Chapter 20

Opening his eyes, Brom stares at the ceiling of his room, his mind slowly waking up. He lays there in silence for a moment before hearing some subtle breathing next to him. Tilting his head to the side, he sees Eragon sleeping on the ground next to the bed, his body at an awkward angle and his tongue sticking out. The sight gets a slight chuckle out of him before he remembers the battle with the twins. 

His hand moves over to the spot he was stabbed, finding nothing but unblemished skin beneath his fingers. His hand falls to his side and he looks at the sleeping face of his son with worry gnawing at his heart.

"Eragon… You do so much for me… I don't have enough years left to repay you." Brom says softly as he slowly sits up in bed. 

As he slowly sits up, his serious face changes to one of confusion as he no longer feels the aches and pains that he is accustomed to. He lifts his shirt and feels for the wound that Morzan gave him in his final battle, a large gash along his side that had been haunting him all this time is now gone without a trace. Brom stretches his body experimentally, his smile widening as all the pain from his old body has been wiped clean.

"I guess I do have enough years left…" Brom looks back at Eragon who seems to be stirring from his slumber from hearing his voice.

Eragon's eyes open groggily and his tongue slinks back into his mouth, leaving the taste of stone and dirt in his mouth. He reflexively spits towards the wall and wipes his tongue with his shirt before looking up at Brom who is watching this unfold with a hint of amusement in his eye. Eragon's face starts to redden in embarrassment as he looks away.

"You're awake, Brom. How are you feeling?"

"I feel better than I have in a long time, no doubt thanks to you." 

Eragon smiles broadly. "Like I said before, You can't die until you see Galbatorix's head on a pike. I have to make you proud." 

Brom sighs while staring into Eragon's eyes. "You have already done so, and more. I'm sure your mother's spirit is watching over us with a smile on her face."

Eragon leans forward and wraps Brom in a hug. "Once all of this mess is behind us, let's head back to Carvahall and fix up the place. I will build a magnificent castle to guard the valley where you can live in peace for the rest of your days." 

Brom reciprocates the hug. "Sounds great, son." 

Brom and Eragon stay like this for a while before Eragon starts explaining everything that happened after he was stabbed. The woman in the blue dress, Triana, became the new leader of Du Vrangr Gata. She is now working diligently to remove any more of Galbatorix's spies that could be hidden in the Vardens forces.. 

While she would like to search through the refugees as well, it is next to impossible as there are way too many that live within the mountain. Ajihad has been dealing with the fallout from the twins' treachery and trying to keep the council complacent but they seem to be getting anxious, thinking that Ajihad might kill them or usurp their authority. 

Realizing the severity of the situation, Brom gets up from the bed and starts to make himself look presentable, motioning for Eragon to do the same. An hour later, the father-son duo are standing before the council of elders alongside Ajihad and Orik. Unsurprisingly, the five council members are seated at a half circle stone table on a raised platform looking down on everyone present, as if they are the rulers of the Varden. The person seated in the middle, an aged woman named Elessari with gray hair and a face heavily covered in makeup clears her throat. 

"Ajihad… We have read your report and are highly dissatisfied with your conduct. You should have informed us of the twins' treachery so that we can come to a decision on how to proceed. Instead you went behind our backs and killed our most potent mages, weakening our forces a great deal. What say you in your defense?"

Ajihad looks at the councilwoman in contempt. "I could not risk the twins fleeing the city or causing untold mayhem and carnage if our plan was discovered." 

The councilman to Elessari's right named Umerth pipes in. "We have gone over your supposed 'evidence' of their betrayal and find it circumstantial at best. With the twins dead there is no longer any proof that they were spies, If they were even spies to begin with. We find it more likely that you are covering up something that could threaten the Varden as a whole." 

Hearing this, Ajihad glares at the man with unconcealed hatred. Even Brom and Orik get angry at the accusation. Meanwhile, Eragon is looking over the council members with contempt and even mild amusement at their antics. They seriously think that they wield power over Ajihad. Eragon knows for a fact that if they get out of line Ajihad will not hesitate to remove them from power in a heartbeat. 

"It's because of your actions that we have no choice but to remove you from your position as leader of the Varden." Elessari looks down at Ajihad with a triumphant glare.

'And there is the landmine… Goodbye.' Eragon thinks to himself. And sure enough, Ajihad's booming laugh echoes through the chamber.

"You will do no such thing. In fact… All of you are henceforth removed from your positions and are to be incarcerated until such time as you acquiesce to a complete mind reading and are found innocent of being Galbatorix's spies. Guards, arrest them.

The guards standing at the door and on either side of the table walk forward and grab the council members, restraining them and dragging them away. The look of shock on their faces as they got manhandled out of the room was priceless. Four of the council members are dragged kicking and screaming, swearing and cursing at Ajihad to unhand them as they are removed from the room, the remaining councilman by the name of Jormundur is brought before Ajihad and he has the guards release him.

"So… You finally dissolved this corrupt council. You have your work cut out for you Ajihad."

Ajihad chuckles lightly. "I already have more paperwork than I know what to do with, so what is a little more? And don't forget… You're still my military advisor for the foreseeable future. I will need you to lead the army in the coming weeks." 

Jormundur sighs deeply. "So it's true, the urgals are amassing at our gates as we speak… I will prepare our soldiers for the battle, you need to get me all the intel about them that you can so that I can make a battle plan." 

"Soon, my friend. I already sent messages to the western dwarven settlements and hope to get a report back in the next few days. We have two weeks at the minimum to prepare, which is plenty of time to make the battle a decisive victory."

Ajihad turns towards Brom and Eragon. "Master Eragon, you must now prepare yourself for war. The Varden will support you in any way it can, you have but to ask." 

Eragon nods with a serious expression. "Of course, Ajihad. I will do my part in the war to come. Once the urgals are dealt with, I will be leaving to train with the elves in Du Weldenvarden. It may be a few years before I am ready to fight Galbatorix."

Ajihad nods in understanding. "I understand. The Varden will be prepared to march with you when the time comes."

With that, the group disperses, going off to prepare for the urgal invasion. Three days later, Ajihad receives word that the urgals have been spotted in the tunnels to the north west. It is estimated that they will arrive within two to three weeks at the earliest. With all the intel they need, Ajihad and Jormundur select the battlefield for the coming conflict, the very same field just outside the mountain city as in the novels. The dwarves collapse most of the tunnels in and around the mountain, creating a funnel from where the urgals will be forced to ascend from the depths, while the refugees were given enough time to evacuate to another dwarven city to the east.

While the battlefield is prepared and the soldiers of the Varden and dwarves ready themselves for the coming conflict, Eragon has been diligently training, acclimating himself to his newfound strength and speed. He had to alter his armor a bit to account for his increased size and his sword now feels more like a large toothpick in his hands but his martial prowess shines through, a testament of his willpower, determination, and natural-born talent.

Saphira has not been sitting idly during this time. Her training consists of constantly breathing fire at boulders for as long as she can, reaching nearly half an hour of continuous fiery destruction. She rakes her claws against boulders and trees, sharpening her speed and strength beyond what she normally could handle thanks to Eragon healing her. 

The dragon and rider duo train at a relentless pace until a few days before the urgals arrive, conserving their strength for the conflict. Eragon has been storing both his and Saphira's energy inside his gems whenever he can, his own energy generation having increased once again after his body enhancement. 

With how busy he has been training, Eragon has put his experiments on hold for now. Even if he made a new spell or reinvented a weapon from his previous world, he decided that it would be too risky to let Galbatorix witness it. If he learns the new words he made for the ancient language, Galbatorix's danger level will skyrocket immensely. As he is now, Eragon believes that Galbatorix would be a moderate challenge to defeat as long as he exploits the spell that was used in the novel to make him feel the pain of all that suffer under his rule.

Eragon pauses in his training, slowly lowering himself to the floor from a one handed handstand. "Saphira… If Durza and the twins are dead, who is leading the urgals here?"

Saphira looks over at him, contemplating her answer. "I'm not sure. Who else would Galbatorix trust to lead the army?" 

Eragon skims through his memories of the novel, trying to find an answer but nothing pops out at him. "Well… There is that general that he gifted an Eldunari… Or maybe the final Razac… Not sure. He still has the black hand right? That group of assassins and mages of his could have someone powerful enough to fill the role." 

Saphira nods. "We need to be prepared to face mages in this fight just in case one of them shows up. Your mind defenses are very powerful already even before I reinforce them with my mind. On the magic front, any of your spells that use your element words have a high probability of getting past any wards they possess, though you risk Galbatorix learning the words." 

"I can't let him know about them. With his resources and intelligence, he could make full use of them, making it just that much harder to defeat him. I will spend the rest of today reinforcing our wards just to be safe." 

"Sounds like a plan." Saphira nuzzles her head against his shoulder. "We will get through this together, Eragon. Once Galbatorix is dead, let's take a small break before heading over the ocean." 

Eragon smiles warmly as he caresses Saphira's chin, her eyes closing and her head tilting up in bliss. "You don't have to tell me twice. I can't wait to experience all that life has to offer with you by my side for all our unnaturally long lives."

Eragon and Saphira bask in the feeling of each other's company for a while longer before Eragon starts reviewing all the wards he has placed on himself and Saphira, making doubly and triply sure that they are thoroughly protected from whatever spells could be thrown their way.

Once he is done, Eragon walks over to the edge of the dragon hold and looks down at the battlefield, a perfect birds eye view of all the battlements, trenches, spike pits, and tar cauldrons suspended over three massive holes in the ground over a mile away from him. With his enhanced sight, he watches the men and women of the Varden running about doing various tasks with diligence and fervor. 

Eragon sighs lightly, the weight of the coming war and of the people's expectations weighing down on him. He doesn't let that feeling get him down though as he turns around and strides over to Saphira with confidence, lifting up the helmet he made for her with the remaining L6 Bainite steel. 

He places it on her head and fastens the rest of the armor that was given to him by the dwarves that protects her exposed belly. He leaps up onto Saphira's back and attaches a sapphire the size of a tangerine to her saddle, the gem filled with enough energy to power the healing and durability enchantments upon it hopefully for the entire fight without depleting. As long as the healing enchantment is taking effect on her body, any wounds she receives should heal if given enough time.

As Eragon is putting the finishing touches on Saphira's armor, he feels Brom trying to establish a mind link with him. He lets Brom in just enough to talk and not reveal any thoughts.

"It's time, Eragon. In a few hours, the battle will begin." 

"We are ready… Stay safe, dad."

Brom smiles. "You as well, son."