The Age of the Dragon 4: On Silver Wings

Chapter 19

Fallyn breathed deeply, as she tumbled through a starry sky. She knew she could change her shape to avoid death as she fell towards a deep crevice, but she felt no inclination to do so. Large, bat-like creatures snapped at her with sharp fangs, but she did not respond.

She simply breathed deeply, and let the wind tear at her hair.

She closed her eyes against the growing brightness from the crevice she fell towards, and when she opened them again she was once again in her chamber, looking at herself strapped to the table. Next to her limp form stood Galbatorix: tall, broad-shouldered, with a shadow where his face ought to be and a crown of crimson fire upon his head.

He turned to where she stood and extended a gloved hand.

"Come, Fallyn Stormrider. Unbend your pride and pledge your fealty to me, and I shall give you everything you have ever wanted."

She snorted, flicking a finger towards him, as fire engulfed the shadows that he became.

"I desire your death, murderer," she uttered.

The chamber then rang with Galbatorix's voice, as if his voice came from all directions.

"Then here you shall stay until you realise the error of your ways."

Fallyn's eyes snapped open, and she noted the bonds that kept her locked to the slab. She tried to remember what she had just been doing when vines began to break through the tiles. She snorted, and her markings flared to life as the vines stopped short.

"Do not think to toy with me, da'len," she hissed as she took control of the vision. "I am somniari, and dreams are my weapons!"

The vines twisted in on themselves as the two battled over control of the illusion, before the slab she was upon sunk into the earth suddenly. With a frustrated snarl, she tried to re-establish control of the illusion.

Light then filled her vision, and she blinked in momentary confusion.

All around her, rolling hills of green, patched with fields and vineyards. She stood on the edge of a small courtyard, underneath a trellis laden with blooming morning glories. She was wearing a beautiful dress of crimson, a crystal goblet in her right hand and the musky, cherry taste of wine upon her tongue. A slight breeze from the west tousled her hair, which hung loosely around her face, bringing with it the smell of warmth and comfort and freshly tilled land.

"Ah, there you are," a familiar voice spoke from behind her.

She hesitated a moment, before turning to see Murtagh walking towards her from a grand estate. Like her, he held a crystal goblet of wine. He wore black hose and a doublet of maroon satin trimmed with gold piping. A gem-encrusted dagger hung from his studded belt. His hair was longer than she remembered, and he seemed more relaxed than she ever remembered seeing him, with a confidence she had not seen even when they travelled together.

He joined her beneath the trellis, his hand resting on her arm in a manner that struck her as incredibly intimate.

"You minx, abandoning me to Lord Ferros and his interminable stories. It took me half an hour to escape."

He paused and looked at her, peering closely at her face.

"Are you feeling well? You look a little pale."

Fallyn looked at him, keeping her expression neutral as she tried to determine what trickery she faced now.

Murtagh's brow furrowed. "You had another one of your attacks, didn't you?"

"Where am I?" she eventually asked. She had a suspicion, a strange itch at the back of her mind that something was wrong.

"Have I not experienced such a dream before? Is this not real?"

Fallyn saw pain flicker in Murtagh's eyes, which he quickly tried to hide. His hand slid to the small of her back, as he moved around her to look out over the hilly landscape. With a swift motion, he drained his goblet.

"I know how confusing this is for you... It isn't the first time this has happened, but-" he took a deep breath, shaking his head slightly. "What is the last thing you remember? Teirm? Aberon? The siege of Cithri?... the gift I gave you that night in Eoam?"

She stared closely at him and began to question herself.

"Urû'baen," she said, watching his expression closely.

She felt his hand tremble on her back, but no emotion crossed his face.

"Urû'baen," he repeated hoarsely, then looked at her. "Fallyn... it's been eight years since Urû'baen."

Her eyes traced the shape of his face, the way his hair shone in the light... It all seemed so real, and yet...

"M-"

A woman suddenly called out:

"My lady!"

Fallyn glanced over her shoulder to see a portly maid hurrying towards them from the estate, the front of her white apron flapping.

"My lady," she curtsied. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but the children hoped that you would watch them put on their play for the guests."

"Children," she whispered, her eyes flickering back to Murtagh where she saw tears shining in his eyes.

"Aye," he said. "Children. Four of them, all strong and healthy and full of high spirits."

Then something clicked for Fallyn, and she threw back her head and laughed. She laughed and laughed, before she thrust her hand through Murtagh's chest, her tattoos shining as blood sprayed her.

"You will need to do better, Galbatorix," she said with a savage smirk. "I've matched wits with a desire demon capable of more convincing fantasies!"

'Murtagh' regarded her with a curiously blank expression, and then faded away before her. Soon, everything around her vanished and she drifted in a void with no light, not even from her markings which dulled. No sound reached her, even from her own laughter.

Then she felt the darkness twist, and --

She stumbled and fell onto her hands and knees, sharp rocks scraping her palms. She blinked as her eyes adjusted, and glanced around.

Haze. Ribbons of smoke drifting across a barren field similar to her memory of the fields outside of Antiva during the Blight.

She was once more in her tattered clothing, her ruined boots missing so her feet were bare.

Something roared behind her, and she turned to see a twelve-foot Kull charging towards her, swinging an ironbound club as large as she was. Another roar from her left, and she saw another Kull, and four smaller Urgals. The Ra'zac appeared from the haze.

She hummed in amusement, and soon a flock of griffons swooped down from the sky.

Each one was easily large enough to match the Kull's ferocity, and she watched the battle unfold.

She had never been gladder for her experiences in Thedas, where demons had often tried tempting her.

Pride demons had tried to play on her pride, desire demons offering her everything she could have ever desired... They made Galbatorix's attempts appear as childish mirages.

"You battle me in the realm of dreams, Oath-breaker," she declared as he changed the scenery again. "Here, I am the master!"