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Apr 26, 2016 · Brom dies, he tells Eragon seven words in the ancient language, adjuring him only to use them in a time of great need. “It is the way of things . . . I must. Will you take my blessing?” Eragon bowed his head and nodded, overcome. Brom placed a trembling hand on his brow. “Then I give it to you. May the coming years bring you great ...
- Overview
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Brom Holcombsson (7871/7876-8000) was a male human, a former Dragon Rider, and the founder of the Varden. In the third book, it is revealed by Oromis that he is Eragon Shadeslayer (kingslayer)'s father, a secret that he and Saphira II had been keeping upon Brom's insistence.
Early life
Brom came from a family of illuminators in Kuasta, a remote city near the Sea, far south of Carvahall. His mother was named Nelda and his father Holcomb. When Brom was a child, presumably at the age of ten, a female aquamarine Dragon hatched for him and he named her Saphira. Brom then went to the city of Ilirea to be trained as a dragon rider. Kuasta was so isolated by the Spine, that it became a peculiar place, full of strange customs and superstitions. When he was new to Ilirea (Urû'baen), for instance, Brom would knock on a door frame three times before entering or exiting a room. The other students laughed at these habits, so Brom eventually abandoned them.
Friendship with Morzan
During his tutelage under Oromis and Glaedr, Brom befriended a fellow student three years his elder named Morzan. Brom idolized Morzan, tagged after him, allowed Morzan to boss him around and always considered himself weaker than Morzan. Morzan often took advantage of Brom's unflagging admiration, making him "blind as a bat". Blagden said the phrase "blind as a bat" to Eragon during his first visit to Ellesméra. Oromis considered separating them, but never did, despite Morzan's cruelty.
The Downfall
During Galbatorix's rebellion and the subsequent Fall of the Dragon Riders, Brom and Saphira initially joined their teachers in seeking refuge in Du Weldenvarden, but the young pair brazenly left for the defense of Vroengard, against their masters' wishes. In the fighting, Morzan murdered Saphira in Doru Araeba. Brom also lost his sword, Undbitr, during this time. Devastated by grief and loss of identity (due to the deep bond between dragon and Rider), Brom swore to take revenge on Morzan for his dragon's death and the destruction of his world. He began to pursue and persecute his former idol even more intensely than he had idolized him in the first place. As Oromis once said "Brom's love for Morzan was given way to hate, like a candle before an inferno". He joined the elves at the Battle of the Plains of Ilirea, only for them to lose to Galbatorix and The Forsworn.
Appearance
Brom had a white beard and silver hair. He always carried a staff, covered with runes carved from the Ancient Language. He had the gedwey ignasia on his palm, but kept it covered with brown paint and mud, to conceal his identity as a Rider.
Personality
In his youth, Brom had some unorthodox habits, such as knocking on a door frame three times before entering or exiting a room, which he abandoned as he grew older. As a student of Oromis he always asked questions (a trait he seems to have passed down to Eragon). He idolized Morzan and loved him like a brother. Morzan took advantage of Brom's affection for him by ordering him about and acting as though he was superior to Brom. Brom loved his dragon, Saphira, and her death caused him to go temporarily mad with grief. He grew to hate Morzan for betraying the Dragon Riders and causing the death of his beloved dragon: Brom's grief at the loss of Saphira continued until the end of his life. Brom was a very intelligent and strong minded man and claimed that only one person had beaten him in a battle of wills and that was before he was fully grown. Brom believed that intelligence was more important than strength and he defeated his opponents not because he was stronger, but because he was smarter. He was very adept at finding flaws in enemies defenses. Later in his life, Brom fell in love with Eragon's mother Selena. He loved her so much that he left his friends when he believed her life was in danger, leading his friends to think he was dead. He claimed that his fear for Selena's life gave him the strength and fortitude he needed to slay Morzan and his dragon. Oromis believed that losing Selena had been almost as hard for Brom as losing Saphira. Despite the hardships of his life, Brom remained pure of heart and was dedicated to bringing an end to Galbatorix's rule. While Brom was living in Carvahall, he disguised himself as a storyteller in order to hide from the Broddring Empire. He loved his son Eragon, but it wasn't until after he died that Eragon discovered the truth about his parentage. Brom was very secretive, keeping many things to himself, including his existence from his old friend Jeod for the better part of twenty years. Jeod and Eragon also noted that he could be irritable at times.
Powers & Abilities
While the full extent of Brom's powers were never depicted, as he had already out-grown his prime and was without his Dragon at the start of the series, it can be assumed that at his height Brom was incredibly powerful. He bested many of the Forsworn in combat, most notably Morzan. Even in his old age, he was a master swordsman who could easily best an inexperienced Eragon without a second thought. Even while outnumbered by Urgals, he stood his ground and managed to gain the upper-hand. It was stated that Brom did not rely on might so much as he did on ingenuity and creativity. His defeat of Morzan is even more impressive when realizing that he killed both the most powerful member of the Forsworn and his dragon, without the aid of his own dragon. Brom was stated to be one of the Varden's strongest magicians by Ajihad and indeed, Galbatorix considered Brom to be his most hated and dangerous foe. Brom also had some skill in hand-to-hand combat as he would occasionally spar with Eragon with his fists, although it was never stated what the outcome of the fights were or how skillful Brom or Eragon fought during these unarmed combat spars. Brom was clearly rather charismatic individual, given the fact that he became a rallying point for resistance against Galbatorix, gathering many under his command to found the Varden and being crucial in convincing the elves and dwarves to support the cause.
•Eragon, who was shaken to hear that Murtagh was Morzan's son, later suspected that Brom came to Carvahall after Morzan's death in order to keep an eye on Eragon, so as to prevent the boy from becoming like his "father" (Murtagh's existence was kept secret from everyone except Galbatorix). This opinion changed after Eragon found out Brom was his father, not Morzan, although he was right to assume Brom was in Carvahall to keep an eye on him.
•When Eragon, Saphira and Brom fled Carvahall, Brom expressed his gratitude that he lived to see the legend of the Dragon Riders reborn.
•Saphira was forced to keep Eragon's real parents a secret from him because of the oaths that Brom made her swear in the Ancient Language. Saphira was bound by her oaths until Eragon found out more about his parentage on his own.
•Brom's exact age at death has not been calculated by Christopher Paolini, but is estimated to be 110 to 130 years.
•Inheritance will bring some discussion of the three people who could defeat Brom, although according to Paolini: " It’s only after the fall of the Riders that he became as formidable as he was.".
•In interviews, Christopher Paolini has often expressed interest in telling the story of Brom and Jeod in a fifth, prequel, book of the Inheritance Cycle.
Saphira I
Saphira was Brom's dragon, who hatched for him when he was ten. As many other riders and their dragons, they shared a deep connection. Her death drove Brom nearly mad and made him dedicate himself to avenge Saphira.
Holcomb and Nelda
Holcomb and Nelda were Brom's parents. He lived with them in Kuasta until he was ten, and he left them to train to be a dragon rider. He never saw them again.
Selena
Selena first met Brom when he infiltrated Morzan's castle as a gardener. Brom's first intention was to kill her, because she was Morzan's Black Hand. Morzan was dependent on her to fullfill his will in the empire. But during this time, Brom and Selena fell in love. Selena ended her loyalty to Morzan due to his cruel treatment of her and their son Murtagh, which had killed her love for him. Thus, her name in the ancient language changed and she was no longer bound to her oaths to Morzan. Instead, she fed Brom and the Varden information about Morzan and Galbatorix. Brom loved her and wanted to help her escape her servitude to the empire. When he learned that Selena disappeared, he rushed back to Morzan's castle fearing that she might end up as Galbatorix' servant. However, she died before he arrived. Brom was consumed with grief and wanted to learn the cause of her death and punish the one responsible, if possible. He learned from Morzan's healers and the castle's servants that Selena had died from birth complications and that Selena had given birth to their child.
Comparison with "Star Wars"
Brom can be compared to the Star Wars character "Obi-Wan Kenobi". Both of them were one of the last in their respective Orders (Obi-Wan, along with Yoda, being among the last of the Jedi Knights, while Brom, along with Oromis, was the last of the Elder Riders ) and both of them founding a secret resistance movement against those who destroyed their Order before going into hiding near the young protagonist's home in order to oversee their training (Obi-Wan moved to Tatooine, near Luke's uncle's farm and Brom moved to Carvahall, near Garrow's farm, where Eragon spent his youth). He was also killed by one of the enemy (Obi-Wan by Darth Vader, Brom by the Ra'zac in the Book /Durza in the film). In addition, Obi-Wan Kenobi was devastated when his apprentice and friend, Anakin Skywalker, turned to the dark side, as was Brom when Morzan betrayed the Riders. Also Obi-Wan and Brom were killed before their students training was fully complete, so Luke/Eragon had to continue training without their dead masters, with masters Yoda/Oromis. The main difference between the two characters was that Brom was the father of the protagonist, whereas Obi-Wan was not.
Comparison with "The Lord of the Rings"
Brom's description in the book (long white beard, hooked nose, carved staff, smokes a pipe) can also be closely compared to "Gandalf" from The Lord of the Rings. His role was fairly similar to Gandalf as well: Brom left with the hero of the story, was a wise old wizardly character with magic, as well as died saving Eragon's life by jumping in front of a dagger thrown by one of the Ra'zac in the first book, just like Gandalf died the first time by protecting Frodo from the Balrog. He also blows colored smoke rings as Galdalf did as well.
Comparison with "Harry Potter"
Brom can be compared to the Harry Potter character Albus Dumbledore. Both of them had one best friend in their youth whom they dearly loved and worshiped (Morzan and Gellert Grindewald respectively). However, both Morzan and Gellert did not fully return their friends' affections and exploited them in subtle ways, with Morzan frequently ordering Brom around, while Gellert encouraged Albus to take over the Wizarding World and subjugate Muggles. In the end though, after Morzan and Gellert killed someone else close to their friends (Saphira I and Ariana respectively), their strong friendships with Brom and Albus would come to an abrupt end. However, while Gellert's killing of Ariana was accidental and thus manslaughter, Morzan's killing of Saphira was deliberate and unwarranted and thus murder. As a result, both Brom and Albus would make it their goal to defeat their former best friends in an epic duel, with Morzan being killed and Gellert being imprisoned for life in Nurmengard. In the aftermath of these duels, both Brom and Albus gained the weapon of their former friend (Zar'roc and the Elder Wand respectively). These weapons eventually came into the possession of their respective student (Eragon and Harry Potter). However, the greatest difference between the two was that Albus had fallen in love with Gellert, while Brom had fallen in love with Morzan's wife.
•Though Brom personally killed three of the Forsworn, he only kept Morzan's sword. It is unknown what happened to the other Riders' swords after their deaths.
Nov 25, 2015 · The trick is to avoid getting inside a dragon’s belly! To understand a dragon, one merely needs to observe a cat or a falcon and imagine what they would be like if they were fifty feet long and could breathe fire. Do either of you ever feel like the characters are controlling everything, and not you? Sometimes.
A: Yes. I have a whole story planned around them. () Q: Let’s talk about Brom’s “seven words”. There are fan theories on both sides of the aisle here — they’re either seven regular words of no real importance, given to Eragon to help him survive the next few weeks (my personal favorite) or they were seven powerful words that Eragon ...
Aug 28, 2015 · Eragon’s questions and the Ra’zac’s presence in Carvahall caused Brom to suspect that Eragon was now a Dragon Rider. Along the way to Garrow’s farm, Brom swiftly grabbed Eragon’s hand and saw the gedwëy ignasia emblazoned on his palm. The boy rushed away while Brom turned toward the village with a sense of elation.
What are the words brom whispers to Eragon? Question. In eragon, this happens before brom dies. “He motioned for Eragon to bend closer. Very quietly, he whispered seven words from the ancient language, then even more softly told him what they meant.”. I don’t remember further mention of them, what were they? 2. Sort by:
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Their bond becomes so intense that, after Brom's death, Eragon wants the world to know that Brom was a friend, and so much more. And the feeling is mutual. As Saphira tells Eragon, "Brom also wanted you to know that of all the people in Alagaësia, he believed you were the best suited to inherit the Rider's legacy" (38.44). Sounds like a pretty ...
