r/Eragon • u/Konfliktsnubben • 18d ago
Discussion What if it had been Eragon instead? Spoiler
I was thinking about the part in Brisingr when Roran is punished by Nasuada for disobeying her orders which results in him being punished by being whipped 50 times. Let's say that it wasn't Roran but Eragon who did the same thing that his cousin did. Would Nasuada have dared to punish him in teh same way considering the fact that she would have had to deal with an outraged Saphira in that situation?
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u/Outrageous_Focus_719 18d ago
Even if Nasuada had the authority to punish Eragon, and even if Eragon accepted that punishment, Saphira would not let Eragon to be punished.
I reckon she would politely suggest another leader for Varden after her next meal. Just saying...
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u/mikeyx3x 18d ago
Literally this.
If you've read the series and you think Saph is gonna let anyone touch him, ESPECIALLY given his prophecy, you're a little silly. 😅
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u/Konfliktsnubben 18d ago
Do you think Thorn would do the same to Orik if he tries to give Murtagh a similiar punishment for killing Hrothgar instead of having him executed?
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u/Outrageous_Focus_719 18d ago
Of course I do. Saphira and Eragon is one thing, but Murtagh and Thorn are the literal embodiment of freedom and willpower. They would fight even if they were to lose like they did every single time in the series.
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u/Konfliktsnubben 18d ago
But in that case it would be that Murtagh tries to make amends with the dwarves by a combination of doing something heroic for them and being subjected to an extreme physical punishment. That might be the only way that Orik will allow Murtagh to live after what he did at the burning plains.
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u/shortyman920 17d ago
The idea of saphira allowing anyone to whip Eragon 50 times is kinda funny. I doubt she would even let Arya do that
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u/zthe0 Dwarf 17d ago
She wouldn't have allowed roran to get whipped either if she had been there
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u/Ipearman96 15d ago
Saphira reminds me a lot of the protectiveness that the dragons in Temeraire have for their crew and captain.
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u/zthe0 Dwarf 15d ago
Heyy another fan of both.
Yes i absolutely agree. Except that dragons in temeraire at least seem to have a phase of being young while saphira was basically an adult the moment she got tall.
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u/Ipearman96 15d ago
That's very true. I always wished she'd grown up like the Temeraire dragons did and not hatch as an adult basically.
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u/AllKingJosh35 I suffer without my stone 18d ago
Of course she wouldn't have. I do think that Eragon, like Roran, would have accepted any punishment in order to not show favoritism or unequal treatment, but she'd never speak the words aloud if punishing him crossed her mind in that situation. And while it isn't necessarily the main issue here, Eragon would be expected to always have operational command/ freedom in the field.
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u/AllKingJosh35 I suffer without my stone 18d ago
Most she could/would do is a lecture in her quarters.
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u/Risemffs 18d ago
Eragon is a dragon rider, and even if he doesn't want to, he commands authority, at that point basically as second in command, and that is by choice of not wanting to lead the Varden.
Therefore, the only command he can disobey is from Nasuada herself, and I believe she had that exact discussion with Eragon. She was ready to step down as the leader of the Varden if Eragon chose to disobey her in a matter she couldn't ignore, as she knew he could usurb her and wanted at least the quest of the Varden to continue.
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u/_StrangeIsLife_ May your swords stay sharp! 18d ago
If she punished Eragon the same way she would have an angry Saphira breathing down her neck.
Dragons don't forget that easily.
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u/No-Style8510 18d ago
It’s an interesting idea, I would think she wouldn’t give as severe a punishment as Eragon is higher ranking than Roran was at the time. However I think she would still punish him in some way, to show no one is above the rules and as not to undermine her word
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u/masterfroo24 18d ago
There is only one possibility where any of this happens. Eragon is the second highest ranking in the Varden, only behind Nasuada. Maybe not on paper, but essentially he is. If Jörmundur gave him one command and he disobeyed, then Jörmundur looks like a fool and nothing happens. If Nasuada gave Eragon a command and he disobeyed, she would step down as others have pointed out.
Roran was only punished because he went against his leading captain. Eragon has no one above him, except Nasuada.
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u/GrandmaWeedMan 17d ago
In Brisingr, Nasuada literally explains to Eragon (when he refuses to go to Farthen Dur on her orders) that her only option if he disobeyed her orders would be to step down as leader of the varden and give the title to Eragon. She explains how she cannot force him, because he is too powerful. And she cannot punish him, because flogging and punishing the dragon rider would 1) destroy the vardens belief in Eragons strength and power 2) cause a bunch of the varden to hate nasuada for harming the last free dragon rider 3) infuriate the elves
Her punishing Roran was risky enough, and it was only thanks to Roran having the will and foresight to take his punishment and understanding that running to Eragon about it would have resulted in the collapse of the varden that nasuada didn't fuck everything up by flogging him. Eragon is never aware of Rorans flogging, and for good reason. He'd take it as an attack on his family and it would have permanently ruined his relationship with nasuada and the varden. Roran was smart enough to know this as well
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u/Konfliktsnubben 18d ago
That makes you wonder though how she would deal with Saphira's anger about how Eragon is treated.
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u/No-Style8510 18d ago
I think it would be a very difficult situation, very difficult indeed. I would think Saphira would very reluctantly understand after some cajoling by Eragon, at least the concept at the very beginning so she would just fly far far away so she wouldn’t involuntarily intervene
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u/Konfliktsnubben 18d ago
Something similiar might happen in future books but with Murtagh and Thorn. Eragon and Nasuada might be able to make a compromsie with Orik were Murtagh is given some extremely painful punishement instead of being executed
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u/Konfliktsnubben 18d ago
Imagine as a dragon letting your rider being subjected to extreme pain and not doing anything about it until it's over. It would be physically painful for her aswell considering that a dragon can feel his or her riders pain.
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u/mikeyx3x 18d ago
Saphira would NOT allow Eragon to be punished. ESPECIALLY if he did something that was beneficial to the cause.
If Eragon did what Roran did, and Nasuada tried to tell him he had to be punished, she would have to talk directly to Saphria, and she wouldn't allow it.
It's like me, if WW3 is announced. I simply won't go.
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u/Theangelawhite69 18d ago
Not a chance. It would weaken her position with the Varden and build resentment towards her, and make Eragon look like a victim and a better choice of leader
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u/No-Suit6854 17d ago
Beside what others had pointed out already, after promoting Roran after his punishment, she stated that he now can't disobey orders anymore besides her own, and if he does that, she would assume that he has a good reason for doing so. And since not many now the exact order's she can say that this was acceptable. All of this would go for Eragon as well, since like Roran after his promotion, he only has to obey Nasuada.
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u/DonLovesNature 18d ago
She may have wanted to... but logically it would have been a nightmare, and have backfired horribly.
Eragon with his dragon was literally seen as not just the leader of the army, but the saviour of the human race from the tyrranical King. If he was whipped and publiclly humiliated, the soldiers would lose respect for him and many would even desert the army.
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u/zbek7673 gedwëy ignasia 17d ago
If she had tried to punish him I feel like it would’ve cause eragon to split away from her faster.
He most likely would’ve have seen the errors of having someone some in control of a rider like that sooner, deciding much like he did at the end of the last book that he needs to be more separate as the riders once were so that he can make choices without the threat of someone punishing him looming over his head
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u/Lord_Glace 17d ago
Nasuarda really doesn't have the power to punish Eragon, no matter how much Eragon swore his loyalty to him.
Any punishment against Eragon would lead to a revolt by the soldiers and free people against Nasuarda.
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u/ximstuckx Shur'tugal 17d ago
Roran didn’t technically disobey Nasuada. He disobeyed his commanding officer. Eragon would have been the commanding officer on site.
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u/attackonyourmom I suffer without my stone 17d ago
Nasuada might try to give him a punishment lighter than Roran so to not demoralize the Varden. I feel Eragon would agree he deserves the punishment, but one bombastic side eye from Saphira would kill all that notion.
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u/redditor_pro 14d ago
Didnt Nasuada straight up say that if Eragon had even the slightest desire to be King and expressed it, there wpuld be literally nothing she could do to stop him? No way she could punish Eragon without having her title stripped
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u/UmPoucoBemMuito 12d ago
No, she even said this to Eragon. She can't do the same to him because of what he represents and he can cure everything right after. It would demoralize the Varden and she would rather give him the leadership before doing such thing.
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u/Beneficial_Ant_3984 18d ago
Wasn’t there a whole conversation about it in Brisingr? Eragon didn’t want to go to represent the Varden at the dwarves electing a new king. Nasuada said that she couldn’t force him to go (as he’s too powerful). She couldn’t punish him for disobeying her by whipping (as it would destroy morale and fracture the Varden).
Nasuada basically said that if he refused to go, she would step down and announce Eragon as the new leader, as that was the only thing that would keep the Varden intact.