Ok i have a theory that there is a lot more to angela then people seem to realise. i kno she is nor going be the third rider, but from what i have gathered.

she is a human, but she is incredibly old! ( oromis basically says this, and angela even sugests it)
a random old man called tenga was her mentor
she has a werecat that follows her so she must be special.
she is always around trouble.
she has dragon claws, now she must hav got a few burns getting hold of those, or maybe she was around for the fall of the riders.
she has a massive knowledge for many things. mainly plants and herbs
she does not fear much, if anything- i mean she walked accross no mans land at the battle at the end of eldest with a casual strole. how did galbys army let her in their lines!
and thats all i can think of at the moment...
I think her dragon bonescamefrom Glaedr So what do u think is the truth behind her? i really think she will play an eve bigger role in the final book
she cant just be a stupid herbalist all the time?

Maby she was part of the fornsworth whos dragon was killed then she was turned good again
that would explain why Oromis knows her by a different name
maby she is a god in human form or something thats why she has the DWARF sward
another thought is maby she gpt the knuckle bones from her dragon when it was killed by brom

oohhh i just had a thought maby when brom slashed at her dragon she turned him into a werecat in panic mode and thats why saphira likes him so much

I think that she is one of the grey folk. It explains her age.

Angela might also be a former dragon rider wich would explain her age too. Eragon&Arya just wondering but why did you put dwarf and urgal? Angela definetly isn't either of those.

Angela is human. If you want I can quote posts from both her and Oromis proving that she is human.

Dragon riders can be human.

I wasn't disagreeing with you. I have no idea where you got that impression from. I was simply pointing out the she is human not a grey folk. elf, dwarf, urgal, god or any other ridiculous suggestion.

I believe that she was a dragon rider at some point. That explains her age, and her dragon bones that she has.

It would be wierd if the dragon bones were from her own dragon. Why did Eragon&Arya unhuman people to the list?

First, they were Knuckle Bones, not Claws. So there is no way they could have come from Glaedr. And, why would he give her his 'claws' so she could turn them into items of fortune telling?

It is more likely she got the Knuckle bones from a bet, or trade, similar to how she got the double ended sword-staff, as they would require enchantments I believe to be beyond her (she isn't a particuarly strong magician)

Secondly what the hell is a Fornsworth?

Tenga was hardly random. He definately seems more than human - if anyone in the series is likely to be Grey Folk it is him - he uses magic without speaking words of the ancient language for minor tasks, as did the Grey Folk.

As for how she got into the Army's lines - perhaps the same way Solembum did. She could be a werecat. After all, there must be a reason she is hated by King Halfpaw

She is hardly a 'stupid herbalist'. That just shows you do not read into the books at all. She is shown to be extremely witty, very clever and extremely clever at herbology - I really cba to find quotes that show that.

I agree with the theory that she was once a dragon rider, which would explain her age and magic. Also, in Eragon, she said that Brom did not approve of her use of magic. Does this mean that he did not approve of using her gifts that came from being a rider for things like telling other's future?
But, I also think that there's something going on with shades there. Well, actually, I know that there's something going on with a shade, CP said it himself. I'm wondering if she may become a shade in book 4 (or already be one as well as an ex-dragon rider)??

Cool, I'd really like to see them. Woud you mind telling me where they are? Personally, I doubt she is simply human. I think that she might be one of the Grey Folk, or at least a descendent. Something else that occured to me, what do you think about the two people that Angela told fortunes for in Brisingr? I think (not sure, so don't quote me) I remember reading that CP said they would be making a reappearence. I don't think either of them will be a dragon rider though, because they weren't in the other two books.

Hmm. . . I don't think all the options she could possibly be could be on there. . . Though, I think she could be some of the following:

An Illuminator for one, because their goal was to gather knowledge from across Alagaesia, and they were rather unusual. It would match because of her uncanny trait to know things that most people do not, her quests to go where history is being made, and her strange personality.

She could be a Human-Elf hybrid. CP said himself that they did in fact exist at certain points. Maybe Angela could be one of them.

Or, she could be an escaped, former Rider. Though, that has yet to be proven, and I don't really think that someone who has lost her other half of her mind would be that cheery.