The Sea Egg (Percy Jackson to Eragon): The Displacement Effect Volume 1

Traveling

As we soared up into the sky, the coast quickly disappeared under the horizon. I quickly made sure everything was secure, then casually said to Maelstrom, Would you like to have a swim?

He only replied with a roar of exhilaration. As we dived, I wrapped a strip of leather that I found attached to the front of the saddle around my left hand, bringing it in the middle of my fingers, down around my pinkie, and then gripping the rest with my thumb. This would be a great way to not get torn off on impact, in case I lost Vaer.

At the last second, I kicked my legs out of the saddle, then narrowed myself as if I were diving. Propelled past the surface with all our momentum, we went nearly a hundred feet before we stopped, sending up a massive plume of water. I laughed at the adrenaline rush, happy to be back in my element, not worrying about others. We played for a bit, attacking imaginary foes and sending ice back and forth like volleyball. At noon, we moved on, pushing as hard as we could, exerting all our control and magic.

That night, we settled down in the shallows to rest. We didn't bother taking off the saddle, but I made some adjustments to it. Other than ascetics, the only change I made was to stow the leg straps. I could easily do the same thing with a thin layer of ice, which I could phase in and out of, so the straps would just get in the way.

Lets work on adjusting your ice armor to the saddle, I told Maelstrom, who summoned it easily. We quickly got that done, making minor adjustments, then went to sleep. Being a son of the sea god, even in this land we wouldn't be bothered by any sea life. In fact, it we were bothered even less, as the fish just respectfully ignored me.

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Over the next three weeks, we spent the first half of the day traveling at a furious rate, what with our water control and Maelstrom's natural prowess. Because we were in the sea, I was able to tell that we were easily outpacing even the fastest boat on Earth, covering what would have taken it a month or more in a week. Somewhere in the middle of the fourth week, when we arrived at the new land, I could tell that we wouldn't be seeing my friends for five or more months, if they didn't use magic to speed things up. Though the experiments that Orvik mentioned might change that dramatically.

Over that time, Maelstrom's control over water grew, until it reached the power of mine previously. My power had also grown from being bonded with him, and now I was able to command vast swaths of the ocean at a time, albeit not very intricately.

When we reached the land, I found a decent sized port. We went a few miles down coast, then I set Maelstrom up for while I was in the city.

Are you sure you'll be fine? I asked, nervous to be separated from him for more than an hour or two. 

Yes, m'lord. He'd been calling me that ever since I made an offhand remark about how all the fish weren't constantly calling me that. So he took it up, instead. I was less annoyed by him doing it, as it was more affectionate than subservient.

Okay, I said, pulling on my cloak, then walking to the shore. When I got out of the water, I felt the usual tiredness, amplified after so long in the water. I shook my head, then got on the path towards the city.

The first thing I did upon entering was go to the library. As much as I disliked it, I knew that it was the only unobtrusive way to get information. As I looked at the shelves with dread, I realized that I could read the titles with no problem! I searched back, then realized that it had been that way since I had been bonded with Maelstrom! Annabeth would be so jealous.

I went through, until I found a book that was just titled, The Histories. I took it off of the shelf, then eagerly  dug into it. I learned that the king had risen to power over a hundred years ago, throwing out the 'unjust' order of Riders. The book only waxed eloquent about him. Apparently the Urgals here were brutes, savages, and the rebel state and organization Surda and the Varden were working to overthrow the benevolent king.

I was surprised by the part about the Urgals, but from my reading previously, the Urgals over the sea had been similar at one point in time.

I smiled, my purpose coming to me. I realized that I was to help the Varden. I didn't trust a king that wouldn't let anything bad be said about them.

Also, there was a small section on the Ancient Language, which was apparently the language of magic. There was only one word mentioned from it. Brisinger, fire. I realized that that was the same language as the inscriptions on my sword.

I had just tucked it away when I heard a commotion from outside. With a start, I realized it was now the dead of night.

I ran out and saw that the docks appeared to be on fire. Disappearing over the horizon, I saw a ship that I had seen on my way in. The Dragon Wing. I smiled. This must be the Varden's work. I'd sleep, then I'd follow them in the morning. Then I realized that they were headed in Maelstrom's direction. With a flicker of thought, I notified him. Then I heard a horrid screech, and a hiss of words I couldn't make out. In the starlight, I could just barely make out a horrid shape. Okay, scratch that, I should probably help now.

I took off in the direction of the docks, under the pretense of helping put out the fire. When I reached them, I slipped quietly into the water, unnoticed in all the confusion. With a shudder, I propelled myself in the direction of the Dragon Wing.

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-Mike