((It's been way too long since I last updated, huh? I'm so sorry about all that. Burnout and all that. Not to mention that I have to open up my old phone to even create a new chapter for Andlátkyn anymore. The new one crashes every time. It's annoying. Anywho, hopefully I can start updating regularly again, soon. We're really close to the end. You could say we're basically there- though there's still that sequel I'm planning. Can't forget that! Vanyalíkyn is on the way!
... Eventually.
Anyway, I hope this will tide you over for now, see you next time!))

Eventually the celebrations came to an end, after which the strange creatures of magic from the Multiverse attempted to depart- it was only through Cicállaé working alongside a particularly strange blue and silver dragon with shifting multicolored eyes that they even managed to convince the ancient creatures to stay.

Their incredible power was unexpectedly helpful, and their ability and willingness to gather the less sentient beasts and dinosaurs from the countryside proved useful to the others.
The true difficulty was getting many of them to help, a good portion of the ancient beings wishing to depart and explore their new world.

The more resistant races typically consisted of unusual giant eagles with powers over electricity, but their assistance was won through a very.. bright dragon of rainbow feathers and four wings.

With the help of the strange giants, all manner of unusual creatures flocked to them at different points of the countryside, where they lay in fields and stone coated their sleeping bodies.

But it was out of woodwork that flowed a seemingly endless torrent of folk that were neither monster nor human, but varieties of elves and dwarves and fae from the Multiverse. Surprisingly, it was these other elves with longer ears and living plants in their clothes that approached the elves of Alagaësia, a single king stepping from their number with fiery red hair and bushy eyebrows and a griffin at his side.

Several elves of court, including Arya and Däthedr, chose to meet with this strange, wilder king than their own folk. His name was Aberdos Helekis, and it appeared that other fae and woodland races such as nymphs had allied with his people in the face of the bewildering circumstances.

It was difficult to set up communications when the elf king could only speak old, often dead languages, namely something that only resembled old English, perhaps some precursor to even that.

Even as these communications began, a growing defensive camp of actual goblins had been discovered in an abandoned village known as Yazuac far to the north. Apparently goblins had sheltered in the empty homes despite some pile of bodies that supposedly existed there.
Eragon seemed grimly familiar with that information when he learned of it, appearing pained at the mention.

Just as goblins were looting dead villages, apparently trolls were hiding out in the empty tunnels of the Beors alongside even more goblins and cyclops hiding from the giant bears and wolves and the occasional lost ogre. Rumors spoke of a basilisk that had started hunting said bears and wolves and defending the surprisingly reclusive trolls.

It was a werecat, surprisingly, that offered to speak with the creatures, bringing with them three dwarves, an elf and a pair of Urgals.
Fortunately for them, Error found the party before they departed the the Beors, Chaos dragging Cross to join them in the expedition as the god simply opened a portal to Bregan Hold to help them along, readjusting a tightly braided necklace and bracelet over his adopted daughter's neck and wrist before hesitantly letting them go.

And in the middle of this, a god of war- Reaper's Undyne- approached the nearest member of the Wyrdaí Islingrya, which turned out to be Alter, over the many unnoticed creatures that now dwelled in the oceans- mers of all sorts being caught in fishing nets, giant crabs rising from the waves, sea serpents attacking fishing boats for getting too close to shoals of unknown fish and ocean beasts and leaping out of the water to attack blue dragons in the sky with streaks of ice- said dragons spitting lightning in retaliation.
There was much work that needed doing indeed.

Surprisingly it was the bulky blue dragon that had first convinced the elder races of the land and sky to help with the beasts of the land who elected to help halt this strange conflict, insisting on finding creatures with names few could really pronounce to aid him before flying off to the ocean with Draco as his guide.

In time, his name was heard throughout rumors that reached Urû'baen- which had been rechristened Ilirea under Nasuada's command- and it was Saecshiun.
To the surprise of monsters who had known of the Multiverse, the strange dragon was said to have a skeleton companion, a Sans with great resemblance to Classic, but when Draco had returned he had admitted to not knowing of any such companion.

But the concerns of the strange blue dragon and his willingness to help quickly fell to the wayside as more pressing matters arose in the next month, monsters and otherwise clashing with the inhabitants of Alagaësia as the vast crowd around Ilirea continued to grow, to the point that it was dividing into sections, monsters splitting into groups consisting of their own familiar universes and then gathering with other universes like their own.

Larger and larger gaps grew between these growing camps, until individuals had to cross a sort of no-man's-land between them if they wished to visit other camps. From there the vast host of monsters migrated away from the walled city, tensions between the humans and the astounding population practically sitting outside the gates.

They slowly migrated northwest, keeping close to the Ramr until the great walls and overhanging shelf of the capital was out of sight. Throughout this time, more and more monsters outside of Alagaësia stared eastward without thinking about it, beginning to feel the mysterious pull of Wyrda.
It was meant to be.

At the same time, Blue and GB had been flying around Alagaësia on behalf of the Wyrdaí Islingrya and monsterkind, guiding lost Souls to the growing collection and meeting with other races to arrange other camps. The Multiverse elves and woodland races had set up a temporary home in Du Weldenvarden, east of Ellesméra and west of the elven city of Osilon, a great phoenix and wingless maned dragon of asian descent gathering the non sapient beasts in a vast perimeter around the section of forest. The meetings with the elves of Alagaësia continued from there.

And on the other side of the Ramr river recessed into the plains steadily grew another camp, often consisting of hastily constructed structures so the daylight sensitive creatures- some strange monsters, others forms of darker fairies, varieties of vampire and weres as well as predatory beings and the fouler kinds such as irritable ogres, trolls cowering from the sun, and frustrated goblins struggling to maintain order whilst young drakes snarled at anything that disturbed their rest, basilisks hissing in aggravation.

Surprisingly, it was minotaurs working with chimera that began to reign in the chaos that was the stinking camp, often acting as enforcers as goblins began to set up a proper temporary dwelling for their races. From there, they began sending out harpies to help gather more of their kinds and not rely on monsters.

..And then there were the new dwarves.
Coming in varying sizes, some nearly the height of humans and often dark skinned, they seemed to come in two varieties. Those with thick beards and long hair preferred to build all manner of things, but missed their homes that seemed much like that of Vikings based on their descriptions.

And the other dwarves, the ones more numerous and varied with dark skin or exotic colored skin seemed to range from the size of gnomes to small human children, more obsessed with metals and stone and creating unique contraptions for all manner of purposes and had four fingers and toes on each hand and foot. The two varieties seemed to localize around the Beors and Spine, migrating towards the mountains in vast droves when they were found.

It was taking much convincing to these groups to head westward, but eventually it became easier to give them passage through the Beors, troll and basilisk problem notwithstanding.
..That would probably be resolved soon. Probably.
Hopefully.

On any note, the biggest problem seemed to be the sheer amount of new dragons now in Alagaësia, some so distant from the traditional view of dragons it was difficult to classify them at all.
Thankfully most seemed capable of speech, be it through mind, a form of magic, or words.

Only one had proved truly problematic, a strange wingless green dragon- a drake- that seemed made of writhing vines with a head of yellow petals that split into a mouth of thorns like a demogorgon. It had taken up residency at the border of Surda and the Beors, eating virtually anything in its path until Draco heard of it.

His Flowey was an abomination, it seemed, spewing poisonous gas and spitting sticky sap that hardened into an amber-like substance in minutes.
It took Draco, GB and Blue combined to address the.. issue and stop the violence the runaway Flowey was causing and get them under control.

In the midst of the exhausting work, Eragon and Saphira were more or less stuck with the duty of managing the Empire in Nasuada's stead, flying from city to city to deal with Galbatorix's influence and settle disputes, guiding whatever monster or sapient creature they encountered towards the slowly developing campsites.
It was unending work for everyone involved.

But when the human Rider contacted several members of the Wyrdaí Islingrya through Error's internal string network, they came. Over the course of three hours in the late afternoon, they found the time to come, often courtesy of Cicállaé, Blue or Error to teleport the distance.

When they arrived, many of them recognized the sandstone mounds, stricken with a strange blend of nostalgia and loss.
Atop a lone knoll with a cave recessed into its side perched the glittering blue dragon, watching them appear in silence.

No one spoke at first when they reached the top, simply standing in silence, the human seemingly frozen, staring into the glassy diamond surface, still tinted blue by the strings embedded around it.

The body below appeared remarkably lifelike, lacking the pallor of before. His hands were folded gently over the hilt of his sword, his staff at his side and covered in glyphs of the ancient language. His white beard draped over his chest, pillowing his gnarled hands and aged sword.

In the muted silence, Eragon began murmuring to the grave, talking to the dead man in the earth with watery eyes.
"That would please you, wouldn't it, you old fox?" He questioned rhetorically with a chuckle.

Dream hesitantly stepped closer, but Nightmare held him back. The boy was not done. Blue was the one to draw closer, Eragon hardly noting his presence.
"What's more, there are dragon eggs in Vroengard. Eggs! The dragons aren't going to die out. And Saphira, Blue, GB, Draco and I will be the ones to raise them. You never forsaw that, now did you?" He huffed again, rubbing his neck.

"What would you think of this all, I wonder? You're the same as ever, but we're not. Would you even recognize us?"
Of course he would. Saphira answered before anyone else could.
"He's your father." Blue murmured.

With a brush of her snout that tousled the boy's hair, Saphira added. Besides, your face isn't so different that he would mistake you for someone else, even if your scent has changed.
"It has?"

It's closer to an elf now. GB answered, tucking his skull in chagrin as Saphira eyed him for the interruption.
...Anyway, he would hardly think I was Shruikan or Glaedr, now would he? She pointed out to her Rider.
"No." Eragon noted softly, continuing to stare at the grave.

He took a deep breath, a thoughtful look on his face as Blue rested a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to finally look up with damp eyes. Blue however, was still staring at the grave himself, unable to find his words.

It was Nightmare who spoke.
"He knew you since you were an infant, Eragon, even if it was from a distance. He.. loved you. Despite everything. He still loves you, Eragon. He would be nothing but proud."
Eragon stared at him for a minute, then sighed as he peered at the grave once more. He then anxiously regarded Abyss, who had come without being called- they all knew he would be there regardless, even Eragon.

"Could you.. with your power, maybe, bring him back? Brom had only just died when we buried him. Saphira didn't turn the stone to diamond until the following day, but he was still encased-" His voice cracked, and in the pause the strange god-mortal gave a sad smile.

Eragon continued quickly, voice thick as several others cringed.
"He was still encased in stone, away from the air, through the night." He hesitated then, then addressing the air achingly in a whisper.
"Umaroth, with your strength and your knowledge, maybe.." His voice wobbled and he continued in thought.
Maybe we could still heal him. I didn't know how to mend his wound before, but now- now I think I could.

It would be more difficult than you can imagine. The voice of the Eldunarí weighed upon them softly.
Yes, but you could do it! I've seen- "It wouldn't be him."
Horror, surprisingly, was the one to interrupt. Eragon froze, everyone glancing over at the one breathing spirits. Even he had a pained look in his lights, peering at the crystalline spires that made up the gravestone.
"Maybe you could restore his mind, bring back his memories and even part of his personality, but it just won't be him."

Horror paused long enough to step closer, setting his hand on the faceted jewel with a faint clack.
"What you'd create would be hollow. Just Alagaësia's version of a Flowey with a human. Maybe he'll never turn dark like Flowey anyway, but it just.. won't be him. Would you really disrespect his memory like that, Eragon?"

There was an extended pause between that question and when Eragon weakly formed an answer. "But with Abyss's power.." He turned somewhat desperately to the god-mortal, his furred scarves still drifting about in non-existent currents.

Abyss only silently stepped forward, looking off to the side before slowly reaching forward and taking the boy's hand in both of his own, displaying the gemstone set into the ring there.
"Brom.. gifted you part of himself with this ring. It was always for you. I can't tell you what that means, but remember what I told you about it. Remember that, and when it closes into itself, you will be ready."
He pulled away, Eragon scrunching up his face in both frustration, confusion and grief.

"If you could have someone back, would you not at least try?" He pleaded.
"Of course we would." Dream answered immediately. "We have all lost loved ones." Nightmare added.
"...My brother." Abyss murmured.
"My family." Cross added in undertone.
My dad. GB stated with a weary sigh.
Our Riders. Umaroth reminded, an ache in his voice.

Error shifted in place, shuffling as he sighed harshly.
"Loss is a part of change. It's why we remember what used to be. Even good change comes with loss. King's dead, but so are the thousands of people that fought for and against him. Leave them to the ground, Eragon. Give room for new things and hold on to the good part of the past. It's probably what he would have wanted anyway."

He paused then, staring hard at the glassy surface.
"...The dragons agree with me." He added quietly, fiddling with something crochet.
Umaroth hummed assent at that. Brom lives on in your memories, and if he was the man you showed us, he would be content with that. Let you be content with that as well.

"But-" His argument was interrupted by an old voice, struggling with words of the ancient language as it echoed Error's sentiment.
Leave the dead to the earth. The oldest Eldunarí, Valdr, stated.
They are not for us.

With that, Eragon finally seemed to accept it, looking into the sky for a moment before sighing deep and shutting his eyes.
They all stood in silence for a little while, some staring off into the distance and others into the depths of the grave. The X carved upon its surface still gleamed a dim red as well as the threads, reflecting off the miniature skull and golden bone in hues of crimson, cerulean and violet.

Slowly, Blue crouched down and took the bone, lifting it as he reached into his inventory to pull out a larger shape- the strange skeletal dragonet he had created with his own magic. His bleached eyelights flashed brighter as it came to life, own lights a baby blue as it gently took the bone in its jaws.

"What are you doing?" Dream whispered, but Blue didn't answer, squinting as the pale bones glinted and a yellowish hue began to coat it, flowing from the joints until it was entirely gold.

Eragon's eyes widened, but he said nothing as the not quite living creature clambered down and hopped to the top of the spire. The original golden bone was gone now, replaced with a moving figurine that curled around the topmost spire and shut its sockets.

"He deserves more than just any attack." Blue murmured.
"..Thank you." Eragon whispered.
Abyss bent down then, setting a crystalline scale where Blue's golden bone had been, couching it behind the mini Blaster. It reflected the light in hues of rainbow, its center a deep blue that almost seemed to slowly roil like swirling water.
The human smiled faintly at it, Abyss not saying a word as he retreated.

Then GB snorted, inching forward as the others moved out of the way until he huffed a hot breath on the back of the crystal gravestone. He paused, sockets sliding shut before he touched his snout to its surface. Bright, blue-white flames crackled from his maw as he focused, then a dim, whitish glow ignited within the magically carved words upon the gem.

There were a few quiet gasps as the slow flame filled them out. The same words as before, cast in a literal new light.

ᴴᵉʳᵉ ˡⁱᵉˢ ᴮʳᵒᵐ
ᵂʰᵒ ʷᵃˢ ᵃ ᴰʳᵃᵍᵒⁿ ᴿⁱᵈᵉʳ
ᴬⁿᵈ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵃ ᶠᵃᵗʰᵉʳ ᵗᵒ ᵐᵉ.
ᴹᵃʸ ʰⁱˢ ⁿᵃᵐᵉ ˡⁱᵛᵉ ᵒⁿ ⁱⁿ ᵍˡᵒʳʸ.

Blue chuckled softly at them, Eragon smiling sadly.

The human then quietly muttered in the ancient language, the others watching the diamond shiver as the letters changed, the flames twisting around as they filled in the new spaces.

ʜᴇʀᴇ ʟɪᴇꜱ ʙʀᴏᴍ
ᴡʜᴏ ᴡᴀꜱ
ᴀ ʀɪᴅᴇʀ ʙᴏɴᴅᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀᴀɢᴏɴ ꜱᴀᴘʜɪʀᴀ
ꜱᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ʜᴏʟᴄᴏᴍʙ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴇʟᴅᴀ
ʙᴇʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴇʟᴇɴᴀ
ꜰᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴇʀᴀɢᴏɴ ꜱʜᴀᴅᴇꜱʟᴀʏᴇʀ
ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴀʀᴅᴇɴ
ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴀɴᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏʀꜱᴡᴏʀɴ.
ᴍᴀʏ ʜɪꜱ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏɴ ɪɴ ɢʟᴏʀʏ.

The same black outline of Nightmare's words remained unchanged, though they appeared to have gained a slight silver hue at their edges.
Dream stared intensely at it for a while, then reached over to touch the new inscription filled with light.
A bright golden color bled into the flames filling the first line, until the words ʜᴇʀᴇ ʟɪᴇꜱ ʙʀᴏᴍ appeared to be filled with molten gold.

Eragon gave him a soft smile in response as he stepped away, and the group studied at the altered grave. It was flooded with magic yet was a place of quiet reverence for a human all but two had barely met.

...It was more than a place of mourning to a Rider.
It was the place they had first grasped at the new land before them, their first encounter with the power of Wyrda, the first time the magic of Alagaësia had started to mingle with that of the Multiverse.
It was the beginning of immense change.

Killer leaned forward then, placing a single knife at the base of the grave. With a squint, he spoke in the ancient language until the diamond rippled and it sank just beneath the surface. The blade didn't look very remarkable, yet Eragon drew in a shaky breath.
"Is that the same one?" He asked.

Killer glanced awkwardly to the side, ring eyelights flickering slightly.
"It killed him, didn't it? There's.. a bit of honor in burying it with him. I just didn't care before."
"You kept it all this time?"
Now he glanced back up, corner of his teeth quirking slightly upward. "I keep all knives.... Except for this one."

As he stood back up, Dust dropped to a crouch, touching the skull left there with a flash of burnt orange. Its sockets flew open, now burning amber bright. They remained open for a long moment, then slowly fell back down. It appeared like the skull was now sleeping. Dust hopped back up.
"Someone's gotta watch over him."

"We were going to." Blue muttered, referring to himself and Unity.
"And now we will too." Dust shot back with ease, pocketing his hands.
Eragon huffed out a weak laugh, murmuring spells of protection under his breath. A minute later he added.
"As will we."
Saphira snorted, nudging her Rider's back softly.

They fell back to silence then, standing for a little while longer to honor the memory of an honorable man. An agent of change, a force of good.

Then, little by little, they departed, each returning to their endless busywork involving the Multiverse and Alagaësia.
About an hour later it was just Blue, GB, Saphira and Eragon.
Blue slowly lifted a hand to rest on the boy's shoulder.
"We'll leave you to it, then."

As he turned to the skeleblaster, Eragon replied.
"See you in Urû'baen?"
Blue hesitated, then smiled softly.
"Ilirea now.. but yes. See you soon, Eragon, Saphira."

. • ° ° • .

The days continued to speed on by just as quickly as ever, even as Blue, GB and Draco dropped by the capital more often to help Eragon and Saphira with matters pertaining to the Eldunarí, Riders and other magical artifacts collected by the former king over the years. Many were dangerous, but others were more benign.

The most difficult task seemed to be attempting the mending of the Eldunarí formerly under Galbatorix's control. Some were easier than others, but most seemed profoundly lost in their minds, making it a necessity to keep the majority of them in a trance- and furthermore keep them in a castle some distance away from the city.

Some Eldunarí seemed to listen, yet many more could hardly be spoken to, even without words as was wont of the eldest of them. It was exhausting, so more often than not they left the healing to the elves and moved on to aid the Du Vrangr Gata back in the city to remove the treasures within the castle.

One of the greatest discoveries were the hundreds of Rider swords, weapons of every color, shape and size, fitted for humans and elves alike. The four of them personally ferried them to the same castle as the Eldunarí, still in awe of Rhunön's many creations.

Surprisingly that had been a time they had discovered Ink visiting the castle. Somehow the god had learned of the crystalline Souls, having visited regularly simply to observe the elves working with them. He seemed fond of a particular onyx Eldunarí nearly the size of his skull.

Initially Blue was worried that Ink didn't realize how alive the gems were, then he and GB were startled by the god simply chatting with the heart of hearts, unexpectedly gentle and humble to the raving dragon within.
Sobedr, he had told them, seemed curious about him "somewhere in there", just like he was.

Eventually they left him with the elves, as he seemed happy to help when he could spare time and energy- something he didn't have as much of with how frequently he was hopping around, creating necessities constantly for the monsters and other camps.

So time continued, the constant action slowly beginning to ease up as a system came into place and wandering creatures were contained, the new races collecting into their vast camps that stretched for miles. The new humans from the Multiverse set up dozens of smaller camps near port cities, many of which speaking languages never before heard in Alagaësia. It became difficult to find translators to speak with them, but it was managed, the terrified and confused remnants of worlds finally gaining some form of understanding for what happened to them.

Throughout it all, they had the chance to watch as the Empire was rebuilt, Nasuada proving to be everything they had felt the moment they had felt from Wyrda. She gifted all the citizens five gold crowns each- something next to worthless for nobles and priceless to peasants. She judged the former servants of Galbatorix with remarkable fairness, both the willing and forced servants. Most lost their wealth, titles, and land, others more, some less. None were executed.

They had the chance to watch as she granted Nar Garzhvog and his people land along the northern coast and in the plains where next to no humans lived. Like Orrin had before, the Kull swore allegiance to her, but then warned.
"My people agree with this, Lady Nightstalker, but they have thick blood and short memories, and words will not bind them forever."

Her response was like steel.
"Do you mean to say your people will break the peace? Am I to understand once again our races will be enemies?"
"No. We do not want to fight you. We know that Firesword would kill us. But... when our young ones have grown, they will want battles in which to prove themselves. If there are no battles, then they will start them. I am sorry, Nightstalker, but we cannot change what we are."

Those words were concerning, and it was clear they bothered both Eragon and Nasuada, but to Blue, they reminded him of things he had learned in Alagaësia's history. How the dragons maintained the balance between the races and how the humans of Alagaësia were described in the early days of the Riders.

It was that day that Draco finally traded Glaedr and Oromis to Blue and GB, admitting that he was beginning to feel fuzzy after so many months with the two in his inventory.

After that, they started traveling together once more, flying to different cities in the Empire, in Surda, and the Beors as representatives of Nasuada and on behalf of those from the Multiverse. Often they encountered smaller dragons and phoenixes, all seemingly from the same universe with their Souls hanging far from their bodies in the sky above.

Throughout it all they halfheartedly searched for a place to raise the eggs still in Vroengard. Deep down, they knew they wouldn't find anything suitable, and they were right. The Beors had plentiful food and isolation, but were too close to the dwarves that lived there with their Feldûnost livestock. The northernmost reaches of the Spine seemed promising, but still remained too cold and frozen all year round, with Murtagh and Thorn dwelling somewhere up there as well. Du Weldenvarden seemed appealing, elves more than willing to host dragonkind in their realm, but once again there were too many people. Elves. And to dwell in their land would appear as though they supported the elves over the other races- something they wanted to avoid.

Only one place was far enough away from civilization, and it was the Du Fells Nángoröth, the Blasted Mountains in the center of the Hadarac Desert. Unfortunately it lacked food, which would force them to constantly fly out to hunt for hatchlings- then those dragonets would fly out towards civilization to feed themselves. Too close.

Second, it was too easy for anyone to reach those mountains if they wished to, particularly in winter. Anyone could steal eggs or Eldunarí, anyone could kill or steal a hatchling.
Everyone knew where those mountains were, after all.

So they continued looking, GB and Blue gazing eastward more and more often, leading to Eragon and Saphira joining them in gazing out towards unknown lands.

In time, the armies departed from Ilirea, heading back to their homelands. The weather grew colder as winter approached, and the Urgals left to their new lands. By the time snow touched the earth for the first time since monsters arrived, Orik's men had returned home. The elves followed shortly after, then the werecats, who simply vanished overnight with only one remaining beside the throne by the name of Yelloweyes.

For a time, GB and Blue split from Eragon and Saphira once more to check on Du Weldenvarden and the refugees Beast had gathered there, meeting Draco and assisting in organization. They ended up guiding many monsters back to the main camp by the end of it. Through their visit, they learned that Islanzadí's successor had yet to be chosen, the elves surprisingly closed off in their responses.

Blue did not blame them. It was still so stressful, dealing with centaurs- who apparently came in almost as many different races as monsters- the new, strange elves, varieties of kirin, equestrian races such as unicorns or hippogriffs and pegasi. Just feeding all of them was difficult enough as it was, and that was with Life's help, who was bent on keeping the other camps alive as well.

In the middle of the cold winter came the shocking news of four assassination attempts on Nasuada. One of them had left her with broken bones, resulting in the number of guards around her increasing, adding three magicians and an earnest hundred spiders looking to help after learning Nasuada's achievements from their Muffet.

And after that came the other attacks, a force of several hundred soldiers leftover from Galbatorix's army began attacking Gil'ead and the surrounding countryside, their leader an earl named Hamlin.

At the same time Tharos the Quick started a rebellion in Aroughs with even more men. The conflicts took nearly a month to resolve, one side avoiding bloodshed as the other screamed for blood. Fights inevitably happened, but thankfully the mess passed by winter's end.

Soon after, many members of the Wyrdaí Islingrya were delighted to hear that Katrina had delivered a baby girl who was promptly named after her mother, Ismira. None were more excited to learn this than Eragon, who was able to meet his niece later that day.

The next day, Nasuada summoned Roran to the throne room, whereupon she granted him the title of earl and all of Palancar Valley as his land. The man was stunned by the gift, but all the more shocking was when Nasuada offered the same to Eragon, a title and land. He turned down the offer, and every offer after that as well.
"It is enough to be a Rider; I need nothing more."

. • °

When Eragon sent the message that Nasuada wanted to speak with several gods of the Wyrdaí Islingrya or Blue and GB if they weren't available, they collectively just.. knew. It was jarring, realizing what that knowledge was, but they came to accept it, communicating mentally to one another through the ever present swathes of energy that the others now recognized as the various gods and deities.

They came to the agreement that Blue, GB, Horror, Abyss, Error and Reaper would come, them being the best available at the moment. Not all of them were gods, but they all had their unique powers, being Voices to deities or just.. whatever Horror had become.

It went without saying that Beats would be there as well, simply due to the fact that he'd hardly left Elva's side and the pair were already in the castle near the new queen.
It took nearly half an hour- long enough for GB to change to his bipedal form, but eventually the group met near the throne room and headed for a meeting room the human Rider had indicated in thoughts.

When the doors parted, they were greeted to a table with a large map visible through its ornate glass top. It was clear Error had been through at some point, as a few beanbags were sat nearby in a loose pile, in which a winged skeleton lounged, feathers iridescent purple-black with lavender and yellow-orange undersides. Just beneath them fluttered a pair of shimmering insectoid wings, their patterned membranes gleaming as they twitched.

Nasuada nodded at their arrival, about to speak when Reaper let out an odd raspy sound that had everyone pausing.
Beats lifted his face from his arms, wings lifting in curiosity as he blinked.
"... Anyway-" Error was interrupted by a melodious chirp, turning slowly to the elder god to see Reaper croaking back, skull tilted to the side.

Are they..? GB trailed, one hand lifted in question as Beats somehow imitated the hoarse sound in a chirping voice, slowly smiling.
"... They're chirping." Horror slowly concluded.
Abyss glanced at everyone around, then slowly nudged Reaper closer to the godling, the raven-winged god drifting over without complaint as they continued to communicate in avian noises.

"As Error was saying, we are all that's currently available. You wanted to discuss a concern, right?" He drew closer, fluttering almost like he was about to start.
"I did. I hope that I did not interrupt your duties for this request." She replied, leaning on the table as Eragon leaned anxiously on the back of a nearby chair.

"You wouldn't have called if it wasn't important." Error pointed out, arms crossed before he unfolded and gestured vaguely upwards.
"We'll make time for you if you ask. Cicállaé couldn't come, but they're listening; Life will hear about anything she needs to and I'm pretty sure all the deities are listening to some degree right now."

There were several different flashes of color throughout the room above them, arcs of light and shifting hues in the lanterns. Briefly there was a scent of apples and a sound like crashing waves in the distance.
"...Show-offs." Error scoffed after a moment.

"I see." Nasuada nodded quietly, leaning on her fingers. "Then you must know that my concern is of magic. You understand that monsterkind is at a distinct advantage to the other races in the world, both new and old. There are those that would use their abilities for greed."

"There are always those that seek to subjugate others to their will, yes. And you are right, unfortunately: it exists among our kind as well." Blue agreed with a sigh.
"You have an idea."
They turned to see Reaper facing the meeting, no longer cawing softly at the still giggling Beats.

"Indeed I do, as risky as it may be." Nasuada confirmed before standing up straight.
"I propose the formation of a group much like the Riders, but consisting of simple spellcasters. They can travel the land, keep the peace, resolve disputes of law, and most important, watch over their fellow magicians, so as to ensure they do not use their ability for ill. I will create such a group to manage Surda, Teirm, and my own kingdom. What say you of the idea?"

There was a thoughtful silence before Horror broke it. "It is like.. a federal organization, but for spellcasters. What was it called.... FBI?"
"Not quite." Abyss corrected. "But I see where you're coming from."
"It'll have to be different for us." Error pointed out. "As far as we can tell, every single monster is capable of casting spells. There are probably exceptions to that rule- there's always exceptions when dealing with the Multiverse- but as it stands it'd have to involve all monsterkind. Probably the other races too. Maybe we should outright prevent our humans from learning it. This world won't be able to handle them starting a war using that sort of magic. I like your idea, but the sheer amount of capable users in our populations just changes how we can approach this situation."
GB shuddered at the thought of a Chara capable of spells.

Reaper drifted closer, humming.
"And you have your chain of command established already. Technically ours is still a mess. Never have so many monarchs, gods and deities had to interact so much before. The AU's existed separately before, and now that they're all in one place, no one knows who to answer to. Monsters listen to their monarchs, who are so lost in what to do they are listening to us, yet we have to listen to them before mortals start rioting... then there's all of those that are familiar with the greater Multiverse gaining their own followings. It's been a confusing time."

Horror stepped closer, a look of dawning realization on his face. "This could help, though. We need purpose to stay hopeful. Something to do." He glanced at the others while leaning on the table.
"Maybe we don't need a precise chain of command. At least, not yet. Pretty much everyone who's been lost in the wild has been found by now. So many monsters are just sitting around uselessly. Even some of the Wyrdaí Islingrya. We could teach them the basics of this new magic- it's weird for us. It's the opposite of the norm, attached to language with rules we don't know. We normally know." He snapped his phalanges as he struggled with how to explain.

Blue took up the mantle instead. "He's right, we naturally grasp our own strengths and abilities just as much as you know how much you can lift. It is less exact for children, but it is still there. With spells, we cannot sense our limits, not without much practice. I see how teaching at least the base laws of spellcasting is helpful. We may not be able to sense our limits well, but it will give our people structure and awareness. We can achieve more during a time where it is most needed."

"Are you sure of this new idea?" Nasuada questioned dubiously.
Horror spread his arms before letting them fall back to his sides.
"The language comes to us automatically regardless of what we're taught. It's magic, we're magic. The elves call us vanyalíkyn for that reason. We just need to teach limits to the rest." He paused, long enough for Abyss to smile.
"You'll see what a motivated monsterkind can do for themselves and others then."

Error squinted at that unnecessarily eerie statement before turning to the side, opening what appeared to be a glitching portal with fizzling glyphs on the other side. He scanned the odd code as Blue regarded the group and spoke in a lower voice.
"Are you worried what our kind will do with full access to spells?"

The queen hesitated, then sighed. "A little, I admit. I have seen more than most what you are capable of without them."
The skeleton Rider smiled softly then. "We are made of magic and hope, your Majesty. Those that turn away from the light inspire others to protect against them. You've seen our capabilities, but so too have you seen our ability to care for one another and others. Even the harshest of monsters have kindness in their Souls. I would not be so worried."

The young queen smiled back at his sincerity, and for the first time since they arrived, Eragon also smiled. Things were beginning to come together at last.