The Black Hand was a secret network of Imperial spies loyal to Galbatorix that is made up of a fair amount of magicians scattered throughout The Empire and Surda. The organisation was responsible for sabotaging many of the Varden's preparations for an invasion of the empire and was able to extract oaths of loyalty in the ancient language, often with their true names, from not just many soldiers in Galbatorix's Army but also many of the lords and ladies and a random number of normal citizens for Feinster, Belatona, Aberon, Dras-Leona, Gil'ead, Teirm, and Urû'baen.
History[]
The Black Hand was an elite group of magicians and spies who were personally trained by Galbatorix. The group was named after the title of Morzan's spy Selena, who was the mother of Murtagh and Eragon. They made many attempts to assassinate Nasuada.
Members[]
There was not much known about the Black Hand or its members. The Varden was unaware of its existence until a member of the Black Hand, Drail, attempted to assassinate Nasuada. Trianna hunted down and entered his mind after the failed attack and discovered their existence.
Drail was the only known member of the Black Hand. He committed suicide with magic before they were able to extract any useful information from him.
Some of the Unidentified Imperial Magicians may have been members.
It's noteworthy that Selena, Eragon's mother, was Morzan's original Black Hand and not part of Galbatorix's organisation
Duties and Functions[]
The Black Hand functioned as an arm of the Imperial Army specializing in magical combat. Their responsibilities were whatever Galbatorix said they were. They infiltrated the Varden, attempted assassinations, as well as did whatever they were instructed to do in order to disrupt the Varden's cause.
Real-Universe Connection[]
The Black Hand was a secret nationalist organization in Serbia before the first World War. Members of the Black Hand assassinated the Austrio-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, what is considered to have been the main catalyst to the start of World War I.
Misc[]
In the video games the Elder Scrolls, one of the guilds in the games that specializes in assassinations has a council known as the Black Hand that oversees the duties of the subordinate assassins. It is possible that the Black Hand from the Inheritance Cycle has been based on this, as the Dark Brotherhood and the Black Hand in the Elder Scrolls were introduced in 1996.