Day 2. The Feast of Agêthi Blödren.
***
Today was a day of celebration in Ellesmere. It was called the Feast of Agêthi Blödren, which meant the Festival of the Oath of Blood. It was celebrated every 100 years since the truce with the dragons. Eragon was incredibly lucky to be honored by being present at this festival.
When everyone had taken their seats, two young elven girls came out into the center of the circle and stood back-to-back. They were very beautiful and looked very much alike, except that one had hair as black as water in a forest lake, while the other's shone like polished silver.
- These are our Guardians, Iduna and Neya, - whispered Oromis.
The raven Blagden, perched on Queen Imiadris’ shoulder, croaked:
-Virda!*
And the Guardians simultaneously raised their hands and unfastened the brooches that held together the white garments around their necks; the clothes fell to the ground. The girls were now wearing nothing but iridescent tattoos depicting a dragon, starting on Iduna's left ankle and ending with the dragon's head on Neya's chest. The musicians struck up the drums.
First slowly, then faster and faster, Iduna and Neya began their dance. It seemed not they who were dancing, but the dragon on their backs. Then the girls also began to sing. They sang louder and louder until their fierce cries drowned out the music. In fact, it was not a song, but a series of magical spells, so complex that the meaning of the words they uttered escaped Eragon.
Suddenly, the tattoo suddenly flared with bright light, and the dragon came to life. A tongue of flame burst from its mouth. It lunged forward, tearing itself away from the skin of the Guardians, soared into the air, and flew over the clearing, flapping its wings.
By instinct, Eragon raised his right hand, feeling a familiar tingling in his palm, and a booming, almost scorching voice sounded in his ears:
"Accept our gift, so that you may have the strength to accomplish what is destined."
The dragon lowered its head and touched Eragon’s palm with the tip of its nose – exactly where the Gedwëy Ignasia shone. A wave of searing heat coursed through Eragon’s body, and he lost consciousness.
***
That night, Eragon woke up to a strange noise. As it turned out, Solembum had woken him up.
-Follow me,- he said softly in the silence. Eragon barely kept up with the cat, who glided silently through the night forest. He led him to the Tree of Menoa. This old tree was associated with an elven legend about unrequited love. Suddenly, Eragon felt a mental connection with the tree and heard words. "I will give you what you seek, but then you must give me something in return..." The mighty roots of the tree parted, and there, Eragon saw fragments of meteorite iron ore. It was from this ore that Elven blacksmiths made swords for Riders.
An old elf woman, Rhonen, spent all night in her forge trying to create a sword superior to previous ones. Finally, her work was finished.
-What name will you give your sword? - she asked Eragon.
-Brisingr!
As soon as he said it, the sword blazed with fiery flashes.
Snowman surveyed Ellesmere from a bird's-eye view. Unexpectedly, he saw someone on the ground. He decided to descend to get a better look. That was a mistake... An unknown creature jumped onto his neck and plunged its poisonous claws into it, which were so sharp that they easily pierced the blue scales.
MasteR traveled through the forest of Ellesmere and did not notice how he wandered into the misty magical swamps.
*Virda – trans. elvish. Fate.
Alive:
1.
Amber -
Sesame2.
Chrysolite -
Heroist3.
Ruby -
MasteR6.
Rock Crystal -
TenshiCH7.
Indigoite -
ToX8.
Topaz -
Olam Hével9.
Tanzanite -
Ment10.
Andalusite -
Drakkoska11.
Onyx -
Loreley12.
Agate -
Nefela13.
Malachite -
WishmasteR15.
Simbirsite -
Alexeagle16.
Carnelian -
JinhaiDead:
14.
Lapis Lazuli -
Arandor5.
Emerald -
SnowmanV24.
Aquamarine -
Larisa