((Abyss.))

Their group gathered into the cramped kitchen, GB looking, for once, uncomfortable in his smaller form as they arranged themselves, Nighthawks guarding outside.

"What is this all about, Eragon?" Nasuada addressed her vassal first. The human hesitated, glancing at Arya, who nodded with only a faint sign of her previous tears left in her eyes.
"Nasuada…. The four of us are not alone…. There were two other dragons and a Rider fighting against Galbatorix."

"I knew it." She whispered with gleaming eyes. "It was the only explanation that made sense- at least, a bonded pair like yourselves. They were your teachers in Ellesméra, weren't they?"
Two of them, yes. But no more. Said Saphira, head resting forlornly on the counter from the window.
"No more?" Nasuada asked.

Eragon eventually explained, eyes damp.
"Just earlier today they died at Gil'ead. Galbatorix used Thorn and Murtagh to kill them; I heard him speak to them with Murtagh's tongue."
The light in her eyes and the blood in her cheeks drained. She slowly found a seat by the burnt out fireplace.

Did you see Draco? GB all but begged him, staring imploringly.
"Some. He was helping at first, before he escaped when Galbatorix took control of Murtagh. Then I saw no further sign of him from Glaedr's.. view." Eragon murmured in reply.
"Are you sure they are dead?" Nasuada then asked.
"Of our teachers, yes, I am sure."

"Tell me about them, Eragon. Would you, please?" She quested softly after wiping her eyes.
So the human spoke, often interrupted by Blue or even GB as the pair spoke more of Draco, though it was mostly the skeleblaster who would talk about his mate, up until he was too emotional with uncertainty to go on. It gradually fell to Eragon to finish talking about the three.
Saphira began to keen near the end, the whine persistent as GB leaned against her in an attempt to comfort the dragon.

Finally, the leader of the Varden sighed, speaking up.
"I wish I could have met Oromis and Glaedr, but alas, it was not to be…. There is one thing I still do not understand, Eragon. You said you heard Galbatorix speaking to them. How could you?"
"Yes, I would like to know as well." Arya agreed.
"I've been wondering that, yeah." Geno added.
".. It's dragon souls." Came a whisper.

Everyone flinched at the new voice, spinning to see a strange small, owl-faced creature of blue and white staring at them.
"..Abyss? Is that you?" Blue questioned as Arya and Eragon drew their weapons.
The creature looked at him.
"Yeah.. we. We can talk about me later, okay?"

After Blue checked through the bewildering thoughts of the other, he slowly confirmed that it was Abyss, albeit now in a strange form with a strange mind.

When they had settled back down, Abyss decided to perch on Geno's shoulder as Eragon began to recount the most recent trip to Ellesméra, explaining the identity of his father and then firing off everything else that had happened, only pausing when Blue interrupted to slowly and awkwardly explain where he had gone and what he had done, and about deities, including Unity, who appeared as a large, glowing blue ant beside him.
Finally, the trip was summarized with the information of the Eldunarí.

The others simply stood frozen, completely blindsided by the information.
"...They have Souls." Geno whispered in disbelief.
Horror, who had been against the entrance in complete silence, now stood straight with gleaming eyelights.
"He stole their Souls from them." He breathed, mist flowing out and briefly illuminating the writhing shadows around him, seething with fury.

"The dragons are still alive." Arya gasped, pressing her hands together as if praying, held to her chest as she continued reverently.
"They are still alive after all these years. Oh, if only we could tell the rest of my race. How they would rejoice! And how terrible their wrath would be when they heard of the enslavement of the Eldunarí! We would run straight to Urû'baen, and we would not rest until we had freed the hearts of Galbatorix's control, no matter how many of us died in the process."

But we cannot tell them. Said Saphira miserably.
"No. We cannot. But I wish we could." Arya agreed. Nasuada regarded her.
"Please do not take offense, but I wish that your mother, Queen Islanzadí, had seen fit to share this information with us. We could have made use of it long ago."

"I agree." She nodded with a frown. "On the Burning Plains, Murtagh was able to defeat the two of you-" she gestured to Eragon and Saphira- "because you did not know that Galbatorix might have given him some of the Eldunarí and thus you failed to act with appropriate caution. If not for Murtagh's conscience, you would both be trapped in Galbatorix's service even now. Oromis and Glaedr, and my mother too, had sound reasons for keeping the Eldunarí a secret, but their reticence was nearly our undoing. I will discuss this with my mother when next we speak."

"But this business of deities.." Nasuada trailed, regarding the glowing ant of Unity on the counter. It looked at her, then waved a foreleg.
"We cannot predict what you will choose to do next-" "Well I choose to go with Blue's decision, of course!" Unity interrupted gleefully, before turning a little more somber.

"It.. is for the best. Galbatorix has unwittingly begun to unite all the races of Alagaësia against him. The only issue is he is intentionally dividing everyone with his little oaths and violence and manipulation, just awful. That's all I really want. Everyone together!" He lifted himself higher, tapping his back legs on the counter.

"Soul understands!" He waved his antennae at the one perched on Geno's shoulder.
"My name is Abyss." He corrected calmly.
"I feel like there's more to this than you've told us." Geno stated suspiciously.

"You don't know? He's a healing god! Eve would be so happy to see her Gem coming back together! I'm sure she senses it now! She's being a bit dragged here by it- which just means she's being saved! But wait, what about the realm, can it fit among Alagasia's dimensions? There's several others that might crowd this small place-"
"Unity, please calm down. You're rambling again." Blue pointed out.

"Oh dearie me, I was. I'm just so worried! This is an entirely new experience for all of us! I mean, you haven't seen Karma arguing with that godling- serves him right for taking him without even asking! Almost as nasty as Madness- I hope no one wakes him up, because he will adore Galbatorix. Yugh." He shook his head in disgust.
"Madness is here?" Blue questioned, distracted.

"Oh yeah I can feel him. It's hard to tell- but there's this difference when one of us is conked out by the crossing over. Silence. Alagaësia is a wonderful place for Madness, and Galbatorix would likely be a.. ah, how do I phrase this for you… a feast. Galbatorix and those dragon Souls. Especially the dragons. He's done terrible things, it may take centuries to heal. Very bad, very, very bad." He clicked his mandibles disapprovingly.

Nasuada straightened. "You mean to tell us that you can recognize the presence of your kind in Alagaësia and whether they are awake or not?"
Unity perked up. "Why of course. Why do you ask, little human?"

She blinked at the epithet, but otherwise ignored it. "Could you perhaps tell us who all is here with us now? Who would be our ally or enemy? It would be useful to us."
Unity bobbed his head, tapping a foreclaw.
"Yes, yes, Life was of the same opinion. You are very wise, Wisdom would like you. Speaking of which, Wisdom would of course help us. I don't know who here is her voice, though. Maybe Curiosity will?"

Blue sighed. "As of right now, I know that Karma, Love and Curiosity are awakened and on our side, though of the three, only two are fighters. Curiosity seems a bit too.. shy, unfortunately."

"Oh Blue! Blue, Blue, Blue! Don't judge him as you first saw him, Curiosity can fight! Why, he's fought cats since nearly the beginning of their existence! He forgets about the collateral, though. Unfortunately. He's rather wild in battle, almost as bad as Love. Oh! Love's Voice is nearby, we can talk to them! They don't have the best working relationship, though."

"Of course not, Red is the king of miscommunication." Blue muttered.
"Excuse me, Red?" Geno demanded.
"Yes, Geno. Red. Believe it or not, they would make a great team if Red wasn't so.. stubborn."
"I don't think I can believe that." Geno all but scoffed.
"Actually, if we're talking about a deity of love itself, I'm sure that encompasses more than what you immediately think of." Horror contemplated.

"There you go! I like you for many reasons, Host of Many." Unity was clearly beaming at him.
"...So the weird name thing is just what he does, huh?" He slowly asked Blue.
"Deities often get confused with names and titles. The two are pretty much the same to them."
"That makes sense."

"I'm sorry, I should call you by your preferred name, Horror." Unity dropped his head, tapping his forelegs against the counter.
"I'm just so excited to be speaking and focusing! It's often so hard to keep enough of myself in one location for such things. I get tugged elsewhere, my feelings change and the form falls apart- so frustrating! I'm so jealous of you mortals, your form doesn't like to change at a strand of loose thought!" He huffed before his temper faded, suddenly full of regret.
"I'm jealous of Emotion." He mumbled.

"I apologize for my interruption, but do you think you could tell us about the other deities?" Nasuada asked politely.
"Oh my I sidetracked myself again!" Unity shook himself before curling his legs beneath himself and stilling.

"I feel Courage is concentrated nearby, he is still asleep, but his Voice is in this city." He began, much more serious than before.
"Loyalty.. Loyalty is very close. Asleep. They have seeped into one of you. Can I look for who?"
"No, we can wake Loyalty later." Blue shook his skull.
"Oh but-"
"Please. This is important."

Unity sighed explosively, but cooperated.
"Fortitude is also around here, very close by, and it seems Curiosity couldn't resist witnessing the battle here, and.. oooohh, Justice is around! He will be so excited to finally speak to Dest- Error, yes! Names. Wisdom too, she's in the city. But.. oh. Oh my. Mystery is in another realm. I didn't know there were other gods around, does Memory happen to know who is in the dreamscape, god wise? There can only be our kinds there, and I'm not the most familiar with all the gods."

"Me?" Geno asked, bewildered. "Why are you-"
"No! You're Death's favored, I mean the-"
"Limbo."
Everyone blinked, just as surprised as Abyss sounded.

He began to change shape, beak elongating into a snout as he leaned forward. Geno recoiled, lifting him off his shoulder with blue magic and to the middle of the room, at which point the magic abruptly cut off and there were several shouts as Abyss dropped like a rock.

It stopped when Blue managed to catch him last second, cupping his hands around the now lizard-like creature that blinked with too-large aquamarine eyes.
"I remember Limbo. He. He's a friend. My friend? I don't- I don't know." He groaned, gripping his head with froglike hands, mane fluffing out in irritation.
"..Shut up already.." He mumbled.

He then went rigid, twitching slightly before his head jerked up, staring directly into Blue's face with blazing greenish eyes.
"тнє ѕнα∂σω σƒ мαηу αη∂ ησηє, тнє σηє ωнσ ιѕ тнє νσι∂ gινєη ƒσям ƒяσм gαѕтєя'ѕ ƒαℓℓ." He spoke in a voice that was not his own.

"...Okay, you are not alright." Blue decided, placing him on the counter beside Unity.
"Is this something you can heal without causing damage?"
"Why would I ever do that?" Unity asked.
"I mean what you did to the Twins." Blue explained sternly.

The deity flinched back, looking away. He dragged himself over to the now twitching lizard.. thing that sat in front of Saphira's snout and inspected with his antennae.
"Well his main halves are dwelling in the same body, but are still otherwise divided save for a few mended sections. Not to mention all the half healed shards holding the two together. Very bad. This is not how a deity's child should be." He fussed, shifting through shades of blue.

"Do you need privacy for this task?" Arya calmly asked, her face blank.
Unity glanced over in confusion, before he realized what she said.
"Oh! Oh no, I don't mind! You go on with your discussions, I will be here as always. As usual? I've never not always been someplace."
"Abyss." Blue reminded him.
"Yes, yes. After which I'll find which of you has Loyalty. I've missed them!" He clicked his mandibles joyously. "It's so strange not being able to talk to them!"

After an awkward moment, the discussion.. sort of began again, though this time in muted tones, the rest putting some distance between themselves and Unity, who visibly deflated at that. Blue crossed his arms for comfort, knowing he wasn't perceived the same way as before.
It stung.

A minute later, Eragon went out to grab the Eldunarí, returning with the cloth back in his arms, cradled delicately.
Saphira watched, letting out a soft croon when the sack was pulled away to reveal the glowing gem. GB reached out before he pulled his arm back, wincing at the dull glow of the crystalline stone.

"And Glaedr is really inside of here?" Nasuada murmured.
He is. The last true free dragon replied.
"He's alone." Blue whispered from his place by the counter.
"Can I speak with him?"
"You could try, but I doubt he would respond. He just lost his Rider. It will take him a long time to recover from the shock, if ever. Please leave him be, Nasuada. If he wished to speak with you, he would have done so already."
"Of course. It was not my intention to disturb him in his time of grief. I shall wait to meet him until such time as he has regained his composure."

Then the elf princess moved to cup her palms barely an inch from either side of the Eldunarí, gazing into the light that dully flickered. She then murmured so softly that no one but she could hear it, though the gem flashed in apparent reply.

Her hands fell. "Eragon, Saphira, the four of you have been given the most solemn responsibility: the safekeeping of another life. Whatever happens, you must protect Glaedr. With Oromis gone, we shall need his strength and wisdom more than ever before."
Do not worry, Arya, we won't allow any misfortune to befall him. Saphira swore.

Eragon pulled the drawstring closed over the Eldunarí and spoke. "What now?"
Nasuada stood up straighter. "Now, we will march north to Belatona, and when we have captured it, we will proceed onward to Dras-Leona and seize it as well, and then to Urû'baen, where we will cast down Galbatorix or die trying. That is what we shall do now, Eragon."

The human dipped his head, resting his chin to his chest only briefly before turning to leave.
"Wait." Blue spoke up, reaching for the human. Eragon blinked at him.
"Can I walk with you?" He asked softly.
After a moment, the human Rider smiled weakly.
"We can walk together."

Together, they left the house and trudged through the charred streets of Feinster, scorch marks and furrows carved into the stones from the skeletons that had torn through the city.
Blue felt a measure of guilt at each body tossed to the side, many mangled beyond recognition.
GB silently rested a clawed hand on his shoulder, curling his tail around Blue's.
"The humans are afraid of us." He murmured.
"..I know."

Eragon cast a glance at them, not understanding the tongue. "How can we show them we are not evil?" The human asked, still picking up on the topic.
Blue sighed. "I don't know, Eragon. I don't know. But we must find a way, or there will be yet another war borne of fear. This time, they would be right to fear us."

"They would not be afraid if they knew who you were." Eragon pointed out.
"But they don't, Eragon. That is the problem. They have only seen us.. doing this to their people." He indicated a pair of charred legs that lacked a body, the rest simply incinerated.
"Our attacks were never meant for war." His voice wobbled. "But you cannot help that they are effective." The human murmured.
"No, we cannot."

He rubbed his neck vertebrae, staring into the sky.
"We cannot even show them our kindness how we want, for that itself is easily misconstrued as a threat. Our main enemy is not Galbatorix. Our enemy is fear. We have always been feared because we are different."

Blue stared at Eragon, almost pleading. "I'm beginning to think that we will have to spend more time proving to your people that we are not creatures of darkness like the humans of our worlds believed."

The Rider nodded, understanding. "I will help however I can. Both Saphira and I will."
You don't have to. They already love you for your status as a legend. Beacon of hope. GB pointed out.
"To the Varden, we are that, yes, but I saw the men's eyes on the battlefield." Eragon grimaced. "They were not soldiers. They were just people defending their homes. Just fathers and sons fearing for their lives without training. I.. can't help but wonder how many mothers and daughters and families lost someone today. I tried to convince them to surrender, keep their lives, but so many of them refused.."

Blue took his hand, clasping in both of his own.
"You still tried, Eragon. And so did we. It is good that you tried in the first place. You gave them a chance, and the ones that took it can see their families again."
"Did you try sparing them?" Eragon questioned, eyes glimmering.

The skeleton looked away. "I.. tried, but…. They did not believe it would be salvation." He whispered.
Eragon averted his gaze, understanding.
"Perhaps I should have presented a different way, I simply looked too unnerving, they accused me of necromancy- which doesn't even exist! It's so.. insulting and painful. It's demeaning." He hugged himself. "Why do they think I am a human corpse controlled by magic? I look nothing alike.."

"..Fear." Eragon spat, cradling the sack and the precious gem within.
Blue glanced back up, regarding the Eldunarí.
"...Can I see him?"
Nodding, the human handed it over.
It was the first time Blue had been able to hold it, save for when he caught it with his magic when Glaedr had first gifted it to them.

He could feel the faint eddies of energy flowing within through the cloth. He didn't dare reach his thoughts to the dragon in mourning, but he ran his phalanges over the burlap, watching the faint, twisting strands of gold light tug free and reach for his hand.

How are you doing that? Saphira asked.
"I don't know." He murmured in reply, dragging out the strands, twisting and waving like electricity before whatever connected them to his hand snapped and they dissipated.

Returning it, he sighed.
"I think I know why Reaper didn't return."
"He was here?" Eragon asked.
He was the one who realized the sorcerers were creating a Shade. GB reminded.
"He left because Cicállaé maintains dominion over the spirits now, and Hate has made himself into something like a Shade, augmenting himself with that power and strength. As I understand it, the Twins forbid another Shade to form because of this transgression. But you saw them arrive, and Reaper was not with them."

"They did appear, yes. What do you believe happened to him?" Eragon quested.
He must have been collecting Oromis. GB realized.
Eragon hesitated. "Collecting?"
Blue nodded. "He cares about our teacher too. That's what he does. I don't think it's the healthiest thing to do, but it's his way of-" He ran into Eragon's arm while distractedly talking.
Looking up, he stared almost face-to-face with the subject of discussion.

Reaper flashed a sad smile.
"You had it pretty much nailed there, Blue."
Eragon gripped the Eldunarí closer to his chest, Saphira tensing.
"You're not here for Glaedr, are you?"

The god scoffed. "Don't look at me like that. Glaedr is still alive, why would I do that? You need him." He paused, Eragon relaxing slightly.
".. Please."

Blue, seeing the anxiety of the god, gently took a hold on the heart, Eragon staring at him with wide eyes but trusting him enough to relinquish his grip.
The skeleton gestured so that both dragon, Rider, and god could see it, then carefully opened the opening to the voidspace that was his inventory and placed the heart of hearts inside.

He went rigid for a moment when it closed, eyelights flashing gold, then coughed into his hand and stood straight.
"See? Glaedr is out of harm's way."
You just put a living being into your inventory. GB stated in shock.
"Well he doesn't need to breathe." Blue pointed out.

"You are sure that's safe?" Eragon questioned, still shocked at what he'd witnessed.
"Well.." Reaper started, wincing when everyone jolted to look at him.
"I definitely wouldn't advise doing that, but if you can keep his consciousness out of yours, then sure. It works."
Wait, his mind touched yours?! GB spun to Blue, who averted his gaze. "I had not expected that side effect." He admitted.

Reaper sighed loudly, feet touching the cobblestone. "Look, I." He hesitated.
"I needed to talk to him."
"You did?" Blue was surprised.
"Of course I do, I just had to take his Rider and the astral realm is too much a mess to get things going and the world's health is at stake. I'm breaking my own rules." He spoke with severity, waving around a trembling hand.

As the others realized just what the god of death had just said, he closed in on himself, leaning on his scythe for a long, silent moment before he looked back up.
"The bond of dragons and Riders here isn't something that existed in the Multiverse. This is my first time dealing with these things, so it's going to be a little different."

He held out his free hand, faintly greyed bones hanging out from his dark sleeve.
"So can we take this discussion somewhere less open?"

They stared at his offer, knowing the consequences of direct contact with the raven-winged god. Blue looked at everyone's hands and foreclaws, seeing that his and Eragon's were the only ones clad in gloves.

He clasped his hand around GB's, jolting Eragon into resting his on Saphira's glittering hide as they both reached out and gripped the thin hand of Death.

Reaper smiled, and with a cold, deadening sensation, the four of them vanished from the streets of Feinster in a flash of dark grey.

The elven guards scowled.