Change of Plans

It was not the sun that woke me; or Hvitr for that matter, but a very loud, sharp cracking sound that seemed to echo throughout the semi desert in which I was in. I woke up with a jolt, sitting up as if waking from a nightmare. I looked around for the source of the sound, but all there was, was my bag and the dragon egg. I threw out my senses and searched the near by area, but there was nothing that could have made such a sound, so I sent my mind even further. In desperation for an answer, I send my mind out to a three kilometer radius, in which there was nothing I could determine that could have made such a noise. Another loud cracking sound rose through the air, and I my attention was bought closer then I would have thought possible; right next to me. I picked up the dragon egg and found the answer. There was a clear distinct crack, running from one side of the egg to another and another crack just like it on the other side. Another crack appeared accompanied with a loud sound and many vibrations from the egg. It was so sudden it made me jump, and I threw the dragon egg into the air. It landed about ten meters away; I ran to it and sat down next to it. I knew what was happening, but I didn't want it to. The egg was hatching, hatching for its rider, and the only being within a three kilometer that was eligible to become a rider was me; I was about to become a rider. Another crack appeared, along with another loud sound and lots of movement from the egg. It was then that a random though occurred, like a person watching the birth of a child, I wandered it was going to be a boy or a girl. Out of all the people present at the birth of a child, the only one who ever wanders what its gender will be is the father. The mother is in far too much pain to care, and the midwife has simply gone through so many births that she just doesn't care that much anymore; her only concern is the mother. Another crack snapped me back to the real world, and I concentrated only on the egg from then on. There were several more cracks, with a little less time in between each one. After five minutes, there had been about another six cracks, but nothing else. I had no idea what was taking the dragon so long; I mean, normally, a dragon would hatch within the first two or three minutes; well, so I had read anyway. Another crack appeared, and another, and another, until cracks were just constantly appearing. All of a sudden it stopped. Silence. I held my breath. One minute went by. Two minutes. Four minutes and finally, it happened. It all happened with one piece, a circle and about 2 cm in diameter. The piece flew into the air, about five meters high, and I was able to breathe again. Then, the egg slowly folded out like a flower opening; the petals folding out, all the different colours and textures revealing them selves for the first time. A white light came from the center of the egg; strong enough so that you couldn't see the source, but not so strong that you couldn't look at it. As the egg opened up, the light slowly faded so that by the time the egg had completely opened up, there was a little black dragon standing in the middle. I sat there, in a state of shock, unable to do anything but sit there with my mouth hanging open. It took me about ten minutes to recover, and once I had, I realized that the dragon was smug.

What on earth are you so happy about? I asked it.

I have been planning that for ages, and it worked a treat! Just look at you! You can't believe your eyes!

You've been planning that?

Yeh, you have no idea how boring it is waiting for something. I had to wait one hundred and fifteen years! First, I had to wait for you to be born, and then you decided to wait fourteen years before showing up. What took you so long?

Well, first of all, I had no idea it was a dragon calling me! And secondly, no parents in their right mind would ever let their only child go on a suicide mission to Uru'baen on a hunch that there might be something waiting for them!

Good point. So how come you're here then? If your parents wouldn't let you go? I didn't answer, but he got the drift of it from my mind.

Oh, I'm sorry, if it's any help, my parents are dead too, Galbatorix killed them.

Well at least we have that in common.

"You have that in common with many people" Hvitr butted in.

Yeh, well, anyway, nice to meet you dragon. I told it

Likewise human.

That was quite a show you put on there. Do all dragons do that?

Nope, he answered, only the smart ones.

Or the ones with way too much time on their hands. He growled at me, and I laughed at him. Well, at least he has a sense of humor.

Are we going some where, he asked, or are we just going to sit here talking all day?

Well, your appearance changes a lot of things, I told him, I am going to have to make some changes to my plans. And that was true. I could not go to Varden, because with my black dragon, not only would they take me for Galbatorix, but they would be extremely annoying and dependant on me. So if I could not go to Sudra, I needed to find a pit stop. Some place where I could contact the Varden, and somewhere where occupied by the Varden's allies. So I began to think of the Varden's allies. There were the dwarves for starters, but they were not too kind to dragon riders, considering that their race was excluded from the treaty, so all that was left were the elves. That was a much better plan. I would be tested of course, but I prefer that to be done by an elf, who would swear to tell no-one of my secrets (not that I had many), then some dwarf. So I would go north, to Du Weldenvarden, and ask for safe passage to Ellesmera. Seemed like a better plan, since the elves tend to be smarter then humans, and I could talk to them in the ancient language so that they know I am not lying. So there, my plan was made.

To Du Weldenvarden it is said the little dragon. Let's go, quick.

Why are you so agitated? I told him, Calm down, and don't be so impatient. Your only ten minutes old!

Yeh well, I've been waiting a long time to get out of that castle.

Ok, I can understand that, but we have a problem.

What's that? He asked.

Well, I answered, you can't fly yet, or run fast enough to keep up with me, and I can't carry you because I a going to need my arms, so how is this going to work?

He answered by jumping onto my shoulder and placing himself around the back of my neck like a scarf. As he did so, a wave of magic surged into my body and centered itself in the palm of my left hand. A glowing spiral appeared and I recognized it from one the pictures in my book, it was the mark of the riders. The glowing stopped after a couple of minutes, and I was left with a spiral scar on my hand. I was now a full rider, and I had the scar and the dragon to prove it. I put on my back pack and started to run, with the rising sun on my right.