Red Brick Commentary

[mara_dienne459]

I guess this chapter is the debate Oromis talked about? Although it doesn't really sound so much like a debate as soap-boxing.  


Chapter Forty-One: The Nature of Evil

 

This chapter starts with Eragon doing, what else, waking up. Oh, but this time he’s so startled by his alarm clock that he jumps out of bed with his hunting knife at the ready because he expects an attack. Um, I’ve been startled out of sleep by my alarm clock plenty of times but I really don’t expect an attack to be imminent because of it. But okay, fine. Eragon notices then Orik’s gone and deduces he must’ve left sometime during the early hours of morning. Eragon then goes to get his bath, but he’s in so much pain that he hobbles, and compares himself to a man with rheumatism for how much he hurts. Get over yourself. Anyway, the next thing we’re told is that Eragon and Saphira are waiting at the bottom of their tree for ten minutes before a black-haired elf shows up. The elf starts the greeting first, which means he’s of higher status, I guess? (I thought the one of lower status starts?) Eragon responds and asks if Oromis sent him. The elf ignores him and focuses on Saphira and introduces himself to her as Vanir of House Haldthin. He also calls her ‘dragon’. Remember when Orik called her that and she got mad? Yeah, there’s none of that here.

 

Only then did the elf address Eragon: “I will show you where you may practice with your blade.” He strode away, not waiting for Eragon to catch up. 

 

Thus enters another useless character to these stories: Vanir. Pronounced vain-er. Originally, the Vanir are a group of Norse gods associated with nature, fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. This asshole, however, is an elitist jerk who hates Eragon because he’s human. No, seriously. That’s why. He’s a racist bastard. He hates Eragon on principle, not because the kid is an asshole himself, or because Eragon slighted him, or because Eragon was a jerk to him first. Any of those reasons, I’d accept the hostility with which Vanir treats Eragon. But it’s not any of those. It’s pure racism and jealousy. And, worse, Vanir’s attitude doesn’t change until after Eragon is assimilated into the elves by becoming one himself and breaks his wrist. Literally that’s how all the elves stop hating Eragon - he becomes one of them. If that doesn’t send the wrong message, I dunno what does. 

 

They get to the sparring area and we’re given a description of what’s there. Both male and female elves are here practicing and they’re so fast and strong that their motions are so fast and heavy they might as well be invisible and sound like “hail striking an iron bell”. And why is it that none of these guys lifted a finger to either a) kill Galby before Eragon’s story takes place and b) find Arya themselves? Anyway, there are some elves doing yoga too, and Eragon is made a sad panda by the thought they’re far more flexible and graceful than he can ever hope to be. Everyone also has to stop and bow to Saphira. Eragon again is ignored. After this, Vanir whips his sword out and says well, let’s go. Eragon stares at Vanir and is like WTF why do I have to do this he’s going to kick my ass. Saphira says he’ll be fine but she’s so concerned for him that he can feel it. Which does nothing but undermine his confidence even more. Case in point, his hands are trembling as he shields Zar’roc’s blade with magic. And instead of throwing himself into the fight as he’s always done, he instead fights from a defensive stance, such that he avoids Vanir as much as possible. We’re told he’s doing this to avoid triggering another seizure. Anyway, despite these efforts, Vanir still manages to touch him three times and claim victory.

 

Vanir’s initial expression of stoic impassivity soon devolved into open contempt. Dancing forward, he slid his blade up Zar’roc’s length while at the same time twirling Zar’roc in a circle, wrenching Eragon’s wrist. Eragon allowed Zar’roc to fly out of his hand rather than resist the elf’s superior strength. 

 

And this is why I hate Oromis. Because instead of doing this kind of training himself, where he can build Eragon up and work with him so that technique can trump speed and strength, he just throws Eragon to the wolves and expects him to survive without having a fit. And I don’t mean a seizure, but having a temper tantrum. Sure, Eragon’s reality shouldn’t be all sunshine and roses, but this is just downright evil. And sure, Vanir shouldn’t check his strength when fighting Eragon, because that wouldn’t be fair, but at the same time, we’re getting a glimpse of what the rest of the human population is going to have to deal with when the elves go to war. How can a normal human fight against an elf and survive? They can’t. And it isn’t like there are Uruk’hai that are going to pop out of the woodwork to take the elves on. In the battle of Helm’s Deep in The Two Towers, the elves were on equal ground with the Uruk’hai, and many died. Sure, Tolkien’s elves were more beautiful than humans and possessed greater magic than humans and were stronger and faster, but they were also vulnerable. These elves aren’t, because of FUCKING WARDS. And that’s not fair. 

 

Vanir gets exasperated after this bit of fighting, and he says he expected better, even from a “weakling human”. Eragon goes yeah, I am but what are you, and finally asks the question we’ve all been wondering since being told the elves are one step removed from God: why don’t you just go fight Galbatorix yourselves instead of hiding? Vanir gets Pissed Off (capital letters intended) and says “because I’m not a Rider”. Literally, that is his reason. Despite having super strength, super speed, super magic, super everything that would allow him to wipe the floor with Galbatorix, his reason is he’s not a Rider. Which is fucking bullshit. Vanir goes on to say that if he was a Rider, he wouldn’t be a coward like Eragon. And suddenly the classroom goes super quiet. Eragon, for once, doesn’t immediately rise to the bait, and tells himself Vanir is just being an asshole and ignore him. But then Vanir continues:

 

“Coward, I say. Your blood is as thin as the rest of your race’s. I think that Saphira was confused by Galbatorix’s wiles and made the wrong choice of Rider.” The spectating elves gasped at Vanir’s words and muttered among themselves with open disapproval for his atrocious breach of etiquette. 

 

If this isn’t jealousy, I don’t know what is. Clearly Vanir is jealous of the fact that Saphira chose Eragon, and not him. Even if she’d chosen an elf, I have a feeling that he’d be jealous of that elf. But the fact remains that Eragon is an easy target, because he’s less than Vanir. He’s physically weaker, he isn’t as fast, and he doesn’t have the same magical ability as him. But notice too how nobody comes to assist him in this. Not even Saphira. The elves just stand there in silence and watch; not one speaks up in defense. So you get the feeling that they feel the same way as Vanir, they just won’t say it.

 

That gets Eragon pissed off. “You can insult me, you can insult my family, you can insult my dog, but nobody insults Saphira!” We’re told Saphira is already moving (to do what, exactly?) when Eragon whips around and just starts wailing on Vanir. Vanir is shocked by this sudden attack, and Eragon actually starts winning. But since we can’t have him actually win on his human abilities, Seizure Plot Device activates and Eragon goes down in his most powerful seizure yet. We’re told that he experiences this seizure with all five of his senses and is in so much pain it feels like Durza just cut him up for the first time again, but he still somehow retains enough clarity of thought to decide that Vanir is very young. In other words, Vanir is probably about Eragon’s age, but in elf years. There’s a time skip and Eragon wakes up (or was already awake, it’s not clear) and wipes some blood from his mouth and shows it to Vanir. He asks him if it’s thin enough. Vanir ignores him and turns around and leaves. Eragon gets pissy and asks him where he’s going. Vanir says Eragon’s in no shape to continue. Eragon says he’s fine, let’s go bro. He might be inferior to the elves, but God Dammit he’s going to make them respect him if it’s the last thing he’ll do. He’s determined to earn their respect, even if he has to do it through sheer persistence.

 

Haha. If only that were a theme that was actually used in this book and not the power of Borg assimilation.

 

Anyway, Eragon insists on completing the assigned hour, whereupon Saphira - who, you remember, was moving until Eragon started beating the shit out of Vanir before his poorly timed seizure then did absolutely fuck all between that moment and now - walks up to Vanir and pokes him in the chest with her claw. She calls him dead. Vanir loses all the blood in his face and all the other elves avoid him like he has some contagious disease. Then Saphira and Eragon leave and Saphira says Oromis was right. Eragon’s like about what? She says:

 

You give more of yourself when you have an opponent. 

 

Actually, that was anger. That was him being pissed off that Vanir insulted Saphira. That wasn’t him trying more. That wasn’t him giving more effort. That was revenge. That was hate. That was rage. This was not competition, this wasn’t even friendly competition. This wasn’t two students vying with each other to see who had improved more. It was wrong and evil and shouldn’t have happened. 

 

Another timeskip and we’re back with Oromis. Saphira goes off with Glaedr and Eragon stays with Oromis. Eragon is “horrified” when he realizes Oromis fully expects him to go through with elvish yoga despite his earlier trials. It apparently “took all of his courage” just to get through it. But he gets through it just fine and nothing happens. Then he goes to meditate and he’s finally able to concentrate on the question he’s supposed to be answering. While doing so, he watches his pet ants wage war on another anthill (which is strange behavior for ants that also tended aphids for their meal) and win. He compares this with the dragons’ fate and this is what gives him his answer. Oromis seems satisfied by what Eragon managed to do, and then while they’re eating lunch, Eragon’s like “I know why Galbatorix needs to die, even though it might cost a lot of people their lives.” Oromis is like tell me.

 

“Because Galbatorix has already caused more suffering over the past hundred years than we ever could in a single generation. And unlike a normal tyrant, we cannot wait for him to die. He could rule for centuries or millennia—persecuting and tormenting people the entire time—unless we stop him. If he became strong enough, he would march on the dwarves and you here in Du Weldenvarden and kill or enslave both races. And...,” Eragon rubbed the heel of his palm against the edge of the table, “... because rescuing the two eggs from Galbatorix is the only way to save the dragons.” 

 

Well, I could get behind that reasoning, if we ever saw it. But the truth is we don’t see this. We only hear about it, and from the points of view of those who have reason to hate him. We don’t see any evidence of this during Eragon’s adventures. We never get any mention of the state of the villages Eragon enters to search the prisons, how they’ve been affected by the king’s madness, or anything else. All we get is character opinions, and they’re opinions that are completely one-sided. We’re just supposed to take their word for it, like their word is gospel, because they’re the good guys and the good guys are always right. 

 

Oromis says Eragon finally understands, but I refute your reality and substitute my own because in actuality what Eragon just spoke of is what the Varden end up doing, not Galby. Anyway, Eragon says yeah, I get it, but I don’t like it. Oromis says:

 

“Nor should you. But now we can be confident that you won’t shrink from the path when you are confronted by the injustices and atrocities that the Varden will inevitably commit. We cannot afford to have you consumed by doubts when your strength and focus are most needed.” Oromis steepled his fingers and gazed into the dark mirror of his tea, contemplating whatever he saw in its tenebrous reflection. “Do you believe that Galbatorix is evil?” 

 

Atrocities and injustices the Varden will inevitably commit, huh? I mean, yes, they’re going to war, and they’re going to do things in war that otherwise wouldn’t be sanctioned in normal life. They’re going to murder people, starve people, disrupt their lives, and destroy their entire world for the sake of their ideal. But the Varden also, albeit implicitly, rape and pillage too. For a group that’s trying to save their world, they shouldn’t be raping and stealing from the people they’re supposed to be liberating. So are these the atrocities that Oromis is saying that the Varden are going to commit, and when Eragon is confronted by them, he shouldn’t quit? I mean, he doesn’t. He just has to make a decree that he shouldn’t have to make in the first place. Those are the actions of tyrants and destroyers and those who want to eradicate an entire way of life, not those who style themselves heroes and liberators.

 

Eragon answers “of course” to the Galby is Evil question. Then they get into a philosophical debate about what constitutes evil and whether or not evil people believe they’re evil. Somehow this turns into talk about whether or not the Urgals are evil. Even though there’s been no real context for this decision or any action on the part of the Urgals to qualify Eragon having this thought, Eragon nonetheless decides that the Urgals need to be visited by genocide. Oromis is like orly, what about the innocents? Those who haven’t hurt you and likely never will? Eragon is adamant that the Urgals wouldn’t spare humans if they were given the chance to make genocidal war on them. Oromis gets pissed off and lectures Eragon for using that language. Not because it’s wrong and evil and makes it so much easier to destroy entire races - which it is - but because it’s “lazy, repugnant, and indicative of an inferior mind”. He never wants Eragon to use that language again. Eragon agrees. Then Oromis asks what Eragon actually knows about Urgals. He replies that he knows enough to kill them and that’s all he needs. Oromis presses the subject about Eragon’s knowledge and Eragon’s like dude, I just told you, I don’t care.

 

Oromis sighed. “Just remember,” he said gently, “that at a certain point, your enemies may have to become your allies. Such is the nature of life.” 

 

Yay, more foreshadowing! Now it’s inevitable that the Urgals become the Varden’s allies. Because we have to have Eragon get over his own racism, don’t we? And because the Varden need the extra bodies if they hope to win. Of course, this is going to cause a lot of problems that just get glossed over, because Nasuada says it’s her way or no way, and Orrin accepts it until his friend gets killed by another human because said human doesn’t want to fight alongside the monsters. But nothing comes of it anyway, because at a certain point there’s just a huge rush to finish this story, and things are tossed aside and left unfinished and unexplored because we need to finish this and we need to finish it now.

 

Miracle of miracles, Eragon doesn’t argue. Instead he asks if this is why Galby enlisted the Urgals to his side. Oromis is like that’s not the example I would’ve picked, but sure. Eragon’s like that’s so weird because you know the Urgals killed his first dragon and all that. He continues to point out that Galby destroyed the Riders and the Riders weren’t even responsible for his loss. I’d like to point out that in a rather roundabout way they were... because they let three newly ordained twenty-year-old kids go off on their own without even a “Hey, call me when you get there” and then didn’t bother looking for any of them for months. We still don’t know if the Riders even tried to recover the bodies of Galby’s two friends and all three dragons. Anyway, Oromis says:

 

“Ah,” said Oromis, “mad Galbatorix may be, but he’s still as cunning as a fox. I guess that he intended to use the Urgals to destroy the Varden and the dwarves—and others, if he had triumphed in Farthen Dûr—thereby removing two of his enemies while simultaneously weakening the Urgals so that he could dispose of them at his leisure.” 

 

Or Galby didn’t do as Oromis is saying here, because Durza was the one who controlled the Urgals. And there’s evidence that proves Durza was working on his own agenda while simultaneously working for Galby all so the man didn’t realize the game that was being played. With these characters, and Paolini, everything is black and white. There’s no middle ground or other theories. It’s only this way and can’t be anything else.

 

Another time skip and Eragon is practicing his ancient language and magic skills. There’s some minor detail given about Oromis’s lessons focusing on the “proper way” of controlling energy and how certain ones - light, heat, electricity, gravity - use up more strength than any other type of spell so it’s best to find them already occurring in nature if you’re hoping to use them. And just like that, the magic system seems to have been changed again. Then Oromis asks Eragon how he would kill with magic. Eragon says he’s killed with a magic pebble, killed using jierda to break Urgal legs and necks, and then even says he stopped a man’s heart with magic. I have poured over the first two books doing this commentary and I really don’t remember Eragon killing a guy by stopping his heart with magic. Anyway, Oromis decides that Eragon’s ways are too inelegant. This is what he says:

 

“There are more efficient methods,” revealed Oromis. “What does it take to kill a man, Eragon? A sword through the chest? A broken neck? The loss of blood? All it takes is for a single artery in the brain to be pinched off, or for certain nerves to be severed. With the right spell, you could obliterate an army.” 

 

Yeah, but this doesn’t happen. Eragon could easily end the war this way. Oromis could easily kill Murtagh and Thorn this way. The entire war could easily be ended with a well-placed spell that kills everyone the Varden face.  But that would end the story too quickly, and we wouldn’t have all the stuff in between. So why bother introducing that stuff if you’re not going to utilize it? I honestly can’t remember if Eragon ever uses this, but I know he doesn’t use it in any situation where it would benefit him or anyone else. This is why I don’t like the use of “let’s introduce this mechanic but never use it”. There’s no point in doing such, if you’re not going to utilize it. Beyond that, killing with magic is a super no-no. Killing with magic will make it rebound on you, and it will kill you, too. Also, I don’t know how, if the Riders knew all this, how they still got beat by 13 guys. They could’ve really destroyed Galbatorix’s forces, wards or no wards, if they had fought like this. Hell, Brom might not be dead if he’d used these spells to kill the Ra’zac. This literally makes no sense and makes you question every decision that took place in Book One.

 

Eragon’s like damn, I should’ve thought of that. Then he asks why Brom didn’t bother to teach him any of this. Oromis says it’s because Brom didn’t expect him to face an army for months or years to come and it isn’t a tool just handed out for the asking to untrained Riders. Eragon then asks a smart question: if it’s so easy to kill people with magic, why bother having an army? One guy who knows what the hell he’s doing could decimate a battlefield and walk off pristine. What’s more frightening: a guy coming off a battlefield covered in blood and guts or a guy walking off without even a spot of blood on him? Well, Oromis has an answer for Eragon and us:

 

“To be succinct, tactics. Magicians are vulnerable to physical attack when they are embroiled in their mental struggles. Therefore, they need warriors to protect them. And the warriors must be shielded, at least in part, from magical attacks, else they would be slain within minutes. These limitations mean that when armies confront one another, their magicians are scattered throughout the bulk of their forces, close to the edge but not so close as to be in danger. The magicians on both sides open their minds and attempt to sense if anyone is using or is about to use magic. Since their enemies might be beyond their mental reach, magicians also erect wards around themselves and their warriors to stop or lessen long-range attacks, such as a pebble sent flying toward their head from a mile away.” 

 

This causes nothing but a stalemate. Neither side can kill each other if they can’t find and kill the enemy mages, but they can’t kill the mages because they have to get through the soldiers first, but they can’t kill the soldiers because they’re protected by wards, so why bother fighting? This just creates an impasse between both sides where nobody can make any moves because nobody can gain an advantage. So why bother? Wards are an annoying deus ex machina that only a few can use, but they don’t come into play when they ought to be, or when they’d be the most useful. I’ve never read a book where mages are purely defense and do nothing but shield their warriors. The mages are always fighting, too, else why bother having them in battle? If they can’t be utilized as like, say, portable artillery, then why bother to have them at all? It’s useless and stupid.

 

Eragon’s like wtf one dude can’t defend an entire army! Oromis replies that one dude can’t do it alone but if he’s got a lot of buddies, it’s fairly easy. The only danger is that some mage might just be smart enough to find a workaround spell and get past your wards. He also says that the ability to use magic is exceedingly rare among the races and says the elves are no exception (except every elf can use magic to some degree) but the elves are more blessed than most because of oaths and shit they bound themselves with eons ago. Must be nice. Anyway, the rest of the schmucks are lucky if they have enough power to heal a bruise without struggling. Eragon’s like yeah, I met a lot of those guys in the Varden - which I have to point out that he didn’t because the first time he meets Du Vrangr Gata is at the end of Eldest and the most powerful magic users he’s met are the Twins and Trianna - and then Eragon points out that no matter what the task is, it still takes the same amount of energy to perform said task as it would to do it the ordinary way. Oromis says:

 

“Energy, yes, but lesser magicians find it harder than you or I do to feel the flow of magic and immerse themselves in it. Few magicians are strong enough to pose a threat to an entire army. And those who are usually spend the bulk of their time during battles evading, tracking, or fighting their opposites, which is fortunate from the standpoint of ordinary warriors, else they would all soon be killed.” 

 

Again, stupid. What’s the point of this? What’s stopping a soldier from turning around and killing the mage? The soldiers could easily be on the hunt for the mage in order to kill them and remove the spells protecting their enemies. Moreover, none of this ever comes into play, except during the actual fighting, where Paolini tries to create suspense and drama by having the Varden mages - who can’t heal more than a bruise, remember? - being overwhelmed by the enemy mages who are somehow able to easily locate and exterminate every other mage who technically isn’t even a threat. Paolini’s rules of magic make no sense. 

 

Eragon’s like well, the Varden are screwed then because they don’t have many magic users. Oromis points out that’s why Eragon’s So Important. Then the conversation moves on to wards.

 

A moment passed as Eragon reflected on what Oromis had told him. “These wards, do they only drain energy from you when they are activated?”

 

“Aye.” 

 

Which they do, unless you bind the magic into an object like a ring or an amulet, and you fill that with energy, such that when that runs out you’re screwed, but we don’t do that in this story. No, in this story, magic draws from your own energy, despite there being multiple descriptions of a “flowing river” that magic users can immerse themselves in. So which is it? A flowing river or a puddle? Because you can’t have it both ways. 

 

They talk about wards generally being the Immovable Object where if you have enough of them, you could become invincible but the wards rely upon the energy within your body and if you exceed that you die. This segues into Eragon asking about how Galby’s strength keeps increasing. Maybe he’s drinking his Muscle Milk and is consistent with his pilates. Anyway, Oromis can’t keep a poker face to save his life, and despite Eragon having asked that question rhetorically, he realizes that Oromis knows exactly what he’s talking about. Oromis simply says now isn’t the appropriate time to talk about that. Eragon’s shocked. Oromis repeats himself and says Eragon isn’t ready. For once, Eragon doesn’t argue and the only reason he does so is because he knows it’s impossible to get anything out of Oromis so why bother trying. Well, Eragon then asks why Ajihad let him fight without wards in Farthen Dur and why Arya didn’t kill 99.9% of the Urgals with magic. Oromis is shocked by this and asks if Ajihad had Arya or one of the Du Vrangr Gata put defenses around him. Eragon says no, Oromis is like you fought unprotected? Yes.

 

Oromis’s eyes unfocused, withdrawing into himself as he stood motionless on the greensward. He spoke without warning: “I have consulted Arya, and she says that the Twins of the Varden were ordered to assess your abilities. They told Ajihad you were competent in all magic, including wards. Neither Ajihad nor Arya doubted their judgment on that matter.” 

 

But why? Why did Arya of all people trust the Twins in what they said, especially after they tried to make him do something incredibly dangerous? If nobody likes them, why does anybody trust them?! It doesn’t make any sense! Why didn’t Arya verify what the Twins said? Why didn’t Ajihad? Like I don’t understand this at all. 

 

“Those smooth-tongued, bald-pated, tick-infested, treacherous dogs,” swore Eragon. “They tried to get me killed!” Reverting to his own language, he indulged in several more pungent oaths. 

 

Where’s the emotion? He’s just saying this so blandly, I can’t even imagine him being angry, despite the speech tag of “swore”. The exclamation point only shows up in the second sentence, when the first sentence could’ve benefited from an exclamation point as well. Instead, we get a comma, finishing the sentence (because it indicates a breath should be taken), then a speech tag, and then the emotive punctuation on the second sentence. If Eragon’s so pissed at this, his speech should be riddled with emotion.

 

Oromis admonishes Eragon for cussing and says that the Twins probably did it so he’d be captured, not killed. Eragon is like huh? Oromis explains:

 

“By your own account, Ajihad suspected that the Varden had been betrayed when Galbatorix began persecuting their allies in the Empire with near-perfect accuracy. The Twins were privy to the identities of the Varden’s collaborators. Also, the Twins lured you to the heart of Tronjheim, thereby separating you from Saphira and placing you within Durza’s reach. That they were traitors is the logical explanation.” 

 

That all this comes out now bothers me. Of course the Twins are traitors. Like we couldn’t see that coming from a mile away. With how they were described in Book One, I’m honestly surprised Paolini didn’t just blurt it right out. But what bothers me even more is that even though nobody liked them, that nobody trusted them, they were still allowed to do whatever they wanted with little consequence or investigation. They just... let shit happen that could easily have been mitigated or stopped outright, and yeah, we wouldn’t have this particular story, but we’d still have a story that was more thought out and had more immersion and real life connectivity and believable than this drivel.

 

Eragon says if they were traitors, they’re now dead traitors. Oromis then says Arya told him that the Urgals did have mages in their midst and she fought lots of them. Did any attack Eragon? No. Well, that’s just more evidence that he was supposed to be captured and not killed. 

 

And that’s enough about that. We’re moving on to Oromis teaching Eragon twelve ways to kill people with as little energy as possible. The conversation then turns to the Ra’zac and they blah blah about them for a while before Eragon is like “what are they?” Oromis beats around the bush for a bit by saying they’re anything but every single known species on the planet. Eragon jokes that they’re plants. Oromis says:

 

“Nor that either. They reproduce by laying eggs, like dragons. When they hatch, the young—or pupae—grow black exoskeletons that mimic the human form. It’s a grotesque imitation, but convincing enough to let the Ra’zac approach their victims without undo alarm. All areas where humans are weak, the Ra’zac are strong. They can see on a cloudy night, track a scent like a bloodhound, jump higher, and move faster. However, bright light pains them and they have a morbid fear of deep water, for they cannot swim. Their greatest weapon is their evil breath, which fogs the minds of humans—incapacitating many—though it is less potent on dwarves, and elves are immune altogether.” 

 

You know, all the things Brom told ya back in Book One, but we subsequently forgot about between then and now. And I guess Ra’zac have stock in Dungeons and Dragons because they have the mind fog spell attached to their breath. We never see this, by the way. You’d think it’d be useful in their battles with Eragon, where they could just breathe on him and never have to worry that he’s going to get away. But no, we never see this. And of course elves are immune. Why wouldn’t they be? The elves are the best race in this entire story because they can do anything with little consequence. They have super strength, super speed, all the magic they could want, and immortality to boot. They’re only susceptible to wounds of the flesh and wounds of the heart. Those are the only way elves die. It’s bullshit. 

 

Eragon shivered as he remembered his first sight of the Ra’zac in Carvahall and how he had been unable to flee once they noticed him. “It felt like a dream where I wanted to run but I couldn’t move, no matter how hard I tried.” 

 

But they just looked at you! They didn’t breathe on you! That’s the only way they can cause this mind fog! With their breath! The Ra’zac just looked in his general direction. That’s not a breath weapon! That is a mental weapon, like a beholder or a mind flayer. Can we please keep things straight and not deviate from the information we’re given please? Because this is another instance of one thing being said while another thing is being experienced. It doesn’t make sense and it breaks the immersion and believability of the story.

 

Oromis is like good enough description. The Ra’zac can’t use magic but they’re smart cookies. They know Eragon’s after them so they’re not going to reveal themselves and make things convenient for him. He mentions Brom and how his experience failed him against the Ra’zac, and then he drops an interesting line about being over-confident and how one’s enemies can exploit that and murder you. Eragon accepts this.

 

Oromis fixed Eragon with a steady gaze. “The Ra’zac remain pupae for twenty years while they mature. On the first full moon of their twentieth year, they shed their exoskeletons, spread their wings, and emerge as adults ready to hunt all creatures, not just humans.” 

 

Well, that doesn’t make any sense. So when did Galbatorix find these four? That would have to be less that 20 years ago, because these two Ra’zac aren’t ready to turn into the giant flying naked mole rats yet. But the wiki states that these four are the only survivors of the Ra’zac War, the genocide that the Riders led against the Ra’zac. And that particular war had to come some time between the war with Palancar and the war Galbatorix started on the Riders, because it’s stated by Brom in Book One that the Ra’zac followed the humans over when they arrived on Alagaesia. So Galbatorix couldn’t have found them less than twenty years ago, because they serve him only because he promised he’d protect them. And it states that he found all four, not just the adults and their nest. And Paolini is the only person who could give out that kind of information. So this is erroneous information. It doesn’t fit in the timeline that’s presented to us. Unless these four Ra’zac aren’t the original Ra’zac Galbatorix found, but their descendants, and somehow the original four are dead (or the two adults here are the offspring of the pair he found all grown up with offspring of their own, and their parents are dead) there’s no way that these Ra’zac could be the same ones that Galby found.

 

Eragon goes “OMG then the things the Ra’zac ride around on are...” suspenseful pause. The chapter ends with Oromis saying “Yup, they ride their parents.”

 

Comments

[oblakom]

Oh, hello, Vanir. I like Vanir. Pity he basically disappears after Eldest (could have showed half a page in Brisingr, at least?) and only "reappears" off-screen in Inheritance. Still showing way more character development than Ergy ever did, eh, but still...

...But why on earth did Oromis chose such a pissed off elf as Eragon's sparring partner? Seriously, why? I could understand if it was something among the line that Vanir idealizes the Riders and Oromis (and maybe Oromis knows him well because he kind of goes to his house to help him or whatever) and so the old bastard wanted to make this a lesson of life for both Eragon and Vanir and help them grow... but Jesus Christ in the books it doesn't make any sense and brings nowhere. You know from this fucking chapter here that sooner or later Eragon will beat his ass because of course he will.


he knows it’s impossible to get anything out of Oromis so why bother trying

Yeah, it's not like in the last chapter Oromis kept giving in Eragon's whiny requests. Ask two more times and he will spat everything out, don't worry.


Well, that doesn’t make any sense. So when did Galbatorix find these four? That would have to be less that 20 years ago, because these two Ra’zac aren’t ready to turn into the giant flying naked mole rats yet. But the wiki states that these four are the only survivors of the Ra’zac War, the genocide that the Riders led against the Ra’zac. And that particular war had to come some time between the war with Palancar and the war Galbatorix started on the Riders, because it’s stated by Brom in Book One that the Ra’zac followed the humans over when they arrived on Alagaesia. So Galbatorix couldn’t have found them less than twenty years ago, because they serve him only because he promised he’d protect them.

Oh, hello plot hole that damned me to create an entire fucking world of unused Chekov's guns. Also: love how the Lethrblaka are supposed to be so important given the gasp!suspence here, but they will literally appear once and without a single line of dialogue.

[ultimate_cheetah]

Oh, hello plot hole that damned me to create an entire fucking world of unused Chekov's guns.

In my headcannon of the IC, there are more Razzies, they are just across the desert, in other countries. The smaller Ra'zac's blood family is there.

Also: love how the Lethrblaka are supposed to be so important given the gasp!suspence here, but they will literally appear once and without a single line of dialogue.

What a goddamn waste. He mostly plagarized them from Tolkien (I was reading the wikipedia article on fell beasts and I was like "this seems familiar - really familiar).

Roran quaked in his boots as the giant creature crouched over him, its claw pinning him down. Farther away, Eragon's piercing scream rung through the cave. Out of the corner of Roran's eye, he saw Eragon fall to the ground, stabbed. They never should've entered Helgrind. The creature clicked its beak, lowering its head toward Roran. Roran couldn't move, couldn't even speak. It was coming closer. The creature spoke, "My son and daughter told me about you. Interesting. You're a lot smaller, and quieter, than I expected." The whispery voice sent chills down Roran's spine.

"Farewell, human," the creature said. Its beak opened and it lunged. Roran closed his eyes. And then all was darkness.

[epistler]

I just love how Oromis flat-out tells Eragon the Varden is going to commit atrocities and that he should just... ignore it. Didn't he literally begin their first lesson by going on about "moral direction" and such? Shouldn't it be Eragon's job to prevent the Varden from committing war crimes? Instead of just turning a blind eye, thereby condoning what they're doing and making himself just as bad? I just... what??

And then we have all this build-up for the Ra'zac which is... completely pointless because they never do anything after this. Also why is it not okay to stereotype all Urgals as evil and worthless and deserving of genocide, but totally okay to do exactly that with the Ra'zac? They're both sentient species capable of understanding negotiation and compromise, and they both demonstrate that they love and care about their family members. Why do the Ra'zac keep being typecast as irredeemable monsters, but not the Urgals? It's so stupid and hypocritical.

[(Anonymous)]

I mean, Ra'zac eat humans. If eating humans is evil, then Ra'zac are evil.

[epistler]

The dragons eat humans. If eating humans is evil, then the dragons are evil.

[(Anonymous)]

Which dragons eat humans?

[epistler]

Saphira does. In book three she says she's going hunting, then makes it completely clear that she doesn't care if her prey ends up being Empire soldiers. She even jokes about it.

[(Anonymous)]

I took that part to be her joking about it. But as Swankivy said in her sporks, it can be difficult to tell whether they're playing around or being serious due to being so bland.

[edward9]

At one point Saphira says humans taste like deer but I don't have a page number. In Brisingr page 11 Saphira is impressed Razac can bewitch humans into wanting to be eaten and wants to learn to do it. She specifically says "People, sheep: what is the difference to a dragon?" in response to Eragon telling her not to do it with people but with sheep. There are other references throughout the series as well.

[edward9]

My mistake. She said humans taste as good as deer. Here is the conversation.

Don't go too far, he cautioned, else you might encounter the Empire.
I won't, but if I happen upon a lone group of soldiers... She licked her chops. I would enjoy a quick fight. Besides, humans taste just as good as deer.
Saphira, you wouldn't!
Her eyes sparkled. Maybe, maybe not. It depends on whether they are wearing armor. I hate biting through metal, and scooping my food out of a shell is just annoying.
I see.

Brisingr page 272.

Nothing about the conversation indicates a joke. As written she knows what humans taste like and has experience biting through metal. Since metal is not a food for dragons it implies armor worn by something. Eragon says you wouldn't at which point Saphira explains she the conditions under which she would and Eragon responds "I see".

[ultimate_cheetah]

Vanir's so annoying. I know people like him because he doesn't kiss Sue ass, but he's still a racist bigot. He would be more tolerable if he learned better, but he accepts Eragon only after he gets elf-ified. I know he becomes the ambassador to the humans later, but we don't get to see that.