Blue loved and hated the training. He loved learning new things, and new magics he'd known nothing of before, becoming something greater than he could have ever imagined back in the days when he trained with Alphys- but it was so difficult. He read the scrolls given to them with a zest unmatched, doing his best to help Eragon when the human struggled.
He adored the saddle Oromis managed to provide, it was so elegant and beautiful, despite the less embezzled areas that had been cut off or modified to fit him and GB. Said skeleblaster was exceedingly uncomfortable with the idea of wearing it, but slowly warmed up to it with encouragement from Blue, Saphira, Eragon, even Draco.

Speaking of which, the skeledragon had been growing closer to GB all the time, the two often cuddling when they had the chance. Every other day GB would sleep with him instead of the Riders' treehouse, which Blue didn't mind- so long as he returned in the morning for training. The first time that happened, he forgot Blue and they went straight to Oromis, the skeleton forced to teleport and pout at his friend for that.

But the training went splendidly, Blueberry always had boundless energy, striving to help Eragon more than compete with him, as he never did have a competitive nature. Blue was just endlessly fascinated by the magics, history, and tales he was learning of, and treasured the knowledge and sharing what he could with Nightmare and Dream, as well as curiously watching how the pair grew ever closer and exceedingly similar.

And then there was the Flowey that appeared one day when they arrived in the morning. He wasn't a flower, but a strange plant/mechanical amalgamation with the power of 6 human Souls in it's 'petals'. He took the name Beast, and started hanging out with Oromis most of the time, a little ball of angst and childlike energy as he perched on their heads and skull- he was terrified of the dragons. The little guy had mentioned he used to be huge, but his AU's Frisk had just happened to know a few spells and one went haywire, trapping him in a small form before somehow he passed out, waking up in Du Weldenvarden.
Talk about sheer luck.
The little guy didn't even know about the Multiverse before appearing in Alagaësia.

But since he was there, he was integrated into each day, sitting on the table inside or a stool outside when they had their lessons. He was lost, like they, and enjoyed learning what he was allowed to learn, or running around as he chased animals, setting fires he had to extinguish later. The clearing was becoming scorched from his antics, and he was learning to rely on the flames less and more on his unique and disturbing attacks. The most peace was when he was sunbathing, for as part plant, he didn't need to eat.

So with the new, explosive arrival, they continued training. They learned how to control forces of the world, which Blue had an aptitude for, especially when using his native magic, the one that shared his name. Oromis even had them cooking with it, which was hardly necessary for Blue, when he'd been doing that already for all his life since he learned how to cook. For these, it was easier to have Beast join Eragon in the attempts, even as the Flowey grumbled, he never actually refused. Both failed miserably at first, Blue laughing as he helped Oromis straighten out their attempts until both human and monster had a handle on it. Beast was left grinning, thorny vine tails wagging as he successfully completed a dish.

And then there came poisons. Their teacher taught them how to find and counteract the toxins. From then on they had to be careful, for Oromis would poison their food and drink and expect them to find it and neutralize them. Blue seriously struggled in finding them, only for it to become apparent that he was immune to all but a small few lethal poisons; he had unusual reactions to those. "Another drink I'm immune to!" He normally joked, then panicked later as Eragon became sick.
Twice, the human became so ill, Oromis had to heal him. Blue wasn't allowed to, and his green magic couldn't do anything about poison. A painful reminder of how he couldn't save Brom.

It was even more strenuous when Oromis showed the two how to cast several spells at once. It was mentally exhausting at first, but both started improving with great speed, leaving Beast clamoring to try it for himself. The little monster was exemplary in this regard, and explained it was probably because the human Souls with him were helping.
He'd somehow befriended the Souls.

Oromis dedicated a great chunk of time to imbuing things with energy and spells. This, Blue was already familiar with; but spells were new. He practiced with his armband, which led to the unexpected discovery that Error was able to sense that- and access the energy himself, though he chose not to. It was almost comical how he immediately appeared in the room, Beast screeching at the sudden entrance as Blue fell backwards. Eragon had jumped almost three feet into the air as Error started questioning what the hell was that. It took a few minutes before he understood what was happening and left.
From then on he kept to mental contact whenever he sensed something through the armbands, which led to some long conversations between him and Blue as they caught up with happenings on both sides of Alagaësia.

As for the dragons, it soon became apparent that GB had at least alluded to the fact that he was not in his best state to Glaedr, Blue immediately knew it because Oromis discovered it as well, seeing the elf freeze in surprise before continuing as normal, brushing aside Eragon's questions for later.
But aside from that, things went on without setbacks, training just as vigorously as the Riders.

Glaedr would often have Saphira breathe fire over a stone pillar for hours, which only lasted minutes at best at first, but improved dramatically as they went on. After Beast became reasonably adjusted to them, he would join and practice his own magics and flamethrowers as well.  Glaedr had GB and Draco practice on a gravel field and cliffs. Beast joined as well, because he had his own adorable mini lazer. The ground was soon pocked with unbelievably deep holes, tunnels appearing on the cliff as well. They eventually started tunneling through the cliff, forming an elaborate cave system of their own making and using their magics to create pillars. It became a side project, carving out the decorated caves as Beast tried carving designs, wanting to be a part of it as well.

Glaedr would just as often have them fire into the sky, to witness the tremendous range their lazers had. They didn't really seem to have a limit, though after a certain amount of distance they started losing their lethality and devolved into just burns to something no greater than a sunburn. That was after twenty miles in Draco's case. Poor little Beast's was only dangerous up to thirty feet away. GB was of middling distance; his lasted a good fourteen miles off.

And there was the long hours of discussion between them as they shared dragon histories, legends, stories, myths, and details to each other; GB with what little he knew from his AU, Draco with as much as he could muster and Glaedr to the three of them all he knew of his own race. Much of which was kept secret from the others, even Beast. The great golden dragon was even able to tell Saphira the identity of her parents. Iormúngr, her bonded father, and Vervada, her wild mother. Saphira herself was the only egg given to the Riders of Vervada's entire brood.

Sometimes they all went flying, Eragon, Oromis, and Blue joining the dragons as they practiced arial maneuvers, combat, visiting ancient ruins. The teachers seemed to watch GB carefully, which was understandable, given his situation, but they also started keeping a close eye on Draco as well as the pair started referring to each other kindly.
GB brought up that he really liked the other, and was sure Draco was feeling much the same.
I don't know how to ask him out, though.. He'd explained.

Some days were spent in reverse; Saphira, Draco and GB staying at the hut with Oromis as Blue and Eragon went out with Glaedr, Blue's excitement knowing no bounds.

And Vanir…
The elf treated Blue with respect, but continued needling Eragon calmly. It set the human off like nothing else, and left the skeleton asking him why, why did he bully him, as he made no outward comment. But inevitably, Blue was left to spare against Cross, who revealed that XChara sometimes slipped in control, the two fighting at once. It was still one person he battled against, but now he dodged faster, swapping tactics, and was able to use magic without breaking his concentration from physical attacks. He was more terrifying with Haina and Harmr than his own signature knife.

They were sparring as Eragon went at Vanir one day when they both heard Eragon shout. "Malthinae!" Blue immediately dropped Fyrnhamarr and spun around, in time to see Eragon go flying backward, landing hard on his side. Blue stared in confusion and fear. He feared Vanir had gone too far.
Cross stood rigid beside him as they watched Eragon yell at the elf youth, who still responded levelly.
"Straighten your tongue, Vanir, and give me an honest answer!" Eragon cried.

Blue suddenly found himself behind the elf, trembling slightly as he heard the other speak quietly to the human. A strange, powerful force gripped him as Vanir spoke coldly.
"For eighty years after the fall of the Riders, we held no hope of victory. We survived by hiding ourselves through deceit and magic, which is but a temporary measure, for eventually Galbatorix will be strong enough to march upon us and sweep aside our defenses. Then, long after we resigned ourselves to our fate, Brom and Jeod rescued Saphira's egg, and again a chance existed to defeat the foul usurper. Imagine our joy and celebration. We knew that in order to withstand Galbatorix, the new Rider had to be more powerful than any of his predecessors, more powerful than even Vrael. Yet how was our patience rewarded? With another human like Galbatorix. Worse… a cripple. You doomed us all, Eragon- even the new race, the instant you touched Saphira's egg. Do not expect us to welcome your presence." He touched his fingers to his lips, then walked around Eragon.

Blue wasn't himself. He felt it rise within him, he knew, he knew, he saw. Everything was tinged white, and he raised his arm slowly. Vanir was suddenly surrounded in a blue aura, frozen. He spun around, unable to walk.
"ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜰᴇᴇʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴅᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴀᴛᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ʟᴇꜱꜱ ꜰᴏᴏʟɪꜱʜ, ʏᴏᴜɴɢʟɪɴɢ. ᴇʀᴀɢᴏɴ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴇɴᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴀʀ, ʜᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ꜰᴀᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴅ ᴋɪɴɢ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ, ᴀɴᴅ ɢᴀʟʙᴀᴛᴏʀɪx ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ʙʀᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ʟᴏᴡ ʙʏ ʜɪꜱ ʜᴀɴᴅ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ɴᴀᴜɢʜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴘᴇᴀᴋ ʙᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ᴏᴘɪɴɪᴏɴ."
He released Vanir and promptly fell back into Cross's arms, the monochrome skeleton catching him as he recovered from the tremendous energy that had just possessed him. Eragon just lay in the dirt, contemplating things sadly. He had a private conversation with Saphira as GB lifted Blue out of Cross's grip, settling the smaller onto the saddle as he started blinking and shaking his skull.

He muttered goodbye to Cross, who waved as GB urged Eragon into Saphira's saddle and took off, Draco waiting until both were in the air before following.

They arrived at the hut early, Oromis painting a beautiful landscape quietly. Beast crawled onto Blue's shoulder, skeleton absentmindedly petting him as they all sat at the table. Then he asked the fateful question. "Why have you come so early?"
And so Eragon was left to explain how he lost his temper. "I have failed you, Master."
"You have." The elf agreed. "Vanir may have goaded you, but that was no reason to respond in kind. You must keep a better hold over your emotions, Eragon. It could cost you your life if you allow your temper to sway your judgement during battle. Also, such childish displays do nothing but vindicate those elves who are opposed to you. Our machinations are subtle and allow little room for such errors."
"I am sorry, Master. It won't happen again."

There was a pause. Then Oromis faced Blue. "And why are you here?"
He blinked. "I didn't know what to do with myself either when that happened. I was recovering from a moment of fate. I didn't really mean to grab him, it sort of happened."
Oromis inclined his head. "You need to gain better control of yourself as well. If fate decided to strike as you were fending off an attack, your skull could very well be removed from your shoulders. Now tell me, what information you gleaned from the fit."
"Nothing we don't already know, Master Oromis. Eragon will remove Galbatorix from his throne."
The elf nodded, folding his hands in his lap.
Sharp vines wrapped around Blue's hand and he glanced down at Beast. The small one was looking away as he held the hand to his head, wanting pets.
"Say nothing." He muttered, forcing a small snort from the skeleton as he resumed petting the smaller.

"How could Vanir have worked magic without speaking?" Eragon suddenly asked, Blue glancing up again. "Did he?" Oromis deflected evenly. "Perhaps another elf decided to assist him."
Eragon shook his head and continued. "During our first day in Ellesméra, I also saw Islanzadí summon a downpour of flowers by clapping her hands, nothing more. And Vanir said I didn't know how magic works. What did he mean?"
The teacher sighed. "Once again, you grasp at knowledge that you are not prepared for." He gestured to Beast, who grumbled as he realized the message, hopping from Blue's lap and scampering out the door, slamming it behind him.

"Yet," Oromis continued. "Because of our circumstances, I cannot deny it to you. Only know this: that which you you ask for was not taught to Riders- and not taught to our magicians- until they had, and have, mastered every other aspect of magic, for this is the secret to the true nature of our magic and the Ancient Language. Those who know it may acquire great power, yes, but at a terrible risk."
He paused, eyeing them both.
"How is the Ancient Language bound to magic, Eragon-vodhr and Uniter-finiarel?"

Blue opened his mouth, but paused, realizing it may be a trick question. Eragon glanced at him, seeing his reaction and recognizing it as well before answering what he knew. "The words of the Ancient Language can release the energy stored within your body and thus activate a spell." Skeleton gestured to human. "What he said."
"Ah. Then you mean certain sounds, certain vibrations in the air, somehow tap into this energy? Sounds that might be produced at random by any creature or thing?"
"Yes, Master."
"...Yes, Master Oromis."
"Does not that seem absurd?"

Blue blinked as he realized, Eragon still not catching on as he replied. "It doesn't matter if it seems absurd, Master; it just is. Should I think it absurd that the moon wanes and waxes, or that the seasons turn, or that bird's fly south in the winter?"
"Of course not. But how could sound do so much? Can particular patterns of pitch and volume really trigger reactions that allow us to manipulate energy?"
"But they do."
"It's like monster magic." Blue suddenly spoke up, staring hard at nothing at all before facing Oromis. "It's thought, isn't it?"

Eragon gaped at him before Oromis nodded. "Indeed. Saying a word or phrase in this language is not what's important. It's thinking them in this language." He whipped out his hand, a golden flame appearing above it before winking out of existence. "However, unless the need is dire, we still utter our spells out loud to prevent stray thoughts from disrupting them, which is a danger to even the most experienced magic user."

Blue sat up then, a grin spreading across his face. "Of course. It already has so many similarities with our magic; so it must be governed by the same laws. The only difference is where they come from. The world around or the caster themself!"
"But I don't understand." Eragon butted in. "Why thoughts, if not sound?"
Their teacher smiled. "Why indeed? As Uniter stated, I must point out that we are not the source of our magic. Magic can exist on it's own, independent of any spell, such as the werelights in the bogs by Aroughs, the dream well in Mani's Caves in the Beor Mountains, and the floating crystal on Eoam. Wild magic such as this is treacherous, unpredictable, and often stronger than any we can cast."

He folded his hands on the table. Blue leaned forward expectantly, sensing a story. "Eons ago, all magic was thus. To use it required nothing but the ability to sense magic with the mind- which every magician must possess- and the desire and strength to use it. Without the structure of the Ancient Language, magicians could not govern their talent and, as a result, loosed many evils upon the land, killing thousands. Over time they discovered that stating their intentions in their language helped them order their thoughts and avoid costly errors. But it was no foolproof method. Eventually, an accident occurred so horrific that it almost destroyed every living being in the world. We know of the event from fragments of manuscripts that survived the era, but who or what cast that fatal spell is hidden from us. The manuscripts say that, afterward, a race called the Grey Folk- not elves, for we were young then- gathered their resources and wrought an enchantment, perhaps the greatest that was or ever shall be. Together the Grey Folk changed the nature of magic itself. They made it so that their language, the ancient language, could control what a spell does… could actually limit the magic so that if you said burn that door and by chance looked at me and thought of me, the magic would still burn the door, not me. And they gave the ancient language its two unique traits, the ability to prevent those who speak it from lying and the ability to describe the true nature of things. How they did this remains a mystery."

Blue glanced to the side, remembering where he heard of the Grey Folk before as Oromis continued.
"The manuscripts differ on what happened to the Grey Folk when they completed their work, but it seems that the enchantment drained them of their power and left them but a shadow of themselves. They faded away, choosing to live in their cities until the stones crumbled to dust or to take mates among the younger races and so pass into darkness."

They had a moment of silence.
"I've heard of the Grey Folk before." Blue murmured quietly. Oromis studied him. "You have? Where?"
He blinked, hand absently picking at his armband. "From Error." He took it off and held it in front of him. "When we first arrived in Alagaësia, he opened what we call a Code Screen to find out where we were. That was when we first saw the Ancient Language. And Nightmare was able to read it for some reason. It was made by them, the Grey Folk. It told a great deal of Alagaësia's history and it seemed to have predictions. It was made before humans arrived, but it specifically stated they would arrive. It was stated that the dragons would be nearly wiped out by humans, but would recover tenfold. But I haven't seen any events of humans nearly eradicating dragonkind in our studies; the closest I could find was the Du Fyrn Skulblaka, and that was the elves."

Oromis leaned back for a while, thinking.
"It seems monsterkind has even more to reveal to us of our very own world. I would suggest we discuss this at a later date, when all is said and done. Such information is trivial in regards to current affairs. But I do ask that you inform Queen Islanzadí when you cross paths."
He dipped his skull. "As you say, Master Oromis."

"But Master, does this mean it is still possible to use magic without the Ancient Language?" Eragon quested. Oromis's almond eyes snapped to him.
"How do you think Saphira breathes fire? And, by your own accord, she used no word when she turned Brom's tomb to diamond nor when she blessed the child in Farthen Dûr. Dragon's minds are different from ours; they need no protection from magic. They cannot use it consciously, aside from fire, but when the gift touches them, their strength is unparalleled.… You look troubled, Eragon. Why?"

The human stared at his hands. "What does this mean for me, Master? For us?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Oromis readily answered. "It means that you will both continue to study the ancient language, for you can accomplish much with it that would be too complex or too dangerous otherwise. It means that if you are captured and gagged, you can still call upon magic to free yourself, as Vanir did. It means that if you are captured and drugged and cannot recall the ancient language, yes, even then, you may cast a spell for that which has no name in the ancient language, you can." He hesitated, letting that sink in. "But beware the temptation to use those powers. Even the wisest among us hesitate to trifle with them for fear of death or worse."

Blue twined his phalanges together and rested his skull upon them. "But with how similar our magics are to yours, is it possible that I could achieve nameless spells, Master Oromis?" The elf's face snapped toward him.
"Do not attempt using our magic without the ancient language, Uniter. Until you have mastered all areas of magic, never let that thought cross your mind again. And even then, do not attempt it without proper guidance and warning. Am I understood?" He asserted.
He blinked, but glanced down. "I understand, Master Oromis."