Rakio Ormonu [done]

What would you have done if you where me? I won't deny who I am, and given the chance I'd make the same choices all over again. It may not have been the right choice but it was a choice nonetheless. I don't regret what I did, I only regret what I did not do. I've had 100 years to ponder that. To ponder what I did not do back then. Back when the Riders fell. Who am I? I am Rakiao, the forsaken one, and this is my story.

Other names: drifter, shur’tugal, the forgotten one, rider of old, silent protector of the peace, grey folk descendent, viva la vida, the forsaken one
Race: 75% human, 25% grey folk
Side: neutral
Magic User: yes
Gender: male
Preferred Weapon(s): inaverard (rider blade)

Birthplace: Tiadum
Age: 780+
Birthday: unknown
Eyes: blue
Hair: brown
Weight: 140
Height: 5” 7’

Looks can be deceiving
I used to rule the world. Seas would rise when I gave the word.
Now in the morning I sleep alone. Sweep the streets I used to own.

Human. That's what I am or well what people think I am, and they are mostly right. I can and often do pass as a human. My somewhat messy and semi-long brown hair hides my semi-pointed ears only adding to the illusion that I am a mere human. It is only due to the fact that I am I rider that have my ears taken on a more elf-like look, Entas would be the reason for this change, but it is the only change that is obvious in my outward appearance. Age does not touch me any more. I look much the same as I did when I first meet Entas.

Speaking of Entas, when she hatched for me she left the Gedwy Insignia on the palm of my right hand. My Gedwy Insignia is not like most, within and deep inside it there is a living flame. The flame flickers under the glassy copper shell of the Insignia. It is my belief that the flame is Entas' very life force, when she is injured the flame dies and grows dim. I do not know what would happen to me if Entas died and took her flame from me.

I still remember the day Entas hatched for me. No rider will ever forget the day their dragon hatched for them. The hatchlings always seem to touch either the left or right palm of their rider. Fascinating that dragon hatchlings seem to instantly know to touch the palm of their rider. But I digress, forgive me after 600 years and a century with only Entas as my companion my mind often wanders.

Now where was I? Ah yes my Gedwey Insignia, now when I was first touched by my dragon there was a complication. You see I am not fully human. I am a quarter grey folk decedent on my mother's side. Grey folk are not part of the pact with dragons, but humans are. Because of the grey folk blood that runs through my veins, Entas was unable to bond with me through normal means. I will talk more about this later but let it suffice to say that Entas and I did bond, but I was left with a mark on my left shoulder resembling a copper dragon as a result of our bond. I do not try to hide it, I am proud of it and the mark means more to me than you could ever imagine.

Many scars have adorned my skin, some more obvious than others. You do not live 780 years and survive the fall of the riders without gathering a couple scars. Many of these scars I have healed with magic but I chose to not heal all of them. The most obvious scar I have runs down my left leg. It's a long twisting scar. The wound that left me that scare was so great I nearly lost my leg. Entas and I were alone and exhausted after a battle. I had no strength to heal myself and no one to help me. I was lucky to be found by the dwarves and taken in until I recovered.

Not many people ever notice this scar though as my clothing covers it entirely. I almost always wear an outfit of dark brown-ish red. I find no need to be frivolous in obtaining a large wardrobe. It would be a waste of thought and time when more dire matters plague my mind. At one point in my life, centuries ago, I wore gleaming armor into battles and often attended formal courts in the finest of clothing. But I no longer have need for such things.

There is one item I never am without and that is my rider's blade, Inaverard. Like all rider blades made in the old days Inaverard is tinted in the same color as Entas' scales. I suppose the brown color might make the blade appear rusted at times, but my blade will never rust or dull no matter how many centuries pass. Perhaps unique to my blade is the fact that there is no gem in the hilt. In all my years I have never found a Rider's blade without a gem besides mine or a sharper edge. I am unsure why there is no gem in the hilt, but I am found of my sword, it has served me well.

You don't really know who I am
Revolutionaries wait. For my head on a silver plate.
Just a puppet on a lonely string. Oh who would ever want to be king?

I am not the same person I was 100 years ago or even 750 years ago. But that goes for any amount of time. Life gives us experience and it's that experience, good or ill, that shapes who we are. Life certainly has shaped my life in many unexpected ways.

I was once naive, happy and carefree. But that was so long ago, it seems more like a fairy tale than reality. What I wouldn't give to be able to be like that again, to be free of guilt and fear. That's what I've become, someone filled with guilt and fear.

I feel guilty of what I didn't do and I fear many things. I fear committing an act that is unforgivable; I fear facing my past, my dreams and my own weaknesses. I fear I will become angry and go mad like Galbatorix. Entas, my dragon, knows all my fears, but she is of little comfort to me when facing them; my fears are to strong. I don't want to face my fears.

You may wonder why I fear my dreams. Quite often I dream of my past, I do not want to face my past. But my dreams are filled with the past and my guilt and fears. I do not enjoy being reminded of my wrong doings and short comings night after night.

One thing I fear, that I neglected to mention, is something hard for me to actually admit. After all who would think a Rider would fear this? What is it? Fire. Yes, I'm afraid of fire. It seems odd to have a Rider who is afraid of fire right? But it's true. Entas knows this and for my sake she has never breathed a single flame. I know she can, but she won't, she promised me that much.

My biggest fear is having to be alone, without Entas. Do to her size I cannot be with her in populated areas, nor would I want to reveal her to so many people. Because of this I am often away from her, which makes my fear grow ever stronger. I wish I could be by her side constantly, but that cannot be so. Should anything ever happen to her I know I would die of grief. I cannot survive without her after having been together so long and through so much. I would do anything to protect her. I have but one loyalty and that is to Entas.

Long ago I had other loyalties. I was loyal to the cause of the riders and to peace. I fought for what I believed was right. But now I only have one loyalty. That is to Entas and I have no cause for which I strive for any more. I suppose you might call me selfish to care only for myself and for Entas but it is the only way I can survive.

However, I'm not sure I want to survive. I have lived for over 780 years I've seen wars tear through the land, and times of wondrous peace. Yet, through it all I did nothing to protect the peace or stop the many wars. I may have acted on the order of the riders but in my heart I did not choose to fight and protect what was good in the world. This is my guilt I carry, I wallow in self-pity. I walk a lonely road and look back at the past only to realize how I have failed. I never became who I should've been. I was a coward...I still am a coward. That at least has remained unchanged about me. I do not fear battle, no I am not a coward of that. I am a coward by being to fearful to to decide in my heart to do what I knew I should, and because of that I neglected my duty as a Rider when the Fall of the Rider's began.

---Likes: peace, serenity, Entas, sunsets
---Dislikes: solitude, weakness, dreams, the past
---Strengths: knowledge, wisdom, experience, power, magic, swordsmanship
---Weakness: fear of fire, passive stance towards politics, Entas, his past, self-pity, guilt, fear of being alone, fear of memories, fear of dreams, fear of own weaknesses, fear of becoming angry, fear of doing something unforgivable.


Family:
Magoun Ormonu -- father (deceased)
Neva Ormonu -- mother (deceased)
Seles Ormonu-- sister (deceased)

A dark foreboding past
It was the wicked and wild wind. Blew down the doors to let me in.
Shattered windows and the sound of drums. People couldn't believe what I'd become.

My past is something I do not like to talk about, not even with Entas. But it seems you have adequate need to know it. Facing my past is not easy for me, so let this be the only time you ask me about it, for I won't tell it a second time.

I grew up in the Eastern half of Alagaesia, in a moderately sized village called Tiadum. My village is no longer on the maps of Alagaesia. This is not a mistake by the map makers, my village was destroyed...by me.

But I am getting ahead of myself, half a century before my birth a gypsy visited Tiadum. Her name was Flur, I believe. You haven't heard of her? I wouldn't expect you would have, she was an elf and an exile at the time; she took shelter in Tiadum. She arrived in late spring with a single copper dragon egg. She foretold doom on Tiadum, the only one who could save it would have the blood of the grey folk in his veins and fly on wings of a dragon. The village would know this to-be-hero by whom the copper egg she brought hatched for.

At that time only one family in Tiadum were decedents of grey folk. For three generations all children of that family were brought before that egg, but it never hatched. Flur remained in Tiadum for many years. She kept guard over the copper dragon egg but she also read the stars each night saying they revealed many secrets to her. One of these secrets the stars revealed to her resulted in Neva and Magoun begin forced into an arranged marriage. Their first child was Seles, their second child was me.

We were raised knowing we might be the one the egg would hatch for. Seles desperately wanted it to hatch for her. Me, I didn't want it to. I had other plans, other dreams I wanted to accomplish. But Tiadum was secluded and there were not many opportunities for me to accomplish my dreams.

Tiadum was also a very strict village. I don't know what happened that made it so, but magic was banned in our village. Anyone who was caught using magic or accused of using it was executed. Flur was the first to be executed for using magic in our village. After her death the government officials took the copper egg and kept it in the town center building under heavy guard.

This ban against magic was quite a problem for me, as I am a descendent of grey folk. You see Grey Folk are inherently magical, they would have to be to have bound magic to a spoken language. I was no exception to this. I was 7 when I realized my talent for magic. However, I was not allowed to practice it or use it. If I did I'd be killed.

But magic is a funny thing, it isn't something you can suppress once the talent is realized. That was why I couldn't stop myself. I was out with my father and sister buying some apples, peas and carrots for our dinner. Even 780 years later I remember that day with complete clarity, it was the second worst day of my life.

The market was always busy and rather crowed. It wasn't unusual to see an occasional horse or wagon. But there was one particular horse that morning that was pulling a cart down the road. A strap must have broke on the wagon just before the horse spooked. For the wagon was tipped onto it's side as the horse bolted and barreled through the market at full speed. Seles.....she was in the way of the horse. I reacted and killed the horse with magic.

The town guards streamed into the market and grabbed me. They had seen what I had done and I was to be killed, as was the law in Tiadum. My father stepped up and took the blame for using magic; he claimed he was the one who had done it, which it wasn't true but he was trying to protect me. My father was human and could not use magic. The guards took him that day...and he was executed that afternoon in the town square. I was witness to the event.

I was scared after that, but life moved on; when my sister was 18 and I was 17 we were brought before the copper dragon egg, first her and then me. The moment I stepped into the room the egg was kept in it started to hatch. Seles has never forgiven me for that. It was her dream to become a Rider, not mine. She left Tiadum that day, alone. She refused to speak to me and I never saw her again.

There I was 17 and watching a dragon hatch, I stood before the egg as the last bits of shell fell. Emerald green eyes looked at me and I reached out with my right hand to touch her. Nothing happened, no bond, no gwedey insignia, no nothing.

I am a quarter grey folk, and grey folk are not part of the pact with dragons. However, humans and elves are and I am part human. Entas looked at me and touched my mind. She saw deep into my soul. The newly hatched copper dragon sat up on her hind legs and reached for my hand a second time. This time as soon as we touched a burning sensation struck my palm and flowed up my arm, but I could feel there was resistance to the bond she was trying to form. My grey folk blood.

Then the room resonated with magic as I have never felt before or since, dragon magic, my blood felt like it was on fire and my left shoulder was numb with intolerable pain. I couldn't scream or move, though I wanted to. I don't remember anything after that because I collapsed and so did Entas. I would not wake for two days, but when I came to Entas was there and on my hand was a Gwedey Insignia. Deep inside the Insignia was what looked like a living flame. It flickered under the glassy shell of the Insignia and was copper in color. The pain in my shoulder must have been from when I got the mark on my left shoulder. I don't know how Entas did it. I don't even know if it counts me as a Rider or if our bond is something different than that. Nothing like this has ever happened before or since.

The citizens of Tiadum celebrated me and Entas, but would still not let me use any magic. Entas' use of magic on me to form the bond was over looked. The government knew it was not wise to slay a dragon.

The following season Tiadum was attacked by Urgals and my mother was fatally injured. I was at her side and as she fell I caught her in my arms. I was enraged at what the Urgals had done, so I lashed out and killed them all with magic. Unfortunately, I was untrained in magic and the ancient language. My magic went out of control and destroyed Tiadum. Every Urgal. Every building. Every animal. Every tree. And everyone.

My mother, Entas and I were the only ones spared. But my mother had a fatal injury. She looked at the destruction I had caused, then at me and wiped a tear from my face. Then with her dying breath she told me she wished I had never been born. That night I buried her.

I didn't sleep that night but stood a vigil in the ruins of my town. Flur had been right, I was the one who had saved the town from the Urgals, but I was also the one who destroyed it.

Entas was large enough to carry me by then, so we traveled. We avoiding villages as best would could and eventually our travels lead us west into the Hadorac desert. There I faced death. Without water, Entas and I were close to perishing. That's where the Riders found me. They took us out of the desert and nursed us back to health. When I was well again I was accepted into their ranks and trained as one of them. I didn't want to join them but Entas told me if I didn't I would never learn to control my magic and more accidents like Tiadum would happen. I had to learn to control my magic.

To put this into perspective this was about a few years after the Riders settled at Vroengard and accepted humans into the Riders' spell. Under the watchful eye of the Riders I learned to control my magic. I was a quick learner and excelled in the ancient language. We, Entas and I, were apprenticed to a Rider named Naraskedel and his dragon Nadya. They taught us well and trained us in everything the Riders knew at that time.

Near the start of my training as a Rider I was given a Rider's blade. My blade was not made by Rhunön, but by another elven smith that has been long forgotten. His name was Rias. He made only three blades, Albitr, Luiante and Inaverard. Albitr eventually would fall into the hands of Angela, who renamed the blade Tinkledeath. Luiante was Rias' own blade which he destroyed when Galbatorix turned against the Riders, for fear it might fall into his hands. And Inaverard is my blade.

Rias' blades were unquie, the blades had a transparent nature and could cut through nearly everything. I don't know why but Rias did not put gem's on the hilt of any of the three blades he made. He would not explain why he didn't put gems on them, but his craftsmanship was unmatched. I don't think even Rhunön could've matched his skill. Inaverard was made to match Entas, and the blade even shimmers in the sunlight like her scales and is perfectly balanced and can cut through anything.

My suspicion is that the three blades Rias made were meant to be wielded by those who are grey folk descendents. As I have seen a few times, those who are not of grey folk blood can use the blade but they feel uncomfortable doing so. Only grey folk seem comfortable using the blades. Rias was a grey folk descendent, I knew that the moment I met him. There is a certain air about grey folk descendents that is impossible to miss, but easy to misinterpret if you don't know what it is. Angela too is a grey folk descendent, I met her only once but I knew what she was.

Inaverard served me well as a Rider, but my heart was not in the Rider's cause for peace. I was too focused on my past to care. I did the missions I was assigned, but nothing more. Ever since I destroyed Tiadum I have not been the same. Once I might have served the rider's cause wholeheartedly, but not now.

I have seen many things happen in my lifetime, such as Galbatorix being accepted into the ranks of the Riders and later his dragon Jarnuvosk being murdered and his plea for another dragon. I was there when the fall of the Riders began. In all this I did nothing. My heart was not in it. I look back now and realize what a mistake that was. Had I taken more interest in it, things might not have turned out the way they did. My passive stance at this time was not what I regret most though.

What I regret most is that I fled. I fought against the foresworn during the fall. By then Entas was among of the largest dragons the Riders had and I one of the oldest Riders. You see Entas and I were almost 670 years old at the time. We fought bravely and even faced Morzan and Galbatorix a few times in battle. I remember fighting them, and seeing myself. What they did was no different than how I felt, but I had chosen not to make others suffer.

I don't know why, I guess I was scared. Scared I might betray the Riders and join Galbatorix. His ideas and reason was...appealing to me even alluring. And that frightened me the most I think. So Entas and I fled East, across the ocean and out of Alagaesia. We left just before the fall of the Riders ended when Vrael was killed. I don't know if we could've made a difference or not, but well I can't help but wonder if things would have been different if we had stayed.

Entas and I found the other land that the elves came from. We stayed there in solitude with only the company of each other. There we stayed for 100 years. A 100 years of solitude. I spent most of it in self-pity and guilt. Only Entas' company kept me sane. I do not know what has happened to Alagaesia since I left. I know the Riders must have fallen by now, but I had hoped I am wrong and they survived.

Many months ago I received a message sent by magic, I assume it was Angela but I don't know for sure. The message was simple. It said the Riders had fallen shortly after I disappeared. A new Rider named Eragon had taken up the cause against Galbatorix. Should I still be alive this was my chance to redeem myself for having fled before.

I did not return. I wallowed in self-pity and did not seek redemption. I did not want to return. But months of pondering it with Entas brought me to the conclusion that I must return. As Entas put it I can't run from who I am forever. I must face who I am before it's to late.

Entas and I have returned to Alagaesia after 100 years. I don't know what we will find or what we are going to do but we are back. And I am ready to face who I am.

Other names: flameless, copper scales, gentle
heart, rider of eastern winds
Race: dragon
Side: neutral
Gender: female

Birthplace: unknown
Age: 780+
Eyes: green

Master of the skies
For some reason I can't explain. Once you go there was never.
Never an honest word. And that was when I ruled the world.

Grand, majestic and sorrowful, I am Entas. My Rider has told you much of me already. When a rider and dragon have been together as long as Rakio and I have there is a point you become one. Rakio cannot tell you of himself without telling of me. However, he did not tell you all there is to know of me. Even as we are one we still remain individual beings, both of great power and filled with even greater sorrow.

I am the last of my kind. No I do not mean the last of dragonkind, but the last of my time. The years and wars have claimed the dragons of old that lived in the years of the riders. No one but my Rider and I remain. Shurikan was born centuries after I was. Glaedr was the last remaining from my time and while his soul lives on his body does not.

You may wonder if my time was so long ago what I now look like. Dragons are beings that time does not ravenge and weaken, but dragons never stop growing. My size matters little to me but if you must know, I am only slightly smaller than Glaedr was as he hatched a decade and a half before me.

Many dragons seem to be rather vain and care a whole lot about their appearance. I am still as vain as I was in my early years. My brown scales glisten more brightly than any gem known. And my eyes are an emerald green. Brown is not the most vivid color for a dragon but it is who I am and I would not change it for anything.

A broken soul
I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing. Roman Cavalry choirs are singing.
Be my mirror, my sword and shield. My missionaries in a foreign field. ?

I, like Rakaio, am not the same as I was 100 years ago or even 750 years ago. It seems like many dragons and riders fit perfectly and make up for each others weaknesses be it judgment, wisdom or other. That was no so with Rakaio and I. He was happy, carefree, and naive. I was adventurous, had a knack for trouble and little to no empathy.

Over many centuries I have become very withdrawn and serious, yet I still have little to no empathy. I simply can't relate or understand another's situation without having been in it myself. My rider, Rakaio is fearful of many things, but there are few of his fears I share. And so I cannot comfort him.

I am wise and old, yet I keep to myself. I do not speak often, but when I do it is because what I say is important. The only one I talk to freely is Rakaio and our talk is often of our shared sorrow. My rider's sorrow I cannot comfort him on, because my own sorrow is just as deep.

This is not to say I do not care for my rider, just because I cannot comfort him as I should. I very well know his concerns and his fears, even if I can't do anything about it. But there is one fear I can do something about. While Rakaio won't openly admit it he is afraid of fire. For his sake alone, I do not use my flames. I never have in all my years breathed a single ember, for my rider's sake. I know deep down the fire burns within me but I will not use it.

One of my greatest fears lies with loosing myself to anger and becoming mad. I know I can cause much harm and damage, but I don't want to fight any more, I don't want to loose myself. I fear I will failure and I fear that if I fail I will lose my rider. To lose Rakaio would destroy me. I have been with him to long to not go mad should he ever die. I will never abandon my rider. In him my hopes and loyalty lies.

At one time I had other loyalties and duties, when the riders still ruled. However, they are gone and I see no loyalty or duty except to myself and to my rider. I've fought countless times, I do not wish to fight any more. I wish for a peaceful world were I and Rakaio can live. I only will fight to protect my rider and myself. I will not fight for any other cause.

---Likes: peace, Rakiao, roses
---Dislikes: failure, loss, sorrow
---Strengths: size, knowledge, wisdom, experience
---Weakness: lack of fire, Rakiao, unable to show empathy

Family:
Ahtva -- father – wild (Deceased)
Swa -- mother -- wild (Deceased)

A life of broken promises
For some reason I can't explain. I know Saint Peter won't call my name.
Never an honest word. But that was when I ruled the world.

[See Rakaio's history.]