Eragon Twenty One

Chapters The Ra'zac's Revenge, Murtagh, Legacy of a Rider
==Summary==
So, my bad, I forgot to mention that the end of the last chapter Eragon, Brom and Saphira get attacked. By the Ra'zac. They've drugged Eragon so he can't access his magic and break free. One of the Ra'zac has a horribly slashy moment with Za'roc, which is really disturbing. They tell Eragon that he will serve their master. They then try to kill Brom but he's saved in the nick of time by a hail of arrows. The Ra'zoc flee but not before chucking a dagger at Eragon. Brom nobly saves Eragon by taking the dagger for him. This, of course, the end for Brom. Say good bye Brom. But... for some reason Eragon acts like he was the one hit. And he faints.
I can't really say much about this one particular chapter (except for that one slashy bit). Nothing really happens. It's not really that tense. There's some posturing from Eragon as he declares that if he does happen to end up working for Galby he'll have the Ra'zoc killed and they're all, but we're valuable and you're not. And then he faints.
For no particular reason. I suppose because it's supposed to be dramatic. But it really doesn't serve us very well. There's no need for him to faint. He just does.
When Eragon wakes he discovers his rescuer is a young man with expensive clothes and weapons. His name is Murtagh. As we all know from Paolini's naming conventions we know that Murtagh is important. In fact since his name is so weird we must know that he's Very Important. Brom is dying, apparently the wounds from a Ra'zoc weapon are rather like that of a Ringwraith, they're nasty and magical. But Eragon and Saphira have a new skill! They can HEAL together. Like magic. They've never done this before, but now since they need to do it, they can. Just like that. He just does. I think that's the theme for this book. He just does. Unfortunately for Brom he can't heal all the way.
Murtagh makes Eragon soup. This is the first of many slashy moments between the two.
They make a litter to carry Brom to safety. Murtagh goes with them, saying that he'll get another shot at the Ra'zoc if he stays with them. They eat and try to give Brom water.
Now that I think about it, Paolini never describes what the voices sound like in Eragon's head. He can't tell the difference between who is speaking to him, be it the Serious Ass, Saphira or Brom. This seems rather odd. The only reason for this is so that we can have confusion. But the confusion doesn't do anything for the story it just makes Eragon look like a fool (not that he needs any help with that) because he can't tell who's talking to him in his head. People's spoken voices are different, why aren't the mental voices different? Why do they always sound the same? There's no reason and it just stalls the story unnecessarily.
I bring this up because Brom calls to Eragon in his sleep and Eragon doesn't recognize who it is and tells him to go away. Brom wastes precious energy to get him up. There's some tense moments and then there's a final reveal.
Brom has a gedwey ignasia.
Yes. Brom was a dragon rider.
Who here is surprised by this? Poll? Show of hands?
We also learn that Brom's dragon was named Saphira.
Again, who here is surprised? Poll? Show of hands?
Before he dies, Brom tells him seven words that he should only use in great need.
Brom dies. It is sad. Eragon puts him in a nice tomb made of stone with an inscription.
And Eragon dreams of Miss Sue again. This time she's bleeding. It's sad.
I'm so sad. That was three chapters. I'm half way through this book. And as much as I liked Brom I don't care that he died. It was sad, but I don't care. I just wasn't invested in him. Like most of these characters in this book, I'm not invested in them, I don't care if they live or die. Hell, I knew that he was going to die. It was predicted that he was going to die already, there was no suspense. No, is he or isn't he going to make it. We already knew that he wasn't going to make it so we're not shocked or surprised. There's no OHNO BROM! It's just there.
In fact, there really wasn't a reason for Brom to die, except for the fact that he had served his purpose in the story and Eragon didn't need him any more as a mentor, besides he had a new companion in Murtagh. Eragon has supposedly moved on now, from being a child and needing a mentor to a man who needs a companion and an equal. Brom can't go back home or somewhere else, he has to die, thus giving Eragon some angst. In his inscription on Brom's stone, he says that Brom was like a father to him. But, Eragon doesn't mourn for long and instead dreams of our Mystery Sue.
Category:Eragon
Category:Inheritance Cycle