Murtagh was having a relaxing time at the spa with the owners, Aloe and Lotus Blossom. Thorn himself was also having the most relaxing time of his life. The red dragon was having a nice bath in a large hot tub as big as a house outside of the luxurious place, purring in relaxation. He would have loved to join Murtagh inside, but the Jacuzzi in it was a little too small for his stature, (probably because of his wings. Lyra and Bon Bon were with him inside, also enjoying massages of their own.
"Well, Murtagh, what do you think?" Said Bon Bon
The son of Morzan never thought he would have said it, but he replied anyway "I am loving this. Very enjoyable, even for me and Thorn."
"See, all you needed was a little relaxation to ease the problems of the past." Lyra noted.
"I can tell it is working,"
"Aye, and me too." Thorn added. "This so-called jacuzzi is definitely like a hot spring in the hidden forests of Du Weldnvarden."
Some of the mares took notice of Murtagh and his handsome muscles, starting to become attracted to the son of Morzan. He never had this kind of treatment before in his life, and he thought it was the most refreshing thing he had ever experienced. It was reminding him of the time Nasuada got him out of jail when he was first introduced to the Varden, and when she showed him library in Tronjeim.
Thorn himself never had this much luxury himself and breathed heavily from the warmness of the waters surrounding him in the jacuzzi. "I can be in this little hot tub for all eternity." The red dragon remarked. "I am starting to wish that Galbatorix and Shruikan would give us this luxurious lifestyle. It would have been heaven"
Murtagh chuckled "I was thinking the same thing, Thorn. But, let's not forget he was pure evil, and Shruikan was too angry with everyone to be helped like Elva had said before." Then he felt the gentle, swift chopping on his back that made him sigh. "Oh yes." He said to Lotus. "A little lower, please."
"Of course."
"Would you like anything else, Murtagh?"
"Well, I suppose a nice cup of iced tea would be nice. As a matter of fact, I think tea is better when it' cols, it makes me feel so refreshed."
"Vonderful." Said Aloe. "One cup of iced tea, coming right up."
Then the other sister went out to see if the red dragon would want any more luxurious things himself. "What about you, Thorn? Would you like anything as well?"
"Well, I would like a giant snail. But I suppose that you would not have any of those."
"No, I am truly sorry."
"I see. Maybe a number of large towels would be a decent thing for myself ."
"Of course." The she went to give Thorn what he wanted.
It was where Murtagh was unwinding in his little dreamland under this nice feeling from the hit towel and the steam floating around him in the steam room."
Ah, that hits the spot." Said Lyra
"So, how's Thorn liking this?"
"He is having quite a time of his life in that overgrown bathtub. Normally, I would not stand humidity, but in this case, I will make an exception."
"No kidding, I can kind of hear Thorn shilling out there."
"Aye, me too."
Murtagh went deepninto his thoughts in a trance under this most in the steam room. His mind was so serene and calm to the point where he could think of nothing terrible that happened to him in his life, not even the scar from Za'roc was brought up.
"Of course, they don't really have stuff like this in Alagaesia, right?" Lyra asked him
"No, nothing of any kind like this machine."
"Sounds like it's your first time in a steam room."
"It is." Murtagh smirked.
It was silent to the point where the only thing heard was the steam quietly hissing as it was working it's way in this chamber.
"Murtagh?" Said a voice.
He looked and it was Eragon, looking a little confused. "Oh, Eragon!" He exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting you to come in here."
"Oh. My sincere apologies, I had no idea this was a terrible time."
"No no no. It's quite alright. You just.... surprised me is all." Murtagh tightened his towel around his waist again. "So, what is it you need, brother?"
"Well, I wanted to come and tell you that we are all heading out for a little training to become a rider with the others. Me and Saphira could use your help, and Thorn's." Eragon replied flatly.
"Oh. Of course." Then he looked at himself and remembered that he was wearing only a towel on himself "but not like this."
Eragon chuckled and smiled slightly. "Of course not, that's ridiculous. Go ahead and change."
"Thanks. I will be seeing you soon, Lyra and Bon Bon. Perhaps I will join you more on this spa another day. For now, I must be off to help my brother."
"That's fine." Said Bon Bon "go on ahead."
"A dragon rider's gotta do what a dragon rider's gotta do."
"Exactly." Eragon agreed.
They both felt Thorn feeling not so happy about this. "Could I come with you another time? This jacuzzi is so soothing, like a long ground of hot desert sand."
"Thorn." Murtagh said "come on, now."
The red dragon growled from outside, even causing the ground to make small quakes. "Very well." Thorn replied begrudgingly.
"Perfect. Let me get changed and we'll be off."
"Of course."
After Murtagh changed back to his original clothes, he and Thorn went with Eragon to assemble the other riders. "So tell me, Eragon, have you ever tried the spa before?"
"No, but Rarity did tell me about it, reminding me how soothing it can be."
"You should definitely try it, you get massages, hot towels, and free iced drinks."
"I think I will. Mean time, where do you think we should all train?"
"Well, as far away from Ponyville as possible. Of course. We wouldn't want to blow up any building and turn into a dozen ash piles on the ground." Thorn reminded
"Yes." Eragon chuckled "but where in particular?"
"Well, perhaps an open field many miles away from Ponyville would be nice." Murtagh suggested "maybe of we were flying, we should do it away from any other cities or towns."
"Good point. Hopefully, Skalmo and Dervoc will do good. Of course Calraeli and Vaodidr will do just fine, and you and Thorn, but how will they both stand out since dwarves and urgals are only recently added to the Riders?"
"Well, that I what I am here for, right? I mean, you are a great teacher, Eragon. Brom Oromis, and Glaedr probably taught about anything that you need to know about being a rider."
His younger half-brother chuckled "true. Perhaps you are right, maybe they will be just fine."
"Well, I am pretty sure Skalmo would not want any of my help. He already hates me with a burning passion in hellfire."
Eragon placed his hand on his left shoulder, and said to him "I will see to that matter. For now, just leave Skalmo to me."
"Alright. What of the wolf elf and his bodyguards?"
"Oh of course they will come with us just in case. If both of us are not available to teach the others, then Blodhgarm and the other magicians will be there to substitute for them."
"Ah. Let's hope that mutt knows how to fly a dragon."
"Oh stop that " Eragon said in slight annoyance. "He just needs to warm up to you, like everyone else does."
"You're right."
Out on a wide open field with almost no life at all, Eragon and Saphira were there along with Murtagu and Thorn, Dervoc and Artvazh, Calraeli and Vaodidr, and Skalmo and Gridgorn, all ready to train. Blodhgarm and his spellcasters were also present to provide aide and assistance.
"Now, before we begin, I would like to say that I will make this training as understandable as possible. Skalmo and Dervoc, since dwarves and urgals were not part of the original order, please do no get frustrated when you are having trouble with magic."
"Understood, brother." Said the urgal. "I promise you I will do my very best to master the arcane arts."
"So will I, bloodkin." Skalmo added.
"Good. Murtagh ad Thorn will help me train both you riders, and your dragons." Eragon continued "and please, do not antagonize them. You all might have notice, but Murtagh is my half brother, after all."
"Let's not forget that they were forced to serve Galbatorix under his wing with little choice." Saphira added. "If either any of you try and hurt them, I will crush you."
"Now now, Saphira. There's no need for that. Thank yo for defending them, but let's not jump irrational conclusions."
"My apologies."
"It's alright. Now you dragons might know how to fly pefecrly, but practice makes perfect."
The other dragons minus Saphira and Thorn agreed with eachother. "That is an excellent point." Said Dervoc. "I for one have never fought another dragon before, and perhaps we could learn how to thwart powerful aerial enemies."
"Yes, and we can always go back to the basics. After all, we are all a little younger than Saphira is." Vaodidr added. "Oh, and I hope I did not offend you by any chance."
"Don't worry. I know you would all never offend me in such a manner."
"Good."
"I have seen quite a few creatures that we have never seen in Alagaesia before. For instance, me and Saphira had face a monstrous, reptilian creature called the Hydra. It is like a dragon except it had no wings, and do not decapitate it, because if you decapitate one Hydra head, two more grow back from where it was beheaded.
The other new riders murmured to one another. "That would sound like a very formidable enemy." Dervoc replied.
"It is. And, I think therefore you all have the right to know another thing, there are more Ra'zac eggs scattered across Alagaesia."
All of their eyes went wide in mild shock. "That's impossible. You and your cousin, Roran Stronghammer, killed them, and Saphira killed both Lethrblaka." Calraeli said. "Are you absolutely sure that there are more than we can imagine, Eragon?"
"Yes. The dark king himself told me himself that there were more."
"Well, of anymore of those demons come here, I will make sure I will rid the wold of every last one of them." Skalmo said with a vengeance.
"And that's exactly why me and Saphira will teach you and your dragons how to ward them off, and know tree weaknesses. For what we know, there could be one or two Lethrblaka flying here wanting to kill me and Saphira for revenge."
"Aye. I have heard what those foul oathbreakers are capable of. Oh, I have heard what horrible, vile things and methods of torture they were capable of."
"Indeed. Now the point is, we are keepers of the peace, and it is our duty to protect this beautiful land called Equestria from any danger or omen that will come upon it." Murtagh added.
"And our new friends, as well. They have treated us with the utmost kindness, and so have their Princess Celestia and Luna, and now we will return the favor by being Eqeatria's protectors." Said Thorn.
They all perfectly understood what they were saying to them. "Now, will you all accept this duty and responsibility of being a dragon rider, and a keeper of the peace?" Eragon said
It was a little silent for a while, so long of silence that if anyone would even say anything, and the only thing heard at the moment was the sound of birds chirping and the dragons heavy breathing from their nostrils.
"I swear." Said Dervoc. "As a new life for me, I will promise to protect all life on this beautiful peace of land." He then pounded his chest with his mighty hand two times
"So will i. I promise to protect all creatures great and small." Artvazh promised next.
"We will promise to protect all that is good." Said Calraeli. "For queen Izlanzadi, and Queen Arya."
"And for Firnen, and our other fallen dragon comrades." Vaodidr added
"And I for Equeatria, and for king Hrothgar, King Orik, and my clan." Skalmo said
"I promise to protect the balance of this world with my rider." Gridgorn concluded.
This made Eragon and Murtagh smile, feeling rather proud of these newbies for their dedication. "Perfect. Then ket's make a vow." Then they all swore to protect all that is good around him, and thus, they were officially dragon riders of the new order.
"Now that this is done, let's get to training." Said Murtagh.
"Oh, and Calraeli, perhaps you can also be a helper in teaching magic too, since you are an elf, after all."
"Of course. We elves are gifted magic users after all." The elf gloated.
"Perfect. Now, let's begin. Now, the dragons we will ride a little later on, but for now, the riders come with me to the lake."
They all followed him and Murtagh while Blodhgarm and his cohorts stayed with the dragons.
"We will start with a few basic spells. Murtagh and I will show you how to manipulate water. The word for it is Adurna. Go on, and try it. Just try not to hurt yourself while you are doing it. Calraeli, why don't you go first."
"Very well." With a breath and in concentration, he firmly said "Adurna" and then he felt the water moving from the movement of his hand, and made a few tricks with the small waves.
"That'a how it's done."
"Bah, sure, it is easy for them since he is an elf, after all." The dwarf retorted sarcasrically.
"Relax, Skalmo, if you fail the first time do not give up, just keep on practicing and practicing and you will get the hand of this."
"I know. You're right. If Hrothgar and Orik trusted you, then I suppose I will do the same thing."
'So, why don't you give this a try?"
"Right." The dwarf walked up to the shore after Calraeli and concentrated deep in himself. Finally, he shouted "Adurna!" Then he felt the water moving upward like the elf was doing with it. He smiled, feeling proud of himself for creating a spell like this one. "I am doing it!" He said with excitement.
"Good, now do not let go of it or lose concentration, otherwise you will-" then the water went back in the lake after Skalmo was slightly off guard. "-not work." Eragon concluded. "Dervoc, you are up last."
The large urgal walked up to the lake as the last one, and concentrated and also shouted "Adurna!" And there was more water rising up than the last two, possibly because of Dervoc's hulking size. This was definitely the fish time an urgal spellcasters was ever seen from Eragon and Murtagh.
"Perfect! Now, we will keep practicing and you will all have it in the palm of your hands. For now, we should practice our flight."
Then they all went up to their dragons. Wen they were in the air, they encountered so many clouds coming through them.
"Now, we will try something that will give us a dragon's sight. You all have to say Skulblakas ven, and you will receive the sight of the dragon." Said Murtagh.
All together in Concentration, they all shouted "Skulblakas ven!" Then they all received dragon eyesights.
"Oy! I can see long distances!" Said Skalmo in amazement. "I feel like dragon myself!" He laughed in the wildest excitement.
"This is so amazing! My eyesight feels ten times more useful." Dervoc added
"This could be useful when we are looking for someone." Calraeli called
"It is!" Eragon called. "You can all turn back to your Normal eyesights now."
Then they all did what Eragon instructed. "Now, me and Eragon will show you a few tricks of dragon riding." Murtagh said
Then they both spun around in circles and the oher dragons followed after. "They are fast learners." Eragon said in amazement."
"Brom would be proud." Said Saphira
"I think he will "