Chapter 1

Beginnings

Eragon watched Saphira as she looked at the great fortress of the evil, tyrant king of Alagaësia, Galbatorix. It was there she had been captive to Galbatorix in her egg for at least a century after the fall of the Riders, until a mystery savior rescued her. She had also been imprisoned with two other eggs which her rescuer had been unable to retrieve. Since Sapirah's rescue, one of the other eggs hatched to Eragon's half brother, Murtagh. Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn, had been forced to swear oaths in the ancient language to Galbatorix. But as Eragon and Murtagh had battled on the Burning Plains, Murtagh had provided Eragon with the fact that the last egg, which was still in Galbatorix's castle, was male. Now Nasuada, the leader of a rebel army called the Varden who opposed Galbatorix, had given Eragon, Saphira, Arya, and Blödhgarm the important mission of retrieving the last egg from Galbatorix.

It was a very dangerous task. Galbatorix was a powerful sorcerer; the source of this immeasurable power is thought to be hundreds of thousands of Eldunari. Eldunari are dragon's "heart of hearts" where they may store their soul and regurgitate it in a physical form that resembles a teardrop in shape, but it is considerably larger than one and is the color of the dragon's scales. Eragon himself had an Eldunari of one of his now dead teachers, Glaedr, an immense golden dragon whose Rider, Oromis, had taught Eragon the rules and guidelines of magic and also helped give him the physical skills he thought necessary for Eragon to defeat Galbatorix one day. But Galbatorix's magical prowess was not the only thing to be cautious of, a large portion of Galbatorix's army was stationed at his castle and even with Saphira would have been a death wish if Eragon had attempted this mission alone. And there was always the chance of a face- to- face encounter with the king himself and his coal-black dragon Shruikan, which would be disastrous to this mission.

It was because of Galbatorix that Eragon and Saphira's life had become like this; the constant fighting and strategizing, not a moment of peace in times such as this. It was also because of Galbatorix that Saphira was the last female dragon in Alagaësia; Galbatorix had wiped out all Riders and dragons who had opposed him in his rise to power, leaving him with his thirteen followers known as the Forsworn. Murtagh's father, Morzan, had been one of the Forsworn and served as Galbatorix's right hand man, seeking out traitors within the Forsworn with the help of his wife, Selena, who was Eragon and Murtagh's mother. Morzan had produced a reign of terror in and out of the Forsworn until Brom, Eragon's father and former Dragon Rider whose dragon was killed in the fight agianst Galbatorix, killed him with Morzan's own sword Zar'roc. But in doing that Brom inadvertedly ended the Age of the Riders.

Now Eragon looked upon Saphira with concern on his face, he could tell through Saphira's emotions that she was not happy to be back at- as Saphira had called it earlier- The hellhole. Eragon could sense her anger and discontentment for being back, even though the last time she was here she was still in her egg. But he could also feel that she felt disturbed, unsettled, and sad.

Saphira? Eragon thought, trying to communicate with her through the special link that Riders and their dragons shared. His comment got Saphira's attention as she turned her head to face him.

Yes, little one?

What is troubling you?

It is what I sense within the hellhole Galbatorix calls home, Saphira said spitefully, There is death and despair, and an evil of unmentionable proportions. There are also so many soldiers inside, greater than any force we have yet come agianst. I also sense magic, not so much bordering the castle but more towards the center of the castle, deep below the ground. That is where the egg is most likely to be... She trailed off at the end of her sentence and got a sad, faraway look in her big blue eyes.

That is not what's troubling you. We have gone up agianst Galbatorix's warriors and magicians and I have not seen you like this, please tell me what's wrong.

It is not the magicians and soldiers that affect me.

Then what is it?

It's the egg, she said. Eragon was not prepared for this answer and blanched for a second before regaining his composure and saying, Why? What's wrong with the egg?

Nothing is wrong with the egg, per say, it is the hatchling. It recognizes my mind and is trying to communicate with me... it cannot talk yet but it sends me emotions. It is scared, Eragon, Galbatorix is losing patience and it fears that Galbatorix will force it to hatch for one of his loyal followers. Much like he did for Shruikan.

How come I can't sense its emotions?

You can't hear them because you're not a dragon, little one. It is one of our instincts; the hatchling can send his feelings out to another dragon, normally its parents, to know if anything has changed that could make the egg unsafe.

I thought dragon eggs were indestructible.

Normal dragon eggs are, but every once in a while an egg will be unusually thin or something very strong has damaged it. In cases such as those the hatchlings must be able to communicate in some way so the parents can get them out safely or repair the egg if necessary.

Eragon looked back to the castle. It was nearly sundown; they would have to begin their mission soon. Eragon walked back to the campfire where Arya and Blödhgarm were going over the plans for the mission. The light danced off of Blödhgarm, an elf who had shaped his body to resemble a wolf, turning his black fur into an yellowish-orange color and making his yellow eyes as bright as the sun, creating a very intimidating effect. When the light reflected off of Arya's dark hair, however, making it look like a river of dancing black flames, it was a very beautiful sight. Even though most of her back was to him, Eragon could still see the soft curves of her cheek and lips and his heart stuttered for half a beat before resuming its normal pace. Arya had always affected him this way and had embarrassed himself quite a number of times when he had tried to convey his emotions to her, which had resulted in a few awkward weeks in their relationship. Eragon mentally shook off the memories before proceeding forward.

A twig snapped as Eragon stepped forward; Arya snapped her head around and looked straight at Eragon with her startling green eyes.

"It is only I, Arya", said Eragon. Arya sat down and turned again to Blödhgarm. Upon seeing Eragon Blödhgarm rose and bowed toward Eragon with a brief muttering of "Shadeslayer…"

There was a sudden quiet as if time stood still in preparation for what was to come. The roar of the nearby Ramr River, droned to a quiet rumble, the wind ceased to blow, even crackling of the fire vanished. Arya and Blödhgarm looked at Eragon expectantly, and then Eragon said, "It is time."

Arya and Blödhgarm nodded in understanding and quickly put out the fire. They all went to the wall of large rocks where Eragon had been talking to Saphira only a few moments ago. Saphira was waiting for them, her tail twitching with anticipation. Saphira brushed Eragon's mind and he could feel her anxiety. Eragon pulled Arya aside and said, "If anything goes wrong, and I am captured. Take Saphira and Blödhgarm and get as far away as you can."

Arya looked at him as if she wanted to say something to him, but all she did was nod. Eragon, Arya, Saphira, and Blödhgarm looked toward the setting sun.

The mission had begun.

*Sorry that this chapter does not have much dialogue in it, I promise that there will be more in later chapters. Please review!*