Brom (The Inheritance Cycle)

Brom is a fictional character in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Trilogy. He is a former Dragon Rider and a senior member of the Varden. He is the trilogy's main character's mentor through the first book. He also created the Varden.

Appearances in the books

Role in Eragon

In Eragon Brom was noble, and is first introduced in the guise of a wizened old storyteller. When Eragon discovers a dragon egg and the baby dragon inside chooses to hatch for him, Eragon asks Brom for suggestions of good names for Dragons. Eragon and his dragon later agree on the name Saphira, without understanding the significance of the name.

Saphira's existence puts Eragon and his family in great danger of the King's servants, for the evil King Galbatorix, also a Dragon Rider, covets the dragon eggs. When Eragon's Uncle Garrow is murdered by creatures known as the Ra'zac, Eragon and Saphira are forced to flee Carvahall and Palancar Valley. Brom accompanies them on their quest to find and destroy the Ra'zac. Along the way, he educates Eragon in the utilization of the magical powers bestowed upon a Dragon Rider, and the art of swordsmanship.

They finally find the Ra'zac, but are ambushed and must escape. When Eragon, Saphira, and Brom are captured by the Ra'zac, a brave young stranger named Murtagh rescues them, but not before one of the Ra'zac throws a dagger at Eragon. Brom sacrifices himself to save Eragon, jumping into the dagger's path.

Before dying, Brom reveals to Eragon that he was once a Dragon Rider himself, and that he killed Morzan, first and last of the Forsworn. His own dragon, named Saphira, was killed in the battle of Doru Araeba.

The greatest mystery of all are his last words. Brom told Eragon seven words in the Ancient Language, and their meaning. The nature of these words have led to a great deal of speculation. The significance (and actual words) will most likely be revealed in the third book.

Eragon creates a sandstone tomb for Brom on top of a hill near Dras-Leona, the city in which the Ra'zac had been hiding. Saphira uses her own magic to transform Brom's tomb into a sparkling diamond so that "time will not ravage him." Eragon sculpts runes into the original sandstone before the tomb becomes diamond: "Here lies Brom/ who was a Dragon rider/ and like a Father/ to me. May his name live on in glory."

Background

In Eldest, while under the tutelage of the ancient elf Dragon Rider, Oromis, and Oromis's massive gold dragon, Glaedr, Eragon and Saphira learn more about Brom's past. Oromis had taught both Brom and Morzan, who as his students became close comrades.

Brom came from a family of illuminators in Kuasta, a remote city near the sea, south west of Carvahall. His mother was Nelda and his father Holcomb. 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), Brom would knock on a door frame three time before entering or exiting a room. The human students teased him for this. Eventually, he abandoned the practice, along with his other habits. During their tutelage under Oromis, Brom idolized Morzan, tagged along with him, and always considered Morzan's actions to be the right thing to do. Morzan often took advantage of Brom's unflagging admiration.

Galbatorix had Brom's dragon, the original Saphira, put to death in front of Brom's very eyes. It is hinted that it was Morzan, who actually killed her, and so inspired a deep and unyielding hatred of him in Brom.

Driven nearly insane by grief and loss of identity (as dragon and Rider are deeply connected from the dragon's birth onwards), Brom swore to take revenge on Morzan, whom he blamed for his dragon's death. After the creation of the independent country of Surda, Brom sought to use the turmoil to his advantage. He founded the rebel group known as the Varden by gathering and merging groups opposed to Galbatorix. He led them for a few years, and during that time he personally killed two of the Forsworn and had a hand in the deaths of five others. Eventually, he surrendered the position of leader of the Varden to another in order to pursue his true passion, Morzan's downfall. His fervor led him to a Teirm-based scholar named Jeod Longshanks, who claimed to have discovered a passage into Urû'baen. Brom and Jeod organized the unsuccessful theft of the three remaining dragon eggs, all of which were in Galbatorix's possession. They only succeded in stealing Saphira due to treachery within the castle. Following that, a great race was initiated, with Brom racing against the Ra'zac and Morzan for the egg. At Gi'lead, he fought Morzan for possession and eventually slew him, thought the contest was terrible. Afterward, he picked up Morzan's sword, Zar'oc, and the egg, and headed off to the Beor Mountains to deliver the egg of the unhatched dragon to the Varden.

Eragon, who is shaken to hear that Eragon was Morzan's son, later suspect 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). In Eragon, however, it is evident that Brom is fond of young Eragon. When Eragon and Brom stay in Jeod's house in Teirm, Eragon meets a witch named Angela next door, who tells him Brom has led a cursed life, always meaning good and inadvertently ruining things through no fault of his own. From various sources, such as Angela and later Oromis, Eragon learns that Brom has suffered the losses of people close to him, including his dragon Saphira and a woman who lost her life because Brom loved her. She also shows admiration for him, saying that 'the only thing he succeeded at was killing Morzan, and a better deed he could not have done'.

When Eragon, Saphira and Brom flee Carvahall, Brom expresses his gratitude that he lived to see the legend of the Dragon Riders reborn.

Portrayal in film

In the movie adaptation of Eragon produced in 2006, Brom is played by Jeremy Irons. Instead of being a storyteller, he appears to be just some man telling stories at the bar. Eragon and Saphira learn much sooner that he used to be a Dragon Rider. The main difference is perhaps that instead of being killed by the Ra'Zacs, he is killed by Durza.