The wind whispered softly over the singed grass. The house was reduced to mere ashes on the ground. In the center of that was a single oval shaped purple stone.

Areyna Vasili swung the basket back and forth in her hands. She'd been gathering fruit pretty much all day, hoping against hope her father had succeeded in killing something. They couldn't afford the butcher, so all was depending on his catch. Maybe Peter had caught something. Peter was her twin brother and he'd been fishing. The entire Vasili family had felt the recent hunger pinch.

When she first stumbled upon the scene she thought she'd taken a wrong turn. This wasn't her house. She stepped closer to the pile of ashes and recoiled. Three charred skeletons of various sizes lay scattered among the wreckage. All that remained was the purple stone she'd found days ago.

Finding the stone had scared her. She had heard of the new rider Eragon and his adventures among the Varden. Ever since she'd picked up the stone she had a nagging suspicion that this was a dragon egg.

Something moved, catching Areyna's attention. Her eyes flickered to the stone and her heart slammed up into her throat. The stone was shaking.

Before her eyes, the stone cracked and split in two. A glimmering white tooth, smooth as glass and sharp as a sword sliced through the remaining thin membrane and out poked a little purple dragon.

Areyna walked up to the creature slowly, extending her hand. It nuzzled up beneath her palm. A noise behind her made her start.

"What is that?"

"Peter," she said, relieved, "This is… a dragon"

Before he could say anything else the steady beat of horse's hooves against the terrain made them turn. A man with scarlet hair and the most frightening face he'd ever seen dismounted and walked toward them with his face twisted in what barely resembled a sadistic grin. He beckoned them with the crook of his index finger.

"Give me the dragon."