In a deep, cold, dark valley in the heart of Alagaesia that no one ever passes through lies a lone pillar of sediment and stone formed by the deep muddy river that runs on either side. In it rests a powerful gem, more power than any item that the empire has ever seen. More power than any item that ever has existed
In an adjacent valley, flowing almost literally with milk and honey, the Dragon Rider Eragon searched for this very stone. The valley was full of color, for it was autumn and the trees were all decorated in bright yellow, orange, and red, and it was rich in life all around. The perfect place for the most beautiful, most powerful object, he had thought.
After much searching, however, he had come to this conclusion: the gem was not here. He and Saphira had searched almost literally everywhere and had not found a thing. Eragon was beginning to get more and more angry at himself and at the world.
Eragon, Saphira called gently, her voice soft and beautiful, do not get upset. There is another valley just over this next mountain. Perhaps the gem lies there.
And perhaps Galbatorix already has it locked away somewhere, Eragon replied.
Perhaps.
He climbed onto Saphira anyway and she shot up into the sky and began heading over the mountain nearest them. As they reached the other side, he found a sad sight before him. This valley was nothing but a barren, inhospitable wasteland filled with rock and stone. A dark, murky river ran through it, spitting and churning as it went.
Saphira, I don't like it here.
Nor do I, little one. It feels like a place of death.
Aye.
Eragon stared so intently at the ground in his nervousness; he did not see the pillar that loomed up in front of him. Saphira stopped and stared at it, then breathed on it.
Saphira? He questioned her. Without her answering, he figured out why she had done it. This was the place where the gem lay. In fact, there it lay inside a small hole where Saphira had cleared the dirt and rock. It shined its deep red color out at them, making the scales on Saphira's neck shimmer slightly. Eragon breathed deeply.
He had found it.