Kvistr, Melissa Nichols [red white royal blue txt] 📗
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- Author: Melissa Nichols
Book online «Kvistr, Melissa Nichols [red white royal blue txt] 📗». Author Melissa Nichols
The morning light found Alanna situated by the Woadark River, at a point where the water was at its most shallow. Faolan was not with her, having been reassigned to directing the citizens from the city gates to Alanna's position, leaving his Rider on her own. Because she had to remain alert, she didn't continue the cycle from yesterday, eating as much as she could before she transferred energy to the two gemstones and then sleeping. Instead, she calmly chewed on the meats, wanting to be well-fed if she needed to fight.Two hours after the siege began, Alanna finally saw the first of a long line of citizens. She rushed to them and assured them they were safe and she was a Rider before she healed any major wounds. Then, she directed them across the river and helped the elderly and young with the journey across. On the other bank was a large grove of wild orange trees. The people sat in the shade to eat and wait, while Alanna went back to the other bank to wait for the next group.The morning passed slowly. The line of people seemed to never end, and Alanna repeated the cycle with each group of citizens. The elderly, severely weak and very young children crossed the river on a raft Alanna had put together, while everyone else had to wade across.By noon, the line had thickened and the crossing had slowed as citizens from all four corners of the city converged. Alanna didn't care. She assured, healed and herded, all of the while keeping an eye on the area she could see. From Faolan, she could hear the older Riders and dragons communicate, while she searched her area for any stray Ra'zac that had noticed the mass exodus.By the time the sun had neared the horizon, Alanna was close to passing out from the sheer exhaustion, and she slipped into her waking dreams between groups of stragglers.No sooner than the last group had successfully made it across the river than she received word that the siege was at an end, and the older Riders and Faolan would fly over to her to help her herd the survivors back to the city. She quickly informed the citizens and did her best to control the chaos that ensued. She ordered those that needed the raft to hang back while the stronger ones crossed the river and made the journey back to Teirm.When the dragons finally arrived, their Riders spread themselves along the distance to the city, the raft was used to carry the weak and elderly to the city via flying dragon while the children happily climbed onto the dragon's backs wherever they could fit. Faolan couldn't fly with the load of children so he simply walked back to the city.When the sun had disappeared, the four Riders had balls of light illuminate the path back to the city.At last, just the sun was beginning to peak over the mountains, all of the citizens were back in the port city.Alanna wanted to help rebuild the city, but Eragon wouldn't hear of it and sent her and Faolan both back to the river to sleep. After being verbally slammed back into her place as a fledgling Rider and apprentice, Alanna did as she was told. She didn't even bother with unrolling her blankets once Faolan's saddle was removed. She simply slipped under his wing and fell into her dreams, cuddled against Faolan's side.
Chapter 15The Rider troop remained in Teirm for three days, each day dedicated to a different section of rebuilding the city. The first day after the siege, the older Riders focused on rebuilding those buildings damaged or destroyed during the Ra'zac occupancy. It irritated Alanna that all three pairs refused to explain how they had managed that feat.The second day was spent burying the dead and using magic to create a gust of wind strong enough to blow away the ashes of the Ra'zac. The third day, the Riders strolled the streets, settling disputes and generally doing their jobs as Riders to boost morale. They couldn't do much about restoring livestock, but they placed a spell of fertility on the surviving herds and sung all of the plants back to health. Alanna wanted to do more, like replacing lost goods, but she understood they could only do so much and that particular task would have been too much. They couldn't create those lost goods from thin air and it would have upset the economy of the city if they could procure those lost goods.The four Riders left on the fourth morning and arrived at Ilirea at sunset. Once the saddles were removed from the dragons' backs, the Riders ate dinner, Eragon, Arya and Alanna went back to their usual diet, and then they turned in. But Alanna didn't immediately fall asleep. Instead, she talked with Faolan about the events of the last week, figuring out what both of them had done and what they could have done better. After all, a mission wasn't just about protecting the innocent and keeping the peace; it was also a test.As Eragon had demonstrated, a Rider not only had to be strong in magic, knowledgeable about everything and deadly in battle, but he also had to think like a military commander, lead huge battalions into a battle, and defeat the enemy quickly with minimal losses.This is what the test was about, learning how to do battle on a grand scale. It would be foolish for Alanna to not better herself and Faolan when they had such an opportunity to do so. One day, it would be Alanna and Faolan teaching new Riders and dragons, risking many lives in battle that she is duty-bound to protect. She had to study, learn and better herself now, while she was a student herself, so she can do her best in every aspect of being a Rider in the future.She also realized that, even though she had shared the minds of the animals she later ate, it would be advantageous for her to start adding meat to her diet. She fell asleep thinking about it, wrestling with abandoning that part of her culture.
Chapter 16Seven days after returning to Ilirea, Alanna found herself in a very crowded classroom. With four student claiming four desks, the small hut felt more cramped than usual, causing Alanna to feel claustrophobic for the first time in her life.Due to the changing circumstances, Eragon had to adapt his teaching methods in order to better suit his students.Jut as he had with Arya, Eragon determined how much Murtagh knew and started him off with a higher level scroll. Being so observant, Eragon noticed Alanna’s nervousness, and so he let her take the scrolls she couldn’t finish that day home, so she could read them that night. He also let her stay outside when she started getting antsy and he often saw her doing the Rimgar, or practicing her swordsmanship or magic.Vegz was turning out to be a hardworking student, though he couldn’t grasp the material as well as the others. It wasn’t uncommon for Eragon to hand Vegz the same stack of scrolls daily. Eragon had also taken to testing Vegz, asking him questions about the topics from
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