91 pages • 3 hours read
Eragon
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Prologue-Chapter 16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Prologue-Chapter 3 Summary
This summary section includes Prologue: “Shade of Fear,” Chapter 1: “Discovery,” Chapter 2: “Palancar Valley,” and Chapter 3: “Dragon Tales.”
The story begins in a medieval fictional world of sword and sorcery. A malevolent creature known as a Shade walks through the woods at night. He commands an army of monsters called Urgals, and they are lay in wait for three elves on horseback. Two are the male bodyguards of a female elf who is protecting an object in a pouch on her lap. After the Shade and his forces attack, the bodyguards are slain while the female elf kills several Urgals and flees. She is eventually cornered by the Shade. Before he can reach her, she takes a blue stone from her pouch and enchants it, so it disappears. The Shade shoots a pulse of energy at the elf, knocking her unconscious. He rages at the loss of the stone and carries the elf away as a hostage.
Elsewhere, a 15-year-old hunter named Eragon stalks deer in the mountains called the Spine. Without warning, a fiery blast in the woods ahead of him produces a strange object: “In the center of the blast radius lay a polished blue stone. Mist snaked across the scorched area and swirled insubstantial tendrils over the stone” (7). Though he is suspicious of the stone’s unknown magical properties, Eragon decides to keep it and makes camp for the night.
The next day, the boy returns to his village of Carvahall in the Palancar Valley. Since his hunting trip was interrupted, he intends to trade the blue stone for meat at the village butcher shop. The owner, Sloan, refuses the offer because he thinks the stone might be cursed. Fortunately, the local blacksmith, Horst, provides the money for Eragon to buy food for his uncle and cousin. Horst refuses to take the stone in payment but says Eragon can work off his debt as a temporary apprentice. Back at home, Eragon’s uncle Garrow is grateful for the food.
The next morning, Eragon recalls that 16 years earlier, on this very day, his mother left him to be raised by his aunt and uncle and then disappeared. He doesn’t know the identity of his father. When Eragon goes down for breakfast, he shows the blue stone to his cousin Roran. Uncle Garrow advises that they should have the traders appraise its value when they next arrive in Carvahill. In the meantime, there are harvesting chores to be done.
Nine days later, after a heavy snowfall, the traders arrive, and Eragon’s family goes to market. A trinkets dealer thinks the stone is valuable but can’t fix a price. While at the market, Eragon hears a storyteller named Brom speak about how King Galbatorix came to rule. He was once a Dragon Rider, a group of warriors who rode on the backs of dragons and protected people from harm. Galbatorix became power-mad and destroyed any Riders who wouldn’t align with him. In the end, 12 warriors joined his faction, and they became known as the Thirteen Foresworn. Galbatorix has ruled the realm of Alagaësia for over a century since that time.
Chapters 4-8 Summary
This summary section includes Chapter 4: “Fate’s Gift,” Chapter 5: Awakening,” Chapter 6: “Tea for Two,” Chapter 7: A Name of Power,” and Chapter 8: “A Miller-to-Be.”
Later that night, Eragon tries to sleep but is disturbed by noises that seem to be coming from the blue stone. Soon, cracks appear on the surface, and a tiny head emerges: “Eragon recoiled in shock. Standing in front of him, licking off the membrane that encased it, was a dragon” (37). When Eragon reaches out to touch the tiny creature, a shock runs through his body: “His hand was numb, his fingers paralyzed. Alarmed, he watched as the middle of his palm shimmered and formed a diffused white oval. The skin itched and burned like a spider bite” (39).
After the initial shock, he is able to touch the dragon without further harm, but the first contact seems to have given him the ability to sense the dragon’s thoughts. He knows it is hungry and goes to fetch meat to feed it. Afterward, it curls up contentedly in his bed. In the days that follow, the dragon grows at an alarming rate, so Eragon needs to build it a shelter in the forest. He tethers it to a tree and goes out daily to feed it and spend time with the creature. Eventually, the dragon can hunt for itself. By this time, he realizes that the dragon is sending him mental messages and has learned his name.
As time passes, Eragon feels the need to learn more dragon lore, so he seeks out the storyteller, Brom. The old man says that long ago, an elf killed a dragon, thinking it was a mere animal. This precipitated a long war between the elves and dragons that ended only when a young elf named Eragon came upon a dragon egg. This earlier Eragon became the first Dragon Rider. His ability to communicate telepathically with his dragon allowed the two to negotiate peace between the elves and dragons.
Eragon asks about any surviving dragons. Brom says that Galbatorix killed any who wouldn’t serve his cause, so nobody knows how many might be left. Brom also says that the close tie between dragon and Rider extends the Rider’s lifespan and makes them stronger than mortals. Eragon asks what names the dragons were given. Brom rattles off a long list, and Eragon files away this information, intending to name his dragon.
At home, Cousin Roran informs Eragon that he will be leaving town to work with a miller. He wants to earn enough money to marry the butcher’s daughter, Katrina. Eragon expects his uncle to be angry, but instead, he supports Roran’s decision. When Roran departs, Eragon feels the loss. He goes to the woods to complain to the dragon about his loneliness. The creature listens solemnly. He proposes a few names that the dragon rejects until he realizes that his companion is female. When he asks if she likes the name Saphira, she sends him a mental message: “‘Are you Saphira?’ She looked at him with intelligent eyes. Deep in his mind he felt her satisfaction. Yes” (59).
Chapters 9-13 Summary
This summary section includes Chapter 9: “Strangers in Carvahall,” Chapter 10: “Flight of Destiny,” Chapter 11: “The Doom of Innocence,” Chapter 12: “Deathwatch,” and Chapter 13: “The Madness of Life.”
The following day, Roran bids his father farewell, and Eragon accompanies him into town to meet the miller at the blacksmith’s shop. While there, Horst tells Eragon that two strangers have been asking around about the blue stone. The blacksmith tells the boy that he should go home and be safe. As Eragon leaves, he overhears Sloan telling two sinister strangers that the egg is at Garrow’s farm. In a panic to protect Saphira, Eragon runs back to the property.
When Eragon finds the dragon, she immediately perceives that enemies are nearby: “Oaths betrayed, souls killed, eggs shattered! Blood everywhere. Murderers!” (71). Eragon climbs on her back to calm her, but she takes to the sky and flies them away to the mountains. When Saphira finally lands, Eragon’s thighs are bloody from prolonged contact with the dragon’s sharp scales, and he can barely stand. It’s almost dark, so they shelter together until daylight.
The next morning Eragon realizes that Saphira landed in the exact spot where he found her egg. Though his legs haven’t healed, he convinces her to fly him back to the farm to warn his uncle. By mid-afternoon, they reach the property, but it has already been destroyed: “The house had been blasted apart. Timbers and boards that had been walls and roof were strewn across a wide area” (77). Eragon finds his uncle buried under a pile of rubble, but he is still alive. With Saphira’s help, he drags Garrow to the home of a healer named Gertrude. Eragon collapses from the effort but is rescued by Brom.
Eragon awakens sometime later. Gertrude has tended his injuries, but his uncle remains in grave condition at Horst’s home. Eragon remains vague in answer to Gertrude’s questions about what caused their wounds. He hurries out to check on his uncle. Garrow hasn’t regained consciousness, and his fever refuses to break. When Horst questions Eragon about the blue stone and the wreckage at the farm, the boy is equally vague. He asks to stay near his uncle at Horst’s home overnight. Eragon awakens before dawn to check on his uncle and finds the family clustered around the body. Garrow has died, and Eragon is devastated.
Chapters 14-16 Summary
This summary section includes Chapter 14: “A Rider’s Blade,” Chapter 15: “Saddlemaking,” and Chapter 16: “Therinsford.”
The boy goes to his room to weep and to carry on a telepathic conversation with Saphira. She encourages him to track down his uncle’s murderers: “It is our destiny to attempt the impossible, to accomplish great deeds regardless of fear. It is our responsibility to the future” (92-93). While the family is elsewhere, Eragon creeps out of the house. He goes to a tannery to steal some ox hides to fashion a makeshift saddle for Saphira. Then, he steals some food from the butcher shop.
Brom catches Eragon sneaking out of town and insists on joining him. He already knows the boy’s secret and has also been in communication with Saphira herself. She agrees that the old man should be part of the expedition. Brom and Eragon go back to the farm to retrieve supplies along with Eragon’s hunting bow. Then, they make camp in the woods, where Saphira joins them.
Brom explains his reasons for tagging along: “I’m a storyteller and I happen to think that you will make a fine story. You’re the first Rider to exist outside of the king’s control for over a hundred years” (101). Then, he unwraps an elvish sword and gives it to Eragon, saying it once belonged to a Dragon Rider. Its name is Zar’roc. Brom refuses to answer questions about how he obtained the weapon. He also says that the creatures who destroyed the farm are the king's minions and are called Ra’zac. He speculates that they don’t know about Eragon, so someone outside the valley must have informed Galbatorix of the new dragon’s egg. When pressed for more information about his past, Brom refuses to enlighten Eragon further.
The following morning, Brom offers to make an appropriate saddle out of the ox hides—a skill he learned at some point in his past. He advises that they should track the Ra’zac on horseback rather than use the dragon. Brom says the king will be looking to recruit or kill Eragon, so they must keep a low profile.
The next morning, they set off for a nearby town to buy horses. On the way, Brom explains that dragon eggs can remain dormant for a very long time. They only hatch when conditions are right and they sense the presence of their destined Rider. Eragon realizes that Saphira picked him using some sixth sense that only dragons possess. When they make camp for the evening, Brom uses quarterstaves to teach Eragon combat skills. The latter is very clumsy at first. Saphira finds the whole spectacle amusing.
The next day, they reach a town called Therinsford, where they purchase two horses. One is called Snowfire, and Eragon names the other Cadoc after his grandfather. To his surprise, he finds that he can communicate on a basic telepathic level with the horse as well as the dragon. As they leave Palancar Valley, the companions climb toward an outpost where the last Dragon Rider who defied Galbatorix fell. On the other side of the pass, they discover a vast plain that will take a few days to cross. That evening when they make camp, Brom once again coaches Eragon in combat using sticks: “When they finished sparring, he threw down the stick in disgust and stalked away from the fire to nurse his injuries” (122).
Prologue-Chapter 16 Analysis
The book’s initial segment introduces the fantasy world the author has constructed for this book and the three future volumes of the same series. It is intricate and contains many characters, each with a long backstory that is only glimpsed in these chapters. As a result, much of the material presented here is meant to ground the reader in Eragon’s world. The realm’s mad king hovers as a malevolent presence over all the action that transpires here, but Galbatorix never appears.
The first chapter presents a baseline for what will follow. It establishes the normal pattern of Eragon’s life in a rural medieval village. Court politics seem far removed from the world he inhabits as a 15-year-old farm lad. There is nothing extraordinary about Eragon’s physical description: “Dark eyebrows rested above his intense brown eyes. His clothes were worn from work. A hunting knife with a bone handle was sheathed at his belt, and a buckskin tube protected his yew bow from the mist” (6). The rest of the segment will focus on the initial stages of his Hero’s Journey. As has been mentioned earlier, the archetypal hero must depart his familiar world to embark on a quest.
Eragon has already demonstrated his venturesome nature since he is the only resident of Carvahall willing to enter the Spine. The townsfolk view this mountain range with fear and suspicion because they believe dark magic can be found there. To some degree, they are right. It is in the Spine that Eragon stumbles across Saphira’s egg, seemingly by chance. Later volumes in the series will make it clear that destiny played a more active role in his connection with the dragon, but this stage of the cycle presents the event as a random accident.
Once Saphira hatches, Eragon finds himself presented with the choice to continue with his ordinary life or to enter the supernatural world where he can communicate telepathically with a mythological creature: “He wanted the dragon. The more he thought about it, the surer he was. However things might work out with Garrow, Eragon would do everything he could to protect it” (41). This decision represents a turning point in Eragon’s development. Once having chosen Saphira, his life changes radically:
For Eragon, this part of his life was delightful. Saphira was as real and complex as any person. Her personality was eclectic and at times completely alien, yet they understood each other on a profound level. Her actions and thoughts constantly revealed new aspects of her character (61).
Eragon is still attempting to straddle two worlds, but external circumstances soon shove him forcefully out of one world and into another. When the Ra’zac arrive to search for the egg, Eragon takes off with Saphira, leaving his uncle vulnerable to attack. His uncle’s death and the destruction of the farm effectively sever Eragon’s ties with the ordinary world: “He could not accept that Garrow was gone. If he did, what was left to believe in? Only a merciless, uncaring world that snuffed lives like candles before a wind” (91). Henceforth, Eragon must look elsewhere for a sense of direction.
Brom’s arrival signals the next stage of the Hero’s Journey when a mentor appears to provide guidance and instruction. Eragon has swapped the everyday paternal figure of his uncle for the paranormal father figure that Brom represents. The old man gives him lessons in magic, dragon lore, and helps to develop his combat skills. Brom says, “On your own it might take years to learn what I can teach you. I’m offering my knowledge as a shortcut. As for how I know so much, I will keep that to myself” (103).
As of yet, Eragon’s sense of purpose remains unfocused. He isn’t willing to engage in the greater cause of liberating his country from its tyrannical king. Initially, his ambitions rise no higher than hunting down the Ra’zac and avenging his uncle’s death. While this is a small step, it represents the first step toward his heroic destiny. Saphira is vague about what they can accomplish together, but she hints that it will be heroic: “It is our destiny to attempt the impossible, to accomplish great deeds regardless of fear. It is our responsibility to the future” (92-93).
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