#eragon’s seizures

[thearunadragon]

I—

I just went through files of old writing to save what I liked so I could clear out some storage space, and I found this one snippet where I basically gave Eragon trauma responses from the fight against Durza because of the pain his back has caused him since, and it was, like, unexpectedly intense.

It’s very visceral and intense (and violent) for those of you who don’t like that, just a warning, but I got gut-punched so I had to share.

I would like to mention that I remember very little about writing this other than that I was eating peanuts while describing the illusion dissipating.

I apologize for the mistakes and typos. I have not edited this yet.

(START)

— Eragon picked at his meal, thick oats turning beneath his fork. He felt no hunger. The elves had left him many meals, and he had managed less and less of them. Oftentimes, Saphira would consume what he did not, but the elves had begun to catch on to his declining appetite. Such meals as the oatmeal, porridge, and toast became more frequent, as though they believed him ill. 

He supposed, grimly, that they were not far off.

But for training, Eragon did not deign to leave his tree-bound latibule, preferring to remain sheltered from the  hypocrisies and cruelty outside. The jeering faces and viciously upturned noses held no appeal for him. The whispers drifted from the canopies in the night, dancing about his tired ears. He knew the thoughts of this forest, and what he heard served only to make his heart ache further. 

Eventually, he pushed aside the bowl and glanced at his finished scrolls and papers, which had been amassed over only a few days to pile over the majority of the table. Heaving a weary sigh, he gathered them up and put them away, then tugged on his boots. The inside leather caused his socks to chafe against the sores upon his ankles and heels, and he knew they would begin to bleed. He lacked the strength to care. 

He abandoned his treehouse, trudging down the stairs with his sword bouncing dully at his hips and his eyes glazed and lightless. From there, he traversed the sylvan paths to a secluded clearing, where he knew the daylight and the elves had abandoned and he would have peace enough to train without their mockery. 

The forest fell silent as he came to a stop. Birds ceased their chirping and the baying wolves quieted their songs. Eerie solitude washed over him, sending a shiver down his troubled spine. The scar across his back prickled and pinched, but he ignored its complaints, brandishing his blade from its sheath. A slithering scrape buzzed through the chilled air, metal against metal, and his eyes sharpened, the sounds of combat replaying within his head and the visions flashing throughout his emblazened eyes. 

There was no other option. He had to train. Had to rid himself of the nightmare; of the living memory that plagued him so fully, so completely. His heart burned as though branded, and Zar'roc refracted the moonlight in a bloody glow. 

Drawing a final, preparative breath, he cleared his mind and steeled himself, drawing the scene into the reach of his fingers. His Gedwëy Ignasía itched, then pulsed in a surge of blue light. His surroundings melted away. Where once there had been royal pines, stretching their bejeweled limbs for the crown of the sky, now there were pillows of stone, columns chanting words of death and of omen. 

And, in front of him, was the face that followed his every waking breath. Crimson hair splayed across his back, silver blade flashing its wire-thin scratch in a glinting of light, and black cloak billowing behind his shoulders, was Durza. The Shade's eyes flared, maroon darkening to the hue of gore, fresh and slick against his hands. His lips split in a toothy smile. Familiar. Deadly. 

Toes grinding against the front of his boot, he sucked in a long hiss of air, and burst forward, matching the shaman's vigor. Eragon could still hear the peal of ringing metal. The clashing of blades. He could recall every rotting word and pestering laugh. But he knew the world around himself was silent in the view of others, but for the rapping of his feet against the dirt and the puffs of ragged air drawn from beaten lungs. 

For hours, the fight continued to transpire, a consistent redo. He repeated the same fight again and again, seeking to master, to obliterate, every action and move of the Shade's intent. He wanted to prove to himself, to know, that if he had only been better, if he had only been more skilled, he never would have suffered the wound to his back. 

Time and time again he hit the ground. His spine cracked against the dirt and stone. His muscles wrenched, attacking him in a feeling of fire and acid. A stench redolent of vinegar burned his nostrils, a shrieking filled his ears. Blood coated the back of his throat, threatening to make him gag, but still he was resilient, no matter how many such fits he endured. He had to do this. Had to prove to himself he might have done it. If only he had been stronger.

Eight fits passed, mocking his previous number of the day, and tears burned his eyes as he climbed to his feet, a line of fire crossing his back. And he raised his sword in quaking hands, leveling it once more, and prepared to try again. 

"Eragon, stop!" a voice ordered sharply. His head snapped upward, pupils narrowing and dilating in an undulating dizziness as he spun round to face his company. A woman of tall stature, black hair shrouding her shoulders and green eyes piercing in the blackness of the night hours, strode towards him. He met Arya's gaze with a venom he never would have dared in the past. A hardness and coldness unfamiliar within himself. "Have you taken leave of your senses?" she demanded incredulously. 

"I am training," he replied coldly. "What of it?" 

"You create scenarios you should never relive. All of this," she cried, gesturing at the pillars and sandstone and carvings and details of Tronjheim displayed in such lethal beauty around her, then at the form of the Shade, undeserving of light nor love. "This is madness. Where has your mind gone to? What possesses your thought?" 

He set his jaw, teeth locking together, and dropped his blade into its sheath. But he did not remove his hand from the hilt, knuckles white and palms raw. "I may train how I wish to." 

"No. This is unhealthy. Is Oromis aware of what you have done? Of how you pass your hours? To portray this in such vivid detail—every scratch in the walls and blow in the fight all in its place—would take hours. Hours of fixation. Of obsession. What are you doing to yourself?" 

With only a mutter of words, he extinguished the visage of the dwarven city, watching as Durza's face disintegrated and left his physical sight. He scowled. "I could have improved. Had I been more skilled, had I tried harder, I never would have been injured. It is in this fight in which I doomed us all and therefore it is in this fight that I shall train until I can take no more. And that is no one's choice but my own." 

Darkness drawing itself tightly around his aching brain, he started forward, brushing past the elf princess he had once had the faith to stake his soul upon, wanting nothing more now than to escape she and her judgement. Pain had filled his body fully now, immovable and ravenous, and he was helpless against it. His time to return to safety wore thin. 

"Eragon, you cannot do this any longer," Arya ordered. There was a pleading buried somewhere deep inside her words, a desperation, but he ignored it. He could not bear to consider it, else she would have him in her control completely. "You have put yourself through too much pain. You have been here since dusk and it is nearly twilight. I have seen you fall again and again and you insist upon tormenting yourself!" 

His expression twisted. Contorted in anger and in pain. "Whatever insipid agony I endure is what I deserve. I brought this upon myself for my mistakes during that fight. I will fix what I did that day or I will die attempting it. I will succeed or I will find relief in the void. Those are my options and I have made peace with them. My mind is not to be moved, Arya. I suggest you make peace with this now." 

Arya took another step forward. "And what will happen when your body gives out before your mind does? Will that be your peace?"

His expression twisted—something between anger and pain. But he said nothing.

His mind was made up.

And, with nothing else within him to say or to give within the limits of his strength, he turned heel and strode away, abandoning her in the dark of the forest he called a prison. 

END OF SNIPPET

I wrote this quite a few months ago, possibly even before I started posting much here on Tumblr, and I have a series of thoughts about this I don’t think I had previously.

1. This must have been SO overwhelming for Arya. She’s standing here, a hundred memories of what she endured under Durza whirling in her mind, and she sees Eragon—her ally, someone she cares up—doing something so obsessive, so self-destructive, completely centered around Durza. Someone who haunts her, and who she probably had hoped desperately he would never have to suffer because of beyond his back. That he could eventually leave behind without it following him. Only to have that hope torn away in a scene that is not only extremely dangerous for Eragon to dwell on, but in Arya’s worst nightmares to ever have to see. I welcome Ket to completely tear apart this scene from Arya’s point of view. 2. I realize that no one else will be as invested in this as I am, but it is very rare I enjoy my own writing, and this just shook me. Because Eragon’s pain is basically just driving him mad, to a point where he cannot differentiate between agony and discomfort anymore, to where pain isn’t even pain anymore, but normal. Because what else is there to feel for him? What else does he have?

3. He’s in so much pain he barely even understands it’s Arya he’s talking to. And, from my notes and from my time reading and writing Eragon, he would have felt extremely guilty about the way he spoke to her after.

I am sorry guys, and I apologize if it is cocky to rant about my own writing, but I got shook. I’m mad at myself for forgetting it, and honestly, I want to reuse something like it later.

Also someone get Eragon an ice pack, because damn.

[scrimblescromble]

Hello, I'm back, with things I have noticed about Eragon that makes parts of the book very strange or funny or sad

Garrow's farm is TEN MILES OUT from Carvahall, which is already small. What the hell was he thinking??? It takes like 3.5 hours to walk that much???? And Eragon walks FURTHER THAN THAT to go hunting at 15???? Go behind you??

When hunting in the beginning, Eragon spends days just going for one doe. Which, all things considered, is not a lot of meat, especially for what's probably a 4 day hunt. For one person, it's unrealistic to carry more than that, but still.

Leading on from that, I'm led to believe that their family probably mostly ate bread and vegetables, and maybe cheese. No wonder he's pretty attached to meat.

Despite living so far away, Brom knows Eragon's knack for asking Too Many Questions, which implies this happens often.

How the hell does Brom make money? Storytelling??? There's only so much money that can get you in fifteen years, he's definitely got something on the side. He was a gardener in Morzan's estate for a while...

So far up north and isolated, Eragon DEFINITELY has a STRONG farmer's accent. Combined with his formal training with the elves, he probably has the weirdest way of talking, where it's both overly formal and casual at the same time.

Eragon is such a prodigy it's not even funny. By the time he meets Murtagh, he's a good enough swordsman after JUST A FEW MONTHS that they're literally equal. Murtagh has been doing that his WHOLE LIFE with a really good swordsman. Magic also comes pretty good to him, even if he's not always sensible with it. He learns to read well enough to read full books in a week.

Eragon and Roran are pretty similar with the dangerous stunts they pull, except Eragon's are usually with magic and Roran's are physical. They are both absurdly intelligent too, even if Eragon is known to act like a dolt sometimes. In his defence, he's stressed and like 15-17 years old. All things considered, he could be far worse.

Somehow, with his back ripped open and cursed, with his dragon crashing through the crystal ceiling which is raining on top of him, Eragon is able to not only remember to stab Durza in the heart (requiring turning around), but also shout an unnecessary spell.

Eragon probably could do magic before he bonded with Saphira. His mum wasn't a rider and had the "genes" for it, and his dad was a rider. It wouldn't be as strong, but maybe he's such a powerful spellcaster because he had some sort of baseline.

I bet that the first time Eragon wandered into the Spine, he was pretty young, and everyone kinda assumed him dead. He came out a week later with a bunch of rabbits or something

The fact that the Blood Oath Celebration made Eragon very pale implies that he's naturally the whitest boy ever and he just had a constant tan going (likely, because he's a farmer). This is just very funny to me, that in removing all injuries it took his tan.

Another point for absurdly powerful Eragon - the fact that his accidental curse had such an impact on Elva, to the point that it straight up affected her development. It wasn't even a spell! Or intentional!

I'm sorry, but Eragon casting empathy and that unintentionally killing the bad guy is so funny. He was SURRENDERING, but cut a bitch so deep that he imploded himself. Iconic.

Literally he is just so nice. Willing to run across the world, separated from Saphira, to support Orik in his campaign - when he totally could have given an excuse, or even just say the truth, which is that he's very much needed where he is. There's so many more examples, but he's just a good person.

I'm sorry, but Oramis was kinda a bitch for assigning the one hour of duelling in his training. Like, it flares up his seizures like crazy (which he ALSO SUFFERS FROM), AND he doesn't stand a chance against the elves in strength. I understand the point, but something had to give there. At the very least, reassign someone that won't actively torture him??

Adding onto that, we know that he's only able to succeed at the listening to the forest task after the transformation. I suspect that the mind is a sort of "sixth sense", and we know that elves have stronger senses; it's possible Eragon would have to have been bonded for a decent while for this to even be possible. I bet anything that human riders were usually trained by elder humans, and Oramis was struggling with a fledgeling human instead of an elf, as well as the time constraint.

Why the hell does Brom look so old? Yeah, he's old, but Galbatorix doesn't look that old? Is it something to do with his dragon being dead? The way I assumed it would be is that riders look like thirty for a verrrryyyy long time, no? Is it because Saphira died? Was he just going to perpetually age? Or does the beard age him?

Your cousin who feels like a brother goes missing, ran away, after your father's death. Soon you're leading everyone you've ever known to the rebellion in a desperate attempt to keep them safe and save the woman you love. Your cousin is wanted, even more than you are. He returns. He's different. Barely human anymore, hardly the boy you once knew. He's their last, and only hope. His war cry has been the same since he was six.

Now that I think about it, Garrow really is the odd one out in the family. His sister was the Black Hand, a highly dangerous assassin and magician. His son is Stronghammer, one of the deadliest soldiers in the country. His nephews are Eragon and Murtagh, both highly skilled swordsmen and magicians, riders, and both known as Kingkiller. Garrow is a farmer who can read.

Selena naming her son Eragon is soooo funny. "His dad - who is a secret! - is a rider, and Eragon was the first rider. It's so uncommon a name even among the elves that literally nobody will know this. My abusive husband and the evil king both know I hail from this place. He totally won't stick out in any way whatsoever!" Iconic, 10/10. It worked???

If any of these are inaccurate please remember I am going off my very deep-seated knowledge from reading the books so many times at a formative age. I haven't actually read them in years

[good-morzan-inheritance-cycle]

For @thearunadragon I love you so much for asking for this and encouraging my delulu (also side note, LOVE your Dino interactions with the crew posts. Those make my day)

More ‘good Morzan’ AU dumps! Relationships edition!

Morzan’s relationship with Eragon at the start was kinda rocky. Eragon’s side reasonably being that he didn’t trust Morzan despite Murtaugh’s reassurances that his dad wasn’t foresworn anymore and just SLIGHTLY crazy. They meet after the battle of Furthen dur, because Morzan went to go get his runaway son because he’s a dummy that fights in a war on a random Tuesday.

Later on, by the time Oromis gets questionable in his training and Eragon’s condition is at its worst, Morzan calls Oromis out for being a bad teacher because he’s not willing to adapt to his student’s needs and is more likely to get Eragon killed. He takes over as Eragon’s teacher for the most part, and this is where they start getting closer. As Morzan pushes eragon despite his seizures, but also helps him learn his limits and adjust his learning in order to improve Eragon’s daily life. He becomes like a father figure and even tells Eragon about Brom, as Morzan is aware of Eragon’s parentage but doesn’t see it as his place to tell him.

Murtaugh and Eragon follow similar to the books at the start, but unlike canon, Murtaugh isn’t kidnapped until a little later and actually spends time with Morzan and Eragon. Murtaugh is the one to tell Eragon how his dad risked his life to escape with him. He also lets him know he’s allowed to keep Zar’oc because even if it’s his personal birthright, Eragon is the dragon rider in need of a rider sword.

Morzan gets along with Saphira well enough and she’s logical enough to understand that Morzan is one of the best people to teach her and Eragon. She’s cautious at first, but later by the time Morzan takes over teaching, she’s rather close to him and his dragon. Morzan is also highly respectful of her, but treats her like the kid she actually is. He also has a pretty heavy conversation with Eragon when the whole “relationships and I might forever be alone” issues start up.

Morzan’s Dragon is also a big goof, even if he’s one of the eldest and biggest dragons to exist nowadays. He baby’s Murtaugh even if when he had first been born, he was a stubborn butt and refused to admit his attachment. He likes to play and encourages Saphira to be a hatchling and have fun. Rolling in the grass, or flying in a funky or fun way that helps her loosen and learn how to do tighter turns, sharper dives and quicker take offs.

But, he’s also really calm and helps Eragon and Saphira a lot with their own relationship. Saph still develops her schoolgirl crush on Glaedar, but Morzan’s dragon is able to defuse the situation a little calmer than in canon. Although she still does lash out and needs a breather. They mostly just talk about respect, and that a mate isn’t everything, and not to be a pessimist about never finding a mate, as the world is a big place and they might not even be the last ones.

Oh, and none of them die by the end. When Murtaugh goes into his self banishment, Morzan and his dragon make it clear they’ll always have a home and be loved. And there’s always a place for redemption. Morzan’s dragon also basically Adopts Thorn but in a more uncle way than a fatherly way.

Also, Morzan’s dragon gets a new name. He’ll never be able to have his original or true one ever again, but a spell cast by the other dragons and magics users allow him to have a new name that won’t be forgotten.

Will probably make a part 2 to this soon that focuses purely on Morzan’s relationship with his dragon and son.

[storyhaunt-a]

a lot of the 'shifts' and divergences from canon that occur on this blog (as well as a few focus-points in terms of traumatic experiences), in regards to eragon, revolve around one specific event - the agaetí blödhren. in general, i think there was a lot of missed and scrapped potential within the inheritance cycle, but it is the agaetí blödhren that completely changes the trajectory of the story in terms of eragon's character and how he must interact with the world and exist within it.

the agaetí blödhren, or 'the blood oath ceremony' in english, is an elven celebration that occurs every 100 years, commemorating the pact forged between elves and dragons as a means to end the long-standing dragon war (aka, du fyrn skulblaka). it was through this pact that the souls of elves and dragons were brought together as one, and it was when the elves were given their immortality, and the dragons, their magic and ability to communicate. the event itself, which occurs once every hundred years and for three days straight, is described as being so visceral and raw and dangerously intoxicating (and exceptionally unwise for non-elves to experience, as, if i remember correctly, they run the risk of being lost in the ensuing spiritual mania and snapping mentally under what is essentially an overdose of magic), as the elves chant and sing their magic for the entirety of those three days. an excerpt from eldest, the gift of dragons:

Then the elves began to sing in their clear, flutelike voices. They sang many songs, yet each was but part of a larger melody that wove an enchantment over the dreamy night, heightening senses, removing inhibitions, and burnishing the revels with fey magic. Their verses concerned heroic deeds and quests by ship and horse to forgotten lands and the sorrow of lost beauty. The throbbing music enveloped Eragon, and he felt a wild abandon take hold of him, a desire to run free of his life and dance through elven glades forever more. Beside him, Saphira hummed along with the tune, her glazed eyes lidded halfway.

What transpired afterward, Eragon was never able to adequately recall. It was as if he had a fever and faded in and out of consciousness. He could remember certain incidents with vivid clarity—bright, pungent flashes filled with merriment—but it was beyond him to reconstruct the order in which they occurred. He lost track of whether it was day or night, for no matter the time, dusk seemed to pervade the forest. Nor could he ever say if he had slumbered, or needed sleep, during the celebration.…

suffice to say, the night itself is a strange one for eragon, a wave of new and bizarre experiences. but it is less the agaetí blödhren itself that changes eragon - i will always stand by the idea that even without what happens with the dragon-tattoo, the ceremony was, in some fashion, traumatic for eragon, or at the very least a not so great time for him, and though it's definitely something he himself tells himself he has no opinion on, his experience wasn't exactly the greatest - and moreso the violation of autonomy that occurs during.

for context, for the last several months up until this point, eragon has suffered from seizures, which have gotten progressively worse and more frequent and life-threatening as the days have gone on. this is a result of being gored on the sword of durza, a shade 'employed' by galbatorix. the seizures themselves spark as a result of the extreme pain and agony that eragon's wound / scar leaves him in, as well as, in my own opinion, the metaphorical mental scarification of eragon's brain being split between two places (fighting for his own consciousness as well as being trapped in the remnants of durza's memories / mind), and the subsequent struggle to actually bring himself back fully and stay present, even if he's out of that place and belongs to himself again.

with all of that being said - during the agaetí blödhren, there is a moment where an elf's dragon tattoo separates from their body amidst the magic-song of the celebration, and it approaches eragon and touches his gedwëy ignasia, his dragon-mark. in this moment, eragon has no idea what is happening or what will happen to him; he technically can't even be classified as sober, and is, as paolini himself describes, drifting in and out of being black-out, and solidly and detrimentally disoriented. he does not know what the dragon-tattoo will do to him, and neither does anyone else present. and herein lies an odd decision on paolini's part.

when the dragon-tattoo touches eragon's gedwëy ignasia, it triggers a physiological and magical response in eragon, who immediately blacks out as a result of the searing pain that shoots all throughout him, and he is understandably terrified out of his mind as to what's happening to him. excerpt from eldest, the gift of dragons (still):

As the dragon’s baleful eye fell upon him, Eragon knew that the creature was no mere apparition but a conscious being bound and sustained by magic. Saphira and Glaedr’s humming grew ever louder until it blocked all other sound from Eragon’s ears. Above, the specter of their race looped down over the elves, brushing them with an insubstantial wing. It came to a stop before Eragon, engulfing him in an endless, whirling gaze. Bidden by some instinct, Eragon raised his right hand, his palm tingling.

In his mind echoed a voice of fire: Our gift so you may do what you must.

The dragon bent his neck and, with his snout, touched the heart of Eragon’s gedwëy ignasia. A spark jumped between them, and Eragon went rigid as incandescent heat poured through his body, consuming his insides. His vision flashed red and black, and the scar on his back burned as if branded. Fleeing to safety, he fell deep within himself, where darkness grasped him and he had not the strength to resist it.

Last, he again heard the voice of fire say, Our gift to you.

when eragon awakes an hour later, he is completely and utterly changed. when it comes to dragon-riders, due to the pact forged between elves and dragons, and the fact that it was elves who made the first bond with dragons [to create dragon-riders], as they age, human dragon-riders will slowly become more physically elven; an unavoidable thing, a result of the magic which courses through them. however, in this situation, the process has been heavily expedited, and eragon finds himself … near completely elven.

he also finds that he has no scars anymore. no seizures. he is also the pinnacle of beauty, and has been made to have alabaster skin. as it stands, while having such drastic physical changes forced upon him is a traumatic incident for eragon, it is the latter issues that i will not be fully acknowledging, mostly in part because i do not … really enjoy the way in which eragon's blemishes and disability were completely erased, and become things of the past for him. especially in the case of his disability.

the way in which paolini has a tendency to write disabilities is a very unforgiving one. those who are not abled-bodied in some way, shape, or form, are outcast, isolated, and deemed worthless, weak, and generally repulsive. now, this whole thing could have been made into a commentary on how that way of thinking is, in fact, cruel, and that particular lack of compassion and the upholding of 'perfection' and 'normality' [in regards to being able-bodied], but if i'm being entirely honest, you can really tell how old paolini was when he wrote this story when disabilities, physical and mental, are the topic of discussion, and you can definitely tell the era / year the books were written in. even more unsavory, there is the full discussion and implication of eugenics regarding those who are not able-bodied within the story, and virtually every single character seems to be entirely on board and in agreement about the worth and abilities of those who are disabled. it's not exactly the prettiest picture that gets painted, here.

to have eragon magically 'cured' of his seizures, and for the every single character and the story itself sigh a breath of relief, because eragon 'would have been useless' had he not been 'fixed' (which, if i remember correctly, 'fix' was, in fact, a word that was used when speaking about eragon and his disability). it is entirely true that continuing to deal with his seizures would be a struggle, and he would be put through the wringer, and as someone who is disabled himself, i know the feeling of 'i would do anything to not have to feel like this / go through this ever again'. but the way that paolini pretty immediately 'fixes' the problem, and the way that the the story and its cast treat eragon as though he is suddenly useless and incapable of anything after his battle with durza, is honestly more than a little uncomfortable and in extreme poor taste. the idea that life as a whole is an impossible obstacle if you cannot function 'normally', and the persistent ideology that you are weak and useless and incapable of achieving anything if you are not able-bodied is, in fact, a shitty mindset to have, and takes away a lot of the weight that could be applied to your story, were the protagonist allowed to be disabled and still be a hero.

now, the other thing that rubs me the wrong way about eragon's transformation and how he is described, is the prevalent note regarding him now having 'alabaster skin'. while eragon himself has not, up until this point, had his skin-tone described at all, something that has been common place within the writing itself for almost all characters (which, given the fact that it's only the characters of color who ever get described, we can assume that paolini intends for every other character to be white, and for us to just assume and expect that). however, and this is likely just a result of the way that i've read and interpreted the story, but regardless - despite eragon's lack of description wrt skin tone, he has always, in my mind, been brown, which in part is because … and my memory is constantly foggy and i cannot find the exact passage i'm thinking of, but i believe there have been notes made regarding brom (eragon's biological father) and the fact that he would conceal his gedwëy ignasia with mud and clay, which in and of itself does not prove that brom was brown in any way, but it's the idea that no other characters seemed to take notice of that or think anything of it (and the subsequent concept that the mud/clay might have blended relatively well with the rest of his skin). this whole point has a lot less confidence than the one above, i admit, and is more speculation and headcanoning than written-fact, but eragon suddenly being pale as snow and that being one of the identifying traits that makes him beautiful now … it does feel a little bit weird.

now, as i cannot figure out a transition to this point and want to get this post over with before i lose my mind, how i will be portraying eragon on this blog where the agaetí blödhren and his transformation are concerned:

as stated previously, eragon still has seizures. they are not as extreme as they were when he was in the height of his physical agony as a result of his wound, but he still has them from time to time, with the worst episodes typically occurring in moments of high stress as well as, predictably, moments of extreme physical pain. his particular symptoms include temporary disorientation (speaking gibberish / incoherently without realizing, saying the same thing(s) over and over for a second as if 'glitching'), zoning out (staring into space, 'not listening'; extremely brief, does not remember whatever is said / done during these little hiccups), and, less frequently, fainting / blacking out (there have, in fact, been a few instances of him 'passing out' at his desk, or having to sit down on the ground because of a 'dizzy spell'; can last a few minutes, and he usually comes to extremely disoriented and exhausted and out of it). he is still a capable and dangerous fighter, and is far from helpless. he does get frustrated with himself at times, but he is not useless by any measure of the word, and still has the full capacity for adventure and heroics.

many of his smaller and 'less important' scars were healed during his transformation, but not all of them. the scar that durza left, as well as his scars from his first flight with saphira, and the one that he gave himself when messing with garrow's scythe, still mark his body. durza's scar still hurts, but not to the intensity that it did before.

brom and eragon are brown. the transformation does not change this.

[modern-inheritance]

I'm so sorry.

Arya may or may not do this at some point.

"I swore to myself I'd never let anyone see what I've seen or feel what I felt. But you know what?"

"What? Regretting your unbreakable oaths now?"

*chomp chomp motherfucker grin* "No. I swore them in Common. And you, dear fellow, are about to learn the true meaning of the word 'regret.'"

~

Murtagh: (as Seizure of Power by Marylin Manson plays in the background) Es...Es she okay? Eragon: (reading a magazine while screams crescendo, reaches over and turns up the volume on the music) Yeah, she's fine. Smoothie? Murtagh: ...If we're gonna be here for a while, then yeah, sure.

really cannot overstate that in the expanded universe, boba fett gets out of the sarlacc pit by 1) realizing the sarlacc pit has psychically connected itself to him for Torture reasons, 2) considering his circumstances and very deliberately deciding, "i am going to stop repressing my emotions for like, two minutes," and 3) consequently giving the sarlacc, a creature that literally feeds off suffering, a fucking seizure

[eragons]

inheritance cycle

the entire world: save us pls

a traumatized 16 year old w a sword he can set on fire w his mind: ok bet

[archangelsunited]

Oromis’ Flaws as a Teacher

I want to preface what I am writing with- I respect Oromis. He is an excellent character. The problems with Oromis come more from a societal view than an individual view. Paolini made Oromis’ motivations and the stress he and Eragon were put under clear and understandable. There are two flaws I find in Oromis teaching. The first has to do with his understanding of disability; the second is how he manages his students.

Point One: His understanding of Disability

I am speaking as a person who has dealt with chronic pain- and is disabled. This does not make my analysis worth any more than anyone else’s, but I wanted it to be clear this colors my analysis.

There is a startling lack of elven disability in the story; as a disabled person- using a Watsonian viewpoint- I don’t think it means they don’t exist. I think this means they are regulated to the fringes of society, and disability means different things to elves than it would to humans.

I want to back this up using our only natural source, who, as a dragon rider, makes for poor support. Oromis do not live near the elven people. And, while assholes exist in every society, Vanir and Islanzadi’s words to Eragon make me believe the elven understanding is rooted in ableism.

And, before we get onto how they were likely correct, Eragon didn’t defeat Galbatorix by skill of arms.  Eragon defeated him with the human trait he had since the beginning of the book series- one refined by Oromis’ teaching- compassion. It can be argued that Eragon’s disability did more to help Eragon’s understanding and ability to be compassionate than his transformation by the dragons.

If being able-bodied were the main requirement for strength, Galbatorix wouldn’t have stood a chance. But Galbatorix didn’t defeat Vrael by pure power but with cunning. It took fourteen riders and fourteen dragons (maybe a shade? I am unsure of/ will have to research what Durza was up to.) To completely overthrow the Riders and send the elves into hiding. The elves reliance on magic and their assurance of physical strength is a massive flaw in thinking they did not correct.

The fact Glaedr didn’t eat someone on Oromis’ behalf (that we know of) in such a society boggles the mind.

But this is the point I am trying to get to; you can see how Oromis is shaped by his society by how he treats himself and Eragon. There are two big things people who have access to a support network of people with disabilities would know that it is obvious Oromis did not know:

           You need to know the limits of your disability- this includes having all the information you can get on the disability:

           Eragon didn’t know much about why his body was malfunctioning. The healers didn’t tell him, and Oromis said he and the other Elven healers would study on it. Eragon was not kept in the loop. Nor was Eragon giving reports on how his disability was developing. Reading Eldest points to the fact Eragon’s seizures were going from once or twice a week to multiple times a day between the battle of Farthen Dur and the Blood-Oath Celebration.

           The most straightforward reason would be that overexertion would trigger the seizure, and Eragon was constantly overexerted with little rest. But there are multiple reasons for seizures, even without seizures. Tracking the attacks, especially working with a healer, could help Eragon identify patterns in order to avoid them- or even point out why the seizures were happening. Having a disability is a constantly involved process. Was it overexertion? Physical? Magical? Was it dependent on mental strain, straining the lungs, heart, and muscles? Was the scar tissue placing pressure on the wrong parts of the spine? Were there certain nutrients Eragon needed more of, now that his body was not processing stimuli the same way? An overview of the entire body was needed.

           There is no reason Oromis would know this without precedent- one we are not sure he had- and it is a symptom of the society he lived in.

Pushing through pain is not properly managing your disability

It is a common misconception that sheer willpower can overcome disability. It cannot. One of the best pieces of life advice I ever got, but more importantly- the best advice I got for managing my disability- was that you need to sharpen your ax.

If you swing an ax at a tree till it falls without pausing to sharpen it, you will take much longer (and be more exhausted) than if you had paused to sharpen the ax.

Now, I do want to say pushing through pain is one of the hardest lessons I had to learn. If I wanted to have a life outside of fear and pain, I had to learn to deal with it and push my limits. I had people like Oromis in my life who told me I had to get up and keep going. I will be forever grateful for their support and perseverance. I was much more of a bitch about it than Eragon was.

But here is the thing- the pain is still bad. Pain is exhausting and impairing, and your body can collapse just from the exhaustion of pain rather than dealing with the disability.

Pain medication is not just prescribed to make the pain go away; it is also so your body can heal itself- pain can lead to cracked teeth, torn muscles, and improper healing. There are also long-term effects- like heart and GI problems. These problems lead to more pain and to more disabilities.

But, impaired by not knowing or tracking his disability, Eragon’s only coping mechanism was to push through the pain. At a certain point, he wasn’t overcoming his disability; he was adding to it.  Oromis actively impeded his progress by encouraging Eragon to push through the pain instead of teaching him to manage it. It was a balancing act that Eragon had to be an active participant in.

Point Two: Student Management

           This point relies on two interconnected stories. The first is how Oromis did not move into separate Morzan and Brom as students. The second is Eragon and Vanir.

           Oromis’ own words on the subject of Morzan and Brom:

           “Morzan was my greatest failure. Brom idolized him. He never left his side, never contradicted him, had never believed that he could best Morzan in any venture. Morzan, I’m ashamed to admit- for it was within my power to stop- was aware of this and took advantage of Brom’s devotion in a hundred different ways. He grew so proud and cruel that I considered separating him from Brom. But before I could, Morzan helped Galbatorix steal a dragon hatchling, Shruikan, to replace the one Galbatorix had lost, killing the dragon’s original Rider.” (Eldest, On the Crags of Tel’naeír)

           Oromis became a rider after humans had been added to the treaty with dragons; he was likely one of the first riders to be taught by humans as fellow students. I propose that this made him unaware of the social differences between humans and elves- also made him more likely to see humans and elves as beings of equal authority. He would have had no personal experience in the conflict between humans and elves. He was young when he was pulled out of elven society and put into a mixed setting between humans and elves. Yet, the Riders would have still had a predominately elven culture.

           I am not saying this is a moral fault of Oromis, just framing the blind spot Oromis operated under. When he was first apprenticing Morzan and Brom, he was dealing with a different culture and way of thinking, and he was doing it with a blindspot he was unaware of. His blindness to the actual consequences of Brom and Morzan’s relationship was regrettable, definitely his fault- but also an understandable mistake.

           The second situation is less understandable. The Vanir situation was interesting to read because Vanir is a young elf- that is to say, an idiot. Oromis was quite correct when he told Eragon gives himself better when fighting an adversary. Saphira agrees-

           Once they were in the air, Saphira said, Oromis was right.

           About what?

           You give more of yourself when you have an opponent. (Eldest, The Nature of Evil).

           The premise that Eragon needs opponents of his age is correct. Eragon does better with competition. The logic that Eragon and Vanir should be left to their own devices is flawed- and it comes from the same thought process (which is a different essay) that left Brom and Morzan to their own devices. Suppose Eragon had not had the experiences and grew up with the elves being completely removed from his society. In that case, I could see Vanir’s treatment getting a similar reaction as Morzan and Brom’s, though maybe not to the same extreme crime.

           There is a thought process, which I agree with, that teenagers need to be able to maintain relationships without the involvement of an authority figure. It encourages independence and social abilities. I do not believe it applies in this situation for three reasons.

           The first is the two different cultures interacting. Eragon needs the elves, for political purposes, to like him. He is a representative of the Varden and Dûrgrímst Ingeitum. He is held to a higher standard of behavior. If Orik were to take offense on Eragon’s behalf, that could lead to more problems.

           The second problem is that Vanir is being a bully. He is being a bully with backup even. Vanir is not going into training with anything less than ill intentions. Unlike Eragon, who has a background in small-town living and dealing with multiple races, Vanir shows little to no maturity and probably wasn’t the best choice for competition. They may have been the equivalent in age but nowhere near the same in maturity.

           The third problem is two problems in one. Oromis is in charge of Eragon’s education. Swordsmanship is part of Eragon’s education. Eragon is learning nothing from the bouts and is being harmed by the bouts. He is having, by the end, one to three seizures per bout. It is exhausting him. Oromis should have stepped in. Saphira did, thank goodness.

           I wouldn’t think much of either case on its own, but together it paints a damning picture- Oromis does not seem to understand the importance of maintaining peace between his students. Other things (the formation of the forsworn, Galbatorix’s rise to power, mentions of other inequalities (another essay)) makes me think it is a societal problem rather than a personal one.

Oromis, overall, is a good teacher. There are a few more problems- including the faith which has been analyzed already. The pitfalls come from a lack of understanding due to his own culture rather than his particular personality. Still, ablism and a problem with managing students could have had dire consequences.

[everythingloveandanimated]

How did I miss this?! All I remember from my first reading of Eldest (15ish years ago) was the lore and cultural history that Eragon learns! I remember a couple of his seizure moments, and that Vanir was a condescending jerk to him and the one time Eragon lashes out he gets scolded by Oromis for it.

(sorry to drop my favorite character in on this, but Murtagh would have words about this if he had stayed with the Varden and Eragon had been able to talk with him.)

Also… did Eragon memory hole this after the dragons healed him?

Are you kidding me. Poor Eragon!

Making him train to a point he has 4-5 flares everyday! And it's not just pain, he's straight up convulsing on the floor!

He has memory gaps, can't focus, nothing! Because of it! "I might lose myself" oh poor poor boy

Eragon on the floor after having 3 flares while fighting and 2 more while performing Rimgar... and all Oromis tells him is "Do it again". Come on

Also do not like Oromis poisoning Eragon's food and letting him go hungry when he isn't sure if it's poisoned or can't neutralize the poison. Gosh

[asexuallucanisdellamorte]

the second eragon book had eragon have debilitating seizures that ended with injuries and have a bad memory i just can't imagine why i read this book so many times

[ao3feed-inheritancecycle]

Where Paths Diverge

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/rDbv9zI

by StoryDreamBeliever

What if Eragon had captured Murtagh after the Battle of Dras Leona....

“Swear to me now, in the Ancient Language, that you will not use magic against me, or the Varden, or any of their allies, and that you will not attempt to escape us.” Eragon hardened his expression, knowing that Murtagh had to believe him, or it wouldn’t work. Murtagh had to believe that Eragon was willing to kill his dragon, or he’d call his bluff. And was it a bluff? Even Eragon wasn’t certain. Could he stand by and let Thorn die? He didn’t know, but he didn’t want to find out either. “Either you swear,” Eragon panted, his voice dead and unfeeling, “Or we let Thorn die. And then perhaps I’ll be kind, and kill you as well.” Murtagh thrashed again, a desperate cry emanating from his throat. He was wriggling like an animal in a trap, and tears joined the blood and dirt on his face. Eragon felt each heartbeat in his own chest, fear and pain twisting together. "Eragon, hurry," Arya interjected in his thoughts, "Thorn is fading."

...After destroying the gates at Dras Leona and wounding Thorn severely, Aren has enough energy left in it to pursue Murtagh and Thorn out into the plains and take them captive.

Words: 3240, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Gen

Characters: Murtagh Morzansson, Thorn (Inheritance Cycle), Eragon Shadeslayer, Saphira (Inheritance Cycle), Nasuada (Inheritance Cycle), Arya Dröttningu, Roran Garrowson, Blödhgarm (Inheritance Cycle), Galbatorix (Inheritance Cycle)

Relationships: Murtagh Morzansson & Eragon Shadeslayer, Murtagh Morzansson & Thorn, Arya Dröttningu & Eragon Shadeslayer, Roran Garrowson & Eragon Shadeslayer, Murtagh Morzansson & Nasuada, Eragon Shadeslayer & Nasuada, Saphira & Eragon Shadeslayer, Roran Garrowsson & Murtagh Morzansson

Additional Tags: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Implied/Referenced Torture, Psychological Trauma, Mind Control, Reluctant Captors, Uneasy Allies, Angst, Hurt No Comfort, necessary evils, Blood and Injury, Hostage Situations, Forced Mind Reading, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Enemies to Friends, Family Angst, Brother Feels, Empathy, Binding Oaths, Oath Slavery, Seizures, Dragons, change of heart, Heartache, War, Difficult Decisions, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/rDbv9zI

[modern-inheritance]

"Dark Magic"

*Rubbing temples*

Paolini never really defines dark magic in Inheritance Cycle. It's most frequently associated with Shades and Galbatorix. Durza taught Galbatorix 'dark magics' before he went on his traitorous rampage. Durza uses 'dark magics' to give Eragon his curse (??? look I'm still not fully clear on wtf Eragon's seizures were, we could go into a full side tangent rant on this but I digress) and used it in a variety of other ways. There's scattered mentions of 'dark magic' throughout the books beyond these.

But we are never told, as far as I am aware, about what exactly it is. What we know of magic is that it is typically shaped through use of the Ancient Language, some creatures, like dragons, can effect the world through the use of instinctive magic, and that magic in other cases and places just appears in the world (floating rocks, etc, though come to think of it no wait stop sciencing).

In this TED Talk I wi– I'm kidding. We're here to talk about MIC adaptations again.

MIC has always been a bit of a science experiment. In the later books we can see Paolini really using science to explain what happens when Eragon or others craft certain spells. Hell, he even uses coding in Murtagh, which made me grin a bit. I'm awful at it but If/Then statements are coding 101 kinda things. But a lot of the time we are left in the dark (pun somewhat intended) on how certain things work.

I (have I??) explain some things via science/biology/etc in MIC. Elves bones have to be stronger to resist their innate strength or else they'd shatter their skeletons every time then did something with force, so I adapted the Spartan-III augmentations of Titanium Carbide replacing the typical materials of calcium and whatnot. There's a weird bit of their diet that changes because of that. I have a few others but that's the main one I think I spent ages going over in my head.

So what is 'dark magic?' How do we explain it scientifically, or in context of the mix of language and science that the IC magic system is based off of?

WELL!

I just realized I don't remember what I was LANGUAGE!

RIGHT! WHY DID I TALK ABOUT SCIENCE?!

I am currently writing a story about Eragon's seizures and what people are doing to see about finding a cure. This requires me to look at dark magic. And since we have no canon idea of if dark magic would draw from the same language as 'regular' magic, making it just...regular magic with inherently dark motives, which is boring, I decided to change it up a bit.

The Ancient Language is, well, ancient. One day I will spell Language properly without autocorrect but here we are. Although AL (it is not today) is considered locked in, I wouldn't be surprised if there were other languages and/or dialects of AL. The dwarves and the dragons are the 'true' inhabitants of Alagäesia (were-creatures?? more like where did they come from but again, I digress)–

and you know what I just read the Ancient Language and Grey Folk pages on the wiki and now I'm kinda mad bUT I'M DOING WHAT I'M DOING ANYWAY.

Long story short: there are several different dialects of AL, influenced by a lot of different factors. The dark magic Ancient Language dialect was created by shades and other malevolent creatures w/ sentience and magic usage, and is purposefully absolutely fucking convoluted, varied and jumbled with lots of uuuuh what's the word influence fuck I just had it

the caster can choose and mix and match their syntax and structure at will. to prevent their curses from being undone unless you were present during the casting and know almost word for word what was said and used for the curse/spell. The dragon's magic that undid Eragon's curse was basically like a cleanse and used dragon's instinctive world weave magic to rewrite Eragon enough that he sorta DNA mixed (sorry Paolini, in MIC we do get some fun DNA rewriting because Ket wants the science....mmm....science......) with elf code and a little bit of dragon code (possibly, I'm a little on unsure on this, elves are already a mix of their original base with dragon code due to the orignal bond and I'M GETTING OFF TOPIC AGAIN) and he became different enough that the curse no longer worked and because he was uh...well, he was kinda factory reset. It wiped any and all spells attached to his body.

uh

okay. I...think I made my point. I'm...I'm sorry I just completely lost my train of thought after 'attached to his body.'

um.

Have a good day, I guess.

[alagaesia-headcanons]

Ok I pulled the receipts. (I was gonna write out my thoughts on them tomorrow, but then I decided I didn't want to spend part of another day thinking about Oromis, so forgive me if this is a little scattered because I'm sleepy lol) @oceanfyre and @corvidparty too, because I promised to elaborate.

Like you mentioned in the tags, Oromis's treatment of Eragon's injury is indeed the most glaring and harmful issue. I made a post a long time ago about it which gives a good overview of my feelings about it. Now let me start here.

Oromis tells Eragon that he can't give in to fear of pain because he can't risk failing the Varden, and he must sacrifice himself for the sake of others. Yet he fails to explain how Eragon's desire to avoid exacerbating his wound puts their cause at risk, or how anyone or anything benefits from his sacrifice. And that's because none of it's true. I could understand (though perhaps still not agree with) Oromis's argument that his suffering is necessary for the Varden's success if there was something vital Eragon could gain only by enduring the pain, or if enduring the pain aided his recovery and gradually restored his strength. But he gains absolutely nothing by attempting to train without accommodating his chronic pain, and it actually makes his condition worsen severely- but I'll get to that in a sec.

The Varden doesn't depend on his suffering, and so no one else gains anything from his pain either. Oromis insists that Eragon find something he'd willingly sacrifice himself for, and Eragon's compassion draws him to do just that, striving to help all the people within the Empire. But the moral gravity Oromis puts on this sacrifice doesn't actually exist. Those people get nothing from his agony in a far off corner of the elves' forest- his determination to do whatever he can for their sake is clearly already deeply rooted and it doesn't need to be somehow reinforced through pain. Those people would benefit most simply from his preserved health, but Oromis refuses to ever accommodate for his injury.

So since the reason he explicitly provides for that is meaningless bullshit, it's more tricky to judge why he actually refuses. In that other post, I posit that Oromis feels like his own infirmity somehow justifies his requirement that Eragon suffers as well, which could be part of the reason. Despite his own condition, his approach to Eragon is shockingly ableist, right down to the "~the only disability is a negative mindset~" sentiment. I also feel like his demand for a constant, willing sacrifice of Eragon's wellbeing could be part of Oromis's lack of respect for him. He wants that as proof that Eragon can suffer and survive through weakness, since he sees weakness as an inherent quality in him which must be corrected, perhaps because he's human, he's young, or something else. Again, I'll expand on that thought.

Oromis arranges for Eragon to spar with Vanir because he finds his efforts before this point inadequate. To add a little more context back in to the first excerpt, Eragon had only just finished his second time meditating in the forest. And he had a seizure just prior while sparring with Oromis, so the "troubles" he insists Eragon set aside were his own fault. Eragon's still finding his footing and Oromis is only making it harder- there's genuinely no reason for him to believe he's not trying his best- but Oromis isn't satisfied with him and he blames that on Eragon. Then his solution is Vanir.

Oromis has the idea as a way to draw out Eragon's best efforts, then later adds that it will also maintain Eragon's sword skill. It completely fails the latter purpose because Vanir doesn't restrain his physical abilities to match Eragon's, which would let him exercise his skills. But it's not clear what Oromis is even looking for when he initially wants "his best." We see that his matches with Vanir make Eragon frustrated and spitefully determined resist his derision more than anything. I feel like Oromis's goal is to instill in Eragon a urge to prove himself. Because Oromis clearly thinks he needs to prove something, since his direct attempts to meet the expectations of his lessons aren't meaningful enough to Oromis. Instead, he has to fight and struggle in order for his efforts to warrant Oromis's respect.

And his struggles to reach for his teacher's approval put Eragon through agony. I don't think I need to explain Vanir's mistreatment, that's obvious, but Oromis's response is telling. For one, he in no way refutes or condemns Vanir's claims- which were incredibly appalling. Instead, he says that Eragon's mistakes bolster them. Also, it's subtle here, but his rebuke that he needs to keep a better hold on his temper is a hint of his distrust of Eragon's emotional capacity.

Eragon keeps sparring with Vanir, and we see just how egregious Oromis's ableism is. Here is the detrimental culmination of his determination to act like Eragon's injury doesn't exist. It does not make things better, it doesn't keep things the same, it actively and grievously makes things worse. His seizures get far more frequent and much more easily triggered, growing so severe that his life is ruled by pain and fear, and he struggles to focus and suffers memory lapses. I feel that this decidedly pushes Oromis from strict to malicious. Because even if he cared about Eragon's wellbeing only insofar as what's needed to train him to fight the Empire, he would have stopped here and made changes to spare his back. His deteriorating health is a serious and blatant hindrance to his training, so Oromis is presumably also paying a price for this. I truly cannot parse any kind of rational for this other than Oromis believing that, if Eragon can break, then he's not worth anything, so nothing is lost if he pushes him to that point.

When Eragon refuses to continue with the triggers for his seizures, Oromis again adds this non sequitur that they will "surely fail" if Eragon """abandons hope""" which is still utterly irrelevant to potentially accommodating his wound. I find his sentiment of "rise and prove you can conquer the instincts of your flesh" especially ugly and disingenuous, because what is he conquering other than the agony that you needlessly force him through every fucking day?

Eragon's view of his "compassion" makes me so incredibly sad, because he feels like Oromis would take his pain if he could- HE CAN! He literally can, he can end your suffering that instant just by giving you permission to rest and work around physical exacerbation!!! He holds that power over you!!!!!! There's not a hint of compassion in his inaction, but Eragon is young and longs for kindness and he falls for Oromis's gentle disguise...

(If I may insert a personal sentiment: active harm contained within empty and dishonest words of care is an utter cruelty, especially when actual care is desperately needed.)

Now to shift tracks a little. I made another old post about this scene which gives a good introduction to the initial issue of Oromis giving Arya the fairth without Eragon's permission and then blaming Eragon for letting his emotions get out of hand. I won't restate all of that here, because there's another element of this scene I want to focus on. Oromis claims that the reason Eragon's feelings are an issue is because she can't confront them in any way without the risk of distracting or offending him, since so much depends on him. And that's a bald faced lie. None of the elves, including Oromis and Arya, care if Eragon's distracted or offended! If they cared about his focus on his training, they would do their best to prevent his seizures which become a far, far worse distraction than some little crush. And if they cared about offending him, they wouldn't tolerate Vanir repeatedly saying incredibly derogatory things to his face.

The reason why Arya refuses to handle his attraction in a clear and mature way and why Oromis blames and shames him for it is because his way of expressing emotions is inconvenient and unpleasant to them. He's heartfelt and earnest and they don't know how to deal with it, so they try to make it so that they simple won't have to, and Eragon will hopefully shoulder that alone, no matter how confusing or difficult it gets. And Oromis seriously insults Eragon's emotional intelligence and decency by implying that he would be incapable of training or opposing the Empire in a meaningful way if his feelings were allowed to exist, regardless of if they're accepted or rejected, such that everyone in Alagaesia would suffer. It this implicit weakness and incapability Oromis seems to perceive in some aspect of Eragon. It's so disgustingly condescending and inexcusable treatment towards the guy they're throwing to the wolves in the hopes that he'll win their war. Especially since he does end up doing and great job prioritizing and focusing on fighting for the sake of others while grappling to manage his emotions.

Now for the last main point I want to make. Oromis and Glaedr both refuse to tell Eragon about the Eldunari during their first stay, a decision that very, very nearly gets him and Saphira captured, tortured, and enslaved. They only narrowly escape because of not only their luck that Murtagh was the new Rider and his good will spared them, but also the lucky chance that Galbatorix had phrased his orders loosely enough to let Murtagh act on that good will at all. That's how close it came, just because Eragon didn't know to expect Murtagh's strength with the Eldunari. Yet neither of them apologize for withholding that; instead, they tell him that the reason they didn't tell him was to protect Saphira from Eragon. They do not trust him and they do not respect him. They wouldn't place the slightest modicum of trust in him to not want to harm his own dragon and make a wise decision informed by their advice so that they could tell him the most crucial piece of intel in the war they're begging him to fight for them. They have utterly no respect for his intelligence or emotional regulation to do any of that. They don't even trust that Saphira should have the chance to tell him. They would rather let him fall victim to Galbatorix than believe he might deserve their confidence. And because of them, he almost does.

I don't even know what else to say. They don't apologize. They don't repent for it. They trample over Eragon's chance to defend himself and call them out. It makes my blood boil.

This is somewhat tangential, but I want to include this as a point that Oromis's abuse is a pattern. He openly admits that he recognized the detriment of Morzan and Brom's relationship, that he thought of a way to address it, and that he had the power to do so, and then he didn't do it. And he took these kids from their homes when they were TEN, he's not just their teacher, he would have a responsibility to look after their emotional wellbeing too. But he just didn't care enough to actually do it.

Last one. It didn't fit in neatly with the rest and I don't have a clever explanation for it. Just. What the fuck.

I will always be so sad and angry that Eragon never recognized how horribly the elves treated him and that no one else helped protect him from it either. Oromis is so insidiously and inexcusably cruel to him and Eragon truly deserved the chance to escape that and see the damage he caused, and also to then beat Oromis into a bloody pulp. And Glaedr too, honestly. He's mostly gone unscathed in my past rants, largely because at least his personality isn't so insufferable, but he ain't shit either. He's fully complicit in all of Oromis's vile abuse, and adds to it himself in certain places. They more than earn Eragon's ire, but they all constantly belittle him and insist that they inherently know better than him about everything, and poor Eragon believes them, so he doesn't fight back. No!!! Every misgiving you have about them is true, and not only should you stand your ground, but you should also start maiming them!!!!!

Oromis's mannerisms are respectful, kind, and gentle, but they in no way indicate his actual feelings. It just serves as a guise, while their actions demonstrate that both he and Glaedr don't have a single shred of respect for Eragon. They don't trust him, they don't put faith in him, they don't care about his wellbeing, and they have so much contempt for him. And they do all that while they take everything from Eragon, demanding he sacrifice himself constantly, and not always just in the interest of beating the Empire! In some cases it's solely an expression of their resentment of him or a way to cut away at the parts of him they don't like.

And Eragon gives them everything, so earnestly and generously. Then they give him jack shit. They only give him whatever suits their intention to use him as a weapon, and even in that, they pick and choose things to withhold according to their disdain for him. Contempt is all he gets in return for his trust and loyalty.

And it makes me sad how Saphira isn't there for him in this. In her defense, she's very young and they harm her also by prioritizing her utility to them over anything else, which she sadly does not recognize either. But beyond that, the elves and Oromis and Glaedr specifically treat her far, far better than they treat Eragon. She's in no way responsible for their actions, but there are places where she enables the abuse. Most often through overlooking it, but sometimes when Eragon rightfully balks at their mistreatment, then turns to Saphira for her input, she tells him, "I trust them and I think you should be deferring to them."

Eragon is so earnest and compassionate and he deserves care, both in the form of other people caring about his wellbeing, and also through the chance for him to learn how he can and should care for himself. Yet at the end of the series, he's so conditioned to accept manipulation and abuse and I just want my poor boy to have a chance to rest and HEAL 😭

[fansandtheic]

Nick's Story

Hey Christopher, I want to thank you for saving my life last year. I first read your books in the fifth grade (well I started, but finished as they were released) and Eragon's story became a core memory for me almost immediately. I could go on and on about why I connected so well with each character, but I know your time is valuable so I'll just say I really appreciate Eragon and Roran's moral compasses. As for how you saved my life, I joined the military out of high school and had what might be considered a particularly poor experience. I developed PTSD, late onset tourettes, attention deficit, horrific nightmares, delusions, hallucinations, pseudo-seizures and a massive bout of memory loss. My brain had completely given up on me and I was wondering if I'd ever be a functional person again. Therapists, psychiatrists and neurologists were largely ineffective and my hope was lost to the point that I had developed several different plans for how to end my life. Then one day I went to a chaplain on base (I'm not religious but I was shooting my shot) who recommended I try reconnecting with my younger self to try and rebuild. That is when I picked Eragon back up. I had lost nearly every memory of the series, but had retained the knowledge that I LOVED these books as a kid. I tore through them (on audiobook, because I can't keep my eyes still for long anymore). As I made it through each chapter I formed an intimate bond with ten year old Nick - like giving a puppy to a crotchety old fart, and the healing process began. I still struggle with all of the same health problems and probably always will, but listening to your books was a single point of happiness in my life that reminded me there still exists SOMETHING to enjoy with each passing day. I discarded my plans to end my life by the end of the first book, and began looking forward to my future. My struggle continues every single day that passes, but I prefer this struggle over nothingness. For the opportunity to survive another day, I am eternally grateful, Mr Paolini.

[saphira-approves]

I think it's also worth mentioning that Oromis is also disabled in a situation not dissimilar to Eragon's. However, he's found ways to be work around, like working with magic in ways that others wouldn't think of and employing few high-energy spells. And, even though he's never "cured" of his condition, he continues to be a massive help to the heroes even up to his death. The same with Glaeder, who is missing a leg.

Yes! I did bring them up in one of the first posts of this conversation, but they’re worth bringing up again.

There’s a lot to get into with both Oromis and Glaedr’s disabilities, how they work with them and some of the negative points of their narrative—such as, you know, Oromis dying because of an ill-times seizure. Not unrealistic, necessarily, but… upsetting, I think is the right way to put it, that it was his disability that got him killed.

I’m on the road atm, so if y’all would like I can try to go more in-depth with them later, but also feel free to add on your own thoughts!

[hellogoodbye741]

Finally tracking my book challenges for the first time this year can ignore

I was supposed to be doing this on the reg, but I was being lazy. Whooooppss

BAD BOYS OF ROMANCE CHALLENGE:

15 romance novels  about bad boys, MC, mobsters, etc:

Royally Bad

Filthy English

Bad Stepbrother

SEAL Stepbrother

Bad teacher

Kenzie and the guy next door

Savage

Engaging the Billionaire

My Wicked Prince

Bad Guy

Alpha’s Danger

The Geek and his Bad Boys

His Miracle Baby

DIVERSIFY YOUR READING:

A new genre every month

January - Memoir, and Autobiography: Reading Lolita in Tehran

February - Romance: The Prince’s Omega Nanny

March - Science, and Technology: Post Mordem

April - Graphic Novels, and Comics: Calamity Jack

May - History, and Biography: 1776

June - Middle Grade, and Children’s: Winnie the Pooh

July - Humor: Noir

August - Science Fiction: Errant Prince

September - Nonfiction: Diary of Anne Frank

October - YA:

November - Poetry:

December - Fantasy:

A - Z:

Read a book that’s title starts with every letter of the alphabet

A: Al Capone Throws Me a Curve

B: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

C: Crazy Rich Asians

D: Da Vinci Code

E: Eragon

F: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

G: Grumpy Monkey

H: Hidden Figures

I: In Another Time

J: Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes

K: Knights vs Monsters

L: Library of Ever

M: Mr. Popper’s Penguins

N: Noir

O: Other Words from Home

P: Post Mordem

Q:

R: Reading Lolita in Tehran

S: Seizure

T: Terminal

U: Uni the Unicorn

V: Virals

W: Winnie the Pooh

X:

Y: Yertle the Turtle

Z: Zombie

Ragdoll:

A Funny Book: Noir

A Family Member’s Favorite Book: Da Vinci Code

A Book with a real city in the title: Reading Lolita in Tehran

A Book with No Romance: Whipping Romance

A Book you wouldn’t normally read: Fire and Fury

A ‘free’ book: Bride in Disguise

A Book you’ve been meaning to read: Hidden Figures

A ‘classic book’:

A book or author with an alliterative name: Crazy Rich Asians

A translated book: The Little Prince

A Book with a terrible cover: The Geek and his bad boys

A ‘random number’ book: 77 Shadow Street

A book whose author shares your initials:

A book over 500 pages: 1776

A book with a strong female lead: Civil War pt 2

A book that takes place at sea:

A book set in the past:

A book everyone seems to love: Crazy Rich Asians

A spooky book: 77 Shadow Street

A book by a POC or LGBTQIA+ author: Number One Chinese Restaurant 

A book you’ve never heard of: the house that Lou built 

A ‘Top of 2019’ book: Black Leopard, Red Wolf 

A book set in another country/culture: Crazy Rich Asians 

A memorable book: Whipping Boy 

Read Les Miserables

Another book by a P.O.C or LGBTQIA+ author: Crazy Rich Asians

Color-Coded/Read it Again Sam:

Books with color on the cover or in the title/re-reading books (17) you’ve read in the past

A book with ‘blue; or any shade of blue in title/on the cover: True Blue

A book with red/any shade in title or color: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Yellow: Yellow Wallpaper

Green: Prodigal Summer 

Black: Black Leopard, Red Wolf 

White:

Any other color: Color Purple

A book with a word that implies color in title or on color (polka dot, rainbow, plaid, etc): rainbow fish

Re-read: Da Vinci Code

Re-read: Rainbow Fish

Re-read: House on Mango Street

Re-read: Whipping Boy

Re-read: Red Scarf Girl

Re-read: Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson

Re-read: Eragon

Re-read: Winnie the Pooh

Re-read: 

Re-read: 

Re-read: 

Re-read: 

Re-read: 

Re-read: 

Re-read: 

Re-read: 

Re-read:

Women Reading:

Books written by women/about women

Mystery/thriller by a WOC:

Woman with a mental illness: Yellow Wallpaper 

Author from Nigeria or New Zealand 

About or set in Appalachia: Prodigal Summer 

Children’s book: the house that lou built 

Multi-gen family saga 

Featuring women in science: Hidden Figures 

A play: Raisin in the Sun 

A novella: House on Mango Street

About a woman athlete: Who are Venus and Serena williams 

A book featuring a religion other than your own: Reading Lolita in Tehran 

Lambda literary award winner: 

A myth retelling: Song of Achilles 

A translated book published before 1945: Little Prince 

Written by a South Asian Author: The Lowlands 

By an Indigenous woman:

From 2018 Reading Women Award Shortlist:A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza 

Romance or love story: Second chance thing - lennox 

About nature: How to be a good creature 

Historical fiction book: In another Time 

Book bought/borrowed 2019: Second Chance Thing - Elizabeth Lennox

Book you got because of the cover: the house that lou built

YA book by a W.O.C.: Children of Blood and Bone 

Book by Jesmyn Ward: Sing, unburied, sing 

Book by Jhumpa Lahiri: The Lowlands 

Modern Ms. Darcy:

A book you’ve been meaning to read:Hidden Figures

A book in the backlist of your favorite author: Noir

A book recommended by someone with great taste: Sweet Surrender

Three books by the same author: Virals

Three books by same author: Seizure

Three books by same author: Chaos 

A book you chose for the cover: Hunting Prince Dracula 

A book by an author who is new to you: Number One Chinese Restaurant 

A book in translation: Little Prince 

A book outside your (genre) comfort zone: Fire and Fury

A book published before you were born: Little Prince

Pop Sugar Challenge:

A book becoming a movie in 2019: Sun is not a Star

A book that makes you nostalgic: Whipping Boy 

A book written by a musician: Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl 

A book that you think should be made into a movie: Virals 

A book at least with 1 million ratings on Goodreads: 

A book with a plant in the title or cover: How to be a good Creature

A reread of a favorite book: Da Vinci Code

A book about a hobby: the house that lou built 

A book you meant to read in 2018: Crazy Rich Asians 

A book with “pop” “sugar” or “challenge” in the title: Hop on Pop A book with “pop” “sugar” or “challenge” in the title: Hop on Pop 

A book with a item of clothing or accessory in title or cover: Red Scarf Girl

A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore: Song of Achilles 

A book published posthumously: The girl who played with fire 

A book set in space: Little Prince

A book by two female authors: 

A book that contains “salty” “sweet” “bitter” or “spicy”: Sweet Surrender 

A book set in Scandinavia: Girl who played with fire 

A book that takes place in a single day: Sun is also a star

A debut novel: The Help 

A book published in 2019:  elizabeth lennox 

Book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature: Claimed by a Dragon 

A book recommended by a celebrity that you admire: A place for us (jennifer garner) 

A book with “love” in the title: 

A book featuring an amateur detective: Hope Never Dies 

A book about a family: 

A book by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America: House on Mango Street 

A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in the title: The Birth of Venus 

A book you see someone reading on tv or in a movie: Wuthering Heights 

A retelling of a classic: 

A book with a question in the title:

A book set on a college or university campus: Royal Academy

A book about someone with a superpower: Civil War 

A book with multiple POV: Crazy Rich Asians

A book that includes a wedding: Crazy Rich Asians 

A book from an author with alliteration: Crazy Rich Asians 

A ghost story:

A book with a two-word title: Hidden Figures 

A novel based on a true story: Hidden Figures 

A book revolving around a puzzle or game: Code 

Your favorite prompt from a past popsugar challenge: The Color Purple 

A ‘climate fiction’ book: 

A “choose your own adventure” book: 

An “own voices” book: Children of Blood and Bone 

Read a book during the season it is set in: 

A LitRPG book: 

A book with no chapters, unusual chapter headings, or unconventionally numbered chapters: The Errant Prince 

Two books that share the same title: From Here to Eternity - Caitlin DOughty 

Two books that share the same title: 

A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom: 

A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent: Da Vinci Code 

Read Harder Challenge:

A Epistolary Novel: Color Purple

An Alternate History Novel: Stalking Jack the Ripper 

A Book by a woman/AOC that won a literary award in 2018: Hunger: A Memoir of (my) body 

A Humor Book: Noir 

A book by a journalist or about journalism: The Girl who played with fire 

A book by an AOC set in or about space: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor 

An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America:Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 

An #ownvoices book set in Oceania: 

A book published before Jan. 1st, 2019 that has less than 100 reviews on Goodreads: 

A translated book written/a book translated by a woman: 

A book on Manga: 

A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a POV character: Fox 8 by George Saunders 

A book by or about someone that ID’s a neurodiverse: 

A cozy mystery: 

A book of mythology or lore: Song of Achilles 

A historical romance written by a AOC: 

A business book: Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World’s Greatest Chocolate Makers by Deborah Cadbury

A novel by a trans or nonbinary author: 

A book of nonviolent true crime: The Spy Who Couldn’t Spell: 

A book written in prison: 

A children’s or middle grade book (not YA) that has won a diversity award since 2009: 

A comic by an LGBTQIA creator: Through the Woods by Emily Carroll 

A self-published book: 

A collection of poetry published since 2014:

Current number of books read: 631/900

[weirdponytail]

Tumblr is having a seizure whenever I try to reblog this on the Modern Inheritance blog.

I had this whole big thing typed out about how much was obviously cut from the film that made it to filming that we never got to see, even in the deleted scenes. You can see stills of these missing scenes if you can find a copy of the movie promo edition of the book with the stills still in the middle. Someone sent them to me at one point, I should still have them, but I can't find them right now. In particular I remember Eragon and Murtagh standing on a cliff together in the Beors and Eragon and Arya casting magic together. There's a few clips in some of the trailers that we never see in the movie either (Eragon touching some bandages in a mirror that look to be covering where his back scar should be is the one that sticks in my mind). I even saw someone on youtube claiming to have recorded dialogue for Solembum, but never got word back when I tried to contact them.

So the movie has been this wild mystery for me. What didn't we see?? What if, and I know it's...doubtful, what if what was cut was decent. And just HOW MUCH was cut?? These scenes got to the point where they were filmed! There's a ton of concept art they show on the bonus disc of the special edition! The commentary from the director talks of budget restraints more than once!

WHAT ARE WE MISSIIINGG?! It was and IS bad, but what was left out?! I MUST KNOOOOWWW, SOMEONE BREAK THEIR CONTRACT FOR ME PLEEEEEEEASE!

happy monday to everyone except whoever approved the eragon movie (i love it so much it's so bad)