That life was a mixture of calm and storm was known to Eragon and his companions. But after a storm that had lasted since the arrival of Galbatorix on the scene, first as the future usurper claiming their happy lives of old and then as the century long tormentor of Alagaesia came a calm that altered their world view like nothing had ever done before.
Besides, life in Ellesmera that the riders and their dragons had made their home after the war moved at a slow pace. Nobody in the city was in any hurry as they perceived that eternity remained to accomplish their responsibilities. It wasn’t as if they dithered or procrastinated, it was just that they took their time to enjoy their daily labour. The riders took to that life with much difficulty as both Eragon and Arya were used to the pace of life leaving them behind. Their entire lives had been about instability and war that such peace almost unsettled them. If not for Saphira and Vanendra, they might even have decided that the world had gone mad all of a sudden. The dragons soothed their riders and the vice versa was as much true, conforming the ancient bonds forged between the races.
All said and done, the peace had a profound effect on their lives. They had never before – not since the end of the Du Fyrn skulblaka – known such happiness. It was like being back in ages past, when Arya was the only human in all of Alagaesia and Eragon was the first dragon rider ever. Indra who had only perplexed them in that age as an egg was enlightening them now with his scholarly ramblings as a fully grown strongly built dragon. And Saphira was, well, Saphira. If their current life felt better off than their previous existence, then that was all down to her: she of the blue jewelled skin.
A few years after the war, Eragon, Arya and the dragons took a tour of Alagaesia just for the pleasure of it, mostly because the dragons egged the rider duo on.
During their visit to the dwarves, they could feel the difference in the very air literally – so many new vents and tunnels provided air circulation to the city now that the dampness with which they had come to associate the city of Tronjheim was now completely gone replaced with fresh air as if the city was built not inside a mountain but in open space. King Orik informed them that this was how the city used to be earlier before the dwarves plugged many of the vents fearing that their presence would alert Galbatorix about the precise location of their city.
The differences were not just in the structure of the city alone. The treatment that they received from the dwarves now was entirely new to them as well. The members of his own clan, the Dûrgrimst Ingeitum went on to give Eragon a role that was next only to Orik himself in the clan despite his protests that he wouldn’t be able to carry out any of the responsibilities associated with such a role. For them, to have as accomplished a person as Eragon as their leader was a matter of pride.
The earlier disdain shown by the other dwarven clans was now replaced with muted acceptance. Neither did they celebrate nor did they show open hostility. They acknowledged the group with nods of approval as they walked under Isidar Mithrim.
Indra marvelled at the architecture of the dwarves and at the crown jewel of the city that Saphira had repaired for the dwarves. ‘I am proud,’ he said, eyeing Saphira. Saphira sent forth her acknowledgement laced with humility. ‘It’s our race that graces the name plate of the artists that created the mithrim; not me; not an individual dragon.’
Eragon and Arya duelled for a while in the sparring grounds of Farthen Dur. Those grounds were almost sacred to him. It was there that he had met Arya first even though he had travelled carrying her unconscious self all the way from Gilead to Farthen Dur. She still inspired the same awe that she did on that day when the essence of Silver sprang forth from the Twin-mage’s ring at her command. Only the exotic nature of that awe had morphed into familiarity.
Sumptuous dinners and careless conversations with his foster brother marked their stay in the dwarven realm and they left promising to visit often.
Their stay at Eragon’s birthplace, the Palancar valley was characterised by new bonds of friendship being created between Arya and the villagers of Carvahall. Arya had to forcibly suppress her natural tendency to be introverted when among strangers to make the villagers comfortable enough to approach her.
Eragon introduced Arya to his childhood friends Albriech and Baldor, both Horst’s sons. They told her tales of Eragon’s childhood that mostly embarrassed him. Eragon had narrated tales of his younger life to her glossing over all the parts where he came across as an overeager and naughty child. But Horst’s sons gave him no such respite. To his surprise though, Arya listened with wide-eyed awe to those stories. When they were alone later in the Spine, ‘assisting’ their dragons in their hunt, she roasted him for all his naughtiness and he was left fuming at Horst’s sons.
The dragons proved to be much loved by Carvahall’s children. Paying no heed to the elder’s warnings about how dangerous those two were, the children took to climbing the dragon’s backs and playing ‘slide down’ through their wings. Indra was irritated at times, but Saphira kept him in good spirits.
Elain’s girl in whose birth, Arya had assisted, became especially attached to Indra. He would take the six year old on short flights as Elain watched on with her heart in her mouth. Arya admonished Indra for such recklessness but the dragon paid no heed. ‘See, the child is thrilled!’ Indra said in reply to Arya. Eragon was reminded of Indra’s age only when he indulged himself in such hapless tricks. Saphira was always on standby if ever something untoward happened during one of those thrill-filled flights of Indra and the child.
As the years rolled by, Weldhana was proof that things were indeed changing in Alagaesia. The cute little child that had brought out the motherhood even in the introverted Arya had now given way to the graceful and headstrong sixteen-year-old. She was after all the daughter of the ruler of humans in Alagaesia. Well, the humans apart from those bearing the rule of Orrin at least.
Roran had gone back to Carvahall to rebuild his home and farm after the war and the subsequent restoration efforts. But when he had accomplished that and tried living his old life, he wasn’t able to. As if on cue, Nasuada had sent emissaries welcoming him back to the capital reasoning that in times of such crises, able men must step up to take responsibility. The Stronghammer who had already been on the edge was convinced that his future lay not in farming but in leading. As he would learn later from Eragon, he was a descendent of King Palancar on Marian’s side and hence was as much royalty as any in Alagaesia.
Under his rule the capital was shifted to the Bullridge village – not on his whims but due to circumstances that forced the human empire to search for a new capital. Bullridge was chosen for its central location, proximity to the old capital and perennial availability of waters from the Ramr river.
Uru’baen itself had been renamed to Vijayanagaram meaning the city of victory and served as the centre of the advisory council. Here’s a little back story about this almost all-powerful council:
The council was formed after years of deliberations among the various races of Alagaesia. Amazingly, the basic idea for such a council was formed in the first few days after the war. However, as was the case with everything in politics, the decision on the composition, powers and responsibilities of the council were finalised only after a few years.
The Varden that had initially been the caretaker of the Broddring Kingdom after the war was left with no official status once Roran was pronounced king with overwhelming support of the people. Hence it was given charge as the temporary advisory council until an official structure was formed. In her capacity as the leader of Varden, Nasuada liaised with all rulers of Alagaesia to form a working structure.
After finalisation, the council looked thus: five members each from every community of Alagaesia: humans, elves, dragons, dwarves and Urgals. The members of each community were to be decided thus: one member nominated by the community and one each nominated by each of the other communities. With no dragons remaining in Alagaesia except Saphira and Vanendra, the positions of the five dragons and the four nominees that they were to make remained vacant until such a time that wild dragons returned to Alagaesia.
Nasuada was to function as the leader of the council for the first twenty-five years so as to help the council find its footing in the scheme of affairs after which leadership would be rotated among the communities within the council with five year terms for each leader. When it was turn for a community to lead, any one of the five members of that community could be nominated as the leader. If there were to be multiple nominations, then a voting would be conducted within the council to choose the leader.
And the council’s decisions were made thus: all decisions were unanimous, meaning no action would be taken by the council even if the majority of the council were in favour of such action. However, when the majority supported an action, any outlier in the council will have to suggest alterations to the action plan and the altered plan would be put to vote again till a final form of the law that was acceptable to each community was arrived at.
The council’s powers: Any law passed by the council was binding on all the races. If any race failed to implement laws, they would be punished by the other races by stopping trade with that race.
The most important role of the advisory council however was a completely different responsibility. It was agreed by one and all that it would be under the aegis of this council that the dragon riders, if ever they returned, would serve. The lead rider & dragon were to have the same powers as the leader of the council and the riders were not to take any action unilaterally without consulting the council.
Being envisioned as the seat of such a council, Vijayanagaram went through a complete overhaul of its architecture. Elven, Dwarven, Human and Urgal structures decorated the city as symbols of unity. But it was the huge dragon statue that stood at the city’s heart in place of the old citadel that gave the city its character.
Trade among the humans, elves and dwarves prospered and new cross-culture friendships were forged. The Urgals had formed an agreement with the other races to not encroach upon their lands. But that was only a beginning. Even though the Kull lord, Nar Garzhvog had stayed behind in Vijayanagaram as the emissary of peace, the other races were not yet ready to take Urgals among them. Even the elves with their logical minds would not forego the deep seated enmity. But there was some progress as seen from humans, elves and dwarves willing to sell to Urgals. Urgals, for their part, agreed not to pick any fight with the other races. A way towards buying the elusive peace was being forged but only too slowly.
Back in the elven forest, things had become more cheerful. The elves were much more open to allowing the other races to visit their exquisite cities. Islanzadi had personally assured the advisory council that the return to affairs as they were before the time of Galbatorix would soon arrive. But Eragon knew that soon in elven terms meant at least a decade more.
The year of Weldhana’s coming of age also coincided with the arrival of a new prince in the dwarven lands. King Orik was so proud of the strong boy. Indra who had grown to be a great scholar taking after his rider’s immense drive to learn was given the honour to name him. He named the prince Vaman after a great dwarven lord of old. It was said that the first Vaman could break a dragon’s skull with one blow from his mighty war hammer and even the wisest dragon of his time came to him for advice. Orik was overjoyed that his son was named after the greatest dwarf that lived before the arrival of elves and humans on the scene. Lavish parties were arranged in honour of the prince which all races of Alagaesia took part in. Festivities raged for months and Islanzadi said that it all reminded her of how it was when Arya was born.
To celebrate the human and dwarven familial union, the dragon riders gifted identical pieces of artistry to the heirs to the respective thrones. Being Uncle to both Weldhana and Vaman, Eragon gifted the children with intrinsically designed silver chains. Arya aesthetically and functionally improved the chain with live miniature plants that had incredible medicinal value and that never dried due to spells she put in place. Saphira and Indra blessed the children with an amulet each, made of two scales - blue and green - taken from their own bodies that not only added further charm to the chain but also promised their protection to the royal heirs.
Murtagh spent most of his time assisting Rhunon who had set up a splendid cave dwelling for herself and the numerous Eldunari that Galbatorix had enslaved. The sad truth however was that they weren’t successful in reviving the Eldunari to their former glory. Some were too angry to be coherent; some too timid and some too demented. Their efforts had not succeeded yet in bringing back even one of those dragons.
To make matters worse, rumours were being spread of a dangerous creature dwelling in Mount Marna. The people wouldn’t heed their King Roran nor would they believe the advisory council leader Nasuada when they said that dragon rider Murtagh was training in the mountain. The rulers too left it as such considering it a good sign that people seldom went close to the mountain. Murtagh lamented to Eragon that the possibility of his quest turning out fruitless was terrorising him.
Queen Katrina, meanwhile, had plans of her own. She knew of the soft corner that council leader Nasuada had in her mind for Roran’s cousin Murtagh. And she noticed how both Murtagh and Nasuada remained unmarried. Connecting the dots, she played her tricks well making both of them meet alone time after time. The romance was slow to bloom but bloom it did.
Murtagh and Nasuada were in their mid-thirties when they finally married. Thorn played best man to Murtagh by controlling Eragon’s body. The festivities that followed ensured that any ill-will that the dwarf King Orik harboured against Murtagh for killing Hrothgar was melted away. Orik attended the wedding and showered the couple with gifts of immense wealth, blessing them with long and happy lives. Eragon was happy that Orik had finally let go of his hatred for Murtagh. The quandary of being witness to a quarrel between his blood-brother and foster-brother had been wrecking him from the inside amidst all the happiness that he had accumulated in the past several years.
It took them nearly two decades after the black war - as people had come to call the battles for independence from Galbatorix - for Eragon, Arya and their dragons to finally feel content with the peace they had bought with millennia of sacrifices. They built themselves a home near Ellesmera, away from the city but close enough to get back into the capital within minutes on dragon back when needed. It was a simple yet intricately woven tree that had the hallmark of Arya’s elegant utilitarianism and also Eragon’s flourishes of poetry. It was a home that melded their styles and in a way their souls in physical form. King Orik had an elaborate dragonhold built close by for Saphira and Vanendra and King Roran had left his mark on their abode in the form of a fantastic stone manor that was reserved for human and dwarven guests that frequently visited them. A garden gifted by queen Islanzadi that bordered on being a fantasyland within the confines of the fairyland that was Du Weldenvarden surrounded their tree-house and provided solace during evening hours. Months and years rolled by converting the novelty of the home to familiarity and the four of them: Arya, Eragon, Saphira and Vanendra left their own unique touches on every part of the abode. Arya willed fantastic flowers into existence in the garden - flowers that bloomed all year long and never wilted away. Eragon had amassed a huge collection of clay and stone artifacts that complemented Arya’s flowers. Saphira had converted the clay archways Eragon made to the dragonhold and their tree-house into a glossy reflective marvel by just blowing her concentrated fire meticulously over every bit of the archway. And Vanendra had written his own poetry that adorned the walls of both their tree-house and dragonhold. Being around the home just felt right - it was fruit of all their toil over the millennia and they felt ready to move into the next phase of life.
Besides, life in Ellesmera that the riders and their dragons had made their home after the war moved at a slow pace. Nobody in the city was in any hurry as they perceived that eternity remained to accomplish their responsibilities. It wasn’t as if they dithered or procrastinated, it was just that they took their time to enjoy their daily labour. The riders took to that life with much difficulty as both Eragon and Arya were used to the pace of life leaving them behind. Their entire lives had been about instability and war that such peace almost unsettled them. If not for Saphira and Vanendra, they might even have decided that the world had gone mad all of a sudden. The dragons soothed their riders and the vice versa was as much true, conforming the ancient bonds forged between the races.
All said and done, the peace had a profound effect on their lives. They had never before – not since the end of the Du Fyrn skulblaka – known such happiness. It was like being back in ages past, when Arya was the only human in all of Alagaesia and Eragon was the first dragon rider ever. Indra who had only perplexed them in that age as an egg was enlightening them now with his scholarly ramblings as a fully grown strongly built dragon. And Saphira was, well, Saphira. If their current life felt better off than their previous existence, then that was all down to her: she of the blue jewelled skin.
A few years after the war, Eragon, Arya and the dragons took a tour of Alagaesia just for the pleasure of it, mostly because the dragons egged the rider duo on.
During their visit to the dwarves, they could feel the difference in the very air literally – so many new vents and tunnels provided air circulation to the city now that the dampness with which they had come to associate the city of Tronjheim was now completely gone replaced with fresh air as if the city was built not inside a mountain but in open space. King Orik informed them that this was how the city used to be earlier before the dwarves plugged many of the vents fearing that their presence would alert Galbatorix about the precise location of their city.
The differences were not just in the structure of the city alone. The treatment that they received from the dwarves now was entirely new to them as well. The members of his own clan, the Dûrgrimst Ingeitum went on to give Eragon a role that was next only to Orik himself in the clan despite his protests that he wouldn’t be able to carry out any of the responsibilities associated with such a role. For them, to have as accomplished a person as Eragon as their leader was a matter of pride.
The earlier disdain shown by the other dwarven clans was now replaced with muted acceptance. Neither did they celebrate nor did they show open hostility. They acknowledged the group with nods of approval as they walked under Isidar Mithrim.
Indra marvelled at the architecture of the dwarves and at the crown jewel of the city that Saphira had repaired for the dwarves. ‘I am proud,’ he said, eyeing Saphira. Saphira sent forth her acknowledgement laced with humility. ‘It’s our race that graces the name plate of the artists that created the mithrim; not me; not an individual dragon.’
Eragon and Arya duelled for a while in the sparring grounds of Farthen Dur. Those grounds were almost sacred to him. It was there that he had met Arya first even though he had travelled carrying her unconscious self all the way from Gilead to Farthen Dur. She still inspired the same awe that she did on that day when the essence of Silver sprang forth from the Twin-mage’s ring at her command. Only the exotic nature of that awe had morphed into familiarity.
Sumptuous dinners and careless conversations with his foster brother marked their stay in the dwarven realm and they left promising to visit often.
Their stay at Eragon’s birthplace, the Palancar valley was characterised by new bonds of friendship being created between Arya and the villagers of Carvahall. Arya had to forcibly suppress her natural tendency to be introverted when among strangers to make the villagers comfortable enough to approach her.
Eragon introduced Arya to his childhood friends Albriech and Baldor, both Horst’s sons. They told her tales of Eragon’s childhood that mostly embarrassed him. Eragon had narrated tales of his younger life to her glossing over all the parts where he came across as an overeager and naughty child. But Horst’s sons gave him no such respite. To his surprise though, Arya listened with wide-eyed awe to those stories. When they were alone later in the Spine, ‘assisting’ their dragons in their hunt, she roasted him for all his naughtiness and he was left fuming at Horst’s sons.
The dragons proved to be much loved by Carvahall’s children. Paying no heed to the elder’s warnings about how dangerous those two were, the children took to climbing the dragon’s backs and playing ‘slide down’ through their wings. Indra was irritated at times, but Saphira kept him in good spirits.
Elain’s girl in whose birth, Arya had assisted, became especially attached to Indra. He would take the six year old on short flights as Elain watched on with her heart in her mouth. Arya admonished Indra for such recklessness but the dragon paid no heed. ‘See, the child is thrilled!’ Indra said in reply to Arya. Eragon was reminded of Indra’s age only when he indulged himself in such hapless tricks. Saphira was always on standby if ever something untoward happened during one of those thrill-filled flights of Indra and the child.
As the years rolled by, Weldhana was proof that things were indeed changing in Alagaesia. The cute little child that had brought out the motherhood even in the introverted Arya had now given way to the graceful and headstrong sixteen-year-old. She was after all the daughter of the ruler of humans in Alagaesia. Well, the humans apart from those bearing the rule of Orrin at least.
Roran had gone back to Carvahall to rebuild his home and farm after the war and the subsequent restoration efforts. But when he had accomplished that and tried living his old life, he wasn’t able to. As if on cue, Nasuada had sent emissaries welcoming him back to the capital reasoning that in times of such crises, able men must step up to take responsibility. The Stronghammer who had already been on the edge was convinced that his future lay not in farming but in leading. As he would learn later from Eragon, he was a descendent of King Palancar on Marian’s side and hence was as much royalty as any in Alagaesia.
Under his rule the capital was shifted to the Bullridge village – not on his whims but due to circumstances that forced the human empire to search for a new capital. Bullridge was chosen for its central location, proximity to the old capital and perennial availability of waters from the Ramr river.
Uru’baen itself had been renamed to Vijayanagaram meaning the city of victory and served as the centre of the advisory council. Here’s a little back story about this almost all-powerful council:
The council was formed after years of deliberations among the various races of Alagaesia. Amazingly, the basic idea for such a council was formed in the first few days after the war. However, as was the case with everything in politics, the decision on the composition, powers and responsibilities of the council were finalised only after a few years.
The Varden that had initially been the caretaker of the Broddring Kingdom after the war was left with no official status once Roran was pronounced king with overwhelming support of the people. Hence it was given charge as the temporary advisory council until an official structure was formed. In her capacity as the leader of Varden, Nasuada liaised with all rulers of Alagaesia to form a working structure.
After finalisation, the council looked thus: five members each from every community of Alagaesia: humans, elves, dragons, dwarves and Urgals. The members of each community were to be decided thus: one member nominated by the community and one each nominated by each of the other communities. With no dragons remaining in Alagaesia except Saphira and Vanendra, the positions of the five dragons and the four nominees that they were to make remained vacant until such a time that wild dragons returned to Alagaesia.
Nasuada was to function as the leader of the council for the first twenty-five years so as to help the council find its footing in the scheme of affairs after which leadership would be rotated among the communities within the council with five year terms for each leader. When it was turn for a community to lead, any one of the five members of that community could be nominated as the leader. If there were to be multiple nominations, then a voting would be conducted within the council to choose the leader.
And the council’s decisions were made thus: all decisions were unanimous, meaning no action would be taken by the council even if the majority of the council were in favour of such action. However, when the majority supported an action, any outlier in the council will have to suggest alterations to the action plan and the altered plan would be put to vote again till a final form of the law that was acceptable to each community was arrived at.
The council’s powers: Any law passed by the council was binding on all the races. If any race failed to implement laws, they would be punished by the other races by stopping trade with that race.
The most important role of the advisory council however was a completely different responsibility. It was agreed by one and all that it would be under the aegis of this council that the dragon riders, if ever they returned, would serve. The lead rider & dragon were to have the same powers as the leader of the council and the riders were not to take any action unilaterally without consulting the council.
Being envisioned as the seat of such a council, Vijayanagaram went through a complete overhaul of its architecture. Elven, Dwarven, Human and Urgal structures decorated the city as symbols of unity. But it was the huge dragon statue that stood at the city’s heart in place of the old citadel that gave the city its character.
Trade among the humans, elves and dwarves prospered and new cross-culture friendships were forged. The Urgals had formed an agreement with the other races to not encroach upon their lands. But that was only a beginning. Even though the Kull lord, Nar Garzhvog had stayed behind in Vijayanagaram as the emissary of peace, the other races were not yet ready to take Urgals among them. Even the elves with their logical minds would not forego the deep seated enmity. But there was some progress as seen from humans, elves and dwarves willing to sell to Urgals. Urgals, for their part, agreed not to pick any fight with the other races. A way towards buying the elusive peace was being forged but only too slowly.
Back in the elven forest, things had become more cheerful. The elves were much more open to allowing the other races to visit their exquisite cities. Islanzadi had personally assured the advisory council that the return to affairs as they were before the time of Galbatorix would soon arrive. But Eragon knew that soon in elven terms meant at least a decade more.
The year of Weldhana’s coming of age also coincided with the arrival of a new prince in the dwarven lands. King Orik was so proud of the strong boy. Indra who had grown to be a great scholar taking after his rider’s immense drive to learn was given the honour to name him. He named the prince Vaman after a great dwarven lord of old. It was said that the first Vaman could break a dragon’s skull with one blow from his mighty war hammer and even the wisest dragon of his time came to him for advice. Orik was overjoyed that his son was named after the greatest dwarf that lived before the arrival of elves and humans on the scene. Lavish parties were arranged in honour of the prince which all races of Alagaesia took part in. Festivities raged for months and Islanzadi said that it all reminded her of how it was when Arya was born.
To celebrate the human and dwarven familial union, the dragon riders gifted identical pieces of artistry to the heirs to the respective thrones. Being Uncle to both Weldhana and Vaman, Eragon gifted the children with intrinsically designed silver chains. Arya aesthetically and functionally improved the chain with live miniature plants that had incredible medicinal value and that never dried due to spells she put in place. Saphira and Indra blessed the children with an amulet each, made of two scales - blue and green - taken from their own bodies that not only added further charm to the chain but also promised their protection to the royal heirs.
Murtagh spent most of his time assisting Rhunon who had set up a splendid cave dwelling for herself and the numerous Eldunari that Galbatorix had enslaved. The sad truth however was that they weren’t successful in reviving the Eldunari to their former glory. Some were too angry to be coherent; some too timid and some too demented. Their efforts had not succeeded yet in bringing back even one of those dragons.
To make matters worse, rumours were being spread of a dangerous creature dwelling in Mount Marna. The people wouldn’t heed their King Roran nor would they believe the advisory council leader Nasuada when they said that dragon rider Murtagh was training in the mountain. The rulers too left it as such considering it a good sign that people seldom went close to the mountain. Murtagh lamented to Eragon that the possibility of his quest turning out fruitless was terrorising him.
Queen Katrina, meanwhile, had plans of her own. She knew of the soft corner that council leader Nasuada had in her mind for Roran’s cousin Murtagh. And she noticed how both Murtagh and Nasuada remained unmarried. Connecting the dots, she played her tricks well making both of them meet alone time after time. The romance was slow to bloom but bloom it did.
Murtagh and Nasuada were in their mid-thirties when they finally married. Thorn played best man to Murtagh by controlling Eragon’s body. The festivities that followed ensured that any ill-will that the dwarf King Orik harboured against Murtagh for killing Hrothgar was melted away. Orik attended the wedding and showered the couple with gifts of immense wealth, blessing them with long and happy lives. Eragon was happy that Orik had finally let go of his hatred for Murtagh. The quandary of being witness to a quarrel between his blood-brother and foster-brother had been wrecking him from the inside amidst all the happiness that he had accumulated in the past several years.
It took them nearly two decades after the black war - as people had come to call the battles for independence from Galbatorix - for Eragon, Arya and their dragons to finally feel content with the peace they had bought with millennia of sacrifices. They built themselves a home near Ellesmera, away from the city but close enough to get back into the capital within minutes on dragon back when needed. It was a simple yet intricately woven tree that had the hallmark of Arya’s elegant utilitarianism and also Eragon’s flourishes of poetry. It was a home that melded their styles and in a way their souls in physical form. King Orik had an elaborate dragonhold built close by for Saphira and Vanendra and King Roran had left his mark on their abode in the form of a fantastic stone manor that was reserved for human and dwarven guests that frequently visited them. A garden gifted by queen Islanzadi that bordered on being a fantasyland within the confines of the fairyland that was Du Weldenvarden surrounded their tree-house and provided solace during evening hours. Months and years rolled by converting the novelty of the home to familiarity and the four of them: Arya, Eragon, Saphira and Vanendra left their own unique touches on every part of the abode. Arya willed fantastic flowers into existence in the garden - flowers that bloomed all year long and never wilted away. Eragon had amassed a huge collection of clay and stone artifacts that complemented Arya’s flowers. Saphira had converted the clay archways Eragon made to the dragonhold and their tree-house into a glossy reflective marvel by just blowing her concentrated fire meticulously over every bit of the archway. And Vanendra had written his own poetry that adorned the walls of both their tree-house and dragonhold. Being around the home just felt right - it was fruit of all their toil over the millennia and they felt ready to move into the next phase of life.
Author’s Note:
So, that was that. A new ruling order that is modelled after the UN - only a more powerful and equal one. Domestic bliss for Murtagh and Nasuada, courtesy Queen Katrina. A grown up princess of humans and a new prince in the dwarven world. And a new home for Eragon, Arya and the dragons in their chosen homeland - Ellesmera. Inheritance enough yet?
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