This is part One of Four stories in A Rider's Inheritance.
A Rider's Blood is Part One (1) so read this one before moving onto Part II (2).
Disclaimer: This story is a FanFiction based on the events in those books, and some parts may be similar or exactly the same as parts of the book. If I took note of them all, this comment would never end. Just know that some parts are mine and some parts belong exclusively to Christopher Paolini. I do not take credit for any of his words, merely intertwine them with my own to write this story. If there are any questions, please contact me, leave a comment in a review, etc. Thank you.
Author Notes: As I am writing this, I am re-reading the Inheritance Cycle. Currently I'm on page 497/497 of Eragon - The Mourning Sage
A Rider's Blood Characters
As of Chapter Forty-One: Blood
Author updates after every new chapter, spoilers will be kept to a minimum on this page and will be posted with a warning if they are absolutely necessary*
*Review Comments will be added to the bottom of this page and labeled as to when they were added*
Upcoming:
None
Main/Current:
Mariah – Age: 15 Black hair to her chin, green eyes. Slightly shorter than Eragon.
Typical Clothing: red tunic with tan pants. Avoids dresses for practical reasons, likes dresses when she's not going to get into fights or dirty. Tight fitting black gloves with good grip on weapons. Knee-high black boots and riding cloak, usually with a hood.
Weaponry: Sword usually tied to her belt, daggers and knives usually located in her boots and at her waist. Magic from training with Brom and being a Rider.
Marcus – Age: 17-18 Black hair to his ears, blue eyes. Taller than Eragon. Scar over his left eyebrow in his hair line.
Typical Clothing: green tunic with brown pants. A brown hooded riding cloak clasped at his collar with brown knee high boots.
Weaponry: Able to use a sword well from training with Brom. Bow and arrows, used for hunting. Obsession with magic, talented from reading so many informational books and practice.
Eragon – Age: 15-16 Blond hair, blue eyes.* Slightly taller than Mariah.
Typical Clothing: white tunic with tan jacket and brown pants. Brown boots.
Weaponry: Learning swordsmanship and magic with Brom.
*Yes, I know. Eragon has brown hair and eyes in the books. However, I like the contrast with Mariah's hair color to his, and no one else has blond hair. If you don't like him having blond hair, then ignore this and think brunette with brown eyes instead. I myself am brown haired, so I have nothing against brunettes. I just like picking on Eragon about his blond hair because it's so out of place.
Murtagh - Age: 18 Shaggy dark brown hair, gray eyes. Slightly taller than Eragon.
Typical Clothing: brown tunic with brown pants. Brown boots. All well worn.
Weaponry: Hand-and-a-half sword. Hunting knife.
Arya - Age: Unknown Long black hair, vibrant green eyes. Tall and thin.
Typical Clothing: bandages and Mariah's spare tunic and leggings.
Weaponry: Elvish sword and bow.
Deceased:
Brom – Age: Unknown, Silver hair, blue eyes. Taller than Mark
Typical Clothing: Brown cloak, boots, leggings and dark blue tunic.
Weaponry: Sword and magic.
Creatures:
Dragons:
Flayme (now Andrar) – Red-orange scales. Male. Mariah's dragon. Several months older than Saphira.
Saphira – Ocean blue scales. Female. Eragon's dragoness.
Horses:
Aluora – Marcus' dusky white mare, with black mane, tail, legs, ears and nose-tip.
Snowfire – Pure white stallion. Brom purchased him in Therinsford. Mariah rode him after Brom. Lives at the Varden.
Cadoc – Light bay horse Brom purchased for Eragon in Therinsford. Eragon named him after his grandfather.
Tornac - Murtagh's Gray stallion.
Other:
Solembum - A werecat. He lives with Angela at her Herbalist shop in Teirm. Now in Farthen Dur.
Ra'zac – Servants of Galbatorix. Eragon wants revenge against them for killing his uncle Garrow.
Other:
Enemies:
Durza - Shade Eragon and Mariah fought in Gil'ead. Red hair and eyes. Vampiric looking, teenager. Eragon kills him during the Battle of Farthen Dur.
Morzan – One of the thirteen Forsworn/Wyrdfell Riders.
Galbatorix – King of Alagaësia, Dragon Rider.
Allies:
Ajihad - Human leader of the Varden. A friend of Brom's. Interrogates Eragon and Mariah and answers their questions when they arrive.
Orik - Dwarf from the Varden who rescued Eragon and Mariah from drowning in the waterfall pool. Nephew of King Hrothgar.
Nasuada - Ajihad's daughter. Lives in the Varden and assists her father in many ways. She is exceptionally beautiful and no one knows of her mother.
Hrothgar- Dwarf King who helps to lead the Varden alongside Ajihad. Also Orik's uncle.
Roran – Eragon's cousin. Left before Garrow's death for work in Therinsford as a blacksmith's assistant.
Garrow – Eragon's uncle, Roran's father. Died at the hands of the Ra'zac when they destroyed his home.
Angela - Herbalist in Teirm. Likes frogs and riddles. Is also a witch who told Eragon his fortune with Dragon Bones.
Jeod Longshanks - Graying with a beard. Friend of Brom's from when they were younger. Owns a shipping company. Knows about Saphira. Helped Eragon and Brom find the Ra'zac.
Helen Longshanks - Blonde with a pale complexion. Wife of Jeod.
__ – Mark and Mariah's father.
_ _ - Mariah and Mark's Mother
Horst – Blacksmith in Carvahall
Elain – Horst's wife
Gertrude – Healer in Carvahall
OC Other: Characters created by the author for story purposes that do not appear in the books.
Jenna - Gypsy woman met on the road to Teirm
Kyan - Jenna's husband, leader of Gypsy merchant caravan
Azraa- Jenna and Kyan's daughter, eight years old
Fadil- Jenna and Kyan's eldest son, eleven years old
Maher -Jenna and Kyan's younger son, six years old
Review Comments and Questions: Author Answers
Posted 3/23/2012
I'd just like to start by saying I chose to write this story from page one of Eragon because I didn't want to just throw in my own characters without any sort of background. I knew at which point I wanted to start, then realized I couldn't... throwing Mariah into the middle of a battle, saving Eragon's life, for example, just wasn't going to work. No one was going to care about her saving his life. No one was going to care that she was crying as he lay there dying in front of her. No one would care that she was his best friend, through thick and thin, all his life when no one else seemed to care about him. And Mark, who would have given a damn about him? He's just the OC Dragon Rider's older brother. Big deal. No one would care. Except for me.
That's why I bothered writing probably two-dozen chapters I otherwise wouldn't have... and now, onto review comments.
After Chapter 30
"Oh yeah... I got the LOTR reference... I just didn't know if it meant you were gonna crossover into that venue. Was Mark reading a rare history book? or was it the Alagaesia equivalent of fiction?"
No, I'm not going to do a Lord of the Rings crossover by any means. That material to me, is untouchable. I wouldn't dare defile Tolkien with my pathetic writing abilities.
On Mark's book: Fiction with a little Fact. I'd prefer to think of it as a mix of both. In Alagaesia, Dwarves and Elves are definitely going to seem more realistic than the real world we live in. However, no matter how realistic or based on fact, there definitely is too much fiction in Tolkien for it to be a straight history of Alagaesia. It's more in the literary category of Historical Fiction for Alagaesia.
After Chapter 33
"That the presence of a second dragon-rider-pair and another warrior has not resulted in any discernible difference is a bit disappointing. It is great to see the story revisited and see how you have added to it, but I would like to think that their presence might alter the course of events {and hopefully in a positive way...}"
Yes. It is quite boring and ridiculously similar. The beginning of the story however, is very linear. The only way I could have changed it would have been to drastically change it. Or have Mariah and Mark separate from Eragon and Brom (in turn Murtagh). And I tried to think of a few ways to go about it and chose not to split up the party.
I assure you that I am going to change much more now that the basics of the story are set up. I want Mariah there, yes... but Eragon's the main character in the first book. He's the important one. Mariah's quite static, in case you haven't noticed. She's just kinda there. It's intentional. Hopefully there'll be a point where I can say for certain that the entire chapter is my own writing, but we're not there quite yet.
After Chapter 33
"Can't wait to see how this plans out. Seeing as you've altered the events of the novel. Wonder who will kill Durza between Eragon and Mariah. Do you intend to do the whole Inhertiance Cycle with Mariah included or are you just doing Eragon?"
Honestly, I can't either. I don't remember events from the second or third books and I didn't really remember all that much from Eragon either. I haven't even read Inheritance yet. I haven't even opened the cover up. (I mostly still can't get past the eye coloring of the green dragon being gold... it's so wrong. And I do not even know his name yet... nor do I want to know, so please don't spoil it.) I'm writing a lot of this as I go. There are points at which I regret not having put something in a previous chapter, or want to change something, but I'm choosing not to, because that's just gonna get confusing.
I can't tell you who's gonna kill Durza. That'd just be lame. I don't like spoilers anyway (besides, I haven't even thought about that yet - you're way ahead of me on this one).
My intention is yes, to do the whole Inheritance Cycle with Mariah. And the shift will be more towards Mariah, I've always intended it to be so. Sometimes it's hard... especially when there's so much explaining in the first book as to what's going on.