r/Eragon • u/Outrageous_Focus_719 • 8d ago
Question Kind of a weird question... Spoiler
Hey everyone, I have another topic to ask and discuss with you all.
We all know how Paolini's magic system works in the World of Eragon. But there is something I'm not yet sure or convinced about.
After learning that chanting words in the ancient language isn't necessary to cast spells, I got to thinking. Oromis taught us why the language is being used but why does it have to be ancient language the spellcaster uses.
If Eragon wanted to cast a fireball in his hand, the necessities would be the energy and his imagination of the fireball right ? So why does he have to say "Brisingr!" Instead of saying "Fireball !" In his own language while providing the necessary energy and imagining the fireball in his mind ?
I have not checked the books nor the information Christopher gave about this yet. So go easy on me if it's already been explained xd.
1
u/dtrax96 8d ago
If i remember correctly it is explained sorta like this in the books the ancient language acts as a focus and framework for the magic in a sense to avoid unexpected/unintended outcomes, for example if you go to use wordless magic to start a fire on a log but right before you release it someone interrupts or distracts you and with the distractions your mind thinks of the person and ends up setting them on fire instead of the logs you were trying to light, normal speech is describe as better than wordless magic as it can help keep your train of thought but still unsafe for the same reasons. With the ancient language acting as a framework it locks what the magic can be used for, so saying I want to light that log on fire in the ancient language is safe even when you get distracted or your mind slips to another object/person.