Eragon: Chapter Twenty-Five: An Old Friend (Part II)

[pangolin20]

Chapter Twenty-Five (Part I) | Chapter Twenty-Five (Part III)

Kerlois: A good day, everyone, and welcome back to Eragon! Last time, we met Angela and then Jeod and we learned a bit more about Brom’s past.

For the reader post: Maegwin notes on part I of chapter 18 that the dead baby in Yazuac specifically being noted to be white comes across as “kind of racist”. Given that they were killed by the supposedly “monstrous” Urgals, I quite agree.

FYRP: 63

On part II of chapter 18, CN notes that neither Brom nor Saphira actually help Eragon to process his awful experience in Yazuac.

Morals for Thee But Not for Me: 27

On part I of chapter 19, Wolfgoddess notes that Cadoc and Snowfire seem like they have had extensive training, since they are both still around after the stressful situation in Yazuac. Epistler noted this earlier, but it is indeed a quite general thing with the both of them.

Did Not Do the Research: 103

She further notes that Brom should have fallen out of his saddle if he were unconscious. That would have made Brom even more helpless, so I would have expected Paolini to go for that.

Did Not Do the Research: 104

Further, she noted that I did not phrase my objection about medicinal plants not quite right: searching for such plants is quite fine, of course; I rather object to the implication that such plants will significantly impact Brom’s healing when Eragon can already help him.

While talking with her, I also realised that Eragon should rightly already know that the Riders could use magic and not be so surprised in this part. After all, in chapter 3, he said that he loves hearing about “magic” and the “Dragon Riders” from the traders and I am quite certain that he would have heard from them that the Riders could use magic. I understand that Paolini wanted Eragon to be confused, but then he should have adjusted to previous canon (which a wholesale revision would be quite good for).

PPP: 923

Chessy notes that Eragon would probably know the word “spoor” if it was a thing, which is fair. My main problem is that it is much too obscure for the rest of the book, so…

Forgot the Narrator: 53 (-1)

PPP: 924

She further leaves another fic.

Alec notes that Eragon’s most realistic reactions are mostly to “some kind of traumatic experience or [a] sign of long-term abuse”. That is indeed somewhat concerning.

Finally, as a note, the date according to our reckoning is now February 26, 2699.

Let me resume with the chapter, then. We ended with Brom confirming where Carvahall lies. Jeod now has a good look at Eragon (and we learn he has grey eyes). He raises his eyebrows and says that he assumes Brom is “fulfilling his duty”, i.e. training a new Rider. You saw that right, Jeod. Brom shakes his head and proceeds to give a mostly false explanation. This had me confused at first, since they are in the castle now and there is clearly no need for secrecy. After thinking it through a while, I think Brom is lying now because he thinks Jeod might be compromised and so it is better not to give out sensitive information, like the existence of a new Rider. That is already a bit silly, since he had no trouble showing that he is indeed Brom, so if Jeod is a double agent, he might alert Risthart and get Brom captured.

Ill Logic: 3

Still, not telling that Eragon is a Rider yet might keep him safe, so credit to Brom for that. I do get the feeling that he has only realised that at this very moment, since he had no trouble implying that Eragon actually is a Rider just now, and his story does not exactly stand up to scrutiny, either. Let me look at it, then. Brom says it is “not that simple”. He thinks the egg was “stolen” some time ago, or, at least, that is what he thinks, since he has had no word from the Varden and he thinks “their messengers were waylaid”, so he decided to “find out what he could”. Eragon just happened to be going in the same direction, and they have stayed together for a time.

Jeod gets puzzled, and asks how Brom could possibly know the egg was stolen if he did not get any message. Good on you for realising, Jeod! Brom quickly talks over him, saying that Eragon’s uncle was “brutally killed” by the Ra’zac. They burned his house and “nearly caught him in the process”.

Let me see how well this story holds up now. Well, first there is the huge hole that Jeod already pointed out. Relatedly, I wonder about the messengers; would the Varden actually send messengers to let Brom know that the egg was stolen, considering that he was supposed to disappear? Next, he does give a good explanation as for why Eragon travels with him, so that is nice. For the end, the Ra’zac did nearly catch Eragon, but that was in Carvahall, not when they attacked Garrow, and I do not see what the change is for. I also see another large hole: Brom found Eragon travelling on the road, so that implies that Eragon, after Garrow was killed and he was nearly caught, did not go to Carvahall, but instead set out after them alone. Eragon may behave foolishly, but not this foolishly!

Ill Logic: 4

And it is not like he could not have stalled for time to come up with a better story, either!

Ill Logic: 5

Even then, though, this is something he should have thought through earlier and informed Eragon of. I could well imagine Eragon speaking up to say that all of this is nonsense, because it is and Brom did not tell him what he is doing. This is such a bad idea!

Ill Logic: 6

Well, Brom says that Eragon “deserves revenge”, but the Ra’zac have left no trail for them to follow, and they need help finding them. Yes, that is the only reason they are here, after all; it is not to keep the Ra’zac from hurting people, but for revenge, to be carried out without even checking who is guilty of what. I hardly think Eragon “deserves” that. At hearing this about Eragon, Jeod says he understands. You do understand that Eragon and Brom want to kill the Ra’zac, quite important “servants of the Empire”? Are you willing to get involved with that and put yourself in even greater danger? Well, apparently so, and I highly doubt Paolini realised this would put him in more trouble, since it never comes up at all.

Jeod asks why they have come here (why indeed), since he does not know “where the Ra’zac might be hiding”, and “anyone who does” will not tell them. Well, why not? The Ra’zac are hardly some kind of secret agents (like Durza probably is), so why should these people get in trouble for telling? In fact, when we reach Dras-Leona, we see that quite a bit of the population knows the Ra’zac are there, and, since Dras-Leona is a large city, the news should have spread throughout the country. We do not see Galbatorix make any effort to keep the Ra’zac secret, either.

Further, why are the Ra’zac described as “hiding”? They are simply not secret agents and are under Galbatorix’s protection, so they have no need to “hide” themselves. I think this ties into something that will be prevalent until Galbatorix’s fall: the notion that “the Empire”, Galbatorix and his servants need to operate in secret, presumably to avoid angering the Empire’s subjects. There are several problems with that:

1) As we have already seen, most of the people of the Empire seem to have little trouble with Galbatorix and the way the Empire is run, or at least not enough to act on it, so there is no need to act in secret to keep from angering them.

2) In fact, operating in secret is likely to cause trouble, precisely because there is no need for such operations; I can hardly imagine that the lords and ladies would be pleased to learn that Galbatorix went behind their backs for something he could have done in the open.

3) Also, Galbatorix does not need to operate in secret because he simply has the resources to do what he wants in the open.

I suppose the reasoning might go like this:

A “Galbatorix is bad”.

B “The actions of bad people are bad.”

C “People oppose bad actions.”

Since A and B are true, that leads to D “Galbatorix’s actions are bad”.

Since C and D are true, that leads to E “People will oppose Galbatorix’s actions”.

We also know, or can suppose, that Galbatorix wants to keep his throne, so the easiest way to resolve this is by keeping his actions secret. The obvious flaw in this is B, since Galbatorix’s actions are clearly not all evil (sending soldiers to Teirm, for example), but, since Brom thinks that is true, this does make sense from his perspective. And, since we are supposed to follow Brom, we are probably supposed to accept this as well. That leads me to reintroduce this:

History-Rewriting Narrator: 2

Brom now gets up, reaches into his robe and pulls out the flask of Seithr oil, which he apparently has carried with him all the while. He tosses it to Jeod and explains what is in it, and that the Ra’zac were carrying it and they lost it by the trail. I do wonder how Jeod disposes of the Seithr oil, given that it entirely disappears after now. I guess he could try it out on some plants outside of Teirm?

Come to think of it, why is Brom even showing this flask? He does not need to give Jeod solid evidence that they did find Seithr oil to explain that they plan to find the Ra’zac by tracing Seithr oil. And, to get the oil here, Brom must have carried this flask with him all the way to Teirm. Sure, it might have been a remote chance, but if the flask cracked or burst, Eragon, Brom, or possible others could have been severely hurt! Further, Brom has now saddled Jeod with the disposal of the flask, which he should believe could bring Jeod in severe trouble (because he has something of the Empire’s “secret agents”)! Since there is no good reason for that, I am not inclined to be charitable.

Ill Logic: 4

For the Good of the Cause: 23 (carrying this flask all the way)

Morals for Thee But Not for Me: 28 (giving it to Jeod)

Brom explains that they need to see the shipping records of Teirm so they can trace “the Empire’s purchases of oil”. …This makes it sound like the Empire is some kind of secret organisation, and it is really weird. I also note that they will end up tracing all purchases, instead of just “the Empire”’s. Well, that should tell them where “the Ra’zac’s lair” is. Or you could deduce and ask around and save yourself quite some effort. Also, they do not have a “lair”, since they do not have to hide.

History-Rewriting Narrator: 2

HISC: This edition removes Brom talking about them discovering the Lethrblakya and possibly tracing the Ra’zac that way, which is a pity. I can understand it, though, since Brom will say much the same later.

Kerlois: Jeod frowns as he thinks it over, then he points at the shelves, saying that all the books on there are from his single business. The project Brom wants to undertake “could take months”. True, but if Brom were to be smart about it, it might take far less than that. There is “another, greater problem”, too. The records are held in the castle, but only “Brand” (good enough), Risthart’s “administrator of trade”, is allowed to see them, not common traders. The officials apparently fear that they will “falsify the results, thus cheating the Empire of its precious taxes”. Yes, those taxes that allow Galbatorix to pay the soldiers that are stationed in Teirm to help with the kind of trouble you are facing now. Those taxes.

Also, if the records were not so closely guarded, it would be easy for someone to change the amounts of goods that Jeod and the other affected merchants have traded to be much higher, which would give them higher taxes, which might well bankrupt them in the long run. But keep complaining about the rule that is probably keeping you out of trouble for a while longer, Jeod.

That aside… this seems like a good moment to try to get people to talk about where the Ra’zac’s “hiding place” is or to try to deduce it yourself. Why bother to go to the effort of circumventing Brand when it can be done easier, after all? Brom says that he “can deal with that when the time comes”. They need a “few days of rest” before they can “think about proceeding”. I do understand that we need some downtime, but now is hardly the place for it. We have just arrived at the place where we can get further information about the plot, so then we should not be stalling!

Jeod smiles and says that it seems to be his turn to help Brom, and his house is theirs, of course. He asks after pseudonyms, which Brom gives. He also calls Eragon “the boy”, which does irritate me. This leads Jeod to muse on Eragon’s name, in a very stiff transition.

PPP: 925

Well, he says that Eragon has a “unique name”, since few have ever been named after “the first Rider”. In his whole life, he has only read about “three people who were called such”. Eragon is startled to hear that Jeod knows where his name comes from. Well, maybe he knows about it because he has read much? The name of the first Rider would not be that obscure.

Ill Logic: 5

I do see what Paolini tries to do, but unfortunately, “Eragon has a unique name” and “Eragon is named after a famous figure” do not go together well and trying to cram them in the same hole only gives us nonsense like this. Seriously, only three well-known people are named after the first Rider?

Cardboard Worldbuilding: 5

Brom now looks at Eragon and asks him to make sure the horses are all right, since he does not think he tied Snowfire “tightly enough”. Eragon guesses that “they” (well, it is just Brom) are trying to keep something hidden from him, and as soon as he is gone, they will talk about it. So business as usual, then. Eragon shoves himself out of the chair and leaves, “slamming the door shut”. On the one hand, he should probably not get so angry, but on the other… Brom can stand to have some trouble from Eragon. Also, what is there to stop Eragon from taking this order literally and returning as soon as he has found that Snowfire is tightly bound? Sure, it is so Eragon can listen in on them soon, but we could get that same scene with a better excuse, like “Jeod and I will reminisce about old times, and it will probably be boring”. And that excuse would make it more exciting if Eragon does discover that they are talking about other things.

Ill Logic: 7 (+2) (for Brom coming up with such a silly excuse and Eragon not following it literally)

Outside, he finds that Snowfire is naturally fine. Eragon scratches the necks of the horses and then leans “sullenly” against the “castle wall”. He complains that it is “not fair”, and wishes he could hear what they are saying. (So… why is he complaining that it is “not fair”, not that they are excluding him?) At the though, Eragon jumps upright, “electrified”. Too bad that he does not know about electricity yet. So…

Forgot the Narrator: 56 (+3) (for three instances of this)

Well, we learn that Brom “once” (that makes it sound like much more time has passed than did) taught him a spell to “enhance his hearing”. At least Brom has taught him some practical magic? He thinks that he does not exactly want keen ears, but he should be able to “make the words work”. He refers to what he could do with “brisingr”. Yes, you could do that, but you did it unconsciously, so does that really mean you can make this work? Either way, this is a smart thing of Eragon to do, and I appreciate that he persists in finding out what Brom and Jeod are about. Kudos to Eragon (and to Paolini)!

So Eragon accesses the magic, says “Thverr stenr un atra eka hórna” and lets the magic go. Let me go to the glossary to see what this is… it is “Traverse stone and let me hear!” That is reasonably straightforward. I also think this might be the time to bring up the following note at the top of the Ancient Language section of the glossary:

Note: As Eragon is not yet a master of the ancient language, his words and remarks were not translated literally, so as to save readers from his atrocious grammar. Quotations from other characters, however, have been left untouched.

I understand why Paolini wanted to do this… but I doubt most readers would need “saving from his atrocious grammar”. I am actually a bit bothered that Paolini only shows us an edited version of Eragon’s words when this book already has a bit of a problem with telling us what to think; I want to see for myself what he says. In this case, though, the only difference is that “me” instead of “I” is used, so I wonder to what extent these phrases have been actually changed in translation… That is something for the end of this project, though.

Back in the present, Eragon hears “a faint whisper”, but nothing more. He gets disappointed, but then starts as he can hear Jeod saying he has been doing something “for almost eight years now”. It worked, then! For what Eragon hears, this sounds like Jeod has just finished explaining what he has done in the meantime, which does leave some space for Brom to verify that Jeod truly is Jeod.

Eragon looks around and only spots some guards “standing against the far wall of the keep”. He grins, sits “on the courtyard” and shuts his eyes. So yes, Paolini apparently did think that keeps generally have an opens space in them and that the courtyard is in the keep. That is… not where the courtyard goes.

Did Not Do the Research: 105

Then comes a wording nitpick: saying that Eragon sits “on” the courtyard gives me the image of a giant Eragon sitting on the whole of it. I would have preferred “sat down on”. For something larger, the earlier wording of him “leaning sullenly” against the wall and then “jolting upright” might give readers the idea that he sits upright, not that he stands.

PPP: 926

Also, while I originally followed Mara_Dienne’s lead and thought that these guards should probably be suspicious of Eragon being around some fine horses, I am now sure that is not really the case. After all, Eragon and the horses came in along with Brom and Jeod, so if the guards did not stop Eragon then, they should not be stopping him now. Further, he makes no move to steal the horses, so I think that Eragon would actually not attract that much attention now.

Back to the conversation, Brom says that he never expected Jeod to become a merchant, after all the time he spent in books and “finding the passageway in that manner”. Brom actually says this in several fragments, which makes it look like the sentence was cut in pieces.

PPP: 927

He asks why Jeod took up trading instead of “remaining a scholar”. Jeod explains that he did not want to “sit[] in musty rooms and reading scrolls” after Gil’ead. I am not wholly sure why… Oh yes, it was because he knew that the loss of Morzan had hurt the Empire, and he presumably wanted to keep taking action (maybe also because he believed he had lost Brom). So he decided to help “Ajihad” as best he could. For reference, he is the current leader of the Varden, and he would have just been leader back then. (Put a pin in this idea for Brisingr, though.) He also has a quite bad name, as it is essentially “A Jihad”, or, to paraphrase, “A Holy War”, which… speaks for itself, I think. Now, I doubt that Paolini meant this, since the pronunciation guide (yes, we have one of those) gives the pronunciation of his name as “Ah-zhi-hod”, very different than that from “A Jihad”. Still, someone should have noted this and changed the name accordingly.

A Better Commando Name: 24

Anyway, he is “no warrior”. He then says that he father was a merchant too and helped him get started, which Brom might remember. So, because he has his business, he has decided to help that way, so that now, the bulk of it is “nothing more than a front to get goods into Surda” (and thence to the Varden, presumably). The problem with this is that we have not yet heard about Surda, and we will only get an explanation in a few chapters. Sure, Surda is visible on the map (it is the country to the south of the Empire) but this is bad form. For context, Surda is where many of the Varden live.

PPP: 927

Brom says that he takes it “things are going badly”. Jeod explains that none of his shipments have arrived and a place called “Tronjheim” is “running low on supplies”. He thinks that the Empire has discovered who of the traders are supporting Tronjheim, but he is still not convinced they are it, since no one “sees any soldiers”. He does not understand it. Then he floats the idea that Galbatorix may have “hired mercenaries to harass [the traders]”.

My, this is quite a bit. Let me begin with “Tronjheim”. That is the capital of the dwarves and a headquarter of the Varden. It also has a quite bad name, too (Surda is fine, though), since it is obviously ripped off from Trondheim, the Norwegian city.

A Better Commando Name: 25

It can also be found in the glossary, by the way, where it is glossed as “Helm of Giants” as a Dwarvish phrase. I do appreciate Paolini trying to come up with an in-universe etymology for this, but this is what Tronjheim looks like (according to the Guidebook):

It looks like a cone, not exactly like a helmet of any kind, so I do not know why it would have that name.

That naming aside… I hardly see why soldiers not attacking the ships means that the Empire cannot be behind this. As Martin said, there might well be magic involved, and that fits better with the story that nothing is ever heard of these ships again, not to mention that this simply puts the attackers at less risk.

Ill Logic: 8

Further, why would this be “hired mercenaries”? Sure, that would help to conceal his actions, and Jeod probably follows the logic I outlined above, but I highly doubt they would be able to make every ship disappear without a trace.

Now, Jeod is right in assuming that the Empire is behind this, as we will learn later, and the people attacking the ships are presumably magicians from the Black Hand, Galbatorix’s magician organisation. This may sound reasonable on the surface, but it has considerable problems.

The first is that these mages are attacking the trade of the Empire itself and quite destructively, too. To begin with the latter, taking out the traders supporting the Varden would disrupt the trade either way, but in this case, lots of ships and goods are destroyed and the people aboard them are presumably killed. Never mind that these ships could be used perfectly fine by other traders, that the goods are perfectly fine on their own, and that the crew are innocent, everything and everyone must be destroyed.

It is even worse because, per Martin, the affected companies include “the largest shipping businesses in the Empire”, and we have already heard about and “seen” how Teirm has been affected by this. I have no doubt that Narda, Kuasta, Feinster, and possibly Aroughs have been affected, too, and it would also have a bad effect on the whole rest of the Empire. True, destroying all of the vessels of the merchants sympathising with the Varden will hurt them… but it also hurts the Empire to no end and makes it more appealing for the Varden to attack! Quite the same goes for the attacks on the caravans carrying the Varden’s supplies, but on a smaller scale.

Further, if the people in the affected cities actually bothered to fight back, they might well discover (the habit of the Black Hand to suicide when caught notwithstanding) that the magicians are working for the Empire! I highly doubt the governors of the affected cities (the unnamed governor of Narda, who I will call Lady Emoral; Lord Risthart; the unnamed governor of Kuasta, who I will call Lord Hendric; Lady Lorana of Teirm; and possibly Lord Halstead of Aroughs) would be exactly happy to learn this, and together, they certainly have the influence and means to demand answers from Galbatorix. That is something the Varden might further play into, which the Black Hand should know!

All in all, directly attacking the ships would work if they are sent by another country, but it does not work when they are part of the trade of the Empire itself! It is not even necessary, since the Black Hand could easily approach Emoral, Risthart, Hendric, Lorana, and possibly Halstead with a list of the merchants trading with the Varden in their respective cities. Then the governors could easily have these traders arrested and even have their trading companies taken over by others, to keep the disruption to the trader minimal. That would even be less conspicuous and more “secret” than continually attacking ships.

Finally, I am not even sure if Galbatorix knows of this plan, given that he never references it and we have no indication he does. Nothing about this makes sense!

History-Rewriting Narrator: 3 (for the suggestion that Galbatorix would be hiring assassins)

Ill Logic: 18 (+10)

Back to the present… Brom brings up that Jeod recently lost a ship, which Jeod “bitterly” says was his last one. Well, that sucks for him. Every man on it was “loyal and brave”, and he doubts he will ever see them again. To give credit where it is due, we do have Galbatorix’s magicians killing innocent people when they do not need to, so at least there is a tangible and present crime of the Empire to point to. Jeod continues that his only other option is to send caravans to Surda or Gil’ead, which is apparently also a centre for the Varden. He know they will not arrive, “no matter how many guards [he] hire[s]”. Yes, because apparently the Black Hand thinks disrupting land travel is a good idea. He says his other option is to “charter someone else’s ship” for the goods, but naturally, no one wants to take them. …You could also try chartering someone else’s caravan, since those seem to get through better.

Ill Logic: 19 (someone so desperate as Jeod is supposed to be ought to have gone for that by now)

I also note that we already learned quite a bit of this information in the previous chapter: none of the ships are getting through, no one sees anyone do it, Jeod has just lost a ship, and caravans do not get through. Jeod does really not tell it any more engagingly than Martin did, and we do not need this refresher, either.

PPP: 928

Brom asks how many traders have been supporting the Varden, to which Jeod says they are “a good number up and down the seaboard”, who all have the same troubles. So yes, it really is as widespread as I said. He then says he knows what Brom is thinking, and he has thought it over himself, but he cannot bear the thought of “a traitor with that much knowledge and power”, since if there were, they are “all in jeopardy”. And if there is one, and you refuse to take action on the possibility, you will put them all in worse jeopardy. Yes, it might be scary to consider, but you should find out the truth, since that will allow you to take back whatever amount of control you can get.

He finishes by telling that Brom should go back to Tronjheim. I do not see how he could make much of a difference after being left out of the loop for fifteen years, but alright. Brom’s objection is to taking Eragon there, since the inhabitants would “tear him apart” and it is the worst place Eragon could be “right now”.

HISC: This edition removes Brom saying that he could better go there in a year.

Kerlois: Apparently, the dwarves will react unfavourably, and everyone “will be trying to influence him”, especially “Islanzadí”. I do get that Brom does not want to dump him in such an environment… but it sounds hardly worse than the situation he is currently in. As for “Islanzadí”, at least Paolini had the sense to realise that “Imiladris” was a bit too obvious as a rip-off and changed it. He first did that into “Islanzadi”, without diacritics, but come Eldest, he added an accent to the final “i”, and he then carried the change through to the new & improved edition. The new name is decent enough, I think.

For the content… this makes it sound like Islanzadí is in Tronjheim and might be a dwarf, both of which are false, as she is the queen of the elves and lives in their forest. Oops.

PPP: 929

For Brom’s claim, given what we will learn later, I do agree (though we will also learn that Islanzadí has cut ties with the Varden after Arya went missing). He then says that Eragon and Saphira will not be “safe in Tronjheim” until he gets them through “tuatha du orothrim”, at least. Sure, more general training would help them, but if you want to keep them safe from political manoeuvring, you might want to focus on that, and a good set of magical protection might keep them safe from assassinations, too. Now, let me have a look at “tuatha du orothrim”.

According to the glossary, it means “tempering the fool’s wisdom (level in Riders’ training)”. So Brom is training Eragon and Saphira as Riders… despite him having only had a few years of training and most likely not having become a full Rider. Well, that does it for me; Brom is officially the worse of Eragon’s two main mentors, as the other one at least has experience training a Rider!

Further, I note that the Riders referred to their apprentices as “fools”, which does not fit well with a supposedly benevolent organisation. After all, it was not the fault of the apprentices that they were quite young and did not know much about the Riders; that is what they are there to learn! Also, what is this “fool’s wisdom”? I suppose it refers to Riders who think they know everything when they have just begun their apprenticeship… but would that really be so widespread as to become the name for a whole training stage? It frankly seems like contempt for the younger Riders to me.

Finally, this name looks a little weird, too. “Orothrim” is supposed to mean “fool’s wisdom”, but it seems a little too short a word for that to me. I am also positive (given Acallamh and Nuada) that “tuatha” comes from the earlier-mentioned Tuatha Dé Danann. (This connection was also made by db_silverdragon on the post we linked earlier.) So…

A Better Commando Name: 25

At this point, Eragon sees fit to react. My, good to see he is still present in the scene. He gets excited about the mention of dwarves and wonders where Tronjheim is. Then he wonders why Brom told Jeod about Saphira, and says that Brom should not have done so “without asking [him]”. Um, Eragon, Saphira primarily gets to say whether or not she is alright with being revealed. Yes, you will be affected by such a decision, but so will Saphira, and since it is about her, she gets the main say. You do not get to decide for her. This really does sound like he thinks he can just do that, and I do not like it at all.

Further… yes, I agree that Brom should have talked this over with Eragon and Saphira, so they know what they can and cannot share (a quite important thing to know!). Still, Jeod already deduced that Eragon was a Rider just now, so the only thing Brom has done is confirm that and give Saphira’s name, which is hardly something to get upset over. At this point, not telling Jeod would only come off as suspicious, so I cannot fault Brom for this, either.

Back to the conversation, Jeod thinks that the Varden are “in need of [Brom’s] power and wisdom”. He still has not been with the Varden for fifteen years, though. I am sure he could help, but not as much as Jeod is implying. Brom snorts at the mention of his “wisdom” and says he is just a “crotchety old man”, like Jeod said. You have that quite right, but you still act like you are full of wisdom, and we have seen where that leads to. Jeod says that many “would disagree” (like who?). Brom does not care, since he has no “need to explain [him]self”. He says that Ajihad will need to “get along” without him, since training Eragon is “much more important”.

He brings up the possible traitor, which “raises troubling questions” according to him, and he wonders if that is how the Empire knows “where to be”. I… think that refers to Arya being ambushed, actually. And yes, I do think that is how they knew where the elves would be (along with them always taking the same path). Jeod breaks in to wonder why he has not had a message over this. Brom says they might have tried, but if there is a traitor… the messengers might have been intercepted, I finish. Brom resolves to send a message to Ajihad and asks Jeod for a “messenger [Jeod] can trust”.

Jeod says he might, depending on the destination. Brom does not know, since his own contacts have probably died or forgotten him given how long he was in Carvahall. He asks if Jeod could send him to the person who gets his shipments. Jeod says he can, but it will be “risky”. Brom agrees anyway, since everything is, and asks how soon he can leave. Jeod says the next morning, and he will send the messenger to Gil’ead, since that will be faster. He asks what the messenger can take to convince Ajihad that the message is genuine.

Brom decides on his ring, which he gives to Jeod. He tells Jeod to tell the messenger that if he loses it, “[he’ll] personally tear his liver out”. The queen (Islanzadí) gave it to him, after all. …It is most probably just hyperbole, but this is just a little disturbing. Jeod remarks on how “cheery” he is not, to which Brom just grunts. Well, too bad; if you do not want such remarks, you should not make such threats.

Let me now talk about Brom giving his ring away. I do not wholly see how Aren proves that the message can have come from Brom. Yes, along with some questions to the messenger, it should, but it is not something like a signature. So… why is he sending this ring along, if he hates losing it so much? Could he not use some kind of code phrase that he had during his years with the Varden? I am sure he had to have something to authenticate himself with then, and I doubt he constantly sent his ring along. I am sure he could come up with a way.

Also, how does he think to explain to Eragon why he is not wearing Aren any more? Has he even thought about that or does he simply hope Eragon will not notice? In this case, Eragon does not ask, since he already knows Brom will not have it, but that should really indicate to him that Eragon knows more than he is letting on.

Ill Logic: 21 (+2)

They stay silent for a while, then Brom says that they had better rejoin Eragon, since he gets worried when Eragon is alone. He thinks “[t]hat boy” has “an unnatural propensity for being wherever there’s trouble”. So far he has come into trouble when the Ra’zac came to search for him, and while passing through an area that was being raided. I hardly think that is “unnatural”. Note, too, that Brom got into trouble in those same situations, for worse reasons. Jeod asks if he is surprised and Brom admits that he is “not really”, presumably because he has had the same.

Brom and Jeod then get up and Eragon quickly ends the spell and opens his eyes. He asks himself what is going on (certainly a fair question) and then… proceeds to recap the scene we just got. Thank you for that, Paolini. Let me cover the recap, then. Eragon deduces that Jeod and “other traders” are in trouble for “helping people the Empire doesn’t favor”. (True.) Brom found something in Gil’ead and hid in Carvahall. (True.) He then wonders what might be so important that he let Jeod believe he was dead “for nearly twenty years”. Well, it certainly was not that important, as I have covered.

…I do wonder about the figure of “nearly twenty years”. Sure, Jeod said that Brom looks the same as “nearly twenty years ago”, but that clearly means that that was when Jeod first met him, not when Jeod last saw him. Further, they clearly have stayed in contact for a while, and Eragon was told a while before the story began that Brom arrived in Carvahall “nearly fifteen years ago”. This indicates that Brom and Jeod first met “nearly twenty years ago” and that the episode in Gil’ead took place some fifteen years ago, so Brom has only let Jeod think he is dead for fifteen years. Eragon’s conclusion does not follow from what he heard at all!

Ill Logic: 22

Space-Time Hairball: 14

Eragon then says that Brom mentioned a queen, when “there aren’t any queens in the known kingdoms”. What are these known kingdoms, then? The only ones I can come up with are the Empire and Surda, since Eragon does not know of the kingdoms of the dwarves and elves, and lands outside of Alagaësia are as good as unknown. That means that 1) Eragon knows the Empire actually is a kingdom and 2) that he knows about Surda. For the first point… that does make me wonder why the Empire is actually called the Empire, especially given that the human realm that was before it was a kingdom. Yes, it is probably called that because then it will be an Evil Empire (which it still is not), but in-universe… it might be that Galbatorix wanted to make it sound fancy, and the lack of further adjectives might be because he wants it to be a clean start. We still need some official explanation, though.

Cardboard Worldbuilding: 6

For the second point, that means that Eragon could have actually explained to us what Surda means, instead of readers having to check out the map! (Eragon is right about Surda, by the way, since its monarch is King Orrin.) Back to the recap, Eragon says that Brom mentioned the dwarves, who Brom told him “disappeared underground long ago”. Yes, he did, so maybe he was lying?

HISC: This edition removes Eragon noting that Jeod knows about Saphira.

Kerlois: That is certainly for the best, given how little it adds. Well, Eragon decides he wants answers, but he decides not to “confront Brom now” and “risk jeopardizing their mission”. Instead, he decides to wait until they leave Teirm, and then he will not give up “until the old man explain[s] his secrets”. If asking Brom about his secrets, including what plans he has for you, will “jeopardise” the mission, that is not a good sign, Eragon. I could see it happen, too, given how angry Brom became when Eragon asked about magic. I do wonder why Eragon thinks it will be less of a problem after Teirm. I guess it is because they will know where the Ra’zac are, then, and they can afford a temporary falling-out, so this is actually thought through. Points for that.

Further… I notice that Eragon has become considerably more curious this chapter, to the point that I suspect this was a course-correction on Paolini’s part. It was still a good one, and I quite appreciate Eragon actually being curious, him realising that his first instinct would not work and coming up with a better one, and above all, his dedication to insisting on answers from Brom! (And he will actually get those, too!) That is also quite necessary, since we have heard Brom planning Eragon and Saphira’s future for them already… which Eragon does not even seem to understand.

For the Good of the Cause: 24

Well, when Jeod and Brom come out, Eragon’s thoughts are “still whirling”. Brom asks if the horses were all right, and Eragon says they were fine. It is a bit surreal to see them have this exchange like checking the horses will just take this long. So they untie the horses, leave the castle, and enter Teirm proper. Brom then remarks that Jeod “finally got married”, and to a “lovely young woman”, at which he “wink[s] slyly”. He gives Jeod his congratulations.

This is not coming off the way Paolini meant it to. I do not exactly have trouble with Jeod marrying someone as young as Helen, since she is clearly an adult… but I do have trouble with Brom’s comment on it, since he is over a hundred years old. I also do not think he has much business “winking slyly” like this when Helen is already married to Jeod. Further… I find it a bit weird that Brom gives Jeod his “congratulations”, like marrying Helen is some kind of achievement, rather than a formalisation of the relation he has with her.

Jeod does not seem “happy with the compliment”, as he hunches his shoulders and looks down. He says that it is “debatable” if congratulations are in order, since Helen is not “very happy”. Oh no, how horrible. Brom asks why and what she wants. Jeod gives a “resigned shrug” and says it is the usual: “[a] good home, happy children, food on the table, and pleasant company”. Um, we never hear about Helen wanting children again, so where is this coming from?

PPP: 930

I do not think this says very good things about Jeod’s willingness to listen to Helen. Either way, these desires are indeed quite usual. What is the problem? According to Jeod, the problem is that she “comes from a wealthy family” and her father has invested quite a bit in his business. If he keeps being attacked, there “won’t be enough money for her to live the way she’s used to”. Ah yes, the problem is that she is a spoiled rich girl, not these attacks themselves and the way they hurt Jeod, or the fact that Jeod refuses to tell her what is going on or that he is in the Varden and that Helen can tell he is lying to her. I did not think so.

No-Wave Feminism: 70 (+5)

Petty Ain’t the Word for You: 76 (+5)

I do quite hate that all her legitimate reasons for being unhappy and upset with Jeod are ignored in favour of painting her as just being upset because of changes to her lifestyle. If Jeod were to be honest with here, I am quite certain that she would be considerably happier. Now is the time to tell her about his involvement with the Varden, too; after all, things are going bad, so it matters less if someone finds out from here. But no, he will wait until it is absolutely necessary to do so, because he is just that great of a husband.

HISC: To give Paolini a bit of credit, this edition at least removes the bit about Helen being upset about a dress for several hours.

Kerlois: That was the least he could do. Removing this also means that “Jeod continued” in the next paragraph looks a little clumsy.

PPP: 931

Well, he changes topic and says that his troubles are not their troubles and a host should “never bother guests with his own concerns”. While they are in his house, he will only let them be bothered by having eaten too much.

And there I would like to stop for the moment. Until next time, as Eragon goes to see Saphira!