Chapter One: After the Plains
Eragon stood, in mad grief, on an overlook that overshadowed the Burning Plains. While in battle with Murtagh, Saphira was struck down from an extremely unlucky, or lucky depending on whom you are, blow from Thorn as they were separating from their aerial battle. Saphira held on long enough to drive the traitorous duo away. After the battle, Eragon watched in grief as Saphira bled out her precious lifeblood onto the ground. As Eragon was standing next to the once mighty dragon, Saphira sent out one last mental image of an older looking map with a mark in the Hadarac Desert.
Arya wearily approached the distraught former Rider with trepidation.
"Eragon?" she asked.
Eragon impassively stared with orbs filled with madness, his happiness and sane state of mind now a figment of the past.
"What are you going to do now?" Arya questioned.
"I'm going on a trip," he replied, "I won't be back for a good amount of time. However, I shall be back in time to finish my training with Oromis."
Arya unconsciously released a sigh of relief, thinking that Eragon might even attack her in his grief. A well known fact about Dragon Riders is that once the dragon of the duo dies, the Rider either follows in grief or goes insane. In fact, Brom was the only one known not to go insane; however, Brom had hate, anger, and Eragon to keep him from the brink. Eragon has nothing like that.
"What about Lady Nasuada, Eragon. Why do you think you would be let go so easily," Arya stated somewhat arrogantly, positive that, with Eragons infatuation with her, it would be easy to manipulate him into staying here.
With a mad glint in his eye that didn't exist before, Eragon replied, "You don't control me little elf, no man, woman, beast, or child commands me now." With that, Eragon took off at a speed previously unknown to anyone, including himself. With the image of that map in mind, Eragon went in the direction of the Hadarac Desert.
Eragon swiftly cut open a cactus to replace his ever diminishing water supplies that, before, he could draw from the ground with magic. It seemed that when Saphira passed, Eragons admittedly inferior connection to magic diminished to nonexistent. Thankfully, before Brom passed, Eragon picked up on some of the more prevalent survivor lessons. Eragon took a long drink of the cactus juice, relishing in the taste of the sweet nectar that is water. He continued on his journey, his body running off the strange energy brought about from his madness, allowing Eragon to run all day and night.
When Eragon finally arrived to the destination on the map burned into his mind's eye, he gazed upon the transport that, unknown to him, brought him to Alagaesia. He approached the mysterious vessel, jumping back when a strange metallic voice stated.
"Scanning DNA."
Eragon did not know what to do and stood like a deer in headlights as a light appeared from a strange looking pole (New U Station) next to entrance inside the pod.
"DNA verified, welcome back Handsome Jack the Second."
