To Find a Rider

3 - The Unfortunately Lost

As the three mighty dragons flew on to the cold lands of the North, the riders were becoming tired. Murtagh eventually strapped himself into Thorn’s saddle, lied down and attempted to fall asleep but he could not because of the warm air current from the south colliding with the cold, frigid air of the north which resulted in a bumpy flight pattern as Thorn was buffeted in the air by the fighting currents. Instead, Murtagh just closed his eyes. The dragons were also getting slightly tired but neither would complain, especially Shruikan.

Shruikan was driven by the sheer determination of finding his rider and reuniting with her. He would not let anything get in his way, but eventually he admitted to himself that perhaps it would be best if he rested and regain his energy to start flying once again to the lands of the North. The great dragon looked to the ground below at the evergreen trees as he flew high above them. He then looked behind him at the disappearing golden sands of the desert. Shruikan looked ahead and noticed a lake approaching, it was still two or three miles away but at the speed that the dragons are flying at, they should reach it in no time at all. As Shruikan looked beyond the lake, he noticed several storm clouds approaching the calm waters of the crystal clear lake. He could also sense the wind slightly changing bringing in a scent clarifying that a storm is, indeed approaching.

Saphira noticed the lake and the storm as well. Perhaps we should camp out by the lake, she said in everybody’s minds. The truth was: she was also getting tired. She felt as if her blue hued, translucent wings would fall off very soon if she did not rest. I doubt that there would be a better place than here. We have a fresh water supply and we can eat all the fish we want.

Providing that you can catch them,  Eragon answered as he stretched after the long flight. They have been flying for a week now and they have already rested many times in the middle of the desert.

The dragons could not eat much at all. Their last meal was three days ago when Shruikan spotted a large boulder. He flipped it over very easily due to his large size and strength and discovered exactly what he was hoping to find, a snake pit. To dragons, desert snakes were a rare delicacy. Snakes cannot bite dragons because of their armored scales and should they be venomous, the stomach of the dragons could easily digest them. Each dragon ate enough snakes to fill them up including Shruikan.

Murtagh sat up again on Thorn’s back. Are we really going to finally stop? he asked in Eragon’s mind since he knew that he would not be heard over the roaring sound of the wind as the dragons flew faster to arrive at the lake quicker.

Yes, we are,  Eragon answered, I feel that the dragons need the rest, they have been flying nonstop ever since late last night.  It was true, after everybody settled in that night, Shruikan awoke when he heard a sound coming from the trees and the bushes. He could hear the leaves rustling against each other but he knew that there was no wind to cause such a sound. There was something approaching the clearing that he and his friends were staying in and by the smell, he could tell that the sound was caused by bears in the area, several bears. Personally, he could handle a bear, perhaps even two, but by the scent given off by these bears, he could tell that there were at least six which was very odd for bears. He woke up everybody in the campsite including an unresponsive Angela who awoke only after Shruikan picked her up with his teeth and placed her on his back. She argued, of course, but Shruikan knew that there was no time. All three dragons took off into the skies which is why, a day later, they are extremely tired.

Why do you sound tired, Murtagh?  Thorn asked, I’m the one that has been doing all of the flying while you fell asleep on my back.  The red scaled dragon snorted, sending out a plume of smoke which was carried by the wind to Murtagh who coughed at the strong, sulfuric smell.

So you try to choke me with that ghastly smoke?  Murtagh complained. You know how much I hate it when you do that yet you do it anyway when I sleep, when we fly, while I was eating ham the other night…

I was actually helping you with that ham,  Thorn defended himself, I turned it into smoked ham.  Thorn smirked as he let off even more smoke from his nostrils.

That’s not how you smoke ham!  Murtagh whined again as he continued to cough from the excess smoke.

It is if you’re a dragon.  The great red dragon then descended with the others towards the calm, sandy shores of the lake. He landed hard on his feet just to upset Murtagh even more.

“Well thank the gods above that we finally made it, I was about to jump off your back if you were going to continue blowing smoke in my face,” Murtagh said as he jumped off of thorn and tripped on the ground from being dizzy after Thorn’s landing and from being so high up in the thin air for so many hours.

Now, you know that I would always catch you,  Thorn said as he lied down on the sand after getting a quick drink of water.

“Unfortunately,” Murtagh answered. He walked over to Eragon and Saphira and passed by Angela who was arguing to Shruikan about landing on your hind feet first and then your front instead of the other way around. However, Murtagh noticed that Shruikan’s ears were flat against his skull meaning he could not even hear her, he also had a small smile across his scaly lips as he enjoyed the silence. Murtagh smiled and even chuckled a little when Angela began kicking sand at Shruikan’s feet. “Hey Eragon,” he called when he finally reached him and his dragon, Saphira.

Eragon was just taking Saphira’s saddle off of her to get to the cooking supplies. When it was off, Saphira jumped into the water with a large splash which disrupted the calmness of the water, reeled her tail back and brought it forward across the surface of the water and purposely sent a medium sized wave to Eragon which drenched him.

“Saphira!” he scolded, only to have his voice bounce off of the water’s calm surface as said dragoness slithered around in the water, stop, lie down, and let the cool water ripple across her scales and wings to sooth the sore muscles. Eragon rolled his eyes and turned towards Murtagh who was laughing lightly. “Is there a problem?” Eragon asked while glaring at him.

“No, no problem, just wanted to ask what is for dinner,” Murtagh answered as he continued laughing and walked away. He passed by a confused Arya and accidentally bumped into her. After quickly apologizing, he walked back to his dragon to tell him what happened.

“What’s wrong with him?” Arya asked as she went to the water’s edge close to Eragon with an empty flask to collect some water.

“Sometimes I wonder,” Eragon answered as he went about his business.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was the middle of the night and the only sources of light in the campsite were the moon and the smoldering ambers of the fire that had been previously extinguished. The dark clouds that Shruikan had previously spotted were now over head dropping heavy rain but no thunder and lightning. The leaves of the trees were rustling with the cold night air along with the calming sound of the rain dripping in the puddles in the sandy ground and in the lake on the edge of the campsite. Everybody was asleep; the dragons had their wings covering their human companions. Yes, everyone dreamed on, that is everyone, except Shruikan.

The great dark colored dragon had his golden eyes wide open. He could not sleep at all because once again, he was thinking about her. What if she has forgotten me? he asked himself. He felt a heavy tug on his wings so he looked down. Of course, it was Angela tugging on his wings to keep her warm and dry. She was speaking incoherently about spells, lizards, toads, and other nonsense. Shruikan rolled his eyes and let off a gentle plume of smoke. He watched as it rose high into the heavens slowly and then dissipate in the night air above. There was a sudden heavy burst of rain so he held his wings close to the ground to keep Arya and Angela dry, and to keep them from blowing with the heavy winds. He looked at the end of his nose to see the water droplets fall off and collect on a small puddle at his feet. He laid his majestic head down upon his front paws and closed his eyes to attempt to sleep once again. That’s when he heard it.

Shruikan raised his great head once again when he heard rustling in the bushes. Please don’t let it be bears again; I would hate to fly away in this heavy rain.  He stayed lying down but he remained fully alert. His ears swiveled like a cat’s, locating the source of the noise. Aha! There!  It was coming from his left. He noticed that the rain was slowing down into a light, cold rain. He stood up, still keeping his wings close to the ground and listened again. He expanded his mind and sure enough, he can feel two other minds to his left. He growled silently to warn whatever animal, whether it is prey or predator, that it is not wanted. He listened closely again and this time, he heard voices.

“Look, there’s three of them,” one voice whispered.

“Yes, I can see that, I have eyes you know. Now let’s go, I don’t like the looks of that large black one,” another answered.

“But perhaps they can help us out.”

“Let’s go,” the other voice answered again.

Shruikan could tell by the high pitched voices that the intruders are younglings. The rain slowed down again until it became a mist. He folded his wings back since he knew that it would not bother Arya or Angela, besides, they have blankets. He took a step forward into a puddle and quickly brought his foot back from the resounding splash. He checked to see if any of his companions heard. Good, they’re still asleep.  He stepped over the puddle towards the bushes to find out where the noises are coming from. He could see the silhouette of the figures in the bushes but they were turned around and facing away from him. It sounded like they were quietly arguing whether to stay or go.

“Fine, we’ll sleep here until morning and ask them, are you happy now?” the larger figure asked.

“Yes, brother, I love you,” the smaller one answered.

These figures then settled down into the ground as Shruikan carefully approached them. When in the world did I get so big and heavy,  Shruikan asked himself as he found it difficult to stay quiet. He expanded his mind again towards his companions at the clearing and cautioned, There are two intruders in the left of this clearing, I may need help in scaring them off so bring your weapons.  He cut off his mind immediately to conceal himself from the two intruders but he knew that his warning did not go unheard by his friends. He could see that he was now only ten feet behind the two intruders and that’s when he made his move. He stopped and expanded his mind once again until he felt the two unfamiliar minds of the intruders. Who are you and what are you doing here, he said with a firm, authoritative voice. He received an instantaneous reaction as the two figures bolted up, took one look at Shruikan and bolted off towards the campsite screaming as they went. He could see that the fire was alight in the campsite again as his friends were ready to apprehend the two intruders. Shruikan chased them on the ground since he was too tired to fly in the air.

He heard a spell casted by a female voice. Probably Arya, Shruikan thought. He then heard a loud splash. When he entered the site he was shocked by what he saw as was his companions. The intruders were dragons! One dragon was golden in color and was stopped by Arya’s spell while the other, he could see, was on the bottom of the lake. He could tell by the splash he heard earlier and by the bubbles that he could see on the surface of the water. The golden dragon had black claws and a yellow underbelly. His eyes were so blue but they seemed to be dull and lifeless, so lifeless that it clawed at the hearts of those who stared into them. This dragon seemed to be half the size of Saphira, the dragon was very young.

Arya, who was holding a dagger in one hand and the other outstretched to hold the spell upon the dragon, was shaking her head in confusion. “Two dragons? But how?”

Two dragons?  Shruikan asked. He stepped forward to the golden one to exmine him.

“Yeah, the other little bugger just couldn’t stop when he saw the lake and went right into it,” Murtagh said with his sword still up and stretched out. “It was pretty funny actually.”

To you, maybe,  Thorn said. That youngling tripped on my foot when he fell in the lake, almost broke a claw too.  He began licking his claw to sooth the pain.

I think you can let this one go now Arya, Saphira noted when she approached the golden dragon and sniffed him. I doubt that he can run away.

“Okay, I am going to release him now, ready?” Arya asked. The three dragons moved into position around the youngling should he try to escape. They nodded to Arya to confirm that they are now ready. She lowered her hand to cut the flow of magic and the youngling fell down on his side panting. The golden one looked up and immediately stood up to confront the dragons and began to growl with smoke constantly pouring out of his nose to look threatening. “What the hell have you done to my little brother?” the gold one said.

The human and elf companions gasped and the dragons withdrew in shock. How are you able to talk?  Saphira asked.

“Perhaps you did not hear me?” the youngling said. He took a threatening step forward and even let a little gout of flames come out of his nostrils. “I specifically asked, what have you done to…”

There was a loud splash as the other dragon emerged from the murky depths of the water and accidentally sent a large wave over to his older brother which completely drenched him. This dragon gasped as he paddled over to the group. This dragon was a very light blue, lighter than Saphira, he had a silver underbelly with blue eyes as well but they had a twinle of mischievous in them. The older, now drenched dragon, glared at his younger brother. “What were you doing in there, this is no time to play around!”

“But did you see me?” the younger one asked. “I stayed in the water for five whole minutes! Did you see, did ya, did ya, did ya?”

“Stop talking!” the older one commanded. “Now let’s go, I knew that we shouldn’t have stayed here with these puppet dragons. Let’s just go!”

The three dragons glared at the golden one after the comment of them being puppets. They knew that they were certainly not puppets. They can do whatever they want, be friends with whomever they like, go wherever they please. A puppet dragon is one that is always controlled by someone. That someone can control when they eat, sleep, who to attack, who to kill, when to fly. This type of dragon would not be a dragon at all. Dragons are all about freedom. A puppet dragon would be like, well, someone like what Shruikan once was. This explains why he was very angry at the comment because he knew what it was like to be a puppet dragon, he’s been down that road in the past.

Watch who you are calling a puppet dragon, hatchling,  Shruikan warned. I do not take kindly to being called what I once was. I do not like to be reminded of my past.

“Precisely my point,” the golden dragon spat. “Now let’s go, they cannot help us.”

“But you promised,” the younger one whined as he dropped his wings to the ground, let his eyes tear up a bit and walked forward towards his older brother, dragging his wings on the ground to look innocent to his brother.

“That look worked with our mother, it may have worked for our father, but it sure as hell ain’t gonna work for me,” the gold one said. “This is the last time that I will say it, let’s go.”

“But you promised!” the younger one kept on repeating this over and over again while walking around his brother dragging his wings on the sandy, cold, dark shore.

“I had my wings crossed behind my back!”

The younger one gasped. “You can do that? Can you teach me, please?” he tried to cross his own wings behind his back only to tumble to the ground at his attempt as he lost his balance.

Eragon stepped forward to the older dragon since he was getting tired of hearing the younger one whine. The golden one looked towards him and glared. “Stay back before I bite your head off,” the dragon warned.

Saphira roared as she immediately jumped beside her rider. Not while I am around, hatchling. You would do well to watch your manners.  Her voiced softened into one that sounded like a mother’s voice. We only want to help.

“I doubt there’s anything that you lot can do to help us, I just want to go right now,” the older dragon kept that fierce look in his eyes. Saphira stared at this dragon and noticed a small tear come out of his dull, blue eyes.

Saphira knew that she would be taking a risk, but she felt that it was needed when the dragon faced the ground to hide the tear. She stood beside the dragon and unfurled a wing to act as a security blanket to the hatchling to comfort him. The younger one saw this and seemed slightly jealous as he squeezed his way next to his brother under Saphira’s wing. Saphira told everybody else to go back to sleep so she can privately talk to them. They did, but Shruikan stayed to help. They let the fire stay alit to give Saphira, Shruikan, and the two brothers some light as they converse.

Now little ones, what are your names?  Saphira asked.

The golden one was shaking, whether it was from the cold or because he is still shedding tears Saphira did not know. She had a feeling that it was the later.

The younger dragon answered. “My name is Ehecatl and my brother’s name is Astarot.” He decided that he could not fit next to his brother so he got out from underneath Saphira’s wing. Shruikan saw this and lied down in front of Saphira, stretching out his wing to let Ehecatl lie down underneath it to stay warm on this cold night. He looked up and noticed more clouds coming in the still dark sky.

Hmm, Shruikan thought. If I am not mistaken, I believe that the name Astarot stands for ‘the chief’ or ‘leader’.  He smiled at him. You must be a very brave youngling to bear that name. but in order to correctly use that name, you need to know when to accept help. I remember when my own mother said “It takes a good leader to fix a mistake by himself, but it takes a great leader to know when to accept help.”  Shruikan stared down at Ehecatl. You need to know what is best for your nest-mate, whatever you are doing or wherever you are going, you are going to need our help. Are you a good leader, or a great leader?  Shruikan asked when he stared back at Astarot.

Astarot looked up at Shruikan, he still had a tear that rolled down his golden, scaly cheek. “I don’t know,” he said. “I want to be a great leader but how can I? I do not want to drag all of you into this mess right now.”

What mess? Saphira asked.

“Astarot won’t tell me, he says that I am too young to know but I know that’s not true. All I want is to find mama. Can you help us find her?” Ehecatl asked. He snuggled closer to Shruikan’s large belly to get maximum warmth. For some reason, it was getting much colder tonight.

I’m sure that we can find her,  Saphira said. Shruikan is trying to find someone too. I’m sure that we can find both of them.  She tightened her wing over Astarot to keep him warmer as the wind picked up a little bit and the leaves rustled against one another. Right Shruikan?

Yes of course,  he answered.

“Who are you looking for?” Ehecatl asked.

I’m not sure if he feels comfortable talking about that subject,  Saphira said. Perhaps…

No, it’s quite alright Saphira, Shruikan decided. You see little ones, I am missing my rider. It was years ago, I was flying with my rider just for the fun of it. We flew everywhere, across forests and deserts, through waterfalls, we even tried to reach the end of a rainbow one time.  The two brothers looked on at Shruikan.

“What happened,” Ehecatl asked.

Well, one time when we were flying, she wanted to see the ocean, so I took her there, but there was a big sudden storm that I hadn’t sensed. When I noticed it, it was already too late because I was two miles away from the shoreline over the vast expanse of the ocean. We were hit by the storm and my rider fell off my back. I tried to fly after her but I lost sight of her. When I finally saw her, it was too late for she plunged into the ocean.

“Did you go after her?” Astarot questioned.

Yes, I did. I went after her into the ocean and grabbed her before she drowned. I flew her in my claws to the shore and checked for any vital signs of life, I found none.

The two younglings were silent, the only sound was the rustling of leaves, and the crackling of the diminishing fire.

I felt so terrible, that I left her there when the storm finally passed over. Now, I have heard that she is alive and living in the North which is where we are now going.

“The North?” Astarot studdered. “You mean, Frostloral?”

Yes, Frostloral, Saphira answered, Why do you seem depressed about going there?

Astarot looked over at Ehecatl and noticed that he was sound asleep. “Me and my brother want to go South, we came from Frostloral and we’re running away from it at my mother’s request.”

Shruikan looked shocked. So…your mother is not lost.

“I don’t know anymore, maybe, probably. The last time I saw her was after father…” he didn’t finish the sentence, instead, he looked down for more tears were dripping out of his eyes.

Saphira looked alarmed, Your father what? What did your father do?”

He shook his head to remove the tears and tried to stop tearing up. “The reason why we are running away from there is because of what my father has done to Frostloral. He changed it, he made it horrible. He has done bad things to my mother. I remember that in the past, back when I was actually happy and did not know of how bad my father actually was, I walked in a room that mother and father were in. Mother was on the ground, she was bleeding all over her white scales. Father was behind her, he…he was…” he cried even more.

Shruikan and Saphira had understood what had happened. Their mother was raped. You don’t have to say anything, we understand.  Saphira comforted him. She nuzzled him and removed a tear that was still on his scaly cheek.

“Two weeks later, there was an egg, and three weeks after that he hatched,” he gestured to his younger brother who was still sleeping. “After I told mother what I saw, she told me that she wants to save us, she said that we should go to the South, to Alagaesia and find a safe place to stay, she said that she will come get us when everything is back to normal.”

How long ago did she tell you that,  Shruikan asked, still shocked and alarmed of what he has heard.

“That was two years ago, and it was the longest two years of my life. My brother did not want to leave so we stayed hidden in the woods for a year, I knew that we had to leave so without him knowing, I moved us closer and closer to the South. A year later, we found you guys.”

Shruikan and Saphira were saddened after Astarot told them everything that has happened in their land. Why don’t you find a place to sleep close to the fire to warm you up, you two have had a long day,  Saphira suggested.

Aristot yawned and nodded as he picked himself up and walked by the now small fire that shrank from the harsh wind.

Saphira looked as he walked; she had a worried expression on her face.

What are you thinking?  Shruikan asked as he rose from the sand.

I’m thinking that we now have much more on our plate than we thought. Instead of just finding Akarli, now it seems that we are entering another country in distress, this may be what has already happened here in Alagaesia.  Saphira seemed distraught, she shook her head to clear her mind of the new situation at hand. I think that you, Shruikan, should be their temporary father.

What!?  Shruikan shouted. Why?

Because they need a father, and by seeing you interacting with them, you have the necessities that a father should have. Besides, if everybody that still sees you as ‘bad’ hear that you are now helping two younglings, most likely their opinions of you will change positively.

Shruikan thought of this carefully. Fine, I have always wondered what it would be like to have children; this should be good practice for if I ever find a mate.

Saphira nodded. How in the world can they talk out loud? She wondered as she got up and walked back towards the now sleeping Eragon.

I think I have an idea as to why, I’ll tell you in the morning.  He walked back to where he was sleeping when Saphira agreed, but then he decided to sleep by the younglings to begin acting as their father. He laid a wing over both of them when he settled in on the cold sand. He looked to Saphira and saw her doing the same to Eragon. Thorn, who was right next to Saphira, had one wing over Murtagh, and unfurled the other one over Saphira. Shruikan felt a bit jealous but he knew that he was too old for her. I have also wondered what it would be like to have a mate,  he thought to himself as he laid his head down on his paws. He took one last look at the sky and noticed that once again, there were clouds above. Before he closed his eyes, he noticed a single snowflake in front of his snout, he seemed fascinated by it. It has been years since I have seen beauty like this,  he commented to himself. When he saw more snowflakes falling lazily with the wind, he tightened his wing over the two brothers, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.