Disclaimer: Eragon and related characters are not mine. Any characters not mentioned in the book are mine (any resemblance to another's character is coincidental). Other things mentioned later aren't mine, but I don't want to give any plot spoilers.
Alagaësia on Earth
The mountains of Montana were a lovely place to live. To Adam Shorten, they seemed like a type of Palancar Valley: secluded from the world. Not much happened around here, but that was the way he liked it.
At the moment, Adam was sitting in the woods a good ways from his house. He was the self-proclaimed biggest Eragon fan. His room was littered with posters, figurines, and the like. The computer at home was full of Eragon fanfics that he had typed up. And thus we come back to the present, with Adam sitting in the woods dreaming of new story ideas. In his lap were a note pad and the book opened to the intro, his favorite section. The sun was just above Hershing Peak; dinner would be ready soon. He read the section over again.
"As the Urgals surged forward, the elf pulled open the pouch, reached into it, and then let it drop to the ground. In her hand was a large sapphire stone that reflected the angry light of the fires. She raised it over her head, lips forming frantic words. Desperate, the Shade barked, 'Garjzla!'
"A ball of red flame sprang from his hand and flew toward the elf, fast as an arrow. But he was too late. A flash of emerald light briefly illuminated the forest, and the stone vanished."
At that moment, a bright green flash burst into life only yards in front of Adam. He covered his eyes and felt heat burn at his uncovered arms. And just as quickly, the light faded.
Adam slowly lowered his arm. Directly in front of him, an area of the forest had been burnt bare of grass and bark. At the center sat a smoldering blue stone with small white veins running through it.
He looked back down at the book in his lap. "No, it can't be." He put the book and note pad down and slowly crawled to the blacked earth. Tentatively, he touched the stone. It was cool to the touch, yet it somehow emanated a gentle warmth. Adam tapped the stone; it gave off a perfect note that rang softly. "This can't be happening." He looked around. There wouldn't be anyone close to these parts aside from neighbors camping. Finally reaching a decision, he picked up the stone and collected his books. At least it would make a nice souvenir.
Adam took the fifteen minute walk back to his house quickly. His family lived in the woods in the Hershing Valley. There was only one town in the whole valley, with a meager population of seventy. Coincidentally, Christopher Paolini's house was only a fifteen minute drive away.
He arrived home just as the last light was fading. Adam peaked inside. He didn't want his mom to see the "stone" or she might ask questions. No one was in the dining room, so he skidded through it and the living room and up the stairs into his room. After examining the stone one last time, he put it under his pillow and went downstairs.
The family meal passed normally. Dad arrived home from work just as Adam and his sisters were going up to do whatever in their rooms. Adam popped in Halo 2 and started a new online match. Two hours melted away. The next time he checked his watch it was 9:40. He opened his window blinds. The moon was full over the valley, letting in a soft blue light.
A small cracking sound broke the stillness. Adam looked down at his pillow, which was where the sound had come from. He swept the pillow away. The stone was rocking and a small section on one end was pumping in and out, each thrust sending more cracks threw the surface. Adam stepped back, not sure what was happening. With one last rock, the stone burst, and a small creature was left lying in its place. Adam tried to examine it in the moon light. "Long neck. Tail. And wings. Oh, lord…" It was a baby dragon.
Adam's mind began to race. "This has to be Saphira. But that's impossible. Eragon was only a story. And its rider isn't here…" Then it hit him. "She thinks I'm her rider!"
The dragon moved its neck and began to examine its surroundings. Then it looked up and met Adam square in the eye. He inhaled sharply and froze. The dragon slowly tried to stand on wobbly legs, only to fall on its chest. It tried again, this time able to stand on its own. It let out a chirp.
Adam smiled. "This whole thing has to be a dream. Well, if it is, I might as well play along." Adam reached out his right hand slowly. The dragon craned its neck and sniffed his hand. Then slowly moved its head up and brushed its nose against his palm.
A cold pain lanced up his arm. He screamed in pain and fell to the floor. His entire arms burned and it felt like his chest was on fire.
"Adam?" his mom called. He didn't hear her.
Adam rolled on the floor for several minutes, but it felt like hours in his agonized state. When his mind finally began to calm he berated himself. "I should have remembered about that." He slowly and slightly painfully pulled his hand up into his view. In the center of his palm was a glowing silver oval, the gedwëy ignasia. "Wait a minute. You can't get hurt in dreams," he realized. This was actually happening.
His father knocked on the door. "You o.k., Adam?"
"Fine," he managed to say with a little difficulty.
"Can I come in?"
He looked for Saphira. She was on his bedpost, looking up at the moon. "This is going to be interesting." He pushed himself up onto his bed and Saphira jumped down and lay on his lap."Sure, but don't be shocked by what you see."
His father opened the door, took one look, and almost screamed his head off. "What is that thing?"
"Dad, meet Saphira." His father had gone to see the movie with him, so he would know the name.
"That's impossible."
"Well, apparently it's not." In Adam's head, he could faintly feel something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like some kind of second entity trying to connect with his. He welcomed it, knowing that it was her. "I can already feel her thoughts. And she's hungry." Saphira chirped.
"Son, maybe you would should explain everything to me."
Adam proceeded to explain what happened in the woods and Saphira's hatching. His father took it in without a word. "Well, this is really something. You're completely bonded with that thing?"
"HER name is Saphira. And yes."
He thought for a moment. Adam now noticed the women of the house standing at the door. His younger sister, Anna, was ogling over "the cute dragon."
"Fine," he said with a sigh. "But SHE stays outside."
Adam gently put Saphira on the bed and leapt up to hug his dad. After that he picked Saphira up again. "Mom, we have meat, right?"
"Sure," she said with a smile.
Adam fed the pieces of meat that his mother cut to Saphira, which she quickly gulped down. After a few pounds, her belly was bulging. She let out a tired sigh and laid her head down over the crook in Adam's elbow. "I think we'll get to bed," he told his mother.
Together, they went up stairs. Adam set Saphira down softly, and then lay down next to her. He suddenly realized just how tired he was. He stroked Saphira's neck, avoiding the spines. Within moments, he was sound asleep.
His dream was of a dark forest. A lone figure ran through the trees, long dark hair billowing out behind her. A massive fire burst up in her path, forcing her to grind to a halt. A lock of hair fell away to reveal long, pointed ears. She was an elf.
A flash, and she was on the ground, unconscious. A man stood over her. His nails were long and his hair was blood red. His arm was stretched over the elf, his fist clenched. The elf began to rise off the ground. Then another flash and everything went black.
Adam groggily turned his head. The bedside clock read 8:00. "Man that was one weird dream. First a dragon, and then a dream within a dream about Arya." He felt something warm in his arm. He looked down to see Saphira's head resting lightly on his chest. "Oh, right. She's real."
Saphira's eyes flitted open. She chirped, slowly stood, and stretched her wings out wide. With a quick leap, she landed on the floor. When Adam didn't follow, she jumped up and down, chirping and squawking. "All right, I'm up." He pushed the covers aside and stood up. Saphira began to jump joyfully. "Come on." Adam reached down, picked her up and put her on his shoulder. He remembered Eragon carrying Saphira that way when she was young. Saphira wrapped her tail around Adam's neck and sat, claws slightly digging in. They wandered outside, welcoming the warm sun and the new day.
The next few weeks were full for Adam. Along with his chores, he spent a lot of time with Saphira in the woods. Most of the time, they would sit in the woods while Adam talked or play, fighting over a stick.
True to the book, Saphira grew extremely quickly. She began hunting after only a week. Soon she was hunting full deer; there was a strict "no hunting" law, but Adam doubted that applied to dragons. At the end of three weeks, she was longer than Adam was tall, and he stood at 5'9". He figured that she would soon be able to communicate with words. He was already able to find her anywhere in the valley and knew what she was doing at all times.
There was also one other point that lingered on Adam's mind. What was happening in Alagaësia if Saphira was here? Eragon would probably still be on the farm with Garrow, but what of Arya. She would be stuck in Gilead with Durza. No one would be at Farthen Dür to aid the Varden. Adam had spent much time reviewing time paradoxes, and opinions of them were varied. Some said one could not change the past, as one's changes would have created the present. Others said changes were possible. After contemplating it, Adam arrived at a fact that he didn't really like. The book, if it was an actual account of another dimension, would happen. Therefore, Adam and Saphira would somehow have to get to Alagaësia and return Saphira's egg to Eragon. Else, who knows what would happen when the two dimensions crossed. "If I do this, I'll lose Saphira." He watched as she went about sharpening her claws on a nearby tree. "It would be best for Alagaësia. At least I'll have some time with her." And so he began to plan how to go about jumping dimensions to Alagaësia.