Brisingr

“A huge, twisted shape hurtled out of the lancet passageway. Eyes black, bulging, rimless. A beak seven feet long. Batlike wings. The torso naked, hairless, rippling with muscle. Claws like iron spikes.”

This is the reader’s first encounter with a Lethrblaka in the text. Christopher Paolini uses many descriptors to engage the reader with a clear depiction of the monster. This sets the bar for his level of description throughout Brisingr.

“We give of ourselves to sustain Du Weldenvarden, and the forest is an extension of our bodies and minds. Any hurt it suffers is our hurt as well. […] We are a slow people to rouse, but once roused we are like the dragons: we go mad with anger.” 

Islanzadí, queen of the elves, defines her people for Eragon’s benefit. Paolini takes this opportunity to set up a comparison not only between the elves and the other races but also directly between elves and dragons. By doing so, he also offers insight into what defines a dragon—an angry race.

“You are the tip of the spear that is our effort, and if the tip should break and be lost, then our spear shall bounce off the armor of our foe, and we too shall be lost.”

Queen Islanzadí uses this metaphor of a spear to define Eragon’s role in the war to come, admitting his power not only to overthrow Galbatorix but to determine the future of the elves and other races living in Alagaësia. No matter how strong the soldiers that back Eragon and Saphira, if they should fail the whole effort will fail.