Chapter 4

Daret was on the banks of the Ninor River—as it had to be to survive. The village was small and wild-looking, supposable without any signs of inhabitants. Eragon and Brom approached it with great caution. This time, Saphira hid close to the town; if trouble arose, she would be at their sides within seconds.

They rode into Daret, striving to be silent. Brom gripped his sword with his good hand, eyes flashing everywhere. Eragon had his hand on the hilt of Zar'roc, appearing just as vigilant but more at ease. That was because Eragon could feel the minds of several figures. Even without spreading out his mind, he could feel someone watching him.

He showed nothing on the outside, though, opting instead to contact Brom through his mind.

'I can feel the mind of a good number of people. While most went into hiding, about a dozen and some have been watching us ever since we entered.'

Brom showed no reaction other than him scrunching his forehead slightly but really went unnoticed because he had many wrinkles on his forehead in the first place.

'We'll continue towards the center. If no one makes contact with us by then, we leave as fast as possible. They may have an ambush set up, so be prepared to fight our way out.'

They continued on their way until they reached the center of Daret and found it empty. The wind blew through the desolate town, and dust devils swirled sporadically. While they both could see the fresh footprints of children.

Brom's faced grimaced." Let's get out of here. I don't like the feeling of this." He spurred Snowfire into a gallop. Eragon followed him, urging Cadoc onward.

They advanced only a few strides before wagons toppled from behind the houses and blocked their way. Cadoc snorted and dug in his hooves, sliding to a stop next to Snowfire. A swarthy man hopped over the wagon and planted himself before them, a broadsword slung at his side and a drawn bow in his hands.

"Halt! Put down your weapons down. You're surrounded by sixty archers. They'll shoot if you move." As if on cue, a row of men stood up on top of the roofs of the surrounding houses.

'Saphira, stay back; he's bluffing right now. Sixty archers…, more like 20. Damn, I guess the Yazuac was to show that things in the plains are dire right now.'

"What do you want," Brom asked calmly.

"Why have you come here." Demanded the man.

"To buy supplies and hear the news. Nothing more. We're on the way to my cousin's house in Dras-Leona."

"You're armed pretty heavily."

"So are you." Said, Brom." These are dangerous times."

"True." The man looked at them carefully." I don't think you mean us ill, but we've had too many encounters with urgals and bandits for me to trust you with only your word."

"If it doesn't matter what we say, then what happens now?" Countered Brom. The men on top of the houses had not moved. Yet, from their very stillness, Eragon could sense the uneasiness radiating off of them.

'These men were most likely normal people before all the urgals and bandits started plaguing their home. Only a few, including the one in front of us, seem to have any actual experience with combat.'

"You say you only want supplies. Would you agree to stay here while we bring you what you need, then pay us and leave immediately."

"Yes."

"All right," said the man, lowering his bow, though he kept it ready. He waved at one of the archers, who slid to the ground and ran over." Tell him what you want."

Brom recited a shortlist and then added," Also, if you have a spare pair of gloves that would fit my nephew, I'd like to buy those too." The archer nodded and ran off.

"The name's Trevor," said the man standing in front of them." Usually, I'd shake your hand, but under the circumstances, I'll keep my distance. So tell me, where are you from?"

"North," said Brom," but we haven't lived in a place long enough to call it home. Have urgals forced you to take these measures?"

"Yes," said Trevor," and wrote fiends. Do you have any news from other towns? We receive news from them rarely, but there have been reports that they are also beleaguered."

Brom turned grave." I wish it wasn't our lot to bring you these tidings. Nearly a fortnight ago, we passed through Yazuac and found it pillaged. The villagers had been slaughtered and piled together. We would have tried to give them a decent burial, but two urgals attacked us."

Shocked, Trevor stepped back and looked down with tears in his eyes. "Alas, this is indeed a dark day. Still, I don't see how two urgals could defeat all of Yazuac. The people there were good fighters—some were my friends."

"There were signs that a band of urgals had ravaged the town," stated Brom. "I think the ones we encountered were deserters."

"How large was the company?"

Brom fiddled with his saddlebags for a minute. "Large enough to wipe out Yazuac, but small enough to go unnoticed in the countryside. No more than a hundred and no less than fifty. If I'm not mistaken, either number will prove fatal for you."

Trevor warily agreed. "You should consider leaving," Brom continued. "This area has become far too perilous for anyone to continue living in peace."

"I know, but the people here refuse to consider moving. This is their home—as well as mine, though I have only been here a couple years—and they place its worth above their lives." Trevor looked at him seriously. "We have repulsed individual urgals, and that has given the townspeople a confidence far beyond their abilities. I fear that we will wake up one morning with our throats slashed."

The archer hurried out of the house with a pile of goods in his arms. He set them next to the horses, and Brom paid him. Then, as the man left, Brom asked, "Why did they choose you to defend Daret?"

Trevor shrugged. "I was in the king's army for some years."

Brom dug through the items, handing Eragon the pair of gloves, and packed the rest into their saddlebags. Eragon didn't need to be told as he'd already had guessed why Brom had requested gloves for him, to cover up his glowing mark on his right hand. So he turned his palm upside down while he pulled the gloves on. The leather was still good and strong even though they had scratched from use on them.

"Well, as promised, I will go now," said Brom. Trevor nodded. When you enter Dras-Leona, would you do us this favor? Alert the empire to our plight and that of the other towns. If word hasn't reached the king by now, it's cause for worry."

Brom nodded. "We will carry your message. May your swords stay sharp."

"As yours."

The wagons were pulled out of their way, and they rode from Daret into the trees along the Ninor River. Eragon informed Saphira that they were heading back. Her only response was simmering anger.

Brom pulled at his beard. "The empire is in worse condition than I had imagined. When the traders visited Carvahll, they brought reports of unrest, but I never believed that it was this widespread. With all the urgals around, it seems that the empire itself is under attack, yet no troops or soldiers have been sent out. It's as if the king doesn't care to defend his domain."

"Yes, it is strange and somewhat sad even," Eragon said. "Those people back there won't make it much longer, I feel."

Brom nodded his head. "No, they won't. With how many urgals are roaming around, it won't be long before they're overwhelmed. One or two urgals is one thing, but once a group appears, I'm afraid that they will become another Yazuac. Silently wiped off the map without anyone knowing."

He ducked under a low branch and continued. "Ah, also you did well using your powers in the village to detect the number of people. But you could've also sensed his intentions."

Eragon thought for a moment. He had used his senses. That's why he wasn't as tense in the previous situation, so he began thinking about what Brom could mean.

"To touch their mind like I do with Saphira and Cadoc?" He said.

"Yes, the mind of men isn't so different from a dragon or a horse. But it's a power you must use sparingly and with great caution. A person's mind is his last sanctuary. You must never violate these rules unless circumstances force you to. The riders had very strict rules regarding this. If they were broken without due cause, the punishment was severe."

"And you could do it without being a rider?"

"Yes, anyone could do it with the right instruction, but with differing amounts of success.

Whether it's magic, though, is hard to tell. Magical abilities will certainly trigger the talent—or becoming linked with a dragon—but I've known plenty who learned it on Their own. Think about it: you can communicate with any sentient being, though the contact may not be very clear. You could spend the entire day listening to a bird's thoughts or understanding how an earthworm feels during a rainstorm. But I've never found birds very interesting. I suggest starting with a cat; they have unusual personalities."

Eragon twisted Cadoc's reins in his hands, considering the implications of what Brom had said. "But if I can get into someone's head, doesn't that mean that others can do the same to me? How do I know if someone's prying in my mind? Is there a way to stop that?"

"Why, yes. Hasn't Saphira ever blocked you from her mind?"

"Occasionally," admitted Eragon." When she took me into the Spine, I couldn't talk to her at all. It wasn't that she was ignoring me; I don't think she could even hear me. There were walls around her mind that I couldn't get through. Brom worked on his bandage for a moment, shifting it higher on his arm.

"Only a few people can tell if someone is in their mind, and of those, only a handful could stop you from entering. It's a matter of training and of how you think. Because of your magical power, you'll always know if someone is in your mind. Once you do, blocking them is a simple matter of concentrating on one thing to the exclusion of all else.

"For instance, if you think about a brick wall, that's all the enemy will find in your mind. However, it takes a huge amount of discipline to block someone for any length of time. If you're distracted by even the slightest thing, your wall will waver, and your opponent will slip through the weakness."

"Hmm, I guess I'll have to practice this then as I don't want anyone in my head."

Brom nodded. "That's all you can do. It's an advanced ability that only a handful can master."

-x-x-x-x-x-

When they reached Saphira, she startled them by thrusting her head towards them. The horse stepped back nervously. Saphira looked over Eragon carefully and gave a low hiss. Her eyes were flinty.

Eragon looked at Saphira, confused. 'What's wrong?'

{You}, she growled. {You are the problem}

Eragon got of Cadoc only to jump back the moment his feet touched the ground to dodge the dragon tail that came his way.

"What are you doing!" Eragon demanded as he continued dodging Saphira's attempts to knock him down. He eventually tapped his foot against the ground, causing his speed to skyrocket. Before she could react, Eragon was already on her back.

She whipped her head around, staring with her pupils contracted to the max.{You! Every time you leave my site, you get into trouble. You're like a new hatchling, sticking your head into everything. And what will happen when you stick it into something that bites back? How will you-}

'I will just strike it down. And if it doesn't stay down, I'll keep striking it down till there is nothing left to strike down. Look, Saphira, I understand you're upset. But trouble is gonna find me even if I sat in a hut the rest of my life. I more concerned about you than myself. Your the one who needs protection

She snarled and snapped at the air beside his ear. {Do you really believe that? Tomorrow you will ride me note that pitiful deer—animal you call a horse—or else I will carry you in my claws. Are you a dragon rider or not? Don't you care for me?}

Hearing this, he could only sigh. 'You're right; I have been somewhat neglecting you. We will ride together tomorrow.' He himself, at the moment, was feeling somewhat nostalgic. He hadn't ridden a dragon since he'd awoken his power in his original body. Before, he'd ride on his mother's or father's back, but he felt his dad didn't really count as his father's dragon body was comparable to a large celestial body, and that was when he shrunk it as much as he could…

"What did she want?" Demanded Brom.

"We plan on going on a ride together tomorrow."

Brom nodded. "Well, now that we have the saddle and if you two stay out of sight, I feel it should be fine. Plus, you need to learn how to ride her anyway."

With that settled, Saphira snorted in satisfaction, releasing a plume of smoke from her nostrils. Then, she vaulted into the air, taking off into the sky with a few firm flaps of her wings.

It was nearly sundown when they set up camp. As usual, they had their evening duel, with it ending in a duel like usual. After eating, they laid down, with Eragon falling asleep to the sound of Saphira's raspy snoring.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Bradley was never a normal child. Neither he nor any of his siblings were. Which was to be expected being offspring of their father. But each sibling was different from the other. Each embodying a different sin. Seven sins for seven siblings.

Bradley was born with the sin of Wrath. But you could never tell so. He always seemed calm and collected on the surface. Sporting the same stoic expression like his father did.

Only the people close to him knew otherwise. He was an embodiment of unyielding anger. Cold fury that once started was hard to put out. A man of action. As his rage grew, so did his power.

With his wrath being his outlet. With his destruction being his own singular language. A way of communicating just how agonizingly frustrating he finds people to be. Words were not able to communicate the fury he felt at times.

A man unsympathetic to the life around him, excluding family. While his siblings were generals with their own armies, he fought alone due to his nature. Hence the situation he was in at the moment.

He was on a planet that was more of a fortress. Around him, the atmosphere shook as powerfully energy was being tossed around. The roaring of men and the booming of attacks clashing against one another constantly rung throughout the battlefield.

He was surrounded on all sides. He was pushing his haki to the limit causing his swords to be pitch black with a crimson hue coating them.

He had wounds covering from top to bottom. But they healed as fast as he received them but came at the cost of his energy which he could replenish by devouring the people he killed. But, unfortunately, his opponents weren't exactly giving him the time to do that at the moment.

And while he could have already retreated, he didn't. He felt something inside him swelling. The more he fought, the more bloated he felt.

'Hmm, just a little more, and I feel it will burst.' He thought calmly, assessing the situation inside his body. 'Shunpo.'

His body disappeared, leaving only an afterimage in his wake. A moment later, the spot he was previously was hit with various attacks while he went on the offensive.

He appeared in front of the surrounding crowd, waving his swords to and fro, sending sword light after sword light out. Each sword light was reinforced with haki making them each extremely sharp. Cutting through both armor and weapons alike. Only the stronger of his opponents, the heavenly generals, could break the sword lights while advancing toward him.

'Black Fury'

The swords in his hands seemed to multiply as he released a flurry of slashes, each slash heavier than the last one. Explosions rang out as the generals raised their shields, taking the full brunt of the attack.

"You are all extremely pathetic," Bradley said. His voice sent a chill through the winged beings around him. "Even with all of you here standing against me, this is only the most you can do. How many have I killed because of your stupidity? And did their sacrifice even matter in the end?"

"Weak. You are all so pitifully weak." Bradley could feel his rage rising even more. The very thought of them trying to take him down with mere weaklings made his rage boil over even more. And as his anger grew, so did his haki. His very presence was starting to literally squash the weaker of the heavenly soldiers to death.

He unleashed his devourer spirit to its full extent, sucking in the bodies of his enemies, both dead and alive, not carrying about the attacks raining down at him. He consumed more and more until he felt he was going to burst.

And he did. There was no loud explosion, though. Everything had turned silent. The place where he was fighting got covered in an expanding cloud of grey ash. Anything caught within it became a part of it, feeding into it helping its growth till it eventually stopped. The ash started to consolidate, forming the looming figure of a gigantic grey dragon.

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The giant reptile opened its gigantic maw before unleashing a grey ash column, wiping out the surrounding structures. Cheers could be heard throughout the surroundings as soldiers celebrated their leader's son awakening his power.