Eragon (character)
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Eragon (pronounced EHR-uh-gahn) is the main protagonist of the Inheritance trilogy, written by Christopher Paolini. He is the title character of the first novel.
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Role in Eragon
At the beginning of the novel, Eragon is a 15-year-old boy who lives with his Uncle Garrow and cousin Roran. His mother, Selena, was Garrow’s sister and disappeared after delivering Eragon to the care Garrow and his wife when he was first born. Throughout the first book, Eragon does not know the identity of his father.
Eragon finds a mysterious blue stone in the Spine, an untamed range of mountains near Carvahall, the small village he calls home. After being unable to sell the stone, Eragon soon finds it hatches into an infant dragon, a species thought to be extinct except for the king’s black dragon. When the Dragon touches his palm, a silvery mark, known as the Gedwëy Ignasia ("shining palm") appears there. He raises the dragon in secret, telling no one of what has happened, and manages to keep her hidden for a time. He names her Saphira, and their bond begins to develop (see Dragon Riders). As Saphira continues to grow, however, it becomes apparent to Eragon that he will not be able to hide her much longer. When the king's servants, the Ra'zac, enter Carvahall in search of the stone, Saphira forces Eragon to flee with her. The Ra'zac proceed to Eragon's farm in their search, and burn the place down, with Garrow, Eragon's uncle, still inside. Eragon, arriving at the farm too late to save Garrow's life, swears vengeance.
Eragon is sought out by Brom, an old man who the villagers consider a storyteller. Brom learned of Saphira's existence and now wishes to accompany them on their quest for revenge. Together, Eragon, Saphira, and Brom set out from Carvahall. During their travels, Brom teaches Eragon swordsmanship, and at first Eragon demonstrates his pathetic inexperience, though constant training soon corrects that. Eragon and Saphira also strive to learn more from Brom about the Dragon Riders. Later, when Eragon discovers that he can use magic, Brom begins to teach him how to use it. Eragon wonders how a village storyteller knows all this. Brom also warns Eragon that he will soon have to choose between allying himself with the king, Galbatorix, or the king's enemies, the Varden.
The trio go to Teirm in order to trace the shipments of a special oil the Ra'zac use, hoping it will hopefully lead them to the Ra'zac's lair. At Teirm they stay with a Varden ally who helped Brom rescue Saphira's egg, Jeod. There Angela, a witch of some power, who predicts Eragons future. She reveals that: He will have a long lifespan; the great powers of the land will struggle to control him; he will fall in love with one of noble birth; he will leave Alagaesia forever; he will face betrayal from within his own family. Eragon also meets Angela's werecat, Solembum, who speaks to him and tells him that when he is in need of a weapon, he should look under the Menoa Tree, and to speak his name at the Rock of Kuthian to open the Vault of Souls when his power is insignificant. In Teirm he learns to scry--to view things he has already seen, through the use of magic. This leads to him later having dreams of a beautiful maiden who is imprisoned and who needs his help. Eragon decides to check every prison they pass along the way in search of this maiden.
As the trio reaches Helgrind, the Ra'zac's lair, Eragon learns that Brom is part of the Varden, and that the king was once a Dragon Rider until he betrayed them and destroyed their order. Then the Ra'zac attempt to capture Eragon, but he escapes, along with Brom and Saphira. The next night, however, the Ra'zac ambush them and capture Eragon, Brom, and Saphira. Fortunately, they are rescued by mysterious young man named Murtagh, who was also tracking the Ra'zac. Murtagh frees them, but not before Brom is mortally wounded by a dagger meant for Eragon. Brom dies shortly, but not before telling Eragon that he was once a Rider, that his dragon was named Saphira and that she was murdered in front of him on Galbatorix's orders. After creating a tomb for Brom, Eragon and Saphira agree to travel with Murtagh, and travel in search of the hidden Varden.
Eragon decides to travel to Gil'ead, where he can contact the Varden, whom he has now decided to ally himself with. In Gil'ead Eragon is captured and imprisoned where the maiden is also held. Eragon then learns that she is an elf. Murtagh and Saphira stage a daring rescue, and Eragon escapes with the elf. This does not occur without incident, however. Eragon and Murtagh, who are skilled swordsmen, easily overcome the Empire's soldiers - but they are confronted by Durza the Shade, one of the most powerful beings in Alagaesia. Eragon himself duels Durza, and he realizes that he is hopelessly outmatched. Murtagh, however, shoots Durza between the eyes with an arrow, and this seems to kill him. The three companions and the unconscious elf flee Gil'ead.
The elf remains in a self-induced coma as the trio flee across the Hadarac Desert and out of the borders of Galbatorix's empire. When the reach free land, Eragon tries to speak with her mentally. After discerning that he is not an enemy, the elf, Arya, reveals to him the location of the Varden, and also the cause of her ailment. She had been poisoned, and it is such that if she does not receive the antidote soon, she will die. They must reach the Varden if they have any hope of saving her life. The travellers are then pursued by the Empire and a small army of Kull that are heading in the same direction. In the ensuing chase, Eragon and Murtagh race on horseback to Farthen Dûr, the dwarven mountains that house the Varden. Eragon and Murtagh easily outstrip their pursuers, for their mounts, Snowfire and Tornac, are both powerful stallions who gallop at great speeds. Before they enter, Murtagh, who has been reluctant to go to the Varden all along, reveals that he is the son of Morzan, first and last of the Foresworn, a group of treacherous Riders who Galbatorix and aided him in destroying the Dragon Riders.
The trio reach the Varden just in time to save Arya, and there they meet the leader of the Varden, Ajihad. Eragon and Saphira are received with honor, and Murtagh, for his own safety, is kept in a "cell" - which turns out to be a very nice bedroom where sumptuous meals are delivered. Eragon and Saphira also meet Hrothgar, the King of the Dwarves. Since Ajihad plans to send Eragon to Ellesméra to finish his training, he is assessed in magic and swordmanship by two cruel aides of Ajihad, The Twins, who delight in tormenting Eragon. A fully healed Arya rebukes them and spars with Eragon herself. Although he loses badly, Eragon passes the test in Arya's eyes. During this time, he begins to fall in love with her. While with the Varden, he meets up again with Angela and Solembum.
A few days to a week after Eragon's arrival, war becomes imminent: an intercepted message reveals that a legion of Urgals is marching toward the Varden. In the battle that follows, a seemingly endless tide of Urgals seems poised to take the fortress. Within Tronjheim, the cone-shaped Dwarven city located at the center of Farthen Dûr, Eragon is confronted once again by the menacing Shade, Durza (it has been revealed that the only way to kill a Shade is with a blow through the heart). Eragon is greatly outmatched by the Shade, and it seems as if all hope is lost. Thanks to a sudden distraction from Saphira and Arya, however, Durza's attention is averted long enough for Eragon to kill him with a quick stab through his heart. Durza dies, but Eragon pays a terrible price for his deed: the Shade had inflicted a great wound on Eragon's back which would have a long-time debilitating effect on him in the future. Upon the Shade's demise, the evil lock Durza had on the Urgal's minds was released, causing the remainder of them to flee. Eragon faints from his weariness and affliction, and is tormented by pain. His mind is healed by the mental presence of the Mourning Sage, who urges Eragon to follow Arya and seek him out. It becomes certain that, in order to triumph over Galbatorix once and for all, Eragon must seek future tutelage in the sequel, Eldest.
Role in Eldest
After killing Durza, Eragon gained the appellative of Shadeslayer. Ajihad is killed by stray Urgals and The Twins and Murtagh disappear, and are believed to be dead. In Eldest, Eragon and Saphira travel to the elves’ capital city Ellesméra, where he is instructed by a hidden and secret Rider, Oromis, and his golden dragon Glaedr. Oromis reveals that he once instructed Brom and Morzan. He learns many things from Oromis: extensive knowledge of the Ancient Language, world history and the Riders’ history, various magical techniques including melding matter and energy and drawing energy from external sources, the twelve spells of death, aerial combat and much more. He scrys a war brewing between the Varden and the Empire and departs at once to aid the Varden in the battle. By order from Nasuada, he becomes leader of the Du Vrangr Gata (The Wandering Path – these are the spellcasters of the Varden) He turns the tide of the battle, until a new Rider appears, upon a red dragon. The Rider knows of magic that surprises Eragon and also surpasses his power. Presently exhausted, Eragon is easily outmatched, but upon recognizing the fighting style of the Rider, he forces off his helm. Murtagh stands before him. Murtagh then reveals they are both sons of Morzan and Selena and therefore brothers.
Running parallel to Eragon’s story is his cousin Roran’s, Garrow’s son. The Ra’zac return to Carvahall in search of Roran this time, as the king had planned to use Roran as bait to make Eragon return to the Empire. Many in the village are killed, and Roran’s fiancée Katrina is taken. Determined to rescue her and also protect the villagers from another attack, Roran moves everyone who is willing to follow him out of Palancar Valley. They stop at Teirm to gather information, and Roran and a few others meet Jeod, who is delighted to see Eragon’s cousin, but surprised when Roran knows nothing of what has happened to Eragon. Jeod then reveals that Eragon is now a Dragon Rider, and that Brom was once a Rider too. Jeod and the villagers steal a massive ship belonging to the government and sail it to Surda, a neighboring country that is allied with the Varden against Galbatorix – and where the battle will take place. The pirated ship arrives just as the battle is at its peak, and the Varden sends Eragon to check if the ship is friend or foe. The Carvahall people are stunned to see a magnificently attired Eragon riding a great blue dragon, and he warns them not to come close to the battle. Roran however kills The Twins, who also survived, thereby saving the Varden from their massacre.
After the battle Eragon introduces his cousin to the Varden leader Nasuada and the elves’ ambassador Arya in Nasuada’s tent, and then imparts his newfound knowledge of his family to the three of them. Later, Eragon agrees to help Roran rescue his fiance, Katrina, from the evil clutches of the Ra'zac, and seek justice for the numerous crimes they have committed.
Possessions
- Saphira, although she is actually his partner, not a possession; it could just as easily be said that Eragon is her possession.
- Cadoc, a spirited colt that Brom bought in Therinsford along with the mighty stallion Snowfire. Cadoc was named after Eragon's grandfather and bore Eragon far south until Brom died.
- Snowfire, a great white steed who originally belonged to Brom, who swore to guard him as long as he lived; when Brom died, Eragon sold Cadoc and thereafter rode Snowfire, fulfilled Brom's promise. There are few horses to equal Snowfire, except Murtagh's grey stallion Tornac and the elf-horses.
- Zar'roc, a Rider's sword that belonged to Morzan. This ruby blade was taken from Eragon by Murtagh in the battle in Surda, as Murtagh is the elder son of Morzan and so Zar'roc is his inheritance.
- The diamond-studded belt of Beloth the Wise, one of the greatest treasures of the Riders.
- Two dragon saddles, one an engraved pleasure saddle meant for comfortable long-distance travelling and one a lighter saddle built for speed and aerial combat.
- A yew bow and a quiver of yew arrows with swan feathers: a magical weapon created for him by Queen Islanzadi.
- Impregnable armor gifted to him and Saphira by the dwarves.
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