I was thinking more about the fact that people who've suffered traumas and have mental health issues often have problems with short or long term memory.
I know what you mean, I just couldn't come up with a better term for it.

So in my head Shruikan was a chess fanatic and even if he wasn't interested in ruling the ordered structure of his mind helped compliment the creative chaos of Galbatorix's mind.
I have in mind that Murtagh also finds rest in such structure during the time he serves Galbatorix. One way he does it is by calculating prime numbers.

It's a technique I stole from poetry.
I know it from prose, too. Paolini really doesn't know how to use this.

I wanted his final thoughts to be of Jarnunvösk, who is the reason he did all of everything he did.
As indeed they should be.