Training
The bond with the dragons gives the Riders a strong ability to use magic, as well as enhanced physical abilities, but they must train in order to hone, develop, and master their power. This training includes instruction in magic, physical endurance, swordsmanship, and the ability to be able to observe all things and yet remain apart from them. In previous centuries, newly bonded dragons and riders were taken to the elvish capital of Ilirea. It later began Uru'baen, the capital of the Empire. After Galbatorix was deposed it was reinstated as Ilirea. However, before the rise of the Empire, the Riders removed to Vroengard, due to a dispute with the elven rulers. Here elder riders and dragons trained their students until their Fall. The elder dragons gave instruction in aerial maneuvers (especially those used in battle), building stamina for long distance flights, dragon lore, weather patterns, magic, and the ancient language.
The Rider and dragon would share their lessons so that by keeping their minds connected they could listen in on each other's lessons and learn. After class, the elder Rider would test the two to ensure that both had learned each other's subject. Both the elder dragons and the elder Rider were addressed by their students as 'Master' or 'Ebrithil'. To train a Rider to use magic, the novice was given a set of frustrating, apparently impossible tasks that could not be accomplished without the aid of magic. If a student discovered his or her ability before this regimen was complete, that student would be removed at once from the others and apprenticed to another elder.
After the Rider and their dragons have developed a strong and healthy bond with each other, their elders will reveal the concept of Eldunari to them so that Riders and bonded dragons alike do not make hasty decision in disgorging the Eldunari unless it is absolutely necessary.
The formal training of a Rider and dragon traditionally took many years, and the Dragon Riders continued to hone their skills throughout their lives. At the end of the training, the Elven smith Rhunön would forge a sword made from a meteoric ore called brightsteel (the concept is similar to the mythical metal adamantium) for the trained Dragon Rider.
Read more about this topic: Dragon Rider (Inheritance Cycle)
Famous quotes containing the word training:
“The area [of toilet training] is one where a child really does possess the power to defy. Strong pressure leads to a powerful struggle. The issue then is not toilet training but who holds the reins—mother or child? And the child has most of the ammunition!”
—Dorothy Corkville Briggs (20th century)
“Unfortunately, life may sometimes seem unfair to middle children, some of whom feel like an afterthought to a brilliant older sibling and unable to captivate the family’s attention like the darling baby. Yet the middle position offers great training for the real world of lowered expectations, negotiation, and compromise. Middle children who often must break the mold set by an older sibling may thereby learn to challenge family values and seek their own identity.”
—Marianne E. Neifert (20th century)
“The want of education and moral training is the only real barrier that exists between the different classes of men. Nature, reason, and Christianity recognize no other. Pride may say Nay; but Pride was always a liar, and a great hater of the truth.”
—Susanna Moodie (1803–1885)