58 pages • 1-hour read
Eldest
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Chapters 50-59Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 50 Summary: “Landfall”
As Clovis’s barges approach the city of Teirm, Roran asks to stop ahead of the city. He and his usual trusted men go to Teirm ahead of the rest of the villagers. He takes along one of the younger men, Mandel, after Mandel’s mother asks Roran to look after him. Before they leave, Roran also makes Clovis swear not to abandon the villagers; if Clovis does, the villagers will seize control of the barges themselves.
Chapter 51 Summary: “Teirm”
Roran and the small group of villagers enter Teirm and search for a suitable ship to transport the rest of the villagers. They eventually hear that a man named Jeod, whose shipping company has lately suffered a series of misfortunes, is auctioning off many of his supplies and ships. They visit him in the hopes of doing business.
Chapter 52 Summary: “Jeod Longshanks”
Roran and the villagers discuss a potential deal with Jeod, who appears interested. However, at the end of their conversation, Jeod recognizes Roran as a wanted man and deduces that he is traveling with the entire village of Carvahall and trying to escape Galbatorix’s forces.
Chapter 53 Summary: “An Unexpected Ally”
Roran is immediately suspicious, but Jeod reveals that he is a friend of Eragon’s and of Brom’s (Eragon’s first mentor). Roran tells Jeod about the villagers’ adventures, and Jeod explains that he works with the Varden. He reveals that Eragon is now a Rider and summarizes all of Eragon’s adventures after the moment he found Saphira’s egg. Roran is incredulous but realizes that he will need Eragon and Saphira’s help to track down the Ra’zac and find Katrina. Jeod agrees to help the villagers steal a ship and flee with them to Surda.
Chapter 54 Summary: “Escape”
Jeod, Roran and the others plan to sneak onto the Dragon Wing, the fastest ship in Teirm, which belongs to Galbatorix. They work during the night and successfully get the villagers on board just as the alarms are sounded in the city. The ship leaves the port, but the Ra’zac attack when the ship reaches the sea. Although Baldor wounds one of the flying creatures with an arrow, the villagers realize that Galbatorix now knows where they are.
Chapter 55 Summary: “Child’s Play”
Meanwhile, in Surda, the Varden have been able to produce and sell lace with great success. As Nasuada inspects the merchandise, she is targeted by an assassin sent by Galbatorix, but Elva thwarts the attempt on Nasuada’s life. The assassin is part of the Black Hand, a group operating in Surda and acting on the Empire’s orders to kill Varden leaders.
Chapter 56 Summary: “Premonition of War”
Orrin informs Nasuada that the Varden’s spies, who had been reporting that Galbatorix’s army had not moved, were in fact deceived. The king’s army has secretly been moving toward Surda, hidden by Galbatorix’s own magic. Galbatorix is now personally leading the charge against the Varden.
Chapter 57 Summary: “Red Blade, White Blade”
After the Agaetí Blödhren, Eragon takes stock of his new abilities and realizes that he has gained some Elven qualities, such as increased speed and strength. He is now able to defeat Vanir when the two spar, and Vanir apologizes for his earlier behavior. Eragon also continues his lessons with Oromis, but he feels an ominous sense of dread about the battles yet to come.
Chapter 58 Summary: “Visions Near and Far”
Eragon has made great progress with his meditation skills, so Oromis teaches him that although it is possible to use other living beings’ energy to fuel his magic, such an action may cost those creatures their lives. Later, Eragon is terrified by prophetic dreams that prompt him to scry for Arya and Roran. He finds Arya in Surda with Nasuada, planning for an attack from Galbatorix with the Surdan generals. Eragon then finds his cousin on a ship with Jeod and the other villagers. Eragon decides to return to Surda, where he is needed to join in the fight. Additionally, he is visited by Blagden, the Queen’s raven, who gives him a cryptic prophecy about his father.
Chapter 59 Summary: “Gifts”
Eragon tells Orik to pack his bags. Eragon and Saphira say their goodbyes to Oromis, Glaedr, and Islanzadí. Oromis gives Eragon a flask of enchanted faelnirv (Elven liquor), as well as an illustrated version of Eragon’s poem and a belt containing gems that can be used to store magic. The queen offers Eragon an Elven bow and arrows.
Chapters 50-59 Analysis
This section of the novel focuses on maneuvering each character as though he or she is a piece on a much larger chessboard, positioning everyone for the dramatic conflicts to come. To this end, Paolini reintroduces useful allies, such as Jeod. By focusing the narrative more heavily on Roran and Nasuada, the author also sets the stage for new developments in the broader arc of the series. Roran’s meeting with Jeod draws upon the fact that when Brom and Eragon fled Carvahall, during the events of Eragon, Brom took Eragon and Saphira to his old friend Jeod, who then helped them to track down the Ra’zac. Now, as Roran meets Jeod under similar circumstances, this plot development implicitly stresses the parallels between his journey and Eragon’s.
Additionally, by focusing upon Nasuada’s creative leadership and ingenuity, Paolini marks her as an important figure in the broader narrative. Nasuada’s innovation of selling magically spun lace exemplifies her creative, strategic outlook, and her leadership qualities are in no way hindered by her total lack of magical power. She therefore stands as a sharp contrast to characters like Eragon and Arya, who rely on supernatural abilities to achieve their goals. Instead, Nasuada must use intangible forms of power, such as her own political influence.
In a practical sense, Paolini uses Nasuada’s discovery of Galbatorix’s impending attack to increase the narrative tension and create a reason for the disparate groups of characters to converge upon a single location in time to engage in events that will lead to the novel’s climax. Although previous chapters created a sense of false security by suggesting that Galbatorix’s forces were retreating, the king’s aggressive troop movements now create a plot twist and foreshadow new levels of conflict to come. As a result, the news heralds Eragon and Saphira’s return to reality after their time spent training and reflecting. As Eragon shifts back into a more action-oriented mindset and shelves his unresolved issues for a later date, he brings the advantages of his significant emotional and physical growth to the fight, demonstrating his new skills and knowledge in a practical setting.
His departure is marked by an exchange of gifts, a ritual that is typical of the fantasy genre. The gifts that Oromis and Queen Islanzadí bestow upon Eragon also bear significant elements of symbolism. For example, Oromis’s presents signal the conclusion of his own role as a mentor to Eragon, and his gifts of the enchanted Elven liquor and the magical belt foreshadow Eragon’s use of the objects later in the series. Additionally, the illustrated copy of Eragon’s poem marks the Elves’ implicit acceptance of Eragon, honoring his earned place in the cultural legacy of the Riders.
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