Magic (Inheritance)
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Magic is an integral part of Alagaësia, the world in which the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini is set. Magic, like electricity, is a force that exists naturally in nature. Those born with an innate talent are able to "reach for" this magic by different means. In the lifetime of Eragon Shadeslayer, the use of magic is uncommon, but is still practiced. The Master Oromis, an Elven Elder, was one of the last magic-users in Alagaësia.
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[edit] Methods of using magic
Magicians use the Ancient Language, a series of powerful words, to control their magic spells. A word spoken in the Ancient Language creates a correlated magic spell; for example, speaking the word brisingr can create fire. The greatest magic users can perform spells by merely thinking the words, rather than speaking them aloud; however, this is considered more dangerous, as stray thoughts could potentially disrupt the spellcasting process.
[edit] Limitations in using magic
Before the creation of the Ancient Language, magic was an imprecise and often hazardous art. One could think about the spell they would liked to have cast and have done it on whatever they were facing e.g. a door. The Ancient language was made so that if you wanted to blow up a door even though you were facing a window, the door would still blow up if you said the words. Even after the Ancient Language came into existence, use of magic was still potentially dangerous. Spells that were too powerful could cause widespread destruction, and affect the health of the magic user. Attempting too great a spell could result in the magic user's death.
The idea of magic as it is in the trilogy allows for extra-sensory perception, subconscious premonitions, psychokinesis, telepathy, etc, but does not permit anything that is impossible by other, more difficult means.
A magic-user cannot raise anyone from the dead; If a magic-user tries, they will expend all of their energy and die instead. A user of magic does not have the ability to stop a spell without completing it.
[edit] Uses of Magic
Magic can be used to accomplish almost any task, though the recommendation is that it is used only for what cannot be done by other means. It has during the story been used to generate light and heat; kill hairs at their roots; cause a self-induced coma; move objects; throw lace; detect poison; hear thoughts; manipulate water; view from a distance; heal wounds; cognize the presence of life; understand people's actions; cut off circulation of blood; combine two consciousnesses into a noosphere; eat bunnies; make promises; change composition of matter; and touch people's minds with one's own.
[edit] Magic users
The following are the various known types of magicians and magic users in the trilogy:
- Human Dragon Riders: Human dragon riders usually have very little magical strength to begin with, but as they and their dragons mature and train, they become exceedingly powerful beings capable of matching and even defeating Elven Dragon Riders. It is believed that a Human rider's bond with his/her dragon grows more rapidly in power than an Elvish rider's bond. Brom, Eragon, Morzan, Murtagh and Galbatorix were all human Dragon Riders.
- Elven Dragon Riders: Very little is known about the power or skill of these riders, due to the fact that the only Elvish Dragon Rider we meet is the crippled Oromis. From the hints in the books they were perhaps better magic users in some ways then their human counterparts, due to the fact that magic comes more naturally to elves, who have been using it for much longer then humans have.
- Elves: Elves are natural magic users who have been using the art for countless ages and have nearly perfected their use of it. Even Elvish children are powerful magic users. and the typical elf commoner is as powerful as the most skilled human magicians. Examples: Arya, Vanir
- Magicians/mages: These are human spellcasters who use magic generally the same way that Dragon Riders and elves do, but these generally are much weaker magically then any of the above and have less skill or vocabulary in the ancient language. Example: The Twins
- Sorcerers/sorceresses: It is not well explained how a sorcerer and magician's spellcraft differs, because they appear to have the same results as each other. What is known though is that where a or mage/magician uses his/her own internal power to fuel their spells, the sorcerer summons/manipulates spirits to do spells for them.
- Shades: A Shade is a sorcerer/sorceress whose mind and body has been taken over by a spirit when the sorcerer tried to summon a spirit more powerful than him/herself. Shades also possess amazing magical and physical strength. Example: Durza the Shade
- Witches/wizards: Little is known about witches and wizards because the only one mentioned in the book is Angela. She is a herbalist and combines herbs to create potions. [Brom] tells [Eragon] early in the first book that witches and wizards use potions and spells, but not the ancient language. Angela is also a capable fighter, wielding a double-bladed staff which she won in a bet from the Dwarves.
[edit] Criticism
Readers have pointed out similarities between Paolini's interpretation of magical execution and that of other authors, such as David Eddings and Ursula K. Le Guin's.[1]
