Shortly after the book begins, Nasuada sends Eragon to the clanmeet of the dwarves to observe and possibly help move along the choosing of a new king for the dwarf nation. Saphira stays with the Varden to help stave off the possibility that Galbatorix will attack. While with the dwarves, Eragon is attacked by one of the dwarf clans, which allows Orik to win over the rest of the clan leaders and become the king of the dwarves. Once a king is chosen, Eragon calls for Saphira to come for the coronation. After the coronation, she fulfills her promise to Hrothgar to mend the Star Saphire, although she adds her own touch and lines the petals of the Rose with gold. After the coronation is complete, Eragon and Saphira return to Ellesmera to consult with their teachers Oromis and Glaedr regarding something Murtagh said during their first fight. While there, Eragon learns the truth about his parentage. Who is mother really was and that Morzan was not his father, but instead it was Brom. Saphira shares a memory that Brom asked her to hold for Eragon until he learned the truth. Once they have learned everything they need to know, Eragon and Saphira return to the Varden and help defeat the warriors at Feinster.
While Eragon and Saphira are absent, Nasuada sends Roran on several forays into the Empire to collect information about troop movements and to stop shipments of provisions to the Empire's troops. On his second trip into the Empire, Roran directly disobeys his commanding officer and although he saves the lives of those men he was commanding as well as his commanding officer, Nasuada has to punish him for the disobedience. Roran receives 50 lashes on the back as his punishment and then Nasuada has him healed and gives him a command of his own since she can ill afford to have him disobey again since he is the cousin of the only free dragon rider.
The story ends with the death of Oromis and Glaedr at the hands of Murtagh and Thorn and the Varden on the march towards Galbatorix's capital city.
I truly enjoyed reading this book and would and have recommend it to my friends and family to read. I would give this book 5 hearts. I can't wait for the last book in the cycle to come out in November. If you are interested in checking these books out for yourself, or looking for other information about Christopher Paolini's imaginary world, visit the official site here.
If you've read any of these books, I'd love to hear your take on them.
