Legacy – Inheritance cycle book 5 fanfic

Author's note; this work is a fanfiction based on the novels written by Christopher Paolini. Though what will be written is my domain, the foundations upon which it is based is solely his property. This work has been submitted for public and free reading as an idle enjoyment for fans of the Inheritance cycle.

Though the Inheritance cycle rarely used a clear timeline to express the goings on of Eragon and his friends, I will. The death of Galbatorix is a clear way of starting a new age and my timeline will start from here (1 AG is one year after Galbatorix's death).

An account of Eragon's departure from Alagaesia

At the end of Inheritance, Eragon was seen departing the known lands of Alagaesia by boat, sailing east on the Edda river where it would eventually join with the Az Ragni. The land to the east was a mystery to all but a few, accounts of what lay beyond hidden in old and decaying scrolls from before the time of Galbatorix. It was these scrolls, written by Riders past, which gave Eragon hope. For after the vast plain, broken only by the winding of the river, there lay many things.

After a week of riding on swift currents, the small party found itself entering a mountain range smaller in size but similar in height to the Beor mountains. On the other side of the range lay the eastern coast of Alagaesia and the endless expanse of the sea. As Eragon and his companions left behind the safety of the mountains, they sailed for a dark smudge on the horizon. As they got closer, what they saw was a collection of islands grouped together.

By the third week of their journey, they had reached the strange isles, to find that the power of the sea had reduced the outlying islands to little more than jagged spires rising from the surface of the ocean. The innermost island however, showed signs of early habitation by a long gone civilization. A collection of decayed buildings the size of a large town lay not too far from its shores and where the buildings still stood there were signs of masterful building, and the possibility that the inhabitants were attacked and forced to leave.

With the template of Vroengard's natural defensive strength in mind, the group agreed as a whole that the island could serve as a safe haven for the raising of the dragons. The outer islands serving as sombre sentinels to any who'd approach, the swirling currents difficult to navigate once past the outer isles as were the rocks hidden from view just under the sea surface.

And so this strange island was transformed, and named Dyr Aurbodain as it was in the scrolls. The buildings rebuilt with skill only the elves possess and remodelled with their new occupants in mind, vast chambers fitted for dragons added to their sturdy foundations. Even after these tasks accomplished, taking the better part of two years, their work was not finished. Venturing into the wooded areas that surrounded this newly built town, the elves sought to tame the trees and encouraged them to grow in ways that still eluded Eragon, building homes of bowers and branches as well as of stone.

Over time, the town grew larger and more populated. Some elves chose to go back to Alagaesia and share the memories of their time on the island with others so more could return if they chose. Eragon, Blodhgarm and a handful of others though had thoughts only of the eldunari and those still lost to Galbatorix's malicious mind. Of all the projects concerning the building of this new haven, none was more important than the safety of the eldunari and the remaining dragon eggs. In the centre of the town, a building was thus constructed for their safety, unassuming and sturdy to the untrained eye. Into this unassuming building the legacy of the dragons went, Eragon and the elves safeguarding them with spells more numerous than those under the leafy expanse of Du Weldenvarden.

For a decade, Eragon and the elves laboured over their surroundings. Eragon, allowing the elves to do what he could not, withdrew into himself and the needs of the eldunari, not a day going by when he did not sink into the depths of conversation with the eldunari. With the aid of Glaedr, Cuaroc and Umaroth, Eragon sought to repair the disjointed minds of the eldunari held by Galbatorix. Using the Name of Names, Eragon's success was more than it should have been, though still limited as only Blodhgarm had been permitted in its knowledge and use since it had been revealed to him.

In the fifth year of this self-imposed exile, the first of the wild dragons hatched. Such joy emanated from the elves that day that had not been seen in over a hundred years even Eragon's heart soared with Saphira's. A male dragon of woodland brown, named Fundor by Eragon, it grew quickly as did all wild dragons before disappearing and reappearing as is a wild dragons wont. By the twentieth year, Fundor was joined by another dozen wild dragons five of whom were female.

21 years after Galbatorix's death, the island saw an increase in numbers as several ships docked at its shores. Contingents of men, dwarves, Urgals and elves had arrived from Alagaesia along with the first Urgal and Dwarven Dragon Riders in history. From the stories that had been shared in the evening that night, the eggs had hatched at a similar time to that of the first female dragon on the island. Such celebrations amongst the Urgals and Dwarves were seen that rocked Alagaesia to its core that Lady Nasuada, King Orrin and even Murtaugh had been summoned to attend the newfound joy and pride of the two races.

The new Riders had journeyed long and far in their travels, seeking always to further the union that had started with Eragon. During their extended stay in Ellesmera as guests of Queen Arya, their education was supplemented by the wisest of all the races as were the hidden talents of their magic. As not all Riders could command magic as quickly as others, it had taken a matter of months for the two new Riders to realize their magical potential and even longer to fully understand it. Arya herself had made sure the spirit that was Oromis' and Glaedrs teaching had not been lost on the two new pairings.

While the two new Riders remained with a few members of each race, Eragon saw to it that those who would return to their native lands would not do so empty-handed. After extracting promises in the ancient language to all present, Eragon, with the blessing of the eldunari, and the elves presented them with four eggs of the Riders. Each egg was to be guarded by one member of each race, four in total with at least one skilled in magic and all sworn to protect it. These eggs and their guardians would stay for extended periods in the territories of all four races until they hatched, and then the guardians would ensure the safety of both dragon and Rider through to their training.

And so the ships left with their treasure, precious beyond measure. Their guardians ensuring that the feared Nidhwal of the deep waters could not detect their passage, covering their passage and the disturbance of the sea with magic.

It was in this way that the years passed slowly for Eragon. The sudden arrival of the new Riders serving as a reminder that his vision was too narrow, he sought to learn all he could of the land he had left behind. Scrying the land, helping the eldunari and furthering his knowledge occupied most of his time. His constant companions Saphira and the elf Blodhgarm giving him the kind of tranquillity he remembered fleetingly from his time of Ellesmera.

Between 40 and 47 AG, many changes swept Alagaesia. Lady Nasuada finally succumbed to old age, as did King Orrin and the witch-child Elva; Nasuada and Orrin having left children and heirs to rule in their stead. Elva though, having the mark of a Rider, forsook her greatly expanded lifespan by choice and used her unique magic and herbs supplied by Angela to bring about a mortal death without the pain of her curse. It was her death, more than any other that wounded Eragon deeply.

In the year 48 AG, Roran and Katrina arrived by ship on the shores of Dyr Aubodain. Having lived their lives to the fullest, they sought only to look once more upon the face of their kinsman before they died. For a week they stayed with Eragon and shared memories long since gone, speaking of their children and grandchildren, how they had left all they had to family so to journey once more to distant places never to return. It transpired that they had stayed awhile in both Farthen Dur; the crown jewel of the dwarven realm once more, and Tialdari Hall in Ellesmera.

That week passed far too quickly for Eragon as it seemed but a moment before he laid them to rest in a place of honour in the Halls of Eternal Peace, a place where white marble gave of a gentle light of its own which illuminated statues and monuments to the victorious dead. His cousin's passing was a bitter pill to swallow for Eragon as it played upon his own fears towards immortality, though it was Saphira and Glaedr who were always there when he spiralled into depression.

In this manner the years began to pass by more quickly for the inhabitants of Alagaesia. Though the glory of the Dragon Riders was restored, their numbers grew slowly, around a dozen every few decades. Dragons both wild and bonded began to once again entrust eggs to Eragon and the eldunari for safekeeping, always a fraction of them spelled for future Riders.

Though Eragon kept them on the island as long as their training lasted; a process lasting several years instead of the rushed education he himself recieved, the younger Riders began to stay on the island less frequently, preferring the hazy peace of Du Weldenvarden and the hubbub of the large cities to the isolated, fortress-like island. Fearful of repeating the past, Eragon and his companions ever kept a watchful eye on their charges and the goings on of the powerful, for several of them began to feel yet again a storm approaching on the horizon in their minds.

Unease began to gnaw at Eragon, his dreams and visions growing ever darker and warning of dark times ahead. Holding council with others, he learnt that he was not the only one with troubled minds and that even the eldunari became withdrawn, as if seeking answers from within. The only ones not affected were the young and those who didn't stay long on the island, as if their very surroundings poisoned their dreams. These visions were unclear apart from one, a scene of battle where lay many bodies including dragons and their Riders in front of which stood a man, like a guard before a door. What troubled Eragon and all others who shared this vision was the man seemed familiar to them, as if he were a long lost link of their past.

As much as they tried to seek answers to this vision, fearful of the time of its passing, Eragon began to consider the source of the darkness and its intent. One such day spent contemplating such matters was interrupted by a sharp ringing in his mind and a mysterious voice crying we're nearly there Mirien, we can make it, the origin of which was an heirloom long since forgotten and once upon a time bestowed on his cousin Roran and his beloved Katrina. In that moment, the vision of bloodshed fell upon Eragon once more, as if the two things were connected. Without a thought, Eragon said to Saphira, ever-present in his mind, we must leave immediately.