Christopher Paolini - Brisingr

BRISINGR

CONTENTS

As always, this book is for my family.
And also for Jordan, Nina, and Sylvie,
the bright lights of a new generation.
Atra estern ono thelduin.

Synopsis of Eragon and Eldest

Eragona fifteen-year-old farm boyis shocked when a polished blue stone appears before him in the range of mountains known as the Spine. Eragon takes the stone to the farm where he lives with his uncle, Garrow, and his cousin, Roran, outside the small village of Carvahall. Garrow and his late wife, Marian, have raised Eragon. Nothing is known of Eragons father; his mother, Selena, was Garrows sister and has not been seen since Eragons birth.

Later, the stone cracks open and a baby dragon emerges. When Eragon touches her, a silvery mark appears on his palm, and an irrevocable bond is forged between their minds, making Eragon one of the legendary Dragon Riders. He names the dragon Saphira, after a dragon mentioned by the village storyteller, Brom.

The Dragon Riders were created thousands of years earlier in the aftermath of the devastating war between the elves and the dragons, in order to prevent their two races from ever again fighting each other. The Riders became peacekeepers, educators, healers, natural philosophers, and the greatest of all magicianssince being joined with a dragon makes one a spellcaster. Under their guidance and protection, the land enjoyed a golden age.

When humans arrived in Alagasia, they too were added to this elite order. After many years of peace, the warlike Urgals killed the dragon of a young human Rider named Galbatorix. The loss drove him mad, and when his elders refused to provide him with another dragon, Galbatorix set out to topple the Riders.

He stole another dragonwhom he named Shruikan and forced to serve him through certain black spellsand gathered around himself a group of thirteen traitors: the Forsworn. With the help of those cruel disciples, Galbatorix threw down the Riders; killed their leader, Vrael; and declared himself king over Alagasia. His actions forced the elves to retreat deep within their pinewood forest and the dwarves to hide in their tunnels and caves, and neither race now ventures forth from its secret places. The stalemate between Galbatorix and the other races has endured for over a hundred years, during which all of the Forsworn have died from various causes. It is into this tense political situation that Eragon finds himself thrust.

Several months after Saphira hatches, two menacing, beetle-like strangers called the Razac arrive in Carvahall, searching for the stone that was Saphiras egg. Eragon and Saphira manage to evade them, but they destroy Eragons home and murder Garrow.

Eragon vows to track down and kill the Razac. As he leaves Carvahall, the storyteller Brom, who knows of Saphiras existence, accosts Eragon and asks to accompany him. Brom gives Eragon a red Dragon Riders sword, Zarroc, though he refuses to say how he acquired it.

Eragon learns much from Brom during their travels, including how to fight with swords and use magic. When they lose the Razacs trail, they go to the port town of Teirm and visit Broms old friend Jeod, who Brom thinks may be able to help them locate the Razacs lair. In Teirm, they learn that the Razac live somewhere close to the city of Dras-Leona. Eragon also has his fortune told by the herbalist Angela and receives two strange pieces of advice from her companion, the werecat Solembum.

On the way to Dras-Leona, Brom reveals that he is an agent of the Vardena rebel group dedicated to overthrowing Galbatorixand that he had been hiding in Carvahall, waiting for a new Dragon Rider to appear. Twenty years ago, Brom was involved in stealing Saphiras egg from Galbatorix and, in the process, killed Morzan, first and last of the Forsworn. Only two other dragon eggs still exist, both of which remain in Galbatorixs possession.

In and near Dras-Leona, they encounter the Razac, who mortally wound Brom while he is protecting Eragon. A mysterious young man named Murtagh drives the Razac away. With his dying breath, Brom confesses that he too was once a Rider and that his slain dragon was also named Saphira.

Eragon and Saphira then decide to join the Varden, but Eragon is captured at the city of Gilead and brought before Durza, an evil and powerful Shade who serves Galbatorix. With Murtaghs help, Eragon escapes from prison, bringing along with him the elf Arya, another captive of Durzas and an ambassador to the Varden. Arya has been poisoned and requires the Vardens medical help.

Pursued by a contingent of Urgals, the four of them flee across the land to the Vardens headquarters in the giant Beor Mountains, which stand over ten miles high. Circumstances force Murtaghwho does not want to go to the Vardento reveal that he is the son of Morzan. Murtagh, however, has denounced his dead fathers villainy and fled Galbatorixs court to seek his own destiny. And he tells Eragon that the sword Zarroc once belonged to Murtaghs father.

Just before they are overwhelmed by the Urgals, Eragon and his friends are rescued by the Varden, who live in Farthen Dr, a hollow mountain that is also home to the dwarves capital, Tronjheim. Once inside, Eragon is taken to Ajihad, leader of the Varden, while Murtagh is imprisoned because of his relation to Morzan.

Eragon meets with the dwarf king, Hrothgar, and Ajihads daughter, Nasuada, and is tested by the Twins, two rather nasty magicians who serve Ajihad. Eragon and Saphira also bless one of the Vardens orphan babies while the Varden heal Arya of her poisoning.

Eragons stay is disrupted by news of an Urgal army approaching underground, through the dwarves tunnels. In the battle that follows, Eragon is separated from Saphira and forced to fight Durza alone. Far stronger than any human, Durza easily defeats Eragon, slashing open his back from shoulder to hip. At that moment, Saphira and Arya break the roof of a chambera sixty-foot-wide star sapphiredistracting Durza long enough for Eragon to stab him through the heart. Freed from Durzas spells, which were controlling them, the Urgals are driven back.

While Eragon lies unconscious after the battle, he is telepathically contacted by a being who identifies himself as Togira Ikonokathe Cripple Who Is Whole. He urges Eragon to seek him for instruction in Ellesmra, the elves capital.

When Eragon wakes, he has a huge scar across his back. Dismayed, he also realizes he only slew Durza through sheer luck and that he desperately needs more training. And at the end of Book One, he decides that, yes, he will find this Togira Ikonoka and learn from him.

Eldest begins three days after Eragon slays Durza. The Varden are recovering from the Battle of Farthen Dr, and Ajihad, Murtagh, and the Twins have been hunting down the Urgals who escaped into the tunnels underneath Farthen Dr after the battle. When a group of Urgals takes them by surprise, Ajihad is killed and Murtagh and the Twins disappear in the fray. The Vardens Council of Elders appoints Nasuada to succeed her father as new leader of the Varden, and Eragon swears fealty to her as her vassal.