#murtagh spoilers

[next-gazelle]

Murtagh is so upset about being upgraded from secondary antagonist to main character

#murtagh #murtagh spoilers #the inheritance cycle #christopher paolini #the world of eragon #alagaesia #eragon #murtagh morzansson #gazelle original

[parkerspancake]

The differences between Eragon&Saphira and Murtagh&Thorn

Saphira: If you hurt yourself, I'm going to kill everyone involved. Eragon: *gets hurt* Saphira: Oh, little one. Come here. *cuddles him for hours* Thorn: If you do that, you're going to hurt yourself. Murtagh: *gets hurt* Thorn: I fucking told you. *grunts disappointed*

#murtagh #murtagh spoilers #christopher paolini #eragon #saphira

[primaphomet]

The Murtagh experience

Original memes below the cut

#myart #murtagh #murtagh book #eragon #inheritance cycle #murtagh spoilers #i think #vaguely

[magicandmundane]

Murtagh: Yeah, sure, my stupid kid brother is the leader of the Riders. But am I going to acknowledge that? F*ck no. I hate authority, and I am not giving him that ego boost. Now let’s go hunt down this witch and her cult.

Meanwhile, Eragon: *gets nervous when someone says he’s in charge* *literally could not sleep in a bed because Vrael used to sleep there* *turns down positions of authority almost every chance he gets* *is just a goofy little guy who would like to see his big bro every once in a while*

#they need to have a Conversation #and yeah last i checked eragon has little to no ego about being the leader of the riders (he has an ego about other stuff tho lol) #unless i missed something in inheritance #he’s just out there rebuilding the order because he believes in what it stands for #now saphira. oh boy. she is going to have the biggest ego about being the leader of the dragons (bonded dragons anyway) #that’s who you’ve got to watch out for lol #the inheritance cycle #christopher paolini #the world of eragon #murtagh #murtagh book #murtagh spoilers #eragon shadeslayer #murtagh thornsrider

[bijectiveandinvertible]

I'm reading Murtagh and this part immidiately hit me:

Eragon used magic on his stubble... like without even a thought.

Meanwhile Murtagh actually thinks things through. I'm crying.

#b&icomment #inheritance cycle #murtagh #murtagh morzansson #eragon shadeslayer #murtagh spoilers

[arielta]

I might try to write down all of my thoughts on the MURTAGH book later, but for now I just want to say that one of the things that shocked me the most (in a good way) was the fact that we were SO WRONG about Murtagh being a total nerd in academic settings, like it literally says in the first pages that he haaaates studying and math and history, instead he LOVES DANCING and he even entertains Thorn with some dance moves I...

LET THE BOY DANCE LET HIM DANCE FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE

#murtagh #murtagh spoilers #eragon #inheritance cycle spoilers #inheritance cycle #I hope he gets to dance with Nasuada....

[lunamond]

What is fascinating about Murtagh's use of magic, beyond his obvious lack of education compared to Eragon, is how much he relies on intent to direct his spells.

During his studies under Oromis, Eragon learnt to always use precise wording to get the results he wants. And due to his prior unintentional cursing of Elva, this is sth he remains very conscious of through for the rest of the series. It, of course, helps that he is basically fluent in the Ancient Language after his stay in Ellesmera.

But Murtagh knows only a handful of words (at least before he finds the dictionary), so throughout most of the book, he mainly uses short simple phrases and sometimes straight-up single word spells. And outside a couple of times in which other magic users' wards interfere with his spells, they turn out to be surprisingly reliable despite being incredibly vague.

While Murtagh is obviously behind Eragon in terms of magic, I think it is fascinating to see how much use he is able to get out his very limited knowledge of magic theory and the Ancient Language through his own creativity.

In a way, his lack of a formal education in magic really allows him to try new things (which is not always good due to the obvious danger of magic experiments ).

It also makes me think back to Brom starting to teach magic to Eragon. He explains that a true master would be able to create a gemstone just with the use of the singular word "water".

#murtagh spoilers #inheritance cycle #christopher paolini #murtagh book #murtagh morzansson

[sparklepirate]

Hey wait shit I just realized something.

So one of the big themes in this book so far is that Murtagh is super super protective over children. It, you know, makes sense that he ruminates on this a lot. He was abused... At every point in his life, but especially as a child. So, while he's extremely hesitant at the idea of having children, he knows that if he were ever to do so, he would give everything in him to be a good father. And in the meantime, he is viciously protective over the children he meets- Essie, saving her from Sarros and making sure she's safe from her father. The street urchins in Gil'ead, beating up their dad for being neglectful towards them (perhaps not the most tactful move, but still). His whole motivation for helping Carabel in the first place was purely to save Silna, because he couldn't stand the idea of a child being scared or hurt, or suffering any of the same horrible experiences that he did.

Which. Um. Made me wonder.

... Does Murtagh know that Eragon made Elva? Like... Like he probably knows she exists, but does he know, like, what her powers do to her, and how she got them, and that it was Eragon's fuck up that made her and made her suffer so much? Because uhhh. He would lose his absolute fucking mind over it if he ever found out. 😬😬😬😬

#uhhhhhhhh #Eragon you better watch out buddy #holy shit the wrath this man would have for you #ashna reads murtagh #murtagh spoilers #murtagh

[saphira-approves]

Something something professional artist jargon something something insert art knowledge here—whatever I want to talk about the book covers

So you’ve got Eragon, with a 3/4 portrait of Saphira; she’s giving a benevolent side eye with almost a Mona Lisa smile, she’s got that gleam in her eye, she’s looking at you but not head on—listen, this was the whole reason I picked up the book in the first place when I was eleven, she was so clearly full of life and personality and I just really wanted to meet her. It’s a really good glimpse of her character before even opening the book. She’s engaging you, but also maybe judging you a little bit, and she has a lot of thoughts but she’s going to keep them to herself for right now, thank you.

We’re skipping Eldest for right now because I have a point to make. Shush.

For Brisingr, we get a perfect side portrait of Glaedr, the grumpy old man. He’s not even side-eyeing the viewer like Saphira does; he is eyes forward, goal-oriented, noble and regal and, unless you’re worth his time, not really going to bother with you because he has Important Business to attend to. He is The Last of the pre-Fall dragons, his Rider is The Last of the pre-Fall Riders, he represents a bygone era that will never fully be resurrected, but can still inspire the present to fight for the future; he is no longer fully his own dragon, but a Relic, a Memory, a Symbol. He’s not anxious about it the way Eragon or Saphira might be; he has grieved for a century, he couldn’t be anxious about it if he tried. But he knows that keeping his integrity intact is important, and so this is how he presents himself: Noble. Regal. The Survivor. The Last.

Fírnen graces the cover of Inheritance, bookending the original series by almost perfectly mirroring Saphira—and seriously, it is so satisfying to line the books up with these two at the ends. Though he’s got a 3/4 profile like Saphira, Fírnen is much more reserved. No Mona Lisa smile, no mischievous gleam in his eye; he simply looks at you, and you look back, and you wonder what he’s thinking. He is, in fact, a lot like Arya—anyone who’s read the previous three books up to that point and hasn’t been spoiled for the ending might be able to guess, just from this portrait, who the final egg would hatch for. It’s also a perfect expression for the Final Book, with the fate of Alagaësia and the dragons hanging in the balance: what world does this mysterious dragon emerge into? A war-torn apocalypse? A hard-won victory? What does his future entail, and thus, what do the futures of our favorite characters entail? You ask him so many questions, but all he will ever do is stare deep into your soul with his somber, too-knowing gaze.

And now for the main event:

My beautiful precious son, the red-scaled Thorn, staring you down from the covers of both Eldest and Murtagh. I have loved the cover of the second book ever since I first picked it up, and my appreciation has only grown with time; needless to say I was very excited when the Murtagh cover dropped, and I got to see both of my favorite characters in one place. For both of these, Thorn takes the same stance: a full-frontal combative position, looking You, The Viewer directly in the eye, daring you to judge him, daring you to get in his way. I’ve always had my own opinions about what lay behind this show of force, and the context we get in Murtagh does not disappoint. He may be terrifying, he may be the scourge of the war, but underneath all that, Thorn is terrified. He’s traumatized, he’s claustrophobic, his body is too big for his age; he is painfully young still, and yet treated like a dragon ten times his age because that’s how he looks. He’s also sweet, and playful, and cares so much about his Rider, and wants desperately to keep Murtagh safe and happy. Just like Murtagh, he hides all of that—the fear and the softness both—behind a visage of ferocity, playing into the fears and preconceived notions people have of him, warning enemies away so they can’t get too close to what will actually hurt him. He dares you to try. He’s terrified you will try. He will fight tooth and nail if you do try.

#why does tumblr keep tagging this post as mature when i hadn’t even posted it yet??? #IM not labeling it mature what is going on #is saphira too sultry or something #murtagh spoilers #anyway yeah i just wanted an excuse to talk about thorn’s character in the book covers #i love him okay #i may disagree with john jude palencar about what a dragon looks like #but i CANNOT deny he is extremely good at giving dragons personality #at some point i may to shruikan and vermund also i just mostly wanted to yell about thorn #there's definitely parallels to be drawn between shruikan and thorn but also vermund and glaedr #...sigh. yeah i guess i'll be doing them at some point in the future #inheritance cycle #christopher paolini #murtagh (inheritance cycle) #thorn (inheritance cycle) #saphira bjartskular #glaedr (inheritance cycle) #fírnen (inheritance cycle)

[itmakesssenseincontext]

Your honour, I accept that my client has committed war crimes, but have you considered that he was bullied as a child?

#the inheritance cycle #murtagh #murtagh morzansson #murtagh book #murtagh spoilers #inheritance cycle #truly the blorbo of all time

[thexgrayxlady]

Sometimes, a family is an Urgal shaman, a former cultist, and the most traumatized duo in Alagaesia.

#murtagh #murtagh spoilers #they all need to go on a long relaxing spa trip

[aldarquen]

SPOILERS for MURTAGH Finished reading it last year and been obsessed ever since. Oh yeah, and I made some complimentary memes..

#murtagh-man #murtagh #murtagh spoilers #murtagh morzansson #feral hogs #memes #murtagh memes #eragon memes #eragon #uvek #sarros #mr krabs #spongebob #ed teach #stede bonnet #ofmd #omfd s2 #inheritance cycle #the inheritance cycle #christopher paolini #bachel

[inheritancetrain]

Wow, men will literally fly halfway across the continent to investigate a torturous doomsday cult before going to therapy.

#inheritance cycle #train reads #murtagh spoilers

[loptrcoptr]

I know that Murtagh couldn’t realistically stop in Carvahall because, lbr, it took THREE QUARTERS OF THE BOOK to even get to nal gorgoth, so time was literally a wastin’

But that said, I think Thorn landing outside Roran’s house with people scattering everywhere and Murtagh shouting “HEY CUZ, NICE TO MEET YOU” would have been peak comedy

#murtagh spoilers #murtagh #inheritance cycle

[the-artifice-of-eternity]

eragon vibing in mount arngor: i hope murtagh makes it down here soon. we need to catch up. man, the last couple of years got crazy! hope he has no hard feelings.

murtagh chasing down a mysterious death cult: i could tell eragon about this but I would literally rather eat dirt

#warning: middle school brain reactivated #listen. i just need them to talk #just one honest conversation where they aren't being magically coerced to murder each other #stick them in the get-along shirt #the inheritance cycle #murtagh spoilers

[vadergf]

This scene broke my heart so much my poor boy he's so used to be a shameful secret that no one wants and they want his power and they want his influence and they want to use him but they never want him and it makes me want to cry :( he deserves the world

#inheritance cycle #murtagh #murtagh spoilers #murtagh morzansson