The book tells the story of a farm boy named Eragon, who finds a mysterious stone in the mountains. Not knowing the stone's origin or worth, he attempts to use it as payment to a butcher. A dragon he later names Saphira hatches from the stone, which was really an egg. When the evil King Galbatorix finds out the general location of the egg he sends the Ra'zac to acquire it. By that time Saphira had been growing for a while and takes Eragon to the Spine after Ra'zac appear in their village, Carvahall. Eragon and Saphira are forced to flee from their hometown with a storyteller named Brom, who Eragon learns to be an old member of an extinct group called the Riders. Brom was supposed to teach Eragon 'The Ways of the Rider.'