Curse of the Phoenix

Ch.12

Grimm~

The water-sky-cloud-rain fell against the glass, small flashes of lightning visible in the distance. Iara was still sleep-dreaming, and she was snoring a bit. I got out of the sort of comfy place where I slept, and walked outside into the hallway. Out of curiosity, I looked upward. The ceiling was thirty or forty feet above. This whole place seemed perfectly built for a dragon of any size.

Down the stairs, careful not to rip or tear the red-soft-stair-carpet. I stood in front of the stairs then. Saphira was in the kitchen. I went over to her. Her head swung around to face me as I approached. She was sprawled out behind the table. She flicked her tail, and I settled down twenty feet away.

Grimm.

Saphira. Seconds after she had greeted me, I felt a....presence. It felt draconic. The presence waited, as if it was expecting me to lower my barriers. Which I was not going to do. Saphira was going to say something, but before she could the presence went ahead and decimated my barriers. I snarled and fought back. Then there was a growl in my head.

Glaedr elda, stop this. The presence snarled in response to what Saphira had said.

If the hatchling would have just let me in then we could have talked. The presence-Glaedr, did halt the asault, however.

Could you not have just talked from outside?

I could have. But we have not much time until Eragon and the other hatchling wake up.

Time until what? I interrupted. Suddenly both Saphira and whoever Glaedr was were focusing on me. I didn't like being in the spotlight. Glaedr was the first to speak.

Grimm.

Grimm. said Saphira. Something is wrong. Something that only we, the dragons, know about.

Well what is it? I said, my curiosity peaked. Neither of the elder dragons answered. As if they were talking about how to answer. But aside from that, I had many more questions to ask Saphira. Who was Glaedr? Was there really another dragon on the island? I focused intensely as Saphira spoke once more.

Grimm. First, have you noticed anything strange on the island?

Aside from the Shadow Birds and the fact there are hundreds of giant skeletons next to a completely decimated city, no, I haven't. Maybe she could detect the sacrasm when I spoke of the latter two?

Both of those are explainable. Anything else or is that it? Glaedr said. Well, snapped more like it.

Maybe he doesn't know because he doesn't know what to look for. Saphira spoke, as if I wasn't here. Grimm. You haven't been on Vroengard long enough to notice the changes.

What changes? Can you please explain to me a bit more instead of giving me cryptic words and half answered replies? What exactly are you talking about, and why is it that Eragon and Iara aren't present in this so very important, it seems, discussion? That small outburst erected a snarl from Glaedr.

You should show a little more respect towards your elders, hatchling. And it's not changes, plural, there's really only one major change. The summers are getting warmer, so warm as to where a drought would seem approprioate. The island itself is warming, as if the blood of the earth is stirring. Saphira interrupted then.

Grimm, do you know of the Hadarac Desert?

I do, why?

Do you know how it came to be?

No.

Once it was an endless plain. Then the earth warmed. The plants shriveled and burned. And then after there was a desert. We think that the same thing is happening here.

But why? I asked. So far Glaedr had been silent. He chose to speak now.

We don't know why.

How can you even prove it? I had to admit, this seemed a bit strange. Why should we care?

The snow on the mountains is melting earlier than it should. Small ponds and lakes are evaporating. Said Saphira.

What's so bad if its natural?

If that were the case, everything would be fine. But natural, is one thing this isn't. Glaedr said.

Then what is it?

We don't know. Said Saphira. But we want to find out. We will be teaching you, teaching you things that have been passed down from dragon to dragon for thousands of years. And during that time, we will be seeking answers.