The Ultimate Book Three Theory List

Written for Shurtugal.com by Carnoc


The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Shurtugal.com or its staff.
All right. A lot of people have a lot of different ideas for what is going to happen in book three. This is a list of all the reasonable theories I’ve come across in my long experience at Inheritance Forums, along with the evidence supporting and (sometimes) refuting them all.


A list of the theories I will be discussing:

The identity of the third rider
The weapon under the Menoa Tree
The Vault of Souls, its location and its contents
The true identity of Eragon’s father
Brom’s seven words
The new dwarf king
Eragon’s love
Saphira’s mate
Who will die?
Who will kill Galbatorix?
The new king of Alagaesia
What will happen at the end of the book?

Questions? Objections? More theories you want me to address? You are also free to contact a Shurtugal Staff member via the feedback form


So, without further ado, let’s jump right into the thick of things:


Who will ride the Green dragon?


Everyone’s biggest question. First, will it be good or evil? That the green dragon and his rider will be on the good side is expected; if the green dragon were evil, the Varden wouldn’t stand a chance. There are several candidates for the third rider, so here’s the list, in order from least likely to most likely:


Orik


The least likely candidate I’ve seen proposed to be the rider of the green dragon. People say he should be the last rider because then there would be the human Murtagh, the "elf" Eragon, and then the dwarf Orik. Supporting this theory is Orik’s apparent lack of fear when it comes to flying and the presence of Saphira herself.


However, there is significant evidence against the theory, namely the fact that dwarves were not included in the spell that links the dragons to elves and humans, which is what allows human and elf riders to exist. You could say that just as humans were added to the spell, dwarves could be, as well. And while that is certainly possible, you must look at the likelihood of it actually happening. First of all, what cause would there be to add dwarves to the spell in the first place? No reason immediately presents itself. Along with this, why would the dwarves wish to be added to the spell? A vast majority of them have no interest in even the slightest contact with dragons, and they (or at least a few of them) are aware that the elves and humans are on the decline because of their connection to the dragons, so why would the dwarves want to be connected and thus possibly seal their own fate of declining?


Therefore, Orik will most likely not be the rider of the green dragon.


Elva


Only slightly more likely than Orik for the simple reason that she’s human, and thus it’s currently possible for her to become a rider. Evidence for her comes first in the form of the dragon-mark Saphira placed on her forehead, and second from Eragon’s blessing, which should bring her to do great things in her life.


However, even in her present, magically enhanced state, she is quite simply too young to be a rider, much less a useful one. Sure, maybe she could use her magic to make herself old enough, but you must keep in mind Eragon’s promise to Angela: that he would remove the blessing/curse that he placed over her. And once he removes the magic from her, she will once again be an infant child, and that would mean that she will have no contact with the dragon egg.


So maybe, if there are more dragon eggs in the future, Elva will become a rider later in life. But it’s incredibly unlikely that she will be the rider the green dragon.


A character that has yet to be introduced


It’s always possible that CP could introduce a new character in book three and have that character be the rider of the green dragon. However, this is highly unlikely because both of our present riders of the new generation, Eragon and Murtagh, were introduced in the first book and had already received significant character development by the time they were riders. If a new character were to become the rider of the green dragon with substantially less development than the other candidates… I’m sure that many of us would be less than satisfied.


So, it’s unlikely that any newly introduced character will be the rider of the green dragon.


Roran


Now we reach the group of four characters who are the most likely to become the rider of the green dragon. The main evidence people suggest for him is that, as Murtagh and Eragon apparently have the blood of a rider in them, Roran, who they claim also has the blood of a rider in him, should be one as well. This is wrong, however, as Roran is only related to Morzan (the rider he is supposedly getting blood from) because of Selena’s marriage to Morzan, and therefore does not have any blood relation to the man.


Counting against Roran is first the fact that he is human and second the fact that he is male. More on why being male counts against him will come later, but here is a good place to address why being a human is bad for his chances of being the rider of the green dragon. Now, Eragon spent about four months training with Brom and about ten months training with Oromis, and even after all that time and training, Murtagh was still able to beat him, with apparent ease. For Roran to be effective in battle, he would likely have to train for even longer that, and that’s an amount of time that the Varden just doesn’t have in this war. It’s likely that the Empire could win the war in that amount of time.


So, it’s possible but not probable that Roran will be the rider of the green dragon.


Nasuada


The third most likely choice for the rider of the green dragon. Nasuada is likely for several reasons: first, she’s female. Presently every rider that’s alive is male, a rather unbalanced situation. That makes the market for a female rider that much more open. Second, she’s the leader of the Varden, and being in such an important position, she’d likely have access to the egg, once stolen, before all members of the Varden aside from those who do the actual stealing. A third point some people bring up is that she could be related to Eragon and Murtagh (highly unlikely, borderline impossible—more on that in a moment), and because they are both riders, she should be as well.


The main argument against Nasuada is the simple fact that she’s human, as is the case with Roran above. But along with that, it must be considered that Nasuada commands the Varden’s armies. The Varden cannot afford for their army to be without a commander for such a length of time.


Now, to address why she cannot be related to Murtagh or Eragon: if she’s related to them, it’s obviously through Selena, as we know her father was Ajihad. However, it must be considered that, first of all, Nasuada and Murtagh are approximately the same age. Yes, I know that twins are possible, but how does a woman manage to have two children by two different fathers growing in her womb at the same time? Answer: it’s impossible. There’s more evidence, but after that explanation there’s really no need to elaborate. Nasuada is not at all related to Eragon and Murtagh.


So, it’s possible but not probable that Nasuada will be the rider of the green dragon.


Vanir


Vanir is likely for the same reason that Nasuada is unlikely: he is an elf. The fact that he is an elf means that he is already trained in the ways of magic, and that means that, were he to become the rider of the green dragon, he would need significantly less training than any human candidate.


Against Vanir is the fact that he is male. Not that this last dragon is sexist, but as Saphira has told Eragon, whoever she or Eragon loves will affect the feelings of the other. So if Saphira falls in love with the green dragon (which is very likely—more on that later), her love for the green dragon would cause Eragon to develop feelings towards the green dragon. However, because a human can’t have feelings of that sort for a dragon, his emotions would be directed towards someone more accessible: the green dragon’s rider. It does seem likely that Eragon will develop a relationship with someone in the third book, and even more likely that that someone will be the green rider, and that he will have a child with that partner, for that reason the third rider is likely to be female.


So, it’s possible that Vanir will be the rider of the green dragon.


Arya


Arya is the most likely candidate to become the rider of the green dragon. First, there is the fact that she is an elf, and a strong and talented elf at that. From what we’ve seen of her skills both with magic and with the sword, she would require very little training to be useful in battle, merely enough time for the green dragon to become mature enough to fight well in battle, which would be as soon as the green dragon learned to breathe fire, around six months after hatching. Along with that, Arya is female, and not just that but Eragon’s love interest. If Saphira were to fall in love with and mate with the green dragon, that would change Arya’s feelings for Eragon and the two of them would fall in love, as well. Third, two of the most often mentioned facts about Arya are her eye and magic color: emerald green. While eye color certainly has nothing to do with becoming a dragon rider, all of the riders we’ve seen so far in the trilogy have possessed magic the color of his dragon. While there is no evidence that this is always true, it can be interpreted as foreshadowing to her upcoming relation to the green dragon.


The main piece of evidence against Arya is that people claim she is too old. However, there is no evidence that there is a set age limit for becoming a rider, so such a point is meaningless.


So, it is highly likely that Arya will be the rider of the green dragon.

The Weapon Under the Menoa Tree


Ah, Solembum’s words. "When the time comes and you need a weapon, look under the roots of the Menoa tree. But what will this weapon be?


Some say that Eragon has already received his weapon: his transformation at the Agaeti Blodhren. They say that he was under the Menoa tree when he was transformed, and because of this, the transformation was his weapon.


However, this is likely not the case for the simple reason that it does not match up with Solembum’s words. First, he must be looking for this weapon, and at that time he certainly was not attempting to find a weapon, he was just watching the ceremony. And along with this, the weapon may have been under the Menoa tree, but it was not under the roots of the Menoa tree, which Solembum specified as criteria for this weapon. So, his transformation likely was not the weapon.

No, it’s much more likely that the weapon will be just that: an actual, physical weapon. Say, a sword or, more specifically, Brom’s sword. Remember, it’s said that Brom lost his sword. Seems like an odd place to lose it, though, under a huge tree far from where the fighting during the Fall (the time when he most likely lost his sword) took place. But then, that’s why we must look someplace else: in this case, the dictionary.


Look at the definition for, "root." In my dictionary, the #3 definition is the word, "origin." Therefore, instead of looking under the physical roots themselves, Eragon must look to the origins of the Menoa tree: two old elven families, both of which are in possession of the swords of old riders that they salvaged from the wreckage of the battles of the Fall. One elven family will have Brom’s sword, which they will gladly give to Eragon when he comes to see them. As for the other elven family with a sword… They’ll give it the third rider, whose green dragon will match the sword in their possession.

The Vault of Souls, its Location and its Contents


Once again, it’s time to look at what Solembum has told Eragon. "Then, when all seems lost and your power is insufficient, go to the rock of Kuthian and speak your name to open the Vault of Souls."


Where is the Vault of Souls, first of all? Some say that it is on Doru Areaba, the great city of the riders. Others say that it is the Star Sapphire of Tronjheim. However, there is one location that seems much more likely: Helgrind.


Now, if you examine the description of Helgrind, you’ll notice that it looks strikingly similar to a rock formation in New Mexico known as Ship Rock. If you switch the words around a bit, you get… Rock of Ship. Looks a bit like the Rock of Kuthain, doesn’t it? The other reasons for Helgrind to be the likely location of the Rock of Kuthain become clear later, in the discussion of the contents of the Vault of Souls.


So, then we move onto the likely contents of the Vault of Souls. Sounds pretty basic, doesn’t it? It’s a vault… containing souls. But for what purpose, and from where? Remember when Eragon was fighting Murtagh? He discovers that Murtagh’s mind seemingly contains multitudes—multitudes of souls. So clearly, Murtagh is drawing his power from other souls along with his own, and if he was taught by Galbatorix, then it stands to reason that Galbatorix does, as well.


But where do the souls come from? Well, if we’re supposing that the Vault of Souls is in Helgrind, that immediately reminds us of another sinister pair of characters: the Ra’zac. Now, the Ra’zac are the king’s personal dragon hunters, and also are creatures meant to prey on humans. So, it’s clear that these Ra’zac do a lot of killing. But instead of letting all the power of a soul go to waste, why not find a way to store it, instead? Say, to use a spell that, instead of destroying the soul of those killed by the Ra’zac, instead stores it in a handy vault: a Vault of Souls. This explains why Galbatorix is seemingly impossibly getting stronger every year: every time the Ra’zac kill a person, that soul is added to the Vault and Galbatorix (and now Murtagh, as well) become more powerful. Of course, the Vault of Souls is also a physical place, so why not throw in any dragon eggs for safekeeping? Namely, that of the green dragon.


And said contents explain why opening the vault will be so important: not only will it give the Varden access to another dragon egg and soon another rider, but it will also make Galbatorix and Murtagh both substantially less powerful, and give Eragon a fair chance at beating one or both of them (with help from the green dragon’s rider, of course).


The True Identity of Eragon’s Father


Hear me out on this one. A lot of you are screaming one very misinformed and meaningless thing right now: "Murtagh said that Morzan was his father in the ancient language, and since you can’t lie in the ancient language, Morzan must be his father!" However, this is not at all true, and in reality Morzan is not Eragon’s father. It is Brom.


First, you must understand that it is possible to tell an untruth in the ancient language. You see, just because Murtagh said it in the AL doesn't mean that it's true, just that he believed it was true. That was the entire reason Eragon wrote a poem for the Agaeti Blodhren: so Islanzadi could tell Eragon that it was possible to tell untruths in the AL, if you really believed that they were true. So because Murtagh has seen no evidence showing that Eragon could not also be a son of Morzan, and because they do share a mother, he believes that Eragon was also the son of Morzan.


Now, for the extensive evidence:


P. 546

"Son and Father alike, both blind as bats".


This is about betrayal. Brom was blind to Morzan's betrayal, and Eragon was blind to Murtagh's betrayal.


Consider this quote from page 280 of Eldest: (Oromis) "Morzan was my greatest failure. Brom idolized him. He never left his side, never contradicted him, and never believed that he could best Morzan in any venture. Morzan, I'm ashamed to admit-for it was within my power to stop-was aware of this and took advantage of Brom's devotion in a hundred different ways. He grew so proud and cruel that I considered separating him from Brom. But before I could, Morzan helped Galbatorix to steal a dragon hatchling, Shruikan, to replace the one Galbatorix had lost, killing the dragon's original rider in the process. Morzan and Galbatorix then fled together, sealing our doom."

"You cannot begin to fathom the effect Morzan's betrayal had on Brom until you understand the depth of Brom's affection for him. And when Galbatorix at last revealed himself and the Forsworn killed Brom's dragon, Brom focused all of his anger and pain on the one who he felt was responsible for the destruction of his world: Morzan."


I think that sums it up.


Riddle #3 - This is the most important one

p. 546

"While two may share two,

And one of two is certainly one,

One might be two."


While two sons (Eragon and Murtagh) "may" share the same two parents (Morzan and Selena),
And one parent of two parents, the Mother-Selena, is certainly the same one parent of both sons,

One parent, the Father, might be two Fathers (Brom and Morzan) each having one of the sons.

What in the world could this riddle be about if it doesn't support the two-father theory?

One last fact: Blagden never met Morzan so he could not have been talking about him. Morzan was never blind. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was after power. Brom was the only one who was blind by his insane idolization of Morzan.


Eragon pages 281-282:


While they spoke, Saphira crawled into the cave and greeted Eragon. She was glad to see him, but there was deep sadness in her thoughts and words. She laid her big blue head on the floor and asked, "Are you well again?"

"Not quite."

"I miss the old one."

"As do I... I never suspected that he was a rider. Brom! He really was an old man - as old as the Forsworn. Everything he taught me about magic he must have learned from the riders themselves."

Saphira shifted slightly. "I knew what he was the moment he touched me at your farm."

"And you didn't tell me? Why?"

"He asked me not to," she said simply.

Eragon decided not to make an issue of it. Saphira never meant to hurt him. "Brom kept more than that secret," he told her, then explained about Zar'roc and Murtagh's reaction to it. "I understand now why Brom didn't explain Zar'roc's origins when he gave it to me. If he had, I probably would have run away from him at the first opportunity."

"You would do well to rid yourself of that sword," she said with distaste. "I know it's a peerless weapon, but you would be better off with a normal blade rather than Morzan's butchery tool."

"Perhaps. Saphira, where does our path go from here? Murtagh offered to come with us. I don't know his past, but he seems honest enough. Should we go to the Varden now? Only I don't know how to find them. Brom never told us."

"He told me," said Saphira.

Eragon grew angry. "Why did he trust you, but not me, with all this knowledge?"

Her scales rustled over the dry rock as she stood above him, eyes profound. "After we left Teirm and were attacked by the Urgals, he told me many things, some of which I will not speak of unless necessary. He was concerned about his own death and what would happen to you after it. One fact he imparted to me was the name of a man, Dormnad, who lives in Gil'ead. He can help us find the Varden. Brom also wanted you to know that of all the people in Alagaesia, he believed you were the best suited to inherit the Riders' legacy."
Tears welled in Eragon's eyes. This was the highest praise he could have ever received from Brom. "A responsibility I will bear honorably."

"Good."

Clearly Brom has told Saphira of things that he wouldn't want revealed to Eragon until he is mature enough. Eragon would undoubtedly be distraught enough after losing his mentor, and to find out that Brom is also his father would completely confuse and demoralize him at a time when survival is paramount.


Eldest page 656:


Saphira ruffled his hair with a gust of hot breath. "Just remember, whatever Brom's reasons, he always tried to protect us from danger. He died saving you from the Ra'zac."

"I know.... Do you think he didn't tell me about this because he was afraid I might emulate Morzan, like Murtagh has?"

"Of course not."

He looked at her, curious. "How can you be so certain?" She lifted her head high above him and refused to meet his eyes or to answer. "Have it your way, then."


This is an enormously important quote. Saphira is waiting to tell Oromis/Glaedr (she might have done so already) about Brom being Eragon's father. I think it's a sure bet that Oromis will be the one to tell Eragon the truth. Just like in Book 1, Saphira knows that Eragon isn't quite mature enough to receive this information.


Plus, if you look at it from a logistical standpoint, you'll notice two things: 1) Inheritance is a coming-of-age story/trilogy, and Eragon shouldn't (and hasn't) come of age by the end of the second book and 2) Christopher Paolini just dropped a huge bombshell a mere 4 pages ago that Morzan is Eragon's father - that would be absolutely horrendous writing to reveal something like that and then change it 4 pages later. This "revelation" is the big twist at the end of the novel. It's just that we'll find out that it wasn't really a twist after all.


There is a chapter in Eldest titled "Inheritance." In it, Murtagh takes Zar'roc from Eragon and claims it as his inheritance. This conveniently leaves Eragon without a sword. In the third book Eragon will get his inheritance and his proper rider's sword (meaning that it matches the color of his dragon).


We are never told what happens to Brom's sword. It is only mentioned indirectly when Eragon converses with the elf sword maker Rhunon. She mentions that there are only two of her swords left (other than Morzan's and Oromis'), and they happen to each be held by two elven families. One is Brom's, and the other is likely a green sword that will go to the rider of the green dragon.


This makes Brom’s sword Eragon’s inheritance, and this is the Inheritance Trilogy, after all.


However, there are some other questions that must still be answered. For example, why, if Brom was Eragon’s father, would he not raise his own son while both live in Carvahall? And why would Brom never tell Eragon that he was his father?


In response to those two questions: there was no evidence whatsoever to imply that Eragon would be a rider in his early life. Brom was there in Carvahall to watch over him, and he did teach his son all about the old ways. When Eragon went to Brom's to ask him questions about the riders Brom answered all of his questions. One of the best ways to teach is through stories, and in order to have Eragon learn more he had to be interested in riders and their history. I also think that if Brom said that he was Eragon's father and a Rider, Eragon would be a whole lot less likely to believe that the riders really did exist and that they had fallen. If you're told that all of the riders are dead, except that this ordinary storyteller that everyone's known for 15 years is one, the stories would be a whole lot less credible.


There's also the fact that if Brom told Eragon that he was his father, other people in Carvahall would probably find out and word of it might leak back to Galbatorix. If Galbatorix found out that the last remaining rider and his son were living in Carvahall, I believe he would have left Uru'baen and gone out to destroy the village.


Thirdly, if Eragon knew that Brom was his father, he could possibly reveal it when someone enters his head (like the twins) and the odds were reasonable (and it actually happened in the book) that the one(s) who find out that Eragon is Brom's son worked for Galbatorix. If Galbatorix found out that the newest rider that wasn't under his control was the son of Brom, he would have to assume that he was raised by Brom, and was the beneficiary of a lifetime of teaching by Brom. Since we know Brom was powerful and strong enough to have a hand in the deaths of eight of the Forsworn, his lifetime knowledge passed down to his son would make Eragon a much more deadly enemy than if Eragon was raised by a random farmer and never had any contact with Brom. If Galbatorix believed that Eragon was Brom's son, he himself would have flown to the battle at the end of Eldest, and it would have been a forgone conclusion.




Brom’s Seven Words


Remember these? Just before his death, Brom tells Eragon seven words in the ancient language, then what they mean, and then he tells them only to use the words in great need. What these words could possibly be, however, is open to much interpretation.


The first theory is that these words are Eragon’s (or someone else’s) true name, yet this is unlikely for many reasons, first because seven words is far too long to be a person’s name, second because telling a person their true name can be incredibly dangerous, and third, how on earth would Brom know? Instead of that, it could be possible that these words have something to do with the Menoa tree, perhaps a way to communicate with it in some way. However, this seems unlikely because something like that would be more of an interest than something that should only be used in great need. Another theory is that the seven words are some sort of password to be told to the family in possession of Brom’s sword so they will know to give it to Eragon, but again, that does not sound like something that should be used, "only in great need."


Another possibility is that what Brom told him is a spell that human dragon riders could use to boost their physical attributes to become equal to those of an elf, or perhaps the enchantments that Oromis uses to keep himself alive despite his sickness or how elves can sing to trees and other plants. That would explain why no elf knew of (or planned to teach Eragon) these spells, but Brom did. This seems unlikely, however, because Eragon has already had his attributes boosted to match those of an elf (thus making Brom’s words useless) and singing to trees doesn’t seem to be a very useful ability and especially not one that should only be used when the need is great.


The most likely (and simplest) explanation, of course, is that these seven words are a very powerful spell (of either destruction or healing) that, unfortunately, has a terrible energy cost or other price attached to it that means the spell should only be used in the most dire of situations. Of the two choices, destruction is much more likely.


The New Dwarf King


The question here is simple: Orik or someone else? The other dwarves seemed to be against Hrothgar and his pro-dragon policies; as Orik also seems pro-dragon, likely the other clan leaders (as Orik is Hrothgar’s heir, he will take control of Durgrimst Ingietum) will vote for one other than Orik as new king.


Unless, of course, something happens to change their minds before the election takes place. Now, it will be a while before a new dwarf king will be elected, as Hrothgar must be buried first, and he will have a long way to travel before he can be laid to rest. That gives Eragon and Saphira ample opportunity to do a variety of things, one of which will be Saphira healing the star sapphire. After Saphira fixes, "the heart of Tronjheim," that likely will change the hearts of the dwarven clan leaders and cause them to act in the interest of their now pro-dragon people: to elect a pro-dragon candidate. And that candidate would be none other than Orik. However, the clan leaders likely will not act as one, and it will shape up to be a rather messy election.


So, expect Orik to become the king of his people, but the process may not be pretty.

Eragon’s Love


Who will Eragon fall in love with? It’s part of Angela’s prediction, that, "an epic romance is in your future, extraordinary, as the moon indicates—for that is a magical symbol—and strong enough to outlast empires. I cannot say if this passion will end happily, but your love is of noble birth and heritage. She is wise, powerful, and beautiful beyond compare." So, there are two possibilities: either he will fall in love with Arya, or he will not.


If he does not fall in love with Arya, than who with? Or will he fall in love again at all? Some people claim that he will fall in love with Katrina, but that is simply idiotic: why on earth would he fall in love with a person who is already engaged to his brother? It makes no sense. Eragon will not fall in love with Katrina.


Another option, slightly more likely, is Nasuada. People have said that because Arya does not return Eragon’s love, it does not qualify as romance and therefore his epic romance is still to come. They also claim that she would fulfill the prophecy because, as leader of the Varden, she is certainly noble. However, this is not correct, for the prophecy reads, "of noble birth and heritage," meaning that Nasuada would have to be born into nobility to fulfill it, and as she was merely born to a man who was fleeing from the empire and not some manner of royalty. But regardless of the prophecy, it still seems unlikely that Eragon and Nasuada will fall in love. After all, Nasuada has a rebellion to lead, and falling in love with one of her vassals is certainly going to disrupt the war effort.


And of course, the possibility remains that Eragon will never fall in love after ending his pursuit of Arya. But I believe that we will see more evidence connected to other theories that makes this option also very unlikely.


Now, it is of course the most likely that his love for Arya is the fulfillment of the prophecy, and when Saphira mates with the green dragon, ridden by Arya, that will influence Arya to fall in love with Eragon, and there will be the epic romance. And, of course, because they are both riders and therefore understand each other perfectly, this romance will have a happy result.


Saphira’s Mate


One of the most important questions concerning the future of Alagaesia: who will be Saphira’s mate? There are five possibilities, some more likely than others.


The first and least likely is Glaedr. The argument for him is that he is the only male dragon currently on the same side as Saphira, so when the situation begins to look bleak the two of them will have to mate to sustain their race. However, Glaedr has already refused Saphira once, and likely she’s learned her lesson and won’t try again.


Another possibility is that Saphira and Eragon will search for wild dragons, and Saphira will find one willing to be her mate. However, Saphira and Eragon are going to be busy with a war, and will have no time to go and search for other dragons, making this option also unlikely. It is possible that they could search after the war, there is another theory that essentially disproves this that I’ll get to later.


Thorn and Shruikan have pretty much the same chance, but the only real way for Saphira to mate with either of them would be if she were captured by Galbatorix. If captured, Saphira would be forced to mate with one of them, and there’s no way Saphira is strong enough to resist them. This is quite possible, but considering CP’s plot so far, it is not as likely as…


Saphira falling in love with the green dragon. Varden gets egg, egg hatches, green dragon matures, falls in love with Saphira, they mate. Sounds simple, is simple. If Saphira wants a mate on her side of the war and Glaedr isn’t going to, the only option for her is the green dragon.


The green dragon and Thorn or Shruikan are both equally likely based on the evidence, so you have to consider which is more likely based on what CP has written so far. Now, so far, nothing bad has happened to Saphira. That can mean one of two things: either nothing will happen to her, or she’s due for something bad to happen. But it’s more likely that nothing bad will happen to her, and she will fall in love and mate with the green dragon.



Who Will Die?


Who, exactly, of the major characters, is going to die? Obviously Galbatorix will; that goes without saying. It’s highly likely that Oromis and Glaedr will as well, Oromis from his mysterious disease and Glaedr from Oromis’ death. People also seem to think that Thorn will die, but Murtagh will not. It is certainly possible, as Murtagh is on the side of evil (if reluctantly), but Galbatorix will not make the mistake of leaving loopholes in his oaths again. That means that if Eragon and Murtagh meet again in battle, Eragon will be unable to show Murtagh any mercy. It is likely that Thorn will die, and Murtagh may as well, that is unclear. Whether the king’s dragon, Shruikan, will die is another debate. Some think that he will die along with Galbatorix, while others think that, because Galbatorix was not Shruikan’s original rider, the bond between the two will be weaker than normal, meaning that Shruikan will not only survive Galbatorix’s death but become good upon the death of his surrogate rider. As we have not yet seen Galbatorix or Shruikan, we cannot determine the strength of their bond and thus cannot determine the answer to this question, one way or another. However, Shruikan dying with his rider is more likely.


One of the strangest—and, even stranger, most popular—death theories is that Arya will die. But seriously, people. One of the most obvious things in this entire trilogy is that Arya will be the rider of the green dragon. And if she is that green dragon’s rider, and we know that there are two dragons in the sky in Eragon’s dream before Garrow’s death (more on that dream later, but it is rather obvious foreshadowing for the last scene of book three), that means that the riders of those two dragons (Saphira and the green dragon) must survive the war, and therefore Eragon and Arya will survive. And while we’re on the subject of main characters’ love interests dying, Katrina won’t die, either.


Of course, there will be some other casualties, namely a bunch of minor characters: several high-ranking Varden members (likely including Nasuada and Orrin), unimportant elves and servants of Galbatorix, villagers, etc.


Who Will Kill Galbatorix?


Yes, believe it or not, there are dissenting opinions regarding the answer to this question. The choice for Galbatorix’s killer is split between two people, one very obvious and one… rather odd: Eragon and Shruikan.


Some people seem to think that Shruikan will turn good at the last moment possible and kill Galbatorix, typically by squishing him. However, this is highly unlikely. Regardless of how Shruikan originally felt about Galbatorix, the two of them have now been joined for a hundred years. Considering how much the two of them have been though in that time, it’s quite obvious that they care quite a lot for each other, and therefore Shruikan will not kill Galbatorix.


So that leaves one man to be Galbatorix’s killer: Eragon. As it should be.


The New Ruler of Alagaesia


With Galbatorix dead, who will rule Alagaesia in his place? It clearly will not be Eragon, for he will leave Alagaesia forever, as Angela predicted, and how can he rule a place when he is no longer there? And besides that, he has already expressed that he does not want to rule.


The new ruler will not be an elf or dwarf. They already have their own rulers in their own kingdoms, so that just leaves the humans to decide who will rule. So to determine that, we must look to the past rulers of humans in Alagaesia: king Palancar and his descendants. And where did the descendants of Palancar dwell before they were driven out by the soldiers of the king? Palancar valley or, more specifically, Carvahall. So, who is in charge of Carvahall? Roran. So he will rule Alagaesia as his ancestors did, with Katrina as his queen.


What Will Happen At the End of Book Three?


The answer to this final question can be determined by decoding something given to us relatively close to the beginning of Eragon: Eragon’s dream in the chapter Deathwatch. In this dream, Eragon sees some people boarding a silver ship. Two of them are apparently taller than all the others, a man and a woman who are holding hands. Then the ship sails away, and a man who stayed on the beach cries out, and as the dream fades away, two dragons are seen in the sky.


The two dragons are the easiest to decode: Saphira and the green dragon, flying away above the ship that they’re too large to land on. The presence of the two dragons means that their riders, Eragon and Arya, are on the ship as well. And as there are two people taller than all others, holding hands, that are specifically mentioned among the rest of those boarding the ship, we can assume that these two are elves and, most likely, Eragon and Arya. Them holding hands is another indication that they have indeed fallen in love. Eragon is boarding this ship because his destiny is to leave Alagaesia together, so of course his bonded partner, Saphira, and his love, Arya (and the green dragon), will journey away with him. And because Arya is an elf, where better to go but to the old home of the elves, Alalea?


The man screaming on the beach is up for considerably more debate. The possibilities are Murtagh (which assumes that he survives the war), Roran and, in an incredibly complicated theory I’m not going to delve into that involves the son of Arya and Eragon and a spell enabling time travel, the first Eragon. It being Murtagh is unlikely for a couple of reasons: first of all, if it’s him, where’s Thorn? It’s been said as incredibly rare for a rider to survive the death of his or her dragon, yet we already know of two: Brom and Galbatorix. So for us to have met more riders that have survived the deaths of their dragons than those who have not would imply against what we’ve already been told as fact, meaning that if Thorn is dead, so should be Murtagh, meaning that because Thorn is not present, the man is not Murtagh. Second, why would he be there, and third, why would he be screaming? There appears to be nothing on that boat that he cares incredibly for. He was friends with Eragon, yes, but certainly not enough of one to scream at his departure.


Which leaves Roran. Yes, of course he would be there to see his foster brother and brother’s wife, and the last two dragon riders in Alagaesia, leave forever. And of course he would scream in anguish at never being able to see his foster brother again, not knowing for the rest of his live what became of him. Roran fits.