Eragon: Chapter Six: Tea for Two (Part I)

[pangolin20]

Chapter Five (Part II) | Table of Contents | Chapter Six (Part II)

Kerlois: Last time, we sat through Saphira’s first month of development, in which little of note occurred. This time, we will get our first real taste of Brom, and we will get some backstory.

Chapter Six: Tea For Two

Hmmm. I think this chapter could better have been called “Dragon Tales”, because that is what the backstory will be about. Eragon and Brom will indeed take tea in this chapter, so it is not a bad fit per se, but still.

We open the chapter on December 4^th. As a quick reminder, Roran went to get a chisel fixed, and Eragon went along to get some information out of Brom. They part at the outskirts of Carvahall. Eragon slowly walks up to Brom’s house, “engrossed in his thoughts.” Not that we are told what kind of thoughts those are. He stops at the doorstep and raises a hand to knock. Then this happens: A voice rasped, “What do you want, boy?”

Well, what a great introduction we have here (and yes, I do count this as an introduction, because his role in chapter 3 was mainly expositing the backstory). First, why does Brom stand behind Eragon? He could have just arrived, sure, but is it so hard to draw his attention in a way that will not scare Eragon? Secondly, why does he address Eragon as “boy”? He knows Eragon’s name, after all; as we will find out, Eragon has been to him several times before. I get the feeling Paolini shot for “curmudgeonly but caring”, but in this instance, it feels more like “old man grumbling at kids to get off his lawn”. Which is also not a great look when we learn that Brom is Eragon’s father.

Eragon whirls around, and we get a description of Brom:

Behind him Brom leaned on a twisted staff embellished with strange carvings. He wore a brown hooded robe like a friar. A pouch hung from the scuffed leather belt clasped around his waist. Above his white beard, a proud eagle nose hooked over his mouth and dominated his face. He peered at Eragon with deep-set eyes shadowed by a gnarled brow and waited for his reply.

Well, he is a very stereotypical and clichéd Fantasy Mentor. Just look at it. A staff with ~mysterious~ carvings. A Brown Hooded Robe™ (absolutely indispensable). A belt with pouches. A beard, which is white. His age (because the Fantasy Mentor should be old). Proud features. Deep-set eyes. A cantankerous attitude. A complete refusal to talk about his backstory. A connection to the Hero™! He has it all!

Time for a more serious look.

1) The “twisted staff” will never be important, and we will never know where he got it from. As for the “strange carvings”, I think those might be from the Liduen Kvaedhí, the elves’ writing system for the ancient language, though what it might say is beyond me.

2) There should be a comma after “behind him”.

PPP: 114

3) The bit “like a friar” is glaringly out of place, as there is no Christianity or any direct analogue in Alagaësia, nor will this term ever be used again.

Forgot the Narrator: 8

4) Call me petty, but I would swap out “eagle” with “aquiline”, because eagles do not have “noses” as such.

Eragon’s response is “[t]o get information”. That line bothers me somewhat; I would prefer “Get information” or “(I’d like/I’d want/whatever) to get information”. It is not ungrammatical, but it does seem quite unlike what someone would say in response. Second, this is extremely nonspecific. I get that you do not want to give yourself away, Eragon, but something like “I heard your story a month ago, and I would like to learn more about dragons” would do perfectly well. This does not do a great job of not being suspicious, honestly. Eragon further explains that Roran gets the chisel fixed (is that not against Garrow’s self-sufficiency policy?) and he has free time, so he has come “to see if [Brom can] answer a few questions.”

Brom simply grunts in answer, and reaches for the door. On its own, I would not complain that much about this, but here, given how Brom will act later on, it is enough for me to start this count: Some Father You Are, for every time Brom will fail to be a proper father to Eragon. It should be mostly exclusive to Eragon, though I expect there will be some backpoints.

Some Father You Are: 1 (for his general introduction here)

Eragon notices a “gold ring” on Brom’s right hand. “Light glint[s] off a sapphire, highlighting a strange symbol carved on its face.”

Shine Bright Like a Diamond: 4

This ring will end up being important in the end, though it will also cause a gaping plot-hole. That is still some time away, though.

Brom says that Eragon “might as well come in” (you certainly sound happy to see him) and they will be talking a while, because “[Eragon’s] questions never seem to end.” Well, Brom, if you do not want to answer Eragon’s questions, just say no. Second, despite the frequent reassurances that Eragon is very curious, we will not see that very often.

We get a peek inside the house: “Inside, the house was darker than charcoal, an acrid smell heavy in the air.” Ummm… What has happened to the windows? Has Brom boarded them up? Or did the house not have windows before Brom moved in? Because that is the only reason I can think of that there is no light, and it would also explain why there is such a heavy smell in the air.

That still leaves the question of why, and I cannot think of any reason that Brom would want to live in such a house. It seems blatantly unhealthy to me, as well as very suspicious. Not that Eragon reacts to this in the slightest.

Reaction, Please: 30

And we will never get any kind of explanation for this.

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 95

Straight From Left Field: 19

Brom, talking to himself, mentions a light. No, do not try to let light from outside in or something. Eragon hears Brom walk around, “then a low curse as something crash[es] to the floor.” Okay… I can understand that it is dark (but should the light from outside not help?), but it seem strange that Brom would not know where the furniture is if he has lived fifteen years in this house. And he could at least walk somewhat slower, given how valuable his stuff supposedly is. Still, the first part quite bothers me. I do not get the impression that he has actually lived here for any length of time, and more that he uses this house mainly as some kind of storage place. As for where he actually lives… maybe on one of the outlying farms? We will never get any kind detail on Brom’s life in Carvahall, and it just feels like such a bizarre oversight to make.

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 100

Brom says “here we go”, a “white spark” flashes, and a flame “waver[s] into existence.” Now we can have a look around. Brom “[stands] with a candle before a stone fireplace.”

Stacks of books surrounded a highbacked, deeply carved wooden chair that faced the mantel; the four legs were shaped like eagle claws, and the seat and back were padded with leather embossed with a swirling rose pattern. A cluster of lesser chairs held piles of scrolls. Ink pots and pens were scattered across a writing desk.

Well… First off, this:

Paoclichés: 3

This goes for the “highbacked chair”, because those kinds of chairs will come up later, too, without any apparent reason.

As for the rest… How did Brom get all this stuff to Carvahall without drawing attention? I would think that this would have aroused at least some suspicion. Also, how did he get this to Carvahall in the first place? I would think the writing desk and the high-backed chair would be quite hard to carry any distance. And when could he have done this? As we will find out later, he was in Carvahall only once before he settled there… I think he must have done it then. The question still remains how he could have possibly transported all of this. My best guess is that Umaroth helped him.

Manual Patch Job: 16

Time for some backstory. Before Eragon’s birth, Brom worked at Morzan’s estate for several years. At some point, the Varden staged an operation to steal Galbatorix’s dragon eggs, but Umaroth pried a little too deep, so the thief only got Saphira’s egg. After some time, Brom managed to kill Morzan and Krovogon with help from Umaroth. He went to Morzan’s castle, where he found Selena having just died. Then he went to Carvahall for the first time, and once he saw Eragon there, he went back to the Varden to deposit Saphira’s egg, after which he went back to Carvahall and settled in.

The most likely time for him to get this stuff (because I do not believe he could have got it from the traders) would be once he went to Morzan’s castle, after which he dropped it off in Carvahall. It seems quite unlikely to me that he would have dragged everything to the Varden, and even assuming he got it from the Varden, he would still have to have dragged it all the way to Du Weldenvarden and then back to Carvahall.

And these things also seem like they could come from a castle, which leads me to the conclusion that he must have stolen them, along with the books and scrolls, from Morzan’s castle. That is further supported because we learn in Eldest that Brom wanted to ruin Morzan’s life in every way possible, and stealing things from his castle after his death would also fit in with that.

Look Away: 92 (no one even thinks about this)

“Make room for yourself, but by the lost kings, be careful. This stuff is valuable.”

1) If it is so valuable, why did you not take greater care when going for a light? Or is it okay if you do it, and unforgivable if Eragon does so? Yes, I am being uncharitable, but I believe it is supported by his later behaviour.

2) If it is so valuable, why have let it gather dust in here for fifteen years?? Could you not at least have thought of a better storage place than this? And Brom will also leave all this stuff when he inevitably goes along with Saphira and Eragon, and it is presumably destroyed eventually. So I guess its value is just to show how much expensive stuff Brom has, while he could try to help the villagers with things he learned from them. For example, the village healer, Gertrude, can read, and if the scrolls or books contained some knowledge, that might help. But he apparently has not even thought of something like that.

3) Which “lost kings”? This will come up once more in 2.53, in the form “By the Lost Kings”, so with title case.

Continuity Fluidity: 61

My best guess for the “lost kings”, though, is the line of human kings that was overthrown by Galbatorix’s rebellion. They would be reasonably short ago (just a hundred years), and they could also serve as figures to admire for people who are against the Empire, like Brom. All in all, it’s a detail that fits in nicely, which is quite admirable, given that it seems like it was thrown in without much thought.

Manual Patch Job: 17

Ah well, if one throws enough things at a wall, something ought to stick.

Eragon makes his way in, “stepp[ing] over pages of parchment covered with angular runes.” That rules out elf writing, then, because the Liduen Kvaedhí uses more flowing shapes. Eragon “gently lift[s]” “cracking scrolls” off a chair and puts them on the floor. “A cloud of dust” flies up as he sits down, and he stifles a sneeze. Seriously? How long has it been since Brom has opened a window? How often does he even come in here? It is quite strange, honestly.

Brom bends down and “[lights] the fire with his candle.” Um, when did he put flammable stuff in the hearth? He only just came in, after all. What did he even leave for? My best guess is that he left to get leaves for the titular tea. Still, I should not have to patch together half of the story.

Manual Patch Job: 18

Brom is pleased with this, as according to him, there’s “[n]othing like sitting by a fire for conversation.” He throws back his hood, “reveal[ing] hair that [is] not white, but silver”, then hangs a kettle over the flames and settles in the high-backed chair. I am a little surprised that he still has this much hair, given his age. Maybe it is a side effect of being a Rider? Oh yes, Brom actually was once a Rider, but his dragon got killed during the Fall.

He asks Eragon what he wants, “address[ing] Eragon roughly, but not unkindly.” No, never “unkindly”. Eragon wonders how he can best approach the subject. Well, maybe you could follow up on Brom’s story from earlier? By the way, I will do this line-by-line for a while, because we are about to get an infodump.

“Well,” said Eragon, wondering how best to approach the subject, “I keep hearing about the Dragon Riders and their supposed accomplishments.

Okay, this is not a bad way to approach it. He has heard stories about them, after all. Also, “supposed accomplishments” is the right phrase here, as we will see later on.

Most everyone seems to want them to return,

1) “Most everyone” feels decidedly out of place here. If I remember correctly, it is an American English variant of “almost everyone”, and it does not fit into a supposedly medieval setting.

Forgot the Narrator Speaker: 9

2) This seems very unlikely to me. The only people we will hear about wanting the Riders to return are either Varden, elves, or dragons. To be fair to Eragon, most people in Carvahall seem like they do want the Riders to return, but he can hardly extrapolate that to Alagaësia at large. And indeed, as far as I recall, no one in the Empire that we meet seems to want the Riders to return. Not to mention that the Riders are not actually gone; Galbatorix is still alive, for one.

but I’ve never heard tell of how they were started, where the dragons came from, or what made the Riders special—aside from the dragons.”

1) Well, Eragon, you’re holding up your disguise quite well so far!

2) None of those questions have much to do with raising a dragon, so you are not doing great, Eragon.

3) Of course, this is a quite transparent lead-in to the history of the Riders, which is not a problem in and of itself, but it very much does not fit with what Eragon wanted to know.

4) The last question is quite meaningless, as we will find out that the Riders could only exist because of the dragons. The only thing that made them special was the sheer amount of harm they did.

~~~

“A vast subject to tell about,” grumbled Brom. He peered at Eragon alertly.

1) Well, I do not doubt that it is a “vast subject”, but why does Brom grumble? I would think he would be glad to tell about the Riders, especially since he will gladly do so later on. Here, he makes it sound like some kind of imposition. If you do not want to tell Eragon, then just tell him so, Brom! You know what:

Some Father You Are: 2 (don’t act like its some kind of imposition)

2) And why does he peer “alertly” at Eragon? That makes it seem like he suspects Eragon of having a dragon already. But why? Sure, Eragon has come specifically to ask questions about the Riders and the dragons, but that might as well be as a follow-up to Brom’s story earlier. And he might be a month late, but he has not had an opportunity earlier, and Brom should know about Eragon’s home situation. So Brom is being overly suspicious of Eragon here.

“If I told you their whole story, we would still be sitting here when winter comes again. It will have to be reduced to a manageable length. But before we start properly, I need my pipe.”

And by “manageable length”, Brom means “a reasonably long story about their origin, which leaves out massive parts, and a few lines on the time of the Riders themselves.” Come to think of it, why would he even need to cut out parts of the story? He could divide it over multiple visits, at least if Eragon wants to, but now he just assumes Eragon only wants to hear a summary.

~~~

Eragon waited patiently as Brom tamped down the tobacco.

“Tobacco”. Another product that is blatantly out of place. And after Eragon, it will be retconned into “cardus weed”, which does fit in.

Continuity Fluidity: 62

Straight From Left Field: 20

Was it so hard to edit the three instances of “tobacco” in this book into “cardus weed”? It would make for a quite smoother reading experience, and it would be a quite small effort.

He liked Brom. The old man was irascible at times, but he never seemed to mind taking time for Eragon.

1) Well, I am certainly glad we were told this, especially without anything to back it up. That just makes the story so much more poignant.

2) Ah yes, he is “irascible” alright, though he is like that quite often, and it often crosses the line into “abusive”. There is a reason for the count, after all.

3) He never seems to mind taking time for Eragon? I thought Brom was just grumbling about having Eragon in. That does not exactly seem like “does not mind taking time” to me.

Eragon had once asked him where he came from, and Brom had laughed, saying, “A village much like Carvahall, only not quite as interesting.”

Well, that is a lie. As we will find out later, Brom was actually born in the city of Kuasta, on the western side of Alagaësia. And I honestly do not understand why Brom would feel the need to lie about this. It would not necessarily expose him as a former Rider, after all; it might not be very common for him to come from that far, but then again, Albriech plans to go to Feinster, so moving across great distances is not exactly unheard of. Besides, Brom has lived here for fifteen years while using his birth name, and not trying to be secret in any way, so I do not think being honest to Eragon about where he has been born would tip him off, especially because of Umaroth.

And he never does say this, either. I think it is worth this:

Some Father You Are: 7 (there’s no reason for him to lie)

Curiosity aroused, Eragon asked his uncle. But Garrow could only tell him that Brom had bought a house in Carvahall nearly fifteen years ago and had lived there quietly ever since.

1) So Brom has lived in this house for all this time? His home situation keeps getting more confusing.

2) Quite suspicious that Brom moved into Carvahall around the time that Eragon was born, I would think. Almost as if they were related…

3) Who did he buy this house from? That might be nice to know.

~~~

Brom used a tinderbox to light the pipe. He puffed a few times, then said, “There . . . we won’t have to stop, except for the tea.

Ah yes, I presume that I should say something about the tea. Well, I actually do not have much of a problem with it. Other than with the “tobacco”, it does not necessarily imply the existence of tea plants, as tea-like products can also be made from other plants, and “tea” makes for a nice shorthand for that. I do not have more to say on this topic.

Now, about the Riders, or the Shur’tugal, as they are called by the elves.

Now we get some more interesting things. I am ambivalent about the second part of the sentence. On one side, it does make sense that Brom would say this, as the Riders were dominated by elves, and this would probably be the most common term for him. On the other side, it makes little sense to define this word here, given that it will only come up five times in total in this book, with the next mention being in chapter 46. It seems to me a foretaste of the quite obnoxious pushing of the elves as the Best, which will become quite bad in Eldest.

Where to start? They spanned countless years and, at the height of their power, held sway over twice the Empire’s lands.

1) To be precise, they spanned 2603 years, or 2600 years, to be a little less precise. I would expect Brom to know this, too. At least it would help make his story more easily verifiable.

2) I suspect that the reason Brom does not give an exact date is because Paolini had not yet come up with that at this point. Quite sloppy, in my opinion.

3) Why “height of their power” and not “height of their might”, or something similar? The sheer amount of power they could use does not directly correspond to the amount of influence they exerted.

4) While the figure of “twice the Empire’s lands” sounds impressive, I do not think they ruled over all that much more people. Looking at the map of Alagaësia, though I cannot measure it exactly, it seems like the Hadarac Desert and Du Weldenvarden alone are roughly as large as the Empire. If we add Surda to that, I am quite certain the result is slightly larger than the Empire. And yes, as we will find out later, those areas were under control of the Riders. There is also this quote:

All the land beyond the desert, which is blank on this map, was under one rule when the Riders lived. ~Eragon, Chapter 43, “Water From Sand”

So the land east of the Hadarac desert up to the eastern edge of Alagaësia was also under the rule of the Riders. While this much may be true, I do not think it is very impressive, because almost no one lives in the Hadarac Desert or the land east of it.

5) Quite telling that Brom says the Riders “held sway” over all this land. This implies, after all, that the Riders were the supreme authority in this land, which does track with things from later in this series. The reason I mention this here is because these books will later go on to claim that they were just “peacekeepers”.

Numerous stories have been told about them, most nonsense.

And why are most of them nonsense? I would think that, since most people in Alagaësia were under the dominion of the Riders until a hundred years ago, most would know the Riders well enough to tell accurate stories about them. And, to add to that, the majority of the stories about them must have been told during the time that the Riders were still in power, when there wouldn’t have been time for people to forget about them.

This seems to me like Brom does not believe that anyone who was not closely allied with the Riders or a Rider themself could possibly know anything about them. Which is of course nonsense, as I already pointed out above.

If you believed everything said, you would expect them to have the powers of a lesser god.

…So they did not have the powers of a lesser god? Between their magical skills, the dragons, the knowledge they had, and their raw magical power, I would think that they, as a collective, certainly had the powers of a lesser god. Then again, Brom might mean that one would expect the individual Riders to be so powerful, in which case I can say with high certainty that that was not the case. Still might have been nice to make this sentence clearer.

PPP: 115

Scholars have devoted entire lives to separating these fictions from fact, but it’s doubtful any of them will succeed.

1) Well, that is only to be expected. The Riders have existed for 2600 years, after all, and they have not been exactly forthcoming with information, as we will see, so of course constructing their history will be a nigh-impossible endeavour. To be fair, there might just be a possibility to get more information, but then, I doubt any of those scholars knows about it.

2) Though the scholars might not 100% succeed at their task, their efforts will still be valuable, I am sure, especially given the disconnect between how the Riders are presented as and what we will hear of their methods.

However, it isn’t an impossible task if we confine ourselves to the three areas you specified: how the Riders began, why they were so highly regarded, and where dragons came from.

Um, I am quite certain those are not the areas that Eragon specified. He wanted to know how the Riders were started (which we see here), where the dragons came from (which we see here), and what made the Riders special, aside from the dragons (which we do not see here). But somehow that last point transformed into “why were the Riders so highly regarded”.

So I have to say that it is quite rude and uncalled for of Brom to hijack Eragon’s questions in this way, especially since he obviously lets his bias slip in. Eragon wanted to know what made the Riders special; he did not ask for a love poem to the Riders.

Some Father You Are: 8

I shall start with the last item.” Eragon settled back and listened to the man’s mesmerizing voice.

That makes sense, at least; begin with the chronological earliest item. I do have a nitpick about the word “mesmerizing”, though. That is because that word is derived from the name of Franz Mesmer, someone who would not have existed in Alagaësia. And that is a problem, because we are supposed to be in Eragon’s point of view now.

Forgot the Narrator: 11 (this word also appears in chapter 3)

~~~

“Dragons have no beginning, unless it lies with the creation of Alagaësia itself.

1) Well, this is spectacularly meaningless. How can the dragons not have a beginning, when according to Brom Alagaësia was created? If Alagaësia was created, the dragons can’t have begun any farther back than that. And if Alagaësia was not created, dragons would have evolved from not-dragons, and they would also have a beginning, though it would be much more nebulously defined.

2) So you believe Alagaësia was created, Brom? Would you care to share your thoughts on that? No? Of course not.

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 101

It certainly would help expand the world, since we will never find out what the human beliefs on the creation of the world are.

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 106

And if they have an end, it will be when this world perishes, for they suffer as the land does.

This one sentence here will ruin all of the assertions in this book and the next three that dragons are actually doomed to extinction because there are just too little of them. Because, if that were the case, Alagaësia should be falling apart at the seams, which we have been shown no sign of, nor will we be shown any. No mass extinctions, no areas suddenly turning to desert, no corrupted areas, just nothing caused by magical deterioration. So the logical conclusion from that is that the dragons are actually doing perfectly well, and that there must be many more dragons besides those that are known to be in Alagaësia. Not that anyone will ever think about this until Inheritance, at least.

Come to think about it, “doing perfectly well” does not exactly describe the situation of the dragons in Alagaësia. As we will see, at this moment, there are three dragons that have hatched, and two as yet unhatched dragons. Of course, there are more dragons near Umaroth: 136 Eldunarya, himself included, and 243 yet unhatched dragons. That means there are a total of 384 dragons in Alagaësia, which is quite low for an entire species. Also, only five of them are “living” dragons, as it were; the rest cannot do anything yet. Under those circumstances, I would expect Alagaësia to be, indeed, falling apart. And, by that logic, the situation in Alagaësia should have declined every time one of the dragons of the Forsworn died. Only we will hear or see absolutely nothing to that effect.

That leads me to conclude that there must be another, larger population of dragons outside of Alagaësia, which will also be supported by some later things. And, as mentioned above, this flat-out ruins parts of the later books. Smooth going, Paolini.

They, the dwarves, and a few others are the true inhabitants of this land.

1) And who would those “few others” be, Brom?

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 107

I do have some suspicions. Those “others” might be the Fanghurn and the Nïdhwalar, who are somewhat related to dragons, for example.

Manual Patch Job: 19

2) I would rather use “native inhabitants” instead of “true inhabitants”. Fair, the other inhabitants, like Urgals, humans and elves, did not originate in Alagaësia, but they have been here for over 2700 years, so I would argue they are, by now, as much a part of it as the dragons are.

3) So, only the dwarves, the dragons, and the mysterious others count as inhabitants? No mention of all the other animals that must have lived there? Did they live in some kind of empty void before everyone else came?

Use ‘Em As You Will: 9

They lived here before all others, strong and proud in their elemental glory.

1) That seems highly unlikely to me. They are predators, after all, so there should have been at least some beings for them to eat. So, I will give it this:

Use ‘Em As You Will: 10

2) “Elemental glory”? To me, it seems to imply that the dragons were/are in some way connected to the elements, like fire. While that could be a great idea, it will never come up again, nor will there be any evidence to support this. Par for the course, really.

Straight From Left Field: 21

3) I also object to the description of dragons as “strong and proud”, because applying such a description at the species level is frankly nonsensical.

Their world was unchanging until the first elves sailed over the sea on their silver ships.”

1) It seems quite unlikely to me that the world was indeed “unchanging”. As we will see, they Alagaësian dragons were often in conflict with the dwarves, for example. But even outside of that, did nothing ever change? Were there no volcanic eruptions, did rivers never shift their courses, were there not colder or warmer periods? I do not believe this at all.

2) We do actually have a date for this! According to the Domia Abr Wyrda extract, this took place 88 years before the formation of the Riders.

3) And why do the elves have “silver ships”? Is there any reason for that?

~~~

“Where did the elves come from?” interrupted Eragon. “And why are they called the fair folk? Do they really exist?”

Ah, there is Eragon’s curiosity! Sadly, this will be one of the only times we will see it. The second and third questions will be more than answered, by the way. Come to think of it, the third question is quite silly from a meta perspective, because we already saw elves in the prologue, so it falls kind of flat here.

~~~

Brom scowled. “Do you want your original questions answered or not? They won’t be if

you want to explore every obscure piece of knowledge.”

…This is seriously uncalled for. Let me lay out why.

1) We have not had any indication of Brom that he minds having his explanations interrupted. So how should Eragon know this? True, Brom may have mentioned this earlier, but then it should have also been mentioned to us.

2) Even if it had been mentioned before, this is completely unwarranted. He could just as easily have said that he will answer Eragon’s questions when he is done with telling his story. Come to think of it, he causes more delay by doing this than by simply telling Eragon the above.

3) Eragon does not want to “explore every obscure piece of knowledge”, Brom! He simply wants to know something about the elves, who I would hardly call “obscure”. And even if he did want to do so, what would be wrong with that? Is that not the very reason he is here in the first place? So that you can tell him stories, which you like?

4) Of course, Brom is probably exaggerating to make Eragon feel embarrassed and guilt him into not asking questions. I mean, he also implicitly threatens not to answer Eragon’s questions if he wants to explore other topics. I hate you, Brom.

Some Father You Are: 10

~~~

“Sorry,” said Eragon. He dipped his head and tried to look contrite.

“No, you’re not,” said Brom with some amusement. He shifted his gaze to the fire and watched it lick the underside of the kettle.

I am not entirely happy with this, either. Eragon seems to have no trouble with this, sure, but that does not mean that it is a good thing to do. And I am not glad with Brom being “amused” at Eragon’s acting, either. I think I will leave it at this:

Some Father You Are: 11

“If you must know, elves are not legends, and they are called the fair folk because they are more graceful than any of the other races.

1) “If you must know”. You really are doing your best to make Eragon feel like a burden, do you not?

2) The first statement is quite unnecessary here, because we already saw elves in the prologue.

3) We will be quite beaten over the head with the supposed grace of the elves, especially come Eldest. Regarding the claim itself, I can only say that it is quite subjective. After all, while Brom finds the elves the most graceful, we will see that Saphira finds the dragons the most graceful. It is almost like it is… a matter of perspective.

They come from what they call Alalea, though none but they know what, or even where, it is.

1) Here is another continuity error, as the Domia Abr Wyrda extract, for example, refers to this land as Alalëa, with a trema/diaresis on the e.

Continuity Fluidity: 63

2) Well, I would think one could make some guesses as to where it might lie. Since they sailed from across the sea west of Alagaësia, maybe Alalëa lies to the west of Alagaësia?

3) It seems very unlikely to me that only the elves know anything about Alalëa. As we will find out, both the Urgals and another species, the Ra’zac/Lethrblaka, have probably originated from Alalëa, and in the WormFork book, we will hear an Urgal story that is also likely set in that country. So I am quite certain that they would know something about it, too.

4) But of course Brom would not consider either of them. He probably sees the Urgals as too “primitive” to have retained information from there, and the Ra’zac as too “inherently evil”.

RVMP: 27

5) Alalëa will certainly come up several times more in the course of this, mainly in the context of who might live there.

That was certainly a load of nitpickery. And we have yet to reach the actual story. Scales, might I take a break now?

Scales: Of course. The breaks I’ve scheduled are guidelines, after all.

Kerlois: Until next time, then, when we will hear the story of how the Riders were formed.

Comments

[kalinara]

I do enjoy dragon origin stories. It's a shame that Brom has to be so weirdly dickish about explaining them.

[pangolin20]

Kerlois: Me too, and it is a right shame we will not get more information. At least you have just gone through an entire book's worth of dragon origin stories.

Sadly, Brom will only get worse. On the bright side, he will remain mostly confined to this book.