I need to write more Eragon and Saphira in general for MIC but I honestly donāt have as much for them. Saphira is said in the books to not really have the same concerns as Eragon when it comes to killing and war, and while Eragon does have difficulty with taking life, itās so brief in Brisingr.
Iāll be the first to admit that most of my āresearchā over PTSD has been into POW/torture trauma. Iāve not actually delved very deeply into combat trauma. In MIC, and in IC in my opinion, killing soldiers and those attacking the mains is typically viewed with a grim āit had to be doneā and in some ways, as terrible as it sounds, I feel like I need to keep that strain of it. None of them have time to stop and think on it too long, and in a lot of ways I think they donāt let each other either. Spiraling into doubt about right or wrong can be so detrimental when youāre on an active battlefield, or in a camp that is pretty nearly always under threat of being attacked.
Looking at it now, I really think that Eragon wouldnāt let himself think about it until after the war and after the rider school is established enough to function without him and Saphira there 24/7. And at that point, while it would hit like a sack of bricks, he has such a support system around him that he isnāt scared of it and understands that itās a natural and normal response. That doesnāt mean itās easy. But Eragon, and by extension Saphira, does not go through or experience the war and itās traumas the same as long haulers like Brom, who has his own different issues separate from the main conflict, Arya, with her 70+ years of frontline experience and torture, and Glen, who has a deeper understanding of psych but a host of his own experiences as a battlefield medic literally choosing who gets to live or die and the loss of his arm and very nearly losing his best friend after watching the other one die.
I still canāt put my finger on Eragonās feelings. That makes him difficult to write, and donāt get me started on Saphira. She has so much character to her and yet I STILL canāt grasp how to write her in MIC.
Soā¦yeah. This is sorta an explanation/apology post as to why the main characters are typically not the mains in MIC. Cheers.