Arya Dröttningu
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| Inheritance Trilogy character | |
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| Arya Dröttningu | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Hair colour | Black (blonde in film) |
| Eye colour | Green |
| House | Dröttning |
| Allegiance | Varden, Elves |
| Film portrayer | Sienna Guillory |
| First appearance | Eragon |
In Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Trilogy, Arya Dröttningu, Princess of Ellesméra is a beautiful, hundred-year-old elf with black hair (pictured with red hair in the Eragon film) and is considered young as elves are immortal. Arya is a skilled swordswoman and powerful magic user, and is first in line to the Elvish throne. The color of her magic is green.
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[edit] Role in Eragon
In Eragon, Arya is first introduced as the courier charged with the task of delivering a Dragon's egg from the Varden—an organization fighting against the Empire—to the Elves. This is organized in order to allow people to touch the egg in the hopes of getting it to hatch for them. Arya is ambushed, however, by the Shade Durza on one of her journeys; she desperately tries to send the egg to Brom in Carvahall. The egg ends up in the Spine, a mountain range, where it is found by Eragon.
Eragon sees visions of Arya in his sleep and is eventually imprisoned with her in Gil'ead. With the help of his ally Murtagh, Eragon rescues Arya from the prison. However, she is in a deep sleep; Eragon and Murtagh have no idea what is wrong with her. After they cross the Hadarac desert, Eragon tries to enter Arya's mind. Telepathically she tells him her name and the route to the Varden. She also tells Eragon that she has been afflicted with a rare poison, the Skilna Bragh. While in her self-induced coma, the poison acts more slowly, but if they do not reach the Varden quickly she will die. When they reach the Varden, Arya's condition is serious. Fortunately, the antidote (Tunivor's Nectar) is administered in time, and Arya recovers. Once she has recovered, Arya plays a key part in helping the Varden and Eragon to defeat Durza. It is she who destroys the giant sapphire, Isidar Mithrim, which stood between her and Eragon. The resulting explosion distracted Durza, so that Eragon could kill him.
[edit] Role in Eldest
In Eldest, Arya travels to Ellesméra with Eragon, Orik and a host of Dwarves and later elves to help Eragon complete his training. It is during this time Eragon's emotional feelings for her deepen; when he forwardly admits them to her during the Blood-Oath Celebration, she rejects him. Arya tells Eragon that she thinks she is too old for him and that he should not be distracted from his duties as a rider. Although many readers of books have speculated this is not the only reason. Arya fights in the Farthen Dûr and Burning Plains battles, and she is present when Eragon reveals the identity of his father and brother. At the end of Eldest she remains a loyal friend to Eragon and will continue to help him through Book 3.
[edit] Family
In Eldest, Arya is revealed to be the daughter of the Queen of the Elves, Islanzadí, making Arya a princess. She has quarreled with her mother, but is shown reconciling. Arya is a romantic interest of Eragon's, but she advises him to forget his infatuation with her, as she does not reciprocate his feelings and they would not make a suitable match, being of different species. Furthermore, at one hundred years old, Arya is too old for Eragon. She seems to be fond of Eragon only as a friend, and urges him to focus on his duties and save Alagaësia.
Arya's family is one of the several royal houses, all living in Ellesméra, such as the House of Miolandra. The Dröttning dynasty, however, has been in power for many centuries. The family to which the ancient Queen Tarmunora belonged is not identified; Tarmunora was succeeded by Dellanir, Arya's grandmother, implying that Tarmunora was a Dröttning—however, she could have handed the throne to another royal house, as Elves sometimes do. Dellanir ruled for centuries before voluntarily abdicating in favor of her son, Evandar. Evandar then became King and mated with an Elf princess, Islanzadí, who gave birth to Arya. Evandar died at the hands of either Galbatorix or one of the Forsworn about 100 years ago or less and his queen has ruled since. It is unclear how many family members Arya has apart from her mother; however Arya has stated that she has no brothers or sisters and that there is another Dröttning royal— of lower rank—named Niduen, who is only mentioned in passing. Niduen sends a gift to Eragon when he arrives in Ellesméra, but it is unclear how this being is related to Arya.
[edit] Adaptations
In the film adaptation of Eragon, Arya is played by Sienna Guillory. Unlike in the books, Arya in the film does not have pointed ears or black hair, she is blond; indeed, that she is a dryad (a female elf) is not mentioned in the film at all. She tells Eragon her identity as "princess of Ellesméra"—which, in the books, Eragon doesn't know until Eldest. At the beginning of the film, when she is attacked by Durza, Brom is narrating, and he identifies her as Arya. During her captivity and Rescuing she is concious untill much later in the film. However, in the book, she was in a state close to death. She also leaves at the end of the film Eragon to return to Ellesmera, but in the book, she remains with Eragon at Farthen Dur until Eldest.
[edit] Trivia
- "Arya" is a Sanskrit and Avestan word meaning "noble."
- She is the only character from (the novel) Eragon whose last name (if any) is revealed.
- Many fans belive Arya will become the rider of the green dragon in book 3, since her magic is green.
- In the movie, the actor that plays Arya is seen with a silver tooth in the prologe.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Islanzadí Dröttning |
Line of Succession to the Elvish Throne | Succeeded by ' |
| Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Trilogy | |
|---|---|
| Books | Eragon | Eldest | Book 3 |
| Films | Eragon |
| Games | Eragon |
| Main Characters | Eragon | Brom | Arya | Galbatorix | Murtagh | Roran | Durza | Ajihad | Nasuada | Angela | Saphira | Oromis | more... |
| Places | Alagaësia | Beor Mountains | Ellesméra | Farthen Dûr | Teirm | Inheritance Trilogy locations | more... |
| Events | Blood-Oath Celebration | Battle of the Burning Plains | Battle for Carvahall | Battle under Farthen Dûr | Dagshelgr Invocation | The Fall |
