50 Fun Facts About Eldest

Which former companion of Eragon is unmasked as the enemy Dragon Rider at the climax of Eldest?

Murtagh was thought dead after an ambush, but he had been carried off to Galbatorix, where a red dragon hatched for him and both were forced to swear loyalty.

Which luxury fabric does Nasuada have her magicians make cheaply to fund the Varden in Eldest?

Lace made by magic sold so cheaply that a king's own weavers lost their customers. The idea came to Nasuada after spilled acid ruined the trim on her dress.

What is the name of the red dragon pictured on the cover of Christopher Paolini's Eldest?

Thorn hatches for a captured young Rider and is magically grown to a great size, yet he still has the mind of a child.

Which everyday tool becomes Roran's signature weapon when soldiers attack his village in Eldest?

A hammer serves Roran so well against the Empire's soldiers that the Varden later know him as Stronghammer.

Which child, cursed by Eragon's botched blessing, saves Nasuada from an assassin in Eldest?

Elva grows from a baby into a seeming four-year-old within weeks, driven by a spell that makes her sense other people's pain and rush to shield them.

Which aged elf, the last free Dragon Rider of the old order, trains Eragon in Eldest?

Oromis has hidden among the elves for a century, crippled by a Forsworn spell that leaves him able to control only the smallest magic.

Which horned race, once tricked into serving Galbatorix, joins the Varden late in Eldest?

Urgals come seeking revenge on the king: a Shade's enchantments had bound them to his service, and the Shade's death in the previous book set them free.

Which herbalist poisons thousands of Empire soldiers on the eve of the final battle in Eldest?

Angela brewed the poison with a king's laboratory equipment, a tactic Nasuada approved because the Varden were so badly outnumbered.

When Eldest came out, Christopher Paolini's dragon saga was still planned as what kind of series?

A trilogy was the plan until 2007, when Paolini announced that the story had grown too complex to finish in just three books.

Which leader of the Varden is ambushed and killed in the opening pages of Eldest?

Ajihad dies only three days after the Varden's great victory over the Empire, and command passes to his daughter Nasuada.

Which dwarf king adopts Eragon into his own clan in Eldest, then dies in the book's final battle?

Hrothgar takes his name from a legendary Danish king who appears in the Old English epic Beowulf.

Which dwarf becomes Eragon's foster brother and travels with him to the elves in Eldest?

Orik was reluctant to go, partly because the journey delayed his spring wedding. In the next book he is elected king of the dwarves.

Which elven capital, hidden deep in a northern forest, is where Eragon trains as a Rider in Eldest?

Ellesméra borrows its name from Ellesmere Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. In the story, the elves sing living trees into the shape of its houses.

Which vast northern realm of Alagaësia do Eragon and Saphira enter to reach the elves in Eldest?

Du Weldenvarden is sealed by magic: nobody can enter the forest by arcane means, and no spell can carry a message in from outside.

To which southern land does Nasuada move the Varden in Eldest so they can oppose the Empire openly?

Surda is the one human country Galbatorix does not rule, and its kings had armed and supplied the Varden in secret for generations.

Which butcher's daughter does Roran plan to marry before the Ra'zac carry her off in Eldest?

Katrina is seized soon after a quarrel between her father and Roran cost her both her inheritance and her dowry.

Which village butcher betrays Roran's neighbours to the Ra'zac in Eldest to protect his daughter?

Sloan murdered a fellow villager to let the creatures in, and they repaid him by carrying him off, then blinding and torturing him.

Which northern village does Roran persuade to leave home and flee over the mountains in Eldest?

Carvahall's people cross the mountains on foot, then travel south by barge and stolen ship to join the Varden.

Which golden dragon tutors Saphira in Eldest and grows annoyed by her constant flirting?

Glaedr has spent more than a century in hiding with his Rider, and a portrait of him became the cover of the series' third book.

Which treacherous magicians, presumed dead early in Eldest, are killed by Roran in the last battle?

The Twins had worked for Galbatorix all along, and the raiders in the ambush that opens the book were under their command.

Which sword, once carried by Brom, does the enemy Rider take from Eragon at the end of Eldest?

Zar'roc is claimed by the victor as his rightful inheritance, which leaves Eragon without a Rider's blade until he makes his own in the next book.

At the end of Eldest, which dead Forsworn Rider is Eragon told was his father?

Morzan was the first of the thirteen Riders who betrayed their order, but the next book reveals that Eragon's real father was Brom.

On which battlefield beside the Jiet River do the Varden face Galbatorix's army late in Eldest?

The Burning Plains see Roran's villagers and a dwarf army arrive in mid-battle, turning a losing fight into a victory for the Varden.

Which elven festival, held only once a century, transforms Eragon's body in Eldest?

The Blood-Oath Celebration ends with a spectral dragon that heals Eragon's old wounds and gives him the speed and strength of an elf.

Which part of Eragon's body, scarred by the Shade Durza, brings on crippling seizures in Eldest?

His back was wounded in the duel that ended the first book, and the nerve damage leaves it unclear how Eragon could ever defeat Galbatorix.

Which third book of Paolini's series follows Eldest and was previewed in its deluxe edition?

Brisingr takes its title from the Alagaësian word for fire, part of an invented vocabulary that Paolini modelled partly on Old Norse.

Eldest reveals that Eragon's blessing of a baby became a curse through a slip in which tongue?

The ancient language word for shielded is a single letter longer than the word for shield, so the child must shield others from harm instead of being protected.

Which merchant and old friend of Brom helps Roran's villagers steal a ship in Eldest?

Jeod had once helped Brom steal Saphira's egg from the king, and in return for his plan he asks only for passage south.

In which port city does Roran find the merchant who helps his villagers seize a ship in Eldest?

Teirm's docks lie outside the city wall, so the villagers could walk straight aboard, and they escaped by setting the wharf ablaze behind them.

Which elf queen is revealed in Eldest to be the estranged mother of Arya?

Islanzadí had been estranged from her daughter for roughly seventy years, ever since Arya took the dangerous post of ambassador to the Varden.

In which dwarf city, built inside the hollow mountain Farthen Dûr, does Eldest open?

Tronjheim had sheltered the Varden for decades, but three days after the first book's battle the rebels are about to leave it for the south.

Which king, a keen amateur scientist with his own laboratory, shelters the Varden in Eldest?

King Orrin proved that a vacuum can exist, and he damaged an eardrum in an explosion while mixing chemicals in his laboratory.

What are the winged steeds of the Ra'zac, revealed in Eldest to be their own parents, called?

Lethrblaka are what the creatures themselves become: after the first full moon of their twentieth year they shed their skins and grow into huge winged beasts.

What did the golden dragon who tutors Saphira in Eldest lose long ago while escaping the Forsworn?

A foreleg was severed by a sword stroke aimed at his Rider, and the dragon, lighter without the limb, then outflew his pursuers.

Which valley, home to Roran's village in Eldest, was named after the series' future cover artist?

Palancar honours the painter John Jude Palencar, and Paolini chose the valley's name before the artist was hired to paint the covers.

Which American book prize did Christopher Paolini's Eldest win in the young adult literature category?

The Quill Award went to Eldest in 2006, and the novel was also nominated for a British Book Award as children's book of the year.

What does Eragon create as his own offering for the elves' great festival in Eldest?

A poem was Eragon's gift, and his elven teacher later handed him an illustrated scroll of it as a parting present.

Which haughty young elf is Eragon's sparring partner during his training in Eldest?

Vanir sneers at Eragon until the magical transformation makes the two equals, and Arya later picks him as ambassador to the humans.

Which black mountain near Dras-Leona is the Ra'zac lair where Roran's betrothed is held after Eldest?

Helgrind is known as the Gates of Death, and the novel closes with Eragon agreeing to help his cousin with the rescue.

What is the name for the magical picture Eragon makes of Arya in Eldest, which enrages her?

A fairth was set as a lesson by Eragon's teacher, and the idealised portrait he produced so alarmed Arya that she destroyed it and left without a word.

What is the name of the Empire ship that Roran's villagers seize from the docks in Eldest?

Dragon Wing was already stocked with food, so the fugitives could put to sea at once, with three of the Empire's fast sloops soon in pursuit.

Which elf, in a legend told in Eldest, sang herself into the Menoa tree after killing her lover?

Linnëa sang for three days and nights until she and the tree were one, and she has watched over the elves' forest ever since.

In which capital city does Nasuada settle the Varden and hold a weekly open court in Eldest?

Aberon is so hot that Nasuada shortens her people's work shifts to stop them fainting, while their food rations run low.

Through which giant whirlpool does Roran's stolen ship escape three pursuing sloops in Eldest?

The Boar's Eye almost traps the fugitives too: the villagers take turns at the oars, rowing for their lives, while the sloops behind them are swallowed.

Which American magazine ranked Eldest among the five worst books of the year it was published?

Entertainment Weekly complained about the slow pace of the 700-page novel, which became a New York Times bestseller all the same.

Which widow from Roran's village vows in Eldest to make him pay one day for her husband's death?

Birgit holds Roran's family to blame for drawing the soldiers who killed her husband, yet she becomes a forceful ally and a fearsome fighter on the march south.

Which dragon-like creatures of the Beor Mountains, unable to breathe fire, attack Saphira in Eldest?

Fanghur hunt by paralysing their prey with piercing screams or attacks on the mind, which makes them the deadliest creatures native to the range.

Which potent liquid does Eragon receive as a parting gift from his teacher in Eldest?

Faelnirv in Eragon's flask had been enhanced by his teacher's magic, so that it heals and restores whoever drinks it.

Which publisher released Eldest in hardcover, having earlier picked up the self-published first book?

Alfred A. Knopf learned of Paolini when the novelist Carl Hiaasen, whose stepson was reading the first book, tipped off his own publisher.

Which wild mountain range do Roran's villagers cross on foot to reach the coast in Eldest?

The Spine is the untamed range that splits the Empire in two, and beyond it the fugitives reach the sea and hire three barges.