#Morzan’s dragon

[cs-cabin-and-crew]

Morzan’s dragon!

He’s also the new poster child for a new blog I made specifically for Good Morzan

He was such a pain to draw, but I love him.

His fangs are kinda like a young walrus’! So they’re not only baby proofed for murtaugh, but the caps are also to prevent them from getting chipped.

(And if anyone has rendering/coloring tips to make me not wanna kill someone, I’d greatly appreciate it…)

Also does anyone know if his name was ever revealed despite his curse/spell?

[good-morzan-inheritance-cycle]

Morzan’s dragon!

(I hate coloring…)

He has teeth guards so he doesn’t break them! I HC his fangs are like a walrus’s teeth, and they’re not only baby proofed for murtaugh, but also to protect them from breaking

[umunschaas]

Felt rather meh recently, so I drew another Morzan and Galbatorix for my AU. Murtagh is also around, congrats if you found him… hopefully I'll draw his full design one day soon.

[alagaesia-headcanons]

I have a ride or die headcanon that little Murtagh was obsessed with Morzan’s dragon. He absolutely loved him.

Murtagh sees him often enough from a young enough age that he’s never scared of him. So naturally, he’s absolutely enamored with the huge, beautiful, glittery, fire breathing monster that hangs out outside the house. He’s kept at a distance, but he’s still the dragon’s biggest fan. Murtagh’s very upset to learn that he doesn’t have a name which feels very unfair to him, so he musters up all his creativity and dubs him “Red”.

Morzan doesn’t always travel with his dragon when he leaves the estate, depending on what he needs to do. So sometimes the dragon stays and rests while Morzan is gone. During one such time, when Selena is also away on a mission, a freshly 3 year old Murtagh escapes his nurses and goes to Red. He’s careful at first, testing the waters gently, then getting increasingly close and comfortable with him when Red seems utterly unbothered. He’s no more than an ant next to the dragon’s enormous size. Murtagh is immediately in love, clambering all over him and constantly babbling to him, undeterred by the lack of response.

The servants do eventually find him after a frantic search. Morzan’s dragon doesn’t like any of the staff, so despite letting Murtagh nestle into the crook of his foreleg, he snarls and snaps at anyone who tries to get close enough to retrieve him. The servants are stuck in a grim dilemma, because no one’s willing to test the limits of a gargantuan, irascible dragon, and they don’t have anything to bribe Murtagh with that’s cooler than said dragon, so he refuses to budge. They’re absolutely terrified the dragon will kill him, either inadvertently or not.

After three full days of Murtagh glued to Red’s side, remaining miraculously unsquished, Morzan returns. The servants are in a cold sweat, stuttering and shaking like leaves in a storm as they try to explain that his son is fine, there’s no need for alarm, but there may be just a small issue. He goes to his partner and does with insulting ease what the staff have fruitlessly tried for three days, he steps right in and scoops Murtagh up. He looks completely unkempt and ignoble, dirty and scraped from being outside the whole time, giggling unrepentantly and singing Red’s praises.

To the servants great luck, Morzan finds this all quite amusing. Carrying Murtagh back to the house, he accuses, “Trying to replace me as the dragon Rider, are you?” and Murtagh cries, “Yes! Take me flying!” Morzan says that he will, but it never happens.

Selena is less thrilled when she learns of this, also afraid that the dragon might kill Murtagh in a moment of annoyance. But Murtagh adores him and she can’t reliably keep him away, so she tries to accept the incongruous match. Red doesn’t show any perceptible warmth to him, and yet he makes the effort to keep tabs on him and stops him from doing anything too dangerous. Of course, since the banishing of the names stunted his mind, the dragon doesn’t have any nuanced opinion of Murtagh, but he can recognize that his little ant feels incapable of malice and he comes to like Murtagh in the way he can. Learning of Red’s death on top of the loss of both his parents utterly devastates Murtagh.

After a little while in Uru’baen, Tornac asks Murtagh which parent he was closer to, and Murtagh tells him Morzan’s dragon. Tornac takes a very long, very strained breath, thinking Oh dear gods help me I have so much fucking work to do.

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

Since both Brom and Eragon had blue dragons and both Morzan and Murtagh had red dragons, I wonder if the color of a dragon somehow reflects the rider's nature

[saphira-approves]

Can I come and tell you my deepest pain?

We should have had Morzan alive. I mean yeah, it would fuck up the whole narrative but imagine Murtagh being afraid of his father. He hates the king but fears his father.

Imagine him and Thorn; Morzan sees them, and he has problems with booze in canon, just how drunk he'd have gotten after Thorn learned to talk? There he is with his nameless dragon, half of his heart and soul, that he had to watch descend into stupidity. (Does he have its name written up here and there, does he watch it every day just to think about how he could make it real again?) Would he dream of killing his son and taking his dragon to himself? Would he want that even though he despises that sick joke of a connection that is in between Galbatorix and Shruikan?

And then Galbatorix finally discovers the name of the names. How would he beg for the king to use it to heal his companion?

Also, it would be very funny to watch our main characters run for their lives with an angry dragon after them, but y'know.

Should I write a fic about this

Oh you absolutely should write a fic about this (and let me know when you do! I’d love to read it!), and I should go back through my WIPs to find my time travel AUs…

I usually write more about Selena than Morzan, but I do love the idea of getting to see grown-up Murtagh’s reaction to seeing his father, especially in a context where Murtagh has lived without him for a while—whether that’s because Brom didn’t kill Morzan and Selena got both her sons to Carvahall, or because resurrection or time travel shenanigans happened.

As for Morzan still being around when Murtagh gets captured… I think there’s a 50/50 chance he gets Real Weird about the torture, in a “I was pretty sure up to this point that I didn’t actually care about my son but now my best friend is torturing My Son and I don’t like it actually” way, and I think that would be really fun to explore; I think, also, that when Thorn hatches and Galbatorix prematurely increases his size, Morzan would again be Real Weird about it because, like, that’s a baby dragon the size of an adult. He hasn’t lost his name, he just hasn’t really developed one yet; he’s a weird, warped mirror of Morzan’s own dragon. And when Thorn does, eventually, with difficulty, start to ‘grow up’, Morzan’s probably going to get twitchy about it—it’s been at least a century, more than two thirds of his lifespan, since he’s even MET a somewhat psychologically stable dragon; how much has he forgotten of their true intelligence, their real personalities? And when Galbatorix does find The Word, if Morzan asks him to heal his own dragon… honestly I don’t know if Galbatorix would be able to. Having power and knowing how to use it are two different things, we saw Murtagh figure that out in his own book with The Word. Would the king even know where to start? Would he allow Morzan to try for himself? Morzan probably wouldn’t have a clue where to begin, all we ever hear about him from people who’d met him is that he’s a powerful spellcaster, but not a very clever one.

Honestly, the whole situation might drive Morzan to split from Galbatorix; and even if not, it would still probably drive Morzan to be extremely destructive, to himself and everyone around him.

Also he’d be so pissed to learn about Eragon’s true parentage. Not even in a “my wife cheated on me?!” way but in a “oh my god can Brom stop being SO OBSESSED with me for FIVE MINUTES” kind of way.

[tonhalszendvics]

[glbtrx]

Headcanon: The famous village that Morzan and his dragon destroyed was in reality Inzilbêth (Galbatorix birthplace) under the King's order and that's why it doesn't exist anymore.

[utterrandomnesswithlulu]

Currently Reading: Eragon, Pt. 1

Fifteen-year-old Eragon was an ordinary boy, a mere farmer boy living in Carvahall. But this is where the greatest story begins.

Note from the author: This will have multiple parts, as I am doing this in segments as I read.

Spoilers for this point on!

Atra esterní ono thelduin. Mor’ranr lifa unin hjarta onr. Un atra du evarínya ono varda.

Translation: May good fortune rule over you. Peace live in your heart. And the stars watch over you.

Elven Greeting in the Ancient Language

CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI, WORDSMITH

The world of Eragon came in the form of teenage daydreams of Christopher Paolini. Paolini’s love of reading and magic led him to construct the stories of the wondrous yet frighteningly powerful Dragon Riders and the majestic world of Alagaësia. Writing Eragon actually started out as a hobby when he was fifteen, a challenge to himself and he actually didn’t have aspirations to see this work published.

After writing the first draft, he took another year to revise it before giving it to his parents. As a family, they took another year to proofread, edit, design a cover, create a manuscript, and prepare materials for promotions and advertisements. During this time, they decided to self-publicize Eragon and spent time promoting the book in libraries, schools, and bookstores.

Eventually, a publisher from Alfred A. Knopf Books For Young Readers had the book brought to their attention. It was later published by them, and it became a New York Best Seller soon after publication.

Christopher Paolini became recognized by Guinness World Records in 2011, for being the youngest author to have a bestselling series.

Not only did Paolini create the world of Alagaësia, but he also created new languages (elvish, ancient language, dwarfish, Urgal), the map, the original cover of Eragon, and the stories of the Dragon Riders. Including the book’s protagonist, Eragon.

ONCE UPON A TIME…

Eragon starts out with a prologue following a monstrous being called a Shade who is surrounded by other beings called Urgals.

A Shade is a magic user that was once a human, elf, Urgal, or dwarf that has been possessed by a spirit or spirits. They adopt traits of superior strength and proficiency in magic. Regardless of how they were created or what being they once were, Shades are incredibly pale with maroon eyes and red hair. The Shade we meet at the beginning of the story is called Durza, and remember him, he makes a comeback.

Urgals are humanoid beings that are tall with grayish skin and piggish eyes. They are considered expendable by Durza and are utilized as “shock soldiers.” Regarded as evil by most, they are not inherently so and can even use magic. Urgals are mostly uneducated and have their own language, called Urgralgra. The Urgals during the first book were only brought together thanks to a binding spell cast by Durza. Once the binding spell was broken, the Urgals turned on each other because it was not their way to band together, as seen during the early events of Eragon.

Durza and the Urgals are tracking three elves through the forest, two males and a female. While the male elves are easily killed, the female elf isn’t easily brought down by the Urgals or the Shade. Desperate, she pulls out a blue stone that she had been protecting in a pouch and casts a spell on it to send it far away. Furious at the events that unfolded before him, Durza captures the female elf, kills several Urgals, and burns the forest.

ERAGON, HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

We are introduced to Eragon, a farmer boy of approximately fifteen, who is hunting when an explosion tears through the quiet of the forest. The stone, which the elf had earlier, appears in a scorched circle. It’s blue and polished. Because of the explosion, all the animals that he had been trying to hunt have been scattered. Weighing his options, he picks up the stone with the intention of selling it for meat to last during the upcoming winter.

Eragon is hunting in The Spine, a mountain range that borders his home-village Carvahall, and runs down the west coast of Alagaësia. Eragon is one of the few people who willingly hunt within The Spine and it’s because of the danger it represents from stories long told. The King, Galbatorix, lost much of his army in The Spineto the Urgals. Since then, the forests and mountains of The Spine have been considered bad luck.

Eragon returns home and heads for the butchers to trade the stone for meats with Sloan. However, upon learning that the stone was found within the Spine, Sloan turns Eragon away. Refusing to sell to him, you learn that Sloan has never liked Eragon, but would typically sell to him. Horst, the blacksmith, gets in the middle of it and asks Sloan to sell to him; buying the much-needed food and protecting Eragon from Sloan’s wrath. Sloan’s wife died in The Spine, and he doesn’t allow his daughter to go near it. Eragon learns that Katrina (Sloan’s daughter) was the one who sought Horst out. Horst asks Eragon to give a message of love from Katrina to Roran, Eragon’s cousin. Promising to repay Horst for his kindness by working at his smithery, Eragon heads home.

Eragon lives on the outskirts of Carvahall with his uncle, Garrow, and cousin, Roran. Carvahall is a tiny village with about 300 citizens. Carvahall remains mostly untouched by the Broddring Empire because of its remote and nearly isolated location. The only traffic that is usually seen through the remote village is the trappers and traders that journey out to trade and sell their wares.

After the fight with Sloan, Eragon decides to wait for the traders to sell the stone to a jeweler. Note that the traders and trappers are late this season and when they do arrive, they seem warier and less prosperous than in previous years. Eragon and Garrow seek Merlock, a specific trader that specializes in trinkets and jewelry. However, after speaking privately with Merlock, the trader refuses to trade for the stone and informs them that the stone is actually hollow and possibly formed with magic. Merlock also tells them why they’re late this season. Ominous luck has shadowed the caravan. They couldn’t avoid a plethora of misfortunes, like sickness, and attacks, and attempted to avoid Urgals who have been attacking entire villages, including their fields, and forcing them to relocate. Troubled by this news, Eragon’s Uncle sets out to find more information, allowing Eragon to do what he wants.

EMPIRE VS. VARDEN

During Eragon’s free time, he finds himself in the tavern where several traders are telling far-fetched stories about the Empire. The Empire was formed and followed King Galbatorix after his rise to power nearly a century ago. Carvahall has no love for the Empire, and it’s almost a deep-seated hate for them.

The Varden, which is on the opposite side of the book’s political spectrum, are rebels fighting against the oppressive and harsh nature of the King and his Empire. Formed nearly at the same time as the King’s rise, little is known about them and what they’re after.

THE DRAGON RIDERS’ RISE AND FALL

Eragon leaves the chaos and malcontents in the tavern behind, eats dinner at Horst, and joins performers later that evening to spectate. Among the entertainers is a local storyteller, Brom. He is reciting the first stories of the Dragon Riders. This story is important for many reasons, and these reasons we’ll get into a bit later.

The Dragon Riders were formed to govern, guard and protect the lands of Alagaësia, and for a thousand years succeeded in this endeavor. Dragon Riders were considered immortal, and while they could protect against outside threats, they could not compete against their own. Galbatorix, at the age of ten, was tested as tradition and custom dictated, and it was found that he was powerful. Growing in power under years of tutelage, he surpassed many in skill and was soon welcomed into the ranks of the Riders. Others warned against this quick rise to power, but according to Brom, the Riders had grown arrogant in their years.

After being welcomed as a Rider, Galbatorix and several others of his fellow Riders, took a careless trip to test their newfound abilities. They found themselves in Urgal territory, and as they slept Galbatorix’s dragon, his friends, and their dragons were slayed. In his grief, Galbatorix sought death and threw himself into whatever battle strayed his way. Haunted and hunted by a deranged Rider, those that happen to wander into his path, ran from him. Soon after, Galbatorix had a singular and driving thought. The Riders might grant him another dragon. Driven by this, he spent months traversing through the Spine to get back. Finally reaching the Riders, a council was convened and Galbatorix demanded another dragon. True colors revealed. The Riders denied him a dragon, and in his fevered and twisted mind, Galbatorix blamed the Riders for his dragon’s death. Galbatorix was eventually able to exact an act of twisted revenge with another Rider named Morzan. Morzan was able to steal a hatchling, which grew into a black dragon named Shruikan. After teaching Morzan, Galbatorix revealed himself, with Morzan at his side, to the world. They fought any and all Riders that came to challenge them. With each win, Morzan and Galbatorix grew stronger, and soon 12 other Riders joined their ranks. Including Morzan, they became known as the Thirteen Forsworn. The Dragon Riders fell from grace, and Galbatorix became the ruler of Alagaësia.

According to Garrow, the story that Brom recites could actually cost him his life if the Empire ever caught wind of him telling it.

Now, this is only the first three chapters of the book. There is a lot going on and we haven’t even gotten to, in my opinion, some of the best bits. Stay tuned for part two!

[massiveladycat]

ha. ha. ha. so i just read eldest WHO THE FUCK. WAS NOT GOING TO WARN ME ABOUT THESE THINGS: 1. MURTAGH BEING ERAGON'S OLDER BROTHER HELLLOO?? 2. I THOUGHT MURTAGH WAS DEAD I WAS GRIEVING YOU CANT DO THAT TO ME PAOLINI 3. ERAGON STOP MAKING MOVES ON ARYA SHE'S THREE TIMES YOUR AGE 5. eragon makeover >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 6. i wasnt planning on loving roran so much but YES STRONGHAMMER!!!!1111 (he immediately punched eragon upon seeing him) 7. im getting concerned about murtagh's situation 8. also eragon sweetheart no. being forced to be a rider under galbatorix doesnt mean betrayal 9. i still love eragon though ill be defending that boy until the day i die. if there are no more eragon lovers on earth ive been KILLED 10. the elves are so fun to read about 11. the book cover confused me at first because . . . hey, why isn't the dragon blue, isn't this saphira?? NO. IT'S THORN. IT'S MOTHERFUCKING THORN 12. please paolini don't kill off orik 13. garrow was more of a dad to eragon than morzan will ever be. 14. saphira is amazing i love her 15. its so funny when you realize eragon literally watched saphira hatch and then suddenly she's SEVERAL TIMES HIS SIZE and calls him "little one" and mothers him because selena wouldn't and also tells him 'you got to calm down little man' when eragon is trying to flirt with arya 16. speaking of that watching him try and flirt with her makes me crack up 17. but it also gives me second-hand embarrassment

[cs-cabin-and-crew]

Are any of us gonna acknowledge that based on timeline, Morzan was a child when Galbatorix made him his apprentice?

[inheritancetrain]

Murtagh in Eldest: Doesn’t know his dragon that well, stressed out if his mind, barely has one semester of the magic language under his belt

Also Murtagh in Eldest: “I am more powerful than Morzan ever was.”

[umunschaas]

Never thought I'd write a ff. And never thought I'd draw art for that ff.

I got really lazy with the bg (as I often do) - and changed some things with the og design I did for Morzan's dragon. Also, after some consideration, I decided not to use many brain-cells on the saddle xD

[alagaesia-headcanons]

Can you imagine the resolve it must have took for Murtagh to never stake a claim of Zar'roc after he discovered that Eragon had it? He calls it the one thing he expected to receive as inheritance, and he does have that right to it as the son of the man who owned it. In a way, an inheritance could have been the only potentially positive thing Morzan left for Murtagh. It still would have carried heavy connotations, but it would have given him control over some piece of his father's legacy. But in the absence of Zar'roc, Murtagh apparently inherited nothing else from his family, implying that everything he had access to in his youth didn't belong to him; that it was provided by Galbatorix at his discretion in a way to stifle his freedom. And Zar'roc in particular holds so much significance to Murtagh. There's a poetic notion that he shouldn't have to carry his father's misery, but even while it was lost to him, Murtagh had to shape himself around Zar'roc. He grew with the wound it inflicted on him and adapted himself so he could learn to live with it. A ghost of Zar'roc haunts him from the mark on his own flesh. But Murtagh did survive and adapt and learn to live- he mastered Zar'roc before ever laying a hand on it.

But when he finally does, he gives it back to Eragon. At first, no doubt he refrains from claiming it out of reluctance to reveal his identity. Yet when he does eventually tell Eragon the truth about his father, he still doesn't assert his right to Zar'roc. He never even tries to guilt Eragon into considering giving it to him. He only tells him that it was his only expected inheritance which he still didn't receive to show that he has no ties to Morzan and his cruelty. And Murtagh has reason to want Zar'roc, not just the right. For the sword to belong to him could replace that ghost of his past with something real that he has control over and that offers the chance to determine what this piece of his father's history gets to mean in his future. But Eragon also has a right and reason to use Zar'roc. A dragon rider has a right to a Rider's sword, and he uses it because he has no other. It speaks to Murtagh's deep care for Eragon that he doesn't infringe on that. He would hate for Eragon to be deprived or hurt and he refuses to take from his friend who has less than him.

That then illuminates why Murtagh later does take Zar'roc from him in the Battle of the Burning Plains. Eragon no longer has less; he has so much more. He has companions, he has support, he has resources, he has safety, he has his freedom. And he has a perceived moral high ground that he shoves in Murtagh's face. He condemns him as a traitor, just like his father. He asks to murder him and Thorn because he apparently doesn't care to try to find any other way to save them. Murtagh sees that Eragon will revile him no matter any efforts to cast off Morzan's legacy, and if he leaves him the advantage of Zar'roc, he will use it to try to kill them. Because Murtagh is now also a Rider. In his mind, what reason is there left to let Eragon keep the sword? And now, more than ever, Murtagh would want to grasp for that control over Zar'roc now that he's been stripped of his control over everything else. So of course he takes it. When no one will give him care, he seizes what he can in its place.

[overlordmorzan]

“So many problems lead back to Morzan’s death. That’s the common factor—when the Empire started to fall apart. Without him Galbatorix doesn’t give a damn.” explained Durza. 

“How did you get roped into the job of five men?” Lydia asked. 

Her number was a random one for exaggeration, but her mentor corrected it flatly: “14, actually.” 

“Why were the Forsworn incompetent?” 

“I don’t have the time to get into that, I’m afraid. But… go ahead and ask the king, I’m sure he would love to talk about it.” 

Yeah right. “You’re… leaving again already?” He had hardly been back to Uru’baen Castle for a day to update Galbatorix on his findings and plans.

“The Eragon problem is time sensitive.” 

She pleaded to go with him, but gently then firmly he refused and tried to change the subject. “Perhaps upon my return you can show me the divination methods you’ve been working on.”

“Okay…” She smiled sadly as he touched a hand to hers. “Or… I could tell you about it while you travel.”

Durza sighed, bidding her farewell.

“It hurts to be so useless to you.” she mumbled as he had started for the door.

He paused. “You’re not.”

Then she was alone. Again. Moving from the sitting room to the bedroom to sulk, wondering if she couldn’t go because he didn’t want her to see him work. Did he still think anything grotesque or frightening would alter her high opinions of him?

After a nap she used an academic project to get her mind off it, working through translations of esoteric literature… until she happened upon an idea. A foolish, dangerous, wonderful idea. If she could resurrect Morzan… Durza would have more time for himself— and for her, if the attempt didn’t kill her immediately.

She was up the rest of the night, reading and meditating as her plan came together. 

“Your majesty! Your majesty! My liege!” she exclaimed, rushing into a kneel to the king when she located him in the morning. “Do you have a moment? Please?” she asked, but wasn’t sure how to go about her request other than to throw it out there. If nothing else it would be interesting to see his reaction. She stood, stepping closer. “I need. Dragon blood.”

@glbtrx

[saphira-approves]

Okay no I’m not done talking about swords, and their names, because sword names are IMPORTANT okay and they MEAN THINGS—

I rambled in the tags of this post about Eragon and Murtagh naming/renaming their swords to be positive, compared to their fathers’ respective negative sword names, but I want to go further into it.

First is the obvious one, Morzan’s Zar’roc, Misery, and Murtagh’s Ithring, Freedom. I’m almost certain Morzan names his sword as an offensive measure—and I don’t mean offensive as in insulting, I mean it in the combat sense. It’s a curse, almost, upon his enemies: any opponent he faces with this blade will be struck by misery, literally. But one thing we know about Morzan: he’s not particularly wise, and even his best works backfire on him. We see it with Selena, and his confidence that she loves him too much to betray him, so he never warded against her. He named his sword Misery, and Misery is all it brought him: he joined Galbatorix, brought the downfall of the Order, and lost his dragon to nameless madness; he killed Brom’s dragon, making an enemy of the man who once had idolized him and sealing his own demise by Brom’s hand; he threw Misery at his own child and pushed his wife to betray him, which ultimately led to the downfall of everything he had ever worked for. Talk about a curse. He upheld Misery, and Misery came right back to bite him in the ass.

And then Brom took Misery from him, and sequestered it away, and eventually gave it to Eragon without telling him its meaning; and Eragon wielded it without knowing its meaning or history, trying his best to do good with it, and even when he did learn its history and its name he resolved to work to give it a better legacy. After all, a good sword is a good sword. But Murtagh, Morzan’s son and heir, was not done with Misery, bore too painful a scar from Misery to let it go—he took Misery from Eragon and claimed it as his own, claiming his birthright, yes… but taking Misery away from Eragon, in the very same moment that he also protected Eragon from capture and forced servitude, the fate that had befallen Murtagh himself. Complicated as feelings all around may have been, intentional as the act itself may or may not have been, Murtagh here is very much intentionally shouldering that burden. He fully believed that Eragon was another son of Morzan, he could have easily justified rejecting that part of his history and his father’s legacy and offloading it on his younger brother, and yet he didn’t. He took it for himself and declared it his own.

And then he called it Freedom.

After enduring torture and enslavement and a hundred other humiliations, he took Misery in hand and said, no. I do not uphold you. I do not fight for you. I fight for Freedom, for my own and my loved ones’, and for the Freedom of all. He looked at the horror of his past and refused to let it define him. He looked at his father’s mistakes and refused to be bound to them. He took a name of offense, of attack and hostility, and changed it to a name of preservation, of defense, of peace.

And then there’s Eragon, with Brisingr, Fire, and Brom’s mysterious Undbitr, Void-biter. At first glance it may seem that they have absolutely nothing to do with each other, but I would not be here if I wasn’t going to loudly and fervently declare otherwise.

My guess for Brom’s reasoning of naming his sword Undbitr would be somewhere between edgelord teenager antics (look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn’t have wanted a sword name Void Biter at twelve years old) and his admiration for Morzan, who named his sword the simple yet devastatingly clever Misery. Void-biter, bite of death, the bite that would send his opponents to the void. To darkness, to nothingness, to anti-life and anti-hope. A sword lost after his dragon’s death, never seen again, and yet Brom himself succumbs to the bite of his own personal void: he dedicates himself to vengeance, throws everything he has of himself into orchestrating Morzan’s downfall, and the downfall of Galbatorix and the rest of the Forsworn for good measure. It’s implied, from Brom’s own admission of fearing his son would hate him and Oromis’s discussion of his near-suicidal madness after Saphira’s death, that revenge is all Brom lived for until he met Selena—and even after he met her and fell in love with her, I suspect his need for vengeance is what ultimately decided the events leading both to Morzan’s death and Selena’s doomed reunion with Murtagh. Brom may have lost Void-biter, but the void consumed him anyway.

And then there’s Eragon. Yes I’ve said that already but if anything can sum up these books, it’s And then there’s Eragon. The first spell he learns is fire. A dangerous force, certainly, one that can easily break control and wreak untold havoc and destruction, but what force of nature doesn’t fall into that category? He could easily have learned, and thus be represented by, wind or ice or lightning, or even just pain or break. But he didn’t, and he’s not. He wields fire. A force of nature, a destructive weapon… but also the foundation of a home, fire in the hearth; the fuel of invention, to shape metal and glass; and most importantly, a light in the dark, the hope of dawn in the long cold night. Eragon names his sword Brisingr, and it’s not merely a weapon: it is a beacon. His father was consumed by darkness, but Eragon is the one who guided him back to the light, who gave him something to live for after he had defeated his enemy and lost his love; Eragon was the figurehead of the rebellion, the spark that drove a passive resistance into the blaze of true revolution; and now Eragon builds the new hearth of the Dragon Riders, to tend and defend it for future generations.

What a change from misery and the void.

Fire, and freedom. Hope, and peace. Family, and love.

I think Selena would be very proud of her sons.