3-Brisingr-3 (103 page)

As the sun warmed Eragon through his armor, his melancholy gradually dissipated like the wreaths of mist that adorned the rivers below. He took a deep breath and exhaled, relaxing his muscles.

No,
he said,
we are not alone. I have you, and you have me. And there is Arya and Nasuada and
Orik, and many others besides who will help us along our way
.

And Glaedr too,
said Saphira.

Aye.

Eragon gazed down at the Eldunarí that lay covered within his arms and felt a rush of sympathy and protectiveness toward the dragon who was trapped inside the heart of hearts. He hugged the stone closer to his chest and laid a hand upon Saphira, grateful for their companionship.

We can do this,
he thought.
Galbatorix isn’t invulnerable. He has a weakness, and we can use that
weakness against him. . . . We can do this
.

We can, and we must,
said Saphira.

For the sake of our friends and our family—

—and for the rest of Alagaësia—

—we must do this.

Eragon lifted Glaedr’s Eldunarí over his head, presenting it to the sun and the new day, and he smiled, eager for the battles yet to come, so that he and Saphira might finally confront Galbatorix and kill the dark king.

HEREENDS THETHIRDBOOK

OF THEINHERITANCECYCLE.

THESTORYWILLCONTINUE ANDCONCLUDE

INBOOKFOUR.

THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2008 by Christopher Paolini

Illustrations on endpapers,Maps copyright © 2002 by Christopher Paolini. All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Visit us on the Web!

www.alagaesia.com

www.randomhouse.com/teens

Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools,

visit us atwww.randomhouse.com/teachers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Paolini, Christopher.

Brisingr, or, The seven promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and

Saphira Bjartskular / Christopher Paolini. —1st ed.

p. cm. — (Inheritance ; bk. 3)

Summary: The further adventures of Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, as they continue to aid the Varden in the struggle against the evil king, Galbatorix.

eISBN: 978-0-375-89141-0

[1. Fantasy. 2. Dragons—Fiction. 3. Youth’s writings.] I. Title. II. Title: Seven promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular. III. Title: Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular. IV. Title: Saphira Bjartskular.

PZ7.P19535Bri 2008

[Fic]—dc22

2008024489

Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

v1.0

As always, this book is for my family.

And also for Jordan, Nina, and Sylvie,

the bright lights of a new generation.

Atra esterní ono thelduin.

BRISINGR

ON THEORIGIN OFNAMES:

To the casual observer, the various names an intrepid traveler will encounter throughout Alagaësia might seem but a random collection of labels with no inherent integrity, culture, or history. However, as with any land that different cultures—and in this case, different species—have repeatedly colonized, Alagaësia acquired names from a wide array of unique sources, among them the languages of the dwarves, elves, humans, and even Urgals. Thus, we can have Palancar Valley (a human name), the Anora River and Ristvak’baen (elven names), and Utgard Mountain (a dwarf name) all within a few square miles of each other.

While this is of great historical interest, practically it often leads to confusion as to the correct pronunciation. Unfortunately, there are no set rules for the neophyte. You must learn each name upon its own terms, unless you can immediately place its language of origin. The matter grows even more confusing when you realize that in many places the resident population altered the spelling and pronunciation of foreign words to conform to their own language. The Anora River is a prime example.

Originally
anora
was spelled
äenora,
which means
broad
in the ancient language. In their writings, the humans simplified the word to
anora,
and this, combined with a vowel shift wherein
äe
(ay-eh) was said as the easier
a
(uh), created the name as it appears in Eragon’s time.

To spare readers as much difficulty as possible, I have compiled the following list, with the understanding that these are only rough guidelines to the actual pronunciation. The enthusiast is encouraged to study the source languages in order to master their true intricacies.

PRONUNCIATION:

Ajihad—AH-zhi-hod

Alagaësia—al-uh-GAY-zee-uh

Arya—AR-ee-uh

Blödhgarm—BLAWD-garm

Brisingr—BRISS-ing-gur

Carvahall—CAR-vuh-hall

Dras-Leona—DRAHS-lee-OH-nuh

Du Weldenvarden—doo WELL-den-VAR-den

Ellesméra—el-uhs-MEER-uh

Eragon—EHR-uh-gahn

Farthen Dûr—FAR-then DURE (
dure
rhymes with
lure
) Galbatorix—gal-buh-TOR-icks

Gil’ead—GILL-ee-id

Glaedr—GLAY-dur

Hrothgar—HROTH-gar

Islanzadí—iss-lan-ZAH-dee

Jeod—JODE (rhymes with
load
)

Murtagh—MUR-tag (
mur
rhymes with
purr
)

Nasuada—nah-soo-AH-dah

Nolfavrell—NOLL-fah-vrel (
noll
rhymes with
toll
) Oromis—OR-uh-miss

Ra’zac—RAA-zack

Saphira—suh-FEAR-uh

Shruikan—SHREW-kin

Sílthrim—SEAL-thrim (
síl
is a hard sound to transcribe; it’s made by flicking the tip of the tongue off the roof of the mouth)

Skgahgrezh—skuh-GAH-grezh

Teirm—TEERM

Trianna—TREE-ah-nuh

Tronjheim—TRONJ-heem

Urû’baen—OO-roo-bane

Vrael—VRAIL

Yazuac—YAA-zoo-ack

Zar’roc—ZAR-rock

THEANCIENTLANGUAGE:

Adurna rïsa.—Water, rise.

Agaetí Blödhren—Blood-oath Celebration (held once a century to honor the original pact between elves and dragons)

älfa-kona—elf woman

Äthalvard—an organization of elves dedicated to the preservation of their songs and poems Atra du evarínya ono varda, Däthedr-vodhr.—May the stars watch over you, honored Däthedr.

Atra esterní ono thelduin, Eragon Shur’tugal.—May good fortune rule over you, Eragon Dragon Rider.

Atra guliä un ilian tauthr ono un atra ono waíse sköliro fra rauthr.—May luck and happiness follow you and may you be shielded from misfortune.

audr—up

Bjartskular—Brightscales

Blödhgarm—Bloodwolf

brisingr—fire

Brisingr, iet tauthr.—Fire, follow me.

Brisingr raudhr!—Red fire!

deyja—die

draumr kópa—dream stare

dröttningu—princess

Du deloi lunaea.—Smooth the earth/dirt.

Du Namar Aurboda—The Banishing of the Names

Du Vrangr Gata—The Wandering Path

edur—a tor or prominence

Eka eddyr aí Shur’tugal . . . Shur’tugal . . . Argetlam.—I am a Dragon Rider . . . Dragon Rider . . .

Silver Hand.

Eka elrun ono.—I thank you.

elda—a gender-neutral honorific suffix of great praise, attached with a hyphen Eldhrimner O Loivissa nuanen, dautr abr deloi/Eldhrimner nen ono weohnataí medh solus un thringa/Eldhrimner un fortha onr fëon vara/Wiol allr sjon.—Grow, O beautiful Loivissa, daughter of the earth/Grow as you would with sun and rain/Grow and put forth your flower of spring/For all to see.

Eldunarí—the heart of hearts

Erisdar—the flameless lanterns both the elves and the dwarves use (named after the elf who invented them)

faelnirv—elven liqueur

fairth—a picture taken by magical means on a shingle of slate

fell—mountain

finiarel—an honorific suffix for a young man of great promise, attached with a hyphen flauga—fly

fram—forward

Fricai onr eka eddyr.—I am your friend.

gánga—go Garjzla, letta!—Light, stop!

gedwëy ignasia—shining palm

Helgrind—The Gates of Death

Indlvarn—a certain type of pairing between a Rider and dragon jierda—break; hit könungr—king

Kuldr, rïsa lam iet un malthinae unin böllr.—Gold, rise to my hand and bind into an orb.

kveykva—lightning

lámarae—a fabric made by cross-weaving wool and nettle threads (similar in construction to linsey-woolsey, but of higher quality)

letta—stop

Liduen Kvaedhí—Poetic Script

loivissa—a blue, deep-throated lily that grows in the Empire

maela—quiet

naina—make bright

nalgask—a mixture of beeswax and hazelnut oil used to moisten the skin Nen ono weohnata, Arya Dröttningu.—As you will, Princess Arya.

seithr—witch

Shur’tugal—Dragon Rider

slytha—sleep

Stenr rïsa!—Stone, rise!

svit-kona—a formal honorific for an elf woman of great wisdom

talos—a cactus found near Helgrind

thaefathan—thicken

Thorta du ilumëo!—Speak the truth!

vakna—awaken

vodhr—a male honorific suffix of middling praise, attached with a hyphen Waíse heill!—Be healed!

yawë—a bond of trust

THEDWARFLANGUAGE:

Ascûdgamln—fists of steel

Az Knurldrâthn—The Trees of Stone

Az Ragni—The River

Az Sartosvrenht rak Balmung, Grimstnzborith rak Kvisagûr—The Saga of King Balmung of
Kvisagûr

Az Sindriznarrvel—The Gem of Sindri

barzûl—curse someone with ill fate

delva—a term of endearment among the dwarves; also a form of gold nodule indigenous to the Beor Mountains that the dwarves greatly prize

dûr—our

dûrgrimst—clan (literally, “our hall,” or “our home”)

dûrgrimstvren—clan war

eta—no

Eta! Narho ûdim etal os isû vond! Narho ûdim etal os formvn mendûnost brakn, az Varden, hrestvog dûr grimstnzhadn! Az Jurgenvren qathrid né dômar oen etal—No! I will not let that happen! I will not let these beardless fools, the Varden, destroy our country. The Dragon War left us weak and not—

Fanghur—dragon-like creatures that are smaller and less intelligent than their cousins (native to the Beor Mountains)

Farthen Dûr—Our Father

Feldûnost—frostbeard (a species of goat native to the Beor Mountains) Gáldhiem—Bright/shining head

Ghastgar—spear-throwing contest akin to jousting and fought on the backs of Feldûnost grimstborith—clan chief (literally, “hall chief ”; plural is
grimstborithn
) grimstcarvlorss—arranger of the house