The Black Morass

by Gerald Lambert

  The next morning Lena was out among the human youth assembled in Ilirea. Will had just begun a shift with the dragon egg, and Lena set off in search of Brom. She found him

  sitting by himself—hiding, most likely—by the shore of the lake nearest the base of the cliffs. He looked up as she approached, no doubt hearing her with his sharp elven ears.

  "Hi, Brom," she called as she walked closer to him.

  "Hello," he greeted. "Were you looking for me? Or just coming to steal my hiding place?"

  Lena laughed. "Maybe a little of both," she joked, sitting beside him. "No, actually I was really only looking for you. I just lost my bodyguard to his shift with the egg, so I thought I

  would take advantage of this hour and come find you. I've been wanting to ask you a favor."

  "Oh? What's that?"

  "In my last dream with Angela, she told me to be ready, just as she has everyone else, starting last year with Brin. But she gave me some additional advice, like she did with you.

  She commended me for how seriously I have taken the task of learning to solve difficult problems, but she counseled that I also need to know how to guard my mind—really guard

  it—from the mental prying of a powerful magician. I couldn't think of anyone better to practice that with than you. Will you help me?"

  "Sure," Brom agreed. "Angela did advise me to help everyone prepare however I could. So you're going to try to hide something from me while I sneak into your mind and attempt

  to uncover your secrets?"

  Lena laughed again. "Brin's having a good influence on you, Brom. You're much more teasing than I remember you being growing up."

  Brom nodded, smiling. "I could say the same of you. Will and Brin are good for us, serious thinkers we have always been."

  "True," Lena agreed. "So how shall we begin?"

  "I know you have already practiced shielding your thoughts to a certain extent. Do you want me to make it obvious that I'm trying to pry into your mind?"

  "Can any other magicians do what you are capable of?" Lena asked. "I mean, enter someone's mind without their awareness."

  "Well, a lot of magicians can sense someone's thoughts without that person's awareness, simply because most nonmagical people don't know what it feels like if someone is

  invading their mind. That is why we are taught to be so careful of intruding on people's consciousnesses. But you're a little different because you know what that magical mental

  touch feels like. And almost any other magician would immediately know if another spellcaster was attempting to work their way past their mental defenses. But to my knowledge,

  based on what Blödhgarm has told me, there are no other magicians who can intrude on other magicians without their awareness, as I have learned to do. It's really quite a

  despicable ability to have. Though I see the value of it in certain situations, I definitely wouldn't want an enemy with my same capabilities. I hate to sound pompous, but maybe

  that's why I was taught to learn this—Angela knew I would never abuse it with the type of parents and upbringing I've had."

  Lena nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I guess make your efforts obvious at first while I get a feel for what true prying in my mind feels like. I want to try to hide certain things while

  leaving other things obvious."

  "To create a certain perception of yourself?" Brom asked. "A version of the truth, but not the full truth?"

  Lena raised her eyebrows. "Were you just reading my mind?"

  Brom apologetically shook his head. "No, Lena. Sorry. I've learned to be very perceptive about these types of things."

  Lena laughed, slightly uneasy. "That's good, Brom. I'm sure there's a reason why. It's just unsettling to know someone who can guess almost exactly what I'm thinking just by

  listening to and looking at me, especially when I know you really could be in my head without me even realizing, though I believe you never would do that without my permission."

  "No," Brom promised. "I wouldn't. Very well. Let's get started."

  Lena immediately felt Brom's mind pressing against her awareness, and she squeezed her eyes shut against the onslaught, knowing in the same moment that she would never maintain a pretense while so obviously resisting a mental attack. "Stop!" she gasped.

  Brom did so at once. "Sorry," he said again. "I guessed that if some powerful magician ever wanted to assault your mind, they wouldn't be gentle or kind."

  "No, most likely not," Lena shakily agreed. "I really don't think I have been prepared after feeling that. You are right that I know what a mental touch feels like. My father checks on

  us every night that way. But he's so gentle and kind, just as you said. I have never felt pain or vulnerability like that. But that's why I want to practice. I'm sure Angela knew what

  she meant when she advised me to learn this."

  "I'll give you more time to prepare," Brom said, "just so you can begin to memorize and solidify your fallback defense, your selective image of yourself. Or however you want to

  think of it."

  Lena nodded resolutely, clearing her mind and holding a picture there of what she wanted Brom to sense, while attempting to hide everything else behind that basic image. In her mind, she envisioned a cylindrical structure—her attempt to portray a wellrounded perception of her personality—with a perimeter of thick walls, within which she could hide

  anything she wanted to keep private.

  "I think I'm more ready this time," she said. "Be just as aggressive as you were a moment ago. I need to be prepared to withstand that intensity while maintaining my outward

  composure. You are incredibly powerful, Brom. I'm impressed."

  Brom shrugged and, without warning, mentally attacked Lena again, focusing his eyes unwaveringly upon her own, which added to the disconcerting nature of the exercise. Lena

  willed herself to keep her eyes open, finding that the intense concentration required to do just that aided her considerably in defending her thoughts against Brom's prying

  consciousness. Her brow began to crease under the strain, but Lena's gaze remained steady.

  Brom seemed content to continue until she indicated a need for respite, which Lena did, not long after.

  "Wow," she breathed. "That's really hard."

  "But you did remarkably better on only your second attempt," Brom encouraged. "How far do you want me to go? I could dig really deep, be totally relentless."

  "Eventually I want to get to that point," Lena said. "Where you try as hard as you can to bypass every defense and barrier I have placed. Let's just work up to it gradually. I'm sure

  I'll get stronger with practice, but right now I'd probably crack if you honed your focus and burrowed right through."

  "Probably," Brom agreed. "Maybe I have a dark side none of us knows about and this big thing we're being prepared for will be the nine of you teaming up to defend against me.

  You will be the main mastermind, so you will have to protect your plans from my knowledge. I would unknowingly be bringing about my own defeat, if that were the case."

  Lena laughed. "I seriously doubt that, Brom. If there is one thing I'm sure of besides how much Will loves me, it's that you won't turn against your friends and family."

  "I'm glad you didn't say never," Brom said. "I'm careful with absolutes like that. They seem to create a challenge for some unseen force to defy."

  "Yes," Lena ruefully assented. "Well, let's keep going until Will finishes. Unless you have something else you need to do?"

  "No."

  "Not meeting Brin, then?"

  "We already fought this morning," Brom said. "I healed the nasty bruise on my temple where she bashed me with her horn. I just can't think of any other way to trap her without

  being behind. If my hand isn't too close, my face is. And it doesn't really even matter if she's armed or not. As long as she has arms, legs, knees, elbows, horns, her head, her feet —her whole body, in other words—she i
s a walking death machine. Luckily she likes me enough not to want to do true damage, otherwise I would be long gone. Hanna could

  probably heal a kicked in knee cap, but there's a chance she might not be able to and I shudder to think of how much that would hurt. I try to get Brin to fall to her knees, but she's

  so quick. And she just gets better every time we fight!"

  Lena laughed apologetically. "Sorry, Brom. I wish love could be as easy for everyone as it was for me and Will."

  "Yes, but I don't think I'll ever feel worthy of Brin unless I can best her, something she seems to be aware of as well. I guess I must get that from my father. There was a time

  when my mother could—and did—easily best him in every area of physical prowess. I think when the day came that he could run faster and fight better than she, he was relieved

  that he would actually be able to protect her if the need ever arose. I feel the same. As a man, I want to know I can protect the woman I love, even if she is more than capable

  herself. And how can I do that if I can't even match her?"

  Lena shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's because Brin is an Urgal and fighting is the main way they determine their standing in society and prove their eligibility to marry. You want

  to be sure you qualify according to the customs of her race. I'm sure you will get there, Brom. She's a fast learner and an unbelievable fighter, but so are you. And I have a feeling

  that the prize for your eventual triumph is more than adequate motivation to keep you trying forever."

  Brom nodded fervently. "Well, sorry to digress, Lena. Shall we continue? We can practice like this every day during Will's shift, if you would like."

  As the Ceremony progressed over the next several days and a new Rider still hadn't been chosen, Zadí continued interacting with and befriending other youth who weren't Dragon

  Riders. She sought out Brin and learned that she had been hesitant to return Brom's affection because she felt unworthy of him, which Zadí perfectly understood. But Brin's

  reluctance had been weakening since the time she had admitted to liking Brom and he had agreed not to pressure her. Brin shared that she enjoyed their frequent duels, which

  Brom continued to insist on in an effort to prove his worthiness according to Urgralish custom. Brin commiserated with Zadí and encouraged her to keep working through her

  feelings, since having a man like Brom—or Var, in Zadí's case—love her was something she would never regret.

  Zadí was reassured by this conversation and continued thinking about it as the days passed and the Ceremony continued.

  Var had been true to his word and stopped spending time with her. Zadí didn't even notice him hovering around, and she was surprised to realize that she missed him. She spoke

  with other boys, some of whom—like Isaac, who seemed to disappear for a time—didn't realize who she was, others of whom obviously did. The former group seemed ridiculous as

  they attempted to impress her, whereas the latter group made fools of themselves by fawning all over her. While she met many decent, respectful, smart, wellspoken males, none

  were as kind, intelligent, fun, teasing, hardworking, or good as Var. And they all acted awkward around her because they seemed to view her as a sort of celebrity. But Var

  obviously never had. They had grown up together and were therefore as comfortable around one another as they were with their own families.

  But Zadí continued to stubbornly refuse to lead Var on by seeking him out simply because she now realized that she preferred his company more than any other boys'. She had told

  him her feelings weren't as strong as his, and she knew it would be inconsiderate to send him mixed messages by spending time with him before she was sure of what she felt. And

  she was more confused about that than ever.

  Finally, after the Ceremony had been going on for a couple of weeks, the dragon hatched for a young woman from Carvahall. The small group of youth in their twenties from

  Carvahall—which was the most northern human city—had taken the last turn with the dragon egg before it would have moved on to the younger teenage attendees.

  The Youth Dragon Rider Camp—which would now include all of the young people, since the Dragon Rider had been chosen, rather than only the twenty and older group—began the

  following day. A new anticipation filled the air as the youth assembled that morning, for they would all have the opportunity to participate in the Camp.

  As with the one Urgal and multiple dwarf Youth Camps held the previous two years, the young Dragon Riders opened the Camp with a question and answer panel to enable the other

  boys and girls to learn about their lives.

  Brom took charge at this point, since he was the senior Dragon Rider of the next generation. He began as Keeta had at the dwarf Camp by outlining some guidelines for the

  questions, with the intention of circumventing the ridiculous number of queries about romances and love lives at the Urgal Camp.

  Brom explained, "This is an opportunity for you to find out what our lives are like on the Isle of the Eldunarí. Ask us about our duties and responsibilities there. Ask about our

  families and our studies. How we spend our time. Our hobbies. Things like that. We will tolerate exactly one question along the lines of, 'Will you marry me?' or 'Do you have a

  sweetheart?' before ending the discussion. Since I know many of you are desperately curious, I will attempt to answer that right now by telling you that Will and Lena are an item. I

  am unavailable. So is Var. And we are the only three I can speak for. If you really want to know, ask the others at a separate time." Brom stopped speaking and looked pointedly at

  Zadí, who was standing near the front of the crowd with the other youth, rather than on the platform with her friends.

  He continued, "Everyone from the Isle will take part in the discussion, even our siblings who aren't Dragon Riders, so you can ask any of us any question you want, within the

  parameters I outlined. It should go without saying, but we also won't tolerate or answer questions that are inappropriate or vulgar. We will invite anyone who insists on such measures to leave."

  When Zadí continued to stay where she was, painfully aware that Isaac was not far off, Brom suddenly said in her mind, Zadí, come up here so we can start. Why have you been so

  distant lately?

  Zadí brushed off his question and reluctantly joined her brother on the platform, noticing that Isaac raised his eyebrows in surprise as he clearly recognized the resemblance

  between herself and Brom. Anger contorted his features until he realized Zadí was looking and mastered his emotions. He then smiled at her in a strange way. Zadí wanted to

  describe it as a cross between threatening and suggestive, but it was such a foreign expression that she couldn't be sure.

  Zadí could practically feel Var's disapproval, so she quickly looked over and found him quietly observing Isaac as if he knew exactly why the man regarded Zadí like he did.

  Isaac didn't seem to notice Var's cold stare but instead kept his eyes on Zadí with a calculating look in them that she tried to ignore.

  The questions lasted for several hours and covered most of the same topics of the previous two years. Isaac asked Zadí a few about how she felt about not being chosen as a

  Dragon Rider and whether or not she had any special talents. She couldn't help but feel as if he was attacking her. He seemed to have a specific purpose in mind for asking, but

  Zadí couldn't guess what it might be. She wasn't aware of much else that happened, as focused as she was on ignoring the strange looks Isaac kept giving her and the increasingly menacing way Var stared back at him. She was relieved when the session ended and the group dispersed for lunch.

  When everyone gathered together again, it was time to begin the fighting demonstration and lessons. The Riders had typically started these with a demonstration pro
vided by

  themselves, mainly for entertainment. But before they did, Brom asked if anyone was interested in trying their luck in a contest with one of the Dragon Riders.

  Zadí groaned internally when Isaac swaggered forward with exaggerated bravado. Why him? she irritably thought.

  "I will," Isaac challenged. "Who's man enough to fight me?"

  A look of deep distaste briefly crossed Brom's face before he smoothed it away. But Zadí noticed the same expression on Var and Will's faces and wondered why. Did they know

  something she didn't? She obviously didn't care at all for the way Isaac was acting, but it seemed as if the three male Dragon Riders attributed even more to Isaac's behavior.

  Brom calmly said, "You get to choose your opponent, sir. And some of the females are better fighters than we males. What is your name?"

  "Isaac, sir," Isaac derisively answered. "I'll fight you. So that's your little sister?" He gestured toward Zadí.

  Brom didn't try to hide his expression of displeasure this time. He looked over at Zadí, his face filling with concern. "Yes," he simply said, turning back to Isaac after once again

  clearing his emotions. "Choose your weapon, and we will begin."

  Isaac ignored him. "Why do you look like an elf and she a human?"

  Brom's lips pressed into a thin line. Zadí knew he was losing his patience, which was rare indeed for Brom. He nonetheless responded in a longsuffering tone, "Our mother is an

  elf. Our father is a human."

  "Eragon Shadeslayer is a human?" Isaac disbelievingly scoffed. "He looks exactly like an elf. Why?"

  "Elves actually can't grow beards," Brom said with the faintest trace of amusement. "But the answer to your question is a long story that I'm not going to tell right now. Choose your

  weapon."

  "Is that why your face looks baby smooth?" Isaac taunted.

  Brom sighed. "I remove my facial hair, Isaac. If you continue to insist on insulting my family, whether implicitly or openly, I'm going to ask you to leave. Now choose your

  weapon."

  "I already know you would defeat me with a sword," Isaac sullenly muttered. "Your father is the best swordsman in Alagaёsia. Why don't we fight man to man, without weapons?"