LIGHT ➼ Eragon Fanfiction

Fell

In an instant Ari and Autumn were on their feet, staring as the young dragon fell, almost elegantly, through first the sky and then the thick canopy of trees. Mere seconds later Ari let out a yell, clutching his right arm. His face contorted in an expression of agony as he stared into the tree line.

Pharaoh, who until that point had been hovering uncertainty near to the place Lotha had been, let out an anguished roar and wheeled around, landing neatly on the cliff edge. He had almost perfected his flying, and was able to perform a number of complicated aerial moves. He was, however, according to Yaela, no better than other dragons his age (though Pharaoh thought she was just saying that as to not boost his ego).

Autumn stared at the rustling tree line, wondering what to do. In the few dire situations she had been put in, she was almost always the assumed leader, no matter how many times she attempted to allow someone else to take control. She exchanged a glance with Pharoah, and a plan seemed to form in her mind. 

"Ari, d'you know what happened to her?" Autumn asked, speaking quickly to avoid wasting time. 

"I... I can't hear her... I CAN'T HEAR HER!" Ari's voice rose in pitch and volume, until he was practically screaming. Autumn could imagine how he must be feeling. She too would be terrified if she could no longer hear Pharaoh's comforting (albeit sarcastic) presence.

Autumn stepped forwards and placed a hand on his arm.

"Stay calm Ari. What happened." This time Autumn spoke slowly, making sure to sound much calmer than she felt. It seemed to have much more effect, as when Ari spoke his words were much more clear.

"She.. She was flying, and then she sent me a picture. It was dark, and there was a man. He said "Vëoht slytha" and then Lotha fell."

Autumn nodded, quickly adapting her plan. She guessed that the strange man had done something to Lotha, though how she was unsure. Perhaps by magic, but she was doubtful such a thing existed.

"Right." Autumn cleared her throat awkwardly. "I want you to go and find Yaela," as Autumn spoke, she gestured to the small camp they had set up around two miles away from the cliff, which the two children had climbed only a short while ago.

Ari interrupted almost immediately.
"But what about you?" Autumn almost smiled. She turned to Ari and replied.

"We have a dragon to save"

With that, Autumn turned to Pharaoh.

Can you do this?  She asked, worry prominent in the thought.

Do I have a choice? He returned, though she already knew his answer.

You always have a choice.

With that, Autumn sprinted over to Pharaoh and used the momentum to spring up into the slight gap between two of the frontmost spines. Pharaoh loosed a small roar, then jumped off the cliff edge.

Instantly they were in the air, and Autumn felt oddly weightless, like all of her problems had drifted away and become one with the air and the sky. But she knew she had to focus, and so turned her head to the patch of trees Lotha had plummeted into and observed it.

Visibly, it was just a normal patch of trees, however she could see the broken branches from where Lotha had been. However, Autumn knew something foul was afoot. She extended her mind as Yaela had taught her, and tried to listen to the minds of any creatures inhabiting the area. What she found astounded her.

After all, she wasn't expecting to find an oddly familiar mind probing the area as well.