Eldest

by Christopher Paolini

Plot summary

Eldest begins as Ajihad, the king of the rebel Varden force, is ambushed and killed, with Murtagh gone while The Twins and Murtagh are assumed dead. At his funeral, Ajihad's daughter Nasuada is elected to command the Varden. The protagonists Eragon and Saphira then decide to travel to the forest Du Weldenvarden to become trained as a Dragon Rider by the elves. The dwarf king, Hrothgar, decides to adopt Eragon to his clan, 'Dûrgrimst Ingeitum', and have his now foster brother, Orik, accompany him to the forest. Once there, Eragon meets Oromis, The Cripple Who Is Whole, and his Dragon Glaedr, a dragon with a missing front leg, and the only Dragon and Rider secretly alive besides Eragon, Saphira and Galbatorix and his forcibly bonded dragon Shruikan. Oromis and Glaedr, however, are both crippled, and so cannot fight Galbatorix and must hide to avoid Galbatorix hunting them down. Eragon and Saphira are taught the use of logic, magic theory, scholarship, and combat, among other things.

Meanwhile, Eragon's cousin Roran, is planning to marry Katrina, daughter of Sloan the butcher. While the village is at peace, they are unexpectedly attacked by Galbatorix's soldiers and the Ra'zac, the strangers who had killed Roran's father, Garrow. The village metalsmith, Horst, equips his sons along with Roran with equipment. Roran takes a hammer and attacks the soldiers. The Ra'zac and most of the soldiers escape, saying that they want information from Roran. The entire village then sets up defenses, and during a second invasion, the Ra'zac escape again. One night, Roran wakes up to find Katrina being attacked by the Ra'zac, who sneaked into the house. Roran then takes off the cloth around the Ra'zac's face and sees that they are monsters, not humans. A Ra'zac bites Roran, leaving a serious injury, and leave with Katrina captured. While Roran is chasing them, Sloan, the village butcher and Katrina's father, betrays the village and joins the Ra'zac. However, Roran sees Ra'zac striking Sloan before he falls unconscious. The Ra'zac escape with their steeds, the Lethrblaka, who were originally their parents.

Meanwhile, Nasuada chooses to move the Varden from Tronjheim to Surda to mount an attack on the Empire. The Varden, who are effectively refugees, suffer financial troubles, until Nasuada learns that the magicians can create an expensive lace with magic, and sell it at extremely low rates. One night when Nasuada is in her room, a character named Elva saves her from an assassination attempt. Elva is enchanted, and locates the assailant, who is killed after unwillingly surrendering information to Varden magicians about a subversive group based in Surda called the Black Hand, who is plotting to kill Nasuada. Nasuada later attends a meeting with key figures in Surda's government to discuss a potential upcoming battle against the Empire. They learn that the conflict is coming sooner than they initially suspected, and mobilize forces to attack, as well as sending for help from the dwarves.

In the meantime, Eragon continues his training, but is discouraged when the scar on his back causes him to have agonizing seizures multiple times per day. He has been swooning over Arya for most of the book. Saphira also has a similar problem with Glaedr, as she believes him to be a good choice for a mate and tries to win his affections. Eragon tells her it would not be proper, and she in turn replies that Arya is not as important as his education. Both efforts fail miserably, but bring Eragon and Saphira closer together. Later, at the ancient elven ceremony, the Agaetí Blödhren (Blood-Oath Celebration), Eragon is altered by a spectral dragon. The changes alter his senses, and enhance his abilities, effectively turning him into an elf-human hybrid, as well as healing all of his wounds, scars, and back injury. Reinvigorated, Eragon continues training until he learns that the Empire will soon attack the Varden in Surda. Afterward he confesses his feelings for Arya who rejects him harshly. Dismayed, he leaves without completing his training, to aid the Varden in battle. Upon leaving he is given a bow with magical arrows, a belt with twelve priceless diamonds, an enchanted flask of elvish concoction, a copy of a poem he wrote and presented for the Agaetí Blödhren, and the blessing of Oromis and Glaedr.

Meanwhile, Roran is planning to rescue Katrina. He decides that the only solution is to join the Varden in Surda, and so he convinces almost the entire village to travel there. The villagers reach Narda, where they pay for barges to sail to Teirm. In Teirm, Roran meets Jeod, Brom's friend, who tells him about Eragon and that he now is a Dragon Rider. Roran is stunned that his cousin is a Dragon Rider, and he asks Jeod for help to reach the Varden. Jeod decides to go with them and he gathers a group of his friends to steal a ship called the Dragon Wing. The villagers are chased by a group of Galbatorix's boats, but they force themselves into the gigantic whirlpool, the Boar's eye, so that they can trap the enemy ships.

Meanwhile, Eragon arrives at the Varden's camp, who are under attack by an army of one hundred thousand of Galbatorix's soldiers. A group of Urgals join the Varden, and Eragon is able to repel the opposing army with help from the dwarves' reinforcements. Eventually, a Dragon Rider appears in favor of the Empire. The hostile Dragon Rider kills the dwarf king Hrothgar, and soon begins to fight with Eragon. The Dragon Rider is soon unmasked by Eragon and is revealed to be Murtagh, his old friend. Murtagh tells Eragon that he was kidnapped and forced into loyalty by Galbatorix after a dragon hatched for him, whom he named Thorn. Murtagh outmatches Eragon, but shows mercy due to their old friendship. Before leaving, Murtagh reveals that Eragon is his brother, and takes Eragon's sword Zar'roc, which he believes to be his inheritance. Ultimately, Galbatorix's army is forced to retreat due to heavy losses, after the arrival of the dwarves and the villagers of Carvahall and the departure of Murtagh and Thorn. Roran manages to defeat the Twins by bashing them in the heads with his hammer, thus enhancing his title of Roran Stronghammer. In the end, Eragon reunites with Roran and Eragon decides to help Roran rescue Katrina from the Ra'zac in Dras-Leona.