The Inheritance Almanac Read online

  The elves’ name for the Dragon Riders.

  The Varden leader Nasuada, weakened by the arduous Trial of the Long Knives, asked Eragon to lead the attack against the coastal city of Feinster, an Empire stronghold considered pivotal to their cause. (Once the Varden took Feinster, they could march on the cities of Belatona and Dras-Leona and from there attack Galbatorix’s stronghold of Urû’baen.) It was also a key battle, as the alliance of Varden and Urgals was fraying and Nasuada wanted to keep the coalition together. Although Nasuada wanted Eragon and Saphira to lead the fight, believing the appearance of a dragon and Rider would cause their opponents to lose heart, Eragon felt that to defeat Galbatorix, Saphira and he needed more training from Oromis and Glaedr in faraway Ellesméra. It was a risk to let the dragon and Rider go, as Lady Lorana, ruler of Feinster, was already sending war parties out to harass the Varden troops. If Eragon and Saphira did not return in time, the Varden would have to go to battle without them. But Nasuada agreed to delay their attack. In the meantime, she placed Roran, who had just suffered the lash for his insubordination under Captain Edric, in command of a combined group of humans and Urgals in order to maintain the Urgals as allies.

  The attack on the city was under way when Eragon and Saphira returned from Ellesméra and an eventful visit with Rhunön, who had worked through Eragon to forge his mighty sword, Brisingr. Saphira announced their arrival with a shattering roar and a burst of blue fire, and immediately helped Arya, who had scaled the walls of the embattled city. The first to fall to Brisingr was the captain of the soldiers guarding the city gates, who had leveled a serious curse on Eragon: “May you leave Alagaësia and never return.” This was the same curse that the last Ra’zac gave just before Eragon killed it. Thereupon, the gates were opened and the Varden coalition fought their way through the city, not reaching the western end until the following dawn.

  Victory was theirs by the time they reached Lady Lorana and received her surrender. But there was one last obstacle to overcome, perhaps the most dangerous of all. With Galbatorix having failed to send reinforcements, three magicians of Feinster, who had sworn allegiance to the evil king, created a Shade, Varaug. During a ferocious battle, Arya killed Varaug with the help of Eragon, making the elven royal a Shadeslayer.

  When the ancient city of Ilirea fell to Galbatorix, the Empire truly began. Ilirea had been given to the humans by the elves after the end of the war that Palancar had foolishly initiated. The city, renowned as a center of Dragon Rider training, made it an obvious target of Galbatorix’s campaign. But it was also the seat of power for the Broddring Kingdom. Galbatorix and his Thirteen Forsworn laid siege to the city, captured it, and deposed King Angrenost.

  SEE ARVA AND SURDA.

  Situated deep within Du Weldenvarden, this elven city on the western shore of Lake Ardwen is considered second only to the capital of Ellesméra in greatness.

  A peaceful forest on the shores of Lake Tüdosten. In this idyllic place, the Dragon Rider Oromis was born.

  SEE OROMIS AND GLAEDR.

  Dwarven goddess of earth who brought forth human beings to populate the land after the giants who ruled the earth were vanquished.

  A talented dwarf jewel crafter and architect of the Gedthrall clan. Skeg was assigned by King Hrothgar to oversee reassembly of the shattered Isidar Mithrim. Although Hrothgar would not live to see it, after thousands of hours of piecing together the fragments, Saphira magically repaired the great jewel sculpture in time for the coronation of the new king, Orik.

  The blood brother of Nar Garzhvog and rightful ruler of the Bolvek tribe, Skgahgrezh assumed control over Urgal forces within the Varden when his brother was escorting Eragon to the dwarves.

  SEE GARZHVOG.

  A deadly poison favored by the Empire’s assassins.

  SEE TÚNIVOR’S NECTAR.

  Slavery came to Alagaësia with the arrival of humans. The dismal trade continues to this day in Dras-Leona and other Empire cities that boast thriving slave markets. Indeed, slavery is part of the imperial culture. There are even so-called name slaves, subjects who have been forced to swear fealty to Galbatorix in the ancient language, an oath that has been taken by most of the Empire’s soldiers.

  During a trek along the eastern border of the Hadarac Desert, Eragon, Saphira, and Murtagh encountered a band of slaves led by Torkenbrand. Because of this fateful encounter, Eragon vowed to free all slaves and abolish slavery forever.

  The son of Alden and owner of the butcher shop in Carvahall, Sloan was forced to raise his daughter, Katrina, alone when his beloved wife, Ismira, died in an accidental fall off Igualda Falls. Although a loving parent, Sloan maintained a simmering rage at his loss. He was so obsessed with protecting his daughter—and so distraught that she intended to marry Roran without his consent—that during the siege of Carvahall, he betrayed his townspeople in exchange for the Empire guaranteeing Katrina’s safety. Sloan ambushed and murdered Byrd, a villager serving as a watchman during the siege. But Sloan was double-crossed: the Ra’zac kidnapped him and Katrina, imprisoned them within Helgrind, and plucked out Sloan’s eyes. In his and Roran’s rescue of Katrina, Eragon found Sloan alive. However, he told Roran that Sloan was dead (and Roran told Katrina). After seeing Katrina safely on her way to the Varden with Roran (and ordering Saphira to go with them), Eragon returned to Helgrind alone, killed the last Ra’zac, and carried Sloan out of their lair. In trying to determine what to do with Sloan, Eragon searched the butcher’s mind and found his true name. Eragon then punished Sloan by decreeing that Sloan would never again meet Katrina and compelling him to travel to Ellesméra and remain in a benign captivity with the elves.

  The horse Brom bought for himself from Haberth near Therinsford as he and Eragon set out from Carvahall in search of the Ra’zac. After Brom’s death, Snowfire passed to Eragon, who in turn gave the great horse to Roran.

  After the Empire’s crushing defeat by the Varden at the Battle of the Burning Plains, Galbatorix asked for volunteers to undergo a spell that would render them incapable of feeling pain and thus fearless in battle, promising security for their families in return.

  In their first meeting on an open plain, the Varden had a thousand soldiers against three hundred of Galbatorix’s men. Not realizing that the soldiers were enchanted, the Varden soldiers lost their nerve when severely wounded men kept advancing—and laughing—despite wounds that should have disabled them. The obscene spectacle ended when King Orrin chopped off a soldier’s head, proving they could be stopped for certain if beheaded. Although the three hundred were slain, it was at such a cost to the Varden that Nasuada pronounced the engagement “a grievous defeat.”

  Roran, on his raiding mission with Martland Redbeard, encountered a band of these soldiers camped near a nameless river. Though Martland and Roran drove the soldiers into the water and finally defeated them, the soldiers’ laughter in the face of mortal wounds was unsettling. The enchanted warriors are also known as the laughing dead.

  SEE BATTLE OF THE BURNING PLAINS.

  The mysterious werecat companion of Angela the herbalist. Although Solembum has been known to take the form of a young male human, he usually appears as a big cat, similar to a caracal (see this page), with golden eyes and dark fur. The witty but acerbic Solembum took a rare liking to Eragon and Saphira when he met them in Teirm. Solembum has even been seen napping on Saphira’s neck. Solembum has the power to foretell the future, and has already made two prophecies to Eragon, one of which—about looking under the roots of the Menoa tree when in need of a weapon—has come true. The other—“when all seems lost and your power is insufficient, go to the Rock of Kuthian and speak your name to open the Vault of Souls”—still remains unfulfilled.

  SEE ANGELA THE HERBALIST AND WERECATS.

  SEE GERAND.

  In contrast to magic, Dragon Rider Oromis has defined sorcery as “a dark and unseemly art” whereby a sorcerer seeks to control supernatural beings to do as he or she commands. A magician desiring to be a sorcerer mus
t spend at least three years of study to learn how to summon spirits and control them. It is a dangerous business, as trapped spirits spend every moment seeking to escape their captivity and take vengeance on their mortal captors. A sorcerer so possessed becomes a Shade.

  SEE DURZA AND MAGIC.

  Off the southwestern coast of Alagaësia lies a cluster of five islands presumed to have been claimed by the Empire: Beirland, Illium, Parlim, Nía, and Uden. Beirland is the largest island in the chain, and the only populated one. It is said that magical phenomena have occurred in the area near Eoam, the island’s coastal village. Beirland’s notable feature is the Floating Crystal of Eoam, a rare example of what the Dragon Rider Oromis calls wild magic.

  The second-largest mountain range in Alagaësia, the Spine covers the entire length of the continent’s western coast. Humans have lived here ever since the first settlers arrived in 7203 AC. Villages include Carvahall and Therinsford.

  Landmarks range from Edur Carthungavë, also known as Rathbar’s Spur, which marks the Spine’s southernmost tip, and Igualda Falls, a waterfall at the northern end of Palancar Valley. Measuring over half a mile from top to bottom, the falls are known to have claimed several careless wanderers, including Ismira, wife of Sloan of Carvahall. The unforgiving nature of the region is illustrated by reports of those who venture into the mountains and never return. Even Galbatorix’s forces are not immune—a story is told that half his army simply disappeared amid the mountains of the Spine.

  Many historic events have happened in the range, beginning with the establishment of those first human settlements. The Spine is where Jarnunvösk, Galbatorix’s first dragon, was killed, the tragedy that led to Galbatorix’s madness and quest for power. It is where Eragon discovered the dragon egg that made him the first new Dragon Rider in more than a century and a leader in the fight against the Empire.

  Sentient beings composed of pure energy. They can communicate with physical beings and assume many guises and usually induce a rapturous sense of communion in mortals. Eragon himself had an encounter with a spirit that filled him with joy and transcendent happiness—until he realized the supernatural creature was taking over his consciousness. Since spirits are completely unpredictable, it is dangerous for those on the mortal plane to even converse with them.

  SEE DURZA AND SHADE.

  SEE ISIDAR MITHRIM.

  SEE ISIDAR MITHRIM.

  A monolithic tower of basalt north of Ellesméra that rises a hundred feet above the forest and was an ancient habitation of dragons. Towers at the top have black “caves” clawed out of the basalt by the talons of ancient dragons, their floors littered with the remains of their kills. It is a notorious place from the ancient war against dragons and elves. It was here that elves tracked some dragons and killed them in their sleep, tore their nests to pieces, and used magic to shatter the eggs. That day it rained blood in the forest below, Saphira told Eragon. No dragon has lived here since.

  SEE DU FYRN SKULBLAKA.

  SEE RORAN.

  This free kingdom of humans, formed in defiance of the Empire, lies on the southern edge of Alagaësia and is today ruled by King Orrin of the House of Langfeld, whose royal lineage reaches back to King Palancar.

  Galbatorix is now known to have allowed the secession of Surda, as he was biding his time to strike back. Even Galbatorix’s knowledge of Surda’s secret alliance with the Varden did not become known until after the Battle in Farthen Dûr. Surda has since taken a leading role in the battle against Galbatorix, with King Orrin dedicated to preserving the Varden alliance and also providing safe haven for refugees and those opposing the Empire.

  SEE LARKIN.

  An Urgal god.

  A popular ballad, of which many versions exist.

  SEE DRAS-LEONA.

  The sword of the Dragon Rider Arva, which he passed to his sister, Naudra, just before his death. Naudra wielded Támerlein while valiantly fighting by Arva’s side during his final day. Támerlein passed into the possession of Lord Fiolr, of the elven House Valtharos, who offered to lend the sword to Eragon.

  SEE ARVA, DRAGON RIDER SWORDS, FIOLR, AND NAUDRA.

  The elf queen who signed the original pact with the dragons.

  This dwarf surface city is connected to other dwarven cities by a network of tunnels carved throughout the Beor Mountains. Tarnag has been home to three clans: Az Sweldn rak Anhûin, Quan, and Ragni Hefthyn. Despite its thick ramparts, Tarnag fell to Galbatorix’s attacks during his war against the Dragon Riders, which led the dwarves to abandon this and other surface cities. After Morzan’s death, the dwarves returned to their fabled city.

  Dwarven engineering built Tarnag by cutting away terraces of stone upon the mountain, constructing tier upon tier of multicolored stones and interlocking buildings, forming a pyramidal shape topped by a gigantic dome glistening like polished moonstone—Celbedeil, greatest temple of the dwarf nation and home of the Quan clan, whose members serve as messengers to the gods. The buildings themselves are elegantly designed, often decorated with carvings of animals and other figures. At night, the city is illuminated by the multicolored lights of the famous flameless lantern. Eragon visited this city on his way to Ellesméra after the Battle of Farthen Dûr.

  SEE CELBEDEIL.

  The third-ranking commander of Galbatorix’s Urgal army. Tarok served under Durza and Gashz and oversaw the Urgals during the Battle of Farthen Dûr. After the Empire’s defeat at Farthen Dûr, Tarok was missing in action and is presumed dead.

  SEE CEUNON.

  The traitorous resident of Aberon, Surda’s capital city, whose murder plot against a fellow Surdan was telepathically overheard by Eragon, who ensured that Tathal was stopped before he committed his crime.

  SEE ANHÛIN.

  The Empire’s largest port city, on the west coast of Alagaësia at the mouth of the Toark River and surrounded by the Spine. Unlike such disorganized and sprawling cities as Dras-Leona, Teirm is one of the best-planned cities in Alagaësia.

  Legend holds that Teirm was the landing place for several waves of immigration, from elves to human colonists (although the latter’s ships could not make landfall). Although Teirm is the heart of commerce and trade for the Empire, war regularly disrupts business. Espionage and sabotage against the Empire often occur here, as was the case with Jeod, the prosperous Teirm merchant who secretly operated as an agent of the Varden.

  The strategic port city has historically known threat—it was once almost razed by pirates. The city has since gone to extraordinary lengths to build up its defenses, including a hundred-foot-tall, thirty-foot-thick stone wall that surrounds the city and is lined with sentries, archers, and patrolling soldiers. Within its walls, the tiered layout of buildings with flat roofs allows archers to be stationed for another line of offense. Teirm’s signature architectural landmark is a citadel built of giant stones with a tower that serves as the city’s lighthouse. However, many of Teirm’s cobblestone streets are choked with weeds, and housing in the poorer districts is ramshackle at best. The wealthy and powerful live on the West Side, a district that has been home to Jeod and the shop of Angela the herbalist. Both Eragon and Roran have passed through Teirm. Eragon stopped here with Brom and met Jeod Longshanks and Angela the herbalist for the first time. Roran stole a ship from Teirm to carry the people of Carvahall down the coast. It was here that he learned Eragon is a Dragon Rider.

  SEE DRAS-LEONA.

  Ingvar’s son and a hermit dweller within a tower of the Edur Ithindra ruins, which Tenga has claimed as a library for his scrolls and books. Proficient in the ancient language and skilled in magic, Tenga mentored Angela the herbalist. Tenga has dedicated his solitary existence to divining the secrets of the elemental forces of trees, other plants, fire, and light. Eragon met Tenga on his way back to the Varden after killing the Ra’zac in Helgrind. He helped the old man garden, noted his wordless use of magic, marveled at his library, shared a lunch with him, and saw some wooden animal statues—but after some odd conversation, Era
gon concluded that Tenga was mad and slipped away quietly. Later, when Eragon asked Angela about Tenga, she noted that Tenga is deranged but brilliant, although the werecat Solembum has derisively said of the hermit, “He is a man who kicks at cats.”

  SEE ANGELA THE HERBALIST.

  SEE BRODDRING KINGDOM.

  Mountain where the Ingeitum clan built Bregan Hold.

  A small village of the Empire in the heart of Palancar Valley notorious for its poor planning. Surrounded by rich farmland, Therinsford is accessible by a bridge across the Anora River. Just south of Therinsford is the lonely mountain of Utgard with its watchtower Edoc’sil. Roran left his father’s farm to become a miller’s apprentice in Therinsford and was there when the Ra’zac killed Garrow. Eragon and Brom bought horses just outside of Therinsford as they left Palancar Valley in search of the Ra’zac.

  SEE BRODDRING KINGDOM.