Chapter 1 (Rewritten)

It was a cold winter morning in the Palancar Valley, the sun was barely up.

Not far from Carvahall, in the furthest part of a field, a small, magenta dot appeared in the air. Slowly, it began to move in circle, gaining in size and speed until it reached two meters in diameter, taking a solid form. Someone stepped from it, his boots sinking slightly into the Alagaësian snow and ground. The man inspired and exhaled loudly, releasing his breath in a cloud of smoke. Behind him, the large circle vanished immediately.

"Good to know that the air is breathable here. However, I hope I will not catch any local toxin or virus."

The man who spoke was a young adult, in his mid-twenties. His almond eyes, with a tint of green, were observing the landscape around him while a cold breeze gently slapped his cheek and moved a part of his light brown hair in the direction of the wind. Fortunately, he had anticipated this kind of inconvenience and was clothed correctly against the cold. He had a thick, brown leather vest, a black bulletproof vest with many pockets, a black pullover under it, a t-shirt, navy blue jeans and his boots.

To accompany his clothes, he also had a few weapons on him. A broadsword in its sheath was strapped to his back, on his left shoulder blade. There was an assault rifle tied on his torso, an M4A1. The young man also had a Glock 17 secured in its holster, on his right thigh. It wasn't as big as the assault rifle but in itself, it was a powerful weapon too. He also carried a travel bag, with enough food to survive in the wild for a week, thanks to the First Strike Rations, one for each day.

Looking around, the young adult spotted a village not far from him, maybe two kilometers away, at most. He readjusted his bag on his right shoulder and began walking in direction of the town, completely oblivious of what would be the most unique journey of his life.

Two men were talking in front of a few trees. More precisely, an adolescent and an old man. The younger of the two was no older than fifteen, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing warm clothes, thick enough to protect him from the harsh cold. The other person was an adult, in his sixties with small black eyes. He had silver hair and blue eyes, had a white, thick beard and an eagle-shaped nose. The elder was smaller than the adolescent, owned a sword, hanging at his belt, and was currently holding pieces of leather in his gloved hand. There was also a staff with runes in a strange language carved in it, belonging to him and resting against a tree.

The streets of the village were completely empty. The only trace of life was coming from the candles from inside the houses or the chimneys releasing their smoke. The ground was covered in pure white snow, a color contrasting with the dark grey clouds of the sky.

"Going somewhere?" asked the old man, a scowl on his face.

The young boy grabbed the hides and backed away. "You have no right to take them from me!"

The two people were so lost in their argument that they didn't notice a third man observing them and eavesdropping on their conversation. That person was close enough to hear clearly the heated discussion and stay out of their view.

"I was going to track down the Ra'zac and kill them."

The sentence arrived to the ears of the stalker whose eyes widened when he heard the word "Ra'zac". The second after, he left his position. He smiled inwardly, thanking his instinct who was right by telling him to follow the boy in this part of the town. It seemed those two people had some useful information about them and could lead him to these monsters. He walked to the duo wordlessly, with only the sound of his shoes crushing the snow betraying his presence. He stopped not far from them and caught their attention by clearing his throat. The adult and the young man turned their head in his direction and looked at him, suspiciously.

"Sorry to bother you," he began. "I know it's a bad manner but I eavesdropped on your little talk and I thought that maybe you could help me."

The elder's right hand twitched lightly, almost as if he was waiting for their guest to make the wrong move and unsheathe his sword. He also raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"And in what way could we do this?"

"I just want to cooperate, nothing more. I'm also tracking the Ra'zac for a personal motive and maybe, if you want to, we could work together. The deal is simple: we travel together and I share everything I have with you. That means my food, water and anything of value I could sell to make money."

"What make you think we can trust you? Maybe you're an agent of the Empire, chosen to keep an eye on us before ambushing us with the reinforcement when our guard is at its lowest."

The third man looked at the elder coldly, his fist clenched in anger because someone was doubting his words. Instead of getting mad, he sighed and calmed down. It wouldn't arrange his situation to get into an argument with the old man.

"Listen, you don't trust me, that's totally understandable. You're right, I could be lying but I'm not. I don't know who you are and what your motive to go after those monsters is. You and I, we want the same thing: kill the two bastards. So, I propose we do it together!"

The elder stayed silent for a moment, pondering what the young adult just said and then, crossed his arms. "You must understand that these creatures are very dangerous and have no mercy. They could kill you in a few seconds, there's not a lot of people who can stand up against them. It's near suicidal to want to hunt them down." He said in a somber tone.

"I already know that. To tell you the truth, I'm after them since a few years, eleven to be precise. They killed someone who was very close to me and I want to avenge his death. I think that if the three of us work in team, we can find them quickly and neutralize them… definitively. I don't think there's a better solution than forming a group. When it will be over, you'll never hear or see me again, I can assure this. Are my terms good enough?"

The boy looked at the old man and they shared a look, one that lasted a few seconds. Each one was searching for the correct answer in the eyes of the other.

"What do you think? Is the risk worth it? It's your quest after all."

The adolescent with brown hair had a look of doubt for a long moment, considering the pros and cons of letting this man in strange clothes joining them, before putting a neutral face and nodding.

"I don't think he's lying Brom… and someone working for the king wouldn't go to this length to make us believe he's on our side…"

"… quite the contrary, boy. The spies of the Empire are trained to be cunning and smart. They'll do anything to prove to you they're trustworthy and at the first occasion, you are bought on a silver plate in front of Galbatorix." Brom explained to the farmer, then talked to the other young man. "I can't explain how or why but… I feel that somehow you're telling the truth. However, it doesn't mean I trust you."

"I understand."

"Now that it's settled, we have to tell him about her."

"You're right."

Before the newcomer could ask who they were talking about, the storyteller looked again at him, a sour look on his face.

"Are you definitively sure you want this? This decision is going to change your life forever and there's no turning back."

The man with almond eyes grinned.

"I knew this since the first day I decided to chase them, to do justice myself. I sacrificed too much to not continue my quest. They will pay. Now that this is out of the way, we can introduce ourselves. I'm Alex." He presented his right hand and the adolescent shook it, followed by the elder.

"What a strange name. I'm Eragon, nice to meet you, and the person to my left is Brom, storyteller of Carvahall and a friend."

"All the pleasure is mine."

Alex looked at the village and saw people running from one house to another, calling out a name, as if they were looking for someone missing. The duo did the same, also curious.

"I think they're looking for me." commented the farmer, quietly.

The old man raised an eyebrow.

"Probably. Shall we?"

Eragon hesitated, unsure. "I'd like to give a message to Roran. I'm ashamed to leave without any explication. He has the right to know why we'll not be here when he will come back to Carvahall."

"Don't worry, I left a message to Gertrude this morning explaining a few things, and told him to be on his guard for certain dangers. Will that be enough?"

The young man nodded. Their journey could finally begin.

The little group carefully left the village, taking care to not being seen by anyone. At the moment they stepped out of Carvahall, they quickened their pace despite Eragon's injuries. Finally, they arrived at the farm. Well, more like what was left of it. The barn was no more, only a rectangle of soot remained.

They walked to the former door leading to the main room of the house and stopped there, contemplating the damage caused by the two monsters. Before they could begin their search for anything interesting, Brom put himself in front of Alex.

"What you're going to see next is something unique in this world. I need to have your word that you are going to stay silent about it and not betray us. Or I'll be forced to kill you, am I clear?"

The young man was surprised but obeyed anyway. What could be so important that he had to make a promise on his life? It was extremely suspicious but he decided to play along and obeyed.

"I promise. Whatever is your secret, it's safe with me."

"Good."

The little talk was a distraction enough so they only heard the loud beating of wings at the last moment. Brom raised his eyes and flinched. Seeing this, Alex turned on himself to see what caused the reaction on the storyteller and went face to face with a huge sapphire creature with four legs, one long tail and two wings. Eragon rushed to Alex and put a hand on his left arm before he could draw his broadsword. "Don't worry, she's on our side. Saphira will not hurt you, unless you give her a reason to."

The bald man completely ignored the swordsman's comportment and walked to the dragoness with a look both solemn and joyous.

"So, it starts again…" said the storyteller. "But how and where can this story end? My sight is veiled. I cannot know if it's farce or tragedy, as the two ingredients are already there ... Anyway, no matter: my position is the same, and I ..."

His words stopped there. The creature then looked at the stranger. His eyes full of fear and amazement.

«You really are weird creatures ...»

This sentence echoed inside Alex's head for a few seconds before fading away. It was, without a single doubt, a female voice, thanks to the intonation.

"She speaks!" exclaimed the man with light brown hair.

«You thought I was dumb? Dragons are as smart, if not more, than humans. »

The young man immediately lowered his sword and looked at the dragoness with a new interest. The world could have collapsed around them that he would not have realized it. So here, those giant lizards with wings and capable of breathing fire existed. What next? Elves? Dwarves?

"Who knew that one day…I would have the occasion to meet a… dragoness?" She nodded at this. "I'm honored to meet you, miss…"

«Saphira. »

"It's not that I want to interrupt your little talk," said Brom. "But we need to take everything that could be useful and leave as soon as possible."

The two boys nodded and began to search. After a few minutes of looking high and low everywhere, they came back with only a bow, a few arrows and some food. Without a word, Eragon made a sign to follow him toward the forest. Walking behind him, the group arrived in a small clearing, but large enough for all of them. Saphira flew to meet them there, no wanting to leave more tracks than she already had.

"I discovered this place a few years ago, no one else except me know its location."

The farmer prepared a small fire, filled a pan with snow until it transformed into boiling water and finally put pieces of meat in it, Alex added a few slices of dried ham from his personal stock. During this time and the meal, none of the men spoke a single word, preferring to eat in silence. Then, Eragon and Brom began to talk while Alex was deeply fixing the flames, mesmerized by their beauty and his thoughts.

«It's seems that my situation is not that bad. A storyteller, a farmer and a dragoness… when my superiors will learn this, I don't want to imagine the look on their faces. A world filled with dragons and magic, thank you little magical pendant for the portal to this world. Eragon is a good boy and a little naïve, I can manipulate him if necessary or reassure him I'm not a threat without much difficulties but I'm wary of the old man. I think he know more about all of this than what he said until now. Let's see if I can extract more information from him but later, not now. »

Suddenly, a faint sound of steel against steel startled him and he raised his head while grapping his M4A1. Eragon was holding a blade. A handle of silver wire topped with a gold pommel extended from a blood red sheath. A ruby the size of a small egg rested in the pommel. Upon drawing the sword, Eragon observed that the metal of the blade was also red. The black symbol etched onto the sheath was also present on the blade itself.

"It once belonged to a powerful Rider. The way I obtained it is not important. Consider it yours."

The offer caught Eragon off guard. "It's a princely gift, thank you."

"And you, by seeing the broadsword you have on you, I can certainly assume you're familiar with the swordplay. Right?"

The question made Alex smile and he nodded.

"Indeed. I had the chance to learn many things during the last eleven years. I was under the tutoring of a few teachers, each of them possessing their own fighting style. I learned a lot about swordfight, unarmed combat, surviving in the wild and so on… I'm not someone with a boastful pride so I'm going to say that I can defend myself if it's necessary. But I know that somewhere, there'll be always someone better than me."

"Mmmmh, I'd like to see what you're capable of."

"Sure but I must decline for today, we could draw unwanted attention if someone hear us sparring."

"And what about the other things you have on you? Are they weapons too?"

The young adult sighed. "Yes and before you can ask, I will not say what kind of weapon they are. It's a little too complicated to explain."

"Oh, I'm curious to hear your explanation." Brom smirked. "Please enlighten us."

"No. Trust me on this one, you wouldn't believe me."

The storyteller was a little surprised by the answer but respected his choice. "I see."

A long silence followed before Eragon spoke.

"Do you have any idea who the Ra'zac are?"

And so, Brom explained what he knew to the three of them. The Ra'zac, as they were called, were some of the foulest creature to walk the land. Despite their appearance, they were not human. Precious little was known about them, only that they were never seen before Galbatorix came to power. Under their hoods were black eyes the size of fist and beaks where a mouth would be, making how they produced speech a mystery. Their only real weakness is their aversion to sunlight. Those two monsters were agents of the Empire, meaning they could do anything they want without a worry.

"Who are you?" spat the young Rider. "How come a mere village storyteller just happen to have a Rider's sword? How do you know so much about dragons, and the Ra'zac?"

Brom smiled gently. "The only thing you need to know is that I'm the person who is here to protect you. Do not scorn these words; they are the truest I have ever spoken. But I'm not going to answer your questions. You don't need to hear my story, nor have you earned this right. True, I have knowledge that Brom the storyteller wouldn't, but I'm more than he. You'll have to learn to live with that fact and the fact I don't hand out descriptions of my life to anyone who asks!"

Eragon glared at him.

"I'm going to sleep." Brom didn't seem surprised but there was sorrow in his eyes. He rolled out his bedroll next to the fire as Eragon went and lay against Saphira's stomach.

An icy silence fell over the camp.

As for him, Alex was a few meters away from the others and the fire. He took his weapons off him and directly lay on the ground on his back, using his bag as a pillow, admiring the night sky, void of any modern pollution unlike Earth.

Tomorrow was going to be a long and interesting day.