60 pages • 2-hour read
Inheritance
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Chapters 59-78Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 59 Summary: “War Council”
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains depictions of torture and war-related violence.
While they travel, Eragon and Saphira learn as much as they can from the Dragons. They finally reach Urû’baen and signal their arrival. Eragon and Saphira land away from the Varden camp, hidden from view, and wait until Arya, Orik, Roran, Jörmundur, King Orrin, and Queen Islanzadí, and Blödhgarm secretly join them. After a brief reunion, Eragon tells them about the Eldunarí and lays out a plan of attack.
Chapter 60 Summary: “A Matter of Duty”
After everyone has left, Arya stays behind to speak with Eragon. The young Rider reveals that he and Saphira have learned their true names, and he offers to tell Arya his own. Arya is honored but refuses to hear it, arguing that Galbatorix could extract it from her and use it against Eragon during the upcoming battle.
Chapter 61 Summary: “Fire in the Night”
After nightfall, Eragon visits Roran and Katrina’s tent and places protective wards on them in preparation for the battle. He then traverses the camp to meet some of his men and spread misinformation about the upcoming battle in the hopes of confusing Galbatorix’s spies. Finally, he asks Elva for help, telling her of her crucial role in his plan. After she agrees, Shruikan, Galbatorix’s dragon, suddenly flies over the Varden camp and terrifies the Varden forces. Eragon knows that this is a scare tactic on Shruikan’s part, and the Dragon soon returns to his hideout in the city without harming anyone.
Chapter 62 Summary: “Over the Wall and into the Maw”
At dawn, Eragon, Saphira, and Elva make their last preparations at some distance from the Varden camp. They watch as the army of humans, Dwarves, Elves, Urgals, and Werecats marches toward Urû’baen’s walls. The city’s alarm is suddenly raised, and the Varden attack. A group of Elves creates an illusion of Saphira while Eragon and his companions stay hidden. When Murtagh and Thorn appear to chase the fake Saphira, Eragon and the others use the opportunity to sneak into the city with Arya and a group of Elves. They land in front of Galbatorix’s citadel, where Arya uses the Dauthdaert to dispel the defensive wards on the doors. Just as Murtagh realizes that he has been fooled, Eragon and his group enter the citadel and shut the doors behind them.
Chapter 63 Summary: “The Storm Breaks”
Roran prepares for the battle, then leads his battalion to the city walls. He climbs onto a ladder and reaches the top of the wall, then starts defeating enemy soldiers. While he and his men fight, Elf spellcasters destroy part of the wall, creating an opening for the Varden army.
Chapter 64 Summary: “That Which Does Not Kill…”
Eragon and his companions pass through an enormous tunnel riddled with traps and enchantments. Elva, who can sense when people are about to get hurt, helps them to bypass the traps one by one. Their progress is slow, but they eventually reach the doors to Galbatorix’s throne room. However, when they start opening the doors, the Elves are incapacitated by a spell that Elva cannot prevent. Eragon, Saphira, Arya, and Elva then enter the throne room, where Galbatorix greets them.
Chapter 65 Summary: “The Heart of the Fray”
Roran and his group rejoin the main part of the army, which is led by Jörmundur. Roran suspects that Galbatorix is trying to lure them further into the city. His fears are confirmed when the Empire’s army finally streams out from the citadel. Galbatorix’s soldiers outnumber the Varden and are enchanted so that they cannot feel any pain. Roran leads his men out of the path of the approaching army, attempting to attack the king’s forces from the side. After they defeat the first group of warriors, Roran catches a glimpse of Lord Barst, who leads Galbatorix’s army. Roran guesses that Lord Barst is magically strengthened by the Eldunarí that is strapped to his chest. Roran is briefly knocked unconscious when a stone is catapulted near him, but he soon rejoins the fray.
Chapter 66 Summary: “The Name of All Names”
As Eragon and his companions approach the throne, Galbatorix immediately incapacitates them by uttering a particular word: the name of all names. That word is the name of the ancient language in which all spells are cast, and it can therefore neutralize magic altogether. With Elva rendered unable to speak, they are defenseless against the King. When Eragon, Arya, Saphira, and the Dragons try to overwhelm Galbatorix and his own Eldunarí in a mental battle, Galbatorix brings forth two children and threatens to kill his hostages if Eragon and the others do not stop their attack. Eragon reluctantly acquiesces. Galbatorix then reveals that Shruikan is lying behind the throne. The king states his intention to annihilate all magic. Murtagh and Thorn then join the group, and Galbatorix reveals that Nasuada, who is still shackled, is present as well. Eragon tries to gain time by challenging Galbatorix to a duel. The king agrees to let Murtagh fight in his stead, but he forbids Murtagh and Eragon from killing each other.
Chapter 67 Summary: “Muscle Against Metal”
Meanwhile, in the city, Lord Barst continues to overpower the Varden thanks to his magically enhanced strength. As Roran contuse to fight, he encounters Angela and leads his men toward Lord Barst and his forces. The Elves attack Lord Barst unsuccessfully, and then Queen Islanzadí duels him herself. Lord Barst kills the Queen, leaving the Varden dismayed and afraid. Roran then sends Angela to fetch the leaders of each Varden faction. After Jördmundur, Orik, Nar Garzhvog, Grimrr Halfpaw, and an Elf leader join him, Roran makes a plan to kill Lord Barst. First, the Varden pelt Lord Barst with ballistae stones to disorient him. Then, the Urgals and Werecats attack him in groups, hoping to wear away his magical defenses. As Lord Barst’s wards are depleted, he becomes increasingly vulnerable. However, Lord Barst manages to hold off against his attackers. When Roran faces him alone in a strenuous fight, he crushes Lord Barst’s armor and fractures the Edlunarí. Lord Barst finally dies.
Chapter 68 Summary: “The Gift of Knowledge”
Eragon and Murtagh duel for a long time, as each fighter tries but fails to overpower the other. Eragon strategically lets Murtagh injure him, using his half-brother’s attack to create a crucial opening that allows him to stab Murtagh in the stomach and defeat him. Murtagh reveals that he was trying to win so that he could help Nasuada escape. Suddenly, Murtagh attacks Galbatorix with the name of all names. Thorn attacks Shruikan. Eragon’s companions, now released from their spells, join the fight as well. However, Galbatorix quickly regains his composure and incapacitates them again.
Now angered, Galbatorix commences a psychic attack on Eragon to make him submit to his will. At first, Eragon is unable to resist. However, as Oromis taught him, he casts a spell with magic born of emotions (not the ancient language that Galbatorix is using). In this way, Eragon crafts a spell that forces Galbatorix to feel all the pain that he has caused in the world. Overwhelmed, Galbatorix tries to fight Eragon, but the young Rider stabs him with his sword. Meanwhile, Arya kills Shruikan with the Dauthdaert. Just as Galbatorix finally dies, the room starts to crumble.
Chapter 69 Summary: “Death Throes”
After Roran is healed from his fight with Lord Barst, he returns to the battle and continues to lead the Varden. They are now more hopeful for a victory, since the enemy soldiers are retreating. From outside the citadel, they can hear the Dragons roar in the throne room, and they watch as the citadel starts to fall apart.
Chapter 70 Summary: “A Sea of Nettles”
Eragon and his companions escape from the crumbling citadel while Arya goes in search of Galbatorix’s remaining dragon egg and Eldunarí. Once outside, Murtagh and Thorn say goodbye to Nasuada and leave. Eragon realizes that they have finally defeated the Empire, and he suddenly remembers the eggs hidden on Vroengard. He and Saphira go in pursuit of Murtagh and Thorn, whom they find on a nearby hill. Murtagh explains that he and Thorn need to heal, so they are leaving to find solitude for a while. He and Eragon make peace and exchange hopeful wishes for the future before going their separate ways.
Chapter 71 Summary: “Heir to the Empire”
Eragon, Saphira, the Eldunarí, Nasuada, King Orrin, Orik, Arya, the Elf lord Däthedr, and Grimrr Halfpaw meet after the victory in Urû’baen to discuss who will succeed Galbatorix as the sovereign of Alagaësia. After Eragon refuses the throne, both Nasuada and Orrin stake a claim for the position. The Elves and the Dwarves argue that it is not up to them to choose a king or queen for the humans, but they side with Nasuada. King Orrin is upset because he feels entitled to a reward after providing the Varden with protection, men, and resources during the war. However, Nasuada argues that she has proven her worth as a leader. In the end, she offers part of the kingdom of Alagaësia to Surda and becomes Queen.
Chapter 72 Summary: “A Fitting Epitaph”
During the months following their victory, Eragon and Saphira are busy working under Nasuada’s leadership to bring peace to the realm. They attend Nasuada’s coronation, undo Galbatorix’s spells in Dras-Leona, and visit Brom’s grave. Eragon takes a moment to honor his father’s memory and writes a new epitaph on Brom’s tomb, then returns to Urû’baen.
Chapter 73 Summary: “Pieces on a Board”
Arya returns to Ellesméra with the last of Galbatorix’s Dragon eggs. Nasuada then dispatches Eragon to several cities to ensure peace and quell rebellions. The young queen worries about conflicts that may arise in the future, especially with the war-mongering Urgals.
Eragon unsuccessfully searches for safe places to keep the eggs, which must be protected from undue influence from any of the inhabitants of Alagaësia. He is also upset that Arya does not send him news from Ellesméra, but he rejoices when Roran and Katrina’s daughter is born. Later, Nasuada tells Eragon that she intends to curtail magic-wielders’ power by regulating magic to avoid abuse and conflict. Eragon refuses to help, arguing that he has become too powerful to remain impartial in the affairs of the world. Finally, Arya sends Eragon a letter, asking him to meet her the next day because she is coming to visit Nasuada.
Chapter 74 Summary: “Fírnen”
Eragon and Saphira wait at the meeting point and are shocked to see Arya arrive on the back of a dragon. Galbatorix’s egg hatched for her, so Arya is now a Rider and has named her Dragon Fírnen. She has also been chosen as her mother’s successor and is the new queen of the Elves. Saphira is very taken with Fírnen, and the two Dragons slip away to mate. In the meantime, Eragon and Arya exchange a tender moment and tell each other their true names. However, Eragon is heartbroken because he knows that Arya will not shirk her new responsibilities in order to remain with him. He intends to leave Alagaësia with the Edunarí and the eggs and plans to raise the Dragons away from other people.
Chapter 75 Summary: “A Man of Conscience”
Eragon explains his plan to Nasuada. Because he has become so powerful, he chooses withdraw from the politics of Alagaësia. He wants to find a place to train Dragons and future Riders safely, but he does not plan to return. Although Nasuada is shocked by this news, she eventually agrees that it is for the best, and they part as friends.
Chapter 76 Summary: “Blood Price”
Chapter 77 Summary: “Promises, New and Old”
On their way to Vroengard, Eragon and Saphira stop at an Urgal village, bringing an offer in hopes of building lasting peace between the peoples of Alagaësia. In addition to the Elves and humans, the Dwarves and the Urgals will from now on be allowed to become Riders as well. The Urgals celebrate happily, and Eragon and Saphira resume their mission.
When they finally arrive in Ellesméra, they reunite with Roran and Katrina. The Elves throw a feast, and Eragon notices Sloan keeping away from the celebration. (Sloan is Katrina’s father; he betrayed the villagers of Carvahall to the Ra’zac during the events of Inheritance. After Eragon and Roran rescued Katrina from the Ra’zac, Eragon also found Sloan, blinded and tortured. As a punishment, Eragon sent him to live with the Elves but did not tell Katrina about Sloan’s fate.) Now, moved by Sloan’s despair upon hearing his daughter but being unable to see her, Eragon restores Sloan’s sight so that he can catch a glimpse of Katrina.
Chapter 78 Summary: “Leave-Taking”
Eragon and Saphira are finally ready to leave. They take the Eldunarí and the eggs with them, as well as Blödhgarm and his spellcasters. As Eragon approaches the ship that will take them across the lake, he recognizes the scene that he saw in a vision in Chapter 38. Arya, Fírnen, and Roran travel with them for a while until they reach the edge of the desert. There, they say their farewells, and Eragon and Saphira continue on.
Chapters 59-78 Analysis
As the final conflicts commence, the ideological differences between the two foes become apparent in the makeup of each army. While many of Galbatorix’s forces have been enchanted to follow him blindly, bereft of their own will, the heterogeneous Varden army symbolizes the solidarity of the diverse peoples of Alagaësia, whose common desires for liberty and a just realm have coalesced their disparate needs into a single, imperative goal. With these high stakes as a backdrop, Paolini employs a distinctly cinematic narrative technique by keeping the details of Eragon’s plan of attack strictly secret until the events themselves unfold in real time. Significantly, the young Rider’s plan draws on the characteristic strengths and weaknesses of each person involved, and his careful use of their various assets reflects his growth as an intuitive leader. For example, he orders Roran, who has repeatedly proved himself in battle, to lead the main charge, and he wisely employs Elva’s unique abilities to help keep his own strike team safe as they infiltrate the very seat of Galbatorix’s power. Thus, while Eragon habitually uses Empathy as a Moral Compass, he also leverages his empathic understanding of allies and foes alike to devise a viable strategy for these final war efforts.
As Eragon and Arya rely upon each other in their progress toward Galbatorix’s throne room, it is clear that the two have become very close and have developed a sense of mutual trust. However, in order to introduce an element of uncertainty into the narrative, Paolini contrasts the strength, solidarity, and relative confidence of the strike team with their sudden consternation when their spellcasters are completely disabled. Bereft of these crucial fighters, the remaining characters are plunged into a sense of powerlessness upon entering the throne room. These dynamics combine with the cruel Galbatorix’s dark legend to suggest that the group’s goal may well be impossible, and the overall impression of his invincibility is strengthened when Galbatorix taunts Elva from the shadows, sneering, “Did you really think you could render me helpless with such a petty, transparent trick? Oh, I have no doubt your words could harm me, but only if I can hear them” (656). Throughout the entire series, the tyrannical king has been an ominous but indirect presence—conspicuous in his physical absence from the plot as Paolini relies upon secondhand accounts to build up his legend and dark reputation. Only now, at the culmination of the entire series, does Paolini finally reveal his ultimate antagonist:
[Galbatorix] leaned forward, into the light, and Eragon saw his face. It was long and lean, with a deep brow and a bladelike nose. His eyes were hard as stones, and they showed little white around the irises. His mouth was thin and wide with a slight downturn at the corners, and he had a close-cropped beard and mustache, which, like his clothes, were black as pitch. In age, he appeared to be in his fourth decade […]. [H]is tanned skin had a thin look to it, as if he had eaten nothing but rabbit meat and turnips through the winter (655).
As the king emerges from the shadows, both literally and symbolically, the deeply stereotypical and yet utterly bland description of his features clashes sharply with the mystique of his reputation. Although Galbatorix is a legendary, immortal Rider who has accumulated an excessive amount of magical and political power, he is also clearly a man with deeply human desires, flaws, motivations, and weaknesses. Having manipulated the dominant narratives about himself for years, he has built his authority on a ruthless combination of atrocities, violence, and darkest rumor, but his physical presence—and therefore his implicit vulnerability—now suggests that his authority is deeply threatened. In this light, his sneers are revealed as posturing, and Eragon’s crucial decision to show Galbatorix the consequences of his actions reflects the greatest irony of all, for the young Rider wields his very empathy as a weapon.
With the downfall of the ultimate antagonist, Paolini turns to the classic rhythm of the denouement and proceeds to tie up all remaining loose ends in a very methodical fashion. Notably, however, the author does not succumb to the temptation to craft a stereotypically “happily ever after” conclusion. Instead, he creates a bittersweet yet hopeful ending that honors the characters’ growth while acknowledging that they each remain flawed and vulnerable in their own ways. In the wake of Galbatorix’s hateful reign, Eragon instinctively rejects the opportunity to take the throne, recognizing the peril in embracing his own immense magical and political power. Likewise, Eragon and Arya’s romantic arc concludes on a bittersweet note, for although their bond is now stronger than ever, their personal choices and responsibilities will prevent them from ever developing a true romantic partnership. This reality reinforces the importance of free will and self-determination, and Eragon’s decision to leave Alagaësia reflects his bone-deep understanding of The Importance of Balancing Power with Service. Fearing that he may become too powerful, his choice to remove himself from the realm’s politics renders him a decisive foil to Galbatorix, who, when put in the same position, opted to claim authoritarian power. By contrast, Eragon’s story ends with the young Rider “[mourning] what could never be [but pondering] the life he and Saphira were to have—a life with the dragons and Riders” (849)—an ambivalent but hopeful tone that is characteristic of Paolini’s writing style.
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