This is my version of what will happen in the final book in the Inheritance trilogy.

This is my first story, so expect it to be bad.

Please don't flame, I would prefer constructive criticism.

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Eragon. Duh.

Empire

Eragon walked the dry, flat Burning Plains, examining the carnage from the battle that had occurred only a day before. The smell of rotting corpses already hung in the air, and unbearable heat scorched the survivors.

He entered the simple, tan tent that he knew belonged to Nasuada, the newly appointed leader of the Varden, and stepped in. Nasuada was talking to Trianna, the sorceress who was head of Du Vrangr Gata, the Varden's magic users.

"Ah, greetings, Shadeslayer," Nasuada acknowledged Eragon before continuing her conversation.

Eragon sat down by the two women and waited silently for them to finish speaking. He caught most of what they were saying, and, strangely, they seemed to be talking about lace. After a short while, Trianna left, and Nasuada turned her attention to Eragon.

"Yes?"

"Ah yes, milady, I was meaning to ask you something. Well, first off, I must be leaving soon. I have three different promises and I need to fulfill each one. The dwarves are burying Hrothgar tomorrow, so once I cure Elva, I need to attend. I also need to help my cousin kill the Ra'zac to rescue his bride-to-be. After that, I will need to travel back to the elves to complete my training and-"

"I know. Please skip to the questions. It's okay if you have to leave. The Imperials won't attack again for a while, seeing as how they took a solid beating already, so it is not required for you to stay."

"Right. Well, I was wondering about our numbers. How many casualties were there?"

"All told, 722 Varden and dwarves killed, 1,004 wounded. The urgals lost five, with all the others wounded, and as far as we know, the Empire has 29,462 dead, and 16 captured. We don't know how many wounded."

Eragon was shocked by the numbers, especially the one for the Empire. "We killed that many Imperials?"

"Yes. Angela did about a quarter of that with poison, and that ship with the flaming javelins did quite a bit, too. Plus, you killed a lot, and the Burning Plains and everybody else did the rest. It's shocking, if you consider the fact that we were fighting out in the open against that army. We were lucky that they didn't surround us."

"Yes, alright. I see. Well, farewell, Lady Nasuada."

Eragon left the tent to find Saphira. He spotted her gathering the bodies of the dead. Eragon ran to and greeted her

There you are, Little One. Where have you been?

I spoke with Nasuada. You will not believe how many casualties the Empire took.

This is a grim matter to be speaking of. How many?

Close to 30,000!

"Hey, Eragon!" Eragon's cousin yelled as he began running to him and Saphira.

"Hail, brother!" The two had become like brothers over the years, and still were.

"I was just wondering, you know, about Katrina. So when will we leave to rescue her? A couple of days?"

Eragon had been meaning to tell his cousin that he needed to attend the Hrothgar's funeral before they left, and decided this was the best time to do so. "We should be able to leave within the week. I do need to attend the funeral of the dwarf king and hear the announcement of their new ruler"

"Wait. What funeral? When did this come up?"

"Well, during the battle King Hrothgar was killed by...your other cousin. You-know-who. Anyway, I do have to attend his funeral. I knew him, he was a good person, and since I have been made and honorary dwarf-"

"Wha-?"

"Don't stare. Yes, I've been made an honorary dwarf. It is and honor, by the way. Anyway, it would simply be unacceptable to not attend. Please understand. Besides, we will be out of here within a week anyway, and then we can rescue Katrina."

"All right. I see you've changed in more ways than one. I guess I can't argue with that. But could you please scry her again?"

"All right, I need a pool of-"

"Shadeslayer!"

Eragon spun around to see Jarsha, a boy he had met months ago, running up to him

"Sir, sir! Lady Nasuada needs you!"

So? What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Despise it?

Well, please read and review!