okay,i know i have given many theories.but i think that this might be the most likely.now cp hinted how he gave u many clues to the third dragon rider in eldest.well i have re read the book and i think i may have found the most likely theory.okay well when eragon travels to saphira when she and glader (sorry i dont have name of place being as i dont have a book on me right now.)but when he arives he finds a cracked green egg.well i think that brom is actually an elve.(i think brom is cause in eragon it says how he had silver hair.and thats what color hair that elves have.and also because of such a skilled mage user he was and how he was such a big friend of the elves.)but i think that when eragons mother escaped she brought the egg with her and it hatched at that places where dragons used to go and lay eggs.and i think she was there because she was broms lover and that after she left eragon at carvahall she went to the elves and was trained by oromis and that she is hiding with them now and that she will come along in book four at a battle when the elves and the varden join together in a battle.see i think that cp is trying to make people think that its gonna be roran or arya but i mean he seems like he makes many suprises for his readers and that he wouldnt make it as obvious as this.this is just a theory.it can be much more difficult then i think.opinions anybody?

For starters, his hair is silver because he is old, and in Brisingr (Spoiler if you haven't read it) It clearly states that Selena died.

thats true i guess it does say that.mabie its a cover up.haha.and im not so sure about brom being an elve its just a theory got while researching

i cant say i blame u. haha.its a long theory and im still trying to change it and i dont even know if i think it was eragons mother that is the new rider.it could be any elf.

[flash=][/flash]FYI: Selena didnt give birth to Roran, they are just CUsins. and the idea of broms words to summon dragons... pure genius, wish i thought of it[flash=][/flash]

i don't think roran will be a rider. i mean ... he just married katrina.
so if he becomes a rider, he would live for ever and she would die "soon".
and i don't think he (looking like 20yrs old guy) would be with 80yrs old woman... even if he would like to be, katrina wouldn't like him to stay with her. and if he would be a rider... he would be very sad when katrina would die. he would be depresed so... i don't think this will happen

so i think arya will be the rider.

brom had a beard and wrinkles the elves don't have beards or wrinkles rember what it says about eragon being able to still grow a beared after the blood oath celabration unlike elves!

u r right

rember it says in eldest that eragon would still be able to grow a beard unlike elves

you know when he wake up after getting change

i dont think the new rider will be arya or roran because cp wouldnt make it that obvious even though there are signs that are pointing towards both of them. my theory is that itll be someone who weve barely notice and itll really surprise us. it might be Nolfavrell (sp) because he was the only one except roran eragon and sloan (im not sure if sloan did) to kill a razack

its got to do with what the theorie at the start is read the beging before you post and look at my early posts before you talk

I'm sorry i made a mistake i thought it said that but it was something else about his features being more rugged then any elfs not that he could still grow a beard. again i'm sorry it just i haven't read eldest in a while so my memory is a bit fuzzy on the finer details

waayy off. only two razacks. both of which have been killed by roran and eragon. nolfravrel has absolutely no experience in the larger concept of war, he is too young to fight in the varden, so he wont be it

yeah, personally i'm not so sure it will be green and i think that c.p has kid of set the dragon up for arya or roran

definately arya or roran, probably arya, and not some random color out of the blue, it has to be a guyish color, i could swear that the last one is green though because of the original cover of brisingr (b4 book 4 was invented) which was supposed to be green with a green dragon facing its left and our right

don't get me wrong green is my favourite colour its just well c.p obviously knows that its a popular rumour on all the forums and he might want to supprise us with say gold,brown or orange. (brown what was i thinking)

i suppose it might not be nolfavrell but it can still be someone weve barely noticed

we've already had gold, and brown and orange have had no real importance in the story, besides brown when eragon was naming saphira and thought of the brown dragon for a fraction of a second

good but not the best theory kinda lengthy.

Never mind you guys! about the theories i don't think it matters what color the dragon is and about the rider... there is no way that arya or roran will be riders it's too obvious! i agree with u 4rya it wouldn't make sense that he marries katrina and leaves her to die... anyways brom could have been an elf remember that spell arya used to make herself look human in brisingr?(in first chapters) he could have used that also after his dragon died he could have lost his immortality nobody knows My theory is that the last unhatched egg is still in galbatorix's possesion somewhere in the book it says that the eggs are male and that saphira is the only female dragon left it only makes sense he has both eggs. it has to be a new character because who is close enough to galby to steal the egg escape murtagh and the empire unnoticed (i have no doubt angela could but she's old ) caterpillar the best solution what if angela is a new rider? she's old enough to have survived the fall of the riders.. she has a pet ware-cat... knows many languages...

Book 4 Teasers:
Roran and Nasuada’s fates are completely different from their originally-planned fates.

In my opinion that could mean that one of them will become the next rider... But the vision of Eragon on the boat and the 2 dragons above it - if the dragons will be mates, one of them should be Saphira - she's the only female dragon in the world. So one of the riders on the boat is going to be Eragon. That means that the other rider should be female - and I don't remember of any girls that Eragon likes except Arya...

Nasuada is a human, and therefore would provide weak support as a Rider and would be considered a liability. She has been portrayed as a leader, not a fighter.

Roran has been developed as a human that can accomplish abnormal feats, but it's not the feats that give him so much attention; it's the fact that he's a human and yet he's accomplished things worthy of something more. If he was made a Rider, none of his feats would matter. Also, the only reason he fights is mainly so he can protect Katrina and their upcoming child. If he became a Rider, the cold realization would dawn on him that he's immortal, and Katrina isn't, and thus his motivation for fighting would be taken away.

Well, it's completely possible that Nasuada could show that she's been trained by a kung-fu master and that she's very talented in magic also and that could make her very usefull rider on Varden's side
But seriously, I think that Nasuada's fate is not being a leader of the Varden for life.

But that's the only thing she does extremely well at currently. Yes, she might not be the leader of the Varden for her entire life, but she just became it.

But that doesn't matter. As a human it doesn't matter if Nasuada can use the sword or magic. She would always be to weak. She could never match in strength, speed, knowledge nor magic. Any normal elf could master her with ease. Nasuada would in every way be a total waste of the egg.

And her character has been build up for another fate any way.

True, but as a human in general, I doubt she'll have been trained well enough to complement Eragon well in battle, like Arya does. Even if she has been trained, she is already the leader of the Varden, which gives her many responsibilities, and requires her to be much more free than she is now so she could train.

I totaly agree that nusada can't be a rider 'cause she's with the varden so it has to be a female elf i don't think it's gonna be arya it's too predictable it may be one of the 13 spellcasters... no that't not right it ahs to be somebody new a mate for murtagh. murtagh may love nusada but he's aware that she's mortal. anyways the female rider has to be a mate for either eragon or murtagh cause i don't think arya is gonna get over Falon so soon after all elves have LONG memories with their politness and all the rules.

I actually heard a theory where arya was already the rider and it has been the best theory i've heard with the most evidence to back it up.

Roran will not be the next rider, and you would have to be retarded to think that nasuada will be the next rider...

If you have any questions or any remarks please post them i love a challenge.

Ok, I may be a little retarded, but let me make something clear with this human-nothuman bull.
Eragon was chosen as a human.
Murtagh is a human.
Galbatorix is a human and none elf can oppose him.
Being an elf doesn't guarantee you that you'll be stronger than someone else. Galbatorix will not fall just because Eragon or/and Arya is/are a little bit faster and stronger phisically than him.

All this you are saying could be avoided if you read the books.
Murtagh and Galby are ONLY strong due to the Eldanuri. Without them any elf would single handed be stronger than them.

Eragon was a humans before. And do you remember how Arya toyed with him when the spared? Eragon was changed into an elf hybrid because he needed it. As a human he would always be to weak.



But is does. The elves are supireor than the humans in every way.
It is as Brom said. Even the weakes elf could mates any human with ease.


Galby is strong, but only because of the eldanuri. Without them he will lose his strenght and speed since they are fuled on the power from th eldanuri. An elf is simply born with the strengh and speed and will always have it.

Here is what we KNOW is true:

We all know that there were 3 dragon eggs that survived The Fall and captured by Galbatorix and the Forsworn, a blue egg, a red egg, and a green egg. We know that Galbatorix examined the minds of the dragons and found out their sexes. We also know that the blue egg was captured by the thief, Hefring. We know that Hefring deserted his mission and fled. We know that Brom and Morzan, both, sought him out to recover the stolen egg. We know that, when Brom found him, he was dead. We know that Brom found the blue egg and battled Morzan for it before killing his rival and enemy in battle. We know that the Elves begrudgingly agreed to share the egg with the Varden for lack of another reasonable option, though they did not want another human rider. We know that the blue egg eventually did hatch for a human, Eragon, and Saphira was born. We know that later, under Galbatorix’s capture, Thorn hatched from the red egg for Murtagh. We know that Eragon steps on a green eggshell at the site of the Battle of Broken Egg and Scattered Nest.

That is it. That is all that we know about the eggs. If I have missed something tell me, but this is what I know that we can say for certain about the eggs.

Here is what we really DON’T KNOW:

We don’t know how Hefring managed to get the blue egg. We don’t know Hefring’s race. We don’t know how many eggs he got (I’m looking at you Greeni). We don’t know why he abandoned the mission. We don’t know how and why he died. We don’t know that Galbatorix still has the green egg in his possession, aka. We don’t know the current whereabouts of the green egg. We don’t know that it hasn’t hatched yet.

Now, there are readers and in-story characters alike that are making assumptions about these things, but we really don’t know these things.

Here’s my theory:

I think Hefring found the eggs, but, as he was collecting them, he was ambushed. He was only able to retrieve two, the blue and the green eggs. He evades capture but is on the run. Either because he is being hunted by the Empire or because of personal motivations he abandons his mission. Now, I have 3 or 4 theories as to what happens next, but they are just pure guesses with no real evidence, so I will let you imagine what happens yourselves. But, the long and the short of it is that, before Morzan or Brom find him, one egg is passed off and eventually ends up in the elves’ hands, and either Morzan kills Hefring, or he was killed for possessing the egg, by an elf, or another thief perhaps. Regardless, the idea is that the elves now have the green egg. Now, as I said before, we KNOW that the elves didn’t want to share Saphira’s egg in the first place. So, if they got their hands on another egg and the Varden didn’t know it, they sure as hell weren’t about to advertise it. The reason I think it ended up with the elves is because A) I think the last rider is an elf (more on that later). B) The Varden think Galbatorix has it still. And C) I think the green egg shell that Eragon steps on in Eldest was either the very same green egg, or at least a HUGE hint based on CP’s interview on Shurtugal.com. Now, as for who the rider is, I think it’s Arya. And I think she’s been a rider for the entire series, and longer.

Evidence for Arya as a Rider:

-Arya has green magic (a Rider’s magic usually matches his/her dragon’s color)
-Arya is extraordinarily skilled in combat and magic (even among the elves)
-Saphira has an instinctual affection for Arya
-Arya is usually very depressed/moody (possible effect of being away from your dragon for a year+)
-Arya knows how to drain energy from her surroundings (magic stated by Oromis to be taught to Riders only)
-CP has stated that she is more extensively trained in magic than even Eragon (presumably by Oromis

There are a few more superficial reasons I can come up with, but there are really the hard points to defend my case.

There are things that are hard to explain, like why the dragon would remain a secret, even to Eragon, during outright war. Or like the exact motivations and events behind Hefring’s theft. But, while I can’t give a straight, certain answer to these questions, I can say that CP can imagine whatever logical reason he wishes for his story. Maybe the elves have a VERY good reason for the dragon to be absent. Maybe Hefring WAS motivated by personal greed.

As it stands right now, though, I have yet to be presented with a reason for this theory to be impossible. And, in my opinion, it seems the most profitable to the story.

Why my theory is profitable to the story:

A) Eragon and Arya’s bond would, in turn, bond their dragons, ensuring they procreate and continue the species.
B) The dragon already be full grown (bigger than Saphira actually, if it was born a bit before the 1st book as I suspect) and be trained under Glaedr and Oromis before their deaths.
C) Arya would be a rider that we already have an emotional investment in, so we could accept her as a promoted hero of the story.
D) She has the least complications to work out to be a rider of all of the usual suspects (as Nasuada has the Varden to look out for, Roran has a mortal wife and child on the way, etc.) which saves story time to her development as Eragon’s partner and the development of their new plan of attack as a pair, rather than worrying about family and leadership problems.

So, there it is. I figured I would lay it all out and see what you all think. I welcome all critiques, challenges, and, of course, compliments. Sadly this isn’t even all of the thought I’ve put into this, so, if you have questions, I may very well have an answer already. As always, I will be reading and writing in the comment section.

Edit: All credit to Vadersapp.

During her capture, if she was a rider, Durza would use her to lure her dragon to Galbatorix. Also, when Eragon saved her, he examined her body for some hidden wound - he didn't find the riders sign on her hand. And as was said above - who the hell would let her cross Alageasia with a horse, carrying a dragon egg?
Now remember how did Saphira react when Eragon told her to go away in Hellgrind - she tried to force him to come with her. I don't think Arya's dragon could let her be the egg carrier for 20 years or being captured by a shade for months without trying to save her.
The theory is good, but if it was so, it would be for an other elf


No, it doesn't. As Brom also said, when it comes to magic duel, the intelligence is more important than strength. He is the evidence - his magic was weaker than a newbie rider's, but he has succeded in killing 3 of the Forsworns (they were 3, right? I don't remember for sure that). And correct me if I'm wrong but last time I checked, Brom was still a human? O.o
As he said, you should try to sneak through the enemy's walls, not to try to destroy them. If any human rider knows how to use his brain (something that Eragon would surely tell him/her), he could oppose an elf.
And how could a human Forsworn kill an elven rider if you were right? It would be impossible. But they have done it more than once.

This is far from common. Being smart wont stop a sword from cuting you in half, nor will it save you from keeping an enemy trying to acces your mind.
Brom lost his Saphira at young age and was a human. He almost never went into an open combat. But that is what we need now in an open war.
And still, the elves are superior there as well.


Brom was responsible for the deaths of seven other Forsworn, three of whom he killed directly. But it was a time when Galby had won. There where no battles. The rider needs to be strong to take on an army.
Brom would do no good in a battle.


Of course he was. Why would you think otherwise?


This is one verus one. We on the other hand are in war.


No. Brom made it clear that even the weakest elf would win over any human with ease. The elves are in generally also much smarter than the humans. The bound with the dragons gave the elves what they are now.


An elven rider are stronger than a human rider. But it is not alwys that easy. There are the dragons as well. And Galby gave all his Forsworn Eldanuri to use.

We got no evidence about your last statement. Galbatorix has given Murtagh eldunari to make him strong enough to capture Saphira. He knew his true name and he didn't fear betrayal. But I don't think he did the same for all of the forsworns - and I don't think he knew all of their true names. And I doubt that the eldunari gives physical strength - Murtagh was as strong as Eragon, because Galby gave him these powers, as he gave Thorn the power to oppose Saphira.
And I was talking about magic skills. Brom was talking about sword duel. The elves may have more energy because of their stronger bodies, but as I allready said, your... inventiveness may be at better use. Otherwise, a human wizard would have never won against an elven wizard.
...and in our case, you should say 'one on one'. 'One versus one' shows the number of the opponents, not the score.

We do have evidence. We have seen it in the books and CP has said that being a rider dosn't make you stronger. Take Eragon for an example. In Farthen Dûr Arya toyed with him even tho he was a rider. The human riders are humans. That is a fact. Even weakest elf can overpower any human with ease.


Go to http://www.shurtugal.com
There is a monthy Q/A that takes that up. All the forsworn was loyal to galby by free will and was given their own stuck of Eldanuri. Galby couldn't do every thing alone.


No. It was spells that powerd Murtaghs speed and strenght. And it was the Eldanuri who stood for the eneegy.


Speak of what ever you want. The elves are superior than the humans in almost every way.


No human can win over an elf without help or luck. May that human be a rider or not.


Sory about that. I'm not from an English speaking countrie.

Neither am I

He also has mastery of the dark arts and many Eldunarya on his side.



Yes, but he also said that the weakest elf could overpower the most powerful human.

Or perhaps gomenesigh, that elf just make a strong spell who the human are to weak to handle.

You just don't randomly see something that the elf has missed. And before you have learned what it would be, the elf would have overpowered you 1000 times already.

As for the why Durza didn’t realize she was a rider. Easy. He never broke her mind. She says he was close, but never broke her. So how else would he have known. And as for how the dragon would retain himself, know she was being tortured. A) He wouldn’t know that. Even if they COULD be in contact from that distant under normal circumstances (which considering Saphira’s and Eragon’s connection isn’t much more than a mile or two, is unlikely indeed), she was drugged and actively barricading her mind. So they had no mental contact. Maybe he sensed something, but he still didn’t know where she was.

He told him to tell her if necessary, but not to if he could reasonably avoid it. The reason he would have her still in the dark if it were unnecessary is the same reason he would have continued to keep Eragon in the dark if it weren’t necessary to tell him. It is VERY VERY sensitive information that not only CAN be used for evil, but HAS. This secret is the reason that the war goes on at ALL. The less people that know (including Riders), the better for all. If you have trouble believing he wouldn’t trust a rider that he could trust completely, as I would think he could for Arya, keep one thing in mind. Galbatorix was still a novice Rider when he started the Fall. He wouldn’t have been privy to upper level knowledge like this as a young rider. The only reason he learned about this was because of Galby’s skill with mind-breaking. He forced the info out of the mind of an Elder Rider. The point is, even if you keep the info to trusted individuals, it’s still not safe. The fewer people that know, the less likely it is that the information will leave trusted minds

You can think, but you can't know. You can't look upon an enemy an see that he don't have any wards against fire for an example. If the elf had forgot oly hadn't thought of an spell you wouldn't randomly know that.
Before you figure that out the elf would already have won.

I realize that, and it's true, but when your power is as overwhelming as Galbatorix's, then it makes quite a difference.

Not to mention that Galbatorix is a master at breaking minds, so he's less likely to miss something than others, and that's sort of an understatement.



I know, but only slightly. Brom had noted Eragon to be an extremely quick learner at swordsmanship and to be pretty adept at magic for his age, and yet Arya still toyed with him. The next rider has to fight enemies more powerful than Durza, whom Eragon had only beaten as a human because of Arya.

Well.... idk it never really gives us a basis on how to judge how strong Elven vs. Human riders were, I mean how long do you think it would have taken Eragon before the Agaeti Blodhren to get to the point he is now?

You have to put into perspective that if a human's strength grows over time while bonded with a dragon than wouldnt an elf's as well? im sure eragons strength isnt set now just because of the change... It all depends on the character, For example would Murtagh be able to beat Eragon if Galby hadnt given him any Eldunari? of course not Eragon even states this at the end of Eldest, So lets say Murtagh and Eragon continue to train for the next ten years, as long as no eldunari are involved Eragons physical prowess will still topple Murtagh.

And Gomenesigh I think I get what your trying to say but you also have to realize that the Elves were generally more intelligent than Humans, This may be due to there longevity or to the fact that there more intune with nature and magic. Your right Brom did state that a magician that was cleverer may often win the battle, however you also have to remember that he called Eragon and himself "weak spellcasters" and its true Eragon was weak compared to the rest of the magic users at the time, but the memory that Brom gave him through Saphira had all occured before the Agaeti Blodhren, he never anticipated that Eragons strength would increase to the levels that it did......

Sorry if im rambling lol

Does the next rider have ten to twenty years? Probably not. This war campaign is probably only going to last another year, if that. Also, Pandaemon makes a valid point when he says that an elf's power will grow as well as a human's. I'm not saying that having a human rider would be impossible; I just view it as unlikely. Here is a list of reasons as to why several suspected candidates are unlikely:

No, he wouldn't. A shade is stronger than a rider. Because their powers are not one, but from many spirits. There is a reason why one two person ever has manage to kill a shade before Eragon and Arya. Both Eragon and Arya manage to kill a shade because both had the help of eachothers and Saphira. No elf, human nor rider are alone strong enough to overpower serval spirits.


Oh, but it does matter. A human rider will look more as an elf after some time, but he will never get the power of one. Because no matter what, he would still be a human. The dragons didn't speed that up with Eragon. It is as it was said in the books. Eragon is no human nor elf. He is something in between. An elf hybrid. It is as the Menoa Tree said. She had never felt any one like him before.


You are correct. The only thing that the elfs gain is the dragon and every thing the dragon brings. But it dosn't change so much for a human. A human rider won't get any super powers or anything. It is as we saw. An elf toyed with a human rider.

I do remember. And I am right about it. Human riders would get more pointed ears, but never the power of an elf.

Brom only said that they would look more alike an elf. Not that they would get the powers of one.


Really? Human riders? I honestly can't remember that.....


That he is. The Forsworn had their powers from the Eldanuri Galbatorix gave them.


Many of them yes. But it depends on what every elf has devoted his/her life to.


It is a progress. Not a sudden power boost.


I don't have the first book in English =/


Wut? o.O I'm not a person who lie =/ It is a fact that human riders won't get to the level of an elf. I'm being totally honest here. *Hands on heart*


It depends on how you see it. The reason this was brought up was because of the statement that a human rider would be to weak and that Arya is the only elf who has been in the first book. This is proving the statement to be correct

yeagermiester7111 said that CP said that the third dragon rider was in Eldest, so it might be some one who appeared in the third like Jeod or one of Eragon's twelve spellcasters... whats his name, Blohgarn.

What do you think?

What CP actually said was that the next rider is somebody who has been in all three books thus far. So yes i do think that it's true, it could be somebody obscure yet in all three.

Then I would probably say Arya's most likely to be the rider. Angela could be the next rider but I would say Arya's more likely to be it.

Orik could be a pssibility.

Orik not so much, Arya yes. i think i posted my theories on that she may already be the rider.

Yes, I think I read that, but anyway I think Arya is most likely the next rider as you say.

Yes, your right, but it would be good if there was a Dwarf rider.