Role Swap AU!
Role swap of Murtagh and Arya, here we go!!
-Arya is taken to Uru’baen before Eragon and Murtagh reach Gil’ead. She can’t endure the combined torment of Durza and Galbatorix and she eventually breaks. Galbatorix forces her to swear fealty to him then presents her with Firnen’s egg and he hatches for her. He enslaves them with their true names and starts to train them.
-Murtagh stays with Eragon instead of accompanying the parties hunting down the Urgals. When the Twins murder Ajihad and escape, they aren’t able to capture Murtagh. Still reluctant to join the Varden’s cause and too paranoid to stay with them and all their potential assassins, he goes with Eragon to Ellesmera.
-Arya tells Eragon of his (falsely assumed) heritage on the Burning Plains and steals Zar’roc because she claims that the stronger Rider should have the Rider’s sword. She lets him and Saphira go in the weak hope that they might be able to defeat Galbatorix.
-Murtagh has no idea what to think of Eragon being his brother. He fiercely desires a family to love and be loved by and yet he doesn’t want Eragon to suffer the same alienation and hostility that he did and yet he also takes comfort in someone else shouldering the burden of Morzan’s legacy with him.
-All this combined with the second hand insult of Eragon’s revulsion and desperate denial of being Morzan’s son leaves Murtagh hopelessly confused.
-Arya turns bitter and enraged after learning that, when Islanzadi heard about Durza’s attack on her and her companions, her mother immediately gave her up for dead and never even attempted to look for her, much less rescue her.
-The somewhat awkward yet sincere friendship between Murtagh and Roran.
-(They bond over the times they’ve had to manage Eragon’s stupidity and the fact that neither of them wanted to be involved with any of this)
-Arya feels incredibly guilty about the mistreatment of the Eldunari. She tries to communicate with them and heal their minds, but she can’t do as much as she wants to, because she needs to protect her own sanity from their influence.
-It gets so much worse after Galbatorix uses her and Firnen to kill Oromis and Glaedr. The crushing guilt makes her almost irrationally desperate for any way out of her enslavement.
-Murtagh joins Eragon and co. going into Dras Leona as the only person who’s familiar enough with the city to guide them through it. And, well, we know how that goes.
-While later examining the horrific, near death experiences, Murtagh realizes that, somewhere along the line, these people and their cause eclipsed his self preservation as highest priority. He realizes what it feels like to have something that you would sacrifice yourself for. He abandons his stubborn reluctance to join the Varden and commits himself to their goals.
-Arya falls in love with Nasuada while she’s imprisoned in Uru’baen, inspired by her strength, resilience, and dedication. She reminds her of the things Arya herself once fought for and prompts her to try to defy Galbatorix by freeing Nasuada.
-When Roran blacks out after killing Barst in the battle of Uru’baen, Murtagh saves his life defending him from the soldiers nearby.
-Arya uses the name of the ancient language to betray Galbatorix.
-With the help of Firnen, Saphira is the one who kills Shruikan (which is what should have happened in the books anyway)
-Arya thinks about rejoining the elven society, but when she learns of Islanzadi’s death, she leaves instead. She and Firnen decide they would better be able to cope with everything that happened if they weren’t worried about the difficulties of rejoining their people at the same time.
-A little while after the end of the war, Thorn hatches for Murtagh. Eragon is thrilled that his closest friend will be going with him to raise the dragons (though Murtagh would have gone with him anyway). It’s somewhat awkward for Eragon to act as Murtagh’s teacher, but they’re both glad to have a reason to not break apart the family they’d only just become.
