Brisingr

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2008

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Chapters 25-27

Chapter 25 Summary: “Orders”

Nasuada wants Eragon to travel to the dwarves’ stronghold at Farthen Dûr without Saphira to persuade them to an alliance with the Varden and as a witness to their search for a new king. Saphira would stay with the Varden to avoid bringing attention to Eragon’s journey; with her permission, Arya could ride Saphira if Murtagh came back. Eragon’s guard will be an Urgal and a Kull, but to avoid upsetting the dwarves they will stop in Bregan Hold on Mount Thardur, where Orik (Eragon’s closest dwarf friend) can be found. Eragon is vehemently opposed, and tries to get out of the journey, but Nasuada remains steadfast. As a condition of the agreement, Saphira will fly to Farthen Dûr for the coronation of the new king, and to try to repair the Star Sapphire. After, they will fly to Ellesméra in Du Weldenvarden to fulfill another oath, to see Islanzadí and his tutors, Oromis and Glaedr.

Nasuada coaches Eragon on the customs of the dwarves and persuades him that Orik is the best choice, being the late King Hrothgar’s child, Eragon’s foster brother, and already a fan of the Varden—but she advises he switch allegiances if the majority will not go with him and there is a more likely candidate who is in favor of the Varden. Blödhgarm gives permission of the elves, and Eragon and Saphira say their goodbyes once more, expressing frustration that their mental connection cannot withstand long distances.

Chapter 26 Summary: “Footprints of Shadow”

Eragon and Saphira go to Roran and Katrina to tell them their orders and ask them to swear to secrecy, only to find that Roran is also departing as part of a raiding party, far from Varden in the borders of the Empire (an enemy to the Varden). Their next stop takes them to the butcher to purchase a cow so that Eragon can use the remainder of its motive energy; he must replenish his reserves, particularly for the belt of Beloth the Wise, before setting off on his journey. Then, donning his gear and slinging his belongings onto his back, he is able to set up an invisibility spell to leave the Varden without detection, meeting Nar Garzhvog (the Kull leader) far away from the encampment. Nar Garzhvog explains that his motivation for guarding Eragon is that Eragon must continue to fight against Galbatorix or the Urgals will not have revenge and their race will die. They set forth together for the Beor Mountains, setting a swift pace.

Chapter 27 Summary: “Over Hill and Mountain”

After two days of running, Eragon and Nar Garzhvog find themselves in need of food and rest; Eragon makes a fire while the Kull hunts, returning with a doe. They cook in the Urgal fashion, boiling water in the stomach of a cave bear to make a stew and frying the rest of the meat on a slab of stone. After the meal, Eragon asks the Urgal to tell a homey story. The Urgal tells of a woman who wants to attract a specific mate, and so gives permission to the god Rahna to take anything she wants from her; after she gives birth, Rahna comes to collect her eldest son and strip her of her beauty.

By the end of the next day, the Beor Mountains are visible (they are 10 miles high in some places). Eragon and Nar Garzhvog are camping between the peaks when they encounter a giant wolf known as a Shrrg. Eragon invites it to join them for dinner. The next morning, the pair make their way through the valley that leads to Mount Thardur; the area is covered in dense forest. They watch as a cave bear kills and feasts on a nagra (boar). When they hear the laughter of three dwarf children alone in the woods, the Urgal decides he has escorted Eragon far enough and leaves him; any further would compromise the mission. Eragon emerges from the bushes and announces himself as a Rider in the dwarven language, and the children are overjoyed; they make their way toward Mount Thardur and Bregan Hold in anticipation of seeing Orik.

Chapters 25-27 Analysis

In this section, Nasuada pushes her authority over Eragon to get him to obey her will; he is fully against her scheme for him to travel to Farthen Dûr without Saphira, but she is relentless. Her discourse and argument is forceful; Eragon has no better plan than hers, and she is his sovereign. Thus, he must do as she says or face consequences he would not want to invoke; she has a hold over him, the Rider—someone the reader would generally view as ungovernable. Yet, this serves as a reminder to him (and thus, Paolini reminds the reader) that he has pledged oaths of loyalty and fealty to her and to Queen Islanzadí, and that he is bound as foster brother to support Orik’s nomination as the next king in Farthen Dûr. Obedience and fealty reveal themselves here.

Eragon’s experience with Nar Garzhvog is new and strange for both of them. Having found himself and his loved ones in direct competition with Urgals—even in battle with them—his trust in the Kull is a test of the reality and endurance of their new pledge to work together for the Varden. They are capable of putting aside differences to travel safely together into the Beor Mountains; the leader of the Urgals plainly states his motivation: “You are Firesword. You must not die, or the Urgralgra—the Urgals, as you name us—will not have our revenge against Galbatorix, and our race will die in this land. Therefore, I will run with you” (384). He has no personal love or loyalty toward Eragon, but he recognizes that not to join with the Varden, to ignore Eragon’s power in the war to come, would mean certain death for his people. Therefore, the bonds of utility are nearly as strong as the bonds of fealty in these chapters.

Chapter 27 affords the reader a unique look into the daily life and habits of an Urgal. Alongside Eragon, the reader learns how to cook like an Urgal, spin a story like an Urgal; and Nar Garzhvog’s story in and of itself is bountiful in telling the reader what kind of people the Urgals are—what motivates them and what they value. This forced engagement between Eragon and the Kull in the Beor Mountains moves them closer to tolerating each other’s cultures, and as such moves the reader closer to understanding them as well.