"Did we hear that right?"  Nick looked at the others, shock clearly etched on his face. "Was that Riders? As in...plural?"

His brother shook his head slowly, then faster. "She must've been...talking to Nia and Dad. Yeah, that's it."

Only their sister did not seem surprised, and she argued, "But Windtail didn't have a prophetic piece of advice for him. Why would she wish him advice for something that we'll have to do?"

"Stop!" Nate yelled, and his face grew clouded like a thunderstorm. "Just stop it! You're the only one who gets to be a Rider, Niaomi! The rest of us are just your little sidekicks and help you along the way."

Recoiling from the outburst, Nia looked at him with wide violet eyes and whispered, "But that's not true - "

"Yes it is!" Nathan threw his hands up, anguish and anger punctuating his words. "You're the only one who will be a Rider. And we dealt with it, right? I was okay knowing you'd be the only one. That you're the special one, the favored one, the chosen one - "

"I'm not the chosen one, Nate," she interjected softly, stepping forward to place a hand on her brother's arm. "And remember what I said about the pegasi all those years ago? The same holds true for dragons. It doesn't matter that Zeus said it was my destiny to become a Rider - that doesn't mean it's not yours. I'm sure if you just - "

Stepping back from her grasp, Nate shook his head again. "Just stop it, okay? Just...stop."

She fell silent as he turned away from the group, but he had only taken three steps before he turned back, stalked over to the table, and grabbed a plate of sweet cakes. He glared at everyone, daring them with his eyes to say a word. No one tried to stop him as Nathan stomped out of the clearing, though as he passed Rose, she gently reached out to brush his arm. But he avoided her touch and disappeared through the trees.

The gathering was subdued, a quiet unsettled as small groups began murmured conversations. Ren held her twin as she fought back tears, Nicholas slumped down to the ground, Niom began methodically arranging the piles of gifts, and Leafë went to her daughter. Niaomi stood still, staring at the place where her brother had disappeared. When her mother's arm came around her waist, she clenched her fists and muttered with a wealth of guilt, "He's wrong."

Rosaminda looked up at those words, fury drying the tears from her eyes. "How can you even say that?" she asked angrily, stepping out of Renata's grasp to approach the raven-haired girl. "Do you know how long Nate has fought not to let his jealousy win? How much he's hated himself of being so envious of this amazing destiny you have, or how worthless it makes him feel about his own? Keep your pity, Niaomi, because your brother doesn't need it! None of us do!"

"...Rose, I'm not pitying him. It's just...I meant to say - "

She scoffed and held up a hand to stop Nia's explanation. "Just forget it," the blonde said, giving her godsister a look of disgust before marching off in the direction her beau had left. Ren quickly left after her sister and did not meet the pained violet gaze that followed her.

Nick took half a step after his beloved, but paused to turn to his sister. Niaomi hardened her gaze to glare at him, her bottom lip quivering slightly as she shouted, "Go ahead! I know you probably despise me now as well, so just go ahead and leave!"

The two locked eyes, purple boring into green. Nicholas finally sighed and walked towards her, and she let go of a choked sob and flung herself into his arms. He held Nia tightly as she broke down, and the rest of their audience looked away.

Leafë looked to Niom, who glanced towards Vanilor and shook his head slightly. She sighed much like her son had done before her and grabbed the girl's shoulder, waiting until she raised her head to murmur, "Crying will not solve this problem, my dearest. You must tell them what you've seen."

"But I can't," her daughter whispered in a cracking voice as she softly wiped away the tears. "It can't be a vision...it can't! Nate was wrong about me, and so was Zeus."

Wayłoêr stepped forward, blue eyes fierce. "Stop being a child and face the facts, Niaomi!" she exclaimed, pointing a long finger at the girl. "No matter how much you wish otherwise, you are different. You have powers, and they will not forever be subdued by your unwillingness to do what you must. In order to become the Seer you are destined to be, you have to face your fear and accept that this is who you are!"

"I don't have visions!" Niaomi stumbled backwards out of her brother's hold, her voice tinged with desperation. "They can't be visions, or else that means they'll come true! And I can't let that happen! I won't!"

Her mother stepped forwards, worry drawing lines on her ageless face. "Oh, my child, what have you seen that troubles you so?"

"I...I - "  Shaking her head violently, she turned and ran into the forest, following the path the others had taken. Ignoring the voices calling for her to wait, Nia continued to run until she broke out of the jungle and onto the beach. About twenty yards away sat the other three teens huddled together, but she didn't even glance in their direction as she sprinted into the house.

Quickening her pace, Niaomi took the stairs two at a time until she reached her bedroom. Once safely ensconced inside, she lifted the pillow off her bed and removed a book from its casing. The cover was made of worn brown leather with a strap binding it shut and ten depressions on the front.

Removing her elemental bracelet, the girl carefully set each gem in one of the indentations. After the last one was placed, the crystals glowed and the strap loosened. She latched the piece of jewelry back onto her wrist and gently opened the book.

Eragon held in a gasp as the image in the mirror drew closer to the page. Drawn in perfect detail was the moment he'd first used magic, the fiery arrow steaming towards the Urgal he'd launched it at, "The Leader?" scribbled below it. He continued to stare as in the past younger Nia turned the page, now revealing a sketch of himself and Saphira flying through the sky with the caption, "Must be."

This picture was of him before the Agaetí Blödhren, as his ears were rounded and he still looked human, but before Eragon had a chance to question the other Riders, the diary's page was flipped again to display another sketch. This was one of the five children floating in the ocean with a dragonet in each one's arms. However, instead of the joy Eragon expected to find on their faces, a look of horror was etched.

In the reminiscence, Niaomi began to flip to the next drawing when she suddenly slammed the book shut. Breathing heavily, she slowly reopened it to one of the last pages. On this was what appeared to be an underwater cavern; huge anemones crowded the entrance, along with jagged dripstones that created a sort of visual structure akin to the maw of a giant creature. The girl touched the scribbling which simply read "destiny" as the point of view changed briefly to show the look of determination on her face before returning to the paper held beneath her fingertips which rippled once before returning to normal.

This time when she shut the book, it was done gently. Nia stroked its cover lightly, and the strap resealed itself. Still petting the leather, she whispered softly, "Wayłoêr is right. Pretending the dreams aren't visions doesn't make them any less real, and I can't keep them from their own fates. Maybe warning Far in advance will protect him..."

She climbed to her feet, tucking the journal into a hidden pocket in her skirt. With a renewed sense of vigor, Niaomi swiftly walked downstairs and outside to her brethren.

The three had since been joined by Nick, and he was the first to notice her approach. He came forward to meet her, a wary look on his face. "Listen, Nia, now's probably not the best time - "

His sister ignored his muttered warning, pushing past him and finally coming to a stop in front of their brother. Nate slowly looked up, brown eyes slightly tinged red, and failed to mask the hoarseness of his voice as he grumbled, "What do you want now?"

"You are wrong." He glared at Nia, but before he could interrupt her, she added, "And the reason I know you're wrong is because I've seen it. All of us will become Riders."

Rose broke the silence first, wearing a small grin as she joked, "Riders? As in - plural?"

Nathan laughed at that, and then his guffaws turned into sobs. Niaomi immediately went to her knees to comfort him, but he waved her off. "I-I'm not sad," he insisted, swiping away the tears. "I'm just s-so ashamed. I'm sorry, Nia. I'm so s-sorry for being jealous all these years; it wasn't fair to you, and - "

His sister hugged him anyways, stopping his words. "It's okay, Nate. I'm sure I would have been much worse."

Breathing deeply, he smiled up at her before asking, "So, we're really going to find our own dragon eggs one day?"

"Not one day," she corrected him, grinning at the entire group. "Today."