Introduction

    One boy...
           One dragon...
                 A world of adventure...

    The Inheritance Trilogy is a increasingly popular book series which, so far, consists of Eragon and Eldest.  When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter.  But  when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.  Overnight his simple life is shattered, and is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.  Can Eragon take up the mantle of the ledgendary Dragon Riders?  The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands...

          About the Author

    Christopher Paolini's abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired him to begin writing his debut novel, Eragon, when he graduated from high school at fifteen.  Now nineteen, he lives with his family in Paradise Valley, Montana, where he is at work on Eldest, the next volume in the Inheritance trilogy.  You can find out more about Christopher, Eragon, and Inheritance at www.alagaesia.com.

On writing

    Writing is the heart and soul of my being. It is the means through which I bring my stories to life. There is nothing like putting words on a page and knowing that they will summon certain emotions and reactions from the reader. In my writing, I strive for a lyrical beauty somewhere between Tolkien at his best and Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf.
    Eragon is the first novel in the Inheritance trilogy. I started this book when I was fifteen, after several failed attempts composing other stories. It has been an incredible learning experience, and not only in writing. The greatest lesson it taught me was that clear writing is a direct result of clear thinking. Without one you cannot have the other.
    Eragon is an archetypal hero story, filled with exciting action, dangerous villains, and fantastic locations. There are dragons and elves, sword fights and unexpected revelations, and of course, a beautiful maiden who's more than capable of taking care of herself.
    Within the pages of this book is a whole land, Alagaësia, for you explore. You may take fancy to Tronjheim, the city-mountain the dwarves have built, or perhaps the mysterious forest Du Weldenvarden. Either way, there are more than enough marvels here for even the most accustomed reader of fantasy.
    Eragon is the culmination of several years of intense labor. When I graduated from high school, I wanted to write a pure, dyed-in-the-wool hero story. So I immediately plotted out a trilogy based on my ideals of the archetypal maturation plot. In retrospect, it might not have been the wisest thing—undertaking such a huge project as my first book—but as they say, you can only learn through doing.
    For me, the time I spend plotting out a novel is more important than the actual writing. If you don’t have a good story, it’s exceedingly unlikely that a good book can be pulled from the morass of ideas floating around in your brain. Typing out Eragon was a rather straightforward affair once I had the plot firmly in hand—though I did spend some time revising Eragon and Murtagh’s flight to the Varden because of some fuzzy thinking before reaching that segment.
    The real torture with Eragon came in the editing. I discovered that editing is really another word for someone ruthlessly tearing apart your work with a big smile, all the while telling you that it will make the book so much better. And it did, though it felt like splinters of hot bamboo being driven into my tender eyeballs.
    I’ve always been fascinated with the sources of most modern fantasy that lie in Teutonic, Scandinavian, and Old Norse history. This is disregarding a large chunk of writing devoted to the myths from the British Isles. Because of this, I used Old Norse as the basis for my Elven language in Eragon, as well as many names. All the Dwarf and Urgal words, however, are of my own invention.
    The character of Angela the herbalist has an interesting story. I never intended to have anyone like her in the book, but when Eragon and Brom got to Teirm, I decided to include a lampoon of my sister, who coincidentally is also named Angela. Fortunately for my bodily well being, she has an excellent sense of humor. When Eragon is exploring Teirm, I thought that it would be wonderful to have his fortune told by a witch in the marketplace. A better idea struck me, and I sent him straight into Angela’s herb shop. She turned into such an interesting person, along with Solembum, that I decided to include her in the other two books of my trilogy.
    I hope that Eragon will leave you with the same sense of wonder that I had while writing it. I do believe in magic—the magic of stories to give you wonder, awe, and revelations. Such feelings can come from small things; in a fey vision of fairy dust swirling in marble moonbeams, or at the end of an epic where a wave of emotion washes over you, sweeping away the mundane world for a moment. Either way, I hope that you find something special in Eragon, something from the other side of the looking glass.

Enjoy the journey!

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