SEE ARCAENA.

The elite of the Urgal race, the Kull are bigger than the typical Urgal-an eight-foot-tall Kull is considered small. Though too heavy to ride an animal, they have a natural speed that allows them to run as fast as the swiftest steed, and their endurance allows them to do so for days, if necessary, and still be ready for battle. Nar Garzhvog is a Kull of the Bolvek tribe.

The dwarf who died protecting Eragon during the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt by the Az Sweldn rak Anhuin clan when Eragon was in Farthen Dur for the clanmeet to elect a new king.

SEE MORD, FAMILY OF.

An elf philosopher and scientist who has dedicated his life to exploring the truth of various scientific theories. Although considered mad by many, Ladin was exonerated when he proved the existence of a vacuum and won the respect of a powerful and influential science buff, King Orrin.

SEE VACHER.

An elf warrior whose stature as a Shadeslayer puts him in the rarefied company of Irnstad, Eragon, and Arya.

A delicate elven fabric created by cross-weaving the finest wool and nettle threads.

A decorated Varden warrior renowned for his ability to take on several opponents simultaneously on the field of battle.

The royal family of Surda, whose lineage includes Lady Marelda, King Larkin, King Orrin, and Thanebrand the Ring Giver.

The commander of a battalion in the Empire's army whose attempt to capture Eragon and Arya resulted in death for himself and his men.

The late king of Surda and father of King Orrin. Larkin is believed to have been the driving force behind Surda's pact with the Varden.

SEE SURDA.

Youngest son of Loring.

SEE SOLDIERS WHO CANNOT FEEL PAIN.

In dwarven culture, the inviolate rule that all guests be treated with kindness and respect. A brazen violation of this code was the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination of Eragon, a guest of a clanmeet, by agents of Durgrimst Az Sweldn rak Anhuin. Even though that clan had sworn a blood oath against Eragon, dwarves close to Eragon had a.s.sured him that the law of hospitality would not be broken.

SEE ANHUIN. SEE ALSO DWARF CLANS IN THE APPENDIX.

An epic of the elf race. During a sword duel in which Eragon bested his longtime tormentor Vanir, the defeated elf uttered one of the famous lines from The Lay of Umhodan: "How swift is your sword."

An epic of the elf race.

Kilf's necklace and a general term for necklace among the dwarf race.

SEE DELWIN.

When a Ra'zac matures, it sheds its exoskeleton and spreads its wings, emerging into its adult form: a Lethrblaka. The Lethrblaka can mate and continue the bloodline. A Lethrblaka's intelligence is comparable to that of a dragon. Their offspring use them as mounts. The Lethrblaka arrived in Alagaesia soon after the humans and may be what drove the humans from their own lands. During the rescue of Katrina, Saphira killed the two remaining Lethrblaka.

SEE RA'ZAC.

AN EARLY CONCEPT SKETCH OF A LETHRBLAKA BY CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI.

An elven vine bearing trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom in shades of pink and white. Found throughout Ellesmera, this flower was created by the elves through singing magic.

The elven system of writing; the name means "Poetic Script." This elegant script consists of forty-two different shapes, each representing a different sound.

An elf from Ceris.

A Varden man.

SEE MENOA TREE.

A female elf and spellcaster who resides in Du Weldenvarden. Liotha has chosen to alter her physical appearance to incorporate some of the physical attributes of a wolf, like her cousin and fellow magic wielder, Blodhgarm.

One of Surda's major cities. Lithgow's proximity to Aberon and Petrvya makes it an important center of commerce.

An ancient elf city within Silverwood Forest on the eastern coast of Lake Tudosten. Once the home of the late Dragon Rider Oromis, this city of legendary beauty has been erased by time.

A blue lily that grows within the borders of the Empire.

SEE FEINSTER.

A shoemaker in Carvahall and father of Larne, Darmmen, and Hamund. Loring was a leader in the village's defense, and his children were involved as watchmen and defenders during the Empire's siege. When all was lost, he and his family joined the townspeople on the dangerous journey to Surda. Loring's alias is "Wally."

An elf who had a premonition he would accidentally slay his own son in battle. To avoid that tragedy, Maerzadi killed himself. Arya recounted the story to Eragon as a cautionary tale to ill.u.s.trate that, short of killing oneself, it's difficult to avoid the future as seen in a premonition. Although elves have developed methods of reaching into the future, they have refined them to extract specific knowledge. The only experiment elven spellcasters made in "defeating time's enigmas," as Arya put it, was a disaster: their spell to scry into the past killed all the spellcasters. "Many avenues of magic have yet to be explored," Arya cautioned Eragon. "Take care not to lose yourself among them."

SEE MAGIC.

The name of a mythical female Urgal who wanted to become the mate of an Urgal who had shown his prowess by defeating twenty-seven other Urgals in wrestling matches, killing four. He had not selected a mate and wouldn't consider Maghara because of her ugliness. Maghara prayed to Rahna, G.o.ddess of Urgals, for the blessing of good looks and offered the G.o.ddess her firstborn son. Her prayer was answered, and she married and bore a son and named him Hegraz. On Hegraz's seventh birthday, Rahna appeared, demanding that Maghara fulfill her promise. Maghara battled the G.o.ddess but lost both her son and the gift of beauty. Hegraz was raised by Rahna and became one of the greatest of all Urgal warriors.

SEE RAHNA.

Alagaesia is a land imbued with magic. The most potent spells can literally shape the world, and their power can lie dormant for thousands of years. Rhunon used a spell to make her Dragon Rider swords never go dull or break; the singing spells of the elves make plants grow as they wish and form their very cities; the elves and dwarves employ magic to make the Erisdar lanterns glow.

Magic is a means to an end. To work their will, witches and wizards use potions and spells, while Riders use magic strengthened by their mystical bond with their dragon. Dragons have a unique, instinctual connection with magic that on occasion they channel with great power. The elves themselves are magical beings-"magic flows through their veins," Eragon once wrote-and dwarves are also known to have a vast knowledge of magic.

The ancient language provides a structure for the use of magic. It is possible to perform magic without vocalizing a spell, but this is incredibly dangerous and takes a magician of tremendous gifts. Using magic takes the same amount of energy from the user's body as it would to complete the task physically.

In a memory vision left for Eragon by Brom, the deceased Rider described magical combat as dependent on intelligence and casting a spell that an opponent does not suspect. As Brom observed: "In order to ensure victory, you have to figure out how your enemy interprets information and reacts to the world. Then you will know his weaknesses, and there you strike."

Varden leader Nasuada is uncomfortable with magic, although the Varden employ spellcasters and the command structure of the Varden has been trained in protecting their minds from the Empire's magicians. (It is also believed that espionage and intelligence, not a.s.sa.s.sination, are the major tools of such magic.) Nasuada has acknowledged to herself that at the heart of the current war is Galbatorix's abuse of magic to serve his destructive rise to power, and that magic will ultimately play a major role in bringing the corrupt king to justice.

SEE ANCIENT LANGUAGE, GREY FOLK, MINDBREAKERS, SORCERY, AND WILD MAGIC.

SEE RUNE.

SEE BYRD.

SEE BEOR MOUNTAINS.

A dwarf.

Lady Marelda, of the House of Langfeld, defeated Galbatorix's troops in a battle near the city of Cithri.

SEE GARROW.

A towering mountain near Gil'ead and Isenstar Lake.

The Earl of Thun and one of Nasuada's commanders. A dedicated and fearless warrior under whom Roran has served. After a battle against the virtually unstoppable soldiers who cannot feel pain (the laughing dead), an enemy whom Roran a.s.sumed had been killed lashed out with his sword as Martland walked across the corpse-covered battlefield, severing the commander's right hand. Despite the grievous wound, Martland kicked the sword out of the enemy soldier's hand, seized a knife in his good left hand, and killed him. Martland then insisted that his soldiers go about their tasks and pay him no concern. Martland has since retired from active combat but serves the Varden as a military strategist.

One of the shape-shifting race of werecats. Maud is also known as Quickpaw, The Dream Dancer, and The Watcher. Maud is the loyal companion of the elves and their ruler, Queen Islanzadi.

SEE WERECATS.

A small town near the southern border of the Empire and Surda, rumored to be coveted by the Varden.

The largest tree in the great forest of Du Weldenvarden, the Menoa tree is gigantic enough to allow a dragon to nestle in its branches. The tree is also a sentient female being with a glacial sense of time appropriate to a tree's long life, and intimately bound up with the story of Linnea.

Although she was young and beautiful, Linnea's elf lover grew tired of her. When Linnea caught him cheating on her, she killed him in a fit of pa.s.sion. She escaped into the heart of Du Weldenvarden, where she used the ancient language to magically fuse her body and consciousness to the Menoa tree and has since become guardian of Du Weldenvarden.

The Menoa tree is the site of the Agaeti Blodhren, the centennial elven celebration of the ancient pact that formed the Dragon Riders. During the festivities, the tree is decorated with hundreds of multicolored lanterns, creating a rainbow effect. The celebration, performed around the gigantic tree trunk, is done with respect so as not to offend the tree.

When Eragon first met the werecat Solemb.u.m in Teirm, one of the two pieces of cryptic advice Solemb.u.m gave him was: "When ... you need a weapon, look under the roots of the Menoa tree." Upon their second journey to Ellesmera, as Eragon was searching for a sword to replace Zar'roc, he and Saphira visited the Menoa tree and asked for her help. When the tree did not answer, Saphira breathed fire on her, and Eragon had to plead for mercy with the angry tree. She relented and said she would give him the brightsteel he sought if he agreed to give her what she wanted in return. Eragon agreed; the tree then revealed the bright-steel among her roots, but she remained silent when Eragon asked what she wanted. Her wish remains a mystery.

SEE AGAETi BLoDHREN AND DU WELDENVARDEN.

PINE. SEQUOIA.

BAOBAB.

THE MENOA TREE IS A TYPE OF PINE TREE, THOUGH NO EXISTING PINE TREES ARE ANYWHERE CLOSE TO ITS SIZE. THE MENOA TREE SHARES THE HEIGHT OF THE REDWOOD OR SEQUOIA AND THE WIDTH OF A BAOBAB.

A wandering trader who was asked by Eragon to appraise the strange blue stone he found during a hunting trip into the Spine. Although Merlock deduced the object was crafted by magic, he declined to purchase it. Soon thereafter, Eragon discovered that it was a dragon egg, an object rarer and more valuable than the most priceless jewel.

SEE ERAGON AND SAPHIRA.

One of the three barges Roran and the villagers of Carvahall took from Narda.

In the war-torn world of Alagaesia, a new form of combat based on magic and telepathy has emerged. Mindbreakers use the magic of the ancient language as a martial tool and have developed telepathic techniques for breaking through mental defenses to probe and control an opponent's mind. A growing number on both the Empire and the Varden side have chosen to be mindbreakers, which has increased security concerns for all royals and diplomats and has led to increased training in guarding against telepathic attacks.

SEE MAGIC.

The elves' name for the desolate land southeast of Helgrind. The dwarves call it Werghadn; the humans call it Gray Heath.

Where the Az Ragni river flows north, separate from the Beor Mountains and rising out of the plains, is Moldun the Proud, the towering mountain revered by dwarves.

SEE BEOR MOUNTAINS.

A mythic man believed to have materialized out of a magical fountain.

An old family of dwarves within Farthen Dur. The only known surviving member of the lineage is the widow Glumra, who today mourns Kvistor, the son who died protecting Eragon when an attempt on his life was made by the Az Sweldn rak Anhuin clan during the clanmeet.

The dwarf G.o.d of fire. In dwarven myth, it is believed that Morgothal and his beloved brother, Urur, G.o.d of the air and heavens, brought dragons into the world.

SEE DWARVEN CREATION MYTH.

The renowned brewmaster, bartender, and co-owner (with his wife, Tara) of Seven Sheaves, a cozy tavern in the heart of Carvahall. After the Empire's siege and destruction of the village, Mom and his family joined the flight to Surda. The burden of the journey was lightened by the good cheer dispensed from the kegs of mead Morn brought along.

THE TAVERN KEEPER IN CARVAHALL, MORN, WAS NAMED AFTER A LARGE ALIEN FROM THE TV SHOW STAR TREK: DEEP s.p.a.cE NINE. THE ALIEN MORN SAT AT THE BAR ON THE SHOW, NEVER SAYING ANYTHING, AND WAS HIMSELF AN ANAGRAMMATIC TRIBUTE TO THE CHARACTER NORM FROM THE TV SHOW CHEERS.

SEE OROMIS AND GLAEDR.

The first of the Thirteen Forsworn and confidant of Galbatorix. He was tall and raven-haired, with one blue eye and one black, and he was missing the tip of a finger. Morzan had trained as a Rider under Oromis and was a friend of Brom before being corrupted by Galbatorix. After helping Galbatorix steal a dragon hatchling from Ilirea, Morzan became Galbatorix's disciple. They stayed in a castle forsaken by the n.o.ble Riders, and there Galbatorix taught Morzan the forbid-den secrets of dark magic. By the time the instruction was over, Galbatorix's hatchling, a black dragon named Shruikan, was full-grown.

With Morzan at his side, Galbatorix began his war on the Riders, his power increasing with each one they slew. Twelve Riders, lured by Galbatorix's vision of power, joined Morzan to form the Thirteen Forsworn. Morzan brought others to the dark side, including his consort, Selena, whom he trained as his personal Black Hand. Selena gave birth to Morzan's son, Murtagh. When Murtagh was three, Morzan, in a drunken rage, threw a sword that left the child with a scar across his back. Morzan, the first Forsworn, was also the last to die, slain by Brom.

SEE BROM, FORSWORN, ILIREA, MURTAGH, AND SELENA.

The son of Morzan and Selena, Murtagh was originally an ally of his half brother, Eragon, and the Varden. But, like his father, he would become a Dragon Rider serving the cause of Galbatorix.

Although Murtagh's lineage had aroused suspicion of his intentions, when he first met Eragon, he was a stalwart friend, saving him and Brom from the Ra'zac (though Brom ultimately died from the wounds he received in the struggle) and even helping him and Arya escape from the fortress of Gil'ead. (Only later would Eragon learn that he and Murtagh shared a mother.) Murtagh joined them on the journey to the Varden sanctuary and fought bravely at the Battle of Farthen Dur, where his valor was motivated by a chance to show he was not his father's bad seed.

Eragon had believed that his friend had died in the tunnels of Farthen Dur, but the traitorous spellcasters, the Twins, had captured Murtagh and took him to Galbatorix's sanctum at Uru'baen. During his incarceration, Galbatorix extracted from Murtagh all he knew about Eragon, Saphira, and the Varden. And once the dragon Thorn had hatched for Murtagh, Galbatorix seized the opportunity to have a Dragon Rider serve him and forced Murtagh and the dragon to profess their loyalty in the ancient language.

Thus bound to Galbatorix, Murtagh made his first appearance as an Empire warrior and Dragon Rider during the Battle of the Burning Plains, when victory was within the grasp of the Varden forces. The Varden victory turned to dross as the dark Rider raised his left hand and his shining palm-the Rider's gedwey ignasia mark-and shot a magic bolt of energy that killed the dwarf king Hrothgar. Murtagh then defeated Eragon, revealed that Selena had been mother to them both, and p.r.o.nounced that Morzan had been their father. (Where Murtagh received this false information is unclear.) Murtagh let Eragon live, telling him they were mirror images of each other, but he took Zar'roc, Morzan's sword, and declared, "I take my inheritance from you, brother."

Murtagh has since engaged in fierce battles with Oromis and Glaedr as well as Eragon and Saphira. Murtagh's fealty to Galbatorix is ominous, given the concerns Ajihad had once expressed to Eragon: "[Galbatorix's] cursed sorcery grows stronger each year. With another Rider at his side, he would be unstoppable."

SEE BATTLE OF THE BURNING PLAINS, GEDWeY IGNASIA, MORZAN, AND SELENA.

A tribesman who, with Ramusewa, attends the leader Fadawar.

One of the main elf cities within Du Weldenvarden.

SEE DRAGON RIDER SWORDS.

Dwarf chief of the Durgrimst Knurlcarathn and Orik's main opponent in the election for king.

SEE DWARF CLANS IN THE APPENDIX.

SEE DRAGON RIDER SWORDS.

A giant boar that has tusks longer than a person's forearm and a snout as wide as a person's head. The Nagra (plural Nagran) is one of the five animals unique to the Beor Mountains. These fierce creatures are hunted only by the bravest dwarves, and prized Nagra meat is reserved for banquets honoring those who have shown great courage.

A lip balm made of melted beeswax and hazelnut oil.

SEE SLAVERY.

The brightly woven cloth that represents the history of Urgal families and is hung by the doorway of every Urgal hut.

A small town on the western coast of Alagaesia that is isolated from the rest of the Empire and is a center of fishing and farming. As with most towns and villages in the Spine, Narda's isolation has forced its citizens to be independent and self-sufficient. It is here that Roran commissions three barges to transport the villagers of Carvahall down the coast to Teirm.

SEE SPINE, THE.