Eragon: Chapter Twenty: Magic is the Simplest Thing (Part II)

[pangolin20]

Kerlois: A good day, everyone, and welcome back to Eragon! Last time, Eragon and Brom talked quite a bit about magic.

For the reader post:

On part IV of chapter 14, Chessy and Wolfgoddess point out, regarding Brom’s remark about if no-one knows whether “Ra’zac” is “the name of their race or what they choose to call themselves”, that Brom probably meant it like I first interpreted it. That is, Brom implies these are mutually exclusive, or that no one has bothered to find out. So…

FYRP: 60

PPP: 800 (-1)

Chessy also leaves a tiny fic (nom), along with saying that “information control is the Riders’ watchword” (very true).

On chapter 15, Chessy notes that Brom likely did measure the saddle with his hands. Fair enough.

PPP: 799 (-1)

Wolfgoddess has a good explanation on the chest strap on Saphira’s saddle:

“The chest strap does indeed make the saddle more secure. Specifically, it helps to keep it from slipping backwards. It also doubles as a safety feature to allow the rider to safely dismount if the girth should break, so the saddle won't just be balanced on the horse's back with no anchor.”

She further notes that Brom’s apology to Eragon is very generic, and notably does not acknowledge he did anything wrong.

Tris notes the following on the creation of the saddle:

“A normal knife is not going to cut through leather smoothly enough to make this saddle safe to use, there's going to be too many weak points and frayed edges just asking to wear away or snap the moment Saphira takes flight. The knots are tolerable, JUST, but they're simply not going to last long under wear, not anywhere near as long as metal buckles and studs would.”

Why, thank you! The saddle will notably not do any of this, but that is a matter for a later chapter.

On the previous part of this chapter, Oblakom notes that having the teacher share their mind with the student while using magic might be a good way to give a “feel” for how magic works. I think that would best be used carefully, but it might help.

Epistler notes that it does not exactly make sense for “witches and wizards” to get their powers from “potions and spells”. For my part, I note that we notably do not see this, so I highly doubt this information.

Well, let me do the rest of the chapter, then!

We last left off with Brom giving a speech about true names. He now moves his injured arm and “grimace[s] uncomfortably”. Eragon asks why he or Brom cannot “heal that with magic”. That is a quite good question! He has had recently had a concussion, after all, and now he has another one and another injury, so I would think that some healing is in order!

Brom says it is for “[n]o reason”; he just never thought about it as it is “beyond [his] strength”. I highly doubt that it is, given some of the feats he manages later, but alright. Eragon could probably do it “with the right word”, but he does not want Eragon to exhaust himself. Eragon says he could save Brom quite some “trouble and pain”.

Brom says he will live with it. Using magic to heal, he says, takes as much energy as it would for the wound to heal naturally. No, it does not, going by what we see later. He does not want Eragon tired “for the next few days”, and he should not accomplish anything this difficult yet. I highly doubt that healing this wound would actually leave Eragon tired for days. What, can Saphira not lend him energy?

I also get the distinct feeling that Brom is just being stubborn here. What is the problem with letting Eragon try? You might at least allow him to dull the pain!

Eragon then asks if, since it is possible to “fix [Brom’s] arm”, he could “bring someone back from the dead”? Who would you resurrect, Eragon? Garrow? This might be a nice moment to show Eragon’s grief over his death… but instead it just comes across as random.

Brom is surprised, but he quickly answers, recalling what he said to Eragon about “projects that will kill [him]”. This is one of those projects. Riders were forbidden to try resurrecting the dead, “for their own safety”. Beyond life, there is an abyss “where magic means nothing”. If you reach into it, you die. (Brom puts it much more flowery, but I do not care for that.) Wizards, sorcerers and Riders have all “failed and died on that threshold”.

Hmmm, why is that the case, actually? I do not think we get an explanation for this, so I am quite curious. For myself, I think it might be connected with something we hear in Eldest about looking back into the past with magic having fatal consequences (probably because of the prohibitive power requirements), and since resurrection would entail reaching into the past (to get at who the person was before they died), that might explain why resurrection is fatal.

Brom tells Eragon to keep to the possible, which he defines as “cuts, bruises, maybe some broken bones”, but certainly not dead people. I get what Brom is trying to say (that those are the injuries he can be expected to heal in the near future), but it sounds like he means that Eragon can never heal anything more than that, which is just not true.

PPP: 800

The new & improved edition has Eragon asks after the “spirits that sorcerers and Shades use”, and if they are not “human souls”, then. Brom says they are not, and people have “precious little idea where they come from”. I guess this serves as… better set-up for the Shades?

HISC: In the self-published edition, Eragon instead complains about how there are “so many rules and things [he] can’t do”, and that he always thought magic would make things simpler. Brom only told him that certain things are beyond his power and that bringing the dead back is impossible, so I truly do not see what he is talking about.

Kerlois: Eragon now frowns and says it is “a lot more complex” than he thought. The new & improved edition changes this to “a lot more complicated”, which expresses what Eragon tries to say quite a bit better, I think.

Brom agrees and says that if “you” do not understand what you are doing, “you’ll try something too big and die”. Why, I would think that “you” might just use caution when using a power they do not understand. I get the feeling that Brom is projecting somewhat; after all, he is far from cautious.

HISC: In the self-published edition, Brom then says that Eragon has not “heard the last of it”, and this is “very important”. It might suit you to give Eragon better guidelines, then.

Kerlois: Well, now we can leave the talking behind us and get to see magic done! Brom “twist[s] in his saddle and swoop[s] down”, and grabs some pebbles from the ground. He then rights himself “[w]ith effort” and throws away all but one of the pebbles. Well, as has been pointed out earlier, this might work with a pony, but Snowfire is not noted to be especially small. Further, Brom is not very young any more, so I question his ability for such acrobatics.

Book

It’s Like We’re Smart But We’re Not: 63

This is also quite unnecessary. What would be the trouble to halt Snowfire and Cadoc, grab a pebble and then mount up again? This could have been avoided so easily!

Brom asks if Eragon sees the pebble. Eragon says so, and Brom has him take it. Eragon looks at it. The pebble is “dull black, smooth, and as large as the end of his thumb”. There are numerous stones like it around them. Brom says this is Eragon’s “training”. Oh, he is being cryptic again. Joy.

Eragon is confused and says he does not understand. Brom reacts like this:

“Of course you don’t,” said Brom impatiently. “That’s why I’m teaching you and not the other way around. Now stop talking or we’ll never get anywhere.

Brom, Eragon is not saying that he does not understand his training yet. He knows you will explain that! He is confused because you said that this pebble is his training, which is indeed confusing. If you had said something like “this is what you will train with”, that would have been better. Also, I see he is being hyperbolic once again to guilt Eragon into staying silent. Never mind that he has been holding this up instead of Eragon, of course.

He says that he wants Eragon to lift the pebble off his palm and keep it there as long as possible. The words he is to use are “stenr reisa”. The glossary for this book says that means “Raise stone!”, though I much prefer the translation from the other books: “Stone, rise!”

PPP: 801

He has Eragon say it, which he does to his satisfaction, and then tells Eragon to “[g]o ahead and try”. What, will you not even bother to give him an explanation of how you use magic? How is Eragon supposed to discover this if he does not know how?

Eragon goes to focus “sourly” on the pebble, searching for any hint of the energy from the day before. He just stares at the stone for a while, “sweating and frustrated”, and wonders how he is supposed to do this. Finally, he crosses his arms and says it is impossible.

Brom says it is not, as he says when it is impossible or not. Eragon ought to fight for it and not “give in this easily”. He tells Eragon to try again. Brom, if you are bothered by Eragon “giving up this easily”, then you should tell him what to do!

Eragon frowns and goes at it again. He closes his eyes and puts “all distracting thoughts” aside. (It is interesting that he can do this like that.) He takes a deep breath and “reache[s] into the farthest corners of his consciousness”, trying to find the location of his power. Given that there is no description of how he does this, I imagine a tiny Eragon walking around in the skull of the larger Eragon. He searches, and only finds “thoughts and memories” at first, until he feels something else: “a small bump that [is] part of him and yet not of him”. He gets excited and digs into it.

There he feels a “barrier in his mind”, and he knows the magic is on the other side. He tries to breach it, but it resists. He gets angry, and drives into the barrier as hard as he can, until it “shatter[s] like a thin pane of glass” which “flood[s] his mind with a river of light”.

He says the words and the pebble floats into the air above his “faintly glowing palm”. He does his best to keep it there, but the power fades away. The pebble drops to his hand “with a soft plop”, and his palm returns to his previous state.

Oh, I have a message from Vermaanti here: “I tried this myself, and the pebble didn’t make any sound I could hear.” Well, that could be better, then.

It’s Like We’re Smart But We’re Not: 64

He feels a bit tired, but grins because of his success. I think he had quite some luck with being able to do this so soon. Brom thinks it is “not bad” for his first time. Eragon then asks why his hand glows, and says it is “like a little lantern”. Brom admits that no one is sure (not even after 2700 years of Riders? Why has no one bothered to search this to the bottom?). The Riders apparently “always” (that cannot be true) preferred to “channel their power” through the hand with the gedwëy ignasia. One can use their other palm, but it is harder.

I do not think we see Riders use their palms to focus magic very much, so I do not know why this gets so much discussion, but alright. Brom now says he will get Eragon gloves at the next town, “if it isn’t gutted”. Good to see how casual Brom is about the possibility. Eragon apparently hides the mark quite well himself, but no one should see it on accident. Besides, it might be that they do not want the glow to “alert an enemy”.

So, now he does think that enough people know that a gedwëy ignasia means a Rider to take action on it? That is quite a contrast with his earlier assumptions that people barely know anything about the Riders any more. Further… why does Eragon need gloves? Would it not be easier to put a tiny spell on his hand to hide it from sight? That would not be beyond Brom’s strength or knowledge, I think, and it would always work. (Naturally, no one ever thinks of this.)

Eragon asks if Brom has a mark of his own. Eragon, you already know that the gedwëy ignasia is a feature of only Riders, and Brom already told you he is not one? Why do you ask again? Either way, Brom says he does not have one, because only Riders do. Ah, then it was probably so Brom could lie more!

Brom then says that magic is affected by distance: the farther away you try to do something, the more energy it takes. So, he says, if you can see enemies from a league away, you should try let them come near “before using magic”. That is fine, but what if the enemies also have a magician (which is a distinct possibility)? Should he let them come closer too?

We do not get an answer on that, as Brom tells Eragon to raise the pebble again. Eragon protests, “thinking of the effort it [has] taken to do it just once”. You do realise that it will be easier now, since you actually know what to do? Brom says he should, and he should be “quicker about it” this time. Well, why should he, Brom? You are not in a great hurry now, after all, so you should ask him to simply do it again first. Also, Eragon will be quicker either way, since he knows how to do it. You do not need to tell him!

We are then told that they keep up their exercises through “most of the day”. By the time they stop, Eragon is “tired and ill-tempered” and he hates the pebble and everything about it. It might have helped to have him do other exercises, I think. The pebble is a quite good first exercise, certainly, but there is simply only so much that can be done with it. I also simply do not see why he should spend hours on the same exercise when he could probably do it by rote after the first half-hour. Just having him do other exercises, like making light, would help both those problems, and it might give him more practical things to do than moving pebbles around.

I do not mean to sound overly harsh here, but this training just… does not do it for me, unfortunately.

Eragon now wants to throw away the pebble, but Brom tells him to keep it. Eragon glares at him, and then tucks it into a pocket. Hmm, why does Eragon need to keep this pebble, while they apparently throw away their sparring swords every time? I think this would work better reversed.

Well, Brom says they are not done yet, so Eragon should not “get comfortable”. …You say that as if that would be a bad thing. I think he is allowed some “comfort” by now. Well, Brom then goes to teach him ancient language words, which is a quite good technique to make Eragon better at using magic. It might be nice if he did this the next day, but I will take what I can get.

The first word is “delois”, which he illustrates by pointing at a “small plant”. The glossary tells us it is “a green-leafed plant with purple flowers”. I think we had better have this description along with Brom telling us the name, not tucked away in the glossary.

PPP: 802

From then on, he gives Eragon more words to memorise, such as “vöndr”, which means a “thin, straight stick”, and “the morning star, Aiedail”. So that is this planetary system’s equivalent of Venus, then? I do wonder if it is so extreme as Venus, or if there are other reasons for why it is so bright…

We cut to them sparring that evening. Brom fights with his left hand, but “his skill [is] undiminished”. I… somewhat doubt that, as he has not had the opportunity for swordfighting in the last fifteen years, so would he actually still be just as good with both hands?

HISC: I do want to note that the self-published edition does not use “vöndr”, and specifically says he needs to memorise a “long list”.

Kerlois: There is a scene break now, and then we get some summary. Now, in the next chapter, we will learn that it takes place “nearly a fortnight” after they went through Yazuac. I will say that is thirteen days. If I subtract the day this chapter mostly takes place on, and an extra day for “Admonishments”, I see that the time in this summary is 11 days. Do keep that in mind.

The days “follow[] the same pattern”. First, Eragon “struggle[s] to learn the ancient words and to manipulate the pebble”. Um, why does Eragon struggle to learn the words from the ancient language? I do not think that would be that difficult; it would be quite a bit easier than learning the ancient language, at least. Or… is Brom supposed to be teaching him the ancient language? I am quite certain that is the case, given that he can talk somewhat fluently, but then that should be said!

PPP: 803

Then I can see why he struggles with that. As for the magic training… why is Brom still using that pebble? This will not teach Eragon anything new! I also think that he might remember the words of the ancient language if he gets to apply them often.

In the evening, he spars with Brom, still with fake swords. Yes, that will help him with swordplay. He is in “constant discomfort”, but gradually, “almost without noticing”, he begins to change. Brom, I do not think he should be in constant discomfort. If that is the case, you are teaching quite wrong!

For the Good of the Cause: 16

Also… eleven days is a quite small time for him to change so “gradually”. I get the feeling Paolini did not bother to think about his timeline. Well, soon the pebble “no longer wobbles” when he lifts it. That is quite a bit of progress. He “master[s] the first exercises” that Brom gives him and goes on to “harder ones”. It is good to see that he does something other than the pebble, but why did that need to take several days? (Because Brom sucks as a teacher, naturally.) Eragon also learns more of the ancient language.

During their sparring, Eragon gains “confidence and speed”, and he “strik[es] like a snake”. His blows are heavier and he can keep his arm steady as he wards off attacks. Their sparring takes longer as he can fend off Brom. Now, when they go to sleep, “Eragon [is] no longer the only one with bruises”. …They still should not be bruising each other!

For the Good of the Cause: 17

This is also useless. Yes, it is nice for Eragon that he knows how to fight with sticks, but he wants to fight with swords!

Now we switch to Saphira. She keeps growing, “but more slowly than before”. I would not have expected anything else. Also, why note this here rather than noting it during the previous chapters of their journey? Those chapters took eight days, and this takes eleven days, so the difference in time does not exactly justify it. Her extended flights and “periodic hunts” keep her “fit and healthy”. I doubt that she had to hunt many times during this time, so…

PPP: 808 (+5) (for the general time confusion)

She is now taller than the horses and “much longer”. Because of how large she is “and the way her scales sparkle[]” (ugh), she is apparently “altogether too visible”. (To who?) Brom and Eragon are worried, but they cannot convince her to “allow dirt to obscure her scintillating hide”. Hmm, that does not sound like Eragon.

Forgot the Narrator: 47

I would expect something like “they could not convince her to let dirt cover her sparkling skin”. This just feels like Paolini wanted to show off with his words, no matter that it does not fit the chapter at all. That aside… I guess Saphira is just too vain to let someone not see how she sparkles? I have to say this plan is somewhat silly either way, since putting dirt all over Saphira is quite a task, and they are not on a busy stretch of road. If they do not want her to be seen, then they should simply have her fly above them.

Further, as we have said multiple times, why do they care? What if someone sees her sparkle? They could never bring it to Galbatorix ahead of the Ra’zac, and Brom, Eragon, and Saphira do not care about that. Why should Saphira agree to this plan when none of them cares about not being seen? (I must also note that the people who do see them would be unlikely to act against her.)

They keep going south and track the Ra’zac. Eragon is frustrated that, “no matter how fast they [go]”, the Ra’zac always stay “a few days ahead of them”. Oh, how fast are they going again? By my reckoning, the distance was some 35 kilometres, so if I take the day this chapter mostly took place on into account… they travel an average of 2,9 kilometres (1,81 miles) per day.

(I first want to note that these measurements are based on the given distances in this book, which were even there in the self-published edition. So Paolini could have possibly calculated this and found it made no sense.)

Well, little wonder the Ra’zac stay ahead of you like this! I guess they are travelling this slowly because Brom spends much time on teaching Eragon, and that does not work mounted. Either way, why is Eragon so confused that they are behind the Ra’zac? He can certainly see that they are going very slowly, can he not? This makes no sense…

At times, he is “ready to give up”, but then they find “some mark or print” that convinces him to go on. There is no “sign[] of habitation” along the Ninor or in the plains, which means they are left undisturbed. Finally, they near “Daret”, which is the first village since Yazuac. That is a matter for the next chapter, though.

There is another scene break, and we are told that the night before they arrive at the village, Eragon has “especially vivid” dreams. We get the dream in italics:

He sees “Garrow and Roran” at home, where they are sitting in the destroyed kitchen. They ask him to help rebuild the form. Eragon shakes his head, “with a pang of longing in his heart”. He whispers to Garrow that he is “tracking [his] killers”. Garrow looks at him and “demand[s]” if he looks dead to Eragon. Eragon says he cannot help Garrow and nearly cries. There is a “sudden roar” and Garrow becomes the Ra’zac. They say “then die” and leap at Eragon.

My, this one was well done! It is nice as a dream (not too coherent), and it shows Eragon is still thinking about Garrow and Roran. Further, this seems to confirm my suspicion that Eragon wanted to resurrect Garrow earlier.

I also like how it shows Eragon’s thoughts about this. He could have stayed back in Carvahall to rebuild the farm, but here he is, tracking the Ra’zac and planning to kill them, which might well kill him, too. Overall, it is a nice dream.

Eragon wakes up “feeling ill” and watches the stars. Saphira then says: “All will be well, little one”. That was it for the dream, then, as Eragon will not remember it later and these doubts will not come back, either. Why bother having this dream at all, then?

This is also the first time that Saphira calls Eragon “little one”. I think it is meant as an endearment, but, combined with her behaviour in the next chapters, it just feels quite patronising to me. I think her saying “all will be well” also adds to that, as she does not even ask what he dreamed!

Either way, the chapter ends here. It does not exactly fit well into a category, so:

Other Ending: 8

This chapter is mostly a large lesson in magic. It is reasonably competent in that, but it does mean that it is not exactly engaging beyond being a magic lesson. There is simply very little to hold on to outside of it during the lesson. Still, I do think it is nice to have this lesson in a single chapter, since it frees the story up to go on after that. For the rest, it is mostly summary, though Eragon’s dream is nice, no matter that it will go unnoticed.

Well, with that done, I will be gone until chapter 25. Fumurti will be there in the next chapter. See you!

A Better Commando Name	15
A Murder In Your Future	2
All the Isms	14
Edgy Equals Mature, Right?	9
For the Good of the Cause	16
Forgot the Narrator	47
FYRP	60
Give Me a Piece of Your Mind	2
It's Like We're Smart But We're Not	64
IYES	28
Like Coins Bounced Off a Drum	3
Morals for Thee But Not for Me	13
No-Wave Feminism	65
No Touchy	8
PPP	808
Olympic Finals in Conclusion Leaping	7
Thou Art Well Come	3
Cliffhanger Chop	2
Mid-Scene Break	1
Other Ending	8
Protagonist Unconsciousness	9
Single-Purpose Chapter	5