Islanzadí's POV (Queen of the Elves):
Glaedr 's behavior is not normal, he is usually calm and wise but tonight he acts like a young dragon guided by his emotions.
We can observe its descent to the broken dome as we deploy and prepare to step in to support them.
My warriors celebrate Glaedr 's achievement when they hear Shruikan's roar of pain until he is ejected brutally backwards several dozen meters, falling with little grace.
With his only fonctionnal leg it's no wonder he couldn't keep his balance. Everyone tensed up and we waited tense for 3 seconds as the earth and the dust to fall to the ground to see the scene and figure out what ejected Glaedr backwards.
My eyes widen in surprise when I see a young elf covered in blood sitting next to a dragon writhing in pain. It's not Galbatorix and even less Shruikan . I see the same shock is visible on the faces of my warriors, I do not understand where this young elf can come from, I do not know him and yet I have met all the babies who have been born on our lands this century last.
There is something else that amazes me just as much as the identity of this mysterious young man accompanied by a dragon. It is his face, he is distorte with anger, he's completely wild and he has reptilian eyes similar to those of Glaedr . They are a green like I have never seen before and his eyes glow dimly in the night, drawing our attention even more to them. That sight and that expression on such a youthful face gives me a shiver of unease but I can't help but admire the spectacle, as though hypnotize.
We can hear Glaedr transmitting his thoughts
'Who are you little? And what are you doing on our lands with a dragon?'
…
'Open your mind, otherwise we won't be able to communicate'
For only answer the young elf said in a language that I never thought I would hear outside the royal family:
"I don't understand anything you're saying but you're going to pay for what you did to Egan, I won't let your attack go unpunished Dragon!"
My mouth is wide open, no one here can understand what he just said, not even Oromis . It is the dead language of our continent of origin. The dead language of Alalëa . Only the royal family continues to transmit this language to transmit the history of our origins.
He raises one arm in Glaedr 's direction and the ground below his feet breaks under the pressure of his magic. Blood begin to emerges from his eyes and scarlet trails tears begin to flow down his face. Blood appear also flows from his ears as well as his nose.
Seeing such a young elven face in such fury and covered in blood is a sight that should not exist among our people. Our children are sacred and we we protect their innocence for as long as we can. I think I will never forget this sad picture.
Oromis then yells "All be careful, he's siphoning his body to fuel his magic, he's going to attack!" »
Before anyone could move, it was Glaedr 's turn to roar in pain. A scene worthy of a dream then presents itself before our eyes.
The earth opens like a giant jawbone and swallows Glaedr and Oromis . Glaedr's roar and the sound of a breaking wing are audible to everyone present. His roar changes from pain to fury. We can hear him struggling in his earthen prison, shattering the rock that tries to grind him down. As I hear the first incantations to help them, a huge pillar of fire erupts from the center of the stone jawbone and seems to engulf them. These flames are not natural. No fire, not even that of the dragons is that hot. A breath of heat spreads around the pillar of fire and I see my warriors protecting themselves with their magic in different ways before I protect myself behind a wall of ice so as not to burn when the breath of heat reaches us.
The unusual scene freezes us all in disbelief. How can such a young elf display such strength?
Oromis and Glaedr end up getting out of the crater that held them prisoner. They are literally smoking and we can see that both are suffering from burns but they seem to be fine and still fit for battle. A spell as brutal as it is, if it has so little subtlety, it is relatively simple to protect yourself from it. Oromis and Glaedr have way too much experience for such a stupidly raw and energy-consuming spell to threaten their lives. Casting such a spell is a stupidity without name even if it does not detract from the feat of being able to gather such power.
It was the young elf's turn to show an expression of disbelief and his dragon seemed to communicate with him as he tapped his head with his muzzle trying to get his attention.
His face then turns to his dragon and his face turns wild again. He quickly turns his attention back to Glaedr with an expression that shows he's about to start his assault again. His dragon nibbles his shoulder, shaking his mouth as if trying to bring him back to his senses.
Despite this, his gaze does not leave Glaedr who seems confused about the behavior to adopt. He raises his arm again and his bleeding starts again.
It is enough! That's when I can no longer remain a spectator, if this continues, this young elf will die and we will have to kill his dragon. I run towards him shouting in the language of Alalëa : "Young elf stop! We made a mistake in confusing you with a human dragon rider with whom we are at war and who also has a black dragon. This attack is an error, if you stop attacking, to make us forgive we will heal you and your dragon ".
Despite the exhaustion and the blood flowing from his eyes, I can see a hint of surprise in his eyes which are losing their luminosity. He lowers his shaking arm and I am now the focus of his attention.
After a fit of coughing that makes him spit up a little more blood, he speaks in a hoarse voice but with clearly audible distrust: "You say you can heal my dragon? Prove it, approach slowly and heal it. If you do anything suspicious, I'll kill you. »
Despite the urgency of the situation, the tone in which he speaks to me makes me indignant, but this is not the time to lecture him on politeness. I nod my head and answer him.
"I will approach slowly and cast the healing spell on your dragon but I will need at least two of my warriors to assist me, I cannot afford to weaken in our situation." »
My statement seems to redouble his caution and he seems to hesitate again. I tell him in a quiet voice "I have no interest in lying to you, you are exhausted and you are injured, we could kill you or capture you easily. We just have to wait until you're exhausted. I just want to fix our wrongs and heal you. »
He stares at me but doesn't refuse my offer. I call two of my warriors when the spirit of Oromis contacts me 'Did you speak in the language of Alalëa ? If so who is he?'
'I don't know, I'm trying to fix your nonsense so stop bothering me and back off with Glaedr , the kid looks like he's about to attack again he's so tense. I offered to heal them so don't do anything stupid.'
With two of my warriors, I came to the side of the young elf and his dragon. To have both of their stares staring at you with such wariness and intensity is a very unpleasant experience. We slowly lifted our hands to the dragon's injured side and began to heal it until its wounds healed.
The elf's eyes widen to return to their natural form and he seems subjugate with the healing. When we're done doing first aid on the dragon. He concentrated and put his hand against the side of his companion and it's up to us again to open eyes wide ! We see the broken scales of the dragon recomposed. They begin to glow again with a dark mauve reflection under the moonlight. It was with a smile on my face that his body finally let go and I had to pick him up in my arms to keep him from crashing to the ground.
His dragon then growled fiercely. "Don't worry dragon, I mean no harm to your companion, I just want to help him, he is in critical condition and needs treatment." He quits are snarl and he as my guards relax slightly.
After quickly scanning the young elf's body, I can see that he really is in critical condition. He pushed himself way too far. His energy is almost entirely drained, and he has drawn from his muscles and fat the strength he had to sustain his spells in his fight with Glaedr . He's a fool, he would have died if I hadn't intervened. His shins and ankles are broken, he is severely dehydrated and malnourished. His skeleton confirms to me that he is much less than 100 years old, he must be between 50 and 60 years old which troubles me even more. I am the only one to have given birth during this decade, no other elven birth has been declared.
His dragon seems to question me with his gaze, navigating his gaze between me and the young elf.
"Don't worry Dragon, we can treat him but it will take time to get him back on his feet because he is in a much worse state than you. »
He blinks to let me know he understands me. Strange, he knows the language but does not seem able to communicate with his spirit. These two are more and more intriguing, tthey come out of nowhere their way but we now have an elven dragon rider. I will finally deliver news to my people worth celebrating. It is with a smile that I address the dragon.
"Dragon, you will have to tell me what happened to you to land in my kingdom in such a state. I look forward to hearing your story"