Rider's sword
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A Rider's sword was an elegant blade made specially by the elven smith, Rhunön, for each Dragon Rider. All of the blades were crafted so as never to break or dull, and each blade was the color of its bearer's dragon.
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[edit] History
When Eragon I first established the Riders, they may not have used swords forged by Rhunön, for at that time they were merely ambassadors between the elves and dragons.
The elf smith, Rhunon, discovered a new type of steel that she discovered in a star. She later christened the steel "brightsteel". Later, when she began molding the steel into new blades, she discovered the steel was extremely strong and flexible. Rhunon took the brightsteel and constructed the first Rider's blade for Eragon I. Over time the brightsteel became harder and harder to find. She found one last horde in the forests of Ellesmera and with that steel, she made the swords: Zar'roc, Undbitr, and Galbatorix's blade. Zar'roc went to Morzan and Undbitr went to Brom. Galbatorix's blade has no name, but he used that blade to kill the Dragon Riders and their dragons. The only survivng Riders and their dragons were Galbatorix's new dragon, which he stole with the help of Morzan, the thirteen members of the Forsworn, and Oromis and Glaedr.
After the destruction of the Riders and rise of the Empire, Rhunön, motivated by despair and disgusted by the acts of the Forsworn, swore an oath in the ancient language to never again create a weapon of destruction. Thus, only a few swords exist: Zar'roc, Morzan's sword, in possession of Murtagh; Naegling, Oromis's sword; Brisingr, Eragon's newly forged sword; and Galbatorix's unknown and unnamed sword. Additionally, an unknown number of swords are held in Galbatorix's "collection"; and two are held by elven families: Támerlein and Arvindr.
[edit] Jewels
When Rhunon constructed the swords of the Dragon Riders, she put into the hilt, a gem that matched the color of the blade. The Dragon Riders discovered that the jewels in the hilts could hold nearly an endless amount of energy. The energy stored into these gems could help a dragon and his Rider whenever and wherever their energy was becoming drained. But gems were not just used in swords, they were used in the belt of Beloth the Wise, and also in the ring called Aren, which belonged to Brom, who later passed it onto Eragon. Zar'roc had a great ruby, Undbitr had a sapphire, Naegling had a yellow diamond, Tamerlein had a great emerald, Arvindr we do not know the color of the blade or jewel in its hilt, and Brisingr had a sapphire as well.
[edit] Colors
Each Rider's sword was the same color as their dragons. Zar'roc was colored red, the same color as Morzan's dragon. When Brom took the sword after slaying Morzan, he gave it to Eragon to begin his sword training.
[edit] Why swords?
Many fans have wondered why the Riders choose swords, instead of lances and spears, which would have been more productive. The most likely reason is that the Riders were not meant to fight full-scale battles. Another reason could be that since they didn't expect to fight other riders, they could leave the attacking to their dragon and defend with a sword which is much easier than defending with a spear. They were to be keepers of the peace, not warriors. A sword would be more suitable for law enforcement, as that's all a Rider is supposed to do. When riding on the back of dragons a sword would be easier to handle and keep track of. It is also possible that appearance played a part - the Riders in their heyday were highly respected, with as much standing as nobles and monarchs. Moreover, they stood for universal peace. Swords were the traditional weapons of choice to wear as a symbol of station (nobility wore swords or daggers to most official events), therefore, a man (or elf) with a sword at his belt might not be immediately identified with a warrior in public. On the other hand, a man with a six-foot spear or a stack of throwing weapons was quite sure to. However, as imposing a magic wielding dragon rider might be with any of those, it might also be one of the most efficient weapons to use, as a pommel stone (usually a gem of some sort, and necessary for balancing out a sword) could be used as a magic container, whereas a spear or axe would leave little room for a gem.
[edit] Forging and Materials
All Rider swords, from the founding day of their order, were forged by the elf smith Rhunön, most likely the greatest smith of all time. A unique material was used for all of these swords, and for them only; brightsteel, a metal created by Rhunön from meteoric iron, remains of a star that fell in Du Weldenvarden millennia ago. By the time Eragon requested Rhunön forge him a Rider's sword, there were virtually no more known fragments of the star left; still, hundreds, if not thousands of swords must have been made, for each Rider had his own. Scabbards were made of wood and grips were leather, wire, and wood.
All the swords Rhunön forged, except for Brisingr, were made through a lengthy process consisting almost exclusively of manual work - Rhunön was loath to use magic in her craft unless absolutely necessary. Rhunön usually constructed an ore smelter specifically for the occasion, doing so with bricks and clay and no magic. Then, she would spend a day or more refining the ore, depending on the quality of the given piece. When the ore was pure, Rhunön chose an assortment of harder and softer pieces and from these forged the spine of the weapon (from the softer steel, to make the weapon flexible and able to absorb kinetic shock) and what would become the blade (from the harder steel, for obvious reasons of sharpness and durability). All of the pieces were folded and hammered back out several times, making the steel of the sword layered, giving it superior physical properties. In addition, the blade steel was twisted together from two layered rods. Then, the blade and the spine were forged together while hot and meticulously crafted into the desired shape. The entire process would normally take days to weeks. Rhunön only worked by night to be able to judge the current state of the heated metal by its color. During the entire forging process Rhunön chanted an endless stream of spells over the metal she was simultaneously working, most of which presumably only she knew, giving the metal properties no amount of additional enchanting could grant a normally-forged blade.
At this stage the weapon was black, rough and unadorned. Rhunön would continue for weeks and etching more decorative designs into the blade, filing, scraping and polishing it and finally incorporating the gemstone into the hilt, fashioning a grip, a scabbard, and giving the sword its color. The latter was done by unspecified means, probably magic using the scales of the Rider's dragon as a basis for the coloring. Blade, hilt and scabbard of a finished sword were all richly decorated and displayed various tones of the dragon's scale color. When used, the blades of the Rider's gave off an iridescent sheen, like that of a butterfly's wings. Upon being presented with the blade, the Rider was asked to name his new weapon and, as a final touch, the corresponding symbol was magically inscribed upon the blade and scabbard.
Once finished, a Rider's sword was easily a weapon without equal in all of Alagaësia, except for others of its kind. Moreover, the swords were custom-made, their dimensions and parameters personalized to the Rider who would wield them. Thus, while each sword was different, each was the perfect weapon for its owner. This was simultaneously something of a drawback, however, preventing the successful use of a Rider's sword by anyone other than its original owner. The fact that both Eragon and Murtagh were able to wield Zar'roc without much difficulty seems to actually have been a very rare occurrence, especially in Eragon's case, as he was not directly related to Morzan.
Christopher Paolini himself admits that the forging process of a Rider's sword was adapted from the traditional Japanese sword making techniques.
[edit] Exisiting Rider Swords
Most of the swords are reimaged versions of Zar'roc:
[edit] Zar'roc
Zar'roc, the crimson blade of Morzan, was christened "misery" in the ancient language. It was originally presented to Morzan from Rhunon, but after the Fall of the Riders, Morzan and Brom dueled eachother near Gil'ead. Morzan fighting in self defense, Brom fighting for revenge. In the battle between the Forsworn and the Dragon Riders, Morzan killed Brom's dragon Saphira. After Brom slayed Morzan, he claimed Zar'roc as his own and returned to Carvahall. Later, after Brom discovered that Eragon was the new rider, he gave him Zar'roc to use in their travels. In the book Eldest, Eragon discovers another new rider. His old friend, Murtagh, who had been kidnapped earlier in the book by Galbatorix's bidding, caused the second egg to hatch for him. With his red dragon, Thorn, Murtagh and Eragon fought eachother over the Burning Plains. With Murtagh being the victor, he stole Zar'roc from Eragon claiming it as his rightful inheritance, as he was the older brother of the two.
[edit] Naegling
Oromis's blade, which was the same color as his dragon, Glaedr, was named Naegling. On the day that Oromis revealed his and Glaedr's survival of the battle between the Forsworn and the Dragon Riders, he was killed by Murtagh after he lost his sword in battle. It was most likely added to Galbatorix's collection of riders swords or found by an elf.
[edit] Brisingr
Eragon's sword, Brisingr, was a miracle in itself. Against the odds, Eragon found the greatly needed bright steel when there was none. What's more, Rhunon forged a Rider's blade when she had sworn in the ancient language not to. Brisingr was the best sword she had made and Rhunon and Eragon had made it in less than a day, when the process usually took several weeks. The blade itself was a rendition of Zar'roc with a slightly thinner tip. The scabbard was a beautiful, rich, dark blue like the scales on Saphira's back. At the end of the scabbard was a beautifully carbed piece of bright steel, as well as at the mouth of the scabbard. In the middle of the scabbard was an exquisitely molded leaf design on both sides. The blade's color was a lighter shade of blue, like the scales on Saphira's throat. The hilt was made of elegantly carved black wood. The simple crossguards were unadorned but magnificent all the same. And lastly, the pommel of the sword, was a sapphire of undenied beauty. The sword was named thus because the pattern Eragon saw on the blade reminded him of fire, and so the sword was christened Brisingr. Surprisingly, whenever Eragon spoke the word brisingr while he was holding the blade, the sword would burst into blue flames. Tested by Rhunon, Eragon was the only one who could call upon the flames of Brisingr.
[edit] Undbitr
Brom's sword before the fall of the Riders. It is (was) aquamarine blue, the same color of Saphira I. Since Rider's swords are near impossible to destroy, it's probably in Galbatorix's possession. At one point in Brisingr, Eragon asked the elf smith where to find Brom's sword, since Murtagh was using Morzan's sword, it would have been fitting that Eragon used his own father's sword. However the elf smith said that even if they found the sword, it might not suit Eragon because of the way it was made (even though it probably would because Brom taught Eragon how to fight).
[edit] Tamerlein
Tamerlein was the sword of the deceased Elven Dragon Rider Arva. He was killed defending Ilirea by the forsworn Kialandi. He gave his sword to his sister Naudra to defend herself. She escaped to Ellesmera along with another dragon and rider (Glaedr and Oromis most likely). It resided in Ellesmera in the care of Lord Fiolr, Naudra's mate. It was a treasure of the house of Valtharos. It was green, with an emerald set into its pommel. A column of glyphs adorning the crossguard spelled "I am Tamerlein, Bringer of the final sleep." Eragon tried it out after losing his own sword, but he rejected it. He did so because of the fact that it did not fit his hand, was made for someone with a different fighting style than his own, and because Eragon did not like the conditions created by Lord Fiolr. He disliked that Fiolr would not allow him to keep it indefinitely. Paolini then writes that Fiolr had a gleam in his eye when Eragon told him he (Eragon) could not take the sword, probably because he held Arva in high esteem, and in his eye, this showed that Eragon was not worthy of Arva's sword.
[edit] Arvindr
Arvindr was presumably the sword of an elfish rider. It resided in the elfish city of Nadindel. Nothing else was known about the sword, not even the color of the blade.
| Weapons | |
|---|---|
| Standard weapons | Ascûdgamln | Axe | Bow and Arrow | Broadsword | Dagger | Falchion | Flamberge | Halberd | Hammer | Hand-and-a-half sword |
| Hûthvír | Poison dart | Rapier | Spear | Sword | |
| Siege engines | Ballista | Catapult | Trebuchet |
| Unique weapons | Brisingr | Durza's sword | Naegling | Rider's sword | Roran's hammer | Tamerlein |
| Undbitr | Volund | Zar'roc | |
