridle and see how long it takes me to fall off.
It would be interesting to see, Istal agreed, it would improve how well we work together as well. Which may be helpful if we ever get into a battle and I'm not bridled or you need both hands. Like that with the Urgals in that town, I had to come save you.
Feeling proud of yourself? I questioned, I never did say thanks, so thanks. I added on, Istal nodded his head and I took off his bridle so he could graze while I ate. Eragon landed for lunch a few minutes later and sat in the sun.
After we finished eating, Saphira flew away and joined Brom and me on the trial. After some time, Eragon slowed Cadoc to a walk and said, "I need to talk to you. I wanted to do it when we first arrived in Teirm, but I decided to wait until now."
I tilted my head to look at Eragon in confusion. I had no clue what he was talking about, and we normally talked about most things. Asking questions to see if the other had any clue what the answer was.
"About what?" Brom asked.
Eragon paused. "There's a lot going on that I don't understand. For instance, who are your 'friends,' and why were you hiding in Carvahall? I trust you with my life – which is why I'm still traveling with you – but I need to know more about whom you are and what you're doing. What did you steal in Gil'ead, and what is the tuatha du orothirm that you're taking me through? I think that after all that's happened, I deserve an explanation."
"You eavesdropped on us," Brom said in a grave tone.
"Only once," I said in reply, knowing that I wasn't going to stand by and let Eragon take the full blame.
"Umaroth probably helped you, Eragon, out with the wording." Brom said, "I see that you are both to learn proper manners." Brom said as he tugged on his beard, "What makes you think this concerns either of you?"
"Nothing, really," I said with a shrug.
"Just it's an odd coincidence that you happen to be hiding in Carvahall when I found Saphira's egg and that you also know so much dragonlore." I bit my cheek, remembering that I had to hide information from Eragon of what I knew. "The more I think about it, the less likely it seems. There were other clues that I mostly ignore, but they're all obvious now that I look back. Like how you knew of the Ra'zac in the first place and why they ran away when you approached. And I can't help but wonder if you had something to do with the appearance of Saphira's egg. There's a lot you haven't told us, Saphira and I can't afford to ignore anything that might be dangerous.
"You won't wait?" Brom asked as dark lines appeared on his forehead. Eragon shook his head mulishly and Brom sighed before reining Snowfire to a halt. "This wouldn't be a problem if you weren't so damn suspecisious. But then again, I suppose you wouldn't be worth my time if you were otherwise."
I wondered whether that was a compliment or not, before deciding it didn't matter. Brom lit his pipe and blew a plume of smoke into the air. "I'll tell you," he said at last. "You must understand that I cannot reveal everything." Eragon started to protest, but Brom was quick to cut him off. "It's not out of a desire to withhold information, but because I won't give away secrets that aren't mine. There are others woven in with this narrative. You'll gave to talk with the others to find out the rest."
"Very well," I replied. "Explain what you can."
"Are you both sure?" Brom asked. "There are reasons for my secretiveness. I've tried to protect you by shielding you from forces that would tear you, Eragon, apart. Umaroth, you would be dragged down beside him. Once you know of them and their purposes, you'll never have the chance to live quietly. You will have to choose sides and make a stand. Do you really want to know?"
"I cannot live my life in ignorance," Eragon said quietly.
"I'm not going to protect myself in a shield of ignorance, it'll only come back to hurt me later."
"A worthy goal and wise words... Very well: there is a war raging in Alagaësia between the Varden and the Empire. Their conflict, however, reaches far beyond any incidental armed clashes. They are locked in a titanic power struggle... centered around you."
"Me?" Eragon said in a disbelieving voice. "That's impossible. I don't have anything to do with either of them."
"Not yet," Brom said, with a glance at me, "I think Umaroth's figured out the reason why."
"Is it because Eragon is a Dragon Rider, and he's the start of the next generation of Riders?" I asked.
Brom nodded, "Exactly. Whoever controls these Riders will become the undisputed master of Alagaësia."
"So the Varden and Empire aren't fighting to control this land or its people?" I questioned, figuring everything was a lie.
Brom simply nodded his head and looked at Eragon. "But all the Riders were killed except for the Forsworn, who joined Galbatorix. As far as I know, even those are now dead. And you told me in Carvahall that no one knows if there are still dragons in Alagaësia." Eragon objected, as if the idea of someone fighting over him was too vast to grasp.
"I lied about the dragons," Brom said flatly. "Even though the Riders are gone, there are still three dragon eggs left – all of them in Galbatorix's possession. Actually there are only two now, since Saphira hatched. The king salvaged the three during his last great battle with the Riders."
"Wait, so there may soon be two new Riders, both of them loyal to the king?" Eragon asked. I felt my face pale as my stomach felt like it dropped.
"Exactly," Brom said. "There's a deadly race in progress. Galbatorix is desperately trying to find the people for whom his eggs will hatch, while the Varden are employing every means to kill his candidates or steal the eggs."
"But where did Saphira's egg come from? How could anyone have gotten it away from the king? And why do you know all this?" Eragon asked.
"So many questions," Brom said with a bitter laugh. "There's another chapter to all this, one that took place long before you were born. Back then, I was a bit younger, though perhaps not as wise. I hate the Empire – for reasons I'll keep to myself – and wanted to damage it any way I could. My fervor led me to a scholar, Jeod, who claimed to have discovered a book that showed a passageway into Galbatorix's castle. I eagerly brought Jeod to the Varden – who are my so-called friends – and they arranged to have the eggs stolen."
He's part of the Varden! I thought to myself, I wonder if he plans to take Eragon there at one stage...
"However, something went amiss, and our theif got only one egg. For some reason he fled with it and didn't return to the Varden. When he wasn't found, Jeod and I were sent to bring him and the egg back." Brom paused for a second and his eyes grew distance. "That was the start of one of the greatest searches in history. We raced against the Ra'zac and Morzan, last of the Forsworn and the king's finest servant."
"Morzan!" Eragon interrupted. "But he was the one who betrayed the Riders to Galbatorix!"
"So?" Brom asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, he was old, but strong and cruel. He was one of the king's first followers and by far his most loyal. As there had been blood between us before, the hunt for the egg turned into a personal battle. When it was located in Gil'ead, I rushed there and fought Morzan for possession. It was a terrible contest, but in the end, I slew him, so I took the egg and bore it to the Varden, who asked me to train whomever the new Rider was. I agreed, and decided to hide in Carvahall. Which I had been to several times before – until the Varden contacted me. I was never summoned."
"Then how did Saphira's egg appear in the Spine? Was another one stolen from the king?" Eragon asked.
Brom grunted. "Small chance of that. He has the remaining two guarded so thoroughly that it would be suicide to try to steal them. No, Saphira was taken from the Varden, and I think I know how. To protect the egg, its guardian must have tried to send it to me with magic. The Varden haven't contacted me to explain how they lost the egg, so I suspect that their runners were intercepted by the Empire and the Ra'zac were sent in their place. I'm sure they're quite eager to find me, as I've managed to foil many of their plans."
"Then the Ra'zac didn't know about me when they arrived in Carvahall," Eragon said.
"That's right," Brom replied. "If that ass Sloan had kept his mouth shut, they might not have found out about you. Events could have turned out quite differently. In a way, I have you to thank for my life. If the Ra'zac hadn't become so preoccupied with you, they might have caught me unawares, and that would hve been the end of Brom the storyteller. The only reason they ran was that I'm stronger than the two of them, especially during the day. They must have planned to drug me during the night, and then question me about the egg."
"You send a message to the Varden, didn't you?" I questioned out loud, "It's about Eragon, isn't it?"
"Yes. I'm sure they'll want me to bring you to them as soon as possible."
"But you're not going to, are you?" Eragon questioned.
"No, I'm not." Brom said with a shake of his head.
"Why not? Being with the Vaden must be safer than chasing after the Ra'zac, especially for a new Rider." Eragon said, confusing in his voice.
Brom snorted and looked at Eragon with a fondess I often saw when parents looked at their children. "The Varden are dangerous people. If we go to them you will be entangled in their politics and machinations. Their leaders may send you on mission just to make a point, even though you may not be strong enough for them. I want you to be well prepared before you go anywhere near the Varden. At least while we pursue the Ra'zac, I don't have to worry about someone poisoning your water. This is the lesser of two evils. And," he said with a smile, "it keeps you happy whie I train you... Tuatha du orothrim is just a stage in your instruction." I stifled a laugh at this as I remembered what the words meant. "I will help you find – and perhaps even kill – the Ra'zac, for they are as much my enemies as yours. But then you will have to make a choice."
"And that would be...?" Eragon asked warily.
"Whether to join the Varden," said Brom. "If you kill the Ra'zac, the only ways for you to escape Galbatorix's wrath will be to seek the Varden's protection, flee to Surda, or plead for the king's mercy and join his forces. Even if you don't kill the Ra'zac, you will still face this choice eventually."
I chewed on my lip as I thought, by traveling with Eragon and Brom, and by extension Saphira, I would face this choice as well. I thought back to my past, and how one of my parents had spectated that it was the Empire's soldiers that had burnt down our house. You already know your choice, Istal said. I startled, not realising that in my moment of thinking Istal had entered my mind.
I do, I replied. If I must do anything, I would join the Varden. Never will Galbatorix be an answer for me.
Istal tossed his head in reply but didn't do anything else. "You still didn't explain how you know so much about dragons." Eragon said suddenly.
"No, I didn't, did I?" Brom said with a crooked smile. "That will have to wait for another time," Brom sent me a look and I nodded. I would not reveal his secret to Eragon.
"Did you ever meet my mother?" Eragon blurted, I frowned, confused at the rapid change in topics.
"Yes, I did," Brom said looking grave.
"What was she like?"
"She was full of dignity and pride, like Garrow." The old man said with a sigh, "Ultimately it was her downfall, but it was one of her greatest gifts nevertheless... She always helped the poor and the less fortunate, no matter her situation."
"You knew her well?" Eragon asked.
"Well enough to miss her when she was gone." The greying man said with a reply before urging Snowfire forwards into a slow canter.
Varden in the picture, I know none of them have seen it but it was the best picture idea I could come up with.
Sorry this was late guys; I forgot to update yesterday as I'm currently sick.