Eragon: Chapter Three (Part II): Arguments and Propaganda

[pangolin20]

Chapter Three (Part I) | Table of Contents | Chapter Three (Part III)

Welcome back to Eragon, everyone. Last time, we met the merchants and Eragon and Garrow unsuccessfully tried to sell Saphira’s egg to Morlock. This time, we’ll meet with some pro-Empire merchants, and we’ll have Galbatorix’s “backstory”.

We open the chapter with a choppy description of the inside of the Seven Sheaves.

PPP: 69

We’re told the inside is “hot and filled with greasy smoke from sputtering tallow candles.” And also: “The shiny-black Urgal horns, their twisted span as great as his outstretched arms, were mounted over the door.”

First off, in the descriptions of the Urgals we get later, their horns are never noted to be this large.

Continuity Fluidity: 17

Second: I might not have a problem with the villagers killing an Urgal, if done in self-defence, but here, they’ve clearly taken the Urgal’s horns to put them up as a trophy. And again, I wouldn’t mind if Eragon realised later on, when he meets the Urgals, that this isn’t okay at all, but there isn’t such a moment at all. At all.

As it is, this is sick. We’ll see that the Urgals have an entire culture, and are far from the “monsters” they’re supposed to be in this book, but here it’s clear that the Carvahallians don’t see them as people as all. And I really hate it.

Look Away: 27 (five points because this is never pointed out)

RVMP: 22

Continuing with the description, we’re told the bar is long and low, “with a stack of staves on one end for costumers to carve.” I guess that is so Morn can keep track of their consumptions? No idea. For all I know, it might be because the Carvahallians just like carving things. Morn tends the bar, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. We’re told “[t]he bottom half of his face [is] short and mashed, as if he [has] rested his chin on a grinding wheel.” Not very flattering description, and I can’t picture well what that looks like. People are crowding “solid oak tables” and they listen to “two traders who [have] finished their business early and [have] come in for beer.” We’ll be getting to them soon.

Morn looks up from a mug he’s cleaning and greets Eragon, saying it’s good to see him. He asks where Garrow is. Eragon shrugs and says he’s buying, and that Garrow will be a while. Morn cleans another mug and asks if Roran’s there. Eragon says yep, no sick animals to keep him at home this year.

Ah, more great thinks from Garrow. Just leave Roran alone with a sick animal in hopes he can fix it. Don’t get anyone who maybe knows a bit more at the farm, because that means you’re not independent anymore, and that’s the worst thing in the universe.

Land of Incompetents: 72

Look Away: 28

Also, “this year”? So either the traders only come along once a year, or Garrow only goes to see the merchants once a year. Some clarity would be very much appreciated.

PPP: 70

Morn goes “good, good” at that. Eragon now gestures at the traders and asks who they are. Morn says they’re “grain buyers”. They’ve bought everyone’s seed at “ridiculously low prices” and now they’re telling wild stories and expect the Carvahallians to believe them.

And why could they buy the grain at such low prices? I’d think the villagers would have demanded a decent price for the grain, and after years of trading with the merchants, they should know some negotiation techniques. So really, Morn should be irritated with the villagers who let this happen.

Land of Incompetents: 73

Eragon tells us he understands why Morn is so upset. I didn’t see Morn being upset at all, but whatever. This is his explanation: “People need that money. We can’t get by without it.”

First, thanks for explaining, Eragon. I think we could have figured that out ourselves.

Thanks for Explaining: 5

Second, you don’t really need that money on a day-to-day basis, and I’d think you could get by by trying to shift money around between the different people.

Third, Eragon’s reaction would be much more appropriate if those merchants had actually stolen from the villagers. In this case, it’s more the fault of the villagers for forgetting how to negotiate. And if trickery was involved, in which case this reaction would also be appropriate, that should have been said!

Gah, we’re already supposed to hate on them for things they haven’t done.

Petty Ain’t the Word for You: 21

Eragon asks what kind of stories these two folks tell, at which Morn snorts. He explains what kind of stories they tell:

“They say the Varden have formed a pact with the Urgals and are massing an army to attack us.[”]

There’s some truth in this, actually, and I can see why they came to this conclusion. They’ve seen lots of Urgals leave the Spine for no apparent reason, and they’re going towards the Beor Mountains, where the Varden are. The logical conclusion is that they’re going towards the Varden, and the inference that the Varden have formed a pact with them isn’t that far-fetched. And also, why wouldn’t they assume that the Varden are massing an army against the Empire. They’re constantly raiding and attacking the Empire; it only makes sense that the traders would interpret anything regarding the Varden as a threat.

And also, the Varden later on will form a pact with the Urgals and they will mass an army to attack the Empire, so this absolutely isn’t as out there as Morn wants to make it seem.

Morn further says: [“]Supposedly, it’s only through the grace of our king that we’ve been

protected for so long—as if Galbatorix would care if we burned to the ground. . . .[”]

Yes, I think he wouldn’t care at all if you burned to the ground, because he’s busy with issues on a much larger scale (like counterfeiting, the greatest danger to any empire). But you can still be protected because of things Galbatorix does. After all, the only way to go into the Palancar Valley is through the Empire, and if Galbatorix keeps the Empire peaceful and steady, which he does, then you’ll be less likely to get involved in all kinds of disturbances, like wars and Shades coming along.

So, Morn, you might be a tiny bit more grateful towards Galbatorix, or at least recognise that keeping the Empire peaceful means that the Palancar Valley will probably remain peaceful, too.

Evidence, Please: 7 (for dismissing the traders’ stories on the basis of nothing)

He tells Eragon to go listen to them. He’s got enough on his hands “without explaining their lies.” First off, Morn, those aren’t all lies. And I think you should back up your claims with some more evidence. After all, these people have travelled through the Empire quite a bit, while you’ve been in a backwater village for who knows how long, and the things we see side more with the traders. I get the feeling that we’re supposed to side with the villagers in everything just because they’re not part of the Empire. Only that doesn’t work if we never see anything supporting what they say!

Evidence, Please: 8 (for the lies)

Second, Morn, what if Eragon doesn’t want to listen to the traders? Maybe Eragon doesn’t want to hear what he thinks are lies, either?

Anyway, cut to a description of the grain buyers:

The first trader filled a chair with his enormous girth; his every movement caused it to protest loudly. There was no hint of hair on his face, his pudgy hands were baby smooth, and he had pouting lips that curled petulantly as he sipped from a flagon. The second man had a florid face. The skin around his jaw was dry and corpulent, filled with lumps of hard fat, like cold butter gone rancid. Contrasted with his neck and jowls, the rest of his body was unnaturally thin.

So the first trader is fat and the second… I don’t know what’s going on with him. And of course, they’re described in the most unflattering terms possible. Trader number one is posited as some kind of adult baby, with his “pudgy hands” that are “baby smooth”, and “pouting lips” that “curl petulantly”. And trader number two isn’t described flatteringly either, what with “cold butter gone rancid”. All in all, it seems like an attempt to discredit them because of the way they look. And I’m very disgusted by the constant theme in this series that appearance equals morality. Here, for example, I’m quite certain that we’re supposed to look down on the traders for not looking “attractive”, and I absolutely hate it.

Perfection Is Pure: 3

Petty Ain’t the Word For You: 26 (2 points for here, plus 3 for the times the first trader is referred to as “the fat one”)

We’re now told the first trader “vainly trie[s] to pull back his expanding borders to fit within the chair.” Fat-shaming: just what I want in my book! No, Paolini, just no.

Anyway, now we get a back-and-forth between the traders and the villagers. The first trader starts off by saying the villagers don’t understand. According to him:

[“]It is only through the king’s unceasing efforts on your behalf that you are able to argue with us in safety. If he, in all his wisdom, were to withdraw that support, woe unto you!”

Yes, these are pro-Empire traders. And, because of that, they have to talk all pompous and stuff. Regarding the argument itself, it’s true enough that Carvahall is protected by the Empire, as I said earlier. But though it’s most likely part of it, because we’ll hear the Imperial tax collectors come along, I very much doubt Galbatorix specifically cares about the village of a few hundred people.

We also don’t see Galbatorix actually support Carvahall. There’s no garrison or something, no Imperial funding. There’s no evidence of any “unceasing efforts” for Carvahall especially. And that’s why the threat at the end falls flat, too. If Galbatorix doesn’t give support to Carvahall, he can’t withdraw it either! And Carvahall seems to be doing quite fine without support, too.

These traders should know this, too! If they want to convince the villagers that the Empire isn’t that bad, they should emphasise the peace it ensures.

Land of Incompetents: 74

Now we get a retort from the crowd! Someone “holler[s]” to ask why they don’t also tell the villagers that the Riders have returned and the both of them have each killed a hundred elves. The person asks if the traders think the Carvahallians are children to believe in their tales. They say the villagers can take care of themselves. The crowd chuckles at that.

What an absolutely brutal takedown. It amounted to nothing but eye-rolling at the traders, and implying they see the villagers as people they’re free to condescend to, while they didn’t say or imply such a thing at all, as far as we can see. They didn’t even say that Galbatorix hasn’t done anything for them at all! That would have been a good comeback. I also love how the crowd chuckles at the end, like this was just so funny. I really don’t see it, though.

The trader tries to reply, but the other trader waves his hand to silence him. We’re told “[g]audy jewels flash[] on his fingers.” Ooh, look at how rich he is! Look at the rich man talking down to the poor peasants! Look at how eeevil he is! Look at how I can discredit this character without having to put in the effort to actually make him bad!

Petty Ain’t the Word For You: 27 (it’s just there to discredit the trader, while he hasn’t spoken a word yet)

This trader (and I’ll name him Laurel and the other Hardy) says the villagers misunderstand. Well, actually they totally ignored what you said, but kudos for trying to keep it on track. According to Laurel:

We know the Empire cannot care for each of us personally, as you may want, but it can keep Urgals and other abominations from overrunning this,” he searched vaguely for the right term, “place.”

My thoughts:

· Um, Laurel, I might be missing something, but I don’t think the Carvahallians want the Empire to take care of each of them personally. In fact, I’m quite sure they’d have rather the Empire not exist at all than have it take care of them.

I do like the first point, because it’s a plausible assumption for Laurel to make, if they’d be peasants who were angry with the Empire because of their treatment. Then this might be an example of the higher classes in the Empire looking down on the peasants, which would give us some insight into the Empire.

But regarding the second point: the Carvahallians don’t want anything to do with the Empire! And I think that should have come up in this discussion already!

Land of Incompetents: 75

· Good to see that Laurel acknowledges that the Empire can indirectly protect Carvahall! And of course, the villagers won’t have anything to say to this. Still, to be fair, the Empire can’t protect Carvahall effectively from Urgals who come from the Spine. If they wanted to, they could destroy Carvahall before the Empire ever got wind of it.

· Not happy with Laurel calling Urgals “abominations”. If this were Inheritance, it would be a sign he’s a bad guy, by the way.

RVMP: 23

· What or who are those “other abominations”?? The only ones that would make sense are the Ra’zac/Lethrblaka (eeeeeevil human-like arthropods). They’d be well-know enough to make sense. Still, an explanation would be nice.

· I like how Laurel has to search for how to call Carvahall, as if he was about to call it a “podunk little backwater” or something. I get that he could look down on the Carvahallians, but I think he could be a little subtler about it. He still wants them to take him seriously, after all. Not like they’re doing that anyway.

Laurel continues explaining:

The trader continued, “You’re angry with the Empire for treating people unfairly, a legitimate concern, but a government cannot please everyone. There will inevitably be arguments and conflicts. However, the majority of us have nothing to complain about. Every country has some small group of malcontents who aren’t satisfied with the balance of power.”

My thoughts:

· I don’t think they’re angry with the Empire for treating people unfairly as much as they’re angry with the Empire for existing.

· So because a government can’t please everyone, that means it’s no use trying to act when the Empire treats people unfairly? That doesn’t really work.

· If the Empire treats people unfairly, you should try to stop that, instead of telling the people who are being treated that way it’s just Like That.

· The Empire treating people unfairly ≠ “arguments and conflicts”.

· This is a nice diversion tactic. Laurel first admits that the Empire treating people unfairly is a “legitimate concern”, but then acts like it’s the same as calling in the government to solve “arguments and conflicts”, which it isn’t.

· Well, Laurel, could you give some evidence that the majority has nothing to complain about? I mean, the majority of the Empire’s citizens might have reasonably good lives, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get better, after all.

· Even if the majority has nothing to complain about, ignoring the complaints of the minority can easily go very wrong, which isn’t really an argument in favour of the Empire.

· “small group of malcontents”. So the only people in any country who complain about the balance of power are grumping about everything and can safely be ignored? And the leadership of every country is flawless, then? The characterisation does fit in well if this is to be taken as propaganda, though.

· Well, Laurel, I think people in the Empire have a very good reason not to be satisfied with the balance of power. Namely, the majority of the people don’t have any kind of political power, which means they’re at the mercy of the people who have, like Galbatorix and the local lords of the Empire. I think they certainly have something to complain about, and if this situation gets especially bad, there might even be a revolution.

Well, these arguments were bad, but they were quite believably bad, so I’ll compliment Paolini on that.

A random woman from the crows calls out: “Yeah, if you’re willing to call the Varden small!”

Two things:

· I’m quite certain the Varden aren’t the only ones who aren’t satisfied with the balance of power. The people in Carvahall aren’t, and they’re not a part of the Varden, so…

· I am willing to call the Varden small. As we’ll find out later, the actual fighting force of the Varden in the Beor Mountains numbers four thousand people. Let’s say that the total amount of the Varden measures 20000 people. I’ll put the population of the Empire at 2 million; that seems reasonable, considering how empty most of it is. In that case, the Varden would be at most 1% of the population, which certainly is small.

Hardy sighs at this, and his reaction is very great:

“We already explained that the Varden have no interest in helping you. That’s only a falsehood perpetuated by the traitors in an attempt to disrupt the Empire and convince us that the real threat is inside—not outside—our borders. All they want to do is overthrow the king and take possession of our land. They have spies everywhere as they prepare to invade. You never know who might be working for them.”

*claps* All of this is very very true. The Varden will never show any interest in helping the people of the Empire. All the rumours about how bad everyone in the Empire has it and how awful Galbatorix is are mostly unsubstantiated or overblown, and it seems very much like propaganda. And they indeed want to overthrow Galbatorix and put their leader up as ruler of Alagaësia. And they’re also preparing to invade the Empire, which they’ll do later on.

The only things I’ve got to remark on this is that Hardy missed that the Varden also want to kill as many people from the Empire as possible, and the last part comes across to me as trying to scare the villagers, not that that is unreasonable with how bad the Varden are.

Eragon doesn’t agree with this, but the “traders’ words [are] smooth, and people [are] nodding.” How awful! Laurel and Hardy have convinced people by talking to them! And without making threats or otherwise forcing these people to come to conclusions! The wording of this would fit better if the traders were using some kind of mind-control magic to make those villagers agree with them, and if Eragon were immune to it. Since that isn’t the case, I’m left wondering why it’s so bad if some if the villagers agree with the (true) story of the pro-Empire traders. It’s like Paolini assumes that we’ll see the Empire as so evil that anyone who agrees with it is either evil, or must be severely deceived. That’s probably also the reason why Eragon doesn’t agree with the traders, despite the fact that they would know much better, as they’ve been in the Empire and because they could have seen the effects of the Varden themselves.

Petty Ain’t the Word For You: 28 (of course no one would believe what people from the Empire say. Guess all of its citizens are under mind-control, then)

So it’s time for Eragon to challenge Laurel and Hardy himself. He steps forward and asks how they know all this. Which is a quite reasonable thing to ask, and which might be a nice place to work in exposition. But no… Eragon goes on, saying he can say that clouds are green, but that doesn’t make them so. He tells them to “prove [they] aren’t lying.” Wow, Eragon, you sure do step in in bad faith. You could have said something like “prove you speak the truth”, but of course you assume they’re lying. Because the Empire is eeeevil.

Laurel and Hardy glare at Eragon, while the villagers wait “silently” for the answer. Why are the traders glaring at Eragon? Are they that pissed-off to have their claims doubted? At most, I’d expect them to roll their eyes before carrying on with their explanation. It also doesn’t make sense for the villagers to stand back like this. If they’re really that bad against the Empire, I would expect them to dogpile onto the traders at this question.

Land of Incompetents: 76

Of course, this is all so Eragon can have his own moment of standing up to the traders. Laurel speaks first, “avoid[ing] Eragon’s eyes.” See, Eragon has put him so far in his place that Laurel doesn’t dare look him in the eye anymore!

Petty Ain’t the Word For You: 29

Instead of giving any kind of relevant response, Laurel asks if their children “[a]ren’t taught respect? Or do you let boys challenge men whenever they want to?” Never mind that you invited this by having such a public discussion in the first place… And Laurel can only resort to personal attacks when pressed for evidence, because he’s just so pathetic. Even though just before, he could take negative reactions from the public perfectly well.

Continuity Fluidity: 18

Petty Ain’t the Word For You: 30

The villagers don’t react to this at all; they just fidget and stare at Eragon. Why, I don’t know. Maybe they feel called out? Seems unlikely. I would expect them to get angry with the traders instead of looking at Eragon.

Continuity Fluidity: 19

Land of Incompetents: 77

A man from the crowd now tells Laurel and Hardy to answer the question. The response?

“It’s only common sense,” said [Hardy], sweat beading on his upper lip.

Yep, he’s just so flustered by being asked for evidence. And of course they aren’t allowed to give any response beyond “it’s common sense”. Wouldn’t want to make the Varden look bad, or the traders look remotely competent.

Petty Ain’t the Word For You: 32

The villagers don’t like this blatant evasion and get riled up (oh, now they care?), and they keep disputing. Eragon goes back to the bar “with a sour taste in his mouth.” We’re told he’s never before met “anyone who favor[s] the Empire and [tears] down its enemies.” I can see why he’d not be glad about someone challenging a belief he’s held his entire life, but on the other hand it can’t exactly hurt. There’s some exposition here, so I’ll do it line-by-line.

There was a deep-seated hatred of the Empire in Carvahall, almost hereditary in nature.

Boy, do they ever hate the Empire. Going by the wording here, I’d expect there to be some kind of reveal later on about why they hate the Empire that much, like that the Palancar Valley is the remnant of a duchy that was usurped by the Empire or something like that.

The Empire never helped them during harsh years when they nearly starved, and its tax collectors were heartless.

Well, that sucks. I don’t really feel it, though, because we never see this, or hear about any of these thing after now. Come on, Paolini! Show us the skeletal villagers with even more skeletal kids who are starving because all the crops blew away! Show us the tax collectors who tear people out of their houses and sell them into slavery to make them pay their debts! Anything! It doesn’t have to be quite as dramatic as the examples above, but it would help to put in something.

He felt justified in disagreeing with the traders regarding the king’s mercy, but he did speculate about the Varden.

If he feels this way, why did he just stand back while the traders discussed the Empire, while he demanded evidence while they talked about the Varden? That would make more sense, and it would have made for a more interesting discussion.

~~~

The Varden were a rebel group that constantly raided and attacked the Empire.

Not that we’ll see much of those raids and attacks, but as we’ll hear the leader of the Varden talk about this later, I think I can take this at face value. I do think it’s quite overblown here. I doubt that the Varden have the resources to “constantly” raid the Empire, or to do much damage, especially since in the later books, we’re repeatedly told how underfunded the Varden are and how little resources they have.

Evidence, Please: 9

It was a mystery who their leader was or who had formed them in the years following Galbatorix’s rise to power over a century ago.

Their current leader is Ajihad and they were founded by Brom. There you go. I don’t really understand how this can be a mystery. IIRC, there’s no magical oaths that prevent the Varden from talking to outsiders, so I’d think the identity of the founder of the Varden would be well-known after 100 years. Ajihad has, at this point, been leader for 15 years, so I’d think he’d also be known in the Empire.

Of course, I can certainly believe that the people in Carvahall don’t know about either, but that doesn’t warrant declaring “it was a mystery”, like everyone doesn’t know about them.

Evidence, Please: 10

The group had garnered much sympathy as they eluded Galbatorix’s efforts to destroy them.

I mean, eluding Galbatorix isn’t that great an accomplishment when the Varden are safely tucked away in the Beors and when Galbatorix doesn’t bother to oppose them very much.

I have to ask: who do they garner sympathy from? From the people whose villages they raid, and whose lives they destroy? I can see them getting sympathy from the Carvahallians, but not from most people in the Empire. And, as we’ll see later, the people of the Empire will react overwhelmingly negative to the Varden.

Evidence, Please: 11

Knowing what they will stand for, they certainly don’t have my sympathy.

Little was known about the Varden except that if you were a fugitive and had to hide, or if you hated the Empire, they would accept you.

Again, I don’t think this is true for the Empire as a whole.

Evidence, Please: 12

And while this description doesn’t sound too bad, what’s blatantly missing is what they stand for. What is their goal? From what we know of their actions (raiding and attacking the Empire), their motivations could range from “wanting to improve the lives of those in the Empire” to “wanting to set up their own kingdom” to “killing people for funsies”. It will turn out to be a combination of the last two, but that’s neither here nor there at this point.

The only problem was finding them.

Well, couldn’t they spread information about themselves? It shouldn’t be all that hard, especially because they can use magic. And yet we never hear of this. IIRC, they’re only spreading rumours of themselves, and they don’t actually give concrete information on how to reach them.

Land of Incompetents: 78

With the infodump over, we get back to Eragon, who’s apparently reached the bar. Morn leans over it, and this is his response:

“Incredible, isn’t it? They’re worse than vultures circling a dying animal. There’s going to be trouble if they stay much longer.”

· Yes, how dare they voice a different opinion than your own! How evil they are! They’re just having a mostly civil discussion, Morn! If you don’t want them around, then tell them to leave!

· I’m disturbed by the implication that the villagers will outright attack the traders if they stay for a bit longer. The traders have, as far as we know, only made some general insults to Carvahall, which doesn’t warrant violence at all. If the villagers don’t want to have them around, Morn could just tell them to leave; it’s his tavern, after all. But the villagers apparently see attacking as totally justified.

Look Away: 29

· And here comes a new count: Murdered By the Convocation. This goes for every time someone in these books goes for violence as their first resort.

Murdered By the Convocation: 1

· Morn, fuck off with your vultures simile. You may not like them, but that doesn’t mean it’s right of you to demonise them. And since many species of vultures aren’t doing too well at the moment, putting in something like this doesn’t really help.

Use ‘Em As You Will: 2

Plus, for those it’s just about survival. Hardly the worst motive.

Anyway. Eragon asks who there will be trouble for: the villagers or the traders. Morn answers that it’s the traders, while “angry voices” sound. Lovely. Eragon leaves “when the argument threaten[s] to become violent.” Awww, I wanted to see the villagers beat up two unarmed traders for having the gall to be pro-Empire. I also love how undisturbed Eragon is by this.

The door closes behind him, so he doesn’t hear the argument anymore. And we never find out what happened here, nor will we ever see Laurel and Hardy back. It’s early evening now, the sun is about to set, and the houses throw long shadows. As Eragon walk along the street, he sees Roran and Katrina “standing in an alley.” And what could they be doing there? Meeting each other as forbidden lovers, of course.

Roran says something Eragon can’t hear. Katrina looks at her hands and answers just as softly, then “lean[s] up on her tiptoes” and kisses him, before darting away. Romance, woo! This is the last time we’ll see them together until Eldest, by the way. I think this might have benefited from a bit more build-up.

Eragon walks over to Roran, and “tease[s]” him by asking if he’s having a good time. Roran just grunts and walks away. Eragon shows no reaction to this. Instead, he asks if Roran’s heard the traders’ news. We’re told that most of the villagers are indoors, either “talking to traders” or waiting until it’s dark enough for the “troubadours” to perform. So the traders literally went indoors? Would have been nice to have been told clearly before now.

Continuity Fluidity: 20 (for the troubadours)

Drop It Like It’s Hot: 3 (also for the troubadours)

PPP: 71

Roran says yes, he’s heard the tales. He seems distracted, we’re told, and he asks what Eragon thinks of Sloan. Eragon says “[he thinks] it was obvious.” Which isn’t very helpful, because what Eragon thinks is obvious doesn’t have to be what Roran thinks is obvious. Roran’s answer is this:

“There’ll be blood between us when he finds out about Katrina and me,” stated Roran.

Oh, there will be. But that will only be because you’ll refuse to talk to Sloan, and because both Katrina and you will refuse to call in outside help. There will be plenty of opportunities to get out, but you’ll let it come to a head in the worst way it could. I’m bothered by Roran’s reaction here, though. He just seems to accept that there will be fighting when Sloan finds out. There’s no thought of preventing it.

Murdered By the Convocation: 2

A snowflake lands on Eragon’s nose, and he looks up. The sky has clouded over. “He could

think of nothing appropriate to say; Roran was right.”

Um, Roran isn’t right at all! There doesn’t have to be a fight! He could try to talk it over with Sloan! Okay, I can see Eragon believing that Sloan will try to start a fight, but even then, why shouldn’t he want to search for a solution?? They just seem to assume that it is inevitable. Which runs into the weirdly fatalistic attitude most people in this series seem they have, and how often the message “don’t fight fate” pops up. Here’s a count for that: Resistance Is Futile.

Resistance is Futile: 1

Eragon just clasps Roran on the shoulder by way of support as they walk on. Cut to dinner at Horst’s. Great scene change skills you have, Paolini. The dinner is “hearty.” The room is “filled with conversation and laughter.” The people drink lots of “[s]weet cordials and heavy ales”, which adds to the “boisterous atmosphere.” When the guests are done eating, they leave the house and walk to the field where the traders are camped. “A ring of poles topped with candles” has been put in the ground around a large clearing. Bonfires blaze further back and cast “dancing shadows” on the ground. The villagers gather around the circle and wait for the show. This place has got a very nice atmosphere for telling stories, I’ll say.

The “troubadours” “[come] tumbling” out of their tents (not literally, I hope.) They’re dressed in “tasselled clothing” and they’re followed by “older and more stately minstrels.” Ah yes, minstrels that will only be referenced two times after this point.

Continuity Fluidity: 22

We’re told the minstrels give music and narration while the troubadours act out the stories. The first “plays” are just for fun. They’re “bawdy and full of jokes, pratfalls, and ridiculous characters.” But we can’t spend time on that, because we need to get to the propaganda story! So cut to later. The candles are sputtering, and everyone is drawn in a tight circle. And the “old storyteller Brom” steps forward. We get some description of him: a “knotted white beard” ripples over his chest, and he’s got a “long black cape” wrapped around his “bent shoulders”, which hides his body. Generic old, wise man: check. He spreads his arms with “hands that reach[] out like talons” and begins “recit[ing]” his tale. I don’t think “recite” is the right word here; that implies that Brom is repeating a text he’s read earlier, while I’m quite sure that’s not what is meant.

PPP: 72