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This article is mentioned in Eldest.
This article contains spoilers from Eldest.

The Grey Folk were one of the first races to inhabit Alagaësia. It was believed that they arrived after the dwarves and dragons, who were native to the land, but before the elves and humans. They were the first to utilize magic. Few records remain of the Grey Folk, so relatively little is known about them.[1]

Appearance[]

Little is known about the appearance of the Grey Folk, other than that they were humanoid and grey[2].

History[]

Catastrophe[]

At the time of the Grey Folk, magic was difficult to control, because magic was controlled by thinking and not speaking the words. A stray thought while conducting magic could lead to unintended consequences and be devastating. Because of this, many of the Grey Folk's spells went terribly awry, resulting in their society almost being destroyed and poisoning the land[3] which nearly wiped out every living being on the planet. [1]

Magic-Ancient Language Binding[]

Following the disaster, the surviving Grey Folk sought a way to prevent future tragedies from unwanted aspects of spells,[3] and so they cast what was considered to be one of the greatest enchantments ever wrought.[1] They used their language, the Ancient Language, and bound it to magic so that it was controlled by speech. This powerful language also prevented the speaker from lying. It is not known how they completed the spell, but many of them contributed to ensure success.[1] In addition, they (whether on purpose or accident is not clear) left a method of altering magic and the Ancient Language through the Ancient Language's true name.

Aftermath[]

Because of this enormous change in the nature of magic, the energy toll was great and the Grey Folk were consequently diminished as a people. Their race eventually faded away, with members either living their last years in their cities or taking mates with the younger races.[1]

Speculation[]

While no descendants of the Grey Folk appeared in person, it is possible that the Soothsayer that Galbatorix referred to was such a descendant, as she was described as being neither Elf nor Dwarf nor human, but something else entirely. It is also possible that a known character is a Grey Folk descendant, but we are yet to know this. One possible candidate is Angela, as she is described as human yet has seemingly lived far longer than would be expected. She is also revered by the elves, who refer to her as "wise one". She demonstrates incredible knowledge of magic when she killed 20 soldiers under Dras-Leona and yet claims to have problems "opening up to the energy that fuels magic". This would be consistent with her being one of the Grey Folk, as after the creation of the Ancient Language they diminished as a people or this could hint that it was her spell that almost destroyed Alagaësia, leaving her reluctant to use her magic.

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