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Overall Summary
Inheritance (2011) is a young adult fantasy novel by Christopher Paolini. The fourth installment in the Inheritance Cycle, it follows Eragon, who was once a farm boy but then became a dragon rider and fought against the evil king Galbatorix to free their land of Alagaesia from his tyrannical rule.
The movie opens in the middle of a battle over Belatona, which is located near to Alagaësia. Eragon Bromsson and Saphira fought alongside the Varden, who are rebels fighting against Galbatorix’s tyranny. The Varden want to free Alagaësia from his control by taking over Belatona. They succeed at that goal, but Saphira almost dies in the process.
The next step is to take over the city of Dras-Leona. Eragon leads a team into the sewers, but it’s a trap and they are captured by Murtagh and his dragon Thorn. The Varden come to their rescue, but in the process Nasuada (the leader) gets taken away by Murtagh and Thorn. In her absence, Eragon is named as the new leader of the Varden.
Eragon decides to find a way to defeat Galbatorix and his magic. He visits Solembum the werecat for advice, but he learns that the Vault of Souls is part of a prophecy. Eragon must learn their true names before entering the vault on Vroengard Island in order to retrieve hundreds of dragon eggs guarded by Eldunarí (sentient jewels).
Eragon and Saphira learn that Galbatorix’s powers come from the Eldunari he stole, but some of them agree to join their fight against him. The rest stay behind to protect the dragon eggs. Before they leave, a few Eldunari wipe Eragon and Saphira’s memories so that Galbatorix can’t use magic on them to find out about the dragon eggs.
Eragon and Saphira meet up with the Varden at Urû’baen, the capital of the Empire. They enter a series of traps in order to reach Galbatorix’s chambers. He announces that he knows Ancient Language, which is used to regulate magic, and thus can control anyone whose True Name he knows. Murtagh fights Eragon but loses because Eragon stabs him with his magical blue sword Brisingr.
Murtagh is not dead. In fact, he’s changed his name and that frees him from Galbatorix’s control. He attacks the king using a spell called the Name of Names to stop him from casting magic. Eragon calls on the power of the Eldunarí to cast an empathy spell on Galbatorix, which makes him feel all the pain and suffering he has caused in Alagaësia.
Galbatorix is crippled but not yet defeated. He attempts to invade Eragon’s mind, but Murtagh saves him by stopping Galbatorix’s magic. Eragon stabs Galbatorix in the stomach and he commits suicide rather than be defeated.
After the battle, Eragon and Murtagh reconcile. They acknowledge each other as brothers. Thorn speaks to Eragon for the first time to wish him well before flying north into self-imposed exile with Murtagh. Nasuada becomes queen of the empire and makes sure that Urgals are included in future dragon riders. The Eldunarí return memories of hidden eggs so they can be found by their chosen Riders when they hatch years later.
However, Eragon and Saphira soon realize that they can’t raise the dragons and Riders in Alagaësia. They load the eggs and Eldunarí into a boat and sail east to look for a new home. At first, Eragon mourns the loss of his homeland but eventually he looks forward to a new life of adventure.
