Saphira was the only bonded egg given to the riders from the mating of Iormûngr, a male dragon bound to a Dragon Rider, as well as Vervada, a wild female dragon. Both dragons perished during the Fall of the Dragon Riders. Saphira's sapphire-blue colored egg, along with two others (emerald green and ruby red) were found and taken by Galbatorix during the Fall. Galbatorix tried desperately to find a Rider for whom the eggs would hatch, but was unsuccessful. None of the dragons responded to the touch of anyone in the Empire. Later in Galbatorix's reign, a former Rider known as Brom and a scholar named Jeod discovered a secret entrance into Urû'baen. The Varden appointed a thief, Hefring, to steal the eggs. His mission went amiss and he was only able to recover a single egg, which was later taken from him by Morzan, who might have slain Hefring. Brom eventually tracked down and killed Morzan and his dragon, thus recovering the egg for the Varden. The egg was then transported back and forth from the Varden to the kingdom of the elves, in the hope that the Dragon would eventually hatch. The egg-courier was Arya, daughter of Islanzadí, the Elf-queen. However, the egg did not hatch.