Okay, I have a couple of points to address. First, don't judge a book by its cover. Someone accused me of making my currenct main character, Oridia, a "Mary-sue." I have to say that I never intended to make my characters perfect characters. I have plot twists and character development to change my story and characters.

Usual Disclaimer: I don't own Eragon, the ancient language, Ellesmera, Tialdari Hall, or anything that is from the Inheritance Cycle. That is owned by Christopher Paolini and his publishers.

Chapter 2: Acceptance

Oridia woke up to find herself still in Tialdarí Hall. The Dragon Rider was still there. He was smiling.

"Good to see you awake again, child. You were asleep for a while." He said.

"Does this mean I am a Dragon Rider?" Oridia asked, excitement hidden from her voice.

"Not yet. True, you have bonded with a dragon, but you are not a true Dragon Rider until your training is complete." The rider replied.

Oridia thought about this for a while. She had the suspicion that she had forgotten something. She looked at her hands, and she saw that there was a gedwëy ignasia on both hands. She wondered why she had two gedwëy ignasia, and asked the rider.

"I do not know. It is most likely because you touched your dragon with both hands. Usually, the gedwëy ignasia is on the hand that first touches the hatchling. However, you went for the dragon in an attempt to pick him up. Therefore, you touched him with both hands at the same time." He replied.

"What will happen to me because of this?" Oridia asked, wondering what changes will happen to her because of her two shining palms.

"I have no idea. There is no known instance of this happening before." He replied. "You must be tired. You should head home and lie down for a little while. When you have rested, come see me at the training ground."

"Before I go, may I ask for your name?" Oridia said.

"My name is Velinor, son of Nirean. My dragon's name is Gariva. Your name, if I may?" Velinor replied.

"Oridia, daughter of Arolia. Well, I shall see you later, Velinor-elda." Oridia said, and departed immediately after. On her way out, she remembered her hatchling. She rushed back to Tialdarí Hall to see the black hatchling exploring the building. He just walked around, but he never seemed to leave Velinor's sight.

"Oh, good. You came back, Oridia. I thought that you forgot about your hatchling." Velinor said.

"It's a good thing that I remembered before you left." Oridia replied, walking over to the hatchling dragon.

"You need not have worried. I would have kept him safe. After all, he isn't fully capable of protecting himself. In about two weeks, most creatures here in Du Weldenvarden shouldn't pose a threat to him."

"That is comforting. By the way, how do you know that the hatchling is male?" Oridia asked.

"When an dragon hatches, they usually have a scent that distinguishes between genders. Another dragon could easily tell the difference between a male and female hatchling of the same color. Gariva told me as soon as the egg hatched."

"Thank you once again, Velinor-elda. I shall be going now." Oridia said as she departed, heading for her home once again. Her home was sung out of an old oak tree. Her parents gave it to Oridia as a coming-of-age present when she was fifteen. It had two floors, one for Oridia's personal quarters and another for visitors to relax. She was surprised to see her parents, Arolia and Rhafean, standing in front of the door.

"Mother, Father, what are you doing here?" Oridia asked the two elves in a curious manner.

"We heard you had become a Dragon Rider. We wanted to come over and congratulate you on you accomplishment." Arolia said. "Well, may we come in?"

"Sure. I just need a second." Oridia replied, and she entered the tree. She went to the table, put the dragon there, and went back to the door.

"So, you are a Dragon Rider. I'm impressed, Oridia. I only thought that you would try to be a swordsman, and dedicate your life to the blade." Rhafean said.

"Technically, I'm still not a Dragon Rider. I have yet to complete my training. Once that is done, I am a Dragon Rider." Oridia replied.

The dragon walked around the table examining those who sat around it. He then proceeded to walk over to Oridia, and climbed up her arm onto her shoulder, where he sat there, perched like a bird. The group began talking about recent events, from some recent paintings by Arolia to Oridia's fight with Feredon. Once they finished talking about the swordfight, Oridia remembered that she had to go to the training ground. She bade her parents farewell as she left. Arolia and Rhafean followed her out, and then the two groups went their separate ways. Arolia and Rhafean went to their abode, while Oridia headed towards the training ground. When she arrived there, she saw Velinor sitting next to a tree.

She went over to him and greeted him with the elvish custom. After they greeted each other, Velinor stood up. "From what I've heard from some of the elves here, you are an excellent swordsman. Usually, I wouldn't have to test your skill with the blade. However, I have a feeling that it would be better if I tested you anyway." Velinor told Oridia.

"I don't understand. Why must I be tested in my swordsmanship?" Oridia asked.

"I have two reasons. One, I want to actually see your skill for myself. Feredon-vodhr told me that you were able to fight on par with him for over an hour, but I want to see that myself. Secondly, I think that your abilities might have changed when you were given the two gedwëy ignasia." Velinor replied.

"You really think that these two gedwëy ignasia would have an effect on my skills?"

"It is only a guess, but if I'm wrong, at least I will see your abilities first-hand. If I'm right, then your training can be modified to make up for whatever happened."

Oridia nodded her head, and drew her sword from its sheath on her hip. The hatchling just stayed on her shoulder, oblivious to the practice swordfight that was about to commence.

"Before we begin, Oridia, I think that your hatchling should be with Gariva. Just for his safety." Velinor said. With that statement, Gariva landed in the field. Oridia walked over to the green dragon and placed the black hatchling in the hollow at the base of Gariva's neck. With the hatchling out of the way, the match could begin.

Velinor struck with blinding speed. Oridia, even though she was a prodigy, could barely keep up. Velinor was fast with his green blade. I can't believe that the Dragon Riders are this good with the sword, she thought to herself as she kept his blows from hitting her. The fight was much different from her fight with Feredon. With Feredon, she was able to keep a strong defense while being able to make attempts at strikes. With Velinor, however, she was hopelessly outmatched.

During the fight, however, Oridia noticed something. Velinor didn't seem that much faster than the other elves she had faced. Either I've slowed down, or I'm still a little weak from the hatching, she thought to herself as she kept avoiding getting hit by Velinor's sword. She also noticed her moves didn't flow as smoothly as they did the day before. Velinor noticed her distraction, and quickly disarmed her.

"I'm a little disappointed. From what I heard from Feredon-vodhr, you were a swordsman of great skill. However, your skills seemed to be less than what I was told." Velinor said.

"Am I still worthy of being a Dragon Rider?" Oridia asked, fearful of his response. She thought that she might not have been good enough to be a Dragon Rider.

"Yes, you are. You don't need to worry about being good enough to be a rider. Even if you aren't that good now, you will become better through training. I am merely curious as to why your skills aren't as good as I had hoped. I will think about this. In the mean time, I think that you have potential to become an amazing swordsman." Velinor replied.

But I was always an amazing swordsman. Why did I suddenly lose my skills? Oridia thought to herself. "You said that this was to see if my abilities were modified when I was given the gedwëy ignasia. Could this be one of those modified abilities?" Oridia proposed.

"Maybe. I wasn't expecting a change like that, but it is a possibility that you lost your natural swordsmanship. Don't worry about this, though. You will most likely become an even better swordsman from training than through natural skill.

"I think that it is time for us to go our separate ways for the time being. Tomorrow, I shall meet you outside your abode. You need to travel to Doru Araeba to train. Gariva and I will fly you there tomorrow." Velinor said. Oridia walked over to Gariva to get her hatchling, who apparently had been searching for food. She wondered what she should get him, and asked Velinor for help.

"When Gariva hatched, I just brought her plants for a while. After about two days, I let her go into the forest to hunt. I accompanied her, just to be safe." Velinor replied to Oridia's question. The black hatchling climbed back onto Oridia's shoulder. Oridia walked back to her house after saying farewell to Velinor. That night, she slept peacefully, devoid of anxiety for the new life ahead of her.

--

The next morning, Oridia awoke with some excitement, but some anxiety as well. What will my training be like? Will it be difficult? she thought as she looked for her hatchling. She saw him staring out the window, looking like an eagle in the morning sun. The image reminded Oridia of how noble the dragon race was. In that moment, she developed a much deeper respect for the dragons and the Dragon Riders.

Suddenly, there was a knock on Oridia's door. She quickly ran to the stairs and slid down the bannister. Whenever she was in a rush, she usually did this, for the bannister was durable and made a very quick mode of transportation. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she opened the door to see Velinor.

"Atra esterní ono thelduin." Oridia said to the Dragon Rider.

"Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr." Velinor responded back.

"Un du evarínya ono varda." Oridia replied in turn.

"Ah, it is good to see you again, Oridia. Are you ready to take flight?"

"Actually, I still need to gather some clothes."

"There will be no need for you to take clothes."

"Shall I go naked, then?" Oridia commented, which caused Velinor to laugh heartily.

"No, not at all. Clothes will be provided for you in Doru Araeba."

"Well, that's good. Let me go get the hatchling." Oridia said as she went back to the stairs. She climbed the stairs to her living quarters. She saw the dragon in the same spot where she last saw him, sitting by the window, looking out over Ellesméra. She moved to him, and he turned his head in her direction. She went over to him, and he crawled up her arm and perched himself on her shoulder. She reached out with her mind, and when she found the dragon's mind, she tried to impress on him the fact that he wouldn't be able to perch himself on her shoulder for very long. She wasn't sure if he understood, but she thought she felt a sense of resignment towards this fact. She assumed that it came from the dragon, because she would be glad when he decided to walk around himself.

She decided to slide down the bannister again, and soon, she was back with Velinor with the hatchling.

"Good, now we can depart. Gariva, are you ready?" Velinor called out.

Yes, Velinor. Is the young one ready to fly? Oridia heard the voice in her head and wondered when her hatchling would be ready to do that.

"Uh, yes. I'm ready to fly, Gariva. By the way, Velinor, when do dragons learn to speak, and when do they breathe fire?" Oridia asked.

"Usually, dragons learn to communicate with us when they are about two to three-and-a-half weeks old. As for the fire, they will breathe fire after five to six months. That is also when they are mature and are ready to mate." Velinor replied as he mounted Gariva. He helped Oridia into the saddle, and once both Oridia and Venilor were in the saddle, Gariva untucked her wings. She jumped, and the force of her jump sent her about twenty-five feet into the air. She then began to flap her wings. With each flap, she began to ascend. Soon, she was above the treeline, and she began flying towards Doru Araeba.

Okay, so what do you think? Please R&R. However, if you haven't read Brisingr and/or don't like spoilers, DO NOT GO INTO THE REVIEWS SECTION AND READ THEM. Someone decided to spoil the book for me just because of what he/she read in the first chapter. If you really want to know the reviews, PM me and I'll tell you what they say.

As a sidenote, beware the Cult of Herostratus. Their goal is to spoil any anticipated release all over the internet. The person who posted the spoilers of Brisingr was a member of this cult.