A Helping Hand
Erys jolted awake for at least the third time that night; the feeling of death still brushed lightly against her skin. She shivered and stood. Shadows flitted through the darkness.
Realising she didn't have access to a match or flint and deciding to test her newfound abilities, she reached for the unlit lantern beside her cot and muttered quietly, "Brisingr."
Flame lit inside the lantern. While the drop in her energy was hardly significant, the familiar flood of energy left her feeling overwhelmed. She ignored it and set the lantern next to her cot, settling in for the rest of the night. The light, dim as it was, chased away her demons.
She woke the next morning, her body resisting her every move.
The moment Koarna spotted her, concern flooded her eyes.
"Ya look worse."
"I'm fine."
"We're taking ya to'a healer. One'a our Rider's'll know what to do."
"I'm not going."
"Ya don' 'ave a choice. No trainin' today. Ya seein' Kyanna."
"Is Ythari with her?"
Koarna narrowed her eyes. "Ya slippin', Erys."
She was taken aback by the use of her name. No one was near, but that didn't mean no one was listening.
"Don't use that name."
"Ah'll use whateva name Ah please. And if ya don' go, Ah tell everyone."
Erys groaned inwardly, though her face remained blank, but for a twitch of her lip.
"Fine."
She sat at the kitchen table and gnawed at a chunk of meat, most likely rabbit or squirrel. Her vision shifted back to a land of death. She blinked it away and took a deep breath. She returned her attention to breakfast. The meat in her hand swarmed with maggots; something foul seeped from the meat and dripped onto the table. She tasted raw flesh and something slimy slithered in her mouth. She spat and dropped it with a gasp even as the world shifted back to reality.
Erys only had time to fear for less than a second before she emptied the contents of her stomach on the floor. Her mind filled with air before she slid from her chair and collapsed on the ground. Her mind went blank.
The darkness held her for only a moment before she was shaken awake. She lay on one of the tables at the healer's. She was strapped, a dowel fitted between her teeth; Erys tried to force the dowel out of her mouth, but it remained lodged between her teeth.
"Ah was hopin' ya'd be unconscious longer."
Erys tensed and looked about. Kyail, Kyanna, and Ythari stood at the head of the table, staring down at her; her dragons—no longer unconscious and growing stronger daily, and understanding at least a little of the common tongue, thanks to Erys' daily conversations—inhabited a corner. They raised their heads and watched the proceedings.
"What's goin' on in ya mind?"
Erys opened her mental link to her dragons.
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Erys: An Eragon Fanfiction - (Under Editing)
FanfictionIn the time Eragon has been absent from Alagaësia, the riders have fallen to vices. Few have been able to raise to fulfill the roles the riders had originally been given, and a dark sect-reminiscent of the Foresworn-has risen to power. The cities...
