Eragon: Chapter Sixteen: Therinsford (Part IV)

[pangolin20]

Chapter Sixteen (Part III) | Table of Contents | Chapter Seventeen (Part I)

Fumurti: Hello everyone, and welcome back to Eragon! Last time, Eragon and Brom got horses and that was that, mostly.

Before we begin, there is a whole bunch of reader post:

On chapter 1, wolfgoddess77 points out that the doe Eragon tracked might not be too large for him if he slaughtered it first.

On chapter 2, she points out that Eragon’s house would be in quite bad state after fifty years of neglect. That whole thing is still seriously weird.

It’s Like We’re Smart But We’re Not: 27

On part I of chapter 3, she points out that the “shouts and laughter” that Eragon hears coming from the village does not exactly fit with the wary children we see. I agree it’s badly written.

PPP: 747

On part III of that chapter, she points out that, according to Brom’s story, Shruikan’s original Rider would have been a child. If that were true, I’d expect it to be expanded upon much more, but no. Another way in which the story doesn’t make sense, I suppose.

On part I of chapter 5… she suggests that the “soundless scream of rage” that Eragon hears might be from Durza. Kerlois says that it might well be that Durza’s “prophecies of revenge” might have been him cursing whoever bonded to Saphira to be severely hurt (which is possible, since we know he can cast curses from Murtagh).

On part II of that chapter, she points out that it makes little sense for Eragon to get enough cloth to insulate a shelter with, when Garrow is supposed to be such a miser.

PPP: 748

On part I of chapter 6, she points out that Brom could have said “Dragons have no known beginning”, which would have solved that issue. She also points out that it is no problem that Brom only mentions dragons, dwarves “and a few others” as the original inhabitants of Alagaësia.

On part II of that chapter, she outlines a better version of the conflict between dragons and elves.

On part III of the chapter, she points out that Brom saying he has never heard about dragons having sparkly scales is quite suspicious. It is especially bad since this would be well-known to quite some people in the Empire, so this is a ridiculous thing to do.

Ill Logic: 267

On chapter 8, she points out that Saphira might have caught the eagle as “hunting practice”, which is fair enough.

On part I of chapter 10, Chessy points out that Saphira might have remembered Lethrblakya raiding nests or something similar during her panic attack. As Kerlois points out, such stories, true or not, would probably have been quite common during the time of the Riders, given how everyone hates them so much. They come to the conclusion that Saphira might have thought of that and then mixed it up with memories of the elves attacking.

She also notes that Saphira might not respond to Eragon because she is used to being alone when she is in danger, which seems unfortunately likely to me.

And of course, there is her fic.

Wolfgoddess77 further points out that Saphira could easily have blown smoke while landing, which fits with how often she’ll blow smoke later.

On part II of that chapter, Chessy points out that Saphira draping

her wing over Eragon would be quite hard to do. I also think it would be quite uncomfortable to keep up for so long, but of course, only Eragon’s needs matter.

Just Break Up Already: 248

And we have another fic of hers.

I have also neglected to note that Epistler wrote a fic on part II of this chapter about Todd.

For my reflections… I see that “price is no object” is an existing idiom, so…

PPP: 747

Also, I do think that a count for bad behaviour is necessary. So…

For the Good of the Cause: 62 (+50 for the story about the formation of the Riders)

And one for behaviour that does not have this excuse. For now, that is 2 points for Sloan and… 1 for Saphira yelling at Eragon in chapter 12 and nearly getting him hurt.

Morals for Thee But Not for Me: 3 (from the NRSG)

I also note that Kerlois never actually counted “Inzilbêth” (which is incidentally named after a Númenorean queen), so let me do that now.

A Better Commando Name: 14

That ought to be enough for quite some time, so let us finish this chapter!

We last left off in the self-published edition with Saphira leaving the area because she does not like the spooky mountain Utgard. Eragon gets curious and mentally touches Cadoc again. He is apparently “mostly concerned with food and rest” (so is he hungry and does he need to rest, then?), but he still has “a distinct and slightly mischievous” personality. How nice that we will not see much of that. Cadoc is also irritated at how Eragon is riding, and Eragon quickly learns how to ride in a way that they both like.

Huh, I would have really liked to see that in the Knopf edition, too, only I’d also want it to be expanded upon just a bit more. Well, they’re now riding between trees. They’re “normal in every way”, but Eragon feels as if they are “waiting for a chance to creep up on him”. That does seem like it could be connected to what’s happened on Vroengard… there we have spooky trees, too.

Eragon thinks for a bit and then asks why the Riders built Ristvak’baen, as Palancar Valley seems too unimportant for that to him. Brom says that “perhaps” it is like that now, but once, it was “the center of a kingdom”. I… find that hard to believe.

Eragon frowns and says he has never heard of that before. Brom says that “[f]ew remember it”. I don’t believe that. This is the history of Palancar Valley! Why wouldn’t the people of Carvahall know at least a version of it? This should be common knowledge there! And why has Eragon not heard this before? Brom knows the story, after all. Did he save all his relevant stories for a time that things would go wrong?

Well, that nonsense aside, it’s time for the story. I won’t bother to go in too much detail, because we will get it twice more, in the Domia Abr Wyrda extract and in Eldest, and both are more interesting than this one. Still, here we go.

So, a long time ago, when “our ancestors” first came to live in Alagaësia, they traveled all through the land, searching for a “suitable place to live”. Palancar Valley was one of the unclaimed places and it was “still defendable”, so they settled there and “began to build a mighty state”. Apparently, the Riders did not intervene with that at all, which I do not believe. If they are anywhere near what they’re described as being, they should have at least intervened when an entire new species appears in the land!

Also, Palancar Valley is not a good place for a kingdom! The Valley itself has very little people, so I would barely call it a kingdom. It’s also surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the way out of the valley only leads to empty plains, as we’ll soon see, so what would this kingdom have ruled over? I can see Narda close by on the map, but that’s still on the other side of the Spine and quite hard to reach via that route, as Eldest will show. It just doesn’t make sense!

Further, I highly doubt that Palancar Valley was still “unclaimed” after hundreds or thousands of years. It might have been neutral territory, but I don’t think no one would have laid claim to it.

Anyway, Palancar, their king, was a Strong Man who “believed more in conquest than peace”. Not sure what he thought to conquer, but alright. So he began a war against the elves “over an imagined slight”. Because no one could possibly have a legitimate grievance against the elves. That’s what it sounds like to me, at least. Hmmm, it seems like we do need something more, as this will be a persistent problem…

Cannot Argue With Elves: 20 (for the story of the formation of the Riders; adapted from Lady_Fofa’s Wings sporking)

Well, it soon became clear that Palancar could not win, so “his lords” told him to make peace. Um, what lords? How many lords could he possibly have for the Valley? Palancar ignored them. The lords became scared and sent a treaty to the elves, which they signed without Palancar’s “consent or knowledge”. Then the lords, helped by the elves, “banished Palancar”. However, he refused to leave. I don’t think they exactly banished him, now did they? Generally banishing entails making sure that the person does not come back. In this case, they didn’t even make him leave in the first place!

Well, Palancar stayed in the valley along with his supporters, planning to “rise to power again”. So I presume that the rest of the humans left the valley? The Riders built Ristvak’baen then to keep an eye on him. That’s very nice of them; I’d frankly have expected them to kill him outright.

Palancar stayed there for the rest of his life, “slowly weakening” and was eventually assassinated by an impatient son. Brom says this is a “sad tale, but only one of many”. After that point, the family reveled in “assassination, backstabbing, and other depravities”. I think these are the same, actually. I do wonder what these “other depravities” would be…

Within a decade, the house of Palancar had imploded, and was “only a shadow of its former grandeur”. The people who survived this “were plagued by the worst of luck”, and seemed to be followed by tragedies “everywhere”. In time, their bloodline was “weakened and diluted” (new blood seems like good thing to me), but their descendants have kept living in the valley. So what was that nonsense about everyone having only lived in Palancar Valley for a few generations, Brom?

He ends the story with this:

“The story of their fall became so notorious that this place was given the name of their king.”

If this story is “so notorious” that the valley was named after Palancar, why would few people know it now? Yes, it might have been forgotten a bit in the meantime, but the people of the valley ought to know. Brom shouldn’t know more of the local legends than the locals themselves!

That aside, I do like the naming. If memory serves, Paolini named it after John Jude Palencar, who has done all of the covers for these books.

Eragon’s reaction to the story is as follows:

“I see,” said Eragon.

That’s it. He doesn’t ask any further, he isn’t excited he now knows the history of Palancar Valley, he doesn’t think that maybe he and Roran are of royal blood, nothing. He really should have a reaction here, but apparently Paolini didn’t think of it. Well, at least he has a reaction in Eldest…

For the story itself… it’s told well enough, but, even without the context of the other books, it’s doesn’t work. The Riders would not have let an entire new species walk freely across their land, and Palancar Valley is no place for a kingdom, so it can’t have happened as told. It’s the same problem as nearly every story in this series has: we’re supposed to take them at face value while they don’t make sense if taken literally.

Anyway, back to the stuff that the editions share. They go around Utgard for “long hours”, and when they enter the pass that leads out of the valley, it forms a “solid wall to their right”. Eragon stands in the stirrups, impatient to see what lies “outside of Palancar”, but they are still too far away. Um, why does Eragon, who is riding a horse for a long distance for the first time, standing in his stirrups? That seems asking for an accident.

Ill Logic: 268

I also note this is only the second time so far, and the last time in the Knopf edition, that “Palancar” will be used as the name of the valley, so…

PPP: 749

They keep going, and stay for a while in a “sloped pass” along the Anora, where they “wind[] over hill and gully”. Again, what kind of path did they choose? I’m also quite sure they can’t wind “over” gullies unless there are bridges, which I doubt there are.

PPP: 750

Finally, late in the day, they “mount[] a rise” and can see out of the valley! Eragon gasps at the sight. We get some description of the view. There are mountains on either side, but below them, he can see a massive plain that “extend[s] to the distant horizon and fuse[s] into the sky”. It’s coloured “a uniform tan, like the color of dead grass”. In the sky he can see “[l]ong, wispy clouds”, which have been formed by strong winds. That seems like a sight to gasp to, especially for someone who has never seen it before!

Also, looking at the map, I see that he can indeed only see plains from this pass, so I have nothing negative to say about this. (Yes, I guess he could see Isenstar near the horizon, but it’s so far away it would be hard to tell.) Eragon now “under[stands] why Brom had insisted on horses”. After all, covering the plains on foot would take them “weeks or months”.

Um, since when did Eragon not understand? Yes, he grumbled about horses in the previous chapter, but that was because Brom insisted on coming along, which means they cannot catch the Ra’zac in their present chase. The thing he wanted to do instead of that was flying on Saphira, not walking behind the Ra’zac on foot! I think he understands that that won’t work at all quite well. Also, Brom didn’t “insist” on horses. He insisted on coming along, and the only practical way for that is horses. Did Paolini forget what he wrote just last chapter?

PPP: 752 (+2)

Well, Eragon notes Saphira “circling in the air”, so high up that she can be “mistaken for a bird”. In the Knopf edition, this is the first time we see her since she left for Therinsford, by the way. In that edition we also don’t have any reason why Saphira is flying here when she was supposed to be waiting outside of Therinsford.

PPP: 753

What Dragons?: 314 (+2) (for being missing for two parts)

Even in the self-published edition, her only contribution is to say that the spooky mountain is spooky and to fly away immediately. Hmmm, I see that the count above this could use some reworking. Let me look.

What Dragons?: 229

There, that is better. So, in both editions, she is not present for either the scene with the bridgekeeper or for the buying horses, nor does she ever comment on it later on. Why even bother having her in this book if she doesn’t contribute anything??

What Dragons?: 239 (+10)

Well, Brom says they’ll wait until to tomorrow to descend, as it will take the greater part of the days, so they ought to camp now. They’ve come far enough this day, too, I’d say. Eragon is still amazed and asks how far across the plains are. Come to think of it… why does Eragon seem to assume that they’ll cross the plains entirely? It’s not an unreasonable assumption, but I wonder where it comes from.

Brom answers that it takes from “[t]wo or three days to over a fortnight”, depending on which direction they’ll take. Looking at the map… I guess that’s true. Here it is again:

If they went either directly west or directly east, I think it would take only some days. And if they went due south, it would indeed take longer than two weeks, so credit to Paolini for that.

Brom then says this: “Aside from the nomad tribes that roam this section of the plains, it’s almost as uninhabited as the Hadarac Desert to the east.”

1) While there certainly are nomad tribes in Alagaësia, and we will see them in due course, we will never again hear about them visiting the plains of western Alagaësia. Neither will we see any evidence of them during the next segment of the book, so I think this is a continuity error.

PPP: 754

2) Another problem is that Brom says the Hadarac Desert lies to the east. If you draw a line to the east of their current position, it goes through Du Weldenvarden, and, at most, the strip of land to the north of the desert, not the desert itself. The centre of the desert also lies southeast of their current position. This is something Paolini could have easily fixed, as it’s clear that this map already existed by the time he made the Knopf edition.

PPP: 755

3) I don’t really like that the desert is consistently called “the Hadarac Desert” instead of “the Hadarac”, since deserts usually use the latter form. Here the name would be unambiguous on its own, so why isn’t that form used more? I don’t mind too badly, but it still bugs me a little.

Brom says they won’t find very much villages (not even around the Anora? I guess there might be more to the east.) Further south, the plain is “less arid” and more populated. Good to know, I guess.

After this, they leave the trail and dismount by the river. They unsaddle the horses and Brom says that Eragon ought to name the bay. The self-published edition has some more stuff here.

Eragon asks why, because they will “get rid of the horses eventually”. And why does Eragon know that for sure? Couldn’t they make for replacements for Birka and Brugh, for example? Whatever. Brom says they might “[p]erhaps” do so, but the bay might well save Eragon’s life, so Eragon should, at least, “give him the dignity of a name”. I have to agree with Brom here, especially since I don’t get what the trouble in giving the horse a name is.

During this, Eragon is also busy pulling on a strap, and having difficulty because his hands are cramped, so finally he gets frustrated and pulls it out with his teeth. Finally he does decide to name the horse.

The Knopf edition just has Eragon considering this as he pickets the bay. He then says that he may not have “something as noble as Snow[mane/fire]”, but maybe what he has in mind will do. Changing Snowfire’s name hurt this moment a bit, I must say. Finally, he puts his hand on the bay and names him “Cadoc”, which is the name of his grandfather, so Cadoc should “bear it well”. Not a bad name to have, I’d say. Brom approves, but Eragon feels a bit foolish. Well, I have to agree a little with him; it is quite foolish to expect Cadoc to “bear his name well”.

Then we get a scene that’s different in both editions. Let me first do the self-published edition.

Cut to Eragon preparing dinner with Brom and talking with Saphira, who landed into the camp off-screen. Eragon says this:

What does it look like on the plains? he asked.

So he has only spoken her once since she left near Therinsford, to tell her that she could fly ahead, and when he sees her again, he only asks what the plains look like? He doesn’t ask her how it was in the meantime, doesn’t say that he is sorry she had to wait, doesn’t share his experiences, nothing. He really doesn’t care about her, it seems.

Saphira says it’s dull, because there’s nothing but “rabbits and scrub” everywhere. If there are “any streams or lakes”, she didn’t see them. I think there should at least be some leading to the Anora, so she probably didn’t look very well. Eragon gets troubled by that, because they need fresh water, especially with the horses. Saphira then says she is hungry and needs to hunt. There are plenty of deer, so she won’t be gone long. And she couldn’t hunt in the Spine earlier because…?

Well, Eragon takes off her saddle and stores it with the saddlebags of the horses. He wishes her good luck as she takes off. An hour later, she comes back and curls up, “radiating a sleepy contentedness”. He leans against her belly, staring at the fire.

The Knopf edition has Eragon ask his question when she lands, and Saphira replies with her line about “rabbits and scrub”.

Just Break Up Already: 249 (+2) (because Eragon can’t be bothered to ask anything)

Well, the last bit from the self-published edition may look very familiar, and indeed, it’s again time for abuse! Brom stands and barks “Catch!” at Eragon. Once again, Eragon barely has time to grab the fake sword “before it hit[s] him in the head”.

Morals for Thee But Not for Me: 4

So, once again, Brom throws this stick at Eragon, which might injure him, for no reason. Did I mention I hate this already? Eragon sees it’s “another makeshift sword” and groans. Come to think of it… why didn’t Brom bring the first set of swords along? This just seems unnecessarily difficult, and like it would be hard to make them on the plains.

Ill Logic: 269

Eragon says “not again”. Brom just smiles at this and beckons him, so Eragon “reluctantly” gets up. Blegh, I swear Brom knows that Eragon is used to this and so won’t stand up to him, and that he exploits it, too. That’s what this gesture says to me, after all: “I know you won’t actually say no, so just join in.” I hate him.

Then this happens:

As soon as he did, there was a flurry of smacking wood. He backed away with a stinging arm.

So Brom didn’t even let Eragon prepare himself for the fight. No, he attacked as soon as Eragon stood and even hit him on the arm! This is not “training” by any definition, because that would involve letting Eragon land a blow, too!

Come to think of it, that’s another reason this wouldn’t teach him much either way: he only learns defense, not offense! He needs both to be able to fight in any meaningful way! But no, Brom is too busy showing off how great he is at this.

For the Good of the Cause: 13 (more abuse)

Morals for Thee But Not for Me: 6 (teaching him wrong for two sessions)

That aside… I just viscerally hate this, even though it’s mostly summarised.

Well, through the last bit, then. The “training session” (no, it isn’t) is thankfully shorter than the first, but still “long enough for him to amass a new collection of bruises”. When they are done “sparring”, he throws the stick away in disgust and “stalk[s] away from the fire to nurse his injuries in silence”.

So Brom outright gave him bruises. He once again beat Eragon up. And note that Paolini says they are “injuries”. Why is this supposed to be a good thing??

For the Good of the Cause: 15 (+2)

I also note that Saphira, again, doesn’t bother to inform or anything like that, and Brom does nothing to heal these injuries. And yes, he could, because he can use magic! I don’t care if he doesn’t want to be revealed; he should do it either way, but still he sees fit to let Eragon suffer from the abuse he gives Eragon!

Morals for Thee But Not for Me: 8 (not healing him twice)

I hadn’t even thought of this before now! That really seems to be true for this book: the more you look at it, the worse it gets. That’s it for now… you can calm down again… until next chapter, anyway.

And there, this chapter ends. Hmm, I don’t think it counts as Eragon falling asleep per se, so I won’t mark it as such.

Other Ending: 7

Now for the discussion of this chapter. It sucked; let me say that first. That was foremost because of Brom beating Eragon up, of course, but the scene with the bridgekeeper was just as bad, and Saphira barely being present didn’t help things either.

That aside… it mostly feels like set-up for the real adventure. We have Eragon saying goodbye to his farm at the beginning of the chapter, some more background info to get us up-to-date, the beginning of Eragon being “trained” in swordfighting, Brom and Eragon getting money, them getting horses, and the chapter ends with the three of them at the end of Palancar Valley.

I think that is why this chapter feels so very insubstantial. Sure, a lot happens in it, but there’s not much more happening than what there needs to be, especially in the Knopf edition. As a result, the emotional reactions, or just the bits where the story can loosen a bit, are completely glossed over. That’s probably why Eragon’s only reaction to Brom’s story about Palancar is “I see”, too.

In the end, there’s little more to say beyond what I’ve already laid out at length. It does what it should, is unnecessarily cruel about it, and does nothing further.

At least the next chapter will actually start our adventure. See you then!

A Better Commando Name	14
All the Isms	14
Edgy Equals Mature, Right?	3
For the Good of the Cause	13
Forgot the Narrator	37
FYRP	47
Give Me a Piece of Your Mind	2
Ill Logic	269
It's Like We're Smart But We're Not	27
IYES	27
Just Break Up Already	249
Like Coins Bounced Off a Drum	2
Morals for Thee But Not for Me	8
No-Wave Feminism	61
No Touchy	7
PPP	754
Stick the Dogma Over Facts	6
Thou Art Well Come	2
What Dragons?	314
Cliffhanger Chop	2
Mid-Scene Break	0
Other Ending	7
Protagonist Unconsciousness	7
Single-Purpose Chapter	5