After the War - An Extension to the Inheritance Cycle (UNFINISHED)

Part 1

John strolled quietly through the haunting woods. Brown squirrels eyed and scolded him for invading their territories, and towering trees appeared like giants over the shy, quiet boy. As he treaded softly over the crackling branches and pinecones covered in lichens, he considered how he would adhere to the new king’s draconian laws. Suddenly, before he could come up with a viable answer, a plume of fire erupted over the sprawling canopy of trees. It scorched surrounding trees and startled a family of beady-eyed ravens, which then took flight and cawed indignantly. John stopped in his tracks, slightly burnt by the heat and frightened by the peril that lay ahead. He pulled out his hunting knife and advanced stealthily.

Suddenly, a violent BOOM shook the entire forest as multiple trees shed their leaves and the family of ravens swerved in their flight. Another, equally resounding explosion resonated again throughout the entire forest. This time, the noise was so thunderous that he stumbled backwards and tripped over a tree root that protruded out of the ground. He realized that there was a clearing up ahead and he crawled toward it. Then, a dazzling golden light seemed to emanate from the center of the open space. As John raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glow, a deep, powerful voice emitted from the middle. Strangely, it seemed as if the voice was being uttered inside his mind instead of spoken aloud. As John wondered whom this voice belonged to, the mysterious speaker revealed itself to him. A glittering, all-knowing eye was staring at him, and it was the source of the spectacular light John had seen moments before. It blinked, and proclaimed, “I am Nikor, last of the mighty dragons who ruled this land. We came here before humans, before animals, when the world was first fashioned in the hands of the Old Gods.” John was stunned by this astounding wonder. Its powerful wings were folded at its side, and the resplendent scales that protected the dragon’s body sparkled like jewels. “Um - Nikor, I-”“Think your words”, interrupted the dragon, “and I shall still hear them clear as day.” John attempted to project his words through his mind. “Ni - Nikor,” he stuttered in his mind, “I-I would like to know how y-you came here and how the k-king has not found you. He would l-love to meet you.” “All in good time”, Nikor thought. “But first, let me tell you a secret about your new king…”

“In the olden days, when dragons roamed freely with elves and humans around the land spreading peace and tranquility, a child was born. His name was Galbatorix. At the time, people who hatched or rode dragons were called the Dragon Riders, and Galbatorix was one of them. Sadly, he lost his dragon in a fight with enemies, and soon afterwards, he went mad. He demanded another dragon, and when he was denied, he stole a dragon egg. He then proceeded to murder all who opposed him, and eventually, dominated as king and ruled in the elven city of Uru’baen. He mastered all aspects of magic, and was also immortal, as all Riders were forever lasting at the time. Then, a new Rider, named Eragon, hatched an egg, out of which our species' savior, Saphira, emerged. They proceeded to defeat Galbatorix, and embarked on many accidental adventures in between. One of these expeditions was the destruction of our ancient enemies, the Ra’zac. They were human-like as juveniles, with huge beaks and black, staring eyes, and became ever more repulsive as adults. In addition to having extraordinary jumping abilities, they had a mystical breath that forced creatures to serve them. Adult Ra’zac became known as the Letherblaka, and we grappled with them the day our species met. Eragon attempted to exterminate their species, yet some Ra’zac survived on the fortress island of Vroengard. Your king is one of the Ra’zac. He has used his poisonous, mind-controlling breath to make your old, righteous king leave the Empire, and now none are safe from his control.” It is up to you to rid our country of this menace.

John was shocked by the thought of saving his entire homeland. “B-But I don;t even have the skill to handle a common dagger!” he exclaimed. “These Dragon-Dragon Riders must have had immense amounts of training before they went to battle. How could I possibly defeat this creature that is impostering as our king when I CAN’T EVEN LIFT A SWORD?” John questioned. “Peace, youngling,” Nikor reassured. “I would assume that you should start by identifying a mentor to train you for this critical mission.” “But where would I find a Dragon Rider?” asked John. “Proceed to the land of the elves, Du Weldenvarden. Ask for Arya Dröttningu. She, the queen of the elves, was also a Rider. She knew Eragon in her youth, and they had battled against the forces of evil together. She, at least, must possess massive reservoirs of knowledge concerning the Riders. If not, then we are all doomed.”

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Comments for this chapter

• Not sure if you want feedback from people like me who haven't read Eragon before... anyway, i think that it's a great start, and I especially love your descriptive details!! My one question is why is the MC called John where everyone else has fantasy names? I look forward to reading part 2

  Comment by rose on May 22, 2025

  Liked by 0

• Love the story. I think that a big part of Eragon is how much he keeps you interested without jumping to new topics. My suggestion would be to focus on that. It’s a great story, but if you describe more important things (like in the first book, he found the stone). I’m not sure. Maybe start with action instead of just someone walking. Don’t tell us what he thinks- show us. Great work! Keep it up!

  Comment by raob9 on May 22, 2025

  Liked by 0

• I agree with rose, keep the fantasy names for every character, good work quickly summarizing eragon and galbatorix's story but you might have rushed eragon's origin story a little bit. Try creating a new paragraph and go a little bit deeper into their story. I like your writing style and keep up the good work!

  Comment by lilrose on May 23, 2025

  Liked by 2

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