58 pages • 1 hour read
Christopher PaoliniEldest
Christopher PaoliniFiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 24-36Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 24 Summary: “Arrow to the Heart”
Eragon discusses some of Alagaësia’s history with Lifaen and Narí, their Elven escorts. He also learns more about the Elves, Dwarves, and humans who fought against Galbatorix, including the now-dead Elven king, Evandar. Eragon is in awe of the Elves’ long lifespans when he finally realizes that Arya is over a century old.
Chapter 25 Summary: “The Dagshelgr Invocation”
Eragon and his companions continue traveling across the Du Weldenvarden forest until they reach the city of Sílthrim. For two days as they pass the city, Eragon and Saphira are forced to hide so that the other Elves will not see them; they want Queen Islanzadí to be the first to meet Saphira. They encounter some Elves who are in the middle of a celebration of life and fertility, and this event saddens Saphira because she realizes that she may be the last of her kind.
Chapter 26 Summary: “The Pinewood City”
The company finally reaches the borders of Ellesméra, and an Elven guardian allows them in. Eragon is in awe of the beautiful city, which is constructed of houses built into large tree trunks. The Elves greet him and Saphira warmly, then lead them to Queen Islanzadí and the city’s nobles. The queen welcomes Arya first, and the conversation reveals that Arya is Islanzadí’s daughter.
Chapter 27 Summary: “Queen Islanzadí”
Queen Islanzadí apologizes to Arya for banishing her decades ago and forcing her into exile; Arya publicly accepts her mother’s apology. Eragon, who is shocked to learn that Arya is a princess, introduces himself and relates his and Saphira’s adventures to the queen. Islanzadí agrees to help the Varden and invites her guests to a feast to celebrate their arrival. During the feast, Eragon notices a werecat in the assembly; she introduces herself as Maud. Eragon and Saphira are then led to lodgings that are designed to accommodate both people and dragons. Despite his excitement, Eragon feels overwhelmed and somewhat ambivalent about the new information that he has learned about the Elves.
Chapter 28 Summary: “Out of the Past”
Chapter 29 Summary: “Conviction”
Roran is overwhelmed by his desperate situation, but he eventually settles on a plan. He cannot protect both Katrina and Carvahall, as protecting one will force him to abandon the other, so he decides to lead the villagers to Surda. He knows that the Varden will be there to protect them, and he may learn more about the Ra’zac from the rebels as well. Then, he can track the creatures and rescue Katrina. Despite his injuries, Roran gathers the villagers and gives them a rousing speech, encouraging them to leave everything behind and join the Varden to fight Galbatorix. He wants to cross the Spine and reach Narda, a city where they can obtain a boat to travel to Surda.
Chapter 30 Summary: “Repercussions”
The next morning, many families in Carvahall prepare to leave. Most of them have been convinced by Roran’s speech, but some also resent him for the danger that he is asking them to face. Despite himself, Roran has become a leader in the village, and although he feels out of his depth, he intends to prove himself.
Chapter 31 Summary: “Exodus”
By the day of the departure, only three families have opted to stay in Carvahall, and the rest have chosen to follow Roran. Roran and the others say their goodbyes, wait for the last stragglers, and finally begin the journey. Some villagers’ hopes have been renewed, while others dread the road ahead.
Chapter 32 Summary: “On the Crags of Tel’naeír”
The Rider is an old Elf named Oromis. His dragon, who is missing a leg, is named Glaedr. Oromis explains that their respective injuries have led them to retreat from active battle and hide in the mountains in the hopes of one day teaching a new generation of Riders. (Eragon recognizes Oromis’s voice as the voice that he heard after being injured by Durza; the voice had commanded Eragon to find him in Ellesméra.) Now, Oromis and Glaedr lead Eragon and Saphira to their home, which is separate from the rest of the Elf city. Oromis assesses Eragon’s general skills and knowledge and tells him more about Alagaësia’s history and the history and the Riders. Saphira is particularly excited to meet another dragon.
Chapter 33 Summary: “The Secret Lives of Ants”
The next day, Oromis instructs Eragon to open his senses to the forest and listen with his magical awareness. Eragon spends a few hours observing an ant hill, but when he later tells Oromis about this, the Elf master encourages him to remain simultaneously aware of everything around him. He and Glaedr also reprimand Eragon and Saphira for failing to share everything that they have learned during the day. Eragon tells Oromis about a child he once blessed using the ancient language (the Elven language used to create spells). Hearing this, Oromis is horrified. He explains that, due to a grammatical mistake in Eragon’s blessing, he unknowingly cursed the young girl instead. Eragon will now be held responsible for the girl’s fate.
Chapter 34 Summary: “Under the Menoa Tree”
As Eragon and Saphira get ready for the night, Arya offers to lead them on a tour of Ellesméra. Eragon happily agrees and follows Arya as she shows him around. They stop at a forge and meet Rhunön, a renowned blacksmith who made all of the Riders’ swords. However, she has sworn never to make a weapon again, so she does not offer to make one for Eragon. Arya then takes Eragon and Saphira to the Menoa Tree, a giant sentient tree who guards the forest. She tells him the legend of the tree’s creation, relating a tragic love story that prompts Eragon to reflect on his own relationship to Arya.
Chapter 35 Summary: “A Maze of Opposition”
A few weeks after the Varden’s arrival in Surda, Nasuada struggles to keep her people in check. Food supplies and gold are running low, and Nasuada also worries about Galbatorix’s latest schemes. She has a conversation with Orrin, the King of Surda, an eccentric young man who conducts chemical experiments as a hobby. The exchange is friendly, and Orrin provides the Varden with all the resources that they need. Even so, Nasuada is frustrated by the Varden’s helplessness.
Chapter 36 Summary: “Hanging by a Thread”
As she leaves Orrin’s laboratory, Nasuada’s sleeve catches on a strange chemical and ignites. She takes off her robes and laments the loss of one of her only court dresses, then helps her servant to salvage the parts of the garment that were left intact. As she reflects on her predicament, Nasuada is suddenly hit by an epiphany. She summons Trianna, the leader of the Du Vrangr Gata, and orders the magic-wielders to use their skills to start making lace and other valuable commodities with their spells. With this enhanced production, the Varden gain a valuable product that they can sell to fund their war.
Chapters 24-36 Analysis
In this section, Paolini emphasizes the coming-of-age aspects of the narrative by focusing on both Eragon and Saphira’s romantic aspirations. In this endeavor, it soon becomes clear that the traditional fantasy tropes (e.g., the long lifespans of Elves and the near-extinction of dragons) will complicate the protagonists’ respective prospects. When Eragon learns that Arya is over a century old, he must come to terms with the realities of his own relative inexperience, given that he is still a human teenager. In addition to their different life experiences, Eragon must also contend with Arya’s elevated social status as the daughter of the Elf Queen. This new information heightens the tension between Eragon and Arya as fate seemingly obstructs any potential for them to develop a romantic relationship, and these complications also foreshadow the resulting strain in their friendship faces when Arya will reject Eragon’s puerile declarations of love in later chapters.
Just as Eragon must struggle with a few harsh realities, Saphira must also come to grips with her suspicion that she may be the last of her kind. As she bitterly declares, “Fate has abandoned my race to extinction” (218). However, her distress over this point also serves the practical purpose of foreshadowing the revelation of Glaedr’s existence in Chapter 28, which dissolves Saphira’s despair and creates a sense of hope in the young dragon: a sentiment that mirrors Eragon’s own hopes for a relationship with Arya. Thus, Eragon and Saphira’s conversation about finding a mate for the dragon foreshadows her later attempts to seduce Glaedr, who rejects her just as Arya rejects Eragon. As a result, Eragon and Saphira’s parallel emotional arcs illustrate their bond and create emotional tension. Notably, these joint conflicts remain unresolved at the end of the novel, allowing the author to create a sense of suspense that will extend into the next installment of the series.
In the midst of the protagonists’ romantic woes, the narrative continues to follow the blueprint of the Hero’s Journey by introducing Oromis and Glaedr as mentor figures to Eragon and Saphira, respectively. Because fantasy protagonists often receive crucial training from wise mentors who offer both ethical lessons and practical skills, Oromis is particularly well-suited to this role. As an elderly Elf, a magician, and a former Rider, he provides multiple lessons on The Importance of Empathy, emphasizing this theme as a tool to promote cooperation and defeat oppression. In this context, Eragon’s efforts to master Oromis’s teachings symbolize his growing awareness of others and his conscientious embrace of his moral responsibilities to use his power responsibly. This idea is further highlighted by the revelation that Eragon, despite his good intentions, accidentally harmed an innocent child, Elva, in a past encounter and must be held responsible for the results. Thus, when Elva later appears in the narrative in Chapter 37, she will become a highly symbolic character whose actions repeatedly illustrate the destructive consequences of good intentions that are tainted by ineptitude or faulty execution.
Finally, as a counterpoint to Eragon’s development, Roran undergoes a harrowing path to greater maturity as he and the villagers leave Carvahall and embark on a parallel journey across Alagaësia. Although Roran’s trajectory is a paler echo of Eragon’s, it can also be described as a Hero’s Journey, and this aspect of the narrative hints at his positioning as a significant agent of change in the rest of the series. In addition, Roran’s lack of magical abilities and his humble life experiences contrast with Eragon’s growing supernatural powers and political influence. As a result, Roran’s chapters cast him as a more realistic “everyman,” while Eragon embodies the characteristics of the stereotypical fantasy hero.
Unlock all 58 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 9,150+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Christopher Paolini
