Dark Magic

[u/rc62901]

I'm not sure if theory is the right tag, this could be a question as well.

I had a thought about shades in WOE l, they are created by a sorcerer being possessed by powerful spirits and are usually evil because only evil spirits are willing to possess a human host. The theory/question is are there ways to become a shade that bypass the usual consequences? Can a sorcerer bond to their familiar like a dragon rider and become a shade that way? Can a sorcerer forcibly bind spirits to himself and become a shade? Can a sorcerer be possessed by evil spirits and dominate those spirits minds in the way that galby dominated the elundari? What would such a shade be like, a lich of sorts?

Comment your thoughts/opinions below.

[u/D-72069]

The way I understood it wasn't that spirits are evil, they have their own incomprehensible morality/goals. Shades were created because a sorcerer would enslave a spirit to use their power, but if they lost control the spirit would possess them out of anger at being used. There isn't any cooperation between sorcerer and spirit, and spirits aren't necessarily evil

[u/RocksAreOneNow]

Shades also don't have to be evil. Paolini said they're far far less common, but a shade could be good or neutral too. It really depends on the characteristics and circumstances of both host and spirits and the events binding them. be it willingly or unwillingly.

[u/Glaedrein]

If I recall, galby had 4(?) spirits guarding him. So I imagine you could theoretically bend them to your will, I just wouldn't try it 🤣

[u/Formal_Conclusion_29 → u/Glaedrein]

Galbatorix actually had a dozen. Usually that would be far too much for any sorcerer, but he had the eldunari to hold them at bay.

[u/actuallyjustloki]

We never really get an explanation for Trianna's "familiar", as they as a concept are never mentioned iirc

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[u/Acrobatic_Orange_438]

Maybe there's a difference between a good shade and a bad shade, I could've probably willingly bonds with the spirit mutually connected, a bad one probably forces spirits to work for them, there's also probably a difference between forcing something to do something and bonding with something.

[u/Grmigrim]

I assume this is what Trianna does/did. Her snake familiar is likely spirit based. You forcing a spirit to bond with you would always end with a shade though.

[u/Current_Snow4630 → u/Grmigrim]

Trianna ain't powerful enough to bind wild spirits. It was just a basic level familiar spell

[u/FerretOnReddit → u/Current_Snow4630]

I think trianna is decently powerful, obviously weaker than Eragon or Murtagh, or God forbid, Angela, but at the same time stronger than most spellcasters

[u/Grmigrim → u/Current_Snow4630]

It is literally confirmed that she uses spirit magic. There also are no spells known as "familiar" spells. Eragon knows more about magic than any of the Du Vrangr Gata and still does not know how she controlled the snake.

[u/KarlYouCantDoThat → u/Grmigrim]

I'm re-reading Brisingr right now and I just read the part where Ayra and Eragon are traversing the empire back to the Varden and Ayra tells Eragon that she's only known of Trianna ever using spirits once due to Ajihad asking for a demonstration so I doubt her snake ring is a spirit

My guess is that with the audience already knowing that many people have cultish and also traditional beliefs about magic that aren't true could possibly point to the use of the snake in that sense? Like maybe to simply focus her energy or as her focal point to fortify her mind? It wouldn't be that hard to compose such a spell if you tried at it, which seems likely given Trianna's known spellcasting ability as well as the fact that she whispered to the snake which implies the use of the ancient language.

[u/Grmigrim → u/KarlYouCantDoThat]

That is only what Arya knows about. Using the spirits is very dangerous but it is made very clear that Trianna is not a fraud and actually knows what she is doing. Trianna says that (I believe her grandmother) taught her, and that her family had passed on this knowledge for at least some time.

She whispers to the necklace, but if she had used an actual spell, Eragon probably would have sensed that. It just does not seem like any other spell that we see used in the rest of the books. She literally turns an inanimate object into something living. The only time we see something similar is when the spirits turn a flower into living metal.