r/Eragon Jul 06 '25

News (Updated Aug 18) The Book of Remembrance - The Contents

69 Upvotes

The Book of Remembrance is an upcoming book from Christopher Paolini, covering in-universe accounts of seven different battles throughout the history of Alagaësia, with the framing device of being a collection gathered together by Arceanist Brother Hern. Altogether, Christopher has said that this material is longer than half the length of FWW, and that it's shaping into "a proper book" on its own.

There is a deluxe illustrated edition being published by Wraithmarked that is available to back now on Kickstarter, aiming for a September 2026 release. It will not necessarily be available for purchase outside of the campaign, but there will likely be a traditionally published edition by Random House at some point after that.

The Kickstarter Edition ("Book of Remembrance")

The Kickstarter edition will be a 5x7" book bound in leatherette or leather (depending on backer tier) with three-colored foil stamping, a few dozen illustrations, and a list of the Kickstarter backers, stylized as a "list of the fallen" from each battle.

That artwork includes two black and white illustrations from Christopher, three dragon sketch studies from Isvoc for the endpapers and signature sheets, one two-page b/w illustration from Christopher J Alliston for each of the seven battles, 3-5 additional illustrations, a map, and twenty-two pages of fan portraits. Design will be done by Shawn T. King (stk_kreations).

See the Kickstarter page for more information about the different backer tiers, which can affect placement in the non-canon "list of the fallen" within the printed book as well as the choice of cover material. The Kickstarter page also shows the illustrations from Christopher and Isvoc, and a WIP piece from Christopher J Alliston.

Christopher's two illustrations are "Brother Hern's Letter" (a runic transcription of on a scroll, following the tradition from his art in the Murtagh Deluxe Edition and the Eragon Owlcrate Edition), and "Runestone" (which appears to be a combination of the art in Murtagh and the moon from his 2002 Saphira drawing). Christopher has also said that he may do more illustrations if time permits.

The Random House Edition ("Tales from Alagaësia volume 2")

For the Random House edition, Christopher will write some chapters from Eragon's POV to go around the stories, so that the book can be presented as the second volume in the Tales from Alagaësia series. It will update on Eragon and Saphira, the Eldunarí's silence, the hatching dragons, the missing werecat cubs, and Svartlings. Christopher has said that the additional content "will be a fair amount", and will take him some time to write, leading to the final book being "bigger than Fractal Noise" and "way bigger than Tales 1."


This rest of this reddit post will focus on the main text of the book, which should be the same in both the Kickstarter edition from Wraithmarked and the trade edition that Random House may publish in the future. Christopher has said that this content is "just about the same size as The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm".

Introduction

The beginning of the introduction to the book (Brother Hern's letter) was shared on Kickstarter, but as a page of runes, with parts of the text hidden behind other objects, such as a scroll case. This is a letter that Brother Hern is writing for Etharis to read when he has the time. What follows is a back-transcription into english, with curly braces used to indicate guesses for the obscured text. "Wérthoros" means "humans". (Thanks to /u/notainsleym and /u/Cptn-40 for help with this transcription.)

Codex Wérthoros

{Brothe}r [E]tharis, {As you r}equested I have taken leave of my illumin{ations so that I can} compile this account. It required much mor{e of my time t}han I would have liked, and I fear my ink pots {have run dry i}n the interim. And for what, what is it you think to {find in t}he records of these battles?

{If it's} new insight into the Draumar’s meddling, then your {head mus}t be sharper than mine, for I saw nothing unexpected. {Nonethe}less, I have done as you have asked, and it was a mighty {effor}t. I strove to find the earliest recorded accounts {of each batt}le, and where possible, I combined and compared {them to cr}eate what I believe to be an authoritative list of {the fallen.} Some authors as you are no doubt aware, are more {trustworthy tha}n others—I would not trust Heslant the monk when {it concerns an}ything much before the founding of the Riders—but {there is a scarc}ity of written material regarding several of {the early battles}—notably the Defeat at Amaranth, the Fall of {Vroenga}rd, and the Ambush of Stavarosk—and we poor scryers of the past must scrape and scramble for whatever scraps of truth have survived.

To that end, I have been to the deepest parts of the reliquary, where the dust lies as thick as snow, And for my efforts, I have been sneezing every day for the past weeks, to the point that even Brother Advari has forsaken my company. I expect a mug full of good Summer ale as compensation when next I see you, Brother Etharis.

Despite my aggravation, I will admit, examining the roles of the fallen has put me in a somber mood. Our history, that is, the history of humans, has often been an unfortunate one, and those who died in each of these conflicts did so at the most crucial of turning points for Alagaësia and, indeed, Elëa as a whole. We are ever at such a point now, and I wonder if someday our names will be recorded in a similar manner. If any peoples remain to write and read.

Please ignore my ramblings. I have been too long in the catacombs. My head needs light and space and good conversation. Perhaps I will seek out Brother Advari once again.

Oh, and I would say this as well, the rosebushes contin{ue to} wither beneath the onslaught of aphids. The branches grow o{ld.}

The Seven Battles

The names of all seven battles can be found on Kickstarter, and Christopher runs through the list with some very brief commentary in one of the promotional videos. What follows below will be these descriptions, coupled with whatever we know about the battles from other sources.

It seems each battle will be told through an excerpt from a different in-universe writing, and Christopher has said that all of the POVs will be from characters we have not yet met, and that two of them will be from an elf and from a werecat, though it's unclear which battles he's referring to for those. (Also unattributed to any specific battles, Christopher has said to expect more info about elves, doors and werecats, an official definition for "inarë", and a sentence that's 147 words long. The werecat chapter will be titled "THE KICKER OF CATS: As Recorded for Us by Sister Blackclaw of the Seventh Toll")

1. The Defeat at Amaranth

The first one is called the Defeat at Amaranth and covers the final confrontation between mad King Palencar and the elves where the humans were defeated. This is the battle that led to humans being included in the pact between dragons and Riders.

"Amaranth" is a new term. Christopher has said that the battle was named that because it "took place on a field where large amounts of amaranth grows". (And that "amaranth often has mythological associations with immortality/long life".) However, the history of King Palencar has been alluded to before. Brom told the story to Eragon in the self-published edition of Eragon, as they passed Ristvak’baen. This got cut by Random House when they republished the book, but it was replaced with a more detailed account in the next book, told to Eragon by the elf Lifaen, shortly after entering Du Weldenvarden. And then a third, even more detailed account is included in Heslant the Monk's introduction to Domia Abr Wyrda, as published in the Deluxe/Limited Edition of Eldest. All three accounts are fairly similar, differing mainly in the amount of detail provided, so here I'll just give the third and most detailed version:

When Palancar encountered the elves, they explained to him which land was theirs, which was the dwarves’, and which was the dragons’, and granted him the right to claim that which was unoccupied. They and the Riders also demonstrated their physical and magical prowess. Intimidated, Palancar dared not argue with them—at least not so long as his docked fleet was at their mercy—and so he agreed to their terms.

The Broddrings roamed Alagaësia for several years before they discovered Palancar Valley—as it was to be dubbed—and decided to make it the basis of their kingdom. After Palancar vanquished the local Urgals and founded the town that is now Therinsford, his hubris grew so massive, he thought to challenge the elves for the region between the Spine and Du Weldenvarden. It is still baffling why—having witnessed the Riders’ might and main—he believed he could prevail in this matter. On this subject, I agree with Eddison, who reasons that Palancar was in the early stages of dementia, an assumption that is borne out by his later actions and those of his family, for madness always runs through the bloodline.

Three times Palancar’s warriors faced the elves, and three times the elves obliterated them. Aware of the Urgals’ fate and having no desire to share in it, the Broddring nobles sent an envoy to the elves, and they signed a treaty without Palancar’s knowledge. Palancar was then banished from his throne. He and his family refused to leave the valley, however, and instead of killing him, the elves constructed the watchtower Edoc’sil—now Ristvak’baen—to ensure that he could cause no further strife.

The elves took pity on the remainder of our ancestors and allowed them to live in Ilirea, which the elves had abandoned during their war with the dragons nearly two thousand years earlier. Ilirea became the new capital of the Broddring Kingdom, which exists even to this day as the center of Galbatorix’s empire: Urû’baen.

That brief confrontation with Palancar—which cost humans far more than it cost the elves—convinced the then leader of the Riders, Anurin, to amend the elves’ magical pact with the dragons to include humans. Anurin recognized that, as a race, humans are hardier than the elves and that we reproduce faster than the dwarves, making it inevitable that we would soon proliferate across Alagaësia. Before that day arrived, he wanted to weld our species together—using a flux of spells, oaths, and commerce—in order to prevent what he saw as a likely war for domination of the continent. (Eldest Limited Edition, "A Brief History of Alagaësia")

2. The Siege of Kvôth

Then we have the Siege of Kvôth, which is a dwarven siege. Although there's a dragon rider involved with that. And there's a certain red-eyed rabbit in that battle as well. That was a fun one to sort of write about.

The Siege of Kvôth was first summarized by Christopher in a 2010 Shurtugul Q&A, where he said that it was content that got cut from inclusion in Brisingr. (This Q&A was later republished on paolini.net in 2016, which is perhaps the source it's more well known from.)

Another famous battle was the Siege of Kvôth, which was attacked during the War of Iron, which pitted humans against dwarves and knurlan against knurlan in a dispute over ownership of the iron mines in the western foothills of the Beor Mountains. The human king at the time, King Thedric, did his best to forestall bloodshed by meeting in secret with the dwarf Ivaldn in the city of Furnost, but his efforts proved unsuccessful and, in the end, it fell to the Riders to restore the peace.

Later, in Inheritance, Eragon walks in on Angela finishing up an account of this story, though her version involves a red-eyed rabbit.

—but he was too slow, and the raging, red-eyed rabbit ripped out Hord’s throat, killing him instantly. Then the hare fled into the forest, and out of recorded history. However, if you travel through those parts, as I have … sometimes, even to this day, you will come across a freshly killed deer or Feldûnost that looks as if it has been nibbled at, like a turnip. And all around it, you’ll see the prints of an unusually large rabbit. Every now and then, a warrior from Kvôth will go missing, only to be found lying dead with his throat torn out … always with his throat torn out.

Terrin was horribly upset by the loss of his friend, of course, and he wanted to chase after the hare, but the dwarves still needed his help. So he returned to the stronghold, and for three more days and three more nights the defenders held the walls, until their supplies were low and every warrior was covered in wounds.

At last, on the morning of the fourth day, when all seemed hopeless, the clouds parted, and far in the distance, Terrin was amazed to see Mimring flying toward the stronghold at the head of a huge thunder of dragons. The sight of the dragons frightened the attackers so much, they threw down their weapons and fled into the wilderness. This, as you can imagine, made the dwarves of Kvôth rather happy, and there was much rejoicing.

And when Mimring landed, Terrin saw, much to his surprise, that his scales had become as clear as diamonds, which, it is said, happened because Mimring flew so close to the sun—for in order to fetch the other dragons in time, he had had to fly over the peaks of the Beor Mountains, higher than any dragon has ever flown before or since. From then on, Terrin was known as the hero of the Siege of Kvôth, and his dragon was known as Mimring the Brilliant, on account of his scales, and they lived happily ever after. Although, if truth be told, Terrin always remained rather afraid of rabbits, even into his old age. And that is what really happened at Kvôth. (Inheritance, "Mooneater")

Afterwards Eragon questions her on the accuracy of the story, and she says "Well, you can hardly expect the dwarves to admit they were at the mercy of a rabbit."

Christopher has since confirmed that the rabbit was a shade, (and also that the Monty Python references were intentional).

3. The Sack of Vroengard

Then the Sack of Vroengard, which covers some of the defeat and fall of the dragon riders.

This battle is alluded to many times throughout the series, starting with the first book in Brom's story:

Only Vrael, leader of the Riders, could resist Galbatorix and the Forsworn. Ancient and wise, he struggled to save what he could and keep the remaining dragons from falling to his enemies. In the last battle, before the gates of Doru Araeba, Vrael defeated Galbatorix, but hesitated with the final blow. Galbatorix seized the moment and smote him in the side. Grievously wounded, Vrael fled to Utgard Mountain, where he hoped to gather strength. (Eragon, "Dragon Tales")

However, the only two accounts with any detail can be found in Inheritance, and both focus on Thuviel's sacrifice. We first get an account from Glaedr, representing the publicly known version of the story:

During the battle with the Forsworn, one of our own, an elf by the name of Thuviel, killed himself with magic. Whether by design or by accident has never been clear, but the result is what you see and what you cannot see, for the resulting explosion rendered the area unfit to live in. Those who remained here soon developed lesions upon their skin and lost their hair, and many died thereafter. ... Thuviel wrought this destruction by himself. ... he converted his flesh into energy. ... The energy was without thought or structure, and once unbound, it raced outward until it dispersed. ... It is not well known, but even the smallest speck of matter is equal to a great amount of energy. Matter, it seems, is merely frozen energy. Melt it, and you release a flood few can withstand.… It was said that the explosion here was heard as far away as Teirm and that the cloud of smoke that followed rose as high as the Beor Mountains. ... The blast killed Glaerun, the one member of the Forsworn who had died on Vroengard. Galbatorix and the rest of the Forsworn had a moment of warning, and so were able to shield themselves, but many of our own were not as fortunate and thus perished. (Inheritance, "Amid the Ruins")

And then shortly afterwards we get an account from Umaroth, showing the actual intent behind that sacrifice.

Before the Battle of Doru Araeba, more than a hundred years ago, all of the Eldunarí were placed in a trance so deep as to be akin to death, which made them that much more difficult to find. Our plan was to rouse them after the fighting was over, but those who built this place also cast a spell that would wake them from their trance once several moons had passed. ... Thuviel agreed to sacrifice himself to conceal our deception from Galbatorix. ... It was a great tragedy, however, we had agreed that he was not to act unless it was obvious that defeat was unavoidable. By immolating himself, he destroyed the buildings where we normally kept the eggs, and he also rendered the island poisonous to ensure that Galbatorix would not choose to settle here. ... One of the Forsworn had slain Thuviel’s dragon a month before. Though he had refrained from passing into the void, as we needed every warrior we had to fight Galbatorix, Thuviel no longer wished to continue living. He was glad for the task then; it granted him the release he yearned for while also allowing him to serve our cause. By the gift of his life, he secured a future for both our race and the Riders. He was a great and courageous hero, and his name shall someday be sung in every corner of Alagaësia. (Inheritance, "Lacuna, Part the Second")

Christopher has also said to expect the names, genders, and races of all thirteen of the Forsworn to appear in the book.

4. The Ambush at Stavarosk

The Ambush at Stavarosk, which is all about how the Urgals wiped out about half of Galbatorix's army in the mountains of the Spine.

This battle also gets mentioned throughout the series, but usually nothing more than that one factoid:

The Spine was one of the only places that King Galbatorix could not call his own. Stories were still told about how half his army disappeared after marching into its ancient forest. (Eragon, "Palancar Valley")

No matter how many soldiers the Ra’zac summon, they will never dare enter the Spine. Not after Galbatorix lost half his army in it. (Eldest, "Wounds of the Past")

All my life I’ve heard it said that Galbatorix once lost half his men in the Spine, but no one could tell me how or why. (Inheritance, "Mooneater")

The most details are given in Inheritance, where Nar Garzhvog tells it to Eragon right after Angela recounts the story of Kvôth:

Do not all humans know of Stavarosk? Is it not sung of in every hall from the northern wastes to the Beor Mountains as our greatest triumph? Surely, if nowhere else, the Varden must speak of it. ... When [Galbatorix] came to power, he sought to destroy our race forever. He sent a vast army into the Spine. His soldiers crushed our villages, burned our bones, and left the earth black and bitter behind them. We fought—at first with joy, then with despair, but still we fought. It was the only thing we could do. There was nowhere for us to run, nowhere to hide. Who would protect the Urgralgra when even the Riders had been brought to their knees?

We were lucky, though. We had a great war chief to lead us, Nar Tulkhqa. He had once been captured by humans, and he had spent many years fighting them, so he knew how you think. Because of that, he was able to rally many of our tribes under his banner. Then he lured Galbatorix’s army into a narrow passage deep within the mountains, and our rams fell upon them from either side. It was a slaughter. The ground was wet with blood, and the piles of bodies stood higher than my head. Even to this day, if you go to Stavarosk, you will feel the bones cracking under your feet, and you will find coins and swords and pieces of armor under every patch of moss. (Inheritance, "Mooneater")

Murtagh offers a bit more context to this conflict, with Bachel implying that Galbatorix had been trying to wipe out the Draumer.

Nal Gorgoth and places like it have endured for longer than you can imagine. No dragon or Rider or elf or any other creature in all the history of the land has ever succeeded in clearing our redoubts or snuffing our faith. ... Not even the dread dragonkiller himself, Rider. He tried, once, and soon realized the magnitude of his mistake. (Murtagh, "The Court of Crows")

This was then confirmed by Christopher on reddit:

As for why [Galbatorix] tolerated them ... he didn't. In fact, he sent an army into the Spine to wipe them out at one point, and the Draumar used the Urgals to wipe out his men. (This is part of why the population of the Empire is lower than it really ought to be.)

On Twitter, Christopher has shared some excerpts from this portion of the Book of Remembrance (1, 2, 3):

So. When our grandsire’s sires strode the land,
in the days that followed the death of the Riders,
then woe was our harvest and hardship our lot.
We had thought to find freedom after the Fall,
to break the shackles the Shur’tugal imposed,
and extend our reach from our mountain realm,
across the furrowed fields of the Hornless.

But. Our freedom was brief and false.
We ran forth and raided many
a village and fort. Victory was ours
more often than not, honor for Svarvok,
won with fierce joy in bloody fights.
Then Galbatorix with new-gathered strength,
sent men with swords against our steads. . . .

. . . Tulkhqa lowered his head. “Talk
no more, for you mangle Svarvok’s truth
with every word, warp it as badly
as that horn you wrecked in fitful wrath. . . .

Christopher has also said that this was his favorite part of the book to write.

5. The Battle Under Farthen Dûr

And then the Battle Under Farthen Dûr. I don't want to say too much about that one.

This battle serves as the climax for the first book, but the account we see in this book will presumably be something new.

Christopher has said to expect more information about the Gûntera apparition, the Erisdar lanterns, and dwarven sewer systems. And to write this part he needed to do some calculations for the amount of livable space inside Tronjheim.

It should be noted that Christopher has written extra accounts about the tunnels under the battle on two different occasions. The first draft of Eragon had Eragon/Kevin leading a scouting expedition to Orthíad, where he encountered the Urgals and some shades. This all got cut from the book by the second draft, but Orthíad still exists as a staging point for the Urgal army, and Christopher has on occasion discussed some specific visuals he has of it.

Also, in 2005, Christopher helped develop a text adventure game set in these tunnels on the eve of the battle. That game had the player trapped in the tunnels and encountering both Angela and some Urgals, and then needing to get back to the surface. There's not a ton of content there, but it should be noted that Christopher was tweeting about this game while working on this section for Book of Remembrance.

6. The Slaughter at Gil’ead

The Slaughter at Gil’ead, which covers the capture of Gil’ead by the elven forces during the Inheritance Cycle. Which is also where Oromis was killed, and Glaedr lost his body.

This forms the B-plot for the climax of Brisingr. While Eragon is fighting in Feinster, he gets visions from Glaedr of the fight in Gil’ead. Given that we've already seen the fight between Oromis/Glaedr and Murtagh/Thorn/Galbatorix, it's likely that the Book of Remembrance will focus on other parts of the battle instead, of which we've only seen very little before:

The lazy-one-eye-sun hovered just above the horizon. To the north, the big-water-Isenstar was a rippling sheet of polished silver. Below, the herd of pointed-ears commanded by Islanzadí was arrayed around the broken-anthill-city. Their armor glittered like crushed ice. A pall of blue smoke lay over the whole area, thick as cold morning mist. (Brisingr, "Shadow of Doom")

Look what happened at Ceunon and Gil’ead. All his men, all his power, and Galbatorix still couldn’t stop them from swarming over the walls. (Inheritance, Rumors and Writing)

Murtagh was glad to have arrived, but the sight of Gil’ead brought him little pleasure. The last time he and Thorn had been at the city, they had been fighting at Galbatorix’s behest, in a desperate and failed attempt to defend the place from the elves. It had been a bloody, miserable battle. (Murtagh, "Dragonflight")

In the fields alongside the road, he saw traces of the battle for Gil’ead, ghosts of past bloodshed. There along a hedgerow was where the Empire’s cavalry had massed, and even now a circle of ground was bare where horses had trampled the dirt until it was hard as fired brick. Half a ruined wagon lay rotting along the lip of a nearby ditch, the wood burnt black by spellfire. Farther to the east was where the elves had broken through the army’s defensive lines and begun to drive them away from Gil’ead. Murtagh forced himself to stop looking, but he couldn’t stop remembering. It must have been terrifying, he thought. To be stuck on foot, with dragons fighting overhead, and ranks of elves descending upon your position…He could hardly imagine a worse situation. (Murtagh, "Hostile Territory")

When Murtagh shared what he’d seen, Thorn’s sorrow joined his own. “The elves must have driven them into the water. They never stood a chance.” The last he’d seen of Galbatorix’s battalions, the squares of men had been huddled together upon the smoke-shrouded plains outside Gil’ead while the ranks of tall elves marched upon them with inexorable force. (Murtagh, "Heave and Tail")

7. The Fall of Urû’baen

And then finally the Fall of Urû’baen, which, again, we saw in the Inheritance Cycle. But this is from a point of view that has never been done before.

So we have one, two, three, four battles that have never actually appeared before. They've been mentioned, but they haven't appeared. And then three battles that we've seen in the Inheritance Cycle, but we're seeing them in a very different way now.

It's unclear which perspective of this battle we will see here. We've already seen in great detail both Eragon's journey into the throne room, and Roran's fight with Lord Barst. Between those two fights we know what almost all the named characters were doing during the fight, and there's no obvious gaps.

There is the perspective of the group that rescues Roran, whom Christopher has confirmed have a planned POV at some point, but they're supposed to one day get their own book, so this might not be the place to tell their story.


r/Eragon 8d ago

News The Fractalverse novella Unity is getting a print release, and is now available to preorder

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9 Upvotes

r/Eragon 5h ago

Discussion Was it Thuviel’s fault that Galbatorix won? Spoiler

76 Upvotes

Glaedr said that when Thuviel exploded, many riders died even though only one of the Forsworn died. And Vrael ALMOST killed Galbatorix. Maybe if those extra riders+dragons were still alive the help, then they might of been able to kill Galbatorix. That, and Thuviel destroyed almost all of the dragon eggs, being one the main reasons of the dragons near extinction


r/Eragon 4h ago

Discussion How long will it take Elva to guess the …

22 Upvotes

Spoilers,

How long do you think it will take for Elva to steal the name of names from Eragons thoughts like she did with the existence of the Eldunari?


r/Eragon 14h ago

Currently Reading Just finished Murtagh

43 Upvotes

I just finished reading Murtagh and of all the books/ series I’ve read, this one has to be the hardest series to finish. It’s such a phenomenally written story, it was so hard to read those last few pages knowing that this is the last book (for now) in the series.

After finishing the original 4 books, I was a bit apprehensive about reading Murtagh and TFWW because I was so committed to Eragon storyline. After I started reading TFWW, I opened up to the other storylines and was enthralled by how intensely captivating it was to see other perspectives/ branching storylines. It took a bit of warming up, but after the first chapter I was in love.

Then I moved on to Murtagh and I was and am blown away by how beautifully written it was. The the ending was absolutely amazing and leaves you wanting more. What a phenomenal series from Paolini and I’m looking forward to seeing what he has in the works.

I do unfortunately have to find a new series to start reading, so any suggestions are more than welcome!!


r/Eragon 10h ago

Misc Am I losing nuance in translation? (Eye colors and animal species)

20 Upvotes

Some fantasy I read in English, others in my native German. Unfortunately I got Eragon 1 some 15+ years ago, so that was German. And I don't like switching languages halfway through a series.

This obviously makes grabbing quotes and theorizing on precise wording a bit harder. Most of the time, I don't think the exact English text is that important (though I do consider it the true canon) because the concepts described matter more than the actual word choice.

The only exception here is with the eye colors of shades, where on the very first page, Durza is described with yellow eyes. Throughout the book, they're "yellowish" but not maroon.

This set off alarm bells for me, because of the man in El-Harim, the man with yellow eyes. But now that I learned that Durza didn't even have truly yellow eyes, I'm not sure about that connection anymore.

So now I'm wondering - is yellow close enough to maroon eyes, especially when they're glowing? Are they connected?

And what about other shades? Varaugh correctly has maroon eyes, but the shade-rabbit from Angela's story has red eyes. That too seems to match the English original, but what does it mean? Only humans are maroon?

And is it a rabbit, bunny or a hare? Again, the translation uses them interchangeably, but technically there's a distinction between the real-world Lepus europaeus and Oryctolagus cuniculus. The latter one is smaller, and used in the book as diminutive. I'd bet the original like was something like "They'd never admit they were scared of a bunny". But it felt OOC for someone concerned with the difference between toads and (?) frogs.


r/Eragon 1d ago

Discussion Do we have any estimate on the population numbers of each race in Alagaesia?

53 Upvotes

This question came to me when wondering about the dwarven pantheon.

I don't believe it's common for the dwarves to be portrayed as particularly religious in fantasy, but here they clearly stand out when compared to other races atheism or seemingly less rigid beliefs and rituals. What struck me was the apparent uniformity of the dwarven beliefs; a set number of gods, representing very specific elements, and having (as far as we know) a set chronology of events. This is very different from the Greco-Roman religion, which I would guess influenced Paolini, as it's the most culturally present polytheistic religion in the modern age - though it's possible it's a false equivalence. This may be due to the existence of Durgrimst Quan, who keep heresy in check, but this seems like an impossible task across such vast and untraversable area as the Beors - even despite their extremely advanced infrastructure, over the millenia surely the gods would at least encompass more ideas and attributes by cultural appropriation?

That is unless... there simply aren't that many of them? If the combined numbers of dwarves across all of their cities was less than a few million, these issues become far less prevalent, and events such as the Battle of the Burning Plains become truly horrific, involving almost 200,000 soldiers across all races, which alone would be a noticeable % of their populations. What do you think?


r/Eragon 1d ago

Discussion A Respectful Warning: How the Eragon TV Series Could Fail Without Bold Risks

684 Upvotes

Mr Christopher Paolini, if by chance you ever read this—please know this comes from a place of deep respect and hope. Many of us grew up with Eragon as one of our first gateways into fantasy, and we’ve waited years for the story to finally get the adaptation it deserves.

But we’ve also seen what happens when adaptations play it too safe. The Percy Jackson Disney series followed the books closely, but they never captured the emotional depth, world-building, or character nuance that made Riordan’s work resonate. The result? Something technically faithful, but ultimately hollow. That is the risk for Eragon.

A safe, YA-friendly retelling with polished CGI dragons will not be enough. For the series to succeed, it has to embrace the same kind of boldness that made shows like Andor, House of the Dragon, and The Last of Us stand out.

Those series succeeded because they:

-Explored multiple perspectives. House of the Dragon thrived by weaving shifting points of view and complex motivations. The Last of Us paused its main story to let us fully inhabit other lives, making the world richer. Andor gave even minor characters moments of profound humanity.

-Dived into emotion, not just action. Characters were allowed to grieve, doubt, and grow. Their interior lives mattered as much as the plot.

-Treated the world as a character. Whether it was the Empire in Andor or Westeros in House of the Dragon, the setting wasn’t just a backdrop that went from one point of the plot to another. It really breathed, suffocated, and shaped choices.

For Eragon, that means:

-Don’t let the story live only in Eragon’s head. Show Roran’s struggles in Carvahall, Arya’s trauma as a prisoner, Brom’s regrets about his past. Make the audience feel the weight of these lives. Humanize the characters.

-Lean into complexity and maturity. Alagaësia shouldn’t feel generic. It should rather feel lived-in, dangerous, and morally challenging. Show the cultures, the politics, the tensions.

-Take cinematographic risks. Give space for quiet moments. Not every scene needs to advance the plot. Sometimes the silences, the doubts, the small choices define characters better and more powerfully than battles.

You’ve said you want this to be the definitive adaptation. To us, that means being both faithful and being fearless. Giving the audience what the books hinted at, but what only a long-form, prestige series can truly deliver.

We want to see all of Alagaësia come alive, not just Eragon’s journey. That’s the difference between a good adaptation and a great one. And after waiting so long, fans are hoping for nothing less than great.

Respectfully, A longtime fan who wants this series to soar


r/Eragon 1d ago

Discussion Is this castle a real life inspiration for Ilirea? - Predjama castle, Slovenia

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105 Upvotes

My Girlfriend suggested it on our road trip as a possible stop. This is apparently the biggest cave castle on Earth, though it would hardly fit even shruikans head...


r/Eragon 1d ago

Discussion Fanfiction recommendations ?

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12 Upvotes

Hello, I am looking for good Eragon fanfictions. They don't have to be centred on Arya/Eragon romance, but these are still welcome. However, I would prefer finished fanfictions, because it's very frustrating to get into a dead end.

Thank you for any suggestion !


r/Eragon 2d ago

Fanwork Ay, anyone missing a stone and suffering without it? (Saphira's Egg Complete!)

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377 Upvotes

(Again, please ignore the mess. I'm getting my life together currently and it takes a lot of shuffling stuff around in piles.)

Welp. It's not perfect. And just to be clear, it's the movie version of the egg, so yes, missing the white veins from the books. But I like how it turned out! I'll be hitting it with a matte or semi-gloss top coat tomorrow to give it a bit of protection, but for now...I'm leaving it alone and not messing with it.

Got my hands on a pearlescent mix-in medium and also added streaks of a fluorescent blue using my fingers as the final layer. So it does glow somewhat when hit with my super weak blacklight! 😁 Might find a blacklight strip if I can, install it above the egg when I display it.

Now I have to start planning what it'll be sitting on for the archive shelf! A carved wooden box? 3d printed stand? A recreation of the carry bag from the movie concept art? The carry bag from the concept art is red though which...eh, clashes. Y'all let me know what you think! And thanks for going along with me on this adventure!


r/Eragon 6h ago

Discussion Eragon is already kind of failing as the leader of the Riders.

0 Upvotes

Murtagh probably shouldn’t have been allowed to roam the realm as freely as Eragon did. Not so much because he was a threat, but because he lacked the training and education to truly understand what it means to be a Rider and to overcome their Trauma.

It might have been better if Eragon had taken him and Dorn with him beyond Alagaësia. That could also have improved how people saw Murtagh, especially if Nasuada had been able to share that he was traveling with Eragon rather than remaining tied to the Empire.

On top of that, Murtagh’s almost unquestioning obedience to Nasuada feels dangerous... he bends to her will far too easily. I don’t buy their relationship from her side for a second, which makes Murtagh’s almost blind loyalty to Nasuada feel all the more dangerous.

-

There’s also the matter of Arya serving as both Queen and Rider. While it may not pose the same risks as with Galbatorix, it still sends a complicated message. Having one person hold both positions concentrates a lot of influence, and it would have been reasonable for Eragon, as leader of the Riders, to step in and at least set clearer expectations. Even a gentle boundary there could have helped reinforce the independence of the Riders as an order.

What makes all this stranger is that the Eldunarí, with their centuries of experience, apparently had nothing to say about either situation.
Neither they nor anyone else seem to have raised much of a concern, which is odd given how much emphasis was placed on avoiding the mistakes of the past. Eragon talks about rebuilding the Riders, but he seems to focus almost exclusively on the eggs and the eldunarí, while letting the only two other Riders make their own choices without much guidance or accountability.


r/Eragon 2d ago

Discussion I just finished reading Eragon and then watched the movie 🥴

136 Upvotes

OMG it was horrible! They skipped the entire book and butchered the story mercilessly with horrible acting to boot. I think the only thing the got right was Brom's explanation of how magic worked, and that was even a stretch as it showed Eragon later using words of the ancient language he barely knew / had just learned. Like, WHAT?

Anyway I'msure this is old news to most. I read that Disney+ is making a TV series. Hopefully it stays true to the book series. I just started reading Eldest so the adventure continues in my world. 📚


r/Eragon 2d ago

Collection Found signed Murtagh at local bookstore and added to my collection!

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111 Upvotes

Not sure if 001 means it’s a first edition, if you know then please say.


r/Eragon 2d ago

Discussion Character’s Fighting Styles

72 Upvotes

An element of the show I’d love to see incorporated into the action is that every character has a distinct fighting style. I’ve kinda broken down the basics that I’d give to the stunt coordinator.

Eragon - I’d say he has a good balance of offence and defence, but is also very basic since he’s relatively new to combat. He’s kinda like Rocky Balboa or Daniel LaRusso at first; he’s not the most technical fighter, but he has the will to win.

Brom - I’d actually make his and Eragon’s styles very similar since Brom is the one who started Eragon’s combat training. The exception is that he’s more advanced and skilled due to his experience. With that also comes his weakness; his age slows him down in combat and he tires easily without his ring.

Murtagh - I’d say on a technical level, Murtagh is a more advanced fighter than Eragon, but his style focuses more on offence as a way to vent his frustration and anger. That also keeps him from being as skilled as he could be with a clear head.

Arya and Oromis - I threw these two together because I’d like to think that the elves have a fighting style all to themselves. A more graceful, elegant style of swordsmanship. The difference between them would come down to Arya’s youthful energy and recklessness vs Oromis’s experience and precision.

What do you all think?


r/Eragon 2d ago

Discussion Bro must have a steel wrist after this

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445 Upvotes

r/Eragon 1d ago

Question Names in the Ancient Languagr

17 Upvotes

Hi, I have some questions regarding the names in the Ancient Language. The true names of people are described as the names of the qualities of each person (sort of); in Brisingr, Eragon kind of stumbles upon Sloan's true name, and it happens to be 3 or 4 words.

My questions:

  • Does the order of the factors alter the result? Meaning, would the name "Brave tall selfless" be the same as "tall brave selfless"?

  • Could more than one person have the same true name? Especially if we are talking about someone like Sloan, with a relatively short name, could more than one person be described with the same set of words in the Ancient Language, and thus have the same true name?

  • If the answer to my second questions is yes, would an order given using that name affect everyone who shares it, or would the orderer have to think about the specific orderee, kind of like Death Note, or something similar?


r/Eragon 2d ago

Discussion My prayers have been answered

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919 Upvotes

I haven't used reddit in a while but when I opened it I was in for a shock.


r/Eragon 2d ago

Discussion Thank you, Christopher Paolini

201 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to Christopher Paolini for creating the Inheritance Cycle. I know posts like this have more than likely been written hundreds of times in this sub, but these books have been with me through some of the hardest times in my life, including long nights and tough deployments.

There were plenty of days when I felt drained or isolated, and opening up those pages gave me a sense of escape, adventure, and hope that I really needed. All the character’s journeys, the bonds between them, and the reminder that even in the darkest moments after loss, there’s still purpose. It all helped me keep moving forward.

I don’t know if he’ll ever see this, but I’ll always be grateful for the world he built. It wasn’t just a story to me, it was a lifeline.


r/Eragon 2d ago

Discussion Do Eragon and Roran have a northern accent?

44 Upvotes

Similar to the Ceunon and Gil'ead accents in Murtagh and we just didn't hear them because POV characters? Or does Palancar Valley have a different type of accent? Does Saphira also have this accent since she learned to speak from Eragon?


r/Eragon 2d ago

Discussion Taking Urubaen with ladders ?

36 Upvotes

I am currently reading the 4th book, the part where the Vardens attack Urubaen. I feel kinda lost since the walls where described to be 300 feet tall. Roran gets on the wall by a ladder made from the kull, but it feels pretty hilarious to climb a 300 feet ladder within reasonable time.

What do you think


r/Eragon 3d ago

Misc Brisingr IRL

731 Upvotes

r/Eragon 1d ago

Question Will the show be canon?

0 Upvotes

I'm wondering if cp has said anything about this. There'll be lots of stuff not in the books of course, I'd imagine, and considering cp is working on it directly it could very well be canon, but then that stuff also often isn't.


r/Eragon 3d ago

Discussion Elf Music

27 Upvotes

How do you imagine Elf music in world-of-eragon to be?

The elves sing a lot, and I always imagine it to be layered music like that of Enya. Many voices singing the same melody.

Would be glad to know what Christopher says about this. Thanks


r/Eragon 4d ago

Fanwork I made saphira in lego

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169 Upvotes

With interchangeable eragon sizes to be in scale with my dragon wing!


r/Eragon 4d ago

Question What color was Belgabad?

76 Upvotes

I’ve always imagined him as a black dragon (probably because his size reminds me of Shruikan, and how his description reminds me of Balerion from GoT). But it occurred to me today while re-listening to Inheritance that it’s never said what color he was. Has Chris ever confirmed what color Belgabad was?


r/Eragon 3d ago

Fanwork Egg is ready for filling and painting! (WIP)

23 Upvotes

Please ignore the mess, I don't have a proper workspace anymore during the shuffle for my archive shelf setup. My first attempt at 3d printing a life sized Saphira egg is ready for the first round of finishing!

I'll definitely try this again. I want to try and really match the shape and size of the egg from the movie, which, despite the horrible thing we got in the end, did at least in my opinion get the egg's general proportions correct. Coloration, not quite, but it still was beautiful in its own right. I'll be trying to get close to some sort of similar coloration for this as I go forward. Sorry for multiple progress posts! I'm very excited.