Eragon. That name still brings in the crowd around the village bonfires like, well, like a fire. Everyone knows the story but they always like hearing it, and I always like telling it. But here's a little secret if you go to any other village, town, or city you'll hear how Eragon and Saphira accomplished their feats almost completely on their own. Not true, here in Carvahall we know. We know they had help from friends who in all likelihood should probably have never existed. And before you go off saying "Yeah I knew Roran played a bigger part than he let on!" I'm going to tell you no idiot. Did you ever hear of a girl named Lily and her dragon Azurit? No? Oh you thought we were just some ramblings of the town elders and didn't believe. Well sit and listen to the real story of what happened all those years ago.

Eragon was out hunting… Yes I know you know this bit now shut up and listen! Ahem, Eragon was out hunting and he had his eyes on a doe with a limp. He was clueless as to how she got this far, but tonight he was going to bag her. And then, as he was about to draw his bow he stopped. He felt watched. He had felt it for a good part of the trip but had assumed it was just the Spine playing tricks on him, now he wasn't so sure. Well, the doe isn't going anywhere… he thought as he looked around trying to find the source of his unease. Little did he know that fate had more than one surprise for him that night.

Eragon was pretty good at creeping around in the shadows, but not nearly as good as me. By the time he knew what was happening I had stolen his knife and killed the doe for him. The look on his face when the herd came charging towards him was priceless! I wish I had known how to make a fairth then! And then Eragon saw me, after two days of me following him… I'm still surprised he didn't see me sooner. I was only about eleven, scrawny, with raggedy hair that I somehow managed to keep short and I was dressed in old rags of varying shades of brown.

"Who're you?" Eragon asked.

"I don't know."

"How could you not know? Don't you have a name?"

"Name?" I didn't know what that was… hell I didn't even know what I just killed, only that it was edible and wasn't a threat to me.

"Yeah, my name's Eragon." He spoke as if he was talking to a toddler. Gah!

"Yeah, well you're a horrible hunter. You couldn't even catch a…" Snickering Eragon filled in the name "Doe?"

"Yeah that. Any ways you suck."

"No I do-" BANG! The loudest sound I ever heard crashed into my ears and I was cowering behind Eragon in record time.

He looked at me in surprise and then turned to the source of the sound reaching for his knife and not finding it he looked around quizzically until he noticed my white knuckled grip on it. Eragon flashed a small grin at me as we crept closer to the center of the clearing. He was more focused on the object in the center of the explosion while I was more focused on the sounds around us, which were nil. I turned my attention to what looked like a ridiculously large midnight blue stone. Eragon nudged it with an arrow: nothing happened so naturally I did the next stupid thing. I touched it and it felt warm, smooth, and hard. After I was satisfied it was just a stone I went back to the doe I had killed earlier, it was charred like the rest of the place but not badly enough that some meat couldn't be salvaged.

Eragon noticed what I was doing and helped me get rid of the charred meat. As we worked in silence I realized I liked being around other creatures like me and wondered if he'd let me go back to where he lived with him. Eragon broke the silence first, "Well that about does it, can you carry the stone? I picked it up, it's not that heavy."

"Sure." Came my somewhat glum reply.

"What are you upset about? I can't carry the stone and the meat back home."

"You mean I can come with you?!"

"Why wouldn't you be able to? Do you have a family here?"

"What's a family?"

"Come on, I'll explain on the way back." I almost kicked him because he was openly laughing now. But I went with him, carrying the stone that never seemed to cool down. Eragon explained a lot of things to me, like what a village was, how people (that's what we are) lived together as families and the ups and downs of that life, but I mostly liked hearing about his family. And I would've gotten more out him if he hadn't chucked a stick at me so I would let him sleep.

When I woke up he was watching me with a funny look. "You need a name."

"Why?"

"Because I can't just call you Thing." He scoffed at my name for myself.

"…Fine."

"That was easy."

"No, no it isn't." And so for the rest of the morning Eragon started spewing random names, some I liked but none really felt right. Then we passed a pond with flowers on them, Eragon kept walking not noticing that I'd stopped to stare at them. When he realized I wasn't behind him, he came back with another name. I beat him to it, "What are these?" I asked pointing to the beautiful white flowers.

"Those are lilies."

"I like them, can my name be Lily?"

"Lily, huh?" He looked me up and down, studying me and then looking at the flowers. "Sure, why not? Your name is Lily." And we both grinned and continued on our way to Palancar Valley, and to Eragon's home.