Hi, this is my fanfiction story for the aftermath of the Inheritance series. I know that there are many people who were hurt or at least not satisfied with the way the fourth book ended and as a true fan, it broke my heart. However, there is still hope. If you have not heard, Christopher Paolini has decided to write a fifth book not directly in the series but in his words 'The thing to keep in mind is that though the series is over, Eragon and Arya's story will continue. They're going to live for a very long time, and their relationship is far from over.' Until then, I have taken it upon my self to write how it could end with them being together. So without further ado, the Inheritance Aftermath.
Disclaimer: If I were Christopher Paolini, I would not be writing my new scifi book—not writing fanfiction. All of the characters do not belong to me aside from the several minor characters I used to keep true to the plot.
Also, a last word of caution. THIS FANFICTION MUST NOT BE READ BY THOSE WHO HAVE NOT FINISHED THE FOURTH BOOK. IF YOU DO YOU WILL REGRET IT. I ONLY SAY THIS BECAUSE I WANT THE BEST FOR ALL INHERITANCE FANS. THANK YOU.
Gone, Gone you shall be from me
And I will never see you again
Gone, gone you shall be from me
Though I wait for you evermore!
Away, away you shall fly away
O'er the peaks and vales to the lands beyond
Away, away you shall fly away
And ne'er return to me.
-Christopher Paolini
Prologue
In the dark of night, Firnen flew back towards Elezmera, wailing. Arya hugged him, patting the warm green scales on his neck, comforting him.
"I'm sorry, Firnen, we both knew this is how it would end." She looked forward without faltering, whipping through the cold night air, determined not to look back at Eragon or Saphira who were no doubt sailing beyond the borders of Alagaesia by now. He continued to wail, and although she tried to ignore it, she could feel a hot tear running down her cheek.
Chapter 1
100 years later…
Lady Arya Drottning sat next to an open window overlooking a scene on the distant plains. Twenty urgal men were fighting a band of Sangali, two with dragons, the rest only armored with spears and axes. They were causing a rucus, their brutal yells could be heard from a mile away. She sighed
"Haven't I told you, your weapons will not affect the Sangani…."
Just then, two elves, a man and a woman came to her from the floor below.
"Arya drottning, we are in need of your advice on an important matter, we request that you come soon to an emergency …." Unaffected, she continued to stare out the window.
"I'll be with you in an hour." The two seemed as though she had announced she had withdrawn from the crown.
"But- but- I know that you're busy but our state is in a crisis!"
"Is not everything a crisis?" She said quietly to herself, with a twinge of venom in her voice. "I can be there in fiveteen minutes."
She shifted her position with unease as they left. There was so much she had to do. Her people, the elves to be specific, were in a state of financial turmoil. They were in a time period when their resources were being pulled from at all fronts, for work with the new riders. But more importantly, they were in an era of racial tension on all four fronts. She spent most of her time traveling with Firnen and supervising the newly trained riders, as well as using her words to soothe the tension between peoples. It was no easy task. The elves listened to her easy enough, but that only resulted in the dwarves distancing themselves from her authority. Humans accepted her in time, but it only served to make the urgals lash out. She had never accustomed to using words to get people to tolerate each other, she was more of a doer, but she found that verbalizing was a skill she had to lean on. When she was not with the Riders she was in Elezmera, tending to the desperate needs of the men and woman of the court. Her mother, she recalled, had been unskilled during these times, so she had no previous experience to go off of. She had always thrown herself at the opportunity for selfless service, but she had to admit, it was slowly wearing her thin. She had to be loyal to her subjects, indeed she wanted to, it was her character, but in this state of mental stress, she sometimes caught her mind in thinking that perhaps, she thoroughly hated it here, having to break her back and shed blood for everyone elves with no time to herself.
Just then she heard a particularly loud crash in the direction of the urgals and turned to see that they had broken a large boulder in half and dropped it on the animals and damaging the rock figures below. She silently cursed, her eyebrows going into a point. That would take a lot of time to repair, time that she didn't have.
Then, for the first time in a while, she forced herself to think about Him. It had been a hundred years since the last time she had seen him. She sometimes heard the news that he had talked to Katrina, Roran, or Nasuada, though, unfortunately, she had never gotten the chance to talk to him herself, his mirror calls were scarce and always set at random dates. Once a year he would give a couple of new Riders back to Alagaesia, all fully trained at at least the most basic levels. She would have an elf messenger send him letters if need be, and her courier, Vanir send new eggs. He had never put a spell on one of the mirrors in Elezmera. She wondered if he had forgotten by accident, or if he had done it on purpose. She felt her heart sink at the thought that perhaps, he had felt ashamed to talk with her after he had left.
He had been such a good friend… and though she managed to keep him out of her mind for many decades, she could not deny herself the fact that on the numerous occasions he had called Katrina and Roran and she had missed it, she had spent days afterward beating herself up over not being there. Was it because she had told him her true name and him his? Or was it simply because they had gotten to become such close friends? Just then a sickening feeling filled her insides, as if with fire. She remembered he had had feelings for her. She remembered how strongly they had colored his true name.
She forced herself then to think about the night she had arrived back at Elezmera. The 'Farewell Night' she used to call it. The night she had said goodbye to her closest friend. She had cried her eyes out in her bedroom that night, outshone by the pouring rain and the crackling thunder. Firnen sat in the corner near her but not even he could console her. She had thought herself so independent. And yet when he had left, she felt as if something had been torn out of the core of her being. She was alone, without a father or a mother, nor with any close friends, for in her lifetime as an ambassador between races, she made herself into an outcast, no one of the outside races cared to relate to her, nor did she relate to many of her people. It was a sacrifice that she was willing to make, but only after she left Eragon did she feel that she had lost something crucial to her being. She hated to admit it, but in the darkest corners of her being, she knew it might have something to do with her future….
That was too much. She broke out of her trance, not wanting to think any further. The two elves had come back for her.
"Lady Arya!"
"I'm coming!" She said and quickly got up to follow them. Her life was one of selflessness and responsibility; she had always accepted that.
That's the end of the first chapter! I'll post the second one very soon. It's almost done!
Preview: Next chapter name: "A Call from Eragon"