Art by Eumenidi
We love to brainstorm and dream about books Christopher could write set within the world of Alagaësia while we wait for Book 5. We know he has many planned (he’s said so himself), so it’s only a matter of time until those ideas are explored… and until then, we can use our own imagination!
It’s no secret that Christopher enjoys writing novellas (short stories). Jeod’s Letter, contained in the Deluxe Edition of Inheritance, could itself be considered a novella. The author wrote several short stories during his downtime between Inheritance and beginning his scifi novel. We don’t know what those are about, or if any are set within Alagaësia, but that doesn’t stop us from wondering: if he did write a short story set within our favorite world, what would it be?
Our idea: “The Adventures of New Vroengard”
Reading through old interviews and coming across Christopher’s description of what fans have dubbed “New Vroengard” (the area Eragon takes the dragon eggs to in hopes of establishing a safe area for training new Riders) led us to an interesting idea: What if Christopher wrote a short story following Eragon and Saphira’s adventures as they build and establish “New Vroengard”?
It would certainly be interesting to experience the creation of this new, mythical area. Imagine Eragon’s perspective as he navigates life post-Galbatorix with the new, added weight of being the leader of the Dragon Riders. He’s now responsible for a host of Eldunari, the land’s remaining dragon eggs, and eventually, training the new Riders. The resulting “adventures” would surely make for a good read – but maybe not an entire book.
Eragon’s experiences establishing “New Vroengard” and all that it encompasses isn’t new to Christopher. In an interview, the author shared details about “New Vroengard”:
What exactly I imagined happening is that, with the help of the magic and the strength of the dragons, Eragon and the elves with him, they build a stronghold, an aerie, a place for the dragons to grow up and for them to train the Riders, a place that would be very equivalent to Vroengard.
It might not be quite as large. There might not be quite as many buildings to start with. That would be a bit excessive right off the bat, but I certainly imagine that they would build a giant, giant stone hall, probably high up on a mountain and big enough for dragons to come into. And probably a number of outbuildings, nesting houses and hatcheries, and places for the elves and other Riders to live in in the future.
I see it as being quite an impressive place and long term, in Alagaësia, this place off in the east where the dragons and the Riders have their base . I think will probably acquire a pretty mythical stature. [source]
We also know that during this time, Eragon had to leave “New Vroengard” to confront an unknown danger (potentially a new villain?) thanks to a letter written and included in Eragon’s Guide to Alagaësia. It’d be interesting to see that journey included in the short story.
In summary: we’d love to see a novella following Eragon as he arrives and begins to establish “New Vroengard”!
We’d love to hear from you as well! The potential for Alagaësia-based novellas is nearly limitless, with ideas ranging from “The Adventures of Angela and Solembum,” as the duo make their way through one of the Empire’s cities, to “The Adventures of Murtagh and Thorn,” a short story about their time soul-searching post-Inheritance. Share your ideas in the comments!
We’d love to hear your ideas! If we receive enough quality short story ideas, we’ll feature them (with credit) in another article on the site!
