To The Lands Beyond (An Eragon Fanfiction)

New Sights

We should show them the Crags of Tel'naeír first off; I think they would really appreciate seeing the place where you grew up. I also grew up there, at least for my first few years. I loved the place and went back to there very often; Oromis and Glaedr lived there many years before even I was born, and he was already well accustomed to it by the time I lived there, Arya said to Fírnen as they walked alongside each other with Roran, Katrina and Ismira in tow. 

"First, we should get you three some food; I will leave you at the dining hall, where they are preparing lunch for you all. I will go out into the forest with Fírnen, but we will be back soon enough to take you for a tour around the place," she said to the humans behind her. 

"Wait!" Roran exclaimed. Arya and Fírnen turned to face them at his call. 

"We are not hungry yet, and Ismira is still asleep. If it is okay with you, we would like to take a look around before eating. Katrina yearns to see this place, and will not rest until she has seen the whole of it," he pleaded. 

I would be pleased to show them around while you go hunt, Arya suggested to Fírnen. 

I would be very thankful if you did, he said, sauntering off into the forest to find the hunting grounds that had been calling to him ever since they landed in the forest. 

"He is hungry after flying all day without even so much as a bite of breakfast. He will be back once you are finished eating, I presume," Arya explained as Katrina and Roran sent her puzzled looks. 

"The elf you saw guarding the gate a few hundred yards back was Gilderian the Wise; he only appears when called, and appears when you come within sight of the gate, and disappears as soon as you walk inside," she informed the two of them as they all walked together through the heart of the city. 

She stopped many times to tell Roran or Katrina whose house they were passing, explaining how they were made, why they made them that way, and anything they asked her as they went along. She thoroughly enjoyed showing them around the forest, as it was her home. It was where she felt most at home and comfortable. 

I only wish I had gotten the chance to show Eragon around Ellesméra, and show him where all my favorite places are to be. Maybe then we could have strengthened our bond, rather than beginning to drift apart, she thought to herself, sharing the memory of Eragon's fairth he created of her. 

He must have been very foolish to have done something like that in such a demanding situation. Still, he wanted to show you the affection he felt for you, Fírnen told her. 

It went horribly awry, yes, she retorted, the beginnings of a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. 

Fírnen simply shook his head slowly, smoke shooting out of his nostrils when he snorted. They walked in silence for a while in the darkened shade underneath the thick ring of trees that surrounded the immediate city. Tree houses could still be seen interwoven into the dense jungle above, perched just as precariously as they could be above the myriad clearings that dotted the wide expanse of trees. 

A golden ring of light stood on the edge of the forest before them, Katrina and Roran lengthening their strides as they became more and more eager to witness what it was that the elf and dragon wanted them to see. Arya dropped back behind them to allow them a better look at the rocky bluffs Oromis and Glaedr once called home. 

They finally broke through the cover of trees, Roran and Katrina immediately understanding why Oromis and Glaedr had chosen this spot, of all places in the beautiful woods next to all the commotion, to live in. 

"I never thought this forest could get any more beautiful, and it has surprised me yet again," Roran commented to Katrina as they stood on a small incline, casting awed glances across the immensely beautiful view the position commanded over the beautiful lush forest. 

Every time I witness the sight, it takes my breath away. I was able to visit this place as many times as I would like as a child, and I did for a while, until I lost interest and went off to explore the rest of the world, tiring of seeing the same forest over and over again every day of my life. I can't seem to get over this, the perfect place to be. I don't know what we're doing leaving this place, but I hope it is worth it, Arya said to Fírnen sadly. 

I have heard Glaedr speaking to many of the other Eldunarí about this place. He seemed extremely fond of this place, he did, one of the Eldunarí from above Fírnen startled both him and Arya, for they had had no need of their energy throughout the journey, and had not heard a word from them that entire time. 

Indeed, it is beautiful, the other one chimed in. They seemed overtly amused by startling her and Fírnen, caught up in a conversation between themselves already. 

I am glad the two of you are still awake. It slipped my mind that you were there, such is the expertise to which Eragon performed the spell that put you up there, Fírnen craned his neck upwards in an attempt to look at where he thought the two Eldunarí were kept. 

"I can imagine why Oromis and Glaedr would chose to live here, it's just far enough away from the city to be easily accessible by the other elves, and far enough away that you truly feel alone. To me, this forest seems ethereal, and this spot had impressed upon me the same result, only to a higher degree. It's like this forest is one step above Palancar Valley, and this spot right here, and it's perfect positioning, takes it one step further," Roran thought aloud. 

Arya and Fírnen left the three humans to their devices, walking over to Oromis' hut so Arya could make some food for herself. Presently, Ismira's eyes flicked open, and instantaneously her empty stomach sent tears springing to her eyes, dragging Roran and Katrina away from the grassy knoll they had occupied.

"Fírnen and I will be here when you three are ready to be taken around the rest of the forest," Arya called to them. 

You will find food prepared for you in the place we mentioned on the way over here, and there are three elves that will accompany you, Fírnen said graciously, seeing them off after Roran thanked him. 

We will have to visit this place on our way to report back to Nasuada or the first thing that brings us back here. I wish to see it again, and I feel that I will miss it much while we are away, he commented to Arya as she was in the middle of making herself a salad. 

I wonder how humans can make it through the tough times they face when they cannot simply travel back in time and sift through their memories to find the good times they spent with a loved one, or sights like these, she mused, mulling over the many advantages being able to look back at ones memories brings. 

Arya finished her salad and Fírnen curled up close to the edge of a cliff, curling his tail around Arya as she walked over. She sat next to him and leaned her head against his stomach. His head lay facing outwards as he simply took the time to look out across the trees, wondering where they ended and a new terrain took hold of the ground below. 

Arya's eyes were upturned, facing the sky, imagining the two of them soaring across it, stirring up the colossal clouds that hung, weightless, in the sky, carried ever sideways across all the lands of the world by the smallest of wind drafts. 

She could see again the many magic ships she had assembled over the years, sent on various errands, sent off on their journey by a simple spell and a little blow underneath it's sails. 

Perhaps I shall make one now, she thought, idly picking through the grass and grasping blades at random, her fingers deftly spinning and rotating the leaves. A ship soon began to take shape; this was of a larger, more complex shape, having multiple sails, as she had found many large blades of grass. 

Fírnen's right eye swiveled to face the ship as she blew it into the air. They watched it for a time, wondering to where it may go, and to what kinds of unique creatures it would meet. What their reactions would be, what imaginations it would spark, what ideas it would formulate. As they stood there watching, the sky tinted bright orange as the sun made it's slow descent through the sky. 

I just hope none of this is lost to us when we get back here, Arya reflected. 

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