Eldest

            I have recently read Eldest by Christopher Paolini, the second book of the Inheritance Cycle. In the first book, the main character, Eragon, finds a dragon egg. The egg hatched and he named the dragon Saphira. From there, his life as a dragon rider begins. He, Saphira, and an old man named Brom left his village, Carvahall, to avenge his uncle’s death after he was killed by the Ra’zac, a pair of “monsters” from an unknown race. His journey progresses in the first book until he reaches a city in the mountains, called Farthen Dur. The Beor Mountains when Farthen Dur is located is home to the Dwarven race, and also where the Varden, the rebels of the empire, is situated. By the time Eragon reached Farthen Dur, Brom had also fallen at the hands of the Ra’zac. A battle takes place when Farthen Dur is attacked by the Urgal race, controlled by Galbatorix, king of the empire. In this book, Eldest, Eragon travels to Du Weldenvarden, home of the Elvin race, to continue his training as a dragon rider. At the same time, Roran, Eragon’s cousin, had come home to Carvahall, only finding that his father had been murdered. The Ra’zac reappear at Carvahall along with the soldiers of the empire. They attack the villagers, causing then to flee to the refuge of the Varden. Roran assumes command of the villagers, leading them south to Surda, a country free from the empires rule. While this was happening, Eragon improved his knowledge and skills as a dragon rider under training of Oromis and Glaedr. Oromis was a dragon rider but had a mental issue that interfered with his magic use. Glaedr was his dragon, but his left foreleg was severed. After Eragon had been notified about the upcoming battle for the Varden, Eragon travels to Surda, where he coincidentally meets his cousin. During the battle, Eragon discovers that there was a new rider, an old companion named Murtagh, and his dragon Thorn. Murtagh was believed to have been killed in the battle of Farthen Dur.  In the end, Eragon fought Murtagh, but lost, though Murtagh retreated and let Eragon and Saphira live. The battle was considered won by the Varden but the rest was far from over.

            This book was from both the point of view of Eragon and Roran. Eragon had learned from his experiences that he should be patient. Patience revealed many things to Eragon that he had not noticed before, and seen things he would previously have never cared to take attention of. Patience widens your mind. Having patience will give you better understandings of things; it will open your mind to everything around you. Patience and experience is what divides the wise from the foolish. In life, being patient is a important tool. If you want to achieve something that is important to you, you need to spend time on it; you need to keep working for it even if it never seems to end. You should not give up even if it gets frustrating, because following your dreams is never an easy path to tread on.

            Roran learns that there are times that he needs to do things that he would have never normally of done. In his situation, he knew that Carvahall would need a leader. He knew that it was necessary to take command, or misfortune would have befallen them. When the time comes, people sometimes need to do things that are out of or beyond their comfort zone, for the sake of others or even yourself. Life isn’t a smooth and bright road. It’s a long, twisting, misleading trail filled with crevices of sadness and frequent ragged, bumpy, shadowed areas of hardship. You have to choose the road that is right for you. You decide what you think is right and wrong to carve out and mold a path for yourself, even if it’s not perfect. If you think that something has to be done, you just don’t sit there and think about it, you have to take action for your own beliefs. Nobody can forge a way for you or choose how you think or decide to act. Doing what you actually believe is right achieves much more than avoiding your responsibilities. I can say that for many people, including myself.