Because of the multitudes of events in the books, along with the lack of definite timelines, it is not uncommon for fans of the Inheritance Cycle to attempt to be timelines together of events. Though events are ambiguous and often open to different interpretation, it is possible to stitch them together to form a coherent whole. However, things can be complicated by a number of things, such as the possibility of climate difference in Alagaësia than from modern Earth, or when two figures directly contradict each other.
Clues in the book[]
There are several things in the first book, Eragon, that can be observed to determine the time at which different events take place at. Some of these are:
- The passing of time notes.
- The age of characters, along with birthdays.
- Descriptions of the seasons.
- Elain's pregnancy.
Timeline in the limited edition of Eldest[]
In Eldest, years are given for events such as the beginning of the Dragon Riders or the end of certain wars on the A.C. scale. From all references, both in and out of the books, it is fairly obvious that the Rider War starts in the year 8000 A.C. one hundred years after the Fall ends.
List of events in Brisingr and their respective dates[]
1. Brisingr begins at night, FOUR DAYS after Eldest ends, either in the last week of June or the first week of July. It took three days for Eragon, Saphira, and Roran to journey to Helgrind, because they left the day after Eldest ended.
2. One day later, Eragon and Roran assault the Ra'zac at Helgrind. Katrina is rescued, and Roran and Saphira leave Helgrind without Eragon. Sloan's journey begins shortly after.
3. Saphira, Roran, and Katrina arrive back at the Varden. Earlier in the same day, Nasuada stated that the Battle of the Burning Plains took place less than a week before. Therefore, we can assume that it took Saphira two days to fly Roran and Katrina back to the Varden.
4. Eragon meets up with Arya and they return to the Varden. No account of how long this journey took them is given. It may be at least one week.
5. The rest of the events of Brisingr take place. I could not find any further accounts that give an accurate measuring of passing time throughout the book, save for a few places where the passing of a few days is recorded.
6. The Siege of Feinster. The siege happens either in August or September, year 8000. At this point, the length of Katrina's pregnancy so far is uncertain, because it is unknown when her child was conceived. If the child was conceived during the fade-to-black scene in the Chapter "Wounds of the Present" in Eldest, right before she was imprisoned in Helgrind, she is about four months pregnant by the end of Brisingr. If the child was conceived after she was rescued from Helgrind, then she is two to three months pregnant by the end of Brisingr. Murtagh is nineteen years and four/five months old. Saphira is ten/eleven months old. Eragon is sixteen years and six/seven months old. Roran is anywhere between seventeen years/ten months, and eighteen years/eight months. Katrina is anywhere between sixteen years/ten months, and seventeen years/eight months. Thorn is five to six months old, and if he hadn't been influenced by magic, he would start breathing fire normally about now. Now that Thorn is reaching the "maturing age" for dragons, he shouldn't be confused about his adult body for much longer. Nasuada's exact age remains unclear. When she meets Eragon near the end of the first book, she is described as seventeen years old, and no birthday has been mentioned in either Eldest or Brisingr, except that she received clothing from Dûrgrimst Ingeitum for her last birthday. Since this birthday happened offstage, we can assume it either happened right before she met Eragon, or happens between the time she meets Eragon, and the chapter "Hanging by a Thread" in Eldest. If it happened before she first met Eragon, she is seventeen years and five to eleven months old by the end of Brisingr. If it happened AFTER she first met Eragon, she is eighteen years and four to six months old by the end of Brisingr. It is said in Eldest that she was only one year older than Eragon. The timeframe of Inheritance will likely last at least six months, and probably more, so the Green Dragon can grow to full size and breath fire before the end. Under these grounds, Saphira, Roran, Katrina, Nasuada, and Eragon will all have birthdays during Inheritance (Or a "Hatching Day" in Saphira's case.). If the book takes place over seven months or longer, Murtagh will have his twentieth birthday, Thorn will have his first "hatching day" and Katrina's child will be born.