Before The Fall {An Eragon Fanfiction}

Chapter 3- Just A Crack

We had been riding for two days when something had finally happened. The elves were enjoyable company, always talking in light airy tones, even breaking into song at random times. Their voices were so beautiful I couldn't help but smile when their beautiful lyrics reached my ears.

And they used magic.

What a wonderful gift! One I lacked and wanted dearly! It seemed its possibilities were endless! I always stared in longing whenever they use it, even if it was something as simple as lighting the fire.

"How do you do it?", I asked them one day, sitting cross legged with my dragon egg nestled in my lap.

An elf by the name of Leilaní with starlight colored hair, the same one to drag the screaming boy away, laughs her tinkling laugh then says, a smile upon her face, "I am not the one to tell you young rider. Your masters will teach you how some do magic."

"Why can't you?", I ask with a pout, but she just smiles kindly and turns away.

That's how all my questions are answered, your masters will teach you. Well I want to know now! But, none of the four elves will tell me a thing.

Besides all the magic, the journey goes quite plainly with little change in scenery. All of the land is flat. Nothing more, nothing less. I start to wonder if most of the world is like this.

I had taken to wondering when the egg would hatch. It was always with me, never leaving my sight. Always in my arms or on my lap, and now something wonderful had started to happen.

While riding Manco, I started feeling tiny taps coming from inside the egg. Small and subtle, but still there.

"Leilaní!", I call out to her, "I felt something within the egg!"

She smiles, as do the other elves and Favnir, the male elf to speak at the presenting of the egg, says, "ahh good, I was hoping it would hatch before we reached Ilirea, if we are lucky, it may hatch for us tonight!"

I stared down at my orange egg laying in my lap. To think it might hatch soon, I might be able to see a real dragon for the first time in my life, and not just any dragon. My own dragon.

I was going to be a dragon rider.

That thought stuck in my brain for the rest of the day, as we rode countless leagues across rolling grasslands, then stopped to make camp for the night. Favnir said that we were over half way to Ilirea. I don't know how he could possibly know that, everything looks the same to me as if we have been riding in circles, but I decided to trust his judgement as I laid my head down on my arms and fell asleep.

~*~

I jolt awake as a loud piercing squeak shoots into the still night air. I jump out of my makeshift bed and stare around, thinking of animal attacks and other catastrophes. The elves are all up and sitting calmly around me. Do they ever sleep? And why are they all clustered around me?

Suddenly another squeak sounds out right next to me, making me jump again. Looking down, I see that the source of the noise is none other than the egg.

"Yes, it shall happen soon now", a male elf called Draumrhjarta says with a gleam in his eyes.

Not ten seconds after he says that, the egg starts to rock back and forth, its squeaks becoming more and more frantic. My heart can't stop pounding as I sit and watch it rocking, thinking about seeing my dragon for the first time.

Then it just stops. I'm worried for about half a second until a large crack appears right on top of it. Then another, and another, until there is a loose piece that wiggles as the dragons head pushes against it.

Finally, with one final shove, the egg breaks apart and out falls a majorly misshapen dragon.

It's about as long as my arm, wiggling around trying to get onto its feet. Two wings are bent awkwardly, causing the odd form when it pushed out of the now shattered egg.

"Beautiful", Leilani whispers, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. I shift my body just a slight bit closer, causing the dragon to whip it's head around and stare directly at me.

Despite its gleaming orange body, its eyes were a bright ice blue. It was so unexpected. I could see the other elves shock at the difference in color.

"Touch it", Favnir says quietly.

I glance at Favnir before quickly shuffling forward, causing the dragon to turn his brilliant eyes onto me. One could see the intelligence staring out of those icy eyes. Stretching out my hand towards the young dragon, it sniffs my hand for a second, before touching its snout to the palm of my right hand.

It was as if my veins had started on fire, a cold burning fire. An electrical shock went from my palm through the rest of my body as I quickly scramble back, pain radiating from every part of my body. Iron clanging filled my ears as I am no longer able to move, paralyzed with pain. Finally after what seemed like hours, warmth seeps back into my limbs and my palm itches like crazy.

I feel something brush against my mind, something that I never felt before, making me feel open and exposed. It was if a wall around my conscious had been taken down and I was now unprotected. I pull myself deep into the farthest corners of my mind to get away from everything.

I push myself slightly farther away from the dragon but instead it crawls closer to me, brushing up against my arm. I jump, expecting it to hurt again, but nothing happens. Stretching out my hand again, I scratch its head, causing a humming sound to come out of its throat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Favnir creep closer. When I look he says, "may I?", indicating at the dragon. I nod my head, reluctant though I was at letting someone else touch my dragon, but I trust Favnir.

He goes up to the dragon and places his hand over its head then closes his eyes. I'm so intent on watching what he is doing that I jump out of my skin when Leilani speaks right next to me.

"May I see your hand?", she asks, holding out her own to hold mine. I stretch it out, not caring as I am still focused on Favnir. But, after just glancing at what she is doing, I quickly whip my head back around to stare at my hand.

On my palm is a silvery circular mark, a mark that was not there before. The only thing that I can think of to cause this was my dragon.

"What is that?", I ask quietly.

"The Gedwëy Ignasia. Shining palm, mark of the dragon and rider", Leilani answers back just as quietly, as if in awe.

I turn back to Favnir to see him open his eyes and take his hand off my dragon, turning around and walking back over to me. Then he speaks.

"Would you like to name him?"

"Him?"

"Yes he is a male."

A male. What was I going to name him? I look at the elves and, as if they got my silent message, they walk away, giving me and my dragon some privacy for the first time.

"So, your a male dragon", I say and through our mental link I can feel his slight acknowledgement. "So what to name you? What about Talos?"

But every time I suggested a name, he turned it down. It wasn't until the ninth name did I find a match.

"What about Vascar?", and as soon as I said it, I could feel his pleasure at the name. "You are Vascar."

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AN: HEY GUYS SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT BUT I HOPE YOU LIKED!!!! NOW I GOTTA WARN YOU, THIS BOOK MIGHT HAVE VERY LONG UPDATES BECUZ.... WELL I DONT WANT TO SPOIL IT BUT I HAVE TO TRY AND TIME IT PERFECTLY!!! SO TOWARDS THE END THE UPDATES WILL BECOME LONGER AND LONGER SO PLEASE DONT BE MAD!!!! IT'LL BE WORTH THE WAIT :) :) :) SO IF YOU COULD PLEASE.....

READ/COMMENT/VOTE!!!!!!! YOU PEOPLES ROCK :D

THANKA YOUUU

~Bert