FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Right, so I suddenly came up with this idea a while back but didn't know how it would turn out and it was only recently that I started it up. Rate, comment, and enjoy the story!

Brand darted in the shadows of the alleyways of Dras Leona, trying with all his might to avoid the soldiers of the Varden. The young man had a reason for avoiding the soldiers, but he didn't want anyone to find out, even if one of the more famous soldiers were his friend. His brown hair, tied in a pony-tail, was blown in the wind as he walked near a four-way crossing, where he heard a loud thumping noise coming closer and closer to his location. Out of the corner of his emerald green eye, Brand saw something blue and reflective heading towards him and he immediately darted behind a ruined wall of a house, destroyed by gods know what from the fierce battle earlier that day.

Not a very religious man, Brand Orson was, by all means, an ordinary looking man. The only thing that would draw the eyes of people from his white peasant shirt and his baggy black pants would be the bandages on his right arm. These bandages covered almost every inch of his arm, from the very tip of his fingers all the way up to just below the shoulder. Hidden under his white shirt was a leather necklace with a bright red ruby in the center of silver linings, which he clutched carefully as he heard the thumps come closer, whispers of prayers on his lips.

Soon the shape was walking past the cross road: A dragon with sapphire blue scales and eyes. Upon the back of the great beast, just at the nook of its long neck and body, rode a young man that appeared to be around Brands age, but the man was different as his ears were slightly pointed and his hair was of a blonder colour then his. He even appeared fairer, like an elf, unlike Brand where he was slightly broader at the chest and shoulders. Brand sighed as he watched the two go by, several Varden soldiers walking right behind them as well as several elves, one of which appeared to have fur growing forth from his body. It was hard however, to know that this same man on the dragon was in fact one of his old friends from the small northern village of Carvahall: Eragon.

Brand merely shook his head, his mind going back to the 'good ol' days'. Back then he had lived a quiet peaceful life as a farmer there and had made many of the villagers into friends, even if he barely ever showed his face to the others. He had left that village seven years ago, yet even if Eragon saw Brand now, he was sure to recognized him almost immediately as Brand seemed not to have changed over the years.

He quickly brought his mind back to the present, snorting as he realized that Eragon and the dragon were heading towards the castle. Brand swore as he continued on with his darting, heading towards where the two had rounded a corner. He had to get home and fast, so that he can quickly leave this city before any unwanted attention came his way.

A few minutes later, he stopped behind another wall as he heard voices. He looked around the corner only to quickly shoot his head back as he saw Eragon talking to a dark skinned woman. Brand was no idiot; he knew who the girl was: Nasuada, leader of the Varden and a good friend of Eragons. He swore at their location though, as Brands home was right across the street from where he was. The two were both right smack in the middle, between him and the door. Looking around, he quickly spotted a cloak that was large enough to cover him up completely. Smiling, Brand threw it around his broad shoulders and began to walk across the road. Eragon and Nasuadas conversation seemed to have ended and Eragon turned in time to see Brand walk past.

"Hey hang on there! Your injured!" Eragon called to the man, walking towards him. Brands hand immediately clenched tighter on the cloak, and it was then that Brand realized he had his right arm out. Shit! I should've used my left arm to keep this thing on! And I am literally at my front door too! He cursed his own stupidity as Eragon stopped before the cloaked figure

"I am fine shadeslayer." Brand replied curtly, turning his head away from Eragon. "Just a small scratch is all." Eragon however found this quite suspicious as he can see quite clearly a fully bandaged arm. If it was a small scratch, then why bandage the entire arm. The fact that the man had turned his face away only made him even more suspicious, but he decided not to dwell on it as the man seemed quite nervous already. Eragon believed that the man's nervousness was from the battle earlier that same day.

"Please, let me help you." The fair man said, reaching to take his arm in his hand. Brand reacted almost instantly by pulling his arm away from Eragon, only to end up with his hood flying off. Both of their eyes went wide as Eragon saw Brands fully revealed face. Brand was filled with shock and he swore at his stupidity yet again.

Crap!_Thought Brand as he backed up, pressing himself against the wood of his door. His hand fumbled for the door as Eragon sat there, staring at him. _Act natural! Don't run inside; don't try to grab your things and leave! That will only cause him to wonder if you're against him and the Varden

"Brand, is that you?" Eragon questioned as he took a step closer to him. Brand however merely smiled nervously at his old friend, despite the fact that his heart was pounding at a very quick and a very hard rate.

"Ehehe, Hi Eragon. Haven't seen you in years sorry but I've got to go. I'll talk to you later alright." Brand chuckled nervously and despite his earlier warnings to himself, he grabbed the handle behind him and pushed it open. Brand darted inside and was about to close the door when Eragon shot his foot in the door.

Ah hell, that's right. Brand thought sadly as Eragon pushed the door open with a grin. Riders have certain physical upgrades.

_ _ "I haven't seen you in over seven years Brand!" Exclaimed Eragon happily as he barged in. He eyed his friend up and down. "You looked like you haven't aged a bit! Even though the last time I saw you, you were 18!"

Brand merely shrugged. "Ehh, living as a librarian has its ups." Eragon suddenly gave him a huge hug, in which Brand returned graciously. After that Eragon held Brand at arm's length.

Gods, guess I may as well entertain him. Brand told himself. I mean, he was one of my closest friends back in Carvahall after all. This was true, as Eragon would often come and visit Brand if Eragons uncle, Garrow, brought him along to the village. During the time of Brands stay there, Eragon became a brother-like friend to him and he was quite grateful for that. Brand didn't have siblings and he barely even knew where he could find his own parents let alone if he even had any.

"Oh, that's right you said that you left strictly for that reason. Do you have a book collection now?" He asked expectantly, pulling Brand out of his train of thought. "I'm expecting a large one Brand, as you already had a rather large one back in Carvahall."

"Aye. That I have." Brand turned and walked down a small hall, only to stop and indicate for Eragon to follow. "Well, come on, I'll show you it myself!" Eragon grinned like a little boy and followed the taller man down the hall and stopped next to him at a small door.

"It's not a very big collection mind you, but I still advise you to be careful. Most of these books are older than the two of us combined." He warned, swinging his finger at Eragon for emphasis. Brand turned back to the door when Eragon nodded and pushed it open.

As soon as the door opened, Eragon gasped at what lay behind it. There, lining every single wall and several rows of shelving were hundreds of books, each a different size and colour. The young man stared in wonder as Brand beamed at his large collection, but Eragon suddenly eyed Brand and chuckled.

"Not a very big collection?" Eragon asked, raising an eyebrow. "Brand this collection has got to be seven times the size of the one I saw!" Brand merely shrugged sheepishly as he sat down at a small brown desk that was directly across from the door.

"What can I say?" He said quietly. Raising his feet and resting them on the desk as he pointed his thumbs at himself with a grin. "I'm the hoarding kind of book worm." Both men chuckled until Brand jumped at a large thump from outside the building. Sitting straight up, he peered up to see a large blue eye staring through a window and shook his head as he turned back to Eragon.

"May I ask what her name is?" Brand asked pointing his thumb up at the eye.

"Her name is Saphira. I'm surprised you even know what gender she is anyway." Eragon replied. He suddenly shrugged and shook his head. "But then again, you seem to know a lot of things others wouldn't even deem important."

Brand merely shrugged yet again as he stood up and bowed to the dragon. "It is an honor and a privilege to have finally met one such as you Saphira Bjartskular." The dragon's eye blinked in surprise that the human knew the word for Brightscales in the ancient language, but nodded in respect to the human's household.

Eragon too, was surprised as not many humans ever considered learning the ancient language except for mages and elves. He was busy staring at all the books that Brand had collected over the years. There was one that caught his attention though and he reached up to pull off a rather large red covered book. On it read the words _Journal of Brand Orson_and he

tried to open it out of curiosity only to find that it would not. A quick inspection revealed no visible lock, like the pages were glued shut. Maybe a spell was cast for only the owner on it.

"Have you studied magic Brand?" Eragon asked turning to look back as he placed the book back in its place before walking over to the desk.

Brand shook his head. "No." He replied stiffly. "If I had, I would've fixed this arm of mine a long time ago." At this he raised his right and Eragon studied it carefully, trying to see if he can catch a glimpse of the wound but shook his head when he saw that it was a proper bandage, made to seal off every millimetre of skin.

"Are you sure you don't want me to heal your arm?" He asked. Brand merely shook his head yet again.

"No. It is my duty to see this arm fixed by my hand only." He looked up at Eragon sadly. "And no one else must help, but I thank you for your kindness Eragon." He leaned back in his chair sighing as Eragon took a seat across from Brand. He did not press the situation further as Brand seemed to be gazing off at nothing, like he was remembering something until he shook his head and looked at Eragon.

"So tell me, what happened to Carvahall? I have heard stories, but I need to hear it from someone that I know personally. No lies, that village was as much a home to me as it was to you." At the sound of their old home, Eragon leaned down sadly, almost instantly telling Brand what he didn't want to hear.

"Ah, so what I heard is true then. Carvahall is no more." His fist clenched at the thought of that beautiful village gone. "So Roran saved the villagers by leading them across the damn world huh? I have to admit, that is quite an impressive feat." He looked back up at the dragon. "But I never imagine that you would become the next Rider. Some luck right?"

Eragon looked up at his dragon fondly. "Aye some luck." His smile quickly faded as he turned back to Brand

"Brand..." He began slowly. Eragon di not want to ask his friend this, but he had to. "Will you join the Vardens cause? We will be moving on to Urû'baen in a couple of weeks." He looked down at his feet, not wanting to ask. "The Varden needs all the help we can get and I know you will be great help. Your favourite novels were one on strategy and I have never heard you lose a single game that involved that back at Carvahall."

Brand sat there staring down at the ground before replying. "I'm sorry Eragon, but I can't." He said quietly. The next part was said almost inaudible. "I swore to stay out of this fight since the very day it started."

This confused Eragon, the Varden had declared its rebellion long before either of them were born. How can Brand say he was going to stay out of this fight when it started, when he shouldn't have even been born yet?

His thoughts we're interrupted by Saphira, who was surprisingly talking to both at once with her telepathic ability. And may we ask why you refuse to fight with us? She asked.

Brand shook his head yet again. "I am sorry." He calmly stated. "But that is a reason that I must keep to myself. From both of you" He looked back up at Eragon. "Forgive my rudeness, but I wish to be alone right now Eragon. It was nice to see you again and let Roran know that I congratulate him on his many feats."

Eragon smiled back at his old friend. "Yes, it is the same for me as well Brand, and I will let him know of you congrats" With their farewells said and done, Eragon stood up and left closing the door behind him, his smile disappearing as he walked out the house quietly. Outside, Eragon heard Saphira approach from a rather large alleyway from the side of the house

Somethings not right Saphira. He told his partner as she walked up to him. The mighty female merely nodded down at him as she lowered her head down to him. She didn't need to look at his feelings to know that Eragon was worried for his old friend.

Things change over the years little one. I am certain that these changes have affected Brand as well. Saphira assured him, nudging him gently as he reached up and begin to rub along the side of her face.

Eragon merely shook his head. "No." He stated calmly. "No, theres something he's not telling us, but I don't want to alarm him that we know. He's still the same, but now I see that he has been hiding things for a long time." He looked up into Saphiras eyes

I want you to keep an eye on him.

Hours passed as Saphira watched the strange household that belonged to Brand. Darkness had fallen, leaving the city in a blanket of shadows and she was rather bored. She had sat there since Eragon left hours earlier and nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Her head perked up suddenly though, when the door to the household opened and Brand stepped out. There he stood, taking in several deep breathes before turning and began jogging down the street towards the outer wall of the city. She questioned why he was heading to the wall itself and not the gate.

Due to her promise to Eragon, she followed quietly; bounding from house to house that could support her large frame, moving much like a panther carefully observing its prey. Brand did not notice her large shadow and proceeded to the wall. Once there he stopped, gazing around to see if anyone was there, smiling when he saw no one. Saphira gazed intently curious to see what he would do when suddenly he bent his legs down...

...And leaped high over the wall, landing on the other side without a single hint of trouble.

_How..?_She did not finish her thought as the human suddenlybegan to run faster than any other across the grass towards Lake Leona. Saphira opened her wings and flew high into the air, intent on not letting the human Brand escape her gaze. She saw that he had stopped at the shore of the lake, so Saphira landed in an alcove of trees nearby, keeping herself hidden as she watched Brand.

The first thing he did was take off his robe, revealing a strong chest with fine pair of abs showing on his torso. He was no longer wearing his baggy pants and instead wore skin tight ones of the same colour as the last pair. Here he swung his fist forward, pulling it back and kicked high in the air as he turned around, slamming it down on the ground hard, like he had just kicked one opponent only to slam his foot on another.

Saphira watched as the man continued to practice. She had never seen any fighting style like it. It was as though he was dancing while his opponents had weapons for he appeared to have done mostly disarming maneuvers.

As she watched, Saphira suddenly felt something probe her mind and she reacted by placing a mental barrier around herself. She felt the probe 'tap' the invisible wall several times, but then a final earth breaking smash was felt around her as her wall was destroyed. She instantly felt the intruder slam into her mind and a loud sigh could be heard.

I don't tell you and Eragon my reasons for not joining, ad he sends you to bloody watch over me. Typical Eragon, always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. Saphira recognized the voice in her head to be Brands and looked at him. How did he break her wall so easily?

At this Brand chuckled, feeling how uncomfortable she was towards him. Brand actually found this kind of cute, coming from a dragon. Come on out, I don't bite. He began to laugh out loud. If you've been sent to keep an eye on me, you may as well get your scaly arse over here. I don't like it when someone spies on me.

_ _ Saphira was hesitant at first, as not only did this human jump over a city wall and land safely on the other side, but it broke her mental defenses as though they were twigs. Who in the world was this man, and how can he do such feats without tiring himself out?

If you know why I am here... She began, cautiously moving out of her hiding spot to reveal herself in the open. Brand was still practicing his maneuvers, but couldn't but notice how the scales seemed to reflect the moonlight, making her appear quite stunning. ...then you also know why Eragon sent me to watch you.

_ _ Brand chuckled softly at the dragons she came closer. Saphira watched quietly as his fists seemed to strike at invisible opponents and spun a quick kick that ended up with it hooked, like he had the arm of a man there, then spun his entire body to kick at the back of the "head" which would've broken the arm at the same time. He landed with his stomach on the ground.

Aye that I do. Brand leaped to his feet suddenly as he raised his fists once more. But my past will only be known to me. I will not reveal it to anyone, not even to Eragon. He did several other impressive fighting techniques, causing Saphira to snort, who was trying to sound unimpressed.

So you mean to be a coward and turn your back to this war? Asked the dragon with a hint of anger. You choose to stand to the side and watch as the world around you revolves, not giving a care of the outcome? Brand stopped, his fists slowly clenching at his sides as he shook with anger. He moved his mouth as though to speak, but only stopped to take in several breaths before he did so.

"If there is one thing I know dragon." He spoke calmly, collecting his thoughts of the situation. "It is that I am no coward. If I so wished, I could stop..."Brand trailed off, stopping himself from what he was about to say.

Then fight for us, and if you will not fight for the Varden, do it for Eragon. Do it for freedom. The dragon said calmly, certain she had gotten to Brand. She was surprised however, when Brand shook his head.

"Do as you will." He calmly said as he reached down and grasped the cloak, throwing it over his shoulder as he began to walk back to the city. "This has nothing to do with me." Saphira watched as he began to trudge back to the city. Before she could let him leave however, she quickly pounced in front of him to block his way.

Nothing to do with you?! She screamed at him, Brand did not flinch even when she had her fangs bared at him. NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU?! This war involves every single one of us! It is up to us to find the conclusion to this war, whether we are a human, Elf, Dwarf, Urgal or even a dragon. You can't just say it has nothing to do with you! You are involved in it as well, whether you want it or not!

_ _ Brand sat there waiting for her to calm down, his face that of an emotionless statue. Once she was calmed, Brand looked up at nothing in particular with a grim look.. "If I join this war..." He began slowly, emotionlessly. "...I will only cause more grief." Brand quickly brushed past her and continued on to the city, Saphiras cold blue eyes still gazing at his back as he leaped up and landed once again on the other side of the city wall.

He walked at a steady rate to his home and opened the door. Once inside, he hung his cloak up on a hook nearby and trudged down the hall. He stopped in his library and pulled his journal off the shelf and placed it on the desk. Here he sat down and filled a pen full of ink as he whispered in a language only mages and the race of elves knew causing the book to fly open to a blank page. Here Brand held the pen hovering over the parchment, only to toss it off to the side with the book and held his head with his hands. His tears were heard softly throughout the building.

"Damn it dragon." He softly sobbed as he placed his elbows on the desk. "You just had to go and say all that, didn't you?"

-Chapter One: A Familiar Face: End