Categories > Books > Eragon > Murtagh's Cage 1
Prologue
I was born in a cage, lived in a cage, and never thought I'd escape the cage.
Ever since I was old enough to learn and think, I knew my life was going to be different. They named me Murtagh...the only gift ever given to me, my name.
Morzan was the hatred of my life. A Forsworn, he had no happiness, patience, or forgiveness. He constantly hit me, and marked me with a permanent scar when I was just three. I felt no love for him, he felt no love for me. I doubt he even knew what love was, as I recall these memories. He disregarded me as a thing, a thing in the corner of his eye, never looked at fully or given attention to. How I longed for revenge as I grew up...how I sometimes wished to just plunge a blade into that black heart and get rid of him forever...
Selena, my mother. I did not feel love for her, but rather pity. Pity that she fell in love with this demon, pity that she was under his wrath at times, pity that he used her, pity that she could only see her son once every few months, pity that she was alive. Truthfully, I felt no more love for her than I did for my father, because I saw the unwanting in her eyes every time she looked at me. I knew that she would rather me die than live the life I lived. And I would rather die than see my own mother push me aside due to fear...
There was only one person that I felt friendship to, my old servant Tornac. He was the one and the only who taught me to hold a blade and wield it. He was like a brother to me at times, and at other times the father I never had. He was there to help me whenever I needed any, he was there to calm me down whenever I got out of control.
Through my life I have suffered torture, anger, pain, tears, and angst. People may think me cruel and harsh, but they have no idea what I've been through. I am Murtagh, the son of Morzan and Selena, and this is my story. From beginning to a new beginning, I tell my tale.
Chapter 1
The wind howled through the shadows of the night. It was a time of secrecy, of things that would prove fatal if revealed. A castle stood at the peak of a tall hill, cloaked in the shades of the night. No light could pierce the black silence of the fortress.
Air whistled through a half-open window of the palace, causing a small flicker of a candle. On a nearby wooden cot lay a young woman, marred with dirt and scars. In her arms was cradled a small baby that she tried to keep quiet.
At the other end of the bed stood a man robed in black. His dark brown hair was hidden in a hood that was constantly kept up. At his side was a stout, long blade with a scarlet sheath. He gazed at the woman with an undetectable feeling of either disdain or anger. Several servants also stood close by, motionless, as if one tiny fidget would be their death.
After many tense moments of silence, the baby started wailing. The woman hastily eyed the man, and then tried unsuccessfully to sooth the infant down.
Suddenly, the man pulled out his sword in one swift stroke and lowered it near the crying baby's neck. The woman let out a small gasp. "No, Morzan, he is your son!"
The man, the Forsworn Morzan, snarled. "So it may be, but that does not mean that he may disobey my wishes, and currently I wish for him to shut up!" The blade dangled fiercely, inches away from the poor infant's neck. "Make it be quiet. Now, Selena."
The woman tensed at her name. It was rare that Morzan would ever call her by her name. Quickly, she tried to do as he bid. Caressing the baby's face, she let out small whispers of calming words. Slowly, the infant stopped crying.
Morzan smirked, then flicked his sword and let it nick the baby's neck. Neither the baby nor its mother let out a sound as Morzan sheathed his blade. "That is your first and last gift from your father," he said, "a scar for you to bear forever." A few drops of blood dripped from the cut, staining Selena's one and only white sheet.
The Forsworn straightened, facing the servants. "Hear me! You have seen what you should not have, and thus no word of this ever leaves your disgraceful mouths. If I hear that someone else has found out..." He didn't complete his sentence, but merely held up his right hand, the gedwey ignasia glimmering on the palm. A shudder went through the servants in unison. He took one last glance at Selena and the infant, then stormed out of the room, slamming the door. All but one of the servants followed suit, leaving Selena by herself.
The lone feminine servant came over to Selena. "Oh...I'm so sorry..."
A wall seemed to shatter in Selena's eyes, and tears of despair and regret poured out, ones that had been contained for too long. "No...Rana it's not your fault...how, how could I have done this?" She pulled back a small lock of brown hair on the baby's head. "How will he be able to grow up knowing that his father is a monster? And think of how much he'll hate me for giving life to him in the first place!"
Rana shook her head. "No, he will feel compassion that his mother was forced to give birth to him. He will not hate you."
Selena sighed. "I've made such a terrible mistake..."
"Do not punish yourself, everyone makes mistakes," Rana reassured her. "Morzan wants you to name the baby. What will be his name?"
Selena was quiet for a few moments, thinking. After many minutes, she finally said, "Murtagh...the sea warrior. Yes, that shall be his name, in hope that he can fight back this land corrupted by Galbatorix, and in hope that he can sail away and forget his past, starting anew."
Rana nodded. "It is a good name."
Selena looked down at Murtagh, now fast asleep in her arms. "Oh...please understand Murtagh...and the heavens help you to get away from your father and have a better life than the one I've forced upon you..."
I was born in a cage, lived in a cage, and never thought I'd escape the cage.
Ever since I was old enough to learn and think, I knew my life was going to be different. They named me Murtagh...the only gift ever given to me, my name.
Morzan was the hatred of my life. A Forsworn, he had no happiness, patience, or forgiveness. He constantly hit me, and marked me with a permanent scar when I was just three. I felt no love for him, he felt no love for me. I doubt he even knew what love was, as I recall these memories. He disregarded me as a thing, a thing in the corner of his eye, never looked at fully or given attention to. How I longed for revenge as I grew up...how I sometimes wished to just plunge a blade into that black heart and get rid of him forever...
Selena, my mother. I did not feel love for her, but rather pity. Pity that she fell in love with this demon, pity that she was under his wrath at times, pity that he used her, pity that she could only see her son once every few months, pity that she was alive. Truthfully, I felt no more love for her than I did for my father, because I saw the unwanting in her eyes every time she looked at me. I knew that she would rather me die than live the life I lived. And I would rather die than see my own mother push me aside due to fear...
There was only one person that I felt friendship to, my old servant Tornac. He was the one and the only who taught me to hold a blade and wield it. He was like a brother to me at times, and at other times the father I never had. He was there to help me whenever I needed any, he was there to calm me down whenever I got out of control.
Through my life I have suffered torture, anger, pain, tears, and angst. People may think me cruel and harsh, but they have no idea what I've been through. I am Murtagh, the son of Morzan and Selena, and this is my story. From beginning to a new beginning, I tell my tale.
Chapter 1
The wind howled through the shadows of the night. It was a time of secrecy, of things that would prove fatal if revealed. A castle stood at the peak of a tall hill, cloaked in the shades of the night. No light could pierce the black silence of the fortress.
Air whistled through a half-open window of the palace, causing a small flicker of a candle. On a nearby wooden cot lay a young woman, marred with dirt and scars. In her arms was cradled a small baby that she tried to keep quiet.
At the other end of the bed stood a man robed in black. His dark brown hair was hidden in a hood that was constantly kept up. At his side was a stout, long blade with a scarlet sheath. He gazed at the woman with an undetectable feeling of either disdain or anger. Several servants also stood close by, motionless, as if one tiny fidget would be their death.
After many tense moments of silence, the baby started wailing. The woman hastily eyed the man, and then tried unsuccessfully to sooth the infant down.
Suddenly, the man pulled out his sword in one swift stroke and lowered it near the crying baby's neck. The woman let out a small gasp. "No, Morzan, he is your son!"
The man, the Forsworn Morzan, snarled. "So it may be, but that does not mean that he may disobey my wishes, and currently I wish for him to shut up!" The blade dangled fiercely, inches away from the poor infant's neck. "Make it be quiet. Now, Selena."
The woman tensed at her name. It was rare that Morzan would ever call her by her name. Quickly, she tried to do as he bid. Caressing the baby's face, she let out small whispers of calming words. Slowly, the infant stopped crying.
Morzan smirked, then flicked his sword and let it nick the baby's neck. Neither the baby nor its mother let out a sound as Morzan sheathed his blade. "That is your first and last gift from your father," he said, "a scar for you to bear forever." A few drops of blood dripped from the cut, staining Selena's one and only white sheet.
The Forsworn straightened, facing the servants. "Hear me! You have seen what you should not have, and thus no word of this ever leaves your disgraceful mouths. If I hear that someone else has found out..." He didn't complete his sentence, but merely held up his right hand, the gedwey ignasia glimmering on the palm. A shudder went through the servants in unison. He took one last glance at Selena and the infant, then stormed out of the room, slamming the door. All but one of the servants followed suit, leaving Selena by herself.
The lone feminine servant came over to Selena. "Oh...I'm so sorry..."
A wall seemed to shatter in Selena's eyes, and tears of despair and regret poured out, ones that had been contained for too long. "No...Rana it's not your fault...how, how could I have done this?" She pulled back a small lock of brown hair on the baby's head. "How will he be able to grow up knowing that his father is a monster? And think of how much he'll hate me for giving life to him in the first place!"
Rana shook her head. "No, he will feel compassion that his mother was forced to give birth to him. He will not hate you."
Selena sighed. "I've made such a terrible mistake..."
"Do not punish yourself, everyone makes mistakes," Rana reassured her. "Morzan wants you to name the baby. What will be his name?"
Selena was quiet for a few moments, thinking. After many minutes, she finally said, "Murtagh...the sea warrior. Yes, that shall be his name, in hope that he can fight back this land corrupted by Galbatorix, and in hope that he can sail away and forget his past, starting anew."
Rana nodded. "It is a good name."
Selena looked down at Murtagh, now fast asleep in her arms. "Oh...please understand Murtagh...and the heavens help you to get away from your father and have a better life than the one I've forced upon you..."
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