Staring in shock as the wall collapses, Roran can hardly believe his luck that he had made it and not been killed. But that was the least of his worries. How many had died? And most important, where was Eragon?

His dreadful suspicions were confirmed as Saphira let's loose a roar of rage and surges into the air, heading straight for the pile of rubble. Cries of sorrow echo from the remaining sides but from the east side, nothing but silence.

Numbness was the only feeling Roran could register. Eragon, gone forever. It was like losing Garrow all over again. He was so engulfed in his sadness that a soldier almost snuck up behind him. Roran heard his breathing at the last second and managed to swing around and block the man's attack with his hammer. Stunned by being detected, the man hesitates, allowing Roran to follow with a back handed blow to the mans head, killing him on the spot. All his rage came bursting forth in his blows as he plows through the rest of their ranks, knocking soldiers aside like they were not even there. A blow to the chest, one to the head, knock their legs out from under them, a jab to the neck. He stumbled forward when he realized he had already plunged through their ranks and they all laid dead on the ground.

But then they started to stir.

Ones with should be fatal wounds struggle to their feet, letting loose a bone chilling laugh that went straight through Roran. When back on their feet, they come limping towards him, their weapons hoisted and ready to attack.

They were the Laughing Dead.

~*~

"No!", Nasuada shouts as the wall strikes and the entire east squadron is covered in a wall of rubble and dust, shielding them from view. Turning to Angela the Herbalist, who was standing right next to her, Nasuada asks, "how many have survived?"

Angela shakes her head, her eyes wide in sorrow and mumbles in a voice full of pain, "few, very few. Only on the outside of the ranks, far enough away that the wall only knocked them unconscious. But only a handful at best."

Nasuada felt her heart drop. So many dead. And the few people alive would die as well if they could not get them out soon. And Eragon was in there somewhere.

She wanted to believe with all of her heart that he had survived, that he was one of the handful, but he was not towards the edge of the men, and the way Saphira was acting was an ominous sign. A very obvious, ominous sign.

She struggled to hold the tears back, she must be strong for the Varden, but she couldn't. Eragon was gone. And it was all her fault.

She had to come up with this stupid plan! If Saphira was with him, she could have shielded him and many others under her stomach. If only she hasn't sepreated them.... The tears started flowing in earnest now, pouring down her face, blurring her vision. But still through her fuzzy eyes, she could see something streaking towards the ground.

Leora, nothing but a purple blur, rushes to the rubble and started digging furiously on top. Saphira joins her a moment later, both scrambling in pure panic. That gave her hope like nothing else. There was a chance. There was still a chance.

Eragon was strong, stronger then most. Maybe, just maybe his wards held out. All Nasuada had left was hope.

~*~

The only thing he could register as he started to stir was complete exhaustion. He did not want to open up his eyes. Wherever Eragon was, was warm and dark. No disturbances, no pain, no worries.

But that wasn't true, people were shouting all around him, his whole body ached as if he had fallen from twenty feet in the air, and there were always worries.

Finally prying open his unruly eyelids, Eragon looks upon one of the strangest sights he had ever seen. All around him was wood. Wood planks, beams, splinters, and everything else that had come crashing down with the wall. He had no idea how, but his wards have held and he had somehow come back into consciousness. Which was a good thing for his energy was fading fast. The toll the wards were taking on him was draining his energy faster than he would have liked. He had no energy to even move a finger without them failing. He was stuck and would die if he couldn't get out soon. As soon as his wards disappeared, all the debris on top of Eragon would crush him. It was a lucky thing he came into consciousness otherwise he would have passed into the void without a fighting chance.

Then all of a sudden, a great pressure gets placed on Eragon's wards, a force that wasn't there before. It started to drain him all the faster, having to keep off this new added pressure. And soon after, a larger force joined the second and Eragon was struggling to prevent himself from being crushed.

He let out a moan of pain as he struggles to keep from blacking out. He had no idea how long he would be able to hold up with this new amount of weight pressing down on him.

Seconds passed like minutes, minutes like hours, and after about five minutes of laying there wondering when he was going to die, without even the strength to hold his eyes open anymore, a small voice whispers softly in his ear. Eragon could have sworn he recognized the voice, but being as out of it as he was, Eragon couldn't place where he had heard it before.

'You know the word', it whispered softly, so melodic it seemed like it was singing instead of talking, 'call for her, the word, say the word........ Véurr.' And then it was gone.

Véurr, Eragon thought to himself. He knew what that word meant, but he had no clue why he would need it. But deciding to humor the voice, which was more than likely just his imagination, he opened his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Véurr", Eragon whispers, his voice cracking on the tiny word, but the effect was instantaneous.

It was not like the bond Saphira and him shared when speaking, but instead it was as if he were standing right next to Leora. Eragon was aware of every little thing going on around her, and could hear the very muffled sounds of the siege in the background.

Deciding to test his luck, he whispers very softly, 'Leora.'

The result was instantaneous. Leora literally flinched and looked around, searching for the location of his voice, before saying back, 'Eragon? Oh thank the gods above, you're alive! Where are you? I sense imminent danger, but I don't know where you are!'

'Well, seeing as there is an immense weight sitting on top of me, threatening to break through the last strand of wards I have, I would guess you are right on top of me.'

He could sense her shift her nervously and half spread her wings as if preparing to fly. Then she spoke saying, 'I can think of a quick way to get most of the rubble off of you, but it's risky-'

'What is it!?', he asks frantically, he was prepared to try anything for he had just noticed how little of his wards he had left and also that a particularly sharp, jagged piece of wood was situated right above his heart. If the shear weight of everything above him didn't kill him when the wards gave out, then that would.

'Saphira and I could breathe fire above you and then scoop of the burning debris before it gets to close to you. That would take a lot of weight off your wards, but if we don't get it off in time, you will burn. It seems to risky, but we need something quick and widespread. Digging will take too long.'

Eragon took a few seconds to pause and think it over. It would be quick which is what he needed. The time was ticking down on his wards and that jagged piece of wood was looking more threatening by the second. The resistance on his wards to prevent burning was pitifully small, but this was the only way.

'Let's do it.'

He could feel her acknowledgement and inform Saphira. He would have contacted her but he had so little strength he could not even lift a finger. The form of communication he used to talk to Leora must have been through the word Véurr and not required any energy.

They started immediately, and the effect was instantaneous. As the weight of the burning material decreased, the strain on his wards also decreased, but after a few minutes, the heat started to get to him.

The amount of debris started to decrease and the fire got closer and closer. He had lost the connection with Leora a while ago so he had no idea how much of the burning materials they had cleared away nor how much more they had to go through. All Eragon knew was that the heat was starting to get to him.

Finally, after some energy had seeped back into his limbs, Eragon sits up and grabs the one sharp piece of wood above him and shifts it so it is no longer positioned directly above his heart. But doing so he unbalances the whole structure. By moving one piece, it moved another, then another, until his wards finally gave out with a final crack. The whole structure shifted and filled into his little bubble of space and lands straight on top of him, pushing out the remaining strands of breath left in his lungs.

'Eragon! What just happened? The whole structure just shifted! Are you ok?', Leora shouts out to him, but being squished under all the rubble and trying to breathe, the only thing Eragon can breathe out is 'hurry.'

She gives him an affirmative then redoubles her efforts, as well as Saphira. He could hear them clearly now, straight above him the sound of digging was obvious and getting louder by the second. Soon dust started to fall as their claws came closer and closer to the wood directly above him and then specks of light were visible in the debris towards the top.

'Careful careful', he says to them, 'I do not need to be stabbed by your claws now that you are so close.'

With the weight on top almost gone, Eragon was able to help dig the rest of the way out, and with one final heave was breathing fresh air once more. But the bright sky was not there for long as he becomes engulfed in a dark blue mass. Saphira's mind crashing against his, the two minds mold into one as Eragon feels all her worry and relief melt into his.

'I love you too little one', she says nuzzling him with her snout, 'I'm just glad I am able to tell you face to face and not-', but she fades away, to horrified to continue.

Wrapping his hands around her nose, Eragon comforts her, saying, 'shhh it's ok, I'm ok. Don't think about that anymore....'

Lifting her head up, Saphira looks down to Leora, and says, 'you have saved Eragon twice in the last week, both, without you, he would have surely died. For that I owe you my life, and I thank you Leora véurr.'

'You honor me with your words Saphira, coming from one as great as yourself. And I do not take them lightly', she replies bowing her head.

'Come let us find Nasuada and inform her of the casualties', Eragon says before slowly climbing up Saphira's side and strapping himself in the saddle. As she took off from the ground, Eragon realizes, so much had already happened, and the main battle had yet to begin.

'This is going to be a long day.'

'I couldn't agree more Little One.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT READ MY HARRY POTTER FANFIC, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, I JUST UPDATED BOTH STORIES TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOLEY CRAP ITS NOW MIDNIGHT AND I GOT SCHOOL...... OH WELL IT WAS WORTH IT! AND ALSO.... VÉURR IS PRONOUNCED (vee-Orr)..... SOO I HOPE YOU LIKE AND PLEASE.......

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THANKA YOUUU

~Bert