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Brom (inheritance)




In the movie of Eragon being produced in 2006, Brom is played by Jeremy Irons .


ROLE IN ERAGON

In '' Eragon '', Brom is first introduced in the guise of a wizened storyteller. When Eragon discovers a dragon egg and the baby dragon inside chooses to hatch for him, Eragon asks Brom for suggestions of good names for dragons. Eragon and his dragon later agree on the name Saphira , without understanding the significance of the name.

Saphira's existence puts Eragon and his family in great danger from the king's servants, for the evil King Galbatorix , also a Dragon Rider, covets the dragon eggs. When Eragon's uncle Garrow is murdered by creatures known as the Ra'zac ), Eragon and Saphira are forced to flee Carvahall and Palancar Valley. Brom accompanies them on their quest to find and destroy the Ra'zac. Along the way, he educates Eragon in the utilization of the magical powers bestowed upon a Dragon Rider, and the art of Swordsmanship . In the port city of Teirm , Eragon shamefully reveals that he is illiterate. Brom consequently takes it upon himself to teach Eragon to read.

They finally find the Ra'zac, but are ambushed and must escape. When Eragon, Saphira, and Brom are captured by the Ra'zac, a brave young stranger named Murtagh rescues them, but not before one of the Ra'zac throws a dagger at Eragon. Brom sacrifices himself to save Eragon, jumping into the dagger's path.

Before dying, Brom reveals to Eragon that he was once a Dragon Rider himself, and that he was friend of Morzan , first and last of the Forsworn. His own dragon, also named Saphira1, was killed in the battle of Doru Areaba.

Eragon and Saphira create a beautiful diamond memorial for Brom on top of a hill near Dras Leona , the city in which the Ra'zac had been hiding. Saphira uses her own magic to turn Brom's tomb into sparkling diamond so that Brom's body will not be ravaged by time. Using magic, Eragon sculpted runes into the original sandstone before the tomb became diamond:

HERE LIES BROM
Who was a Dragon Rider
And like a father
To me.
May his name live on in glory.

1Author Christopher Paolini confirmed in a March 2006 interview that Brom's Saphira was also a blue female.


BACKGROUND

In '' Eldest '', while under the tutelage of the ancient elf Dragon Rider, Oromis , and Oromis's massive gold dragon, Glaedr , Eragon and Saphira learn more about Brom's past. Oromis had taught Brom and Morzan both. Morzan, however, later became corrupted by his lust for power and betrayed the Riders. Murtagh later reveals that Morzan was his father, as well as Eragon's father.

Brom came from a family of illuminators in Kuasta , a remote city near the sea, far south of Carvahall. His mother was Nelda and his father Holcomb. Kuasta was so isolated by the Spine that it became a peculiar place, full of strange customs and superstitions. When he was new to Ilirea (Urû'baen), Brom would knock on a door frame three time before entering or exiting a room. Eventually, he abandoned the practice, along with his other habits. During their tutelage under Oromis, Brom idolized Morzan, tagged after him, and always considered Morzan's actions to be the right thing to do. Morzan often took advantage of Brom's unflagging admiration.

Galbatorix had Brom's dragon, the original Saphira, put to death in front of Brom's very eyes. Oddly enough, Galbatorix himself lost his own dragon when he and his friends were ambushed by Urgals in the night, and his dragon's death drove Galbatorix insane.

Driven nearly insane by grief and loss of identity (as dragon and Rider are deeply connected from the dragon's birth onwards), Brom swore to take revenge on the person he blamed for his dragon's death: Morzan. Taking place with the elves on the plains of Ilirea to defeat Galbatorix but he had to fall back. After the creation of the independent country of Surda , Brom sought to use the turmoil to his advantage. He founded the rebel group known as the Varden by gathering and merging groups opposed to Galbatorix. He led them for a few years, and then surrendered the position to another in order to pursue his true passion, Morzan's downfall. His fervor led him to a Teirm-based scholar named Jeod Longshanks , who claimed to have discovered a passage into Urû'baen. Brom and Jeod organized the successful theft of one of the three remaining dragon eggs, all of which were in Galbatorix's possession. They raced against the Forsworn and Ra'zac for the eggs, eventually coming to Gil'ead. There, Brom personally killed three of the Forsworn (one being Morzan) and was responsible for the death of five others.

Eragon and Saphira, who are shaken to hear that Eragon was Morzan's son, later suspect (as revealed in ''Eldest'') that Brom came to Carvahall after Morzan's death in order to keep an eye on Eragon, so as to prevent the boy from becoming like his father (Murtagh's existence was kept secret from everyone except Galbatorix). In ''Eragon'', however, it is evident that Brom is fond of young Eragon. When Eragon and Brom stay in Jeod's house in Teirm (Saphira hides outside the city), Eragon meets a witch named Angela next door, who tells him Brom has led a cursed life, always meaning good and inadvertently ruining things through no fault of his own. From various sources, such as Angela and later Oromis, Eragon learns that Brom has suffered the losses of people close to him, including his blue dragon Saphira and a woman who lost her life because Brom loved her.

When Eragon, Saphira and Brom flee Carvahall, Brom expresses his gratitude that he lived to see the legend of the Dragon Riders reborn. In their flight from Carvahall, Brom is wounded in an encounter with Urgals, and Eragon insists that Brom ride Saphira as she can protect him better than Brom's stallion can. When Brom protests - no one should mount a dragon except its Rider - Saphira gently lifts Brom up and sets him carefully in her saddle, Eragon fastens him to it and Saphira spreads her wings and takes flight. This is Brom's first ride on dragonback since the original Saphira's death, and the last one before he is killed.


RUMOR: "ERAGON'S FATHER?"


There is a persistent rumor that Eragon may in fact be Brom's son, not Morzan's.

  • Although Murtagh told Eragon in the ancient language that Eragon is Morzan's son (and you cannot lie in the ancient language without dying), it still needn't be true. Murtagh would have been able to make this statement simply because he ''believed'' it to be true.


  • Eragon being Brom's son fits in with the pattern of "inheritance", the theme of the trilogy. Morzan served Galbatorix, rode a red dragon and wielded Zar'roc. Murtagh is forced into Galbatorix's service, Murtagh is chosen by a red dragon and he gets the matching ruby blade Zar'roc. On the other hand, Brom rode a blue female named Saphira, and Eragon also rides a blue female named Saphira. Brom helps found the Varden and battles the Empire; Eragon swears allegiance to the Varden's leader and also battles the Empire.


  • Solembum the Werecat has told Eragon that if needs a weapon, he should look under the roots of th Menoa tree. Many believe that Brom's sapphire sword is there. This is further reinforced by the fact that Brom pleaded with the Riders' forger, Rhunon (who lives in the elf capital near the Menoa tree) to forge a new sword to replace the one he had lost. It is interesting that Brom's sword is described as ''lost'', not ''destroyed'', when Rhunon says Galbatorix destroyed most of the Riders' swords.


  • Angela tells Eragon that a woman met her undoing because Brom had loved her. Selena, Eragon's mother, had her fortune told by Angela and learned that she had a bleak and tragic life to lead. If Selena was married to Morzan and had Murtagh with him, and then fell in love with Brom and had Eragon with him, it would explain why Selena tried to hide Eragon from Morzan. It would also fuel Brom's hatred for Morzan. This would explain why Brom choose Carvahall to live in in his solitude - Selena's old home, and where her boy (and maybe his?) was being raised.


  • The famous riddle of Blagden's:


''While two may share two''
''And one of two is certainly one,''
''One might be two.''

By adding in left out words, the riddle can read two ways:

1.
''While two men may share two '''sons''',''
''And one lover of two '''men''' is certainly one,''
''One woman might be two '''lovers'''.''

2.
''While two men may share two '''sons''',''
''And one mother of two '''sons''' is certainly one,''
''One woman might be two '''mothers'''.''

  • Another piece of "evidence" for the Brom-Eragon theory are the two "father-son" comparisons. Murtagh is connected to his father when Ajihad states the similarity between his and Morzan’s voice. The other comparison connects Eragon to Brom. Oromis tells Eragon that he is very much like Brom because he asks so many questions. Note that both references focus on vocal resemblance. Murtagh sounds like Morzan while Eragon sounds like Brom. Both boys are being compared to their (supposed) fathers.


  • When Angela tells Eragon (in the first book) about Brom's doomed lover, Eragon replies with, ''"Brom never mentioned a woman to me.".'' Earlier in same book when Eragon asked Brom how well he knew his mother, Brom said, ''"Well enough to miss her when she was gone."''


  • The most glaring clue, according to fans of this theory, is what Eragon etched into Brom's tombstone, saying that Brom was "like a father to me"


It remains to be seen if Book III of the trilogy confirms this rumor.