Eragon facts for kids

Eragon is a popular fantasy book written by Christopher Paolini. It was first published in August 2003. This book is the first part of a four-book series called the Inheritance Cycle.

The second book in the series, Eldest, came out in 2005. The third book, Brisingr, was released in 2008. Eragon was also made into a movie, which came out in cinemas in December 2006. It was later released on DVD in March 2007.

The Amazing Story of Eragon

A long time ago, there were special heroes called Dragon Riders. They were humans or elves who were bonded with dragons. These Riders helped keep peace between humans, dragons, elves, and dwarves.

But one day, a Dragon Rider named Galbatorix lost his dragon. It was killed by creatures called Urgals. Galbatorix became very angry and a little bit crazy because of this. The other Riders would not give him a new dragon. So, he decided to get revenge and destroy them all.

Galbatorix stole a baby black dragon and used dark magic to force it to bond with him. Then, he and other traitors fought against the Riders. They killed all of them, and Galbatorix became the king of the humans.

The book Eragon begins 100 years after these events. King Galbatorix is now trying to find and destroy the elves, who are hiding in a forest called Du Weldenvarden. He also wants to find the dwarves, who are hidden in the huge Beor Mountains. Another group he seeks to destroy is the Varden, who are rebels also hiding with the dwarves. Galbatorix has not defeated the elves yet because he is careful of their strong magic. He also cannot find the Varden or dwarves in the giant mountains.

Eragon's Journey Begins

The story truly starts with a young farm boy named Eragon. He lives in a small village. One day, he finds a smooth, blue stone in a mountain range called the Spine. This stone turns out to be a dragon egg! A dragon hatches from it, and Eragon names her Saphira.

Soon after, Eragon's uncle, Garrow, is killed by creatures called the Ra'zac. These insect-like monsters work for King Galbatorix. They want to find and capture Eragon and Saphira. Eragon decides to hunt down the Ra'zac and get revenge for his uncle's death.

Eragon and Saphira leave their home. They are joined by Brom, an old storyteller. Brom knows a lot about dragons and Riders. He promises to help them on their journey.

In a town called Yu'Zuac, Eragon and Brom are attacked by two Urgals. Brom is knocked off his horse. The Urgals chase Eragon, but he uses magic to defeat them. After this, Brom starts teaching Eragon how to control his magic.

Hunting the Ra'zac

While traveling, they find a flask (a small bottle) of special, dark oil. This oil is very rare and belongs to the Ra'zac. Eragon gets an idea: they can go to a city by the sea and check shipping records to find where the Ra'zac are.

The three travelers go to the city of Teirm. There, they meet Brom's old friend, Joed. Joed is a merchant who secretly helps the Varden rebels. However, his ships are being destroyed by someone who knows he is helping the Varden. Joed helps them find a record showing the Ra'zac are in a city called Dras-Leona.

Brom, Eragon, and Saphira travel to Dras-Leona. But Galbatorix's soldiers spot Eragon. The three run away, but the Ra'zac find them and capture them. A mysterious stranger named Murtagh rescues them, but Brom is badly wounded. Brom dies soon after. Before he passes away, Brom tells Eragon and Murtagh that he was secretly a Dragon Rider whose own dragon was killed by Galbatorix.

Finding the Varden

Eragon and Saphira bury Brom. They decide to go to the Varden rebels to fight Galbatorix. Murtagh doesn't want to join the Varden, but he agrees to help Eragon and Saphira find them. However, they don't know where the Varden are hiding.

They travel to another city, Gilead, hoping to find someone who knows the Varden's location. While Murtagh is in the city, Eragon is captured by more Urgals. His food and water are drugged to make him forget his magic. Eragon soon realizes what is happening and stops eating the drugged food.

Once the drugs wear off, Eragon can use his magic again and escapes. He finds Murtagh breaking into the prison to rescue him. They also rescue an elf named Arya who is imprisoned there. They are attacked by a Shade (a sorcerer controlled by evil spirits), but they manage to escape.

Arya is unconscious, but Eragon can speak to her in her mind. She tells him where the Varden are. They must cross a desert to reach them, and Arya is dying from a poison, so they must hurry.

On the way, Murtagh tells Eragon a big secret: he is the son of Morzan, a Rider who helped Galbatorix kill the other Riders. They finally reach the Varden, who are hidden in the Beor Mountains with the dwarves.

The Great Battle

When they arrive, Murtagh is captured because he is Morzan's son. But Arya is healed from the poison. The Varden and their leader, Ajihad, soon learn that Galbatorix is attacking them with Urgals. Murtagh is released to help the Varden fight, and he does.

A huge battle takes place. During the fight, the Shade they met earlier appears again. Eragon fights the Shade, and with help from Arya and Saphira, he kills it. However, the Shade wounds Eragon's back with a sword.

While Eragon is unconscious, a mysterious elf saves him from dying. This elf touches his mind and blocks the pain. Eragon promises to go to the elves with Arya for more training. When Eragon wakes up, he finds his back is scarred from the Shade's attack. The book ends with Eragon promising himself again that he will go to the elves for more training.

Reviews and the Movie

Many people find it amazing that Christopher Paolini was only 15 years old when he started writing Eragon. He has received praise for his writing style and the detailed world he created. People also liked his strong female characters.

However, some people think his writing is not very original. They feel his book is too much like other famous stories, such as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. They also think he sometimes uses too many complicated words when simpler ones would work.

The movie based on Eragon was not liked by many people. They felt it did not follow the book well and changed important parts of the story. This made it harder to imagine making more movies for the series.

Images for kids

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  An illustration of Beowulf fighting the dragon (1908). Paolini received much inspiration from old epic poems.

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  Aerial photography of the Ság Mountain, which served as the backdrop for Farthen Dûr in the film adaptation of the book.

See also