How It All Goes Down
Discovery
- Eragon is hunting, tracking a deer. He's so good at it that he can tell the deer he's after has a slight limp.
- We learn that he's fifteen, has dark eyes, and is dressed like… a hunter (buckskin, knife, and worn clothes, to boot).
- Eragon is in the Spine. What's that? Why, it's a mountain range in the land of Alagaësia—obviously. People are afraid to go too far into these mountains; they think that bad things go down there. Not Eragon, though. He's the only one brave enough to hunt there.
- Still, his luck has not been great. After three days, he has nothing to show for his efforts. That's a bummer, because winter is coming and Eragon's family could sure use the meat.
- But luckily, Eragon comes across the herd. He finds the deer that he's been tracking, takes aim with his bow and arrow, and… BOOM!
- Not killing boom. Explosion boom.
- The explosion from behind him spooks the deer. Eragon manages to get a shot off, but he misses.
- Eragon turns around to find a blue stone, lying in a crater in the middle of a scorched radius of grass and trees.
- (Don't you love it when you know more—even just a tiny bit more—than the character?)
- He watches it for a while, but nothing happens. So he goes over to the stone and picks it up. It's polished smooth and oval-shaped.
- Eragon is worried that the stone might contain some kind of magic. But he figures he can sell the stone to pay for much-needed food. Why not? Into his sack it goes.