Eragon: Murtagh x Eragon: Epsilon
Fandom: Eragon
Pairing: Eragon/Murtagh
Theme set: Epsilon
Rating: PG - 13.
AN: I started writing these before I was finished with Eldest, so (avoiding unwanted spoilers) these were written from the frame of reference, pre revelations in the last couple of chapters of Eldest. Some of these are slashy.
Type your cut contents here.
01 - Motion
Murtagh had been in constant motion since he forsook the King and his plans; he tried to tell himself that he wasn’t running, he was avoiding a confrontation that would only end with him broken beyond all recognition or dead; but his stomach still clenched when Eragon explained his intention to confront Galbatorix, afraid but determined.
02 - Cool
Murtagh pretends to be remote, hiding behind a mask of cool competence; but Eragon has held him as he shakes in the night when his dreams turn dark and he has felt the reckless abandon when they kiss.
03 - Young
Eragon knows for a fact that Murtagh is only a scant few years older than him; but when he looks in his eyes, when he hears the murmurs while he dreams, when he sees his steely determination, Eragon understands how young he really is.
04 - Last
The son of Morzan is the last person Saphira would have expected Eragon to travel with, much less befriend, but watching them ride in companionable silence convinces her that it is right.
05 - Wrong
“You’re wrong, Eragon,” Murtagh says softly, purposely avoiding the hurt look in the younger boy’s eyes, “It would be easier to let them in my mind, but not better.”
06 - Gentle
Murtagh watches Eragon with Saphira and Snowfire; he wonders how, despite all the cruel things that have happened to the Rider, he has remained a gentle soul.
07 - One
Eragon trusts Brom, he is entranced by Arya, and he likes Ajihad; but there is only one person that he loves, irrationally and illogically perhaps, but Murtagh is the one just the same.
08 - Thousand
Amidst the roaring tide of thousands of Urgals, standing on the muddy, blood soaked ground, Eragon thinks of only two other beings; Saphira, roaring and fighting with all her might and Murtagh, his blade whirling in the one gift from his father that he welcomes.
09 - King
Murtagh worries about what will happen when Eragon comes face to face with Galbatorix; he worries about the moment when the abstract hatred within the very young rider will clash with the awesome power of Alagaësia’s very old king
10 - Learn
“You have to force yourself not to think about it,” Murtagh said gently, wrapping his arm around Eragon’s shoulder, “You have to learn to live with the guilt, because even though it isn’t your fault, it’s never really going to go away.”
11 - Blur
Murtagh’s childhood is a blur of images; his father screaming, his mother crying, and Eragon’s damned sword, the bastard weapon Za’roc, flying at him.
12 - Wait
Eragon doesn’t know if he has the patience to wait for his training in Ellésmera to finish; not when the people he has come to care about are fighting and dying.
13 - Change
“You’ve changed very much since we met,” Saphira observes one day and Eragon isn’t sure if it’s a compliment or not.
14 - Command
“The next time you command a pebble to ganga fram*,” Murtagh snapped at a red faced Eragon, “Would it be too much trouble to tell it to avoid my head!?”
15 - Hold
“Hold me.” Murtagh says in a voice that is both commanding and pleading; Eragon obeys, knowing that it is all he can do to keep the monsters from his dreams and memories at bay.
16 - Need
They are very compatible, but at times their desires pull them violently in opposite directions; Eragon needs to go to the Varden with the same intensity that Murtagh needs to stay far away.
17 - Vision
As they approach the Varden, Eragon has visions of Arya alive and well, thanking him with all her graceful wisdom; Murtagh sees weapons drawn and cold faces condemning the son since they cannot reach the father.
18 - Attention
The people of the Varden as so awed by Saphira, that Eragon and Murtagh’s linked hands go unnoticed.
19 - Soul
Occasionally Murtagh gets jealous of the close bond Eragon and Saphira share so effortlessly; though he imagines that it must be very hard at times to share your soul with another being.
20 - Picture
“What a charming picture,” Saphira teases Eragon and Murtagh, “You look like two little hatchlings all nuzzled together like that.”
21 - Fool
“Don’t be a fool,” Murtagh admonishes, helping Eragon to his feet after a particularly fierce sparring match, “You’re a fine swordsman; I’ve just been at it longer than you.”
22 - Mad
People have the tendency to underestimate the ferocity of Murtagh’s temper; they don’t understand the control he has to exert to tame the particular trait his father gifted to him; when that control finally breaks, the shock at seeing Murtagh is his full, glorious rage is overwhelming.
23 - Child
It doesn’t matter how many times Eragon sees the twisting rope of scar that sears Murtagh’s back in half, he will never how anyone could cause their own child such unspeakable agony.
24 - Now
He hates when people make him do things he does not wish; it makes him think of Morzan and how the single phrase, “Now, boy,” would send could fear dancing down his spine.
25 - Shadow
“Saphira, what would it take to convince you to fly overhead and let us ride in your shadow?” Murtagh asks in desperation as they trek beneath the blistering sun of the Hadarac Desert.
26 - Goodbye
“Good bye.” Eragon murmured, standing at the mouth of the tunnel where Ajihad died and Murtagh vanished.
27 - Hide
“I understand why you try to hide from him,” Eragon murmured, looking down at his hands, “Sometimes...a lot of the time...I want to do the same thing.”
28 - Fortune
“But thankful for the good fortune to be alive,” Murtagh murmured in Eragon’s ear as they lay together, “I can teach you to live with the scar, but I can’t bring you back to life.”
29 - Safe
Absurd as it sounds, with seemingly every power in the world converging on him, Eragon always manages to feel safe with Murtagh holds him close.
30 - Ghost
They both have ghosts standing over their shoulders, whispering accusations in their minds; Murtagh has his father, hatred and disgust burning in his eyes and Eragon has his father, writhing in fevered agony as he died.
31 - Book
Eragon is very careful when he chooses books from Ajihad’s library to be sent to Murtagh in his lovely, little cell; nothing about history, nothing about the Riders, and most certainly nothing about Galbatorix and the Forsworn.
32 - Eye
Murtagh had the most lovely eyes; though the pain that blazed through them could be disconcerting at times.
33 - Never
“I will never serve Galbatorix,” Murtagh declared, though his words had the uncomfortable smack of prophecy to them.
34 - Sing
Eragon hates to sing alone, as does Murtagh; but when the long hours of worry and pressure become too much, they spontaneously launch into rude drinking songs that neither are willing to explain to Saphira.
35 - Sudden
Murtagh realized that changes in his life always happened suddenly; one day he was protected by his mother, the next day she was gone and one day he was living in self imposed solitude, the next he was traveling with a genuine friend.
36 - Stop
“Stop asking me, Eragon.” Murtagh said quietly, though his voice was laced with steel. “You don’t want to talk about your past and I don‘t want to talk about mine.”
37 - Time
Time acquired a strange fluidity as Eragon and Murtagh traveled toward the Varden; moments when they sat by the fire and simply talked lasted for wondrous lifetimes, while at the same time, the days until they reached the vanguard of rebellion in the empire slipped away at an alarming rate.
38 - Wash
While the healers tend Eragon, in a parallel to his own life that both infuriates and frightens him; Murtagh takes Za’roc and cleans the blood from the gleaming blade, hoping in the back of his mind that someday he will be able to cleanse the evil from it.
39 - Torn
“It took me far longer than it should have to realize that he hated me,” Murtagh confesses, his whole body shaking, “And that realizations tore me apart...it does to this day.”
40 - History
Murtagh hates history; history is a long, bloody record of his father’s descent into madness and evil.
41 - Power
Sometimes the temptation to ignore Brom’s repeated warnings and push his power to the limit is bad enough that he starts forming the Ancient language into the proper sentence in his mind before he stops himself.
42 - Bother
“If it bothers you so much, let Saphira and I into your mind,” Eragon replied calmly after Murtagh snarkily commented how much he hated it when they carried on long, psychic conversations.
43 - God
Murtagh stopped believing in a higher power when he was a child, laying on his bed with a dozen doctors trying desperately to close his back; but now, with Eragon sleeping peacefully on his chest, he decided to give the powers that be another chance to prove their wisdom and worth.
44 - Wall
The walls in Murtagh’s mind are absolutely impenetrable; Eragon might as well be beating against solid diamonds with a stick for all the success he has trying to break through.
45 - Naked
Sometimes, when Eragon stares at him with those piercing eyes; Murtagh feels infinitely more vulnerable and exposed than if he had been standing there naked.
46 - Drive
Murtagh has no driving force; he exists from day to say, avoiding Galbatorix and hating the ancestry that condemns him.
47 - Harm
Eragon wonders sometimes what evil Murtagh could have done that would make him guard his mind so closely; but the idle thought is always followed by the much darker worry about who harmed the young man badly enough for him to hide it away in shame.
48 - Precious
More than once, Murtagh has suppressed the desire to seize Eragon’s precious sword from its sheath and melt the blade into the black oblivion that it and it’s damned memories deserve.
49 - Hunger
Not so very long ago, Murtagh only yearned for fresh venison, good ale, and a relatively comfortable bed to sleep in; but now he finds himself hungering inexplicably for the electricity of Eragon’s touch.
50 - Believe
“I don’t believe that your parents make you who you are,” Eragon comments one evening as they sit in the glow of their fire’s dying embers, “Blood is important, but in the end it’s only the stuff that leaks when you’ve been wounded.”
*ganga fram = to go forward (Ancient language)
PS - I was writing these without my copy of Eragon at hand. I lent it to a friend while I was reading Eldest, so any canon mistakes are totally my bad and I apologize.
Feedback is greatly appreciated
Pairing: Eragon/Murtagh
Theme set: Epsilon
Rating: PG - 13.
AN: I started writing these before I was finished with Eldest, so (avoiding unwanted spoilers) these were written from the frame of reference, pre revelations in the last couple of chapters of Eldest. Some of these are slashy.
Type your cut contents here.
01 - Motion
Murtagh had been in constant motion since he forsook the King and his plans; he tried to tell himself that he wasn’t running, he was avoiding a confrontation that would only end with him broken beyond all recognition or dead; but his stomach still clenched when Eragon explained his intention to confront Galbatorix, afraid but determined.
02 - Cool
Murtagh pretends to be remote, hiding behind a mask of cool competence; but Eragon has held him as he shakes in the night when his dreams turn dark and he has felt the reckless abandon when they kiss.
03 - Young
Eragon knows for a fact that Murtagh is only a scant few years older than him; but when he looks in his eyes, when he hears the murmurs while he dreams, when he sees his steely determination, Eragon understands how young he really is.
04 - Last
The son of Morzan is the last person Saphira would have expected Eragon to travel with, much less befriend, but watching them ride in companionable silence convinces her that it is right.
05 - Wrong
“You’re wrong, Eragon,” Murtagh says softly, purposely avoiding the hurt look in the younger boy’s eyes, “It would be easier to let them in my mind, but not better.”
06 - Gentle
Murtagh watches Eragon with Saphira and Snowfire; he wonders how, despite all the cruel things that have happened to the Rider, he has remained a gentle soul.
07 - One
Eragon trusts Brom, he is entranced by Arya, and he likes Ajihad; but there is only one person that he loves, irrationally and illogically perhaps, but Murtagh is the one just the same.
08 - Thousand
Amidst the roaring tide of thousands of Urgals, standing on the muddy, blood soaked ground, Eragon thinks of only two other beings; Saphira, roaring and fighting with all her might and Murtagh, his blade whirling in the one gift from his father that he welcomes.
09 - King
Murtagh worries about what will happen when Eragon comes face to face with Galbatorix; he worries about the moment when the abstract hatred within the very young rider will clash with the awesome power of Alagaësia’s very old king
10 - Learn
“You have to force yourself not to think about it,” Murtagh said gently, wrapping his arm around Eragon’s shoulder, “You have to learn to live with the guilt, because even though it isn’t your fault, it’s never really going to go away.”
11 - Blur
Murtagh’s childhood is a blur of images; his father screaming, his mother crying, and Eragon’s damned sword, the bastard weapon Za’roc, flying at him.
12 - Wait
Eragon doesn’t know if he has the patience to wait for his training in Ellésmera to finish; not when the people he has come to care about are fighting and dying.
13 - Change
“You’ve changed very much since we met,” Saphira observes one day and Eragon isn’t sure if it’s a compliment or not.
14 - Command
“The next time you command a pebble to ganga fram*,” Murtagh snapped at a red faced Eragon, “Would it be too much trouble to tell it to avoid my head!?”
15 - Hold
“Hold me.” Murtagh says in a voice that is both commanding and pleading; Eragon obeys, knowing that it is all he can do to keep the monsters from his dreams and memories at bay.
16 - Need
They are very compatible, but at times their desires pull them violently in opposite directions; Eragon needs to go to the Varden with the same intensity that Murtagh needs to stay far away.
17 - Vision
As they approach the Varden, Eragon has visions of Arya alive and well, thanking him with all her graceful wisdom; Murtagh sees weapons drawn and cold faces condemning the son since they cannot reach the father.
18 - Attention
The people of the Varden as so awed by Saphira, that Eragon and Murtagh’s linked hands go unnoticed.
19 - Soul
Occasionally Murtagh gets jealous of the close bond Eragon and Saphira share so effortlessly; though he imagines that it must be very hard at times to share your soul with another being.
20 - Picture
“What a charming picture,” Saphira teases Eragon and Murtagh, “You look like two little hatchlings all nuzzled together like that.”
21 - Fool
“Don’t be a fool,” Murtagh admonishes, helping Eragon to his feet after a particularly fierce sparring match, “You’re a fine swordsman; I’ve just been at it longer than you.”
22 - Mad
People have the tendency to underestimate the ferocity of Murtagh’s temper; they don’t understand the control he has to exert to tame the particular trait his father gifted to him; when that control finally breaks, the shock at seeing Murtagh is his full, glorious rage is overwhelming.
23 - Child
It doesn’t matter how many times Eragon sees the twisting rope of scar that sears Murtagh’s back in half, he will never how anyone could cause their own child such unspeakable agony.
24 - Now
He hates when people make him do things he does not wish; it makes him think of Morzan and how the single phrase, “Now, boy,” would send could fear dancing down his spine.
25 - Shadow
“Saphira, what would it take to convince you to fly overhead and let us ride in your shadow?” Murtagh asks in desperation as they trek beneath the blistering sun of the Hadarac Desert.
26 - Goodbye
“Good bye.” Eragon murmured, standing at the mouth of the tunnel where Ajihad died and Murtagh vanished.
27 - Hide
“I understand why you try to hide from him,” Eragon murmured, looking down at his hands, “Sometimes...a lot of the time...I want to do the same thing.”
28 - Fortune
“But thankful for the good fortune to be alive,” Murtagh murmured in Eragon’s ear as they lay together, “I can teach you to live with the scar, but I can’t bring you back to life.”
29 - Safe
Absurd as it sounds, with seemingly every power in the world converging on him, Eragon always manages to feel safe with Murtagh holds him close.
30 - Ghost
They both have ghosts standing over their shoulders, whispering accusations in their minds; Murtagh has his father, hatred and disgust burning in his eyes and Eragon has his father, writhing in fevered agony as he died.
31 - Book
Eragon is very careful when he chooses books from Ajihad’s library to be sent to Murtagh in his lovely, little cell; nothing about history, nothing about the Riders, and most certainly nothing about Galbatorix and the Forsworn.
32 - Eye
Murtagh had the most lovely eyes; though the pain that blazed through them could be disconcerting at times.
33 - Never
“I will never serve Galbatorix,” Murtagh declared, though his words had the uncomfortable smack of prophecy to them.
34 - Sing
Eragon hates to sing alone, as does Murtagh; but when the long hours of worry and pressure become too much, they spontaneously launch into rude drinking songs that neither are willing to explain to Saphira.
35 - Sudden
Murtagh realized that changes in his life always happened suddenly; one day he was protected by his mother, the next day she was gone and one day he was living in self imposed solitude, the next he was traveling with a genuine friend.
36 - Stop
“Stop asking me, Eragon.” Murtagh said quietly, though his voice was laced with steel. “You don’t want to talk about your past and I don‘t want to talk about mine.”
37 - Time
Time acquired a strange fluidity as Eragon and Murtagh traveled toward the Varden; moments when they sat by the fire and simply talked lasted for wondrous lifetimes, while at the same time, the days until they reached the vanguard of rebellion in the empire slipped away at an alarming rate.
38 - Wash
While the healers tend Eragon, in a parallel to his own life that both infuriates and frightens him; Murtagh takes Za’roc and cleans the blood from the gleaming blade, hoping in the back of his mind that someday he will be able to cleanse the evil from it.
39 - Torn
“It took me far longer than it should have to realize that he hated me,” Murtagh confesses, his whole body shaking, “And that realizations tore me apart...it does to this day.”
40 - History
Murtagh hates history; history is a long, bloody record of his father’s descent into madness and evil.
41 - Power
Sometimes the temptation to ignore Brom’s repeated warnings and push his power to the limit is bad enough that he starts forming the Ancient language into the proper sentence in his mind before he stops himself.
42 - Bother
“If it bothers you so much, let Saphira and I into your mind,” Eragon replied calmly after Murtagh snarkily commented how much he hated it when they carried on long, psychic conversations.
43 - God
Murtagh stopped believing in a higher power when he was a child, laying on his bed with a dozen doctors trying desperately to close his back; but now, with Eragon sleeping peacefully on his chest, he decided to give the powers that be another chance to prove their wisdom and worth.
44 - Wall
The walls in Murtagh’s mind are absolutely impenetrable; Eragon might as well be beating against solid diamonds with a stick for all the success he has trying to break through.
45 - Naked
Sometimes, when Eragon stares at him with those piercing eyes; Murtagh feels infinitely more vulnerable and exposed than if he had been standing there naked.
46 - Drive
Murtagh has no driving force; he exists from day to say, avoiding Galbatorix and hating the ancestry that condemns him.
47 - Harm
Eragon wonders sometimes what evil Murtagh could have done that would make him guard his mind so closely; but the idle thought is always followed by the much darker worry about who harmed the young man badly enough for him to hide it away in shame.
48 - Precious
More than once, Murtagh has suppressed the desire to seize Eragon’s precious sword from its sheath and melt the blade into the black oblivion that it and it’s damned memories deserve.
49 - Hunger
Not so very long ago, Murtagh only yearned for fresh venison, good ale, and a relatively comfortable bed to sleep in; but now he finds himself hungering inexplicably for the electricity of Eragon’s touch.
50 - Believe
“I don’t believe that your parents make you who you are,” Eragon comments one evening as they sit in the glow of their fire’s dying embers, “Blood is important, but in the end it’s only the stuff that leaks when you’ve been wounded.”
*ganga fram = to go forward (Ancient language)
PS - I was writing these without my copy of Eragon at hand. I lent it to a friend while I was reading Eldest, so any canon mistakes are totally my bad and I apologize.
Feedback is greatly appreciated