Brisingr

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2008

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Chapters 13-15

Chapter 13 Summary: “Shadows of the Past”

While brooding over his injured hand at dinner, Eragon produces a spell to create calluses over the knuckles that will protect them from splitting in the future. He loses sleep thinking about the morality of killing people, eventually asking Arya for advice. She tells him a story about when she first became an ambassador. She was sent to the capital of Surda and met a band of Urgals just past the Beor Mountains; the Urgals were outnumbered, and Arya made her first kill. Later, when she realized she was dwelling on her negative feelings despite feeling she had acted justly, she pictured herself in a calm place—for her, the Tialdari Gardens. Arya suggests he find inner peace through breathing. As for the Urgals, despite previous negative encounters she believes Nasuada made the right choice by inviting them to join the Varden after Nar Garzhvog’s offer of support. They love war, but they are not inherently evil.

Arya continues to unburden her grief to Eragon, and the two connect physically in the context of comfort—after a minute, the elf is ready to separate. Eragon creates a lily to please her, but the strength he uses saps him and she suggests he turn to the supply in his sapphire ring, Aren, which is something he has not done before. Aren is filled with power from when his mentor, Brom, owned it, and he vows to keep the reserve for times of great need. As the night unfolds, the two muse on a variety of topics and end up speaking of Galbatorix’s true name. It was discovered ages ago, but a curse has been placed on any who say it. In fact, the Banishing of the Names is why most dragons aren’t referred to by names; dragons rebelled in aid of Galbatorix and were stripped of their own names, with many losing their identities and going insane.

The camp becomes quite windy and they put out their fire; in the dark, a presence reveals itself as a cluster of growing lights, forming a multicolored, whirling wall around the pair. When Arya touches an orb, it turns white and gold and swells, suffusing her with joy; after turning black, it moves to stand in front of Eragon, giving him pain and then joy. The orb is so pleased, it turns his lily into gold, diamond, and ruby and leaves it alive to propagate. When the orbs leave, Arya refers to them as spirits, but a race all their own like the spirits inside of Durza the Shade (shades in this universe are the remnants of humans or elves after they die, and Durza spent a long time torturing Arya).

Chapter 14 Summary: “Shadows of the Past”

The next afternoon, Eragon and Arya are in view of the Varden’s two tent camps—one for the majority, the other for the Urgals. Eragon is able to reach Saphira with his mind, and they comfort and assure one another until their reunion. A small contingent grows into a large group to greet their arrival, among whom are the 12 elves sent to protect Eragon. His introduction to Blödhgarm is awkward, as he refers to having seen him at the Agaetí Blödhren, but the elf insists it was his sister Liotha, who has brown fur. Saphira points out Blödhgarm’s strong scent, which is imperceptible to Eragon, as being something he uses to attract females. Eragon is greeted by others from the Varden and his own people of Carvahall, including Roran and Katrina. Eventually, they make it to Nasuada’s red pavilion, where she waits with King Orrin and other nobles. Eragon makes a speech, which makes him uncomfortable and causes Saphira to laugh.

Chapter 15 Summary: “To Answer a King”

Nasuada pulls Eragon into a meeting with the other nobles and military leaders, introducing him to an endless string of people. Once he becomes too fatigued, Saphira growls and everyone leaves them alone. King Orrin wants to be told everything that happened in Helgrind, but Nasuada argues this demand is not within his bounds, and the two argue over their leadership styles and practices. After demanding a vow of secrecy, Eragon tells them everything that occurred inside the mountain and after, with Arya filling in the details of her trip. The pair shock Eragon by agreeing that what Eragon did with Sloan was the right choice; it would not have been Eragon’s place to become Sloan’s executioner. They continue to interrogate Eragon for hours, bringing refreshments but giving him no chance to eat or drink. Orrin and Arya retire, and Eragon notices the toll Nasuada’s wounds had on her. She sends him to retire with his people, bathe, and then come back to share a meal with her.

Chapters 13-15 Analysis

In Chapter 13, Arya references having been tortured at the hands of Durza the Shade in Gil’ead; she was able to keep the location of the Ellesméra (Saphira’s egg) a secret for months, proving herself worthy of the Yahweh symbol. Eragon suggests she may still be internalizing the pain she experienced there, but she assures him that she has others, such as her mother, in whom she confides. She speaks to Eragon about an elf named Fäolin, with whom she traveled for 20 years; he was her confidante and friend, and Durza killed him. She says she thought she would die, but then she was captured and tortured by Durza, who kept her on the edge of madness until Eragon and Saphira saved her. Grief is something Eragon and Arya share, though for the most part the sources of their grief are quite separate. Despite these differences, they are able to be a source of comfort for one another. It is clear from these chapters that Eragon still has intense feelings of love and care for Arya, despite her previous rejection of him. She is also still quite affectionate with him, giving both Eragon and the reader hope for their eventual connection—and setting up their relationship as important for the narrative.

Eragon and Arya also spend time in Chapter 13 discussing spirituality and the human experience of death; after the spirits visit, Eragon attempts to compare them to the spirits inside of Durza the Shade. Arya is quick to explain that these spirits have nothing to do with what humans become when they die; they are a race altogether separate from humans or elves. Some questions she refuses to answer, deferring to Eragon’s mentor, Oromis, and Glaedr. This sets up some expectation that Eragon will make it back to Du Weldenvarden, or that they will come out of hiding from Galbatorix to allow a reunion and further training.

Saphira and Eragon’s mutual excitement upon being mentally reconnected reminds the reader how close and unique the bond is between Rider and dragon. They are able to comfort and reassure one another at a level deeper than most human bonds, or the bonds people share with their pets. This is an all-consuming kind of attachment, which is shown when Saphira pounces on top of Eragon in Chapter 14, and again later when Saphira intuits Eragon’s fatigue and growls at the endless string of people waiting to be heard by him until they understand her message. These are just two examples of their unshakeable bond, which serves as a backbone for the plot of Brisingr.