Murtagh

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Murtagh Morzanson
Biographical information
Born	Unknown
Died	Unknown
Physical description
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Height	Unknown
Hair Color	Brown (black in film)
Eye Color	Gray
Chronological and political information
Affiliation	Empire, Varden, Galbatorix, Galbatorix's Dragon Riders
Dragon	Thorn
Known teachers	Tornac,Galbatorix

Murtagh was a male human, and the son of Morzan and Selena. He was a fiercely loyal companion, an accomplished swordsman, and the possible love interest of Nasuada. He wielded a hand-and-a-half sword, a yew bow, and a dagger called Drac'ner. He also had a white horn with silver fettings, and a horse named Tornac, after his old swordsmanship mentor. During Eldest one of King Galbatorix's Dragon eggs hatched for Murtagh and he named it Thorn.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early life 1.2 Escape from Urû'baen 1.3 To Gil'ead 1.4 Flight to the Varden 1.5 Capture 1.6 Battle of the Burning Plains 2 Real-world connections 2.1 Speculations 2.1.1 The controversial statement 2.1.2 Role in Brisingr 2.1.3 Possible romance 2.1.4 Powers 2.1.5 Sorcery 2.2 Other 3 Etymology 4 Real World Connections

[edit] History

[edit] Early life

Murtagh explained parts of his past to Eragon and Saphira, but little is known about his early years. As the child of the violent and twisted Dragon Rider Morzan, Murtagh experienced an unpleasant (to say the least) childhood. The long scar on his back bears testament to this; at the age of three, Murtagh received the wound when Morzan threw his sword, Zar'roc, at him in a drunken rampage. Even after his father died at the hands of Brom, Murtagh continued to avoid the courts as much as was possible while living in King Galbatorix's castle. His mother, Selena, disappeared early in his life, presumably to secure a better life for her second, unborn child. Selena's second son, Murtagh's younger brother, was revealed later to be Eragon himself.

[edit] Escape from Urû'baen

In his younger years, Murtagh was summoned into Galbatorix's presence. The king, in a rare good mood (seemly), readily offered his "friendship" to the son of his former ally, and Murtagh eagerly accepted it. Later, however, he realized that he had made a mistake in doing so. Galbatorix had fallen into a rage upon learning that rebels had intercepted and destroyed three brigades of Imperial troops. He commanded Murtagh to take a company of soldiers and decimate the village of Cantos, without even attempting to see if all of them were guilty or not, which was known to harbor the rebels. Murtagh refused the order and that night(on his 18th birthday), fled Urû'baen with his faithful teacher, Tornac. Tornac was killed as they escaped the city, and Murtagh continued on alone.

[edit] To Gil'ead

Murtagh became a loner, unwilling to side either with the Empire or the Varden. Hearing tidings of a new Dragon Rider, however, he was determined to follow the trail of the Ra'zac in the hopes of meeting up with him. He tracked the vile creatures to a point outside Dras-Leona. By a stroke of fortune, he was able to rescue Eragon and Saphira from the Ra'zac's clutches.(but not in the movie)

Murtagh followed Eragon and Saphira to Gil'ead. Murtagh and Saphira successfully rescued Eragon and an elf named Arya from captivity in Gil'ead, despite the appearance of Durza; Murtagh was able to temporarily disembody the Shade by shooting him between the eyes.

[edit] Flight to the Varden

Murtagh reluctantly agreed to accompany Eragon and Saphira in their search for the Varden, made more urgent because of Arya's desperate condition; she had been poisoned in prison, and the Varden and the elves in Du Weldenvarden alone had the antidote. The unlikely company crossed the Hadarac without ado, but an encounter with slavers on the desert's edge, and Murtagh's cold-blooded killing of the bandits' leader, Torkenbrand, sparked a clash of wills between Eragon and himself.

They reached the Varden, pursued by a band of deadly Kull. Faced with accepting the Varden's hospitality or confronting the Kull on his own, Murtagh stuck by Eragon's side. He refused, however, to allow the Twins to probe his mind, and, after being recognized as the son of Morzan by Ajihad, he was imprisoned within Tronjheim.

Later, he was given the chance to prove himself an enemy of the Empire by fighting alongside the Varden during the Battle under Farthen Dûr. He proved himself sufficiently, in Ajihad's eyes, and personally accompanied the Varden leader as the last of the Urgals were rooted out and destroyed.

[edit] Capture

Targeted by the Twins during the aftermath of the battle, Murtagh was ensorcelled and taken back to Urû'baen, where he was tortured by Galbatorix for his rebellion. Then, when the red dragon, Thorn, hatched for him, they were forced to swear their allegiance to the Empire in the Ancient Language as Murtagh's true name and Thorn's true name were found by Galbatorix, allowing the king to control them regardless of their intent.

[edit] Battle of the Burning Plains

Murtagh learned dark secrets of magic from Galbatorix, secrets that gave him unspeakable power. He was then dispatched to The Burning Plains, where Imperial forces were massed against those of Surda and the Varden, with orders to capture Eragon and Saphira. During the battle Murtagh killed the dwarf king Hrothgar. His new skills also allowed him to best the weary Eragon towards the end of this Battle. After defeating him, Murtagh took Eragon's blade, Zar'roc, claiming that the sword was rightfully his. He then revealed, using the Ancient Language so that his words were unarguably believed to be true by Murtagh, that Morzan was Eragon's father, as well; he and Eragon were thus brothers. He decided at the last to spare Eragon, at risk of severe punishment for not obeying the orders given to him by Galbatorix.

[edit] Real-world connections

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[edit] Speculations

• It is presumed that, on coming of age at 16, Murtagh inherited his father's castle and lands north of Urû'baen. This is never addressed in the books, however (though it is stated that his only 'expected' inheritance was Zar'roc).

[edit] The controversial statement

The truth of Murtagh's statement - that Morzan is the father of Eragon - is false. In Brisingr, it is revealed that Brom, not Morzan, is Eragon's father. Murtagh and Eragon only share the same mother, as per a possible clue given in the riddle spoken by Blagden, the raven (p. 546):

While two may share two,
And one of two is certainly one,
One might be two.

It has been pointed out that, while one cannot purposefully lie in the Ancient Language, one can say something that is not true. If Murtagh was led to believe that Morzan was Eragon's father, even if it was not true, he could still have made his statement in the Ancient Language. You cannot lie in the ancient language but a falsity isn't a lie if you don't know the truth.

Another deciphering of the riddle is so: the "two sharing two" is Eragon and Murtagh possibly sharing two parents (Morzan and Selena); the "one of two certainly being one" could describe Selena being the definite mother of both and "one might be two" could refer to one father, Morzan, actually being two fathers, Brom and Morzan.

Color might also foreshadow such a revelation. Brom may have had a blue rider sword since his Dragon's name was Saphira and assuming it was not destroyed it may come into possession of Eragon since Saphira is blue. {This is impossible, as we have discovered that Brom's sword was "lost", presumably destroyed in the battle where he lost his Saphira. (Eldest: pg 302 Hardcover)}

Morzan must have had a Red Dragon due to Zar'roc being red, and a rider's blades and dragon's color matches. Since this passed from Eragon to Murtagh and Thorn is red, then it would fit accordingly, especially if they have a rematch with these weapons.

To sum the last 2 paragraphs up assuming Brom is Eragon's father then the colors of their fathers are their colors too. Blue for Eragon and Saphira + Brom and Saphira, and red for Murtagh and Thorn + Morzan + Morzan's Dragon

[edit] Role in Brisingr

While many expected some form of redemption in the third book, Murtagh remains very much under the command of Galbatorix throughout it. He shows up to again try and capture Eragon and Saphira but fails yet again. During the confrontation, he reveals that both he and Thorn suffered greatly for the mercy they showed Eragon presviously. He still wants to be away from Galbatorix, proven when he listens to Eragon's reasoning over changing their True Names by changing something about themselves. He denies this idea as possible and attacks his former ally and half-brother. However, with the help of the twelve elves and Arya, he is defeated and retreats.

He shows up again to battle Oromis and is recognised to have fear in his eyes. Unable to defeat the elder rider, Galbatorix forces him into his control and converses with Oromis using Murtagh's body before battling them using his own power. He is able to deal a fatal blow when the elf goes into a fit in the midst of the battle, killing the elf using the body of Murtagh. Thorn also kills Glaedr following Oromis's death. The audience see this through Glaedr's Heart of Hearts.

It seems that Murtagh is very much under the control of Galbatorix and wishes that he was not. Although he seems to relish his power, he also seems to want to be free of the control. He even gets angry at Oromis for not revealing himself sooner so that Oromis could have helped him.

And his hair changes color. Don't forget that important detail.

[edit] Possible romance

There is no real romance for Murtagh in the three books. Nasuada is a possible, as they enjoy each others company, plus she was upset when he was 'killed'.

[edit] Powers

Less powerful than Eragon? It is widely believed that, after being 'transformed' by the elves as he was, a fully replenished Eragon could have defeated Murtagh in a fair duel. The fact is that Eragon was fighting for hours and hours before Murtagh even took the field. No real evidence is given of any advancement of Murtagh's sword skills, while Eragon is given the heightened physical abilities of an elf. Indeed, Eragon managed to go blade to blade with Murtagh until he literally collapsed with exhaustion. On these grounds, it is probable that Murtagh wouldn't have lasted very long against Eragon at full strength. Eragon also stated that with his new abilities he could have beaten Murtagh even though his technical skills were better than Vanir's and as good as his.

Certain fans disagree. Murtagh had been learning black magic of which the elves do not even speak; in addition, he knows his true name. Both these things give him advantages over Eragon. Finally, Murtagh claimed he was more powerful than Morzan ever was. In a sword fight, however, it seems that Eragon's heightened agility, speed and power could help him, as long as he could avoid Murtagh's obvious magical powers. However, Eragon was astonished at Murtagh's ability to heal Thorn in about three seconds. This also comes from the fact that Murtagh carries the "Heart of Hearts' of various dragons. The wounded soldier said that Murtagh was hollow, and that his power was not his own, which implies, that without the hearts, Murtagh would not be able to stand against Eragon.

[edit] Sorcery

It is believed by some fans that Murtagh is a sorcerer rather then a classic magician, because when Eragon connected to Murtagh's mind, it felt as if there were several other minds connected to Murtagh's. Alternatively, this may have been because of Galbatorix's control over Murtagh. However, these are wrong because Murtagh is a Rider and gets his powers Eldunari- dragon's heart of hearts. How is Thorn so big?

In the books there has not been an explanation of how Thorn (Murtagh's red dragon) has matured to the same apparent age as Saphira. It is rumored that Thorn hatched before or at the same time as Saphira, and Murtagh was getting orders from Galbatorix through their mind link. Another reason could be that Galbatorix used his black magic to make him grow and then put memories for skills into their minds, which would explain how Murtagh could shield his mind so well, and fight so well, and how Thorn could fight Saphira so well. Another theory states that because Thorn is a male dragon, he may grow and mature quicker than female dragons. However, Eragon asks if male dragons grow faster than female dragons in Brisingr, and the answer is "No." In Brisingr, evidence is given to support the dark-magic theory. The true reason is that because Galbatorix gave Thorn a stronger body he had to grow bigger and stronger.

[edit] Other

• Murtagh is portrayed by Garrett Hedlund in the Eragon movie.

[edit] Etymology

'Murtagh' is an Irish name, it is a variant of Murchadh, which means 'protector of the sea' in Gaelic.[1][2]

[edit] Real World Connections

Murtagh was the name of a High King of Ireland. Murtagh mac Erc ruled Ireland as High King from 512 to 534 A.D. [3]

Preceded By	Position	Succeeded By
Durza	Galbatorix's Right-Hand Man	Incumbent

Preceded By	Position	Succeeded By
Brom	Eragon's Traveling Partner	Arya, Orik and the Dwarven Guards

Preceded By	Position	Succeeded By
Eragon Shadeslayer	Holder of Zar'roc	Incumbent