Mercury Flynn did not run away as a rule. Any enemy may have thought she was running away until they started hitting the traps left in her wake. They were carefully planned strategic retreats. But Mercury was not stupid. Old Albus Dumbledore, the only person Voldemort had ever truly feared, was dead. Voldemort was in charge, even if it was through a puppet, and his supporters and minions swarmed every inch of society. Harry Potter, the supposed Chosen One, had gone missing months before. There were only rumors as to where he was.
And even if the boy reappeared, he was public enemy number one. There was nothing he could do but stay hidden and keep his head down.
So, Mercury kept moving. She never stayed in one place for too long, and even resorted to camping out in her Animagus form for days at a time. She would turn back to cause trouble, stealing supplies and even setting fire to the houses of known Death Eaters. Before the war, she had never caused harm. Her traps and tricks were meant to immobilize and embarrass her pursuers. Mercury may have been a criminal, but that had been the line she had never intended to cross. The war had changed that. Changed the line.
When they were rounding up people and arresting them for impossible crimes, for the simple fact that they weren’t born to a family that traced back magical lineage hundreds of years, lines could be changed. Lines could be redrawn, had been redrawn.
Despite their relative stupidity, because the vast majority of Voldemort’s recruits were idiots who joined him for power, the Death Eaters chasing her were never far behind. They always found her in the end. Either the Order, who she had been helping when she could, had a traitor – well another traitor besides that blasted Snape – or they had tagged her with a spell she hadn’t found yet.
Her luck ran out in the end.
They didn’t bother keeping her in a cell. Mercury had a reputation that had started even before the war – a reputation built on her father’s; on all the work he had done to disrupt the Ministry. Keeping Mercury in a cell was not something that would work for very long, not with how skilled she was at evading. Instead of a cell, they intended on dealing with her immediately.
Mercury had only heard stories about the Veil, scattered scraps of information. It was larger than she had thought it would be, an archway of blackness that stood out from the rest of the room. Little wisps of grey seemed to flow out of it, and Mercury could hear the whispers. They called out to her in the voices of her parents, begging her to join them. She drew her mental shields tighter, locking down her mind, pushing away the oppressive whispers.
The Death Eaters could not take her wand from her because of the enchantments and runs built into her holster. The combination had taken years of work and had ensured nothing less than a fully qualified and extremely talented Curse-Breaker could remove it. Those were rare outside of Gringotts, and in the time it took to find and secure one, Mercury would be long gone.
So they had bound her hands behind her back with rope and metal, preventing her from reaching for her wand or changing into her Animagus form. Given time, Mercury could have escaped. Except she didn’t have time. Her luck had finally run out.
Mercury let her eyes flicker from the Veil around the room, but she didn’t move her head. No more heists and narrow escapes. She needed just a bit more time to remove the binds, time she didn’t have.
“You won’t win in the end.” Mercury spoke as if they were having a casual conversation, despite the heaviness in her limbs from a lack of sleep and the pounding in her head from where she’d been slammed into the ground. “Your precious master won’t live forever. Nobody can escape death permanently.”
Yaxley stepped forward and backhanded her, which was a slightly surprising move. Most purebloods did not resort to physical violence. They tended to feel like it was beneath them, a purely non-magical thing. “The words of a terrorist mean nothing.”
Mercury smirked up at him, her dark eyes glinting. “And yet people listen to you.”
His eyes filled with rage, and he stepped forward to hit her again before stopping. “You won’t be laughing when you’re dead, girl.”
Mercury shrugged. “When I’m dead, I’m dead. I’m laughing inside at your stupidity.”
She was manhandled up and forced towards the Veil. Mercury was scared, but it was not something she would show. The Death Eaters would not get that satisfaction. They would not get to see her fear. She could handle pain, but death was an unknown variable, and Mercury hated those.
Everything was cold. Mercury was drifting through space, unable to see anything or control her movements. Fingers touched her body as she drifted past, and the whispers. Voices were pleading for her to stay, voices that sounded like her parents, like her long-dead brother.
“If this is what death feels like, it is going to get boring very quickly.”
You are not dead yet, little witch. The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at all. It cut through the whispers and echoed in her mind as if her shields did not even exist. If Mercury could move, she would have tried to locate the voice. But staying any longer will kill you. Humans were not meant to last beyond the Veil.
“Are you a ghost?” What else could the voice be but the soul of someone long dead? Someone killed by the Veil, cast through like she had been cast through.
No little witch, I am not. I am but one spirit chosen to speak to you, to extend our proposition to you. It is a proposition you are in no position to ignore.
The whispers faded. The fingers seemed to retreat.
“I could ignore you, but it wouldn’t end all that well for me.” If Mercury wasn’t dead, and this spirit had some way for her to escape, she was going to grab that offer with both hands and pull. Or, well, not her hands, as those were still bound.
You are a thief with a heart, fighting to fix the injustice of the world around you. You fight for revenge in the only way you have ever known. You slip past defenses meant to hold back armies. There is something we need you to steal. Steal it and bring it to those that safeguard it. Do this, and we will ensure the Veil and those within cannot claim you.
“I need more information. What I’m stealing, why I’m stealing it.”
The tyrant king must be brought low. His enemies are numerous, but his power will only grow if another hatches to a rider under his dominion. Steal the dragon egg and bring it to those who would safeguard it.
Mercury woke up in a forest, trees stretching out around her, grass tickling at her face. The bindings on her hands were gone, and she pushed herself up. Her father’s lessons came back to her in stunning clarity. When in an unknown location, you were supposed to take stock of what you had. Her wand was in her holster. Her jacket was still in place, as were her bracelets. Those were the most important items on her person. She could wield magic without her wand, but there was no true point. It was harder to control. A wand granted control and precision.
Ten fingers, ten toes. She didn’t have very long. The spirit had given her a time limit. She needed to find the capital city and take the egg.
It was almost ridiculous how easy it was for Mercury to slip into his city and then into the castle itself. It was even easier to find the vault, or treasure room, or whatever it was. Part of it may have been because this… tyrant king didn’t have defenses against her type of magic. The magic of this world and the magic of her world worked very, very differently. It could also have been easy because this was his seat of power, where he reigned with absolute superiority. People like him did not expect someone to steal from their seat of power.
Any guards she encountered were sent in a different direction with a Confundus charm. Mercury used a Disillusionment Charm to hide herself, and additional spells to muffle her footsteps and eliminate her scent. A modified Four-Point spell was what she used to find her way to the vault itself.
“Not bad, but it is gaudy. I don’t see the point in flashy your wealth in an area only you will ever see.” Mercury looked around. This was likely just one room of many, with how long this immortal tyrant king had been running around. “Alright, let’s do this.”
The bracelets she wore on each wrist were cuffs made entirely out of silver, carved with dozens upon dozens of ruins filled with gold. She tapped them together and sent a pulse of magic through the runes, activating them. She pulled her wrists apart slowly. The best way to describe the result was a screen that hovered there, slightly blue, waiting and ready. It started to scan everything, giving her estimate values based on what it was made of, using a stored database of everything she had encountered before.
Her father had made the original with her mother’s help, even though she had had no magic to speak of. Mercury had added on to it, made it faster and more reliable. It was a very complicated piece of magic she had never named.
After a few minutes it tagged a chest as a possible place for the egg. Mercury stepped forward and allowed the magical screen to fade away. A flick of her wrist summoned her wand, and she began the routine spells to check for traps. Even if the magic was different, she could still pick up the intent. There was nothing – maybe overconfidence, maybe the security of his castle was enough for him.
If Mercury was an immortal tyrant king, she would never have let this dragon egg leave her side, especially if dragon riders were as dangerous as the spirit – or common sense – made them out to be.
She opened the chest and whistled. “Definitely a dragon egg.” It was green, just like the spirit had told her, with threads of white shooting throughout the entire thing. It was beautiful, almost like a gemstone. “Let’s get you out of this castle, yes?”
She carefully lifted the egg and wrapped it in a cloth, before slipping it in a silk bag that was enchanted to prevent damage to whatever was inside. It would protect the egg when Mercury put it into one of the pockets on her jacket. She had been using the jacket, each pocket having an undetectable extension charm, for almost a decade.
Mercury would have to go through those pockets soon. She hadn’t organized them or gone through them in a few years, so who knew what was rattling around in her pockets.
Anyone else would have left right then and there. Mercury gave the vault another look and decided that raiding his vault would likely set him back a good while, especially if any of the books in the room were important. She repeated her earlier spells that check for traps and the like, just cast differently to spread across the room. They wouldn’t be as accurate but would still give her a general idea, though she doubted they were protected as the egg had been free of any protections.
Mercury stole just about every book in that room and anything that looked even remotely interesting. There was a purple sword with an iridescent blade and an amethyst set into the pommel, and a strange rock gleamed like a gemstone. It radiated power to an enormous degree, and her mental shields immediately drew inward, protecting her mind. Mercury shoved that stone into a pocket reserved for extremely dangerous things.
“Time to go, I think.” She had already tested her luck, and was almost positive she could hear alarm bells. She did a final pass over the room, now almost completely empty of anything remotely valuable, before pulling a rock out of her pocket. Mercury had made sure to test to see if a Portkey would work in this new world before making it her exit strategy. A single word yanked her away, leaving her in the forest she had woken up in.
It was a good distance from the city, far enough that no description of her would get out in time. It was also far enough from any village or town, so no hunters would come across her. She touched the pocket where the dragon egg was. “Hold tight, little guy. You’ll be somewhere safe.” Then she began to change.
Hair and skin became feathers, bones became lighter and shifted into new places. Within the span of a handful of seconds, Mercury had become a Peregrine Falcon. She shifted in place a few times before taking flight. The spirit had given her the general location of the forest where the elves lived, but had informed her that going too deep might draw the wrong attention. She needed to find an elf on the outskirts.
The falcon following them was not a normal bird. It was too intelligent, too watchful Arya said nothing when she first noticed it. The falcon who was not a falcon did not seem to be a threat, so she chose to wait and see what it would do. It followed them for nearly two days, as if judging them, before deciding to reveal itself.
The falcon landed on the ground not far from Arya and changed into a human woman, much to the shock of Eragon, the dwarves, and a lesser extent, Saphira. Such a transformation was not unheard of among the elves, but for a human to have such a power at such a young age was astonishing – she looked like she was only in her mid to late twenties at most.
The woman looked exhausted, but her dark eyes met Arya’s green without flinching. The freckles around her face matched the markings of the falcon she had just been. She ignored the rest of the group, solely focused on Arya – no. That was not quite true. She was aware of the others, but they did not matter to her.
“I took something from that so-called king that the elves might want.” Her accent was foreign, not from any place Arya recognized, and her clothes were made out of a strange, foreign material. “Though I am not comfortable revealing what it is out loud – trees and walls of all sorts have ears.”
Arya raised a hand to cut off whatever Eragon was about to say, keeping her eyes on the woman. “If this is some sort of trap, you will not like the consequences.”
The woman tilted her head slightly in response. “I understand. If it’ll make you feel better, I will allow you and only you into my mind to confirm what I say, so long as you do not reveal what it is until we are safe.”
“Only if it is not a threat.” Arya wasted no time slipping into her mind. If there was an ambush waiting, and this woman was a distraction, they needed to be prepared. But it wasn’t.
The woman’s mind was structured differently than any she had ever known, her mental defenses organized in such a way that she could keep them up without thinking about it. There would be no passive reading of her mind, and Arya was certain a full assault would require tremendous effort.
Basic memories, simple things, were at the forefront, memories that did not need to be hidden or were used as a distraction. The woman slowly opened her mind, and more personal memories, more important memories, were what she saw. A flash of a man, the woman’s father, with a thick beard and a booming cheerful laugh. A woman and a boy, her mother and twin brother, dying in an attack. Murdered. Arya saw training, magic unlike anything she had seen in Alagaesia, a world of magic so unlike this one. A girl who became a thief in the footsteps of her father, desperate to systematically dismantle the corrupt system who had allowed her mother and brother’s murders to walk free.
The start of a war, of the woman turning to a rebel group hiding in the shadows. Arya saw the woman being captured and thrown though a veil of energy that was horrible even in memories, and she saw the conversation between the woman and the spirit. She saw the woman stealing the dragon egg – the dragon egg – with relative ease and plundering a vault on the way out. Days of tracking down an elf, days of following them to see if she should reveal herself.
Arya withdrew from her mind, her face not showing the complete and utter joy that had infused her very being. The green egg was far away from Galbatorix and would stay that way if her people had anything to say about it. The thief opened her mouth to speak, swayed in place, and crumbled. Eragon lunged, catching her before she could hit the ground.
“Who – Arya, was she telling the truth?”
“Yes.” Arya moved over to the thief. She had no visible injuries and had merely collapsed from exhaustion, both mental and physical. She would be fine given a few days of rest.
“So, what did she steal that is so important?” Orik’s voice was gruff, but he had an idea as to what the human woman had stolen.
Arya shook her head. “What she took is far too dangerous to reveal out loud without being in the safety of Ellesmera, and I would like the Queen to know first. We must hurry.”
This could not be allowed to get out, not yet.
Mercury woke up about a day after passing out in front of a sentient dragon, which was honestly embarrassing. She was still tired but not about to die from exhaustion. She was on a horse and being held in place by someone with a hand on her abdomen. She had absolutely no idea who, so she just barely opened her eyes and kept breathing the deep, even breaths of someone still fast asleep.
“That is something that will work to trick most humans, but not elves.” A voice murmured – the voice of the elf who she had let into her mind, despite how much the thought had grated. Mercury abandoned the ruse and opened her eyes fully. “Where is it hidden?”
“One of the pockets in my jacket.” Mercury kept her voice just as soft as she replied. “Each pocket is enchanted to carry more than it should, but only I can reach into it, even if I die. Anyone else will lose the hand and then their life should they try further.”
“A brilliant defense.” The elf sounded genuinely impressed, which was nice. Most in the Wizarding World tended to look down on things like improving society and altering spells.
“I will only pass it over when we’re safe. I don’t think I have the energy to do much more right now.” Just speaking was exhausting, and Mercury would have patted herself on the back for not slurring her words like she was drunk had she the energy to do so. “My name is Mercury, by the way.”
“Arya.” The elf seemed to pause before speaking again, her voice filled with an emotion Mercury couldn’t accurately place. “There was no other one?”
“Just this one. I suspect the other is moving and thinking for itself, now. Or rather, he is thinking for it.”
“I had hoped for otherwise, but…” She sighed, a sharp, bitter sound. “One is good. One is more than we had hope for.”
Mercury spent the next few days drifting in and out of sleep, sometimes on the back of the horse, sometimes in a tent. When she woke up completely, feeling rested for the first time in months, she was in a bed. For a moment, before the memories came rushing back in, she thought she was home and tried to bury herself back into the blankets. Then she smelt pine needles and clean air and realized she was most definitely not home.
She sat straight up, magic surging under her skin as she prepared to either fight – which was not her preference – or flee, and being a bird Animagus certainly brought new meaning to the words fight or flight.
“Easy, easy.” It was the elf, Arya, who seemed both vaguely amused and understanding at her jumpiness. “You are very fast for a human.”
It could have been seen almost as racism, but Mercury had followed them for long enough to realize elves were far faster than humans, who must have seemed like snails in comparison.
“It’s the bird part of me. That breed of falcon specifically – extremely fast. I assume you were told to keep a watch on me until I hand over what I took.”
Arya nodded once. “Yes, though only two others have been informed of what you took, the Queen and… an interested party that this would directly affect.”
“Right. All I ask is that you let me get cleaned up and eat something that I haven’t hunted in my Animagus form.”
“We cannot provide you meat.” The elf warned as she stood. “We do not consume it.”
“I understand. I cannot completely give up meat – my Animagus form requires it to a degree due to the magic involved in the transformation – but I do not expect anyone to provide it for me. When I need it, I can hunt for it myself. It sates the urges of the bird in me to hunt.”
She looked curious. “It is not just a physical transformation then?”
“It is mental to a degree as well. I require meat because my falcon form is a carnivore, and I find myself flightier than I was before I finished the transformation. Staying in that form for too long can also cause issues, because an animal’s emotions are far simpler.”
It felt amazing to be able to clean herself off without worrying about being found halfway through and being forced to run. The food was the best she had had in months – most of the food she had eaten recently had been prey she had caught as a falcon, and Mercury was being very careful to block that part of her memories out. Only after she had gotten cleaned up and had eaten did she follow Arya out, pulling up the hood of her jacket at the elf’s request.
“Your home is beautiful. A year ago, I might have said it was too calm for me, but after the year I’ve had calm is good.”
“You do seem the type to thrive on mayhem.”
Mercury shrugged. “Just a little.”
The elf who was the queen was very clearly Arya’s mother, which she had not been expecting. Mercury side-eyed her before mentally shaking herself. The clear tension between the two was not her problem. “Right. Here it is.”
She reached into her jacket pocket and removed the bundle that held the egg. She undid the bindings on the silk bag and then unwrapped the cloth around it. The male elf looked overjoyed in an instant, as if he had not wanted to believe what was told to him until he saw it. He did not touch it, though it was clear he wanted to. The Queen had that same look of overwhelming joy, before her eyes narrowed in on Mercury.
“I was told you stole many other things from Galbatorix.”
Mercury nodded, smirking slightly. “Mostly books and anything that looked interesting. My priority was the egg and escaping. I also stole this sword, though do not ask how it fits in my pocket unless you want to hear me ramble about magical theory and the like.” She pulled out the sword and passed it over.
The male elf sighed, looking sad as if old memories were close to overwhelming him. “I am glad you were able to return the sword of one of my fallen brethren. Rhunon will be thrilled that at least one of the blades she created survived the Fall. Thank you.”
Mercury was slightly startled at the raw, genuine gratitude on his face, in his voice. She wasn’t used to it. “It was nothing, truly. There was also this.”
The three elves had exchanged a brief look at the first part of her sentence, but she was not prepared for the reactions pulling out that strange stone caused. The male elf and the Queen both jerked backwards, eyes widening with shock. Arya’s brows furrowed, as if she wasn’t entirely sure what was in front of her.
“So, my suspicions were correct, and his crimes are even greater than we thought. If you would excuse me, it is of vital importance that I bring this to a place where it cannot affect anyone. We know nothing of what has happened to it in the past hundred years.” He cradled the stone as if it was something extraordinarily precious and walked away.
The Queen turned to Mercury, who had to resist the urge to fly away at the intense look she was given. “Thank you, truly. You may have done this to save your own life, but I suspect you have no idea how much this means to us.”
Mercury shook her head. “Where I am from, dragons are little more than beasts with a fondness for eating humans. The really smart ones, the ones who could speak and cast magic, were the High Dragons and they died off well over a thousand years ago. But elves also don’t exist where I am from, so this world is already very different from the one I came from. Why is this egg so important?”
The Queen stared at the egg, hope building up in her gaze in front of Mercury. “Dragons are bound to the elves and humans through the Dragon Rider Pact. For a very long time they acted as peacekeepers and teachers, but they were betrayed from within. This egg will hatch to the rider it chooses and will be one of the last free dragons in Alagaesia – one of the last dragons in existence.”
“Galbatorix killed any dragon who did not side with him, as well as their riders. The thirteen that did side with him are all long dead, both dragons and riders, and his dragon is bound to him through dark magic.”
“The spirit who saved me said his power would only grow if another hatches to a rider under his dominion.”
“There was only three eggs left after he wiped out the Order – the blue egg was one that was stolen from him years ago, and hatched for the boy, Eragon. You have brought the green one to us – even if it does not hatch for a rider anytime soon, it is not going to be able to hatch for a rider he controls. That leaves the red egg.” The Queen pressed her lips into a thin line. “The boy’s training is imperative, now more than ever with the potential of a second rider for Galbatorix.”
“I hope this little guy finds its Rider soon, for everyone’s sake.” Mercury smiled grimly. “I won’t be going back to the Wizarding World anytime soon, and this Galbatorix is exactly the type of person I hate. How can I help?”
Both elves looked surprised. “Stealing the egg was one thing, with your life on the line. With your skill in magic, and it being so different from our own, you could easily hide out in our world and survive. Why fight a war that is not yours?” Arya asked.
“My father was the first in our family to have magic, and my mother had none whatsoever. When my brother and I were born, only I showed signs. They were killed for such a simple, stupid reason. My mother couldn’t cast magic, couldn’t wield it, but she uncovered more secrets than any researcher in centuries. Because they did not have magic, their murders were brushed over. I am not one to simply sit back and let someone get away with cruel acts. I’m a thief, not heartless.”
The Queen nodded once. “I would suggest waiting until Arya returns to the Varden, so that she may vouch for you and ensure you do not swear yourself to them. It is one thing to aid and another to swear complete fealty.”
“I would appreciate that. You know, I’m used to the idea of government leaders getting something from someone and then dumping them to the side without so much as a thank you.”
“I keep getting confronted by random elves.” Mercury grumbled, throwing herself onto the ground next to Arya. “Not violently, just lots and lots of gratitude and all the questions about my magic. I see that word spread quickly.”
“It will not spread outside of Ellesmera however.” Arya said with absolute certainty. Then she frowned. “How did you find me?”
“Accidental binocular vision. It’s getting easier to accidentally slip some parts of my falcon form into my human one. I think it’s because the energy of the forest is so strong.” At least it wasn’t feathers in her hair.
“It may be easier on the outskirts, if it is troubling you.”
“Mild headaches, but the change always comes with some pain. If it gets worse, I’ll stop shifting for a bit. Why are you so certain it will not spread beyond the forest?”
“Our dwarven guest has sworn in the Ancient Language not to tell anyone, as has Eragon, and my people will not speak of it outside of this city. I am honestly surprised you have not had a visit from Saphira. When she and Eragon were told, she made it very clear she intended on thanking you.”
“Who is Saphira?”
“The blue dragon, Eragon’s bonded. She was extraordinarily happy to learn another dragon is free from Galbatorix.”
“I would imagine so, if her race was wiped out to near extinction. Do you mind telling the other elves that I don’t mind talking about magic, but I would prefer to do it in groups so I’m not repeating the same stuff over and over again?”
“You managed to increase our likelihood of surviving and winning this war. That is no small thing to accomplish. If you wish for them to talk about magical theory in groups, they would be more than happy too. Eager, even.” Arya paused, leaning back. “If you are to stay until I leave, then you will be experiencing the Blood-Oath Ceremony. You will need something to present.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Arya’s laugh at Mercury’s startled expression was easily among the most beautiful things the witch had ever heard, even if it was at her expense. Mercury hadn’t heard a laugh like that in years, since before the start of the war – since before her father had died. It was nice to hear someone laugh with such open joy and amusement.
Saphira did corner Mercury just a few hours later. She was beautiful, scales a brilliant, iridescent sapphire, and there was an ancient wisdom in her eyes despite how young she actually was.
“I wish to thank you for what you did. There is nothing that can ever be done to repay you.” Mercury was not prepared for the dragon’s mental voice, even if the dragon had done the equivalent of a mental knock to ask for permission.
“I wasn’t doing it for a reward, just my life, and I would have done it if my life hadn’t been in danger.”
The amusement radiated throughout the connection, amusement and curiosity. “It is odd that your people looked down on you so when you wanted to help the world.”
“They did not want the help I would have offered if they hadn’t killed my family. They did not want help that did not fit their version of events.” Mercury hesitated. “You should try to impress that upon your rider. He seems almost… idealistic. Not everyone wants help. Not everyone can be saved.”
The rest of her days were spent following Arya around like a chick, who allowed it in part to keep Mercury out of trouble, or discussing magical theory with any elf eager enough to listen. Which was a lot. At least they kept it to groups like she asked. She even spent some time in the elven smith’s workspace. The elf, Rhunon, was happy that one of her blades had been returned to her.
She was not happy to discover that Mercury’s only weapon was her wand, and made a dagger to fit her and insisted Arya show her how to use it on top of teaching her how to not make every human noble mad within thirty seconds of meeting. The elves were picking up how to deal with her quickly, but human nobles – humans as a race, really – tended to be far more set in their ways. To the elves, Mercury had stolen the egg and that had earned her their respect. The humans would act as if they respected her but try to manipulate her.
It was during this period of time that Mercury realized what she could prepare for the Blood-Oath Ceremony. It wasn’t her smartest of ideas, but Mercury had made plenty of stupid ideas before. A lot of stupid ideas with most being scary for all those involved. It was something that would be of use to their race and perhaps their entire world.
It would work out. Hopefully.
It was interesting to see what every elf brought forward, to see what the dwarf Orik brought forward. Even the dragons – brilliant Saphira and golden Glaedr – each had a gift to present. Eragon had presented a poem of some sort that he had written himself. When it was her turn, she stepped forward, spinning a lock of her hair around her finger in an effort to distract herself and hide her nerves.
“I had a somewhat difficult time figuring out what to make. I do not dance, and I am not artistically inclined. But I am good at creating things that have a practical use, and I figured a people that were at war might have use for something like this. It is based off of two ideas from my homeland.” She held up a metal sphere maybe six inches in diameter, which was covered in hundreds of carefully carved runes. It had taken her days of work to design and carve each rune to make sure they worked as intended and didn’t blow up. “My people created the Pensieve, which can be used to store memories so that others can view them or that they can be reviewed by the person who experience them. People in the non-magical societies have a habit of burying containers filled with artifacts of the past so that those of the future may view them. This was created to hold any memories you deem useful, ones freely given. Should this war be lost, then those of the future can learn from those memories. Should the war be won, you can use it to turn those of the future away from the same path that caused this war.”
Oromis clapped his hands together, eyes glinting with an emotion that Mercury could not read. “A noble sentiment. There are many things that led to this war, and almost each one could have been averted.”
The tension in her shoulders eased, and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling in relief.
The ceremony after passed in a dizzying blur. Elves were laughing, eating, dancing. And then two elf women – twins, identical except for the shades of their hair – disrobed. Mercury immediately looked away.
“Is this normal?”
Arya laughed next to her. “Watch further.”
The twins began to dance, arms intwined, and the tattoo that ran along their bodies seemed to shimmer and glow. Then it was pulling away from their skin, a dragon hovering over them, connected only by the tip of its tail. It was a beautiful, living memory of a dying race.
It stretched its nose out to Eragon, who met it with one hand. He stiffened, toppling over, and it turned to her.
“You have done much and will do more yet. This one has been waiting for you.”
There was burning pain in her hand, and she was driven to her knees. Something settled in her lap, warm and alive. Someone led her away – Arya and Oromis led her away – and everything was foggy, blurry. She remembered little to nothing at all…
… she remembered a baby dragon with eyes like molten gold and scales of a deep amethyst, staring at her with utter love and adoration, mind curling around hers as if they had never been apart.