Curse of the Phoenix

Ch.33 -Sundial

Iara~

Marumen chose his room right next to me. At night, I could hear Virtue snoring. The days and nights mingled into one, merely becoming the passing of time. Spring came and went, while the skyblossoms thrived and grew into flowers larger than my head, which attracted bees of the same proportion. After spring came a summer that sent the island into turmoil, it had no predecessors of the same heat and duration. Eragon and Saphira claimed so, at least.

Fall came quickly, but even then it was warmer than usual. And later. Once summer let go, it was in the time of a mere month where the plants shriveled, the blossoms wilted, and the winds of winter came down from their mountain haunts. The island was again covered in snow. Come spring time, it melted once again. And without even a hint of spring, summer was upon us again. The snow had finished melting a month before the lakes had warmed. The shores grew larger, and the waters receded. This season was even longer than the previous one, but we thought nothing of it. Eragon attributed it to some sort of natural cycle. We didn't know how long it would last. But as soon as the long summers were done, long winters would be upon us, and we would soon be shivering by the hearth.

Even as the seasons passed, me and Marumen grew. Taller, and older. The seasons passed...and we had grown. We looked as old as Dru had been, soon, it seemed that us and Eragon were of the same age. But one year didn't add as much, it took several. And Eragon taught us much. Skills of the land, history, math, and writing. But the magic was my favorite part. Magic...the very word sent shivers of excitement through me. Magic....you could bend the very world itself with a single word. That was the part that amazed me, soon some of the rules that were bound to the world no longer seemed to be enforced.

Also, how to use my sword. My sword, now that was another thing, the thing I seemed to excel at. Marumen was particularly handy at magic himself. My sword was made out of a metal, a metal called bright steel. I had thought it was merely steel when I was younger. The gem in the hilt was called a black diamond. Marumen, his blade was of the same metal, but his gem was a pearl.

Last of all, were the dragons. Grimm and Virtue, even Giligan or Loth. They were the only two who had managed to visit the island. Their changes in size were the most obvious, as it had been a length of time since I had seen them, since the time that Marumen had joined us. Dru and Alice had also changed, instead of seeming to be 15 and 13, they seemed to be somewhere around 20. Now, Grimm and Virtue, however, I was constantly around so the changes seemed minuscule. Yet, I did notice that now Grimm could knock down hundred year old oak trees with a small blow from his tail, that he could crush a Snalgi in his paw. Soon, he dwarfed me in size. It used to be, that when I was younger his head was about as long as I was tall. Now, that applied, but only for his eyes.

Virtue was of the same proportions...Saphira was larger than them by a few feet, maybe. Eragon attributed their massive size to the size of their egg, which was at least twice as big as Saphira's had been. It only said that their mother was massive as well.

Those were the only prominent changes....The summers remained long, with no hint of the upcoming seasonal cycle. We did find some strawberries among the ruins, which were apparently of an old city, so when summer came it was strawberry-everything in our meals. The taste never grew old. I didn't know exactly how old I was. I just assumed I was seven or eight around the time I had met Eragon...so now, seventeen or eighteen. The years didn't seem as long as they were, rather, they blended together.