I Read What?!

Corneille Noire: A good day, and welcome back to Eragon, everyone! Last time, Eragon and Brom reached Yazuac and found that the entire population had been killed.

First, let me do the reader post:

On part I of chapter 12, Chessy notes that “steaming tea” can still be safe to drink, despite what I said there. And, of course, there is also her fic.

Wolfgoddess notes that Gertrude should not have expected the wounds to heal already after two days.

On part II of the chapter, Chessy notes that “slate roofs” are an actual thing. Here is a picture of one:

[Caption: A shale roof, with panes overlapping in a scale-like pattern.]

So…

PPP: 770

There is also another fic of hers.

Tris notes that it would be absolutely not worth the trouble to try to fix Eragon’s shirt and trousers, and that Gertrude would likely have given him another one.

It’s Like We’re Smart But We’re Not: 51

They further note that the “window shadowing the balcony” on Horst’s house is simply a veranda.

PPP: 769

Tris also notes that the house would be very hard to keep warm in the winter, given how large it is.

Finally, they note that Horst has no good reason to drag Eragon away from Garrow and that he might well hurt Eragon by doing so.

For the Good of the Cause: 15

Wolfgoddess points out a slight error I made: I said that Eragon felt no pain when leaving Gertrude’s house, but in fact, he only said the pain was less than before.

She further asks if Horst is also good at woodcarving, given the many carvings we see on his house. I frankly have no idea.

Finally, she notes that Eragon probably went up the stairs alone because he did not want to appear “weak”.

Maegwin notes that it would make more sense to put the description of Horst’s house when Eragon first went to it, in chapter 3.

PPP: 770

She further supports the theory that Brom might have chosen not to help Garrow to make Eragon go along with him, so I feel somewhat strengthened in that.

Well, let us begin with the other part of the chapter, then.

HISC: I think it would be best if I did the first bit. As Eragon watches, a crow flies down, “like a black shadow” and perches on the spear. The crow cocks their head and “greedily scrutinize[s] the infant’s corpse”. Well, is there anything wrong with that? This crow is not a human, after all, so it makes no sense to judge them by human standards. If they want to eat a dead baby, that is hardly evil. I do not exactly care that this is at the site of a massacre, either, since this crow had nothing to do with that. So I do not exactly hold well with the phrasing here.

IYES: 28

Eragon takes offence at this. If he truly does not want the crow to eat the baby, I think the most effective way would be to fire a warning shot at the crow. By doing that, he would not harm the crow, either. His actual reaction is this:

“Oh no you don’t,” growled Eragon past the lump in his throat as he pulled back the bowstring and released it with a twang. With a puff of feathers, the crow fell over backwards, the arrow protruding from its chest.

So, even though this crow was not about to harm anyone, even though they do not have to abide by human morality, even though he could have fired a warning shot, he decides to kill this crow for daring to prepare to eat this baby. After all, his revulsion is clearly worth more than the lives of others, is it not?

There is simply no good reason for doing this, and I do feel justified in calling this, well, murder.

And of course Eragon is never called out for this, nor will this ever be brought up again.

Morals for Thee But Not for Me: 10 (that is exactly what is happening here, is it not? It is wrong for the Urgals to kill without reason, but not for me)

Of itself, that would be bad enough, but things like this will reoccur more times, and Murtagh is especially bad about it, so I propose a last count for this:

A Murder in Your Future: 2 (credit to the NRSG for this one)

With that context, this feels more like “crows are actually evil and Eragon is fully in the right for killing one here”. Yes, I highly doubt that Paolini meant that on any level, but if he did not want anyone to find that message, he should not have written Murtagh the way he did.

In conclusion, I hate this whole scene and this aspect of the series in particular. Also, I am quite certain I have reached the point of hating Eragon, too.

Shall I give it back to you, CN?

Corneille Noire: Yes, and thank you for taking over; I could not have said anything this constructive. On the previous bit, I want to note that the Knopf edition deletes “past the lump in his throat”.

(shakes self) Well, Eragon puts another arrow to the string, but then “nausea [rises] from his stomach” and he vomits over Cadoc’s side. At least he has a reaction to the sight of all these dead people? Come to think of it… I do not think Brom has reacted to this in any way whatsoever. Huh, I guess Paolini forgot about him.

HISC: Hmm, seeing this, I might argue that Eragon was not thinking clearly just before… but he does not sound like it. I also note that Brom did nothing to keep Eragon from shooting the crow. What a hero.

Brom then pats Eragon on the back “with a sad look”.

Corneille Noire: The Knopf edition removes that last bit. I guess he looks sad because… Eragon is not feeling good? He notably still does not react much to the dead people. When Eragon is done, Brom asks him “gently” if Eragon wants to wait outside Yazuac. Eragon wants to stay, and he avoids looking at the “gruesome sight before them”. Eragon asks who could have done this, but cannot finish his sentence.

Brom bows his head and launches into a speech. Well, let me just show it:

“Those who love the pain and suffering of others.

I… presume that might be true in this case, since there is no way that many people would see this. This is notably also only applicable in cases like this; in many other cases there are other reasons someone would do this.

They wear many faces and go by many disguises, but there is only one name for them: evil.

These people are not a hive mind, Brom! Seriously, these are all individual people and not manifestations of the phenomenon “evil”! In fact, I would say that trying to present actual people as being “just” personifications of evil is in itself quite evil.

HISC: What is he even trying to say? I interpret this as him saying that being separate people is a disguise, which… What do you want to do them, then? Have all “evil” people have the same body? I literally do not understand this.

Corneille Noire: Me neither. In fact…

PPP: 771 (we should be able to understand this)

HISC: The self-published edition has this:

Only evil can condone this, and only evil can carry it out.

Hmm, I think these clauses should be reversed, as the condoning mostly takes place after the bad deed. I also want to highlight how incredibly tone-deaf this speech is after Eragon just shot the crow.

Corneille Noire: We then get this:

There is no understanding it. All we can do is pity and honor the victims.”

Well, Brom, I think there certainly is understanding “evil”. Take what Eragon just did, for example. He apparently found that his own revulsion at a crow trying to eat a baby was worth more than that crow’s life. (I hate him so much.)

For the dead people, I think it might be because the Urgals wanted to leave a “message”, to show that they can kill an entire village with impunity, or that they found this a good thing to do. (We genuinely do not find out why this happened, so I can only guess.)

HISC: Also, “they are doing evil things because they love the pain and suffering of others” is a complete understanding of these people, Brom! It is almost never applicable, but nevertheless, it is an “understanding”.

Further, I think what Brom says is singularly unhelpful. If you can understand evil, that can help you to prevent harm, for example by predicting what the “evil” people might do, by helping people not succumbing to their arguments, or by making sure that you are not one of them yourself. I would say that making sure you do not harm people yourself, for instance, is a better way to honour the victims than whatever Brom is talking about.

Corneille Noire: Looking broader, it seems to me that Brom thinks that people who are “evil” can only be so if they enjoy people’s suffering. The other side of that is the idea that one cannot be “evil” if one is not like that. Presumably he justifies abusing Eragon by saying that he is not just inflicting suffering, so he cannot be “evil”. It explains quite a bit about Brom’s worldview, at least.

Well, Eragon does not react to this, and Brom dismounts and goes to inspect “the trampled ground” carefully. He deduces from it that the Ra’zac passed by (well, that is positive news) but that they did not do it. It must have been Urgal work, as the spear is “of their make”. He further notes that a company has come through Yazuac, “perhaps as many as a hundred”.

HISC: I do like that he deduces all of this from examining the ground instead of this being the logical assumption.

Corneille Noire: He says that it is strange, as he only knows of “a few instances” when Urgals have gathered in such numbers. Not that we will ever learn which instances he refers to. Also, I do not think this is exactly strange; for most of the time before now, the Riders would have probably attacked if they massed in great numbers. At the current time, no one has the surveillance capabilities or power to destroy that they had, outside of Galbatorix, who does not care to do anything about the Urgals. So this is the best time to gather in nearly forever, and I would hardly find it “strange”. (I think that “the Urgals want to reclaim their land” might be a decent Red Herring to have here, though it would need to be followed up on.)

HISC: Brom then kneels and “examine[s] something intently”. Eragon can presumably see what it is; there is no need to be coy.

Corneille Noire: The Knopf edition fixes that by having him examine a “footprint”. He then curses, runs back to Snowfire and jumps onto him. He spurs the horse onward and “hisse[s] tightly” to Eragon that he should ride, because there are still Urgals in Yazuac! Oh my, what danger! …Why is this supposedly so dangerous again? If they wanted to trap Eragon and Brom, they could have done so long ago! And if the ambush is set up for when they exit, they will run into it either way.

It is just… if these Urgals have not trapped them yet, they are probably content to leave them be, and if they are trouble, calling Saphira should solve it. Come to think of it… Eragon has not contacted Saphira yet about this! It seems he has completely forgotten about her!

Ill Logic: 291

Just Break Up Already: 252

Yes, he might be distraught, but does he genuinely not think that calling in Saphira is a good idea? She is nearby enough to make a difference and this is not a good situation, so why not? Yes, I know it probably is because Paolini needed it to be, but then he needs to come with a better explanation than that.

Either way, it would be best to leave Yazuac now, but running out at full speed is not the best option either, since they might blindly run into a trap.

Olympic Finals in Conclusion Leaping: 7 (for assuming they must leave at full speed)

Eragon sends Cadoc running after Snowfire. They “dash[] past the houses” and they have almost reached the end of Yazuac when Eragon’s palm tingles again. (There certainly is something going on there…) He can see a “flicker of movement”, and then a “giant fist” smashes him out of the saddle! Well, there is the Urgal, then!

HISC: I wonder why they waited so long to attack, as you said, and why this Urgal would go for something as impractical as punching Eragon out of his saddle…

Let me see… In Murtagh, we learn that Urgals believe that crows are psychopomps, and that they “will go to great lengths to help a crow in need or to avoid hurting one”. I think that this Urgal might have seen Eragon shooting the crow just now and decided to get Eragon for it.

Corneille Noire: Eragon also did so at the site of a massacre, so from the perspective of the Urgals he would probably have denied these people the release of their souls. Yes, I think that explains what happens here quite well! I also doubt that these Urgals were involved with the massacre, then. (I do love pulling these threads together.)

Well, once Eragon has been (deservedly) punched out of the saddle, he flies back and “crashe[s] into a wall”. He only manages to keep his bow through instinct. “Gasping and stunned”, he staggers upright, “hugging his side”. Then… he sees an Urgal standing over him. Yes, you are in deep trouble, Eragon, and I am quite certain this is all your fault.

HISC: The self-published edition notes that the Urgal’s “thick lips” are set in “a gross leer”. Um… do you truly want to go with that, Paolini?

Corneille Noire: Apparently not, since the Knopf edition changes “thick lips” to “face”. I do wonder why this Urgal is supposed to “leer” at him… Well, we then get a description of the Urgal, which is quite detailed for someone who was just punched from his horse.

It begins by calling the Urgal a “monster”.

FYRP: 49

I thought not. The Urgal is “tall, thick, and broader than a doorway, with gray skin and yellow piggish eyes”. How… scary. This genuinely does not seem “monstrous” to me; this Urgal just looks different. Either way, I know better than to judge on appearance alone. I think that “piggish eyes” deserves a point here.

FYRP: 50

The Urgal is well-muscled, and has a “too small breastplate” on. I guess that was originally meant for human use? I do wonder… if it is “too small”, would the edges not cut into his sides? There is no mention of the Urgal wearing anything under it. Either way, it seems like it would hinder him quite a bit, and I doubt whether the protection would be worth it.

It’s Like We’re Smart But We’re Not: 52 (for having the Urgal wear this without any trouble)

Further description ensues: the Urgal has “ram’s horns” growing from his temples and an “iron cap” on his head. Further he has a “roundshield” bound to an arm, and a “short, wicked sword” in his “powerful hand”. Ah, that will be a problem, I think. At a range this close, the Urgal would be able to hit Eragon long before he could use his bow effectively.

HISC: Incidentally, based on this description, I think this might help visualise what they might look like:

[Caption: The Handmaid from Homestuck: a girl with grey skin, yellow eyes, and long black hair. She is wearing green clothing with an Aries sign on it, and holds two wands.]

(Just for fun, I wonder who recognises her without looking at the caption.)

Corneille Noire: Yes, that does do a good job of defusing the “scary-looking” allegations. Also, does Eragon call Saphira now? No, of course not. That would be the smart thing to do, after all.

Ill Logic: 292

The scene unfreezes. Brom reins and Snowfire and goes back, but then a second Urgal comes out, “this one with an ax”! Hmm, that does not seem like the most practical weapon to me. I guess this second Urgal got it to at least have a weapon? Brom yells at Eragon to run, while “cleaving at his enemy”. The Urgal near Eragon then roars and swings his sword. Eragon pulls back as the weapon “whistle[s] past his cheek”. Hmmm, I think the Urgal deliberately missed Eragon here. He probably does not know how to use this sword very well, too, but both this and the pause before he attacked indicate to me that he does not want to kill Eragon.

Also… I think that these Urgals need names. Let me call this one Usgazh and the other one… Gavgor. That should do. Eragon spins around and flees toward the centre of Yazuac, “heart pounding wildly”. I assume that his panic is why he flees back into Yazuac. Usgazh pursues him, his “heavy boots” thudding! How exciting!

Just then, Eragon sends out a “desperate cry for help” to Saphira. Good to see that this finally merited a call to her, when it is too later for her to be there fast enough to make much difference. Eragon makes himself go even harder, but Usgazh “rapidly gain[s] ground”. Then the book has “large fangs separated in a soundless bellow” preceded by a semicolon, which does not work, as that is not a full sentence. If this were to be split out, it would have been better to let it stand as its own sentence regardless.

PPP: 772

With the Urgal nearly on him, Eragon decides it is a good time to use his bow!

HISC: Um, I see he “strings an arrow”, but he had already done so after shooting the crow. So I presume he let the arrow fall then, and did not bother to get it back? This is quite unclear.

PPP: 773

Corneille Noire: Either way, despite Usgazh being “nearly upon him”, he can shoot without trouble.

HISC: I note that the Knopf edition adds him releasing, which is a nice touch.

Corneille Noire: Usgazh simply holds up his shield and catches the arrow on it. (What did you expect, Eragon?) Before he can shoot again, Usgazh collides with him and they “[fall] to the ground in a confused tangle”. And Usgazh is called “the monster” again.

FYRP: 51

Eragon then “[springs] to his feet”. Um, did Usgazh only clip him when they “collided”, then? And if they landed in a “confused tangle”, why can Eragon get up with no trouble at all? Further, why does Usgazh not do anything to pull Eragon off his feet?

PPP: 774

I am quite certain that he does not mean to actually kill Eragon. Well, Eragon rushes back to Brom, who is “trading fierce blows” with Gavgor from Snowfire’s back. Apparently, Brom still does not want to reveal his magic even when his life is in danger. I guess I should applaud him for sticking by what he wants under such circumstances, even though this is really stupid.

Eragon then manages to wonder where the “rest of the Urgals” are, and if these are the only two in Yazuac. I would think so.

HISC: The Knopf edition italicises both thoughts here, which is quite a bit better for consistency.

Corneille Noire: Then there comes a “loud smack” and Snowfire rears and whinnies. Brom “double[s] over” in his saddle, “blood streaming down his arm”. As we will soon find out, Brom is unconscious now. I guess that Gavgor hit him on the head first (which would explain the “loud smack”) and then hit Brom in the arm? Except that it is later implied that Brom was knocked unconscious because of the wound in his arm, which is not how things work.

It’s Like We’re Smart But We’re Not: 53

Gavgor “howl[s] in triumph” and raises his axe “for the death blow”. Huh, it seems he is willing to kill, then. Eragon charges Gavgor with a “deafening scream”. It is certainly brave of him, but I doubt that it would help very much. Maybe try to get Snowfire to gallop out of the village? Gavgor is astonished at first, and then faces Eragon “contemptuously, swinging his ax.” Eragon ducks beneath the blow and “claw[s] [Gavgor’s] side, leaving bloody furrows”. What.

I can see Eragon clawing Gavgor’s side, but he would not leave any kind of “bloody furrows”! Like, Eragon’s nails do not have a sharp point to cut with, and they are also quite thin, so… I am quite sure he would not be able to do this. Further… the WormFork book says that all Urgals have “thick skin, as thick as that of a winter boar”, so this would be certainly impossible.

It’s Like We’re Smart But We’re Not: 54

Gavgor’s face “twist[s] with rage” (quite understandably so) and he swings his axe again, but Eragon dives to the side and runs into an alley. I get the feeling that Gavgor is also not very good with his chosen weapon.

HISC: Eragon hopes that the Urgals are “angry enough to leave Brom alone”. Gavgor might be, but why would Usgazh? We have not even seen him since Eragon stood up again, and he might as well stay behind to kill Brom. Either way, he needs to take care that he is not caught himself, as that would free the Urgals to go after Brom.

Corneille Noire: In the Knopf edition, he simply concentrates on keeping them away from Brom. He goes into a “narrow passageway between two houses”, which… turns out to be a dead end! He tries to back out, but Usgazh and Gavgor have already blocked the entrance. They close in on him, “cursing him in their gravelly voices”. Um, you do not know that, Eragon, since you cannot understand their language! They might as well be saying something like “Die for your crimes”, which is not cursing him.

Olympic Finals in Conclusion Leaping: 8

Eragon looks around, but there is no way out. As he faces the Urgals, “images flash in his mind”.

HISC: The self-published edition has this as one image and is also more definite in its description.

Corneille Noire: Eragon sees the dead villagers “piled around the spear” (which is not how that is, but alright) and the “innocent baby who [will] never grow to adulthood”. (I am not sure I would say that is the biggest injustice…) As he thinks of their fate, he feels “a burning, fiery power” gather from his entire body.

HISC: The self-published edition notes that this power “throb[s] in his heart”, and that it is “more than a desire for justice or revenge” (well, that is good to know, since you cannot get either here). Instead, it is his “entire being rebelling against the fact of death”, against the fact that he now faces it and will “cease to be” with it.

Corneille Noire: The Knopf edition deletes “revenge” here (presumably to make him seem more noble) and also deletes “that he faced it now”. That last change makes it seem like Eragon “rebellion” here is unrelated to him being threatened and it just does not flow well.

As for the content… I am notably missing any mention of Garrow. If Eragon is to have such a “rebellion against death” moment, surely he would be one of the first people Eragon would think about! Further… despite the dead people being the image in his mind, I note that he does not care for “justice” for them, so why bother mentioning them at all? Finally, he does not seem to care much about the circumstances of his possible death, i.e. that the Urgals want to kill him. Does he think that is “just”, then? It just feels quite disconnected from what is going on to me.

The power in him grows stronger and stronger until he “[feels] ready to burst” from it. He then stands “tall and straight”, with his fear gone. He raises his bow, at which Usgazh and Gavgor laugh and raise their shields. Eragon sights down the shaft and takes aim. The energy inside him reaches an “unbearable level”, so he has to release it, or it will “consume him”. Suddenly, a word “leap[s] to his lips” and he shoots, while yelling “Brisingr!”

Well, that was another reason to have the “Brom lighting the fire” scene in the previous chapter, it seems. I do wonder why this would be the first word that Eragon thinks of… It does say that it came “unbidden”, so I suspect outside interference.

Now for the effects of this. The arrow flies through the air, “glowing with a crackling blue light”. It hits the “lead Urgal” (who I presume is Gavgor) on the forehead, and there is an explosion! A “blue shock wave” blasts out of his head and kills Usgazh instantly. It reaches Eragon, passes through him “without harm” and dissipates against the houses.

FYRP: 52 (because the lead Urgal is called a “monster” here)

That was… something. We will soon learn what he just did, but I am quite sure that we will never see something like this again. Also, that was it for Gavgor and Usgazh! Eragon is out of trouble, but they are dead. That does not quite sit right with me.

HISC: I would like to point out that all of the Urgals we have seen so far, so these two and the ones in the prologue, have died soon after they were introduced. This will continue throughout this book, and the Urgals are essentially only there for our “heroes” to slaughter. Yes, Paolini eventually realised that this was not a good idea and tried to fix it, but this book is still littered with it.

This is why what Eragon does outright kills the Urgals, instead of doing something non-lethal. Presumably that is also why Eragon thinks they are cursing, and why Brom thinks they must leave post-haste: the Urgals are “supposed” to be violent. Of course, that is also why Eragon could not negotiate or anything. It is quite racist.

FYRP: 56 (+4) (2 for each death, 1 for the other points)

Corneille Noire: Thank you for putting it so concisely. Because of that, I think we will barely hear from them again, apart from the next few chapters. Poor Gavgor and Usgazh…

Eragon stands “panting” and then looks at his palm. The gedwëy ignasia glows like “white-hot metal”, but as he watches, the glow disappears. He clenches his fist, and then “a wave of exhaustion” comes over him. He feels weak, as if he has not eaten for days, and his “knees buckle[]” and he sags against a wall. There the chapter ends.

It think it might have been better to move the last paragraph into the next chapter, but it is not a problem. I do think that makes for the first instance of this:

Mid-Scene Break: 1

What did we think of this chapter in general?

HISC: For all its problems, I think it is one of the most decent ones so far. Eragon and Brom reach Yazuac, they find everyone is dead, then they get in a fight, and then Eragon ends it by using an unknown power. It certainly drags in the beginning, but qua pacing and qua action, it is the best so far.

Qua content… it is not the worst chapter, but it is far from the best.

Corneille Noire: Yes, the content thoroughly sucks: the grimdark of having the entire village killed, Eragon shooting the crow (grrr), and the Urgals getting killed instead of anything else. At least we did not have too much to complain about aside from that? Well, until chapter 21, then!

HISC: And see me again in the next chapter!

A Better Commando Name	15
A Murder In Your Future	2
All the Isms	14
Edgy Equals Mature, Right?	9
For the Good of the Cause	15
Forgot the Narrator	43
FYRP	56
Give Me a Piece of Your Mind	2
Ill Logic	292
It's Like We're Smart But We're Not	54
IYES	28
Just Break Up Already	252
Like Coins Bounced Off a Drum	3
Morals for Thee But Not for Me	10
No-Wave Feminism	62
No Touchy	8
PPP	774
Olympic Finals in Conclusion Leaping	7
Thou Art Well Come	3
What Dragons?	318
Cliffhanger Chop	2
Mid-Scene Break	1
Other Ending	7
Protagonist Unconsciousness	8
Single-Purpose Chapter	5