Solembum
From The Inheritance Encyclopedia
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| About the Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Solembum, though he goes by many |
| Race: | Werecat |
| Birthdate: | Currently Unknown |
| Age: | Though his age is unknown, it is presumably older than the average cat or human. |
| Loyalty: | His loyalties lie with Angela, his human companion, who is pledged to the Varden. |
| Voice-Actor: | Undisclosed |
Solembum is a wise, clever werecat that imparts occasional tidbits of advice to Eragon of what is to come.
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Physical Description
With the exception of his red eyes, he can be mistaken for a cat, though as Eragon asserts, not a cat like one has ever seen before. He has a “lean body with powerful shoulders and oversized paws. A shaggy mane surrounded [his] angular face; [his] ears were tipped with black tufts. White fangs curved down over [his] jaw” (199, Eragon).
When in human form, he appears to be a small boy with slanted eyes and shaggy black hair and sharp teeth.
| Warning: This page or section is a spoiler. Information following this warning has been revealed about upcoming Inheritance information. |
History
Solembum is a mystery to both Eragon and his companion Angela, and literally nothing is known about his life before Angela encountered him. However, one can hope that in the third novel of the series, something more will be revealed. In Eldest, he mentions a second werecat named Maud, suggesting that there may have been a relationship between the two of them at some point.
Eragon is only the third person Solembum has spoken to, discounting Angela, in her memory. The first was Selena, Eragon’s mother (presumably), so one can estimate that the werecat has been residing with Angela for upwards of twenty years. The second was a blind beggar.
Solembum’s Foretelling
During the two’s first meeting, the werecat prophesizes that in time the Dragon Rider will be in need of a weapon, at which point he should look under the roots of a Menoa tree. Then, when Eragon is convinced that all is lost and his power is insufficient, he must progress to the rock of Kurthian and speak his name to open the Vault of Souls.
Angela notices this exchange, though she cannot hear it and says, “‘I don’t know what he said, and I don’t want to know. He spoke to you and only you. Don’t tell anyone else’”(207, Eragon).
Eragon
In an attempt to visit Angela during his visit to Teirm, who Eragon had met previously, he accidentally wakes and speaks to Solembum. They meet once again when Eragon, Brom, and Jeod are reading scrolls that they ought not to, at which point Solembum appears in the form of a boy and warns them of approaching soldiers. Finally, when the boy Rider finally arrives at the Varden, Solembum leads him to visit Angela, who is also residing there.
Eldest
Solembum and Eragon actually only see each other twice in the second installment, without much incidence. However, when Eragon and Saphira are visiting the Elves, he is introduced to the prophesied Menoa tree, which the werecat had already informed him of. He then explains what Solembum had told him of it to Arya.
Quotes
“[Eragon informs him that he didn’t know werecats were real]. The werecat blinked lazily. Knowing is independent of being. I did not know you existed before you bumbled in here and ruined my nap. Yet that doesn’t mean you weren’t real before you woke me.” (200, Eragon).
“If you are reading those scrolls for entertainment, then I suppose there isn’t any reason for my visit. But if what you are doing is unlawful and you don’t want to be discovered, I might be here to warn you that the guard whom you bribed just told his replacement about you and that this second official of the Empire has sent soldiers after you.”(215-6, Eragon).
"You aren't very smart for a dragon rider." (200)
As Eragon was shocked, by some rod that gave him a shock, he asked: "What is it?" "A common and boring artifact, unlike myself. (200)
