square miles of each other.
While this is of great historical interest, practically it often leads to con-
fusion as to the correct pronunciation. Unfortunately, there are no set
rules for the neophyte. Each name must be learned upon its own terms,
unless you can immediately place its language of origin. The matter grows
even more confusing when you realize that in many places the spelling
and pronunciation of foreign words were altered by the resident popula-
tion to conform to their own language. The Anora River is a prime ex-
ample. Originally anora was spelled äenora, which means broad in the
ancient language. In their writings, the humans simplified the word to
anora, and this, combined with a vowel shift wherein äe (ay-eh) was said
as the easier a (uh), created the name as it appears in Eragon’s time.
To spare readers as much difficulty as possible, the following list is
provided, with the understanding that these are only rough guidelines to
the actual pronunciation. The enthusiast is encouraged to study the
source languages in order to master their true intricacies.
PRONUNCIATION:
Aiedail — AY-uh-dale
Ajihad — AH-zhi-hod
Alagaësia — al-uh-GAY-zee-uh
Arya — AR-ee-uh
Carvahall — CAR-vuh-hall
622
Dras-Leona — DRAHS lee-OH-nuh
Du Weldenvarden — doo WELL-den-VAR-den
Ellesméra — el-uhs-MEER-uh
Eragon — EHR-uh-gahn
Farthen Dûr — FAR-then DURE (dure rhymes with lure )
Galbatorix — gal-buh-TOR-icks
Gil’ead — GILL-ee-id
Glaedr — GLAY-dur
Hrothgar — HROTH-gar
Islanzadí — iss-lan-ZAH-dee
Jeod — JODE (rhymes with code )
Murtagh — MUR-tag (mur rhymes with purr )
Nasuada — nah-SOO-ah-dah
Nolfavrell — NOLL-fah-vrel (noll rhymes with toll )
Oromis — OR-uh-miss
Ra’zac — RAA-zack
Saphira — suh-FEAR-uh
Shruikan — SHREW-kin
Sílthrim — SEAL-thrim (síl is a hard sound to transcribe; it’s made by
flicking the tip of the tongue off the roof of the mouth.)
Teirm — TEERM
Trianna — TREE-ah-nuh
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Tronjheim — TRONJ-heem
Urû’baen — OO-roo-bane
Vrael — VRAIL
Yazuac — YAA-zoo-ack
Zar’roc — ZAR-rock
THE ANCIENT LANGUAGE:
adurna — water
Agaetí Blödhren — Blood-oath Celebration
Aiedail — The Morning Star
Argetlam — Silver Hand
Atra esterní ono thelduin/Mor’ranr lífa unin hjarta onr/Un du evarínya
ono varda. — May good fortune rule over you/Peace live in your
heart/And the stars watch over you.
Atra guliä un ilian tauthr ono un atra ono waíse skölir fra rauthr. — May
luck and happiness follow you and may you be a shield from misfortune.
Atra nosu waíse vardo fra eld hórnya. — Let us be warded from listeners.
Bjartskular — Brightscales
blöthr — halt; stop
Brakka du vanyalí sem huildar Saphira un eka! — Reduce the magic that
holds Saphira and me!
brisingr — fire
Dagshelgr — Hallowed Day
draumr kópa — dream stare
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Du Fells Nángoröth — The Blasted Mountains
Du Fyrn Skulblaka — The Dragon War
Du Völlar Eldrvarya — The Burning Plains
Du Vrangr Gata — The Wandering Path
Du Weldenvarden — The Guarding Forest
dvergar — dwarves
ebrithil — master
edur — a tor or prominence
Eka fricai un Shur’tugal. — I am a Rider and friend.
elda — a gender-neutral honorific of great praise
Eyddr eyreya onr! — Empty your ears!
fairth — a picture taken by magical means
finiarel — an honorific for a young man of great promise
Fricai Andlát — death friend (a poisonous mushroom)
Gala O Wyrda brunhvitr/Abr Berundal vandr-fódhr/Burthro laufsblädar
ekar undir/Eom kona dauthleikr. . — Sing O white-browed Fate/Of ill-
marked Berundal/Born under oaken leaves/To mortal woman. .
gánga aptr — to go backward
gánga fram — to go forward
Gath sem oro un lam iet. — Unite that arrow with my hand.
gedwëy ignasia — shining palm
Gëuloth du knífr. — Dull the knife.
haldthin — thornapple
625
Helgrind — The Gates of Death
hlaupa — run
hljödhr — silent
jierda — break; hit
kodthr — catch
Kvetha Fricai. — Greetings, Friend.
lethrblaka — a bat; the Ra’zac’s mounts (literally, leather-flapper)
letta — stop
Letta orya thorna! — Stop those arrows!
Liduen Kvaedhí — Poetic Script
Losna kalfya iet. — Release my calves.
malthinae — to bind or hold in place; confine
nalgask — a mixture of beeswax and hazelnut oil used to moisten the
skin
Osthato Chetowä — the Mourning Sage
Reisa du adurna. — Raise/Lift the water.
rïsa — rise
Sé mor’ranr ono finna. — May you find peace.
Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass! — May your swords stay sharp!
Sé orúm thornessa hávr sharjalví lífs. — May this serpent have life’s
movement.
skölir — shield
Skölir nosu fra brisingr! — Shield us from fire!
626
sköliro — shielded
skulblaka — dragon (literally, scale-flapper)
Stydja unin mor’ranr, Hrothgar Könungr. — Rest in peace, King Hroth-
gar.
svit-kona — a formal honorific for an elf woman of great wisdom
thrysta — thrust; compress
Thrysta vindr. — Compress the air.
Togira Ikonoka — the Cripple Who Is Whole
the Varden — the Warders
Vel eïnradhin iet ai Shur’tugal. — Upon my word as a Rider.
Vinr Älfakyn — Elf Friend
vodhr — a male honorific of middling praise
vor — a male honorific for a close friend
Waíse heill. — Be healed.
Wiol ono. — For you.
wyrda — fate
Wyrdfell — elven name for the Forsworn
yawë — a bond of trust
zar’roc — misery
THE DWARF LANGUAGE:
Akh sartos oen dûrgrimst! — For family and clan!
Ascûdgamln — fists of steel
627
Astim Hefthyn — Sight Guard (inscription on a necklace given to Er-
agon)
Az Ragni — The River
Az Sweldn rak Anhûin — The Tears of Anhûin
Azt jok jordn rast. — Then you may pass.
barzûl — to curse someone with ill fate
Barzûl knurlar! — Curse them!
barzûln — to curse someone with multiple misfortunes
Beor — cave bear (elf word)
dûrgrimst — clan (literally, our hall/home)
eta — no
Etzil nithgech! — Stop there!
Farthen Dûr — Our Father
Feldûnost — frostbeard (a species of goat native to the Beor Mountains)
Formv Hrethcarach. . formv Jurgencarmeitder nos eta goroth bahst Tar-
nag, dûr encesti rak kythn! Jok is warrev az barzûlegûr dûr dûrgrimst, Az
Sweldn rak Anhûin, môgh tor rak Jurgenvren? Né ûdim etal os rast knur-
lag. Knurlag ana. . — This Shadeslayer. . this Dragon Rider has no place in
Tarnag, our holiest of cities! Do you forget the curse our clan, The Tears
of Anhûin, bears from the Dragon War? We will not let him pass. He is. .
grimstborith — clan chief
grimstcarvlorss — arranger of the house
Gûntera Arûna — Gûntera Bless
Hert dûrgrimst? Fild rastn? — What clan? Who passes?
hírna — likeness; statue
628
hûthvir — double-bladed staff weapon used by Dûrgrimst Quan
Ignh az voth! — Bring the food!
IIf gauhnith. — A peculiar dwarf expression that means “It is safe and
good.” Commonly uttered by the host of a meal, it is a holdover from
days when poisoning of guests was prevalent among the clans.
Ingeitum — fire workers; smiths
Isidar Mithrim — Star Rose
Jok is frekk dûrgrimstvren? — Do you want a clan war?
knurl — stone; rock
knurla — dwarf (literally, one of stone)
Knurlag qana qirânû Dûrgrimst Ingeitum! Qarzûl ana Hrothgar oen
volfild — He was made a member of Clan Ingeitum! Cursed is Hrothgar
and all who—
knurlagn — men
Knurlhiem — Stonehead
Knurlnien — Heart of Stone
Nagra — giant boar, native to the Beor Mountains
oeí — yes; affirmative
Orik Thrifkz menthiv oen Hrethcarach Eragon rak Dûrgrimst Ingeitum.
Wharn, az vanyali-carharûg Arya. Né oc Ûndinz grimstbelardn. — Orik,
Thrifk’s son, and Shadeslayer Eragon of Clan Ingeitum. Also, the elf-
courier Arya. We are Ûndin’s hall-guests.
Os il dom qirânû carn dûr thargen, zeitmen, oen grimst vor formv edaris
rak skilfz. Narho is belgond. . — Let our flesh, honor, and hall be made as
one by this blood of mine. I do pledge. .
otho — faith
629
Ragni Hefthyn — River Guard
Shrrg — giant wolf, native to the Beor Mountains
Smer voth. — Serve the food.
Tronjheim — Helm of Giants
Urzhad — cave bear
vanyali — elf (The dwarves borrowed this word from the ancient lan-
guage, wherein it means magic. )
Vor Hrothgarz korda! — By Hrothgar’s hammer!
vrron — enough
werg — an exclamation of disgust (the dwarves’ equivalent of ugh )
THE URGAL LANGUAGE:
Ahgrat ukmar. — It is done.
drajl — spawn of maggots
nar — a gender-neutral title of great respect
630
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Kvetha Fricäya.
As with many authors who undertake an epic the length of the Inheri-
tance trilogy, I have found that the creation of Eragon, and now Eldest,
has become my own personal quest, one that has proven every bit as
transforming as Eragon’s.
When first I conceived Eragon, I was fifteen—not quite a boy and not
yet a man—just out of high school, unsure of what path to take in life,
and addicted to the potent magic of the fantasy literature that adorned
my shelves. The process of writing Eragon, marketing it across the world,
and now finally completing Eldest has swept me into adulthood. I am
twenty-one now and, to my continual astonishment, have already pub-
lished two novels. Stranger things have occurred, I’m sure, but never to
me.
Eragon’s journey has been my own: plucked from a sheltered rural up-
bringing and forced to rove the land in a desperate race against time; en-
during intense and arduous training; achieving success against all expecta-
tions; dealing with the consequences of fame; and eventually finding a
measure of peace.
Just as in fiction when the determined and well-meaning protagonist—
who really isn’t all that bright, now is he?—is helped along his way by a
host of wiser characters, so too have I been guided by a number of stu-
pendously talented people. They are:
At home: Mom, for listening whenever I need to talk about a problem
with the story or characters and for giving me the courage to throw out
twelve pages and rewrite Eragon’s entrance into Ellesméra (painful); Dad,
as always, for his incisive editing; and my dear sister, Angela, for deigning
to reprise her role as a witch and for her contributions to her doppel-
gänger’s dialogue.
At Writers House: my agent, the great and mighty Comma Master,
Simon Lipskar, who makes all things possible (Mervyn Peake!); and his
brave assistant Daniel Lazar, who keeps the Comma Master from being
buried alive underneath a pile of unsolicited manuscripts, many of which
I fear are the result of Eragon.
631
At Knopf: my editor, Michelle Frey, who has gone above and beyond
the call of duty in performing her job and has made Eldest so much bet-
ter than it would have been otherwise; publicity director Judith Haut, for
once again proving that no feat of promotion is beyond her reach (hear
her roar!); Isabel Warren-Lynch, art director nonpareil who, with Eldest,
has exceeded her previous accomplishments; John Jude Palencar, for a
cover painting that I like even better than the one for Eragon ; copy chief
Artie Bennett, who has done a splendiferous job of checking all the ob-
scure words in this trilogy and probably knows more than I do about the
ancient language, although his Urgal is a mite weak; Chip Gibson, grand
master of the children’s division at Random House; Nancy Hinkel, pub-
lishing director extraordinaire; Joan DeMayo, director of sales (much ap-
plause, cheers, and bowing!) and her team; Daisy Kline, who with her
team designed the wonderful and eye-catching marketing materials; Linda
Palladino, Rebecca Price, and Timothy Terhune, production; a bow of
thanks to Pam White and her team, who have helped to spread Eragon to
the four corners of the world; Melissa Nelson, design; Alison Kolani, copy
editing; Michele Burke, Michelle Frey’s dedicated, hardworking assistant;
and everyone else at Knopf who has supported me.
At Listening Library: Gerard Doyle, who brings the world of Alagaësia
to life; Taro Meyer for getting the pronunciation of my languages just
right; Jacob Bronstein for pulling all the threads together; and Tim Dit-
low, publisher of Listening Library.
Thank you all.
One more volume to go and we shall reach the end of this tale. One
more manuscript of heartache, ecstasy, and perseverance. . One more co-
dex of dreams.
Stay with me, if it please you, and let us see where this winding path
will carry us, both in this world and in Alagaësia.
Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass!
Christopher Paolini