The Inheritance Cycle - Blog Posts
Thank you for putting this into such eloquent words! I also like how you present your takes on this @murtagh-thorn and @thearunadragon.
! I made an interesting realization just now in the shower! On a couple of occasions, Eragon and Nasuada suggest that Murtagh should act in the way Tornac would have as a way to change for the better and, ultimately, change his true name to free himself from Galbatorix and fight for them instead. Eragon insinuates this without directly mentioning Tornac: "Look at someone whom you admire but who has chosen paths other than your own through life and model your actions upon his." But in the context of Murtagh's backstory, this advice strongly evokes Tornac. And Nasuada outright names him: "Ask yourself: what would Tornac have wanted you to do?"
But that's a very curious demand for them to make because Murtagh is already emulating Tornac. Consider what we know about him. Tornac served Galbatorix, he would have had to for the king to entrust him with Murtagh's care. They lived in Uru'baen together as Murtagh grew up with Tornac raising him and he would have had to be in Galbatorix's service for all that time. Yet, he had no love for the king given that, when Murtagh wanted to abandon the Empire and flee, he was immediately ready to join him and help him leave that very same night. So he served the Empire for many years even though he had no true desire to be support them or the king, in order to provide the care and protection that Murtagh needed, until Murtagh was ready to make his own choice and take his own risk and Tornac turned his back on the king for him without hesitation.
That's exactly what Murtagh is doing. By yielding to Galbatorix and complying with his commands, Murtagh is doing the same thing for Thorn. He's bowed to this broad, great evil so he can look after the needs of an individual when no one else is willing nor able to. He does what he does to prevent Thorn from being tortured, to keep him from being broken, helpless against the king were Murtagh to abandon him. So he doesn't, the same way Tornac never abandoned him. And in the end, they rebel in a very similar way too. When Thorn is ready to carve his own path and fight for the right to claim his own life for the first time, and Murtagh wants to reclaim the life he desired but thought lost, they stand by each other and break free from Galbatorix.
For him to act the way that Tornac would requires that period of reluctant subservience so he can save the one he loves most. They ask Murtagh to follow Tornac's example, ignorant to the fact that the actions they so disapprove of are doing exactly that. And I wonder if this is a root of Murtagh's defining anger, an anger at Eragon and Nasuada's implication that the compromises that saved his own life and provided him much needed love and support through his childhood- the compromises that saved Thorn, the partner of his heart, when no one else (certainly no one from the Varden) would have helped him- were wrong. That they were immoral, they were not worth while, they were not enough, they fell short, they were wrong. Because such an implication is really a dismissal of Murtagh and Thorn's wellbeing- arguably of their lives.
This meme is perfect because Star Wars-obsessed kid me and El Droide used to imagine that Brom looked like Obi-Wan. XD
Brom: Ah Eragon, you remind me so much of your father when he was your age.
Eragon: You know my father?
Brom internally:
I guess dragon eggs aren’t only found in Alagaësia.
I can just see the hatchling. She might bond with someone from the first crew of astronauts who reaches the nebula if she doesn’t remain as a wild dragon. Since the picture is a false color image to show the nebula’s characteristics, our space hatchling wouldn't be pink but likely have bright white, glistening scales. Her temperament might be bold, wild, unpredictable, and even destructive at times like the cosmic forces she was born within. However, she would be steadfast and loyal like the enduring light of nebulae.
NGC 6164, Dragon's Egg
Book Character Playlist Tag Game!
The rules are simple. Share the song(s) that remind you of one character from the last book you read. Don't be shy! The crazier the better. :D
Then tag as many people as you want or open the game to anyone who wants to join!
My List
Murtagh Morzansson (Murtagh by Christopher Paolini):
Masquerade Suite: I. Waltz by Aram Ilyich Khachaturian
Believer by Imagine Dragons
Only You by Yazoo
El Droide's List
Jonathan Pine (The Night Manager by John le Carré)
Run Through the Jungle by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Tag List!
(no obligation!) @thearunadragon @galaxythreads @thelightofthingshopedfor @saphira-approves and anyone else who wants to join!
Reading any mentions of Murtagh's dancing skills is funny because I try to imagine him doing court dances, but because I've danced ballet for most of my life, I end up imagining him doing something crazy athletic like this
Whenever I try to study or do homework, I channel my inner Eragon and get distracted by ants.
Found this Murtagh playlist somebody else made. A lot of it is by Mumford and Sons and if you haven't listened to them you're doing yourself a disservice so go check this out!
↑ This is a YouTube playlist of all the songs I listed the other day, and I believe they're in order too. Hopefully this makes it easier for people to listen to these songs.
Here's a list of songs that I associate heavily with the characters of The Inheritance Cycle and why. I'm super open to discussions of these and other songs and how they relate to the story! I do plan on more posts of songs and such, and I'll probably make a YouTube playlist of them or something. (I added a tag just for Eragon song discussions to potentially make it easier to continue this thread of conversation)
Indestructible by Welshly Arms (Arya from Eragon's pov)
Work Song by Hozier (Brom after Selena died)
Two by Mother Mother (Murtagh, with hints of Eragon)
Sick of the Silence by Mother Mother (Murtagh, kinda iffy tho)
Weep by Mother Mother (everybody, they all got so much trauma, but especially Oromis, Gladier, and Brom about the fall)
Only Love by Mother Mother (Eragon and his feels for Arya)
I Got Love by Mother Mother (Eragon and Sapphira)
Girl Alone by Mother Mother (Arya at her lowest)
Terrible Things by Brick + Motor (Murtagh being a name slave, talking towards Eragon)
The Horror and the Wild by The Amazing Devil (Eragon, Arya, and Murtagh interchangeably, Roran too. Very hype)
Living Proof by Des Rocs (Brom's hype song, honestly)
You Can Run by Adam Jones (Brom hunting down Morzan)
To Be Alone by Hozier (Brom to Selena)
Oughta My Mind by Des Rocs (Roran being badass)
Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene by Hozier (Brom to Selena)
Youth by Glass Animals (Brom to Eragon, post death)
Aerials by System of a Down (Murtagh and Thorn, with well deserved angst)
Foreigner's God by Hozier (Brom's feelings about the fall and Selena, I especially like this song and it's correlation with Brom)
.lovemelikeyoudo. by Dead Poet Society (Selena to Morzan, the vibe of this song is how I imagine their relationship went)
My Name Is Human by Highly Suspect (Brom convincing Selena to turn against Morzan, as well as Brom's motivation to fight against the forsworn after the fall)