Mike Macauley: Hello Christopher! Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! For those who don't know, we'll be doing this once a month toward the end of the month for the foreseeable future (or until we run out of questions!). We received over 200 total entries with the amount of questions coming in at close to 1000!

Christopher Paolini: Wow! That's a lot of questions.

Mike: Let's jump right in. The first question: ShadeKing (among many others) asks: Is it possible that we'll see a chapter written in Murtagh's point of view? Keeping with the POV theme, Jack asked: Will we be reading through Saphira's point of view again in the books or was that exclusive to Brisingr?

Christopher: Anything is possible. I will be switching points of view in Book Four, as I did in Brisingr and Eldest. When possible, I try to write from Eragon's point of view, since he's the main character, but if he can't be present at some event, I use Saphira's POV, and if she's absent, Roran's, then Nasuada's, and so forth.

Mike: Great! Saphira's POV was a really great addition to Brisingr.

Christopher: Glad you enjoyed it.

Mike: We had lots of Eldunarí questions this time around. Gilderien asks: Will an Eldunarí from a young dragon grow along with the dragon, or will it remain the same as when it was coughed up? Keeping with the Eldunarí theme, Inheripotterfreakish asks: What is the plural of Eldunarí?

Christopher: The plural of "Eldunarí" is, in keeping with the rules of the ancient language, "Eldunarya".

Christopher: As for whether an Eldunarí will continue to grow after being disgorged: no. And that's another reason why dragons were reluctant to give up their heart of hearts while they were still young, before they had achieved the main part of their growth.

Mike: After the way it was explained in the book, giving up your Eldunarí sounded like it's a scary decision to make. Look what happened to all of those who at one point did so and are now an unwilling source of a lot of Galbatorix's evil.

Christopher: Yes. This is a subject that I will be exploring in greater depth in the next book.

Mike: We're all looking forward to it. It was a great twist!

Christopher: Thank you. I've had the idea for the Eldunarí since the very beginning of the series. It was frustrating knowing about them but not being able to talk about the heart of hearts for almost ten years.

Mike: Funny how it's gone from the one thing you were burning to write about for ten years to the biggest discussion surrounding the books! Here's out next question - FlaimBroyld (among many others) asks: Going back to when Eragon and Saphira coaxed the Menoa tree into giving them the Brightsteel – does the momentary pain in Eragon's stomach have anything (or everything) to do with what the Menoa tree wanted from them?

Christopher: Whatever the Menoa tree did or didn't do, her plans are as long, intricate, and slow-moving as her consciousness.

Mike: Tricky answer! That'll have us all thinking for sure.

Christopher:

Mike: We had a lot of attention given to Brom in this round of questions. Unfortunately I was only able to pick a few questions but this one really stuck out - Gilderien asks: How did Brom defeat Morzan and his dragon? Were there other factors to Brom's success than his quick thinking? Did he have help from his friends' dragons' Eldunarí? Could his sword, Undbitr, play any role in Book 4?

Christopher: Brom was a formidable opponent, due to his long study of fighting, both physical and magical. We didn't see as much of him in the first book as I would have liked, but if Eragon were to spar with him now, he would still lose. Brom was good. It's not that he was stronger than everyone else, or faster, but that he studied how his enemies thought and behaved and then exploited their weaknesses. As for his various fights with the Forsworn, including Morzan and his dragon, I can't do justice to them here. I would need to writ

By now you may have heard the exciting news.

Over the past few months, in addition to writing Book Four, I've been helping Random House and Templar Publishing produce a companion book to the Inheritance cycle. It's called Eragon's Guide to Alagaësia and is an illustrated tour of the most interesting peoples, places, and things of Eragon's world. Eragon narrates the book himself, and if you pay close attention to what he says, you might catch a few hints about where the series is headed.

The art is by Fred Gambino, Larry McDougal, Ian Millar, and David Wyatt. (I also contributed a few sketches myself.) Each artist brought something different to the book—their styles vary widely—which means that you will get to see four distinct visions of Alagaësia. After working on the Inheritance cycle for over ten years, I'm delighted to finally be able to share with you images of some of the things I've imagined for so long: the Beor Mountains, Tronjheim in Farthen Dûr, the elves' buildings in Ellesméra, the Urgals, the dwarves, and much more.

The book is also filled with fold-out pamphlets, maps, diagrams, letters, and other intriguing odds and ends, such as a patch of simulated dragon skin.

I hope you will have as much fun reading Eragon's Guide to Alagaësia as I did writing it. (Just wait until you see the werecat!) Like every other book I've worked on, it was insanely complicated and faced some incredibly tight deadlines, but it was one of the most rewarding projects I've been involved in. I really enjoyed having the chance to write a book as if I were Eragon; to draw glyphs from the elves' writing system, the Liduen Kvaedhí (including the glyph for Brisingr!); to do a pen-and-ink portrait of Galbatorix; and, above all else, to see the artists bring the world of Alagaësia to life.

I should mention that everyone involved in Eragon's Guide to Alagaësia was amazing, from my editor Michelle to the wonderful folks at Templar. Thank you all!

On a more personal note, I've been having a blast with Book Four. Not too long ago, I finished a large and important chunk of the story, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy, and now things are hopping with Eragon & Co. I don't want to spoil the story for you, but here's a little teaser: The chapter I just completed is titled Brains! And no, there aren't any zombies in the book, unfortunately.

Mmm, brains . . .

May your swords stay sharp!


Christopher Paolini

Kvetha Fricäya! Greetings, Friends!

I’ve been busy working on a number of projects: first and foremost has been Book Four. I don’t want to give away too much, but what I’ve been writing involves a flaming spear, a duel to the death, magic, elves, and werecats. Fun stuff! I’ve also been drawing Glaedr’s eye and editing deleted scenes for the deluxe edition of Brisingr that will be coming out later this year.

It’s strange to finally be working on the final installment in the series. After so many years spent thinking about this world and these characters, I sometimes find it hard to believe that I’ll be saying goodbye to them before too long. Still, it gives me an enormous sense of satisfaction to write out scenes that I’ve been envisioning for over a decade now, and I can’t wait for you to be able to experience them as well.

The weather here in Montana has been spectacular, alternating between ferocious, whirling blizzards that fill the valley with large, heavy snowflakes, and brilliant, sunny days, such as this one. Right now, a purple shelf of clouds hangs low over the Beartooth Mountains, while rays of pale sunlight slant underneath, illuminating the tan foothills and the dazzling, snowcapped peaks. Living here is a wonderful gift for me as a fantasy writer. If ever I need inspiration, I just look out my window at the landscape, and I feel as much awe and wonder as if I were looking at a dragon.

A very nice reader sent me a quill pen recently, which I write with occasionally. I had never used a quill pen before, so I was surprised by how much ink it can hold; with a single dip I can write a paragraph at least as long as the longest one in this newsletter. Pretty amazing! The only problem with quills is that you have to sharpen and reshape the tip every now and then, and eventually they wear away completely.

In these challenging times, it’s important to keep a sense of humor, so I leave you with this joke: Why is it so hard to get a Dragon Rider to listen to you? . . . Because his head is always in the clouds!

Oh that’s bad.

Anyway, I hope this finds you and your family well. And may your swords stay sharp!

Christopher Paolini