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This page is about a character in the novel by Christopher Paolini. For other uses, see Brom (disambiguation).

Brom Holcombson
Inheritance Cycle character
First appearance	Eragon
Last appearance	Inheritance
Created by	Christopher Paolini
Portrayed by	Jeremy Irons
In-universe information
Species	Human (by birth) / Half-Elf (by the dragons)
Gender	Male
Occupation	Dragon Rider/Varden/Mentor
Family	Holcomb (father) Nelda (mother)
Spouse	Selena
Children	Eragon

"The sands of time cannot be stopped. Years pass whether we will them or not… but we can remember. What has been lost may yet live on in memories."
- Brom Holcombson

Brom Holcombson was a human former dragon rider from before the Downfall and one of them main characters in Christopher Paolini's first book in the critically acclaimed Inheritance Series. In the first book he lives in Carvahall under the cover of being a local storyteller and then joins the main protagonist, Eragon, on his quest as his mentor, but dies throughout half the book due to a Ra'zac attack. It is later in the series revealed that Brom was Eragon's father and is remembered as a hero who founded the resistance movement, the Varden, against Galbatorix and the Empire.

History

Early life

Brom was born in the remote city of Kuasta which is located in the Spine, south of Teirm, as the only son of Nelda and Holcomb. Because of its location, Kuasta became a peculiar place with its own traditions and customs compared to other big cities in Alagaësia, one of these being superstition. Approximately at the age of ten Brom was presented with a dragon's egg which hatched for him. He named the female aquamarine dragon Saphira and went to Illiera (Urû'baen) to start his training as a dragon rider. Brought up with Kuasta's peculiar customs and superstitions, Brom was often teased by the other students as he would knock three times on the door fram before entering or exiting a room. Brom soon dropped these habits and befriended an older student by the name of Morzan who was also in training to become a dragon rider. He became very attached to this older boy even though Morzan proved to take advantage of this idolizing and would sometimes be cruel to his young admirer. In Brisingr Oromis, who was Brom and Morzan's mentor, told Eragon of how he had considered separating the two because of this, but he never came around to it and Brom kept idolizing Morzan until the latter became one of the first Forsworn and would later bring on the Downfall of the Riders.

The Downfall of the Riders

"Brom's love for Morzan was given way to hate, like a candle before an inferno." - Oromis

After Galbatorix's own dragon perished and the Dragon Riders refused to grant him a new one, his rebellion rose and would become the downfall of all dragon riders. Brom lost his dragon during a battle in Doru Araeba as well as his sword, Undbitr, and was devastated. Griefstricken and with a loss of identity due to his bond with his late dragon, Saphira, he swore to take revenge on the Forsworn and those he blamed for her death - Morzan in particular. Brom began to pursue and persecute the man he had earlier idolized and joined the elves at the battle of Illiera, where the war was lost to Galbatorix and his followers.

After the Downfall, Brom continued to persecute Morzan and eventually ended up with other refugees of the war and founded the organisation called Varden, the rebels of Galbatorix's reign.

Varden Involvment

After the foundation of Surda, the southern country for those who refused Galbatorix's rule, Brom used the turmoil to his advantage and founded the Varden. He was the first leader of Varden but stepped down from his position after a few years to Weldon in order to continue his hunt for Morzan. While finding his way into Morzan's castle in disguise as a gardener, he met Morzan's wife - the Black Hand - Selena whom he became romantically involved with.

After a while he left Morzan's castle and met up with a scholar by the name of Jeod who claimed to know of a secret passage into Urû'baen. Together they organised the theft of one of the three remaining dragon eggs that all were in the possession of Galbatorix. However the thief, Hefring of Furnost, fled with the stolen egg instead of delivering it to the Varden. During their hunt for Hefring, Morzan managed to find him first. Morzan killed Hefring and recovered the egg, but before he could bring it back to Galbatorix he was slayed by Brom. After killing three other Forsworn, Brom made sure to fake his own death because he knew that Galbatorix would hunt him through all of Alagaësia if the king still thought he was alive, and secretly returned to Farthen Dûr and the Varden. There he negotiated an exchange of the egg between the Varden and the elves of Du Weldervarden. He then accompanied the egg and Arya to Ellesméra where he met his tutors, Oromis and Glaedr, for the last time and entrusted them with a fairth (a magical portrait) of Selena and informed them of Eragon's existense, which he had learnt after visiting Carvahall after Selena's death. It was probably at this time that he also met the elven queen Islandzadi and was given his ring Aren, as a token of everlasting friendship of the elves.

Eragon

In the first book Brom starts out as a local storyteller in the village of Carvahall, were the protagonist Eragon is first introduced. After finding the dragon egg that was sent by the use of magic from its keeper, Arya, who probably meant to send it to Brom, Eragon tends to the egg and becomes reliable on the old storyteller to tell him more about how to raise a dragon as well as some of the history of the dragon riders. Brom watches from the sidelines and acts ignorant of the recent events. When Eragon go to Brom after his dragon has hatched, Brom is asked what the dragons of old were named. He mentions his own dragon's name, Saphira, and this is were from Eragon's dragon got its name.

When the Ra'zacs sent by the king comes to Carvahall to find Eragon and Saphira, they burn down their house and Eragon's uncle, Garrow, is killed in the process. Griefstricken and with want of revenge, but after suffering from great wounds, Eragon eventually tries to sneak off and leave the village. Brom stops him from leaving at first, but soon joins him as he had planned all along. He accompanies Eragon and Saphira on their search for the Ra'zacs and becomes their mentor, teaching them more about the morals and responsibilities of the dragon riders. Brom also teaches Eragon to read and write, basic magic and swordplay.

After visiting Brom's old friend Jeod in Teirm, they learned that Urgals were in the area and decided to flee. Brom convinced Eragon to ride Saphira instead of his horse, Cadoc, in order to keep him safe. The Urgals however nearly overtook Brom who was still on horse back and Eragon used magic in order to take out the Urgals, and fainted from the great use of energy. During this time, as he was unconscious, Brom told Saphira of his history as a dragon rider, as well as being Eragon's father, though she promised not to tell him until the time was right (which would prove to be in the third book, Brisingr).

Death

"And now for the greatest adventure of all."
- Brom upon his death bed.

In Dras-Leona, they found the Ra'zac that had killed Eragon's uncle, Garrow, but they were ambushed and fell back in order to escape. As this proved unsuccessful, they were eventually rescued by a stranger going by the name of Murtagh. As they fled, a Ra'zac threw a dagger at Eragon and Brom moved into its path to save him, but were in his stead mortally wounded.

This wound proved to be the end of the long lost dragon rider, and on his deathbed he finally told Eragon of his past as a dragon rider, and a friend of Morzan before he became one of the Forsworn. Before he died, he gave Eragon his blessing, as a father would to his son, and uttered seven words on the Ancient Language.

After Eragon had buried him in the sandstone, Saphira used her magic to turn it into diamond and Eragon carved these words next to the tomb:

Here lies Brom
Who was a Dragon Rider
And like a father
To me.
May his name live on in glory.

After his death, Saphira told Eragon of some of the secrets he had revealed to her, except for the truth of his parentage. Eragon later revisited the tomb before traveling to a new land, beyond the borders of Alagaësia, and perhaps wanted to break the tomb and revoke his father from the dead, since the crystal had preserved his body. Umaroth, one of the Eldunarí (dragon hearts), said that while it probably would be possible to revive his body, they didn't know if Brom's mind could be restored. Another of the Eldunarí, Valdr, then said that they should "leave the dead to the earth" and that "they are not for us". During this visit, Eragon used multiple spells to protect the stone from thieves and changed the words he had earlier carved into the tomb to:

Here lies Brom
Who was
A Rider bonded to the dragon Saphira
Son of Holcomb and Nelda
Beloved of Selena
Father of Eragon Shadeslayer
Founder of the Varden
And Bane of the Forsworn.
May his name live on in glory.
Stydja unin mor'ranr.
Eragon then protected the diamond of his tomb from thieves with a few spells.

Characteristics

Appearance

Brom is described as an older man with a long white beard, sunken clear blue eyes and with an aquiline nose that is dominating his face. In the first book, Eragon mentions that he looks like a frail old wizard, which goes along well with his cover as a local story teller. He carries a twisted staff and wears a dark cape which covers most of his body, hence the frail illusion.

Personality

Brom was very intelligent and strong minded, his will had only been beaten once in a battle before he was fully grown. He praised intelligence over strength and he defeated his opponents with his mental power rather than the physical. His used his intelligence to his advantage and found flaws in his opponents defenses.

He was also very loving, especially towards his family. He was almost destroyed by grief when he lost his dragon, Saphira, and later fell in love with Selena, whom gave him back some of the strength he had lost after his dragon's death, and would leave his friends or an important mission when he thought she was in danger. She gave him the strength to seek revenge on Morzan and Oromis believed that losing her was as big a loss to Brom as his dragon once was. Despite these great losses, Brom remained pure of heart and kept his dedication to end Galbatorix's reign.

Aside from these characteristics, Brom was also very secretive and even though he loved his son, he didn't tell Eragon the truth until after his death, in a message he had left in Saphira's memory. He also kept his existence from his friend Jeod for many years, who thought him dead.

Oromis said that Brom was rarely happy during his life time, but he was a good man and a good rider.

Abilities

As a part of being a dragon rider, Brom was a skilled magician, stated to be the most powerful magician in the Varden. He relied mostly on his strong mind and willpower to overcome his enemies, as well as his exceptional swordsmanship. He never reached his full extent of his powers, since his powers did not continue to grow after his dragon's death, but during his height he was incredibly powerful. Even in the beginning of the series, when he was old and without a dragon, he was very powerful and would easily best an inexperienced Eragon without a second thought.

He bested many Forsworn in combat. His biggest accomplishment was beating Morzan and his dragon, the most powerful members of the Forsworn, without the aid of his own dragon.

Relationships

Eragon

He was very fond of his son, Eragon, though he seldom showed any fatherly traits openly except for on his death bed when he claimed to be proud of him. Eragon didn't learn of his true parentage until the third book, a few years after his father's death, but they had had a strong bond when he was alive and Eragon had always thought of him as somewhat of a father.

Brom moved to Carvahall after Eragon's birth, though only to watch over him rather than to reveal his true identity and raise him.

Selena

Selena was Morzan's wife and mother of his only son, Murtagh. She was extremely loyal to him at first and became known as the Black Hand throughout Alagaësia, working as his spy and assistant, that were to be considered especially dangerous because of her knowledge and known malice. However, her love for Morzan turned to hate as he used their son as a way of controlling her and therefore helped conspire against him.

After the death of Brom's dragon, Saphira, Brom sought out Morzan for vengeance and infiltrated his castle in the guise of a gardener. His intention was to seduce and assassinate Selena for revenge, but that soon changed. Selena's new hate and becoming a mother changed Selena's True Name in the Ancient Language, making her a new person. Brom and Selena fell in love and, after revealing his real identity to her, both conspired against Morzan, who did not notice the change and in his arrogance thought her still his loyal servant. Selena became a double agent for the Varden, leaking information about Morzan, Galbatorix and the Empire's plans.

Brom stayed with Selena for a while, disguised right under Morzan's nose, until he reached news from Jeod about a passage into Urû'baen. He left for his mission with Jeod and Selena for her own last mission. During their time together, Selena became pregnant with Eragon and soon left for Carvahall to stay with her brother, Garrow, until the child was born. They never met again since Selena died of an illness after giving birth to their child - Eragon.