#oromis places his standards on eragon

[wizardnaturalist]

I think a lot of Oromis' treatment of Eragon during Eldest comes from a place of deeply internalized ableism. Oromis and Glaedr were young warriors when they were wounded, never able to reach what could have been their full potential. They had the futures they'd planned for themselves ripped away,

And not only that, but their disabling coincided with the fall of the Riders as an institution, so not only were they, personally, prevented from fulfilling their dreams, but the entire world in which they had lived came crashing down around them. They experienced the greatest trauma of their lives and then-

They were abandoned. And left to shoulder the responsibility of being the only ones who could ever return the world to how it was in their youth.

They had their needs taken care of, of course. They had their home, and food and other necessities were delivered.

But they were alone. Their entire world was shattered, and they were. Alone. Their friends were dead or scattered. Anyone else was prevented from knowing of their existence, or kept themselves apart for fear of letting the secret slip. They had nobody but each other with whom to reconcile the irreparable alteration of their world and their bodies, for decades.

And not only that, but in their waiting and hoping for the next rider to arise, they are forced to reckon with the fact that the only reason they must wait at all is because they are no longer Able. The world needs a dragon and rider to save it, and here they are, yet they do not qualify.

All of this to say that Oromis' harsh tactics with Eragon are not only the strictness of a hardass teacher, but are born of his desperation and his anger and his helplessness. Eragon is what Oromis Should have been, and yet here he is, "crippled" just as Oromis was, draining their last hope away.

Oromis knows Eragon's disability is not his fault. He probably knows better than anyone, having been the one to save his psyche in the immediate aftermath. But he hopes that maybe with enough effort, with enough pushing, that Maybe this is something that can be pushed past, "overcome", in the way that Oromis and Glaedr's disabilities could not. And Im willing to bet he believes the same thing about himself, despite his decades of failure.

This is not to excuse Oromis' behaviour to Eragon. Looking back on these sections as an adult, I would hardly hesitate to call it abuse, but I don't think you were supposed to see it as the right thing to do. If it was, then Eragon would have improved at some point, because we saw how hard he was working, how far he pushed himself to meet the standards both he and Oromis placed for himself. But instead, he only ever continued to deteriorate.

At the end, I do think Oromis recognized this. I think he and Eragon both learned a level of acceptance from each other and helped each other heal in a way beyond the physical.

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

[wingletblackbird]

The Decline of Carvahall and Therinsford

We know that Utgard mountain near Carvahall was established by the Riders to look over Palancar’s descendants. However, as centuries passed it was likely just looked on as one of the Rider’s outposts. I imagine it was considered desirable to live nearby. There would have been a greater sense of security. Carvahall and Therinsford probably had a larger population because of it. People would have come all over to see the place where the dragon’s roosted and their Rider’s lived. 

In fact, if we look at Carvahall and Therinsford, they have a blacksmith in each village. They also have a butcher. That is more than you might expect for a population of that size, even with the influx of trappers seasonally. I can’t help but think this might be explained by there having been a much larger population in the area when the Rider’s were in existence. People would have flocked to the area for the novelty alone. Now that they are gone, people have left. Perhaps that is why Aunt Marian seems to have no other family. In a time period where large families were normal and seen as beneficial, that is unusual. Perhaps, they left when the situation was not economically viable. The fact that Garrow moved his family after his wife died to a house that had been abandoned for fifty years, a really nice one too given the standards of the time, also suggests people leaving.

This situation could also explain Garrow’s education. Garrow can read which is an unusual skill for a farmer. His father and grandfather may have been wealthier under the rule of the Riders and whatever king came before Galbatorix. Now, a lot of that wealth has been lost. He doesn't even bother to teach his boys how to read.

I imagine this situation also contributes to the general sense of antipathy to the King in the area. Utgard was where Vrael was defeated. It is possible that there are people in Carvahall who are descendants of people who were there when that happened. They would have heard the dragons roar as they clashed. The villagers were likely not a huge fan of Galbatorix. They would have seen the Riders who had watched over them fall, and in return watched Urgals increase and attack them. Sickness, disease, and famine would have increased as well. (Imagine how much their crops would have flourished if the Rider’s did their version of Dagshelgr once or twice a year.)

Moreover, Brom explains that Utgard is so steep you can only get there on dragonback. When Vrael fell, the elves had already gone into hiding. It was just Vrael and his dragon. No human could have gone up there to retrieve the body. (How in the world did Brom know how Vrael was defeated? Was Oromis watching through a scrying mirror?) I doubt the elves risked their kingdom and lives to go retrieve the body of Umaroth and Vrael. Those two just decayed and got eaten up there. As a consequence, there are probably old folk tales about how the sprit of Vrael and his dragon haunt Palancar Valley looking to settle old wrongs. His body was never left to rest properly so neither does his spirit....

As a point of symmetry, it does seem poetic that Eragon came from Carvahall which is near where the Riders of old were finally defeated. Moreover, Galbatorix’s dragon was said to have been killed way  up north in the mountains. It took him months of wandering before a farmer found him and contacted the nearest outpost...which was probably Utgard. 

The presence of Utgard and the old stories would explain, beyond the presence of Brom, why Eragon likes the idea of the old Riders so much, and hates the Forsworn. To him the Forsworn toppled the Riders who once looked after them in Utgard. To most everyone else in Alagaesia, the Riders are probably spoken of negatively. Most people only remember the Forsworn, and even then the Forsworn and Galbatorix probably spread propaganda about how awful the old Order before them was and punished those who said otherwise.

[archangelsunited]

So, I have a theory on this.

When we meet Oromis it is 100 years after his and Glaedr’s injury. I don’t remember the particular part, but Oromis says that spell after spell had been used to try and help him. Glaedr had lost part of a limb.

And the thing is, injuries and illness eat time. The recovery of the first injuries probably took a while, but afterwards? When the elves had done everything they could and don’t seem to be able to help, Oromis and Glaedr are left on their own to recover.

Glaedr can’t hunt for months. Hunger weakens him as he recovers the ability to take slow steps. Hunting is hard and unrewarding for a long time. He has to learn how to fly again. His weight has changed and he can’t land in the same way. He crashes and injures himself often, and he can’t let Oromis on his back until he is sure he won’t kill his rider. He gets better, but sometimes he can still feel the missing limb and he forgets to adjust. He is alone. There is no one to teach him. The elves, who once looked upon him with awe, now only pity him. Mates, hatchlings, nest mates- they are all gone and he has only Oromis to comfort him. It takes years before he flies again, and years afterwards before he allows Oromis on his back.

It is both better and worse for Oromis. His entire support system is gone. Brom has gone half-mad, but he can also leave. Oromis takes a long time to recover his strength, only to relapse when he reaches for magic he can’t wield. For years he is studied and treated until the treatments make the disabilities permenant and immutable. The elves pity him, and in doing so patronize him. Oromis cannot bere it, and secluded himself the moment Glaedr will fly him away.

Oromis is not gentle with himself. Injury and illness are foreign to him. He does not know how to rest his body, how to identify his limits. He works through the only way he has been taught, by pushing himself past his limits, setting himself back more and more. He is left alone with his guilt and his pain and his certainty that he has got to survive. He is the last defense.

When Eragon comes, Oromis has only reached his peak understanding and mastery over his illness for six months.

what was oromis even doing for a hundred years ?? just chilling in his hut in the forest?? drinking tea??