Chapter 9

It's been nine days since they left Carvahall. Just before the first major blizzard Eragon and Brom hide in a nearby cave. They had followed the Anora river south and towards the town of Utgard. With the town being full of Galbatorix's soldiers they decided not to risk getting detained so they gave the city a wide berth. They were only a few days' travel from the town of Yazuac when dark clouds floated overhead and unleashed their icy payload throughout the valley. The cave they took shelter in was quite small but it served their purposes. The blizzard raged on for over five days before the clouds finally dispersed, the sun peeking through, illuminating the snow-covered landscape. By now, Saphira has grown to about the size of a large dog and was devouring their meat supplies at a rapid pace. She has yet to link her mind with Eragon's but that doesn't stop him from showering her with love. The two are basically inseparable and Eragon always talks to her about different topics and she appears able to understand what he is saying to an extent.

Meanwhile, Brom is overseeing Eragon's training in the ancient language and swordsmanship. He still has a hard time coming to grips with the fact that his son is a prodigy unlike any he has seen before. Eragon has such an inventive mind that can create spells that are more powerful and stamina efficient. When they spar, Brom finds himself on the defensive more often then he would like, even to the point where Eragon isn't the only one with bruises each night.

Another thing that irks Brom is that Eragon appears to not get tired as quickly as he should when casting magic. When questioned, Eragon simply says that during his training, he uses up everything he has by filling gems with his remaining energy after practice which appears to be slightly increasing his capacity over time. Brom gives Eragon an incredulous look as he has never heard of anyone being able to increase their capacity through just training. The only way that he knows to increase a person's magic capacity is for someone to bind themselves to a dragon as the riders do. Yet Eragon was doing this training way before he was bound to Saphira. This causes Brom to start having doubts about how Eragon has become so smart and powerful in only a few months. This seed of doubt starts to build in his mind, giving him the impression that maybe Eragon is being influenced by someone or something.

It takes another day's travel before they arrive at the town of Yazuac. It is a small town bustling with activity as people mill about the market purchasing any final necessities before the winter fully sets in, the children are mostly absent as the weather is already too cold for them to run about freely. Brom and Eragon spend some of their coin procuring food and any supplies they couldn't get from Carvahall before leaving the town and heading south east. Unfortunately, they were unable to acquire any horses as they had all been taken by the soldiers at Utgard. As they leave, Eragon looks back at the town wondering if he should warn them of the impending urgal attack. He sighs as he pictures in his head the pile of corpses in the center of the town as described in the books and realizes that he can't save everyone and trying to explain how he knows that they are coming would be a futile endeavor. Brom watching Eragon from the side takes this as him realizing that he is no longer allowed to have a normal life like those villagers. Smiling wryly, Brom wraps his arm around his son's shoulder and leads him off into the wilderness.

…

After four day's travel on foot to the south, they find the town of Daret and decide to try once more to acquire horses for their journey. This time their prayers are answered and they find a pair of thoroughbreds that appear to be in good shape. After purchasing the horses, they head south through the central plains. Teirm is to the south west from where they are currently but a mountain range lies between them and the town so they need to head south to the Toark river first then head north west towards the ocean. Their journey through the cold countryside is slow but uneventful. The only thing worth mentioning was when a group of hungry wolves tried to attack them but with Eragon and Brom displaying their skills with blade and magic the wolves were slaughtered with no issues. The wolves had been starving for a while as was evident in how little meat was clinging to their bones. They weren't even a good snack for Saphira.

Over the next few weeks, while Brom teaches Eragon, Saphira continues to grow at a relentless pace. She is now too large to coil around Eragon's neck, not for lack of trying mind you, and has been hunting on her own. They once stumbled upon a dead buck in their path with teeth and claw marks around its neck, the deer was still fresh and was promptly cooked into a hearty stew that filled their stomachs for days to come.

During their travels, Eragon spends a good portion of his free time coming up with new and interesting enchantments to combine with various items. One such item that he is quite happy with is a defensive item he calls "the shield". It is a small wooden cylinder with a topaz gem that you can press inward and once you do, a translucent barrier appears in a 30 meter sphere around itself, protecting whatever is inside from projectiles and physical attacks. Making it defend against magical attacks would be too difficult as there are just too many options to choose from. Then we get to the enchantments that are just for convenience like a back scratcher that you can move with just a thought, a self cleaning spell to his clothes, and making his shoes more springy and durable. Eragon sees the ancient language more as a computer language than an actual alphabet. The freedom to craft any enchantment he can think up attests to that.

Then came the fateful day where Saphira learned how to communicate with Eragon using her mind. The two of them spent every waking moment talking to each other with their minds and sharing all of their life experiences. Eragon hesitantly shares the memories of his previous life, making sure she promises to not reveal his secrets. He could have made the promise binding by having her speak an oath in the ancient language but he decides against it as he would rather trust her unconditionally and he doesn't think being a reincarnator is a secret worth a whole lot. So what if people know he has memories of another life, anyone interested in his story will hear it then go about their lives as if nothing happened. That is just how humans work. Someday soon, he plans to tell Brom about his memories but hesitates when it comes to the topic of the old Eragon and how his memories are gone. Sam wonders if the old Eragon is out there somewhere and if he will see him in the future.