Chapter One: A Girl with a Dirty White Dress

A chilly wind started to rustle through the branches. The giant trees, calm and serene during the day, were now beginning to sway as the wind picked up. Among the trails of crushed leaves, elves, now just silhouettes in the dying sun, moved gracefully along the paths that wound through the forest. Some walked slowly, their eyes watching the tumbling leaves that fell slowly, but most walked quietly along, moving with purpose. The impending wind promised a strong storm. The storms that occasionally whipped through the elven capital were as powerful as the tropical storms that hit the coast. Those storms could destroy an entire harbor and a good portion of the city with it. This storm would uproot groves giant redwoods, tear off giant branches, and coat the city with leaves. Even the great Menoa tree would sway to the tune the storm would sing. But the storm would pass, trees would be sung back into places, branches would regrow, and within a week, Ellesmera would regain the peace and quiet that it enjoyed for centuries.

One figure walked along one of the paths. It was a young man, who's movements, compared to the elves were very clumsy. He had matted brown hair, a tan complexion, and a stocky frame. His most noticeable feature was his eyes. Most eyes, especially dark ones tend to reflect back at the person looking at them, either with sadness, anger, or happiness. But this teen's eyes seemed to draw the person in, causing them to somehow connect with him. This feature, combined with the teen's naivety, allowed him to easily form friendships with others.

It was the reflection of one certain friendship that caused the teen to stop, and sit down at the base of a giant redwood. He glanced up at the falling leaves and sighed. He thought back to the afternoon with the elven princess, in the royal gardens. They had walked peacefully through, and when she showed him her favorite flower, he had said that the flower's beauty mirrored hers. At this comment, she had coldly turned away from him, as if his words were poison.

He sighed again. Elves were strange. They lived behind manners, customs, and delicately phrased words. Each word has carefully considered, and a sentence often had many meanings. All emotions were seen as a character flaw, and they were rarely seen. It was strange to the teen. He had lived in a small village for most of his life. Simple phrases and emotion had been common in his interactions with others. The same was mostly true for all of cities that had humans, or dwarfs for that mattered. The teen looked up at the falling leaves, lost in his memories. Part of him loved being a hero and Rider, but often times he thought back to his life at his home village and sometimes, he wished he had it back.

'Little one?' The familiar voice echoed through his mind.

'Yes Saphira?'

'You should come up to the loft. Sulking out there with only make you cold and miserable.'

Normally, the Rider would comment on her remark, but tonight he was tired, both physically and emotionally. 'Okay' he thought in a dejected voice. He stood up, brushed the leaves out of his hair, and began to walk along the path that would lead to his loft. As he strolled sadly along, a flash of white caught his eye. He glanced up, and stopped, faintly surprised. Among the flurry of leaves was a little girl. She wasn't one of the elven children that inhabited the city. They had radiated life and happiness. But this girl was different. She seemed to be covered in shadow, and had a faintly cold aura. The Rider watched the girl wander among the trees. She seemed like a stranger, because she didn't see any of the paths that wound through the city. Her aura disturbed him, but just as she walked away, he called out to her. "Hey!"

She stopped and turned quickly. For a second, her eyes searched through the falling leaves, but after a minute, she saw him. She gave a small wave.

"Are you lost?"

She furrowed her brow. Her voice was soft and full of sorrow. "I don't live here." She gave a small sad smile. "I don't belong here"

"Would you like to come with me? There is plenty of space in the loft I'm residing in. You can stay with me tonight."

She looked up into his eyes. For a minute, she simply stared into his eyes. Finally, she muttered, "Okay" she strode towards him with quick steps. When she stood by his side, she looked up, "What is your name?" She said in a shy voice.

The Rider smiled, "I'm Eragon" He stretched out his hand. As she took it, pain suddenly shot through his arm, and ignited the scar on his back. White lights crossed his vision as his body fell to seizures. Every touch sent needles through his body, and Eragon felt that he was somehow being burned alive from the inside up. He stayed in this state for what seemed like decades. Finally, his legs gave out and he collapsed. Leaves swirled around him, and wrapped around him like a funeral shroud. He managed to look up into the girl's eyes. She smiled faintly and whispered happily, "I like you" He passed out, and with the next flurry of leaves, the girl vanished too, nothing left to indicate that she had even existed in the first place.