At the age of ten years of age, Ireth Kearasdaughter slowly approached the pedestal in the center of town. Her long, medium brown hair was pulled back into a tight braid that reached halfway down her back, her dark blue eyes showed the nervousness she felt at being in front of all the people in Teirm. It was the second time that the egg carriers had come to Teirm to allow the children to walk past the egg and see who would be chosen to become part of the new order of Dragon Riders. Ireth gulped as the last two children approached the egg before it was her turn. She glanced back at her parents and elder sister who nodded to her with encouragement. Her sister had tried 2 years ago when they came and was not chosen. It had been and Urgal chosen that year.
Lifting her head up, Ireth walked up the platform and looked at the egg that lay on a soft green pillow. It was the color of a pink germanium with slightly darker and lighter pinks mixed together in veins that ran across the surface. Awed by the beauty of the dragon egg, Ireth placed her hand on the top of the egg and prepared herself to wait and see if the egg would hatch for her. Though she had told her parents, she did not care if she was not picked, this was not how she really felt. This was her only chance to be chosen and once they left, she would never be able to join the Rider's ranks.
Thirty seconds passed and Ireth was just getting to leave to let the next child have their turn when the egg shook. The loud chattering that had been going on since the children had begun their procession. With bated breath, Ireth watched as the gentle rocking of the egg increased so that it was moving violently on the pillow. A sharp crack pierced the air as a small line appeared in the egg. The line spread across the whole egg as a small squeaking escaped. Slowly, a small claw appeared and then another as the dragon forced its way out of the egg. It was germanium pink with darker scales on it s underside. Ireth gazed at it with amazement and watched as it pulled itself free of the fragments. Shaking from nose to tail, it spread its wings and turned around and faced Ireth.
With a trembling hand, Ireth reached out and touched the dragon with her right hand. As soon as she touched the dragon's head, a huge shock went up her arm and she almost collapsed but her knees were locked preventing her from doing so. The pain lessened and she looked down at her palm. There glowed the gedwëy ignasia, the mark of a Dragon Rider. Ireth then felt something brush against her mind. She recoiled mentally before she realized it was the dragon, reaching out to her.
All at once, the crowd cheered. Startled, Ireth looked up. She had forgotten that they were in the middle of town and everyone had just watched her dragon hatch for her. The dragon hissed and waddled towards, Ireth, frightened of the sudden loud noise that surrounded it. Ireth picked it up and cradled her dragon against her chest, comforting it. She turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was one of the egg bearers, leading her down the stairs into a tent that would shield them from the crowd.
Upon entering the tent, Ireth noticed two bowls located on a table on the far side of the tent. In them was water and strips of meat. Ireth smiled at the food and carried her dragon over to the table and sat at one of the chair placed there. Pulling the bowl of meat closer, she picked up a piece of what looked like goat and offered it to her dragon. The dragon sniffed the meat before opening its mouth and grabbing the meat from her fingers. Ireth feed it several more pieces and then when it rejected the next piece of meat, she grabbed the bowl of water and let the dragon drink from it. Once this was done, the dragon circled in her lap and fell asleep. Ireth stroked its back and sighed to herself. She was so happy. As soon as she had realized that the dragon had touched her mind, she found that she had been missing something she hadn't noticed before. She felt as if she had found her other half.
"Greeting child," said a voice from somewhere in the room. While Ireth had been busy feeding her dragon, one of the egg bearers had pulled out two large, round mirrors and another had cast a spell on them. Ireth whipped her head around towards the sound. She gasped at what she saw. In the first mirror, there sat a man with brown hair and brown eyes, grinning at her. He had pointed ears and looked fairer than any man she had ever seen before. In the second sat a woman even fairer than the man. Her long black hair was held out of her face by the crown that sat upon her head.
"Do not be frightened child," said the woman in a rich voice. "I am Arya Dröttning, Queen of the Elves and bonded to Fírnen, he of the emerald scales."
"And I am Eragon Shadeslayer, leader of the Dragon Riders and bonded to Saphira Brighscales. I welcome you to the Riders. What is your name, young one and where are you from?"
"I….I am Ireth, sir. I live in Teirm," Ireth rushed to say. She was awed that such famous people were speaking to her.
"I am pleased to meet you Ireth. I am glad to see that the egg has hatched. You may call me Master or Ebrithil in the Ancient Language. Arya and I will be your teachers." Eragon said, leaning back in his chair. Behind him, the blue background shifted and a large blue eye appeared behind him. Ireth gaped at the eye and looked down at her dragon.
"In one weeks time, you and your dragon will travel with the egg bearers to Du Weldenvarden, where the two of you will begin your training. Once there, you will spend the next year and a half with Fírnen and I before you fly to Eragon to finish up your training." Arya told Ireth as she studied the girl. "For now, we will leave you to getting to know your dragon. Eragon is there anything you would like to add?"
Eragon looked at Ireth and smiled. "No but Saphira would like me to pass on a message. She says welcome little one and looks forward to getting to know you and your dragon." Eragon looked past Ireth and nodded to one of the egg bearers. "Trianna, you can end the spell now." With that, the images on both mirrors cleared and Ireth let out a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. Looking down at her lap, she saw that her dragon was staring at her with wide, pink eyes.
"Looks like there is a lot for us to get ready for, doesn't it. Let's go home and get some rest." Ireth picked the baby dragon up in her arms and as it stuck its tongue out and licked her arm as they walked to the entrance of the tent. "Excuse, may we please go home now?" she asked the woman Eragon had called Trianna.
Trianna turned and smiled at the girl. "Of course. In a few days, we will come for you, so that you can begin to prepare for your journey to the elves."
Ireth smiled at her and suddenly yawned. She had not realized how tired she was until that moment. Getting a firmer grip on her dragon, Ireth left for home, several of the egg bearers following her, so that they could keep back the crowd that wished to congratulate her. As she reached the front door to her house, it opened and there stood her mother. She opened her arms wide and embraced her daughter. She ushered her into the house and helped her get to bed, for Ireth was asleep on her feet. The last thing she saw before she drifted off to sleep was her dragon curled up on her pillow.