A fateful encounter?
Author's note:
I hope you enjoy the chapter, I'm quite satisfied with this chapter and the first real encounter between Ayra and The old princes.
PS: the next chapter will surely be a little late, I have a lot of work at the moment and probably won't have time to write for a few days.
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Arya's POV:
Brom informed us that he would leave in Varden after the elves attempted to hatch the egg before leaving and following Oromis. The adviser also left and now only my mother and I remained.
She stares at me, gets up and takes me in her arms.
"I can't stay mad at you forever Arya. You have chosen a path that I did not support but I have recently come to know Eldar and I know how much he admires his mother and how much he would like to have her near him. Seeing the expression he puts on when talking about his mother shows me how painful it must be to no longer have parents. Thinking about all this made me realize how much I've missed you Arya. I wish I could enjoy the time I have with you and that we become as close as we were before you left. »
The emotion that his statement provokes constricts my throat and I just nod my head.
"You will tell me what you have been through all this time when we have dinner together. It will also allow Eldar and Egan to discover a world they don't know. I'm counting on you not to be as closed-minded as Brom and Oromis. He doesn't need anyone else to attack him or try to enlist him in this war. I know that you are particularly committed to this cause, but not everyone has the same point of view on the world as you, my daughter. Get to know it, understand where it comes from, how it think. When you have a fairly complete picture of him you can talk to him again but please be careful. Apart from Egan, Isalya and me, he doesn't see anyone. After all he is part of the royal family and I wish he could have a place where he could be comfortable. I want our home to be a real home for him and not be defensive at home. »
Hearing my mother insist so much and seeing the importance they have for her disconcerts me. My mother is not a particularly demonstrative or emotional woman. So far I've been the only one treated so kindly by her. She has just taken a step for us to get closer and I cannot refuse her request at the risk of ruiningI returned the same to him this reconciliation.
"It is especially difficult for me not to hold a grudge against him when he has the power to advance the cause for which I have fought for so long and yet he choose to live his life without caring. But I promise you I won't attack him about it and get to know him before judging him. »
She gave me a smile, thanked me and went back to her advisers.
I headed for the gardens to reflect and relax. It has been years since I have been able to appreciate the beauty of this place. I took the time to appreciate the calm of this garden which I missed so much but was surprised to find Eldar there Sitting in the center of the garden with his eyes closed.
What I saw made me stop. The scene that presents itself to me is striking. The plants around Eldar grow and gather in spirals around him. In addition to the garden plants there are plants made entirely of fire, water, some kind of steam and even gem-like plants but in shapes identical to those of the garden plants.
In addition to these elemental plants, there are a whole bunch of little elemental animals that run, fly, crawl, sleep, fight and behave like real animals around the plants. There were land hares, water panthers, a kind of dragon without wings of fire, birds made of gas and a whole bunch of other animals. The spectacle amazed me but quickly the plants resumed their places and the elementary creations disappeared.
Eldar opened his eyes and stared at me. I returned the same to him and looked at it. Unlike our first meeting, he is completely relaxed.
"*Is there anything I can do for you or do you just want to watch me ?* "
(From now on, I would use *this to indicate that they speak the language of Alalëa*)
I felt the tips of my ears warm to have shown myself so discourteous and to have been taken to detail it like this.
I still raise an eyebrow and compose myself a dignified expression before answering:
"*You are quite frank, some would call you a boor...*"
His reaction surprised me because he reacted against the reaction I expected in the face of such a reprimand: he smiled broadly.
"*You have the same uncontrollable eyebrow twitch as Islanzadí, it's kinda cute… To answer your observation, yes I much prefer to be direct and I can't stand your endless and false politeness*"
Now I feel my two eyebrows rising although I would have reacted to his little comment, it's something else that surprises me : " * Do you call my mother by her first name? She doesn't allow anyone to name her that! Not even Dathedr or Oromis.* "
He surprised me again by leaving with a burst of laughter. I could only watch him stupidly. I know I've been away from my homeland for a while but since when are elves so expressive?
It was not Eldar who answered me but the spirit of a dragon who encountered my mental barriers. After letting him in, I heard a very deep mental voice but I still perceived his hilarity.
' *You are wrong princess, your mother could not be offended since she was the one who asked us to call her that. Guess she sort of adopted us into the family*'
His answer surprises me. I didn't think my mother was so close with them. Eldar's laugh redoubles and I wonder what could have made him laugh so...
I didn't have to wonder for long since Egan sent me a mental image of me with my mouth and eyes wide open. My eyebrows are indeed expressive given the height they have reached .
The sound of a laughter characteristic of dragon laughter is sent directly to my mind.
' *It feels good to have another person we can talk to. I have a feeling we're going to have a lot of fun together !* '
Again, I don't know if I should be offended that he openly laughs at me or surprised to see an elf without any filter and so expressive. I understand now what my mother said. He is transparent and I can see very well that he doesn't mock maliciously. My reaction amuses him so he laughs. Again I assimilate my mother's speech and the social similarities between Eldar and our children.
I decide not to react and instead ask him how he manages to manage so many magics at the same time.
He seemed happy that I asked him the question. He confessed to me that my mother has already made fun of his training methods, which she considers barbaric and ineffective. He remains proud of what he accomplished and he managed to acquire the control he aspired to during all these training sessions.
He explained to me at length how he achieved this result and how he came up with these ideas. The explanation of his experiments, how he came to adopt these training methods, the number of failed training sessions he created and the consequences of his failures shock me much more than his demonstration.
He learned to use magic without any protection, without any of our learning methods that allow magic to be approached in relative safety!
Moreover he did all this without anyone to guide him, to show him, he learned magic by testing his ideas. From what I could see and understand: if he masters elemental magic so much, it's because that's how he perceived magic in the first place: a physical manifestation of his inner energy. He therefore trained from the start to master this discipline. He later discovered other ways to use magic only by using his imagination or observing the abilities of animals and plants he tried to magically replicate. Even his exercises, he created them in the same way: imagination and observation.
Created a magical exercise is anything but trivial. If have created a magical exercise that is too difficult, if it involves other magical elements that we do not know exist or that we do not master then it will inevitably end in an accident which has a good chance of taking your life.
It's not for nothing that magic is considered so dangerous...
This Eldar is a monster! Anyone using magic in such an anarchic way should have died a long time ago. Magic is extremely dangerous and the path to learning never ends. I've never heard anything so crazy. He must have extraordinary luck in addition to his talent and a completely amazing instinct!
I discovered something else during our exchange, it's not just his control of magic that is so impressive. He also has incredibly strong mental defenses. He explained to me that he has trained in many ways with birds that attack the mind.
He first tried to withstand their attack by trying to hold out as long as possible. When he could hold out long enough, he toughened up the training by practicing magic while defending himself, then he did it by having to defend himself against different predators. He even trained against these mental attacks by being devoured by larvae in an attempt to stay focused and efficient despite pain or other entertainment.
He told me that he advised me not to reproduce this training because not everyone supports it. He explained to me that he once urged Egan heavily to undergo similar training to improve those mental defenses. When Egan finally gave in, he attacked Eldar during the training session and then ignored him for several weeks. Egan later confessed to him that he closed his mind when Eldar trained not to feel his pain.
However, he gave me advice on how to manage several spells at the same time. Although his explanations seem ridiculously difficult to me, I might try his exercises.
I continued to question him about his magic until the sun rose and Egan, the black dragon joined us. Except for a few rare questions to which he apologized for not being able to answer, he answered all my questions without even asking me for anything in return.
He eventually went back to his meditation when it was Egan who wanted to talk to me and I had a hard time not being distracted by the enchantments Eldar created during his meditation. When I was too tired to continue conversing with Egan I wished him a good day and went to bed.
Once in my room, I took a bath and I couldn't help thinking about this new duo that came out of nowhere.
The old princes… An elven prince and a dragon prince of lineages from another age yet as young as me and coming out of nowhere. I would never have believed that such a surprise was awaiting me in Ellesméra.
My mother says they have a side of their personality similar to our children: caring, frank, honest, direct, funny and curious. I can understand why she thinks so because I too have seen that they are surprisingly pleasant company. They expressed more joy and laughter, they made me smile more in one day than I and my companions have done in over a decade.
I do not forget, however, that they could have killed Brom without the slightest qualm and that they might have done so without my mother's intervention. Egan also explained to me how they were welcomed and in particular how Eldar fought Glaedr until he dipped into his last vital reserves to defend him.
I don't know if I should be impressed or frightened to know that a young elf with no combat experience managed to wound Glaedr even superficially and fought her until she was betting his last strength to defend Egan. Only did he do it just to defend Egan but maybe he did it because he got lost in his madness after his mate was injured...
Knowing that he has such potential frustrates me even more. He embodies what we have always hoped for. Someone who might have a chance of defeating Galbatorix. Maybe not today, it will certainly take many years of training for him to pose a threat to Galbatorix but there is a possibility that one day he could truly become a threat to Galbatorix. Fortunately, he seems to be passionate about the art of combat and magic. He will perfect himself even without wanting to participate in our conflict.
However, the one my mother depicts as a kind and jovial being can also be ruthless and uncontrollable when he has to defend himself or his companion. Moreover Eldar have a unique spirit, his character does not coincide with us, even his way of thinking and perceiving magic is completely different.
The bath is now cold and I'm really tired, I'll have time to get to know them given the time I'm going to have to spend with them during their learning. However, I must admit that I at first accepted the order from my mother with bad grace but now that I have been able to speak with them and have enjoyed their company, I just feel curious and eager to get on with it. .