Before The Fall {An Eragon Fanfiction}

Chapter 25- The Ceremony

The flight went by in a blur, the ground speeding below beneath us. Ormis and Glaedr allowed us to fly along ahead of them when I told them I had to be back to Ilirea before the ceremony. If they hadn't, then I feared we wouldn't have made it in time.

But, we were able to ride a gust of wind all the way back to the city, allowing us to move faster than we ever had before. Vascar loved the thrill of being able to fly so quickly, but I honestly felt the slightest bit queasy when we finally touched down in front of the Eragonian Training Center.

'That was amazing,' I said to Vascar, 'but I wouldn't mind not doing that for the rest of the day. Or month. Whichever works best.'

He rumbled deep in his chest, his mind still buzzing from the rush of our flight. 'Whatever you say Little One, but I recommend not dwelling on it if we are going to make it to his ceremony in time.'

I ignored the slight amount of annoyance in his voice and agreed with him. He takes off into the air once more, and angled himself towards the large crowd of people in the center of town. I did not know why we had landed in front of the Eragonian Training Center, but I put it out of my head.

As my thoughts began to become increasingly more scattered, I came to realize the reason for my random topics. How my mind could not settle and focus on a specific topic, or how I was thinking about mere observations for prolonged periods of time. I was staling. Doing everything in my power to prevent myself from thinking about the upcoming encounter.

But, as Vascar landed, I could not help my eyes landing upon him. He wore a forest green cloak that flowed down his back, accenting his broad shoulders. He immediately recognized Vascar and met my gaze. Behind him stood Jarnunvösk, her scales perfectly matching his cloak color. Her amber eyes also stared pointedly at us, almost making me cringe.

Ripping my eyes away from rider and dragon, I focus on the rest of the scene around me. About ten riders stood upon a raised platform, their respective dragons standing behind them. Each dragon was of a different size, Jarnunvösk, surprisingly, being one of the smallest. Yet, her proud demeaner could not be matched by any of the dragons next to her, making others know to not underestimate her.

The riders stood in groups, and each group was separated by one of the Elders, their master, who did not have their dragons behind them. Directly to Galbatorix's right stood Alaric, who smiled broadly at the crowd, as proud as could be. Next to the Elder who rode the brown dragon, I recalled him being extremely cocky, stood Perdaen, his blonde hair wild and eyes glancing at Galbatorix every so often. Behind him, Cordus overshadowed all of the other dragons next to him, easily dwarfing them in size. I moved my eyes along, not wanting to meet his piercing gaze.

The crowd watching the ceremony were mostly humans from the city. Children darted around their parents, the excitement in the air seeping into their already hyper minds. I was among six other riders who were at the ceremony with their dragons. Vascar stood in the back of the crowd, me atop his back, and we watched everything from their. It was easier viewing, and I did not want to have to push through a crowd in order to get close enough to actually see what was happening. No, I would stay on top of Vascar's back.

Several tense minutes passed, anticipation thrumming through the atmosphere. No one moved yet they seemed to stare intently at the left side of the stage, the side Alaric and Galbatorix stood on. They were the last group until the end of the platform. Finally, I made the connection as I noticed three dragons, but only two riders.

The dragon without a rider looked behind itself expectantly, waiting for its rider to arrive, while Vrael shifted slightly awkwardly at the front of the stage. He was an impressive cloak of a white color that shimmered so much one would think it was made of actual dragon scales. The light danced across its surface, shifting almost as much as my ever changing emotions. Excitement coursed through my veins, looking upon the riders before me. Someday I would be in their spots. Maybe it would take years, but one day I would be a full Rider. Not simply a trainee.