Who Dies In 'Eldest' By Christopher Paolini?

Let’s talk emotional damage: 'Eldest' kills off characters with purpose. Hrothgar’s death wrecks me—this gruff, wise dwarf king charging into certain death for a human boy he barely knows. His last stand with his star sapphire axe is iconic. Then there’s Murtagh, ‘dead’ until he isn’t. His return as Galbatorix’s enslaved Rider is darker than any permanent death could’ve been.

Sloan’s arc is underrated. His blinding isn’t just punishment; it’s a rebirth into monstrousness. The man who betrayed Carvahall becomes a feral thing in the mountains, eating raw meat and talking to shadows. Kull’s death is barely a footnote, but it ignites Orik’s rage against the usurpers. What fascinates me is how Paolini avoids heroic sacrifices—these deaths are messy, unresolved, and linger like ghosts in later books.

The casualties in 'Eldest' aren’t just about shock value—they’re narrative turning points. Hrothgar’s death is the most impactful. The dwarf king falls defending Eragon from Durza, and his last words about unity between races become a recurring theme. It’s not just a heroic end; it fractures dwarf politics, leaving Orik to pick up the pieces.

Murtagh’s presumed death is a brilliant fake-out. Captured by the Empire, he’s later revealed as Galbatorix’s new weapon, twisted by forced oaths. This ‘resurrection’ terrifies Eragon, making their eventual duel personal. Kull’s off-screen death during the dwarven succession war feels raw—it’s mentioned almost casually, underscoring how war consumes even side characters.

Sloan’s fate is morally complex. Blinded and exiled by Eragon, he becomes a twisted survivalist in the Spine. Unlike other deaths, his isn’t physical—it’s the death of his humanity. Paolini uses these losses to explore consequences. Hrothgar’s absence leaves a leadership vacuum, Murtagh’s ‘betrayal’ fuels Eragon’s doubts, and Sloan’s punishment forces Roran to confront mercy versus vengeance.

I just finished rereading 'Eldest' and the deaths hit hard every time. The big one is Hrothgar, the dwarf king—he goes down protecting Eragon during the Battle of the Burning Plains. His sacrifice is epic, taking multiple fatal wounds just to buy Eragon seconds. Then there's Murtagh’s ‘death’—or so everyone thinks when he’s captured by the Empire, only to reappear later as Galbatorix’s puppet. Orik’s brother, Kull, dies off-page in a dwarven civil war, which sparks major political fallout. The most haunting is Sloan, Roran’s future father-in-law; he gets blinded and left wandering the Spine as poetic justice for his betrayal. Each death reshapes the story’s dynamics, especially Hrothgar’s—it forces Eragon to grow up fast.