The Inheritance Almanac Page 9

SEE TEIRM.

  The most senior commander of the Varden and once a trusted advisor to Ajihad, Jörmundur remains a trusted warrior and is a member of the Council of Elders and a counselor to Nasuada.

  The great dwarf king who tripped on a rock and was killed by an inexperienced swordsman.

  The copper-haired daughter of Ismira and Carvahall’s butcher, Sloan. After the tragic death of her mother, Katrina was raised by her father. A childhood friendship with Roran blossomed into a love affair. The two hoped to marry, but Roran’s poverty prevented him from securing Sloan’s consent.

  When the Empire invaded Carvahall and while the villagers were frantically working to dig a defensive trench, Roran—shaken by the turn of events—threw aside caution and proposed; Katrina accepted. As the villagers prepared to head to the Igualda Falls for safety, Katrina announced their engagement to her father, who disinherited her and then betrayed Roran to the Ra’zac. Katrina was then kidnapped and held captive within Helgrind by the Ra’zac, who had double-crossed Sloan and abducted him as well. She was rescued by Eragon, Saphira, and Roran. Eragon found Sloan alive in a cell in Helgrind but lied to Roran, telling him Sloan was dead. Roran conveyed this news to Katrina; her sadness at hearing of her father’s death was tempered by her joy at seeing Roran. Shortly after they reached the Varden camp in Surda, Katrina realized she was carrying Roran’s child, and with Eragon’s blessing, the couple decided to hold a hurried wedding.

  SEE RORAN.

  The father of Dahwar.

  A blacksmith in Ceunon who trained Horst. Kelton is respected for his talent at the forge but despised for his bawdy manner.

  A leader of the Bolvek tribe and a member of the Nighthawks, the elite troops formed to protect Nasuada.

  SEE ARVA AND FORSWORN.

  A renowned dwarf blacksmith and member of Dûrgrimst Ingeitum. Kiefna unwittingly fashioned the dagger used in the attempted assassination of Eragon. Upset that his handiwork was used for such a dastardly purpose, Kiefna aided the investigation.

  Dwarf goddess of water. According to dwarven myth, in the primordial time after the giants were vanquished, Kílf was the only god not to create a new race of beings.

  SEE DWARVEN CREATION MYTH.

  SEE DRAGON WING.

  An elf city at the southern border of Du Weldenvarden, southeast of the capital of Ellesméra.

  The dried bones, inscribed with runes, from the knuckles of a dragon. Angela the herbalist cast some knucklebones, like dice, to divine Eragon’s fortune during his visit to Teirm. She also makes a passing reference, in a conversation with Nasuada, to cheating at a game of knucklebones.

  Dwarvish for dwarf and translated as “one of stone.” The plural is knurlan.

  Also known as the Heart of Stone, the Knurlnien is a sacred stone reserved for high dwarven ceremonies and oath-taking. In the oath ritual, participants make an incision on their body and wet the stone with their blood while reciting an oath in the Dwarvish language. A vow taken in this manner is considered unbreakable.

  The dwarf who discovered Farthen Dûr and founded Dûrgrimst Ingeitum. As the first king of the dwarves, Korgan Longbeard is also considered the father of the nation.

  SEE DWARF CLANS IN THE APPENDIX.

  A city on the western coast of Alagaësia that is isolated from the other towns and cities that dot the Spine and was the first human settlement on the continent. Modern Kuasta is said to be a haven for occult practices and is celebrated as home to the Arcaena monks, who document Alagaësian history. Kuasta was also home to Holcomb and Nelda, parents of the great Dragon Rider Brom.

  SEE ARCAENA.

  The elite of the Urgal race, the Kull are bigger than the typical Urgal—an eight-foot-tall Kull is considered small. Though too heavy to ride an animal, they have a natural speed that allows them to run as fast as the swiftest steed, and their endurance allows them to do so for days, if necessary, and still be ready for battle. Nar Garzhvog is a Kull of the Bolvek tribe.

  The dwarf who died protecting Eragon during the assassination attempt by the Az Sweldn rak Anhûin clan when Eragon was in Farthen Dûr for the clanmeet to elect a new king.

  SEE MORD, FAMILY OF.

  An elf philosopher and scientist who has dedicated his life to exploring the truth of various scientific theories. Although considered mad by many, Ládin was exonerated when he proved the existence of a vacuum and won the respect of a powerful and influential science buff, King Orrin.

  SEE VACHER.

  An elf warrior whose stature as a Shadeslayer puts him in the rarefied company of Irnstad, Eragon, and Arya.

  A delicate elven fabric created by cross-weaving the finest wool and nettle threads.

  A decorated Varden warrior renowned for his ability to take on several opponents simultaneously on the field of battle.

  The royal family of Surda, whose lineage includes Lady Marelda, King Larkin, King Orrin, and Thanebrand the Ring Giver.

  The commander of a battalion in the Empire’s army whose attempt to capture Eragon and Arya resulted in death for himself and his men.

  The late king of Surda and father of King Orrin. Larkin is believed to have been the driving force behind Surda’s pact with the Varden.

  SEE SURDA.

  Youngest son of Loring.

  SEE SOLDIERS WHO CANNOT FEEL PAIN.

  In dwarven culture, the inviolate rule that all guests be treated with kindness and respect. A brazen violation of this code was the attempted assassination of Eragon, a guest of a clanmeet, by agents of Dûrgrimst Az Sweldn rak Anhûin. Even though that clan had sworn a blood oath against Eragon, dwarves close to Eragon had assured him that the law of hospitality would not be broken.

  SEE ANHÛIN. SEE ALSO DWARF CLANS IN THE APPENDIX.

  An epic of the elf race. During a sword duel in which Eragon bested his longtime tormentor Vanir, the defeated elf uttered one of the famous lines from The Lay of Umhodan: “How swift is your sword.”

  An epic of the elf race.

  Kílf’s necklace and a general term for necklace among the dwarf race.

  SEE DELWIN.

  When a Ra’zac matures, it sheds its exoskeleton and spreads its wings, emerging into its adult form: a Lethrblaka. The Lethrblaka can mate and continue the bloodline. A Lethrblaka’s intelligence is comparable to that of a dragon. Their offspring use them as mounts. The Lethrblaka arrived in Alagaësia soon after the humans and may be what drove the humans from their own lands. During the rescue of Katrina, Saphira killed the two remaining Lethrblaka.

  SEE RA’ZAC.

  AN EARLY CONCEPT SKETCH OF A LETHRBLAKA BY CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI.

  An elven vine bearing trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in shades of pink and white. Found throughout Ellesméra, this flower was created by the elves through singing magic.

  The elven system of writing; the name means “Poetic Script.” This elegant script consists of forty-two different shapes, each representing a different sound.

  An elf from Ceris.

  A Varden man.

  SEE MENOA TREE.

  A female elf and spellcaster who resides in Du Weldenvarden. Liotha has chosen to alter her physical appearance to incorporate some of the physical attributes of a wolf, like her cousin and fellow magic wielder, Blödhgarm.

  One of Surda’s major cities. Lithgow’s proximity to Aberon and Petrøvya makes it an important center of commerce.

  An ancient elf city within Silverwood Forest on the eastern coast of Lake Tüdosten. Once the home of the late Dragon Rider Oromis, this city of legendary beauty has been erased by time.

  A blue lily that grows within the borders of the Empire.

  SEE FEINSTER.

  A shoemaker in Carvahall and father of Larne, Darmmen, and Hamund. Loring was a leader in the village’s defense, and his children were involved as watchmen and defenders during the Empire’s siege. When all was lost, he and his family joined the townspeople on the dangerous journey to Surda. Loring’s alias is “Wally.”

  An elf who had
a premonition he would accidentally slay his own son in battle. To avoid that tragedy, Maerzadí killed himself. Arya recounted the story to Eragon as a cautionary tale to illustrate that, short of killing oneself, it’s difficult to avoid the future as seen in a premonition. Although elves have developed methods of reaching into the future, they have refined them to extract specific knowledge. The only experiment elven spellcasters made in “defeating time’s enigmas,” as Arya put it, was a disaster: their spell to scry into the past killed all the spellcasters. “Many avenues of magic have yet to be explored,” Arya cautioned Eragon. “Take care not to lose yourself among them.”

  SEE MAGIC.

  The name of a mythical female Urgal who wanted to become the mate of an Urgal who had shown his prowess by defeating twenty-seven other Urgals in wrestling matches, killing four. He had not selected a mate and wouldn’t consider Maghara because of her ugliness. Maghara prayed to Rahna, goddess of Urgals, for the blessing of good looks and offered the goddess her firstborn son. Her prayer was answered, and she married and bore a son and named him Hegraz. On Hegraz’s seventh birthday, Rahna appeared, demanding that Maghara fulfill her promise. Maghara battled the goddess but lost both her son and the gift of beauty. Hegraz was raised by Rahna and became one of the greatest of all Urgal warriors.

  SEE RAHNA.

  Alagaësia is a land imbued with magic. The most potent spells can literally shape the world, and their power can lie dormant for thousands of years. Rhunön used a spell to make her Dragon Rider swords never go dull or break; the singing spells of the elves make plants grow as they wish and form their very cities; the elves and dwarves employ magic to make the Erisdar lanterns glow.

  Magic is a means to an end. To work their will, witches and wizards use potions and spells, while Riders use magic strengthened by their mystical bond with their dragon. Dragons have a unique, instinctual connection with magic that on occasion they channel with great power. The elves themselves are magical beings—“magic flows through their veins,” Eragon once wrote—and dwarves are also known to have a vast knowledge of magic.

  The ancient language provides a structure for the use of magic. It is possible to perform magic without vocalizing a spell, but this is incredibly dangerous and takes a magician of tremendous gifts. Using magic takes the same amount of energy from the user’s body as it would to complete the task physically.

  In a memory vision left for Eragon by Brom, the deceased Rider described magical combat as dependent on intelligence and casting a spell that an opponent does not suspect. As Brom observed: “In order to ensure victory, you have to figure out how your enemy interprets information and reacts to the world. Then you will know his weaknesses, and there you strike.”

  Varden leader Nasuada is uncomfortable with magic, although the Varden employ spellcasters and the command structure of the Varden has been trained in protecting their minds from the Empire’s magicians. (It is also believed that espionage and intelligence, not assassination, are the major tools of such magic.) Nasuada has acknowledged to herself that at the heart of the current war is Galbatorix’s abuse of magic to serve his destructive rise to power, and that magic will ultimately play a major role in bringing the corrupt king to justice.

  SEE ANCIENT LANGUAGE, GREY FOLK, MINDBREAKERS, SORCERY, AND WILD MAGIC.

  SEE RUNE.

  SEE BYRD.

  SEE BEOR MOUNTAINS.

  A dwarf.

  Lady Marelda, of the House of Langfeld, defeated Galbatorix’s troops in a battle near the city of Cithrí.

  SEE GARROW.

  A towering mountain near Gil’ead and Isenstar Lake.

  The Earl of Thun and one of Nasuada’s commanders. A dedicated and fearless warrior under whom Roran has served. After a battle against the virtually unstoppable soldiers who cannot feel pain (the laughing dead), an enemy whom Roran assumed had been killed lashed out with his sword as Martland walked across the corpse-covered battlefield, severing the commander’s right hand. Despite the grievous wound, Martland kicked the sword out of the enemy soldier’s hand, seized a knife in his good left hand, and killed him. Martland then insisted that his soldiers go about their tasks and pay him no concern. Martland has since retired from active combat but serves the Varden as a military strategist.

  One of the shape-shifting race of werecats. Maud is also known as Quickpaw, The Dream Dancer, and The Watcher. Maud is the loyal companion of the elves and their ruler, Queen Islanzadí.

  SEE WERECATS.

  A small town near the southern border of the Empire and Surda, rumored to be coveted by the Varden.

  The largest tree in the great forest of Du Weldenvarden, the Menoa tree is gigantic enough to allow a dragon to nestle in its branches. The tree is also a sentient female being with a glacial sense of time appropriate to a tree’s long life, and intimately bound up with the story of Linnëa.

  Although she was young and beautiful, Linnëa’s elf lover grew tired of her. When Linnëa caught him cheating on her, she killed him in a fit of passion. She escaped into the heart of Du Weldenvarden, where she used the ancient language to magically fuse her body and consciousness to the Menoa tree and has since become guardian of Du Weldenvarden.

  The Menoa tree is the site of the Agaetí Blödhren, the centennial elven celebration of the ancient pact that formed the Dragon Riders. During the festivities, the tree is decorated with hundreds of multicolored lanterns, creating a rainbow effect. The celebration, performed around the gigantic tree trunk, is done with respect so as not to offend the tree.

  When Eragon first met the werecat Solembum in Teirm, one of the two pieces of cryptic advice Solembum gave him was: “When … you need a weapon, look under the roots of the Menoa tree.” Upon their second journey to Ellesméra, as Eragon was searching for a sword to replace Zar’roc, he and Saphira visited the Menoa tree and asked for her help. When the tree did not answer, Saphira breathed fire on her, and Eragon had to plead for mercy with the angry tree. She relented and said she would give him the brightsteel he sought if he agreed to give her what she wanted in return. Eragon agreed; the tree then revealed the bright-steel among her roots, but she remained silent when Eragon asked what she wanted. Her wish remains a mystery.

  SEE AGAETÍ BLÖDHREN AND DU WELDENVARDEN.

  PINE. SEQUOIA.

  BAOBAB.

  THE MENOA TREE IS A TYPE OF PINE TREE, THOUGH NO EXISTING PINE TREES ARE ANYWHERE CLOSE TO ITS SIZE. THE MENOA TREE SHARES THE HEIGHT OF THE REDWOOD OR SEQUOIA AND THE WIDTH OF A BAOBAB.

  A wandering trader who was asked by Eragon to appraise the strange blue stone he found during a hunting trip into the Spine. Although Merlock deduced the object was crafted by magic, he declined to purchase it. Soon thereafter, Eragon discovered that it was a dragon egg, an object rarer and more valuable than the most priceless jewel.

  SEE ERAGON AND SAPHIRA.

  One of the three barges Roran and the villagers of Carvahall took from Narda.

  In the war-torn world of Alagaësia, a new form of combat based on magic and telepathy has emerged. Mindbreakers use the magic of the ancient language as a martial tool and have developed telepathic techniques for breaking through mental defenses to probe and control an opponent’s mind. A growing number on both the Empire and the Varden side have chosen to be mindbreakers, which has increased security concerns for all royals and diplomats and has led to increased training in guarding against telepathic attacks.

  SEE MAGIC.

  The elves’ name for the desolate land southeast of Helgrind. The dwarves call it Werghadn; the humans call it Gray Heath.

  Where the Az Ragni river flows north, separate from the Beor Mountains and rising out of the plains, is Moldûn the Proud, the towering mountain revered by dwarves.

  SEE BEOR MOUNTAINS.

  A mythic man believed to have materialized out of a magical fountain.

  An old family of dwarves within Farthen Dûr. The only known surviving member of the lineage is the widow Glûmra, who today mourns Kvîstor, the
son who died protecting Eragon when an attempt on his life was made by the Az Sweldn rak Anhûin clan during the clanmeet.

  The dwarf god of fire. In dwarven myth, it is believed that Morgothal and his beloved brother, Urûr, god of the air and heavens, brought dragons into the world.