Finally Awake? (Open)

[Brenton]

Brenton will be there but I am not sure he will be speaking to anyone for awhile. It is kind of hard to explain but he seems really upset and his mind is suddenly a battle field of warring thoughts. Grazael flew higher and looked around until he spotted the city sprawling around. The dragon gave a short growl and shot off toward the city.

[Timmir]

Farore watched as Aelyn flew down to eye level with her. She was happy to know that both dragons were willing to lead her back to the city. Honestly, she didn't know what she would have done without their help. Probably wonder around completely lost until either she came upon the city herself or ended up dead. That wasn't a pleasant thought.

"Thank you"' As she began following after them. This proved to be somewhat difficult as she found herself needing to run in order to keep up with the pair as they moved above her. This wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't also starving. Still though, she did her best to follow them to the city.

[Quetzal]

As they neared the city of Ellesmera, Arlyn touched Isrydia's mind gently, his way of letting her know he wanted to speak to her. Often he just went ahead and spoke, but she was feeling down so it would be better for her if he was gentle. He felt her listening, then called her to where they were. "Grazael, strange lost lady, and me arriving. You meet?" he asked her, sending an image of his two companions. She paused, unsure if she wanted to meet with Brenton's dragon right now. "Will Brenton be there?" she thought to him. The answer was a negative, to her relief. After that, she reluctantly agreed to hurry over to meet the three. Arlyn thought is was strange how humans reacted to courtship. Brenton was stronger and had more power and influence than Isrydia, being king of the elves. Had they been dragons, there was no way Isrydia would have refused him. But humans cared about more than the strength of their partners. It was odd to him that she should be feeling upset and guilty, too; a dragon refuser would be more confident and dominant.

As the first few houses came into view, Isrydia could be seen walking towards them from a short distance away. She smiled when she saw Arlyn immediately speed up towards her, her eyes remaining sad. He did not notice, going from flying to embracing his partner-of-heart-and-mind. His presence was comforting to her, he could tell, raising her spirits a little. She looked back to Grazael and the stranger, who appeared to be a confused but otherwise normal half-elf. "Hello, my name's Isrydia. I'm Arlyn's Rider," she introduced herself to her.

[Brenton]

Grazael rumbled a greeting just as he saw a flutter of a red and black cloak in the shadows while green flashed and gold shimmered in the light from the sun. It would have looked like a trick of the light to anyone normal but the dragon had been expecting the movement as he had realized Brenton had been in the trees just outside the city. When the dragons had flown in with Farore, Brenton had dropped to the ground but seen Isrydia move closer. Instantly he had disappeared into the trees again and now sat there with his gaze wavering.

Brenton wasn't sure why but he needed to get over it or Isrydia would end up being without a teacher and it would help him if he moved on anyhow. Slowly he breathed out and dropped to the ground again, adjusting his shirt and cloak before he walked over to Isrydia. His eyes the only sign that he was still upset by the rejection from the woman, Brenton smiled and spoke quickly. Thank you for not leading me on, Isrydia. I'm sorry for how I left like that earlier.

Grazael growled and raised his body up so that Brenton could see that now was not the time for formalities or harboring ill feelings about something as insignificant as being rejected. He would eventually move on and Grazael would have nothing to do with a sad rider who couldn't deal with heartache. Well, Brenton, I see you could not handle staying away from Isrydia even though she is upset. Grazael rumbled in disapproval.

Vaentr, who had been asleep in his eldunari, woke up at the words from the younger dragon and snapped to attention. He has been dealing with heartache as well, young dragon. Brenton has not been flying around carefree with Arlyn like you have therefore has every right to be "formal" as you put it. Just let him deal with things as he feels fit and accept that you were not here for him when he needed you to be. The older dragon had dealt with more things like this in his twelve years of having been a full dragon and therefore knew that Brenton was just acting like he had then. Grazael, however, had hatched about the time Brenton had started falling for Isrydia and so had known nothing other than that.

[Timmir]

Farore was glad as she saw the dragons begin to land, noteing that it meant they were coming to the city. Soon she was able to see the tops of building in the distance which were soon followed by a woman walking towards them. Farore stopped running and watched as Arlyn landed near the woman, taking the opportunity to catch her breath. Running after dragon's wasn't exactly an easy task.

Farore quickly regained her composure as she heard the woman speak to her, introducing herself as Isrydia. Farore took a moment as she remembered the image that Arlyn had showed her, quickly recognizing that this is the same woman that Arlyn had introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Isrydia." Farore responded with a small smile, "I'm... Farore..." She was hesitant as she said her name. While she was sure that her name was her own, it still felt a little weird to say it.

Before anything else could be said however, Brenton then made a sudden appearance. Quickly he thanked Isrydia before apologizing to her about something he did earlier. Farore felt very awkward and completely out of place as she watched this, having no idea what exactly happened for the elf king to be behaving this way. She was also finding herself slowly growing impatient at this sudden change of scene that threaten to make her wait even longer for food.

[Quetzal]

Isrydia and Arlyn were both surprised to see Brenton there, Isrydia more so as she had seen his reaction and how upset he was. She had thought he would try to avoid her for a while. Looking across at him, she nodded to acknowledge him and his thanks, feeling uncomfortable around him. She didn't want things to get bad between them, and wasn't sure if seeing each other so often would be such a good idea, but whatever helped Brenton get over it would be best. It was up to him to decide how much of her company he could bear. Arlyn curled himself around her shoulders and waist. He was almost too big to rest on his Rider, this and being able to snuggle up small next to her when they slept were about the only things he sad to lose to growing larger. He was an affectionate dragon but was having to learn to be less so and less clingy.

"She hungry," his familiar childish voice sounded in Isrydia's head. She nodded. There would be plenty of food in the house she was staying in, enough for everyone here including the dragons.

"Arlyn tells me you're hungry, Farore. There should be enough food where I'm staying to feed everyone, if you want to follow me there. It's not far," she offered, leading the way. Arlyn was too heavy and was impairing her walking, so he dropped to the ground and padded alongside her. "So, I take it you're not from around here? I'm not, myself. I'm from Kuasta, it's a small seaside town on the other side of the Spine," she asked, thinking it was safe to start with a simple question.

[Brenton]

Brenton glanced at the woman, Farore with interest before he smiled slightly since she must be starving. Since she had been sleeping for so long, Brenton was sure she was probably confused and hungry and his thoughts were just preventing her from eating. Finally he nodded and moved over to Grazael who had finally calmed down enough to let him be close to him again. Farore, forgive me for not realizing you were hungry. I'm sure Isrydia has enough food for you so I'm going to go now. Hopefully you can readjust quickly to this new world. Brenton glanced over at Arlyn for the first time since he had arrived back at the city and dropped to the ground to speak to everyone. The dragon seemed happy to be with his rider and yet he was also confused about something that must have been Isrydia. Now that he looked, Isrydia did look upset about telling Brenton she didn't want to hurt him and that meant that she had already spoke to Arlyn about it. Unconsciously his fingers began to run over the pommel of Undbitr as well as Argetadurna that was strapped to his other hip opposite from Undbitr.

[Timmir]

Farore turned to look at Isrydia as the woman mention that Aryln told her that Farore was starving. Isrydia then proceeded to offer Farore to come to her place where she has enough food for everyone. Farore gave a small nod to Isrydia, a small smile forming on her face as she was soon going to finally quell her aching stomach. Before she could go follow after Isrydia though, she turned her head to look at Brenton as he gave her an apology for not realizing that she was starving and wished her luck on readjusting to this new world. She gave him a small nod before returning her attention to Isrydia. A small chill went down her spine as she did so though as she couldn't help, but notice that Brenton's hands were dangerously close to his weapons.

As she followed Isrydia, the young woman began making small talk about where she was from. Farore couldn't help, but feel depressed as she listened to Isrydia, being reminded of how little she truly knew about herself. Where was she from? Could she possibly be from Ellesmera or was she from somewhere far away? She didn't really knew.

"I... Uhh... Don't know where I'm from really." She replied quietly, trying her best to hide her depression with a small smile.

[Quetzal]

"Goodbye, Brenton," Isrydia's voice was small as she spoke. Deep down, she was relieved that Brenton was leaving, which made her feel immensely guilty. He was her friend - she thought - so it pained her to find herself to be glad at his departure. It was entirely because she disliked the fresh pain she had caused him. She did not know about him, but some time away from his company would be best for her at the moment. His presence had made her feel severely uncomfortable since she had discovered his feelings for her, and her hope was that time out would heal any wounds and allow him to get over his feelings so that they might be friends with no added awkwardness. Arlyn wished for this too. Grazael was only a week younger than him and the two had grown up together. There was no way he was letting that friendship fade out because of a rocky relationship between their Riders.

Isrydia was surprised to hear that Farore did not know where she was from. Before she could say anything, Arlyn reached into her mind and flooded her with his impressions of the woman, complete with her utter confusion at anything to do with her past. "I'm sorry," was all she could say. It would be nice to have more comforting words than that, but there was nothing else she could really think of. "I'm sure you'll find out some way or another,"

The Rider and small dragon stopped before a typical elven treehouse. Isrydia produced a key and unlocked the door, holding it wide to allow Farore to enter. The room within had a table and chairs in the centre, numerous shelves and cupboards lining the walls, mostly empty as she was merely visiting and had few possessions. Isrydia opened a cupboard and took out a couple of plates, knives and forks, setting them on the table before setting a basket of bread and pots of honey and fruit preserves in the middle of the table. "Just something to eat until I can cook something more substantial. What do you fancy? I've got a variety of meats and vegetables, so I can get you just about anything, really," she offered, taking a slice of bread and smearing it with strawberry preserve. The sweet taste filled her mouth. Chewing hurriedly, she swallowed her mouthful before speaking again. "You know, it's all very well trying to find out about yourself, but my guess is that it would be far better to restore your memory so that you know everything for certain. You're probably fed up of people suggesting different things to you, but treating the cause is a lot more effective than trying to cure all the various symptoms," she spoke her thoughts on Farore's situation. After all, who was to say just learning facts about herself would make her remember it all?

[Brenton]

Brenton walked toward the center of the city with Grazael following on foot next to him while they looked at all of the citizens of Ellesmera. This was his home and the king was happy to nod and greet every elf who wanted to talk to him until Rhunon stopped Brenton with a short huff and handed him a full set of armor that he had asked her to make for the war that he would have to go to soon enough. Brenton smiled warmly and thanked the elder elf woman before he walked on with his golden dragon right at his side and wondered as to what was going to happen with Isrydia and him. They had been friends but every conversation had been clipped short when they spoke because the king had not wanted to confess his love to her but now she seemed to be avoiding him. Brenton sighed and glanced at Grazael who nodded and cast his mind out to Arlyn.

The golden dragon rumbled as he found the smaller dragon's mind and then delved into a long explanation. Brenton want know why Isrydia is avoiding him. Is she angry with him or he do something upset her? Grazael sent an image of Brenton with his head down as they walked, frequently looking toward where Isrydia and Arlyn stayed as a confused look crossed his eyes. The dragon gave some emotions that he gathered such as confusion, worry, hope that they were still friends, and anger toward himself for not just letting his feeling go. Now Brenton was ready to move on but Isrydia seemed to not want to talk to him and it was just more awkward when they spoke which made him hurt inside.

[Timmir]

Farore followed Isrydia in silence as she listened to the woman apologize. She honestly didn't know what else she was suppose to really say. Eventually they reached upon a treehouse that was not to much different then the one she woke up in earlier that day.

"Thank you" Farore said to Isrydia with a smile as she entered the treehouse. She then took a second to look around, noticing the fact that there was hardly anything on the shelves. She guessed that probably meant that Isrydia and Arlyn hadn't been here for that long. That, or were just the type to not keep many personal possessions.

Farore turned to look as she noticed Isrydia setting a basket full of breads along with silverware and toppings, stating that this was just something to eat until she cook something up. She then proceeded to ask if Farore wanted anything, before adding that she could get her just about anything. Farore remained silent for a second as she grabbed a piece of bread, thinking.

"I can eat just about anything right now, so why don't you just surprise me." Farore said happily with a small shrug, "Just don't stress yourself to much about it." She added as she spread some honey on her slice of bread.

As she ate the slice of bread, she listened to Isrydia as she spoke her thoughts on Farore situation. Farore was abit curious on how Isrydia knew about her memory lost, but guessed that Aryln must have told her. She took second to swallow before answering.

"Actually, no one has really offered any suggestion to me. All I really was told was that I'm a 'Rider of Old'... or at least that's what Kialandi and Brenton keep calling me. I don't even know what caused my memory lost in the first place." She admited with a depressed sigh as she took a seat, "Thanks for the advice though. I'll definitely try to keep it in mind." She finished as a friendly smile returned to her face.

"So... If you don't mind me asking, what exactly brings you here to this city?" Farore asked, wanting to change the subject to something that didn't involve her or her amnesia.

((*sigh* -_- Why was this post so difficult to write?))

[Quetzal]

Farore was correct that Arlyn had told Isrydia of her memory loss, along with the rest of his general impression of her. He watched as she set a pot of water over a wood burning stove and muttered "Brisingr," she first spell she had learned and the only she had a true grip on. Near-white ice blue flames licked the branches, heating the water. While waiting for it to boil, she took two already gutted fish, cut the heads and tails off then pulled out the spines to remove most bones. These she covered with herbs and placed in a shallow pan with oil to cook alongside the vegetables she now added to the pot of water. A familiar mind contacted him. Grazael, he recognised; his mind's range was great if he were already able to contact him from across Ellesmera. His question took some thought on his part. "She not angry upset. Being near Brenton she feel uncomfortable. She scared of hurt him. Feel awkward because he like her. She not know what say," was the best answer he could think of without prying deep into his Rider's mind. He doubted she would like that if she knew who he was telling this to.

While the smell of cooking fish began to fill the room, Isrydia turned back to Farore, Arlyn sitting against her leg. She rested a hand on his head. "Well, before Arlyn hatched for me, I had no magical abilities. I had just been knighted, so combat wasn't an issue, but I need training in magic as well as how to care for a dragon. Brenton was heading up anyway, and invited me along," she explained. She had not been here that long, but it was already worth it from all that she had learned. Not just about magic, either; science, the Ancient Language, even the biology of dragons would help her understand Arlyn all the better.

"A Rider of Old? You know, when I first left home, I traveled as a storyteller. I know quite a bit about the Riders of Old. Stories about the individuals are bound to be exaggerated, but there are people still alive who remember the Rider Order and can confirm stories about the Riders as a whole to be true," she explained. It must have been almost a year since she had last sat around a fire, telling stories for children and adults alike, but it felt more like a lifetime. So much had changed since then. "Brenton and I, as you've seen already, are Riders, bonded irreversibly to the dragons that chose to hatch for us. There are a fair few Riders around nowadays, but there used to be even more. They were the Riders of Old. They lived about a hundred years ago, and the first Rider since then only became a Rider a couple of years ago. His name is Eragon, his dragon Saphira," she said, keeping an eye on the food cooking. Arlyn looked down at the ground, remembering why there was such a big time period during which no new dragons hatched.

[Brenton]

((Brenton and Vaentr were bonded for twelve years before Vaentr died...about ten years difference between Vaentr's hatching and Saphira's hatching.))

Grazael gave a small growl as he realized that Isrydia was worried about hurting Brenton and Brenton was just willing to move on but was unsure of if Isrydia wanted to or not. In that line of thinking, the golden dragon slapped Brenton with his tail and glared at the half elf. Speak with Isrydia. She not angry-upset but just scared you hurt because her words. Tell her want move on and not lose as friend. Even with his young child's voice, Grazael was very commanding when he spoke to his rider about what he was to do. Finally Brenton glared and nodded. He relayed the information to Isrydia and then looked at his dragon with some curiosity.

[Timmir]

Farore took a big whiff of the air as she could smell the fish cooking. It definitely smelled appetizing and she couldn't wait for it to be ready. As she waited for the food to cook, she listened to Isrydia as she explained that she was here to study magic among other things. She then went on to tell Farore that she was once a traveling storyteller who told stories about the Riders of Old.

"A hundred years?" She asked, unsure what to think of this information. She spent some time in silence to get her thoughts together. Then something occured to her...

"They're dead, aren't they? The Riders of Old, I mean. They all were wiped out?" Farore said upon realization. She was in no way a stupid woman, after all, and easily was more then able to connect the dots.

[Quetzal]

((Ah, sorry Brenton! I was just thinking of the books rather than everyone's characters))

Isrydia felt the familiar touch of Brenton's mind, and gave Arlyn a suspicious look before warily allowing him to speak with her. The dragon must have done something to prompt this. She knew he talked to Grazael a lot, and guessed one of the two dragons wanted her and Brenton to talk. She was relieved to be informed that Brenton wanted to move on rather than lose a friend. The relief and happiness was unguarded from Brenton's mind, and she spoke a response in her head to him, "I'm glad, I hope we can still be friends without it being awkward. Your advice and training is incredibly valuable to me, too."

Juggling two conversations, she then responded to Farore. This was a much darker conversation. Once she had realised the Riders of Old had been killed, all Isrydia could do was give a grim nod. Of course, Farore didn't know if she had lost her memory. If she were one of them, she ought to be told what happened. "The Riders of Old were protectors of Alagaesia, and they were a great Order based on the island of Vroengard. All it took for their downfall was for one of their number to turn bad. Galbatorix. His first dragon was killed, driving him mad with loss. He persuaded the young Rider Morzan to become his ally, and with his help killed the Rider of a young hatchling. Using terrible magic learned from a Shade, he forced a bond to be formed between him and the hatchling, twisted his mind, accelerated his growth, and renamed him Shruikan. Twelve other Riders joined him, and they became known as the Forsworn. Together they slaughtered almost every dragon, even the wild ones, and the Riders. Even the Forsworn did not survive. Galbatorix was so powerful he was able to take control of Alagaesia and to this day he remains the king of the Empire. There is a resistance, known as the Varden, who are trying to destroy his reign and bring back the old Order of Riders, but it's not an easy task,"

With that miserable tale told, the food appeared to be ready. Isrydia drained the water from the vegetables and covered two plates from the table with the fish and vegetables. After extinguishing the fire, she took these back over to the table and set one back between the knife and fork in front of Farore, the other in front of her own seat. She sat down and tried a slice of carrot. Arlyn had to strain his neck to see over the tabletop, so he leaped onto Isrydia's lap to sit. He was too large to curl up, so sat like an affectionate dog, bright blue eyes watching Farore curiously.

[Brenton]

Brenton listened to what Isrydia said and smiled at her joy at being able to move on and be friends still. I will always be willing to help with your training and give advice where needed. What's the deal with Farore anyhow? Brenton may have been ready to move on but he wasn't sure he wanted to go to Isrydia's house just yet to talk to her in person.

Grazael rumbled in contentment as he realized that Brenton was busy talking to Isrydia. Brenton and Isrydia friends again. They having good conversation Brenton glare at me a lot. Grazael spoke to Arlyn again.

------------

The giant red dragon circled in the air as it looked down upon the forest and pin pointed the exact target that he was looking for, Ellesmera. On the dragon's back sat a man in a red and black hooded cloak with his hands hidden partially by his sleeves where mechanisms were strapped to hold the hidden blades. Sudden Talon dropped in altitude and spiraled down in a deep descent straight toward where the city was, and a house that appeared to be holding another dragon, or at least the mind of a dragon. Konner dismounted and looked around before he motioned for Talon to return to the air which the great red dragon did. Then Konner slipped around the corner and looked in the window to see two women and a small pale blue dragon. He smiled and walked to the door which he knocked on persistently while he made sure his weapons were hidden well.

[Timmir]

Farore listened to Isrydia as she told her about the fall of the riders. Farore remained silent as she absorbed the information that was being given to her, her smile slowly fading as she did so. Even though Isrydia was only confirming on what Farore had guessed, hearing how it happened still had an effect on her.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if my amnesia is a blessing?" She said as Isrydia began placing the plates on the table. She looked at the meal in front, savoring the smell while she did so. With a satisfied sigh, she picked up her utensils and moved to begin devour her meal. However, before she could begin eating, she heard the someone begin knocking on the door.

She gave an annoyed sigh as she turned to look at the door. "Were you expecting company?" She asked curiously even though she was sure the answer was probably no.

[Quetzal]

Isrydia was dismayed to see Farore's sadness at the fate of the people who may well have once been her friends. If she had been a Rider of Old, her dragon was nowhere to be seen. Chances were he or she had met a terrible fate at the hands of the Forsworn. As Farore had said, perhaps her amnesia was a blessing, if that were the case. Brenton's voice rang through her head again. "Farore is a mystery. She really doesn't seem to remember anything. I explained to her who the Riders of Old were, and she didn't even know about Galbatorix or the Fall. She had no signs of remembering anything at all," she replied to him. Right now her main concern was making sure Farore felt more comfortable having woken up with no memory.

Arlyn was pleased to hear Grazael's news. He could tell Brenton was contacting Isrydia's mind, but had no idea what they were talking about. He could have tried listening in, but he didn't think she would like that much. "Good! Hehe, Isrydia give me funny look too," his youthful voice had an amused tone to it.

The sudden knock made Isrydia jump. Arlyn jumped down and stared silently at the door, eyeing it suspiciously. It couldn't be Brenton, as he would have told her if he was coming over. "No, this is a surprise," she said, moving closer to the door. She assumed it would be an elf or one of the few Riders in the area whom she had met before. Since becoming a Rider, she had been more wary of other people. The encounter with the Shade, pressure to join the Varden or Empire, some people were not be trusted. At heart she still tended to trust people easily. She wished she were wearing something more protective than the loose brown trousers and plain dull green shirt, clothes she had worn for a day of academic study and magic learning. Her sword, Nettle, was close at hand on a nearby shelf. Brenton would be easy to contact through her mind if need be. She opened the door, Arlyn standing alert at her side, small but proud and wary.