Inheritance

After Angela frees Arya and Eragon, the young Rider insists on taking the enslaved man with them. They flee through the underground tunnels and encounter other followers of the priests of Helgrind. Angela demonstrates her magical prowess in the fight, surprising Eragon with her abilities. Eventually, the tunnels lead Eragon and his companions to the cathedral of Dras-Leona, where the High Priest is conducting a bloody ceremony before an assembly of followers. Another fight ensues, and Eragon, Angela, and Solembum kill all of the priests until only the High Priest remains. He is more magically powerful than they expect, but Angela still manages to overpower and kill him.

Bells start ringing as the alarm is raised in the city, heralding Murtagh and Thorn’s arrival. Eragon retrieves his sword and ring from the altar but cannot find his belt, which contains energy-storing gems. He and his companions signal the Varden army to attack the city, then head toward the city’s gates.

This chapter is told from Saphira’s perspective. After Eragon telepathically signals her, she flies off with Blödhgarm on her back; he is disguised as Eragon. Together, they distract Murtagh and Thorn while Eragon and his companions try to reach the city’s gates and open them for the Varden.

Roran gets ready to fight as the Varden begin their attack on Dras-Leona. Because Nasuada has promoted him to the position of captain of a battalion, he is now leading his forces with Horst as his second-in-command.

As Eragon and his companions finally reach the city’s gates, they find a contingent of Galbatorix’s soldiers ahead of them. They begin fighting, but Galbatorix’s forces are protected by Murtagh’s enchantments. Because the battle seems lost, Eragon decides to use Aren, the ring that contains a lifetime of magical energy (a gift from Brom). Drawing from the ring’s power, Eragon blasts the gates open, and the Varden enter the city, turning the tide of the battle. Overwhelmed, Murtagh and Thorn abandon Dras-Leona but threaten Eragon and Saphira before they leave.

Eragon admonishes Elva for refusing to accompany him and his companions to Dras-Leona, where she could have prevented Wyrden’s death with her powers. Later, the Varden leave the city and continue marching toward Urû’baen, the capital of Alagaësia, where they plan to confront Galbatorix. After Wyrden’s funeral, Eragon and Arya drink together in his memory. Suddenly, they hear Murtagh and Thorn approaching the camp.

Galbatorix’s forces attack the Varden while Murtagh and Thorn head toward Nasuada’s tent. Eragon and Saphira fight through the general confusion and panic spreading across the camp, helped by Glaedr’s consciousness. They arrive at the Varden leader’s tent just in time to see Murtagh abducting Nasuada and flying away. Despite Eragon and Arya’s best efforts, they fail to rescue Nasuada.

After the unexpected battle, the leaders of the Varden congregate. Eragon is named Nasuada’s successor, but King Orrin doubts Eragon’s ability to lead effectively or to defeat Galbatorix. However, King Orik, Arya, the other Elves, Grimrr Halfpaw, and Roran all support him. Eragon tries to assuage Orrin’s concerns, but he also feels overwhelmed by the responsibilities that he now faces.

Eragon frets all night, despairing about ever being able to defeat the Empire. He does not have a plan or any secret weapon left, and Galbatorix appears more powerful than ever. While he sleeps, Eragon has a vision of warriors standing on a ship sailing down a river, but he is unable to make sense of it. He then remembers Solembum’s prophecy; during the events of Eragon, the Werecat told Eragon that when a time arrives in which he feels completely hopeless, he must seek out the Rock of Kuthian.

Eragon summons Solembum to his tent and asks about the prophecy. Solembum, however, does not know any more than what he told Eragon. He explains that appears that a memory-altering spell was cast on the Werecats after the fall of the Riders, leaving them with a prophecy whose origins they cannot remember. Suddenly, Solembum becomes briefly possessed and tells Eragon to look up a particular passage in Domia abr Wyrda, a book about the history of Alagaësia. When Eragon does so, he learns that the Rock of Kuthian is located on Vroengard, an island where the dragons and Riders used to live.

After consulting with Saphira, Eragon decides to go to Vroengard as soon as possible. However, when he tells Arya and Glaedr about Solembum’s revelations, he realizes that the memory spell concealing the Rock of Kuthian’s name affects them as well. Eragon asks them to trust him and to allow him to go to Vroengard to find out more.

Eragon tells the other Varden leaders about his upcoming departure. They cannot remember what he tells them about his mission either, but Eragon makes them swear an oath of secrecy about his absence. Then, Blödhgarm and the Elven spellcasters create an illusion of Eragon and Saphira in order to convince their own army and any potential spies that the two are still present. Finally, Eragon, Saphira, and Glaedr’s Eldunarí take flight.

Nasuada awakens to find herself tied up in a cell. While she gathers her wits, she decides to create a different identity and convince herself of its reality in order to protect her psyche from the torture that she is about to endure. The jailer who comes to feed her once in a while is mostly impassive, but Nasuada notices that he is vain about his hands. She decides to use this weakness against him.

Eventually, Galbatorix and Murtagh come into Nasuada’s cell. Galbatorix tells her the story of the place they are currently in, the Hall of the Soothsayer. He explains that it is named after an oracle and points out that people are forced to tell the truth here. Galbatorix wants Nasuada to join the ranks of his own advisors willingly, so he plans to torture her until she breaks rather than using magic to force her to swear an oath to him. He then orders Murtagh to torture her with an iron poker. When Murtagh resists this order, Galbatorix forces him to obey.

Despite the circumstances, Eragon is glad to be flying alone with Saphira once again. While they travel, Glaedr tells them the story of how he and Oromis were once captured at the beginning of the war between Galbatorix and the Riders. He explains that in order to escape, Oromis used a dangerous spell that left him disabled and unable to perform complex magic. Finally, they reach a beach and decide to cross the ocean all at once, despite the brewing storm ahead of them.