Breaking Point

Plot:

Young Ilera finds a dragon egg in a bush while walking through parts of the Beor Mountains. Will Ilera follow Eragon and assist the Varden in fighting off King Galbatorix's forces, or join the dark side in empowering evil?

Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon or Saphira in reality. All these, as well as the other characters (except Ilera and Gizago) were made up from my own imagination to make up this fiction. If I did own them, I'd give the Empire a better king, stupider, and less cunning.

"Brsingr!"

The straw-covered pole was set ablaze. The orange-yellow flame flickered in the day's breeze. Eragon smirked to himself, at the sight of the pole burning to the ground. His day's spell practices were over. Eragon was an averagely tall young man, who was a very experienced dragon rider, and was one of the few dragon riders who were lucky to survive with their dragons.

Murtagh had just become a rider, after one of the dragon eggs hatched when he touched it. Murtagh, was his brother, and he was one of those who were forced to join King Galbatorix's side, otherwise face death. The latest battle with him had warned Eragon that his own brother may be the one to bring him and the Varden down. Since then, young Eragon has been training and practicing, to one day make the Empire tumble, with Murtagh along with it. Although vowed never to cross paths again, Eragon was certain that both of them would go down in battle in the near future.

He had finally been able to aim the spell of the ancient language properly on a thin pole. Being highly educated in the field of ancient language, he could speak fluently, using the correct pronounctiation, which was rather hard to master. This was the ultimate result of reading and teachings by a great rider months ago. Eragon was grateful for being able to learn and become a great dragon rider, all thanks to constant tutoring provided by the Varden.

These were unknown to most commoners, therefore quite a dangerous language to use. Eragon motioned towards his trusty dragon, Saphira who was in a field not far from where he previously was.

The blue-scaled dragon stood on all-fours, stretching herself on the warm grass. She was truly a magnificent creature, with developped limbs and muscles, she was able to carry two or three people on her back easily if she wanted to. Her broad wings only complimented her figure, and made Saphira the dragon she was. She was capable of breathing flames as well, which was her main weapon in defeating her mindless opponents. Saphira's scales sparkled in the sunshine, and Eragon smiled.

"Saphira, let's do some flying, shall we?" questioned Eragon.

Sure Eragon. Climb right on, I just cleaned my scales.

Eragon bravely climbed on Saphira, and she took flight. Saphira was travelling at extreme speed, until the wind gushed straight into Eragon's face, making his golden hair all messy. Saphira began to increase altitude and speed with time, until Eragon was feeling faint. However, Eragon enjoyed this kind of speed, and urged Saphira to try manuvers, twists and turns in mid-air. They practiced a few turns and spins, and one who stood on the ground would see a figure somewhat like a bird flying and turning with extreme speed in all directions. Eragon was one with Saphira, as their bond had become so strong over the past years. As an experienced person, Eragon could fly on Saphira, even by holding the end of her tail.

As they headed into another manuver, Saphira's sharp eyesight spotted a young girl with a dragon hatchling far below. "Eragon, I see something. A girl, and a young dragon hatchling, right below us!" Saphira made an immediate landing on a plain nearby the place the girl and the hatchling stood. It brought back sweet memories for Eragon, as he recalled the first time Saphira had hatched from her saphire-blue egg. He remembered the times where he took care of Saphira in the forest, and hid her from the villager's knowledge.

Upon landing, Eragon slid off Saphira's back, and went to the young girl. The girl was sitting down on the lush grass with her dragon hatchling, and playing with it. The girl had pretty hazel-brown eyes, and sleek, black hair. She wore a white dress made of linen, and she was a rather young girl. Eragon had the feeling that she was destined to become part of the Varden's allies and fight alongside him against King Galbatorix's forces.

Before Eragon had spoken a word, the girl began," Good evening sir. I see you have a rather nice dragon, all fully grown. I saw you and your dragon doing some flying in the air just now. It was a great display."

"Thanks, miss. I'm Eragon and this is Saphira, my dragon. I guess you're the lucky one to have found the last dragon egg in the Beor Mountains, aren't you?"

"Yes, Eragon. By the way, my name's Ilera. I'm only ten in case you were wondering, and this is my little dragon, Gizago, or Giz for short"

I think you and Giz are in need of assistance? We are here to help you. Eragon has gone through a lot too. It would be my pleasure to tutor Gizago, Ilera.

"Whaa…."

"It's called mental telephaty Ilera. Saphira can speak to you, and so will yours when he fully grows up," interupted Eragon.

Eragon urged Ilera and her small dragon, Gizago to climb on Saphira's back to take them to Eragon's training ground. On the way, Eragon had found out some interesting things about young Ilera and her family. She told Eragon that she had managed to find the dragon egg in the Beor Mountains, while searching for wild vegetables to eat.

She had heard stories about Eragon finding a dragon egg before, so she knew that it was a dragon egg when she first saw it in a bush. However, she had to make do on her own, as her parents were no longer at their home where they had once lived, most probably captured and slaved by the Ra'zac or Urgals, which caused Eragon a lot of trouble before.

To Eragon, Ilera was in trouble, in deep trouble, as he was assured that King Galbatorix would have been warned of the last egg's hatching. They would soon be out to hunt for young Ilera, or force her to join the Empire. With that thought in mind, Eragon knew that he would have to teach all he knew to her as fast as possible and protect her while she was still learning the ways of the dragon rider.

"Ilera, concentrate. First, I want you to focus your mind on that pile of twigs in front of you. Picture a flame, and give it a go," spoke Eragon softly.

"Brsingr!" yelled young Ilera. A spark appeared on the bunch of twigs in front of Ilera, but no flame appeared. Ilera was already beginning to get tired at the simplest language spell. Seeing she could not handle it, Eragon demonstrated again for her. It was a simple task for Eragon, especially after Brom's teachings a year or two ago.

Ilera sighed, wishing she could be just as good as her senior. "Maybe next time," she thought. Eragon patted her shoulder. It was a rather good effort for a first try. However, Ilera was not at all pleased with herself. She pulled a long face, and looked down. She fiddled with the fine sand below her feet. Eragon sensed dissapointment and uncontentment in Ilera. He comforted her with soothing words, until Ilera had a wide smile on her face again.

Eragon motioned to his little hut on his training ground. He brought out a large stack of books, and handed them to Ilera. Ilera stared at Eragon blankly, dumbfounded at the large amount of pages in each book. "Oh well, the prints may be huge," she thought. However, she was wrong. Each of the books had fine, detailed printing on each page. To avoid further confusion, Eragon explained to Ilera about the books that were just given to her.

"This book is about dragons. Contains all you need to know about taking care of Gizago, food diet, and all of the rest. I'm sure it won't be a problem taking care of young Giz then. Here, there is the ancient language thesaurus and dictionary. Read it over a couple of days. Very important for magic-casting you know. And the rest, is simply to brief you on dragon-riding, dragons in the past, dragon riders and mainly the history of Alagaesia," explained Eragon.

"So, any questions?" questioned Eragon.

" Erm…yes… How do I finish reading all these in a couple of days?! It is a lot, and I don't think I can," said Ilera, shocked.

"You will be able to. Brom gave me those books before, and I pulled it off. Meditate over them, and feel free to question me if you have any questions," answered the dragon-rider. He was not shocked at Ilera's amazement, because he had felt the same way when he was given the whole stack to revise.

"Well, let me brief you about this place and your training schedule. Since you have lost your parents, Saphira and I decided that you should bunk in with us, in my little shack there in the corner. Right after this, Saphira will fly you back to your home, so that you can bring the essentials along with you. That includes your bags, extra clothes, so on and so forth.

Now, for your training schedule. It isn't as easy as it seems, as your sessions begin at six in the morning, just after the crack of dawn. This is so to train you to minimize your sleep and still be a great rider during the daytime for ongoing wars against the evil ones. We will practice sparring, magic, dragon-riding, and all the other things that would build you up as a great dragon-rider in the near future. You will feel fatique at the beginning, so I'll go easy on you, but as we move on, you will learn the ways and etiquette of being a dragon-rider, as the future of the Varden, and Alagaesia," said Eragon.

Ilera did not hesistate against her fate, but simply nodded, the day could not get any worse for her anyway. She thought of Gizago, his saphire-green scales, jade-green eyes, and wonderful build….

Sigh….I wish Gizago would grow a bit faster. Babysitting isn't exactly a dragon's thing….began Saphira.

Gizago was rolling on the grass, trying to catch and hold on to Saphira's tail-end, which was rather hard to grip on to, due to Spahira's glintering and smooth scales. Saphira waved her tail in the air, just above little Gizago's reach, and Gizago made little baby noises each time he tried to grab her tail. "He must find it amuzing. I'll just keep waving my tail in the air until he gets bored, or Eragon finishes tutoring Ilera," thought Saphira. However, Gizago was having the time of his life, playing catch-tail-of-Saphira with her.

Saphira had tried to talk to Gizago through mental telepathy, but, Gizago was too young to understand a word she had said to him. In time, he would, but for now, Saphira could not do anything to help him. After a week or so, Gizago would finally be ready to learn the ways of a dragon. Saphira could imagine young Gizago as a dragon-warrior like her, and knew after a long tutorial, he would turn out to be a fine dragon. In the midst of her deep thoughts, Ilera and Eragon came towards them and greeted the two there. Saphira was relieved to see Eragon and Ilera coming to pick Gizago up.

However, Eragon told Saphira to fly Ilera back to her home and pick up her things before returning to the training area. After advicing Saphira to stay out of trouble, Saphira set off with Ilera on her back. Eragon had put his full trust in Saphira, as he knew that she was disciplied, eventhough she acted without thinking at times. He also knew a whiff of her tail or a small flame would be enough to kill the enemy.

Saphira instructed Ilera how to ride on a dragon's back safely, without falling or feeling faint. Ilera did as she was told, and she found flying quite amusing and fun. She loved being in the air and feeling the evening breeze against her pale face. Upon arrival at her home, Saphira let Ilera down at the corn field behind her house to quickly grab what she had needed. Ilera was shocked to see her house in pieces. It was as if a typhoon had hit her house, and messed up the inside part to bits. Sofas were upturned, tables and chairs broken, picture frames broken, and her room in a mess.

She had quickly grabbed her pillow from her bed, and took another set of clothes for her training sessions. She had also brought along a rucksack to carry her belongings, as she shoved a few other of her possesions in it. She gazed at her parents' picture on her room walls, remembering the times they had together. However, it was now time to move on, and think of the future, her fate, a dragon-rider.

Review please! If I see the interest of many, I shall continue with this plot, or otherwise, start anew. However, not to harsh with the critiques as this is my first ever plot.

Yours sincerely,

Izzy