Andlátkyn; Vandr Sanses unin Alagaësia

Abyssal Memories

"The Banishing of the Names?"
Arya started writing in the earth again. "It is one of the most significant events that happened during the fighting between the Riders and the Forsworn. When the dragons realized that thirteen of their own had betrayed them- that those thirteen were helping Galbatorix to eradicate the rest of their race and that it was unlikely anyone could stop their rampage- the dragons grew so angry, every dragon not of the Forsworn combined their strength and wrought one of their inexplicable pieces of magic. Together, they stripped the thirteen of their names."

"How?" Bird suddenly blurted. Eragon gestured to him. "Yes, how?"
Arya regarded them both. "Did I not just say it was inexplicable? All we know is that after the dragons cast their spell, no one could utter the names of the thirteen; those who remembered the named soon forgot them; and while you can read the names in scrolls and letters where they are recorded and even copy them if you look at only one glyph at a time, they are as gibberish. The dragons spared Jarnunvösk, Galbatorix's first dragon, for it was not his fault he was killed by Urgals, and also Shruikan, for he did not choose to serve Galbatorix but was forced to by Galbatorix and Morzan."

"What about their true names? Did they erase those as well?"
She nodded. "True names, birth names, nicknames, family names, titles. Everything. And as a result, the thirteen were reduced to little more than animals. No longer could they say, 'I like this' or 'I dislike that' or 'I have green scales', for to say that would be to name themselves. They could not even call themselves dragons. Word by word, the spell obliterated everything that defined them as thinking creatures, and the Forsworn had no choice but to watch in silent misery as their dragons descended into complete ignorance. The experience was so disturbing, at least five of the thirteen, and several of the Forsworn, went mad as a result."

She hovered over one of her glyphs before rewriting it.
"The Banishing of the Names is the main reason so many people now believe that dragons were nothing more than animals to ride from one place to another."
"They wouldn't believe that if they had met Saphira. Or Draco and GB."

She smiled. "No." Then flourished her last line on her new poem. This time Bird leaned closer with Eragon to study the words.
The trickster, the riddler, the keeper of the balance, he of the many faces who finds life in death and who fears no evil; he who walks through doors.

"What prompted you to write this?" Eragon asked.
"The thought that many things are not what they appear." She explained while wiping it away.

"Has anyone tried to guess Galbatorix's true name?" Eragon then quested. "It seems as if that would be the fastest way to end this war. To be honest, I think it might be the only hope we have of vanquishing him in battle."

Her eyes narrowed at Eragon. "Were you not being honest with me before?"
He blinked, then chuckled. "Of course not. It's just a figure of speech."
"And a poor one at that. Unless you happen to be in the habit of lying."

Eragon paused, remembering what he was trying to ask.
"I know it would be hard to find Galbatorix's true name, but if all the elves and all the Wyrdaí Islingrya and members of the Varden who know the ancient language searched for it, we could not help but succeed."

Arya considered her response, holding the dry strip of grass limply before starting to strip it into sections, plaiting them.
"Galbatorix's true name is no great secret. Three different elves- one a Rider, and two ordinary spellcasters- discovered it on their own and many years apart."
"They did!"

She merely continued plaiting, taking up another blade and stripping it as well.
"We can only speculate whether Galbatorix himself knows his true name. I am of the opinion that he does not, for whatever it is, his true name must be so terrible, he could not go on living if he heard it."
"Unless he is so evil or so demented, the truth about his actions has no power to disturb him."
"Perhaps."