Eragon and Murtaugh took her introduction seriously, though she could tell they were both bursting with questions. Especially Eragon, who seemed very intrigued by the idea of another world. Murtaugh spoke first, slowly, as though wary of offense.
"Where you come from, what exactly is this 'Immortal Flame Clan?'"
Eragon, unable to contain his interest, did not give her time to answer, his own questions burstinh through the floodgates that were his mouth.
"...And what are these firekeepers? Are they a group of mages that specialize in magic that has to do with flame? If so, they sound powerful... And what is this 'valor' you mentioned of? You spoke of it as a concrete existence, not trait of man, isn't that right? Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for you to be 'adopted' by it."
Murtaugh shot a warning glance at his companion that was entirely missed, as Eragon stared at Nephis with more eagerness than the he consciously exuded. He seemed to have put the contents of their argument on the back burner, for now.
Nephis looked at the both of them in turn, calmly, speaking with dignified words.
"The Immortal Flame Clan was once one of the largest and most well-known factions of power in my world. Broken Sword and Smile of Heaven, the founders, were my parents."
Murtaugh frowned, confused.
"Broken sword and smile of heaven? Are those titles of some sort? Perhaps earned in battle?"
Neph nodded, smiling slightly.
"You could say that. They earned them in their Nightmares."
It was Eragon who asked the next question, mirroring Murtaugh's confusion.
"Nightmares? How can you 'earn' anything in your nightmares? Aren't they in one's mind?"
Nephis shook her head.
"Where I come from, there is a great distinction between people with power and people without. This typically stems from whether or not they have experienced these Nightmares. We call the average person 'mundane', which make up most of the population of my world, and the comparatively rare few that have lived through these Nightmares, 'Awakened'."
The sky had completely darkened by now, and the first stars were beginning to show themselves in the night sky. The bright flame of the campfire illuminated the odd group; The dancing flames shimmered in the facets of the woman's polished armor and along the band of silver that was her crown, brought light to the darkened face of the teenager on the cusp of adulthood, and turned the brown eyes of the youth a liquid chocolate.
The night was quiet. The air, in stark contrast to the blistering authority of the sun during the day, was a dominating cold that seeped into the very cracks of the shattered earth.
The moon stood high in the sky, bright and solitary, lonesome even among the stars. It looked like a great, lidless eye of some unfathomably large creature, composed of the night sky itself. It watched over the actions of the individuals that ringed the campfire, including the slumbering dragon, the group utterly alone on the vast stretch of cracked plates of earth that spread from a single point like a place of impact, with freezing indifference.
Eragon ran a sun-tanned hand through his scruffy brown hair, tousling it even further, a frown on his face.
"Why are these 'awakened' so powerful?"
Nephis answered quickly.
"Because they are granted access to special powers. If they live, of course. Many do not. In fact, the majority don't. And that number keeps growing smaller as an Awakened faces more Nightmares."
Murtaugh listened quietly as the two exchanged question and answer, but he, too, was deeply interested.
"There is more than one Nightmare?"
"Indeed. Actually, there are seven of them, in total. The greatest humanity as a whole has been able to conquer is up to the fourth. Currently, three individuals possess such dire power, labeled as Supreme. Only two are present in the affairs of Earth, and the third is nowhere to be found. These two are rulers, and are considered to be the greatest assets humanity has against the efforts of the Nightmare Spell. Some believe it impossible to go further."
Murtaugh and Eragon, drawn into the narrative, waited for her to continue. When she did, her voice was cold, bringing ice into their limbs, and their eyes widened in surprise as they listened to her utter her next words, a declaration.
"...But I will. I will go further. I will ascend to that which mortality cannot comprehend, rise above all the rest. And I will destroy the Nightmare Spell, once and for all. I will shatter it from existence, as though it had never been part of my world in the first place. And, finally, I will reclaim the world it has stolen from me."
Eragon and Murtaugh listened, tense and afraid, as Nephis stared with passion-filled eyes into the depths of the burning ash and flame of the campire, searching for something deeper inside, chilling the world around her.
Then, she breathed out, all at once, seemingly relaxing as she carefully plucked a single hair that had escaped onto her face, tossing it carelessly over her shoulder with her gloved fingertips. The wrist and back of her hand were plated in light armor, but her fingers were free, covered only by a thin, black, lusterless glove.
The world returned to its normal temperature. Regardless, the two boys shivered, and Eragon, noticing a tenseness in his right arm, glanced down at his hand, which had unconsciously clenched back into a fist and was shaking slightly. Luckily, his grip had not been powerful enough to harm himself this time, but he quickly loosened it nonetheless, shaking it a bit.
This time, it was Murtaugh who broke the stillness of the world first.
"You seem to have a great ambition indeed, Lady Nephis. I do not know what this 'Nightmare Spell' is, or what it has taken from you, but somehow I find it hard to believe that you will do anything but succeed in destroying it."
Nephis looked at him, remnants of her previous coldness still visible in the depths of her silver eyes. Murtaugh suppressed a shiver.
Then, she whispered, as though to herself, turning her gaze to the cracked earth.
"...Everything. It's taken everything."
Some emotion flickered over her face for a moment, so quickly Murtaugh wasn't quite sure if it had come in the first place, but then it was gone, replaced the the smooth, emotionless mask of alabaster skin.
She sighed.
"If you truly knew of the magnitude of what I speak, you would not be so optimistic."
Murtaugh silently disagreed, but refrained from mentioning such.
"...Is that so. Well, then, thank you for sharing your story with us. The rest can wait for morning."
Eragon looked at Murtaugh with indignance.
"What? No! Of course not! I have far to many quesitons, I haven't even..."
He was silenced by a well-placed look from Murtaugh.
"Besides, the stew is almost mush now. We must eat with haste, Eragon. You do remember how far it is we have to travel, don't you? We need as much rest as we can get. And we need to feed and water the horses at dawn's break, as well. They've gone hungry all day."
Eragon scowled and opened his mouth to object further, but suddenly his expression changed entirely as he frowned and blinked.
"...Of course. You're right. How did I forget?"
He seemed genuinely puzzled. Murtaugh answered him casually, fishing two bowls out of a pack and using the same, large wooden spoon he had mixed the soup with to ladle two identical servings into them, reaching over and placing one next to Eragon.
"Probably her story. It is quite interesting. You merely got cooped up in it."
Eragon nodded, but continued frowning.
"But I could've sworn..."
Then his face cleared.
"Ah. of course. I do love my stories, after all. Brom told great stories as well. I loved those when I was younger."
Nephis watched the proceedings with a frown on her face, perplexed bu the sudden change in behavior. Saphira's great body shifted slightly in her sleep.
'That was... odd. Almost like...'
She watched carefully as Eragon ate his meal with surprising gusto. Murtaugh didn't even bother trying to match his pace, and was only a quarter way done with his own bowl of soup when Eragon gulped down the remnants. He lunged for one of the many sacks and bags that had been piled between him and Murtaugh, opening it and pulling out half a loaf of bread with one hand. He tore chunks of it off with his teeth like a wild animal, before he caught Murtaugh's eye and swallowed hard. He ripped off the unbitten end of it and tossed it to Murtaugh, who began to sop it into his own soup, neatly biting off small chunks of it. Eragon looked disappointed at not having thought of this himself, and used what was little was left of his share of the bread to mop up the remnants of his own meal.
When he was finished, he dumped the bowl back into the same bag as the bread and promptly began to lay out his bedding, right next to his dragon. He yawned loudly before closing his eyes and mumbling a thank you to Murtaugh for the meal.
Surprising Nephis with the sudden movement, a large wing suddenly detached itself from the supposedly slumbering beast and curled underneath the youth, dragging hims closer to her sapphire scales. Covered by the veil of her wing, and tucked close to a body that radiated warmth rivaling the campfire, Eragon let out a noise of contentment and promptly fell asleep.
Nephis looked at Murtaugh, who had just finished his own bowl, and was now retrieving Eragon's from the incorrect bag. He noticed Nephi's gaze and chuckled somewhat darkly, inclining his head at the pair.
"Cozy, aren't they? Sometimes I forget, since they don't usually talk to each other out loud, but then they share these looks of... understanding. Watching it makes you feel a bit left out, to be honest."
He sighed, closing the sacks and the carefully placing several more logs onto the fire, from the small pile that sat next to it.
"Wouldn't mind a dragon of my own, to sleep with. Seems comforting."
Nephis didn't respond.
"We can talk more at dawn, but I must ask... would you come with us? I know earlier you argued with Eragon about the morality of conquerors, but if it helps in any way, I want you to know that Galbatorix's subjects aren't exactly happy under his rule. Unfair taxes, tariffs, laws, distributions of wealth, the power his soldiers wield... the Empire's a mess if you peel back a couple layers and take a peek at what lies beneath. I myself have more reason to hate the Empire than most, but that's neither here nor there. The only thing keeping the cities together is fear, both of change, the strength of the Empire, and of retribution by its King."
He began rolling out his own bed, but did not lay down, instead sitting atop it and looking Nephis in the eyes. His tone was serious.
"I don't know exactly why I feel this way, but I know that you are important. You are too powerful. I can instinctively tell that a great many things will begin to revolve around you, in due time. For good or ill. It is simply your nature. I even trust you, to a degree, which you should know does not come easily. I don't have an explanation for that, either, besides instinct. I want to ignore it... but I know I can't. I believe Eragon is already feeling some measure of this himself. So I ask... would you join us? Even for a time. Even though I regret saying so, we don't have a clear objective in mind of where we are traveling to. But even so, we might be able to find... some sort of people that could help you. If you wanted, you could even live a quiet live in Surda or the like."
He gave her a one-over glance, then coughed.
"...Well, not exactly quiet, but you should understand my meaning."
When Nephis answered, her voice started out slow and deliberate.
"I... might agree to a proposition like that. Even though I can tell none of you three are particularly weak, even by this world's standards, I don't doubt my own ability to defend myself, even from a betrayal you may attempt to commit."
She eyed him coldly.
"Not that you would be foolish enough to try something of the like."
Murtaugh nodded, lowering himself to his bed. Despite the cold, he did not cover himself with the blankets at his feet, instead folding his arms in and facing the fire, closing his eyes.
"Of course, Lady Nephis. I will trust you with first watch. Wake me when you feel tired."
Nephis kept the fire going till morning broke.