We were able to slip back into the army with very little fanfare. Something I was grateful for because after getting a taste of how it felt to walk through a town without practically every person staring at me or whispering behind my back about one thing or another, I don’t know if I was ready to deal with all of that again so soon.

Especially when a messenger tracked me down at my personal tent to let me know I was being summoned to a meeting first thing in the morning by Nasuada and the rest of the Varden’s leadership.

Which was…fine.

I got it, they wanted to know what happened and where I was. But all I really wanted to do was hide out in my tent and spend more time working on how to break the enchantments on the Rider swords I had.

Now that I almost had all the material I needed, this was starting to become more important because even if I got my hands on more brightsteel it would be useless if I couldn’t actually form it.

Unfortunately Rhunön was really damn good at what she did and the elven smith had made the damn things nearly unbreakable in a way that wouldn’t cause issues and leave the metal still usable. For instance, I could douse the blades in dragon fire for a few days and eventually the enchantments would fail, but I really doubted Saphira would agree to sit still doing nothing but heating up a few slivers of metal for that long without a good reason.

And anything else I could think of either involved dissolving the blades in something or blowing them up with enough force to break the spells on them. Neither was really practical since I had no idea how to go about extracting metal from a solution with middle-age tech and searching for slivers of metal in a crater didn’t sound fun.

I sighed and once again wished I had talked more with the smith when I had the chance. But I had other things to do at the time and Rhunön was also a notoriously prickly bitch. There was no telling how the forger of all the Rider’s swords would react to me asking how to erase her best works even if she had literally taken a magically enforced oath to never make another after the last war.

Artists were temperamental like that.

Nothing for it, I would just have to keep trying until I managed. And if I was really lucky, I’d be able to get a solution that would let me disenchant a sword midfight. The thought of finally dealing with Samuel after turning whatever sword he ended up with as a replacement and turning it to scrap gave me warm fuzzy feelings.

So instead of getting to work, I gave my work table one look of longing before slipping into bed. If I was going to spend tomorrow dealing with political meetings I could at least be well rested for them.

-o-

“...and then I met up with Arya and Leona and we made our way back here.” I finished narrating my unplanned adventure to the group.

The usual group was here. Nasuada, King Orrin, Jörmundur, and a few other advisors. And of course Arya was here as the Elvish representative.

Eragon and his new group of bodyguards were absent though. I wondered what he was up to…

Orrin leaned forward. “So what you’re saying is that you abandoned your duties and the Varden on a whim to galavant around the Empire?” He said with barely contained anger.

I was a little taken aback by the tone, and I could see I wasn’t the only one.

“I took advantage of an unexpected setback to pursue my own goals, King Orrin.” I said formally but as evenly as I could. “I wasn’t taking a vacation for the fun of it.”

“But you did desert us the very moment you had an opportunity.”

I bristled at the insult. In fact I wasn’t the only one. Both Arya and Nasuada looked ready to object but were holding back for now.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Two things, your Majesty.” I snarled. “First, I did not ever actually join the Varden, only offered my support, so I literally could not desert. Second, I came back immediately after getting my prize instead of searching for another. Something I remember several people here promising to help with yet failed to deliver anything beyond vague rumors.” Some of the advisors shifted awkwardly at that, well aware that there were at least a few Rider swords in Surda yet no one had given me a location for one yet.

“Another issue we need to address. I’ve withheld commentary until now, but I find it unpalatable that one of the most recognizable members of our army is in fact not a member of any organizations that make it up.”

My scowl stayed on my face. “We’ve had this discussion before.”

He nodded. “We have. And at the time we were happy to leave you as a mercenary if that was what you wanted,” I had to hold back a scoff, they were anything but happy, “but that was before your little adventure. It’s a good thing you are who you are, Lightbringer, and that you came back on your own, otherwise we’d have executed you for desertion.”

“Orrin, have you lost your mind!?” Nasuada exclaimed in outrage. “We would have revolts if we even suggested such a thing!”

“And we would have just as many problems if warriors think they can do whatever they want because they are powerful!” Orrin snapped back.

“We’ve already had to execute some deserters. Or lash the ones that returned without a fight.” Jörmundur ‘helpfully’ added.

“Common warriors, not a woman hailed as a hero by most of the army!”

“A woman that is not even a part of that army.”

“Alexandria is no more part of the Varden than I am.” Arya jumped in. “Are you going to take issue with my departure as well?”

Orrin looked like he swallowed a lemon and several advisors broke out into concerned muttering.

“Of course not, Lady Arya.” He admitted. “But you are acting as Ambassador to your mother’s will. Alexandria does not have that excuse. Your actions are not the same.”

“What do you want then, Orrin?” I demanded, tired of this whole thing and not feeling particularly respectful.

“Either you are punished for desertion to show no one is above our laws,” Nasuada, Arya, and even Jörmundur were about to protest again but paused as the king continued. “Or that you properly swear fealty to one of our camps.”

I had to admit, as annoying as this was, it wasn’t exactly unsurprising for Orrin to pull something like this.

Despite being King of Surda and supplying most of the army’s current needs, he was constantly being overshadowed by Nasuada and it was obvious it was getting to the man. Even if it was clear he didn’t want to run the entire war getting looked over by everyone to a teenage woman had to grate on his pride quite a bit.

His solution? Be the one that finally forces the Lightbringer to bend the knee and join the Varden. A prize so attractive that Nasuada didn’t immediately speak out against it. Something she rushed to correct when she noticed me glance at her but the damage was done. Everyone else had noticed her pause as well.

There was quite a bit of yelling after that - mostly from the advisors once they felt it was safe enough with everyone distracted. But like I said, I was tired of this whole thing.

I stood suddenly and almost instantly there was silence.

“I’ve made my refusal to join the Varden very clear several times now and that won’t change here.” I declared to the group. “And I refuse to submit myself to some unearned punishment to soothe your ego, Orrin. If you want me punished, find someone capable of forcing me. I’m done here.”

And with that I walked out of the tent, ignoring Nasuada’s calls for me to wait.

-o-

I didn’t immediately head back to my tent.

For one, I didn’t want to be bothered by anyone until everybody cooled off. And secondly, the only thing to do there was tinker with the various experiments I kept there. Several of which were potentially explosive if handled wrong. And considering I might be tempted to start throwing things at the moment? Much safer for everyone around me if I didn’t touch those until later.

Instead I decided to just sort of wander around the camp and take in some of the changes I’ve made while considering future paths open to me.

The biggest, most obvious change I introduced was the idea of generic mystic codes that any magic user could use with a bit of training.. Every once in a while I would see a magician with two or three of the things hanging from a belt. Most of them were still the same healing codes I introduced, but Leona had told me entire groups were popping up dedicated to creating their own codes with custom spells if they could. And I was excited to see where they ended up.

It was also proof I was going to leave a lasting mark on this world far beyond anything I intended.

Between the codes and the Healer’s Guild, that was obvious. But at the same time I was making enemies.

I still hadn’t resolved anything about the dwarven clan that declared a blood feud with me - unsurprising considering I hadn’t really spent much time in an area where they could get to me - but at some point that was going to have to be resolved.

And that was probably going to be a headache and a half now that King Orrin was trying to throw his political weight around and Nasuada was proving to not be the solid ally I’d prefer.

I didn’t really blame her though.

The power difference between us was enough to make any normal person nervous. I recognized that. Only a few short years ago I was practically tiptoeing around Yoruichi and Kisuke because of how dangerous they were. It wasn’t until I could fight close to their level and a good amount of time interacting with them as friends and colleagues that the relaxed facade I used around them changed into something more real.

Nasuada was feeling the same thing I did about being trapped in the same room with a 400 pound tiger, and unlike me, she wasn’t narrowing the power gap. Orrin giving her a legitimate way to get some sort of leash on me would have been incredibly tempting. Though it spoke well of her character that she didn’t push the advantage despite what she might have wanted to do.

But between the political problems from the Varden and the mess dealing with the Az Sweldn rak Anhûin was going to cause…did I still want to see the war play out to the end?

Samuel had to go, so I was definitely committed as long as he was still alive. But after that? Maybe try to find a way to free Murtagh and Thorn from Galbatorix’s control or otherwise remove them from the war, set Eragon up so he was better prepared to deal with the Mad King, and start planning how I was going to split from the Varden without things devolving into a fight or shattering the army’s morale when I decided to leave.

Not exactly how I thought this little adventure was going to shape up honestly.

I rolled my shoulders and shoved my depressing thoughts to the side. I wasn’t going to let politics completely ruin my day. I should go bother Angela and see what she’s up to. Yeah, that was a much better idea than getting caught up in my head about things that hadn’t even happened yet.

Maybe I would actually win an argument with her today.