"Risa!" barked Eragon. The young rabbit rose from the ground, shaking in terror. Eragon grinned in pleasure. Who knew that it was so easy to find and kill prey? "Jierda." Eragon was still smiling sadistically. A loud crack rent the silence of the night.

That's the fifth rabbit you've killed, Eragon. You know you can't eat them all; you have more than enough. Just hurry back already. Saphira sounded impatient. Fine.... I'll be back soon. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself. Eragon assured her.

Eragon picked up the rabbits and slung them over his back. The limp weight hardly seemed to bother him. He started walking stealthily back to the clearing where he and Saphira had made camp.

Once more he pondered how he had gotten so powerful. The memory made him smile. But….

He still shivered at the memory of killing Brom; he had not really meant to do it. It was just that he had always respected Morzan and hearing Brom insult the great man and seeing the blade that once belonged to Morzan in Brom's filthy hands…. He stole it! In that instant, Eragon had exploded internally. Stolen! His father's one true possession had been wrongfully stolen and Brom hadn't seemed sorry about it. He seemed surprised that Eragon knew about Zar'roc but he had handed it over to Eragon willingly enough.

Eragon had held it in his hands; he had felt the power that emanated from the sword but he knew that only he and his kin could feel it. He had risen from the ground and held the sword up. He slashed it experimentally and Brom had risen in fear; coward that he was. Eragon sneered in disgust. The piece of shit had only dared take the sword away from his father's dead body. The thought had made intense anger course through his body and released something inside him.

His eyes burned, his gedwey ignasia glowed. Brom took a step back. "Letta!" The word had burst unexpectedly from his lips. Brom halted, terror obvious in his eyes. The fear had confirmed all of Eragon's suspicions. His suspicions of Brom as a weak, cowardly old crotchety fool who blabbered nonsense and thought that just because he was once a strong Rider he could stand up to just about anybody. He had never trusted Brom. Now Brom had betrayed his trust and he would pay for it.

"Brisingr!" Eragon had screamed. Brom screamed as well, but in pain. A blue flame burst from his heart and started to spread across his entire body. Then, when his entire body was consumed by the flames, he went limp. The fire flared up, brighter than ever. Eragon had watched with wide curious eyes. He had not felt in the least bit tired.

Then the fire focused again onto the gedwey ignasia on Brom's right palm. The ball of blue flame exploded towards Eragon. He didn't even have time to blink when the fire entered his body. It did not hurt as much as it seemed to hurt for Brom. Eragon simply felt an extreme tingling along his entire body; there was no pain. But he couldn't move at all. Saphira has stared at him with wide worried eyes but he could not even focus his thoughts to reassure her.

It was in this manner that he seemed to float around, his unseeing eyes that saw everything yet nothing. He saw Saphira looming over him, he saw the Universe. After a while, he could see nothing, everything turned dark. He seemed to see this darkness that was so calming for years .Then he saw a blue light. It was the only thing that had light in this neverending darkness. Eragon was automatically drawn towards the light. He could not possibly have resisted.

It hurt. A lot. For a long time. He felt his limbs becoming elongated and stretch by themselves. He could feel his ears being pulled apart and his brain felt like it was on fire. At that moment, Eragon wished he were dead. A moment later the pain was gone. Eragon opened his eyes.

Eragon!! Are you alright? Saphira's voice rang out worriedly in his mind. Eragon winced. He felt like he had drunk an entire barrel of strong red wine. Massive hangover. I don't know.... I feel okay.... Eragon looked over his body. He gasped.

Whatwhat happened to me?? Eragon was completely shocked.

He was lying on the dirty ground, his tunic was soaked in sweat and mud. He stank.

But he felt better than he had ever felt before.

He marveled at his long smooth fingers, they look delicate and strong at the same time; unfamiliar. He felt stronger than he ever had before. Eragon sucked in the air greedily, tasting scents that before were far too weak for the average human to taste. He knew then, that by killing Brom, he had completed the transition from a tree-hugger to a powerful Rider. He was what he was meant to be, not what the old Rider had wanted to be.

These thoughts took only a short second; it was good that the transformation had improved his brainpower as well. Eragon gently lifted himself onto his feet and swayed, nearly falling over. Apparently, the transformation had caused him a growth spurt as well, making him well over six feet now.

Eragon spun around to face Saphira. Again, shock rendered him speechless.

Saphira had trebled in size, but that was not what was the most shocking.

Saphira's scales, once a shining sapphire colour, was now several shades darker. They burned themselves into one's eyes, causing one to forget what one was doing at the time.

Eragon. What have you done? Saphira growled at him.

What's the matter, Saphira? I feel great and you've obviously changed much, but it seems to be for the better. Eragon was surprised at the hostility she showed him.

For the better? For the better?! Eragon! I feel an overwhelming urge to kill, to fight! I want to rampage around villages and kill everything in my sight, and you think this is for the better?? Saphira ranted.

Well. Eragon paused. I'm sorry, I didn't realise you felt that way. I think you should probably go and hunt. Perhaps hunger is making you feel that way. When was the last time you hunted anyway?

The last time I hunted was before you became unconscious. 3 days ago. Smoke billowed out of Saphira's nostrils.

Well, I suppose you had better go and hunt now before you lose control of yourself and decide that I taste better than deer.

Saphira growled slightly before spreading her wings, which had also increased much in size. Her muscles strained and she flapped her wings. She lifted off the ground slightly, then suddenly she was high in the sky.

Eragon felt extreme joy in his head. He smiled. Obviously, Saphira had missed flying when she was taking care of him.

3 days… Eragon's stomach growled. Perhaps it was time for him to hunt, as well as to examine the rest of the changes that had happened to him.

He followed the sounds of water that he could hear and soon came to a stream. He quickly slipped out of his disgustingly dirty clothes and looked at his reflection in the clear water.

Once again, he was speechless.

Every single wound he had ever received was healed. There was not a single scar on him. What's more, he had a broader chest, and a helluva lot more muscles. But the most obvious changes had had to be his face. His eyes had become the same colour as Saphira's scales, and his ears had sharpened into points. Together with his raised cheekbones, he had the look of a prince.

He stretched upwards. The reflection stretched with him. Eragon grinned widely before diving into the stream, letting the cold water wash away 3 days worth of pain and dirt.

When he was thoroughly refreshed, he pulled himself onto the river bank. With his heightened senses, the smell of his still dirty clothes hit him hard. He could see every little bit of dirt on his tunic and breeches; it was rather gross.

Eragon wondered whether his new powers included magic to make his clothes clean. He eagerly delved into his mind.

Soon, he found a hard anomaly that had never been there before. Without hesitation, he broke through the barrier that had blocked it from his mind. Eragon screamed in pain.

A century of Brom's memories washed over him, and not very gently. Everything Brom had ever felt was now Eragon's to feel. Pain, pleasure, happiness, sadness. It all came out in a rush, making him fall to his knees and clutch his head between his hands. So much suffering, he could not endure it.

Grimly, he created a sphere in his mind, forcing the unwanted memories into it. They were unwilling but after a lot more pain, Brom's memories were once again under lock and key, so to speak.

Eragon approached the Brom in his mind, but with more care this time. He looked for the ancient language, the words Brom had known. There were a lot.

Eragon pushed a tendril of thought towards the words, pulling them towards him. Each word was immediately understood.

Eragon looked through the words, searching for the ones he wanted. He selected the words for 'wash' and the word for 'clothes'. Doubtfully, he reached into his well of magic, of which there was a large increase, to use the words.

He concentrated on the magic but before he could say the words, steam billowed around his clothes. When the steam dissipated into the air, his clothes were clean and fresh, neatly folded into a pile in front of him. Eragon smiled to himself again before pulling his clothes on.

Apparently, he could now do magic without speaking the words. Excellent.

That had been a week ago. Eragon realised that although he could do magic without saying the words, it was still more fun to say it. And much less draining as well.

Saphira had grown more, but she could now control her urges better.

Eragon stepped into the clearing and placed the dead rabbits on the ground. "Brisingr." A small fire appeared in the middle of a circle of rocks in the clearing.

Eragon. We must decide what we should do now that we have these powers. Saphira chided him. We cannot spend the rest of our days in this clearing; I am getting sick of it.

I agree. But surely this can wait until after I have eaten, Saphira? Eragon pleaded. He was very hungry.

Saphira sighed, causing smoke to billow around the clearing. Very well, but please be quick. I have a bad feeling about this clearing.

Perhaps it's the memories. After all, we- I did kill Brom here. Eragon suggested.

No… I don't think so. Just hurry please, Eragon. Saphira sounded worried.

Okay, okay… Eragon started cleaning the rabbits. After putting them on a spit and placing them above the fire, he leaned back against a fallen tree trunk and relaxed against it.

So, while we wait for your meal to cook, can we please start talking about what we are going to do? Saphira sounded rather annoyed.

Hey, it's not my fault I can't eat raw meat. Eragon shrugged. Saphira growled. Oh very well. Proceed.

Well, obviously we are no longer wholly good. We have developed dark sides; or rather, they were there before, hiding in a corner and now they've come out. Saphira rolled off, unhesitatingly. It was apparent that she had thought about this for a long time. It was unfortunate that just then the rabbits began to give off a heavenly smell of roasted rabbit.

Eragon was immediately distracted from Saphira. He made a flicking motion at the rabbits and they floated towards him. He was about to take a bite when he noticed Saphira glaring at him from the other side of the clearing.

What?? I do still need to eat you know, even though I don't look all that much like a human... Eragon snarled. Just say what you have to say. I can listen and eat at the same time.

Saphira sighed again. Well, our bloodlust has increased tenfold. We have held off by killing animals so far but I think soon we will feel even more the urge to kill. I think we became this way because killing Brom was an act of pure evil.

Eragon chewed the tender meat thoughtfully. Do you want one? It tastes great. Eragon offered. Saphira rolled her eyes and opened her mouth. Eragon threw one of the four remaining rabbits into her wide open mouth. She swallowed it without bothering to chew. Eragon raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Anyway, as I was saying, soon we will feel like killing humans. Doubtless, with our new powers, this won't be all that hard to do but though I now have a dark side, I don't feel very happy at the thought of killing innocent people.

You killed 5 deer. Eragon wisely pointed out.

You killed 5 rabbits. She shot back.

Ah, but I was hungry and I'm going to eat them. Eragon said smugly.

So did I, little one. My appetite has improved much since I've grown so much. Saphira countered.

So, Eragon continued to eat, I suppose we don't mind killing when there a good reason then?

Yes, I suppose so. Saphira blinked.

Well, instead of killing mindlessly, we could always just kill the bad guys. That way, we wouldn't be bad either, would we? Eragon proclaimed proudly.

Saphira snorted in derision. The bad guys killing the badder guys. How truly original, Eragon.

We'd be doing everyone a favour, Saphira. We would no longer be bad guys. Eragon reminded her, moving on to his next rabbit.

What is your suggestion then? We become… What? A vigilante Rider and his dragon? Saphira asked him sarcastically.

Pretending to take no notice of her sarcasm, Eragon smugly said, Exactly.

Saphira shook her tail, crushing a tall sapling. Oops.

Saphira, you really have to stop destroying the forest. We don't need that big a clearing. Eragon chided.

Speak for yourself, Eragon. I am much larger than you now, obviously I need a much larger space than this.

Well… Speaking of larger spaces… Galbatorix certainly has a rather large castle doesn't he? Eragon said slyly.

Saphira stared at him, her great mouth falling open slightly in astonishment. You mean… We kill Galbatorix? Now?

Why not? He's the worst person I can think of; I doubt there's a better way of cleansing our conscious than this. Eragon said nonchalantly.

Are we truly powerful enough? Saphira sounded uncertain.

Well, with our new powers, we could easily kill Galbatorix, I think. But the several thousand soldiers might just try and stop us. And powerful as we are, I don't think we could kill several thousand soldiers and still have enough strength to kill Galbatorix and Shruikan.

You mean…Saphira looked fearful and awed at the same time.

Yes, Saphira. We need to get the help of the people led by the person we murdered. Saphira said nothing.

We need the Varden.