Brisingr

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Dodging the gnarled juniper trees that dotted the gully, Eragon glanced up and, through clumps of needles, saw the first constellations to adorn the velvet sky. They seemed cold and sharp, like bright shards of ice. Then he concentrated on maintaining his footing as he and Roran trotted south toward their camp.
AROUND THE CAMPFIRE The low mound of coals throbbed like the heart of some giant beast. Occasionally, a patch of gold sparks flared into existence and raced across the surface of the wood before vanishing into a white-hot crevice. The dying remnants of the fire Eragon and Roran had built cast a dim red light over the surrounding area, revealing a patch of rocky soil, a few pewter-gray bushes, the indistinct mass of a juniper tree farther off, then nothing. Eragon sat with his bare feet extended toward the nest of ruby embers—enjoying the warmth—and with his back propped against the knobby scales of Saphira’s thick right foreleg. Opposite him, Roran was perched on the iron-hard, sun-bleached, wind-worn shell of an ancient tree trunk. Every time he moved, the trunk produced a bitter shriek that made Eragon want to claw at his ears. For the moment, quiet reigned within the hollow. Even the coals smoldered in silence; Roran had collected only long-dead branches devoid of moisture to eliminate any smoke that unfriendly eyes might spot. Eragon had just finished recounting the day’s activities to Saphira. Normally, he never had to tell her what he had been doing, as thoughts, feelings, and other sensations flowed between them as easily as water from one side of a lake to another. But in this instance it was necessary because Eragon had kept his mind carefully shielded during the scouting expedition, aside from his disembodied foray into the Ra’zac’s lair. After a considerable gap in the conversation, Saphira yawned, exposing her rows of many fearsome teeth. Cruel and evil they may be, but I am impressed that the Ra’zac can bewitch their prey into wanting to be eaten. They are great hunters to do that. . . . Perhaps I shall attempt it someday. But not, Eragon felt compelled to add, with people. Try it with sheep instead. People, sheep: what difference is there to a dragon? Then she laughed deep in her long throat—a rolling rumble that reminded him of thunder. Leaning forward to take his weight off Saphira’s sharp-edged scales, Eragon picked up the hawthorn staff that lay by his side. He rolled it between his palms, admiring the play of light over the polished tangle of roots at the top and the much-scratched metal ferrule and spike at the base. Roran had thrust the staff into his arms before they left the Varden on the Burning Plains, saying, “Here. Fisk made this for me after the Ra’zac bit my shoulder. I know you lost your sword, and I thought you might have need of it. . . . If you want to get another blade, that’s fine too, but I’ve found there are very few fights you can’t win with a few whacks from a good, strong stick.” Remembering the staff Brom had always carried, Eragon had decided to forgo a new sword in favor of the length of knotted hawthorn. After losing Zar’roc, he felt no desire to take up another, lesser sword. That night, he had fortified both the knotted hawthorn and the handle to Roran’s hammer with several spells that would prevent either piece from breaking, except under the most extreme stress. Unbidden, a series of memories overwhelmed Eragon: A sullen orange and crimson sky swirled around him as Saphira dove in pursuit of the red dragon and his Rider. Wind howled past his ears. . . . His fingers went numb from the jolt of sword striking sword as he dueled that same Rider on the ground. . . . Tearing off his foe’s helm in the midst of combat to reveal his once friend and traveling companion, Murtagh, whom he had
Page 2: Brisingr Christopher Paolini
Page 5: The Tree of Life Mind over Metal A
Page 10 and 11: for a new Dragon Rider to appear. T
Page 12 and 13: and the other villagers attempt to
Page 14 and 15: Drawing to a stop at the edge of th
Page 16 and 17: Closing his eyes, Eragon slowly ext
Page 20 and 21: thought dead. . . . The sneer upon
Page 22 and 23: northeast. She flew nonstop until t
Page 24 and 25: Eragon stared at the coals. She had
Page 26 and 27: Roran’s eyebrows met, his lips ti
Page 28 and 29: “Be honest. You dote upon her wor
Page 30 and 31: friendlier toward me after the Agae
Page 32 and 33: “As Saphira said, better I tend t
Page 34 and 35: Without moving, Eragon whispered in
Page 36 and 37: Further speech became impossible as
Page 38 and 39: The most distinctive feature of the
Page 40 and 41: Saphira was better suited than the
Page 42 and 43: wounded him on the outside of his l
Page 44 and 45: We can’t risk letting her out unt
Page 46 and 47: DIVERGENCE The butcher sat slumped
Page 48 and 49: “Aye.” “He’s a Dragon Rider
Page 50 and 51: I know, but we cannot protect every
Page 52 and 53: RIDER AND RA’ZAC Eragon sat bathe
Page 54 and 55: Securing his hold on Sloan, Eragon
Page 56 and 57: allowed himself to revel in satisfa
Page 58 and 59: He continued to reassure himself wi
Page 60 and 61: espect, fear, and submission in the
Page 62 and 63: must understand the butcher better
Page 64 and 65: much. We are a scattered race and d
Page 66 and 67: that is a serious matter. I shall d
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was his suspicion that Sloan was de
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“I’ll return,” he said. “I
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with, a reaction she anticipated bu
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“You twist the truth to suit your
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“I am rich already,” said Fadaw
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laceration twice as deep as the oth
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Varden merely hid in Farthen Dûr a
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For a long minute, perhaps two, the
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Angela also pulled a dagger from so
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Nasuada dipped her head, taking to
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I’m not myself this evening, real
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ESCAPE AND EVASION Eragon’s feet
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“Nothing,” said the soldier, re
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at its strange construction, for it
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Throughout the rest of that day and
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Do they behave like that because th
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Aside from the table, the only othe
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As the empty hours crept by, Eragon
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Taking advantage of the ensuing pau
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A DELICATE MATTER The muscles of Ro
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killed at any moment, and there’s
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A smile touched her lips. “Perhap
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Startled, Roran bowed again. “Tha
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“Awe-inspiring, aren’t they?”
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Nasuada turned back toward the elve
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“With Saphira helping us, yes, we
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Following her advice, Nasuada summo
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MERCY, DRAGON RIDER It was midafter
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“No, sir.” “No, sir? Didn’t
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“Because they stand between us an
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SHADOWS OF THE PAST That night, Era
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Arya nodded, a sharp, birdlike moti
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A touch of pride colored her voice.
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“And Morzan’s son,” he said.
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Shade or some other similarly power
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What a horrible fate, to lose one
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from the rest of the world. They sa
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Eragon fell to his knees, arm outst
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“The real question,” said Arya,
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Maybe, but that’s because I’m s
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Of course I have. You only notice i
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and Eragon grasped the smith’s br
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When the Varden’s outpouring of e
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longed to break free of the stiflin
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In response to King Orrin’s sally
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plants are concerned. I half believ
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When he was clean and garbed in the
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“Are you willing to give that up?
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inconsequential patch of light dwar
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he felt his countenance darken as h
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eing ignorant. For me, a question u
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MAKING AMENDS “You are late,” s
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The wrinkles on her face contorted
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choice and not forced upon me by yo
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Eragon grasped her by the arm and h
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From the center of the yellow patch
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Gedric met his gaze then, looking a
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“Do you feel that the Varden ough
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postulating that there was a piece
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The three of them started at the un
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Improvising, Eragon added, “And f
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Fredric nodded and examined the edg
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Fredric rapped a knuckle against th
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onto Saphira’s back. He whooped a
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UNEXPECTED GUESTS The next morning,
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Pain. Great pain. Yours. The Varden
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languishing trees. And upon the bac
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“Lady Nightstalker.” Throwing b
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Remember, said Arya, remain as clos
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the king’s displeasure again. We
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was not pursuing him, he circled up
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Thorn writhed and screamed, a horri
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But we do not have the capabilities
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With a gruesome grimace, the soldie
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Nasuada snapped her fingers, summon
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MAN AND WIFE Four hours later, Erag
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“She brings her love and devotion
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always know how to find each other,
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The maimed swordsman cackled. “Yo
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WHISPERS IN THE NIGHT Roran opened
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Like a living creature, the ship da
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“I am sure you would,” said Nas
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Staring somewhat beyond Nasuada, Er
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Eragon doubted the elves would be p
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far exceed Murtagh’s, despite the
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FOOTPRINTS OF SHADOW With a series
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cacophony so harsh, it made Eragon
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After rubbing her snout against her
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creek widened into a small pond, an
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“I did not say you were.” With
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down upon the ground and said, ‘I
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land that was still caught in the s
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Neither of them looked away from th
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FOR MY LOVE Roran stared at the rou
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Pulling on Snowfire’s reins to sl
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Roran promptly smashed the soldier
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A FOREST OF STONE A cheer went up f
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and grain do not fall too low, that
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that it obscured the rest of the va
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good of my people, I intend to seek
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A broad smile spread across Orik’
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Roran grunted and turned away from
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An idea occurred to Roran then. He
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As Martland Redbeard walked across
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chiefs who shared his views would l
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shards together into a cohesive who
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“No, no setback. Only, these deli
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chief of Dûr grimst Ledwonnû, Man
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safety, a white blade, writhing as
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As he completed a revolution and hi
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A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE The wind-of
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her altitude, she flew up the Jiet
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“If you continue to distinguish y
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KISS ME SWEET Waking, Roran extrica
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GLÛMRA Hundreds of feet below Tron
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After a minute, Glûmra straightene
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faith does not necessarily mean it
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“That or it could have been someo
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momentous and bloody fate had inter
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emnants of some obscure skirmish fr
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already his slaves is that, so far,
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Gannel turned toward Orik. “Prese
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Not a word came from Vermûnd. Laug
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“—or queen shall take place.”
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wildlife. The only evidence that me
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they were in the open, flying down
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Lashing out with his hooves, Snowfi
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“Remember, the bolts cannot harm
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The houses on either side of the st
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attle to end, Roran whipped his ham
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Turning to him then, Harald said,
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MESSAGE IN A MIRROR The morning sun
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an Urgal would be punished as if he
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Eragon was in place, she lifted her
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Orik shifted and glanced away. “E
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they say we fought alongside the hu
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REUNION It was nearly a mile from w
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A plume of smoke escaped from betwe
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eastern branch of the four main hal
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“Nal, Grimstnzborith Orik!” the
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shall not forget your deed. Let it
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with the Varden, as I have before.
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THE WHIPPING POST Roran sat bolt up
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“Because I said that I would rema
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“Nasuada? . . . Why would—”
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AMONG THE CLOUDS From Tronjheim, Sa
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No, she repeated again. Save Aren f
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examine the Menoa tree. They had di
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The Urgal’s heavy brow beetled, n
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lows Roran could deliver with his b
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Yarbog’s head twitched under Rora
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A hand entered his field of vision.
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“Then why didn’t you tell me!
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TWO LOVERS DOOMED Eragon gaped at t
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“Not at all,” replied Oromis.
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Morzan’s healers and forced them
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Eragon continued to finger the smal
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“The day Saphira and I left for t
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though they might, no being escapes
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Eragon put a hand on her neck, and
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Eragon frowned. “I don’t unders
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Oromis resumed speaking: “When Ga
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Oromis hesitated, and it was Glaedr
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HANDS OF A WARRIOR Eragon nibbled o
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“Sorcery is not like other magics
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THE TREE OF LIFE From the Crags of
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With a single finger, Lord Fiolr st
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The wire-thin lines on Rhunön’s
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No, but I like it not. We do not kn
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Why did you hurt me, dragon? the vo
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MIND OVER METAL “Where did you fi
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eing able to grip the hilt with bot
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she touched a cluster of pieces tha
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into a bar, then made a cut in the
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the tip of the blade came free of t
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A RIDER IN FULL Wake, little one, s
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Her claws sank into the earth. No.
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GREAVES AND BRACERS A single candle
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LEAVE-TAKING From Rhunön’s house
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are fortunate to have been able to
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Oromis glanced at Glaedr, and the e
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“Now let us be gone from here,”
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from sacked villages. The sight of
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Saphira stopped talking as another
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trio of spellcasters. They engaged
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Arya silently opened the door at th
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“He and his companion felt that t
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Eragon dashed a pile of rugs from t
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through the narrow gap and out the
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Eragon’s head whipped on his neck
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“Right,” said Eragon. He hefted
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Tronjheim, but if anything, he was
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and then I will kill you, Oromis, a
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he drove himself at the Shade’s s
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SUNRISE As Eragon and Arya escorted
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So for the next half hour, Eragon s
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Urû’baen, where we will cast dow
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HERE ENDS THE THIRD BOOK OF THE INH
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Atra du evarínya ono varda, Däthe
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grimstcarvlorss—arranger of the h
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At Listening Library: Gerard Doyle,
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Brisingr

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