Why does Eragon have to leave at all?

[Kyle]

A serious plot fail, in my opinion. Would anyone enjoy explaining to me why he had to go? I understand that he has to train the new dragons, but it makes very little sense to me that he had to leave Alaglesia forever.

[Vanessa]

I completely agree. I felt it would be ok to seek isolation...but not completely separate himself from there. It made it even worse that Murtagh also left lol.

[Rabab]

I think Paolini had to finish with the prophecy that he'd leave never to return coming true, I wish he wouldn't have left but I don't see how it would have worked otherwise especially with Arya as queen of the elves

[Kathryn]

I wasn't happy with the ending. His life wasn't near half so bad as Eragon seemed to think. Also not much time seemed to pass since he found the egg to when he left Alagaesia. The ending annoyed me greatly.

[Vanessa]

I don't think he ever should have put that prophecy in the first book. I guess he may of had reason to leave, but it made for an extremely unsatisfying conclusion to the readers...

[Danica]

I hated when he left! it was just like he defeated Galbatorix, put everything perfect, and just said, "see Ya!" annoyed me so much i felt sick, waited for this book for 4 years, checking his website every week and then he does that!

[Kaylin]

It was very annoying to me because it didn't feel at all natural. It's like: "Well, this was prophesied in the first book, so it has to happen." rather than Eragon actually having a legitimate reason to leave. Also, the whole implication that he and Arya are never going to see each other again was irritating. They both have dragons, for goodness sakes! Can't they fly over for a visit every now and again?

[Danica]

i think Eragon has a mirror that they can talk with. kinda like Skype.

[Kathryn]

It seems like Paolini forgot about the prophecy and then at the end he realised "oh hey, Eragon has to leave this land forever. Let's not give a real reason and send him off."
His leaving reminds me of Frodo at the end of the Lord of The Rings leaving at the Grey Havens, and how Frodo has to leave. Eragon seems to think he has to leave as well.

[David]

There was really no reason Paolini had to follow the prophecy he made nor for Eragon to leave.

No external reason convinces Eragon that he must leave. Only that he must leave to find a place to raise the dragons, the was foretold he would do it (which isn't a reason at all), or he might become like Galbatorix.

Discounting the second "reason", those still aren't good reasons. It is stated that he couldn't use Vroengard to raise the dragons because of the radiationthingabob. We have seen Eragon remove radiation before after his disappointing showdown with Galbatorix. The Dragon Riders of Old manged just fine with their drasgosn so it would be a very good place to raise them.

He could have made it a community project to cleanse the magic radiation from Vroengard. Eragon is immortal, has name of the Ancient Language, and hordes of eldunarya to achieve anything. Which means he can effectively redefine how magic works anyway he wants. He could remove the radiation from the island by changing the the energy required to practically nothing.

As for Eragon becoming like Galbatorix wouldn't' happen. He's too much of a "good" person.

Every other suggestion I've seen doesn't make any sense. Like the Meona Tree's price was having Eragon leave forever. Well that's never established what her price was. The last time we meet the tree all she says is "Goooo!" If she was intending for Eragon to leave forever: you'd think the tree would be more specific than saying "Goooo!". Why not say "Leave the land forever because of x number of reasons"? Even if that's the case it doesn't answer anything and raises more questions.

I need think of a way to end these better. There you have the reasons why it is dumb.

[Helen]

Wasn't his main reasoning the fact that if he tried to raise all those dragons in Alaegasia they would end up eating all the other races of Alaegasia's livestock?

I also saw his exit a bit like Frodo's at the end of LOTR. he's been harmed by all that happened...he carries scars on his soul and he needs a new start in a new land.

I'm not massively in favour of his leaving, I think he should have stayed, but I can kind of see why he didn't. the thing I didn't understand is why this has to be a permanent move - why can't he come back and visit, and then eventually move back?

[Samantha The Escapist]

I think I could have accepted his leaving no problem had the reasoning not been so arbitrary. So many aspects of the last 200 pages of this series read with an air of "because I said so" that it left a bad taste in my mouth.

I love the series, I forgive it for being verbose, grandiloquent, loquacious....I forgive Paolini his wandering mind and gratuitous descriptions. In fact this all had a tender spot in my heart, it wasn't excellent writing but it was dear to me none-the-less.

But the series ended on a rather dissonant note for me and unfortunately that is likely how I'll remember it in a decade; it's lost its position of glory next to Harry Potter for getting me back into books. These two were a team once upon a time but Eragon simply couldn't keep up.

[Nick]

I understand that no place in Alegeasea was compleatly safe for the dragons and would not start eating cows and stuff belonging to urguls of the dwarves. The book did say the elves would be happy to accept the dragons but soon there would be no room in elesmera to populate to increasing dragon/rider population. The book also mentiond the Hadrac desert where the dragons orrigionly came from, but there is not enough surface water and food to feed the riders so all and all there was no perfect place like doru-arabea that is not cursed by ancient battles. But what I dont understand is why they did not get murtag and thorn before leaving. But then I suppose they would come back occasionly to collect rider trainees and swords in their fort by Broms grave.

[Nick]

I think

[Badgerlord]

I accepted the ending with (what I feel was) reasonably good grace. Sure, it wasn't a great ending, but it wasn't the worst I've read by far. I had a good time reading the books, and mabye Paolini just isn't that good at endings.

And, like it or not, I get wahy Eragon has to leave. After this tyranny and war, people aren't going to be fond of dragons for a while. There will be hell to pay if the dragons accidentally made a mistake like eating livestock/people.

I also think Eragon left for his own sake. He never wanted power, and that is what he got. He is now the most powerful being in Alaegasia, (except some of the elves and maybe Murtagh when he pulls it together) and he doesn't want that power. Or, more likely, he doesn't want the risk. So he pulls out society. He's already changed everything, but knows if he keeps going he'll find himself unable to stop trying to fix everything and he'll make a mistake and people will die. Ergo he leaves. He doesn't want the temptation.

Or so I think anyway.

[Kyle]

The problem as well with this ending was its obvious comparison to Frodo and The Lord of the Rings. But, unlike Frodo, Eragon didn't have an explicit reason for leaving except to fulfill a prophecy and raise dragons. Frodo is scarred. For life. Leaving Middle-earth for a place of healing and hope is something Frodo had to do. He couldn't come back because it was impossible. Eragon only had to leave to train a bunch of hatchlings. And he seriously couldn't come back and visit sometimes? It's foolish and laced with plot holes.

Actually, although I was extremely find of the first three, it bothers me how much of it is based off LotR and Star Wars. Pooh.

[Shawn]

Nick wrote: "I understand that no place in Alegeasea was compleatly safe for the dragons and would not start eating cows and stuff belonging to urguls of the dwarves. The book did say the elves would be happy ..."
and everyone who said he didnt have a reason to leave only has to reread the book or just read this comment to comprehend he did have to leave and for everyone who said "well why cant he just visit" well why cant people come visit him?

[Ruth]

Why does nobody understand??

Christopher Paolini was very intelligent to make Eragon leave. If he had stayed then it would have ended stupidly like most ignorant romance books do. Guy gets girl, they live happily ever after. I get tired of things like that.

[Megan]

Eragon leaving was basically a choice he had to make as a character. By the end of the book he had completely changed and pretty much wasn't able to deal with the remains of his old life anymore, so he had to start anew. In a novel (especially a series) the main goal is for the character to start off one way and become different in the end, for better or worse. That's a story and that's why we keep reading them. I'm not saying that Eragon leaving was a good thing (I didn't particularly like it either...I wanted him to have more reasons for abandoning his home as well) but it accomplished the goal of him becoming a different person. I think the problem a lot of us have with it is that we were expecting Eragon to turn out to be a better hero than he was in the last few pages, rather than turning into a stone cold character like he did.

[Siddu]

He did not have to leave he could have lived a little along where Murtagh lived. Murtagh could have been a teacher like Eragon. I honestly do not understand and I never will.

[Sparrowlicious]

Paolini always talked about how he followed the typical hero's journey with this story, only to break away from it in the last book. I bet you all know the illustration of Eragon flying away over the sea?
That's basically the elven ships from Lord of the Rings.

The problem with this ending is of course that Eragon put a queen on a throne she had no right to (hello? there was a previous royal family! Or how about abolish the oligarchy once and for all?), as well as having the elves be ruled by a queen that would never die since, surprise, there is no threat now that Galbatorix is gone and you can assume that the future dragon riders wouldn't go against any of Eragon's allies since he knows the uber magic.

I guess the issue isn't so much with Eragon leaving, but with the events surrounding his leaving. After all, he could've purged the knowledge of the uber magic spell from the minds of everyone who knows it (Murtagh's, for example) and his own. No need for him to leave because he's 'so dangerous'.

The only positive thing about this is that Eragon didn't end up in a romantic relationship with Arya. Kudos to Paolini for sticking with this decision.

[[deleted user]]

I kinda agree. I get the reasons why he left, but I dont get is why he never could return. And I felt his reasons for leaving could be handled better, explained more I feel that if they had been explained in more chapter hinted at or something it would be better. As for the propechy and sticking to it, you could always go with the " you never step into the same river twice" overused but good, Eragon is so much changed now that if he one day returns he wount be the same as before, hence the propechy will be right.

[Apollo]

He had to leave because he was so powerful that there would be beings, magical and not, that would try t kill him out of fear.

[Apollo]

Sometimes when people say forever, they only mean a long time. Eragon IS nearly immortal. So, he'll be back.