#and Eragon wouldn't know the Name

[tonhalszendvics]

@dellanir hey, sorry for the tag, but it's maybe easier to talk like this than in the answers :|

To my understanding, our heroes won the final battle when Galbatorix lost his cool. He got mad, he set everything aside and tried to break Eragon's mind, straight and head-on. And the thing that made him mad was Murtagh getting free and attacking him. That was that broke the king's spell that was holding down Arya, Saphira and Elva, so they were physically able to move.

Most of Eragon's success is him acting on a whim, on instincts - but at the same time it also almost killed him many times, so when we are throwing things of what could he have done, keep in mind that all of those can kill him as well. Also: Eragon spent like. Two months at most in Ellesméra, studying from Oromis and he forgot a lot (ie. the Banishing of the Names, human runes, probably even more, as Oromis had no time to revise their lessons. I don't hold it against him, it was a very difficult and challenging part of his life). He got the distilled version of the rider-training. Galbatorix was a student in the height of the Order, so I think we can safely assume that everything Eragon knew, Galbatorix knew as well. Even if he had been an apprentice a long time ago and he forgot a lot.

Murtagh said that the king could be killed in many ways. Eragon found one. However, we've seen how did Galbatorix deal with Nausada, and in the new book it was revealed how did he break Murtagh. For me, this means that if Murtagh there in the throne room didn't change, Galbatorix would have done the same to Eragon. He was entertained by Eragon and the others, but he'd have returned to the known ways. He could have started with separating Eragon from the others, stripping him from his magic. He could have started torturing Saphira, which is a well-known method to break riders. Eragon reached him with his talking, that's why he let that duel happen in the first place, but if he had talked further, I think he'd have silenced him.

If we have the throne room scene with everything the same, except for Murtagh and Thorn switching sides, then Eragon and his company has the slimmest chance to win. It is possible, as everything is possible, but I'd give it a one to million ratio. We were granted with the best outcome there, I think, everything else would have been too taxing to our heroes either physically or mentally. I am thinking about Murtagh's threat from the third book where he'd said that he'd cut down Eragon's hand, since he wouldn't need that in Uru-baen. And while hands can be glued back with magic, as we've seen it in courtesy of Balder, Glaedr's case shows that it is not always the case.

For mental stuff: Eragon was in a very vulnerable state mentally after the end of the war. Let's not forget that he was a teenager who was forced to grow up too fast and who'd lost basically everything during that war, including his own sense of privacy. If he'd beaten Galbatorix alone without the help of Saphira, Arya, Murtagh, Thorn and Elva, he'd have become a second Galbatorix. If not immediately after the battle, then later on. He still has that fear, that's why he left Alagaesia.

Galbatorix was alone. Even if he had Shruikan and the Eldunarya, they all hated him, so in reality, he was alone. He had to be overthrown via group effort, and in that way it had happened in the book, otherwise Eragon's future, and the future of Alagaesia, would be in danger.

TLDR: Eragon has a one to a million chance to win without Murtagh's help, and I don't want him to win like that, because that would break him and the consequences would be ugly.

Could Eragon actually defeat Galbatorix without Murtagh's help?

If Murtagh's true name had remained the same or if he hadn't remembered the Name of Names, does that mean Galbatorix would have easily defeated Eragon and the Varden?

[illtakeyoutowonderland]

I can see you

Modern!Aemond x Reader A/N: This will probably be a series

Summary: You meet the Targaryean brothers at one of your new jobs parties

It was the first big event at the new company you were working on you had assisted. A big End of The Year kind of party, even though, for you, it had been no more than five months, but it was already December. You had moved from your own city to this new one, leaving it all behind, not looking back. It was rough, but necessary for you. You had applied to various jobs looking for the perfect opportunity, and excuse, to leave and it all had worked out. You were happy with your new job and your little new apartment. Except for this moment when you were cursing for putting yourself into a pair of high heels that you were so not used to walk in, let alone stand up for a few long hours

"Stop it!" Kate whispered to your ear as you switch you weight from one foot to the other, groaning in pain. You were feeling extremely uncomfortable and your feet were killing you "Focus on the handsome men talking and you'll forget your pain" She said cheekily as she pointed to the stage. Of course this parties had speeches. You know, the ones where the high ranks and CEO´s of the company talk about hard work and how amazing it is to work with them. Those speeches. 

"Who are they again?" You asked your friend. This time, not only your own bosses were on stage but another whole family stood on the spotlight. They didn't work in your company, apparently they were just guests? It was all so weird

"They are the Targaryen's" She explained. Apparently they were a whole family of lawers, very well known in the business. Complete strangers to you "The blonde man talking now is Viserys, the father. And that's Alicent, his wife. Then you have Aegon, Aemond and Helaena" She said pointing to the blonde trio that looked as if they were rather be in any other place in the world but there.

"What kind of names are those?" You snorted already forgetting them as your friend shrugged

"The kind I wouldn't mind to see in my marriage licence" She grinned and you both laughed, grateful that the people around you started clapping so no one noticed the two of you. She explained to you how they came for a very long line of wealthy family "Stupidly rich" Were her exact words "Even if they all stop working today they will still have aough money for them and their own grandchildren" She said regarding the sibling's trio

"And why are they here? This is an audit and tax company. Don't they have their own legal or whatever company?"

"Yes, we have our own lawyers" She said as people started to leave the room to go back to the party "But Viserys is, conveniently, an extremly close friend to our own beloved CEO, so they get invited to every party. That and it works for both companies, you know? The give each other enough publicity and audience while being in contact with important clients"

"So this is a Marketing Campaign" You said socoffing "I'm sure that's a very warm friendship"

"That's how the world works, I guess" Kate grabbed a glass of wine, offering you another one but you declined and excused yourself to go to the lady's room. That's what they were calling them apparently

You were heading to the bathrooms, too focused on your own little world, you didn't noticed the voices at first until you reached the bathroom door "You are a disgrace to the family" You stopped in your tracks, you knew that voice, you just heard it. But the joyfull tone it had a few minutes ago was more than gone now. The raw, scoffing laugh of someone else was the only response "Oh, so you think this is funny?!" The man said raising his voice and you walked towards the corner trying to see who was yelling, blaming your curiosity on the expensive champagne you just had, you found a very angry Viserys Targaryean yelling at one of his sons. His back was turned to you, luckily, so he didn't see you. But his son did. What was his name again? Argon? Ergon? Eragon? "You will never get anywhere in life" Viserys said and you look at the older man in shock with his words. You knew this was not of your business, you should've left the seconds you heard their voices but you couldn't move, as if you were the one being scolded. You looked over to the young man again and found him looking at you, expressionless face you thought for a second but his big eyes were on the verge of tears "You are a dissapointment and that's all you will ever be!" Viserys said and took a step back turning around to leave and you knew you had to leave too, before he saw you. You were quick on your steps as you entered the bathroom and heard Visery's steps fade away. 

"What the fuck?" You whispered to yourself as you tried to process and decide if it was a good idea to check on his son or leave it be. You chose the second option "None of my bussiness" You said as you looked at yourself in the mirror after freshing you up and got out of the bathroom and looked for your friends

A couple of hours had passed, a few more glasses of champagne and wine, when you head towards the bathroom once amore time. Once outside again you welcomed the breeze of the night fresh air on your face as you looked to your left and saw a very lonley young Targaryean sitting on a bench on a dark corner, smoking. You weren't exactly drunk but your tipsy state obviously made you more brave as you sighed and accepted the fact that you couldn't just leave him alone without checking how he was

So you walked over there and sat next to him without a word. Half not knowing what to say and half realizing this was a weird thing to do for a stranger, you looked back to the party, focusing on the horizon. He looked at you for a few seconds in silence before he offered you a smoke "No, thank you" You said to him with a smile and the silence was back "I'm Y/N" You said after a few minutes

"Oh, I know" He said with a smirk on his face and you looked at him shocked "I saw you overhearing my conversation with my beloved father" He said in a slight mocking tone "Had to know who you were in case you decided to make his feelings go public. Damage control and stuff, you know? We are a very respectful and loving family after all" His tone was clearly sarcastic and you couldn't help but snort

"I noticed"

"You did..." He agreed but then continued "So, please, keep it to yourself? Apparently we have an image to maintain and I would love not to be publicly recongnized as the disapointment of the Targaryaen House. Not more than I already am" You didn't have to be a genius to recognize the sadness in his voice. He truly believed every word his father had said to him

"Oh, I'm sorry to dissapoint you" You said as you turned to him "But the gossip is already all over My Space profile, can't back down now" You faked grimance and he let out a hard, genuine laugh at the mention of the old platform "Do not laugh, I have a fanbase to maintain" You said laughing as he laughed harder at your joke

"I'm sure you do. Haven't laugh this hard in a while" He said holding his stomach. It wasn't that funny honestly, your joke. You just figured he needed the excuse to laugh "But seriously, please do not post it on Twitter or whatever..."

"Couldn't even if I wanted to" You said to him "I don't have a Twitter account" You said shrugging

"Who doesn't have a Twitter account?!" He exclaimed, surprised at your comment "Let me guess, you are a TikTok Girl?"

"I am clearly and Insta Girl!" You said feigning being hurt as you signal yourself with your hands and he hold up his as a sign of surrender saying sorry "I do have TikTok though, even though I never posted any videos on it" You both laugh and the silence took over one more time

"I'm Aegon" He said after a few minutes and you looked at him "You probably knew that already, just thought I should introduce myself, too" He almost whipered 

"It's nice to meet you Aegon" You offered him a smile and he replied with one of his "And, honestly no. I'm new in town so I have absolutely no idea who more than half of the people here are" You said looking over to the party one more time "That includes you and your family I'm afraid"

"Huh... That's actually refreshing" He said more to himself than to you and then turned his whole body to you "Would you like to go somewhere else?"

"What... what do you mean?" You said surprised at the sudden change of subject

"I mean leave the party, we can grab my car and just go...?"

"Hey Aegon!" Someone called him and you both turned to see his brother looking very annoyed and walking to the pair of you "Come on, let's go"

"Dear brother! Don't be rude, I'm talking to my friend here" Aegon said pointing at you. Aemond looked at you from head to toe and rolled his eyes at his brother "Y/N this is Aemond, Aemond Y/N" He introduce the two of you with a big smile and you waved at Aemond not entirely sure how to react. He gave you a quick nod as he turned to Aegon again

"Come on. Hel and mom want to go home and I cannot deal with any other person or their dramas tonight" He said with a  heavy sigh turning to leave "You can ask for her number and flirt with her any other day"

"Oh, no no. We are not flirting" You said and stood up too fast puting distance between you and Aegon "I wasn't flirting"

"I know" Ageon calmly reassured you and looked at his brother "Told you she's a friend"

"Yeah, right" Aemond said with a scoff but Aegon hold his gaze "You always have someone new, how am I supposed to know you are not trying to get in her pants? Or skirt" He said looking over to your dress and you suddenly felt very very naked

"Aemond!" Aegon exclaimed as he stood up and face his brother "That is enough"

"Ok... I'm gonna go..." You said as you noticed this was, again, a family thing 

"Wait, Y/N" Aegon stopped you "I apologized for my brother" He said giving him a look but Aemond looked bored already "I wasn't trying anything with you, I swear"

"Listen, I just wanted to check on you after... you know" You didn't completed the sentence as you looked over at Aemond not sure if he was supposed to know, but that caght his attention as he turned to look at you "And you are fine, so I'm just gonna leave you two be"

"After what?" Aemond asked but neither of you responded "Aegon, after what? What happened?"

"Father gave me his usual uplifting speach a few hours ago" Aegon said shrugging "You know, the one where he explains in detail how I'm a disgrace to the family and a disappointment. She heard" He pointed at you and you avoided Aemond's gaze "Father is not being very careful on who notices his outbrusts, lately" Aegon finished as he lighted up another cigarette. He noticed the worry on his brother face "I already talk to her, she won't say a thing"

"I'll talk to him" Aemond said not looking at you, as you weren't even part of the conversation. Which made you question if you should intervine or not

"Don't" Aegon sternly said "We do not know how he would react, she could lose her job"

"Wait what...?"

"I don't care! He can't keep doing this..."

"Fuck you Aemond!" You said louder than expected as you walked up to him and both brothers turned to look at you "Fuck you, I do care. It is my job" You hold his gaze for a few seconds. Aemond was in shock you had insulted him while Aegon was smiling broadly "I already told Aegon I wasn't going to say anything. If you don't believe that sound like a you problem. But I will not have my job and career ruined because of a spoiled little boy" It was kind of funny to call him little boy considering he was way taller than you and you were wearing heels at the time

"You tell him, girl" Aegon cheered for you 

"I am NOT a little boy" Aemond said closing even more the little space between you two, anger clearly on his face. And from this distance now you could see him better, how blue his eyes were... eye, his right eye was blue. You noticed the difference with the left one, not as bright and turning a little grey. You noticed his pouted lips and his sharp chin, and fuck was he hot. Saddly, he was an idiot you convinced yourself as you tried to hold his gaze again and noticing how his own eyes were scattering your face

"He is a Twitter Boy" Aegon said trying to lighten up the mood and breaking you both from the little bubble

"Of course he is" You said rolling your eyes earning a laugh from Aegon

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aemond said feeling insulted

"You know exactly what it means" You didn't even know what it meant but you weren't letting him have the last word. Aemond open his mouth to speak again but you ignored him as you turned to walk to Aegon "It was nice to meet you, Aegon" You offered him a smile which he returned and with that you were gone. You walked towards your friends trying to ignore the feeling of two pair of eyes looking at your back as you walk away

[tonhalszendvics]

An Inheritance Cycle story I'll probably never write, but this sucker doesn't want to leave me alone. Long story short under the cut.

Selena was said to be a super spy/assassin type of character, except that people knew about her. I mean, Jeod did, and Brom was a very secretive guy, I am pretty sure that Jeod didn't hear about her from him. And then Galbatorix named his secret service after her, because there was fear connected to the name 'Black Hand'. Thanks, Selena.

Okay, so the AU goes like this: Selena is a super spy/assassin. Nobody knows, who is she, what is she doing, who is she working for. Some people suspect the king, but then she shows up and asks someone else for a favour in a name of a lesser lord or something. She is changing like the weather, nobody knows what does she look like exactly. Want to hire her for a job? Good luck. You were able to get into contact with her? Consider the job as done and yourself as absolutely poor, because even her smallest service costs a fortune.

And then Brom meets her. They don't tell shit to each other, for sure, but the spark is there. So, things are going on their way, Eragon is born, but in this AU, there is no egg-race, Selena just hands the kid over to Brom and says that he'll be more safe with him. Their meetings are scarce, but Eragon gets to know his mama.

Until he's around six or seven years old. Because then something happens in Uru'baen, there is a big boom and a shitton of dead people in the castle. The king and Morzan are furious. A blue egg vanishes.

Mere days later – too soon, so Selena was already on her way when that shit went down – Selena comes to meet Brom and Eragon for the last time, with her eyes blindfolded, because then she'll be able to say that she didn't see them. She tells Brom that she has a husband in Uru'baen. Her and Brom's thing started on the ground that she was missing the night-time company, but she started to have feelings for him. But now, she has to go back to her lord, whom she had sworn to. She has to, because otherwise her other son will be hurt. She doesn't say names. Brom knows, that it's too dangerous.

It also dawns on him that most of the information he's got from her was via her husband. That guy must be a big shot in the Empire. They promise each other that if the Empire goes down by a miracle or something, they'll meet in the end, and if they still love each other, they'll find out what the hell to do.

Then time flies and war-wise most of the canon happens. There aren't much from Selena, but she still succeeds telling this and that to the Varden via secret letters and always changing ways. She was able to hand over some top-secret, very valuable information to the Varden. The communication is one-sided, though, they cannot reach her.

A bunch of victorious Varden are cheering in the occupied capital, when the news come that after the king's death, Morzan put down the sword without anything. He even kneeled on the ground and let himself be tied up, while Brom was trying to avoid having an aneurism. I mean, Brom wanted to kill the guy since forever. Their epic dramatic duel, however, was nowhere near to the end, when the king died. And it wouldn't be honourable to kill a surrendered soldier, especially if his son returned back from the palace right in the moment when he wanted to behead him. Nahh, he has to be the bigger guy.

If Brom is not able to kill Morzan in the battle, then he'd do that through a trial. Everybody is very happy to attend and throw in their two cents, Eragon understands all the hatred, but he still feels very uncomfortable because of all that combined hatred. And Morzan doesn't say anything, he takes it without a word, maybe corrects people here and there when they mess up listing his sins.

And boom, there is Selena. She comes, bows, smiles to Brom then says to Nasuada, that she was promised amnesty for her and her family for her services, and his son is in big trouble because of the occupation, so if they would be so kind to provide her the needed document, she is off already, she and her family won't mess with their schedule for the rest of the day.

Eragon is obviously overjoyed, that A) mama is alive; B) he gets to meet his big brother. So he obviously prods everybody to hurry up with that amnesty.

Document in her hand, the ink still wet, she turns on her heels and in front of everyone, she asks Morzan, that what does he know, where is their son. And Morzan answers. Then with a word, loosens the ties on him, stands up, and when people draw swords, he adds in a mocking tone, that pardon, I was granted amnesty just now via my wife, and as you've heard, my son is in grave danger, if you'd excuse us. Eragon, dear boyfriend-in-law, want to come?

It takes three seconds for Brom to realise, that Morzan meant him, and then he has to try very hard the second time that day to avoid an aneurism.

Anyway, they go, get Murtagh out of that dire situation, because it turns out that little children are actually pretty cute and able to melt a war criminal's ice-cold heart, so Morzan was a good dad this time, and he and Selena were blackmailed with him. That trouble thingy back then, that separated Selena from the other side of the family was when the king found out that his general's heart changed, and that Selena was also a double-spy, so boom, he took Murtagh away, and suddenly the parents were absolutely A-class thralls again. Idk if Murtagh was even out in the battlefield this time, or every stuff he did was handed over to Morzan, while he was in house arrest somewhere. (Does he even know how to fight or is he Orrin No. 2 with all the science?)

Anyway, Murtagh and Eragon bond over dragons in zero second and decide it's the best for them if they just leave their parents to be. Brom needs a bit of time and a bit more cajoling from Selena to loosen up, but in the end they are a traumatised and super messed up polycule. Morzan regrets that in the moment he says something and Brom answers with a mortifying secret from their childhood. They might end up in a fist fight. Selena doesn't say anything to them (too busy getting slate tablets), because in the end they kiss (and she has to make fairths).

That was the AU in a nutshell. I hope this one will leave me alone now. :') Thanks for coming to my story night, take care!

[caffeinated-and-annoying-bard]

I really hoped I wouldn't have to make one, but here is my introductory post after all.

greetings, my name is Víctor, (although Val is fine as a nickname), I'm 17. I'm awful at replying DMs, is it ok to use the ask box if you want to chat? thank you in advance. (I use askboxes as freely and casually as one might ding dong ditch their obnoxious neighbours, so please know that I deeply appreciate asks)

my pronouns can be he/him or, if necessary, they/them. I'm mexican.

the tags at the bottom are my usual markers, the "val ramblings" one is older and the "victory losertalking" is the one I'll be using for when I fully indulge in the sheer loserness of my personality (i'll try to edit the tags in older posts)

I do wizardblr roleplays sometimes as a bard who is pretending to be a wizard.

I like writing but never do so. my sort-of (shitty) poetry are under the tags "#my poetry #sort of"

My interests, in order of current priority are: The Magnus Archives, Will Wood, Wolf359, Hadestown, Good Omens, Zelda, Stardew Valley, A:TLA, TOH, PJO, Narnia, His Dark Materials, Eragon, Be More Chill (i'm, wholeheartedly, so very sorry), + many others i can't quite remember at the moment.

dni: you know the drill, usual assholes, I'll finish the list later. all i believe needs to be repeated right now is that my support is with Palestine, this is a genocide and no one should argue about the "right to defend itself" of an apartheid state.

[tired-fandom-ndn]

It is very late (or early depending on who you ask) but I'm thinking again about the idea of Morzan as Eragon's father because I really do think it would fit perfectly into canon without changing anything tbh.

Selena and Brom have a romantic but chaste relationship because they're both aware of the eyes on them, the constant surveillance not just from Morzan but the other servants in the castle, and the dangers to Selena and Murtagh if she's caught having an affair or, god forbid, giving birth to a child that looks nothing like her husband.

So their relationship stays completely chaste; discreet touches that can be easily explained if they're noticed, a long and tense moment in a dark alcove where Brom had his hands on Selena's arms and they both just stared at each other longingly before moving away, maybe a single kiss shared right before Selena's fateful disappearance.

And then Selena gets pregnant again because Morzan firmly believes in the philosophy of the heir and the spare and of one child keeps his wife in line so well, then two will be even better. And he doesn't know how much she's changed, how her anger at the world has been directed at him instead, and he definitely doesn't know about any of her schemes or plans. He doesn't know that she has no intention of giving him another child to hurt.

I can't remember if she ever actually tells Brom that she was pregnant in canon though I'm assuming she did, but I think she definitely would in this scenario. She tells him about her pregnancy and about her plans to go to Carvahall and give birth and especially about her plans to return and escape again with Murtagh, all in hushed whispers. She asks him to meet them somewhere, maybe in the Spine, with the hopes of escaping to the Varden or Du Weldenvarden with her children before Morzan even realized they were gone.

(Selena's plan was to return to the castle, kill Murtagh's "caretakers", break whatever spells were cast on him by Morzan, and then just fucking bolt. She hoped that her true name changing would change her magic enough that Morzan wouldn't immediately recognize it and that he would instead blame an enemy magician, maybe even Galbatorix, for his wife and son's disappearance, but she wasn't betting on it.)

And obviously that doesn't happen. She gives birth safely and names her child Eragon with such high hopes for a better future, but Selena traveled long and hard while pregnant and leaves to return to the castle before she has time to really recover from childbirth. And of course, as the Black Hand, her absence was explained as her performing her duties so she has to stop frequently to do what her husband expects her to and by the time she gets to the castle, she's both physically and magically exhausted and she dies before she even has the chance to hold Murtagh again. His nanny is kind enough to bring him to see his mother in her final moments, but she's not even lucid enough to know.

And it's all a waste anyway because even while she's dying, she has no idea that her husband and his dragon are dead and that she was free enough to take her time returning and saving her son instead of pushing her body to the brink.

Then canon continues as before but without the whole Brom-is-your-father twist, leading to Eragon being forced to really grapple with his parents' legacies and what their actions and impacts mean for him, the inherent nature of good and evil and how one can change their own path, and the deep distrust and even hate aimed at him by previous allies and friends.

And that's my idea, thank you for all for coming to my TED Talk. Feel free to steal it if you want.

[where-dreamers-go]

Oh I wonder what would happen if Eragon catches modern!reader humming or straight up singing songs from their world.

Hi there.

Hmmm.

Well, Eragon's time with music has been with dwarves celebrating while Saphira got absolutely drunk where she sang from Eragon, right? Then knowing elves have musical minds. Elves use magic to sing boats and such into shape. Plus elves performed music at the Blood Oath ceremony, right? But not recreationally. (They have a "critique" on his poem.) Eragon hasn't been around bards in court or in a tavern.

So, with that be said, Eragon wouldn't be shocked of modern! Reader's humming or singing, BUT he would be of lyrics or rhythm. That difference might catch his attention.

Has Eragon heard a song about something that doesn't recall ACTUAL events?

How would Eragon react to hearing about music being a hobby, a career, or a favorite past time to listen to?

The different genres!!!

For example and funnies:

Why Should I Worry - "It's about a dog singing to a kitten named Oliver." The look of confusion on the Dragon Rider's face, imagine.

Beat It - "So, Eragon, do you want to guess what 'funky' means?" "No."

Prince Ali - "I had no idea one person could change their voice so. Are you certain you didn't use magic?" "Eragon, I'll take that as a compliment."

???

What song would you be humming or singing if you were modern! Reader?

[ask-ciaphas-cain]

Me, reading the Lexicanum article on Eisenhorn and branching out to other Abnett characters: this man needs to be stopped

He's gotten whatever the Star Wars EU authors were catching in the early 2000s and forgotten he's writing in someone else's universe that has rules he needs to follow.

Enuncia is the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard of. Why would humans know the One True Language and no one else? Why wouldn't Eldar just be casually dropping this shit on a day to day basis? How come daemons aren't inherently speaking in the one true language of the universe comprehensible by all beings?

I can't believe that the fucking Eragon books handled the idea of magic just being the true names of things better than this clown.

There needs to be a name for the phenomenon where an author's early works in a franchise are good but then they grow worse as they get more freedom to write what they want. Author-induced canon decay or something. It happened in the Star Wars EU too and it always sucks.

[modern-inheritance]

I just skimmed over Eragon apologizing to Arya for his forwardness at the celebration.

Owch.

Look, I know people call me an Arya apologist. Maybe it's because me rewriting everything and getting so attached to the MIC versions of the characters. But rereading that?

My take is odd. That woman is fucking terrified.

She does deeply care for Eragon, it's evident the way she tries to be gentle with him after point blank asking him if he is ever going to do that again and him giving a, rather pained, agreement that he won't. Book!Arya does not try to be gentle with people verbally. She literally blank-stares down the council earlier in the book, and frequently does the same over the course of the series. If she didn't care for him, she wouldn't change the tone of her voice, try to be casual with him again.

My aro-ace ass can't really understand Eragon's hurt. But I can understand a bit that he wants something he can't have, and I can see him starting to understand a little bit that she is stonewalling him not because she's trying to be cruel, but because there's a lot more going on. He doesn't know fully yet, doesn't understand, I think until he gets her true name, what she went through essentially for him and Saphira and the rest of the free peoples, and the risk that she fears him having an infatuation could bring. She knows she can't change his feelings, but she's hoping the distance could help him understand, and if not that, could keep him safe by making it appear to others that his feelings aren't as strong as they are. She saw what her mother did after she disappeared, Eragon being openly infatuated with her and her reciprocating it could open up all sorts of plans for Galbatorix to use her against him.

Iunno. I wanna write the MIC version of this interaction but it would be wildly different. Arya in MIC is most definitely terrified of Eragon loving her, especially then, when she's just at the tail end of going through hell not only once but twice as she's spent the majority of the time in Ellesmera wrestling with her Recall and PTSD so she's deemed sane enough to get back out there. She doesn't come to terms with Fäolin's death till very close to leaving. She's fighting with her realizations that Fäolin died because he was out there for her, not the cause, and there's a lot of combative emotions wrecking her inside surrounding that, about the what-ifs and the possibilities and if there was resentment that he never talked about or if she really was the reason he got killed and just

in MIC she values both Saphira and Eragon's friendship so much. She's not on the level of her relationship with Glenwing with them, but they've battlebonded, and she's their bodyguard and she's vehemently protective of them, especially around their mental states due to being thrust into a war that they had no choice in, something that haunts her due to the fact that she sent Saphira's egg, and now, because Eragon is older than expected, he and Saphira are now considered by many to be just fine marching off to war. That they didn't get to have a say in the matter is just really hard for her considering her involvement.

She was starting to see Eragon's little hints, the fairth spooked her pretty good, but she is...romantically dense. and thought it was sorted out. And now here he is at Bloodoath, professing his undying love and affection and he's a kid, in a warzone, and she's supposed to protect him and he's her friend and no no no he can't do that it's going to make him vulnerable in so many ways, ways that she can't protect him from.

She doesn't love him yet. She loves him, not the way he understands love, but I think something very, very deep in her sees something in him. It's just a little dust speck at the time but she understands it right then and there and it scares the fuck out of her.

And she still, so so desperately wants to be his friend. She wants to be there to support him and Saphira beyond as a bodyguard. She wants to keep that easy comradre, the battlebond, but...if he's going to blindly chase after her, she can't do that. It's too dangerous.

But she does know that Eragon is a man of his word, even if he's still not quite yet a man in her eyes. When he says to her, at least in MIC, "I will not pursue you beyond your consent" she sees him leaving it open that maybe one day she may feel the same, but he's setting aside his feelings because he values her friendship too. She takes him at his word and sort of slouches in relief and straight up tells him "I missed you. I missed my friend. I've lost way too many fyrn breoal, I just want to be there for you and fight alongside you and I can't make anything make sense but just...I'm sorry I can't be what you want, I can't love you the way you want me to, but I can be your friend and bodyguard and a shoulder to cry on if you need it."

Iunno. I rambled. I don't know if any of this makes sense. Eragon is hurt, he was rejected. Arya's hurt, there's nights she's not even sure if she's out of Gil'ead, she's not had time to figure out anything even though Ellesmera was supposed to be that chance.

I cannot put my weird emotions and mouth noises into words but here we stan a woman's (and a man's) right to not enter a relationship even when the person who wants one saved their life.

[alagaesia-headcanons]

I don't know of you've done this or not, but I would love to hear you opinions on Roran. Most people in the Fandom see him as a Chad, a better hero than Eragon, more badass etc etc. Me? I can't stand him, it scares me how he seems to take no no for an answer

In my return to my IC hyperfixation, I've found I don't like Roran quite as much as I did a few years back. My feelings on his character are a lot more complicated and I definitely see where you're coming from in your dislike. To summarize my thoughts right off the bat, as a character, I think Roran is a good person with his heart in the right place and he gets involved with a war that brings out the absolute worst in him.

The situations Roran gets pushed into cause a lot of friction with his worst qualities like his stubbornness, his aggression, his recklessness, and his arrogance. But these qualities don't garner much critique within canon because, similarly to Nasuada's flaws, the circumstances of war actually reward these questionable behaviors.

For one, despite how he's presented, Roran is not a good leader. In fact, he's pretty fucking awful at it. He's very good at a few specific skills that a leader needs, particularly inspiring loyalty, but he's entirely incapable in other aspects. Namely, dealing with other authorities. The argument with Orrin over the envoy that I talked about before is a perfect example, really highlighting his inability discuss and collaborate with anyone else or to think through any viewpoint that contradicts his own. Also, I didn't point it out before, but Roran ends that argument by promising to kill any envoy Orrin sends. Which is insanely stupid and barbaric. He thinks he has the right to openly murder an innocent man of their army solely because he decided that would be best, even when that'd give Orrin full right to have him executed. The risk of sending an envoy is only hypothetical and unclear while the damage of Roran murdering a Surdan is absolutely certain, but he can't see past his own sense of superiority far enough to realize that.

The chapter in Brisingr where the Urgals challenge his right to lead also really shows what a terrible leader he is. He doesn't even try to talk, to establish that an army doesn't follow their cultural hierarchy, and if they don't want to obey, they can simply defect and try fighting without the Varden's allies or resources. No, he instantly accepts hand to hand combat to the death. His conviction that he can do anything is so bloated it blinds him to any possible consequences. If you strip away our outside awareness of plot armor, his choices go from admirable and badass to outrageously careless. He can't handle conflict or disagreements with other leaders with anything but brute force. His interactions with Brigman in Aroughs also comes to mind.

What Roran actually is is a very good problem solver. He is very observant and creative and that gets him through very tricky situations. And he genuinely wants the best for the people he loves, he always takes their needs into consideration and does all that he can for them. But that doesn't necessarily suit him to leadership and being put in such roles during the war buries those good qualities under the soaring peak of his arrogance. The real shame is that his flaws never had real consequences that made him grow as a person, wouldn't that have been nice?

sigh.

I just want Roran to go back to being a farmer and stop taking himself so insufferably seriously, then maybe he'll realize not every single thing in life is a matter of life or death and he'll become more yielding and humble. Honestly for his sake, I want him to learn to coexist with the world around him instead of perpetually struggling against it.

[ladytauria]

i think i reblogged it from you but never sent you questions, so for the book rec asks: 1, 13, 23, 44, 50, 54, 79, 92, 116, 130, 131 please!! thats A Lot, so feel free to pick and choose haha

ahhh thank u bean! i love talking books uwu

coming back up after answering to edit... um. bean, i'm so sorry for my answer on the last one xD i should have picked a different book. (i ranted. a little.)

1. a book that is close to your heart

there are a few books i could name, but i'm going to do the one i thought of first.

a girl of the limberlost. i only remember reading it once, but my mother is the one who gave it to me, and told me that it was a book she loved at my age at the time. (same with the secret garden.) so i can't think of that book without thinking of her, which makes it a little bit more special to me <3

13. your favorite romance novel

immediate impulse is to say legends and lattes by travis baldree bc. it's so good. however, while there is a romance i don't know if i would count it as a romance novel.

so.

the lady's guide to celestial mechanics. historical, sapphic, featuring both women in STEM (or, yknow, historical equiv) but also an appreciation for domestic arts / crafts normally looked down on. also there's an acknowledgement that homophobia existed, but there's none on page.

the prose is also gorgeous.

i don't actually read a ton of romance novels, but i've been trying to pick up more!

23. a book that is currently on your TBR

mmm, too many

but Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield went on sale on kindle the other day so! it's mine now <3 and one i've been eying for a while. the kindle cover isn't the one i wanted, but that's okay.

44. your favourite fantasy novel

a very large chunk of what i read is fantasy. this is HARD 😂

uhhh.

the locked tomb is technically sci-fi, isn't it?

fuck.

i'm gonna go with The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle bc it is the only book i purposefully own more than one copy of! would love to get my hands on the graphic novel <3

honorary mention to the Inheritence Cycle bc reading Eragon was what got me to start writing my first novel.

which absolutely wasn't just. Eragon but with griffin riders instead.

(okay, legitimately, there were differences, but there was also definitely heavy inspiration.)

50. a book that made you cry a LOT

i don't actually cry at much? the last time i remember actually crying was when i was reading an abridged version of little women and beth died xD

i'm trying to think of another book which really grabbed me emotionally recently that also isn't. already on this list. and i'm coming up empty?

54. a book with the best opening line

i don't have a good memory for opening lines ^^; however for some reason i want to say The Lightning Thief, so. that's what i'm going with.

79. a book that reminds you of your favorite song

my favorite song changes by the moment, so i don't have answer for this one ^^;

92. a book about a redeemable villain

kay, so i almost answered this question with the book i gave for the next question, but i realized i don't? read a lot of multi pov books?? or at least not that i remember being such. i did remember one but it was the second in a duology, so.

so.

anyway!

the closest i can think of atm would be Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone. (highly rec this one, though i was a little disappointed when the pairing i wanted didn't happen xD)

116. a book with multiple povs

The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley.

this book.

i.

woof.

okay, so. if you are. remotely squeamish, like. at all? you might wanna give this one a pass. (def check storygraph / other places for trigger warnings. im also happy to elaborate myself, lol.) i am. very squeamish, and made it through only because the story grabbed me tight and wouldn't let go. the worldbuilding is extremely interesting. the characters are all very different and both likeable and unlikeable in a million different ways. but.

oh boy, it was a tough one.

if you're NOT squeamish, though--

it was a 4 or 5 star read for me, iirc, so, y'know. recommended. not sure i'll ever pick it up again, but like. do not regret reading.

130. a book featuring flashbacks and/or intersecting storylines

i know i've read others like this, but the book that comes to mind is--and i had to google this bc it's been so long since i read it---Thirst by Christopher Pike. It was also published under "The Last Vampire." i don't actually recommend them; i read them during my middle school vampire phase and even i remembered being a little mindboggled. mainly bc i think there was an alien abduction in... the second or third book? idk, i had an omnibus.

131. recommend any book you like!

there's only one answer i can give to this, tbh. the locked tomb series brainrot is real and deep and i am. both highly anticipating and dreading the release of alecto so.

i gotta recommend Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.

that SAID, i am well aware that this book has a reputation on tumblr esp for being poorly summarized, as the most oft-used pitch is "lesbian necromancers in space."

this is not an inaccurate summary.

BUT.

it is also not complete.

so first, some expectations: it's sci-fi, definitely, but also there are a lot of fantasy vibes? probably because of the swords and the necromancy and the sworn knights-esque plot. uh. basically, it's sci-fi like star wars is sci-fi, but also it's. it's not star wars.

second thing: this series is unreliable narrator central. tamsyn picks the least qualified person in the group for you to follow the story with, and it works. so well. like, firstly bc ofc things get explained (some; it does drop you in and expect you to pick up a lot through context clues) but ALSO because you WILL pick up things you didn't on re-reads. i did a reread before Nona and spent half of it screaming. i'm not much of an annotator beyond highlighting some lines on kindle but i was commenting all over the place.

uh.

i still haven't talked about the plot, my bad.

Gideon the Ninth follows the titular Gideon, after her childhood nemesis and heir to the Ninth House, is invited to the First House by the God Emperor of the Nine Houses to seek quasi-immortality and join him in fighting a war as old as the Houses themselves. When they get there, though, they soon find their fellow heir-and-cavalier pairs being picked off one by one.

this book also features a lot of gay... not pining, not really, but like. Gideon likes women and her pov spends a lot of time appreciating the other women with them xD (this is also part of what makes her unreliable as a narrator. plot? what plot? gideon is here for thirsting, and a little bit of pining.)

also mild enemies to lovers vibes.

ALSO there are memes. there's a none pizza left beef joke in book 2, i'm still not over it.

does get a little squicky at times with loving descriptions of bones and viscera, though.

if i keep talking about this book i won't ever stop <3

[ book recs ask game ]

[incandescent-creativity]

Hi lucent

I'm finally sending out blorbsday asks again (I think). Please assign your blorbos to the setting of a book you like and explain briefly (or longly) how they'd fare.

Well I just reread the Inheritance Cycle and Murtagh so! Let's do that.

Beth's story... honestly wouldn't change from Eragon's very much. I'm envisioning this whole parallel arc to her actual story in The SOLE Project where Dr. Agau is this extremely old elf who wants to train the first Dragon Rider in hundreds of years, and puts all this pressure to perform on her. So she would have high expectations to memorize loads of words in the ancient language, be skilled in combat, and carry out the experiments Dr. Agau comes up with to push the boundaries of magic.

I don't know who her dragon would be, but I think whoever they are, they would disapprove of Dr. Agau not holding her experiments herself. She says it's because she doesn't have her dragon anymore, and therefore doesn't have the strength or energy to conduct them herself, but Dragon thinks it's just bc she doesn't want to put herself in danger.

ANYWAY there's a discussion in here about whether Dr. Agau would actually be more like Galbatorix and be in this controlling position of power, and Beth would be a Murtagh figure, controlled by her and powerful, but...

Hans would be like Roran. He has the charisma to keep people together and his strength comes from fighting for his friends, and being a human man would not stop him from trying to romance the elven Rider. As for how he'd fare, he's only in danger because how long he lives depends on how much angst I need to put Beth through.

Hallie is difficult to translate into Alagaesia. I think maybe she would be some kind of handmaid type thing in Agau's court, and be assigned to Beth when Agau sends her out. It would mean the Dragon would have to carry two, but Agau does not let Beth out into the world lightly. Dragon would definitely be mature/large enough. She would fare... She would be constantly stressed, but she would do her best to support Beth.

Christian would be an Urgal/Kull burned by dragon fire. I feel like I don't really need to say more than that, but I'm going to anyway. It's all there! The anger! The isolation from society bc 1. Urgals have all this stigma (even if this was a post-Name of Names setting) and 2. People recoil from the burns and scars! The tension with Beth and her dragon! So he'd far way worse than he is in SOLE Project but I think it would be fun fun fun.

Matt would be a dwarf and he would fare great and be happy until the rest of these ^ jokers showed up in his life. I don't know how he would get roped into things, but I'm sure he would be a good sport (though he would always maintain that his Ultimate End Goal is to get back to his happy life that they're all jealous of).

Michael... I'm tempted to make him a Shade sworn to Dr. Agau. I think that would be fun. And obviously he would fare terribly.

[pearlescent-soda]

🐑//My Young Dragon Headcanons (Spyro Edition):

The man, the myth, the legend, it's Spyro, the most well-known dragon in the Dragon Kingdom, even above the current dragon leaders... even above Bubba. He's loud, cocky, and headstrong, but his enthusiasm can still sometimes bring a smile to the sourest of faces. On the flip side, he's constantly in trouble for something or the other, with 'I can't, I'm grounded' practically becoming his catchphrase. He pushes boundaries on a daily basis with his mischief and, combined with his irresponsibility, often sees him breaking stuff and being punished for it all the time. Man, it must be exhausting being one his guardians.

An Artisan who has yet to find his 'artistic voice', the Artisans are doing their best to ignite his 'artistic spirit', but Spyro is not feeling it. But whenever Marco the Balloonist is in town, he's the first to greet him, so, perhaps there's something for him there. Marco would love to teach Spyro how to operate a hot air balloon, all he needs is the 'go ahead' from Nestor, and he can start teaching.

He's been painfully lonely as long as he could remember, Sparx is his best friend, but he can't exactly play tag or hopscotch with him without his life being endangered. So, when he met dragons his age, he wouldn't leave them alone till he learned everything about them. Flame instantly became his second-best friend behind Sparx, Ember is warming up to him, Cynder couldn't care less, and Zinc absolutely hates his guts.

Definitely has ADD, which he has yet to properly manage. He's fidgety, interrupts others frequently, and is way too impulsive even for a kid. His Elders hope he grows out of it soon, but, uh, that's not how it works. The best anyone can do is be patient with him and give him a schedule or else he'll be all over the place. 'Hey, Gildas, you think I could climb on top of the roof of that castle over there?... You say no, I think yes. Give me, one... two... Five minutes'.

He knows every elder eragon; he can recognize their faces and call them by their names. Though, all of their feelings about him vary with one third spoiling him rotten, two thirds joining his shenanigans, and three thirds giving him actual discipline or doing the best to shoo the pint-sized nuisance away. 'Fine, I'll just go ask [insert lenient dragon elder's name] instead'. They're uncoordinated and they all have their own philosophies that they're trying to drill into him at the same time. The outcome is a spoiled, cocky brat with a heart of gold who has the ability to become friends with anyone, except Gnorcs, of course.

He has, like, five thousand baby pictures with more being discovered every day. There are at least two pictures of him in every Artisan home. Yeah, when he was born there was a 'Baby Boom', an explosion of inspiration that hit the Artisan worlds, dozens of paintings, sculptures and carvings depicting the newborn were everywhere. As he grew older, the pieces started to disappear, and he figured they were thrown out or locked up in storage. Nope, they were sent to other dragons outside of Artisans who couldn't meet him at the Year of the Dragon Festival.

He's not afraid of anything... Is what he'd like the others to believe, but he's still just a kid with an overactive imagination. He's scared of bodies of water and will actively avoid them unless he has to interact with them. That's why he's such a lousy swimmer and watching him try to swim is... Not going to lie, it's pretty funny but the more he meets with Beast Makers, the better he gets at it.

With how much he enjoys ramming things with his horns, it was only a matter of time before something gave. He charged a Gnorc Sentry right in the metal armor and, SNAP, two horns became none. No, dragon horns do not usually grow back, especially if they're completely removed at the base, but Spyro's had a clean break at the mid points. With the help of Beast Makers Bubba and Damon his former spiral horns became the slightly curved ones seen on him today.

[necromancers-incorporated]

It would depend. Was he captured with her or did he escape?

If he escaped then the most plausible route taken by Paolini would be that he would meet Eragon and Murtagh while rescuing Arya. (He would obviously meet Saphira and the elves would probably know about Eragon a lot sooner). Arya would probably heal a lot quicker whilst they were travelling, the poison thing would still keep her unconscious but the stakes may not have been as high with an experienced magic user there.

When they reached the Varden he would (probably?) vouch for Murtagh and he wouldn't be imprisoned. In the scene where the Twins test Eragon both Arya and Faolin would be there, Arya doing her confrontation thing and (based on my own headcanons) Faolin would be checking in on Eragon.

The whole unrequited love thing would probably be put down once Eragon clicks that they're together so he might find a new love interest or something, I'm not sure.

In terms of Arya she would be pretty open with Faolin about what happened, and we actually might have gotten some chapters from her perspective because of this, if we assume that Faolin would become a main character.

In the battle at the end of Eragon, I think he would, based on narrative satisfaction alone, be the one to break the big flower gem thing (forgot the name) and he would likely die doing this, leaving Arya to perhaps, in rage, be the one to kill Durza in an act of revenge (most likely tag-teaming him with Eragon, but she gets the final blow in).

Now, if he had been captured alongside Arya, that's an entirely different can of worms.

He would probably be used as another thing to torment Arya with, either forcing him to do it (murtagh and nasuada style) or simply Durza torturing him in front of her/having her hear it. Just adding to the trauma basically, making it a lot darker than it is currently.

Based on how Arya got rescued it's unlikely that she would be in the right mind to tell them about Faolin and he would be left behind. She'd have some rage towards Eragon about this, and at some point in the later books she would go off and find him (more opportunity for chapters from her pov). Lots of torn up emotions about whether or not he was alive.

When she finds him its this big emotional scene, she gets to tell him that they succeeded, tell him about Eragon (maybe a lil kiss because they're cute and they deserve it)

I do not have the energy to plot out anything past the end of Eragon so I hope this satisfies your question.

How much would the plot of inheritance cycle change if Faōlin was still alive and reunited with Arya ? Any thoughts ?

[marvelsimp97]

We Found Love Again (Loki x Reader) Chapter Seven - Revenge

Summary: Once upon a time Asgard and Alagaësia had an allience. The Alagaësian elven princess, (Name) usually visited Asgard to learn combat and have kids around her at the similar age. She almost grew up there and became good friends with Loki after the dark prince realized why he wanted to avoid her presence in the first place. They fell in love but never got the opportunity to try and confess their feelings for each other because of the war Alagaësia was in with another kingdom. (Name) was called back to her home and Loki never saw her anymore. But one day, she came back to Asgard, centuries later. Why?

Word count: 3178

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

Days passed by fast at the Academy. You hanged out with Loki, Thor and Sif most of the time and introduced them to your best friends, Darla and Frask. Sif and Darla got along well so you were soon left with the boys. Frask and Thor were engaged in their own conversation about war stories and adventures of their own when Loki circled his arms around your waist drawing your attention to him.

'You didn't say anything lately. Everything's okay?' you asked quietly placing your hands on his around your waist.

'I had a conversation with your father some days ago... he is concerned about you' said the Trickster. 'Did you speak with him since we arrived?'

'...no' you answered feeling guilty. Eragon deserved your apology and you couldn't even face him because of your guilt. You were the one who pushed him away and told him all those things when it wasn't his fault. Whenever you thought back to the old times you could realize now how he looked at you with that silent plea to whatever gods are there for them to create an opportunity for him to call you his daughter. While you always wished you had a father like him. Now it became true and you didn't have the guts to tell him that you love him and want him to be a part of your life? You felt pathetic.

'Good' said Loki and let go of you suddenly. You turned around confused by his answer but you found no one behind you missing his touch.

'(Name)? What's wrong?' turned to you Thor and Frask seeing your distressed expression.

'I just... I need to find Loki' and you took off to his room. He was usually in his room when you weren't with him. The library was full of Rider recruits so it wouldn't be the place he would choose. As you ran down the corridors in the dormitory you ran into someone feminine. She had bright red locks and brown eyes with long eyelashes. You stumbled to the floor with her but rolled off of her quickly and apologized.

'I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going' you smiled apologetically at her.

'Oh, it's okay, (Name)' smiled at you the other girl. Your eyes widened at her response. It wasn't an accusation or insult which surprised in itself but she called you by your name and not princess or bastard.

'Do I know you?' you asked confused. Her smile widened and she shook her head.

'No, but it is time for us to meet!' she chirped. 'I am Ismira, daughter of Roran, your cousin.'

Your eyebrows almost hit your hairline in surprise and you gasped. Last time you saw her she was small and had two pigtails bouncing as she ran after Srunugr happily. You were confused as to why she was still alive because humans don't live more than eighty years at best. Roran and Katrina were long dead because so much time passed but Ismira still looked to be in her early twenties.

'How can you be alive?' was the first question leaving your lips. You clapped your hands on your mouth. 'Sorry, it was rude, forgive me please.'

'No, no it's okay, (Name)' she chuckled. 'I became a Rider not long after you got locked up. So... here I am...'

'Wow... I have so much to learn of those who lived their lives during these two hundred years...' you sighed sadly. You noticed a small coil in Ismira's hand and furrowed your eyebrows. 'What is that?'

'Queen Jonaldel sent me back to deliver her message to the council members' she answered. 'The atmosphere in Alagaësia is too heavy and tense. People started to fear and most of them gone to Teirm and the other seaside cities. Vraë's army took Gil'ead in two days ago. He's now the soulless king's ally.'

'How many people died?' you asked your face changing into a serious one. Your rage starting to boil. You lost so many precious ones to you in the last battle you fought with the soulless king, Eldon. Your hands balled into fists as your eyebrows furrowed.

'Almost the whole town except those who could escape or weren't near' sighed Ismira. 'The council will have a meeting in the noon. You're invited.'

'I'll be there' you nodded and said goodbye to her before going to your room. You needed some time to think before you would end up yelling at anyone in the conference room on the meeting.

You sat down on your bed and looked down to your lap where your hands rested and sighed out a shaky breath. Your body shook as you were flooded with memories of the past.

Flashback~

You were sitting in your tent staring onto the ground between your legs as you tried to concentrate on the oncoming battle. Everyone was so tense just like you but the fact that you just said your goodbyes maybe forever to Loki made your heart throb more painfully. A few days passed since your first kiss and you still dreamt of his thin lips on yours.

You just talked to Eragon but both of your words felt like dancing around a sensitive topic. Srunugr was in front of your tent's entrance and you sensed him to be just as nervous and tense as you and everyone was. You didn't speak to Arya yet and didn't want to but you promised you would do that after you win. You had to win and you needed to protect your people, making the burden heavier on your shoulders. You thoughts still swirled around Loki and your first kiss but the memories of your mother and your master kissing flashed between those thoughts making you angry and confused.

You looked up at your armor which would be soon on you. A few hours separated you from your first big battle. Your heart raced in your chest and you couldn't eat all day. Someone lifted your tent's slab and walked inside your eyes finding Murtagh. His now longer dark brown hair was in a tiny pony tail at the back of his head while his brown eyes looked intensely into your (e/c) ones.

'I thought you must need some fresh air, kid. Come' lifted the tent's entrance Murtagh with his hand and you knew you didn't have a choice so you got up and walked outside. Clouds gathered around on the sky hiding the sun from you and making everything seem grey and bitter. You could smell rain in the air and heavy, cold wind blew throughout the field you were camping. You followed Murtagh silently assuming he wanted to scold you for running away for so long and not contacting anyone. You reached the small grove near the camp but he still walked quietly farther. You were too lost in your swirling thoughts that you didn't notice him stopping and you bumped into his back. You rubbed your nose and looked up at him sheepishly.

'I'm sorry... wasn't looking where I was going' you mumbled. Murtagh turned around and sighed placing a hand on your shoulder.

'It is alright to be afraid, (Name)' said gently the Rider.

'I'm not afraid, Murtagh...' you shook your head.

'I told myself the same thing everytime I tried to kill Eragon back then' said the brunette looking at you seriously. 'Look, I know you well enough to see when you're afraid or nervous, (Name). You have to face your fears in a few hours and you should do it now because if you don't pay attention when you fight you will die. I don't know what happened in Ellesméra and I don't want to know either but you should get over it now at least until we win.'

'Eragon didn't tell you?' you asked surprised.

'I knew the truth since a long time but I didn't want any details' shrugged Murtagh. He looked around and sat down on a fallen tree trunk groaning. The Rider patted the spot next to him looking at you expectantly so you walked over and sat down next to him.

'That isn't the only thing bothering me' you said looking onto the ground. 'You know I'm friends with the Asgardian princes... and um... one of them asked me to be their wife.'

'You're old enough after all' shrugged Murtagh making you blush. 'Arya will be furious if she gets to know that-'

'Nothing happened between us!' you cried out trying to fight the blush which covered your whole face now. Murtagh started laughing at your blushing face and made your eyes widen in surprise. It was the first time you heard him laugh. You saw small smirks and smiles here and there but he never laughed so carefree before.

'Will you go back after the battle?' he asked after he calmed down.

'Mother will punish me so... there's not much chance to that' you shook your head.

'She really loves you, (Name), you have to know that' said the brunette.

'Huh... yeah, she always showed it with punishes and disapproval everything I did. I couldn't be perfect enough for her... everytime I failed something she just kept telling me to be better and when I finally succeed at something she just told me that it was the least I could do.' you huffed.

'She just fears that other rulers will find something objectionable in you and they would hurt you when you would take over the throne, if you would take over the throne' smiled sadly Murtagh.

'I will have you and Eragon and everyone by my side in that case' you answered smiling brightly at him. Murtagh was always there for you and protected you since you met him at the academy. At first Eragon had to drag him to teach the recruits but soon he started enjoying teaching the new ones.

'But not forever, (Name)' shook his head the Rider next to you. A sad but comfortable silence fell on you making nature's voices stand out. Birds chirping above you and wind blowing, it all made you feel at ease like you were the part of it all. 'We should go back.'

Murtagh's voice broke your daydreaming and you stood up before following him back to the camp. The Vardens were preparing for battle, their kids and wives spending their last minutes with these men. You and Murtagh separated in the mass of tents as the air was still filled with the smell of stew or roast. You soon arrived to your tent where Srunugr curled up on the ground at the entrance. His head perked up at seeing you and you hugged his neck pressing your face to his scaled skin.

'Eragon searched for you a few minutes ago. It seemed to be serious' said your dragon.

'I'm going to talk to both mother and him after the battle' you answered before walking inside your tent. You organized the stuff you thought was unnecessary right then and picked out Kweikva, your green star iron sword. You unfolded it from the rags you wrapped it and admired it in your lap. You decided to put on your armor when you sensed danger slowly crawl towards you. You stood in front of your mirror looking into the eyes of a fearless elven warrior you never thought you could be. You (e/c) orbs flamed with fire and your features settled into a serious, hard and cold expression.

'I wish the armor wouldn't suit you so perfectly' spoke up Arya behind you. Her green orbs looking over you with some kind of admiration and sadness.

'This is my duty as a princess not just the balls and conferences' you answered looking at her beautiful features. You two looked similar yet different. Her eyes met yours and bored into them while she placed her palms on your shoulders.

'Yes, but you're the future as well' she said.

'Mother, I promise you, I will not die' you answered determined. 'But because I made a promise to someone I love with all of my heart and soul... and I am keeping my promises.'

Her eyes widened in surprise but went back to unreadable in a flash of a moment. Her lips slowly pulled into a sad smile and she shook her head.

'You're so much like your father, (Name)' her voice rang through your being as she said that. You couldn't keep yourself from asking anymore so you turned around suddenly and looked into her eyes directly.

'Tell me why did you keep the truth from me?' you asked quietly but just as powerfully. You couldn't wait for the answer anymore and you felt Srunugr's attention turn to the conversation. Suddenly the alarming horns sounded through the camp alerting everyone for the coming battle and to gather into their own divisions. Both of you burst out of your tent and looked around. You jumped up on Srunugr's back while your mother did the same with Firnen. Your dragon jumped up into the air and stopped above the camp fifty feet high. You could look over the whole camp and you watched the soldiers hurry towards the battle field.

'It has begun' rumbled through your mind Srunugr's voice. You looked over the landscape while Srunugr flied towards the front lines. Queen Nasuada, Eragon, Murtagh and Arya with the council told you about the battle plan. Your duty was to lead the sixth division on the left side and if it was possible get behind the enemy. Your dragon landed in front of your division in his armor making everyone look up at you two in awe. You heard the signaling horns in the distance so you pushed Kweikva into the air and cried out. The soldiers behind you followed your example and ran after you with their horses. Soon the two bevies met and blood started flowing onto the grass. The strange thing was that the enemy's soldiers didn't die even if you pushed your sword through their heart. They just kept walking towards you. Srunugr sliced them in two with his claws but the soldiers cut in half just kept crawling towards the Vardens. You heard frightened and death screams from your right and shot your head towards the sounds but what you saw was something you never thought was possible.

The enemy's soldiers with skin as pale and sickly as a dead man's grabbed hold of one of the men and sank their teeth in his flesh before ripping large pieces out of his body. Everyone's eyes widened in horror and fear as yours did but soon all of you had to continue to chop these half dead soldiers unless you wanted to get eaten. Someone cried out in victory near your position.

'Stick your sword in their head! Their head is the key!' sounded from a man. Your division started attacking their heads and it was a success finally. You killed as many as you could when you noticed something strange in the distance. Horse hooves beat up dust by nine riders all of them wore black clothes, hoods hiding their faces. The half dead soldiers were all down but the next attack came from these mysterious riders.

'They are different...' sounded Srunugr's voice in your head.

'They seem to be strong' you answered as you could finally take a deeper breath and turn your attention to the approaching men. Suddenly riders raced through your division slicing your men's heads from their horses' backs. You gasped in surprise but you felt a sword coming for your head too. You bended your back at the last second but the force you moved pushed you down onto the ground. You jumped back up and turned to Srunugr who had a big wound on his right leg, hot and crimson blood flowing out of it slowly.

'It's just a scar, don't worry' reassured you the green dragon. Reinforcement joined you with Arya on the front lines. Your heart bumped in your chest with relief at her sight.

'Are you alright?' asked Arya her mind flowing into yours like a river.

'Yes, mother' you answered. Your attention turned back to Srunugr. 'I'm going to heal your wound a bit. Please don't move.'

'There is no need for it, (Name). I'm alright' dismissed it the emerald green dragon next to you. You turned your head to the leader of the mysterious riders. He was tall and the robes he wore hid the upper half of his face but even then you could make out a large scar over the left side of his face. He slowly pushed back his hood with his companions in sync. He had silvery white hair, thin lips and strong jaw. His left eye was blind because of the scar going through it while his other, good blue one looked at you with a cold hardness and cruelty chilling you to your bones.

Your lines collided in mere moments and you found yourself eye to eye with the scared man and another. They radiated coldness you never thought anyone could. After a few blow at their head and other body parts let you realize what was wrong with these men. They were soulless. They didn't care of who died or how not even about their own death making them a fearful enemy.

'I have heard about you, (Name) Dröttningu' spoke up the leader. 'I would love to not kill someone as beautiful as you but unfortunately your country is what our king needs. And you will all fall to your knees in front of him... or die.'

'Someone will surely fall but not my people' you narrowed your eyes at him and attacked him. The leader just smirked playfully and dodged your attack. You were fast enough to dodge his strike at your back as you turned around and parried his long sword. Srunugr's claw suddenly landed on his shoulder drawing a long and deep wound along his back. The man just turned around and threw his sword right into your emerald dragon's chest with an incredible force. Your chest felt like someone stabbed you but all you could do was watch Srunugr fall to the ground.

'I'm sorry, little one... I could not protect you...' you heard his voice fading into silence inside of your head. You searched for his mind but there was only darkness and silence. Your eyes loaded with tears and all you heard was silence. Painful... suffocating silence.

End of flashback~

Someone was shaking you by your shoulders. Your lips were ajar and your eyes filled with tears. Those hands... were cold but in a soothing way as they slid onto your bare neck caressing the skin. You looked into worried blue eyes and saw finally the man you loved so deeply.

'(Name)... love... what is wrong?' he asked concerned.

'Memories... enemy... blood... death...' you mumbled but Loki noticed a burning fire flame in your (e/c) orbs as you looked almost through him. 'Revenge.'

To be continued...

[orsull]

Okay the ask:

6. 10. 15. 18. 25. 26. 32. 40. 48.

I am HYPED

Thanks for asking, glad she seems interesting to you!

What is their name? And how does this fit their character?

Arielle. Mostly because I think it's a very nice name, but she's also named after a goddess who some priests believe she is.

6. Gender and sexuality?

She's a woman. And I think being straight fits her the most.

10. What is their motivation?

She deeply regrets her actions from when she was working with the priests that worshiped her as a goddess, and wants to atone for them. However, first and foremost, she wants to help people. Not to seek redemption, but just because she wants to do the right thing.

15. Character they're based on?

I didn't explicitly base her on a specific character, but I suppose I'm never truly free from inspiration. The first one that comes to mind is Elsa from Frozen, though that's mostly aesthetically, not really personality wise. Maybe Arya from Eragon?

Thinking about it now, I think any similarities between characters coming to mind are more accidental than intended. A comparison I thought of would be to the Hulk, as both characters have a terrifying powerhouse sharing a body with calm and composed person, but besides from that they're not exactly similar. At all.

18. Character they would get along with if they were in the same universe

It's always very hard for me to come up with what universe to pull characters from. Oh! Marianne from Fire Emblem: Three houses. Probably Dorothea as well. I don't think she'd get along with Edelgard though.

Looking around my room... Mercy from Overwatch probably, Mipha from Breath of the Wild. Let's leave it at that for now. Nobody else jumps to mind.

25. Assign them an aesthetic

I mean. I guess in the main story it would be impossible to assign her anything but the Ice Queen aesthetic. Afterwards, she'd still fit that aesthetic, just not the personality. At all.

26. What are their strengths?

She's not physically very strong but very dexterous. She also has quite powerful ice magic, but that's relatively more powerful due to the lack of magic in the universe, not because she is that experienced with it.

32. Book they would definitely read

I don't know, I don't read books myself. Why would you ask me this. Yeah I'm looking at my bookcase and there's not really anything I'd imagine her liking.

...

Yeah sorry I've got nothing for you on this one :(

40. Childhood experience that defines an aspect of their life

Oh that one is easy. She lived with her mother, who got shunned by the followers of Arya, the goddess I mentioned before. They lived very far from the established settlements, so when her mom got killed by a lost and desperate thief, she had to wander a barren tundra by herself. When she was like 8. Kind of a significant experience.

48. Can they swim?

Good question. I suppose she wouldn't have been taught to, no. On account that anyone learning to swim would probably die of hypothermia.

Hope this satisfies your curiosity! Feel free to ask me anything else about her, I love talking about her.

[modern-inheritance]

Fäolin: A ramble post about the fallen member of the elf squad and why he wouldn't have remained one

While writing Reunion and realizing how much Arya and Glen care for each other as friends, I realized that I have done very little writing with Fäolin. Since then I established that he was the more lighthearted one of the group, confirmed he was their sniper, reestablished that he and Arya grew up together as kids and were friends long before Arya even left for the Varden, and confirmed that he and Arya were in love. 

That last bit, though. That last bit is what’s throwing everything up right now. See, Paolini said during some interviews that Arya and Faolin were indeed romantically involved, but in a way it was more for convenience (???) and they never were ‘romantic soulmate/true name’ material for each other. He has said several times that Arya wouldn’t have stayed with Fäolin as romantic partners had he lived.

And honestly? Thinking about him in MIC and how his character has (loosely) developed in my mind, I agree.

And I don’t think that, had he survived along with or instead of Glenwing, he would have returned to the Varden with Arya for the Battle of the Burning Plains and to officially become one of Eragon and Saphira’s bodyguards. Something would have changed. And I don’t think Arya could really accept it.

Here’s where I’m coming from. Fäolin agrees with Arya and Glen that the elves need to be doing more for the fight against Galbatorix. He believes in it, would fight for it, and did, but there’s something different. We’re gonna go like…way more in depth than I’ve gone before and again, this is a ramble, so don’t expect much to make sense. 

Let’s go back to The Medic, Glen’s first official appearance in MIC storylines. Glen was born in Ilirea and lived there for about 15 years before the 5 year war of the Fall of the Riders began. His mother and father both died in the final conflict at Ilirea while Glen was spirited off to Du Weldenvarden, possibly fighting alongside Evandar himself. He was old enough to see the world he knew falling apart around him and know why it was falling apart. He wanted to fight to get it back and knew he could make a difference. So he left.

Arya, meanwhile, was around probably 6-8 at the time the war ended. She grew up with war on the horizon and infiltrating everything. It was all she knew. Her father would explain everything to her he could, why he was leaving so often, why her mother was frequently sad or angry, explained Galbatorix to her. Rhunön swore up and down about the Wyrdfell and the injustices being committed, the insanity of it all. She grew up with this knotted feeling of anger and frustration at what was lost and what was being thrown away and fury that she was left without her father and, in a way, without her mother because of the war. She hated hearing how people were being hurt and dying when the elves could be out there making a difference. And damn it she knew she could make some difference. So she left.

Fäolin is different. He wasn’t as close to the conflict but still was affected by it. He wasn’t the son of a king or great warriors and healers, just regular elves who were drawn into the war. His father remained behind to watch him while his mother joined the fight out of a sense of duty. She fell during the conflict, and his father, unable to cope with the loss of the entire world he had known, his mate of centuries, and unable to look at his son who was so much a reminder of his loss, left Fäolin in the care of their village and disappeared into Du Weldenvarden’s depths. Fäolin was more shielded from the war than the others, and while he too grew up with an itch to change the world outside the forest, and to fight Galbatorix and his Forsworn, he didn’t feel the urgency that Arya and Glen did. He didn’t feel he had a reason to actually leave Du Weldenvarden. He had a whole family, his village, providing him with the attachment that the other two had difficulty feeling due to their circumstances. And he didn’t feel like he needed to leave until about 30 years before the first book, and only then because he felt that his friendship and feelings for Arya were what drove him. 

Arya and Fäolin were very, very close friends. Different from the way Arya and Glen were close (Arya frequently explained it as ‘Once you trust someone enough to hold your literal guts in while there’s bullets and blades and fire around you, and they’re not moving until they can move you despite all that, you get closer than any of that romantic crap could get you.’), they were childhood best friends. Fäolin was a bright spot that Arya felt the war would never touch, and while she wanted him by her side she absolutely did NOT want him joining the Varden. But he did, and he was still bright and the sun and he never lost that quirky little smile. He was, in a way, everything she was fighting for, the people back in Du Weldenvarden, the free races, Alagaësia, the innocent people who didn’t really choose this fight. 

I think they both loved each other. I think they loved each other romantically and I think, in a way, they loved each other because they needed each other. I can’t put it into words properly but that’s the vibe I have. It doesn’t change the fact that they were in love. 

When Arya was captured, Glen was distraught. After healing and adapting to his prosthetic he tried to leave Ellesméra and Du Weldenvarden to do two things: Find out if Arya was alive (and if so, get her back), and rejoin the Varden. Arya or no, he would have left anyway. The only reason he hadn’t by the time everyone got back was because Gilderien wouldn’t let him on the Queen’s orders.

Fäolin, though. He would have stayed. Maybe he would have had a reason, maybe he didn’t want to question if Arya was dead or alive and the implications of her living through the ambush and not being found, maybe he just couldn’t take any more of life in the warzone, maybe he had soured on the rebels when it was realized that someone in the Varden had to have leaked their location for the ambush. He would have given up on her being alive and possibly given up on defeating Galbatorix altogether. 

And despite his reasons or his lack of them, no matter how he would have or not have tried to explain it to Arya when she returned with Eragon and Saphira and Brom in tow, I don’t think she could have accepted them. I think she would have seen that he had changed, and she had changed. The changes from her time in the Varden had been gradual and more in line with who she was as a person, but the changes after her imprisonment, more hidden though they may be, are sharp and sudden and I don’t think Fäolin would have been able to cope with them either. They would have remained friends, still laughed and joked around, but there would be a noticeable distance. And they would just…drift apart. 

I don’t think Arya would have even asked him to come with her again. She would have just said goodbye. 

So. 

Yeah. 

I can’t think of anything else but that’s what it’s at right now.