Inheritance Group Spork: Chapter Twenty-Five

[pangolin20]

7th_y wrote in Antishurtugal, 2012-03-02 18:30:00

MOOD: sick


Inheritance Spork - Chapter 25: A Hearth-to-Hearth



This chapter starts just were the other left, with Arya and Eragon training. They fight two more times with no clear winner, just to rub of more the fact that Eragon is now Arya equal. Because really, all that you need to match 100 years of training is a dead dragon saying some random things that either a) Are so obvious that you should already know or b) Don’t make any sense. Though to be fair the whole series can be summed as a series of events that are either painfully obvious or illogical to the extreme, so I guess that this development is to be expected.

Eragon and Arya are so tired after the last duel that they have to rest for a while to be able to stand and walk. Which doesn’t make sense, since someone that is unable to stand and walk is also unable to fight. Then they pick energy from Saphira and heal their more painful injures, and return the ruined shield, that in no point until now were described as ruined, to the Varden weapon master, Fedric, that gives them a lecture about not destroying equipment. I like Fedric, because he makes sense. They are in a war and are supposedly short on money, so they don’t have money to spare and making shields costs money. Also he lectures Eragon about something that he did wrong and is neither evil nor proven wrong, so I like him.

After picking out new shields they go to Eragon’s tent, where Glaedr summoned then. When they arrive at the tent Nasuada is here, and wants to talk to them. She noticed that Glaedr woke up and wants to talk to him but is not sure if he wants to talk to her. And we get this:

“Ah, I knew it!” she exclaimed, sounding satisfied. Then her expression became uncertain. “May I speak with him? Is it … allowed, or will he only communicate with an elf or a Rider?”

Eragon hesitated and looked to Arya for guidance. “I don’t know,” he said. “He still hasn’t entirely recovered. He may not want to—”

So he recovered enough to teach the Secret Lore of Fighting but not enough to have a conversation with the leader of the movement that he supports? How that works? Oh wait, it doesn’t, it is just something that Paolini wrote on a failed attempt to make his characters seen concerned with Glaedr condition. But anyway it is all dropped because Glaedr goes and talk with Nasuada. Eragon answer by pointing to a patch of dirt by his bed.

Wait, hold on. Glaedr was all that time in a patch of dirt by Eragon’s bed, inside a box if memory serves. And said bed is in a tent only god knows how far from the training camp. And still, somehow, Glaedr noticed that Eragon was going to throw his sword. Right. I will try not to dwell too much into this, because I like my sanity.

Glaedr and Nasuada talk about how to defeat Dras-Leona and they come to no conclusion. It is all really boring, though, and nothing important happens. Indeed it is so boring that I started playing FreeCell, which is to say something. They talk, come to the conclusion that there is no way that they can take the city now.

Eragon goes, sits on his cot, while Arya sits on a short, three-legged stool, and wipes his palms on the knees of his trousers, because his hands feel sticky, as do the rest of him. Really

Eragon relaxed somewhat as he sat on his cot, while Arya seated herself on a short, three-legged stool. He wiped his palms on the knees of his trousers—for his hands felt sticky, as did the rest of him

Now why do we need to know that Arya is on a three legged stool, and that Eragon wipes his palms on the knees of his trousers? Does it means that later on Arya will explain why only three legs are needed and sometimes four legs don’t work, and that the knees of Eragon trousers will fall because he wiped his hands on it? And later on he will use the knowledge that only 3 points are needed to form a plane to wipe his hand in Galbatorix’s face and make it fall? Because if it didn’t this was completely unneeded (Bonus points by the fact that Eragon wiping Galbatorix face to defeat him is a marginally better fight than the one that happened. At least it would be funny.).

Eragon gives Arya some water, they drink, he is hungry but instead of asking Glaedr for a dinner break he just hopes that when the lesson ends there will still be warm food left. It’s a good thing that Eragon is not in charge, because if he was the only thing that everyone would be sitting on their thumbs and hoping that Galbatorix would die someday.

After the Rider and the elf drink their water Glaedr starts the mental training. First he says the theory then starts practicing. And the innuendos start appearing.

Glaedr started by testing Eragon’s defenses with attacks of ever-increasing strength, which then led to them engaging in all-out battles where they each struggled to obtain dominance, even if for only a moment, over the other’s thoughts.

Eragon loses and ends up being dominated by Glaedr, but it was only because he was tired of his activities with Arya beforehand. Glaedr makes some allowances for his condition, but says that he needs to be ready at any time, even while sleeping, because he can be attacked at any time, and he will most likely Galbatorix or Murtagh as tired as he is now.

After two more bouts, Glaedr gives his place to Arya. Arya is much better than Eragon in this kind of fights. Apparently it’s because she is an elf, and elves are just better. And we get a description of Arya x Eragon fight:

He and Arya wrestled with their minds for a few minutes —he seeking to escape her all-encompassing grip, she seeking to pin and hold him so that she could impose her will on his thoughts. She caught him several times, but he always wiggled free after a second or two, though he knew, had she meant him harm, it would have been too late to save himself.

And the whole time their minds were touching, Eragon was aware of the wild strains of music that wafted through the dark spaces of Arya’s consciousness. They lured him away from his own body and threatened to snare him in a web of strange and eerie melodies that had no counterparts among earthly songs. He would have happily succumbed to the bewitchment of the music had it not been for the distraction of Arya’s attacks and the knowledge that humans did not often fare well if they became too fascinated with the workings of an elf’s mind. He might escape unscathed. He was a Rider, after all. He was different. But it was a risk he was not willing to take, not so long as he valued his sanity. He had heard that delving into Blödhgarm’s mind had reduced Nasuada’s guard Garven to a slack-jawed dreamer.

So he resisted the temptation, hard as it was.

So she is seeking pin and hold him so that she can impose her will, eh? And she lets him free without doing anything because she doesn’t mean it, eh? And he is aware of the sounds that waft through Arya’s dark spaces, eh? And those sounds threaten to take him away of his own body and trap him on a place above the earth, eh? And he wants to go but Arya doesn’t let he in, and also he is afraid of how it could be with an elf, eh? And while it might not affect him because he is also not as human as he was before, there is still a risk that he will end up only dreaming about what happened here, so he has to resist the temptation, eh? I guess Paolini just give a new definition to mind fuck.

Afterward Glaedr has Saphira join the fray, sometimes against Arya, fending she off with easy and even subduing her one or two times, sometimes against Eragon, making he curls on a tight ball like a wounded animal (A comparison that doesn’t make that much sense, because I have yet to see an animal curling in a tight ball when wounded.) and reciting poetry until the end of the attack.

To close with a golden key Glaedr have then pair off, he with Arya, Eragon with Saphira, to fight as two Riders would fight in battle. All that I can see though is Eragon and Saphira fighting in a mental duel that sounds like something else against their crushes, both actual and former, what makes my mind g to even darker places than it was before.

In the end Eragon and Saphira loses, because Glaedr and Arya are older, stronger and everyone would rage if Eragon proved to be better than thou two chapters in a row, so he will beat them in a later chapter, most likely. Glaedr is no on a good mood though, because he thinks that even with all his protagonist powers Eragon will have no chance against Galbatorix, because they don’t have enough time to teach everything that Eragon needs to know in order to win. To Glaedr’s concerns Eragon answer this:

Then we will learn what we can and let fate decide the rest, said Eragon. Besides, Galbatorix may have had a hundred years to train his mind, but it has also been over a hundred years since you last taught him. He’s sure to have forgotten something in the interim. With you helping us, I know we can beat him.

Just hoping for the best and letting fate do his thing. That is the Eragon that we all know and hate.

Glaedr is pleased with Eragon and says that his tongue grew smother. Even though nothing of what he said is really that smother. Then Glaedr admonishes then to eat and sleep and withdraw himself to his gem-like thingy.

Eragon, Saphira and Arya discuss Glaedr‘s state. They agree that he is better than before, and that he is special for functioning rationally after losing his soul-mate and dying. Eragon also says that Brom was special too, because he kept going after losing Saphira, and Arya concurs. No one talk about Galbatorix, even though he is sane enough to rule an Empire during over a hundred years and keep the things running, with the only group rising against him being formed by a guy blind of hate. But he is evil and the text says that he is crazy, so I guess it’s expected that they don’t talk about Galbatorix.

They proceed and discuss whether or not Glaedr will want to keep living after Galbatorix is dead. Saphira and Eragon wants him too, but Arya says that it’s his choice, and uses logic again.

“I do not want him to die. No elf does. However, if every waking moment is a torment to him, then won’t it be better for him to seek release?”

Neither Eragon nor Saphira had an answer for her.

I’m starting to like Arya, because she says things that make sense. Also I’m starting to hate Eragon even more because he has to wonder if a Fate Worse Than Death is worse than death or not.

After their discussion Saphira lefts leaving Eragon and Arya to talk about something that may be significant. And it is what they will do after the war is over.

Eragon wants to build a home in the Palancar Valley, to have a place to call home when he and Saphira aren’t flying from one side to another. He also says that there will be plenty of things for him to do once Galbatorix is dead, so he has no problem with things to do in the future.

On other hand Arya will keep being the ambassador of the elves, because she doesn’t want to spend her whole life with the älfakyn, which is the name of the elves in the ancient language that never came up until now, and because there will be plenty of things too in order to make the world a just place even if they defeat Galbatorix.

After that Arya quickly makes her excuses and leaves, probably because she doesn’t want to spend too much time alone with her stalker. Eragon tries to stop her but she simply says “Good night, Eragon” without even looking to him. I like Arya because she keeps fighting against Paolini’s love subplot. It almost give me hope that they won’t stay together by the end.

After this Arya leaves Eragon sitting alone in the dark and the chapter ends.

12 comments

[1]

lupus753
March 2 2012, 22:23:01 UTC
Now I want to see a battle scene where wiping one's hands turned out to be integral to one's victory. I should send a letter to Intelligent Systems asking for it to be in the next Fire Emblem game.

[1A]

distinctvaguens
March 2 2012, 22:42:19 UTC
*Two opponents in battle*

"YOU SEE!! By wiping my hands and my pants, I built up static electricity! AND NOW! You are in my trap!"

"What?!"

"The room is filled with a gas which will ignite with a single jolt! I knew you cast a spell preventing further spells from being cast... so I wiped my PANTS!!!"

"The explosion will destroy us both!!!"

"No! The gem on my necklace will protect me. BUT NOT YOU! I is as mother said to me as a child! DON'T! FORGET! TO! WIPE!"

*pokes opponent*
*giant explosion*

[1B]

likelolwhat
March 5 2012, 04:41:17 UTC
That would be most amusing.

Also, huzzah for FE! I love those games. <3

[2]

jaeten
March 2 2012, 22:27:52 UTC
"älfakyn"...? Um, Chris, how would you propose we pronounce your made-up word, particularly the last 2 syllables? "That Arya is such an älfakyn tease" ;)

Nice spork! Look forward to more, lots of awful chapters to go

[2A]

lupus753
March 2 2012, 22:32:21 UTC
I assume it is pronounced like in Finnish (for instance): alf-fuh-koon (rather, the last vowel would be a combination of "u" and "e" - much like the first vowel is a combo of "a" and "e").

[2B]

charlottehywd
March 3 2012, 01:19:34 UTC
I originally misread it as alfalfakyn or something like that. Wow...

[2B1]
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[2B1A]

mage_apprentice
March 3 2012, 04:27:36 UTC
Now that you mention alfalfa . . .
Celestia: Bleeehhh! Alfalfa monster!
Luna: Gross! lol

[2C]

torylltales
March 3 2012, 02:23:00 UTC Edited: March 3 2012, 02:23:35 UTC
It's clearly meant to be a "special" and "mystical" respelling of the two English words, "elf" and "kin". "kin" meaning "family".

etymology: O.E. elf, aelf, ylfe, P.Gmc. *albiz; and O.E. cynn, P.Gmc. *kunjam.
Basically, Paolini failing at linguistics, as always.

[2C1]
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[2C1A]

torylltales
March 3 2012, 22:44:41 UTC
Sorry, i should have said "Proto-Germanic". There are a dozen or more languages with a very similar word for 'elf', and very similar words for 'kin', derived from the (theoretical) base Proto-Germanic.

Paolini takes words from anywhere within the European family and changes the spelling slightly, or adds some extra diacritics. That's how he creates a language.

[2C2]

Anonymous
March 3 2012, 17:37:49 UTC
The modern Swedish Word "Älva" is the female counterpart of "Alv"/"Alf", which in turn is derived from the same word as your English "Elf". Oldish Swedish also made little difference between F and V, or rather could use them almost interchangeably. So there's definitely a connection there.

"Kyn" is obviously "Kin", so no mysteries there. "Elfkin".

Also I am disappoint in you for not knowing how "Ä" is pronounced :P

/Your friendly neighbourhood bulbous root

[2C2A]

torylltales
March 3 2012, 22:48:12 UTC
That's interesting. I hadn't noticed/known about the Swedish connection. Possibly because I was looking more to historical sources, which is what Paolini usually does. E.g. Old Saxon 'alf', Old Norse 'alfr', and so on.

[2C2A1]

Anonymous
March 4 2012, 00:51:00 UTC
Hehe, I was actually supposed to respond to 7th_y's post above, but I must've gotten them mixed up - the point which I in my usually unfocused way forgot to end up at was supposed to be that once again, Paolini seems to be a lot more "inspired", if you know what I mean, by modern Scandinavian languages than by any sort of "Old Norse" or anything like that.