| |
The Immortality of Riders
This was the
subject of an email I recently received from Nick. Here is his email:
“Donna, I’m confused about the whole riders being immortal deal. I know that
they can be poisoned or killed in battle, but other than that, they're supposed
to live forever? In Eragon, Eragon has his fortune read to him by the witch
Angela, who tells him he has a very long lifeline. I've also heard of the lives
of Riders referred to as extremely lengthy. However, having an extraordinarily
long life is not the same thing as being immortal. If Eragon is never poisoned
or killed in battle, will he live forever? Also, they talked about the ancient
breeding grounds of the dragons and how they went there to mate and to
eventually die. Do all dragons die eventually or just wild dragons, because if
so, Eragon could live forever and Saphira would eventually die no matter
what??? If you could shed some light on my confusion, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks, Nick”
All very
good questions Nick. Let me start by saying that my answers are all from my own
perspective. I have no direct line to CP, so he could possibly answer your
questions in a different manner. However, having said that…this is what I
think.
Let’s start
with what Angela told Eragon. She said, in Eragon the Witch and the Werecat, pg
203-204, “The symbol on the bone was a long horizontal line with a circle
resting on it. Infinity or long life, said Angela quietly. This is the first
time I have ever seen it come up in someone’s future. Most of the time it’s the
aspen or the elm, both signs that a person will live a normal span of years.
Whether this means that you will live forever or that you will only have an
extraordinarily long life, I’m not sure. Whatever it foretells, you may be sure
that many years lie ahead of you.” It doesn’t appear that she wants to
commit to a definite answer one way or the other. But she doesn’t see his death
either, so that has to mean something. As she says though, she’s never seen
that combination come up in someone’s future, it could be that she’s just unsure
of how to interpret it. She’s probably never read the future of a rider
before.
Think about
it this way, in becoming linked to Saphira through the magic, he has gained the
“POSSIBILITY” of being immortal. We know for a fact that Riders are not
immortal beyond all measures, meaning that there are in fact ways that they can
be killed as you’ve stated in your email. Riders are normal people with normal
life spans unless they become linked to a dragon. It’s that link of magic that
creates the possibility for immortality.
Now, does
that link also provide dragons with the same “immortal” tag? I think so. An
example of this would be Glaedr and Master Oromis. I think dragons, like their
riders, gain the possibility for immortality upon becoming linked. That would
explain why dragons born in the wild at some point died. The same is true of
riders though…without a link being established to a dragon, they are just normal
people and they would eventually die also.
Does that
mean that if either Eragon or Saphira are killed will the other one continue to
live forever? Again, I think so. Brom lived after his Saphira was killed; even
Galbatorix lived after his 1st dragon was killed. So what about the
reverse? What about those dragons who survived their riders being killed? Are
they still alive? I would think so. You see it’s the magic link that was
established or “activated” if you will that created the possibility of
immortality in the rider and I don’t think that the magic would be
discriminatory in giving that possibility for immortality to only one side of
this union. Life is life regardless of whether it’s a person’s life or a
dragon’s life. They are set up by destiny to be the guardians of right. They
are a pair…part of each other.
Since we’re
thinking about the lives of dragons and the existence of those dragons of old,
I’d like to briefly talk about this subject, because it’s something I’ve been
thinking about. Having said that, the next natural question is, then where are
all these live dragons at? I’m so glad you asked me that question! I think
they are in the Spine hiding out.
In Eragon,
Palancar Valley, pg 9, “The Spine was one of the only places that King
Galbatorix could not call his own. Stories were still told about how half his
army disappeared after marching into its ancient forest. A cloud of misfortune
and bad luck seemed to hang over it. Though the trees grew tall and the sky
shone brightly, few people could stay in the Spine for long without suffering an
accident. Eragon was one of those few-not through any particular gift, it
seemed to him, but because of persistent vigilance and sharp reflexes. He had
hiked in the mountains for years, yet he was still wary of them. Every time he
thought they had surrendered their secrets, something happened to upset his
understanding of them-like the stone’s appearance”.
I don’t
remember reading the same thing happening to ordinary people who ventured
through the Spine…all the soldiers just disappeared, so why did that happen?
That got me to thinking that the surviving dragons are hiding out in the Spine
and taking out their revenge when the opportunity presents itself, laying low
waiting for the time when they can exact their true revenge on the king for
killing their riders.
So then why
was Eragon so comfortable in the Spine when noone else was? It talks about how
Eragon was unafraid in the Spine in Eragon, Discovery pg 6, “The deer had led
him deep into the Spine, a range of untamed mountains that extended up and down
the land of Alagaesia. Strange tales and men often came from those mountains,
usually boding ill. Despite that, Eragon did not fear the Spine-he was the only
hunter near Carvahall who dared track game deep into its craggy recesses”.
I think it’s
because he was always destined to become the next Dragonrider…it’s his
Inheritance. In the paragraph above it references on pg 9 in Eragon how
“Eragon was one of those few – not through any particular gift, it seemed
to him…” I’m going to reference this back to a previous editorial.
Because Eragon is the child of a rider…he inherited a portion of the rider trait
no matter how small, even if it’s just a hint of a rider. The surviving dragons
would never attack him sensing that rider trait in him. Just because Eragon
didn’t understand it, doesn’t’ mean that the dragons couldn’t sense it. And
since he was destined to become linked to a dragon himself, why would the
presence of dragons (even if they are well hidden)…why would that feel ominous
to him? It wouldn’t, that’s why he had “no fear”.
Well Nick, I hope that
answered your questions…they aren’t just simple yes or no answers I know, …but I
like to talk a lot.
|
|
Legal Disclaimer
Legal Disclaimer: Shadeslayer.com is an unofficial
Inheritance fan site. We did not create Eragon or any other
characters in the Inheritance Cycle. We have no direct
contact with Christopher Paolini, his agents, Random House Press, Fox 2000
or any other related parties.
All content © Shadeslayer.com 2005-2008, unless stated otherwise.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or
concerns.
Shadeslayer.com
is non-commercial and hosts advertisements only to pay
for hosting, contests and other website-related expenses.
Layout Design by
Xaler Studios
PHP Scripting
and Coding by Erica
|
